USA > Idaho > History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume II > Part 72
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118
CHARLES ELLSWORTH SHRIVER.
Charles Ellsworth Shriver is a prominent figure in the industrial circles of Boise, where he is conducting business under the name of the Capital Sash and Door Company. In this connection he has developed an enterprise of importance, and his efforts have ever heen of a character that have contributed to public prog- ress and prosperity as well as to individual success. Mr. Shriver was born in Williams county, Ohio, August 8, 1866, a son of Robert S. and Fannie (Neighs- wander) Shriver, who were farming people of Goshen, Indiana. The father de- voted his attention to the cultivation of his crops until the time of the Civil war, when he put aside all business and personal considerations and joined the army, serving for two years. Robert S. Shriver is still living at Goshen at the age of eighty-five, enjoying excellent health, but the mother passed away in Septem- ber, 1916.
Charles Ellsworth Shriver ohtained his education in the grammar and normal schools of Indiana, accompanying his parents on their removal to that state from Ohio when but a child. He became an expert penman and accepted a position as a teacher of penmanship, devoting ten years to that calling. Attracted by the opportunities of the west, he made his way to California and spent two years on the Pacific coast. In 1888 he arrived in Boise and at that time his cash capital was less than a dollar. He possessed energy and industry, however, and these qualities stood him instead of fortune. He sought and won employment in the Overland Hotel, where he remained for five years and then entered into active con- nection with the planing mill business, associated with Fred C. Henry and M. H. Goodwin. Industrious, faithful and reliable, he soon won advancement and suc- cessive promotions brought him to the position of manager of the mills. In 1895 he determined to engage in business on his own account and established a modern planing mill and sash and door factory. From the beginning the new enterprise prospered and has enjoyed steady and continuous growth. Although in 1908 the mills were completely destroyed by fire, they rose, phoenix-like, from the ashes, however, owing to the enterprise and determination of Mr. Shriver, who rebuilt the plant on a more extensive scale than before. The business has continuously grown and in addition to a fully equipped planing mill and sash and door factory Mr. Shriver maintains a plant for the manufacture of bee supplies, the only one of the kind in the northwest. This branch of his business has proven very profit- able and within recent years the plant has been greatly enlarged, its capacity heing more than doubled. He makes shipment of bee hives and bee supplies throughout Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Utah and various points in Colorado and this branch of his business is now very profitable. Mr. Shriver is also the owner of considerable real estate in Boise and Idaho.
Fraternally he is connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Hoo Hoos. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and from 1906 until 1908 he served as alderman of Boise but is not ambitious to hold office, preferring to concentrate his efforts
604
HISTORY OF IDAHO
and attention upon his business affairs. Steadily he has progressed in this con- nection and today is at the head of one of the important productive industries of the capital city.
CLYDE M. GRAY.
Clyde M. Gray, deputy internal revenue collector for the Boise district, which embraces ten Idaho counties, was born in Gunnison, Colorado, August 23, 1886, and is the only son of the Hon. Charles W. and Lulu M. (Long) Gray. His father was a well known citizen and real estate man of Pocatello, Idaho, and at one time was called upon to represent his district in the state legislature. He was born in Illinois and his wife in Kansas, and for a considerable period they resided in the west. The father was in early life a railroad man, devoting many years to that service as a passenger conductor on the Denver & Rio Grande. Later he became foreman of the shops at Lima, Montana. In 1893 the family removed from Colorado to Lima and in 1900 came to Idaho, settling at Pocatello.
Clyde M. Gray on attaining school age became a pupil in the public schools of Colorado, afterward continued his studies in Montana and in Idaho and com- pleted his course in the Utah Agricultural College at Logan, Utah. For several years after leaving college he was associated in business with his father at Poca- tello but during 1911 and 1912 was in the service of the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad at Las Vegas, Nevada, acting as voucher clerk.
