USA > Idaho > History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume II > Part 45
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Mr. Dion is a native of the province of Quebec, Canada. He was born April 4, 1873, and is a son of Pierre and Celina (Chotte) Dion, both of whom were French Canadians. On crossing the border they located in Minneapolis, Minne- sota, their son, Joseph P., being then a lad of twelve years. During his youth he was employed at construction work in the woods and in sawmills and he may be said to have grown up in sawmills, for from an early age he spent much time around plants of this character, more and more largely acquiring a knowledge of the business. For eighteen years he was in the employ of W. A. Wilkinson, a prominent sawmill builder of Minneapolis, who passed away in 1914, at which time Mr. Dion became his successor in the building of sawmills. His experience had been broad and varied and he had gained intimate and accurate knowledge of every phase of the business through practical training. He has been awarded the contracts for some of the largest sawmills erected in the northwest and the larg- est in Idaho. He built in Idaho the Barber mill, also the Emmett mill and the Potlatch mill, which are the three largest plants of the kind in the state. He had become recognized as the foremost representative of this line of work in Idaho and when on the 1st of January, 1917, he retired from business operations of that kind he purchased his present fine furniture store in Emmett-a store that in every way is equal to similar establishments in the larger cities. Emmett may well be proud to have a store of this character in her midst. He carries a large and carefully selected line of goods and his business methods are such as com- mend him to the confidence and support of the public.
On the 27th of December, 1911, Mr. Dion was married in Minneapolis, Minne- sota, to Miss Mary Magdalene Riedel, who had been a close friend of his sister, Ida Dion, who is now Mrs. Earl Stewart. Both Mr. and Mrs. Dion are members of the Catholic church. She is an accomplished singer-a member of the church choir.
Mr. Dion is a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, also of the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Order of Foresters. His political allegiance is given to the republican party, but he has never. sought or desired office, prefer-
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ring to concentrate his efforts and attention upon his business affairs. He has ever displayed determination and energy and had the reputation of being one of the most rapid as well as accurate mill builders of the United States. Something of the volume of the business which he controlled is indicated in the fact that he employed at times from one hundred to six hundred men in the erection of the large sawmills for which he received the contracts. He had the ability to systema- tize the work and in all things has been methodical as well as enterprising, so that he has been able to produce a maximum result with a minimum expenditure of time, labor and material. This is the secret of all business success-a fact which Mr. Dion early learned. He had no college training. His lessons were learned in the school of experience and were of a most practical character. He early learned what energy and determination are worth in the active affairs of life and upon these qualities he has builded his success, pushing steadily forward to the desired goal.
JAMES DUCKWORTH.
James Duckworth, vice president of the Blackfoot City Bank and also presi- dent of the Blackfoot Mercantile Company, is a most progressive business man who readily recognizes and utilizes the opportunities offered in the growing northwest Nor has his attention been confined wholly to business affairs. He has ever rec- ognized his duties and obligations in citizenship and in connection with the moral development of the community and he is the president of the Blackfoot stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
He was born in Preston, Lancashire, England, November 10, 1865, and is a son of James and Alice (Chippendale) Duckworth, who were also natives of Eng- land. The father is a miller by trade and was employed in the cotton mills of his native country for many years. Later he went to Australia and afterward to New Zealand, where he has been employed in connection with the lumber business for a considerable period. He has now reached the age of seventy-five years. He and his wife separated and the mother of James Duckworth came to America with her children in 1880. She made her way westward to Taylorsville, Utah, and the fol- lowing year she became the wife of William Beardshall and removed to Fairfield. Later she became a resident of Provo and from that city went to Salt Lake, where she resided throughout her remaining days, her death there occurring October 16, 1913.
