Portrait and biographical record of Portland and vicinity, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 85

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 85

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Until his twentieth year Alford C. Hall re- mained under the paternal roof, and during that time was reared to farming, and educated in the

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public schools. Thereafter he turned his atten- tion to learning the blacksmith's trade, and also the machinist's; and to these combined occupa- tions he devoted about thirty-seven years of his life. December 2, 1875. he was united in mar- riage with Celina Sells, a native of Oregon, whose parents, Stephen and Mary Sells, settled near Portland in 1853. After his marriage Mr. Hall resided in Dilley for a year, and then took up his residence in Goldendale, Wash., which continued to be his home for about six years. Afterward he lived in Cedar Mill for six years, and in 1890 bought the place of thirty-one and a half acres near Sherwood, upon which he now lives, and to which he has added by recent purchase. at present owning sixty-five acres. He is responsi- ble for the many fine improvements which make his place one of the most desirable in his section of the county, and is engaged in onion raising on quite an extensive scale.

A Republican in politics, Mr. Hall is one of the stanchest supporters of his party in Washington county, but has never entered the arena of politi- cal preferment, although he has served for two years as justice of the peace in this county. He is a liberal patron of all that has to do with the general upbuilding of his neighborhood, and is socially and from a business standpoint both prominent and popular. Fraternally he is as- sociated with the Masons of Hillsboro, Ore., and with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Goldendale, Wash. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hall, of whom Arthur W. lives in Sherwood ; Chester G. is a medical student at Portland : and Harry B. is living at home.

JUDGE SAMUEL S. WHITE. The name of Judge Samuel Simpson White is associated with many of the events which form the early history of the state and with those bearing upon its latter day progress and improvement. The commonwealth stands as a monument to such men as he and his name should be inscribed high on the roll of its honored and eminent citizens. He died January 6, 1901, after a resi- (lence of fifty-six years in Oregon, having come to the state-then a territory-in 1845.

The judge was born in Indiana, December 27, 18II, and was descended from Puritan an- cestry, belonging to a family early established in New England and noted for longevity. Others of his immediate family came to the northwest. His brother. Newton White, is now living at Prineville, Ore., at the age of more than eighty years, and a sister, Nancy, who also came to Oregon, became the wife of Thomas Reed, a resident of Corvallis, and is deceased. Mrs. Cynthia Albright, with her family, is now living in Fort Madison, Iowa, where her husband,

William G. Albright, was once a prominent mer- chant. Another sister of the judge became the wife of Berryman Jennings, a brother of Mrs. White. Colonel Jennings became a prominent factor in Oregon and was a farmer here at an early day. He died leaving three sons and four daughters; one son, Edward, by the first mar- riage, was a teacher and died at Coos Bay. Mrs. Jennings died at the old homestead, near Ore- gon City.

Judge White was long regarded as one of the most scholarly men of Oregon, yet he was a self- educated man, having no school privileges, save that he attended a primitive school for about three months in his early boyhood. He was born and reared upon a farm and followed that vocation in Indiana until the early '3os, when he removed to Illinois, spending a short time in Sangamon county. He was married in 1830 to Miss Huldah Jennings, who was born in Ken- tucky and was a daughter of a Kentucky planter and one of the heirs of the noted Jennings es- tate. Leaving Illinois the judge removed to Iowa, where he located a tract of land and built the first house in what is now the city of Bur- lington. His wife's brother, Berryman Jennings, was the first school teacher there. At the time of the Black Hawk war Judge White enlisted from Iowa for service against the Indians, and in many other ways he was active in events shaping the pioneer history of the middle west. He was engaged at different times in merchan- dising at Burlington, Ft. Madison and at Keo- kuk, Iowa, and he also followed steamboating. He first began by operating a ferry at Ft. Madi- son and gradually worked into the steamboat business. He has always been recognized as the founder of Burlington, where he lived for some years, removing thence to Ft. Madison, where he remained until his emigration to Ore- gon. He became well to do through the con- duct of his various business interests, and hear- ing that the northwest was a good place for investment he resolved to identify his interests with those of this section of the country. Ac- cordingly with his wife and three children he came overland. driving ox-teams, and after six months his eyes rested upon the green valleys of the northwest and the journey was ended. They had traveled with a train of sixty wagons. The Indians were then very troublesome and all the emigrants were armed.

