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 58
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yours truly GoBS fill
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Son of the Revolution and fought through the long civil war and shed his blood in defense of the Union; and his father gave up his life for the same cause, and, on such occasions, he is moved by the presence of survivors of the great struggle in which he participated and by memories of comrades who sleep in soldiers' graves, and his oratorical spirit is aroused and he speaks with a dramatic intensity that swells into a flood of eloquence carrying all before it. It is doubtful whether in all the country any one can surpass him as a Decoration day orator, for it has been said of him that "his efforts reach the heights of inspired sublimity."
Mr. Hill was married December 17, 1874, to Miss Elizabeth Wheeler, a daughter of M. W. Wheeler, a Mexican war veteran and a California miner of '49, and she is a native of San Jose, California. Their only child, Miss Grace Hill, was educated at the Michigan State Normal School at Ypsilanti and is an enthusiastic young teacher who is destined to make her mark in her profession. Mr. and Mrs. Hill have a beautiful home at Bellevue, where they dispense a gener- ous and far-reaching hospitality.
JAMES KING.
A leading representative of the building inter- ests, of Boise, and the present register of the land office of this city, James King is a native of Pennsylvania, his birth having occurred in Pitts- burg, on the 15th of August, 1832. He is of both German and English descent, his ancestors of those nationalities having settled in New York in 1664. They came with General Braddock and always remained in this land. In the war of the Revolution the family was represented by loyal Americans, who fought for liberty, and through- out many years they were prominently identified with the Presbyterian church. The grandfather of our subject was the first of the name to locate in Pennsylvania. He was an industrious farmer and reached the commonly allotted age of three- score years and ten. His son, Jacob King, the father of our subject, was born in Pennsylvania, July 25, 1799, and married Miss Mary Covert, who represented an English family equally an- cient and honorable. Among her ancestors were likewise found those who aided in throwing off the yoke of British tyranny. Jacob King de-
parted this life in 1883, at the age of eighty-four years, and his wife, who was born in 1804, died in 1878, at the age of seventy-four years.
James King is the second in their family of six children. He was educated in his native city of Pittsburg and is indebted to its public school system for the educational privileges he received. After putting aside his text-books he studied architecture and then went to Missouri, where he was located when Fort Sumter was fired upon and the civil war thus inaugurated. He had anxiously watched the progress of events in the south, and resolved that if an attempt was made at secession he would strike a blow for the preservation of the Union. Therefore at Presi- dent Lincoln's first call for volunteers, he en- listed, in April, 1861, as a member of Company A, First Ohio Infantry, and when his three- months term had expired re-enlisted, remaining at the front until the cessation of hostilities. He served in the quartermaster's department in West Virginia, and was commissioned second lieuten- ant by Governor Dennison, of Ohio.
When the war was over and the country no longer needed his services. Mr. King returned to the north and his family. He was married in 1862 to Miss Sarah B. Gorham, a native of Ohio, descended from early New England ancestry who located in Providence, Rhode Island. Three children were born to them, but at the age of ten, eleven and twenty years respectively they de- parted this life.
On resuming civil pursuits at the close of the war, Mr. King continued in business as an archi- tect, following that vocation in West Virginia until 1888, when he came to Boise. Most of the best buildings of the city have been erected after designs which originated in the brain of Mr. King, and to-day they stand as monuments to his skill in his chosen profession. Since the civil war he has given his political support to the Republi- can party, and in 1898 was appointed by Presi- dent Mckinley to the position of register of the United States land office, at Boise. He is now serving in that capacity, and is most' conscien- tious, faithful and efficient in the discharge of his duties. Since 1860 he has been a member of the Odd Fellows society, and also belongs to the Veterans' League. He is as true to his duties of citizenship to-day as when he followed the
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old starry banner on southern battle-fields, and his record in business, social and political life has left his fair name untarnished.
MANSFIELD C. McGREW.
