Portrait and biographical record of Portland and vicinity, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 94

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 94

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By his first wife Mr. Smith had two children, Preston Williamson and Madeline Searcy, the latter of whom is now attending school in the east. May, 1885, Mrs. Smith passed away from the cares of earth through a painful accident, when the mother and sister Susan came west to care for the children. The climate not agreeing with the former she returned home and the

daughter remained, and in June, 1889. she be- came the wife of Mr. Smith. She was born in Alabama and received her education in the select schools of her native state, womanhood finding her talented and cultured. The ancestry of the Williamson family is traced back to the year 1600, when the progenitor of the American branch first settled in Virginia, and later located in Carolina, where the family flourished for many generations. The grandfather located in Savan- nah, Ga. They had large families who became distinguished in the public affairs in their various localities, their wealth and executive ability adding much to their importance as citi- zens of any community. John P. Williamson was a large slave owner and at one time lost five hundred by cholera. He owned extensive rice plantations and was one of the wealthy men of the south. He was twice married and had four- teen children. Only one of the name now sur- vives, William, a bachelor of Savannah. Ga. One of his marriages united him with a Miss Mc- Queen, a representative of a Scotch family. The second wife was a Miss Denis, daughter of a French Huguenot refugee, who came to this conn- try at an early day. On the maternal side Mrs. Smith is a descendant of Col. Robert Searcy, an officer in the Revolutionary war, and one distin- guished for his courage and loyalty. He was also a prominent Mason, having had the thirty-third degree conferred upon him in 1800, in Tennes- see. The original parchment diploma, with one issued to her maternal grandfather, who was a Turner and a prominent Mason in Alabama, is now in the possession of Mrs. Smith and both are greatly prized as heirlooms. These families have flourished in Georgia, Virginia, South Caro- lina and Alabama, and were looked upon as worthy pioneers of the country.

Mrs. Smith has two children, Susie Aubrey and Henry A., both of whom have received the best of educations through the medium of the private schools of Portland. Though Mr. Smith had inherited and accumulated a large amount of property, a stringency of the money market came and he was unable to realize upon his pos- sessions and at his death left an indebtedness of $100,000, with property sufficient to cover the same when an advance in holdings would occur Mrs. Smith was appointed executrix of the es- tate and in that position displayed wonderful executive ability and good judgment, in the face of heavy odds and the advice of business men taking upon herself the responsibility of the heavy indebtedness and successfully discharging the same with interest, besides saving considerable property. The work was done with the master- lines that had always distinguished her husband. and perhaps through his experiences, which he had always retailed to her, though never in any

WILLIAM H. MAXWELL.

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way burdening her with the cares and respon- sibilities of his transactions, she had gained that clear insight into business methods which carried her successfully through an ordeal from which many business men would have shrunk. Mrs. Smith now makes her home in Portland, where she enjoys the esteem and confidence of the peo- ple with whom she has been associated for so many years, earnest and public spirited in every way, disbursing with a ready hand toward all worthy enterprises and charitably giving to all in need.

WILLIAM H. MAXWELL. On a farm near Palmyra, Marion county, Mo., occurred the birth of William H. Maxwell July 5, 1829 His boyhood years were spent in the usual manner of farmers' sons, attending school in the short winter months and assisting in the work of the farm during the summer. Having heard glow- ing stories of the west and its wonderful pos- sibilities, and wishing to start out in life on his own account, April 15, 1852, he began the weary journey across the plains with an ox team, and was five months in reaching his destination. For several months he was engaged in prospect- ing and mining in Hangtown. Cal., and from there went to Coloma, Georgetown and the American river, following the miner's life there until 1854. From that year until July 1, 1858, he was in Michigan Bluffs, Placer county, Cal., but on the latter date he started for the Fraser River country. Bellingham Bay, Wash., was as far as he went, however, and after staying there for two months decided to return to Michigan Bluffs, and was engaged in mining there until 1866. Subsequently going to Auburn, Cal., he remained there occupied in placer mining until the fall of 1868, at which time he came to Port- land, Ore. He later went to Fairview. where he was foreman of the Smith ranch for two and one-half years. In 1871 Mr. Maxwell turned his attention from mining to agriculture, buying a farm of one hundred and fifty-three and one-half acres near Orient, which was only partially cleared and on which stood a small house. After living there a few years he built a more commo- dions house and otherwise improved the property. At this writing ( 1903) he owns only fifty-six acres, having sold nearly one hundred acres of the original tract. Besides his farming interests he has to some extent been engaged in sawmilling.

