USA > Oregon > History of Oregon, Vol. II > Part 86
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VINCENT COOK.
With the development of Portland and of Oregon Vincent Cook has been closely associated. At different periods he has been engaged in merchandising, in manu- facturing and in mining and his labors have at all times constituted a contributing element to the growth and progress of this section of the country. At the present time he is living retired, for he has passed the seventy-ninth milestone on life's jour- ney, his birth having occurred in Chicago, Illinois, February 26, 1841. His parents were Horatio and Anna (Bennett) Cook, the former a native of Worcestershire, Eng- land, and the latter of the city of London. They came to America in 1818, settling first in New York and subsequently becoming residents of New Jersey. In 1838 they re- moved to Chicago where the father, who was an expert cabinet-maker, afterward en- gaged in the furniture business until 1850. He then took up his abode at Rockford, Illinois, where he also established a furniture business. In 1852 two of his sons, George and Horatio, came to Portland, Oregon, crossing the plains to the northwest. In 1853 they were joined by their father who made the trip by way of the Isthmus of Panama and upon reaching Oregon took up a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres near Cedar Mills. The father and two sons then engaged in the furniture business in Portland, continuing the conduct of the store for several years and Mr. Cook was considered one of the most expert cabinet-makers in America at that time. His son Vincent now has in his possession a settee and other pieces of furniture which were made by his father about seventy years ago and are still in a fine state of pres- ervation. His was the first furniture used in the first Masonic lodge of Portland. The John Garrison and the Cook & Sons furniture factories were the first to be estab- lished in Portland and thus the family early became associated with the manufactur- ing development of the city. In the early '60s the death of George Cook occurred and Horatio Cook afterward engaged in the undertaking business, which he followed until the time of his demise in 1900. With the death of George Cook the father returned to the ranch where he spent his remaining days, his death occurring thereon about 1869.
Late in the year 1854 Vincent Cook, his brother J. W. Cook, his mother and a sister sailed from New York as passengers on the Star of the West, one of the early vessels connected with the passenger service to the Pacific coast. They came by way of Nicaragua, Graytown and San Francisco, proceeding northward to Portland.
After reaching this city Vincent Cook attended the academy, a Methodist institu- tion, for one winter and this constituted almost the entire extent of his schooling dur- ing the winter months. While attending the academy he and a companion, Edward Cornell, arose each morning at four o'clock and went to the office of the Oregonian where they folded papers and then delivered them in order to earn a little money, divid- ing the field between them, Mr. Cook taking all on the north side of Washington street while Mr. Cornell's territory covered all of the city to the south. There was but one home west of the park on Mr. Cook's side of the city and none east of the river at that
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time. In early life Mr. Cook was also employed by his brother J. W. Cook, who was engaged in the manufacture of bags, tents and other articles made of canvas. In 1865 he was admitted to a partnership in the business, which the brothers then conducted successfully through the succeeding three years, at the end of which time Mr. Cook withdrew and became associated with the firm of Clarke, Henderson & Cook in the establishment of a dry goods business at the corner of First and Washington streets. He was thus interested in mercantile enterprises of the city for the next six years, when he turned his attention to the salmon-packing industry in which he engaged for several years, becoming one of the most prominent representatives of the salmon industry in the northwest, making shipments to all parts of the world. He remained an active factor in that field of business until 1896. In the meantime, or in 1888, he had formed a partnership with Captain A. P. Ankeny and H. E. Ankeny and they became successors to the Sterling Mining Company, operating in Jackson county, Oregon, where they had fourteen hundred acres of fine placer land. Following the death of Captain Ankeny the business remained in the control of the two surviving partners, Vincent Cook becoming the president of the company with Henry E. Ankeny as vice president. A six-mile hydraulic pipe was used until 1861, having been in op- eration from 1854. As early as 1879 a twenty-seven mile ditch was dug to the mines. In 1877 a stock company was formed and the mines developed on a profitable basis. Mr. Cook became the chief executive officer and had active control of the affairs of the company, employing many workmen and winning a substantial return upon the invest- ment. He formulated his plans readily and was prompt in their execution, while at all times he displayed unremitting enterprise and keen discrimination.
