History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume II, Part 92

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 92

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).

774

HISTORY OF IDAHO

with the twenty-two thousand soldiers who sleep beneath the white crosses in the Argonne. All history does not present a greater tale of heroism than that shown by the American boys in the Argonne.

Mr. Conway has now passed the Psalmist's allotted span of three score years and ten, having reached the age of seventy-four. His has been a most active and useful life, in which he has reared a splendid family who are a credit to his name. Throughout the entire period of his connection with Idaho, covering thirty-eight years, he has commanded and enjoyed the respect and confidence of his fellowmen and through the utilization of the opportunities which came to him he bas won a creditable position in business and gained that success which now numbers him among the men of affluence in Caldwell.

MRS. REBECCA MITCHELL.

The following sketch of the life of Mrs. Rebecca Mitchell was written some years ago by a young friend of hers, then Miss Ruby E. Keefer of Idaho Falls, now Mrs. H. J. Brace of Boise.

Mrs. Rebecca Mitchell was born in Macoupin county, Illinois, January 23, 1834. Not much is known of her parents, but it is but natural to suppose that they were honest, God-fearing people. She attended the district schools in her home town, but most of her education was received after she became a widow, when she attended school with her children. She attended the Baptist Missionary Training School in Chicago, and here she was fitted for her life work before coming west.

Mrs. Mitchell came here as a self-supporting missionary and church worker from Hoopston, Illinois, June 6, 1882. She seemed to realize at once the need of the little western settlement, for the very first Sunday after her arrival she set to work to organize the Baptist Sunday school. This was organized in the little board shanty in which she lived June 11, 1882. This first Sunday school met a long felt want, but no one before Mrs. Mitchell had had the courage to attempt any such work. It was at- tended by quite a number of faithful ones, and members were rapidly added as people came from the east to settle in the new country. The day after the Sunday school was organized, this courageous woman organized the first day school and so became the first school teacher in Idaho Falls. The trouble and hardships endured by Mrs. Mitchell in those days no one can realize. There were very few people here at that time who cared for the kind of work Mrs. Mitchell was trying to do, and she had the work of a real missionary to do in winning the people to help her. There was no suitable building for the Sunday school and day school, so part of her own home was used as a school room and fitted up with wooden hoxes to serve as desks. All the time Mrs. Mitchell was working to build a church. As soon as she came she set to work to raise money for this purpose. She received considerable help from benevolent Baptists in the New England states, to whom she had written, stating the needs of the new country. The church was organized with the help of Rev. Lamb and Rev. Spencer, August, 1884, just two years after Mrs. Mitchell's arrival here. To her was given the honor of throwing the first shovelful of dirt for the foundation. Three persons were on that day baptized in Snake river. Work was begun at once, and though it is almost impossible to realize, the church building was finished three months from the time of organization and was dedicated in November, 1884. The building was the first church edifice erected between Ogden and Butte, and the only church building in eastern Idaho.

Mrs. Mitchell continued her public school work, but when the railroad shops were moved away she gave this up and all her time and efforts were given to her church, club and temperance work.

It seems that Mrs. Mitchell is identified with every good and noble work done in our city. She organized our local W. C. T. U., and this society has accomplished much good in Idaho Falls. Mrs. Mitchell was also the state W. C. T. U. organizer and traveled over every part of the state, organizing societies and endangering her health by long, cold stage drives in out-of-the-way places. In 1892 she was the state president of the W. C. T. U., as well as its organizer, and in that capacity she lectured in every town and hamlet in Idaho. Mrs. Mitchell was a very able public speaker. She had a strong, beautiful voice and was very witty and entertaining. She was sent as a delegate to the national W. C. T. U. conventions held in St. Louis, Buffalo, Toronto and Chicago.

She was the superintendent of legislation for the state W. C. T. U. and spent one

MRS. REBECCA MITCHELL

777

HISTORY OF IDAHO

winter in Boise during the session of the state legislature. Here her most important work for the state as a whole was done. During the session she secured the passage of numerous reform laws and was responsible for getting the equal suffrage bill before the people. She was unceasing in her efforts to secure the passage of this bill, and we realize now that fully nine-tenths of the credit for equal suffrage in Idaho is due directly to the efforts of this untiring worker. During the sessions of the general assembly in Boise in 1896-7-8 and 9, Mrs. Mitchell was chaplain of the house of representatives, and was the only woman in the world who ever held such a position.

