History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume II, Part 87

Author: Hawley, James Henry, 1847-1929, ed
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 1024

USA > Idaho > History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume II > Part 87

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P. Henry Quirk, of this review, spending his entire life in Boise to the time of his entrance into the World war, was graduated from the high school of the city and was much interested in high school athletics. belonging to the football and hasehall teams and also to the track team. While still a high school pupil he entered the employ of the Boston Grocery, which he now owns and which was then the property of Vern Nusbaum, now deceased. Mr. Quirk acted as clerk and delivery hoy in the evenings after school. on Saturdays and through the summer vacations throughout nearly his entire high school course. He thus thoroughly learned the business in every detail and after finishing his high school course he devoted his entire time to the Boston Grocery, remaining as an employe for a few years. Later, after the death of Vern Nusbaum, the latter's hrother, Walter Nusbaum, became interested in the store and Mr. Quirk also bought a half interest in the business. In January, 1917, however, he became sole proprietor through purchase of his partner's interest, and the Boston Grocery is today one of Boise's leading grocery establishments and is accorded an extensive patronage.

On the 12th of December, 1917, Mr. Quirk enlisted as a volunteer private for service in the European war and on the 5th of May, 1918, sailed for overseas. He was a first class sergeant in the Twenty-eighth Division and was on active duty in France.

During the absence of Mr. Quirk the entire management of the Boston Grocery devolved on his sister, Miss Mary A. Quirk, who for sometime had been bookkeeper in the store and who most capahly conducted the business during the absence of

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her brother. Mr. Quirk belongs to the Boise Commercial Club, also to the Boise Elks Club and the Knights of Columbus. He is possessed of good business ability and marked enterprise, but personal considerations weighed but little with him when he felt that his country needed his aid and, responding to the call of the colors, he went to France to assist in suppressing the military spirit which cast gloom, desolation and sorrow over the world for four years, causing the sacrifice of eight million young lives.

AUGUSTUS H. HARVEY.

Augustus H. Harvey, a sheep and wool dealer of Boise, who is usually known as "Gus Harvey," can justly claim place with Idaho's pioneers, having come to the ter- ritory in 1883, when a lad of but fourteen years, traveling by stage-coach from Hailey to Boise, for at that time the capital city had no railroad. His home at No. 209 Main street is one of the finest in the beautiful city that has been developed. It is built of Idaho cut stone in an attractive style of architecture, and was purchased by Mr. Har- vey a few years ago at a low figure when real estate prices in Boise were at an ebb and since then he has refused more than double the price which he paid for it. He thus came into possession of one of the lovely homes of the city and, moreover, it has proven an excellent investment, for soon after his purchase realty values took a sud- den upward turn and are still advancing. As the years have passed Mr. Harvey has successfully conducted his operations as a dealer in sheep and wool, and the young lad of fourteen who arrived in Idaho practically empty-handed is today one of the prosperous business men of the city.

He was born on a farm near Richmond, Indiana, February 7, 1868. a son of Charles Harvey, a farmer, who came to Boise and spent the last years of his life in the home of his son, passing away March 17, 1918. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Margaret Chapman, died when their son Augustus was but nine years of age, after which the father never married again. The Harvey family is descended from Quaker ancestry. Immediately after the mother's death Augustus Harvey removed with his father, brothers and sisters to the state of Michigan, their home being estab- lished on a fruit farm in Oceana county. When thirteen years of age he left home to make his own way in the world, going first to Iowa, where he attended school for about a year. When fourteen years of age he continued his westward travel to Boise and was first employed in this city by Frank R. Coffin, with whom he made his home for four years, working for his board and clothing. Mr. and Mrs. Coffin took the place of parents to him, shielding and guiding him and giving him the privilege of attending the public schools until he was eighteen years of age, when he began to work for wages in Mr. Coffin's hardware store. He remained with his benefactor until he attained his majority. For several years afterward he was engaged in the grocery business, first as a clerk and later as proprietor of a store. For three years he owned and conducted the Royal grocery at Ninth and Idaho streets. In 1903 he embarked in the sheep business and has devoted his attention thereto throughout the intervening period, dealing extensively in sheep and wool. His first venture in the business was an investment of twenty-eight thousand dollars in sheep. He has become one of the largest operators in sheep and wool in Idaho, conducting a mammoth business in recent years, buying and selling sheep in large numbers and handling immense quan- tities of wool. He buys and sells rather than raises sheep and he now has as an associate in business his eldest son, Gerald H. Harvey, a young man of twenty-six years, who is married and resides in Boise.

