USA > Idaho > History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume III > Part 40
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On December 27, 1917, following the declaration of war by the United States against the imperial German government, Dr. Nye enlisted in the service of his country and was stationed at Fort Collins, Colorado. Sometime prior to his enlist- ment he had served on the Mexican border, where he gained much valuable military experience of which he made ample use in the capacity of drill sergeant while he was stationed at Fort Collins. He is unmarried and he makes his home with his parents in Rigby, where he takes a proper interest in all the good works carried on in the community.
STERLING PRICE BANE.
When the work of progress and development had been carried forward to only a slight degree in the Payette valley, Sterling Price Bane took up his abode in this section of the state, establishing his home near Emmett in 1882, or about thirty- eight years ago. He was then a youth of eighteen years and began work as an' employe on the ranch which he now owns and occupies. He was born at Tioga, Pike county, Illinois, March 30, 1864, and is a son of Clayton and Martha P. (Moore) Bane. The father was born in Bracken county, Kentucky, while the mother was a native of Tennessee and they were married in Missouri. They had a family of three sons and two daughters, of whom Sterling P. is the fourth in order of birth, and all are yet living. The father was a veteran of the Mexican war.
While born in Illinois, Sterling Price Bane was largely reared in Cass county, Missouri, and from Colorado he came to Idaho but had been in the former state for only a brief period. Throughout his entire life he has followed farming and the raising of live stock. As stated, he was first employed on the ranch which he now occupies. Later he homesteaded and purchased the property, entering a claim to a part of the land about twenty-four years ago. His present ranch embraces two hundred and fifty acres and the soil is naturally rich and productive, so that
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it has responded generously to the care and labor which he has bestowed upon the fields. He has also made the raising of live stock a feature of his business and both branches of his life work have brought to him substantial success.
On the 27th of November, 1890, Mr. Bane was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Miller, who was born in Illinois, December 4, 1869, a daughter of Abram Miller, who was a Civil war veteran, having served with the Union army. He was born in Tennessee and devoted his life to the occupation of farming. He married Maria Bowling, also a native of Tennessee, in which state they were reared and married and afterward went to Illinois. Mrs. Bane was reared in Gentry county, Missouri, to the age of twelve years and then came to Idaho with her parents. By her marriage she has become the mother of three children. William J., who was born August 16, 1891, married Mona Leona Riggs, a daughter of Boise Riggs, their wedding being celebrated on the 16th of October, 1915. They now have two chil- dren: Thomas William Bane, born July 26, 1916; and Minnie Kathleen, born September 17, 1917. The second child of Mr. and Mrs. Bane is their only daugh- ter, Martha Belle, who was born July 5, 1893. Their younger son is John Clayton Bane, who was born September 3, 1895, and he and the daughter reside with their parents, while William J. Bane and his family occupy another residence but upon the old home ranch.
Mr. Bane is a Mason and is a past master of Butte Lodge, No. 37, A. F. & A. M., of Emmett. In politics he is a stanchi democrat, giving unfaltering allegiance to the party, and he was a member of the Idaho state senate during the fourteenth session of the general assembly, representing Gem county in the upper house. He has also served for one term as county commissioner of Canyon county, when Gem was still a part of Canyon county. Since taking up his abode upon his present ranch he has lived in three different counties of Idaho-Ada, Canyon and Gem- as the divisional changes in the state have been made. He has witnessed wonder- ful progress as the state has become settled and developed and he has always borne his part in bringing about this desirable change. He now has a splendid ranch property on which are found fine fields of hay and grain and he also raises beef cattle and horses. Everything about his place is indicative of the care and super- vision of a practical and progressive owner.
WILLIAM H. SHANE.
William H. Shane, who lives on a ranch one mile northwest of Emmett, came to Idaho from Grand Junction, Colorado, and prior to his removal to the west re- sided at Coon Rapids, Carroll county, Iowa. His birth occurred in Guthrie county, Iowa, on the 20th of August, 1869, his parents being Jacob and Adaline (Mingus) Shane. The father was born in Vermilion county, Indiana, in 1838, while the mother first opened her eyes to the light of day in the state of North Carolina on the 1st of March, 1841. Jacob Shane was married when twenty years of age and he and his wife reared a family of nine children, five sons and four daughters, all of whom are still living. The father passed away in Carroll county, Iowa, in 1900, but the mother yet survives and now makes her home at Lincoln, Nebraska. The greater part of their lives following their marriage was spent in Guthrie county, lowa.
