Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 72

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 72

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MRS. ELIZA G. EMMENS was born Oc- tober 14, 1817, in Logan county, Ohio, and is a descendant of an old English family that had early made America their home. Her grand- father, John Garwood, had originally settled in Virginia, but in 1805 had removed to Logan coun- ty, Ohio, where he reared his family, his trade be- ing that of a miller, building his own mill in which to work. His son, Lott, the father of Mrs. Em- mens of this review, was born in Virginia, in 1792, taking up farming for his life occupation. remaining at it until his death at the age of seventy-five years in 1857, in Logan county. Ohio, whither his father had removed. He mar- ried Ruth Branson, who died in Ohio, the daugh- ter of William Branson, both natives of Virginia, and of this union three children were born, Mrs. Emmens being . the second child and only one living.

Having already attained a ripe old age and yet with the promise of many years before her, Mrs. Emmens recalls vividly the great changes which have come within her range of vision. Her carliest recollections go back to a little log

schoolhouse in the Ohio wilds, where to-day the land blossoms with the easily cultivated har- vest yields, when she sat upon the puncheon benches with the light upon her book falling through greased paper windows, her quill pen carefully laid away until the hour for writing came. When the bitter days of winter came in good earnest the room was heated by a roaring fire in the big, open fire-place. In 1835, at the age of eighteen, she married John H. Robb, a native of Pennsylvania, born near Burgettstown, and at this time a farmer in her native county. Becoming interested in the tales of the golden lands of the west-for the farmer as well as the miner-Mr. Robb, with the hearty co-operation of his ambitious wife, prepared to take the long journey necessary in order to reach the desired location. Having secured their outfit at St. Joe, they set out May 5, 1852, members of an ox train on the old Oregon trail, reaching their destina- tion September 20. Coming at once to Polk county, they located on a donation claim near Bethel, but later returned to Dallas, where they had stopped previous to the settlement on the claim. After another effort at farming, this time a short distance south of Dallas, Mr. Robb took a trip to California. In the fall of 1861 he passed away at his home in Dallas, at the age of forty- seven years.

On June 18, 1862, Mrs. Robb was again united in marriage to Johannes Emmens, the son of Jacobus Emimens, the New York representa- tive of an old Holland family. In Gravesend, N. Y. Johannes Emmens was born and reared, tak- ing up his residence later in Illinois, where he carried on farming. In 1852 he crossed the plains, reaching Willamette valley in August of the same year. After his settlement of a donation claim in Polk county, he removed to Dallas, where as a Republican, he held several political offices, among them being that of deputy county clerk and county treasurer, while under the ad- ministration of Lincoln he served as postmaster of Dallas. He was also at one time engaged in the dry goods business in Dallas, but soon after returned to his farm two miles east of Dallas. He lived to be nearly eighty-two years old, dy- ing June 16, 1902.

Though nearly eighty-six years old, Mrs. Em- mens' mind is still unimpaired. The past is still as vivid in her memory as though it had hap- pened but yesterday, and she enjoys talking of the time when she and her husband were among the first pioneers in Polk county. She recalls distinctly the meteoric shower of November 13. 1833, being then a girl of sixteen in her Ohio home. Of the children born to her father and mother she is the only one living, her splendid constitution and health carrying her far beyond three score years and ten, and leaving her practi-

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cally alone, but with her courage and good cheer she makes bright every hour of the evening of her life. She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and perhaps the secret of her happy life is the every-day use of her religion.

LEVI BENNETT is a native of Illinois, born in Tazewell county, in March, 1834, and is now living in Yamhill county, Ore., near Whiteson. He was one of a family of four children whose parents were farming people. His father died when the son was thirteen years of age and for two years thereafter he lived with a neighbor. The educational privi- leges which he enjoyed were received prior to that time in the district schools near his home. When a youth of fifteen he joined a company of people who started across the plains to the northwest in 1848. He went as one of the drivers of an ox team and for six months trav- eled with the party, walking the entire dis- tance. Progress was slow and hardships were many, for not only did they have to endure the trials incident to the journey across the hot, sandy plains and through the mountain passes, but there was also danger of attacks from the Indians, the latter stealing some of their horses near the Platte river. They crossed the Cascade mountains about fifteen miles from The Dalles and Mr. Bennett spent his first winter in Oregon upon a farm near Salem, which is now the site of the state peni- tentiary. In the spring of 1849 he went to French Prairie in Marion county, where he was employed as a farm hand until his re- moval to Yamhill county. Here he followed logging in Moore's valley for about three years and for about two years he made his home upon a farm at Whiteson. In 1854 he went to south Oregon, where he was engaged in min- ing and prospecting, but in the following year he returned to Yamhill county.

