History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume II, Part 10

Author: Hawley, James Henry, 1847-1929, ed
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 1024

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In 1902 Mr. Hahn was married to Miss Minnie Matgen, a native of Moline, Illi- nois, who became a resident of Dodge county, Nebraska. They are the parents of three children, Carl, Lewis and John.

Fraternally Mr. Hahn is an Elk and also a Knight of Pythias. His political al- legiance is given the republican party and while he keeps well informed on the ques- tions and issues of the day he neither seeks nor desires office. He is a loyal sup- porter, however, of all those interests which make for the development and upbuild- ing of the community, giving his aid and influence at all times on the side of progress and improvement.

MONTFORD PARR MEHOLIN.

The business career of Montford Parr Meholin has been characterized by con- structive measures in which sound judgment has constituted an even balance for pro- gressiveness. He is now the president of the Pacific National Bank of Boise, bring- ing to his present connection with the banking interests of Idaho broad practical expe- rience when he removed to this city in 1903.

HISTORY OF IDAHO

He was born upon a farm in Jefferson county, Ohio, February 14, 1864, the only son of James J. and Melissa (Parr) Meholin, both of whom were also natives of Jef- ferson county, the former born in 1832 and the latter in 1837. The father devoted his life to the occupation of farming. He was a son of Thomas Meholin, who came from Ireland in 1791 and took up his abode in Jefferson county, Ohio, casting in his lot with its first settlers. He built what is known as the Old Stone Spring House, an historic landmark of. Jefferson county. It is located on a sixty-acre tract of land about twelve miles from Steubenville, Ohio, which tract became his first homestead and is still in possession of one of his heirs. Thomas Meholin married a Miss Jackson, a first cousin of Andrew Jackson, the hero of the battle of New Orleans and later president of the United States.

Montford Parr Meholin was the younger in a family of but two children, his sister being Mrs. Anna Cunningham, of Alliance, Nebraska. He was reared and edu- cated in his native county, spending his youthful days upon his father's farm and be- ginning his education in the district schools, while later he attended Hopedale Col- lege in Belmont county, Ohio, from which institution he was graduated when a youth of eighteen years. He afterward taught a six months' term of school but otherwise remained upon the home farm and gave his father the benefit of his assistance in the work of the fields until he had attained his majority. He then left home to start out independently in the world, going to Nebraska, where he spent eighteen years. In 1887 he organized the Bank of Norden at Norden, Nebraska, of which he became the first president, continuing as its chief executive officer until 1893. He then sold his in- terests in the bank and removed to Butte, Nebraska, where he organized the Bank of Butte and again became president. For a decade he was identified with that institu- tion, after which he disposed of his stock in the bank and came to Boise. Through the intervening period, covering more than fifteen years, he has been continuously iden- tified with the banking business in the capital. He was formerly receiver of the Capi- tal State Bank and paid its depositors one hundred cents on the dollar. In 1908 he became one of the organizers of the Bank of Idaho and was elected its vice president. Two years later this was nationalized and the name changed to the Pacific National Bank. He remained as vice president throughout the existence of the institution until January, 1919, when he was elected president and has had considerable voice in shap- ing its policy and directing its business interests. He is a close student of every phase of the banking business and bears a well deserved reputation for thoroughness and sys- tem in all that he undertakes.

On the 5th of December, 1889, Mr. Meholin was married to Miss Emma Gardner, a native of Illinois, and they have become parents of three daughters: Mabelle, now the wife of C. F. Scott, of Boise; Marguerite and Mildred, who are at home.

Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise, Mr. Meholin has been a stanch advocate of republican principles but has never been a candidate for office. He belongs to the Commercial Club of Boise and is interested in all of its projects to promote the upbuilding of the city and advance its welfare. He belongs also to the Country Club and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Through the recent period of hostili- ties largely involving the civilized countries of the world he has been very active in war work, spending most of his time and much money in that way. No one questions the statement that he is one hundred per cent American.

JESSE J. WALLING.

