Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 186

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 186

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FRANCIS L. HOLMES. One of the pro- ductive farms for which Benton county is famous is owned and operated by Francis L. Holmes, who came to Oregon in 1886, and who since that time has been deeply interested in the state's wel- fare and has aided in no small measure in her upbuilding. In addition to carrying on general farming and stock-raising on his tract of three hundred and eighty acres, he also owns three hundred and twenty acres of land which is heav- ily timbered.

It was in Sullivan county, N. Y., near Monti- cello, that Francis L. Holmes first saw the light of day, the day of his birth being April 17, 1840. Such advantages as the locality afforded for an education were not allowed to pass him by, and he diligently improved every opportunity, so that about 1866 he felt qualified to teach school. His first experience in this capacity was in Can- ada, where he remained two years, after which he returned to his former home in New York state, where he also followed the teacher's profes- sion until 1868, when he again went to Canada, this time, however, with a different object in view. Purchasing a tract of timber land, he at once began clearing and improving it, and dur- ing the eighteen years in which he made his home there be transformed the wild, unimproved tract into a habitable farmı.

The marriage of Mr. Holmes in 1870 united him with Miss Margaret Switzer, and five chil- dren have been born to their marriage, whom they have named as follows: Albert E., Bennett, Frederick W., Jessie F., and Ida A., deceased. Mr. Holmes' qualifications to serve on the school board have not been overlooked, and in calling him to the office of director the citizens have made no mistake, as his many years of good work in that capacity will testify. He has also

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been overseer of roads for several years, and is a member of the Grange. Politically he does not support either of the great organizations merely for the party's sake, voting rather for the man than the party. The family are identified with the Presbyterian Church, toward the maintenance of which they assist materially.

JOHNSON M. PORTER, who is manager of the electric light plant of Corvallis, was born in Lane county, Ore., October 24, 1859, a son of John A. Porter, a native of Springfield, Ohio. The grandfather, Ebenezer Porter, was a painter by trade and not only followed that pursuit in Springfield but also conducted a hotel there, and his death occurred in that city. He married a Miss Poe, whose father was one of the heroes of the Revolutionary war. John A. Porter also learned the painter's trade, which he followed for some years in the east, and then, in 1849, attract- ed by the discovery of gold on the Pacific coast, he joined an emigrant train which crossed the plains in search of the valuable metal. He did not remain long, however, in California, but came the same year to Oregon and was engaged in general merchandising in Forest Grove. Later he took up his abode in Lane county and engaged in the manufacture of lumber at Lancaster. About 1863 he removed to Corvallis, where he followed the painting business throughout the remainder of his active business career. His death occurred here in 1870, and the community mourned the loss of a valued citizen. Mr. Porter had served in the Cayuse Indian war under Colonel Cor- nelius. He had a brother, Robert, who was also one of the pioneer settlers of Oregon, coming here at the same time, and Robert Porter spent his last days in Washington county, this state. The mother of Mr. Porter bore the maiden name of Missouri Mulkey. She was born in Johnson county of the state whose name she bore, and was a daughter of Johnson Mulkey, a native of Kentucky, who removed thence to Missouri. In 1845 he crossed the plains to Oregon and ob- tained a donation claim in Benton county. The following year he retraced his steps to the Mis- souri valley, and in 1847 brought his family on the long overland trip to the northwest. By rea- son of his knowledge of the road he was made commander of a party which was known as the Mulkey train. He then located with his family on the donation claim, where he engaged in stock-raising, and at one time engaged in the raising of cattle in eastern Oregon. In fact, he was one of the most prominent stockmen and farmers of the Willamette valley, and his landed possessions comprised several thousand acres in Benton county, extending over a distance of sev- eral miles. He drove cattle to Lewiston, Ore.,

and on one of these trips, made in 1862, was so badly frozen that his death resulted. He passed away at The Dalles, and was there buried. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Porter were two chil- dren, J. M. and Otis, the latter a resident of Den- ver, Colo.

