Portrait and biographical record of Portland and vicinity, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 99

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 99

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GEORGE B. THOMAS. Long before the rumors of gold swept over the country from the Pacific coast, George B. Thomas, his father, Frederick, and the rest of the family, braved the dangers of the overland trail, and after a six months' journey with cight yoke of oxen, arrived in Portland. The little party started out from Missouri in 1845, in which state, in Cooper county, George B. was born May 26, 1826. The first winter on the coast was spent in Portland, where our subject cut and hauled the logs used in the construction of the first store in that city. In 1846 the father took his family to Linn county, and settled upon a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres near Scio. Here he lived and prospered for the remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1873.

About two miles from where his father located in Linn county, George B. Thomas took up a do- nation claim of three hundred and twenty acres, upon which he lived until 1859. He then disposed of his property and bought eighty acres of land upon which he lived until 1878, at that time pur- chasing his present place one mile north of Bull Run postoffice, and which was formerly railroad land. Of the three hundred and twenty acres Mr. Thomas has cleared about forty acres, and his land has proved a source of profit and satisfac- tion. General farming is engaged in on a large scale, and for his dairy Mr. Thomas has seven cows, besides ten head of cattle. His farın is equipped with modern improvements, and is one of the well-developed and promising properties of this county.

The wife of Mr. Thomas, who was formerly Rhoda Bilyen, is also an early settler of Oregon, although her advent in the state occurred several years after that of her husband. She was born in Tennessee, January 15, 1835, and came over the plains with her parents in 1852, locating in Linn county. To Mr. and Mrs. Thomas were born the following children: Nancy A .; Sarah E .; A. Lucinda, deceased; Rebecca D .; Martin V .; Joseph M .; A. Columbus; and Francis E. Mr. Thomas is fraternally connected with Alli- ance Lodge No. 7, at Sandy, Clackamas county. He is independent in politics, voting always for the man best qualified to serve the public inter- ests. Mr. Thomas is one of the venerable and highly respected citizens of Clackamas county,

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among whose people he has come and gone for so many years. He recalls many interesting hap- penings of the early days, and his faculties are still bright and unimpaired.

HON. GORDON E. HAYES. A distinctively representative citizen of Clackamas county is the Hon. Gordon E. Hayes, whose labors and ability have had marked influence in public affairs here. He was born six miles west of Oregon City, March 27, 1859, and is a representative of one of the honored pioneer families of this portion of the state, his father, Henry T. Hayes, having located here in 1849. The latter was born in Hartford, Conn., and comes of one of the old New England families that was founded in America in Colonial days. The paternal great-grandfather of our subject was one of the soldiers of the Revolution- ary war, while Professor Hayes, the grandfather, was a graduate of Yale College and became an educator of note, devoting his entire life to the profession. When seventeen years of age Henry E. Hayes came to the Pacific coast, attracted by the discovery of gold. He made his way upon a sailing vessel which rounded Cape Horn and eventually reached the harbor of San Francisco. For a short time Mr. Hayes was successfully en- gaged in mining in California and then came to Oregon, where for one year he was engaged in the manufacture of shingles in Clackamas county. His sojourn in the west covered a period of great prosperity to him, for he returned to Connecticut with thirty-five thousand dollars. The return trip was made by way of the Panama route, and after spending six months in New England he again started for the west, this time crossing the plains with a large wagon train. He owned the entire train, having invested fifteen thousand dollars in this, but he lost his horses and cattle upon the plains and at the time of his arrival he had but one span of horses and a yoke of oxen. Many men of less resolute spirit would have been utterly discouraged, but with marked resolution and en- ergy he again began the task of accumulating a competency. As his financial means increased he made judicious investments from time to time in real estate. He secured a donation claim of three hundred and twenty acres six miles west of Ore- gon City and engaged in clearing and improving this property until again attracted to the mines he sought for the precious metal in eastern Oregon and in Idaho. Again he prospered in this line of ivork and after a time he turned his attention to merchandising and freighting in Idaho. Ulti- mately, however, he sold his interest in those con- nections and purchased the steamer St. Clair, which operated between Portland and the Cas- cades. While in that section of the country his partner became ill and as Mr. Hayes was unable