Important real estate interests at Nampa, Idaho, claim the attention of Jesse J. Walling, who was born at Albany, Oregon, November 22, 1873. He attended the pub- lic schools of Albany, Hood River and Portland, Oregon, but when he was thirteen years of age his parents removed to Idaho. In 1886 the father established the present real estate business at Nampa under the name of B. F. Walling, but in 1915 he retired from active business and returned to Portland to live. In the same year the com- pany was reorganized and is now operating under the name of the Walling Land Com- pany, Limited. They handle principally farm lands in the Boise valley but also do a building and loan business, having developed this department of the enterprise to extensive proportions.

The paternal grandfather of our subject was one of Oregon's famous pioneers of 1847, having gone to that state from Virginia. He crossed the plains with ox teams,

HISTORY OF IDAHO

passing through the Boise valley and crossing the Snake river at the mouth of the Boise. He settled at Lincoln, Polk county, six miles from Salem, and there engaged in farming. His death was an accidental one and was caused in his fifty-sixth year by a runaway pet horse. On the maternal side Jesse J. Walling's grandfather was J. B. Conmiey, a Kentuckian by birth, who in 1851 crossed the plains with ox teams to Alhany, Oregon, where he located. Members of the family on both sides have been instrumental in the early growth and later development of Portland, Alhany and Salem, Oregon, and also of Boise and Nampa, Idaho, and the impress of their life's labors has remained upon these states.

B. F. Walling, the father, was born on the home farm at Lincoln, Oregon, in the development, of which he continued until his removal to Nampa in 1886. For three years previous to that date he had cultivated the farm independently after his father's demise. Arriving at Nampa, he found that the town had just been platted and he bought fifty-three lots and also purchased a relinquishment claim of one hundred and sixty acres of land just north of the town. At that time there was just. one small resi- dence on the north side of the tract, the next sign of improvement being the post- office, a small frame building, which now stands in the rear of the Farmers & Merchants Bank. In 1887 a branch railroad was built to Boise and the depot on the Oregon Short Line was moved from King Hill to Nampa. In the fall of 1890 the first irrigation canal-the Phyllis canal-was built, this irrigating ahout forty-five hundred acres. In 1900 it was enlarged to irrigate thirty-four thousand, five hundred acres. The Riden- baugh canal was put in operation in 1891. With the advent of irrigation real estate re- ceived a great impetus and B. F. Walling, having foreseen the future of the town, came in for a large share of the profits. In 1904, after the government had begun to develop the irrigation possibilities of the section, Nampa took on a new lease of life and be- gan to expand accordingly. B. F. Walling had much to do with the continued and help- ful development of the town, his being the oldest real estate firm in Nampa, of which town he also is the pioneer.

B. F. Walling was born in Lincoln, Polk county, Oregon, November 24, 1848, while his wife, who was in her maidenhood Georgia M. Conmley, was born at Albany, Oregon, in 1854. They were the parents of four children: Dora M., the deceased wife of D. A. Baxter, who was for many years superintendent of schools; Frankie G., living at La Grande, Oregon; Ben F., Jr., in business in Portland, Oregon; and Jesse J., of this review.

Jesse J. Walling rounded out the public school education already referred to hy two years' attendance at Albany College, Oregon, where he was a student in 1892-3. He subsequently gave his close attention to his real estate interests, ably cooperating with his father. The continued success of the firm is largely due to his rare foresight and close study of local conditions. He is considered one of the best informed real estate men in his district and, moreover, enjoys the highest reputation for reliability. It is therefore but natural that success in large measure has come to him. In 1904 Mr. Walling was elected a member of the board of directors of the Boise-Payette Water Users Association, H. A. Partridge being the other member from this district, but after the water was turned into the canals they retired from the board. Outside of his real estate business in Nampa, Mr. Walling is also successfully engaged in farming near this city.

On March 10, 1896, he was united in marriage to Ella Madden, a daughter of Charles F. Madden, who was numbered among the honored pioneers of this state. Mr. Madden died in January, 1919, at the venerable age of eighty-eight years. Mr. and Mrs. Wall- ing have many friends in Nampa and are very popular in the social set of this city and vicinity. They are ever ready to cooperate in measures and movements undertaken on behalf of the development of their city and district and are public-spirited Amer- ican citizens.

