Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 224

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 224

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JOHN F. BREWER. Were John F. Brewer called upon to give a definition of success at once practical and to the point, he would natu- rally dwell upon those attributes which have been of personal use to him, and which have by long experience not been found wanting. Among these would be clearness and honesty of purpose, and the ability to grasp and use passing opportunities, however small and insignificant they might seem at the time. It is by attention to the details that he has been able to succeed ; by doing all things well; and by continually striving to keep abreast of the times.

At a very early day the grandparents of Mr. Brewer removed from their native state of North Carolina to Missouri, where their son, William Brewer, the father of John F., was born in 1818. The family later moved to Pike county, Ark.,

settled on a farm near Murfreesboro, where the grandfather died. There were seven children in the family, of whom William was the oldest, and the responsibility thus presented was assumed by him with courage and determination. As a young man he clerked in a store, and afterward taught school, developing as time went on de- cided mechanical ability. Given a model, he could duplicate almost anything of a mechanical nature, and this ability proved of great use to him, although he never regularly applied him- self as a mechanic. He married Margaret I. Scott, a native of Georgia, and continued to live in Arkansas until the western fever inspired him to investigate the reports to which he had list- ened. In 1853 he set out across the plains, ac- companied by his wife and children, among whom was John F., born in Pike county, Ark., May 2, 1844. The mother of Mr. Brewer came to the west in the same train, and they were on the road about seven months, encountering on the way some unpleasant experiences. While near the Green river they were surrounded by Indians, and as a peace offering were obliged to divide their provisions and general properties, resuming the journey with a much lightened burden. Coming to Lane county, Mr. Brewer took up a claim seven miles west of Eugene, improved the same, and lived there until his death at the age of forty-two years. He took an active interest in Republican politics, held a number of minor offices, and was one of the very enthusiastic workers in the United Breth- ren Church, of which he was a member for many years, and class-leader in the Sunday school. The wife who survived him married a second and third time, her last husband being Judge John G. Sparks, collector of internal revenues during the administration of Abraham Lincoln, and a very prominent man of Olympia, Wash. Mrs. Sparks is still a resident of the Sound country, making her home with a daughter at Olympia ; and though past four score years, still retains her mental and physical alertness. By her first marriage she had nine children, of whom the following are living: Martha A., widow of William P. Crow, of Freewater, Wash .; John F., of this review; Mary L., wife of Edward Harris, of Boistfort, Wash .: Amanda C., the wife of Eben Sherwood, of Satsop, Wash .; James H., also of Satsop; and Eva S., the wife of C. B. Mann, a druggist of Olympia, Wash.

From the public schools John F. Brewer re- ceived a part of his education, but his father's training counted for more in his life, and in- variably stimulated to further research along the lines mapped out. At the present time he is an exceptionally well informed man, improving every opportunity to keep himself posted on cur- rent events, and associating with people who,

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like himself, appreciate the higher things of life. From his nineteenth year he has made an inde- pendent living, and in 1865 he went to the Sound country and took up a donation claim. The same year he married Elvira Axtell, member of one of the earliest families of the Sound country, whose father, Josephus Axtell, built the second house on Mound Prairie. Mrs. Brewer was born in Illinois, and, crossed the plains with her family in 1852, going at once to the north, where the Indians were very troublesome, and where they were obliged to live in a fort for a couple of years for protection. Two of the sons, John C. and Thomas J. Axtell served in the Cayuse In- dian war and had many thrilling experiences. The latter is deceased, and the former lives on part of the old claim. While living at Grand Mound the father served as postmaster for many years. He also served in the Indian war with his sons. He lived to be seventy-five, and his wife lived to be seventy-three years old.

