Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 118

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 118

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

W. R. Scheurer was educated in the public schools and at the Portland Academy, terminat- ing his school life at the age of nineteen. At the age of twenty-two he assumed the manage- ment of the paternal farm with his brother Joseph, and after a year removed to Butteville and built the warehouse which has proved the basis of his subsequent large produce business. At the present time he is hauling enormous quantities of feed, grain and hops, and at the same time is agent for the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company, which has a line of boats operating on the Willamette river. He is also the owner of a hop ranch of fifteen acres, and has some valuable town and county holdings in real estate.

As a stanch Republican Mr. Scheurer has been before the public in various capacities, princi- pally as treasurer of Butteville for several terms. He is fraternally connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Grange, being treasurer of the latter. He is also treasurer and a member of the Native Sons of Oregon. Mr. Scheurer has pronounced business ability, un- questioned integrity, and great capacity for utiliz- ing successfully the opportunities by which he is

848

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

surrounded. Mr. Scheurer has two sons by his first marriage, Fred W. and John J. In Sep- tember, 1899, he married his second wife, Mrs. Mary Usborne Geer, an Englishwoman.

Fred Scheurer is married and has one daugh- ter, Violet. Mr. Scheurer was a grandfather when forty-five years of age.

WILLIAM H. CURRIN. Conspicuous among the foremost business men of Corvallis is Mr. Currin, manager of the house of R. M. Wade & Co., one of the best-known and finest- stocked hardware establishments in Benton county, and one in which Mr. Currin is also financially interested. During the twelve years that have elapsed since he came to this city he has identified himself with its highest interests, heartily endorsing all worthy enterprises to pro- mote its industrial, educational and moral ad- vancement, proving himself in every respect a valued member of the community.

He comes of Virginian stock, and was born May 15, 1864, at Currinsville, Clackamas county, Ore., a son of George Currin. The father, a native of Virginia, came to Oregon prior to his marriage, and settled on a farm of three hundred and twenty acres in Clackamas county, at Cnr- rinsville, where he was subsequently engaged in mixed husbandry, including stock-raising, until his death, in 1879. Having crossed the plains in 1845, he was truly a pioneer settler of that part of the state, performing his full share of the labor of improving it. On his long jour- ney he was accompanied by three of his brothers, namely: Hugh, who died in Clackamas county ; John, now a resident of Lane county ; and Will- iam, whose death occurred in Lane county. George Currin married, in Clackamas county, Lydia Wade, who was born in Missouri, and came to Oregon in 1852, with her brother, R. M. Wade, of Portland, Ore. Ten children were born of their union, of whom six daughters and two sons are now living, the eldest son, and fourth child, being William H. Currin, while the other son, Robert Currin, is a farmer in Clackamas county. The mother survived her first husband. and is now the wife of L. F. Marrs, of Salem, Orc.

Acquiring his early education in the old school-house near his home, William H. Currin assisted in the labors incidental to farm life until twenty-two years of age, when he entered the employ of Knopp, Burrill & Co., in Portland. remaining with that firm four years, gradually working his way up from the lowest office to the highest position in their store, in the meantime advancing his education by taking an evening course at Armstrong's Business College, from

which he was graduated in 1888. Continuing his connection with the same firm, Mr. Currin went to Spokane Falls, Wash., in 1888, as book- keeper, later to Tacoma as their salesman and collector. Coming in the spring of 1891 to Cor- vallis he established the branch house of R. M. Wade & Co., of which he has since had control as manager, and has here built up an immense and lucrative business in his line of merchandise, consisting of hardware of every description and agricultural implements of all kinds, from the smallest tool to the largest piece of machinery.

Mr. Currin married, in Corvallis, Miss Jennie Buchanan, who was born in Benton county, Ore., a daughter of Robert Buchanan, and a sister of W. A. Buchanan, whose sketch may be found elsewhere in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Currin have one child living, namely, Margaret Currin. Mr. Currin is a stanch Republican in his political affiliations, and is prominently identified with the Odd Fellows, belonging to Barnum Lodge, No. 7, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is a past officer, and which he has rep- resented at the grand lodge; to the Qui Vive Encampment, of which he is past chief patriarch ; and to the Rebekah Lodge.

