History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume II, Part 41

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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MRS. MARY E. RIDENBAUGH.

Mrs. Mary E. Ridenbaugh, a prominent club woman and one who has done much to shape educational development and progress in the state, is numbered among the pioneer residents of Boise. She is the wife of W. H. Ridenbaugh and in her maidenhood bore the name of Mary Elizabeth Black. She was born on a plantation near St. Joseph, Missouri, October 10, 1857, a daughter of Charles M. Black, a farmer and stock raiser, who throughout his entire life engaged in business along those lines. He, too, was a native of Missouri and during the Civil war he served with the Confederate army under General Sterling Price. Six of his brothers were also Confederate soldiers under General Price. The mother of Mrs. Riden- baugh was Annis Matilda Daniels, a daughter of Archibald and Harriette Lee (Hutson) Daniels. Annis Matilda Daniels was born in the state of Illinois. Mrs. Ridenbaugh is descended in both the paternal and maternal lines from Revolu- tionary war stock. Her maternal ancestors lived in Virginia, while the Black fam- ily was represented in Kentucky.

In 1864, when but seven years of age, Mrs. Ridenbaugh was brought by her parents to the territory of Idaho. They traveled westward with a train of one hundred wagons, each drawn by Missouri mules. The complete emigrant train made the journey from the vicinity of St. Joseph, Missouri, and the Black family located on the site now occupied by the city of Caldwell in Canyon county, Idaho. This district was named Dixie by the thirty or more of the hundred families who located at that point. The Black family remained at the Dixie settlement for a year and in 1866 removed to a cattle ranch in Ada county, about fifteen miles east of Boise. There Mrs. Ridenbaugh remained until she reached the age of fourteen years and while her parents were living upon the ranch she acquired her pre- liminary education in St. Michael's parish school. Later she attended St. Vin-

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cent's convent in Walla Walla, Washington, for two years and afterward com- pleted her education in the State Normal School at San Jose, California, in which she continued her studies for two years. In the meantime, after leaving the con- vent at Walla Walla and before entering the California State Normal, she taught two terms of school in Ada county. It was her intention to make teaching a pro- fession hut on the 3d of February, 1878, just a few months after returning from the normal school at San Jose, she was married to William H. Ridenbaugh, the well known Boise lumber dealer and merchant miller. Accordingly she never resumed teaching but has since devoted herself to her home and family and her public work. She has one daughter, Mary Florence, who was married October 10, 1916, to Lieutenant Colonel Calvin D. Cowles, Jr., of the Medical Corps of the United States army.

Mrs. Ridenbaugh has ever been a broad student and reader and has taken a very active part in support of educational interests, serving under three different governors as a member of the board of regents of the Idaho State University, and in recognition of her valuable service to that institution the women's dormitory at Moscow was named Ridenbaugh Hall. She it was who planned the dormitory and did much to carry the plan forward to successful completion. It was also while acting as regent that she succeeded in introducing the domestic science feature of the school, now constituting one of its valuable departments.

Mrs. Ridenbaugh has been a leading figure in club circles in the state. She was one of the organizers of the Columbian Club of Boise, becoming a charter member, and has held every official position in the club. She was also a charter member of the Fortnightly Club, has served as its president and also as president of the Elizabethan Literary Club of Boise, of which she was likewise one of the organizers. She became a charter member of the Women's Relief Corps of Boise and she is also prominent in the work of St. Michael's Episcopal church. She served as the first president of the Woman's Parish Guild, an auxiliary of the church and she has been a leader in all of the war work instituted and carried forward by the church and by the Boise Red Cross, of which she was likewise one of the organizers. She is also a member of Jeff Davis Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy of San Francisco, California. Perhaps no woman in Idaho has served on as many boards of various kinds as Mrs. Ridenbaugh. Actuated hy the spirit of progress at all times, her work has been of most tangible value and per- haps has been no greater or more far-reaching in its results than in the establish- ment of the domestic science course of study in the Idaho State University. She devoted five years to the planning and development of this department while on the board of regents and brought it to such a point of perfection that it has been used as a model by the universities of many other states. She also labored un- tiringly for eight years to secure the Carnegie library for Boise and again her efforts were crowned with success. To Mrs. Ridenbaugh, more than to any other resident of Boise, is due the credit of having the beautiful library here. Her labors have heen directly resultant along many lines of progress and the value of her work can scarcely be overestimated.

