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 8

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 8

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that vantage point upon the fort in the day-time. Their object was to pick off anyone that appeared outside the walls. One morning the Captain thought that, with a few men, he would take possession of the reservoir first, and when the Indians came give them a warm reception. He started, gun in hand. It was a doubled-barreled gun, one side loaded with a ball, the other with buckshot. He had made his way some distance in advance of the men, when a little shepherd . dog that had followed him began to sniff and whine, which warned him that the Indians were ahead of him. Putting his gun to his shoulder, he waited until an Indian head appeared on the edge of the reservoir. He then fired, and the Indian fell, but all the other Indians rose and fired at him. Just as he fired, however, he sat then started on a run for the fort, but in that race for life his clothes were completely riddled, although not a bullet entered his body. He was in twenty Indian battles, always in the thickest of the fight. After the war a chief told him that he had shot at him many times, hoping to kill him, but had failed, and they thought he bore a charmed life.

HISTORY OF IDAHO.

City and sold the first goods there, after which he was connected with a large mercantile house in Florence. In 1862 he was elected joint coun- cilman from Idaho and Nez Perces counties. In the fall of that year the Boise Basin was discov- ered, and he had command of a company of sixty-six men, who traveled across the mountains to that place. When they arrived at Squaw creek, Lieutenant Standeford and eight men formed an advance guard ahead of the main body. They were attacked by Indians, and Captain Bledsoe then took thirty men, leaving the others with the pack train, and fought the Indians, driving them back across Little Squaw creek and over Big Squaw creek to what is now a part of Calvin Beard's ranch. Night ended the fight. The pack train camped on Little Meadows, and captured five squaws and some children, from which inci- dent Squaw creek received its name. The party afterward continued on their way to the point on the Boise river where the beautiful city of Boise now stands. At that time there was no house nearer than Auburn, Oregon. They drove the Indians from the river and went on to the Boise Basin, where they found Marion Moore and his party, who had arrived four days previously. They located claims and Captain Bledsoe and Tom Hart washed the first pan of dirt in the vicinity of Placerville, about a half mile below the present site of the town. They secured gold to the value of twenty-five cents out of this first pan. After looking over the country in this vi- cinity Captain Bledsoe started for Olympia, Washington, to attend the meeting of the legis- lature. He framed the bill that organized Boise county, and the following year Idaho was sepa- rated from Washington. He has held various positions of honor and trust, and was a promi- nent candidate for governor of Idaho, President Cleveland being strongly urged to appoint him chief executive of the territory. For the past twenty years he has been extensively engaged in quartz and placer mining, and is a thorough mining expert. His efforts in the development of the mineral resources of the state brought him a handsome competence and at the same time have contributed to the general welfare.

On the Ist of July, 1858, near Corvallis, Ore- gon, was celebrated the marriage of Captain Bled- soe and Miss Helen Kinney. They have six

children,-three sons and three daughters: Sadie, who became the wife of L. Vineyard, died August 9, 1893, leaving two children, who are residing with their grandfather; Annie, wife of William F. Galbraith, a druggist of Boise; R. J., a farmer of Boise: Eulalie, wife of W. N. Northrop, a hardware merchant; John M., who is in the en- gineer corps at Honolulu; and Lloyd, at home.

In politics the Captain has been a life-long Democrat, and the official positions he has filled have been accorded him by reason of his merit and sterling worth. He has been an important factor in the military, political and industrial in- terests of the state, an honored pioneer who de- serves the gratitude of his fellow men for what he has done for the northwest. When the pres- ent shall have become the past, his name will be revered as one of the founders of the state of Idaho, and as one of the heroes who carried civilization into the wild districts of this great region.

NEAL J. SHARP.

Many elements combine to make this brief biographical sketch an interesting one. It reaches back into the early history of our coun- try, and has to do with the development of the new west.

