USA > Oregon > Multnomah County > Portland > History of Portland, Oregon : with illustrations and biographical sketches of prominent citizens and pioneers > Part 65
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69
618
HISTORY OF PORTLAND.
who was in the rear of the party had not reached the scene, but having heard the shots fired in the vicinity of the men in advance, fled down the mountain to the Mountain House, three miles from the place of attack. Mr. Oatman, although within sixty feet of the guns, miraculously escaped unhurt and fled to the Mountain House for assistance. Before leaving, the Indians killed thirteen of the oxen, the remainder of them escaping. The attack was without provocation and the first in a series of Indian outrages which led to the greatest Indian war known on the Pacific Coast, which raged along the Columbia, around Puget Sound and in the region of Rogue River, from the fall of 1855 to the summer of 1856. No less than 4,000 warriors were at times in arms against the whites, and only a lack of hearty and intelligent co-operation on the part of the hostiles saved the ontlaying settlements from total annihilation, and the more populous communities of the Willamette Valley from all the horrors of barbaric warfare.
The first years of the war of the rebellion passed without far away Oregon experiencing much of the hardships of the great struggle. But as it grew in magni- tude and hundreds of thousands of men were needed by the North to carry on the gigantic strife, the regular troops were withdrawn from the remote frontiers and sent to the front. Oregon, in common with the other States and territories of the Pacific Coast, was left exposed to the hostility of the Indians who immediately after the departure of the troops who had kept them in peaceful subjection, began to assume a warlike attitude and on several occasions were guilty of acts of violence. In this emergency the loyal men of Oregon were called upon to defend the life and property of the people. Mr. Oatman was among those who promptly volunteered for this service and on April 4, 1865, enlisted in the United States Army, to serve during the war, being mustered in at Camp Baker, Rogne River Valley, as first lieutenant of Com- pany I, Captain F. B. Sprague, First Regiment of Oregon Infantry. The services of this regiment were confined to the protection of the frontier and in operations against the Indians, being actively employed until mustered ont July 19, 1867, and supposed to be the last volunteer regiment discharged from service by the government.
Mr. Oatman made a liighly commendable record as a soldier, on several occasions being entrusted with important duties which he discharged in such manner as to receive high praise from his superior officers. On October 14, 1866, he was ordered by Capt. Sprague, with twenty-two men from his command, and four Klamath Indians, as scouts, to proceed from Fort Klamath and to scout the country from that point east to Camp Bidwell, California. On the day following the order he started on his mission, and in seven days arrived at Camp Bidwell, 153 miles distant. O11 · the return Lient. Oatman's command was joined by a small detatchment of regular troops, under Lient. Small, U. S. Cavalry, and on October 25thi an engagement was had with a band of Snake Indians, in the vicinity of Lake Albert. In this engage- ment, which lasted for three hours, the Indians numbering seventy strong, were completely routed, fourteen were killed, more than twenty wounded and fifteen lodges, together with winter supplies for a hundred men were destroyed. For his service in this battle Lieut. Oatman's conduct was highly commended in general orders by Major General George F. Steele in command of the Department of the Columbia, while Lient. Small in his report of the battle stated: "Lient. Oatman commanded the line on the left with commendable skill and energy, and the troops acquitted themselves throughout the engagement in the most soldierly manner.
619
BIOGRAPHICAL.
In October, following his discharge from the army, Mr. Oatman with his family located in Portland where he has ever since resided. He first embarked in the grocery business, in which he continued for some two years alone, after which Hon. Van B. DeLashmintt became a partner. The latter was succeeded as a partner hy Frank Hackeney, with whom Mr. Oatman remained in partnership about two years. At this time he had become the owner of considerable real estate, and he gave up the grocery business that he might devote his attention to land specula- tion. In 1872, with Mr. DeLashmutt, he embarked in a real estate and brokerage business. They are still associated in numerons purchases of real estate in and near the vicinity of Portland, owning many acres of very valuable land. Mr. Oatman has been very successful in his real estate speculations, which have been conducted on a large scale, and which already have realized him a large fortune. He was one of the first subscribers to the stock of the Metropolitan Savings Bank, and is also largely interested in the Coeur 'd Alene mines.