Mr. Bennett was then married to Miss Mary M. Stephens, who had traveled overland to the northwest in 1845 with her parents, who settled in Portland. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett after their marriage located upon the farm where he now lives. He had purchased one hundred acres of land, most of which was prairie, and here he has resided continuously since, with the exception of a period of four years, which was spent upon a farm within four miles of the old homestead. All of the improvements upon his place are his work, and these include a good set of farm buildings and machinery and all modern equipments for fa- cilitating the work of field and meadow. At the present time he owns one hundred acres of good land and in connection with the cul-

tivation of cereals best adapted to the soil and climate, he is also extensively engaged in rais- ing hops, having in 1902 a crop of about five thousand pounds, the sale of which has been profitable.

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Bennett has been blessed with five children: Cyrus M., who is with his parents ; . John H., in Whiteson; Lil- lian R., the wife of E. G. Murphy, of Whiteson ; Rosamond J., at home; and Maryetta, de- ceased. Mr. Bennett is independent in his po- litical views. He has served as a member of the school board for about twenty years and the cause of education finds in him a warm friend. Fraternally he is connected with the Masonic Lodge of Amity, in which he has filled all of the chairs.

JAMES REID. Too much cannot be said of the enterprise and thrift, the business sagac- ity and honorable personal characteristics which have placed James Reid among the most influential and successful farmers of the vicin- ity of McMinnville. Descended from rugged and profoundly religious Scottish ancestors, he was born in the county of Halton, On- tario, Canada, May 31, 1843, his parents being natives of that deeply indented, ocean-swept portion of western Scotland known as Argyl- shire, where are raised some of the finest stock in the world. Of the thirteen children born to the parents in Scotland and Canada, but one is deceased, and the living members are so widely separated as to suggest from the start ambitious and resourceful tendencies. Two of the brothers are in Africa, one is in Australia, one in Manitoba, one in Oregon, and the re- mainder in Canada.

Principally in Canada Mr. Reid received his education, and his youth gained considerable assurance from having to learn the rule of three and the principles of parsing while oc- cupying a backless and very hard wooden seat in a primitive log school house. At his father's death he was a strong young fellow of twenty, morally, mentally and physically able to cope with whatever the future might have in store for him. With the skill born of experience he managed the old homestead until 1873, and then came to Oregon, where he was variously employed for about a year. In 1874 he located on his present farm of two hundred and thirty- six acres, four miles east of McMinnville, and August 25, 1875, married Mary A. Fletcher, born near LaFayette, Yamhill county, October 4, 1850. The Fletcher parents came to Oregon as early as 1840, and a complete record of these early and remarkably successful pioneers is to be found in another part of this work,

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Since his marriage Mr. Reid has labored to in- vest his property with all the improvements known to modern agricultural science, and few properties in the county evince greater re- gard for advanced methods in all departments of farming. At the present time he owns three hundred and four acres of land, the greater part of which is devoted to stock-raising, in- cluding Berkshire and Poland-China hogs, Cotswold sheep, Jerseys and Short-horns. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Reid have been born four children: Ytol Viola; Lottie Lorene, who died February 19, 1902; Clifford Fletcher, and Clair James.

In political affiliations a Republican, Mr. Reid has never identified himself to any ex- tent with political undertakings, but has never- theless served his county as supervisor for a couple of years, and he has rendered efficient service for a number of years as a member of the school board. He is a welcome member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and with his wife is an active member of the Cum- berland Presbyterian Church, contributing generously towards its maintenance and chari- ties.

