Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 173

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 173

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pated in the battles of De Chutes river, Wells Springs and Two Cannon, the latter conflict lasting three days. He was discharged in Ore- gon City, and thereafter returned to his ranch. He also served in the Rogue river war as a private, and well remembers the great conflict known as the Battle of the Meadows.

WILLIAM McLEOD. As his name implies, William McLeod is a Scotchman, with a faculty for making the most of every opportunity. He has engaged in several lines of activity since coming to the west and north. At present con- ducting a tannery business in Brownsville, he finds his occupation both successful and con- genial, possibly for the reason that he is thor- oughly conversant with it, and has inaugurated some new departures from the general line of tanning. He makes a specialty of saddle and skirting leather, and handles about one thous- and hides a year. Since 1894 his business has been located in Kirk's addition, and his com- modities have found a ready market in all of the coast towns, as well as in some of the cities of the east.

For many years the McLeod family was well known in Invernesshire, a maritime and high- land county in Scotland, the largest in the king- dom, and extending across the island from sea to sea. Mountainous, rugged, and well wooded, it is a pastoral county, cattle, sheep, and wool being the principal sources of revenue. Trade is facilitated by the Caledonian canal, extending the whole length of the shire, and the farmers or stockmen fortunate enough to dwell within its boundaries as a rule are prosperous and fairly content. Donald McLeod, the father of Will- iam, was no exception, and for twenty years of his life he roamed over the rich lands of Inver- ness, buying cattle for a stockman of wealth and influence. He was not unmindful of oppor- tunities beyond the sea, however, and, leaving behind the associations of his ancestors, he came to America in 1837. locating in Ontario, Canada, where he engaged in farming. The same year, in October, his son William was born, and was reared to an industrious life, attending the common schools of the county. The paternal farm consisted of one hundred acres of land, and here the father lived and pros- pered, and here his death occurred in 1855, at the age of sixty-seven years. The mother, for- merly, Sybella Forbes, also born in Scotland, died in Canada, leaving two sons and two daughters, two children having died in infancy.

Four years after the death of his father, in 1859. William, then nineteen years of age, came to California, having heard glowing reports of the mining chances on the coast. In Placer

county he engaged in gold mining for a couple of years, and in 1861 went to the Puget Sound country, later still making his way to the mines at Orofino, Idaho. In 1862 he located on Sau- vie's Island, in the Columbia river, and turned his attention to tobacco raising, a venture not entirely satisfactory, for we find him in Portland in 1864, engaged in getting out wharf timber and boat material. In 1866 Mr. McLeod came to Brownsville and engaged in the tannery busi- ness with A. E. Ellis, and after a year the entire business was owned by him, and independently conducted until 1877. He then went to Golden- dale, Klickitat county, Wash., and farmed and conducted a tannery, and in the spring of 1882 returned to Brownsville, where he re-purchased the tannery he owned before and conducted it for three years in partnership with a well known man of the town. In 1894 he sold out to his partner, and the same year built his present place of business, in the conduct of which he has so well succeeded.

In Brownsville, Mr. McLeod married Leah A. Riggs, born in Missouri, and who came across the plains with her mother in 1864, shortly after the death of her father, John Riggs. The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. McLeod: Mrs. Lizzie Roberts, de- ceased; Katie, deceased; and John and Flor- ence, at home. Mr. McLeod is a Republican in political preference, and has been a member of the city council. He is prominent in the Meth- odist Episcopal Church, is a class leader, and contributes generously towards the support of the church. He is still interested in mines and owns considerable stock in the Calapooia Mill & Mining Company. Possessing excellent busi- ness judgment, tact and consideration for all whom he employs, and possessing unswerving integrity, he holds an enviable position in the business and social world of Brownsville.

THOMAS H. COOPER. In all save the accident of birth Thomas H. Cooper is a northwesterner, for he was just one year old when his family moved to Oregon,'and his life since then has been passed within the boundaries of his adopted state. Born near St. Joseph, Mo., January 9, 1851, he is a son of James Cooper, who was born in Virginia, and who removed with his parents from Vir- ginia to Indiana, and from there to Missouri at a very early day. Here James married Sena A. Evans, and in the spring of 1852 left be- hind him the familiar surroundings and started across the vast expanse of plains intervening between Missouri and the coast, with his fam- ily and a large emigration train. He had two yoke of oxen and two cows, and ere the jour-

16.8. 15 от1 19

MRS. A. C. BONNEY.

