History of Oregon, Vol. III, Part 28

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

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On the 9th of July, 1859, Mr. Hansen was married to Miss Louise Warnecke, the wedding being celebrated at Henderson, Minnesota. They became the parents of nine children, six of whom are living: Mary, the wife of J. H. Mallett of Portland; J. G .; W. A .; B. H .; Helen; and L. H. Edward, Anna and George have passed away.

Mr. Hansen gave his political allegiance to the republican party, of which he was always a stalwart supporter. He belonged also to Lents Post, G. A. R., and thus maintained pleasant relations with his old army comrades. In all matters of citi- zenship he was as true and loyal to his country as when he followed the nation's starry banner on the battle fields of the south. He was always actuated by a spirit of progress in everything he undertook and it was this which led him to seek a home in the new world, while throughout his life he was connected with those interests and activities which sought the advancement of the race and the uplift of the individual. His life was indeed a blessing to humanity and his name is revered and honored wherever he was known.

DONALD FRENCH SKENE.

Donald F. Skene, cattle breeder and secretary and manager of the Oregon City Abstract Company, is residing on his farm two miles south of Oregon City. He is a native of Kansas being born in that state in 1877, at Westmoreland, a son of Charles A. and Hannah M. (Williams) Skene. His father was a Scotchman by birth and first settled in Illinois, later removing to Kansas. He was a physician and prac- ticed in Kansas for more than fifty years.

Mr. Skene received his education in the schools of Kansas and at an early age engaged in the abstract business. He engaged in that business in his native state for five years and then failing in health, came to Oregon in 1900 · nd in this state concluded to locate. He established The Dalles Abstract Company, which he operated for six years, when he sold that plant and removed to Eugene. At that place he established the Lane County Abstract Company, in which business he continued until 1911, when he again sold and removed to Oregon City. He subsequently established the Oregon City Abstract Company of which he is still secretary and manager. This abstract company has the only absolutely complete plant in the county which is kept up to date, and it has gained such a reputation than an abstract from this company is never questioned. Aside from the abstract business Mr. Skene is interested in cattle breeding and is now giving his attention to the breeding of registered Jersey cattle, and has an imported bull that promises to be a world premium winner within a season or two. Mr. Skene has devoted all of his time to his business and although a progressive and public spirited man, has never found time to hold political office.

In 1907 Mr. Skene was united in marriage to Miss Mildred Breakey, a daughter of James Breakey of Downs, Kansas, who is a pioneer farmer and a man of import- ance in his section of the country. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Skene, namely: Pamela H .; Jean Donna; Jo M .; and Donald J., all of whom are pupils in the grade schools of the county.

Mr. Skene is a member of the Masonic fraternity and the Moose, in which he takes an active interest, and this same interest has also characterized his business affairs and has been one of the big elements in his success.

HON. ALBERT STURGIS ROBERTS.

Hon. Albert Sturgis Roberts of The Dalles, who is one of the leading wheat rais- ers of Oregon and a prominent business man and citizen, has served his state in many ways, while his legislative record was marked by continuous devotion to the general good of the commonwealth. He is a native son of the northwest, thoroughly imbued with the spirit of enterprise and progress which has been the dominating factor in

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the upbuilding of this section of the country. He was horn at White Salmon, Washing- ton, in 1862, his parents being Ephraim P. and Myra (Farrington) Roberts. His father was a native of Vermont and a descendant of old New England stock that for many generations has been represented on this side of the Atlantic. Ephraim P. Roberts was a missionary to the Pacific islands for many years. At length he retired from the active work of the ministry and settled in Oregon, taking up his abode at White Salmon in 1861. He wedded Myra Farrington, a representative in the sixth generation of the descendants of John Farrington, who took up his ahode in Vermont in 1640 and is mentioned on the pages of New England's history as Deacon John Farrington. This family was represented in the Revolutionary war, again in the War of 1812 and in the Civil war, the ancestral line coming down from Deacon John Farrington through his fourth child, Daniel Farrington, to Benjamin Farrington and John Far- rington, the latter the father of Daniel Farrington, who was the father of Mrs. Myra Roberts.

