Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 239

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 239

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On August 13, 1865, Mr. Johnson married, in Sullivan county. Mo., Mary M. Russell, who was born in Loudoun county. Va., the birthplace of her father, Jonathan Russell. Her grand- father, James Russell, was a native of Virginia. and a soldier in the Revolutionary war, was of Irish parentage, his family having emigrated from the north of Ireland to Virginia. Jona- than Russell began life as a farmer in Virginia, but afterwards became an early settler of Sulli- van county, Mo., removing there in 1857. He improved a good farm, and for a number of years served in the state militia. He married for his first wife Elizabeth Edwards, who was born in Loudoun county, Va., a daughter of Joseph Edwards, a planter. She died in Missouri, leav- ing five children, one of whom resides in Mis- souri, one in Arkansas, and three in Oregon,

namely: Mary M., now Mrs. Johnson; Mrs. Emma Crosby, of Albany ; and James J., of Mon- mouth. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are the parents of four children, namely : Mrs. Emma C. Knight, of Linn county ; Mrs. Amanda M. Bain, of Linn county ; James A., a barber in Albany ; and Dr. John P., a dentist in Roseberg, Ore. Although not an active politician, Mr. Johnson supports the principles of the Republican party.

THOMAS COLLINSON was born in county Durham, England, in 1822, and there spent twenty years of his life. His family is a very old one in England, and is noted for the strain of longevity which encourages with the possibility of long life all who bear the name. Joshua Col- linson, the father of Thomas, was a soldier in the English army, and served under Wellington at the famous battle of Waterloo. He also was born in county Durham, and lived to be more than ninety years old.

Thomas Collinson's first self-made money was the result of labor in the lead mines. In 1844 he emigrated to America, and being familiar with mining, took his way to coal mines of Pennsylvania, where he worked for about seven years. In 1851 he came west to San Francisco by way of the Isthmus of Panama, and in Grass valley, California, engaged in mining for many years, experiencing the average success which visited the seeker after wealth in the early days. Iu 1858 he went to the Caribou mining region on horseback, wearily riding over mountainous roads for seventy-eight days, and at his destina- tion sunk the first hole in that now famous region. That he was fairly successful as a miner is readily believed, for upon coming to Oregon in 1860 he had the means with which to purchase two hundred and seventy-five acres of land, the same being his present farm. At that time the property had but few improvements, and the general air of prosperity prevailing at the pres- ent time is entirely due to the exertions of the present owner. A comfortable rural residence, good barns and outhouses, and modern agricul- tural implements facilitate a very successful and paying farming and stock-raising enterprise. Of the nine children born to Mr. Collinson and his wife, Sarah (Booth) Collinson, six are living : Thomas, Alice, Ann D., Joseph, William and Benjamin. Mr. Collinson is one of the most honored of the venerable citizens of this neigh- borhood.

DAVID FROMAN was five years of age when his honored father, Jacob Froman, died on the farm in Durbin county, Ind., on which farm he himself was born September 7, 1821,

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the youngest of the seven children born to his mother, Margaret (Dawson) Froman, and the only one living. The mother died in Illinois in 1848. She was born in Kentucky, as was also her husband, and both came from old families in the Bourbon state.

As a small lad David removed with his mother to Illinois, and in 1830 settled on a farm one and a half miles from Danville, Vermilion county, then in the heart of a vast wilderness. The sur- roundings were very primitive and the neighbors far apart, the mother was very poor, and with difficulty found food and clothes for her chil- dren. This mother was a Spartan, and a won- derful worker, and she taught her boys the value of industry, forcing them to perform their share towards the family maintenance. In time two of the elder sons managed the farm, which was a large and productive one, and David worked for them, eventually receiving good wages for his toil. He was in a fair way to succeed, and felt justified in sharing his pros- pects with another, and married, August 12, 1841, in Vermilion county, Nancy A. Henderson, a native of Coshocton county, Ohio, who came to Illinois with her parents. The young people began farming in Vermilion county, and Mr. Froman engaged also in trading in New Orleans.

