Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 101

Author: Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Chicago, The Chapman Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1622

USA > Oregon > Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present > Part 101

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The third in his father's family, the liveryman of Corvallis lived in California until 1867, and then accompanied the family to Oregon, driv- ing with horses over the mountains. He at- tended the public schools at Brownsville, Linn county, and when fifteen years of age found em- ployment in the warehouse at Halsey, the same county. For seven years he was associated in a business capacity with T. J. Black, and finally resigned his position to engage in farming on the old Wilson place near Halsey. Here he re- mained for seven years, making quite a profit out of the fertile farm, and at the expiration of that time bought a farm of two hundred and thirteen acres five miles south of Brownsville, and at the foot of the Twin Buttes. Here he lived and prospered until 1900, when he rented his farm, moved to Corvallis, and engaged in his present lucrative and successful livery business. In Linn county, Mr. Fruit was united in mar- riage with Emiline Michaels, a native of the county, and who has become the mother of three children: Eli Victor, George Henry and Glenn. Mr. Fruit is a member of the Grangers and the United Artisans, while the family is identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church South.

HENDERSON SIMPSON. Another name to be mentioned among those of the early pioneers from the Mississippi valley is Hender- son Simpson, who came to Oregon in 1845, in company with his parents, growing to manhood among the privations incident to the life of the first settlers in a new country. He is now retired from the active duties of life and makes his home upon the ranch which he purchased near Airlie, Polk county.

The father of Henderson Simpson, Rice W., was born in Tennessee, reared in Alabama, and on attaining manhood he removed to Arkansas. In 1845 he followed the example of the many other inhabitants of the Mississippi valley and sought a home in the west, crossing the plains by the route known as the Meeks cut-off, the greatest difficulty experienced on the journey being the lack of water. During the winter of 1845-6 he made a home for his family on Tuala- tin plains, after which he located near Luckia- mute, Polk county, where he remained for one year. In 1847 he removed to Washington, lo- cating seventeen miles above Vancouver, on the Columbia river, his removal from this place be- ing brought about by the report of the discov- ery of gold in California, whither he repaired in 1849 and engaged in the life of a miner. Re- turning in the fall of the same year he pur- chased, in the spring of 1850, a ranch of six hundred and forty acres on the Luckiamute and near Airlie, Polk county, for the sum of $200. On this land he established a comfortable home, and as the years have passed by and land in- creased in worth it has become a valuable piece of property. The remaining years of his life were spent upon this farm, his death occurring in 1882 at the age of seventy-five years. His wife, Rebecca, also a native of Tennessee, died here in 1863, at the age of fifty-four years. She was the mother of nine children, six sons and three daughters.

The second oldest of this family of children was Henderson Simpson, who was born in Franklin county, Ark., January 30, 1841, and made the trip across the plains at the youthful age of four years. To the extent permitted by circumstances he attended the district schools in the neighborhood of his home, in his boyhood years, being trained to the useful and practical life of a farmer. Some time previous to his twentieth birthday he was engaged in farming and stock-raising, and at that age he went to Montana and was employed as a miner, after which he tried life in the sunny clime of Cali- fornia. For a brief period of his life he lived in Umpqua valley, and for one year in Tilla- mook county. In 1883 he went into the logging business, on Luckiamute river, from which he has reaped the fruits of a laborious life, being

Jahr, Redmond

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interested in log contracting. In addition to his home ranch he owns eighty acres located on Ritner creek, which has not, however, been im- proved.

Mr. Simpson was married in Airlie to Miss Martha Faulkenberry, a native of Arkansas, whose father, Hugh, of Tennessee, started from Arkansas in 1853 to Oregon, and died while on the way. He was buried near the present site of Denver. Mrs. Simpson's mother was Sarah Estes, also of Tennessee, and she ended her widowhood by becoming the wife of William Sebring, who is now deceased. He was born in Ohio and crossed the plains in 1844 and located in the Willamette valley. To Mr. and Mrs. Simpson were born the following children : Jefferson and Hugh, deceased; Phy, a sketch of whose life appears elsewhere in this work; David H., engaged in farming and logging near Pedee, Ore .; Lelia now Mrs. Hugh Hanna, of Independence, Ore .; Fain, engaged in the log- ging camp; and one child who died in infancy. Mr. Simpson is a Democrat as to his political preferment, and religiously is a member of the Evangelical Church at Pedee.

