USA > Oregon > History of Oregon, Vol. II > Part 4
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On the 5th of September, 1878, Mr. Fulton was united in marriage to Miss Ada M. Hobson, who was born on Clatsop Plains, in Clatsop county, Oregon, and is there- fore a "native daughter." Her father, Johu Hobson, was one of the prominent pioneers of the state and served as collector of customs at Astoria under President Cleveland. Mr. and Mrs. Fulton became the parents of a son, Fred C., whose birth occurred Febru- ary 7, 1887.
In June prior to his marriage Mr. Fulton had been elected to the state senate and the wedding trip of the young couple was from Astoria to Salem, where Mr. Fulton attended the succeeding session of the legislature, which at that time convened in September. From that time until his death he was prominently connected with the political history of the state and nation. In 1881 he was appointed city attorney by the city council of Astoria, which position he held for three years at a salary of fifty dollars per month. In 1890 he was again elected a member of the upper house of the Oregon assembly. In 1893 he was chosen president of the senate, where he presided with dignity and uniform justice, his rulings being based upon a comprehensive knowl- edge of parliamentary law and procedure. In 1898 he was again elected to the state senate and was once more chosen as the presiding officer of the upper house in 1901. The following year he was reelected state senator and thus through four terms was an active associate of Oregon's leading lawmakers, leaving the impress of his indi- viduality upon the legislative proceedings which in large measure have shaped the policy and guided the destiny of the commonwealth. His work in the senate is a mat- ter of history. Mr. Fulton ever stood fearlessly in defense of what he believed to be right, and while he believed in concerted party action and thorough organization, he did not believe in sacrificing the public welfare to partisanship nor placing individual aggrandizement before the good of his constituents. In 1888 he was chosen presiden- tial elector and carried Oregon's vote to Washington in February, 1889. During the session of the Oregon legislature in February, 1903, he was elected to the United States senate and served for a full term of six years.
Mr. Fulton passed away on the 27th of January, 1918, at the age of sixty-five years, and his demise was the occasion of deep and widespread regret, for he had made for himself a prominent place in the community, and his progressive citizen- ship and his sterling personal worth gained for him the warm regard of all who knew him. At his death the family received hundreds of letters of sympathy and condolence from the most eminent men of the state and the nation. In a resolution passed by the bench and bar of Oregon appears the following: "It is with a profound sense of personal loss that the members of the bench and bar of Oregon assemble for the purpose of establishing a lasting memorial of his character and of his attainments in the profession of the law and to commemorate his distinguished services to his state and to his country. .... His life was as an open book, for he soon created a place for himself as one of the foremost citizens of the state, known and respected far and wide as a man of sterling worth and of unusual ability. His probity, his sin- cerity and his genial and kindly manner drew to himself a host of friends and admirers to whom his untimely death in the midst of the busy and active practice of his pro- fession came with a shock of bereavement.
"As a lawyer he enjoyed an extensive and varied practice which his diligence and his talents and his solid attainments well merited. Always an effective and forceful speaker, his arguments to juries were powerful and convincing. His cases were always well prepared, so that he went into court with a clear conception of what he desired
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to show. In the presentation of his case to the court, in his analysis of the legal principles involved, and in making practical application of these principles to the evidence, he was earnest, strong and logical. His integrity, his conscientiousness, his recognition of the proper relations of an attorney to court and to client, gained for him the respect of the judges before whom he practiced, and he always treated his opponents with courtesy, dignity and good nature, without abating in any degree his loyal and enthusiastic zeal for his client's rights. As a citizen and as a neighbor he was patriotic, public-spirited, tolerant and just. He was an unostentatious man, free from pretense and affectation. To those who knew him well the memory of his warm friendship, his vibrant voice, his hearty laugh, his vigorous hand grasp, his ready retort, his apt illustration by appropriate anecdote, his cheerful, cordial and spontaneous good fellowship, is all a precious legacy. The world is better for his having lived in it, and the influence of his example will not soon be lost."
