Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 178

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 178

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MATHIAS COOLEY. Social and political position in the United States is not dependent on titles or long lines of family ancestry, but is based on a man's own achievements. The subject of this writing owes his success to his individual efforts, and began the battle of life at the early age of fourteen years. From a humble beginning, he has risen to a place of suc- cess and honor, an esteemed resident of his community. Mr. Cooley is now living a retired life on his farm three miles north of Silverton, Marion county, and has the distinction of being one of the pioneer settlers of that section. His life has been an eventful one and he has followed a variety of vocations, being also largely in- strumental in the upbuilding of his community.

Mr. Cooley was born in Platte county, Mo., August 26, 1837, and is a son of Cornelius and Dolly (White) Cooley, the latter a native of

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Missouri. Cornelius Cooley was a Kentuckian by birth. He settled in Missouri when a young man, and it was there his marriage took place. Four sons were born to him and his wife. When Mathias was but seven years old, the father died, and, as he had requested, the lad was placed in the care of a family named Wilson. In 1845 the Wilsons crossed the plains to the far west and many incidents of the long and perilous journey are still fresh in the mind of Mr. Cooley. Upon leaving Council Bluffs, Iowa, the emigrants' train consisted of one hundred wag- ons, and it required about eight months to make the journey to Oregon. Owing to the scarcity of food, the suffering was intense. For two weeks they lived on dried salmon skins, which they obtained by trading with the Indians, hav- ing barely enough of this poor food to sustain life. They first settled at The Dalles, and Mr. Wilson was so nearly starved that he overtaxed his stomach and died the morning following his arrival at that place. His widow settled on the Tualatin plains near Hillsboro, Washington county, and some time afterward married David Hill, who located in Oregon in 1840. He took up a donation claim where Hillsboro now stands, and gave half of the town site. He died about 1850, and his widow continued to reside upon the same farm until her death, having previously espoused a third husband, whose name was Whelock Simmons.

Mathias Cooley was the recipient of but a meager education, which was obtained in the district schools. When he attained the age of fourteen, he started out to make his own way in the world, working by the month as farm hand until he reached his majority. At the age of twenty-two years, he entered a wagon shop as an apprentice, and completely mastered the double trade of wagonmaker and carpenter. Later he went into business for himself in Wau- conda, and it was there that his marriage took place. Four or five years later the family re- moved to Gervais, and about four years after- ward Mr. Cooley purchased the farm which is still his home. This farm consists of one hun- dred and sixty acres of land, and upon it general farming and stock-raising was carried on until Mr. Cooley's retirement.

December 23, 1868, Mr. Cooley was joined in matrimony with Willimina Smith, daughter of John W. and Matilda (Elliott) Smith. Mrs. Cooley was born in Wayne county, Ohio, crossed the plains with her family in 1854, and settled in Polk county, Ore. Nine children were born of this union; namely, Cornelius J .; M. G .; Mrs. Lillian Urdan, of Portland ; Matilda M., of Port- land : Sampson J., of Portland; Bird Bell; Jen- nie J .; Wallace B .; and Willis. They have a very pleasant and attractive home, which is

beautifully located. The : residence is con- veniently built, the out-buildings substantial, and the surrounding ground well kept.

Mr. Cooley is a loyal and earnest Republican and has done a great deal of active service for his party. All the members of his family are more or less musically inclined and the fame of Cooley's orchestra is known throughout that sec- tion. Mr. Cooley himself was at one time one of the leading violinists in the far west.

WILLIAM WILSON is an enterprising and highly respected citizen of Yamhill county who owns a nice farm on the beautiful Willamette river near Dundee. He also has mining inter- ests, being one of the owners of a gold mine in the Cascade mountains, having a ledge on Wil- son creek. The development and progress of the coast country is a matter which has long been to him of deep interest and he has done every- thing in his power to promote its upbuilding. His residence in Oregon dates from 1876. He was born in Oakland county, Mich., September 29, 1837, and is a son of George and Harriet (Soper) Wilson. The father was born in Lin- colnshire, England, and came to the United States in 1812. Espousing the cause of his adopted country in the second war with Eng- land, he did garrison duty during the period of hostilities, but was never called into active serv- ice. He was then but eighteen years of age. He located in Genesee county, N. Y., where he fol- lowed farming for a long period and then re- moved to Oakland county, Mich., where he en- tered a claim of one hundred and sixty acres. After the war with the Indians in that state he sold a part of his land, but devoted his attention to the cultivation of the remainder, and he died in Oakland county when seventy-five years of age. His wife, who was a native of Greece, Genesee county, N. Y., died in Michigan at the age of seventy years. Unto this worthy couple were born six children, two sons and four daughters, of whom five reached years of ma- turity, William being the second in order of birth.

