Portrait and biographical record of Portland and vicinity, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 79

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 79

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years, and which cause he is serving as president of the Oregon City Association.

In Portland Mr. Olson was united in mar- riage with Ann B. Peterson, a native of Norway, and of which union there have been born three children : Raymond Ferdinand, Hazel Arline and Norman Bernard.

WILLIAM L. FARRELL. A general farmer and potato grower who has achieved marked suc- cess in Multnomah county is William L. Farrell, sole architect of his growing fortunes, and de- pendent from earliest youth upon his own un- aided efforts. Born in Casey county, Ky., Sep- tember 24, 1830, he was six years of age when the family removed to Lafayette county, Mo., where he was educated in the subscription schools, and attained his majority on the paternal farm.

Equipped with a fair common school education and a practical knowledge of farming, Mr. Far- rell started overland for California April 14, 1850, accompanied by four other men, and six yoke of oxen. The dangerous journey was accomplished in ninety-six days, and at its expiration the cour- ageous overlanders went to work in the mines on the American river, at Horse Shoe Bend. After a short experiment Mr. Farrell engaged in placer mining at Placerville, Cal., and in February, 1851, engaged in street grading in San Francisco. May 1, 1851, he boarded the old steamer Sea Gull, bound for Portland, fare $80, and upon reaching his destination found employment in teaming for a sawmill company. At the expira- tion of a year he located near the land which con- stitutes his present home, but eventually found that the farm of one hundred and sixty acres was practically worthless on account of the high water. Therefore, in 1857, he disposed of his property and bought the one hundred and sixty acres upon which he now lives, and which is a part of the McClung donation claim. There were no im- provements on the property, but a heavy growth of timber presaged an enormous outlay of per- sonal effort before seed could be planted or a yield guaranteed. After realizing satisfactorily as a result of his industry he began to sell off his land, until at the present time he owns about thirty acres. He has made a specialty of potato growing, his land yielding abundantly of this much wanted commodity. While developing his land Mr. Farrell has gained a reputation for de- votion to the public welfare which is altogether commendable and argues a wealth of shrewd common sense and progressiveness. A Demo- crat in politics, he was one of the very early supervisors of this county, and has served as school director for several years.

Married February 1, 1853, to Mary Logsdon,

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one child was born to Mr. Farrell. Mary O., who is now deceased. Mrs. Farrell died in March, 1855, and in February, 1860, Mr. Farrell was united in marriage with Eliza Sunderland, of which union there was born one daughter. Har- riet L., who is now deceased. Mr. Farrell bears an honored name in the community of which he is a resident, and his success furnishes an ex- ample to all who rebel at early obstacles and the absence of visible encouragement.

ALFRED NIBLIN. Sweden was the scene of the early life of Mr. Niblin, and there his birth occurred June 17, 1854. In the common schools of his native country he was instructed in those branches of learning which gave him a good educational basis and to this he has con- tinued to add by observation. When Alfred was nineteen years of age his parents immigrated to America and made their first settlement in Mich- igan. After a time, however, they came to Ore- gon and took up a homestead in Clackamas county.

In 1886 Mr. Niblin was married to Miss Eu- doxia Kelly, the daughter of Plympton Kelly, and after this interesting event in his life he came to Multnomah county to make his home, and for a time resided on the property now oc- cupied by Peter Johnson. He cleared and other- wise improve the land, but finally disposed of it and purchased the property where he now lives, near Palestine. Although he has not re- sided in the vicinity for very many years his achievements have been little short of marvel- ous, for when he located upon the land it was covered with a heavy growth of timber, and now there are twenty acres cleared. For a number of years he devoted the land to the raising of fruit entirely, but at the present time rents the land. In addition to this property he also owns another tract of fifty acres of farm land, besides valuable holdings in the city. Great credit is due one who. notwithstanding his unfamiliarity with the language and customs of his adopted country, wins success as a result of indomitable energy, and this may with truth be said of Mr. Niblin, for he had all these obstacles to contend with. Mr. and Mrs. Niblin have one child, Ruth C. Mr. Niblin takes a deep interest in the political affairs of the country and has allied him- self with the Republicans. Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic lodge at Mount Tabor.

