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 96
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Doctor Beck was reared on his father's farm and attended the public schools as occasion pre- sented, to such good purpose that at the age of nineteen he was sufficiently advanced to begin teaching. It was by such work that he supported himself while he completed his general education and took a course in medicine at the Iowa State University. After he secured his diploma, he entered upon the practice of his profession in Kansas.
It was in 1893 that Doctor Beck came to Idaho and, in association with his brother, Dr. Jolin Beck, took up his professional work at Genesee. Their success has been more than satisfactory to thein, but it has not been undeserved and has been fairly won in open competition with older physicians. It means that they have proven them -. selves able physicians and the practical results of their work have commended them to the good opinion of the general public. Their practice is large, not only in Genesee, but throughout all the country tributary to that thriving town.
On the 13th of August, 1892, Dr. Beck was happily married to Miss Ida A. Thomas, a native of Michigan, who has borne him two sons, prom- ising boys, named Orrin Roy and Joseph Edward. Mrs. Beck is a member of the Seventh-
day Advent church and active in all good works in which the women of Genesee participate. Doctor Beck is a royal-arch Mason, a Knight of Pythias, an Odd Fellow and a Woodman of the World, and is active in promoting the local and general interests of these orders. Politically he is an Independent, and his political influence has made itself felt on more than one occasion. He is a school trustee and councilman of Genesee and was mayor of the city in 1897, and in that capacity administered its municipal affairs admir- ably. He has relations with medical societies and is a member of the Genesee board of phar- macy and in every professional relation and in every relation of citizenship is progressive and helpful to a generous degree. He has built a roomy residence on ten acres of choice land, nicely located in Genesee, and grows fruit and vegetables in great variety and gives much atten- tion to poultry raising, so that his table is always supplied with every reasonable delicacy, for he is a believer in the theory that to a considerable ex- tent good eating makes for good living. He is a successful man, who richly deserves his success, and has, while gaining it, gained the public con- fidence in a remarkable degree.
JOHN C. MILLICK.
The large steam roller-process flouring mill at Blackfoot, Idaho, represents one of the prominent business interests of that city. It is the property of Mr. John C. Millick, and it is to give some account of Mr. Millick's career that these para- graphs are presented.
Mr. Millick is a very modest and unassuming man, but he is very busy and successful. "He is of German descent and was born in Dodge coun- ty, Wisconsin, August 4, 1854, a son of Joseph Millick, who had come to that part of the country from Germany, accompanied by his wife and children. Joseph Millick died in Dodge county,. Wisconsin, in 1876, aged seventy-eight years, his wife also having died there, in 1863. They had ten children, all but one of whom are living. Of these John C. was the seventh in order of birth, and he was only nine years old when his mother died. Though he began to earn his own living when he was thirteen, he found some time to attend such schools as existed in that part of Wisconsin at that time. When he was eighteen
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years old he went to northern Kansas, where he found employment as a farm hand and later farmed on his own account, on rented land. From Kansas he came, in 1880, to the Salmon river country, Idaho, then new and very sparsely popu- lated. He hired out as a miner, at three dollars a day, and was thus employed most of the time for three years. The succeeding six years he spent as a clerk in a store at Pocatello, and this experience was so comprehensive and he made such good use of his opportunities that he ac- quired an expert knowledge of merchandising. He then, in 1889, bought a post trader's store at Ross Fork and sold goods there four years. He then returned to the Salmon river country and mined and bought and sold mining claims and property. For a part of his interest in one mine, which is a steady producer, he secured ten thousand dollars, and he still retains an interest, which brings him a constant income. Later he did considerable business as a money-loaner, and one important financial transaction terminated in his ownership of the large stone steam roller- process flouring mill at Blackfoot. Mr. Millick is a Republican, but not a practical poli- tician. He was postmaster at Ross Forks during his residence there.
In 1897 Mr. Millick built an elegant brown- sandstone residence, which is in every respect one of the best in the city. It stands in the midst of large, well kept grounds and contains every- thing essential to make it comfortable and attrac- tive as a home. In 1896 Mr. Millick married Miss Gertrude Cleeg, a native of England, and they have a little daughter, named Marie.
ROBERT H. BARTON.
