Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 67

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 67

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WILLIAM M. HILLEARY, one of the influ- ential and public-spirited farmers of the vicinity of Turner, Marion county, was born in Des Moines county, Iowa, February 21, 1840, and was reared on a typical middle west farm. His father, James Hilleary, was born near Winches- ter, Va., in 1814, and was reared principally in Kentucky, to which state his father, Francis, removed from his native state of Maryland at a very early day. When eighteen years of age, James Hilleary removed with his parents to San- gamon county, Ill., settling on a farm, from which they removed the next year, in 1833. locat-

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ing near Burlington, Iowa. There the grand- father took up government land, and spent the remainder of his life, dying in 1844. In 1837, James Hilleary married Nancy Morris, who was born in North Carolina January 1, 1819, and who is still living on the old farm near Burling- ton. Twelve children were born to this couple, the order of their birth being as follows: James L., of Des Moines county, Iowa ;. William M., of Oregon ; Mary J., wife of W. P. Perry, residing in the vicinity of Burlington, Iowa; George, liv- ing in Des Moines county, Iowa; Thomas, de- ceased; Sarah, who died when young; Lydia, also deceased ; Irene, the wife of James O. Beebe, of Des Moines county, lowa; Margaret E., liv- ing with her mother ; Roger W., living on a farm near London, Iowa; Etta, the deceased wife of Charles Moffit, of Los Angeles, Cal., and Henry M., who carries on farming near the old home in Iowa. Mr. Hilleary was seventy-five years old at the time of his death, and for many years he had been a member of the Baptist Church, contributing liberally towards its support.

In his youth William M. Hilleary worked hard on the paternal farm, yet managed to acquire a fair common school education. That he started out in life practically without means was evident from the fact that he worked his way across the plains in 1861, driving ox teams and making himself generally useful. Arriving in Nevada, he went from there to California, reaching Ore- gon in the fall of 1861. In the meantime his uncle, William Morris, had located on a farm near Turner, Marion county, and hither the youth repaired and remained for the winter, assisting his relative with the work around the farm. In the spring of 1862 he went to the mines around Florence, Idaho, returning to Marion county in August, 1862. The following year he rented his uncle's ranch near Turner, and in 1863 helped to build a flouring mill at Aumsville. Realizing his lack of educational op- portunity in the earlier days, he began to study and improve himself generally, and after taking a course at the Santiam Academy at Lebanon, engaged in school teaching in Linn county in the summer of 1864.

In December, 1864, Mr. Hilleary enlisted in Company F, First Oregon Infantry, for frontier service, and after six months spent at Camp Hos- kins, was ordered to Vancouver, Wash., and was afterward stationed in the barracks at Walla Walla, Wash., and Boise City, Idaho. In May, 1866, he returned to Walla Walla, and was dis- charged at Vancouver, July 21, 1866, having been in the service nineteen months, and having attained to the rank of corporal. Returning to Linn county, Ore., he taught school until the spring of 1868, and that year bought the farm upon which he has since lived. In August, 1867,

he was united in marriage with Irene L. Cor- nelius, who was born November 13, 1847, a daughter of George Cornelius, one of the early pioneers of Oregon. The father of the latter, Absalom Cornelius, had a good common school education, was of a progressive mind, and was noted for his honesty and uprightness of charac- ter. He was chosen by the Indians as arbitrator in their difficulties in Oregon, and his decision was always abided by. He never had an enemy, and was temperate in his habits. Owning a good farm, and meeting with success in his undertak- ings, he was enabled to give all his children a start in life. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hilleary, of whom Clara A., born August 24, 1868, became the wife of H. L. Earl, a hardware merchant of Turner. Mrs. Earl, who died May 14, 1903, was an influential mem- ber of the local Grange and of the Presbyterian Church, and was an artist of no mean merit. She was universally beloved and her death was deeply mourned. Homer E., born July 14, 1870, is a locomotive engineer of the Southern Pacific Railway, and a resident of Ashland, Ore .; and Lloyd E., born April 12, 1885, is living at home. For four years Mrs. Hilleary was editor of the Oregon department of the Pacific Rural Press, the official organ of the Grange, and was the first to memorize the master's work and lectures of the local Grange. For several years she served as an officer in the State Grange, as well as in the local organization. Her religious affiliation is with the Christian Scientists.

