History of Oregon, Vol. III, Part 20

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

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Because of a love of horticulture and a desire to indulge his taste along that line Mr. Hewett removed to his farm on Green Hills, near Mount Zion, in 1888 and there he planted many beautiful trees and gave much attention to the cultivation of flowers. He found the keenest joy in the beauty which he thus developed and he was never happier than when watching the unfolding of some rare blossom or the steady and healthful growth of some tree which he had planted.

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Mr. Hewett was twice married. He first wedded Miss Frances Piper and following her death he married her sister, Miss Susan Piper, these ladies being nieces of Captain John Couch, one of the pioneer business men of Portland, widely and prominently known at an early day. Mr. Hewett's second wife survives him, as do four of his chil- dren: Mrs. William H. Warrens, Mrs. Lewis A. McArthur, Mrs. J. Guy Richards and Henry. Mr. Hewett was in the sixty-eighth year of his age when he passed away. For forty-five years he had lived in Portland and was therefore a witness of the major part of the growth and development of the city. At all times he manifested the keenest interest in its progress and in the welfare of the state and his cooperation could at all times be counted upon to further any movement for the public good, while his busi- ness affairs were ever of a nature that contributed to general prosperity as well as to individual success.

EDWARD SCHULMERICH.

Fleeing the further rigors of a military dynasty, having served his time in the German army, Conrad Schulmerich with his wife Margaret landed in America in 1850 and sought the Pacific coast in 1856. There in Eldorado county, California, in 1863, a son, Edward, was born to them. After nineteen years of gold mining in that state Conrad Schulmerich moved his family to Oregon and took up farming on three hun- dred and twenty acres of land in Washington county.

Edward Shulmerich received a limited education in the country schools and studied by himself at night after the farm chores were done. Until he was twenty-one years of age he worked with his father on the home farm, leaving finally to take a position with the Oregon Transfer Company in Portland. Twice he returned to the farm, remaining the second time until the death of his father in 1900, when he became associated with his brothers in the management of the three farms left them by their father. In 1906 Mr. Schulmerich organized the Hillsboro Commercial Bank and became its vice-president. In 1909 he was elected president and still presides over that thriv- ing institution. Extending his enterprise he secured in 1916 the majority of the stock of the Hillsboro Mercantile Company which he managed until 1920 when he disposed of his interests and retired from the mercantile business. He became associated with the Lumberman's National Bank of Portland in 1908 and when that establishment was absorbed by the United States National Bank he retained his interests in the transfer. In 1911 he built the handsome two-story brick block on the corner of Second and Main streets occupied by the Hillsboro Commercial Bank and by various professional offices. Agriculture has continued to remain one of his avocations and he holds inter- ests with his brothers in farms in Lane and Douglas counties. The land in the latter section, devoted to the raising of thoroughbred Hereford cattle, embraces some two thousand acres.

Mr. Schulmerich was married in 1889 to Alice Bailey, daughter of Calvin Bailey. Mrs. Schulmerich died in 1901, leaving three children: Bruce, who is in business in California; Roy, a lumherman at Cochran; and Melvin, a student at Columbia Uni- versity. Mr. Schulmerich's present wife was Miss Ellen Gillenwater of Virginia, the daughter of S. H. Gillenwater. There are no children of this marriage.

Mr. Shulmerich is a Mason and a Knight of Pythias who has the distinction of being made master within eighteen months after his initiation.

No man has done more to build up the state of Oregon, and none deserves more praise as a citizen and a financier than Edward Schulmerich.

ALFRED J. DAVIDSON.

Alfred J. Davidson, who since the 1st of September, 1920, has been general man- ager of the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railroad, with office in the Pittock block in Portland, has through persistent application, determination and ability of an unusually high order, risen to a position of eminence in railroad circles of the United States. Mr. Davidson is a native of Illinois. He was born in Decatur on the 14th of April, 1863, a son of Alfred B. Davidson, whose birth occurred in Ohio in 1835. His paternal grandfather was also a native of the Buckeye state and the

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family is of English extraction. The father was an honored veteran of the Civil war, enlisting in 1861 as a private in the Ninety-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry and serving throughout the period of hostilities. He was married in Ohio to Miss Helen C. Mitchell, a native of Decatur, Illinois, who is now residing in Chicago. He passed away in Illinois in 1902.