Leaving the Sound country in 1883, Mr. Brewer moved to Freewater for a year, and then took up his residence on a farm near Lexington, remaining there until purchasing his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres three miles east of Goshen. He has been successful in all of his undertakings, and the high standard of ex- cellence maintained on his present farm has been duplicated on the properties hitherto owned by him. He raises general produce and stock, his dairy being unexcelled for neatness and good management. As a Republican he has been a delegate to several county conventions. The Grange counts him and his family among its most influential members, and he is holding the secretaryship, to which he has been continuously elected for several years. Nine children have been reared in an atmosphere encouraging in- dustry and study, and of these, the oldest son, U. Grant, is living in Klamath county; Arthur M .; Anna, the wife of John H. Clark, and Will- iam H. are in Boise City, Idaho; Ethel, the wife of Wilson Wilhelm, lives in Goshen; John H. was killed in the Philippines during the Spanish- American war : Valentine is in business in Boise City ; Rachel and Lucretia are at home ; and Mil- ton died in infancy. Mr. Brewer is a worker and member of the United Brethren Church, contributing generously towards its support, as he does toward that of various organizations in which the county abounds.

HENRY CLAY HUMPHREY. Among the citizens of Eugene who were prominently iden- tified with its upbuilding and development for many years, the name of Henry Clay Humphrey stands forth with peculiar distinction. Though always optimistic as to the future of the city,

he was not a visionary, nor did his plans mis- carry because of lack of foundation or stability of structure. A sagacious, prudent, practical man of business, a banker who mastered every detail of that important business, and a man- ager who possessed the rare faculty of securing the best services on the part of his subordinates, he identified himself with enterprises calculated to develop and place on a substantial basis the county in which he was born and passed his entire life.

George Humphrey, his father, from whom he inherited his abilities and trend of thought, was born April 1, 1807, in New York state. From there he moved to Canada, where he married Cynthia A. Bristol. At a later period of his life he resided in Illinois, and still later in Iowa, where for many years he combined farming with merchandising. In 1853 he came overland to Oregon and settled in Lane county, where he established a general store. Eventually he built up a flourishing general trade in Eugene. His children were: Albert; Emily, wife of A. G. Hovey; James, Thomas, Caroline, wife of B. H. Roach; William, Norris and Henry Clay.

Henry Clay Humphrey was born September 18, 1856, near Elmira, Lane county, Ore. His youth was spent on the home farm near Elmira. He attended the public schools of Eugene, later took a course in Columbia College, and finally was graduated from the business college at Salem, Ore., and Heald's Business College at San Francisco. His initial business experience was as a clerk in the banking and brokerage house of A. G. Hovey, of Eugene. In 1882 he organized the Lane County Bank, with which he was identified as president until disposing of his interest therein in 1893. Previous to this, how- ever, he had evidenced his integrity and intrepid character by standing by this institution through- out the financial panic of the early months of 1893, awaiting such time as the money could be raised and the creditors paid one hundred cents on the dollar. After severing his connection with the bank, he entered upon a large shipping business, restricting his trade to hops, prunes and other dried fruits, and conducting this en- terprise with marked success, up to the time of his death, which occurred November 15, 1895.

In the meantime Mr. Humphrey's ambition and energy had found vent in various enter- prises of a public nature. He became one of the organizers of the Eugene Electric Light Com- pany, in which he retained an interest for one year, and other local enterprises received his hearty encouragement and support. He was de- voted to the issues and principles of the Repub- lican party, and fraternally was connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the An- cient Order of United Workmen, and the

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Knights of Pythias, being a charter member of the latter organization.

In erecting the superstructure of his success- ful career, Mr. Humphrey was indebted in a large measure to the practical assistance ren- dered by a cultured and ambitious wife, Eliza- beth Shaw, to whom he was married in San Francisco, Cal., April 19, 1885. She is a daugh- ter of Angus and Elizabeth (Murchison) Shaw, both natives of Scotland, and the former born on the Isle of Skye. Mr. Shaw settled at an early day in Stark county, Ill., where Mrs. Hum- phrey was born, and whence he crossed the plains with his wife and children in 1863. He came with horse teams and was six months on the journey, finally settling upon a large, and at present splendidly appointed, farm near Sum- merville, Union county, Ore., where he is known as one of the most extensive grain raisers in that section of the state. His wife, who died in 1867, was the mother of five children, of whom Mrs. Humphrey is the only one residing in the Willamette valley. She was reared and prima- rily educated in Union county, and was gradu- ated from the University of Oregon in the class of 1884 with the degree of Bachelor of Science. Mrs. Humphrey was engaged in educational work for about three years after her husband's death. Broad-minded and liberal in her tenden- cies, her cultured mind is occupied largely by church work, suffrage and benevolent undertak- ings. She has two daughters, Eda Claire and Hazel Beatrice.