James Duckworth spent his early youth in England and afterward accompanied his mother to Utah. His early education, acquired in the schools of his native land, was supplemented by study in the State University at Salt Lake and some years later he attended the Latter-day Saints College. When his textbooks were put aside he engaged in sheep raising in connection with his brother-in-law, Peter G. Johnston, and they were thus active representatives of the sheep industry in Utah and Idaho for twenty-two years. Mr. Duckworth made his home in Salt Lake City until August, 1907, when he came to Blackfoot, where he continued in the sheep business until 1914, when he sold out. In the meantime he became inter- ested in the Blackfoot Mercantile Company as one of its organizers and promoters and from the beginning has served as its president. This company has developed one of the large commercial enterprises of the city and the business is one of sub- stantial and gratifying proportions. Mr. Duckworth was also one of the organizers of the Blackfoot City Bank, which was established in July, 1916, and from the beginning he has been its vice president, the other officers being John C. Millick, president, and George A. Anderson, cashier. The bank is capitalized for fifty thou- sand dollars and has a surplus of ten thousand dollars, and deposits amounting to four hundred thousand dollars. From the beginning it has enjoyed a prosperous existence, its business steadily growing as the result of the sound judgment and enterprise dis- played by its officers. Mr. Duckworth has also engaged in farming continuously since coming to Idaho and still owns farm property adjoining the city. While in the sheep business he made a specialty of handling high grade Rambouillets and did not a little to improve the grade of sheep raised in this section of the state. In every field of activity in which he has labored he has proved forceful and resourceful, and his energies have brought him prominently to the front as a leading business man.
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On the 21st of September, 1892, Mr. Duckworth was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Hanson and they have adopted and reared four children, namely: Roxie, Muriel, James and Rex. Mr. Duckworth has long been a valued and prom- inent member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In April, 1894, he went to England on a mission for the church and there remained until June, 1896. He afterward went to Mercur, Utah, in August, 1899, as a missionary, con- tinuing there until July, 1900. In July, 1901, he and his wife went to Australia, where he was called to preside over the Australian mission, returning in July, 1906. At the time of coming to Blackfoot he was called here by the church to preside over this stake. Politically he is a republican and has served as a delegate to state and county conventions, his opinions carrying considerable weight in the party coun- cils. In 1910 he built a fine modern brick home in Blackfoot on land that was all sagebrush when it came into his possession and is now in the heart of the city. Mr. Duckworth is recognized as one of the most prominent and influential resi- dents of this part of Idaho. Laudable ambition has prompted him at every step in his career and untiring energy has been one of his dominant qualities. He has the faculty of discriminating readily between the essential and the non-essential in all business affairs, and quickly discarding the latter, he utilizes the former to its full advantage and step by step he has worked his way upward until he now occupies a most enviable position in commercial, financial and religious circles.
HON. ROBERT NORMAN BELL.
Hon. Robert Norman Bell, of Boise, inspector of mines for the state of Idaho, was born in the north of England, February 16, 1864. His father, James Bell, was a me- chanic and both he and his wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Bell, have now passed away, neither ever having come to the United States. Robert N. was an only son but has two sisters who are now residents of Boston. He attended the public schools of England in his hoyhood days and came to the United States alone when a youth of sixteen years to make his fortune. He first spent a year and a half on a tobacco farm in Rock county. Wisconsin, and then resumed his westward journey, traveling to Montana. He spent two years in that territory engaged in railroad tunnel and coal mining work. He was but eighteen years of age when he arrived there and in 1884, when a young man of twenty years, he came to Idaho.
Mr. Bell first took up his abode in Lemhi county; where he spent twelve years engaged in gold mining, prospecting and general development work. During this period he completed a course in geology and mineralogy through the International Cor- respondence School of Scranton, Pennsylvania. For the past twenty years he has been a constant contributor to the eastern mining journals and press on topics relating to mining interests and conditions of the west. In 1902 he was elected mining inspector of Idaho on the state republican ticket, at which time he was a resident of Custer county, where he had engaged in mining. With the exception of two years, 1909 and 1910, he has since held the office of state mine inspector and has been elected to the position eight times, on each occasion receiving a larger majority than at the previous election, and since 1902 he has never been defeated for the office. In 1908 he refused to again become a candidate in order that he might turn his attention to fruit farm- ing, but two years at that satisfied his ambition along that line. In 1910, therefore, he again consented to become a candidate for state mine inspector, was reelected and has since been chosen for the office by popular suffrage at each biennial period. His majorities have been the largest ever accorded any candidate for a state office in Idaho and at the last election, when all democratic candidates but three were elected, his majority was over eight thousand. He is the author of a volume entitled "Mining Industry of Idaho" and has issued the annual reports from 1903 until 1918 save in the years 1909 and 1910, when he was out of office.
