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 47
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
After the return of peace Mr. Hoffman lived for eight years in Iowa, and afterward lived in Nebraska until 1875. Upon leaving the middle west he came overland to San Francisco, and from the coast city embarked on a steamer for Portland, Ore. Soon after arrival he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Clacka- mas county, all in a wild condition, and at the present time has about fifty acres cleared. Gen- eral crops are raised, and cattle, horses, hogs and sheep. Mr. Hoffman is a Republican in politics, and for many years has been a school director and road commissioner.
June 10, 1860, Mr. Hoffman married Eme- line Jane Wilson, of which union there were born twelve children, the order of their birth being as follows: Henry; Mary, deceased ; Clara, deceased ; Rosa Belle ; Rosetta ; Thomas ; Cora; Eleanore; Diamond; Ida; Curtis, and Sharps.
DANIEL ALBRIGHT, who for many years was connected with the farming interests of Clackamas county, was born in New Lisbon. Columbiana county, Ohio. April 22, 1832, and died on his farm of four hundred and sixty acres one mile east of Marquam, May 5, 1892. His father. John Albright, a brick manufacturer, crossed the plains with his family in 1852, and took up a donation land claim of three hundred and twenty acres. His death occurred near Silverton, Ore. When Daniel Albright was fourteen years of age, the family moved from Ohio to Iowa and settled in Burlington, and he was just twenty-one when the family started overland for Oregon. In the new locality he found employment among the farmers, and by economy and in- dustry managed to save sufficient money to purchase a quarter section of land. To this he added from time to time until he owned the farm where he engaged in general farming and stock-raising, and where his last days were spent. He was a successful farmer, and bore an honorable name in the community. A Re- publican in politics, he was never active in
soliciting office, although he stanchly and on all. occasions promoted the best interests of the party. He was a member of the Grange and of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His father, John, married Sarah Baker, the cere- mony being performed in Pennsylvania on March 28, 1822. Eight children were the re- sult of this union, all of whom grew to ma- turity.
Through the marriage of Daniel Albright and Mary J. Marquam, Mr. Albright became allied with one of the oldest and most honored families of the county, its members being in- timately connected with the leading agricul- tural interests of the county, and the members of which have invariably possessed marked and leading characteristics. The town of Mar- quam, which perpetuates the pioneer citizen- ship of the honored father of Mrs. Albright, had not been thought of when this capable and far sighted man arrived on its site in 1845. Alfred Marquam was born in Frederick county, Md., March 14, 1818, and died in Marquam February 22, 1887. When fourteen years of age he removed to Ohio, lived there for seven years, and then went to LaFayette, Ind., where he learned furniture manufacturing and paint- ing. After removing to Clay county, Mo., he was united in marriage with Olive Burbage on November 6, 1842. She was born near Riddle Mills, Bourbon county, Ky., March 17, 1824. Her father, Ezekiel Burbage, took up a donation land claim of six hundred and forty acres near Marquam. He crossed the plains at the same time the Marquam family made the trip, walking nearly the entire dis- tance.
After his marriage, Mr. Marquam continued to live in Missouri, and for three years sus- tained a commercial partnership with a Mr. Watt, with whom he eventually came across the plains. The start was made on April 21, 1845, and they arrived in Oregon City Decem- ber 7 of the same year. After a year spent in the town Mr. Marquam moved to the six hun- dred and forty acres of land, on a portion of which the town of Marquam now stands, and the old homestead is still standing, a monu- ment to the worth while efforts of this pioneer. In 1877 Mr. Marquam moved into the little hamlet bearing his name, and here opened the first store and became the first postmaster. For some time he continued to conduct the business alone, but finally took in his son-in- law, E. M. Hartman. From that time up to his death he remained an active factor in the business world of the county. He was a very prominent man in his locality, and possessed the traits of character most useful and highly appreciated in comparatively new
354
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
countries. He was a Republican in political belief and was at all times interested in the issues which confronted his party. Education had in him a stanch supporter and when it be- came time to build a schoolhouse he promptly came forward with the offer of the land on which to erect the building. He was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church during his entire active life, having united with that denomination when fifteen years of age. He contributed generously towards its support, and in all ways promoted its growth and usefulness. Eleven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Marquam, the order of their birth being as follows: Mary J .; George W., of Idaho; William T., of Portland; Sarah E., who died November 9, 1867, aged about twen- ty-one years; James E., of Marquam; P. A., of Marquam; Melissa, now Mrs. Hartman, of eastern Oregon; A. B., of Marquam; Mrs. Olive W. Logan, of Marquam; Jessie C. Young, of Marquam, and an infant which died unnamed.
To Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Albright were born five children, three of whom grew to man- hood, namely : Francis Elmer ; Alva Wallace and Edward B. The two who died were George W. and Asa.
ENOCH SKIRVIN. Prominently outlined against the background of events in Oregon is the well directed career of Enoch Skirvin, whose breadth of mind, soundness of business judgment, resourcefulness, and alertness to the advantages by which he has been surrounded have redounded to the perpetual well being of his adopted state. Mr. Skirvin is a native of Kentucky, and was born November 5, 1824. His father, John Skirvin, was born in the state of Virginia, and was a cabinetmaker by trade, as well as farmer and preacher. For miles around he was known as an expounder of the doctrines of the Hard-shell Baptists, and in his life he accomplished much good, leading many hundreds into paths of peace and cor- rect living. With his parents this preacher moved to Kentucky, settling near Lexington, although his death occurred in Owen county, the same state, at the age of seventy-seven years. His father, John, also born in Virginia, came to Kentucky with his family during the days of Daniel Boone, and he participated in the battle and defeat of Sinclair in 1791. At the time of his death he had attained to four score years. Eva (Sennet) Skirvin, the mother of Enoch, was born in Germany, and was brought to America in a sailing vessel by her uncle, Jacob Keiser, and settled near Lexing- ton, Ky. Mr. Keiser availed himself of many
opportunities in the south, and became a large land and slave owner, his death occurring in his adopted country and state at an advanced age. Eleven children were born to Mrs. Skir- vin, eight sons and three daughters, and of this large family Enoch, the pioneer and repre- sentative citizen of Clackamas county, is the only survivor.
In Kentucky Enoch Skirvin attended the public schools, and remained on the paternal homestead until attaining his majority. The army appealed to him as presenting oppor- tunities for advancement and worth while achievement, and in 1847 he enlisted as a re- cruit and was later attached to Company B, Sixteenth United States Regiment as a private, and served until the latter part of 1848. For the two years of his service he was stationed as guard at Monterey on the Rio Grande, and there rendered efficient service in behalf of the war with Mexico. After the war Mr. Skirvin became overseer on a plantation in Kentucky, and in the spring of 1850 started across the plains, arriving in California July 19 of the same year, the overland train being headed by George Dorris. For two years Mr. Skirvin worked in the mines of California, after which he engaged as superintendent of the ranch of George Dorris. For a year and a half he ranched in Humboldt, Cal., and after a few days spent in sight seeing in San Francisco, removed to Oak Point on the Columbia river, where he engaged in the saw milling business for a year. 'Soon after his saw milling experi- ence Mr. Skirvin joined the Palmer Indian Agency at Port Arthur, Yamhill Reservation, and as a guard helped to convey the Indians to the reservation, and also assisted in the con- struction of a guard house, which is still stand- ing. After a year on the reservation he re- turned to Oak Point and engaged in lumber- ing and especially in getting out logs. While at the Yamhill Reservation he had made up his mind that he would buy land in the Corvallis country, and accordingly, in 1863, he bought a quarter section of land near Albany, upon which he never lived. This property was traded for a large place near Scott's Mills in 1867, which, at the time, was all in bushes, and of which he has cleared up about two hundred acres. This place has been developed into a very desirable and valuable farm, and is rented out by the present owner, who no longer desires so large a responsibility as its management entails.
