History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume III, Part 110

Author: Hawley, James Henry, 1847-1929, ed
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 926

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Fraternally Mr. Le Moyne is an Elk, and politically he is a republican. He keeps well informed on the vital questions and issues of the day and in matters of citizen- ship his attitude is a progressive one, his cooperation being an element in all that pertains to general advancement and improvement. He has never had occasion to regret his determination to remove from the east to the far west, for here he has found the opportunities which he sought, and his business career has placed him with the representative and successful men of the northwest.

WILLIAM H. CASADY.

William H. Casady came to Idaho in 1899 and for about twenty years thereafter was actively engaged in the practice of law but is now retired from the profession and is devoting his attention to real estate interests and land development near Boise, where he makes his home. He was born near Des Moines, Iowa, April 22, 1858, and is a son of Wier and Hannah (Hart) Casady, both of whom are now deceased. The father devoted his life to the occupation of farming, and the son was reared upon an Iowa farm, pursuing his early education in the public schools of that state, while in 1881 he attended Oskaloosa College. In 1887 he went to Salt Lake City, where he took up the study of law, and after residing for more than two decades in Utah came to Idaho in 1899, settling first in Grangeville, where he practiced his profession until 1915. In the latter year he removed to Lewiston, Idaho, where he continued until 1917 and then came to Boise. He served on the Idaho industrial accident board from July, 1918, until February, 1919, through appointment of Governor Moses Alexander.

For eighteen years Mr. Casady was a member of the Idaho bar but retired from practice in 1917 and has since given his attention to agricultural pursuits and to deal- ing in real estate, buying and selling good realty in the Boise valley. On a forty-acre rarich a mile west of the Maple Grove school he recently cleared four thousand dollars after owning it for but two years. While he has recently sold this ranch. he owned it in 1919 and in that year launched an entirely new enterprise for the Boise valley and southern Idaho, that being the growing of head lettuce on an extensive scale for commercial purposes. In 1919, though residing in Boise, he had two and a half acres planted to head lettuce on his forty-acre ranch, which was occupied by a tenant, and it yielded him a net income of a thousand dollars per acre. He has recently sold this ranch with the intention of buying another that is still better adapted to his purpose and plans to engage in the culture of lettuce on a still more extensive scale in 1920. In fact his crop for the present year will be much larger, for he is planning to buy a ranch in the northwest part of Boise, a valuable tract of forty acres, just outside the city limits,' the tract being bounded on three sides by the corporation line. It is a tract of marked fertility, splendidly adaptable to the growing of lettuce. The place is very level and.is situated only a mile and a half from the state house and in the direction of Boise's natural growth and development, so that the land will undoubtedly steadily increase in value. Mr. Casady is making a scientific study of lettuce culture and is thus initiating a new enterprise in the district.

In 1901, in Grangeville, Idaho, Mr. Casady was married to Dora Crawford and they have three children, Beulah, Wilma H. and William H., Jr., aged respectively fifteen,

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thirteen and ten years. In politics Mr. Casady is a democrat and has taken an active interest in promoting party successes but has never been an office seeker. He is prominent in the Knights of Pythias order and is a past grand chancellor of the Grand Lodge of the state, while for four years he was state representative to the Su- preme Lodge. He also still holds membership with the State Bar Association. He has closely studied the opportunities and conditions of the northwest and is a firm believer in its future, for he knows the possibilities of the state and shows his faith in his in- vestments in its property.

GEORGE COOK.

George Cook is now living retired at Burley but in former years was identified with the hotel business and the capable management of his business affairs brought to him the success that now enables him to rest from further labor. He has for a quarter of a century made his home in Cassia county.

Mr. Cook is of English birth. He was born in Suffolk county, England, July 22. 1844, and is a son of Robert and Mary Ann Cook. He pursued his education in the schools of his native country and in 1862 went to London, England. In 1875 he be- came private coachman for a Mr. Letellia, in whose employ he remained until 1880. He then determined to try his fortune in the new world and arrived in the United States on the 21st of September of that year, at which time he crossed the continent to Grantsville, Utah, and in that district worked as a farm hand. There he lived for fourteen years and in 1894 he arrived in Oakley, Idaho. His attention was again given to agricultural pursuits and he also entered the employ of the Oakley Cooperative Store, taking produce to Hailey, Idaho, for that firm for a period of six years. In 1905 he removed to Burley to conduct a restaurant and rooming house, having been recommended for this position by Mr. Perine, of Bluelakes, Idaho, and Mr. Reed. Mr. Cook afterward purchased the business and continued its conduct from the 1st of May, 1915, until July, 1919. In the meantime he had purchased two residence properties in Burley and from these derives a good annual income.