LEWIS J. MAGEE.

Lewis J. Magee, secretary of the Boise-Payette Water Users Association and a resident of Caldwell, was born in Bloomfield, Davis county, Iowa, October 23, 1868, his parents being John L. and Nancy A. (Thorp) Magee. The father was also a native of Davis county, Iowa, while the former was born in Jefferson county, Missouri, on the 12th day of February, 1840. During his early life John L. Magee engaged in teaching school and later took up the occupation of farming in Iowa. In 1898 he removed to California and now makes his home at San Jose, where he is living retired from active business. He served during the Civil war as a member of an Iowa regiment, and his patriotism has ever been of a lofty character. His wife passed away in 1902.

Spending his youthful days under the parental roof, Lewis J. Magee attended the common and high schools of Bloomfield, Iowa, and later entered the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. He next pursued a business course at Burlington, Iowa, which he completed in 1892, and then returned to Nebraska, where he engaged in teaching for about eight years. In 1901 he came to Caldwell and took up farming, which he

LEWIS J. MAGEE

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followed continuously until 1917, when he rented his land and became secretary of the Boise-Payette Water Users Association, in which capacity he represents the farm- ers and other users of the water supply. He is also one of the eleven members of the board of directors of the association.

In 1892 Mr. Magee was united in marriage to Miss Mina Price, of Essex county, Ontario, Canada, and they have become the parents of four children: Wallace J., who is engaged in farming near Caldwell; Kenneth L., who was a member of the artillery, stationed at Camp Lewis, Washington; and Doris R. and Rosalie E., who are pupils in the Caldwell schools.

Mr. Magee gives his political allegiance to the democratic party and in 1915 was a member of the state legislature from Canyon county. He is interested in all that has to do with the welfare and upbuilding of his state and has been the supporter of many movements looking to the general good. His religious faith is that of the Baptist church and its teachings guide him in all the relations of life. For recreation he turns to hunting and fishing, but he is a man who finds keen pleasure in his work, deriving from it the joy which comes from the accomplishment of a well defined purpose.

DAVID RIRIE.

The late David Ririe, who gave the best years of his life to the business in- terests and religious activities of his community and for whom the town of Ririe, Jefferson county, was named, was born in West Weber, Weber county, Utah, Novem- ber 21, 1860, and died in Denver, Colorado, July 3, 1919, after an illness of almost two years. He was a son of James and Anne (Boyack) Ririe, both of whom were natives of Scotland. They came to America in their youth, probably some time in the '40s, and here married. They then established their home in Weber county, Utah, on a homestead where they remained for a number of years developing their land into a modern farm. Sometime later they bought a farm near Ogden valley, Utah, and there they spent the rest of their lives, the death of the father occurring in 1904 and that of the mother in 1915.

David Ririe received a public school education in Weber county, Utah, where he grew to manhood, rendering valuable assistance to his parents in the cultivation of the homestead. Thus in early life he laid the foundation of the success he later achieved when he took up agricultural operations on his own account. On reaching his majority, he left his father's home to engage in sheep raising with his brother and continued at that occupation until 1890. That year witnessed his arrival in Idaho and he located in that part of Bingham county which later was included in Jefferson county, where he took up a homestead. In those days this country pre- sented a far different appearance from what it does today for it was almost entirely covered with sage brush. Such was the condition of Mr. Ririe's homestead when he arrived here, but he set to work with his limited equipment, cleared his land which, after years of toil, he developed into one of the best improved farms in the state of Idaho. After the death of Mr. Ririe, his wife took up the management of this farm of one hundred and sixty acres, the cultivation of which she supervises along with one hundred and sixty acres of dry land which she owns and two hundred and forty acres which she leases and intends to purchase.

