Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 54

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 54

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This prosperous part of Oregon has no more enthusiastic advocate of its many advantages than Mr. Brandeberry, who has evidenced his faith in its future by investing in real estate, and in a general participation in the upbuilding of its material, social, and moral structure. His pro- gressive spirit is shared by his sons, Earl C. and Marvin D., the former a bookkeeper and the latter a salesman for the mills, both of whom are enterprising. ambitious, and promising members of the younger generation of business men of Albany. Mr. Brandeberry cast his first presiden- tial vote for a Republican candidate,, and he has never strayed from his allegiance to his party. Fraternally he is connected with Albany Lodge No. 4. Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Albany Tent No. 5, Knights of the Maccabces.

BENJAMIN AUSTIN LEONARD. A his- tory of Marion county were indeed incomplete without due mention of two of its most venerable and honored pioneers, Mr. and Mrs. B. A. Leon- ard. Though the husband is now past eighty- three years of age, and his wife but five months younger, each continues to perform the duties which from long experience have become second nature, the husband still caring for his farm, and the wife performing her household work. The Leonard farm consists of two hundred and eighty acres, and general farming and stock-raising are engaged in, particular attention being given to fine Durham cattle.

A native of Bradford county, Pa., Mr. Leon- ard was born November 15, 1819, and is one of

ten children born to Abel and Abi (Leonard) Leonard. His father, Austin Leonard, who was born in Massachusetts, was of Scotch or English descent. Preserved Leonard, who was probably a brother of Austin Leonard, served with the Continental army in the Revolutionary war. Abel Leonard, a tanner by trade, removed, in 1804, to Bradford county, Pa., and, with the family of which his wife was a member, founded Leonard's Hollow, now known is Leona. He was engaged in business there until 1829, when he removed to Ashtabula county, Ohio. In 1852 they started across the plains, intending to join their son, B. A., who had gone the year before; but the deprivations of the journey were more than they could stand. Arriving at the Missouri river they gave up the trip, as too exacting, and retraced their steps to Ohio, where they passed the remainder of their lives with their son, Hor- ace. Their children, named in the order of their birth, were as follows: Junietta, wife of Asaph Blanchard; Leicester Upham; Harriet, wife of Philemon Guthrie; Horace F .; Laura, wife of William Glenn; Rosamond, wife of Hiram Bel- den ; Benjamin Austin; Sallie, Mariah, and Abi- gail. All are deceased, excepting the subject of this review.

Naturally Benjamin Austin Leonard took to the shoemaker's trade as a boy, working with his father, and eventually serving a regular appren- ticeship. He attended the public schools as op- portunity offered, and worked at his trade for many years in Ohio. November 9, 1840, in Caldwell county, Mo., he married Jane Soaps, who was born in Campbell county, Tenn., Feb- ruary 24, 1820. Thereafter the young couple went to housekeeping in Caldwell county, Mo .. where they lived until 1851, and then outfitted to cross the plains. They were six months on the way, and at the end of their journey, Septem- ber 6, 1851, found themselves in the Waldo Hills, where Mr. Leonard took up a donation claim of three hundred and thirty acres, upon which he lived until 1867. This was all wild land, but he succeeded in improving much of it, and in ac- quiring fair success in general farming. He then bought the place where lie now lives, four miles southwest of Silverton, and has since made all of the improvements.

While conducting his farming enterprises, Mr. Leonard has taken an active interest in Repub- lican politics, although he has never desired official recognition. Eight children were born to himself and wife, the order of their birth being as follows: Abel Brower, operating the home farm ; Horace, deceased; Thomas Benton. living at Ritzville, Wash .: Mary A., widow of Hiram Smith Reed, of Salem ; Flora, wife of Alexander Clark, of Salem, and Lucinda, deceased (twins) ; Ellen S., wife of Jefferson Scriber, a banker at

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La Grande, Ore., and Jennette, wife of Jefferson Pooler. of Salem. Mr. Leonard has many friends in the vicinity of his home, and his long associa- tion with the county has been prolific of the best possible good feeling among all with whom he has been associated.