William H. Shane was reared on an Iowa farm and continued to reside in that state until thirty-three years of age. In 1902 he removed to Grand Junction, Colo- rado, and subsequently came to Idaho, locating at Emmett, where he remained for two years. On the expiration of that period he took up his abode on his present ranch a mile northwest of the town and in 1910 erected thereon a ten-room modern bungalow, constituting one of the attractive suburban homes of the vicinity. He has served as one of the directors of the Emmett Irrigation District for eight con- secutive years and has been its president for the past five years.
On the 30th of September, 1891, in Iowa, Mr. Shane was united in marriage . to Miss Ella Howell, who was born in Wapello county, Iowa, July 14, 1872, a daughter of George N. and Lucinda (Hickman) Howell, the former a native of New York and the latter of Illinois. Mr. Howell passed away when. his daughter Ella was ten years of age, and his widow died in April, 1920, at Coon Rapids, Iowa. Thelr famlly numbered six children, two sons and four daughters, all of whom are
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yet living. Mr. and Mrs. Shane have four sons, as follows: Clare W., Fred H., Hardie I., and Carl R. Clare W. and Fred H. are married and reside on ranches near Emmett in Gem county. Clare W. and Hardie I. joined the United States army at the time of the World war but were still at Camp Lewis when the armistice was signed.
In politics Mr. Shane is a republican but has always declined public prefer- ment, feeling that he would rather concentrate his efforts and attention upon his business affairs. His wife gives her political support to the democratic party. They are Methodists in religious faith and fraternally Mr. Shane is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he is a past grand, while his wife is a member of the Rebekahs. Mr. Shane has gained an extensive and favorable ac- quaintance during the period of his residence in Gem county and enjoys an enviable reputation as one of its substantial and esteemed citizens.
JOSE NAVARRO.
Jose Navarro, successfully engaged in wool growing at Boise, is a well known member of the Spanish-Basque colony, who came to this city in 1908 from the Jordan valley of Oregon, where he had resided from 1889 until 1908. He was born in Spain, August 27, 1868, the son of a farmer, and in 1887 came to the United States, then a young man of nineteen years. He spent two years in Nevada and in 1889 removed to the Jordan valley of Oregon. In Nevada he was a sheep herder and he also worked in that way in Oregon for several years, or until he was able to save a sum sufficient to permit him to start in the sheep business on his own account. This he did in 1896, forming a partnership with Antonio Azcuenaga. The partnership was main- tained for about twenty years and both men are residents of Boise and are now num- hered among the most prosperous of the Basque people of the city. Mr. Azcuenaga is now engaged in the cattle business, however, but Mr. Navarro still remains active as a sheepman. He is associated in the sheep industry at the present time with Fred Palmer, a prominent and substantial citizen of the Jordan valley, their inter- ests being conducted under the name of the Palmer Sheep Company. Mr. Navarro owns a half interest in the business and they now have about eleven thousand head of sheep.
Mr. Navarro has returned to Spain twice since coming to the new world, first in 1899 and again in 1907. On the occasion of his first visit he was married there on the 13th of September, 1899, to Pia Azpiri, bringing his bride back with him to this country, and on his second visit to his native land he was accompanied by his wife. Both are very fond of Idaho and the United States and are numbered among the substantial citizens of Boise. They hold membership in the Roman Catholic church, being connected with the Church of the Good Shepherd. They occupy an attractive residence in Boise at No. 1101 North Eighth street, which Mr. Navarro purchased when he first took up his abode in the capital city in 1908. He has never had occa- sion to regret his determination to come to the new world, for here he has found the opportunities which he has sought and by reason of his unfaltering industry and perseverance has gained a place among the successful wool growers of Idaho.
HARVEY L. CRANDALL.
Harvey L. Crandall, an automobile dealer of .Driggs, was born at Springville, Utah, January 19, 1874, his parents being Oscar and Margaret E. (Guymon) Cran- dall, who were natives of Iowa. They crossed the plains with one of the early Mormon trains in 1852 and settled at Springville, where the father took up land, continuing its cultivation for an extended period. He was also engaged in the sawmill business for a number of years and became a contractor and builder, be- ing connected with building operations for a long time. While thus engaged he resided in various parts of Utah and of Wyoming and in 1896 he took up his abode at Driggs, Idaho, where he engaged in ranching throughout his remaining days, his death occurring on the 29th of April, 1904. While here residing he served for a considerable period as bishop of hls ward. The mother still survives and yet makes her home at Driggs.
