Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 81

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 81

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The first wife of Mr. Phillips died in 1875, leaving three children : Richard W., Jr., of Cou- lee City, Wash .; Anna E., the wife of F. Fergu- son, of Amity; and Carrie C., wife of George Hancock, of Cornelius. Some time after the

death of his wife Mr. Phillips married Elizabeth Frazer, who was born in Woodford county, Ky., and this union resulted in the birth of four chil- dren : George E., at home; Homer C., a resident of eastern Oregon; one child, who died in in- fancy, and Curry S., who died at the age of six years. Ever since his voting days Mr. Phillips has taken a keen interest in politics, and has al- ways espoused the cause of the Democratic party. He is a welcome member and visitor at various fraternal lodges in the county, notably the Ma- sonic, of which he has been a member for over forty years; the Eastern Star, and the Ancient Order of United Workmen, of which he is a charter member of twenty-six years' standing. Mr. Phillips has been to the fore in all move- ments of a social or public nature in his neighbor- hood, and though extremely careful and con- servative, has wielded a great influence in all matters of importance. His farm is the head- quarters for several large industries, and friends come from far and near to partake of his hospi- tality. He is not only one of the largest hop and stock raisers, but is known as by far the most extensive mule raiser in Yamhill county.

JAMES SHEPARD HUGHES. The town of Lebanon, favored because of the high char- acter of its citizens, the extent and multiplicity of its interests, and its clean municipal admin- istrations, has additional cause for congratula- tion in possessing what is conceded, by those in a position to judge, the best electric lighting system on the Pacific coast. This distinction is directly traceable to the earnest and capable efforts of James Shepard Hughes, owner and operator of the electric light and waterworks of this city, and a man of extended and practical experience in his chosen calling. Additional interest centers around Mr. Hughes because his electrical knowledge is almost entirely self- gained, and because he has enlisted the ser- vices of his exceedingly capable and studious wife, herself an electrician of more than ordinary merit.

On both sides of his family Mr. Hughes claims an ancestry connected with the education- al and war history of the country, his paternal forefathers living for many years in the state of Pennsylvania, his grandfather. Joseph, being a distant relative of William Penn. His father, James, also born in Pennsylvania, became a very early settler in Monroe county, Ohio, reaching there about 1818. In many ways this pioncer was a unique and unusual character, and he represented a class of men fast receding into the shadows of history, in fact scarcely repre- sented at all at the present time. He was a min- ister of the Protestant Methodist Church, and for many years was a circuit rider in Ohio, lead-

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ing one of those strenuous and self-sacrificing lives to which the clergy of today are strangers. A school teacher also, he spent his entire lite in the realms of religion and knowledge, was a close student and practical teacher, more es- pecially during the latter part of his life. A farmer and preacher when he first moved to Ohio, an accident turned his attention to teach- ing, for while crossing the Ohio river he was thrown overboard, chilled to the bone, and took a cold which settled in his lower limbs, incapaci- tating him for severe physical labor. He lived a comparatively short time, his death occurring in 1854, at the age of forty-five years. His wife, Sarah (Lucas) Hughes, was born in Ohio, mar- ried there, and spent her last days in the Buck- cye state. Mrs. Hughes was a daughter of Samuel Lucas, born in Ohio, and member of a family noted for its longevity. His grandfather, Samuel, served with distinction in the Revolu- tionary war, and his great-grandmother lived to be one hundred and twelve years old, and she nursed James Shepard Hughes when he was an infant in arms.

His position as the oldest child and son in his father's family of six children necessi- tated an early assumption of responsibility on the part of James Shepard Hughes. He was born in Monroe county, Ohio, November 25, 1838, and was therefore eight years of age when his good father went to the silent bourne. The many duties to be performed at home interfered sadly with his early education, and as soon as possible he began to earn money that his broth- ers and sisters might fare better than it had been possible for him to do. From the age of sev- enteen he assumed the management of a large Ohio farm, and when he had accomplished all possible for his home people he married in his native state, Louise W. Gatten, born on section 16, Monroe county, June 26, 1842. Like her husband, Mrs. Hughes claims a learned and mar- tial ancestry, from the ranks of which have come educators of merit and influence. James R. Gat- ten, the father of Mrs. Hughes, was born in Maryland. and for more than a quarter of a cen- tury was a teacher of more than local repute in Ohio, to which state he was brought a baby in arms, and where he died at an advanced age His father, Thomas, and his grandfather, Rich- ard Ellis, were born in the North of Ireland, and the latter was indeed a patriot. That he might espouse the cause of the down-trodden colonies he placed his ample fortune in the bank of England, and with his family emigrated to America, where he enlisted in the Colonial army, serving under the banner of Washington for several years. Ilis son, Thomas, a youth when he came to America, learned the shoe- maker's trade, an occupation followed during his