One of the well known citizens of Moscow is Robert H. Barton, who is now capably serving as postmaster. He is true and faithful to this public trust and at all times has discharged his duties of citizenship with the same promptness and fidelity which marked his course when on the battle-fields of the south he followed the starry banner to victory and thus aided in the preserva- tion of the Union. He came to Moscow in 1877. His birth occurred in Perry county, Ohio, Febru- ary 1, 1842, and he is of Scotch-Irish lineage. His grandfather, Robert Barton, emigrated from the north of Ireland to the New World and lo-
cated in Baltimore, Maryland, where Andrew Barton, father of our subject, was born, in 1811. The latter married Miss Elizabeth Biddison, also a native of Baltimore, and a daughter of Willianı Biddison, a soldier of the war of 1812. They were farming people, and in 1833 removed to Perry county, Ohio, where the father improved a farm and reared his family. He died on the old homestead which he had acquired through his own industry, passing away in 1883, at the age of seventy-two years. His wife died in 1876, at the age of sixty-three years. They were mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church and were the parents of twelve children, cleven of whoni grew to years of maturity, while six are yet living.
Robert H. Barton, their fifth child, acquired his education in the public schools and in the Ohio University, at Athens, and in 1861, in answer to President Lincoln's first call for volun- teers to put down the rebellion, he put aside his text-books and college duties to perform his greater duty to his country, enlisting in Com- pany D, Seventeenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He served for four months in the Army of Western Virginia, under General Rosecrans, after which his regiment was disbanded, but the danger was not yet past, and he re-enlisted in Company B. First Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, serving with the Army of the Cumberland. His regiment first did escort duty with General O. M. Mitchell and later with the cavalry in General Buell's cam- paign. Subsequently they were with General Rosecrans at Stone river and until after the battle of Chickamauga, and during the Atlanta campaign were at General McPherson's head- quarters. Mr. Barton served as a foraging scout for department headquarters until General Mc- Pherson was killed. He saw the brave comman- der fall, and caught his horse. Later he was at General Howard's headquarters in the same capacity, and after the capture of Atlanta was sent with his regiment on the Wilson raid. They were at Macon, Georgia, when they received the glad news of the surrender of General Lee, and Mr. Barton was honorably discharged at Hilton Head, South Carolina, on the 25th of September, 1865. During the whole of his service during the great struggle he was only off duty one time, this being occasioned by a gun-shot wound which he sustained in the battle of Russellville, Ala-
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bama, July 2, 1862. The ball broke his jaw and carried away both the upper and lower teeth on that side. He was in the hospital for six weeks and was then granted a thirty-days fur- lough which he spent at home. He entered the service as a private, was promoted to quarter- master sergeant and was recommended for pro- motion to the captaincy of a colored company, but the war closed and the regiment was not organized.
With a most creditable military record Mr. Barton returned to his home and began school- teaching in Ohio, but soon afterward removed to Kansas, where he entered one hundred and sixty acres of land, operating his land through the summer, while in the winter he taught school. During his residence there he also served as a member of the school board, was recorder of deeds and assessor of the county for six years. From Kansas he removed to Utah, where he taught school for two years, and in 1877, he brought a sawmill to Moscow and engaged in the manufacture of lumber. He continued in the sawmill business for three years, and in 1881 built the Barton Hotel, which he conducted until 1890, when it was destroyed by fire, entailing a loss of fifteen thousand dollars. He then erected the Moscow Hotel, valued at thirty-five thousand dollars, not including the price of the land. To do this he had to borrow twenty thousand dollars. He conducted the hotel for a short time, but soon the financial panic came on and he was forced to lose this valuable and beautiful property. The building is a very fine one, being creditable alike to the city and the builder.
Mr. Barton was then appointed by President Harrison to the position of postmaster of Mos- cow, and served for two and a half years, when his party went out of power, but in 1899 he was reappointed, by President Mckinley, and is the present incumbent of the office. He is very oblig- ing, prompt and courteous, and has won favor with the public through his capable discharge of duties. The Moscow office is of the second class and is well managed by Mr. Barton, his eldest son acting as his deputy, while other members of the family serve in clerical positions. Mr. Barton was also deputy sheriff of Nez Perces county for eight years.
