Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 198

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 198

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Ten years of age when the trip was made across the plains, John Whitaker was reared on the old donation claim, and educated in the dis- trict schools. After his marriage with Mary E. Zierolf, a native of Ohio, and who came to Ore- gon in 1869, he came to his present farm, ten miles south of Corvallis, and which constitutes a part of the old Whitaker donation claim. Of the seven hundred acres all in one body, three hundred and twenty are under cultivation, and

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he is engaged in general farming and stock-rais- ing, having some of the finest stock in the state of Oregon. In fact, he has the only registered Oxford Down sheep in the state. His Shorthorns are also registered, and are raised in large num- bers. Forty-five acres are under hops, and a large proportion of the land given over to grain- raising. The residence is a modern one, and the barns are such as delight the heart of a thrifty and ambitious landsman. Mr. Whitaker has been clerk of the school board for twenty-four years and during that time has materially advanced the cause of education in Benton county. He is a very popular, very successful, and very genial man, winning praise because of his aptitude and his unquestioned public-spiritedness. To Mr. and Mrs. Whitaker seven children have been born, all of whom are living: Peter; Frank, at home; Casper, of Washington ; Agnes, now Mrs. J. N. McFadden, of Benton county ; Margaret, wife of Roy Rickard, of this county; John O. and Mary Maude, at home. All were born on the home place.

HON. CHARLES S. MOORE. To the en- ergetic nature and strong mentality of such men as Charles S. Moore, state treasurer of Oregon, is due the success and ever-increasing prosperity of the Republican party in this state, and in the hands of this class of citizens there is every as- surance that the best interests and welfare of the party will be conserved, resulting in a successful culmination of the highest ambitions and ex- pectations entertained by its adherents. Given to the prosecution of active measures in political affairs and possessing the earnest purpose of placing their party beyond the pale of possible diminution of power, the Republican leaders in Oregon are ever advancing, carrying every- thing before them in their irresistible onward march. Certainly one of the most potent factors in the success of the Republican movement in Oregon is Hon. Charles S. Moore, who through- out his life has been a loyal citizen, imbued with patriotism and fearless in defense of his honest convictions.

Mr. Moore is a native of Marion county, Ore., born near Mount Angel, January 8, 1857. His father, William S. Moore, was born in Belle- ville, Ill., while the grandparents were natives of Georgia and belong to old southern families. In 1848 William S. Moore made the long over- land journey to Oregon with his mother, two sis- ters and stepfather, S. Welch, the family settling on French Prairie. The father of Charles S. Moore was a millwright by trade and followed that pursuit in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. He was married at Pacific City, Pa- cific county, Wash., in 1854, and afterward lo-

cated near Mount Angel, Marion county, Ore., securing a tract of land upon which he followed farming in addition to working at his trade. He assisted in building mills at many points in Ore- gon, including Portland, Salem, Oregon City, Albany, The Dalles and at Klamath Falls, where for ten years he was engaged in the operation of a sawmill. At the expiration of that period he returned to Portland, where he lived retired until his death, which occurred in June, 1899. He had served as county treasurer of Marion county for two years and for four years was county judge of Klamath county, Ore. He wed- ded Octavia Meldrum, who was born in Illinois, a daughter of John Meldrum and a sister of John W. and Henry Meldrum, of Oregon City. When a maiden of nine summers Mrs. Octavia Moore crossed the plains to Oregon City, this being in the year 1845. It was a very early epoch in the development of the northwest and she has therefore been a witness of the greater part of the growth and progress of this section of the country. She is now living in Portland. By her marriage she became the mother of seven chil- dren; Rufus S., who is a lumber merchant of Klamath Falls; Charles S., of this review ; Mrs. Estella O. Bellinger, of Clarke county, Wash .; Mrs. Frankie M. Hammond, of Kla- math Falls ; Bertha and Etta E., who are living in Portland; and Lulu, who died at the age of seven years.

