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 86
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Fergus Moorhead Lichtenthaler was born in Pennsylvania, but acquired his education in French Prairie in Oregon. He made his home with his parents until 1872, although he spent some time in the mines of this state and of Idaho. He also had a farm in Marion county adjoining his father's land. In 1871 he came to Portland and in company with John Epperly opened a butcher shop at the corner of First and Clay streets. This was at the edge of the city and they remained there for two years, 011
J.M. Robinson M.D.
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the expiration of which period the partnership was dissolved and Mr. Lichtenthaler again be- gan business on his own account, managing The Grange Market, at the corner of First and Madi- son streets, for about one year. In 1873 he purchased his present property and erected a building for the use of the store and residence.
In the year 1873 in Washington county, Ore., Mr. Lichtenthaler was united in marriage to Miss Martha R. Jolly, a daughter of the -Rev. William Jolly. She was born in Oregon in 1854 and died in 1880. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Lichtenthaler were born two children, of whom George Clarence, born in 1878, is now living at home. He was educated in the public schools. The other son, William B. Lichtenthaler, died in infancy.
In 1873 Mr. Lichtenthaler of this review be- came one of the charter members of the Volun- teer Fire Company No. 5, and served for seven years with that organization, acting as its fore- man for one year. He was elected a member of the board of delegates for one year and in 1877 he was appointed a member of the police force, acting in that capacity for about a year. In June, 1881, he was chosen constable and filled that position until 1886, since which time he has lived a retired life. In politics he has always been a Republican and has taken an active part in the work of the political organiza- tion which embraces the principles that he en- dorses. Mr. Lichtenthaler belongs to the Pioneer Association of Oregon and to the Tay- lor Street Methodist Episcopal Church. For a half century he has been a resident of this state, witnessing its progress and development and as the years have gone by he has achieved success through honorable business methods which naught can question or condemn.
FRANCIS MARION ROBINSON, M. D., who has attained prestige as a representative of the medical fraternity, is now practicing success- fully in Beaverton, and is one of Oregon's native sons, his birth having occurred near Hillsboro, February 5, 1848. His father, James B. Robin- son, was born in December, 1812, in Westmore- land county, Pa., while the paternal grandfather of our subject was a native of Germany and be- came a member of the German navy. While on a cruise along the coast of America he deserted, to- gether with two hundred others, and took up his abode near Philadelphia. He died during the early boyhood of his son, James B. Robinson, who at that time was bound out. remaining with his em- ployer until about fourteen years of age, when he ran away in order that he might make his own way in the world. He lived at different times in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Illinois and
Iowa, taking up his abode in the latter state about 1840. There he engaged in farming and while residing in Iowa he was united in marriage to Melissa H. Warner, a native of Tennessee. They began their domestic life in the Hawkeye state and in 1847 left for the far west, becoming resi- dents of Washington county, Ore. Their home was near Hillsboro, where the father took up a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres, and continued to follow farming until his death, which occurred when he was about forty-five years of age. His widow, long surviving him, lived to be seventy years of age. In their family were two children, but the younger, Mary A., has now passed away.
Dr. Robinson is therefore the only surviving member of the family. Under the parental roof his boyhood days were passed and in the public schools near his home he acquired his early edu- cation, while later he became a student in the Forest Grove Academy. He also studied in other institutions and for several terms he en- gaged in teaching school, principally in Wash- ington county. He left home at the age of twenty-seven years and for some time resided in Wyoming and in Montana, being employed as a bookkeeper in those states. Attracted by the science of medicine, and believing that he would find its practice a congenial profession, he began studying toward that end in 1876, reading under the direction of Dr. Joseph Teal, of Umatilla county, Ore. He pursued his first course of lectures in the medical department of the University of Iowa and located for prac- tice with Dr. Teal, near Echo, Ore., where he remained for two years. He then went to Port- land and in the scholastic year of 1884-85 was a student in the medical department of Willamette University, where he was graduated. He then traveled through Arizona for about fifteen months, after which he came to Beaverton, where he has since practiced with gratifying success and at the same time has conducted a drug store. The doctor by continued reading and re- search has broadened his knowledge and pro- moted his efficiency and to-day his skill and ability in the line of his profession are indicated by the liberal patronage accorded him.
