Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present.., Part 1

Author: Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman publishing company
Number of Pages: 1064

USA > Oregon > Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present.. > Part 1

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BIOGRAPHY

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REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION

ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01103 6891

gam Bader Jackson Ville Burgon.

Rolando, Califorma October 19 65

PORTRAIT AND

BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD

WESTERN OREGON

Containing Original Sketches of many well known Citizens of the Past and Present

ILLUSTRATED

CHAPMAN PUBLISHING COMPANY CHICAGO

1904

1.834789

" Let the record be made of the men and things of to-day, lest they pass out of memory to-morrow and are lost. Then perpetuate them not on wood or stone that crumble to dust, but upon paper, chronicled in picture and in words that endure forever."-Kirkland.

"A true delineation of the smallest man and his scene of pilgrimage through life is capable of interesting the greatest man. All men arc to an unmistakable degree brothers, each man's life a strange problem of every man's; and human portraits, faithfully drawn, are, of all pictures, the welcomest on human walls."-Thomas Car- lyle.

PREFACE.

A cursory review of the local history of Western Oregon can but arouse enthusiastic pride in the work of the heroic men and women who have succeeded in bringing this portion of Ore- gon up to the position of grandeur it occupies among the grand galaxy of progressive western states. The publishers are especially gratified with the character of the book they are able to herewith present. The citizenship of Western Oregon is of a high standard, and the histories presented in this volume are such that can but be looked upon with great admiration and satis- faction, not only by those immediately interested, but by the citizens of older states, who must feel gratification in knowing that our Union is able constantly to produce citizens of courage and ability to strengthen and broaden our sisterhood of states. The commonwealth of Oregon has been very largely founded and fostered by the sons of the eastern and middle western states, and the entire country is proud of the achievement.

The last fifty years have witnessed a marvelous, almost miraculous, growth in material pros- perity, which has been only in keeping with the progress made in art, literature and educational lines, and the whole, in turn, but augurs the great possibilities of the advancing century, and in every particular Western Oregon is keeping well abreast of the times.

In the following pages mention is made of many of the men who have contributed to the development and progress of this region-not only capable business men of the present day, but also honored pioneers of years gone by. In the compilation of this work, and in the securing of necessary data, a number of writers have been engaged for many months. They have visited leading citizens and have used every endeavor to produce a work accurate and trustworthy in even the smallest detail. Owing to the great care exercised in the preparation of biographies. the publishers believe they are giving their readers a volume containing few errors of conse- quence. The biographies of some representative citizens will be missed from this work; this, in some instances, was caused by their absence from home when our writers called, and in other instances was caused by a failure on the part of the men themselves to understand the scope of the work. The publishers, however, have done everything within their power to make the vol- 11me a representative work.

The value of the data herein presented will grow with the passing years. Many facts se- cured from men concerning their early experiences in the state are now recorded for the first time, and their preservation for future generations is thus rendered possible. Posterity will preserve this volume with care, from the fact that it perpetuates biographical history which other- wise would be wholly lost. In those now far-distant days will be realized, to a greater degree than at the present time, the truth of Macauley's statement that "The history of a country is best told in a record of the lives of its people."

CHAPMAN PUBLISHING COMPANY.

Chicago.

BIOGRAPHICAL

11th Corbett

HON. HENRY W. CORBETT.

HON. HENRY W. CORBETT. The First National Bank of Portland, of which Mr. Cor- bett officiated as president from 1898 until his death, March 31, 1903, dates its existence front about 1866 and has the distinction of being the first national bank to be organized on the coast. From an original capital stock of $100,000 it was gradually increased until now the capitalization is five times as great as at first, while there is a surplus of $700,000 and deposits aggregating about $7,000,000. Without any exception it is the largest bank of the northwest, and at the same time none has a wider reputation for solidity, strength and conservative spirit in investments.