The Hilleary farm consists of two hundred acres of bottom land, splendidly improved, and adapted to various purposes. An extensive gen- eral farming, stock-raising and dairy business is carried on, all of which departments net their enterprising owner a good yearly income. As a promoter of Republican politics in Marion county Mr. Hilleary has had few more active contempo- raries. He has been on the school board for many years, has served as justice of the peace for twelve years, and has been judge of elections. The present prosperity of the Turner Grange is largely due to his interest in its welfare in the early days, and to his continued effort to enlarge its sphere of usefulness since he became a char- ter member in 1873. At present he is identified with Surprise Grange No. 233, and was master of the State Grange from 1896 until 1900, having previously served as assistant steward of the same, as steward, master and secretary. He was also a member of the state legislative committee of the State Grange. In his official capacity with the State Grange, he and his wife have visited all parts of the country, as delegates to the na- tional body. He served as regent of Oregon Agricultural College of Corvallis four years. He

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is also a member of Sedgwick Post No. 10, G. A. R., of Salem.

The entire career of Mr. Hilleary has been characterized by strict attention to the many du- ties which have entered into his daily life, and his success is due to his unflagging energy, enter- prise and integrity. Those who know him best acknowledge him to possess a character above re- proach. On numerous occasions he has exhib- ited a high public spirit and an earnest desire to do all in his power for the promotion of those movements calculated to advance the best inter- ests of Marion county. He takes broad views of affairs in general, and has become firmly estab- lished as a useful and progressive man of affairs. The record of his life should prove a source of inspiration to the youth of the present generation who start upon their careers no better equipped than he, as well as a source of great pride to the members of his family.

JOHN SAPPINGFIELD. In the death of John Sappingfield, which occurred on his farm eight miles east of Salem, March 8, 1903, Mar- ion county lost one of its oldest and most highly esteemed pioneer inhabitants. Mr. Sappingfield was born in Davis county, N. C, November 25, 1809, when even the eastern states were in their infancy, and at a period when the great "Oregon country " was a wil- derness practically unknown to the civilized world. When he was a year old his parents, George and Catherine (Myers) Sappingfield, moved to southern Indiana, then regarded as far "out west," settling in Harrison county, where they lived upon a farm most of the time. In the course of time they removed to Parke county, that state, and about 1833 moved still further westward into Iowa. In the latter state they devoted, their energics to farming in Des Moines and Monroe counties until 1847, when they removed to Davis county and took up a tract of land under the homestead laws of the country.

John Sappingfield had remained with the family in their various locations until they decided to settle in Davis county, Iowa, when he determined to seek his own fortune inde- pendently. May 27, 1838, he married Mary Hagey, a native of the same county in North Carolina which witnessed his own birth, and who had been brought by her parents to Des Moines county, Iowa. The young people felt the spirit of their fathers strongly exercised within themselves, and when the parents of Mr. Sappingfield finally decided to make Davis county their home, he and his bride concluded to seek an improvement in their fortunes in the great northwest, of whose wonderful re-

sources they had heard so many tales from the lips of travelers who had visited Oregon Ter- ritory.

With their hearts fired by a most laudable ambition, they therefore set forth. in 1847, leaving the associations of their childhood and youth behind them, but with their minds fully made up to brave any and all dangers which might confront them, and to remain true to their purpose of assisting in laying the founda- tion of a great commonwealth in the land be- yond the mountains. They started across the plains with two wagons, three yoke of oxen to each, accompanied by their family of three children, following the trail known in those days as the " middle route." After a long and wearisome journey of six months they arrived in Oregon, coming at once to Marion county, the destination of many of the far-seeing farm- ers who had emigrated from the east. Here Mr. Sappingfield almost immediately rented some land on the old Edmundson claim. This was in the fall of 1847. Subsequently he pur- chased the right to a donation claim located about eight miles east of Salem, which he re- garded as the most fertile of the available land in the county. In the spring of 1848, he erect- ed on this property a log house of one room, its site being the same plot of ground where he afterward built one of the most commodious homes of the day. Without any unnecessary delay he began the improvement of the land, and in the fall of that year brought his family to their new home, where he spent the re- mainder of his life.

