USA > Idaho > History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume III > Part 101
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Charles S. Crabtree was reared and educated in Salt Lake, Utah, and remained with his parents until after he attained his majority, or rather until 1890. After finishing school he took up the occupation of farming and in 1890 removed to Bonneville county, Idaho, then a part of Bingham county. He purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Jefferson county and bent his energies to the development and improvement of that place until 1902, when he took up the work of contracting and building, which he has since continued, being a very active factor in the building operations of the district. His work has been of an important character. He is very thorough and capable in all that he does and at all times is strictly reliable. The excellence of his work has won for him a liberal patronage and his success is well deserved.
In October, 1880, Mr. Crabtree was married to Miss Elizabeth Blair, a daughter
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of Seth M. and Elizabeth (Fife) Blair, the former a native of Texas, while the latter was born in Scotland. The father was a lawyer and went to Salt Lake about 1851. He tried the first case ever heard in Salt Lake and continued the practice of law there throughout his remaining days, becoming a prominent representative of the Utah bar. He died in 1871, while the mother survived until August 22, 1913. To Mr. and Mrs. Crabtree were born nine children: Margaret M., the wife of W. J. Steele, of Idaho Falls; Cliff, the wife of N. A. Packer, also of Idaho Falls; Elizabeth, the wife of Charles Shirley, of Idaho Falls; Raymond, a shoe dealer at Blackfoot, Idaho; Loretta, a trained nurse; Glenn B., a dentist of Idaho Falls; Charles S., who died in 1881; Ellen C., who was born April 15, 1893, and passed away December 12, 1895. and William B., who was born January 18, 1895, and died January 1, 1896.
Mr. Crabtree has always been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints and for eleven and a half years has served as bishop of his ward Politically
he is a democrat and is now a member of the city council of Idaho Falls, serving for the second term or third year. He is deeply interested in all that pertains to the civic development and welfare of the community and is a prominent factor in the business life and moral progress of Idaho Falls.
JOHN A. DALTON.
John A. Dalton is a rancher who has recently purchased a well improved ten-acre tract of land near Perkins station, four miles southwest of Boise. For twenty-two years previous to this time he devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits near Grace, in Bannock county, Idaho. He was born in Willard city, Utah, fifteen miles from Ogden, October 26, 1858. His father, Matthew W. Dalton, also a farmer hy occu- pation, was born in St. Lawrence county, New York, and had not reached his majority when he started for California overland with a wagon train in the year 1850. Im southern Idaho he left the train with which he had thus far traveled, deciding not to continue the journey to California. He then went to Ogden; Utah, where he remained for a few years, after which he took up his permanent abode at Willard city, Utah, fifteen miles from Ogden. It was in Boxelder county, Utah, that his son John A. was born. The father after settling in Utah joined the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and became a hishop's counselor. In 1906 he wrote and published a small volume, entitled: "A Key to This Earth," or "How Science Agrees With Our Beloved Redeemer." He was always a close student, particularly of astronomy. He passed away at Willard city, Utah, March 14, 1918, at the age of ahout eighty-eight years, his birth having occurred in 1830. His first wife was Rosilla Whittaker, who became the mother of John A. Dalton. He had three wives and twelve children in all, six of whom are yet living. Mrs. Rosilla (Whittaker) Dalton was born in North Carolina and passed away June 3, 1898.
It is interesting to note something of the more remote ancestry of Mr. Dalton, who finds that the family lineage is traced back to France, and representatives of the family went from that country to Ireland. John Dalton, his grandfather, was born at Arbrockin, Ireland, in 1780 and came to the United States in young manhood. He afterward returned to the Emerald isle, where he wedded Mary McGovern and in 1821 he again came to the United States, accompanied by his wife, thus founding in the new world the branch of the family to which John A. Dalton helongs.
The last named has always been a resident of the west. He was reared and educated in his native state and was married in Salt Lake City on the 22d of January, 1880, Miss. Elizabeth Jane Cook becoming his wife. She was born at Willard city, Utah, November 2, 1860, of Mormon parents-George and Hannah (Burrows) Cook,-who were natives of England, in which country they were reared and married. They crossed the Atlantic as converts to the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints and at once made their way to Utah in 1854. Her father was horn at Brabourne, Kent, England, January 28. 1828, and was married in 1854, starting for America with his bride the same year. They made their way up the Mississippi river by boat, then crossed the plains with ox team to Utah and located in Ogden in 1855 and in 1859 at Willard. The father died January 1, 1906, and his wife passed away February 15, 1891.