JOHN REDMOND. Few men in Oregon have done as much for the development of the stock-raising industry as has John Redmond, and for this he deserves credit, as the man who im- proves the grade of stock thereby advances prices and the entire agricultural community profits in consequence. More than forty years have passed since Mr. Redmond came to this state, and he has therefore been a witness of the greater part of its growth and development. He was born in Ontario, Canada, August 26, 1839, upon the fam- ily homestead, about twelve miles southwest of Hamilton. He is descended from a prominent family of Ireland, and the two Redmonds who are members of parliament from the Emerald Isle, are own cousins of our subject. His grand- father, John Redmond, was a farmer, and spent his entire life in Ireland. William Redmond, the father, was born in Wexford, Ireland, and he, too, followed agricultural pursuits. When a young man he went to Canada, settling first in Goderich, but afterward purchasing his farm near Hamilton. That was then a new country, and in the midst of the forests he hewed out his home. He assisted in erecting the first three houses in Hamilton, and devoted his energies to the culti- vation of the land, which he had secured from the government, until he had transformed it into a fine farm. He wedded Margaret Buckley, who was born in Newfoundland, a daughter of Daniel Buckley, whose birth occurred in Dublin, Irc- land, and who served in the English army. On

crossing the Atlantic to Canada, the vessel in which he sailed was shipwrecked off the coast of Newfoundland. For a time he remained in that country, and then took up his abode near Hamil- ton. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Redmond was blessed with four sons and two daughters, and with the exception of one son, all are living. These are John; Daniel, who came to Oregon, but of whom nothing has been heard for some time; Francis William, of McMinnville; Charles Wesley, of Hillsboro, this state, and Margaret and Mary Ann Smith. The father passed away in the year 1865, and the mother's death occurred in McMinnville. They held membership in the Episcopal Church.

John Redmond, of this review, early mani- fested the trait of character which has shaped his business career-his love of horses. He was reared upon the home farm in his native country, and when not engaged with the duties of the school, assisted in the labors of the fields, or the care of the stock. In 1862, when twenty-three years of age, he started for Oregon, making his way to New York, where he took passage on the vessel North Star, bound for Panama. Thence he sailed on the San Diego de Cuba to San Fran- cisco, and from there proceeded by steamer to Portland, where he took up his abode. In Can- ada he had learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed in Portland for a year, after which he made his way to the mines in the Boise basin of Idaho, engaging in prospecting and mining for five years. In 1867 he returned to Canada by way of the Nicaragua route to New York, and thence to his old home. He purchased a farm in the vicinity of the old family home near Hamilton, where he carried on agricultural pur- suits for five years, but he had become attached to the west, and about 1873 he sold his property in the Dominion and returned to Oregon, going by rail to San Francisco. For a time he followed the carpenter's trade in Portland, and in 1874 came to Yamhill county and purchased his prcs- ent farm of three hundred and twenty acres, three miles southwest of McMinnville. He now has three hundred and forty acres, and for almost thirty years he has continuously carried on gen- eral farming and stock-raising here. He was the first man to raise standard-bred horses. In 1878 he returned to Goshen, Orange county, N. Y., where he purchased three stallions, which he shipped to the coast, being among the first standard-bred stallions brought to Oregon. They were Kisbar, sired by Rysdeck Hamble- tonian; Durock Prince, by Messenger Durock Hambletonian; and Rockwood, by Truesdall Hambletonian. Mr. Redmond owned these stal- lions several years, and he has done much to im- prove the grade of stock in Oregon, raising many finc horses here. In 1899. however, he left his

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farm, and took up his abode in McMinnville, where he now makes his home.

Mrs. Redmond was born in Scotland, and died in Yamhill county, leaving three children : Wes- ley, Mina and Roy. In his fraternal relations Mr. Redmond is a Mason, belonging to Union Lodge No. 43, F. & A. M., of which he is a past master; Taylor Chapter No. 16, R. A. M., of which he is a past high priest; Hodson Council No. 1, R. & S. M .; Oregon Commandery No. I, K. T .; Al Kader Temple, N. M. S .; and the Ore- gon Order of the High Priesthood. He is like- wise connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. For forty years he was a member of the Episcopal Church, but as there was no con- gregation of that denomination in McMinnville he is now connected with the Cumberland Pres- byterian Church. His political support is given to the Republican party. Mr. Redmond is a high-minded and liberal man, prominent in pub- lic affairs, and all recognize his devotion to the best interests of his adopted county and state.