October 20, 1889, occurred the marriage of Dr. Robinson and Lottie A. Banks, a native of Wisconsin, and their union has been blessed with two children, Nellie M. and George Francis Train Robinson. The doctor is prominent in the town because of his deep interest and active co- operation in everything pertaining to the general good. He served as a councilman for some time and at present is mayor of Beaverton. So- cially he is identified with the Masonic Lodge, in which he has filled all the chairs ; and he has like- wise held all of the offices in the local lodge of the
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Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He belongs to the United Artisans, of which he is the present deputy supreme master, and in the line of his profession he is connected with the Oregon State Medical Association, and is the president of the Washington County Medical Society. In a pro- fession where advancement depends upon individ- tal merit, upon capability and close application, Dr. Robinson has attained a very creditable position.
J. H. MYERS. The interesting occupation of the engineer has been followed by J. H. My- ers for many years, and prior to the assump- tion of his present position as chief engineer of the Portland Lumber Company, he held many others requiring great skill, and mastery of mi- nute intricacies. As a mere boy Mr. Myers had a leaning toward mechanical investigation, and when opportunity came to perfect himself in his chosen field of activity he went at it with a vim and enthusiasm which could bring naught save the most pronounced success.
The representative of a family long estab- lished in Virginia, Mr. Myers was born in Park- ersburg, that state, October 13, 1865, the young- est of the eight children born to Stephen and Mary M. (Ruebush) Myers, five of whose chil- dren are living at the present time. The pa- ternal grandfather was an agriculturist in the Old Dominion, and Stephen Myers was a dealer in agricultural implements, his latter days being spent in Lexington, Va. His wife, also a native of Virginia, died in Greenville, Va. J. H. My- ers was reared principally in Lexington, and there attended the public schools. When six- teen years old he went to Bradford, Miami county, Ohio, where he served an apprentice- ship of five years in a machine shop, and where he lived until 1889. After coming to Portland he became engineer for the Chicago Lumber Company, and not only helped to put up their mills and place their machinery, but remained with the company until it went out of business. Following this engagement he was identified with the Portland Sash & Door Company, as- sisted in the erection of their plant and in the placing of their machinery, and remained with them for about four years. He then became as- sistant engineer of the Portland Hotel, but was obliged to leave this position owing to the ill- ness of his mother which called him east. Re- turning to Portland he was with the hotel peo- ple for three years, and then engaged as steam- fitter and installer of plants in different parts of Oregon and Washington. In this capacity he placed two plants in the state normal school at Weston, and a plant in the agricultural school at Pullman, Wash. Again locating in Portland
he was for two years consulting engineer, and in April, 1900, became chief engineer of the Portland Lumber Company. Mr. Myers has an engine of fifteen hundred horse power, and has under his supervision several assistants.
As proof of his faith in the future of Port- land, and of his intention to permanently avail himself of the advantages here represented, Mr. Myers has built a commodious and modern resi- dence at No. 724 East Burnside, where live his family, composed of his wife, formerly Mary M. Morgan, a native of Portland, and two children, Henry Earl and Charles Allen. Mr. Myers is a member of the Local No. 1, National Asso- ciation Stationary Engineers, and is fraternally associated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, Fidelity Lodge.
JOHN McCLUNG SCOTT. Eighty years have been added to the cycle of the centuries since John McClung Scott started upon his earthly pilgrimage. His has been an active and honorable career and one which has benefited his fellow men in many ways. He is now liv- ing retired at No. 264 E. Eighth street, in Port- land, one of the venerable and highly respected residents of the city. His birth occurred October 14, 1823, in Montgomery county, Ind., his par- ents being James and Mary (Marquis) Scott, the former born in the north of Ireland and the latter in Pennsylvania. There were four sons and three daughters in their family; of whom Mrs. Mary E. McClung is now living in Hed- rick, Iowa, at about the age of eighty-seven years. The other surviving member of the fam- ily is the subject of this review. James W. and George M., twins, were born in 1821 and died in 1851 and 1884, respectively. William R., born in 1813, died in Nebraska in 1882. Paulina A. died at the age of twenty years. Mrs. Rebecca M. Dougherty, the other member of the Scott family, died in Indiana, leaving three children. The family has always been noted for longevity. The sons were farmers and William, a man of superior education, engaged in teaching school.