On the 11th of June, 1913, at Pueblo, Colorado, Mr. Gray was married to Miss Grace E. Benning, a daughter of William Benning, a contractor of Pueblo. After his marriage and until the fall of 1913 Mr. Gray was associated with his father at Pocatello and during the time there spent was superintendent of the Fairview waterworks in North Pocatello, of which his father is a large stock- holder. In the fall of 1914 Clyde M. Gray began the business of raising chickens at Pocatello, establishing a large white Leghorn plant, one of the largest in the northwest, having as high as three thousand hens at a time. When the country entered the European war the price to which chicken feed went made his busi- ness less profitable, so he sold out. On the 13th of November, 1917, he passed a civil service examination at Pocatello and on the 12th of April, 1918, was appointed to his present position as deputy internal revenue collector for the Boise district, serving under W. C. Whaley, the collector, at Helena, Montana. Later was appointed as chief of the income tax division in the office of Collector Lewis Wil- liams of the new district of Idaho at Boise.
Mr. and Mrs. Gray have become parents of a son, Charles W. Gray (III), who was born September 11, 1914, being the third in line to bear the name of Charles Wesley Gray.
Mr. Gray is an Elk and belongs to Pocatello Lodge, No. 674. He is fond of fishing and hunting but perhaps finds his greatest recreation in reading, particu- larly along mechanical and philosophical lines. He was one of the first students to enroll in the Academy of Idaho at Pocatello, now the Idaho Technical Insti- tute, and throughout his later years he has continued his reading and study along mechanical and scientific lines, thus constantly broadening his knowledge and promoting his efficiency for the practical and responsible duties of life.
SAMUEL P. OLDHAM.
Samuel P. Oldham, county clerk, recorder and auditor of Madison county and a resident of Rexburg, was born at Paradise, Utah, April 6, 1873, and is a son of Samuel and Mary J. (Price) Oldham, who were natives of England and of Utah respectively. The father came to America and took up his abode in Utah in 1866, accompanying his parents on their emigration to the new world. The family home was established in the Cache valley, where Samuel Oldham, Sr., spent his boy- hood days. He took up the profession of teaching, which he followed for many years, becoming county superintendent of Cache county, which office he filled for two terms. He also represented his district in the state legislature for two terms
.
605
HISTORY OF IDAHO
and was thus prominently connected with public interests. To some extent he engaged in farming but is now retired, still making his home at Paradise, Utah. The mother of Samuel P. Oldham passed away, however, on the 15th of December, 1892.
Samuel P. Oldham was reared and educated in Cache county and completed a normal course at Brigham Young College in Logan, Utah. He, too, took up the profession of teaching, which he followed for two years, at the end of which time he was called on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and spent three years in South Carolina. He then returned to Utah and again engaged in teaching for three years. He next entered the railway mail service in Utah, Idaho and Nevada, traveling out of Ogden and Salt Lake City, and was thus busily engaged for seven years. Later he devoted one year to soliciting insur- ance and in 1910 he removed to Sunnydell, Madison county, Idaho, for the benefit of his health. He purchased land there which he improved and cultivated for four years and on the expiration of that period came to Rexburg as deputy auditor and recorder under John Hegsted, thus serving until April, 1918, when he resigned and established an abstract business, which he is still conducting under the firm name of the Rexburg Abstract & Title Company. In November of the same year he was elected to the office of auditor and recorder of Madison county and has since served in that capacity, his previous service as deputy well qualifying him for the prompt and capable discharge of the duties that now devolve upon him.
On the 25th of September, 1894, Mr. Oldham was married to Miss Lucy Schow and they have become the parents of eight children, as follows: Phyllis, who is the wife of Roy Stoddard, of Rexburg, Idaho; Mildred E., who manages the abstract business of her father; S. Reuel, who is attending high school; Lucille, Volney Lee, Rhea and Mary Annetta, who are also in school; and John Royal, who passed away on the 13th of January, 1914.
In his political views Mr. Oldham is a republican and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day but does not seek nor desire political prefer- ment. His religious faith is that of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and he is first counselor to Bishop H. J., Flamm of the second ward of Rexburg. He has always been a resident of the west, possesses the enterprising spirit which has been the dominant factor in the upbuilding of this section of the country and has always borne his full share in the work of general progress and improvement.
ALFRED RICKS.
