USA > Idaho > History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume III > Part 68
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CARL OSCAR JOHNSON.
Carl Oscar Johnson is the junior member of the firm of McLeod & Johnson, merchant tailors and dealers in men's furnishing goods in Boise. He was born in Sweden, November 16, 1873, and his parents never came to the United States. His father, John Johanson, was a farmer who died in Sweden, December 24, 1914, and the mother is still living in that country at the age of seventy-five. Her maiden name was Johanna Johanson.
Carl Oscar Johnson was the third in order of birth in a family of eight chil- dren, six sons and two daughters, all of whomare living with the exception of the eldest, Joseph Johnson, who likewise came to the new world and passed away on this side of the Atlantic. He made his home at Blue Lake, California, and died in 1908, at the age of thirty-nine years, leaving a wife and three children. Of the seven living children in the father's family those in the United States are: August Johnson, who is a merchant of San Francisco, California; Carl O., of this review; and Otto Johnson, also of Boise.
Carl O. Johnson was reared and educated in Sweden and started upon his busi- ness career as an apprentice to the merchant tailor's trade when twelve years of age. He followed that pursuit steadily in Sweden between the ages of twelve and nine- teen years, or until 1892, when he came to the United States. He at once made his way to San Francisco, California, where his brother August was then living, and spent about five years in that state and two years in Spokane, Washington, where he was employed as a journeyman tailor.
In 1898 Mr. Johnson came to Boise and in the following year the present firm of McLeod & Johnson was formed. They conduct business at No. 107 North Eighth street, in the Overland building, and theirs is one of the best known, most fash- ionable and successful tailoring establishments in the state. The partner of Mr. Johnson Is W. J. McLeod, mentioned elsewhere in this work. The firm name of McLeod & Johnson is a synonym for business enterprise and progressiveness and any- thing found in their establishment can be accepted as standard in their line. They have gained a liberal patronage as the years have passed and they have ever made it their purpose to please their patrons, to give them full value and win their trade by honorable and progressive methods.
On the 28th of December. 1901, in Boise, Mr. Johnson was married to Miss, Marie Poulson, who was born in Sweden, May 25, 1879. She came to the United States with her parents when four years of age and formed the acquaintance of her future husband in San Francisco, California. To Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have been born two sons and a daughter: Stanley Carl, whose birth occurred June 2, 1903; Milton Marion, born August 29, 1904; and Pauline Gertrude Marie, born August 13, 1914.
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Mr. Johnson is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being con nected with both the subordinate lodge and the encampment, and he is a past grand and a member of the Grand Lodge and also a member of the permanent finance com- mittee of the same body. His political allegiance is given to the republican party, but he has never been a candidate for office. He belongs to the Boise Commercial. Club and is one of the hearty supporters of that organization in its efforts to up- build the city, to extend its trade relations and maintain its progress along the lines of civic ideals. Mr. Johnson belongs to that class of wide-awake and alert business men who, though born across the water, have readily adapted themselves to American customs and conditions and through their adaptability and enterprise have steadily progressed in chosen business lines. Prompted by a laudable ambition, he has won a place among the leading merchants of Boise.
SAMUEL J. MYERS.
Samuel J. Myers is a retired farmer living on the Boise bench, near the capital city. He formerly resided in the Wood River valley in Blaine county and removed to this state in the spring of 1882 from Walla Walla, Washington, where he had resided for a year. Previous to that time he had been a resident of Nebraska but was born in Wisconsin, October 27, 1857, and is a son of Valentine and Rosa (Swartz) Myers, who were natives of Germany but were married in Wisconsin. They had a family of twelve children, four sons and eight daughters, of whom Samuel J. was the fourth in order of birth, and ten of the number are yet living. Both the father and mother have passed away.
Samuel J. Myers has followed farming and stock raising throughout his entire life. On coming to Idaho he took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in the Wood River valley and improved the property but later sold it. He after- ward bought and sold several farms in Blaine and Lincoln counties but still owns a ranch of two hundred acres in Blaine county, from which he derives a substantial annual income. He removed to the Boise bench in order to educate his children, being ambitious to give them the best opportunities possible.
