Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 86

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 86

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The wife who shared the trials and troubles of their pioneer life was a bonny Scotchwoman, Margaret West, a cousin of the man whom she married. She passed away at Marquam, Clacka- mas county, Ore., and is buried at Westport. Or the six children of this union, four daughters and two sons, Mrs. Scott was the eldest. After completing her education in the common schools of Canada she was married at St. Foy, at the age of twenty years, to Robert Hall Scott, a native of the land to which her parents owed their nativity, having been born at Samiston, Scot-

land, October 22, 1826. When a young man he came to Canada, locating at Beauport, where he secured employment as miller with a man by the name of Henderson. In 1856 he and his wife followed Mr. West and his family into Oregon, locating at Westport, where he engaged with his father-in-law in building mills, their first mill put up in partnership being at Oak Point. After four years at that place he went to Westport, building a sawmill in partnership with four others, remaining here for six years, and work- ing it with a liberal profit for each of those in- terested. In 1866 Mr. Scott came to the Nolen donation claim, building both a grist and a saw- mill, which later gave the place the name of Scott's Mills. With a view to bettering his condition he came to Woodburn in 1892, building the grist mill which is still operated by his son. This mill is a three story structure, called the Woodburn Roller Mills. As the name would indicate, the roller process is used in the manu- facture of flour, two brands of which are pro- duced, the White Rose and Snowdrop, both fa- mous throughout the country. This mill uses all the home production of wheat and much of this cereal is imported. Mr. Scott lived to be seventy-one years old, passing away October II, 1897.

To Robert H. Scott and his wife were born ten children, four sons and six daughters, of whom we mention the following: Margaret, de- ceased, married Wade Thompson, and they had one son, Carl R .; her second marriage was to William Loveridge. John, living in Tygh valley eastern Oregon, engaged in milling; Lizzie, de- ceased, was married to Preston Wood; Jane was married to William Ross, now deceased, and had two children, Ralph and Nellie; her second mar- riage united her with John Adams; she con- ducts the hotel at Brownsville, Ore. Charles is written of more fully elsewhere in the volume; Lydia, unmarried, lives with her mother; Ellen is the wife of John Korb of Scott's Mills; Eva, deceased, was married to John Steelhammer, of Salem, Ore .; a sketch of Robert Hall, Jr., ap- pears elsewhere in this volume; Walter is still at home.

Through the strong personality of Mrs. Scott those about her have accomplished their objects in life really unconscious of the deep influence exercised by this quiet woman, filled with the spirit of three good nationalities, Scotch, Canad- ian and American, and cheerfully upholding their hands by the broad optimism of her own nature. Mrs. Scott has suffered a stroke of paralysis and is, in consequence, unable to give her presence at the social gatherings of the city, in which those of her name have assisted so materially in directing the business interests, and the loss is

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much regretted, though her absence does not make her any the less remembered as an honored pioneer of Woodburn.

CHRISTOPHER C. PATRICK. New York state has contributed many of her industrious sons for the agricultural upbuilding of Polk county, and among these Christopher C. Patrick occupies an honored place in the vicinity of Salem. His farm consists of two hundred acres, twenty of which have been cleared by the pres- ent owner, and one hundred of which are under cultivation. Long since past the age where in- clination or health dictated a continuance of arduous labor, Mr. Patrick is enjoying a respite from work in the field and participation in stock deals, and has handed over the management of his property to his son-in-law, Harvey Coyle. Needless to say, he is still interested in watch- ing the progress of things begun by himself in the early days, and will undoubtedly fill his days for many years to come with little happenings around the place, both helpful and interesting.

