Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 51

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 51

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Through his marriage with Miss Carrie A. Mackey, a native of Streator, Ill., where the ceremony was performed, he has two children, namely : Edith and Ethel. Fraternally Mr. Bus- sard is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, the Order of Pendo and Royal Neigh- bors. Religiously he is a member of the Congre- gational Church, and politically is a stanch Re- publican.

REV. JOSIAH L. PARRISH. No other state in the Union has been more liberally en- dowed with men whose personal sacrifices have made the life of the community in which they lived than has Oregon, a half century, ago a wil- derness, to-day the garden spot of the great northwest. It was firm faith in the future re- sources of this section which led to the wide emi-

gration in the early days, when men of erudition, talent and ambition gave up fair prospects in their native localities, crossed the plains with their myriad dangers, endured hardships and priva- tions, and undaunted by discouragements of all kinds brought their adopted state to a position of prominence and enrolled their names among the beginners of a nation. The pride in a fair state is laudable and the efforts of these men to make a cause for loyalty have been thoroughly appreciated by posterity, but while many engaged in the advancement of industrial, commercial and political conditions there were others who accomplished no less fine results in the line of moral betterment, which is the true test of a coun- try's greatness. What this devotion to a prac- tical and earnest religion meant in the life of the state is beyond computation at the present day, though its undoubted power is visible in the prevailing conditions, and speaks eloquently of the noble, self-denying lives of the early mis- sionary settlers.

" For God and humanity," was the watchword of one of those earnest men, Josiah L. Parrish by name, a missionary of the Methodist Church, and a consistent upholder of the faith which he professed. At the time of his death, May 30, 1895, he was the oldest living pioneer, and the changing scenes which marked each epoch in his life have become state history, in which his own name is indissolubly linked as that of a man who gave his best efforts toward the moral and material uplifting of those about him, Indian as well as white inhabitant honoring his memory. The life of Mr. Parrish began in Onondaga coun- ty, N. Y., January 14, 1806, where he was born the son of Benjamin and Sally (Lamberson) · Parrish, natives respectively of Connecticut and New Jersey. The father was born in 1777, the representative of a Puritan family of English an- cestry, while the mother inherited the trustworthy blood of Dutch forefathers. Of their ten chil- dren Josiah L. was the oldest son, and beyond the advantage of a brief attendance of the public schools, was unable to secure in boyhood any- thing but a very common education. His father being a blacksmith, he early learned that trade, working at it when he was so small that he had to stand on a stool to blow and strike. His home remained in bis native town until he had attained his seventeenth year, when he removed with his parents to Monroe county and later to Allegheny connty. While still located in his native state he found employment at Brockway, on the Eric canal, remaining for many years satisfied with the opportunities which the east offered. When thirty-three years old he left his home and going to New York City sailed on the ship Lausanne, October 9, 1839, bound for the then wilderness of Oregon, by way of the Horn and Sandwich

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Islands. He was then an ordained minister in the Methodist faith and it was in company with the missionaries which made up the party of the Rev. Jason Lee that he made the voyage and prepared to give of his strength and purpose of life to western growth and civilization.

In May, 1840, the party landed in Oregon, each of the several members preparing to go his own way in the fulfillment of the intentions with which the trip was undertaken. Though a minister and missionary Mr. Parrish was also a blacksmith, carrying with him a trade which is a most necessary adjunct to a successful teaching of religion, material benefit being imperative in an undeveloped country. He also engaged in harness, wagon and tool making. Mr. Parrish first stopped at the "old mission " located ten miles below Salem upon the banks of the Willam- ette river, where he was employed for three years in the prosecution of his trade, after which he was sent as a missionary to the mouth of the Columbia river. The Rev. Daniel Lee helped him to start a mission where he had found one white man, James Burney by name, this man having an Indian wife. Having always been accustomed to Indians, Mr. Parrish united with a clear com- mon sense a fearless friendliness and a hearty good will, which met with a quick return in the manner in which he was able to handle the men with whom he came in contact. He first made his home on Clatsop plains, seven miles south of the Columbia river, in company with his wife and three children, and after becoming thorough- ly familiar with the Indian language taught the religion which he had come to far to tell, and by his gentle, kindly personality so won the friendship of the red men that he became one of the most useful men of Oregon in his subjection . and moral training. Several times during his life among them, being appointed Indian agent in 1849, his territory extending from California to British Columbia, and afterward being de- tailed to accomplish some dangerous missions in which members of their tribe were to be given into the custody of the whites. Two circum- stances in particular are worthy of note, as they denoted the great confidence which Mr. Parrish had won among them and the power which his personality had over them. During the gold excitement a party of white men were sent from Fort Auford to find a trail that would connect with the trail for California, and while out they encountered two hundred hostile Indians, when several of their party were killed. Mr. Parrish was asked to take forty well armed men and go to the Indians and ask them for a conference with Dr. Dart, superintendent of Indian affairs. but he requested only that he have an Indian in- terpreter (the language of these Indians being Coquille) and various articles which he knew the