When Charles S. Moore was about five years of age the family removed to Oregon City and two years later came to Salem, where for ten years he pursued his education in the public schools. He then spent two years in Willamette University, and in 1874 took up his abode at Klamath Agency. During the first year he was in the employ of the government on the Klamath Indian reservation, and afterward became clerk for the post trader at Fort Klamath, serving in that capacity for two years. In connection with his father and George Nurse he built the saw- mill at Klamath Falls in 1877, but after a year he accepted a clerkship in a store at that place, and in 1886 he purchased an interest in the bus- iness under the firm name of Reames, Martin & Co., Mr. Moore becoming manager of the large and ever-increasing business, continuing until elected state treasurer. As the years have passed his business interests have grown to ex- tensive proportions. He has always been inter- ested in lumber manufacturing and in this line of industrial activity is now associated with his brother in the ownership of the plant at Klamath Falls, which is conducted under the firm name and style of C. S. & R. S. Moore. This mill has a capacity of twenty thousand feet of lumber per day and is operated by water power. Mr. Moore is also interested in lands, both grazing

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and timber, and his investments have been judi- ciously made, connecting him with important bus- iness enterprises which yield an excellent finan- cial return. Upon his selection to the office of state treasurer he resigned his position as man- ager of the store at Klamath Falls, disposing of his interest in the business.

Mr. Moore was married in 1884, at Klamath Falls, to Miss Mary Langell, who was born in Jacksonville, Ore., a daughter of Hon. Nathaniel Langell, who came to this state from Ohio about 1850 and took up his abode in Jacksonville. He is now a resident of Medford and has been quite prominent in public affairs, serving in 1872 and again in 1897 as a member of the state legisla- ture. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Moore have been born two sons, Charles L. and John M.

Mr. Moore is a member of the Commercial Club, of Portland, and Illihee Club of Salem, and is also prominent in Masonic circles, having been made a Mason in Klamath Lodge, No. 77, A. F. & A. M., in 1894. He is also a member of Oregon Consistory No. 1, A. & A. S. R., and is likewise connected with Al Kader Temple, N. M. S., and a charter member of the United Workmen of Klamath Falls, of which he is past master. From the time he attained his majority down to the present he has taken an active part in political affairs and has labored earnestly and effectively for the welfare of his party. While in Klamath Falls he served as school director and was a member of and president of the board. of trustees of Klamath Falls. He served as county judge of Klamath county from July, 1894, until July, 1898. He has exerted a marked in- fluence in the councils of his party and for ten years was a member of the Republican state central committee, while for twelve years or more he was chairman of the county central committee. At the state convention held in April, 1896, in Portland, he was a member of the platform committee and with seven others out of thirty-two members of the committee made a minority report to place a gold standard plank in the state platform. As early as 1892 the silver question had become one of prominence in Oregon, and Mr. Moore recognized that it must be met. He gave to the subject earnest thought and consideration and decided that there was but one safe, sound and enlightened system of finance for the country and that was by the adoption of the gold standard. In 1896 he was elected a delegate to the national Republican con- vention in St. Louis and there gave his support to William McKinley. In that convention he was a member of the platform committee. In 1898 he was nominated on the Republican ticket in the convention at Astoria for the office of state treas- urer and was elected by a plurality of ninety-nine hundred and seventy-seven. He took the office

in January, 1899, succeeding Hon. Phil Mets- chan, and in 1902 at the Republican convention he was re-nominated by acclamation, and was re-elected by an increased majority of fifteen thousand nine hundred and twelve, to serve until January, 1907. No higher endorsement of his faithful service during the first term could be given. He is widely recognized as one of the political leaders of the northwest, and his life record forms an integral part of the history of the state.

EDWARD HOLLOWAY. Preceded by twenty-one years of varied experience in differ- ent parts of the northwest, Edward Holloway came to Brownsville in 1902, purchased valuable town and country property, and has since engaged in the real estate and stock business. He owns about eight hundred acres of land in Linn county, all of which is leased out, while he is buying, selling and breeding Clydesdale horses and Span- ish jacks. He is also conducting a model dairy, sending to market the finest of creamery butter. In turning his attention to this line of industry Mr. Holloway is acting upon the inspirations received in his youth, which was fostered dur- ing his boyhood days in Lincolnshire, England, where he was born May 15, 1857. As a child he was familiar with Shorthorn cattle of great weight and noble lineage, with sheep famous for their size and the quality of their wool, and horses whose splendid proportions have made them marketable in all the large cities of the world. As a member of one of the old families of the eastern portion of England, he was trained to model farming, his father, William, being one of the best known farmers and stock men of his neighborhood. The elder Holloway owned a large tract of land, bought, sold and raised fine stock for many years, taking part also in the gen- eral improvement of the country. He was an agitator of good roads, as are the majority of country gentlemen, hence the unrivalled excel- lence of the English country highways. His death occurred in February, 1872, at the age of forty-eight years. His father, John, had been a farmer before him, having been born, reared and married in Lincolnshire. William Holloway married Mary Jane Elizabeth, daughter of Ed- ward Donnington, a large land owner and stock- raiser of Lincolnshire, now deceased. Mrs. Hol- loway, who is still living in England, is the mother of eleven children, six sons and five daughters, Edward being the fourth child.