HERMAN METZGER. During the thirty- one years spent in the hide, wool, fur and curled hair business, Herman Metzger has managed to acquire as extensive a knowledge of his chosen occupation as any man on the coast. To the

conduct of his affairs he has brought the reliable and progressive traits of his Teutonic ancestors, for centuries located in and around Boeschingen, Germany, in which city he was born July 12, 1855. The name in that part of Germany was associated with large undertakings and conse- quent affluence, the paternal grandfather, Hein- rich, accumulating quite a fortune as a manu- facturer and vineyardist.

David Metzger, father of the Portland wool merchant, was a manufacturer in his native land, and in 1864 brought his family via Antwerp to Hull, England, and thence to Liverpool, where they set sail for the United States, their destina- tion being Portland, Ore. They sailed on the Golden Rule to Aspinwall, crossed the isthmus of Panama by rail, and boarded the steamer Amer- ica for San Francisco. On the steamer Brother Jonathan they arrived at Portland September 4, 1864, the little party, consisting of husband, wife and four children, having survived the long and tiresome journey in good health and spirits. The father engaged in a general merchandise business for several years, later branching out into the manufacturing of curled hair and glue. He was successful up to the time of his retire- ment, and was a well-to-do man at the time of his death, August 6, 1896. A Republican in politics, he was fraternally associated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he was a past officer. His wife, formerly Bab- ette Levi, born in Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany, was the mother of four children, three of whom are living. Her death occurred in Portland One of her sons, Ferdinand, is a merchant in San Francisco.

When the family made the memorable trip to America and Portland, Herman Metzger was nine years of age, and for three years after ar- riving he attended the public schools. In 1868 he went into his father's store and learned the merchandise business, and in 1871 was employed under manager A. A. Colin in a branch of the San Francisco hide, fur and wool business of Louis Sloss & Co. and the Alaska Commercial Co. In 1879 he opened a branch of the business at Walla Walla, Wash., and when the railroad was completed in the north in 1883, returned to Port- land. He found that the Portland branch had been disposed of to Bissinger & Co., and he became interested in the business and was asso- ciated therewith as manager until 1885. He then sold out and started an independent ven- ture along the same line at No. 45 Third street, and in February, 1887, located at his present place at Nos. 226-28 Front street. Aside from his regular business Mr. Metzger finds relaxa- tion and enjoyment in the management of farm lands, and in the cultivation of ninety-five acres of fruit lands four miles from Portland. In the

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latter venture he is in partnership with Messrs. Wolfe & Rosenfeld.

In Portland Mr. Metzger married Josephine Wolfe, a native of Germany, and sister of Adolph Wolfe, of the firm of Lipman, Wolfe & Co. Of this union there is one son, Henry W. Mr. Metzger is a Republican in politics, and is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Concordia Club. Fraternally he is con- nected with Portland Lodge No. 55, A. F. & A. M., and Al Kader Temple, N. M. S. He is also identified with the B'nai B'rith Society and Temple Beth Israel, of which latter he is an ex- director.

CHARLES NIBLIN. In that part of Swe- den which is called Wasmanlan, near the Ves- teràs, the ancestors of Charles Niblin lived and prospered for many years. He himself was born in this locality, April 26, 1852, as was also his father, Erick, the latter of whom followed the example of his forefathers, and from earliest youth evinced a particular aptitude for military service. That his inclination was more than a passing one is evidenced by his subsequent ca- reer, for twenty-six years of his life were spent as a member of the Grenadiers in Sweden. After his honorable discharge from a meritorious service he came to America, where he lived with his son, Charles, until his death at the age of seventy-five years. He was a member of the Lutheran Church, and was a man of high prin- ciple and exhaustive knowledge of military tac- tics. On the maternal side also Charles Niblin claims distinct military associations, for his mother, Annie Sophia Pearson, came from a family many of the members of which had won distinction on Swedish battle fields. She was the mother of four children, of whom Charles is the oldest ; Ericka is the wife of Sven Anderson, of the vicinity of Portland ; Alfred also lives near Portland, and Agnes lives on a farm in the vi- cinity of the capitol city.

