Portrait and biographical record of Portland and vicinity, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 123

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 123

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It was in 1818 that the father brought his large family to America and he here engaged in the work of a mechanic, though two of his sons, Thomas and Charles, both became actively inter- ested in a mercantile life. Charles Pope mar- ried in New York City, Sarah E. Archer, Novem- ber 21, 1832, she being a native of that state, having been born there in November, 1812. the representative of a sturdy, long-lived family, and through the representation of George Aber- nethy he was induced to bring his family west and seek to become a part of the western ad- vancement. The voyage was made on the bark Caloma, a period of one hundred and fifty-three days being required to round the Horn and land them safely in the new land they were seeking. Immediately after landing and locating his fam- ily Mr. Pope engaged in a general merchandise business in partnership with Joseph Ralston, wherein he continued throughout the remainder of his life. His death occurred June 11, 1871, in Oregon City. Mr. Pope's education had been a thoroughly practical one and it had enabled him to make a success of his business, combined with the application which marked his character. He became a very prominent man in Oregon City. serving for one term as city treasurer, which office he was holding at the time of his death. In the Methodist Church he found his religious

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home and aimed in all conscience to live up to the tenets of his faith. His wife died in Sep- tember, 1893. in her eighty-first year. but one other of her father's family, Amanda Baxter, of New York, is now living. Of the family born to himself and wife there were seven children, of whom Charles Wesley was born in New York, September 27, 1833, and in Oregon City, May 14, 1862, married Hattie Pease. the daughter of Capt. George Anson Pease, a pioneer boatman of the west, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work. This son became a hardware merchant of Oregon City, and so continued until his death. which occurred by drowning in the Clackamas river. March 28, 1877, and his wife now makes her home in Portland. They were the parents of four children, namely : Ada Piggott, of Port- land; Mary Hemenway, of Prescott, Ariz. ; Charles Wesley, of Oregon City; and Bertrand. who died in Spokane, Wash., at the age of twenty-two years. Mary Sophia was the second (laughter, and was born January 2, 1836, and married in Oregon City, September 12. 1860, Dr. R. H. Lansdale, now deceased. Her death occurred at Olympia. Wash .. in 1896, leaving three children : Minnie Aldridge, of Vancouver, British Columbia ; Anna Rost, of Seattle, Wash .; and Charles, of Olympia, Wash. The next in order of birth was William Henry. of this re- view : Thomas Albert was born November 18. 1842, and June 1, 1871, he was married to Laura E. Warner, and they now make their home in Oregon City, where he is engaged in the hard- ware business. They have had three children, namely: George, deceased: Etta Griffith, of Oregon City : and Laura, still unmarried. Ann E. was the fifth daughter and was born in 1846 and married W. B. Laswell, of Canyon City, her death occurring November 25, 1868: Sarah E. was born May 1, 1848, and became the wife of George A. Steel, February 18, 1869, and they now live in Oregon City; Georgiana, the young- est in age, was born in Oregon City, November 11. 1852, and married J. W. Meldrum, Septem- ber 25. 1872, and they now make their home in that city. The children born to them are as fol- lows: Charles, of Milwaukee, Ore .: Eva. an educator ; and Thompson, at home with his par- ents. These children received their education in the schools of New York and Oregon City.

William Henry Pope was born in New York City. December 5. 1840, and was eleven years old when the voyage was made pround the Horn to their new home in the west. The greater part of his education was received in the public schools of Oregon City, which he attended a large part of the ensuing eight years after his arrival in Oregon. In 1859. when nineteen years old. he started out into the world for himself. first securing employment as a clerk in the com-

