Portrait and biographical record of Portland and vicinity, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 14

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 14

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infancy; and J. Curtis, who is with the Great Northern Railroad Company in Spokane.

While the family were living near Junction City, Ore .. R. F. Robinson was born Decemher 9, 1861. As a boy he attended district schools in Polk county and for four years ( 1880-84) was a student in La Creole Academy, the inter- vening vacations being devoted to teaching in Polk county. During the last two years of his academic course he not only kept up with his classes, but also acted as instructor in mathe- matics. After his graduation he was chosen first assistant teacher in the academy and in 1885 became principal. This position he resigned in 1886 in order to accept the office of county superintendent of schools of Polk county, to which he was elected on the Republican ticket. On the expiration of his term, in 1888, he was elected principal of Central school and the East Portland high school. On the consolidation of the city, the latter school was merged into the Portland high school, and he continued as prin- cipal of Central school until 1900, when he was elected superintendent of schools, on the Repub- lican ticket, by a majority of about three thou- sand. The duties of the office he assumed, in August of 1900, for a term of four years.

During the first year of Mr. Robinson's serv- ice as superintendent of schools of Polk county he continued to act as academy principal as well. but finding his new office required con- slant attention, he resigned his principalship, and then gave much attention to the organiza- tion of the school system there, re-writing the records of the school districts. Since then no county superintendent in Polk county has ever divided his time, but has devoted his attention exclusively to official duties. As a teacher his experience has been varied. He has taught in country schools, has been principal of an acad- emy and principal of a high school, besides acting as superintendent of schools. In the lat- ter capacity he made a special study of methods of instruction for institute work, and since 1900 he has acted as an instructor in a large number of institutes in Oregon and Washington. He has closely organized the schools of the county and carefully guards the educational interests wherever industry and close attention will avail. He is a member of the executive committee of the State Teachers' Association and is the regu- lar instructor of the Multnomah Teachers' Prog- ress Club, an organization of teachers formed for the study of methods and practical school problems.

Aside from his educational work, Professor Robinson has taken a course in law at the Uni- versity of Oregon, from which he was gradu- ated in 1898, with the degree of LL. B., and during the same year was admitted to the bar.

He has not practiced law, but studied it for the benefit that would accrue to his regular work. This knowledge of law he finds of importance to him in his chosen profession. Politically he is a Republican and always takes an active part in the county affairs. While at Dallas he was made a Mason in Jennings Lodge No. 9, but is now connected with Washington Lodge No. 46, of Portland; also Washington Chapter, R. A. M. In the Ancient Order of United Workmeni he is connected with Fidelity Lodge No. 4, of which he has been a leading officer. For five years he was a member of the finance committee of the Grand Lodge of Oregon and is now connected with the board of arbitration. The Woodmen of the World also number him among their members. His marriage occurred at Dal- las in 1885 and united him with Ella E. Hal- lock, who was born and educated in this state. Her father, Ezra Y. Hallock, a native of Long Island, came via the Horn to Oregon in 1852 and settled in Polk county, where he engaged in milling. The family of Professor and Mrs. Robinson consists of six children, namely: Carl H., Earl N., Frank L., Reubey Faye, Warde. and Claude.

CAPT. RICHARD HOYT. Yet another of the pioneers of this state whose active life began upon the high seas, and who eventually sailed into Portland harbor to identify his activities with the upbuilding of the city, was Capt. Rich- ard Hoyt, from whose life many useful and in- teresting lessons may be drawn. Although he died February 2, 1862, there are many still living who recall his genial and hospitable nature, his capacity for entertainment and his shrewd busi -. ness ability. In fact the proverbial inability of mariners to either make or retain money never applied to him, for he possessed none of the ten- dencies which tempt seamen to extravagant ex- penditure, and left his family unusually well pro- vided for.

Captain Hoyt came of a family represented among the very early settlers of New England. He was born in Albany, N. Y., August 7. 1816, his father, Richard, being an edu- cator and farmer during his active life. As is usually the case, the seafaring life appealed to Richard Hoyt while he was still a lad, and when rebelling at a supposed want of opportunity in his immediate family circle. At the age of twelve he ran away from home and shipped before the mast on a sailing vessel, which seemed a calling for which he was best fitted. He liked the work, and under the inspiration of sea breezes advanced rapidly in nautical mat- ters. Arriving at the age of twenty-one, he was given command of a vessel for Captain

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Prince, and was delegated to sail from Portland, Me., to European ports. His adventures upon the deep were many and exciting, the present order and system upon the high seas not being in use at that time.

