Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 59

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 59

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Francis Marion Cook was six years of age when the long journey from Missouri to the Pa- cifle coast was made. Upon his father's farm in Marion county he spent all the years of his youth and young manhood, assuming the management of the farm a short time prior to 1872. In that year he accompanied his father to Camp Watson, where he engaged extensively in the business of raising cattle, sheep and horses. The period of his residence at that place covered seven years. Soon after the death of his father he returned to the homestead and engaged in stock-raising and general farming. Success has attended his efforts. He is now the owner of the original donation claim of six hundred and forty acres, four hundred acres of which is fine bottom land. which he has brought to the high state of cultiva- tion, and which is exceedingly productive. This farm is one of the best in Marion county.

On September 26, 1857, Mr. Cook was united in marriage with Mary J. Edgar, a native of Boone county, Ind .. and a daughter of Moses and Susan (Markey) Edgar. She died March 26, 1903, leaving six children : Martha E., wife of Motier Howe, of Roseburg, Ore .; Isaac N., re- siding near Marion; Francis M., of Grant's Pass, Ore .: Nellie D., wife of A. J. Miller, of Turner; Susan, wife of F. J. Neal, who resides with Mr. Cook; and Thomas M., who is located at Kent, Sherman county, Ore.

Though Mr. Cook has never sought political office he has followed closely in the steps of his father in his interest in good roads and good schools. He has served as road supervisor, and at various times has filled offices connected with educational work in his district. He takes an active interest in all those projects which appear to him to have been inspired by a desire to im- prove the moral, educational or commercial inter- ests of his section, and never hesitates to take

Reichen Lee

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the initiative when he becomes convinced that his ideas, put into effect, will result in the better- ment of the condition of affairs generally. He is recognized as a man dominated by high public spirit, of liberal and progressive views and a gen- erous heart. On many occasions during the long years of his residence in Oregon he has had op- portunities to demonstrate the better qualities of heart and mind which have given him the high place he occupies in the esteem of his fellow men who have learned to respect and honor him as a useful man. His integrity is unquestioned, and his unselfish devotion to the best interests of the community at large entitle him to a permanent place in the historical literature of the Willam- ette valley.

REUBEN LEE, of Aumsville, occupies an enviable place among the pioneers of Marion county. His successful encounter with early dif- ficulties, his correct appreciation of the many ad- vantages by which he has been surrounded, and his untiring perseverance and unflagging in- dustry, entitle him to more than casual notice on the part of all who seek inspiration and support. As far back as any existing records show, the ancestors of Mr. Lee found their greatest field of usefulness among the tillers of the soil, an occupation followed by his paternal grandfather, John Lee, one of the earliest settlers of Macou- pin county, Ill., and courageous soldier during the Revolutionary war. His son, also named John, the father of Reuben, was born on a farmi in Ohio, and married Rebecca Beschers, with whom he removed to St. Louis, Mo., where he lived for two years. His last home was on the Indian reserve in Franklin county, that state, where his death occurred in 1841. His wife died the year before.

Reuben Lee is one of a family of six sons, and was born in Macoupin county, Ill., November 25, 1827. As death deprived him of his father's guidance and support when he was fourteen years of age, he was compelled to solve the problem of self-support from that time forward. His first occupation was with Senator Hirsch, from whom he received $80 for his first year's labor and $85 each for the second and third years. He then went to Franklin county, Mo., and contracted to work a farm for one-fourth of the proceeds. In connection with this undertaking he conducted a small store with fair success.

In the spring of 1850 he crossed the plains with one wagon and four yoke of oxen. Upon reaching the Grand Ronde valley he sold his cattle and procceded on horseback to The Dalles. Arriving in Portland he camped beside the river : and worthy of mention in this connection is the fact that at that time the city

could hardly be dignified by the name of hamlet, its real estate being valued at from $8 to $12 per lot. After spending a short time in the embryo town he settled upon a farm near Silverton, Marion county. While on the plains he suffered a severe attack of measles, which left him nearly blind for about two years. This depleted his finances very materially, for when he arrived in 1850 he had $1,500, and this had dwindled to almost nothing three years later.

