Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 27

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 27

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In 1857 Mr. Boise was appointed by President Buchanan one of the supreme court judges of the territory with Judges Williams and Deady, and after the admission of Oregon to statehood he was elected supreme judge of Oregon, with Judges Waite, Stratton and Prim. In 1878, by the constitution of the state, the judges first elected to the supreme court were to draw lots for their terms, one term two years, one four years and two six years. Judge Waite having drawn the shortest term, was by the constitution made chief justice of the supreme court; Judge Stratton at the end of two years became chief justice, and Judge Boise, at the end of four years, became chief justice. For twelve years Judge Boise continued to hold this honorable po-

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sition, the duties thereof being particularly trying as the supreme judges were also obliged to be circuit judges of their districts. From 1862 to 1864, inclusive, he served as chief justice of Ore- gon, and upon the expiration of his term was re- elected for six years. After being again chosen in 1870 his seat was vigorously contested by Hon. B. F. Bonham, and rather than engage in long and expensive litigation, Judge Boise re- signed his office and returned to the general prac- tice of law. In 1874 he was elected by the legis- lature one of the capitol building commissioners, an office which he filled with distinct credit until 1876. The same year he was elected to his old position on the supreme bench. When the legis- lature, as authorized by the state constitution, provided for a separate supreme court and cir- cuit courts, the new supreme court consisted of three judges. Judge Boise was appointed by the governor one of the three judges of the su- preme court under the new system, with Judge James K. Kelly and Judge Prim. Judge Kelly being the oldest in years, became chief justice, and Judges Boise and Prim associates, and cir- cuit judges were appointed from the judicial dis- tricts. These judges, both supreme and circuit, held their offices under the court and the new law creating them, until the next general election. when Judge Boise preferred the nomination for judge of the third judicial district, the same dis- trict from which he had formerly been elected to the supreme bench. He was elected and has held the office ever since, with the exception of six years, from 1892 to 1898. At present he has charge of Department No. 2, and in spite of his advancing years, and the fact that he has been a circuit judge of Oregon for all but eleven years since 1857, he still performs the duties of his office with old-time vigor and enthusiasm.

Judge Boise has been a resident of Salem ever since 1857. Until 1865 he lived on property in the town upon which is now built the convent of the Sacred Heart, and in 1880 purchased the farm which is still his home, and of which he retains sixty acres. During the years much property has passed through his hands, and the old farm taken by him upon his arrival in the territory has been enlarged to twenty-six hundred acres. The first house in Salem was built upon his pres- ent honie, and he owns the old mission mill house and grounds, a portion of the house having been built in the early '40s. A part of his farm at Salem has been laid out in city lots, and the North Salem addition is included in this prop- erty. His farm is finely improved and profitable, and has greatly increased in value with the build- ing up of the town. For some years Judge Boise was interested in a woolen factory near Dallas. Especially has he been interested in the develop- ment of the agricultural resources of his county, and as a member, and five times master of the

Grange, has had the opportunity to further the interests of the farmers, whom he regards as the backbone of communities wherever found.

Oregon has had no more stanch supporter of her educational institutions than Judge Boise. Twice has he been a member of the board of trustees of Pacific University at Forest Grove, and has held the same position in La Creole Acad- emy, at Dallas, and Willamette University at Salem, serving also as regent of the Agricultural College at Corvallis. Pacific University conferred upon the judge the degree of doctor of laws. Judge Boise is a member of the Oregon Historical Association and the Pioneer Association, and in this connection treasures his old-time friendships for other founders of the legal structure of the golden west, among whom may be mentioned Judge Kelly, who came to Oregon in 1851, and is now living in Washington; Governor Grover, who came to Portland in 1851; and George H. Williams, who arrived in the state in 1853.

