History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume II, Part 88

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

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With the development of his farm Mr. Parkin established a dairy and for twen- ty-five years was actively and successfully engaged in that business. About 1908 he sold his farm for twenty thousand dollars and his stock for twelve thousand dollars. Throughout the entire period in which he carried on dairying he never failed to take butter to town each Saturday save on one occasion in 1901, when there was a ter- rific blizzard. His wife, too, was of the greatest assistance to him and many times she drove into town with the products of their dairy. She ably managed the house- hold affairs and did everything in her power to assist in gaining a start in the new country. After disposing of his dairy interests Mr. Parkin devoted his attention to the management of a large ranch of six hundred and forty acres on Camas prairie, in Elmore county, where he raised fine horses and cattle. He established an attrac- tive home in Meridian and became the president of the Meridian Building & Loan Association, also a stockholder and director in the First National Bank of Meridian and a stockholder in the Meridian Spray Manufacturing Company, which engaged not only in the manufacture of the material for spraying fruit trees but also in the man- ufacture of cider and vinegar. Thus as the years passed Mr. Parkin became a most active business man, connected with many lines that have contributed directly to the upbuilding and progress of the section in which he has long lived.

In 1914 Mr. Parkin was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who passed away on the 20th of March of that year. Her sterling worth and many excellent traits of character were recognized by all who knew her. She was not only a capable and resourceful woman in the management of her household affairs, but possessed a kindly nature and genial disposition that endeared her to all with whom she came in con- tact. For thirty-nine years Mr. Parkin has now resided in Idaho, spending the en- tire period in Ada county, and there is no phase of its development and progress with which he is not thoroughly familiar. Year by year he has made steady advancement, owing to his close application and indefatigable industry, and his life history indi- cates clearly what can be accomplished through individual effort. Today he is one of the prosperous residents of Meridian, his constantly increasing business interests bringing to him a most substantial measure of prosperity, and, moreover, his wealth has been so honorably won and so wisely used that the most envious cannot grudge him his success.

K. E. TORRANCE.

K. E. Torrance is the editor and manager of the Press Publishing Company, publishers of the American Falls Press at American Falls, Idaho. He is a native of the Pacific northwest, his birth having occurred at Colfax, Washington, January 7, 1893. He is a son of William G. and Margaret (Kirby) Torrance, the former a native of Oregon, while the latter was born in Kansas. The father was a rancher- during the greater part of his life, being identified with that interest in Washing- ton and Idaho. He came to the latter state in 1907 and conducted a ranch in Power county until 1918, when he retired from active business and removed to Spokane,

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HISTORY OF IDAHO

Washington, where he now makes his home. The wife and mother, however. passed away in May, 1904.

K. E. Torrance largely spent his youth at Colfax, Washington, where he pur- sued his education up to the seventh grade. Later he had the advantages of high school training in Spokane and he also attended the University of Washington at Seattle for three years, thus becoming well qualified by liberal educational oppor- tunities for the responsible and important duties of life. In March, 1917, he took up his abode at American Falls and became associated with O. H. Barber of the American Falls Press. In July of that year, however, he was accepted at the officers' training camp and was with the Twentieth Infantry for four months. In January, 1918, he was transferred to the air service and continued in that branch of the service until the 8th of January, 1919, when he returned to American Falls. On the 1st of June of the same year he was made editor and manager of the Press Publishing Company, which was incorporated at that time, with Mr. Torrance as one of the stockholders and incorporators. He is a most alert and progressive young business man and is making for himself a most creditable place in business circles of the northwest. He is the owner of land which he homesteaded in Bingham county and he also has two oil leases in Texas.

On the 21st of May, 1919, Mr. Torrance was married to Miss Beatrice M. Stone and they occupy an enviable position in the social circles of the city in which they now reside. Mrs. Torrance is a member of the Catholic church. In politics Mr. Torrance is a republican and keeps well informed concerning the vital prob- lems and questions of the day but does not seek nor desire office. He has proven his loyalty in citizenship in other ways, especially by his enlistment for service in the World war, and he is classed with those young men of progressive spirit who are working for a better country and for higher standards of Americanization.