natives particularly desired. This was granted and Mr. Parrish sought the Indians and alone won from them a treaty of peace. In 1854 Mr Parrish was Indian agent of the district extend- ing from California to Coos bay, during which service several treaties were made with the In- dians, resulting in much good to the country. At one time there was a serious trouble, in which Mr. Parrish was sent to arrest an Indian who had killed a white man, and though the entire coun- try was stirred up over the affair, both whites and Indians, he went fearlessly among them and after some delay, but without violence, he suc- ceeded in taking back with him the offender, who showed the power of the missionary's per- sonality when he followed the party to Fort Au- ford without the exercise of force. Mr. Parrish then returned to Salem, where he found his wife very ill, her health having been failing for some time. For this reason he resigned his post, remaining near his wife in the tender ministra- tions which he never failed to give to those in trouble or distress. He continued his minister- ial duties, being stationed regularly in Portland in 1849, and also preaching at many other loca- tions in the state.

The wife who shared his strenuous life was formerly Elizabeth Winn, a native of New York state, having been born March 17, 1811, and there united in marriage with Mr. Parrish in 1833. Her death occurred August 30, 1869, leaving three sons, the oldest, Lamberson W., having died in September, 1840, during the first year of their residence in the west. Norman O. died November 26, 1900; Samnel B., who served as chief of police of Portland, and died in that city, 1898, and Charles W., born in September, 1844, was one of the first white children in Ore- gon. He is now a lawyer at Burns, Ore. The second marriage of Mr. Parrish united him with Jennie L. Lichenthaler, by whom he had two daughters, Grace G., the wife of Dr. E. A. Pierce, whose biography appears elsewhere in this volume, and Josie, Mrs. Slater, of Salem. After the death of Mrs. Parrish in 1887 Mr. Parrish married the following year Mrs. M. A. Pierce, a native of Indiana, and the widow of J. O. Pierce, a pioncer of Washington county, Ore.

Beyond his abiding interest in the cause of Indian humanity Mr. Parrish became one of the most prominent men in the commercial and in- dustrial life of Oregon, as active in all movements as in that of religion. He was a stanch supporter of all educational movements and served as one of the first trustces of the Willamette University, and later was elected a life-honorary member of the board of trustees, a position which he held for nearly thirty years. He became the owner of much valuable property in the Willamette valley and in the city of Portland, at one time

Aiboolidge

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losing much of the latter through the kindliness which prompted him to sign the notes of those who were never able to return the money, but this still left him with sufficient to pass through old age comfortably. Through his position as one of the early pioneers of the state Mr. Parrish was invited to drive the first spike in the Oregon & California Railroad, when in Portland, and with others he made a speech commemorative of the event and the changes which the years had brought to the west. In 1889 he drove the first spike in the street railway of Salem, the broadax which he used having been brought to Oregon in 1840, and after a long and singularly useful career in hewing timbers for many of the missions, it then lay rusting beneath the waters of the Willam- ctte river, where it was lost in 1840, and afterward found and utilized once more in the mission of Clatsop. It now adorns the museum of the Wil- lamette University, to which it was present 1 in 1892 by Mr. Parrish. Among the most notice- able of his unselfish and noble acts was the minis- trations for seventeen years in behalf of the con- victs of the state penitentiary, where he preached the religion which had meant the fullness of his own life, the appreciation shown by the men being evidenced by the gift of a gold-headed cane by officers and convicts on one of his birthdays This cane was afterward lost by fire but the memory of his deeds outlasts time and destruc- tion, the worth of such actions ending not with the passing of life, but going on down through the coming years with a never-ending influence, adding regard and veneration to a name already lustrous with the light of work well done.

