USA > Oregon > History of Oregon, Vol. II > Part 78
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Mr. Burkhardt was a member of the Artisans and gave his political support to the republican party. His religious faith was that of the Methodist church and he guided his life according to its teachings, so that the sterling worth of his character made him a man worthy of the highest respect.
OSWALD MAX HECTOR.
A native of the Golden West, Oswald Max Hector has been imbued with its pro- gressive spirit and initiative. He is prominent in the mercantile circles of Klamath Falls, where he is recognized as a most representative citizen and his store is one of the substantial business interests of that place. Born in Sacramento, California, on the 7th of October, 1882, he was a son of John Oswald Hector, a native of Germany who came to the United States when thirteen years of age. The father came to this country in order to avoid serving a military apprenticeship, a policy of his government which he strongly opposed, and arriving in New York traveled straightway to Cali- fornia, in which state he made his home. There he grew to manhood and having early received his citizenship papers engaged in the hotel business in which he won promi- nence. In Sacramento he met and married Mary Ellen Haley, a native of that state, whose father, John Haley, was one of the old pioneers, having settled there in the year 1849. Her mother was of old New England stock, she being a descendant of Irish people who landed in New Bedford, Massachusetts, at an early day.
Oswald Max Hector was educated in the grade schools of his native town and later entered Christian Brothers College, from which he graduated in 1899. After the com- pletion of his studies he accepted a clerkship in a dry goods store and for the next fifteen years took advantage of every opportunity to become familiar with the business. In 1909 he located in Klamath Falls as the manager of the firm of J. F. Maguire &
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Company and during his four years in that connection so clearly demonstrated his ability along that line that at the termination of that time he determined to embark in the business on his own account. The result of his decision was the purchasing of the interests of the firm by which he was employed and he has since been active in its conduct. Mr. Hector is classed with the highest grade merchants of the state and as a buyer has few superiors. He is a firm believer that satisfied patrons are the best advertisement and he has built up an extensive and lucrative patronage, because of the quality and price of the stock. His store, located at 808 Main street, has a frontage of fifty-six feet and a depth of ninety feet and the windows are most artistically ar- ranged. He carries a large stock but confines it to dry goods, draperies and women's wear.
In June of the year 1904 Mr. Hector was united in marriage to Miss Winnie Lang- ner, a member of an old Ohio pioneer family, and to them five children have been born: Bernice Winnifred and Florence Ellen, both in high school; Oswald Milton and Alysse Kallie, students at the Sisters Convent; and Claire Imelda. Mrs. Hector is a model housewife and mother and takes a prominent part in the club and social affairs of Klamath Falls.
Mr. Hector's sole fraternal affiliation is with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and although he is a stanch republican he has never desired political preferment as a reward for party fealty. The religious faith of the family is that of the Catholic church. Mr. Hector has demonstrated his business ability and he stands as a stal- wart champion for all those interests which make for the uplift of the individual and the benefit of the community, his ald and influence being always on the side of right and progress. He is an active member of the Chamber of Commerce and other busi- ness organizations for the development of the community at large.
CYLTHIE JANE RAMSEY, D. O.
In the past few years women have come to the front as members of various profes- sions and in the business world, and Tillamook City numbers among her prominent women Dr. Cylthie Jane Ramsey. A native of Illinois, Dr. Ramsey was born in 1861, a daughter of John and Susana (Dixon) Bradshaw, pioneers of that state. Mr. Brad- shaw was a descendant of one of three brothers who came to America from England immediately after the fall of Cromwell, with whom they were sympathizers, and their descendants lived in Pennsylvania and Tennessee before moving to Illinois. Dr. Ram- sey's grandfather on his way west passed through the now great metropolis of Chicago when it was but a straggling village. After the marriage of John Bradshaw and Susana Dixon the young couple removed to Kansas, becoming pioneers of that state.
