History of Oregon, Vol. III, Part 41

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 12th of June, 1907, in Oregon City, Mr. Christensen was married to Miss Boneita Ralston and they have one son, Robert Clark Christensen, who was born June 13, 1909. During the war period Mr. Christensen served on the legal advisory board and aided in the bond drives. His political allegiance is given the republican party and fraternally he is connected with the Masons, having taken the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, while with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine he has crossed the sands of the desert.

CHARLES WILLIAM ROBISON.

Charles William Robison, a representative of the Oregon bar engaged in active practice in Astoria, has always been a resident of this state, the western spirit of enterprise and progress finding exemplification in his life. He was born in Baker City, in 1889, a son of William and Bessie (Linderbaum) Robison.

In the acquirement of an education Charles W. Robison attended the grade schools of Oregon City and in due time entered the University of Oregon, from which institu- tion he was graduated in 1913. During his college days he was active in student affairs and was known by his many friends as "Beauty" Robison, a nickname which still clings to him. He occupied the much coveted position of yell leader for some time and served as secretary of the student body. He was an enthusiastic athlete and was foremost on the various University teams. His first position after graduation from the university was as deputy district attorney of Multnomah county, an office lie held

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for four years, and at the termination of which he became attorney for the state fire marshal's department, with headquarters at Salem. When the United States entered into the World war he was appointed special agent for the United States Department of Justice, in which position he continued until the close of the war. He then fixed upon Astoria as a likely place in which to locate and there he has since practiced his profession. Since settling in Astoria he has been accorded a large and distinctively rep- resentative clientage, connecting him with much important litigation tried in the courts of his district.

In 1914 the marriage of Mr. Robison and Miss Birdie Wise, a daughter of post- master Herman Wise of Astoria, was celebrated. During her student days at the University of Oregon Mrs. Robison was conceded to be one of the most brilliant pupils of that institution and her marriage to Mr. Robison was the culmination of a college romance which started when he was a sophomore and she a member of the freshman class. Mr. and Mrs. Robison held the same college offices, she succeeding to them as her husband passed into an advanced class. She is a leader in the social circles of Astoria, where she is considered a charming hostess and she has won numerous high honors and prizes for scholarships. During the World war she was very active in Red Cross work and in the civic and women's clubs she takes a prominent part. Two children have heen born to Mr. and Mrs. Robison: William Charles and Frances May.

In the fraternal circles of Astoria Mr. Robison is well known, heing a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Elks and the Loyal Order of Moose. In connection with the civic interests of his community he is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and in line with his profession he helongs to the Oregon Bar and the American Bar Associations.

DOW VERNON WALKER.

Dow Vernon Walker, of the firm of Walker and Barton engaged in a general in- surance business in Portland, is a veteran of the World war and was the organizer of the American Legion in this state-activities which have brought to him a wide ac- quaintance, while the sterling worth of his character has established him firmly in the regard of all who know him. Mr. Walker was born at Greenspring, Ohio, Decem- her 28, 1884, and is a son of Lindsey E. and Lillie B. (Harris) Walker. His two grandfathers served in the Civil war in the northern armies and his paternal grand- father died while in service. His great-great-grandfather in the maternal line was a veteran of the Revolutionary war for independence and his great-grandfather was a veteran of the War of 1812. His ancestors were of the earliest and best American stock. Lindsey E. Walker was born on a farm in Wood county, Ohio, in 1859 and was married in that state to Lillie B. Harris, a native of Seneca county, Ohio, and a daughter of William Harris. They are now residents of Multnomah county, Oregon, where they took up their abode in 1902.