It was on the 20th of December, 1891, in Blaine county, that Mr. Myers was united in marriage to Miss Lettie Fowler, who was born in Ada county, Idaho, February 28, 1872, a daughter of Silas and Catherine (Anderson) Fowler. Her father was born in Indiana in 1840, while her mother was born in Illinois on the 7th of July, 1842. They came to Idaho about fifty years ago. There are five daughters and two sons in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Myers: Edith, now the wife of Dan Hice; May; Pearl, who is a graduate nurse; William R .; Alta Maude; Dollie Leola; and Clifton S.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Myers give stanch support to the republican party, believing firmly in its principles. He is fond of both hunting and fishing and in days gone by killed many deer and has trapped all kinds of Idaho fur-bearing animals. He alsc greatly enjoys fishing and has caught hundreds of speckled beauties in the streams of this state. His life has been one of intelligently directed activity and his industry and earnest labor have made him one of the successful farmers of Idaho whose prosperity now enables him to enjoy all of the comforts and many of the luxuries of life.
MRS. SARAH JANE EBY.
Mrs. Sarah Jane Eby, residing on the Boise Bench, is one of the oldest residents of this section of the state, having reached the eighty-seventh anniversary of her birth on the 27th of November, 1919. She came to Idaho in December, 1897, making her way to Ada county from Tama county, Iowa. Her home in the latter state was about four miles from Toledo. She was a widow when she came to Idaho, her husband, Andrew Jackson Eby, having died in Iowa shortly before her removal to this state, the date of his demise being May 19, 1897.
Andrew Jackson Eby, who was first a tailor and later a farmer, was born in Pennsylvania, December 30, 1827. He was married in Canton, Ohio, on the 2d of February, 1851, to Sarah Jane Albright, who was born at that place on' the 27th of November 1832, being a daughter of Martin and Mary (Brandon) Albright. Her father
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was a representative of one of the old Pennsylvania Dutch families, while her mother was of English and Irish descent. To Mr. and Mrs. Eby were born six children. Malanthen Fillmore, who was born January 1, 1852, now resides near Boise and is a pioneer of this section of the state, having homesteaded valuable land just west of Boise at an early day. Elinora Adelia, born April 2, 1854, is living in Minnesota. Delusha Ada, born May 26, 1856, is now the wife of Henry C. Torbett, of Toledo, Iowa. Josephine Alexina, born September 11, 1858, is married and resides in Nebraska. Mil- lard Andrew Lincoln horn August 25, 1861, is now living with his mother. He was married in Iowa, July 31, 1887. to Mary Armstrong and they had two daughters. The mother died in Iowa more than twenty years ago. The daughters are: Lillie May, the wife of John Richardson, of Boise; and Lena Bell. the wife of Oscar Bonnell, of Boise. The sixth member of the family of Mrs. Sarah Jane Eby was Tevillia Jane, who was born January 18, 1863, and married George Stiver, while her second husband was Vick Ballou. The latter was killed in a railroad accident at Nampa, and Mrs. Ballou passed away July 10, 1915, leaving two sons, Seward and John Stiver, both of whom are married and have children of their own.
Mrs. Eby has a very keen and active mind at the age of eighty-seven years. Her grandmother, Mrs. Sarah Brandon, died at the notable age of one hundred and five years and her hushand was a Revolutionary war soldier. Mrs. Eby now has five living children, a large number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren and also has one great-great-granddaughter. who is the granddaughter of F. M. Eby of Boise.
"Grandma Eby." as everyone calls her, is one of the oldest persons living in the vicinity of Boise and she is so well preserved that it would seem that she could easily reach the age of one hundred years or more. She belongs to the Red Cross and was formerly very active in church work. She has ever been a very strong supporter of the republican party and a believer in progress and improvement of every kind. She is financially independent, for besides owning a good ten-acre ranch on the Boise bench she has an unincumbered farm of one hundred and seventy acres in Iowa that yields her a very substantial annual income.
PATRICK HENRY SNOW.
Patrick Henry Snow, proprietor of the Broadway Carriage & Shoeing Shop, at Boise, where he has been residing since 1897, is a native of Arkansas, born near Berry- ville, that state, September 8, 1863, a son of William and Margaret (Rodgers) Snow, natives of Pennsylvania, the former of English and the latter of German descent. On the paternal side of the house, Mr Snow is a descendant of Mayflower and Revolutionary stock, while on the maternal side, his grandfather, John Rodgers, served in the War of 1812.