Judge White remained but a short time in Portland, then went to Oregon City. He became prominent in public affairs as well as a business man, and in 1846 he was appointed by Governor Abernethy as probate judge, being the first to hold that position in the territory. The follow- ing year he was appointed county judge of Clackamas county, and thus his name became

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associated with the early jurisprudence of the state. He located a donation claim of three hundred and twenty acres, two miles southeast of Oregon City, and gave his attention to farm -. away in his ninetieth year. He was an earnest ing and steamboating. In connection with Lott Christian and an active worker in the Congre- gational Church. At an early day his home was the meeting place of the ministers and mission- aries and he served as moderator at Oregon City and assisted in building several churches. He was also deeply interested in educational matters and assisted in founding a number of schools. He had more to do with the develop- ment of the roads in Clackamas county than any other man, and during the Indian wars he was always active in support of the men in the field and protecting their families at home. He was a pensioner of the Black Hawk war, a member and active worker in the Pioneer Association of Oregon, and his activity seemed to have touched every line of substantial development and per- manent improvement in the state. He owned much Portland property, having prospered in his business career, and he was thus enabled to provide his family with the comforts and many of the luxuries of life. While a most public- spirited citizen, he was also a devoted husband and father and found his greatest happiness at his own fireside. He is survived by one son, a brother and one sister. Whitcomb and Berryman Jennings he built a steamer called the Lott Whitcomb, which was the first boat on the Willamette river. Turning his attention to fruit raising, Judge White also planted one of the first orchards in the state. It covered eighteen acres and demonstrated the possibilities of Oregon for fruit producing. He continued to live upon his farm, superintending his varied interests, until 1870, when he removed to eastern Oregon, where he remained for three years. In 1849 he had gone to California over the mountains, to the mining districts, and had engaged in mining in the Sacramento valley. He also devoted some time to merchandising there, remaining in California for two years, after which he returned to Oregon. He was interested in the Florence, Caribou and Fraser river mines and also in mines in Baker and Union counties, Ore., was well informed on the subject of mining and quite successful in his labors in that direction. In 1873 his family set- tled in Portland for educational advantages ; he went to Tacoma, Wash., were he became identi- fied in real estate business.

It was not long after this that Judge White was elected justice of the peace in Tacoma, and later returning to Portland served for six years in that capacity in South Portland precinct. Here he was elected a member of the legislature in 1847, and served for one term. In politics he was first a Whig and later a Republican, and he frequently served as a delegate to the city, county and state conventions, where his opinions carried weight and his influence was strongly felt. Again coming to Portland he purchased a home at No. 348 Fourth street, where he lived until his death.

Judge and Mrs. White were accompanied to Oregon by their three children. Edward Milton was interested in mining, merchandising and steamboating for a number of years and died in Portland at the age of fifty-nine years. He left a widow, three sons and two daughters, but one of the sons is now deceased. Jane White became the wife of Capt. J. C. Ainsworth, of Portland. William Lynn White, who was presi- dent of the Portland Business College, was an expert penman and made a specialty of card and artistic writing. He died at the age of forty- one years, leaving a widow and three children, of whom one son is now deceased. After the removal to Oregon three other children were born, but the son, Thomas Carter, died in infancy and Ozella died at the age of four years. The other son, Eugene Dolph, was born October 16,

1851, on the old family homestead, and is the only one of the family now living. The wife and mother died in 1891, and the judge passed

The son, Eugene D. White, was educated in Oregon City under Dr. G. H. Atkinson and lived upon the home farm until nineteen years of age. He also attended the Pacific University at Forest Grove, the public schools, and Old Portland Academy under Profs. T. M. Gatch and T. H. Crawford. In 1874, on completing a business course, he accepted a position as bookkeeper for a large firm with which he remained for three years, when he' turned his attention to the broker- age business. He has been active in financial circles for a number of years as the senior mem- ber of the firm of Eugene D. White & Company, of Portland.

April 27, 1876, Eugene D. . White was mar- ried to Miss Emma Giltner, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1855, a daughter of Dr. J. S. Giltner, who came to Oregon in 1866. They have one son, Eugene Giltner White, who was educated in the public schools of Portland. He was married March II, 1903, to Miss Carrie Smith, a daughter of Samuel Smith, a pioneer of the state. Mr. and Mrs. E. D. White reside at No. 201 Sixteenth street, where he built a fine residence. He is a thirty-second degree Mason. belonging to Willamette Lodge No. 2, A. F. & A. M., of which he was master in 1882-83 ; Portland Chapter No. 3. R. A. M .; Oregon Commandery No. I, K. T .; Al Kader Temple of the Mystic Shrine: and Oregon Consistory No. I, A. A. S. R. He is also a member of the

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Native Sons, serving as the grand secretary dur- ing the first two years of its existence, and was the organizer of the ladies' auxiliary, the Native Daughters of Oregon. In politics he has always been a Republican. His attention is fully occu- pied with his business interests, which now rank him among the representative men of Portland.

