Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 227

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 227

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Though not a member of any religious de- nomination, Mr. Scott was a man of strong in- tegrity and truly Christian purposes, and held a

high place in the estimation of his fellow-citi- zens. Politically he was a Republican, and though he never shirked responsibility as a citi- zen, he did not aspire to official recognition, but held the minor offices in the vicinity as a duty rather than from any desire to become identified with party movements. In educational matters he was greatly interested, and gave much time and thought to the improvement of the institu- tions in his community, being one of the first regents appointed for the University of Oregon, which position he filled from 1873 to 1877. But once did Mr. Scott depart from his agricultural life, and that was in 1849, when he was induced . by glowing reports to make the trip to Califor- nia to visit the gold fields. The death of Mr. Scott occurred September 13, 1896, in his sev- enty-second year.

The wife who shared a large part of the life of Mr. Scott was formerly Surrenea J. Robin- son, who was born December 5, 1828, in Shelby county, Olio, the daughter of the Rev. William Robinson, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work. Of this union ten children were born, all of whom are living. Their descendants in- clude twenty-six grandchildren and nineteen great-grandchildren. Of the children Eliza S., the wife of D. B. Trimble, lives in Condon, Ore .; Mary A., the wife of William C. Brown, lives at Lone Rock; Matilda J., the wife of R. H. Landers, lives at Methow, Wash .; William W. lives at Creswell; John R. is located in this vicinity ; Rose E. married D. S. Brown and re- sides in Condon; Dora C., the wife of C. C. Hazleton, is in Creswell; Viola S. and Ripley F. are at home; and Lillie M., the wife of R. E. Dersham, is located near Creswell. As a relic of the eastern days of their family, they have now in their possession the original copy of the Ulster Gazette, published January 4, 1800, in which is given a full account of Washington's death, and his Memoirs.

HON. EDWIN O. POTTER, of Eugene, is one of the thoroughly representative men of the younger generation of the Willamette valley. He was born near Irving, Lane county, Ore., August 25, 1860, and is a son of William A. and Luezy (Zumwalt) Potter. The family was founded in America by a German immigrant, named Pothour, who settled in New Jersey. David Pot- ter, grandfather of Edwin O., of this review, was born in Pennsylvania, and in young man- hood settled in Ohio, where he engaged in farm- ing. His son, William A., was reared in Ohio. While still a young man he removed to Wis- consin, from which state, in 1851, he crossed the plains by ox-train and settled in Lane county, Ore. After several years' residence in various

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parts of Oregon he finally located permanently at Irving, where he now lives in retirement at the age of seventy-eight years. He is a member of the United Brethren Church, and fraternally is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His wife, Luezy Zumwalt, was born in Jefferson county, Mo., the daughter of Solo- mon Zumwalt. The latter started for Oregon with his family in the fall of 1850, traveling with ox-teams. Upon arriving at Salt Lake City they decided to remain there through the winter. The following June they resumed the journey and came directly to Lane county, where Mr. Zum- walt took up a donation claim two miles north- west of Eugene. There he resided until his re- tirement from the active cares of life. His death occurred in the Mohawk valley. (For a more detailed account of this family, see sketch of William A. Potter, which appears elsewhere in this volume.)

The childhood and youth of Judge E. O. Pot- ter were spent upon his father's farm, where he was reared to agriculture. He attended the dis- trict school in his neighborhood, and afterward entered the University of Oregon, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1887. This institution subsequently conferred upon him the Master's degree. Dur- ing the last three years of his university course he taught school a part of the time, the money thus earned being applied toward the payment of his tuition fees. Upon the completion of his classical course he entered the law department of the university, and was graduated therefrom two years later-in 1890 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In June of the same year he was admitted to the bar of Oregon, and immedi- ately entered upon the practice of his profession in Eugene. From 1890 to 1894 he served as deputy district attorney for Lane county. In 1896 he was elected county judge and served four years, since which time he has devoted his entire time to the practice of his profession.

Judge Potter was married in Eugene, October 16, 1890, to Emily Bristol, a native of Benton county, Ore., and a daughter of George A. and Polly ( Minton) Bristol, both now deceased, the former dying in Benton county and the latter in Lane county. Mrs. Potter was a member of the same class in the University of Oregon as was her husband, and was graduated with the de- gree of Bachelor of Arts. They have a daughter. named Pauline.

