USA > Oregon > History of Oregon, Vol. II > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97
M. L.
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
HISTORY
OF
OREGON
Illustrated
VOLUME II
CHICAGO-PORTLAND THE PIONEER HISTORICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 1922
1205988
HARVEY W. SCOTT
BIOGRAPHICAL
HARVEY WHITEFIELD SCOTT.
For forty years Harvey Whitefield Scott was editor of The Oregonian and in his deatlı the journalistic profession of America lost one of its most brilliant minds, one of its most accomplished scholars, and one of its most vigorous and courageous writers. He was a pioneer and a builder. For nearly a half century he labored for the develop- ment of the Pacific coast, and Portland and the surrounding country owe their splendid progress in large measure to the work of this terse conductor of a great newspaper. He possessed those qualities which in the aggregate make what men call character, and this character, shining out through the columns of The Oregonian, has exalted the char- acter of the state and the minds of her sons.
His birth occurred in Tazewell county, Illinois, February 1, 1838. He came of Scotch ancestry, his paternal forefathers landing at Charleston, South Carolina, in 1755. His grandparents became residents of Pennsylvania and North Carolina, and his parents, John Tucker and Ann (Roelofson) Scott, established their home in Tazewell county, Illinois, where Harvey W. Scott continued to reside until his fourteenth year, becoming inured to a life of severe toll, assisting with the work of the fields during the summer months, while in the winter seasons he attended the district school. In 1852 the family started across the plains to Oregon with ox teams-a journey that was fraught with many dangers and privations. On reaching Oregon they first located in Yamhill county, two of the party, the mother and a brother, having succumbed to the hardships of the journey. The rest of the family resided in that locality for about a year and removed to the Puget Sound country, settling in the vicinity of Olympia, in what is now Mason county, Washington. In the difficult work of clearing the land and preparing the soil for the cultivation of crops Mr. Scott bore his full share and was thus occupied until 1855, when he enlisted as a private in the Washington Territory Volunteers, under Captain Calvin W. Swindall, and for about nine months was engaged in Indian war- fare. Subsequently he worked in logging camps, also following surveying and farming until 1857, when he resolved to secure a better education and set out for Oregon City, walking the entire distance from Olympia. For a short time he resided with relatives in Clackamas county, Oregon, attending school in Oregon City, while later he continued his studies at Pacific University at Forest Grove, providing the necessary funds for his education by working as a farm hand in the neighborhood. In 1859 his father returned to Oregon, settling upon a farm three miles west of Forest Grove, and the son then entered Pacific University, where in 1863 he was the first to complete the four years' classical course, thus becoming the first alumnus of the institution. Near his father's place was a sawmill, in which Mr. Scott worked when not employed elsewhere. He was an expert .axman, and did a good deal of work in clearing the forest about Forest Grove. He was fond of the classics and read in the original all the Latin and Greek authors he could find. He possessed a retentive memory and throughout his life pre- served a general familiarity with classical literature, being able to quote therefrom with remarkable readiness. Undoubtedly his great literary ability was due in large measure to his study of the classics, and when asked what books in English he regarded as most helpful in creating his literary style, he replied: "The speeches of Edmund Burke and the prophecies of Jeremiah and Isaiah in the Old Testament."
Following his graduation Mr. Scott went to Idaho, where for a year he was engaged in mining and whipsawing, and in 1864 he came to Portland. For a few months he was employed as librarian of the Portland Library, which at that time utilized two small rooms on the second floor of a brick building on the northeast corner of First and Stark streets. While thus engaged he wrote a few articles for The Oregonian and subsequently obtained a position with the paper through the efforts of Matthew P. Deady, then president of the Portland Library Association. He was at that time study- ing law in his leisure hours under the direction of Erasmus D. Shattuck, but the field of journalism proved a more congenial one and he directed his energies along that
5
6
HISTORY OF OREGON
line. Showing a decided talent for newspaper work he soon became editor of The Oregonian, in which position he found a wide scope for his tastes and abilities. With- out previous experience in the complex duties of what is usually first a trade and after- wards a profession, he rose to all the exacting requirements of his work, and so signal was his success and so thoroughly was his individuality associated with his paper that his name became a household word over the entire northwest. One of his first notable articles was an editorial written on the death of President Lincoln, which attracted widespread attention. He gave The Oregonian his continuous editorial service until October, 1872, when he was appointed collector of customs for the port of Portland, which position he retained for four years, and in 1877 returned to The Oregonian as editor and part owner, where he remained until his death in 1910.
