Portrait and biographical record of Portland and vicinity, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 83

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 83

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Mr. and Mrs. McNamer have three children : Frank, a farmer of Big Valley; Fred, who is en- gaged in the logging business in Siskiyou ; and Mrs. Addie Dollarhide, of California. Mr. Mc- Namer is a member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity, the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and John P. Mathews Post No. 39, G. A. R., also the Knights of the Maccabees, and in his political views is a Republican. The courage which he displayed when an express messenger made his services in constant demand for some time by sheriff and other men in authority and he served for many years as deputy sheriff of Shasta county, Cal. For some time he served as deputy sheriff of Washington county, and in 1899 was the Republican nominee for sheriff, but was defeated with the balance of the ticket. In all such offices he has been most efficient and faithful and has had some exciting and interesting experiences, oftentimes bringing him into great dangers, but fortunately he has always escaped unharmed and is today a prosperous and re- spected citizen of Forest Grove.

CHARLES B. BARTEL. Since coming to Portland, in 1868, Charles B. Bartel has been identified with the city's growth in various ca- pacities, and whether as a contributor to its artistic well being as a landscape gardener, or to its municipal stability as a holder of im-

portant political offices, his efforts have re- dounded to his own and the credit of the town of his adoption. Born in Danville, Northumber- land county, Pa., March 21, 1838, he is the son of Charles H. Bartel, whose artistic ability found expression in sculpture, of which he was making a considerable success at the time of his premature death. Thereafter, his wife took her two daughters and only son, Charles B., to Germany, where she spent the remainder of her life, and where the children received the greater part of their education.

As a means of livelihood Charles Bartel se- lected landscape gardening, and in order to get the best possible training, went to Frankfort, Germany, and worked for a time with his uncle. To escape compulsory military service he went to England at the age of eighteen, and at Liver- pool made his first money as an independent exponent of landscape gardening. Afterward he went to Hull, from where he embarked in 1858 for America, and for some months found employment at his trade. A friend having be- come interested in a foundry in Pennsylvania, he joined him, working with him .for a time, and eventually making his way to Chicago, Ill., and Milwaukee, Wis., in both of which cities he worked at his trade, and endeavored to locate himself among promising and pleasant sur- roundings. His sojourn to the coast was in- spired by the many favorable accounts which had reached him since landing in America, and upon arriving in Portland in 1868, these reports were in a fair way of being corroborated from the start. Chancing to meet Uncle Stevens, the old man took an interest in his welfare, and employed him to set out shrubbery for his addi- tion. Afterward, at various times during the lifetime of his benefactor, he assisted him in various capacities, grew to appreciate his ster- ling worth, and intensely regretted his departure from his pioneer haunts in this city. Also, Mr. Bartel laid out and worked on the Holliday park, filled a commission of importance for Henry Green, and laid out the beautiful Henry Failing grounds. His talent received substantial recognition from the most exacting trade in the city, and under his able direction many un- promising localities were made to realize their import as pleasure giving or productive centers. So large were the contracts undertaken by him that at times the assistance of from twenty to thirty men was required.

At an early day Mr. Bartel bought the block upon which his present home was erected in 1870, and in the meantime he has turned this property to profit and good account by clearing it, laying it out in lots, and erecting five houses, four of which he still owns. Always greatly interested in the political situations by which he

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Avarilla y thompson

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has been surrounded, he has upheld the interests of Republicanism from his first voting days, and in connection therewith has been able to addi- tionally apply his knowledge of city beautifying. During a seven years' service as street com- missioner in East Portland, he laid out various streets, and by his suggestions greatly improved the general aspect of things under his jurisdic- tion. For a time he had charge of the yard display of the government building, having been appointed by R. P. Earhart. Judge Stephens appointed him bailiff of the criminal department of the circuit court, and after the death of the eminent jurist, his successor, Judge George, con- firmed the appointment, which terminated after the new rulings of the court, in September, 1901. Mr. Bartel was a member of the council of East Portland for one term, and he has been a delegate to numerous city and county conven- tions. He is a charter member of the Phalanx Lodge No. 14, K. of P., and he is a member of the German society known as the Eintracht. In Portland Mr. Bartel married Mrs. Jennie Hesle, who died in 1897, leaving two children by her first marriage, of whom Walter is mar- ried and engaged in business in Portland, and Annie is the wife of H. H. Holmes. The chil- dren have always gone by the name of Bartel. In 1898 Mr. Bartel married Mrs. Elizabeth Slegel, whose son, Edward, is in the printing business with Mr. Torry, and whose daughter, Emma, is the wife of Mr. Holzer. Mr. Bartel has led a very industrious and practically useful life, and he may well regard with satisfaction the disposition which he has made of time, tal- ent, and opportunity. He bears an honored name in the community, and numbers his friends and well wishers by the score.

