Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 30

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 30

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vanced upon Springfield and he was engaged in repelling them. Later he participated in the siege of Vicksburg, his regiment being one of the first to enter the city after its capitulation. He participated in the battle of Yazoo City and Port Hutchinson, going thence to New Orleans, where for a time he was ill in the hospital. Following this he crossed the Gulf of Mexico to Browns- ville, Tex., and the Ninety-fourth Illinois was one of the two regiments which crossed the Rio Grande into Mexico to protect the American consul, bringing him back into the United States. This trip consumed ten months. Later Mr. Smith participated in the capture of Fort Morgan, Span- ish Fort and Fort Blakely, then crossed the gulf again to Galveston, Tex., and a month later re- turned to New Orleans, where he was mustered out in the fall of 1865 with the rank of sergeant and received an honorable discharge upon his return to Illinois. When he went to the war he left a family consisting of his wife and five chil- dren. He had a farm that was in an excellent state of improvement and well stocked and which was free from all indebtedness. It was of course a sacrifice for him to join the army and fight for the flag, but he did this willingly and was most loyal in his attachment to the United States. His wife, in order to meet the living expenses of the household and to pay the high assessments which the war made it necessary to institute, had to sell off the stock and also to incur in- debtedness, and thus upon his return Mr. Smith found it necessary to again resume work at the carpenter's trade in order to pay off this indebt- edness and gain a new start.

Upon his Illinois farm the subject of this re- view remained until 1870, when he came to Oregon, locating near Forest Grove, where he purchased a farm, conducting it for a year. He then established the Western Hotel in Forest Grove, which he conducted for four years, at the end of which time he built a shop and em- barked in the furniture business. Subsequently he and his sons, James and George, erected a sash and door factory and furniture plant and continued its conduct until the second Democratic disaster, when they retired from business. At that time Mr. Smith took up his abode upon his place of seven acres in Forest Grove and there he lived in honorable retirement until April, 1903, when he moved to Sheridan, Yamhill county. He has passed the Psalmist's span of three score years and ten and well does he merit the rest which is vouchsafed to him.

Mr. Smith was first married in Illinois, the lady of his choice being Miss Margaret Mathews, who was born in Ohio and died in Oregon. They became the parents of twelve children, ten of whom reached years of maturity, namely : Mary, who died in this state; James, a farmer of Uma-

tilla county, Ore .; Mrs. Flora Hinman, of Balti- more, Md .; George, who is engaged in the furni- ture business in Sheridan, Wyo .; Elmer, of Forest Grove; Mrs. Esther Kane, who is a teacher of Portland; William, a carpenter of Portland ; Fred, who is engaged in the furniture business in Sheridan, Wyo .; Mrs. Carrie Merchant of Yam- hill and Lillie D., the wife of Rev. W. E. Stew- art, of Reno, Nev. After the death of his first wife Mr. Smith was again married, in Salem, Ore., his second union being with Mrs. Margaret J. McMeekin, who was born in Sangamon county, Ill., a daughter of James H. Brown, Sr., who was born in Virginia, and a grand-daughter of James Brown, who removed from the Old Dominion, settling in Columbus, Ohio, while later he became a resident of Tazewell county, Ill., where his death occurred.

James H. Brown, the father of Mrs. Smith, took up his abode in Sangamon county, Ill., where he followed farming and was married. In 1850, with his wife and seven children, he crossed the plains to Oregon, driving an ox-team, and in Sep- tember he reached his destination. Portland at that time contained but one store. He settled three miles from Sheridan, in Yamhill county, where he purchased a tract of land and engaged in the raising of grain and stock, succeeding so well in his undertakings that in course of time he became the owner of sixteen hundred acres. His death occurred upon his farm in 1875, when he was seventy-two years of age, and the old home- stead is now owned by his three sons. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Sophia W. Hussey, was born in Sangamon county, Ill., a daughter of Nathan Hussey, who was born in Ohio and took up his abode upon a farm in the Prairie state. In 1846 he, too, made the long and perilous journey across the plains with an ox-team and settled on the Yamhill river near Fort Yamhill, where he resided until his death in 1895. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Brown were four daughters and three sons, all of whom are living. Their daughter, Margaret J., was reared in Oregon and in Yamhill she gave her hand in marriage to Archibald McMeekin, who was born in Scotland. His parents removed to the north of Ireland, settling in Antrim, whence they came to America, their home being first established in Canada. In 1852 Mr. McMeekin crossed the plains to Oregon. He was a blacksmith and farmer and after reach- ing this state carried on agricultural pursuits on Mill creek, in Polk county. Later, however, he sold that property and located in Salem. The year following his marriage he was stricken with paralysis and for twenty-four years could not walk a step, during which time with wonderful devotion Mrs. Smith carcd for him as she would a child and also managed their farming interests. She owned five hundred acres of land in Mill