ALPHONSO WEBSTER STANARD. . Owning and occupying one of the pleasantest and most desirable homesteads of Linn county is A. W. Stanard, of Brownsville, who is dis- tinguished not only as one of the original set- tlers of this section of the county, but as a vet- eran of the Rogue River Indian war. His land is under a high state of cultivation, and, with its comfortable and convenient farm buildings and their neat and tasteful surroundings, in- variably attracts the attention of the passer-by, and bears speaking evidence of the thrift and good management of the proprietor. He comes of a New England family of worth and sta- bility, and was born April 24, 1829, in · New- port, N. H., the home of many of his ancestors.

Removing with his parents to Van Buren county, lowa, when a lad of seven years, Mr. Stanard was brought up on the farm which his father bought, and was educated in the common schools. During the winter of 1851 and 1852 he taught school near the town of Bonaparte, Iowa. In the spring, impelled by the restless American spirit that led so many to seek new lo- cations in the wild lands of this section of the Union, he started for Oregon. Joining Clay- bourn Hill's train, he drove an ox-team across the plains, being six months on the way, he- fore he reached Linn county. The trip was an eventful one for him, as during the journey he fell in love with Mr. Hill's daughter, Eliza J. Hill, wooing her so earnestly that he won her love in return, and, having gained the consent of her father, married her in the fall of 1852, soon after their arrival in Oregon. Taking up a donation claim of three hundred and twenty

acres in November, 1852, Mr. Stanard erected a one-room log house, in which he and his bride set up housekeeping. Clearing and improving a homestead, he carried on general farming most successfully, in the course of time erecting his present residence, and other necessary build- ings. With the exception of two years, from 1866 until 1868, when he served as county clerk of Linn county, and the following three years, when he was engaged in mercantile business in Albany, and where, in 1868, he was elected rep- resentative to the state legislature as the nomi- nee of the Democratic party, and in 1870 re- elected, serving two terms, Mr. Stanard has de- voted his entire attention to agricultural pur- suits, becoming exceedingly prosperous in his operations. A man of practical judgment and executive ability, he served as mayor of Albany during two of the five years that he resided in that city, rendering efficient service while filling that office.

During the Indian troubles of 1855 and 1856, Mr. Stanard enlisted, in the fall of 1855, in Captain Keeney's company, Second Regiment of the Oregon Mounted Volunteers, and was elected first lieutenant of his company by his comrades. After serving three months in the Rogue River campaign, he was discharged, and returned to his home. Re-enlisting in the spring of 1856 in the same regiment, he was made orderly sergeant of Captain Blakeley's com- pany, and again spent three months in the Rogue River country, serving as long as his services were needed.

In 1854 Mr. Stanard's first wife died, leav- ing his hearthstone desolate. Two years later, in the fall of 1856, Mr. Stanard married Eliza- beth Hill, a sister of his first wife. Of his first union one child was born, named Melissa, who is deceased. By his second marriage there were ten children, three of whom have passed away: Clara, Frederick and Bert. Those living are William Obed, Charles Edwin, George Clay- bourn, Harvey Alfred, Frank Coleman, Idilla, wife of A. S. McDonald of The Dalles, and Min- nie, living at home. Politically Mr. Stanard was for many years an adherent of the Demo- cratic party, but is now a sturdy supporter of the principles of the Prohibition party, which in 1902 nominated him for the state legislature. He is a consistent member of the Baptist Church, with which he has been identified for fifty-one years, and in which he has served as clerk and deacon for many years. Mr. Stanard is a brother of E. O. Stanard of St. Louis, who was at one time lieutenant governor of Missouri and served as representative in congress from that state. He is one of the best known residents of St. Louis, where he has extensive milling in- terests.

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ADDISON P. BLACKBURN. Two and a half miles east of Plainview lives Addison P. Blackburn, owner of a farm of four hundred acres in the valley, and of four hundred acres in the mountains. An inspection of this proper- ty is both interesting and instructive, for the owner, a self-made man in the truest and fullest sense of the word, is a keen appreciator of country life, and brings to his aid those scien- tific and modern devices which distinguish the successful and progressive from the conserva- tive and less ambitious farmer.