His record is a splendid illustration of the fact that character and ability will come to the front anywhere, and that it is under the stimulus of opposition and neces- sity that the best and strongest in men are brought out and developed. His course commanded and merited the confidence and support of his fellowmen, and as lawyer and statesman he ranked among those whose records have conferred honor and dignity upon the state which has honored them.
R. E. POMEROY, M. D.
One of the younger representatives of the medical fraternity at Salem is Dr. R. E. Pomeroy, a leading physician and surgeon of this city, who is specializing in the treatment of urology and who since January 1, 1920, has served as city health officer, most capably discharging the duties of that office. He is thoroughly familiar with the scientific principles which underlie the profession and by wide reading and study keeps abreast with the advancement that is continually being made in methods of medical and surgical practice.
Dr. Pomeroy is a native son of Oregon and a representative of one of its oldest pioneer families. He was born in Woodburn, March 2, 1894, his parents being C. T. and Margaret E. (Cornelius) Pomeroy, the former a prominent merchant of Salem. The mother was well known as a successful physician, enjoying a large and lucra- tive practice. She was married at Dayton, Oregon, and is now deceased but the father survives and is still active in business circles of Salem. He is also a native of this state, his birth having occurred in Yamhill county. He is a son of C. T. and Henrietta (Blish) Pomeroy, who crossed the plains to Oregon in the early '40s, taking up their residence near Hillsboro, where the grandfather of Dr. Pomeroy of this review devoted his energies to farming pursuits.
After completing his high school studies at Salem, Dr. Pomeroy entered the medical department of Oregon University, from which he was graduated in June, 1916, and at once opened an office in Salem, where his practice steadily grew in volume and importance as his professional skill and ability became recognized. On the 13th of April, 1917, he enlisted in the navy and was commissioned senior lieu- tenant. He was sent overseas and had charge of a French and American unit in venereal diseases. He remained overseas for about sixteen months and upon receiving his discharge from the service he at once returned to Salem and took up the task of rebuilding his practice. He maintains a finely appointed suite of offices in the Oregon building on State street in Salem, equipped with all of the most modern medical appliances, and is specializing in the treatment of urology. He has studied broadly, thinks deeply and his efforts have been of the greatest value to his patients. On the 1st of January, 1920, Dr. Pomeroy was appointed city health officer and as a public official his record is a most creditable one, for he is most efficiently and conscientiously discharging the duties which devolve upon him in this connection. He is a lover of his profession, deeply interested in its scientific and humanitarian phases, and he puts forth every effort to make his labors effective in checking the ravages of disease.
In December, 1916, Dr. Pomeroy was united in marriage to Miss Leone Griffin and they have a large circle of friends in the city. Fraternally Dr. Pomeroy is identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Masons. He is a young man of energy, ability and determination who is fast forging to the front
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in his profession. His life is actuated by high and honorable principles and his course has ever been directed along lines which command the respect and confidence of his fellowmen and his professional colleagues and contemporaries.
JOHN MARION LEWIS
John M. Lewis, who since 1902 has served as county treasurer of Multnomah county, is systematic, prompt and reliable in the discharge of his duties and is proving a faithful custodian of the public funds. He has devoted much of his life to public service and at all times has been found faithful to the trust reposed in him. Mr. Lewis is a native son of Oregon and his entire life has been spent in the northwest. A representative of one of the honored pioneer families of the state he was born in Linn county, September 20, 1855. He traces his ancestral record back to old families of Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee. His paternal great-grandfather, Fielding Lewis, was born in 1767 in the Old Dominion and at an early age became a resident of North Carolina, subsequently removing to eastern Tennessee. His son, Fielding Lewis, Jr., was born in 1811 and prior to 1830 became a resident of Wabash county, Illinois. Later he removed to Missouri and in the spring of 1852, attracted by the advantages offered in the develop- ment of the rich agricultural lands of the northwest, he started across the plains with his family. The journey was a long and tedious one and it was six months ere they reached their destination-a point near Brownsville, in Linn county, Oregon. Crossing the Snake river opposite the site of Huntington they followed the general course of the river down to its junction with the Columbia, thence proceeding down the Columbia valley to the mouth of the Willamette and up the latter stream to Linn county. The journey was beset by many hardships and perils and mountain fever and cholera broke out in the party, claiming as a victim Lucinda Moore Lewis, the wife of Fielding Lewis, her grave being made on the banks of the Snake river near Birch creek. When they reached Burnt river Charles Wesley Lewis, a son, also passed away, and at the upper Cascades a grave was made for Marion Lewis, while Mary Ellen Lewis died on the Oregon side of the river opposite Vancouver barracks.
