Portrait and biographical record of Portland and vicinity, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 27

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 27

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Kolm a Hurtbush .

209

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

in this state were spent on a farm in Washing- ton county. A later venture was as manager of a hotel in Portland, and in 1887 he removed to Anaheim, Cal., where he became interested in horticulture. Here he resided until 1895, when he returned to Portland, and two years later his death occurred at the age of seventy-two years. His wife died one year previous, at the age of sixty-six years, leaving four children, namely, George W., a photographer in Kansas; Bernard, a grocer of East Portland; Ferdinand; and Annie, the wife of J. J. Sharkey, of Portland.

Ferdinand Dresser attended the public schools of Kansas and also attended the Spaulding Commercial College of Kansas City, for one year. From 1874 to 1876 he was engaged in business with his father, and during the latter year accompanied his parents on their removal to Oregon, and continued to live with them dur- ing the three years the family resided in Wash- ington county. When the sire took charge of the hotel in Portland, Ferdinand assisted in the work, but when his father went to California, young Dresser decided that Portland was the place for him. The first year was spent as a salesman in a grocery store. Later he became identified with the wholesale grocery firm of Todd & Bevin, with whom he remained until the firm went out of business. In 1882, in part- nership with Mr. Lowell. he started a grocery store at the corner of Thirteenth and Hoyt streets. This business was continued for one year, at the expiration of which time the business was disposed of and Mr. Dresser entered the employ of E. S. Larson & Co., wholesale gro- cers. His next venture in the business world occurred in 1883, when, in company with James Young, a grocery store was established at the corner of Third and Jefferson streets. At the end of six months the interest of Mr. Young passed into the hands of Mr. Lowell, who con- tinued in the business for two years, when Mr. Dresser purchased his interest and continued alone for one year. In 1887, in partnership with his brother-in-law. F. W. Washer, a new firm was established under the style F. Dresser & Co., an association which has continued up to the present time. The building first occupied by the firm was sold in 1893. In the meantime a branch store had been established in East Portland. In 1895 this store was removed to the west side of the city and quarters were secured in the Im- perial Hotel building. Here a wholesale and retail business was continued until the removal of the firm to their present location at the corner of Seventh and Washington in December, 1900. The new building they now occupy is 45 x 90 feet, ground dimensions, while two stories are used by the firm. The store is large and roomy and the stock is very complete. All kinds of

staple and fancy groceries are carried, also meats and liquors for the family trade. There is no doubt that this store is the finest of its kind in the state and there are few if any in the north- west that surpass it. Mr. Dresser is a model business man. He thoroughly understands his business and under his watchful eye the store at all times is kept in perfect trim. Here clean- liness is a byword and the stock always looks orderly and neat.

For twenty-four years Mr. Dresser has been a resident of Portland, and during that time he has risen from the position of salesman to that of proprietor of a business of which he may well feel proud. To accomplish this end he has worked hard, but while at all times a busy man, he has nevertheless remembered his duties as a citizen. As a member of the Chamber of Com- merce and the Portland Board of Trade, he is found to be deeply interested in any project that is intended to be of benefit to the city of his adoption.

In the spring of 1902, when the citizens of Portland began to agitate the question of hold- ing an exposition in honor of Lewis and Clark, Mr. Dresser was one of the most active men in the city. At the first meeting he was elected a director and in July of the same year he was re-elected. He is a man of broad and liberal ten- dencies and is always ready to give his time and means in support of public spirited enterprises.

In Portland Mr. Dresser was united in mar- riage with Miss Caroline Washer, a native of Freeport, Ill. Seven children have been born of this union : Othelia, a graduate of St. Mary's Academy; William, Edward, Ferdinand, Jr., Frank. George and Maria.