THOMAS W. THOMPSON. A retired resident of Portland, and one who in the past has proven his capability as a citizen of a pioneer country, is to be named in the person of Thomas W. Thompson, who was born in Blairsville, Pa., May 16, 1831. He was the son of Joseph and Maria (Culbertson) Thompson, both of whom were also born and reared in Pennsylvania, near Jacksonville, and there the death of each oc- curred between the ages of seventy and eighty

years. Of their family of eleven children one died in infancy, the remainder attaining years of maturity, though the following four are the only ones now living: William, who lives near Olympia, Wash., a carpenter by trade; Thomas W., of this review; Samuel, of Leavenworth, Kans., also a carpenter by trade; and Maria Jane, the widow of Benjamin Davidson, now living in Jacksonville, Pa. The father was a carpenter by trade, but in later years turned

his attention to farming, in which latter occu- pation he attained the same degree of success which had characterized his earlier efforts. In the matter of his life work the elder Mr. Thomp- son was thrown upon his own responsibility and achieved his success entirely without aid. He was a self-made man, and the practical abil- ity which distinguished him was passed on into the lives of his children, who as well received the best education which the schools of Pennsyl- vania offered.

Thomas W. Thompson remained at home with his father until he was nineteen years of age, working on the farm, and being of a mechan- ical turn of mind he easily picked up the trade of his father, to be followed in his later years in the pursuit of his livelihood. When he de- cided to strike out into the world for himself his father found him a place for the period of six months, to work at his trade for the re- muneration of $4 per month and his board. On leaving this situation he carried with him the wages which he had earned in the intervening time, and was soon employed as a journeyman carpenter with wages ranging from $12 to $15 per month. He remained in Pennsylvania until attaining his majority, when he started for Cali- fornia, which, however, he did not reach for some time, as he met a number of men in New York City who were going to Melbourne, Aus- tralia, and induced him to try his fortune there. It was the period of the gold discovery in that country, and upon his arrival there he, like many others, sought the mines, though he combined with mining a prosecution of his trade. After six months he was satisfied to seek another location, and in company with his brother John he went to Callao, Peru, still in search of gold, but finding nothing he went up the coast to Panama, where he worked at his trade and re- ceived good wages. In 1853 he went by water to California, and was employed in the mines of Placerville for a short time, but being unable to accomplish anything as a miner he once more worked at his trade, and was also employed during one season in the harvest field. He re- mained in California until 1857, when he came to Oregon, joining his brother John, the latter of whom had come north from Panama and en- gaged in painting in this state. Mr. Thompson at once found employment as a journeyman car- penter at lucrative wages, and also did some contracting independently. In 1858 he located in Forest Grove, Washington county, where he remained for a year and contracted with C. O. Clark at Spring Valley, and was also engaged in contracting in the city of his residence.

In 1863, six miles southwest of Forest Grove, Mr. Thompson was united in marriage with Avarilla Stott, a daughter of Samuel Jack and

