USA > Oregon > History of Oregon, Vol. II > Part 37
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JOHN M. JONES.
John M. Jones, the popular and efficient postmaster of Portland, received his present appointment on the 26th of August, 1920, and has the distinction of being one of the first men chosen as the head of the post office department in the larger cities of the United States because of their fitness for office without regard to party affiliation. He is exceptionally well qualified for the discharge of his duties in this connection, hav- ing been connected with the work of the department from the age of nineteen years and through faithful and conscientious service has won continuous promotions until his position is now one of large responsibility. Mr. Jones is one of Oregon's native sons. He was born in Roseburg on the 23d of August, 1871, and is a son of Joseph and Rowena (Wright) Jones, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Missouri. The paternal and maternal grandfathers of the subject of this review, George Jones and John M. Wright, emigrated to Oregon in pioneer times, casting in their fortunes with its early settlers. The father, who was of Welsh descent, engaged in farming in this state and his demise occurred in 1913. The mother survives and is now residing in Spokane, Washington. The surviving children of the family are Elmer, Emma, John M., Ralph, Rowena and Elizabeth.
John M. Jones acquired a high school education and when nineteen years of age he was appointed mail carrier by Postmaster George Steele, this being previous to the establishment of the civil service system. For twelve years he served as carrier and was then appointed office clerk, remaining in that position for a year. His next pro- motion made him assistant superintendent of city deliveries and after a year in that office he became superintendent of carriers, serving in that capacity for ten years, following which he was made superintendent of mails and for six years had charge of that work. On the 6th of April, 1920, he became assistant postmaster, in which office he served until the 26th of August of that year, when he was appointed post- master, being selected to fill that office because of his qualifications therefor without regard to party affiliation. His long experience in the department has given him an intimate knowledge of the work and he is meeting every requirement of the position, proving one of the most capable postmasters the city has ever had.
In 1910 Mr. Jones was united in marriage to Miss Mame Schaible, of Michigan, and they reside at No. 916 East Taylor street. He is a veteran of the Spanish- American war and a member of the Chamber of Commerce, supporting all of the plans and projects of that organization for the upbuilding of the city and the extension of its trade relations. He is also a member of the Ad Club and the Kiwanis Club. In
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Masonry he has attained the thirty-second degree and also belongs to the commandery and shrine and is likewise identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, while for recreation he turns to fishing, hunting and motoring. As postmaster of Portland he is making a splendid record and is a man of honorable purposes and high principles who commands the respect and confidence of all with whom he has heen associated.
HERBERT E. WALKER.
Herbert E. Walker, assessor of Lane county, is a native of this county, his birth having occurred at Pleasant Hill on the 12th of July, 1875. He is a son of Albert S. and Sarah L. (Higgins) Walker, the former of whom was born in Missouri and the latter in Massachusetts. The father crossed the plains to Oregon in 1853 with his parents, the journey being made with ox teams, and the family endured many hard- ships and privations en route. In young manhood Albert S. Walker learned the trade of blacksmithing and wagon making, which he followed at Springfield, Oregon, for several years. At length, however, he abandoned that line of work and engaged in the real estate and insurance business at Springfield, in which he was quite successful, remaining actively connected therewith the remainder of his life, his death occurring in September, 1915. The mother survives and is now a resident of Eugene.
Their son, Herbert E. Walker, was reared and educated at Springfield, Oregon, and learned the trades of blacksmithing and cabinet-making under the direction of his father .. He followed that line of work until 1913, when he was elected recorder of Springfield, serving in that office for four years. He then secured employment in the shipyards at Raymond, Washington, there remaining for one year, and in July, 1919, was appointed county assessor of Lane county to fill out the unexpired term caused by the death of D. P. Burton. At the regular election in November, 1920, he was elected without opposition, to a four-year term, in which position he is serving and in a most able and conscientious manner, is discharging the duties which devolve upon him in this connection.
