Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 29

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 29

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Having attained his eighteenth year in 1848, George W. Hunt bought his freedom from his father, whom he left with twelve acres of cleared land, all of which was fenced and planted. His destination being his uncle's mills, he embarked on the boat at Oregon City, and in passing the site of the city of Portland, saw nothing but a dense forest. In 1849 he went to the mines of California, and there had divers experiences of a startling and sometimes dangerous nature, mak- ing money at times, and as often losing. August 3, 1851, he married Elizabeth N. Smith. The newly wedded couple were very young to start out in life together, the husband being twenty and the wife but seventeen. A few days after the ceremony they moved to the homestead located where the postoffice of Whiteaker is sit- uated, where their six children were born, and where they spent the greater part of their lives. During the Cayuse Indian war George W. Hunt assisted in organizing a company for service against the Indians, and with a large number of his neighbors participated in the battle of Abiqua. This conflict was of such a decisive character that it practically ended the troubles with the Indians, which the early settlers had been experi- encing for a long period. In 1876 Mr. Hunt opened a general merchandise store and black- smith shop on his farnı, and these he operated with success in connection with farming until his retirement and removal to Salem in 1886. His wife died October 10, 1891, and his death occurred October 9, 1902.

George W. Hunt was a man of wide general knowledge, of great resource and sound busi- ness judgment. Conservative and reliable, the country had need of his services, and correctly appreciated him as a citizen who adhered closely to his convictions, and worked for the good of all by whom he was surrounded. When thirteen years of age he espoused the cause of Christian- ity, his wife's conversion following shortly after their marriage. Their home was always a center of religious activity, as it was also a place from

which radiated a splendid spirit of good will and helpfulness. Early settlers less fortunate than themselves found rest, consolation and prac- tical assistance under this hospitable and chari- table roof, and the children of more than one generation bless their name and revere their memory.

Jeptha T. Hunt was born on the farm which he now occupies February 12, 1862, and was educated in the public schools and in Willamette University. In 1886, upon his father's retire- ment and removal to Salem, he assumed charge of the farm and the store, and conducted the lat- ter until 1892. At the present time he is the owner of seven hundred and ten acres of land, four hundred and eighty acres of which are a part of his father's old claim, and two hundred lying east of the homestead. He also has a third interest in a farm of one hundred acres in Marion county, near Salem. His father was the first man to import Shropshire sheep to the Pacific coast, and found the Waldo hills to be especially adapted to grazing purposes, and the son con- tinues to value these profitable animals, raising numbers of them each year. He also makes a specialty of registered Durham cattle. A hop yard of ten acres has proven a fruitful source of income, and general farming and grain raising are carried on extensively with good results.

June 18, 1886, Mr. Hunt was united in mar- riage with Miss Myrtle E. White, a native of the Waldo hills, and a daughter of Thomas J. and Rachael Arnott (Merrifield) White. To this union four children have been born: Clarence J., Marion S., Norris E., and Helen R.

Like his father, Mr. Hunt is a staunch Repub- lican, but he has never taken any active part in the local contests of his party. In his fraternal relations he is connected with Stayton Lodge No. 51, A. F. & A. M., and the Woodmen of the World. He is a member of the Christian Church. Mr. Hunt is a practical business man, as well as a successful farmer, his experience in mercan- tile pursuits having covered a period of several years. He is the possessor of one of the finest estates in Marion county, and in increasing his worldly possessions he has consistently refrained from wilfully doing anything which would re- flect dishonor upon the ancient name which he bears. To him and to his highly estecmed father and grandfather, those responsible for the com- pilation of this publication are glad of an op- portunity of making a permanent record of the facts set forth in this sketch.

N. M. NEWPORT. To a man of such depths of character and mental attainments as distinguish the life and services of N. M. New- port among his associates of Albany, Lin'

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county, the hampering of a career at the be- ginning with hardship and trial meant only the pathway of opportunity leading to a far more desirable goal, since opposition invariably brings out that which is strongest in a man's nature. It is against many obstacles that Mr. Newport contended in his efforts to reach an honorable position in the work of the west, and the success to which he has attained is compatible with the strength of purpose and will which encouraged him to effort. Through his own efforts he has become a finely edu- cated, cultured man, following this up with the degree which admitted him to practice law in the courts of the United States, and while so engaged in this city he also holds a place of prominence on the editorial staff of the Herald, his productions being marked by soundness of reason, and deep thought and research.