AI COOLIDGE. No history of Silverton or this section of Oregon would be complete without mention of Ai Coolidge, so active a part has he taken in the business development and substantial upbuilding of his community. More than a half century has passed since he arrived in Oregon, and there has been no movement for the good of the state and the advancement of its material interests that has not elicited his attention and insofar as pos- sible his active co-operation. Successful in his undertakings, he is at the same time a man free from ostentation and display, but the in- trinsic worth of his character is recognized by all with whom he comes in contact and has gained for him the highest regard. He stands to-day one of the honored pioneer citizens of Oregon, being among the few who can relate from memory as an active participant in the affairs, the incidents which form the early annals of the state.

Mr. Coolidge was born in Union county, Ohio, February 15, 1823. His father, James

F. Coolidge, was a native of Massachusetts, and when a young man he removed to Union county, Ohio, locating on the Big Derby river, where lie engaged in blacksmithing and farm- ing. He first purchased eighty acres of land, but afterward added to that until the tract comprised a quarter section. He married Fan- nie Rice, a native of Vermont, and a daughter of Squire Rice, who was also born in the Green Mountain state, whence he removed to Olio. He became a trader and conducted a little store in Columbus at an early day. In the latter part of his life he was crippled by falling from a bridge, but he lived to reach the advanced age of about eighty years. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Coolidge were born seven children, two daugh- ters and five sons, of whom only two are liv- ing-Annette, widow of George Wilbur, of Marysville, Ohio, and the subject of this review. The father was a Whiig in his political views and was a member of the Universalist Church. Liberal and kind-hearted, his gener- ous spirit and genial nature won for him many friends, and his death, which occurred in March, 1846, when he was fifty-six years of age, was deeply regretted by all who knew him.

Ai Coolidge was the third in order of birth in his father's family. To a limited extent he attended the common schools and in his youth he worked in the fields almost from the time he could reach the plow handles. In 1844 he started out in life for himself and devoted his; energies to the manufacture of brick in Union county, Ohio. The following year he removed to Wisconsin, where he spent one year en- gaged in trapping and hunting. In 1846, how- ever, he returned to Ohio. He had left his native state with $35 and he returned with $40, thus realizing a profit of $5 for his year's labor. Mr. Coolidge continued to make his home in the state of his nativity until 1851, when the opportunities of the northwest became known to him and he resolved to seek a home in this promising portion of the country.

A journey at that time was fraught with many hardships and considerable danger. The great system of railroads which now spans the country had not then been dreamed of, and the long journey over the hot and sandy plains and across mountains was usually made with ox- teams in covered wagons. It was in this way that Mr. Coolidge traveled, the party proceed- ing by way of the Platte river route. They were fortunate in escaping trouble with the Indians, and the journey over the new country really proved a pleasant one. On reaching Oregon Mr. Coolidge camped about a quarter of a mile from the present city of Silverton, and there was engaged in cutting logs for Bluford