While being reared on the paternal farm in Sweden, Charles Niblin managed to acquire a fair common school education, and when twenty years of age, in 1872, came to America via Hull, England, and in Boston, Mass., worked in a cabinetmaker's shop for some time. He after- ward worked in the mines of the Lake Superior region. Not having any too much confidence in the prospects of that locality, he removed to Wyoming in the fall of 1874, and after pros- pecting for a year came to Clackamas county and located on a homestead near Highland. This farm he partly improved, but not liking it. he settled in Portland, where he worked in a brick vard for one summer and then engaged in sal- mon fishing on the Columbia river. After four

seasons of fishing, during which time he had also engaged in steamboating, he purchased a ranch, upon which he settled in 1877. This property was all in the bush, and necessitated arduous labor in taking out the stumps and pre- paring the land for crops. Mr. Niblin devoted his property principally to berry culture, and at the present time does a large business in this line, having six acres in strawberries, six acres in raspberries, and a number of acres in fruit and cherries. This model farm consists of twenty acres on Division street, two miles from Port- land, and it is generally conceded to be one of the best equipped of its kind in the county. Mr. Niblin is an experimental horticulturist, and has brought the cultivation of his various kinds of fruit to a high state of perfection.

The wife of Mr. Niblin was formerly Amy Anderson. She was born in Sweden, and died in America, leaving one child, Amy. Mr. Niblin is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Foresters of America. He is a Republican in politics, and is in religion a mem- ber of the Lutheran Church.

HIRAM O. STIPE. That the City and Suburban Street Railway Company made no mis- take in the selection of Mr. Stipe as their chief engineer is a fact which none will dispute, as since he assumed the position in 1897 he has proved beyond a doubt that he is the right man for the place. The plant has increased to three times its original capital, and in 1901 he was sent to Cincinnati, Ohio, to superintend the con- struction of machinery which the company had ordered for the works in Portland. The boiler and engine have a combined power of thirty-six hundred horse power. and Mr. Stipe has entire charge of the power plant.

The first member of the Stipe family of whom we have any record is the great-grandfather, a descendant of Irish ancestors, who participated in the Revolutionary war. The grandfather, John Stipe, who was a native of Ohio, settled near Chester, Ill .. upon a farm, where his death occurred. The father, Henry, was born upon this farm, and there also his death occurred when he was only forty-seven years of age. His wife, Eliza Roberts, also a native of Ohio, was the daughter of James Roberts, a native of old Virginia, who settled in Ohio in the early days and was also a pioneer wagon manufacturer in Illinois. Mrs. Stipe makes her home in Illinois. The maternal great-grandfather was a partici- pant in the war waged with the mother country for the independence of the colonists.

Of the nine children, five sons and four daugh- ters, who comprised the parental family, one is deceased, and all of the sons reside in Oregon.

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William resides in Portland, as does Charles, who holds a position with the City & Suburban Street Railway Company. James died in this city, and J. R. is engaged in the grocery business here. The third son in this family was Hiram O., who was born near Chester, Ill., March 5, 1858, and until twenty years of age was reared upon his father's farm. The district schools of his home vicinity afforded him all the educational privi- leges he was destined to receive, and when twenty years old he was apprenticed to N. O. Nelson, of St. Louis, to learn the machinist's trade. Af- ter serving in that shop for three and one-half years he added to his fund of experience by working in various machine shops in that city. In 1889 he went to Anaconda, Mont., as chief engineer in the power plant of the lower works of the Anaconda, which he held until 1892. In May of that year he came to Portland as chief engineer and superintendent of the Oregon Pot- tery Company. He had entire charge of the erec- tion of all the engines and other machinery in- stalled in the plant, and after it was in running order he had charge of it for two years. His next position was with the Union power house, where he was assistant engineer for about three years. His previous experience had well fitted him for the position which he now holds with the City & Suburban Street Railway Company, whose duties he assumed in 1897. and judging by the esteem in which he is held by his superiors it is safe to predict that he will be retained in his present capacity indefinitely.