With a strong love of the locality and state and a clear perception of the immense natural advantages of Oregon and Washington, Mr. Scott gave the most minute atten- tion to the discovery of the stores of wealth in the forests, mines, soil and climate. To a certain extent he had so learned the feelings, demands and habits of the people that his utterances were the daily voice of the Oregonians. Bold and forceful in his writings, never seeking to conciliate, he met with opposition but usually prevailed. Earnest and sincere in all that he did, he had no patience with pretense and had a wholesome contempt for shams. Avoiding rhetorical art or indirection of language, he went with incisive directness to his subject and commanded attention by the clearness and vigor of his statement, the fairness of his arguments and the thorough and careful investigation of his subject. In the midst of his journalistic and business affairs he found time to pursue literary, philosophical, theological and classical study and to his constant and systematic personal investigation in these directions were due his schol- arly attainments. At the time of the reorganization of the Associated Press in 1898 he took a prominent part therein and served as a member of its board of directors until his death in 1910.
In October, 1865, Mr. Scott was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Nicklin and they became the parents of two sons; John H. and Kenneth, but the latter died in childhood. The mother passed away January 11, 1875, and in the following year Mr. Scott wedded Miss Margaret McChesney of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and to their union were born two sons and a daughter: Leslie M., Ambrose and Judith.
In his political views Mr. Scott was a republican, yet he never hesitated to con- demn any course or measure of the party which he deemed detrimental to good govern- ment and the welfare of the nation. He was a strong supporter of the gold standard, which he championed through the columns of The Oregonian, when the republican as well as the democratic party of the state advocated the Bryan policy of free silver at a ratio of sixteen to one, and through his influence Oregon gave its vote in 1896 to the republican gold standard candidate for president, William Mckinley. In 1876 he was a delegate to the republican national convention, held at Cincinnati, which nominated Rutherford B. Hayes for president of the United States. In 1886 he was temporary secretary of the state convention of the union party and at numerous times was an active participant as a delegate in conventions of the republican party in Oregon. He was offered the positions of ambassador to Mexico and minister to Belgium, which offices he declined. He was a dominant factor in Oregon politics, although never an office holder, but his clear, logical and trenchant editorials had an immeasurable in- fluence over public thought and action. He made The Oregonian a power and influence not only in the Pacific northwest but throughout the country. He always gave personal editorial support to every project which he deemed of vital significance to the city and was a member of the charter board which drafted the present charter of Portland. He was also a member of the Portland water board and was active in the movement which resulted in the erection of a monument in the Plaza to the dead of the Second Oregon Volunteers who fought in the Spanish-American war. For a number of years he was a member of the board of trustees of Pacific University and at the time of his death was its president. In 1903 he was elected president of the Lewis and Clark Fair Asso- ciation and through the columns of The Oregonian did much to promote its success. The other Portland journals followed in his lead and made the Lewis and Clark Expo- sition the best advertised fair that has ever been held in America.
Mr. Scott was a member of the Arlington and Commercial clubs of Portland, Ore- gon. He attained high rank in Masonry, with which he became identified in 1905 as a member of Portland Lodge, No. 55, A. F. & A. M. He afterward became a member of Washington Chapter, No. 18, R. A. M .; and Oregon Commandery, No. I, K. T. In 1906 he attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite Consistory in Washing-
7
HISTORY OF OREGON
ton, D. C., and became a member of Al Kader Temple of the Mystic Shrine on the 15th of June, 1907.
In disposition Mr. Scott was most friendly and inclined to be charitable in con- sidering the errors and faults of men. He was kind-hearted and sympathetic, quick to vindicate the right and denounce the wrong, whether of public or individual concern. His crowning virtue, however, was the love he bore for his state and his pride in its material advancement. He labored unceasingly for high ideals and the betterment of the common lot. Success and honor were hls, each worthily won, and there is in hls history an element of inspiration for others and an example of high principles and notable achievement.