John McClung Scott was reared upon the home farm and pursued his education in the early subscription schools of Indiana. His father died and his mother being an invalid, the management of the home farm devolved upon our subject when he was still quite young. As a companion and helpmate for the journey of life he chose Mrs. Sarah W. Coons, the wedding taking place in Indiana, September 5, 1844. She was born in Tennessee, in November, 1822, and was the widow of Jesse Coons, an own cousin, at the time of her marriage to Mr. Scott. By her first marriage she had one son, William Henry, who was born in 1841, and is now farm-
George
W Lacray
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ing in Powell's valley, Ore. He crossed the plains with Mr. Scott with whom he lived until his marriage. He married Eliza Wallace and now has five sons and three daughters. Mr. and Mrs. Scott remained upon a farm in Indiana until 1853 and there several children were born unto them: Mary, born in 1845, was married after coming to Portland to Stephen Hill, who is now deceased. She has three children. Samuel F., born in 1849, is married and has five children, and is living on a farm on Columbia slough. Ryland died in Indiana, at the age of six years. In 1853 the parents removed to Iowa and there two more children were added to the family : Sarah E., born in 1855, and Laura H., in 1858. The former is the wife of H. R. Long, of Port- land.
In order to obtain land at a low price Mr. Scott removed to Iowa, settling in Wapello coun- ty. but the winters were too rigorous there and with the desire to escape from the severe cold weather, he started for Oregon in April, 1862. He sold his possession in the Mississippi valley and with his wife and children started for the northwest, arriving in Portland October 8, re- mained for a week and then moved to Lane coun- ty, remaining for a year, after which he removed to the bottoms on Columbia slough, where he cleared land and built a home. After two years he purchased two hundred acres of land on the Columbia river, where he carried on farming for seventeen years. Three times the floods swept over his place, causing him heavy losses, but altogether he has prospered and through gen- eral farming and dairving he gained a very de- sirable competence. In 1883 he sold his prop- erty and purchased a home in East Portland, where he kept a number of cows for a time and conducted a small dairy business, but for a num- ber of years he has now lived retired.
Mr. Scott has several times been called to pub- lic office. He has never been an aspirant for political honors, which have come to him in- sought, in recognition of his capability and as evidence of the confidence reposed in him by his fellow townsmen. In Iowa he was elected justice of the peace, and also served as school di- rector. In 1874 he was elected to the Oregon legislature and re-elected in 1876, being a mem- ber during the last session in the old state house and the first session in the new capitol. In early life he was a Whig and has been a stalwart Re- publican since the organization of the party. His first presidential vote was cast for Henry Clav.
When Mr. Scott came to Portland there were but a few houses on the east side of the river and he has therefore witnessed much of its rapid and substantial growth. In 1889 Mr. Scott re- turned to Iowa and Indiana to visit relatives.
In 1890, Mrs. Scott's mother, Mrs. Coons, came to Portland and lived with them for fourteen months, being at that time eighty-seven years of age. She then returned to Indiana. where her death occurred. In 1897 Mr. Scott was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died April 10 of that year. They had traveled life's journey happily together for more than half a century and her loss is deeply felt. She was a member of the first Christian Church of Port- land, to which Mr. Scott also belongs. He was made a Mason in Ottumwa, Iowa, in 1854, and now belongs to Mount Tabor Lodge, of which he is a past master. In 1858 he assisted in or- ganizing Columbia Lodge, on the slough, and a Masonic hall was there built. Mr. Scott is a well read man who has always kept in touch with modern thought and advanced ideas. He is however, a self-educated, as well as self-made man, and not only as the architect of his own fortunes but also of his own character, has he builded wisely and well.
