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 98
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The pleasant and convenient residence erected by Mr. Giebisch at the corner of Nineteenth and Halsey streets is presided over by his wife, who was formerly Ada V. Joplin, daughter of his
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partner, and who was born in the state of Mis- souri. To Mr. and Mrs. Giebisch have been born one daughter, Nola, and one son, Gordon. Mr. Giebisch is fraternally identified with the Royal Tribe of Joseph, and in political affiliation is a Republican. He is a man of sterling integrity, and commands the respect and confidence of the social and business world of Portland.
HON. WILLIAM DAVENPORT HARE. Whoever labors for the welfare of his com- munity and not solely for his own personal profit is entitled to rank among the progressive and public-spirited men of his region. Such a distinction worthily belongs to Hon. William Davenport Hare, a pioneer of 1853 in Oregon and long one of the most prominent figures in the public life of Hillsboro and Washington county. Born in Wheeling, W. Va., September I, 1834, he is a son of Rev. Joseph and Frances Ellen (Davenport) Hare, natives respectively of Thirsk, England, and Winchester, Va. His pa- ternal grandfather, Richard Hare, brought his family from England to America and settled at Barnesville, Belmont county, Ohio, where he was a pioneer farmer. During much of his active life Joseph Hare resided in Ohio, but his last days were spent in St. Paul, Minn. In ad- dition to officiating as a minister in the Meth- odist Episcopal Church, . he also conducted a farm and owned mercantile interests.
The maternal grandfather of William D. Hare was John Davenport, M. C., who was born near Winchester, Va., and removed to Ohio about 1818, settling in Belmont county and later hold- ing a prominent position as a business man, at- torney, and for years a judge of the court of common pleas. For some time he ably filled the office of state senator and later he was honored by election to Congress, where his ability brought him 'many tributes of praise and re- flected credit upon his constituents. Probably no one accomplished more than he in bringing settlers to Belmont county. Through his influ- ence many people from regions further east were drawn to this then new section of country, and became progressive, successful and enterprising citizens. His father was a soldier in the Revo- lutionary war and a prominent planter in Vir- ginia, to which state his ancestors had come from England. By his marriage to Martha Coulson, who was born in Virginia and died in Ohio, he became allied with a prominent family, also of English descent, her father, Captain Coulson, a Revolutionary hero, having fallen at Brandywine while gallantly leading his men to the front. Mrs. Frances Ellen Hare is still liv- ing, now ninety-three years of age, and makes her home in Astoria, Ore.
In a family of nine children, all but two of whom are living, William Davenport Hare is the oldest in order of birth and is the only male representative of his family in Oregon, but has a sister, Mrs. Gilman, in this state, a resident of Astoria. At an early age he began to assist his father as a clerk. In company with James Ed- wards, now of Benton county, Ore., he came west in the spring of 1853, via Council Bluffs, with ox teams. After a tedious journey of six months he arrived in Portland. Soon he se- cured employment as purser on the steamer Fashion, on the Columbia, and for three years he followed the river, meantime at times acting as pilot and captain. In 1857 he came to Hills- boro, to copy the records of that part of Wash- ington county which, the year before, had been incorporated in Multnomah county. Less than one year was given to this work, at the expira- tion of which time he was appointed auditor to succeed William L. Caldwell, resigned. In ad- dition to acting as auditor he was county clerk for a period of six years. On the admission of Oregon as a state, in 1858, he was elected county clerk, and in 1860 and 1862 was re-elected to the office, meantime devoting his spare time to the study of law. After his admission to the bar, in 1864, he began the practice of law in Hillsboro, where he has continued to make his home ever since. In this city he married Hen- rietta Schofield, who was born in Clark county, Ill., and came with her parents to Oregon in 1858. Six children were born of their union, namely : Joseph, a farmer and lumber manu- facturer in Washington county; Frances Ellen, Mrs. O'Connor, living on the Sound; Martha G., Mrs. Grant Mann, of Washington county ; Henrietta, Mrs. George Morgan, whose hus- band is county clerk of Washington county ; Ruth, who died in Hillsboro; and William G., a member of the class of 1903, University of the Pacific. The second marriage of Mr. Hare was solemnized in Portland and united him with Mary A. Anthony, who was born at Union Springs, N. Y., but has been a resident of the west since girlhood.
