Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present.., Part 103

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 103

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FRANKLIN MARION CARTER, M. D. A history of Lincoln county would be incom- plete indeed, if no mention were made in it of one of Yaquina's most prominent and influential citizens, Dr. F. M. Carter. He has been engaged in the practice of medicine there since 1895, and at the time of his location in that city, he was a man of broad experience in his profession, hav- mng spent about thirteen years at his chosen calling on the Siletz Indian Reservation. Dr. Carter is also the proprietor of a fine drug store in Yaquina, which is up-to-date in all respects. He was born in Mercer county, Mo., July I, 1846, and he is a son of William and Rebecca (Sylvester) Carter, and grandson of Thomas Carter.

Thomas Carter was a personal friend of the illustrious Washington. under whom he served in our war for freedom. Although a native of North Carolina, during his latter years he went to South Carolina and later to Tennessee and farmed the after part of his life. He served during the entire Revolutionary war and was present at the surrender of Cornwallis. William Carter, the father of Franklin M., was born at Wilmington, S. C., and accompanied his parents to Tennessee, locating near the city of Memphis, where he was educated. In 1843 he went 10

Mercer county, Mo., and took up a homestead claim near Trenton, and was among the pioneer settlers of that section. In 1852 he went over- land to Oregon, making the trip in six months' time, behind ox-teams. Soon after his arrival in that state, he took up a donation claim of three hundred and twenty acres near Coburg, Lane county, and engaged in farming for many years. In 1870 he sold his farm and located in Benton county near Albany, and it was there that his death took place in 1871 at the age of sixty- seven years.

The mother of Franklin M. was an earnest Christian woman and was remarkable for her fortitude and bravery. She was born at Jones- boro, Tenn., and survived her husband many years. Her demise took place in 1883, at the extreme age of ninety-two years. She was first cousin to John B. Hood, a patriotic man and a well known educator. Her uncle, Capt. James Slaughter, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. He officiated in the commissary depart- ment as guard, and helped handle and carry the silver used in paying off the soldiers. While crossing the plains in 1852 at Fort Laramie, about one-half of the emigrants insisted upon turning back, owing to hardships and the ter- rible ravages of cholera. Dr. Carter's mother was determined to continue the journey at all hazards, after having made the start, and it was due to her influence alone that the dissatisfied ones were persuaded to continue the journey. When at last they reached the goal of their am- bition, she was showered with compliments, so completely satisfied were they with the new coun- try, and they realized that she alone was respon- sible for their presence there. She was a life- long member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Dr. Carter is one of a family of five sons and four daughters, as follows: John, Henry and Al- fred, the eldest three, are deceased; Henry and Alfred served in the Rogue River Indian war under General Kearney; Isaac, who served in the commissary department in the Rogue River war and now resides at Myrtle Point; Rebecca, wife of Peter Meads, of Walla Walla, Wash .; F. M., the subject of this review; Sanford, who follows mining at Jacksonville, Ore .; Mrs. Mary Sellwood, of Portland, Ore .; and Nancy, deceased, who was the wife of Martin Williams, of Monroe, Ore. Franklin M. Carter crossed the plains in 1852, and after completing the common school course, he became a student at Wilbur Academy, in Douglas county, in 1862, and was graduated with the degree B. A. in 1865, after a three years' attendance. He then followed teaching in Lane and Douglas counties until 1868, at that time entering the medical de- partment of the Willamette University. He was graduated from that institution with the class of

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1872, with the degree of M. D. The following year, he took a post-graduate course in surgery in the Toland Medical Institute in San Francisco and was appointed physician of the Siletz Indian Reservation in 1874. the year his marriage took place. Dr. Carter served as physician and sur- geon of this reservation for ten consecutive years, and during the years 1880 and 1881 he was also superintendent of the Indian school there. In 1891 he went to Elk City, and for three years was a general practitioner at that place, removing in 1895 to Yaquina, where, in connection with his profession, he opened a drug store. During the years of his residence there, he has built up a lucrative practice and is recognized as a man of unusual skill and ability. He was elected cor- oner on the Republican ticket and served three terms. He was nominated on the same ticket in 1882 for state representative and was de- feated by a very small majority. He has fre- quently served as school director.

