Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 88

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 88

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Directly after his marriage, in 1871, to Rachel · Kimsey, a native of the state and a daughter of Alvis Kimsey, represented elsewhere in this work, Mr. Peery went to housekeeping on the farm which is still his home. He has a pleasant rural residence, fine barns and out-buildings, and his land is under a high state of cultivation, about one hundred and sixty acres being used for gen- eral crops. Shorthorn cattle, Cotswold sheep and Poland-China hogs are raised in large num- bers, and contribute a neat yearly income to the owner. Mr. Peery is a Democrat in national politics, and he has served officially as a member of the school board and as road supervisor. Fra- ternally, he is associated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in religion is a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mrs. Rachel Peery died February 16, 1900, having be- come the mother of three children: Nellie be- came the wife of Prestoen Lung, of Polk county ; Anna is deceased, and Maud became the wife of Martin Rhodes, of Seattle. October 1, 1901, Mr. Peery married Hattie Dorsey, the daughter of George Dorsey, of Yamhill county, and one daughter, Mildred, has blessed this union.

ROBERT N. MAGNESS. A native son of Oregon who is reflecting credit upon early teach- ings and the community in which he lives, is Robert N. Magness, owner of one hundred and ninety-two acres of land upon which he is en-

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gaged in farming and stock and hop raising. During the last year he had twenty thousand pounds of hops, gathered from twelve acres of land. Born near Springfield, Lane county, Ore., December 15, 1855, Mr. Magness is a son of John R. and Virginia (Byrd) Magness, natives of Independence county, Ark., and the former of whom is mentioned at length in the sketch of A. P. Magness, brother of R. N.

Mr. Magness received a public school educa- tion and was reared without motherly care, for this best friend of any boy died when he was only three years of age. In 1868 he went to the mines with his father and brother, spending the greatest part of his time in Canyon City, Ore. While the older men prospected and mined he worked as a clerk in a grocery store, and also herded sheep, and in this wild and practicably untamable region gained considerable business and general knowledge. Returning to Marion county in 1871, he continued to make that his home until 1876, when he came to Yamhill county and worked on a farm by the month. He also became interested in logging and a gen- eral lumber business, and in 1885 determined to settle down and become permanently identi- fied with Yamhill county. After his marriage with Ollie Barndrick, a native of McMinnville, and of Holland descent, Mr. Magness lived for five years on a farm near Wheatland, and then bought the farm upon which he has since ex- pended so much well-directed effort. The im- provements are entirely of his own making, and include one of the pleasantest and most modern residences in this part of the county. Mr. Mag- ness also has fine barns, implements and out- houses, and is well equipped for what he intends shall be an extensive and practical farming enter- prise.

In political affiliations Mr. Magness is inde- pendent, and has never evinced a desire to reap political honors. Fraternally he is a member of the Knights of the Maccabees, and a welcome visitor in the lodge at Amity. His wife, who is a member of the Evangelical Church, is the mother of eight children, in order of birth being as follows: Mabel, who is attending school at Salem; Carrie, Josie, Bertha, John, Nettie, Vir- ginia and Adeline, all of whom are at home with their parents.

SAMUEL R. BAXTER. One of the prom- inent and influential machinists and blacksmiths of Yamhill county is Samuel R. Baxter, owner and manager of an enterprising business in Dav- ton, and also extensively identified with Repub- lican political affairs. Mr. Baxter was born in Jefferson county, Ind., March 31, 1830, his father, James, having been born in Montgomery

county, Ohio, where Dayton now stands, April 5, 1810, and died in Dayton, Ore., February 27, 1903. The paternal grandfather, James, was born in Ireland, and emigrated to America in time to participate in the Revolutionary war, some of his brothers also taking part in the same momentous struggle for independence. James Baxter married Martha M. Stott, affectionately called by her friends Patsy, a name which clung to her up to the time of hier death on the home place in 1892, at the age of eighty-one years. She was born near Frankfort, Ky., and was the daughter of a farmer who emigrated to Indiana from Kentucky, and there married and died. Mrs. Baxter was the mother of nine children, four sons and five daughters, Samuel R. being the oldest of those living. Of the other children, Rebecca Long lives in Iowa ; Mrs. Sarah Perkins lives in Indiana; Mrs. Nancy Jones lives in Day- ton, Ore .; and Raleigh is a farmer of Indiana.

