USA > Idaho > History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume II > Part 35
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a call was not to be thwarted by any such pessimism, so another letter came. My reply was, 'Come. see for yourself, don't take my word.' He came, and for a few weeks the newness and the extreme primitiveness of the country almost appalled him, but the pioneer spirit soon got him and from that day to his last day he was an enthusiastic citizen of Idaho.
"We leave to others better qualified to speak the estimate of our friend's career as a business man, lawyer and politician, except that we know that in all these he was actuated by the highest motives and ideals, and history shows that as governor of Idaho his administration was clean and constructive.
"The first twelve years of his life in Idaho were spent at Caldwell, and it was here that we were most closely associated through church and school activities. Morrison did not leave his religion on the other side of the divide, but at once entered the religious activities of the community. This was likewise manifest in his choice of a law partner. He could think of no one who would be more help- ful as a professional man and a Christian in the town than his friend and class- mate in law school, Hon. John C. Rice. So, early in November, 1890, Mr. Rice came to Caldwell, and has proved to be the strong professional and Christian man that his friend had foretold.
"Mr. and Mrs. Morrison soon put their letters into the little Presbyterian Home Mission Church and became active workers, Mr. Morrison superintendent of Sunday school, and with Mr. Rice and others was the founder of the first C. E. Society in Caldwell. He was the third elder elected and ordained in the Caldwell church. Some five times he was sent by the Presbytery of Boise as its lay dele- gate to the general assembly, and on each occasion the interests of the church were wisely cared for by our friend.
"The College of Idaho had been located in the town of Caldwell in the spring of 1890. John was enthusiastic for the school to open for active work, and a large part of the organization of the school was effected by him and his law partner, Mr. Rice. When we opened, October 7, 1891, Morrison and Rice were on hand as teachers in the new college. Morrison held the chairs of English and history, and Rice Greek and mathematics. Mr. Morrison taught in the college for about two years. His students of those years still testify of his efficiency as a teacher of English. He was also secretary of the college board of trustees for over ten years.
. "Mr. Morrison loved the pure and beautiful wherever he found it, in nature, literature or art. He was a delightful companion in the mountains of Idaho; he could describe a sunset or dwell on the beauties of woodland and valley.
"He was a discriminating reader and a real literary critic, and all his own compositions were well finished. His home in Caldwell was a gathering place for all who enjoyed the best in music, literature and art, and Mr. and Mrs. Morrison extended these high ideals through the organiztaion of various literary and musical societies in the community.
"Our brother was a man of large sympathies. He stood for justice as between men. In the hour of calamity or sorrow he was a helpful friend. He was a great home man. To design, build and furnish a house was a delight to him, and to tend the roses on his lawn a real relief after a hard day's work."
On the same occasion Hon. John C. Rice, of Caldwell, who had been associated in law practice with Mr. Morrison there for a number of years and who was asked to speak concerning Governor Morrison as a Christian, professional and public man, said: "A man is known through his various relationships. A man is not abstractly good or bad or mean or generous; his character is known by his rela- tions as husband, father, friend, citizen. And Christianity, when it enters a life, gives tone and color and equality to every relationship which a man assumes. It was my privilege to be associated with Governor Morrison for four years. I could say that I never knew him to do a mean or dishonorable thing. I could say that I never knew him to betray a client or a trust; but I think if I said that I would not be passing a very high compliment upon him. And I think he looked upon the practice of the law and upon his position as a public man in a very different light from that. Nowhere in the Book are we told that it is much of a virtue not to betray your trust and not to do the mean things and the dishonorable things, and I do not think that it occupied a great deal of Governor Morrison's attention or thought to steel himself against doing the things of that sort. But I think that he looked upon his profession and himself as a practitioner at the bar as instru-
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ments of justice. Christianity, as applied to the practice of the law, means, first, justice and truth; it means, next, compassion and mercy; and the highest ideal of every Christian man who enters upon that as upon any other profession is that of service. And when I express these ideals I think I am expressing the ideals that actuated Governor Morrison.