Dr. Carter was united in marriage at Cape Foulweather in 1874. with Olive E. Barker, who was born in Polk county, Ore., January 12, 1856, and her father, J. O. Barker, was a pioneer of that county, having settled there as early as 1852, upon a donation claim. He died at Philomath. Two children have blessed their union. The eldest of these, Irma DeEtte, is postmistress of Yaquina, Ore .; and Lora Beatrice, the younger, is a student in Philomath College, at Philomath, Ore.

Dr. Carter enlisted in 1865 in Company D, First Oregon Volunteer Infantry, under Maj. William E. Reinhart, and served one year as first corporal of his company, stationed for a time at Eugene, and was afterward sent into eastern Oregon, where they did some Indian fighting. He was mustered out at Vancouver, Wash., in 1866. He is a member of Abraham Lincoln Post, G. A. R., at Yaquina.

In fraternal circles the doctor is prominent- ly connected with the Woodmen of the World, in which he is a past officer, and with the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows, the Encamp- ment, and the Rebekah lodge. He has passed all the chairs in the Odd Fellows, and is a mem- ber of the Grand Lodge of the state. He was reared in the Methodist Episcopal faith and he is an active member of the church of that denomi- nation, having also served as trustee.

Dr. Carter is one of the most active politicians in his section of the state. In 1880 he was president of the Garfield Club at Philomath, Ore. : in 1896 he was president of the Elk City Mckinley club, and has frequently been a mem- ber of both county and state central committees. He has been very successful, and in addition to his city property he owns other valuable real estate in Lincoln county. His fine stock ranch

one mile from Elk City, on the Big Elk river, contains four hundred acres. He keeps abreast of the times in his profession as well as other- wise, and in 1899, he was a prominent member of the board of health of Yaquina. Dr. Carter is a fine specimen of physical development, is six feet, four inches high, and weighs over two hun- dred pounds.

HON. JAMES E. CAMPBELL. There are some men who seem to have been born to carry on a special occupation, who, beginning that work at an early age, continue it through life with rare success, and scarcely engage in any other. Hon. James E. Campbell is quite an illustrious example of such a man, having a natural longing for the sea and for a sailor's life, and making quite a record for himself in that line. Besides his many voyages as mate, master, etc., for many years he was a pilot on the Columbia river, guiding the passengers placed under his care safely over the bar, and as a proof of his fidelity and popularity, upon the organization of that body in March, 1903, he was chosen chairman of the board of pilot commissioners of Oregon, a position which he still holds. His destiny as a sailor was prob- ably influenced by the fact that he was born near a large body of water-at Sheboygan Falls, Wis., on the shore of Lake Michigan, March 29, 1839. Trappers by occupation, his parents removed to Canada six years after his birth, and there followed their trade, James E. living with them until he was fourteen. It was thus early in life that he became a sailor, first sailing one summer on the Great Lakes and finally going as far as Quebec on an ocean vessel. But his first real voyage was made in 1861, when he was engaged in the Transat- lantic trade between Savannah, Ga., and Liv- erpool, England, first sailing as mate of the ocean vessel, but finally being placed in charge, and he continued to work thus for quite a number of years. Hitherto, all his sailing had been done on eastern waters, but in 1876 he made a memorable voyage to the Pacific coast, making the trip from Liverpool to San Diego, via Cape Horn, in one hundred and twenty-one days, acting as mate of the sailing vessel Storm King. He did not remain long at San Diego, but continued up the coast to Astoria and was much impressed by the advantages of the western states. Although he made the return trip to England it was his last eastern voyage, as he came back to the Pacific slope as far as San Francisco and there resigned his commission in 1878 and took up his permanent residence in Astoria. For three years he occupied himself at his profession,

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and in 1881 obtained a license as a Columbia river bar pilot, following this faithfully for eight years, discontinuing it in 1889.

During the administration of President Cleveland, in 1893, James E. Campbell re- ceived his appointment as inspector of cus- toms, and with his usual ability served in this capacity until 1898. He was also one of the incorporators of the Bremner Logging Com- pany, and at this writing he is acting as its secretary, the company being engaged in log- ging on Young's river, and Mr. Campbell has charge of the office. A man who is somewhat advanced in years, he has a record upon which he can look back and count successful, and which speaks for itself in regard to his ability. A Democrat in political opinions, he has al- ways been greatly interested in the welfare of his party, and in 1892 was elected to the lower house of representatives by a large majority, and this in a county that has a Republican majority of from six to seven hundred. He holds a membership in the Benevolent Protec- tive Order of Elks organization, and also af- filiates with the Knights of Pythias society.

