History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume III, Part 28

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

USA > Idaho > History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume III > Part 28

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. In politics Mr. Bown was an earnest republican and while not a politician, he served for twelve years on the school board. He was intensely interested in all political questions and issues and gave earnest support to all plans and projects for the general good. With every phase of frontier life and the subsequent develop- ment and upbuilding of the state he was closely associated, and his labors constituted a substantial contribution to the work of progress and improvement, while his genuine value as a man and as a citizen was widely acknowledged by all who knew him.

CHARLES E. CHRISMAN.

Charles E. Chrisman, freight agent at Boise for the Union Pacific System and the Oregon Short Line Railway, which position he has filled continuously since 1892, was born in Louisville, Kentucky, August 28, 1852, a son of Samuel R. and Sophronia (Long) Chrisman, who were natives of Pennsylvania and Kentucky re- spectively. Both have now passed away. The father, who was a carpenter by trade, Vol. III-16

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was a Union man at the time of the Civil war and served in the Home Guard at Owensboro, Kentucky, where he lived during the period of hostilities.

Charles E. Chrisman was reared in Owensboro and acquired a good public school education. In his youthful days he spent four and a half years as an employe in a grocery store and at the age of twenty he returned to his native city of Louis- ville, where he was employed for a short time in the wholesale wood and willow ware business. He then became a freight clerk on an Ohio River packet line and at the age of twenty-one years, or in 1873, made his way westward as far as Central City, at that time called Lone Tree, Nebraska, where he spent the winter employed in a grocery store. In the spring of 1874 he removed to Rawlins, Wyoming, where be remained until 1892. It was there that he entered the service of the Union Pacific Railroad Company in 1874. The first four and a half years of his connection with the corporation were spent as a clerk in the Rawlins station and later he was for a short time baggage and express agent at Laramie, Wyoming, but in 1881 re- turned to Rawlins as station agent and has served in that capacity continuously since or for a period of thirty-nine years. He remained as station agent at Rawlins from 1881 until 1892 and then came to Boise, where he has since represented the com- pany, covering a period of more than a quarter of a century. No further testimonial is needed concerning his faithfulness and capability than the fact that he has been so long retained in the service of a railroad company, for it is a well known fact that the most thorough efficiency must be maintained on the part of employes of the railroads.

At Rawlins, Wyoming, on the 17th of June, 1878, Mr. Chrisman was married to Miss Julia Ann McEvoy, a native of Illinois, and they have five children, two sons and three daughters: Charles B., Lora, Florence, Alberta and Finis Edward. All are married with the exception of Lora and the younger son is now serving the govern- ment in a shipyard at Seattle. Mrs. Chrisman is very prominent in the work of the Catholic church and is one of the directors of the Children's Home at Boise.

Mr. Chrisman gives his political allegiance to the democratic party. Fraternally he is a Mason. He is fond of outdoor sports, especially baseball, taking great delight in our national game. Almost his entire life has been devoted to railroad service and as the years have passed increasing power and capability have won him promo- tion that has insured him his position and won for him a substantial salary.

HARRY T. WEST.

Harry T. West, who is engaged in ranching on section 16, township 11, range 18, near Kimberly, in Twin Falls county, was born at Aurora, Illinois, May 26, 1864, and is a son of William C. and Mary H. (Stoutemyer) West. The father was born at Carlisle, Ohio, which was also the birthplace of the mother. They were married there and the father engaged in business as a carpenter and con- tractor. He afterward removed with his family to Wichita, Kansas, where he continued his building operations, and in 1895 he became a resident of Boise, Idaho. On his removal to this state he turned his attention to farming as well as to contract work. He passed away in Seattle, Washington, in 1908, at the ' age of seventy-two years, while the mother died in 1909, at the age of sixty- eight. The father had given his political allegiance to the republican party .. He was not an office seeker but had always concentrated his efforts and attention upon his business affairs.

