USA > Oregon > History of Oregon, Vol. II > Part 94
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When that period had elapsed Mr. Mock came again to Portland where he spent some years with his parents. Following the death of his mother in 1876 he purchased the property of his father, who at that time had attained the age of seventy-five. The father then returned to Germany to visit his friends and while there was robbed of all he possessed. After two years John Mock sent the money to his father to return to America and the latter made his home with his son until his death, which occurred when he had reached the notable old age of ninety-one years.
After again taking up his abode on the old homestead farm Mr. Mock of this review devoted his energies to its further development and improvement and brought it under a high state of cultivation. In 1874 he built a cabin of hewn logs seventeen by twenty-four feet and occupied it until it was destroyed by fire with all of its cen- tents, including the family records and many articles of value, in 1889. Notwith- standing this he prospered as the years passed, owing to the careful management of his farming interests and the natural rise in land values incident to the rapid settle- ment of the country.
On the 4th of August, 1874, Mr. Mock was united in marriage to Miss Mary M. Sunderland, a daughter of Benjamin and Elizabeth Sunderland who came across the plains from Iowa. To Mr. and Mrs. Mock were born the following named: Mary
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Elizabeth, now the wife of J. B. Yeon of Portland; John Benjamin, who married Vietta Curtis; Lillie Catherine, the wife of Dr. William F. Amos; and Margaret Alice.
As the years passed Mr. Mock saw great changes in the district in which he re- sided. For a long period there was no road between St. Johns and Portland and the produce was carried to market by boat. Today it is almost impossible to tell where the one city ends and the other begins, such has been the extension of Portland's boundaries. Mr. Mock always rejoiced in what was accomplished in the way of development and improvement. He lived to see the Willamette boulevard built along the Willamette river past the beautiful residence which he erected; in fact he did much toward granting land for boulevard purposes and was a most generous con- tributor to various kinds of public development. Columbia University received its splendid campus as the result of his interest in education and he labored earnestly toward developing the street railway system in the peninsula. He was a thirty-second degree Mason and member of the Mystic Shrine and was also a member of the Grange. At various times he filled offices of public honor and trust. His life was indeed one of great activity and usefulness and he had almost reached the eightieth milestone when he was called to his final rest. His reminiscences of the early days were extremely interesting and gave accurate accounts of conditions in the early period and the work of progress as the years passed. He was widely known among the pioneer settlers, nor were his friends limited to the acquaintances of early days for those whom he met in later years recognized his true worth and entertained for him the warmest regard.
TOM DOBSON.
"Maker of music, Singer of songs- You, too, taken? How the heart longs To tell how we loved that way you had Of singing life, half gay, half sad; And loved and marveled at the exquisite ease With which your hands caressed the keys, And how we found pleasure in every note
That lifted a melody out from your throat. These things we would tell-these, and one more -- A thanks for your songs. They were lovely before; But now you have gone, they're sweet, sweet breath You'll be breathing for those whom you loved, after death."
