USA > Oregon > History of Oregon, Vol. II > Part 34
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JOHN W. FERGUSON.
John W. Ferguson, who since the 1st of July, 1919, has served as a member of the state industrial accident commission, is also well known in other connections, being an expert public accountant, and he was for four years state insurance commissioner. His activities have thus covered a broad field, showing him to be a keen and intelligent business man with a rapid grasp of details and clear insight as regards financial con- ditions. He was born in Mascoutah, St. Clair county, Illinois, April 9, 1854, a son of George W. Ferguson, a native of Baltimore, Maryland. The father engaged in business as a contractor and builder and in 1850 he became a resident of Illinois, removing to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1880. In 1852 he married Rebecca E. White, a native of New York, and both passed away in St. Louis, the mother's demise occurring in 1899, while the father was called to his final rest in 1901.
In the public schools of Illinois John W. Ferguson acquired his education, and entering the business world he became a telegraph operator in the employ of the Western Union Company in their St. Louis office. He was subsequently promoted to the position of manager of their office at Marshall, Texas, and followed telegraphy for five years, or until the 1st of January, 1878, when he went to Nebraska, crossing the Missouri river by ferry at Plattsmouth. He settled at Lincoln and became identified with the Burlington Railroad Company, being employed in the despatcher's office for
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several months. In April, 1878, he was appointed deputy clerk of Lancaster county, in which office he served for two years, and he then became general traveling collector for the Marsh Harvester Company, his territory comprising the South Platte district and the counties on the northern border of Kansas. In 1883 he went to Minden, Nebraska, where he made his first independent venture in commercial circles, establishing a farm loan and banking business, serving as vice president of the Kearney County Bank until 1898. In 1893 he was appointed registrar of the United States land office at Lincoln, Nebraska, serving for four years under the administration of President Cleveland and for one year under President Mckinley.
On the 4th of July, 1903, Mr. Ferguson came to Portland, Oregon. In July, 1904, he was appointed chief deputy of the tax collecting department of Multnomah county and served in that capacity for two years. From 1906 until 1911 he was engaged in auditing, including the accounts of the Title Guarantee & Trust Company and the Oregon Trust & Savings Bank of Portland and all the offices of Multnomah county, the latter audits covering a period of ten years, also making regular audits for Baker and Douglas counties, Oregon, and Wahkiakum county, Washington. In September, 1911, he was appointed state insurance commissioner by Governor West, which position he filled until January, 1915. In April of that year he became a stockholder of the Columbia Life & Trust Company of Portland, of which he was made comptroller, and served in that capacity until the business was sold in 1917. He then resumed his business as a public accountant and was active along that line until the 1st of July, 1919, when he was appointed by Governor Olcott as a member of the state industrial accident commis- sion, in which capacity he is now serving, rendering excellent service in that connec- tion, for he is a man of unquestioned business ability and integrity, with broad experience along many lines of activity.
On the 14th of November, 1884, Mr. Ferguson was united in marriage to Miss Myrta G. Willits, a native of New Boston, Mercer county, Illinois, and they have become the parents of two children: Guenn and John W., Jr. Fraternally Mr. Fergu- son is a Mason, having membership in Minden Lodge No. 127, A. F. & A. M., which he joined in 1885; Washington Chapter No. 18, R. A. M., Portland, Oregon, with which he became affiliated in 1904, having been demitted from Kearney Chapter No. 23, R. A. M., Kearney, Nebraska, which he joined in 1886; Oregon Commandery No. 1, K. T., of Portland, Oregon, having been demitted from Mt. Hebron Commandery No. 12, K. T., at Kearney, Nebraska, which he joined in 1887; and he belongs to Sesostris Temple, A. A. O. Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Lincoln, Nebraska, holding membership there since 1889. His club relations are with the Progressive Business Men's Club of Port- land, Oregon, and the Commercial Club of Salem, Oregon. Mr. Ferguson is a member of the American Institute of Accountants of New York and the Oregon State Society of Certified Public Accountants. He has been called upon to fill many positions of public trust and in his work he has ever been most thorough, efficient and painstaking, endeav- oring at all times to perform his duty to the best of his ability. As a business man and as a public official Mr. Ferguson has made an excellent record and his course has been characterized by integrity and honor in every relation, commanding for him the respect and goodwill of those with whom he has been associated.