JOHN L. CASEBEER. One of Douglas county's native-born sons, and a man of industry and energy, John L. Casebeer is numbered among the sturdy and successful Douglas county far- mers who thoroughly understand the vocation which they follow, and are consequently enabled to carry it on with profit to themselves, and to the credit of the community in which they reside. Located about ten miles southeast of Roseburg, Mr. Casebeer has a large and well-improved farm, with a good residence, and all the out- buildings requisite for the care and shelter of his stock. Taking pride in his honest calling, he has a worthy ambition to make his farm and stock models in their way, and his desires are fast being realized. A son of Samuel Casebeer, he was born February 22, 1862, in the French settlement of Douglas county, about ten miles northwest of Roseburg.

Born in 1825, in Ohio, Samuel Casebeer grew to manhood on a farm, in early life learning the trade of a blacksmith. Subsequently removing with his parents to Iowa, he followed his trade in that state for a number of years. Marrying in 1847, he started across the plains with his family in 1852, traveling according to the cus- tomary mode of those days with ox-teams. After an uneventful journey of six months, he arrived in Portland, Ore., where he spent the winter. Coming to Douglas county in the spring of 1853, he took up a donation claim seven miles east of Roseburg, on the south fork of Deer creek. Following farming in conjunction with his black-

smithing, he improved a good ranch, on which he lived some time. He afterwards removed to Wilbur, then to the French settlement, where he bought land, and improved a farm, on which he lived until his death in 1870, at the early age of forty-five years. He was very active in re- ligious work, and a valued member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church. In 1847, in Ohio, he married Jemima Brown, a native of Kentucky, and she survives him, and is now living on the home farm, at Deer creek, being an active and in- telligent woman of seventy-five years.

Receiving his early education in the district schools and at Wilbur Academy, John L. Case- beer was subsequently engaged in teaching for five years. Eventually selecting farming as a permanent occupation, he located first about seven miles east of Roseburg, on Deer creek, and after- wards resided in different places in Douglas county. In 1900 he purchased his present farm, formerly known as the Jack Whitsett ranch, on which many improvements were already made. He has since carried on general farming and stock-raising with great success, making a spec- ialty of raising Poland-China hogs. In addition to this farm of six hundred and sixty acres Mr. Casebeer also owns one hundred and forty acres of the parental homestead.

In 1885 Mr. Casebeer married Lorella Bailey, who was born and educated in Douglas county. Mr. and Mrs. Casebeer have recently assumed possession of their commodious farm house, just completed, and take great pleasure in entertaining their many friends and neighbors with the gen- erous hospitality for which they have long been noted. A Democrat in politics, Mr. Casebeer takes a genuine interest in local affairs, and has served as school director, and in offices of minor importance. Fraternally he is a member of the Woodmen of the World.

WALTER I. SWEETLAND. For some years Mr. Sweetland has been associated with the business interests of Grants Pass, where he has made his home since 1897. He was born at Mount Pulaski, Logan county, Ill., February 14, 1869, and is a son of William and Emma (Daw- son) Sweetland, natives respectively of East Wallingford, Vt., and Indiana. His maternal grandfather, Creede Dawson, was an early settler both of Indiana and Illinois, and later identified himself with the pioneers of Eldorado county, Kans., where he died. The paternal grandfather, Ira Sweetland, was a native of Vermont and by occupation a farmer. During the year of the dis- covery of gold in the Pike's Peak region William Sweetland was one of the gold-seekers who left home and friends in the hope of gaining a for- tune. As early as 1858 he went to California

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Gulch, where he was one of the first miners and prospectors. Not finding the fortune he sought, he took up ranching in Fountain, El Paso county, Col., but is now a horticulturist in Santa Clara county, Cal.