While in port in Albany, N. Y., in 1842, Mr. Hoyt married Mary Ann Middleton, who was born in Lincolnshire, England, August 9, 1818, and reared and educated in Albany, N. Y. Shortly after the marriage he set out on a whaling voyage in the north, and though in- tending to be absent but a few months was gone three years. He came to Oregon as master of a vessel in 1847, bringing missionaries for the Methodist Church, the voyage taking eight months. Among them were "Father" Wilbur, the founder of the "Old Portland Academy," and Rev. Mr. Roberts, equally well known, both accompanied by their families. Again in 1849 he brought another load of missionaries to carry on the work of the church, and this time he left his ship in Portland, secured his discharge papers, and went to the mines in California. His first practical experience on land proved disappointing and unprofitable, and the seasoned sailor naturally turned his thought to the water which he loved so well. Therefore, he began boating on the Sacramento river, but in this venture he failed to realize his expectations. In the meantime, in 1851, he sent east for his wife and son ; his brother, George W. Hoyt, was dele- gated to bring them safely, via the Isthmus of Panama, to the coast.

Arriving in Portland in the fall of 1851, Cap- tain Hoyt located his family in a house owned by Captain Irving on Second street, and five years later he purchased a quarter of a block on the corner of Sixth and Morrison streets, where his death occurred in 1862. As soon as he came here he interested himself in boating, and for his purpose bought a vessel, fitted it with new machinery, and christened it the Multno- mah. The Multnomah certainly had a success- ful career, and while plying between Portland and Astoria, towed, freighted, and also carried the mails. About this time he bought an interest in the Eliza C. Anderson, a well known river boat of its day, but the Multnomah claimed his attention to the last, rewarding him handsomely for the investment. The mail contract which he had signed with the government did not ex- pire until a year after his death, and his wife was obliged to fulfill the contract, which her experience with her husband amply fitted her to do. She continued to live in the home on the corner of Sixth and Morrison streets until 1878. and then went to make her home with her daugh- ter, Mrs. Phillips, until her death, September I, 1893. Mrs. Hovt was a woman of large heart and practical ideas. She was well edu-

cated and well read, and kept pace with her fam- ily in their studies and interests. She had a brother, John Middleton, who was a wagon maker by trade, and who came to Portland at an early day, plying his trade when there was great need of mechanics and master workmen. Richard Hoyt, the oldest son of the captain, was born in Albany, N. Y., in 1847, and was edu- cated in the Willamette University and the old Portland Academy. He was fourteen years old at the time of his father's death, but young as he was, he was thoroughly familiar with the river, and was able to take the Multnomah from Portland to Astoria. He married and had three children, Herbert H., Christina, who died aged eighteen years, and Lindley. Sarah M. was born in Portland in 1853, and was educated in the public schools and St. Helen's Hall. Her mar- riage with P. F. Phillips occurred in 1875, her husband being a native of St. Johns, New Bruns- wick. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Phillips, but John Richard, the oldest son, died at the age of six years, and Ralph died March 3, 1903, at the age of seventeen. The other children are: Minnie S .: Aimee W .; Maude M .; and Hazel and Harry, twins. Mary Frances Hoyt was born in 1856 and for her first husband married T. S. Carr, by whom she had two children, a son who died at the age of three years, and a daughter, Ethel, now the wife of Marcus Eddy Spaulding, of Tacoma, Wash. For her second husband Mrs. Carr mar- ried Loval B. Stearns, and at present makes her home in Portland. Mrs. Hoyt was a de- voted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, towards the support of which her hus- band liberally contributed, although he was not a member.