The Newport family is of English extrac- tion, the grandfather, Calvin, having been born in Pennsylvania of this ancestry, and died in Tennessee, where he had engaged for many years as a farmer. As a patriot he served in the war of 1812. His wife was Miss Margaret Able, the representative of an old Pennsylvania family. The father, John D. Newport, was born in Tennessee, and when a young man removed to Missouri. While a resident of that state he fought for the Union through the entire Civil war as a soldier in a Missouri regiment of volunteer cavalry. He married Harriet Bennett, also a native of Tennessee, having been born there in the east- ern part of the state. She was the daughter ot M. G. Bennett, who was an early settler and farmer of Missouri. The grandfather of the family was a member of an old and hon- ored Virginia family, and as a patriot he served in the Revolutionary war. The mother died in Missouri, and of her ten children, five are now living, the third oldest and the only one now on the Pacific coast being N. M. New- port, who was born in Buffalo, Mo., March 12, 1864.

N. M. Newport was reared on his father's farm in his native state, where a rather lim- ited education was received through the medium of the district school in the vicinity of his home. When he was sixteen years old he accompanied his brother M. Calvin to Ore- gon, the latter locating on a dairy farm near Astoria, where he remained two years. At the close of that period he returned to Mis- souri, but alone, as N. M. Newport had de- cided that opportunities here only waited for the man to recognize their worth and he thereupon concluded to make this his home. While on the farm with his brother Mr. New-

port had begun attending school during the winter and working in the summer, and in 1883 he had accumulated sufficient funds to justify his entry into Willamette University, Salem, however difficult must be the comple- tion of the course. During the summers he was employed in a cheese factory at Astoria and one year he remained out of college to make enough to allow him to finish. During his last year at the University he founded the Willamette Collegian, of which he remained the manager until his graduation, and was also class president his senior year. He was graduated in 1890 with the degree of A. B., and in 1893, by invitation of President Whit- taker of Willamette University he delivered his master's oration on commencement day and received the degree of A. M. Upon leav- ing his work of preparation in 1890 Mr. New- port had begun attending school during the Salem Journal, remaining so employed for one year, during which time he was also en- gaged in the study of law. In 1891 he came to Albany and continued his study in the of- fice of General Blackburn, being also a student in the law department of Willamette Univer- sity. He was admitted to practice in 1893 and the same year graduated and received the de- gree of LL. B. from the school wherein he

had so patiently worked his way for so many years. He then entered upon a practice here in partnership with J. J. Whitney, remaining in this connection until 1899, when the part- nership was dissolved and he has since been alone in a constantly increasing and neces- sarily remunerative demand for his services.

In connection with the absorbing interests of law Mr. Newport has also devoted much time and thought to the editorials which he contributes to the Albany Daily Herald, the increasing strength and thought showing the broadening of the capabilities which have de- veloped from study and earnest effort along these lines. He spares no effort to keep him- self well informed and in touch with the cur- rent topics of the day and his able and force- ful manner of portrayal has made him many admirers. He has also been much interested in horticulture, setting out and improving several orchards of apples and prunes in Ben- ton county.

The marriage of Mr. Newport occurred in Albany, and united him with Miss Emma R. Congill, a native of Kansas, who came to Ore- gon with her parents when only one year old. Her father is J. B. Cougill, of Albany. Two daughters have been born to them, Beatrice and Louise. In politics Mr. Newport is a stanch and earnest Republican, for the past eight years having been a member of the Linn

Un Milles

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county central committee, of which he is now acting as chairman, having advanced from the position of secretary for four years and a member of the executive committee for two years. Fraternally he is financial secretary of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and belongs to the Encampment; Ancient Order of United Workmen and Knights of the Maccabees. He is also an active member of the Alumni Association of Willamette valley and belongs socially to the Alco Club. As a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church he officiates as one of the board of trustees, and by the life which he lives in all sincerity and honor, upright, stanch and in every sense of the word, manly, he adds no little to the moral character of the city wherein he makes a worthy and valued citizen.