Neal J. Sharp, register of the United States land office at Hailey, was born in Fulton county, Illinois, July 14, 1833, of Scotch ancestry. His great-grandfather, Joseph L. Sharp, settled in Virginia and founded the town of Sharpsburg, which was named in his honor. His grandfather, James R. Sharp, was born in Tennessee, and fought gallantly for American independence in the war of the Revolution. Joseph L. Sharp, son of the patriot just mentioned, was also born in Tennessee, and did duty as a soldier in the Black- hawk war and in the war with Mexico. He mar- ried Matilda Singleton, of Irish lineage, whose ancestors were among the very early settlers in the south, and some of whom fought the British in Revolutionary days. By profession he was a lawyer, and he was a man of much force of char- acter who was prominent wherever his lot was cast. He was elected to the legislature of Illinois and to that of Iowa, and was president of the first council of the Nebraska legislature. He died in his eighty-third year, his wife in her fifty-fifth.

HISTORY OF IDAHO.

They had three sons and three daughters, of whom four survive.

Neal J. Sharp, their eldest son, received the rudiments of an education in the public schools near his early home in Illinois, but is a fine ex- ample of the self-educated gentleman. widely read, alive to every question of the day reminis- cent as to the history of the past. He was nine- teen years old when he went to Iowa. He read law with D. H. Sullivan, a prominent lawyer there, and was admitted to the bar in Nebraska in 1857. He began the practice of his profession and was meeting with success when the civil war broke out. In prompt answer to President Lin- coln's call for troops, he enlisted, May 2, 1861, in Company A, First Nebraska Volunteer In- fantry, and was mustered into the service as sec- ond lieutenant. He served in the army of Ten- nessee and took part in the battles of Pilot Knob, Fort Donelson, Pittsburg Landing, the siege of Corinth and the battle with the army of Price at Cape Girardeau. At Fort Donelson he was promoted for meritorious conduct to a first lieu- tenancy, and at Corinth he was brevetted cap- tain. He was mustered out of the service in 1863, and in 1864 took up his residence in Vir- ginia City for a time.

Since that time he has been continuously en- gaged in the practice of the law and in looking after mining interests. In partnership with three others, he owns copper mines on Lost river, in Custer county. They have sixteen claims and two fractions, and are developing the property with judicious rapidity. They now have one thousand tons of ore on the dump and fifty thou- sand tons in sight, and their miner is under bonds in the sum of one hundred and fifty thou- sand dollars. Mr. Sharp has other important mining interests in the Wood river and Salmon river country, on which his annual assessments aggregate one thousand eight hundred dollars. He is the owner of large tracts of land and valu- able water rights in Custer county, and his in- vestments in these are regarded as very promis- ing.

Mr. Sharp was happily married, in 1855, to Miss Ellen Trammell, a native of Tennessee, who died in 1862, after having borne him three chil- dren, two of whom are living. Ada is the wife of Horatio L. Wood, editor of the Red Rock

(Texas) Review. Belle became the wife of Joseph Ferris, a prosperous farmer of Fremont county, Wyoming. In 1865 Mr. Sharp married Miss Nancy A. Morgan, a native of Missouri, who bore him one daughter, who died in infancy. Mrs. Sharp is a lady of much culture and refine- ment, prominent in society and a helpful member of the Congregational church.

. There is no more popular man in this part of the state than Neal J. Sharp, popularly and af- fectionately known as Colonel Sharp. He is an influential Republican, and his appointment by President Mckinley as register of the land office at Hailey met with general approval. He is per- forming his duties of the office in a manner en- tirely satisfactory to every one concerned. He has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows since 1866, and has passed all the chairs in both branches of the order. He was the organizer of Lincoln Post, No. 15, Grand Army of the Republic, and is one of its past com- manders. He has had an ample and successful experience as a lawyer, and any one who knows him is certain that any case will be as safe in his hands as ability and honesty can make it. He was for seven years district attorney of Custer county, and has gone into history as a model guardian of the people's legal rights. He has fulfilled every obligation of life manfully, and is in every way worthy of the high esteem in which he is held by his fellow citizens.

HENRY HEITFELD.

In considering the career of the present United States senator for Idaho, Hon. Henry Heitfeld, we are led to the following reflections :

It is a well-attested maxim that the greatness of a state lies not in its machinery for govern- ment, nor even in its institutions, but in the ster- ling qualities of its individual citizens, in their capacity for high and unselfish effort and their devotion to the public good. An enumeration of those men of the present generation who have won honor and public recognition for themselves and at the same time have honored the state to which they belong, would be incomplete were there failure to make prominent reference to the one whose name initiates this paragraph. He has attained distinction in the business world and is

J.J. gomes

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a recognized leader in political circles in Idaho. He has been and is distinctively a man of affairs, and one who has wielded a wide influence. A strong mentality, an invincible courage, a most determined individuality have so entered into his makeup as to render him a natural leader of men and a director of opinion.

