USA > Oregon > Oregon, pictorial and biographical > Part 16
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Andrew N. Gilbert devoted his youth largely to the acquirement of an education in the public schools of his native town and in the Wave- land Collegiate Institute at Waveland, Indiana, which he entered in the fall of 1860. His studies, however, were interrupted by the out- break of the Civil war, which aroused his patriotic spirit and led to his enlistment, on the 15th of July, 1861, as a member of Company E, Twelfth Illinois Infantry. He had, however, previously enlisted in a company made up at school to serve under General Lew Wallace, but the regiment had been filled ere they reached the place where Gen- eral Wallace's command was being organized. The company there- fore returned to Waveland and finished out their school year, so that the military experience of Mr. Gilbert actually began on the 15th of July, when he became a member of Company E, of the Twelfth Illi-
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nois Infantry. This regiment was assigned to the Army of the Ten- nessee and he participated in the battles of Fort Donelson, Pittsburg Landing, the advance on Corinth, all the engagements of the Atlanta campaign, and the march under Sherman to the sea. On the expira- tion of the three years' term Mr. Gilbert reenlisted in the same regi- ment at Pulaski, Tennessee, and, having thus veteranized, continued to serve until the close of the war. He then took part in the Grand Re- view at Washington, which was the most celebrated military pageant ever seen on the western hemisphere, thousands of victorious "boys in blue" marching down Pennsylvania avenue in the capital city under- neath a banner which bore the words: "The only debt which the coun- try owes that she cannot pay is the debt which she owes to her sol- diers." Mr. Gilbert was afterward honorably discharged and mus- tered out at Louisville, Ky., in the summer of 1865, and then returned to his Illinois home, where he remained until the Ist of April, 1866.
That date witnessed his start for the west. He took a steamer at Kansas City, Missouri, for Fort Benton, Montana, from which place he proceeded to Helena, where he remained until the 11th of August, when, with a saddle horse and a pack horse, he started westward all by himself over the old Mullen trail, which is now on the route of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Oregon was his destination and on the 18th of October he arrived in Salem, where he has since made his home his residence here covering the intervening period of forty-five years. He soon secured a clerkship in a grocery store, where he was employed for four or five years, when, in company with Charles Uzafogage, he established a retail shoe business under the firm style of Uzafogage & Gilbert. This partnership, however, was dissolved, after two years, at which time Mr. Gilbert reentered the grocery trade, organizing the firm of McCully & Gilbert. He had charge of the active management of the business for two years, and it was then merged into the firm of Gilbert & Patterson, which conducted a very profitable and growing business until 1901. In that year they sold out and Mr. Gilbert retired from active life. He was one of the oldest merchants in the city in years of continuous connection with its trade relations and his com- mercial activity constituted an important chapter in the business an- nals of Salem. His trade grew with the growth of the city and sur- rounding country, for his honorable business methods and reasonable prices commended him to the confidence and patronage of the public.
The success which Mr. Gilbert achieved would alone entitle him to distinction as a representative resident of central Oregon and yet in other connections he has figured very prominently, leaving the im- press of his individuality upon the political annals of the state as well
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as upon its commercial development. He has been a lifelong republi- can and an influential factor in the councils of his party. As early as 1870 he was elected treasurer of the city of Salem and in 1874 and again in 1876 was chosen to represent his district in the state legisla- ture. The session of 1874 was the last held in the old Holman block and he served in the first session which convened in the new statehouse in 1876. In 1882 he was again called forth for legislative duty and again he served in the special session of the same year. He thus aided in forming the laws of the state, giving careful consideration to impor- tant questions which came up for settlement, actuated at all times by a spirit of unquestioned devotion to duty and the interests of the com- monwealth. He was postmaster of Salem, under the administration of President Harrison, for five years, and for four years he filled the po- sition of superintendent of the State Penitentiary, under the Lord administration. In 1856 he had participated in the organization of the republican party and he rode in the parade at Charleston, Illinois, at the time the famous debate between Lincoln and Douglas was there held.