On the 25th of January, 1891, Mr. Harvey was married in Boise to Miss Adelaide May Andrews, who was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and was educated in Bingham- ton, New York. She came to Idaho with her mother about 1887. They have two sons: Gerald H., twenty-six years of age; and Robert Ryder, aged eight years, the latter now a public school pupil.

Mr. and Mrs. Harvey belong to the First Methodist Episcopal church of Boise and Mr. Harvey is also identified with the Woodmen of the World and with the Boise Country Club. His chief recreation is duck hunting and he is also fond of other hunt- ing, fishing and skating. He was formerly widely known in Idaho as an expert ice and roller skater, being able to do all the fancy turns and movements that are indi- cative of skill in that connection. Mr. Harvey and his family are most prominent

AUGUSTUS H. HARVEY

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socially and their beautiful home is the abode of a warm-hearted hospitality which is greatly enjoyed by their many friends. Mr. Harvey deserves more than passing notice as a business man, for his success is attributable entirely to his own labors. Starting out independently when a youth of thirteen years to earn his own living, he has stead- ily worked his way upward, making wise use of his time and opportunities, and his energles have brought to him a competence which places him with Idaho's men of af- fluence. Moreover, the methods that he has followed have been in strict accordance with the most ethical business standards, and at no point in his career have his activi- ties ever sought or required disguise.

ARTHUR EUSEBE ASHLEY.

Arthur Eusebe Ashley, founder and proprietor of the business conducted un- der the name of the Ashley Sign Company in Boise, was born in Baltic, Connecticut, October 28, 1884, a son of Eusebe and Mary (Bouchard) Ashley, the former of English lineage, while the latter was a representative of an old French Canadian family. The mother died when her son, Arthur E., was but four years of age and he was left an orphan through his father's death when a lad of twelve. He was reared in Connecticut and Rhode Island and at sixteen years of age he joined the United States Army, in which he served a full three years' term of enlistment, being honorably discharged at Washington, D. C., when nineteen years of age. He at once removed westward to Spokane, Washington, where he remained from 1904 until 1910. He there learned the sign painter's trade, which he followed as a journeyman, and in 1910 he came to Boise, Idaho, where he established the Ashley Sign Company and has since conducted business under that style. He has devoted his entire attention to sign painting since 1905. His place of business is now at No. 219 North Ninth street and he has a very liberal patronage, for his work is of high quality and his business methods thoroughly reliable. During his three years' service in the army his military duties took him into twenty-two dif- ferent states of the Union. He belongs. to the Spanish War Veterans' Association, having entered the army primarily for service in the Philippines, but the govern- ment kept him in this country.

On the 6th of June, 1906, Mr. Ashley was married in Spokane, Washington, to Miss Mabel B. Maxwell, a native of Minnesota but at that time a resident of Spokane. They have become the parents of four children: Arthur Allen, Esther Ruth, Evelyn Maxine and Frances Mabel. Mrs. Ashley is a daughter of William E. and Emma Jane (Nickerson) Maxwell, both of whom are now residing near Spokane, Washington. Her grandmother in the maternal line is still living at the advanced age of more than ninety years and makes her home at Orwell, Vermont. Mrs. Ashley was born in Bigstone county, Minnesota, April 30, 1886. The birth of her son, Arthur Allen, occurred June 22, 1907, while Esther Ruth was born February 12, 1909, Evelyn Maxine on the 6th of December, 1913, and Frances Mabel on the 4th of December, 1916. The family residence is at No. 1815 North Eleventh street in Boise, Mr. Ashley having purchased the property-a most comfortable home-five years ago. The religious faith of the family is that of the Roman Catholic church.

