Portrait and biographical record of Portland and vicinity, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 72

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 72

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GEORGE HENRY WEBSTER. The one hundred and eighty-two acre farm belonging to G. H. Webster has few superiors in Clackamas county. Located on both sides of the road, sev- enty acres has been denuded of timber and under- growth, and made to serve the best and most profitable interests of its owner. Farming, as understood by Mr. Webster, is an exact science which admits of no failure, save as the weather is disposed to interfere with well laid plans. Grain, potatoes, timothy, and general farming com- modities are raised in abundance, and three thousand fruit trees yield fruit, the excellence of which is exceeded only by its quantity.

The youth and early manhood of Mr. Webster were passed in Edgar county, Ill., where he was born May 1, 1843, and where he was reared to an appreciation of the dignity and usefulness of the life of a farmer. His father, like many of his ancestors, was born in Ohio. from which state he removed to Indiana, and from there to Edgar county, Ill. He came to California in 1876, liv- ing for a time in Los Angeles, Ventura, and Riverside counties, in the latter of which his death occurred in 1895. To himself and wife, Mary (Nevall) Webster. were born fourteen children, six sons and eight daughters. of whom four daughters and three sons are living, George H. being the oldest.

Into an otherwise uneventful early career came the opportunity to serve his country during the

Civil war, and Mr. Webster was at that time not unmindful of his duty as a citizen of a great and trouble laden republic. Accordingly, he enlisted in Company E, Twelfth Illinois Vol- unteer Infantry, and served until being dis- charged for disability. After regaining his health Mr. Webster enlisted in Company H, Sixty-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and after the service was discharged at Camp Doug- las, Ill., in 1865. After the war he returned to the farm in Illinois, and in 1871 married Har- riet M. Cammerer, a native of Edgar county, Ill., and daughter of John Cammerer, who was born in east Ohio, removed in early manhood to Ed- gar county, Ill., where he farmed and where he died in 1893. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Webster: Herman A., living in Clackamas, and deputy fish warden of the county ; Maxwell B., a resident of Clackamas county ; Myrtle and Mabel, twins ; Clara B .; and Nora.

In 1876 Mr. Webster came to the coast, lived for a time in Ventura county, Cal., and after coming to Oregon bought one hundred and eighty-two acres of land in Clackamas county upon which he now lives. His interests have been by no means self centered, for he is recog- nized as an exceedingly liberal-minded, public- spirited and disinterested man. who may be counted on in any emergency of his county or immediate neighborhood. His word is as good as his bond, and his genial, whole souled manner, and keen interest in those who enjoy his friend- ship have made him one of the popular citizens of the locality. He is fraternally a Mason, and is identified with the Grand Army of the Repub- lic. A Republican in politics, he is a stanch sup- porter of his party, but has never allowed his name to be agitated for official recognition.

GEORGE ARMENTROUT. The confidence born of success in life, the geniality produced by all-around good fellowship and many friend- ships, and the tolerance bred by close association with such leveling influences as existed in the early pioneer days, is the heritage of George Ar- mentrout, at present living a retired life in Forest Grove. Mr. Armentrout comes of a family n11- merously represented in this state, and which has invariably been associated with excellent and permanent accomplishment. He was born in Richland county, Ohio, January 14, 1834, and is a son of Jacob and Mary ( Hammond) Armen- trout, the latter of whom was born in Shenan- doah county. Va., a daughter of George Ham- mond, a planter of Virginia, born in the Old Dominion in 1810 or 1812. George Hammond finally removed from Virginia to Richland coun- ty, Ohio, where his death occurred at the ad- vanced age of ninety-six. On the maternal side

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Mr. Armentrout is of German descent, the fam- ily having come from Germany many years ago, and located in the state of Virginia.

