Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 47

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 47

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His business ability and his business-like ad- ministration of the city's affairs have been mani- fest in many other ways proving equally valu- able to Salem. He has demonstrated that the affairs of the city could be run upon a tax levy of ten mills on the dollar, which his predecessors could not do, for in controlling the city's affairs they had run behind in expenses. Under the leadership of Mr. Bishop the city has certainly had an economical administration and is not only out of debt, but has a good surplus in its treas- ury. The soldier on the field of battle has dis- played no greater loyalty than has Mr. Bishop in the support of American institutions and his condemnation of political intrigue. There is no doubt that had he entered into the methods of many politicians he could have obtained almost any office he might desire, but with him principle is above party, purity and economy in municipal affairs above personal interest.

Along other lines of progress and advance- ment Mr. Bishop is also prominent. He is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church of McMinnville; and in 1897 he was elected a trustee of the Willamette University and is now vice-president of its board. He also is a member of the Oregon Historical Society. In conse- quence of his prominence in political, commercial and social life he has a wide acquaintance and has gained a host of warm friends, whose high and sincere regard he possesses.

THOMAS A. JONES. Soon after the birth of Thomas A. Jones, which occurred in John- son county, Ind., August 20, 1844, his parents, Lewis W. and Mary A. (McCalpin) Jones, re- moved to Andrew county, Mo., where they resided for six years. The agitation regarding the rich lands and mining opportunities in the far west even at this early day had penetrated the quiet agricultural regions of Missouri, and Lewis Jones was one of the first men living in his neighborhood to place credence in the re- ports heralded throughout the country. After carefully considering the matter he decided to cast his lot among those who were seeking their fortunes in the country west of the Rocky mountains. Disposing of his farming land at a profit he outfitted for the long journey across the plains with four wagons and four yoke of oxen each, and started overland. Arriving in Oregon in the fall of 1852, after a journey which consumed six months, he bought three hundred and twenty acres of land in the Waldo Hills, then, as now, considered one of the garden spots of the entire Pacific slope. This property was located near what was known as the Union Hill school house, and contained a log cabin

Terry Brooks -

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in which his family found shelter from the in- clement weather of the approaching rainy season. A few acres were fenced in, and with this improvement to encourage his pioneer spirits he set about the task of housing his stock and performing such other duties as were required to make his household comfortable among the strange surroundings.

For six years this sturdy pioneer continued to occupy this farm, and undoubtedly would have made it his permanent home had not the title to the land been disputed. In order to avoid legal complications he bought three hundred and twenty acres near Jefferson, upon which there were a few improvements. There he resided until removing to Oakland, Ore., where he died in 1884, at the age of seventy-two years. The death of his wife occurred at the same age.

Lewis Jones was an energetic man, enterpris- ing, capable and resourceful, and appeared to appreciate fully what was demanded of pioneer settlers of the most reliable kind. He took an active interest in the cause of education, promot- ing good schools, and was in a large measure responsible for the excellent condition of the roads of the county, even as they exist at the present day.

The little log school house located a mile from the Jones farm numbered among its pupils in this early day Thomas A. Jones, who was ac- counted one of the most eager and capable of the young searchers after knowledge. At the age of twenty-one years he began to work on the surrounding farms. October 30, 1878, he was united in marriage with Ellen Short, who became the mother of nine children. Of these Walter, the oldest son, has been in Alaska for the past five years ; Etta is the wife of Norman Williams and they reside in Fairhaven, Wash .; William lives on a farm near his father; the remainder are Edith, John. Clifford, Bessie, Susan and Bertha, the two last named being now deceased. Bertha had become the wife of L. W. Ross, a jeweler of Albany, and they were the parents of two sons, Elfin and Carlton. The mother of this family passed away in January, 1886.

After his marriage Mr. Jones rented land for six years, and then bought the farm in the Waldo Hills, which is now his home. It contains one hundred and sixty acres of fine land, ninety acres of which is under a high state of cultivation. Upon the settlement of the estate of Mrs. Jones' father, John W. Short, another farm of one hun- dred and nine acres was added to this first one, both farms at present being devoted to general farming and stockraising. · Mr. Jones is recog- nized as one of the progressive farmers of Marion county, and his efforts have contributed materi- ally to the agricultural prestige of the community. He exhibits a commendable public spirit when

the occasion demands, and is known as a man of strict integrity and excellent business judgment.