WILLIAM W. WILTON.

William W. Wilton, who is engaged in the real estate' and insurance business at Emmett, was born in Dyersville, Iowa, May 1, 1872, a son of Robert H. and Eliza- beth Jane (Council) Wilton, who were born, reared and married in England and were of pure English ancestry. On coming to the United States they settled in Duhuque county, Iowa, at Dyersville, where the birth of William W. Wilton oc- curred. When he was six years of age the parents removed with their family to Boone county, Nebraska, where his youth was spent upon a farm, and there both his father and mother passed away.

At the age of twenty years William W. Wilton set out to make his own way in the world. He felt the lack of educational training and the first thing he did on leaving home was to go to Omaha, Nebraska, and work his way through a business college. While upon the home farm of the Wilton family they had lived in a dugout and were two miles from a sod schoolhouse, to which Mr. Wilton walked, there pursuing his studies. He got as far as common fractions in arithme- tic and learned to read and write. In business college he pursued a commercial course and later he learned telegraphy in Omaha. In 1898 he responded to the call for troops to aid in the Spanish-American war, enlisting as a member of Company C, Third Nebraska Volunteer Infantry, which regiment was commanded by William Jennings Bryan. He was sent to a training camp at Jacksonville, Florida, and there spent seven months, after which he returned to Nebraska, where he engaged in various husiness pursuits until 1905. He then came to Idaho and established a real estate and insurance agency in Emmett. In the intervening years he has developed the business to one of extensive proportions, and, utilizing his knowledge of realty values and his opportunities for judicious investment, he has become the owner of much valuable realty in Gem county.

On the 16th of September, 1903, Mr. Wilton was married to Miss Anna E. Driscoll, a native of Iowa, and they have one daughter, Letha Napina, who was born in Emmett, June 24, 1908. The town of Letha, Gem county, was founded by Mr. Wilton and James Barnard and named in honor of the former's only child. Mr. Wilton's home in Emmett is situated on North Main street and is of the modern bungalow type, a combination of frame and cobblestone, and is one of the prettiest residences of the town.

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HISTORY OF IDAHO

Fraternally Mr. Wilton is an Odd Fellow and is a past grand in the lodge. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party but the honors and emolu- ments of office have had no attraction for him. He has concentrated his efforts and energies upon business affairs and has gradually and steadily worked his way upward. He has made each move count, has learned from every varied experience the lesson therein contained, and step by step he has progressed in business until he is now conducting an extensive real estate and insurance agency and is num- hered among the men of affluence in his adopted city.

CHARLES F. BAXTER.

Charles F. Baxter, proprietor of the Baxter Foundry & Machine Works of Boise, came to Idaho in 1874 from New Jersey. The early years of his residence in this state were passed at Rocky Bar and at Atlanta, Elmore county, where he lived until 1880. He came to the west with his parents, his father being the late Captain James Baxter, who passed away in Boise on the 19th of May, 1904, when seventy-two years of age. He was born in England and when a young lad of six or eight years came to the United States with his parents, Francis and Mary J. (Gunn) Baxter. The family settled upon a farm in New Jersey on which now stands one of the largest silk mills in the east, the location being at Paterson, New Jersey. Captain Baxter volunteered for active service in the Civil war as a member of the Union army, becoming a second lieutenant of Company K of the Serrell Engineers of New York. He was wounded at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, and sent home to die, but fate willed otherwise and upon his recovery he rejoined the same com- mand and was promoted to the rank of captain in recognition of his bravery. He then remained at the front until the close of hostilities. He was married at Paterson, New Jersey, in 1854 to Miss Amanda Langwith, who survives and makes her home in Boise. She was horn in Paterson, New Jersey. Captain and Mrs. Baxter became the parents of four children, three daughters and a son.