In 1886 Mr. Dalton removed to Idaho and for five years lived at Elba, Cassia county, but in 1891 returned to his native state. In 1898 he again come to Idaho, residing
JOHN A. DALTON AND FAMILY
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at Grace, Bannock county, until March, 1920, when he purchased his present home near Perkins station and not far from the Cole school. He still owns his former place in Bannock county, where he has a fine residence that was built in 1912 and one hundred and sixty acres of land which he homesteaded and developed. He now has an attractive ten-acre ranch, highly cultivated and improved, and the characteristic energy and enterprise of Mr. Dalton will keep it always in excellent condition.
To Mr. and Mrs. Dalton have been born twelve children, six sons and six daughters, the youngest being thirteen years of age. One of the sons, John Alfred, who was born October 23, 1882, died July 8, 1895, at the age of twelve years. The eleven living chil- dren are as follows: Hannah Elizabeth, born November 4, 1880, is the wife of Nels P. Johnson, Rosilla M., born July 18, 1884, wedded Lamoni Tolman. Mary E., who was born December 8, 1886. is now the wife of Olaf Norseth. Elsie J., who was born March 9, 1889, is the wife of Charles W. Hubbard. George M., who was born February 1, 1891, married Zenna Anderson, who died of influenza and childbirth February 18, 1920, and both mother and child were buried in the same grave. George M. Dalton is residing near Grace, Idaho, and is prominent in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving as bishop of Bench ward of Bannock county. Hazel Pearl, who was born December 4, 1892, is the wife of D. E. Peterson. Asel N., born December 21, 1894, married Ollie M. Larsen. Jennie A., who was born September 25, 1897, is the wife of William C. Brown, a veteran of the World war. The other members of the family are: Raymond E., who was born April 23, 1900; Clyde E., born June 21, 1903; and Floyd W., April 1, 1907.
The religious faith of the family is that of the Mormon church. Mr. Dalton was most widely and favorably known in Bannock county, where for almost a quarter of a century he was actively engaged in ranching. His industry and enterprise brought to him a very substantial measure of success, and he is also profitably conducting his present ranch property, upon which he took up his abode in 1920.
JOHN G. H. GRAVELEY.
John G. H. Graveley, president and founder of the Capital Brokerage & Commis- sion Company of Boise, came to Idaho from Kansas in 1902. He spent one year at Mountain Home, Elmore county, and then removed to Boise in 1903. In the follow- ing year he organized the Capital Brokerage & Commission Company and has since been president and manager, thus occupying a prominent place in the business circles of the city. Mr. Graveley was born in Racine, Wisconsin, February 8, 1858, a son of John H. and Martha Taylor (Akers) Graveley, both of whom have now passed away. The father, who was an expert accountant, was born in Quebec, Canada, and died in Boise in 1912, in the seventy-ninth year of his age, while his wife passed away at Lawrence, Kansas, many years ago. The father had removed to Boise in order to make his home with his son John.
The latter was reared in Racine, Wisconsin, to the age of fourteen years and then removed to Cleveland, Ohio, with his parents. He acquired his education in the schools of Racine and of Cleveland and while yet in his teens secured a clerkship in a dry goods store of the latter city, being there employed for eight years. In 1879 he made his way west to Kansas and for twenty years he was engaged in railroad work in various capacities and as a representative of several different roads, although much of his time was spent in the employ of the Santa Fe. For several years he was trav- eling claim agent for that road. Later he engaged in general merchandising at Fred- erick, Kansas, for two years but sold his business there in 1902 and came to Idaho. The Capital Brokerage & Commission Company, of which he has been the head since 1904, is not an ordinary commission house but is a wholesale jobbing house that buys for cash and sells for cash. The concern also acts as manufacturers' agent for various large concerns throughout the country, selling from the manufacturer direct to the retailer.
