Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present.., Part 100

Author: Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman publishing company
Number of Pages: 1064

USA > Oregon > Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present.. > Part 100

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Charles E. Hasard was born in Bureau county, 111., March 2, 1859, his boyhood days being spent upon a farm, and his educational training was received in the public schools of his native county. In 1880 he came west to Oregon, and for two years worked as a railroad carpenter on the Southern Pacific. In October, 1882, his marriage with Mary A. Bean was contracted, and the same ycar he came to Drain, following carpenter work and conducting a small hotel here until 1883. In 1884 he purchased a ranch three miles west of Drain and began ranching and stock-raising, and with the exception of two years spent in railroad- ing, was thus occupied until 1896. In that year he entered mercantile life at Drain, as before men- tioned. He has won a reputation for square deal- ing, and has proved himself to be a model busi- ness man. In his political convictions he is an un- swerving Republican, being at the present writ- ing chairman of the Republican precinct commit- tee, and he has filled various positions of trust. July 10, 1902, he was appointed United States land commissioner at Drain, a position he is still

filling in an admirable manner. He is deeply interested in fraternal orders, affiliating with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Drain Camp 259, Woodmen of the World, of which he is still clerk. He is an honored and influential citizen of Drain and financially as well as other- wise, success has crowned his efforts. He has recently built a fine new residence which is among the most attractive residences in his community, and Mr. Hasard and his estimable wife deal out hospitality with a lavish hand to their numerous friends and acquaintances. They have one child, Grace, who is now thirteen years old.

ROBERT LINCOLN WADE. An example of marked success in the face of early hindrances and many discouraging obstacles is presented by the career of Robert Lincoln Wade, owner and proprietor of an agricultural implement and hard- ware enterprise in Tillamook. This honored citi- zen comes honestly by his chosen calling, for his father, R. M. Wade, is one of the foremost hardware men on the coast, and drilled his sons to the detail and routine of the business he him- self had so carefully and painstakingly mastered.

R. M. Wade came to Oregon across the plains with his parents from his native town of War- rensburg, Mo., locating in Clackamas county, but soon afterward made his way to southern Oregon, spending some time in Looking Glass Valley. At Yreka, Cal., he started upon a busi- ness career as clerk in a general store, a year later removing to Auburn, Ore., where he oper- ated a store on his own responsibility four years. He afterward spent a short time in Portland, and in 1868 expressed his faith in the business prospects of Salem by starting an agricultural implement, hardware and general merchandise store in that city. So successful was he that he sought a larger field of operation in Portland in 1885, and there engaged in a large retail and wholesale agricultural implement business, which in time extended to several parts of the state. At the present time he has branch stores at Salem, Corvallis, Independence and McMinnville, and through his successful manipulation of the same has become one of the wealthy and prominent hardware and implement merchants of the coast. He is about sixty-nine years of age, and still enjoys the benefits of a vigorous and active man- hood. Through his marriage with Ann (How- ard) Williams of Missouri, six children were born, three sons and three daughters, four of whom attained maturity.

Robert Lincoln Wade was born in Portland, August 28, 1868. When he was twelve years old he was stricken with diphtheria, which left him paralyzed on one side and unable to either

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talk or walk for seven or eight years. Thus the hest part of his childhood and early manhood was blighted and rendered useless, and his schooling was necessarily retarded. After partial recovery he was obliged to begin his education anew, and gradually advance as do children of tender years. That he is today an unusually well- informed man, well read and studious, argues well for his perseverance and determination. In 1885 he went to his father's old home in War- rensburg, Mo., attended school for fourteen months, and then returned to Portland and en- tered the public schools of that city. He contin- ued to within three weeks of graduation, and in 1890 became identified as a large stockholder in the firm of Knapp, Burrell & Co., being manager of the agricultural implement and supply depart- ment for eleven years. With this admirable ex- perience behind him, as well as practical drilling at the hands of his capable father, he came to Tillamook to start his present business, and now has a large two-story modern building, 52x105 fcet ground dimensions. He carries a $15,000 stock, and is able to meet a demand for any ma- chine or implement countenanced by the progress- ive and up-to-date farmer. Mr. Wade is also a stockholder in the firm of R. M. Wade & Co., of Portland.

