Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 163

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 163

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After his parents' death, when he was five years old, Edward Ernest went to live with a cousin at Trenton, Ill., and remained there until the spring of 1868. He then started out to farm on his own responsibility, and in 1869 mar- ried, in Louisville, Ky., Liza Jane Bain, who was born in Manchester, England, and came to the United States with her friends at the age of eighteen years. Locating in Louisville, Ky., Miss Bain taught in the public schools of that city for twelve years, or until her marriage. The young people settled near Lawrence, Kans., and afterward removed to Hutchinson, the same state, at the end of a year taking up their resi- dence in Salina county. Here Mr. Upmeyer owned and managed a threshing machine for three years, then with his gains went to Bear Valley, Colo., the following year locating on a rented farm near Harrisburg, Ore. His actual start in life Mr. Upmeyer dates from 1885, when he bought two hundred and eighty acres of land two miles east of Harrisburg, but still made his home on the rented farm, which comprised about a thousand acres. He began to buy, sell and raise stock on a large scale, and to a greater extent than the average newcomer succeeded from the first, increasing his business from month to month, until at the end of two years he stepped down and out, his efforts having netted him a tidy little sum.

Locating in Harrisburg in 1888, he purchased a warehouse and stored wheat and oats for three years, and in 1890 purchased a saw-mill in the town, which he conducted successfully for twelve years. In 1894 he became one of the pro- moters of the Harrisburg Water Power Canal, was the first president of the company, and eventually became the sole owner of the con- cern. Saw-mill and canal were in a flourishing

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condition in 1902, when Mr. Upmeyer had an opportunity to dispose of both advantageously, which he did to Booth & Kelley Lumber Com- pany. Needless to say, the margin from these transactions was sufficient to insure him a life of ease and independence, a consummation fully earned by his years of devotion to the best tenets of business. In the meantime, in 1901, he had added to his landed possessions, and at the pres- ent time he has five hundred acres within two miles of Harrisburg, besides a farm of three hundred and twenty acres of timber land on the Siuslaw river.

The Republican party in Linn county has profited by the substantial support of Mr. Up- meyer, who has been mayor of Harrisburg for one term, has been a member of the council many times, and for nine years has endeavored to promote educational excellence in the com- munity as a member of the school board. He is fraternally connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Since early manhood he has been a member and active worker in the Metho- dist Episcopal Church, to which his wife also belonged. Mrs. Upmeyer was an invalid for the last six years of her life, and notwithstanding the unceasing efforts of her husband in her be- half, her death occurred March 19, 1903. No children being born to Mr. and Mrs. Upmeyer, they adopted Dena Holt, who is now the wife of E. J. Nixon, a farmer near Harrisburg. A. B. Hulett, a general merchant of Island City, also owes his training from thirteen years of age to these large-hearted people, who gave him a home and a practical education, and started him out in life. Mr. Upmeyer has an abiding confidence in the slow and sure ways of making a living, and anything on the speculative order has never appealed to his judgment. His advancement has been steady, and dictated by sober thought and practical common sense, and has met with the approval of conservative and painstaking asso- ciates in the business world. Mr. Upmeyer is one of the organizers and president of the Kla- math Lake Navigation Company, which are op- erating both freight and passenger boats on the Klamath Lakes in southeastern Oregon.

ALFRED R. LOCKE. Among the well known early settlers of Benton county who have con- tributed to its agricultural upbuilding is that to which Alfred R. Locke belongs, himself a native son of the county, and born on the farm which is still his home, November 10, 1850. Upon the increasingly fertile acres redeemed from the wilderness by his father he was reared to a life of toil and usefulness, but though en- couraged in industry, and in the development of his abilities as a whole, fine opportunities were

his, also, especially in the line of education. He was a student at the public schools for many years, which training was supplemented by a course at that excellent educational center, the Oregon Agricultural College at Corvallis.

After his father's death in 1873 Alfred R. and Alonzo, his brother, assumed control of the old donation claim, and amicably managed the same together for about six years. Alfred then bought out his brother's interest, and has since conducted the whole independently and with great success. He owns two hundred and twen- ty-seven acres, and carries on general farming and stock-raising, and also has a large dairy busi- ness. Located five miles north of Corvallis, on the Independence road, the farm is admirably adapted for all kinds of farming, and has ac- commodations for a large number of stock.