Dow Vernon Walker was reared on his father's farm to 1891 and then accom- panied his parents on their removal to McMinnville, Oregon, where he attended the public schools, passing through consecutive grades to the high school and also spending one year as a pupil in the McMinnville College. He later entered the Oregon Agricultural College at Corvallis, from which he was graduated in 1905. He next entered the employ of the Northern Pacific Terminal Company at the Union depot and was so engaged until 1908, when he became secretary and manager of the Mult- nomah Amateur Athletic Club, filling that position continuously and most acceptably until September, 1917, when he received a commission as captain in the Officers Re- serve Corps. At that date he was sent to Camp Beauregard, Louisiana, for duty on the division commander's staff, and in July, 1918, he went overseas with the Thirty- ninth Division. Arriving in France he was detached from his command and assigned to the French Inter-Allied Motor School at Rozoy-en-Brie, Seine-Marne, and on the completion of the school course was assigned to the French general staff of the De- partment of Commission Regulatrice Automobile, which involved the transportation of troops, supplies and ammunition to the allied armies at the front. He so continued until November 18, 1918, when, the armistice having been signed, he was assigned to General Pershing's staff, with headquarters at Chaumont, Haute-Marne, in the adjutant general's department. He acted in that capacity until January 2, 1919, when

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he was ordered to join the Division Staff of the Forty-first Division, which was ordered to the United States. He returned to his native country on the 3d of February, 1919, and was honorably discharged on the 19th of the same month at Camp Dix, New Jersey, and was commissioned major in the Officers Reserve Corps.

On the 1st of March, 1919, Major Walker returned to his former position as sec- retary and manager of the Multnomah Club of Portland and served in that capacity until November 24, 1919, when he resigned in order to engage in the insurance busi- ness, forming a partnership with Charles S. Barton of Portland, under the firm name of Walker and Barton, becoming agents for the Travelers Insurance Company. He has already laid the foundation for success in this business, his patronage steadily increasing as the result of his enterprise and close application. While in the service of the Multnomah Club Major Walker studied law and was graduated in 1913 from the law department of the University of Oregon with the degree of LL. B. The same year he was admitted to practice and to some extent has followed his profession.

On the 15th of December, 1906, in Corvallis, Oregon, Major Walker was married to Miss Mahel Davis, a daughter of M. M. Davis, who was born in Eugene, Oregon, his parents having crossed the plains to cast in their lot with the earliest settlers of this state. Mr. and Mrs. Walker have become the parents of two children: Mar- shall Vernon, who was born September 17, 1910; and Dow Edwin, born March 29, 1914.

Major Walker is a republican in his political views and during the recent cam- paign was manager for Oregon for General Leonard Wood. He belongs to Columbia Lodge, No. 114, A. F. & A. M., of Portland; Portland Chapter, No. 3, R. A. M .; Oregon Consistory, No. 1, A. & A. S. R .; and Al Kader Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. He like- wise has membership with the Elks Lodge, No. 142, and the Knights of Pythias of Portland. He was made an honorary life member of the Multnomah Amateur Athletic Club in recognition of his past service to the organization and belongs also to the City Club, to the Portland Chamber of Commerce and St. John's Community Club. He is likewise a director of the Portland Community Service and Portland Chapter American Red Cross and after his return from France he took up the organization of the American Legion in the state of Oregon, which now has a membership of about sixteen thousand. In the work he is taking a most helpful part and in all things is actuated by the spirit which is seeking through the organization to promote a one hundred per cent Americanism throughout the length and breadth of the land. He possesses excellent powers of organization, is an able executive, has initia- tive and unlimited energy and accomplishes whatever he undertakes.,

FRANK ABBOTT CRAM.

Frank Ahbott Cram was born in Yreka, California, in 1875 and is a representative of one of the old and honored pioneer families of the Pacific coast. The ancestral line can be traced back to the middle of the thirteenth century, when a family of the name of Von Krom left Germany and settled in England. After many years' residence in Great Britain the descendants dropped the von and the name first hecame Kram and finally the present orthography was adopted. In the seventeenth century representa- tives of the Cram family came from England to the American colonies in search of religious liberty, settling in what is now the state of New Hampshire. Many of the Crams were patriot soldiers of the American Revolution and did their share in various other ways in the upbuilding and development of the colonies. Perry Cram was born in New Hampshire and there wedded Miss Mary A. Scolly, whose forbears had settled in New England in the seventeenth century. After reaching his majority Perry Cram removed with his family to Texas, where he became a breeder of blooded horses, meeting with substantial success in that line. He found himself in the '60s confronted by conditions caused by the outbreak of the Civil war. Being an intense Union sympathizer he sold what he could of his possessions and gathering his family and taking his brood horses and other possessions which he had not sold, he started on a long trip to the Pacific coast. The journey lay through Mexico and for seven months they traveled by horseback and by teams, running the gauntlet of hostile Indians but finally reaching the west coast of Mexico, where they boarded a ship for San Francisco, landing there in the spring of 1864. He purchased property in Sacra- mento and again established himself in the stock business, but the great flood of the