The public service of Mr. Hare forms an im- portant part of his life history. At the time of the early organization of the Republican party in the United States, he took an active part in establishing it in Oregon, and made an impor- tant factor in its platform the moral question of freedom for all. Of more recent years he has been somewhat independent in politics, although still adhering to many of the principles of Re- publicanism. In 1870 he was elected to the state legislature. Two years later he served as one of the presidential electors from Oregon on the Grant ticket. During the same year Gen- eral Grant appointed him collector of customs
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at Astoria, where he remained until 1881, con- tinuing in the office by reappointment from R. B. Hayes in 1877. On the expiration of his second term he returned to Hillsboro to prose- cute the practice of law. From 1882 to 1886 he was a member of the state senate, serving in the sessions of 1883 and 1885, as well as the special session of 1886. Much of his most active work as senator was done as chairman of the judiciary committee, in which, as in other ways, he proved himself a progressive statesman and loyal citizen. More than once his party has desired to nominate him for still higher offices
than any he has yet held, including the posi- tions of governor and United States senator, but it is a settled conviction on his part that the office should seek the man, not vice versa, hence he has never put forth the necessary effort to secure the nomination, and has dis- couraged all attempts made by friends along this line. In 1892 he was nominated a presi- dential elector, but declined to serve. Local offices, such as mayor of Hillsboro, member of the common council, and president of the school board, he has held at various times, giving to each the same careful thought and consideration noticeable of his work in state offices.
In addition to his town possessions, Mr. Hare is the owner of donation claim No. 47, of which he has improved three hundred and fifty-seven acres, and which is situated three and one-half miles from Hillsboro. During 1862 he was made a Mason in Tualatin Lodge No. 6, A. F. & A. M., of which for several terms he held office as master. He is past high priest of St. John's Chapter, R. A. M., at Astoria, and in 1867-68 was honored with the office of deputy grand master of the Grand Lodge of Oregon. A still higher honor came to him in 1871 with his pro- motion to the rank of grand master of the Grand Lodge of Oregon, and he has also acted as the grand representative of his lodge in the Grand Lodge. When the Ancient Order of United Workmen was organized at Portland, he was one of its leading workers in the estab- lishment and early history of the lodge, and was the third grand master of the order ; also served as grand representative to the Grand Lodge, A. O. U. W. Another organization of which he is a member is the Eastern Star.
In closing this resume of the life of Mr. Hare, it may be mentioned that the brief facts, tersely stated, scarcely convey an adequate idea of the influence he has wielded in Washington county or of the popularity he has gained through his long, upright and meritorious career. Alike in public service and in private business affairs, he has proven himself to be keen, resourceful, intelligent and enterprising, a typical represen- tative of the western statesman and citizen.
Through all of his busy days he has managed to keep in touch with the progress of the na- tion and events of interest throughout the world, and in this way has acquired a breadth of knowl- edge that is cosmopolitan, yet at the same time has retained a modesty of demeanor and charac- ter which leads him to shrink from public trib- utes to his ability and influence, though always grateful for the thoughtful appreciation of friends and associates.
CHANEY WEST, a successful farmer of Washington county, and a courageous soldier during the Civil war, comes of a family long identified with the state of Maryland, where he was born in Harford county, February 20, 1835. The year after his birth his parents removed to Ohio, and the following spring went to Abing- don, Knox county, Ill., a little town remarkable chiefly for its quaint industries, which comprise among other things three mouse trap factories.
For fifteen years the West family lived in Abingdon, and during that time young Chaney began to earn his own living as a farm hand on the surrounding Illinois farms, and at the out- break of the Civil war he was working for a man at New Boston, Ill. The lad toiling in the heat of harvest fields realized the opportunity for broadening his outlook and doing something worth while, and he accordingly enlisted in Com- pany I, Seventeenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, as a private. The father of this boy must have reared his children in ways of manliness and per- sonal honor, for four of his sons served the Union cause during the struggle for emancipation, and three of these are living at the present time. Chaney served in a number of important and history-making battles of the Civil war, among which was Fort Donelson and Shiloh, but be- cause of disability he was discharged just before the battle of Corinth.