Upon emigrating to America in 1871, Edward Holloway, then sixteen years of age, joined his hrother on the old Jeff Davis farm in Mississippi, at Davis Mills, which his brother was then man- aging, and where the younger lad gained a fair

Mrs C.E. Pengra.

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idea of American agricultural methods. In 1875 the latter left his brother and went to Texas, and in Red River county bought a general merchandise business, two years later disposing of the same, and engaging in farming in Gon- zales county. In 1877 he went to Rosebud Land- ing, on the Missouri river, with a bunch of cat- tle for the Indians, and the following year made his way to a farm in the La Moyle valley, Nev. From Walla Walla, Wash., which he reached in 1880, he went the following year to eastern Oregon, located on a farm in Umatilla county. and devoted the greater part of four thousand acres to wheat-raising. This proved a very suc- cessful venture, and when he sold out he was a financial gainer by several thousand dollars. In 1896 Mr. Holloway located on a farm near Cur- rinsville, Clackamas county, Ore., and conducted a general merchandise store, and the following year bought a home containing ten acres at Mount Tabor. In 1899 he invested in considerable property in the Sunnyside addition, Portland, disposing of the same in 1902 to come to Browns- ville.

In eastern Oregon Mr. Holloway married Gertrude Elizabeth Sayer, daughter of Robert Sayer, who, at the time of her birth, was engaged in farming in Nebraska. The father was born in Norfolk, England, and at an early day crossed the sea and located in Chicago, Ill., and, after engaging in the real estate business for some time, moved to Nebraska. In 1901 Mr. Hollo- way and his wife visited the former's old home in England, where he became much interested in fine stock. On his return he purchased two thoroughbred Clydesdale stallions and one French Coach stallion. The Clydesdales have both since died, but he is now the owner of a fine English Shire and the only thoroughbred saddle stallion in the state. At present Mr. Sayer is liv- ing on a large farm in eastern Oregon. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hollo- way, of whom Walter Lee is deceased ; Daphna May, Roberta and Georgia are living at home. Bertram Peacock has been adopted by these large-hearted people, and is being given the same educational and other advantages enjoyed by the Holloway children. As a stanch Republican Mr. Holloway has upheld the interests of his party in the west, although he was formerly a Democrat, experiencing a change of heart when the silver question became an issue. Years ago he served as school director and clerk for many terms, and he has also attended many conven- tions, both state and county. He is a man of broad and liberal ideas, and his wanderings in different parts of this northwestern country, his diverse participation in its many industries, has

resulted in his becoming an enthusiastic advocate of its innumerable advantages as a home-making center.

MRS. CHARLOTTE E. PENGRA. In man- ner, character and attainment, Mrs. Charlotte E. Pengra represents a family of distinguished an- cestry, around whom tradition clings persistently and fondly, and in whose make-up there is a jus- tifiable and inspiring pride. This pioneer of 1853, whose home in Springfield is the center of cul- ture and social prominence in the town, was born at Panton, Vt., May 1, 1827, and is a daughter of Rev. John and Aseneth (Campbell) Stearns, natives respectively of New Hampshire and Ver- mont. The paternal grandfather, Ebenezer Stearns, was also born in New Hampshire, and during the Revolutionary war he was captured by the Tories, in return for his devotion to the Colonial cause. He lived until July 1, 1823, and represented the fifth generation of his family in America, the emigrating forefather having been one Isaac Stearns, who came from Nayland Parish, Suffolk county, England, in the ship Arabella in 1630, locating at Watertown, near Mount Auburn, Mass. Fellow-passengers with him in the sailing vessel were such well known historical personages as Governor Winthrop and Richard Saltonstall. He was the progenitor of an American family as old as any in the state of New Hampshire, and which is represented in many states of the union. While his father was stacking his musket on the battlefields of the war of 1776, young John Stearns (born April 26, 1778) was taken by his mother to Vermont on horseback, and there spent the early part of his life. Soon after his marriage in 1830 he was converted and called to the Baptist ministry, his first charge being in Vermont and later was pas- tor of the Elizabethtown church, Elizabethtown, N. Y, where he preached the gospel for nine years. In 1817 he was transferred to Sardinia, Brown county, Ohio, and traveled several years as state missionary. Sorrow came to him after his removal to Illinois, through the death of his wife at the age of sixty-six years, in 1850. With the help of David E., his oldest son, also Rev. M. N., Rev. S. E., and Avery O., an attorney, he outfitted with ox and horse teams for crossing the plains, and after arriving at the Rogue river country, settled on a claim near Phoenix, where his death occurred at the age of ninety-three years, in 1871. That he was a man of remark- able vitality and great will power may be imagined, when it is known that he preached al- most continuously up to the time of his final ill- ness, and at the age of eighty was able to occupy a pulpit at Eugene. Of his twelve children eleven attained maturity, seven of them being sons, only