James Preston Lewis, one of the family who traveled with them on the long journey to the northwest, entered land in the forest following his arrival in Oregon and this he cleared and developed, subsequently removing to Althouse, Josephine county, where he purchased a tract of land on which he resided until his death on the 18th of February, 1906. He became prominent in the public life of his community and served for three terms as county assessor. On the 29th of November, 1853, he was united in marriage to Tennessee Teresa Tycer, the ceremony being performed by the Rev. H. H. Spalding, who came to Oregon with Marcus Whitman in 1836. Mrs. Lewis was born in Linn county, Missouri, a daughter of Lewis Tycer, a native of Nashville, Tennessee, and an early resident of Linn county, Missouri. His father came from France to aid the American colonists in their struggle for independence and tradition says participated in the battle of Guilford Courthouse and in other engagements of note. The year 1853 witnessed the arrival of Lewis Tycer and his family in Oregon. His first home was a pioneer cabin, but he later purchased a farm and a comfortable residence in which he continued to make his home to the time of his death at the age of seventy-seven years and which is still owned by a member of his family. James P. and Tennessee Lewis became the parents of three sons and three daughters who are living: George W., who is sheriff of Josephine county, now serving his sixth term and was formerly in business at Grants Pass, Oregon, during a period when he was out of the sheriff's office; James E .; Mrs. O. J. Wetherbee; Mrs. Joseph G. Hiatt, residing at Santa Rosa, California; and Mrs. James E. Holland. James E., Mrs. Wetherbee and Mrs. Holland all reside on farms in Josephine county.
John M. Lewis was reared and educated in his native county to the age of seventeen years and then accompanied his parents on their removal to Josephine county. He assisted his father in the work of the fields and later engaged in mining to some extent. In 1881 he arrived in Portland and here resumed his studies, being desirous of securing a better education. He pursued a commercial course in the Portland Business College and in 1882 became a government employe, having charge of the mailing division of the Portland post office under Postmaster George A. Steel for about three years. He continued to occupy the position for eighteen months under C. W. Roby, the democratic postmaster, and was then compelled to resign owing to impaired health caused by close
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confinement to the work. He spent the next three years as lumber inspector in the employ of the H. R. Duniway Lumber Company in East Portland and while there residing was again called to public office, representing his ward in the city council of East Portland from 1888 until 1890. In the latter year he was appointed postmaster under the administration of President Harrison and filled the position until the consolida- tion of the cities of Portland and East Portland, when the office was discontinued. Later he was appointed superintendent of Station A, which superseded the old office in East Portland, and continued in that position under Postmaster Steel until the close of the latter's second term. In 1894 Mr. Lewis became deputy treasurer under A. W. Lambert, and two years later was reappointed to the same office by Ralph W. Hoyt, continuing in that position for four years more. He was then elected county treasurer and through subsequent reelections has since remained the incumbent in that office. No better testimonial of his capability and fidelity could be given nor of the confidence reposed in him by his fellowmen. His identification with political life in Multnomah county forms one of the vital interests of his life and he has always done able and faithful work.
On the 1st of May, 1883, in Portland, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Lewis and Miss Ella M. McPherson, a native of Linn county, Oregon, and a daughter of W. A. McPherson, who came to this state about 1850. He was connected with public service as state printer from 1866 until 1870 and his death occurred in 1891. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Lewis, one of whom, Herbert Wayne, died at the age of two years; Edith is a successful teacher connected with the public schools of Portland; Ione mar- ried Dallas M. Mark of this city, a veteran of the World war who spent fourteen months in France as a noncommissioned officer with the One Hundred and Sixteenth Engineers corps. Wade Vernon, the youngest member of the family, also served in the war with Germany, spending twenty-one months in France as a member of the Eighteenth Engineers Corps, and is now a student in the Oregon Agricultural College where he is pursuing a course in mining engineering. He married Miss Jessie Thayer, of Rainier, Oregon, who during the war period was engaged in reconstruction work in Boston, Massachusetts.