in a family of five now living Walter I. Sweet- land is next to the oldest. He was born while his mother was visiting her father and mother in Illi- nois. As a child he attended school in Colorado and later was a student in the high school at Mount Pulaski, Ill. When only fifteen he be- came a cowboy and rode the range, frequently going into the Cripple Creek region. Later he was employed as a butcher in different places. His first experience of life in Oregon was in 1888, when he settled at Portland and for six months was employed as a teamster. Later he spent a year in Washington, and during part of that time followed the butcher's trade. Return- ing to Oregon in 1890 he took contracts for log- ging in Columbia county, where he remained three years. His next employment was as a butcher in St. Helens. The year 1897 found him in Grants Pass, where he bought out the meat market of L. G. Brownell and continued the busi- ness. At this writing he has his market in the new Masonic Temple, where he has a shop 25x100 feet in dimensions, equipped with all nec- essary facilities, including a first-class refriger- ator. A large business is conducted, both whole- sale and retail. To assist in the prosecution of his work, he built a slaughter house south of the river, where he owns a tract of seven acres.

While living in St. Helens Mr. Sweetland mar- ried Miss Tina Gray, who was born in Maine, and whose mother is now the wife of H. A. Cor- lis. Four children comprise their family, namely : Arline, Norma, Willis and Ardath. Fraternally Mr. Sweetland is associated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. His political views bring him into harmony with the Republican party, whose ticket he uniformly votes at local and general elections. During his residence in St. Helens he served as a member of the council. The demands of his business are so heavy that he now has little leisure for participation in public affairs ; yet he may always be relied upon to dis- charge every duty which falls upon him as an honorable man and a public-spirited citizen.

HEYMAN WOLLENBERG. Numbered among the most active and substantial business men of Roseburg is Heyman Wollenberg, a citi- zen of influence and affluence, who is now serving as alderman from the second ward. Since com- ing to Douglas county he has accumulated a large property, meeting with his first successful business venture in the mercantile trade, and afterward as a buyer and improver of lands. In-

vesting his money in farms as good opportunity occurred, he has acquired thousands of acres of land in this county, being the owner of valuable fruit and stock ranches, and of much desirable city property. A native of Prussia, he was born January 6, 1838, near Thoran, which was also the birthplace of his father, Jacob Wollenberg. The father, a life-long resident of Prussia, was an extensive owner of farm and timber lands, and was a prosperous manufacturer. He and his wife, Hannah, were the parents of twelve chil- dren, one of whom, a daughter, lives in New York, while three sons, Isadore, Alfred and Hey- man, are residents of Roseburg, Ore.

Brought up in Gollub, near Thoran, Heyman Wollenberg received a good public school educa- tion, remaining home until almost twenty years of age. Leaving home on December 20, 1859, he sailed from Hamburg for New York, where he took passage, via the Isthmus, for San Francisco. After stopping a short time in that city, Mr. Wol- lenberg arrived in Scottsburg, Ore., on March 8, 1860, a stranger in a strange land. Coming on horseback to Roseburg, he found an old friend of his father, Sol Abrahams, with whom he re- mained until the following July. Embarking then in business as a peddler, he traveled with a wagon throughout Douglas, Josephine and Jack- son counties. The ensuing fall Mr. Wollenberg started a store of general merchandise at Can- yonville, Douglas county, leasing a building. which he subsequently purchased and enlarged. Becoming a member of the firm of Marks, Side- man & Co., he subsequently carried on an exten- sive mercantile trade in that locality until 1878, when he sold out his interest. The following five or six years, in company with Mr. Marks, he was one of the largest wool and grain dealers of the county. Locating in Roseburg in 1883, Mr. Wol- lenberg has invested heavily in land, and madc many improvements on the farms which he now owns. He has fine orchards on different ranches, having one hundred acres set out to prunes, while many acres are devoted to the culture of peaches, pears, apples and other fruits. His farming land aggregates about eight thousand acres, one ranch of three thousand acres lying near Roseburg. He has much valuable city property in addition to his other possessions, and is the owner of the Wol- lenberg block, which is two stories in height. 821/2XII0 feet. In 1876 Mr. Wollenberg made a trip to Europe, revisiting the scenes of his child- hood, but returned to his Oregon home the fol- lowing year.

