Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 31

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 31

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Joseph Black, the father of our subject, was born in Washington county, Pa., in 1834, and accompanied his parents on their various remov- als, being largely reared in Decatur and Polk counties, Iowa. In 1861 he came to the north- west with his parents, two sisters and two brothers, making the long overland journey across the hot sandy plains and over the mount- ains, until they reached the fertile valleys of the northwest. He has been engaged in farming in Oregon since 1864 and is now the owner of a rich and well improved tract of land on Mill creek in Polk county. His home, since 1882, lias been in Dallas, where he is widely and favorably known, being a man of jovial and genial disposi- tion, good hearted, liberal and having many ex- cellent qualities which have gained for him many friends. His political support is given to Democracy. He married Eliza Ridgeway, who was born in Polk county, Ore., in 1850. Her father, John Ridgeway, crossed the plains in 1845 and established his home in Polk county. Mrs. Black is an earnest Christian woman, hold- ing membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church. In the family were five children, only two of whom are now living, the elder Emma, wife of Charles F. Belt of Dallas, and Charles W.

Charles Walter Black, whose name introduces this record, was reared and educated in Dallas. Having attended the public schools, he continued his studies in La Creole Academy. He afterward engaged in the teaming business which he fol- lowed until he became a liveryman, in 1901, when he entered into partnership with William Tatom as a member of the firm of Tatom & Black, and they purchased of Samuel Ray the city livery, which they conducted together until the Ist of September. 1902, when Mr. Black purchased his partner's interest and has since been alone. The city liverv is one of the oldest stables in Dallas and to Mr. Black is accorded a liberal and con-

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stantly growing patronage. He owns many fine carriages and good horses and he is always obliging and courteous to his patrons, and has secured a creditable standing and merited suc- cess in his business career.

Mr. Black was united in marriage in 1902, to Miss Nettie Greenwood, a native of Illinois. He votes with the Democracy but has never had time nor inclination for seeking public office. He is well known in his native county and his pleasant kindly spirit makes him a general favorite.

HON. BENJAMIN F. BONHAM, an Ore- gon pioneer of 1853, a practitioner grown old in the service of legal science, and the recip- ient of many unsolicited political honors, is a man of broad and liberal mind, whose life has been one of labor and untiring devotion to the best interests of his adopted state. He is recognized as a profound student of the law and as a jurist his decisions have been impar- tial, showing a careful consideration of the legal points at issue, and yet never losing sight of the merits of the case, with a view to pro- moting substantial justice between man and man. Having passed the age of three score and ten years, we present to our readers a chronological record of the life work of a man who has conferred honor and dignity upon society.

Judge Bonham was born October 8, 1828, near Knoxville, Tenn., and was reared prin- cipally in Indiana, to which state his people removed when he was twelve years of age. At a very early day an English forefather settled in Virginia, where was also born his paternal grandfather and namesake, Benjamin, a planter who settled in East Tennessee. Vir- ginia was also the birthplace of his son, John P. Bonham, the father of Judge Benjamin F., who in time combined farming and merchan- dising near Knoxville. In 1840 he removed to Middletown, Henry county, Ind., where he continued his former occupation up to the time of his death in 1864. He was a Democrat in politics and held membership with the Metho- dist Episcopal Church. His wife, Sarah (Jones) Bonham, was born in East Tennessee and died in Indiana. Her father, John Jones, was also born in Virginia.

Of the seven children in his father's family, Judge Bonham is one of two survivors, and the only one to come to the Pacific coast. Like many other men who have attained promi- nence in the west and elsewhere he undertook self support in the humble capacity of a school teacher, having qualified therefor in the pub-

lic schools and in Delaware County Seminary, at Muncie, Ind.

In 1853 he came across the plains, arriving in Oregon in September, and for the first two years was engaged in teaching school, one year on French Prairie and one in Salem. In the meantime he had been reading law, with a view to entering the legal profession. In 1856 he was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of Oregon. The unsettled condition of the country at that time had need of just such latent resources. as were embodied in this promising young attorney, and he at once stepped into positions requiring tact and ability. In the early '5os he held the offices of territorial auditor, librarian and superin- tendent of schools in Marion county, and while thus diversely engaged served as a member of the last territorial and the first state legislature. In 1860, upon retiring from public office, he began to devote all his attention to the prac- tice of law, and in 1870 was elected a member of the Supreme Court, at the same time serv- ing ex-officio as judge of the Circuit Court for six years. Between the years 1874 and 1876, inclusive, he was Chief Justice of the state of Oregon. Upon retiring from office he resumed practice in partnership with Judge W. M. Ramsey, continuing until 1885.

