USA > Idaho > History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume III > Part 17
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In 1871 Mr. Robertson was married to Miss Martha Herold, a native of Illinois and a daughter of one of the pioneers of Idaho, who crossed the plains from Illinois with an ox team in 1862. He arrived ultimately in Boise and then made his way to Idaho City with a pack mule. After two years in this state he removed to Oregon, but in 1869 returned to Idaho, where he remained until 1874, when he went to Iowa, where he passed away in 1918 at the very venerable age of eighty- eight years. There were eight children in his family and on their trip to Idaho City each one rode a pack mule, making the trip at the season when the ground was covered with snow. Mrs. Robertson was then five years of age and there were two children younger than herself. While the family were en route to Idaho from the east with a wagon train and the party was in camp on the Snake river a little
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child strayed from camp and could not be found. The Indians at that time were very treacherous and troublesome and people were killed in parties both preceding and following their own. Mrs. Robertson remembers seeing a man who was lynched by a crowd. He was dragged by her cabin to a nearby stream, where he was allowed to remain until the following day, having been hanged for killing two brothers who refused to play cards with him.
To Mr. and Mrs. Robertson have been born two children: Arthur D., who lives on the place adjoining his father's farm and which was formerly owned by his father; and Lina May, the wife of William Rigley, of Portland, Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. Robertson have reared three children, of whom they are very fond and to whom they have given excellent educational opportunities. These are: Ella Agnes Rigley, now the wife of Robert Mowbray and the mother of one child, Leona; and Mamie Myrtle and Bertha Ellen Rigley.
Such in brief is the history of Charles Robertson, who is familiar with every phase of pioneer life in the northwest and who has lived to witness the remarkable development and growth of this section of the country as it has emerged from pioneer conditions to take on all of the improvements of present day civilization.
WILLARD DETRICK.
Willard Detrick, who follows farming in Payette county, near New Plymouth, was born at Leon, Decatur county, Iowa, November 6, 1872, a son of Charles W. Detrick, mentioned elsewhere in this work. The latter is also a native of Iowa, born at Fort Des Moines, April 15, 1850, and was a son of Andrew Jackson Detrick, who was born in Tennessee and went to lowa in 1849, becoming the editor and publisher of the Leon Pioneer, which he published until the time of the Civil war. He then sold the paper and served as a member of the Third Iowa Cavalry, being wounded at the battle of Gettysburg. Upon his return to Iowa he again became owner of the paper, changing its name to the Democrat Reporter. This paper is still in existence as the Leon Reporter. Willard Detrick has a copy of the last edition of the paper which his grandfather edited. Andrew J. Detrick passed away at Des Moines in 1892 and was buried at Leon. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Susan Harrington, was a native of Illinois and died in the Payette valley in 1894. Charles W. Detrick married Rhoda Brown, a native of Indiana and a daughter of William and Christie Brown. Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Detrick now reside on a forty-acre farm within a short distance of the home of their son, Willard. They came to the Payette valley in 1900 and homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land, of which they still retain forty acres.
Willard Detrick has been identified with farming interests in the Payette valley since he homesteaded a place of eighty acres. Later he purchased an addi- tional eighty-acre tract from his father on the same day that he and his father, J. A. Whittet and Allen Steegal all made their final proof on section 23, township 7 north and 4 west. It seldom happens that an entire section is proven up on the same day. Willard Detrick's land was all covered with sagebrush and he had no means of irrigating it. As the years have passed, however, he has wrought great changes and he was one of the organizers of the Black Canyon Irrigation District, giving untiring effort to the promotion of the success of that project. He now carries on general farming, raising alfalfa and grain, and also to some extent raises cattle, horses and sheep. His father's farm is one of the finest in the state and Willard Detrick, being a progressive and enterprising young men, is doing everything in his power to promote the further development of his place and is alive to everything tending toward the improvement of this section and of the state in general. He has upon his farm a modern residence, wired throughout for electricity and supplied throughout with running water.
