Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 70

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 70

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David enfully

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county, Ohio, December, 4, 1826, and died in Woodburn, Ore., April 20, 1901, at the age of seventy-four years. Mrs. Remington, who died in Oregon in 1893, at the age of forty-one, was the mother of four children, two sons and two daughters, of whom three are living, Eugene Lincoln being the oldest. The oldest daughter in the family, Ella Atlanta, born September 8, 1869, was the wife of Timothy M. Hicks, and died November 7, 1887; Zella Esther, born Aug- ust 12, 1876, is the wife of F. M. Hardcastle, of Woodburn; and Laverne Thomas, born June 14, 1884, is living with his brother, Eugene Lincoln.

The necessity for assisting with the family maintenance at a very early age interfered with the education of Eugene Lincoln Remington, and his knowledge has therefore been self ac- quired. As a lad of thirteen he was busily en- gaged in his father's machine shop, and after learning the business he continued with his sire, becoming a partner in the firm in 1888, at the age of twenty-one. After the fire he engaged in the sporting goods business, carrying a complete stock of bicycles, guns, and general parapherna- lia, in 1900 moving into the new store building which has supplanted the original machine shop. He has been very successful in disposing of his superior brand of wheels, and is well versed as to the respective merits of the wheels that come under his observation. No one in the county turns out more satisfactory repair work, and the line of guns, ammunition, and general sporting accessories is complete and up-to-date in every respect.

In 1891 Mr. Remington was united in mar- riage with Ida May Bancroft, a native of Lodi, Wis., who came to Oregon in 1889, locating at Woodburn. Her father, Henry L. Bancroft, is living in retirement in Woodburn, and has to his credit a meritorious record as a soldier during the Civil war. Three children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Remington, two sons and one daughter, namely: Charles Adrian, born March 10, 1894; Ferris Herbert, born August 4, 1895; and Mildred Myrtle, born September 30, 1902. Since casting his first presidential vote Mr. Remington has been allied with the Republican party, and has taken an active part in local politics of his city. He is fraternally connected with Woodburn Lodge No. 102, I. O. O. F., and is very active in that organization, being past grand, and has been twice representa- tive to the Grand Lodge. With his wife he is also a member of Home Lodge No. 58, of the Rebekahs, Mrs. Remington having passed all the chairs of same. With his brother Mr. Rem- ington owns the Remington Hall, and with their sister two residences; he built the one in which he lives. He is progressive, is anxious to in-

crease his business knowledge, and has a keen interest in all that pertains to the general wel- fare of his community.

DAVID McCULLY. At his home in Salem, David McCully is now spending the evening of his life in retirement, having given the strength of his manhood for nearly a quarter of a century to the upbuilding of this commonwealth before he laid down the burdens and responsibilities of active life. He came to Oregon in 1852, a man of middle age, with the better part of his future still before him, and has since become one of the most prominent men in the Willamette val- ley, having been for many years identified with the commercial activity of the state.

David McCully was born in Sussexvale, New Brunswick, Canada, September 15, 1814, and comes of sturdy Scotch ancestry. His father, John McCully, was born in Nova Scotia in 1785. He was married in Maine to Mary Kopp, a native of that state, born in Eastport in 1788. They located in New Brunswick, where he engaged in business as a farmier, an occupation to which he devoted his entire life. In 1822 he removed with his family to Jefferson county, Ohio, where his death occurred in 1830. Six years after the death of Mr. McCully, his widow married John McPherson. In 1844 they removed to Iowa, settling in Henry county. Thence they emigrated to Oregon and there, in the home which she had helped to establish, in Linn county, Mrs. Mary (Kopp) McPherson died in 1872, at the advanced age of eighty-four years. Of the five sons and one daughter born to John and Mary McCully, by the latter's first marriage, the subject of this brief memoir was the second in the order of birth. He has one brother living-William H., the youngest of the family, now a resident of Brownsville. Ore.