Jacob Armentrout was left fatherless when two years of age, but he seems to have been well trained in his youth, and to have been more or less ambitious. He removed to Ohio in 1818, and in 1822 located on a farm in the dense woods near Newville, Richland county, Ohio, and there hewed his trees and created in the wilderness a home and competence. About 1848 he took up his residence near Warsaw, Ind., and in 1853 re- moved to Cedar county, Iowa, this farm continui- ing to be his home up to the time of his death at the age of seventy-seven. A truly remarkable fact in connection with the children born to Jacob Armentrout and his wife is that all twelve of them are now living ; that the oldest is eighty. and the youngest over fifty-five years of age. In the order of birth the children are: Nancy A., now Mrs. Daniel Armentrout of Iowa; Ethan Allen, a business man in San Bernardino, Cal., and veteran of the Mexican war; Annis, a resi- dent of Iowa; Amelia, the wife of Ezekiel Mc- Kibben of Iowa; Amity, now Mrs. John Wise of Richland county, Ohio: George; Abram, a merchant of Colorado Springs; Ansel, a cotton and wool merchant of Fort Worth, Tex .; Albro, a resident of Cedar county, Iowa; Dallas, an at- torney of DeWitt, Iowa; Catherine, the wife of David Rhoads of Cedar county, Iowa; and Philip, a farmer of Shelby county, Iowa.

George Armentrout was fourteen when his family settled in Indiana, and nineteen when they removed to Iowa. In the former state he attended the little log school house with its prim- itive furnishings, and had to put up with the gen- erally crude conditions of those times. From earliest boyhood days he worked around his father's farm, and while yet a lad evinced traits of thrift and industry. At the age of twenty- four he came to California via Panama, and after a short time in Sonora, engaged in mining in the northern part of the state for a couple of years. In the fall of 1860 he removed to Port- land, and soon after engaged in teaming ten miles north of Hillsboro, at the same time work- ing on a farm. In the fall of 1862 he was joined by his two brothers in a trip to Idaho, where he prospected and mined for a couple of years, and returned to Oregon, considerably richer than when he started out.

March 2, 1865, Mr. Armentrout was united in marriage with Melissa A. Walker, who was born in Washington county, Ore., and has ever since made her home in this state. Mrs. Ar- mentrout is a daughter of Robert Walker, who was born in lowa, and whose father, Samuel, was born in South Carolina. Samuel Walker participated in the Black Hawk war and while

stationed at Council Bluffs, Iowa, his son was born. He afterward crossed the plains in the early '40s, settling on a farm in Marion county, Ore., where the balance of his life was spent. Robert Walker crossed the plains in 1847, and after living on and improving a donation claim in Washington, retired to Cornelius, Ore., where his death occurred in March, 1899. Soon after arriving in the west he participated in the Cayuse war, and in other ways showed his keen interest in the affairs by which he was surrounded. Through his marriage with Minerva Knighten, a native of Cass county, Mo., eight children were born, six of whom attained maturity, Mrs. Ar- mentrout being the oldest of all. Elizabeth J. is now Mrs. James Lyle of Idaho: Samuel A. is living retired in Forest Grove; James is engaged in the lumber business on the Hood River; Rob- ert is living in eastern Oregon; and William Green is a farmer on the old homestead in Wash- ington county. The mother of Mrs. Armen- trout, who is living on the old place, and is seventy-three years old, is a granddaughter of Ammon Knighten, who came to Oregon in 1847

After his marriage Mr. Armentrout purchased a farm of two hundred and forty-four acres four miles north of Hillsboro, and which at the time was in very bad condition, and sorely in need of good management. He happened to be the right man in the right place, and under his en- terprise and indefatigable energy a transforma- tion was wrought, many improvements added, including a commodious residence and roomy barns. This property was disposed of at an ad- vantage in 1870, the chief motive of the owner being the fact that he was a great sufferer from asthma, and hoped to benefit his condition by a change of location. Accordingly he returned east and settled on a farm of two hundred and eighty acres in Shelby county, Iowa, and during his thirteen years in that state spent the majority of his summers in Colorado. In 1883 he sold his Iowa land and returned to Oregon, having never been satisfied with the east since exper- iencing the many advantages of the west. His second farm in this county consists of two hun- dred and forty-four acres eight miles northeast of Forest Grove, where he lived and farmed up to the time of his retirement to Forest Grove in 1899. He has built one of the best and most comfortable residences in the town, and with his wife is enjoying the fruits of many years of well applied industry. He has taken a prominent part in the general upbuilding of his county, and has especially been active in promoting the cause of education. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Armentrout, of whom Ansavilla is now Mrs. John Bledsoe of Wash- ington county, and has three children ; Benjamin Wade is living on the home farm and has one

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

son ; Emma Gertrude is the wife of Edward Martin Purdin of Washington county; and Frank Seigel married Miss Maggie Anderson. Mrs. Armentrout is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

