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 38
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126
For three years he was associated with Hon. John Catlin as a partner and for ten years was a member of the firm of Dolph, Bronaugh. Dolph & Simon. In 1882, owing to failing health, he removed with his family to St. Clair county, Cal., where he remained for two years. On his return to Portland he became a partner in the law firm of Whalley, Bronaugh & Northup. The senior member of this firm re- tired in 1889, and from that time until the death of Mr. Bronaugh, the style of the firm was Bronaugh & Northup.
At a meeting of the members of the Portland bar soon after the death of Mr. Bronangh there was a large attendance and many of the leading attorneys of the city delivered a number of scholarly and eloquent orations. It was said at the time there was never before a like meeting where so many sincere and able addresses were given. The committee on resolutions, in addition to a sketch of his life, presented the following enlogy, which was adopted by the meeting :
" As a lawyer. Judge Bronaugh had few if any superiors at the Oregon bar. Some might excel him in eloquence, others in powers for skillful cross examination, but no one in the knowledge of the law or accuracy of statement. No case intrusted to him was lost through his want of care, research or ability. It has been said of him that no man could make a better record in a cause for appeal to the supreme court, and no lawyer saw the controlling ques- tions in a case with more clearness than he. Before a jury he was an exceedingly dangerous antagonist. Always in earnest himself in what he did, he never failed to impress those whom he addressed with the sincerity of his views. Persuasive in speech, logical and forceful in ar- gument, with a play often of quiet and grace- ful humor and gentle wit, of which he used to please and not to wound. it was not surprising that he should have been a great verdict winner. Those whom he vanquished in forensic contest never felt the sting of their defeat intensified by any boasting on his part or the detraction of the abilities or conduct of his adversary. In defeat he was always calm, courteous and
John Fi leaples
291
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
brave; fertile in resources but fair in action. It is not the language of mortuary panegyric, but the plain simple truth, which everyone in the community in which for thirty years he has lived and labored, will attest, to say of him that his name was the synonym of uprightness and honor, and that he was in the estimation of everyone, whether client or adversary, esteemed and respected as an honest man.
" Priceless indeed is that legacy of a good and honored name that he bequeathed to his family which he loved so well, and for whom he so cheerfully labored. He was a devoted hus- band and father ; a kind and generous neighbor ; a plain and simple gentleman of the old school; unaffected in manner, speech and dress; sin- cerely devoted to his profession and unmindful of the strife and contentions of public life. He did not mingle much in public, was retiring and modest, and preferred the quiet home, the grave decorum of the court room, and the desk and library of his office. He was a man of strong religious convictions, and deeply sensible of the sufferings of the human race. The loss of seven children in their childhood and youth gave a touch of sorrow to his face, and the gravity of life and its issues made a profound impression upon his whole career. And yet he was a most hopeful man in the promises of the faith he pro- fessed. The hope of a simple, sincere Christi- anity animated his life and efforts. To him this life was but a preparation for that to come. It was therefore doubly earnest to him, for as Long- fellow wrote, he felt-
' Life is real, life is earnest, And the grave is not its goal ; Dust thou art, to dust returneth Was not spoken of the soul.
" Although his star of life is no longer seen, yet it has set as sets the morning star in beauty, which goes not down behind the darkened clouds of the west, but melts away in the pure radiance of Heaven. Let us emulate his virtues and fol- low his example."
Mr. Bronaugh had a deep and abiding faith in the cardinal principles of the Christian re- ligion. Though reared in the Presbyterian faith, later in life he identified himself with the Christian Adventist denomination, and became an earnest worker in the cause. He was a man of unsullied reputation, pure minded. generous hearted, and always adhering strictly to the prin- ciples which he laid down for his self-govern- ment, when, as a thoughtful and reasoning creature, he first decided to champion the cause of the Master of the hearts and lives of men. He contributed liberally of his means for the furtherance of the Gospel, and his benevolence
aside from church work was numerous, though very quietly conducted. The ethical system as- sociated with the church was carried by him into his daily life, and in Masonry, in which he took an earnest and active interest, he found the fellow of the church. The time he had to spare from the practice of his profession was devoted to the study of the Bible; it was his recreation, and many of the Biblical articles from his pen have been published in different sections of the country.