May 30, 1876, Mr. Locke married Maryetta Williams, who was born in Missouri, and whose father died when she was a child. The meeting between the young people occurred when Mr. Locke was making a visit in Missouri, and al- most immediately they came to the west, lo- cating on the old donation claim, where the young wife received a warm welcome from her husband's people. Three sons have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Locke, of whom Horace is at Corvallis, Ore., while Walter and Otto are liv- ing with their father. Mr. Locke is a Demo- crat in politics, but has never desired to enter the ranks of office-seekers. He is fraternally connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. He is a bright and enterprising man, well posted on current events, and above all else is in touch with the agricul- tural advancement in his neighborhood.

ROBERT A. SMITH. The untiring indus- try of Robert A. Smith has gained him the pos- session of a farm of ninety-eight acres three miles from Corvallis, where he has a pleasant home, and most congenial occupation. He has been a farmer for many years, and during that time has kept abreast of the times, and im -. proved his property with everything calculated to facilitate a general farming and stock-raising industry. In western Canada, where he was born May 17, 1837, Mr. Smith was reared on his father's farm, but in his youth had few edu- cational advantages. That he has more than made up for this deficiency argues his appre- ciation of knowledge as a whole, for he is to- day a well informed mån, and an interesting ob- server of the people and happenings around him.

Starting out to make his own living at the age of nineteen, Mr. Smith worked on farms by

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a w Patterson

Amanda C. Patterson.

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the month for several years, and upon coming to the United States settled near Aurora, Ill., where the breaking out of the Civil war found him saving money through farm labor. Responding to his adopted country's call he enlisted in Com- pany B, One Hundred and Fifty-sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was sent south guard- ing government property, serving in this ca- pacity until the close of the war. After the restoration of peace he went to the pineries of Wisconsin, and from the lumber camps to Dal- las county, Iowa, where he found employment on a farm. A short time afterward he bought a farm, and married Mrs. Janet Wheeler, widow of James Wheeler, and daughter of Alexander McTaggert, the latter of whom was born in Scot- land and died in Iowa. Mrs. Wheeler had two children, of whom James A. is living with his step-father. Two daughters have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, of whom Etta is a grad- uate of the Oregon Agricultural College at Cor- vallis, and Robena is a graduate of the State Normal of Monmouth.

In 1874 Mr. Smith left Iowa and came to Benton county, Ore., living for two years in the town of Corvallis, but not liking it as well as he thought he should, returned then to Iowa. In 1889 he returned to the coast, convinced by his experience that after all this was one of the garden spots of the country. This time he located three miles from Corvallis, which is his present farm, and to which he has devoted the best years of his life. He is a quiet, unassuming man, and averse to office-holding or participation in public affairs. He is a Republican in politics. Upright and honorable in all of his dealings, Mr. Smith has the esteem of his neighbors and associates, and his farm and himself are a dis- tinct credit to a thriving community of agricul- turists.

A. W. PATTERSON, M. D. That giving, not living, is the more important part of life, has been demonstrated in the career of Dr. A. W. Patterson, one of the pioneer physicians of Ore- gon, and a worthy representative of one of the noble and unselfish professions that have helped to lift the world to a higher plane in its physical, social and moral status. In his many ministra- tions in the early days of the country he came in contact with those whose character was to forni the foundation of the western common- wealth, and with all conditions that tried the souls of pioneers and proved their worth; and not until a retrospective glance is taken can one realize his forceful personality as an individual and his consecrated effort toward the upbuilding of the state and the advancement of western civilization. It is well to pause in the march of

progress and review the lives of such men, for they are a constant inspiration toward higher living, and an example which the younger gen- eration can make no mistake in following.

The grandfather of Dr. Patterson, John by name, was born in Scotland, came to America in the eighteenth century, and became a soldier under Washington in the Revolutionary war, while in service receiving a slight wound. He died during the war, while the army was win- tering in New Jersey. His son, Andrew, was born in Bucks county, Pa., and was reared to manhood in that locality. He became appren- ticed to a manufacturer of spinning wheels, and after serving his time became connected with a carpenter and cabinetmaker. He continued in this business for many years and later in life engaged in farming in Armstrong county, where his death occurred in 1832, at the age of sixty- one years. Moral and upright, he lived the righteous life of a member of the Presbyterian Church. His wife was formerly Jane Lindsay, a native of Shippensburg, Pa., who had been left an orphan at an early age. She was reared by an uncle who was in business in Jamaica, N. Y., and was known as Jamaica Lindsay. Mrs. Patterson died in Butler county, Pa., the mother of eleven children, of whom five sons and three daughters attained maturity.