Mr. Gilbert is pleasantly situated in his home life, having been married in 1872 to Miss Estelle A. McCully, a native of Iowa and a daughter of David McCully, who was one of the band of Argonauts who in 1849 went to California in search of the golden fleece. He afterward came northward to Oregon, settling in Harrisburg, and subsequently he removed to Salem, where he became very prominent in business circles. He was engaged in the transportation business, operating a line of vessels on the river for a number of years. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert have been born three children. Ray D., who suc- ceeded to his father's grocery business, with which he is now identified; Warren, of Denver, Colorado, who is a cartoonist associated with the Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News; and Agnes, the wife of B. O. Schucking, of Salem.
Mr. Gilbert is one of the most prominent of Salem's old-time resi- dents and no history of the city would be complete without extended reference to him because of the importance of his activities here both in business and financial connections. His course has ever been above suspicion. Among the citizens' official representatives in the general assembly he has ever commanded respect and in his home city, where he is best known, he inspires personal friendships of unusual strength and all with whom he has come in contact have the highest admiration for his good qualities of heart and mind.
Isabel a. Hutchinson
W R Hutchinson
William R. Hutchinson
O NE of the most successful farmers in Union county and one of its heaviest landowners is William R. Hutchinson, who owns and operates nearly four thousand acres of fine land. He lives inside the city limits of Union in a very fine and well appointed residence. He was born near Mount Carmel in Wabash county, Illinois, February 14, 1847, the son of William and Margaret (Young) Hutchinson. His father was a native of Eng- land, while the mother was born near Mount Carmel in Wabash county, Illinois. The paternal grandfather emigrated to the new world when William Hutchinson was but an infant, the family settling in Elizabeth, New Jersey. After making that place their home for several years they removed to Wabash county, where the grandfather died. In 1852 William Hutchinson and family, to- gether with three other heads of families, namely: John Campbell, Ransom Higgins and George Wright, accompanied by Samuel Tay- lor, Samuel Woods, and James and Henry Young, unmarried men, formed a party with seven wagons, horses and oxen and started on May Ist for the Pacific coast. The party arrived in Portland November 1, 1852, Samuel Woods having been drowned in the Snake river during the trip. They remained in Portland through the winter, which proved to be a very hard one, and all their stock except one horse died. That first winter was one of bitter experiences and required the strictest economy coupled with hard work to provide the necessary food and clothing. In the spring the party went to Cow- litz county, Washington, where Mr. Hutchinson took up a donation claim of three hundred and twenty acres, availing himself of the law then in force, which provided that settlers who would remain in the country for four years should be entitled to a half-section of land. He remained on the land for the required length of time and in 1864 removed to the Grande Ronde valley, arriving there on the 1st of May. At that time a few cabins along the creek were the only signs of settlement which the valley showed. The road was lined with freighting outfits carrying supplies to the Idaho mines which at that time were very promising, the supplies being landed at Umatilla by boat. Shortly after the family came to Union, William Hutchinson
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preempted land southwest of that town and afterward purchased state school land and engaged in agricultural pursuits upon the land which he purchased in Union county, making his home there until his death, which occurred in 1893. There were five sons in his family, William R. Hutchinson being the second in order of birth.
William R. Hutchinson received a limited education in the schools of Oregon and remained under the parental roof for many years after reaching maturity, as the father and two eldest sons engaged in agri- cultural pursuits and stock-raising for a number of years in partner- ship. During his younger days our subject engaged in prospecting to some extent and during the various uprisings of the Indians fre- quently was called upon for scout duty and assisted in guarding the stock of the settlers from raids. Later he and his oldest brother went into partnership, continuing to engage in farming and stock-raising. In 1870 they removed their headquarters to North Powder, Baker county, the partnership continuing until 1900. The business was very successful and when they settled up their affairs there was some- thing like four thousand acres of valuable land to be divided. Mr. Hutchinson has since continued farming and stock-raising. At pres- ent he is the largest landowner in Union county, owning nearly four thousand acres, a large portion of which is under cultivation and the remainder in pasture.
