Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 106

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 106

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William P. Ireland was educated in the com- mon schools of Lucas county, Iowa, and was eighteen years of age when he came to Oregon. At the age of twenty-three he started out on his own responsibility, and from then until the present time has had no help in carving out his fortune. With his earnings he bought a portion of his father's donation claim, which formed the nuclens for his present large landed possess- ions, and forthwith inaugurated large general farming and stock-raising enterprises, a prefer- ence being given to the latter. He is an excellent judge of stock, but inclines to the reliable and substantial rather than fancy breeds. February 9, 1869, Mr. Ireland was united in marriage with Cornelia Staats, who was born in Yamhill county, January 11, 1851, a daughter of Stephen Staats, one of the foremost pioneers and np- builders of this county. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Ireland, of whom Ora D. is a dentist of Portland; Anna L. is the wife of C. M. Tetherow of Lewisville; Clar- ence E. is at Independence ; Glenn O., Willard W., Fred M., and Bessie F., are living at home. Mrs. Ireland is a member of the Rebekahs, and with her husband is active in the Christian Church. Mr. Ireland has always subscribed to

the principles of the Democratic party, but has never directed his efforts towards office-holding. He is a broad-minded and progressive citizen, devoted to his farm, his home and his friends, and one in whom the community at large places the utmost confidence.

The Staats family was very early represented in the state of New York, where settled the first German emigrants. Stephen Staats, the father of Mrs. Ireland, was born in Albany, N. Y., July 21, 1821, a son of Isaac W. Staats, who also was born in New York, and who was a merchant for many years of his life. The grand- father came west on a visit around the Horn, and died in Polk county at the age of seventy- six years. He married Jane Ann Crowlins, also born in New York, and who bore him ten children, few of whom are living. Mr. Staats was reared in Albany until fifteen years of age, and then went across the country to Kansas where he secured a position as clerk in a store at Leavenworth. With his father he removed after two years to Platte county, Mo., of which county they were the very first settlers, and the first white people to whom the Indians sold land. The father put up the first house in the county, and lived there for eight years, or until 1845. That year Isaac and Stephen Staats crossed the plains in an ox-train, one of the members of the train being John M. Forest, whose daughter, Cordelia, afterward became Mrs. Staats. The journey was a pleasant one, rendered so no doubt by the presence of a win- some face, which he decided should henceforth brighten his fireside. Arriving in Oregon the Staats brothers each located a section of land on the Luckiamute, and built log cabins in which they lived until the marriage of Stephen, March 29, 1846. The following year the young people, with Mr. Forest and his family and Isaac Staats went over the mountain with pack mules, to California. Locating in Santa Clara county, Stephen Staats secured work in the redwoods, and was at Sutter's Fort when gold was dis- covered. Afterward he clerked for Sam Brannan on Mormon's Island, the stock in trade being blankets and general provisions for the Indians and early settlers. The Indians had to pay ten dollars apiece for blankets, the price being paid in gold dust, determined by placing ten dollars in silver on one side of the scales, and balancing it on the other side with gold dust. In this way a great deal of gold was taken into the crude little store, and Mr. Staats came to regard the precious metal as a very common and easily gotten commodity.

In 1848. the same party wended their way northward to Oregon, Mr. Staats having made up his mind that gold was so common it would no longer have great value. The ocean voyage

M. R. Townsend Mrs. N. E. Townsend

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for himself and wife cost three hundred dollars, and upon arriving in Portland they decided to spend the winter there. In the spring they returned to the claim in Polk county, which the owner afterward traded for a rifle, and purchased six hundred and forty acres adjoining, upon which he lived until his death, April 7, 1898. Ten children were born to himself and wife, the son, John H., being the first white child born between the Luckiamute and La Creole. Mr. Staats was an enterprising and progressive man, and took an active part in promoting the inter- ests of the Democratic party in his adopted state. A fluent speaker, he assisted in many a campaign, and his eloquence was equally appre- ciated in the Grange, of which he was a lecturer for many years. He was a justice of the peace for many years, and represented his county in the territorial legislature in 1876. He was president of the County Pioneer Society.