Death came to Mr. Scott on the 7th of August, 1910, following a surgical operation in Baltimore, Maryland, when he was seventy-two years of age. The funeral services were conducted at Portland, Oregon, under the auspices of the Scottish Rite Consistory, the ceremony being a most solemn and impressive one. His death took from Oregon her most illustrious figure. Among the many tributes paid to his memory by the press throughout the country we quote the following:
H. H. Kohlsaat, editor of the Chicago Record-Herald, wrote of Mr. Scott: "He was one of the last survivors of the newspaper era that produced a number of great editors and leaders of public opinion. He made The Oregonian; he was The Oregonian. He knew and understood the people and the territory he had cast his lot with as a lad; he interpreted their sentiments, defended their interests and successfully urged his own convictions upon them. Few men in the Pacific northwest wielded as great an influence for good."
The following comment was made by S. A. Perkins, publisher of the Tacoma Ledger and News: "Harvey W. Scott was the dean of the newspaper men of the Pacific coast. There were no greater, east or west, and those of his class can be counted upon the fingers of one hand. He ranked with such journalists as Dana, Watterson and Greeley. He was a product of the Pacific northwest and for years exerted a greater influence on its current history than any other man. When Harvey Scott spoke the public listened. His opinions commanded the respect of even those who did not follow them. For years the name of Harvey Scott was a household word in the 'old Oregon country' and his face was familiar to thousands of pioneers. He knew the life of the pioneers, for he was one of them, and his intellectual attainments and broad human sympathy enabled him to write of pioneer life with remarkable thoroughness and fidelity. An authority on the Pacific northwest, a profound student of history and the classics, a master politician in the best sense of the term, an editor whose utter- ances were always courageous and convincing, Harvey Scott was the most dominant intellectual force west of the Rocky Mountains."
Harrison Gray Otis, publisher of the Los Angeles Times, said of him: "When Harvey W. Scott passed away at Baltimore yesterday one of the greatest lights of journalism went out. He was a great editor in every sense of the word; great in mental force, great in executive ability, great as a writer. He made the Portland Oregonian famed throughout the country for its breadth of vision, its originality of thought and the power and effectiveness of its editorial expression. He fought many a good fight against adverse odds and when he died was engaged in a vigorous battle for principle against the fury of passing clamor. He saw a hamlet grow into a metropolis, saw cities and towns multiply in the field which he dominated.
"His masterful, rugged character will be missed for long and felt keenly in the walks where it was familiar, in the workshop which he loved, in the profession which he honored and which honored him, and, indeed, in the ranks of the strong and thought- ful up and down the land. Oregon still has need of him and although his voice is hushed, we may be sure that the brave, arrow-piercing words he has spoken and written will live for years to come and go on battling in the service of eternal truth."
GEORGE F. LA FONTAINE.
George F. La Fontaine, who is engaged in the transfer and storage business in Portland, was born in St. Paul, Oregon, February 22, 1891. He was educated in the public schools of St. Paul, while spending his youthful days in the home of his parents. His father, Narisace La Fontaine was born in the Province of Quebec, Canada, and came to Portland in 1851 when fifteen years of age. He afterward located at St. Paul,
8
HISTORY OF OREGON
Oregon, where he homesteaded on the Nehalem mountains near Sherwood, residing there for nine years, at which time he disposed of the property and again took up his ahode in St. Paul, once more following farming. In 1893 he sold his property and removed to Washington. While carrying ou agricultural pursuits at St. Paul he was badly burned in a forest fire, in fact his arms and back were so frightfully burned while he was fighting the flames that it caused him to give up all farming and all active work. In 1896 he returned to Portland and continued to reside here until two years prior to his death, which occurred in the home of his son, B. F. La Fontaine, near Salem, on December 26, 1913. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Margaret Duperre, is a native of Oregon and a daughter of a native French Canadian, who first came to Oregon in 1826. She is living with her son near Salem at the age of sixty-seven years.
George F. La Fontaine of this review has always resided in the west and has long heen imbued by the spirit of western enterprise and progress. After attending the public school of his native town he continued his education in St. George's school at Tacoma, Washington, from which he was graduated in 1903. He then engaged in the bag- gage and express business in Portland and in 1917 established business on his own account at 66 Sixth street, under the name of the Baggage Transfer & Express Company. He now employs four trucks in his transfer department and also has a large patronage in the storage department of his business.