Samuel R. Baxter received his preliminary education in Jefferson county, Ind., and in 1851 crossed the plains with his brother, William, there being twenty wagons in the train, under command of Captain Bob Hariford. At the ex- piration of six months the party landed in Ore- gon City, September Io, and from there Mr. Baxter went into Columbia county and located near St. Helens, there becoming identified with the firm of Crosby & Smith, builders of saw mills. He was well qualified for this work, hav- ing in his younger days learned the blacksmith's trade in Indiana, and for a year took an active interest in the erection of saw mills for the com- pany. Following this employment he took up a donation claim of one hundred and sixty acres near Troutdale, and at one time engaged in blacksmith work on the corner of Second and Morrison streets, Portland. Here he was obliged to cut down fir trees in order to erect his shop, but the effort was worth while, for during his three years' stay in the then small town of Port- land he managed to work up quite a paying trade. In 1858 he engaged in blacksmithing in Dayton, Ore., and has since been an integral part of this town's steady growth. At present lie has a machine shop in connection, and at all times of the year he has about all the work that he can turn out.

In 1860 Mr. Baxter was united in marriage with Nancy Comegys, of Polk county, Ore., and a native of St. Charles county, Mo. Mrs. Bax- ter, who died in 1888, at the age of fifty-six years, was the mother of two daughters, Mrs. Delia Converse, of Eugene, Ore., and Edna, who is living at home. As a Republican Mr. Baxter has taken an active interest in his adopted town, and in fact with the various locations in which he has lived since his voting days. His first active service was inaugurated in Yamhill county

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during 1878-79-80, when he was serving as a commissioner of Yamhill. For many years he has been a member of the school board, and has also been mayor of Dayton on two occasions. For twenty-five years he has been justice of the peace of Dayton. Mr. Baxter is popular and well known fraternally, being a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows for thirty years. He has passed through all of the chairs of the order, and has been a member of the Grand Lodge. In 1880 the Baxter family was aug- mented by the parents of Mr. Baxter, who came from their home in the middle west. This con- genial and very hospitable household was sad- dened by the death of the senior Mr. Baxter Feb- ruary 27, 1903. Mr. Baxter is a man whose word receives the same consideration as would his bond, and who exemplifies in his personality and life a high order of western citizenship.

JUDGE L. FLINN. The cautious, thought- ful and conservative elements so well known in New England towns, but which is less widely diffused west of the Mississippi, have been ad- vantageously utilized in the upbuilding of Al- bany by Judge L. Flinn, judge of Linn county from 1880 until 1884, and for many years a prom- inent legal practitioner, banker, and general man of affairs. Born in Ireland in 1837, and arriving in America with his parents while yet a boy, Judge Flinn was reared on a farm in Sudbury, Rutland county, Vt., and was educated in the public schools and Middlebury College. As was the custom in those days, the colleges gave long vacations during the winter season to enable the students to engage in teaching, and Mr. Flinn availed himself of this opportunity. Soon after his graduation in 1863, he removed to Elizabeth- town, N. Y., and studied law in the office of Rob- ert S. Hale. In the meantime having determined to spend his future among surroundings offering greater opportunities, he started west via Pana- ma and arrived in San Francisco in November, 1864, He continued his journey northward and spent the first winter in Linn county, and the fol- lowing summer taught school in Polk county. In 1865 he removed to Albany and began teaching a small school held in one room, but which grew in attendance until in 1868 it required three rooms. His school duties had been combined with further professional researches, and in 1865 he was admitted to practice at the bar at Salem, in 1868 forming a partnership with J. C. Powell. At the end of ten years he severed his connection with Mr. Powell and practiced alone for a year. Ile then entered into partnership with George FF. Chamberlain, under the firm name of Flinn & Chamberlain. This association continued until 1888, when in connection with Mr. Chamberlain

and S. E. Young he purchased of John Conner the First National Bank, Mr. Flinn becoming president, Mr. Chamberlain cashier, and Mr. Young vice president. The bank's charter ex- pired, and was renewed April 2, 1903, but in the meantime it has known a remarkably successful era, having increased the capital stock from $50,- 000 to $80,000, and erected in 1889 the present building, with a frontage of sixty-six feet. It weathered the financial panic of 1893, when so many similar institutions throughout the country were wrecked. Among other interests which have profited by the sagacious counsel and prac- tical co-operation of Judge Flinn may be men- tioned the Albany Woolen Mills Company, the Albany Water Company, in which he is a stock- holder and of which company he was formerly treasurer, and the Albany College, of which he was a member of the board of trustees for many years. Besides the judgeship, to which he was elected by his Republican constituents, he has served as mayor of Albany for one term, and has been a member of the school board for several years.

