History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume III, Part 80

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

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While in Nebraska. Mr. Langer was married in 1891 to Miss Bertha Miller, who was born in Iowa but was reared in Kansas. They have five living children and lost four in infancy. Those who survive are Joseph N., Chester F., Julia L., Metta M. and Litha. The eldest son, now twenty-six years of age, served in the World war, spending seventeen months with the American Expeditionary Force in France, having volun- teered as a member of the army. He is married and resides in Seattle, Washington. Chester F., twenty years of age, and Julia L., aged eighteen, are at home. Metta M., seventeen years of age, is a member of the senior class in the Boise high school, and Litha, eleven years of age is attending the Cole school.

Mr. Langer and his family are members of the Methodist church, although the rellgious faith of their forefathers was that of the Roman Catholic church. Mr. Langer belongs to the Woodmen of the World. Though born in Austria, he is proud of the fact that he can claim American citizenship and is a most loyal supporter of his adopted land, where he has found the opportunities for advancement and the chance of rearing his family under favorable conditions, unhampered by the militarism of his native country.

SETH M. ELLSWORTH.

The Ellsworth family has long figured in connection with the history of Jefferson county and its development and among those of the name still closely associated with farming Interests is Seth M. Ellsworth, whose home is near Lewisville. He was born at West Weber, Utah, August 30, 1870, his parents being Edmund and Ellen (Blair)

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Ellsworth, mentioned on another page of this volume. Seth M. Ellsworth, spending his youthful days under the parental roof, attended the schools of West Weber, Utah, and of Jefferson county, Idaho, and having mastered the elementary branches of learning, then became a student in the Brigham Young College at Logan. He was but eleven years of age when the family home was established in Idaho in 1882 and he continued upon the home farm until he had attained his majority.

Mr. Ellsworth then began farming on his own account by renting land and he also worked for Mr. Boyce, who owned the place upon which he now resides. The death of Mr. Boyce occurred in 1890. Six years later, or in 1896, Mr. Ellsworth wedded Mrs. Margaret (McMillian) Boyce, widow of his former employer, and he has since cultivated the farm with the exception of a period of twelve years when he resided at Idaho Falls. He purchased a nice home there and was in business in the town for a short time. He also spent four years in the sheriff's office and he likewise acted as collector for the Consolidated Wagon & Machine Company. Later he returned to the farm and is now giving his undivided attention to agricultural interests, having lived upon this place continuously since 1914. In partnership with his brothers he owns business prop- erty at Rigby and they are erecting a new building there. Seth M. Ellsworth still owns his home at Idaho Falls and he and his brothers are the owners of the Ellsworth flats at Rigby. He is also a stockholder in the Jefferson State Bank at Menan. Throughout his life he has displayed marked business enterprise and initiative and possesses the resolute character which enables him to carry forward to successful completion what- ever he undertakes.

To Mr. Ellsworth there were born three children of his first marriage: Lenora Eileen, the wife of Rowland Madison, of Rigby; Seth M., who died on the 18th of Feb- ruary, 1904, at the age of twenty-five months; and Kenneth M., at home. The mother of these children passed away November 1, 1908, after a short illness following an opera- tion tor appendicitis. In January, 1910, Mr. Ellsworth wedded Clara Haywood and they became the parents of three children: Vincent R., Martha E. and Dona Gene.

Mr. Ellsworth has filled the office of constable, occupying the position a number of years ago. In politics he maintains an independent course. His religious belief is that of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has led a busy and useful life, his activity and enterprise- enabling him to take advantage of the opportunities that have come to him and today he is one of the prosperous farmers as well as one of the representative citizens of Jefferson county.

WILLIAM A. CARPENTER.

William A. Carpenter is a retired farmer and merchant now residing on the Boise bench, near the Ash Street Hillcrest car line. He came to Idaho in 1889 from Warren county, Iowa, and spent one winter in the vicinity of Idaho City, where he was employed in a mine, but through the intervening period has engaged in ranching. He was born September 27, 1860, in Warren county, Iowa, and is a son of Norman and Mary (Parker) Carpenter. He was the fifth in order of birth in their family of twelve children, seven sons and five daughters, of whom eight are yet living, and three of the sons are now in the Boise valley, namely: William A., Lucien N. B. and James M.