EDWARD C. HERREN. Opportunity en- compasses the whole human race, but the suc- cessful man is he who can recognize and utilize this opportunity. The name of Herren is closely associated with the development of what has be- come a very important industry in this region- hop-growing. It is to the production and sale of this commodity that Edward C. Herren gives his attention, and almost from the beginning of the hop industry in this state he has been actively and successfully identified with the business.

" To know something of a man we must know something of his ancestry," wrote a famous his- torian. Edward C. Herren is descended from good old Revolutionary stock. His great-grand- father, a resident of the Old Dominion, fought for the independence of the colonies as a member of the Virginia troops. His grandfather, John Herren, was also born in Virginia, where his ancestors had lived for many generations. The family is of English and Welsh descent. John Herren became a farmer of Kentucky, afterward removing to Indiana, and later carried on agri- cultural pursuits near St. Joseph, Mo., until 1845, when he crossed the plains to Oregon. He was in the Meeks cut-off, and suffered the hardships of a long and perilous journey. At length, however, he reached his destination, set- tling near Turner, Marion county, where he se- cured a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres. This he brought to a high state of cul-

849

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

tivation. Here his life's labors were finally ended in death.

Capt. William J. Herren, father of Edward C. Herren, was born in Lexington, Ky., in Janu- ary, 1824, and accompanied his parents on their various removals, including their journey across the plains in 1845. During that memorable ex- pedition the water supply became exhausted. On horseback Captain Herren started in search of water, and discovered the Blue Bucket spring. He also found some shining lumps of metal, which he took back with him and exhibited to the members of the party. They were encamped in that location for three days, and, seeking these bright lumps, piled them all in one place. But they did not recognize the value of their find.

Captain Herren went through all the experi- ences of a pioneer in the northwest, when the country was being won from the domination of the red men. In 1847 he married and secured a donation claim of a section of land located on Salem prairie, four miles east of Salem. This he cultivated for some time; but, wishing to afford his children better educational advantages, he moved to Salem, where he spent his remain- ing days, dying at the age of sixty-nine years. He was captain of a company in Colonel Ne- smith's regiment in the Rogue River Indian war, his commission from Governor George L. Curry dating September 28, 1854. He went to the mines of California in the fall of 1848, being among the first who sought wealth there after the discovery of gold. In the spring of 1849 he returned, but made a second trip to California a few weeks later, returning home in the spring of 1850. He served as sheriff of Marion county during the territorial days, filling the position for two terms, his appointment being signed by Acting Governor Hintzing Pritchette, dated June I, 1850. In 1872 he organized the Salem Ship- ping and Trading Company, and built the Grangers' Warehouse, which he conducted for many years. He finally consolidated his business with milling interests under the name of the Salem Flouring Mills, of which he was manager for three years. In 1886 he was appointed by Governor Moody commissioner on the Board of Assessment and Taxation to fill the vacancy caused by the death of his brother-in-law, Dan- iel Clark. He also served as a member of the old state Railroad Commission.

He was a man of affairs, alert and progressive in business, and was the father of the hop in- dustry in this state. It was he who induced William Wells of Buena Vista and Ralph Geer to set out the first hop yards in Oregon-about 1873. But the settlers were slow in taking up this work, and even by 1880 only about seven thousand bales of hops were grown in the entire

state. There was not much increase until 1882, when the price reached $1.15 per pound. This stimulated the business, which thereafter stead- ily increased until, in 1890, the crop amounted to over twenty-seven thousand bales, and in 1895 there were one hundred and three thousand bales -the largest crop ever produced in the state. In 1895 the price was so low that many yards were ploughed up, but during the past two years the in- dustry has again assumed considerable importance Captain Herren was very prominent, a man of forceful individuality, and wielded a wide influ- ence in business and social circles. He held membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His wife, Eveline ( Hall) Herren, was born near St. Joseph, Mo., in 1830, a daughter of James and Cynthia Hall, who came to Ore- gon in 1845, and were in the Meeks cut-off. Mrs. Herren is now living in Oregon.

In the family were five sons and one daughter, the latter being deceased. The sons are: David A., a stockman of Heppner, Ore .; Albert W., a grain merchant of Independence, Ore .; George, a commission merchant of Portland ; Willard H., who is also a stockman of Heppner; and Ed- ward C.