The boyhood days of Harry T. West were largely passed in Wichita, Kansas, where he pursued his education, and after putting aside bis textbooks he secured a clerkship in the Kansas State Bank. He also worked for a mortgage company for a time and afterward removed to Helena, Montana, where he engaged in the mortgage loan business on his own account. In 1891 he came to Idaho, settling first in Boise, where he engaged in the mortgage loan business, and later he made investment in a farm where the Soldiers' Home now stands. He likewise became the owner of two other ranch properties. In 1903 he obtained land through the Carey act, acquiring one hundred and sixty acres which he developed and improved, taking up hls abode thereon in 1904. To that property he has added from time to time as his financial resources have increased until he is now the owner of six hundred and forty acres of well improved land, on which are

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found good buildings and all modern equipments. He has planted eighty acres to sugar beets and he also carries on general farming.

In 1888 Mr. West was united in marriage to Miss Lena Oliver, a native of Pennsylvania and a daughter of Hiram and Mary (Mckay) Oliver. Mrs. West died February 7, 1907, at the age of thirty-eight years, leaving five children: Marguerite, Dorothy, Helen, Oliver and Harry. In August, 1909, Mr. West was again married, his second union being with Miss May McCrait, a native of Minne- apolis, Minnesota, and a daughter of Joseph and Leona McCrait.

Mr. West has always given his political allegiance to the republican party and he has filled a number of offices, serving as deputy assessor at Boise and also as deputy clerk and recorder there. In 1907 he was elected to represent his district in the state legislature and was instrumental in securing the division of the county. From 1907 until 1911 he was district clerk and recorder, and in all the various offices which he has filled he has proven competent, able and loyal. Fraternally he is connected with the Elks and the Masons, and his high rank in the latter organization is indicated in the fact that he is also a Mystic Shriner. He has a wide acquaintance in this section of the state and his business ability is demonstrated in the success which he has won in the conduct of his important ranching and other interests. He now has a valuable property which is the visi- ble evidence of his life of well directed energy and thrift, and his labors are constituting an important element in the agricultural progress of Twin Falls county.

RICHARD STORY SHERIDAN.

Richard Story Sheridan, the general manager of the Capital News, published in Boise, was born at Roseburg, Oregon, September 5, 1859. His education was acquired in the public schools of Roseburg, in the Santa Clara College at Santa Clara, California, and in the University of Oregon at Eugene. He figured promi- nently in connection with public interests during his residence in his native state and for five years filled the office of receiver of public moneys in the United States land office at Roseburg, Oregon, covering the period from 1894 until 1899. He was also at one time a member of the Oregon state legislature, representing his district in the house of representatives in 1893. In February, 1901, he removed to Boise and founded the Capital News, which he has since published, covering a period of nineteen consecutive years. He has been in charge as general manager through the entire time, and the growth, development and success of the paper are largely at- tributable to his business management and thorough knowledge of journalism. He has kept pace with the progress that has brought about many changes in meth- ods of newspaper publication during the last few years, and has made the Capital News one of the most interesting dailies published in the northwest.

On the 10th of June, 1886, at Canyonville, Oregon, Mr. Sheridan was united in marriage to Miss Jessie F. Levens, and they are prominently known in the social circles of their adopted city. In the progress and upbuilding of the community Mr. Sheridan has taken deep and helpful interest, making the News a medium of support for all projects and movements which he believes will be of benefit to com- munity, commonwealth or country.

GEORGE P. WARD,

George P. Ward is living at No. 260 G street in Idaho Falls, where he has made his home since 1910, when he put aside the more active duties of farm life and removed to the city. He was born in England, August 20, 1854, and is a son of George and Sarah A. (Plant) Ward, who were natives of England, in which country the mother passed away in 1859. In 1861 the father brought his family to the new world, crossing the continent to Wellsville, Utah. He was a baker by trade, but on coming to America purchased land and turned his attention to farm- ing, which he followed until 1884, in Utah. In that year he removed to Idaho and made investment in farm property in Bingham county, taking up a homestead

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which he improved and cultivated throughout his remaining days, his death oc- curring in 1901.