The latter, Charles F. Baxter, who was the youngest of the family, came to Idaho in 1874. His father was a mining and civil engineer and also a machinist by trade, having served an apprenticeship as a machinist in Paterson, New Jersey. From 1874 until 1882 he was manager for the Leonora Mining Company and for the Big Lode Mining Company, both of old Alturas county. During the same pe- riod he acted as consulting engineer and installed the machinery for the old Mon- arch and Buffalo mining companies, all of Atlanta, Idaho. Previous to this he had been general manager of the Ophir Mining Company of Rocky Bar. From 1882 until 1889 he was in old Mexico in charge of the interests of the Guadaloupe Mining & Development Company, a Philadelphia concern, his position being that of managing director. In the latter year he returned to the United States and for a year and a half was a resident of Newark, New Jersey, and then spent six months in Chicago. On the expiration of that period he removed to Baker City, Oregon, and later to Candelaria, Nevada. He followed his profession of mining engineering in connection with the White Star Mining Company but in 1891 returned to Idaho,

making his home in Boise until his death. In 1892 he founded the present Baxter Foundry & Machine Works, which he conducted for several years under the name of James Baxter & Company, his only son, Charles F. Baxter, the present owner, being associated with the father in the management and operation of the foundry and succeeding to the entire control even before the father's death. Later he changed the name to the Baxter Foundry & Machine Works. It is the pioneer concern of the kind in Boise and the principal industry of its line in the city. James Baxter and his wife celebrated their golden wedding about a month before the former's death in 1904.

Charles F. Baxter was born in Paterson, New Jersey, and was but eight years of age when his parents first came to Idaho but returned to New Jersey with them in 1880. He served a five years' apprenticeship to the trades of a machinist and boiler maker in Newark, New Jersey, and afterward pursued a preparatory college course in New York city, where he studied mining and mechanical engineering, assaying and analytical chemistry. In 1888 he went to Chicago, working there in a machine shop, in which he built some special machinery, and later he was sent by his employers to Baker City, Oregon, where he erected a free gold milling quartz

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HISTORY OF IDAHO

mill for the White Star Mining Company. In 1890-1 he erected a similar plant for the same company in Elmore county, Idaho, and in 1891 he came to Boise with his father. In 1892-3, in conjunction with his father, he established the plant now known as the Baxter Foundry & Machine Works and during the succeeding four years he also conducted an assay office and chemical laboratory in Boise, while at the same time he was assisting in the operation of the Baxter Foundry & Machine Works and also acted as consulting engineer on various other mechanical projects. Finally he took full charge of the Baxter foundry about 1900 andthas directed its operations since, keeping it in the front rank among similar enterprises in the northwest.

On the 12th of August, 1887, in Newark, New Jersey, Mr. Baxter was married to Miss Kittie Ellen Kain, who was born in that city, a daughter of John D. and Catherine Kain, who came to the United States from Ireland. They now have three children: James, who was in the military service of the United States during the World war and is now associated with his father and brother in the business, and who married Marjorie Lucy Whittle, November 19, 1919; Caroline L., at home; and Charles F., Jr., who is also associated with his father. He was mar- ried in Pendleton, Oregon, September 28, 1910, to Hazel Nolen, who died Septem- ber 2. 1918, leaving a daughter, Virginia Lee Baxter, born July 25, 1911, and he was married September 15, 1919, to Blanche Aubertine Christensen.

Mr. Baxter is a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. While he is a believer in republican principles, he does not hesitate to cast a ballot in support of democratic candidates if he thinks them better qualified for the offices they seek. In other words he works and votes for what he believes to be the best interests of community, commonwealth and country and is at all times a loyal and public-spirited citizen, while as a business man he occupies a most enviable place as the head of one of the important indus- tries of the state. His ability as a mining and consulting engineer is based upon broad scientific training and wide experience.

REV. THOMAS J. PURCELL.