HON. JOHN F. CAPLES. The descendant of a family identified for many years with the jurisprudence of Ohio, with the founding of at least one of the towns of that state, and with the maintenance of its agricultural prestige, the career of Hon. John F. Caples has naturally been founded on broad and liberal lines, and with a view to large accomplishment. He was born at what is now Ashland county, Ohio, January 12, 1832, and is the youngest of the eight sons and two daughters born to Judge Robert Francis and Charlotte ( Laffer) Caples, natives respectively of Westmoreland and Allegheny counties, Pa. The paternal grandfather Caples was of Eng- lish descent, and was an early settler in Penn- sylvania.
Judge Robert Francis Caples became identified with Wayne county at a very early day, where he engaged in farming and was associate judge of the county courts. In time he removed to within fourteen miles of Tiffin, Seneca county, Ohio, where he entered, cleared and improved the land upon which the town of Risdon was built, and of which he was one of the proprietors. The near- by town of Rome, of which Mr. Foster was pro- prietor, was eventually incorporated with Risdon, under the name of Fostoria. Judge Caples studied law in his youth and was admitted to the bar, in after life becoming known for his equit- ahle rulings and wise disposition of legal com- plications. His death occurred in 1835 of chol- era. His wife was of German descent, and a daughter of John Laffer, a pioneer of Allegheny county, Pa., who followed the martial fortunes of Washington during the Revolutionary war, under command of General Wayne. Mrs. Caples died in Ohio in 1852, having survived her hus- band seventeen years. Three of her large family are living, and of these Henry L., a resident of Vancouver. an attorney, and ex-member of the Washington legislature, came to the coast in 1852.
The education of Hon. John F. Caples was ac- quired in Risdon, now Fostoria, Ohio, and at the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, which latter institution he attended for four years. His legal training was inaugurated with the firm of Stanton & Allison, of Bellefontaine, Logan
292
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
county, Ohio, and he was subsequently admitted to the bar of Logan county in 1853. In 1855 he transferred his law practice to Findlay, Ohio, and later to Warsaw, Ind., and after returning to Ohio entered the government recruiting service in northwest Ohio and northern Indiana. In 1865 he brought his family to the coast via the Isthmus, San Francisco and to Vancouver, Wash .. in which latter city he engaged in practice and served as city attorney. A year later, in 1866, he located in Portland, and in 1872 was elected to the legislature from Multnomah county, was chairman of the judiciary committee, and assisted in the election of Mr. Mitchell to his first term in the United States senate. In 1878 he was elected district attorney, his territory compris- ing Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Colum- bia and Clatsop counties, a responsibility main- tained by Mr. Caples for six years in succession, an honor hitherto accorded to no district attorney in the state. In 1897 Mr. Caples was appointed United States consul to Valparaiso, Chili, by President McKinley, and while holding this im- portant post had opportunity to exercise the dip- lomacy and tact which have been important factors in the formation of his success, and which were especially required because of the compli- cations resulting from the Spanish-American war. Mr. Caples resigned the consulship in 1901, and thereafter returned to Portland, where he has since engaged in a general practice of law.
In Champaign county, Ohio, Mr. Caples mar- ried Sarah J. Morrison, in 1854, Mrs. Caples hav- ing been born in Ohio, and her death occurred in California in 1877. Six children were born of this union : Carrie, wife of Dr. W. H. Saylor, of Portland; Mrs. Matthieu, of Portland; Mrs. Paget, of Portland; Mrs. Anthony, of Califor- nia ; Robert A., a newspaper man of Vinita, I. T .; and Jennie, living at home. Mr. Caples is a member of the State Bar Association and of the Board of Trade. Fraternally he is associated with Portland Lodge No. 55, A. F. & A. M., the Consistory and the thirty-second degree of Scot- tish Rite; and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. As a stanch upholder of Republican- ism he has enrolled himself among the western politicians in the broadest sense of that much abused term, and aside from the honors before mentioned, served as presidential elector of Ore- gon in 1892. and was the messenger who conveved the vote to Washington. In 1896 he served in a similar capacity for President Mckinley. Back in Ohio Mr. Caples was a delegate to the Ohio state convention at Columbus in 1856, and he was present at the Chicago nomination of Abraham Lincoln. As an orator, eloquent and effective platform speaker, and general trial lawyer, Mr. Caples is excelled by few, if any, on the Pacific coast, and within the state of Oregon no one is
personally known to more people than he. He is a member of the Taylor Street Methodist Episco- pal Church, a member of the board of trustees, and chairman of the same for many years.