The youthful days of William A. Carpenter were spent upon a farm in Iowa and his time was divided between the duties of the schoolroom, the pleasures of the play- ground and the work of the fields. He was still a single man when he came to the northwest. In the spring of 1891 he located on a ranch near Sweet, Idaho, which he homesteaded, securing one hundred and sixty acres. He was married just before taking up his abode ou that place. It was on the 29th of January, 1891, in Boise, that he wedded Jennie R. Talley, who was born in Lee county, Illinois, November 15, 1864, and is a daughter of Harmon Harrison and Hannah (Smith) Talley. The father was born in Wilmington, Delaware, and was a boyhood friend of the Hon. William F. Bayard, secretary of state in President Cleveland's cabinet. Mrs. Carpenter was the youngest of five children, three sons and two daughters, all of whom are yet living with the exception of one son. The four surviving members of the family are all in Idaho. Mrs. Carpenter came to this state with her parents in the '80s, when Idaho was still a territory, the family home being. established near Sweet.

Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter located on their homestead near Sweet and proved up on the property, occupying it for fifteen years. They can point

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with just pride to the fact that their ranch never had a mortgage on it while they were owners nor has any other property that has ever been in their possession. About 1912 · they sold their ranch and took up their abode in the town of Sweet. While living upon the farm, Mr. Carpenter and four of his neighbors constructed a ditch five miles long in order to irrigate their fields. They built a dam and took the water from'Squaw creek. Five years were consumed in digging the ditch, which, however, has rendered the land very productive. After disposing of their ranch property Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter lived in Sweet for seven years, during which time he conducted a general store. He prospered as the years passed, enjoying a very extensive trade from which he derived a good profit. At length he retired from business in 1914, selling the store and removing to Boise. On the 1st of March, 1917, he and his wife took up their abode on their present home on the Hillcrest loop.

Mr. Carpenter was the first of his father's family to come to Idaho. He made the journey in a covered wagon and cast in his lot with the pioneer settlers of the section in which he established his home. As the years have passed he has witnessed a remark- able transformation and has borne his part in the work of progress and improvement at all times. Mr. Carpenter belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and to the Modern Woodmen of America, while his wife is connected with the Royal Neigh- bors. Both vote with the democratic party, but Mr. Carpenter has never held or desired office. His close application and unremitting energy have been the salient points in winning him the success that now enables him to live retired and enjoy all the comforts and many of the luxuries of life without recourse to further toil.

CHARLES H. IRETON.

Charles H. Ireton, who has followed farming and the raising of live stock as a lite work, resides on the Boise bench in the vicinity of the Cole school and near the Eldorado station on the Cole car line. He has always manifested a most progressive spirit in the conduct of his business affairs and his success is the direct outcome of his industry and close application. Mr. Ireton was born in Clermont county, Ohio, April 21, 1866. His father, Samuel Ireton, who is a veteran of the Civil war, is still living at the advanced age of eighty-two years and now makes his home at the corner of Rossi and Vermont avenues in South Boise. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary Virginia Davis and passed away September 4, 1915. Both were natives of Ohio.

It was in 1873, when but seven years of age, that Charles H. Ireton came to Idaho with his parents, the family settling on a homestead claim near Sweet, then a part of Boise county but now in Gem county. Charles H. Ireton continued upon ranches in that vicinity for more than forty years but in the year 1912 conducted the Woody Hotel in Sweet. Practically his entire life, however, has been devoted to the reclamation and cultivation of the soil and to the raising of live stock. In 1917 he disposed of his interests at Sweet and removed to Boise, having since lived on the Boise bench. He took possession of his present little ranch property of four acres in June, 1919, having here a beautiful bungalow home.

While living in the vicinity of Sweet, Mr. Ireton met the lady whom he made his wife. She bore the maiden name of Hannah Luckey and was born in Jackson county, Kansas, August 3, 1871, being a daughter of Perry and Mary (Talley) Luckey. In 1888 she came to Idaho with her maternal grandparents, Harmon Harrison and Hannah (Smith) Talley, the family home being established near Sweet. To Mr. and Mrs. Ireton have been born but two children and both sons are veterans of the World war. Emmett C., born September 23, 1891, served in France for nearly a year and made a splendid record, being in the thickest of the fighting for many months but escaping unhurt. He was one of seventeen members of his regiment who were never sent to the hospital. The other son, Leonard Harold, born October 5, 1893, was for six months at Camp Lewis but did not get overseas. It was after the entrance of their sons into the World war that Mr. Ireton decided to sell his ranch and live stock interests near Sweet and remove to Boise, which he did. The sons are now, however, both at home again and this may alter the plans of the father in regard to his business affairs, for he is yet a young man.