As the name implies, the Patrick family comes from Ireland, the emigrating ancestor being the paternal grandfather, who settled in New York state at a very early day, where was born his son, James, the father of Christopher. James spent his active life in farming in Cayuga county, where Christopher was born July 28, 1828. The father died in 1832, at the age of fifty, and was survived by his wife, formerly Lucy Preston, who also was born in New York, and died at the age of sixty-five years. Christopher is the young- est of the six sons and three daughters born to his parents, only two of whom are now living, the other being Elvira, the widow of Emmons Ham- lin, inventor of the Mason & Hamlin organ. He was but five years old. when his father died. Such education as his busy life in youth permit- ted was acquired in the public schools, and he continued to live on the home farm until re- moving to Michigan in 1848. Locating in Cass county, he engaged in farming and stock-raising with considerable success, his life passing un- eventfully, until the breaking out of the Civil war turned men's thoughts from peace to strife and practically incapacitated them for labor on farm or in shop. September 7, 1863, he enlisted in the Fourteenth Michigan Battery under Cap- tain Heiney, and forthwith relieved the heavy artillery at Washington, D. C., and afterward performed the same service for the Sixth Massa- chusetts Regiment of twelve hundred and fifty men. There were one hundred and sixty-five men in Captain Heiney's company, and they per- formed valiant service wherever sent. Mr. Pat- rick serving as sergeant. After being mustered out of the service July 4, 1865, Mr. Patrick re-

turned to Michigan, incapacitated for a time from the effects of a sunstroke sustained at Camp Berry. He entered again upon agricul- tural labor and from then on continued to farm until coming to Oregon in 1881. He came direct to Polk county, purchased his present farm, and has lived thereon ever since.

While in Michigan, Mr. Patrick married, July 28, 1850, Harriet Savage, who was born in Ohio, November 27, 1832, and whose father, John Savage, moved to Michigan when his daughter was a child. Twelve children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Patrick, of whom two sons and three daughters are living: Kate, wife of A. H. Coyle; William P., of Tillamook county ; Edith, wife of Joseph Bixby, of Tillamook : Albert M; and Hattie, wife of L. D. Gibson Mr. Patrick is identified with the Grand Army of the Republic, holding membership in Salem Post No. 10, and with his wife is a member of the Presbyterian Church at Zena, of which he is a trustee, and a liberal contributor toward its support. He is enterprising and successful, and has many friends among his fellow agriculturists in the neighborhood.

AUGUST R. FORD. One of the native sons of Yamhill county is August R. Ford, his birth having occurred in McMinnville, July 7, 1872. His father, Francis A. Ford, was horn in the year 1837 in Sparta, Wis., and died in the year 1877, when forty years of age. He was both a photographer and musician and had ac- quired a comprehensive knowledge of both in- strumental and vocal music. He taught in both lines in McMinnville and also engaged in farm- ing. In 1862 he made the long journey across the plains to Oregon, his wagon being drawn by oxen, and upon reaching this section of the state he pre-empted a homestead. On this tract he built a house and barn and carried on general farming and stock-raising until his land was transferred into well-developed fields, while in his pastures were seen good grades of cattle, horses and hogs. An earnest Republican in politics, he was active in behalf of the party and he received the nomination for county treasurer He served as road supervisor and in school offices, and was ever loval to the welfare and progress of his community. A prominent Mason of McMinnville, he served as master of its lodge for a number of years and was instrumental in extending its influence and inculcating its help- ful and brotherly spirit among his fellow-men. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Sarah C. Martin, was born in Yamhill county, a daughter of Nehemiah Martin, who came to Oregon in 1844. It was here in McMinnville that Mr, and Mrs. Ford were married and their

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union was blessed with three children: Lois A., who is now living in Portland; August R., of this review; and Mrs. Adele H. Lambert, of Portland.

Upon the home farm August R. Ford spent the days of his youth, his life being unmarked by any event of special importance. He ac- quired a good public school education and worked in the fields and meadows, thus gaining a prac- tical knowledge of farm life. He to-day has one hundred and seventy-five acres of rich and pro- ductive land, of which ninety acres are under a high state of cultivation and the fields of grain annually return to him golden harvests. He is likewise extensively engaged in the raising of cattle, and now has upon his place one hundred head of graded cattle.

In 1896 occurred the marriage of Mr. Ford and Miss Jessie M. Rush, a native of Illinois, and their union has been blessed with a little daughter, Ruth M. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ford are highly esteemed in the community, where they have many friends and he is a valued representative of the Ancient Order of United Workmen at McMinnville. In politics he is a stalwart Re- publican.