HON. JAMES WILLIS NESMITH. The name which heads this review is one written high in the annals of Oregon's history, and stands for the life of a man whose influence still makes itself felt throughout various circles in the life of the west. Beyond the borders of the state which Colonel Nesmith made his by the life and work of a pioneer, has also gone that broad- ening influence, for he became one of the prom- inent men of the national government during the trying times of '61, and gave the strength of his intellect and manhood toward the support of those principles, upon which the foundation of the Union rests. True, always, to his princi- ples of honor, loyal to that which claimed his allegiance, and earnest in the prosecution of whatever duty came into his hands, Colonel Nes- mith won the esteem and confidence of all with whom he came in contact, friend and foe alike trusting him, for in his social, business and polit- ical relations, in public and private life, his career was free from the stain of dishonesty. Oregon is justly proud to claim him as a repre- sentative son.
The life of Hon. James Willis Nesmith began in New Brunswick, in 1820, while his parents, William Morrison and Harriet ( Willis) Nesmith, were visiting in the north. Both the father and mother of Colonel Nesmith were representatives of old and distinguished families, on the pater- nal side inheriting the sturdy qualities of Scotch- Irish ancestry. After their marriage in 1814 the young people took up their abode in Maine, where they remained until the death of the mother, which occurred while the colonel was still an infant. When this son was five years okdl, the father lost his entire fortune by fire, and was thus prevented from giving to his children those advantages which would otherwise have been theirs. Though deprived of the reg- ular training of school. Colonel Nesmith did much studying, as he had a natural inclination for books, and had also a keen observation, which enabled him to pick up a great deal of valuable knowledge as he grew older and found more association with the outside world. Like many another eastern-bred youth, he felt a strong de- sire to test his ability in a pioneer life, and he was not old when he came as far west as Ohio, and in company with his cousin. Joseph G. Wil- son, late member of Congress from Oregon, attended the district school near Cincinnati. A little later he came to Missouri, and was joined by his father, who died and was buried there.
293
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
After the death of the elder man the younger had left no ties to bind him to the east, and he at once sought to join a company bound for the trip across the plains. He failed to join the party lie sought, but became, instead, a member of the Applegate party, who crossed in 1843. Locating in Oregon City, he followed out the suggestion of Peter Burnett, who was also one of the party that crossed the plains in 1843, and began the study of law. With that application which ever distinguished his efforts, the colonel soon became familiar with the common sense idea of jurisprudence contained in the few books which came into his possession, and two years later qualified to fill the office of judge under the provisional government.
Always a stanch Democrat, it required no small degree of courage for Colonel Nesmith to ally himself on the side of another party and plat- form, as he was compelled to do, at the time of the breaking out of the Civil war. Many of those who had always been his friends, Demo- crats in politics, gave their support to the south- ern cause, while his ideas of honor and his deep- rooted convictions made the colonel a stanch Unionist. He was not an abolitionist, nor in sympathy with the anti-slavery agitation, and it was because of this that his friends expected him to join them in their espousal of the south- ern cause. He did not, however ; he stood apart from the regular party ranks, and in 1860 accepted a position as elector on the Douglas ticket. He was elected through the votes of the Douglas Democrats and the Republicans, the latter having entire confidence in the integrity and the worth of the man selected to fill the position. He therefore became senator to fill the place left vacant by General Lane, for many years a warm personal friend of the colonel's. and who accepted the place of vice president on the old Democratic ticket with Breckinridge. Whatever trials and difficulties arose during the time in which Colonel Nesmith served as senator were met with that same courage, that frank, fearless honor, but masterly will and intellect, which contributed so largely to the personal suc- cess of the man. It was not an easy position to fill, and a man less worthy in any way would have failed in the discharge of duties. Until the close of the war he upheld national authority and be- came a trusted adviser of President Lincoln. After its close, however, he vigorously opposed the re- construction measures of the Republican party, and was ever afterward identified with the Demo- cratic party. Upon his return to Oregon he be- came a leader in that party, and in 1873 was elected to fill the vacancy in Congress caused by the death of his cousin, Joseph G. Wilson.