JOHN Q. A. HURLBURT, surveyor of Multnomah county, is descended from one of the earliest settlers in New England, the faniily having been founded in Saybrook, Conn., by Thomas Hurlburt, a member of the English colony brought over by Lord Say-and-Seal in 1635. Mr. Hurlburt's paternal grandfather, Heman Hurlburt, was born in Arlington, Vt., February 25, 1773, and moved with his parents into Canada at or soon after the close of the Revo- lution. It is said that his father was a Loyalist and lost his property through his adherence to to the crown. They settled on the banks of the St. Lawrence river, opposite Ogdensburg, and near the town of Prescott. He married Hannah Mosier, whose mother, an Allen, was a near relative of the famous Ethan Allen. At his death he had lived with his wife fifty-five years. Four- teen of his children, twelve sons and two daugh- ters, lived to maturity, and of these four were ministers of the Gospel and two were lawyers.

210

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

He was a thrifty farmer, and gave to each of his sons two hundred acres of land.

Thomas Hurlburt, father of the subject of this sketch, was born near Prescott, Upper Canada ( now Ontario), March 3, 1808. In 1832 he mar- ried Almira B. Adams, who was born in New England, a descendant from the family from which John Quincy Adams sprang. She died in December, 1865, in Toronto. Canada. Thomas Hurlburt was a Methodist minister, and served as a missionary, principally among the Chippewa (Ojibway) Indians from his early manhood until his death, which occurred March 14, 1873, at Lit- tle Current, an Indian mission on the Manitoulin Islands. During the period of his service he traversed and became familiar with the Indian country from Texas to Hudson's Bay. He made a careful study of and compiled a grammar of the Chippewa language, the original manuscript of which is now on file in the Smithsonian Insti- tute in Washington, D. C. He was also much interested in geology, and wrote many articles on the subject. During the '6os he occupied part of his time in editing and printing a newspaper in the Indian language called Petaubun, or the Peep of Day. He was the father of eight children, seven of whom are now living, viz. : John Q. A .; Horace and Frank, both living in eastern Ore- gon; Isabella, in Wyoming; Maria King, in Antelope, Ore .; and Alice and Lucy in Portland.

John Quincy Adams Hurlburt was born De- cember 13, 1833, in Munceytown, an Indian village in Canada West, now Ontario, located on the Thames river about twenty miles below London. From his birth until he was ten years of age lie seldom saw any white people, except his father and mother, and the Indian language was practically his mother-tongue. He could speak it much better than English until he was nearly fifteen years of age. He spoke the Indian tongue without the white man's brogue, which is more than can be said of his English. for until he was nearly grown people who did not under- stand the Indian language thought he had some foreign accent. When very young he was named by the Indians Subunung, which literally trans- lated means "Star Net." that being the Indian name for the Little Dipper.

In 1844 Mr. Hurlburt removed from Canada with his parents to the Indian territory now called Kansas and Oklahoma, going by boat to Chicago, thence by stage to Ottawa, Ill., over a very muddy road, and often for considerable distances without a house or any improvements in sight. From Ottawa he proceeded to St. Louis by hoat. and thence by boat to what was then called West- port Landing, which was then all woodland from the landing clear back to Westport, a distance of nearly seven miles. This section is now within the confines of Kansas City. The eastern

part of what is now called Kansas was then an Indian territory, upon which the government had settled the remnants of various tribes of Indians. These had small villages and did a little farming, but the greater part of the country was an uninhabited rolling prairie. These semi- civilized tribes were a sort of buffet between the settlers in Missouri and the wild and warlike tribes further west. It was only a few days' travel west to where the buffalo were still plenti- ful, and parties of the Kaw or Kansas Indians went every summer on buffalo hunts, and occa- sionally had conflicts with the wilder Indians on the plains. Mr. Hurlburt was present at several genuine Indian war dances, where fresh scalps were exhibited. Most of the Kaw Indians at that time had only bows and arrows, and except the breech-clout, leggins and moccasins were entirely naked ; but they carried well-dressed buffalo hides to serve as blankets. The men generally had the hair cut from their heads, except a small portion about the crown, which was braided and had feathers stuck in it, making it conspicuous, and which said more plainly than words: "Take it if you can." These Indians were exceedingly well developed physically, and had wonderful endurance. They were, as a rule, great thieves, but strictly honest among themselves and with their friends. Mr. Hurlburt spent one summer among the Cherokees, many of whom had large plantations, owned hundreds of negroes and were very wealthy. In many cases they were well educated, and they had a newspaper published in the Cherokee language in Tahlequa. Until he was more than twelve years of age Mr. Hurlburt had never been inside of a school-room though he had already become quite proficient in arith- metic and the ordinary English branches, having been taught principally by his mother. He then attended a school at the Shawnee mission, taught by Professor Scarrett. In 1852 his educational opportunities were broadened by a course of two and a half years at Victoria College (now uni- versity) at Coberg, Ontario, after which he taught school for a winter at Penetanguishine, where he had a very full school, some of his pupils being able to speak English alone, some French and some Indian. But as he could speak the Indian language perfectly, and had some knowledge of French and English, he got along remarkably well, and was popular among all. In the spring of 1855 he bade adieu to his school and joined a surveying party operating on Georgian Bay. Pre- vious to this he had thought to become a sailor, but this experience determined him to take up the business of surveying. Upon the breaking up of the party, late in 1855. he started for Kansas, but on account of an attack of pneumonia he did not get any further than Monroe county, Iowa,