From time to time Mr. Sappingfield was able, with the accumulation of years, to increase his landed possessions. His first step in this di- rection consisted of taking up six hundred and forty acres, about eighty acres of which was in prairie and the remainder in timber and small brush. To clear this land and prepare it for the fruits of the harvest time presented a herculean task, but it was not gigantic enough to daunt the sturdy and determined owner, who at once applied himself to the work with energy. During the years he devoted himself to the undertaking, he succeeded in making it one of the finest and most productive pieces of property in Marion county, and, indeed, in the entire Willamette valley. At the time of his death Mr. Sappingfield was the possessor of three hundred and twenty acres of the orig- inal donation claim, upon which they settled in 1848, and on which he erected three substan- tial houses. To his honor it is to be said that he assisted materially in the construction of nearly all the roads in the neighborhood of his home.

Side by side with this venerable man stood

Whitney

Preah

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his equally faithful wife, now in her eighty- fourth year, the couple forming, during the lat- ter years of their lives together, almost the last link with a historic and romantic past. Their long and useful life together was peculiarly blessed. They accumulated an abundance of worldly goods and innumerable friends, and their recollections of more than a half century of life in the northwest enriched every passing day. Their union has been blessed with the following children: William, a prominent resi- dent of the state of Washington; Louisa, de- ceased; George, deceased; Amanda, wife of J. T. King, a resident of Marion county ; John W., deceased ; Henry A., a farmer of Marion county ; and Charles. The last-named son married Mary E. Given, in September, 1892, and the young couple make their home on the farm oc- cupied for so many years by their parents, the same having been given over to their manage- ment.

Thus is told, though necessarily in brief outline, the story of the career of one of the worthy found- ers of the empire of the northwest. His business sagacity, his integrity of character, and his splen- did personality, supplemented by his appreciation of the early possibilities of this region of the country, render his record one that will endure as a monument to the important part he bore in the development of one of the most favored agricultural localities in the whole world.

URIAH WHITNEY. Various enterprises in Marion county have enlisted the interest of Uriah Whitney, a pioneer of 1858, and at pres- cnt living on a finely cultivated and profitable farm near Stayton. Mr. Whitney was born on a farm near Lewiston, Androscoggin county, Me., March 23, 1834, a son of Thomas and Naomi (Eaton) Whitney. When six years of age he was taken by his parents to St. Clair county, Ill., where his father combined his trade of brick mason with general farming. After the death of his mother in 1842, he was taken to the home of Robert Higgins, a pros- perous and prominent farmer residing in St. Clair county, with whom he found a pleasant home and excellent guardianship. Upon at- taining the age of twenty-one years he received from Mr. Higgins the sum of $150. Thereafter he remained with his friend, who was almost a father to him, for two years, receiving in re- turn for services rendered $110 per year. This seemed a large amount to the farmer youth of that day, and young Whitney was no exception to the rule in this respect. After leaving the employ of Mr. Higgins he worked for various other farmers in the neighborhood, and by 1858

had quite a sum of money saved up. In the meantime he had determined to better his con- dition, if possible, by taking an early advantage of the wellnigh boundless opportunities of- fered by the great west and its almost fabulous resources. Therefore, in 1858, he started upon his journey for Oregon, going by way of New York City, where he embarked aboard the ship Washington, bound for Graytown, and thence to Aspinwall. Crossing the Isthmus of Panama, he re-embarked on another steamer bound for San Francisco. But in order to do so, he was obliged to borrow $50 to pay for his ticket, the preceding stages of the voyage having used up about all his money.

December 24, 1858, he arrived in Marion county, with practically no capital excepting his health, energy and ambition to succeed in life. The first year he worked in a sawmill and gristmill, for which he received the sum of $330. After working on a farm for W. M. Mckinney for a year he was employed by other farmers. In 1861 he drove a herd of cat- tle across the mountains to Umatilla, for stock- dealers, and in 1862 embarked in a mining ven- ture near Florence, Idaho, to which region he traveled with two pack-horses. The extent of his success in this venture may be judged when it is stated that instead of driving that team home he was compelled to make his way back afoot, a sadder and wiser man.