JAMES R. C. THOMPSON. A very suc- cessful and prosperous business man, whose life record illustrates what can be accomplished through energy and determination, is James R. C. Thompson. He was born in Carroll county, Ohio, July 28, 1846, and is a son of Matthew and Rebecca (Henderson) Thompson. The father was born in Ireland, was a shoemaker by trade and followed that pursuit in Nova Scotia after coming to the new world. Subsequently he became a resident of Washington county, Pa., where he conducted a distillery and gristmill. It was during his residence in the Keystone state that he was united in marriage to Miss Rebecca Henderson, who was a native of Pennsylvania. They remained there for several years and then removed to Ohio, whence they afterward made their way to Iowa, where Mr. Thompson resided until 1856. He then started with his family across the plains, having two ox-teams and one horse-team. For seven years they remained in Nebraska, and in 1863 started for Oregon. They made the journey across the long stretches of hot sand and through the mountain passes, ultimately arriving in Portland, where they spent about a year. Mr. Thompson then purchased three hun- dred and twenty acres of land, including the farm upon which our subject now resides, and throughout the remainder of his business career he carried on agricultural pursuits. When he had attained the advanced age of ninety years he was called to the home beyond and his wife passed away when more than eighty-eight years of age. In their family were eight children : William, Matthew, John and Thomas, all of whom are deceased; James C. R., whose name introduces this review ; Elizabeth and Henrietta, who have passed away ; and Mary, who is living in Idaho.

No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for Mr. Thompson in his youth. He accompanied his parents on their various removals and remained with them until the time of his marriage. In the period of his boyhood he acquired his education in the dis- trict schools. In 1871 he wedded Clara Cum- mins, a native of Oregon, and brought his wife to the old home farm, where they have since resided with the exception of three years passed in Port- land, during which time Mr. Thompson was en- gaged in the livery business. For about ten years he was also connected with merchandising in Tualatin and at the present he is devoting his

attention largely to the raising of onions and to the supervision of his mining interests in south- ern Oregon. Both return to him a good financial income and he is one of the prosperous men of this portion of the state.

Unto Mr. Thompson and his first wife were born the following children: Orrin, James, and Walter, who are at home; Laura, who is en- gaged in teaching school in Portland; and Anna, who is a teacher in a district school. July 6, 1891, Mr. Thompson married Martha J. Werts, who has borne him the following children : Eunice, Blanche, Mamie, and Marguerite. The family have a pleasant home just at the edge of Tualatin and the household is a hospitable one. Mr. Thompson is an earnest Republican, and for ten years he has served as postmaster of the town, while for two terms, 1896-1900, he repre- sented his district in the legislature. He belongs to the Woodmen of the World. the Ancient Or- der of United Workmen, and the Order of Ar- tisans. In all life's relations he has commanded the respect and good will of those with whom he has been brought in contact, for he is faithful in friendship, loyal in citizenship and prompt and reliable in the execution of every public trust. Over the record of his official career and his pri- vate life there falls no shadow of wrong or sus- picion of evil.

JAMES B. WALKER. In Washington county, Ore., October 2, 1856, occurred the birth of James B. Walker, a son of S. H. Walker, a native of Quincy, Ill., born in 1823. When a young man S. H. Walker lost his father and for several years he was the support of his mother. He learned the wagonmaker's trade, which he followed for some years, and while still in the east he was married, but his wife lived for only a brief period. In 1846 he made his way across the plains with ox-teams to the Pacific coast, traveling with a large train, and upon reaching the northwest took up his abode on the Willam- ette river, where he secured a donation claim of one hundred and sixty acres, near the present site of Oswego. He was one of the employes on the first mill erected at Milwaukee. Again Mr. Walker was married, his second union being with Lucy Scholl, a native of Missouri, and they be- gan their domestic life near Oswego, where they lived for a few years, when they secured a claim of eighty acres in Washington county. For some time Mr. Walker devoted his attention to its cul- tivation and improvement, after which he went to Polk county, where he followed farming for twelve years. On the expiration of that period he became a resident of Washington county, set- tling on the Tualatin, where he lived until a short time prior to his death. He was one of the hon-

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ored pioneer settlers of this state, the city of Portland containing but few log cabins at the time of his arrival. He bore a helpful interest in the work of early progress and development, especially in reclaiming the wild land for pur- poses of civilization. After his death Mrs. Walker removed to Hillsboro, where she is still living. In their family were eight children : Joshua, deceased ; Douglas, a resident of Idaho; Anna, who has also passed away; James B .; William, of Seattle; Union, deceased; Mary, of Hillsboro; and Edmund, who has also departed this life.