The first marriage of Judge Boise was con- tracted in San Francisco in 1851, and was with Ellen F. Lyon, a native of Boston, Mass., and daughter of Capt. Lemuel Lyon, a pioneer of the Pacific coast. Mrs. Boise, who was a cousin of General Lyon, who was killed at the battle of Wilson Creek, Mo., died in Oregon, leaving two children, of whom Reuben P., Jr., is engaged in the real-estate business in Salem ; and Whitney L. is an attorney in Portland. In 1867 Judge Boise married Emily A. Pratt, a native of Worces- ter, Mass., a daughter of Ephraim Pratt, a manu- facturer of Massachusetts, and sister of Captain Pratt, who started the woolen mill of this town. Of this last union were born two children, of whom Ellen, a graduate of Willamette Univer- sity, was drowned in the undertow at Long Beach, Wash., at the age of twenty-two; and Maria, also a graduate of Willamette University, is living with her father. During his first voting days the judge was a Douglas Democrat, but after the war subscribed to the principles of the Repub- lican party. It is unquestionably true that it was largely owing to the efforts of this early pioneer judge that his state was saved to the Union, for he unceasingly worked to that end, and by sound logic, well delivered, did much to direct public opinion into channels of humanity and broad-mindedness. The career of Judge Boise needs no eulogy. He has been noted for his equitable rulings and lucid exposition of the law; for his rugged integrity under any and all circumstances; and for his devotion to friends and the interests intrusted to his care.

AUGUSTUS H. BUCKINGHAM. Among the more recent acquisitions to the business com- munity of Bellfountain due mention should be given to A. H. Buckingham, who since March 1,

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1903, has been engaged in mercantile interests here. Heman C. Buckingham, the father of A. H., was born March 15, 1812, in New York state, and until his first marriage, which united him with Miss Laura Kinney, he remained at home with his parents. Mrs. Buckingham died when quite young, leaving one child, who is also de- ceased. After his marriage to his second wife, who was Miss Betsie Trumble, the family moved to Illinois, which was their home until the year 1845, which witnessed their outfitting for the trip across the plains. Instead of making the contin- uous journey, however, they varied the monotony by spending the winter months in St. Joseph, Mo., but with the dawn of spring again resumed the journey. Oregon City was their destination, and there the father engaged in a mercantile busi- ness until 1850, when he came to Benton county, taking up a donation claim south of Bellfountain. His second wife did not long survive the arduous journey to the west, and at her death left two children, one of whom, Lovina Greeg, resides in the vicinity of Bellfountain.

The third marriage of Heman C. Buckingham was with Matilda J. Starr, a native of Ohio, who came to Oregon in 1848. Of the nine children who blessed this marriage seven are living, and are named as follows: Precious, Mrs. Pruett, of Oakland, Cal; Augustus H .; Deette, Mrs. Barrows, of Coos county; Victor, a resident of Roseburg, Douglas county ; John, also a resident of Coos county; Edith, Mrs. Rayburn, of Port- land; and Mrs. Winnifred Woodcock, of Bell- fountain. The parents continued to live on the old donation claim until their death, the father passing away when sixty-eight and the mother when sixty-three years of age. Both were prom- inent and active members of the United Brethren Church. Mr. Buckingham was a very popular man in his community, and served one term in the state legislature.

Augustus H. Buckingham received his edu- cation in the district schools and in Philomath College, and remained at home until his mar- riage with Miss Lillian Frink, a native of Benton county. Their early married life was spent in the vicinity of the old home place, and two years later they removed to Philomath. During the three years in which they resided there the wife died, and thereafter Mr. Buckingham went to Pendleton, Umatilla county, where for about three years he was engaged in the grocery busi- ness. His second marriage occurred in 1886 and united him with Miss Henrietta Pendergrass, a native of Coos county, and the following year the family removed to the latter county, remaining there until 1900. In the meantime having pur- chased two hundred and seventy-two acres of the old family homestead, Mr. Buckingham re- moved hither in the year last mentioned, engag-

ing in general farming upon the tract until March I, 1903, when, as previously stated, he purchased his general mercantile store in Bellfountain. Dur- ing Mr. Buckingham's residence upon the farm many improvements were made which have enhanced it both in appearance and in value, and one hundred and fifty acres are now under active cultivation. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Buckingham, George, Lelah and Velma, and all are at home with their parents. Among the fraternal organizations Mr. Buckingham's name is to be found enrolled as a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Degree of Honor, and he is also identified with the Grange. Politically he supports the principles of the Re- publican party.

GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS CONE. The third generation of the Cone family in Oregon is worthily represented by Gustavus Adolphus Cone, who was born upon the farm near Hub- bard upon which he now lives, September 19, 1873. His father, also Gustavus Adolphus, one of several brothers to emigrate to the west in the early days, was born in Rush county, Ind., Nov- ember 21, 1823, and when nine years of age removed with his parents to LaPorte county, also in Indiana. There he learned the cooper's trade, which he followed in Indiana. The other members of the family removed to Illinois and thence, in 1841, to Iowa. His two brothers, Anson and Aaron, having come to Oregon in 1846, Gustavus A. followed their example the following year, leaving behind him a paying cooperage business in Michigan City, Ind. Seven months were required to accomplish the journey from Indiana to Oregon. Having arrived at his destination, he located in Oregon City and worked at his trade. During the historic year 1849 he contracted the gold fever, which was rendering half the inhabitants dissatisfied with existing conditions, and went to California, where he mined with moderate success on the middle. north and south forks of the American river. Afterward he engaged in the hotel business in Sacramento. In the fall of 1849 he returned to Oregon by vessel, spending twenty-seven days on the water. Soon after reaching Portland he purchased the title to six hundred and forty, acres of land on the French prairie. Having thus · established himself permanently and satis- factorily, he was united in marriage December 15, 1850, to Rebecca Emma Iler, a native of the state of Ohio, and a daughter of James Iler. Of the seven children born and reared of this union, Benjamin F. lives on a ranch near Mos- cow, Idalio: Louise is the wife of John Murray of Butteville, Ore .; Lewis died at the age of twenty-one; Laura is the wife of Fred Ernst

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of Jefferson, Ore .; Heman is a resident of Portland, Ore .; Anna is the wife of A. L. Rice of Silverton; and Gustavus Adolphus is living o11 a portion of the old donation claim.

Too much cannot be said of the admirable and useful life of Gustavus A. Cone, who possessed all of the strong and reliable attributes with which we are wont to invest the typical western pioneer. In the twilight of a venerable age he had the satisfaction of knowing that he had eighteen grandchildren and four great-grand- children, nearly all of whom were possessed of rugged constitutions, and who, without excep- tion, regarded their grandparent as the embodi- ment of all that was honorable and genial. Many years before his death he was the undisputed owner of the entire six hundred and forty acres of land, and upon this he successfully raised grain and general produce, devoting much time to the breeding of Short-horns and other high- grade stock. His business ability found vent in a general mercantile enterprise conducted in Butte- ville for several years in partnership with his eldest son, Benjamin F., and he was instru- mental in bringing about the organization of the Farmer's Warehouse Association. A Republi- can in his political affiliations, he filled many posi- tions of trust in the community, and he took a deep interest in the maintenance of a high stand- ard of education, serving for many years on the school board. He was one of the oldest Masons in the state of Oregon, was connected with Mult- nomah Lodge of Oregon City, and passed all the chairs in the Blue Lodge. His death occurred December 26, 1898.

The present Gustavus Adolphus Cone was reared on the home farm in Marion county, and was educated in the public schools, the Oregon State Agricultural College at Corvallis, New- burg College, and the Portland Business Col- lege. With the exception of one summer spent among the mines of Idaho, he has continued to reside upon the old donation claim, of which he now owns three hundred and twenty acres. He is engaged successfully in general farming and stock-raising, and has thirteen acres under hops. May 9, 1896, he was married to Alice Ackerson, who was born in Johnson county, Neb., a daughter of Truman and Mary Ann (Linford) Ackerson, who came to Oregon in 1876. Mr. and Mrs. Cone are the parents of three children : Earl T., Hazel M., and Letha Beryl.

Mr. Cone is a stanch Republican, as was his father, and fraternally is associated with the Maccabees. He has prospered in his chosen calling, and has a justifiable ambition to make his property one of the finest and most productive in the entire northwest. He takes an active interest in public affairs, though not identified prominently with the political undertakings of

his neighborhood, and is ever ready to assist in these enterprises which are calculated to improve general conditions. He enjoys the confidence and esteem of all who know him, who regard him as a man of probity, conscientious and fair- minded in all that he does, and with a fine regard for the rights and privileges of others.

