USA > Idaho > An illustrated history of the state of Idaho, containing a history of the state of Idaho from the earliest period of its discovery to the present time, together with glimpses of its auspicious future; illustrations and biographical mention of many pioneers and prominent citizens of to-day > Part 21
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In 1878 he came to Lewiston, a poor man, and accepted a position as bookkeeper. He after- ward served for a time as agent for the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company, and estab- lished the first general insurance business in Lewiston. In 1883, success having come to him through his well directed efforts, he founded the Lewiston National Bank, of which John Brearley was elected president. Mr. Brearley died soon afterward, however, and Mr. Kettenbach was
chosen his successor and continued to fill the position most creditably and satisfactorily until September 9, 1891, when his death occurred. He had been an assiduous worker and was a man of great energy and splendid business talent. He not only organized one of the best banking insti- tutions of the state, but also established many other enterprises and placed them on a paying basis. He accumulated wealth rapidly, and as time passed he became the principal owner of the bank. His life was one of great activity and usefulness, and he did much to promote the in- terests of the town and state. He was a man of the highest business integrity, and his unassail- able reputation enabled him to succeed in enlist- ing the investment of large capital in Lewiston and securing to the town an impetus such as it had never enjoyed. Notable among the enter- prises which he promoted was the first water and lighting system of the city, which proved of in- calculable benefit. He gave his support and co- operation to many other business concerns which have been important factors in upbuilding the town and advancing its prosperity, and it was through his instrumentality that Charles Francis Adams became largely interested in real estate here. Mr. Kettenbach built the Lewiston National Bank Block, which is the best bank building in the state, the rental from its offices bringing the bank four hundred dollars per month.
Of the Knights of Pythias fraternity Mr. Ket- tenbach was a valued member, taking an active part in the work of the order. He was a charter member of Star Lodge, No. 27, of Indianapolis, and was one of the organizers of Excelsior Lodge, No. 2, at Lewiston. His home life, in the midst of his family, offered him most pleasant hours of recreation. In 1872 he was happily married to Miss Sallie Benton, a native of Mon- rovia, and a daughter of Rev. Morris W. Benton, a talented and devoted Methodist minister, who
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was a cousin of the United States senator, Thomas Benton. Mrs. Kettenbach was a lady of refinement and worth, held in high regard by her many friends. She survived her husband several years, and departed this life March 4, 1896.
Their union was blessed with four children, but only two are now living, William F. and Grace B. The latter is now the wife of Dr. Charles Pfafflin, of Cincinnati. She is possessed of much musical talent and is a graduate of the Cincinnati School of Music.
The son, William F. Kettenbach, is now the president of the bank founded and built up by his father, and has the honor of being the young- est national-bank president in the United States. He was born November 1, 1874, and is therefore twenty-five years of age. He was educated in Butler University, in Indiana, and was in college when his father's death occurred. He learned the banking business under his father's instruc- tions, having filled all the positions from that of assistant bookkeeper up, until he is now the head of the institution, and is displaying an ability in the administration of its affairs that would do credit to a man of twice his years.
In October, 1895, Mr. Kettenbach was united in marriage to Miss Mary White, a daughter of D. M. White, a noted Idaho pioneer, who was a man of wealth and influence, and succeeded Mr. Kettenbach's father as president of the bank, in which capacity he served until his death, Decem- ber II, 1898, when our subject became president. To Mr. and Mrs. Kettenbach has been born a little daughter, Elizabeth. They reside in the beautiful home which was built by his father, and enjoy the highest esteem of the leading cit- izens of Lewiston, among whom they have been reared. Mr. Kettenbach affiliates with the Knights of Pythias fraternity and the Order of Red Men, and his wife is a valued member of the Episcopal church.
HON. AUGUSTINE M. SINNOTT.
The gentleman whose name appears above was born on Staten Island, New York, July 17, 1858, the eldest son of Philip Sinnott, deceased, and Katharine E., nee Breen, both of whom were born in historic Wexford, Ireland, and emi- grated from their native home to the Empire
state of America, New York, when very young, where the father followed the trade of carpenter and builder.