entire active life in Ohio. He married Frances Vaughn, born either in Virginia or Ohio, and whose grandfather, Vincent, established his faniily in the United States in time to serve in the war of 1812. At an early day the grand- father removed to Ohio, and died in Guernsey county after accumulating a competence.

Mr. Hughes' association with the west began in 1876, when he settled with his family at Redwood, Cal., and entered upon his duties as superintendent of the waterworks. That he maintained this position for the long period of twenty years is the best guarantee of his fitness, and that he in many ways identified himself with the general affairs of the town shows a capacity for public service in any community. In keeping with his natural stability and faith- fulness was his occupancy of the office of street superintendent for seventeen years, notwithstand- ing that he was elected on the Republican ticket, and that there were many intervening Demo- cratic administrations. For one term also he was deputy tax collector. Desiring a change, Mr. Hughes came to Lebanon and purchased the elec- tric light plant, and also the water power and a half interest in the old Foly and O'Neal ditch, and has since managed the same with the as- sistance of his wife, who has trodden with him the intricate and fascinating regions of electricity, and is quite capable of taking her husband's place in an emergency.

It is not surprising that all of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Hughes have developed in- tellectual superiority, and at least two are rep- resentative of the best class of educators on the coast. James B., a graduate of the Yale Uni- versity with the degrees of M. A. and B. A., and also a graduate of the Indiana State Univer- sity and the Hopkins Academy of Oakland, Ind., is principal of the high school at Merced, Cal .; Ada, the widow of D. R. Caldwell, is a teacher of drawing in the public schools of Alameda, Cal., and is a painter of merit, having supple- mented her art training in this country by a year of study in Europe: Charles C., who served two terms as superintendent of the public schools of Alameda, Cal., having graduated in the pioneer class of Stanford University; Frances H. is the wife of A. B. Milsap, a traveling salesman of Centralia, Wash .; Thomas Dewey was acciden- tally killed by falling from a building in 1880; and E. M. F. Hughes is foreman of a shipyard at Manila, Philippine Islands. Mr. Hughes is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and is fra- ternally connected with the Blue Lodge of Masons. The carcer of Mr. Hughes speaks for itself, and superfluous would be praise of a man w!tose life efforts have been so unchangeably on the side of stability, thoroughness, and absolute devotion to principle and conscience.

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

JOSEPH B. PERKINS. Among those cour- ageous pioneers who slowly moved over the plains long before the emissaries of gold rendered less dangerous the vastness of the western coun- try, and who, as they carried civilization with them, were obliged to fight nature at every step, to circumvent untold dangers, and over their camp fires indulged in ghastly prophecies of de- struction at the hands of murderous savages, were those messengers of peace and prosperity who arrived in Oregon in 1844. Already the noble Whitman had paved the way for others equally ambitious, and the embryo town called in his honor was suggestive of a semblance of awak- ening activity. Thither came John Perkins, the father of Joseph B., the latter a farmer of Yam- hill county, and born in Tippecanoe county, Ind., January 5, 1841.

John Perkins was born in Genesee county, N. Y., August 21, 1811, and married Sarah Felix, who was born in Union county, Pa., December 6, 1815. Mrs. Perkins, who is now living with her daughter, Mrs. H. F. Bedwell, was reared in Ohio, and removed to Indiana when nineteen years of age. Here she met her husband, who was a carpenter, millwright and blacksmith by trade, and with whom she crossed the plains in 1844. The first winter in the northwest Mr. Per- kins passed at Whitman station, and there ran a grist-mill for the man for whom the station was named. In March, 1845, he took up a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres, adjoining and constituting a part of that now owned by his son, Joseph B., and there remained for the bal- ance of his life. He was unusually prosperous, and admirably succeeded in controlling and utiliz- ing the opportunities by which he was sur- rounded. At the last he owned two thousand and nine hundred acres of land, all of which was divided among his nine children and wife, the latter holding a dower right on three hundred and twenty acres. He was a Democrat in politics, and was a consistent and active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Reared among strictly agricultural surround- ings, Joseph B. Perkins left home at the age of sixteen, but soon returned and worked on the paternal farm until about twenty-five. After his marriage he went into the saw-mill business in Washington for a year, and then began to farm on one hundred and forty-seven acres of land six miles north of McMinnville. This property was afterward disposed of to Clem Scott, and Mr. Perkins made his home in Gaston for six years. After living in McMinnville for a year he made his home on a farm in Klickitat county, Wash., for nine years, and on the latter property en- gaged principally in the sheep business. He also ran a steam ferry across the Colum- bia river for two years. Upon returning to