These were the lines written of Tom Dobson after he had passed away. A Port- land boy, he became one of the most distinguished singers and composers of America; but while early crowned with the laurel wreath of fame, he lives in the affectionate remembrance of all who knew him, not only because of his wonderful artistic gifts but also by reason of the personality that had as its basic elements a deep interest in mankind and appreciation of the pathos and the joy, the tragedy and the humor of life. There are few men of twenty-eight years who have lived so fully and contributed so greatly to the world's happiness as did Tom Dobson. Oregon had reason to be proud to number him among her native sons. He was born in Portland, August 17, 1890, his parents being Thomas and Amy (Berry) Dobson. The father was born in Lancashire, England, in 1844, and was a son of James and Dorothy (Townsend) Dobson, who came to the United States in 1856, when their son Thomas was a youth of twelve. years. They settled in Illinois, where he was reared, and in 1862, when a youth of eighteen, he responded to the call of his adopted country and joined Company C of the Ninety-ninth Illinois Infantry, with which he served with unfaltering loyalty and valor until discharged at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in July, 1865. The year 1883 chronicled his residence in Portland. He built the second house in Albina and was prominently identified with the development and improvement of that section for an extended period, continuing his residence in Portland until his death, which occurred June 25, 1907. In 1877 he had married Amy Berry, a daughter of James T. and Alida (Winstone) Berry, the former a representative of an old family of Kentucky and the latter of one of the old Virginia families. James T. Berry was one of the early sur- veyors of the Pacific northwest, where he was widely known in this connection for
TOM DOBSON
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many years. There were two children born to Thomas and Amy (Berry) Dobson, the daughter being Margaret, now the wife of John F. Logan, an attorney of Portland. The son, Thomas Dobson, Jr., but always known as Tom, was graduated from the Lincoln high school of Portland and afterward continued his education in Berkeley, California. That nature had endowed him with superior musical talent was early evident. When but eight years of age he became the leading boy soprano in Trinity church choir of Portland and even prior to this time had begun the study of piano and voice. When but ten years of age he went to San Francisco, where for two winters he was a member of the choir of St. Luke's church. Later, in Washington, D. C., he was the leading soprano in St. John's church and then, when thirteen years of age, he returned to his home in Portland, Oregon, to complete his high school edu- cation and while resting his voice studied piano and organ under Edgar Coursen. He had reached the age of sixteen when he first went to Berkeley, California, and there he studied piano with Wallace A. Sabin and voice with Mrs. Jessie Wilson Taylor. Thoroughness characterized all that he undertook and during his four years' residence in Berkeley he devoted much time to the study of Italian, French and German, while his intimate knowledge of English and continental literature was ever a constant source of surprise and delight to his friends. He completed his musical education in New York city, whither he went in September, 1911, to study piano and composition with Howard Brockway and also continued his vocal studies under some of the best American teachers of the metropolis. In May, 1913, he went to Europe, spending five months in study abroad. He had intended to return to Europe in 1917 in order to perfect his knowledge of the languages, but did not on account of the war. He wished to be purely American in his art-a quality indicative of his intense loyalty to his native land. He visited London with Stanley Houghton, the great English playwright, where they put on a play. His first New York recital was given at the Punch & Judy theater on March 15, 1914, on which occasion he played his own accompaniments and sang many of his own compositions. It has been said of him: "His children's songs seem to reach the hearts of his listeners more directly perhaps than any others. His clear diction, his power of interpretation and individual charm won him a unique place, while his abounding good nature, his rare sense of humor and generous use of his gifts soon brought him a large circle of friends, to whom he endeared himself by his remarkable memory, his wide and intimate knowledge of both music and letters and his sheer likeableness." From the time of his first appearance he devoted himself to concert work and to composition. While he wrote largely for children, he also set to music some of the poems of John Masefield, James Stephens and other writers, and his interpretation of the classics in music produced in all countries could scarcely be surpassed. His French, German and Italian were practically faultless and his enunciation of English the clearest and purest. He appeared in concert work for many of the leading musical societies of the east and of the west. He interpreted Grieg, Brahms-Volkslieder, Brockway and Carpenter with the same ease and ability that he did his own compositions. The music critics of New York acclaimed him as "a delightful entertainer, very original in some of his work and even unique in other ways." Another wrote: "Great should be his name and greatly to be praised, he who at a song recital nowadays can keep the senses of his hearers alert, their interest keen and their sympathies warm for an hour. The singer, Tom Dobson, who came to us from some unheralded region toward the end of last season, did that then, and it was with pleasurable expectations that his concert was attended yesterday afternoon. . .. . The singer, his voice, his manner, his art, his songs, the pleasant intimacy of the unique little playhouse. ... It is a gracious form of entertainment that he has hit upon and far from its smallest element of charm is the mingling of high art with homely in the choice of his songs and the varying manner in which he sings them." After a concert given at Carnegie Hall in New York a musical critic wrote of him as "a unique singer who has a repertoire of four hundred and fifty unusual songs, who plays his own accompaniments and who sings his own charming compositions-in short an artist of exceptional and delightful attainments." Vogue, in an article entitled "Makers of Music," said: "Tom Dobson is another young artist with the same shrewd sense of what makes the musician worth while. He is possessed of a most charming tenor voice, which he manipulates with delicate and finished artistry. Understanding clearly his particular abilities and limitations, he has consistently cultivated only those types of song which he knew belonged to him. At a recital early in April he proved himself well nigh perfect in his delivery of French songs and of those humorous genre pieces which are the despair of the conventional singer."