JOHN H. JONES. One of the most kindly and gracious, as well as substantial and forceful representatives of past and present commercial activity in Oregon, is John H. Jones, president of the Jones Lumber Company, and the oldest active lumber merchant in the state, if not in the northwest. This venerable, liberal and thor- oughly successful manipulator of western oppor- tunities was born on a farm near Carthage, N. Y., October 3, 1832, a son of Justus and a grand- son of Elihu Jones, the former of whom lost his father when but fourteen years of age and was thus thrown upon his own resources at an early age. His mother afterward married a Mr. Hal- sey, and he himself was apprenticed to a black- smith in New Jersey, from which condition, akin to servitude, he escaped and ran away to Canada. While in the Dominion he married and settled on a farm, an 1 later removed to Carthage. N. Y., where he farmed and plied his trade for

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many years. He died in 1847, at the advanced age of eighty-seven years.

Justus Jones was born in Ogdensburg, N. Y., March 14, 1807. In 1845 he removed to the vicinity of Keokuk, Iowa, where he engaged in farming until the fall of 1848. He then re- mnoved his family to Lakeview, Dane county, Wis., traveling with ox teams, where they made their home until the spring of 1852. Not con- tent with the prospects in Wisconsin. he once more hitched up his ox teams, loaded his wag- ons and started on the long journey for Port- land; and notwithstanding the many dangers and deprivations incident to such a trip in those days, arrived safely at Fort Laramie, July 4. 1852, after having traveled three months and three days. November 27 following the fan- ily reached Portland, and in the month of Feb- ruary, 1853, he and his two sons made the first settlement at Clatskanie, Columbia county. The pioneer family at once engaged in logging and lumbering with fair success, but at the end of three years the father returned to Portland, where the remainder of his life was spent. He died at the Jones sawmill in 1893, at the age of about eighty-five years. His wife, Lois Hast- ings, was a daughter of John Hastings, who went from Massachusetts, about 1800, and set- tled in Jefferson county, N. Y., where Mrs. Jones was born. The family came of Puritan stock and were related to the famous Bacon fam- ily. Mrs. Jones died in Oregon in 1879, leav- ing two children, of whom Elihu King, her youngest son, resides in Portland.

Upon removing with his family to Iowa in 1845, John H. Jones attended the district schools at intermittent intervals, and experienced the same unsatisfactory advantages after settling in Dane county, Wis., in 1848. When the family set out over the plains in 1852 he drove an ox team to Fort Boise, and was there attacked with bilious fever, from the ravages of which he was relieved by the incessant care of his mother. Arriving in Portland in the fall of 1852 he spent the winter in the city, and in the spring located on a farm in Clatskanie, in what is now Colum- bia county, which remained his home for three years. In 1855 he located at Cedar Mills, Wash- ington county, Ore., seven miles from Portland. and there erected and operated the small water- wheel mill which marked the beginning of his career as a lumber merchant. This mill was en- tirely of his own construction, and in it he en- gaged in the manufacture of lumber until 1870, when he located in Portland. In the meantime, however, he had returned to the east in 1862, via Panama, and in 1864 married Jane Catherine Osborne, a native of New York, with whom he returned to his mill in Oregon, by way of the Panama route.

In 1871 Mr. Jones erected a steam mill on the Macadam road. This was burned in 1873, re- built at once, and again destroyed in a similar manner in July, 1889, through sparks from the railroad locomotives. Just prior to the last dis- aster he had dissolved partnership in the milling firm, but his brother rebuilt the property and he again took an interest and incorporated the firm of E. K. Jones & Co. in 1891. The Jones Lumber Company, incorporated in 1901. grew out of the latter-named concern, and Mr. Jones became its president, as he had been of its prede- cessor. The mill has a maximum capacity of fifty thousand feet per day, and its output is shipped to California and many eastern points.

During all these years Mr. Jones has extended his abilities into various lines of development. Several business and other structures in the city are due to his faith in the continued prosperity of his adopted state, and he owns besides sev- eral residences and some country property. Mr. Jones is at the present time the oldest active lumberman in this section, and though seventy years of age still retains the business ability and fine personal traits which have brought about his remarkable success in the west. He has given abundant evidence of his appreciation of the opportunities by which he was surrounded by investing heavily in town and country prop- erty, and has in many ways taken an active part in those affairs intended to contribute to the general development of his adopted home.