Albert S. Roberts whose name introduces this review was educated in the graded schools of The Dalles and in the University of Oregon. Becoming a resident of Wasco county, he turned his attention to ranching interests in early life. His present hold- ings are located about twenty miles southeast of The Dalles, on the Deschutes river, and embrace seventy-five hundred acres, devoted to the raising of stock and grain, three thousand acres being planted in wheat, which yields an income of about forty thousand dollars per annum. The extensive business conducted with the development, management and control of this mammoth property places Mr. Roberts among the representative ranchers and wheat growers of Oregon. His plans have ever heen carefully formulated and promptly executed and his enterprise has enabled him to overcome all obstacles and difficulties in his path and work his way steadily upward to success.

Not alone in promoting the material interests of the state has Mr. Roberts been active, for he has figured in connection with the political history as well. He was a member of the Oregon legislature in 1898-9 and again in 1901 and was regarded during those periods as one of the able lawmakers of the state. He acted as chairman of the fish and game committee and saved the fish wheels of the upper Columbia river, thereby wining the gratitude of his constituents. He was also made chairman of the committee on counties and many of the newer counties of the state were created and named by his committee. For five years he was a member of the school board and his work for the advancement of education in The Dalles has been of a character that entitles him to the gratitude and high regard of all who have interest in the public school system. While he was on a trip to the east in 1920 his neighbors circulated a petition for the placing of his name on the ballot as the republican candidate for the legislature from his district, comprising Wasco and Hood River counties. Though he felt that he had retired from politics he was forced to accept the nomination, feeling that when this public demand was made for his services it was his duty to meet the requirements of his fellow citizens.

Mr. Roberts was united in marriage to Miss Rose Freeman, daughter of Marvin W. Freeman, one of the highly esteemed citizens and valued farmers of central Oregon. Mrs. Roberts is conceded to be an ideal mother, her six stalwart sons giving evidence of her devotion and care. In 1919 death called the eldest son, Allyn F., who was stricken with influenza and passed away after an illness of less than a week, leaving not only his devoted parents but also a young widow and three small chil- dren. His wife in her maidenhood was Miss Lois McMurphey of Eugene, a grand- daughter of the well known pioneer, Dr. Shelton. The remaining sons of the Roberts family are: Elliott F., who is associated with his father in the management of the ranch and who married Miss Margaret Belat of The Dalles and has one child; Loren C., who is associated with his father in the ranch management and who wedded Miss Helen Robinson of Eugene, by whom he has one child; Roscoe D., a student at the University of Oregon, from which institution his elder brothers graduated; Ivan F., who is pursuing his studies in The Dalles; and Wilton A., who completes the family. The relation between father and sons is more like that of brothers than parent and children. The two sons, Elliott and Loren, volunteered for service in the World war and Elliott was still in the officers training camp when the armistice was signed. Loren C. joined the naval service and rose from the ranks to the position of warrant officer. He developed into a mechanic of the first class, being only one of two to pass perfect in a class of nearly thirty. Roscoe was trained in the Students Army Train- ing camp.

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Mr. Roberts is a Mason and that he has attained high rank in the order is indi- cated in the fact that he is now a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. He and his family are consistent members of the Congregational church, of which he has been a trustee for twenty-two years and in which he is now serving as deacon. He is a clean-cut. broad-minded citizen who displays the utmost devotion to his family, his church and his country.

GEORGE JEFFERSON PERKINS.

George Jefferson Perkins, senior member of the law firm of Perkins & Bailey, was born on a plantation in Lee county, Alabama, September 14, 1876. His father, Benjamin F. Perkins, was born in Taylor county, Georgia, in 1843. In February, 1862, he enlisted in the Confederate Army as a private in Company H, First Alabama Infantry, and was later promoted to the rank of lieutenant of Company B, First Alabama Regiment. He served actively in the Confederate Army throughout the Civil war and was severely wounded in the battle of Peach Tree Creek, near Atlanta, in which engagement every man in his regiment was either killed or wounded. He married Miss Emma McCoy, then a young school teacher; she died in 1882. His demise occurred in Birmingham in 1907.

