USA > Oregon > Oregon, pictorial and biographical > Part 11
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Frank B. Clapton
Frank Boyd Clopton
I N A review of the lives of those men who have been the upbuilders and promoters of Pendleton's com- mercial, social and moral interests, Frank B. Clop- ton, now deceased, deserves prominent and honorable mention. His was a well spent life, in harmony with those principles which in every land and clime awaken confidence and regard. During much of his residence in Pendleton he was engaged in the real-estate and insurance business and at all times he found opportunity to cooperate in movements which had for their object the benefit and welfare of the city. He was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, March 2, 1860, the son of Francis Bacon and Mary (Boyd) Clopton, and a grand- son of the eminent Virginia jurist, Judge John B. Clopton. The Virginia Cloptons were descended from the Cloptons of Yorkshire who were of a very ancient English family. The records give a Sir Hugh Clopton who died in 1497. He was at one time Lord Mayor of London and benefactor of Stratford-on-Avon, his birth having occurred at Clopton manor, a mile from Stratford. His an- cestors had been owners of Stratford manor from the time of Henry III. Hugh Clopton, after leaving home, became a rich merchant of London. His vast fortune, it is said, enabled him to become pos- sessor of the family estates, and about 1483 he erected in Stratford, on Chapel street, a pretty house of brick and mortar which was pur- chased by Shakespeare in 1597 and remained the poet's place of resi- dence until his death. The estates of Sir Hugh Clopton ultimately passed to Joyce Clopton, sixth generation from Thomas Clopton, Sir Hugh's elder brother. She married Sir George Carew, who was elevated to the peerage May 4, 1605, as Baron Carew of Clopton, a member of congress for Virginia in 1607, and made Earl of Totness in February, 1625. He died March 27, 1629, and is buried at Strat- ford-on-Avon. Three sons came to Virginia where they took the maternal name of Clopton. Tradition states that they were com- pelled to leave England because of their adherence to the cause of the Stuarts. Isaac Clopton was the eldest. He was one of the sign- ers of the "Declaration of the People of Virginia concerning the ad- herence with Bacon" in 1676, as appears from the manuscript in
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the British Museum. He was otherwise prominent in public affairs. He died unmarried and William Clopton became the eldest male representative of the family. He was from Stratford-on-Avon, was a captain in Prince Rupert's Horse, and after the battle of Naseby fled to Virginia in 1650. The tombstones bearing the Clopton arms and marking the resting place of himself and wife are now in St. Peter's church in New Kent county, Virginia. He married Ann Booth, of County Kent, England. They had five children, the eldest being William Clopton II, who was a captain on the staff of Gov- ernor Spottswood when he crossed the Blue Ridge mountains and discovered the valley of Virginia, and as such he was a Knight of the Golden Horseshoe. He was married July 17, 1718, to Joyce Wil- kinson, a daughter of Colonel George and Sarah (Ludwell) Wil- kinson, the latter a daughter of Dr. Philip Ludwell, of Virginia, who was an Englishman by birth and a member of the governor's (Lord Berkeley's) council. William Clopton II died July 27, 1729. His children were four in number, the eldest being William Clopton III, who was a presiding justice of New Kent county, Virginia, in colonial days. He was married in 1752 to Elizabeth Darrel Ford, a daughter of Reuben and Elizabeth (Darrel) Ford. Their eldest child was John Clopton, who was an officer in the Continental army in the Revolutionary war and a member of the Society of the Cincinnati. After the revolution he represented the Richmond district in the United States congress for twenty years, from 1796 to 1816. He was graduated from Philadelphia College, now the University of Pennsylvania, just before the outbreak of the war. When hostilities ceased he engaged in the practice of law. In addition to his serv- ice in congress he was elected a member of the Privy Council of Vir- ginia, December 12, 1799. He married Sarah Bacon, a daughter of Edmond and Elizabeth (Edloe) Bacon. The former was a son of John and Susannah (Parke) Bacon, and John Bacon was a son of General Nathaniel Bacon, called the rebel, who was at one time a member of the governor's council. He served in that office in 1676 and was colonel of colonial troops operating against the Indians. He was a nephew of Sir Francis Bacon, Lord Verulam, Lord High Chancellor, and of Sir Nicholas Bacon, crown minister of Queen Elizabeth. Another uncle, Nathaniel Bacon, the elder, was president of the governor's council of Virginia in 1676. The children of John and Sarah (Bacon) Clopton were five in number, of whom the eldest was John Bacon Clopton who was born in New Kent county, Virginia, February 13, 1789. He was educated at William and Mary College, served in the War of 1812 and studied law under Ed-
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Frank Boyd Clopton
mund Randolph. He was a member of the state senate prior to 1829, and was a member of the convention of 1829. He was correspond- ing secretary of the Virginia Historical Society at its organization, December 31, 1831, and on February 27, 1834, was elected by gen- eral assembly judge of the seventh judicial circuit. He married Maria (Gateskill) Foster, a daughter of John and Jane (Gandy). Foster. Her father was mayor of Richmond, Virginia, in 1802. He was a grandson of Sir William Foster, a major general in the British army who, joining the Second Pretender in 1745, commanded the cavalier army at the battle of Worcester, and was captured and beheaded for treason by George II.