JOSE NAVARRO
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Harvey L. Crandall was reared and educated in Utah. He remained with his parents until he attained his majority and then became a resident of Fre- mont county, Idaho, settling in that section which is now Teton county. He filed on land two miles south of Driggs and at once began to turn the furrows and till the soil, continuing the operation of his fields for fourteen years. He afterward operated a stage line between St. Anthony and Jackson's Hole, Wyoming, for four years and later he took up general merchandising, in which he engaged at Driggs for two years. After disposing of his store he resumed ranching and for one year lived upon his place but at the end of that time established an automobile husi- ness at Driggs, where he handles the Ford and Studebaker cars. He also main- tains a large garage and does a general repair business and his patronage has now reached most gratifying proportions. He sells a large number of cars annually and his business is extensive. He is also a stockholder and director in the Teton National Bank of Driggs.
On the 29th of April, 1906, Mr. Crandall was united in marriage to Miss S. May Colvin and they have become parents of five children, namely: Harvey L., Jr., Paul C., Roberta, Oscar R. and Wendell. Mr. Crandall belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was formerly bishop of his ward. He has likewise filled various other offices in the church and for nine months was engaged in missionary work for the church in Philadelphia. His political support is given to the republican party and he is now serving for the second term as a member of the town board. He is keenly interested in everything pertaining to the welfare and progress of the community in which he makes his home and has done much to further its material, intellectual, political and moral advancement.
W. R. FISHER.
W. R. Fisher, farmer and author, is well known as one of the first settlers of the Deer Flat district of Canyon county and he has contributed in large measure to its development and upbuilding along material, educational and other progressive lines. He was born near Pleasant Plain, Iowa, July 12, 1865. His father, Azariah Fisher, was of Quaker stock and was a native of Ohio but in his infancy was taken to Illinois by his parents, whose ancestors came to America about 1690 and settled in Pennsylvania. After reaching adult age Azariah Fisher married Malinda Stanley, a native of Ohio, who was also taken to Illinois by her parents during her infancy. After living for a time in Illinois Mr. Fisher and his wife removed to Iowa while the Civil war was in progress and there he followed farming until his death, which oc- curred in 1874. His widow long survived him, departing this life in 1907.
It was during the early boyhood of W. R. Fisher that the family home was established at Harlan, in western Iowa, where he attended the public schools, while afterward he became a student in Eureka College of Illinois and still later matricu- lated in Drake University of Des Moines, Iowa, thus acquiring a liberal education. He made excellent use of his opportunities in that direction, manifesting special aptitude in his studies, and for twenty years he was a capable and successful teacher in the schools of Iowa and Nebraska. In 1903 he removed from the latter state to Idaho and settled in the Deer Flat district in January, 1904, securing a homestead claim. In 1910 he disposed of his land and removed to Boise, where he resided for four years, after which he returned to the Deer Flat district, purchasing farming property and resumed agricultural pursuits. He is now carrying on the work of general farming. The attainment of prosperity, however, is not the sole end and aim of his life, for he is keenly interested in other lines. He is a man of literary tastes and has published three volumes of poems, which have had wide circulation. He has also contributed some verse to the Youths Companion. He is a great lover of nature and his poems have found their inspiration in outdoor life.
In 1887 Mr. Fisher was married to Miss Mary Dotson, a native of Iowa and a daughter of Pleasant and Mary (Campbell) Dotson. They were married at Harlan, Iowa, and are the parents of five living children. Robert Clive, twenty-nine years of age, married Euna Phillips and is a business man of Boise. Joel Franklin, twenty- five years of age, is a graduate of the Boise high school and of the Idaho College and is now a minister of the Free Methodist church at Spokane, Washington. He married Olive Ramsey. Arthur Hallan, twenty-three years of age, was in the Naval Reserve
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and was in active service during the World war for five months. He is still in the service, subject to call until 1922, although at present he is at home and is engaged in farming near his father. He married Edna Mills, of Greenleaf, Idaho, who died in August, 1919. Paul R., sixteen years of age, is also at home. Ethel is now at- tending Greenleaf Seminary. Mr. and Mrs. Fisher also lost two children. Ellis Harl, who died when thirty years of age, left a widow, Mrs. May (Darling) Fisher, and two children, Leonard and Vera. Ellis H. Fisher was one of the best known and most popular young men of Canyon county. The other child, Amy, died in infancy.