Their son, George J. Perkins, was reared in Lee county, Alabama, and there attended the country schools. Subsequently he was for two years a student in the Saunders Academy at Notasulga, Alabama. At the age of nineteen he attended a business college at Columbus, Georgia. After leaving the business college he entered the employ of the Southern Railway and the Georgia and Alabama Railway at Colum- bus, Georgia, as stenographer, where he continued for two years. He moved from Georgia to Kansas, and during the next three years worked for various railroads in the middle west. In 1901 he resigned the position of chief clerk to the superin- tendent of the Choctaw, Oklahoma & Gulf Railroad and entered the employ of the Northern Pacific Railroad at Seattle. In May, 1902, he came to Portland as claim investigator for the Northern Pacific and was subsequently made chief clerk to the freight claim agent at Portland, which position he held until the latter part of 1905. While working in the freight claim office during the day he studied in the law department of the University of Oregon at night and was graduated therefrom in 1904. In the same year he was admitted to the Oregon bar. In the latter part of 1905 he entered upon the practice of his profession, becoming associated with the well known law firm of Platt & Platt of Portland and continued with that firm for five years. After leaving Platt & Platt he practiced alone until 1918, when he formed a partnership with John O. Bailey under the firm name of Perkins & Bailey, which association is still continued. Their high professional attainments have won for them the con- fidence of the public and the respect of the Oregon bar. They are now counsel for many large corporations, including the Peninsula National Bank, The Bank of Com- merce, the Peninsula Security Company, The State Bank of Hubbard, the Portland Manufacturing Company and Eagle Flour Mills. Mr. Perkins is an able lawyer, logi- cal in his deductions and persevering.

On the 7th of April, 1908, in Portland, Mr. Perkins was united in marriage to Miss Gertrude May Timms, a daughter of the late Major Harvey M. Timms, a veteran of the Civil war on the Union side, he having fought against Mr. Perkins' father from Good Hope Church to Atlanta. The two children of this union are: George J., Jr., who was born January 5, 1910; and Davis McCoy, born November 2, 1913.

Mr. Perkins is registered as a republican but reserves the right to vote for the man he regards as best qualified for the office he seeks, without regard to party affiliation. He is an active member of the Chamber of Commerce, giving his hearty support to all well devised plans and projects of that organization for the advance- ment of the city and the extension of its trade relations. During the World war he served as a member of the legal advisory and questionnaire boards and also was active in promoting all local bond drives, doing everything in his power to support the government in its time of need. He is a member of the County, State and Ameri- can Bar Associations. He is a great admirer of the natural scenery of Oregon and owns an attractive country place of about ninety acres in the fork of the Sandy river and Beaver creek, fourteen miles from Portland, overlooking Sandy river and the famous Columbia River Highway on the one side and Beaver creek gorge on the

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other, on which he is developing a diversified orchard and a fish and swimming pond. The most of his leisure time is spent on his country property.

Mr. Perkins is a man of most exemplary character, whose integrity and honesty have never been questioned and his life is an excellent illustration of what can be accomplished through individual effort. Working untiringly to gain a start he has steadily progressed in his professional career and his unwearied industry and per- severance have been the salient points in his continued success. He has attained high rank in his profession and Portland regards him as one of her representative and valued citizens.

HIRAM B. LEE.

Since 1915 Hiram B. Lee has been living retired in Milton, enjoying the rewards . of a life spent in diligence and industry. He was born in Jackson county, Illinois, on the 20th of December, 1844, a son of Richard and Elizabeth (Burns) Lee. The father was born in old Jacksonville, Illinois, while the mother was a native of Mis- souri, her birth having occurred in Perry county.

Hiram B. Lee spent his boyhood in Illinois, where he received a good common school education. When but eight years of age he lost his father and he was there- after thrown upon his own resources to a great extent. In 1862, when hut eighteen years of age, he enlisted in the Union army, joining Company A, Eightieth Illinois Infantry. He participated in the hattle of Perrysville, Kentucky, in 1862, and was with Colonel Hall in the battles of Vaught Hill in Tennessee, Missionary Ridge and the battle of Resaca, Georgia, as well as other engagements. He received his discharge at Springfield, Illinois, and returned to his home and worked for some time for his uncle, A. R. Burns. His mother had married again and leaving her well cared for Mr. Lee came west in 1869, traveling overland by ox teams. He settled where Milton now stands and there took up a soldier's homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, which he immediately set about to improve. This land was located in range 35, town- ship 5, and from time to time he added to the original tract until he had a fine farm of three hundred and sixty-five acres. In the operation of his land he realized a gratifying amount of success and in 1915 he retired from active business life and built a fine home in Milton, where he is now residing. He was readily conceded to be a representative citizen of Milton and from June, 1906, to January 1, 1911, he served his fellow citizens as a county commissioner.