JOHN P. WALKER. Like many another who started out to find his fortune in the gold fields of California, John P. Walker found it in more substantial pursuits of life in the north- west. Coming to Oregon and detained by, what for the moment looked like misfortune, Mr. Walker has never had reason to regret his de- cision though he has met with many reverses in his work here, for he has given substantial aid in the upbuilding of the city of Portland and has also gained a competency through application to his duties and undaunted courage.

The father. Thomas Walker, was a native of England, and by occupation a blacksmith; with the desire to test his ability in a land of broader opportunity he came to the United States and settled in Ohio. In 1835 he removed to Elkhart county, Ind., becoming a pioneer of that state, where he died in 1848, at the age of fifty-four years. He became a large land owner, having entered government land which he improved, en- gaging in farming throughout the remaining years of his life. Before leaving England, which he did at the age of twenty-six years, he was the recipient of a good common school educa- tion, which with his practical business ideas made possible the fortune which he acquired before his death. In Ohio he married Elizabeth Harmon, who was born in England, December 31, 1799, and came to America when she was sixteen years old. She died in Indiana, in 1878. Of the ten children born to them only five are now living. the oldest being John P., of this review, who was born in Hocking county, Ohio, in the town of Logan, October 13, 1829. He was the fourth child born to them and the only one who sought a home on the Pacific coast. The fifth child was Edward W., who is in business in Goshen, Ind. ; Emily Hopkins lives on the line between Michi- gan and Indiana, near White Pigeon; and Har- riet Taylor and Charlotte live in Iowa. The other children died in the cast, the youngest of the family being Charles, who left a son, Charles W. Walker, who was employed as a caricaturist by Harper Brothers, of New York City. The children were all educated in the public schools and in a private seminary.

The education of John P. Walker was received in the public schools, two winter seasons were spent at La Grange Seminary and one at Mid- (llebury. He remained at home until his father's

death, assisting with the farm work and in the building of the home. Having considerable me- chanical ability he began as a carpenter in the employ of the Southern Michigan & Indiana railroad, the second to be built into Chicago. March 15, 1852, he left Indiana for the gold fields of California, being one of a party of young people who crossed the plains with ox teams, and had four wagons filled with neces- sary supplies. Six months of the year were con- summed in the passage, and while on the way they met a pack train returning to the East, by whom they were induced to spend the winter of 1852 in Oregon. Before reaching The Dalles Mr. Walker was taken very ill with mountain fever and for four weeks lay sick in a wagon; in the meantime he abandoned his original intention of going to California. Upon recovery he came to Portland and began working at his trade, with a partner, doing general contracting, and meet- ing with good success in his work. In 1859, armed with a letter of introduction from H. W. Corbett, of Portland, to his agent Samuel Roose- velt, an uncle of President Roosevelt, living at No. 18 Warren street, New York City. Mr. Walker returned east to purchase machinery for a planing mill which he intended to build and put in operation. The journey was made, both going and coming, by way of the Isthmus of Panama. Upon his arrival again in Portland he set up the machinery, establishing and operating the first planing mill in that city, and carried on a flourishing business until July 10, 1868. when the entire plant was lost by fire. July 30, Mr. Walker went to Umatilla, and there took the United States mail stage for the east, undaunted by his misfortune and again ready to make the journey to secure new and modern machinery, succeeding in doing so in that same year, this time erecting a brick mill, one block east of Honeyman's foundry, and being once more in operation in December, 1868. Five years later, in 1873, a devastating fire once more destroyed his property, twenty-three blocks of the city being then burned. This second loss was of such a character as to compel him to relinquish the idea of undertaking again the management of such a business. He then became a pattern- maker in the Willamette Iron Works and con- tinted about four years in that occupation. While engaged in his milling operations Mr. Walker had invested his surplus money in real estate of the city, all of which he had improved, thus assisting very materially in the growth of Portland. May 1, 1853, he built a home at the corner of First and Main streets, and that and his present residence at No. 374 Second street have been his home since.