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Lucy (Denney) Stott. Her parents were pioneers of 1851, crossing the plains with ox teams from Jennings county, Ind., to Oregon, where the father located a donation claim near Beaverton, Washington county. Afterward he traded that for one near Gaston, in the same county, where he made his home until his death in 1880, at the age of sixty-five years. His wife died two years later at the age of seventy. Both were natives of Kentucky, and were of English and Irish extraction, the maternal grand- father of Mr. Stott being James McGuire, who fought as a soldier in the Revolutionary war and is remembered for his very small stature, weighing only about one hundred and thirty pounds. In politics Mr. Stott was a Republican, his first presidential vote being cast for William Henry Harrison. Of the six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Stott in Indiana, those besides Mrs. Thompson are as follows: Mary Jane, who became the wife of W. H. H. Myers and died at Forest Grove, aged forty-five years ; Fielding D., who died at North Yamhill aged forty-seven years; Raleigh, who served for some time as district attorney of Multnomah county and died in Portland, aged fifty-six years ; Frank, an attorney, who died aged twenty-six years ; and Rebecca, who was married to Charles A. Ball, and. died at the age of twenty-four years. The children of this family who were born in Ore- gon are as follows: Samuel R., an attorney and miner of Greenhorn, Ore .; and Fanny, who be- came the wife of John L. Miller and died at the age of twenty-six years. The children were all educated in the common schools of the state in which they lived and three sons graduated from college.

After marriage Mr. Thompson came to Port- land, where he and his wife made their home for two years, while he engaged at his trade. In 1865 he took up a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty-five acres, and also made a purchase of one hundred and sixty adjoining. During the thirty-five years which he passed as a farmer he has accumulated sufficient property to amount to three hundred and seventy-six acres, three hundred of which has been brought to cultivation through the industry and perse- verance of the thrifty owner. In every partic- ular Mr. Thompson proved his ability as an agriculturist, his early training returning to him as he once more sought his livelihood through the cultivation of the soil. In 1900 he rented his farm, giving up the general farming and stock raising which had occupied his attention for so many years, and with his wife, who has aided materially in the accumulation of a com- petence, he removed to his present home, located at No. 740 Fast Taylor street, Portland, the property being purchased by Mr. Thompson.

In his personal character Mr. Thompson is above reproach, honest and straightforward in all his dealings, and though not a church mem- ber he has liberally supported all church move- ments and upheld the hands of those who were attempting reforms and progression. In politics he has never been a man to support a party, to give his allegiance unquestioningly along cer- tain lines, but has always held himself free to support the men best qualified to carry out the best interests of the community, state or gov- ernment. He has not cared for political recog- nition, but has not neglected his duty as a citi- zen, having served at different times as school director and clerk of the school board. In fra- ternal relations he is identified with the Masons, and in regard to the interests with which he had so long been connected he was active, both himself and wife being charter members of the Gaston Grange, Mr. Thompson serving as mas- ter and his wife as chaplain. Both are members of Pioneer Association of Oregon. Practically the entire life of Mr. Thompson has been or- dered according to his own lights, the ventures which he has made being the result of his own judgment, the success which he has achieved a fitting termination to a life of energetic and persevering effort. He enjoys the esteem of all who know him, and he himself appreciates his own success as well as that of others who also came as pioneers to Oregon and worked side by side with him toward a common end-the upbuilding of a western statehood.

WILLIAM CLAPSHAW is one of the best known and most prosperous farmers and stock- raisers in Washington county, making a specialty of Jersey cows and Percheron horses. He was born in Sussex county, England, April 16, 18.13. and in 1848, came to America with his parents. This ocean voyage has no place in the memory of Mr. Clapshaw, but from hearsay he knows that it was seven weeks long, and that they were overtaken by violent storms. His father, who in England conducted a hotel, located in Fond du Lac, Wis., where he engaged in farming, and where most of his eleven children were born. In 1860 the family fortunes were shifted to Min- nesota, and in 1875 changed to Oregon, where the parents lived to a ripe old age on their farm in Washington county.

Into the otherwise uneventful youth of Wil- liam Clapshaw came the opportunity for army service in Minnesota, and when seventeen he enlisted in Company B, First Minnesota Mounted Rangers, serving in all fifteen months. Not sat- isfied with the duration of his service he re-en- listed in Company C, Eleventh Volunteer Min- nesota Infantry, and during his service of more

Old Atkinson

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than a year participated in the battle of Nash- ville, and in a number of minor engagements. He was chiefly responsible for the capture of Colonel Harper, the chief guerilla of Tennessee, and before being mustered out at Fort Snelling, Minn., had been promoted to the rank of cor- poral.

