Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 114

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 114

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Hard work on the home farm interfered some- what with the education which William Turner desired, and he really saw little of the public schools of either Missouri or California. What education he has received has been almost en-

tirely of recent acquisition, and has resulted in his becoming a well-informed and liberal- minded man. At the age of twenty he started out to work among the farmers of Sonoma county, Cal., receiving as compensation four dollars a week and board. He was frugal and had few wants, and by 1861 had saved quite a little money, sufficient at any rate to bring him to Polk county, Ore. Here he worked on farms for a few weeks, and not being satisfied with the prospects he went to eastern Oregon and en- gaged in the laborious work of packing from The Dalles to the Idaho mines. A frontier ex- istence was both congenial and profitable, and for nearly six years he continued freighting, and otherwise interested himself in the occupa- tions of the crude and as yet undeveloped country.

In 1867 Mr. Turner returned to Polk county, and after living on rented farms in the Willam- ette valley for several years bought his present farm of one hundred and forty-five acres, ad- vantageously located a few miles from Airlic. Some of the finest horses in this country have been bred upon the well-equipped Turner farm, and have brought their owner substantial re- turns for his care. Since 1873 Mr. Turner has had the companionship and ready sympathy of a very helpful and devoted wife, who was for- merly Mary J. Waters, born in Iowa, October 20, 1847. Edward Waters, the father of Mrs. Turner, crossed the plains with his family in 1853, locating on a farm in Polk county, near Pedce. Of the eight children born to Mr. and Mrs. Turner, Dorsa N., John C., William Troy, Andy J., and Emmett live in or near Airlie ; Benjamin F., the oldest son, resides near Pedee and Emmett and Luhettie, the youngest children, are living on the home farm. The Turner home is a hospitable and pleasant one, and all of the members are popular and well liked in their re- spective neighborhoods. Mr. Turner subscribes to the principles of the Democratic party, and has held various official positions in his adopted county, including that of school director and road supervisor. He is a member of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church South, of Lewisville, of which both himself and wife are trustees.

WALTER K. TAYLOR. On October 15. 1902, the Clover Leaf Dairy was organized and is now one of the busiest industries in the thriv- ing city of Corvallis, and if the past success of the enterprise is any index of its future growth and importance, its success is certainly assured. The plant is equipped with all the latest devices for the proper conduct of an establishment of this nature, and the proprietor is ever on the alert to acquaint himself with inventions and

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ideas bearing upon his line of endeavor. The plant is modern in every respect, and is equipped with an aerator, separator, and all the machinery required in a first-class dairy. Sixty cows sup- ply milk for the plant, and it is the endeavor of the proprietor to replace all of them by animals of the Jersey breed.

Walter K. Taylor is a native of Mifflin county, Pa., born July 27, 1871, a son of M. P. and Rhoda W. (Kearns) Taylor, both of whom were also born in Mifflin county. By occupation the father was a farmer and followed that calling in Pennsylvania until the removal of the family to Kansas in 1878, settlement being made in Osborne county. As in Pennsylvania, so in Kansas, he followed farming, but in 1889 he again changed his abode, this time coming to Oregon and engaging in the dairy business not far from Corvallis. When the family left the Keystone state it was their intention to locate in Washington, but ere they reached their des- tination death entered their ranks and at Prine- ville, Cook county, they buried their son Her- bert. It was while at the latter place that they made the acquaintance of Mrs. Sarah Moore, whose praise of Benton county as a desirable place to locate changed their plans entirely. Of the six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Taylor three are living and Walter is the old- est of the number. He was eighteen years old when the family came to Oregon, and as soon as old enough began to assist his father in the duties of the dairy. At the time of the latter's death he was thoroughly acquainted with every detail of the business, and from that date, May, 1895, he assumed control of the business, run- ning the 'same until the fall following, when he sold out and went to Linn county, engaging in farming there until 1898, when he again became proprietor of the Corvallis dairy. After running the same for two years he sold the plant to Jacob Frank. In the meantime, in 1899, he had purchased a tract of ninety-two acres adjoining the city limits of Corvallis, and here may be seen one of the model homes of the country round- about. It is up-to-date in every respect, and is supplied with hot and cold water all over the house. A windmill supplies a tank of twenty-five hundred gallons capacity, from which water is piped to the house and barn, the latter of which is 60x70 feet ground dimensions.

