Portrait and biographical record of Portland and vicinity, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 120

Author:
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 946

USA > Oregon > Multnomah County > Portland > Portrait and biographical record of Portland and vicinity, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present > Part 120

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Near Sandy, this state, Mr. Strowbridge was born June 21. 1872, his father, John P. Strow- bridge, having come here in 1862. The elder Strowbridge was born in Ohio, August 14. 1836. and was reared in Marion county, where his birth occurred. In his young manhood he married Lucinda Howlitt, a native of Indiana, who be- came the mother of a large family of children. Mr. Strowbridge bought the right to one hundred

and sixty acres of land in this county, clearing seventy-five acres, and conducting large agricul- tural interests. This well improved and well equipped farm was disposed of in 1891 to Robert Deshazer, since which time Mr. Strowbridge has lived in the city of Portland. He served his county and state as a private in the Rogue Indian war, during which memorable encounter he was three times wounded.

John A. Strowbridge was nineteen years of age when the family property was sold, and he forthwith removed to the farm of his uncle. April 19, 1900, he was united in marriage with Sadie E. Wilcoxon. of which union there has been born one child. Mr. Strowbridge is a Republican in political affiliation, and is fraternally associated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Gresham Lodge No. 125.

C. PERRY PENISTEN. In 1892 Mr. Penis- ten came to Multnomah county. locating near Gresham, and since that time has taken an in- terested part in all measures tending toward the well-being of his community. His birthplace was near Bainbridge, Ohio, and the date of his birth was January 25, 1844. Ohio was the scene of his life's experiences up to nineteen years of age. but at that time he went to Indiana. remaining there one year. The west, however. with its many possibilities open to the young man, was the goal of his ambition, and thither he wended his way in 1865, going to Colorado. For ten years, from 1865 until 1875, he was engaged in ranching near Longmont, Boukler county, finding this a remunerative means of employment. Going to California in 1875. he followed ranching in the Humboldt district for one year, and in 1876 came to Fairview. Ore. As previously stated. in 1892 he came to Multnomah county, purchasing one hundred and thirty-nine acres of the old Stephen Roberts donation. Since locating here he has made many improvements on the property, and is engaged in dairying and general farming. Be- sides his land here he also owns valuable resi- (lence property in Portland.

April 1. 1879, was celebrated the marriage of C. Perry Penisten and Miss Mary L. Stott, a daughter of James Stott. Four children blessed this marriage, two of whom are deceased. Those living are named Mabel and Mila. After his marriage Mr. Penisten rented his father-in-law's homestead, making his home upon it until he pur- chased his present farm. For many years he held the office of school director of his district. Politically he is a Republican. Mr. and Mrs. Penisten are identified with the Presbyterian Church, in which he serves as a trustee. Fra- ternally he is affiliated with the Masons. At the time of the famous King Land Company suit

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against the city of Portland he was one of the jurors, the latter being in session eighteen days be- fore a verdict was handed in. Mrs. Penisten and her daughter are members of the grand circle of Woodcraft.

FREDERICK E. HAMILTON. That Ore- gon is one of the garden spots of the west can- not be denied, its salubrious climate and other natural advantages tending to make it such. The fame of its wonderful possibilities spread far and wide, for in the early days newcomers from all parts of the Union made their day here in the most laborious manner. One of the number to wend their way to Oregon in the early '50s was

George Hamilton. He was born near Terre Haute, Ind., in March, 1827, and was there reared upon a farm, receiving practical instruction of great value to him. His marriage in 1848 united him with Elizabeth Van Duyn, and in 1851 they started on the wearisome and perilous journey across the plains. Ox-teams were employed as a means of transit, and that it was a slow process is evident when it is said they were six months in reaching The Dalles. From that point to the mouth of Sandy river they came on flat boats. and here they resided temporarily or until Mr. Hamilton purchased a farm of his own, which comprised three hundred and twenty acres of land in Multnomah county. It was formerly owned by John Mills, who had built a log cabin upon it, but Mr. Hamilton later improved the farm and built a more modern house to take the place of the log building, it being in close prox- imity to the house in which his son now resides. One hundred and thirty acres of the land is rich bottom land. After Mr. Hamilton had lived to reap some of the benefits of his labors he passed to his reward, dying September 12, 1868, in the old family home in which he had passed so many happy hours. His influence and advice were felt in school matters, to which he gave much of his attention while serving on the school board. Mrs. Elizabeth Hamilton was born in Terre llante, Ind., in May, 1833. and passed away August 18, 1887. Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton be- came the parents of eight children. of whom Laura became the wife of Elisha Carter : Clara. deceased. married George Riley; John is de- ceased : James resides in Palmer; Frederick is next in order of birth ; George M. is deceased ; Minnie is the wife of Henry Schmeer, of East Portland ; and Emma married C. F. Ruppell, of Portland. The mother died at the age of fifty- six years, leaving a tender memory in the hearts of her children.