In his fraternal relations Judge Potter is a member of Eugene Lodge No. II, A. F. & A. M., in which he is past master; of Eugene Chapter No. 10, R. A. M., in which he is high priest ; of the Woodmen of the World and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. In the Congrega- tional church, of which he is a member, he is

serving as chairman of the board of trustees. He is a charter member of the Eugene Commer- cial club, and was a member of its first board of trustees. He was formerly president of the Association of the University of Oregon. As a Republican he has taken an active part in the political affairs of Lane county for several years, and at the present time is chairman of the Re- publican county central committee.

Though a comparatively young man, Judge Potter has come to be recognized as a man of strong influence in local affairs. He is one of the best types of the self-made men of the hour, is possessed of a strong public spirit, and is ac- tively identified with all worthy movements which have for their end the advancement of the public welfare. Though he has applied himself closely to the duties of his chosen profession, he has shown himself to possess varied talents. He is broad-minded and liberal in his views, a man of unquestioned integrity, and his record thus far leads his friends to the conclusion that future political preferment will be dependent solely upon his own inclinations.

· J. H. SIMMONS. The family of which J. H. Simmons is a representative is one of the earliest to be founded in Oregon, the family having come to this state for the purpose of making a permanent settlement in 1845. For nearly sixty years Mr. Simmons has been iden- fied with the Willamette valley, and during that long period has been a witness of the various and romantic steps in the development of the country from a wilderness to one of the most attractive places of residence in the entire Amer- ican commonwealth.

Mr. Simmons was born in Wayne county, Ind., August 12, 1842, and is a son of Samuel and Mahala ( Bunch) Simmons. His father was born in Randolph county, Ind., in the year 1807, and was reared to an agricultural life. During the early years of his married life he moved to Michigan with his family, where they remained until 1836. The following nine years were spent in the states of Illinois, Iowa, Mis- souri and Kansas. In the latter state their home was at Leavenworth. In the spring of 1845 they joined a wagon train bound for Oregon. After a journey consuming about six monthis they arrived at their destination, reaching the site of the city of Portland on Christmas day. They had experienced no serious troubles with the Indians en route, but were nearly starved at one time before they could reach a point where they could replenish their depleted supplies. Mr. Simmons took his family to Washington county, remaining for a time at Forest Grove, but soon removed to what is now known as South Prairie,

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

near Mathieu's Ferry. In the spring of 1846 the elder Simmons traded a yoke of oxen for the title to six hundred and forty acres of rich land on Howell's Prairie, in Marion county, two hun- dred acres of which constituted a portion of the historic Laroque farm. At that time there were but four other families living in that vicinity. Mr. Simmons and his wife continued to reside on their farm until a few years before their death, when they removed to Portland, from which city they eventually returned to their orig- inal home. There Mr. Simmons passed away at the age of eighty-two years. His wife's death occurred soon after, at the age of eighty-one years. Mr. Simmons always took a deep interest in politics as a stanch Republican; and he was also identified with all worthy educational and religious movements.

Of the children born to this estimable pioneer couple, the four eldest are deceased, namely : William, Asa, Daniel and Mahala. Those sur- viving are: Elizabeth, wife of Eugene Shannon ; J. H., of this review ; and Sylvester C., of Port- land.

J. H. Simmons spent the years of his child- hood on his father's farm, attending the district school in the winter season and assisting in the work on the farm during the summer. At the age of nineteen years he embarked upon an inde- pendent career, having a confidence in his own ahility, which the success of past years has fully justified. Going to California in 1850, he en- gaged at once in mining, carrying with him to Oregon the fruits of eight years' hard labor. In 1860 he purchased with this money a farm of two hundred and forty acres, upon which he has since resided. He has eighty acres under culti- vation, with one hundred and sixty acres one and a quarter miles north of Mount Angel, on the Mount Angel and Woodburn road. Upon his farm Mr. Simmons has put the most modern improvements, having a neat residence and good buildings of all kinds. He is at present engaged in general farming and stock-raising, his farm being stocked with a high class of animals.