May 1, 1864. Mr. Maxwell married Alice Buell, a native of Middleton, Conn., and they hecame the parents of nine children. Those living are : Alice M., wife of C. Spaulding, of Portland ; Eleanora, the wife of S. W. Scoville, who lives near Orient : Kate, who became the wife of Isaac Anderson and lives near Terry; Louisa, Myrtle

and Wilmer H. Those deceased are: William E., Cora and Eda. For eight years Mr. Max- well served his district as road supervisor, school clerk eight years and as school director for six years. Politically he is a Republican, and in fraternal affiliation is a member of the Masonic lodge and the Grange.

FREDERICK S. DUNNING. To dignify what must necessarily be one of the most cheer- less and gloomy callings to which man is heir, to carry it on with tactful consideration, and brighten it with artistic and beautiful surround- ings and suggestions, is the unceasing effort of F. S. Dunning and his capable son. Vander Cook. As funeral directors and embalmers they have one of the best establishments in the northwest, and have given to the upbuilding and development of their calling as much thought as any engaged in the business in the country. F. S. Dunning came to this city in 1882, locating in East Port- land, purchased the pioneer business of Mr. Bur- ton, which had been established by Mr. Clark, the pioneer undertaker, and at present is the second oldest in the city of Portland. Gifted with business ability, tact and a thorough under- standing of his work, he won the confidence of the community by meritorious work. The busi- ness grew apace, and in 1892, his former quar- ters were exchanged for the commodious block at the corner of Sixth and East Alder streets, all of which he occupies, and which is 100x100 feet ground dimensions, and three stories in height. The firm have the finest funeral car- riages on the coast ; conduct their own morgue ; and the furnishing of their offices and reception rooms is in accord with the elegance and refine- ment of taste displayed by both father and son. To Mr. Dunning is due the distinction of intro- ducing the art of embalming in Portland, and he was thus enabled to prepare bodies for trans- portation when the law went into effect that none would be accepted by the railroads without proper certificates, he having practiced embalm- ing here for about twenty-one years. For this scientific part of his work he has thoroughly pre- pared himself. and carries diplomas from the Eureka School of Embalming, of California : Clark's School of Embalming; and from Pro- fessor Sullivan's school in New York.

Of an old established New England family, F. S. Dunning was born in Conneaut, Ashtabula county, Ohio, April 14, 1841, the third oldest of the ten children born to Ezekiel and Mary A. (Dibble) Dunning, natives respectively of Vermont and Conneaut, Ohio. Nine of the chil- dren attained maturity, and eight are now liv- ing, three brothers having served during the Civil war. Ezekiel Dunning was a contractor

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and builder during his entire business life, and as a single man removed from Vermont to Con- neant, Ohio, from there he removed to what was known as Lower Sandusky, now Fremont. of the same state, and there died. Longevity is one of the distinguishing characteristics of the maternal family, for the father of Mrs. Dunning was one in a family of twelve children, all of whom lived to be over eighty. Mrs. Dunning herself died at the age of eighty-four years, at the home of her son in Portland. In Fremont, Ohio, F. S. Dunning was educated in the public schools, graduating at the high school. About that time his father was doing a large business at contracting and building, and in addition was engaged in the manufacture of brick. The son naturally followed in his footsteps, and became a practical brick mason and manufacturer. At the beginning of the Civil war he entered the employ of the government as a teamster at Nash- ville, Tenn., and was later wagon master, and a year later entered the United States Franklin Railroad shops at Nashville, six months there- after becoming foreman of the wood working department. His duties in this capacity included reporting on, and manufacturing railroad cars, pontoons, wagons, and gun carriages, a respon- sibility exacting in the extreme, and having su- pervision over eighty-five men. The mechanics were divisioned off in a regiment, and known as the First United States Mechanics Regiment. They were repeatedly called into active service, and during the fall of 1864 were on the breast- works at Nashville, at the time of Hood's final defeat. At the close of the war they were dis- charged and returned to their homes, Mr. Dun- ning returning to Fremont. Ohio.