While Mrs. Mitchell's whole heart was in her W. C. T. U. work, she was a prominent member of the Village Improvement Society and the Round Table Club, and was one of the most faithful workers, ever ready to respond when her health would permit her to do so, and even when unable to be present at the meetings she would write articles and have them read by others. One of her last pieces was written for the Woman's Federation of Clubs at Blackfoot.

At her death in Idaho Falls, September 30, 1908, memorial services were held in a number of towns of the state and resolutions adopted. Interment was made in the beautiful Rose Hill cemetery, and her grave has a handsome marker erected by the club women of the city. Idaho Falls has been greatly honored to number Mrs. Mitchell among its citizens, and we feel proud to think that she lived and labored among us.

SILAS E. BURNHAM.

Silas E. Burnham is the president of the Western Engineering & Construc- tion Company of Boise, which was incorporated in the fall of 1916. He has been a resident of the capital since 1895, removing to Idaho from Portland, Oregon, where he had made his headquarters for many years. He was born upon a farm in Tama county, Iowa, April 8, 1856, and comes of English and Scotch ancestry. He was the second of the three sons whose parents were Azro E. and Eliza ( Bul- lard) Burnham, both of whom have now passed away. The father served for eight years in the United States Navy in early manhood. He was a native of Vermont and of English lineage. During the period of the Civil war he served with an Iowa regiment in the Union army and he survived his service for only a few years, his death resulting from disease contracted while at the front. He had been a man of splendid physique, weighing two hundred and five pounds without a superfluous ounce of flesh, being perfectly proportioned. His death occurred when his son Silas was but twelve years of age. The mother afterward married again and passed away in Lewis county, Washington, many years later. Silas E. Burnham has two brothers, one older and one younger than himself and both residents of Oregon. These are Leslie A. and Marquis Burnham.

Silas E. Burnham was reared upon a farm, largely spending his youthful days in Blackhawk county, Iowa, where he acquired a country school education. In 1877 he came to the west, making his way first to San Francisco, but after a brief period there passed he proceeded northward to Portland, Oregon, where he made his headquarters for two decades. During that period he was engaged in construc- tion work in the capacity of superintendent throughout nearly the entire time. For five years he was in the service of the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company in the capacity of superintendent and later he assisted in building the present Portland Water Works plant, erecting one of the principal reservoirs of that city and acting as superintendent while thus engaged. He was also in the service of . Paul F. Mohr, of Spokane, for two years, Mr. Mohr being a prominent builder and promoter of Spokane's interests, promoting many important public works in that city and in the northwest. While with Mr. Mohr, who is now deceased, Mr. Burn- ham was confidential man during the building of the Spokane & Palouse Railroad and also the building of the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railroad, both of which came into existence through the enterprise and progressiveness of Mr. Mohr. Mr. Burnham was his representative as superintendent of construction. In 1895 he came to Boise, where he has since been identified with construction work, his labors also carrying him into other sections of southern Idaho. He likewise served for five years and two months as street commissioner of Boise under the mayoralty of John M. Haines, Joseph T. Pence and Harry K. Fritchman. Long prior to this time, however, he did the paving of the first streets in Boise as superintendent for

778

HISTORY OF IDAHO

Thomas K. Muir, a contractor, and he has had doubtless more to do with the pav- ing of Boise's streets than any other individual, both as superintendent of con- struction and as street commissioner. In the fall of 1916 he became one of the Organizers of the Western Construction Company of Boise and has since been its president, with Robert W. Farris as vice president and C. A. Roe as secretary and treasurer. The company is incorporated under the laws of Idaho. As early as 1889 Mr. Burnham was a member of the construction firm of Aldrich & Burnham of Portland and in that connection did the work of widening the narrow-gauge railroad between Wallace and Burke, Idaho, converting it into a standard-gauge line.