In Portland Mr. Cook was united in marriage to Miss Oronoco L. Ankeny, a daugh- ter of Captain A. P. Ankeny, and they became the parents of two sons and a daughter: Ray A., Lelia A. and Floyd J. The wife and mother passed away in 1897 and ten years later, or in 1907, Mr. Cook was married to Mrs. Martha Matilda (Giltner) Crowell, a daughter of Dr. Jacob S. and Martha Matilda (Hause) Giltner who were natives of Pennsylvania and came to Portland in 1866. Mrs. Cook acquired her educa- tion in the Portland high school and in Oakland, California, where she prepared for college. In 1880 she entered Wellesley College of Massachusetts and was there gradu- ated in 1884 but remained for postgraduate work in 1885.
Mr. Cook is one of the six survivors of the eighty charter members of the Arling- ton Club of Portland. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is a republican in his political views. He still takes a great interest in baseball and other sports. For some time he has lived retired from active business, enjoying in well earned rest the fruits of his former toil, for his life of activity and enterprise brought to him a most substantial measure of success, giving him place with the men of affluence in his adopted city.
MRS. MIRANDA C. JEWELL.
Mrs. Miranda C. Jewell is one of the progressive business women of central Oregon. Under the name of M. C. Jewell & Son she conducts one of the best greenhouses of the state, her partner in the enterprise being her son Merle. Born in Jackson, Illinois, Mrs. Jewell is a daughter of Jacob F. and Nancy (Gregg) Faubion, who were pioneer settlers of that state. She pursued her primary education in the public schools of Missouri, to which state her parents removed in her early childhood, there residing until 1869, when the family came to Oregon. In 1871 she became the wife of Harry Jewell, a native of England, who had located in Oregon in 1870.
From her earliest girlhood Mrs. Jewell was a lover of flowers and upon coming to Oregon, the state of roses, she found ample opportunity to develop her love of all that is beautiful in this phase of nature. Mr. Jewell, who is a miner, took up farm- ing near Oregon City and in the excellent climate of that region Mrs. Jewell had ample opportunity to raise flowers. After locating at The Dalles in 1900 she built a small greenhouse and commenced growing choice flowers simply for her own use that she might enjoy them. This, however, soon grew to be a business that now occupies the greater part of her time and has become one of the most important enterprises of the state. The greenhouse, which is located on Webster street at the corner of C street, is the only one in central Oregon and commands a trade as far east as Pendleton and also extending into the state of Washington. The firm owns modern water-heated
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glass greenhouses, two of which are fifty by one hundred and twenty feet, and a third thirty-two by fifty feet. The plant also has outdoor beds and a shipping department. Bulbs, plants and cut flowers of every kind are at all times obtainable and a special department is devoted to the production of vegetable plants. These florists make a specialty of rare and beautiful flowers and no society function of The Dalles or this section of the state is considered complete without decorations from the Jewell greenhouse. They also furnish many floral pieces for funerals, and the business has been developed to extensive proportions.
Mrs. Jewell, besides her son Merle, who is a partner in the greenhouse, has other children, namely: Mrs. Grace Lowry of Canby, Oregon; Mrs. Nora Gard of Madras, Oregon; Bertram; and Mrs. Edna Baker of The Dalles. The son Merle was married to Fern Lamson, a native of Nebraska.
Mrs. Jewell is a member of the Christian church and also of the Eastern Star. She likewise belongs to The Dalles Historical Society and the Woman's Relief Corps, the auxiliary of the Grand Army of the Republic. Her interests and activities center along those channels through which flows the greatest good to the greatest number and she is constantly assisting some movement for the uplift of the individual and the betterment of the community.
JOHN SMITH YORK.