On the 31st of October, 1866, Mr. Cook was united in marriage in London, Eng- land, to Miss Sarah Port, a daughter of William and Mary (Garnett) Port and a native of Hampshire, England. They have become the parents of the following chil- dren: Anna, Maud, Lavina, Evelyn, and Myrtle.

The religious faith of the family is that of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints, and the political belief of Mr. Cook is that of the republican party. He has never had occasion to regret his determination to come to the new world, for here he found the business opportunities which he sought and in their utilization has worked his way steadily upward, gaining eventually a substantial competence that enables him now to rest from further labor and enjoy the fruits of his former toil.

GEORGE B. FLYNN.

George B. Flynn, a well known sheepman and farmer residing at Declo, Cassia county, was born in Gentry county, Missouri, December 13, 1863, his parents being Michael and Margaret (Ashlock) Flynn, the former a native of County Cork, Ireland, while the latter was born in Louisville, Kentucky. The father came to the United States when sixteen years of age, making his way to Boston, Massachusetts, while later he became a resident of Louisville, Kentucky, where he engaged in the boot and shoe business for a number of years. He afterward removed to Gentry county, Missouri, where he again conducted business as a boot and shoe merchant. Later he was located at Holden, Johnson county, Missouri, where he continued in the same line of trade, making all shoes and boots by hand and employing a number of men in this connection. He passed away in Kansas City, Missouri, while his wife died in Holden, in September, 1883, at the age of fifty-two years, his death occurring in 1911, when he had reached the advanced age of eighty-six years. In politics he was a democrat.

George B. Flynn largely spent his boyhood days in Holden, Missouri, and obtained his education in the public schools there. In 1883 he removed westward to Burr Oak. Kansas, and was employed on ranches in that locality. Later he engaged in buying

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cattle for J. D. Gorman and in the fall of 1884 he removed to Chetopa, Kansas, where lie engaged in punching cows for the firm of Cook & Traithart. He also drove horses from Texas to Bird creek, Oklahoma, and there during the winter of 1880, in which two severe blizzards occurred, several people were frozen to death. He afterward went to Belleville, Kansas, and while there was married. He removed to Heartwell, Nebraska, where he cultivated land for a year, and then went to Fort Sidney, Nebraska, where he took up a preemption claim and also acted as foreman for the J. P. outfit, trailing horses, working on the ranch and taking part in the annual roundup. At Tie Siding, Wyoming, he worked in the timber for a time and in 1891 he went to Greeley, Colorado, and in that vicinity cultivated land for three years. He next pur- chased horses in northern Mexico, which he shipped and drove to eastern markets, and when that was accomplished he went to Holly, Colorado, where he purchased farm land, which he cultivated for three years. In 1903 he arrived in St. Anthony, Idaho, where he engaged in logging for the Jackson Milling Company through the winter. At Boise he operated a hay baler for a time and in the spring of 1905 he filed on his present ranch of eighty acres. He also owns six other eighty acre tracts and he runs as high as fifteen thousand head of sheep and fifty head of horses, for as the years have passed he has developed his sheep raising interests until he is one of the prominent represen- tatives of this industry in southern Idaho.

It was on the 26th of May, 1886, that Mr. Flynn was married to Miss Lucinda Guthrie, a daughter of John and Mary (Morgan) Guthrie and a native of West Virginia. She went to Iowa with her parents during her early girlhood and later the family removed to Gentry county, Missouri, while subsequently they became residents of Bel- vue, Kansas, and it was there that Mr. and Mrs. Flynn were married. Her mother died in Iowa, while her father passed away in Burley, Idaho, eight years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Flynn have become the parents of five children: Gettie, Stella, John, Ruth and Minnie.