CHARLES OLVIS. Not all men find the niche in life which Nature intended they should fill, but that Mr. Olvis, who is foreman of the Albany tannery, is the right man in the right place is conceded by all. His paternal great- grandfather fought in the English army. The latter's son, Charles Olvis, was born in Belfast, Ireland, and in 1816 brought his family to Amer- ica, settling in Baltimore, Md. He died at the advanced age of ninety-eight years. Among the children who came to this country with the grand- father in 1816 was John, the father of Charles, the subject of this article. He followed the weaver's trade in Baltimore until his death, at the age of forty-five years, his death resulting from injuries inflicted by a horse. He had mar- ried Miss Margaret McCartin, a native of Glas- gow, Scotland, whose father, Edward McCartin, was born in County Down, Ireland. By trade he was a weaver, following the same in Scotland, and after his emigration to America carried on the same business in Baltimore. Mrs. Margaret Olvis also died in the latter city at the age of sixty-three years.

Of the seven children who formerly comprised the parental family only two are living. Charles Olvis was the youngest of the family and was born August 9, 1841, in Baltimore, Md., where he attended the public schools. When sixteen years old he was apprenticed to learn the tanner's trade under Spear & Cole, and after completing his apprenticeship went to Philadelphia to take a po- sition at his trade. It was in 1864 that he came to the Pacific coast, making the trip by way of Panama, and ere long he found work at his trade in Salem, Ore. In March, 1865, he went to South America, and in the course of his travels visited Chile, Bolivia and Peru. The following year he returned to Oregon, and for the next two years was foreman of a tannery in Milwau- kee. Ore. In 1868 he became interested in the mines at Boise Basin, but soon returned, content to resume work at his trade, first taking a posi- tion at Portland, later at Astoria, and finally at Salem, where he was foreman of a tannery. He was subsequently employed in San Francisco for two years and four months, but finally, in 1872, returned to Oregon, and for two years was fore- man of the Linewcher tannery. Going from there to Victoria, British Columbia, he had full charge of a tannery there for five and one-half years, and at the expiration of that time again

returned to Astoria and for eight years filled his former position of foreman in the Lineweber tannery. Upon the death of the proprietor Mr. Olvis leased the plant and for ten years was suc- cessfully engaged in the manufacture of leather. From Astoria he went to Vancouver, where he had charge of a tannery for over two years, and then, in July, 1902, returned to Oregon his iden- tification with the Albany tannery dating from that time. Three months later he was made fore- man of the beam house, and in February, 1903, became superintendent of the entire plant.

In Portland was celebrated the marriage of Charles Olvis and Miss Mary Johns, the latter a native of Germany. Two children were born of this marriage, a son and a daughter. The former, John, learned the tanner's trade and is now his father's able assistant. The daughter, Maggie, is Mrs. Marovich and resides in Port- land. Mr. Olvis is identified with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and in political mat- ters is a stanch defender of the Republican party.

JOHN B. HOLMAN. As vice-president of the Albany Iron Works, John B. Holman occu- pies a position which has been won through the display of intelligent and practical ability, per- fected by long experience in the line of a ma- chinist in various shops throughout different parts of the United States. His talent for the work which he has chosen to do amounts to veritable genius, an inheritance which has been added to through many years of effort and cul- tivation, and, as all earnest and persevering labor meets with wide returns, so Mr. Holman has risen to a place of importance in the industrial life of the Willamette valley, in which he has been largely instrumental in establishing and perfect- ing the details of his business.

The lineage of the Holman family is that of English nobility, their ancestry being traced back to Sir William Boes Bennett Holman. The father of John B. Holman, Lewis, was born in Exeter, Devonshire, England, the son of a man- ufacturer of threshing machines, and the one who gave to his descendants their taste and talent for such work. The father also became a manu- facturer, and later in life he settled in Ontario, Canada, where he followed the business of con- tracting and bridge building. With the invar- iahle success of this family he rose to prom- inence in the community in which he made his home, remaining there until his retirement, soon after which his death took place. In his religious views he was a member of the Episcopal Church. In polities he was always greatly interested, giv- ing his hearty support to William Lyon Mac- kenzie, who led the Ontario opposition against the Conservatives. His wife was formerly Jane