Cylthie Jane Bradshaw received her education in the schools of Kansas and in 1879 was united in marriage to John Ramsey, a rising young attorney of Kansas and a son of Dr. John Ramsey, a noted physician. He helonged to that branch of the Ramsey family of which Sir Charles Ramsey a prominent man in Scotland, is a member and the family is likewise one of high standing in America. In 1889 John Ramsey passed away and the only child born to them had died previously. Although crushed by her loss, the young widow did not give up to grief but bravely took up the struggle of life and determined to study a profession. Her education had not been of the practical sort and she was unable to fill any position without train- ing. She therefore entered the Pacific College of Osteopathy at Los Angeles, California, the spirit of the pioneer thus showing in her choice of a profession and in her work of giving relief, and was graduated from that institution in 1899. The same year she located in Oregon and took up the practice of her profession at Albany, where she remained for a period of six years. She then removed to Portland, where after three years' practice she, in 1904, took a postgraduate course at the American School of Osteopathy and in 1916 also attended the Los Angeles College of Physicians & Sur- geons for a short course. The following year she located in Tillamook City and she has since practiced there, gaining a high reputation in her chosen calling.
Dr. Ramsey is a woman of marked intelligence and ability and although a regular attendant at religious meetings has no church membership. She is a woman of deep religious convictions, however, whose religion is one of service, seeing God as love and kindness in the hearts of men. She leans strongly toward theosophy the avowed objects of which society are: "(1) To form the nucleus of a Universal Brotherhood
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without any distinction whatever. (2) To promote the study of ancient and modern religions, philosophies, and sciences. (3) To investigate unexplained laws of nature and the psychical powers of man." She is ever interested in any movement for the development and improvement of the community and is a member of the Federation of Women's Clubs and the Woman's Relief Corps. For many years she was an earnest worker for social hygiene, believing that safety lies in a thorough knowledge of the laws of life and that the chief duty of the physician is to teach rather than to heal. Professionally she ranks among the most talented practitioners of the state and has membership in the State and National Osteopathic Associations.
MARVIN WILLITT SKIPWORTH.
Marvin Willitt Skipworth, a veteran of the World war and member of the Prine- ville bar, is a member of one of Oregon's best known families. For many generations the family has been represented in the three learned professions and have won wide- spread prominence and success. His father, Eugene R. Skipworth, was one of the best known lawyers in Oregon and practiced in Eugene for a number of years, passing away in 1904, a most honored citizen. The mother of Mr. Skipworth was Annie Willitt and she was a descendant of one of Oregon's old pioneer families who came to this state in 1852. His paternal grandfather was a member of a distinguished pio- neer family of Georgia and came to Oregon from Louisiana.
Marvin Willitt Skipworth is indebted to the schools of Eugene for his education and in later life took up the study of law in the office of his uncle, Circuit Judge G. F. Skipworth, and completed the study of law and began the practice in the office of A. C. Woodcock in Eugene, who is one of Oregon's best known pioneer lawyers. He was admitted to the bar in the spring of 1917 and soon afterward entered the military service in the World war and was sent to Camp Lewis, Washington, where he was assigned to office work and was promoted to sergeant. Immediately after his discharge he joined the legal staff of the Seattle chapter of the Red Cross and there he remained for eleven months, the last seven months of the time being in charge of the legal department. In 1920 he went to Prineville and became associated with Senator Jay H. Upton in the practice of law.
Mr. Skipworth is city attorney of Prineville and a member of the American Legion and adjutant of the Crook County Post and as a delegate represented his post at the 1921 state convention. He is also former chairman of the Red Cross for Crook county. He has no fraternal affiliations. Mr. Skipworth is a young man of much ability, with keen intellect and laudable ambition and before him lies a vast and unlimited future and noteworthy success is assured him.
ALBERT THOMAS LAWRENCE.
Albert Thomas Lawrence is in every sense of the word a self-made man and his career is an example to the youth of the state, for it clearly illustrates what can be accomplished by a boy who has the character and will power to forge ahead in spite of adverse circumstances. He was born in Benton county, Iowa, in 1870, a son of George A. and Elizabeth (Clark) Lawrence, the former a native of Indiana and a descendant of New England ancestors who established themselves in America before the Revolution. The Clark family is likewise of pre-Revolutionary stock and Albert Thomas started out in life with the red blood of worthy and honored American ancestors flowing through his veins.
