Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present.., Part 120

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 120

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A cultured and accomplished woman, Frances Adele Hazard is prominently identified with the social progress of Marshfield. A native of Ore- gon, she was born March 1, 1860, near Rose- burg, Douglas county. She is the recorder of the Marshfield Lodge of the Degree of Honor and a member of the Eastern Star. She attends the Episcopal Church.

LOUIS HOLMES HAZARD. Distinguished in the annals of law, religion, politics and finance, the family to which Louis Holmes Hazard be- longs has filed a lien upon the gratitude and ap- preciation of this far northwestern country, which is in no wise diminished by the meritor- ious services of Louis H. Hazard, the present clerk of Coos county and the cashier of the First National Bank of Coquille. Presumably of Eng- lish extraction, the Hazards originally settled in the New England states, some of the members of the family making their way to the historic Stonington, Conn., where Silas Holmes Hazard, the grandfather of Louis Holmes Hazard, was born, February II, 1804. He early espoused the Presbyterian ministry, and about 1835 established his family in Baton Rouge, La., where his son and namesake, Silas Holmes Hazard, the father of Louis H., was born, June 16, 1838. Between 1844 and 1848 the grandfather had charge of pulpits in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Missis-

sippi, and in October, 1848, he located in Iowa City, Iowa, preaching there and in the surround- ing country until his death in 1853. (For a more detailed account of the Hazard family see sketch of Silas Holmes Hazard, immediately preceding this sketch.)

Left motherless at the age of two years, Louis Holmes Hazard, who was born in Solon, John- son county, Iowa, November 3, 1867, was edu- cated in the public schools of Winterset, Iowa, and when seventeen years of age he came to Oregon and joined his father. Two years later, when only nineteen years old, he was appointed deputy postmaster of Marshfield, under J. M. Arrington, and remained in that position until June, 1888. He then became associated in a clerical position with the Southern Oregon Con- pany, and four years later became storekeeper for the United States commissary department at Empire City. Two years later he became book- keeper for Henry Sengstacken, of Marshfield, and in June, 1896,'was appointed deputy county clerk, under Edward Rackleff. Upon the resig- nation of Mr. Rackleff, in 1899, he was ap- pointed clerk of Coos county, was elected in 1900 and re-elected in 1902. Mr. Hazard was also one of the organizers of the First National Bank of Coquille, which was incorporated May 27, 1903, and opened for business August 3. He was elected cashier of this institution, which is capitalized at $25,000. The president of the bank is A. J. Sherwood, of Coquille.

In political affiliation Mr. Hazard is a Demo- crat, and fraternally is connected with Chadwick Lodge No. 68, A. F. & A. M., the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Rebekahs of Co- quille. He has passed all the chairs in the Odd Fellows, and in May, 1903, was appointed grand outside sentinel in the Grand Encampment, I. O. O. F. August 12, 1896, Mr. Hazard was united in marriage with Mabel E. Hacker, who was born at Marshfield, Ore., January 31, 1875. A sketch of her father, Isaiah Hacker, may be found elsewhere in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Hazard have two children, Austin Holmes and Alice Marjorie.

JAMES R. REAMES. The ranch now oc- cupied by James R. Reames has been in the pos- session of his family since 1853, and in the mean- time has undergone a change from the wild and uncultivated to the modern and productive. Lo- cated one and a half miles southwest from Phoe- nix, it is three hundred and twenty acres in ex- tent, and the successful owner raises a variety of products, as well as much fine stock. He has a pleasant rural home, bearing slight resemblance to the one-room log cabin erected by his father when he first came here, and his barns are far

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superior to the rude shacks which protected from the blasts of winter the stock which crossed the plains. Mr. Reames and his industrious and capable sons are thoroughly practical in their methods, and their farm presents one of the typical examples of agriculture to be found in this county.

