USA > Oregon > History of Oregon, Vol. II > Part 79
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HON. MILTON S. WOODCOCK
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have claimed his attention. For a time he was engaged in the general hardware and implement business as a member of the firm of Woodcock & Baldwin, an association that was maintained for fourteen years. In 1887 he entered financial circles, estab- lishing a private bank under the name of the Benton County Bank, which opened its doors for business in June, 1887. Three years later, or in June, 1890, Mr. Woodcock organized the First National Bank at Corvallis, which was capitalized for fifty thousand dollars. From the beginning he has served as its president and under his wise guidance and through the cooperation of his fellow officers the business of the bank has con- tinued to increase until it has become recognized as one of the safe and substantial finan- cial institutions of this part of the state. It is housed in one of the most modern bank and office buildings on the Pacific coast, which was erected in 1919, and it is supplied with splendid equipment in the way of safety deposit vaults and other protection for the benefit of depositors. The bank now has a capital and surplus of one hundred thousand dollars and its resources are in excess of a million and a half dollars. Its other officers are: E. E. Wilson and A. R. Woodcock, vice presidents; C. H. Wood- cock, cashier; and P. A. Eckman, assistant cashier, all of whom are thoroughly reliable and progressive business men of this section of the state. Mr. Woodcock was not yet twenty when he embarked in the mercantile business, but, possessing keen insight into business affairs and situations, he has been enabled to carry forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes, and is a typical western man, wide-awake, alert and enterprising. He also has extensive farming interests and valuable city property and is continually broadening the scope of his activities with good results. He has had broad experience in a business way and his energy and enterprise have carried him forward to a substantial point on the highroad to success.
At Corvallis, Mr. Woodcock was united in marriage to Miss Emma J. Simpson, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Rev. Anthony Simpson, who was born in Manchester, England. On emigrating to the United States her father became a resident of Philadelphia. He was a Presbyterian minister and served as a chaplain in the Civil war, being sent to Virginia by the Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation. In 1865, accompanied by his wife and four children, he started for Oregon by the water route, going by way of the Isthmus of Panama. They sailed as passengers on the steamer Golden Rule, which was wrecked in the Caribbean sea in June, 1865. The ship sank but the passengers were all rescued and ten days later they were taken by a United States man-of-war to Aspinwall and thence made their way to Panama, where they took passage on the steamer America for San Francisco, proceeding from that point to Portland, Oregon, by boat. For some time the family resided in Albany, Oregon, and then went to Olympia, Washington, where for two years the father was pastor of the First Presbyterian church. In 1867 he removed to Corvallis, where for some time he continued his ministerial labors, and subsequently he took up his resi- dence upon a farm in Benton county, which he operated in connection with preaching the gospel. At a later period he returned to Philadelphia, where he passed away shortly afterward. In early manhood he had wedded Helen Crawford, a native of County Antrim, Ireland, and of Scotch-Irish lineage. Her demise occurred in Albany, Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. Woodcock have become the parents of three children, namely: A. R., who is second vice president of the First National Bank of Corvallis; C. H., who is serving as cashier of the bank; and E. M. The eldest of the children, A. R. Woodcock, is a graduate of the Oregon Agricultural College and is an ornithologist of note, being regarded as the most eminent authority in that science in the state of Oregon.
