Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 210

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 210

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which is used for farming purposes, being im- proved with all the buildings, implements and stock to be found on a farm carried on after the most approved modern methods. Nine large buildings have been erected to meet the require- ments of the students, each being fitted up with all the modern appliances needed.

While a resident of Santa Cruz, Dr. Gatch married Miss Orytha Bennett, who was born in Illinois, and went to California with her parents before the rush of 1849, being there in February, 1848, when, in the mill-race at Sutter's Mills, James Marshall discovered gold. Of the five children that blessed their union, three are living, the record of the family being as follows : Claud, a prominent and influential citizen of Salem, Ore., is cashier of the Ladd & Bush Bank; Claire is the wife of Laban H. Wheeler, Esq., of Seattle; Leigh and Ruth died in Seattle ; and Grace, a graduate of University of Washing- ton, is at home.

Dr. Gatch was a member of the first State Board of Examiners in Oregon, and is now a member of the present board. His ability as an educator is recognized in professional circles, and he has been honored by other institutions than his alma mater, having been given the degree of Ph. D. by the DePauw University of Indiana. Politically he is a Republican, and fraternally he is a Mason and an Odd Fellow. He was made a Mason at Santa Cruz, Cal .; was master of Salem Lodge No. 4, F. & A. M .; and re- ceived the thirty-second degree of Scottish Rite Masonry at Seattle. The doctor joined Che- meketa Lodge No. 1, I. O. O. F., at Salem, Ore., and has served as grand master and grand patri- arch of Oregon.

BENJAMIN F. BEEZLEY. The timber industry, which has furnished fortunes to thou- sands who have settled in the west, is appre- ciated by Benjamin F. Beezley, who, at Falls. City, is engaged in locating timber, and deal- ing in real estate. He has made a practical study of the timber industry, has examined the forests, and knows where the best may be found, and in this way is of valuable assistance to would-be purchasers. He probably has as ac- curate an idea of the kind and extent of the tim- ber lands of Oregon as any man now engaged in locating claims. So successful was he dur- ing about four years of this kind of work, that in 1902 he associated himself in business with Zimri Hinshaw, and in consequence the busi- ness increased and is becoming widely known.

Benjamin F. is not the only worthy represen- tative of his family in Falls City, for his father, Edward E., the founder of the name in the west, is engaged in a flourishing nursery busi-

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ness. The father was born in the state of Illi- nois, and when a young man removed to Ar- kansas, thence to Missouri, where he married Sarah Cossairt, a native of Jay county, Ind., near the Ohio line. His son, Benjamin F., was born September 3, 1875, where he engaged in the nursery business in Hickory county. In 1888 he removed to the west and located in Whitman county, Wash., and the following year came to Polk county, Ore. Near Dallas he rented land and started a nursery business, conducting the same with fair success from 1889 to 1893, when he transferred his business to Falls City. He is still active and devoted to his chosen occupation, for which he possesses special aptitude. To some extent he ships his goods out of the state, and, altogether, con- ducts a fairly successful business.

The oldest of the three sons born to his par- ents, Benjamin F. was early in life taught self- reliance, and was given a good education that he might better succeed in his life work. His education at Dallas College was of his own provision, for, at the age of fourteen, he hired out as a farm hand, and carefully saved his carnings, that he might gain a knowledge of the higher branches. Eventually, he engaged in teaching for a year, and, in 1900, started the business in which he is still interested. He is a very intelligent and well-posted man, and it is his aim to increase his general knowledge as opportunity shall present itself. In January, 1900, he took up a homestead claim of one hun- dred and sixty acres on the Siletz river, whichi lie proposed to improve and sell. Three chil- dren have been born into the family of Mr. Beezley, of whom John E. is attending the normal school at Monmouth, Ore., and Jessie is living at home.

B. F. Beezley is a Republican in politics, and is fraternally prominent, being a member of the Eastern Star, the Blue Lodge, F. & A. A .; the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Grange.