To the public school system of his native state William Wilson is indebted for the educational privileges which he received and upon the home farm he obtained practical training in agricul- tural work. When twenty years of age he began earning his own living at farm work and at logging, and after the beginning of the Civil war he enlisted for service in the United States army as a member of Company A, Third Wis- consin Cavalry. The company was afterward re- organized as Company K, and Mr. Wilson served in the southwest part of Missouri, Ar- kansas and Texas, under Generals Curtis and

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Blount. He participated in the battles of Little Blue, Lexington, Mo., and Fayetteville, Ark. He then marched back to Missouri, living on only one-fourth rations for a time. He was in the service for over two years and was mustered out at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

Mr. Wilson then returned to his home in Wis- consin and in 1866 he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Steele county, Minn., of which he fenced thirty or forty acres and then sold the property. Removing to Michigan, he remained there until the fall of 1867, when he went to Dallas county, Iowa, and purchased one hundred acres of land for which he paid $3 per acre. After twenty years he sold this for $20 per acre, thus realizing a good return from his investment. In 1873 he purchased one hun- dred and sixty acres for $16 per acre in the same county, but after three years he disposed of this and in 1876 went to California. Subse- quently he took up his abode in Seattle, Wash., where he engaged in logging and then came to Oregon, but after a year spent in this state he returned to California. A few months later, however, he once more came to Oregon and has resided here continuously since. In 1881 he purchased one hundred acres of land for $10 per acre on the banks of the Willamette river. Only a very small part of this had been im- proved at the time, but he now has fifty acres under cultivation. He carries on general farm- ing and he also has eleven acres planted to hops.

In Wisconsin in 1862 occurred the marriage of Mr. Wilson and Miss Viola Kennedy, who was born in Hillsdale county, Mich., a daughter of J. B. Kennedy, who was a native of New York and a farmer by occupation. He removed with his parents to Michigan, afterward became a resident of Wisconsin, thence sought a home in the northwest and after residing in Oregon for a time he went to San Diego, Cal., where he died at the age of sixty-nine years. During the greater part of his business career he had carried on agricultural pursuits but in his last years he lived retired. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Emily Belden, was born in Mas- sachusetts, February 28, 1829, and they were married in Michigan. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Wil- son have been born five children, three sons and two daughters: Joseph, who is engaged in farming in Greer county, Okla .; William and Warren, who are engaged in the railway busi- ness in eastern Oregon; and Emily and Zetta, at home.

Mr. Wilson was converted by the Salvation Army, with which he is now connected, and in his political affiliations he is a Republican. He owns a nice residence on the banks of the river

a mile and a quarter southeast of Dundee and his farm is a valuable property, forming one of the attractive features of the landscape.

JOHN MOSER. Among the large landhold- ers and extensive stock raisers and dealers who are represented in this volume, mention may well be made of John Moser, whose finely-improved and well-kept homestead about five miles east of Silverton bears strong evidence of the thrift and enterprise which first established it, and by which it has since been carried on. In common with those of his day and generation, he suffered the hardships of frontier life, but by the aid of strong hands, a courageous heart, and a never-failing energy, he has been able to cope successfully with all difficulties that have beset him, and in the past years of faithful toil has accumulated a comfortable competency.