Mr. Woodcock is an earnest republican in his political belief and exerts a wide influence in the councils of the party. In 1901 he was elected mayor of his city and his services were highly satisfactory to the general public, for he advocated progress, reform and improvement and sought by practical methods to attain the ends desired. He is much interested in the educational progress of the state and is serving on the board of regents of the Oregon Agricultural College, being a member of the building committee. He is a prominent Mason, having attained the thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite. He was initiated into the order in Monroe Lodge, No. 49, and is now connected with Corvallis Lodge, No. 14. He likewise belongs to Ferguson Chapter, R. A. M., of Corvallis, of which he is past high priest; . is a member of Oregon Council of Corvallis, of which he is a past officer; and is past grand master of the Grand Council of Oregon. Among the offices which he has held in the Masonic order may be men- tioned the following: In the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Oregon he was elected grand captain of hosts, serving from June, 1909, until June, 1910; was grand
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scribe from June, 1910, to June, 1911; grand king from June, 1911, to June, 1912; grand deputy high priest from June, 1912, to June, 1913; grand high priest from June, 1913, to June, 1914. In the council he was invested with the degree of royal and select master in May, 1882, and the super excellent degree in February, 1883. In 1898 he was elected thrice illustrious master of the Oregon Council of Royal & Select Masters and in 1899 was elected thrice illustrious grand master of the Grand Council of Royal & Select Masters of Oregon. He was the organizer of the Eastern Star lodge in Cor- vallis and served as its first worthy patron. For the past fifteen years he has been a member of the building committee of the Masonic building at Portland and he is also identified with the Oregon Pioneers Association and the American Bankers Asso- diation. From pioneer times Mr. Woodcock has resided within the borders of Oregon, and his career has ever been such as has reflected credit and honor upon the state. Well descended and well bred, his life record has been marked by constant progress, resulting ever from the attainment of his objective in the business world. His ambi- tions and his ideals are high and his progressive spirit unfaltering. His activities have ever been of a character that have contributed to public progress and prosperity as well as to individual success, and he is actuated in all that he does by a public- spirited devotion to the general good.
DAVID ROBINSON, M. D.
Dr. David Robinson of Tillamook City is classed among the representative mem- bers of the medical profession in Oregon. A native of Ireland, he was born at Drum- dollagh in the northern part of that country in 1874. His parents were David and Mary Jane (Christy) Robinson and the father was a well-to-do leather merchant.
In the acquirement of an education Dr. David Robinson attended the schools of his native country. Having early in life determined to enter the medical profession, he came to the new world in 1892 because of better facilities for study offered in this country and because it was his purpose to make his own way in the world. In his native land such a course was not to be considered by one of his station in life. Land- ing in New York he worked on a farm in Orange county, New York, and then entered the high school of Montgomery, that state, where he completed the regular course in a year and a half, earning his own way, and subsequently for three years he taught school, saving sufficient funds during that time to enable him to enter Brown Uni- versity in 1897. Every moment of his spare time was spent in work or study and in 1901 he graduated from that institution with the degree of A. B. He then enrolled in the medical department of Harvard University and in due time was awarded his M. D. degree. Following his graduation in 1906 he served for one year in the Long Island Hospital and immediately thereafter came to Oregon, being for ten years active in the practice of his profession at Mosier, Wasco county. In 1916 he removed to Tilla- mook City and has since practiced there. He has won the confidence and love of all with whom he has come in contact, for he is one of those quiet men, devoted to his profession. There is nothing of the pompous domineering physician about Dr. Rob- inson and one cannot fail to observe the confident force which characterizes his pro- fessional activities. : At Mosier, Oregon, in 1907, occurred the marriage of Dr. Robinson to Miss Dollie C. Mosier, whose father, Jonah Mosier, was one of Oregon's foremost pioneers. The town of Mosier was built upon his original donation claim and named in his honor as a lasting tribute to his share in building up the state. Mrs. Robinson still owns an orchard of eighty acres, a part of her father's original claim of eight thousand and sixty-eight acres, as well as the home in which she was born.
. Fraternally Dr. Robinson is identified with the Knights of Pythias and he is like- wise an Odd Fellow, heing past grand of that organization. In the line of his pro- fession he has membership in the Tillamook Medical Society, being its secretary, the Oregon State Medical Association, and he is a fellow of the American Medical Associa- tion. Dr. Robinson takes but little active interest in political affairs but his popu- larity won for him the office of mayor of Mosier, being the first to fill that position. Mrs. Robinson is a woman of culture and refinement. She is prominent in club and social circles of the city, belonging to organizations of the highest order. Doctor Robinson is a man of broad sympathies and the poor and needy have found in him a friend. Strong in his individuality, he never lacks the courage of his convictions, but
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there are as dominating elements in his character a lively human sympathy and an abiding charity, which, as taken in connection with his sterling integrity and honor, have naturally gained for him the respect and confidence of men.