MAGNUS EK. To those interested in the derivation of namcs, and in their relation to things in the material world, and more espec- ially to those unfamiliar with the Swedish tongue. the name of Magnus Ek, ice manufacturer and expert millwright of Corvallis, seems singularly appropriate. Surely in his general make-up Mr. Ek has something of the sturdiness and strength of the "ek" or oak, as it is translated in English, and one is inclined to attribute a great deal of his success in life to the possession of this same strength and ruggedness. As indicated, Mr. Ek is a native of Sweden, and was born at Skaane Christianstad, a fortified town, located on the Helge-a, near the Baltic sea, and two hundred and sixty-five miles from Stockholm. The date of his nativity is September 27, 1860, and he was educated in the public schools of his native city. His father, Mons Ellis Ek, was a native of the same place, and by trade was a cabinetmaker. His mother, Bengte (Swenson) Ek, was born in the same northern clime, and both parents spent their entire lives in the immediate vicinity of their birth. Of the six children born into the family all are living, Magnus, the second child, and his sister, a resident of Ohio, being the two members who emigrated to America.

When about fifteen years of age Magnus ap- prenticed to a cabinetmaker for four years, and after completing his services traveled as a jour- neyman through Sweden, Denmark and Norway. In the spring of 1882 he came to the United States, and from Chicago made his way to Casey, Ill., and engaged in railroad work. Returning to Chicago he became interested in milling with the North Chicago Planing Mill Company, but soon worked up a desire to go west, thereafter hunting around for ways to accomplish his desire. The most hopeful method seemed to asso- ciate himself with different railroad companies as cabinetmaker and general carpenter, so he became an employe of the Northwestern Railroad Company on the western lowa division. At the expiration of three years he branched off into working as a millwright for the Alton Croix Company of Iowa, and then for a time traveled in the interest of milling. As millwright he became identified with the Novelty Iron Works. and after that traveled around to different cities in Iowa, constructing mills. Many of the fore- most mills now operating in lowa were placed

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in operation by this excellent and very skillful millwright.

In 1885 Mr. Ek came to California, and after working for the Pioneer Mill Company of Sacra- mento for three months became associated with the Sperry Mills, and from there went to San Francisco. Here he received the contract to put in the big mills at Salem, Ore., having completed which he placed mills at Rickreall and Turner. For several years he was with the Oregon Milling Company, and he then entered into the sawmill- ing business six miles southeast of Silverton. This was a steam sawmill, and in partnership with Mr. Johnson, under the firm name of John- son & Ek, he manufactured large quantities of lumber and general building supplies. After dis- posing of the mills he lived for a year in Portland as an employe of the Johnson Shipyard, and then went to California on a dredge building expedi- tion for the Risden Iron Works Company, on Feather river. This contract lasted eight months, and upon returning to Portland Mr. Ek worked in the shipyard for another year, and then located in Silverton, where he had in the meantime built a fine residence.

In 1900 Mr. Ek came to Corvallis to overhaul the Fisher Flouring Mills, and later acted in a similar capacity for the Fisher mills at Silverton. In August, 1901, he bought of John Zeis the ice- works of this place, and immediately remodeled and enlarged the plant, so that at present it is one of the best equipped ice manufacturing plants in the state. During the season the plant is kept going night and day, and the capacity is three tons per day. Two engines, one of twenty and one of eight horse power supply the motive power, and in connection with the manufacture of ice is maintained a storage business of large capacity. To his plant Mr. Ek has added a cabinet-shop, and turns out all kinds of work in the carpenter line. He delivers ice all over the town, and attends to a great deal of the carpenter work and building.

In Silverton, Ore., Mr. Ek married Emma Johnson, a native of Kansas, and daughter of Matthew Johnson, at present a resident of Port- land. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Ek, Ray, Vivien, Ellis and Walter. Mr. Ek is a Republican in politics, and was a member of the council in Silverton for one terni. He is fraternally connected with the Masons of Turner, and the Woodmen of the World. His religious home is with the Lutheran church. As will be seen by this account, Mr. Ek is a man of more than ordinary ability and versatility, and he has fortunately succeeded in all of his avenues of activity. Alert, progressive, observing, and adap- tive, he has already accomplished, and in suc- cessful manner, more than the average man suc- ceeds in crowding into an entire lifetime.