In Randolph county, Ill., Mr. Stipe was united in marriage with Miss Mary Wright, who was a native of that county. Six children were born to their union : John, a baker in St. Louis; Carrie, who holds a position with the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company; Arthur, who has a cigar and fruit business in Portland ; Elmer, who is attending Portland Academy ; and Ruth and Inez, who complete the family. Mr. Stipe finds time to devote to fraternal matters and holds membership in Hassold Lodge, I. O. O. F., the Modern Woodmen and the local lodge of the American Stationary Engineers, of which latter organization he has served as president. Politically he gives his vote and influence to fur- ther the cause of the Republican party.

WILLIAM ALBERT WOODSIDE, a well known farmer of Clackamas county, residing near Mulino, is a native son of the state, and was born in Marion county, October 12, 1856. His father. Asbury, was born in Illinois, and crossed the plains to California in the time honored way with ox-teams, and for a short time experimented with gold mining. Convinced that this method of securing a livelihood was not his particular

forte, he soon after came to Marion county, Ore., locating on a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres near Sublimity. He afterward took out a patent on this land, and in time traded the same for a saw-mill near Silverton. Here he en- gaged in milling up to the time of his death at the age of fifty-two years, at the same time making his home near the mill, which netted him a fair income. When he came across the plains he was accompanied by his wife, Elizabeth (An- trems) Woodside, who was born in Indiana, and who became the mother of two sons and two daughters: Sarah, deceased; Martha, also de- ceased; Lewis M., a resident of Oregon; and William Albert.

By the age of eighteen William Albert Wood- side had acquired a fair common school educa- tion, and was ready to start out on his own re- sponsibility. After working on various farms for a time he bought a farm five miles north of Sil- verton, his brother being half owner of the same. After the division and sale of the farm Mr. Woodside came to Mulino in 1892, bought seven- ty-five acres of unimproved land, of which he has since improved fifty acres. He is engaged in general farming and stock-raising, and has met with considerable success in his chosen occu- pation. His wife was formerly Bertha Jane Mil- ster, a native of Marion county, whose father, Robert Milster, was a native of Missouri. Mr. Milster crossed the plains in 1852 and settled five miles north of Silverton, his donation claim con- sisting of six hundred and forty acres. He lived on his new land until his death in September, 1888, at the age of fifty-two years. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Woodside. Fran- cis A., and Ida Dell Dodge. Mr. Woodside was tormerly a Republican but has of late affiliated with the Reform party. He was road supervisor of Marion county two terms, and has been school director for about nine years. Fraternally he is associated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

AMBERS THORNBURGH. Among the successful farmers and lumbermen of Forest Grove may be mentioned Ambers Thornburgh, who was born in Jefferson county, Tenn., July 29. 1832, the second in a family of six children, three of whom are yet living. The father. Ovid C. Thornburgh, carried on farming in Tennessee, and in 1846 he removed to Keokuk county, Iowa, making the journey by team. There he secured a farm sixty miles from Burlington. where he resided until 1863, and then came to Oregon. where he carried on agricultural pursuits until he put aside business cares to enjoy a well earned rest. He is now living retired with his son Am- bers, and has reached the venerable age of nine-

4. Hillenburg

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ty-one years, but is still enjoying good health. His wife, who in her maidenhood was Priscilla Mills, was a native of Tennessee and died in De- cember, 1901, at the age of ninety years.

Ambers Thornburgh spent the first fourteen years of his life in his native state and then ac- companied his parents to Iowa. He had pre- viously attended the subscription schools in the south, but in the pioneer district in which the family settled there were no schools and his time was given to the breaking of prairie and to the other arduous toil incident to the development of a pioneer farm. When he had attained man's estate he worked as a farm hand for fifty cents per day, and later for from $6 to $10 per month, working all day in the fields until dark overtook him. He continued to follow farming in Iowa until 1859, when he made his way to the west, driving an ox-team across the country to Cali- fornia by way of the Platte route, the trip con- suming six months. He took up his abode near Tehama, engaging in teaming until 1862, when he removed to Portland, Ore., arriving the lat- ter part of June, 1862. Coming to Washington county soon afterward, he here secured work upon a farm, and in the same year his father came to the northwest, driving horses and mules. He and his father purchased the Dairy Creek ranch of two hundred and ten acres, which he continued to cultivate for a time. Subsequently Mr. Thornburgh purchased one hundred and forty-five acres further up the valley and a mill site, turning his attention to the manufacture of lumber. The first year the mill was operated by water power and then Mr. Thornburgh employed an engineer and fitted up the plant with steam power. In this enterprise he had as a partner Martin Manning. When the mill had been running but six weeks it was destroyed by fire. The proprietors rebuilt at once and continued in the manufacture of lumber for fourteen years, manufacturing seven or eight thousand feet of lumber per day. The rapid growth of the coun- try made the building interest a flourishing one and consequently created a large demand for lumber. Taking advantage of the good business opportunity Mr. Thornburgh then engaged in the lumber business in a profitable way until 1897, when he returned to the farm, which all this time had been operated under his super- vision. He has since purchased property and lo- cated in Forest Grove, where he is now living retired, his toil in former years having brought to him a well merited and desirable competence.