The maintenance of a general oversight of this institution by no means represented the limit of Mr. Corbett's activities. Scarcely an enterprise of importance has been inaugurated in Portland since the city's pioneer days in which he was more or less interested and to which his support was not given, when once convinced of its value to the municipality. As president of the Port- land Hotel Company, he was closely associated with the building of the Portland, one of the finest hotels on the coast, and the fame of which, spreading throughout the country, has been of incalculable value in bringing the city into promi- nence. For years he was largely interested in the city and suburban railway system. his po- sition as a member of the board of directors having made it possible for him to contribute to the development of a satisfactory system of transportation. Connected with the organiza- tion of the Security Savings and Trust Com- pany of Portland, he was its president and a member of its directorate. Another enterprise which received the benefit of his co-operation and influence was the Title Guarantee and Trust Company of Portland, while he was further con- nected with important local business industries through his position as president of the Willam- ctte Steel and Iron Works.

Special interest centers in the life history of one who was so closely identified with the prog- ress of Portland along every line of commercial development. The genealogy of the Corbett fam- ily is traced to Roger Corbett, a military chief- tain who won distinction under William the Con- queror. The eldest son of Roger was William,

owner of a country seat at Wattesborough. The second son, Sir Roger Corbett, had for his in- heritance the castle and estate of Caus. The latter's son, Robert, went to the siege of Acre under Richard I. bearing for his arms in this campaign two. ravens, which have since been used by the family for a crest. Early in the sev- enteenth century the family was established in New England, being among the first settlers of Milford, Mass. Elijah, son of Elijalı Corbett, Sr., was born in Massachusetts and became a manufacturer of edged tools, first in the Bay state, and later at White Creek, Washington county, N. Y., where he died. His wife was Melinda Forbush, a native of Massachusetts and descended from a pioneer family of that state, whose history is traced back to England. Her death occurred in New York. Born of her marriage were eight children, of whom three sons and two daughters attained maturity. One of the sons, Elijah, came to Portland in 1864 and remained here until his death. Another son. Hamilton, died in New York during early man- hood. The daughters were Mrs. Thomas Rob- ertson, who came to Portland in 1856, and Mrs. Henry Failing, who settled in this city in 1858: both are now deceased.

The youngest member of the family circle, as well as its last representative, was Henry W. Corbett, who was born in Westboro, Mass .. Feb- ruary 18, 1827. When four years of age he was taken by his parents to White Creek, N. Y., and later settled in Cambridge, that state, where he completed the course in the Cambridge Acad- emy at thirteen years of age. For three years he clerked in a village store. At the age of sev- enteen he went to New York City, having with him $22 in money and only a very limited supply of clothing. He obtained a position in a dry- goods store on Catherine and East Broadway. A year later he entered the wholesale dry-goods house of Bradford & Birdsell on Cedar street, where he remained for three years as a clerk. A later position was with Williams, Bradford & Co., wholesale dry-goods merchants. In the fall of 1850 he resolved to come west to Portland. At that time thousands were seeking the gold fields of California, but comparatively few were identifying themselves with the limitless possi-

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

bilities of Oregon. The motive that impelled him in his decision was the fact that Oregon was an agricultural country and California then almost wholly devoted to mining, and he reasoned that the produce raised in Oregon would be taken to California, payments being made with gold dust; thus Portland would be an excellent trading point.

On the steamer Empire City, January 20, 1851, Mr. Corbett set sail from New York to Panama. Crossing the isthmus on muleback he then took the Columbia, which had been built by Howland As- pinwall of New York to ply between San Francis- co and Portland. After a few days spent in San Francisco he proceeded to Oregon, arriving at Astoria on the 4th of March. The next day he reached Portland. There were only a few busi- ness houses on Front street. The houses were small and poorly furnished. Improvements were limited. What is now a beautiful city was then covered with large forest trees of pine and spruce. The territory of Oregon embraced Washington, Idaho and a part of Montana.

Some months before starting west Mr. Corbett shipped a stock of goods on the barque Francis and Louisa via Cape Horn. On the arrival of the vessel in May, 1851, he transferred the goods to a building on Front and Oak streets and em- barked in a general mercantile business. Leav- ing the store in charge of a manager, in June of 1852, he returned east via Panama, and spent almost a year in New York, meantime shipping goods to the Portland store. In 1853 he returned to Portland, where he continued the business. On the completion of the Union Pacific Railroad it was no longer necessary to bring goods around the Horn, but they were sent by rail to San Francisco, thence by boat to Portland. In 1868 he made the first trip by rail from the east to San Francisco. Previous to this he had made thirteen trips across the isthmus.

