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 57

Author: Lewis Publishing Company. cn
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 1014

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 57

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In the meantime he had given some attention to the study of law, which he later pursued under the direction of Judge Norman Buck, and in 1887 he was admitted to the bar. He then opened his law office in Grangeville, where he has since remained, and has enjoyed a good prac- tice. He is a man of strong mentality, keen dis- cernment and possessed of an analytical mind,- elements that insure success in the legal profes- sion. Thus as preacher and lawyer he has been prominently connected with the interests of the town and has come into close touch with its people, many of whom have acquired their edu- cation under his instructions, while for others he has performed marriage ceremonies, and, as necessity has demanded, has preached funeral sermons, or delivered public addresses. In con- nection with his other labors he serves as notary public, makes conveyances and does all kinds of work in connection with his real estate business. Believing in a prosperous future for Grangeville, he purchased two hundred acres of land adjacent to the town and has since made three additions to Grangeville, known as Hall's addition, Moxey's addition and the Prairie View addition.

Many of his lots have been sold and improved, and now form one of the best sections of the town. Mr. Hall has also erected a number of- good buildings, which have largely advanced material interests here. He has likewise ac- quired mining property at Florence, Buffalo Hump, Salmon river and the Clearwater country.

In public office he has rendered effective and faithful service to his fellow citizens and at all times has been a competent officer. He has been justice of the peace, has been probate judge and ex-officio county superintendent of schools for Idaho county, and while in Montana held similar offices. He is now referee of bankruptcy for Idaho county, and was for several years com- missioner of the circuit court of the district of Idaho. In politics he has always been a stalwart Republican, unswerving in support of the party principles.

On the 18th of July, 1876, Mr. Hall was united in marriage to Miss Susan M. Haynes, a native of Maine. Having no children of their own, they have adopted a daughter, Winifred G. Hall. All three are members of the Methodist church, in which Mr. Hall is serving as trustee and steward. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Woodmen of the World and is an earnest advocate of the cause of temperance. He is a man of even temperament. calm and self- poised, of refined character,-one in whom na- ture and culture have vied in making an honored and interesting gentleman.

JAMES F. AILSHIE.

James F. Ailshie is one of the most distin- guished criminal lawyers of Idaho, his marked success in that department of jurisprudence win- ning him enviable prestige. He is also public- spirited and thoroughly interested in whatever tends to promote the moral, intellectual and ma- terial welfare of his town, ranking among her progressive and popular citizens. A native of Greene county, Tennessee, he was born June 19. 1868, and is of Scotch ancestry, the family having been established in the south at an early period in its settlement. His great-grandfather. Stephen Ailshie, fought for independence in the war of the Revolution, and after American lib- erty was secured he took up his residence in Kentucky, where George Washington Ailshie.

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his grandson and the father of our subject, was born. George W. Ailshie removed to Tennessee while yet young and afterward married Miss Martha A. Knight of that state, where they still reside,-respected members of the commun- ity. They belong to the Baptist church and their well spent lives are in harmony with their relig- ious professions. To them were born ten chil- dren, nine of whom are yet living.

James F. Ailshie, the eldest of the family, was educated in the state of his nativity and in the Willamette University, at Salem, Oregon, win- ning the degrees of Bachelor of Philosophy and Bachelor of Law, both in 1891. The same year he was admitted to practice in the supreme court of Oregon, and after seeking for a favorable loca- tion in which to begin business decided to establish a home in Grangeville, where he opened an office in August, 1891. He has never had occasion to regret his choice, for success has here attended his efforts and he has gained a reputation as one of the leading lawyers of north- ern Idaho. He has built up an excellent practice and now has a distinctively representative clien- tage. His high order of talent, his comprehen- sive and accurate knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence and his keen power of argument enable him to handle criminal cases in a way that has won him some remarkable victories. He never loses sight of any point bearing on his case, and gives to each fact and point of law its due prominence, at the same time always keep- ing before court and jury the important element upon which the decision of the case finally turns. His reasoning is sound and convincing, his argu- ments logical and his eloquence seldom, if ever, fails to produce the desired effect.

· While Mr. Ailshie devotes his time and atten- tion principally to his profession, he has other business interests. Believing firmly in the future growth and prosperity of the town of Grangeville, he has invested quite extensively in real estate in this locality and is now the owner of several hundred acres adjacent to the city. He also owns some of the best business sites and business blocks in Grangeville.