In November, 1889, at Chehalis, Washington, Mr. Burnham was married to Miss Belle B. Browning, a native of Indiana, and they have one daughter, Bertha Browning, who is a graduate of the Boise high school. In politics Mr. Burnham is a democrat but has never been a candidate for elective office nor has he in any way sought political preferment, although he has served as street commissioner of Boise for many years through mayoralty appointment. He has done excellent work along the line to which he has given his attention, his constantly increasing power bringing him to a position of leadership.

EDMOND WILLIAM BARRY.

At different periods through a useful and active life Edmond William Barry was identified with the banking and with the bakery business in Idaho. His last years were passed in Boise, where his death occurred in 1918. He was born in Randolph, Massachusetts, in 1852, a son of Thomas and Margaret Barry, who removed to Idaho with their family when their son was a lad of twelve years. This was about the same time that Michael Carrigan came to Idaho from California. Both families settled in the Boise basin. The Barrys took up their abode in Idaho City and Thomas Barry, who was a baker by trade, established one of the pioneer bakeries of the state at that place. Amid pioneer surroundings Edmond William Barry was reared, pursuing his education in the public schools.'

It was on the 15th of November, 1898, that he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ellen Carrigan, a native of Boise county, Idaho, born January 6, 1866, and a daughter of Michael and Ellen (O'Herron) Carrigan. Her father settled in the Boise basin in 1864, taking up his abode in Boise county on his removal from Cali- fornia to this state. He left his wife in California until 1865 and then sent for her to join him at the new home which he had prepared. Both parents were born in Ireland, but they became acquainted in California and were married in that state. The gold excitement in Idaho about the time of the Civil war brought Mr. Carrigan to this state and he spent the remainder of his days in the Boise basin. For several years he followed mining pursuits but afterward developed a good farm in the Garden valley, securing his place as a homestead. He converted it into a very rich .and productive tract of land and made his home thereon until called to his final rest in 1886. His widow still resides there and is now in her ninetieth year, making her home with her son, Thomas Carrigan, a prosperous farmer. Mrs. Barry was one of five children. She has a brother, Thomas Carrigan, a half brother, Maurice Quinn, and two sisters who are younger than herself, Mrs. Anna Zapp and Margaret, who took upon herself the vows of the church and is now known as Sister Claudia, con- nected with a convent of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Barry was reared on the old Carrigan homestead in Boise county, was educated in the public schools and in . a convent at Baker City, Oregon, and for several years taught school both in Idaho and Utah prior to her marriage.

For several years after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Barry resided in Idaho City. He was associated with his father in a mercantile business there for several years and later became the cashier and manager of the Boise County Bank at Idaho City, a branch of the First National Bank of Boise. In 1911 they removed to Boise and Mr. Barry became the owner of the Purity Bakery on Maple street but gave his personal attention to other business matters. He was a man of fine business ability and of marked capacity and power. He was a graduate of the commercial depart- ment of the Notre Dame University of Indiana and was an expert bookkeeper. As the years passed on he carefully directed his business affairs and accumulated a

779

HISTORY OF IDAHO

handsome competence that enabled him to leave his widow in comfortable financial circumstances. After his removal to Boise he erected an attractive modern home on East Jefferson street and there he passed away. For some years he had been a sufferer from stomach trouble and on the 23d of February, 1918, when sixty-five years of age, he departed this life.

To Mr. and Mrs. Barry were born two sons, Edmond and William, aged re- spectively twenty and seventeen years. Since the death of her husband Mrs. Barry has removed from the home on Jefferson street to another residence property which she owns at No. 923 Washington street, adjoining the baking plant on Maple street, making this removal in order to be near the bakery, which she still owns and con- ducts with the assistance of her two sons. She also employs two bakers and conducts both a wholesale and retail husiness. Mrs. Barry and her sons are members of the Roman Catholic church, of which Mr. Barry was also a communicant. In politics he was a republican and for two terms he served as county treasurer of Boise county, making an excellent record in the office by reason of his capability and fidelity in the discharge of his duties. He had many friends in this section of the state and his sterling worth was recognized by all who came in contact with him.

AMACY W. CLARK.