After the war Mr. West returned to New Boston, Ill., and until 1864 was engaged in farming. He then crossed the plains to Carson Valley, Nev., and for about six months engaged in the timber business in that heavily wooded sec- tion of country. A later place of residence was San Francisco, where he remained for a short time, and then came to Oregon, arriving in Port- land November 1, 1864. For four years he found employment on farms in Washington county, and then bought the farm where he now lives, and which contains one hundred and forty acres. At the time of purchase there were about ten acres cleared, and now fifty acres are under cultivation. One hundred acres of the farm are bottom land, and remarkably fertile and productive. General farming is maintained with more than expected success, and besides some stock and fruit are
PATRICK LYNCH.
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raised. For fully twenty years of his residence in Oregon Mr. West operated sawmills in Wash- ington county, eastern Oregon and California, meantime renting his farm. It will thus be seen that he has been closely identified with some of the most important industries of the northwest. In March, 1900, Mr. West was united in marriage with Eva Malmsten. He is a Republican in poli- tics, but has never desired or worked for office. Mr. West is one of the reliable and highly re- spected farmers of this county, and one of its broad minded and intelligent citizens.
PATRICK LYNCH. Although at present engaged in the peaceful and profitable occupa- tion of farming and stock-raising near Gresham, Multnomah county, Patrick Lynch has experi- enced about all of the deprivations and vicissi- tudes of early pioneer life in the west, and has contributed his share towards the development of various industries here represented. Mr. . Lynch possesses the grit and resourcefulness of the most of his countrymen. which traits were materially strengthened by a practical training on the farm in County Cork, Ireland, where he was born in 1835, he being the youngest in the family of children born to his father, Patrick Lynch. The younger Patrick was ambitious of more prolific chances than seemed to be coming his way in his native land, and in 1854 he set sail for American shores, eventually finding his way to Morris county, N. J. There he found work in an iron factory, and while thus employed gained a fair knowledge of United States meth- ods of doing business.
In 1855 Mr. Lynch boarded a steamer bound for the Isthmus of Panama, having crossed which he sailed for San Francisco, which he reached without any special incident marking the journey. Across the bay from the city he worked on the San Joaquin river for $100 per month for six months, and during the Indian war enlisted and fought the red men in Oregon and other parts of the coast. After the war he located for a time in Comptonville, in Strawberry valley, and a year later went to Rabbit creek, and from there to Plumas county and prospected on Johnson creek. In 1858 he and his partner went to the Frozen River country, engaging in prospecting for a few months, and when they left Mr. Lynch was able to take gold valued at $4,000 to the mint. Thereafter he went on the John L. Stephens to Panama, and from there to New York, from which city he sailed on the schooner Vanderbilt en route for his old home in Ireland. Six months later Mr. Lynch had an entirely new experience, for he sailed away to New Zealand, and for three years was a mem- ber of the Point Phillips Colony. While in the
far southern colony he had many novel adven- tures, and the natives called him the "white- washed Yankee."
After returning to San Francisco Mr. Lynch remained in different parts of California until 1868, and then came to Portland, and from there to Oregon City. In Salem, to which he later re- moved, he was engaged in chopping wood and splitting rails. With some money in his pockets as reward for this diligence he walked back to Portland, and from there went to Idaho, and en- gaged in prospecting until August, 1868, making on an average of $7 per day. In Portland he found employment in the Oswego iron mines, but soon after took up a homestead of one hun- dred and sixty-one acres in the timber, which he was obliged to clear in order to create a home and farming land. At present he has one of the most desirable properties in the county, and is engaged principally in raising potatoes, grain, fruit and stock. He is very successful, and as an example of what diligence and good management will accomplish in the Willamette valley has few superiors in his neighborhood.
