Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 102

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 102

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Amos S. Gleason

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

time to time he added to his land, and now owns eleven hundred acres, all in Benton county. He was successful in the west, and reared in comfort his large family of nine children. In Benton county he married Sophia Whittaker, who was born in Ohio, a daughter of Jacob Whittaker, a stonemason by trade, who brought his wife and children overland in 1852. He settled on a farm in Benton county, but eventu- ally retired to Corvallis, where his death oc- curred, being survived by his wife. Of the children born to Riley A. Hurlburt and wife, Mary Ann is now Mrs. Wrenn, of California; John T. is living on the old home farm; George F. is in Utah, and engaged in mining; Louisa is Mrs. Gardner, of Corvallis; Jane is Mrs. Caton, of eastern Oregon; Seth is engaged in mining in Utah; Margaret is now Mrs. Smith, of St. Louis, Mo .; Fannie is Mrs. James Mace, of Portland; and Jacob is a farmer in Benton county.

Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Gardner, Edna and Viola. Fraternally Mr. Gardner holds membership with the Woodmen of the World. Mr. Gardner is a member and deacon of the Baptist Church, and is ex-superin- tendent of the Sunday school. He is a man of high moral principle and pronounced public- spiritedness, and his place in the business and social world of Corvallis is an enviable one.

AMOS SMITH GLEASON. The agricul- tural interests of Marion county are well rep- resented by Amos S. Gleason, who is the owner of a fine farm of three hundred and twenty acres situated one and one-half miles south of Hub- bard, one hundred and thirty acres being under cultivation and the balance used for pasturage. Aside from general farming Mr. Gleason makes a specialty of Shorthorn cattle, and of these he has some of the finest on the Pacific coast. He also conducts a dairy and is very successful in this line. From his youth up Mr. Gleason has had a predilection for the occupation he has al- ways followed, and at the age of twenty he start- ed out to make his own way in the world. That he has achieved success is indicated by the pros- perous condition of his farm, the many improve- ments he has added to it, and the fact that he has acquired an independent fortune. All this is due to the fact that his aim was high, that whatever he undertook he carried forward to completion, and that he considered anything he did worth doing well.

The early history of Amos S. Gleason is that of the average farmer lad. His birthplace was Ripley county, Ind., near Milan, the date of his birth October 13, 1832. He is a son of Parson and Mary A. (Smith) .Gleason, the former a

native of Vermont, born August 2, 1799; the latter born in Connecticut in the year 1798. The parents started housekeeping in Indiana, making that state their home until 1851. The father had removed from Vermont to Indiana when he was twenty-one, and through frugality and economy had accumulated sufficient money to purchase a farm, on which he lived with his family until the year above mentioned, when they crossed the plains, coming direct to Clack- amas county. They were five months on the way, and the journey was made with ox-teams, without anything of importance occurring on the way except that they could not fail to be in- pressed with the grandeur of the scenery, when they reached the mountains, and the broad, al- most interminable stretch of the plains with scarcely anything to relieve the eye over that vast territory. Mr. Gleason, Sr., took up a dona- tion claim of three hundred and twenty acres of land on the present site of the town of Needy. The Gleasons were pioneers in this locality, the work of civilization having been scarcely begun at that time. The land was all wild and unim- proved, and Mr. Gleason set about making a home for himself and family. He built a hewed log house in which the family resided for about four years, when they removed to a farm on Pudding river, three miles cast of Hubbard, re- maining there until the death of the parents. In this family were twelve children, of whom three are now living: Aaron B., of Hubbard ; Amos S., of this review; and Irving E., of Benton county, Ore. The father of this family lived to be over ninety years of age, while the mother passed away at the age of eighty-three. They were faithful and earnest members of the United Brethren church and were the principal promoters and builders of Hopewell Church. Mr. Gleason was an ardent and active politician, taking an active part in political matters, and ever voting with the Republican party. He was a farmer all his life and also conducted a dairy.