Judge Bonham's substantial service in be- half of the Democratic party has brought him more than local renown, and in 1885 he was appointed by President Cleveland Consul- General to British India. In the fall of that year he embarked from the port of San Fran- cisco, and for over four years represented the United States at Calcutta, with credit to him- self and entire satisfaction to both govern- ments. His experience in the foreign service of the United States at one of its important posts, enabled him to gain a comprehensive knowledge of international law, and his equip- ment in this respect was, upon his retirement from the position, of a much more practical nature than could have been gained in any of the technical institutions of learning. After his resignation from this post he set sail for the United States, coming by way of Suez canal, Marseilles, Paris and London, arriving home August, 1890. He again resumed the practice of law in Salem and vicinity in partnership with Hon. W. H. Holmes. In 1894 he was appointed postmaster of Salem, holding that office for four years, since which time he has devoted all his energies to the practice of law. and in 1899 entered into partnership with Carey F. Martin, a graduate of the state uni- versity and a very energetic and promising young attorney.

In 1858, at Salem, Judge Bonham was united

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in marriage with Miss Mildred A. Baker, who was born in Illinois in 1840, and is a daughter of John Baker, a well-known and highly re- spected Oregon pioneer of 1847, who is now residing on his donation claim near Salem at the age of eighty-seven years. Of the seven children born to Judge and Mrs. Bonham, two only are living-Raphael P. and Winona M., both of Salem. Three of the children-Frank E., Burton M. and Wayne L .- died of diph- theria in 1879, and two sons-Clinton O. and John Clifford-died of fever in 1881.

Judge Bonham is a member of the Marion County Bar Association of which he has been president for the past eight years. He is possessed of superior legal attainments, and his unceasing devotion to the best tenets of a great profession have brought him enviable standing, the friendship of kindred minds, and the highest regard of all with whom he has come in contact, in social, civil and judicial life.

OSCAR HAYTER, one of the most promising of the younger generation of Oregon lawyers, and representative of an old pioneer family of 1851, was born near Dallas, Polk county, Decem- ber 3, 1873. His father, Thomas Jefferson Hay- ter, a native of Franklin county, Mo., and a retired citizen of Dallas who has twice crossed the plains, is mentioned at length in another part of this work. His mother, Mary I. (Embree) Hayter, was born in Howard county, Mo., a daughter of C. D. Embree, who crossed the plains in 1844, lived on a donation claim in Polk county

from 1845 until 1889, and died in Dallas in 1900, . to maturity, and two are living. W. L. Hayter at the age of ninety-four years.

Until his tenth year Mr. Hayter was reared on the farm, and then located with his parents in Dallas. He was educated in the public schools, subsequently graduating from La Creole Acad- emv. After studying law for a short time in Dallas he became interested in the Clackamas Abstract & Trust Company as compiler of ab- stracts, and at the same time continued the study of law, being admitted to the bar October 9, 1895. Almost immediately he entered upon a prac- tice of law in partnership with Judge J. J. Daly, of Dallas, an association amicably and satisfactorily continued until 1900, since which time Mr. Hayter has practiced alone. He is a member and cx-vice president of the State Bar Association, and is variously connected with the social organizations in which his town and county abound. Fraternally he is a member of Jennings Lodge No. 9, A. F. and A. M., of which he is past master; Ainsworth Chapter No. 17, R. A. M. and Oregon Consistory No. I, in Portland and Al Kader Temple N. M. S. In politics Mr.

Hayter is a stanch Democrat and at the present time is secretary and ex-chairman of the County Democratic Committee. Mr. Hayter is a genial practitioner of the law, and his career has been an active one from the day of entering practice.