FRANK MARTIN BROOKS, M. D. Every- thing in connection with the life and work of Dr. Frank M. Brooks, of Silverton, indicates pros- perity, culture, knowledge of the world, and ex- ceptionally high professional standing. He en- joys one of the most desirable and lucrative prac- tices in the Willamette valley, and from his home radiate helpfulness and strength into hundreds of homes throughout Marion county.

Dr. Brooks was born in Salem, Ore., April 10, 1868, a son of John and Martha R. (Harper) Brooks. His father, who was born in Kentucky March 7, 1824, crossed the plains in 1864, and settled upon a farm near Salem. There he en- gaged in general farming until 1897, when he re- tired from active life to spend his remaining years with his children. He still owns a home in the suburbs of Salem, consisting of twenty-five acres, the remainder of his property having been laid out in lots and named the Brooks subdivision. His marriage to Martha R. Harper, who was born in Hart county, Ky., August 2, 1834, oc- curred in Kentucky, April 9, 1848. To this union ten children were born, named in the order of their birth as follows : Mary W., deceased; Irene, wife of E. P. Hodnett, of Portland; Will- iam W., deceased; John H., of Silverton; Lydia A., wife of R. H. Leabo, of Salem; Frank M .; Clyde C., of Los Angeles, Cal .; Edward A., head keeper of the United States light station at Dun- geness, Wash .; Lenora, of Portland, and Dr. Benjamin F., of Sedro Woolley, Wash.

After being graduated from the Salem public schools, in 1882, Dr. Brooks, then fourteen years of age, entered the employ of Murphy, Grant & Co., wholesale dry-goods merchants, in their branch house in Portland, with whom he re- mained for two years. In the meantime he had decided to devote his life to the science of medi- cine, and therefore resigned his clerkship for the purpose of applying himself wholly to the mas- tery of his chosen profession. After a course of study with Dr. Horace Carpenter, covering a period of two years, he entered Cooper Medical College in San Francisco, where he studied one year. He then entered the medical department of the University of Oregon, from which he was graduated with the class of 1890. The first two years of his career as a practitioner were spent in La Camas, Wash., but since 1892 he has been engaged in his professional labors in Silverton, with the exception of the time devoted to further research in the east and in foreign capitals. In 1894, he entered Jefferson Medical College, at Philadelphia, from which he was graduated May

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15, 1895. Again resuming practice in Silverton, he was very successful. In 1902 he temporarily abandoned a large and lucrative practice in order that he might spend three months in Europe .. This period he devoted to post-graduate work in the leading hospitals of London, Paris, Vienna, Prague and Edinburgh, where he was enabled to avail himself of instruction at the hands of some of the most illustrious exponents of medical and surgical science in the world. With this rare equipment for his future career he returned to Silverton, and is now practicing with a degree of success which has at once given him rank with the foremost physicians and surgeons of Oregon.

January 21, 1891, Dr. Brooks was united in marriage with Agnes Gordon, a native of Chi- cago, Ill., and a daughter of the Rev. John Gor- don, D.D. Her father, who is a clergyman in the Baptist Church, is a native of Scotland. He was formerly pastor of the First Baptist Church of Portland. He is now a resident of Philadelphia, where he is pastor of the Second Baptist Church and dean of Temple College. Two children were born of this marriage, Irwin and Agnes, both of whom are living at home. Agnes Gordon Brooks died in Silverton, April II, 1898. On September II, 1900, Dr. Brooks married Jessie Fremont Davis, who is also a practicing physician. She was born in Silverton February 8, 1870, a daugh- ter of Dr. Platt A. Davis, a pioneer physician of Silverton. She was educated in the Silverton public schools and in the Academy of the Sacred Heart of Salem, being graduated from the latter institution in 1887. In 1892 she entered the med- ical department of the University of Oregon, from which she was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, in 1896. Until her marriage, she was engaged in practice in Silverton, though independently from the practice of her father.