On the 16th of February, 1903, Mr. Bell was married to Miss Emma F. Stevens, a daughter of Judge F. S. Stevens, of Blackfoot, Idaho, and they have become the parents of a son and a daughter, Fred and Bessie, aged respectively twelve and fourteen years. Mr. Bell has an attractive suburban home on the Boise Bench, four miles from the city, his place comprising ten acres of valuable land. It is a fine estate on which
HON. ROBERT N. BELL
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he has made many modern improvements, including the erection of a beautiful dwelling.
Mr. Bell is a member of the Episcopal church and fraternally is a Mason. In these associations are found the rules which govern his conduct and shape his course in relation to his fellowmen. He is also a member of the Boise Commercial Club, while along scientific lines he has membership with the Idaho Mining Association, the Mine Inspectors' Institute of the United States, the Utah Society of Engineers, the Idaho Society of Engineers and the American Institute of Mining Engineers, in which membership indicates high professional standing and marked personal ability as a representative of the great mining industry.
BENJAMIN W. DRIGGS.
Benjamin W. Driggs, engaged in the practice of law in the town of Driggs, Teton county, was born at Pleasant Grove, Utah, January 31, 1858, his parents being Benjamin W. and Olivia (Pratt) Driggs, who were natives of Ohio and of England respectively, the mother's birth having occurred in England while her parents were on a visit in that country. The maternal grandfather, living at Nauvoo, Illinois, made wagons for the pioneer Mormons to use in crossing the plains to Utah. Benjamin W. Driggs, Sr., made the long trip with ox team and wagon to this state in company with his parents in 1851, the family home being established at Pleasant Grove. After reaching man's estate Benjamin W. Driggs, Sr., took up the business of merchandising and resided at Pleasant Grove throughout his remaining days. He was, however, in Ogden at the time of his death, which occurred October 1, 1913, when he had reached the venerahle age of eighty-six years, his birth having occurred June 12, 1827. The mother, who was horn June 1, 1841, died in 1906. In their family were twelve children. Mrs. Driggs was a daughter of Parley P. Pratt, one of the first apostles of the church and a most prominent representative of the Mormon people, being connected through much of his life with the direction of missionary labors.
Benjamin W. Driggs was reared at Pleasant Grove, Utah, and after attending school there continued his education in the University of Utah at Salt Lake City and in the Brigham Young College at Provo. He then went to Michigan and entered the state university at Ann Arbor for the study of law, being there graduated with the class of 1886. He afterward opened an office and engaged in law practice at Provo for two years, at the end of which time he removed to Salt Lake City, where he continued in the active work of his profession for fifteen years, being there asso- ciated with LeGrand Young. In 1888 he arrived in Teton county, then a part of Bingham county, to look over the country but did not locate permanently until 1891. Here he homesteaded and for some time continued in the practice of law. Following the death of his wife, however, he returned to Salt Lake City, where he again engaged in law practice until 1907, when he once more established his home at Driggs and resumed his law practice. He is a distinguished and ahle member of the Idaho bar who prepares his cases with great thoroughness and care and presents his cause in a most clear and cogent manner. He has been connected with much of the important litigation tried in the courts of this district in recent years and the court records hear evidence of his ability in the many favorable verdicts which he has won. He has served as prosecuting attorney for two years and was the first prosecuting attorney of the Teton valley. He also served as the first vil- lage attorney and occupied the position for several years. In addition to his law practice he has farming interests and cultivates three hundred acres of land about four miles from Driggs, where he likewise engages in dairying. He also owns city property, hut the major part of his time and attention is given to his law practice, which is now extensive and of an important character. At the present writing he is serving as attorney for the Teton National Bank.