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creek which she has since sold. Her husband died in Salem in 1885 and later she was united in marriage with Mr. Smith. She is a lady of marked force of character, of splendid ability, and is deserving of the greatest credit for what she has accomplished.

In public affairs Mr. Smith has been prominent and influential. An earnest advocate of Repub- lican principles, he served on the first board of trustees of Forest Grove and for three or four terms was a member of the city council. For two terms he was mayor of Forest Grove and in 1878 he was elected county commissioner. In 1880 he was honored with the election to the office of state legislator and in 1886 he was again chosen to represent his district in the general assembly and served during the special session of 1887. A prominent and patriotic member of the house, he did everything in his power to promote the welfare of the state and advance the interests of its institutions. He belongs to James B. Mathews Post No. 6, G. A. R., of which he was the first conductor, and his wife is a member of the Women's Relief Corps, in which she has served as senior vice-commander. This worthy and highly esteemed couple belong to the Metho- dist Episcopal Church, of which Mr. Smith for- merely served as trustee. His has been an event- ful career. He lived in Illinois during an early period in the development of that state and has served upon juries there when Abraham Lincoln was one of the attorneys at the bar. Going to Oregon he has borne an active and important part in the progress and substantial upbuilding of his section of the state and has been particu- larly helpful along educational lines, serving upon the school board when the schoolhouse of Forest Grove was built. Character and ability will come to the front anywhere, and the genuine worth of Mr. Smith has been widely recognized, making him a distinguished citizen of the Will- amette valley.

DR. PLATT A. DAVIS. On the 7th day of April, 1902, the citizenship of Marion county was deprived, by the hand of death, of the ser- vices of one of the most widely known, highly honored and beloved pioneer physicians of Ore- gon, Dr. Platt A. Davis. For half a century he had gone up and down the valley of the Willam- ette, crossing the prairie and climbing the hills in his daily rounds, and probably no other phy- sician in the valley was personally and intimately known by so large a number of the earlier in- habitants. Dr. Davis was born near Randolph, Ohio, September 11, 1825. He was educated for his professional career in Philadelphia, Pa. In 1852, at the age of twenty-seven years, he crossed

the plains for Oregon. Locating at Silverton, Marion county, he at once opened an office for practice, and the remainder of his life was de- voted to his professional labors in and about Silverton. For many years the number of prac- titioners in the Willamette valley was small, and Dr. Davis was frequently compelled to make long and wearisome journeys over the mountainous country to the eastward of Silverton, as well as through all other sections of Marion county. Frequently his services were demanded in ad- joining counties, for within a few years after his location in Silverton his skill in medicine brought to him a fame that was not confined to his local field of practice. His work frequently was so laborious that a man possessed of lesser powers of endurance would have broken down under the strain.

In recognition of his eminent success as a practitioner Willamette University accorded him an honorary degree in 1871. At the time of his death he was probably the oldest physician in Oregon, and undoubtedly one of the most pro- foundly respected and beloved men who ever lived in the valley.

Dr. Davis was worthy of more than passing mention in the memoirs of the representative citi- zens of Oregon. He was possessed of charac- teristics which commanded attention wherever he was known. He had an unusually alert mind, was a great student, and extremely well-informed on all subjects which appeal to an analytical and inquiring intelligence. There was nothing small or narrow in his intellectual make-up. He was an entertaining and edifying conversation- alist, was broad and liberal in his views of affairs in general, and in his practice availed himself of many opportunities such as are sought by the humanitarian and public benefactor. His benefi- cences were numerous, though in doing good he was always absolutely free from ostentation. Throughout his entire career he exhibited a keen interest in the welfare of the community in which he made his home, and no taint or blemish ever marred the beauty and splendor of his life. Men like him are rare, and the life he led at all times will cause his name to be perpetuated as that of one of the noblest and most high-minded citi- zens of the Willamette valley.