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Sacramento river caused the loss of blooded horses and cattle to the sum of fifty thousand dollars. Fearing a recurrence of such a disaster he removed still farther northward, settling in Siskiyou county, California, and it was there at Yreka, in 1875, that his son Frank Abbott Cram, was born. In 1881 Perry Cram removed with his family to Oregon, traveling by team and settling in Cow canyon, where he pur- chased a tract of land. Having retained some of his brood mares he again began the raising of blooded stock. In 1883 he disposed of his property and located at Prine- ville.

Frank A. Cram acquired his education in the schools of The Dalles. When quite young he accepted a position in a dry goods store and such was his aptitude for the business that when but fourteen years of age he was made a clerk. On reaching the age of nineteen he went to eastern Oregon, where he joined his brother, Bidwell Cram, who had established himself in the stock raising business. There he remained for two years, after which he accepted a clerkship in a general merchan- dise establishment at Antelope, Wasco county, and remained for eighteen months. He next entered the employ of the A. M. Williams Company at The Dalles, acting as department manager and buyer. In 1901 he removed to Hood River and established the dry goods business which he now owns and which for nineteen years has been the highest class concern of the kind in the valley. His store is located on Oak street, the main business artery of Hood River, and embraces thirty-four hundred square feet. The stock carried is at all times most attractive and comprehensive in its scope. He makes it his purpose to handle only new goods and the people of this section have come to know that they cannot obtain shopworn goods or old styles in Cram's Dry Goods Store. His trade extends all over the Hood River valley and into a portion of Wasco county as well as across the river to the towns and settlements in the state of Washington.

Mr. Cram was married in September, 1900, to Miss Etta D. Story, a daughter of Judge J. L. Story, who was a pioneer lawyer of Oregon and a prominent factor in the growth of the state from the days of Indian warfare to the time of his demise, dur- ing which period much had been accomplished in the way of progressive modern de- velopment. Among the many offices which he held was that of mayor of The Dalles. Mr. and Mrs. Cram are the parents of five children: Mary Lenore, who is a student in the University of Oregon; Dorothy, who was graduated from the Hood River high school in 1920 and will enter the Oregon State University; Evelyn, a high school pupil; Jack Randolph, a junior in the high school; and Edwin Story, who is a pupil in the grades.

While giving close attention to his business Mr. Cram is ever ready to lend a hand to all enterprises that tend to advance the interests of Hood River and the valley. He was formery president of the Business Men's Association, has been a director of the Commercial Club and has given his time and money to further many interests of public benefit. He assisted largely in all projects having to do with the prosecution of the war, including the sale of Victory bonds and the Red Cross work. Mrs. Cram is an active Sunday school worker and well known club woman and was very diligent and earnest in Red Cross work and in her support of all war drives. She has always held a prominent social position and is known as an ideal mother as well as a charming hostess.

JAMES M. McNAUGHTON.

Among the important business enterprises of Portland is numbered the Lectro Manufacturing & Sales Company of which James M. McNaughton is the president. He is proving energetic and far-sighted in the conduct of the extensive business of which he is the head and under his management the trade has steadily grown. Mr. Mc- Naughton is a native of Canada. He was born on a farm in Glengary county, Ontario, in 1865 and is a son of John G. and Anna J. (McMillan) McNaughton. After com- pleting his public school education Mr. McNaughton pursued a course in a business college and then devoted his energies to assisting his father on the farm and in his lum- bering operations. Coming to the west he located at Portland in 1888 and engaged in logging in Washington and Oregon until about 1916, working as a contractor along that line. He then became associated with the Hemphill brothers and Herbert Berkman in or- ganizing the Lectro Manufacturing & Sales Company, becoming its president. In 1918