In the course of time that part of Jefferson county where Mr. Ririe had located had developed to such an extent as to warrant the need of a commercial center. He was the first to recognize this need and accordingly in 1915 platted the site of the town of Ririe which received its name from the proprietor. Determined upon the assurance of a successful future for the town, he then used his influence to secure the railroad facilities which the citizens now enjoy. Thus whatever dis- tinction this busy village acquires in the future will in the last analysis be traceable to the wisdom and foresight of its founder. Aside from agriculture Mr. Ririe had extensive business interests in that part of the county of which he was a resident. For years he was water master and a director of the Farmers Friend Canal Com- pany and at the time of his death he was president of the same. He was also a stockholder in and vice president of the First National Bank of Ririe and owned stock in the Ririe Mill & Elevator Company, the Ririe Garage, the Ucon grist mill and the Farmers Equity Elevator Company.

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On September 14, 1893, Mr. Ririe was united in marriage to Leah A. Lovell, who was born in Oak City, Millard county, Utah, November 1, 1877. She is the daughter of Joseph H. and Ellen ( Radford) Lovell, the former being a native of Nauvoo, Illinois, and the latter of Provo, Utah. When only a small child Joseph H. Lovell removed to Utah with his parents who located on a farm in that state in the early days. There he received the limited schooling which the frontier settle- ments at that time afforded and remained on his father's farm, acquiring a practical training in agriculture, until he started out for himself. He carried on farming operations until 1890, in which year he left Utah and located in Star valley, Wyo- ming, where he farmed for two years. He then removed to Idaho and settled in that part of Fremont county which later became a part of Bonneville county. There he remained until his death, which occurred in the month of June in the year following that of his arrival. The mother survives and is now living in Bonneville county.

To Mr. and Mrs. David Ririe were born eight children namely: David the eldest who died on January 20, 1895, at the age of six months; Joseph H. and James E. who are farming the home place; Elizabeth A., George F., Parley A., Eldon C. and Sylvia, all of whom are living at home.

Mr. Ririe was, as is his wife, a lifelong and zealous member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and from the time of his coming to Jefferson county until his death he was continuously performing some valuable service which resulted in furthering the best interests of bis denomination. He was a member of the Shelton ward from 1890 until 1910, during which time he served as a ward and Sunday school teacher. He then became bishop of the Perry ward and retained this position until the Ririe ward was established in February, 1918, when be was made bishop of the latter ward and served in that capacity until his death in the following year. He also spent twenty-six months in England as a missionary of his church. Because of his superior business ability and good judgment, -Mr. Ririe was frequently called upon to lend his assistance in the erection of church edifices for his denomination in Jefferson county. Such was the case when the meeting houses of the Shelton, Perry and Ririe wards were erected, and during the con- struction of the stake tabernacle at Rigby, he served as a member of the finance committee which did an important piece of work in raising the funds for the erection of this structure.

In politics Mr. Ririe took his stand with the democratic party, but he never sought political honors, although he served as justice of the peace for a number of years. It must appear to the casual observer who reviews the life and achievements of this man that with his passing there was lost to the community a citizen of sterling worth and of unselfish devotion to the common weal.

LEWIS C. MERRELL.

Lewis C. Merrell, who is well known in business and financial circles in Boise, was born in Syracuse, New York, October 25, 1877; a son of G. Lewis and Mary (Seward) Merrell. Both were representatives of old and prominent families of New York, having ancestors in the Revolutionary war. The founder of the Merrell family on this side of the Atlantic landed at Newburyport, Massachusetts, in 1632. The Merrells were of French extraction, while the Sewards, who have also been in this country for many generations, are of Scotch descent.

Lewis C. Merrell was graduated from Amherst College at Amberst, Massa- chusetts, in 1899, at the age of twenty-one years. For a number of years he was actively engaged with Merrell-Soule Company, a large manufacturing concern of Syracuse, New York, of which his father was one of the founders. In 1914 he came to Boise, Idaho, seeking a more equable climate and has since made his home here. For several years he was vice president of the Overland National Bank here and at this writing is a director of the Boise Stone Company. He is likewise a member and director of the Boise Commercial Club, the Boise Country Club and the University Club. He also belongs to the Rotary Club bere.