Until 1872 he engaged in building and con- tracting in Fremont, and then went to Parsons, Kans., looking for a permanent location. In the spring of 1873 he outfitted with teams and wagons and came over the old Santa Fe trail to San Bernardino, Cal., six months having been consumed on the overland journey. From there he went to Los Angeles, and by stage to San Francisco, there taking boat for Portland, and then locating at Salem. After two years in the furniture and undertaking business there he removed to Albany and was similarly engaged for seven years, in 1882 located again in Port- land as stated. In January, 1902, he incorpo- rated the business of which he is the president and his son, V. C., vice-president, E. Dunning being secretary and treasurer. Mr. Dunning has proven himself a wide-awake and enterprising citizen, while his business cares have occupied his attention he has always found time to evince the true western public spiritedness. As a Re- publican he has been a stanch advocate of his party, and among the offices maintained with

credit may be mentioned that of city treasurer of East Portland, which he held for one term. He is a welcome member of several fraternal organi- zations, including Washington Lodge, A. F. & A. M. of Portland, which he served as treasurer eleven years, he having formerly been connected with Brainard Lodge of Fremont, Ohio, and the lodge at Albany, this state. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias, Rathbone Sisters, An- cient Order United Workmen, the Grange, Eastern Star, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and Encampment, and Daughters of Re- bekah. Mr. Dunning is a man of genial and kindly personal attributes, displaying tart and a broad knowledge of the world, all of which have contributed to his success.

For the past seven years Mr. Dunning has been ably assisted by his only son and child, Vander Cook Dunning, who was born in Al- bany, August 20, 1876, and whose mother was formerly Elizabeth Vandercook, a native of San- dusky county, Ohio, the daughter of a well known hotel man who died in the Buckeye state, and was of Holland-Dutch ancestry. Mr. Dun- ning was educated in the public schools and Bishop Scott Academy, and one year's private instruction in Portland, supplemented by a year's attendance at Leland Stanford University, and in the meantime became familiar with his father's business at a comparatively early age. He is also an electrician of ability, having taken special courses in that line, as well as keeping abreast of the times by home study. He is a practical and scientific embalmer, having graduated at the Champion' School of Embalming, and withal is a young man of great promise, inheriting his father's appreciation of his calling, as well as business ability. Socially he occupies an enviable position, and is a member of Washington Lodge No. 46, A. F. & A. M .: Washington Chapter No. 18, R. A. M .; Washington Council No. 3: the Oregon Consistory No. 1 ; Al Kader K. M. S. and the Eastern Star; the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; the Ancient Order United Workmen : the Woodmen of the World : the Modern Woodmen of America; the Degree of Honor; the Woodmen of Woodcraft; the National Union; and the Native Sons of Ore- gon. He married Kulla C. McFadden, and they have two children, Margaret and Kulla.

JOHN B. PILKINGTON, M. D., was well known in Portland and other sections of Oregon as a medical practitioner and as a man whose salient characteristics were such as to win for him the confidence and esteem of his fellow men. He died September 5, 1900, in Baker City. after a residence of twenty-nine years and six months in the state. He was born in Providence, R. I.,

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ES Durning 1

Uns Elizabeth Janning

V.G. Dunning,

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

February 23, 1834. His father, James Pilking- ton, was born in Manchester, England. in 1806, and died at the home of the doctor in 1876. His wife was born in the north of Ireland, and was of Scotch-Irish descent. They reared their fam- ily in Illinois and afterward removed to Cali- fornia, where Mrs. Pilkington departed this life at the age of eighty-four years. It was in the early part of the '6os that they emigrated west- ward, crossing the Isthmus of Panama and thence proceeding to their destination, the different members of the family locating in or near San Francisco. There were eight children, of whom three are yet living : Thomas J., who is engaged in fruit-growing near San Francisco; Mrs. Vol- ney D. Moody, of Berkeley, Cal .; and Mrs. Wil- liam Hill, of Petaluma, Cal.