On the 13th of August, 1895, Mr. Graveley was married to Miss Lottie M. Johnston, a native of Posey county, Indiana, and educated in that state and Kansas. She was for several years a teacher in Kansas and she has been very prominent in connection with educational interests in the northwest, being now treasurer of the Boise school board. She is also prominent in club life in Boise and is connected with the Young Woman's Christian Association and with the Red Cross. Mr. and Mrs. Graveley have
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an only daughter, Martha Jane, who is now a student in Leland Stanford University of California.
Mr. Graveley is a member of the Boise Chamber of Commerce. In politics he is a republican but has never been an aspirant for office. While a resident of Topeka, Kansas, he was one of the organizers of the first company of the state militia, known as Company A of the First Kansas Regiment, of which he became a lieutenant. Fraternally he is a Mason and has attained the Knight Templar degree, while with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine he has crossed the sands of the desert. Both he and his wife are members of the Episcopal church and they take a very active and helpful interest in all those affairs which make for the development and progress of the community. Mrs. Graveley has been particularly prominent in connection with club work and in the endorsement of civic and educational interests and her efforts have been effective forces for progress along those lines. Through appointment of Governor D. W. Davis she is serving as a member of the state board of education.
ROBERT B. FRENCH.
Robert B. French is the editor of the Ashton Enterprise, published at Ashton, Fremont county, and has been identified with the printing business since the age of twelve years, when he began learning the trade. He was born in Moody county, South Dakota, October 1, 1884, and is a son of Theodore E. and Emma (Bennett) French, the former a native of New York, while the latter was born in Pennsylvania. The father was a farmer by occupation and went to South Dakota at an early day, taking up land in the Sioux valley in 1883. This he tilled and improved, continuing its cultivation until 1910, when he removed to Wycming, where he carried on farm- ing for two years. He now makes his home in Wisconsin and his wife is also living.
Robert B. French spent the days of his boyhood and youth in the Sioux valley and pursued his education in the public schools. When a lad of twelve he entered a printing office in order to learn the trade and he has since worked along that line in many parts of the United States, being connected with newspaper publication both in a mechanical way and as a writer. In April, 1919, he came to Ashton and took charge of the Enterprise, which he has since published. This is one of the oldest papers in Fremont county, having been in existence for fifteen years. It is owned by a stock company, consisting of one hundred and thirty-four Non-Partisan League farmers. . The printing plant is thoroughly modern, with all the latest machinery and equipment, including a linotype machine. Mr. French is devoting his attention largely to the editorial work rather than to news gathering, and his editorials, clear, concise and trenchant, have been widely read. In the past ten years he has become well known as a writer on economic and political questions and has worked on all of the largest papers of the country.
In December, 1910, Mr. French was married to Miss Harriet Ledebrink, a daughter of H. C. and Anna (Stormer) Ledebrink, who were natives of Germany and Illinois respectively. The father came to America when eighteen years of age, settling at Quincy, Illinois, where he has since lived.
In addition to his newspaper interests Mr. French is connected with farming in Fremont county. In politics he maintains a non-partisan stand, voting according to the dictates of his judgment and espousing such causes as he believes will further the welfare of the country. His aid and influence are ever on the side of progress and improvement and he delves deep to the root of all vital questions which affect the interests of the country at large.
WILLIAM ALLARD.
William Allard, identified with the farming interests of Power company and also an active figure in political circles, now representing his county as a member of the house of representatives in the state legislature, to which position he was elected on the republican ticket, has through his various activities become recognized as one of the leading and prominent residents of his part of the state. Removing from Iowa to
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the west in 1909, he took up his abode in Power county, Idaho, and has since been closely associated with its agricultural development.
Mr. Allard was born upon a farm in Dallas county, Iowa, December 5, 1875, a son of Nathaniel and Emma (Wilhelm) Allard. The father is still living in Iowa, where for many years he was actively engaged in farming, but has now retired from business, mak- ing his home in Perry. He is a veteran of the Civil war, having valiantly aided in winning victory for the Union arms. He was born in Ohio and located in Iowa after the elose of the war. He has now reached the age of seventy-four years. His wife, a native of Pennsylvania, died when her son William was but two years of age. The father afterward married again and there were two sons and a daughter by that marriage. William Allard also has an own sister, Mrs. Le Roy Newport, of Panora, Iowa, who is two years his senior.