At the present time Mr. Skirvin is making his home upon five acres of land in Marquam. upon which he had built a fine residence, and where he is practically retired from business activity. His wife, Eliza (West) Skirvin, was
Sammy Comune
357
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
born in Quebec, east Canada, her father, John, being a native of Scotland. Mr. West came to America shortly after his marriage, settling in Quebec, where he lived until 1848. That year he came to San Francisco and Oregon via the Horn, and stayed at what is now West- port, which town was named in his honor. He became an important factor in the community, and among other undertakings built a saw- mill and canning factory, both of which en- terprises proved paying and popular. He was one of the familiar characters on the Columbia and Willamette rivers, and was invariably known as Captain West. At the time of his death in 1888, at the age of seventy-nine years, eleven months and eighteen days, he left a large estate to his children, for his western chances proved exceedingly remunerative, his shrewd Scotch sagacity proving invaluable in his adopted country. Mr. and Mrs. Skirvin have had no children, but have adopted a daughter, Anna, who is now the wife of Mr. Gleen of Idaho. Mr. Skirvin is a Republican in politics, and is fraternally identified with the Grange. In religion he is a Methodist Episcopalian, is a trustee and director in the church, and very active in promoting its many- sided interests. No resident of this county en- joys to a greater extent the confidence and good will of his fellow men, nor have any striven more conscientiously to maintain the moral, social and agricultural supremacy of his chosen locality.
SAMUEL CONNELL, who is one of the foremost factors in the latterday industrial and commercial supremacy of Oregon, was born near Clinton, Huron county, Canada. Sep- tember 12, 1865. A remote Connell ancestor, a native of France, was shipwrecked on the coast of Ireland during one of the early wars in which those countries became involved, and it is sup- posed he permanently availed himself of the priv- ileges connected with this unceremonious emigra- tion and took up his residence on the Emerald Isle. At any rate, the family records show that the paternal grandfather, Thomas Connell, was born in the South of Ireland, whence he crossed the seas to Quebec, where he engaged in farming during the balance of his life.
Joseph Connell, father of the subject of this sketch, was also born in the South of Ireland, and in time became a farmer near Clinton, On- tario. In 1874 he removed to Oregon and lo- cated on a farm near Hillsboro, his property con- sisting of seven hundred acres, a large part of which he improved, and from which was left a valuable estate. His untimely death in 1882, at the age of fifty-six years, was occasioned by
a fall from a horse; and in his passing away the community lost a useful citizen, a great student, a scientific farmer, and a man whose mind was a storehouse of unusually broad information. He was a Republican in politics, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His wife, Grace ( Reid) Connell, came from the North of Ireland with her father, James Reid, settling on a farm near Flamboro, Province of Quebec. Mrs. Connell, who still resides on the homestead, is the mother of ten children, the order of their birth being as follows: Joseph, a farmer on the Tualatin plains ; Richard, the partner of Samuel ; Grace, wife of Dr. W. D. Wood, of Hillsboro, Ore .; James, who died on his farm at Tualatin in 1892; Thomas, a farmer residing on the home- stead ; Samuel, the subject of this sketch; Will- iam, an attorney at law, who died in Portland at the age of twenty-eight years ; Elijah DeWitt, an eye and ear specialist of Portland, a graduate of the University of Oregon, the University of Pennsylvania, and a student in Vienna, Berlin and London ; John Wesley, a farmer on the Tua- latin plains ; and Jane, wife of William Herman Tenbaum, residing in London, England.
Arriving in Oregon with his parents at the age of nine years, Samuel Connell received his education in the public schools, and after being graduated from the Portland High School was graduated from the Columbia Business College, at Portland, in the year 1883 with a standing of one hundred per cent. With these excellent ad- vantages he read law under the supervision of Judge Shattuck until 1885, although he never applied for admission to the bar, preferring to turn his attention to newspaper work on the Northwest News, at the same time devoting his evenings to keeping a set of books. February I, 1886, he became bookkeeper for J. C. Carson. in the sash, door and planing mill business, and upon the expiration of eighteen months became manager for Mr. Carson, remaining in that capac- ity until February 1, 1893. After resigning his position he became identified, as manager, with the Northwest Door Company, a wholesale clear- ing house for seven Oregon mills, an enterprise which suffered so severely during the panic of that year that business fell off eighty per cent. However, all obligations were paid at the end of the year, and Mr. Connell improved the op- portunity to buy the corporate rights and good will of the Northwest Door Company, and there- after continued as a lumber merchant and broker until the reorganization of the company in 1895. A small plant in Albina, on Randolph and Loring streets, was purchased and operated with fair results until the erection of the present mill in 1898. The new mill is modern in construction and equipment, is operated by a one hundred and twenty horse power plant, and turns out sash,
35%
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
doors, blinds, moldings, brackets, and all mate- rials connected with the wooden construction of buildings.