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Smith through that winter. He took up a do- nation claim of one hundred and sixty acres about four miles southeast of the present site of Silverton, and then devoted his energies to the work which was before him. Beginning the development of his farm he split about seven thousand rails in order to fence a portion of his tract, built a house and the first year sowed six acres in wheat. In 1852 he embarked in general merchandising in what was then called Milford, but in 1855 was superseded by the present town of Silverton, and Mr. Coolidge transferred his business from the former to the latter. He occupied the Central hotel building, which is now standing there, and moved it from Milford to Silverton. Never for a day did he suspend his business, but continued it while the moving was going on, selling to customers all along the road. It required four months to get the building from Milford to Silverton. He brought his goods from San Francisco and continued to engage in merchandising at this place with good success for ten years. Subse- quently he engaged in farming and raising cat- tle, having in the meantime purchased land to the extent of five or six thousand acres. He still retains possession of the first tract of land which he owned. Three miles south on Drift creek he bought four hundred and sev- enty-one acres and the soil is still in its virgin condition, there never having been a plow upon it. In the last year and a half he has sold about twelve hundred acres of his land, but he now has remaining more than two thou- sand acres. He has owned land all around the town, and is now the owner of the Coolidge or Postoffice block and the bank building. The enterprising spirit, practical labors and wise counsel of Mr. Coolidge have been most effective in the developing of Silverton. He was one of the promoters of the Silverton Electric Light Company and rebuilt the gristmill here, but later sold it. He is now the president of the Coolidge & McClaine Bank of Silverton, which was established in 1880 by Alfred Cool- idge and A. F. McClaine, under the firm name of Coolidge & McClaine. It was incorporated under the same name in 1890. The bank has become one of the solid and trustworthy financial insti- tutions of this part of the state. The bank build- ing was erected in 1893.

About two miles above his present home Mr. Coolidge was united in marriage to Miss Sarah F. Allen, a native of Illinois and a daughter of Abner Allen, who was born in Tennessee, whence he removed to Illinois. In 1852 he crossed the plains to Oregon, locating about three miles south of Silverton. He pur- chased a farm of three hundred and twenty acres and continued its cultivation for some

years. His death occurred at the home of Mr. Coolidge. Unto our subject and his wife were born six children, but only two are now living, Dollie, Ai, May and Lena all having passed away. The surviving members of the family are Eva, who is at home, and Alfred, who is the owner and president of the Second Na- tional Bank of Colfax, Wash., and president of the Traders' National Bank of Spokane, Wash.

Mr. Coolidge is a stalwart Republican in politics and for two terms he served as coun- ty commissioner. He has also been council- man for several terms, and for a long period has been a school director. His fellow towns- men, recognizing his worth and ability, have called him to public office, and no trust reposed in him has ever been betrayed in the slightest degree. He is alike honorable in business and social relations, and wherever he is known he is esteemed for his fidelity to principles which make up an honorable manly character. His life has indeed been a busy and useful one, and he has accomplished much. Though he is now eighty years of age and though the snows of many winters have whitened his hair, in spirit and interest he seems in his prime, giving to his business affairs careful supervision and at the same time taking an active interest in whatever pertains to the welfare of his locality.

JOHN J. SCOTT. Though young both in years and in his residence in Oregon, John J. Scott has made the most of natural ability and opportunity and holds now a position of promi- nence in the business affairs of the city of Al- bany, Linn county, where he has made his home since 1899. In the brief time of his residence he has shown exceptional ability along the lines of his business, and is a man of fine personality, winning a large circle of friends, who recognize his worth as a citizen. He is in the real estate business there and has every promise of a success- ful career, based upon the principles which have given him his first forward step in life.

The birth of John J. Scott occurred in Alpena, Mich., May 1, 1875, his parents being James, a native of New York, and Mary (McCallum) Scott, the latter of whom was born in Ontario and died in Michigan. The father early settled in Alpena, Mich., building and conducting a saw- mill for many years. He later removed to Choate, in the upper peninsula of Michigan, and there built a sawmill, and conducted it successfully for some time, investing the proceeds of the sale of the same in a hardware business in Ewen, in the same county. In 1899 hc changed his location to Oregon, now living upon a farm in Benton coun- ty, which is owned by himself and son, John, the

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other son, Walter, completing his father's family, making his home in Polk county, Ore. John J. Scott was the older of the two sons, and was reared in Alpena, where he attended the public schools until he was fifteen years old, when he was apprenticed to learn the tinner's trade, tak- ing instruction in his father's store. After five years with his father he opened a tin shop in Ewen on his own responsibility, and conducted it until he changed his residence to Oregon in 1899. He first engaged in Albany with T. G. Hopkins in the prosecution of his trade, in which employment he remained for about a year, at the close of that period entering the produce busi- ness. In 1901 he began business as a real estate man of Albany, being one of the principals in the firm of Curran & Scott, which has since dissolved partnership, H. F. Hulburt taking the place of Mr. Curran. The firm name is now Scott & Hulburt. In partnership with his father he bought eighty acres of land two miles west of Albany, and in Benton county, where his father now lives, engaged in general farming.