Mr. Walker was married February 26. 1852, to Harriet A. Keightley, who was born in 1835.

HIRAM S. STONE.

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and crossed the plains with him and gave the strength and earnestness of her womanhood to the life of a pioneer. She died Janu- ary 15, 1869, in Portland, on the home place now occupied by Mr. Walker. Four children were born to them, the two sons dying in early childhood and the two daughters being Myrtle O., and Nellie F. The former is the widow of H. W. Winch, and makes her home in San Fran- cisco. She has one son, Frank W. Nellie F. is the wife of Francis Seeley; and they have one daughter, Kathleen, aged eleven years; they make their home with her father in the old home erected by him. Mr. Walker has been a fond and indulgent father and has surrounded his daughters with every comfort and luxury within his power, and giving them the advantages of the Portland schools, of which they are both graduates. The mother and daughters have al- ways been church members, and Mr. Walker has contributed liberally to the support of religious work. In politics he is a Republican but has never cared for official recognition. Fraternally he is a member of Samaritan Lodge I. O. O. F., having joined in 1854, and is a charter men- ber of Ellison Encampment, having passed all the chairs in both. He has been a member of the Grand Lodge.

HIRAM S. STONE. The valley of the Colum- bia river is especially rich in its dairying possi- bilities, the climate and other natural advantages being nowhere more happily combined. That this is a fact one will readily see in viewing the many fine ranches in the vicinity of Cleone, one of which belongs to Mr. Stone. In North Mon- roeville, Ohio, his birth occurred August 17, 1847. He grew to manhood on his father's farm, assisting in the duties of the same in so far as his time and strength made it possible. At the age of twenty-three he started out in life on his own account, going first to Minnesota. In the spring of 1872, however, believing he could find a wider field for advancement in the west, he came to Oregon, with whose farming and dairying inter- ests he has since been identified. Locating near Cleone, he rented a ranch which belonged to an aunt, and this was the scene of his labors from 1872 until 1881. In the latter year he purchased the property on which he now makes his home, which comprises two hundred and twenty-five acres in sections 27, 28, 33 and 34. All of the improvements on the place are the result of his own persistent efforts, and he has one hundred and ninety-five acres cleared.

Hiram S. Stone was married to Miss Eliza Zimmerman April 24, 1881, and they became the parents of four interesting children, whose names in order of their birth are as follows :

Roy, Lena, Cedric and Platt C. Mr. Stone gives the weight of his influence and his vote in favor of the Republican party, which body, in 1890, elected him county commissioner, serving in that capacity eight years all together.

Fraternally he is identified with the Masonic order, holding membership in the Fairview Lodge at Cleone.

FERGUS M. LICHTENTHALER is num- bered among the pioneer residents of Oregon of 1853 and since 1873 has made his home in the city of Portland. He was born in Indiana county, Pa., October 25, 1836, and is a son of Jacob Barge and Mary (Moorhead) Lichten- thaler. His paternal grandparents were natives of Germany and came from Rothenbach, in the county of Neuwied, Germany, to America. The Lichtenthalers are of a long-lived race. Both the parents of our subject were natives of In- diana county, Pa., the father born August 18, 1803, and the mother April 13, 1806. In 1842 they removed to Illinois, settling in Moline, and afterward became residents of Rock Island, whence they went to Alton and afterward to Lexington, Ill., where the father followed the carpenter's trade. He was a man of good edu- cation and was a prominent and influential factor in the various communities in which he resided. In 1853, accompanied by his family, consisting of his wife, four sons and three daughters. he started westward. He had sccured an outfit of two wagons and fourteen head of cattle and thus he started on the overland route for Ore- gon, desiring a change of climate and also that he might be far from the danger of cyclones, such storms being very numerous in Illinois at that time. He was attracted to the west, too, by the hope of securing a good farm and home for his family on the Pacific coast, for he had heard of the act of legislature which granted six hundred and forty acres of land to all men of families who would locate in Oregon. Accord- ingly he started for the Sunset state, crossing the Missouri river April 14, 1853, and arriving at Portland September 26, following. The train with which he traveled was known as the Mis- sionary train. Mr. Lichtenthaler himself was a preacher of the United Brethren Church. In early life he had embraced the Methodist faith and was one of the ministers of that denomina- tion in Pennsylvania and in Illinois until 1844, when the church was divided into the Methodist Episcopal Church, north and south. At that time he joined the United Brethren Church and preached in its behalf in Illinois and also after coming to Oregon. T. J. Conner was sent by the Missionary Society of the United Brethren Church to the northwest and he gathered about

