Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 158

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 158

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The marriage of Mr. Smith took place in Ma- rion county, Ore., Ann E. Peebler, a native of Iowa, becoming his wife. The five children which blessed their union are: Mary M. is the wife of D. V. S. Reed, a professor in the high school of Heppner, Ore .; Flora M. is the wife of George N. Bolton, of Moro, Ore .; I. M. is a physician at Tillamook, Ore .; Addie is the wife of W. S. Mayberry, an educator of Milton, Ore .; and N. W. is assistant postmaster under his father. Through the influence of the Republican party, of which he is a stanch and active partisan, Mr. Smith was appointed, in 1899, postmaster at Leb- anon. He has also been a delegate to various state and county conventions, and a school di- rector for many terms. During the Rogue River

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war of 1855-6 he was first lieutenant in a minute company, stationed at Sublimity, but they were never called out to active service. In religion Mr. Smith is a member of the Baptist Church of Lebanon.

VALENTINE H. CALDWELL. Living on his pleasant and well appointed homestead, four miles southwest of Albany, Valentine H. Cald- well is numbered among the most extensive land- holders, and successful agriculturists of Linn county. Beginning life for himself on a low rung of the ladder, his worldly capital being $7.50, he has since made diligent use of his faculties and opportunities, and has proved himself a useful and worthy citizen, well meriting the confidence and esteem in which he is held throughout the community. He is a son of John Caldwell, and was born in Kentucky. His father was born of Irish ancestors in Kentucky, but from the age of six years until his death, at the age of four score and six years, he was a resident of Mis- souri. He married Mary Stockton, a native of Kentucky, and she survived him, living to a very advanced age.

The oldest of a family of five children, Valen- tine H. Caldwell received his knowledge of books in the subscription schools of his native state, and remained beneath the paternal roof-tree until attaining his majority. In the spring of 1852 he started across the plains, driving an ox- team for his uncle, who was captain of the train. While on the way several members of the party, including his uncle, died from cholera. Arriving in Oregon, Mr. Caldwell spent a short time near Monroe, Benton county, after which he engaged in mining near Jacksonville, Jackson county. Settling then in Marion county, he took up a do- nation claim near Sublimity, and subsequently lived there and in that locality until 1868. Com- ing then to Linn county, he purchased one hun- dred and forty acres of land, which are now in- cluded in his present homestead. He has since made extensive purchases of land, being now the possessor of twelve hundred acres, more than one-half of which are in a good state of cultiva- tion, being devoted to general farming and stock- raising. In the latter industry he has met with excellent success, chiefly breeding and rearing Red Durham cattle. On this homestead Mr. Caldwell has made marked improvements, hav- ing erected new buildings of modern character, his barns and outbuildings being commodious and convenient, and his farm amply supplied with the necessary tools, machinery and appliances for successfully carrying on agricultural operations.

With the exception of six years, Mr. Caldwell has been engaged in agricultural labor since com- ing to Oregon. During the Yakima Indian war

he enlisted, in 1856, and served one hundred and six days under Captain Hardin, being on guard duty the greater part of the time. Although tak- ing an earnest interest in public affairs, he has never been an aspirant for official honors, but has warmly supported the principles of the Prohibi- tion party. He is identified with the Oregon Pioneer Association as a member, and belongs to the society organized by the Indian War Vet- erans.

In 1863 Mr. Caldwell married Sarah Grier, a native of Ohio, and into their home seventeen children have been born, namely: John H., now deceased ; Mrs. Mary S. Kantz, of Roseburg, Ore .; George, residing in Portland; Seth, de- ceased; Jackson, living in Washington; Mrs. Nellie Hughs, of Pendleton, Ore .; Charles, of Walla Walla, Wash .; Fannie, at home; Mrs. Martha Marsh, of Odessa, Wash .; Lydia, of Roseburg; William, living near Albany; Frank and Fred, twins, living at home; Jane, at home ; James; Media, at home; and Almetia, twin sis- ter of Media, deceased. In these days when so much is said about the small families of native Americans, it is refreshing to come upon a house- hold such as Mr. Caldwell's. Mr. Caldwell united with the Baptist Church in 1851, and has served many years as one of its deacons. Mrs. Caldwell is also a member of the same church, having joined in 1871.