In the fall of 1852 Mr. Lee entered three hun- (Ired and twenty acres of land near Silverton, and in a little log cabin kept bachelor quarters for three years. March 6. 1855, he married Frances Drinkwater, who helped to add cheer to the crude home, and materially aided him with her sympathy and thrifty ways. This helpful pioneer wife died January 17, 1872, leaving eight children, named as follows: Lawrence C., in the livery business near Pomeroy, Idaho; Ellinora the wife of James Witzel, and residing near Tur- ner, Ore .; William Henry, living in Linn county ; Warner L., living on a farm, a part of the old Craft donation claim, one and one-half miles west of Shaw : Isaac Howard, on a farm in Linn county, near Waterloo; Bertha, who died un- married in October, 1882, when twenty-seven vears of age; Clara Belle, wife of Lewis Camp- bell, of Portland, Ore .; and N. Evaline, wife of Elmer Brody, of Rampart, Alaska, where he is an attorney at law.

In September, 1876, Mr. Lee married for a second wife Elizabeth Hyett, who died in 1894, and in January, 1897, he was again married, this time to Mrs. Martha Ennis, who was born in Warren county, Ky., and has been a resident of Oregon since 1893. Mr. Ennis died in this state.

About 1860 Mr. Lee moved upon a farm of one hundred and sixty acres located seven miles below Salem, and in 1861 traded his farm prop- crty near Silverton for three hundred and sev- entv-five acres adjoining his one hundred and sixty acres. Here misfortune befell him be- cause of the heavy rains which occurred during 1861-62, and not only his house and farm im- plements were destroyed, but his clothing and that of all his family. Nothing daunted, he built another home and remained on the premises until 1864, when he traded part of the land for a farm on the hill adjoining, upon which he lived until 1872. The next farm owned and improved and occupied by Mr. Lee was located near Brooks, and consisted of two hundred and thirty- seven acres, bearing no improvements. This he sold in 1875, and immediately purchased four hundred and eighty acres one and one-half miles west of Shaw. where he resided until the fall of 1902. On all of these farms Mr. Lee carried on general farming, and also dealt in cattle on

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an extensive scale, making a specialty of sheep and hogs.

Although now living retired in Aumsville, Mr. Lee still owns his large farm near the town, besides two hundred and eighty-seven acres in Linn county. He has always taken an active in- terest in the cause of education, has been a mem- ber of the school board for twenty years, clerk of the board for a part of that time, and has served as road supervisor for several terms. Although voting the Republican ticket, he has broad and liberal views as to politics. He is a member of the Oregon Pioneers' Association, and has an extensive acquaintance among the older residents of the Willamette valley now living.

Mr. Lee is one of the most striking examples of the selfmade man in Marion county. During his career many obstacles, seemingly insurmount- able, have arisen in his pathway, but his indomi- table perseverance, his energy and his industry have enabled him to reach the goal of every man's ambition-a competency in temporal goods and the good-will and esteem of his fellow-men. It is to such men as he that posterity owes a debt of gratitude, not alone for the pioneer work of development they have accomplished, but for the excellent example they have set for the youth of the rising generation by reason of the traits of character which stand out so conspicuously in the personality of Reuben Lee.

JAMES SHELTON. Notable among the pioneer settlers of Linn county is James Shelton, who is now living retired from the activities of life in Albany. Coming here when the country was in its original wildness, he met with priva- tions and obstacles hitherto undreamed of. Set- tlers were few in number and far between, and the Indians were a constant source of terror to the brave pioneers. None of the luxuries of life were to be had at any price, and many things deemed necessities east of the Rockies had to be dispensed with here. The forests, however, were filled with an abundance of game of all kinds, which furnished the chief subsistence of the in- habitants, grouse being their only summer meat. Pork was an unknown quantity for many years, and their nearest approach to coffee was a drink made from browned peas. Clothes were made from deer skins, which the men themselves dressed, and hats were manufactured at home from wheat straw. Little can the people of this day and gen- cration realize the trials and tribulations that beset the courageous men and women who, by persist- ent toil and wondrous self-sacrifice, made the homes and lives of their immediate descendants so pleasant and joyful.

A Virginian by birth, James Shelton was born March 2, 1828, in Patrick county, which was also

the birthplace of his father, Haman Shelton. His grandfather, Clayborn Shelton, a farmer by oc- cupation, served in the war of 1812, and after- wards moved to Jackson county, Mo., where he spent the remainder of his life.