Contrary to family tradition and family train- ing, Dr. Brooks is a stanch adherent of Repub- lican principles. For one term, from May, 1899, to May, 1900, he filled the office of mayor of Sil- verton. Fraternally, he is associated with the Masons, being a member of Silverton Lodge No. 43, A. F. &. A. M., and other orders.

In closing this brief review of the career of Dr. Brooks, it does not seem out of place to make a permanent record of the high esteem in which he is held by reason of the many substantial and gracious traits of his character. The foundation of his learning had been laid broad and deep, and he has exhibited a determination to make the best of the opportunities afforded by the time and location with which he has been favored, by adopting every possible means of keeping in touch with the most advanced thought in the world of medical science. Personally, he is ex- tremely liberal in his views of affairs in general, the result of extended travel and close contact

with some of the best and brightest minds in Europe and America. Possessed of an optimistic temperament, his presence in the sick-room brings a cheer and encouragement which, in themselves, do much toward bringing a forgetfulness of woes to the patient. Aside from his professional labors-though they are of a most arduous na- ture-he has taken the time to give such aid as lies within his power to the advancement of other local interests. No worthy enterprise calculated to promote the best interests of the community is slighted by him; but on the contrary, he lends his influence, as well as more material aid when the occasion demands it, to the advancement of all measures which, in his opinion, will elevate the social, industrial, moral and intellectual status of the community. All in all, his record is one worthy of emulation by young men who are actu- ated by ambitions similar to those which prompted him to undertake preparation for a career in med- icine. It is with genuine pleasure that those re- sponsible for the compilation of this volume give this review of his life and work a prominent place in the annals of the men of the Willamette valley.

MAURICE KLINGER. One of the most im- portant elements in our American citizenship is that furnished by the fatherland. The represen- tatives of the Teutonic race have ever been pro- gressive and have carried the civilization of their own country westward, taking an active part in reclaiming new districts and bringing them up to a high standard of improvement and progress. Mr. Klinger has been one of the most important factors in the upbuilding of Salem, his labors being felt along many lines of advancement and certainly he deserves prominent mention in this volume. He was born in Alsace, Germany, April IO, 1844. His father, Maurice Klinger, was a farmer and distiller there and spent his entire life in that province. The grandfather of our subject was also a native of that locality. The mother, whose maiden name was Mary Eckerlen, was born in Alsace and was a daughter of August Eckerlen, a farmer of that community. Unto the parents of our subject were born six chil- dren, of whom Maurice is the eldest. The others are August, of Mt. Angel, Marion county ; Emil, who resides at the old home in Germany; Ed- ward, who is also living at the old home place in the fatherland; Mrs. Adele Ackerlen, of Ger- many ; and Ernest, who makes his home at New Whatcom, Wash.

In the land of his nativity Maurice Klinger spent the days of his, boyhood and youth, attend- ing the national schools in accordance with the rules of the country. He learned the distiller's trade in his carly youth. When sixteen years of age he became his father's assistant at farming

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and distilling and was thus engaged until 1869, when he began learning the brewer's trade in the city of Kaisersburg. He afterward completed his trade at Colmer and in 1873, thinking to enjoy the better business opportunities of the new world, he crossed the Atlantic from Havre to New York City, and thence proceeded inland to Illi- nois. He was employed by John Stenger, a brewer of Naperville, Ill., and afterward spent a few months in Chicago, going thence to St. Louis, where he was in the service of the Lemp and Anheuser-Busch Companies and also of the Winklemeyer Company.