In Corvallis October 23, 1895, occurred the marriage of Mr. Taylor and Miss Christine Leu- ger, the daughter of John Leuger, and a native of Eugene, Ore. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, named in order of their birth as follows: Hugh, Herbert, Rhoda and John. Mr. Taylor's name may be found en- rolled among the members of the Odd Fellows, in the local lodge, of which he is serving as past

grand, and is also identified with the Rebekalis and Woodmen of the World. The family are identified with the First Presbyterian Church of Corvallis, which Mr. Taylor is serving as deacon.

OLIVER P. COSHOW. In more than one direction has Oliver Perry Coshow made his personality felt in the state of Oregon, for though a successful business man in the days of her prosperity, he crossed the plains in the time of danger and desolation and, coming into the wilderness of the west, he turned his energies along the lines necessary to profit by the multi- tude of opportunities presented in the untried fields. He is a pioneer of 1851, and during the intervening years he has served his adopted land as patriot, farmer, merchant and the leader of the woolen industry in the city of Browns- ville.

The ancestry of the Coshow family is traced back to Revolutionary times, the great-grand- father of Oliver P. Coshow being one of the soldiers who accompanied La Fayette through the country during his visit in 1824. The grand- father, William, was born in the state of Vir- ginia, later in life making his home in Ken- tucky, where his son, Robert Coshow, the father of Oliver P., was born, April 30, 1808, near Lexington. At a later date the family fortunes were changed to Indian creek, Ohio, and to Clermont county, same state, where thé grand- father died. Being reared to the life of a farmer Robert Coshow continued in this occupation, removing in manhood to Fayette county, Ind., and in 1842 changing his location to Muscatine county, Iowa, where he remained for one year. After settling in Scott county, Iowa, he combined the trade of a carpenter with his agricultural pursuits, and remained at this until 1860, when he came, via the Isthmus of Panama, to Oregon, making his home, until his death, at the age of eighty-three years, with a daughter, Mrs. Car- penter, of Salem. He married Julia Perin, who was born near Connersville, Ind., and died in Scott county, Iowa. She was the daughter of John Perin, a native of Massachusetts, who, with his brother Samuel, settled in Indiana, later mak- ing his home in Iowa, where he died at the age of ninety-four years. The great-grandfather of Mrs. Coshow was Lemuel Perin, who was the first to change the spelling of the name be- queathed to him by his ancestor, John, a native of England, who settled in Massachusetts in 1635.

Of the ten children born to his parents, three sons and seven daughters, all but one of whom attained maturity, Oliver Perry Coshow was the oldest son and the second child. He was born

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July 4, 1831, in Connersville, Ind. Interspersed as his home duties permitted he attended the public schools intermittently as circumstances would allow, growing up to the life of a farmer, at which he remained until 1850, when he entered a store in Appanoose county, Iowa, as a clerk. In 1851 he decided to try his fortunes in the west and accordingly made arrangements with the late Hon. R. B. Cochran, of Lane county, Ore., whereby he was to have his passage for driving an ox-team across the plains. Beyond the minor trials incident to life on the plains the trip was made without harrowing experi- ences, the party arriving safely in Oregon, where after helping Mr. Cochran to build a cabin on his claim, Mr. Coshow ventured to the Rogue river mines. Being prevented by illness in the continuance of this work he took up, in 1853, a donation land claim of one hundred and sixty acres, located one and one-half miles north of Brownsville, Linn county, where he engaged in farming and stock-raising. In 1858 he bought two hundred and eighty acres five miles south- east of Harrisburg and continued in his work. For the better educational advantages of his children he removed to Brownsville in 1868, and in connection with H. R. Powell bought an in- terest in the general merchandise business of J. M. Morgan, but after one year Mr. Morgan withdrew and Mr. Coshow and Mr. Powell con- ducted the business for four years. In 1863 he traded his merchandise interest for an inter- est in the Brownsville woolen mills, but oper- ated the store in the interest of the new com- pany, being also secretary of the latter. The company then erected the business block on Main street, for which Mr. Coshow parted with liis one-fourth interest in the woolen mill, in 1880, taking as a partner C. H. Cable, a resident of this city. In 1888 he sold out to C. E. Stan- ard, who has since conducted the business, and with the exception of the handling of real estate and the duties of a notary public Mr. Coshow has retired to private life. As a patriot Mr. Coshow enlisted, October 24, 1855, in Company C, Second Oregon Regiment, under Captain Keeney, and returned home without accident after three months' service, as did all but one man of the one hundred and twenty engaged.