211

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

where he engaged in surveying and served one term as county surveyor.

In August, 1862, Mr. Hurlburt enlisted in the volunteer service for the defense of the Union, and shortly afterwards was mustered in as first sergeant of Company K, Thirty-sixth Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He was mustered out as captain at the close of the war, in August. 1865. During his term of service he participated in several engagements. Except when wounded he was never in the hospital, or rode in an ambu- lance, or failed to go on duty when called upon. He was severely wounded and taken prisoner at Mark's Mills, Ark., April 25, 1864, was paroled shortly after, and with three others was taken by ambulance to Little Rock, Ark., thence home on leave of absence to Albia, Iowa. where he remained abont a month; but as his leave had expired, although his wound was not yet healed, he returned to what was left of the regiment at Little Rock, after which he served as acting regi- mental quartermaster until near the close of the war. His experience was that there was no bitter feeling between the actual soldiers in the field. They had learned to respect each other, could all tell of kindnesses shown them or their com- rades by the soldiers of the other side, and seemed glad of an opportunity to return the kindness. Many of those who participated in his capture had themselves lately been captured at Vicksburg, and were proud to tell how well "the Yanks" had treated them. As an instance to illustrate this feeling: After being taken prisoner Mr. Hurlburt was placed under the shade of a tree. Some of the enemy went into a field and brought him some bundles of rye from which to make a soft bed. To a Confederate captain who stopped to talk with him he spoke of having lost a Macki- naw blanket sent to him from home, and the cap- tain gave him a quilt, all that he had for a bed, which was tied behind his saddle. A woman, an angel in disguise, when she heard the firing, and knew that a battle was in progress, tore up every- thing she had that was made of cotton or linen to serve for bandages for the wounded. She and a negro woman, both on horseback, came every clay with two large baskets filled with pies, cakes and other eatables. One basket she took into a planter's house and gave to the wounded boys in gray ; and then she went around among the negro cabins and divided the contents of the other basket among the wounded boys in blue, many of whom had but a short time to live. Generally on handing something to them she would say in pleading tones : "Now you won't come and fight we uns any more, will you?" From his conver- sation with the southern soldiers Mr. Hurlburt believes that just at the close of the war, if vol- unteers had heen called for to drive the French out of Mexico, a large majority of the southern

troops would have enlisted, and that they would have been proud to fight under the Stars and Stripes, which they still loved, although for a time fighting against them.

After the close of the war Mr. Hurlburt returned to Monroe county, Iowa, and soon after- ward obtained employment in the civil engineer- ing department of the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad, continuing in their employ until 1870, when he came to Oregon to assist in the surveying of the Oregon & California Railroad. In this work he remained until its discontinuance in 1873, and during this time he explored the larger part of the mountains of southern Oregon looking for railroad routes. He also did consider- able work for the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company and the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, in charge of locating parties, and has been engaged on several contracts for surveying public lands for the government. He is now probably the oldest surveyor in Portland. In 1898 he was elected county surveyor on the Republican ticket, and was re-elected in 1900 and 1902, each time receiving a majority of nearly two to one over his opponent. When he entered the army he and over two-thirds of his company were Douglas Democrats. At the second election of Lincoln all but two or three of the votes in the company were cast for Lincoln; and having once turned Republican, he, as well as most of the others, have remained loyal to the party. He is a member of Fairview Lodge No. 92, A. F. & A. M., of which he is past master. His mem- bership was originally in Albia Lodge No. 76, of Albia, Iowa.