HON. THOMAS J. HAYTER. Prominent among the pioneers now living retired in Dallas is Hon. Thomas J. Hayter, owner of a twenty- acre tract of land in the town, and of an eighty- acre farm three miles southwest. Mr. Hayter, who is an ex-member of the Oregon state legisla- ture, an intrepid Indian fighter, and a former extensive stock-raiser, was born in Franklin county, Mo., February 8, 1830, and comes of English forefathers long identified with the south. The establisher of the family in America was his paternal great-grandfather, who came from Eng- land and settled first in Maryland, removing in later life to Virginia, where his death occurred. The paternal grandfather, Abraham, was born in Maryland, and became a planter in Washing- ton county, Va., whence he removed to his last home in Campbell county, east Tennessee. James H. Hayter, the father of Thomas J., was born in Washington county, Va., in 1793, and removed to Franklin county, Mo., about 1816. Here he started a saw and flour-mill in the wilderness. which was the pioneer industry of its kind in that section, and at which he worked up to the time of his death in 1856, from cholera, at the age of sixty-three years. Ten days after his death, his faithful wife, who was formerly Sarah Fulkerson, of Lee county, Va., succumbed to the scourge. Of their ten children, seven grew being now a resident of Coos county, Ore., an Oregon pioneer of 1854, and Thomas J.

The seventh child in his father's family, Thomas J. Hayter spent an uneventful youth on the Missouri farm, the first interesting period in his life being the preparation to cross the plains. About nineteen years old, he was just the age to appreciate all the proposed change meant, and he entered with zest into equipping for the departure, which took place April 15, 1849. Via the old California trail, past Fort Hall, Humboldt, and Truckee the train made its way, and upon arriving in Sacramento he found employment as a teamster until going to the mines, August 28, 1849. He must scarcely have realized his mining expectations, for in the fall of 1850 he came to Oregon on the schooner Creole, twenty- three days being consumed on the trip between San Francisco and the mouth of the Columbia. The Little Columbia, the first steamer on the river, brought him to Portland, whence he came immediately to Polk county, and took up a claim. This he disposed of in 1852, and the following

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year returned to Missouri, via San Francisco, Panama, the steamer Philadelphia to New Orleans, thence up the Mississippi and Missouri to his old home, having been on the route from San Francisco twenty-two and a half days.

In the spring of 1854 Mr. Hayter again crossed the plains with ox-teams, taking the same route to Raft river, and from there branch- ing off onto the old Oregon trail. On this trip he took more time, in order to safely get through with a large herd of cattle. He arrived at the first house in Oregon September 4, 1854, and soon after was located on a claim three miles west of Dallas, where he engaged in the stock business until 1856. In the fall of 1855 he vol- unteered in Company G, First Oregon Regiment, and served in the Yakima Indian war until an annoying bronchial trouble forced him to retire from the service. Having been honorably dis- charged he returned to his stock farm, and after selling it in 1856 located on a farm east of Dallas upon which he farmed until 1884. Since then he has lived retired on his farm of twenty acres in the city, although he still owns and derives a substantial income from a farm of eighty acres.

In May, 1856, in Polk county, Ore., Mr. Hày- ter married Mary I. Embree, who was born in Howard county, Mo., in February, 1838, and who is still living. Mrs. Hayter is the mother of six children, four of whom are living: Eugene is deputy sheriff of Polk county; Mark is a den- tal surgeon of Dallas; James Carey is editor and proprietor of the Polk County Observer; and Oscar is an attorney-at-law. Mr. Hayter has been a Democrat for many years, and served in the state legislature of 1876. He is a member of the State Pioneer Association.

GEORGE M. GOOCH. There is no citi- zen in Dallas who takes a deeper or more sincere interest in the welfare and progress of the city and county than does George M. Gooch, and while conducting a successful business enterprise he always finds time and opportunity to aid in the promotion of any movement for the general good. A native of Daviess county, Mo., he was born April 24, 1849, and since 1879 has been a resident of Oregon. His father, William Gooch, was born in eastern Tennessee and the grand- father was of German lineage and belonged to an old Tennessee family. He died in that state. His son, William Gooch, removed from Tennessee to Daviess county, Mo., becoming one of the early settlers there. Entering land from the government he improved a farm which subsequently he sold and then took up his abode in Fannen county, Tex., where for five years he carried on agricultural pursuits ;

