History of Oregon, Vol. III, Part 31

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

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In Portland, on the 20th of October, 1903, J. C. Veazie was united in marriage to Miss Minnie F. Cole, daughter of the late Edwin Cole, a native of England. The two children of this union are: Alfred C., who was born November 4, 1905; and Marion Lyle.

In his political views Mr. Veazie is a republican. He is a life member of the Multnomah Amateur Athletic Club and a member of the University Club. During the World war he served on the legal advisory board and also aided in promoting the various bond drives. His time and attention are chiefly given to his law practice and in a profession demanding keen intellect and individual merit he is making con- tinuous progress, ranking with the ablest members of the Portland har. He is in- terested in all civic matters and his influence is always on the side of progress and improvement.

HENRY CUE.

Henry Cue, the present proprietor and editor of The Dalles Optimist with which he became associated in 1906 and of which he has been the owner since 1911, was born in Illinois in 1870. He is a son of Walter H. and Alice (Stewart) Cue, the former a native of England, who came to America in 1862. On his arrival in this country, Mr. Cue went to Illinois and located in Decatur, where he followed his trade as a stone engraver. The Stewarts were early settlers in the state of Missouri, and the grandfather of Mrs. Cue was a manufacturer of plows in that state for a number of years.

In 1876 the Cue family moved to Missouri from Illinois, and Henry Cue was educated in the schools of that state. At an early age he learned the trade of a printer and having mastered its technicalities and received his card as a member of the Kansas City Typographical Union, he started out to find a suitable location for a home. In 1888 he went to Denver, Colorado, where he worked for a short time and then pushed on to the coast, arriving in Portland, Oregon, in the fall of that year. He worked at his trade on the Oregonian for about twelve months, at the end of that period going to California and later to Salt Lake City, Utah. In 1891 he returned to Oregon and became connected with the Liquor Dealers Gazette, a trade publication emanating from Portland.

In 1892 Mr. Cue returned to Missouri, where for the following twelve years he was foreman of the mechanical department of the Sedalia Morning Gazette, which posi-

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tion he resigned in 1904 to become license supervisor of Sedalia, filling that office until 1906. On his retirement, he returned to Oregon, and in the same year came to The Dalles to work for The Dalles Optimist, with which he has been connected ever since. In 1908 he bought an interest in the paper, which in 1911 he bought outright, having since been the editor and proprietor. The Optimist, under Mr. Cue's manage- ment, has extended the scope of its usefulness and has a widespread influence in central Oregon. A large, modernly equipped job department is operated in connection with the paper.

Mr. Cue is a warm supporter of the republican party, in behalf of whose interests he has never spared himself, but he has never held public office, although he has been tendered many nominations. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Woodmen of the World, and the United Artisans, hut has given his time more particularly to the Improved Order of Red Men, in which he has filled all the chairs of the city and state organizations and has heen twice the representative of Oregon in the great council of the order.

In 1897 Mr. Cue was married at Sedalia, Missouri, to Miss Catharine Anduss, who is a daughter of Richard and Minnie Anduss, a pioneer family of Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Cue are the parents of one daughter, Ruby, the wife of Arthur Kirtland, of Atascabero, California. Mr. and Mrs. Cue take an active part in the social and cultural activities of The Dalles and are ever found on the side of all movements designed to advance the welfare of the city in which they are popular and prominent residents.

DANIEL J. COOPER.

Daniel J. Cooper is now living practically retired at The Dalles but for many years was most extensively identified with farming interests in this section of the state. He has also been a well known figure in republican circles and has again and again served as a delegate to the conventions of his party. Mr. Cooper is a native son of Tennessee, his birth having occurred in Bradley county, that state, in 1836, his parents being Elbert E. and Nancy (Wann) Cooper. His father was a native of Kentucky, as were his parents, Mr. and Mrs. George Frederick Cooper. The great- grandfather was of German parentage and during the days of the Revolutionary war was so intensely an American that he dropped the name of George because it was the name of the reigning sovereign of England and became Frederick Cooper. He fought bravely with the American troops, thus aiding in winning national independ- ence, and he married Dorothy Call, a representative of another family of North Caro- lina represented in the Revolutionary war. The Wann family likewise comes of Revolutionary stock and was established in Virginia in colonial days. The grand- mother of Daniel J. Cooper was a daughter of Clayton Stockton, who served with distinction in the War of 1812.