ARTHUR CHAMPLIN SPENCER.
Arthur Champlin Spencer, general attorney for the Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Company and a member of the Portland bar since June, 1895, is a native son of New England, his birth having occurred at Suffield, Connecticut, on the 17th of October, 1872. He pursued a public school education at Deep River, Connecticut, while spending his youthful days in the home of his parents, George Francis and Martha (Champlin) Spencer, and when he had completed the high school course was gradu- ated with the class of June, 1889. He next entered the Connecticut Literary Institu- tion at Suffield and later studied in the Vermont Academy at Saxton's River, Vermont, where he completed his studies in June, 1891.
Mr. Spencer initiated his business career as clerk in a general store at Deep River and after a period of preliminary experience of this character was appointed to a clerical position in the Deep River National Bank. His identification with the west dates from 1893, and having determined upon the practice of law as a life work, he thoroughly prepared for the bar, pursuing his studies in the University of Oregon until admitted to practice in the courts of the state in June, 1895. He then opened a law office in Portland, where he has since remained, and the thoroughness with which he qualified for his profession and his laudable ambition have both been manifest in the success which has since attended his efforts. His clientage has been extensive and he has conducted much important litigation before the courts of the district and of the state.
He filled the office of deputy district attorney for the fourth judicial district of Oregon from 1900 to 1904 when he was appointed an attorney for the Oregon Rallroad & Navigation Company, which he has since represented in a legal capacity. He has been advanced until he is now general attorney for the company and during the period of Federal control of railroads was general solicitor of Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Lines, the Southern Pacific Lines North of Ashland, the North- ern Pacific Terminal of Oregon, the San Francisco & Portland Steamship Lines and the Pacific Coast Railroad. He is counsel and one of the directors of the Hibernia Commercial & Savings Bank of Portland.
On the 15th of June, 1898, in Portland, Mr. Spencer wedded Miss Margaret Fenton, a daughter of James D. and Margaret A. Fenton. They have become parents of two sons and a daughter: George Fenton, Arthur Champlin, and Margaret. Mr. Spencer belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and his political allegiance is given to the republican party. He is also connected with the Arlington Club, the Press Club, and other social and civic organizations. He affiliates with the First Presbyterian church of the city and is a member of the Chamber of Commerce. In the chosen calling for which he prepared in young manhood he has made for himself a creditable name and place, being regarded today as an expert on his knowledge of railroad and cor- porate law.
HUGH GLENN.
There are few men who have contributed so largely and beneficially to the development of the Pacific coast as has Hugh Glenn of The Dalles. He was born in Amherst Island, Ontario, Canada, in 1841. His father, Samuel Glenn, was a farmer well known in the northern part of the Empire state. The son was educated in the graded schools of New York and as a boy entered a machine shop in Albany to learn the trade but soon concluded that he had no taste for that line of work and in 1860 decided to try his fortune in the west. Accordingly he made his way to the Pacific coast, arriving in San Francisco in the fall of that year. His first effort was in con- nection with a pack train and later, by the toss of a coin, he took up mining on the Fraser river, where in three years his efforts netted him fifty-two thousand dollars. Assuming that he was on the road to notable success he mined for a while at Canyon
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City and then entered into certain lines of speculation that depleted his fortune. Accordingly it was necessary that he start anew and this he did in Portland. Having learned the carpenter's trade, he took up the business of contracting and building and again made good. Many of the substantial structures in East Portland were erected by him. He also engaged in the mercantile business and again he prospered in his undertakings but once more suffered severe losses by going on the bond of a friend.
In 1876 Mr. Glenn arrived at The Dalles, where he has remained. His first busi- ness venture at this place was as a contractor and one of his first contracts was for the building of twenty-one miles of the Portland and Astoria Railroad Line. He was also president of The Dalles, Portland & Astoria Steamboat Company, which owned and operated what was known as the Regulator Line of boats. Later he organized the firm of H. Glenn & Company, which is still in existence and which conducts one of the most important business enterprises of the city. They deal in paints, oils, glass and building material of every description and have a handsome storeroom on Wash- ington street, which is filled with a large and varied stock. The firm maintains ware- houses with side tracks and is prepared to meet the wants of a city of a population of fifty thousand. Mr. Glenn has now retired from the active management of the business, which he leaves in the capable hands of his partner, Joseph E. Leroux, who is conceded to be one of the most progressive, alert and enterprising young business men of central Oregon.