McELVY WOOTEN. In McElvy Wooten, Lane county has an agriculturist identified with her pioneer and present day development, and one in whom is blended practical and progres- sive idcas, and extremely painstaking ways of carrying them out. From earliest youth the heir to responsibility, his mother having died when he was a child, lie moved from his native state of Maryland where he was born Decem- ber 11, 1827, with his father and the rest of the family to Tennessee, and from there to Mis- souri, where the father, James Wooten, died in 1842. The children kept together on the farm

until they married or went their respective ways in life, McElvey Wooten starting out at once on a career of independence as a farm hand. He rented a farm in Missouri, but gave it up in the spring of 1850, that he might join the throngs in their search after homes and fortunes in the far west.

Under the guidance of Major Ball, Mr. Wooten crossed the plains with ox-teams, was on the road for about six months, and during that time encountered little of an unpleasant or dangerous nature. After spending the first win- ter in the Waldo hills in Marion county, he went in 1851 to northern California, and for a year prospected and mined with rather dishearten- ing results. Reared to farming, he naturally returned to the occupation of his youth, being sure at least of an honest living, and of com- parative immunity from entire failure. Taking up a claim of three hundred and twenty acres two miles east of Creswell, on the coast fork of the Willamette river, he started in to improve his land, and was soon comfortably located 011 land which held great promise, but which had hitherto known little of improvement. He found a wife and companion in Eliza Jane Bunyard, who was born in Missouri, and died on the old donation claim, having borne her husband five children. Of these, all are deceased but James, who occupies and manages the old home. For a second wife Mr. Wooten married Lucy M. Conrad, the widow of D. G. Conrad, who was a pioneer of 1852 and they had nine children, five of whom are living, one of whom is living in Lane county, the wife of T. B. Brown. Mrs. Wooten's father, A. J. Cruzan, brought her across the plains in 1853, locating on a farm in Lane county.

As his stock-raising and general farming has increased in extent, Mr. Wooten has found his land inadequate, and so has made more recent purchases, owning at present three hundred and ninety acres, sixty of which are under cultiva- tion. He devotes much thought and study to fine stock, and some of the best which reaches local markets attained perfection while grazing in his meadows. No name in this county car- ries with it greater political weight than does that of Mr. Wooten, whose stanch support of Republicanism, disinterested and altogether worthy services, have ennobled opportunities which often have been turned to base account. The friend and promoter of education, he lias served for many years on the school board, his own limited early chances having emphasized in his mind the necessity for a practical common school education. He is fraternally connected with the Masons, and his religious associations are with the Methodist Episcopal Church. Dur-

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John Whitecker

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ing the Civil war Mr. Wooten was a member of the National Guard. He is foremost in all philanthropic undertakings in his community, giving liberally of his hard-earned means to further the cause of peace and happiness among all classes. His friends are many and stanch, his character is above reproach, and financial success has crowned his years of well directed industry.

HON. JOHN WHITEAKER. The position which Hon. John Whiteaker occupied in the po- litical life of the state of Oregon was one of prominence from the formation of the common- wealth, being elected in June, 1858, as governor of the state, it being believed in Oregon that the bill for the admission of Oregon had been passed by Congress. It afterward transpired that the bill did not pass until early in 1859, and not until official information thereof was received did Mr. Whiteaker assume the duties of the gov- ernor's office, continuing to act as chief executive then until September 10, 1862, the date of the inauguration of his successor. In the years that followed before the death of this honored pioneer he was called upon many times to act in public office, the earnestness with which he adhered to strong convictions, the energy with which he prosecuted his labors, and the unflinching in- tegrity upon which his lifework was founded winning for him to an exceptional degree the con- fidence of all who came to know him well throughout his long life of service. His death occurred in Eugene October 2, 1902.