but being a Union man, believing firmly in the right of the nation to preserve the Union, he found that he was not welcome in the south and with his family started in 1861 to return to Missouri. At the outbreak of the Civil war, while on his way northward, he was robbed by a band of guerrillas, who took his horses, leaving him only one wagon. He had, however, hid some money and with this he was enabled to purchase some oxen and continued on his way to Johnson county, Mo. He then began merchandising in Fayetteville and was also appointed postmaster of that place, but before the end of the war his store was raided by bushwhackers, who supposed he had money hidden. At night they took him from his home, tied a bed cord around his neck and wrapped one end around a sad- die horn, with which they dragged him for a long distance. He managed to save his life by catching hold of the rope and keeping the noose from tightening around his neck. He ran for a time, but finally fell and was dragged on the ground. He had given the robbers all the money he had, but, supposing he had hidden some, they took this method to make him reveal its hiding place. After dragging him for some distance they returned him to his own gate and were preparing to repeat the operation when they were fright- ened away by what they supposed to be the approach of federal troops. In time Mr. Gooch regained his health and continued his duties as postmaster and merchant in Fay- etteville until he sold his interests and re- moved to Grundy county, Mo., where for twenty years he was engaged in farming. On the expiration of that period he retired to pri- vate life and resided in Trenton, Mo., until his death at the age of seventy-seven years. His wife bore the maiden name of Vina Man- nering. She was born in eastern Tennessee and died in early womanhood in Missouri. There were five children of this marriage: John J., who is living in Seattle, Wash .; George M .; J. H., a millwright of Springfield, Ore .; A. K., of Trenton, Mo .; and O. J., of Kentucky.

George M. Gooch spent the greater part of his youth and young manhood in Missouri, but on account of the war he received limited educational advantages. In his youth he as- sisted his father in the store and in the post- office and when nineteen years of age re- moved to Trenton, Mo., where he was ap- prenticed to a miller and followed the trade at that place for five years. He afterward spent two years in a mill in Linn county, Mo., and later was employed for one year in the Princeton mill in Mercer county, Mo., following

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which on account of his health, he went to Grundy county, Mo., where he engaged in farm- ing. He. found the outdoor life of field and meadow beneficial, and after two years fully re- gained his health.

In 1878 Mr. Gooch was married in Grin- nell, Mo., to Miss Amelia Hein, who was born on a vessel while her parents were sail- ing around Cape Horn. Her father, Andrew Hein, was a native of Germany and went to South America, but afterward made his way to New York and subsequently to Missouri, where he was engaged in blacksmithing and wagon-making. His last days were spent in Aumsville, Ore., and his wife died in Salem, this state.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gooch were born five children: Bertha, preparing for teaching ; Bessie, Freddie, Cordie, and one who died in infancy. About the time of his marriage Mr. Gooch removed to Burt county, Neb., and was employed in the Lyons flour mill for one year, and in 1879 he arrived in Salem, Ore., and obtained the position of second miller in the Salem Flouring Mill, where he remained for two years. On the expiration of that period he went to Whitman county, Wash., where he purchased a farm which he broke and in- proved, successfully engaging in the cultiva- tion of wheat. He had two hundred and thirty-three acres of land, all of which was tillable and for twenty-two years he was a successful farmer. He still owns that prop- erty, which is now rented. In 1899 he took up his abode in Salem and in October, 1900, he came to Dallas. Here he purchased the old Felix Noel mill in partnership with his brother, J. H., under the firm name of Gooch Brothers. In 1902 the brother sold his interest to C. F. Hein and the firm of Hein & Company was organized with Mr. Gooch as manager of the business. The mill is supplied with a full roller process and its motive power is water and one forty horse-power engine. The plant is located at the head of Mill street and has a capacity of fifty barrels daily. The leading brand of flour is called "Snow White" and on account of the excellence of the prod- uct the firm enjoys a large trade in the valley. In addition to the mill they have a warehouse adjoining.

Fraternally Mr. Gooch is connected with the Artisans. In politics he is independent, but in early manhood he cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln in support of his war policy. Both he and his wife are devoted and loyal members of the Baptist Church, in which he is serving as a trustee.

FRANK E. MEYER, assessor of Polk county, and one of the most popular and promising of the younger generation of politicians in the state, was born on a farmi in this county, November 9, 1865, the youngest of the ten children born to Hon. John Henry and Elizabeth (Shanklin) Meyer, the latter of whom was born in Kentucky, January 5, 1826, and at an early day removed to the state of Illinois.