Mr. Simmons' marriage united him with Mary Jane Hall, a native of New York state, who crossed the plains with her parents in 1850. They have been the parents of ten children, named in the order of their birth as follows: Elizabeth, wife of M. Settlemier, of Mount Angel; J. D., residing near Monitor, Marion county ; Grover, who lives on Howell's Prairie : William, of Port- land ; L. D., of Sacramento: Redford and Fred- erick, both of Portland; Davis, who was killed in Tunnel No. 6; Ida, wife of Joseph Mack, who resides near Marquam; and Ola, wife of A. Johnson, of Howell's Prairie. Mrs. Simmons died in 1884, and Mr. Simmons was afterward married to Mary A. Holmes, a native of In- diana,

Mr. Simmons is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with which he has been identified for thirty-five years. His record is that of a substantial, useful and honorable citi- zen. He does not belong to that class of men who place obstacles in the way of beneficial movements, but on the contrary does all in his power to advance the highest interests of his locality and of the county.

NORMAN L. LEE, M. D. Now a leading physician of Junction City, Lane county, Ore., Norman L. Lee came to Oregon as a boy of ten years, having been born near Mount Vernon, Ill., March 29, 1837. while his parents were en route for a settlement in Iowa. He was the third child of five sons and six daughters born to his par- ents, Philester Lee, a native of Ontario, N. Y., and Eliza Ann (Burge) Lee, also of that state. The family is one of splendid ancestry, on the paternal side, three brothers of the name having come from the land across the water in the mid- dle of the seventeenth century, one finding a habitation in New England, another in the south and the other in the west. Josephus Lee, the paternal grandfather, was born in Connecticut, where as a cooper he earned his livelihood. As a patriot he served valiantly in the war of 1812. When he was about eighty-eight years of age he crossed the plains after the death of his wife, and became an inmate of his son's home in Salem, Ore., where he died past the ninety-first year of his age. His son, Philester Lee, the father of Dr. Lee, settled in Ohio, from which state he emigrated in 1837 to Iowa, locating near Keo- sauqua, Van Buren county, and later became a resident of Wapello county, engaging in farm- ing. In 1847 he brought his family across the plains with ox-teams, six months of the year being occupied in the trip, and after settling them in Portland he went to the California mines at the first report of the discovery of gold. When he returned in 1849 it was with a reward for his earnest and persevering effort, and with the pro- ceeds of the year's work he opened up a general merchandise business in Salem. Ore., which after one year he sold and took up a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres near the present site of Sodaville, Linn county, and remained in that neighborhood for the balance of his life, with the exception of only a few years. His death occurred at the age of eighty-four years, at the home of Dr. Lee in Junction City. The mother was the daughter of John Burge, a na- tive of New York, and the representative of a Knickerbocker family. He learned the trade of blacksmith, hut spent some of his early life as a teacher. In 1850 he crossed the plains from Jowa, to which state he had previously journeyed

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from his home in New York, and on his arrival in Oregon located on a donation claim of three hundred and twenty acres near Sodaville, Linn county, where his death occurred.

Norman L. Lee was educated primarily in the common schools of Oregon, and at the close of his school days he learned the trade of a carpen- ter and continued steadily in this work until he was thirty years old. In 1867 he began the study of medicine under the tutelage of Dr. George Odell, of Lebanon, Ore., and in 1870 he entered the medical department of Willamette Univer- sity and was graduated the following year with the degree of M. D. Entering at once upon general practice in Junction City, Dr. Lee has made a notable success of his work since making this his home, and has taken a leading interest in all movements pertaining to the general wel- fare of the city. He owns a farm of two hun- dred and fifty acres nine miles west of the city, which is partly improved. He also owns property in Junction City where he makes his home. As a Republican in politics he finds time to aid the advancement of the principles which he endorses, having served as postmaster of Junction City during Harrison's administration, and as a mem- ber of the city council and a school director he has faithfully served the public for many years.

Dr. Lee was married in 1867 in Linn county, to Miss Amanda M. Griggs, who was born in Illinois, the daughter of A. B. Griggs, also a native of that state. In 1850 he crossed the plains to Oregon, taking up a donation claim. of six hundred and forty acres near Albany, Linn county, where he engaged as a farmer until his death in April, 1903, at the age of seventy- seven years. The following children have blessed the union of the doctor and Mrs. Lee : Ernest U., county clerk of Lane county, located at Eu- gene ; Claude D., a druggist at Eugene ; Anna, the wife of Fred Fortmiller, of Portland, Ore .; Bret W., attending high school at Eugene; Clare A., at home; Abigail and Maud, both of whom died in infancy. One worthy act of Dr. Lee which should not be passed over in a resume of his life was his enlistment in 1863 in Company F, First Oregon Infantry, serving in the com- missary. department for nineteen months, prin- cipally east of the mountains. He was mustered out at Ft. Vancouver in 1865.