Mrs. Lynch, who was formerly Callie Crowley, became the mother of six children, viz .: Rosana, now Mrs. Moore; John, living with his father ; Herbert, mining in Alaska; Philip, mining in the Klondike; Henrietta, living at home; and David, also living at home. Mr. Lynch is inde- pendent in politics, and has never spent any time looking for office. Among the many trips which have saved his life from monotony one of the most interesting was that to Nome in 1901, at which time he went to visit his son, and had a most enjoyable and profitable time. Mr. Lynch has a good memory, and in his various wander- ings had observed carefully, so that he is now a mine of information concerning various parts in the world.
GUSTAF PETERSON. In Sweden, where his birth occurred May 3, 1828, Mr. Peterson was reared on a farm, there learning lessons and re- ceiving experience which served him well in after life. The New World, with its broad lands and bright prospects, attracted him hither, and June 16. 1852, he boarded the Governor Hinkley, a sailing vessel, which landed its passengers in Boston harbor after a voyage of seven weeks. Coming west, Mr. Peterson stopped first in Knox county, Ill., where for a few months he worked in a plow factory. In the spring of 1853 he went to what is now St. Peter, Minn., and pre-empted a quarter section of land from the government in Nicollet county, remaining there two years.
The Indians far outnumbered the white men, and after living among his dark-skinned neigh- bors for two years Mr. Peterson sold his claim
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and went to Blue Earth county, that state, taking up a claim of one hundred and sixty acres and remaining on it until 1855. In the latter year the Indian war broke out. He was located about fifty miles from the seat of war, but fearing an outbreak in his vicinity he and other settlers in his neighborhood built a temporary fort of lumber and logs, but fortunately the Indians did not give them much trouble at that time. In 1862, how- ever, disturbances again arose and a number of the settlers were killed in the encounters which ensued. In the fall of 1862 Mr. Peterson lost his claim in Minnesota and went to Galesburg, Ill., working in a shop until 1865, then moving to Boone county, Iowa. After renting land there for two years he engaged in mercantile pursuits in Madrid, that state, until 1874. In the latter year he came to Portland and for two months worked in a canning factory. In the fall of the same year he bought the farm on which he now makes his home, which consisted of thirty acres, covered with dead and burnt timber. The pros- pect was discouraging indeed, but, nothing daunted, he set about clearing the land, and that he has been successful is evident from the fine appearance of his garden, which is planted to small fruits, strawberries, blackberries, raspber- ries, etc.
July 18, 1851, while in his native land, Mr. Peterson married Miss Annie S. Peterson. They became the parents of three children. Jennie, whose birth occurred in 1853. is deceased. Ed- win T. is interested in the Oregon Packing Com- pany, and George F. is a fruit grower. Mr. and Mrs. Peterson have six grandchildren and four great-grandchilden. Comparatively few couples are spared to celebrate their golden wedding, but this privilege was granted to Mr. and Mrs. Peter- son in July, 1901, the occasion being a memorable one to all who were privileged to participate in the festivities. Soon after his election as road supervisor Mr. Peterson was instrumental in having the section line road opened, and a few years later was appointed roadmaster for the whole county. It is a well known fact that he has always taken a very active part in the good road movement. In educational matters he has also taken much interest, and was instrumental in having the present public school building erected at Palestine. and when the matter first came up it was he who urged its adoption. For many years he served as school clerk. Politically he is a Republican and a member of the Grange.
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MARION H. PARKER, M. D. There is little in Greenville that has not been benefited in some way by the admirable citizenship and unques- tioned professional skill of Dr. M. H. Parker, whose many-sided abilities have penetrated an
unusual number of town and county activities, and have insured to their possessor the gratitude and appreciation of his fellow-townsmen. Al- though inheriting a high order of ability from his pioneer father, the doctor it alone responsible for his marked success, having worked ardently and with singleness of purpose therefor. He was born in Nashville, Brown county, Ind., March 26, 1846, a son of Patterson Childres and Mary Little (Scantling) Parker, natives respectively of Ohio and Tennessee, and the former born in 1801.
Patterson C. Parker was a hard working farmer boy in his youth, and as soon as he left the home farm studied medicine, which he practiced in connection with farming for many years. After his marriage he went to housekeeping in Indiana. and was intent upon the improvement of his farm at the breaking out of the Mexican war. He entered into the service with a vim which boded ill for the enemy, and not only or- ganized a company of his own, but served as its intelligent captain. Few experienced a narrower escape from death than did Captain Parker, who had an ear shot off at the battle of Buena Vista. He served with distinction throughout the war, and after the cessation of hostilities, returned to his former home in Indiana.
