Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present.., Part 122

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 122

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In politics, Mr. Durland has ever been Re- publican of strong convictions. He also took a decided interest in the schools of the county and has served as director for twenty-one years. Fraternally, he has affiliated with the Masonic order since 1864. In religious affairs his second wife was a member of the Christian Church, but Mr. Durland is a member of the Presbyterian Church.

WILLIAM R. DICKISON. In Musking- umm county, Ohio, occurred the birth of Wil- liam R. Dickison on August 22, 1840. He is a son of Isaac and Rebecca (Heckett) Dicki- son, the former a native of Pennsylvania and of Scotch descent, the grandfather having im- migrated to America from Scotland, and set- tled in Pennsylvania. When a young man Isaac Dickison removed to Ohio, and there followed the independent life of the farmer. While a resident of that state he was united in marriage with Miss Rebecca Heckett, and six children were born to them, only two of whom are living, William R. and James, the latter being a resident of Ohio. Mrs. Rebecca Dicki- son died in 1846, and a number of years later Mr. Dickison married his second wife, a Mrs. Wilson. Politically Mr. Dickison was a Dem- ocrat, but was not an office-seeker. Personally he was a quiet, unassuming man.

When but six years of age William R. Dicki- son was left motherless, and when only eight years old was thrown upon his own resources, to shift for himself as best he might. A neigh- boring farmer took the lonely child into his home, and for a number of years he worked for his board and clothes. The breaking out of the Civil war, however, changed the monotony of his life. At the first call for troops he re- sponded by enlisting in Company A, Fifteenth Ohio Infantry, to serve for three months. His regiment was assigned to duty in Virginia, and there the most of his three-months term was spent. Upon the expiration of this time he re-enlisted in Company G, United States Infantry, for three years, or until the close

of the war. That he saw active service is shown by the number of battles in which he participated, among them being the following: Shiloh, Siege of Corinth, Dogwalk, Stone River, Chickamauga, and Sherman's campaign in Georgia during May, June, July and August, 1864. He received his honorable discharge at Lookout Mountain October 18, 1864, and was mustered out at Nashville, Tenn. On his re- turn to his native county in 1865 the military committee recommended him to recruit a com- pany, but owing to ill health he declined the honor. After recovering his health Mr. Dicki- son worked as a laborer for a short time, and then resumed farming operations by renting a farm in Muskingum county, continuing to make it his home for three years. Two years following this he was engaged in managing a farm for others, and it was during this time that he was united in marriage with Martha A. Morrison, a native of Muskingum county. After his marriage Mr. Dickison located on rented property in Hardin county, but after remaining there six years decided to settle on a place of his own, and forthwith returned to his native county and purchased a farm which was formerly the property of his father-in-law, and there resided for eight years. At this period in his career, in 1887, he decided to locate in Oregon, and after disposing of his land, implements and stock, chartered a car in which he loaded his household goods and started for his new home in the west. After liv- ing one year on a farm near Ashland he went to Medford and conducted a hotel, but one year afterward sold out and rented a farm on the Jacksonville-Ashland road for one year. He then purchased the farm near Table Rock, which is now under the care and supervision of his son, Charles A., with whom Mr. Dicki- son makes his home.

To Mr. and Mrs. William R. Dickison two children were born, Charles A. and William E., the latter of whom died when five years old. Mrs. Dickison passed away in 1899. Mr. Dickison is a member of the Lutheran Church, and politically votes for the candidates of the Republican party.

WILLIAM H. DEVORE, M. D. Among the prominent and progressive physicians and sur- geons of Douglas county is William H. Devore, M. D., who has the distinction of being the only medical practitioner in Canyonville. Well edu- cated and skillful, he has built up a thriving practice in this locality, achieving success in his chosen profession. A native of Fayette county, Ill., he was born March 4, 1850. His father, who was a farmer by occupation, died in 1870.

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Acquiring a thorough knowledge of the common branches of learning in the public schools of Vandalia, Ill., William H. Devore was subse- quently engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1878, when he turned his attention to the study of medicine. Going to Cincinnati, Ohio, he en- tered the Eclectic Medical Institute, from which he was graduated with the degree of M. D. in June, 1882. Crossing the country to California, Dr. Devore began the practice of his chosen pro- fession in Meridian, Sutter county, remaining there about eight years. Coming to Oregon in 1890, he continued his medical career in Oakland for a year and a half, and then located in Can- yonville, where he has a large and remunerative practice.