Judge Flinn married in Salem, Cynthia S. Church, who was born in Pennsylvania, and is a sister of Stephen and C. P. Church, of Salem. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Flinn, of whom Stephen, the only son, died in his junior year at Princeton College; Anna W .. a graduate of Albany College and the Leland Stanford University, is living at home ; Orpha J., also a graduate of Albany College and Leland Stanford University, is now the wife of A. C. Schmett of Corvallis, Ore .; and Ruth, a grad- uate of the Albany College, is living at home.

W. W. NICKELL. The various occupa- tions which have filled the busy life of W. W. Nickell, in all of which he has achieved com- mendable success, entitle him to the consideration which he at present receives from the agricultural and business community of Yamhill county. He became an occupant of his present farm in 1891. and his location, eight and a half miles south of McMinnville, and four and a half miles west of Amity, is most advantageous from many stand- points, being among the most productive soil in the county. The place is known as the old Robert Henderson donation claim, and Mr. Nickell is engaged in general farming and stock-raising, being an extensive raiser of Cotswold sheep and Shorthorns. He is also interested in a threshing machine, and his farm is fitted with machinery for public feed chopping.

A native of llenry county, Iowa, Mr. Nickell was born June 27. 1859. a son of James Mel). and Elizabeth ( MeClure) Nickell, natives of Jackson county, Ohio, and born, respectively. De-

Mande In Scott Post Scorp

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cember 27. 1822, and April 18, 1818. They were married in Ohio, September 21, 1843, and re- moved to Iowa about 1844, there taking up crude land which they improved, and which continued to be their home for the remainder of their lives. The father lived to be forty-two years old, and the mother sixty-two. There were but three chil- dren in the family, of whom Mary J. and Ben- jamin F. are deceased.

As opportunity offered W. W. Nickell at- tended the public schools of Wayland, although his education was curtailed at the age of fourteen, when he applied himself to learning the mill- wright's trade. Thereafter he worked at his trade for many years, and, being frugal and thrifty, managed to save quite a little money. October 1, 1879, he married, at Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Mary L. Martin, a native of Iowa, with whom he continued to live in Iowa for a couple of years. His next place of residence was Win- field, Iowa, where he engaged in the mercantile business for three years, and afterward followed his trade for a couple of years. In 1885, Mr. Nickell came to Oregon and settled for a couple of years in McMinnville, and, as heretofore stated, located on his present farm in 1891. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Nickell, Martin McD., Wellman D., Blanche M., Ina E. and Franklin D. Mr. Nickell is a Republican in political affiliation, and is at present serving as clerk of the school board. Fraternally, he is as- sociated with the Woodmen of the World and the Ancient Order of United Workmen, in which latter organization he has taken the degree of honor. In his adopted state, Mr. Nickell has a firmly established reputation for integrity, can- tion, sterling business methods and progressive- ness as an agriculturist.

ROBERT HALL SCOTT, manager of the Woodburn Roller Mills, is one of the men who have been closely identified with the best in- terests of the Willamette valley for a long period, and occupies a prominent place among the pro- gressive enterprising men who are certain mate- rially to impress their worth upon any commun- ity. Heredity and early environment had much to do with fashioning the career of Mr. Scott, and so closely has he always been allied with the milling industry that any other occupation would now be foreign to him.