Young Angustine attended the public schools of his home district, where he achieved particular distinction as a scholar, and subsequently grad- uated at the New York high school and pursued a course of study in the College of the City of New York. His portrait and biography ap- peared in Frank Leslie's Boys' and Girls' Week- ly, in his fifteenth year, as the distinguished scholar of the Staten Island public schools, after a prize contest. The island, now known as Rich- mond borough, Greater New York, at that time had a population of forty thousand. After teach- ing in district schools in Illinois for two years he came to Colorado, in 1881, and entered the ser- vice of the South Park Railway, where he held a clerkship, and later was in the train service, until the summer of 1883. when he returned to his native island, in New York bay, and in the ensning September led Miss Ella O'Brien, a na- tive daughter of Staten Island, to the hymeneal altar. Deciding to make Idaho their future home, the young couple arrived in the territory a few weeks after their wedding, and shortly afterward located at Glenn's Ferry, an old estab- lished post on the "overland trail," then a small flag-station on the Oregon Short Line Railway, consisting of a ferry, blacksmith shop and a few railroad buildings, but which afterward became a division terminal, in which event shops, round- house and other buildings were erected by the company, wherein a large force of labor is now employed.
Coming here in 1883, Mr. Sinnott entered the railway service and continued in the track and machinery departments as a locomotive fireman and clerk until 1890, when he was elected probate judge and ex-officio county school superintend- ent of Elmore county, which had been organized by statute in February, 1889, with Rocky Bar for the county seat. This was not Judge Sin- nott's first political achievement, however, for in 1884 he had been elected justice of the peace for Glenn's Ferry, and re-elected in 1886 and 1888. In June, 1889, upon the call of Governor Steven- son for the Idaho state constitutional convention, held at Boise City in July and August following. he was elected on the Republican and Labor
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ticket as a representative to that body from El- more county, where he received the credit of the masses of his county for extraordinarily efficient service. Being the secretary of the committee on labor in that body, all articles in the labor section of the Idaho state constitution were pre- pared by him. The Elmore Bulletin, the leading Democratic newspaper of his county, spoke of him as "one who feared not the party lash, was unswayed by railroad influence and did his duty well."
As county judge, in every suit tried before liim, including some important labor suits, when ap- peal was taken to the higher court his decision was sustained. He was the presiding magistrate in the examination in the Kensler-Freel murder trial, one of the greatest sensations in the crimi- nal history of Idaho.
In 1891 he was admitted to the bar, after study- ing three years, under adverse circumstances. Taking charge of the county school superintend- ent's office, he found the records of the office and the school system of the county to be a disorgan- ized mass, and out of the chaos laid the founda- tion of a system that has since made the schools of Elmore county second to none in the state. In the fall of 1898 he was elected to the office of county attorney of his county, on the silver ticket, which position he now holds.
In Ireland, for many generations, the Sinnott family were conspicuously active in Irish affairs, both in peace and in war, taking part with the Irish insurgents. In the year 1644 Sir David Sinnott, with his Celtic and Norman forces, held the beleaguered city of Wexford against Crom- well and his Covenanter soldiery. In the re- bellion of 1798 they were among the local leaders in Wexford against the British government, and lost all they had in the struggle for freedoni. Judge Sinnott's father "wore the blue" in the dark days of 1863, and physical incapacity alone prevented the son from being accepted and doing likewise in this last war. He has been a member of the Idaho state assembly of the Knights of Labor, and is still an active worker in labor's cause.
Five children, of whom four are living, bless his marriage union: two daughters, Alice and Katharine, aged thirteen and twelve years re- spectively, and two sons, Philip and Thomas,
nine and six years of age. The family resides at Mountain Home.
JOSEPH D. DALY.
Among the officers of Ada county, Idaho, is Joseph DeWitt Daly, who is now acceptably fill- ing the position of tax collector and assessor. He possesses that spirit of enterprise which has produced the rapid and wonderful development of the vast region west of the Mississippi, and in the discharge of his duties manifests a loyalty and faithfulness that has made his service most efficient, winning him the commendation of the best citizens of the community.