"The same ideals possessed him in his public life-the ideals of truth and justice. He was a very democratic man. I did not enjoy the most intimate association with Governor Morrison at all times, but I did happen to know of his attitude toward certain questions that came up while he was governor. In the eyes of Governor Morrison every citizen occupied the same position as every other citizen, and he did not think that any set of men, or any man of any particular faith, occupied any position in the eyes of the State different from the great body of citizens. All were entitled to the same consideration, the same justice, and no one should ask for more.
"It is every man's ambition, or should be, to be a useful citizen. It should be his ambition to leave his State, if he is at all a public man, somewhat advanced on the road. Governor Morrison's purpose ran along that line. His desire was to do something constructive; his desire was that the State, with his help, should make some progress along right lines."
It was on the 8th of July, 1886, in Jamestown, New York, that Governor Mor- rison was married to Miss Grace Darling Mackey, of Cleveland, Ohio, who was born in Warren, Ohio, a daughter of James Scott and Olive (Susan) Anderson Mackey. The Mackey family was established in Ohio in 1805, becoming pioneers of the Western Reserve. Mrs. Morrison was educated in Lake Erie College and the Uni- versity of Wooster, completing a course in the musical department of the latter institution, and in the same year her future husband graduated from another de- partment of the school. They became acquainted during their student days and it was the year subsequent to their marriage that they were graduated. Mrs. Morrison is a skilled pianist and is an expert in the teaching of music, particularly piano. The art of music has always been her source of recreation and inspiration throughout her life. Her love for this has led her to teach music ever since her marriage, not of necessity but from choice, because of the great pleasure she has derived in making known to others the beauties and harmony of the art. She has also had great delight in literature and has ever been of a studious nature. She belongs to the leading clubs of Boise, including the Columbian and Fortnightly and of the latter has been the president. Governor and Mrs. Morrison became the parents of a daughter and a son; Mary Louise, now the wife of Allen Wilcox, of Star; and John Mackey, who was a student in Bowdoin College of Maine when the United States entered the war and he enlisted in the aviation branch of the service and was commissioned a first lieutenant. He returned to Bowdoin College in 1919. While a veil of privacy should ever shut off the public gaze from the home life, it is well known that Gov- ernor Morrison was largely an ideal husband and father, finding his greatest happi- ness at his own fireside and sharing in each interest of wife and children. Governor and Mrs. Morrison were no more closely associated in any line of activity or interest than in their church work. They were devoted members of the Presbyterian church and on their removal to Caldwell became active members of the Home Mission church there and united with the First Presbyterian church following their removal to Boise. His pastor and a friend of many years' standing said of Governor Mor- rison: 'To live in lives made better by our presence is not to die.' I doubt if this sentiment has stronger emphasis anywhere than it has in our relation with this friend who has finished his work and has entered into his rest. He lives where men are measured by the standard of manhood. He lives where human interests are creeping up laboriously toward attainments in righteousness and justice. He lives where the ideals of humanity are becoming more and more comprehensive and where they who seek to serve their fellowmen are not only thinking the thoughts of men but are thinking the thoughts of God after him. He lives where friendship means something that is rich and sacred and personal, for he was such a friend as grappled you to him with hooks of steel. One of the delightful things about friend- ship is that you are not required always to explain what is in your thought for him or for others. The true friend sits in quietness. The comradeship itself is worth while. He measures your ideals not alone by the words that are spoken hut by the life that is lived, and when life's great tests come he does not ask you to explain the things that he has not understood. He believes in you; he believes in your integrity;