to attend to all of the business he lost everything except the steamboat which he later sold and once more resumed farming. For a number of years he devoted his attention and energies entirely to agricultural pursuits and again he realized a com- fortable competence from his untiring labors, which he continued until desiring to rest from his toil he put aside business cares and took up his abode in Mount Tabor. He was widely known here as Captain Hayes and was a very prominent and influential citizen, being recognized as a leader of public thought and action. For twelve or fifteen years he served as lecturer and master of the State Grange and in that capacity traveled throughout Oregon, his wide acquaintance en- abling him to gain many friends who entertain for him the highest regard in recognition of his ster- ling traits of character. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Sarah L. Woodruff, was born in Hartford, Conn., coming of an old New England family, and her death occurred in Salem, Ore., in 1896. Mrs. Hayes was a lovable character, of fine education, and pure womanly virtues, which are so essential to true womanhood. In the family were three children : Permelia A., now Mrs. Milen, of Mount Tabor ; Gordon E. ; and Alice, the wife of E. C. Chapman, of Clackamas county.

Judge Haves was reared in his native county and in the public schools acquired his preliminary education, which was supplemented by study in the Pacific University of Forest Grove. From early life it was his desire to become a member of the bar and with this end in view he became a student in the law office and under the direction of E. Mendenhall, of Portland, and in 1884 he was admitted to the bar. since which time he has practiced successfully in Oregon City. He pre- pared his cases with great thoroughness and care and soon won recognition as a leading representa- tive of the legal fraternity in this part of the state.

Judge Hayes is a stalwart Republican, although his father was a Democrat. In 1893 he was elected upon the Republican ticket to serve his district as a state senator and served as an active working member of that legislative body. He was chairman of the railroad committee and a number of other important committees, and he in- troduced the bill authorizing the county courts to offer rewards not to exceed one thousand dollars for the capture of criminals. This became a law and its practical value is widely recognized throughout the state. In 1894 Judge Hayes was the candidate of his party for the position of county judge of Clackamas county, and being elected by a good majority he capably served for four years, after which he refused a renomination. He frequently attends the conventions of his party and is well known in the state as a campaign speaker whose words carry weight wherever he addresses large gatherings. He belongs to the

J. F. SCHOCH

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Ancient Order of United Workmen and to Mc- Loughlin Parlor of the Native Sons of Oregon. The Judge is a fine looking man, tall and well pro- portioned, and his character and ability are in keeping with his excellent personality. For thir- teen years he has served as attorney for the State Land Board and he is the president of the Clack- amas County Bar Association. Few lawyers have made a more lasting impression upon the bar of this portion of the state, both for legal ability of a high order and for an individuality of a per- sonal character which impresses itself upon the community.

REV.JEREMIAH FREDERICK SCHOCH. In hundreds of churches throughout the state of Oregon, in cities, villages and improvised meet- ing places, the voice of Rev. Jeremiah F. Schoch has been heard in earnest entreaty, directing always to the true, the beautiful and that which is best in life. The life of this eloquent leader has been developed along broad and humani- tarian lines, and narrowness of conviction or soul have had no part in the steady undercurrent which has taken its way over the shoals and pit- falls of existence. The Church of God, of which he has been a devoted member since his six- teenth year, has no articles of faith save those recommended by the teaching and example of the Master, nor are its disciples hampered by creeds other than that embodied in the Golden Rule.

Though here told all too briefly, the life of Rev. Mr. Schoch reminds one of naught save peace and inspiration. Of German-English descent, he was born in Middletown, Pa., August 14, 1828, a son of George and Mary ( Fortenbaugh ) Schoch, whose other child, Sarah, died in child- hood. The paternal great-grandfather, Andrew Schoch, was born in Germany, and served in the English army during the French and Indian wars. After emigrating to America he located in Pennsylvania, and at the beginning of the Revolutionary war was engaged in teaming with a six horse team in Philadelphia. The Christ Church chime of bells, a present from the queen of England, were hauled by Mr. Schoch to a place of safety somewhere along the Delaware, and there submerged until the war was ended, when they were again placed in their rightful po- sition in Christ Church. Andrew Fortenbaugh was a farmer by occupation during the greater part of his life, and in America married an Eng- lish wife, by whom he had a son, George, who (lied in York county, Pa., in 1816, at the age of twenty-six; and a daughter, Sarah, the grand- mother of Rev. J. F. Schoch, who died at the age of sixty-nine.