JOHN KENT.

Laudable ambition to win greater success than he was achieving in his native England brought John Kent to the new world and throughout the entire period of his residence on this side of the Atlantic he has made his home in Boise, where after a brief period he became the owner of the Idaho Carriage Works. He has continued at the head of the business, which he has developed to large and sub- stantial proportions, winning recognition as a prominent representative of indus- trial activity in the capital.

Mr. Kent was born in Cornwall, England, December 3, 1877, his parents being Robert and Emma (Stevens) Kent, also natives of Cornwall. The father was born in 1837 and passed away in 1911. He was a blacksmith throughout his entire life

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HISTORY OF IDAHO

and for forty years was a member of the firm of Robert Kent & Sons, following blacksmithing at Cornwall.

In the public schools of his native town John Kent pursued his education until he reached the age of fourteen years, when he, too, took up the trade of blacksmith- ing and thoroughly mastered its details. On leaving home he removed to Bristol, England, where he resided for two years, working with engineers at that place. He believed that better opportunities might be secured on the other side of the Atlantic, however, and in 1906 bade adieu to home and friends and sailed for the new world. He did not tarry on the eastern coast but made his way at once to Boise, where he has since lived. He had been in the capital city but a brief period when he secured a position with the Idaho Carriage Company. A year's experi- ence there brought him thorough knowledge of the business in principle and detail, and at the end of that time he purchased the shop and has since carried it on, build- ing up a business of gratifying proportions. His plant is well equipped with the latest improved machinery for work of that character and the excellence of his product is bringing to him a liberal patronage.

On the 23d of January, 1901, in Cornwall, England, Mr. Kent was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Oliver, and to them have been born' three sons: John R., born April 16, 1902, in Cornwall; Richard N., born in Cornwall, June 20, 1904; and Rupert Idaho, born in Boise, July 13, 1908. The family is now well known in Idaho's capital, where they have lived for fourteen years.

Politically Mr. Kent is a republican of independent type. He does not consider himself bound by party ties and casts an independent ballot when his judgment so dictates. His religious faith and that of his family is of the Methodist Episcopal church and they are highly esteemed in the'city in which they have resided since coming to the new world. Mr. Kent has never had occasion to regret his determi- nation to cross the Atlantic, for in this land of opportunity he found the advantages which he sought, and by reason of his industry, close application and laudable ambition has steadily worked his way upward.

MILES R. CAHOON.

Miles R. Cahoon, a representative business man of St. Anthony, who is man- ager of the Farmers Implement Company, was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, October 1, 1859, his parents being Mahouri and Sarah (Romney) Cahoon, the former a native of Missouri, while the latter was born in England. The father crossed the plains with one of the ox-team trains in 1847. It was a long and arduous journey attended with suffering and privation, but ultimately Utah was reached. In 1849 he went to California, where he remained for a year and a half and then returned to Utah, where he took up land at Murray, south of Salt Lake City. This he improved and continued its cultivation throughout his remaining days. He made many trips back and forth across the plains to assist the handcart companies in reaching their destination and he departed this life in the spring of 1889. The mother survived for two decades, her death occurring in 1909; when she had reached the age of seventy-three years.

Miles R. Cahoon pursued his education in the schools of Salt Lake City and remained with his parents until he had attained his majority. In 1883 he came to Idaho, locating in Bingham county, a part of which is now Fremont county. Here he filed on land near Rexburg in that section which is now Madison county. This he developed and improved and continued its cultivation until 1893, when he was made probate judge of Fremont county, an office which he filled for four years. He then returned to Rexburg and established a general merchandise store, which he conducted successfully for four or five years, when he sold the property and became connected with the Consolidated Wagon & Machine Company in the imple- ment business. He has since been connected with that line of business and is a well known figure in trade circles. After disposing of his general store he was elected sheriff of Fremont county and served for four years. He has also been called upon for much other public service of an important character. He was county superintendent of schools for four years and acted as justice of the peace at Rexburg for a similar period. In March, 1919, he accepted the position of man- ager of the Farmers Implement Company at St. Anthony, the headquarters of this

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company being at Rexburg. He is now controlling the business at this point and is proving most capable in his management of the trade. He is the owner of consid- erable residence property at Rexburg, from which he derives a good rental.