Mr. Flynn started out in life a poor boy. He has known privations and hardships but steadily has worked his way upward, making his industry count as a forceful factor in the attainment of success. His first house on his present ranch was a log cabin and he cleared away the sagebrush in order that he might develop his fields. He now has a splendid ranch property supplied with all modern equipment and accessories and the latest improved machinery, and everything about the place indicates his practical and progressive methods. Year by year he has developed his flocks and he now occupies a most enviable position as a prominent and prosperous farmer and sheepman of Cassia county.

ERVIN W. JOHNSON.

Ervin W. Johnson is the secretary of the Boise Lodge of Elks, a position which he has occupied for six years. Many lines of activity, however, have occupied his atten- tion since he came to Idaho in 1882 and in very substantial measure he has contributed to the upbuilding and progress of the state. He was born in Ottumwa, Iowa, of Anglo- Saxon New England stock. On leaving New England his ancestors removed to Penn- sylvania and afterward to Indiana. His father, William W. Johnson, was born in Richmond, Indiana, and was a member of the Society of Friends or Quakers. He served in the Civil war with an Iowa regiment in defense of the Union, notwithstanding the religious sect with which he was connected has always been opposed to war. He was a broad-minded man who recognized the fact that there are exigencies that may arise when even war is justifiable and he never failed in any duty to his country. On remov- ing west of the Mississippi river the Johnson family took up their ahode in a Quaker settlement at Salem, Iowa, in the early '40s. The father went to California as a gold seeker in 1849 by way of Cape Horn and again visited the Golden state in 1853 His last days were spent in Iowa, where he passed away in 1869.

Ervin W. Johnson largely spent his youth in his native state but from St. Louis, Missouri, removed to Idaho in 1882, when a young man of twenty-one years. He first made his way to Bellevue, Idaho, and there became identified with the hardware trade and with mining interests, while in 1884-5 he served as postmaster of the town. From 1886 until 1889 he was engaged in the hotel business at Hailey, Idaho, and in the fol- lowing decade he was elected to the state legislature. He was afterward engaged in the telephone and electric light business at Hailey and in 1897 he came to Boise, where

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for nine years he was manager and proprietor of the old Overland Hotel at the corner of Eighth and Main streets, where the Overland building now stands. While proprietor of the hotel and just before it was closed in order to be razed, he gave a banquet to the Idaho Pioneers that will long be remembered. This important social event in the history of the state occurred June 29, 1904, on which occasion the guests, numbering several hundred pioneers from all over southern Idaho, were photographed, the picture being one of intense interest to all who know aught of the early history of the state. Some time after leaving the hotel Mr. Johnson became interested in mining and took a prominent part in developing the Thunder mountain mining district and other mining districts of the state which have yielded rich returns. He was one of the men who first conceived the feasibility of irrigating the Twin Falls district and promoted that project, which has made that one of the most fertile and productive regions of the United States. He labored untiringly until the plan was successfully accomplished, and its worth to Idaho is inestimable. Since 1914 Mr. Johnson has given his attention largely to his duties as secretary of the Boise Lodge of Elks.

The political service of Mr. Johnson deserves more than passing mention. As early as 1894 he served as a member of the Idaho state legislature, representing old Alturas county, and while a member of the house he introduced the hill which created Blaine county and it was he who selected the name, in which he honored the great Maine statesman, of whom he was a warm admirer. In 1906 he was again chosen as repre- sentative to the general assembly in its eighth session, this time representing Ada county. He thus became a member of the legislature that finally determined to make Boise the seat of government for Idahe and which made an appropriation for the erec- tion of the present capitol building.

At Hailey, Idaho, in 1888, Mr. Johnson was married to Miss Louise Cramer. who passed away in 1915, leaving three daughters: Laura, now the wife of William E. Patrick, Jr., of Washington, D. C .; Helen, the wife of A. G. Evans, of Providence, Rhode Island; and Miriam, who is connected with the civil service at Washington, D. C. On the 29th of October, 1917, Mr. Johnson was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Nora B. Sherier.

Mr. Johnson was one of the men who instituted the Boise Lodge of Elks. He has been a member of the order for a quarter of a century, being numbered among the pioneer representatives of Boise. He has taken active part in the development of the lodge here since its organization and for the past six years has acted as its secretary. This is one of the largest and strongest Elk organizations in the northwest. In every- thing that he undertakes Mr. Johnson labors earnestly and effectively, never stopping short of the successful accomplishment of his purpose, and by reason of his varied activities he has contributed much to the material, intellectual and political develop- ment of the state and has always upheld its legal and moral status.