The American progenitor of the Whiteaker family was the great-grandfather of Governor Whiteaker, who came from Holland before the Revolutionary war. His son James married Jemima Moore, by whom he had four children, namely : John, Sarah, David and Rachel, the first named son being born in Pennsylvania in 1786. Early in life he settled in Indiana where he married Nancy Smales, a native of Maryland, in time removing to Allen county, Ind., where his death occurred October 14, 1864, at the age of seventy-eight years and eight months. His wife passed away April 24, 1868, when about eighty- two years of age. They were the parents of the following children, all of whom were born in Dearborn county, Ind .: James, born September 8, 1812; Eliza, born September 30, 1815, and died in infancy ; Douglas Livingston, born Aug- ust 16, 1817; John, the special subject of this review, born May 4, 1820; and Catherine, born June 18, 1823. The early life of John Whiteaker was spent upon his father's farm in Dearborn county. Ind., his home duties being interspersed with a very brief period of schooling, six months in all. When sixtecu years of age he left home

and for the ensuing ten years was traveling over the western and southern states in the pursuit of a livelihood, being engaged in 1842 in Posey county, Ind., working at the carpenter's trade for a period of three years, during which time he attended school at intervals. In the spring of 1845 he went to Victoria, Knox county, III., where he followed his trade until the fall of 1846, when he went to Putnam county, Mo., and spent the winter. In the spring of the following year he located in Alexandria, Clark county, of the same state, and followed his trade there until July, when he returned to Putnam county and on August 22, 1847, was united in marriage with Nancy Jane Hargrave, the daughter of Thomas and Cecelia (French) Hargrave. He then pur- chased some tools in Lancaster and built the first home for himself and wife, where he remained working at the trade of carpenter and cabinet- maker until the spring of 1849. Attracted then by the prospects held out by the rich mines of California, Mr. Whiteaker left his wife with her parents and sought the gold fields of the western state. He mined along the American river with fair success until the summer of 1851, when he returned to Missouri and with his family set out in the following year for Oregon. Owning his own outfit he crossed the plains in company with John Partin, Thomas Jefferies and several other families from Missouri, he being elected captain of the train which came over the old Oregon trail, reaching Yamhill county October 26, 1852. In the spring of 1853 he moved south to Spencer Butte, Lane county, where he took up a donation claim of three hundred and twenty acres and engaged in farming. Six years later he sold his farm and purchased another near Pleasant Hill, Lane county, where he remained until 1885, en- gaged in general farming and stock-raising. Having been appointed by President Cleveland to the position of collector of internal revenue he then sold his farm and removed to Portland, where he resided during his incumbency of office, in 1889 making his home in Eugene, where he spent the remainder of his life.

To Mr. and Mrs. Whiteaker were born, four children. Anna makes her home with her mother in Eugene; another daughter is the wife of D. W. Jarvis, of Portland; Benjamin is located in Eugene; and James Emmett is in Idaho. In his political preferment a Democrat, Mr. White- aker was always active in the promotion of the principles he endorsed. While residing at Pleas- ant Hill he was made justice of the peace, this being his first political office. In 1856 he was elected judge of the probate court of Lane county, and in the following spring was elected to the territorial legislature, following which he was elected to the highest office in the gift of the people, that of governor of the state of Oregon,

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serving from March 3, 1859, to September 10, 1862. After his retirement to private life he served several terms in the state legislature and senate, being chosen speaker of the former body and president of the latter, and in 1878 he was elected to the Forty-sixth United States Con- gress for two years. Although retired from the active cares of life after his removal to Engene, Mr. Whiteaker ever lent his influence toward the furtherance of every and all enterprises whose end was the betterment of the city, county or state. He owned about ten blocks in the city which he laid out into lots, forming what is now known as the Whiteaker addition on the south- west. Steadfast in his adherence to principle, faithful in friendship and ever earnest in the ad- vancement of the welfare of his adopted state, he won and retained a large circle of friends and admirers, whose loss through his death can only be partially compensated by the memory of the life which he lived.

THOMAS J. VAUGHAN. Connected as he was with the earliest history of the state, Thomas J. Vaughan, a resident of Lane county for a half century or more, is familiar with all that has gone before the greatness and prosperity of Oregon. Toward the fulfillment of developed resources he has given the enthusiastic help of youth, the steadier decision of more mature years, and in the evening of his life enjoys the peace and contentment which rewards labor well done. His name is surely enrolled among the useful pioneers of the state, and the honor accorded such is given to him by all who know him.