Alfred J. Davidson was reared in Lexington, Illinois, and there attended the public and high schools. Railroading had always appealed to him and he decided to abandon a college course in order that he might at once turn his attention to his chosen line of work. His first position was with the Chicago & Alton Railroad Company and he has since been identified with railroad interests, acquiring through broad practical experience a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of railroad construction and operation. In 1910 he came to Portland as superintendent of telegraph and car service of the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railroad and in 1918 was made United States rail- road administrator, while since the 1st of September, 1920, he has served as general manager of the road. In the control of the important interests of which he has charge he displays marked ability, energy and initiative, regarding no detail as too unim- portant to receive his attention and at the same time controlling the larger interests involved with notable assurance and power. Possessing executive ability of an un- usually high order he has surrounded himself with a corps of able assistants whom he treats with the utmost fairness and consideration, thus developing a spirit of co- operation resulting in one hundred per cent efficiency.

In his political views Mr. Davidson is a republican and his religious faith is Indi- cated by his membership in the Baptist church. He is a loyal and public-spirited citizen and as a member of the Chamber of Commerce gives his earnest support to the well devised plans and projects of that organization for the development of the city and the extension of its trade relations. His life in every relation has been characterized by high and honorable principles and laudable ambition, energy and determination have brought him to a foremost position in railroad circles of the United States.

LOUIS T. MERWIN.

Louis T. Merwin is a man of advanced scientific attainments, who through com- prehensive study and broad practical experience as a consulting engineer has become well qualified for the responsible duties which now devolve upon him as vice president and general manager of the Northwestern Electric Company of Portland. A native of Plainfield, New Jersey, he was born October 23, 1873, his parents being C. E. and Helen (Green) Merwin, the former a native of Milford, Connecticut, and the latter of St. Louis, Missouri. The father was a noted educator, following that pro- fession during most of his active life. At one time he engaged in teaching in St. Louis and in 1878 came to the Pacific coast, settling in Pleasanton, Alameda county, California, and six years later in Oakland, California, where he again took up his professional work, his activities along that line extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. He is now living retired at Camp Meeker, in Sonoma county, California, and has attained the advanced age of eighty-seven years.

After completing the work of the grammar and high schools Louis T. Merwin became a student in the University of California at Berkeley, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Science. He then took up the profession of teaching, becoming an instructor in the high school at Napa, California, and sub- sequently was for three years a teacher in the Polytechnic high school at San Fran- cisco. As an educator he was most successful, imparting clearly and readily to others the knowledge he had acquired. He entered upon electrical work in connection with the San Joaquin Light & Power Company at Fresno, California, and for five years was identified with that corporation. He next became electrical engineer for the Goldfield Consolidated Mines Company, having charge of the installation of all the electrical equipment of that company in their mines and mills at Goldfield, Nevada, following which he acted as consulting electrical engineer for the Tonopah & Goldfield Railroad and also for the Tonopah Mining Company. He left Goldfield in 1911 to take up the work of overhauling the plant of the Trinity Globe Mines Company in Trinity county, California, and following the completion of that task came to Portland in May, 1912, to assist in designing the transmission lines of the Northwestern Electric Company, also having charge of their erection. On the completion of this work In

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LOUIS T. MERWIN .

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1913 he was made superintendent of operation and in 1916 became superintendent, having charge of all physical activities of the company. In July, 1920, he was advanced to the office of assistant general manager, and in November of that same year was made vice president and general manager, which responsible position he now occupies. He has a thorough knowledge of the scientific principles which under- lle the profession of electrical engineering and is proving most capable in the dis- charge of his important duties, his services being of great value to his employers.