Henry Heitfeld was born in St. Louis, Mis- souri, June 12, 1859. His parents were natives of Germany, and on their emigration to America, in the early '50s, located in St. Louis, where the father, by his well-directed efforts and indefati- gable energy, won a handsome competence and was widely known as a successful merchant. Both he and his wife were members of the Cath- olic church and were people of the highest prob- ity of character. Mr. Heitfeld passed away in 1867, at the age of thirty-eight years, and his wife died in 1892, at the age of sixty-three years:

Henry Heitfeld, the elder of their two sons, was educated in St. Louis, and in his youth worked at farming for some time. He afterward learned the mason's trade, and in 1882 went to the Pacific coast, securing employment in a flour- ing mill in Pomeroy, Washington, where he re- mained for several months. He also located three hundred and sixty acres of land in the big bend of the Columbia river. Subsequently he worked in the car-shops of the Northern Pacific Railroad, and on leaving that employ purchased a farm in Nez Perces county, Idaho, where he engaged in stock-raising with excellent success. Never scorning any honest labor that would yield him a livelihood, he has steadily advanced in his business affairs, continually adding to his finan- cial resources until he is now the possessor of a valuable property,-the merited reward of his well-directed labors.

From the time he attained his majority until 1892 Mr. Heitfeld was an advocate of the Demo- cratic party and supported its men and measures. Favoring the free and unlimited coinage of silver, a question which he deemed vital to the welfare of his country, he severed his connection with the old party in the year mentioned and allied his interests with the Populist party. He has since been very active and zealous in the promulgation of his views on the money question, and upon this issue he won the nomination for state sen-

ator in 1894. He was elected to that office, was re-elected in 1896 and made such a splendid rec- ord that he was chosen by the Idaho assembly to represent the state in the highest legislative body of the nation, being elected to the United States senate on the 28th of January, 1897. He has served through one session,-one of the most important in the history of the country, and his record reflects credit upon the state and people whom he represents. He is a man of firm con- viction, fearless in defense of his views, and his opinions are the result of careful study and ma- ture deliberation.

In 1884 Mr. Heitfeld was united in marriage to Miss Anna Jacobs, a native of Minnesota and a lady of German descent. They have five children, as follows: . Mary T., Stephen F., Louis G., Walter B. and Elaine A. The family is one of prominence in Lewiston, the hospitality of the best homes being readily accorded them. The Senator is a representative of our best type of American manhood and chivalry. By persever- ance, determination and honorable effort he has overthrown the obstacles which barred his path to success and reached the goal of prosperity, while his genuine worth, broad mind and public spirit have made him a director of public thought and action.

T. J. JONES.

On the roll of Idaho's distinguished lawyers is the name of T. J. Jones, of Boise. Faithfulness to duty and strict adherence to a fixed purpose in life will do more to advance a man's interests than wealth or adventitious circumstances. The successful men of the day are they who have planned their own advancement and have accom- plished it in spite of many obstacles and with a certainty that could have been attained only through their own efforts. This class of men has a worthy representative in T. J. Jones, who began life amid unfavoring circumstances in the coal mines of Pennsylvania.

Born in Montour county, Pennsylvania, in 1857, he is of Welsh lineage. His father, David Jones, was born in a little county of Wales, whence he emigrated to America, locating in the Keystone state, where he married Miss Anna Naughton. He was a Baptist minister, and

HISTORY OF IDAHO.

served as an officer in the war with Mexico. He died in 1861, from injuries received in said war, leaving a wife and five children.