On the 19th of June, 1894, Mr. Ailshie was united in marriage to Miss Bundren, a daughter of Rev. J. B. Bundren, a Baptist minister of Tennessee. Their union has been blessed with

a beautiful little daughter, whom they have named Lucile. Mr. and Mrs. Ailshie are inem- bers of the Baptist church, and are very widely and favorably known throughout the state. Mrs. Ailshie, a true southerner, entertains a great deal, and their beautiful home on College street is the scene of many pleasant social events.

In politics Mr. Ailshie is a stalwart Republican, and did most effective service for his party by his campaign addresses in support of the can- didacy of Mckinley in 1896. At the Republican state convention of 1898 he had the honor of being chosen its president, and conducted its meetings and business with marked fairness and ability, showing him to be a thorough parlia - mentarian. He has for two terms served as regent of the State University of Idaho, being ap- pointed to that office by Governor McConnell. He was also a delegate from Idaho to the bi- metallic congress held in Chicago during the World's Columbian Exposition. Socially he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, has filled all the chairs in both branches of the order and has been a member of the grand lodge. He is also a member of the Maccabees and the Woodmen of the World. His fitness for leadership and his devotion to the public good have gained him prominence in public life, and his ability in the law has won him a distinguished position at the Idaho bar. He is a man of reso- lute purpose, of strong mentality and of genuine worth, and his high standing in the community is a merited tribute to his superiority. In man- ner, however, he is most unpretentious, genial and cordial, and in the community he has many warm personal friends.

JAY M. DORMAN.

No man has been a more prominent factor in the growth and improvement of Mount Idaho than this gentleman, who for many years has been identified with its building interests, nor have his efforts contributed alone to his individual prosperity, for he belongs to that class of repre- sentative Americans who promote the public good while securing their own success.

A native of Delaware county, New York, he was born August 27, 1837, and is descended from an old American family, early settlers of the Em- pire state. His father, Anthony Dorman, was

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likewise born in Delaware county and married Miss Charlotte Bursack, a lady of German de- scent. Their only child, Jay M. Dorman, was left an orphan at a tender age and was reared by his aunt until fourteen years of age. With her he removed to Louisiana, where he learned the carpenter and joiner trade. In 1861 he went to California by way of the isthmus route, sailing on the steamer North Star, which arrived in San Francisco in July. He worked in a sawmill on the coast range for a time, and by the water route went to The Dalles and then by mule train to the place of the gold discoveries in Idaho. He traveled with a company of eight, who ultimately reached Lewiston, which was then a town of tents, with only two log houses. Mr. Dorman proceeded to Elk City, and engaged in mining at different claims for nine years, but met with only a moderate degree of success. He had at times as high as three thousand dollars, but like many other miners sunk his capital in a bed- rock tunnel, He, however, never lost anything through gambling or in the saloon, as so many men did in those early days.

In 1871 he came to Mount Idalo, at which time there was but one log house in the town. Here he began work at the carpenter's trade, and since that time has been actively interested in the erection of most of the buildings of the place, so that Mount Idaho now largely stands as a monument to his skill, thrift and enterprise. In 1877 he built his own commodious residence, one of the most attractive homes of the place. In connection with contracting and building, Mr. Dorman has also superintended the operation of his ranch, comprising three hundred and twenty acres of good land, on which he raises hay and grain. The county-seat of Idaho county was es- tablished at Mount Idaho in 1875, and our sub- ject erected the court-house and jail there. He served the county for two years in the position of treasurer and for one term as county commis- sioner, discharging his duties in a most prompt and commendable manner. In politics he has been a lifelong Republican, and in addition to the other offices mentioned he has served as school trustee, the cause of education finding in him a warm friend and one zealous in advancing its interests. Thus in many ways he has been prominently identified with the advancement of

his county along material, political and educa- tional lines, and at all times is a progressive, public-spirited citizen. He was a volunteer in the Nez Perces Indian war, in 1877, and assisted in building a rock fort in Mount Idaho, which formed such a protection that the Indians made no attempt to attack the inhabitants of the town, and many settlers from the surrounding country also found shelter there.