In 1869 was celebrated his marriage to Miss
Lettie Langdon, a native of Illinois, and to them were born two children, but one is now deceased. The other, Ed. T., is now serving as his father's deputy. The mother died in 1872, and in 1875 Mr. Barton wedded her sister, Louise Langdon, by whom he has had five children, four of whom are living. The eldest, Maude M., is a graduate of the Moscow high school and is now attending the Idaho University; Earl S. is also a student in the university ; Louise E. is in the high school; and Faith S. is the youngest. She was named by the Idaho department of the Grand Army of the Republic during its encampment in Moscow, at which time her birth occurred, and by the soldiers was presented with a nice silver set.
Mr. and Mrs. Barton have always been very active and valued members respectively of the Grand Army of the Republic and its auxiliary, the Women's Relief Corps, and he is past commander and she past secre- tary of the state departments of their re- spective organizations. In consideration and recognition of the great service he has rendered Anderson Post, No. 5, he was presented by it with a fine sword, which he highly prizes and which now hangs by the faithful blade which he carried in the great struggle to preserve the Union. He has been a stalwart Republican since casting his first presidential vote, for Abrahan! Lincoln, during the war, and was very highly recommended by the leading statesmen of Ohio and Idaho for the position of United States mar- shal of Idaho, but as the office was promised to another he was given his present position, that of postmaster. In 1889 he purchased a large lot, pleasantly located, and erected thereon a fine modern residence, in which he now resides hap- pily, surrounded by his interesting family. His career has ever been upright and honorable, and his friendship is prized most by those who know him best.
JAMES DEAKIN.
Those who have opened the way for civilization in our land, as the star of empire has taken its way toward the sunset gates, have been men of strong character,-courageous, hardy, tenacious of purpose and willing to endure hardships and privations for the sake of making homes for themselves and posterity. All honor has been paid the pioneers who blazed their way through
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the sylvan wilderness of the middle west in past generations, while not less is the homage due to those whose fortitude led them to traverse the plains, invade the mountain fastnesses and do battle with a dusky and treacherous foe in the great empire of the far west. Among those who are to be considered as genuine pioneers of Latah county is James Deakin, one of the honored citizens of the thriving county-seat, Moscow. Hither he came to make his permanent abode as early as the year 1871, at which time there was no Moscow, no Colfax, no Spokane,-this entire region, with its opulent resources, being then a wild and uninhabited district, save as the red men roamed at will among the peaceful valleys and over the mountain crags. At the time our subject located here the settlers were compelled to go to Walla Walla for their supplies,-a distance of ninety miles. He passed through many and try- ing vicissitudes and has watched with interest the development and advancement of this section and is now able to enjoy here the privileges which modern civilization supplies. The trans- formation has been wonderful, and one can to-day scarcely realize the changes which a few years have wrought in this favored section of the Union.
James Deakin is a native of the Emerald Isle. having been born in county Antrim on the 20th of June, 1840, a representative of stanch old Irish stock, his parents having been devout mem- bers of the Roman Catholic church. He received his educational discipline in his native land, but laid aside his text-books at the early age of fifteen years and came to America, and since that time has been a leal and loyal son of the republic. In the year 1871 he arrived on the spot where the thriving city of Moscow, Idaho, now stands. At that time there were established in the county the homes of a few settlers,-the list comprising William Taylor, Ailsbury Llewellyn, William Frazier, the Cameron broth- ers, Thomas Tirney and Thomas Corley. Mr. Deakin says there may have been one or two others located here, but if so he fails to recall them or their names. He took up a tract of one hundred and sixty acres, upon which a portion of the city of Moscow now stands, and including the ground upon which the splendid building of the Idaho State University is located.
Mr. Deakin at once set to work to improve his farm, platted a portion of the town and did all in his power to aid in the development of the locality. He may be appropriately termed onc of the fathers of Moscow. He has been frugal, industrions, and his personal prosperity has kept pace with the development of this section. He is a man of alert mentality and sterling integrity, and his conduct has been such as to gain and retain to him the confidence and high esteem of all with whom he has come in contact. He is now spending the evening of his life in the quiet enjoyment of the fruits of his many years of toil and endeavor, having a commodious and attractive home residence in the city which he has so greatly aided in developing, and of which he was one of the first settlers. It was his plow which first turned the soil where Moscow now stands, and here he grew his crops of wheat, bar- ley and oats, and reaped rich harvests in due season. Mr. Deakin has several fine farms in the county, and these are being operated on shares, desirable tenants being secured for the same.
