History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume II, Part 30

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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William J. Coughlin pursued his education in parochial schools of Leadville, Colorado, and on the 10th of August, 1910, was married in Butte, Montana, to Miss Florence Murphy, whose birth occurred in Portland, Oregon, August 8, 1893. They have become parents of four children: Florence, who was born May 19, 1911;" William C., whose birth occurred June 19, 1912, and who passed away on the 8th of April, 1914; Carmilla Teresa, born July 10, 1915; and James John, whose natal day was December 29, 1916.

Like his brother, William J. Coughlin is a Catholic and a member of the Knights of Columbus and also of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He, too, has membership in the Boise Commercial Club. They concentrate their efforts and energies largely, however, upon the further development and conduct of their furniture business. What they have accomplished represents the fit utilization of their innate talents and their opportunities, and their business has ever been of a character that has contributed to public prosperity as well as to individual success.

FRANK H. PARSONS.

Frank H. Parsons, whose recent activity has been that of one of the "dollar a year men" of the United States government, giving his time without remuneration to service for his country as director of sales of United States treasury certificates of indebtedness, had previously been a well known figure in banking circles of Boise, occupying for ten years the position of cashier of the Pacific National Bank. Mr. Parsons comes of an ancestry that has been distinctively American in the lineal and collateral lines through many generations. His great-great-grandfather, Nathaniel Parsons, removed from Connecticut to Vermont and there built a home that has since been in possession of the family, covering a period of one hundred and fifty years. His son, Nathan Parsons, served as a captain in the Mexican war. He was the father of Nathan S. Parsons, who spent his entire life on the old Vermont homestead, devoting his attention to the occupation of farming to the time of his death, which occurred about fifteen years ago. He had in early manhood wedded Susan Lee, who was also a native of Vermont and, like her husband, of English descent. She was born May 2, 1828, and is yet enjoying good health at the age of ninety-two years, occupying the old Parsons homestead in Rutland county, Vermont. In the family were hut two children, the daughter being Julia E. Parsons, who lives with her mother in New England.

The only son, Frank H. Parsons, was born in Rutland county, Vermont, Febru- ary 5, 1866, on the old homestead, of which he is now the owner. He was graduated from the Vermont State Normal School at the age of sixteen years and through the succeeding four years taught school in the winter seasons in his native county. At the age of twenty he made his way westward and for four years he occupied the position of bookkeeper and teller in the Cloud County Bank at Concordia, Kansas, a bank that was owned by Vermont people. In 1891, when twenty-five years of age, Mr. Parsons removed to Bozeman, Montana, where he was teller in a hank for a year.

In 1892 he arrived in Idaho, locating first at Hailey, where he engaged in the banking business on his own account. In connection with R. F. Buller, formerly a. wealthy citizen of Carthage, Missouri, he purchased the controlling interest in the Fisrt National Bank of Hailey, Mr. Buller becoming the president, with Mr. Parsons as the cashier, a position which he occupied for fourteen years. During the same period he was extensively engaged in mining, opening and developing several silver and lead properties in Blaine county. He also had agricultural and live stock inter- ests in that county and thus conducted business affairs of large extent and impor- tance. In 1907 he disposed of his interests in the Bank of Hailey and afterward

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spent a year in European travel, visiting Ireland, England, Scotland, France, Italy and Spain. He also went to Egypt and to Palestine, where he visited Jerusalem and Jericho. With his return to the United States in 1908 he made his way to Boise, Idaho, where he at once became active in the organization of the Bank of Idaho, which two years later was converted into a national bank under the name of the Pacific National Bank. Of the institution under the first organization and after the nationalization Mr. Parsons served as cashier for a period of ten years, hut in January, 1918, sold his stock in the bank and retired from active business to take a position under the treasury department of the United States government, becom- ing director of sales of the United States treasury certificates of indebtedness-a patriotic service without remuneration.

On the 28th of September, 1910, Mr. Parsons was married to Miss Anna Moore, the youngest daughter of the late Christopher W. Moore, formerly president of the First National Bank of Boise. Mrs. Parsons belongs to the Columbian Club and was very active in Red Cross work and in other organizations which had to do with the furtherance of war interests. Both Mr. and Mrs. Parsons volunteered for service in France, in the quartermaster's department, Mrs. Parsons to do canteen work.