WILLIAM B. HENDERSON. The sense of security and substantiality one feels when speak- ing with William B. Henderson is borne out in his character and attainments, and he is known today among the chief developers of the sections in which he has lived. Mr. Henderson comes of a family which came to the fore in the early emer- gencies of the country, its members filling many positions of trust and responsibility, and his grandfather on the paternal side serving with distinction in the war of 1812. As far back as is known his people were tillers of the soil, an occu- pation followed by his parents in Guernsey county, Ohio, where he himself was born, Octo- ber 9, 1839. He comes of long-lived ancestry on both sides of the family, his father living to be eighty-six, and his mother eighty-eight years of age.

Mr. Henderson liad eleven brothers and sisters, all of whom were reared on the Guernsey county farm, and were taught to be practical agricul- turists, as well as upright and useful citizens. William B. was studious as a lad, and made the most of his opportunities at the .public school in his neighborhood, eventually qualifying as a teacher, an occupation to which he devoted several years of his life. Beginning at the age of nine-

Stephen Rigdon Bilphia & Rigdon

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teen, he taught for five or six years in Ohio. His advent into a more strenuous activity began in 1862, when he joined his brother, A. C., in the necessary preparations for coming to the coast. Via the Isthmus of Panama and San Francisco they finally arrived in Portland, and Mr. Hen- derson lived for the first three years in Polk and Marion counties, where he taught school for three years. Following this he taught for two years in Linn county. In the year 1867 he was united in marriage with N. Jane Deckard, a native of Missouri, who crossed the plains with her parents in 1853. Her parents, Anderson and Lydia Deckard, settled on a donation claim ten miles south of Albany, where they lived for the balance of their lives. After his marriage Mr. Henderson farmed for a time, and in 1870 purchased a drove of cattle and took them to Crook county, where he engaged in stock-raising for a couple of years. In 1872 he purchased a place of three hundred and forty-one acres two miles southwest of Albany, comprising a portion of the old Jarvis Briggs donation claim. Two years later he sold part of this farm, and in 1878 moved to Umatilla county, with the best development of which he was connected for about twenty years. He was one of the largest wheat raisers in the county, his last crop being ten thousand bushels. He owned three quarter-sec- tions of land, and also extensively raised. cattle, sheep and horses. He was one of the chief pro- moters and organizers of the town of Helix, and was instrumental in getting the postoffice there, also in laying out precincts and town- sites. At the present time he is a large property owner of Adams, Umatilla county. Although never active in politics, he held the office of justice of the peace for several years, and, taken all in all, was as prominent and progressive and forceful a man as the country had known in its history.

From Umatilla county Mr. Henderson came to Albany and bought five acres adjoining the town, where he is still living, and upon which he has made extensive improvements. He also owns two hundred and seventy-three acres near Albany, which he himself manages, and he also owns a farm of three hundred and forty-four acres in Benton county. He is extensively engaged in raising Cotswold sheep and fine cattle, and, need- less to say, his farms are valuable and very pro- ductive. Since 1869 he has been comparatively alone, for his wife died that year, leaving to his care two children, of whom E. Maud is living with her father, while Guy S. until recently lived in New York city, where he gained quite a rep- utation as an artist and designer. He is now connected with the Holmes Business College of Portland, having charge of the penmanship and art department.

Since his seventeenth year Mr. Henderson has been a member of the Christian Church, and has ever since been active in church work, contribut- ing generously of his means towards its main- tenance and general charities. No one in this or Umatilla county bears a more enviable repu- tation for absolute fair dealing and personal in- tegrity, nor has any been more successful in turning to good account the advantages by which they were surrounded in a new and strange country.

STEPHEN RIGDON. Wherever men have gone in the pursuit of wealth, no matter how remote the location, how lonely or unpromising the conditions by which they are surrounded, it invariably necessitates self-sacrifice combined with all the ennobling influences which are en- bodied in human make-up. Of such character was John Rigdon, father of Stephen Rigdon, the latter one of the most prominent and influential farmers of Lane county.