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he trusts you to make good. Such a friend was John Morrison in college, when we were boys together, through the days and the years that multiplied, until this closing year of 1915 when he finished his work. Friendship means more because many of us have learned to know the warm-heartedness and the sturdy integrity of John Morrison. And Christianity means more because of the frank way in which he gave it expression in his life. For twenty years or more I had slight acquaintance with him, but coming again into this region the old friendship was renewed. I have often said to friends east and west that nowhere did I find a man in public life-not often in private life-who would take you into his office and talk personal religion, initiat- ing the subject himself as naturally as he would speak about the sunshine of Idaho or the opportunities of the future years in material affairs. It was the conversation of a man who has traversed the ground again and again in his own mind-a man who has been studying the prinicples of truth-a man who has been seeking to apply them to other lives as well as to his own-a man who has learned the lesson of life from the great Teacher of life. He made his mistakes; he had difficulties that no one knew better than himself. Some lives are smaller because of the obstacles they must meet. Some minds have grown narrow and partisan because of the difficulties that present themselves in life. Some hearts have grown bitter because of the hindrances that are in the way of their progress. I think John Morrison grew more kindly in his thought for his fellowmen. I think there was more of gentleness and persuasion in his life in these latter days and months. He learned from life's dis- appointments and discouragements because he had a fellowship with the Man of Sorrows who was acquainted with grief ...... If John Morrison has been misunder- stood, if his actions have been misinterpreted, he has a large company of men who have suffered with him, when they undertook to stand in any community for the right and the truth. He lived in a state that has adopted some of the ideals which he incorporated but was not permitted to bring to full realization. It is a most fascinating study to see how the states in their development have caught up the ideals of this man, or of that, or of another-how the nations have builded their customs, their laws, their institutions, about the ideals of some man who stands out strikingly at the strategic period of development. Men have said that John Morrison was the first constructive governor of Idaho. I do not know; but I know that he purposed to be a builder-not one that would pull down anything worth while that had ever been built."
ERNEST GEORGE EAGLESON.
Ernest George Eagleson, mayor of Boise, was born on a farm near Cadiz, Ohio, January 13, 1864. With his parents, Andrew Hervey and Martha A. (Kerr) Eagleson, he moved to Jefferson, Iowa, in 1871 and eleven years later to Craig, Nebraska, where the family resided until 1891, when the permanent home was made in Boise, Idaho. Ernest G. Eagleson received his educational training in the Jefferson public schools and academy, in the Fremont Normal College and in the University of Nebraska, graduating from the engineering department of the last named institution in 1889. In 1907, he was married to Miss Viola Scully, formerly of Moscow, Idaho, whose parents came to this state in 1880.
Mr. Eagleson's first engineering experience was with the Des Moines and North- western Railway as assistant to a division engineer in 1881. From that time to the present he has been engaged almost continuously in some form of construction work except when at school or the university. After graduating from the university he was employed by the Burlington Railway as assistant engineer on construction and later by the Union Pacific Coal Company of Wyoming as assistant mining engineer. He was first appointed city engineer of Boise in 1893 by Hon. Peter Sonna and served the city four terms or eight years in that capacity, but not continuously. He was county surveyor of Ada county for one term and served as United States surveyor general for Idaho from 1902 until 1908. He is an associate member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and was president of the Idaho Society of Engineers for one term.
Mr. Eagleson has been connected with various mining, railroad, irrigation and municipal engineering work in the northwest since coming to Boise, notable among which in Idaho was that of the Twin Springs Placer Mining Company, which operated
ERNEST G. EAGLESON
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on the upper Boise river. He was also chief engineer of construction of the New York Canal, now the United States Reclamation main canal, in 1899 and 1900, when water was gotten out upon approximately twenty-three thousand acres of lands to the south of Boise. In connection with his surveys and investigations for the Boise City Carey Act project, consisting of one hundred and fifty-one thousand acres on the south side of the Boise river, Mr. Eagleson discovered the storage value of the Arrowrock reservoir site, called it to the attention of the chief engineers of the United States Reclamation Service and others and made the first study sketch of the now famous dam for filing with Idaho state engineer's office. This plan was followed very closely in construction by the the United States Reclamation Service.