In the early schools of his native state Dr. Pilkington acquired his education and remained upon the home farm until he attained his major- ity. He then went to St. Louis, where he pre- pared for his professional career, being gradu- ated in the medical department of the college there. With the family he went to California, where he was engaged in mining. He became assayer at one of the Comstock mines and was quite successful. Later he resumed his profes- sional work and pursued a post graduate course in the Cooper Medical College in 1870. In the early spring of 1871 he came to Portland, where for a considerable period he practiced medicine with success, being acknowledged as one of the leading representatives of the calling in the city.

The doctor had been married in Virginia City, Nev., to Morella Whitcomb, who was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, February 26, 1844, and who had gone to the mining regions of California with her brother and sister, crossing the plains with an ox team at an early day. She was a memher of a family of thirteen children, of whom two are now living: Burchard Whitcomb, who is a mer- chant of Dayton, Ohio; and Mrs. Henry De- Long, of Council Bluffs. Unto Dr. and Mrs. Pilkington were born six children, three while they were living in California. Harold. the eldest, who was reared and educated in Portland, and who is a miner of Dayton, Nev., is married and has a family. Robert, a practicing physician of Astoria, Ore .. and a graduate of the medical department of Willamette University, is also married and has a family. John B. is a resi- dent of Portland. Those born in Portland are Guy, a civil engineer in Mazatlan, Mexico, who is married and has a family ; Paul, an actor, who makes Portland his home; and Gladys, a stu- dent in the high school.

Believing that Portland offered a good open- ing for the practice of medicine Dr. Pilkington came to this city, and after five months sent for his family to join him here. He rented a home

on the west side and lived there for several years, devoting his attention to the general practice with good success until 1884, when he abandoned his profession for a time. In the spring of 1900 he went to Baker City, Ore., where he again es- tablished an office and there he died very sud- denly from an operation. He was a prominent member and worker in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and also belonged to the Ancient Order of United Workmen of Portland. He held membership in the county and state med- ical societies and occupied the chair of medicine in Willamette University for several years. He was a man of great energy and force of char- acter and made his way unaided in the world. Though starting out without anything he man- aged to acquire an excellent education and to ad- vance along those lines demanding strong men- tality and marked capability. His political sup- port was given the Republican party and his re- ligious faith was that of the Unitarian Church. He was a man of public spirit, co-operating heart- ily and generously in all movements for the pub- lic good and tending to advance the interests of the people. His wife survived him for three years and died at the home of her son, J. B. Pil- kington, April 9, 1903, at the age of fifty-nine years. She was a lady of natural refinement and many excellencies of character, and like the doc- tor occupied an enviable position in the regard of their many friends.

John B. Pilkington, Jr., like the other members of the family, was reared and educated in Port- land, having been a babe of but five months when brought to this city. After leaving school he engaged in the nursery business. In Portland Mr. Pilkington wedded Miss Nellie Clarke, the marriage taking place in 1894. She was a daugh- ter of Orlando Clarke, of Rockford, Ill., who came to Oregon in 1882. Her death occurred in 1896; she left one son, Jolin Clarke Pilking- ton, whose birth occurred November 29, 1895. and who is the third to bear the name of John Pilkington in this city. Mr. Pilkington belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Woodmen of the World and is widely and favorably known in business and social circles of the city, where almost his entire life has been passed.

WILLIAM BRADEN. For many years William Braden has been identified with the movements from which the city of Portland has drawn strength and sustenance in its in- cipiency, no one man making greater efforts or accomplishing more than he toward the success- ful establishment of a city on the banks of the Willamette river. Through his position as dep-

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uty city engineer he has assisted in the erec- tion of many buildings in the city, several of the more important being St. Charles Hotel and the Odd Fellows' Hall, and has also had the supervision of the building of all the sewers with the exception of one, and having given special study to the various sanitary systems of the country, his adopted city has profited by his experience, which now has covered a period of twenty-five years. Having located here March 17, 1857, Mr. Braden recalls the time when the land was a wilderness of forest and fallow land, his first home, built June 1, 1864, at what is now No. 288 Clay street, being then in the midst of a dense wood and with the nearest house two blocks distant; through the persis- tence and energy of the early pioneers this is all changed and in every forward step Mr. Braden has lent a willing hand and contributed in no small measure to the present ease and affluence which distinguishes the city.