Alfred Ricks is closely associated with business enterprises at Sugar, where he is the manager of the Sugar City Mercantile Company. That he is not neglect- ful of his duties in other connections is indicated in the fact that he is a bishop in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is a son of Thomas E. and Ellen M. (Yallop) Ricks, the latter now living at Sugar. Extended mention of Thomas E. Ricks is made in connection with the sketch of his son and name- sake, Thomas E. Ricks, of Rexburg, on another page of this work.
Born in Logan, Utah, on the 28th of November, 1870, Alfred Ricks was there reared and educated and in 1883, when thirteen years of age, came to Madi- son county, Idaho, then a part of Oneida county. He remained at home until he reached the age of twenty, when he took up a homestead in Madison county which he has since improved and cultivated, transforming it into an excellent farm property. In 1904 he came to Sugar and erected his present fine residence, at the same time purchasing an interest in the Sugar City Mercantile Company and also an interest in another store which was not being conducted along very remun- erative lines. It was owned by a stock company whose losses had amounted to about thirty-two thousand dollars. Mr. Ricks took charge of these business interests, consolidating the two stores, and within three years had paid off all indebtedness. He has since had charge of the business and has made it a very profitable and growing concern. Prior to the time when he became manager he had served as collector of Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution at the branch at Rexburg for a period of three years. This had given him an experience which proved of worth in the financial management of the business at Sugar. He still devotes about half of his time to his farm and he is also the vice president of the
606
HISTORY OF IDAHO
Fremont County Bank of Sugar, is a member of its board of directors and passes on much of its commercial paper. He was one of the organizers of the Farmers' & Merchants' Bank of Rexburg, of which he is the president, and thus his business interests are extensive and important. What he has accomplished has not only constituted a valuable contribution to his individual fortunes but has also been an element in the growth and continuous development of the community along commercial and financial lines. In addition to his other interests he is extensively engaged in sheep raising. He is also a stockholder in the Sugar City Milling Com- pany, which he managed for a year, is the manager of the Ricks Investment Company of Rexburg and is identified with various other enterprises. For twenty years he was president of the Teton Island Canal Company, managing a project valued at one million dollars, and he is serving on the board of directors of the Teton Island Feeder Canal.
On the 27th of November, 1890, Mr. Ricks was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary A. Roberts, by whom he had two children, who died at birth. The wife and mother passed away about 1892 and about 1894 Mr. Ricks was again mar- ried, his second union being with Winifred L. Roberts, a sister of his first wife and a daughter of John L. and Adeline (Ensign) Roberts, who became pioneer settlers of Madison county and still reside upon a farm within its borders. To Alfred and Winifred Ricks have been born eight children, namely: Mary A .; Alfred, Jr .; Ellen and Lee, both of whom have passed away; Georgianna; Lorin; Fontella; and Margie.
Mr. Ricks was reared in the faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and in 1905 was made bishop of Sugar ward, prior to which time he had served in the bishopric at Salem and was superintendent of the Sunday school for several years. He has always voted with the republican party and for two terms served on the board of county commissioners, while his prominence in the public life of Sugar is indicated in the fact that he has filled the office of mayor altogether for fourteen years. No higher testimonial of his capability could be given than the fact that he has so long continued in this position through the vote of his fellow townsmen, who have thus expressed their confidence in his ability and fidelity. His life record indeed constitutes an integral chapter in the history of Sugar and this section of the state.
JOHN M. EVANS.
John M. Evans, deceased, a broad-minded business man and citizen of marked initiative whose labors constituted an important element in the development and growth of the district in which he lived, as well as a source of individual success, came to Idaho from Illinois, his birth having occurred at Woburn, Bond county, May 7, 1862. His father, Morris Jones Evans, was a native of Indiana and when a youth of seventeen years accompanied his parents on their removal to Illinois where he afterward engaged in buying stock and in farming. During the period of the Civil war he purchased horses for the government. He was of English lineage. His father, Edward Evans, was a native of Wales. He lived in Indiana for some years and after- ward removed to Illinois, where he and his wife spent their last days. The mother of John M. Evans was prior to her marriage Artimissa Jette, of Illinois. To Mr. and Mrs. Morris Jones Evans were born two children, the daughter being Mary E., who became the wife of Sephus Elam, and after his death married Robert Glenn, by whom she had one child, Evert. It was in the year 1881 that Morris Jones Evans removed with his family to South Dakota, first settling at Aberdeen and later going west to the unsurveyed country near Ipswich, where they exercised their homestead, preemp- tion and tree claim rights to the extent of each securing four hundred and eighty acres of land.