In Grayson county, Ky., where he was born January 6, 1844, Mr. Reames lived the first four years of his life, and in 1848 was taken by his parents to Macoupin county, Ill., where his father, Woodford Reames, engaged in farming and blacksmithing. In the spring of 1852, when James R. was eight years old, the family started across the plains with two wagons and six yoke of oxen, accomplishing the long journey to Ore- gon without any particular adventure. After spending the winter at St. Helen they came in the spring of 1853 to Jackson county, where the elder Reames selected the farm now occupied by his son, erected the log cabin heretofore men- tioned, and finally cleared a little patch of ground for the sowing of the first seed. Soon after- ward he went to Talent and Fort Wagner with his wife, and four children, in both of which places the settlers had stockades to protect them from the Indians. After the Rogue River war life and property were assured greater safety, and the family returned to their own, and indus- triously set about making a home in the wilder- ness. The father lived to be seventy-two years of age, and almost up to the time of his death in 1882, kept his cheerful spirits and good health. His wife, many years younger than himself, sur- vived him until 1891, dying at the age of sixty- two years. Mrs. Reames was formerly Malinda White, and she was the mother of six children, of whom Thomas G., the oldest son, is deceased ; Martha is the widow of Joseph Rapp; James R .; Evan R. lives at Klamath Falls, Ore .; Me- dora is the wife of Oliver Harbaugh of Jackson- ville, Ore .; and Richard died at an early age.

Until 1869 James R. Reames lived on the home farm and then tried to improve his pros- pects by engaging in the livery business in Jack- sonville for a couple of years. He afterward clerked in a general store in Phoenix for five years, making himself a valuable employe of Reames & Sachs. At the end of this period Mr. Reames, in company with C. S. Seargent, pur- chased the business which they conducted until 1876, when their store was destroyed by fire. Mr. Reames soon afterward opened a business of his own, which he conducted for five years or until he located on his present farm. In 1875 he was united in marriage with Alice Strong, of which union six children have been born: Lillie, Elsie, Harry W., Ernest, Archie, and Nellie, all of whom are still at home. From his home in Phoenix Mr. Reames returned to the old home

place in Jackson county, where he has since lived uninterruptedly. He finds his mercantile experi- ence of invaluable aid in the management of his farm, but naturally prefers the occupation in which he was trained in his youth, and which nets him a comfortable yearly income. From time to time Mr. Reames has taken an active in- terest in local politics, and for eighteen successive years has been a member of the school board. He is a supporter of the Democratic party, al- though he is liberal minded enough to vote for the man best qualified for the office in question. He is esteemed as a man of honest convictions, industry, and progressiveness, and his farm and himself are a credit to his prosperous and well- conditioned community.

ORLANDO COOLIDGE, JR. In the pass- ing of Orlando Coolidge, the city of Ashland as well as Jackson county lost one of its most highly respected citizens, and his name will long be remembered as the founder of the nursery industry in southern Oregon.

Orlando Coolidge was born in September, 1825, in Augusta, Me., which was also the birthplace of his father, Orlando Coolidge, Sr., who was a cooper by trade. He followed that occupation successfully in his native state and later in Illinois. He was a pioneer settler at Elkton, Winnebago county, Ill., but in after years he went to Bonaparte, Iowa, where he died and was soon followed to the grave by his wife.

Orlando Coolidge, Jr., was educated in the common schools and rose to prominence solely by his own exertions. When a boy he began learning the cooper's trade, under his father's guidance, which he followed in his early man- hood. In 1850 or '52 he made his first trip to Oregon, but subsequently returned to his home in Illinois for a time. Again crossing the great plains, he spent several years min- ing in California, and in 1859 he purchased a farm three miles from Ashland in the Rogue River valley. This farm contained one hun- dred and sixty acres, and with keen foresight Mr. Coolidge began improving and cultivating his land, setting out extensive orchards and laying the foundation for the nursery business which gave him much prominence in after years. In 1869 he purchased additional land on the present site of Ashland, and many broad acres owned by him are now dotted with resi- dences. At one time he owned a tract of land extending from North Main street back to the top of the hill between Bush and Church streets. Upon this land he at once erected an- other nursery, which gave him about thirty- five acres of the most extensive variety of

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fruit and nut trees grown in this locality, as well as a complete assortment of small fruits, ornamental trees and flowers. For many years he did a flourishing business, and the greater part of the orchards in southern Oregon as well as in northern California were originally stocked from his nurseries. He was unusually successful, being especially fitted for his pro- fession, which he followed all his active days.