Oregon he ran a saw-mill for a year, and then had charge of an electric light plant in McMinn- ville for six months. He then settled on his pres- ent farm, which adjoins his father's estate, and of which he has disposed of all but twenty-three acres. Eleven acres of this are under hops, of which the present owner has made a great suc- cess, and the present year he had to show for his pains sixty-six bales of this marketable article. Mr. Perkins is a notable addition to the agricul- tural captains of industry of Yamhill county, and is well known socially and otherwise. He lias been a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen for over twenty-four years, and has passed through all of the chairs. In politics he is independent, but has often taken an active in- terest in supporting worthy friends. In religion he is a member and deacon of the Christian Ad- vent Church.

The family of Mr. Perkins consists of his wife, Ellen E. (Gaunt) Perkins, who was born near St. Louis, Mo., August 31, 1850, and whose father, G. D. Gaunt, crossed the plains in 1853. Of this union there have been born the following children : Mrs. Eleanor Force, wife of T. D. Force, living three and a half miles south of her father's farm; John S .; Fred F., living five miles east of the home farm; Mrs. Rose Helmer, of Portland ; Claude C., living with his parents ; and Floyd F., also living at home.

HON. CHARLES V. GALLOWAY has the distinction of being the youngest member of the state legislature of Oregon. He is one of the native sons of the golden west, and his record is a credit to the locality in which he has always made his home, for his life has been upright, hon- orable and worthy of the respect which is uni- formly accorded him. He was born January 6, 1878, in Bellevue, Yamhill county, and is a son of William Galloway, a native of Juneau, Dodge county, Wis. The paternal grandparents of our subject both lived to an advanced age, the grand- father dying at the home of his son, William, while the grandmother passed away at the home of her daughter in St. Paul, Marion county, Ore. William Galloway became a resident of Yamhill county in 1852, at which time he accompanied his parents on their emigration to the far west. No railroad then spanned the country, and the long and difficult journey was made with ox teams, crossing the plains and through the mountain passes. That was the year of the great cholera scourge, when many emigrants lied of the dread disease. The party with which the Galloways traveled was upon the road for seven months, but at length they were gladdened by the sight of the green hills and fertile fields of Oregon. The grandparents took up their abode on Salt

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creek, in Yamhill county, near the present site of Amity, securing a donation clain, whereon they lived for several years.

William Galloway remained under the parental roof until he had attained early manhood, ex- periencing the hardships and trials of pioneer life and also enjoying its pleasures and privileges. After leaving home he and his brother conducted pack trains in eastern Oregon and Idaho, thus gaining a start in the business world. As a com- panion and helpmate for life's journey he chose Miss Emma Baker, a native of Wisconsin, and they began housekeeping in Bellevue upon a farm.

William Galloway had obtained his more ad- vanced education in Willamette University and was graduated in that institution. For some time he engaged in teaching school, and left the im- press of his individuality upon the intellectual development of his community. For ten years after his marriage he and his wife resided at Bellevue and then removed to McMinnville, where he was engaged in the warehouse business for three years. On the expiration of that period he was elected to the position of county judge in 1890, and served upon the bench in a most capable manner for four years, retiring from the office as he had entered it-with the confidence and good will of the public.

After his term of office had expired he con- tinued to reside in McMinnville until 1896, when he removed to Oregon City and was appointed receiver of the United States land office, holding that position until 1902. At the present time he is practicing law there and is a capable member of the bar, having broad and comprehensive knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence, while in the preparation of his cases hie is careful and precise, and in their presentation forceful and strong. That he is one of the distinguished residents of the state is widely acknowledged. and as a leader in political circles he is well known. Three times he represented Yamhill county in the state legislature, and in 1894 he was the candidate of his party for governor of Ore- gon, but was defeated. His influence, however, is widely felt, and his patriotism and loyalty to the public good are beyond question. In his fam- ily are three children: Zilpha, Charles V., of this review, and Francis V., the eldest and young- est being at home.