In Washington county, Ore., in 1866, Mr. Thornburgh was united in marriage to Miss Re- becca Ann Neal, who was born in Keokuk coun- ty, Iowa, and came to this state in that year. In the family were eight children: Mrs. Mary Ellen Benefiel, of Washington county; William

J., who is living upon the home farm ; John A., who 'is conducting the flouring mill and is rep- resented elsewhere in this work; Janie, who died at the age of seven years; Thomas W., of For- est Grove; Myrtle E. and Millie, at home; and Ray, who died at the age of seven years. The family is one of prominence in the community and Mr. Thornburgh has been regarded as a rep- resentative business man, enterprising, progress- ive and reliable. In his political views an earnest Republican, he has never sought or desired office, however, preferring to devote his time to his agricultural and manufacturing interests, in which he has met with signal success.

HERMAN WITTENBERG. The life of Herman Wittenberg in many respects reads like a romance, and is an illustration of what hard work, plenty of grit and earnest effort will do when intelligently applied. Seldom does it oc- cur, in the actual world of business affairs, that a man within a comparatively few years rises from an obscure position in life, viz., that of a poor farmer boy, to a post of great responsi- bility, influence and trust, in charge of a busi- ness in which millions of dollars are invested and a small army of employes are constantly being handled in many departments. The brain and personality that can bring about such a transformation must, indeed, be forceful and interesting.

The earliest recollections of Mr. Wittenberg are associated with the west. He was born at Ft. Leavenworth, Kans., September 15, 1859, and is a son of David and Caroline ( Blass) Wittenberg, natives of Germany, who married in Detroit, Mich. About 1854 the family settled upon a farm which is now included within the government reservation at Leavenworth. Dur- ing 1862 the father, accompanied by his wife and three children, crossed the plains with ox teams, following the Oregon trail, and after en- countering and enduring many hardships reached the Columbia river at The Dalles in September, 1862, after a journey of five months. From The Dalles they came to Portland by boat. In the midst of the woods, on the east side of the river, where Woodlawn now stands, he es- tablished his home and improved a claim from the forest. This property he sold in 1880 and has since lived in retirement, at present making Portland his home. His family consists of five daughters and three sons, all of whom are living, Herman being next to the oldest. As already intimated, the early recollections of Mr. Wit- tenberg are associated with Oregon. The first school which he attended was conducted in a log cabin near his father's farm. When twelve years of age he was compelled to discontinue

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his studies to make his own way in the world. His first employment was as water boy in the construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad, between Portland and Tacoma, and later he worked on a farm in Washington county. An- other occupation to which he devoted some time was the cutting and hauling of cordwood, which he sold in Portland and to steamers plying on the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. He also tried his hand at steamboating on the above named rivers, not as owner, but as fireman and checkhand. Subsequently he gained considerable experience in mining in eastern Oregon, where the famous North Pole and Red Boy mines now operate, and here for three years he worked at placer and quartz mining. During 1878 and 1879, while still at the mines, the Bannock war broke out and he served in a local company or- ganized for the protection of life and property in that section. He was one of three who drew lots for the purpose of making the trip to Baker City with two four-horse teams to secure sup- plies for the miners and their families. Their return was greeted with cheers, as it was deemed nearly a forlorn hope to attempt the trip.

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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 79

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