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two of whom are living, Mrs. Pengra being the eleventh child.

Mrs. Pengra was eucated in the common schools of New York and Ohio, and in 1841 en- tered Hampton Falls Academy, of which her older brother was the preceptor. After an aca- demical training of two years she then engaged in educational work, studying at the same time. Moving to Illinois in 1848, in 1849 she was mar- ried to B. J. Pengra, in Winnebago county, Ill. Mr. Pengra was born in Genessee county, N. Y., February 14, 1823, and after his father's death removed with his mother to Erie county, Pa., re- maining there until after her death. From Illi- nois he crossed the plains in 1853 locating on a claim seven miles east of Springfield, Ore., where he farmed and raised stock for several years. A man of broad education and journalistic ability, he established the first Republican newspaper in the state of Oregon at Eugene in 1860, and which was known as the Oregon State Journal. He was a presidential elector at the time of Abra- ham Lincoln's election in 1860 and served as surveyor-general during the administration of that martyred president. In 1866 Mr. Pengra moved to the site of Springfield, and with two partners, Stratton and Underwood, purchased the town site of Springfield. He was one of the pioneer developers of the town, opening flour and saw-mills, and purchasing surrounding farm-lands on a large scale. After a number of years of successful operating he bought a large stock ranch where he remained several years, and died at the home of his son near Co- burg, Ore., September 18, 1903, at the age of eighty years. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Pengra, of whom Stella M. is the wife of George W. Larson, of Reading, Cal .; Avery WV. died in infancy; Ella V. is the widow of James Walker, of Hazeldale, Lane county, Ore .; WV. J. and G. B., twins, the former living near Coburg, Ore., and the latter died at the age of ten years; Bell, the wife of S. T. Black, a farmer of Grass Valley, Sherman county, eastern Ore- gon ; and Anna, the wife of Rev. C. M. Hill, pastor of the Baptist Church at Oakland, Cal. Mrs. Pengra has contributed to local papers and is a woman of superior culture and refinement. She is prominent in the Baptist Church, is a teacher of the bible class in the Sunday school, and has always given generously to church and charitable organizations. She is living on the old family homestead, in Springfield, which has been the family home since 1866.

WESLEY HINTON. The pioneers who came to this northwestern country before the in- ducement of gold created discontent with the less-exciting means of livelihood are deserving of

special credit for the heroic feat of crossing the plains. Their object must have been to establish homes under the most favorable possible condi- tions, and as the home is the foundation of the country, none could gainsay the nobility and dis- interestedness of their motives. The year 1846 witnessed many departures from peaceful but not over-productive farms in the east, but at best the occasion of setting out must have been a rare one, and not frequent in any one neighborhood.