The marriage of Mr. Coshow occurred in Brownsville, September 23, 1853, uniting him with Sarah E. Cochran, who was born in Put- nam county, Mo., January 23, 1837, and died March 6, 1903. Her father, William Cochran, a native of Kentucky, came from Missouri to Oregon, crossing the plains in 1847, and locat- ing first in Molalla, Clackamas county, Ore., when, after two years, he came to Linn county, and took up a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres, where he engaged in farming

and stock-raising. He died near Rowland, of this county, in the home of his youngest daughter, at the age of eighty-eight years, having lived a very successful life. Of the ten children born to Mr. and Mrs. Coshow, William Luther is a farmer and stock-raiser in Lake county; Soph- ronia Alice is the wife of J. M. Howe, a mer- chant of Eugene, Ore .; Robert Heron is the secretary of the Thomas Kay Woolen Mills Company, of Salem, Ore .; James Nelson resides in Brownsville; Mary Ellen is the wife of John Franzen, a mechanical engineer, of Portland, Ore .; Oliver Perry, Jr., is an attorney at Rose- burg, Ore .; Sarah Elizabeth is the wife of R. H. Chaplain, Seattle, Wash .; Ida Alva is the wife of G. C. Stanard, of Portland; George Helm makes his home in Brownsville, where he is secretary of the Brownsville woolen mills; and Kate Ethel is the wife of A. B. Cavender, the business manager of the Brownsville Times. Fraternally Mr. Coshow is a member of the Blue Lodge chapter, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and in religion is a Baptist. Politically he is a Democrat and has been quite active in the affairs of the city. He is a member of the council, having been one of the first officers elected in the town, and has served in the ca- pacity of president. He has also served as city recorder for several years. He was appointed notary by Governor Lord and has served con- tinuously since.

HENRY M. BERRY. Coming to Oregon in such manner that he was obliged to begin at the bottom round of the ladder, that well-re- membered pioneer, Joseph Berry, accumulated an estate of eight hundred acres, all of which has since been divided among his children, one of the most successful of whom is Henry M. Berry, owner of two hundred acres of the original do- nation claim. Joseph Berry was born in Chester county, Pa., June 17, 1819, and as a young man removed to Linn county, Iowa, where he was variously employed, and where he married Lucinda Osborn, who was born in Iowa, and died in 1874, when forty-three years of age. Soon after his marriage, in 1853, Mr. Berry crossed the plains with ox-teams, and settled on a claim of three hundred and twenty acres fifteen miles north of Corvallis. His property was heavily timbered, and instead of devoting his energies to clearing it for crops, he was primarily interested in converting the giant trees into shingles, an occupation in which he engaged about four years. He then traded his claim for a farm of sixty acres near Airlie, and in 1866 he bought a claim of two hundred and twenty acres, which he partially cleared, and put in good condition for general farming. His

O.J. Morris

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activities enlarged to such an extent that more land was required, and he finally became the possessor of eight hundred acres, a large por- tion of which was valuable farming land. As before stated, his children have been the bene- ficiaries of his industry and bounty, and all are profiting by the start in life which a less kindly fate denied their resourceful and very success- ful sire. Mr. Berry was never prominent in politics, but he took a keen interest in good roads, schools and general improvements in the county, contributing his share towards any measure calculated to add to the peace or wel- fare of his fellow-agriculturists. His death oc- curred in 1900, at the age of eighty-one years, and he left behind a reputation for strength, moral courage and great kindliness of character.

The third of the five sons and three daughters in his father's family, Henry M. Berry was born May 30, 1855, in Benton county, and was reared to hard work on the home farm. Such education as came within his grasp was acquired in the public school near the farm, and when he arrived. at his majority he was given the two hundred acres which constitute his present farm. He has many fine improvements to facilitate a gen- eral farming and stock-raising enterprise, and so well managed is his place that he derives a large yearly income. Like his father, a Re- publican in politics, Mr. Berry has served as road supervisor, but has never desired official recognition. He is a member of the Grange at Lewisville. Upright in all of his dealings, fair- minded and progressive, Mr. Berry commands the respect of all with whom he has to do, whether in a business or social capacity.

