USA > Oregon > Oregon, pictorial and biographical > Part 17
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John Timmermann was twice married, his first union occurring on the 2d of November, 1890, when he was married to Miss Sophia Kellerman, a native of Germany. To them four children were born,
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two of whom survive, William and Emile, born July, 1892, and June, 1893, respectively. Mrs. Sophia Timmermann's death occurred on the 1st of September, 1901. On the 16th of November, 1902, Mr. Timmermann was again married, his second union being with Miss An- nie Catherine Dencen, whose birth occurred in Holstein, Germany, on the 23d of May, 1867, and who came to the United States in 1893. To them three children have been born: John, whose birth occurred April 5, 1904; Herman, who was born November 3, 1906; and Ernest, who was born on the 19th of August, 1908.
Mr. Timmermann gave his allegiance to the republican party. He held membership in the Lutheran church and also in the Masonic Order. He came to America as a poor boy, but by steady progress worked his way upward until he became one of the large property owners of this section, his holdings including property in Helix, Walla Walla, and sixteen hundred acres of land in Texas. His prominence in the community and his enterprising spirit led him to aid in establishing the Bank of Helix, in which he was one of the original stockholders. He was unfaltering in the accomplishment of his purpose, and therefore gained a most satisfactory reward, per- mitting him later in life to enjoy those comforts which make life worth the living, his enterprise and energy being the salient features of his success.
& L. Brooks
Samuel L. Brooks
ONSPICUOUSLY among the successful farmers, C stock-raisers and business men of Union county, is S. L. Brooks, living on a fine body of land near Imbler. He was born in Pike county, Ohio, in March, 1846, the son of John H. and Hannah (Rockwell) Brooks, the father a native of Ver- mont, while the mother was born in Ohio. The Brooks family was or- iginally from England. The grandfather, John Brooks, was a native of Vermont and in that state his entire life was passed. The father removed as a young man to Ohio, where he was married and remained until 1857, when he removed to Iowa. He was a well-educated man and followed school teaching as a life work, being thus employed for fifty-two years. He was very successful as an instructor and the serv- ice which he rendered to the youth under his tutelage was of great value. In his family were seven children, of whom the subject of this review was third in order of birth.
Samuel L. Brooks spent his boyhood days in Ohio and Iowa, re- ceiving a good common-school education. At the age of twenty-one years he began working at various occupations in Wayne county, Iowa, where he remained until the spring of 1873, when he emigrated to Ore- gon, going as far as Kelton, Utah, by train and completing the jour- ney by wagon to the Grande Ronde valley, where he settled one and one-half miles distant from Imbler. Shortly after settling in Oregon he began acquiring land and now has a farm of fifteen hundred acres, five hundred acres of which is under cultivation, on which he raises principally wheat, oats and barley. The remainder of his land is in pasture. He is also engaged in raising registered heavy draft horses, specializing in Clydesdales. His farm, which is a magnificent piece of property, is well improved and fertile, and requires no irrigation, as it contains ample ground moisture. On summer fallow land he has raised as much as forty and fifty bushels of grain per acre. His farm is finely improved and is kept strictly up-to-date, the family residence being a fine, modern dwelling.
In December, 1868, Mr. Brooks was united in marriage to Miss Mary J. Wade, a native of West Virginia, and a daughter of G. I. Wade, also a native of that state. To Mr. and Mrs. Brooks have been
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Samuel L. Brooks
born five children. Ida May, now Mrs. W. Hawley, of Sumpter, Ore- gon; Rachel, now Mrs. H. C. Bidwell; Annie, at home; Stella, now Mrs. H. H. Hurron; and Wade, a resident of Portland. Mr. Brooks is a member of the Farmers' Union, in which he takes an active interest. He is one of the most successful men of his community and stands high in the regard of his fellowmen. He is a conservative business man, is regarded as a good citizen, and is greatly respected and highly esteemed by a large number of close friends.