HON. JOHN F. CALBREATH, one of the distinguished physicians of the state of Ore- gon, now serving as superintendent of the Oregon State Insane Asylum at Salem, was born in Weston, W. Va., June 1, 1854. His father, John Calbreath, was a native of Angusta county, Va., born near Stanton, and his pa- ternal grandfather was a planter of the Shen- andoah valley. He was of Scotch descent, his ancestors having been members of one of the ancient Highland clans. John Calbreath fol- lowed farming near Weston, W. Va., until the time of the Civil war, when his property was practically destroyed by the contending ar- mies. He removed to Iowa in 1864 and for a year resided at Cincinnati in that state. In 1865 he brought his family across the plains, traveling with a party of two hundred through the Indian country, the trip consuming six months. He located at Philomath, Benton county, Ore., where he leased land and began farming. Later he moved to eastern Oregon to engage in the cattle business, but died soon afterward, in the fall of 1872. In his religious faith he was a Presbyterian. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Nancy Christ, was also a native of Augusta county, Va., a dangh- ter of Daniel Christ, who was born in that state and was the owner of an extensive plant- ation. He died in the early 'zos, having at- tained the age of over one hundred years. His

daughter, Mrs. Calbreath, the mother of our subject, died in 1872. Her children were: Thomas W., a farmer of Wasco county, Ore .; Daniel M., of Polk county, Ore .; Mrs. Janet Brown, who died in Harney county, Ore .; and J. F.

When but ten years of age Dr. Calbreath ac- companied his parents to Iowa, and the fol- lowing year came with them to Oregon. On account of the war, which interfered with the conduct of the schools of the south, his educa- tion in youth was limited, but after arriving in Oregon he attended school, including a course in Philomath College. He did not go to eastern Oregon with the family, but remained in Philo- math College for a time, and since leaving that institution has made his own way in the world. At the age of sixteen he rented a farm, which he operated for two years, having one hundred and ten acres planted to wheat. He then began studying medicine, having determined to make the medical profession his field of labor. At the age of seventeen he had begun teach- ing, and that profession, combined with farm- ing, enabled him to gain sufficient means to pay the expenses of a course in medicine. In 1872 he began study under the direction of Dr. J. R. Bayley, of Corvallis, and the following year entered the medical department of Wil- lamette University, where he remained for one term. He next became a student in Toland Medi- cal College, San Francisco, from which he was graduated in 1875 with the degree of M. D.

Locating in La Fayette, Yamhill county. Ore., Dr. Calbreath then engaged in the prac- tice of medicine with Dr. Littlefield, an asso- ciation which was maintained until 1886, when Dr. Calbreath moved to McMinnville. There he became a partner of Dr. E. E. Goucher, under the firm name of Calbreath & Goucher, and in his chosen field of labor he met with gratifying success, working his way upward to a position of prominence. In 1896 he went to New York City and took a course in the New York Post-Graduate College, after which he returned to Oregon and continued the active practice of his profession until appointed su- perintendent of the Oregon State Insane Asylum, in January, 1900. He then moved to Salem.

: Dr. Calbreath's administration of the affairs of the asylum has been one of lasting benefit to the institution and has won for him the highest approval of his contemporaries. He has gradually made a number of much-needed improvements in connection with the estab- lishment, having added five new wards, be- sides two more in the course of construction. There are one thousand acres in the asylum

aComelico

Lavina Camelias.

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

farm, which is located five miles from Salem, while the main buildings of the institution are located on a tract of two hundred acres. There is also an orchard of thirty acres at the asylum proper.

Dr. Calbreath has made a close study of the needs of the institution and its inmates, and has not only carefully performed his duties as physician, but lias also given special attention to sanitary conditions, to outdoor and indoor exercise, and to the minutest details bearing upon the health and general condition of the thirteen hundred unfortunate persons under his charge. His administration has demon- strated the fact that he is highly qualified for the work which he is now so ably performing. In a profession where advancement depends upon merit and skill he has steadily progressed until he stands to-day among the most able physicians of the state.

In Corvallis, in 1874, Dr. Calbreath was mar- ried to Miss Irene Smith, a native of Yamhill county, and a daughter of Sidney Smith, who came from Ohio to Oregon in 1839. Mrs. Cal- breath is a lady of superior culture and refine- ment. She is a graduate of St. Mary's Acad- emy of Portland, and prior to her marriage she was a member of the faculty of the Oregon Agricultural College at Corvallis. To Dr. and Mrs. Calbreath have been born two daughters, Helen and Evelene.

A pronounced Republican and prominent in political circles, Dr. Calbreath was elected in 1894, as his party's nominee from Yamhill county to the state senate, receiving a large majority. He served in the sessions of 1895 and 1897, and was a member of the Ways and Means Committee and chairman of the Com- mittee on Medicine during both sessions. He was not a candidate for the second term, and returning home he resumed the practice of his profession. In 1896 he was a delegate to the Republican national convention at St. Louis, and was made vice-president of the Oregon delegation.