Amos S. Gleason received his preliminary ed- ucation in the district schools of his native county, and later pursued a course in the uni- versity at Salem, afterward teaching school for about seven years. December 29, 1859, he was married to Jane Amanda Johnson, who was born in Illinois and came with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Neil Johnson, to Oregon in 1851, settling near Woodburn. After their marriage the young couple established their first home on Butte creek, six miles north of Silverton. One child was born of their union, Jane Amanda, the wife of Herod Choate, of Clackamas county. In 1861 Mr. Gleason was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife. He afterward married Miss Eliza- beth J. White, who was born in Callaway county, Mo., and with her parents came to Oregon in

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

1852. Her family history is given elsewhere in this volume, in connection with the life record of her brother. Mr. and Mrs. Gleason continued to reside on Butte creek until they removed to their present home. In the meantime he was engaged in the sawmill business in Marion and Yamhill counties for about eight years. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Gleason has been blessed with four children: Effie, wife of H. C. Moon, of Woodburn; Sarah V., wife of S. T. Loudon, of Aumsville; Nina A., at home; and Arthur A., deceased.

February 22, 1856, Mr. Gleason enlisted in Company E, First Regiment Oregon Mounted Volunteers, under Capt. William A. Cason, and was mustered in at Oregon City for service in the Indian wars. The troops were sent east of the mountains to protect the emigrants from the Indians and outlaws which infested the re- gion at that period. Mr. Gleason served for one hundred days, during which time his com- pany had no severe engagement. His duty hav- ing been performed, he returned to his home and took up the work of the home farm. He has also served as road supervisor, justice of the peace and as a member of the school board. In every respect his public service has met with the approval of the people, and he stands high in his community as an advocate of good roads, good schools, and law and order. In politics he is an earnest Republican, while his religious views are indicated by his membership in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

To say that Mr. Gleason is a man of practical ideas, broad-minded and liberal in his views, and of the highest integrity of character, is but doing him simple justice. He takes pleasure in fulfilling the duties of his daily life, and casts his influence on the side of progress and general advancement.

MOSES PARKER. No pioncer resident of Linn county has more substantially aided in the development of its agricultural and other re- sources than Moses Parker, who has been a resi- dent of this portion of Oregon ever since 1852, and who, in 1855, bought the second threshing machine in the county, and has ever since op- erated some one of these necessary machines. True, the old time lumbering, wheezing, and unreliable thresher has been many times sup- planted by more modern innovations, steam has taken the place of horse power, and expediency in the disposal of the grain has left far in ar- rears the slow and laborious pioneer methods. While his fellow-agriculturists were struggling with the old-time cradle. gathering the golden grain into small bundles, and depositing it at intervals in rows in the field, this energetic and

progressive tiller of the soil brought a reaper into the county, the first to arouse the curiosity of field laborers here, and a subject of endless investigation and discussion. Criticism soon gave way to praise, and others followed the example of progress set by their honored com- patriot. To equal extent but in different direc- tions Mr. Parker has fostered advancement in other fields, supporting with his influence and practical assistance schools, road building, good government, and humanitarian projects for the uplifting of the people.

The earliest years of Mr. Parker were spent on a farm in Ross county, Ohio, where he was born November 4, 1830, remaining there until the family removal to Burlington, Iowa, in 1845. The ambitions lad saw beyond the borders of the paternal farm, with its ceaseless drudgery and small remuneration, and at the age of sev- enteen, in 1847, he went to Burlington and learned the carpenter's trade. Becoming a jour- neyman carpenter, he worked faithfully and lived economically, hoping all the time for better things, and finally coming to believe that he would find them in the west of which he had heard so much. In 1852 the opportunity came to him, and with his brother Allen he outfitted with a wagon and four yoke of oxen, crossing the plains without any extraordinary happening.

In the fall of 1852 Mr. Parker took up a dona- tion claim of one hundred and sixty acres on the Santiam river, in Linn county, Ore., three miles north of Lebanon, and while his summers were devoted to his trade, for which he found great demand, his winters were spent on the farm. After living alone until 1856, he married Mary C. Humphreys, and thereafter continued on the farm until selling out in 1858. Mr. Parker then bought his present farm of three hundred and twenty acres, and with the tion of three

years in Sweet Home vall re machi

this his home, and not ( 1 raised

stock, but has assisted ne .mers with his threshing machine wit. Je coming of every harvest. He has added to his land and now owns four hundred and eighty acres, all in the valley, wheat and stock comprising his principal source of revenue. In the early days he met many obstructions to his progress, the Indians proving at times very troublesome. During the war of 1856 he enlisted in the Second Oregon Mounted Cavalry, and saw service in the Walla Walla country, taking part in many of the prin- cipal battles and skirmishes in that memorable contest. 1

In political affiliation Mr. Parker is a Demo- crat, but he has never desired office. He is so- ciable in the extreme, a very pleasant and genial man to meet, and one who is inclined to look on the bright side of life. He is connected with

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the Grange, and has greatly advanced the best interests of that helpful institution, and is also a member of the Ancient Order of United Work- men. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Parker, of whom the oldest son, Perry P., lives near his father; Lewis T. is a resi- dent of Portland; Hiram is a farmer in this vicinity ; William E. lives in the vicinity of the home place and is operating a threshing ma- chine; while Annie, Mary A., John and Allen are deceased.