On the 1st of January, 1904, Mr. Detrick was married to Miss Beatrice Langley, a native of the Payette valley in Canyon county, Idaho. She is a daugh- ter of William and Jennie (Maryatt) Langley, the former one of the pioneers of the state, having crossed the plains before the era of railroad building. Langley Gulch was named in his honor and is nine miles in length, being considered one of the finest pieces of land in the state. To Mr. and Mrs. Detrick have been born
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six children: Pauline, Dora May, Oliver Willard, Winifred Ruth, Charles Lewis and Robert Allen.
From pioneer times Willard Detrick has been identified with Idaho and her progress. He has a greatuncle, Rieley Harrington, a brother of his grandmother Detrick, who lives on Hornet creek, at Council, Adams county, Idaho, and who hecame one of the pioneer hunters and trappers of the state, having here made his home for more than fifty years. With many phases of development in the west the Detrick family has been closely associated and Willard Detrick is pos- sessed of the same spirit of enterprise that prompted his grandfather to aid in the colonization of Iowa many decades ago.
E. G. NELSON.
In the midst of a beautiful grove of trees of his own planting stands the residence of E. G. Nelson, who is one of the progressive farmers of Canyon county, conducting his interests along lines that show him to be thoroughly familiar with modern scien- tific methods of crop cultivation. A native of Sweden, he was born April 28, 1868, and came to America with his parents, Gustav and Christine (Hendrickson) Nelson. in 1869. The parents settled first at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and in 1880 removed to Nebraska, where the father became a pioneer farmer, continuing active in the development of the soil there until about five years prior to his death, when he retired from active business. He passed away in 1906 at the age of seventy, and his wife died in the same year at the age of seventy-two.
E. G. Nelson was but a year old when brought to the new world, and his boyhood and youth were therefore passed in Pennsylvania and Nebraska, where he became familiar with the practical work of the farm. After completing his education he took up farming, which he followed in Nebraska for thirteen years and then removed to Idaho, settling in the Deer Flat district of Canyon county, eight miles southwest of Caldwell, in 1905. Here he homesteaded eighty acres of sagebrush land which he cleared and then had to wait three years for water. In the meantime he earned a living by working on the construction of an irrigation ditch for the reclamation service and thus was able to provide for his family. His land is now planted to corn, hay, alfalfa and grain, and he also has a four acre orchard. Potatoes are his most profitable erop. He also raised hogs in large numbers until the high cost of grain made this unprofitable. He is planning in 1920 to plant sweet clover, as it is a great fertilizer and makes a bigger and better crop than alfalfa. He has a beautiful grove oť trees upon his place which he planted, and in the midst of the grove stands a com- fortable and substantial residence.
In 1892 Mr. Nelson was married to Miss Josephine Lake, a native of Indiana, who removed with her parents to Nebraska during her youth. Her father and mother have now passed away. Mr and Mrs. Nelson were married in Fullerton, Nebraska. and have become parents of seven children: Lula B., the wife of Dale J. Gilman and now the mother of two children, Lawrence Nelson and Ralph Calvin; Elsie Maud, who is the wife of G. F. Miller and has one child, Doris Nita; Edward E., who married Mary Rose Shaw and has two children, Clarence Edward and Evon Iva; Audrey F., who is the wife of W R. Bates and has three children, Louise, Aloha and Virginia June; and Elizabeth May, Theresa Eleanore and Royal Stewart, who are at home.
Mr. Nelson has never had occasion to regret his removal to the northwest. While in the early days, before his land was irrigated, he found it difficult to gain a start, he has since developed a valuable farm property, from which he derives a substantial annual income.
WILLIAM STRODE.
William Strode represents important commercial interests in Nampa in con- nection with Young's Transfer Company, of which he is the manager. Moreover, he has been closely connected with the public life of the city, having held the position of city treasurer for several terms. He was born in Jordan Valley, Oregon, October 10, 1877, and is a son of John and Sophie (Yost) Strode, the former a
MR. AND MRS. E. G. NELSON
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native of Tennessee and the latter of Kentucky. In 1852 the father went to Cal- ifornia, where he engaged in mining until he removed to Jordan Valley, Oregon. He passed away June 3, 1901, having long survived his wife, whose death occurred January 22, 1886. In their family were eight children: Harvey; Leroy, who is engaged in the live stock business in Jordan Valley, Oregon; Sophie, deceased; John, who also is engaged in the live stock business in Oregon; James, engaged in the cloth- ing business in Nampa, where he has served on the city council; Charlie and George,. both of whom are engaged in the live stock business in Jordan Valley, Oregon; and William.