As a business man Mr. Oatman has achieved a high degree of success. He started in life with very limited educational advantages, and without the aid or assist- ance of money or influential friends. All that he has he has acquired by his own exertion, and is a fine type of the so called self-made man, of whom the Pacific slope furnishes so many illustrions examples. He is a man of cheerful, jovial nature, who looks on the bright side of life and believes in extracting all the good out of existence possible and consistent with right living.
Mr. and Mrs. Oatman have had four children all of whom are living. The eldest, James Harvey, is a very prosperous merchant at Bonanza, in Southern Oregon, while the other children, Charles, John and Lucena are living at home with their parents.
DRANDT, JOHN, was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, July 4, 1828, and is of German descent, his great-grand parents having emigrated from Germany, and settled in Pennsylvania, in the early history of that State. His father, John Brandt, for several years was engaged in the manufacture of rifles for the United States Gov- ernment at Lancaster, and was a man of great natural mechanical ability. When the first railroad in Pennsylvania, known as the Old State road, running from Philadel- phia to Columbia, and now' a part of the Pennsylvania railroad system, was com- pleted, the managers secured a locomotive of English manufacture. This was in the infancy of railroad operations in America, and after repeated failures in putting this primitive locomotive in working order, Mr. Brandt was sent for and speedily accom- plished the task. His quick perception of the mechanical principles involved, although in an entirely new field of work, attracted considerable attention and he was soon after appointed master mechanic of the road, which at that time was operated by the State. He remained in this position some eight or ten years, and was then appointed to a similar position on the Cumberland Valley Railroad, and later as superintendent of the motor power and machinery of the New York & Erie Railroad. In 1851 he was made superintendent of the New Jersey Locomotive Works, at Paterson, New Jersey, and in 1853 assisted in founding the Lancaster Locomotive Works, at Lan- caster, Pennsylvania, becoming superintendent of the works. He served in this latter position for two years, when he retired from active life. He was connected witlı
620
HISTORY OF PORTLAND.
railroading during the incipient stages of its development in America, and it opened for him a field in which his natural talents for mechanics became valuable and were highly appreciated. He died at an advanced age in 1880.
John Brandt, the subject of this sketch, began his railroad career at the age of fourteen as fireman ou the old State Road of Pennsylvania. In 1843 he was pro- moted to locomotive engineer, and so continued until 1846, when he changed to the New York & Erie in the same capacity. In 1847 he was promoted to the position of assistant superintendent of the motor power on the latter road, and stationed at Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. He located, put up and furnished with machinery the first shops at that point to operate the Delaware and Susquehanna division. In 1853 he was appointed assistant superintendent of the New Jersey Locomotive Works at Paterson, New Jersey, to build locouiotives for the Erie and other roads. In 1855 he was appointed superintendent of the Lancaster Locomotive Works, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he built a large number of locomotives for the Pennsylvania and other lines. Two years later he was appointed general superintendent of the Cincinnati & Chicago Air Line Railroad. He afterwards filled a similar position on the Chicago & Great Eastern Railroad, now a part of the Pennsylvania system. In 1872, on the resignation of Mr. Joseph Hildreth, as general superintendent of the Oregon and California road, he came to Portland to assume that position. which he has filled ever since with signal ability and to the perfect satisfaction of his employers and the traveling public.
Mr. Brandt's educatiou as a railroad man has been of logical growth, and from early boyhood until the present no other work has interfered with his progress in his chosen field. He is a master of every detail pertaining to his position and its requirements. So thorough is his discipline and so carfully does he watch details that on no line of railroad over which he has had charge has a single passenger been killed owing to mismanagement of those under his supervision. Since his connec- tion with the Oregon and California road he has been hampered by the fact that the road lias been heavily in debt, and with an increase in traffic so slow that no expenditure has been justifiable to promote its growth. Under these circumstances his duties have been doubly difficult, and often of the most perplexing nature, but he has never failed to meet every emergency with promptness and wisdom. He has rare executive ability and when he set a line of policy in operation he makes it his business to see that it is carried out, even to the most trival detail. He is exacting in his requirements of those under him, but is fair and just to the humblest employee. During his long railroad experience no strike has ever occurred among the workmen under him, and if he is exacting and a strict discipli- narian, that he is also kind and considerate is evident from the fact that he numbers among his employes men who have worked under him from twenty to thirty-five years.