ISIDOR KAUFMAN.
Isidor Kaufman, who is closely associated with the history of commercial devel- opment in Portland, has for many years been engaged in the manufacture and sale of hats and his success in this venture is indicated in his recent purchase of some of the most valuable down-town realty of the city. A native of Roumania, he was born in Bucharest, April 27, 1881, and there received his commercial education and studied several languages. His father, Philip Kaufman, who was also born in Bucharest, became a grain merchant and died about seventeen years ago. The mother, who bore the maiden name of Liza Goldstin, has also passed away and, like the others of the family, she was a native of Roumania. The household numbered five sons and two daughters and three of the sons are now in America, one being in Los Angeles and one in New York.
The third brother on this side of the Atlantic is Isidor Kaufman of this review, who came to the United States in 1903, landing in New York, where he resided for a year. In 1904 he crossed the continent to Portland and here entered the hat business
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as a manufacturer. He has since conducted this enterprise and also does both a wholesale and retail business in the sale of hats. He manufactures all kinds of hats and was the first merchant to place upon the market a two-dollar hat, while his five- dollar hat, as he believes, is the best manufactured in the entire country for that price. He has likewise established a cleaning and reblocking department and employs six men and women in cleaning hats alone. He sells to the trade outside of Portland and enjoys an enviable reputation as a progressive business man. He has recently purchased a valuable lot at the northeast corner of Third and Stark streets, for which he paid thirty-five thousand dollars, and upon this lot he maintains one of his retail salesrooms-for he has several.
About seventeen years ago Mr. Kaufman was united in marriage to Miss Pauline Adler, a native of Roumania, and to them have been born four children: Louis, Ernest, Harry and Sidney, all natives of Portland. One of his sons, Louis Kaufman, fifteen years of age, has won fame as a violinist.
Mr. Kaufman is widely known in fraternal and club circles. He has taken the Scottish Rite and Shriner degrees of Masonry, is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, with the B'nai B'rith and with the Portland Press Club. He is actuated by a most progressive spirit in all that he undertakes and deserves much credit for what he has accomplished, as he has steadily worked his way upward. Some years ago he returned to Europe to study the hat industry in all of its phases and returning to America has since given his patrons the benefit of the knowledge and experience which he there acquired.
WILLIAM RIDDELL, SR.
William Riddell, Sr., a substantial farmer and stock raiser of Polk county, re- siding two and a half miles west of Monmouth, is a native of Scotland, his birth having occurred in Aberdeen, October 12, 1844. His parents, James and Isabelle (Tytler) Riddell, were also natives of the land of hills and heather, where the father followed the occupation of landscape gardening. He spent his entire life in his native country, passing away in October, 1905, while the mother's demise occurred in April, 1908.
Their son, William Riddell, Sr., was reared and educated in Scotland and on starting out to earn a livelihood was first employed as a farm hand and later took up the work of landscape gardening, with which he was connected for three years. In 1866 he sought the opportunities offered in the new world, residing for a time in Canada and also in the state of California. In 1870 he came to Oregon, renting land in Linn county, which he continued to operate for seven years, and then removed to Polk county, purchasing a section of land two miles west of Monmouth. He has cleared and developed two hundred and seventy-five acres of the tract, adding many improvements and bringing the land to a high state of productivity as the result of his indefatigable labor, determination and industry. Of the original section he has sold all but four hundred acres, but has purchased additional land and now owns eleven hundred acres in all. For the past thirty years he has been engaged in raising pure bred Angora goats and Cotswold and Lincoln sheep, generally keeping on hand six hundred head of the former and four hundred head of the latter. He exhibits his stock at the state fairs and live stock shows and in 1920 was an exhibitor at all of the principal fairs held in the state of Washington. He is one of the best known stock- men in the northwest and has been very successful in his operations along that line, pos- sessing an intimate knowledge of the business. He is interested in modern develop- ments along agricultural lines; believes in scientific methods and keeps abreast of the times in every way.