ANDREW ROGERSON.

Andrew Rogerson, a representative of the sheep industry of Idaho living at Twin Falls, was born in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, April 2, 1863, and is a son of Robert and Esther (Wells) Rogerson. His youthful days were spent in the land of hills and heather and his education was acquired in the schools of that country. But when eighteen years of age he determined to try his fortune in the new world and bade adieu to friends and native land. He then sailed for the United States and crossed the coun- try to Emmetshurg, Iowa, where he secured work as a farm hand in the employ of Charles Clay. He likewise aided in the development of a farm belonging to his father, whom he had accompanied to America. He spent ten years in Iowa and then came to the northwest, making his way to Three Creek, Idaho, where he engaged in herding sheep for six years, during which time he became thoroughly acquainted with every phase of sheep raising in the northwest. On the expiration of that period he began sheep raising on his own account with twelve hundred head and developed his flocks until he had nine thousand head. He purchased a ranch in Twin Falls county and continued its cultivation and improvement until the spring of 1919, when he sold the property. He still owns a ranch at Buhl, Idaho, and he remains an active factor in connection with sheep raising in this state. He likewise has other interests, being a director of the Twin Falls National Bank, and his substantial worth as a business man is widely recognized.

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In 1916 Mr. Rogerson was married to Miss Millicent Middleton, a native of Illinois. He belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, but his activity and interest have largely centered upon his business affairs. He has worked on steadily and per- sistently, increasing his interests year by year, his sound judgment enabling him to discriminate readily as to the value of any business situation. While he has worked his way steadily forward, his course has at all times measured up to the highest busi- ness standards.

CHARLES D. BORING.

Charles D. Boring is one of the active business men of Buhl, where he is engaged in the drug trade as a member of the firm of Boring Brothers. He was born in Salem. Illinois, February 23, 1883, and is a son of Eli W. and Ellen E. (Jones) Boring. His boyhood days to the age of twelve years were spent at the place of his nativity and he then went to Chicago, where he remained until twenty-four years of age. He was grad- uated from the Walter Scott grammar school of Woodlawn, also from the Hyde Park high school and afterward attended the Northwestern School of Pharmacy and became a registered pharmacist. While attending college he worked in a drug store at Sixty- third street and Madison avenue for some time. He later went upon the road as sales- man for H. K. Mulford, a manufacturing chemist, whom he thus represented for four and a half years. Subsequently he was with the firm of Sharp & Dohme of Baltimore and spent one year on the road for that house. He next became associated with the Ogden Wholesale Drug Company, for which house he traveled for two years.

While traveling for Mr. Mulford Mr. Boring purchased his present store site on the 27th of August, 1913. He came to Buhl in November, 1918, becoming actively con- nected with a drug store in partnership with his brother under the firm style of Boring Brothers. They carry an excellent stock of drugs and druggists' sundries sent out by the leading manufacturers of the country and their trade is now extensive and grati- fying. The business was established for some time before Charles D. Boring became active in its conduct, bis brother remaining in charge, while' Charles D. continued upon the road. They now have one of the finest drug stores in Buhl and their business has reached gratifying proportions.

In 1918 Mr. Boring was married to Miss Hazel Whittier and they have three chil- dren: Charline, Knox W. and Norma E. In his political views Mr. Boring is a demo- crat but has had neither time nor inclination for office holding. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons and is a faithful follower of the craft.

ALONZO J. DAVIS.

Alonzo J. Davis occupies a ten-acre ranch on the Bo'se bench which lie purchased in the fall of 1919. He came to Idaho in 1913 and through the intervening period has lived in the vicinity of Boise, where he has always followed farming, cultivating rented land until he purchased his present property. He was born in Christian county, Illinois, September 21, 1867, and is a son of John T. and Margaret (Swift) Davis, both of whom have passed away. When twelve years of age Alonzo J. Davis removed to Nebraska with his parents, the family home being established in Saline county, that state, in 1879. The father was a pioneer of that district and his entire life was devoted to agricultural pursuits.