Colonel Nesmith was never too busy in the pur- suit of his profession, or his own aggrandizement
in any way, to neglect his duty as a citizen and a pioneer in the western state. He was one of the number who fought in the Cayuse war in 1848 to avenge the death of Whitman, and again in 1855 he served with distinction in the Rogue river and Yakima wars, earning there the title by which he has ever been known, that of colonel. In 1857 he was appointed superin- tendent of Indian affairs, and served for two years, in a position of great responsibility, cov- ering a field which included Oregon, Washing- ton and Idaho. He also served at one time as United States marshal at Salem, and became a member of the state legislature, meeting every duty promptly, and as promptly fulfilling it. This most admirable trait was that which won the commendation of those who had the interests of Oregon at heart, and meant to intrust them only to men who possessed the courage, honesty and earnestness of purpose to carry forward the great plan which was to make her one of the first of the states.
In 1846 Colonel Nesmith was united in mar- riage with Pauline Goff, whose father was a pioneer of 1844, and she bore him the following children : Joseph Lane, Mary J., Harriet. Va- lena, James and William. The death of the colonel occurred in 1885. Thus passed away from mortal sight one of the men to whom Ore- gon owes her greatness; but memory survives the lapse of time, and his name loses none of the luster which attaches to it as that of a pioneer. a courageous, loyal. worthy man and gentleman.
BLUFORD D. SIGLER. In the business ca- reer of Blufora D. Sigler, the young man of the present generation may find a source of inspira- tion and encouragement. Coming to Portland when that city was at the zenith of its era of early commercial development, he was still a very young man when he decided to establish himself independently in business. But the northwest, with its boundless resources, is a country of young men, and here Mr. Sigler found abundant opportunity to build the founda- tions of a business which is amply rewarding his laborious and well-considered efforts.
Mr. Sigler was born in Georgetown, Vermil- ion county, Ill., November 27, 1866. His fam- ily was founded in Illinois by his paternal grand- father, John Sigler, a native of Pennsylvania, who became one of the earliest pioneer farmers of Vermilion county. His son, Samuel W. Sig- ler, father of B. D., was born in Illinois, and was reared and educated in that state. Upon the outbreak of the Civil war he left his farm to take up arms in the defense of the Union, and served as a private in Company C, Seventy-
294
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
third Illinois Volunteer Infantry. His active service continued until the close of hostilities. He married Deborah Smith, a native of Ver- milion county and a daughter of Jefferson Smith, an extensive farmer and an early settler of Illinois. In 1870 Mr. Sigler moved with his family to Medoc, Jasper county, Mo., and en- gaged in a general merchandise business, which he disposed of five years later in order to take up his residence in Dayton, Ore., where he es- tablished a similar business. In 1883 he re- moved to Portland and conducted a feed business until 1898, but in that year returned to Dayton, where he now resides.
The only child in his father's family, B. D. Sigler received his education in the public schools of Illinois and Missouri, concluding his studies in the high school of Portland, to which city he removed with his parents in 1883. In his boyhood he had become familiar with the mercantile business, having been educated along these lines by his father, and in 1886 became a clerk in a store in Mount Tabor. At the expir- ation of two years he became identified with the sawmill business of Smith Brothers & Company, whose works were located at the foot of Harri- son street. In 1897, in company with Samuel E. Wrenn and W. V. Smith, he organized the Multnomah Box Manutacturing Company, which succeeded to the business of the Multnomah Box Company. This enterprise proved highly suc- cessful, and at the end of three years was dis- posed of at advantageous terms. The whole- sale feed business next engaged the attention of Mr. Sigler, who organized the Sigler Milling Company in 1901, with himself as secretary and manager. The concern conducts an extensive and constantly increasing trade in flour, feed, lime, land, plaster, and shingles, besides doing a general commission business. A. T. Smith is president, and A. J. McDaniel vice-president. The business is located on the corner of Front and Madison streets, occupying a building 30x 75 feet, and containing four floors.