In 1880 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Dorman and Mrs. Arabella J. Randall, widow of Captain D. B. Randall, who served his country as a lieutenant in the great civil war and as a captain of volunteers in the Indian war. She was the daughter of Captain A. P. Ankeny, of Virginia, and crossed the plains to California in 1849, going to Oregon in 1850. Mrs. Dorman was only four years of age when she went with her father's family to the Sunset state. By her first marriage she had five children, namely: Oronoka L., wife of S. D. Ingram, of Lewiston; Henry A .; Bell J .; Maude E .; and Ada L., wife of Lewis D. Stevens. Mr. and Mrs. Dorman have one daughter, to whom was given the full name of her father,-Jay M. Mrs. Dorman is a mem- ber of the Episcopal church and is one of the honored pioneer women of Oregon and Idaho.

Our subject holds membership in Mount Idaho Lodge, No. 89, F. & A. M., has held various offices in the lodge and served as its treasurer for ten years. He is one of Idaho's worthy and reliable citizens, and since early pioneer days he has labored for the welfare of the state, proving especially active in the upbuilding of the northern section. He is highly esteemed for his integrity in all the walks of life, and well deserves repre- sentation in this volume.

ROBERT F. FULTON.

A worthy representative of the legal fraternity, and the first city attorney of Grangeville, Robert F. Fulton is a native of Pennsylvania, his birth having occurred in Westmoreland county, De- cember 8, 1864. He is of Scotch-Irish lineage, his great-grandfather, John Fulton, having been a resident of the north of Ireland, whence he emigrated to Pennsylvania at an early epoch in the history of this country. The grandfather, George Fulton, was born in the Keystone state and the father, James P. Fulton, is a native of

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Washington county, Pennsylvania. He married Miss Frances Shouse, also a native of the same county, and descended from good old Revoln- tionary stock, her great-grandfather having served as a colonel in the Continental army. In religious faith the family has always been con- nected with the Presbyterian church. Rev. Cooper, the great-grandfather of our subject, was the first minister of that denomination west of the Alleghany mountains. James P. Fulton also be- came a Presbyterian minister, and in 1875 went to Harper county, Kansas, becoming a most ef- ficient laborer in that field, where many Presby- terian churches stand in evidence of his untiring zeal and efforts in behalf of the cause of Chris- tianity. He organized the first church in the county, and since that time has been actively identified with Christian work there. He and his estimable wife are still residing in Harper, and if their lives are spared until May, 1900, they will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage. Rev. James P. Fulton is now seventy- five years of age. Eight sons and two daughters have been born to them, and the family is one of the highest respectability, the circle yet re- maining unbroken by the hand of death. Most of the sons are now in professional life, as law- yers, doctors or educators.

Robert F. Fulton, whose name introduces this review, acquired his early education in the schools of his native state, and read law in the office of the firm of Finch & Finch, of Kansas, being admitted to the bar in 1888. He then removed to Bent county, Colorado, where he engaged in the practice of law for a year and a half and then came to Grangeville. Here he opened his law office, being one of the oldest practitioners in years of continuous connection with the bar of Idaho county. He has met with very gratifying success in his efforts, and his ability in present- ing a case to judge or jury is widely recognized. His close study has given him a comprehensive knowledge of the science of jurisprudence and he has secured a large and constantly increasing clientage. For five years he was also associated with Aaron F. Parkes in the publication of the Idaho County Free Press, and has made some judicious investments in real estate, owning con- siderable valuable property in Grangeville.

On the 18th of July, 1895, was celebrated the

marriage of Mr. Fulton and Miss Lillian Robin- son, a daughter of J. H. Robinson, of Grange- ville. They now have an interesting little son, Edwin Dale. Mrs. Fulton is a valued member of the Methodist church, while he adheres to the faith of his fathers and is an earnest Presbyterian. Socially he is connected with the Independent Order of Red Men, and in politics he was an active Republican until 1896, since which time he has been identified with the silver branch of the party and is now chairman of the Silver Republi- can county central committee. He was elected a member of the fourth session of the state legis- lature and served as the first city attorney of Grangeville. He keeps well informed on the issues of the day, and was an active and valued member of the body which formed the laws for the commonwealth. His public and private life are alike above reproach, and he is accounted one of Grangeville's representative citizens.

JAMES EDWARDS.