Rev. Thomas J. Purcell became pastor of the Catholic church of Idaho Falls in the spring of 1919, but his labors in Idaho have covered an extended period, in which his efforts have been far-reaching and resultant. He is a prominent representative of the Catholic clergy in the northwest and has made his home in Idaho since 1883, during which period he has been instrumental in the erection of ten churches and has recently let the contract for the eleventh. Schools, too, have come into existence under his direction and thus he has contributed much to the intellectual and moral progress of various communities. He was born in Aberdare, Glamorganshire, South Wales, December 7, 1860, a son of Daniel and Johanna M. (Prendergast) Purcell, who were natives of Ireland but when about sixteen or eighteen years of age became resi- dents of Wales, where they subsequently met and were married. The family home was continued at Aberdare until 1869, when in quest of health the father emigrated to the United States and two years later was joined by his wife and children, but when three months had passed the father died.

A contemporary writer has said of Father Purcell: "Although he was only a lad of eleven years when his father died, Thomas J. Purcell was compelled to lay aside his textbooks and lend his assistance in maintaining the family. He entered the coal mines of Tioga county, Pennsylvania, where he was continuously employed for eleven years, but at the expiration of that period his health was so completely shattered that he was compelled to live in the open air. The physicians insisted upon a change of climate, so he started westward, arriving in Nebraska on Thanksgiving day, 1882. He obtained work on a farm until February, 1883, when he resumed his journey, reach- ing Denver, Colorado, on March 1, penniless. He was considered a victim of the dread white plague and it was impossible for him to obtain employment, even being refused an opportunity to work for his board. Yet these besetting trials and terrible hard- ships proved a blessing in disguise, compelling him to sleep wherever night over- took him, and the invigorating air of the mountains healed the diseased tissues of his lungs and restored his vitality. Not finding any employment, he set out for Ogden, tramping the greater part of the way, occasionally riding on freight trains between

REV. THOMAS J. PURCELL

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Denver and Granger, Utah, when such opportunity offered. From that point on, how- ever, he walked the eutire distance. Upon reaching his destination he immediately sought work, and was shipped out of there as a laborer on the Oregon Short Line, which was then under course of construction. At Bliss, Idaho, a premature explo- sion killed four of his companions and the little burying ground one mile west of Bliss contains their remains. This has been fenced and cared for by the Oregon Short Line Railroad. He worked for two months and then went to Virginia City, Montana, pass- ing through Idaho Falls in June, 1883, iu a box car, and walking from there to Boze- man, where he arrived on July 3, 1883. While located there he worked during the summer months as a brickmaker for the old pioneers, Tracy and Sam Ruffner, while in winter he was employed by Nelson Story. In September, 1884. he left Bozeman and went to Spokane, where he joined Father Joset, S. J., and Father Cataldo, S. J., whom he accompanied to the De Smet Mission in Kootenai county.

"He had always been an ambitious youth and had never fully relinquished the dream of his childhood, which had been to enter the service of the church. However, he pos- sessed other admirable traits of character, and when the needs of those dear to him necessitated his laying away his books, he expressed no regrets. Many times must he have found it difficult to restrain his rebellious spirit during those long years in the mines, where he daily and hourly overtaxed bis strength and for weeks at a time never saw the sunshine. The joy, the happiness that is considered to be the inalien- able right of every child was denied him, but he thus purchased it for many another child and so has received his reward. Unquestionably one of the great secrets of the wonderful success of Father Purcell can be attributed to his understanding and appre- ciation of conditions surrounding the unfortunate and his ready and heartfelt sym- pathy for those in trouble. During the first four years of his residence at the mis- sion he taught the Coeur d'Alene Indians, while pursuing his classical studies under the instruction of the Fathers, who gave him private lessons. It was discouraging at first, as for many years his entire time and attention had been devoted to physical labor, but he possessed a fine mind and excellent powers of concentration and soon was making rapid progress. In 1888 he was sent to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, to continue his studies, but he could not endure the climate, and owing to the state of his health in March, 1889, was compelled to return to Spokane. He took a position in Gonzaga College, that city, where he taught until June, 1890. In August of that year he went to Montreal and taught for a year in St. Lawrence College, during which period with the aid of a private tutor he was able to complete his classical course. He was then qualified to begin his ecclesiastical studies, and in September, 1891, en- tered the Grand Seminary at Montreal.