Mr. Ireton belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is a past grand of his local lodge. He is also connected with the Modern Woodmen of America and both he and his wife are members of the Royal Neighbors, while both of their sons belong to the American Legion. In their political views they are republicans, but Mr.

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Ireton has never been ambitious to fill office. His life has been quietly passed in the faithful performance of his duties in relation to his family and to his country and the worth of his work is manifest in the high regard which is entertained for him by all who know him.

WILBUR A. ELLIOTT.

Wilbur A. Elliott, secretary and treasurer of the Fremont Cash Store at Dubois and thus an active factor in the commercial interests of the town, was born in Millers- burg, Iowa, in September, 1887. He is a son of Monroe and Margaret (Wood) Elliott. The father died when the son was an infant and the mother in 1902 removed to the state of Idaho and has since resided at Idaho Falls.

Wilbur A. Elliott was largely reared and educated in Pierce, Nebraska, but also attended the high school at Idaho Falls. He became a resident of Dubois in 1907, when a young man of twenty years, and secured employment in stores of the town, thus continuing until the spring of 1919, when he entered into partership with Ray Best. They established a general merchandise business which they have since conducted under the name of the Fremont Cash Store. They carry a large stock and enjoy a growing patronage, which has made their business one of substantial proportions.

Mr. Elliott is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and his religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics he maintains an independent course but is never remiss in the duties of citizenship and cooperates in all well defined plans and measures for the general good. He went into the army on the 25th of June, 1918, and crossed to France with the Fortieth Division, thus doing overseas duty. He was discharged April 13, 1919, returning home with a keener sense of American responsi- bilities in citizenship and American privileges. He belongs to that class which con- stitute the strength of the nation.

NATHAN EATON.

Nathan Eaton, who is engaged in farming near Collister, in Ada county, was born in Sauk City, Sauk county, Iowa, January 16, 1880, and was but nine years of age when he came to Idaho with his parents, Orson and Clara (Miller) Eaton, who are now residents of Kanosh, Utah. The journey westward was made with team and wagon and they were about two months on the way, finally settling near Stewarts Gulch.

Under the parental roof Nathan Eaton spent the days of his boyhood and youth, his experiences being those of the lad who is reared upon the western frontier with all of its attendant hardships, dangers and privations. Having arrived at years of maturity, Mr. Eaton was married on the 24th of June, 1914, to Miss Lottie Miller.

Mrs. Eaton is a daughter of John F. and Mary Elizabeth (Dunlap) Miller. Her father was born in Switzerland, May 8, 1854, and when three years of age was brought to the United States by his parents, Henry and Regina (Marlin) Miller, who were converts to the Mormon faith and crossed the plains with handcarts, settling near Fort Floyd, Utah. Poverty and privations confronted them and their situation was almost more than they could endure. They removed from Fort Floyd to the Cache valley in Utah, where their condition was not improved, and tiring of Mormonism and its exactions, they joined the Morrisites and removed to the Weber valley. The Mormons made war upon them while they were at worship and many of the women and children as well as the men were killed, the attacking body using cannon, the first shot killing two women and wounding several more. The Millers when coming to Idaho were escorted by government troops as far as Soda Springs, this state. This was in the year 1862. They remained for three years in Idaho and then removed to Montana, where Mr. Miller engaged in mining for four years. They found the Indians as bad there as the Mormons had been in Utah and road agents were in evidence, too, but finally all these evils were suppressed. In 1869 the Miller family removed to the Boise valley, where Mrs. Miller passed away in 1863 at the age of sixty-four years, while Mr. Miller survived until 1887 and was seventy-eight years of age at the time of his demise. They became the parents of nine children, including John F. Miller, who on the 1st of January, 1877, married Belle Dunlap, a daughter of Thomas and Serepta Dunlap, natives of Penn-