Born August 20, 1827, in Owen county, Ind., John Moser is a son of Joseph Moser, one of the early settlers of Marion county. Joseph Moser, a native of North Carolina, accompanied his par- ents to Ohio when he was a small child, and later lived in Indiana for several years. In 1844 he removed with his wife and children to Mis- souri, where he remained about eight years. In 1852 he joined a party westward bound, and for six months journeyed by ox-team before he reached Marion county, the objective point of his destination. Taking up a claim about six miles from Silverton, between Butte creek and the Abiqua, he was engaged in general farming there and in that vicinity until his death, at the age of about three score and ten years. He mar- ried, while living in Indiana, Isabelle Dunnigan, who was born in Kentucky, and died in Marion county, Ore., at the age of seventy-eight years. Ten children blessed their union, namely: Lu- cinda, deceased; John; Mary, widow of John Hartman, living near Silverton; Tobias, de- ceased; Solomon, residing in eastern Oregon; Joseph, a resident of Washington; Elizabeth, widow of John Whitlock, of Silverton; Harriet, wife of John Stanton, of Clackamas county; Alonzo, of Oregon City; and William, of the Waldo Hills.

After completing his studies in the district schools of Indiana, John Moser removed with his parents to Missouri, where he subsequently learned the wagonmaker's trade, which he fol- lowed for a few years. In 1852 he crossed the plains with an ox-team, coming to Oregon with the train that his parents accompanied, and settled in the Waldo Hills, on a half section of land, about two and one-half miles south of Sil- verton. Two years later he removed with his family to Lane county, where he resided two years. In 1855 he worked a few months at min-

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ing and farming in Jackson county, Ore. In 1856 Mr. Moser purchased the farm where he now lives, and where he has since resided. It contained at that time six hundred and forty acres of land, which was in its original wildness. Nothing daunted, however, he began the hercu- lean task of clearing it, and by wise forethought and intense application redeemed a good home- stead property, which he has improved by the erection of substantial buildings, and equipped with the necessary machinery for its cultivation. In carrying on his work he pays attention to general farming and stock-raising, making a specialty in the latter branch of his industry of Norman horses and Hereford cattle. One of his sons owns a portion of the original estate, but he still has in his own possession five hundred and sixty acres of it.

February 18, 1847, Mr. Moser married Sarah A. Petree, who was born March 29, 1830, in Franklin county, Ind., and died January 8, 1900, on the homestead. Of the children that blessed their union the following is the record: Joseph H., a resident of Silverton; Isaiah, a resident of Washington county ; 'Margaret E., wife of Isaac Hinkle; Minerva, wife of William Pendell, of Washington ; Dr. John F., deceased; Mary, wife of Zack Davenport, living on the home farm; Sarah, Icebella, both deceased; Falista, wife of Henry Grazer ; Lemuel, living in California ; Isa- belle, wife of Hiram Hartley; and Stoneman, residing on a portion of the homestead. Mr. Moser is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in his political affiliations is a Demo- crat.

HENRY McGUIRE. Far from peaceful or uneventful has been the career of Henry Mc- Guire, one of the large land owners and success- ful farmers of Yamhill county, and one of the bravest and most experienced Indian fighters which this country has produced. His fighting capacity is not surprising when it is known that remote McGuire ancestors prided themselves upon their prowess on the field of battle, and in all their relations to life were fashioned rather on the martial order. . At any rate, they stood out fearlessly in any emergency however great and were also men of large business ability and unswerving integrity. Most authentic records trace the family history to McGuire Island, Fermanagh, Ireland, whence some bearing the name found their way to France. James and Hurley, however, remained in Ireland and be- came the greatest grain merchants of that pic- turesque old town of Limerick.

A native of Roscommon town and county, Ire- land, Henry McGuire was born October 4 .. 1846, his father, William, being a native of the same county. William McGuire was a large stock-

buyer and seller in his early days, but afterward lived in Limerick, where he bought and sold enormous quantities of grain, and was both an exporter and importer. He was an uneducated man, but possessed remarkable financial ability, and died in Belfast in 1900, leaving a comforta. ble competency to his family. His father, Hur- ley McGuire, was also born in Roscommon, and by occupation was a farmer and trader, in time becoming one of the wealthiest men in his sec- tion. In 1798 he fought against the English, and although the balance of the family found a refuge in France, he and his brother James re- mained behind, much to the surprise of their friends, who were unaware of the fact until some years later. William McGuire married Mary Green, born in County Galway, and whose father, James, a merchant tailor, died in Ros- common. Mrs. McGuire was the mother of three sons and three daughters: George, de- ceased, was a judge in Wayne county, Mich .; Mary Ann is living in Michigan; Agnes died in Belfast, Ireland; James is a resident of Port- land; Annie is in Belfast, Ireland; and Henry, subject of this sketch.

