Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present.., Part 105

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 105

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Three years old when he came to Oregon, the present merchant of Medford recalls little of the memorable trip, or of the crude conditions at- tending the settlement of the family on the tim- bered farm. He learned the carpenter's trade from his father, and in time worked at it in Linn and Douglas counties until 1884. He then came to Medford as manager of the general merchan- dise store of Henry Smith, retaining the position until after the death of the latter in 1892, when he started in business for himself. Not having sufficient capital to more than lay in a small stock, he took in a partner, and together they built up a large and paying business, which, how- ever, has been owned by Mr. Cranfill himself for the past five years.

Mr. Cranfill is independent in politics, and has never taken particular interest in either local or county party undertakings. He is fraternally prominent, and is a member of the Blue Lodge No. 33. A. F. & A. M., of Jefferson, and the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows. He married, in Douglas county, Ophelia Crow, a native of Coles valley, Douglas county, and of which union there have been born two children, Charles Edward, a farmer of Douglas county ; and Edith, living at home. Mrs. Cranfill's father, Michael, came to Oregon in 1852, from Missouri, and died on his farm in Douglas county.

REV. LEOPOLD DIELEMAN. Insepar- ably associated with the pioneer history of the Roman Catholic Church in the northwest is the name of Father Dieleman, who has the dis- tinction of being, in point of years of active service, the oldest priest in Oregon and, with only two exceptions, the oldest on the Pacific coast. Could a narrative of his life be written in its fullest details, it would tell of many lonely trips, on foot or horseback, over the mountains and through the wilds of Nevada, Idaho, northern California and eastern Ore- gon, for the purpose of ministering to the spir-

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itual needs of men in remote posts and lonely mining camps. In places where there were homes and children, it was his special labor to instruct the young and establish the rudiments of good morals. In the performance of his dutty as a priest there was no privation he was not willing to endure, no obstacle he would not endeavor to surmount. Rivers, as yet un- spanned by bridges, he crossed by fording and swimming. His frugal meals were cooked with the aid of a camp fire, and when night came he laid down to rest with the starry heav- ens for his canopy.and the earth for his bed. The civilization of the present day, with its attendant religious opportunities, is due to the efforts of such self-sacrificing pioneers as Father Dieleman, and no one is more grateful than he for the gratifying condition of the church of today.

Descended from a family whose history is traced back more than three hundred years, Father Dieleman was born near Ghent, Flan- ders, Belgium, January 30, 1833, being the youngest of eleven children, among whom he is the only priest and the only resident of the United States. His oldest sister, Barbara, who is now ninety years of age. has long been asso- ciated with a convent in Rosendale, Holland. During the Napoleonic campaigns his father, D. F. Dieleman, was forced into that famous general's army, remaining in service about nine years. During the long and perilous march to Moscow he was disabled in such a manner as to render further service impossible, so he was honorably discharged and pensioned. After his return to Belgium he engaged in the mercantile business until the infirmities of age forced him to relinquish active pursuits. His death occurred at the age of ninety-eight years. In early manhood he had married Josephine Meneve, who like himself was a native of Bel- gium and a member of a very old family of that country.

When a boy Leopold Dieleman prepared for military school at Neville, Belgium, but was prevented from entering such an institution, owing to the opposition of his mother. In- stead, he went to Ronlers, France, where he met Father Blondwell, a priest from America. From this priest he learned much concerning the Catholic Church and its work in America. Acting upon his advice, the young man deter- mined to prepare for the priesthood. At Ron- lers he completed the classics in a six years course, after which he entered the American College in Louvain, being one of the first stu- dents in that newly established institution. There he pursued a course in philosophy and theology for four years, graduating in 1861. In June of that year he was ordained in the

American College for the Oregon diocese, after which he continued his studies in preparation for his life work. September 13, 1862, he sailed from Antwerp on a small steamer, and at Southampton, England, embarked on the ocean steamer "LaPlatte," via St. Thomas to Colon, Panama, thence across the Isthmus, and from there via the steamer "Golden Age" to San Fran- cisco. From there he took the "Oraflama" to Portland, where he landed on the last day of October. His first field of labor was in Salem, where he was pastor until 1864, saying the first mass in that city when it had only nine hun- dred inhabitants, and building the first church in the town. This structure still stands and is utilized as a library for the more modern edi- fice in which the congregation now worship. Another enterprise which owed its inception to him was the convent of the Sisters of the Holy Name.