For some time Mr. Froman had been suffer- ing from an annoying bronchial trouble, and his physician advised a complete change of climate, intimating that Oregon might be beneficial. Ac- cordingly he disposed of his interests in Vermil- ion county and outfitted for the long journey across the plains, departing from home March 24, 1851. They had two wagons, with four yoke of oxen to each wagon, besides some horses and loose stock. They came via the old Oregon trail, and on the way the Indians relieved them of the care of some of their horses and cows, but other- wise the journey was fairly pleasant and unevent- ful. Locating in Linn county, Mr. Froman took up three hundred and twenty acres of land four miles southeast of Albany, built a cabin in the midst of the timbered wildness, and began to clear in order to plant the first crops. At best this was a laborious task, but he worked dili- gently, and soon had wheat in the ground, and a place erected to cover his stock. With a neigh- bor he bought a threshing machine, the first in that locality, the object being to thresh their own grain, but they afterward sent a man out with it to thresh for the other farmers in the district. During the first year the great lumbering machine nearly paid for itself, and this, added to the sale of the general farm commodities, brought a competence to Mr. Froman, and greatly encouraged him in his adopted state.

About 1859 Mr. Froman sold his land and his interest in the threshing machine and came to

live in Albany, which has since been his home. For the greater part he has engaged in the brok- erage and money-loaning business, and has amassed a neat little fortune in this way. He lives in a comfortable home with his wife, and is popular and much beloved by all who know him. He is a Republican politically, formerly being an old-time Whig, and he has held a num- ber of important offices in the town, including that of mayor for two terms and councilman for several years. Fraternally he is prominent and well known, and is identified with the Corinthian Lodge, F. and A. M., of which he is past master ; the Royal Arch Masons; and the Grand Lodge of Oregon, of which he is past grand warden. Mr. Froman had two brothers and a sister who came to Oregon, and of these, Thomas John and Mrs. Wilson, died in Linn county. Mrs. Fro- man is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Froman is charitable and public- spirited, and few efforts to improve the town have failed to receive his substantial support and co-operation. The soul of integrity, he carries with him a helpful and optimistic nature, and one which sees principally good and merit in his fellow-men.

WILLIAM C. SPENCER. The spring of 1847 witnessed the departure of many immi- grants from their homes in the middle west to cast their lot amid the untried conditions beyond the Rocky mountains, and of these it is doubtful if any started forth with more glowing hopes, and greater faith in success, than William C. Spencer. Born in the farming region around St. Charles, Mo., October 1, 1823, Mr. Spencer has already lived to the biblical allotment of years, yet still finds pleasure and profit in farming and stock-raising, interests drawn around him by an inquiring mind and youthful heart. His boy- hood days on the Missouri farm were crowded with duties, and he walked three and a half miles to the nearest school-house. There were fifteen children in the family, five dying at birth, nine sons and five daughters. The mother died in 1837, and the father in 1841, after which the farm was managed by the combined efforts of the children, several of whom had already at- tained maturity.

During the winter of 1846-7 William C. made preparations to emigrate to the far west. Start- ing out April 11, 1847, he drove during the entire journey, and arrived near Dayton, Ore., in October, little the worse for the days and months of strenuous activity and consequent deprivation. In the spring of 1848 William C. went to Polk county and took up a donation claim of six hun- dred and forty acres four miles from Springfield on the banks of the Mckenzie river, where he

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erected a round-log house 14x16 feet dimen- sions, and very crude and uninviting in every particular. Afterward, when some of the land had been cleared, and crops realized, a better house afforded shelter for his family, and he remained there in comparative comfort until 1857. Between 1857 and 1887 Mr. Spencer lived in Santa Clara county, Cal., after which he re- turned to the section farm on the Mckenzie, and worked the same in its entirety until 1903. Dur- ing the preceding year he disposed of three hun- dred and twenty acres, finding that with in- creasing age this is about all that he can attend to with any degree of satisfaction.

The year after coming to Oregon, in 1848, Mr. Spencer married Julia Scott, who died in 1865 leaving five children, of whom Mary E. is now Mrs. Cowan; Maria T. is the wife of James Carlyon, of California ; and Manan, Anna E., and William H. are deceased. Mr. Spencer has lived an upright and highly useful life, and his right to a place among the most industrious and worthy of the pioneers of '47 is unques- tioned.