Patrick H. Snow was reared on his father's farm in Arkansas, where he continued to reside up to the age of sixteen, and then started out to see the country on his own account, going to Texas, where he spent three years. At the end of this period he went to Arizona, remaining in that territory for ten years and going thence to Cali- fornia, where he worked for three and one-half years. In 1897, Mr. Snow left Cali- fornia and came to Boise, where he opened a carriage-making and blacksmith shop, having learned these trades with his father. Since coming to Idaho he has lived in Boise, with the exception of nine years spent in Meridian. He has been engaged at the same trades all his life and formerly operated two shops but later gave up one and started his present place, known as the Broadway Carriage & Shoeing Shop, in 1917, the trade of this shop having gradually expanded until, at the present time, he is gen- erally recognized as one of the most progressive carriage builders in his part of the state. In addition to his carriage and shoeing business, he is the owner of a small ranch containing two and one-half acres.
Mr. Snow has been twice married. In 1885 he wedded Julia Anderson, who died in 1915, leaving three sons and three daughters, namely: Ruby; Ethel, wife of J. H. Carroll; Ralph, who is married and living in Portland, engaged in the United States forestry service; Elva A., of Boise; Abbie J., a student at Leland Stanford University; and Helen, the youngest, a high school student. All of the children but the youngest are graduates of the Boise high school. The two eldest sons, Ralph and Elva, served with the United States army in France during the World war, Elva serving for seven- teen months and Ralph for twelve months. Ralph was severely wounded by a flying
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shell and spent five months in a hospital. As a result of his wound, he became per- manently blind in one eye. In 1917 Mr. Snow married for his second wife, Mrs. Lois Cox, of Twin Falls, Idaho.
Mr. Snow is an earnest member of the first Presbyterian church, of which he is an elder. He is an active member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has held various offices, and is also a member of the encampment. He gives his support to the republican party but has never been a seeker after political office, preferring to devote his time to his business interests he has, nevertheless, given of his time and ability to all matters designed to improve and advance the social wellbeing of the com- munity where he makes his home.
DAVID POWELL DODD.
As one travels through the beautiful valleys of Idaho and finds himself surrounded by highly cultivated farms, fine orchards and every evidence of modern progress and prosperity it is almost impossible to imagine what were the conditions at the time of the arrival of David Powell Dodd in 1863. There is no phase of pioneer life with its attendant experiences and dangers with which he is not familiar and his reminiscences of the early days are most interesting.
Mr. Dodd was born in Wayne county, Ohio, in 1837 and was a young man of twenty-four years when he left the Mississippi valley to become a resident of Colorado in 1861. There he was engaged in mining for about two years and afterward came from Colorado to Idaho by ox team and wagon, arriving at Boise on the 8th of June, 1863. The Indians at that time were very troublesome, regarding the life of a white man as of no value, and Mr. Dodd had to take many precautions while on his journey and after his arrival to keep out of danger. In 1865 he began farming in the Boise valley upon rented land and after two years he homesteaded land within three miles of his present place of residence. That property he sold in 1870 and removed to Walla Walla, Wash- ington, but the following year he returned and made investment in his present home farm, consisting of two hundred and five acres located six miles east of Caldwell. Upon this place he has since carried on general agricultural pursuits, raising the .crops best adapted to soil and climatic conditions here and also raising considerable stock for a number of years, although he has discontinued stock raising since his sons have left the farm.
In 1868 Mr. Dodd was married to Miss Isabelle Sprague, of Arkansas, and they became the parents of five children: Elmer P., fifty years of age, is married and resides at Hermiston, Oregon. He is a prominent citizen of that district and has served as a member of the state legislature. Werter D., forty-eight years of age, is married and resides at Wapato, Washington. Marietta D. is the wife of Ross Madden of Cald- well, ldaho. George A., forty-four years of age, is married and resides at Denver, Colo- rado. Mina B. is the wife of C. W. Whiffin and they are the parents of six children: Vivian, Gladys, Wayne W., Wade L., Dallas B., and Doris A.
Mr. Dodd has a fine home, his residence and other buildings being of the best, while the water for the place is supplied from an artesian well of large flow. He has developed his farm according to the most progressive methods and now has a most excellent property, which yields to him a very gratifying annual income.