The wife of Mr. Jones died in 1875, leaving four children: Elizabeth Lois, wife of William Towne of Holyoke, Mass .; Lovina Dell, wife of W. H. Grindstaff of Portland; Birdie Lucy, wife of George D. Schalk of Portland ; and Her- man Halsey, manager of the Jones Lumber Company.

HERMAN HALSEY JONES. Among the younger business men of Portland, Herman Hal- sey Jones, secretary, treasurer and manager of the Jones Lumber Company, is securely fortified in a position whose responsibilities he has so suc- cessfully shouldered as to entitle him to a con- spicuous place in the ranks of the most enter- prising and sagacious representatives of the commercial world of the Pacific northwest. While it is true that opportunities of no mean nature were placed within his grasp when he stood upon the threshold of his business career, his record proves that, unlike many a young man similarly situated, he was possessed of powers of discernment and judgment sufficient to enable him to make the most of these opportunities from his first effort to the present time.

The family to which Mr. Jones belongs has a

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record for enterprise, energy and initiative work extending through several generations. The history of the identification of the fam- ily with the industrial interests of Oregon began more than a half a century ago when, in 1852, Justus Jones. the paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, came from his pioneer home in Wisconsin and established one of the earliest lumber industries of this state in the vicinity of Portland. His son, John H. Jones, took up this business where the pioneer left off, and the representative of the third generation is now energetically engaged in prosecuting the business developed by his father, whose advanced age renders him willing to allow the brunt of the great responsibilities attached to the conduct of the enterprise to fall upon the younger and more active man.

Herman Halsey Jones was born in Portland, March 17, 1870, and received his education in the public schools of that city. From his earliest youth he was more or less familiar with the busi- ness conducted by his father, and after entering the employ of the mill in 1890, beginning at the bottom of the ladder, he learned all the details of the business in its various departments. When the firm of E. K. Jones & Co. was incorporated in 1891 he was elected to the directorate, and filled the position of vice-president until assuming the positions of secretary and manager in 1898. Upon the organization of its successor, the Jones Lumber Co., in 1901, he became its secretary, treasurer and manager. The mill, located at No. 1280 Macadam street, has a capacity of fifty thou- sand feet per day of ten hours, and the yard, located at Fourth and Columbia streets, is the largest retail yard in Portland. The mill is op- erated by steam power, has double circular saws, lath mill, box shook plant and moulding plant, and its products are shipped to California and many eastern points.

In Portland Mr. Jones was united in mar- riage with Mamie C. Morris, a native of England, and a daughter of David A. Morris, foreman of the Willamette Steel & Iron Works. She came to the United States with her parents in 1876, and has resided in Portland since 1879. They are the parents of a son, named Morris Giesy. Mr. Jones is a member of the Native Sons of Oregon, and in political affiliation is a Republican, though not a seeker for public honors. He was one of the incorporators of the Portland City Retail Lumber Company, a clearing house association for the lumber mer- chants of this city. He is one of the energetic and typically western business men, possessing personal attributes which cannot fail to keep hin among the foremost in business and social af- fairs.

ROCKEY PRESTON EARHART. During his public service, which lasted over a period of twenty-five years, Rockey Preston Earhart be- came a prominent and influential figure in the legislative life of the state of Oregon, serving almost constantly in some capacity during this time, and unlike many other public men every succeeding position lifted him higher in the esti- mation of the people whom he served. Always a careful, thorough business man, punctual in the discharge of duties, and always implicitly trusted, Mr. Earhart took a firm stand on every question which affected the people inorally, so- cially or financially and they well knew that their interests were upheld by a representative in every way worthy of their trust and confidence. Personally he was a man who influenced all with whom he came in contact, through the possession of a courteous, kindly disposition and a forceful, speaking magnetism, winning many friends, for whom he entertained a frank, warm and loyal attachment, which could not but be reciprocated. His splendid optimism, from which fine quality the greatness of the world has grown, caused him to be sought for at every gathering, political or otherwise, for he was an eloquent and engaging conversationalist, describing with striking force whatever had come within his line of vision. Such a char- acter as that of Mr. Earhart must stand for all time as one of the pillars in the magnificent statehood which has been erected in the north- west, and though gone from mortal sight, as all must go, he still lives in the hearts of those who knew him in the pioneer days of the country.