Since coming to Tillamook, Mr. Wade has married Maud L. ( Nolan) Jones, who was born in Tillamook, and by her former husband had two children, Ben and Melvia. Mr. Wade is a Republican in politics, and is a public-spirited, en- terprising man, his character and ability showing no signs of the terrible experience through which he passed in his younger days.

HORACE E. WESTON. Although ill health prevents active participation in the business life of Tillamook, Horace E. Weston is one of the most interested spectators of the life by which he is surrounded, and a sincere admirer of the people and institutions which comprise this won- derful coast country. This former agriculturist, and courageous defender of the Union during the Civil war was born in Somerset county, Me., August 18, 1843. Ifis father, Edward, and his grandfather, Isaac Weston, were also natives of the great timber state, but his great-grandfather, Eli Weston, was born in the seat of Puritanism in Massachusetts. This remote sire and founder of the family in Maine, lived with his parents on a farm, and when yet a lad accompanied his father, and another boy and his father, to Maine, to look over land with reference to making a permanent settlement. Selecting a favorable location, the fathers returned for their families to Massachusetts, leaving the boys to care for the stoek during their absence. Only those who

have been there, or have indulged in recent fiction based upon the wild and uncouth and dense tim- berlands of the north, with their turbulent streams, their appalling solitudes, are in a posi- tion to realize what these boys underwent while watching their father's stock. Longingly they waited for the familiar faces of the home folks to cheer the terrible monotony, but the river be- ing frozen the expected ones failed to arrive, and the herders were left the whole winter with Indians only for their companions. The boys were eleven years of age at this time, and after the great-grandfather had grown to maturity, had married and had children and grandchildren to cheer his old age, he used to tell the story of the dreariest experience of his life in the north, long before the Revolutionary war. Edward Weston went from Maine to Wisconsin in 1855. located in Pierce county, where he farmed until his death in 1888. As became a patriotic son of the Union, he served during the Rebellion, in Company A, Twentieth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, participating in many important bat- tles of the great contest. He is survived by his wife, formerly Abby F. Johnson, of Maine, who came to Oregon in 1889, and at the age of eighty- three is in good health and spirits, making her home with her children. She prides herself that her husband, four brothers, three sons and two sons-in-law served as soldiers in the Union army, and only one, a son, John, was left on the field of battle.

The Weston family was represented by yet another soldier in the Civil war, for Edward Weston inspired his sons with admiration for his example, and Horace E., then twenty years of age, enlisted in Company A, Twelfth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, serving two years, or until his discharge in Louisville, Ky., in July, 1865. As a soldier in the Army of the Potomac he fought in Georgia, North and South Carolina, and other southern states, taking part in sixteen battles. After the war he returned to the home farm in Wisconsin, assisted his father up to the death of the latter in 1888, and then assumed en- tire control of the property, having bought out the other heirs. Never of strong constitution. many years of farming undermined the health of Mr. Weston, and he was advised to seek a change. Since selling his Wisconsin farm and removing to Tillamook, in December, 1895, he has been benefited physically, and has made many friends and associations.

In Pierce county, Wis., Mr. Weston married Achsa Howe, who was born in Pennsylvania, and died in Wisconsin, leaving one child, Ed- ward, who is now attending Tillamook high school. The present Mrs. Weston was formerly Mary Fowler, a native of New York state, and an carly settler in Juneau county, Wis. Mr.

B. B. ferro

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Weston is a Republican in politics, and in former years, while living on the Wisconsin farm, held many local offices, including those of supervisor, assessor, member of the town board, school di- rector and clerk and justice of the peace. He is a member of Corinth Post No. 35, G. A. R.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN JONES. A ré- sumé of the life undertakings of Benjamin Franklin Jones furnishes forcible illustration of the merits of ability, adaptiveness and integrity. This prominent attorney, politician, legislator, and promoter of various business enterprises in Lincoln county, has already established a record which places him among the forceful and de- veloping agencies of his time and place. As is the case with all men of pronounced character- istics and capacity for public effort, the early life of Mr. Jones is interesting to students of ad- vancement, in that it furnishes a key to the en- vironment and opportunities which inspired his success. He was born in Lawrence, Douglas county, Kans., February 24, 1858, a son of Wil- son L., and a grandson of Wiley A. Jones, both of whom were born in the state of Kentucky. His grandfather, a Methodist Episcopal preacher and circuit rider of the old school, owned slaves in his native state, but eventually freed them prior to removing with his family to Missouri. About 1855 he located on a farm near Baldwin, in the vicinity of Lawrence, Kans., and a died there at an advanced age, after accomplishing a world of good as a minister of the gospel.