The family attend the Central Presbyterian church, in the work of which Mr. Lewis has long taken an active and helpful part, having served for some time as ruling elder. In his fraternal relations he is an Odd Fellow and is also connected with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Woodmen of the World, while in 1910 he became affiliated with Washington Lodge, No. 46, A. F. & A. M., of which lodge he has been chaplain for the past ten years; Washington Chapter No. 18 Royal Arch Masons; Washington Council No. 3, R. & S. M. and Martha Washington Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star No. 14. He is a charter member of Abernethy's Cabin, No. 1, Native Sons of Oregon, and is a member of the Oregon Historical Society. His political allegiance has always been given to the republican party, for his study of the political conditions and questions of the day has led him to the belief that its platform contains the best elements of good government. His residence is at No. 604 East Ankeny street, where he has resided for thirty-four years. His has been a well spent life, characterized by a progressive public spirit that has found tangible manifestation on many occasions. In public office his course has ever been above suspicion. The good of the community he places before partisanship and the welfare of his constituents before personal aggrandize- ment. Wherever he is known he is highly esteemed, but in the city of his residence where he is best known he inspires personal friendships of unusual strength and all who know him have high admiration for his good qualities of heart and mind.
B. W. JONES.
B. W. Jones, of Portland, is a member of the firm of Goodell-Akin-Jones, Incor- porated, financial and insurance agents, doing business both in Portland and in Seattle. Mr. Jones was born at Farmington, Michigan, March 20, 1887, and is a son of H. H. and Alice S. (Perry) Jones, both of whom were natives of the state of New York. The father was engaged in merchandising In Michigan for many years but eventually retired in 1909 and passed away at Novi, that state, in 1915. The mother survives and is yet living at Novi.
B. W. Jones pursued his education in the high school of Northville, Michigan,
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and afterward attended the State University at. Ann Arbor, from which he was graduated in 1907 with the LL. B. degree, having completed a law course. The opportunities of the northwest attracted him, however, and instead of entering upon the practice of law he made his way to Lincoln county, Oregon, where he took up a home- stead of one hundred and sixty acres. In the spring of 1910 he became actively en- gaged in the timber business in association with F. R. Hyland, under the firm name of Hyland & Jones. In 1912 this company was dissolved and Mr. Jones went to Sheridan, Oregon, where he engaged in the insurance business. While there residing he also served as mayor of the town in 1913, and during his incumbency in that office most of the civic improvements of the town were made. In 1914 he accepted the state agency for the Phoenix Fire Insurance Company of London, England, and also had jurisdiction for the company over southern Idaho and northern California. In March, 1920, however, he resigned that position to hecome a partner in the firm of Goodell-Akin-Jones, Incorporated, handling insurance and commercial paper, with offices in the Wilcox building in Portland. The firm of Metzger & Jones, insurance brokers of Seattle, Washington, is a branch of the Portland house and is one of the largest concerns of the kind on the coast. In their Portland and Seattle offices they employ seventeen men and their husiness is steadily growing. In addition to his activities in that connection Mr. Jones is still the owner of his homestead, emhracing a valuable tract of timber land.
In 1910 was celebrated the marriage of B. W. Jones and Harriet Bewley, a native daughter of Oregon. Her father, A. J. Bewley, came to Oregon from Tennessee about forty years ago, and her mother, Mrs. Minnie (Mendenhall) Bewley, was also a pioneer of this state and a native of Tennessee. Both survive and their home is now in Sheridan, Oregon. To Mr. and Mrs. Jones have been born two sons: Bud- dington and Howard, aged respectively seven and three years.
After America's advent into the World war Mr. Jones offered his services, was accepted and had completed preparations for going overseas, but the armistice was signed before he sailed. He has long been active in politics as a supporter of the republican party and is a firm believer in its principles. Fraternally he is connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. His varied business activities have brought him a wide acquaintance in the northwest and he is today a most promi- nent figure in insurance and financial circles, possessing comprehensive knowledge of both branches of his business and most carefully directing his efforts, so that success in substantial measure is his reward.