In Goldfield, Nevada, in 1907, Mr. Merwin was united in marriage to Miss Olive Dunbar, a daughter of J. A. Dunbar, of San Luis Obispo, California, and a graduate of Leland Stanford University. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons, belong- ing to the blue lodge at Goldfield, Nevada, and his social nature finds expression in his membership in the Acacia, Arlington, Old Colony, Waverly Country Club and Multnomah Amateur Athletic Clubs. He is also an interested and active member of the East Side Business Men's Association, the City Club and the Chamber of Commerce and his aid and cooperation can always be relied upon to further all worthy plans and measures for the advancement and upbuilding of his city. His pro- fessional connections are with the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, the American Association of Engineers, the National Electric Light Association and the Northwest Electrical Power Association, as well as representing the electrical engi- neers as a delegate to the Oregon Technical Council. He has always been inter- ested in athletic sports and while a university student was captain of the track team. His professional standing is of the highest and he is a representative of a family distinguished by superior mental endowments, his father being a noted educa- tor, while his sister is a successful physician, now practicing her profession in China, in which country his mother passed away in 1916. His close application, unremitting energy and quick perception have been salient factors in the attainment of his present success and through his labors he has contributed in substantial measure to the development of the material resources of various sections of the country, his work being of great value and importance. His life has been a busy, active and use- ful one and Portland numbers him among her valued and representative citizens.

DR. PETER W. VAN SICKLE.

Dr. Peter W. Van Sickle, well qualified by thorough preliminary training for the active duties of his profession, is now successfully engaged in practice in Tualatin. He was born in Illinois, May 3, 1876, the son of Andrew B. and Minerva (Brown) Van Sickle. The family came to America before the Revolution and were among the earliest citizens of the state of New York. Dr. Andrew B. Van Sickle was a pioneer of Illinois and for nearly a half century was a leading dentist in that state.

Peter W. Van Sickle was educated in the schools of Warren, Illinois, and upon being graduated he became a jeweler, remaining in this work for nine years. He then took up railroad work and it was not until 1907 that he determined, on account of ill health, to come to the Pacific coast, locating at Portland where he studied medicine and after his graduation became a rupture specialist. In 1910 he located at Tualatin, Washington county, and has since practiced his profession there. Dr. Van' Sickle has made steady advancement, for he is conceded to be a master of his specialty. He is not a believer in the wearing of a truss, but depends upon other methods of cure. He has been successful also in the treatment of rheumatism and heart disorders.

Dr. Van Sickle married Miss Ina Adams, a native of Roseburg, Oregon, daughter of George O. Adams of that city. They have three children; Myrtle, the wife of H. J. Bernard of Portland; and Gladys and Maude.

RALPH A. HOLTE.

Prominent in the financial circles of Umatilla county is Ralph A. Holte, who is cashier of the Bank of Stanfield. He is a native of North Dakota, born in Ellendale, that state, on the 23d of March, 1886, a son of N. T. and Rosa (Arneson) Holte. The father was born in Norway, while the mother is a native of Monroe, Wisconsin. When nineteen years of age N. T. Holte came to the United States and after residing

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for some time in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he came to North Dakota. His first residence in that state was at Fargo but he later removed to Ellendale, where he engaged in the furniture business which he is still conducting, his business having reached extensive proportions. The marriage of N. T. Holte and Rosa Arneson occurred in the place of their present residence. Mr. Holte is a stanch supporter of the republican party and an active member of the Odd Fellows.

Ralph A. Holte spent . his boyhood in Ellendale, receiving a good common school education and later he entered the State Industrial school at that place. After putting his textbooks aside he engaged in the undertaking business with his father for a short time, after which he accepted a position as assistant cashier of the First National Bank of Ellendale. In 1910 he removed to Stanfield, Oregon, to accept a like position in the Bank of Stanfield and he has continued in that connection to the entire satis- faction of the hank officers and the patrons. This bank was organized in 1909 by Dr. Henry Waldo Coe, Frank Sloan and R. N. Stanfield of Portland and has a capital stock of twenty-five thousand dollars. In addition to his banking affairs Mr. Holte is inter- ested in a lumber-yard in Stanfield in connection with his father-in-law, M. R. Ling. Mr. Holte is president of this business and it has grown to extensive proportions. As a family man he is interested in the educational advantages of Stanfield and to that end is serving as school clerk.

