USA > Idaho > History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume II > Part 78
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
THEODORE KROEGER, D. D. S.
Dr. Theodore Kroeger is a dentist by profession but throughout almost the entire period of his residence in Boise has devoted his attention to the subdivision and sale of real estate. He has prospered in his undertakings and today occupies one of the beautiful suburban homes of the capital city. He was born in Schleswig- Holstein, Germany, May 16, 1857, a son of Gustave Kroeger, who was a tanner by trade. He was reared in his native country to the age of twenty-three years and in his youth learned the tanning business with his father. In 1880 he came to the United States, settling first in Nebraska, where he gave his attention to various business pursuits until 1895. He then took up the study of dentistry and in 1897 was graduated from the Omaha Dental College, after which he engaged in the prac- tice of his profession at Hooper and at Dodge, Nebraska, until 1903.
In that year he came to Idaho, settling at Boise, having removed from Fremont, Nebraska, to this state. He opened an office at Boise and continued in the practice of dentistry for a year, after which he purchased what is known as the old Fenton farm south of the city on South Broadway, embracing one hundred and ten acres, for which he paid about twelve thousand dollars. He has since platted and sub- divided this property and has sold lots to the amount of twenty-five thousand dol- lars. He has also disposed of acreage tracts but still retains more than one-half of the original property, which is today worth perhaps four times what he paid for the entire place. Nine acres of the original purchase adjacent to and including the original home site has been set apart by the Doctor for his own homestead, and upon the tract stands not only his own residence but also the residence of his only child, Gustave Kroeger, who is married and resides in an attractive dwelling about twenty rods from his father's place. The nine-acre tract is devoted almost wholly to orchards and gardens and shaded lawns. There are also the various outbuildings that go to make up a well appointed suburban home and the place is in every way most attractive. The original dwelling on the place, formerly occupied by Dr. Kroeger and his wife, was recently destroyed by fire, after which the Doctor erected on the same site one of the handsomest suburban homes in all Boise or vicinity. It is a beautiful dwelling of white pressed brick, of attractive design, erected at a cost of several thousand dollars.
It was on the 1st of November, 1886, that Dr. Kroeger was married at Hooper, Nebraska, to Miss Pauline Quast, who was also born in Schleswig-Holstein, the Kroeger and Quast families residing in the same neighborhood in Germany. Mrs. Kroeger came with her parents to the United States long before her future husband crossed the Atlantic, she being but ten years of age when she made the voyage. Dr. Kroeger had known her as a little girl in Germany and the acquaintance was renewed in the United States. They have had but one child, Gustave, now thirty years of age, who is a graduate of the University of Idaho, where he specialized in bacteriology. He is a Mason of high rank, having attained the thirty-second
654
HISTORY OF IDAHO
degree in the Scottish Rite, and he is also a member of the Mystic Shrine. He was married in 1917 to Miss Stella Campbell and they have one son, Robert, born in 1919.
Dr. Kroeger belongs to the Masonic fraternity, is a Unitarian in religious faith and a republican in his political views. His progressiveness in citizenship has been manifested in many ways, particularly in his active support of all the plans and projects which he has deemed of worth in the advancement and upbuilding of the community in which he makes his home.
RAY C. KIMBALL.
Ray C. Kimball is the vice president of the First National bank of Driggs and is also engaged in stock raising about two miles north of the town. Born in Salt Lake City on the 22d of August, 1869, he is a son of Heber P. and Phoebe (Judd) Kimball, who were natives of New York and Canada respectively. The father devoted his life to farming and stock raising and was among the first representatives of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to cross the plains and take up the work of coloniz- ing Utah. He arrived in that state in 1847, after making the journey westward with ox teams, the first trip heing in company with his parents. Later he made various trips across the plains, for he followed freighting for a number of years. He afterward concentrated his efforts and energies upon cattle raising near Salt Lake and later he engaged iu the same line of business in Nevada. He then returned to Utah, where he once more devoted his attention to cattle raising and was thus engaged to the time of his death. For one year he filled a mission for the church in New York. He passed away in February, 1885. and was long survived by the mother, who died in July, 1912.