Through his election as United States senator from Oregon in 1866 Mr. Corbett gained promi- nence among the statesmen from the west, and was enabled to do much toward advancing the in- terests of his home state. However. he was not a politician at any stage of his career, and his service in public capacities was only as a result of the constant solicitation of his friends, his personal tastes being in the direction of finan- cial and commercial affairs rather than politics. As a business man he contributed to the develop- ment of Portland in a degree surpassed by none. As early as 1851 he began to be a leader among merchants. He was the first business man to close his store on Sunday, this being regarded at the time as a startling innovation. From that day forward he was strict in his adherence to measures he believed to be just and right. The business which he established shortly after his

arrival in Portland was conducted under the name of H. W. Corbett, then as H. W. Corbett & Co., later as Corbett, Failing & Co., and lastly as Corbett, Failing & Robertson. Since 1867 their store has been the largest wholesale hard- ware establishment in the northwest, as well as one of the largest on the coast. In 1868 H. W. Corbett bought a controlling interest in the First National Bank, of which Mr. Failing was made president and continued as such until his death in 1898, at which time Mr. Corbett became the executive head of the institution.

In 1865 Mr. Corbett took the contract for the transportation of mails to California. Four years later he bought out the California Stage Company and enlarged the line to carry out the contract for running the four-horse stage coach with the mail between Portland and California. On his election to the United States senate he relinquished the contract. From the early days of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company he was one of its directors and up to the time of his death was a director of its successor, the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company. At different times he has had important manufac- turing interests. The building interests of Port- land were greatly promoted by his co-operation. Among the buildings which he was interested in erecting are the following: First National Bank building ; Worcester block, six stories, on Third and Oak streets ; Cambridge block, on Third and Morrison; Neustadter building, on Stark and Fifth; Corbett, Hamilton and Marqnam build- ings, etc. Ani earnest advocate of the Northern Pacific Railroad, while in the senate he gave himself to the work of promoting the measure. After the failure of Jay Cooke to carry the plan to a successful issue and when Henry Villard undertook the completion of the road, Mr. Cor- bett took a pecuniary interest and in many ways promoted the work.

While living in New York, Mr. Corbett was married at Albany, that state, to Miss Caroline E. Jagger, who was born in that city and died there in 1865. Two sons were born of that union, namely : Henry J., and Hamilton F., both of whom died in Portland in young manhood. The second marriage of Mr. Corbett was solenmized in Worcester, Mass., and united him with Miss Emma L. Ruggles, a native of that state. Move- ments of a humanitarian nature always received the encouragement and assistance of Mr. Corbett. One of the worthy movements to which he lent his aid was the Boys and Girls Aid Society, which endeavored to arrange affairs so that chil- dren, guilty of a first crime, were not thrown among hardened criminals. A home was built especially for such first offenders and its influ- ence has been lasting and far-reaching.