In 1909 Mr. Holte was united in marriage to Miss Georgia A. Ling, a daughter of M. R. and Sarah E. Ling, and a native of Lime Spring, Iowa. Her parents are also natives of that state but are now residing in Oregon, where her father is engaged in the lumber business with Mr. Holte. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Holte two children have been born: Marion Joyce and Alpha Elizabeth.

Mr. Holte is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and though the greater part of his time is devoted to his work he is active in the interests of that organization, also in the Masons, and is a member of the Portland Shrine. He is a republican in politics, being a firm believer in the principles of that party as factors in good government. In his position as cashier he has the confidence and respect of all with whom he has' come into contact and has won for himself a host of friends. He is loyal and enterprising, possessing the progressive spirit of the times and ac- complishing what he undertakes.

CLARENCE EMORY MOULTON.

Following in the professional footsteps of his distinguished father, an eminent jurist of Washington, D. C., and an authority in legal matters, Clarence Emory Moul- ton has won for himself an enviable position at the Portland bar and is also a promi- nent figure in business circles of the city as secretary of the Orega Land Company and vice president of the Moulton Lumber Company. Mr. Moulton was born in Wash- ington, D. C., August 12, 1866, and comes of distinguished ancestry, his great-grand- fathers, Noah Moulton and Thomas Hale, having served in the Revolutionary war, while his grandfather, Captain David Moulton, a native of Vermont, fought in the War of 1812. His father, Hosea B. Moulton, was born in the town of Concord, New Hampshire, in 1844, and in the schools of that state pursued his, education until the outbreak of the Civil war, when, filled with the spirit of patriotism, he offered his services to his country, enlisting as a member of the Second New Hampshire Volun- teers, which became a part of the Army of the Potomac. He served with that command for two years and at the battle of Gettysburg was severely wounded. Following his convalescence he was made assistant superintendent of a military hospital in Wash- ington, D. C., and in December, 1863, was assigned to a position as foreman in the laboratory of the arsenal at Washington. At the close of the war, in 1865, he was appointed an examiner in the treasury department and resuming his studies was graduated from the National University in 1868. He then resigned his position in the department and entered upon the practice of his profession in Washington, where he still resides, being regarded as one of the most able jurists of the city. From 1875 to 1879 he occupied the district bench, where he made a most commendable record, char- acterized by the utmost fidelity to duty and by a masterful grasp of every problem pre- sented for solution. In 1879 he resigned his office and is now engaged in private practice, being accorded a large clientele. He has compiled the laws of the District of Columbia for two National Digests and other works and is a recognized authority

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in legal matters. He is now serving as president of the Vermont State Association of Washington, D. C. He wedded Annie Reese of Virginia who passed away in Wash- ington in 1891.

Clarence E. Moulton acquired his early education in the public schools and also received private tuition. Later he became a student in Hunt's Academy at Washington, D. C., and subsequently entered Georgetown University, from which he was graduated in June, 1888, with the degree of LL. B. On the 20th of June, 1888, he was admitted to the supreme court of the District of Columbia at Washington, D. C., and in the same year to the United States district court for the Territory of Washington, at Tacoma; on the 13th of May, 1891, to the supreme court of the State of Washington, at Olympia; February 19, 1906, to the supreme court of Oregon, at Salem; and on the 13th of October, 1908, to the United States district court and the circuit court of Oregon, at Portland. In 1887 and 1888 he was assistant marshal of the supreme court of the United States at Washington, D. C., and resigned to come west with the late Justice Stephen J. Field of the United States supreme court. As private secretary he accompanied Justice Field on his circuit in Oregon and California in the summer of 1888 and being pleased with this section of the country decided to locate at Tacoma, Washington. He was land attorney for the Northern Pacific Railway Company for Washington, Oregon and Idaho, from 1888 until 1905, when he resigned to engage in private practice in Portland, where he has since resided, being now accorded a large and representative clientage. He is noted among lawyers for the wide research and provident care with which he prepares his cases. While well grounded in the prin- ciples of common law when admitted to the bar he has continued through the whole of his professional life a diligent student of those elementary principles which con- stitute the basis of all legal science and this knowledge has served him well in many a legal battle before the court. Mr. Moulton also possesses excellent business ability and is secretary and a large stockholder of the Orega Land Company, which has large timber interests in Washington and Oregon. He is also vice president of the Moulton Lumber Company, which is operating two sawmills at Moulton, Washington, and his business interests are capably and profitably managed.