The last named was brought by his parents to Boise, Idaho, in 1880, and there the father was for a time engaged in mining but later turned his attention to the raising of stock in Jordan Valley, Oregon, while later he again made Boise his home. In the graded schools of that city Mr. Strode of this review was largely educated and subsequently attended high school, from which he received his cer- tificate in 1896. He then joined his father in stock raising but in 1903 sold his interest therein and entered the lumber business in Nampa, becoming one of the organizers of the Nampa Lumber Company. After ten years he disposed of his interests in that enterprise and organized the Young's Transfer Company, of which he is now the efficient manager and head. Its importance is evident from the fact that they do a general storage and transfer business which requires the employ- ment of between fifteen and twenty people. The storage building is seventy-five by one hundred and fifty feet, three floors and basement, and for transferring they use five trucks and four teams. Through the failure of the Bank of Nampa, of which he once served as assistant cashier, Mr. Strode lost ten thousand dollars, but un- dismayed and undiscouraged, he set out to recuperate his losses and how well he has succeeded in evident from the prominent position which he now occupies in the commercial circles of his city.
Mr. Strode has always taken a foremost part in promoting the growth and expansion of Nampa and for one term served as councilman, a term which was fraught with visible results, for it was during his incumbency that the city hall and fire station were built. As city treasurer he rendered service to his community for two terms and instituted many short cuts and simplified methods of great benefit and convenience to the public. Fraternally Mr. Strode belongs to the Benevo- lent Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Pythias, in which organizations he is popular. While he is an aggressive young business man, a man typical of the west, who clearly follows out his plans in order to reach his goal, yet always holds to the highest principles, he is genial and pleasant in manner and has many friends in Nampa.
E. D. EMERSON.
E. D. Emerson was a lad of but seven years when he became a resident of Idaho and through the intervening period he has not only been a witness of the growth and development of the state but has also contributed to its progress, especially along agricultural lines. He was born in Kansas, March 7, 1875, and is a son of J. M. and Martha (Brilhart) Emerson. The mother, who is a native of Pennsylvania, still survives and is living at Nampa, Idaho.
E. D. Emerson spent the first seven years of his life in the Sunflower state and was then brought by his parents across the plains in 1882, the trip being made with wagon and mules. The family home was established in Nez Perce county, where the father took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, and thereon E. D. Emerson continued to reside until 1903, when his wife home- steaded their present place of one hundred and fifty acres. Mr. Emerson is now engaged in raising alfalfa, getting three crops per year and two tons at each cutting. This land when homesteaded was covered with sagebrush and other wild growth, as was also the surrounding country. The homestead was entered in the year in which the preliminary survey was being made for the Boise-Payette project. Since then Mr. Emerson has purchased one hundred and ten acres of land adjoining the homestead, which he will plant to alfalfa. He is raising hay and alfalfa and fattens cattle for the market, and both branches of his busi- ness are proving profitable. He is a tireless and diligent worker who has ever realized
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the value of unfaltering industry and has thereby won a substantial measure of success.
It was in 1902 that Mr. Emerson wedded Miss Dessie Roberts, of Oregon, and they are now pleasantly located about sixteen m'les southwest of Caldwell. They have gained many warm friends during the period in which they have lived in this section of the state and are everywhere spoken of in terms of warm regard. Mr. Emerson has been a resident of Idaho altogether for about thirty-eight years and through this period has witnessed remarkable changes as the work of devel- opment and improvement has been carried forward by a resolute and enterprising class of citizens who, utilizing the natural resources of the state, have made . the desert to bloom and blossom as the rose.
WILLIAM BEAVERS.
William Beavers, a general cement contractor of Boise, conducting business in this city since 1900, was born in New York city. November 19, 1862, his parents being Ernest and El za Beavers, nalives of Germany, who were married in New York. Both are now deceased. The falher was a butcher by trade.