On the 1st of December, 1869, Mr. Riddell was united in marriage to Miss Margaret M. Rae, and they became the parents of nine children, namely: Mary I., Margaret, William, Jr., David, James, Edward, John, Ernest and Leslie. Three of the sons are in partnership with their father, assisting him in his farming and stock-raising opera- tions. The wife and mother passed away December 14, 1907, after a short illness, and her loss was the occasion of deep sorrow to her family and to her many friends in the community where she had so long resided.
Mr. Riddell gives his political allegiance to the republican party and for two terms he served as county commissioner. He is a member of the Presbyterian church
MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM RIDDELL, SR.
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and his life is ever guided by its teachings. His genuine personal worth and his activity in a useful line of endeavor have combined to make him oue of the enter- prising and representative men of this section whose careers have been influential factors in agricultural development.
PHILIP V. W. FRY.
Portland has always been free from the boom conditions which produce inflated values in real estate that ultimately must bring disaster to some investors. On the other hand the steady growth of the city has resulted in a gradual and substantial advance in realty prices and the real estate men of Portland have constituted an import- ant element in the city's growth and improvement. To this class belongs Philip V. W. Fry, who in 1910 formed a partnership under the firm name of Stewart-Fry & Company. Since the death of Mr. Stewart, Mr. Fry has conducted the business under his own name. He was born September 4, 1883, in the city which is still his home, and is a son of Willis B. Fry, a native of New York, who came to Portland in the early '70s and assumed the northwestern management of the Singer Sewing Machine Company. He occupied that position for twelve years and then went to California, becoming Pacific coast manager for the same company. Ten years ago he resigned the position which he had so ably filled for a long period and is now living retired at Pasadena, California. In early manhood he wedded Anna Van Wagenen, also a uative of New York, who died in 1891, and a daughter, Elsie, has passed away.
Philip V. W. Fry, the son of the family, was educated in the public schools of Oak- land, California, and when nineteen years of age became identified with the insurance business. Later he turned his attention to the real estate business in Oakland and in 1908 returned to Portland, where he established a real estate office and has since been active in this field. He handles only inside property, both improved and unimproved. In 1910 he formed a partnership with F. W. Stewart, under the firm name of Stewart- Fry & Company, and in that year and the succeeding one they made some of the largest sales in Portland, running as high as five hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars, while many of their sales were in the two hundred thousand dollar class. Mr. Fry is a very energetic young man and possesses a large outlook on affairs. He has operated in various sections of the city and wherever he goes is quoted as an authority on realty values. He has been instrumental in putting over some of the largest deals in Portland and has an extensive clientage who recognize that progressiveness, enter- prise and reliability are among his dominant qualities. He is now serving on the appraisal committee of the Portland Realty Board.
In politics Mr. Fry is a republican and is a most ardent worker for clean politics, being identified with many of the wholesome and purifying influences which have been springing up in the political parties in recent years. He is an active member of the Chamber of Commerce and his cooperation at all times can be counted upon to further any plan or measure that is of civic worth to his native city.
COE A. McKENNA.
Coe A. McKenna, who through his real estate operations has contributed largely to the development and upbuilding of Portland and who is associated with many of the organizations which are constantly working for the improvement and progress of the city, was born in Omaha, Nebraska, October 22, 1887. His father, Francis I. McKenna, was a native of Ohio and was also a realty man. He came to Portland, April 1, 1889, and here established a real estate office, which he conducted to the time of his death in 1914, operating largely on the peninsula, where he had large holdings. He founded the United Artisans, a fraternal organization, which has its headquarters in Portland and is today the wealthiest organization of its kind per capita in the United States. They have recently purchased a fine modern building on Broadway and Oak streets in Portland. Francis I. McKenna was united in marriage to Miss Laura Linebaugh, a native of Ohio, who also passed away in 1914.
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Coe A. McKenna was but two years of age when brought by his parents to the Pacific coast and in the public schools of Portland he pursued his education, passing through consecutive grades to the high school and afterward attending Columbia University of Portland. He then went to Indiana, where he became a student in Notre Dame University, and he likewise attended the College of Political Science of George Washington University in Washington, D. C., being there graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree in February, 1910, and the Master of Arts degree in June of the same year.