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sylvania. Mr. and Mrs. John F. Miller became the parents of four children: Harry, who is forty-one years of age and is married and resides at Collister, Idaho; Myrtle, who has passed away; Carrie; and Lottie, now Mrs. Eaton. John F. Miller died Decem- ber 12. 1912, and his widow passed away March 15, 1920. The father of Mrs. Eaton had followed farming as a life work and owned one hundred acres of land, all of which has been sold in small tracts save the three acres upon which Mr. and Mrs. Eaton now reside. The children of Mr. and Mrs. John F. Miller were all horn on the homestead farm of one hundred acres where the parents first settled on coming to Idaho.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Eaton have always resided in the west, save that Mr. Eaton spent the first nine years of his life in his native county. He is now engaged in farming and has other business interests. Both he and his wife are widely and favorably known in Collister and vicinity and have a large circle of warm friends.

SAMUEL IRETON.

Almost a half century has come and gone since Samuel Ireton came to Idaho. He well deserves classification with its representative pioneer men, who laid broad and deep the foundation upon which has been built the present progress and prosperity of the state. His memory forms a connecting link between the primitive past and the pro- gressive present and as a result of his carefully directed business affairs he is now enabled to live retired in the enjoyment of well earned rest, occupying a pleasant home at the corner of Vermont avenue and Rossi street, in South Boise. He came to the northwest from Clermont county. Ohio, and for forty years resided upon a ranch near Sweet, Idaho, which his brother, John Ireton, had homesteaded in 1869, in which year he had come to Idaho and entered a claim. He was the first of the Ireton family to remove to the northwest and was one of the first of the pioneers to settle in the Squaw creek valley near Sweet. Great indeed were the changes which occurred during his lifetime and he always bore his part in the work of general development and progress. His last years were spent in Boise, where he passed away at the age of seventy-two. He is yet well remembered in the capital city and in other sections of Idaho as one of the earliest settlers who aided in planting the seeds of civilization upon the western frontier.

When Samuel Ireton came to Idaho in 1873 he was accompanied by another brother, Alexander Ireton, who has never married and has made his home with the family of Samuel Ireton. They yet live together and Alexander Ireton has now reached the advanced age of eighty years. They have ever heen partners in their ranching operations. Samuel Ireton. now eighty-two years of age, is a widower and the two brothers have lived together for more than a half century, occupying a comfortable home which Samuel Ireton owns at the corner of Rossi street and Vermont avenue in South Boise. In addi- tion to this property he also has sixteen lots adjoining his home.

Samuel Ireton was born in Clermont county, Ohio, September 18, 1837, while Alex- ander Ireton was horn in the same county, July 15, 1839. Their parents were John and Sarah (Hadley) Treton, the former a native of New Jersey and the latter of Clermont county, Ohio. When they came to Idaho in 1873 they purchased from their brother John the homestead which he had entered near Sweet and upon that property they lived for ahout forty years. Finally they sold the ranch and removed to Boise. Still another brother came to the northwest, this heing Obediah Ireton, who is living at Salem, Oregon, and who is the youngest of the four brothers mentioned. Still another brother, Lorenzo Ireton, was killed by a snowslide in Idaho many years ago. Both Samuel and Alexander Ireton are veterans of the Civil war, having served with the Union army as members of an Ohio regiment, and both now receive well earned pen- sions from the government.

Samuel Ireton was married in Clermont county, Ohio, on the 8th of March, 1863, to Miss Mary V. Davis, of Batavia, Ohio, who died at the Ireton home in South Boise a few years ago after a married life of over fifty years, leaving one son, Charles H., who is mentioned elsewhere in this work, and two daughters: Ada Gertrude, now the wife of Frank Nolan, of Horse Shoe Bend; and Mary J., who is the wife of Henry Nolan, of South Boise, the two husbands being brothers. Two other children of Mr. and Mrs. Ireton died in Ohio.

Samuel Ireton and his brother are both members of the Methodist church and are republicans in political views. They are also members of the Grand Army of the

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Republic, proudly wearing the little bronze button that proclaims them veterans of the Civil war, and throughout all the intervening years they have been as true and loyal to their country as when they followed the nation's starry banner on the battle- fields of the south.

A. J. MCFARLAND.

A. J. McFarland, a farmer of Payette county, living near New Plymouth, was born at Taberg, Oneida county, New York, January 29, 1839. His father, Robert McFarland, was also a native of the Empire state, while his parents were natives of Scotland. Robert McFarland followed farming in New York until his death in 1854 and his wife, Rebecca McFarland, also passed away there.