Mr. Fisher has always been keenly interested in the cause of education and it is partly due to his efforts that the first schools of the Deer Flat district were built. He has always given his support to the school system and there are no better schools in the state than are found in his locality. He has served as justice of the peace in his precinct and as school trustee.
CHRIS HANSEN.
Chris Hansen, who is manager of the H. G. Prettyman orchards, three miles from Emmett, was born in what is now Gem county but was then a part of Ada county, one mile east of Letha, on the 18th of January, 1877. He is a son of Nels and Augusta (Christiansen) Hansen, who were born, reared and married in Den- mark, after which they sought the opportunities of the new world. Three children, however, were born to them ere they bade adieu to their native land and sailed for the United States. Soon after reaching America they came to Idaho and cast in their lot with the pioneer settlers of the Payette valley, their home being in what is now Gem county. The father was a blacksmith by trade hut after coming to Idaho home- steaded near Letha, and the land which he thus acquired is still in possession of the family. The father, however, has passed away, but the mother survives and resides in Emmett, having made her home in Gem county for many years.
Chris Hansen has spent his entire life in Gem county and is now forty-three years of age. His educational opportunities were those afforded by the common schools and since putting aside his textbooks he has always been a farmer and orchardist. He is now the manager of the H. G. Prettyman orchards near Emmett, comprising ninety acres planted to apples. He took charge thereof when the trees were just three years old and they are now in full bearing. The Prettyman orchards are one of the most attractive sights of Gem county. Mr. Hansen has had entire charge of the pruning and spraying of the trees and their care in other ways and he has developed some of the finest orchards of the state. So efficient is he in this" work that he is paid a salary of eighteen hundred dollars a year and also has various ranch interests in addition which yield a substantial income.
On the 7th of January, 1903, Mr. Hansen was married to Miss Alma Lena Max- field, who was born in Maine and came with her parents to Idaho in her childhood days. Her father, Moses Maxfield, was also a native of the Pine Tree state and died November 6, 1918, at the home of his son, George Maxfield, a carpenter and con- tractor living at No. 1301 North Fourteenth street in Boise.
Mr. Hansen belongs to the Woodmen of the World and his political allegiance is given to the republican party, but he has never sought or desired office. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hansen are widely and favorably known in the vicinity of Emmett, where they have a circle of friends almost coextensive with the circle of their ac- quaintance.
MRS. GRACE SANDERS.
Mrs. Grace Sanders owns and occupies a ranch near Emmett on which she took up her abode in 1909. She was born in Dupage county, Illinois, March 16, 1855, and her maiden name was Jemima Grace Medland. She is a daughter of John and Catherine (Sleep) Medland, who were born, reared and married in England. They came to the United States immediately after their marriage and all of their seven children were born on this side of the water. Six of that number are yet living.
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Mrs. Sanders was a little maiden of but ten years when her parents removed from Illinois to Iowa, where her girlhood days were passed, while her education was acquired in the public schools.
It was in Iowa, on the 28th of October, 1875, that Miss Grace Medland became the wife of John Truebody Sanders, who was born in Cook county, Illinois, October 25, 1853, and was a son of Walter G. and Ann (Palmer) Sanders. For nearly thirty- five years Mr. and Mrs. John T. Sanders lived upon farms in Iowa, first residing in the eastern part of the state and later in the northwestern section of Iowa. Mr. Sanders developed three different farms in O'Brien county, Iowa, and thus con- tributed much to the development and improvement of that section of the state. In 1909 he came to Idaho and settled on a forty-acre tract of sagebrush land, which is now one of the best improved places about Emmett. Upon the ranch stands a beautiful two-story brick residence, surrounded by fine lawns adorned with beautiful shrubbery. Fourteen acres have been planted to orchards that are now in full bearing. There are excellent buildings upon the property and all of the equipments and conveniences of a model ranch-all placed there by Mr. and Mrs. Sanders. Mr. Sanders was a most active and progressive business man and continued the develop- ment and improvement of the ranch property until death called him on the 1st of October, 1914.