With his return to Portland Mr. McKenna entered business as the successor of his father, who retired at that time and turned the business over to his son. The latter has since conducted a general real estate office at 82 Fourth street and handles his own property. He is thoroughly familiar with realty values, has built many homes in Portland, thus transforming unsightly vacancies into attractive residence sections, and he takes great interest in the development of the city.
Mr. McKenna's public work has been of an important character and his labors have been far-reaching and resultant. He is the president of the Portland Realty Board, also vice president of the Northwest Real Estate Association and a member of the Chamber of Commerce and City Planning Commission for the City of Portland. He is likewise chairman of the Industrial Development Committee of the Associated Civic Clubs. This is a most important position, the personnel of the committee being com- posed of representatives from several of the leading organizations of Portland. These men are constantly studying business conditions and the opportunities for Portland's improvement and Mr. McKenna, as chairman, is doing splendid work in this connection. In June, 1921, Mr. McKenna was appointed by Governor Olcott, a member of the Committee on Tax Investigation for the State of Oregon.
In 1912 was celebrated the marriage of Coe A. McKenna and Miss Lillian C. O'Brien, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. P. O'Brien, early residents of Portland. Her father is the general manager of the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company and is president of the Portland Terminal Company. To Mr. and Mrs. McKenna have been born three children: James Francis, Patricia Ann and Coe A. J. Mr. McKenna is much interested in politics and gives stalwart support to the republican party. He belongs also to the Commercial Club, the Press Club, the United Artisans and the Multnomah Club. He is appreciative of the social amenities of life and his personal characteristics are such as make for popularity among all with whom he comes into contact.
JAMES McCAIN.
In the demise of James McCain at his home in McMinnville in August, 1919, Oregon lost one of its most noted criminal lawyers and honored pioneers, who for nearly seventy years had resided within the borders of the state. He was a man of high pro- fessional attainments and his probity, his sincerity and his genial and kindly nature drew to him a host of friends and admirers to whom his memory will ever remain a blessed benediction. In every relation he was true to high and honorable principles and never faltered in the choice between right and wrong, but always endeavored to follow the course sanctioned hy conscience and good judgment.
Mr. McCain was a native of Indiana and in 1853, when hut eight years of age, was brought by his parents across the plains to Oregon, the family home being established near Sheridan, in Yamhill county, where the father took up a donation claim. The son here attended the common schools, after which he pursued a course in McMinn- ville College and later took up the study of law under the preceptorship of P. C. Sullivan, whose daughter he subsequently married. He was admitted to the bar in September, 1868, and going to Dallas, Polk county, he there opened an office but shortly afterward removed to La Fayette, which was at that time the county seat of Yamhill county. Following the removal of the county seat to McMinnville he here took up his residence and subsequently became associated in practice with Hon. William T. Vinton, a most harmonious relationship, which was continued under the firm style of McCain & Vinton until the demise of the senior partner. They became known as the leading attorneys of their section of the state and their superior professional attainments won for them a large clientele. Mr. McCain became noted among lawyers for his wide research and the provident care with which he prepared his cases. While well grounded in the principles of common law when admitted to the bar, lie
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continued throughout his professional life a diligent student of those elementary prin- ciples which constitute the basis of all legal science and this knowledge served him well in many a legal battle before the court. He specialized in criminal law and was very successful in the trial of cases, defending a greater number of men charged with murder than any other attorney in Oregon, and in no instance was the death penalty imposed upon one of his clients. He was equally successful as a prosecutor and as a criminal lawyer he gained a state-wide reputation. His high professional ability led to his selection for public office and he was elected to the office of district attorney for the third judicial district, which comprised Marlon, Linn, Polk, Yamhill and Tillamook counties, serving in that capacity for two terms, having also filled the position of post- master of McMinnville, Oregon. His official record was a most creditable one, character- ized by strict integrity and the utmost devotion to duty.
Mr. McCain was united in marriage to Miss Electa Sullivan, a daughter of P. C. Sullivan, and her demise occurred in 1906. They became the parents of three daughters, namely: Ethel, who married William Palmer, a resident of Washington; Ivaline, the wife of James Wells of Los Angeles, California; and Mahel, who married O. H. Parker, a resident of McMinnville. In his political views Mr. McCain was a progressive republican and for fifty years was one of the leaders of his party in Yamhill county. He was a man who would have been an acquisition to any community, his irreproach- able character no less than his achievements giving him a commanding position and compelling his recognition as one destined to lead in anything he undertook.