WASHINGTON R. TOWNSEND. The suc- cess of W. R. Townsend, one of the most enter- prising farmers in Marion county, should serve as an example to all who are willing to travel the path of industry, business integrity, and progress. Mr. Townsend is a representative of one of the prominent pioneer families of the state, and on his maternal side traces his descent from a Revo- lutionary forefather named Sampson. W. R. Townsend was born in Fulton county, Ill., November 27, 1846, and is a son of G. G. Town- send, who was born in New York state August 12, 1803.

G. G. Townsend was one of the men who builded solely upon his own energies, and with practically no assistance from outside sources. His father died when he was a small boy, and afterward he was put out to work, his earnings going towards the support of his mother. While still a boy he removed with his mother to Ohio, where he grew to manhood, and married Mariam Sampson, a native of Ohio, whose father served six years and six months in the Revolutionary war. Mr. Townsend eventually removed with his wife and children to Illinois, and in 1850 started across the plains with ox teams, six months being required for the journey. The fam- ily came direct to Marion county and took up a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres two and a half miles southeast of Woodburn,

which consisted entirely of wild land. In this wilderness a little log house was built for the accommodation of the family, and the desolation of their situation may best be understood when it is known that their nearest neighbor was four miles distant. In time golden harvests rewarded the industry of the father and children, a new

house took the place of the rough hewed log structure, and many blessings came the way of the industrious and thrifty family. On this same farm sixteen children received their start in life, and here the father lived to be eighty-one and the mother eighty-two years of age. Of the three children living of this large family Ebenezer Leonard is living with his brother W. R., and Jonathan Rockwell lives on a farm near Trout- dale.

It is interesting to note the religious enthusiasm accredited to the father, who was devoted to the welfare of the Christian Church, going regularly to a meeting-house ten miles distant from his home. In politics he was a Republican.

In spite of the disadvantages attending his ac- quirement of an education, W. R. Townsend man- aged to qualify as a teacher, and was thus en- gaged for a couple of years. At the same time he continued to make the old donation claim his headquarters, but after his marriage with Nancy Emeline Stephens, who was born December 21, 1857, and whose parents crossed the plains in 1852, settling near Needy, Clackamas county, he went to live on the farm which has since been his home, and which consists of ninety acres. The most modern of improvements, practical man- agement, and up-to-date methods have contrih- uted to make the Townsend farm one of the most desirable in Marion county. The owner has just completed a modern two-story frame dwelling, and his barns and out-buildings are substantially constructed. He is engaged in general farming and stock-raising, twenty-eight acres being de- voted to hops. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Townsend, of whom Delbert H. is de- ceased ; May, deceased, was married to Nathan Jones ; they had one daughter, Cecil, who lives with her grandparents; Clyde S. is living at home ; Winona G. is the wife of Grover Todd, of Woodburn; Ammi Rockwell and Ada are living with their parents.

A Republican in politics, Mr. Townsend has taken an active interest in local affairs, and has served as road supervisor, member of the school board and as justice of the peace. He is a mem- ber of the Woodburn Grange No. 79, and in re- ligion is connected with the Christian Church.

WILLIAM R. McKAY. One and a half miles from Champoeg is a farm which, from the standpoint of equipment, cultivation and general productiveness, is unexcelled in Marion county or in the entire Willamette valley. That its owner, William R. McKay, is a master in his line and an agriculturist who works along scientific lines, is evident to all who are permitted to avail themselves of the hospitality of this ideal rural

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home, and to visit the various departments which contribute to his large annual income.

Much may be accomplished on seven hundred acres of land located in the center of one of the most fertile valleys in the world; and this fact has not been lost upon Mr. Mckay, who has the keen and far-sighted judgment of the typical northwestern business man. Three hundred and fifty acres of his estate are under cultivation, and the balance is devoted to timber and pastur- age. During the year 1902 the yield from his forty-acre hop-yard was fifty-two thousand pounds, and for the proper care of this pro- duct he maintains three large hop-houses. The barns, outhouses, implements and general im- provements are on the most extensive scale, in keeping with similar enterprises in the oldest and most advanced centers of agricultural activ- ity. Upon the fertile pastures graze large numbers of Shorthorn cattle and other high- grade stock, and general farming is conducted on a large scale.