Mr. Coolidge also built several fine resi- dences on his land and laid out additions to the city of Ashland. The most important of these are Nob Hill and Coolidge additions, the lat- ter comprising eighteen acres. He was a man of considerable local influence, but could never be prevailed upon to accept public office, al- though he will long be remembered as one who rendered eminent services for the ad- vancement of the interests of his section of the state. He built a large residence in Ash- land, which is surrounded by a well kept lawn, rich with a profusion of flowers, and this is the present home of his widow, whom he mar- ried in Illinois in 1857. He died at his home in Ashland on May 26, 1896, mourned by a large circle of friends.

Mrs. Mary Jane Coolidge is a native of St. Albans, Vt., and is the eldest daughter of Nathaniel and Fannie (Allen) Foss. Her ma- ternal grandfather, Ebenezer Allen, was born in the Green Mountain state and rendered val- uable services in the war of 1812. He was a pioneer settler of New York state and was a son of Gen. Ethan Allen, the hero of Ticon- deroga, whose history is so familiar to all Americans. Nathaniel Foss, the father of Mrs. Coolidge, was born in New Hampshire. When grown to manhood, he followed agricultural pursuits at St. Albans, and later went west and was among the early settlers of Winne- bago county, Ill. He settled on the old Bates farm south of Durand and carried on farming and stock-raising, but in after years he went to Blue Earth, Minn., and followed farming there during the latter years of his life. His wife also died there. They reared five chil- dren, Mrs. Coolidge being the eldest and the only daughter. Her brothers are as follows: Jay Foss, who took an active part in the Civil war, as a member of the Seventy-fourth Illi- nois Regiment, is now a resident of Califor- nia ; Julius, a farmer near Talent; Jed, who died in Kansas ; and Melvin, a citizen of Min- nesota.

Mrs. Coolidge was reared and educated in her native state, mainly at St. Albans Hill, Vt. In 1862 she went to San Francisco by the Panama route, and from there proceeded by stage to southern Oregon. She is the mother of one daughter, Mrs. Minnie Ogg,

of Ashland. Mrs. Coolidge is well known in fraternal circles, affiliating with the Degree of Honor; Ladies of the Maccabees; Rebekahs ; and Woman's Relief Corps. She has a large circle of intimate friends and acquaintances who respect her for her many virtues.

FRANK FATE. While the old homestead on Deer creek was responding to the industry of its pioneer settler, David Fate, yielding many kinds of farm produce, and placing on the market some of the finest stock in Doug- las county, sturdy sons were learning prac- tical lessons in its various departments of activity, and storing up physical energy for their mature years. Frank Fate, the second of these sons, was born on the Deer creek farm in 1856, and remained there until his third year, then removing with his parents to Days creek, where he remained until his seven- teenth year. He then started out to carve his own fortune in east Oregon, and while en- gaged in the cattle business, principally in buying and selling, was connected with sev- eral large operators, among them Dixon & Dullin, Crowlin & Burns, and French & De- vine. Returning to the home place in 1876, he remained for a year, and in 1877 took a drove of sheep to Washington territory, where he lived and prospered for a number of years.