C. V. Galloway having acquired his prelimi- nary education in the public schools, continued his studies in McMinnville College and in the University of Oregon. He remained at home until 1899. when he took charge of a farm of three hundred acres, of which he owns one hitin- dred and fifty acres. Here he carries on general farming and fruit-raising, and upon his farm he has seven thousand prune and apple trees. This

is one of the best fruit farms in his portion of the state, and Mr. Galloway is regarded as a leading agriculturist, whose practical and progressive methods are bringing to him good returns. The place is pleasantly located about four miles north- west of McMinnville, and is supplied with all modern equipments found upon a model farm of the twentieth century.

Socially Mr. Galloway is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and with the United Artisans, and he exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Democracy. In June, 1902, he was elected upon the Democratic ticket to represent his dis- trict in the state legislature, and is now the youngest member of that body, but his ability is not limited by his years, and his interest in the welfare of his state is deep and sincere. Such, in brief, is his life history. In whatever relation of life we find him, in the government service, in political circles, in business or in social relations he is always the same honorable and honored gentleman, whose worth well merits the high re- gard which is uniformly extended him.

FRANK WILSON SETTLEMIER. Among the representative young men of Woodburn, F. W. Settlemier stands among the leaders, both in business and social affairs. He is the son of a much respected pioneer, J. H. Settlemier, the founder of Woodburn, and grandson of George Settlemier, a pioneer of 1847, who started the first nursery in Marion county. Though young in years the subject of this review has established a reputation for his ability to carry on the business established by his father, and since his early youth has grown into the business, working with his father until January 1, 1892, at which time he succeeded to the entire business. Since as- suming control he has established a department of landscape gardening, excelled by few in the state. A native son, Mr. Settlemier was born August 18, 1873, and educated in the common schools of Marion county, after which he entered and was graduated from the Portland Business College, in 1890. As a boy, he impressed his father and others with his natural thrift and busi- ness methods; that he has more than merited this confidence is apparent to all who are familiar with the steady growth of the business, and who appreciate the value of the stock sent out from the nurseries conducted by him. This, the oldest nursery in the state of Oregon, does a large wholesale business with all points west of the Mississippi river. and as far south as Texas Mr. Settlemier takes orders for landscape gar- (lening in all parts of the northwest. Some of his work is shown in his native county, a notice- able example being the grounds of the capitol at

N. Q. Encore

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Salem, which were laid out by him. He has also found great demand for his work in the city of Portland. Aside from his occupation and busi- ness cares, he takes an active interest in the up- building of his native city, and is accounted one of its public-spirited citizens. In politics a Re- publican, he has held several local offices. He has never been an aspirant for official recognition, and the positions he has filled have been tendered him for his wortn as a citizen. He is a stock- holder and director of the Bank of Woodburn, and was elected cashier, serving for two years, 1898-99. During the Spanish-American war he served as recruiting officer, and took an active interest in the advancement of the cause. March 26, 1898, he became second lieutenant of Company H, Second Regiment, Oregon Na- tional Guard, and upon the organization of Company D, Fourth Regiment, Oregon Na- tional Guard, was elected second lieuten- ant, and December 13, 1902, was elected first lieutenant of same. He was a charter member of both Company H and Company D ; is a member of Woodburn Lodge No. 106, A. F. & A. M., of which he is secretary ; high priest of Woodburn Chapter No. 29, R. A. M. ; De Molay Command- ery of Salem No. 5; Oregon Consistory, A. A. S. R., of Portland; Al Kader Temple, Mystic Shrine, A. A. O. N. M. S., and member of B. P. O. E., Salem Lodge No. 336.

May 11, 1896, in Salem, Ore., he was united in marriage with Miss Mabel Janes, who was born in Humboldt, Cal., and a daughter of Jo- seph T. and Caroline (Geer) Janes, the latter a native of Oregon and a sister of ex-Gov. T. T. Geer. Mr. Janes came to Oregon at an early day, and is now serving as warden at the state penitentiary at Salem.

