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 91
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Mr. Crow married, in 1882, Miss Sarah E. Murphy, a native of McHenry county, Illinois. Mrs. Crow is an active and useful member of
the Methodist church, and Mr. Crow, while not one of its communicants, is one of its ardent and generous supporters. Mrs. Crow possesses much musical talent, which has been cultivated most generously, and she is an invaluable help in the musical department of the church work. No children have been born to bless their union and they have an adopted daughter, Emma Owena Crow, who has been to them as their own child since she was two weeks old.
JUDGE CHARLES F. MOLDEN.
Young shoulders that bend beneath unnatural responsibilities which may not be laid aside be- come strong shoulders, and young brains that must plan and direct the work of bread-winning become active and practical, and the boy who makes success from ruin, as manv a boy has done, is pretty apt to develop into a successful man of affairs. Such a boy was Charles F. Molden, and such a man is this boy grown to maturity, who is the present judge of probate of Blackfoot, Bingham county, Idaho.
Judge Molden was born in Germany, March 4, 1862, a son of Fredrick and Bertha (Febing) Molden, both of whom descended from old Ger- man families. In 1872 when the future Judge Molden was only ten years old, Mr. and Mrs. Molden came with their family of seven sons to the United States and located at Black River Falls, Wisconsin. Mr. Molden had been steward of a large estate in his native land and he became a farmer in the New World. In the spring of 1873, scarcely a year after his settlement in Wis- consin, he died at the age of fifty-eight years. His wife survived him, and died at the age of sixty-nine years, in 1886. It was now that Judge Molden was brought face to face with the stern- est necessity of his life. His mother and his younger brothers must be provided for, and the task devolved largely on him. He sold fish and berries and did anything that was honest that any one would pay him for doing. He proved him- self a good boy, willing to work, and as time passed his opportunities improved. He attended school when he could, read and studied in his spare moments and managed to educate him- self to an extent, and he kept the wolf from the door for those who were dependent upon him. Some of the younger boys came to his assistance
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later, and by hard effort and skillful management he not only supported the family, but paid for the farm, which he operated for years, and which he still owns.
In 1894 Mr. Molden came to Idaho and lo- cated on a ranch three miles west of Blackfoot, where he has a fine home and raises fruit and cattle. He also deals in cattle quite extensively, buying and shipping them to eastern markets.
Judge Molden has, as a Democrat, interested himself actively and intelligently in politics. He was chairman of the Democratic county conven- tion of 1898, and received the Democratic nomi- nation for the office of judge of probate. Later there was a fusion of the county Democracy with the silver Republicans. The election that ensued was a signal test of Mr. Molden's personal popu- larity. While the entire fusion ticket was elected, Mr. Molden was elected by one hundred and forty-eight majority. As a trial judge he has been very successful, his decisions having been in accordance with the law and the evidence and not one of them having been reversed by an appellate court.
Judge Molden was married August 3, 1886, to Miss Anna Lee, a native of Red Wing, Minne- sota. They have three daughters, named Clara, Mabel and Hazel. Mr. and Mrs. Molden are menibers of the Methodist church, and the Judge is a member of the Woodmen of America.
SYLVESTER WERNETH.
Sylvester Werneth came to America from the Fatherland. He was born in Germany, on the 29th of December, 1856, and when eight years of age crossed the Atlantic with his parents, the family locating in Wisconsin, whence they after- ward removed to Springfield, Illinois. In the capital city of the Prairie state he acquired his education in the public schools and was there reared to manhood. When about sixteen years of age he entered upon an independent business career, learning the brewer's trade, at which he worked in St. Louis, Missouri, and in California. In 1886 he came to Weiser, Idaho, and purchased the little brewery in the old town. He has since successfully carried on the brewing business, in- creasing his facilities to meet the growing de- mands of his trade, until he now has the best equipped and one of the largest breweries in the
state. In 1897 he purchased a large lot in the new section of Weiser, near the depot and in the business center, and erected thereon a large brick building, ninety by seventy feet, and two stories and basement in height. The brewing department is twenty-five by fifty feet, all of brick and substantially built-the best brewing plant in the state. He manufactures a fine article of beer and has a large home trade, besides ship- ping quite extensively to various places in the northwest. He also owns a good residence and grounds in the city.
