History of Oregon, Vol. III, Part 16

Author: Carey, Charles Henry
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Chicago, Portland, The Pioneer historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 766

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Upon his graduation from the Portland (now known as the Lincoln) high school in the summer of 1894 Mr. Watkins first became identified with the firm of Parrish & Watkins, which was composed of his uncle and father, being employed as bookkeeper and collector. He had prepared to enter Stanford University, but abandoned his college course to devote his attention to a commercial career. His ready adaptability and keen discernment soon made him familiar with every phase of the business and in 1900 he was admitted to a partnership, at which time the firm name became Parrish, Watkins & Company, and under that style the business has since been conducted. Lewis M. Parrish, the uncle of Frank E. Watkins, passed away in February, 1908, and he and his father continued the business together until the latter's demise on the 6th of April, 1916. Mr. Watkins has since successfully managed the business, which during the fifty-four years of its existence has ever maintained a foremost place among real estate firms of Portland. In business matters his judgment has always been found to be sound and reliable and his enterprise unfaltering and he is ably carrying forward the interests intrusted to his care, proving a worthy successor to his honored father.

Mr. Watkins has been married twice. His first union was with Helen Chambreau, whom he wedded on the 20th of September, 1898. His second union was with Mabel Claire Hockman, whom he married on the 9th of July, 1920, and they have a son, born May 18, 1921.

Mr. Watkins has always voted the straight republican ticket and regards Theodore Roosevelt as our greatest American, which opinion is shared by thousands of others both in this country and abroad. He has been called to public office, having served for four years, from July 1, 1909, to July 1, 1913, as city councilman from the old fifth ward. He is an ardent motorist and good roads advocate and for several years served on the board of trustees of the old Portland Automobile Club and its successor, the present Oregon State Motor Association, now acting as one of its directors, while during the years 1917 and 1918 he was president of the organization.

He is prominent in the Masonic order, having served seven years in the blue lodge chairs and is a past master of Harmony Lodge, No. 12, A. F. & A. M. He is also a member of Portland Chapter, No. 3, R. A. M .; of Washington Council, No. 3, R. & S. M .; Oregon Commandery, No. 1, K. T., of which he is a life member; Oregon Consistory, No. 1, A. & A. S. R., in which he has attained the thirty-second degree; and Al Kader Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is also connected with Myrtle Chapter, No. 15, O. E. S .; Gul-Reazee Grotto, No. 65, M. O. V. P. E. R .; Portland Lodge, No. 142, B. P. O. E .; the Woodmen of the World; the Royal Arcanum; and the Knights of The Macca- bees.

Mr. Watkins has been very prominent in amateur athletics as a member of the famous Multnomah Amateur Athletic Club of Portland and in 1905 was presented with the honorary life membership, being one of the very few of its members to receive this mark of distinction, which is conferred in recognition of distinguished services rendered the club as an athlete and in other connections. He joined the club as a junior member in July, 1892, when the organization was but a little over a year old and he has been a member of its track, baseball, basket-ball and bowling teams. He was twice captain of its track and baseball teams and has won many medals and trophies as a jumper, vaulter and handball player. For three years he held the northwest championship handball title and also defeated the best California players in their own courts two different years. He has also won medals as a long distance swimmer and for a number of years acted as swimming commissioner for the club, being largely responsible for the development of its splendid team of men and women champion swimmers and divers. For two years he has served as a member of the club's board of trustees and is also a member of the Portland realty board.

Mr. Watkins is known all over the United States as an amateur sportsman and

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dog breeder and fancier. A few years ago he bred the winning strain of bull terriers that won many prizes in the east and south and on one occasion one of his bull terriers won the American championship at Philadelphia, defeating the best specimens of that breed in the United States and Canada. For several years he was a member of the board of trustees of the Portland Kennel Club and for one year served as its president.