Edward C. Herren was born in Salem April 27, 1863. He obtained his education in the pub- lic schools of that city and Willamette Univer- sity. In 1881 he became associated with his father in the hop business, but continuing his education, he nad graduated from the Portland Business College in 1880. He then went to Heppner, where for two years he was engaged in general merchandising. Upon his return to Salem he was again associated with his father in the hop, grain and wool trade, this business connection being maintained until the latter's death in 1891, since which time he has been alone. In years of activity he is the oldest hop merchant in the city. He is also engaged in the production of hops, owning a yard of thirty acres six miles south of Salem, besides leasing other yards. The product of his own yards and that obtained by purchase is shipped to eastern and foreign markets. In 1901 Mr. Herren, with his brothers, and with George Conser, the banker at Heppner, and E. C. Redfield, an attorney of that city, organized the Heppner Coal and Railway Company, which has begun the development of what promises to be an extensive coal mining property located principally on D. A. Herren's ranch twenty miles southeast of Ileppner. The plans of this company contemplate the construc- tion of a branch railway line from the mines to Heppner, and it is expected that the work of shipment will begin within the next two years. Experts who have examined the product, which has been tested on various parts of the Pacific coast, state that it is a fine quality of cannel coal,

850

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

containing about nineteen per cent of fixed car- bon, which is higher than any other coal pro- duced on the coast.

Mr. Herren was married in Salem April 4, 1898, to Lizzie V. Holman, who was born in California, a daughter of Richard D. and Carrie (Whitney) Holman, formerly of London, On- tario. They were of English descent, and moved from Canada to California. Mrs. Herren is a member of the Unitarian Church. Mr. Herren is identified with the Modern Woodmen of Am- erica, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Oregon Hop Buyers' Association, the Oregon Hop Growers' Association, and Daniel Waldo Cabin, Native Sons of Oregon. In his political affiliations he is a Democrat. Having spent his entire life in Marion county, he has become thoroughly imbued with the progressive spirit which dominates this section of the coun- try, and in his business career his close applica- tion and keen discrimination have put him in control of enterprises that bring to him good re- turns.

CONRAD A. GERHARD. A book and sta- tionery store to which it is a delight to go, is that owned and managed by Conrad A. Gerhard, a native son of Corvallis, and representative of one of the very old and prominent families of Benton county. Already the larger cities of Oregon have their commercial aristocracy, their citizen names which typify sound and permanent growth, and stand for integrity and fair dealing. To this class of men the Gerhards belong, and as such are enrolled among the upbuilders of the great northwest.

Joseph Gerhard, the founder of the family in America, and the father of Conrad, was born in the city of Alberschweiler, Bavaria, in the Palatinate, in 1825, a son of Johann and Anna Maria (Webber) Gerhard, natives of Germany, and the former a tradesman by occupation. Joseph learned the blacksmith's trade when young, and, as was the custom, enlisted for service in the army, his term covering six years, and including the war of 1848. He came to America in 1852, and after a short time in New York city moved to Boston, his brother, Lorenzo, coming to Oregon, where he eventually died. In Boston Joseph married Elizabeth Dorr, born in Martinza, Bavaria, in 1835, daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Reischman) Dorr, born, reared and died in Bavaria. Mrs. Gerhard is one in a family of eight children, seven of whom are liv- ing, five being in America. She was educated in the public schools of Germany, and in 1853 came to Boston from Havre in a sailing vessel. After several years of happy married life in Boston Joseph Gerhard prepared to emigrate to