"On the 20th of December, 1896, he was ordained a priest and on May 1, 1897, was assigned by the bishop of this diocese to the parish of Coeur d'Alene. At that time the parish covered practically five thousand, six hundred square miles, compris- ing the counties of Kootenai and Bonner, Boundary and Benewah county-with the exception of the Coeur d'Alene reservation-and for a period of nine years a portion of Spokane. He completed the church at Bonner's Ferry, which had been started by Bishop Glorieux of Boise, and he erected another one at Rathdrum, the latter being the first brick church edifice in the Idaho diocese. It was in process of construction for some time and was dedicated in 1892. Father Purcell possesses abundance of en- ergy, and is a most enterprising and enthusiastic worker, no task connected with his work being too stupendous for him to undertake its commission and successfully carry it through to completion. He next built a church at Priest River, while ground was acquired and buildings were under construction, to provide the people of Harrison and Post Falls with places of worship. The work of the parish developed so rapidly under his capable direction that in 1893 it was necessary to divide it with Rev. James F. Kelly, who has ever since been priest in Bonner county. In 1893 he brought to Coeur d'Alene Sisters of the order of the Immaculate Heart of Mary from Scranton, Pennsylvania, and in September of that year they established a school. Their tem- porary building was only forty-six by fifty-six feet, and they had an enrollment of sixty-three pupils. The attendance increased so rapidly that there quarters were soon entirely inadequate to meet the demands. Recognizing and appreciating their needs, Major J. J. O'Brien, one of Coeur d'Alene's philanthropic, retired residents presented them with a block of ground, and when the military reserve was sold at public auc- tion Father Purcell bid in the hospital and administration buildings, and had them removed to the grounds Major O'Brien had donated on the corner of Coeur d'Alene avenue and Ninth street. They were subsequently converted into a convent and school, which now has an attendance of three hundred pupils.

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"Owing to the rapid increase in the Catholic population of Coeur d'Alene, in 1897, Father Purcell was obliged to relinquish the missions of Kootenai county, and devote his entire attention to the work of the city. When he first came to this parish in 1897 it contained but seventy-five Catholic families, and now Coeur d'Alene alone has three hundred and fifty Catholic families or about twelve hundred followers of the faith. He has been tireless in his efforts to extend the work and increase the number of com- municants. When he arrived here, realizing that the Catholics of the future were the children of the present, he gave no thought to procuring a residence for himself or suitable quarters in which to hold services, but immediately began searching for a building adapted to the needs of a school. Subsequently quarters were procured that served temporarily for religious purposes, and in June, 1909, ground was ob- tained and excavations started for their present beautiful church. On the 22d of August, 1909, Bishop Glorieux laid the corner stone and, in the following October, work on the superstructure was commenced. This was completed on May 1, 1910, and was permitted to stand until November, of that year, when contracts were let for the interior decorations. Their new building was occupied on the 5th of March, 1911, but was not entirely completed until the 1st of November and was dedicated on Decoration Day, 1912. It is one of the most beautiful churches in the northwest, and was completed at a cost of forty-six thousand dollars. The interior decorations are especially fine and all of the appointments are of a superior quality, and it seats one thousand people.

"Not often is it given to anyone to see such wonderful results from work in four- teen years as Father Purcell is witnessing from hls labors. He is now able to realize that those long, hard years of his early manhood were not fruitless by any means. Although he began his life work at an age when the majority of men are quite well established, he has accomplished more during the single decade of his service than many consummate in a lifetime. He is now at the zenith of his powers and the fu- ture contains for him great promise and much assurance of yet greater opportunities. During the period of his connection with this field he has made many friends among both . Catholics and Protestants, who despite the difference In their faith revere and hold in the highest esteem the man, his belief and the purpose to which he has dedi- cated his life-the service of humanity. Father Purcell attributes much of his success to the Jesuit Fathers of Gonzaga College, whose advice he has sought and followed in all important matters. He is always ready to respond to a call, whatever its source, carrying cheer and comfort to rich and poor alike, as did He in whose footsteps he is following."

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History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume II, Part 88

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