A. J. McFarland acquired his early education in the public schools and afterward attended Whitesborough University near Utica, New York. It was his intention to become a physician, but on account of his father's death he was compelled to forego this plan and take charge of the home farm. He was one of nine children and after the father's death he and his brother Robert bought out the other heirs in the home place. A. J. McFarland began teaching school and taught at Taberg until 1868, when he came west to Idaho. His sister, Mrs. Frances Toombs, had come to the state six years before and was instrumental in his removal to the west, having secured for him a school at Pioneerville, Idaho. When he arrived in Idaho he found that there was no church in the district in which he settled and, being unable to attend religious serv- ices, he became so homesick that he had almost decided to return immediately. His sister, however, exerted her powers to dissuade him from doing so and, moreover, he was to receive a wage of one hundred dollars per month for teaching six pupils, while in New York his salary as a teacher had been but thirty-three dollars per month. After spending three months at Pioneerville he went to Idaho City, where he taught, receiving one hundred and fifty dollars per month for nearly three years. In 1871 he bought the store of his brother-in-law, Mr. Toombs, near Falk, about fifty miles from Boise, calling it the Payette Store. This he conducted for ten years and then turned his attention to farming. Always anxious to have religious services in the community, he was instrumental in establishing a regular church, with the Rev. George Allender as the first minister, and thus, promoting material progress in his community, Mr. McFarland also aided in upholding its moral standards. The Rev. Allender and his wife were sincerely welcomed by the people of the district and lived with Mr. McFarland for eight years. The first sermon ever preached in the Payette valley was delivered in the home of Mr. McFarland. A few months after his arrival Rev. Allender conducted a revival meeting at the schoolhouse, at which forty-four people were converted, includ- ing Peter Pence and his wife, D. M. Nichols and wife, Mr. and Mrs. D. M. Bivens and their eight children, George W. Hunt and wife, C. M. Nichols, W. C. Johnson and wife, S. W. King and wife, R. Kennedy and wife, Mr. and Mrs. J. Neal and their four chil- dren, T. Vest, L. Reed, M. Stevenson, Deuzenbury, Jack Heriford and others.

The tract of one hundred and sixty acres on which he now resides was Mr. McFar- land's first farm in Idaho and is located on the north side of the Payette river, being one of the finest farms of the state. He has since purchased one hundred and sixty acres adjoining and most of this is under cultivation, his crops being largely alfalfa, red top clover, wheat, oats, barley and rye. In connection with Frank Nesbitt he owns the irrigation ditch, so that they secure a cheap water supply. Mr. McFarland has led a busy and useful life. While conducting his store he served as justice of the peace and while occupying that office he married many of the now old couples of the neighborhood. He has always been an unalterable opponent of the saloon and has done everything in his power to advance the temperance cause. There is no phase of pioneer life or experience in Idaho with which he is not familiar. He has seen as many as five hundred Indians pass his store in a day, when on their way to Big and Little Camas prairie, where the Fort Hall Indians were to meet with them to dig camas and cowse; hunt deer, antelope and elk; fish and run races with their horses, for they had plenty of good horses with them. These Indians were mostly Umatilla Indians, and they often sold very fine moccasins ornamented with beads and sewed with sinew, and their gloves were first class in every respect. They were always peaceable Indians and Mr. McFarland and his family had no trouble with them. He was well

A. J. MCFARLAND

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acquainted with old "Bannock Joe" and his wife and always found them to be good, peaceable Indians,

In 1882 Mr. McFarland married Sadie Woodward, a native of Kansas and a daugh- ter of Charles and Evelyn M. Woodward, farmers of that state. Mr. and Mrs. McFarland have three children. Arthur W., thirty-three years of age, is now a Presbyterian minister near Albany, Oregon. He married Jessie Harmon and has two children, Max and David. Walter J., thirty-one years of age, owns.a farm adjoining his father's place and is now developing it by using all modern machinery. He owns a threshing outfit and during the past three years has been kept busy operating the same in con- nection with his other farm work. He lost his wife but has four children: Verna, Donald, Doris and Francis. Mabel, the youngest of the family, is the wife of S. L. Pomeroy, who is a civil engineer by profession but is now farming. They have one child, Ruth.

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History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume III, Part 80

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