Mr. Hutchinson was married December 2, 1885, to Miss Isabel Asbury, a native of Hamilton county, Illinois, and a daughter of Wesley and Susan (Mitchell) Asbury, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Illinois. Her paternal grandfather, Daniel Asbury, was born in Lincoln county, North Carolina, while G. F. Mitchell, the maternal grandfather, was born in Virginia. She is a relative of Bishop Asbury, the first Protestant bishop in that state. To Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson four children have been born: Dora, Ralph William, Stephen and Mabel, all of whom are at home. The family live in a fine residence in the city of Union, where they are leaders in business and social circles. Mr. Hutchinson, whose success has been phenomenal, is widely known, being among the highly re- spected citizens of Union county. In politics he is independent and both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is an advocate and a liberal contributor to the cause of temper- ance and has always been a liberal supporter of all worthy charitable movements.
Blay C'Blurk
Clay C. Clark
C LAY C. CLARK is a well known and popular general merchant, extensive land owner and cattleman of Arlington. He was born in Chariton county, Mis- souri, June 24, 1861, a son of Ephraim and Mary (Van Tine) Clark. The father was born in Ken- tucky and the mother in New York, and they were married in Missouri, where they resided until the death of the father, which occurred December 24, 1864. The mother survived him until April 7, 1895.
Clay C. Clark was educated in the public schools of Missouri, in which he pursued his studies during the winter seasons of the year, while in the summers he earned his livelihood in farm work, being so employed in Kansas for about five and a half years. When eighteen or ninteeen years of age he discontinued school attendance altogether and began to give his entire attention to farming and stock-raising, being employed by others until he removed to Oregon in 1885. On coming to this state he settled on a homestead near Blalock, upon which he remained for many years, farming in a diversified way and raising cattle. In 1905 he removed from that farm to Arlington, where he engaged in the meat business. He remained thus employed until 1911, when he entered the general mercantile trade and now is conducting a good business, in connection with a meat market under the firm name of C. C. Clark & Sons. He also owns about two thou- sand acres of land and does a big cattle business, raising and dis- posing of large numbers of cattle each year.
Mr. Clark was married in Sheridan county, Missouri, March 9, 1883, to Miss Nancy A. Lambert, a daughter of Jacob and Sarah Lambert. To this union were born five children, namely: Lambert E., of the firm of C. C. Clark & Sons; Claude C., the secretary of C. C. Clark & Sons; Francis C., who has charge of the meat market of this firm; Lulu M, at home; and Edith M., attending school. In his political views Mr. Clark is a republican and is a prominent man in his community, having been county commissioner and taking an active interest in local affairs as well as in the policies of his party affecting the nation. In his fraternal relations he belongs to Lodge No. 88, A. F. & A. M., and is also a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason
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of Portland Consistory. He is an earnest and consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, rendering to that religious denom- ination material assistance as well as helping by his influence and personal worth to make the church and its allied interests efficient for good in the community. Mr. Clark, who has lived for many years in Oregon, during all of which time he has been actively engaged in busi- ness, has been a remarkably successful man. He has not only given the strictest attention to his business, and labored early and late in building up a fortune, but has by a peculiar fitness so well directed his efforts that he has achieved much larger success than is vouchsafed to the average business man. He enjoys a reputation for the strictest, integrity and all of his transactions with his customers are character- ized by that same sagacity which has distinguished all of his business dealings. Being of an affable disposition and an optimistic spirit, he displays a cordiality of manner which has won for him a most extensive list of acquaintances, all of whom hold him in the highest esteem. He is one of the most valuable and substantial men of his county, a man of large calibre, generous and broad minded.
AL. Making
3. I. Mckinnis
A MONG the men who have achieved much success in Oregon, J. L. McKinnis should be especially men- tioned. He came to this state in 1864 and in 1868 settled on his present property three miles north of Imbler, within the shadow of the mountains which stand as sentinels on the edge of the beautiful Grande Ronde valley. Mr. McKinnis was a pioneer miller and was in- strumental in the erection of plants in Imbler, La Grande and Elgin. He was born in Jackson county, Ohio, July 5, 1843, a son of Craner and Catherine (Truseler) McKinnis, both of whom were natives of Ohio. The grandfather, Charles McKinnis, was born in Pennsylvania in 1780 and died in 1847. The great-grandfather, Charles McKinnis, was a native of Scotland and served in the British army, coming to America with General Braddock, taking part in the battle of Fort Duquesne, at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Later he settled in Butler county, that state, where he passed the remainder of his life. His son Charles married Martha Craner, who was born in 1778 and died in 1864. He removed to Ohio in the year 1800, becoming a pioneer of that state, settling on the Ohio river near Chillicothe, where he spent his life in agricultural pursuits and a part of the time engaged in run- ning flatboats on the Ohio river and down the Mississippi to New Or- leans. He made the journey from Pennsylvania to Chillicothe in a pirogue, a large canoe, down the Ohio river to its junction with the Scioto, and from that point to Chillicothe. His son, Craner McKinnis, removed from Ohio to Iowa in 1849, becoming a pioneer of that state, where he followed the occupation of farming.