For many years the father of Albert Thomas Lawrence engaged in farming near Paradise, Indiana, but died when his son Albert was but twelve years of age and the burden of supporting the family fell upon his young and inexperienced shoulders. Man- fully he assumed his responsibilities, and although all chance of his obtaining an edu- cation was lost, he expressed his regret neither in word nor deed, and for two years bent his energies toward the cultivation of the home farm. At the age of fourteen he secured employment in a grocery store and served so faithfully and intelligently in this position that two years later he was made store manager. He remained in that connec- tion for eight years and then determined to go to Chicago, where his willingness and
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ability to work would win him a better competence. He moved to that city and secured a job as porter in a clothing store, where he advanced rapidly, his devotion to his work being recognized by the proprietor, who shortly put him in charge of the establishment. For the next twenty-five years of his life he remained with that company, fifteen years of that time being spent in Chicago and ten years in St. Paul and Minneapolis, where he managed the branch houses of the concern. In 1912 he organized a colonizing com- pany and purchased a tract of some three thousand acres in Douglas county, Oregon, which was to be developed and sold in small tracts. This scheme fell through because of the failure of the original investors to make good, but the tract, a beautiful site, is in the possession of Mr. Lawrence and one of his New York friends. It is known as Sunshine Ranch, and the original plan to devote the three thousand acres to the culture of prunes and logan berries has not been abandoned. Mr. Lawrence owns individually a ranch of two hundred and fifty-four acres on Myrtle creek, on which he raises prunes and small fruit and breeds black face Shropshire sheep. In 1920 he established a real estate and insurance business in Roseburg and his spacious office on the ground floor at 125 Cass street has the appearance of a county fair, for the walls and ceiling are decorated with samples of the products of the farms of Douglas county. He does a gen- eral real estate business and represents the New Jersey Fire Insurance Company.
In 1910 occurred the marriage of Mr. Lawrence and Miss Edris Olive Johnson, a daughter of Ben Johnson, who is a pioneer farmer of Minnesota. Two children have been born to their union: Olive Edris, and Albert T., Jr.
Mr. Lawrence has no fraternal affiliations and finds his pleasure in his family circle. He is always ready to devote his time to the promotion of any movement he deems necessary to the development and improvement of the community and Is readily conceded to be a representative citizen.
FRANK NAU.
Frank Nau, whose name long figured prominently in connection with the drug trade of Portland and who stood as a high type of the enterprising and progressive merchant who adhered closely to the highest standards of commercial activity, was born in the state of New York in 1863 and was a son of Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Nau. The mother died when he was but three years of age. The father, who was a real estate dealer, accumulated a considerable fortune and gave to each of his sons a good start in life.
Frank Nau spent his early boyhood and youth in New York, where he acquired his preliminary education and later pursued his studies for a time in upper Wis- consin, while afterward he attended the Chicago College of Pharmacy, from which in due course of time he was graduated, thus qualifying for his active career In the drug business. He afterward became manager of a drug store in Milwaukee, later had charge of a second store in that city and subsequently went to New York city, where he continued in the same line of business. About 1888 he sailed for San Francisco, mak- ing the journey by way of Panama across the Isthmus, taking thirty days to make the trip at that time. He arrived in San Francisco and after spending a short period in that city continued his journey to Portland. Here he procured a position with the Woodard-Clarke Drug Company, which was then located on Front street. The fol- lowing year the erection of the Portland Hotel was begun and Mr. Nau decided to open a drug store in the hotel. This he did and prospered in the undertaking. His establishment soon won a liberal patronage and for many years he owned and con- ducted one of the finest drug stores of the city. He removed after some time from the Portland Hotel to Sixth and Alder streets, where he carried on a business of large and gratifying proportions, always maintaining the highest standards in the conduct of his store, in the personnel of the house and in the treatment accorded patrons. It was Mr. Nau who introduced the plan of having an all-night or "we never close" drug store and on the day of his funeral it was the first time that the doors of the store had been locked for twenty-five years. The introduction of this innovation in the drug trade was at first a losing undertaking, but he persevered, believing that eventually it must win and in time the plan was crowned with success. On many occasions he displayed initiative and enterprise that produced splendid results and set a standard for activity among other druggists in the city.