John Rigdon was born in Pennsylvania, Oc- tober 15, 1796, and was reared on a farm, re- ceiving his preliminary education in the district schools. As a young man he left home and started for the west, locating in Ohio, where he entered the ministry and preached in connection with farming. December 8, 1818, he married Catherine Logan, who was born in the Buckeye state June 12, 1798. They continued to live in Ohio until removing to Illinois in 1832. It was while living in Iowa, to which he removed in 1848, that he became interested in the far west, and as the numbers westward bound increased every year, he was more and more convinced that his best and broadest opportunity lay the other side of the Rockies. Starting out in March, 1852, he had rather an uneventful trip across the plains, and in Oregon settled in Polk county, remaining there about two years. Mr. Rigdon then came to Lane county and took up a claim five miles southeast of Pleasant Hill, in a place known as Rattle Snake valley, where he farmed for the remainder of his life, although his preaching took him from home for many months during the year. He was one of the organizers of the first church in this part of the county, and he was one of the first ministers in this part of the state. Those familiar with his life and work unhesitatingly credit him with accomplishing more good than did any other similarly engaged in the county, although the scope of his activity was by no means a local one. It. were impos- sible to even estimate the number of miles trav- eled by this pioneer preacher in his more than ordinarily busy life, for he counted no effort too great providing some soul was benefited there- by. Probably no man of his time could lay

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claim to greater familiarity with both well known and out of the way places in Oregon and Washington, for he visited both states with im- partial spirit, going wherever there was demand for his services, and performing them regard- less of financial remuneration. Few students of the bible saw so clearly through the mazes that perplex, vex and discourage travelers on the highway of life, and his sermons were as clear and convincing as his mind and heart were bright and true. His eloquence, humanity and goodness drew to him many fine and distin- guished friends, and no home in the county was better known, more eagerly sought, or more hos- pitable. Mr. Rigdon retired from active life a few years before his death, which occurred in March, 1859, at the age of eighty-two years, his wife living to be eighty years of age. His first wife dying June 15, 1834, Mr. Rigdon married in Illinois a Miss Laughlin, who was born in Kentucky. They had one child, who died in in- fancy. For a third wife he married Mary Bell, a native of Ohio, and of this union there were born several children, of whom Mrs. Phoebe Parker lives in Lane county; George lives in Union county; and Addie lives near the old place.

Stephen Rigdon was reared on the old farm in the middle west and preceded his father to the coast in 1850. He also came with ox-teams, but stopped in California after a journey of four months and a half, and remained there until 1853. He was fairly successful, and joined his people in their new home in Lane county the richer by a few hundred dollars. After a short visit he left for Marion and Clackamas counties, looking for a desirable permanent location, and in the spring of 1854 located in Lane county. The same year he was united in marriage with Zilphia Bristow, who was born in McDonough county, Ill., in 1834, and crossed the plains with her parents in 1848. The young people went to housekeeping on a part of the father- in-law's donation claim, Elijah Bristow being one of the foremost pioneers of his time and the owner of a large tract of land. He was the first white man to take up land within the limits of Lane county, and is credited with building the first house in the county. The two hundred and seventy-five acres now owned by Mr. Rigdon have been improved under his direction. His barns and out-buildings are of modern and con- venient construction. He is engaged in stock- raising and small farming, and is one of the suc- cessful and prominent men of his vicinity. Bear- ing an honored name owing partly to the ex- emplary life of his father, his own character and attainments are in keeping with what one might expect from so noble and kindly a source. The elder Rigdon was a Whig of intense convic-

tions, and his son is a Republican, the majority of the local offices in the community having fallen to his share during the recent years. Hav- ing no children of his own, he has adopted a son, Paul L. Bristow, who has lived with the family for forty-two years. This adopted son is a nephew of Mrs. Rigdon, and is married and has four children, Jeannie W., Clarence R., Lillie, and Edith. Mr. Bristow is now conducting the home farm. He was the son of E. L. Bristow, one of the pioneers of the Willamette valley and a man of literary attainments. Mrs. Rigdon died at the home where she and her husband had lived for so many years May II, 1903, leav- ing behind her a multitude of friends and a void that is impossible to fill. She was one who al- ways took the lead in charitable matters in her neighborhood.