Frederick Schoch, the paternal grandfather of

Rev. J. F. Schoch, was born in Pennsylvania April 12, 1780, the only son of Andrew Schoch of whom there is an immediate knowledge. He married Sarah Markle, who was born in Phila- delphia, Pa., March 4, 1787, and who died in her eightieth year. She was the mother of nine sons and two daughters, of whom George was the old- est, the other children, with the exception of George, Joseph, William and Henry A., dying when young. Joseph died in 1885, at the age of eighty : while William and Henry A. have not been heard from for thirty odd years, the last communication having been received from them when with General Taylor's army in Mexico, just before the battle of Monterey. Frederick Schoch was a carpenter and joiner by trade, and his death occurred in 1826, in his forty-sixth year. George Schoch, the father of J. F., was born in Pennsylvania September 27, 1804, and by occupation was a farmer and gardener. His wife, Mary, died of consumption in her thirty- third year, and thereafter he married Matilda Linton, of which union there was born one son, Benjamin J., now a resident of Middletown, Pa. George Schoch died in 1857, at the age of fifty- four years.

Reared in an atmosphere calculated to develop the best traits of his character, Rev. Mr. Schoch was as yet unconverted when his mother passed into the great beyond. As a lad of four he es- caped death by drowning in the stream which embraced his island home, his rescuer being a large Newfoundland dog, Cap, of fine canine lineage. With his mother's dying admonition ringing in his ears, and the example of his father's sternly religious life ever before him, his thoughts were naturally turned towards the higher things of life, resulting in his conversion February 4, 1843. A few months later he was baptized in the Susquehanna river by Elder Jacob Kister, and he forthwith became a member of the Church of God, of which his father had been a stout advocate since early manhood. The father was an advocate also of education, and newspapers and periodicals were at the disposal of the various members of the family, the chil- dren being encouraged to increase their general knowledge. Needless to say that tobacco, intox- icants, and bad language were not permitted in the family circle, and the son, our subject, re- calls a corporal chastisement which he received because of violating the latter edict. Thus his youth slipped away on Poplar Island, and the responsibilities of life began to crowd around his developing faculties.

At the age of twenty-eight Mr. Schoch began preaching, and in 1855 began an extended min- istry in Illinois, where he was located principal- ly in Decatur. His life there was interrupted by duties of an important nature connected with

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the Civil war, and as a delegate of the United States Christian Commission, organized to min- ister to the spiritual and temporal welfare of the soldiers. This commission is known to have ac- complished great good in camp and on battle field, for among those who fought for their country's honor were men accustomed to the con- solation of religion, and many more who were eager to accept it when proffered. As an evi- dence that activity of a strenuous nature char- actcrized the work of the commission it is only necessary to state that aside from his labors in camp and hospital Rev. Mr. Schoch personally distributed one hundred and ninety-one testa- ments, four thousand two hundred and ninety- seven religious books, thirteen thousand five hun- dred and twenty-nine tracts, and two thousand one hundred and ninety-seven newspapers. In Illinois Mr. Schoch devoted his labors principally to local preaching, and in this capacity accom- plished such good as only large and capable and high-minded natures can.

Mr. Schoch became identified with Forest Grove in 1892, and has since ministered to the spiritual welfare of listeners all over this state and Washington. In Decatur, Ill., in 1855, he was united in marriage with Catherine M. Gar- ver, of which union there have been born eight children, of whom three sons and one daughter are living: George R. is a resident of Portland ; Clara F. is the wife of John Burton of DeSoto, Mo .; A. Clarence is a dentist in Monticello, Ill. ; and Alfred D. is a graduate of the Pacific Uni- versity, has been studying in Heidelberg, Ger- many, and in Paris and lately at the University of Michigan. In 1884 Mr. Schoch took a trip to the Holy Land, and upon his return published a book relating thereto. He is the possessor of a farm of two hundred and fifty acres in Macon county, 111.