George P. Ward was a resident of Utah throughout the period of his minority and was educated in the schools of that state. After reaching manhood he rented land in Utah and carried on farming there until 1884, when he removed to Idaho and took a preemption in Bingham, now Bonneville county. The place was entirely destitute of improvements and with characteristic energy he hegan the development of the property in order to convert it into a good farm. He secured two hundred and forty acres of land and continued to till the place until 1910, when he rented it to his son and removed to Idaho Falls, where he has since made his home. He was very successful as an agriculturist and in 1918 he erected the Underwood Hotel building at Idaho Falls. He also owns five residences in the block in which he resides. He also has other city property and from his real estate interests de- rives a very substantial income. He is likewise a stockholder and director of the Farmers & Merchants Bank and also of the Iona Mercantile Company and of the Rushton Brothers Mercantile Company of Iona. He manifests sound business judg- ment, readily discriminating between the essential and the non-essential in all in- vestments and business affairs, and thus he has gained a very substantial measure of prosperity.

In December, 1874, Mr. Ward was married to Miss Mary C. Bindrup and they have become the parents of nine children: George B., who is operating his father's farm and also one of his own; William A., a resident farmer of Bonneville county; Mary A., the wife of David R. Clark, who is engaged in farming in Bonneville county; Charles, who died December 21, 1899; Martha E., the wife of Carl Shipley, a resident of Bancroft, Idaho; Nephi O., living at Salmon City, Idaho; Alice M., the wife of Luke Obrey, of Shelley, Idaho; John O., who has just returned from France, where he served for a part of the time as truck driver and a part as a machinist, as driver hauling provisions up to the front and receiving an honorable discharge after twenty-five months spent in the army; and Melvin P., at home.

Mr. Ward is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served for three months on a mission to the northern states. He votes with the republican party and always keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, but has never sought nor desired office. What he has accomplished should serve to inspire and encourage others, showing what may be achieved through in- dividual effort when guided by sound judgment.

BALDWIN FOX BROWN.

Baldwin Fox Brown, one of the well known sheepmen of Canyon county, living at Caldwell, has been identified with the northwest since 1900 and took up his abode in his present home city in 1906. Almost the width of the continent separates him from his birthplace, for he was born on the Hudson, in New York, February 11. 1876. His father, Josiah Quimby Brown, and his grandfather, Nathaniel Brown, were also natives of the Empire state, were Quakers in religious faith and farmers hy occupation. As the years passed, the father's financial resources increased and he became one of the substantial farmers of his home locality. Both he and the grandfather died on the old homestead. The ownership of the old Trinity church In New York city has several times been contested in the courts hy a member of the family, who made claim to it by right of inheritance. Anneka Jans, who held the first deed to the property, was a member of the Brown family. The mother of Baldwin F. Brown hore the maiden name of Mary K. Roach. She was a native of New York and a daughter of William Roach, a farmer, who died during the girlhood of Mrs. Brown. By her marriage she became the mother of five children. King, the eldest, is a prominent man of Idaho, residing in Caldwell. The daughters are Mary, Blanche and Golda, all residents of New York.

The other member of the family is Baldwin Fox Brown, whose name introduces this review. He was reared in the east and his career is the result of eastern train- ing, grafted upon western enterprise and opportunity, the result being most de- sirable. He first came to the west in 1900, when a young man of twenty-four years, and settled in Malheur county, Oregon, where he hegan his career as a sheepman. In 1906 he removed to Caldwell, Idaho, although previous to this time he had made

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the city his headquarters. Throughout the period of his connection with the west he has engaged in sheep raising and now has two bands of sheep, each numhering about seventeen hundred, which he ranges in the De Lamar mountains, and he and his wife own two hundred acres of partially improved land in Owyhee county.

Mr. Brown returned east for his bride and on the 6th of April, 1907, was mar- ried to Miss Helen Billings Granger, a native of Boston, Massachusetts, and a daughter of Reed Bartlett and Hester (Gill) Granger, who were natives of Maine. The progenitor of her maternal ancestry nine generations removed was Richard Warren, who came to America on the Mayflower, while Robert Bartlett, the founder of the Bartlett family, crossed the Atlantic in 1623 and settled 'in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where he passed away. Both parents of Mrs. Brown are deceased. Her father was a first lieutenant in the Third Massachusetts Cavalry during the Civil war, and on his return was for twenty years manager of a New York medical journal. Her great-grandfather in the maternal line was a United States senator from Boston, Massachusetts, and her father's grandfather served in the Revolu- tionary war. She has a picture of her father taken in uniform as a member of a group, one of which was Admiral Farragut, and she has in her possession the sword which her father wore during the Civil war. Her ancestors were among the fore- most builders of the American commonwealth. To Mr. and Mrs. Brown has been born a son, Edward Caswell, whose birth occurred November 19, 1910, and who is now in school.