On the 30th of November, 1883, Mr. Cahoon was united in marriage to Miss Mary McMillan and they have become parents of seven children: Michael; Miles; Silver; Mary, who is the wife of J. E. Winzler, of Rexhurg; Sarah R., at home; Reno, who passed away in March, 1899; and James A., whose demise occurred in June, 1901.

The religious faith of the family is that of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Politically Mr. Cahoon is a republican and is a recognized leader in the local councils of the party. It was he who organized the first company of militia in Fremont county and this company did active service in the Spanish-Ameri- can war. Mr. Cahoon is keenly interested in all that has to do with the welfare and progress of the section in which he resides and his labors have been a potent force in connection with its upbuilding and development.

HON. RAVENEL MACBETH.

Hon. Ravenel Macheth, a well known mining man, with offices in the Overland building in Boise, while making his home at Mackay, Custer county, came to Idaho in 1894 from the state of South Carolina and has since maintained his residence in Mackay. His business affairs have made him widely known as a representative of mining interests in the state. He was born at Columbia, South Carolina, and comes of French Huguenot and Scotch ancestry. During the entire period of his connection with this state he has heen identified with mining interests and few men are so thoroughly informed concerning mining conditions and opportunities. His investments have been wisely and judiciously made and have hrought to him substantial returns.

In politics Mr. Macheth is a recognized leader in democratic circles and has served for seven terms in the Idaho state senate, representing Custer county in the upper house of the general assembly. He filled the position for six consecutive terms-a fact indicative of the trust reposed in him hy his fellow townsmen and his loyalty to the best interests of the commonwealth. Mr. Macheth is a member of the Huguenot Society of South Carolina and of the Society of Colonial Wars.

ARTHUR C. HOLDEN.

As secretary and general manager of the Holden Implement Company of Boise Arthur C. Holden represents important commercial and industrial interests of the state. Although he is yet a comparatively young man he has already attained to a position which attracts to him more than usual attention. A native of Leadville, Colorado, Mr. Holden was born April 30, 1884, and is a son of Robert and Jane (Birrell) Holden, who are now living retired in Boise. The parents came to this city from Hebron, Nebraska, in 1917 in order to be near their son. They were horn, reared and married in Fifeshire, Scotland, and to them one child, Agnes, was born in the land of hills and heather but she is now deceased. In 1872 they came to the United States and at first settled in Fairbury, Illinois. There the father followed coal mining but in 1879 the family removed to Leadville, where he acquired gold and silver mining interests and became well-to-do. He retired from mining in 1896 and then removed to Hebron, Nebraska, in the vicinity of which he had impor- tant landed interests.

Arthur C. Holden was reared in Leadville, Colorado, and Hebron, Nebraska, receiving his advanced education in the University of Nebraska, where he spent two years. He later graduated from an Omaha business college, thus preparing himself for a commercial career. From the age of twenty-two, or since 1906, he has been identified with the implement business and spent seven years in the service of the Hebron Implement Company of Hebron, Nebraska. In 1912 he came to Boise in the capacity of floor salesman in the establishment of the John Deere Plow Company of Moline, Illinois. In March, 1915, he was promoted to the posi-

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tion of manager of the local house but on December 31, 1916, he organized the present Holden Implement Company and has since been secretary and general man- ager. The new corporation at once took over all of the John Deere interests in Boise and southern Idaho and theirs is now the largest implement house in the capital city and one of the largest in the state. The president is Robert H. Lord, of Portland, Oregon, our subject acting as secretary and manager. They are distributors for Boise and southern Idaho of the John Deere line of implements, selling farm tools and farm equipment of every description and carrying other makes · besides the John Deere. In their display and sales rooms can be seen everything imaginable in the way of farm tools and equipment, embracing farm tractors, silage cutters, gasoline and oil burning engines and all kinds of harvesting machinery, such as wheat binders, corn binders, manure spreaders, machines for planting and digging potatoes and practically every kind of spraying equipment. Their sales room stock includes a complete galvanized wheat granary which is duplicated to the minutest detail. There is hay making machinery, threshing and hulling ma- chinery, carriages, wagons, buggies, cream separators, gang, sulky and every type of plows, etc., are all represented. Theirs is indeed a wonderful establishment, not only important as a commercial enterprise but also as an institution wherein pro- gressive ideas are expressed and where those interested may seek out new methods and receive new suggestions.

