Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 85

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 85

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For a year after the war Mr. Coovert remained in Ohio, and then went to Elkhart county, Ind., where he married Miss Marguerite Fudge, a na- tive of Ohio, and thereafter lived in the same locality for about three years. In 1869, Mr. Coovert went to San Francisco, and from there came to Oregon by water, and after stopping in Portland one day, he settled upon his present farm in Yamhill county. When he purchased the farm there were about twelve acres cleared, but he now has one hundred and fifteen acres cleared, and has made many valuable improvements in other ways. November 2, 1873, Mrs. Marguerite Coovert dicd, leaving three children, of whom Letha E. is the wife of M. M. Banister, of Van- couver, Wash .; W. A. lives in Centralia, Wash .; and Asher resides in Salem, Ore. For his second wife Mr. Coovert married Hannah E. Sargent, a native of Iowa. Mr. Coovert is engaged in general farming and stock-raising, a mixed breed of Jerseys being his principal brand. He takes an active interest in all matters pertaining to the general upbuilding of his neighborhood, and is especially prominent in fraternal circles, being past master of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, in which he has passed all of the chairs. He is also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. In politics he is a Republican, and in religion is identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church.

A.A. Leaward

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ABEL A. LEONARD, M. D., whose resi- dence in Oregon covers a period from 1852 down to the present time, was born in Kingston, Cald- well county, Mo., March 16, 1852. He was, therefore, but an infant when brought to the northwest. His father, Leicester Upham Leon- ard, was born in Pennsylvania, March 23, 1809, and was a son of Abel Leonard, whose birth occurred at West Springfield, Mass.

Abel Leonard, Sr., was a son of Austin Leon- ard, a native of Massachusetts, and of either English or Scotch descent. Abel Leonard mar- ried Abi Leonard in Massachusetts, and after- ward removed to Pennsylvania, locating in Springfield township, Bradford county, in 1804. He was a tanner by trade, and was engaged in business for many years at Leonard's Hollow, which is now Leona, Bradford county, Pa. In 1829 he removed to Ohio, and with his son Leicester U. engaged in shoemaking. He died at Richmond Center, that state, when about seventy-seven years of age. In 1828 Leicester U. Leonard had removed to Ohio and located near Richmond Center, where he followed shoe- making and was later joined by his father. At the age of twenty-six years he was married in Richmond Center to Miss Cynthia (Lapham) Blanchard, who died in Oregon. About 1839 they removed from Ohio to Missouri, settling in Kingston, Caldwell county, where the father studied medicine.

In 1852 he brought his family to Oregon, settling about four miles south of Silverton, where he secured a donation claim of three hundred and twenty acres. After three years he sold this and bought another farm southwest of the town. In 1856, in partnership with Ralph C. Geer, he engaged in the nursery business in the Waldo hills, following that pursuit for two years, after which he turned his attention to farming and also engaged in shoemaking. He was at one time the owner of an orchard which was rated as the most splendidly cultivated in the valley. Mr. Leonard took great pride in its care, and its output was awarded prizes at the state fairs. It contained six acres planted to all kinds of fruits of the best qualities. Mr. Leonard died in the Waldo hills March 20, 1869, respected by all who knew him. His wife was a native of New York and a daughter of John Blanchard, who removed from the Empire state to Ohio, where he carried on farming. Later he took up his abode seventeen miles from Detroit, Mich., at a little town called Farmington, and there he died when about eighty years of age. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Leonard were born three sons and a daughter: Volney, who follows farming and re- sides at Silverton at the age of sixty-six years ; Ellen Sylvania, who is the wife of Calvin Geer,

a ranchinan of Burns, Ore .; Abel A. ; and Horace Wade, who is a stenographer in Portland, Ore.