Mr. Earhart was born in Franklin county, Ohio, June 23, 1836, and received his education in the private schools of his native state, where he gained a practical business training. He left his home in 1855 and came to Oregon by way of the Isthmus of Panama, seeking a broader scope for his abilities. Upon his arrival in this section he came in contact with some of the public men of the day, and they, recognizing the ability which was needed in all departments of the growing west, secured for him an ap- pointment as clerk in the quartermaster's depart- ment at Ft. Yamhill, then under the command of Capt. Robert McFeely, who later became a general in the United States Army, and quar- termaster P. H. Sheridan, then an almost un- known soldier. Mr. Earhart remained in this department until 1861, this date being the signal for the departure of Sheridan, who went toward the states to offer his services in putting down the rebellion, during which time he served val- iantly in the Yakima Indian war, rendering val- uable assistance to the officials under whom he served. In 1861 he embarked in a merchandis- ing enterprise in Yamhill and Polk counties, con-

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tinuing so engaged for three years, during which time lie was married, July 2, 1863, to Miss N. A. Burden, who was herself a young pioneer to the coast.

Judge Job Burden, the father of Mrs. Earhart, was one of the first judges appointed in that county, and was a pioneer of Oregon. His home was in Sangamon county, Ill., and from that state a party of emigrants, of whom the judge and his family were members, came in 1845, equipped with supplies, wagons and ox teams. The journey occupied six months, the close of which found them safely located in the western state. Judge Burden followed farming in Polk county and endured all the hardships and priva- tions of the early settler, and by his earnest and persevering work proved his substantial qualities as a citizen of the county in which he made his home. He and his wife died there at ad- vanced ages. Of their six children three daugh- ters survive, Mrs. Earhart having been born in Illinois in 1844 and thus crossed the plains at the age of one year. Of the children which blessed her union with Mr. Earhart, Alice A. is the wife of H. F. Gibson, of Seattle, Wash. ; Eva T. is the widow of F. H. Alliston, of Port- land; Clara E. is the wife of Dr. George F. Koehler, of Portland; and Agnes L. is the wife of W. A. Holt, also of this city. They were all born in Oregon and were educated in the public and best private schools which the country af- forded.

Mr. Earhart engaged in merchandising until he received an appointment as United States Indian Agent at the Warm Springs Agency, to succeed Colonel Logan, remaining for about a vear, when he was followed by Capt. John Smith. For some time after this he served as chief clerk and special Indian agent under Superintendent Huntington, and was secretary of the board of commissioners appointed by the general govern- ment to treat with the Klamath and Modoc In- dians. In 1868 he again engaged in the mercan- tile business at Salem, Ore., and continued there until 1872. In conjunction with other citizens Mr. Earhart was active in maintaining peace at the capital during the troublesome times when the Civil war was in progress and when an out- break might have occurred but for the courage and coolness of a few citizens who were pre- pared for active service at any moment. In 1870 Mlr. Earhart was called upon to represent Marion county in the legislature, as a Repub- lican, and was there instrumental in securing the first appropriation for the erection of public buiklings in the state. He moved to Portland at the close of the term and was engaged for some time in the business department of the Daily Bulletin. Ile was appointed chief clerk of the surveyor general's office in 1874 and success-

fully maintained this position until 1878, when he resigned to accept the office of secretary of state, to which he had been elected. He en- tered upon his duties and reorganized and sys- tematized the business of the office, and so ac- ceptably did he discharge his duties that he re- ceived the unanimous vote of the Republican state convention for renomination and secured a majority of twenty-five hundred votes in the June election, 1882. His second term was as eminently satisfactory as the first, and upon his retirement his administration was heartily en- dorsed by both parties. From 1885 to 1887 he served as adjutant general of the state, and in 1888 was elected member of the legislature from Multnomah county, and re-elected for a second term, which was never completed. In 1800 he was appointed collector of customs, a position which was also interrupted by the summons of death. During his last residence in Portland Mr. Earhart was instrumental in the organiza- tion and incorporation of the Northwest Insur- ance Company, taken up by the prominent men of the city of Portland, and in this company Mr. Earhart was appointed manager, which position he held for a number of years. His death oc- curred at his home in Portland, No. 365 Twelfth street, south, May 11, 1892.

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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 14

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