In 1897 Mr. Connell also organized the Pacific Coast Milling Company, of which he is president. bought a plant, and manufactures feed and cereal products. This mill is located at the corner of Railroad and Lewis streets. He has perfected and applied for a patent which promises to revo- lutionize the present system of oatmeal manufac- ture, the machine used in the operation being known as the Kurth Patent Huller. This process permits of the oats being hulled without passing through the dry kiln, and also leaves the hull of the grain intact and valuable for dairy feed. This is the first machine of the kind ever employed in the preparation of cereals.
But the enterprises with which Mr. Connell is connected are not confined in their usefulness to Oregon or the west. His firm was the first Ore- gon concern to exploit the value of cedar doors in the eastern markets, and has shipped these goods to New England and the middle eastern states, and even to the Orient. In 1901 he under- took the management of the Oregon Sash and Door Company, which is a clearing house for four planing mills in Portland, and which pro- vides facilities for handling and filling large orders with greater ease and better satisfaction. The firm has its own central warehouse, from which are delivered all its goods. Mr. Connell was one of the originators of this convenience, and owns a third interest therein. He is also in- terested in the Oriental-American Company. of which he is one of the charter directors, as well as ex-vice-president. The object of this company is to secure trade in the Orient, and so far it promises great success. He is a member of the board of directors of the Manufacturers' Asso- ciation ; is a member of the Board of Trade, of which he was one of the organizers, and of which he served as vice-president for the first year and as president in 1901; is secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, in which he has been on the transportation committee for several years ; and is a member of the Commercial Club. In politics he is a Republican. He is identified with Taylor Street Methodist Episcopal Church. is a member of its board of trustees, and has been chairman of its finance committee for the past five years. He is also ex-president of the Ep- worth League connected with that church.
As becomes so public spirited and enterprising a citizen, the sympathies and co-operation of Mr. Connell have been forthcoming in the project for the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition. in fact, he was one of the first to suggest the institution. At the time of its inception he was president of the Board of Trade, and his influ- ence through that body was practically boundless.
While on a trip up Puget Sound he heard from a friend of a project on the part of the Sound people to hold an Oriental Fair, and on his re- turn he acquainted the Board of Trade with this fact. At the next meeting J. W. Cruthers pre- sented a resolution for the appointment of a pro- visional committee of twenty-one and this re- sulted in the present plans for the Exposition, the name of which was suggested by L. B. Cox, of the Board of Trade. Mr. Connell was author- ized to appoint this provisional committee, and at the same time requested the Chamber of Com- merce and Manufacturers' Association to ap- point committees to act jointly with the Board of Trade committee in the matter. At the pres- ent time Mr. Connell is a member of the board of directors of the Exposition, and chairman of the committee on Manufactures and Liberal Arts.
In April, 1903, he was commissioned by the governor to attend the National and International Good Roads Convention in St. Louis, Mo., and while east on that mission also represented the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition at the dedication ceremonies of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and as such delegate received every attention and courtesy from prominent people at St. Louis and other cities visited.
In San Jose. Cal., in 1891, Mr. Connell married Adah M. McKenney, who was born in Nevada, a daughter of Judge D. C. McKenney, deceased, for many years a United States district judge in the latter state. She is a graduate of the State Normal School, at San Jose, Cal. They are the parents of two children : Dorothy, born Novem- ber 1, 1894, and Ruth, born February 8, 1899.
GEORGE H. ZIMMERMANN. For many years the name of Zimmerman has been con- nected with progressive farming enterprises in Multnomah county, and has suggested thrift. business ability, and large land ownership. George H. Zimmerman, son of Jacob Zimmer- man, the original Oregon pioneer of the fam- ily, was born on the farm now occupied by Somers John, on section 7. September 7, 1852.