Wilson L. Jones, one of the six sons of Wiley A., followed the fortunes of his family from Kentucky to Missouri and Kansas, and located with his father on the farm near Baldwin. Jones Creek is to-day a reminder of his promi- nence in the community, where he became inter- ested in saw-milling, and was known as one of the most intrepid fighters and maintainers of order in the state. His life was cast among the wild border days of Kansas, and he fought the border ruffian militia, and the well known Quantrell band. After the latter burned Law- rence, he assisted the militia to chase them away from the neighborhood. and in the contest he se- cured Quantrell's saddle, pistol-holder, and other personal belongings. In time he operated saw- mills in different parts of the state, and became one of the wealthy and successful men of his time and place. His personal prowess was un- disputed, for he was a great athlete, splendidly developed and capable of great endurance. His death occurred at Baldwin in December, 1866. while yet he was in the prime of vigorous man- hood. His wife, Rebecca (Graham) Jones, was born in Ohio, and died at Corvallis, whither she had gone for medical treatment, hier ill health

being the result of exposure during the Indian excitement of 1872. She was the mother of five sons and one daughter, of whom Benjamin Franklin is the oldest.

B. F. Jones received his primary education in the common schools of Oregon, and at the age of sixteen entered the Oregon State Agricultural College, remaining there for two years. He then engaged in lumbering at Garden City, Ore., and in 1875 devoted a year to carrying the mail from Elk City to Corvallis. May 10, 1876, he assisted in driving a large band of cattle from eastern Oregon to Waitsburg, Wash., and upon his return to Oregon in the fall located on a farm near Corvallis. There on January 19, 1881, he married Ella Miller, a native of Clayton, Ill., and daughter of John E. Miller, who was born in the state of Ohio. Mr. Miller was an early settler of Illinois, and an Oregon pioneer of 1875. locating on a ranch near Corvallis, where he farmed for many years. His death in 1889, at the age of eighty-three years, occurred at the home of his son-in-law, Mr. Jones.

In 1881 Mr. Jones removed to Astoria, and engaged in boating and freighting on the Colum- bia river, and in 1883 returned to Toledo to regain his health which had become undermined by too arduous effort, and also because of the illness of his wife. Here he engaged in steam- boating on Yaquina bay until the fall of 1892. About this time he became much interested in Democratic politics, coming to the front in all measures towards the improvement of what was then Benton county. He was foremost in pro- moting the division of Benton county and creat- ing Lincoln county, and after getting a petition signed throughout the county by eight hundred persons, he succeeded in passing it through the legislature on February 13, 1893. This result was attained in face of the fact that he was obliged to borrow and give his note for $40 to lobby the bill through. He was appointed the first clerk of Lincoln county by Gov. Pennoyer, and was twice elected to the office by the people, being the only Democrat to fill a county office. While serving in this office he devoted his leisure to studying law under Judge Kelsay. In 1897 he was admitted to the Oregon bar, and in 1898 began the active practice of law in Toledo. In 1902 Mr. Jones was elected joint representative of Lincoln and Polk counties, and during the session was chairman of the committee on game laws. He was largely instrumental in securing the passage of bill Number 113. which provided for a summer normal school at Newport. This was one of the hardest fights which Mr. Jones has been called upon to make, and that it was carried in spite of the governor's veto, and the determined opposition of a large number of the members of the house, argues well for his per-

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suasive powers, as well as the wisdom of his plan. In the election of 1902, in a vote of one thousand in Lincoln county, divided among the candidates of three parties, he received a majority over all of four hundred and thirty-five votes. This attests his popularity throughout Lincoln county more than any other single fact. Mr. Jones has filled many important local offices, and his work was particularly effective while serving as mayor of the city for two terms. It was during this administration that the streets were opened and graded, and many innovations in- troduced for the betterment of municipal well- being. He has served three terms as justice of the peace, and as a clerk and director of the school board he has been before the public for at least eighteen years. His educational efforts have been of the practical and lasting order, as evidenced by his presentation to the city of the block upon which the present school house is located. 'Mr. Jones promoted and helped to maintain the first creamery in Lincoln county, and he was the prime promoter, and is now president of the Toledo Water & Electric Light Company. It was largely through his efforts that the Siletz Reservation timber lands were thrown open for settlement.