GEORGE R. FARRA, M. D. In 1877 Dr. George R. Farra came to Corvallis, established an office in a modest and unassuming way, and from a small beginning long ago became an im- portant figure in professional circles in Benton county. Nor have his efforts been confined to a large practice, for his pronounced business and executive ability have resulted in a position of equal prominence as a promoter and financier. From a childhood containing little of the joy or expectancy of life the doctor has evolved single-handed his present success. He was born on a farm in Woodford county, Ky., September 13, 1843, a son of John R. and Martha J. Farra, natives of the Blue Grass state, and of German and Scotch ancestry, respectively. The parents were married July 30, 1840, thereafter continu- ing to live in their native state until 1847, re- moving then to Platte county, Mo., where the father died September 9, 1852, his wife after- ward re-marrying.

Dr. Farra was nine years of age when his father died, and this loss in the family was a se- vere blow to the growing and ambitious boy. He was required to work hard to promote the gen- era¿ support, and his education was sadly neg- lected, a defici which he was not slow to realize af „years of discretion. His first ins., . ar business was acquired in a grocery a ¡Humboldt, Allen county. Kans., where he . pined for two years, and for the following two years was interested in the drug business in Platte county, Mo. In the meantime he had been reading medicine under a well known physician and surgeon of Platte county, Dr. W. P. Moore, and during 1875 cn- tered the medical department of the University of Louisville, from which he was duly graduated in 1877, having completed the course in a re- markably short time. After a short practice in Louisville he came to Corvallis, where he has since rendered himself indispensable to hun- dreds of families in this county. Many things have contributed to his successful practice, not the least of which is an agreeable and optimistic manner, and the ability to keep abreast of the progress of medical and surgical science. In

this connection he has for many years been a member of the Oregon State Medical Society.

The doctor is not only a large stock-holder in many of the important enterprises of Corvallis and vicinity, but has been the chief promoter and instigator of many of them. From the time of its incorporation in 1885, he has taken a keen interest in the Corvallis Water Company, of which he is the president and chief stockholder, and which owes its present prosperity to his far- sighted management and progressive methods. He is a director of the old Oregon & Pacific Railroad Company, now the Corvallis & Eastern, and of the Willamette Land & Loan Association, the latter incorporated in 1889. While living in Corvallis Dr. Farra has built two residences, the latter, built in 1903, being by far the finest in the town. He married in Platte county, Mo., February 9, 1873, Amna Hamilton, a native of Missouri, who became the mother of two chil- dren, both of whom are deceased. Dr. Farra is a stanch upholder of the Democratic party, but has never worked for or desired official po- sitions. However, he has been a member of the city council, and has served as county physician. He was for several terms a member of the pen- sion board. He is fraternally connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, of which he was examining physician for many years; the Woodmen of the World, of which he is a charter member and the examining physician. He is also a member of the Blue Lodge of Ma- sons.

FRED BENTS. One of three brothers who have made a signal success in the cultivation of hops in the state of Oregon is Fred Bents, whose birth occurred in Platte county, Kans., April 13, 1855. His parents were natives of Switzer- land, his father, Henry, being born on a farm in that country, where he was reared, and in man- hood married Anna Bosshard, with whom he emigrated to the United States in 1854. The journey was not an uneventful one to this young Swiss family, their first venture into the world being shadowed by a perilous sea-voyage, the sailing vessel on which they came springing a leak in mid-ocean; and the sad death of their first child, which occurred upon the trip. Six weeks from the date of sailing the vessel an- chored in New York harbor, but the young people were not satisfied to make this their home, having heard many glowing accounts of the rich farming lands of the Mississippi valley, and toward that location they continued their journey.