SAMUEL W. GAINES.
An excellent farm property of two hundred acres pays tribute to the care and labor bestowed upon it by its owner, Samuel W. Gaines, who dates his residence in this state from 1852 and is therefore entitled to classification with Oregon's honored pioneers. He was born in Andrew county, Missouri, January 24, 1843, a son of Willis and Louise (Crowley) Gaines, natives of Kentucky. The father followed the occupation of farming in the Blue Grass state and about 1838 removed to the west, taking up land in Andrew county, Missouri, which he cleared and developed, continuing to reside thereon until 1852, when with ox teams and wagons he started across the plains for Oregon. He made the trip in three months and fifteen days, establishing a new record, for in those early days it usually took about six months to accomplish the long and arduous journey across the plains. Upon his arrival in Linn county on the 15th of August, 1852, he purchased a half section of improved land and two hundred bushels of wheat, for which he paid the sum of fourteen hundred dollars, and devoted his atten- tion to the further cultivation and improvement of his property, later acquiring two other farms, which he subsequently gave to Samuel W. Gaines and his brother. The father continued the operation of his ranch until 1887, when he removed to Sodaville, Oregon, where he lived retired until his demise on the 3d of September, 1888, at the age of seventy-eight years. He had long survived the mother, who passed away February 15, 1854.
Samuel W. Gaines attended school for a short time in Missouri but the greater part of his education was acquired in Oregon, for he came to this state with his parents when nine years of age. At that time the country was still wild and undeveloped and he pursued his studies in the district schools of Linn county, the schoolhouse being a log cabin of crude construction. In 1859 he became a student in the high school at McMinnville, Oregon, and remained with his parents until he reached the age of eighteen, when he married and established a home of his own, operating a farm which his father had given him. For eight years he continued to cultivate that property, to which he added many improvements, and then traded it for his present ranch of two hundred acres, which he has greatly improved and developed. The land is now rich and productive, but when he purchased the tract it was covered with timber, and it required long years of arduous and unremitting toil to bring about its present high state of development. Mr. Gaines has also cleared and developed two other farms and his life has been a most busy, active and useful one, crowned with well deserved success. He thoroughly understands the science of agriculture and farming is to him a most congenial occupation. Although seventy-seven years of age, he is as vigorous and active as a man of fifty, indicating that his life has been well lived. The home in which Mr. Gaines and his family reside was erected in 1852, but he has since remodeled
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it, adding many modern improvements and conveniences. For nine years he specialized in the raising of pure bred poultry, having as many as thirty varieties, and was very successful along that line of activity.
Mr. Gaines has been married four times. His first union was with Miss Susan South, whom he wedded on the 19th of September, 1861, and they hecame the parents of four children, namely: Coleman, who is a farmer residing near Crabtree, Oregon; Addie, the wife of J. H. Poindexter of Scio; Ida, who married R. H. Graham and resides near Monitor, Oregon; and Almona, who died in 1878. The wife and mother passed away in February, 1878, and on September 1st of that year Mr. Gaines was united in marriage to Susie Beard, by whom he had two children: Theodore, a resi- dent of the state of Washington; and Beta, who died at the age of nine months. Mrs. Gaines passed away in 1887 and on the 12th of June, 1888, Mr. Gaines wedded Margaret Graham, whose demise occurred in 1900. His fourth union was with Eliza- beth Crabtree, whom he married on the 22d of January, 1899. She was born in Missouri in 1840, her parents being John J. and Melinda (Yeary) Crabtree, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Kentucky. In 1845 her parents emigrated from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon, becoming pioneer settlers of Linn county, where the father became a substantial farmer and a man of prominence in his community, the town of Crabtree being named in his honor. He passed away on the 28th of March, 1892, at the venerable age of ninety-two years, while the mother's demise occurred in 1898, when she had reached the advanced age of ninety years. They reared a family of fifteen children, of whom five were horn in Virginia, five in Missouri and five in Oregon, and six of the sons participated in the Washington and Rogue River Indian wars.
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