On the 25th of November, 1880, Mr. Driggs was united in marriage to Miss Olive Harrington, a daughter of Bishop Leonard E. Harrington, of American Fork, Utah. They became the parents of four children, as follows: Lois Lenora, who was born October 29, 1881, and is the wife of George E. Steele, of Salt Lake City; Jean H., who was born November 1, 1892, and is a civil engineer of Salt Lake City; Reve, who was born August 20, 1883, and passed away April 26, 1890; Elliott Ben.
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jamin, whose birth occurred March 20, 1889, and who died on the 3d of April, 1890. The wife and mother was called to her final rest on the 5th of February, 1893, and on the 25th of June, 1894, Mr. Driggs was again married, his second union being with Elizabeth Langton. To them have been born twelve children, namely: Gordon L., whose birth occurred January 15, 1896; Byron D., born October 20, 1897; Leon- ard E., whose natal day was December 12, 1898; Milton V., who was born May 15, 1900, and died the following day; Melvin P., born July 5, 1901; Ella M., born Octo- ber 24, 1902; Zoram U., born December 14, 1904; Irving M., horn August 25, 1906; Olivia E., who was born May 3, 1909, and died July 15, 1910; Ruth B., born Novem- ber 15, 1911; Ronald W., born August 17, 1913; and Fred G., who was horn on the 7th of August, 1915.
Mr. Driggs is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is one of the Quorum of Seventy. He has held various other offices in the church and he has also been an active factor in political circles as a supporter of the demo- cratic party. On one occasion he was a candidate for the state legislature but was defeated. The offices which he has filled have been largely in the line of his pro- fession, in which he has made a most excellent record.
W. HARRISON HOMER.
A young business man of Jefferson county who has risen from a messenger boy to a position of importance and responsibility in the banking circles of his section is W. Harrison Homer, who became cashier of the First National Bank of Ririe and is still serving in that capacity. His paternal grandparents were Russell K. and Eliza (Williamson) Homer, the former of whom was originally from the Em- pire state and the latter from Utah. The grandfather migrated to Utah in 1859 and was a rancher near Salt Lake City for a number of years. Later he removed to the northern part of the state and there carried on agricultural operations until he located in Clarkston, Utah, where he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring in February, 1893. His son, Russell K. Homer, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work and who is the father of W. Harrison Homer, was born in Salt Lake City, July 6, 1859. He removed with his parents to Clarkston, Utah, and when he reached his majority began farming independently in that neighborhood. Later, in 1891, he came to Idaho, where for a number of years he has followed the life of an agriculturist in the counties of Jefferson and Bonneville. In the spring of 1919 he gave up farming on a large scale and is now. living in semi-retirement one mile east. of Idaho Falls in Bonneville county. In June, 1881, he was married to Eleanor M. Atkinson and to them have been born nine children, of whom the sixth in order of birth is W. Harrison, the subject of this sketch.
W. Harrison Homer was born in Rigby, Jefferson county, Idaho, November 5, 1891, and received his elementary education in the schools of that city. On the completion of his course he entered the employ of Walker Brothers Bank of Salt Lake City as a messenger boy. Here it was soon discovered that he had marked ability and a strong aptitude for the banking business, and in the course of time he became manager of the clearing house of that financial institution. On March 30, 1915, he left the employ of this hank to accept the position of paying and re- ceiving teller in Thatcher Brothers Bank at Logan, Utah, where he remained until September 30, 1916. On that date he resigned to assist in the organization of the First National Bank of Ririe, Idaho, of which he was made cashier, and he is still serving in this capacity. Besides Mr. Homer the other officers of the bank at this time are R. J. Comstock, Sr., president, and R. E. Harris, vice-president. Since its organization the bank, which has a capital stock of twenty-five thousand dollars, has enjoyed a growth which has far exceeded the expectations of its organizers, a fact readily discernible in its most recent statement. Its surplus and undivided profits total five thousand, five hundred sixty-two dollars and sixty-one cents and its de- posits, one hundred forty thousand, two hundred thirty-five dollars and seventy- five cents. It was only one year and seven months after the bank had opened its doors for business that the first dividend was paid and the most recent dividend paid to the owners totaled eight per cent of the capital stock. The business, which was begun under such favorable portents, is now carried on in a fine new bank building which was erected in 1916. Besides his banking interests in Ririe Mr.