Mr. Watkins is also serving as chairman of the Portland Boxing Commission which controls professional boxing in this city under the state law, having been appointed to that position hy Mayor George L. Baker when the law hecame operative in May, 1919. He likewise acted as manager of boxing bouts for Mayor Baker under the former city ordinance in 1917 and . 1918 and during the recent World war Mr. Watkins' boxing commission turned over as its earnings to the Oregon Boys' Emergency Fund for disabled and dependent Oregon soldiers and their families, about thirty-five hundred dollars. He enlisted in the Tanks Corps during the war with Germany but was pre- vented from seeing active service, being finally rejected at Fort Lawton on account of an old fracture of the elbow received years before in an athletic contest. His has been a life of well balanced activities, characterized by the attainment of a position of leadership in every line of endeavor to which he has directed his attention. His record measures up to the full standard of honorable manhood and those who know him recognize in him a citizen whose loyalty to the public welfare has never been questioned, while his integrity and honor in the private affairs of life are matters familiar to all with whom he has been associated. Portland is fortunate in numbering him among her citizens for he is a man who would be a valuable acquisition to any community.

ERNEST ARTHUR WOODS, M. D.

Nathaniel Woods came to America from his birthplace in England about 1670 and upon growing to manhood married a descendant of Joshua Stevens, whose wife, Migail Stevens, was the descendant of one of the pilgrims who came over on the Mayflower. The son of Nathaniel Woods, Caleb Woods, was born in 1737 and his sons fought in the American Revolution. One of his younger sons, Stephen J., was born in 1771 and his son, also named Stephen J., was born in 1801. The latter had a son named Joshua, born in 1848, who married Martha Elizabeth Huggins and in 1875 there was born to them at Chicago, Illinois, Ernest Arthur Woods, now a specialist in Ashland, Oregon. The family lived in Massachusetts for many years but at length Joshua G. Woods removed to Chicago, where he engaged in the live stock commission business until his death in 1910.

Ernest A. Woods was educated in the grade schools of Chicago, and the Englewood high school and in due time entered the University of Chicago, from which institution he was graduated in 1893 with the degree of A. B. He then accepted a clerkship in the First National Bank of Chicago, in two years rising to the exchange teller's desk. Decid- ing upon a medical career he then entered the medical department of the University of Minnesota in 1895 and was graduated in 1899, as a member of the first class to pur- sue the new four years' course in that institution. Having secured his M. D. degree he began practice at Clear Lake, Minnesota, and remained there for ten years, build- ing up an extensive and lucrative practice. While practicing in Clear Lake he was local surgeon of the Northern Pacific Railroad and was active in civic affairs as a mem- ber of the school board, of the city council and district health officer. Upon the failure of his health Dr. Woods determined to regain it on the Pacific coast and upon looking around for a location to his liking, both as to climate and people, he selected Ashland, Jackson county, Oregon, and since 1910 has practiced in that city. For five years pre. vious to his location in Ashland he had practiced in Rogue river, being a member of the city council of that place and president and secretary of the Commercial Club. In 1915 Dr. Woods decided to specialize in eye, ear, nose and throat, having taken a postgraduate course along that line in 1908 at the Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital at Chicago. He has since that time devoted his talent to that specialty and has won wide fame throughout southern Oregon and northern California.

In 1901 occurred the marriage of Dr. Woods and Miss Adel Anna Anderson, a graduate of the St. Cloud Normal School and a daughter of A. O. Anderson, one of the best known and most successful Minnesota farmers. Four children have been born to their union: Chester Y., Harvey A., Marcus B. and Clarence A. The three older

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children are students in the high and junior high school of Ashland and the youngest son is still in the grade schools. Mrs. Woods is active in social and club affairs and quite musical in her tastes. She is frequently in demand for musical affairs and is active in musical clubs as well as the French Club.

Dr. Woods affiliates with the Masonic order only. He is ex-president of the Southern Oregon Medical Society, a member of the State Medical Society, the American Medical Association, and the Pacific Oto-Ophthalmological Society. While quite a stu- dent of his profession he finds much recreation in the out of doors and is fond of all athletic sports. Aside from his professional work Dr. Woods has been active in civic affairs, and his value to Ashland and southern Oregon, both as a physician and a citizen, is readily conceded.

JOHN HENRY BURGARD.