Hon. John Henry Meyer, one of the pioneers of Oregon, was born between the towns of Oster- coplin and Osnabruck, Hanover, Germany, No- vember 30, 1818, a son of Gerhart H. and Eliza- beth (Piete) Meyer, also natives of Hanover. Gerhard H. Meyer brought his wife, four daugh- ters and three sons, to America, and on the way one of the sons died in the sailing vessel and was buried at sea. Mr. Meyer settled near Quincy, Ill., in 1833, but was not permitted to long enjoy the advantages of his adopted country, for his own death and that of his wife occurred the year after their arrival in the country. At the time of this catastrophy John Henry and his older sis- ter were the main props upon which the other children depended, and they managed to cling together, and make the best of a disconsolate sit- uation. In time John Henry made his way to Missouri, where he married, and two children were born, and whence he started across the plains with his family and brother William. The train in that early day experienced many hard- ships and had considerable trouble with the Indi- ans, and in addition the two children, both of whom were boys, succumbed and died. Mr. Meyer took up a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres six miles north of Dallas, which he improved and turned into a paying investment. and to which he added until he owned about fifteen hundred acres. With the exception of three hundred and sixty acres retained for his own use he divided his property among his chil- dren, all of whom were thus enabled to start in life under promising conditions. His death July 14, 1900, removed a man highly honored in the community, and who possessed more than ordin- ary ability and public spiritedness. A life-long Democrat, he served his party in various capaci- ties, but in none which reflected greater credit upon himself and district than as a legislator for two terms. His wife is an active member of the Presbyterian Church and Mr. Meyer contributes generously towards the maintenance of that de- nomination. His wife died January 23, 1899, at the age of seventy-three. The next oldest of the children after those who died on the plains was Jolin, who was drowned in the Umatilla river, November 21, 1877, and who was ex-county judge and ex-school superintendent; George, liv- ing on a part of the old homestead, served as representative for two terms; Sarah is the wife

Form Muito

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of S. T. Riggs, of Salem; Amanda J. is now Mrs. Hastings, of Polk county ; Mary is the wife of Mr. White, of Polk county; James lives on a part of the old farm; and Anan is a farmer near Fall City.

At the age of fifteen years Frank E. Meyer came into possession of one hundred and thirteen acres of land, which was a part of the old home- stead, and which he farmed and cultivated until removing into Dallas in the fall of 1900. In June, 1900, he was nominated on the Democratic ticket for county assessor, overcoming a Repub- lican majority of one hundred and fifty. So cred- itable and altogether satisfactory was his admin- istration of the affairs of the assessor's office that he was re-elected in May, 1902, his term of service to continue until January, 1905. In Dallas, Ore., Mr. Meyer was united in marriage with Mary Esta Holman, who was born in Polk county, Ore., a daughter of Hardy Holman, extended mention of whose life may be found in another part of this work. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Meyer, Floyd Clair and Roy Merle. Mr. Meyer is fraternally identified with the Woodmen of the World. His wife is a member of the Wo- men of Woodcraft. Mr. Meyer is progressive, public-spirited, genial, and thoroughly in accord with western ideas and enterprises. In the dis- charge of his duties as assessor he is ably assisted by his gifted wife.

JOHN MINTO has every claim for represen- tation in the history of the Willamette valley, both from his noble birth and long residence on the Pacific slope, and also for his long public and semi-public service, which of itself has made him a prominent character in the history of the state. His life has been crowded with events of importance, which have followed one another in close succession, and his intimate connection with all the leading agricultural issues of our country has won for him merited distinction. He is now living a retired life at his home in Salem, Ore., and still enjoys life at the ad- vanced age of eighty-one years.

Mr. Minto is a descendant of a prominent Scotch family. His great-grandfather on the paternal side was born in Scotland and went to England as steward of a large estate. His grandfather's name was John Minto and this name has since been handed down from father to son. The grandfather spent the early years of his life in gathering the money that would carry him and his family to America, of which he had read so much. He started with all the family except his son John, the father of the subject of this review, who remained for a time in England, and a sis- ter who had emigrated to America in 1818. But

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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 31

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