After a long period of active connection with the industrial interests of northern Idano, James Edwards is now living a retired life in Grange- ville. He was born in Richmond, Chittenden county, Vermont, on the 20th of June, 1838, his parents being George and Martha Sophia (Burr) Edwards, both of whom were natives of Massachusetts. The father was a farmer and a dealer in cattle and grain. He attained the age of only fifty years, but his wife lived to the ripe old age of eighty-four years. They were Univer- salists in religious faith, and Mr. Edwards was a man of ability, taking a leading part in public affairs and serving his district in the state legis- lature. In the family were twelve children, but one died at the age of five years, another at the age of fifteen, a daughter recently passed away. and later a brother died, leaving eight of the family yet living.

In the common schools James Edwards ac- quired a fair English education, which has been supplemented by knowledge gained through ob- servation and business experience. He entered upon his business career as clerk in a store in Acton, Massachusetts, spent some time in Penn- sylvania, and on the Ist of March, 1856, sailed from New York city for California, on the steam- er Illinois. Reaching the western shore of the

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isthmus, he took passage on the John L. Stevens, and arrived in San Francisco, in April, 1856. He remained for a month in Sacramento and then removed to Nevada county, where he purchased cows and engaged in the dairy business. He was paid one dollar per gallon for milk, which he sold to the miners, and in the winter time he received two dollars per gallon. He had forty cows and conducted a profitable business for four years, on the expiration of which period he carried on the butchering business. When gold was discovered in the Boise basin, stock had greatly depreciated in value, and he resolved to go to the new mining district, so as one of a company of four, he started with a spring wagon, traveling north through the old town of Shasta, tl.en on through Ore- gon to Walla Walla and to Boise, which was then a small place, containing a few adobe houses and a few log cabins, built of cot- tonwood trees. The party, however, continued on their way to the Cortney diggings, in British Columbia, but failed to find the gold for which they had traveled so far and for which they had braved many dangers and hardships.

Mr. Edwards then returned to Lewiston, Idaho, where he engaged in packing miners' sup- plies from that point to Warrens, Elk City, Oro Fino and Montana. On his first trip to Warrens he carried twenty packs, receiving twenty-five cents per pound, and thus making eighty-seven dollars for each animal pack on the trip. There was a great demand for services along that line, and the packers received good pay, but the busi- ness was often accompanied by danger and diffi- culty, so that the men who engaged therein were necessarily possessed of the highest courage. He continued in the business until 1871 and made considerable money, but contracted rheumatism, from which he suffered for eighteen months, and was forced to pay out twenty-five hundred dol- lars of his hard-earned savings for medical treat- ment and to meet other expenses occasioned by his illness. Later he again entered the business, but, finding that he was not physically equal to the task. he went to Warrens, where he was en- gaged in both placer and quartz mining. A part of the time he also conducted a hotel at Warrens, where he made forty-five hundred dollars, and in 1889 he came to Grangeville, where he purchased

the Jersey House, of William Hawley. It was the first hotel built in the town and Mr. Edwards was its popular and successful proprietor until 1893, when he arranged to sell the property for eight thousand dollars. A payment of fifteen hundred dollars was made, but the purchasers allowed it to lapse, and later he sold it to the present owners for seven thousand dollars. It has always been recognized as the best hotel of the town and has enjoyed a liberal patronage. It stands on a large and pretty plot of ground and is very desirably located. Mr. Edwards, since selling the hotel, has occupied a good resi- dence in Grangeville, and is now living a re- tired life. He is also the owner of a number of good farms on which he raises hay and grain. For many years he has witnessed the develop- ment and growth of Idaho and has been an active participant in many of the events which go to form the earlier history of the state as well as the annals of its later progress. He participated in the Sheep-eater Indian war, which occurred in 1879, when, on the south fork of the Sal- mon river savages murdered two men, whose horses they took, after which they went on the war-path, and the white settlers were obliged to leave that part of the country and take refuge in Warrens. Among the number was Mr. Rains, who was obliged to leave his hay in the fields. He was dependent upon this crop for a livelihood and accordingly wanted help to go with him to his farm and finish taking care of the hay. Mr. Edwards and a Mr. Serren volunteered to go, and for some days as they worked in the fields they carried their guns with them, When nearly through the work, however, thinking all danger past, they one day went to the field with- out their arms. It was a hot day and they worked very hard until almost dark, when they were attacked by the Indians, who fired first at the house and then at the men, but missed them. There was a little creek close by and the men dropped into the ravine made by it and tried to run to the house. They got only half way when Mr. Rains was shot dead. Mr. Edwards and Mr. Serren then turned back to seek again the shelter of the creek. The Indians then fired the house, and Mr. Edwards and his companion made their way up the stream to its source. On reaching that point they saw signal fires at dif-

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ferent places, but succeeded in making their way back to Warrens. The man who had been in the house also escaped up a gulch in the dark- ness, but it was almost miraculous that they all got away.