HENRY GEE. The history of the mercan- tile enterprises of McMinnville demands men- tion of Henry Gee, who is now engaged in deal- ing in agricultural implements and who is a self- made man, owing his prosperity and creditable business position to his energy and his deter- mination in conquering all obstacles in his path- way. During thirty-seven years he has been a resident of Oregon, having arrived in this state when only nineteen years of age. His birth occurred February 8, 1846, near what is now Moberly, Randolph county, Mo. His paternal great-grandfather, who was a native of Germany, became one of the pioneers who penetrated into the interior of Kentucky, there to establish a home, at which time his son, the grandfather of Henry, was but two years old. Amid the wild scenes of pioneer life he was reared and event- ually he was married and established a home of his own in Kentucky. His eldest son, William Gee, was with General Jackson at the battle of New Orleans in the war of 1812.

Levi Gee, the father of our subject, was born in Kentucky, whence he removed to Randolph county, Mo., where he carried on agricultural pursuits until his demise. He wedded Mary E. Grimes, a native of Virginia, and a daughter of Cummingham Grimes, who was born in the Old Dominion, afterward resided in Kentucky, and subsequently moved to Randolph county, Mo., and was killed while on his way back to visit friends in Kentucky. From the age of six years

until her death, Mrs. Gce resided in Randolph county, Mo. She was a member of the Chris- tian Church and passed away May 10, 1900, her remains being interred in Antioch cemetery. By her marriage she had become the mother of six children, of whom three are now living, but Henry is the only one now on the Pacific coast.

Mr. Gee was but nine years of age at the time of his father's death, but for a long period he continued to remain upon the home farm and assist his mother. His school privileges were extremely limited but through study in private, through reading and observation he has become a well-informed man. In his youth he was hound out to a farmer, but after two years he left his employer and secured work elsewhere as a farm hand. He continued to follow that pursuit until 1865, when he joined the company under the command of Granville Baker, which started for the Pacific coast. At Nebraska City, however, he abandoned that company and joined the wagon train of Radford Angel. Mr. Gee rode horseback to Fort Hall and afterward drove a team of four yoke of oxen for Dade Seers to Marion county, coming by way of Hams Fork cutoff. He left the Mississippi valley on the 28th of March and arrived in Marion county on the 15th of October, 1865. Indians manifest- ed much hostility and travelers were in constant danger because of this. The trip was a very hard one and was accompanied with many diffi- culties, but at length Mr. Gee arrived safely at his destination.

He was penniless, however, and the first money which he ever made in Oregon he earned at Milwaukee, where he was engaged in sawing logs for a half day, receiving but fifty cents for his work. He then began working on the farm of John Johnson in Marion county, with whom he remained for four years, when he rented a farm near Wheatland, Yamhill county, and on the 15th of September, 1869, took up his abode thereon and began the raising of grain. In 1872 he purchased a farm which he continued to cultivate until 1877. when he sold that prop- ertv and removed to a place near Belleville, Yam- hill county, where two years before he had pur- chased two hundred acres of land. At that place he continued his farming operations until 1892, when he rented his farm to which he had added until the place now comprises four hundred and cighty-six acres. At the time he leased the prop- crtv he came to McMinnville, where he em- barked in business as a dealer in monuments, continuing in that line until 1902, when he be- gan dealing in agricultural implements as a member of the firm of Gee & Houser, his partner being S. P. Houser. They engaged in the sale of various kinds of farm implements, including Plano harvesters, the South Bend plows and

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other machines, and they likewise deal in the Old Hickory wagons and Perry & DeMar bug- gies. Mr. Gee was also one of the organizers of the Oregon Fire Relief Association, which was formed January 15, 1894, and he became one of the first board of trustees. This organ- ization at first embraced only Yamhill county, but has since been extended until it takes in the whole state and there are twenty thousand mem- hers. With the exception of one year, Mr. Gee has served continuously upon the board and is now acting in that capacity.

In Marion county, Ore., occurred the mar- riage of Mr. Gec and Miss Mary J. Lebold, who was born in Illinois and came to this state with her parents in 1859, the family being established in Lafayette. There is one child by this mar- riage, Mrs. Anna M. Davis, of McMinnville.