In his political views Mr. Parsons has always been a republican since age con- ferred upon him the right of franchise but has never been a candidate for political office. He has found his chief recreation in golf. He belongs to the Rotary Club, to the Boise Country Club and to the Boise Commercial Club. He has also served as president of the Idaho State Bankers Association.

Fraternally he is connected with the Masons, the Odd Fellows, the Elks and the Knights of Pythias and in Masonry has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite and has crossed the sands of the desert with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. His estimate of life's values is largely correct, his judgment sound in all vital matters, and-his cooperation in affairs of public benefit has been far-reaching and resultant.

PARIS MARTIN.

Paris Martin, senior member of the law firm of Martin & Cameron, of Boise, was born in Blackburn, Saline county, Missouri, June 6, 1881, the eldest of the four children, two sons and two daughters, of Frank T. and Susan Ann (Chowning) Martin, both of whom have passed away. The former was a son of Samuel T. Martin. He was born in Kentucky, and removed with his parents to Saline county, Missouri, when a child. In 1885 he came to Idaho and spent his last days at Idaho Falls, where he passed away in 1908 at the age of fifty-four years.

Paris Martin was a lad of but four years when brought by his parents to Idaho and has since made his home within the borders of the state. The family located on a one hundred and sixty acre ranch adjoining the city of Idaho Falls and there he largely spent his youthful days, assisting his father in ranching and cattle raising. Liberal educational advantages were accorded him and following his graduation from the high school of Idaho Falls he pursued a college preparatory course in Ithaca, New York. It was his intention to enter Cornell University of Ithaca but he was awarded a scholarship at Dartmouth College of Hanover, New Hampshire, and accordingly entered the latter institution in the fall of 1901. He finished his freshman year at Dartmouth and then had to leave school in order to earn the money with which to continue his course. In 1902 he returned to Idaho and spent two years as paymaster and timekeeper at the Milner dam on Snake river, then under construction. At the end of that time he arranged for a course of study in Cornell University Law School, which he entered in the fall of 1904, being graduated therefrom in 1907 on the completion of a three years' course, winning the LL. B. degree. While at Dartmouth he had been pitcher on the baseball team. At Cornell he was also interested in athletics and was pitcher of the Varsity Nine and was right halfback on the football team, making a fine record in athletics in baseball, in football and on the track. Neither were his studies neglected, as he graduated from Cornell University and was admitted to the bar of New York at Rochester on the 9th day of July, 1907. In the fall of that year he came to Boise and at once entered into partnership with William E. Cameron, who had been a classmate at Cornell. The firm of Martin & Cameron still exists and through the intervening period of

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twelve years they have enjoyed a large and important practice, figuring in connec- tion with many notable cases heard in the courts of Boise. Mr. Martin also belongs to the Ada County Bar Association, the Idaho State Bar Association and the Ameri- can Bar Association.

On the 14th of February, 1909, Mr. Martin was married to Miss Winnifred Townsend, a native of Illinois, who had formerly been a teacher in the Boise public schools and was principal of the Washington school. She was educated in the high school at Sycamore, Illinois, and in the University of Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Martin have three children: Paris Townsend, William M. and Winnifred.

Mrs. Martin belongs to the Columbian Club and is a member of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Martin has membership in the Boise Commercial Club and the Boise Country Club and gains his chief recreation from golf, tennis and fishing. In politics he is a democrat but has never sought nor desired political office. How- ever, on three different occasions he has been nominated by his friends, first for the Idaho legislature in 1908 and for prosecuting attorney in 1916 and again in 1918. He has always preferred to concentrate his efforts and attention upon his professional duties, and the firm of Martin & Cameron engages in the general practice of law but also largely makes a specialty of irrigation practice. In all duties of citizenship Mr. Martin maintains a most progressive stand and served as federal food administrator for Ada county in conjunction with Craig Coffin, cashier of the Boise City National Bank.

DANIEL W. CHURCH.