A spirit of rebellion characterized the earlv youth of Mr. McGuire, which was perhaps typi- cal of his future career. At the age of fourteen he unceremoniously took leave of his family and went to Liverpool, where his surplus energy was expended in teaching boxing, and in giving box- ing exhibitions. This kind of life was destined for interruption, for his family saw to it that he returned to his home and applied himself to at- tendance at the common school. In 1862 he en- gaged as a clerk on the Midland & Great West- ern Railway in the construction department, and was later a clerk in the mail department of Ros- common. At the time of the Fenian raid in 1865 he came to the United States, and from New York City went to Lowell, Mass., and then back to New York City. Here he enlisted in the United States army, and as a member of Com- pany D was sent to a military training school. Having successfully stood the examination he was offered a commission, but refused, and was then ordered with a band of recruits under Gen- eral Lord to Angel Island, Marin county, Cal. As a member of Company G, Thirty-Second United States Infantry, he went to Arizona, there meeting with an accident while attempting to regain an escaping prisoner, in which he was thrown down a cliff. In Arizona he volunteered to carry the mail from Goodman to Apache Pass, a distance of one hundred and twenty-five miles, the entire trip going and coming taking usually a week. Mr. McGuire gained a great reputation in Arizona for nerve and fearlessness, and his name was known throughout the entire

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territory. His regiment was finally consoli- dated with Company G of the Twenty-First regiment, but soon after Mr. McGuire was dis- charged therefrom, owing to a case of sunstroke while on a forced march. Although one of the most capable and fearless men in his company, he steadily refused promotion, preferring to re- main in the ranks. Following close upon his disabling sunstroke Mr. McGuire located in Portland and found employment at teaming in the brickyards of that city. Nevertheless, he still continued to have an interest in matters military, and in 1872 distinguished himself by drawing the medal offered by the governor of the state for the best-drilled man in Oregon. In 1873 he volunteered to fight the Modock In- dians, but the services of the company were not accepted owing to the governor's refusal to allow them to leave the state.

In 1874 Mr. McGuire married in Portland, Mrs. Rosana (Jones) Twohill, a native of In- diana, and whose father, William Jones, was born in Kentucky, and moved from there to In- diana, finally crossing the plains to Oregon in 1847. Mr. Jones settled on the William and Nancy (Jones) donation claim in Yamhill county, where himself and wife farmed six hun- dred and forty acres, and where they died at an advanced age. After his marriage Mr. McGuire settled on his wife's farm, and he subsequently bought out two of the Jones heirs, adding still more to his land until at present he owns ninety. one acres one and a half miles northwest of Newberg. This was long before the town of Newberg was founded and the McGuires have been interested spectators of its rise. Of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. McGuire ,William is a perfect specimen of physical development, and is unusually strong; then there are Henry, James, George, Robert, and Josephine. The children are all living at home, and all are re- ceiving the best education which it is possible for their parents to give them. Mr. McGuire is a Democrat in politics, and in religion is a mem- ber of the Protestant Episcopal Church.

GEORGE W. KLUM. For more than half à century George W. Klum occupied a section of land in Linn county, and during that time ef- fected a great and creditable change in property exceedingly wild and unpromising when he first took possession. Like all of the very early set- tlers he had obstacles to overcome ere encour- agement or profit were in sight, and the tim- bered condition of the land necessitated years of arduous and exhausting toil. He belongs to that noble band of men who thought no labor too severe or trying to accomplish their purpose

in a home-seeking time, and was one of those who took the initiative, making their start across the plains before the journey had become either usual or safe. For several years of his life he lived at Rushville, Rush county, Ind., where he was born May 8, 1825, his parents afterward removing to Illinois and from there to Louisa county, Iowa, where they lived on a farm until crossing the plains with their two sons and two daughters.