Soon after his return from the war, Mr. Clap- shaw was united in marriage with Laura Duns- moor, a native of Maine, who removed to Min- nesota with her parents when but two years of age. From there they started for the coast with teams and wagons, but became very tired of this means of travel and sold their outfit upon arriving at Council Bluffs. The rest of the way they came by train, and upon arriving in June, 1875, located upon the place which has since been their home, and which comprises eighty acres. This property was exceedingly wild at the time of purchase, but now about sixty acres are under cultivation. Mr. Clapshaw raises as fine Jersey cows and Percheron horses as can be found anywhere in the state, and his farm is well equipped with modern buildings.

In his capacity as a broad-minded and enter- prising agriculturist Mr. Clapshaw has seen the advisability of mingling with the general affairs of his county, and it is through his instrumental- ity that many improvements have been brought about. He constructed the first school house in his neighborhood and has always been the friend and advocate of advanced educational methods. As a member of the Congregational Church he has been one of the most active in promoting the interests of that denomination, and had largely to do with the construction of the church in his district. In political affiliation he is a Prohibi- tionist. For many years he has served his fel- low citizens in the capacities of school clerk and road supervisor. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Clapshaw, as follows : Edith B .; Myron M .; Charles E., of Forest Grove; Wil- liam A .; Verna L .; and an infant deceased.

JOSIAH LITTLE ATKINSON. No mater- ial monument reared to the citizens of Portland could be so eloquent as the memory which at- taches to the name of one who has made sacri- fices for the advancement of the city and country, who, in the pursuit of a livelihood and compe- tency which is every man's due, has still found time and means to reach the aid of a strong, true manhood to the financial, social and moral support of the community. Such a one was Josiah Little Atkinson, who died January 30, 1902, his last resting place in Riverview Ceme- tery, in the city wherein he acted the part of a pioneer. A brief résumé of his life is appropri- ately placed in this representative work.

Mr. Atkinson was born in Newbury, Vt., Feb- ruary 14, 1823, and educated in an academy at Newburyport, Mass., where the family removed at an early day. His father was a farmer throughout his entire life, and Mr. Atkinson re- mained at home for many years engaged in assisting in carrying on the work of the farm in the support of the family. During the gold excitement in California he became interested in the prospects of the west, and hoping to better his condition he decided to make the trip, coming by the way of the Horn in 1849 and safely landing after an uneventful voyage. He at once became a miner, making success of placer mining, which he followed for three years. From a New England ancestry Mr. Atkinson inherited the shrewd judgment and discrimination which the true business man possesses, and in the midst of the wooded wilderness he soon saw an opening in lumbering, even with the disadvantages at hand of the lack of machinery, etc., embodying a for- tune for all who cared to make use of their talents in this more quiet and less exciting employment. He erected mills in various locations and at once began cutting timber. This really brought him a fortune, but later he experienced the loss of about $90,000 worth of property by fire, which left him rather low in his finances and once more at the foot of the ladder. Nothing daunted, however, he determined to again begin the upward climb, and knowing something of the conditions of Portland and the northwest section generally he decided to locate there. Accordingly, in 1866, he came north with $13 as a beginning for the for- tune which he hoped to find in this state. . Meet- ing with some practical business men of this section he was induced to take up the real estate business, and thence entering upon the work he never had reason to regret the step. He first formed a partnership with L. M. Parrish and later with Mr. Wakefield, and for twenty-five years the firm did a general real estate business, which placed them in the front ranks as dealers of this nature. In 1901 Mr. Atkinson sold out his interest to Mr. Fries, then withdrawing en- tirely from active business life on account of declining health. While a resident of the city he had lived on Third street and his death oc- curred in the first home owned by him in Port- land, No. 385 Third street.