In 1897 Mr. Nau was united in marriage to Miss Louise Burgess, a daughter of
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Levi J. and Rebecca A. (Weller) Burgess, who were natives of Ohio. To Mr. and Mrs. Nau were born a son and a daughter: Frank, who is now the manager of the drug store left by his father; and Hermine, who is with her mother.
Mr. Nau was a member of the Masonic fraternity and also of the Benevolent Pro- tective Order of Elks and was prominent in the leading clubs of the city. His political support was given to the republican party. With his family he was motoring in California in 1915 and had started upon a return trip to Portland when he became ill st Red Bluff, California. From there he was brought by train to Portland but an hour after his arrival he passed away in the Good Samaritan Hospital, his death occurring August 29, 1915. He is remembered as one of the progressive and promi- nent merchants of Portland and as one whose social qualities and admirable chiar- acteristics gained for him the friendship and regard of all who knew him.
WILLIAM MACMASTER.
William MacMaster, financial agent, with offices in the United States National Bank building In Portland, is an alert, enterprising and progressive business man whose activities have been of a character that have contributed in substantial measure to the development and upbuilding of the northwest along agricultural, stock raising and manufacturing lines. Mr. MacMaster Is a native of England. He was born in Staffordshire on the 4th of February, 1858, a son of James and Anna (Heron) Mac- Master, the former a farmer by occupation.
The eldest in a family of ten children, William MacMaster pursued his education in the Kirkmaiden parish school in Wigtownshire, and in the Dollar Academy at Clackmananshire, Scotland. After laying aside his textbooks he followed farming in Scotland for a time and in 1881 came to the United States as a representative of the Dundee Land Company of Dundee, Scotland, being at that time a young man of twen- ty-three years. His ability and trustworthiness are indicated in the fact that the com- pany appointed him manager of their ten thousand acre tract of land in northwestern Iowa and so energetically did he apply himself to the task that at the expiration of two years he had developed and stocked these lands and sold them. He subsequently became assistant inspector for the Dundee Mortgage & Trust Investment Company, Ltd., in which connection he traveled over the middle west, inspecting securities for this corporation whose operations extend to all parts of the United States and Canada.
In 1883 Mr. MacMaster came to Portland as inspector for the local agency of the Dundee Mortgage & Trust Company, Ltd., which position he filled until April, 1884, when he became general inspector, serving in that capacity until 1890. In that year he formed a partnership with A. H. Birrell and they engaged in the business of loaning money on real estate security as representatives of the former companies merged under the name of the Alliance Trust Company, Ltd., of Dundee, Scotland, also becom- ing agents for other companies engaged in the same line of business. In 1902 they dissolved partnership, Mr. MacMaster taking over the business, which he has since con- ducted in his own name. Under his able management the undertaking has developed rapidly until it is now one of the best known enterprises of the kind in the Pacific northwest. He represents substantial and reliable companies which have been doing business in Oregon since 1873 snd have been potent factors in its development snd up- building. Many of the most successful projects in this section of the country along agricultural, stock raising and manufacturing lines have been financed through the aid extended by this outside capital, which Mr. MacMaster has always been able to divert into profitable channels, both for the capitalists and the men who were de- veloping this empire of boundless possibilitles. He is a shrewd business man who has demonstrated his ability to direct large interests and his labors have ever been of a constructive character, contributing to progress and development along many lines of endeavor.
In Edinburgh, Scotland, on the 1st of October, 1890, Mr. MacMaster was united in marriage to Miss Annie Jeffrey Fender, a daughter of James and Katherine (Jeffrey) Fender, the former a prominent wholesale merchant of that city. Three daughters have been born of this marriage, namely: Katherine, who married Samuel T. Halsted, of Riverside, California; Malsie, the wife of D. C. Oldenborg, of Kobe, Japan; and Ailsa, the wife of R. M. Ireland, of Portland.
