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 44
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Professor McCann received his education in the public schools, graduating from the high school of Fairfield, Ind., in 1875. For three months he taught school in his native state, and thereafter removed with his father to Kansas, where he engaged in educational work for eight out of ten years. In 1899 he removed to Walla Walla, Wash., and taught in one of the schools of the suburbs for three years, later teaching for the same length of time in a graded school of Sieber. In 1895 he located for six months in Los Angeles, going then to the Willamette val- ley, where in 1896 he entered upon five years of service as principal of the North Yamhill public school. In 1891 Mr. McCann became identified with Parkplace as principal of the pub- lic schools, a position still maintained by him with exceptional credit. Recently he has pur- chased a home in the town, and has become a recognized factor in its best development.
In Kansas Professor McCann was united in marriage with Lina G. Reeves, a native of Can- ton. Ill., and daughter of Ephraim Reeves, the latter of whom was born in Ohio, and died in Illinois. Having no children of their own, two children have been adopted by Professor and
J & Risley
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Mrs. McCann, of whom Hattie is the wife of J. D. Nesbitt, a farmer of Ashcroft, B. C .; and Lillie Lauretta is living at home. Professor McCann is a Democrat in political affiliation, and is fraternally associated with the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows and the Ancient Order of United Workmen, of which he is past grand.
JACOB S. RISLEY. A native of Ohio, Ja- cob S. Risley was born in Delphos, December 1, 1832, and was a son of Orville Risley, the latter a Pennsylvanian, who accompanied his parents to Ohio, and in 1845 came to Oregon, settling at what is now St. Joseph, where he remained for two years. In 1848 he took up a donation claim, but this he later traded for the present home- stead of three hundred and twenty acres. In addition to his country place he owned a home in Portland, at the corner of Seventh and Mor- rison streets, which is still in the possession of the family. While superintending his farm inter- ests he found the time to engage in other enter- prises and for a number of years was city re- corder of Portland. Among the hotel men of the west he was well known, chiefly through his supervision of such hotels as the International and Occidental. For that time he was a wealthy man and was recognized as one of the leading citizens of the city. His death occurred in 1874.
During the period that his children were at- tending school, Jacob S. Risley made his home in Portland, but in 1873 settled on his country es- state and here he continued to live up to the time of his death, which occurred June 23, 1902. Largely through his assiduous labors the home place was brought to its present degree of culti- vation and improvement, and it was the pride of his latter years to make it one of the beautiful country homes of Oregon. He married Mary Scholl. a native of Illinois, and a daughter of Peter Scholl, a farmer who took up a donation claim in Washington county, Ore. This he im- proved and placed under cultivation and here he lived for many years, but the last years of his life were spent in the city of Portland, where he was living at the time of his death in the early '70s, at the age of about seventy-five years.
As a result of the marriage of Jacob Risley and Mary Scholl seven children were born, of whom three are living: Charles W. is a farmer of Clackamas county, living near the homestead farm; John F. resides on the home farm and in addition to his work as administrator of his father's estate has varied interests of his own, and all in all is one of the persevering and capa- ble business men of Clackamas county. On the home place there are three hundred and twenty acres, of which all but one hundred have been
brought under improvement and cultivation. The land is devoted to various cereals and vegetables. A large tract is in hay, of which he averages two hundred and fifty tons per year ; twenty-five acres are under potatoes and eighteen acres are in hops, the latter industry being further enhanced in value by the use of a hop kiln, which he has on the place. As yet the estate has not been divided, but is being capably handled by the administra- tor. There are few properties in Oregon more valuable than this and by people in the county it is said to be the finest estate on the east side of the Willamette river between Oregon City and Portland. Everything for the convenience of the farmer is to be found there, including a commod- ious residence, substantial barns, large granaries and other buildings. Mr. Risley was united in marriage with Miss Ella J. Boehlke, a native of Michigan, and by her has a son, Victor S., who is with them on the home farm. Mary A., the youngest of the family of Jacob and Mary Risley, is the wife of H. G. Starkweather, who is a teacher in the Clackamas county schools.