Amacy W. Clark, secretary and treasurer of the Teton Realty Company and secretary of the Teton Abstract Company of Driggs, comes to Idaho from Utah, his birth having occurred in Vernal, Uinta county, August 31, 1893, his parents being William T. and Annie M. (Rasmussen) Clark. The father was born in Salt Lake City, while the mother was a native of Idaho. The former was a farmer of Utah until 1895, when he removed to Bonneville county, Idaho, settling near Ammon, where he purchased land and engaged in farming, continuing the cultivation of the property until 1903, when he sold his farm and bought another tract of land near Coltman, Bonneville county. He then concentrated his efforts upon the tilling of the soil there until 1907, when he removed to Rexburg in order to give his chil- dren the advantages offered by the schools of that city. He is still residing there. He purchased land near Rexburg which he now rents, deriving therefrom a good income. The mother is also living. They had a family of fourteen children, three of whom have passed away.

Amacy W. Clark pursued his early education in the district schools of Fremont .. cunty, Idaho, then a part of Bingham county, and afterward attended the Ricks Academy at Rexburg. Later he was called to fill a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served from May 29, 1913, until 1916 in Japan, during which time he learned the language of the people, thus greatly increasing the efficiency of his work among them. Following his return home he came to Driggs in 1916 and secured a position in the office of the county recorder, becoming deputy clerk and recorder and thus serving until January 10, 1919, when he entered into partnership with Don C. Driggs and Walter R. Seymour in organizing the Teton Realty Company and the Teton Abstract Company. They have since conducted business under the two organizations and in both have secured a liberal patronage, which makes their undertaking a profitable one.

On the 7th of June, 1917, Mr. Clark was married to Miss Pearl Farnes and to them has been born a daughter, Marguerite Helene, whose birth occurred on the 25th of March, 1918. Politically Mr. Clark has always been a republican. He has continued a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is now clerk of the Teton stake, having served in that capacity since July, 1918.

WILLIAM F. BRECKON.

William F. Breckon, commissioner of the third district of Twin Falls county and a resident of Kimberly, was born near Nebraska City, Nebraska, on the 2d of October, 1870, and is a son of John and Mary (Hart) Breckon. His parents left his native state during his infancy and removed to Maitland, Missouri. The father was a wagon maker and engaged in that business in Missouri and subsequently near

780

HISTORY OF IDAHO

Beloit, Mitchell county, Kansas, where he also followed farming. He afterward removed to Merrick county, Nebraska, where he engaged in wagon making again and there made his home until his death, which occurred in 1909, when he was seventy-six years of age. The mother is still living in Central City, Nebraska, at the age of seventy-one years. John Breckon was a republican in his political views and his loyalty to his country was manifest by his service in the Union army dur- ing the Civil war. He joined the Ninety-first Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with which command he remained for three years and nine months, serving under General Grant and General Sherman, going with the latter from Atlanta to the sea. In one battle he sustained an injury resulting in the loss of one of his eyes. He was mus- tered out in Jacksonville, Illinois, returning to his home with a most creditable military record.

William F. Breckon spent his boyhood days in Kansas, where he pursued his education in the public schools and then followed farming in that state and Ne- braska. In 1891 he arrived in Idaho, settling first at Payette, where he followed farming and also operated a freighting outfit. He likewise became interested in merchandising there and continued a resident of Payette until his removal to Moun- tain Home in 1906. In the fall of 1907 he came to Kimberly and accepted the management of the store of the Kimberly Mercantile Company. After a short time the store was destroyed by fire. In 1908 he was appointed postmaster of Kimberly and occupied that position until the spring of 1911, when he resigned. He then organized the Kimberly Real Estate Company and is still conducting business under that name. He was against called to public office in the fall of 1919, when he was elected county commissioner. He has been very prominent. in the public life as well as the business activity of the district and has contributed in substantial meas- ure to its development and upbuilding.

In 1910 Mr. Breckon was married to Mrs. Mary Lemp, a native of Iowa. Fra- ternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and with the Modern Woodmen of America. His political allegiance has always been given to the republican party. He has also been identified with the military interests of the state, having in 1903 assisted in organizing Company I of the National Guard at Payette. He was elected second lieutenant and later became first lieutenant and captain. The company was reorganized in 1905, at which time he was made first lieutenant, a position which he resigned in 1906, when he removed to Mountain Home, from which place he came to Kimberly, where he now resides. He has always stood for those forces which have figured most prominently in connection with the upbuilding and development of the various districts in which he has lived and his worth as a man and citizen is widely acknowledged.