HON. FRANK T. WYMAN.

Hon. Frank T. Wyman, an attorney of the Boise bar who has also aided in fram- ing the laws of the state as a member of the Idaho legislature, was horn in Cleveland, Ohio, October 1, 1868, a son of George H. and Lucy (Mahan) Wyman. The father, who was also a lawyer by profession, was born in the state of New York in 1822. He prac- ticed law in Cleveland, Ohio, for many years and passed away in Boise, Idaho, in 1892.

Vol. II-6

HISTORY OF IDAHO

The Wyman family comes of New England ancestry, the line being traced back to Francis Wyman, who sailed from England about 1640 and established his home in Mas- sachusetts. With the trouble between the colonies and the mother country, members of the family espoused the American cause and fought for national independence. The Mahan family is of Scotch descent. The mother of Mr. Wyman, who died in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1880, was a daughter of the Rev. Dr. Asa Mahan, the first president of Ober- lin College.

The early life of Frank T. Wyman was passed in Cleveland, Ohio, in the states of California, Michigan and in Colorado. His father's health was greatly impaired and this caused their frequent removals in the hope that a change of climate would prove beneficial to him. On this account he came to Boise in 1889 and Frank T. Wyman accompanied him. The latter had already studied law under the direction of his father, who had also tutored him in other studies, being a college bred man and of broad and liberal education along many lines. The son thus had the advantage of being greatly assisted by his father and after thorough preliminary reading he was admitted to the bar in Boise on the 17th of January, 1890. He at once entered upon active practice, in which he has since continued. Advancement at the bar is proverbially slow and yet Mr. Wyman steadily worked his way upward, proving his ability to handle in- tricate and involved legal problems. The recognition of his ability on the part of his fellowmen came to him in 1895 in his election to the Idaho state legislature, in which he was made chairman of the judiciary committee. He again served another term in 1907 and again received recognition of his high standing in legal circles by appointment to the chairmanship of the judiciary committee. He has at all times taken a great interest in legislative matters and has had much to do with the mining and irrigation laws of Idaho enacted during the periods when he has been a member. On both occasions he was elected to office on the republican ticket and he is a recognized active worker in the ranks of that party, and for many years was treasurer of the state central committee. In 1898 he was the republican candidate for the office of attorney general of Idaho but was defeated by the free silver element.

On the 22d of January, 1902, Mr. Wyman was married to Miss Jessie Thayer Corbus and they have two children, Frank Theodore and Lucy Corbus, aged respectively fifteen and thirteen years.

Mr. Wyman's high position as a representative of the Idaho bar is indicated by his election to the presidency of the state Bar Association. He belongs to the Com- mercial club and he is one of only seven thirty-third degree Masons in Idaho. He also belongs to the Mystic Shrine. He is fond of hunting and fishing, to which he turns for recreation when leisure permits. His religious faith is indicated by his member- ship in the congregation of St. Michael's Episcopal church and his aid and influence are always given on the side of those projects which have to do with the welfare and up- building of community and commonwealth and the adoption of higher ideals.

JOSEPH TAYLOR YOUNG.

Joseph Taylor Young, of Pocatello, may well be termed a man of business genius. His qualities are those of leadership combined with executive ability and he possesses marked initiative. His interests throughout Idaho are extensive and varied and have ever been of a nature which have contributed directly to the benefit and upbuilding of the state. The recognized soundness of his judgment has enabled him to readily secure the cooperation of others and his efforts have been a most potent force in advancing Idaho's development.

Mr. Young was born upon a ranch in Utah, about six miles from Logan, December 1, 1880, being the first-born of his family in America. His father, J. R. Young, is a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, and was educated in the famous University of Edin- burgh. He came to the United States in 1878 and is now a merchant of Rexburg, Idaho, classed with the representative business men of that city. He has reached the age of sixty years and his wife, Mrs. Annie Elizabeth (Taylor) Young, is also living at Rexburg, where they have made their home since 1883, building the seventh house in the town. Two of their sons were soldiers in the great World war, these being First Lieutenant J. R. Young, who became orthopedic surgeon at Camp McArthur at Waco, Texas, and W. L. Young, who served as a corporal in France.