Upon returning to Marion county Mr. Whitney sought to recoup his losses by work- ing upon farms. After saving some money in this way, he embarked in a general merchandis- ing business in Aumsville with W. H. Darby, continuing thus for five years, and making a success of the business. After disposing of his interest to E. E. Mckinney in the spring of 1871, he bought his present farm of four hun- dred and twenty acres for $10 per acre. Hav- ing thus assured himself of a home, he re- turned the same year to Maine, where he was married to Martha T. Whitney. Returning with his young wife to the farm just pur- chased, he resided there for two years, and then engaged in the mercantile business with the Hon. W. H. Hobson at Stayton. Upon selling his interest in this business he estab- lished a store at Aumsville with the same part- ner. After disposing of that he removed to Stayton and erected the property now known as the Gardner Flouring Mills. At the same time he started another general merchandise store at Stayton, and while managing both these enterprises became prominently identi- fied in other ways with the best interests of the community. Misfortune overtook him in 1878, when the store wes destroyed by fire. Soon afterward he traded the flouring mills for

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six hundred and forty acres of land situated in the Waldo Hills. After living on the new property for a year, he took his family on a visit of four months to Maine, spending a most delightful time among the scenes of his childhood. Returning to his farm in the Waldo Hills, he lived there for another year, and then returned to his original farm of four hun- dired and twenty acres, purchased at the time of his marriage in 1871, and upon which he is now making his home. Since locating there he has spent about eight years in Stayton, where he owned and operated a general store with W. W. Elder; but in 1899 he took up his permanent abode where he now resides, and here he is conducting general farming and stock-raising.

Five children have been born into the family of Mr. and Mrs. Whitney. Lillie is the wife of Thomas E. Worley of Albany, Ore., and is the mother of four children : Byron Uriah, Sherman, Augusta and Frederick; Lena C. is the wife of Frank Sylhaven of Stayton, and has a daughter, Pearl Naomi Shafer; Martha N., Laura and Henrietta are deceased.

Mr. Whitney cast his first presidential vote for James Buchanan, and ever since has been a staunch supporter of the Democratic party. He has never sought for public office though he served for two years as mayor of Stayton, for one year was councilman, and for one year was treasurer. Fraternally he was originally associated with Pearl Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Turner, of which he was a charter member, and is now a member of Santiam Lodge No. 25, at Stayton. To him is due the distinction of having been treasurer of the Masonic lodge for twenty-five consecutive years.

No man in Marion county has a more en- viable reputation for personal worth, probity and sound business judgment than Mr. Whit- ney. At all times he has striven to make his daily life an exemplification of the Golden Rule, which has been the cardinal principle of his religion. He has found many opportunities to benefit his fellowmen by sound advice and offers of assistance of a more practical and substantial nature, and he has never been known to oppose the progress of any project intended to develop the resources of the Wil- lamette valley or to enhance its standing as one of the most desirable places of residence in the workl. His long years of residence in the state and the success which has attended his efforts in many lines of endeavor consti- tute a career worthy of appreciation and emu- lation. The young men of the present gener- ation may well regard the brief record of his life here presented as a model for their guid- ance; for honesty of purpose, integrity of

character, perseverance, industry and a single- ness of determination toward the goal of hon- orable success have been the principles which have formed the foundation of his entire career.