No name in this county is more popularly con- nected with fraternal organizations than that of Mr. Jones. He is a keen appreciator of the bene- fits to be derived from these time-honored in- stitutions, and he is connected with Newport Lodge, No. 85, A. F. & A. M .; the Re- bekahs of Toledo: the Independent Order of Odd Fellows No. 108, of which he is past patri- arch, and of the grand lodge of Odd Fellows, to which he was elected a delegate in 1888, and has continuously served in that capacity ever since. He is also a member of Albany Lodge No. 359, B. P. O. E .; the Woodmen of the World; Pocahontas Camp No. 124, W. O. W., and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Four sons and two daughters have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Jones, of whom Everett C., Vinton D., Ben F., Nellie Leona and Gladys are living at home, and Francis L., the second son, a grad- nate of the Portland Business College, is now filling a position in Portland. Mr. Jones repre- sents the strong, resourceful and liberal spirit of the western slope, and his influence upon all phases of life here developed cannot be correctly estimated. His friends and appreciators are many, and to even the casual observer his ex- pectations have been realized in abundant meas- 11rc.

' HON. ROBERT GLENN SMITH. The family represented by this influential attorney of Grants Pass was founded in America by Robert Smith, a native of the north of Ireland

and an early settler of New York. Next in line of descent was Daniel, who was born at Troy, N. Y., and bought an entire township of land in Indiana county, Pa., where he conducted agri- cultural pursuits until his death. During the lat- ter part of his life the infirmities of age prevented him from engaging in manual labor, but he re- tained the possession of his mental faculties, though his life was prolonged to the remarkable age of ninety-nine years. For more than forty years he served as a deacon in the Presbyterian Church. During the Revolutionary war he was an officer in the commissary department.

On the homestead in Indiana county, Pa., Dan- iel Smith, Jr., was born, and, while he was rearcd in Philadelphia, much of his life was passed in his native county. On selling out his interests there he removed to Pittsburg, Pa., and engaged in the banking business, but suffered financial disaster by reason of the great fire of 1844. For a time after this he followed general contracting, but finally retired from business, and subse- quently died at Blairsville, Pa. From his father, the Revolutionary officer, he inherited a loyal devotion to his country, and it may here be said that a patriotic spirit characterizes every repre- sentative of the family. When a young man he married Elizabeth Copley, who was born in In- diana county, Pa., and died in Blairsville, that state. Her brother, Josiah, was the father of Miss Mary Copley, now the widow of the Pitts- burg millionaire, William Thow, and a noted philanthropist. Josiah Copley, Sr., father of Mrs. Elizabeth Smith, was a native of England and on coming to America settled in Indiana county, Pa., but later became a woolen manufac- turer in Kittanning, that state, where he died.

Of the seven children of Daniel Smith, Jr., the youngest was Edwin, horn in Philadelphia Sep- tember 7, 1837. After his father failed in busi- ness he secured employment as a nail cutter in Pittsburg. Later he went to Ohio, and from there removed to Newcastle, Pa., in the same occupation. Going south in 1850, he clerked at Madison, Ga., until 1853, when he started for the Pacific coast via Panama. The steamer was wrecked outside of the Golden Gate, but fortut- nately the shore was not far distant and he man- aged to swim to land. After such an exciting and dangerous experience he was prepared for the hardships that awaited his further connection with pioneer California. For a time he worked in the mines of Eldorado county. During 1855-56 he was engaged in the war with the Pinte Indians in California and Utah, and while scouting was wounded in the left leg. In 1856 he went to Placerville, where he became interested in the ice business. At first he found this profitable, as ice sold at ten cents a pound, but unfortunately dur- ing the fire in the town his entire stock, consist-

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ing of one hundred and fifty tons, melted, entail- ing a heavy loss. Thereupon he returned to the mines in Eldorado county.