Ray C. Kimball was reared and educated in Salt Lake City. He continued with his parents to the age of twenty years and in 1889 removed to the Teton basin of Idaho, settling in what was then Bingham county and is now Teton county. He filed on land and also purchased farm property, which he developed and improved. His homestead was situated eight miles from Driggs and he continued its cultivation until 1918, when he sold the property. He is now engaged in operating a farm of six hundred and forty acres two miles north and a half mile west of Driggs. Here he raises sheep and cattle and has successfully continued the business to the present time. He made a specialty of Ayrshire cattle, having the only herd of the kind in the state, but is not now engaged in raising that breed. Since the organization of the First National Bank of Driggs he has been one of its stockholders and directors and is now its vice president.
On the 28th of August, 1896, Mr. Kimball was married to Miss Emily Seymour and to them were born five children: Chase, Judd, Edith, Cora and Lois. Chase is attend- ing the Agricultural College at Logan, Utah, while the other children are in school at Driggs.
Mr. Kimball's political endorsement is given to the democratic party. His has been a life of diligence, actuated by laudable ambition. Each successful move that he has made has stimulated him for larger activities and his energies have brought him prominently to the front in connection with public interests and the material develop- ment of the community in which he lives.
E. M. SMALL.
E. M. Small, a general merchant of Wilder now conducting a profitable busi- ness, was born in Ohio on the 17th of October, 1865. His father, S. S. Small, was a native of the south and of Norwegian parentage. He was a repair lineman on the railroad and also acted as lineman during the Civil war, serving throughout the entire time iu which the north and south were engaged in hostilities. His wife, Mrs. T. T. Small, was also of southern birth, but both are now deceased.
E. M. Small went to sea when a mere lad, shipping before the mast, and made fourteen voyages around Cape Horn on the oldtime sailing vessels known as "wind- jammers." He has been in every seaport of any importance in the world, has cruised upon the Nile and went up the Amazon when all of the crew on his ship died of smallpox save himself and two other white men. He stood by and saw his dead
RAY C. KIMBALL
名+
657
HISTORY OF IDAHO
shipmates thrown over the side and devoured by alligators and crocodiles and wondered whether he would be the next one to fill their hungry maws. His trip to various parts of the globe if written in detail would present many a thrilling and interesting picture.
At the present time, however, Mr. Small is pursuing the even tenor of his way as a progressive and enterprising merchant of Wilder. He came to Idaho in 1903 and worked on the Oregon Short Line Railroad. In 1905 he removed to Parma as operator and agent and there remained until 1912, in which year he became a res- ident of Wilder and erected the first building where the town is now located. At that time no townsite had been laid out and he huilt in eighty acres of sagebrush. He opened a small store hut has increased his stock from time to time to meet the growing demands of his trade until he now carries a stock valued at about forty thousand dollars and occupies a substantial store huilding fifty hy one hundred and twenty-five feet and two stories in height. The interurhan line had not heen huilt at the time he located at Wilder and there was little indication of future rapid growth, yet Mr. Small saw the possibilities of the district and from the beginning has been identified with its development. He conducts a general merchandise busi- ness and his interests make constant demands upon his time and energies. He has three trucks and does a general trucking business in connection with the conduct of the store, in which he carries the most complete stock of goods in Wilder, while the integrity and enterprise of his business methods have brought to him most sub- stantial success.
In 1910 Mr. Small was married in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Miss Lillian A. Ramsey, a native of Missouri, and to his wife Mr. Small attributes much of his success. She is a most intelligent woman, capable, energetic and persistent, and her labors and judgment have ably supplemented the efforts of her husband. Mr. Small is a versatile man who always looks on the bright side of life and has a smile for every situation and for every person with whom he comes in contact.
FRED J. HEATH.
The progressive spirit which dominates the business circles of Sugar finds expression in the life work and activity of Fred J. Heath, a general merchant, who was born at Salt Lake City, Utah, September 1, 1883. He is a son of Fred G. and Henrietta (Haigh) Heath, the former a native of Utah, while the latter was born in England, being brought to America when ten years of age by her parents. The paternal grandfather, Frederick Heath, was one of the earliest Mormon settlers of Utah, where he arrived in 1847. Fred G. Heath was reared and educated in that state and in young manhood took up the occupation of farming but for the past thirty or forty years has been engaged in the real estate business in Salt Lake City. The mother of Fred J. Heath is also living.