In October, 1904, Mr. Walker was united in marriage to Miss Vista Pearl Morgan, a daughter of Henry L. and Ellen (Hunsacker) Morgan, natives of Missouri. The father crossed the plains in 1847 and settled in Lane county, Oregon, becoming one of its early pioneers. For several years he engaged in the cultivation of a farm in this section and also followed the trade of a carpenter. At length, however, he retired and took up his abode at Lowell, Lane county, where he passed away in 1914. The mother survives and resides in Eugene.
Mr. Walker's fraternal connections are with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Woodmen of the World and the United Artisans. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and his religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church. His entire life has been passed within the borders of the state and the spirit of progressiveness which predominates in the west prompts him to do everything in his power to aid his community and commonwealth. He possesses many substantial and admirable traits of character and all with whom he is acquainted speak of him in terms of high regard.
ASA B. STARBUCK, M. D.
Dr. Asa B. Starbuck, who since 1907 has engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery at Dallas, is widely and favorably known in this section of the state. for his birth occurred four miles west of Salem, in Polk county, June 6, 1876. His parents, Thomas H. and Almira B. (Gibson) Starbuck, were natives of Ohio and Illinois, re- spectively. In 1864 the father accompanied his parents on their journey across the plains to Oregon, the family locating on a farm in Polk county, which became the birthplace of the subject of this review. The father engaged in farming in this sec- tion of the state until 1887, when he removed to Portland in order to give his children better educational advantages. He has since made that city his home and has been very successful in his undertakings, becoming the owner of valuable real estate, and is also engaged in preaching the gospel as a minister of the Seventh Day Adventist church. He has reached the age of seventy-seven years but retains his mental and
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physical vigor and is yet an active factor in the world's work. The mother also sur- vives. In 1852 she crossed the plains with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Davis Gibson, as members of a train of emigrants, and as they journeyed along the Platte river they became victims of the cholera epidemic, losing half of their party. The father had previously made the trip to Oregon in 1848, and heing pleased with the country, returned to the east and succeeded in inducing others to locate on the Pacific slope. Taking up a homestead claim in Polk county adjoining the Starbuck ranch, he here engaged in farming throughout the remainder of his life, passing away at the age of eighty-two, while his wife's demise occurred about 1902, when she had reached the venerable age of ninety-two years.
Asa B. Starbuck attended the schools of Polk county and of Portland, being eleven years of age when his parents became residents of that city. Subsequently he became a student in the Walla Walla College at Walla Walla, Washington, from which he was graduated in 1899, and in 1902 he entered the medical department of the State University of Oregon, graduating with the class of 1906. For a year thereafter he was interne in St. Vincent's Hospital at Portland, where he gained valuable experience, and in 1907 he opened an office in Dallas, where he has since followed his profession. He has' through the intervening period built up a large practice and is accounted one of the most able and successful physicians of this part of the state. He has studied broadly, thinks deeply, and his efforts have been of the greatest value to his patients, for he is seldom at fault in the diagnosis of cases and his sound judgment and careful study enable him to do excellent professional work. He also has invested in farm lands in the county and has a seventy-acre prune orchard, supplied with the most modern equipment in the way of buildings and driers.
On the 30th of July, 1913, Dr. Starbuck was united in marriage to Miss Ruth Beaver and they have become the parents of three children, namely: Mary E., who was born June 9, 1914; Almira E., born August 18, 1917; and Thomas B., whose birth occurred on the 7th of December, 1918.
In his political views the Doctor is a republican, and fraternally is identified with the Knights of Pythias and is also a Scottish Rite Mason and member of the Shrine. His professional connections are with the Medical Societies of Polk, Marion and Yamhill counties, the Oregon State Medical Society and the American Medical Asso- ciation. He is a patriotic and loyal American and during the World war had charge of the sale of War Savings Stamps in Polk county and also conducted all of the local drives, for which he raised the sum of four hundred thousand dollars in Polk county. He likewise served as a member of the Council of Defense and was chairman of the Red Cross county committee, thus rendering most important and valuable ald to the gov- ernment in its hour of need. He is a lover of his profession, deeply interested in its scientific and humanitarian phases and puts forth every effort to make his labors effective in checking the ravages of disease. He is a man of strict integrity and high ideals, who in every relation of life exemplifies the highest standards of American manhood and citizenship.