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

The election of Mr. Corbett to the United States senate, over Governor Gibbs and John H. Mitchell, occurred in 1866 and he took his seat March 4, 1867. His record as senator was a most excellent one. He secured the appropria- tion for the Portland postoffice, also the custom house at Astoria, and succeeded in having Port- land made the port of entry for the Willamette custom district. One of the bills he introduced provided for the return of the government to specie payment, which, though not passed at the time, was eventually adopted. In the senate he was especially effective in securing much needed financial legislation. On the expiration of his terin, March 4, 1873, he visited Europe, spending seven months in a tour that was of deep interest to him as well as a source of recreation. In 1896, when the St. Louis platform declared for the gold standard, the Republican party in Ore- gon became somewhat disorganized on account of the advocacy by many of free silver. How- ever, the influence of men as conservative and successful as himself did much to secure a Re- publican victory, and Mckinley was given a ma- jority of two thousand. In 1900 Mr. Corbett was the Republican candidate for the United States senate and had the majority of Republican legis- lators, but was defeated by John H. Mitchell through a combination of Democrats and some of the Republicans. In 1898, when the legislature failed to elect a United States senator, Governor Geer appointed him to the office, but he was not seated on account of the ruling of the United States senate, they declaring that an appointed senator was not entitled to a seat caused by the failure of a state legislature to elect when they had the opportunity. On several occasions he was a delegate to national Republican conven- tions, where he was recognized as one of the leading men from Oregon. Considerable of his time and thought had been devoted to his duties as president of the board of directors of the Lewis and Clark Exposition, in the success of which he was deeply interested, as affording an oppor- tunity to show to the east and to visitors from other countries the remarkable advancement made by the northwest during the eventful one hundred years since, at the instance of President Jefferson, Captain Lewis and Captain Clark, at the head of a small expedition, sailed to the head- waters of the Missouri and thence crossed the country to the coast, where they arrived Novem- ber 14, 1805. The conditon of the present, con- trasted with the wildness of that period, affords an opportunity for the student of history to note the changes that have rendered possible the pres- ent high state of civilization, for which no class of people deserve greater praise than the indom- itable, energetic and resourceful pioneers. On the day prior to his death, realizing that his

strength was failing, Mr. Corbett resigned the office of president.

PROF. IRVING W. PRATT. The city of Portland is one of the greatest strongholds of Masonry in the United States. During the days of the greatest ascendency of this ancient and mystic order on the Pacific coast, no man has been more ardently devoted to the promotion of its highest interests than Prof. Irving W. Pratt; and it is safe, to assume that the great personal esteem in which he is held is accepted by him as ample reward for his unselfish and high-minded services in behalf of the order, ex- tending over a period of more than forty years. He has been honored by elevation to the highest post a Mason may hope to attain in the state, and every possible mark of distinction has been conferred upon him by the fraternity in this jurisdiction.

During the early colonial period in American history the founder of the Pratt family in Amer- ica came from the vicinity of London, England, and settled in Connecticut, from which state Benjamin Russell Pratt, one of seven brothers, went forth to fight in behalf of the cause of the colonies in the Revolution. Soon after the close of the struggle he removed from Con- necticut to the banks of Cayuga Lake, in New York state, where he spent the remainder of his days. Franklin Pratt, a son of this Revolution- ary soldier, was born in Norwich, Conn., and grew to manhood in New York state, whence he removed to Ohio, settling in Huron county about 1842. By occupation a contractor, he secured the contract to construct a section of the San- dusky, Mansfield & Newark Railroad, now a part of the Baltimore & Ohio system, the second road to be built in Ohio. Earlier in life he had been for some time a superintendent on the Erie canal. In 1858 he removed to Lenawee county, Mich., where he bought a farm, on which he resided until his death at the age of seventy- five years. While living in New York state lie married Hannah Holaway, who was born in Delaware county, N. Y. Her father, Benjamin Holaway, a native of Pennsylvania, and of English descent, became a pioneer of Huron county, Ohio, where he died at the age of ninety- nine years. To an unusual degree he retained his physical and mental faculties to the last, and on the day he was ninety-eight years of age he walked five miles, feeling little the worse for this exertion.

In the family of Franklin Pratt there were six sons and three daughters. The eldest son, Ben- jamin Russell, served in the Mexican war, hold- ing a commission as captain of the Third Ohio Regiment. His death occurred at Dayton, Ohio,

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

The second son, Martin, was killed by the fall of a tree while hunting, in his young man- hood. Henry, the third son, occupies the old homestead in Michigan. Irving W. was the fourth in order of birth. Nathaniel Lee, the fifth, is a merchant at Blissfield, Mich. The youngest, Martin L., who served as a Michigan volunteer during the Civil war, is now engaged in teaching in Albina.

Irving W. Pratt was born at Waterloo, N. Y., March 17, 1838, and was about five years of age when the family settled in Ohio. At the age of sixteen he entered Norwalk Academy, from which he was graduated, in the meantime teach- ing schools in adjoining districts. He consid- ered himself fortunate to secure a position as teacher at $8 per month and "board 'round," in which manner he paid the expenses of his academic course. On leaving Ohio he taught district schools in Michigan, and with the means thus secured paid his way through the Ypsilanti State Normal School, from which he was grad- uated in 1861. He then resumed teaching.