In 1885 Mr. Werneth married Miss Mary Fisherkiller, a native of Illinois, but of German descent. They have four children, namely: Tre- sea Ellen, Mary Francis, Ethel Julia and Louis Sylvester. In his political views our subject is a Democrat, but has never sought or desired office, preferring to give his time and attention to his business interests, in which he is meeting with excellent success. His prosperity is the reward of his own unaided and well directed efforts, and to-day he ranks among the representative resi- dents of his adopted city.
JOHN HALLENBECK.
In March, 1864, John Hallenbeck became a resident of Silver City, and from that time until his death, throughout the period of pioneer de- velopment and latter-day progress, he was promi- nently identified with its upbuilding and inter- ests. A native of the Empire state, he was born in Albany, October 24, 1830, and was of Holland lineage. His ancestors were among the early settlers of New York and participated in the events which form the colonial and Revolution- ary history of that state. The maternal grand- father of our subject was also one of the heroes of the war for independence, and his wife after- ward received a pension in recognition of his services. He lived to be seventy-eight years of age, while her death occurred when she had at- tained the advanced age of eighty-seven.
Mathew Hallenbeck, the father of our subject, was born in New York, and married Catharine Shoudy, a native of the same state. He devoted his energies to many pursuits, having been a car- penter and joiner, also a teacher of music and a teacher in the public schools. In 1841 he re- moved with his family to Syracuse, New York,
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and in 1854 to Cordova, Illinois, where he re- sided up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1878. Both he and his wife were members of the Dutch Reformed church, and they had a fam- ily of twelve children, nine of whom grew to years of maturity, while three sons and four daughters are yet living.
John Hallenbeck spent his early boyhood days on his father's farm, near Syracuse, New York, and assisted in the labors of the fields through the summer months while in the winter season he pursued his education in the public schools. At the age of seventeen he started out to fight the battles of life unaided, and that victory crowned his efforts was due to his untiring dili- gence, perseverance and enterprise. He was first employed as a clerk in a little store in Orville, New York, where he remained for three years, during which time he was made its manager. The state was then building an aqueduct at that place, and the house boarded all of the of . ficers engaged in the management of the enter- prise. The superintendent became quite inter- ested in young Hallenbeck, and after completing his work there and becoming superintendent of the Delaware & Chesapeake canal, he sent for our subject, who left the little grocery store and was employed on the canal until its completion, having charge of the construction of the large reservoir adjoining the exit lock. His next work, under the same superintendent, was on the en- larging of the Erie canal at Black Rock, where he remained for a year, when, his task being fin- ished, he visited Baltimore, Norfolk, Richmond and Washington, viewing the various points of interest in the different cities.
After this little period of recreation, Mr. Hal- lenbeck engaged once more in canal construc- tion, in the capacity of foreman at Weedsport, New York. He made considerable money in this way. but spent it freely. Later he was con- nected with the engineer's corps as leveler until the fall of 1858, when the discovery of gold at Pike's Peak excited the entire country. In the spring of 1859 he started for Colorado, accom- panied by a party named Benham, whose ex- penses he agreed to pay upon condition that he was to receive half of what Mr. Benham could make for two years. They left Weedsport, New York, for Illinois, where Mr. Hallenbeck's par-
ents were then residing, and there engaged pass- age on ox trains bound for "Pike's Peak or bust," and under the charge of two men, Duffee and Addison by name. While at home preparing for the trip Mr. Hallenbeck was accidentally shot in the arm by his partner, which detained him for a few weeks. but when the party could no longer delay he started with them, although entirely un- fit for travel. They journeyed on toward the Eldorado of the west, through mud and snow, over slush and bad roads,-a six weeks' trip through Iowa, during which they encountered innumerable storms. At length they reached the Missouri river, at Plattsburg, where they met the returning tide of emigration, declaring the dig- gings a humbug. The captains of the ox teams decided to return and refused to refund Mr. Hal- lenbeck's money, but he succeeded in getting his money at the point of a revolver, and with his partner decided to try and overtake a party en route for California. Thev went to Glenwood, twenty-five miles distant from Council Bluffs, and engaged passage on the stage. It arrived at 12:30 and departed at 1 P. M., but it was too crowded to take on any more passengers, and they decided to walk the distance to Council Bluffs. They made their way in the moonlight over a rolling prairie, sending their baggage by stage, and the next morning reached their destination tired and hungry. Mr. Hallenbeck, however, could not eat, and after taking a cup of coffee ordered a hack to take them to the river. When they climbed the bluffs at Omaha the California party was just starting on its long trip across the plains. There were twenty wagons, fifty-seven men, three women and a few children, the party being under command of Captain George Pierce. Mr. Hallenbeck engaged passage for himself and partner to Hangtown, California, for one hun- dred and twenty dollars. They had the privilege of riding all the way in a wagon fitted up to carry ten people, and all they had to do was totake their turn in standing guard once a week. The trip was an exciting one, owing to the stampedes of the stock and the danger of Indian attacks, and for nearly three and a half months they traveled in that way across the hot sands and through the mountain passes until they arrived at Placerville, California, September 8, 1859, having left Omaha on the 22d of May.