It was in the capital city of Utah that Fred J. Heath spent the days of his hoyhood and youth. In the acquirement of his education he passed through con- secutive grades in the public schools, also attended the high school and the evening class of the Latter-day Saints University, but had to leave school when about the age of sixteen to help earn his living. He remained with his parents until he attalned his majority and then went to work in the general passenger office of the Oregon Short Line Railroad, thus serving for four years. He was afterward called on a mission to the southern states for the Mormon church and served for two years. In 1905 he removed to Sugar, where he became an office man in the employ of the Utah-Idaho Sugar Company, with which he continued for a year. He was next made secretary-treasurer of the Sugar City Mercantile Company, with which he continued for four years and then entered into partnership with J. W. West for the conduct of a general merchandise business. The partnership was maintained for about five months, at the end of which time Mr. West disposed of his interests to A. W. Kartchner, who was a partner of Mr. Heath for three years, at the end of which time he sold his interest to Mr. Heath, who has since carried on the business alone and not only owns an extensive stock of general merchandise but also the building which the store occupies and a part of which is utilized as the Hotel Heath. He has one of the leading commercial interests of Sugar, his store containing a large and varied stock, while his patronage is extensive and gratifying.
Vol. II-42
658
HISTORY OF IDAHO
On the 19th of December, 1906, Mr. Heath was united in marriage to Miss Emma Cahoon, by whom he has seven children, namely: John, Donald, Leon, Harold, Dora, Richard and Paul.
Mr. Heath votes with the republican party and for twelve years he served as village clerk, while in April, 1919, he was elected a member of the town board. He was reared in the faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to which he has always adhered, and he is one of the presidents of the One Hundred and Seventy-seventh Quorum of Seventy. He has held various other offices in the church, doing everything in his power to promote its growth and extend its influence.
THOMAS D. JONES.
Thomas D. Jones, conducting business under the name of the Pioneer Furni- ture Company at 706 Main street in Boise, has been identified with the house since 1913, when he purchased a half interest from W. G. Smitherman. In March, 1918, he took over Mr. Smitherman's interest and has since practically been sole proprie- tor, he and his wife holding all of the stock save one share. Mr. Jones came to Boise ten years ago from McAlester, Oklahoma, but is numbered among the native sons of Ohio, his birth having occurred in Pomeroy, that state, November 16, 1871. His father, Peter Jones, was a coal miner of Wales who left that little rock-ribbed country in 1861 to try his fortune in America. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Anne Lloyd, was also a native of Wales, in which country they were married, and their two eldest children were born ere their emigration to the new world.
Thomas D. Jones was reared to the age of sixteen years at Pomeroy, Meigs county, Ohio, and then left home, going to McAlester, Oklahoma, where his elder brother, Evan R. Jones, already resided. The younger brother learned the trade of blacksmithing and continued to live in Oklahoma until 1909, when he came to Boise. In this city he opened a smithy and continuously followed his trade until 1913, when he became identified with commercial interests by purchasing stock in the Pioneer Furniture Company. This is one of the well known houses of Boise, having been in existence for many years. The first location was on South Ninth street, whence a removal was later made to 1112 Main street and afterward to 1108 and 1110 Main street. The next removal brought the business to No. 909 Idaho street, while in March, 1917, it was established at Nos. 822 and 824 Idaho street, and at this writing is located 706 Main.
On the 18th of June, 1896, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Jones and Miss Lillie M. Jones, who though of the same name was not a relative. She was born in Iowa but was reared in the state of New York. They have beeome parents of five children, two sons and three daughters: Gladys, who is a graduate of the Boise high school and now follows the profession of teaching in Ada county; Mar- jiella; Thelma, Thomas Carl; and Cecil Irwin.