Mr. Brown has recently erected a beautiful home at No. 1602 Cleveland boule- vard in Caldwell, and the family home is a most hospitable one, its good cheer being greatly enjoyed by their many friends. In his political views Mr. Brown is a re- publican and is greatly interested in the political questions and conditions of the state. He stands at all times for progress and improvement, and his cooperation can at all times be counted upon to further any plan or measure that is calculated to advance the general good. With his removal to the west he found the opportunities which he sought and in their utilization has made continuous progress toward the goal of prosperity, which is now not far ahead of him.

JOHN NAGEL.

A successful industry in Boise is represented by John Nagel, of Nagel's Soda Water Manufacturing Company, which was founded in 1875, so that it now can look back upon over a third of a century's successful existence. The plant is located at No: 109 North Thirteenth street.

John Nagel was born in Germany, July 6, 1865, and in 1880 came to the United States with his parents, together with his brothers and sisters, there being six children in the family, of whom John is the fourth in order of hirth and is the only one to make his home in Idaho. Upon landing at New York the Nagel family at once proceeded to the west, locating in Winnemucca, Nevada. The mother, whose maiden name was Johanna Dickman, died in Winnemucca in 1882. The father, also named John Nagel, was a miller hy trade. He later removed to California and in that state passed away at the advanced age of seventy-five years.

John Nagel, Jr., spent his boyhood days to the age of fifteen years in Ger- many, where he was principally educated. He grew to manhood in Winnemucca, Nevada, and there he learned the soda water and soft drink trade before he was twenty-one years of age. For several years he continued to make his headquarters in Winnemucca but in early life occasionally went to other places, where he worked for wages. Thus he passed a year at Los Angeles, California, and another year at Helena, Montana. Ahout 1888 he embarked in business on his own account at Battle Mountain, Nevada, where he hecame a partner in a soda water factory. A year later, however, he sold out and subsequently spent five years at Baker City, Oregon, going there in 1888. In 1893 he came to Boise and has now for over twenty-five years heen a resident of this city. In 1895 he purchased his present soda water factory, which had been established in 1875 by Charles Leyerzapf, and he has since conducted this enterprise under the name of Nagel's Soda Water Manu- facturing Company. Thoroughly understanding the business and having had wide experience in his line and possessing the necessary managerial qualities, he has had most unusual success and as his profits have increased has invested in much val-

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uable property in Boise besides owning a splendid home at No. 107 North Thir- teenth street, which he built about fifteen years ago. The factory is a substantial brick structure which was erected in 1897. In addition to the excellent returns which come from his business he receives a gratifying income from his rental property and also from moneys which he has loaned out upon various securities.

In San Francisco, California, August 7, 1894, Mr. Nagel married Louise Un- verzagt, an acquaintance of his youth at Winnemucca, Nevada, where both made their homes in the '80s. Mrs. Nagel was then only a little girl. She was born in Canyon City, Oregon, February 24, 1874, and by her marriage has become the mother of four children, a son and three daughters: Carrie, the wife of A. C. Blomgren, of Boise; Mildred, aged twenty-two years; John, nineteen; and Louise, sixteen.

Mr. Nagel has become thoroughly Americanized and has ever been loyal to the purposes of this government. He belongs to the Boise Limit Club, a club whose members have purchased the full limit of War Savings Stamps, or one thousand dollars worth. He is a republican but has never aspired to office although he is thoroughly informed concerning the questions and issues of the day and well fitted to take any public position. He is a member of the Boise Commercial Club and fraternally belongs to the Elks, the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. He finds needed recreation in hunting, of which he is very fond, and also enjoys a game of cards as occasion offers. His religious faith is that of the Lutheran church and he is devoted to the work of that organization. There is much that is creditable in the career of Mr. Nagel, as he has made his own way in the world and has truly earned the proud title of a self-made man.