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After a week Mr. Hallenbeck and his partner went to Sacramento. His funds having become exhausted he borrowed twenty dollars of Captain Pierce and then started for San Francisco, where they boarded the steamer Panama for Portland, Oregon, where they arrived at the time Gen- eral Scott was on his way to settle the San Juan affair-"fifty-four, forty or fight." On arriving at Portland Mr. Hallenbeck had . only five dollars and ten cents left. He went to the Columbus Hotel, where he was told he and his partner might remain until they found work, but he realized that he would soon be piling up a large debt and proposed to his companion that they should chop wood, as no other employ- ment could be secured. He purchased a chop- ping outfit on credit, took an empty cabin in Penitentiary gulch, and the first week they cut thirteen cords of wood, but the partner was not satisfied with his lot, being opposed to hard work, and concluded to return to California, so our sub- ject divided his blankets with him and he took his departure, Mr. Hallenbeck never hearing from him again.
The next week, all alone, Mr. Hallenbeck cut thirteen cords of wood for a dollar and seventy- five cents per cord. After a month he obtained a position in Abrams & Hogue's sawmill, first at tail-sawing, then turning screws, and in the spring of 1860, when the sawyer left, he was pro- moted to the vacant position. He was thus em- ployed until the spring of 1861, when he left for the Oro Fino mines, where he worked during the summer, returning to Portland to spend the win- ter. In the spring of 1862, in connection with Kirkpatrick, Hay and others, he discovered the camp where Auburn, Oregon, is now located, but he did not like the prospects there, and visited Walla Walla, Lewiston and Florence. A short time afterward he crossed the country to Oro Fino, where he purchased a claim and made some money, but in the fall again returned to Portland and was sent by his former employer, Mr. Abrams, to The Dalles to take charge of his office and lumber yards there. Desiring, how- ever, to engage in mining, Mr. Hallenbeck soon started for Auburn, and on arriving there learned of the Boise basin and Owyhee mines excitement. Accordingly he started for Idaho and arrived at his destination March 22, 1864. Ruby City had
been founded in the fall of 1863 and Silver City had its beginning in the fall of 1864. Building a cabin out of logs hewed by himself, he then began prospecting, which he continued for five years, when he met heavy losses. With his small re- maining capital he then engaged in various kinds of speculating, in which he prospered somewhat better. Subsequently he invested in stocks and in 1878 the financial crash and the failure of the California Bank again brought heavy losses to him, as well as to many others, but with un- daunted courage he embarked in the grain and feed business, in which he continued at Silver City, building up a large and profitable trade. He also loaned money and was one of the most reliable and trustworthy business men of the county. Great determination, energy and excel- lent executive ability were the salient points in his business career and eventually brought him success.
In his early political affiliations Mr. Hallenbeck was a Whig, but joined the Republican party on its organization and was one of its stalwart ad- vocates up to the time of his death, which oc- curred May 5, 1899. He was made a Master Mason in Weedsport, New York, in 1854, and afterward took the Royal Arch degrees and served for a number of terms as master of the lodge in Silver City. As a man and citizen he enjoyed the confidence and esteem of all who knew him, and his name should be enduringly inscribed on the roll of Idaho's pioneers.