In 1864 Father Dieleman was sent to eastern Oregon for missionary work, and during the same year built a church at Canyon City, Grant county, that is still standing. During the ensuing years he traveled much through that region, carrying with him on his travels a camp blanket, some hardtack and jerked meat. In all that region there was no other priest. The consciousness that there might be dying souls in need of the last sacrament was an in- centive to hasten him on his lonely and oft- times dangerous rides, which extended to Fort Harney, seventy-five miles away ; Goose Lake, on the boundary line of Oregon and California, one hundred and seventy-five miles further ; Camp Bidwell, Cal., fifty miles beyond Goose Lake, and Reno, Nev., two hundred miles still further away. In 1871 he built the church at Baker City, Baker county, and secured for the congregation at that point a valuable property. The illness of his father called him back to Belgium in 1872, and he arrived at home in time to say the last mass over the body of his aged parent. Later he spent six weeks in Rome, where he had the honor of a private audience with Pope Pius IX. At that time the late Pope Leo, who was then a cardinal at the Vatican, led Father Dieleman into the pres- ence of the venerable pontiff.

From the time of his return to Oregon, in 1874. Father Dieleman was pastor of the church at Salem until 1879, when he was made rector of the parish at Astoria. The church here had been built in 1874, but there had been constant friction and it was hoped his tact could bring the factions into harmonious rela- tions. This hope was not destined to disap- pointment, for he soon created harmony. Under his supervision the church was finished and paid for. the rectory improved, St. Mary's

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hospital planned and built, and a convent school built that now has an attendance of over one hundred pupils, in charge of the Sis- ters of the Holy Name. He purchased the Old Seaside Hotel, or the Oregonian Hotel, and enlarged the building, making a complete hospital, two hundred feet long, with a capac- ity of one hundred patients, the same being in charge of the Sisters of Providence. Until 1900 he had complete charge of the entire work, but, finding it too much for one man, he secured an assistant, to whom he gave the oversight of the church and congregation, while he devotes his time to the hospital and chapel, and to visiting the old members, and the poor and sick in Astoria. In addition he acts as chaplain of Forts Stevens and Colum- bia. Aside from being a member of the Irving Club of Astoria he gives his attention wholly to religious work, in which he has met with a success merited by his long and arduous la- bors.

CHARLES SHERMAN WRIGHT. The beautiful city of Astoria, county-seat of Clatsop county, Ore., situated as it is, on the south bank of the Columbia river and near its mouth, has an excellent system of waterworks, banks, churches, newspapers, good schools and hospitals. Not least among the important edifices of the city may be reckoned its hotels, which make or mar the iccord of every city to some extent. The Occident Hotel, of which the gentleman above mentioned is proprietor, is among the best in the city, and is a favorite resort for the traveling public. It is first-class and up-to-date in every particular, and it has ever been the aim of its host to make it attractive and comfortable for all its guests.

Mr. Wright was born April 25, 1828, in the city of Boston, Mass., and is a descendant of sturdy ancestors whose patriotism and bravery were important features during our country's war for freedom. He is a son of Abel and Vare- zina ( Tower) Wright, grandson of Abel Wright and great-grandson of another Abel Wright. The latter was of Revolutionary fame and died as a result of a wound received at the battle of Bunker Hill. The grandfather was a bugler in the war of 1812, and his wife assisted in molding bullets and also carried bread to the soldiers dur- ing the same war. They lived on a farm and engaged in the cultivation of the soil. The father of Charles S. was born near Boston, and during early manhood learned the cooper tradic and later engaged in the manufacture of barrels. Fle afterward went to Boston and was a beef- packer in that city for years. He owned a fine farm, known as Tower Hill farm, thirty miles

from Boston, and it was there his death took place. This farm was the birthplace of his wife, who was a daughter of John Tower, a prominent farmer of that vicinity. Both of Mr. Wright's parents passed their closing years on this farm, the father being sixty-three years old at the time of his demise. They reared a family of nine children, six daughters and three sons; all grew to maturity, and two daughters and one son are still living.