A prominent figure in business circles of Portland is John Henry Burgard, of John H. Burgard & Company, engaged in the sale of general insurance and surety bonds, and his influence is one of broadening activity and strength in the field in which he operates. He is proving energetic, resourceful and farsighted in the management of the extensive business of which he is the head and success in substantial measure has rewarded his efforts. Mr. Burgard is a native of the east. He was born at Buffalo, in Erie county, New York, January 1, 1865, a son of Charles and Elizabeth (Reinhardt) Burgard. The father was born near Metz, France, where the village of Beauregard now stands and which has been the home of the Beauregards for centuries, the present manner of spelling the name having been adopted by the Protestant branch of the family, owing to religious persecution.

In the public and high schools of his native city John H. Burgard acquired his edu- cation and in 1880 he first became identified with the general insurance business in Buffalo, with which he was there connected until 1888, when he sought the opportunities offered in the west, making his way to Portland, where he has since resided. Here he engaged in the general insurance business in association with George A. and James Steel under the firm style of G. A. Steel & Company, who acted as general agents in the northwest for several companies, and at a subsequent date he organized an independent business venture, of which he is now the head, conducting his interests under the name of John H. Burgard & Company. He sells general insurance, in which connection he has built up a large patronage, for he thoroughly understands the business, having de- voted his entire life to this branch of commercial activity, and he also deals in surety bonds, being equally successful along this line. His resourceful business ability and initiative spirit have also led him into other connections and in 1890 he was one of the organizers of the Metropolitan Street Railway Company, of which he became secretary. This was the first electric line established in Portland, its route being on Second street to Fulton Park, and the Fulton Park right of way is now being used by the Oregon Electric Railroad. In 1918 he became one of the organizers of the Columbia Pacific Shipping Company, which built up a large transportation business, operating at one time from forty to fifty vessels, which were sent from this port to all parts of the world, while they now have a fleet of about twenty-five vessels. Other interests have also felt the stimulus of the enterprise, business acumen and well defined plans of Mr. Burgard, who is serving as a director of the Alaska Pacific Fisheries, which operates three salmon canneries and is one of the largest enterprises of this character in the northwest, and he is likewise on the directorate of the West Oregon Lumber Company, the Oregon Timber Mill, the Oregon Electric Railway Company and the United Railway Company. His activ- ities are broad and varied and his labors are resultant factors in whatever he undertakes. He, possesses marked executive force and the power to coordinate seemingly diverse elements into a unified and harmonious whole, and to him opportunity has spelled success.

In Rickreall, Polk county, Oregon, on the 25th of June, 1890, Mr. Burgard was united in marriage to Miss Jessie Clark, a daughter of William Edward and Lavina Clark, who became early pioneers of Oregon, having crossed the plains in 1852 from Missouri. While en route the grandfather and grandmother of Mrs. Burgard became victims of the cholera epidemic and were buried on the old trail somewhere in Idaho. Mr. and Mrs. Burgard have become the parents of two children: John Clark and William Norman, both of whom served as first lieutenants in the World war, the elder son winning pro-

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motion to the rank of captain. He was a member of Company H, Three Hundred and Sixty-second Infantry, Ninety-first Division, and while serving with the British forces in Belgium received severe gunshot wounds, being compelled to undergo twelve opera- tions. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross by the United States govern- ment, at which time he received the following citation: "For extraordinary heroism in action near Epinonville, France, September 27, 1918. On duty as battalion liason officer, Lieutenant Burgard was establishing the battalion post of command at daybreak, when he suddenly discovered a party of the enemy placing machine guns so as to fire upon the position from the flank. Firing a rifle to give the alarm, Lieutenant Burgard advanced toward the enemy, followed by the battalion headquarters group, whom he led in a vigorous attack on the hostile force, killing seven and capturing forty-three of the enemy, six machine guns and two light machine rifles, with but one casualty among his own men." He has now recovered his health to a considerable extent, owing to an excellent constitution, and is engaged in business in Seattle, Washington. William Norman Burgard, the younger son, was a first lieutenant of Company C, Three Hundred and Sixty-fourth Regiment, Ninety-first Division, under General Pershing, and while participating in the terrific fighting in the Argonne Forest he was gassed and is still suffering from the effects of poison. He married Miss Ruth Shull of Portland, who had formerly been a resident of Minnesota.