WILLIAM PORTER ELMORE. No one man wields a greater financial, social and moral influence in the city of Brownsville, Linn county, than William Porter Elmore, now in- dependent through many years of successful application in the stock business, now the pres- ident of the Bank of Brownsville, a minister in the Baptist Church, and a prominent and successful man in the Prohibition party. The advance of Mr. Elmore along the lines that have made him one of the first men of his city is due solely to his own efforts, and he has won the esteem and confidence of all with whom he has come in contact. William Porter Elmore was born in Jefferson county, Tenn., February 4, 1850, the youngest child and only son of the two children which blessed the union of his parents, Calvin, a native of the same locality in which William P. was born, and Sarah, also of Tennessee. The mother

was a daughter of Andrew Galbraith, a native of the south, who engaged in farming in Ten- nessee. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was very active in the work, being a class leader and local preacher. He died in Tennessee in 1861, over eighty years old.

His father being a farmer, William Porter Elmore was reared to that life, engaging at ten years of age in heavy work, on account of the death of his father in 1854, at thirty-four years of age. His education was received in the common schools of his native state, and Maury Academy at Dandridge, Tenn., at the age of eighteen years giving his youth and strength to the support of his mother and sister, on his mother's farm. In 1873 he became a fireman on what is now known as the Southern Rail- way, but not caring for the roving life of a trainman he returned to Dandridge after three years and entered upon a clerkship in a general merchandise establishment in that city. In the spring of 1878 this employment was given up and he came west, settling three miles west of Brownsville, Linn county, Ore., where he worked on a farm. Two years later he rented a farm two miles east of the city, and there re- mained until 1882, when he changed his loca- tion to eastern Oregon, there engaging in sheep-raising, which proved a profitable em- ployment for his energy and industry. In 1888 he returned to Brownsville and engaged in farming for two years, when he located in the city, purchasing the controlling interest in the Bank of Brownsville. He became very influ- ential in the affairs of the community. In 1894 he was elected a director of the bank, which was followed by his election as president in 1900. In addition to this interest he is also manager of the lands entrusted to the Security Savings & Trust Company.

Mr. Elmore was married in Brownsville to Mrs. Louisa (Brown) Carolin, who was born near here, the daughter of Hugh Leper Brown. The latter was a native of Tennessee, who crossed the plains in 1846 and located near the present location of Brownsville, in which he was the first merchant, and from which the town has taken its name. In addition to being a successful man in business affairs, Mr. Brown was a prominent man in politics. As a Demo- crat he served two terms in the state legisla- ture, where he ably represented the people who had honored him with their support. A great misfortune marred the enjoyment of his later days, he having been afflicted with blind- ness for ten years before his death, though his sight had been failing for twenty years. He died in January, 1888, lacking but a few days of being seventy-eight years old. Mr. Elmore

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was appointed administrator of the estate of Mr. Brown. To Mr. and Mrs. Elmore have been born two children, William Calvin, who is still at home with his parents; Libby Moyer, who is now deceased. A stepson, Matthew C. Carolin, is a farmer near Brownsville. Frater- nally, Mr. Elmore is a member of the Society of United Artisans. Politically he is a stanch adlıcrent of Prohibition principles, and has served his party in many ways. He has served two terms as mayor of the city, during the sec- ond, in 1896, making the town non-license, his greatest effort having been given to the ad- ministration of public affairs without the reve- nue derived from saloons. He was successful, and at the end of his term had $400 in the city treasury, and the town was in excellent condi- tion. He has also been a member of the city council several years, lending his intelligence and earnestness of purpose to the carrying out of all worthy movements in the best interest of the public. In 1892 he was elected to the state legislature, where he served one term, during which session he served on the engrossing committee, manufacturing committee, and the committee to visit and report on the public works of the state. He is a member of the national committee of the Prohibition party, having been a delegate to the national conven- tion. At the regular election of 1900 and at the special election in June, 1903, he was his party's candidate for member of congress, and in 1902 he was a joint candidate for senator. In religion Mr. Elmore is a Baptist, and in 1897 was ordained a minister in the Missionary Baptist Church, and is now pastor of the churches located at Holley and Providence. He is moderator of the Central Baptist Asso- ciation, also vice-president of the Baptist State Convention, and a member of the board of managers of the state convention. Much of Mr. Elmore's wealth finds its way into the channels of the church, giving constantly to the demands and needs of the religious organ- ization of which he is a member, and he has also given much toward the upbuilding and growth of the various colleges of the Willa- mette valley, making his name one to be re -. membered as that of a great factor in the march of progress in the west.

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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 81

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