Mr. Braden is the representative of a family whose courage and loyalty were tested in the Revolutionary days of our country. His father, William Braden, Sr., was a native of Canada, and removed to Ulster county, N. Y., in 1798, and though too late for the first war he partici- pated in the war of 1812. He died in 1881, at the age of one hundred and two years, his an- cestry the hardy type of Scottish brawn. He married Jane Lane, who was born in New Hampshire, of English ancestry, and lived to be ninety-nine years old. Her uncle, Hezekiah Lane, was a patriot in the Revolutionary war, serving as spy in the carrying of dispatches for General Washington. These ancestors were all early Whigs in politics and with the changes in name which the years brought to that party they became Republicans later in the history of our country. Of the children in his father's family, those now living are Clark, residing in Jersey City; and Susan E. Seely, of Strasburg, Pa. William Braden was born in Ulster county, N. Y., in the town of Ellenville. June 28. 1831, and continued an attendance of the public schools until he had reached the age of sixteen years, when he entered the state normal at Monticello, N. Y., and took an elective course best adapted for the work which he wished to do. He then apprenticed himself to learn the trade of a car- penter, serving for two years at Ellenville and at the close of that time he joined a party of young men bound for the gold fields of Cali- fornia, this being in 1849. The voyage was made by way of Cape Horn, in a sailing vessel, and occupied one hundred and sixty-nine days, the date of their arrival in San Francisco being July 7, 1849. There they purchased their out- fits and at once sought employment in the mines.

Unlike many young men of the time, Mr. Braden devoted his energies to the one occupation for six years, at the end of which he engaged in the building of steamboats. He was sent to Port- land to work on the Mountain Buck, a famous steamer at one time, and upon the completion of the work he went to work for the Oregon Rail- road & Navigation Company, as head carpenter in that department. In 1857 he took a trip to the Fraser river and built a boat there, con- tinuing in his position until 1864, when he be- gan contracting on his own responsibility. He confined his operations strictly to Portland, here doing a general business, and in the employ of the government building the barracks at Cape Disappointment.

August 16, 1860, witnessed the marriage of Mr. Braden and Cordelia Davis, born in Indiana in 1840. She came to Oregon in 1852 with her father, H. W. Davis, who at one time served as postmaster of Portland. Of the five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Braden one died in in- fancy ; Minnie married W. F. Matthews, United States marshal, of Portland; Frank, a wholesale merchant in Seattle, Wash., was married in Portland to Miss Eva Ferno and they have one son. Earl: Cora is the wife of William Howes, who built the first house in Sunnyside, and they have one daughter, Florence, the family resid- ing in Portland; and Bessie is the wife of Nicholas Whitehead, who is in the shipping de- partment of the Armour Packing Company. The children were all born in Portland, all are graduates of a business college of the city, and the three eldest are graduates of the high school. With the example before them of the hardy pioneers who made the country there is no won- der attached to the fact that they have all made their way in the world. Fraternally Mr. Braden is the second oldest living member of Samaritan Lodge No. 2, I. O. O. F., having joined the order in 1858, and passed all the chairs the year following, and also belongs to Ellison En- campment and passed all the chairs in that or- der in 1860. He is a member of the Grand Lodge of the state, and locally was one of the incorporators of the Odd Fellows' Hall and a director for over twenty years. He also be- longs to Oregon Lodge No. 1, K. of P., and was a charter member of Mystic Lodge and has passed all the chairs, having always been active in the work of his fraternal affiliations. Like his forefathers Mr. Braden is a stanch Repub- lican in politics, but has never sought or cared for political office, that of superintendent of streets, to which he was elected in 1877. being conferred without his knowledge. After a con- tinuance of five years in this position he was clisplaced for a few months, when he again went

JACOB GRIM.

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

back to the work as deputy and has since main- tained that position. Mr. Braden is a member of the Pioneers Association of Oregon.

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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 94

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