In his political views John H. Burgard is a republican, active in the ranks of the party and a stalwart supporter of its principles and candidates. He served as a member of the city council from 1910 until 1912, resigning in the latter year to accept the appoint- ment of member of public docks commission, which position he still retains. In 1918 he was appointed United States wool administrator for the northwest zone, resigning that position in the following year, and in 1919 he was made a member of the State Soldiers and Sailors Commission. He likewise served as commissioner from Oregon to the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo, New York, in 1901 and has been a member of many other public and civic committees from time to time, rendering notably effective public service in every position to which he has been called. He has served as president of the board of trustees of the Patton Home for the Friendless, an old people's home, for seventeen years. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the First Meth- odist Episcopal church and fraternally he is identified with the Masonic order, in which he is prominent, having attained the thirty second degree in the Consistory and also belonging to the Commandery and Shrine, and he is likewise a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He is an earnest and active member of the Chamber of Com- merce, heartily cooperating in its plans and projects for the extension of the trade relations of the city; is a life member of the Press Club and one of the original members of the Multnomah Amateur Athletic Club, and he also belongs to the Arlington Club and the Waverly Country Club. A constructive policy has been followed by Mr. Burgard throughout his life. In his business career he has been a persistent, resolute and en- ergetic worker, keeping his hand steadily upon the helm of his business and manifesting at all times strong executive power. Along the path of opportunity open to all he has reached the goal of notable success, his progress being due to the fact that he has recog- nized and utilized opportunities which others have passed heedlessly by. His life is an exemplary one in all respects and he has ever supported those interests which are cal- culated to benefit humanity, while his own personal worth is deserving of high com- mendation.

WALLACE FRANKLIN GITCHELL.

Wallace Franklin Gitchell took up his abode on his present ranch at The Dalles in 1918 but had been the owner of the property for a period of ten years at that time. He was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1873. His parents were pioneer residents of the state and were representatives of old families of New York and Pennsylvania. The mother, who bore the maiden name of Lucy Adelia Shear, belonged to a family that was founded in New England in early colonial days whose representatives fought for American independence and again contested the supremacy of England in the War of 1812.

Wallace F. Gitchell was educated in the graded schools of his native city and in early life became a messenger in the office of the Standard Oil Company at Grand Rapids. He won advancement rapidly and soon reached the position of accountant,

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having mastered the profession in his leisure hours. After five years' service with the Standard Oil Company he became chief accountant of the Consolidated Street Railway Company of Grand Rapids and upon its reorganization became the comptroller. After five years' connection with the street railway business he was tendered the position of comptroller of the British Columbia Electric Railway, Light & Power Company and removed to Vancouver. On his way to British Columbia he passed through The Dalles in 1908 and at that time purchased a ranch in the southern outskirts of the city and planted it to cherries. In 1916 he retired from the Vancouver position and removed to Yakima, Washington, where he became cashier of a bank, remaining a resident of that city for two years. He then came to The Dalles and settled on his ranch. He owns a private irrigation system which is regarded by experts as the best in the vicinity and he is most carefully and systematically developing the property, which is today one of the valuable ranches of this section of the country. He also owns one hundred and twenty acres at Yakima, Washington, and his landed interests are returning to him a most gratifying annual income.