Jacob S. Risley held an enviable position among the citizens of his adopted state and county. His life was a success, but while he was able to ac- cumulate a comfortable competence, he was never known to refuse the aid of a helping hand to those who were deserving. At all times he was ready and willing to do all in his power to further any movement that was calculated to be of benefit to his county or state. He was broad minded and was constantly increasing his store of knowledge by reading and observation. To know him was to be his friend, as he was a courteous, kindly gentleman. He never had a desire for public life, preferring rather to devote his entire time to the attention of his own business inter- ests and when the labors of the day were over he found his greatest enjoyment with his fam- ily, where he was known as a loving husband and an affectionate father. The large attendance of friends and neighbors at the funeral showed plainly the high esteem in which he was held by those who knew him. As a farmer he was known as one of the most progressive in the state and his place showed the care and labor expended upon it. He was a fine citizen and now that he has departed this life nothing but his memory remains, but that memory is one that will remain bright for many years. It can be truly said that the world is better for having known him. His life was full of virtue and of much that is well worthy of emulation.
CHARLES E. GEIGER, M. D., has spent a large part of his life in Oregon and therefore needs no introduction to the readers of this vol- ume. He is widely and favorably known both
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as a citizen and a physician, and is now success- fully practicing in Forest Grove. His birth oc- curred on the farm near Forest Grove, March 20, 1853, a son of Dr. William Geiger, Jr., who was born in Angelica, N. Y., in 1816. His father, a native of Germany, came to America at the age of sixteen years, locating in New York, whence he afterward removed to Michi- gan and later went to Kansas, where he died at the advanced age of ninety-three years, while his wife was eighty-five years of age at the time of her demise.
Dr. Geiger, the father of our subject, was reared in the Empire state and in Michigan and began preparing for missionary work in Quincy, Ill., where he remained for a year. He then went to Missouri, where he engaged in teach- ing school, and in 1839 he came to Oregon. It was his intention to make the trip sooner, but he found that before that time he could not meet the American Fur Company's men, which were to pilot him through. By pack horses, in 1839, he proceeded rapidly from Independence, Mo., to eastern Oregon, and under the direction of Dr. Whitman he took up the study of medi- cine, continuing his reading with that physician until the spring of 1840, when he came to the Willamette valley, settling in Washington county. Later he decided to go to San Fran- cisco, Cal., but it was necessary that he should go first to the Sandwich Islands in order to secure a passport which would enable him to land in California. He made the journey across the Pacific waters in a sailing vessel and for a year he remained in the Sandwich Islands, there engaging in teaching. Having secured his passport in February, 1841, he arrived in San Francisco in due season, and from that point started to return east by the over- land route, planning to travel with mule teams. He took with him provisions for ten days, ex- pecting there would be plenty of buffaloes by that time to replenish his food supply, but the party reached the desert where it was impos- sible to obtain buffalo meat, and for three days Dr. Geiger had no food. He then caught a sand hill crane, which was killed and eaten, and after about twenty days of travel he could se- cure the meat of buffaloes and antelopes, but he learned that the Indians were numerous on the plains and decided to return to Oregon.
Carrying out this resolution the doctor se- cured a donation claim at Salem, but afterward gave it up to the Salem Methodist Episcopal Church, who wanted it for their mission. Later he secured a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres, south of what is now Cornelius. He was married in this state in 1847 and then engaged in farming, and he further continued the study of the homeopathic system of medi-
cine under Dr. W. N. Griswold, beginning prac- tice at Forest Grove in 1864. He continued in active practice until eighty years of age, when he retired to private life, his death occurring in Forest Grove, June 16, 1901. In the mean- time, however, in 1848, he had made an over- land trip to the gold mines of California, and through the succeeding winter engaged in placer mining with success, taking out $5,000. He served as county clerk of Washington county for a year while Oregon was still a territory and was afterward county surveyor for several years, having excellent ability in that line. He surveyed and laid out Forest Grove and the Buxton cemetery and from the time of his first arrival in the northwest he was not only a wit- ness of the wonderful development of this sec- tion of the country, but bore an important part in its upbuilding and went through all the hard- ships and many of the exciting experiences of frontier life. In the practice of medicine his labors were particularly beneficial to his fellow- men and he was an honored member of the State Medical Society of Oregon, of which he served as the president.