Judge Dean Blanchard
HILE Judge Dean Blanchard has traveled life's W journey for more than seventy-nine years he is still an active factor in the world's work, superintending his invested interests which are many and important. His title indicates the professional service to which he formerly gave his attention, but after long con- nection with the bar, in which he won distinction, he retired to de- vote his time to his landed interests and other business affairs in the northwest. The width of the continent separates him from his birth- place, which was Madison, Maine, his natal day being December 20, 1832. His father, Merrill Blanchard, was born in Abington, Massachusetts, July 18, 1806, and is descended from Huguenot ancestry who settled near London after leaving France and in 1629 came to the new world. The grandfather of Merrill Blan- chard, Captain Thomas Blanchard, born in 1720, died on the 14th of November, 1803. Merrill Blanchard conducted a hotel in early life and later devoted his energies to farming. In the early period of de- velopment in the northwest he came to Oregon but returned to the east in 1856, spending the ensuing twenty years in that part of the country. In 1876 he once more came to the northwest and here lived a retired life. In early manhood he wedded Eunice Weston, who was born in Madison, Maine, in 1804, and died in 1841. He long survived his wife, passing away May 3, 1889. She was a daughter of Benjamin and Anna (Powers) Weston. The Powers family had held landed rights in England since 1222 and the family date their residence there from the time of William the Conqueror. Benjamin Weston was a son of Judge 'Weston, of Lincoln, Massachusetts, who married Eunice Farnsworth, a daughter of Aaron and Hannah (Barrows) Farns- worth and the granddaughter of Benjamin and Mary (Prescott) Farnsworth. In the family of Merrill Blanchard were eight children: Nathan W., living at Santa Paula, California; Dean; Ann, the widow of Henry Russell and now a resident of St. Johns, New Brunswick; Sarah W., who is the widow of John Dibblee and a resident of Rain- ier; William E., conducting the Arlington Hotel in Boston, Massa- chusetts; Mary, the deceased wife of John Leary, of Seattle; and two who died in early childhood.
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Judge Dean Blanchard
Judge Dean Blanchard acquired his education in the Houlton Academy at Houlton, Maine. His identification with the north- west dates from the days when Oregon was still under terri- torial rule. He served as clerk of the United States district courts and also as county auditor of Columbia county before Ore- gon was admitted to the Union. Following its admission he was the first county clerk of that county, serving for one term, and in 1874 was elected county judge. His service on the bench was most com- mendable, but after he had filled that position for eight years he re- fused to continue longer in office. His friends and admirers, how- ever, would not consent to his retirement and when he was away from home nominated him again and once more he was shown to be the choice of the people at the polls so that he remained in office four years longer. His decisions were strictly fair and impartial and were based upon the law and equity in the case. He was regarded as one of the most prominent and able jurists of the state during the period when he sat upon the bench. For fifty-seven years he has been a resident of Oregon, and Rainier since 1864. About that time he purchased an interest in an old sawmill which he repaired and he later bought out his partner. In 1882 he tore down the old mill, erecting a new one, which he operated successfully until 1907, when he sold out. From time to time he has been interested in other busi- ness enterprises. When the lumber business became somewhat dull he took up contracting and building, employing a tow boat, and to utilize the product of his mill took contracts to build along the river. He also operated a salmon cannery at Astoria which he sold a year later. He has built more than half of the docks along the Columbia river from its mouth to Rainier and at different times has invested in property, owning as high as one thousand acres of timber land in Oregon. In recent years, however, he has been selling his property, the rise in realty values bringing him a good return upon his invest- ment. At one time he was the owner of the town site of Rainier. He still has considerable property, including lots in Portland and else- where. He has employed many men, often having fifty or more in his service, and through his payroll he has contributed much to the development of the county, distributing money which has gone for the upbuilding of this section of the state.
When Judge Blanchard came to the northwest the Indians were very numerous in this section of the country and he learned to talk the Chinook language. In politics he is a republican with independ- ent tendencies and always keeps well informed upon the questions and issues of the day. He is prominent in Masonry, having attained
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Judge Dean Blanchard
the Knight Templar degree of the York Rite, the thirty-second de- gree of the Scottish Rite, and is a member of the Mystic Shrine. He has held all of the offices in his lodge and throughout his life has been an exemplary representative of the craft. He has ever favored prog- ress along various avenues of advancement and his sympathy with the churches is indicated by the fact that he has given sites for the buildings of all of the churches except the Catholic church, which was erected here after he had disposed of his lots. The town of Rainier and Columbia county are indebted to him for his active cooperation in all that has tended to promote their welfare. He enjoys the regard and confidence of his fellowmen to an unusual degree and his life record is indeed a commendable one.