Oregon, the start being made March 5, 1858, and the way being via the Isthmus of Panama. One month later they reached San Francisco, and from there embarked for Portland, coming almost immediately to Corvallis. The first sum- mer Mr. Gerhard worked at his trade near Mon- roe, this county, and in the fall of 1858 came to Corvallis, but located across the river at Or- leans, Linn county, where he bought a house and shop and started up a nice little business. The flood of 1861-2 convinced him that he had chosen a very undesirable location, so he came over to Corvallis and bought a piece of land fifty by one hundred feet on the corner of Sec- ond and Madison streets. Here he built a resi- dence and shop and engaged in the blacksmith business for many years. He prospered exceed- ingiy, and his busy little shop was the center of a flourishing and popular trade. A fire which laid low the shop did not discourage him in the least, for he soon rebuilt and proceeded as before, confident that the west had only ultimate good for him. As proof of his faith in his chosen town he invested his hard-earned money in town property, and among others owned four lots on First street. Finally, weary of the anvil and hammer, he bought a farm of one hundred and ninety-three acres on old Palmer island, and there moved with his wife and sons. The island afterward became known as Gerhard island, a name which it still retains. Farm- ing and stock-raising filled the later life of this pioneer blacksmith, and his death, July 5, 1886, at the age of sixty-two years, found him the possessor of a comfortable home in an ideal part of the county. He was a Republican in politics, and a stanch member of the Catholic Church. The wife who survives him profits by his many years of industry, having a nice home in Cor- vallis, but spends her summers on the island farm. Of her six children, George is a civil engineer, of Fairhaven, Wash .; Henry is living on and managing the island farm; Leopold died in Roseburg, Ore .; Mary and Kate are at home ; and Conrad is engaged in the book and sta- tionery business in Corvallis.

The youngest in his father's family, Conrad A. Gerhard was born in Corvallis, February 20, 1876, and was educated at Mount Angel Col- lege, Marion county, from which he graduated June 22, 1891, with the degree of Master of Accounts. He was an unusually apt scholar. and from the first of his school life appreciated the great advantage of a thorough and syste- matic education. This was demonstrated partic- ularly by his post-graduate work. He after- ward spent a couple of years on the farm, and in 1898 bought the book and stationery store to the improvement and enlarging of which he has since devoted his attention. He is now

Gas. Fleraw

853

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

located in the Occidental block, and has the larg- est business of the kind in Benton county. He makes a specialty of school supplies, and of the incidentals which a cosmopolitan community expect to find in a modern and up-to-date store.

In Corvallis Mr. Gerhard married Adelaide Horton Fullington, a native of Harrisburg, Ore., and daughter of H. S. Horton, an old settler of this county, now residing in Corvallis. Mr. Gerhard is a member of the Corvallis Im- provement Association, and in politics is affili- ated with the Republican party. Fraternally he is a member of the Woodmen of the World. Like his father, himself and family are members of the Catholic Church. This popular stationer stands high in the public esteem of his native town, and is accounted one of the most successful and promising young business men. .

GEORGE FRANKLIN CRAW. To a far greater extent than the average man, George F. Craw has realized his painstaking and well di- rected expectations. Just as the pent-up enthusi- asm of twenty-one found expression in a meri- torious war service, so the mature and public- spirited plans of later years have resulted in his election to every office to which he has been nom- inated by his fellow-townsmen, as well as in a financial standing merited by marked business ability and fearless adherence to high moral prin- ciples. The present manager of the Postal Tele- graph Company, he is also the treasurer of Lane county, and was for six or seven years city treas- urer of Eugene. At the present time he is serv- ing his twelfth appointment as notary public, and in November, 1903, rounded out his twenty- four years in this capacity. Notable among his achievements in behalf of the town of his adop- tion have been his whole-souled and practical efforts to improve the educational facilities of the town. With his resignation as school clerk in May, 1902, ended fifteen years of truly remarkable educational advancement, nearly all of the school buildings in Eugene having been erected within that time, the sole exception be- ing the oldest school house in the city limits. Shortly after his election as county treasurer in June, 1902, he was stricken with creeping paraly- sis, but the disorder yielding to treatment at the end of five months he was able to assume the re- sponsibilities of office, to the joy of his many friends, his election being a credit to the com- munity which has honored him with its un- bounded confidence.

The youngest in a family of nine children, Mr. Craw was born in the center of eastern conserva- tism, Hartford, Conn., November 10, 1841, and was reared on the farm of his parents, Abial and Rhoda (Belknap) Craw, natives of Connecticut, and of Scotch ancestry. Both the

paternal and maternal families were established in Connecticut by the grandfathers, the former coming from Aberdeen, Scotland, and locating on a farm in Hartford township. Abial Craw in- clined to his father's occupation, and he and his wife died on the farm which had been their care for so many years, and where they had reared their large family of children. George F. was not the only member of the family whom ambi- tion beckoned to the west, for his brother, Ed- ward, crossed the plains in an ox-train in 1850, and, after varied experiences in the mines on the coast, died in San Bernardino, Cal.