WALTER E. WADSWORTH.
Walter E. Wadsworth, secretary-treasurer and general manager of Hill & Com- pany, Inc., conducting one of the leading mercantile establishments of Harrisburg, was born in Marion, Indiana, December 21, 1865, a son of Ariel S. and Sarah Wadsworth, the former a native of Massachusetts and the latter of Kentucky. The father, who was a contractor and builder, removed from Massachusetts to Indiana at an early period in the development of that state, Indianapolis at that time being but a village. In the vicinity of that town the father purchased a tract of land which he operated in addition to his work as a contractor and builder, and he continued to reside in that locality the remainder of his life, passing away in 1878. The mother survived him for several years, her death occurring in 1892.
Their son, Walter E. Wadsworth, was reared and educated in Indianapolis, attend- ing the public schools and a business college of that city. On starting out in the busi- ness world he engaged in work as a bridge carpenter and later became a contractor and builder. Going to Missouri, he constructed practically all of the buildings in Thayer, Oregon county, and continued in that line of work for a period of twelve
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years. He then went to Arkansas and engaged in the conduct of Hotel Wadsworth at Eureka Springs, of which he was proprietor for three years. On the expiration of that period he traded his hotel property for twenty-one hundred acres of timber land in the southeastern part of Arkansas, which he still owns. He next became traveling representative for the Racine Sattler Company of St. Louis, which he represented on the road for six years, his territory comprising southeastern Missouri and Arkansas. In 1908 he came to Portland, Oregon, as salesman for the Moline Plow Company, with whom he continued for about nine years, or until 1917, when he removed to Harrisburg, Oregon, and purchased an interest in the firm of Hill & Company, Inc., which he has since served as secretary-treasurer and general manager. The company deals in house furnishings of all kinds, implements, etc., and conducts one of the largest mercantile establishments in this section of the state, their annual business trans- actions now exceeding the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. They have just completed a fine modern garage one hundred by one hundred feet in dimensions, at a cost of fifteen thousand dollars, for which Mr. Wadsworth drew the plans and also supervised the work of erection. The company also has the agency for the Ford and Fordson products and the business is very extensive and profitable, conducted along the most modern and progressive lines. Being a man of resourceful business ability, Mr. Wadsworth has extended his efforts into various lines and has become the owner of valuable oil holdings in Kansas. He also has twenty-one hundred acres of timber land in Arkansas, of which one thousand acres is virgin oak, and he is likewise a stockholder in the Harrisburg Lumber Company. He is a farsighted and sagacious business man, whose interests have been most wisely and carefully con- ducted, bringing to him a gratifying measure of success.
On the 10th of November, 1885, Mr. Wadsworth was united in marriage to Miss Clara P. Yates and they have become the parents of five children: Elmer L., Aileen, Fern, Dwight and Jennie L. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party and his religious faith is indicated by his attendance upon the services of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is prominent in fraternal circles, belonging to the Masons, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in the last named organization he has filled all the chairs and is one of the grand officers of the Grand Encampment of Oregon. Mr. Wadsworth has led a busy, active and useful life, employing every opportunity to advance, and his success is the direct result of his close application and laudable ambition, while at all times, his career has been such as would bear the closest investigation and scrutiny. He is everywhere spoken of as a citizen of worth, possessing many sterling traits of character which have won for him the high regard of all who know him.
WILLIAM S. TURNER.