At the age of eighteen years James B. Walker entered upon an independent business carcer. He had in the meantime acquired a good prac- tical education in the public schools. He was engaged in getting out timber until the time of his marriage, after which he turned his atten- tion to farming upon a tract of land where he now lives. At that time, however, he owned but forty acres, but as the years have passed and his financial resources have increased lie has ex- tended the boundaries of his farm until it now comprises one hundred acres of rich and arable land, a portion of which he has placed under a high state of cultivation. He cleared the greater part of this tract himself and has improved it with a modern and attractive residence, with good outbuildings and all of the equipments and accessories found upon a model farm. He also owns town property in Hillsboro.

The lady who bears the name of Mrs. Walker was in her maidenhood Miss Agnes Robinson, a native of Indiana and the daughter of William J. and Emeline ( Barnum) Robinson, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Indi- ana. Mr. and Mrs. Walker have a pleasant home, noted for its hospitality. and their circle of friends is an extensive one. Mr. Walker be- longs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in Hillsboro and he exercises his right of fran- chise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party.

WILLIAM GATTON. In close proximity to the pretty little village of St. Johns is to be seen the broad acreage comprising Mr. Gatton's pos- sessions in Multnomah county, the land aggre- gating six hundred and fifty-two acres, all in one body. In referring to his early history we find that his birth occurred September 26. 1831. in Holmes county, Ohio, and there the first six years of his life were spent. At that age in his career his parents changed the family abode to Muscatine county, Iowa, and there he grew to manhood and was initiated in the duties that fall to the lot of the farmer, as there his father settled down to follow the life of an agriculturist. He

was granted and eagerly accepted such an educa- tion as the district schools afforded, adding there- to much valuable information gained by observa- tion in later years.

1850 was a memorable year in the life of Mr. Gatton, as in that year was celebrated his mar- riage to Miss Nancy J. Hendrickson. Filled with a spirit of adventure, and hoping to find in the far west a realization of their young hopes of founding a home where the climate and other natural advantages were better than in lowa, we find them headed for Oregon in the spring of 1852. The party landed in Oregon in October of that year, and the ensuing winter was spent near Portland. Mr. Gatton met with a loss there, as nearly all of his cattle died that winter. Noth- ing daunted, however, in the spring of 1853 he came to St. Johns and took up three hundred and twenty acres, which now form a part of his large holdings. Heavy timber covered a portion of this tract, and a small one-room log house was the only improvement, so that in comparing the present with the past appearance one can easily appreciate that the intervening years have not been idle ones so far as Mr. Gatton is concerned, Since his first purchase of a half section he has added other land until his holdings now comprise more than a section of land, all of which is in one body. A large portion of it is bottom land and especially adapted for dairying purposes. Dur- ing the '6os he engaged quite extensively in the transporting of wood on the Columbia river, go- ing as far as Portland. During the past fifteen years Mr. Gatton has rented his farm and has spent his time in different places, living retired from active labor. Private life has not consumed all of his time and attention, but he has, on the other hand, found time to devote to bettering the community in which he lives and for a number of years served as school director and in many other school offices. In his political inclinations he votes in favor of the Democratic party and fra- ternally is identified with the Pioneers.

In March, 1871, Mrs. Gatton was called to her final reward. She became the mother of eleven children, six of whom grew to maturity, and five of the number are now living, namely : Samuel R., who makes his home on the old homestead : George G., also at home; Lucretia, now Mrs Lewis Brooks of Multnomah county; Minor W .. who lives at Wind River. Wash. ; and Clarissa J., who married Alexander McClure of Multnomah county.

SAMUEL H. RANEY. The life of Samuel H. Raney has been evenly progressive, and has gradually led up to his present high standing among the farmers of Clackamas county. He was born in Monroe county, Mo., February 19,

C. H. Daichy

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

1841, to which state his father, Benjamin Raney, had emigrated from Kentucky several years be- fore, and where his death occurred in 1846. The father was born in Virginia, while his wife, Mar- garet Scott, was a native of Lexington, Ky., and died in 1892.