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W. H. H. Morgan
UM. D. D. Morgan
H. H. MORGAN, residing in Portland and engaged W. in the live-stock business, was born December 8, 1840, in Ohio, a son of Edward and Mary (Shirley) Mor- gan. The father was born in London and the mother, a native of Virginia, was of German descent. They were among the early settlers of Ohio and in his na- tive land Edward Morgan learned and followed the shoe makers' trade. He was married in that country and with his wife and three children came to the United States when about thirty years of age. Subsequently he lost his first wife and wedded Mary Shirley. In Ohio he followed the occupation of farming and thus provided for his family, which numbered altogether twenty-two children, born of the two marriages.
After living in the Buckeye state Edward Morgan removed to Iowa, where he resided for two years. In 1845 he started across the plains with ox teams to the far west, traveling with a large wagon train which slowly wended its way toward the Pacific coast, six months elapsing before the end of the journey. Mr. Morgan at length reached Linnton, Oregon, which lies just across the river from St. Johns and within a few miles of Portland. There was only one log cabin on the present site of Portland at that time. Mr. Morgan located in the center of Sauvie's island, where he took up six hundred and forty acres of land as a donation claim. Later, however, he sold that property and in 1850 removed to the farm which is now owned by his son, W. H. H. Morgan. At that time he secured six hundred and forty acres of land, for which he paid one hundred dollars. This place is fourteen miles north of Portland. At that time there were comparatively few white men in this section and most of them had squaw wives. Mr. Morgan built a house of hewed cottonwood logs. In the family at that time there were the parents and seven children. They had two yoke of cattle and one cow. The log cabin remained the home of the family for about eight years, after which Edward Morgan built a frame dwelling, purchasing the lumber from Mr. Wells at Milwaukee. Later his son, whose name introduces this re- view, erected a fine residence upon the farm. The father died in 1872 at the ripe old age of eighty-four years, and the mother passed
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away in 1875 at the age of sixty-six years. In politics he was a very strong abolitionist in ante bellum days and when the republican party was formed to prevent the further extension of slavery into the north he joined its ranks. However, he would never consent to hold office but in other ways did all he could to promote the success of his party and secure the adoption of its principles. He was a life-long and de- voted member of the Baptist church and always lived in consistent harmony with his professions. He always followed farming after coming to Oregon but at length sold his place about fourteen miles from Portland and removed to Clackamas county, while later he became a resident of Washington county. A daughter of the family, Mrs. Julia Ann Freeman, is now living in Portland, while another daughter, Mrs. Katherine Dunn, lives on Sauvie's island and still another one, Mrs. Lucinda Boynton, is living in the Willamette val- ley. A son, George, makes his home in Washington county and Ed- ward in Roseburg, Oregon, while still another daughter, Mrs. Sarah Ott, is living near Fort Madison, Iowa, at the very advanced age of eighty-nine years.
W. H. H. Morgan, brought to Oregon in 1845, was reared amid the wild scenes and environment of pioneer life. The river courses of the state made their way between banks upon which great pine forests grew and through the forests the Indians roamed at will, far outnumbering the white settlers who had ventured into the western wilderness to plant the seeds of civilization here. The unsettled and undeveloped condition of the country was such that Mr. Morgan had practically no school privileges. The homes of the settlers were too far distant from each other to permit of public schools being main- tained and the education which Mr. Morgan has acquired has come to him through his reading, observation and broadening experience. He has always followed farming and stock-raising and in the fall of 1864 he purchased one-half of his father's farm and later bought the other half of his brother-in-law, so that he is now the owner of the old homestead property.
It was on the 30th of April, 1864, at Vancouver, Washington, that Mr. Morgan was united in marriage to Miss Sarah E. Or- chard, a daughter of Jesse C. and Minerva Ann (Medford) Orchard. She was born in Texas and in 1852 came over the plains with her parents to Oregon, the journey being made with ox teams. Her father had followed farming in Texas and on reaching this state set- tled in Polk county, where he resided until 1862, when he came to Multnomah county. Here he took up one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he cultivated for a time, but later sold that property
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W. 4. 4. Morgan
and removed to eastern Oregon, his death occurring in that part of the state. His wife passed away in Washington. Of their children Mrs. America Ann Thomas lives in Portland, while James A. and Jasper are residents of Washington and two sons, John O. and Os- car, are in California. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Morgan was blessed with eleven children: Charles C., who died in childhood; El- mina, the wife of David Kurtz, of Portland, and the mother of two children, Roy and Alma; Nellie B., at home; Nettie, the wife of Vernon Jeffcott, of Portland, by whom she has one son, Morgan; Daisy, the wife of Albert H. Demke, of Chicago, Illinois; Luella, the wife of W. S. Copeland, of Sauvie's Island; Alba, of Portland, who married Madge Kay and has one son, William K .; Laura, the wife of Omar C. Spencer, of Portland, and the mother of two children, Helen E. and John Alfred; Newton, of Portland, who married Bessie Monroe; and two who died in infancy.