In politics Mr. Eagleson is a stalwart republican and has been untiring in his support of the party and its principles. He has worked earnestly in its behalf and, moreover, he has always stood for civic improvement and development. He has been a close student of questions relative to the upbuilding of Boise and these questions he has studied from the standpoint of a civil engineer who can correctly estimate upon municipal engineering problems and also from the standpoint of the business man, who must consider his financial budget in promoting his plans. On the 22nd of April, 1919, Mr. Eagleson was elected mayor of Boise by a substantial majority. Fraternally he is a Mason, having attained the higher degrees in both the York and Scottish Rites. He is also a member of the Mystic Shrine and of the Woodmen of the World, while in religious affiliation he is a member of the Presbyterian church.
WILLIAM HEALY.
William Healy was born near Windham, Iowa, on the 10th of September, 1881. He attended the University of Iowa for six years, receiving the degree of B. A. in 1906 and LL. B. in 1908. In the latter year he came to Idaho, locating at Silver City in March, 1909. He practiced law at that place until 1914, when he came to Boise, where he has since been located. He represented Owyhee county in the lower house of the state legislature in 1913. In 1917 he was appointed a member of the state board of education.
EDWARD W. VALKER, D. D. S.
The dental profession of Boise finds an able representative in Dr. Edward W. Valker, who is located in the Yates building and has been practicing in the capital city since 1907. He has gained an enviable reputation and now enjoys a large and remunerative practice. He has been a resident of Idaho since 1903, at which time he commenced practice at Emmett. Born on a farm in Libertyville, Illinois, February 27, 1875, Dr. Valker is the youngest of eight children, six sons and two daughters, born to Ernest and Sophia Valker, natives of Germany. They were married, however, in the state of Illinois, and both have now passed away. Their eight children are all living, but Dr. Valker of this review is the only one who makes his home in Idaho. When he was but two years of age the family removed from Illinois to Minnesota and in that state he was reared upon a farm near Glencoe until he was sixteen years of age, receiving his education in the schools of the neighbor- hood. At that age he took up telegraphy at Glencoe and subsequently acted as operator and also as railway brakeman, continuing in either of the two capacities in Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Montana, Colorado and Washington for about seven years.
Not finding satisfaction in those pursuits, he decided to take up the profession of dentistry, giving up railroad work in 1900. In order to pursue the necessary course he removed to Louisville, Kentucky, and there entered the College of Dental Surgery, which he attended for three years, graduating in 1903 with the degree of D. D. S. Having in his railroad connection gained a fair insight into western conditions and perceiving the greater opportunities offered here, he decided to come to Idaho and in 1903 opened an office in Emmett, where he built up a gratifying practice. In 1907, however, he removed to the capital in order to participate in the greater chances offered in a larger city. He soon demonstrated his ability and
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in the course of years has become one of the leading dentists of Boise, now having a large practice and maintaining a well equipped dental suite in the Yates building, which has been his headquarters since 1914. He not only has thorough experience in regard to the medical aspect of dental science but has also the mechanical ability so necessary to the successful pursuit of his profession, so that it is but natural that the list of his patients is very large. Moreover, he is a man of good business ability, of a distinctly energetic and pleasant personality, who readily makes friends, all of which qualities have entered into his success.
On November 26, 1903, at Hutchinson, Minnesota, Mr. Valker was united in marriage to Maude Evelyn Walker, a boyhood acquaintance and schoolmate, and to this union were born four children, three daughters and a son: Carriene Elizabeth, born September 5, 1904; Dorothy Lucile, September 29, 1908; James Lloyd, No- vember 26, 1911; and June Lenora, June 22, 1914. The family are prominent so- cially and both Dr. and Mrs. Valker have many friends in the city, all of whom have been attracted to them by their high qualities of character.
Dr. Valker is a republican but has never found the time nor has he felt the inclination for political office. He finds recreation from his arduous duties in hunting and fishing, thus well balancing a professional life of activity. Fraternally he is connected with the Elks Lodge of Boise and has many friends in this or- ganization. The family home of Dr. and Mrs. Valker is at No. 2009 North Tenth street, where they are located amid pleasant surroundings. The Doctor has become an enthusiastic resident and booster of Boise and has ever been more than willing to lend his aid to measures and movements undertaken on behalf of the betterment of the people or for the expansion and beautification of the city and has thus proven himself a citizen of great value to the community.