Haman Shelton removed with his family to Oregon at an early period, crossing the plains with his wife and twelve children in 1847. Lo- cating in Linn county, he took up a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres, and was there engaged in farming until his death. His wife. whose maiden name was Priscilla Fitzgerald, was born in Virginia, a daughter of Harvey Lee Fitz- gerald. She died on the home farm, in Linn county. Of the twelve children born of their union, all came to Oregon, but only eight are now living.

Moving with his parents to Missouri when about five years old, James Shelton acquired his early education in the typical log school-house of his day, with its dirt floor, and rude benches. Coming with his parents to Linn county in 1847, in a train composed of three wagons, each one drawn by three yoke of oxen, he had charge of one of the teams during the journey of five months, starting in April and arriving September 15, the trip being made along Barlow route. Re- maining at home a few years he assisted his father in clearing a farm. At the age of twenty- one years he began life for himself by taking up a donation claim of three hundred and twenty acres at the forks of the Santiam. With char- acteristic zeal he at once began its improvement, breaking up the sod with a rude plow of his own manufacture, drawn by five yoke of oxen. He subsequently bought adjoining land, and on his fine ranch of four hundred acres was engaged in general farming, including stock-raising, until 1894. He raised grain of all kinds, but made a specialty of wheat, and was very successful, his farm being one of the most fertile and productive in the neighborhood.

Mr. Shelton was also engaged to some extent in the mining operations of earlier days, going to California during the excitement of 1849, and re- maining on the north bank of the American river a few months as a prospector and miner. Being taken ill. he returned to Oregon, resuming his agricultural labors. In 1862 he spent a few months at the Florence mines, and in 1863 mined in the Boise Basin. on each trip to Idaho going by pack train. Since 1894. Mr. Shelton has rented his farm, and made his home in Albany.

Mr. Shelton married, in Linn county, Ore., Miss Theresa J. Melholland. who was born in Illinois, and came across the plains with her brothers in 1852. with ox-teams. Mr. and Mrs. Shelton have two children, namely : Haman, who is successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits on the farm ad- joining his father s; and Mrs. Rufina Follis, of

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Linn county. Politically Mr. Shelton is inde- pendent, voting for such men and measures as in his opinion will best advance the interests of the community. Mr. Shelton is a member of the Bap- tist Church.

SIDNEY SMITH. One of the distinguished pioneers of 1839, whose residence in Oregon ex- tended through a period of over forty years, Sidney Smith was a man whose life was filled with kindly deeds, whose highest ambition was to help his fellow man and to assist in the estab- lishment of a commonwealth, to which he gave the best years of his life. He was a descendant of old Revolutionary stock, his great-grandfather being a powder manufacturer in Vermont near the New York line during that memorable strug- gle for independence. The grandfather was a commissioned officer in the Continental army. The father of Sidney, Capt. John Smith, was a native of Vermont and served as captain of a company engaged in quelling the whis- key insurrection in Pennsylvania in 1799. Sidney Smith was born at Amsterdam, in the Mohawk valley of New York, on Oc- tober 2, 1809. He was reared at Johnstown, N. Y., and when a young man went to Ohio, where for three years he studied medicine, but never en- gaged in practice. In 1839, his interest in Ore- gon was awakened by the reports of the Lewis and Clark expedition ; accordingly he resolved to journey to the northwest, and with that object in view joined a company of sixteen young men who were similarly minded, among them being P. K. Fletcher, Amos Cook, Mr. Shortless and Mr. Farnham. They left Peoria, Ill., in the spring of 1839, and were the first to cross the plains with the intention of making permanent settlement. They intended to supply their larder with wild game and fish, so started with very little provis- ions, but not finding the food supply they had expected along the way, they reached the verge of starvation, living for sixteen days upon a bis- cuit apiece each day and upon dog meat, which they purchased from the Indians. Dissensions also arose in the party and they quarreled among themselves almost to the point of separating into two companies, but eventually they continued on their way together. Mr. Smith was less fortun- ate in one respect, for he accidentally shot him- self. which deprived him of three of his ribs. He was carried on a stretcher resting on the backs of two mules, but after three weeks of suffering he finally recovered. At one time the Indians stole their horses and Mr. Smith, with another man, went to their camps and demanded of the

chief that the horses be returned. At first the Indians refused, but with drawn guns the demand was repeated, and at length the chief promised to return the stolen animals by sundown of the following day, which he did.