In religious faith Mr. MacMaster is an Episcopalian and his political allegiance is
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given to the republican party. He has been prominent in public affairs of his city and under Mayor Williams' administration served for two terms as a member of the executive board. He was appointed dock commissioner by Mayor Simon but did not qualify on account of his residence being outside of the city limits. He has great faith in the future of this section of the country and is a prominent and active member of the Portland Chamber of Commerce, of which he served for two years as president, and was also a member of the board of directors, doing everything in his power to promote the growth of the city and extend its trade interests. He is a member of the St. Andrews Society of Oregon, of which he served as president for one year and is also identified with the British Benevolent Society of Portland, acting as its chief executive officer for two years. He is likewise connected with the Arlington Club and the Waverly Country Club, serving for eight years as president of the, latter. During the recent conflict with Germany he was active in the promotion of all Liberty loan drives and other measures which had for their object the speedy termination of the war, doing everything in his power to aid the government in its time of need. He is a man of honorable purpose and high principles as well as of undaunted enterprise and laudable ambition and in business and wherever known he commands the respect and confidence of all with whom he is associated. His life has been one of intense activity, intelligently directed into those channels through which flows the greatest good to the greatest number and his efforts have brought him a measure of success that is most desirable and have also proven of benefit to his fellowmen in many fields.
HON. MILTON S. WOODCOCK.
The name of Milton S. Woodcock is closely associated with the history of Benton county and the development of that section. As president of the First National Bank of Corvallis he occupies a prominent position among the financiers of the state, and he has also gained distinction in professional circles, having engaged in the practice of law since 1875. His activities have been of a varied nature and as a cooperant factor in many projects for the public good he has contributed in large measure to the upbuilding and improvement of Corvallis and Benton county. He is one of the builders of the northwest and the structure which he and his fellow citizens are rearing is a credit and honor to them and to the community.
Mr. Woodcock is a worthy representative of an honored pioneer family of Oregon. He was born near Greenfield, eight miles from the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, May 9, 1849, and is a son of Martin and Amanda J. (White) Woodcock, the former born in Schoharie county, New York, July 20, 1824, and the latter also a native of the Empire state. The paternal grandfather of Milton S. Woodcock was William Woodcock, who removed from New York to Wisconsin, settling near Milwaukee during the pioneer epoch in the development of that state. His son, Martin Woodcock, was a farmer by occupation and in 1853 he crossed the plains to Oregon with ox teams, settling in Lane county, where he took up a donation claim fourteen miles west of the present site of Eugene. This he cleared and developed, continuing its cultivation for about five years, when he removed to Monroe, Benton county, Oregon, and there engaged in merchan- dising in partnership with his younger brother. He also became interested in the manufacture of wagons, his older brother being associated with him in that enter- prise. Subsequently he took up his residence in the vicinity of Salem, Oregon, and there spent his remaining years, passing away March 22, 1884, when fifty-nine years of age. On the 28th of August, 1848, he had wedded Amanda J. White, who survives and is now a resident of Corvallis. They became the parents of three children, namely: Milton S .; Eva L., who was born February 7, 1855, and is the widow of Leander J. Stannus; and Mrs. Carrie L. Savage, who was born July 2, 1865.
The son, Milton S. Woodcock, was but four years of age at the time the family removed to Oregon and his education was acquired in the schools of this state. In his boyhood he was employed in his father's store, thus early becoming familiar with mer- cantile methods, and in 1869 he began merchandising on his own account, opening a store at Monroe, Benton county, which he continued to operate with a fair amount of success until 1874, when he sold and sought a broader field of labor at Corvallis. In the meantime he had taken up the study of law under the direction of Colonel Kelsey and in 1875 was admitted to the bar at Salem. He opened an office at Corvallis where he has since been identified with the legal profession, although many other interests
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