J. L. McKinnis, the subject of this review, is the eldest of nine children, seven sons and two daughters, born unto his parents. He spent his boyhood days in Iowa, where he received a common-school education, residing in that state until 1864, when, on May 10, he joined a party bound for Oregon, traveling by ox teams. They had consider- able trouble with the Indians on the Upper Platte river but all escaped unharmed, arriving in the Grande Ronde valley, September 27, 1864. In 1868 he settled on his present farm three miles north of Imbler, near the mountains. He has added extensively to his original holdings, now possessing nine hundred and twenty acres which constitute the
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home farm, also owning farms at Imbler and three miles distant from that place, his land aggregating twenty-five hundred acres, all in the Grande Ronde valley. He raises wheat, oats and barley, and is breed- ing stock and Percheron horses, using thoroughbred sires exclusively. He was one of the pioneers of the flourmill industry in this section and he was instrumental in having built the mills at Imbler, La Grande and Elgin. He also engaged in the sawmill business from 1890 until 1896, being successful at his various undertakings.
Mr. McKinnis was married March 3, 1867, to Miss Rachel C. Harris, a native of Missouri and a daughter of Joseph and Mary Ann (Sturgill) Harris, natives of North Carolina. Her parents removed to Virginia and in 1865 to Oregon, coming by ox teams. They had no trouble during the journey with the Indians, but lost some of their cattle through disease. The father is still living, having celebrated his ninety-first birthday March 19, 1912. To Mr. and Mrs. McKinnis have been born eleven children, namely: C. L., residing northwest of Sum- merville; Beatrice, the wife of W. F. Hug, who lives three miles east of Elgin; Herschel, of Alicel, Oregon; Ina, the wife of I. A. Binga- man; Frank, residing on the farm; Hannah, who married Henry Dav- idhizar, of Joseph; Thomas, of Eugene; Rosa, the wife of George Bade; James, residing at Imbler; Charles, deceased; and Stella, the wife of Richard Lee, of Lind, Washington.
Mr. McKinnis was the second superintendent of schools in his county, being elected to that position in 1872. He is a man greatly interested in educational matters, well informed on the topics of the day, progressive and up-to-date. He is one of the most estimable cit- izens of Union county and has an extensive acquaintance in the com- munity. He is indebted for his success principally to his own industry, ambition and well directed efforts. Coming to this section when yet young, he possessed the foresight necessary to grasp opportunities as they arose and the result is that he has built up a fortune as well as an honored name.
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James schranke
James Small
ANY and varied have been life's experiences for M James Small, who began his career as a cabin boy on an English merchantman, but later left the sea and coming to America joined the emigration to California in '49. For practically a quarter of a century thereafter he was identified with the mining interests of the Pacific coast, but subsequently withdrew from this and engaged in stock-raising, and is now passing his latter days on his beautiful ranch located on the John Day river, twelve miles above Dayville. Originally he was a subject of England, his birth having occurred in Hertfordshire, fifteen miles north of London, in the month of June, 1823. His father, David Small, was also born in England, but the paternal grandfather, David Small, Sr., was a native of Scot- land, while the mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Roberts, was a daughter of Wales. Among his ancestors is Small, the inventor, of Aberdeen, who introduced the iron plow into England. In the pa- ternal line the family have for generations been engaged in farming and horticulture, both the father and grandfather of our subject hav- ing followed these activities.