Daniel J. Cooper was educated in Missouri and when twenty years of age crossed the plains with ox team and wagon to California, where he spent three years. In 1861 he returned east and served gallantly in the Civil war. In 1863 he became a resident of Polk county, Oregon, where he took up the occupation of farming and stock raising, which he there followed successfully for fourteen years. For three years he was also engaged in merchandising and afterward removed to Silverton Mills, where he again established and successfully conducted a mill for two years. In 1878 he became a resident of Wasco county and here purchased a farm of twenty-nine hundred acres, of which sixteen hundred acres is tillable. For many years he was one of the leading agriculturists of Wasco county but is now practically living retired and has sold all of his lands save one hundred and seventy-three acres.

In 1861 Mr. Cooper was united in marriage to Miss Arveneza Spillman, a daughter of Nathan Spillman of Kentucky, and they have the following children: Charles C., a business man of Dufur, Oregon; Elbert N., who is a stock raiser of Billings, Mon- tana; Cyrus, filling the office of county assessor of Wasco county; Daniel J., a farmer of Wyoming; Avery J., a colonel in the United States army; James A., who is en- gaged in the automobile business at The Dalles; Kenneth L., of the United States vocational training service; Dr. Belle Ferguson, who is a widow and lives in Port- land, Oregon; Mrs. Mary Thompson of Lewiston, Idaho; Mrs. Nancy Thomas of Troutdale, Oregon; Mrs. Prudence Bailey of The Dalles; Mrs. Ruth Fish of Los Angeles, California; Bingilia, the wife of H. E. Northrup of Portland; and Mildred,

DANIEL J. COOPER

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the wife of Francis W. Galloway, who is district attorney for Wasco and Hood River counties.

Mr. Cooper has long figured prominently in the public life of his community and is a consistent republican, who many times has served as a delegate to the political conventions, being so honored in 1920, when he was made a delegate to the repub- lican national convention in Chicago. His popularity was shown by the fact that he ran ahead of his ticket when elected a delegate. He is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution and also of the Grand Army of the Republic and has long been an active and consistent member of the Congregational church. For the past few years he has lived at The Dalles, where he is uniformly esteemed and respected. He is a firm believer in the future of this community and has labored earnestly for the betterment of all local conditions as a matter of patriotism and devotion to the district. Throughout his entire life he has displayed the same spirit of loyalty which caused him to go to the defense of the Union and follow the nation's starry banner on the battle fields of the south.

CHRISS ALEXANDER BELL.

Chriss Alexander Bell, member of the Portland bar, engaging in general law practice, was born in Canemah, Oregon, October 6, 1874, his parents being Miles and Jane Gilbert Bell. The father was a native of Ohio, while the mother was born in Portland. She was a daughter of Delos Jefferson, a pioneer teacher of this city and the builder of the first schoolhouse in Portland.

Chriss A. Bell obtained his education in the graded schools of East Portland and in early life took up steamboating. Ambitious to enter upon a professional career, however, he turned to the law and while engaged in steamboating devoted his leisure hours to the mastery of the principles of jurisprudence and when feeling qualified for active practice sought and secured admission to the bar. This was in 1896 and through the intervening period, covering almost a quarter of a century, he has engaged in the general practice of law. The court records bear testimony to his ability, for he has been associated with various important cases and has won many verdicts favor- able to his clients. As the years have passed he has also become interested in various corporations and has derived therefrom a substantial annual income.

On the 3d of August, 1904, Mr. Bell was united in marriage to Miss Charlotte May Bennett and they have become parents of four children: Edna Ellen, Robert Reed, Howard Jefferson and Frederick Alexander.

Mr. Bell is a veteran of the Spanish-American war, having served as a corporal in Company H of the Second Oregon Infantry throughout the period of hostilities. He went on the first expedition to Manila. His political support is given to the republican party and he has strongly endorsed its principles since attaining his ma- jority. He is an exemplary representative of the Masonic fraternity, having attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, while with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine he has crossed the sands of the desert. He also belongs to the Multnomah Club and the Chamber of Commerce.

JACOB THOMPSON RORICK.