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ney was completed was obliged to use the cows for completing the journey, the oxen having given out under the severe strain. Ar- riving after six months at Oregon City, they spent the first winter on a farm in the vicinity, and for a bushel of wheat Mr. Cooper was obliged to work six days. In the spring of 1853 they went as far south as Eugene, looking around for a desirable place to settle, and finally located near Sublimity, Marion county, for two years. In 1855 they came to Benton county and took up three hundred and twenty acres of land in Kings Valley, where the father erected a small cabin, and the family lived in

it until 1860. He then moved two miles west of Philomath, where he purchased eight hun- dred acres of land and engaged in dairying and the stock business. This property was disposed of in 1869, and he bought three hun- dred and twenty acres two and a half miles from Corvallis, where his death occurred No- vember 27, 1891, at the age of sixty-seven years and eight months. He is survived by his wife, who is still living on the farm, and who is the mother of six children, of whom Thomas H. is the oldest; Nancy A. is the deceased wife of Morris Allen; Francis Marion is de- ceased; George W. lives in Benton county ; Mary F. is the wife of Russell Lowell, and lives with her mother ; and Robert is deceased.

Thomas H. Cooper was reared on the farm and received his education in the public schools. October 10, 1875, he married Mary L. Scott, daughter of Prior Scott, of Benton county, and herself a native daughter of that county. Soon after his marriage he settled on his present farm, and has been so successful that he has added thereto and now has four hundred and eighty acres. He is engaged prin- cipally in the dairy business, and is at pres- ent milking twenty-five cows, a number of which are Jerseys. A Republican in politics, he has held various important offices within the gift of his fellow-townsmen, and was elected to the legislature of 1895. Four chil- dren have been born to this successful couple, of whom Lewis E. is deceased; Minnie E. is the wife of E. J. Newton, of Benton county, and they have one daughter, Gladys; Fred R. is living at home; and George E. is also at home. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper are members of the Congregational Church, and are respected and honored members of the community in which they live.

BRADFORD S. BONNEY. A typical pio- neer of the very early days is Bradford S. Bon- ney, owner of a fine farm of four hundred and twenty-two acres adjoining Woodburn, upon

which he has lived continuously since 1849. More than any other of whom we have immediate knowledge, Mr. Bonney lives close to the heart of nature, and his association with the early days of Oregon has permitted that rare and fascinat- ing interest in all that pertains to sportsmanship, for which this state has been justly famous. A resident of Oregon since his fifteenth year, Mr. . Bonney was born near Sandusky, Ohio, August 30, 1825, a son of Truman and Plena (Town- send) Bonney, and grandson of Geris Bonney, the latter of whom was a farmer in Ohio, having moved there from his native state of Vermont. The grandfather was one of the heroes of '76, and for seven weary years lived in tent on the field, fighting in all the great battles of the war for independence.

Truman Bonney was born on his father's farm in Vermont, April 24, 1796, and as a young man accompanied his parents to Ohio, where he lived on a farm for many years. As a youth he learned the cooper and tanner's trades, which he followed at different stages of his career, in Fulton county, Ill., where he removed in 1833. His farm of two hundred acres was located twelve miles north of Lewiston, and here he prospered exceedingly. Notwithstanding his success, however, he became dissatisfied with his lot and exhibited the energy inherited from his ancestors. He was one of the first in his neighborhood to think about emigrat- ing to the Pacific coast. In 1845 he had perfected his arrangements for the momentous trip, which were carried through without any particular mis- hap. Arriving in Sacramento City, Cal., in the fall of 1845, he remained until 1846, when he came to Oregon and took up six hundred and forty acres of land on French Prairie, Marion county. His death occurred in 1867 in Waconda, Ore. In early life he was a Whig, but later became a Re- publican, upon the organization of the party. His life was peculiar in some respects, for he never saw a railroad in his travels, being invariably ahead of them. He accumulated what was con- sidered a large property in those days, and thus he was able to give his large family, consisting of seven daughters and six sons, a comfortable home. Of the children reared in the pioneer home, Hannah, who is deceased, became the wife of John Sherwood; George W. is living in Co- lumbia Falls, Mont .; Mary A. is now Mrs. C. O. Boynton; Bradford S. is the subject of this ar- ticle ; Alvia is deceased; Sarah A. is the wife of E. Boynton ; Miriam is the wife of F. Hibbler, of Santa Rosa, Cal .; Trumann is deceased; Lydia, formerly wife of Eli C. Cooley, now wife of A. Wood, of Woodburn ; Laura, deceased, was mar- ried to James Strong ; Charles R. is a resident of Portland; Wisewell is deceased; and Reuben,

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horn in Oregon, is now in the saddle and harness business in Portland, Ore.