When his father died Samuel H. Raney was five years of age, and he continued to live with his mother until coming to the west in 1864. In company with Hugh Glenn, he started across the plains with a mule team, three hundred head of loose mules, forty horses, and nine other animals, and at the expiration of sixty-seven days from Missouri located in El Dorado county, Cal., where he worked in a saw-mill for six months. November 1, 1864, he removed to Oregon, spent the first winter in Springwater, and the next summer went to the mines in Canyon City, re- maining for about a year. The next twelve months were spent in Springwater, Clackamas county, after which Mr. Raney settled on land near Currinsville and engaged in the saw-mill business for three years. Eventually he bought two hundred and twenty-five acres of land, com- prising the old Wade donation claim, upon which he lived for twelve years, and in 1882 came onto his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres. one and a half miles southeast of Springwater, and which is part of the old Wallenstein donation claim. There were no improvements at the tinie, and the fact that there are now sixty acres under cultivation argues that Mr. Raney has not been addicted to idleness, or missed the opportunities by which he is surrounded. He is engaged in general farming, for which he has all manner of modern machinery, good barns and outhouses, and generally fine improvements.

In 1865 Mr. Raney married Mrs. Vestie Glover, of which union the following children have been born: Benjamin, of Gresham, Ore .; Harley, on the home farm; Bird, wife of Ben- jamin Whitehead, of Portland; Lena; Charles ; Liney; George; and William. Mr. Raney is a stanch Democrat in political affiliation, and has promoted the interests of his party while serving as road supervisor and school director. He is a member of the Maccabees of Springwater, and is otherwise identified with the social life of the community. Mr. Raney is regarded by his friends as one of the most public-spirited citizens of Clackamas county, and is always found ready to promote the best interests of the community in all possible ways when opportunities for doing so present themselves.

CHARLES H. DAUCHY. The tendency of normal and finely developed human nature to supplement, or at least combine, long association with the stress of business life with the more

peaceful occupation of farming, finds expression in the life of C. H. Dauchy, a builder and con- tractor by occupation during his entire active life, and the owner since 1880 of an eighty acre farm at Eagle Creek, and of ten acres in his home place in Gladstone.

In connection with the successful career of Mr. Dauchy it. is a pleasure to refer to his en- viable ancestry, splendidly represented in all of the greater wars of the country. His paternal great-grandfather was a soldier during the Revo- lution, and stacked his musket on the battlefields of Brandywine and Bunker Hill. The paternal grandfather, David, who was born in Connecti- cut, was a farmer by occupation, and left his home interests to win the rank of captain in the Mexi- can war, from the effects of which conflict he died of a chronic difficulty some years after. David Dauchy, the father of Charles H., was born in Ridgefield, Fairfield county, Conn., and was a builder and contractor by trade. For a time he followed his calling in Westchester county, N. Y., later removing to Fillmore county, Minn., where his death occurred at the age of eighty-nine years. His wife, Sarah Ann ( Burrom) Dauchy, was born in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., in which city her father was collector for the government for many years. Eight children were born to David Dau- chy and his wife, all of whom attained maturity, Charles H. being the third oldest. The connec- tion of the family with martial affairs is further carried out in the oldest son, Oscar, who was among the many thousands slain at the great bat- tle of Gettysburg.

As an occupation, building appealed to C. H. Dauchy at a very early age, the example of his father and other members of his family having much to do in shaping his determination. After completing his education in the public schools and at the academy, he apprenticed under his uncle, a prominent builder, and has since been identified with building enterprises. A short military service enlivened an otherwise unevent- ful youth, and extended from 1864 to September, 1865. As a member of Company B, Third Min- nesota Volunteer Infantry, he engaged in scout- ing duty ; that he was exposed to danger as a scout is proved by the fact that he lost an eye in the service of his country. He was a resident of Minnesota from 1857 until 1868, and then re- moved to Newton county, Mo., where he worked at his trade in Newtonia, and there built the pub- lic school building, and many important struc- tures of a business and private nature. In 1872 he became identified with Oregon, and lived at Eagle Creek until 1880, during which year he purchased the farm of eighty acres, and the ten acres which comprises his home in Gladstone.

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Portrait and biographical record of Portland and vicinity, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 72

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