Mr. Wollenberg married, in San Francisco, Cal., Julia Shirpser, who was born in San Fran- cisco, a daughter of Isadore Shirpser, a pioneer merchant and fur dealer of that city. Mr. and Mrs. Wollenberg are the parents of seven chil- dren, namely : Natalie and Lillian, attending the

WILLIAM H. GORE

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

University of California, at Berkeley ; Frederick, Hannah and Mabel, attending the San Francisco High School; and Pauline and Adelaide, also in San Francisco. Politically Mr. Wollenberg is a straightforward Republican, and a member of the board of aldermen, representing the second ward of the city. In this capacity he is render- ing good service as chairman of the committee of ways and means, and of the committee on city improvements, and as a member of the commit- tee on health and police. Fraternally he is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

WILLIAM H. GORE. Since 1894 what is known as the Ish ranch, two and a half miles west of Medford, has been under the capable management of William H. Gore. This state- ment alone suffices to place the property in the catagory of perfectly conducted farms, for no broader minded or more progressive tiller of the soil and student of scientific ranching has contributed to the development of Jackson county. The owners of this farm are recog- nized as the most extensive owners of land and stock, and growers of alfalfa in this district, and at present two hundred and forty acres are de- voted to the cattle grass which has practically built up the stock industry of the west and north. Through the efforts of Mr. Gore the output of the farm has materially increased, the ship- ment of hogs in 1902 far exceeding that of any other dealer in the county. This is but one of the commodities which swell the yearly revenue of this productive ranch, high grade cattle, sheep, grain, and general produce taking on like pro- portions, excelling also in quality as well as quantity. Needless to say, the house occupied by Mr. Gore and his family is in keeping with the modern surroundings of the farm, is large and well arranged, and furnished in accordance with the refined tastes and cultivated tendencies of the occupants.

As a native son of this great state Mr. Gore's career has been watched with growing interest by the generation of pioneers, of which class his father, Emerson E. Gore, was a typical represen- tative. The son was born on the family estate three miles south of Medford. April 23, 1860, and was educated in the district schools, and graduated from the state University of Oregon, at Eugene. A pronounced appreciation of higher education was one of the pleasing tendencies noted in Mr. Gore's boyhood days, and in order to gratify his ambition in this direction it be- came necessary for him to help himself. It thus happened that he began to teach school at the age of nineteen, and, through the exercise of

economy and prudence, he was able to defray his expenses at the university. In 1888 he went to Portland and found employment with Page & Son, fruit and commission merchants, and at the expiration of three years, or in 1891, he branched out into a similar business on his own responsibility. Three years later, in 1894, he re- turned to Medford and took charge of the ranch which has since been his care, and which is twelve hundred acres in extent. In the mean- time he has made his influence felt in general affairs, has taken a firm stand for clean Re- publican politics, for government in the interests of the people, and for the best possible educational advantages. He is specially fitted for political preferment, having a broad grasp of existing con- ditions, and possessing marked executive ability. For many years he has been an elder in the Pres- byterian Church, and has labored zealously for the enlargement of the church charities. November 5, 1890, Mr. Gore married Sophenia J. Ish, who was born on the farm where she still makes her home, and is a daughter of Jacob and J. Eleanor (Jones) Ish, who came to Oregon in 1860 and were the owners of the Ish place. Jacob Ish, father of Mrs. Gore, was born in Virginia and was reared in the heart of the southern Democracy. He was the owner of some slaves before the war and lost considerable property through the rav- ages of that memorable conflict. In 1860 he came to Oregon with his four brothers, William K., Horace L., Mathew R., and Richard L., all of whom are now deceased except Richard L., who resides in Jackson county. Mr. Ish resided for twenty-one years in Jackson county, where he became one of the largest land owners in southern Oregon. He was the founder of the Ish ranch, which is known far and wide, and for many years he furnished from his broad acres supplies for the government troops sta- tioned at Fort Klamath, and for the stage sta- tions between Grants Pass and Yreka, Cal. He married for his first wife Miss J. Eleanor Jones, who died July 29, 1877, leaving one daughter. now Mrs. W. H. Gore. He married, October 7, 1879, for his second wife, Miss Sarah Eliza- beth Jones, a sister of his first wife, who sur- vives him and makes her home on the ranch with her stepdaughter. Mr. Ish died March 4. 1881, at the age of fifty-nine years. Jacob I. and Mary E., the two children born to Mr. and Mrs. Gore, are living at home with their parents.

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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 103

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