WILLIAM MILLER. The dominant charac- teristics which have made the Scotchman a valued addition to the citizenship of any com- munity or land in which he casts his lot are manifest in the career of William Miller, who from early pioneer times has been a resident of Oregon. He was born two and a half miles from the city of Glasgow, Scotland, July 26, 1815, a son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Spence) Miller, both natives of the land of hills and heather. The father was a mine operator and was killed by fire damp in the mines when his son William was but nine years of age. In religious faith he was a Presbyterian. His wife, who belonged to an old family of her na- tive country, died in Scotland at the advanced age of eighty-five years, having long survived her husband. They were the parents of seven children, of whom William was the fourth in order of birth and the only one now living. The eldest brother, Malcolm, came to America and made his way to Oregon in 1850. He followed farming in Linn county and there died, leaving a large family.

William Miller was reared in the suburbs of Glasgow and attended a private school until his father's death, when he was forced to earn his own livelihood. He went to the mines, where he was first employed at pushing a car, and eventually became a miner. He also learned the method of taking iron ore from the earth and as time passed his efficiency and fidelity won him promotion until he became foreman, and later superintendent of the mines.

The favorable reports which he had heard concerning America led him to come to the United States in 1842, in the hope that he might better his financial condition in a coun- try where higher wages were paid. He left Glasgow on the sailing vessel Elizabeth and

after a voyage of two months arrived at New York on the 28th day of May, accompanied by a brother-in-law. They journeyed on foot across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indi- ana, and Illinois, to Schuyler county, of the last named state, settling near Rushville, where Mr. Miller opened the first coal mines of the county for Colonel Rose. He had read in the newspapers that Dave Newsom of Springfield, Ill., offered two miners from the old world $5 per day for their services, and thus it was that he was attracted to the new world. In the spring of 1843 he opened a coal bank of his own and operated it until 1846, when he was taken ill with chills and fever and had to seek a different climate. His physician recom- mending his removal, he determined to come to the new country of Oregon, and with ox- teams drawing a wagon, he came with three young men, Messrs. Chambers, Agnew and West. They started March 28, 1846, crossing the Mississippi at Glasgow and the Missouri at St. Joseph. They joined a wagon train at Independence, Mo., and proceeded by way of the old Oregon trail and down the Snake river, crossing then from the John Day river to the Shules river by the Barlow route to the head- waters of the Clackamas river, arriving in Ore- gon City, November 15, 1846. Here Mr. Miller was first employed at the construction of some tan vats and later entered the employ of James Jervey and John Martin, for whom he dug a ditch on French prairie. He was afterward in the Cayuse Indian war under Captain Pugh and later engaged in gathering the harvest on French prairie. In 1848 he started on horse- back over the mountains for the mines of Cali- fornia and was very successful in his mining ventures on the Macalamy bar, realizing hand- somely from his labors there, covering three months.

Mr. Miller then returned to Illinois by way of San Francisco, Panama, New Orleans and up the Mississippi and Illinois rivers to Beardstown, Ill., where he arrived in 1849, re- maining there until the spring of 1850. He then outfitted with his own money, nine wagons, drawn by horses, mules and oxen, and again started for the west. This time he was accompanied by his mother-in-law and brother-in- law, his brother, with his wife and nine children, and his brother-in-law, David McDonald, with his wife and six children, but Mrs. McDonald died while on the plains. Mr. Miller also employed seven men to assist him and he came over the same trail which he had previously traveled, although the journey this time was accom- plished in a much shorter time than the first trip, reaching The Dallas July 4. People said he could not cross the mountains because there

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was too much fallen timber, but he replied that he would go through to Barlow's gate. From there he sent six men ahead with axes and ordered them when they came to a big tree fallen across the road to cut small timber and bridge it. Thus they got along well, crossing the mountains in three days, and at length they reached Oregon City. Mr. Miller located in Yamhill county, while Mr. McDonald took a claim in Polk county and Mr. Miller's brother in Linn county.