In closing this brief review of the career of Henry Clay Humphrey it is but proper to state that his every-day efforts were characterized by the greatest liberality, and he enthusiastically participated in all worthy undertakings calcu- lated to advance the industrial, moral, educa- tional and social well-being of the community. A sane reasoner, a cautious business man, and a gentleman possessed of many admirable per- sonal traits, he inspired the respect, confidence and good will of all with whom he was asso- ciated in whatever capacity, his opinions carry- ing weight because of the sincerity, earnestness and spirit of good-fellowship which dictated his every action. Cut off in the prime of his active and useful life, his death was a distinct loss to the city of Eugene, and there is no doubt that, if he had lived to prosecute the plans he had for- mulated. he would easily have attained a position in the commercial circles of the northwest which would have made him the peer of the most emi- nent men of affairs on the Pacific coast. His record is so clean. so honorable, so high-minded and unselfish, that his name is entitled to a per- manent and conspicuous place in the chronicles of the builders and developers of the state of Oregon.

WILLIAM M. RENSHAW. That congenial work means successful work is demonstrated anew in the career of William M. Renshaw, the genial proprietor of the Hotel Smeede at Eu- gene. Of Scotch-Irish ancestry, long identified with the south, he was born in Springfield, Mo., November 7, 1850, his father, W. D. Renshaw, having settled there in 1837. The elder Ren- shaw, who was born near Nashville, Tenn., in 1823, had a large farm in the vicinity of Spring- field, Mo., property which he disposed of after acquainting himself with the prospects in the far west. Outfitting with ox-teams and pro- visions he crossed the plains with his wife and two children in 1851, encompassing the interven- ing distance between Missouri and Portland in six months to a day. He had comparatively lit- tle trouble with the Indians, although some more courageous than others helped themselves to some of his stock. In the spring of 1852 he settled on a donation claim six miles south of Eugene, composed of three hundred and twenty acres of uncultivated land, and there built a small log house and began to prepare .for such crops as could be planted on short order. He was quite successful from a financial standpoint, and was popular in his neighborhood, his death, at the age of sixty-five, which took place in 1888, being regretted by a large circle of friends and well wishers. He was a Republican from a political standpoint, and in religion was a Presbyterian. In his youth he married Mary J. Walker, born in either Georgia or Tennessee, and who removed with her parents to Greene county, Mo., before coming to Oregon. Mrs. Renshaw was born in 1828 and died in 1887. Of the eight children born into the family, Theo- dore M. is living in Grant's Pass; W. M. is the subject of this sketch; Hugh A. lives in Lane county ; Elmer L. lives in Eugene; Samuel I. is in Virginia; Sarah L. is the wife of Charles Mayhew of Eugene; and Hattie, wife of Jef- ferson Gwin of Salem.

William M. Renshaw was less than a year old when he came to Oregon, and he practically re- members nothing of his former home, or the incidents leading to the family emigration. He was educated in the public schools and remained on the home farm in Linn county until nineteen years old, when he turned his attention to sur- veying, being employed by the government for five years to survey the public lands. He was associated as surveyor, first with J. H. McClung, then with Mr. Evans, and still later with Messrs. Perkins and General Odell. Having finished his contract for surveying he engaged in the meat market business for six years, and in 1878 re- moved to Grant county, eastern Oregon, and en- gaged for two years in the cattle business. Re- turning to the Willamette valley in the spring

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of 1880, he continued the butchering business for a couple of years, and then engaged in the liquor business for over twenty years. In Sep- tember, 1902, Mr. Renshaw leased the New Smeede Hotel, and opened it to the traveling public September 24, 1902. This is the leading hotel in the city, and compares favorably with the hostelries in much larger and older cities. The proprietor is eminently fitted for the many duties which devolve upon him, and is possessed of the qualities of tact, consideration, courtesy. and geniality so necessary in the make-up of the successful hotel man. The hostelry is substan- tially and artistically furnished, has large and airy rooms, and ample accommodation for guests.