HOWARD S. WRIGHT.
Howard S. Wright, a ranchman living in the vicinity of Meridian, owns a highly improved tract of land of forty-five acres and in the conduct of his business specializes in prune culture and in the raising of pure bred Hampshire sheep. For eighteen years he has been a resident of Idaho, coming to the northwest from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. For ten years he lived in Boise, where he occupied a responsible position in the Boise City National Bank for nine years, after which he turned his attention to ranching.
Mr. Wright was born on a farm near Cedar Rapids, Iowa. December 14, 1878, a son of Luman F. and Emma (McVey) Wright. The father died October 31, 1913, but the mother is still living at Cedar Rapids at the age of seventy-four years. She is still
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strong and active and recently paid a visit to her son Howard, who is the youngest of a family of four sons, the other three being residents of Iowa.
Howard S. Wright was reared upon a farm near Cedar Rapids and completed his education in the Highland Park College at Des Moines, thus being well qualified for life's practical and responsible duties. When twenty-three years of age he made his way to the northwest, attracted by the opportunities offered in this great and growing section of the country. Entering financial circles, he spent nine years as hookkeeper and cierk in the Boise City National Bank, but desiring to engage in business on his own account, he purchased a forty-five acre ranch near Meridian in 1910. In the fall of 1912 he erected a nice frame residence upon the ranch and in 1913 removed his family to the new home. In 1914 he planted ten acres of this to prunes, setting out eleven hundred trees, which are now just coming into bearing. The prune orchard is one of the beautiful sights of Ada county. The trees are planted in rows twenty feet apart each way, are straight as an arrow and are cultivated with the care of a well kept garden, not a weed being seen. The hundreds of heautiful young trees apparently exactly the same size form a picture that it is impossible to forget. Mr. Wright mani- fests a most progressive spirit in the conduct of his place and in the maintenance of his home, which is thoroughly modern, equipped with the latest plumbing and heating systems and with electric lights, while the water is pumped by an electric motor which also runs the separator, washing machine, etc. His ranch is widely known as being one of the finest in the Boise valley. Not only is Mr. Wright giving his attention to the cultivation of prunes but is also raising pure bred registered Hampshire sheep, having about one hundred ewes. He receives fifty dollars or more for male lambs six to eight months old. This is also proving a profitable source of income to him.
On the 17th of June, 1903, Mr. Wright was married in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Miss Ada McAllister, who was born in that locality, March 19, 1879, a daughter of John and Effie (Hutchins) McAllister. They were acquaintances in youth, being reared in the same neighborhood. Mrs. Wright's father served throughout the Civil war as a member of Company I, Sixty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and participated in many hotly con- tested hattles. Mr. and Mrs. Wright have two sons: Guy Stanley, born April 4, 1907; and John Luman, born June 28, 1916.
Mr. Wright is a republican in his political views and his wife is connected with the Woman's Relief Corps, the ladies' auxiliary of the Grand Army of the Republic. They are well known residents of Boise and the Meridian district, having won many friends during the period in which they have been in Idaho. Mr. Wright manifests the progressive spirit which has led to the notable development of Idaho along agri- cultural and horticultural lines in the last two or three decades, when modern science has converted a seemingly arid tract into one of rich fertility, its beauty and productive- ness being a delight to every visitor to the region.
THOMAS W. JENNINGS.
Thomas W. Jennings is a farmer and market gardener of Boise whose progressive methods are well worthy of attention and interest. His farm and gardens are located a half mile east of the natatorium, on Upper Warm Springs avenue, in Boise, and there he is accomplishing notable results in the production of vegetables. Mr. Jennings came to Idaho with his parents in 1888, when a lad of twelve years, and has since lived in Ada county, residing throughout the entire time within eight miles of the capital and connected throughout the entire period to a greater or less extent with farming and gardening.
His birth occurred upon a farm at Tazewell, near Chattanooga, Tennessee, Novem- her 22, 1876, his parents being John and Lucinda Clementine (Chadwell) Jennings, who were also natives of that state. When their son Thomas was but six months old they removed to Benton county, Arkansas, and before he had reached the age of ten the family home was established in Colorado After a year or two the Jennings family, consisting of father, mother, five sons and two daughters, came from Colorado to Idaho in a covered wagon drawn hy a team of mules. The father still resides in Ada county but the mother passed away in 1899. All of the brothers of Thomas W. Jennings and his two sisters are still living.