The subject of this review was only four years old at the time of his father's death. He spent his childhood and youth in the state of his na- tivity, and when only eight years of age began earning his own livelihood by working in the coal mines. Thus he was employed for seven years, when he shipped before the mast, sailing for three years on the great lakes and on the ocean. He next engaged in railroading for a time, and subsequently emigrated to Nebraska, where he took up a claim of government land and engaged in raising horses and cattle. Dur- ing these years his education had been sadly neglected. Being forced to provide for his own maintenance he had no opportunity of attending school, and feeling very much the need of men- tal training he determined to acquire an educa- tion. Accordingly, at the age of twenty-seven, having at that time never attended school, he be- came a student in the Hastings College, at Hast- ings, Nebraska; later he attended the Free Meth- odist College, at Orleans, in the same state, and then took a course in the Bryant Business Col- lege, of Republican City, Nebraska, and in 1888 was graduated in the Mallalieu University at Bartley, Nebraska. The latent powers of a nat- urally bright intellect were thus awakened, and he developed a strong intellectuality that colors all of his labors. In the mean time he began read- ing law, which he completed in Scranton, Penn- sylvania. A sojourn in Florida was followed by a brief stay in Alabama, but he was driven from the latter state by the yellow fever, and returned to Nebraska, where he was admitted to the bar. His next place of residence was Burlington, Col- orado, where he successfully practiced his pro- fession. He was the first county attorney of Kit Carson county, Colorado, and the second mayor of Burlington. He served as attorney for the prosecution in the great Hatch case at Colorado Springs, Colorado, and during his practice in that state was connected with important litigation, his practice being very extensive.

In 1890 Mr. Jones came to Boise, Idaho, and has won an enviable position at the bar of this state. He has gained a large clientage, and, handling many intricate problems of law, has dis-

played great ability and a comprehensive under- standing of the principles of jurisprudence. He has also figured prominently in public affairs in the city and state. While engaged in farming and stock-raising in Nebraska he became deeply in- terested in the Grange movement, and for three years served as deputy state lecturer of that or- ganization, during which time he was instrumen- tal in establishing many local granges in the state. In his political expression, for two years he voted with the Prohibition party, and later became an advocate of the principles of the Peo- ple's party. In 1892 he was the only one of two state speakers of that party in Idaho, and con- ducted a powerful and effective campaign, he be- ing recognized as one of the leading and able public speakers of the state. In 1893 he was a candidate for city attorney, on the People's party ticket, and was defeated although he received a large vote. In 1894 he was a candidate on the same ticket for district attorney and ran one thou- sand five hundred votes ahead of his ticket. In 1894-6 he again campaigned the state for his party. During these campaigns he was especially noted for the masterly and clear manner in which he presented the issues before the people, his eloquence and logic being largely commented on by the people and press of the state. In 1898 he was a delegate to both meetings of the state central committee of the People's party, and in the absence of the regular chairman he was elect- ed provisional chairman, and presided until the time of the state convention, which assembled in August, 1898. At that time he was the unani- mous choice of the convention as the candidate for governor, but declined that nomination in favor of Hon. D. H. Andrews. He was then unanimously chosen as candidate for justice of the supreme court.

In addition to his general law practice, Mr. Jones has extensive mining interests, and is the attorney for several corporations, he having to a remarkable degree in his public and private af- fairs the confidence of both capital and labor.

In 1892, in Boise, Idaho, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Jones and Miss Winifred Cullen, a native of Missouri, and a daughter of Paul Cul- len, a well-known pioneer of Utah. They have two children,-Felix and Paul. Theirs is a de- lightful home, where the evidences of culture in-

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dicate the refined taste of the inmates. Beautiful grounds surround the house, which is located at the corner of Fifth and Myrtle streets, and many friends enjoy the hospitality which there reigns supreme. Both Mr. and Mrs. Jones hold mem- bership in the Catholic church, and their support is given many measures intended for the public good.

HON. JOHN C. RICE.

John Campbell Rice, president of the Com- mercial Bank of Caldwell and a prominent mem- bér of the bar of Canyon county, is numbered among the native sons of Illinois, his birth hav- ing occurred in Cass County, that state, January 27, 1864. He is of Welsh descent, tracing his ancestry back to the Welsh emigrants of the name who located in the colony of Massachusetts during the early settlement of America. Later, members of the family removed to Tennessee. The grandfather, Ebenezer Rice, removed with his family from Tennessee to Illinois in 1839. Elbert Gallatin Rice, the father, was born in Tennessee in 1823, and was accordingly sixteen years of age when he accompanied his parents to the Prairie state, their home being in what was then Morgan county, but is now Scott coun- ty. In his younger years he adhered to the faith of the Baptist church, but afterward united with the Christian church and entered the work of the ministry. By occupation he was a farmer and owned and operated a tract of land, but each Sun- day he was found in the house of worship pro- claiming the gospel to those who sought to know of the better life. His death occurred in the sixty- ninth year of his age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Ann Camp, was a relative of General Putnam and a great-granddaughter of General Putnam's brother William. Mrs. Rice was of English descent, her ancestors being among the early settlers of Connecticut. She is still living, in the seventy-third year of her age, and is a most estimable lady whose many virtues have endeared her to a large circle of friends.