A Republican in political affiliation, Mr. Ren- shaw has never been an aspirant for public of- fice. He is a member of Eugene Lodge No. II, A. F. & A. M., Eugene Chapter No. 10, Royal Arch Masons; the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; and the Ancient Order United Workmen. He married, in 1878, in Eugene, El- eanor Cochran, a native of Lane county, and a daughter of James Cochran, who crossed the plains from Indiana to Oregon in 1853.

ALLBEE E. WHEELER. Allbee E. Wheel- er's position at the bar and his standing in the community have been earned by conscientious effort, spurred on by ambition. In early life we find him teaching a country school, in order to earn the tuition for a higher general and profes- sional education, and in after-life he stepped into a niche of industry in Eugene, making himself necessary as a thorough student of legal science, as the compiler of the only complete abstract books in Lane county, and as a broad-minded, public-spirited gentleman, in harmony with all that is progressive, substantial and practical.

Of old New England ancestry, Mr. Wheeler was born on a farm near Barton, Orleans coun- ty, Vt., February 17, 1856, his paternal grand- parents, James and Sarah (Wilson) Wheeler, having established the family there at an early day. His maternal grandparents, Dr. Orson and Fannie (Allbee) Grow, were also well known in Orleans county, where the doctor combined med- ical practice with general farming for many years. Silas and Jane (Grow) Wheeler, the parents of Allbee E. Wheeler, lived on a farm in Orleans county during all of their active lives, but are now living retired in Chicago, Ill., the father being eighty-one years of age, in compara- tively good health and spirits. The parents were born in New Hampshire, and Orleans county, Vt., respectively, and had four children, three of whom are living, Allbee E. being the youngest, and the only one in the state of Oregon.

At the age of thirteen years Allbee E. Wheeler

left the home farm to attend the public schools of Lyndon Center, Vt., whence he entered the Free Baptist State School, known as the Lyndon Literary Institute, from which he was duly grad- uated in 1874. The year of his graduation he removed to La Salle county, Ill., and taught school near the city of La Salle for one term. In January, 1875, he began a four-years course of teaching near Onowa, Monona county, Iowa, during which time he married Lillia J. Herring, a native of Winnebago county, Ill., who was born at Durand. Benjamin Herring, the father of Mrs. Wheeler, served all through the Civil war, and afterward removed from Illinois near Onowa, Iowa, where he farmed until his death. Two daughters have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler, of whom Mabel F. is the wife of Prof. Charles W. Wester, of Dinuba, Cal .; and Flora J. married Archie W. Livermore of Eugene.

Mr. Wheeler was a successful educator, and by dint of strict economy was enabled to enter the law department of the University of Iowa after completing his teaching. Graduating in the class of 1881, he was admitted to the bar at the same time, and settled down to practice at Onowa, making that his home until locating in Eugene in 1888. At the beginning of his resi- dence here he started to make his abstract books, engaging at the same time in the abstract and title business, and as heretofore mentioned, has the only complete abstract books in the county. He has a comprehensive knowledge of the theory and practice of law, is courteous and faithful to clients, attentive to business, and measures pro- fessional duty and effort by recognition of ob- ligation and ends attainable. Mr. Wheeler is a Republican in politics, and served as council- man of Eugene for one term. He is a member of the Woodmen of the World. He is one of the organizers of the Congregational church of Eugene, and from the beginning has been one of the trustees and among the most active workers.

HERBERT GORDON. That the dogged perseverance and resourcefulness which we are wont to admire in the early pioneers of the state exists in equal measure in many of the later adopted sons, is proved in innumerable in- stances. It is not necessary to go outside of Eugene for illustrations of this fact, for many of the rising young business men who are forg- ing their way to commercial prominence have been singularly and even discouragingly alone in their aspirations and accomplishments. In this class belongs Herbert Gordon, owner and manager of the largest furniture and house-fur- nishing establishment in the town.