Daniel W. Church, who has recently become connected with the state administra- tion of Boise and who is well known in financial circles in Idaho as the president of the Bannock National Bank of Pocatello, was born upon a ranch near Mankato, Minne- sota, October 18, 1858. His experiences have largely been those of the frontier, with later active connection with the upbuilding and development of the west. He remem- bers distinctly the famous Indian massacre which occurred near Mankato during his youth, when he saw thirty-eight of the Indians who were implicated hanged at that place. One of the settlers warned his father of the outbreak, so that Mr. Church with a yoke of oxen and a wagon moved his family from the ranch where they lived to an old-fashioned windmill, where they safely secreted themselves for the night, and the next day they moved on to Mankato, where they took up their permanent residence and lived in safety. General Sibley was in command of the military forces at the time, and after the thirty-eight Indians were executed, the remainder of the savages were removed to a reservation and this practically ended the Indian trouble in Minnesota.

After leaving school in Mankato at the age of about sixteen years, Mr. Church en- tered a dry goods store as clerk and there remained until 1879, when he removed west- ward to Evanston, Wyoming, where he entered the employ of the Union Pacific Railroad as locomotive fireman, and in 1882 was promoted engineer. He became a resident of Portland, Oregon, and was with the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company as an engineer. He served in that connection until 1883, in which year he went by stage coach from Pendleton, Oregon, to Mountain Home, Idaho, and thence to Shoshone, Idaho. In the fall of the same year he entered the employ of the Oregon Short Line Railroad as an engineer under Master Mechanic Lewis and on the 19th of January, 1884, he pulled the first train from Caldwell to Weiser, which at that time was the terminus of the Oregon Short Line, the construction having been continued only to that point. On the following morning after reaching Weiser and when starting upon the return trip with a mixed train, his train was ditched, caused by the breaking of a switch rod, and the rear part of the train was wrecked. No one was injured, but the accident occa- sioned Mr. Church the loss of his position.

On the 1st of September, 1884, Mr. Church went to Fargo, North Dakota, and accepted a position in the railroad shops hut finally went to work again as an engineer on the Northern Pacific. About the 1st of November of the same year he again lost his job and returned to Shoshone to the home of his parents, where he spent the winter. In the spring of 1886 he went to work in the shops of the Oregon Short Line Railroad at Shoshone and in a short time became a fireman on a locomotive, while in the fall of the same year he was returned to the position of engineer. Thus he con-

DANIEL W. CHURCH

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tinued until December 1, 1889. In the spring of that year he turned his attention to the clothing business in connection with George North of Pocatello but continued on the railroad, however, for a time, while his partner conducted the clothing store. On the 1st of December, however, he entered the store as an active partner in the business. The day has ever been a memorable one to him, for on that day occurred one of the most terrific blizzards that has ever figured in the history of Idaho. On the 1st of Jan- uary, 1895, Mr. Church sold his interest in the store to Mr. North but retained the ownership of the building. He then engaged in the butchering business with Daniel Swinehart, with whom he continued for a year, when he sold out to Sell & Reuss.

Mr. Church has always been more or less deeply and actively interested in politics and in April, 1896, became a candidate for the office of mayor of Pocatello on the re- publican ticket but was defeated. On the 1st of May he purchased the real estate busi- ness of Edward Stein and afterward became associated with Earl C. White of Pocatello and in 1907 sold his interest in the business to his partner. In July of that year he became the cashier of the Bannock National Bank, with which he was thus connected until January 21, 1918, when he became its president. He owns a farm in the Fort Hall irrigation project and is likewise a half owner in the magnificent building on the east side of Pocatello, known as the Church & White block. Associated with Mr. North and Mr. Swinehart, he built the first brick building in Pocatello in 1891 and he and Mr. North moved their clothing stock into this building in 1892.

On the 17th of April, 1894, Mr. Church was married to Miss Chloe Ramsey, of Port- land, Michigan, and they have become parents of four children: Mabel Minerva; Daniel Whipple, Jr., twenty-one years of age, who is now in France with the Medical Depart- ment; Arthur Ramsey, who is sixteen years of age and is attending school in Pocatello; and Bertha Lucinda, a student in the Pocatello high school.