On the 12th of November, 1877, Mr. Lee was married to Miss Sarah E. Moore, a daughter of James and Barbara ( Walker) Moore, and a native of Surry county, North Carolina. Her father died a prisoner during the Civil war and her mother later removed west with her little family. For four years they lived in Iowa, then Cheyenne and Laramie, Wyoming, and subsequently removed to Weston, Umatilla county, Oregon. The death of Mrs. Moore occurred near Weston, at the ho.ne of a son-in- law. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Lee six children were born: Richard E., Daisy, James, Minnie, Robert, and Rosa.

Throughout his life Mr. Lee has been a stanch supporter of the republican party, having firm faith in the principles of that party as factors in good government. He is an active member of the local chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic. Mr. Lee has always had much faith in Umatilla county and his faith has not been un. founded. He assisted in the erection of the first house in Milton and since then his interests in the development and improvement of the community have never ceased. His success has been the result of his own effort and he is regarded as an exemplary citizen of Milton.

FRANK BEARDSLEY.

Frank Beardsley, who spent his last days in Portland, where he passed away November 25, 1919, was a representative of two of the oldest American families. He was born in the town of Jordan, Onondaga county, New York, October 27, 1839, and was a son of Joseph and Matilda D. (Field) Beardsley. One of the historians of the Beardsley family says: "The name dates back many centuries. In the arena of states-

FRANK BEARDSLEY

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manship it produced men of thought and men of action; as authors they are worthy to be crowned with the laurel of fame; as builders and merchants have illumined marts of trade; as heroes of Colonial and Revolutionary wars rendered patriotic service. Their coat of arms indicates the best traits of chivalry. The name has appeared upon historical records in a variety of forms. Robert de Bardesle and Wil- liam de Bardesle are mentioned on the Hundred Rolls. Bardseys were living in Lancashire, England, in the time of Charles I. Bardsea was adopted as a surname about 1211, and from that time down the name appeared in various forms." In England today the name is spelled Beardley or Bardsley. The Pilgrim ancestor was William Beardsley, who came from England in 1635, on the ship Planter, and was one of the settlers and proprietors of Stratford, Connecticut. He was accompanied by his wife, Mary, and three children, and four children were born to them in the new world. When he was admitted a freeman he spelled his name Beardesley and in his will signed Beardsly. Old records indicate him a man of worth, influence and substance. In his will his son Joseph was offered certain advantages if he married and quit the sea, which he evidently did. His son Samuel became one of the founders of Bridgeport, Connecticut, and a charter member of its first church. Members of the family have left their impress upon the legislative and judicial history of the country, while Eben Beardsley, born in Connecticut in 1808, was a writer of fame. Various representatives of the name served in the Revolutionary war, including Ebenezer Beardsley, who was surgeon's mate in 1775 and a surgeon of infantry from 1776 until 1778; Gershom Beardsley of New York, who was hospital surgeon's mate from 1776 to 1779; Nehemiah Beardsley of Connecticut, who was a captain; Phineas Beardsley of Connecticut, who was a captain from January, 1777, to the close of 1778; and John Beardsley, sixth in descent from William Beardsley, the Pilgrim, who served for six years in a Connecticut regiment. The arms reproduced is argent, two bar gules, on a canton of the second, a maunch of the first. This maunch, or sleeve, seems to indicate the best trait of chivalry-a defender of the defenseless.