On the 19th of March, 1915, Mr. La Fontaine was married to Miss Delphia May Shephard, a native of western Oregon and a daughter of Leonard and Josephine (Brassfield ) Shephard, who were pioneers of this state, crossing the plains with ox teams at a very early day. Both are now deceased. The Shephards crossed the plains from Iowa in 1849. They settled where Baker City now stands.
Mr. La Fontaine has long taken an active interest in politics as a republican. He is a young man of great enterprise and energy and has already made a creditable position in business circles.
JOHN B. YEON.
Many lines of activity connect the name of John B. Yeon with the history of Port- land. He has not only heen the builder of one of its finest business blocks but was also road master of Multnomah county when the Columbia highway was built. He likewise rendered valuable service in connection with war activities and many other tangible evidences of his public spirit might be cited. Of Canadian birth, he was born at Plantagenet, Ontario, April 24, 1865, his parents being John B. and Delamose (Besonet) Yeon. When seventeen years of age he left home, having up to this time devoted his attention largely to the acquirement of a public school education, with later instruction in the high school at Plantagenet. He then came into the United States and made his way to Defiance, Ohio, in 1882. There he secured employment in connection with the logging business at a wage of one dollar per day, working from four o'clock in the morning until late at night, driving a team. While the work was of a most arduous character, his determination and energy thus displayed laid the foundation of his later success. The heavily timbered district around Defiance offered an excellent field for the lumber industry and Mr. Yeon there gained a knowledge that he put to practical use for some years after his removal to the coast in 1885. It was at that date that he became a resident of Oregon, where for some time he engaged in business in connection with the lumber industry. Step by step he advanced, im- proving every opportunity that came to him at length winning a place among the prosperous and substantial business men of Portland. The tangible evidence of his life of well directed energy and thrift is the fine Yeon building situated at the corner of Fifth and Alder streets. The work was begun on the 11th of August, 1910, by the hauling of the big beams and girders and on the 15th of August the actual task of construction was undertaken, the building being ready for occupancy on the Ist of February, 1911. It remains today one of the fine business structures of the city and has been a source of gratifying income to the owner, who, having arrived in Oregon with a cash capital of but fifty dollars, is today one of the prosperous residents of the Rose City. This has been the logical outcome of his fit utilization of time and talents. He early realized what a modern philosopher has said: "Success does not depend upon a map but upon a time-table." Every locality offers its chances for advancement and
JOHN B. YEON
11
HISTORY OF OREGON
it is the one who fully uses every moment who soon passes on the highway of life others who perhaps started out ahead of him.
Mr. Yeon was married July 17, 1907, to Mrs. Elizabeth Welsh, a daughter of John Mock, and they now have four children: Mary Pauline, John B., Allen Eugene and Norman Leroy. Mr. Yeon and his wife belong to the Catholic church and he is identi- fied with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He also belongs to the Arlington Club and to the Commercial Club and politically is a republican. He was appointed in November, 1920, by Governor Olcott, a member of the Highway Commission of Oregon. He is never neglectful of any duty of citizenship and his cooperation at all times can be counted upon to further plans and projects for the general good, yet business has claimed the greater part of his time and attention and round by round he has climbed the ladder of success. For four years he served on the board of directors of the Chamber of Commerce and took a most helpful interest in promoting many activities which have constituted forces in the city's improvement. In 1913 he became road master of Multnomah county, filling the position for four years and during that period the beautiful Columbia highway was built-one of the finest scenic roads of the entire country. For this he received one dollar a year salary and paid all his own expenses. In 1917 and 1918 he served as supervisor of the Spruce Division for Oregon and in this and many other ways he gave active aid to his country during the war period, seeking ever to uphold the interests of the government and advance the welfare of soldiers in camp and field.
CLAUDE E. INGALLS.