The youngest son and the only one now in Oregon is Dr. A. W. Patterson, who was born in Armstrong county, Pa., October 4, 1814, and reared upon his father's farm. His education was received in Bassingham Academy and the Western University of Pennsylvania, at Pitts- burg. Upon the completion of his studies he took up the study of medicine under the tutelage of Dr. Joseph Gazam, and later went to Phila- delphia and entered Pennsylvania ,College of Medicine, then a new school started by a part of the faculty of Jefferson Medical College. Previous to his graduation in March, 1841, with the degree of M. D., he had practiced for one year in what is now Pittsburg, as his first course of lectures had been taken in 1839. After his graduation he located in Greenfield, Ind., and practiced for a time, and then returned to Pitts- burg, and after practicing there for some time he began to travel through the west as a repre- sentative of a surgical instrument manufacturer. In April, 1852, he became one of a party of five to start on horseback for the more remote west, the first part of the journey being in company with an emigrant train, which, however, they soon left in the rear, arriving at The Dalles August 28, being among the first emigrants of that year. With the good judgment which has uniformly distinguished the business ventures of Dr. Patterson, he took up a donation claim one mile west of Eugene, Lane county, the fulfill-

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ment of his expectations being in 1853, when the county seat was located in that city.

Turning his attention to public service, Dr. Patterson became a government surveyor, and was also awarded the contract by the county commissioner to survey the plot of Eugene. In 1854 he undertook the work of laying out the town, forty acres of which was donated by Char- nel Mulligan and a like number of acres by Eu- gene Skinner, Eighth street forming the division line. The work was a success, and met with the commendation of those most interested, and he felt encouraged to continue his surveying, whichi he did for a couple of years in both Oregon and Washington. At the breaking out of the Rogue River Indian war he was selected to raise a company, but declined to do so, suggesting in- stead Captain Buoy, who had served in the Black Hawk war, his own inclinations leading him to prefer an appointment as a physician. Receiv- ing no call, however, in that line, he agreed to accept the first lieutenancy in the company, which reached the battle ground on the evening of the third day of the battle of Hungry Hill. He there met the commissary-general, Dr. Joseph Grew; who asked him to accept the position of surgeon. Notwithstanding the fact that he could not offer his resignation until the following day, Dr. Patterson went to work immediately dress- ing the wounds of the men, and the next morn- ing after having resigned his commission as lieu- tenant he was commissioned and appointed by General Grew as surgeon, in which position he remained until April 15, 1856, when he resigned. During the Rogue River campaign the service was exceedingly strenuous and told upon the strength of even the doctor's rugged constitu- tion, and as recruits were needed he was appoint- ed to return to Eugene to secure enlistments, which he immediately did. In the spring of 1857 he took a contract to survey six townships in Lane county, during which service he was much in demand, as he was one of the very few phy- sicians in the country. Upon the appointment of a new surveyor, General Chapman being the man selected, Dr. Patterson was offered the posi- tion of chief clerk, which he accepted and ably maintained until a change of office, when, having secured a contract to survey five townships be- tween The Dalles and the John Day river, he took up surveying once more. In the spring of 1862 he began the practice of medicine in En1- gene and continued faithful to the interests of his profession for thirty-three years, in 1897 seeking a retirement much needed after a life of such arduous labor. Several years previous to his retirement he had confined his practice to office consultation.

In the various public movements which were vital to the growth of the country, Dr. Patterson

has ever fulfilled his part as a loyal and intelli- gent citizen. In the early educational enterprises he exercised a strong influence, for four terms serving in his county as superintendent of schools, and also as school director, a monu- ment reared to the memory of his services being the Patterson School, which was named in his honor. In connection with Samuel Simpson he was engaged for some time in getting up a series of school books to be used in the schools of the Pacific coast. They wrote five Pacific coast series, which were used for a number of years, and also wrote three readers and one speller, which were published by Bancroft & Co., of San Francisco. As a Democrat he served one term in the territorial legislature in 1855, and as state senator from 1870 to 1874. With all these public interests he has not neglected the cultivation and improvement of a part of the land which forms his adopted county, being one of the early hop-growers. His ranch near the city was washed away, and he then bought what is now Patterson's Island and started a yard. Of a farm of seventy acres he devoted forty to the cultivation of hops. This land is universally conceded to be the best in the world for the growth of this plant. He has also spared no pains in his work, having sent to England for the first hop roots, securing the English varieties.