William Allard is the only member of the family in Idaho. He was reared in Dallas county, Iowa, acquiring his education in the public schools and in Drake University at Des Moines, where he pursued his studies in the preparatory department. At the age of twenty-one years he took up the study of telegraphy and worked as an operator in Iowa for two years, when he returned to the farm and continued its further development in connection with his father for a few years. He then went to Saskatchewan, Canada, where he purchased a half section of land, which he sold two years later. Returning to the States, he did some touring in order to familiarize himself with the country and make choice of a location. He finally decided upon Idaho and arrived here in 1909. He then took up a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty acres in Power county and has since resided upon this place but from time to time has extended its boundaries by the purchase of adjoining land and now has a ranch of five hundred and sixty acres. He carries on dry farming, devoting his land especially to the production of winter wheat, of which he annually harvests large crops.
At Perry, Iowa, on the 15th of September, 1897, Mr. Allard was married to Miss Matilda Dundore, who was born in Pennsylvania and came of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry. They have three living children: Charles Sumner, who was born December 28, 1899, and is a graduate of the Idaho Technical Institute of the class of 1918, while at the present time he is a student in the University of Idalio; Margaret, who was born in Canada, August 3, 1906; and William, Jr., born January 21, 1916.
Mr. Allard votes with the republican party and is serving his second term as a member of the state legislature, having been elected in 1916 and again in 1918. He is chairman of the committee on uniform laws and has been connected with much important constructive legislation. His religious faith is that of the Christian church, to the teachings of which he loyally adheres, and throughout his entire life he has been governed by high ideals and principles. He is fond of hunting and fishing, to which he turns for recreation. His has been an active and useful life, crowned by the suc- cessful accomplishment of his purposes.
MRS. ELIZA ADALINE DRAKE.
Mrs. Eliza A. Drake is one of the splendid pioneer women of Idaho. For more than a third of a century she has lived in this state and yet occupies a part of the old homestead, which is situated four miles southwest of Boise. She is the widow of Daniel D. Drake, who passed away on the home farm, October 28, 1896. Mrs. Drake had come to Idaho with her husband and five children from New Jersey. She was born in Drakeville, Morris county, New Jersey, May 14, 1841, and is a daughter of Samuel and Clara (Drake) Stephens. While her mother bore the maiden name of Drake, the family was not related to the Drake family into which she married.
Eliza Stephens spent the days of her girlhood in New Jersey and there on the 12th of February, 1867, she became the bride of Daniel D. Drake, the marriage being celebrated at Budd Lake, New Jersey,-a summer resort. . Mr. Drake was born at Drakeville, New Jersey, a place named in honor of the family, on the 12th of Decem- ber, 1829. His ancestors had long been residents of that state. The young couple began their domestic life in New Jersey, where they remained until 1885, when they sought the opportunities of the west. They first settled on a ranch in South Bolse, which has since been divided into town lots and small acreage tracts. Later, in the early '90's the family removed to the present Drake ranch four miles southwest of Vol. III-52
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the capital city. It was then a barren tract of land hut today it is one of the most valuable ranches in the district. It lies in the valley of the Ridenbaugh ditch and its natural surroundings and advantages are such and its productiveness of so high an order as to make it one of the most attractive properties of Ada county. It comprises one hundred and sixty acres of land that has been divided and is now owned by Mrs. Drake and her son, Charles H., whose homes are in close proximity.
To Mr. and Mrs. Drake were born five children: Daniel D., now living in San Diego, California; Charles H., who is a ranchman on the old homestead; Samuel S., living on the Boise hench; Susan, the wife of Lacey Say, of Placerville, Idaho; and John C., of Portland, Oregon.
Mrs. Drake belongs to the Bethel Presbyterian church, situated west of Boise, and Mr. Drake was a member of its board of elders at the time of his death. He was one of the builders of the church and took a most active and helpful part in its work, as does his widow. He was a Mason and a democrat and was a loyal supporter of every cause which he espoused. His was a useful, active and honorable life, and he enjoyed in fullest measure the confidence and goodwill of his fellowmen. Mrs. Drake still occupies a part of the old homestead, having sixty-eight acres in her own right. A tenant occupies a part of her home, while her son Charles is only a short distance away. Mrs. Drake has now reached the age of seventy-eight years and is a remarkably well preserved woman whose memory constitutes a connecting link between the prim- itive past with its hardships and privations and the progressive present with its op- portunities and advantages.