This property in which Mr. Atkinson passed away is one of historic interest, as it was erected by Governor Lane, territorial governor of Ore- gon, as a wedding present to his daughter who married Eugene Shelby. It is built entirely of California redwood and when Mr. Atkinson became the owner he remodeled and modernized it without taking from it the attributes which had made it pleasing in the earlier times. In his life in Portland Mr. Atkinson had shown himself a

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thorough business man, giving his personal at- tention to the details of the work whereby he won a competeney. In party affiliations he was a stanch Republican and it was the truest loy- alty which caused him to refuse to accept office, as he believed his influence would be stronger if exereised from the ranks. Fraternally he was a Master Mason, and religiously belonged to the First Congregational Church, in which he was always an active worker. In all charitable under- takings he gave liberally of the wealth acquired through the exercise of executive ability and business methods to those less fortunate in the possession of those gifts or less active in the use of them, his kindly disposition making the recipi- ent of his bounty forget that it was charity which was tendered him. It has been said of him that no one ever asked in vain for help. The home life of Mr. Atkinson was almost ideally perfect. for though of a strong will and intense vital forees, he combined these with a generous and forgiving nature, and a broad charity which could see but the good traits of those about him. He was greatly attached to his wife and children and did everything in his power to make their home life enjoyable.

The first wife of Mr. Atkinson was Isabelle Clarkson, whom he married in 1856, in Califor- nia, of which union two children were born, both dying in infancy. Mrs. Atkinson died in 1894, in the home purchased in 1887. February 12, 1898, he was united in marriage with Mrs. Jennie Champlain, the widow of George Champlain. She was born in 1858, in California, in Eldorado county, when Mr. Atkinson was engaged in his milling operations in that part of the country. She came to Portland in 1878. Of her four children one died in infancy; Winnie M. is the wife of A. B. Cousin, of Portland, who is engaged in mining; Florence B. is the wife of F. H. Irwin, also of this city ; and Myron A. is engaged in business in New York City. The children were all educated in the best schools which the country afforded, all graduating from the high school with honors.

JOHN MARSHALL. One of the oldest living engineers upon the Willamette river is John Marshall. a sturdy, staneh and enterpris- ing pioneer of 1852, who has contributed a half century of worthy living to the growth and upbuilding of the western state. He comes of an English family, the members of which were especially endowed with the genius which finds its true expression in the operation of mechan- ieal appliances. There were four brothers, John, William, Samuel and George Marshall, all of whom engaged in the manufacture of boilers in the city of London, afterward locating in Paris,

where the work was continued for some time and later sold. At a very early date George Marshall, the father of John, brought some of the first boilers to the United States. He died in Southampton at the age of forty-one, while engaged in the management of a large shop in that city. His wife, formerly Mary E. Spencer, came to Chicago with her seven children, four sons and three daughters, four of whom after- ward crossed the plains with her, while three remained in Illinois. Those who came to the Northwest are as follows: George, who was a master mechanie for the Chicago & Northwest- ern Railway, and whose death occurred in Port- land, July 3, 1887. at the age of fifty-seven years; John, of this review, who was born in London, England, May 26, 1837; Annie M., who is the widow of Griffith S. Williams, and who carries on a general store at The Dalles, formerly conducted by her husband; and Ed- ward T., who is engaged as a blacksmith in South Dakota. Those who remained in Chi- eago are: Sarah, who became the wife of L. Smith and died at Stratford, Canada ; Mary E., the widow of A. W. Clark, of Chicago; and William, a boiler maker, who came to Portland in 1858, remained for a time, then going to Walla Walla, where he opened a shop and con- tinued until his death in 1885, at the age of fifty-two years. The children received the prin- eipal part of their education in Chicago. Mrs. Marshall was married the second time to Will- iam Harmon, who was a blacksmith, having learned the trade from the Marshalls, and had gone to Chicago in 1836 on the vessel which brought the John Bull to America, and was an intimate friend of the Marshall family. By this marriage she had one daughter, Emma, born in Oregon, who became the wife of Dr. O. D. Doane, of The Dalles. After her marriage with Mr. Harmon the family outfitted with eight yoke of oxen, three cows and four horses and neces- sary supplies and set out upon the journey for the west. By the time they reached The Dalles they had but one yoke of oxen and one cow, having had to borrow one to make out a team ; the hardships and suffering experienced upon the way tried to the uttermost the purpose of these sturdy pioneers. They had set out for California but decided instead to locate in Ore- gon, where Mr. Harmon took up a donation land elaim near Oregon City, afterward remov- ing to The Dalles, where his death occurred. The mother was a woman of fine strength of character and acute faculties, which were re- tained in all their strength up to the time of her death, which occurred at the age of eighty years.

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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 83

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