In the family of John and Maria Clopton were eleven children, the sixth being Francis Bacon Clopton, who was born May 18, 1830, and died October 29, 1865. He became a civil engineer and his ex- perience in that field of labor naturally made him especially well qualified for service as captain of engineers when he joined the army, in defense of his loved southland. He was married November 17, 1858, to Miss Mary Boyd, who was a daughter of James Magruder Boyd, a prominent business man and capitalist of Lynchburg, Vir- ginia. He was connected with the MacGregor family and each year the clan has an annual reunion in Washington. It is the clan Mac- Gregor of which Rob Roy was chieftain. The ancestral history also brings in the Claibornes, another very distinguished family, the Fontaines, the Maurys, the Ridgeleys, the Tatums and the De la Wares. Unto this marriage were born two children: Frank B .; and Maria Foster, who later became the wife of Charles Samuel Jack- son, of Portland, Oregon.
To the mother was left the care of the two little children when they were very young. In 1870 she emigrated with her family to Oregon, settling in Portland, and Frank B. Clopton, then a lad of about eleven years, continued his education in Bishop Scott's Mili- tary Academy. Later he became a resident of Umatilla Landing where he was employed as a bookkeeper for the John R. Foster Com- pany. In 1882 he came to Pendleton and from that period until his death his interests were closely identified with this city. Here he engaged in the insurance and loan business and success attended him in all his undertakings, owing to his sound judgment, his unfalter- ing enterprise, his progressiveness and his reliable business methods. He was also engaged in the loan and mortgage business, loaning easily a half million dollars annually.
On February 13, 1889, Mr. Clopton was united in marriage to Miss Sibyl Griffin, who was born in Lowville, New York, and was
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a daughter of H. B. and Mary F. (Crandell) Griffin, both of whom were natives of the Empire state. The father came to California in 1876 and two years later removed northward to Umatilla county. Mr. and Mrs. Clopton became the parents of one daughter, Sibyl, who is a graduate of the Pendleton high school and also of a finish- ing school in Washington, D. C. Mrs. Clopton still makes her home in Pendleton in one of the most beautiful and attractive residences. She also owns a business block here and is the owner of a ranch of six hundred acres pleasantly and conveniently located two miles from the city.
In the death of Mr. Clopton, Pendleton and Umatilla county lost a representative and honored resident. He was an active member of the Episcopal church, serving as vestryman and as senior warden for many years. He also gave generously in support of the church and did everything in his power to promote its growth and extend its influence. His political allegiance was given to the democratic party until in later years when, feeling the republican party was doing more for Pendleton than the democratic organization, he allied himself therewith. He served as postmaster of Pendleton during President Cleveland's administration. He was also a member of the city coun- cil and a member of the water commission, and he cooperated actively in various movements for the public good. He held membership with Pendleton Lodge, No. 52, F. & A. M. and with the Knights of Pythias. His funeral services were conducted by his brethren of the Masonic fraternity who entertained for him highest regard be- cause of his fidelity to the beneficent principles which governed his life. He was ever an upright, honorable man, active and progressive in business, loyal in citizenship, faithful in friendship and sacredly cherished home ties. His influence was an effective element in sup- porting material, intellectual, social and moral progress.