George E., the youngest brother of H. M. Berry, resides with him, and is also engaged in farming.

ELIAM S. MORRIS. The east holds innu- merable records of long residence upon a given place, but in the comparatively newly developed west, to live for half a century among absolutely the same surroundings, is an occurrence rarely heard of. Yet, such has been the experience of Eliam S. Morris, one of the most venerable farm- ers of Yamhill county, who settled on his present home February 10, 1852. Although ninety-two years of age, Mr. Morris retains, unimpaired, many of his most useful faculties, and is still able to interest himself in the various depart- ments conducted on his farm.

Mr. Morris is one of the many natives of Pennsylvania who have found their most pro- lific field of activity in the west. He was born in Union township, Fayette county, Pa., Novem- ber 15, 1811, his father, William, having been born in Berks county, Pa., as was also his

mother, Priscilla (Springer) Morris. William Morris was a shoemaker by trade, and also a farmer, and he spent his entire life in his native state. Eliam S., the third oldest of the five sons and six daughters born to his father, had an un- eventful childhood, his educational opportunities being confined to the early subscription schools. Until twenty-four he remained with his people on the home farm, and then removed to within nine miles of Mineral Point, which continued to be his home for thirteen years. During this time he was not only engaged in farming, but was active in promoting remunerative lead mines. Hoping to improve his prospects, he gathered together his possessions in 1851, and started for Oregon with ox teams and wagons, and was six months on the journey. The first winter he spent three miles from his present place, and the following year bought three hundred and twenty acres of land, comprising his present home.

In 1840, Mr. Morris married Susanna Good, who was born in Missouri, December 6, 1822, and comes of English ancestry. Richard Good, the father of Mrs. Morris, was born in England, and her mother, Sarah (Adams) Good, was born in the Old Dominion. Seven sons and four daughters were born into this family, named as follows: Sarah P., Mrs. J. D. Phillips ; John Calvin ; Harriet S., deceased wife of Fred Chat- field; Justin G .; Charles E .; Martin Luther ; Joann, Mrs. L. C. Triplett ; Jordan D .; William R .; Morris Good and Elizabeth M .; and Oliver G. Holmes, who has been a member of the house- hold from his infancy. Mrs. Morris has also reared two grandchildren, a son and a daughter of Harriet S. Chatfield. Mr. Morris is a Repub- lican in politics, and has been road supervisor and school director, as well as justice of the peace, in both Oregon and Wisconsin. He is one of the honored members of the community for whose well-being he has so faithfully labored, and he has many true and tried friends among those who have lived and struggled with him in the early pioneer days.

JOSEPH .LOE. At the time of his death, June 9, 1899, Joseph Loe held an honored posi- tion in the community around Rickreall, Polk county, and was esteemned as one of the best farmers and most enterprising men in his neighborhood. He came to this section in 1883, and bought one hundred and twenty acres of land three and a half miles north of Monmouth, to the cultivation of which he devoted the most mature and last years of his well-directed life. A native of Wayne county, Ky., he was born October 6, 1826, his father, John, being a native also of the Bourbon state. On the maternal side he was of Welsh descent, for the forefathers

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of his mother, Rachel (Gross) Loe, pursued their various occupations among the sheltering hills of Wales. John Loe removed to Adair county, Mo., in 1828, and in this wilderness cre- ated a home for himself and little family, re- maining there for the remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1871, at the age of seventy- one years.

The Missouri farm was productive in a way, and John Loe found it a pleasant place upon which to live and rear his family, but to the grow- ing son, Joseph, it offered scant opportunities for the future. It seemed necessary for him to seek a wider field if he desired more than the necessities of life, and accordingly he set forth at a very carly age, bent upon the problem of self- support. Mr. Loe started across the plains with ox-teams, being accompanied by his brother, John Loe. The first winter in Oregon was spent in Portland, where he helped get out tim- ber for ship-building, and the following spring he went down into the mines of California, where he experienced considerable success as a miner. Two years later he returned to Adair county, Mo., and purchased a farm with his earnings, living thereon for many years. In 1858 he mar- ried Mary Kilgore, a native of Adair county, Mo., born in 1837, and whose mother, Millie Kilgore, is now living in Umatilla county, Ore., at the age of one hundred years. In 1861 he suffered the loss of his wife, who left a daughter, who is now Mrs. Clarissa McNutt, of Forest Grove, Ore.