WILLIAM W. SHORTRIDGE. Identified with the agricultural interests of Lane county William W. Shortridge has also taken a broad view of other pursuits, having served for four- teen years as postmaster of Wallace. He was born in Muscatine, Iowa, March 31, 1836, the son of Samuel B. S. Shortridge, a pioneer of 1852, who was born in Bourbon county, Ky., in 1798, a relative of Daniel Boone. At a very early age he accompanied his parents to Indi- ana, where they made their home for many years. He early learned the trade of a black- smith and followed this in addition to farming. In his young manhood he married Emily A. Heath, also a native of Kentucky, and after locations in Indiana, Iowa and Illinois, they crossed the plains with ox-teams and came direct to Lane county, where he took up a donation claim of one hundred and sixty acres, located seven miles south of Cottage Grove, which he improved and cultivated until 1858, when he took up his residence with J. H. Shortridge, where he lived the balance of his life. Besides William W., of this review, he had five children, of whom James H. is a resident of Lane county, and Caroline D. became the wife of Hiran Stew- art, of Goshen, the others being deceased. The mother died in Iowa. Samuel B. S. Shortridge was always active in politics and also as a mem- ber of the Church of Christ.

William W. Shortridge grew to the age of sixteen years in his home in the middle west, receiving his education in the district schools, and after the journey west he remained at home

until he married and located on Coast Fork, six miles south of Cottage Grove, where he lived three years. He then removed to Pass Creek near Divide and remained for a period of two years, when he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land eleven miles south of Cottage Grove, upon which he has since made his home. The improvement and cultivation of these broad, rich acres have been the pleasure and profit of Mr. Shortridge in the passing years, and he has bent every effort toward bringing his farm to a high state of perfection. He has a comfort- able home, one of the best south of Cottage Grove, and has also erected other buildings which go to improve the value and facilitate the operation of the farm. In 1883 Mr. Shortridge built a saw-mill on his place and has since con- ducted it with success. He now has two hun- dred acres of land, eighty of which are under cultivation, carrying on general farming and stock-raising. In the midst of his pursuits Mr. Shortridge, like many others, was called upon to defend his home and adopted state against the depredations of the savages in the Rogue River war, enlisting February 13, 1856, in Company A, under the command of Captain . Ladshaw. During his service of four months and nineteen days he participated in the battles at Cow creek and Big Meadow, and many minor engagements. Upon his discharge he returned to his work on the farm.

The marriage of Mr. Shortridge united him with Miss Ellen Jane Kyes, a native of Illinois, and to them have been born eleven children, all of whom are now living and named in order of birth are as follows : William C .; Silas S. ; Saman- tha J., the wife of William Brown; A. W .; Gilbert L .; Samuel P .; Emily L., the wife of Edward Adams ; Lillie S. married George Suther- land; Lucy Ann married Lyman Adams ; Carrie F .; and Lester A. The two last named still make their home with their parents, while the others reside in the vicinity. In political prefer- ence Mr. Shortridge is a Populist and has al- ways taken an active part in public affairs, hold- ing at various times the minor offices of this vicinity.

NIMROD PRICE, since 1852, has been iden- tified with the agricultural interests of this part of the county. He was born in Jefferson county, Ky., September 8, 1822, but his parents moved from the south when their son Nimrod was a child of six years of age, settling in Indiana. After making their home in the Hoosier state for two years the family located near Danville, Ver- milion county, Ill., in 1830.

Nimrod Price received his early education and training in Illinois, and soon after reaching his

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majority was united in marriage with Miss America Froman, October 22, 1846, marking the date of this event. The young people made their home in Illinois for about five years, and, in 1851, filled with a desire to found a home in the new west, they started on the long journey across the plains with the greater part of their belong- ings packed in one wagon, drawn by four yoke of oxen. Eight head of loose cattle and two horses also formed a part of their equipment. The journey began March 24, 1851, and it was not until September II following that they finally reached their destination in Marion county. In the spring of 1852 Mr. Price came to Linn county and took up a donation claim of three hundred and twenty acres, the same prop- erty upon which he at present makes his home. With the exception of two winters, when he was in Albany, this has been his home ever since, settling here over half a century ago, and in the meantime he has developed one of the finest farm properties in Linn county.

To Nimrod and America (Froman) Price were born twelve children, whose names and whereabouts are given as follows: Curtis re- sides in Jackson county, Ore .; S. Price is a resi- dent of Crook county ; Clara became the wife of Judge Charles E. Walverton, of Albany ; Bruce is a stockman in Crook county; Annie is the wife of Charles C. LaFollette and resides in Cali- fornia ; Kate, Mrs. Horace Powell, also resides in California; Clark, the youngest of the family living, has assumed charge of the home place. The children deceased are named as follows : Albertine, Sydney, John M., Russell, and Fred. In 1848, before coming to the west, Mr. Price joined the Masonic fraternitv, and is now identi- fied with the lodge at Salem of which he is the only charter member living. Mr. Price also has the distinction of being one of the seven charter members of the Masonic lodge at Albany.