In 1872 Mr. Glenn was married to Miss Hattie J. Severson, daughter of Abraham Severson of Binghamton, New York. They were the first couple to have a church wedding in the Methodist church of East Portland. Mrs. Glenn is the niece of the well known Oregon philanthropist, P. W. Severson, whose many and extensive benefac- tions have greatly endeared him to the people of the state. Among his gifts may be mentioned that of one hundred thousand dollars to the Willamette University, fifty thousand dollars to the Young Men's Christian Association, an equal amount to the Young Women's Christian Association and twenty-five thousand dollars to the Hills- boro Academy. Mr. Glenn is the executor of his estate and on his own account has endowed the Boys' Home and the Baby Home with five thousand dollars each. No civic enterprise that has for its object the good of The Dalles, of Wasco county or of the state at large seeks the aid of Hugh Glenn in vain. He does not wait to be solicited for his subscription but gives cheerfully and voluntarily of his time and money to every cause that he believes will prove of benefit to the state.
Mr. and Mrs. Glenn have two children living, Mrs. Bertha E. Heroux and Mrs. Grace G. Crighton, both of The Dalles. Mr. Glenn has been a Mason for more than a half century and was the first Elk in this section of the country, becoming a charter member of Portland Lodge, No. 142. He is interested in all civic measures and to save to the people of The Dalles the large plant of the King Products Company he came forward and gave his share of the hundred and fifty thousand dollars needed to finance that corporation. He is a man of broad vision who readily sees beyond the exigencies
of the moment to the opportunities of the future, and his labors have been a most potent force in the upbuilding and development of his state. Notwithstanding that he has met losses and reverses at times in his business career, he has persistently put forth effort along lines leading to success, and prosperity in large measure has come to him as the reward of his persistency of purpose, his indefatigable energy and his irreproachable integrity. But it is the use that he has made of his prosperity that has so endeared Hugh Glenn to his fellow citizens of city and state, who recognize his public spirit and have benefited by his generosity.
ANDREW OLSEN.
For twenty-six years Andrew Olsen has been associated with the Union Fishermen's Cooperative Packing Company, serving as a member of its board of directors for twenty years and as its president since 1914. He is a native of Norway where he was born in 1869, a son of Ole Olsen.
Andrew Olsen was reared upon the farm of his father in Norway, and there re- ceived a good education. Eager to take advantage of the opportunities offered in the new world, he came to Portland in 1890, where he remained but a short time when he removed to Astoria and engaged in the fishing business. In 1895 he assisted in the organization of the Union Fishermen's Cooperative Packing Company and has been
ANDREW OLSEN
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associated with that enterprise ever since. Since 1914 he has been president of the company and for twenty years has been a member of its board of directors. When this company was established a quarter of a century ago it had a capital of eighteen thousand dollars, and the business has grown to such extensive proportions that it is now a half million dollar corporation, although the capital stock has been held down with all increases to the original amount. This packing company is one of the largest salmon packing plants on the lower Columbia river, having a capacity of three thou- sand cases per day, and many men find employment in its various departments. It has in constant use five hundred boats, each requiring the services of one or two men, an operation that clearly indicates the magnitude of the plant. The company owns one thousand feet of water frontage property on Taylor avenue, upon which stands the mammoth cannery. It also has five hundred feet at Smith's Point, three hundred feet in Alderbrook, three hundred feet at Thirtieth and Thirty-first streets, and addi- tional property interests at Wallis Island, Puget Island, Catlamet, Wheeler, where they have a cannery, and Aberdeen, Washington, where there is also a cannery. The main cannery at Astoria is modern and up-to-date in every way, and is one of the most important business interests of that city. Some of the leading brands of Col- umbia river salmon are products of this cannery, they being widely known as the Co-operative and Gill Net brands, the Anchor and Oceanic.