In 1849 David McCully and his brother Asa had crossed the plains to California, where they were successfully engaged in mining until No- vember 20 of that year. They then returned to their home by the water route. Less than three years later they again made the journey across the plains in company with the family, arriving in Salem August 17, 1852. From this city they continued on to Harrisburg, Linn county, and spent their first winter there, erecting the first honse in that town and establishing the first gen- eral merchandise business there. Until March, 1858, they remaincd in that place, when Mr. McCully and his brother took up a donation clain of six hundred and forty acres adjacent to Har- risburg. Later in that year they located in Salem. In 1859 Mr. McCully and J. L. Starkey bought the business of Cohn & Fish, a dry goods and grocery firm of Salem. In 1860 Mr. Starkey

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disposed of his interest to Wall Smith, and the firm of Smith & McCully continued the business until 1864. Mr. McCully then sold a third of his interest in the store and engaged in river transportation. The company formed was known as the People's Transportation Company, and op- erated on the Columbia and Willamette rivers. Mr. McCully succeeded Stephen Coffin as presi- dent of this corporation. In the meantime finan- cial troubles had overtaken the company, which of necessity was reorganized, paid its indebted- ness and elected Mr. McCully to the presidency. One year later he resigned the post, and his brother Asa was elected as his successor.

The interests of the two McCully brothers continued to be centered in this important under- taking for eight years; and with ten steam- boats on the Willamette and the Columbia rivers, the returns were remunerative enough amply to satisfy their desires. Through their direct ef- forts a business which had been a losing venture for some time was almost at once place on a paying basis, and the great concern with which their name will always be indelibly associated accomplished as much, if not more, toward the development of the resources of the Willamette valley, the most important section of the state, than any other influence of the early days.

After relinquishing his interest in the transpor- tation business, Mr. McCully engaged once more in general merchandising in Salem. In 1875 he disposed permanently of his share of the business and retired to private life. Though not now actively identified with any of the undertakings of Salem, he holds an interest in the bank and water-works system of Joseph, Wallowa county.

May 7, 1840, Mr. McCully was united in mar- riage with Mary N. Scott, who was born in Jef- ferson county, Ohio, October 16, 1821, and died in Salem November 21, 1895. They became the parents of seven children, of whom five are liv- ing, as follows : Mary J., widow of John Creighton of Salem; John W., a resident of Union county, Ore .; Alfred, an engineer on the stcamer Gray Eagle, and a resident of Clacka- mas county, Ore .; Estella Ann, wife of A. N. Gilbert of Salem; and Frank D., a resident of Joseph, Wallowa county.

A Republican in politics, Mr. McCully has ex- hibited a keen interest in municipal affairs, and has never tried to evade his duty in any public service. In 1874-75 he served as a member of the Salem city council, where his in- fluence was exerted toward the advancement of the general welfare. In closing this brief out- line of the career of one of the most worthy citi- zens of Oregon, it is but just to make a perma- nent record of the high esteem in which Mr. McCully is held by those who, during the half century of his residence in the state, have learned

to appreciate the many traits of character which have caused him to be loved and honored. Per- haps the first and highest of these characteristics has been his unselfish devotion to those manly principles which actuate men to do everything in their power toward elevating the moral and social standing of their own communities. His splendid personality in itself has been a potent factor in giving him an influential position among men, and the fine principles which have guided him through life have served as a silent precept and example for others. The history of his life should be a source of inspiration to the young men of the present generation, as well as of justi- fiable pride to his family and his friends.

It is with genuine pleasure that those, respon- sible for this publication give to him a permanent and prominent place among the honored, influ- ential, generous-hearted and public-spirited men of the Willamette valley. The engraving which appears in this volume was made from a photo- graph taken especially for the purpose, in July, 1903, and preserves his likeness as he will be best remembered by his numerous friends in Salem and elsewhere.

SAMUEL COAD. Typical of the safe, solid, and substantial element which has contributed to the upbuilding of Oregon is Samuel Coad, a pioneer of 1853, and at times interested in many of the enterprises represented on the coast. For some years he has been a resident of Dallas, where he is engaged principally in the real es- tate business, and where he owns considerable valuable property. Mr. Coad was born in Westmoreland county, Pa., February 19, 1833, a son of Jolin and Jane (Jeffrey) Coad, natives of England, the latter dying in Minnesota. John Coad entered the English army at the age of nineteen, and in the war with France was taken prisoner and retained until exchanged. Some of his children were born in England, and accom- panied him to America, settling in Westmore- land, Pa., where he engaged in farming and canal boating. In 1842 he removed to near Burlington, Iowa, where he lived on a farm for some years. His death occurred in Allegheny. Pa., at the age of eighty years. The original spelling of the name was Coade, but for con- venience the terminating letter has been abol- islied.