In public affairs and in the social and fraternal life of Pocatello and other sections of the state Mr. Church is widely known. He is a Mason, which order he joined in 1888 in Shoshone, belonging to the blue lodge, chapter and commandery, and he is also connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. It was Mr. Church who or- ganized the Elks lodge in Pocatello in 1901. He is a member of the Rotary Club, also of the Commercial Club and the Shriners Club. In politics he has ever been an earnest republican and in 1909 he was elected as mayor of Pocatello, serving for a two years' term. He also became a member of the first board of trustees. For five years he was a member of the city council, also served on the school board and in 1898 was elected to represent his district in the state senate. In 1912 he acted as county chairman of the republican central committee and he was chairman of the second, third and fourth Liberty Loan committees in Pocatello. Mr. Church was made the toastmaster of the Commercial Club at the dedication of the Oregon Short Line depot here and made the occasion a memorable one with all the old-timers by his ever ready humor, re- calling many incidents of the past which only he among the old-timers was able to relate. He is considered one of the best story tellers and after-dinner speakers in Idaho and his presence at any public entertainment always assures a good time. His popularity is proverbial among all classes. He is a gentleman of the old school and has had a wide and varied experience in western life such as would be impossible to anyone born in the present generation. He possesses a remarkable memory for dates and incidents and was personally acquainted with many of the historical characters of early western life. He is considered one of Pocatello's most enterprising and pro- gressive business men, where he is known to his many friends as "Dan." He has recently entered upon active connection with the interests of Boise as a member of the present administration of state affairs and those who know Daniel W. Church feel that Idaho is most fortunate in gaining his services in this connection.

DANIEL C. MCDOUGALL.

Daniel C. McDougall, to whom public opinion accords the honor of being one of the best attorney generals that Idaho has ever had, is now engaged in the private practice of law in Pocatello. He was born at Delta, New York, about six miles from Rome, on the 5th of June, 1863. His birthplace is now covered by a lake which furnishes storage for the Erie canal. His father, Isaac McDougall, was a native of Schenectady, New York, and was a member of the legislature which elected Roscoe Conkling to the United States senate. His occupation was that of

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farming. His wife was also a native of the Empire state and both have passed away.

Daniel C. McDougall dates his residence in Idaho from 1890, when he settled at Malad, where he took up the practice of law, there remaining for nineteen years, or until 1909, when he was elected to the office of attorney general of Idaho and removed to Boise in January of that year. He served as attorney general during the administration of the late Governor and United States Senator Brady, being reelected, he also served through the administration of Governor Hawley and filled the office with marked credit and ability, being acknowledged one of the most capable men who has ever acted as attorney general of Idaho. With his retirement from office he removed to Pocatello and entered into a partnership rela- tion as a member of the firm of McDougall & Jones, attorneys at law, who now receive a large share of the legal business of this portion of the state. Their offices are located in the Hub building and their clientage is very extensive and important. The thoroughness with which he prepares his cases has always been one of the marked characteristics of Mr. McDougall's law work. He is never surprised by an unexpected attack of an adversary but prepares his cases from the standpoint of defense as well as of prosecution. His mind is naturally analytical, logical and inductive, and his deductions bear the stamp of a keen, clear and most minute reasoning.

In January, 1892, Mr. McDougall was married to Miss Mary Owens, of Ogden, Utah, and they became the parents of four children. Isaac E., twenty-eight years of age, is the present county prosecuting attorney. Harry O., twenty-three years of age, was commissioned second lieutenant at the training camp at Moscow, Idaho, but resigned his commission as a member of the infantry to become a member of the Air Corps, of which he is a first lieutenant. He took part in forty-two bombardments and thirty-eight air battles, was cited for bravery and awarded the distinguished service cross and croix de guerre. He was admitted to the bar without examination by the supreme court when he was commissioned second lieutenant and joined the service of his country. Helen Elizabeth is now attending the University of Wisconsin, pursuing a special course in French and Spanish. Daniel C. Jr., nineteen years of age, became a member of the Students Army Training Corps of Moscow, Idaho. Mr. McDougall has every reason to be proud of what his son did in the aerial service and also his intellectual powers and ac- complishments as a representative of the bar.