FRANCOIS XAVIER MATTHIEU. A life replete with interest through intimate association with the events of pioneer days, is that of Fran- cois Xavier Matthieu, who is one of the last sur- viving members of the first emigrant train to cross the plains and give to the upbuilding of the west the hardy and fearless men and women who dared to venture into the dangers and privations of such a journey for the sake of the homes they hoped to make in the rich lands of the great northwest. Probably there is no man living in the Willamette valley to-day who is more conver- sant with the conditions and history of that in- teresting period and the events that led up to the statehood of Oregon, than Mr. Matthieu. A late reminder of his first experiences in Oregon oc- curred May 2, 1901, at the unveiling of the monu- ment at Champoeg, where Governor Geer, in be- half of the Oregon Historical Society, presented to him a badge, as a mark of distinction to the last survivor of the fifty-two people who voted for the first provisional government west of the Rocky mountains, May 2, 1843. This badge is of silk, the colors being red, white and blue; a rosette with the seal of Oregon occupies the center, while a pendant medallion represents Ore- gon as a member of the Union. The inscription reads as follows: "Only survivor of the fifty- two persons who voted to organize the first civil government west of the Rocky mountains, at Champoeg, May 2, 1843, known in history as the Provisional Government of Oregon." At that early historical meeting in Champoeg, May 2, 1843. there were present one hundred and two people, many of whom were French Canadians. Mr. Matthieu had used every effort to induce these people to cast their vote in favor of the Americans, and when Joseph L. Meeks asked the party to divide, he was the first to step to the American side.

The birth of Francois X. Matthieu occurred at Terre Bonne, near Montreal, Canada, April 2, 1818. He is a descendant of French ancestry, his parents being Francois Xavier and Louise (Daufin) Matthieu, both, however, being natives of the district of Montreal. Being one of seven children, three sons and four daughters, and his parents in rather straitened circumstances, he lacked many of the advantages which might otherwise have been his, the farm life to which he was reared being the only occupation of his boy- hood years. But few schools existed in the coun- try, and all his education was acquired through association with a neighbor, who had come from the United States and settled there. During the Canadian rebellion, in 1835-38, Mr. Matthieu took an active part by supplying arms to the reb- els. At twenty years of age, Mr. Matthieu left his home and located in the United States ; he was then unable to speak a word of the English

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language. Going to Albany, N. Y., he engaged in carpenter work for seven months, after which he came as far west as Milwaukee, Wis., making the journey by way of Erie canal and the lakes. One month was passed in the last-named city, and he then went to St. Louis, by way of Chi- cago, traveling by wagon and water. Failing to secure work in that city, he engaged, after a like length of time, with the American Fur Company. While in this employ he was sent to what is now North Dakota, in the Black Foot Indian country, there to trade liquor to the Indians for furs. There were thirty men in the company, twenty wagons with two mules to each, and two barrels of liquor in each wagon, the journey being made by water and land, as was the custom in those days. The liquor was so welcome to the Indians that Mr. Matthieu was able to trade one gallon of it for as many as fifteen buffalo skins, such bartering meaning great profit to the company for which he was working. While there, he learned the Indian language. After one season he returned with his furs to St. Louis, where he engaged with Joe Rubedow, a fur trader, at that time located above Fort Benton, in the Black Hill country, where he remained until the spring of 1842. In that year, at Fort Laramie, he joined the first emigrant train bound for the great west. This train consisted of fifty or sixty wagons, and one hundred and fifty people, sixty-one of whom were men, under the command of Hastings and Lovejoy. At Fort Hall the emigrants were. com- pelled to abandon their wagons and walk the bal- ance of the way, driving their oxen. There Mr. Matthieu and six others left the train and joined the Hudson Bay Company, going on to Wal- lula, Wash., from which settlement they fol- lowed the Indian trail to Mount Hood and The Dalles, and on pack animals from there to Oregon City.

The morning after his arrival in this part of Oregon Mr. Matthieu started for the Willamette valley, where the Hudson Bay Company had trappers. At that time there were about two hun- dred and fifty families scattered throughout the country, principally French Canadians, employed by the Hudson Bay Company, having come there at different times between the years 1824 and 1842. On reaching the valley Mr. Matthieu took up his abode with Etien Lucien, a Canadian by birth, who had settled here in 1811. One of the most striking conditions of the times when Mr. Matthieu took up his residence in this sec- tion of the country was the absence of gold or silver for currency, a necessity being given in ex- change for provisions, labor or land. In 1843. Mr. Matthieu took up a claim of three hundred acres near Fairfield, but he never made his home in the location. In 1844 he bought a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres, paying $600

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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 27

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