Dr. Abel A. Leonard obtained his early edu- cation in the public schools of the Waldo hills and afterward continued his studies in Silverton until he had prepared for entrance in the Willam- ette University in the fall of 1872. He spent six months as a student there at that time and afterward returned to the same school in 1876. Not long afterward he went to Utah, and for six months was a student in the University of Deseret at Salt Lake City. Between the years 1871 and 1876 Dr. Leonard was successfully en- gaged in teaching school in Marion county in order to secure the means necessary for the ac- quirement of further education. He also worked upon a farm during a part of the time. In 1877 he was employed as teacher of a school near Salt Lake City, where he remained until the spring of 1878, and then went to Montana. Dur- ing the winter of 1878-9 he was principal of the public schools of Virginia City, Mont., and in the latter year he returned to Salt Lake City, Utalı, where he was again engaged in teaching. In the spring of 1880 he was appointed to the position of census enumerator of Salt Lake City, and in the summer of that year he was appointed special enumerator for the manufacturing indus- tries of that place. In the winter of 1881 he en- tered a wholesale and retail hardware and grocery house owned by the firm of Kimball & Lawrence at Salt Lake City, in the capacity of clerk and bookkeeper, filling this position until 1883, when the firm sold out. Dr. Leonard was afterward connected with different business interests and on February 1, 1884, as corresponding clerk in the central office, he entered the employ of the Singer Manufacturing Company, with which he re- mained for five years. In 1889 he was promoted to the position of chief clerk and acted in that capacity for a year and a half, when he resigned in the fall of 1890.

Dr. Leonard then went to St. Louis, Mo., and entered the St. Louis Hygienic College of Physi- cians and Surgeons, in which he completed a full course of study and was then graduated in the spring of 1893. He next took post-graduate work in Chicago in the summer of 1893, and then went to Salt Lake City, Utah, where he was en- gaged in practice for a year. In 1894 he was placed in charge of the Brewster Sanitarium at Oneonta, Cal. In the fall of 1896 he removed to Oregon, establishing his home at Huntington, where he became railroad surgeon for the Oregon Railroad & Navigation and the Oregon Short Line Railroad Companies. He also conducted a general practice there until the fall of 1897, when he removed to Silverton, where he has since re- mained. In the intervening years he has built up a splendid practice, receiving patronage from

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

a large number of the best homes of the city. In 1899 the doctor built a fine residence on Main street and he also has a splendidly equipped office.

On the 11th of May, 1881, Dr. Leonard was married in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Miss Nellie M. Van Dam, who was born in Holland, a daugh- ter of Cornelius and Catherine Van Dam, also natives of the same country. Cornelius Van Dam died while en route to Salt Lake City in 1864. Unto the doctor and his wife have been born two children, Lyman Austin, who was born March 22, 1882, and is now a sophomore in the Oregon State Agricultural College at Corvallis; and Leicester Thurston. who was born March 9, 1889, and died on the 21st of June of that year.

Dr. Leonard is connected with the lodge, en- campment and Rebekah degree of the Odd Fel- lows, the Woodmen of the World, the Fraternal Circle and the United Artisans. In his political views he is a Republican but is very liberal on such questions. His religious belief is indicated by a creed of his own framing: "So live today that tomorrow will bring no regrets." That he exemplifies this creed in his life is well known to all who are acquainted with him. There is no resident of Silverton more worthy of the regard of his fellow-men than Dr. Leonard. He de- serves great credit for what he has accomplished. Beginning life in a very humble capacity he re- solved to work his way upward, and directed his efforts into the channels calling for strong in- tellectuality and marked business ability. Stead- ily he has advanced and today he occupies an honored and prominent position among his fel- low-men.

JAMES R. DERBY. The lamented death of James R. Derby on his well-improved farm, one mile west of McMinnville, January 10, 1902, re- called to his many friends and associates the very creditable career of this prominent upbuilder of Yamhill county. Mr. Derby was one of the many sons of New York who have found their way to the extreme west, bringing with them the stable traits of the more conservative east, and applying them with satisfactory results to the unsettled conditions which characterized their new home. He was born in New York August 26, 1826, his parents, grand-parents, and more remote fore- fathers having been engaged in farming during their entire active lives.