The knowledge of such marked success natur- ally presupposes years of exertion and struggle with adversity, which are emphasized in the career of Mr. Mckay. He is a native son of Oregon, having been born near St. Paul, Marion county, December 30, 1849. His father, James McKay, was born in Ireland and came to Amer- ica in young manhood where after various loca- tions he made his way to Oregon and from that time until his death was actively interested in the growth and upbuilding of the state. For more complete details, refer to the sketch of James McKay, which appears on another page of this work. William R. Mckay was favored with an education in the public schools and Santa Clara College, Santa Clara, Cal. In 1873 he became foreman of the Glynn ranch at Jacinto, Cal. For about five years he resided in Califor- nia, spending most of the time in Sacramento and San Francisco. Upon his return to Oregon he first assisted his brother, John N., in the man- agement of his father's ranch. where general farming and stock-raising was carried on on an extensive scale.

January 13, 1885. Mr. Mckay was united in marriage with Anna Kavanaugh, a native of St. Louis, Marion county, Ore., and a daughter of Daniel and Catherine ( Doyle) Kavanaugh, both of whom were natives of Ireland, came to Amer- ica in youth, were married in Illinois and settled in Oregon about 1861. In that year he and his brother severed their partnership, William R. Mckay removing to the farm upon which he has since accomplished such splendid results. He and his wife are the parents of five children : Stanley J., Arthur W., Estelle C., Justin L. and Albert J.

Mr. Mckay is a Democrat in politics and with

his family he finds a religious home in the Roman Catholic Church. To an exceptional degree he enjoys the esteem and confidence of all who know him, and his personal characteristics are such as to render him a popular member of the community. Though he has never been a seeker after political honors, he has been actively identi- fied with most of the movements of a public nature calculated to benefit the moral, educa- tional or industrial standing of Marion county. The indefatigable energy, the industry and busi- nesslike methods he has displayed in the devel- opment of his magnificent farm have naturally resulted in placing him in a conspicuous position among his fellowmen, and the younger men of the present generation feel that, in him, they have an example well worthy of emulation. Few agriculturists have done so much as Mr. Mckay to illustrate the possibilities of the soil of the Willamette valley, and for this reason, if no other existed, he is entitled to rank among the repre- sentative men of the valley.

HENRY S. SMITH. In a little log cabin still standing, on what is now known as the James Haggard place, Henry S. Smith was born April 8, 1854, two miles northeast of Lewisville, Polk county, Ore., the son of John H. Smith, a pioneer of 1849. The latter was born in Mont- gomery county, Mo., the son of James Smith, who came to Oregon in the early days of her history, dying at Lewisville at a ripe old age.

In the course of time John H. Smith grew to manhood and married Martha J. Lewis, a native of Kentucky, and with the courage born in the American pioneer the two outfitted with ox- teams and other articles necessary for such a trip and in 1849 started across the plains for the great northwest, regardless of the dangers and months of weary travel that lay between them and their destination. During the six months which their trip occupied they had many en- counters with the Indians, but managed to come through safely, and on arriving in Polk county, Ore., Mr. Smith at once took up a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres, where Mrs. Smith now makes her home, the land hav- ing been retained in the family through the pass- ing years. As a farmer Mr. Smith occupied all his time, though for many years prior to his death, which occurred January 13, 1893, at the age of sixty-eight years, ten months and twenty- five days, lie had been disabled through a spinal affection, caused through exposure during ser- vice in the Cayuse war in 1855-6. He was a member of the Christian Church at Lewisville, and one of the organizers of the congregation at that place. Politically he was a Democrat.

Of the nine children born to his parents,

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three daughters and six sons, Henry S. Smith was the second, and on his father's farm, which was located three miles northeast of Lewisville, he grew to manhood, receiving his first knowl- edge of books at the little log school-house in the vicinity of his home. When his education was considered complete he went to work for his father in the farm duties to which he had been trained from his earliest boyhood, and when twenty-three years of age he entered upon the business himself.

June 4, 1879, he was united in marriage with Miss Kate Yeater, a native of Benton county, Ore., born March 5, 1855. Of the three chil- dren born to them Lulu A. is deceased ; Ray L. lives in Falls City, Ore .; and Myrnie F. makes her home with her parents. Politically Mr. Smith is a Republican, and has served as school director. His wife is a member of the Evan- gelical Church of Lewisville.