In his political views Mr. Morgan has always been a republican but the honors and emoluments of office have had no attraction for him. He lived a busy and useful life upon the farm which he still owns and which has been in possession of the family for sixty years. At length he retired from farming in 1897 and took up his abode in Portland. Previous to this time he would spend the summer months upon the farm and the winter seasons in Portland in order to give his children the benefit of educational advantages here offered. In 1906 he erected a fine residence on Hawthorne avenue, where he now resides. Few have longer been residents of Oregon than Mr. Mor- gan, who since 1845 has lived within the borders of the state, which, however, was under territorial government at the time of his coming and included the state of Washington. At that day wild beasts and birds dwelt unmolested in the forest and the white man had disputed with the Indian to only a slight extent concerning the ownership of the land. The great, vast regions of the state were unclaimed and Portland, the beautiful Rose City of the present, had then but a single house-a log cabin. Mr. Morgan has therefore been a witness of the entire development of the city and along agricultural lines has contributed to the upbuilding and progress of this section. He is indeed an honored resident of the northwest.
Hrs J. V.Heleand
J. 1. Heleeml.
ames A. Holcomb
HE life record of James N. Holcomb stands in con- T tradiction to the old adage that, "a rolling stone gathers no moss." He has always been of a some- what restless spirit and yet on the whole each change in his life has meant advancement and progress. For the past thirty years he has resided in Eagle valley where he is the owner of a fine fruit and cattle ranch. He was also the founder of the town of Newbridge and in February, 1909, he established a general mercantile store here. Various other business enterprises have at different times claimed his attention and profited by his business ability, and at the same time, he has a most interesting and thrilling record as a pioneer, his experiences proving the old saying that, "truth is stranger than fiction." Mr. Holcomb was born in Ionia county, Michigan, April 24, 1845, a son of Gideon C. and Amanda (Houseman) Holcomb, natives of Ohio and New York, respectively. They were pioneers of Michigan in which state they were married and in 1849 the father made his way to the Pacific coast. Here he followed mining during the greater part of his life, save for the last ten years when he was engaged in farming in Eagle valley where he settled during its period of pioneer development. He was also interested in mining in Baker county from 1862 until about ten years prior to his demise. His wife had preceded him to the home beyond, passing away at Prairie City, Grant county, Ore- gon. In their family were four children: James N .; Mrs. Amelia Bliss, now deceased; Polly Amanda, the deceased wife of Julius Lebret; and Sarah M., the wife of James Cleaver of Baker City.
James N. Holcomb resided at the place of his birth, until at the age of eighteen years. In February, 1864, he enlisted as a member of Company A, Twenty-first Michigan Volunteer Infantry with which he served for eighteen months, or until the close of the war. He was with the Army of the Cumberland under General Sherman and took part in all the engagements with his company. He was wounded by a three buck shot in the left arm at Lookout Mountain and was frequently in the thickest of the fight.