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When America entered the World war Tom Dobson endeavored to join the service but was rejected. He then did the next best thing-he gave his services most freely and graciously for the entertainment of the boys in the cantonments and in assistance of many entertainments held for the benefit of the Red Cross and other war activities. For three weeks he sold Liberty bonds in New York, and he was with Irving Cobb in the east when they gave an entertainment, selling more Liberty bonds than at any other point. He assisted at the Venetian fete in the home of Mrs. W. K. Vanderbilt when five thousand dollars was raised for the devastated homes of Venice. He sang at the Ritz-Carlton in New York when an entertainment was held for the benefit of the permanent blind, and again and again appeared in connection with the Stage Women's War Relief. The joy which he gave to the soldiers and sailors is perhaps best indicated in a letter which was written to his mother by Richard Welling: "I cannot go back to Montauk without freeing my mind of some things I longed to say to you today at St. Thomas' chapel. If I could give you even a suggestion of the repeated pleasure your dear boy gave the sailors this past summer both at Southampton, Easthampton and at the Y. M. C. A. building in Montauk, you would, I think, be almost incredulous that one human being's talents could bring so much happiness. Such an exquisitely kindly sense of humor as his, bespeaking as it does so much imagination and sympathy, alters the whole mental outlook of a camp. You know what splendid grumblers sailors are, and how all those on this coast longed in vain to get abroad. Well, this frame of mind often threatened the morale of the men, and at such times a few songs by Tom Dobson could be counted on to inculcate infinite patience and toleration of all our grievances. It was like magic or balm to troubled souls. We cannot get over our loss. There does not pretend to be another singer who was poet, philosopher, subtle humorist and personal friend of every sailor in the audience after the fashion of your dear boy. At the end of one of his songs the men lost all shyness and flocked about and talked as though they had just found an old friend they had been looking for all their lives. Pray accept our heartfelt sympathy and believe me, my dear Mrs. Dobson, faithfully yours."
Death came to Tom Dobson in New York, November 25, 1918. He had assisted in the care of a friend ill of influenza, contracted the disease and with the develop- ment of pneumonia he passed on to "join the choir invisible of the immortal dead." One of his old-time Portland friends wrote: "The tragic passing of Tom Dobson has affected us all very painfully. Tom had preeminently a genius for friendship; the friendship that does not inquire, question or criticise, but just accepts; the friend- ship that is a golden gift. Of all the singers I have ever known, Tom was the one of whom it could most truly be said: 'He was a born singer.' If we should ever meet him again, we shall first become aware of his presence by a song." Score upon score of letters were received by Mrs. Dobson expressing the deepest sorrow at the passing of her son. That he made strong appeal not only to his own countrymen but to those of other lands as well is indicated by the following letter: "I am Lieutenant Dormeuil, French officer in the United States, and I had the great pleasure of meeting your dear son Tom several times at Mrs. Fish's house. I want to tell you the deep sorrow his death has caused me. Although I had not known Tom for long, I had the greatest and most sincere affection for the splendid boy he was and I am quite broken-hearted over his so sudden death. I was away, traveling in the west, and was most sorry not to be able to attend his funeral. I should have liked to tell you myself of the great admiration I had for Tom and of my real friendship and love for him. I wish to condole with you over the great loss you have sustained and with kindest regards, I remain yours very sincerely, Pierre Dormeuil." One of the Portland dailies said editorially: "To the great mass of the American music-loving public, especially in this city and New York city, the death of Tom Dobson means that a friend has passed whose place it is not easy to fill. There are other singers, other entertainers, other singers of funny and serious songs, but only Tom Dobson could deliver his message- and the harp that he played so well and so skillfully is silent. Tom Dobson had a merry smile, a cheerful look that healed better than drug-store medicine. He was in his happiest mood when, seated before an audience, he played his own accompaniments to funny little songs like 'A Fat Little Feller' or 'When I Was One and Twenty.' He sang the words distinctly and his face always was composed until the last bar of music was sung. Then invariably he turned toward the laughing audience, and his face was sunny in smiles, as if he were saying: 'Say, good folks, let me in on the joke, too. I'll laugh with you.' And he did. Yes, Tom Dobson's merry smiles, his good fellowship, his free and easy manners as a song comrade, always were features