On the old family homestead in Multnomah county Frederick E. Hamilton was born Febru- ary 23, 1858. He received an education in the district school and remained at home assisting in

the work of the farm until twenty-eight years of age, when he left home to try new fields of work. After engaging in the grocery business in Port- land for one year he returned and purchased the old homestead. Six years later, however. he again interested himself in the grocery business in Portland and two years later he embarked in the lumber business. After following this for two years he again returned home, and has since that time been successfully engaged in general farming and dairying, having forty-five milch cows. In 1884 he married Miss Nora Covn, and they have one son, named Harry E. Politically Mr. Hamilton is a Republican.

N. C. LILLY. As the first to engage in a mercantile business in Gales Creek, and as post- master of the embryo town for more than seven years, N. C. Lilly may be said to be one of the chief promoters of the commonwealth. At about the age of eighteen Mr. Lilly left his native state of West Virginia, where he was born in 1859. and took up his residence in Kansas in an effort to earn his own livelihood. He was engaged in farming. stock-raising and railroad construction during the six years in Kansas, and while there. in Kansas City, married Lurena Hymer, a native of that state. Of this union there have been born four children : John D., a soldier in the regular army ; Florence O., of Kansas City ; Lurena, of Kansas City ; and Frederick R., living at home.

Mr. Lilly became identified with Oregon in 1885. settling in Gales Creek, where he engaged in the mercantile business, in which he is still interested. From a small beginning he has en- larged his business to meet the demand of a growing patronage, and has succeeded so well that he is a large land owner, having both coun- try and town property. His farm of two hun- (red acres is mostly timber land, and his houses and land in Portland and this town are among the most desirable to he had. Mr. Lilly is a Re- publican in national politics, but aside from the postmastership has not devoted much time to political undertakings. Fraternally he is asso- ciated with the Masons. The first wife of Mr. Lilly died in 1890, and the present Mrs. Lilly was formerly Myrtle Iler, born and reared in Gales Creek. One child has been born of this union, Nicholas C., living at home.

F. W. HANSON. All the experiences and associations of Mr. Hanson's life have been con- nected with Multnomah county, where he was born, and where he still makes his home. In his recent capacity as superintendent of the county poor farm, to which position he was appointed in 1900, he had entire supervision of the two hun-

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dred and thirty acres comprised in the estate, as well as the oversight of the inmates, ranging in numbers from one hundred and twenty to one hundred and sixty.

The father of Mr. Hanson was Hans Hanson, a native of Denmark and a sailor by occupation, being for some time an officer on ocean fleets. In January of 1853 he came as mate of a vessel from Boston to San Francisco and then sailed with his ship up to the Columbia river. Stopping at Astoria he worked for a few months on a boat, and then went to the Rouge river mines in south- ern Oregon. When within forty miles of the mines, the breaking out of the Indian war forced him to abandon further progress, and he returned to Multnomah county, and thence proceeded to Milwaukee, Clackamas county, where he was employed for four years by a firm of nurserymen and orchardists. With the savings of this period he bought a tract of fifty acres near Sunnyside, where he followed farm pursuits and engaged in the nursery business. On the division of the land into town lots, further work at farming was impracticable, and he thereupon retired. On the organization of Orient Lodge, I. O. O. F., he be- came a charter member of the same. The Re- publican party received his ballot and support continuously after he became a citizen of the United States, and on the regular party ticket he was elected county commissioner, which office he filled for two terms. At the time of his de- mise he was serving in the city council, of which body he had been a member for two years. An active worker in religious movements, he was connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and for ten years officiated as Sunday-school superintendent. Firm in the faith of eternal life, he passed from earth in 1893. at the age of sixty- four years. By his marriage to Nancy Akin, a native of Henry county, Iowa, he had four chil- dren, namely: F. W .; Wilbur, who died in boy- hood; Ida, wife of J. C. Roberts, of East Port- land ; and Charles E., who occupies the old home- stead.