Johnson M. Porter was reared in Corvallis and obtained his education in the public schools and the old Agricultural College. In 1881 he went to Pomeroy, Waslı., where he was engaged in the hardware and implement business as a mem- ber of the firm of Mulkey Brothers & Porter. He was there successfully connected with the trade until 1885, when he disposed of his interests and returned to Corvallis. Here in 1889, in connec- tion with L. L. Hurd, he established the electric light plant, obtaining a charter and then building the works, which have since been rebuilt and im- proved. In February, 1890, the business was in- corporated under the name of the Corvallis Elec- tric Light & Power Company, and Mr. Porter has since been its manager.

In Albany, this state, on July 8, 1885, Mr. Por- ter was united in marriage to Miss Flora Rum- baugh, who was born in Van Wert county, Ohio. Her father, William Rumbaugh, was a native of Pennsylvania, whence he removed to VanWert county, and in 1873 he came to Oregon, settling in Albany, where he became a large land owner. He was also county commissioner for several terms, and was a prominent and influential resi- dent of his community. He married Elizabeth Stratton, who was born in Ohio and was de- scended from an old New England family. His death occurred in Albany in 1896, and his wife passed away in 1898. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in their family were six children, three sons and three daughters, all of whom reached years of maturity and are living in Oregon. Mrs. Porter was the third of the family and was educated in Albany College. By her marriage she has become the mother of one son, Fred J. Mr. Porter served as police judge of Corvallis for seven years, and socially he is identified with the Woodmen of the World and the Knights of Pythias lodge, and in the latter is a past chancellor. His entire life having been passed in Oregon, he is widely known and many of those who have been ac- quainted with him from his boyhood are num- bered among his stanchest friends.

JOHN B. CORNETT. In perusing a record of the career of John B. Cornett we find an excel- lent example for young men just embarking in the active field of life, of what may be accom- plished by a poor man, but one who is honest, prudent and industrious. His advantages in early life were limited indeed, and as he was one of ten

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children which comprised the family, his services were essential in the conduct of the home farm. His birth occurred in Howard county, Mo., August 12, 1832, and until seventeen years of age he remained at home with his parents, who were farmers in the latter state. The reports of gold found in California had invaded the quiet precincts of this Missouri farm and in 1850 we find John B., the youngest son, bound for that Eldorado in the west. His journey across the plains was devoid of any serious trouble with the Indians, and in due season he reached Cali- fornia. His first field of endeavor was in Eldo- rado county, where for the succeeding fourteen years he followed mining and prospecting.

It was in the year 1865 that Mr. Cornett first set foot on Oregon soil, coming direct to Linn county, where he purchased a tract of two hun- dred and thirty acres of rich land one and one- half miles east of Shedds, which had formerly formed a part of the Savage donation claim. In 1871 he formed domestic ties and was united in marriage with Miss Sarah J. Savage, who had crossed the plains in the year 1851. One son, John B., was born to this couple, who is a stock- man in Crook county, Ore., is married and has two children living, Marcia Allen and John Anthony.

All the improvements which are to be seen today upon Mr. Cornett's farm are the work of his own hands, as when he assumed control of the property it was in its primeval condition. Now the place is embellished with a well appointed residence, and outbuildings adapted for various uses have been erected. One hundred acres have been cleared and are under cultivation, and in carrying on general farming and stock-raising Mr. Cornett is meeting with good success. Mr. and Mrs. Cornett are members of the Baptist Church, and politically Mr. Cornett is a Pro- hibitionist.

JAMES L. HOWARD. At present living retired in a delightful home on the outskirts of Albany, that his children may have better edu- cational advantages than were forthcoming on his farm in Yamhill county, James L. Howard is substantially anchored in the good will and esteem of an appreciative community, which regards him as representative of the self-made and successful agriculturists of the state. In fashioning his career Mr. Howard has surely derived inspiration from an enviable ancestry, many of whom in the early days of the history of the country held positions of honor and trust for the government. His father was a soldier under General Jackson in the war of 1812, and he, as well as his forefathers, was a farmer by occupa- tion, priding himself upon his spirit of prog-

ress and ability to succeed in the world. For many years he lived on a farm in Tennessee, where James L. was born May 12, 1838, and when the latter was a mere child he was taken by his parents to Iowa, then very much of a wilderness, and reared to maturity with the nine other children in the family. Besides James, two other of the children are living, and of these, Charles is a resident of Washington, and Virginia is the wife of Mr. Birks, of McMinn- ville, Ore.