ANTONIO AZCUENAGA.

Antonio Azcuenaga, a well known live stock man of Boise, representing the Span- ish element in the citizenship of the capital, has here resided for a period of ten years, or since 1909, and throughout the intervening years he has been regarded as one of the successful sheep men and wool growers of the district. Recently on account of changed conditions affecting the possibilities of ranging the sheep and greatly affecting prices, he has withdrawn from the sheep industry and now gives his attention to his extensive cattle and land interests in both Idaho and Oregon.

Mr. Azcuenaga was born in Spain, January 17, 1868, his parents being Luis and Saturnina Azcuenaga, who were of that region known as the Basque district, its people speaking a somewhat different language from that of other sections of Spain. Both the father and mother died before their son Antonio was seven years of age, and he soon came to be the main support of the little family consisting of a younger brother, an elder sister and himself. While still but a mere lad, he obtained em- ployment in a manufacturing establishment, making baskets used for conveying car- goes in the loading of vessels, and by his industry and faithful service soon won the favor and goodwill of his employers, who later aided him in arranging for transpor- tation to America. From his meager earnings, despite the heavy demands made upon him, for the support of those dependent upon him, he managed to accumulate two hundred dollars and, in 1887, being then nineteen years of age, he emigrated to Amer- ica, seeking the greater opportunities here to be found. Landing at New York, he proceeded westward to Nevada, where he found employment as a sheep herder, and for the ensuing thirty-three months continued steadily at the work.

In 1889 he went to the state of Oregon and spent twenty years in Malheur county, connected with sheep raising at first as a herder but after 1893 carrying on business on his own account. The first bunch of sheep he ever owned numbered twelve hun- dred head, representing his half interest in a flock of twenty-four hundred head which he owned with a partner. Some of his sheep he bought for as low a price as a dollar and a half per head and wool was then selling at six cents per pound. In addition to his sheep interests, he purchased a blacksmith shop in Jordan Valley, Oregon, which he conducted for ten years, having in the meantime learned the trade and be- coming quite proficient thereat. He also conducted an extensive general merchandise business in Jordan Valley for a number of years preceding his removal to Boise.

After removing to Bolse in 1909 Mr. Azcuenaga continued in the sheep business, operating ir both Idaho and Oregon until 1917, when he disposed of his sheep and

ANTONIO AZCUENAGA

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turned his attention to beef cattle. In the past he has owned at times as many as twenty thousand head of sheep. In 1908, before leaving Oregon, he became the chief organizer of the Azcuenaga Live Stock & Land Company, of which he has continuously served as president. This company is incorporated under the laws of Idaho and asso- ciated with Mr. Azcuenaga in the enterprise are two partners, one of whom is his younger brother, Augustine Azcuenaga, who resides in Oregon.

On the 31st of January, 1901, Antonio Azcuenaga was married in Boise to Miss Maria Conception Uberuaga, also a native of Spain. They have become the parents of five children: Daniel Albert, who is seventeen years of age; Inez, a maiden of thirteeen; Antonio Adrian, who is a youth of eleven; and Fernando Pedro, nine years of age. All are students in the public schools of Boise. One son, Richard, died at the age of five years.

Mr. Azcuenaga is a member of the Boise Commercial Cluh. He and his family are of the Roman Catholic faith, belonging to the Church of the Good Shepherd. As the years have passed he has prospered in his undertakings since coming to the new world and he now owns many valuable tracts of land in both Idaho and Oregon, which he is irrigating and is developing as rapidly as possible, thus contributing in sub- stantial manner toward the material welfare and development of the country.

GEORGE H. B. HARRIS.

George H. B. Harris was for many years prominently identified with farming interests near Rexburg hut at length put aside the active work of the fields and took up his abode in the town. Soon after his arrival in Rexburg the Farmers Imple- ment Company solicited his assistance as collector and salesman, in which capacity he served for about six months, and since that time has been floor salesman for the company.

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History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume III, Part 28

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