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Bailey, also a native of England, and the daugh- ter of Richard Bailey. He was a representative of a prominent English family. Upon his emigra- tion to America he settled in Ontario,' where he became a large landowner, interesting himself in the cultivation of his many broad acres. Mrs. Holman, whose death occurred in Canada, was. the mother of thirteen children, seven sons and six daughters, of whom only one son is deceased. Besides John B. Holman the living sons are R. D., a millwright in Salem; W. L., proprietor of the Holman Car Shops, of San Francisco, Cal .; James, a stairbuilder of Chicago, Ill .; Samuel, a contractor of Chicago, Ill .; George, a teacher in the schools of Ontario; and Joseph, a wealthy manufacturer, who died in London.

The birth of John B. Holman occurred November 19, 1839, in London, Ontario, and was there reared to manhood, receiving a rather lim- ited education in the national school of the prov- ince. Early seeking the life which gave him an opportunity for the display of unquestioned talent, he had served his apprenticeship to the machinist's trade, and received his papers at twenty-one, having begun it when only sixteen and a half years old. With the documents evi- dencing his capability he set out for the broader opportunities of the United States, finding em- ployment in various cities, among them being Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo and Roches- ter. In the best machine shops in the United States he remained for two years, where the training and experience proved invaluable to him. At the expiration of that period he returned to the old foundry and there worked for the Hon. Elijah Leonard, of London, for a short time. In 1865 he again left the community and settled in the western part of the United States. The trip, which was made by way of the Isthmus of Panama, was an eventful one in many ways, the steamer, Ocean Queen, on which he sailed from New York City, being wrecked off Cape Hatteras, thus obliging him to go to Cuba, and from there to Aspinwall, thence across the Isth- mus. He took passage on the Golden City to San Francisco, and completed the voyage from that city to Portland on the Brother Jonathan.

On arriving in Oregon Mr. Holman settled in Salem, where he soon found employment in the shops of Drake & Moore, and remained with them to their entire satisfaction until the firm clissolved partnership. In 1867 he assumed en- tire charge of the shop of B. F. Drake of Salem, which provided very limited means for workman- ship. Under difficulties he gradually established a more secure footing for the business and a more extended line of operations, making a gratifying success of his work, and as superintendent and manager he conducted the business until 1890, leaving it at this date one of the largest and

most substantial machine shops in the Willam- ette valley. Able at this time to take a more active part in a business proposition he came to Albany, and with others bought out the busi- ness of Sox & Stewart, and changed the firm to the Albany Iron Works Company, of which he became vice-president and manager, proceed- ing to give his energies and talents to the up- building of this work. With the exercise of judgment, skill and management the business has come to be one of the most substantial and firmly established of any in the Willamette valley, the amount of work being done showing large re- turns for the money invested. The line of oper- ations now extends over the entire valley, along the coast, and also in the state of Washington.

In London, Ontario, in 1861, Mr. Holman was married to Jane Weeks, a native of London, England, and four children have been born to them, of whom Walter John is chief electrical engineer in charge of the government plant at Presidio, Cal .; Minnie S. is the wife of Thomas Holman, of Salem; Carrie is the wife of H. G. Meyer, of Salem; and Victoria E. is the wife of J. H. Linn, of Santa Rosa, Cal. In his fraternal relations Mr. Holman affiliates with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, holding mem- bership with Olive Lodge, No. 18, at Salem, and also belongs to the Encampment of Salem, in both of which he is a past officer ; the Benevolent Pro- tective Order of Elks; and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is also identified with the State Historical Society. His wife is a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Though public-spirited and earnest in his endeavor for the general welfare, Mr. Holman is independent in his political views, believing that to be the surest means toward good government, and he carefully considers both men and question before casting his ballot.

EDWARD BIDDLE belongs to the little group of distinctively representative business men who have been the pioneers in inaugu- rating and building up the chief industries of this section of the Willamette valley. He early had the sagacity and prescience to dis- cern the prominence which the future had in store for this great and growing country, and, acting in accordance with the ‹dictates of his faith and judgment, he has garnered, in the fullness of time, the generous harvest which is the just recompense of indomitable indus- try, spotless integrity and marvelous enter- prise. He is now connected with many ex- tensive and important business interests in Polk county, being proprietor of the Dallas Iron Works, which constitute the leading in-

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dustry of this character in the Willamette valley.