The second of the eleven children born to his parents, Samuel Coad is the only one of his fam- ily to come to Oregon. He was nine years old when he went to live near Burlington, Iowa, and he there attended the public schools and served an apprenticeship to a carpenter. In 1853 he joined the overland train which had as fellow- travelers John Wolverton and Mr. Nealy, and

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on the way drove an ox team, five months elaps- ing between the start and the arrival at Foster's. Arriving in due time at Salem he worked at his trade, but the same fall located in Spring Valley, Polk county, where he built and contracted for a couple of years. Afterward he continued his occupation on the Luckiamnte, and also tried his fortune at prospecting for gold in the Rogue river district. Not being very successful, he re- turned to carpentering as a surer means of liveli- hood, and about this time the government was beginning to erect blockhouses for protection in dealing with the Indians. Mr. Coad helped to build these primitive defenses, and in 1855 be- came an active participator in the great Indian struggle. As a soldier in Company B, First Ore- gon Volunteer Infantry under command of Cap- tain Burch he served for about four months, and during that time participated in the engage- ment on Snake river, and was also disabled by an accident. Later he built more defenses for the government, among them being the fort in King's Valley.

On the Luckiamute Mr. Coad worked at car- pentering after the war, and in 1853 married Henrietta Gilliam, youngest daughter of General Gilliam, recalled as one of the intrepid pioneers and Indian fighters of Oregon, and mentioned at length in another part of this work. After mar- riage he settled on a farm on the Peedee for about seven years, and then, having sold his property, bought another farm three and one-half miles east of Dallas. However, he rented out his farm and engaged in building in Dallas, and also built the woolen mills at Ellendale, returning after a couple of years to the farm. Three years later he sold his farm and came to Dallas, the better to educate his children, and that he might start a drug business on Main street, in partnership with his brother-in-law, B. F. Nichols. His health failing at the end of a year, he sold his interest in the store and clerked for a year in the dry goods store of W. C. Brown, thereafter pur- chasing four hundred acres of sheep land west of Dallas, which he traded at the end of three months for a farm containing the same amount of land. At the end of a year this also was sold, and Mr. Coad returned to clerking in the town, where his life was saddened by the death of his wife in April, 1875. The following year he mar- ried Anna McNeal, who was born in Dodge county, Neb., a daughter of Abram McNeal. who removed from his native state of New York to Michigan, and from there to Dodge county, Neb., of which he was an early settler. His farm was located on the military road, and here Mrs. Coad and her twin sister were born, the first white children of the county. In 1860 Mr. McNeal crossed the plains with a four horse team to San Francisco, and the following year came

to Salem, where he built and contracted until removing to Tacoma, Wash., where he died at the age of sixty. His wife was Annie Beebe, who was born in Michigan, a daughter of Wal- ter Beebe, who was accidentally killed on the way to the coast, his wife surviving him until ninety-two years of age. Mrs. McNeal died in Nebraska in 1858, and her daughter, Mrs. Coad, was reared by Mrs. E. G. Emmens from her fifth year, or from 1862. Mrs. Emmens proved a mother indeed to the young girl, and the asso- ciation begun thus early has gained in intimacy and affection to the present time. Mrs. Coad was educated in the public schools and at La Creole Academy, and when very young evinced that decided talent for oil painting which has placed her among the foremost artists of this class in the county. She is the mother of two sons, of whom J. E. is a resident of Portland, and George R. is in Dallas.