While the son was at the front Mr. McDougall was doing his full part to promote the interests of the country through work at home. He was the vice president of the County Council of Defense, was one of the Four Minute men and chairman of the census committee. Fraternally he is an Odd Fellow, an Elk and a Woodman of the World. He is a man of fine poise and pleasant manner, easy of approach, whose ambition is centered in his profession and whose pleasure is centered in his home.

ED. F. FOWLER.

Ed. F. Fowler, the pioneer jeweler of Boise and one whose business record measures up to the highest commercial standards, was born in Stephenson county, Illinois, June 20, 1856, his birthplace being a little one-room log cabin on a farm near Freeport. His parents were Harry G. and Sallie Marie (Pickard) Fowler. The father was born in Vermont and when eighteen years of age went to Illinois with his father and brother. He took up farming in early manhood and also devoted a part of his time to school-teaching. Later he conducted a harness shop in Lena, Illinois, but business interests were accorded none of his attention when the country needed his military aid. He enlisted for service in the Civil . war as a member of Company G, Ninety-second Illinois Regiment, and remained at the front until victory crowned the Union arms. He died in Lena, Illinois, in 1883 and is still survived by his widow, who is now nearly eighty years of age and resides with a daughter in Roscoe, Illinois.

Ed. F. Fowler spent his boyhood and youth at Lena, Illinois, his parents there removing from the farm when he was a little lad of but four summers. He attended the public schools until he reached the age of eighteen years, after which

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he worked in his father's harness shop until he had attained his majority, thorough- ly learning the harness maker's trade save cutting and fitting. His father wished him to become a harness maker but on reaching adult age Mr. Fowler decided upon another course in life. He did not dislike the trade but the extremely high temperature of the harness shop in cold weather proved detrimental to his health, as it was necessary to keep the leather warm and soft. Accordingly he decided to learn the jeweler's trade and apprenticed himself to a local jeweler in Lena, Illinois, serving a term of three years and two months in that store. In 1882 he made his way westward to Nebraska and for eight years was engaged in the jewelry trade there. In 1890 he arrived in Boise, where he opened a jewelry store and has been engaged in the business here ever since, heing the pioneer jeweler of the city engaged exclusively in that line of trade. He helongs to the Idaho State Jewelers Association and is a member of the Idaho Association of Optometrists, of which he has served as president. He has always carried an attractive line of goods and his reasonable prices and earnest efforts to please his patrons have been the foundation of a growing and profitable business.

In Nebraska, Mr. Fowler was married to Miss Sophia Glasser, who was born near Reading, Pennsylvania, and togther they have traveled life's journey for more than thirty-five years. They have two daughters: Maude Inez, who enlisted in government service for the duration of the war, becoming a bookkeeper at Bremerton, Oregon; and Ethel Lucile, at home with her parents. Both daughters are fond of art, in which they have developed decided talent, and the younger daughter is also a musician.

In politics Mr. Fowler has always been a republican. His father was originally a whig but in 1854, on the organization of the republican party, joined its ranks, and in that political faith Ed. F. Fowler was reared and has never seen occasion to change his allegiance. While always a stalwart supporter of republican prin- ciples, he has never been an aspirant for office. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias and is a past chancellor of his lodge. He also has membership in the First Methodist Episcopal church and has been a faithful follower of its teachings, while the sterling traits of character which he has manifested throughout his entire life have gained for him the warm regard of all with whom business or social relations have brought him in contact.

RAYMOND C. WILSON.

Raymond C. Wilson, cashier of the Commercial National Bank of St. Anthony, was born in Denver, Colorado, November 26, 1884, his parents being Marion G. and Mary E. (Chamberlain) Wilson. The father was a native of Ohio and was a railroad man who also followed mining for a number of years. He removed west- ward to Colorado in 1875 and settled in Denver, where he was engaged in the feed business in the early days. He was working in the mines at Georgetown, Colorado, when the state was admitted into the Union. Later he removed to Pueblo and afterward was at Cripple Creek, where he engaged in mining until his death, which occurred May 23, 1917. His wife, who was born in Tennessee, is still living, now making her home at Bremerton, Washington.

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History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume II, Part 30

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