William S. Turner, a consulting civil and electrical engineer, residing in Port- land, is widely known through his professional connections not only in this country but in foreign lands as well. He was born in Quincy, Illinois, was graduated from Knox College, and in preparation for his professional career attended Cornell Univer- sity, from which, after a two years postgraduate course, he received the degree of Master of Science. He located for the practice of his profession in New York city in 1888 and there became well known as an engineer and contractor. From 1899 until 1907 he was construction engineer with J. G. White & Company, engineers of New York city, and was New Zealand representative for two years. From 1908 until 1911 he was the northwestern manager for W. S. Barstow & Company, engineers of New York city, in charge of the Portland, Oregon, office, and he is now practicing his pro- fession independently as a consulting and electrical engineer, with offices in the Spalding building in Portland. He makes special investigations, examinations and reports, physical and financial valuations, draws up specifications and plans, and supervises construction and equipment in connection with railroads, electric railways, electric lighting systems, hydro-electric power plants, water supply and irrigation systems. He had charge of the electrification and equipment of about one hundred miles of steam railroad for the Ft. Dodge, Des Moines & Southern Railway Company, was in charge of construction work on seventeen miles of railroad track for the Youngstown & Southern Railway Company, of Youngstown, Ohio, was the builder of the roadbed, and had charge of the track and overhead construction, for the
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Washington & Great Falls Electric Railway Company, and other Washington, D. C., suburban lines, was the engineer on about thirty miles of high tension electric trans- mission lines for the Long Island City Electric Company, has been the builder of numerous power plants and trolley systems in the south, including those of the Capitol Railway Company at Washington, D. C., Augusta Street Railway Company of Augusta, Georgia, Washington, Alexandria & Mt. Vernon Railroad at Alexandria, Virginia, and many others. He has done important work, as well, in the Mississippi valley and upon the Pacific coast. He installed a complete system of underground conduits and cables for business districts, for the Portland Railway, Light & Power Company, and has executed important contracts and engineering work for the Oregon Electric Railway Company, the Portland Cordage Company, the Pacific Power & Light Company, The Portland Gas & Coke Company, and many other corporations.
On the 19th of May, 1891, Mr. Turner was united in marriage to Miss Helen Sewall of Clarinda, Iowa, a daughter of Caleb Marsh and Catherine (Summer) Sewall, the former, a Baptist minister, while both were natives of Maine, and have now passed away. Mrs. Turner was born in Hamilton, Illinois, and was educated at Quincy, Illinois, where she attended the University, but did not graduate. She is now suc- cessfully engaged in the real estate brokerage business, making a specialty of the beautiful suburban district south of Portland, along the west bank of the river that includes Revira, Riverdale, Riverwood and Palatine Hill, and also some of the more desirable large properties in other parts of the city. She has offices in the Spalding building in connection with Mr. Turner. The residence of Mr. and Mrs. Turner is located in Riverdale. They became the parents of two children, Katharine Savage, now deceased, and Edmond Sewall, twenty-five years of age, who is an electrical engineer with the Pacific Power & Light Company. He is a graduate of Stanford University of California. Both Mr. and Mrs. Turner are members of the First Con- gregational church of Portland and Mrs. Turner belongs to the Daughters of the American Revolution. Mrs. Turner has spent much time abroad, having gone with her husband when he was engaged in professional work in foreign lands. They are both enthusiastic supporters of Portland, and do everything in their power to uphuild the city and promote those forces which are vital to the welfare and progress of the northwest. They are people of liberal education, innate culture and refinement, and they occupy an enviable social position, while both Mr. and Mrs. Turner have gained a creditable place. along the lines of business to which they devote their energies.
HON. ALFRED BLEVINS.
Hon. Alfred Blevins, a pioneer of Oregon and a veteran of the Indian wars, for two terms represented his district in the state legislature and is now one of the leading agriculturists and influential citizens of Linn county, operating a valuable ranch of one hundred and sixty acres located one and a half miles west of Tangent. He was born in Kentucky, October 24, 1837, of the marriage of Isaac and Eliza (Maupin) Blevins, the former a native of Tennessee and the latter of Kentucky. In early man- hood the father followed blacksmithing and in 1840 he removed to Missouri, purchasing land in Henry county, which he continued to operate until the 12th of May, 1850, when with ox teams he started across the plains for Oregon, arriving in the Willamette valley in the following October. While crossing the Cascade mountains he was caught in a snowstorm and was obliged to abandon five wagons there. He proceeded with the two remaining wagons and it was not until the following summer that he was able to recover those which he had left in the mountains. On arriving in Oregon he took up land in Linn county and this he cleared and developed, continuing its cultivation throughout the remainder of his life. He died in 1885 at the age of eighty-four years and the mother passed away in 1889, when she had reached the venerable age of ninety years.