Socially Dr. Calbreath is past master of La Fayette Lodge No. 3, A. F. & A. M .; past high priest of McMinnville Chapter, R. A. M .; has taken all the degrees in the Scottish Rite up to and including the Consistory, and is a member of Al Kader Temple, N. M. S., of Portland. He is also a member of the Uni- formed Rank, K. P., and is now serving his second term as a member of the board of re- gents of the State Normal School at Mon- mouth. -

Besides has other interests, he is the owner of a fine prune orchard and farming properties in Yamhill county. His life record is com-

mendable and honorable, and his professional career shows the result of close application and a strong mentality.

ABSALOM H. CORNELIUS. Coming in childhood to the state of Oregon, the son of a pioneer, Absalom H. Cornelius scarcely re- members any other home than the one he has known here for so many years. He was born in Henry county, Iowa, near the city of Bur- lington, January 2, 1839, and crossed the plains with his parents in 1845. He remained on the homestead taken up by his father in Marion county, Ore., until he was twenty-one years of age. Then going to southern Ore- gon, he followed mining in Josephine county for about one year and then followed the same calling in Florence, Idaho. Somewhat dissatis- fied with the miner's life, he returned to Marion county after a trial of six months, and located on a part of his father's farm, about two and a half miles southwest of Tur- ner, where he continued to live for ten years, actively engaged in the cultivation of the soil.

By his marriage, September 20, 1868, Mr. Cornelius allied himself with a pioneer fam- ily of Oregon, his wife being Lavina Powell, the daughter of Elder Noah Powell, who was well known throughout the Willamette val- ley as a minister in the Christian Church. He was born in Greene county, Ohio. From Il- linois, in 1851, he crossed the plains with his family by means of two wagons drawn by ox- teams, being on the journey about six months. He first located in Marion county, near Sil- verton, where he took up a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres, but not being en- tirely satisfied he removed to Howell Prairie. After a residence of a few years there he lo- cated near Amity, Yamhill county, and later made his home in Linn county for six years. From that location he removed to a farm in Marion county, where he died at the age of sixty-six years. His wife also died there at the age of eighty years. The five children who blessed their union are in order of birth as follows: William; Josiah and John D., who are both deceased; Theresa A., who died in 1901, the wife of John Shafer; and La- vina, Mrs. Cornelius.

Mr. Cornelius formerly owned two hun- dred and twenty-five acres of land, located one mile from Marion village, the same being the property which Elder Powell owned in Marion county. In March, 1903, he sold his farm and retired to Jefferson, where he in- vested in real estate and remodeled a com- fortable home, and with his wife is living in comfort after years of hard work. For thirty

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years he was engaged in general farming and stock-raising, making a specialty of Jersey cattle. A Republican in politics, Mr. Cor- nelius has served as county commissioner for two years and as assessor for four, in addition to his services as a member of the school board for ten years. Fraternally he has been a member of the Masonic order for twenty- two years. Of the children born to himself and wife, Flora is the wife of F. L. George, of Salem, and they have three children; Emily is the wife of C. O. Green, of Oakland, Ore., and they have six children; Annie, the wife ot J. W. Cardwell, is the mother of three chil- dren and the family live on a farm three miles north of Salem; Nettie is the wife of George Van Buren, station agent at Comstock for the Southern Pacific Railroad, and they have three children; Maude is the wife of J. S. Roberts and they have three children and live in Portland; Rodney, the only son, is a tele- graph operator at Drain, Ore., in the employ of the Southern Pacific Railway Company ; and Nora is deceased. Mrs. Cornelius is a member of the Christian Church.

EDWARD F. SOX. Though a prominent and enterprising business man of Albany, Linn county, Ore., Edward F. Sox has not confined his mental grasp to opportunities leading to this avenue, but with a praiseworthy ambition encouraged by exceptional executive ability he has widened his line of advancement, adding both mental and moral culture to his manhood, making in his community a place and name for himself as scholar, Christian and business man. During a residence of more than thirty years Mr Sox has clearly demonstrated his ability to lead where judgment and enterprise are es- sential to success, and as a man of this caliber he has stamped his personality in his adopted state.