After his second marriage Mr. Coad settled on a farm of three hundred and twenty acres, and after a year he purchased a drug store in the town, of which he was manager and proprietor for two years. For the following seven years he lived on the old Grant place, since disposing of which he has lived in Dallas, and has in the meantime managed a great deal of town and city property. He is the owner of large real estate interests, including both business and residence property, and is the owner of the Odd Fellows Building. He is a member of the Masonic fra- ternity, and for more than thirty years has been a welcome member of various lodges. Political- ly he has ever espoused the Republican cause, and was one of the organizers of the party in this county. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church and of the Oregon Pioneers' Association. Mrs. Coad is a member of the home chapter of the Eastern Star. Five children were born of the first marriage of Mr. Coad, and of these, Frank J. is engaged in the sash and door manu- facturing business; C. G. is postmaster of this town; Maggie is the deceased wife of T. B. Rowell; Mary is the wife of J. B. Stamp of Monmouth; and Henrietta died at the age of seventeen.

WILLIAM GRANT. Four years ago Wil- liam Grant retired from active business in Dallas, after contributing towards the development of the city to the extent of erecting the majority of her residences and public buildings. This hon- ored citizen is entitled to a place par excellence among the pioneers of this locality, as he was only three years of age when he came to Oregon in 1844, locating on a claim immediately adjoin- ing the present city of Dallas. No one now living within the borders of the flourishing little

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municipality can more authoritatively speak of the early days, nor have any at their command more interesting anecdotes of the struggles and successes of those who were responsible for the first impetus forward.

To go to the beginning of authentic knowledge concerning the family of Mr. Grant, one learns that his ancestors lived in Scotland, and were first represented in America by the paternal great- great-grandfather, who left the seat of religious and political persecution in his native land and settled presumably in Virginia. At any rate, some of his descendants found their way to the old Dominion state, for here was born the pater- nal grandfather, Richard Grant, who removed to Tennessee, and finally died in Platte county, Mo. His son, David, the father of William, was born in Cocke county, Tenn., in 1810, and in his youth was a farmer in both Tennessee and Mis- souri. In the latter state he married America, daughter of Gen. Cornelius Gilliam, a record of whose life may be found elsewhere in this work. Two children were born of this union in Mis- souri, one of whom, William, was born in Jack- son county, July 10, 1841. The father crossed the plains with his little family in 1844, and took up a claim of six hundred and forty acres ad- joining Dallas on the east, which he found to be exceedingly wild, and upon which he erected a little log cabin for the temporary accommodation of his family. His home in the wilderness soon took on a semblance of order, and the passing years found him a successful and well contented man, than whom no more honest or public-spirited lived hereabouts. He was highly esteemed, and invariably affectionately called Uncle Dave Grant. Everyone had a pleasant word for him, and everyone in the neighborhood revered him for his sincerity and extreme temperance in all directions. He lived on the pioneer farm until 1879, and that year built himself a home in Dallas, where he lived in retirement until his death in 1880 at the age of seventy years. Wil- liam is the only one of the four children in his father's family now living, Mary A., the other one who crossed the plains in '44, having died soon after coming to Oregon, at the age of three. Margaret, who was born in Oregon, and who became Mrs. Elkins, died in Redlands, Cal .; and Martha Ellen, also born in Oregon, married Monroe Burford and died in Clatskanie, Colum- bia county, Ore.

William Grant distinctly recalls the first log schoolhouse erected in the neighborhood of Dal- las, and in fact the first in Polk county, which was just inside of what constitutes the present corporation of Dallas City. It had a dirt floor, with puncheon seats, and was located among the stately and beautiful oaks. That the diminui- tive William might not be lost on the way to and

from school the father plowed a furrow from his home westerly to the schoolhouse and in this furrow the little fellow walked to receive his first instruction at the hands of the pioneer school- master, William Snyder. Having imbibed all of the knowledge possible at the primitive school he attended the opening of La Creole Academy, of which his father was one of the organizers, trustees and upbuilders, and where he continued to be a student for several years. During 1861- 2 he tried his fortunes in the mines at Florence, Idaho, and in the latter part of '62 married Beat- rice Aurelia Robertson, born in Missouri, and who came to Oregon, via Panama with her father, William Robertson, in 1852. William Robertson was a miller by trade and settled near Bollston, finally removing to Springfield, Lane county, where he conducted a mill, until his death in 1874.