In Iowa. June 4. 1857, Mr. Hurlburt was united in marriage with Mary Adams, a native of Indiana and a descendant from an old Vir- ginia family of that name. Of this union there were born nine children, three of whom died when young. Those living are: Thomas, formerly county surveyor and city surveyor of Portland, now examiner of government surveys ; Deady, a barber in Portland: John and George, both be- ginning the practice of surveying in and about Portland ; Mrs. Isabella Sill, of Spokane, Wash .; and Dottie, wife of Waldemar Seton, a lawyer, lately elected justice of the peace for East Portland.

FREDERICK EMILY. Varions occupations in different parts of the United States engaged the attention of Frederick Emily previous to the establishment of his agricultural enterprise in Multnomah county in 1875. Born near Marion, Ohio, July 12, 1847, he was reared on a farm, and had the usual early duties to per- form, interspersed with the diversions and schooling which fell to the lot of his neighbor-

212

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

hood companions. When thirteen years old he hired out to a farmer in another part of the state, but at the end of two years returned to the parental farm, where he was busily engaged at the breaking out of the Civil war.

June 4, 1862, Mr. Emily enlisted as a private in Company G, Eighty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Under command of Gen. Joe Hooker he was sent to Camp Chase, and was employed at guarding prisoners and bounty jumpers for a couple of years. In July, 1865, he was released from the service, and that same summer went to Fort Scott, Kans., to live with his grand- mother. In the fall of the same year he removed to Kansas City, Kans., and soon afterward to Lawrence, the same state. On the Delaware Reservation he found employment at cutting wood until the spring of 1866, and during that summer cut railroad ties for the Union Pacific Railroad Company. For the following eighteen monthis he fulfilled a contract for cutting saw logs, and in 1867 was united in marriage with M. J. Esson, a native of Canada. Thereafter Mr. Emily worked in a saw-mill for about three months, after which he bought a span of mules, with which he removed to a farm in Newton county, Mo., purchased from a rebel by his step- father. In time he became the owner of eighty acres of land partially improved, upon which he lived for six years, or until 1875, in which year he left his family behind and started over- land to investigate the prospects in Oregon. Upon arriving in the Mecca of his desires his available assets consisted of $6, a healthy body, and unquestioned determination, strengthened by his joy at finding so many visible means of support available to the industrious and capable. For a time he sought to add to his $6 by cutting wood and driving a team, and after collecting a month's salary departed with a friend from Mis- souri to look over desirable farming lands. July 4, 1875, he located his present farm, and homesteaded it during the winters of 1875-76. His family having joined him in 1876, he built a log cabin in which to house them, and this continued to be their residence until the con- struction of the present home. To the original property, which was heavily wooded, Mr. Emily added forty acres, and at the present time is the owner of eighty acres, fifty-five of which have been cleared, and are utilized for general farming purposes. Fruit constitutes a consid- erable revenue on this well-developed property, and eight hundred prune trees are among the most successful bearers on the place. In keep- ing with his broad-minded efforts in his chosen occupation is the place which Mr. Emily occu- pies in the general community, where he is noted for his progressive views and sincere desire to further the general welfare. A Republican in

politics, he has materially aided in the improve- ment of the county as road supervisor, in addi- tion to which he has held several minor local offices. He is associated with the M. A. Ross Post, G. A. R., at Pleasant Home, and with the Independent Order Odd Fellows.

Mr. and Mrs. Emily have become the parents of the following children : Carrie, who married George Gill, and resides near Latourell Falls ; Glenora, who married J. Vandever, of Trout- dale ; Olla, the wife of Edward Woodward, also of Troutdale; Allen, who resides at home ; Fred, of Washington; Roy, also of Washington; Joel, attending college at Corvallis; and Constance, at home.