Jacob Zimmerman was born in Baden, Ger- many, and in his native land learned the ma- chinist's trade, having finished which he came to America in a sailing vessel. For a few years his home, was in Philadelphia, Pa., after which he removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he lived until 1851. The same year found him in a train of emigrants bound for the western slope with ox-teams and wagons, the journey on the overland trail being marked by narrow escapes and impressive encounters with the Indians. In the fall of 1851 Mr. Zimmerman located on llayden's island, in the Columbia river, three miles below Vancouver, where he cleared a small
359
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
place and planted crops in the spring of 1852. During the following summer the island was inundated with water, and the venture proved a losing experiment. In the fall of 1852 the nearly discouraged farmer settled on the land where his son, George H., was born, and which consisted ot three hundred and twenty acres of government land, partly timber and partly bot- tom, running along the Columbia river. At the expiration of five years he bought the three hundred and twenty acres now owned and oc- cupied by William G. Wilkes, and upon which he made his home for nine years. This farm was traded for that of Byron Reynolds, and was three hundred and eighty-three acres in ex- tent. Two years only Mr. Zimmerman occupied this farm, and after disposing of it he removed to the city of Portland, where he lived during 1868-69, and was employed in the Oregon Iron Works. In 1870 he bought the farm upon which his son George H. now lives. Here he lived till the spring of 1881, when the farm was transferred to George H. Mr. Zimmerman was fraternally associated with the Masons, and was very successful as a farmer and land specu- lator. Through his marriage with Lena Schoep- fel, also of Baden, Germany, and who, with her two children, accompanied him across the plains in 1851, five children were born, viz. : William J., a machinist in the shops of the O. R. N. Railroad Company; Caroline, who died at the age of three years ; Francis, who died at the age of thirty; George H .; and Eliza, the wife of H. S. Stone, a farmer of Fairview.
Reared to manhood in Multnomah county. George H. Zimmerman developed business and general ability under his father's instruction, and received a common school education which was supplemented by attendance at the Port- land Academy. In 1880 he experimented with dairying while managing the enterprise of Mrs. Hannah Smith. and the following year rented the paternal farm upon which he bached and farmed until his marriage with Jessie McCall, September 26, 1883. Ot this union there have been born four children: Jessie M., Olive H., Mabel J. and Isabel F.
At the present time Mr. Zimmerman owns six hundred and sixty acres of land all in one body, and is engaged in dairying and farming, making a specialty of the former occupation. He manufactures butter and cheese, and his products have a more than local reputation for excellence. His farm, located on sections 19 and 30, Sandy Road, nine miles from Portland, is one of the best equipped and scientifically conducted in this part of the state, and the owner has just cause for the natural pride which he feels in maintaining an admirable standard. In politics a Republican, Mr. Zimmerman has
been active in supporting the best interests of his party, and has himself served as school di- rector and clerk. He is a member of the Meth- odist Church, and is one of the stanch supporters of that denomination in his locality.
ERNEST EVEREST, M. D., whose skill and ability in alleviating human suffering is attested by the large and growing practice which is accorded him, was born November 13, 1852, in Elkhart, Ind. The family is descended from Holland-Dutch ancestry and the first represent- atives of the name in the new world crossed the Atlantic in the Mayflower. Marcus Everest, the doctor's father, was a farmer by occupation, and in the year 1855 removed to Iowa, where he secured a government claim. The mother had died when her son was but two years of age and the father afterward married a second time. Some years later his death occurred, being occasioned by an accident.
Dr. Everest remained at home until he was thirteen years of age, when he started out to make his own way in the world, and whatever success he has achieved is the direct result of his own labor. He pursued his education in Bradford Academy, in Bradford, Iowa, in the state normal school of Nebraska, and also in the state normal school of Iowa. Early he showed forth the elementary strength of his character, for he had to earn the money which made it possible for him to continue his studies in the more advanced institutions of learning. In order to obtain money with which to prose- cute his studies, he sawed wood nights and mornings and did other work that would yield him an honest return tor his labor. For two years he was also engaged in teaching school in Nebraska, and thus he laid the foundation for a successful business career and proved the pos- session of those elements of character which in every land and clime command respect.
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.