Mr. Scott was born January 5. 1875, in the center of a thriving industry at Scott's Mills, Marion county. Ore., a beautiful hamlet founded by his father, and comes of sturdy Scotch ances- try. His father, Robert H. Scott, Sr., was born in Samiston, Roxburyshire, Scotland, October 22, 1826, and was reared and educated in his native land. At an early age he learned the

miller's trade. In 1849 he emigrated to Canada where he engaged in milling with considerable' success until 1856, and in that year came to Ore- gon, locating in Westport, where he engaged in the operation of a sawmill until 1866. He then es- tablished the mills at the point which has since been inseparably associated with his name, and where, from 1866 to 1892, he bent all his ener- gies to building up a community of interests which he might leave as a heritage to his chil- dren. He established an exceptional reputation for good fellowship and business integrity, and accomplished more toward developing the re- sources of that locality and fostering its various important enterprises than any other individual who ever participated in the erection of the great industrial and commercial fabric of the Pacific northwest. In the latter part of the year 1892 he removed to Woodburn and erected the Wood- burn Roller Mills, which are devoted to the man- ufacture of a high grade of flour; and in con- nection with this industry built a large ware- house. To this mill and its operation Mr. Scott gave the same careful attention which he had bestowed upon his previous undertakings, and his work in this direction proved to be one of the most important features in the industrial life of Marion county. He lived to be seventy-one years, eleven months and twenty days of age, and is recalled as one of the best business men of the county, and as the possessor of sterling personal characteristics. April II, 1855, he was united in marriage with Ann West, who was born near Quebec, Canada, May 22, 1835, and whose father. John West, was a native of Scot- land. John West came to America in early life, and after an extended and successful business career in the Dominion located at Westport, Ore., of which he was the founder, and which bears his name. He built a canning establishment, and was among the first to can fish in Oregon, and was the inventor of useful appliances used in this connection. He died in Westport in 1888, at the age of eighty-six years.

Immediately after the completion of his course in the public schools, Robert H. Scott, Jr., at- tended the Portland Business College in Port- land, and thus, equipped with his milling ex- perience dating from the early years of his life, was prepared for any emergency which the fu- ture might present. He succeeded to the man- agement of the mill now owned by his mother and brother, and which is equipped with modern machinery. It has three stories and a basement, and the roller process is used. The principal brands produced are White Rose and Snowdrop, both of which have an extensive sale throughout the northwest and are shipped in large quantities to foreign markets. The mills consume nearly all the wheat produced in their vicinity, and the

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management also imports from other sections large quantities of this cercal.

June 1, 1898, Mr. Scott was married, in Eu- gene, Ore., to Maud M. Bonney, a native of Monmouth, Ore., and a daughter of Charles Reu- ben Bonney. The latter is also a native of Ore- gon, and at the present time is engaged in the harness trade at Portland, Ore. Mr. Scott is a member of several fraternal and social or- ganizations in Woodburn, but the one to which he devotes the most of his attention is Wood- burn Lodge No. 102, I. O. O. F. In politics he is a Democrat, and has served as city treasurer of Woodburn for one term. He is one of the careful, progressive and honored younger citi- zens of Marion county, and unquestionably will continue to exert a wide influence in business and social circles. With the traditions of his family to encourage and inspire him, a success- ful future seems doubly assured. Mr. Scott and his wife have one daughter, Rowena, born May· 21, 1903.

EDMUND WOOD. A worthy representative of a pioneer family of Yamhill county is Edmund Wood, born back in the hills of Tennessee, in Campbell county, January 1, 1836, the son of John P. and Amy ( Witt) Wood. When this son was but nine years old the family moved to Missouri, remaining there for two years and then setting out for the great west, to endure all the privations, hardships and perils of a seven months' journey across the plains for the sake of the home they hoped to make at the journey's end. Besides Edmund there were four other chil- dren who crossed the plains at the same time, 1847, namely: Joseph, now deceased; Henry ; Sarah Lady, deceased; and Mary E., wife of G. WV. Branson. Upon reaching Oregon the family located in Yamhill county on a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres, two miles west of Sheridan. Here Mr. Wood's father lived for twenty-one years, giving the strength of his carly manhood to the hard proposition of Ore- gon forests and fastnesses, clearing the one and conquering the other until, in 1868, the year he left the place for a retired life, his farm presented the appearance of a well-kept eastern farm, with the difference of the many broad acres stretching away on every side evidencing the plenty of this western land. The death of Mr. Wood's mother occurred on the home place five years after they reached Oregon. Mr. Wood, Sr., moved to Mc- Minnville when he left the farm, where he died in 1892, being eighty years old.

