USA > Idaho > History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume II > Part 94
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Mr. Riggs was married at Middleton, Idaho, August 3, 1910, to Miss Mary Frances Wilkins, who was born in Iowa, November 20, 1873, and in 1908 came to Idaho with her widowed mother, who now resides near Joseph, Oregon, at the advanced age of eighty-one years. Mrs. Wilkins bore the maiden name of Mary F. Putnam and comes of the same family as General Israel Putnam of Revolutionary war fame. Mr. and Mrs. Riggs are parents of two children: Henry Chiles Riggs (III), who was born May 20, 1913; and May Putnam Riggs, born January 26, 1915.
In his political views Mr. Riggs is a democrat but has never sought nor desired office. His wife is a member of the Presbyterian church and they are highly esteemed in the community where they make their home, having a large circle of warm friends in Gem county. Mr. Riggs has lived on his present ranch near Letha for four years and is giving bis attention to the raising of live stock, hay and grain and is proving a substantial citizen, as have the other members of the family, being loyal at all times to all matters of public value and worth.
W. FINLEY ROBERTSON.
W. Finley Robertson, engaged in general merchandising at Driggs, was born at Tipton, Cedar county, Iowa, February 28, 1877, and is a son of Andrew I. and Margaret (Clements) Robertson, who were natives of Pennsylvania, whence they removed to Illinois at an early day. Three years later oil was struck on the farm which Mr. Robertson had left in Pennsylvania and this proved to be one of the largest oil wells in the world. After going to Illinois, Mr. Robertson followed farming there for some time and then became a resident of Cedar county, Iowa, where he also carried on agricultural pursuits. He afterward made his home in Calhoun and Carroll counties, Iowa, where he bought and improved land and car- ried on general farming for many years. Subsequently he resided in the town of Carroll, Iowa, for five or six years and then came to Idaho, spending his remain- ing days at the home of his son, W. Finley, at Victor, Teton county, where he passed away in February, 1906. The mother is still living and is now a resident of Cali- fornia.
W. Finley Robertson was largely reared and educated at Lake City, Iowa, and remained under the parental roof to the age of nineteen years. The oppor- tunities of the west attracted him and, unable longer to withstand the lure, he came to Idaho in 1896, settling at St. Anthony, where he taught school, devoting four years to that profession, while a brother and a sister also became teachers of
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this state. The hrother had a chance to buy eighty acres in St. Anthony for four hundred dollars but did not consider it a good investment. Two years later he paid two hundred and fifty dollars for a hundred-foot lot in the town. W. F. Robertson afterward returned to his old home and attended the Capital City Commercial College of Des Moines for one year. On the expiration of that period he again came to Idaho, settling at Victor, Fremont county, now Teton county, where in connec- tion with his brother and sister he engaged in general merchandising, conducting the store for thirteen years. When the railroad was built through they established a store at Ashton, where business was carried on for three years. In 1915, Mr. Robertson put aside commercial pursuits to accept the appointment of county clerk, recorder and auditor of Teton county, which position he occupied for three and a half years. Throughout the period of his residence here he has been closely asso- ciated with the work of progress and improvement. He built the big brick hotel at Victor and in the summer of 1919 he once more became identified with general merchandising, opening a store at Driggs, where he has secured a large patronage. He carries an extensive and well selected stock of goods, puts forth every effort to please his patrons and by reasonable prices and honorable dealings has gained liberal public support. He has in various ways contributed to the work of general improvement and development during his residence in Idaho. He organized and incorporated the town of Victor and he homesteaded eighty acres near the town. which he afterward sold.
In October, 1907, Mr. Robertson was married to Miss Etta Hatch and to them was born a son, Pierce, whose birth occurred October 28, 1908. On the 20th of November of the same year the wife and mother passed away. Mr. Robertson afterward married Ethel Worthington in June, 1910, and they have two children: Erle, born in April, 1911; and Melha, on the 6th of December, 1912.