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GEORGE W. LA CROY. The name of La Croy is associated with a worthy French family residing for centuries in the mother country, and with most exemplary military service during the Revolutionary war in America. George W. La Croy, deceased, who was a prominent and suc- cessful farmer of Clackamas county, was born in Scioto county, Ohio, January 16, 1832, his father, Alexander, having settled in the Buckeye state after his emigration to America. In his adopted land the father was fairly successful as a farmer and stock raiser, and in Ohio he took a prominent part in the upbuilding of his county. Also his career was embellished by carrying a musket on the battlefields of the Revolution under command of George Washington, and the incidents connected with his military career he was never weary of narrating.
While very young George W. La Croy lost his mother through death, a fact which materially lessened his prospects for a happy childhood. Hard work was the order of the day as soon as he could hold a hoe or guide the plow, and his educational chances were limited to the perusal of books which he bought with his meagre and much needed earnings, and to such tuition as he could secure the money to pay for. At the age of eleven he began to work away from home as teamster for an iron works company in Ohio, and in 1860 joined a band of pilgrims bound for the coast by way of the plains. Arriving in California, he worked in the mines of the state for three years, and, having convinced himself that he was not especially elected to this means of livelihood, settled in Vancouver, Wash. There
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he enlisted in March, 1862, in Company A, First Washington Territory Infantry, as a private, and for three months of the service was driver for the paymaster of the army. In 1865 he was discharged at Vancouver, and forthwith engaged in teaming in eastern Oregon, the latter part of the year purchasing one hundred and sixty acres of land one mile north of Viola. There were no improvements on the land, and the heavy timber and dense undergrowth pointed to unre- mitting toil before harvests could be gathered. Mr. La Croy cleared about fifty acres, and built for himself and family a commodious house, and for his supplies and crops fine outbuildings and barns. He was engaged in general farming and stock-raising, and to an unexpected degree realized his western expectations. He was an active member of the Primitive Baptist Church and a liberal contributor to the support of re- ligious movements generally.
An important factor in the life of Mr. La Croy was the help and sympathy of his wife, Melissa ( Mayfield) La Croy, whom he married in Clack- amas county December 27, 1869, and who was born in Arkansas, a daughter of Andrew Jackson Mayfield, a very early settler of Oregon, locating near Highland in 1866. Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. La Croy : Mary ; Martha ; Myra ; Eliza : Smith; and Urban, living on the home farm; Joel, living in Washington county; Ura- nia ; and Ruth. In political affiliation Mr. La Croy was independent. The life of this useful citizen was terminated by his death November 17, 1902, after an illness covering a period of eighteen months. He was a public spirited and worthy citizen and his death was generally de- plored by all who knew him.
A. W. MILLN. The head miller of the Im- perial mill, at Oregon City, owned by the Port- land Flouring Mill Company, has had an ex- tended experience in his chosen occupation, and is accounted one of the most expert in his line in Clackamas county. He began to learn the trade in 1876, with Miller, Marshall & Co., under John Humphrey, head miller, and remained with this mill during the ownership and management of Sibson, Church & Co. and Ladd & Co., and has been with them almost incessantly up to the present time. In 1897 he assumed control of the Portland Flouring Mill Company's mill, which has a capacity of seven hundred barrels a day. and is one of the best equipped concerns of the kind in the county.
As his name implies, Mr. Milln is of Scotch ancestry, his paternal grandfather having emi- grated from Scotland and settled in Ontario, Canada. The latter's son, William Maitland Milln, was also a native of Scotland, and upon
emigrating to this country became identified with her business interests. As a member of the firm of Milne & Milln, builders and contractors, and superintendent of the Canada Marine Works, Montreal, he carried on business in Canada until 1862, when he removed to Rock county, Wis .. there engaging in the manufacture of agricul- tural implements. From the Wisconsin city he went to St. Louis, Mo., where he was employed as agricultural implement salesman, and thence went to Ft. Scott, Kans., where the remainder of his life was spent. engaged in the same line of endeavor. His wife, Marion ( Erwin) Milln. was born on the line between France and Spain, and was reared on the isle of Corfu. She was a daughter of Colonel Erwin, an English officer who, after his retirement from the office, took up a grant of land near London, Canada. Mrs. Milln, who died in Wisconsin, was the mother of four children, of whom Alfred J. is a miller for the Portland Flouring Mill Company at Albany ; Annie is a resident of Missouri, as it also Char- lotte : and A. W., the youngest of the family, was born in Montreal, Canada.