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John Trimble
John Trimble
OHN TRIMBLE, one of the prosperous ranchmen and esteemed citizens of Baker county, Oregon, is the owner of a hay and stock ranch of three hun- dred and twenty acres on Burnt river and also owns one hundred and twenty acres of timber land. His birth occurred in Noble county, Ohio, on the 7th of October, 1845, his parents being Jacob and Elizabeth (Stewart) Trimble, who spent their entire lives in the Buckeye state, the father cultivating a farm. They reared a family of three chil- dren, namely: John of this review; Mrs. Eliza Jane Burlingame, who is deceased; and Charles, who is a resident of Noble county, Ohio.
John Trimble remained a resident of his native state until twenty- eight years of age, when he removed to Kansas where he remained for one and a half years and was engaged in hunting buffalo, killing in excess of five hundred during this time. He was always an enthu- siastic hunter and many a deer and elk fell before his gun since coming to Oregon. He next made his way to California, spending one year in the Golden state. Going to Washington, he there re- mained for five years and on the expiration of that period, in 1880, took up his abode on the Burnt river in Oregon, near Hereford, where he has resided continuously since. At the present time he owns three hundred and twenty acres of land on the river and also has a tract of one hundred and twenty acres of timber land. He devotes his ranch to the running of stock and also markets hay and has brought the property under a high state of improvement, it being entirely covered with sagebrush at the time it came into his posses- sion. The place yields about four hundred tons of hay annually. At one time Mr. Trimble owned three hundred head of horses and two hundred head of cattle. Throughout his entire business career he has devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits and his efforts have been attended with a splendid measure of success. At the time of his arrival in this state he had only six hundred dollars but by dint of unremitting industry and capable management has aug- mented his capital until he is now numbered among the wealthy citi- zens of his community.
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In 1864 Mr. Trimble wedded Miss Kate Stevens, who was born in Ohio in 1844 and passed away in that state in 1896. By this mar- riage there was one son, James, whose birth occurred on the 5th of November, 1869, in Noble county, Ohio, where he resided until the spring of 1883. Since that time he has made his home on the Burnt river in Oregon and now owns two fine hay and stock ranches, com- prising one hundred and sixty acres and two hundred and forty acres of land respectively. In 1902 James Trimble married Miss Lena Wonder, who was born in Baker county, Oregon, on the 3d of February, 1878, and is a daughter of Fred Wonder of Buffalo Gulch. Unto them have been born three children: Elsie, Alfred and Arthur.
In politics Mr. Trimble is independent, supporting men and meas- ures rather than party. His fraternal relations are with the Masons and he is a worthy exemplar of the craft. Believing that the north- west offered opportunities unrivaled in any other part of the country, he took up his abode here in early manhood and has since worked his way steadily upward to a position of prominence and prosperity.
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Ar and Alves Julius Hudemann
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ulius Dudemann
J ULIUS HUDEMANN, who now lives retired in Pendleton, was born in Germany, November 30, 1848. His parents were Ferdinand and Louisa (Schafer) Hudemann, both of whom were natives of Germany and spent their entire lives in that country. In their family were seven children, of whom only two are now living: Julius, of this review; and Charles, of California.
Julius Hudemann was reared in Germany and there received a common-school education rounding out the same with a course that corresponds to a high-school and agricultural college education in this country. Leaving school he served in the army there and remained in his native land until after the death of his parents. In 1873 he came to America, settling in McLean county, Illinois, where he resided until 1884, at which date he came to Umatilla county, Oregon, and settled on a tract of railroad land. Later he took up a homestead and resided on the same until 1906, when he moved to Pendleton. He now owns seventeen hundred acres of land and has a beautiful residence in Pendleton.
In 1878 Mr. Hudemann wedded Miss Margaret Eggers, who was a native of Germany and when only seven years of age came to America with her parents, Henry and Catherine Eggers, both of whom were natives of Germany but are now living in California. In their family were eight children. Mr. and Mrs. Hudemann have become the parents of eleven children: Ferdinand H., who operates the old homestead; Marie E., who is the wife of Walter F. Krebs, of Washington; Dora E., who is the wife of George Schrader, of Idaho; Ellen W., who is now Mrs. Carl Ford, of Spokane, Washington; Bertha K., the wife of O. D. Isaminger, of Adams, Umatilla county, Oregon; Cora M., the wife of John Maschmann, of Pendleton; Clara J., now Mrs. Henry J. Rosenberg, also of Pendleton; Carl E., who is now a student at the Pendleton Business College; Martha M., who is attending high school; Freda M .; and Louise, who died at the age of eleven years.