There were eleven children in the family of Mr. Derby, and in 1831 the parents and children removed to Michigan, where the children worked hard on the paternal farm, and where they irregu- larly attended the early subscription school in their neighborhood. His services no longer re- quired on the home farm, J. R. Derby started out to make an independent living, and for about two

years gained a good deal of practical experience among the timber lands in the northern part of the state of Michigan. After his marriage, in 1851, to Lucy A. Olds, a native of St. Joseph county, Mich., he lived for about six months in Hillsdale, Mich., and during that time formulated plans for emigration to the west in the spring. This move meant a great deal to the aspiring young man, yet his wife was hopeful as himself, and together they settled their affairs and planned to leave all they held dear behind them. With a wagon and two yoke of oxen they joined a train under command of James H. Olds, who safely conducted the pioneers to Oregon, the journey taking the greater part of eight months. At once Mr. Derby came to Yamhill county and took up a donation claim, six miles north of Lafayette, where he lived for five years, and thereafter en- gaged in the grocery business in Lafayette for about two years. The next home, and the one upon which this honored pioneer passed nine years, was advantageously located on Deer creek, and from there, in 1869, he removed to the farm now occupied by his widow and son. Of the two hundred and forty-nine acres in this farm, the entire amount is under cultivation, and the amount of work entailed in this operation ap- peals to all who have taken up timber land in Oregon. Mr. Derby was a practical and success- ful farmer, in connection with which work he associated many outside interests, and many ef- forts to secure a stable and progressive state of affairs in the county. His political preference lay with the Republican party, and he always took an active interest in local political undertakings. Al- though not an office seeker, he held many posi- tions of trust and responsibility in the commu- nity, among them being that of school trustee and clerk, road supervisor, and councilman. Of the five children born to himself and wife, Eliza J. is the wife of Joseph Garrison, of Idaho; Jerome is engaged in the feed business in McMinnville ; William is engaged in business in Gresham ; Mary is the wife of Jesse High, of McMinnville, and James D. is living with his mother. Mrs. Derby has proved herself an excellent manager since the death of her husband, and with her son maintains the progressive policy adopted and always in- sisted on hy her estimable husband.

A. C. CHANDLER, of McMinnville, has been prominent in . the establishment and control of one of the leading enterprises of Oregon, the Oregon Fire Relief Asso- ciation. of which he is now the secretary. He was born in Clackamas county, this state, July 26, 1856, and comes of an old New England family. His paternal grandfather was born, lived and died in Vermont. His father, the Rev. George

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

C. Chandler, was a native of Chester, Vt., and pursued his education in Rochester College, of Rochester, N. Y., in which he was graduated. In the Green Mountain state he was ordained to the ministry of the Baptist Church, and at an early day in the development of Indiana he went to that state, where for several years he served as president of Franklin College. The rapidly developing west with its opportunities for min- isterial labor, however, attracted him and in 1852 he came to Oregon accompanied by his wife and three children. They made the long journey across the plains with an ox team, traveling with a train, and on reaching their destination Rev. Mr. Chandler secured a donation land claim on Mill creek, fourteen miles east of Oregon City. Not only did he give his attention to the develop- ment of his farm, but to some extent he engaged in teaching in Oregon City, and in 1858 he came to Yamhill county and aided in the organization and became the first president of McMinnville College, which was formed under the auspices of the Baptist denomination. In 1860 he returned to Clackamas county, but in 1862 he again came to McMinnville as president of the college, and acted in that capacity for four or five years, when he resigned. He was a pioneer minister of Ore- gon and labored most earnestly, zealously and effectively for the spread of the gospel. He took a most active part in organizing the Baptist Church here, and remained a resident of McMinn- ville until 1873. In that year he accepted.a call to the pastorate of the Baptist Church in Forest Grove, where he died in 1883. His wife, Persis W. Heald, was born in Chester, Vt., and still surviving her husband, is now living in Forest Grove. In the family were six children: Ed- ward K., who is a graduate of the Madison Uni- versity of New York, and is now professor in the theological department in Ottawa College, in Ottawa, Kan .; Julia C., who is the wife of Judge W. Lair Hill, a distinguished jurist of Berkeley, Cal., and the author of Hill's Code; Mrs. Sarah Roberts, of Forest Grove; Mrs. Mary Clark, of Berkeley, Cal .; A. C., of this review, and William B., who died in Forest Grove in 1887.