WILSON T. LEWIS. As a meat dealer Wilson T. Lewis has experienced several years of success in Buena Vista, Polk county, and Junction City, Lane county, where he is now located. He is an excellent business man, and his efforts have resulted in good to the com- munities in which he has lived, his conscien- tious and painstaking methods not only winning,

but keeping, a large and appreciative patronage. Mr. Lewis comes of good old southern patriotic stock, his parents, John and Mary (Turner) Lewis, and his paternal grandfather, William, having been born in Kentucky. The grandfather was a soldier in the war of 1812, and about 1840 removed with his family to Platte county, Mo., where he bought a large farm, and continued to live until his émigration to Oregon in 1853. He outfitted with ox-teams and prairie schooners, and his journey was comparatively free from the distressing incidents which marred the prog- ress of earlier travelers. Locating on a claim of three hundred and twenty acres near Inde- pendence, Polk county, he removed to Benton county, Ore., in 1870, and died on his farm near Monroe in his eighty-seventh year.

John Lewis took up a claim of three hundred and twenty acres, near Independence, Polk coun- ty, and in 1870 removed to a farm of one hun- dred and sixty acres in Jackson county, at pres- ent making his home on a little place near Med- ford, where he is engaged in the nursery busi- ness. Though eighty-seven years old May 16, 1903, he is still hale and hearty, and takes as keen an interest in the products of the soil as he did in the days of his young and vigorous manhood. His father-in-law, Thomas Turner, was born in Kentucky, and at an early day re- moved to Indiana, where his death occurred in 1835. Mrs. Lewis, who also is living, is the mother of nine children, five of whom are sons, Wilson T. being the oldest. The children were all educated in the public schools, and all were taught the necessity and dignity of self mainte- nance as soon as their powers were sufficiently developed. Wilson T., as the oldest son, left home in 1864, and engaged in the butcher busi- ness at Buena Vista. in 1873 removing his busi- ness to Junction City, and continuing there until disposing of his shop in 1902. Inspired by former success he re-engaged in business in July, 1903, the loss of his shop leaving him practically no occupation, a state of affairs not particularly pleasing to so active and capable a business man.

Since coming to Junction City, Mr. Lewis has added to its architectural and homelike appear- ance by erecting a comfortable and commodious residence, which is presided over by his wife, formerly Cecelia Florence, who was born seven miles northeast of Portland. and who is the mother of one daughter, Leah, now the wife of R. H. Skaggs, a stationary engincer living with the Lewis family. Mr. Lewis is fraternally prominent, and is identified with Eugene Lodge No. II, A. F. & A. M., of Eugene. He is a Democrat in political affiliation, and has served as councilman for a couple of terms. Mr. Lewis is thoroughly honorable in all of his dealings,

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and he takes a keen interest in all enterprises which have for their object the betterment of the community.

GEORGE O. KNOWLES. The genial and successful manager of the Meyer & Keyles gen- eral merchandise store is one of the very capa- ble and promising business men of Mapleton, and one of the many sons of Minnesota who owe their start in life to the inspiring surroundings of a prosperous northwestern community. Born in Rice county, Minn., September 27, 1865, he comes of an old New Hampshire family, in which state his parents, Ebenezer C. and Lu- cinda (Atwood) Knowles, were born, reared and married. The parents removed from New Hampshire to Rice county, Minn., in 1855, locat- ing at Hastings, where the father worked at his trade as carpenter, but afterward turned his attention to general farming near Northfield, Minn. For thirty years his intrepid honesty and practical industry redounded to the credit of the neighborhood and during that time he was elected to the state legislature on the Repub- lican ticket, representing in an interested and helpful manner, those who had placed their con- fidence in him. In 1885 he sold his farm and came to Mapleton, Ore., arriving October 8, and at once purchasing some land near the town, where he farmed in a small way up to the time of his death, January 12, 1902, at the age of eighty-two years. His wife, who was born in 1822, is still living in Mapleton and she is the mother of eight children, the order of their birth being as follows: John, a resident of Cotton- wood county, Minn .; Albert P .. of Mapleton ; Frank; Cora E., wife of W. H. Weatherson, of Florence. Ore. Four of the children are de- ceased. The elder Knowles was well known fra- ternally, and for more than forty years had been connected with the Blue Lodge, A. F. & A. M.