JAMES M. McNAUGHTON

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Messrs. McNaughton and Berkman purchased the interests of the Hemphill brothers in the business which from the time of its organization has enjoyed a steady growth and they now maintain a branch establishment in Chicago, Illinois, of which Mr. Berkman has charge. The company manufactures electric trouble shooters, gas savers, valve grinders, generator testers, etc., and employs ten traveling salesmen whose terri- tory covers the entire United States. Mr. McNaughton gives careful oversight to every phase of the business and is constantly seeking to increase the efficiency of the plant and to improve in any way possible the quality of the products manufactured, bending every effort and energy to the legitimate advancement of the house.

In 1895 Mr. McNaughton was united in marriage to Miss Grace Archibald of Des Moines, Iowa, and they have become the parents of three children: Margaret, a grad- uate of domestic science at the Oregon Agricultural College; Katherine, who is a graduate of the Jefferson high school and is now a student at the Holmes Business College; and James, a grade pupil. Mr. McNaughton is a prominent Mason, belonging to the Scottish Rite Consistory and to Al Kader Temple of the Mystic Shrine and for thirty-five years has been identified with the order. He is also a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is classed with the city's progressive business men and public-spirited citizens and his sterling traits of character have won for him the esteem and regard of a large circle of friends.

FRANK R. DAVENPORT.

Frank R. Davenport, manager of the Hood River business of the Tum-a-Lum Com- pany, was born in Cache county, Utah, July 15, 1878, his parents being J. Frank and Helen B. (Remington) Davenport, who were representatives of old American families. In the early '80s they removed to Oregon and to J. Frank Davenport the Hood River valley owes its world-wide reputation as a great fruit-producing country. Shortly after his arrival in the valley he saw the necessity for irrigation and under the most adverse circumstances proceeded to build what is now the Farmers Irrigation Company's ditch. This enterprise has made Hood River valley one of the great fruit sections of the United States. The courage, energy and determination which he displayed were apparently not appreciated at the time by the farmers and orchardists who were bene- fited by his foresight and capability. Promises to pay their share of the expense were never kept but in spite of the many difficulties and obstacles he encountered he con- tinued his good work and today there is no one in the valley but says that J. Frank Davenport stands first among those who were the promoters and builders of its great- ness. Mr. Davenport was for many years manager of the Oregon Lumber Company later buying their interests and conducting the business as Davenport Brothers and in 1905 sold to the Stanley-Smith Lumber Company, and since 1916 he has been engaged in the sawmill business and in farming in the John Day country.

Frank R. Davenport acquired his education in the graded schools of Cache county and in the Utah Agricultural College, and also attended the Brigham Young University at Logan, Utah. His father's lumber business in Hood River was sold to the Oregon Lumber Company, the predecessor of the Stanley-Smith Company, and Frank R. Dav- enport was employed by the company until it passed into the hands of a receiver, for whom Mr. Davenport continued to work from 1916 until 1917, when he was made the receiver of the company, which in 1918 passed out of the hands of a receiver. Mr. Davenport then became manager of the Hood River business of the Tum-a-Lum Lum- ber Company, one of the large lumber concerns operating in Washington and Oregon. This position he has since occupied, his business qualities well preparing him for the responsibilities devolving upon him in this connection. He is regarded as one of the best business men of this section, having inherited much of his father's pluck, deter- mination and ability.

At Logan, Utah, in 1901, Mr. Davenport was married to Miss Kate Lutkin, a daugh- ter of G. W. Lutkin, an old and valued citizen of the Cache valley. They have eight children: Franklin, Dorothy, Hazel, Violet, Kenneth, Naomi, Rodney and Remington.

Mr. Davenport is a member of the city council of Hood River and exercises his official prerogatives in support of all plans and measures for the general good. He has membership with the Knights of Pythias and is a most highly esteemed citizen. He has always made good in anything he has undertaken and his enterprise and deter- mination have enabled him to overcome all difficulties and obstacles in his path and

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make his way continuously upward. He is a worthy son of an honored father and the name of Davenport is one that figures most prominently in connection with the his- tory of the Hood River valley.