missary department of the Yakima Indian Res- ervation, a position he retained for three years, when he went to The Dalles for a time and worked in an assay office. In 1865 he came to Portland and was a clerk in the hardware busi- ness of Mitwain & Joynt, and in the same year he purchased, in conjunction with his brother Charles, the oldest hardware business in Oregon City, that which had previously been conducted by O. Milwain. It was at this time that the father of our Mr. Pope came to Oregon City and there took charge of the business venture of his son, the latter, however, two years later, himself locating in Oregon City to look after his own interests. For fourteen years Captain Pope was recognized as one of the prominent and success- ful business men of that city, but in 1881 he be- came interested in the boating business and again located in Portland, where he purchased an in- terest in a concern and began his career as purser. That the captain was eminently fitted to deal with the public has been demonstrated by the many friends which he has won during his intercourse of many years, and it was but a short time until his ability was recognized generally and he became master of a boat. May 14. 1885. the Willamette Steamboat Company was incor- porated and Captain Pope, with others, built the Multnomah for the Oregon City route, and for some time they carried on a thriving business, after which the boat was leased to the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company, in which latter employ he remained for many years. The cap- tain's first boat was called the Calliope. In May. 1892, at the Centennial celebration of the dis- covery of the mouth of the Columbia river, he was master of the Potter and carried four hun- (red passengers to the scene of celebration. where they spent three days, the 9th, 10th and IIth of May. The following year he was master of the Harvest Queen and was engaged in pilot- ing vessels from Astoria to Portland. Since 1895 he has been branch pilot on the Columbia and Willamette rivers, and has continued the splen- did success which marked the earlier part of his career. No man is more trusted in this line of work than Captain Pope, and his faithful dis- charge of duty has won him general commenda- tion.

The marriage of Captain Pope occurred in Portland. February 14, 1867. and united him with Miss Sarah A. Keightley, who was born in LaGrange county, Ind., June 30, 1844. She was the daughter of John and Mary ( Winter ) Keightlev. the former of whom was born in 1805 and died in 1885. after an active life as a mill- wright. His death occurred in Indiana, where his wife also died in 1851. They were the par- ents of the following children: Mrs. Eliza Myers, of Woodland. Cal .: Mrs. W. H. Pope,

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above mentioned; John, who died on the farm in Indiana : and Ann Walker, who died in Portland, in 1809, having crossed the plains in 1852, with her husband. Mrs. Pope had come to Portland in 1860 to make her home with her sister, and she attended the old academy for a time in the further pursuit of an education. To Captain l'ope and his wife have been born two children : Anna, born September 19, 1868, married Paul S. Linquist, of San Francisco, and they have one daughter, Sarah Marie. Mrs. Linquist gradu- ated from the Oregon City schools and also at- tended the high school of Portland. The other (laughter is Maude, who was born February 21, 1874, and became the wife of Julius Allyn. She has two sons, William Pope and Edwin Julius, the home of this daughter still being with the parents. She was educated in the schools of Portland. Captain Pope is fraternally identified with Oregon City Lodge, I. O. O. F., and the Encampment, in both of which he has passed all the chairs, and is also a member of Oregon City Lodge A. O. U. W., in which he has also passed all the chairs. As an interested Republican in politics he has at various times been called upon to represent his party, serving for one term as a member of the school board of Oregon City. Religiously he finds his church home in the Tay- lor Street Methodist Episcopal Church, of which his wife is also a member. Socially he is a mem- ber of the Pioneer Association of Oregon and the Historical Society, and in the line of his busi- ness belongs to and is a charter member of the Masters and Pilots' Association of Willamette Harbor. No. 23. in which he has passed all the chairs.

J. W. BEVIS. The efficient superintendent of the Inman, Poulsen & Co. lumber mill is J. W. Bevis, who in the fall of 1893 became identified with the firm in a much less responsible capacity. but has steadily worked his way up through the various departments, until in 1898 he was made foreman. His grandfather. Joseph Bevis, who was a native of England, assisted the colonists in their struggle for independence, and lived to see them enjoy their freedom. His death occurred in Ohio, where he settled upon coming to Amer- ica. His son. J. W. Bevis, Sr., and the father of our subject, was born in New Jersey, of French descent. and received his early training in Ohio. Going to Iowa in 1840, he followed farming in Davis county until 1862, which year witnessed his removal to the west. making the journey with ox-teams. Going by way of Council Bluffs and Laramie, the party halted for rest and supplies at the latter towns, and at Boise City. Idaho. they engaged in mining for six months before completing the trip to Portland. Here Mr. Bevis

bought a farm of four hundred acres of land, where North Portland is now located. About 1887 he sold the property and removed to Sell- wood. His wife, who was known in maidenhood as Miss Jane Evans,, was born in Tennessee, a daughter of Charles Evans, who was one of the earliest settlers in Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Bevis are now residing in Sellwood, where they are very pleasantly situated and in the enjoyment of good health.