As may be imagined, at that early day Mr. Bonney had but limited educational advantages in Illinois. After coming to California and Ore- gon he was too busy framing his future to spend much time attending school. His present broad, general information is therefore all the more creditable, for it suggests a practical application in later years. The farm upon which he now lives was in its natural state with one-third heav- ily timbered in '49, but at present he has about three hundred acres under cultivation. In the early days as now his chief diversion was hunt- ing and fishing, and many interesting stories he can tell of the time when game could be sighted from his cabin door, and when one always had a gun at hand. His record included ten deer in a day, when game was most plentiful. He killed eleven elk during his lifetime. Bear abounded in the region, and many were the skins which he brought in from a chase. At the present time his admiration for nature and her chances is as keen as ever, and he takes frequent trips to the moun- tains and rivers, coming back invariably well laden and well content. So earnest has been Mr. Bonney in cultivating his land that he has had little time for politics, especially as he is inde- pendent, and in voting is guided solely by the personal qualifications of applicants. He is a member and elder in the Christian Church, and has been active in promoting the spiritual welfare of that organization.

The first wife of Mr. Bonney, to whom he was married in 1848, was Alzina C. Dimick, a native also of Ohio, born April 2, 1832, and whose father, A. P. Dimick, was born in the state of Vermont. From Ohio Mr. Dimick went to Boone county, Ill., where he resided for about twelve ycars, then came to Oregon in 1847, crossing the plains with ox teams, and locating on a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres, where he died at the age of seventy-eight years. He was quite a politician, and a stanch Republican, filling the office of justice of the peace for the greater part of his life. Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bonney, four sons and five daughters being alive at the present time. Of these, Augus- tus A. is living in Hood River, eastern Oregon; George F. is a farmer, three miles east of Wood- burn; Sarah Ellen is the wife of B. F. Hall, of Salem, Ore .; Carrie M. is now Mrs. Young, of Woodburn ; Charles T. lives in Woodburn ; John Milton Wisewell also lives there; Esther P. is the wife of Elmer Hall, of Buena Vista; Laura is the wife of Allen Shaw, of Woodburn; and Ina D., the youngest daughter, also lives in Wood- burn. After living together forty-nine years the wife and mother died April 2, 1897. The second marriage of Mr, Bonney was solemnized in

Woodburn December 4, 1898, with Mrs. Agnes Fisher, who was born in Cable county, W. Va., and whose father, Capt. James Flanagan Fisher, was born in Clarksburg, W. Va. Captain Fisher was eight years captain on the Ohio river boats between Pittsburg and New Orleans, and he was afterward pilot for the same length of time. Be- cause of contagious disease he was taken to the pest house in Louisville, where, in a fit of de- lirium, occasioned by high fever, he jumped out of the window and killed himself. Mrs. Fisher had five children by her former husband, of whom all are living. In spite of advancing age Mr. Bonney retains to a remarkable degree his interest in the things around him, and his facul- ties are not perceptibly impaired. His life has been cast in honorable and industrious mold, and his efforts have redounded to the credit of his adopted state. Mr. Bonney has thirty-nine grand- children and five great-grandchildren.

JOHN W. BLAND. When five years of age John W. Bland became a resident of Oregon, being brought here at that age by his parents, Moses and Martha (Needham) Bland, who were pioneers in 1851. For a more complete record of their lives refer to the sketch of George H. Bland, which appears upon another page of this work. John W. Bland was born May 4, 1846, in Bartholomew county, Ind., but was reared upon his father's donation claim in Linn county, Orc., remaining upon this farm near Lebanon until he had attained manhood, learning many practical lessons in agriculture under the direc- tion of his father. He also learned the carpen- ter trade, and early began to work at this, which he continued at intervals for many years. He finally located upon the farm where he now lives, near Lebanon, upon the Sodaville road, the dwelling being about three-quarters of a mile from the city. There are one hundred and ninety acres in the place, upon which he is engaged in carrying on general farming, stock-raising and dairying, in all of which he has been successful.