Mr. Biddle is a native of Greece, Monroe county, N. Y., his birth having occurred there on December 9, 1844. He is the eldest in a family of six children born unto Edward and Adelaide (Beeby) Biddle, both natives of Canada, the former born in Quebec and the latter in Montreal. The maternal grand- father was of English descent and became a farmer in New York. Edward Biddle also removed from Canada to the Empire State and, establishing his home in Greece, Monroe county, carried on agricultural pursuits in that locality until his death. His widow died in Rochester, N. Y., in April, 1903, at the age of eighty-nine years.

Upon the home farmn Edward Biddle was reared and the work of plowing, planting and harvesting early became familiar to him. He attended the public schools in his youth and then, not desiring to follow the plow as a lifework, he turned his attention in other di- rections and in 1860 was apprenticed to the machinist's trade in the shop of M. S. Otis in Rochester, N. Y., where he remained for three years. On the expiration of that period he went to Chicago, where he entered the employ of the Illinois Central Railroad Com- pany in their shops, and later was sent by the company to Centralia, I11., where he remained for several months. Subsequently he was em- ployed in a machine shop in connection with steamboat building at Cincinnati, but after a brief period he went to Hannibal, Mo., and for a year was employed as a machinist in the shops of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Rail- way Company. During that time he joined a military company which drilled and was in the state service for three months in pursuit of the notorious Bill Anderson of Missouri. After his return from military duty he con- tinued as a machinist in the railroad shops for three months and then went to Louis- ville, Ky., where he was employed in a simi- lar capacity. His next move took him to Keokuk, Ia., where he was employed in the Des Moines Valley shops until the spring of 1865, when he went from Keokuk to New Orleans, where he again secured work at his trade. He afterward went to Whistler, Ala., and for three years was there employed in the Mobile & Ohio Railroad shops, when he returned to Rochester, where he continued for three months. At the end of that interval he started for New York, intending to go to California by way of the Isthmus of Panama, but ere he embarked he was led to change his plans and for three months was employed in the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Phila- delphia. At the end of that time he carried

out his intention of coming to the Pacific coast. He took passage at New York on the steamer Aspinwall bound for the isthmus, and from Panama he sailed on the steamer Golden Age for San Francisco.

In that city Mr. Biddle was employed as a machinist in the Union Iron Works for two months, and then, going to Sacramento, he obtained a position in the machine shops of the Central Pacific Railroad Company, re- maining there for three years. He next was employed in the shops of the same company at Rockland, Cal., and later spent a year in the shops of the Vallejo Railroad Company. He was afterward made repair engineer at Marysville for the same company and later returned to the Central Pacific Railroad Com- pany, working in their shops at Sacramento as a machinist for one year. At Carlin, Nev., he was employed as foreman in the machine shops of the Central Pacific Railroad Com- pany for three years, and later secured a posi- tion at Carson City, Nev., in the shops of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad Company, act- ing in that capacity for eighteen months. On the expiration of that period Mr. Biddle left the railroad service and became machinist in the Belcher mine at Virginia City, Nev., where he remained for more than two years, when he became machinist in the Overman mine, later setting up pumping engines and machinery in the Lady Bryan mine of Vir- ginia City. His next position was that of chief engineer of the Sutro Tunnel Company and in that capacity he acceptably served for six years, during which time the tunnel was completed.

In 1880 Mr. Biddle arrived in Oregon and for seven years was employed as a machinist and engineer by the Narrow Gauge Railroad Company, with headquarters in Dallas. Then, having through his industry, economy and careful management, acquired some capi- tal, he established his own machine shop and foundry in 1888. He has since conducted it and has practically rebuilt the plant, supply- ing it with new machinery, with water power and all modern equipments for facilitating and turning out work of the highest grade. The foundry has two cupolas and has made castings weighing as high as thirty-seven hundred pounds. In the foundry both brass and iron castings are manufactured and all kinds of repair work in machinery, boilers and engines is done. Mr. Biddle also manu- factures the best hop presses in Oregon, known as the Morrison Improved Hop Press. He likewise manufactures hop stoves and feed mills. The Dallas Iron Works are the oldest in the valley and the west outside of the city of Portland.