ANDREW EDGAR WRIGHTMAN, M. D. Among the more recent arrivals in Oregon is Andrew Edgar Wrightman, of Silverton, who since September 20, 1902, has practiced his pro- fession here. He is a young man of strong in- tellectuality, marked individuality and keen en- terprising spirit and the future promises him suc- cess. He was born in Bowmanville, Canada, October 8, 1876, a son of John Wrightman, whose birth occurred in St. Ignace, Mich. His grandfather was a native of England and when a young man came to the United States, locating first in St. Ignace, Mich., where he engaged in the lumber business. At the time of his death his son John took the business and conducted it for some time. He subsequently removed to Canada, where he had mills on the river Trent. He was recognized as one of the leading repre- sentatives of the lumber trade of his day, own- ing between thirty and forty different mills, to- gether with a large number of logging camps and employing hundreds of men. His business grew until it had reached extensive proportions, making him one of the leaders in the entire country. He was also a prominent Orangeman, and while entertaining his employes one night at one of his lumber camps five miles south of Chatham, Canada, the Catholics, who disliked him because of his connection with the Orange- men and because he would not employ them as laborers, came to the camp and with clubs and knives began fighting the employes of Mr. Wrightman. He displayed great valor in at- tempting to restore peace, but he and two of his men were killed and a number of others were injured. This occurred in 1879. Mr. Wright- man had also been connected with the Fenian Raid. He was a very wealthy man, whose large and important business interests had been built up through his own efforts and returned to him

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splendid success. At the time of his death his family were living in Chatham. In early man- hood he had wedded Mary Gould, a native of Canada, who now resides in Bowmanville, On- tario. She was a distant relative of Jay Gould. Her father came to Canada at an early day from England. He was a farmer and an Indian fighter and for many years lived in Toronto, where his death ultimately occurred. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Wrightman were born two sons and five daugh- ters.

The doctor is the youngest of the family, and acquired his early education in the public schools of his native town. When but nine years of age he went to Tidioute, Pa., where he se- cured a position as landscape painter in a chair manufactory. After a short time in that position he went to Jamestown, N. Y., where he was employed at his trade and then started a business of his own as a painter and landscape artist. In 1889 he removeu to New York City, where he was employed in landscape painting of opera scenery for John Coe & Company. He possessed natural artistic ability and produced some very creditable work. In 1890 he took up his abode in Toronto, Canada, where he established the Toronto Portrait Company for enlarging pic- tures, thus instituting a business which is still in existence. In 1891 the doctor withdrew and went to Minneapolis, Minn., and in the fall of the same year he again went to Jamestown, N. Y., where he took charge of the chair manu- factory business of the firm of Curtis & Page, continuing in that capacity until 1893.

In the year mentioned Dr. Wrightman became a student in Dwight L. Moody's School at Mount Hermon, Mass., where he pursued a literary course for two years and in 1895 he became a student in Oberlin College, at Oberlin, Ohio, where he pursued a theological course. He went to Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1896, and entered upon a four years' course in the Eclectic Medical In- stitute, and in 1899 he went to Baltimore, Md., where he pursued a special course in the medical department of Johns Hopkins University, mak- ing a specialty of the diseases of the blood and skin. He also took a special course on the dis- eases of women and children in Child's Hospital, and in 1901 he returned to Cincinnati, where he completed his studies in the Eclectic Medical Institute. Then locating at Mansfield, Ohio, he practiced there for four months and on Septem- ber 20, 1902, he arrived in Oregon, locating at Silverton, where he has since engaged in prac- tice with growing success. He also owns a half interest in the drug business of Lewis Johnson & Company, Mr. Johnson being his brother-in- law.

July 9, 1902, in Jamestown, N. Y., the doctor was united in marriage with Miss Helen Marie

Johnson, a daughter of J. W. Johnson, who was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, and came to the United States in 1886, at which time he es- tablished his home at Jamestown, N. Y., and there engaged in dealing in ice. He had a monopoly of the trade at that place for twenty- seven years and did a very extensive and pros- perous business. He was also proprietor of the Buffalo House in that city, and he is now a well known and prosperous real estate man of James- town.

The doctor and his wife have already won many warm friends in the leading social circles in Silverton. He is a most pleasant, genial gen- tleman, popular wherever he goes. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and to the Congregational Church. In his profession he is giving evidence of ability, which promises well for a successful future. Few men have talent along as many lines as has Dr. Wrightman. He not only possesses much natural artistic ability, but is a fluent and force- ful writer and has considerable poetic talent. One of the beautiful little gems which he has written is "Night Thoughts," and we here give it as a specimen of his literary ability :

When the winds are sadly moaning Thro' the trees so tall and bare, And the moon's rays gently gleaming Making night seem soft and fair ; Then my thoughts go slowly stealing To the shores of long ago,

Where the sun of childhood shining Kept away all care and woe.