John M. Evans had been reared to farm life, early becoming familiar with all the duties and labors incident to the cultivation and development of the fields, and after the removal to South Dakota he with the others became owner of four hundred and eighty acres of land. On the 13th of December, 1885, he married Clara S. Houghton, a native of Lyons, Walworth county, Wisconsin, and a daughter of Stephen and Anna (Randall) Houghton. Her father was born in Brattleboro, Vermont, November 18, 1803, and in 1840 went to Wisconsin, where he secured a homestead, devoting his
JOHN M. EVANS
609
HISTORY OF IDAHO
remaining days to its cultivation and improvement. He there passed away April 14, 1864. His wife, a native of Boston Spa, New York, went to Wisconsin with her parents in 1844 and there on the 5th of January, 1847, became the wife of Mr. Houghton. They had a family of six children: George, Maria L., Albert, Lou A., Edgar and Clara S. The ancestry of the Houghton family is traced back to James and Henry Houghton, who came to the United States from England in the early part of the eighteenth cen- tury and settled in Connecticut, Henry becoming the founder of the branch of the family to which Mrs. Evans belongs. In young womanhood Mrs. Evans and her sister Lou went to South Dakota, where the latter acted as housekeeper for their brothers, while Clara S. Houghton engaged in teaching school until the time of her marriage to John M. Evans.
Following the marriage Mr. Evans engaged in buying and selling cattle and in farming for thirteen years, his wife proving a most able assistant to him. He then left South Dakota for Grass Valley, Oregon, where he arrived on the 21st of June, 1895. His means were exhausted by the time he reached his destination and for the first time in his life he found it necessary to work for someone else. He received but twenty dollars per month for his labor and there was only one person in that section who could afford to pay even that sum. Mr. Evans was joined by his wife about a month after he reached Oregon. She arrived at Grants at two o'clock in the morning and the wind was blowing such a gale and the dust was so dense that it was impossible to cross the road. At eight in the morning she accompanied her husband across the prairie sand a distance of forty-five miles, where he had already located on a claim of one hundred and sixty acres and had there built a cabin. Their capital was just one hundred and seventy-three dollars and all around them was a desolate country. They at that time had two children. Mr. Evans had dug a well, but unfortunately it went dry, leaving them without water. Previous to this time Mr. Evans had had an oppor- tunity of buying thirteen yearlings, a cow and a calf and a hog. He asked his wife if she could care for the stock while he worked for the twenty dollars per month previously referred to, and when the well went dry she found it necessary to ride a distance of more than five miles and draw water from wells with a rope. She took one of the children behind her on the horse and in order to get water had to lower her hoy, Emmett, down to the bottom of the well that he might dip up the last drop of water which it was possible to get. Her labor, however, saved the stock, which in time were fattened and sold by Mr. Evans. At night she would drive the cattle behind the cabin and watch them until they laid down for the night. When dawn broke, she arose, cooked breakfast and was away after the cattle to keep them from straying. When three years had passed Mr. and Mrs. Evans sold their place in Oregon and by that time had not only a thousand dollars in gold but also a fine team, a covered wagon and two ponies for the boys. Thus equipped they started for Idaho. They had driven their cattle to The Dalles, Oregon, where they received their money in gold. They were shadowed night and day from the time they left The Dalles until they reached Notus, Idaho. There were a number of cattle rustlers who delegated one of their party to accompany Mr. Evans and his family to Idaho as a friend who wanted to see the state, and the only way the family escaped being robbed and probably murdered, was by convincing this man that they had left their money in the bank at The Dalles. The coin, however, was in a trunk on their wagon. They experienced great difficulty in driving their cattle to The Dalles and on going through the Deschutes canyon the . roads were so bad that one of the cows fell off the grade and rolled two hundred feet down an embankment, from which position it was rescued after two hours of strenuous effort. Mrs. Evans saved the whole herd from stampeding by throwing rocks at them when on one of these grades and on that occasion she would probably have been trampled to death had the cattle stampeded. It was on one such grade that the horses took fright at a large white rock in the river and were checked in their mad run with great difficulty.