A native of Missouri, he was born in Putnam county, on the 13th of January, 1850, his parents being William and Permelia (Holland) Daly. His father was a native of Kentucky, born in 1801, and by occupation was a farmer. He continued his residence in Missouri until 1852, when he removed to Oregon, his death occurring at his home near Jacksonville, that state, in September, 1892. His wife, who was born in Tennessee, in 1811, died in Missouri, in 1866. This worthy couple were the parents of twelve children, ten of whom are living. Six of the sons were sol- diers in the Union army during the civil war, and two of them served throughout the entire conflict. Few families can show such a record for military valor or have so effectively labored for the welfare of the nation. Six brothers loyally following the old flag and defending the cause it represented, is a history of which any family might well be proud, and the name of Daly is deeply engraven on the military annals of the country.
Joseph D. Daly acquired his education in the public schools of northern Missouri, and was reared to manhood on his father's farm, early becoming familiar with all the duties and obliga- tions which fall to the lot of the agriculturist. After attaining his majority he continued the pursuit to which he had been reared, being num- bered among the energetic farmers of Missouri until 1887, when he removed to Idaho, locating in Ada county, ten miles west of Boise, where he still owns a farm, of which twelve acres has been planted to fruit-trees. In the cultivation and improvement of his land he displayed great energy, industry and sound judgment, and his ef-
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vantageously, and then returned to Oregon. In 1863 he came to Idaho with a pack train, bring- ing the first sawmill to the Boise basin.
Since that time Mr. Galloway has been promi- nently connected with the development and prog- ress of this section of the state. For some time he engaged in mining in the Boise basin, and also transported goods for others by pack trains, and in the month of September came to the present site of the now thriving and beautiful little city of Weiser. He erected the first building-a structure of willow logs, plastered with mud and covered with a dirt roof, but having neither floor nor door. He kept the pony-express station and furnished food to the traveler. This was the first hotel in the town, but though he supplied the meals the visitors slept in their own blankets. In 1865 he built the first frame house in the town, paying forty dollars per thousand feet for the lumber, and hauling it ninety miles. From 1864 until 1868 he was an express agent, and for many years served as postmaster of Weiser. He be- came extensively engaged in stock-raising, and still has large numbers of cattle and horses. He was instrumental in inaugurating the movement which resulted in the construction of the splendid irrigation ditch which takes water from the Wei- ser river, eight miles above the town, and carries it nine miles beyond the town. It now irrigates six thousand acres of land and has a much great- er capacity. This enterprise was started by the farmers in 1881 and was not a success until Mr. Galloway took charge of the same in 1885. He finally sold an interest in the property, in order to get money to complete the ditch. There is neither bond nor mortgage on it, water is sup- plied to the farmers at the rate of a dollar and a quarter per acre and the enterprise has proven of incalculable benefit to this section of the state. Some of the finest crops of grains and fruits are raised on the lands thus irrigated, and it is the only irrigation company in Idaho that is not in debt or has its system mortgaged. Mr. Galloway is one of the most extensive land-owners of the state, having thirteen hundred and sixty acres in the vicinity of Weiser, and eighty acres within the city limits. In 1890 a disastrous fire swept over the city, destroying a large part of the old town, twenty-two houses being reduced to ashes, but these have been replaced by better buildings,
and Mr. Galloway has lived to see the town which he founded becoming an enterprising cen- ter of trade, enjoying a stable growth and con- tinued prosperity.
On the 27th of February, 1868, Mr. Galloway married Miss Mary Flournoy, who was born in Missouri, but was of Virginian ancestry. Her father was A. W. Flournoy, one of the pioneers of Idaho. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Galloway have been born nine children, all of whom are living. The entire expenses incurred by the family for physician's services is thirty-seven dollars and a half, and the lawyers' fees have only amounted to ten dollars-a remarkable record indicating the healthfulness of Idaho and the good sense and sound judgment of Mr. and Mrs. Galloway. Their eldest daughter, Anna, is now the wife of Lewis Dickerson, who resides in Weiser; Francis H. and Mary F. are graduates of the State Normal School and are popular teachers in Idaho; Charles is now a volunteer soldier in Manila, hav- ing enlisted with the cadets of the university, at Moscow; Flournoy, Guy, Kate, James and Thomas C. are all at home with their parents.