Coming to Oregon in 1858, Edwin Smith se- cured work at the carpenter's trade in Portland. Three years later he went to Jacksonville as a contractor and builder and continued in the busi- ness there for twenty years, after which he re- moved to a place near Grants Pass. While fol- lowing the contracting business he erected the first store in Grants Pass, where he has made his home since 1883. In addition to the building of stores and private residences he has had con- tracts for erecting quartz mills in Oregon, Idaho and Washington. His marriage, which took place in Josephine county, this state, united him with Miss Minerva V. Fidler, a native of Iowa, and a daughter of Dr. George and Jane (Straine) Fidler. Her father, who was born in Pennsyl- vania, became a physician in Iowa, but during the gold excitement in 1849 he was one of the Argo- nauts who sought fortune in the mines of the western coast. His first trip to Oregon occurred in 1849, and three years later he brought the fam- ily to Springfield, Lane county, later going from there to Jackson county, Ore., where he prac- ticed medicine. He died in California when ninety-two years of age.

In the family of Edwin and Minerva Smith there were eight children, namely: Robert Glenn, the subject of this article; Anna C., a clerk in the Portland postoffice; Samuel C., who is foreman of the Eureka (Cal.) Times; Mrs. Mary Martin, of San Francisco; Lincoln, who holds a clerkship in the postoffice at Portland; Mrs. Myra Phelps, of Eureka, Cal .; William, also of Enreka ; and Mabel, a student in the Uni- versity of Oregon. Fraternally Edwin Smith is connected with the Odd Fellows, in religious faith is a Presbyterian, and politically upholds the platform of the Republican party.

While the family made their home in Jackson- ville, Ore., Robert Glenn Smith was born there November 27, 1864. After graduating from the Jacksonville high school he went to Portland as a clerk in the office of Hon. James C. Tolman, surveyor-general of Oregon. Ill health caused him to resign at the expiration of eighteen months. He then went to Klamath county and taught school at Klamath Falls. In 1884 he came to Grants Pass, where he was clerk in a drug store for three years. Meanwhile he devoted his leisure hours to the study of law, and in 1888 was admitted to the bar. For two years before this he had served as deputy district attorney under William M. Colvig. Immediately after being ad- mitted to the bar he began a general practice, which he has since conducted. Under his over- sight have come some of the most important cases in southern Oregon, including a number bearing

upon questions of mining and irrigation law, in which he is recognized as an authority. His marriage took place in Grants Pass and united him with Miss Emily M. Greenstreet, who was born in Iowa. In a very early day her father, George Greenstreet, crossed the plains to Cali- fornia. After a time he started back, but was never heard of afterward, and it has always been believed that he was murdered by Indians.

At one time Mr. Smith took an active part in the work of the Knights of Pythias, the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, Knights of Mac- cabees and Woodmen of the World, but he has not retained his affiliations with them, preferring to devote his time to professional matters. In 1894 he was elected a member of the state legis- lature on the Republican ticket and served in the session of 1895, where he acted as chairman of the committee on railroad and transportation. Since then, on account of his strong anti-tariff views, he has transferred his allegiance to the Democratic party. Being a fluent speaker, with a ready command of language, a large fund of anecdote and unusual personal magnetism, he is popular as an orator, and during presidential and state campaigns his services are brought into requisition by his party for campaign work throughout southern Oregon.

ALFRED WEEKS. Among the successful fruit-growers and business men of Medford may be mentioned Alfred Weeks, whose public-spir- ited efforts have contributed not a little to the upbuilding of Jackson county. When he came here in 1887 Mr. Weeks had the advantage of several years of experience as a furniture-dealer and manufacturer in Woodstock, Canada, where he was born September 15, 1856. His father was an ambitious and successful man who had gained a competence as a merchant, furniture- manufacturer and farmer, and the son naturally followed in his footsteps, especially as he had been placed to work in the manufactory at an early age. The enterprise of this Canadian father seems to have been handed down to his sons, for one of them came to Oregon at an early day and started the first fruit-ranch of any size in the Rogue River valley. He was successful in his new home, and, being convinced that the country offered unlimited inducements to the in- dustrious and painstaking, wrote home glowing accounts of the soil, people and climate. In 1887 the northern home was further depleted by the starting for the west of Alfred Weeks, who, with his brother-in-law, Eugene Orr, made the long trip successfully, and entered into partner- ship with their already well established relative. The three men had every reason to rejoice over their prospects, for they had one hundred and

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Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present.., Part 100

Author: Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago, pub Publication date: 1904 Publisher: Chicago, Chapman publishing company Number of Pages: 1064

Author: Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman publishing company
Number of Pages: 1064