Alonzo J. Davis was reared amid the scenes of frontier life in Nebraska and early became familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. He continued to devote his attention to farming in that state until 1913, when he came to Idaho, where he has since made his home. While still living in Nebraska he was married December 13, 1894, to Miss Zella Mason, who was born in Christian county, Illinois, and is four years his junior. Her parents were Jesse and Isabella (Denton) Mason, the former still a resident of Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Davis became the parents of five children, of whom the daughter, Elsie, died of influenza January 4, 1919, at the age of twenty years. The others are John T., William Alva, Jesse Mert and Harold. They now have a little adopted daughter, Helen, three years of age. The three eldest sons are married and two are following farming, while one is a teacher. Two of the

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number, John T. and William Alva, served in the World war, the latter having been in France for nine months in the United States mail service.

Mr. Davis is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and he belongs to the Non-Partisan League. He is interested in all that pertains to the development and progress of the northwest and during the seven years of his residence in this sec- tion of the state has cooperated heartily in many plans and measures for the general good.

WILLIAM E. WHEELER.

William E. Wheeler, who for a half century largely devoted his energies and activ- ities to the upbuilding of Idaho and was a pioncer newspaper man of the state, made his home for a long period in Idaho Falls and enjoyed in fullest measure the respect, confidence and honor of all with whom he was associated. He was born in the state of Vermont, August 29, 1843, and was a youth of fifteen years when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Illinois. The day that marked the twenty-first anniversary of his birth saw his enlistment in the service of his country as a member of the One Hundred and Forty-sixth Illinois Infantry and with that command he marched fortlı in defense of the Union. Throughout his life he maintained the keenest interest in his old army comrades through his membership in the Grand Army of the Republic.

About three years after the close of the war, or in 1868, Mr. Wheeler became travel- ing representative for the Bluff City Printing Company of Council Bluffs, Iowa, his territory extending as far west as Utah. He first visited Salt Lake on the 4th of July, 1869. In 1871 he serionsly entered upon his life work as a newspaper man at Evanston, Wyoming, where he established the Daily Evanston Age. Idaho received him as a citi- zen in 1880, when he removed to Blackfoot and founded the Blackfoot Register. In 1883 he changed his place of residence to Eagle Rock and rechristened his paper the Idaho Register. This he published continuously until June, 1909, when he sold the paper to M. B. Yeaman, having for thirty-eight consecutive years devoted his energies to the publication and editing of a newspaper. When he established his home in Black- foot there were but two other papers in the entire territory of Idaho, so that he was indeed one of he pioneer journalists of the state, the predecessors of the Blackfoot paper being the Boise Statesman and the Silver City Avalanche.

It was in the year of his removal to Idaho Falls that Mr. Wheeler was married on the 19th of December, 1883, to Miss Elizabeth M. Dougherty, a daughter of Michael and Mary (McKee) Doughterty, who were natives of Ireland. The father came to America in 1843 and settled in Illinois about thirty miles northwest of Chicago, establishing his home at Elgin, where he was a commission merchant and also operated a farm through- out his remaining days. He passed away in March, 1886, while his wife died in May. 1896. They were the parents of four sons who served during the Civil war.

Six years after his removal to Idaho Falls, or in 1889, Mr. Wheeler was appointed by President Harrison to the position of postmaster and continued to act in that capac- ity until after the democrats came into power with the election of Cleveland in 1894. Mr. Wheeler was again called to public office in 1905 when appointed by Governor Gooding a member of the Albion State Normal School, and three years later Governor Gooding made him a trustee of the Industrial Training School at St. Anthony. He was at all times loyal to every interest calculated to promote the public welfare or advance the general good. In 1881 he went to Boise by stage to serve as a delegate from Oneida county in the territorial republican convention which nominated Mr. Singheiser as a delegate to congress from the territory of Idaho. He always gave earnest allegiance to the republican party and was again and again an active member in its conventions. He also served as a member of the city council for a considerable period. He always proudly wore the little bronze button that proclaimed him a member of Joe Hooker Post, G. A. R., and was honored with the position of commander. He was keenly inter- ested in the cause of education and for four years served as a member of the Idaho Falls school board.

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History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume III, Part 110

Author: Hawley, James Henry, 1847-1929, ed Publication date: 1920 Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company Number of Pages: 926

Author: Hawley, James Henry, 1847-1929, ed
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 926