At Milwaukee, where his birth occurred April 19, 1857. F. W. Hanson passed the years of early boyhood. and later he studied in the Portland public schools. When eighteen years old he assumed charge of his father's nursery, in the management of which he gained his first practical experience in this industry. January 4, 1880, he married Olive McBride, by whom he has three children, Chester, Maude and Ella. Soon after his marriage Mr. Hanson settled on a farm in the eastern part of Multnomah county, where he remained for ten years, coming from there into Portland, where he engaged in the nursery busi- ness for six years. The Republican party, of which he is a firm supporter, clected him to rep- resent the Ninth ward in the city council in 1898,

and for two years he filled the position to the sat- isfaction of all. On resigning from that body he became superintendent of the county poor farm. Reared in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal Church. he has connected himself actively with this denomination and maintains an interest in its work. Fraternally he is associated with the Woodmen of the World and the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

C. B. CURTIS. The rural home of C. B. Curtis commands one of the finest views in Wash- ington county. The genial and popular proprie- tor became the owner in 1891. and since then has made many fine improvements. In addition to general farming he raises large numbers of high- grade stock, and has a bearing orchard of over six hundred trees.

The aptitude for and ability to farm well is inherited by Mr. Curtis, for in Vermont, where he was born July 12, 1833. his forefathers tilled the soil for several succeeding generations. When he was three years old his parents removed to Whitehall, N. Y .. where the father died in 1841, leaving a wife and several children depend- ent upon their own resources. The following year the mother took her children to the home of her parents in Illinois, where C. B. lived until 1877, when he removed to Kansas. There he was identified with farming enterprises until his re- moval to Oregon in 1891.

The first wife of Mr. Curtis, Miss Mattie Mun- son, was born in New York state. At her death in Illinois she left one child. Mr. Curtis married for a second wife Sarah Beans, a native of Ohio. and of this union there have been born eight chil- dren : Eva, living in Forest Grove; Jennie, who is married and living in Kansas ; Hattie, married and living in Portland; Oliver, living with his parents : Ethel, Daisy, Lena and Alma. Mr. Cur- tis has made the most of his opportunities in Ore- gon, and while adding to his store of worldly goods, has grown in the esteem of his fellow- townsmen. and built up a reputation for substan- tial worth and unquestioned integrity. In polit- ical affairs Mr. Curtis gives his vote to the Re- publican party, and religiously he is a member of the Congregational Church, having been so iden- tified since he was fifteen years old.

RANSOM E. HYATT. Clackamas county, Ore., has benefited by the farming efforts of Ran- som E. Hyatt, owner of an eighty-acre farm, twenty acres of which are cleared and cultivated. On his father's farm in Tioga county, N. Y., where he was born June 5. 1830, Mr. Hyatt re- ceived an ordinary country training, and was edu- cated in the public schools. His father, Ezekiel

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Hyatt, was a farmer on a large scale, and taught his son the practical duties of life, rearing him to years of usefulness and industry.

When twenty-nine years of age Mr. Hyatt moved to Fond du Lac, Wis., and there worked for some time at the wagonmaker's trade, having served an apprenticeship of three years at the trade when a young man. At the end of four years he removed to Sparta, near La Crosse, where he purchased three hundred acres of land, of which he cleared about seventy-five acres. This land was disposed of at a profit in 1885. after which the owner bought his present farm. called Butler Place, formerly Pleasant Home postoffice. He has made many improvements, introduced modern machinery, and is fairly sure of large yields of grain and stable commodities.

The first marriage of Mr. Hyatt was solem- nized in 1855. and was with Susan Minnick, who died, leaving one child. Lazetta. The second marriage was with Sarah 'Anne Hansen, Feb- ruary 15, 1891. Mr. Hyatt is a Republican in politics. He has never sought office, but has yielded to the solicitations of his friends on sev- eral occasions. For fourteen years he has served as school treasurer, and during that time has in- stituted many innovations which have materially elevated the standard of education in his district. In Wisconsin he served on the board of health. Mr. Hyatt is a successful farmer and honored citizen, and has reason to congratulate himself upon his farming advancement.