In his political views Mr. Gee is a stalwart Democrat and has served as a member of the county committee, of which he was at one time chairman. For a number of years he has been a member of the school board and he is now serving his third term of the city council and is chairman of the fire committee. In 1902 he was a member of the charter committee, which framed the new city charter of McMinnville. He is likewise connected with the board of trade here and has been an officer in the Woodmen of the World to which he belongs. He is also a member of the Catholic Church. Since coming to Oregon Mr. Gee has attained very creditable success. Arriving here without capital he ac- cepted any employment that would yield him an honest living until he could gain a better start. His enterprise, industry and economy at length cnabled him to become a factor in agricultural circles and eventually to win a prominent place among the representatives of commercial inter- ests and his course has ever been such as to commend him to the confidence and good will of those with whom he has been associated.

PROF. H. L. BOARDMAN, who for seven years, from 1896 to 1903, filled the honor- able position of president of McMinnville College, is a man whose carcer may well be worthy of emulation, and his capa- ble fulfillment of the duties devolving upon him has won for him the esteem and regard of all with whom he has been associated. He was born June 23. 1866, in Dover, Ohio, and is a son of T. W. Boardman, who was a native of Vermont. His father, Amos Boardman, was also born in the Granite state and was an honored pioneer of that commonwealth, who followed the occu- pation of farming.

The family is of English descent and the or- iginal founders of the name in America became

early settlers of Cambridge, Mass. From there the great-grandfather of l'rofessor Boardman re- moved to Vermont, where Amos Boardman was born. His son, T. W. Boardman, was there born and reared, and on arriving at early manhood moved to Cuyahoga county, Ohio, where he be- came a prominent farmer and tradesman. In 1870 he moved to Johnson county, Kans., where he re- mained until 1874, when he moved with his fam- ily to Oregon, settling in McMinnville. Here he remained until 1886, following the wagonmak- ing trade in connection with general farming. In the year last mentioned he removed to the eastern part of Washington, settling in Colfax. He was a faithful and consistent member of the Baptist Church both in Oregon and Washington, and while living in those states the cause of Christi- anity found in him a warm supporter and friend. He was for years a member of the board of trustees of McMinnville College, and his influ- ence was ever given toward higher education. In politics he was an earnest Republican, and in him the temperance cause found a stanch sup- porter. His death occurred in the fall of 1897. His wife was Delia Ann Hanford, who was born in Dover, Ohio, a daughter of Harry Hanford. Her parents were of English descent and were early pioneers of the Buckeye state. Mrs. Boardman now makes her home with her son, Professor Boardman. By her marriage she be- came the mother of five children, but only two grew to years of maturity : Alfred E., now liv- ing in Boston, Mass., and H. L., the subject of this review.

In his youth the latter was brought by his pa- rents to Oregon and in the public schools of Mc- Minnville he received his early education, later taking a course in the preparatory department of McMinnville College. On the removal of his parents to Colfax, Wash., he attended Colfax College, from which he graduated in 1889, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, later receiving the degree of Master of Arts. In 1890 he at- tended the School of Divinity in the University of Chicago, where he remained until 1893, when he returned to Washington and in Colfax was ordained a minister in the Baptist Church. Later he was assistant to the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Tacoma, Wash. He was after- ward pastor of the church of that denomination at Eugene, Ore., until 1896, when he was elected president of McMinnville College. Under the capable management of Professor Boardman the scope and usefulness of the college has been greatly increased and extended, and he has organ- ized a conservatory of music and business col- lege as departments of the institution. The col- lege was incorporated in 1858, under the name of the Baptist College of McMinnville, and in 1807 it was re-incorporated and became the Mc-

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Minnville College. It now has a membership of over one hundred and fifty pupils. In the work of organization Professor Boardman took a lead- ing part, and to his efforts is largely due the suc- cess of the college. The excellent work of this institution is widely recognized and its patrons are among the best families of the great north- west. Professor Boardman is a member of the College Division of the State Teachers Associa- tion ; also a member of the American Historical Association, of Washington, D. C., and of the Oregon Historical Society; is pro- fessor of history and philosophy in con- nection with his college duties. He is a man of marked ability, and his understand- ing of the educational requirements of the great country in which he lives is broad and deep, so that the service which he is able to ren- der in this respect is of a lasting character, ben- eficial not only to the present, but to the future growth and development of education in Oregon and surrounding states.