EPHRAIM S. MATHIAS.

One of the original proprietors of the site of the city of Rigby is Ephraim S. Mathias, a wealthy retired farmer, who has been a resident of what is now Jefferson county for the last thirty-two years. He was born near Council Bluffs, Iowa, March 9, 1850, a son of Thomas and Margaret (Williams) Mathias, both of whom were originally from Wales, coming to America in the earlier part of the last century. After Thomas Mathias and his wife had landed upon American soil, they located near Council Bluffs, where he followed the occupation of farming for several years. He had previ- ously worked at the blacksmith's trade. Along in the early '50s when westward im- migration was at its height, he decided upon leaving Iowa to seek a more suitable place to establish his home. He loaded the meager equipment of the pioneer into a prairie schooner and with his family pushed westward behind his plodding ox-team to find the new home in Utah. He arrived in that state in 1855 and located near Brigham City, where he bought land. He immediately began the improvement of his farm, which he operated the rest of his life, his death occurring in 1883, and that of his wife, the mother of the subject of this sketch, in 1875.

Ephraim S. Mathias was a child five years of age when he made the long, overland journey with his parents from Iowa to Utah. In those days the pioneer household was too busy to give much thought to education, but Mr. Mathias was recompensed for the meagerness of the educational facilities in Utah at that time by the richness of the experience he had in helping his parents establish their home. He remained on his

......

EPHRAIM S. MATHIAS AND FAMILY

783

HISTORY OF IDAHO

father's farm until he was of age, when he struck out for himself, working as a farm hand and he was also engaged in freighting to points in Montana for two or three years. He finally decided upon owning a farm of his own, hence he came to Idaho and located in Oneida county, where he took up a homestead which, by the organiza- tion of new counties, is now in Jefferson county. When he located here he found his one hundred and sixty acre tract an expanse of sagebrush, which he speedily cleared off, and by hard work he finally brought his farm to an excellent state of improve- ment. When the location of Rigby had been decided upon, Mr. Mathias found that a part of his farm was also a part of the town site. He has since laid off a large portion of his farm into lots, of which he has sold a large number. He still owns fifty acres of the original tract, a part of which lies outside the corporate limits. His residence now stands one block off of Main street on a lot which was formerly a part of his old homestead. The house is delightfully situated in a fine grove of trees which he planted a number of years ago.

Some time ago Mr. Mathias retired from active agriculture pursuits and now devotes his entire attention to his business interests in Rigby, since he is a stockholder in several enterprises, namely: the Beet Growers Sugar Company, the Gem State Furni- ture Company, and of the Golden Rule and the Quality Department Stores.

It was on April 9, 1887, that Mr. Mathias was married to Angeline Abby Gardner and to them have been born four children, as follows: Erminie, the wife of Albert Call, who is a farmer in Jefferson county; Ida, who married William Myler, a farmer of Jefferson county; Jared L., a civil engineer, who is now working in the Jackson Hole country in the employ of the national government, and Ephraim S., who died in infancy.

Mr. Mathias is a conscientious member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to which he gives his unqualified support. Politically he is a democrat, and he takes a deep interest in the affairs of that party. He has four times been elected mayor of Rigby, a fact which bears witness to the high esteem in which his fellow citizens hold him and to the confidence which they place in his good judgment and civic spirit.

ROBERT A. YOUNG.

Robert A. Young, manager of the Boise Mill & Elevator on South Eighth street, was born in Pueblo, Colorado, November 17, 1878, his parents being Robert A. and Katherine (Moffat) Young. The father, a mining man formerly of Pueblo, Colorado, was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and on removing westward in 1859 took up his abode in Pueblo, where his remaining days were passed, his death there occurring in 1902. In the early '70s he had wedded Katherine Moffatt, a direct descendant of Robert Moffatt, one of the earliest of the Scotch emigrants to locate in America. One of his sons was killed in the Revolutionary war while serving under the immediate command of Washington, and other ancestors of Mr. Young in the maternal line laid down their lives on the altar of their country in the War - of 1812 and in the Civil war.

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.

History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume II, Part 92

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