On April 18, 1908, Mr. Holden was married in Hastings, Nebraska, to Ava May Sponsler, a native of Nebraska, and to this union has been born a son, Robert, whose birth occurred on the 22d of January, 1910. Both Mr. and Mrs. Holden are very popular in the social circles of Boise and the former is deeply interested in the commercial upbuilding of the city as well as its general development, being a help- ful member of the Boise Commercial Club.

GEORGE PARKIN.

The life record of George Parkin is the story of successful and honorable achieve- ment, and he is now numbered among the men of affluence living at Meridian, hav- ing put aside the active work of the farm to enjoy in well earned rest the fruits of his former labor. Not all days in his career have been equally bright. He met un- told difficulties and hardships in early pioneer times in gaining a start, but resolu- tion and determination have enabled him to overcome these and as the years have passed his labors have brought to him substantial prosperity.

Mr. Parkin was born in Durham county, England, February 4, 1852, but is yet young in spirit, keenly interested in everything that pertains to Idaho and her wel- fare. He is a son of Matthew and Matilda (Wygate) Parkin, who spent most of their lives in England. The father was a machinist by trade and, leaving his native country, went to Egypt, where he was employed for seventeen years as head machin- ist under the khedive. Later, however, he returned to England, where he contin- ued to make his home until called to his final rest.

George Parkin had but limited educational opportunities, for when only seven years of age he began working in the coal mines, being thus employed until he reached the age of nineteen. He was afterward employed at different kinds of work and for a time was in Egypt with his father, but homesickness caused him to return to Eng- land. Later he was married, Miss Sarah Wilkinson, a daughter of Robert and Mary Wilkinson, becoming his wife in 1879. Her forefathers for two hundred years had lived on the same estate in England. Mrs. Parkin was the youngest of ten children and was well trained in household affairs, so that she became a most able assistant and helpmate to her husband. On the 5th of December, 1879, they sailed for America on the steamer City of Berlin, which was the first steamship equipped with electric lights that crossed the Atlantic ocean. On landing in New York city they proceeded to Scranton, Pennsylvania, and after a few months there passed continued their journey to the northwest, first settling at Butte, Montana. Mr. Parkin was employed in hauling cordwood in that state, where he remained until May, 1881, and then drove with team and wagon to Boise, where he arrived in the month of August. For a period he was engaged in trading between Boise and Atlanta and after thus work- ing for a time as a freighter he secured a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres near Meridian, in Ada county, located along the line of what became known as the

MR. AND MRS. GEORGE PARKIN

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Settlers ditch. At the time of his arrival, however, the country was dry and there was no water to irrigate the land, so that he found it difficult to gain a start. He sup- plemented the income derived from what little he could raise in dry farming by kill- ing jack rabbits, upon which a bounty had been placed by the state and local govern- ments as the rabbits were a menace to everything raised in the district. He eagerly welcomed the proposition of digging the Settlers ditch and was one of the first men in the locality to begin work thereon. The venture, however, was not successful for some years and in the meantime Mr. Parkin pursued the work of the farm, building a house upon the land which he homesteaded and bending every energy to the develop- ment of his place. There was, however, little market for farm products, as all of the settlers were attempting to raise crops, finding that lack of water was their great- est obstacle. John Lemp had undertaken to put in a ditch, or rather finish the old ditch which the settlers had started. These settlers insisted that the name of Set- tlers ditch should be retained and were not very enthusiastic supporters of the Lemp enterprise. After a time they got a supply of water from the Ridenbaugh canal and when Lemp finished his undertaking there was a plentiful supply of water all through the country. Farming and kindred activities then received an added impetus and wealth began to flow into the district.

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History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume II, Part 87

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