In his political belief Mr. Galloway is a silver- Republican. He has been twice elected and served for two terms in the territorial senate, has also been trustee and justice of the peace of Wei- ser, and has ever discharged his official duties with promptness and ability. He and his wife have a large and commodious residence, in which they are spending the evening of their lives in peace and comfort. Their home is surrounded by fruit trees of their own planting, and their labors of former years now supply them with all the comforts and many of the luxuries of life. Mr. Galloway takes a deep and abiding interest in everything pertaining to the well-being of Idaho, and is justly accorded a place among her honored pioneers.
ABEL A. BERG.
For twenty-five years Abel A. Berg has been a resident of Silver City, has devoted his energies to prospect mining, and is the principal owner of the Lone Tree group of mines, located near the Trade Dollar mines. He is a native of Sweden, his birth having occurred near Arvika, on the 19th of December, 1846. His parents, Anderson and Mary (Danilson) Berg, were also natives of
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that country, and were members of the Lutheran church. The son acquired his education in his native land and there remained until twenty-five years of age, when he resolved to seek a home and fortune in America, believing that the su- perior advantages of this country would sooner enable him to acquire a competency. It was in 1871 that he sailed westward across the Atlantic, landing at New York city, whence he journeyed across the country to California. In that state he worked at farming, and in a sugar factory in Sacramento, but came from the latter place to Silver City and secured employment in the Min- nesota mine on War Eagle mountain. That mine was then a large producer and its stock ad- vanced from fifty cents to fifty dollars a share.
As his capital has increased Mr. Berg has made judicious investments in mining property, and is now associated in business with Mr. Quin- lan, Tim Regan and Charles M. Hays. In addi- tion to the Lone Tree mines he is now the owner of other valuable property on the Florida moun- tains, none of which is far from Silver City. He has made a three-hundred-foot tunnel in the Lone Tree mine, joining the Trade Dollar mine, and the ore from the former assays from ten to one hundred and fifty dollars per ton. Mr. Berg also has another claim below the Lone Tree, known as the Idaho mine, which has several tunnels in it, while its ore assays as high as the other. The Crown Point mine, just east of the Idaho, is also his property, and its ore has as- sayed as high as two thousand dollars per ton. He owns the American Eagle mine, immediately east of the others, and also has a tunnel there. which is designed for a cross cut. He sold his Hammerson mine, near the Black Jack, for sev- enty-five hundred dollars. Mr. Berg has gained a broad and practical knowledge, and is considered a mining expert. His close study and applica- tion, and his energy and indomitable purpose, have made him successful.
Mr. Berg is a "silver" Republican in politics and served as a delegate to the "silver" Repub- lican county convention. He is a member of the Odd Fellows society, has filled all the chairs in both branches of the order, and has twice been a representative to the grand lodge. The hope that led him to leave his native land and seek a home in America has been more than realized. He
found the opportunities he sought,-which, by the way, are always open to the ambitious, en- ergetic man,-and making the best of these he has steadily worked his way upward. He pos- sesses the resolution, perseverance and reliability so characteristic of people of his nation, and his name is now enrolled among the best citizens of Owyhee county.
JAMES A. PINNEY.
The enterprise of our American citizens has given the nation a position among the powers of the world that it has taken other countries many centuries to gain. The progressive spirit of the times is manifest throughout the length and breadth of the land, yet even to our own people the growth and development of the west seems almost incredible. Less than half a century ago Idaho, California, Montana, Oregon and other western states were wild and almost unpeopled regions, without the railroad or other transporta- tion facilities, without the telegraph or the varied commercial and industrial industries of the east. The hostile Indians made it a hazardous under- taking to establish homes in the district, but some fearless and sturdy spirits pushed their way into the wild region, reclaimed it from desolation and Indian rule, and to-day beautiful towns and enterprising villages dot the landscape, and in no particular are the improvements or the com- forts or the advantages of the east lacking in this district.