In 1882 Mr. Fate returned to his home in Douglas county and bought a farm five miles east of Canyonville, on the South Umpqua, remaining thereon for a couple of years. He then married May Raymond, a native daugh- ter of Oregon, and settled with her on a place on Days creek, where he lived about three years. He became associated with his present farm first as a renter, but at the end of eight years purchased three hundred and seventy acres, a part of the Ben and George Stout and Perry Sitton donation claim. This farm is half a mile east of Perdue, and skirting the Umpqua. This is considered one of the most fertile farms along the river, and under the progressive efforts of the present owner, is developing into a model property. Mr. Fate has just completed a new barn, and contem- plates erecting a residence which shall not lack any of the comfort or convenience at- tached to the modern rural home. He is en- gaged in general farming and stock-raising, and his methods of management are those of the latter-day scientific tiller of the soil, who combines some leisure and study with work which would otherwise be monotonous and wearing.

At the present time Mr. Fate is serving as a school clerk, and he has previously held

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about all of the offices within the gift of his fellow townsmen. He takes an active part in Republican politics, although extreme liberal- mindedness dictates his choice of a candidate. Mr. and Mrs. Fate are the parents of two daughters, Adu and Mildred. Mr. Fate is con- nected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

WILLIAM H. WILSON. A pioneer settler of western Oregon whose history is closely con- nected with that of the Applegates, is the subject of this writing, who was a man of prominence in Douglas county, and whose death took place in February, 1902. He was born in Warren coun- ty, Tenn., December 18, 1822. When he was a mere boy he went to Missouri with his parents and lived in St. Clair county until 1843, and then accompanied them across the plains to Oregon, traveling in the same immigration train with the Applegates. After his arrival in Oregon he spent seven years in the Willamette valley and then joined a regiment of young men who en- listed and marched against the Cayuse Indians, after the massacre of Dr. Whitman and others. Mr. Wilson passed unhurt through various en- gagements, but some time prior to the Indian war, he was severely wounded in a skirmish with some Indians at Oregon City.

Mr. Wilson made his first trip to California in 1848 and afterwards made several expeditions to the mines, making his home with Jesse Ap- plegate during that time. In Polk county in Oc- tober, 1850, he was joined in marriage with Mrs. Hannah (Dickenson) Gillan, a daughter of Spencer Dickenson and widow of John Gil- lan, who died many years ago. Soon after mar- riage Mr. Wilson and wife traveled with a team of oxen south to Douglas county and took up a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres, two and a half miles east of Yoncalla. Upon this Mr. Wilson built a one-room cabin from logs hewed out of timber and this rude dwelling sheltered the family for many years, but was replaced later by a more commodious and sub- stantial dwelling. He engaged in clearing the land and tilling the soil and took an active part in the upbuilding of that section, carrying on stock-raising and general farm- ing. In politics he was a Republican and served several years as county commissioner and as justice of the peace, and was finally chosen a member of the State Legislature, making an ef- ficient public servant. During the Rogue River Indian war he took an active part in quelling the disturbances and compelling the Indians to sur- render. He lived the four score years allotted to man and when he died he was mourned by a large concourse of friends who held him in

high esteem. He was a consistent member of the Christian Church, as is also his widow, a brief sketch of whose life follows.

MRS. WILLIAM H. WILSON, nee Dicken- son, was born November 5, 1832, in New Jersey. When she was five years old she accompanied her parents to Columbiana county, Ohio, which continued to be her home until 1844, when they moved west to Lee county, Iowa, where the par- ents took up a government land claim. While residing in that county Hannah Dickenson was joined in marriage with John Gillan, and in 1847 they came overland to Oregon, traveling with four yoke of oxen. They were attacked several times by the Indians, but as many times the lat- ter were repulsed, and they finally reached their desired destination safely. In 1847, in Novem- ber, they settled on a claim near Eugene in Lane county, and the following year Mr. Gillan died at the mines, after a brief married life.