September 28, 1865, before he was twenty years old, Mr. Bland was united in marriage with Elizabeth J. Powell, and the children born to them are as follows: Lillie, deceased, who mar- ried first Dexter Harris and afterward Charles Blodgett; Mareda P., who married Miss Laura Cornett, and who lives in Linn county; Wesley, also a resident of Linn county ; Saloma, the wife of Homer Osbourne, of Linn county; Carrie the wife of William Calkins; Lucy, who died in Linn county ; Charles and Mae, at home. In his political relations Mr. Bland affiliates with the Republican party, and, like his father, is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Fraternally, he is a member of Lebanon Lodge,

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No. 47, I. O. O. F., having belonged to this order for twenty-four years. Mr. Bland has always been interested in all public movements, and especially along educational lines, in the in- terest of the latter acting as a member of the school board and trustee of the Santiam Acad- emy, which position he held for several years.

THOMAS JEFFERSON MUNKERS. A worthy representative of a family of Oregon pioneers is found in Thomas Jefferson Munkers, a native son of the great northwest, in which he has proven himself so important a factor, through the display of business sagacity and quick de- cision taking a position of prominence in the affairs of Scio, Linn county. He, with others, established in 1892, a banking business in this city, and as the holder of considerable stock he became the president of the institution, and re- mained so for three years. In 1895 he sold his interest in the business, but in 1902 he bought it back, then converting the bank into a private in- stitution, which is now known as the bank of T. J. Munkers & Co., with individual resources to the amount of $50,000.

The records of the ancestry of the Munkers family have been preserved for many years, the grandfather, Benjamin, having been born in Georgia, September 17, 1799, and was reared in the state of Tennessee, where he became a farmer. In 1814 he removed to Jackson county, Mo., and from that state he crossed the plains with ox-teams in 1846, via the Platt river. Five months from the beginning witnessed the end of the journey and Mr. Munkers then took up a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres, upon which he remained until 1871, when he came to his son's home, near Scio, where his death occurred at the age of eighty-five years. He was an old school Baptist, and politically was a Democrat. As a man who had met with suc- cess throughout the course of a long life Mr. Munkers was firmly fixed in his ideas and convic- tions, believing in no half-way measures in one's plans or beliefs. His son, Preston, the father of our Mr. Munkers, was born in Jackson county, Mo., November 28, 1820, and came with his father to Oregon and located on a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres adjoining Scio on the north, and lived there until his death, at the age of sixty-nine years and eleven months. Inheriting a progressive spirit he became the owner of eight hundred acres of land, having met with the same success which had characterized the efforts of his father. With a religious and thoughtful temperament, heightened by a physical frame where weakness had early set its seal, Mr. Munkers combined an earnest and helpful

spirit which was manifested in many acts of pub- lic kindness, and the fulfillment of the duties of a citizen. His death was a loss to the com- munity. He married Nancy Jane Crank, a na- tive of Missouri, having been born there July 18, 1830, and dying here April 25, 1858, when only twenty-eight years old. She was the mother of three sons and two daughters, of whom Mary Susan was born April 15, 1847, and died April 21, 1866; Amanda Melvina was born December 16, 1849, and died August 18, 1866; John Riley was born April 28, 1851, and died May 7, of the same year; William Madison was born March 24, 1853, and died December 9, 1871, in Cali- fornia; the youngest of the children being Thomas Jefferson, of this review.

Thomas Jefferson Munkers was born on his father's claim, one-half mile north of Scio, Linn county, Ore., July 24, 1855, and was there reared to manhood. He attended the common school in the vicinity of his home, but the means for acquir- ing knowledge in those early times being neces- sarily limited, he has since acquired his wide fund of information through intelligent contact with the world, and through the medium of well directed lines of reading. When seventeen years of age he engaged in farming upon twenty-five acres of land, which he rented. On account of ill health he went to western Oregon in 1873, and passed much of the time in hunting until his return home in the following year. At that period he took charge of his father's farm, and has since conducted it, now owning eight hun- dred and five acres, devoted entirely to stock- raising, cattle and sheep forming the greater part of the stock. In addition to his banking interests he is manager of this large and produc- tive farm.