In his political views Mr. Robertson is a democrat and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day and stanchly supports any measure which he believes to be of vital importance to the community, the commonwealth or the country at large. He and his family occupy an enviable social position and his per- sonal qualities are such as make for popularity among all who know him. He is a most progressive and energetic business man who, recognizing the opportunities of the northwest, has contributed to its upbuilding and while promoting his indi- vidual fortunes has done much to further the prosperity of the country at large.
JOHN W. COOK.
John W. Cook is a retired rancher and live stock man who is numbered among the pioneer residents and valued citizens of Emmett. He came to Idaho about thirty- five years ago, arriving in this state in 1885, and for five years he was a resident of Cassia county, since which time he has lived in or near Emmett. He was born in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, March 9, 1847, and has therefore passed the seventy- third milestone on life's journey. His parents were Hugh and Catherine (Harkins) Cook, both of whom spent their entire lives in the Keystone state.
John W. Cook obtained his education there and before leaving Pennsylvania resided for a time at Eatonbury, near Oil City. In young manhood, however, he left the east and made his way west to Buffalo Park, in western Kansas, where he conducted a livery stable for two years, from 1880 until 1882. He afterward spent several years at Robinson Camp, seventeen miles from Leadville, Colorado, becoming the first pro- prietor of a livery stable in Robinson Camp and running a stage line between that place and Leadville. He drove the first huggy in that camp. In 1885 he came to Idaho. For five years he lived in the Snake River valley, in the vicinity of Oakley, making his home on a ranch, and during that period he was engaged in buying and selling cattle and horses. Thirty years ago he established his home in the vicinity of Emmett and has continued to deal in ranches, horses and cattle. He today owns a number of ranches in Gem eounty together with one hundred and sixty acres of land in Idaho county and also has several properties in Emmett, from which he derives a good income. One of his Emmett holdings is a twelve acre ranch in the heart of the city. He was one of the organizers of the Bank of Emmett.
While in Colorado, in the early '80s, Mr. Cook was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Ramsay, who passed away in 1917, leaving one daughter, Ida, who is now
MR. AND MRS. JOHN W. COOK
e
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the wife of H. B. Mumford, deputy sheriff of Canyon county and a resident of Cald- well, Idaho. To Mr. and Mrs. Mumford have been born a son and a daughter, who are the delight of their grandparents. On the 22d of November, 1919, Mr. Cook was married again, his second union being with Mrs. Laevenia Coffey.
Mr. Cook is a Roman Catholic in religious faith and his political support is given the democratic party. His life has been an active, busy and useful one. As the years have progressed he has prospered in his undertakings and throughout the greater part of his life he has engaged in loaning money, so that he is now doing something of a private banking business. He long figured as a prominent ranchman and with the pioneer development and upbuilding of the state has been closely associated.
L. A. BROSSARD.
L. A. Brossard, who is manager and secretary-treasurer of the Judd Motor Corporation of Rigby, has lived in this vicinity for the last fifteen years. He was born in Richmond, Utah, August 17, 1877, a son of A. and Mary (Hobson) Brossard, the father being originally from Montreal, Canada, and the mother from Farmington, Utah. When A. Brossard was a youth of seventeen years, he joined a party of prospectors who operated in Montana for some time and thus began his life as a frontiersman of the northwest. Later he took up ranching for a time near Salmon City, Idaho, and also carried freight overland from Corinne, Utah, to Montana and points in Canada. He then returned to Montana to do railroad construction work in the northern part of that state for two years, at the end of which time he again came to Idaho, bought land near the town of Oxford and carried on ranching and stock raising for twenty-five years. He finally disposed of his interests near Oxford and retired after a fashion, moving to Logan, Utah, where he now resides at the age of seventy years. His wife, the mother of the subject of this sketch, is not living, her death having occurred February 14, 1899.
L. A. Brossard spent his early life on his father's ranch near Oxford, Idaho, where he received his elementary schooling. He then felt the need of further education and entered the agricultural college at 'Logan, Utah. On the termination of his college course he came to Idaho in 1904 and he taught school for several years. He then took up ranching at Lewisville, in which he engaged for some time, and afterward engaged in hookkeeping at Roberts for several years. In August, 1918, he bought an interest in the Judd Motor Company of Rigby and the business was incorporated with a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars. This change in the or- ganization of the company was chiefly due to the efforts of Mr. Brossard. The Judd Motor Corporation deals in Ford automobiles only, but also carries on an extensive business in tractors and farming implements. In addition to his business interests in Rigby, Mr. Brossard owns land in Bonneville county, but devotes most of his attention to his business affairs in Rigby.