In the fall of 1850 Mrs. Gillan contracted a second matrimonial alliance, by uniting with Wil- liam H. Wilson, as before mentioned. Eight children blessed their union, namely, John D., who resides on a part of the donation claim near Yoncalla; Susan J., wife of James Cowan, re- siding near Drain; Ellen, widow of John Burt; Minnie, who lives with her mother in Drain; Mary, wife of James Brown, of Eastern Oregon ; William, a railroad employe at Drain; Joseph B., who is employed on a United States dredge boat on the Columbia river; and Maggie, wife of Harry Cook, also of Douglas county. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Wilson left the farm and moved into Drain, locating there in September, 1902. She is a thorough Christian with a very kindly disposition and has a large circle of friends who wish for her many years of happy and peaceful life.

WILLIAM J. FREEMAN is recognized as one of the substantial men of Central Point and his success rests upon the sure foundation of personal ability and integrity, and upon those pleasing traits which inspire confidence and good will. As a harness, saddle and agri- cultural implement dealer, Mr. Freeman is catering to a long-felt want in this community, having provided himself with a stock calcu- lated to fill all requirements in both depart- ments of his business. He became a resident of Central Point in 1891, coming from Salem, Ore., where two years of practical experience fitted him for the harness and saddlery busi- ness. In time he added all manner of farming implements, as well as buggies and wagons, and today the liberal patronage accorded his

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establishment must needs inspire encourage- ment and confidence in the future. As proof of his faith in his adopted state he has in- vested in town and country property, own- ing besides his store and town home, an in- terest in a prune orchard of sixteen acres, and an apple orchard of twenty-six acres. Wide awake and alert to opportunity, his energies extend to every avenue of municipal life, to Republican politics, and to fraternalism as found in the Ancient Order of United Work- men. Although by no means a politician or on the alert for official recognition, he has creditably filled many local offices, and has in- variably exerted an influence on the side of good government, temperance, education and morality.

The early life of Mr. Freeman did not differ materially from that of other farm-reared youths of his time. In McHenry county, Ill., where he was born March 22, 1867, his father, Henry, owned and operated a fair-sized farm, he being one of the substantial agriculturists of his neighborhood. Henry Freeman was born in Potsdam, N. Y., June 28, 1837, and when a child removed with his parents to Illi- nois while that state was yet a wilderness. Here the parents died, leaving him in charge of the farm, and as the oldest son in a family of several children, it devolved upon himself and an older sister to care for those less able to look out for themselves. It thus happened that his youth was given over to hard work and responsibility far too heavy for his years, yet he bore it bravely, as became one bound to succeed in the world, and to whom had been given the splendid inheritance of good health and spirits. The outbreak of the Civil war furnished practically the first genuine change in the life of this heavily burdened but am- bitious lad. Enlisting in Company H, Ninety- fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, he was raised to the rank of sergeant, and served for three years, participating in the Red River cam- paign in many important battles and skir- mishes. He saw much of the grewsome and terrible side of warfare, and it was with a sense of relief that he returned to the peace of his agricultural life in Illinois. Having won the right to look, out for himself and establish a home of his own, Mr. Freeman married, May 3, 1866, Sarah A. Howard, who was born in Vermont, March 2, 1846, and who is the mother of five children, of whom William J. is the eldest. Laverne, the second son, is making his home in California; Mrs. Myrta L. Dygert lives in Illinois ; Horace C. lives on the old place in Illinois; and Lysle L. also lives in Illinois. Mr. Freeman is living retired in Greenwood, Ill. He is a Republican in po-

litical affiliation, and has held many minor offices in his vicinity. He gave all of his chil- dren a practical education, and William J., as the oldest son, attended the high school at Woodstock, Ill. His first business experience was acquired as a clerk in the United States Express Company's office at Elgin, Ill., after which he was put on the road, and remained with the company for two years. In 1889 he came to Oregon, locating at Salem, and as be- fore stated, came in 1891 to Central Point, since his home, and the field of his praise- worthy business efforts. In Central Point, Mr. Freeman married, May 3, 1894, Minnie Owen, daughter of W. A. Owen, a pioneer of Oregon. Mrs. Freeman is a native of Jack- sonville, Ore. They have three children, Henry A., Leonard J. and Lola.