The well worn farm in Hartford township fail- ing to provide for its many occupants, each set about early in life earning his own living. George F. Craw has received practically no assistance from any source since he started in to work in a woolen mill at the age of twelve. His summers were spent in the mill and his winters were de- voted to attending the public schools. At the age of sixteen he began to clerk in a store in East Hartford, and was thus employed when the long-smouldering hostility between the north and south culminated in the Civil war. August 7, 1862, he enlisted in Company D, Twentieth Con- necticut Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered into service at New Haven, Conn. After par- ticipating in the battles of Antietam, Chancellors- ville, and some minor skirmishes, he was stricken with sun-stroke at four o'clock in the afternoon while on the march to Gettysburg in June, 1863, and failed to recover consciousness until mid- night of the same day. Opening his eyes in a little Fairfax Station church, he realized that his war experience was practically ended, although after being sent to a hospital in Alexander he was anxious to rejoin his regiment, being pre -- vented only by his commanding physician. Un- able to stand the rays of the sun or exposure to heat, he was relegated to hospital duty for the remainder of the war, and was mustered out July 23, 1865.

Returning to Portland, Conn., Mr. Craw clerked in a dry-goods store in the town, and at the same time devoted his leisure to learning telegraphy. His first telegraphic charge was with the Connecticut River Valley Telegraplı Company, in the affairs of which he afterward became prominent, being advanced to the posi- tion of superintendent of construction. In 1869, about three weeks after the completion of the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific Railroads. he made his way to the coast on one of the new lines, arriving in Portland, Ore., in August, 1869. Going to Salem, he found employment in the woolen mills for two weeks, and for the following year was employed as a clerk in the book and stationery store of J. K. Gill of Salem. For six months he clerked in the grocery store of

854

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Logan Adams, of Salem, and in 1871 secured the position as agent and operator under Ben Holli- day, at the Portland car shops of the Oregon & California Railroad. Six months later he was transferred to Harrisburg, where the bridge was being built, and remained there until the com- pletion of the road to Eugene. At Jefferson he was agent and operator for a period of two years, and after a visit of three months to his old home in Connecticut, was agent at Aurora for two weeks. At Junction City he remained agent and operator for seven years to a day, resigning his position January 12, 1879, to come to Eugene as agent for the Wells-Fargo Express Company. Six or seven years later, when the Postal Tele- graph Company opened an office in Eugene, he became its general manager, holding the com- bined positions until 1893, when he resigned from the express company, and devoted his entire time to the telegraph company. For fifteen years he was agent at this point for the Oregonian, re- signing therefrom June 1, 1903, on account of impaired health, and an excess of outside work. For the past seven years he has been interested in the sale of pianos and organs, managing this line of business with the same business acumen and success which has characterized all of his undertakings.

In Portland, Conn., in 1867, Mr. Craw married Emma Griswold, a native of that town, who died in May, 1895. leaving two children. Of these, Nellie, the wife of E. E. Awbrey, of Irving, Ore., has four children; and Mabel is the wife of Elmer Roberts, of Eugene. In Portland, Conn., Mr. Craw became identified with the Ma- sonic fraternity, and in Salem ex-Governor Chad- wick conferred upon him the Scottish Rite de- grees. He is at present a member of Eugene Lodge No. II, A. F. & A. M. He is also con- nected with the Oregon Consistory No. I, of Portland, and with the J. W. Geary Post No. 7, G. A. R., being past commander. Mr. Craw is not unmindful of the moral and social advantages of church membership, as well as its great oppor- tunities for well-doing. For many years he has been an active worker in the Episcopal Church, has served as junior warden, vestryman and treasurer, maintaining at the present time the first two offices. He is a man of broad and tol- erant sympathies, of great generosity towards public benefactions, and intense and vitalizing zeal in promoting educational and general town interests. His friends are many, and his business standing and personal reputation such as any man might do well to emulate.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 118

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