Their son, Alfred Blevins, was educated in the schools of Missouri and Linn county, Oregon, being thirteen years of age when he accompanied his parents to this state. When eighteen years of age he volunteered for service in the Indian war and after three months' service he was discharged in 1856. Later he re-entered the service, going with a wagon train engaged in hauling supplies to the soldiers who were fighting the red men, and was thus connected with Indian warfare for about a year. After receiving his discharge he returned home and for a time followed farming but
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subsequently went to California and for seven years was engaged in mining in that state and in southern Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia. On the expiration of that period he returned to Linn county and purchased his present ranch of one hundred and sixty acres, situated one and one-half miles west of Tangent. Of this he cleared about twenty acres, which in its present highly developed state gives little indication of its raw and unimproved condition when he became its owner. He has made a close study of the needs of the soil and climate in relation to the production of crops here and everything about his place indicates that he follows practical and progressive methods. He has since operated his ranch with the exception of seven years spent in the warehouse business in Tangent and two years at Corvallis, where the family resided during the time the son was pursuing his studies. All of the features of the model farm of the twentieth century are found upon his place and it is one of the attractive farms of Linn county.
On the 18th of September, 1870, Mr. Blevins was united in marriage to Miss Louisiana Maxey, who was horn in Monroe county, Missouri, June 8, 1852, and is a daughter of John J. and Laura (Morris) Maxey, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Ohio. When but three years of age the father was taken by his parents to Missouri and in 1860 he started for the west with the intention of settling in Oregon, hut went instead to California. However, after residing in the Golden state for four years he made his way to Oregon and in Linn county he operated rented land for some time, later purchasing a tract which he improved and developed, continuing its cultivation for several years, when he went to Idaho and there made his home with his children, passing away in that state in March, 1899. He had survived the mother for a decade, her demise having occurred in 1889. To Mr. and Mrs. Blevins were born nine children, of whom seven survive, namely: Wade H., Clara, Alfred, Georgiana, Edna L., Hattie and Glenn. Those deceased are: Alice, who died in October, 1871, when but an infant; and Laura, who was born in March, 1874, and died in 1891, at the age of seventeen years.
In his political views Mr. Blevins is a democrat and in public affairs he has taken an active and prominent part. In 1883 he was chosen to represent his district in the state legislature and his creditahle record in office won for him re-election in 1892. In his public service he ever looked beyond the exigencies of the moment to the oppor- tunities and possibilities of the future. He closely studied all the vital questions which came up for settlement and was a stalwart champion of many measures which found their way to the statute books of the state and are proving of great value to the commonwealth. He has likewise served as road supervisor and in public office he always stood for development and for constructive measures. He holds membership in the local Grange, and fraternally he is identified with the Masons. Coming to this state in 1850, when a boy of thirteen, the various experiences of pioneer life are familiar to Mr. Blevins, and through his industry and enterprise he has contributed to the substantial development and progress of the section in which he lives. He can remember when many of the well cultivated farms were covered with a dense growth of forest trees and when great stretches of land that are now thickly populated presented no indication of civilization. He has made good use of his time and in the evening of life can look back over the past without regret and forward to the future without fear.
HOLDEN HARGREAVES.
Holden Hargreaves spent his last days in Portland where he lived retired from business in the enjoyment of a well earned rest. He had been engaged in bullding and contracting for many years but put aside activities of this character when he became possessed of a comfortable fortune that rendered further labor unnecessary. He was born near Manchester, England, in 1851, a son of James and Jane H. Hargreaves. He spent the first nineteen years of his life in his native land and then determined to try his fortune in the new world, where he arrived in 1870. After three years he returned to England, but in 1877 came again to the United States. In that year he made his way to Illinois, where he resided for a brief period and then removed to Mani- toba, Canada, in connection with three of his brothers, their residence there covering a period of eight years. At the end of that time they made their way to the northwest, settling at Portland where Holden Hargreaves continued to reside until his demise.
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