All of the eight children born to J. W. and Jane (Evans) Bevis are living, and of these J. WV., whose name heads this article, was the third in order of birth. He was born in Davis county. Iowa, November 1I, 1859, and was brought to Oregon when a mere child, so that he has no recollection of his birthplace. It is safe to say that he has known no other home than Portland. for his early training was received upon the home farm, and in the public and high schools of the vicinity he gained his knowledge of books. When he was only eighteen years old he started in the dairy business seven miles north of Port- land, and until 1890 followed this calling, meet- ing with excellent success in his endeavors. That year, however, he changed his occupation en- tirely, and built a saw-mill on the Columbia river. The mill was run by steam and had a capacity of twenty-five thousand feet of lumber per day. After running the mill with fair suc- cess for about four years he decided to sell out and accept a position with Inman, Poulsen & Co. That he is the right man for the responsible position which he holds goes without saying, for he thoroughly understands every detail of the saw-mill business, and his services are appre- ciated by his superiors.

Mr. Bevis's marriage was celebrated in Port- land. and united him with Miss Allie J. Inman. whose birth occurred in Iowa. Two children blessed their marriage, Eva and LeRoy. Sev- eral fraternal societies claim Mr. Bevis among their members, namely: Progressive Lodge. I. O. O. F .: Fidelity Lodge. A. O. U. W .: and the Encampment at Portland. Politically he gives his vote in behalf of the candidates of the Repub- liean party. Although he is not identified by membership with any church he assists in the maintenance of the Baptist Church, of which his wife is a member.

OTTO ALFRED GENGELBACH. While living on his well improved little place in Clack- amas. Mr. Gengelbach fills the position of clerk in the general surveyor's office and attends to the numerous outside interests with which he has become identified in the west. Among the latter may be mentioned that of mining in Alaska. which he has prosecuted with increasing success

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ever since 1898, in which year he made his first trip to Dawson City, via Skagway and the Chil- coot. Later on he took a trip to Nome, where he at present owns some very valuable mines. and in all he has been to Alaska and back three times. The success which has attended his efforts has rendered him an enthusiast in regard to the pos- sibilities of the ice-locked region, and his location in Clackamas in 1891 has greatly facilitated a personal supervision of his northern claims. His home property comprises six acres in town, all of which is under cultivation, and which not only constitutes a delightful home for the immediate family, but which is a social center where the greatest good will and hospitality prevail.

A native of Saxony, Germany, Mr. Gengel- bach was born January 8, 1866, and comes of a family long and favorably known in Saxony. Ilis father, Frederick, was a native of the same principality, and during active life was a stock buyer and raiser. Considering the standard as to land ownership existing in Europe he was a large holder, and was successful in his chosen occupation up to the time of his death in 1875. Of the ten children born to himself and wife, Fannie, Otto Alfred is the youngest, and one of the most successful. As was customary with the youth of the Fatherland Otto started out to earn his own living at the age of fourteen, but instead of following agriculture chose rather a life upon the deep, his apprenticeship lasting all the way to Australia, and from there to Port Townsend, Wash. Subsequently he traveled ex- tensively through British Columbia and different parts of the states, and then returned to Europe, spending six months in England. Coming again to the United States in 1891, he took up his resi- dence in this town. Mr. Gengelbach is a Re- publican in political affiliation, but the life purely political has never appealed to his inclinations. He is a member of the German Lutheran Church. towards the maintenance of which he is a liberal contributor.

In Southampton, England. Mr. Gengelbach was united in marriage with Amelia Dawson, a native of Southampton and daughter of Captain Dawson, for many years a ship commander on the high seas, who died in Southampton at the age of sixty-five years. Captain Dawson mar- ried Philippa Sinclair, a native of Cornwall, Eng- land, and to them were born eight children. of whom Mrs. Gengelbach is the fourth oldest. Mrs. Gengelbach is identified with the Rebekas and the Grange, and in religion is a member of the Episcopal Church.

MORRIS CASE WEBSTER. As a suc- cessful and enterprising man of the northwest, Morris Case Webster but follows the example

of his father, John Nelson Webster, a successful pioneer of 1849, and stanchly upholds the prin- ciples which the elder man laid down, an inheri- tance from a long line of worthy ancestors. Mr. Case is now a passenger conductor in the employ of the Oregon & California Railroad, being the third oldest in the passenger list, a man held in the highest regard by his officials and the many who have known him during his long service in this part of the country.