In Washington county, Ore., Mr. Munkers was married to Miss Louise O. McNamer, who was horn near Forest Grove, Washington county. She is now the mother of four daughters, namely . Sylvia J .; Winnifred A .; Inez C .; and Opal L., all of whom are at home. As a Democrat, inter- ested in the progress of his city and community, Mr. Munkers has often been called upon to serve in various public offices, among these being that of mayor, which he has ably filled for three years. He is a member of the county central committee, and almost every year acts as dele- gate to the county convention. He was at one time nominated for county commissioner, but on account of his many absorhing duties he re- fused to accept. For two terms he served as road supervisor, and as school director for more than ten years. In 1900 Mr. Munkers donated the land which is now occupied by the flax mill of this city. Fraternally Mr. Munkers has passed all the chairs of the Blue Lodge of Masons, and has also passed all the chairs of the Knights of

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Pythias. In religion he follows in the steps of his ancestors, being a member of the Missionary Baptist Church, in which he offieiates as trustee.

JUSTUS E. HAMMOND. The substantial and well-to-do citizens of Silverton are well rep- resented by Mr. Hammond, who holds an as- sured position in business, social and political circles, and at the present time is faithfully serving as recorder of the city of Silverton. He is a man of excellent ability and sound judgment, and the architeet of his own fortunes in the high- est sense implied by the term, gaining success in life by his own exertions.

In old colonial days two brothers surnamed Hammond migrated from their Massachusetts home to the British provinces, locating in Nova Scotia, one of them being the great-grandfather of Justus E. Hammond, on the paternal side. In Nova Scotia, in the town of Cornwallis, lived three brothers, Judah, Simon and Lothrop Hammond, the latter being Mr. Hammond's grandfather, who was born in the year 1765. He was a man of deep religious convictions, a min- ister of the Baptist denomination, and died in 1849, in the town of Andover, New Brunswick, preaching to his little flock from the pulpit of his church in the morning and dying in the afternoon of that day. George Franklin Ham- mond, father of Justus E., was born at Kings- clear, New Brunswick, June 2, 1821. In early life he settled in Andover, New Brunswick, where he was engaged in farming and black- smithing until his death, in 1879, at a compara- tively early age. He married Joanna Wright, who was born in New Brunswick, a daughter of Deacon Justus Earl Wright, a successful lumber- man and farmer, and a deacon of the Baptist Church. Seven children blessed their union, two sons and five daughters.

Justus E. Hammond, the third child of his pa- rents, was born February 16, 1849, in Andover, Victoria county, New Brunswick. He spent his early life on the parental homestead, becoming familiar with the various branches of agriculture and obtaining the rudiments of his education in the district school. At the age of nineteen years he began the battle of life on his own account, going westward to Maine, where he was em- ployed in the lumber camps for awhile. Proceed- ing still farther westward in 1871, he located in Benona, Mich., accepting a position as head sawyer in a lumber mill, of which he was after- ward the manager. Returning to New Bruns- wick in 1876, he visited his friends there for a month, then crossed the continent to Washing- ton, settling near the Sound. Not particularly pleased with the country, however, Mr. Ham- mond came from there to Oregon the following

spring, 1877, and became a resident of Silver- ton, August I, of that year, where he has since remained. During the first few ensuing years he worked at various employments, including dairy ranehing. In 1888 he bought a drug store which he managed with excellent success for twelve years, when, on account of impaired health, he sold out that business, and has since lived retired from active pursuits until accepting the office of city recorder. During his business career he found time to take up the study of law, which he has continued to the present time.

On August 27, 1890, Mr. Hammond mar- ried, in Silverton, Josephine Bodimer, who was born in 1866, in Baden, Germany, but came to this country with her parents when about a year old. She died January 9, 1902, leaving three children, namely: Anna, Josephine and Brock. Mr. Hammond is a member of Silverton Lodge No. 45, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and is an earnest supporter of the principles of the Republican party, although he takes no con- spicuous part in politics. A man of sterling integrity, he enjoys in a high degree the respect and esteem of his fellow-citizens.

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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 173

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