GEORGE M. ROBERTSON.
The treasurer of Idaho county, George M. Robertson, of Mount Idaho, is a native of Kauf- man county, Texas, his birth having there oc- curred February 4, 1862. He is of Scotch de- scent, his great-grandfather, John Robertson, having emigrated from Scotland to New Jersey in colonial days. When the oppression of Great Britain became so intolerable that the colonies rose in rebellion, he joined the American army and served throughout the Revolutionary war, which brought to the nation her independence. He afterward became one of the pioneer settlers of Kentucky, where he spent the remainder of his life. His son, William Robertson, the grand- father of our subject, was born in Kentucky, and removed thence to Missouri, where his active
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business life was passed. He served as colonel of militia at the time the Mormons were driven out of Jackson county, that state. His son, George W. Robertson, Sr., was born in Missouri, and having arrived at years of maturity married Larcena Van Pool, a native of that state. He was a talented and devoted minister of the Chris- tian church and made the preaching of the gospel of peace his life work. He died in Lewiston, and was called to his final rest in 1889, when fifty- four years of age. His wife, a most estimable lady, departed this life in 1874. They had five children, four sons and a daughter.
George M. Robertson, the third child of the family, was educated at Pea Ridge Academy, Arkansas, and began life on his own account as a farmer and school-teacher. He came to Idaho in the spring of 1886 and resided near Farming- ton, and also engaged in educational work and farming. In the fall of 1890 he sold out and came to Camas prairie, locating on a tract of land on the east side of the south fork of the Clearwater river, where he has since developed a good farm that he still owns. He made many excellent improvements on the place and trans- formed the land into rich and fertile fields. In the fall of 1892 he was elected county surveyor of Idaho county and during his term of office did a large amount of road surveying. In the fall of 1896 he was chosen by his fellow citizens to the office of county treasurer, and on the ex- piration of his term of two years, was re-elected, in 1898, so that he is the present incumbent. In 1898 he also acceptably served as deputy clerk of the county, under C. W. Case. In politics he is a stanch Democrat and keeps well informed on the issues of the day. Socially he is a mem- ber of the Knights of the Maccabees.
Mr. Robertson was united in marriage at Farmington, in 1888, to Miss Ora R. Quarles, daughter of J. P. Quarles, a leading citizen of Nez Perces county. They have three children, Jesse, Leo and Ira. The parents are members of the Christian church.
OSCAR B. STEELY, M. D.
Oscar B. Steely, M. D., is a prominent resi- dent and physician living at Pocatello, Idaho, and is surgeon of the Idaho and Montana division of the Oregon Short Line Railroad. Dr. Steely
was born in Belleville, Pennsylvania, August 22, 1862, and is descended from English and German ancestry. His forefathers in both lines were among the early settlers of Pennsylvania, and his maternal grandfather (Baker) did patriotic ser- vice as a soldier in the Revolutionary war. His parents were William and Sarah (Baker) Steely, both natives of Pennsylvania. His father, who for many years was a successful dealer in meats, died at the age of seventy-six, in 1897. His wife died at the age of seventy-six, three days prior to the death of her husband. They lived happily as man and wife for forty-nine years and enjoyed in the highest sense the respect of all who knew them. They had eight children, four of whom are living and of whom Dr. Oscar B. Steely was the youngest born.
Dr. Steely was prepared for college in the pub- lic schools and was graduated from Pennsylvania College in the class of 1883 and from the Jeffer- son Medical College, Philadelphia, in 1891. For a year thereafter he practiced in one of the prin- cipal hospitals of Philadelphia, and thus espe- cially fitted himself for the duties of railway sur- gery. From that institution he came direct to Pocatello to accept the position, which had been tendered him, of assistant surgeon of the Union Pacific Railway. In 1896, when the Oregon Short Line was organized, he was appointed to his present position as surgeon of the Idaho and Montana divisions. He has had an extensive and varied experience in surgery in Idaho and ad- joining states and as a skillful surgeon and phy- sician has won a reputation of which a practi- tioner of twice his years might be justly proud. His standing with the profession is exceptionally high. Dr. Steely was a member of the State Medical Association of Pennsylvania, and is a member of the State Medical Association of Idaho and a member of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States. He was surgeon general of the state of Idaho under the adminis- tration of Governor McConnell. As is indicated by the fact that this honor was conferred upon him by such authority, he is a stanch Republican politically, but he is not in the accepted sense of the term a politician.