Joseph Taylor Young, whose name introduces this review, was but three years old

JOSEPH T. YOUNG

HISTORY OF IDAHO

when his parents removed to Rexburg and there he was reared and acquired his primary education in the public schools. When sixteen years of age he became a student in Ricks Academy of Rexburg, studying there for one year. During summer vacations he obtained his initial knowledge of merchandising, for he became a clerk in the general store of Henry Flamm & Company, a firm that is now numbered among Mr. Young's best customers. He was seventeen years of age when he entered the employ of the St. Anthony Lumber Company, which was engaged in cutting ties and bridge timbers for the railroad from Idaho Falls to St. Anthony. Mr. Young had charge of the commissary and received the logs from the choppers on the banks of the north fork of the Snake and Warm rivers. The logs were then floated down the river to St. Anthony. As a trusted employe Mr. Young was associated in that enterprise with James E. Fogg, John L. Jacobs, Jesse Floyd and C. H. Thompson for a year and a half. He next took a position with the Oregon Short Line Railroad Company as building material clerk and assisted in building their depots at St. Anthony, Sugar, Rexburg and Rigby and also assisted in fencing the entire right of way from Idaho Falls to St. Anthony. He was then given a position by L. Malloy, the superintendent of the Montana Division, as freight clerk at Dillon, Montana, and after nine months he was promoted to freight agent, there remaining for three years, during which time he organized the first com- pany of state militia of Dillon, Montana, already displaying the organizing force and initiative which have been dominant qualities in his success in life. He was elected captain by the militia company and was commissioned by Governor Toole.

Leaving Montana in 1904, Mr. Young went to Ogden, Utah, where he purchased an interest in the H. L. Griffin wholesale fruit and produce house and became secretary and general manager of the firm. He at once took his place among the representative business men of that district and he became a member of the Weber Club of Ogden, in connection with which he organized and had charge of the first business men's ex- cursion to Ely, Nevada, upon the completion of the railroad to the great copper camp. They took with them a baggage carload of fruits and vegetables and distributed them to the inhabitants of the camp, most of whom were Indians and who still remember that excursion, which brought to them the first fruits and vegetables that they had had. In 1905 Mr. Young was elected a director of the Utah Association of Credit Men and has been reelected to the same position every year since that time. In December, 1908, he disposed of all of his interests in Utah and in January, 1909, came to Pocatello, Idaho.

With the history of this state and its development Mr. Young has since been closely and prominently associated. In connection with J. I. Hill and W. P. McDonald of Coffeyville, Kansas, he organized the Idaho Wholesale Grocery Company, of which he is the secretary and general manager. This was the first Idaho corporation to en- gage in the wholesale distribution of food products in southern Idaho. Their principal place of business is Pocatello, but they have branch houses also at Idaho Falls, Twin Falls and Burley. This company financed the retail merchants so that they could carry the farmers until their crops were harvested in the Minidoka and Twin Falls irriga- tion project districts. Such a plan constituted a great commercial risk, but had the farmers not been financed in this or some other way, they could not have held out and the project would have been a failure.

In 1910 Mr. Young was elected president of the Pocatello Commercial Club, and following his association with this club, Pocatello began to take on new life. Mr. Young financed and organized the Smith Candy Company, the first company to engage in the manufacture of confectionery for the wholesale trade in southern Idaho, and of the company he remains the president. The business has been built up to extensive proportions, employment being furnished to ninety people. He is also a director of the Idaho Loan & Investment Company, which builds homes for the people of Pocatello, planning helpful methods of payment. He has furthermore supported and promoted various business interests in Pocatello and throughout southern Idaho. His invest- ments are extensive and all have been directly or indirectly beneficial to the city and state. He is the secretary of the Idaho Portland Cement Company, which is to be a two and a half million dollar corporation, and the plant will be located eight miles south of Pocatello.