J. CALVIN JOHNSON. A representative dairying enterprise of Columbia county is that of J. Calvin Johnson, and is known as the Jackson Creek Creamery, so named because of its loca- tion on the old Jackson donation claim. Mr. Johnson owns one hundred and twenty-five acres of rich farm land, upon which he has made many improvements, and where he is conducting a model dairy, fitted with the most modern of de- vices therefor. The butter from this center of activity has a wide sale among appreciators of a high grade article, and large quantities are an- nually placed on the market. To this especial dairyman is due the credit of bringing the first hand separator into Columbia county, an article utilized for separating cream from milk. Mr. Johnson understands the latest phases of his in- teresting business, and keeps abreast of the times

on dairying, farming and everything that appeals to the intelligence and common sense of farmers the world over.

A native of Jackson county, Iowa, Mr. Johnson was born April 28, 1857, and lived in his native state until his fourteenth year. By that time his father had decided to better his prospects by re- moval to the west, and the son accompanied him, arriving in Portland during the fall of 1872. In the spring of 1874 the father bought the Jackson donation land claim of one hundred and sixty acres, upon which his son now conducts his dairy, and where he farmed until his death in 1884, at the age of sixty-six years, his wife also dying within a few days of her husband. In the mean- time the son. J. Calvin, had been reared in a prac- tical and useful atmosphere, and was from in- fancy taught the dignity and utility of the farm- er's life. He was fifteen when he arrived on this farm, and his education was acquired in the com- mon schools, and in Forest Grove Academy, which latter institution he attended for a couple of years. He learned the carpenter's trade when a young man, an occupation which he has found useful in the conduct of his farm and dairy. After the death of his parents in 1884 he assumed entire control of the home property, and in 1896 married Adell Pugh, who has borne him one child, Willard. Mr. Johnson is not a party man, but has nevertheless held several important po- litical offices, including that of justice of tlie peace for two terms, school director and road supervisor. The Johnson farm is located one and three-fourths miles south of Scappoose.

THOMAS J. JOHNSTON. Few who leave orders for plumbing or general sanitary work at No. 209 Washington street, Portland, are aware of the exceedingly interesting career of the head of the establishment, Thomas J. John- ston. As a member of the English survey party which worked in connection with the American surveyors in determining the line between Alaska and the states in the latter '5os, he encountered adventures possible under no other circumstances, and his experiences in the early days of Portland, as the pioneer, and for many years the only prac- tical plumber in the town, are equally worthy of consideration from the standpoint of practical usefulness, and the ability to utilize opportunity. Mr. Johnston started out in life with the strong personal characteristics of a hardy English an- cestry, augmented by a practical home training in the city of Birmingham, England, where he was born August 15, 1841. On both sides of his family he came from manufacturers and mer- chants, his father, Samuel, being a large coal merchant, and his paternal grandfather, Taylor,

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a manufacturer of flour. On the maternal side his mother, Mary (Shelby) Johnston, was the daughter of the well known iron beater and manu- facturer, Thomas Shelby.

The seond oldest of five brothers and sisters, Mr. Johnston was favored with a private school education during his earliest years, his father being in a fairly prosperous condition. Neverthe- less, he was not allowed to overlook the necessity of earning his own living, and at fourteen was apprenticed to a gas fitter for five years. At the expiration of his service he enlisted in the English North American Boundary Survey of her Majesty's Royal Engineers, under command of Colonel Hawkins, and in 1858 embarked for St. Thomas, thence by boat to Aspinwall, and across the Isthmus to Panama. There the party were taken on board her Majesty's ship, Havana, to Victoria, one hundred and sixty-three days having elapsed since leaving the shores of England Mr. Johnston at first held the humble position of chain man with the company of fifty-six officers and men, but he soon learned to be a practical surveyor, as well he might during a three years' service. They surveyed the forty-ninth parallel, or the boundary line between the United States and Canada, a herculean task in those days, be- cause of the hostility evinced on all sides by the Indians. The American party engaged in the same work had the advantage of a regular escort and armed guard, but the Englishmen were obliged to be their own fort, and each man con- stituted an animated arsenal equipped with rifle, six shooter and bowie knife. So shut in were they from the outside world that little reached them concerning general happenings, and the breaking out of the Civil war in 1861 came as a thunder clap to the isolated company. At the time, Major Lugenville had charge of the old Fort Caldwell, eighteen miles from where the surveying party were camping, and there came to them a rider commissioned to deliver the news of the firing of Fort Sumter at the fort. The rider was exhausted and could ride no further, and asked for volunteers to carry into ef- fect his errand. Mr. Johnson gladly offered his services, and the heroism of his action can be imagined only by those who have been hemmed in a desolate, frozen, and Indian infested region. and with but limited means of self defense. To facilitate his progress to the fort he asked for a certain noble horse named Colonel, which was given him, and upon the back of which he rode the eighteen miles to the fort, returning only after the message had been delivered to the officer in charge.