The birth of Mr. Webster occurred in Fonda, N. Y., August 18, 1847, and it was also in Mont- gomery county that the elder man was born, his natal day being April 15, 1814. The grand- father was John Webster, who was in turn the son of Daniel Webster, a cousin of the famous statesman of that name, and he died at the age of ninety-six years. At the time of the gold excite- ment of '49 John N. Webster became one of a company of twenty-eight men who organized what is known as the Mohawk Mining Com- pany, rounding the Horn in the same year in pur- suit of the interests of the new company, leaving his children in New York state. After a trip of one hundred and ninety-three days he ar- rived in San Francisco, September 17, but in- stead of going to the mines he became a ship- chandler. In 1850 he returned to New York. purchasing a farm there, upon which he re- mained for two years, when he again came west. In 1854 he took up his residence in Alameda, Cal., where he made his home until his death. Later in life he took up the business of a broker, and met with the same success which had char- acterized his entire life, his strong, forceful character and ready decision making him a prom- inent and notably successful man. Religiously he was a member and an officer of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was always charitable and open-handed with his honorably-acquired means. He was twice married, his first wife being Amanda Washburn, who died when our subject, the youngest child, was but eight years old. The other children born of this union were two who died in infancy; Edgar W., who came to California in 1874 and died there at the age of sixty years, and Jane Elizabeth, the deceased wife of George Sturtevant, of California. by whom she had two children. Mr. Webster's second marriage united him with Caroline Wash- burn, a cousin of his first wife, and she is now living, at the age of eighty years. The one child born to theni was a son, who died when twelve years old.

Morris Case Webster made his home in New York state until he was thirteen years old. his principal education being received in that loca- tion and the schools of Alameda and San Fran- cisco. In 1864, stirred by the patriotism which had distinguished this old American family

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throughout the many years in which they had made this country their home, this lad of seven- teen enlisted in Company D. Eighth California Regiment, and served until the close of the war in the following year. Afterward he secured a position as a grocery clerk, remaining for three years, and in 1875 he came to Oregon and went to work for the Oregon & California Railroad in the capacity of brakeman. One year later he returned to California, but still remained in the employ of this company for the ensuing three years. During that time he was on the construc- tion train, and in 1879 he came back to Portland and entered the service again. November 19, 1881, he was promoted to the position of con- ductor, which position he has since successfully held, three years later becoming a passenger con- ductor. He has run on all the branches and divisions of the Oregon & California Railroad, and throughout his continued service he has made many friends among those who have come to know him best. as well as among the officials who have taken note of his faithful discharge of duty. Mr. Webster is in reality one of the pioneer railroad men of this part of the country.

In Portland Mr. Webster was united in mar- riage with Mary Florence Curry, the daughter of George Law Curry, a prominent territorial gov- ernor of the state wherein he became a pioneer and gave the best years of his life to the upbuild- ing of western civilization. To Mr. and Mrs. Webster have been born four children, of whom Carrie, born September 6, 1876. is a graduate of the public schools of Portland, in which city she resides: Norwood E., born July 21, 1878, has followed the example of his father. and at the age of eighteen years, after finishing his education in the public schools, entered the em- ploy of the Astoria & Columbia River Railroad as a fireman. and is now an engineer, making his home at Astoria; Ethel A., born May 6. 1883. in East Portland, married Earl D. Al- bright, and they have one daughter, Florence Curry, in their pleasant home in Portland, and Morris C., Jr., born February 21, 1889. is still a student. Fraternally Mr. Webster is a mem- ber of the Mt. Hood Division No. 91. O. R. C .. and Fidelity Lodge No. 4. A. O. U. W. Polit- ically he is a Republican.

GEORGE LAW CURRY. The name which heads this sketch is one that is familiar to the early settlers of Oregon, for it is that of one of the territorial governors who impressed his per- sonality upon the foundation of the statehood. During the years 1854 to 1859, inclusive. Mr. Curry occupied the gubernatorial chair, and among the scenes of discord and violence which