In the year 1874 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Deakin and Miss Annie King, of New York, and they are both devoted adherents of the Roman Catholic church. In politics Mr. Deakin is a stalwart Democrat. He and his estimable wife enjoy a marked popularity in the community, and as one of the honored pioneers of the county Mr. Deakin amply deserves recog- nition in this work.
WILLIAM W. WATKINS, M. D.
A man's reputation is the property of the world. The laws of nature have forbidden isola- tion. Every human being submits to the con- trolling influence of others or, as a master, wields a power for good or evil on the masses of man- kind. There can be no impropriety in justly scanning the acts of any man as they affect his public, social and business relations. If he be honest and successful in his chosen field of en- deavor, investigation will brighten his fame and point the path along which others may follow. One whose record will bear the closest scrutiny and stand the test of public criticism is Dr. Wat- kins, a most able physician, a loyal citizen and true gentleman, whom Moscow numbers among her valued residents.
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The Doctor was born in Warner, Merrimac county, New Hampshire, August 3, 1846, that locality having been the birthplace of three gen- erations of the family before him. On the pater- nal side he is of Welsh descent, and on the maternal of English lineage. His father, Jason D. Watkins, was there born and in early life followed farming, but afterward became a mer- chant. He married Miss Phoebe Abbott, a native of Boscawen, New Hampshire, and a representa- tive of the eminent Abbott family of America. Their union was blessed with seven children. In religious faith they were Baptists and were people of the highest respectability and integrity of character. The father reached the psalmist's life span of three score years and ten, but the mother passed away at the age of fifty-four.
Dr. William Woodbury Watkins, their young- est child, was educated in the public schools of his native state, and in the medical department of the Washington University, at St. Louis, pre- pared for his professional career. In the latter institution he was graduated in 1872 and imme- diately afterward opened an office in Mine La Motte, Missouri, where he remained until 1880, when he became a member of the medical frater- nity of St. Louis, there continuing until 1887. In 1884 he was appointed professor of theory and practice of medicine in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, in St. Louis, and ably filled that chair until failing health compelled his resigna- tion and necessitated his removal to Moscow, in the hope that a change of climate would prove beneficial. This hope has been realized, and soon Dr. Watkins acquired a large and remuner- ative practice, which he has since enjoyed. He has been prominently connected with various in- terests of the city, both along professional and other lines. He has for years been surgeon of the Latah County Hospital, and during the greater part of his residence in Moscow has been United States examining surgeon for pensions. In 1890 he became one of the organizers of the Idaho State Medical Society, and was elected its first president,-a fact indicative of his high standing among his professional brethren. He is also a member of the American Medical Association, is examining surgeon for various life-insurance companies and is also vice-president of the Idaho state board of medical examiners. He has always
been a close student of his profession, has a most comprehensive and accurate knowledge of the science of medicine, is most careful in the diag- nosing of cases, and his judgment is rarely at fault in the slightest degree in administering the remedies which most quickly produce the best results.
His time is largely occupied by the engrossing duties of his large practice, yet he manages to find opportunity to aid in the furthering of those interests which promote the welfare of the com- munity. After the location of the state university at Moscow, he was appointed a member of the board of regents, was its secretary, and in 1894 established in the institution the Watkins gold medal for oratory. He is president of the Cham- ber of Commerce, at Moscow, and had the honor of being chairman of the first Idaho Republican state convention. These varied interests show the versatility of the man and indicate a well rounded character.