On the 4th of December, 1889, in Washington, D. C., Mr. Moulton was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Drury, a daughter of the late William Calvert Drury, who was a native of Maryland and a descendant of the Calvert family, who became the founders of the state. The children of this marriage are: Dorothy, the wife of Otto H. Mattern of Portland; and Mildred, who married Oscar J. Closset, also a resident of this city.

In his political views Mr. Moulton is a republican and his religious faith is indi- cated in the fact that he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, having been reared in that faith. In Masonry he has attained the thirty-second degree in the Scot- tish Rite and is a member of Al Kader Temple of the Mystic Shrine and identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. His professional connections are with the Multnomah County and Oregon State Bar Associations and his interest in the welfare and advancement of his city is indicated by his membership in the Chamber of Commerce. Of a social, genial nature, he is a popular member of the Arlington, Mult- nomah Amateur Athletic, Press, Multorpor, Republican and Roosevelt Republican Clubs, the Oregon State Motor Association and the Apollo Club, and during the World war served on the legal advisory board and also aided in promoting the various bond drives. He has ever conformed his practice to the highest ethics of the profession and is widely recognized as an able minister in the temple of justice, while in business circles his standing is equally high. As a citizen he is progressive and public-spirited and in every relation his life has measured up to the highest standards, making him a man whom to know is to esteem and admire.

SAMUEL EDWARD BARTMESS.

Samuel Edward Bartmess, who is engaged in the furniture and undertaking busi- ness at Hood River, was born in Dayton, Indiana, in 1853, his parents being Oliver Cromwell and Sarah (Clarke) Bartmess, who were pioneer residents of Indiana. The first record of a representative of the family in America is that of John Adams Bartmess, who came to the new world from the valley of the Rhine in 1751 on the

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sloop Patience. He first settled in Pennsylvania and after his marriage to Sophia Rizer, daughter of a Lutheran minister, the Rev. George Rizer, he removed to Maryland.

Samuel E. Bartmess, whose name introduces this review, was educated in the graded schools of Dayton, Indiana, and in the Otterbein University at Westerville, Ohio, from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1879. He then took up farming and devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits for ten years. In 1890 he sold his farm property and came west on a visit to Hood River. He was so pleased with this section of the country that he concluded to make the city his home and here purchased a furniture store, to which he has added an undertaking department. For thirty years he has thus served his community in the sale of furniture and under- taking supplies and he possesses two diplomas as a graduate embalmer. His business covers Hood River and a portion of Wasco county and also extends into the state of Washington. He has full equipment for funerals in every particular and his courtesy and kindliness, as well as his ability and equipment, have heen strong factors in win- ning him his patronage.

In 1880 Mr. Bartmess was married to Miss Elda E. Crouse, an accomplished young lady and a daughter of Dr. David H. Crouse, who was a pioneer of Indiana and prac- ticed his profession there for more than forty years. To Mr. and Mrs. Bartmess have been born the following named: Earl Kumler, who is a resident of Portland and is a technical draftsman with the Northwestern Shipbuilding Company; Meigs William, living in Cleveland, Ohio, being a designer of motors with the Adams-Bagnall Electric Company, having graduated with honors from the University of Oregon, after which he was for a time electrical expert with the Westinghouse Company; Sallie A., who is the wife of W. B. Small of Portland; and Marie Louise, who is at home with her parents.

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History of Oregon, Vol. III, Part 20

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