Claude E. Ingalls is the editor of the Corvallis Gazette-Times, a live, up-to-date newspaper. He was born in Plainfield, Iowa, August 27, 1877, a son of Orlo and Emily (Lockwood) Ingalls. The father is a native of West Bend, Wisconsin, and his ancestral record can be traced back in the United States to 1628. He followed the occupation of farming in Wisconsin and in 1880 made his way to the Pacific coast country, locating at Vancouver, Washington. He engaged in the operation of saw- mills in Washington and Oregon and also in the conduct of farming interests in those states and in Dakota. In 1893 he returned to Wisconsin and later went to Topeka, Kansas, where he now resides. The mother is deceased. She was born in Hyde Park, London, England, and passed away at Vancouver, Washington, in 1895.
Claude E. Ingalls was reared and educated in Wisconsin and Kansas, being gradu- ated from the high school at Washington, Kansas, with the class of 1897. Subsequently he engaged in teaching school in the Sunflower state for seven years, during which period he also studied law. He was admitted to the bar in Kansas in June, 1902, and practiced his profession in that state for about fifteen years. He then entered the newspaper field and purchased the Washington (Kansas) Republican in August, 1904, while in the following year he became owner of the Register, consolidating the two papers. In 1915 he came to Oregon and purchased the Gazette-Times at Corvallis, of which he has since been editor. In 1916 he sold a half interest in the Gazette-Times to Charles L. Springer, who became business manager. In 1917 N. R. Moore was taken into partnership as news editor and they have made a very readable and attractive journal, devoted to the interests of the community in which they live and to the dissemination of general news. They have introduced the most progressive methods in management and publication and the Gazette-Times now enjoys the largest circulation of any paper in the county. Mr. Ingalls has twice been elected president of the Oregon State Editorial Association. In 1920 he was elected council- man at large for the city of Corvallis.
On the 2d of May, 1906, Mr. Ingalls was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth E. Caldwell, and they have become the parents of two children, namely: Alice, who was born in June, 1911; and Robert, whose birth occurred in February, 1916.
In his political views Mr. Ingalls is a republican and during the administration of President Taft he was appointed postmaster of Washington, Kansas, in which office he rendered such efficient service that he was retained by President Wilson, filling the position for a. period of four years. That he is a patriotic and public- spirited citizen was shown during the World war when he served as chairman of the County Council of Defense and also as chairman or secretary of all Liberty loan drives. In religious faith he is a Presbyterian and in Masonry he has attained high
12
HISTORY OF OREGON
rauk, being a thirty-second degree Mason and member of the Mystic Shrine. He is likewise connected with the Modern Woodmen of America, the Knights of Pythias and the sons of the American Revolution, while his interest in the welfare and advancement of his city is indicated in his membership in the Corvallis Commercial Club, of which he is the president. He is ever loyal to any cause which he espouses and to the standards of life which he has set up for himself, and he is numbered as one of the progressive men and reliable citizens of Corvallis, enjoying the friend- ship, confidence and regard of all with whom he has been associated.
LARRY I. SULLIVAN.
One of the profitable business enterprises of Portland is the Fashion Garage, of which Larry I. Sullivan is the proprietor. He is one of the progressive young busi- ness men of the city, whose intelligently directed efforts are meeting with a substan- tial measure of success. Mr. Sullivan is a native of Kansas. He was born in Wichita in 1888 and is a son of E. and Sarah (Kirkpatrick) Sullivan, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of North Carolina. They became pioneers of Kansas, going to Wichita during the period of its boom, and the father is now living retired on a farm adjacent to the city.
Larry I. Sullivan acquired his education in the common schools and when a young man of twenty-four years made his way to Portland. He established his present business in June, 1916, starting with two Maxwell cars, and during the intervening period of five years he has built up a trade of extensive and gratifying proportions, being now the owner of fifteen new cars of superior style and quality and employing eight men in his garage. Mr. Sullivan is an enterprising and energetic young man, possessing initiative and business ability of a high order, and he was the originator in the Pacific coast of the plan of renting out automobiles without drivers. He leases the repair department of his garage to W. E. Winslow, who does repair work of all kinds and also rents storage space for machines. The Fashion Garage is located at the corner of Tenth and Taylor streets in Portland and is one of the most modern and up-to-date establishments of the kind in the city, enjoying a large and constantly increasing patronage as a result of the excellence of its service and the reliable and progressive methods employed by its owner.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.