In 1873 the Doctor wedded Miss Carolina A. Woodhouse, a native of Boston, Massachusetts, and a daughter of John V. Woodhouse, a master mechanic whose varied inventions have gained him a world-wide reputation. He is now living a retired life in western Washington, at the age of seventy-three years. The union of Dr. and Mrs. Watkins has been blessed with three daugh- ters: Henrietta, wife of A. Ryrie, of Moscow; and Elsie and Winnie, at home. The parents and children hold membership in the First Pres- byterian church in Moscow. The Doctor has erected a brick office and also a nice residence in Moscow, and is the owner of a good farm, a mile from the city, where he is raising a high grade of Jersey cattle and thoroughbred poultry, and also has an extensive apple orchard. He is a very active business man, not only taking great interest in his practice, but also in the welfare and progress of Moscow. Socially he is an Odd Fellow in good standing, having been identified with the order for nearly thirty years, and is an exemplary member of the Masonic fraternity. He is now master of Paradise Lodge, No. 17, F. & A. M., of Moscow, received the blue lodge de- grees in Pittsburg, Kansas, the Royal Arch degrees in Oswego, Kansas, and was also created a Knight Templar there. He is a man of strong individuality and indubitable probity, has at-
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tained a due measure of success in the affairs of life, and his influence has ever been exerted in the direction of the good and the true. He is a man of genial and social nature and has thereby contributed in no small degree to the sum of human happiness.
EDMOND PEARCY.
Edmond Pearcy, whose history is one of close connection with the pioneer development of the state as well as its latter-day progress and pros- perity, was born in Bedford county, Virginia, on the 22d of March, 1832, and is of Scotch and Dutch descent. His ancestors were early settlers of Virginia, and for many years the families were represented in Bedford county. His father, Nicholas Pearcy, was born there, and having ar- rived at years of maturity he married Rebecca Hardy, a native of Maryland. They became the parents of twelve children, eleven sons and one daughter, and of the number but three are now living.
Edmond Pearcy was the youngest of the fam- ily. He was reared on his father's farm and re- ceived a common-school education in his native state, after which he taught school for one term. In 1852, at the age of twenty years, he started for California, but arrived in Missouri too late to join an emigrant train en route for the Golden state, and consequently spent the winter with a relative in Pike county, Missouri. In the spring of 1853 he started with a company of sixteen. They drove a band of cattle across the plains and mountains to California, but on reaching the mountains were greatly retarded by the deep snows, and were without food for two days. It was the middle of November when they at last reached the Sonora mines, and from that point they pushed south to the San Joaquin valley, where Mr. Pearcy was for a short time engaged in teaming. He then went to San Francisco, and on the Ist of January, 1854, sailed for Portland, Oregon, in search of his brothers, Nathan and James. He found them on the Willamette and remained with them through the winter. He engaged in shipping lumber and hay on a flat- boat, and in the spring of 1855, in company with his brother James, he went to Scott's valley, in northern California, where his brother engaged in mining and he in ranching. They met with only moderate success there, and accordingly de-
termined to return to Portland, Oregon. On the way Mr. Pearcy was taken dangerously ill. At this time the Rogue river Indian war broke out, and James left his brother's bedside to participate as a volunteer against the Indians, and was killed in the battle of Grave creek, in which the white 'troops were defeated and compelled to retreat. When Mr. Pearcy had sufficiently recovered to travel, he left Umpqua and proceeded on his way northward, saddened by the death of his brother, yet fortunate himself in meeting with no Indians, for they were still on the war path.
After arriving in Portland Mr. Pearcy engaged in taking contracts for supplying the government with wood and hay. In that enterprise he made money and remained there until 1859, when he was driven out by chills and fever. He then removed to The Dalles, and shortly afterward joined Lieutenant Mullan's party in constructing the Mullan road from Walla Walla to Montana, it being still the main road between those two points. While at Walla Walla, in 1856, he vol- unteered in a company to fight the Indians, but no engagement took place. Later in the season the red men captured a supply train. They were then followed by the volunteers, were defeated in Grande Ronde valley, and the supplies re- covered. Mr. Pearcy did not participate in the battle, but was in charge of the camp at Walla Walla. He also secured a government claim in that locality, but in the spring of 1861 abandoned his ranch and went to the Oro Fino mining re- gion, that being the time of the great excitement there. There were fourteen men in his company , and they each took out on an average ten dollars per day, thus meeting with satisfactory success. Later they went to Florence, but found nothing there to repay them for their trouble, and Mr. Pearcy returned to Walla Walla, passing on the way through Lewiston, which then consisted only -of a few tents and rude shacks. He spent the winter of 1861-2 at Walla Walla, the hardest win- ter in the history of that country, snow lying two and a half feet deep on a level, and the mercury for thirty days registering twenty-six degrees be- low zero. With a company of nine he occupied a board cabin lined with paper, but they were strong and vigorous young men and did not mind the cold, enjoying themselves with cards and other amusements.
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