FRANK DOBSON.
Frank Dobson is a splendid specimen of the high type of American manhood and citizenship that the west has produced. He is today successfully engaged in farming and stock raising in Ada county, a man of splendid physique, strong physically, mentally and morally. He was born in Boise valley, November 7, 1872, a son of William and Eliza (Paynter) Dobson. The father was born in Indiana and became one of the pioneer settlers of the northwest, arriving in Idaho in the early '60s. He took part in many of the fights with the Indians in the early days and aided in reclaiming this region for the purposes of development and civilization. His wife is a native of Virginia, who came to Idaho in 1864. She still survives and is enjoying good health at her home in Boise at the age of eighty years. The father, however, passed away in 1880.
Frank Dobson was reared in Stewarts Gulch and attended the school conducted by Picayune Smith. The old schoolhouse still stands about four miles northwest of Boise, one of the reminders and landmarks of the early days. When seventeen years of age Mr. Dobson put aside his textbooks, save that he was enabled to continue his studies for a few months during the winter seasons. He turned his attention to broncho husting and stock raising on Smith's Prairie and had at one time five hundred head of stock there. Later he was employed as a cattle buyer for the Idaho Dressed Beef Company, under C. W. Moore, and was identified with that business for six and a half years. During this time he also engaged in farming and stock raising and became recognized as one of the best riders and ropers in the state and won a hundred dollars, which was given as a first prize at Boise in 1900 for roping and tying steers. Many have regarded him as a most reckless rider, but the fact of the matter is that he thoroughly understands his steed and has the quick judgment which enables him to meet any emergency. He is now the owner of a stock ranch of two hundred acres four miles north of Star and also has another stock ranch of two hundred acres three and a half miles northwest of Boise, being half owner of the latter property. He likewise owns a beautiful home of sixty acres at Star, on which he has a large modern residence. During the summer season he ranges his cattle on the middle fork of the Boise river on the Alexander flats. His range there can only be reached by horseback and all supplies are taken in by pack train. He has about four hundred head of steers, which in the winter he feeds at his place at Star. There are miles and miles of drift fence on his stock ranch at Alexander flats to keep the cattle from straying. His place is one of the most picturesque in the state, surrounded by magnificent mountain scenery, with trout fishing to satisfy the most enthusiastic angler. All of these things make strong appeal to Mr. Dobson, whose very gesture
FRANK DOBSON
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is suggestive of that free and unhampered life of the saddle, the mountains and the plains. He is a man of athletic figure, over six feet in height, with a fine face and a smiling eye, -- a man that has lived in the open and rates the artificialities of life at their true value. He has been a most successful trader and raises some of the finest beef cattle to be found in the state. His stock scales are the best in his section and all of the equipment of his ranches is modern, meeting the needs of present day stock raising conditions.
In 1905 Mr. Dobson was married to Miss Lulu Miller, a daughter of J. C. Miller, of Boise Valley, who is now retired and makes his home in California. Mr. and Mrs. Dobson have become parents of two children, Frances Lucille and Esther Marie, both attending school. Mrs. Dobson is a lady of liberal culture and refinement, her home being evidence thereof. Their residence was erected at a cost of over seven thousand dollars, and upon their place is one of the finest artesian wells in the state, with a pressure that will throw the water fifty feet high.
HENRY L. EAMES.
The home of Henry L. Eames is an attractive brick residence standing in the midst of an excellent ranch property, splendidly improved, and his attention is given to cattle raising and contracting. His place is near Almo, in Cassia county, and Mr. Eames comes to this state from the neighboring state of Utah, his birth having occurred in Davis county, Utah, November 26, 1855, his parents being Henry and Emma Eames. His boyhood days were passed at the place of his nativity and he pursued his education there. He afterward turned his attention to contract work and to the salt business and in 1876 he removed to Franklin, Idaho, where he began stock raising. There he continued until 1882, when he located in the cove north of his present ranch. He took up one hundred and sixty acres of land, built a log house and began the arduous task of developing and improving his property. Later he turned his attention to merchan- dising in connection with his brother and afterward purchased his brother's ranch and built thereon the fine brick dwelling which he now owns and occupies. He has em- ployed the most progressive methods in the development of his property, which is now a highly cultivated ranch, forming one of the attractive features of the landscape.
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