Charles S. Wright was the recipient of a good education. He attended the public schools of Boston and later went to Cambridge. After leaving school, he was employed for several years in his brother-in-law's saw-mill, and in 1852 he came west, where he has since made his home. The trip was made on the steamer "United States" from New York to the Isthmus of Pan- ama, and after crossing the isthmus was com- pleted in the same way along the western coast to San Francisco. For fifteen years he followed mining and prospecting with fair success in the California mines, principally in Tuolumne, Mariposa and San Joaquin counties. In 1862 he went to Portland, Ore., for a short time, and afterward spent some time in the vicinity of Florence, Cal. His return to Oregon followed, and about that time he enlisted in the Union army as a private in Company E, First Regiment Oregon Volunteer Infantry. He served one year at Fort Caldwell and made an exceptionally good record, being mustered out of service at Van- couver, Wash .. Mr. Wright subsequently came to Astoria, Ore., and engaged in the hotel busi- ness, which he has followed continuously for a quarter of a century. He was a member of the firm of Megler & Wright, and assisted in oper- ating the Occident Hotel until 1901, when Mr. Megler died. The hotel was then operated for two years by E. Cummings, at the expiration of which time Mr. Wright became sole pro- prietor, being one of the oldest hotel men in Oregon.

In 1879 Mr. Wright was united in marriage with Margaret J. Russell, a native of Ontario, Can., who descended from a noted English fam- ily. Her paternal grandfather, John Russell, was a brother to Sir Lord Russell of England. This union resulted in the birth of five children, as follows: Charles Russell, hotel clerk ; George Prescott, also a clerk in Astoria : Alice Margaret ; John William Abel, and Alexander Sherman. Mr. Wright has through life been a valuable citizen. He has filled various offices faithfully and well. Carelessness has no place in his make- up, and whatever he does he performs to the best of his ability. He served as councilman for two years and was president of the board part of the time; and was county assessor two terms. In addition he was a member of the first board of

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water commissioners and was its first chairman, an office he has since held. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, which he joined in California thirty-seven years ago. He was the first noble grand of Beaver lodge of Astoria, which now has a charter. He also has the distinction of having been the first deputy grand master of that district. He was formerly a member of the encampment, and at the present writing is commander of Cushing Post, No. 14, G. A. R., having served many times in this capacity, and for six years was chaplain of the post. He has also served as aid-de-camp on the national commander's staff. He is also a mem- ber of Captain Willuski Camp, No. 12, Indian War Veterans of the north Pacific coast. In politics he inclines toward Republican principles and is a stanch supporter of that party. The family attend the Episcopal church, of which Mrs. Wright is an influential member, and the family tendency to uprightness is manifested in a marked degree. Few people gain such an honored place in the society in which they move, and none are more highly esteemed than the Wright family. Mr. Wright is prominently connected with the Chamber of Commerce of Astoria.

DANIEL WARREN STEARNS. Among the pioneer settlers of southwestern Oregon who have done their part in furthering the develop- ment of that section the subject of this writing deserves special mention. He was born in New Hampshire, December 31, 1821, at Chesterfield, Cheshire county, where he lived until he was fourteen years old, and then moved to Swanzey, in the same county. His common school edu- cation was supplemented by an advanced course in the academy and he remained on the farm until he was twenty-two years old. Shortly af- terward he went to Boston for a short time, and then clerked one year in a store at Thorndike, Mass. The next three years he was occupied in mercantile business at Ware, Mass., after which he again went to Boston, remaining one year. While there he made up his mind to go to California, and he and twenty-four others chartered a one hundred and twenty-eight ton schooner and fitted it out to take them to the Isthmus. There were forty persons on board and they expected to have no difficulty in getting transportation to San Francisco after crossing the Isthmus. But after waiting thirty days at the Isthmus, a portion of the company took pas- sage on a twenty-nine ton barque, which was crowded beyond the point of comfort or safety, and which was fifty days going to San Blas, Mexico, where the vessel was condemned. This threw the party on their own resources. After

waiting there several days a steamer from Pan- ama at last hove in sight. On board the boat was a man from Boston, who proposed to loan the party funds to pay their fare to San Francisco, the steerage fare being $20. The proposition was accepted, and later the money was returned, with accrued interest, at the rate of twenty per cent a month.