One of the prominent merchants of Kendrick, and the senior member of the large general mer- cantile firm of McGrew & Carmean, is the gen- tleman whose name heads this sketch,-an enter- prising, energetic man whose keen discrimina- tion in business efforts and indefatigable industry have brought him a success which he well mer- its. A native of Illinois, he was born in Clay county, July 11, 1862, and is of Scotch-Irish lin- eage. His great-grandfather, James McGrew, having emigrated from the Emerald Isle to the New World, settled in Pennsylvania and became the progenitor of the family in the United States. He later became a pioneer of Ohio, where the grandfather, Joseph McGrew, was born in 1804. The latter became a successful farmer and was also a devout Methodist. In 1854 he removed with his family to Clay county, Illinois, where his death occurred, in 1898, at the advanced age of ninety-four years.
James McGrew, the father of our subject, was a native of Clay county, and there married Miss Sarah Adeline Moore, a native of Indiana. Her father died when she was a small child, and she was reared in Illinois. Both of Mr. McGrew's grandmothers died in 1898,-the one on the pa- ternal side at the age of ninety years, the one on the maternal at the age of eighty. On both sides the families were people of the highest respecta- bility. The McGrews were active, energetic and successful in accumulating money, but the Moores were less ambitious, satisfied with enjoy- ing the good things of life as time passed. In the McGrew family of which our subject is a member, are eight children, the eldest being a son, then six daughters, and the youngest a son. All are yet living and are in the enjoyment of good health.
Mansfield C. McGrew, the eldest of the family, was educated in the public schools of his native state, and in the Heyward College, after which he successfully engaged in teaching for four years. In 1889 he came to Idaho, locating first in Moscow, where he engaged in teaching until he took charge of the public schools in Genesee.
Subsequently he was employed as a salesman by J. P. Vollmer, for two years, and his experience in that line determined him to engage in mer- chandising on his own account. Accordingly he organized the Genesee Mercantile Company, with which he was connected for five years, after which he came to Kendrick and opened his pres- ent store, which he has successfully conducted continuously since. In 1899 Mr. Carmean was admitted to a partnership. They do an extensive general mercantile business, occupying a large double store and two warerooms. Their cour- teous treatment of patrons, reasonable prices and correct business policy insure them a large busi- ness, and they are also extensive buyers and ship- pers of grain.
Mr. McGrew was married March 12, 1885, to Miss Aldorah S. Yockey, a native of Iowa, and of German ancestry. They have. six children: Elba; Joy, Beulah, Veva, Portia and Merton C. The parents are leading members of the Metho- dist church, and Mr. McGrew is serving as a member of the board of trustees. He also be- longs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity and the Modern Woodmen of the World, and in his po- litical views is a Democrat. The cause of educa- tion finds him a wise supporter, and he lends his aid and co-operation to all movements intended to advance the material, social, intellectual and moral welfare of the community.
JAMES W. REID.
Idaho has won distinction for the high rank of her bench and bar. Perhaps none of the new- er states can justly boast of abler jurists or attor- neys. Some of them have been men of national fame, and among those whose lives have been passed on a quieter plane there is scarcely a town or city in the state but can boast of one or more lawyers capable of crossing swords in forensic combat with any of the distinguished legal lights of the United States. Idaho certainly has reason to be proud of her legal fraternity. In James W. Reid we find united many of the rare qualities which go to make up the successful lawyer, and he is to-day regarded as one of the most promi- nent representatives of the bar of the state. He possesses perhaps few of those dazzling, meteoric qualities which have sometimes flashed along the legal horizon, riveting the gaze and blinding the
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vision for the moment, then disappearing, leav- ing little or no trace behind; but he has, rather, those solid and more substantial qualities which shine with a constant luster, shedding light in the dark places with steadiness and continuity. He has in an eminent degree that rare ability of say- ing in a convincing way the right thing at the right time. His mind is analytical, logical and inductive, and with a thorough and comprehen- sive knowledge of the fundamental principles of law, he combines a familiarity with statutory law and a sober, clear judgment, which makes him a formidable adversary in legal combat.