The youngest in a family of six children, James Small left home at the age of ten years and went to sea as cabin boy on a merchantman. It was a hard life, not so much because of his duties, although they were exacting enough, but owing to the inhuman treatment he received from the officers and men above him. A flogging followed every trivial and insignificant offense, for many of which he was not re- sponsible, and as Mr. Small expresses it, they whipped him for pastime. He remained in the service for six years, however, and during that time visited many of the world's important ports, his vessel on sev- eral occasions having cast anchor in American harbors. After leaving the sea, he remained in England until 1844, when he decided to go to the United States. Once more crossing the Atlantic, he joined a brother, who was located at Washington, D. C., where he was engaged in the florist's business. The enterprise he founded is still in existence and is now being conducted by his sons, who also have an establishment in New York city. Mr. Small spent the winter in the national capital, but in 1848 joined a party of explorers starting for the south seas,
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China and Japan and all the islands, finally leaving China and re- turning to San Francisco. This exploring expedition was organized by the Smithsonian Institution under Professor Wright and com- manded by Commodore Ringold. November, 1849, marked his arrival in San Francisco, where he remained until 1862, when he continued his journey northward to Oregon. For about sixteen years thereafter he was engaged in mining at Canyon City, but having given up hope of ever making a rich strike he turned lis attention to stock-raising. He located on his present ranch in 1878, and during the intervening years has increased his holdings until he now owns five thousand acres of land. Here he has ranged large herds of cattle, horses and sheep, and is numbered among the most prosperous and substantial stockmen of Grant county. Progress and enterprise always characterized Mr. Small's undertaking and his is one of the best improved and equipped ranches in the community. He has a very pleasant and comfortable location and is spending his latter years in well earned ease and quiet, his present life contrasting strangely with his exciting and strenuous youth, which was filled with weird adventures and experiences, among them many battles with the red man of the frontier days. Despite the fact that he has reached the eighty-ninth milestone on life's journey, his mental faculties are as clear as in a man many years his junior.
Mr. Small is widely known and highly regarded throughout this section, as he has been a worthy citizen, cooperating with his fellow ranchers in the establishment of a good government and the enforce- ment of the laws, as well as in the development of the community in- terests. Mr. Small is a member of Blue Mountain Lodge, No. 27, A. F. & A. M., a member of R. A. M. and also the Consistory. He is a past master and has gone through all chairs in Masonry. He has never married, and is now living alone with his servants on the ranch, which for more than thirty years has been his home.
Mr and Mrs John Timmermann
John Timmermann
FACT to which due recognition must be accorded is A that Germany has contributed in large measure to the development and progress of the United States. John Timmermann was numbered among those whose worth as a citizen and agriculturist reflects credit both upon the land of his nativity and the land of his adoption. He was born in Holstein, Germany, on the 5th of April, 1861. His parents, Henry and Christine (Kupus) Timmermann, were reared in Germany and came to Oregon about twenty-one years ago. The father, at the time of his death on the 3d of June, 1911, when he was seventy-six years of age, was the owner of one quarter section of land and had accumulated considerable wealth. The mother passed away in 1906 at the age of seventy-three. Four chil- dren were born to them. John, the subject of this review; Mary, who is the wife of John Seibert, of Pendleton; Annie, who is married to Joseph Basler, of Portland; and Sophia, the wife of Louis Miller, who lives six miles northwest of Helix.
John Timmermann acquired his education in the public schools of Germany, and in 1882, when about twenty-one years of age, came to the United States, being the first of his family to leave the fatherland. He spent some time in Nebraska where he worked by the month, but in 1883 came to Oregon and took up as a homestead the land upon which his widow now resides. This property comprises one hundred and seventeen acres and is located one and one half miles northeast of Helix. Later he purchased two other homesteads, and for over twenty years rented a section of school land which his widow still operates. She owns two and one quarter sections of land, and their large and modern home and outbuildings attest Mr. Timmermann's success as an agriculturist. What he acquired he won by hard labor, persistency and energy. His enterprises were so wisely and care- fully conducted that his life's record is worthy of emulation and may well prove an inspiration to those starting out upon an agricultural career. His death occurred on the 17th day of November, 1910.
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