John Smith York, who passed away in Portland, July 9, 1919, first became iden- tified with the city in the fall of 1897, and although his residence here was not con- tinuous he was always well known and had many friends in the city. His later years were here passed, his activities bringing him into close connection with the business interests of Portland. He was born October 8, 1870, in McMinnville, the county seat of Warren county, Tennessee. His father, Landy York, was also a native of that state and with his two brothers, Wiley and Washburn, he served with the Confederate army in the Civil war, Wiley being killed at Perryville, Tennessee, while Washburn laid down his life in defense of the principles which he had espoused at Gettysburg. Landy York was wounded twice. The first time he escaped by hiding in a cave and on the second occasion he, with two or three hundred others, was cut off by the federal troops. When wounded he rode away and coming to a tree on the bank of a stream he con- cealed himself amid its thick foliage, while his horse plunged into the water. The men in pursuit, seeing his hat floating on the stream, believed that he was drowned, while he listened to their conversation as he sat on a branch just over their heads. Through exposure during the war, however, he lived but a short time after the cessa- tion of hostilities. Washburn York, the father of these three brothers, resided at the foot of the Cumberland mountains and was one of the slaveholders of that district. Alvin York, a hero of the great World war so recently ended, was a representative of this family. Landy York was united in marriage to Miss Martha Smith who was a daughter of John Smith and was born in Tennessee. She suffered much hardship and also loss of property during the Civil war while trying to care for the plantation and her family of little ones, their home being within sound of the cannons' roar. She died when her son John was a babe of nine months, and his eldest sister, Arminta, took charge of the home and baby brother for four years when the father passed away and the children went to live with an uncle.
Most of the boyhood of John S. York was spent in Tennessee working on the plantation or farm, while his education was limited to the brief sessions of the district schools which he attended whenever possible. In his early teens he went to Killeen, Texas, to live with his aunt Fannie, his father's sister who had become the wife of P. L. Duncan. At that place he had a few years' experience in the drug business in connection with an uncle who was a physician, but seeing an opportunity to better himself in the grocery business he became associated with a cousin, F. M. Duncan, in that trade. Later he became proprietor of the store which he conducted for three or four years and then sold, accepting a position as traveling salesman with the Behrens Drug Company of Waco, Texas. He remained on the road as their representative for about three years.
It was in the fall of 1897 that Mr. York first came to Portland and in 1898 went with the first party to Nome, Alaska. In 1901 he returned to this city but immediately afterward left for Dawson, Alaska, where he went into the general merchandise business
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with a Mr. Keller, for a year, then sold out to his partner and became manager for the North American Trading & Transportation Company, which position he held for five years. He enjoyed the highest esteem of the prospectors and miners of that country and. in fact was so highly regarded that he was frequently entrusted by the miners with their pokes, containing thousands of dollars' worth of gold dust. One who knew him well during his experience in the far north said: "He was always re- garded as most capable, attentive to his duties, reliable, trustworthy and a fine, com- panionable fellow." With his return to Portland in the fall of 1906 Mr. York became aassociated with O. C. R. Ellis in the real estate and hotel business and later engaged in the confectionery business which he followed for a few years prior to his demise. He was a progressive and thoroughly trustworthy business man and his experiences during his sojourn in Alaska and in Portland were broad and varied.
The only relatives of Mr. York who left the native state for the Pacific northwest were a nephew, Lee Crain of Portland and William Duncan, a consin, who accom- panied Mr. York to Alaska. The latter is now an oil man residing in Texas.
On the 20th of August, 1908, Mr. York was united in marriage to Mrs. Mary W. Patton, a native of Portland and a daughter of Wilson L. and Sebina O. Gaston. She was also a niece of the late Joseph Gaston, the well known historian. Mrs. York holds membership in the Congregational church. Mr. York was a Methodist in religious belief, although not a church member, and at all times lived a life of practical Chris- tianity, always seeking to follow closely the Golden Rule and never faltering in a choice between right and wrong.
In his political belief Mr. York was a democrat up to the last five years of his life when he gave his allegiance to the republican party but he was always inclined to support the man whom he thought best qualified for the office, regardless of his party relations.
SAMUEL LELAND EDDY.