Born in Clinton, Monroe county, Mo., May 12, 1844, a son of Robert and Salissa ( Pollard) Blackburn, Mr. Blackburn was educated in the public schools, and was reared in a family where industry and moral rectitude were of prime im- portance. His uneventful youth welcomed the outbreak of the Civil war as an opportunity in which to try his mettle, and with the first call to arms he enlisted in September, 1861, under Gen- eral Price, with whom he afterward served as orderly, and whose banner he followed until defeat overcame the brave little band. After six months in the field Mr. Blackburn located on a farm in Hancock county, Ill., where he met and married, July 3, 1864, Arabella Wood- worth, daughter of Hiram and Polly (Glenn) Woodworth. Two years later he moved back to Missouri and settled in Saline county, pur- chasing the farm upon which he lived until 1877. The same year he came to Oregon and spent several months in investigating different parts of the state, finally settling on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Linn county. Purchasing his present home farm in 1883 he lived thereon until 1898, in which year he moved to Lebanon, remained four years, and then re- turned to the old place. On his home and mountain farm he raises large numbers of high- grade cattle and sheep, and is unquestionably one of the best judges of stock in the county.

Executive ability has made of Mr. Blackburn a welcome addition to the social, political and business element of the county, and few efforts at advancement but receive his stamp of ap- proval or are aided by his practical assistance. For many years he has been prominent among the Odd Fellows, and is a member of Lebanon Lodge No. 47, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, of which he is nobie grand and treasurer, and which he represented at the Grand Lodge in 1902, Mr. Blackburn has been a member of the Presbyterian church since his youth, has in- variably supported it with his means and active interest, and has been an elder in the church for many years. He is a man of strict integrity and upright character, and his place among the upbuilders of this section is an assured one. To him and his wife ten children have been

born, named as follows in the order of their birth : Luella, deceased, wife of H. E. Heller of Pendleton, Ore .; Lester, of Umatilla county, Ore .; Jennie, wife of Edgar Nichols of Leban- on, Ore .; Horace Eli, of Brownsville, Ore .; Minnie, wife of L. H. Fletcher of Lebanon, Ore .; Charles, deceased; John, of Pilot Rock, Umatilla county, Ore .; Walter, Edith and Ethel, all residing with their parents.

WILLIAM M. DAVIDSON. The landed possessions of William M. Davidson in Linn county include the home farm of three hundred and seventy acres, where he is engaged in gen- eral farming, and a foot-hill farm of four hun- dred and eighty acres where he raises large numbers of stock. The home farm has all those aids to scientific and modern farming and to up-to-date and comfortable living, which dis- tinguish the progressive farmer. His dwelling, barns, fences, shrubbery, plants, trees, and gen- eral adornments, constitute a beautiful as well as productive possession.

The early life of this substantial and popu- lar farmer was passed in Fulton county, Ind., where he was born April 8, 1845, a son of Henry and Sarah (Montgomery) Davidson, natives of Ohio, and born respectively May 28, 1818, and December 27, 1824. Of Scotch-Irish descent, Henry Davidson inherited the thrift and resource of this combined ancestry, and made a corresponding success of his life. As a young man twenty-one years of age he left home and went to Fulton county, Ind., where he began farming for himself, and married in 1841 and remained there until 1852, when he came to Oregon, thereafter settling the first winter on a donation claim of three hundred and twenty acres three miles north of Halsey. In 1876 he moved into the town of Halsey, retired per- manently from active life, and died in 1894, be- ing survived by his wife, who still makes Hal- sey her home. William M. is the second in order of birth of the four children in the family, Mrs. H. M. Murphy, the oldest daughter, being a resident of Independence, Ore .; Theodora, living near Eugene in Lane county; and Mary, the wife of R. Cunningham, living in Lebanon, Linn county.

His father's success and his own industry permitted of more than the average education for William Davidson, and from the public schools he went to the Christian College at Monmouth, which he attended during the sea- sons of 1863-64. Leaving college he went to eastern Oregon and engaged in stock-raising. In 1866 he returned to Linn county and the following year bought a place two miles and a half east of Harrisburg, remaining thereon in-

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

til the fall of 1874. He then sold his farm and bought his present home five miles east of Har- risburg, which he has since converted into one of the very valuable and desirable properties in this county. In June, 1867, Mr. Davidson mar- ried Rosetta Morris, who was born in Missouri, October 24, 1848, a daughter of George G. Mor- ris, who crossed the plains in 1853, and settled two miles southwest of Harrisburg. Of the eight children born of this union six are living, Clara, the oldest daughter, being the wife of Clyde McCoy of Harrisburg; Bruce H. is liv- ing at home; Elsie is the wife of George Pugh of Brownsville, Ore .; John H. is a resident of Rowland, Ore .; Oril E. is a citizen of Cor- vallis, Ore .; and Lydia is living at home. Mr. Davidson is a Republican in political affiliation, and has served acceptably as school director and clerk for a number of years. He is a member and active worker in the Christian Church ,and is at present a deacon. He is one of the broad- minded and liberal farmers of this vicinity, and numbers his friends and well-wishers by the score.