Mr. Jones votes with the republican party but has never been an aspirant or a candidate for political office. He belongs to the Boise Commercial Club and his interest in the welfare and progress of his city is therein manifest, as well as by active support of many measures for the general good. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and also to the Knights of Pythias and his religious faith is that of the Christian church, to the teachings of which he loyally adheres.
B. FRANK NEAL.
B. Frank Neal, a member of the Boise bar for sixteen years, his practice being of distinctively representative character, comes to the northwest from Nebraska, where he was born on the 24th of February, 1864, the place of his nativity being Nemaha county. His parents, James E. and Mary (Nincehelser) Neal, were natives of Ohio, where their respective parents had settled in pioneer times and where the father and mother were reared and married. In 1863 they removed to Nebraska, becoming early residents of the southeastern section of that state, where they met all of the experiences and hardships incident to life on the frontier. . Mr. Neal, however, developed a good farm and won substantial success in the cultivation
659
HISTORY OF IDAHO
of the soil and in stock raising. In 1902 he was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who passed away in Nebraska at the age of sixty-seven years, after which Mr. Neal became a resident of Boise. Their family numbered seven children, six sons and a daughter.
B. Frank Neal, who was the third of the family, supplemented his early edu- cational training by study in the Nebraska State Normal School at Peru, where he completed his course as a member of the class of 1890. A review of the broad field of human activity led him to the determination to make the practice of law his life work and with that end in view he entered the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and was graduated with the Bachelor of Laws degree in 1893. For a year thereafter he engaged in the practice of his profession in Lincoln. He afterward practiced for some time at Auburn, Nemaha county, Nebraska, and then removed to the northwest, arriving in Boise in 1903. Through the intervening period he has continuously practiced in the courts of this state, enjoying a large and distinctively representative clientage owing to the thoroughness and capability with which he prepares his cases and the clear and cogent manner in which he presents his evi- dence. For a time he was senior partner in the firm of Neal & Kinyon, his asso- ciate being Frank B. Kinyon, but since the dissolution of the partnership he has practiced alone. He belongs to the Ada County Bar Association and the Idaho State Bar Association and was formerly a member of the Nebraska State Bar Asso- ciation.
Mr. Neal was married June 30, 1897, to Miss May Harman, also a native of Nebraska and a daughter of Elias G. Harman, of Auburn, that state. Mr. and Mrs. Neal have three children: Edgar H., born December 29, 1899; James H., Feb- ruary 7, 1901; and Franklin, April 13, 1904.
Mr. Neal indulges in hunting and fishing when professional duties permit of leisure and Idaho furnishes splendid opportunity for enjoyment of those sports. He and his wife are devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal church and he is an exemplary representative of the Masonic fraternity belonging to lodge and chapter in Boise. He is also a. stalwart advocate of republican principles and maintains a public-spirited attitude in regard to civic affairs.
WILLIAM ROBISON.
As district superintendent of the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York, with headquarters in Boise, William Robison represents important insur- ance interests in this state. A native of the west, he has ever been moved by that western spirit of restlessness and enterprise that has characterized so many western men. He was born at Morgan, Utah, October 27, 1867, a son of William and Margaret (Smith) Robison, both now deceased. They were natives of Pennsylvania and both were reared in the Keystone state, where their marriage also occurred. In 1860, however, they undertook the arduous task of removal to the west, pulling a handcart across the plains and thus making their way to Utah, in which state they spent the remainder of their lives. The father was successful as a farmer and died in 1897, while his son William was on a mission in Australia. He was survived by his widow for about fifteen years, the latter passing away in 1912. Both were loyal adherents to the faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which Mr. Robison of this review is also a communicant.