Dr. William Geiger was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Cornwall. a southerner by birth, a daughter of Rev. Joseph Cornwall, who was born in the south and was a minister of the Presbyterian Church. He removed to Ar- kansas and in 1846 came to Oregon by the overland route, traveling by way of the Apple- gate cutoff. The party lost their cattle, had some terrible experiences and their supply of provisions becoming exhausted they had to spend the winter in the Umpqua valley, and venison was their chief article of diet. In the spring they came on to Yamhill, where Mr. Cornwall secured a donation claim four miles south of McMinnville. Years afterward, about 1864 or 1865, he went to California and died near Ventura, that state, while his wife died in Eugene. Mrs. Geiger still survives her husband at the age of seventy-five years, and three hun- dred and twenty acres of their original donation claim is still in possession of the family. There were nine children : William C., a farmer of Eastern Oregon; Sarah E., the wife of Captain Magee, of Coos Bay: Charles Edwin, of this review : Millard F .. who was a physician of Forest Grove and died in 1881; F. Lincoln, a farmer of Cornelius: Wolcott W., a resident of Salem, Ore .; Ella, the wife of S. B. Huston, of .Hillsboro: Laura B., now Mrs. Wells, of Forest Grove; and Hubert H., a dentist of Mon- tague, Cal.
Dr. C. E. Geiger was reared in Washington county and pursued his education in the Tnala- tin Academy and the Pacific University. His resolution to become a member of the medical
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fraternity caused him to begin study under the direction of his father and later to enter the St. Louis Homeopathic College, where he re- mained for a year. Later he further read and practiced with his father for eighteen months and in the fall of 1878 he matriculated in Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago, where he was graduated in 1879 with the degree of M. D. He then practiced in Portland through the summer and September I of that year started for Victoria, British Columbia, where he practiced for two years. Returning then to Portland, he remained in general practice in that city from 1881 until 1896, and in August of the latter year he located in Forest Grove to take up his father's practice and the name of Geiger has thus been continuously associated with medical work in this city for many years. Dr. C. E. Geiger was also made administrator of his father's estate which is now almost en- tirely settled. In his profession he displays abil- ity and comprehensive knowledge and success- fully copes with the intricate problems which continually arise in dealing with disease. He owns an interest in the old home and some fine Beaver Dam land.
In Salem Dr. Geiger was married to Miss Alice E. Shirley, who was born in Salem, a daughter of James Shirley, one of the pioneers of Oregon, who traveled across the country in 1847 and settled in the Willamette valley. The doctor and his wife have a daughter, Constance Louise. The parents hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church and are prominent in social circles, the hospitality of the best homes being extended them. The doctor votes with the Republican forces and for three years he has served as a member of the school board, during which time the schools were regraded after the Portland system. Fraternally he is connected with the Odd Fellows Lodge, of which he is a past noble grand and has been a repre- sentative to the grand lodge. He is also con- nected with the Artisans, the Fraternal Brother- hood and the Ancient Order of United Work- men, for which he is medical examiner. He also belongs to the Oregon Pioneer Association and was the vice president of the Oregon State Homeopathic Medical Society. His interest in his profession is deep and sincere and he keeps in touch with the progress and improvement which is continually advancing the medical sci- ence toward perfection.
BENJAMIN F. LINN. In disposing of the opportunities at his command, Benjamin F. Linn, conceded to be one of the most ex- perienced sawmill men in the state of Oregon, has evinced business ability of a high order, and
a knowledge of his complex calling second to none in the west. From ancestors who were among the developers of Pennsylvania he in- herits a sturdiness of purpose and rugged de- termination of incalculable benefit in the unset- tled conditions among which his business life has been passed, traits which were fostered during his early years in the vicinity of Quincy, Ill., where he was born April 15, 1846, a son of Philip and Mahala ( McDannald) Linn, na- tives respectively of Pennsylvania and Ken- tucky.