In politics Mr. Brossard is a stanch democrat and takes more than a passive interest in the affairs of his party. His efficiency in conducting business so com- mended him to the voters of Jefferson county that they elected him county recorder and auditor in 1916, and during his two-year term the manner in which he performed the duties of his office met the complete satisfaction of his fellow citizens.
" In September, 1900, Mr. Brossard was united in marriage to Stella Fisher, and to this union have been horn seven children, as follows: Mary, Louis, Josephine, Blanche, Enid, Gretta and Barbara. The parents are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of Rigby, to which they give their unstinted spiritual and material support. Mr. Brossard is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America, in the affairs of which he takes a proper interest.
GEORGE GARDNER.
George Gardner, a representative and valued citizen of Gem county, living at the home of his daughter Mrs. James A. Kesgard, near Letha, well deserves representation in this volume as a Civil war veteran and as an Idaho pioneer. He is now seventy-five years of age, having been born on the 3d of July, 1844, in
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County Louth, Ireland. He came to the United States alone when a lad of six- teen years and within a year after his arrival in America he made two trips to the Argentine Republic in South America, sailing as a cabin boy. Upon his return from the last trip he learned that his father and brother, Matthew Gardner and James Gardner, had both been killed in the first battle of Bull Run. They had come to the United States before he had crossed the Atlantic and had volunteered for service in defense of the Union. Learning that they had given their lives for the country, George Gardner then joined the United States navy on the 14th of April, 1864, and served with the North Atlantic Squadron to the end of the war, heing chiefly on duty in Albemarle Sound.
On the 21st of November. 1866, Mr. Gardner left New York by boat for San Francisco, making the trip by way of the Isthmus of Panama. He was still wear- ing his country's uniform, having joined the United States army as a regular on the day that he left New York November 21, 1866. He had been discharged from the navy on the 14th of April previously. He served in the navy for two years and the army for eight years, his service with the latter being in California, Ari- zona and Idaho. He received his final discharge at Boise barracks on the 10th of- January, 1875, and has remained a resident of Idaho, in fact has constantly been in this state since 1872. He lived for several years at Centerville, in the Boise basin, and afterward removed to Emmett, occupying the same house for more than thirty years.
In 1875, in Boise Mr. Gardner was married to Miss Julia McAuliff and their only living child is Mrs. James A. Kesgard, with whom they now reside. Mr. Gardner and his wife are of the Catholic faith. In politics he is a democrat and while he has given stanch support to the party, he never failed to vote for Roose- velt whenever he had a chance. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic and is commander of Fremont Post, No. 23, of Emmett, a position which he has held for the past seven years. He is now aide-de-camp on the staff of the comman- der-in-chief of the Idaho Department, G. A. R., and is also aide-de-camp for Idaho on the staff of the commander-in-chief of the G. A. R. of the United States, having been appointed by Clarendon E. Adams, of Lincoln, Nebraska, on the 28th of May, 1919. He may well be proud to wear the little bronze button that proclaims him a veteran of the Civil war and it is a recognized fact that throughout all of the intervening years he has been as true and loyal to his country in days of peace as when he sailed under the nation's naval banner or followed the Stars and Stripes as a member of the regular army,
ALPHEUS CUTLER WORTHINGTON.
In the year 1881 Alpheus Cutler Worthington took up his abode on what is now the site of Oakley and through the intervening period to the time of his death was closely associated with cattle raising and ranching in Cassia county. He was born at Nauvoo, Illinois, December 13, 1844, a son of James and Rachel (Stailey) Worthington, both of whom were natives of Philadelphia, where they were reared and married. After removing to Illinois the father engaged in business as a car- penter and contractor. Having been converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he wished to cast in his lot with the people of his faith and in 1853 he left Illinois and crossed the plains to Utah, making Grantsville his destina- tion. There he remained until 1860, when he removed to Deep creek in Tooele county, Utah, where he carried on ranching and cattle raising. Later, however, he returned to Grantsville, where his remaining days were passed. There his wife died in January, 1882, while he survived until September, 1887. His political en- dorsement was given to the democratic party. He remained throughout his life a faithful follower of the church, being always loyal to its teachings.