For several years after his marriage with Rachel L. Gillespie, James L. Howard lived on the paternal ranch, assuming the management of the same for his parents. Wishing to profit by the superior agricultural opportunities of the northwest, he arranged his affairs accordingly, and in the spring of 1864 crossed the plains with ox-teams, on the way encountering comparatively little trouble with the Indians. The party was on the road about five months, taking up their abode on a farm near McMinnville, where they lived for three years, and in 1867 moving to California, where he engaged in general farming and stock- raising for twelve years. About this time he became somewhat dissatisfied with the west, and, returning to Iowa, remained there three or four years. Like the majority who have once lived on the coast, he longed to return, but instead of California. he settled in Oregon, purchasing the farm in Yamhill county upon which he lived until moving to his present home in 1902. He still owns the Yamhill county farm, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is one of the finest pieces of property in the county. Its soil has responded generously to the untiring industry of its owner, and many fine improvements have marked his progress from year to year. The two hundred and seventy-two acres were devoted principally to stock-raising and many fine speci- mens of horses, cattle and sheep found their way from his farm to the stock markets of the county.

The home of Mr. Howard near Albany consists of ten acres, under fine cultivation, and devoted to fruit-raising. The grounds, resplendent in shrubs and flowers and beautiful trees, and the fine, large rural dwelling, constitute one of the truly delightful and homelike places in this county. The greater part of Mr. Howard's life in the state has been passed in Yamhill county, and it was there that his political services were noticeable, where he held about all of the minor offices within the gift of his fellow-towns- men. Always a stanch Democrat, he is neverthe- less liberal in his tendencies, and believes in voting for principle rather than party. He is a member and active worker in the Methodist Epis- copal Church, his wife and children being mem- bers of the same organization. Some of his chil- dren are far away from home, Frank, the oldest

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son, being in the Palouse country; C. N. is in California ; J. A. is in Albany ; R. P. is in Yam- hill county; Edward also is in Yamhill county ; Willie is deceased; and Ernest and Ella are at home.

ADAM WILHELM, SR. Were one asking for the name of a man who more than any other represents the vital and substantial element of Monroe, the answer would unanimously be Adam Wilhelm, as enterprising and resourceful a Teu- ton as ever came from the Rhine country. True, he was but two years of age when his parents brought him to America in 1848, his birth occur- ring December 10, 1846, but through all of the trials of pioneership, the effort to surmount busi- ness and other obstacles, the traits of character which have contributed to the solidity of the Ger- man empire have remained with him, and in transplanted soil have met with the success due unquestioned merit and adaptive ability.

Leaving the sailing vessel in New York the Wilhelm family proceeded to Wisconsin, and there lived on a farm, in connection with the man- agement of which the father ran a hotel for sev- eral years. Their son, Adam, the only one living of their two children, having started for the west in 1873 and sent back favorable reports of his adopted state, they joined him in 1880, settling at Monroe, Ore., where the father lived to be seventy-seven and the mother seventy-four years of age. Adam was reared on the Wisconsin farm, and married Elizabeth Miller, who was born in France, and with her engaged in inde- pendent farming for three years. Arriving in Portland in 1873 they remained there for a couple of months, afterwards visiting Corvallis, and January 1, 1874, came to Monroe and engaged in the saloon business, at the same time conduct- ing a general merchandise store. This was about the beginning of the practical industry of the town, and his enterprises paid fairly well and put him on a creditable business footing in the com- munity. In 1896 he became interested in mill- ing, erected a mill here, and later put up one at Junction City and Harrisburg, the latter one of the finest in the state of Oregon. In time his mill- ing interests assumed very large proportions, and he built warchouses in each town to house his commodities. As his sons have accomplished their majority he has taken them in business, and the firm of Wilhelm & Sons, general merchants and millers, have an enviable reputation for large business capacity and diversified usefulness. Br far the largest merchants in Benton county, their store requires six large rooms, and they are contemplating the immediate erection of a build- ing sufficiently large to contain all their goods under one roof.