At Fort Boise the company divided and Mr. Smith with a few companions started for Ore- gon. Others dropped out one by one until there were but two who completed the journey and ar- rived safely in Oregon. On October 2d Mr. Smith assisted in building a house at The Dalles. He was deeply interested in the new country to which he had come to establish his home and in his diary he speaks of the effect produced upon him when he first viewed Mt. Hood. He also mentions his first meeting with a white woman in this far-off land.

He was employed by the Hudson Bay company, working barefooted in the rain for seventy cents a day. He was afterwards employed by the Meth- odist Episcopal mission at Salem, rafting up and down the Willamette river, and during this time he boarded with Gustavus Hines, one of the first pioneers of the northwest.

He next found employment with Ewing Young, of Yamhill county, who had brought a large band of Mexican cattle from California, settling in the Chehalem valley, to which he supposed that he could lay claim. Mr. Young had the reputation of being a hard man to serve, but he found his equal in Sidney Smith, who stood up for his own riglits and usually got them. When Mr. Young died, our subject was his only companion. He left a large herd of cattle, and having no known heirs this led to the organization of the provincial government for the purpose of disposing of his estate. Mr. Young had often said that when he died he wanted Sidney Smith to have his prop- erty ; this the latter refused to accept, but when the auction was held he purchased the brand and the right to the stock that had not been rounded tp, also the right to the land, and continued on the claim in the cattle business for several years.

When the 'donation claim act went into effect Mr. Smith found he was entitled to but six hun- dred and forty acres of land, and there he lived with but few comforts and many hardships, hav- ing considerable trouble with the Indians from time to time, and no white neighbors. The ex- periences and episodes of that period of his ca- reer would make an interesting volume if written in detail. With some of the Indians he formed warm and lasting friendships.

There was no man who figured in the early his- tory of the state who did more for the emigrants than did he. A large-hearted man, of kindly na- ture, no one ever sought his aid and did not re- ceive it. He frequently would kill a beef to fur- nish food for the travelers, and his house was the shelter for many an emigrant party. He was in-

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deed liberal, helping the needy, feeding the poor and assisting the widows and orphans in many ways.

In 1845 Daniel Bayley, who was en route with his family to Oregon, obtained permission from Mr. Smith to remain upon his place for the win- ter. This was an eventful day for Mr. Smith. During the long dreary winter days Cupid was acting his silent part, and Mr. Smith married Mr. Bayley's daughter, Mianda, in the fall of 46. During their courtship they planted au acorn upon the grave of Ewing Young, which has grown to a large tree and still stands.

It was about this time that the Hudson Bay Company tried to persuade Mr. Smith to declare himself a British subject, as he was an actual settler, and the British wished to lay claim to this section of the country. Though they offered him much land he refused, saying that the com- pany had not land enough to buy him.

In 1849 he went to California, and returned with considerable gold. Wheat and oats were selling very high in those days, and in his busi- ness undertakings Mr. Smith was very prosper- ous. In 1856 he located in LaFayette, Yamhill county, Ore., and the following year engaged in merchandising, which he followed for about ten years, when he retired to his farm. As the years passed he accumulated land until he was the owner of one thousand two hundred and eighty acres.

Mrs. Smith was born in Ohio, May 6, 1829, and was the daughter of Daniel Bayley, who was born in 1802, and died when about ninety-two years of age. He married Elizabeth Munson, who was a lineal descendant in the seventh gener- ation from Thomas Munson, of England, who afterward lived in Hartford and New Haven, Conn., and served as a sergeant in the war against the Pequod Indians. The ancestry of the Mun- son family dates from Thomas Munson, who came to America in about 1634, and settled in Hartford, Conn., where he became prominently identified with the early history of that city. Timothy Bayley, father of Daniel Bayley, was a captain in the Revolutionary war, and like many other barefooted patriots at Valley Forge, suf- fered all the hardships of that memorable winter. Jared Munson, the father of Mrs. Bayley, was a physician. Mrs. Bayley was a woman of wonder- ful resources and ability, and after coming to Oregon acted as physician to the entire country- side for miles around. Mrs. Smith is still living, a fine Shakespearian scholar and a lady of marked refinement and culture. She resides in LaFayette, and is the mother of five children: Irene, now the wife of Dr. J. F. Calbreath, of Salem ; Mrs. Almira Hurley, of Independence, Ore .; Mrs. Mi- onda Kimberlin, of LaFayette; Gustavus Hines, who is a graduate of the medical department of

the Willamette University, and was practicing medicine at Enterprise, Ore., at the time of his death; and John U., an attorney at Hilo. Hawaiian Islands.