Mr. Hudemann casts his vote with the democratic party, and he has given much attention to the interests of education, having now served as a member of the school board for over eighteen years. Both
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Julius Dudemann
he and his wife are earnest workers in the Lutheran church. He is a worthy representative of the land of his birth and has contributed largely to the development and prosperity of the community in which he resides. He has a wide and favorable acquaintance in Umatilla county and is justly accounted as a man who has the strength of char- acter and stability of purpose to carry to successful completion what- ever he undertakes.
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John Whitecker
Don. John Whiteaker
T HE Pacific coast country may well be spoken of as the "golden west," not alone because of its rich mineral resources but also because of the golden op- portunities which it offers to its settlers and its citi- zens. Prominent among those who saw and utilized its opportunities for his own advantage and for the benefit of the state was the Hon. John Whiteaker, Oregon's first gov- ernor, a man whose limited early advantages were no bar to his progress. His life record is another illustration of the fact that it is under the pressure of adversity and the stimulus of opposition that the best and strongest in man are brought out and developed. His natural qualifications made him a leader of both public thought and action and he left the indelible impress of his individuality upon Oregon and her development. Many times he was called to posi- tions of public honor and trust and in each discharged his duties with a singleness of purpose that left no question as to his patriotic devo- tion to the commonwealth. Eugene had the honor of claiming him as a resident during his later years, his death occurring in that city on the 2d of October, 1902.
In tracing back the ancestry of Governor Whiteaker it is found that he is descended from one of the name who came from Holland before the Revolutionary war and who was the father of James Whiteaker, the grandfather of John Whiteaker, of this review. James Whiteaker was united in marriage to Miss Jemima Moore and they became the parents of four children, John, Sarah, David and Rachel. Of these the first named was born in Pennsylvania in 1786 but in early life he removed to Indiana, where he was united in mar- riage to Nancy Smales, a native of Maryland. They afterward became residents of Allen county, Indiana, where John Whiteaker, Sr., passed away October 14, 1864, when he had reached the age of seventy-eight years and eight months. His wife, surviving for about four years, died April 24, 1868, when about eighty-two years of age. All of their children were born in Dearborn county, Indiana, these being: James, whose birth occurred September 8, 1812; Eliza, who was born September 30, 1815, and died in infancy; Douglas Livings-
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ton, born August 16, 1817; John; and Catherine, born June 18, 1823.
The birth of John Whiteaker, whose name introduces this record, occurred May 4, 1820, and his youthful experiences were such as came to the lot of farm boys in Indiana at that early period. He worked in the fields through most of the year and at brief intervals attended school until the period which he had devoted to study cov- ered six months. At the age of sixteen years he started out in the world on his own account and traveled extensively over the western and southern states through the next decade, always depending upon his own resources for a livelihood. In 1842 he was employed at carpenter work in Posey county, Indiana, there remaining for three years and, realizing the need of further education, he attended school at intervals during that period. In the spring of 1845 he removed to Victoria, Knox county, Illinois, where he engaged in carpenter work during the summer, and then removed to Putnam county, Mis- souri, where he spent the winter. In the spring of 1846 he became a resident of Alexandria, Clark county, Missouri, where he engaged in carpentering until July, when he returned to Putnam county.
It was there, on the 22d of August, 1847, that Mr. Whiteaker was married to Miss Nancy Jane Hargrave, a daughter of Thomas and Cecelia (French) Hargrave. Mrs. Whiteaker was born in Posey county, Indiana, September 17, 1828. Her father, a native of Ken- tucky, was a millwright and miller of that state but settled in Mis- souri in pioneer times, owning and operating a mill on the Chariton river. His remaining days were passed in that state. His daughter, Mrs. Whiteaker, was a maiden of fourteen summers when her par- ents went from Illinois to Missouri, where her girlhood days were passed and where on August 22, 1847, she became the wife of John Whiteaker.