Upon landing, July 4, 1849, our subject and companions were entirely without funds, and were glad to work at anything they could get to do. Their experiences were never forgotten. They wandered from San Francisco to Sacra- mento and then to Sutter's Fort, where they se- cured employment in the hay fields. After mak- ing over $300 at that, Mr. Stearns and a com- panion purchased a four horse team and hegan teaming from Sacramento to the mines, receiv- ing twenty-five cents per pound for transporting provisions and supplies to Rose's Bar on the Yuba river. The following summer Mr. Stearns opened a miner's supply store at Trinity, and still continued the pack train during the summer. The next winter he kept a store at Sonora and in the spring went to Trinidad, and later to Salmon river, where he sold goods and ran a pack train until the fall of 1851. He next opened a gen- eral store at Yreka, which was conducted until May, 1852, when he sold out to advantage and returned to New Hampshire, owing to the illness of his wife.

In September, 1853, Mr. Stearns returned to the west, having great faith in the development of the country. Opening a store in San Fran- cisco, he carried on business there until the next spring, when he sold out and came to Scotts- burg, Ore. As a partner in the firm of Brown, Dunn & Co., he conducted a general store at Scottsburg until August, 1854, when, selling out, he started a store at Jacksonville, and did a suc- cessful business there for two years. During the winter of 1855-6 his store was destroyed by fire, his loss amounting to considerable, and he returned to Scottsburg, contracting to run a pack train for the government troops and serving as assistant commissary during the Rogue River war.

In 1857 Mr. Stearns bought from Dr. Wells a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres on the Umpqua river and engaged in farming and stock-raising until 1859. Leaving the ranch, he bought a hotel in Roseburg, where the Mc- Clellan House now stands, and also erected a livery and stage barn. In 1861 he went to Florence, Idaho, and for four years he conducted a store there and also ran a pack train between Lewiston and Warren, in company with A. F. Brown. In the winter of 1862 he was seventeen days going from Lewiston to Elk City on snow shoes, a distance of one hundred and twenty-five

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miles. In the fall of 1865 Mr. Stearns returned to his ranch near Elkton, Douglas county, where he continued to reside until 1882, when he moved to Oakland. Purchasing a fourteen hundred acre ranch in that locality, he engaged in stock- raising and farming and in addition he has thirty acres in prunes, and twenty acres in hops.

In 1847 Mr. Stearns was united in marriage with Almira Fay and they have reared five sons who are to-day among the most prominent citi- zens in their respective localities. They are George J., a merchant in Oakland; Loyal B., ex-judge of the circuit court of Portland; A. F., ex-county judge of Douglas county, now a hard- ware merchant in Oakland; J. W., of Portland ; and Ralph L., of Oakland. Mr. Stearns has al- ways taken an active part in the political issues of the day and was chosen to represent his dis- trict in the state legislature the year the state house was being erected. In 1882 further honors were thrust upon him and he was elected state senator. He had previously been elected county treasurer of Old Umpqua county in 1858. Mr. Stearns has been a very useful member of his community and has invariably used his influence for the good of the people. In fraternal circles he affiliates with the Masons, holding member- ship with the Royal Arch Chapter of Roseburg.

BENJAMIN YOUNG. A man of promin- ence in the industrial, financial and social cir- cles of Astoria, Benjamin Young has enjoyed a varied experience, possesses wide knowledge and is quick to recognize and aid every good enter- prise. For a number of years he was actively associated with the salmon-fishing and packing industries, being exceedingly fortunate in his operations. As a man and a citizen he is held in high repute, and by his excellent character and straightforward business methods has won the esteem and good will of the community in which he resides. A native of Sweden, he was born in 1843, in Malmo, and was there educated. His father, who was a commissioned officer in the Swedish army, reared three children, name- ly : Benjamin, with whom this sketch is chiefly concerned; Andrew, residing at Youngs River, is county commissioner for Clatsop county ; and Nils, of Malmo, Sweden.