In 1880 Mr. Edwards was united in marriage to Mrs. Mary Rains, widow of the man who had been killed by the Indians. She had two sons by her former husband, Jesse and Henry. The latter died in his eleventh year, but Jesse grew to manhood and is now serving his country as a soldier in the Philippine islands, filling the posi- tion of clerk for General Lipencott. In his polit- ical views Mr. Edwards is a Republican, and while at Warrens acceptably served as justice of the peace for the long term of twelve years. He is a valued member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is a citizen of the highest re- spectability, his identification with the interests of his adopted state having been of material bene- fit thereto.

GEORGE B. HILL.

George B. Hill, of the extensive mercantile firm of Hill & Ballentine, of Bellevue, Idaho, is one of Idaho's prominent business men and states- men. He came, through New England ancestry, of honorable English and German descent, and was born at. Cherry Valley, New York, August 28, 1843. He is of fighting stock, too, his great- grandfather Hill having fought for independence in the Revolution, his grandfather Hill having risked his life for his country in the war of 1812-14, and his father and himself having done battle for the Union in the civil war of 1861-65, the latter yielding up his life on the field in de- fense of the starry flag, while his maternal grand- father Busch fought in the war of 1812-14. Charles Hill, father of George B. Hill, was a native of Barrington, Massachusetts. He became a lawyer of ability and while yet a young man re- moved to Cherry Valley, New York, where he married Margaret Busch, of German descent and a daughter of an old and honored resident of that town. He was a member of the One Hun- dred and Twenty-first New York Volunteer In- fantry and was killed while upon a reconnois- sance in 1864. His good wife, a devout member of the Christian church, survived until 1884, and died in her seventy-ninth year.

George B. Hill was the youngest but one of

the eight children of Charles and Margaret (Busch) Hill. He was being educated in the Cherry Valley Academy for boys, when, in 1861, at the age of eighteen, he enlisted in the Seventy- sixth New York Volunteer Infantry, with which he served in the Army of the Potomac, partici- pating in twenty-two hard-fought battles. In the battle in "the Wilderness," the boy soldier re- ceived a wound in the right thigh, and at Gettys- burg he got a gunshot wound in his foot. After the Wilderness fight he was promoted as second lieutenant. Three months later he was made first lieutenant, and he was in command of his company at the close of the war. He was present at the surrender of General Lee and had the honor of commanding the color company of his regiment at the historic grand review of the vic- torious army at Washington, D. C. He was honorably discharged at Albany, N. Y., July 4, 1865.

He returned to his home at Cherry Valley, and in the spring of 1866 went by steamer by way of Graytown to California. After spending a few months in that state, he went to Virginia City, Nevada, where he was employed as a clerk and became deputy recorder of the city. Later he built the Reno water works, and in 1875 organ- ized what was known as the Carson City Savings Bank, of which for seven years he was cashier and general manager. He subsequently returned to California, where he remained until the spring of 1887, when he came to Bellevue, Idaho, and, in partnership with Colonel Ballentine, opened the extensive general store of which he has since been at the head. Originally a stalwart Repub- lican, he came at last to embrace the principles of the Populist party as being most favorable to his ideas of Abraham Lincoln Republicanism; and since 1892 he has been one of the ablest advocates of them in Idaho. He has six times been elected mayor of Bellevue, and was, in 1898, chosen by his party as its candidate for governor of Idaho; but for business reasons he declined the nomina- tion. He has done much effective campaign work, and when he addresses his fellow citizens on political subjects he speaks from deep con- viction and with great energy and power. He has frequently been invited by his comrades of the Grand Army of the Republic to the honored post of orator of the day on Decoration day. He is a

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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 57

Author: Lewis Publishing Company. cn Publication date: 1899 Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis publishing company Number of Pages: 1014

Author: Lewis Publishing Company. cn
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 1014