VICTOR MARDEN.

Victor Marden, president of the Motor Service Company of The Dalles, is a native son of Oregon, born in Wasco county in 1874. His father, John M. Marden, was born at Georgetown, D. C., a descendant of an old and distinguished southern family, who had been prominent in Virginia from the earliest colonial days. He was educated at private schools and later entered Columbia College, Washington, D. C. He crossed the plains in 1849 at the head of a company of daring pioneers, and in October of that year he took up mining, first at Bidwell Bar, California, and some time later at Marys- ville, where he assisted in the erection of the first houses in that town. After having lived for about a year in Marysville, he removed to Shasta, California, where he worked as a miner with considerable success, and for about eight years altogether he engaged in mining in most of the camps from Marysville to British Columbia. In 1859 he came to Oregon and located in what is now Wasco county. As a pioneer in California he had demonstrated his sturdiness, and upon settling in Oregon he found himself in the midst of the Snake River war, in which he took a prominent part. In 1883 he moved his family to The Dalles, where they have since continued to reside.

Victor Marden was educated in the graded schools of The Dalles, at Bishop Scott's Academy at Portland, and at Pacific University, Forest Grove. He took up the trade of a saddler and harnessmaker, and from 1900 to 1916 he conducted an establishment along that line in The Dalles. He then became associated with the firm of Cates & Company, dealers in sporting goods. In 1919, Mr. Marden disposed of his saddlery business and at the same time reorganized the firm of Cates & Company, merging the latter into the Motor Service Company, of which he is the president. To prop- erly house the new enterprise, Mr. Marden had erected upon property owned by him- self a handsome concrete storeroom and garage. The plant contains some twelve thou- sand square feet of floor space, which is admirably divided into departments for the conduct of the large business handled by the company. In the auto salesroom several cars of established repute, by various makers, are on display, and also trucks of stand- ard build. In the rear of the building are a fully equipped repair shop and service station, where expert mechanics are employed. In addition, there is an accessory de- partment and a department given over to the sale of sporting goods, the company having an extensive connection in this line.

In 1910 Mr. Marden was married to Miss Kate Tillard, a daughter of William Tillard, one of the earliest pioneers of Douglas county. Three children have been born to this union: Amelia, John Victor and Susanne. The two elder children are pupils of The Dalles school.

Mr. Marden is a Mason; is a past master of the blue lodge; is a member of the Chapter; and is a Knight Templar and a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. He has earned for himself a prominent place in the commercial life of The Dalles, in the affairs of which he takes a warm and practical interest, ever giving the benefit of his influence and name to all projects calculated to advance the civic welfare of the community in which he resides.

DEXTER RICE.

Dexter Rice, a well known attorney and prominent resident of Roseburg, was born near Rice Hill in 1873. This grade is on the Southern Pacific Railroad in Douglas county and is named in honor of his father, Ica F. Rice. Ica F. Rice was born in Indiana and in 1848 went to California, spending a few years at Sutter's Fort and being among those early pioneers who found gold at that historic spot. In 1850 he came to Oregon and two years later located near Oakland, settling on a donation claim in Douglas county. A few years later, when the Southern Pacific Railroad surveyors were building the road to Portland they made the residence of Mr. Rice their head- quarters and in honor of his kindly hospitality they named the adjoining hill after

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him. The mother of Dexter Rice was Martha Bramlett, a member of a pioneer Ten- nessee family.

In the acquirement of an education Dexter Rice attended the schools of Douglas county and in due time entered the University of Oregon, where he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1897. He commenced practice at Roseburg, where his ability soon became recognized and he soon had a fine clientage. His success as an attorney drew the attention of his fellow men and he was later elected city recorder, appointed county judge, and in 1900 became a member of the state legislature. Mr. Rice has, however, no political aspirations and with the expiration of his term of service devoted himself exclusively to the practice of his profession.

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History of Oregon, Vol. III, Part 41

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