Throughout the greater part of his life A. C. Chandler has resided in McMinnville, and after attending the public schools for a time he con- tinued his education in McMinnville College. He then engaged in farming for ten or twelve years, followed by several years' service as a bookkeeper in the.employ of different firms in McMinnville. In 1896 he accepted the position with the Oregon Fire Relief Association, and in 1900 was elected its secretary. This was established as a county mutual fire association, but a year or two later was extended to cover four adjoining counties. A year thus passed and it was increased to take in the Willamette valley, and when another year

had gone by the scope of the enterprise was ex- tended until it embraced the entire state. The growth of the business has been almost phenom- enal, the company having entered upon an era of continued progress. Now there are twenty thousand members representing every county in the state and over $13,000,000 of insurance is now theirs, this being more than one-eighth of the entire fire insurance carried in the state. This is all the more remarkable when it is known the company takes no mercantile risks. There is a branch office at No. 719 Marquam Building, in Portland, but all policies are issued from the main office at McMinnville. This is strictly a mutual association and the average cost is less than forty per cent of the regular stock insurance companies' rates. The business has been most capably and successfully managed and the loss ratio is only about twenty-five per cent of the regular stock companies.

Mr. Chandler chose as a companion and help- mate for life's journey Miss Mollie Lynch, who was born in Yamhill county, a daughter of one of the pioneers of the county. They have one child, George C. Mr. Chandler holds mem- bership with the Woodmen of the World and is a Prohibitionist in his political views, and at different times has served as a nominee of the party for county offices. He belongs to the Baptist Church, in which he is acting on the board of trustees, and for fifteen years he has been one of its deacons. He has also been a member of the board of trustees and secretary of McMinnville College since 1886, and in 1898 he was active in the re-incorporation of the col- lege. Although his life is a busy one, largely taken up by the onerous duties of his business, he yet finds time and opportunity to aid in the moral development of the county and is a very influential and honored man.

MERRITT MILLER. As one of the enter- prising farmers of Yamhill county Merritt Miller is entitled to mention among the reliable and progressive members of a thrifty community. He was born in Bureau county, Ill., March 25, 1849, and on the paternal side is of Revolutionary an- cestry, his grandfather, a millwright and farmer by occupation, having served with courage and distinction under the banner of the immortal Washington.

In Virginia, where he was born January 25, 1800, George Miller, the father of Merritt, was reared on a farm and in time married and reared four children. With his wife he removed to In- diana, where his first wife died, and where he married Tobatha Curren, a native of the Hoosier state. From 1845 to 1854 the family fortunes were located in Illinois, and from then until 1862

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in the state of Iowa. Desiring to improve his prospects Mr. Miller outfitted and prepared to cross the plains to Oregon, the means of locomo- tion being wagons, ox and horse teams, and the journey consumed the greater part of the usual six months. The party experienced practically no trouble with the Indians, a happy state of affairs due to the more settled condition of the plains. Arriving at The Dalles Mr. Miller took a boat to Portland, and from there moved direct to the farm south of Dayton, which remained his home for three years. He then purchased the place of one hundred and sixty acres now owned and occupied by his son, Merritt, where he carried on general farming, and where he lived to be over eighty years of age. His wife, who died at the age of sixty-nine, was the mother of five children: Calvin, deceased; Jefferson, a farmer of Polk county, Ore .; Jane, the widow of M. Morrison, of Engene, Ore .; Etta, the wife of D. M. Hewitt, of Polk county ; and Merritt.

After an uneventful childhood on his father's farm, in which he combined farming and attend- ance at the district schools, Merritt Miller mar- ried Julia Peery, who was born in Missouri, and forthwith assumed the management of the home property. He is engaged in general farming and stock-raising, and many graded Jerseys browse on his meadows. Mr. Miller has taken an active interest in general affairs in his neighborhood, especially in education, having been a member of

the school board for over twenty years. Inde- pendent in politics, he has zealously labored for the betterment of politics in general, and has served as supervisor of roads for one term. The wife of Mr. Miller, who died in 1895, was the mother of five children, enumerated as follows: Lena, wife of L. Hewitt, of this vicinity ; Ethel, deceased; Pearl, the wife of Fred Kirk- wood, of Yamhill county; Grace, the wife of Ray Nash, of San Francisco; and Elva, living at home and attending school. Mr. Miller is a mem- ber of the Evangelical Church, and contributes generously toward its maintenance. He bears an excellent reputation in the community of Yam- hill county, and has many friends among appre- ciators of sterling worth and unquestioned in- tegrity.