While a young man Philip Linn removed from Pennsylvania to Kentucky, where he married his first wife, the mother of Benjamin F., and from where he removed to Illinois in 1832. Two years after the death of his wife in 1858, Mr. Linn married again, and in 1865, with his wife and twelve children, started across the plains in a train of about forty wagons. The travelers experienced the usual deprivations and hardships on the way, and more than the usual allowance of dissensions among the members comprising the company. Of the original band but fifteen completed the entire trip in a body. The trip was rendered lamentable for the Linns, for Martha, one of the daughters, and her husband, Jonathan Lownsberry, died on the way, he of consump- tion, and she of mountain fever. Five months and eighteen days after starting out Mr. Linn settled at Eagle Creek, Clackamas county, where he bought a section of land in partner- ship with his son, W. T., and built and oper- ated a grist mill, in which business he had formerly engaged in Illinois. In 1889 this hardy pioneer died in the midst of his diverse activities, yet the busy mill is still throwing water over its wheel, and waking the echoes with the hum of its ceaseless unrest. Mr. Linn possessed good business ability, amassed a large property, and secured the respect and liking of all with whom he had to deal.
In his youth Benjamin F. Linn had scant educational chances, a deprivation for which he has more than made up in later years. As a boy of nineteen he drove a four mule team across the plains, and shared in the dangers and privations of the hopeful emigrants. When of age he signalled his independence by rent- ing a sawmill at Milwaukie, Clackamas coun- ty, which he ran for three years, and the fol- lowing two years tried his luck at agricultural enterprises. Not entirely successful, he bought a mill, which burned down in 1899, which he rebuilt with modern innovations, and has since managed with great success and large profit. He owns also a section of land upon which the mill is located, and this is situated two and a half miles from Redland, and seven miles from
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Oregon City. Besides, Mr. Linn owns a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, forty of which are under cultivation ; eighty acres near Ore- gon City, and eighty acres on the Oregon City road. To a certain extent he is interested in farming, but the demand upon his time from his milling interests permits of few out- side enterprises.
In Clackamas county, Ore., Mr. Linn was united in marriage with Susan Noyer, who was born in Texas, a daughter of Peter Noyer, who came from Texas to Oregon in 1852, via the Isthmus. Mr. Noyer took up a donation claim of three hundred and twenty acres of land 'in Clackamas county, where the re- mainder of his life was spent. His wife, how- ever, is still living with her daughter, MIrs. Linn, and is eighty-four years of age. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Linn, viz .: Alfred B .; Frank E .; Timothy W .; James W .; Philip P .; Ernest ; Mildia ; and Hester. Mr. Linn is a Democrat in political preference.
ADAM ANDRE. The name of Adam Andre carries with it an impression of both success and reliability, and of stanch devotion to the general interests of Clackamas county. As a farmer he is enterprising and practical, and as proprietor of the Bull Run Hotel he is an agreeable and tactful host to the traveling public. The postoffice also is under the man- agement of Mr. Andre, who owes his responsi- bility to stanch defense of the Republican party.
A native of Northampton county, Pa., Mr. Andre was born February 19, 1831, and was reared among the practical and character building surroundings of a typical Pennsyl- vania farm. His father, Adam A. Andre, was a farmer for his entire life, and was born, reared, married and died in the state of Penn- sylvania. Until his twenty-first year the son, Adam, lived with his parents, and then learned the trade of carpenter, to which he devoted his energies in his native community for many years. In 1862 he removed to the state of Michigan, and in Calhoun county engaged in farming and stock raising for about seventeen years. Equipped with all this farming and business experience Mr. Andre came to Ore- gon in 1883, and after a time investigating the conditions of Portland, settled in Yamhill county, near McMinnville, where he continued his former occupation. In 1886 he removed to Bull Run, and bought a farm of eighty acres of Jonas Cline. As do all who seek a home in this valley, Mr. Andre was under the neces- sity of clearing his land before he could plant his crops, and at the present time he has ac-
complished the clearing of twenty acres. He has been road supervisor and school director for six years, and in all ways has served the best interests of the community of which he is a valued and influential member. Mr. Andre is identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church.