Securing a right, Mr. Miller located a dona- tion claim of six hundred and forty acres in Yamhill county, near Wheatland, on the banks of the Willamette. This was partly open tim- ber and there he improved a farm and engaged in the raising of grain and stock-horses, cattle, sheep and hogs. He had fullblooded Durham cattle and also bred and raised standard-bred horses, selling one three-year-old for $1,700. He also bought land adjoining his original claim, having nine hundred and sixty acres in one body, nearly all of which is tillable, and this he still owns. At Wheatland, in partnership with M. B. Hendricks, he built the first flour mill and conducted it for many years, or until it was destroyed by fire. He continued farm- ing until 1858, when great misfortune overtook the family, four of the children dying within four weeks. No longer could they content themselves on the farm where such great sor- row had come to them and they then moved to Salem. Mr. Miller purchased Griswold's is- land in the Willamette river and kept it for a year, during which time he cut the tim- ber from it, but the citizens of Salem and vicinity wanted a man to superintend the streets and highways, and offering him the position he accepted it and thus served for four years, when he resigned and returned to his farm. He then made many improvements upon it, restocked it and for three years carried on agricultural pursuits, after which he returned to Salem, establishing his home at the corner of Court and College streets, where he is now living retired, satisfied with a competency which sup- plies him with the necessities and comforts of life, not desiring great wealth.

Mr. Miller was first married in Scotland March 28, 1837, the lady of his choice being Miss Jane McDonald, who was born in that country August 8, 1817, a member of the McDonald family of Inverness. When her husband first came to the northwest she remained in Illinois-from 1846 until 1850-and in the latter year accompanied him across the plains. She died November 21, 1895, in the faith of the Presbyterian Church, of which she had long been a consistent member, and her loss was deeply felt by many friends as well as her immediate family. She was the

mother of nine children: John and Elizabeth, who died in Scotland; William, who died in Illi- nois; Andrew, who died in Oregon, at the age of thirteen years; Mrs. Jane Kellogg, who lives on the old home farm; Caroline, Isabelle, Andrew and William, all of whom died in this state. The last three were born in Oregon and Caroline on the plains, when they were making the journey to the northwest. Mr. Miller was again married, in Portland, his second union being with Mrs. Jane Barndrake, who was born in Germany, came to Oregon at an early day and died in Salem. For his third wife he chose Mrs. Mary Martin Pearson, who was born in Davis county, Iowa, a daughter of John Martin, who was born in Kentucky, where his father died. John Martin, who served in the war of 1812, removed to Illi- nois and afterward to Iowa, and in 1845 he came across the plains with his wife and four children, their wagon drawn by the slow-moving ox team, which was the factor in most travel westward at that time. They proceeded by way of St. Joseph and the Oregon trail and Meeks cutoff, intending to go to California, but Meeks was lost in the fog and eventually they reached Oregon. They were almost starved to death, being for five days without food, and they put salt on grass and ate that. At length they reached The Dallas and proceeded down the Co- lumbia on a raft made of logs. Mr. Martin set- tled on French prairie, where he farmed, and in 1849 he removed to Polk county, where he took a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres, two and a half miles west of Salem, improving that and opening up a good farm. In 1855 he removed to the vicinity of Roseburg, where he engaged in raising stock until fall, when he started to Yreka, Cal., to drive a band of hogs, but the Rogue river Indian trouble broke out and he had to turn back, losing most of his hogs. He was then appointed government commissary, serving for nine months during the Rogue River war, after which he located on Deer creek, ten miles from Roseburg, where he farmed for six years. He next went to Jacksonville, Ore., where he remained for a short time, and after a year spent at Crescent City he returned to Jackson- ville, where his two eldest sons died of small- pox. Afterward he located in Salem, where he died at the age of eighty-four years. Mr. Mar- tin married Malinda Smith, who was born in Virginia, a daughter of Ezekiel Smith, who came to Oregon from Iowa in 1846, in the same train with Mr. Miller, and settled in Yamhill county, four miles north of Wheatland. In 1848 he went overland to California with his youngest son and mined on Feather river until both were murdered there, in 1849, their tent being shot full of arrows. Mrs. Martin, the mother of Mrs. Miller, died in Salem. Her children were Mrs.

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Eliza Jane Chambers, of Portland; Mrs. Mary Miller ; Mrs. Emily Howell, of Crescent City, Cal .; John and Joseph, who died in Jacksonville, this state; Chauncey, who died near Salem; Mrs. Lucy Foss, of Portland; and Andrew J., who resides in California.