When the country no longer needed his military aid, Mr. Hol- comb returned to Michigan and in 1866, by the way of the isthmus
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James A. Holcomb
route, came to Oregon. The following year he returned and brought his mother and three sisters to this state, again coming by the isthmus route. They settled at Prairie City where the father and James N. Holcomb had placer mining interests. For nearly twenty years the latter followed placer mining and about 1872 located in Eagle valley. He is familiar with every phase of pioneer life and with all the hard- ships, trials, difficulties and dangers which fall to the lot of the early settler. During the Modoc Indian war he went to California and served as scout and mail carrier for the government, during which time he saw a number of Modocs hung at Fort Klamath. He car- ried the mail from Lava Beds to Jacksonville, Oregon, and to Yreka, California. For two or three years he was in that section of the country and then returned to Eagle valley where he has remained most of the time since. He followed mining at Shasta and also in Idaho, but retained his home in Baker county. About six years of his life were devoted exclusively to hunting and he had many won- derful experiences, many of which were so unusual that he hesitates to relate them, fearing that his veracity may be questioned. With two companions he killed twenty-four head of elk in one day and he has killed as high as nine on several days. He is regarded as the best shot in eastern Oregon, still holding that distinction. While hunting he has averaged a bear each day for ten days and he has not only killed bears and elks, but also deer, cougars and panthers, using them for hides, or meat, as the case warranted. He was thus engaged for about six years, making his home in the mountains. He packed the meat to the mining camps where he sold it and also disposed of the hides. He has acted as a scout during all of the Indian wars in eastern Oregon since 1870 and there is no phase of pioneer life or of Indian warfare unfamiliar to him. For the past thirty years le has made his home on his ranch in Eagle valley, raising fruit, grain and cattle. There were only four houses in the entire valley wlien he came here. It is now one of the richest sections in the state, all land being irrigated. He purchased the townsite of Newbridge and platted it in 1909, giving it the name of the postoffice that was already here. In February, 1909, he established his present general mercantile store and in 1910 he organized the Eagle Valley Canning Company, incorporated, of which he is the president. They have conducted a successful business during the past year, placing upon the market canned goods of the highest grade. The wholesale dealers have experienced great satisfaction with their product and the record they have established is a most gratifying one. Mr. Holcomb has owned land and planted fruit over three fourths of Eagle valley
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and he also dug one of the principal irrigating ditches there. Per- haps no other man has done as much for its development and sub- stantial improvement and his work certainly entitles him to the recog- nition and praise of his fellow townsmen.
Mr. Holcomb has been married thrice. In Michigan, when twenty years of age he wedded Martha Bowen who died here and they had one child, W. A., who lives in Eagle valley and is married and has two children, Arthur and Oscar. For his second wife Mr. Holcomb chose Eliza Keeny who died, leaving two children: Gideon T., of Newbridge, who has five children; and Maude, the wife of Charles Ashley of Newbridge, by whom she has one son, William. In 1895 Mr. Holcomb was again married, his present wife having formerly been Corintha Emily Kiersey. They have six children, Earl, Ralph, Isabelle, Frank, Annie and Theodore, all yet at home.
Mr. Holcomb has been a lifelong republican and has held some local offices. He belongs to Irvin Lodge, K. P., in Eagle Valley and also to the Grand Army of the Republic. He is a typical frontiersman in his knowledge and experiences of pioneer life, appre- ciative of true worth of character, as is every man who learns to look beneath the veneer and polish that society may give to the real value of the individual. His life history if written in detail would constitute a most interesting and ofttimes thrilling volume. He has an extensive circle of friends throughout the state and all who know him are proud to number him among their acquaintances.
I
yours Fraternally William ? Solushire
William P. Cheshire
ILLIAM P. CHESHIRE is one of the early pioneers W of Lane county, having been a resident of Eugene since 1860. He has the distinction of being one of the veterans of the Indian wars of 1855-6 and his name now has an honored place on the pension roll of a grateful government. He was born in the town of Rutledge, in the state of Tennessee, November 24, 1838, and is the son of Edmund and Rachel (Smith) Cheshire, his father being a native of Virginia, born not far from Richmond. He was a farmer by occupation from his earliest years and moved to Tennessee with his family some time later in life.
In 1849 he crossed the plains to California in search of gold, which at that time was reported to abound in fabulous quantities along the rivers and in the mountains of the Golden state. Being a man strong in physique and hope, with a willingness to endure hard- ships and apply himself to the hazardous occupation of mining he was one among the thousands who was swept into California by that enthusiastic hunger for gold at that time which has since found its place in history under the name of the Gold Fever of '49. Leaving his family behind, with pick and spade and other accessory equip- ment he went forth to realize his dream for wealth. Having finally arrived at the diggings he began to seek the nuggets for himself and in this work was among the fortunate and successful miners. After spending some time in the mining fields he returned to his family with a well filled purse, making the trip home by way of the Isthmus of Panama. After reaching home he later emigrated to Missouri, making his settlement late in the year 1850 in Cedar county, that state, being at the time one of the first pioneers to establish their home in that county. Here he spent the remaining years of his life, pass- ing away August 31, 1861, aged sixty-six.
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