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Homer is a stockholder in the Idaho Falls National Bank at Idaho Falls and in the Jefferson National Bank at Rigby. He also devotes much time to other important enterprises, being a stockholder in the Jefferson Milling Company of Ririe and in a new bonded warehouse company which is now being organized in Idaho Falls. Furthermore Mr. Homer and three of his brothers are carrying on extensive agri- cultural operations in Bonneville county. At present they are dry farming a two- thousand-acre tract and are feeding twelve hundred sheep and forty-five head of milch cows. It is their intention to enter the livestock business on a more intensive scale by specializing in the breeding of pureblood sheep and cattle. In November, 1919, he assisted in organizing the Home Real Estate Company, being associated in this venture with John M. Homer and Joseph D. Armstrong.
On June 22, 1913, Mr. Homer was united in marriage to Edna Rose Finn, and to them have been born two children: William F., who was born November 3, 1914; and Spencer R., born on June 22, 1916. Mr. Homer's religious persuasion is indi- cated in his membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and he takes an especially active part in the affairs of that denomination. In times past he has served as superintendent of several Sunday schools and at present is first assistant to the superintendent of the Rigby stake Sunday school. He has also furthered the interests of his church in missionary work. In politics Mr. Homer, who is a republican, takes an active part in promoting the success of his party and in supporting all matters of civic virtue and civic pride, but he has not up to the present seen fit to accept public office. Mr. Homer is comparatively young in years but the sound sagacity with which he administers business affairs far exceeds that of many men who are his senior. This characteristic is quite obvious in the very efficient manner in which he performs the duties of cashier in the First National Bank of Ririe. In this capacity he extends to the public the facilities of the bank with all the courtesy consistent with the sound business principles which form the basis of the financial institution he represents.
C. LEE FRENCH.
C. Lee French, filling the office of county recorder and auditor in Power county and making his home at American Falls, was born at Montpelier, Idaho, April 29, 1887, and is a son of Charles L. and Anna (Galloway) French, the former a native of New York city, while the latter was born in Salt Lake City. The father is an attorney who went to Utah about 1879 from his native city. After residing for a time at Salt Lake City he took up his abode at Montpelier, Idaho, where he prac- ticed law for ten years. He then removed to Rexburg, Idaho, and was probate judge of Fremont county for a considerable period. He later made his way to Cali- fornia, where he lived for ten years, and since the death of his wife on the 16th of September, 1917, he has been a resident of Montpelier, Idaho, where he is now living retired from business.
C. Lee French was largely reared and educated at Rexburg, Idaho, and was but fifteen years of age when he started out upon his business career, making his initial step as an employe of the First National Bank of Rexburg, with which he continued for eight years-a fact indicative of his faithfulness and capability, quali- ties that won him promotion from time to time. He afterward became connected with the state pure food board, of which he was chief clerk for four years, and on leaving that department he removed to American Falls on the 1st of May, 1915, and became assistant cashier of the First National Bank. He continued with that institution until January 1, 1917, when he was transferred to the Evans State Bank of American Falls as assistant cashier and still holds the position. On the 8th of November, 1918, he was elected county auditor and recorder of Power county for a four years' term and is now discharging the duties of the position with marked capability, promptness and thoroughness. In May, 1919, he was elected city clerk of American Falls and is thus filling both positions at the present time. He is a stockholder and assistant cashier of the Evans State Bank of American Falls and he has farming interests, having proved up on three hundred and twenty acres of land in Blaine county. He has also secured three hundred and twenty acres of grazing land in Power county.
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