HIRAM BARKER. A pioneer of Multno- mah county whose career was fraught with much of interest and success, and which con- tained many typically western experiences, was Hiram Barker, who was born in Muskin- gum county, Ohio, New Year's day, 1815, and who died in this county February 4, 1893. When scarcely a year old Mr. Barker was taken by his parents down the river to twenty-
seven miles below St. Louis, where the father bought government land upon which the lad was reared to maturity. His youth was not unlike that of other boys of his neighborhood, his education and diversions being limited be- cause of the necessity for hard work and strict economy. February 24, 1839, Mr. Barker mar- ried Susan M. Hull, born in Illinois, August 18, 1822, and eventually the mother of four- teen children, six of whom are now living: Rosetta Lorena, widow of Samuel Holcomb ; Salina, wife of Samuel Barr, of Portland : Alnia. wife of Noah Hall of Fairview ; Perry N. ; and Edward. The last two mentioned sons are at present living on the home farm with their mother.
The turning point in the life of Mr. Barker came in March, 1852, when he started on the old overland route for the western sea with his wife and four children, his mother-in-law and her second husband, and two young men not related to the family. These comprised the entire party, which occupied two wagons, drawn by eight oxen each. At the end of six months the emigrants arrived in Oregon, and during the first winter lived in the cabin of a bachelor, Jess Fleming. The following spring Mr. Barker settled upon a farm which he later improved and upon which he died, and which he took great pride in developing to its fullest extent. The first winter he built a little log cabin of hewed logs, into which the family moved, and which sheltered them from the elements for many years. In the spring of 1853 Mr. Barker entered three hundred and twenty acres of government land, and the greater part of this was cleared by his patient application and energy. His way to success was not a smooth one, for the country was in- fested with Indians, and the life of the settlers was most insecure, as were their products and general belongings. He engaged in general
G. O. Rogers.
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farming and stock-raising, and of his original purchase kept intact the two hundred and forty acres now owned by his wife. Mr. Barker was a Republican in political affiliation, and was fraternally associated with the Ma- sonic order. In the wake of his industrious life is a fine property, an honored name, and an example for those who are dependent upon their own unaided efforts.
GEORGE OSCAR ROGERS, D. D. S. Among the inen who have visited foreign lands and have made use of the artistic, scientific and practical knowledge they have acquired for the benefit of their fellow-men, as well as for their own pleasure, Dr. G. O. Rogers attained emi- nence both as a representative of his profession and as a connoisseur of porcelains. His broad culture and pleasing personality made him a favorite with everyone with whom he came in contact, and his many friends, not only among the distinguished citizens of his own country, but in foreign lands, deeply deplore his loss.
Dr. Rogers was born in Bridgton, Me., the son of New England farming people, and also a de- scendant of John Rogers, who figured so promi- nently in the early history of New England. He was reared in his native town, and after acquir- ing his literary education in Bridgton Academy he prepared himself for the profession of den- tistry, first as a student in Lawrence, Mass .. and subsequently at the Philadelphia Dental College, from which he was graduated with the degree of D. D. S. He opened an office in Lancaster, N. H., where he practiced with continually increas- ing success until 1873, when his health failed and, feeling that a change of climate would prove beneficial, he determined to establish himself in Hong Kong, China. Accompanied by his wife and son, he sailed from San Francisco in the steamship Great Republic which was afterward wrecked on a rock, and sunk in Astoria harbor. They established their home in Hong Kong, where Dr. Rogers was soon in possession of an extensive and lucrative practice. By his accurate understanding of the science of dentistry, by his great skill in the handling of the many delicate in- struments used in his profession, and by his pleas- ant and ever courteous manner, Dr. Rogers soon gained an extensive business which embraced practically all of the dental work of the city. He also took frequent trips along the coast and there- by gained a view of life in China from many standpoints. When his advice was sought by his brethren in the profession, it was given cheerfully and without reserve. His kindness and helpful- ness to the younger members of the profession was one of his highly commendable characteristics. His own superior skill brought him the fullest
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