WINFIELD S. GARDNER. The old-time photographer, with his genius for exact imita- tion, and his appalling ignorance of light, shade and color effects, has long since been relegated to the limbo of things obsolete. In his place has arisen a successor who, in his best form, is some- thing more than a reproducer, and who ofttimes has at his command more resources than has the painter or sculptor. More and more is photog- raphy regarded as an all-important and distinct art in itself, and its proper and most successful practice demands of its devotees a spirit and ability in harmony with its own infinite possi- bilities. W. S. Gardner, of Corvallis, is credited with being an especially keen appreciator of his art, and the work so zealously prosecuted in his modern and well-equipped studios bespeaks the mind and heart not entirely given over to the money-making phase of his calling. Though making a specialty of his college trade, which in itself constitutes a liberal yearly income, Mr. Gardner has done much to perpetuate the beauties of nature found in this valley, and his photographs and views find their way to all parts of the world, and are admired as specimens of the highest development in photographic re- production.

A native of Tioga county, Pa., Mr. Gardner was born November 30, 1863, his father, Thomas, being a native of New York state. A carpenter and builder by trade, the father brought his family to Oregon in the fall of 1876, settling in Salem, where he plied his trade up to the time of his death, June 10, 1885. His wife, formerly

Sarah Cornelia Cole, and who is now living in California, is the mother of five children, all of whom are living, three being in California and two in Oregon, W. S. being the second child ; Arthur is a plumber, in Sebastapol, Cal .; Capitola is the wife of John Hulburt, of Benton county; Van Ness lives in the vicinity of Santa Rosa, Cal., and is engaged in horticulture; and May is Mrs. Homer Donten, of Woodland, Cal.

Thirteen years of age when the family fortunes were shifted to the northwest, W. S. Gardner had the advantages of the public schools of both Pennsylvania and Oregon, and when fifteen years of age, in 1878, began to look around for a means of livelihood. Realizing that congenial work means successful, and having an artistic and high-strung nature, he seemed to see in a dim sort of way the possibilities which opened before the student of photography. Accord- ingly, he began to study with W. P. Johnson, of Salem, and in the capacity of apprentice and assistant remained with this prominent artist for about nine years. As may be imagined, he was a real student of the art, constantly seeking development in his chosen calling, and became an expert in his profession, devoting all of his time to improving himself and keeping pace with the times. Coming to Corvallis in 1887, he in- augurated the business in which he has since been engaged, and for the accommodation of which and to house his family, he has built one of the really fine residences in the town. The second floor is devoted to the studio, and a large suite of rooms constitutes the gallery and re- ception rooms.

In Corvallis Mr. Gardner married Louisa I. Hurlburt, a native of Benton county, and a daughter of Riley A. Hurlburt, a native of Huron county, Ohio. Mr. Hurlburt was born November 26, 1830, a son of Abel Hurlburt, the latter born in New York state. The grand- father, Abel, was a blacksmith by trade, and at an early day settled in Huron county, Ohio, moving later to Kalamazoo county, Mich. Still later he settled in Chariton county, Mo., where he worked at coopering and blacksmithing. In 1851 he brought his family to Oregon, settling first on a donation claim in Benton county, where he farmed, and from where he removed to near Sheridan, Yamhill county. Here his death occurred at an advanced age, his wife, Anna (Reed) Hurlburt, having died in Benton county. Of their seven children but two are living. With Abel Hurlburt to Oregon came his son, Riley A., then twenty-one years of age, and very useful in helping to drive the oxen and care for the loose stock. Riley A. lo- cated on a claim of one hundred and sixty acres 11 Benton county, where he lived for four years, and then bought a farm on the river. From

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Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 101

Author: Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago Publication date: 1903 Publisher: Chicago, The Chapman Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1622

Author: Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Chicago, The Chapman Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1622