When but ten years of age William Beavers ran away from home and came to the west. He first made his way to Sun River, Montana, where he found employment, and there continued for five years. In 1878, when sixteen years of age, he returned to New York city to visit his parent, but the lure of the west was upon him and, in 1879 he returned to Montana, wher- he followed mining at Maiden and elsewhere, and subsequently he spent two years in Arizona. In 1901 he arrived in Boise and through the intervening per'cd he has been engaged in business as a general coment contractor. He has built the foundations for dozens of Boise buildings and many miles of sidewalks. Among the buildings on which he has had contracts for cement work is the Statesman building and several of the leading garages. At this writing he is engaged in the foundation work for the two largest buildings now being ere ted in Boise. He resides at No. 410 Reserve street, in a solid concrete nine-room residence two stories in height, which he erected about six years ago.
Mr. Beavers was united in marriage in 1905 to Mies Jessie Harvey, of Boise, a daughter of the late Charles Harvey and a sister of Gus Harvey, a well known sheepman of Idaho. They have one daughter, Eva, now twelve years of age. By a former marriage Mr. Beavers has a son, William G., who is twenty-two years of age and is associated with his father in contract work.
Fraternally Mr. Beavers is a Mason of high rank, having become a Knight Templar in Boise Commandery and also a member of the Mystic Shrine. He is loyal to the teachings and purposes of the craft, being in thorough sympathy with its basic principles.
ALBERT H. McCONNELL.
Albert H McConnell, who is actively identified with farming interests in the Fruitland district of Payette county, was born at Marysville, California, December 21, 1861. His father, Day'd A McConnell. was a nalive of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania and went to Cdifornia in 1849 by way of the Isthmus of Panama. He followed mercantile pursuits there and established a chain of stores in the mining sections of that state. He became one of the active and influential men of California- and was interested in many enterprises which were contributing factors to the development of the commonwealth. He was one of the organizers of the Central Pacific Railroad and was an intimate of Cyrus W. Field. It was only by mere chance of fate that he was not associated with Field in the building of the Atlantic cable. Under contract with the United States government he conducted pack trains in Oregon and Washington during the Indian wars. He filled the office of supervisor in Yuba county, California, and he was the builder of the levee around Marysville to keep out the flood waters of the Sacramento river. In politics he took a keen interest and was a man of influence in party ranks. In many ways he left
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the impress of his individuality and ability upon the history of the far west but ultimately lett that section of the country for the east. While still in California he was married in that state to Miss Elizabeth McMath, a native of Michigan, and in 1872 they removed to Michigan, where Mr. McConnell engaged in the lumber business. Three years later he went to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he entered the real estate business with his brother Robert, but after a year and a half he went to Colorado. where he became largely interested in stock raising and mining. He was one of the most active figures in the development of Gunnison county, Colorado, and was known by everyone in that district as a most honorable, progressive and upright man. He died in 1904, at the advanced age of eighty-seven years, while his wife passed away on the old homestead in Gunnison county, Colorado, in 1917. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. David A. McConnell were six children: Edward R .. Albert H., William N., Idella K., Mary E. and Nellie E. All are yet living in Colo- rado with the exception of Albert H. and William N. MeConnell, who are now resi- dents of Fruitland. Idaho.
It was in August, 1908, that. Albert H. MeConnell came to his present home, where he purchased seventy acres of land, forty acres of which he still retains. He has twenty-five aeres planted to fruit, mostly apples and prunes, and produced in 1919 a splendid crop, selling his apples at one dollar and seventy-five cents per box. His home is located on the state highway and is one of the valuable farm properties of the district. Mr. McConnell was engaged in the cattle business in Colorado and owned one of the largest and best ranches in that state in Gunnison county, where he had fourteen hundred and sixty acres and over one thousand head of cattle. It was for the benefit of his health that he removed to Idaho and here he has found good business opportunities, which he has improved to the benefit and upbuilding of the state as well as to the promotion of his own fortunes.
In 1901 Mr. MeConnell was married to Miss Marie Johnson, a native of Virginia, and to them have been born two children, Harry A. and Nellie E., both in school. Payette county gained a substantial and valued citizen when Mr. McConnell decided to cast in his lot with the settlers of this district. Here his labors have been at- tended with good results in the reclamation and development of wild land and he is now conducting a prosperous business and is elassed with the leading agriculturists and horticulturists of his neighborhood.