Aside from the enterprises with which he is identified in Portland, Mr. Sigler has taken a wholesome interest in politics, the Republican party receiving his stanch and unqualified sup- port. In 1902 he was nominated for council- man for the sixth ward, and elected by a major- ity of one hundred and twenty-five. In the council he is a member of the committees on ac- counts and current expenses. sewers and drain- age. and parks and public property; and is chairman of the committees on liquor license, and on health and police. He is a life member of the Multnomah Amateur Athletic Club, of which he served as secretary for one year; and is now vice-president of the same and a member
of the Commercial Club. His marriage, which occurred in Portland united him with Veina E. Adair, a graduate of the University of Oregon, whose parents came to this state in the early '50s.
REUBEN DANNALS, one of the pioneers of Clackamas county, was born in Greene county, Ohio, October 23, 1829, and is the second oldest son of the four sons and five daughters born to Reuben and Hannah (Wyckel) Dannals, natives respectively of Pennsylvania and the east.
From his native county of Bedford. Pa., the elder Reuben Dannals removed with his parents to Ohio, and later to Illinois and lowa, coming to Oregon in 1865. Settling in Linn county. he farmed for several years, but at the time of his death, in 1883, at the age of eighty-two years. was living a retired life. All of the children of the family were obliged to work hard from early morning until late at night, and Reuben per- formed his share with willing heart and capable hand. As might be expected. he had little time for either leisure or study, and his education has been a matter of his own acquiring during later years. He was one of the most enthusiastic of the little band who crossed the plains in search of larger opportunities. Although there were eighteen wagons from their own neighborhood in Iowa, the Indians were so very troublesome that they were obliged to fall in with a freight train for protection during the most dangerous part of the journey. Three ponies were stolen during the dawn of one morning, and they had many other experiences which added zest and interest to the journey.
When the family arrived in Clackamas county Mr. Dannals bought, on his own responsibility. one hundred and forty-two and one-half acres of land, a part of which he soon after sold, and at present his possessions consist of eighty of the original acres. besides one hundred and sixty acres at Highland. this state. He is engaged in general farming and stock-raising, and has met with great success in his chosen occupation. With him across the plains came the wife of Mr. Dannals, formerly Hannah Colson, who was born in Ohio, and whom he married in lowa. Three children have been born into the family of Mr. and Mrs. Dannals, of whom Charlotta is the oldest : Hiram is the second child and only son ; and Minnie is the youngest. Mr. Dannals is a Democrat in politics and is fraternally associated with the Grangers. He enjoys the respect and good will of all who know him, and his integrity and public spiritedness have never been ques- tioned.
297
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
GEORGE M. STROUD. Of an ancestry which gave to him the strong characteristics of the colonial settlers George M. Stroud brought with him into his western home a surety of suc- cess which has numbered him among those men who made the greatness of Oregon, while build- ing for himself the competence which the world owes every man. Though much of his western career was passed in other than the city of Port- land it is here that men came to know him best as it was his last earthly home. and that wherein, surrounded by the comforts which demonstrated the industry and thrift of his active years, he passed the evening of his days. Mr. Stroud is, perhaps best known among the railroad men of the state, for it was he who had charge of the first train which minimized the distance of Ore- gon fields and forests, and in this occupation he was a notable figure for many years. In addition to this, he was one of the most prominent men in the Masonic order, and for some time was con- nected officially with the same in a wide canvass of the state to instruct the members of the va- rious lodges. from which position he was forced to resign on account of his health. His death followed within a few years of his retirement, April 4, 1898, witnessing the passing away of one of the helpful men of the state, who, though beyond mortal eyes, is not lost sight of as a pillar in the first formation of the western common- wealth. A brief review of his life is given in memory of what he became in the history of his adopted state.
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.