HENRY FLECKENSTEIN. In the historic city of Worms, in the province of Rhein-Hessen, on the river Rhine, Germany, Henry Flecken- stein, one of the substantial citizens of Portland, was born September 14, 1838. In the shadow of the Dom or cathedral, with its ten towers, and externally one of the finest Romanesque ecclesi- astical structures in the world, Daniel Flecken- stein, the father of Henry, conducted his busi- ness enterprise during his active life; and the youth came and went to the public schools, and engaged in his pastimes in the ancient streets bustling with activity long before the coming of the Romans, which were sacked by the French in 1689, and where the diet of Maximilian was convened in 1495, and that of Luther in 1521.

Among the occupations to which Worms owes much of its continued prosperity is that of brew- ing and wine making, inspired no doubt by the grape raising possibilities of Rhenish Germany.

It was not surprising, therefore, that Henry Fleckenstein, third oldest of his father's nine children, and the only one in America, should have turned his attention to a mastery of the brewing business, at which he was apprenticed at the age of sixteen. Having heard much of the larger chances to be found in the United States, the young man came to New York in 1860, the sailing vessel in which he embarked landing on this side after thirty-five days' con- test with wind and calm. Until 1863 he worked at his trade in St. Louis, also a brewing head- quarters, and in May of the same year em- barked at New York for Aspinwall, from where he crossed the Isthmus, and proceeded by steamer to San Francisco. After a year at his trade in the coast city he went to the Sandwich Islands, intending to start in business, but owing to his inability to secure a license, was compelled to work for others similarly employed. After a thorough test of the prevailing conditions on the islands he found that his health was im- paired and that a change of climate was impera-

215

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIIICAL RECORD.

tive. Returning to San Francisco, he came at the end of a month to Portland, where he was employed for a year or more in the Weinhard brewery as a foreman, after which he started a bottling works in the fall of 1866. One year later was inaugurated the wholesale liquor busi- ness in which he has since been engaged. From that time until September, 1876, he was alone in the business. He then sold one-half interest to S. J. Meyers and this partnership continued until March 4, 1902, when Mr. Fleckenstein dis- posed of his interest to Mr. Meyers. He then opened his present store under the style of Henry Fleckenstein & Co., on April Ist of the same year. This venture has proved a success and Mr. Fleckenstein is now supplying a con- stantly increasing trade in this and other states.

In Portland Mr. Fleckenstein was united in marriage with Christine Wittmann, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, and daughter of Nicholas Wittmann, who came to Oregon in 1865, and died in the state of his adoption. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Fleckenstein, of whom Henry F. and B. F. are in business with their father; Amelia is now Mrs. Adams ; and Ella is living at home. Great credit is due Mr. Fleckenstein for his practical interest in the development of the park system of Portland, and as a member of the park commissioners he has vastly contributed to the good work under- taken by this body. He has filled a number of political offices in Portland, among them being that of councilman of the fifth ward for one term. Socially and fraternally he is well known, being identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Commercial Club.

HON. M. A. FLINN, M. D. While his pro- fessional interests and public services have en- grossed Dr. Flinn's attention to a great degree, they have not done so to the exclusion of mat- ters historical or of general interest, and we find him identified with many interests which natural- ly would engage the attention of the historian or scientist-and particularly with reference to the pioneer history of Oregon. He has, at various times, contributed to the historical literature of the state by the preparation of articles on early incidents of historic interest. Among these con- tributions which created the most widespread in- terest were one on the Whitman massacre, and on the pioneer physicians of Oregon, practically all of whom were living at the time Dr. Flinn first located in the state for practice. To his discovery, about 1866, we owe the present knowl- edge of the fossil bed in the John Day country,

Bridge Creek valley, which is said to be the richest bed of its kind in the world. This re- markable deposit came under his observation while he was prospecting at the time he was also a medical student, and he at once notified Professor Condon concerning the matter and asked him to make a personal inspection of the bed. Shortly after this he discovered the process necessary to make arrow heads, which is accom- plished by pressing a piece of bone against the sharp edge of the obsidian or flint, thus chipping it off, which results in an arrow head similar to those found in old Indian collections.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Portrait and biographical record of Portland and vicinity, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 27

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