On June 17, 1914, Mr. Merrell was married in Syracuse, New York, to Miss Delphine Michael, a native of Syracuse and a boyhood acquaintance. Mr. and Mrs. Merrell have a daughter, Dorothy, who was born in 1915. They are members of

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St. John's Roman Catholic church, and fraternally Mr. Merrell is connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He has taken an active and prominent part in the city's affairs since he located here and has done much toward promoting measures that have proved of benefit to the community. In politics he is a repub- lican and while a resident of Syracuse, New York, served as president of the com- mon council and also on the board of estimate. Since coming to Boise he has demonstrated his value as a citizen, having contributed toward development along various lines.

ALBERT S. THOMPSON.

Albert S. Thompson is a well known and influential factor in the business life of Rigby as president of the Idaho Title & Loan Company. His birth occurred in Macon county, Missouri, November 3, 1877, his parents being Joseph S. and Elizabeth (Troutt) Thompson, both of whom were natives of Kentucky. In the '30s the father accompanied his parents on their removal to Missouri, the journey being made by ox team. He was but six years of age when they located in Macon county, that state, where he was reared and educated and where he carried on general agricultural pursuits throughout his active business career. At the time of hostilities between the north and the south he enlisted in a Missouri regiment, with which he served during the period of the war with the exception of five months when he was suffering from a wound received in an engagement in which he took part. He passed away in November, 1913, and is survived by his widow, who is still living on the old home place in Missouri with all the other members of the family save Albert S. of this review and a brother who resides in Chicago.

The youthful days of Albert S. Thompson were spent in Macon county, Missouri, where he acquired his early education, later pursuing a course in the Gem City Business College at Quincy, Illinois. On the completion of his studies in that in- stitution he returned to his home in Macon county, where he remained until he reached the age of twenty-two years. In 1900 he went to Butte, Montana, where he was employed in a store until the fall of 1902, when he came to Idaho and for two months was a resident of Idaho Falls. On the expiration of that period he located on a homestead near Market Lake in Jefferson county, where he carried on farming for three years. In 1905 he embarked in the real estate business at Market Lake, now Roberts, and was there successfully engaged along that line until 1915. In the latter year he removed to Rigby, where he has since remained active in business as president of the Idaho Title & Loan Company. He is likewise a stockholder in the Beet Growers Sugar Company and the Idaho State Live Stock Company and is the owner of two business blocks in Roberts.

On the 1st of February, 1904, Mr. Thompson was united in marriage to Miss Jennie B. Burwell, by whom he has three children: Harold S., born December 3, 1904; Yula E., whose birth occurred December 3, 1909; and Waldo R., whose natal day was June 21, 1917.

Mr. Thompson gives his political allegiance to the democratic party and in 1917 was elected to the office of city clerk, to which he was reelected in 1919, making a most creditable and commendable record in that connection. Fraternally he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, while his religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church. Success has attended his well directed efforts along business lines and he has long been numbered among the prosperous, repre- sentative and esteemed citizens of Rigby and Jefferson county.

JACOB C. ALLMON.

Jacob C. Allmon is one of the best known and highly respected citizens of Emmett, where he is filling the office of mayor and at the same time is master of Butte Lodge No. 37, A. F. & A. M. In business circles, too, he has a wide acquaint- ance by reason of the fact that he is holding a responsible position with the Citizens Lumber Company. He was born in Benton county, Arkansas, July 12, 1880, and is a son of William Thomas Allmon, whose birth occurred in Memphis county, Tennes-

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see, October 1, 1832. He served in the Confederate army with a Missouri regiment, holding the rank of first lieutenant during the Civil war, and in days of peace he devoted his life to the occupation of farming. He passed away in Bardwell, Texas, July 10, 1916, after having been three times married. He first wedded Anna Brown, and his second marriage was with Annie Basinger, who was also a native of Tennessee and who died when her son Jacob C. was but three years of age. Later the father wedded Susan Collins, by whom he had no children, and she proved a kind and most considerate stepmother. She, too, has departed this life. Jacob C. Allmon has one own brother and an own sister; Horace K., a resident of Cascade, Idaho; and Mrs. Esther Wylie, who makes her home near Pineville in southwestern Missouri.