CHRISTOPHER K. MACEY.
Christopher K. Macey. who for years was state horticultural inspector of Idaho, is now one of the proprietors of the Boise Valley Nursery Company and also vice president of the Jordan Valley Farms, having for many years been closely con- nected with agricultural and horticultural development in this state. He has been a resident of Idaho for about ten years, having removed to Council from Leaven- worth, Kansas. He was born at Dryden, near Ithaca, New York, February 18, 1869, and is a son of Thomas and Selina (Carrington) Macey, natives of England, in which country they were reared and married. Both were well educated, having been teachers in England. In 1866 they came to the United States, locating in Ithaca, New York, and in that city the father passed away when Christopher K. Macey was hut five years old, leaving a widow and six children, four sons and two daughters, all of whom are still living. The mother passed away at Binghamton, New York, in August, 1919.
Christopher K. Macey was reared in Ithaca, New York, where he attended : public school, rounding out his primary education hy a course in Eastman's Busi- ness College at Poughkeepsie. New York, and also attending George Washington University of Washington, D. C. In 1892 he entered the civil service in the United States fishery commission at Washington, D. C., as stenographer and while serving in that position completed a law course in George Washington University and was admitted to the bar of the District of Columbia. He has, however, never practiced law although his knowledge has been of great value to him in many business connections. For seven years, from 1892 until 1899, he was connected with gov- ernment work in Washington, being three years with the United States fishery commission and four years in the department of justice. For a period of six months in 1898, he was a member of the force of official stenographers in the White House. In 1899 he was sent to Leavenworth, Kansas, as chief clerk of the United States prison there and he held that position for ten years. In 1909 he resigned and in that year came to Idaho for the purpose of constructing the irriga- tion system for the Council-Mesa Orchard Company. For four years he thus gave his close attention to the affairs of that organization as general manager but in 1913 was appointed horticultural inspector of the state of Idaho by Governor John M. Haines and served in that position for two years, ably discharging his duties and carefully studying the situation, making many new suggestions which have
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since proven of value. In 1915 he leased a ranch near Boise and turned his at- tention to horticulture on his own account. In 1916 he purchased this ranch and in 1917 became associated with A. H. Reed as a partner, the latter being an expert nurseryman, formerly very prominent in that line in England, and the two then established the above mentioned ranch, the new business being conducted under the name of the Boise Valley Nursery Company, of which Mr. Reed is nursery- man and Mr. Macey horticulturist. It is distinctively a home industry and there is grown everything which may be used in a yard or orchard. They have for sale all varieties of fruit trees, shade and ornamental trees, shrubbery and vines. The nurseries are located at Pierce Park opposite the Country Club. Six acres of the ranch are now planted to nursery stock. Besides this interest Mr. Macey is vice president of the Jordan Valley Farms, a large realty concern operating in the Jordan valley of Oregon.
On the 22d of January, 1898, Mr. Macey was married to Miss Mabel Babcock, of Washington, D. C., a daughter of Elisha J. Babcock, a veteran of the Civil war, who in his later career served as private secretary to John Sherman and John Hay and is now connected with the state department at Washington, D. C. To Mr. and Mrs. Macey were born five children, one son and four daughters, namely: Dorothy, Marshall, Margaret, Virginia and Helen. The eldest children are graduates of the Boise high school and Marshall is now a student in the University of Idaho.
Mr. Macey has always taken the deepest interest in horticulture and has done much toward promoting his vocation as a science in his state. He is a valued member of the State Horticultural Society. Fraternally he is prominently con- nected with the Masons, in which he has attained the Royal Arch degree, and he also belongs to the Boise Commercial Club, in the movements of which he is deeply and helpfully interested, and he is a valued member of the Boise University Club.
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