Mr. Brandt is large of frame, with a pleasant face, well set off by thick grey hair and expressive brown eyes. Forty odd years of very hard work have left but few marks upon his features, aud he looks young enough for many years of usefulness. He is conservative in his views, and carefully weighs and considers every railway question. Hence it is that his judgment is deferred to by many of the ablest men in the railroad business, while his finely balanced sense of justice renders him inval- uable as a referee iu disputed cases. Few men have had a more valuable experience in railroad management, and none have stronger or more influential friends.
621
BIOGRAPHICAL.
STEEL, GEORGE A., the present Postmaster of Portland, was born in Stafford, Ohio, April 22, 1846, and is a younger brother of James Steel, whose biography appears elsewhere in this volume. At a period when most boys have only fairly began to lay the foundation for their after career, he was thrown on his own resources. The most lim- ited opportunities were therefore afforded him in youth for acquiring even a practical education. The school of experience and self study have been the chief means of pre- paring him for the part he was to perform in life's battles. At the age of sixteen he came to Portland, where he first secured employment as clerk in a commission house. In 1865 he was appointed clerk in the Portland Post office, which position he resigned to accept an appointment as secretary of the Oregon Iron Works. He afterwards secured a position in the banking house of Ladd & Tilton as accountant, and was thus employed for nearly five years.
In 1870 he embarked in the wholesale and retail book and stationery business with J. K. Gill, under the firm name of Gill & Steel. This partnership was continued for some time, but finally Mr. Steel assumed sole charge of a portion of the business.
In January, 1877, he was appointed Special Agent of the Post Office Department for the Northwest Coast. He resigned this position in 1879, and accepted the Deputy Collectorship at Portland, which he retained until 1880, when he resigned. In 1881 his name was sent to the Senate by President Garfield for the position of Postmaster of Portland. Vexations delays occuring, he did not take charge of the office until July 1, 1881, and that was on a temporary appointment, made after the adjournment of the Senate. In October of the same year, upon the reassembling of the Senate, (after the death of President Garfield, ) his appointment was made for four years by Presi- dent Arthur. FFis term of office expired in October, 1885, at which time the Demo- cratic party was in control of the National Goverment, and a Democrat was selected as his successor. During his administration the postoffice was admirably conduted. In the management of the most difficult branch of the public service, he succeeded in conducting the office to the general satisfaction of the business public-a task in a city of the size and importance of Portland, requiring a high order of business judgment and rare administrative ability. Prior to the expiration of his term of office, he had embarked with his brother, Jamies Steel, in the fire insurance business, under the firm name of G. A. Steel & Co. After his retirement from the postoffice he largely devoted his attention to this line of business, and his efforts in this direction have been rewarded with a high degree of success. His relinquishment of official life was, how- ever, of brief duration. In June, 1886 he was nominated and elected State Senator for Multnomah County, for a term of four years, a position for which he was admirably fitted, and where his services were highly prized by his constituents.
In Jannary, 1889, Mr. Steel and his brother secured the incorporation of the Metro- politan Railway Company, a corporation created for the purpose of building an elec- tric motor line from Portland to Fulton Park. Of this company Mr. Steel was elected President, and from that time to the present he has largely devoted his time to carry- ing out the object of the company. Active work upon the motor line was soon begun and energetically prosecuted, and in Jannary, 1890, the line was completed and in operation from G street, thence south along Second street to Fulton Park Power House, a distance of over four miles. This is one of the finest equipped motor lines in the country, and has fully demonstrated the practicability and utility of electricity
622
HISTORY OF PORTLAND.
as a motive power in the operation of a rapid transit city and suburban railway. It is the intention of the owners in the near future to extend the line to the ceme- teries, and finally to Oregon City. The building of this road has made easily accesi- ble some of the most desirable residence property of Portland, which has thus been largely increased in value. The construction of this road was accomplished solely through Mr. Steel and brother, who contributed nearly all the necessary stock, and through many discouragements and difficulties, successfuly carried the project to com- pletion. To their enterprise and public spirit, the city is indebted for this valuable transportation system, which is destined to be an important factor in the city's future development and prosperity.