He was the pioneer in the cattle feeding industry in the Boise valley. He began feeding cattle in 1904, when hay was selling at three dollars per ton. He met with a great deal of opposition from the sheepmen, who practically had things their own way up to that time, but he was successful in this enterprise and became prominent in the cattle-feeding industry, which was the beginning of the Boise Valley Packing Company.
On the 6th of July, 1898, Mr. and Mrs. Evans and their children reached Notus, Idaho, and rented the ranch belonging to his brother-in-law, R. E. Glenn. Mr. Evans' father, who was then an invalid, also became a member of their household and re- mained with them until his death. On the 9th of February, 1900, the Evans family
Vol. 11-39
610
HISTORY OF IDAHO
took up their abode upon their present place of one hundred and thirty acres. Here Mr. Evans built a fine home and carried on general farming and also bought and fat- tened cattle for the market. When he took over this land it was enclosed with just two wires for a fence and the sod was unbroken, but he converted it into a most val- uable and attractive place. Moreover, he not only successfully conducted important business interests but did much to develop and improve the region in which he lived. He was one of the three men most active in promoting the Enterprise school district No. 12 and bringing about the building of the schoolhouse, which later was found too small to accommodate the increasing number of pupils, and he put up a hard fight for the erection of the present school building, which is one of the finest in the state. Mr. Evans likewise built a mile and three quarters of road west from Eagle for half price. In this he was assisted by the farmers, who charged only two dollars and a half per day for themselves and their teams. This was accomplished while Mr. Evans was serving as road commissioner. Ever an untiring worker for clean morals, it was through his efforts that Eagle was made one of the cleanest towns morally in the state.
With the material development of the community, Mr. Evans was also actively associated. He was the pioneer in the cattle feeding industry in the Boise valley. He began feeding cattle in 1904, when hay was selling at three dollars per ton. He met with a great deal of opposition from the sheepmen, who practically had things their own way up to that time, but he was successful in this enterprise and became prominent in the cattle-feeding industry, which was the beginning of the Boise Valley Packing Company. He was connected with Frank Gardner in establishing the Bank of Eagle, of which he became a stockholder. He also promoted the Eagle Creamery, now the Eagle Cheese Factory, and was instrumental in organizing the Boise Valley Packing Company, under United States inspection and now turning out some of the best prod- ucts in their line in the state. The enterprise has assumed extensive proportions and has been a most valuable adjunct to the business interests of the valley. The com- pany was capitalized for fifty thousand dollars, all of its stockholders being land- owners of this part of the state. They began the curing and packing of meat, pur- chasing from the farmers on an average of one hundred hogs each week and beef in proportionate quantity. This stock was killed and packed by the company and found a ready market, so that the business of the company rapidly increased and the indus- try became a boon to the stock raisers of Ada county. The plant has been developed along the most progressive and complete lines, with every modern facility for the conduct of the business, and the products placed upon the market are equal to any. Mr. Evans was the largest stockholder in the business at the time of his death, which occurred September 7, 1916, and he was also the president of the company. Another feature of his public-spirited devotion to Ada county was found in his intercession with Senator Borah at Washington that the postoffice and rural route headquarters should be maintained at Eagle instead of being transferred to Star.
Mr. and Mrs. Evans became the parents of three sons. Emmett A., thirty-two years of age, a prominent farmer and cattle man, is the president of the Boise Val- ley Packing Company and one of its largest stockholders. Stephen E., who died at the age of twenty-eight years, left a widow and one child, Ruth. John C. H., seven- teen years of age, is living with his mother.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.