ELI FRANKLIN WYATT. A native of Ed- gar county, Ill., Mr. Wyatt was born August 5, 1828, the old paternal farm being at present ad- jacent to the town of Chrisman. His father, Col. William Wyatt, was born in Ireland, and came to America with the paternal grandfather, Jas- per, when he was three years old, settling in Virginia. Col. William Wyatt removed to Ed- gar county, Ill., about 1818, and from there en- listed in the Black Hawk war, for meritorious service receiving the rank by which he was after- ward known. His death occurred in his adopted state in September, 1847, of typhoid fever. His wife, formerly Elizabeth Morgan, born in Vir- ginia, and daughter of John Morgan of Welsh descent, survived him until eighty-four years of age. A large family of children, fourteen in

number, were born to this couple, five of whom are living, Eli Franklin being the eighth in the family. Of the children, the oldest son, Shelby, is living to a truly remarkable age, and now, when one hundred and three years old, is hale and hearty and interested in all that happens on the old homestead in Shelby county, Ill. An- other son, Ananias, came to California in 1853, later settled in Oregon, and finally died in Boise City, Idaho, in 1893.

The support of so large a family naturally taxed the resources of the Edgar county farm notwithstanding the fact that the boys were all trained to make themselves useful, and diligently performed their respective tasks. At the age of thirteen Eli Franklin relieved the family of his support by going to live with a brother-in- law in Green county, Wis., and after a year he made his way to the lead mines of Galena, Ill., where he worked for a couple of years. He next went to Monona county, Iowa, and while there made preparation to cross the plains to California. Getting as far as St. Joe, Mo., he was obliged to turn back, owing to illness, and thereafter went to his old home and remained there until 1853. He crossed the plains during that year with the Summervilles, starting April 9, and arriving in Oregon September 15, and bought a claim of one hundred and sixty acres four miles east of Harrisburg. The following year, in 1854, he went to California to engage in mining, but seems not to have been success- ful, for he soon returned and started improving his ranch. Later he visited with more success the mines of Eureka, and Shasta county, and finally located permanently on his farm, where he engaged extensively in the stock business, raising principally F. B. Shorthorns, and Cots- wold and Shropshire sheep. As his enterprises grew in magnitude more land was required, and at one time he owned ten hundred and forty acres in one body. From time to time he dis- posed of this large holding, until he had but four hundred and forty acres left, that being disposed of in 1902. At the height of his stock- raising enterprise he had as many as two thou- sand sheep roaming on his meadows. He was a good manager and excellent business man, and had the good sense to realize that the best stock brought the best prices. Consequently, the fin- est breeds on the market were sold from the Wyatt farm, and had an unexcelled reputation throughout this and the adjoining states.

For the last twenty-five years Mr. Wyatt has spent a great deal of his time in Harrisburg, and four years in Eugene, and in 1902 he located permanently in Albany. He is enjoying life in comfort, feeling that his unceasing toil for many years entitles him to a respite from business cares. A stanch Republican in politics, he has

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never aspired to office, but his interest in edu- cation has led him to serve as a member of the school board. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was a trustee and one of the organizers and promoters of the church in Harrisburg. In Linn county, Ore., Mr. Wyatt married his first wife, Martha Froman, who was born in Illinois, and who bore him six children : Thomas, a graduate of the University of Oregon, and at present engaged in mining in east Oregon ; J. Russell, an attorney at law in Al- bany ; Lillie, a graduate of the University of Ore- gon, and now the wife of John Barns, of Port- land ; Rosa died in Eugene ; James, living in San Francisco; and May, died in Eugene. The sec- ond marriage of Mr. Wyatt took place in Eugene in 1886, and was with Mrs. Mary (Evans) Cart- wright, born in Edgar county, Ill., and daugh- ter of William Evans, who was a farmer in Ed- gar county. Mr. Evans removed to Nebraska in 1854, settling six miles from Nemaha, Nemaha , county, of which locality he was the first white resident. April 16, 1860, he started across the plains, arriving at his destination in Lane county, Ore., where he farmed for some years, and whence he removed to Red Bluffs, Cal., where his death occurred. He married Leah Oxshire, who was born in Tennessee, died in Oregon, and who was the mother of eleven children, nine of whom attained maturity, and three of whom are still living, all being residents of Oregon. Mrs. Wyatt was nine years of age when she crossed the plains with her parents, and she was reared on a farm, and finally married James Cartwright, who was born in Texas. Of this union there were born two children, of whom Carrie is mar- ried and lives in Tacoma, Wash .; and John E., formerly the editor of the Harrisburg Review, died in Harrisburg. To Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt has been born one child, Earl Franklin.