Mr. Vaughan was born in Wayne county, W. Va., August 13, 1830. Five years after his birth his parents removed to Illinois and located near Springfield, where they remained six months, then returning to the former state. In 1839 they moved across the river into Kentucky and remained for a period of four months, then continuing the journey west until they located in Platte county, Mo., from which state thev emigrated toward the more remote lands. In 1845 the father was attracted toward the oppor- tunities of Oregon, traveling by pack animals across the plains in the party which had an un- pleasant experience in Meek's cut-off, and on his arrival in the state he went to work in a saw- mill in Salem, where he remained throughout the winter. He returned to the Mississippi val- ley in 1846, and found that his own family did not know him, as he had not cut his hair nor bcard in the entire time. Having been favor- ahly impressed with the outlook, he outfitted with oxen and three wagons and necessary sup- plies, and in the spring of 1847 started again

across the plains with his wife and nine children. Just before leaving he had purchased some cows and two hundred and fifty-eight sheep, and, these were the first blooded sheep brought into the state from the east, some of which were afterwards sold to Benjamin Fields, who pur- chased fifty head of the original flock, but Minto's history of the sheep industry of Oregon makes an error by giving Benjamin Fields the credit of importing these same sheep. During the trip which occupied the time from May 17 to September they lost all but one hundred sheep. Mr. Vaughan first located in Marion county, where the family remained for a few months, after which the father took up a dona- tion claim in Linn county, consisting of six hun- dred and forty acres in the neighborhood of West Point. In August, 1848, Mr. Vaughan went to California by pack animals and mined on the American river, and while there helped to hang some men at Hangtown. He was suc- cessful in his venture and came north with $14,000 in gold. Again in 1849 he and two sons, Alexander and Thomas, went to California and mined on the Trinity, and were once more successful. Returning in the fall of the year to Oregon, he remained at home until 1851, when he again tried his fortunes in the Golden state, in that year being one of the first to dis- cover the Yreka mines. He returned home, and the family continued to live in Linn county until 1857, when they removed to Lane county, the father purchasing three hundred and twenty- five acres near Coburg. He continued a resi- dent of that county until his death, which oc- curred near Thurston, November 18, 1888, at the age of eighty years and twenty-seven days. His wife died October 12, 1901, when nearly ninety-one years old.

Thomas J. Vaughan was seventeen years old when he crossed the plains with his parents, his duty on the trip being to drive the sheep. In 1849 he accompanied his father to California, and June 5, 1850, he was married to Elizabeth S. Sampson, a native of Platte county, Mo., with whose sister and brother-in-law, Luther White, he had crossed the plains in 1847. He then moved to his father's six hundred and forty acre donation claim, where he lived seven years, when he came to his present location and pur- chased a farm of three hundred and twenty acres, upon which he now carries on general farming and stock-raising. Eleven children were born to himself and wife, of whom Phoebe E. is the wife of Mr. Meyers and lives in Wash- ington ; Benjamin F. was postmaster at Hepp- ner. Ore., and he and his wife were both drowned in the Heppner flood ; Oren is a cattleman of Ne- vada; Olive is the wife of Henry Bollin, of Lane county; Martha is the wife of A. Sim-

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

mons; Orella lives in Seattle; Mary J. is the wife of Joseph Klien, of Healdsburg, Cal .; Em- ma is the wife of J. W. Shumate, of Walter- ville, Ore .; Jeremiah is located near his father's farm; Alta G. died in 1888; and Lizzie is the wife of P. L. Barber, who is connected with the interests of Mr. Vaughan.

In politics Mr. Vaughan is a Republican, and as such has represented his party in various offices, and was a member of the state legisla- ture in 1897 and a justice of the peace for many years. He was the first chairman of the first convention to organize the Republican party in Lane county, which was held in 1856, and he now has the minutes of that meeting in his pos- session. Out of forty men present he is one of three now living. In fraternal relations he has been an Odd Fellow for forty-three years. and also belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is a member of the Christian Church.

JOEL HIRLBURT. After many years of arduous toil in developing a large farm in Ben- ton county, Ore., Joel Hirlburt is now living re- tired in Monroe, one of the highly honored and enterprising members of the community. His farm of three hundred acres, four miles south- east of the town, furnishes interest and relaxa- tion whenever he chooses to visit it, but he has permanently stepped down from his former posi- tion of guide and manager, having turned the responsibility over to younger and more vigorous people. As his success as a general farmer and stock-raiser has increased from year to year he has invested in town property, and now owns some valuable lots inside the limits, which, taken in connection with his farm, make him indeed a large property-owner.