In 1907 Mr. Gitchell was united in marriage to Miss Edith Jackson, a daughter of J. W. Jackson and a granddaughter of Captain Isaac Smith, who was born in Virginia in 1815. At the age of twenty-eight years he headed a band of three hundred and fifty daring spirits and started for the west. His party blazed the trail across the continent, fighting Indians most of the way, but with all their wagons reached Oregon in the fall of 1843. On arriving at Wallula they secured boats from the Hudson's Bay Company and traveled down the Columbia river to Celilo Falls. There the party disbanded, after which Captain Smith engaged in operating boats on the Columbia from Celilo Falls to Portland. Later he operated the first ferry across the Columbia river. He was a member of the first territorial legislature of Oregon and in every way participated in the pioneer development and substantial settlement of the state, contributing in large measure to that work which constituted the foundation upon which has been built the present day progress and prosperity of Oregon. In 1846 he wedded Miss Mary Northrop, a daughter of John L. Northrop, the founder of the first educational institution of the state at Cottage Grove. Their daughter, Nellie, became the wife of John W. Jackson and moved to Vancouver, B. C., and Edith (Jackson) Gitchell was the first white child born in that now prosperous Canadian city. Captain Smith's mother was Sarah Light- foot Lee of the historic Lee family of Virginia. Mrs. Gitchell passed away in 1914, leaving a son, Jackson Lee Gitchell, who is a sturdy youngster, now a pupil in The Dalles schools. In 1916 Mr. Gitchell married Margaret Holcomb, daughter of Guy Hol- comb, a pioneer of Hillsboro, Oregon.

Mr. Gitchell is a member of the Masonic fraternity, also belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Woodmen of the World. His activities have ever been of a broad and varied character. He is now the sales agent of Chenowith, the scenic suburb of The Dalles, which is beautifully located a short distance from the city on the Columbia River highway. In all things he has been one hundred per cent American. He was active in support of all the war work and Red Cross drives and his labors have ever been far-reaching and effective in bringing about the upbuilding of the section in which he has made his home.

DREW PARKER PRICE.

Drew Parker Price, an attorney of Portland, is numbered among those men whose patriotism measured up to the one hundred per cent American standard. Mr. Price was born at Edgar Station, Edgar county, Illinois, September 14, 1874. His father, James Parker Price, was a native of Ohio, born February 14, 1843. At the age of nineteen years he joined Company D of the Seventy-ninth Regiment of Illinois Volunteers at Mattoon, Illinois, for service in the Civil war. In September, 1862, he was assigned to duty with the army of the Cumberland and participated in the attack of Bragg's Regi- ment, taking part in the first battle at Perryville. He participated in several engage- ments and on the 31st of December, 1862, was captured in connection with twenty-six hundred comrades at Murfreesboro or Stone River and taken to Libby prison. There he was held for several months and was one of the last six prisoners to leave that place of military confinement. He was discharged from active service in September, 1863. He wedded Mary C. Long and for many years devoted his life to the work of the min- istry, as a representative of the Society of Friends, taking up active duty in the church

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in 1882. Through the intervening period to the time of his death he had charges in various parts of the country. In 1892 he came with his wife to Oregon, settling in Newberg, where Mrs. Price departed this life in 1895. Mr. Price survived for a number of years but was called to his final rest at Newberg, October 14, 1911. In their family were six children, five of whom survive: Mrs. F. A. Elliott, the wife of State Forester Elliott of Salem; Mrs. A. T. Hill of La Grande: Drew Parker of this review; O. L., an attorney and confidential secretary to H. L. Pittock and F. W. Leadbetter of Portland; and Dr. J. C. Price, a dentist of Reedsport, Oregon.

Drew Parker Price obtained his preliminary education in Champaign county, Illinois, and following the removal of the family to Oregon, when he was about eighteen years of age, he entered the Pacific College at Newberg, a Quaker institution, and was there graduated in 1897, receiving the Bachelor of Science degree. He determined upon the · practice of law as a life work and completed his preparation for the bar as a law student in the Oregon University, receiving the LL. B. degree upon graduation with the class of 1900. In the same year he was admitted to the bar and for a year practiced in Newberg, after which he removed to Portland and entered the employ of the Title Guarantee Trust Company, with which he remained for about four years, or until 1906. He then entered the law office of Cake & Cake and continued with them for two years. On the 1st of January, 1909, however, he opened a law office independently in Portland, where he has since practiced. His ability has been demonstrated in the many favorable verdicts which he has won for his clients and by his connection with much important litigation heard in the courts of the district.

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History of Oregon, Vol. III, Part 16

Author: Carey, Charles Henry Publication date: 1922 Publisher: Chicago, Portland, The Pioneer historical publishing company Number of Pages: 766

Author: Carey, Charles Henry
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Chicago, Portland, The Pioneer historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 766