Mr. Smith was a Democrat in politics, but cast his vote for Lincoln and took an active part in the establishment of the first school in Oregon. He was a friend of every enterprise tending to improve social and political conditions in the state. He lived to see Oregon become possessed1 of all the comforts and evidences of civilization known to the older east, and to see it enter state- hood of the Union. He looked with pride upon what was accomplished, assuming no credit for the part he bore in the attainment of this end ; but history acknowledges its indebtedness to him, and many of the pioneers remember with grati- tude the great and unselfish interest he exhibited in all matters pertaining to the welfare of the community in the territorial days. Since his death, which occurred September 18, 1880, his memory has been enshrined in their hearts.

He was among the one hundred and two men who met at Champoeg to decide whether Oregon should become British or American territory, and when Joe Meek, who was in favor of British sovereignty, drew an imaginary line upon the ground, one side representing the United States and the other Great Britain, Mr. Smith was the first man to step upon the side representing the United States, and thus declare himself in favor of American sovereignty.

RICHARD CLAXTON. As illustrating the adaptability of the land in Marion county to horticultural purposes, it is interesting to know that the farm of Richard Claxton yielded, in 1901, three thousand, four hundred and fifty bushels of prunes from fifteen acres. Other kinds of fruit are grown in correspondingly large quantities, proving that this successful fruit grower has a thorough understanding of his interesting occu- pation, and also that he realizes its possibilities in this particular part of the state.

In November, 1890, Mr. Claxton came to the Waldo Hills, Marion county, and purchased fifty acres of land two miles from Shaw. This land was entirely unimproved, and therefore available only after much painstaking application. The first year he set out three acres of Italian prunes and other fruit, and to this he has since added, year by year, until at the present time he has thirty acres of orchard, all bearing, twenty-nine acres being under prunes. Of this fruit he pro- duces two varieties, the Petite and the Italian. To accommodate his large and increasing indus- try he erected a drier in 1896, the first of its kind in the neighborhood or district. The drier is 52x64 feet in ground dimensions, and he has

S.H. Hawley

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made a front addition of 16x20 feet. This appli- ance enables him to handle not only his own production, but that of his neighbors as well. In 1902 Mr. Claxton, desiring to increase the pro- duction of fruit, in which he had become very successful, purchased forty acres adjoining his original property, twenty-four of which are de- voted to prune culture. It will thus be seen that he is one of the most extensive producers of this staple in the Willamette valley.

The Claxton farm presents, in its entirety, a typical instance of the possibilities of agricultural and horticultural development in the state of Oregon. No improvement calculated to facili- tate work or add permanently to the value of the property is allowed to remain unpurchased by the thrifty and far-sighted owner. The house is a modern and comfortable structure, and the barns and out-houses are in keeping with the progress- ive spirit of the owner.

Mr. Claxton's wife, to whose help and sym- pathy he owes a great deal of his success in life, was formerly Ida C. Towle, a daughter of George Towle, a sketch of whose career appears else- where in this volume. Their marriage was sol- emnized in 1886. They have two interesting and promising boys, George and Robert.

A Republican in political affiliation, Mr. Clax- ton has always been deeply interested in the wel- fare of his party, though he has never aspired to public office. He has evinced a deep interest in educational matters in his community, and for nine years has served as a member of the local school board. He believes in providing for the public schools the best equipment, both as to apparatus and in the personnel of the instructors, which money can procure ; and his enlightencd, modern ideas in this direction have accomplished much toward elevating the standard of the school in his district. Fraternally he is connected with the Grange. Although not a member of the church, he is a liberal contributor to the support of religious institutions, and is always ready, with practical assistance, in any movement tend- ing to benefit general, social, moral or intellectual conditions. Thoroughly honorable in all his dealings, he is highly esteemed for those desirable traits which underlie the western citizenship.

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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 59

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