In 1911 Mr. Young was married to Miss Lou Edith Mitchell, of Ogden, Utah, and they have one son, Ralph J., who is with them in one of the most beautiful homes of this city. Mr. Young recognizes the fact that the well balanced man knows not only how to work well but also how to play well and enjoys social activities as promoted by the various organizations to which he belongs. He is an exemplary Mason and is a

HISTORY OF IDAHO

past eminent commander of Gate City Commandery, No. 4. He is also a past pres- ident of the Shriners Club and a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He also belongs to the Rotary Club, serving as its president for the third term, and was elected in June, 1919, district governor of all the Rotary Clubs for the states of Montana, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming. Only twenty-eight years of age when he came to Pocatello, he was endowed with the genius for big business and would have been a leader in any community. He deserves classification with the captains of industry and has already left an indelible impress upon the commercial annals of Pocatello and the state. He has lately organized the Idaho Fire Insurance Company, which is in- corporated under the laws of Idaho with a capital stock of half a million, and Mr. Young was elected its first president. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he has been one of the dominant characters in naming the mayors of the city since 1910. His interest in politics is that of a progressive citizen and broad- minded man who recognizes the possibilities for achievement and who believes in a businesslike administration of public affairs.

WILLIAM MILTON DAVIS.

The name of William Milton Davis figures prominently in connection with com- mercial enterprise in Burley, for he is the proprietor of the Davis Department Store and in all that he undertakes displays a most progressive spirit which enables him to carry forward to successful completion his well defined plans and purposes. He is a native of Texas, his birth having occurred in the city of Dallas, December 10, 1880, his parents being A. R. and Hepsey M. (Hawkins) Davis. When their son Milton was but a small boy the parents removed to northern Arkansas, settling near the Mis- souri boundary line. There he was reared upon his father's farm, the father carry- ing on both agricultural pursuits and mercantile interests, being proprietor of a store, of which William M. Davis subsequently took charge. He remained in control of the business until 1904 and then engaged in merchandising at Henderson, Arkansas, for about five years, from 1904 until 1908 inclusive. He then removed to Gamaliel, Ar- kansas, where he continued in business until 1912, which year witnessed his arrival in Idaho.

Mr. Davis made his way at once to Burley and established what has since been known as the Davis Mercantile Company. In 1917 he removed his business to a new location which had been especially prepared for him and is now known as the Davis De- partment Store. He has eight thousand, two hundred and fifty square feet of floor space and has one of the finest general stores in southern Idaho. He began business in Burley with a stock valued at seven thousand dollars and gradually his trade has increased until he now carries a stock worth sixty-five thousand dollars, while his sales have increased from thirty thousand to three hundred thousand dollars annually. He car- ries an extensive line of apparel for men, women and children and also groceries, and his store is neat and tasteful in arrangement, while the business methods which he has instituted commend him to the confidence and continued support of the public. Some- thing of the volume of his business is indicated in the fact that he has twenty-five people on the pay roll. He always demands that they extend the most courteous treat- ment to the patrons of the house, for he has ever recognized the fact that satisfied pa- trons are the best advertisement. Associated with Mr. Davis in business is his brother, N. Carlyle Davis, who is store manager and floor director, his efforts contributing large- ly to the upbuilding of the business. Being a man of pleasing personality, he has the happy faculty of making and keeping friends and has therefore secured a large pat- ronage for the store.

William M. Davis married Miss Ethel Chase, a daughter of William D. and Adaline (Spruell) Chase and a native of Arkansas. Her father was an influential millman and lumber producer. Mrs. Davis has three brothers, W. A., W. L., and R. H. Chase, who are all engaged in the practice of law in Oklahoma and are important factors in that state's politics. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Davis are Darius, Ellsworth, Austin, Vera and Tine.

In his political views Mr. Davis is a democrat, having stanchly supported the party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. His religious faith is that of the Christian church and he has been a prominent factor in its growth, develop- ment and support. He is now serving as one of the elders and also as the treasurer

HISTORY OF IDAHO

of the church and does everything in his power to advance its upbuilding and extend its influence. His life has ever been guided by high and honorable principles and the sterling worth of his character is attested by all with whom he has been brought in contact.

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History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume II, Part 10

Author: Hawley, James Henry, 1847-1929, ed Publication date: 1920 Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company Number of Pages: 1024

Author: Hawley, James Henry, 1847-1929, ed
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 1024