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of the Dobson concerts. Tom Dobson's piano accompaniments also were music gems that were treasured In the minds of audiences long after the dates and places of the concerts were dim. The Dobson songs were inimitable, because their composer created a sunshine place for himself in American music." His standing among the musical composers of the country is indicated in the tribute of Dr. Class, well known musical writer, who said: "Tom Dobson is dead, and one cannot yet comprehend. The wish is devoutly father to the thought. None the less, an original and gifted artist has been interrupted in his work. While waiting upon a brother artist ill with the recent epidemic infection, he, too, was overtaken, went quietly to a hospital and shortly after- ward died. Generously formed of body, his soul was an etching, and his smile an incentive to mend one's ways. At an intimate party he was a source of continuous joy, and the next morning he was a recollection, savory and satisfactory. For any composer to hear Dobson interpret a composition was a tour de force in sudden light. A plangent personality, an inimitable mimic-especially of himself, his comings and goings were the quintessence of amiable disorder. But his conscience was as inexor- able as the tide. And the details of his art had the ordered perfection that rewarded the fastidious. Tom Dobson is dead. His friends are the richer for his friendship, and his musical world forever and ungrudgingly in his debt."
The strong appeal which Tom Dobson made to people is perhaps better indicated in no other way than by a letter written to him by Mrs. Riggs, better known to the literary world as Kate Douglas Wiggin. The letter is as follows: "Dear Mr. Dobson: I cannot quite account for it, but fifteen minutes after I heard you sing, I wanted to take an indirect hand in your future, somehow. I'm not young enough to be a sister to you; you have a mother and I have pitched upon an aunt as the most satisfactory relationship. Miss Van Dresser and Miss Norman already being in active relation, I propose a Married & Maiden Aunt Company, Limited, formed for the specific purpose of nourishing your talents; training the public to a still more ardent appreciation of them; and lopping off any little eccentricities of genius that may appear as you get more famous. I have suggested that we form a Limited Company, because, although you should be a free agent and elect another aunt now and then when so disposed, we shouldn't want to become a weltering mass of aunts, at the mercy of every good looking, enthusiastic and interesting woman who might take a fancy to you. As we now stand:
Marcia Van Dresser T. Norman Kate D. Riggs,
we are a very intelligent, agreeable and rather exclusive combination; and though self-elected in this instance, we should be very difficult to secure under ordinary circumstances. I have no desire to be Caruso's aunt, nor George Hamlin's nor Herbert Witherspoon's! When selecting a singing nephew my taste inclines to somewhat plump, young ones; who play their own accompaniments, compose their own songs (and other people's), are potential poets and indulge heavily in ice cream. You needn't sign any adoption papers till after your concert. If you sing badly nobody'll want you for a nephew and if you sing beautifully the audience at the Punch & Judy will be one vast aunt-hill." The friendship thus begun was continued to the end of his life and "Aunt Kate" indicated a relationship that was cherished by both. No more beautiful tribute was written of him than that penned by Mrs. Riggs at the time of his demise and which has appeared in connection with a volume of songs the music of which is his own composition. "Tom Dobson is dead! As I write the quaint boyish name that never completely defined or expressed him it seems impossible that only a week ago he made his little part of the world vibrant with his unique personality. As singer, accompanist and composer he was known only to a few hundreds in a few cities east and west, but by those hundreds he will be remembered longer than many a great artist whose grave Is surmounted by a towering monument of marble. With a voice of no intrinsic beauty, he had the power to make the speech of his songs music and the songs themselves something altogether rare and lovely. A sense of humor is perhaps a dangerous gift to a singer unless he uses it discreetly-a socalled 'comic song' being frequently the lowest form of art; but Tom Dobson's sense of humor was of an exclusive sort that belonged to him alone. One could laugh again and again at his perfectly irresistible musical (and always musicianly) pranks! There was the most delicious humor in his face, in his voice, in his fingers; indeed his very body was eloquent with mischief when he sang certain songs of his own making. One laughed at him, and with him, whole-heartedly; but in another instant one found that