ORIS BURNETT ESTES, M. D. Among professional men of Astoria, Ore., the gentleman above mentioned occupies a position of conse- quence. Aside from the fact that he has been a successful practitioner of medicine for the past twenty years, he is the proud possessor of a fine library of more than one thousand volumes, and is said to be an artist of no mean ability. Among his best paintings is one entitled "Shoeing the Old Bay Mare." Dr. Estes also executed a painting of Astoria, from a little sketch and from additional information gleaned from authentic sources. It is a real work of art and is very valuable, showing as it does, the first postoffice, etc. He has also a large and interesting collec- tion of Indian curios.

Dr. Estes is a native of Savannah, Mo., and descended from an old and well known family of that name. He is a son of Woodson S. Estes, a grandson of Joel Estes and a great-grandson of Peter Estes, a native of Virginia. The latter moved into Kentucky in early manhood and in 1829 went to St. Joseph, Mo., being one of the pioneer settlers of that place, where he carried on farming and trading. Joel Estes, the grand- father, was born in Kentucky, and, like his father, was an agriculturist. He was nineteen years old when the family removed to St. Joseph, Mo., and soon afterward he settled, for a time, on Lincoln creek, of the same state. In 1859 he went to the vicinity of Pike's Peak, Colo., and dis- covered what is now called Estes Park. After an eighteen-months' residence there, he sought a change of scene and climate in Arkansas, and finally closed his career in the Indian Territory or "garden spot of the world."

Woodson S. Estes, father of Oris B. Estes, was for many years a successful hardware mer- chant in St. Joseph, Mo. He united his for- tunes with Elizabeth Emily Wilson, a daughter

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of Rev. J. D. Wilson, a pioneer Baptist minister of the Knights of Pythias; assistant surgeon of the Uniform Rank Knights of Pythias, and is a whose labors called him from Kentucky to Mis- souri. This union was blessed with a family of 'member of the Uniformed Rank Ancient Order children, three of whom are still living, namely : of United Workmen; the Degree of Honor ; Be- nevolent Protective Order of Elks; Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Foresters. He is also a member of and examining physician for the local orders of Ancient Order of United Workmen, Eagles, Lions and Redmen. His wife is a member and stanch supporter of the Baptist Church, and the family attend divine service of that denomination. O. B., the subject of this narrative; Mrs. Ella C. Hatten, of Riverton, Iowa ; and Jones W., a resi- dent of Columbia City, Wash. The family, al- though southerners, were northern sympathizers, and upon the outbreak of the Civil war, became the victims of guerrilla warfare and were forced to flee north for safety. The father entered the Union army as a member of the Eighteenth Regi- ment, Missouri Volunteer Infantry, and was cap- Under Governor Pennoyer, Dr. Estes was ap- pointed state health officer of the port of Astoria, and served four years. It was during this time that the steamer "Oregon" was quarantined on account of the prevalence of smallpox aboard. During Cleveland's first term he was appointed pension examiner for his district-an office re- quiring the services of but a single surgeon-and he has held this office up to the present time. He is also examining physician for a number of life insurance companies. Dr. Estes has made a good record and is highly esteemed for virtue and probity. He has a large and lucrative practice, and as a citizen he is essentially broad-minded and liberal. tain of his company. He rose to the rank of ma- jor and his career as a soldier was most com- mendable. He was wounded in the battle of Shiloh, and, as soon as able, he rejoined his fam- ily, who were at that time refugees at Greenfield, Ill. He never recovered from his injuries, and an effort was made to save his life by an opera- tion, but he succumbed to the inevitable and his death took place at Riverton, where his widow resided till the fall of 1903. She is now living at Columbia City, Wash., with her son, J. W. She was most loyal to the Federal cause, and it was she who raised the first Union flag at Camden Point, Mo.

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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 120

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