CHARLES H. EAGLESON.
Charles H. Eagleson is engaged in ranching and in the live stock business, in which undertaking he is identified with three of his brothers, who, however,. leave the operation of the ranch to him. He resides npon the property and bends every . energy to its further development and improvement with good results. He is the youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew H. Eagleson and was born in Jefferson, Greene county, lowa. June 12, 1876. Further mention of his father is made elsewhere in this work, which also contains a biographical record of his brother, Ernest G. Eagleson, who is mayor of Boise. and John W. Eagleson, state treasurer of Idaho. The family is prominent in the state, closely associated with public activities and interests.
Charles H. Eagleson was a young lad when the family removed to Boise from the state of Nebraska in the early '90s and was but five years of age when re- mova! was made from Iowa to Nebraska. He was educated in the public schools of the latter state and of Boise and later attended the Nebraska Agricultural College at Lincoln. Since putting aside his textbooks he has followed civil engineering and farming, the greater portion of his time, however, being devoted to agricultural pursuits and the live stock business in connection with the firm of A. H. Eagleson & Sons, an incorporated concern, which was composed of the father and his four sons, Ernest G., John W., Harry K. and Charles H. The father was president of the company to the time of his death. The firm operates the large Eagleson ranch on the Boise bench, south of the city of Boise, embracing twelve hundred aeres of fine farm land. They specialize in the raising of Aberdeen Angus cattle and fine hogs, and their crop production includes alfalfa and various grains. The business management of the farm is well entrusted to Charles H. Eagleson, a progressive and representative rancher, whose labors are being attended with substantial success
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On the 19th of September, 1906, Mr. Eagleson was married to Miss Mary Haynes Craig, of Lincoln, Nebraska, who had been an acquaintance and schoolmate of his boyhood days at Craig, Nebraska, a town which was named in honor of her father, William S. Craig, the founder of the town. Mr. and Mrs. Eagleson have one son, William Craig Eagleson, who was born August 13, 1907.
Mr. Eagleson is a Knight Templar Mason and a member of the Mystic Shrine, and the principles that govern his life are further indicated in the fact that he belongs to the Presbyterian church. He entered the officers training camp at Eugene, Oregon, in October, 1918, and was there when the armistice was signed on the 11th of November. His loyalty in citizenship, like his progressiveness in busi- ness, is an outstanding feature in his career.
HON. DAVID W. MOFFATT.
Judge David W. Moffatt, of Nampa, is not only ably discharging his duties as police judge but also is performing the functions of city clerk, being at this writing at the head of both offices. He is a conscientious and trustworthy official, giving the best that is in him to the service of the public. He was born at Sioux City, Iowa, May 23, 1880, a son of David and Rachel (Watson) Moffatt, the former a native of Mendota, Illinois, born in July, 1843, and the latter a native of Iowa. The grandparents of our subject on both sides were of American and Scotch descent. The father was connected with oil development in Wyoming and was markedly suc- cessful along that line, although he was ahead of his times. Recently, however, other members of the family have developed four gas wells, which are now pro- ducing about twenty-five million feet of gas a day, and arrangements are now under way to pipe it to Casper, Wyoming, where it will be used for fuel and light- ing, while the balance will be refined for gasoline. The father was a veteran of the Civil war and received body wounds at the battle of Donaldson, Kentucky, from which he suffered ever afterward. His death in July, 1911, may be partly ascribed to this cause. Three years before his demise he made his home in Nampa, where his widow is now residing with our subject.
At the age of five years David W. Moffatt removed with his parents to Ne- braska and in that state he attended the graded and high schools, graduating from the latter. He was then a student in Ottumwa College at Ottumwa, Iowa. For eight years after his arrival in Nampa Mr. Moffatt was connected with the Nampa Department Store and while thus connected he was elected to his present office of city clerk in June, 1918. He is also performing the duties of police judge. He is not in the least a politician in the commonly accepted sense of the word, but on the contrary this is the first experience of Mr. Moffatt in public life. He has, however, in a com- paratively short time demonstrated his ability as well as his worth and the general public is highly pleased with the businesslike way in which he discharges his duties. As clerk he is efficient and work moves quickly off his hands, while as judge he is fair, conscientious and impartial.
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