In Colfax, Wash., in 1891, occurred the mar- riage of Professor Boardman and Miss Myrtle A. Jackson, a native of Kansas. She died in 1897. Of this marriage two children were born : Grace M. and Faith G. For his second wife the professor chose Miss Alice Dorris, who was born in California and is a graduate of the University of Oregon, at Eugene. This union has been graced with two children: Katharine H. and Alice Dorris. In his political affiliations the pro- fessor is independent, endorsing the men and measures best fitted in his opinion to insure the public welfare. A man possessing the highest qualities of heart and mind, Professor Boardman cannot fail to be a power for good in the com- munity in which he lives, and in which he is numbered among the most progressive and pub- lic-spirited citizens.

JOHN CRAWFORD. An Irish-American who possessed the most desirable of Celtic na- tional traits and utilized them for the perma- nent betterment of his adopted state of Oregon, was John Crawford, whose death in 1901, accen- tuated the esteem with which he had ever been regarded in the community. Mr. Crawford was born in County Fermanagh, Ireland, May 12, 1820, and in the locality of his birthplace his parents had followed farming for many years. In 1861 they came to Canada with most of their children, and there the father died. Subse- quently, in 1870, the mother removed to Cali- fornia with a portion of the family and later still came to Oregon. The mother died at the home of her son John at Pleasantdale soon after her arrival in Oregon, leaving four children : Robert, who lives in Ne-

halem; Thomas, a resident of Coos Bay ; Anna, the widow of H. Osborn and a resident of Cincinnati, Ohio; and Jane, the wife of N. Nelson, of Clackamas county.

The oldest of eight children born to his parents, John Crawford left home when quite young and went to Scotland, where he embarked on a sailing vessel bound for America. After spend- ing a few years in New York City, during which time he was variously engaged, he found his way to Kansas, where, in addition to running a farm which he had purchased, he also engaged in trading to a considerable extent. At the ex- piration of two years in Kansas he returned to New York and shipped for San Francisco via Panama. In the vicinity of Placerville, Cal., he engaged in mining for a time, but later went to Florence, Idaho, still interested in searching for gold. For several years he experienced the usual ups and downs incident to the average miner's life, but by exercising economy and bus- iness judgment managed to lay by a small store of worldly possessions. Returning to Oregon in 1865 he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Savage, a native of Salem, and thereafter went to Polk county, and near Lincoln purchased a farm upon which he made his home for about six years. He then located on French Prairie, near St. Louis, and after six years settled on the Gilmore donation claim near Hopewell, remain- ing there also for six years. For the following six years he lived on a farm on Pleasantdale Prairie, and bought the fine property now occu- pied by his widow on the Salem and Portland road. The farm is finely improved and one of the pleasantest homes in the county, representing in every detail the arduous effort of this erst- while ambitious and enterprising owner.

Mrs. Elizabeth (Savage) Crawford died in December, 1894, having become the mother of eight children, as follows: Sherman, of Hope- well; Belle, the wife of Sim McCamey ; Tillie, who resides in Salem; Frederick, of Pleasant- dale Prairie; John, deceased ; Dora, wife of Van Robinson, of Salem; Lulu, deceased ; and Will- iam, a resident of Amity. At Niagara, Canada, September 27, 1897, Mr. Crawford was united in marriage with Nancy Peer, a native of Can- ada, and one in a family of eight children, whose parents were farmers by occupation. When Mrs. Crawford was a mere child her father died, but her mother was spared until 1900. Mr. Crawford took a prominent part in many of the affairs in his neighborhood, especially in politics, which he endeavored in every way possible to clevate and keep in accord with morality and high citizenship. He was a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, toward the maintenance of which he contributed liberally at all times, and he was also active as a Sunday

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school teacher and all round worker. For many years he served in the capacities of road supervisor and member of the school board. An excellent manager and thrifty farmer, he amassed quite a large estate and was enabled to keep his family in all the comforts and many of the luxuries of life. Always a stanch be- liever in the value of a good education, he made it a point to give his children the best opportun- ities it was in his power to bestow, and by his private example guided them in the paths of cor- rect living and general uprightness.

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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 86

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