Mr. Reid is a native of North Carolina, his birth having occurred in Wentworth, Rocking- ham county, June 1I, 1849. He is of Scotch- Irish descent, but his ancestors have for many generations resided in the south and were par- ticipants in the early history of the country and in the Revolutionary war. Blueford Reid, the great-grandfather of our subject, was a native of Virginia, but became the owner of a farm in Guilford county, North Carolina. He was one of the early followers of the Methodist church in this country, and was a man of sterling worth. He lived to be nearly one hundred years of age. His son, James Reid, the grandfather of our sub- ject, was born in North Carolina and spent his entire life in that state. He was a faithful and devoted minister of the Methodist church, and lived to be seventy-six years of age. His son, Numa F. Reid, was born in North Carolina, was educated in the Emory and Henry College of Virginia, and became an eminent Methodist di- vine. He was a man of superior literary and ora- torical ability, and was a power for good in his holy calling. A large collection of his sermons has been published, and these indicate his su- perior ability. He died in 1873, at the age of forty-nine years, and his death proved a great loss to his family, the church and the world. His wife bore the maiden name of Ann E. Wright. She, too, was a native of North Carolina and of Scotch lineage, but belonged to an equally old American family. Eight children, four sons and four daughters, were born of their union, six of whom are yet living. The mother passed away in 1869, at the age of forty-five years. She was a woman of great amiability and worth of char- acter, and proved to her husband an able assist-
ant in his Christian work, while by all who knew her she was greatly beloved. For many genera- tions her family have been active and devout Presbyterians, and in professional life many of the name have achieved distinction.
James W. Reid was the second in order of birth in the family of eight children. He com- pleted his literary education by his graduation in Emory and Henry College, Virginia, in the class of 1869, and afterward pursued the study of law under private instruction, being licensed to prac- tice in 1873, by the supreme court of North Carolina. He has since been an active member of the profession and has attained considerable prominence in his chosen field of labor. He was not only an able lawyer of North Carolina, but was called to positions of public trust, being elected treasurer of Rockingham county, in 1874, and continuing in that position by re-election for ten years, proving a most capable, efficient and trustworthy officer. He resigned the position in 1884, on his election to congress, being chosen to fill out the unexpired term of General A. M. Scales, who resigned his seat in the forty-eighth congress. At the general election in November, 1884, he was elected a member of the forty-ninth congress, on the Democratic ticket, his opponent being Colonel L. C. Edwards of Granville county. On both occasions he won his victories in a Re- publican district, but in 1886 he was defeated by J. M. Bower, who succeeded in winning the col- ored vote.
In 1887 Mr. Reid came to Idaho, locating in Lewiston, where he has since engaged in the practice of law, having an extensive clientage from all sections of Idaho and even from adjoin- ing states. In his practice he has been eminently successful and has won a foremost place at the Idaho bar. He is well versed in all departments of the law and has been connected with much of the important litigation heard in the courts of this section of the state since his arrival. He is also a recognized leader in political circles. . He was a member of the state constitutional conven- tion in 1889, served as its vice-president and as chairman of the Democratic caucus of that body. He was president of the first Democratic state convention held after the admission of Idaho to the Union, and, at the request of the central ex- ecutive committee, canvassed the entire state
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with the candidate for governor, Hon. Ben. Wil- son. On the establishment of the state univer- sity he was appointed by Governor Stevenson as one of its regents and subsequently reappointed by Governor Willey, serving four years in that capacity. Through his efforts in the constitu- tional convention a term of the state supreme court was located at Lewiston. In January, 1893, he conceived the idea of securing the loca- tion of one of the state normal schools at Lewis- ton and drafted the bill instituting the same and secured its passage in the legislature. He has since been president of its board of trustees, and has been active in promoting its interests and up- building. It stands as a monument to his ef- forts and to his zeal in behalf of education and of the city of his abode. His address delivered be- fore the literary societies of the normal school on the "Glory of Manhood" was one of the finest ever heard in the state,-a most scholarly effort, indicating superior literary talent, deep research and a just conception of the possibilities of our race. In 1894 Mr. Reid was elected a delegate to the Democratic national convention in Chi- cago, and in 1896 presided over both the Demo- cratic state convention and the People's Demo- cratic convention that nominated the state of- ficers who were elected that year.