Born in Palmyra, Lee county, Ill., January 25, 1846, Edward F. Sox is the son of Herman and Margaret (Owens) Sox, both of whom were born November 14, 1814, the father in Ger- many, the mother in Wilkesbarre, Pa. As a young man Herman Sox emigrated to the United States, a land where talent and oppor- tunity were parallel. For some years he was a railroad builder in Pennsylvania, and there he met and married Margaret Owens, December 27, 1838, and the next year they went to St. Louis, Mo., where they made their home for some time. In 1840, becoming interested in the farming capabilities of the prairie lands of Illinois, though at that date wild and unculti- vated, he purchased a number of acres in Whiteside county which he proceeded to im-

prove. His death occurred in that state near Sterling, March 24, 1888, his wife surviving him until June, 1902, when she also died at the home of her son, L. N. Sox, in Sterling. Fra- ternally he was associated with the Masons.

Of the nine children born to his parents, all of whom are living except a sister, Mary, who married Ira Compton, of Dixon, Ill., Mr. Sox is the fourth in order of birth and the only one who lives in Oregon. He received his pre- liminary education in the public schools and prepared for college in the Prairieville Union schools, being deterred, however, from enter- ing by enlisting May 30, 1864, in Company D, One Hundred and Fortieth Illinois Volunteer In- fantry. He was mustered in at Dixon and sent south, his service being principally in Tennes- see and Missouri. He was mustered out Octo- ber 29, 1864, being then not yet nineteen years old, and in 1865 he entered Wheaton College, where he remained for two years, at the close of that time entering the University of Michi- gan. Though at the time of entering he had expected to graduate in the class of 1870, he attended but one year, after which he became a teacher in the public schools of Whiteside county, Ill., continuing in his position for two years. In 1871 he changed his residence to Portland, Ore., and taught in the public schools until the fall of the same year, when he was elected to the chair of mathematics in Albany College, a position which he maintained for three years, resigning at that date to return to Illinois, and with his brother assisted in the management of his father's affairs. In 1877 he again made his home in Albany, Ore., and was made principal of the city schools for one year. From this date is reckoned his business career, for he then entered the hardware business in partnership with W. S. Peters, the firm being known for two years as Peters & Sox. In 1882 Mr. Sox changed his location to Seattle, Wash., where he was one of the organizers of the firm known as Ballard & Sox, hardware dealers, which two years later was enlarged and incorporated under the title of the Seattle Hardware Company, which to-day is one of the largest of its kind in the city of Seattle. Mr. Sox served for some time as treasurer of the company, but in 1886 he sold his interest and returned to Albany and engaged in the same business with C. H. Stewart. The year 1896 witnessed the organization and incorpora- tion of a stock company. under the title of the Stewart & Sox Hardware Company, of which Mr. Sox was elected president, continuing to hold that office to the present time. In the spring of 1903 Mr. Sox purchased Mr. Stew- art's interest. This is now one of the best- equipped and most extensive hardware busi-

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ness interests of Albany, in connection with which carrying a full line of Studebaker wagons and buggies; Parlin and Orendorff Canton clippers and Moline plows and culti- vators, Plano harvesters and cutting machin- ery, Russell threshers, etc. In 1893 Mr. Sox erected the building, which is 50x100 feet and two stories in height, a creditable addition to the business blocks of Albany. In addition to his interests in the city, Mr. Sox also has farm- ing interests in Linn county.

The marriage ceremony which. united Mr. Sox with Miss .Weltha M. Young was per- formed in Albany, January 27, 1874. She was born in Benton county, Ore., January 16, 1855, the daughter of Isaac and Rebecca Young and sister of S. E. Young, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this volume. She was a member of the first class that graduated from Albany College. Of this union two children have been born; Carleton E. and Emma Rebecca. The son graduated from Albany College in 1891 and from Leland Stanford University, California, in 1894, and is now a practicing attorney of the firm of Hewitt & Sox. He is also a mem- ber of the board of trustees of Albany Col- lege and stockholder and director of the Stew- art & Sox Hardware Company. The daughter graduated from Albany College in the class of 1902. While in Seattle Mr. Sox interested him- self in municipal affairs, serving in the inter- ests of the Republican party as alderman for one term, and was also president of the Young Men's Christian Association for two years. He was superintendent of the Sunday School of the Plymouth Congregational Church, though he is now a member of the United Presby- terian Church, in which he officiates as ruling elder, and occupied the position of superin- tendent of the Sunday School for ten years, a position he maintained with credit in every particular. He has always been interested in all educational movements. In the social life of the city he has been prominent, being a member of the Alco Club and a charter mem- ber of McPherson Post No. 5, G. A. R., of which he is past commander.

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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 72

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