Mr. Scott was married in Albany to Miss Nellie Riley, a native of that city, and the daughter of Peter Riley, a farmer and stock-dealer, who makes his home here. Mrs. Scott was educated in St. Mary's School. Interested always in the advancement of his business, Mr. Scott is a mem- ber of the Albany Real Estate Exchange, and politically he is a Republican.

PARIS R. WINSLOW. Left an orphan at a very early age, Paris R. Winslow has made his own way in the world without money or influence, and by so doing has won an honored place for himself among the successful and enterprising farmers of Polk county. Born in Lincoln county, Maine, April 21, 1846, he is a son of Josiah and Nancy (Rowell) Winslow, natives of Massa- chusetts, and whose death occurred in Maine re- spectively in 1851 and 1854. The elder Winslow was a blacksmith hy trade, and followed it nearly all of his active life, combining therewith the management of a small farm.

Eight years old when left destitute of the care of father or mother, Paris R. went to live with an aunt in Hopkinton, Mass., where he continued the education begun in the public schools of Maine. Nothing of particular interest occurred in his life until the breaking out of the Civil war, when his desire to become a soldier and fight for the Union more than offset any business chances that might come his way. February 2. 1862, he enlisted in Company D, Fifteenth Maine Volunteer Infantry under Gen. B. F. But- ler, and went to Mississippi, becoming a part of the Army of the Gulf. In this capacity hc participated in the battles of Baton Rouge, Fort

Hudson, Sabine Cross Roads and Pleasant Hill. Under General Sheridan he was a soldier in Shen- andoah valley, and under General Banks was at Winchester and Cedar Creek, serving under the same able leadership until the close of the war. After being discharged and mustered out at Au- gusta, Me., July 14, 1866, he started the same year for California, making the journey by way of the Isthmus, and going direct to Olympia, Puget Sound. There he engaged in farming until 1870, and then removed to Klickitat county, Wash., and engaged in stock-raising until 1874.

Arriving in Polk county, Ore., in 1874, Mr. Winslow lived first on a farm in the Eola Hills, and in 1890 rented his present farm, which he greatly improved and in time purchased. It consists of one hundred and two acres, twenty- five of which are under cultivation, the whole being devoted to general farming, stock-raising and dairying. In 1875 Mr. Winslow was united in marriage with Addie Vandevort, who was born in Lane county, Ore., in 1857, and whose father, W. H. Vandevort. crossed the plains in 1852. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Winslow, of whom Helen K. is living in Salem; Herbert is in California; Elvie and Wal- ter are attending the Willamette University ; and Frank and George are at home. With his wife Mr. Winslow is a member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church of Lincoln, of which he is class- leader and trustee. He is a Republican in poli- tics, but has never been identified with local or other office. He is esteemed for his personal characteristics and success in life, and has many friends who wish him well and appreciate his public spiritedness and thrift.

ERASTUS SPAULDING is one of the retired residents of Newberg who has stored up a great deal of interesting and instructive information regarding the early days of California and Ore- gon. Descended from a fine and reliable New England ancestry, Mr. Spaulding was born in Milford, N. H., August 14, 1832, his father, Abel, being a native of Massachusetts, as was also his paternal grandfather, another Abel. The latter served in the war of 1812, and died in his native town of Peperal at the advanced age of ninety-four years. He was a farmer during his entire active life, and handed down to his name- sake son a keen appreciation of the many ad- vantages of an agricultural life. However, the second Abel branched out somewhat from the example set by his sire, and on his two hundred acre farm on the state line between New Hamp- shire and Massachusetts, in Milford township, engaged in sawmilling with a water-wheel mill for many years. His latter days were rendered precarious hy a defective heart, and this distress-

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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 51

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