John C. Rice of this review is the eighth in order of birth in a family of ten children, all of whom still survive. He was reared under the parental roof and completed his literary educa- tion in the Illinois College, at Jacksonville, where · he was graduated in the class of 1885. Subse-

quently he engaged in teaching mathematics in his alma mater for a year, and then entered upon the study of law in the Michigan State Univer- sity, at Ann Arbor. His professional course was terminated by his graduation in Cornell College, in 1890, after which he entered upon the practice of law in Caldwell, where he has built up a large clientage. He has a broad and thorough under- standing of the principles of jurisprudence, and is very careful to conform to a high standard of professional ethics. He is also connected with other business interests, having been one of the organizers of the Commercial Bank, at which time he was elected president and has since served in that capacity. By judicious manage- ment this has become one of the leading banking institutions in this part of the state, and the re- liability of the stockholders has secured it a liberal patronage.

On the 2d of October, 1895, Mr. Rice was united in marriage to Miss Maude Beshears, of Caldwell, Idaho, and they have two interesting little sons, Elbert Gallatin and Homer Beshears. Mr. and Mrs. Rice are connected with the Chris- tian church, of which he is one of the charter members and also one of the elders. He takes an active interest in its work and is an exemplary member of Essene Lodge, No. 22, A. F. & A. M., of Caldwell, in which he is past master. His political support is given the Democracy. He was elected a member of the fourth state legis- lature, and during his service was chairman of the house judiciary committee. Although a young man he has attained eminence in profes- sional and political life, and the future will un- doubtedly hold still higher honors for him, for a man of marked ability and energy is always in demand in connection with the important activi- ties of business and public life.

SOLOMON HASBROUCK.

One of the best known pioneer settlers of the state of Idaho is Solomon Hasbrouck, who is now serving as clerk of the supreme court and is accounted one of the leading and influential citi- zens of Boise. He is numbered among the sons of the Empire state, his birth having occurred in New Paltz, Ulster county, New York, on the 30th of May, 1833. He is a descendant of Hol-

HISTORY OF IDAHO.

land Dutch ancestry, and at an early period in the history of the state the family was founded within its borders. Solomon P. Hasbrouck, the grandfather of our subject, was a prominent lum- ber manufacturer and merchant and carried on business .on such an extensive scale and employed so great a force of workmen that he was called the "king of Centerville." His son, Alexander Hasbrouck, father of our subject, was born in Centerville, and there spent his entire life. pass- ing away in 1894, at the age of eighty-six years. At the age of twenty-three he married Miss Rachel Elting, a native of his own county, and after that conducted a farm about three miles from Centerville for twenty-five years. He then moved to New York city, where for five years he was in business in Washington market. Then he came to Idaho and lived with his son Solomon until his decease. He and his wife were valued members of the Methodist church and were held in the highest regard by all who knew them. She departed this life when our subject was but five years of age.

Our subject is now the only survivor of the family, his only sister having also departed this life. He was reared on a farm at the place of his birth, and during the summer months assisted in the labors of field and meadow, while in the win- ter season he attended the public schools. At the age of sixteen he secured a clerkship in a store, serving in that capacity for four years. In 1854 he sailed from New York to San Francisco, by way of the isthmus, and engaged in mining at Nevada City until 1860. He made considerable money for a time, but afterward sunk it in other mining ventures. He next went to Santa Bar- bara, California, where he secured a claim of one hundred and sixty acres, but finding this mostly worthless he never perfected a title and it re- turned to the government. In 1861 he went to Portland, Oregon, where he met an old friend, R. E. Halleck, with whom, in the spring, he trav- eled from Eugene City, Oregon, to Granite creek, the journey being made with pack animals.

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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 8

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