Mr. Smith has met with a modest success. Mrs. Smith owns sixty-four acres of land, thirty- six of which her husband is busy cultivating, and which is principally in hay. In addition to his farm he also has a small store at Lewisville, and acts as postmaster of that town. Before settling steadily to his farm work he acted as traveling salesman for a large implement house, gaining an insight into the commercial world, which has been of great benefit to him.

OREN D. RIDER. Among the extensive and well-to-do agriculturists of Polk county, Mr. Rider is prosperously engaged in his chosen vocation on one of the pleasantest and most desirable homesteads in the town of Independ- ence. He also owns considerable city property, one of his buildings being now rented for mer- cantile purposes, and not far from the city lim- its he has a small but valuable farm of thirty- four acres, fourteen of which are devoted to the raising of hops, while five acres are planted with prune trees.

A native of New York, Mr. Rider was born, in April, 1839, at Lawrence, Otsego county, of English ancestry. His father, Abraham Rider, was born at Leeds, Yorkshire England, about 1803. After learning the trade of a moulder he emigrated to America in search of fortune, coming here in 1823. Settling in New York, he followed his trade at West Point, and in different parts of the state, for many years, be- ing successful in his labors as a foundryman. He subsequently removed to La Salle county, Ill., and from there to Palo Alto county, Iowa, where he resided until his death, in 1876. He married Sarah M. Harrison, who was born in the western part of Connecticut, not many miles from Poughkeepsie, N. Y. She came from dis- tinguished ancestry, being a descendant of Gen-

eral Harrison, at one time governor of the Northwestern territory. She is still living, mak- ing her home with her son, W. S. Rider, in Oregon City. Three children were born of their union, namely: Oren D., the subject of this sketch; W. S., of Oregon City; and Mrs. Sarah A. Laurie, who died in Kansas.

Receiving such educational advantages as were offered by the public schools of New York state, Oren D. Rider remained at home during his early manhood, subsequently working with his father and brother until permanently settled in Oregon. Removing from Illinois to Iowa, he was there engaged in his independent occu- pation of farming until 1875, when he became a resident of Oregon City, Ore., where he re- mained eight years as an agriculturist. Coming to Polk county in 1883, Mr. Rider purchased his present home farm of seventeen acres, on which he has made valuable improvements. He has erected a substantial dwelling-house, built necessary barns and outbuildings, and has all the implements and machinery essential to a well equipped farming estate. He carries on gen- eral agriculture, making somewhat of a specialty of the culture of hops, to which nine acres of this farm is devoted. For twelve years he also had the management of the Hurschburger farm of twelve hundred acres. In his agricultural labors he has been prosperous, his practical and systematic methods, excellent judgment and his skill being conducive to success.

In 1861 Mr. Rider married Mary E. Newell. who was born in Ashtabula, Ohio. Eight chil- dren blessed their union, six of whom are liv- ing, namely: Fred, a resident of Washington ; Mrs. Hattie E. Clark, of Salem, Ore .; Mrs. Lena O. Jones, of Independence ; Mrs. Cora E. Edwards, of Washington; Frank, at home; and Netta, wife of Frank Buckley, of Washington. In local affairs Mr. Rider evinces a deep inter- est, keeping well informed on current events, and contributing generously towards all enter- prises calculated to promote the prosperity of town and county. He is a Republican in poli- tics, and has served as road supervisor and as school director. While living in Illinois he be- came a Mason.

JAMES H. MULKEY. A man whose sus- tained efforts have been productive of many re- turns is James H. Mulkey, born in Benton county, Ore., four miles west of Corvallis, No- vember 24, 1848, the son of Luke Mulkey, one of the early settlers of this state. The father was born in Kentucky, May 9, 1810, the son of a farmer, who died when Luke Mulkey was quite a young man. With his remaining parent he went to Missouri, and there met and marricd Miss Ruth Allison, born in that state in 1816.