Settling in the eastern part of Kansas, Mr. Bents took up a homestead, where he remained farming until 1863, at that time losing his home

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and all the improvements which he had put upon it through a defective title. Nothing daunted by the misfortunes which had attended him he decided to seek a home still farther in the west, starting in this last-named year for Oregon, with four oxen drawing the wagon which con- tained his worldly possessions. Six months later the little party reached their destination, settling first in Marion county on the claim of Barney Eberhard, where they remained until 1864, when Mr. Bents bought the farm of three hundred acres which is now in the hands of his children. He paid but $500 for the entire tract, which at that time was a wilderness of brush and timber. He bought the land of John Scheurer, giving him $100 for the first payment, in addition to the remaining ox of the four with which he had commenced the journey. In later . days Mr. Scheurer proved a valuable friend to this pioneer family, assisting the father in many ways to gain a competency for his family. Upon his farm Mr. Bents at once built a cabin of hewed logs, which consisted of two rooms, the entire building being only 16x16 feet, and in this the family found shelter for many years, going out from this humble home each morning with the pioneer's determination to win an honorable place in this new state. Mr. Bents died June 20, 1869, at the early age of forty years, a suc- cessful man, financially and socially, and his death meant a personal loss to the community His wife survived him many years, her death occurring February 20, 1890, at the age of sixty- four years. They were both consistent members of the Lutheran Church. Of their children all but one were born in the United States, those living being as follows: Fred, of this review ; Edward, located in Salem; William, a farmer and hop-grower on a part of the home farm; and Henry L., also on a part of the home farm.

On the death of his father, Fred Bents, the oldest of the sons and then only fifteen years of age, took entire charge of the farm, which he conducted with remarkable skill until 1881, when he left the conservative lines of the general farmer and undertook the cultivation of a five- acre field of hops. Meeting with gratifying suc- cess he gradually increased the number of acres until, with the interests of his two brothers, William and Henry L., he has nearly seventy acres devoted to its cultivation. In 1902 he alone raised twenty-seven thousand, four hun- dred and fifty-three pounds of hops. In partner- ship with these same brothers Fred Bents owns the original three hundred acres purchased by their father, and upon his share of the same in 1887 he put some handsome improvements in the line of buildings, etc., and moved to the pres- ent location of his home. He has a finely im-

proved farm one and one-half miles from Butte- ville, Marion county.

The marriage of Mr. Bents occurred April 3. 1885, and united him with Minnie Byland, a na- tive of Linn county, Ore. Four children have been born of this union, named as follows : Mary, William, Clarence and Hattie.

In politics Mr. Bents is a Republican. Fra- ternally he is a member of Champoeg Lodge No. 27, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and of the United Artisans. He is known as one of the liberal-minded, progressive citizens of the county, and actively interested in promot- ing its welfare whenever the opportunity to do so presents itself.

WALTER HUSTON. It is a far step from the educational life in the early days of Virginia to agricultural pursuits in the lands of Oregon, but it is not an exaggerated one, and it may be possible that Walter Huston owes his intelligent and progressive labors to that ancestor, Archi- bald Huston, who was one of the educators in the state upon the Atlantic coast, where the grandfather, Walter Huston, was born, his Irish ancestry transmitting sturdy, steady virtues which have made their influence felt among various scenes and at different crises of the country's history. A well known member of this family and one whose history is indelibly associated with that of the country to the south- west, is Gen. Sam. Houston, the cousin of the grandfather of Walter Huston.

The father, J. B. Huston, was born near Nashville, Tenn., December 22, 1810, and when a young man went to Henderson county, Ill., there engaging in farming as one of the carly settlers of that part of the country. A year after his settlement there he returned to his home in Tennessee, and while there married Katherine Huston, who was born in 1811, near the same location in which Mr. Huston first saw the light of day. They removed to Illinois. where they remained pleasantly located until 1853, when, with their ten children, they crossed the plains to Oregon, ox-teams being used in the traveling and the journey occupying six months of the year. The first winter was spent in Linn county, where the father bought the right to a claim twelve miles south of Albany, to which they at once removed and engaged in cultivating and improving the same. The death of Mr. Hus- ton occurred in 1879, upon the farm selected upon their first arrival here. The mother sur- vived him until 1893, when she died in the same location. Politically he was a Democrat and religiously he was a member of the Christian Church at Sand Ridge. Ore.