At eighteen years of age Edmund left home, not from necessity but from choice, going to Polk county, where he secured work with Mr. Savage, with whom he remained for eight years,

evidently doing justice to the good opinion of his employer. But with the restlessness of a young man who has seen but little of the world he left Mr. Savage at the expiration of this time, going to Walla Walla, Wash., remaining there just one year. After this comparatively brief period of wandering, he came back to the county chosen by his father for their early home, and as if to anchor himself there, he bought one hun- dred and sixty acres in Yamhill county, five miles north of Willamina, where he has since spent the greater part of his life. Later he increased his farm to two hundred and seventy-six acres on which he is actively engaged in sheep-raising and general farming.

Mr. Wood has been quite active in local politics, holding through Democratic influence the posi- tion of road supervisor, also serving as school director for sixteen years, a period of faithful- ness not often met with in rural districts. He also received the appointment as superintendent of the farm of the state penitentiary from Gov- ernors Grover and Thayer, which position he held creditably for eight years. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Sheridan. In 1882 he was married to Miss Matilda Shook and their union was blessed with four children, the eldest of whom, John, died in infancy. The three living are Let- tie, Grover and Andrew.

GEORGE F. EARHART. Among the sons of Ohio who have contributed to the agricultural development of Oregon may be mentioned George F. Earhart, for many years an expert sawmill man, and since 1886 the owner of a farm of ninety-two acres three miles northeast of Mc- Minnville. A native of Darke county, Ohio, Mr. Earhart was born December 22, 1836, a son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Scribner) Earhart, and grandson of George Earhart, a very early settler in Darke county.

Samuel and Elizabeth Earhart were reared on near-by farms in Darke county, and as chil- dren enjoyed the same pastimes and attended the same little school house. Samuel was born in Virginia and his wife in Connecticut, and both removed to Darke county with their parents when very young. The maternal grandfather, Azer Scribner, was a soldier in the war of 1812, and paid the price of his life for patriotism, as he was killed at the battle of Bunker Hill. After the death of Samuel Earhart, the support of the family naturally fell upon the shoulders of the children, of whom there were six boys and five girls, George F. being the fifth oldest, and at that time sixteen years of age. With his brother William he undertook the principal management of the farm, and before leaving home at the age

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of twenty-two, managed between times to serve an apprenticeship of three years to a carpenter. For six years he followed his trade in Darke county, in connection with which he bought and operated a sawmill for four years. He then took up his residence in Polk county, Iowa, where he engaged in the sawmill business for about nine- teen, years. The sawmill disposed of, he located in Vernon county, Mo., and after two years, in 1886, located in Oregon. After looking around for a desirable location, he finally decided tipon the farm upon which he has since spent the most useful and profitable years of his life. His prop- erty is equipped with a comfortable residence, good barns and outhouses, and with all needful agricultural implements. He is engaged in general farming and stock-raising, and is one of the practical and successful farmers of this lo- cality.

In 1861 Mr. Earhart was united in marriage with Minerva G. Powell, a native of Darke county, Ohio, who is the mother of three sons and two daughters, of whom Hattie is the wife of William McConkey, of McMinnville; the other children being: Ira, Leonard, Charles and Mary Kate. Mr. Earhart is a Republican in politics, and has held the offices of school director and school supervisor. He was elected county road master in January, 1902. Fraternally he is as- sociated with the Masons of Lafayette, and is treasurer of the organization. In religion he is a member and trustee of the Evangelical Church of Lafayette.

PHILIP R. FENDALL. Upon the farm which is now his home and which has been in the possession of the family since 1845, Philip R. Fendall was born February 5, 1857. This ownership, considered short in the east, is long for the west, and like instances are comparatively few in Oregon. His father, Charles E. Fendall, one of the best known of the pioneers of Oregon, was born in Baltimore, Md., in 1822, and was reared and educated in his native state. In 1841 he became a resident of Missouri, and during his two years there accumulated a great deal of en- thusiasm and information concerning the land beyond the Rocky mountains. His trip to the west was accomplished after much preparation and was undertaken in the spring of 1843, under the guidance of Captain Nesheth. The greater part of the journey he rode astride a horse, and he was one of the hunters of the party, his skill with the gun resulting in the replenishment of many empty larders. He brought in game of all kinds to cheer the weary travelers assembled around camp fires, and made himself generally useful as only a hale and decidedly good tempered boy is capable of doing.

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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 88

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