His father's success permitted of more than the average educational opportunities for his son, George O., who passed from the public schools of Rice county, Minn., to Carleton Col- lege, which he attended two terms. Six months were spent at the State University at Eugene, . and he afterward attended the Pacific Business College at San Francisco, remaining there five months. His first business experience was ac- quired in a mercantile business at Seaton, where he devoted seven years to this enterprise. For three years he tempted fortune in the mines of the Bohemia district, and was more fortunate than many, and at present not only owns three claims there, but is possessor of a general mer- chandise store netting a handsome yearly in- come,

August 4, 1902, Mr. Knowles was united in marriage with Lenora B. Casterline, who was born in Minnesota in 1879, and came to Oregon in 1887, where she was reared and educated. Mr. Knowles is a Democrat in political affilia- tion. Fraternally he is associated with the Flor- ence Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of which he is pres- ent worshipful master; and the Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows.

THOMAS A. MILLIORN. An unusually active and adventurous life has been that of Thomas A. Milliorn, now one of the oldest citi- zens of Junction City, which is built upon a part of the land which formed his donation claim, taken up in 1853, and where for many years his activities have been given for the advancement of the welfare of the city and community. An evidence of the prosperity which has followed the efforts of Mr. Milliorn since coming to Ore- gon lies in the property which he has accumulat- ed, he having built the finest residence in the city, is a stockholder and director and one of the in- corporators of the Farmers & Merchants Bank, owns twenty acres adjoining the town and one hundred and six included in a farm located upon the banks of the Willamette river.

Mr. Milliorn was born in Campbell county, Va., August 18, 1828, the son of John, also a native of that state and the grandson of Henry. Henry Milliorn was born in Pennsylvania and later in life he wended his way toward the south- ern states, settling first in Virginia, and in 1833 locating in Philadelphia, Tenn., where he died when about ninety-six years old. John Milliorn located with his father in East Tennessee, and later located in Philadelphia, thirty miles below Knoxville, Tenn. He was a wheelwright by trade and followed this work until 1843, when he removed to Jackson county, Mo., and located fourteen miles southwest of Independence in the neighborhood of Hart Grove. That remained his home for nine years, when he outfitted with ox- teams and crossed the plains to Oregon, on his arrival locating on a donation claim of three hundred and twenty acres one mile west of Junc- tion City, Lane county. The last days of his life were spent in the city which he saw spring into existence in the wilderness, where he lived re- tired until his death in March, 1891, lacking but two months of being eighty-six years old. He was a public-spirited man and never shirked his duty, serving the public in various ways, among them being county commissioner of Lane county. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. He married Mary W. Lee, who was born near Lynchburg, Va., in 1811, and who died in Lane county. Ore., in 1886. She was the daughter of Shelley Lee, also a native of

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Virginia, a member of one of the branches of the honored Lee family famous in the history of the Southern Confederacy. On attaining manhood Shelley Lee removed to eastern Tennessee, .later to Indiana, again to Tennessee, then to Missouri, and back again to the southern state, where his death occurred at the advanced age of ninety- nine years, having all his life been engaged in farming.

Of the four sons and six daughters born to John and Mary W. Milliorn the second child and the oldest son was Thomas A. Milliorn, and in the common schools of Missouri and an acad- emy he received his education. At eighteen years of age he engaged at the trade of a wheelwright in Kansas City, and built the wagon in which he traveled to the mines of California in 1849, oxen being the mode of conveyance. The journey was accomplished safely, though not without the harrowing experiences which invariably accom- panied the pioneers in their travels. On arriv- ing in California Mr. Milliorn engaged first in mining and later conducted a pack train from Colusa to Trinity. This he continued for two years, and in 1852 he came to Oregon, and lo- cated the claim of his father and built the cabin for him. Following this he became the owner of the claim which constituted the land upon which Junction City was afterward laid out. He later sold ninety acres to Ben Holladay, and much of the remainder was laid out into town lots, though for some time he engaged in general farm- ing and stock-raising. After laying out the first addition of the city he followed this with another, with C. W. Washburne to help him, now known as the Million & Washburne Addition. Always public-spirited, as was his father, Mr. Milliorn has done everything possible to advance the in- terests of the city, giving both time and means to its upbuilding. He donated land for the mills and a half of the school block is the gift of his generosity. As a Democrat he has served his party in various offices, among them being school director for one term and notary public for six years.

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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 227

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