In 1872 Mr. Reid was united in marriage to Miss Mary F. Ellington, a native of Rocking- ham county, North Carolina, and a daughter of William Ellington, clerk of the superior court of Rockingham county, and a leading merchant there, also a representative of an old American family. Mr. and Mrs. Reid have two daughters: Annie D., a graduate of the old Moravian Col- lege, at Salem, North Carolina; and Lucile, wife of Reuben D. Reid, a son of ex-Governor Reid of North Carolina. The ladies of the family are members of the Presbyterian church and are most highly esteemed in social circles. Mr. Reid is a valued and active member of the Ma- sonic order, has taken the Scottish rite degrees up to and including the thirty-second degree, S. P. R. S. He is now at the head of the Rose Croix and Lodge of Perfection in Lewiston, and is also past deputy grand master of the grand lodge of North Carolina. He also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Knights of Pythias fraternity. He is a man of
high scholarly attainments, and his prominence at the bar is the merited tribute to his ability. Socially he is deservedly popular, as he is affa- ble and courteous in manner and possesses that essential qualification to success in public life,- that of making friends readily and of strengthen- ing the ties of friendship as time advances.
CHARLES SNYDER.
Charles Snyder is the proprietor of the Julia- etta Hotel, and is practically one of the founders of the town, having secured the establishment of the post-office, and also promoted many of the leading enterprises of the place. His labors have been most effective in its upbuilding, and his name is therefore inseparably connected with its . history.
Mr. Snyder is of German birth. He first opened his eyes to the light of day on the 8th of November, 1827, and is of honorable German ancestry. He was educated in his native land, learned the cabinet-maker's trade, and in 1850 bade adieu to friends and fatherland, preparatory to trying his fortune in the United States. When he came to this country he was entirely ignorant of the language of the people, but possessed na- tive intelligence, a good knowledge of his trade and was energetic and ambitious, and through the combination of these qualities he has secured a handsome and creditable competence. Land- ing at New York he thence made his way to Cleveland, Ohio, where he worked two years. He then went to Detroit, Michigan, and accepted a position in the car shops, where he remained three years, and in 1855 he went to Kansas. That state was just opening up to civilization. He located at Wyandotte, just across the river from the present site of Kansas City, helped plat the town and had a tenth interest in it. After two years spent there he believed that the town would not amount to anything, and consequently abandoned interests which, had he retained them, would make him to-day an independently wealthy man. In 1857 he opened a carpenter shop in Kansas City, then a small town.
In 1859 Mr. Snyder was united in marriage to Miss Augusta Keck, a native of Poland. She came with her parents to America when ten years of age and was married at the age of twenty, her husband being then thirty-four years of age.
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They have reared a family of ten children, six sons and four daughters. It is now forty years since the wedding took place, and the parents and children are all yet living, and constitute a well informed, and highly respected family, of which fact Mr. Snyder has every reason to be proud. In 1861 he went to New York, where he took passage for San Francisco, California, going by way of the isthmus route, and arriving safely at his destination some weeks later. He located with his family in Sacramento, where he estab- lished a cabinet shop, working at his trade for two years. With the hope of making money more rapidly, he decided to join in the search for gold and went to the mines at Aurora, Nevada county, where he followed mining for seven years. He was the owner of the Garibaldi quartz mine, which was a good producer, but he had no mill, and the expense of hiring the ore crushed was so great that he only managed to make good wages and not to secure wealth at a rapid rate. From that point he went to Reno, being one of the first settlers. He aided in platting the town, established a store and conducted it for a year, after which he removed to Wadsworth and built a hotel. After continuing in that business for a year he sold out and removed to Folsom, Sacra- mento county, California, where he engaged in placer mining for six years, meeting with good success. He took out nuggets that were worth three dollars and a half, but thinking he had mostly exhausted the claim he sold to a China- man, who afterward took out quite a large amount of gold.