On the shores are loved ones standing, Who were dear as life to me ; But they're now beyond the billows Breaking on life's troubled sea. Shall I know them up in Heaven Where the gates are open wide? Will they happily be standing Close to my dear Savior's side ?

When the angels softly singing Fill the hills with welcome song, Shall I hear their voices ringing Sweetly from the angel throng? Will they, when the harps of Heaven Send their music out afar,

Lead me by the hand so gently Thro' the golden gates ajar ?

From the wind now softly sighing Comes a voice both clear and sweet, And it says, "Yes, up in Heaven You will all your loved ones greet." Now the voice is lowly pleading That I tread earth's path aright, So at last I'll live in glory Where there's no more wind of night.

DR. JOHN McLOUGHLIN. The name most early connected with the pioneer history of Oregon is that of Dr. John McLoughlin, who

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came to Oregon in 1823, as director for the Hud- son Bay Company, acting under authority of the British government. For twenty years there- after he was called governor of Oregon, by cour- tesy and authority of the company with which he was identified, the territory over which he exer- cised control extending from the Rocky Moun- tains to the Pacific ocean and from California to Alaska. It was a dangerous and lonely life, but that earnest and unfaltering courage demanded in the pioneer was fully met by the character of Dr. McLoughlin; no better man, no truer pio- neer could have been chosen to prepare the way for those who were to come after and live in the prosperous conditions which to-day make of Ore- gon a state equal to any in the Union. It is no less a pleasure than a duty to recall the lives of such men.

Dr. John McLoughlin was born in Quebec, in 1784, and received his education in France. He was the representative of Scotch ancestry and many of the strong traits which distinguished this people made up the character of the man who proved so potent a factor in the early life of the northwest. That he was earnest in purpose, en- ergetic in action and indomitable in will all the records of his life show, and as a mere lad he entered the service of the old North-West Fur Company and put to practical use his native char- acteristics. For about twenty-four years he saw much of the hardships and dangers which made up the life of the traders, and in that time he labored patiently, passing, step by step, from the lowest to the highest position that could be given him. When the object of the Northwest Fur Company was attained and they were admitted to the privileges of the Hudson Bay Company, whose name they assumed, Dr. McLoughlin came to Astoria and accepted the responsibilities of the first governor of Oregon. Beyond the official duties which the position entailed upon him the doctor put forth his most earnest efforts toward advancing the interests of the territory over which he had assumed control, and for which he foresaw a great future. He it was who first brought wheat, oats, barley, corn, potatoes and tame grass seeds to Oregon, and it was through his indefatigable efforts that to agriculture was devoted so much time and attention in those early days. Soon after coming to Astoria he moved the post to Vancouver, Wash., and in every pos- sible way encouraged settlement, as well as meet- ing with success in his official capacity. Through a kindly benevolence and wide charity he en- deared himself to all with whom he came in con- tact, winning the regard of all nationalities, al- though he stoutly maintained the interests of the Hudson Bay Company.

With the coming of the American pioneers into the country made habitable by Dr. McLoughlin.

conditions were changed and there came a time of trouble into the life of this truly noble man. From 1840 to 1847 he witnessed the gradual de- cline of his personal authority, the falling away of those who had been his stanch adherents, and the shadow of an almost universal condemnation which well nigh obscured his life of service in Oregon. His was a peculiar position. In Eng- lish employ for many years, he labored zealously for the interests of his native country upon dis- puted territory ; with the coming of the American pioneers he gave to them the humane and cour- teous treatment which was a part of his charac- ter, gaining inevitably the condemnation of his own government and not the friendship of the other, since he had so long been considered un- friendly to American colonization. He, there- fore, stood alone. Later in life he absolved al- legiance to the British government and became a citizen of the United States, but through relig- ious opponents he lost his fortune, and at his death, in 1857, was a poor man. In religion Dr. McLoughlin was a member of the Roman Cath- olic Church, but was broad and liberal in his views in the matter of religious beliefs, as well as in all that pertained to his daily life among the pioneer condition of early Oregon.

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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 158

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