CHARLES H. BURCH. No history of Yamhill county would be complete without mention of Charles H. Burch, who is a vener- able and honored citizen and has resided in this state since 1844. Great have been the changes which have occurred in this period and wonderful the development, and Mr. Burch has ever manifested a deep and active interest in public progress and improvement. He was born in Sheridan county, Mo., and was but two years of age at the time of his mother's death. His father was a physician and in the family were five children. Our subject remained at home until ten years of age, when his father died, and from that time until his sixteenth year he resided with his father's parents, ac- quiring his early education in the district school and afterward pursuing a course of study in the high school at Keytesville, Mo. At the age of sixteen he made a long and difficult journey across the plains, joining an emigrant train. He rode a mule and continued with the train until he reached Fort Bridger, Wyo., when he left the party with which he had trav- eled and came on into Oregon, being the first white emigrant to land in Oregon City. Set- tling first at Salem, he remained until 1846, when he went to California, and while there he enlisted in Company A, of the California Mounted Riflemen, under command of Lieu- tenant-Colonel John C. Fremont, later General, for service upon the frontier. While in Lieu- tenant-Colonel Fremont's Company, at San Miguel, Cal., he was detailed with another man, named Ryan, to arrest a spy, and Mr. Burch made the arrest alone at Mission San Miguel. The spy was tried by court martial, found guilty and shot by Colonel Fremont's order. Mr. Burch was mustered in at Sacra- mento and with his regiment went to Old Monterey and afterward to Los Angeles, where he was mustered out, having served for sev- cral months. He then returned to Sacramento, where he followed mining and prospecting and for some time in connection with another man he made all of the saddles used by General Kearney. About 1849 he purchased a farm in the vicinity of Marysville, Cal .. on which he lived for ahout two years and then sold that property, returning to Yamhill county, Ore., where he took up a donation claim of one hun- dred and sixty acres. He still owns a part of

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this and the property is conveniently and pleas- antly located about two miles east of Amity.

In 1851 Mr. Burch was united in marriage to Miss Phebe Buffum, a native of Illinois, who came with her parents to the northwest in 1847. Mr. and Mrs. Burch began their domes- tic life upon the donation claim and here they have resided continuously since. They had thir- teen children: Hiram, who is living in Crook county, Ore .; Jane, at home ; Clay, who makes his home in McMinnville; Charles H., who resides in Amity; Ann, who is living in Newburg; Georgia, a resident of Dayton, Ore .; Idress, Louisa and Victoria, all at home; and four who died in infancy.

At the present time Mr. Burch owns and operates two hundred and eighty-five acres of rich and arable land and is carrying on general farming and stock-raising, making a specialty of Durham cattle. He has made all of the improvements upon his place and now has a well developed farm equipped with good build- ings and all modern accessories, and for sev- eral years in connection with his farm work he followed the carpenter's trade.

In his political views Mr. Burch has been a stalwart Democrat since casting his first presidential vote. He is regarded as one of the prominent and influential residents of this portion of Oregon and at one time he was one of the most extensive farmers of Yamhill county. His capability and his fitness for lead- ership led to his selection for legislative hon- ors and in 1878 he was chosen to represent his district in the state senate. In 1884 he was elected for a second term, at both times over- coming a large Republican majority, a fact which indicates his personal popularity and the confidence and trust reposed in him by those with whom he has long been associated. Few men can claim the distinction of having arrived in Oregon in 1844, but this honor is due Mr. Burch, and since that time he has spent the greater part of his life in this state, assisting in the work which has brought Yam- hill county forth from its pioneer environment to its present state of progress and importance. He is a man whose intrinsic worth of character is widely recognized, and with pleasure we present to our readers this record of his career.

COL. A. B. GILLIS, M. D., surgeon-general of the Oregon National Guard, and one of the most distinguished specialists in the treatment of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat in the state, now makes his home in Salem, where he has been engaged in the practice of his pro- fession since 1893. He was born in Strathal- byn, May 15, 1854, a son of Malcolm and Hat-

tie (Mathison) Gillis. His father was born in Rotlisay, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, a son of Col. Malcolm Gillis, who was an officer in the British army and saw service in India and on the continent. Upon leaving his native coun- try Malcolm Gillis, Jr., became a resident of Prince Edward Island, where he followed the oc- cupation of farming. In his religion he was a devoted member of the Presbyterian faith, fol- lowing the inclination of his forefathers for many preceding generations. His wife was born on the island of Arran, off the coast of Scotland. Her father occupied official posts under the government for several years, and spent his entire life in Scotland, where his death occurred. Malcolm Gillis, father of Col. A. B. Gillis, died in Charlottetown in 1884, and his widow is still living there. They were the parents of six sons and two daughters.

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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 67

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