At the time of his marriage Mr. Whiteaker purchased some tools in Lancaster and erected a little home for himself and wife, after which he continued to work as a carpenter and cabinetmaker in that locality until the spring of 1849. The previous year gold was dis- covered in California and tales were continually being borne east- ward concerning the rich mineral resources of the state and the op- portunities for the rapid acquirement of a fortune. Hoping that he might benefit by the conditions upon the Pacific coast, Mr. White- aker left his wife with her parents and started for the far west. He met with fair success in his mining ventures along the American river until the summer of 1851 when he returned to Missouri. The far west, however, proved to him a more attractive place of residence
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and in 1852 he started with his family for Oregon. He owned his outfit and, traveling after the primitive manner of the times, crossed the plains in company with his brother-in-law, John Partin, Thomas Jeffries and several others together with their families. Mr. White- aker was elected captain of the trail and they traveled over the old Ore- gon trail, reaching Yamhill county on the 26th of October. In the spring of 1853 Mr. Whiteaker removed south to Spencer Butte, in Lane county, and secured a donation claim of three hundred and twenty acres which he at once began to cultivate and improve. While responding readily to the care and labor which he bestowed upon it, he disposed of that place after six years and invested in another farm at Pleasant Hill, Lane county, upon which he resided until 1885, his time and attention throughout that period being given to general agricultural pursuits and stock-raising. In the year desig- nated he received from President Cleveland the appointment to the position of collector of internal revenue and, disposing of his farm, removed to Portland, where he resided during the period in which he held that office. In 1889 he became a resident of Eugene and here made his home throughout his remaining days. As the years passed several children were added to the household, the eldest being a daughter, Frances, who was born on the plains at the beginning of the journey and died on reaching The Dalles. Dr. John Charles Whiteaker is now deceased. Anne pursued her education in the University of Oregon, won the Bachelor of Science degree in 1881 and later engaged in teaching in Cottage Grove and in Eugene. For about five years during the period of the family's residence in Port- land she did not teach, but resumed the work of that profession upon returning to this city. She was widely known as a most capable and successful educator until 1897, when she permanently gave up the work of the class room. In her father's will she was named as admin- istratrix of his estate, and for the past ten years has devoted most of her time to looking after the business interests of the estate and caring for her invalid mother, who is now eighty-four years of age. She is well known as a member of the Fortnightly Club, is a past matron of the Eastern Star, was at one time president of the State Alumnae Association and has also been president of the State University Alumni Association. While in college she was an enthusiastic member of the Eutaxian Society, being elected president of the same two successive terms. Estelle, the second daughter, is the wife of D. W. Jarvis, of Eugene. Benjamin is also a resident of the same city. James Henry is living in Idaho. John C. White- aker, the grandson of Governor Whiteaker, is a practicing physician
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Don. John Whiteaker
and surgeon of Eugene. He was born at Cottage Grove, Septem- ber 23, 1884, and is a son of Dr. John C. and Frances (Reeves) Whiteaker. The former was educated at the University of Oregon, completing the course with the first class that was graduated from that school in 1878. He read medicine under D. A. W. Sharpless, of Eugene, was graduated from the Willamette Medical College in 1882 and began practice in Cottage Grove. Later he followed his profession in Portland and about 1883 removed to Eugene, where he practiced until his death, September 12, 1888, at the age of thirty- two years. He was a member of the Lane County Medical Society and the Oregon State Medical Society. His wife was a daughter of Barton Reeves and their children are: Dr. John Whiteaker; and Lulu, who is now Mrs. Clyde Thomas, of Jefferson, Oregon. Dr. John Whiteaker pursued both his classical and professional course of study in the University of Oregon and was graduated M. D. in 1910, after which he served as interne in the Multnomah County Hospital. While attending college he engaged in clerking in a drug store and is a registered pharmacist. For a time he owned an inter- est in a drug store in Portland. He belongs to the Lane County Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He mar- ried Edith Matson, a daughter of Peter Matson, of Washington. Dr. Whiteaker, like his father and grandfather, is well known in Masonic circles. He belongs to the lodge, chapter, council and com- mandery and also has membership relations with the Benevolent Pro- tective Order of Elks. He is making an excellent record which re- flects credit upon the untarnished name of his distinguished grand- father.
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