The year 1877 witnessed the arrival of Mr. Klinger in Salem, and here with the capital he had acquired through his own diligence and economy he established the Capitol Brewery lo- cated on Commercial street. He afterward pur- chased the present site and in 1885 erected a new brick brewing plant, the main building being sev- enty-five by eighty feet. There is also a boiler house and ice machine and the plant is thoroughly equipped with all modern accessories for carrying on the work. There are two ice machines, one of ten tons and the other of twenty tons, and two boilers are used in the operation of the plant. He manufactures malt, beer and ice and the capacity of the brewery is thirty-five hundred barrels per annum. In the early days of his resi- dence here Mr. Klinger had to haul his product to different cities in Polk, Yamhill and Marion counties before the era of railroad shipment. As the years have passed he has built up a very extensive trade, developing a splendid brewery and the patronage which is accorded him has made him one of the wealthy citizens of his community. His business methods have ever been straightforward and honorable and the busi- ness which he has developed has become one of the leading industries of Salem. Mr. Klinger has also extended his efforts into other lines of activity and his building interests have done much to improve the city. He erected store buildings, including a double store and a single store, and he is also the owner of other property. His attention is now largely given to the supervision of his investments. In 1900 he sold the brewery business, for he found that his attention was largely taken up by his other interests.

Mr. Klinger was married in Sublimity, Ore., to Miss Virginia Eckerlen, who was born in Alsace, a daughter of John Eckerlen, who was also a native of that locality and a farmer by occupation. In 1871 he brought his family, con- sisting of his wife and five children, to America, locating in Dupage county. Ill., and in 1875 he became a resident of Sublimity, Ore. He fol- lowed farming in that locality for a time, but afterward died in Mount Angel. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary Klinger, who was born

in Alsace, while her death occurred in Sublimity. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Eckerlen were five children, of whom four are living, Mrs. Klinger, wife of the subject of this review, be- ing the third in order of birth. She has two children, Ernest and Bertha.

Mr. Klinger belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen and has held office in the Salem lodge. He votes with the Republican party and in matters of citizenship he is public-spirited and progressive, giving hearty aid and co-opera- tion to every movement for the substantial up- building and material improvement of his city. He certainly shows in his life history what may be accomplished by determination and energy guided by sound business judgment, for to these qualities he owes his splendid success in life.

WILLIAM Y. RICHARDSON, who is serving as county treasurer of Marion county, represents one of the old and honored pioneer families of Oregon, his grandfather, John Rich- ardson, having arrived in this state in 1851. Andrew J. Richardson, the father of our subject. was born near Quincy, Ill., and was about eighteen years of age when the family crossed the long, hot stretches of sand and made their way through the mountain passes into the fertile valleys of Oregon. They settled in Linn county, and on attaining his majority A. J. Richardson secured a donation claim near Scio in that county. With characteristic energy he began its cultivation and improvement and resided thereon until 1872, when he took up his abode in Stayton, where he conducted a hotel known as the Farmer's Hotel. He is one of the oldest representatives of this line of business in Oregon and has a wide acquaintance among the traveling public. He married Emeline Crabtree, a native of Missouri and a daughter of Washington Crab- tree, who was born in Tennessee, whence he removed to Missouri. About 1852, with ox- teams, he crossed the plains and settled near Scio in Linn county, where he remained until his retirement to private life, when he took up his abode in Stayton, dying there in October, 1901, in his ninety-third year. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Richardson were born seven children: Susan C., wife of J. H. Wylie, a business man of Seattle, Wash .; William Y .. of this review; Warren, of Stayton, Ore .; and four who have passed away.

William Y. Richardson was born on the home farm near Stayton, Linn county, June 2, 1864, and upon the home farm remained until eight vears of age, when his father removed to Stayton just as the place was being established. There the son attended the public schools and later he was engaged with his father in the livery busi-

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ness under the firm name of Richardson & Son. When nineteen years of age he purchased the business from his father and continued as pro- prictor of the barns with success. Later he con- solidated his business with that of Thomas Brothers, under the firm name of Thomas Brothers & Company. They had two barns in Stayton, conducting these until 1894, when the firm sold out to Thomas & Trask. Mr. Richard- son then moved to Salem to become proprietor of the Club stables as a member of the firm of Downing, Thomas & Co. This firm conducted a general livery business for three years; at the end of that time our subject sold out and re- turned to Stayton, where he engaged in dealing in stock including cattle, sheep and horses. He was recognized as a prominent dealer in sheep, buying and selling. When elected to public office in July, 1902, however, he returned to Salem.