Mrs. Miller was born in Iowa, but was edu- cated in Polk county, Ore. She was first mar- ried in that county to Joseph Allred, who was born in Indiana and crossed the plains in 1845 with his grandfather, in the same train with Mrs. Miller. He was reared in Washington county until twenty-one years of age and died in Cali- fornia. By his marriage to Mary Martin he had five children, of whom four are living: Mrs. Katie Worden, of San Francisco; Mrs. Emma Carp, of Siskiyou county, Cal .; William, who is living in Santa Cruz county, Cal .; and Walter, of Klamath county, Ore. After the death of her first husband, Mrs. Allred married John Pear- son, who was born in Tennessee and came to this state in 1862. He was a farmer of Klamath county and died on the old homestead there. Of the three children of this marriage, but one reached mature years: Harry, who is a farmer of Klamath Falls. August 22, 1900, Mrs. Pear- son gave her hand in marriage to Mr. Miller, and they have a pleasant and comfortable home and many friends in Salem.

Mr. Miller was made a Mason in Beardstown, Ill., and is now a member of Salem Lodge, No. 4, F. & A. M. He took the Royal Arch degree in the chapter at Salem. He is also a member of DeMolay Commandery No. 5, K. T., and El Kader Temple, N. M. S., of Portland. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, while his wife belongs to the Methodist Church, and in politics he is an unswerving Democrat. Both he and his wife hold membership with the Ore- gon Pioneer Society.

In 1876 Mr. Miller went to Scotland, visiting his old home and his relatives there, and to some extent he traveled in Europe, spending three months abroad. Mr. Miller is now almost ninety years of age, but Nature has been kind to him because he has not abused her laws. He has remarkable memory concerning pioneer times in this state and he deserves to be classed with the van guard, who opened up this splendid region to civilization.

HON. IRVIN L. SMITH. Upon the mili- tary history of his country and the legislative annals of his adopted state the name of Hon. Irvin Lucien Smith is deeply engraved. He was born in Franklin county, Ohio, six miles east of Columbus, his natal day being May 16, 1827. His paternal grandfather, Samuel Smith.

removed from New York to Ohio, becoming one of the pioneer farmers of the latter state. Among his children was Thaddeus Smith, the father of our subject, who was born in the Em- pire state and with his parents went to Ohio, where he too devoted his energies to farming and there engaged in the tilling of the soil until 1834, when he became a resident of Tazewell county, Ill., not far from Peoria. At that point he carried on farming for many years and at length died in that locality. His wife, who bore the name of Mary Ross, was born in Ohio, of Scotch ancestry. Her death occurred in Illinois soon after the removal of the family to that state and the father later married again. By the first marriage he had four children, two of whom reached manhood: Irvin L. of this review and Levi E., who came to Oregon in 1870 and now re- sides in Portland. Of the eleven children born of the second union all reached adult age and two of the sons were soldiers in the Civil war. Eli, who served throughout the entire struggle in the Fourth Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, enlisting in 1861, now resides on a farm in Washington county, Ore. William, who became a member of the Sixth Illinois Infantry, was killed in battle at Altoona, Ga. One brother, Leonard, died in Medford, Ore .; and a sister, Mrs. Stephenson, lives in Forest Grove.

In 1834, when Irvin L. Smith was about seven years of age, his parents removed from Ohio to Illinois, making the journey overland by wagon, a distance of four hundred miles, across cor- duroy roads. He was reared on the old family homestead, attending the public schools and in his youth he was a schoolmate of the Hon. Shelby M. Cullom. The "little temple of learning" was built of logs and was furnished in the primitive style of the period, the methods of instruction being little better than the building and its equip- ment. Quill pens were used and it was a very common thing to hear the remark from a scholar, "Master, please mend my pen." When nineteen years of age Mr. Smith began work at the car- penter's trade, afterward mastered cabinet making and then engaged in the furniture business in Mackinaw, Ill. Subsequently he resided at Pleas- ant Hill, in McLean county, that state, and in 1856 he took up his abode upon a farm in the same county, carrying on agricultural pursuits until after the outbreak of the Civil war. In August, 1862, he responded to his country's call for volunteers and joined Company H, Ninety- fourth Illinois Infantry, under Colonel McNulty, being mustered in at Bloomington. The regiment was sent to Springfield, Mo., where Mr. Smithi. because of his ability as a carpenter, was detailed to build a hospital, remaining there until after the battle of Prairie Grove, Ark. While there the Confederate troops under Marmaduke ad-

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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 29

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