FRANCIS M. YORK. Near LeRoy, Mc- Lean county, Ill., July 18, 1855, occurred the birth of Francis M. York, who carries on gen- oral farming and dairying in Yamhill county, near Carlton. Ile comes of a family of English descent that was established in an early day in Tennessee, where his grandfather, Pleasant York, was born. James M. York, the father, first opened his eyes to the light of day near Knoxville, Tenn., April 17, 1829, and was trained

to farm work, which he followed throughout his business career. He wedded Sarah Ingle, who was born in Tennessee in 1831, a daughter of Robert Ingle, also a native of that state. At the time of the Mexican war James M. York entered the service as a private and fought for his coun- try's interest in 1847 and 1848. He then re- turned to Tennessee, and the following year, 1849, removed to Illinois. He was married in that state, the Ingle family having previously emigrated from Tennessee to Illinois, Mrs. York owning a farm, and at the time of their marriage the father of our subject settled upon that prop- erty and carried on general agricultural pursuits for many years. In 1891 he disposed of his farming interests in the Prairie state and re- moved to Kansas, locating near Mount Hope, in Sedgwick county, where he purchased a tract of land and there engaged in general farming until his death, June 13, 1896. His wife passed away in 1877, and of their thirteen children, eleven sons and two daughters, ten are yet living, Fran- cis M. being the third in order of birth. After the death of his first wife Mr. York was again married in Illinois, his second union being with Mrs, Julia Doyle, by whom he had one son, Clyde Fisher York. His second wife died about 1800 and in 1893 Mr. York was again married. His third wife still survives him and is now liv- ing in Wichita, Kans.

When twenty-one years of age Francis M. York started out to make his own living. He determined to seek a home in Oregon and trav- eled by way of San Francisco to Portland, whence he journeyed onward to North Yamhill. He had acquired a good education in his native state, his early school privileges being supplemented by two years' study in the Wesleyan University at Bloomington, Ill. He then engaged in teach- ing for twelve years, following this profession throughout the entire period in Yamhill county, and for seven years he was a popular, capable and successful teacher in District No. 17. In connection with his educational work he also carried on farming east of North Yamhill, where he owned eighty acres of land. Eventually, how- ever, he sold that property and came to McMinn- ville in order to enter upon the duties of the office of county assessor, to which position he had been elected in 1888, serving therein until 189.4. In 1895 he purchased a farm a quarter of a mile south of Carlton, in Yamhill county, I:ere having two hundred acres of good land, of which one hundred and seventy acres are under cultivation. In addition to general farming he carries on stock-raising and the dairy busi- ness, keeping ten cows for the last named pur- pose, and in the departments of his business ac- tivity he is meeting with excellent success.

In 1882 occurred the marriage of Mr. York

R. H. Scott

ann Scott

JOHN WEST.

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and Miss Martha Rowland, who was born in Yamhill county, a daughter of Green L. Rowland, one of the pioneer settlers who located three miles northeast of Carlton. Five children have been born of this union: Dottie, Lloyd, James M., Francis M., Jr., and Nina O., all at home.

Mr. York exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Repub- lican party and has served as county assessor, as school director and as school clerk for a num- ber of years. He holds membership relations with the Woodmen of the World at McMinn- ville, where he is a past master, and belongs to the Christian Church. In all of his business deal- ings he is upright and straightforward and to his honest work and his industry he owes his prosperity.

MRS. ANN SCOTT. Among the honored pioneers of Oregon are women, too, to be num- bered, women who have not faltered when duty called them to follow their loved ones into the far west, away from friends and old associations, into the dangers and perils of the unsettled wil- derness, there to do and live for the sake of the coming generations. Their name is legion, but too often their courage and sacrifices are passed over to give room to the men whose hands were upheld by some woman's goodness. In the little city of Woodburn, Marion county, Ore., there lives one of these women with many about her to revere and honor her for the good works she has clone in her pioneer home. Born near Quebec, Canada, May 22, 1835, she is the daughter of a Scotch emigrant, John West, a millwright, who settled at St. Thomas, where he continued to work at his trade. In 1848 he emigrated to California, coming from there to Oregon and settling in Astoria, where he remained for eight years, at which time he brought his family to share what had been his solitude. In the eight years he had built many mills in Oregon, the last being at Westport. Mr. West enjoyed the distinction of being the pioneer millwright of Oregon, and lived to enjoy his pleasant western home until his death, December 27, 1888.

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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 85

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