At the end of his enlistment Mr. Johnston was either obliged to return to England or buy his (lischarge, and, having seen enough of America to appreciate the chances offered an ambitious and

industrious man, he resorted to the latter alterna- tive. paying twenty pounds sterling for release from the service. Arriving in Portland in the latter part of '61, he went to work for C. H. Meyers, the only gas fitter and plumber in the city. At that time Portland had an apology of a water works owned by private parties, the mech- anism of which was delightfully simple. The water was pumped by steam into a cement cistern on the river bank on the corner of Fourth and Clay streets, and this was the forerunner of the present splendid water equipment of one of the foremost cities in the Union. In those early days it fell to the lot of Mr. Johnston to do all of the plumbing and gas fitting in the city, and although he was a novice as far as practical experience went, having served only during his apprentice- ship, he soon fell in with the numerous demands upon his ingenuity. The water works supplied a large share of his work, for when Robert Pen- dleton constructed them he put in the primitive wood mains, which consisted only of logs with holes bored through.

After four years with Mr. Meyers, Mr. John- ston started up a plumbing and gas fitting busi- ness of his own, and his reputation as an expert in his line grew apace. His experience with the water works of Portland put him in possession of many practical suggestions, the outgrowth of his trouble with the primitive structure. As chief in his line in the whole northwest, he was called upon to construct the first water mains in Van- couver, Wash., and Oregon City, and during his many years of active life he has constructed thousands of miles of sewer. From the smallest to the largest contracts in Portland his services have been rewarded with entire satisfaction to all concerned, and he has thus kept pace with the growth of the city as few have been permitted to do. He laid the sewerage of the United States Custom House, and twenty-eight years ago ren- dered as sanitary as was possible in those days the Portland postoffice. During later years he has advanced with the students of sanitation, and and the majority of the large public buildings. beautiful residences, and structures in general throughout the city have him to thank for being permitted to live in the midst of cleanly and healthful surroundings. When it is recalled that the mortality of a city is in proportion to its ob- servance of the laws of healthful living, the great good accomplished by this veteran gas fitter and plumber is hardly to be estimated.

In Portland, Ore., Mr. Johnston married Mary Wilson, who was born in New York City, and came to San Francisco with her parents in the early '6os. Ten children have been born of this union, of whom Hattie is now the wife of Charles Lonsdale of Portland ; William Thomas, a graduate of the Portland high school

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and business college, is a practical plumber and gas fitter, and is in business with his father; Fannie is deceased ; Mamie and James, twins, are deceased; Carrie, Mildred, David, Hazel and Beatrice. In the early days Mr. Johnston was one of the volunteer firemen of the town, serving not only as foreman but as chief for three terms. Owing to lack of facilities these fire fighters were often subjected to great danger, yet they were always willing to risk life in the discharge of their duty. At the present time Mr. Johnston is a member of the Chamber of Commerce. Po- litically he is a Republican, and his family find a religious home in the Episcopal Church. Frater- nally he is connected with the Harmony Lodge No. 12, and the Portland Chapter No. 3. He is a man of sterling integrity, of unquestioned, un- usual ability in his chosen occupation, and ever since the beginning of his business career in this town has commanded the confidence and support of the best element in the community.

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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 99

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