Entering the employ of the Ladd & Tilton Bank of Portland in the capacity of clerk on the 1st of August, 1907, faithfulness, devotion to duty and marked business ability have won for Samuel Leland Eddy merited promotion until he now occupies the office of vice president of that large financial institution and as such ranks with the foremost figures' in the business circles of the city. Actuated by a strong purpose that will not permit him to stop short of the successful accomplishment of anything he undertakes, his labors have at all times conformed to the strictest business ethics and his work has been entirely of a constructive nature, never infringing upon the rights nor privileges of another.
Mr. Eddy is a native of this state. He was born in Kings Valley, Benton county, November 29, 1886, a son of Perry Eddy, whose birth occurred near St. Paul, Minne- sota. The father emigrated to Oregon before the railroad was built from California to this state. He made the journey from San Francisco to Portland by boat, arriving here when the city was but a village. The mother, Mary A. (Frantz) Eddy, also came to Oregon at a very early period in its settlement, making the journey across the plains from Des Moines, Iowa, with her parents when an infant. The family home was established in Kings Valley and it was at this period that Fort Hoskins was maintained by the government in order to prevent the Indians from leaving the Siletz reservation and menacing the white settlers.
In the public schools of his native county Samuel Leland Eddy pursued his education, afterward attending the Oregon Agricultural College at Corvallis. In 1905 he entered commercial circles as clerk in the grocery store of E. B. Horning, of Corvallis, and in the following year conducted a general mercantile business at Fort Hoskins. Removing to Portland he entered the employ of the Honeyman Hard- ware Company as ledger clerk, thus continuing until the 1st of August, 1907, when he became identified with the Ladd & Tilton Bank as clerk. Recognizing and utilizing each opportunity presented for advancement he became credit manager on the 1st of January, 1912, on the 1st of January, 1918, was made assistant cashier and since the 1st of June, 1919, has occupied his present position as vice president. The com- plex problems of banking are familiar to him, for comprehensive study and practical experience have acquainted him with the various phases of the business and well qualify him for the successful conduct of the important interests under his control.
SAMUEL L. EDDY
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The business of the bank is conducted along lines that constitute an even balance between conservative measures and progressiveness and at the same time the policy of the bank extends to its patrons every possible assistance commensurate with the safety of the institution. He keeps in close touch with what is being done in all departments and has succeeded in maintaining a high degree of efficiency in the operation of the business. Mr. Eddy is also interested in other business enterprises of note in the city, being a director of the Portland Vegetable Oil Company, the Kings Food Products Company, the Stradivaria Phonograph Company, the Home Service Company and the Portland Association of Credit Men. He is shrewd, systematic and unquestionably honest and these qualities have gained him the respect and confi- dence of the men who have had business dealings with him and have consequently influenced the prosperity of the enterprises with which he is connected.
On the 4th of October, 1908, in Nortons, Lincoln county, Oregon, Mr. Eddy was united in marriage to Miss Emma Edwards, a daughter of Norman Edwards, and they have become the parents of two children, Beatrice and Emma Jane, aged re- spectively seven and five years.
Fraternally Mr. Eddy is identified with the Masonic order and his life is guided by the beneficent teachings of the craft. His social nature finds expression in his membership in the Arlington, City, Ad, University, Progressive Business Men's and Irvington Clubs, and of the last named organization he is a director. He is preemi- nently a business man whose record is written in terms of success and he is leaving the impress of his individuality upon Portland's commercial and financial history, many lines of activity being benefited through his efforts, his sound judgment and his carefully formulated plans. There is no greater stimulus to individual activity and enterprise than that which is found in the life history of Samuel Leland Eddy, who has worked his way upward from a humble position in the business world and his record is proof of the fact that merit and ability will come to the front any- where.
WILLIAM HENRY ALBERT RENNER.
William H. A. Renner, of Klamath Falls, was born at Greenbush, New York, Sep- tember 3, 1863. His parents were Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Bohm, both of whom died in Jo Daviess county, Illinois, when Mr. Renner was less than three years old. In 1864 he was legally adopted by Mr. and Mrs. J. D. Renner.
He read law in a law office for four years and was admitted to practice by the Illinois supreme court, March 27, 1888, and has ever since been in active practice in both state and federal courts.
He was married March 27, 1889, and is the father of Rex R., of Klamath Falls, Oregon; Max W., of Bellingham, Washington; Alan M., of Chicago, Illinois; and Wilma, of the Canal Zone.