CHARLES B. POWELL arrived in Oregon January 26. 1870, and has since been identified with the splendid farming facilities here repre- sented. His first location in his adopted state was on a farm of eighty acres four miles southeast of Oregon City. but three years later he removed to a place of forty acres one and a half miles south- cast of Monitor, which has since been his home. Twenty-five acres of this land is under cultiva- tion, and he is engaged in general farming and stock-raising. Mr. Powell has a pleasant home, good barns and outbuildings and modern agricul- tural implements.

A native of Erie county, Ohio, Mr. Powell was born near Sandusky, June 18, 1828, and is the only son in the family of four children born to Luke R. and Sarah (Cruson) Powell. the former of whom was born in Duchess county, N. Y .. De- cember 4. 1799, and the latter in Starke county, Ohio, July 4. 1812. Luke R. Powell was a man of strong characteristics, and though originally a dyer by trade, possessed business ability to a greater extent than was required in his humble calling. He came to Ohio at quite an early day. and became very prominent in Erie county. where he in time owned three farms. one of four hun-

dred and eighty, another of twenty-four, and still another of one hundred and sixty-three acres. upon which he carried on extensive general farm- ing. About 1849 he removed to the state of Wisconsin, and in 1852 to Iowa, where his death occurred October 15, 1855. Of the children, of whom Charles B. is the youngest, Mrs. Margaret Wade died in California; Frances Henley died in Illinois ; and Mrs. Emily Murphy died in Cali- fornia.

Previous to coming to Oregon Charles B. Pow- ell has learned the painter's trade, which he fol- lowed for some time in Steuben county, Ind. He started out in the world on his own responsibility at the age of eighteen, and from Steuben county. Ind., removed to Ingham county. Mich., where he spent the winter, and then went to Christian county, Iowa, where he worked at his trade until 1861. The opportunity to serve his country dur- ing the Civil war was readily embraced by Mr. Powell, who enlisted in 1861 in Company A. Eighth Iowa Volunteer Infantry as a private, and served for five years and eight days. being mus- tered out in Davenport, Iowa, April 20, 1866. He was sent into Missouri under General Curtis. and was later under Generals Grant, Sherman, Thomas and Colonel Geddis, and participated in many notable battles. At the battle of Shiloh he was taken prisoner by the Confederate forces. and thereafter gained a knowledge of the internal workings of the terrible southern prisons, being confined in both Libby and Andersonville, in all one year, six months and eleven days.

After the war Mr. Powell went to Clinton county. Iowa, and worked a farm, and in 1869 made his way to California, where he stayed until coming to Oregon in 1870. In 1878 Mr. Powell married Mrs. Frances Smith, and they became the parents of four children: Grace Wright, a resident of Linn county. Ore .; Minnie. a resident of Washington; Gertie, deceased ; and Benjamin, living at home. By a former mar- riage, contracted April 5, 1866, with Jane Wright. one daughter was born to Mr. Powell, Addie Bowman, living in Iowa. Mr. Powell is a Re- publican in politics, and has been school director for many years, and was road supervisor in 1880. He was identified with the United American Me- chanics. Junior Order, of Portland; the A. P. A.'s, of Monitor ; and the Grand Army of the Republic at Silverton. He is a member of the Free Will Baptist Church in the vicinity of Mar- quam.

LAWRENCE BAILY. The business inter- ests that center in Cornelius, Washington county. have an able representative in Mr. Bailv, who was born in Clearfield county, Pa .. June 11, 1861. His earliest recollections are of Cedar county,

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lowa, where the family settled when he was only two years of age and where he continued to make his home until he was twenty-two. Mean- time, at the age of seventeen. he entered the lowa State University, and in the spring of 1884 was graduated from the medical depart- ment of the same. Shortly after graduating he came to Oregon and opened an office for the practice of medicine at Forest Grove. However, the profession was not a congenial one, and he relinquished it after a few years in favor of business interests which he believed would be more pleasant. Another reason for his retire- ment from the profession was a severe attack of rheumatism, which incapacitated him from active work and rendered necessary a trip back east in the hope that a change of climate might prove beneficial.