William Robison is one of a family of eleven children, of whom eight are living. He was reared and educated at Morgan, graduating from the Morgan City Academy. He then followed in the footsteps of his father and engaged in farming, so continuing until the age of twenty-nine. At that period in his life he was sent as a Mormon missionary to Australia and Tasmania and he spent three years in those countries in missionary work, from January 1, 1897, to 1900. In that year he returned to Morgan, Utah, and in the fall was elected county clerk of Morgan county on the democratic ticket. So well and faithfully did he perform his duties that he was reelected in 1902, again in 1904, in 1906 and in 1908, thus serving five consecutive terms. This statement clearly indicates the faithfulness and ability which he displayed in his position and which assured him of continued reelections to the office, as he was never defeated when he was a candidate. In 1910, however, he declined renomination, refusing to serve any longer, his service as county clerk
660
HISTORY OF IDAHO
having extended from 1901 until 1911. In the fall of the latter year he entered the employ of the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York as field man and solicitor and was very successful in getting insurance for his company, proving himself an alert promoter and salesman from the beginning. By 1916 he was writing over one hundred thousand dollars insurance a year and he wrote that sum in 1916 and 1917. He has charge of the district of southern Idaho, with offices in the Empire building in Boise, and while he came into this territory in 1918 a total stranger, he has at this writing, in the spring of 1920, twelve active agents, whom he has appointed. They will write during this field cluh year over a million dollars' worth of business, while he has himself produced during the field club year (May, 1918, to May, 1919) two hundred thousand dollars, thereby qualifying for field club honors, which entitled him to attend the field club convention held at Quebec, Canada, August 28 and 29, 1919. From May, 1919, to May, 1920, he will write business amounting to a quarter of a million dollars in order to make the big field club honors. In contests he has won two gold watches which were offered as prizes by the Mutual Company and he proudly wears the $200,000 Club gold badge. His able work was fully recognized and appreciated by the company when he was transferred to Boise, Idaho, as district superintendent for southern Idaho, a distinct promotion. He is thoroughly versed in insurance matters, clearly un- derstanding any form of policy, and, moreover, has the gift of demonstrating the value of the policies to prospective customers, thus by his logic and salesmanship easily closing deals. He, however, always sees to it that anyone making a contract with him fully understands the conditions of the policy, so that no misconceptions may exist. His reputation as well as his ability as a salesman are therefore the underlying factors in his success.
On August 7, 1901, Mr. Rohison was married to Miss Eva L. Robinson, of Farmington, Utah, and to this union have been born six sons and a daughter, namely: William La Von, Theron O., Wanda, Clayne, Paul J., Grant Y. and Bruce K. The family residence is at No. 1302 North Eighteenth street in Boise, which Mr. Robison purchased and which was formerly the Judge Savidge home. Both Mr. and Mrs. Robison have many friends in the city and both enjoy the high regard of those who have the honor of their closer acquaintanceship.
FLOYD COREY WHITE.
Floyd Corey White has since 1912 engaged in the practice of law at Boise but has been a resident of the city since 1909, or for an entire decade. He was born in Traverse City, Michigan, April 24, 1878, the younger of the two sons of John M. and Phoehe J. (Spencer) White. The father was of Welsh descent, while the mother is of English lineage. The former was horn in Prince Edward county, Ontario, Canada, and died at Picton, Ontario, in 1903, when about seventy years of age. Though his hirth and death occurred in Ontario, he was for many years or during the greater part of his active business career a resident of Maryland, New Jersey, Michigan and North Dakota and was extensively engaged in business as a cattle man. His widow survives and is now living in Boise. Fred White, who is four years older than his brother, Floyd C., is successfully engaged in business as a druggist of Donnybrook, North Dakota.
Floyd Corey White was chiefly reared on a North Dakota cattle ranch near Bis- marck, his father owning extensive landed interests there and in addition making use of the open ranges, upon which he herded his hundreds of cattle. The parents employed a tutor on the ranch to teach their two sons, Fred and Floyd, for there were no school facilities offered in the district in which they made their home, which was a frontier region. Later, however, Floyd C. White attended the public and high schools of Bismarck, North Dakota, and then, having determined upon the practice of law as a life work, he spent the scholastic year of 1896-7 as a student in the law department of the Valparaiso University of Valparaiso, Indiana. He completed his professional course in the Chicago Law School, from which he was graduated in June, 1898. The following year he entered the service of the United States govern- ment, in which he continued until 1904, spending nearly three years of that time in the Philippine Islands. He was honorably discharged from government service on the 25th of March, 1904, and from 1905 until 1909 he occupied the position of post-
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.