In 1847 Dr. Patterson was married in Pitts- burg, Pa., to Miss Elizabeth Sovern, the daugh- ter of Rev. Levi Sovern of Pittsburg. She died in 1848 with her only child, and both were buried in the same grave.

In Eugene, July 4, 1859, Dr. Patterson was married to Amanda C. Olinger, a native of Iowa, and the eldest of six daughters and two sons, of whom four daughters and one son are now liv- ing, born into the family of her parents. Her father, Abraham Olinger, was born in Dayton, Ohio, the son of John Olinger, and as a farmer he removed to Iowa, from which state he crossed the plains in 1843 with ox-teams. He was in the first train of emigrants to the Willamette valley, which they reached after a journey of nine months. He first located in Yamhill county, where he engaged in farming for three years, when he removed to the Waldo hills, in Marion county, settling two and a half miles from Daniel Waldo's place and becoming a sturdy and reliable citizen. He engaged in agricultural pursuits un- til his death, which occurred in that location. His wife was Rachel Stout, born in Missouri, the daughter of Ephraim Stout, who crossed the plains in 1843 and died in 1852. Mrs. Pat- terson was reared in Oregon and educated in the public schools, and attended Willamette Uni- versity for a short time. She is the mother of four daughters and one son, all of whom are living, of whom Augusta is the wife of Mr.

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Karlstrom, of Point Terrace, Ore .; Anna is the wife of Mr. Potter, of Eugene. She is a gradu- ate of the University of Oregon in the class of 1885. Ida is a graduate of the University of Oregon in the class of 1886, and is now principal of the Patterson school; Clyde Llewellyn is a student at the conservatory of music in Ithaca, N. Y .; and Harriet is a graduate of the Uni- versity of Oregon in the class of 1903. The home of this pioneer family is now located at No. 387 East Eleventh street, where a beautiful residence has been erected. Dr. Patterson is a member of the State Medical Society. He was made a Mason while in the eastern states, and now be- longs to Eugene Lodge No. II, A. F. & A. M. In religion he is a member of the Unitarian Church.

WILLIAM S. HURST. The history of every city of progress always includes the biographies of certain of its enterprising citizens who have been prominent in forwarding the growth and development of the place and by their exertions have mounted the ladder of success to an envi- able position. To this class of citizens we must include the name of W. S. Hurst, who is the head of the commission house of W. S. Hurst & Co., of Aurora, Ore.

The firm of W. S. Hurst & Co. was established in 1893, and began business in a small way. In 1902, Harvey A. Hinkle, one of the most expert hop-buyers on the western coast, was admitted as a partner. Besides the main commission house in Aurora, the firm has now three branch houses, at Aurora, Hubbard and Canby. In addition, agents are employed at every point where car- load lots can be obtained or handled. The firm handles all kinds of grain and produce, but makes a specialty of buying and selling hops, potatoes and onions. They pay the highest market prices, and liberal advances are made on consignments. Their produce is marketed in Alaska, California, Texas and all western points. The business, which was small in the beginning, now aggre- gates from $60,000 to $100,000 annually.

William S. Hurst was born in Wasco county, Ore., October 5, 1863, and he is a son of John Daniel and Helen (Corlburg) Hurst, the former a native of Rheinstadt, Germany, and the latter of Sweden. When thirteen years old his father crossed the ocean with a brother and located in New York. later coming on to Oregon. He and his wife reared a family which consisted of four sons and one daughter, the eldest of whom was William S., the subject of this biography.

While still a lad he found employment in the flouring mill owned by his father and uncle. His common school education was broadened by a thorough course in the Portland Business Col-

lege, at Portland, Ore., from which he was grad- uated in 1883. The year following his gradu- ation he went to Aurora and entered into part- nership with his father in the milling business, purchasing at that time a third interest in the Aurora Mills. In 1893, as mentioned, lie estab- lished the commission house, besides which he handles both fire and life insurance in Aurora and surrounding country.