To Mr. and Mrs. Sanders were born ten children who are yet living: Mrs. Nellie Welch, John M., Roy, Mrs. Luella Grace Melvin, Frank L., Jay, Don, Floyd, Gertrude, Mrs. Pearl Stippich. Three of the children reside in Iowa, while the others are residents of Idaho. Don and Floyd served in the world war, both going overseas. Don crossed the ocean several times as a machinist on the vessel which was formerly the German Vaterland. Don served in the navy, while Floyd was in the army and spent several months in France.
Mr. Sanders was an exemplary representative of the Masonic fraternity and had also been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His life was gov- erned by high principles and characterized by honorable purposes and the genuine worth of his character was attested by many who knew him. Mrs. Sanders belongs to the Order of the Eastern Star and to the Woman's Relief Corps and is interested in many activities which have to do with kindly assistance rendered to the unfor- tunate. The ranch on which she resides is situated two miles northwest of Emmett, in Gem county.
CHARLES A. WILLS.
Charles A. Wills, senior member of the firm of Wills Brothers, prominent fruit raisers of Gem county, came to Idaho from Iowa and in this state established his sweet cherry and peach orchards about three miles south of Emmett. He took up his abode here twelve or more years ago and through the intervening period has done much to advance the horticultural interests of this section of the state. He was born in Carroll county, Illinois, April 2, 1858, and is the second of the three brothers constituting the firm of Wills Brothers, who reside near Emmett. There is also a sister at Emmett-Mrs. Frank DeClark.
Charles A. Wills, whose name introduces this record, has lived in three states- Illinois, Iowa and Idaho. He spent the first eighteen years of his life in Illinois and then went to Iowa with his parents, David C. and Anna (Wolf) Wills, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. The father was of Welsh and English descent, while the mother was of German lineage. David C. Wills devoted his life to the contracting and building business, but both he and his wife have now passed away. As stated, they removed to Iowa when their son Charles was a youth of eighteen years and there he engaged in farming and also in carpentering and building for many years. In 1907 he and his younger brother, James A., came to Idaho and located on the Sunny Slope, three miles south of Emmett, purchasing a large tract of land which was then covered with a native growth of sagebrush. They paid sixty dollars per acre for this tract of one hundred and thirty acres but have since sold fifty acres, retaining possession of eighty. A large part of this tract is now in fruit. Charles A. Wills has thirty acres of the land, planted to peaches and cherries. His brother, James A. Wills, has fifty acres in his ranch property, which adjoins that
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of his brother, and upon it he has planted all kinds of fruit, including apples, prunes, peaches and cherries. James A. Wills is married and has eight children.
Charles A. Wills has never married and with him resides his brother, William L., the three brothers being actively associated in the conduct of their ranch prop- erty, and they have hecome particularly well known as fruit raisers of Gem county and the upper Payette valley. During the past decade they have no doubt done quite as much as anyone in the way of making Gem county famous as a fruit pro- ducing section. All three of the brothers were born in Carroll county, Illinois, and throughout their entire lives they have manifested the spirit of western enterprise and progress which has heen the dominant factor in the upbuilding of the great section of the country west of the Mississippi river. They are men of progressive spirit and firm purpose who never stop short of the successful accomplishment of their well defined plans. Upon the thirty-acre ranch occupied by William and Charles A. Wills are produced some of the finest peaches and sweet cherries that are raised in the northwest. They make a specialty of the latter and handle exten- sive shipments of these fine cherries through motor trucks and trains. They pro- duce the fine Bing, Lambert and Royal Ann cherries, which are sold extensively in Boise and various cities in Idaho and Oregon. Their fruit is of superior size and flavor. James A. Wills is equally successful in the management of his property, which is known as the Sunny Slope Fruit Farm of fifty acres, twenty acres being devoted to orchards of apple, prune, peach and cherry trees. One of the elements of the success which has attended the brothers was the care with which they selected their property. On coming to Idaho they sought land that would be as free as possible from frost and made their selection well up on the Sunny Slope, where the frosts seldom cause crop failure. It seems that a marvel has been accom- plished by them, for the land which they acquired was covered with sagebrush and today it constitutes a picture so beautiful that it would delight any artist-when the trees are covered with the pink and white hlossoms of springtime or are laden with the fruit of autumn.
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