Thomas Jennings was a youth of twelve years when he came to Idaho and throughout the intervening period he has made his home in Ada county. For the
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MR. AND MRS. THOMAS W. JENNINGS
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THE CHILDREN OF MR. AND MRS. THOMAS W. JENNINGS
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past fifteen years he has specialized in the raising of vegetables for the Boise mar- ket. In 1908 he purchased his present vegetable and truck farm on Upper Warm Springs avenue, just outside the city limits, consisting of seven acres. Here, with the belp of his family, consisting of his wife and eight children, he has built up what is undoubtedly the best and most up-to-date plant of the kind in the vicinity of Boise for the raising of vegetables in both winter and summer, in fact he has the only establishment of the kind near Boise. His place is equipped with green- houses and a heating, pumping and irrigating plant especially designed and built for the raising of winter vegetables, in fact the winter season is the "busy" sea- son at the Jennings plant. From late in November, about Thanksgiving day, on through the winter and spring Mr. Jennings is prepared to supply the Boise public with fresh vegetables including lettuce, radishes, spinach, etc., and a little later, or in the very early spring, the tomato season begins. This vegetable is also raised under glass and is ready for the market at a very early date. The Jennings plant consists of seven greenhouses, three of which are one hundred and ten feet long and twenty feet in width. All winter long, in all stages of growth, there are miniature fields of fresh, tender, crisp lettuce and radishes, all under glass. the heating plant maintaining a June temperature throughout the winter, while the pumping plant fur- nishes the necessary moisture.
On the 29th of June, 1900, Mr. Jennings was married in Boise to Miss Susan S. Dixon, of Roseburg, Douglas county, Oregon, where she was born and reared upon a stock ranch. Mr. and Mrs. Jennings have eight children, four sons and four daughters: Helen, who was born July 6, 1901, and was graduated in June, 1919, from the Boise high school; Maude, who was born December 21, 1902, and is a senior in the Boise high school; Carrie, who was born January 27, 1905, and is now a freshman in the Boise high school; Kenneth, born December 21, 1907; Warren, January 17, 1910; Coral, July 23, 1913; Billy, May 1, 1915; and Jack, June 4, 1916. Mr. and Mrs. Jennings are also rearing a little girl, who was born September 26, 1918, and is a half sister of Mr. Jennings.
Mr. Jennings is a Baptist in religious faith and in political belief is a democrat but has never been a candidate for office, preferring to concentrate his efforts and attention upon his business affairs, which are conducted along mest progressive and scientific lines, while the results secured are most satisfactory and gratifying.
EMERY LOVELL OGDEN.
Emery Lovell Ogden, a rancher of Gem county living twelve miles west of Emmett, was born in Oregon City, Holt county, Missouri, September 1, 1884, being the only son of Joseph B. and Johanna (Rhodes) Ogden, the latter dying during the early boyhood of their son. The father was a veteran of the Union army and died in St. Joseph, Missouri, when Emery L. Ogden was but twelve years of age. Since that time the latter has depended upon his own efforts and resources for a Jiving. He was reared near St. Joseph, Missouri, and worked as a farm hand in his youth and early manhood. In 1905 he came to Idaho and filed on a one hundred and sixty acre homestead in Round valley, near Cascade. In 1906 he returned to St. Joseph, Missouri, and was there married to Miss Anna May Montgomery, who had been one of the friends of his childhood, their wedding being celebrated April 9, 1906. She was born in Woodruff, Platte county, Missouri, November 12, 1889, a daughter of Cornelius Cooper and Ann Maria (Crutchfield) Montgomery, who are now residing near Sweet, in Gem county, Idaho. Mrs. Ogden was the eldest of their six children. Her father was born in Gentry county, January 16, 1857, and her mother in Platte county, Missouri, December 25, 1869, so that they have now reached the ages of sixty-three and fifty-one years respectively."
Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Ogden came to Idaho and settled on the homestead which he had secured in Round valley. They proved up on this property and occupied it until 1918, when they sold the homestead and hought their present ranch in Gem county. It is now devoted to cattle raising and dairying and in his business affairs Mr. Ogden is meeting with substantial success.
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