Of the twelve children which blessed the

E. P Walken

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

union of his parents Walter Huston was the fifth in order of birth, and was born in Hen- derson county, Ill., March 1, 1839, and there lived until he was fourteen years old, attending the district school in the vicinity of his home in the intervals of his home duties, which early training, and a brief attendance in Linn county, Ore., constituted his education. He removed with his parents to Oregon in 1853, and re- mained with them for the ensuing seven years. When he reached his majority he left home and sought livelihood and independence by prospecting east of the mountains, and later extending his operations throughout the entire northwest. Satisfied with the returns after about four years of this kind of work, he bought a farm located eight miles from Brownsville, where he engaged in farming for about ten years. Industry, energy and perseverance are never without their reward, and in 1874 he was able to make a purchase of one hundred and sixty acres which now make up his present farm. This is located one and a half miles east of Harrisburg, Linn county, where his time is largely devoted to stock-raising, as he has for the present retired from active farming.

The marriage of Mr. Huston occurred in 1868, upon his father's place, and united him with Susan E. Smith, a native of Missouri, whose death occurred in 1876. In 1878 he mar- ried Lodemma A. Shelley, who was born in Lane county, October, 1855, the daughter of Michael Shelley, who crossed the plains in 1848 and lo- cated in the county where his daughter was born. By his first marriage he was the father of the following children: Rosa B., the wife of Alfred Huelat, of Seattle, Wash .; and Es- tella, the wife of Roy A. Reed, of Walla Walla, Wash. By the second marriage the following children have been born: R. C., now located in Seattle, Wash .; Raymond; Ethel; Veda; and Blanche. In his religious views Mr. Hus- ton follows his father's convictions and holds membership with the Christian Church, Harris- burg, where he officiates as deacon. His wife is a member of the same church. Politically he casts his ballot with the Democratic party.

E. P. WALKER, who is serving his third term as a member of the city council of Salem, has made for himself a record as a public of- ficial that is above condemnation or criticism. He has been a resident of this city since 1880, coming from the Mississippi valley. He was born in Shelby county, Ill., the son of Jesse D. and Sarah (Calvin) Walker, both natives of Kentucky, and the former of Scotch descent. Removing to Illinois, the father settled in Shelby county, where he carried on farming until his

death in 1852, while his wife passed away in the same state in 1844. They were the parents of eight children, of whom two sons and two daughters are now living, the brother of our subject being Harvey Walker, represented elsewhere in this work. The daughters are Mrs. Pauline Bankson, of Bethany, Ill., and Mrs. Martha Moore, of Moultrie county, Ill.

Mr. Walker of this review was born April 13, 1832, and was reared upon the home farm in Shelby county until nineteen years of age. During that time he pursued his studies in a log schoolhouse which was seated with pun- cheon benches and had other primitive furnish- ings. Quill pens were used and the text books were very crude as compared with those used at the present time. He spent but three months during the winter seasons in school and the rest of the year worked in the fields. When nineteen years of age he went to Van Buren county, Iowa, where he spent the summer and then returned to Illinois, having in the mean- time been employed as a farm hand for $12.50 per month. After he again located in his na- tive state he entered the employ of an English- man who gave him $25 per month for feeding and caring for the stock. That he was faith- ful to the work intrusted to him was shown by the fact that he remained in the English- man's service for seven years and during that time he saved his money until he was enabled to purchase a land warrant, for which he paid $160. This entitled him to secure one hundred and sixty acres of land in Moultrie county and at different times he made purchases and trades. In 1865 he removed to Tazewell coun- ty, Ill., settling near Pekin, where he secured a farm of two hundred and forty acres which he successfully cultivated until 1880, when he came to Salem, Ore. He had visited this coun- try in 1875, his object being to ascertain what prospects the country afforded, and at that time he made his way to the Rogue river. That he carried away with him favorable im- pressions is shown by the fact that he returned in 1880 and two weeks after his arrival pur- chased a farm of one hundred and eighty acres for which he gave $16,000. This is one of the finest farms in the valley, located four miles northeast of Salem on the Silverton road. Subsequently he extended the boundaries of this property until the farm now comprises three hundred and eighty acres in one body, his land being operated by his two sons. Since 1893 Mr. Walker has lived retired from the active duties of farm life. Two years of this period have been spent in Pasadena, Cal., but at the end of that time he returned to Salem. where he has resided continuously since.

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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 102

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