Some two hundred years ago and about forty years before the Declaration of Independence, the first Jacob T. Rorick landed in America and settled on the river that bears the name of his fellow countryman, Henrich Hudson. This first Jacob T. Rorick was the great-grandfather of Jacob Thompson Rorick, of The Dalles. The latter's parents were Mark and Ann E. (Moore) Rorick, who were natives of New Jersey, and in that state he was born in 1853. His grandmother Moore was an aunt of Rev. John Russell, who was a candidate of the prohibition party for president.

Mr. Rorick was educated in the district schools of Michigan, where he was sent on the death of his parents to live with an uncle. Later he entered the Oak Grove Academy, after which he taught school for a time, in the meanwhile taking a course at the State Normal School at Ypsilanti. He then began the study of law and took a law course at the Michigan State University. For some reason he abandoned the

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practice of law and turned his attention to the newspaper business, becoming editor and publisher of the Bad Axe Democrat, which he conducted for eight years, and during this time he was appointed postmaster of Bad Axe, Michigan, by President Cleveland, serving in that office for four years.

It was in 1892 that Mr. Rorick came to Oregon, locating at Grand Haven on the opposite side of the river from The Dalles. There he secured twenty-three hundred acres of land and of this he still owns thirteen hundred acres. He also has one hun- dred and eighty acres in Benton county, Washington, under ditch, devoted to fruit and alfalfa. He has given much attention to cattle raising and was one of the organ- izers of the Castle Rock Land Association. While in the cattle business, Mr. Rorick always believed in full-blooded sires and his Durham bulls were all of registered stock. Closing out his cattle business, he took up dairying and used only Jerseys, again adher- ing to registered sires. Since 1909 he has practically retired from active connection with farm work.

Mr. Rorick has always evinced an interest in public affairs, though in no sense is he a politician. He has served on the school board; was twice candidate for mayor of The Dalles, and for eight years served as one of the city water commissioners. He served as a director of The Dalles Chamber of Commerce from 1915 to 1917, when he was elected president of that body, occupying that office until 1919. He is vice- president of the Oregon State Chamber of Commerce, and one of the five eastern Oregon directors of that important organization. He has been a Mason for forty-six years, and a Knight Templar for twenty-eight years. He has held all of the chairs in the blue lodge and is a Noble of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.

In 1881 Mr. Rorick was married to Miss Carrie E. Eldridge, whose great-grand- father was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. She is a daughter of Rev. H. P. Eldridge, a Baptist clergyman of the middle west, who left his pulpit and fought gallantly with the Federal army during the Civil war. The living children of Mr. and Mrs. Rorick are: Mark, who is a chief yeoman in the United States navy; Faye, wife of Clifton Condon, of The Dalles; Jay T., Jr., and E. H., a supercargo in the service of the United States shipping board. There are eight grandchildren two of whom Jay T., 3rd, and Elizabeth, they are rearing.

NATHAN KOONTZ SITTON.

On the pages of Oregon's pioneer history the name of Nathan Koontz Sitton is clearly and indelibly inscribed. He arrived in this state in 1843 when the work of civilization had scarcely been begun in the northwest. Few indeed were the settle- ments within the state. Its great forests were uncut, its streams unbridged, its lands unclaimed and the red man practically everywhere had dominion. Mr. Sitton was born in Fulton, Callaway county, Missouri, September 2, 1825, a son of Franklin Sit- ton, who was a native of Tennessee and of Scotch descent, his ancestors having come to America at an early period in the colonization of the new world. His grandfather, Jeffery Sitton, was born near Nashville, Tennessee, and during the Revolutionary war was engaged in forwarding horses to the American forces. His son, Franklin Sitton, was united in marriage to Miss Rebecca Austin, who was born in Virginia but was reared in Kentucky. Her father was John Austin. Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Sit- ton became the parents of five children, Nathan K. being the eldest son.