The headquarters of the mnilling business of Wilhelm & Sons is located at Monroe, and they handle about all of the grain raised in Benton county. The firm own about four thousand acres of land, and are extensive raisers of high-grade stock, this department of their activity being con- ducted with the same thoroughness which charac- terizes their grain and mercantile ventures. There seems to be no limit to their capacity for man- aging successfully important money-making concerns in the west, and their aim seems to be continual enlargement of whatever they have already undertaken. With the exception of nine dwellings in Monroe, Mr. Wilhelm owns every house and building in the place, and no under- taking of any magnitude is ever carried to a suc- cessful finish without his earnest co-operation and practical assistance. Alert and watchful, he has stepped fearlessly and successfully into many waiting niches in the northwest, and has fur- nished a surprising example of what may be ac- complished by sheer force of determination, and without any practical help. It is well known that Mr. Wilhelm started out in life with meager assets, none of which were convertible into ready cash, and that his present large holdings are evolved from a continuous and unremitting at- tention to business. Of the nine children born to himself and wife, Adam, Matt and Burnett arc in business with their father, and all give promise of attaining to their sire's business sagacity and resourcefulness. George is living at home, Law- rence is in Lebanon, Ore., and Mary is also at home. Mr. Wilhelm is a Democrat in politics, and has been postmaster for many years, hold- ing also all of the other local offices within the gift of his fellow townsmen. With his family he is a member of the Roman Catholic Church. He is a man of rugged integrity, kindly and sympa- thetic manner, and throughout his busy career he has been able to inspire others with faith in and co-operation with his many interests. The cen- tral and most influential figure in his community he is withal modest and unostentatious, taking his honors with that calm philosophy for which his countrymen are famous, and expecting to always succeed in all his undertakings.

HUGH BURNS GEARIN. Along the east bank of the Willamette river in Marion county is an enormous farming enterprise which well may be the envy of the smaller agriculturists of the Pacific northwest. It is a model estate, one of the largest and most scientifically developed in the entire Willamette valley, and is owned and operated by Hugh B. Gearin, one of the best- known pioneers of Oregon. It contains sixteen hundred acres of land, fourteen hundred of which are in one body. About eight hundred acres are

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under cultivation, the remainder being left for the most part in its primeval state of dense for- est, out of which has come so much of the pros- perity of Oregon. Its location is two miles from Champoeg and three miles from St. Paul, one of the most desirable situations, for commercial pur- poses, in the state-a fact that apparently is ap- preciated by the owner in his disposition of the vast property. The mind that is able to master all the details necessary to the operation of such a tract of farming land with a success propor- tionate to its extent is well worthy of a more careful analysis than naturally is accorded the average farm operator.

Hugh B. Gearin was born near Fort Wayne, Ind., October 9, 1849, a son of John and Ellen (Burns) Gearin. His father, who was the founder of the family in the northwest, was born in County Kerry, Ireland, in 1808. In his youth he learned the trade of shoemaker, at which he was employed for some years in his native land. In Ireland he married and in the early thirties brought his wife to America. Locating near Fort Wayne, Ind., he abandoned Ins trade and engaged in farming. In that state his wife died soon after their location there, and he afterward was married to Ellen Burns, also a native of Ireland, whose death occurred in Oregon in I888.

With an outfit consisting of four yoke of oxen and the necessary outfit, John Gearin and his family started across the plains in 1851, arriving in' Marion county after a journey consuming about six months. In the autumn of that year he purchased of a Frenchman named Guardupuis the title to a claim which is now included in the property owned by his son, paying the compara- tively small sum of five hundred dollars to secure the title. The property consisted of a half-sec- tion, the greater part of which was under heavy timber. Here this earnest pioneer erected a small log house and at once settled down to the labor- ious undertaking of making a comfortable home and fortune for his family. How well his am- bitions were realized may be imagined when it is stated that at the time of his death, in Janu- ary, 1893, he was the owner of one thousand acres of rich land skirting the river. His opera- tions consisted of general farming and stock- raising, and during his long term of residence in Marion county his name was associated with all that was honorable and of good report. He was a member of the Roman Catholic Church, a firm friend of good schools and good roads, and took an important part in all movements toward the general upbuilding of his community. He and his wife were survived by two sons: Hugh B., and John M., who has become one of the acknowledged leaders of the bar of Port- land.