Joseph Beardsley, father of Frank Beardsley of this review, was born January 15, 1816, and was married at Elbridge, New York, June 2, 1835, to Matilda D. Field. Not a dozen families in Europe can prove a higher antiquity or more distinguished connection than the Fields. Their history can be traced back to the darkest period of the Middle Ages-about the sixth century. Huburtus de la Feld, of Alsace, France, went with William the Conqueror to England in 1066 and there received large grants of land and became the founder of the English family. During the war between England and France the Felds dropped the prefix de la and changed the spelling to the present form. The ancestors of Huburtus had been seated at the Chateau de la Feld in Alsace as early as the period which followed the fall of the Roman empire. The history of the family in England presents many distinguished names. John Field of London, married Anne, a daughter of Thomas Cromwell, grandson of Oliver Cromwell, and another branch traces the ancestry back to Brian Boru, king of Ire- land in 1001. Sir John Field, astronomer, introduced the Copernican system into England, publishing in 1566 the first astronomical table calculated on the basis of the new discoveries.

It was in 1639 that Zechariah Field came from England to America. The coat of arms of the family is sable, a chevron between three garbs, argent; or three sheaves of wheat on a black field, with a chevron. The motto, Sans Dieu Rein, means "Without God, Nothing." In a cemetery of Dorset, Vermont, on an old monument, appears the following: "The Field family, some of whom are lying here, have been in Dorset for a hundred years. For the century previous their ancestors lived in Massachusetts and Connecticut, previous to that in England and still farther back in Alsace, France. They have been an honest and God-fearing race." Then follows the coat of arms, with the motto carefully engraved. The ancestral line comes down through William, William, Richard, John, John, to Zechariah, the founder of the family in the new world. Then followed two Samuels, the younger being the father of Colonel David Field, great-great-grandfather of Frank Beardsley of this review. He was born in Hatfield, Massachusetts, January 4, 1712, and was married in 1740 to Mrs. Thankful Doolittle, a daughter of Thomas Taylor. She was born July 18, 1716, and died March 6, 1803. Colonel David Field engaged in merchandising at Deerfield, Massachusetts, and in trade with the Indians on the Mohawk river. From his gen- erosity and great losses during the Revolutionary war, he failed in business. He was a member of the first Massachusetts congress, which met in Concord in 1774, and the one at Cambridge in 1775. He was also a member of the Massachusetts council of

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safety, was commissary general under General Stark at the battle of Bennington, August 16, 1777, and for a short time commanded a regiment-the Fifth Hampshire County Regiment-but resigned because of his age, which was then sixty-six years.

His son, Major Elihu Field, born in Deerfield, Massachusetts, October 16, 1753, was married December 29, 1774, to Hepzibah Dickinson, daughter of Captain Thomas Dickinson. He was associated with his father in real estate dealings and merchan- dising and the losses which they suffered during the Revolutionary war left him without means. In March, 1787, he removed to Guilford, Vermont, where in 1791 he built a home that is still standing. He belonged to what was called "The Alarm" in the Revolutionary war, his duty being to give notice of the approach of the enemy and to look after the Tories. He served under his father at the battle of Bennington and afterward as a private in Captain William Humphries' Company. He became a major of the first organized militia of Vermont and filled various offices at Guilford, was justice of the peace for twenty years, United States deputy marshal in 1810 and internal revenue assessor at the time of his death, August 23, 1814. His wife, Hepzibah Field, was born May 10, 1753, at Deerfield, Massachusetts, and died in March, 1843. She was acquainted with many who figured prominently in the Revolutionary war and her reminiscences thereof were most interesting.

Hon. Henry Field, Sr., son of Elihu and Hepzibah (Dickinson) Field, was born in Deerfield, Massachusetts, August 18, 1779, and in 1787 went with his father to Guilford, Vermont. In 1793 he removed to Elbridge, New York, where he engaged in farming, merchandising and in other business. He also held various town and county offices and was a member of the state legislature in 1822. He was married December 20, 1807, to Lucinda Frisbie, who was born in Branford, Connecticut, Feb- ruary 17, 1783. In 1838 they removed to Bellevue, Iowa, where the wife passed away May 5, 1858, and where Henry Field's death occurred April 18, 1868. The fifth of their family of eight children was Matilda D., who was born January 15, 1816, and on the 2d of June, 1835, became the wife of Joseph Beardsley at Elbridge, New York. She married a second time January 16, 1851, becoming the wife of W. A. Warren, of Bellevue, Iowa, and her death occurred September 24, 1858.

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History of Oregon, Vol. III, Part 28

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