Reared in his native state to his seventeenth year Nathan K. Sitton then started on a trip to Oregon, accompanied by two other young men and while en route in some unexplained manner he acquired the sobriquet of "Doc," by which he was ever after- ward known. His associates on the journey were Tom Brown and John Cox. They traveled by wagon to Fort Laramie and Mr. Sitton drove a team to Fort Hall for a Mr. Vance. Each of the young men had a horse and they obtained pack mules and completed their journey in that manner. After leaving Fort Hall Mr. Brown was taken ill and the others cared for him as well as they could, getting him safely through to The Dalles. On one occasion Mr. Sitton became separated from his companions and at length was taken in by Indians and fed on dried fish skins, which he claimed was the best food he ever ate, so nearly famished was he. When the three young men finally reached The Dalles they were joined by two brothers of the name of Eaton. A horse was exchanged for a canoe and the Eatons and Mr. Cox brought their companion

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in the canoe down the Columbia river and up the Willamette to Oregon City, while Mr. Sitton made the trip across the country with the animals, arriving after the others. The good Dr. McLoughlin of revered memory called to see the sick man and exclaimed, "Tut, tut! Will you let a man die?" He then sent for a boat and Indians and sent Brown and Cox to Vancouver, where the sick man was cared for hy Dr. Barkley for four weeks, at the end of which time he had sufficiently recovered to need no longer medical attention although Mr. Cox remained with him for two weeks longer. The doctor's charges were but twenty dollars and the patient was told that he could pay when he was able. This little incident is but characteristic of the kindliness and help- fulness which Drs. McLoughlin and Barkley continuously extended to the immigrants.

It was on the 2d of May, 1843, that Mr. Sitton left his Missouri home and on the 15th of October arrived in Oregon City to find that his comrades had gone on to Vancouver. Said a contemporary writer: "There he stood, a big, ragged hoy, hare to his knees, the legs of his trousers having been worn off against the low brush as he came over the mountains. His animals were lean and worn by the privations of a long journey and thus he stood, leaning against a log in this great and comparatively uninhabited country, when old Mr. Gertman walked up to him and asked, 'Do you know Doc Sitton?' He replied, 'I am Doc Sitton.' 'Well, then, come to my house and stay with me,' was the rejoinder. Mr. Sitton thought it would not be right to go without telling him that he had no money. The answer was, 'Never mind; none of us have any money here. Your comrades have been here and have been sent hack to Van- couver to the doctor, and they told us you were coming and to look after you.' So they went to the house together, and as young Sitton sat hy the fire, a stranger asked, 'Is that all the pants you have?' He replied, 'My other clothes are at Vancouver,' whereupon the man said, 'I will give you the cloth for a pair if you can get them made,' and the lady of the house said to him, 'I will make them for you,' so that hy night of the next day Mr. Sitton had a new pair of trousers and there was no charge of any kind. Moreover, his hostess said: 'My son, you can go into the pantry whenever you like and eat all the bread and meat you want. I crossed the plains last year and know how hungry you are.'" Such kindnesses were characteristic of the Oregon pio- neers and they made such an impression upon Mr. Sitton that his own course always was not only a duplicate of the helpfulness which he had received but he often "bet- tered the instructions." His home was always open to anyone and his hospitality was unhounded.

Mr. Sitton hegan working at whatever task he could find. He made shingles at the mouth of the Clackamas and on the 1st of December went to the mouth of the Yamhill, stopping at Mr. Lahontee's. From that point he proceeded six miles to a place where he assisted in building a cabin for a young man and his wife who were just starting out on a donation claim there. Later Mr. Sitton was employed as a mason tender in building the institute at Salem, his employer being a Mr. Gray. Later he worked in a sawmill at Salem until March, 1844, and then went to Astoria, where he was employed for six weeks. Subsequently he went up the river, where he assisted in building a sawmill and from there proceeded to Oregon City where he engaged in sawmill work for the mission. He afterward proceeded to The Dalles, going up the river in a canoe and bringing hack a number of wagons in a bateau belonging to Dr. McLoughlin. In the autumn of 1844 he took up his ahode on a donation claim in Yamhill county. Charles Fendle had taken up the claim and they kept hachelors' hall for a time. When Mr. Fendle desired to return to the east Mr. Sitton purchased his interest in the claim, which he later exchanged for a tract of six hundred and forty acres on which his remaining days were passed and which he converted into one of the fine and beautiful farms of Oregon.