In the meantime, in the spring of 1847, George W. Klum had been united in marriage with Jane Nye, a native of Louisa county, Iowa, and soon after joined with the family in their emigration to the west, taking six months to accomplish the journey. Nothing out of the ordinary happened to this little band of cour- ageous people, and they reached their destina- tion in this county in fairly good health and spirits. In the fall of 1847 Mr. Klum paved the way for future success by locating on a sec- tion of wild land, to the improvement of which he at once applied himself with all of the en- thusiasm and hope of his twenty-four years. His first home was in a little hewed log house of one room, but this his brave wife converted into one of comfort, making the best of her limited facilities for housekeeping. Game was abundant in those days, and the gun of Mr. Klum brought down many a deer and other game that fre- quented the timber. As the ground yielded of its richness, and a market appeared for the products of the settlers, advantages came to the little family, and a larger house supplanted the log one of long ago. Children were added to the cares of the mother, five sons and six daugh- ters, and all were taught the value of industry and the benefit of upright, honorable lives. Surely, in 1902, Mr. Klum had earned the right to lessen his labors somewhat, and to leave to younger and stronger shoulders the work of har- vesting and improving. At this time he moved into Sodaville, where he has since lived in a comfortable and hospitable little home, and is identified with the larger life of the community. He is widely known as an upholder of the prin- ciples of Masonry, of which noble organization he has been a member for more than fifty-five years. He was the first active sheriff of Linn county, serving as a deputy under Jason Wheeler, who was incapacitated from labor by reason of ill health. He had practically nothing when he came to Oregon in 1847, but at present he is one of the substantial men of a thrifty community.

CHARLES K. SPAULDING is one of the most prominent representatives of extensive tim- ber interests in the Willamette valley or the state

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of Oregon and belongs to that class of business men who, while promoting individual prosperity, also contribute largely to the upbuilding and im- provement of the localities with which they are connected. Mr. Spaulding is a native of Leaven- worth, Kans., born January 28, 1865. His father, Erastus Spaulding, was born in Milford, N. H., August 14, 1832, and received rather limited educational privileges. He pursued his studies in the common schools until sixteen years of age, when he began work as a farm hand. In his youth he also learned the blacksmith's trade, which he followed for seven years in Westboro, Mass. - In 1858 he sought a home in the west that he might enjoy the better business oppor- tunities of new sections of the country, taking up his abode in Leavenworth, Kans. He was a stanch Abolitionist and as this was the period which immediately preceded the Civil war, when public feeling ran very high in Kansas, he gave the weight of his influence to the Abolition move- ment and fearlessly defended his honest convic- tions. He followed blacksmithing and also worked at the mason's trade and engaged in teaming, but during the last six years of his busi- ness career he conducted a saw-mill and met with a merited degree of success in the enter- prise. Cutting a large amount of lumber, he sold this to the government at Ft. Leavenworth during war times. He never enlisted regularly in the army, but was twice drafted and on each occasion sent a substitute. He resided in the Sunflower state during the time of the raids made by Quantrell and his lawless band of bush- whackers, and relates many interesting incidents of occurrences of those times. In 1872 he de- termined to seek his home on the Pacific coast and made his way to San Francisco, Cal., where he joined his brother in the conduct of the Ex- celsior manufacturing plant. He afterward built the second fruit-dryer in the state and was en- gaged in business in that line in Sonoma. In connection with a partner, William Plumber, he invented what was afterward known as the Plumber dryer, and began the manufacture of that device, but because of the great failure in the fruit crop of California they removed from the Golden state to Oregon in the year 1874, locating in Portland, where they established their plant for the manufacture of fruit dryers, and the output found a ready sale upon the market. Three years passed in this way, and then Mr. Spaulding disposed of his interest in the busi- ness and purchased a farm near Pleasantdale, in Yamhill county, Ore. This comprised one hun- dred and thirty acres of well improved land, and on disposing of his manufacturing interests he took up his abode upon his farm, which he con- tinued to cultivate and improve until 1896. In that year he came to Newberg, where he has

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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 178

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