Returning to Portland in 1888, the following vear he became connected with the detective force of this city and for six years remained connected with the same. On leaving Portland he came to Cornelius, where he has since made his home. Three years were spent in business pursuits here, after which he traveled through California and visited the east. In 1896 he married Mrs. Annie Keine and during the same year he became in- terested in the mercantile business at Cornelius which he still conducts. In addition he has a cider vinegar factory, and also owns two large warehouses, and engages in buying and selling hay and grain. During one year his business ag- gregated $70,000 in volume. representing one of the largest enterprises in the county and among the most important of its kind in the state. Not caring to ally himself with any political party, he has maintained an independence of views. voting for the men he considers best qualified to represent the people, irrespective of political ties Fraternally he is connected with the Odd Fellows and Woodmen of the World.

SIMON PETERS was born in Hanover, Ger- many, September 16, 1841. His father was a farmer during his entire active life, and at the time of his death, in 1899, when seventy-seven years old, left a few well-cultivated acres to his lieirs. Eight children were born into his family. all of whom are now living, Simon being the oldest. One son is a resident of Minnesota. In his youth Mr. Peters received a limited education in the district schools, and when eighteen years old started an independent farming enterprise. At the age of twenty-six he embarked for Amer- ican shores with very little in capital beyond his passage ticket and few worldly possessions, and when he arrived in Ogle county, Ill., his funds were nearly exhausted. His first work was as a

farm hand at a salary of $6 per month, but later he secured another position of a similar nature with $17 per month. At the time of coming to Oregon lie had $1,500, which represented the savings of his first five years in America.

With this money Mr. Peters bought eight acres of land near Stafford, Clackamas county, which he has improved, and on the greater part he raises clover, oats and wheat, and his success has been in keeping with his good business abil- ity, untiring energy, and economy. In addition he has a small orchard, carefully kept, which is used only for family purposes. As yet Mr. Peters has not been made a citizen of the United States, but he is nevertheless loyal to his adopted country, and mindful of its many advantages. In Portland he was united in marriage with Nubina Johnson, who was born in Germany, and came to the United States when a young girl. Of the ten children born to Mr. and Mrs. Peters two are deceased. Those surviving are: Abbie, Gracie, Otto, Sarah, Hilnka, Harry, Arnold, and Matilda.

COL. DAVID M. DUNNE. The state of Oregon can boast of many able and gifted men who have been attracted to her domain through the excellent business opportunities which she offers to men of energy and ability. She has no more worthy representative, or one who has been more prominently connected with the business, political and social life of this state during the past twenty years than has Col. D. M. Dunne. the present collector of internal revenue for the distriet. having headquarters at Portland. Col- onel Dunne was born in Ireland, October, 19, 1851. He came to the United States with his parents in 1861. and in 1881 arrived in Portland. where he at once embarked in business, becoming associated with John Kelly, under the firm name of Kelly, Dunne & Co., wholesale and retail deal- ers in paints, oil and glass. Through the untir- ing efforts of these two business men the firm became well-known and prosperous. Since the retirement of Mr. Kelly, some twelve years ago, the management and direction of the business has been assumed by Colonel Dunne, and through his keen discernment and executive ability the enterprise has become a leading one in Portland. The house not only conducts a large business .in the jobbing trade throughout all parts of the Pa- cific northwest. but also manufactures on a large scale a number of the staple lines carried con- stantly in stock. During the past year the plant has been improved and a large amount of modern machinery added, thus increasing facilities. for grinding the glass and manufacturing a high grade of paints under the well-known private brand of the company, and the goods manufac-

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tured by D. M. Dunne & Company are now sold in all parts of the coast.

Colonel Dunne first entered political life in Oregon in 1883, when he was elected to the im- portant position of county commissioner of Mult- nomah county, succeeding Hon. H. W. Corbett. During his incumbency of the office he was in- strumental in systematizing the road work of the county. When he first assumed the office the moneys were all disbursed by the road super- visors. He introduced the time-check system of payments, which has proved a most effectual guard against the profligate or careless handling of moneys spent on road work. It was while acting as county commissioner that he also suc- ceeded in deporting the Chinese leper colony at the county poor farm, by securing a brig and paying $100 in passage money for each of the fifteen lepers. He then had the leper quarters burned down at the poor farm, thus abolishing the same and saving to the county the expense incurred therein, which at the time amounted to at least $5,000.

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Portrait and biographical record of Portland and vicinity, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 120

Author: Publication date: 1903 Publisher: Chicago, Chapman Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 946

Author:
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 946