Mr. Richardson was married in this city to Miss Maude Kress, a native of Wisconsin, and they have two children. Paul K. and Homer J. Mr. Richardson belongs to the Woodmen of the World and he has taken an active interest in local politics, serving for seven years as a mem- her of the city council of Stayton, and for one year as its president. In 1902 he was nomi- nated on the Republican ticket for the office of county treasurer and was elected by a majority of about sixteen hundred. On the 7th of July, of that year, he entered upon his duties which he is now acceptably discharging, managing the affairs of the office in a prompt and business- like manner.

JAMES A. HOWARD. A liberal and enter- prising citizen of Albany, Linn county, is to be found in the person of James Austin Howard, who has recently become connected with the commercial life of the city, engaging in 1902 in the real estate business. The energy and applica- tion which he has put forth clearly stamps him as one of the rising young men of the com- munity.

J. L. Howard, the father of J. A. of this review, was a native of Kentucky, and the son of Charles Howard, a representative of an old Vir- ginia family. The grandfather made his home in Kentucky at an early date, later removing to lowa, where J. L. IToward spent much of his life up to the year 1864. At this period he crossed the plains with ox-teams, six months of the year being consumed in the passage, during which they had many exciting encount- ers with the Indians, and upon the arrival in Oregon he settled near Sheridan, Yamhill county, where his mother died. A short time after he continued the journey by team into California,

and from that location returned east via San Francisco and Panama. On making his home in Iowa once more he located four miles south of Marshalltown, and engaged in farming. Fond of the excitement and adventures of traveling Mr. Howard made many trips to Oregon, his last one being the ninth and leaving him a resi- dent of the state in which he had been so long interested. The last journey was made in June, 1887, and the changing years had brought a wonderful difference in the mode of traveling, his thoughts in the Pullman sleeper going back to the days and nights on the open plains, sur- rounded by a loneliness which held many unseen dangers, and through which the pioneers of those early days fought their slow, patient way.

The first settlement which Mr. Howard made was one mile east of Amity, where he now owns a farm of two hundred and seventy-two acres, and from which he later removed to a location one-half mile southwest of Albany. This con- sists of a comparatively small place, but from the cultivation of which he gains substantial returns, as ten acres embodied in the property are devoted to the raising of fruit. The wife who shares his home was formerly Rachel A. Gillespie, a native of Indiana, and the daughter of Norilla Gillespie, a prominent farmer in Mar- shalltown, Iowa. Of the seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Howard, Franklin is an extensive farmer in Washington ; Charles Norilla is a mer- chant in Chico, Cal .; James Austin is the sub- ject of this review; Robert Pleasant is farming on a part of the old home in Yamhill county ; Stephen Edward is also engaged in farming on the home place; Ernest E. and Ella Penelope are both at home with their parents.

The natal day of James Austin Howard was February 13, 1871, and his birth occurred in Marshalltown, Iowa. His childhood was spent in a far different manner from many, enjoying with a child's keen delight the various trips across the country, and which gave to him a resi- dence in Iowa, California, Texas and Oregon, in all of which he attended the public schools. his education being in no wise neglected on account of the many movings. He crossed the plains eight or nine times and in 1887 he became with his parents a permanent resident of Yamhill county. There he attended and graduated in the Amity schools, thercafter taking a course in both the McMinnville College and Willamette University. Interested more or less in his father's pursuit he followed farming in Amitv for a short time, but in 1896 he went to Cor- vallis and engaged in the commission and pro- duce business, in which husiness he remained for about a year. Returning at the expiration of that time to the farm he conducted the occu. pation for five years, when he again changed his

J. J Dav's

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location, settling in Albany, and entering upon his present business carcer. In addition to his real estate business, he is also engaged in the raising of sheep and cattle.

In Amity Mr. Howard was married to Miss Lula M. Jones, who was born in Yamhill county and educated in McMinnville College, and of this union one child has been born, Francyl. In his fraternal relations Mr. Howard affiliates with the Knights of the Maccabees, the Inde- pendent Order of the Lions, and the Twenty-five Hundredths of Albany, and religiously is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Broadminded and earnest in his efforts for the general welfare, he is interested in all political movements, his convictions lying with the Demo- cratic party. In the business affairs of the city he is a member of the Albany Real Estate Ex- change, in which he acts as treasurer.

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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 47

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