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

In 1879 in Virginia City, Nev., Mr. Biddle was united in marriage to Miss Josephine Davis, who was born in Boston, Mass., a daughter of Luther Davis, who followed the baking business in Boston and afterward in Virginia City. Mrs. Biddle is a most estima- ble lady and holds membership with the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Biddle was made a Mason in Jennings Lodge, No. 9, A. F. & A. M., and for two terms was its mas- ter, while for eight terms he was high priest of Amesworth Chapter, No. 17, R. A. M. He stands today as one of the leading representa- tives of the craft in Oregon, and is past grand scribe and at present grand king of the Grand Chapter of Oregon. In politics an earnest advocate of Republican principles, he is serv- ing as president of the Republican Club of Dallas, and for six years he has been a school director and two terms was a member of the city council. For forty-two years he has been connected with the machinist's trade and has gradually advanced, enlarging his efficiency and adding to his skill until today he is suc- cessfully controlling an industry of volume and importance which adds to the commer- cial prosperity of his city, and returns to him a gratifying and creditable income. His life has been one of continuous activity, and he is numbered among the substantial citizens of Dallas. In business he has achieved success through honorable effort, untiring industry and capable management, and in private life he has gained that warm personal regard which arises from true nobility of character, deference to the opinion of others, kindliness and geniality.

ADOLF WOLF, who is now residing in Sil- verton, is widely known throughout the Willam- ette valley, with whose welfare he has been closely identified for thirty-seven years. He is one of the most extensive and successful hop-raisers in the vicinity of Silverton, and formerly was intimately associated with the upbuilding of Independence, Polk county.

Mr. Wolf was born in Frauenkirchen, Austro- Hungary, nine miles southeast of Neusiedl, in February, 1837, his father, Jacob, and his mother, Esther (Gerstel) Wolf, being natives of the same town. His father spent his entire life in the picturesque little Hungarian town, where he was known as a successful wine merchant. He lived to be seventy-five years of age, his death occurring in 1864. His wife, who died in 1862 at the age of seventy, bore him thirteen children. two sons and eleven daughters, of whom Adolf Wolf is the youngest son and the twelfth child in the family.

At an early age Mr. Wolf evinced habits of thrift and industry, and he studied diligently in the school of his native town. That he was am- bitious to make his life a success was demon- strated in 1863, when he left his home and family and came to the United States. He had read much of the broader opportunities offered by this country, and was determined to take advantage of them, in the most favored location which he could find. After working for two years as a clerk in a tobacco store in Fremont, Ohio, he came to Portland, Ore., in 1866, where he ac- quired all the information possible as to the re- sources of the various sections of the northwest.

Firm in the belief that Polk county at that time offered better opportunities to him than any other locality, he settled in the new town of Independence, and for some time his was the only store in the town. At that time but few families had assembled there, and few in- terests were represented. Mr. Wolf, with keen foresight, at once entered into the spirit of development and upbuilding, contrib- uting freely of his time and means for advancing the interests of the community. It was chiefly through his influence that the Oregon and Cali- fornia Railroad Company, now the Southern Pa- cific, was induced to run its line through Inde- pendence, an advantage to that town which was almost instantly apparent in the general increase in trade. In building the Southern Pacific through Independence gravel in large quantities was needed. Mr. Henry Hill, one of the town ·proprietors, owned a large gravel bank which was easy to work from, if it could be acquired ; the company tried to get it by purchase or lease, but all means failed. Mr. Wolf was appealed to, and through his influence it was secured with no expense to the railroad company, and this was the means of making Independence what it is to-day, a fact appreciated by the citizens and the officials of the railroad.

In 1884 Mr. Wolf disposed of his business and property in Independence and moved to Silver- ton, where he purchased the general merchandise business of George Aiken, deceased. This he conducted successfully for several years. In 1890 he took his son, Julius C., into partnership, and in 1891 he erected the Wolf Block, in which he opened new headquarters for his trade. In 1899 he and his son disposed of the business to James Craig, who is still in possession.

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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 54

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