In 1864 Mr. Grant enlisted as a soldier in Company A, First Oregon Infantry, U. S. V., and served on the frontier against the invading red men. So commendable were his services, that he was made a lieutenant in February, 1865, and thereafter continued to serve until June 19, 1866, when he resigned and was mustered out in Salem. The following year he engaged in the hotel business in Dallas. He then removed to Springfield, Linn county, where he engaged in building and contracting for seven years, fol- lowing which, he continued the same occupation in Lebanon, Linn county, for four years. He be- came permanently identified with building inter- ests in Dallas in 1879, and during the following years put up about all of the important buildings in the city. At present he owns one hundred acres of the old donation claim settled by his father in 1844, and here he has a fine orchard of ten acres, devoted mostly to prune culture.

Mr. Grant has identified himself with the most progressive enterprises in Dallas and vicin- ity, and has been especially active in Repub- lican politics. Although rocked in the cradle of Democracy, he has always applauded Republican principles, and he has been called upon to fill many offices of trust and responsibility in his neighborhood. He served as deputy county sheriff and clerk, and was elected county treas- urer in June, 1864. The following June he took the oath of office, but in November resigned to enter the Civil war. He is a member of the Polk County Pioncer Association, and the Dallas Post G. A. R., of which he is past commander. Fraternally Mr. Grant is identified with the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows, and in religion is a member of the Christian Church. Five chil- dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Grant: U. S., engaged in raising fine goats, and in- spector of the American Angora Association ; Glen Oscar, who is following in his father's foot-

David Smith

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steps, as builder and contractor in Dallas; Mc- Coy, who is living on the old farm; Belden H., who is a merchant at The Dalles; and Viola Estelle, at home, who has become well known as a writer of temperance stories for the " Search Light " and other magazines.

Thus is told all too briefly the story of a man firmly launched in the good will of all with whom he has ever had to do, and whose well directed life has redounded to the advantage of his fam- ily, friends, and adopted state.

DAVID SMITH. An early settler of Linn county and a veteran agriculturist, David Smith, of Tallman, has been intimately asso- ciated with the industrial interests of this part of the state for fully half a century, and by his own exertions has acquired a handsome com- petency. In common with his pioneer neigh- bors he labored with unremitting zeal through- out his earlier years, toiling early and late to establish in an uncivilized region a home for himself and family, and in course of time met with a happy reward, becoming the owner of a large, well stocked farm, which, with its sub- stantial improvements, indicates the general prosperity of its worthy proprietor. Now, in the declining years of a long and useful life, he is living in peace and plenty, happy in the love and affectionate care of his numerous descend- ants, having seven daughters, five sons, forty grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

A native of east Tennessee, Mr. Smith was born March 18, 1828. When six years of age he accompanied his parents to Missouri, where he grew to manhood on a farm. Subsequently engaging in agricultural pursuits for himself, he lived in that state a number of years, ac- quiring some property. In hopes of bettering his financial condition he made up his mind to try life on the frontier. Accordingly, in 1852, he started across the plains with one wagon, four yoke of oxen, and three cows. He lost all of the cows on the way, and a part of the oxen. After arriving in Oregon, he bought two yoke of oxen, and that fall located with his family near Scio, in Linn county. Taking up a dona- tion claim of one hundred and sixty acres, sit- uated about four miles east of Scio, he lived there twelve years. Purchasing then the Chris- tian Clymer claim of one hundred and seventy- one acres, he carried on farming and stock- raising for seven years successfully. Adding then to his property by the purchase of a farm of three hundred and six acres, lying nearer Lebanon, he continued his chosen occupation there for seven years. Returning at the ex- piration of that period to the old Clymer place, he resided on it until 1892. In addition to gen- eral farming he was employed to some extent

in the lumber business and stock-raising. In 1887 he built a warehouse at Tallman Station, and operated it until 1900, when he sold out, but still owns considerable interest in the farm- ers' warehouses. Removing to his present fine farm, in 1892, Mr. Smith has since been nunı- bered with the extensive and prosperous agri- culturists of this section of the county, and is held in high regard as a citizen of worth and stability. Having recently sold much real es- tate, he now owns but five hundred and eighty- five acres of land.

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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 70

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