Before coming to Oregon, Dr. Davis was en- gaged in practice for a few years in Iowa. He was married in Millersburg, Ill., in 1849, to Sopha Wolf, whose death occurred in 1864. Their children were: Dr. La Fayette L. Davis. of Lamborn, Kans .; Charles C. Davis, of Spo- kane, Wash .; Winfield S. Davis, deceased; Dr. Edward V. Davis, deceased; Dr. William Henry Davis, of Albany, Ore. : Mrs. Viola Davis Brown. of Walla Walla, Wash .; and Dr. S. T. Davis, Chicago, Ill. June 29, 1865, Dr. Davis was

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united in marriage with Susan Moore, who sur- vives him, and resides in Silverton. They be- came the parents of two daughters, Nellie, de- ceased; and Dr. Jessie (Davis) Brooks.

JOSEPH G. VAN ORSDEL, who is now engaged in the real estate business in Dallas anu has to his credit two terms of capable service in the office of county sheriff, was born near New Castle, Lawrence county, Pa., July 18, 1853, being one of a family of eleven children, ten sons and one daughter, born unto Ralph and Margaret (Randolph) Van Orsdel. His paternal grandfather, Col. Job Van Orsdel, was a native of Holland and when a young man came to Amer- ica. He then went south and married the daughter of a planter. He won his title by valiant service in the war of 1812 and in recognition of the aid which he gave to the government he was given a grant of land of six hundred and forty acres in Crawford county, Pa., but never realized anything from the property. For many years he remained in the government service and main- tained his residence at Gettysburg, Pa. Ralph Van Orsdel, the father of our subject, was born in Adams county, Pa., on his father's farm ad- joining what later became the battlefield of Gettysburg, which was stained by the blood of hundreds of brave men from both the north and south. In early life Ralph Van Orsdel learned the miller's trade and followed milling in New Castle, Pa., for a time, but subsequently turned his attention to agricultural pursuits in that locality and was very successful in his farm work. In his political views he was a stanch Abolitionist and rejoiced greatly in the outcome of the Civil war. He died near New Castle, Pa., at the advanced age of eighty-two years. The mother of our subject was born in Butler county, Pa., a daughter of John Randolph, who was a native of Virginia and a lineal descendant of Senator John Randolph, one of the most dis- tinguished sons of the Old Dominion. Her father removed from his native state to Butler county, Pa., and there Mrs. Van Orsdel was reared. She died in Lawrence county, Pa., at the age of seventy-five years. Like her husband she was a devoted member of the United Presbyter- ian Church. Of her family seven sons and one daughter reached the age of maturity. Job Van Orsdel, the eldest, was a train master in the Civil war and is now a prominent business man of Youngstown, Ohio. The other are: Mrs. Belle Donaldson, of Lawrence county, Pa .; William, killed in Sherman's march to the sca, while in front of Atlanta : John C., of Pittsburg. Pa., who is national organizer of the Knights of the Mac- cabees: James Fremont, a stockman of Stock- dale. Kans .: Hon. Josiah Alexander, attorney-

general of Wyoming; and J. G. of this review.

Upon the home farm in Lawrence county, Pa., amid the lights and sounds that came from the furnaces and rolling mills of that industrial center, J. G. Van Orsdel was reared, and edu- cated. He remained at home until twenty-three years of age. In 1876 he went to California, proceeding to San Francisco and thence to the mining regions. He engaged in clerking in Amador City, Cal., for a time and in 1879 he returned to Pennsylvania, where he was married, and engaged in farming, cultivating a tract of iand near New Castle. In 1889 he arrived in Oregon, and purchased one hundred and twelve acres of land adjoining the town of Independence. Stocking his farm with a large number of cows he engaged in the dairy business, and was the first man to run a milk wagon in his section of the state. That enterprise occupied his time and attention until 1898, when he received the nomination on the Democratic ticket for sheriff of Polk county. He was elected, and in July, 1898, he took the oath of office and removed to Dallas. He still owns a part of his farm, although seventy acres of it has been divided into lots, constituting an addition to the town of Inde- pendence. In the discharge of his official duties Mr. Van Orsdel manifested a fidelity and prompt- ness which caused his re-election in 1900 by a majority of sixty-two. During his first term he was called upon to carry out the mandate of the court by executing one William Magers, who murdered A. R. Sink. He retired from his duties with the confidence and good will of the public He at once embarked in the real estate business and became agent for securing the right of way for the Salem, Fall City & Western Rail- road. He secured the right of way for nine and a half miles, obtaining forty-five different deeds through the transaction. As a member of the firm of Van Orsdel, Hayes & Company he is now doing an extensive business handling timber lands, farm and city property, besides loans and insurance.