At the first call for volunteers for service in the Rebellion Professor Pratt offered his ser- vices to his country, but was rejected on account of disabilities. Disappointed at his failure to get into the service, he soon turned his thoughts to the far west and decided to seek a home on the Pacific coast. By way of New York and the Isthmus, in . 1862 he went to San Francisco, thence to Placerville, Cal., where he was em- ployed as principal of the Placerville school. Re- signing in 1867, he returned to San Francisco with the intention of going to Los Angeles, but was dissuaded from his intention by a Mr. Mar- tin, who induced him to change his course toward Portland. After his arrival in Oregon he re- covered from the ague, from which he had been a constant sufferer for some time. He was not long in securing a position as teacher, as in- structors possessed of more than ordinary quali- fications were not easy to obtain in Oregon in those days, and for two years he had charge of schools in East Portland. He then came to Portland as principal of the Harrison Street school, located in the second school building erected in the city. For twenty-two years con- tinuously he served as principal, resigning in 1801 in order to accept the position of superin- tendent of the city schools. When he began teaching in Portland in 1869 but thirteen teach- ers were employed by the city. During the five vears he occupied the post of superintendent he had the supervision of the work of two hundred and eighty teachers, distributed among twenty- eight buildings, and his efficient conduct of the educational system of the city is on record as successful to an eminent degree. U'pon retiring from this office in 1896 he accepted the principal-

ship of the Failing school, which he now holds, superintending the work of twenty teachers. In- cidental to his professional labors, for sixteen years he served as a member of the state board of education.

Professor Pratt maintains an interest in re- ligious work and contributes to the support of the Congregational Church, of which his wife is a member, though he is not identified with any denomination. He is connected with the Com- mercial Club, and in a general way has given abundant evidence of his public spirit. He is devoted to the principles of the Republican party, and actively supports its candidates and measures.

The Masonic record of Professor Pratt, to which brief reference already has been made, dates from 1865, when he was initiated into the order in Pilot Hill Lodge No. 160, at Pilot Hill, Eldorado county, Cal. Soon after his removal to Portland, in 1867, he organized Washington Lodge No. 46, and became its first master. Since 1874 he has been a member of Portland Lodge No. 55, in which he is past master. In Port- land Chapter No. 3. R. A. M., he is past high priest, and in Oregon Commandery No. 1, K. T., he is past eminent commander. He is also a member of Washington Council No. 3. R. & S. M. In 1871 he received the Scottish Rite degrees, from the fourth to the thirty-second, and for eleven years served as presiding officer in these important bodies. He is past grand secretary of the Grand Lodge of Oregon, and since 1892 has been active inspector-general of the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdic- tion in the state of Oregon, the highest post of honor possible of attainment in the state. In this capacity he organized Oregon Consistory No. 1, A. & A. Scottish Rite, the first consistory in the state. Upon the organization of Al Kader Temple, N. M. S., in 1888, he was made illus- trious potentate, and occupied this post for fit- teen years continuously, or until December 26, 1902. At the session of the Temple on the evening of January 17. 1903, Professor Pratt was treated to one of the greatest surpriscs of his life in being made the recipient of a mag- nificent loving cup, a tribute of affectionate re- gard from the nobles of Al Kader Temple. The inscription on the cup is as follows: "From Al Kader Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Portland, Oregon, Janu- ary 17. 1903. To Irving W. Pratt, for fifteen years Illustrious Potentate of Al Kader Temple, from its organization, February 15, 1888, to December 26. 1902. A tribute of affection an.l esteem. Es Selamu Aleikum." Professor Pra't is also the possessor of one of the most beauti- ful Masonic jewels in the United States, which was presented to him in March, 1885, by Port-

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Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present.., Part 1

Author: Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago, pub Publication date: 1904 Publisher: Chicago, Chapman publishing company Number of Pages: 1064

Author: Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman publishing company
Number of Pages: 1064