On the 22d of April, 1847, Mr. Sitton was united in marriage to Miss Priscilla Rogers, a native of Indiana and a daughter of Lewis Rogers, who was one of the hon- ored pioneers of Oregon of 1846. The young married couple journeyed to their home on horseback, Mr. Sitton's outfit consisting of a buffalo robe and blanket, while his wife's possessions included a feather bed and a set of cups and saucers. They also had a teakettle without a cover, a Hudson's Bay frying pan with a long handle and her parents gave her money with which to huy a coffee pot. Such was their supply of household goods, but brave hearts were undiscouraged by the hardships and priva- tions of pioneer life. In the autumn of 1848, attracted hy the gold discoveries of California, Mr. Sitton went to the mines where he remained from September until Christmas, heing located on the north fork of the American river. He was quite successful in his mining operations and with two others took out two ounces of gold

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in a day and in the course of five months Mr. Sitton had accumulated twelve hun- dred dollars with which he returned home by way of San Francisco, being fourteen days on the sea. Thereafter he remained on the farm, devoting his attention to the raising of grain and also to some extent handling cattle and horses.

To Mr. and Mrs. Sitton were born nine children: Charles E., born July 6, 1848, died April 19, 1890; Amanda Ellen, born January 23, 1850, died in infancy; Caro- line E., born Octoher 21, 1851, became the wife of L. C. Rogers, and has since passed away; Ora Ann, born October 23, 1854, married John Mccullough and died April 4, 1881; Ella W., born February 16, 1858, passed away on the 9th of March of the same year; Harry W., was born August 11, 1859; Noah H. was born April 29, 1862; Fred D. was born February 23, 1865, and has passed away; and Elbridge D., born September 23, 1867. The wife and mother passed away June 22, 1869, thus leaving Mr. Sitton with the care of a large family of young children. On the 31st of January, 1871, he wedded Mrs. Mary (Shelley) Laughlin, a daughter of Michael and Sena Shelley who were Oregon pioneers of 1848. Mrs. Sitton had two children by her first marriage, Leslie G. and Effie R., the latter now Mrs. Addie Brawly, of McMinnville. Five chil- dren were born of the second marriage: F. Ward, born Fehruary 24, 1872; Pratt K., February 24, 1875; Minnie G., June 26, 1877; Jennie G., February 20, 1882; and Sena S., April 7, 1884.

Mrs. Sitton was a consistent member of the Christian church. While Mr. Sitton did not hold membership in any religious organization he was a believer in the Bible and in Christianity and gave freely to the support of the Gospel. He belonged to the Masonic fraternity of which he was long an exemplary representative and he gave his political allegiance to the democratic party. He was a man of great kindliness of heart and he reared several children who were orphans, giving to them good educa- tional advantages to enable them to make a good start in life. He stood as a splendid representative of that type of Oregon pioneers, who, coming to the state, were ever ready to extend a helping hand to others and who laid broad and deep the foundation upon which the present prosperity and progress of Oregon rests.

MORRILL EARL RITTER.

Morrill Earl Ritter, president and manager of the Roseburg Undertaking Com- pany and coroner of Douglas county, is one of the representative citizens of Roseburg. He was born in Williams county, Ohio, in 1873, a son of William H. and Catharine (Severns) Ritter, the former a descendant of an old New York family and the latter of a pioneer New England family who came to this country in pre-Revolutionary days. In his youth William H. Ritter served his country in the Civil war as a soldier of the Union army and is still residing on the home place in Ohio. He is known throughout the community as a stern but very just man.

After completing his education Morrill Earl Ritter remained on his father's farm until he was twenty-one years of age, when he sought other work, having no particular line of business in mind. His first occupation was that of meat dealer but he soon found that line was not to his liking and sold out at the end of eighteen months. After essaying other lines of endeavor he entered a school of embalming and funeral directing at Detroit, Michigan, receiving his diploma in 1900. He remained in that city for three years, when on account of the ill health of his wife, he went to California for one year and located at Los Angeles. He subsequently returned to Michigan, where he practiced in Jackson for a period and then again came west, locating in Seattle, Washington. In 1911 he removed to Roseburg, where he purchased a half interest in the Roseburg Undertaking Company and has heen president of that company for the past decade. Upon the walls of his office hang licenses from Michigan, California, Washington and Oregon and his ability as an embalmer is beyond question. In 1917 he was appointed coroner of Douglas county and was twice elected to succeed himself. Mr. Ritter has the distinction of being the only coroner of the county who has been recorded as having turned into the county treasury moneys from the earnings of his office.

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History of Oregon, Vol. III, Part 31

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