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all this nonsense was but the upper current of a deeper sea. A few chords, a change of theme and he made mirth seem cheap and obvious while he touched the hearts of his hearers and made their eyes moist with unshed tears. Who will ever forget his sing- ing of John Carpenter's 'Improving Songs for Anxious Children'-the wittiest things of their kind in all musical literature, He could wake ripples of merriment in an audi- ence without once losing his boyish dignity, and he always had beautiful contrasts in reserve, among them many of his own settings of John Masefield's verses, in which he showed his heart and imagination, the sources from which he drew both laughter and tears; for after all, unless an artist has this twofold power there is no touch of genius in him. He was a Protean creature-Tom Dobson; versatile, mischievous, witty, tender, manly, lovable, full to the brim of creative talent, and all these qualities were mirrored in his work. To those who have only heard him in a few public recitals this seems fulsome praise, but it will be simple truth to the little circle of musical and literary friends who knew him intimately. I do not quite know how to measure such terms as 'greatness' and 'littleness!' When I recall the hours of keen delight this boy's music gave me-the pure fun, the joy in the fresh revelation of some fine poem wrought into music, and contrast them with the boredom I have suffered when hearing some academic darling of the critics-I can only reflect that there are voices and other voices, singers and other singers, artists, artisans and interpreters of all sorts. There are those whose perfections leave one cold, and others who redeem their faults with every breath they draw. There is the estimable human machine, and there is the natural 'spellhinder,' a part of whose power lies in his own feeling and a part in the feeling that he evokes in his audience. There is nothing so undying, so persistent as personality. It is one of the perpetual fires that continues to burn long after other flames are extinguished. The critics, did they review the seemingly fore- shortened, unfinished life of this young artist would not perhaps place him in the first rank; but the first rank, though never crowded, must always include half a hundred names or more, and Tom Dobson, if not among these shining ones, would always have had, must always have had a place all his own! There he is, and there he will forever be, enshrined in the hearts of his loyal admirers and friends. It is such as he who are passionately mourned and never replaced."
CHARLES EDGAR COCHRAN.
Charles Edgar Cochran, assistant general attorney of the Oregon-Washington Rail- road & Navigation Company, was born on a farm in Union county, this state, May 8, 1873, a representative of one of the pioneer families. His father, Samuel Cochran, was born in Wayne county, Iowa, May 17, 1846, and devoted his entire life to the occupation of farming until his retirement. He was married in his native county to Miss Louisa Jane Ruckman, also a native of Iowa, and in 1872 they came to Oregon, where the mother's death occurred on the 29th of August, 1910. The father survives and resides in the Rose City.
Charles E. Cochran acquired his early education in the country schools of Union county and afterward attended the high school at -Union, Oregon, from which he was graduated in 1887. Ambitious to acquire a thorough education as a preparation for life's practical and responsible duties, he then entered the State Normal School at Monmouth, Oregon, and was there graduated in 1890. In preparation for the legal profession he went to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he entered the University of Michigan and is now numbered among its alumni of 1894. Immediately afterward he returned to Union, where he opened a law office in the month of October, having been admitted to the bar of the state in the previous June. He continued to practice there until October, 1906, when he removed to La Grande, Oregon, remaining a member of the bar of that city until July, 1912. He then came to Portland and entered the law department of the Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Company as assistant general attorney and has since acted in that capacity. He is likewise assistant secre- tary of the corporation, is also secretary of the San Francisco & Portland Steamship Company, the secretary of the Oregon & Washington Railroad Company and a director of the State Bank of Portland. His business interests are thus extensive and of an important character, connecting him with a number of the leading corporations of the state.
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