HON. IRA C. POWELL.
Hon. Ira C. Powell, president of the First National Bank of Monmouth, is regarded as one of the leading citizens of the community in which he resides and his progress- iveness has been a potent element in its continued development and upbuilding. He is a representative of one of the old and honored pioneer families of Oregon, his father, Franklin S. Powell, having emigrated to this state from Illinois, in the year 1851. In Linn county he took up as a donation claim a half section of land near the present site of Albany, which he operated until ahout 1872, then leased his property, removed to Polk county and there became the owner of another half section. This he cultivated for many years and then removed to Monmouth, where he lived retired throughout the remainder of his life. He was an extensive stock raiser and was one of the first to introduce pure bred Merino sheep into Linn county. While residing in Polk county he engaged in the raising of pure bred Cotswold sheep and Angora goats and was very successful in his operations along that line. He became prominently known throughout the state and in 1889 was elected to represent his district in the state legislature. He also served as chairman of the board of trustees of Christian College and during his legislative service was instrumental in having the college taken over by the state as a normal school. He passed away at Monmouth, December 4, 1916, at the advanced age of eighty-seven years, but his wife, Louisa (Peeler) Powell, survives and is residing in Monmouth, having attained the venerable age of ninety-one years. She is one of the hon- ored pioneer women of the state and her reminiscences of the early days are most interesting.
The son, Ira C. Powell, was born in Linn county, Oregon, November 26, 1865, and there attended the public schools, later pursuing a course of study in Christian College at
Vol. II-3
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Monmouth. He then engaged in teaching school and also followed farming for two years. In 1889 he first became interested in financial affairs in connection with a private bank and the following year in association with others he organized the Polk County Bank, of which he became cashier. In 1911 it was converted into the First National Bank and four years later, or in 1915, Mr. Powell was made president of the institution, in which capacity he has since served also filling the position of manager. The other officers are J. B. V. Butler, vice president, and F. E. Chambers, cashier, and all are substantial and progressive business men of this section of the state. The bank is capitalized for thirty thousand dollars, has a surplus and undivided profits of twenty- five thousand dollars, while its resources have reached the sum of five hundred thousand dollars. The present bank building was erected in 1896 and the First National Bank of Monmouth is regarded as one of the sound and reliable moneyed institutions of this part of the state. With keen insight into business affairs and with thorough understanding of every phase of banking, Mr. Powell has been largely instru- mental in promoting the growth and success of the institution, and while he is progressive and aggressive, he employs that conservatism necessary to safeguard depositors as well as stockholders. He is also a stockholder and was one of the organizers of the Central Clay Products Company of Monmouth and is much interested in horticulture, being the owner of two orchards, in which he engages in the growing of prunes, cherries and walnuts. He has won a substantial measure of success in the conduct of his business affairs and is a man of resolute spirit whose plans are carefully made and promptly executed.
In December, 1894, Mr. Powell was united in marriage to Miss Lena Butler, who passed away in 1908, leaving three children: Clares, aged twenty-four years, who is a graduate of the State University, class of 1921, and also associated with his father in the conduct of the bank; Herbert, who is eighteen years of age and is a student at the university at Eugene; and Ira D., Jr., aged twelve, who is attending the public schools. In 1916 Mr. Powell was again married, his second union being with Miss Ethel Jackson.
In his political views Mr. Powell is a republican and has filled several public offices of trust and responsibility. In 1911 he was called upon to represent his district in the state legislature, where he was the stalwart champion of many measures for the public good. He served for four terms as mayor of Monmouth, giving to the city a most progressive and businesslike administration, and for ten years has been a member of the school board, doing all in his power to advance the standards of education in his part of the state. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Christian church, in which he is serving as a trustee, and fraternally he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He has so conducted his interests that he has not only won individual success but has also contributed in marked measure to the upbuild- ing, development and prosperity of the community in which he resides and Monmouth numbers him among her most valued citizens.
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