In December, 1889, Mr. Steel was nominated by President Harrison, and speedily confirmed by the Senate, for another term as Postmaster of Portland. This was an honor which came entirely unsolicited, he being in no sense a candidate for the posi- tion. His known fitness for the place, and the enviable reputation he had made in the office during his first term, were the considerations which induced his party friends to almost unanimously urge his nomination. His selection was received by the citizens of Portland, without regard to party lines, with warm words of approval, while the press of the city uuited in commending the appointment. In April, 1890, he entered upon the discharge of his duties, succeeding Postmaster C. W. Roby, who had been appointed as Mr. Steel's successor in 1885.
Mr. Steel has always been an ardent Republican, and for many years has been a well recognized force in the political history of Oregon. In 1876 lie was elected chair- man of the Republican State Committee, and his able management of the hotly con- tested election of that year, contributed in great measure to the success of the Repub- licaus-a result which will always have a national significance, as Oregon's three electoral votes decided the presidential contest. For ten years following this memor- able campaign, Mr. Steel's services were enlisted in nearly every State campaign, either as chairman or secretary of the State Committee, his ability as a political leader being highly valued by his party.
He was married February 18, 1869, to Miss Eva Pope, daughter of Charles Pope, one of the early settlers of Oregon. He is a member of the First Congregational Church, and is a friend and helper of every worthy cause. In the prosperity which has come to Portland during recent years he has cheerfully contributed his full share. He is a hard worker, progressive and public spirited in his ideas, and one whose entire career has been synonomous with integrity and manliness. He possesses in an eminent degree the qualities most needed in a public official. He is naturally courteous in manner, painstaking in the performance of every duty, and has a high order of administrative and executive ability. During the years of his public life, he has so acted as to leave the impression under all circumstances of being animated by a conscientious purpose to faithfully discharge every trust, regardless of consequences-a record which has firmly established him in the confidence and respect of the public. He is genial and social in nature, easily wins and retains friends, and is deservedly popular throughout the State, while in the city of his home, where he has so long resided and is so thor- oughly known, he has justly earned by a life of strict probity and integrity, the good opinion of his fellows.
Mf Dudley
623
BIOGRAPHICAL.
D UDLEY, WILLIAM LINCOLN, was horn at Yreka, California, June 29, 1864. His father, Jolın Dudley, for several years was engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods at Lowell, Massachusetts. He came to California in 1861, and from that time until 1867 was engaged in mining at Yreka. In 1868 he came to Portland. and has since been Superintendent and Manager of the Portland Gas Company, and held the same position in the Portland Water Works Company, until the property was sold to the City in 1885.
The subject of this sketch was educated at the public schools of Portland, gradn- ating from the High School in 1879. In 1880 he was appointed Assistant Cashier of the Portland Gas Company, serving in that capacity until 1887, when he was nomi- nated on the Republican County Ticket as candidate for Recorder of Conveyances for Multnomah County. He was elected by a majority of more than 2,600 votes, receiv- ing the second highest number of votes on the Republican ticket, and has now nearly completed his term as Recorder, his administration having been in every way highly satisfactory to the people, irrespective of party lines. He has recently been nominated by his party for a second term, and as these sheets go to press, the election is only a few weeks distant.