That Mr. Hirlburt should devote his energies to farming is not to be wondered at, for as far back as he can remember or has heard his fore- fathers engaged in the same thrifty occupation. From Athens county, Ohio, where he was born and spent his earliest years, he removed with his family to Indiana, and from there to Mis- souri, and there married Nancy Casteel, a native of Indiana, and with whom he went to house- keeping on a farm. To his neighborhood came many rumors of gold and fertile lands in the west, to all of which he listened with the enthusi- asm of an ambitious and far-sighted man, deter- mined to make the best of the abilities with which nature had endowed him. Disposing of his Mis- souri interests, he prepared to cross the plains in 1863, outfitting with ox-teams, and accomplish- ing his journey with little of the trouble or depri- vation which made of earlier migrations hideous nightmares, The first winter in the west was

spent on a farm near Salem, Marion county, and in the spring of 1854 he came to Benton county, the same fall moving to Lane county, where he took up a donation claim of three hundred and twenty acres, on which he built a small log house and prepared to clear his land. He was fairly successful in accomplishing his purpose, but thought he could improve his conditions when, about 1872, he sold his claim and purchased his farm of three hundred acres, four miles south- east of Monroe. This also was in a compara- tively crude state, and ere crops could be put in much work had to be done. On the new claim three children were reared to maturity: Lewis, deceased; Ellen; and Arrena, the wife of A. Goodman, of the vicinity of Monroe.

After the death of his wife, in 1898, Mr. Hirl- burt lived on the home farm for two years, and then moved into Monroe, his principal object be- ing the education of his grandchildren, of whom he is very fond. In no sense has he ever aspired to public recognition of any kind, and has not even taken a decided stand in politics, believing in voting for the man best qualified to serve the community welfare. He is noted for his rugged sincerity, his practical and worthy life, and those sterling traits of character which everywhere win respect and honest appreciation.

CHARLES M. CRITTENDEN. As the only real estate dealer in the promising little town of Hubbard, Charles M. Crittenden en- joys a distinct advantage, for much valuable town and country property will pass through his hands. Although but a recent addition to the business life of the town, having arrived in 1899, he has already impressed his general worth upon the public, who are inclined to co- operate with him in his efforts to spread abroad a knowledge of the many advantages of this well-favored section of the country. He is a justice of the peace, and is further interested in the social side of his adopted town as a mem- ber of the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of the Maccabees. In political affiliation he is a Republican.

A native of Martin county, Minn., Mr. Crit- tenden was born March 2, 1870, his father, William, having been born in New York state, May 17, 1837: The elder Crittenden removed to Michigan as a young man, and from there went to Minnesota, where he engaged at his trade as machinist. In 1869 he took up his residence in Martin county, Minn., and in 1873 went to Sioux Falls, S. D., where he took up a timber claim of one hundred and sixty acres. While working at his trade he worked this claim, and in 1887 removed to Tuscola county, Mich., where he bought a ranch of one hundred

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and sixty acres, upon which he has since lived. His wife, Ella A. (Hackett) Crittenden, was born in Vermont, and came west with her par- ents as a child, settling in Minnesota. She also is living, and is the mother of six children, five sons and one daughter, of whom two died in infancy.

The oldest child in his father's family, Charles M. Crittenden was educated in the public schools, ending at the normal school of South Dakota. At the age of nineteen he began teaching school in Michigan, continuing this occupation after coming to Oregon, in dif- ferent parts of Clackamas county, and in Hub- bard, to which town he removed in 1899. While teaching he saw an opportunity here for a live, energetic real estate business, and inaugurated his present promising enterprise. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Crittenden, Mae L., Ruby B. and Jay, aged, re- spectively, nine, seven and five years. Mr. Crittenden is a man of high ideals, is well posted on current events, and is unquestion- ably destined for a prominent place in the up- building of his adopted town.

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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 210

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