marred the peace and progress of the pioneers he presented an earnest and unfaltering spirit in his staneh co-operation with the general gov- ernment in securing protection for the scattered settlers. And not alone in this capacity was he useful in the growth and upbuilding of the west- ern state. for he was resourceful and forceful in all his projects, winning the friendship of all with whom he came in contact by his frank cour- tesy, and the trust and confidence of his fellow men by the entire fulfillment of every obligation laid upon him, and he is to-day numbered among the men whom Oregon remembers and honors. A native of Philadelphia, Pa .. George Law Curry was born July 2, 1820. Left an orphan when quite young, he was reared by his aunt Rebecca and uncle William, both of whom died in their eastern home. The common school edu- cation which Mr. Curry received was the re- sult of his own personal application, for he was intensely ambitious in the line of letters, but through the straitened circumstances of his rela- tives he was compelled to prepare early for his livelihood. He first served an apprenticeship with a jeweler. but in 1846 he set out for the land of opportunities which lay beyond the Rocky mountains, going first to St. Louis, Mo., and from there proceeding with a Fort Laramie pack-train to Oregon, which was the scene of his subsequent career. On his arrival in the west he abandoned the pursuit of his trade and took up the more congenial employment of newspaper work, in which he met with gratifying success. The first newspaper published in the country was the Oregon Spectator of Oregon City, and a short time after his arrival Mr. Curry assumed charge of its publication, continuing so employed for some time. after which he edited the Free Press. In politics Mr. Curry was a Democrat. and though earnest in his convictions he was not an extremist, and as a man of moderation and one who would labor for the truest interests of the country, he was appointed in 1854 as gover- nor of the territory under the administration of President Pierce, a position which he creditably maintained until the formation of the state gov- ernment in 1859. Being always active in politi- cal work, he was chosen by the leaders of his party to become a candidate for the position of United States senator, but was defeated in the election. Not satisfied to hold interest only with the party movements of the state Mr. Curry also became identified with the agricultural work. taking up a section of land which he improved and cultivated during the many years in which he made that location his home. Later in life he sold his farm and purchased property on Eighth and College streets. where he made his home until his death, July 28. 1878. Afterward his widow purchased a home on the corner of

C. C. Stratton

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Twenty-first and E streets, and after disposing of that she bought five acres at Mount Tabor.

During his too brief life Mr. Curry, though becoming thoroughly imbued with the spirit of western civilization, spent much time in the east, carrying back with him to his adopted state the ideas of progress and advancement which should some day take control of even this remote lo- cality. Every interest in the future welfare of the city of Portland was manifest in the life of Mr. Curry and his vision passed on beyond the narrow confines which then marked existence here to that which places Oregon among the leading states of the Union. While in the east engaged in business interests he also took great pleasure in visiting old friends and relatives, having in his native city three sisters, two of whom predeceased him: Belle Drovin; Marga- ret ; and Ellen Stanton, the latter of whom died after her brother.

The wife of Mr. Curry was the daughter of one of the first families of Kentucky, her parents being Alphonso and Nancy (Linville) Boone, the father and mother having been cousins and descendants of the Squire Boone, who landed in Pennsylvania, direct from Devonshire, Eng- land, in 1717. With his wife and nineteen chil- dren he founded the Exeter settlement near Philadelphia. Alphonso Boone was the third son of Jesse, of old Upper Louisiana, the latter having emigrated to that location from Ken- tucky in 1800, in company with his father, Dan- iel, the fourth son of Col. Daniel Boone, the famed colonizer of Kentucky. Alphonso Boone crossed the plains in 1846, in company with his family, and after suffering untold hardships, he arrived in Oregon and camped on what is now the site of Corvallis. Later he located a land grant of six hundred and forty acres near Butte- ville, and he and his sons passed many years in the patient, unremitting toil necessary to re- claim it from its wild state. During the gold excitement of California the father went to the gold fields and there lost his life November 28. 1849, at the age of fifty-one years. Of the family born to himself and wife, Nary Norris lives at Coos Bay, nearly eighty years of age ; Chloe Don- nelly Curry was born in Montgomery county, Mo., December 9, 1822, and died in Sunnyside, Ore., February 10, 1899; Lucy Music died in California in 1882; James, a miner, is also de- ceased ; George lives in Yaquina Bay ; Jesse was murdered while conducting what is known as the Boone Ferry; Alphonso, Jr., formerly captain on boats in Portland, makes his home at Coos Bay, and Morris died near Prineville, Ore. Chloe Donnelly Boone lost her mother at a very early age and was reared by an aunt, the wife of Gov. Lylburn Boone, of Missouri. She crossed the plains with her father's family in 1846, having

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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 123

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