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him several religious men who came on their own responsibility to Oregon. A train of twenty wagons was thus made up and because of the religious character of its members was known as the Missionary train. On reaching his destination Mr. Lichtenthaler established his home in Portland, where he remained for two years and again followed his trade of carpen- tering. He then went to Chehalem valley, where he located a claim, but did not remain very long. Later he located at McMinnville, where he owned a farm of eighty acres and while there he also worked on the construction of the McMinnville Institute, which was then being built. He afterward sold his eighty acre farm and removed to French Prairie, where he pur- chased and improved a tract of land upon which he lived for sixteen years. He not only car- ried on agricultural pursuits, but also continued his labors in behalf of the church and every Sunday filled the pulpit of the United Brethren Church. For two years he was the presiding elder for the Oregon and Washington district of this denomination. While residing in French Prairie he was elected a member of the state legislature and served in that capacity for two years. After residing for sixteen years about one mile from Champoeg he removed to Port- land. In 1872 he settled near what is now the town of Fulton, where he purchased an acre and a half of land and there he engaged in garden- ing, making his home on that place until his death. No matter in what business he engaged he was always faithful and loyal to the church and preached in various houses of worship in Oregon and also delivered many addresses be- fore the Young Men's Christian Association. He was one of the prime movers in establishing a college at Slomah, Ore., in the 'zos and his influence was widely telt along intellectual and moral lines. He was never a politician in the sense of office seeking, although he gave a stal- wart and earnest support to the Republican party and its principles. Both he and his wife were very charitable and were generous almost to a fault. They were very anxious and ready to assist those in need and the world is certainly better for their having lived. Mr. Lichtenthaler passed away in Portland January 7, 1886, and his wife died in the same city March 2, 1890, their remains being interred in River View cem- etery.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Lichtenthaler were born fourteen children, all of whom were natiyes of Pennsylvania. Of this number the eldest, John, died in infancy, his birth having occurred Sep- tember 7, 1826, and his death in 1827. Sarah, born October 5, 1827, became the wife of John Spires and died in Alton, Ill., in 1851 ; Lucinda F., born April 8, 1829, was married to Joseph

Sloan and died in Portland, March 4, 1880, leav- ing a daughter, Mrs. Nellie Squires, now of New York City. Mathias, born October 20, 1830, was a soldier of the Civil war and was killed in the service of his country in 1861. George W., born August 27, 1832, died in San Francisco, Cal., February 20, 1893. He was a naturalist and for the last twenty years of his life he traveled. During this time he gathered a collection of specimens valued at $20,000, and these he donated to Stanford University of Cali- fornia. It cost $500 to ship this collection from Bloomington, Ill., to its destination. George W. Lichtenthaler was a very well educated man and a scientist of broad learning and research in the line of his specialty. David W., his twin brother, was a prominent attorney of Portland and died October 11, 1900. He taught school in 1857 and some of the records which he made at that time are now in possession of the subject of this review. David W. Lichtenthaler was also the first man elected on the Republican ticket to the position of county clerk in Mult- nomah county, being chosen to the office in 1859, and he served as county judge of Union county for several terms. Wesley Lichtenthaler, the next member of the family, was born April 9, 1835, and is a farmer of Randolph county, Mo., where he is now living with his family. Fergus Moorhead is the next younger. Harri- son Barge, born February 10, 1839, is a farmer residing in Clackamas county, Ore., having come to this state with his father in 1853. He is mar- ried and has a son, Ernest Grant. Rebecca A., born October 24, 1840, became the wife of Henry Morrow and died in Benton county, Ore., in 1863. Jennie E., born November 29, 1843, came to Oregon with her parents and afterward mar- ried Charles Pickett. Following his death she became the wife of J. L. Parrish of Salem, Ore., and by that marriage had two daughters: Mrs. Grace Pierce, the wife of Dr. Pierce of Salem, and Mrs. Josie Slater, whose husband is also a physician of Salem. Mrs. Parrish died August IO, 1887. William C. Lichtenthaler, born Janu- ary 4, 1847, accompanied his parents to Oregon and is now a farmer living in Clackamas county. Mary, born July 7, 1849, died in 1849, and one other died in infancy.

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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 85

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