In 1890 Mr. Hurst was united in marriage with Amelia M. Ritter, of Clackamas county, Ore. Her father was John Ritter, and was born in Austria. Upon coming to this country he lo- cated first in Pennsylvania, later in Missouri, and finally settled permanently in Clackamas county, Ore. He is now retired, a highly re- spected citizen of Marion county. To Mr. and Mrs. Hurst have been born one son, Reginald W., and one daughter, Ruth D., both of whom are at home. The family favor the Presbyterian Church in their religious worship.

The foregoing record of Mr. Hurst offers a splendid example of what may be accomplished by one who allows no obstacle to impede his ad- vancement. In addition to his individual busi- ness interests, Mr. Hurst has won and retained the confidence of the people, and has filled va- rious offices of public trust. He has served as justice of the peace in Aurora four terms, as school director, and as notary public; and he has been active in politics. Fraternally he is a valued member of the A. F. &. A. M., the K. of P., the I. O. O. F., the A. O. U. W., and the W. O. W.

ABSALOM C. WOODCOCK. The highest tenets of legal science find expression in the large professional practice of A. C. Woodcock, one of the most courteous and energetic mem- bers of the Lane county bar. In his rise from obscurity and comparative poverty Mr. Wood- cock presents an example of perseverance and determination which may well serve as an ex- ample to whomsoever rebels at the limitations which shut in his youthful horizon. Starting in to make his own living at the age of thirteen, he demonstrated innate ability and faithfulness, for at a time when farm labor was poorly rewarded he was able to command $20 a month and board. He is the fourth of eleven children born to W. D. and Alizina (Cornelius) Woodcock. The chief cause of the family's financial stress lay in the fact that his father died in 1870, leaving his large family dependent upon the output of the donation claim on the Molalla upon which he had settled in 1845.

W. D. Woodcock was a native son of Illinois, but was reared and educated in Missouri. He possessed grit and determination, for he started

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across the plains in 1845, an undertaking hazard- ous in the extreme, and holding out but one chance in a thousand of ever reaching his goal. Fellow travelers in the ox-train with him were Absalom Cornelius and his family, one member being a daughter, Alizina, whose youthful charms seriously impressed themselves upon the hopeful and ambitious young homeseeker. At the part- ing of the ways in Oregon Mr. Cornelius settled on a claim near Turner, Marion county, but his daughter soon after became mistress of the farm on the Molalla, and thus yet another of the innumerable romances begun around the camp- fires and on the dreary march across the plains, was brought to a happy termination. Mr. Woodcock died at the age of fifty-two, and his wife survived him until 1889. Besides Absalom Cornelius, who was horn on the Molalla farm July 23, 1859, there are living at the present time seven other of the eleven children: W. D. is a blacksmith in Lake county, Ore .; W. S. is a stockman in Wasco county; T. P. is a large commission man of Weiser, Idaho; Newton and Jasper are twins, the former living in Weiser, Idaho, and the latter in Wasco county, Ore .; Keziah is the wife of E. B. Ramsby of Lake county, Ore .; and Ada is the wife of W. H. Harriman of Wasco county, Ore.

A. C. Woodcock was eleven years of age when his father died, and at thirteen he began to work on the farm of William Barlow, one of the best known of the early pioneers. He saved everything possible out of his wages of $20 a month, and at the end of a year went into a butchering and stock business at The Dalles with his brother, T. P. While thus employed he made up for a somewhat defective education by attending the public schools during the winter time, and in 1879 entered the sub-fresh- man class of the University of Oregon at Eu- gene, from which he was graduated in 1885 with the degree of B. S. Afterward he was appointed a tutor in the university, and at the same time took up the classical course, being graduated therefrom in 1887 with the degree of A. B. In the meantime he had become interested in the study of law, and after prelimi- nary training under Dolph, Mallory, Bellinger & Simon of Portland he was admitted to the bar in October, 1887. In partnership with George S. Washburn he began practice in Eugene, con- tinuing alone after the death of his old friend, and in May, 1903, inaugurated a partnership with L. T. Harris, under the firm name of Woodcock & Harris. The firm is engaged in a general practice of law, in addition to which they are attorneys for the Booth-Kelley Lumber Company, and other representative firms of the county.

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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 163

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