In New Castle, Pa., on December 22, 1880. occurred the marriage of Mr. Van Orsdel and Miss Elizabeth Pomeroy, who was born there a daughter of Col. John and Eliza (McGary) Pom- eroy, natives of Westmoreland county, Pa. John Pomeroy represented an old family of the Key- stone state, of Scotch-Jrish descent, and was a farmer by occupation and held the rank of col- onel in the National Guards of Pennsylvania.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Van Orsdel have been born seven children: John Pomeroy, a civil engineer in Cheyenne, Wyo .: Ralph Alexander, a student in Dallas College: Ruth E .; Robert Randolph ; Pauline E .: and Thomas Clark. One daughter. Patience, died in infancy.

Mr. and Mrs. Van Orsdel are members of the

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Presbyterian Church, and he is the president of its board of trustees. He was made an Odd Fel- low in Friendship Lodge No. 6, of which he is now noble grand master. Both he and his wife are connected with the Rebekah degree. He is also identified with the Knights of the Mac- cabces, and is a director of the board of trade of Dallas. In his political views he was a Repub- lican until 1892, when, on account of his opinion on the tariff question, he endorsed the Demo- cratic party, with which he is now affiliated.

WORTH . HUSTON. More than any other man of whom we have immediate knowledge, Worth Huston fulfills the popular conception of an incumbent of the sheriff's office, to which he was recently elected. Six feet three and a half inches tall, broad-shouldered and strong-limbed, with force and determination written in every line of his expressive face, his physical fitness has a counterpart in his mental and educational quali- fications, and in his extensive knowledge of the motives which animate the average individual as he travels the divers byways of life. A native son of Linn county, Ore., he has also the ad- vantage of knowing his surroundings as well as anyone living here, and of being on speaking terms with the greater part of the well-known men who have contributed to its agricultural, commercial and general development.

Born on the old donation claim near Albany, November 2, 1854, he is the youngest in a family of nine sons and one daughter, and the only one born in Oregon. His paternal grandfather, George Huston, was born in Virginia, and as a young man removed to eastern Tennessee, where his son, Joel B., the father of Worth, was born in 1810. He served as a private in the war of 1812, and as a farmer and stock-raiser was fairly successful. Joel B. settled in Henderson county, Ill., at an early day, and there married Catherine Huston, a native of Iowa, whose father was a very early pioneer of Iowa. Nine children were born in Illinois, and these, with his wife, Mr. Huston brought across the plains with ox teams in 1853, locating on a claim of three hundred and twenty acres near Plainview, twelve miles south of Albany. This he improved and operated up to the time of his death at the age of sixty- nine years, his wife surviving him until 1898, when she died, at the age of eighty-three. Their oldest son, William, is living in Rochester, Wash .; Walter lives near Harrisburg: Joel B. is at Halsey ; John is a resident of Heppner. Ore .; Marion lives in Wasco county, Ore .; and Luther, ·of Heppner.

As a boy Worth Huston laid the foundation for his present fine constitution while exercising plentifully on the home farm, and tramping to the

somewhat distant country school-house. Later on he attended the Harrisburg College, and at the age of twenty began farming on his own respon- sibility on the home place. At all times appreci- ative of the horse, he has devoted twenty years to studying and raising the finest specimens in the county, and he is credited with introducing in 1890 the first French bred coach horses into the state of Oregon, and was one of the first to import registered Percherons, and now has on his farm a large number. He has greatly im- proved the breed since first bringing them across the water. No better judge of the fine points of a horse is to be found anywhere in Linn county, nor has any a finer sympathy for the creatures who fail to find humane and consider- ate owners. Mr. Huston is a member of the Na- tional Percheron Horse Breeders' Association. He is a member of Camp Albany Modern Woodmen of America and Albany Lodge Knights of Pythias. For many years he has been an active member of the Christian Church, and is a deacon therein, contributing liberally of his means to- wards his chosen denomination.