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The father was one of nine children, several of whom crossed the plains to Oregon, Johnson Mulkey being the first. He made several trips, the first one being in 1845, his return to the east the next year being followed by his emi- gration to Benton county, Ore., in 1847. Thomas Mulkey, another brother, followed after his father located in Yamhill county, but died three days after his arrival. Luke Mulkey crossed the plains with his family in 1847 with ox-teams, and after six months on the trip they arrived in Benton county, where they passed the winter. In Benton county Mr. Mulkey took up a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres, remaining upon it until 1858, when he sold the place and removed to a farm near Mon- mouth, Polk county. His farm here consisted of four hundred and seventy acres, upon which he remained until his death, which occurred at the age of eight-four years in 1893. His first wife having died in 1859 he married Mrs. Nar- cissa Brents, who died in 1865. The third part- ner of his joys and sorrows was Mrs. Sarah Caton, who departed this life in 1894. Mr. Mulkey was an eminently successful man among the farmers of this county, whose competency came through his own well directed efforts, and nothing could tempt him to depart from his ways and engage in the worrying cares of pub- lic life.

James H. Mulkey was one of six children, the others being as follows : Rachel Waller ; Eliza Hawley; W. J., of Monmouth; F. Y., also of the same city; and Renna Boney, of Port- land. At the age of seventeen years, and after his education in the schools of Monmouth had been completed, James H. left home, going to California, where he remained for sixteen months. On his return to Oregon with the substantial returns of his trip, he located in Wasco county. Here he took up a ranch of one hundred and sixty acres and engaged in stock-raising, meeting with a success broken only by one misfortune. On a trip to Colorado with a drove of cattle the mercury fell so low that he lost nearly all his stock. In 1881 he re- turned to Polk county and located on the place where he now makes his home. The farm con- tains four hundred acres of land, three hundred and fifty of which is tillable. He is now en- gaged in general farming and stock-raising, and is also interested in an apple orchard, eleven acres being devoted to its cultivation. Mr. Mulkey's property in Monmouth consists of two brick store-buildings.

In 1871 Mr. Mulkey married Miss Emily J. Porter, born in Linn county, Ore., her father, Samuel Porter. having crossed the plains in 1852. Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Mulkey, eight of whom are now living. They

are as follows: Frank H., at home; May M. McGowan, of Sherman county; Alice G. Hol- man, of Josephine county; and Augusta, Blanche, Zona, Edna and Myrle, all at home with their parents. Being a public-spirited man and one interested in the affairs of his city and county, Mr. Mulkey has been selected by the Democratic party, of which he is a strong ad- herent, to act as road supervisor and school director of his district, having held the former for many years. In religion he is a member of the Christian Church, of which he is a deacon.

REV. I. N. MULKEY. From a long line of ancestry has been transmitted to Rev. I. N. Mulkey those traits which have distinguished his useful life, though not yet having passed the three score and ten years allotted to man. His forefathers have been men of God, in whose service in pioneer fields they have left the im- press of their strong and capable personality in the upbuilding of commonwealths. John Mulkey, the grandfather, was born in Fairfor- est, Spartanburg county, S. C., in the year 1773, and as a young man served as a minister of the Baptist Church, but was early identified with the Christian Church, in November, 1809, organiz- ing a church of this denomination. The father of I. N. Mulkey, Jonathan, was born in Ken- tucky, in September, 1795, whither his parents had removed from their South Carolina home, and in that state he grew to manhood, engaged in the cultivation of the soil. In Kentucky he married Tealitha Hardin, born in North Caro- lina, in the year 1800, and together they removed to Franklin county, Ill., where he purchased a farm and spent the greater part of the remainder of his life engaged in its cultivation. His death occurred in Williamson county, Ill., in February, 1860, his life having been spent rather for the benefit of those about him than for the accumu- lation of wealth. Of the fourteen children born of their union, five are now living: Lucinda, now Mrs. Harlin of Iowa; Jacob, of St. Joseph ; Rev. I. N., of this review; W. J., who is con- ducting a hotel in Eugene, Ore .; and Rev. A. H., of Coquille, a minister of the Christian Church.

In Monroe county, Ky., February 9, 1840, occurred the birth of I. N. Mulkey, and after a very limited education received in the primi- tive schools of Illinois, he was apprenticed to a blacksmith, with whom he remained for three and a half years. Upon the close of his appren- ticeship in 1866 he moved to Missouri, settling in Worth county, and continued his trade. In 1868 he went to Nebraska, settling in Lancaster county, where he took up a homestead claim.

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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 106

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