While still living in Adair county, Mo., Mr. Loe married for his second wife, October 25, 1866, Sarah J. Kirkpatrick, who was born in Knox county, Ohio, February 22, 1833. Her father, Nathaniel M. Kirkpatrick, was born in Knox county, Ohio, October 6, 1808, and her grandfather, Alexander, a native of Virginia, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Her mother, Susan (Correll) Kirkpatrick, was born in the town of York, Pa., May 19, 1810. Na- thaniel M. Kirkpatrick was a farmer during the

greater part of his active life, and in 1839 re- moved from Ohio to Pulaski county, Ark., where he lived until 1846. His final place of residence was a farm in Polk county, Mo., where he died at the age of fifty-four years. After his second marriage Mr. Loe continued to live on the farm in Adair county until 1873, in which year he came to Oregon and bought a farm ten miles northwest of Hillsboro, Washington county, where he lived until removing to the farm now occupied by his widow, in 1883. He took an active part in the general undertakings of his neighborhood, and was especially prominent as a churchman, being a member and steward of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Dallas. Po- litically he was a Republican, but, being of a

quiet and unostentatious disposition, he never sought an office or actively identified himself with local or other affairs of his party. He served during the Civil war first as home guard, later as member of the Missouri state enrolled militia, and later in the regular United States service, serving with the western division, under Capt. Dudley Brown. At the present time the entire one hundred and twenty acres of his farm are under cultivation, and in this pleasant rural home live his widow and two sons, John S. and Robert F.

SAMUEL T. HILLMAN. The many rich and productive homesteads in the agri- cultural section of Marion county have largely been brought to their present state of per- fection through the strenuous efforts of practical farmers who have come here from older states, noteworthy among them being S. T. Hillman, who emigrated to Silverton from Kansas a few years ago. He was born February 5, 1849, in Center, Des Moines county, Iowa. His father, a native of Ohio, removed to lowa when a young man, and there followed the carpenter's trade for many years. He married Mary Ann Chap- man, a native of England, and of the eleven children born of their union seven survive.

Samuel T. Hillman acquired his elementary education in the district schools, and after com- pleting his studies at a high school was em- ployed as a teacher for a number of terms. Sub- sequently becoming proficient in the carpenter's trade, he followed it for a while in Kansas, then returned to lowa and was there married, but began housekeeping in Kansas, living there, with the exception of a few years spent in Missouri, until 1889. Removing then with his family to Oregon, he settled eight miles southeast of Sil- verton, on a farm owned by Miles Lewis, re- maining there two years. Moving then to a place somewhat nearer Silverton, he lived there a short time, then purchased his present home farm, lying eight miles from Silverton. Mr. Hillman has seventy-three acres of land, well improved and judiciously cultivated, constituting one of the most attractive farms of the neighborhood, and is engaged in stock-raising and mixed farm- ing, finding his work profitable and pleasant.

On September 20, 1873, Mr. Hillman mar- ried Elizabeth Beard, who was born and edu- cated in Iowa. Of their union nine children have been born, namcly : Mary C., living in Montana : Samuel W., of Washington; Thomas A., deceased : Charles H., of Washington ; Vic- toria E., deceased: Theodore F .: Elizabeth A .; Daniel H., and Violet E. The four last-named children reside with their parents. Mr. Hill- man is an earnest Democrat, ever sustaining the

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principles of that party by voice and vote, and has served his district as school director. Fra- ternally he is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

SAMUEL AMES. Among the well known merchants of Silverton is Samuel Ames, one of the leading hardware dealers, who has been intimately associated with the business inter- ests of this thriving city for upwards of a quar- ter of a century, and has contributed his full share in promoting its advancement and pros- perity. Thrown upon his own resources when but a boy, he has proved himself courageous and brave, overcoming all the difficulties that have beset him in his varied career, and achieving success by his industry, thrift and good business management. Of substantial Scotch stock, Mr. Ames was born in Ohio, July 24, 1855, being the youngest of a family of four children, all boys, born of the union of Jacob and Charlotte (Ccle) Ames, the three older sons being Jacob, John and Louis. The father, a native of Scot- land, emigrated to the United States when a young man, and settled in Richland county, Ohio, where he followed the trade of a stone cutter until his death, at the age of fifty-three years, in January, 1869, outliving his wife but a few months, her death having occurred the preceding April.

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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 114

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