Among those who have made Boise one of the most attractive and progressive centers of popu- lation in the northwest is James Alonzo Pinney, who has left the impress of his individuality upon many of the business interests of the city and thereby become an essential factor in the history of its upbuilding. He is a native of Ohio, born in Franklin county, on the 29th of September, 1835, descended from New England ancestry, the family having been established in Vermont at a very early day in the colonial epoch. Four brothers emigrated westward to Franklin coun- ty, Ohio, one of whom was Azariah Pinney, the grandfather of our subject. His father, Charles Pinney, was born in Ohio, and married Miss Sarah Gardiner Fuller, who is still living, at the age of eighty-two years. Mr. Pinney departed this life in his eightieth year. They were valued
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members of the Methodist church. They had nine children, but only three are now living.
During his early boyhood Mr. Pinney accom- panied his parents on their removal to Iowa, where he acquired his education. When only fourteen years of age, in company with his father, he crossed the plains to California with a party of seventy-three men and two boys. They left the present site of Omaha, on the 7th of May, 1850, and drove their horses to Salt Lake, where they exchanged them for oxen, and then contin- ued their journey, arriving safely at Weberville, on the Ioth of August. He spent eight years in Shasta, Yreka and Crescent City. He engaged in clerking for a time and then followed the pack- ing business until 1857, when he returned to his relatives in Iowa, making the journey by way of the isthmus. He remained with his parents for a year and then again crossed the plains, going to Pike's peak and later to Rogue river valley, Oregon. Once more he engaged in the packing business, and in 1862 went to the Salmon river at the time of the excitement there. In the fall of that year he came to the Boise basin and spent the winter at Auburn, Oregon, where he engaged in selling goods. In February he left that place for "Idaho City, where he arrived on the Ist of March, 1863. There he engaged in general mer- chandising, but in 1864 a destructive fire swept over the town and he lost everything he had. He was then appointed postmaster, in which position he served until 1872. In 1870 he opened a book and stationery store at Boise, where he has since resided, and has carried on an honorable and profitable business. Study of the taste of the public has led him to buy advantageously, and his straightforward business methods and court- eons treatment have secured to him a liberal patronage. He has also been largely instru- mental in the improvement of the town by the erection of a number of important buildings. He built an attractive residence and modern store building, and at a cost of thirty-five thousand dollars erected the Columbia theater, which has a seating capacity of one thousand, and is one of the best theater buildings in the west.
In an official capacity Mr. Pinney has probably done more for the advancement of Boise than any other one man. He was elected mayor of the city in 1881 and served continuously until
1885. Again he was elected in 1888 and served through the four succeeding years, so that he had control of the reins of city government for almost a decade. His administration was most progressive, and during his service Boise developed from a new and somewhat wild west- ern town to a city whose beauties at once charm and attract the visitor and have gained wide re- nown. At the time of his first election no one could cross the river to get in or out of the town without paying toll; but that was soon done away with. A fine cemetery ground was pur- chased and improved; a sewerage system was established and a fine city hall was erected, at a cost of fifty thousand dollars,-a building which would grace a city of much greater population than Boise. Some opposed this work of improve- ment, others found fault therewith, but Mr. Pin- ney wisely kept on in the work he had planned, and to-day the city certainly owes to him a deep debt of gratitude.
In the social life of the city he has also been an important factor. He was made a master Mason in 1859, in Iowa City Lodge, No. 4, A. F. & A. M., and after his removal to this state be- came a charter member of Idaho City Lodge, No. I, -- the first lodge organized in the state. He was a very active and zealous worker therein, and filled nearly all of its offices. He demitted therefrom in order to join Boise Lodge, No. 2, of which he has since been a valued member and of which he is a past master. He has also taken the Royal Arch and Knight Templar de- grees, is a member of the Mystic Shrine, and for six years he filled the office of high priest of the chapter. He has held various offices in the grand lodge of Idaho, and in 1893 was grand master. He has a thorough knowledge of the ritual and governs his life by the beneficent and humanitarian principles of the order.
Mr. Pinney was married December 17, 1873, to Miss Mary Rodger, a native of Oregon and a lady of Scotch descent. They have had four children, namely: Ida Belle, wife of C. F. Bas- sett; James Rodger, who died of spinal menin- gitis in his eighteenth year, while attending school; Paralee and Annise Fuller. The family are members of the Episcopal church and enjoy the high esteem of the citizens of Boise.
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