Rumors of fertile lands and moving caravans reached the uneventful farming locality of Gas- conade county, Mo., where lived R. B. Hinton and his wife Elizabeth (Brammel) Hinton, with their large family of children, among whom was Wesley, born January 10, 1837, and destined to become one of the large agriculturists of Benton county. The father was born in Missouri, but his wife was a native of Virginia, and they had lived together for many years on the Gasconade county farm. Notwithstanding that they were wedded to their surroundings, they gladly set forth into the unknown regions of the plains in 1846, turning their oxen's faces towards the western sea, and away from all with which they were familiar. Fortunately the little party es- caped many of the terrible adventures which be- fell some of the early emigrants, and arrived at their destination in Oregon little the worse for their six months on the road. They came by the old Barlow route and spent the first winter near McMinnville, Yamhill county, in the spring of 1847, taking up a claim of six hundred and forty acres seventeen miles south of Corvallis. This land now lies just at the edge of Monroe, in a prosperous agricultural district, but at that time it was accustomed only to the tramp of Indian feet, and to the occupancy of bear and other game in which the country abounded. Mr. Hinton built a little log cabin of one room in which the family lived for some months, but as his land yielded of its richness he was able to provide them with more modern quarters. He was an energetic and very industrious man, more than ordinarily intelligent, and the crude locality had need of his good judgment in helping to organize its local government. He took an active part in politics, was postmaster for many years, and held all of the local offices in his neighborhood. For one term also he represented his district in the state legislature. His wife dying about 1860, he continued to live on his claim for some years, but his last days were spent at the home of his son. Wesley is the oldest of the thirteen children, and the next child living is Martha, widow of John Burnett, of Corvallis; Thompson D. lives on a farm four miles north of Corvallis: Columbus lives in Seattle ; Nancy is the wife of Harry Ran, of Junction City ; Malvina is the wife of H. Fur-

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

geson, of Heppner, Ore .; and Emma is the wife of Alexander Lamb, of Elmira, Ore.

The Yakima war of 1855 was the first happen- ing of importance that broke the monotony of Wesley Hinton's youth, and he gladly enlisted in Company I, under command of Captain Munson, and was mustered in at Portland. They were first sent to The Dalles, and later to Walla Walla, Wash., where transpired the famous battle of Walla Walla, lasting over a period of four days. The company wintered at Walla Walla, and were mustered out in Corvallis in 1856, after five months of service. Returning to his home, Mr. Hinton continued to farm, and December 16, 1848, was united in marriage with Sarah Hinton, who was born December 16, 1848, thereafter settling on a part of Mr. Hinton's father's old donation claim. He owns four hundred acres of land, and devotes it principally to stock-rais- ing, Durham cattle, Cotswold sheep and Angora goats bringing in large yearly returns. He has a very nice home just at the outskirts of Monroe. and thus has all of the advantages of the town as well as country. He is public-spirited and enterprising, and his practical interest in the life and work of others renders him a popular and useful acquisition to a thriving agricultural com- munity. A Democrat in politics, he has always promoted party interests in the county, but has never cared for official honors. As a member of the Masonic fraternity he has passed all of the chairs. With his family he is identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church. One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hinton, Esther, the wife of C. Rawls, who lives with Mr. and Mrs. Hinton.

RILEY SHELTON. The family name which heads this review is one that has become well known through the identification of those who bear it with many of the important movements and enterprises which have given to Oregon her prestige among the states of the west. Riley Shelton is a native son, his father being the late Hon. Harvey Shelton, whose life left such a record of service and well doing that he still lives in the hearts of those who came to know him best in the pioneer days. Riley Shelton is now engaged in the real estate business in Scio, Linn county, and having spent the greater part of his life in this vicinity he has come to be known and honored for the many good qualities which have made him a desirable citizen of any community.

The father, Hon. Harvey Shelton, was born in Patrick county, Va., October 16. 1822, from which state he removed with his parents to Jack- son county, Mo., and later to Buchanan county, of the same state, passing altogether about fifteen

years in that section. In the spring of 1847 they joined the tide of emigration which was set- tling so strongly toward the west, and which was more noticeable in the state of Missouri than in any other of the middle western states, and with ox-teams, crossed the plains to Oregon. Harvey Shelton at once took up a donation claim on Crabtree creek, five miles southeast of Scio, Linn county, which he owned up to the time of his death, August 21, 1893. In his religious convictions Mr. Shelton was a member of the Missionary Baptist Church, having become such at the age of eighteen years, and consistently re- tained membership throughout his entire life, car- rying into his every-day practice the principles which he honestly strove to follow. As both a patriot and politician he served his state in the Cayuse war, participating in the hardships and dangers which the pioneers were called upon to endure, and during the years of 1872, '74, '80 and '84 he faithfully served not only the Demo- cratic party, with which his convictions lay, but also the people at large, who looked to men of honesty of purpose for the furthering of their interests, as a member of the house of repre- sentatives. Fraternally he was a member of Scio Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, be- ing a charter member of the organization, and had always taken a lively and active interest in the Grange and Farmers Alliance.

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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 198

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