In 1852 Mr. Parker organized a little company of fifty wagons and three times as many people from Brown county, Ind., to cross the plains, and from the outset of the journey he was captain and master of ceremonies. A large number of cattle accompanied the caravan, oxen being utilized rather than horses. The band did not es- cape the dangers and deprivations incident to early prairie travel, and while the Indians furnished a large measure of trouble, the ravages of cholera were equally to be deplored. Several of the party fell by the wayside of cholera, and it was a very weary and travel-strained band that landed at Milwaukee, Ore., in the fall of 1852. Mr. Parker remained in Milwaukee for the winter, and in the spring of 1853 settled on a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres in Douglas county. near Oakland, where he carried on general farm- ing and stock-raising, and where he in time owned three thousand acres of land. He became prom- inent in politics, served for two years in the legis- lature, and refused the nomination for governor of the state of Oregon. During the height of his success and popularity he was undoubtedly one of the best known men in the state, and it was noticeable that his influence was always cast on the side of all that was broadest and most human- itarian. He lived to be ninety years of age, hav- ing been pre-deceased by his wife at the age of sixty-four. Of the eight children born to this couple Louise and Sarah are deceased ; Elizabeth is the widow of John Kelley, of Eugene, one of
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the prominent men of Oregon; James is de- ceased; Marion H. is the physician of Greenville ; Patterson is a resident of Oakland; Williamson is sheriff of Fresno county, Cal .; and Albert was killed by the cars at Oakland in 1888.
The preliminary education of Marion H. Parker was acquired at the public schools, and his attendance at the Umpqua Academy was inter- rupted by the breaking out of the Civil war. In 1865 he enlisted in Company A, First Oregon Cavalry Volunteers, as a private, and after being mustered in at Eugene City was placed on fron- tier guard in the eastern part of the state. In the midst of war his was practically a peaceful service, for he saw nothing of the terrible and grewsome side of warfare. He was mustered out at Vancouver, Wash., and thereafter returned to his home and resumed his studies at Umpqua Academy. After his graduation in 1872 he en- gaged in educational work for about eighteen years, and during that time was principal of the schools at Eugene, Philomath, The Dalles, La- fayette, Astoria, Hillsboro and other towns through the Willamette Valley. In 1876 he took a course in medicine at the Willamette Univer- sity, and from 1889 until 1890 studied at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at St. Louis, Mo., graduating therefrom in June, 1890. There- after he settled in Greenville, bought the old homestead, and engaged in the mercantile and drug business, at the same time practicing his profession in the town and surrounding country. Business was in a fairly prosperous condition when the store and stock were destroyed by fire in 1894, but this dire disaster did not interfere with the plans of Dr. Parker, who immediately rebuilt, and at present is doing business in a modern and well-equipped building. He is vari- ously interested in affairs in Greenville, and be- sides ministering to the physical well being of the residents, is engaged in an extensive money loan- ing and brokerage business.
While living in Corvallis, Ore., Dr. Parker was united in marriage with Emma Starr, a native of Corvallis, in which town she was reared and educated. She is a daughter of Warren and Phoebe (Herbert) Starr, the latter having been born near Corvallis in 1848. Of the union of Dr. and Mrs. Parker there have been born four children, of whom Lillian L., a graduate of the Forest Grove high school, is living at home : Viola Vivian, a student at Forest Grove, is also at home: as are also Gertrude Grace and Grace Gertrude. Dr. Parker is identified with the Re- publican party, and is at present a notary public. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Dallas, Polk county, and has held all of the chairs in the lodge. Also he has held all of the offices in G. K. Warren Post No. 21, G. A. R., of North Yamhill, and is at
present a member of Matthews Post, Forest Grove. He is a member of the Washington County Medical Society. Dr. Parker is possessed of the personal characteristics which insure popu- larity of the most desirable and enviable kind, and which is founded on unquestioned integrity, business and professional versatility, and public spiritedness of a broad and liberal kind.
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