Until 1862 Mr. Milln lived in Brockville, Can- ada, where he attended the public schools, con- tinuing the same instruction after the family re- moval to Janesville, Wis. From the latter place he went to Missouri, and in 1868 to Kansas, in which year his father's death occurred. In Gir- ard, Kans .. he learned the printer's trade, and for three years was employed by the Press, War- ner & Wasser, editors and publishers, of that town. In the fall of 1872 he removed to Ore- gon City, where his brother. A. J., lived at the time, and where for a short time he worked as a printer. In 1873 he took up the milling business as heretofore stated. and to this means of livelihood he has since given his attention.
In Oregon City Mr. Milln was united in mar- riage to A. Alice McDonald. born in this city, and whose parents were early Oregon pioneers. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs Milln, Ralph S. and A. Raymond. Mr. Mill is fraternally connected with the Woodmen of the World, and politically is liberal in his views. For two years he served the community as coun- cilman of the second ward, where the family has resided for so many years, and its members are well and favorably known.
COL. MARTIN L. PRATT. That Col. Mar- tin L. Pratt is a man standing high in the cs- teem of the members of the Grand Army of the Republic in Oregon, and the citizens of Portland is a well known fact. Entering the services of his country when but sixteen years of age. as one of the brave boys in blue who fought so nobly to defend the Union flag, his record as a
All. Der
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valiant soldier is one that has gained for him the admiration and honor of his comrades and the gratitude of the nation. As an able educator, also, he has attained prominence. Ohio claims him as a native son, his birth having occurred in Peru, Huron county, November 11, 1847. His father, Franklin Pratt, was born in East Hart- ford, Conn., and was a descendant of Lieutenant Pratt, of the English navy, who came to Con- necticut in 1632. The colonel is a brother of Prof. Irving W. Pratt, whose biography appears on another page in this volume. The early days of his boyhood were passed upon a farm in Huron county, Ohio. His father was a captain of one of the first passenger packets on the Erie canal. In 1856 he removed with his family to Lenawee county, Mich., settling in Fairfield township, and in the public schools of that local- ity Colonel Pratt received his preliminary edu- cation. His spirit of patriotism was roused by the conflict between the north and south for the preservation of the union, and in the fall of 1863 he became a member of the One Hundred and Thirtieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, enlisting in Company B. He was mustered in at Toledo, Ohio, and with his command was sent south to join the Army of the James River. He took part in many important battles of the war, including the siege of Petersburg and Five Forks, which was practically a siege of the surrounding conn- try, lasting for one year, until the fall of Peters- burg. After the surrender of General Lee he took part in the grand review at Washington, D. C., one of the greatest military pageants in the history of our country. He had served his country faithfully and well, displaying the valor and bravery of a man of twice his years. He was mustered out in July, 1865, at Toledo, and returned to the home of his brother in Ohio, being still under eighteen years of age. After his return he taught school for some years in his home township, later became principal of the school in Fairfield, Mich. He was elected county superintendent of schools of Lenawee county, occupying this position for two years. He then took a normal course at Adrian. Mich., graduating in 1868. In 1882 he located in Port- land, Ore., and here becoming superintendent of a district containing three schools, Holladay, Multnomah and Williams Avenue and continued to have charge of the same until Albina was in- corporated into a city. Later he became prin- cipal of the Cedar street school, at Astoria, Ore., which position he occupied for three years, at the end of which time he resigned to accept the position of principal of the Williams Avenue school of Portland, situated on the corner of Williams avenue and Russell street. Colonel Pratt is remarkably well fitted to fill the im- portant positions in educational institutions which
have been tendered him, being able to impart clearly and concisely to others the knowledge which he has himself acquired, and to bring out the latent talent and develop the minds of his pupils. In fall of 1902 Colonel Pratt, with others, organized the International Mining and Milling Company with offices and plant located in Portland. Ore., to manufacture and instal im- proved mining machinery. He was elected treasurer of the company.
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