ROBERT VEAL. A native of Pennsylva- nia. Robert Veal was born December 11, 1840, in Pottsville. His father, also named Robert Veal, was born in London, England, and when a young man emigrated to this country, locating in Pottsville, Pa., where his death occurred in the summer of 1841. He married Sarah Jenk- ins, also a native of England, and she, too, died in Pottsville, Pa.

Reared and educated in his native town, Rob- ert Veal attended the public schools until fifteen years old, after which he served an apprentice- ship of four years at the machinist's trade. Going then to Columbus, Ohio, he worked at his trade until 1862, when he enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Twenty-first Ohio Infan- try, which was assigned to the Army of the

Tennessee. He was subsequently with his regi- ment in Chattanooga, in the Georgia campaign, and while there was taken sick, at Atlanta, and sent home to recruit. He was afterwards transferred to the reserve corps of veterans and served with different companies until the close of the war, when he was mustered out in Indian- apolis, Ind. Remaining in that city, Mr. Veal worked as a machinist for Chandler & Taylor for two years, then removed to Hendricks county, Ind., where he was engaged in the man- ufacture of oak, walnut and ash lumber for a number of years. Going to Kansas in 1868, he lived in Chetopa fifteen months, then returned to Hendricks county, where he remained five years. Again taking up his residence in Che- topa, Kans., in 1875, Mr. Veal was there in the employ of B. S. Edwards & Co., flour manufac- turers, for nine years, being engineer and gen- eral repairer of machinery in their mills.

Emigrating to Oregon in 1884, Mr. Veal lo- cated first in Stayton, where he was engaged in the manufacture of lumber for a year. Dispos- ing then of his mill in that place, he carried on a retail lumber business at Woodburn for six months, and then returned to Stayton. Purchas- ing a small chair factory from Mr. Neff, he oper- ated it alone for a short time, and then formed a partnership with his two sons under the present firm name of R. Veal & Sons. In April, 1888, this firm transferred its business to Albany, and built a new factory, which was burned in Octo- ber, 1901. With characteristic enterprise, Mr. Veal immediately rebuilt his plant. enlarging it seven-fold, and in April, 1902, the firm was again ready for business. Their factory is lo- cated on Main street, not far from their saw- mill, which is specially well equipped. The main factory is 80x240 feet ; their warehouse is 50x150 feet : the finishing room is 50x100 feet; and the dry kiln is 20x70 feet. The boiler-room is fitted with the latest improvements, and a blacksmith's shop forms a part of the plant. This firm manu- factures from native lumber all kinds of chairs, shipping them to all the coast ports, carrying on one of the largest retail and wholesale trades of any firm in the valley. It has also its own fire protection, having a tower eighty-nine feet high, a tank with a capacity of fifteen thousand gal- lons, giving a pressure of forty pounds, while pipes are laid to every building, and ample hose is provided for any emergency.

On November 5. 1867, in Hendricks county, Ind., Mr. Veal married Miss Maggie Barker, who was born in Plainfield, Ind., a daughter of Jolin Barker. The immigrant ancestor of the Barker family from which she was descended, emigrated from Holland to the United States, and settled in North Carolina prior to the Revo- lution. Her grandfather, Daniel Barker, left the

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south on account of slavery, and located with his family in Indiana, where he followed his trade of a blacksmith. John Barker was born on the homestead in North Carolina, but moved with his parents to Indiana, where he was engaged as a blacksmith, following the occupation to which he was reared. He married Mary Rea- gan, who was born on the Little Miami river, a daughter of Ruell Reagan, a native of South Carolina, born of Quaker parents. He was a farmer, and settled first in Ohio, subsequently removing to Indiana. Of the union of John and Mary (Reagan) Barker seven children were born, Maggie, now Mrs. Veal, being the only one now living. The mother, who came to Oregon, died in Albany. Mr. and Mrs. Veal are the par- ents of three children, namely: Frederick C., a prominent business man of Albany, is a member of the firm of R. Veal & Sons, and its manager ; Harry Otis died, in Kansas, at the age of seven months ; and Robert A. B., a member of the firm, and the bookkeeper, is an ex-councilman of Al- bany. Politically Mr. Veal is true to the prin- ciples of the Republican party, which he invari- ably supports by voice and vote. Mrs. Veal is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

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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 239

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