Mr. Gordon is one of the many sons of Canada who have found their way to the extreme western

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part of the country, and pursued their various occupations with increasing success. Born near Toronto, August 5, 1873, he is the sixth of the seven children born to his parents, Thomas and Martha (Allen) Gordon, at present living re- tired in Eugene. Thomas Gordon came from London, England, when a child with his parents, and was reared on a farm in Ontario. In time he became a merchant near his father's home, and at the same time arose to political promi- nence in the neighborhood. For fourteen years he was clerk of the circuit court in county Sim- coe, and afterward removed to a new and heavi- ly timbered farm in the Northwest Territory, where he lived for three years. In 1888 he took up his residence on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres west of Eugene, and after three years of successful management moved into the town which has since been his home. His wife was born in Canada also, and is of Scotch descent. Besides Herbert, there are three other of the seven children living: William Thomas is an undertaker, and James Herbert a teamster of Eugene, and a daughter, Martha Maud, is the wife of Le Roy Milne, of Marcola, Lane county.

Herbert Gordon was ten years old when he came with his parents to the Northwest Terri- tory, and while there he attended the public schools for three and a half years. In 1888 he came with the family to the farm near Eugene, and though he worked hard during the summer time, managed to complete the course at the Eugene high school. He had little money with which to start in any kind of business, and for some time the future was at best problematical and vague. Finally he bought a wood-saw on credit, and while operating it for five years not only paid off his indebtedness, but amassed quite a sum of money, with a part of which he built a residence on East Eleventh street. In 1898 his fortunes looked up considerably, when he purchased a second-hand furniture store from Mr. Cummings for $500, and after closing that out put in a new stock of furniture, starting in under favorable auspices to cater to a diminutive trade. It was not long before his progressive and upright business methods impressed them- selves on the general public, and a correspond- ing increase of business found his quarters al- together inadequate. Accordingly, in 1900, his present store was erected, Nos. 24-6-8 East Ninth street. The building covers 40x160 feet, and has two floors and a gallery. The proprietor aims to cater to the most exclusive as well as cheaper trade, and carries a complete stock of furniture, carpets, stoves, ranges, wallpaper and paints. The store has elevator service, and pa- trons are met by courteous and obliging clerks, conversant with the complete stock, and able to

furnish valuable suggestions as to combination and relative values. This is one of the most perfectly equipped furniture stores in this part of Oregon, and that it has been brought to its present state of excellence by so young a man argues well for his business judgment and shrewd practical sense.

Mr. Gordon is popular in business and social circles of Eugene; is a member of the Commer- cial Club, and of the Woodmen of the World. Politically he is identified with the Republican party, and he finds a religious home in the Meth- odist Episcopal Church. In Albany, Ore., May II, 1898, he married Henrietta Harshberger, who was born in Ohio, and who is the mother of two children, Wanda and Dora.

CHARLES S. FARROW .. The pioneer who came to Oregon before the general emigration, and not only hewed his way to success through discouraging obstacles, but reared strong and reliant sons to maintain the honor of his name, and perchance add to his prestige as a manager and business man under later and more favor- able circumstances, filed a twofold lien upon the gratitude of posterity. Such an one was Stephen F. Farrow, whose well known integrity and general worthiness are reflected in the lives of many of his children, more especially his son, Charles S., one of the prominent business men and most successful real estate dealers in Eu- gene.

The founder of the Farrow family in Oregon was born in Montgomery county, Ky., his father, Isaac, having removed there from his native state of Virginia at a very early day. The grand- father married Catherine French, of Virginia, whose great-grandfather was one of the largest land-owners in the state of Virginia, much of the property being still in the family. Isaac Farrow removed with his family from Kentucky to Illinois while that state was yet a territory, settling first in Macoupin county, and later in Jersey county, where he owned a large farm and where he died at an advanced age. His son, Stephen F. Farrow, continued to live on the pa- ternal farm in Jersey county, and there was mar- ried, January 17, 1844, to Maria Jane Cleaver, who was born in Hardin county, Ky., October 16, 1825. Benjamin Cleaver, the father of Mrs. Farrow, as well as her grandfather, Benjamin, were born in Kentucky, and the former removed to Macoupin county in 1828, later settling in Jersey county, where his daughter attained ma- turity, and became established in a home of her own. Mrs. Cleaver, formerly Rachel Tomp- kins, was born in Kentucky, and became the mother of eleven children, many of whom mar- ried in Illinois, but all of whom accompanied

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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 224

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