A. C. Worthington, whose name introduces this review, spent his boyhood days at Grantsville, Utah, and on Deep creek in Tooele county. There he became familiar with every phase of Indian life. He was living in that district when In- dians attacked and killed settlers at Canyon Station and at Eight Mile Station. The Worthington family were at that time living on a ranch at Home Station, on Deep creek, about ten miles from Eight Mile Station. In his youthful days A. C. Worthington learned to speak the Indian language and played with the Indian boys.
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He became a true friend of the red men and their chiefs. He understood their nature and always dealt fairly and squarely with them, so that he had no trouble with the Indians.
On the 28th of December, 1868, at Grantsville, Utah, Mr. Worthington was united in marriage to Miss Priscilla Martin, a native of Bedfordshire, England, and a daughter of Samuel and Priscilla (Layton) Martin. During her infancy / she was brought by her parents to the new world. They embarked on a salling vessel which was partially wrecked in a storm. For six weeks they remained on the water, making the trip across the Atlantic to New Orleans. From that point they proceeded northward to St. Louis, Missouri, where Mrs. Worthington's mother passed away. In 1855 her father came with his family across the plains to Utah and located at Grantsville. There he engaged in ranching and became one of the prominent sheepmen of that section of the state, there continuing to make his home until his demise. As stated, his daughter became the wife of Mr. Worthington and to them was born one child, Maud Z.
Following his marriage Mr. Worthington established his home on Deep creek, in Tooele county, Utah, in 1869. In 1878 he removed to Bear Lake county, Idaho, and drove his cattle across the country to his new place. He purchased a farm of one hundred acres and also a residence at Montpelier, Idaho. In 1881 he re- moved to Goose creek, where the town of Oakley now stands, homesteading one hundred and sixty acres on which he built a log house of one room. In this primi- tive pioneer manner he began life in Cassia county. As the country became set- tled the town grew up on his ranch and Mrs. Worthington is still the owner of a number of town lots. In 1897 Mr. Worthington built the present family home, which is one of the finest in the state-a beautiful residence surrounded by well kept lawns adorned with evergreen trees and beautiful flowers. In 1907 he bought a residence on Newport Heights, Santa Ana, California, intending to spend his re- maining days there, but passed away at Oakley in 1908, at the age of sixty-three years.
Mr. Worthington was a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Lat- ter-day Saints. His political endorsement was given to the democratic party and he filled the office of road supervisor and that of deputy sheriff. He was always loyal to the best interests of the community and his cooperation could be counted upon at all times to further any movement for the general good. His business ca- reer was one of steady progress and successful achievement. Starting out in life empty-handed, he worked his way consistently upward, making each opportunity and advantage that came to him count for the utmost. He early recognized the value of diligence and persistency of purpose and he used those qualities always in the attainment of his success. Moreover, his business dealings measured up to the highest ethical standards and his integrity and honor stood ever as unquestioned facts in his career.
ALFRED K. DABELL.
Alfred K. Dabell, a well known contractor and builder of Rigby, was born in Nottinghamshire, England, May 14, 1852, a son of Alonzo and Harriett (Lam- bert) Dabell. The Dabells are of old Norman stock, tracing their ancestry back to the days of William the Conqueror. Prior to bringing his family to America in 1858, Alonzo Dabell had been a skilled workman in the famous knitting mills of Nottinghamshire, where he carried on framework knitting operations. After he and his family landed on American soil, they located in Philadelphia, where they remained until 1861, in which year they decided to come to the west with Utah as their destination. In those days before the great transcontinental railways had been constructed, it was no easy task to reach the far west, for the wouldbe settler had to make the tedious journey, which was beset by many dangers, in the lumbering prairie schooner drawn by ox teams. Fortunately, the Dabells attached themselves to a caravan of these slow-moving equippages and arrived in Utah after undergoing no more than the average hardships incidental to an immigrant train in those days. After they had arrived in Utah, they located at Mendon, in the Cache valley, where they remained for one year, and then removed to Paradise, Utah. After living there for two years, they came to Idaho, locating in Bear Lake
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county, where the father gardened and worked at the carpenter's trade for six years. He then returned with his family to Utah, locating in Harrisville, where he resided for fourteen years, at the end of which time he again came to Idaho, residing in Grant, Fremont county, later Jefferson county, the remainder of his life. He died August 3, 1905, at the ripe old age of eighty years. His wife is now living with her son, Alfred K., in Rigby, at the age of eighty-nine years.