When Jacob C. Allmon was but eight years of age his father removed to south- western Missouri, where he was reared upon a farm in McDonald county, his edu- cation being acquired in the public schools and in the Pea Ridge Normal College at Pea Ridge, Arkansas. He attended that institution for two terms and at the age of twenty-one years took up the profession of teaching in Franklin county, Arkansas, where he continued through one term, while later he taught for two terms in McDonald county, Missouri. He afterward pursued a course of study in the Kansas City Business College in 1906 and immediately on the completion thereof came to Idaho and has since made his home in Emmett. For more than twelve years he was buyer for the hardware and grocery department of a large general store at Emmett but resigned that position on the 1st of March, 1919, and for a short time looked after his private interests, consisting of a ten acre prune orchard about four miles from Emmett, now coming into bearing. He is also half- owner of the Liberty Theatre at Emmett, which is the leading moving picture house of the city. It seems that his three-year-old orchard will soon be a very profitable property. Recently Mr. Allmon accepted a responsible position with the Citizens Lumber Company at Emmett, which he is now representing as bookkeeper and manager.

On the 4th of March, 1902, Mr. Allmon was married in southwestern Missouri to Miss Lula Stith and they have one daughter, Myrl, who was born October 17, 1905. Mr. Allmon gives his political allegiance to the democratic party and on the 22d of April, 1919, was elected to the office of mayor of Emmett, in which position he is proving most capable, giving to the city a businesslike and progressive admin- istration. He is the master of the Masonic lodge at Emmett, is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason and a Shriner, being a member of Elkorah Temple. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, is a past grand of the lodge and a past chief patriarch in the encampment. He is likewise con- nected with the Commercial Club and any project which is of value to the city or a matter of vital concern to its welfare is sure to receive his endorsement and earnest support.

W. W. KIMPLE.

W. W. Kimple is a self-made man who has devoted his life to farming and cattle raising, in which business he is now successfully engaged at Caldwell. He was born in Andrew county, Missouri, February 22, 1872, and there attended school. His resi- dence in the west dates from 1898, at which time he took up the occupation of farm- ing near Caldwell and also conducted a livery stable at Emmett for about three years. Since then he has concentrated his energies upon his agricultural and stock raising interests, and his success has placed him among the men of affluence in his com- munity. In his boyhood there were many trying years when he encountered difficulties and obstacles, but these did not lessen his courage or his determination, and by per- sistent energy and industry he has worked his way steadily upward.

On the 27th of July, 1916, Mr. Kimple was united in marriage to Miss Clara Maxey, a daughter of Dr. W. C. Maxey, who was a pioneer of Caldwell and who had served in the Civil war. He came to Idaho in 1887 and in various ways entered prom- inently into the public life and development of the state. He was a son of Dr. Wil- liam A. Maxey, a native of Tennessee, who settled in Illinois in 1818, the year of the admission of that state into the Union. There his son, Dr. William C. Maxey, was reared and in 1861 joined the First Independent Regiment of Illinois Cavalry. After

MR. AND MRS. W. W. KIMPLE

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several months his command was mustered out of service and he reenlisted as a mem- ber of Company G of the Eightieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. In his subsequent service he was captured by the Confederates and confined in the prison on Belle Isle for several months. At the close of the war he received an honorable discharge, with the rank of first sergeant, and then returned to his home in Illinois, where he gave his attention to the study and practice of medicine until 1883, when he removed to Marcus, Iowa. There he remained until 1887, when he came to Idaho and soon won recognition not only as one of the most able physicians and surgeons of Caldwell hut also as one of the leading figures in the public life of the state. He was a member of the first constitutional convention of Idaho, was the first commandant of the Soldiers Home at Boise and was a past grand commander of the Grand Army of the Republic in this state. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Sarah A. Lane and was a daughter of Gilbert Lane, passed away in Boise in December, 1907, and Dr. W. C. Maxey died at the National Soldiers Home in southern California, December 27, 1912. They were the parents of Dr. E. E. Maxey, a prominent physician of Boise,

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History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume II, Part 41

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