In 1886 Mr. Dudley was the leading factor in the establishment of the Dudley Packing Company. This company manufactures and deals in packing for steam engines, and has been a most prosperous enterprise. A branch office has been opened in Chicago to faciliate the trade of the Company. Mr. Dudley has been Secretary of the Company since its organization. He was also, for some three years, engaged in the real estate business, at one time as a partner with Frank Cartwright, and later with H. Glenn. His success in this line of business evinced rare judgment, his specula- · tions being rewarded with uniform good results, and some of them being peculiarly fortunate, netting him large returns upon his investments.
Mr. Dudley has taken a deep interest in military matters. He has served one term in the National Guards as a member of Company "G," and is now serving a second term, and acting as Secretary of the Company.
A deservedly high reputation both as a business man and as a public officer, has been attained by Mr. Dudley earlier in life than falls to the lot of most men. At the present time he is perhaps the youngest official in the State occupying a position of equal responsibility and importance, and to say that he has proven himself thoroughly competent, is not only the truth, but surely a record of which he has a right to feel a pardonable pride. At an age when most men have barely commenced their career, he is thoroughly established in the confidence and good opinion of the people, which, with his exemplary habits and character, and the possession of unusual good judg- ment and business sagacity, make him a most creditable representative of the young business men of Portland, and one whose future, judged by the past, is bright with promise.
TORTHRUP, EDWARD JAMES, was born in Albany, New York, July 4th 1834, and N was a son of Nelson Northrup, long known as a merchant in old Oregon. He spent several years of his early life in school, but when quite young began his bus- in'ess career as a clerk in a book store in Boston, where he remained until 1852, when he came to Portland. Here he entered the general merchandise store of Northirup & [40]
624
HISTORY OF PORTLAND.
Simonds, of which firmi his father was senior member, remaining with them as clerk until 1856, when associating himself with James M. Blossom, he succeeded to the business of the firm, under the firin name of Northrup & Blossom. Through several changes of partners Mr. Northrup continued as leading partner until 1878, when failing health compelled him for a time to retire from business. The house was then under the name of Northrup & Thompson. He then sold out to his partner when the firm of Thompson, DeHart & Co. was established and succeeded to the business which he had for so many years conducted, and which is still continued under the firm name of Honeyman, De Hart & Co. A year's rest fully restored his health and he began business anew as a dealer in hardwood, lumber and wagon supplies, in which he continued alone until a few weeks before his death when he associated with him J. G. Chown and J. Hazeltine. It was while reorganizing his business, after the admission of the partners named, and moving into new quarters that Mr. Northrup met with an accident which caused his death. While busy in arranging his stock, on April 9th, 1883, he accidentally fell through a trap-door, which had been recently cut through the floor, falling a distance of twenty feet and sustaining injuries from which he died a few hours later. The entire community in which he was so well and favorably known was shocked by his sudden death, and the expressions of grief and sympathy were sincere and profound. The public press of the city voiced the sentiments and feelings of all who knew the sterling worth of his character when it said: " He was one of the most valuable of our citizens. He was actuated by a high public spirit, was noted for conscientious devotion to duty in all relations of life, and always bore a part in every movement for promotion of the interest of the community both in a moral and material way. He was one of the men whom the community, which is fortunate to possess them, can least afford to spare.".
Mr. Northrup died in the prime of life and at the inception of the grand results of a noble and useful career. As a business man he was noted for a high order of ability, united to energy and strict integrity which made his name stand as the syn- onym for commercial honor. He was modest and retiring in disposition and had no taste for public life, and although often importuned by his fellow citizens to occupy public positions, he always declined. He, however; was a man of great public spirit, and took deep interest in everything pertaining to the best interests of the city materially or morally. The only political office, we believe, he ever accepted was that of delegate to the Republican National Convention of 1880, which nominated the lamented Garfield.
For many years Mr. Northup was a consistent and leading member of the Meth- dist church, belonging to the Taylor street church, where for several years lie held the position of trustee. In deeds of charity, cause of temperance and promotion of Christianity, he was a quiet, but earnest and faithful worker. He took a deep inter- est in the Young Men's Christian Association, and for a long time was one of its active managers. He was long one of the publishing committee of the Pacific Christian Advocate, and at the time of his death a member of the Pacific Advocate Publishing Company.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.