Alfred K. Dabell was only seven years of age when he left the shore of Eng- land for America. Shortly after the family located in Philadelphia, he began his elementary education in the schools of that city, and he completed his schooling in Utah and Idaho. While the family was living in Utah, he started out for him- self by learning the carpenter's trade in Ogden, thus beginning his career in con- struction work, in which he has been interested ever since with the exception of the fifteen years spent in farming. It was in 1888 that Mr. Dabell came to Idaho and located on a homestead in that part of the Snake river valley which later be- came a part of Jefferson county, being the first settler in that section. After he had devoted himself to the improvement of his farm for fifteen years, he began contracting and building and his operations extended over this section of Idaho and a part of Utah. He erected a large number of buildings in Jefferson and neighboring counties and in Harrisville, Utah. One of his most noteworthy achieve- ments was his promotion of the Poverty Flat Irrigation Canal Company, now the Burgess Canal Company, being the first president of the corporation, the success- ful organization of which was chiefly due to his efforts. In 1911. he came to Rigby, where he has since resided, and does a large business in contracting and building.
On April 28, 1873, Mr. Dabell was united in marriage to Julia A. Taylor in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mrs. Dabell is the daughter of Pleasant G. and Clara P. (Lake) Taylor, natives of the Blue Grass state, who were among the earliest set- tlers of Utah, where they spent the rest of their lives as residents of Harrisville. The death of the father occurred May 18, 1917, after he had reached the advanced age of ninety years, and that of the mother on June 15, 1900, at the age of seventy. To Mr. and Mrs. Dabell have been born sixteen children, three of whom are de- ceased; namely: Joseph, Alonzo G. and Edwin G .; the others being: Alfred W., Annie L., Pleasant W., Maud E., James L., Hattie M., David L., Clara .A., Jennie L., Harvey G .. Myrl A., Preston and Louceal. There are also forty grandchildren.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Dabell are valued members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of Rigby which the former has served in official capacity for a number of years. He was bishop of Grant ward for fifteen years and since that time he has been high counsellor of the Rigby stake. He has also served as super- intendent of the Sunday school for several years. In politics he is a republican and he has played an active role in the local organization of his party for many years. As a reward for his endeavor in behalf of his party, he has been offered the nomina- tion for public office but has not seen fit to accept.
WALTER R. SEYMOUR.
Walter R. Seymour, a man of marked business enterprise who is the president of the Teton Realty Company and of the Teton Abstract Company, conducting busi- ness at Driggs, dates his residence in Idaho from 1909, at which time ill health caused him to seek a change of climate and he became a resident of Bonner county, this state. He was born at Wolflake, Noble county, Indiana, December 12, 1873, and is a son of George C. and Lydia (Howenstein) Seymour, the former a native of the Hoosier state, while the latter was born in Ohio. The father followed farming in Indiana for several years in early manhood and afterward turned his attention to commercial pursuits by becoming proprietor of a hardware store. Later he extended the scope of his activities to include all lines of general merchandise and he remained in busi- ness at Wolflake, his native town, for many years, but is now living retired there at the age of seventy. His wife also survives and is now sixty-six years of age.
Walter R. Seymour spent the days of his boyhood and youth under the parental roof at Wolflake and supplemented his early educational privileges by study in the university of Valparaiso, Indiana. He afterward taught school in Indiana for seven years and then took up the profession of bookkeeping. He became an expert accountant
WALTER R. SEYMOUR
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