On the old homestead Mr. Huston was united in marriage with Lucy Dannals, who was born in Linn county, Ore. Nine children have been born of this union: Maud; Carl; Fannie; Walter, on the home farm; Delwin; Ollie; Eva; Ray ; and Clark. Mr. Huston has at all times a whole- souled regard for the general well-being of his neighborhood.

AUGUST STARK, M. O., M. D. As a gen- eral practitioner and an eye, ear, nose and throat specialist, Dr. August Stark bears a reputation second to none in the state of Oregon. In quali- fying for his chosen line of work he has spared neither personal effort nor expense, and has availed himself of the best training to be had in this country. Upon the theory that congenial work means successful, he has penetrated the practically inexhaustible avenues of research with ever-increasing interest, finding in each discovery an impetus to further advance the interests of science. Of Teutonic parentage, he is a de- scendant of a race who have achieved wonderful success in medical and surgical circles, and whose dominant characteristic is the ability to concen- trate upon the hard and trying problems of life until some result shall have been accomplished. This national trait was unquestionably possesse l by Joshua Stark, the father of the doctor, who was a stone-mason by trade, performing his tasks with conscientious exactitude. He was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, and in 1860, when about forty years of age, came with his wife, Christine. to America, locating in Bethel. Shelby county, Mo. Here his son August was born March 17,

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1864, and here he engaged in contracting for many years. In Bethel the parents both died, leaving three sons and four daughters, two sons and two daughters still living.

Having completed his education in the public schools August Stark entered a drug store at the age of eighteen years, where he remained for some time, also in connection with his gaining some knowledge of the jeweler's trade, combin- ing the two occupations until coming to Oregon in 1889.

With F. G. Will he bought out the jewelry store of W. F. Carter, conducted the same with fair success, and at the same time began tlie study of the eye, in time entering the Ophthalmic College of Chicago, from which he was duly graduated in 1894, with the degree of master of optics. Returning to Albany he assisted with the management of the jewelry store, and in con- nection therewith began the study of medicine, completing his course at the University of Ore- gon, from which he was graduated in 1901. Soon after he disposed of his mercantile interests that he might devote all of his time to medicine and surgery. In 1902 he took a post-graduate course at the Chicago Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Col- lege. His practice extends through the entire valley, patients coming from afar to profit by his skill in dealing with the physical disorders above mentioned. Dr. Stark is popular both in social and professional circles, and is identified with the Knights of Pythias and the Alco Club. Politi- cally he is a Republican. Genial in manner, sin- cere and enthusiastic along the lines to which his life is devoted, he commands not only the esteem but the appreciation and gratitude of the intelli- gent citizens of the community.

CHARLES W. BLACK is the proprietor of the city livery stables of Dallas. He was born on Mill creek in Polk county, Ore., January 28, 1874, and belongs to one of the old and promi- nent pioneer families of this state. His paternal great-grandfather was a native of Illinois and founded the family in America by establishing his home in Pennsylvania. The grandfather, Thomas Black, was born in the Keystone state and about 1835 removed to Ohio, settling five miles north of Columbus. In 1837 he again started westward, establishing his home near Jacksonville, Ill., and in 1841 he resumed his journey toward the setting sun and became a resident of the New Purchase in Iowa, his home being near the present city of Oskaloosa. The pioneer spirit was strong within him, and in 1868 with his family he crossed the plains to Walla Walla, Wash., in a wagon train in which horses, mules and oxen served as nicans of trans- portation. There were altogether twenty-six

wagons in the company and Mr. Black served as captain. In 1864 he removed from Washing- ton to Oregon, making his way to the Willamette valley and locating in Polk county. Subsequently he removed to Yamhill county, where he died in February, 1868. In various communities he took an active and helpful part in the work of im- provement and general progress. He was a pio- neer of Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Washington and Oregon, and in all these places he left the impress of his individuality for good upon the localities in which he lived. While in Polk county, Iowa, he served as county commissioner for two terms, but his best public service was done as a private citizen. He did not seek the honors or rewards of office, but was content to do what he could at all times for the benefit of his community. He married Sarah C. Beck, who survived him but a few months, passing away in July, 1868.

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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 30

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