In 1877 Mr. Snyder came to Idaho and secured a claim of government land in Latah county, on the American ridge. This he improved and oper- ated for five years and then sold it for four thou- sand dollars, after which he removed to what is now the town site of Juliaetta. He established the postoffice here and named it in honor of his two bright daughters, Julia and Etta. He was instrumental in forming a school district and opening the first school, and also opened a gen- eral mercantile store, selling goods to the In- dians. When Mr. Schupfer platted his home- stead for a town, Mr. Snyder moved his store and post-office upon the site, and the town began to grow. He continued actively in merchandising until 1893, when he traded his stock of goods for
the hotel building which he now occupies. He has enlarged and improved the place, and now has a very excellent hotel for a town the size of Juliaetta. A pleasant, genial host, he is assisted by his family in keeping a creditable hotel at rea- sonable rates, and all who enjoy his hospitality hold him in high regard. In 1894 Mr. Snyder went to Santa Barbara, California, and bought a fine twenty-acre fruit orchard, for which he paid eight thousand dollars. It is his intention to spend the evening of a useful and honorable life in that beautiful district, to which he will remove in October of the present year-probably before this work is issued from the press.
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Snyder are Julia, wife of Albert Patten, Robert, Nettie, Frank, Charles, William, Daisy, George, Gus and Clara. In his political views Mr. Snyder is a Democrat, and he has held the office of notary public for fourteen years. He has made a val- table citizen in the land of his adoption and is held in the highest regard.
HENRY DORSEY.
Henry Dorsey, deceased, formerly the propri- etor of the Dorsey Cottage Hotel, at Mountain Home, was born in Hancock county, Ohio, in February, 1853, and traced his ancestors back to German and Scotch people who located in Penn- sylvania at an early epoch in the history of the Keystone state. His father, David Dorsey, wa's born in Pennsylvania, and married Miss Rosana Wyant, also a native of that locality. In 1821, soon after their marriage, they started westward and located in the midst of the unbroken forests of Ohio. Mr. Dorsey was a farmer by occupa- tion, and in order to prepare land for cultivation at his new home he felled the first tree that had ever been cut upon what is now the site of the city of Findlay, Hancock county, Ohio. He was one of the honored pioneers of that locality, bearing a very important part in the work of development and im- provement, and at an early day he served as justice of the peace and county commissioner. He was a man of ability and worth, and exerted marked influence in his township and county. His death occurred when he had reached the ripe old age of eighty years, and his wife departed this life at the age of fifty-three years. In the family
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were eight children, Henry, who was the young- est, being but three years of age at the time of the mother's death.
Reared on the home farm, he began work in the fields as soon as old enough to manage the plow, and was thus employed through the sum- mer months, while in the winter season he at- tended the public schools. In 1872, when nine- teen years of age, he came to the territory of Idaho, locating in Silver City, where he worked for his brother, David Dorsey, who at that time owned a meat market in the town. Later our subject engaged in packing, mining and con- tracting, and for several years owned and oper- ated the ferry across Snake river, at the place then called Dorsey's Ferry, but now known as Grand View. After continuing in that line of business for six years he sold out to the Owyhee Land & Irrigating Company, and in 1888 came to Mountain Home, after which time he was numbered among its leading and influential citi- zens. For a few years he engaged in freighting, carrying supplies to the mining camps at Rocky Bar.
In 1889 Mr. Dorsey was united in marriage to Mrs. S. J. Pattee. By her former marriage she had a daughter named Ethel, who is now at- tending school in Des Moines, Iowa. Mr. Dor- sey purchased six lots and erected thereon the building now known as the Cottage Hotel, plant- ing shade and fruit trees and making this a very valuable and attractive place. In 1895 Mr. Dor- sey and his wife, realizing the need of a well kept and comfortable hotel, determined to engage in that line of business, arranged their house for the purpose, and thenceforward there was no more popular host and hostess than this worthy couple, who spared no pains to enhance the convenience and pleasure of their guests. They had well kept rooms, a good table and received a liberal share of the public patronage. The Traveling Men's Union selected the Cottage Hotel as headquar- ters when in Mountain Home. They were obliged to rent rooms in the locality in order to entertain some of their guests, and, as indicated, enjoyed a large and profitable business.
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