Going to sea in his early life, Benjamin Young was employed in the merchant marine service, and visited all the important ports of the globe. Landing in San Francisco. Cal., in 1868, he was very much pleased with the city and decided to remain ashore. Finding work in a sugar factory, he was connected with it for about three years. Going back to Malmo in 1871, by way of Cape Horn, he married the young lady to whom he was betrothed, and immediately sailed for New

York city, from there returning by rail to San Francisco, where he resumed his position in the sugar factory. In 1874 Mr. Young located in Astoria, Ore., purchased an extensive outfit, and for a few years thereafter was successfully em- ployed in the fishing business. Then, with oth- ers, he originated and organized the Fishermen's Packing Company, and later the Scandinavian Packing Company, with which he was actively connected until 1886. The following ten years he carried on a large and prosperous canning business on the Fraser river, having as partners his brother. Andrew Young, and Gustavus Holmes. Benjamin Young had seen the possi- bilities that existed in Canadian fields in the line of salmon fishing, but was forced to pay such large duties that it robbed the business of profit, and he therefore sought a location in Canada. The company organized was known as the Brit- ish-American Packing Company, the first pack consisting of twenty thousand cases, which were easily disposed of in the large cities of the Do- minion. The demand far exceeding the supply, Mr. Young later built another cannery, located on the Skeena river, and continued profitably in the business. Always interested in the success of the work, with which he had so long been identified, Mr. Young was one of the first to appreciate the possibilities that existed in Alaska, with others organizing what is known as the Alaska Packing Company, its location being about four hundred miles south of the Yukon river. A vessel was chartered at San Francisco and all necessary supplies and machinery were taken to the north. The object of the expedi- tion was attained, and each succeeding year has found the company en route for Alaska. leaving usually March 15 and returning the latter part of September. In 1896 Mr. Young sold out his interests in the salmon canneries in British Co- lumbia to an English syndicate, and the proceeds of his years of industry were invested in Oregon. He has also been interested in various other en- terprises - railroads and steamboats - and was the chief promoter in organizing the Astoria Savings Bank.

In Malmo, Sweden, in 1871, Mr. Young mar- ried Christine Sevenson, whose father, Swan Poulson, now upwards of ninety years old. is still living on his farm near Malmo. Mrs. Young was one of a family of twelve children, eleven of whom were girls. Her only brother, Paul Sevenson, an inventor of some note, resides in British Columbia, being manager of the Brit- ish American Packing Company. Mrs. Young passed away March 14. 1902. Seven children were born of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Young, namely: Clara W., widow of Dr. Reams, late of Klamath Falls, Ore .: Johan E., who died in Astoria in 1900, was an attorney of prominence

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in this city and served as a representative to the state legislature one term; Caroline, was graduated from the State Normal School at Monmouth, Ore .; Sigfred A., who was gradu- ated from the University of Oregon, is now at- tending the School of Mines in Butte, Mont .; Arthur B., also a student at the Butte, Mont., School of Mines; Stanley, and Wilma. Mr. Young has always been greatly interested in educational matters, and has given his children superior advantages for learning. Johan E., the eldest son, was graduated from the Washington and Lee University, and Mrs. Reams, who now presides over her father's home, studied at the Conservatory of Music in Leipsic, Germany, and in Lund, Sweden. Politically Mr. Young is an influential member of the Democratic party. He has served as councilman, and was a member of the city school board when the Adair school- house was built.

AUGUSTUS C. WIRT. Before the tide of emigration had assumed noticeable proportions, and when the courage of men was tested by the absolute uncertainty of life for even a moment's time, a train moved across the plains to the slow tread of ox-hoofs, camping each night under the stars or clouds, and starting afresh each morn- ing with the hope splendidly renewed in the hearts of a hundred or more home-seekers. This was in the spring of 1844, and among those thus bravely determined to better their condition was Augustus C. Wirt, now one of the honored and venerable residents of Clatsop county.

Mr. Wirt has attained the remarkable age of ninety years, having been born in Lancaster county, Pa., October 22, 1814. His paternal grandparents came from Germany at a very early day, and his father, Philip, a hatter by trade, died in York county, Pa., in 1826, at the age of forty-five years. The only one living in a family of four sons and three daughters, Au- gustus C. started out to make his own living while still young, the death of his father throw- ing more or less responsibility on all of the children. At the age of nineteen he served an apprenticeship to a tailor, and he thereafter went to Ohio and worked at his trade for about seven years. In 1839 he went to Iowa, located at Muscatine, and worked at his trade until the spring of 1843. In the meantime, in 1840, he married Jerusha Brannon, who accompanied him to Missouri in 1843, with the expectation of con- tinuing the journey to the coast that same year. However, the arrival in Missouri was so late that the travelers determined to spend the winter there, and in the spring of 1844 started in ear- nest on the long and tiresome journey. Arriv- ing in Portland, November 10, 1844, Mr. Wirt

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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 105

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