JUDGE ROBERT SHARP BEAN.
Judge Robert Sharp Bean, who for eleven years has sat on the bench of the United States district court in Oregon, has since 1882 heen continuously connected with the judicial history of this state and has carved his name high on the keystone of the legal arch. He was born on a farm in Yamhill county, Oregon, November 28, 1854, representing one of the old pioneer families of the state. His father, Obediah R. Bean, was a native of Clay county, Missouri, born in 1832, and when a young man of twenty years left the Mississippi valley en route for Oregon. After the long journey was completed he took up his abode in Yamhill county and throughout his active life followed the occupation of farming, becoming one of the representative agriculturists of that section. In Yamhill county he married Julia Ann Sharp and both have now passed away, the death of the father occurring in 1890 and that of the mother in 1908. In political helief he was a republican and his position as a citizen was always on the side of progress and improvement.
Judge Bean spent his youthful days in the usual manner of a farm bred boy, living with his parents in Lane county, the family having there removed in 1855.
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He was a pupil in the district schools and afterward attended the Christian College at Monmouth, Oregon, from which he was graduated with the class of 1873. In fur- ther preparation for the active and responsible duties of life, he entered the University of Oregon and completed his course with the first graduating class-that of 1878. It was in the same decade that Judge Bean was admitted to the har prior to the con- clusion of his university course. He located for practice in Eugene, where he re- mained an active member of the profession until 1882, when recognition of the skill and ability which he had displayed as a lawyer came to him in his election as circuit judge of the second judicial district and he served on the bench in that capacity until 1890. In the latter year he was elected to the supreme court of the state, of which he remained a member for nineteen years, and then in 1909 was appointed by President Taft United States district judge of the district of Oregon and has since occupied that position. His is indeed a notable record, covering thirty-eight years of judicial service. It would be tautological in this connection to enter into any series of statements as showing him to be an eminent judge, strictly fair and impartial in his rulings, for this has been shadowed forth between the lines of this review, his long service on the bench being unmistakable proof of his superior judicial qualities.
On the 7th of September, 1880, in Eugene, Oregon, Judge Bean was united in mar- riage to Miss Ina E. Condon, a daughter of the late Professor Thomas Condon of the University of Oregon. Their children are five in number: Condon Roy, who was born in 1881 and is now in Los Angeles; Ormond R., Harold Cedric and Robert Douglas, all of whom except Robert are graduates of the Oregon State University, while Harold was also graduated from the Medical Department of Johns Hopkins University of Baltimore, Maryland; and Ernest Gerald, who was born in 1882 and has passed away.
Judge Bean is a member of the Arlington Club and in Masonry has attained the Knight Templar degree. His political endorsement is given to the republican party but he has never allowed political opinion to interfere in any way with the faithful performance of his judicial duties. That he is a warm friend of the cause of education has been manifest in many tangible ways and since 1882 he has been a member of the board of regents of the University of Oregon and for the past twenty years has been president of the board. His activities have constituted resultant factors in promoting good citizenship and upholding the best interests of city and state in many connections and Oregon is proud to number him among her native sons.
LOUIS LINCOLN LANE.
Louis Lincoln Lane of The Dalles is a native son of Oregon, born in Linn county iu 1861, his parents being Andrew W. and Indiana (Smith) Lane. The family is of English extraction. The great-grandfather of Louis L. Lane came to America when this country was still numbered among the colonial possessions of Great Britian in order to enjoy religious freedom. He settled in Virginia and when the colonies sought independence from the mother country he joined the American army and did his part in winning the war. His son, David Lane, was born in Virginia and the same military spirit was manifested in him by his service in the War of 1812. David Lane removed to Indiana in the period of pioneer development in that state and there in 1830 Andrew W. Lane was born. After reaching his majority he migrated west- ward, settling in Oregon in 1853 as a resident of Linn county. For many years he there conducted business as a wagon maker. The Smith family, from whom Louis L. Lane is descended in the maternal line, is also of English origin and the first record of the family in America is found in Tennessee.
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