On the 24th of September, 1895, occurred the marriage of Mr. Olsen and Miss Bertina Sverson and to them has been born one son, Arthur B., who is now associated with the fish commission. This young man served during the World war in the Sixty- third Infantry and was one of the first men to enter the service of his country.
Politically Mr. Olsen is a stanch supporter of the democratic party, in the activities of which he takes an active interest, although he has neither sought nor desired office. The religious faith of the members of the family is that of the Lutheran church and they take a prominent part in the affairs of that organization. As president of one of the most important business interests of Astoria, Mr. Olsen is naturally interested in the civic affairs of the city, and his support may always be counted upon in the furthering of any movement for the development and improvement of the community. He has taken advantage of the opportunities offered him and has risen to his present position solely through his own industry, courage and grim determination. He is readily conceded to be a representative business man of Astoria and an exemplary citizen.
ALBERT R. HUNTER.
Albert R. Hunter, stock man and rancher near La Grande, Union county, was born on his present ranch, May 10, 1873, a son of William G. and Liza W. (Mitchell) Hun- ter, the former born near Peoria, Illinois, while the latter was born near Lexington, Kentucky. The father came west with his parents in 1864, by way of the Oregon Trail, locating near La Grande, Grand Ronde valley. There the father of William G. Hunter took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, now a part of his son's ranch, which he improved and upon which he built a substantial log house. He added to this land from time to time until he had three thousand acres, which he operated with great success until 1904, when he removed to Island City and retired. His death occurred there in 1907, at the age of sixty-two years. During his life he was a stanch democrat, had served as a member of the state board of equalization for Iwo terms and had run for the legislature but was defeated. He was a county commis- sioner for a number of years and was one of the men to build the Morgan Lake Electric Light Company plant. He was also one of the main factors in the erection of a sugar factory at La Grande. Mr. Hunter took an intelligent and active interest in any movement he deemed valuable to the development and improvement of the community and he was a booster of the city in every respect. Mr. and Mrs. Hunter were married in La Grande in 1870, Mrs. Hunter having come west with her parents in 1864 and locating in the Grand Ronde valley, near La Grande. Her father took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, which he improved and enlarged until he had six hundred and forty acres of highly cultivated farm land. Both the father and mother of Mrs. Hunter passed away on this farm, the demise of the father occurring in 1900 and Mrs. Hunter passed away in 1903. Her father was a democrat and a Presbyterian and was a representative citizen of his community.
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The boyhood of Albert R. Hunter was spent on the old farm and he received his education in the country schools and later attended the old Bishop Scott Military Academy of Portland. After putting his textbook aside he accepted a position in Island City with the Island City Mercantile and Milling Company of that place, serving as secretary of that firm for a period of twenty years. Three years of this time was spent in Wallowa county, but he returned to Island City in 1904. In 1910 he resigned his position with the firm, returned to the old home ranch in the Grand Ronde valley and there engaged in farming and stock raising. He first specialized in fine breeds of cattle and hogs but he is now particularly interested in Percheron horses. In 1918 Mr. Hunter was elected to the legislature and again in 1920.
In 1896 occurred the marriage of Mr. Hunter and Miss Margaret Barnes, a daugh- ter of Dr. E. W. and Georgia (Mason) Barnes, and a native of California. To this union two children have been born: Nita D., who is now the wife of G. L. Dutton of Tacoma, Washington; and Allen R., who is a student in the Agricultural College at Corvallis, Oregon.
As was his father before him, Mr. Hunter is a stanch democrat and his fraternal affiliations are with the Elks, Masons, and Odd Fellows. In financial circles he is prominent as a director of the La Grande National Bank and he is also a director of the Island City Mercantile & Milling Company, the Young Men's Christian Association, and the Country Club, and he is a member of the farm bureau, which he is now serv- ing as president. In every undertaking Mr. Hunter has achieved a gratifying amount of success. He is a prominent, progressive and successful man and his prosperity is founded on his industry, integrity, and broad intelligence.
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