He was made a Mason in Cassin Lodge, No. 273, Ardmore, Pennsylvania, and took the Royal Arch degree at Pocatello and is now high priest
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of his chapter. He has advanced slowly in the ยท order from choice, and has made an exhaustive study of its principles as he nas proceeded, apply- ing them to his daily life, until he has adopted them as the rule of his conduct in all his rela- tions with his fellow men. He is also a mem- ber of the Knights of Pythias and the Woodmen of the World. Personally he is popular wher- ever he is known and his acquaintance is large and growing rapidly, both professionally and socially.
NOYES B. HOLBROOK.
Mr. Holbrook dates his residence in Idaho from 1862, and is therefore one of its pioneer set- tlers. He has witnessed almost the entire growtli and development of the state, and has largely aided in its progress and advancement, neglecting no duty of citizenship and withholding his sup- port and co-operation from no measure for the public good. He is now proprietor of the roller- process flouring mill at Juliaetta, and is an en- terprising business man whose honorable meth- ods commend him to the confidence and secure him the patronage of a large portion of the com- munity with which he is connected.
Mr. Holbrook was born in New Haven, Con- necticut, March 29, 1830, and is of English de- scent, a representative of one of the early New England families. John Holbrook, his great- grandfather, was a native of the "merrie isle," and thence crossed the Atlantic to the New World, taking up his residence in New Haven county, Connecticut. He had a family of five sons, four of whom served in the war which brought to America her independence, being loyal members of the Colonial army. The young- est served under General Harrison in the war of 1812. One of these sons, Abel Holbrook, was the grandfather of our subject. He was born in New Haven county, and during the Revolution served as captain of a company. By occupation he was a farmer, and operated his land with the aid of slaves, but becoming disgusted with the institution of slavery he freed his negroes and was active in promulgating an abolition senti- ment throughout the community. He was a member of the Protestant Episcopal church, and lived to the ripe old age of eighty years, respected by all who knew him, as one of Connecticut's best citizens.
Thomas C. Holbrook, father of our subject, was born and reared in New Haven county, Connecti- cut, and married Miss Maria Benham, also of the Nutmeg state. He followed the occupation of farming in pursuit of fortune, and was an in- dustrious man and reliable citizen. His death occurred when he had reached the age of ninety- four, and his wife passed away at the age of eighty-four. They had three children, two of whom are yet living.
Noyes B. Holbrook, the youngest of the fam- ily, was educated in Connecticut and in the North Wilbraham Academy, in Massachusetts, after which he learned the trade of a brick-layer and plasterer. Determining to try his fortune in the rapidly developing west, he sailed for California in 1854, by way of the isthmus route, and at length arrived safely in San Francisco. There he worked at his trade for a time, and then engaged in mining in Nevada and Butte counties on the Feather river. He made money, but sunk it in other mining ventures, and after losing all that he had he returned to Marysville, California, where he worked at his trade, doing considerable contracting and building. In 1862, at the time of the gold discoveries at Florence, he made the journey with a companion through eastern Ore- gon to the place of the excitement. He pros- pected and worked at his trade in the then new town of Lewiston, and the following year went to the Boise basin, making the journey by boat up the Snake river. He met with fair success in the placer mines in the Boise basin and then returned to the northern part of the state, estab- lishing a store on Salmon river. After a time he sold that property and purchased a placer claim, from which he took out from fifty to sev- enty-five dollars per day. The following spring he went to Lapwai, where he worked for the government for three months, spending the suc- ceeding winter in Lewiston. When spring came he went to the Coeur d'Alene district and was there during the Wilson excitement. A mur- dered negro was found there and buried on the prairie, which for a long time thereafter went by the name of "Nigger Prairie." The town of Mullan now stands on the site.
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