Hugh B. Gearin was educated in the public schools and at the Seminary at Oregon City. He was reared to work upon the farm, and in time mastered all the details of this business under the direction of his father. For many years he operated the farm in partnership with the elder Gearin, succeeding to the ownership and management upon the death of the latter ten years ago. He has increased his possessions during the period of his control of the property, and has taken advantage of every possible mod- ern improvement for facilitating labor, engag- ing in the work scientifically. It evidently has been his ambition-and a most praiseworthy one -to convert his estate into the most attractive and productive in the Willamette valley, and in this effort he is succeeding beyond the most sanguine expectations of his young manhood.

October 27, 1881, Mr. Gearin was united in marriage with Mary C. Murphy, a native of Marion county, and a daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth (Cosgrove) Murphy. The Murphy family were pioneers of the early fifties, and Hugh Cosgrove, Mrs. Gearin's grandfather, set- tled near by in 1847.

Mr. and Mrs. Gearin have become the parents of eight children: Fred M., John A., Irene G., Basil H., Marcella E., Marie L., Cornelius Dewey and Harold J. Fred and John are students in Mount Angel College, and it is the intention of their father to give all the children the best pos- sible educational advantages.

Mr. Gearin is a liberal-minded and progressive farmer, and his splendid property, his fine per- sonal characteristics and his desire to co-oper- ate conscientiously with the best element of the community in the betterment of the conditions and environments which surround him, insure him the continued regard of all with whom he is associated. The traditions and history connected with the life of his father unquestionably have been a source of great inspiration to him in his undertakings, and his children will be fortified in the beginning of their careers not only with a similar inspiring example, but with the added prestige of a literary education which their fore- fathers found it almost impossible to obtain in the earlier days of the commonwealth.

HON. PETER PARKER PALMER. The youth of today, rebelling in the midst of thickly crowding opportunities, but faintly realizes the difference between his own and the obstacles which hedged in the farmer lad in the central states during the middle of the last century. The very act of reaching the west, towards which all youthful and ambitious hearts turned in those days, entailed an amount of self-sacrifice and suf- fering before which the stoutest heart quails at

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the present time. Yet those boys, many of whom are now old men and towers of strength in their respective communities in the west, evinced Spar- tan courage in carrying their plans to completion, and with clear, far-seeing eyes prophesied, and worked, and realized beyond their fondest ex- pectations. Such a one is Hon. Peter Parker Palmer, who arrived in Oregon in 1850 with very limited means, footsore and weary from his painfully long journey across the plains, but who has since drawn liberally upon the resources of his adopted state, and is now spending his declining years in retirement in Eugene.

Mr. Palmer, who is ex-representative, ex-in- spector of customs, ex-farmer, and ex-merchant, spent the first years of his life near Georgetown, Sussex county, Del., where he was born October 5, 1826. His grandfather, John Palmer, of Scotch descent, is known to have been born in Delaware, and his father, Woolsey H. Palmer, also a native of Delaware, fired with ancestral fervor, played his fife in the war of 1812, at the time being twelve years of age. The fifer was the joy of the regiment, and was often carried on the shoulders of those who carried arms and risked their lives in the heat of battle. He was reared on the Delaware farm, and married Edith Goslee, a native daughter of Delaware, who bore him eleven children, of whom Peter is the third in order of birth and the only one to emigrate to the west. Until his twentieth year Peter had about three months schooling each year, and he afterward taught school in his native state for about a year. In 1847 he removed to Illinois and clerked in a store in Alton until 1850. During the spring of that year he started across the plains with a company of fortune seekers, intend- ing to go to California. Instead, after arriving at Soda Springs the plans of the company were changed, and they came to Oregon. The jour- ney was not unpleasant, although beset with dangers on every hand. The Indians, while not molesting them personally, relieved them of con- siderable of their stock, and few in the party had anything with which to start life in the west. Mr. Palmer secured work in a shingle mill, and afterwards learned the carpenter's trade, and had occasion to rejoice that the pay of the carpenters was $12 a day, for he was obliged to pay $14 a week for board, the price of commodities gen- crally heing in proportion.

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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 186

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