In 1881 Dr. Devore married Martha Hammel, who was born in Illinois, and they are the par- ents of seven children, namely: Charles O., John B., Myrtle M., Binger H., Bernice M., Bertha P. and William H., Jr. The doctor's mother accompanied him from her Illinois home to Meridian, Cal., and died at Grants Pass, Ore., at the age of seventy-seven years. Dr. Devore is an unswerving Republican in politics, and has served with ability and fidelity in various pub- lic offices, at the present time being a member of the city council. For four years Dr. Devore was a member of the United States board of pen- sion examiners, but resigned to devote his time wholly to his growing practice, which extends over a radius of fifty miles east and southeast of Canyonville and keeps him busy most of the time. Fraternally he is a member of the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows. He comes of substantial German ancestry on the paternal side, and has inherited to a marked degree those qualities of thrift, industry and integrity that characterized his forefathers.

WILLIAM McKNIGHT. Although passed from the scenes of earth, the memory of Will- iam McKnight, one of the best known pioneer inhabitants of western Oregon, will long live in the hearts of those who were privileged to know him. He was born near Richmond, Va., November 19, 1833, the son of a wealthy and prominent planter. At the age of eleven years he ran away from home, and for four years traveled through Tennessee. At the end of that period he returned home, but remained with his parents only one night. The passion for travel and adventure had become strong within him, and he decided to join the Argonauts of 1849. Cross- ing the plains to the Pacific coast in that year he was at first engaged in mining in California.

Soon afterward he visited British Columbia and was similarly occupied there for a time. Set- tling in Oregon in 1854 he took up land in Look- ing Glass valley, Douglas county, and set about the improvement of a ranch. Disposing of this property in 1866 he purchased four hundred acres of fine land on the south fork of the Coos river, about seventeen miles from Marshfield, where he carried on general farming until his death, Sep- tember 8, 1898. An able, industrious and enter- prising man of high character, he was a suc- cessful ranchman and dairyman, and met with well-merited financial success in his undertak- ings. He was a Republican in politics and a member of the United Brethren church. Mr. McKnight was an active participant in the most important undertakings of western Oregon dur- ing its pioneer days. Soon after the outbreak of the Indian war of 1855 and 1856, known in history as the Rogue River Indian war, he en- listed as a private in the company recruited by Captain Sheffield and served until peace was de- clared. The principal engagement in which he participated was the battle of Big Meadows.

May 1, 1859, Mr. McKnight married Mary Ellen Wright, who was born in Warren county, Ind., June 23, 1843, a daughter of Jesse Wright. Born and reared in Ohio, Jesse Wright moved from there to Indiana, where he was an ex- tensive farmer. In 1847, being forced to give up work on account of ill health, he determined to try the effects of a new climate. In 1847, ac- companied by his wife and their four children, he started across the plains for Oregon, but died en route, leaving his wife to continue the journey with the children and stock. Mrs. Wright, whose maiden name was Margaret Hare, was born in Ohio, March 15, 1810. With her family she came to Oregon, losing part of her stock on the way. Locating in Lane county, Mrs. Wright took up a donation claim on the present site of Engene. Subsequently marrying for her second husband John Loose, she removed to Benton county, thence, twelve years later, to Douglas county, settling near Looking Glass. In Ben- ton county Mr. Loose had the first apple-bear- ing orchard in the state. He died in 1864, at his farm on the Coos river, and Mrs. Loose, who survived him many years, died at the home of her daughter, in Marshfield, in 1893. Of the union of William and Mary Ellen (Wright) Mc- Knight, five children were born, namely: Frances Adele, wife of Silas H. Hazard, de- ceased, of Marshfield; Amanda Ellen, wife of George W. Loggie, of Whatcom, Wash .; Annie Margaret, wife of Charles Metlin, of Marshfield; Sarah Belle, deceased, who became the wife of E. W. Dean, who is also now de- ceased; and Charles F., an attorney, of Marsh- field.

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

JOHN B. GRIFFITH is a man who earnest- ly endeavors as far as may be possible, to carry the principles of his religious belief into his daily life, and no one is brought into contact with him for even a brief space of time without feeling that they are in the presence of a man honest and sincere to the core, and ever trying to do just what is right toward all. In addition to giving the force of example to his beliefs, Mr. Griffith was ordained a minister of the Baptist Church in 1878, and has preached both morals and religion in the various communities where he has since been located. Upon his removal to the far west in 1884 he took up the cause of the Baptist denomination in that section, as a pio- neer minister of the church, and to him belongs the distinction of having organized all the Bap- tist churches in Klamath county, and for a number of years past he has officiated as pastor of the church of that denomination in Klamath Falls.

A worthy descendant of a distinguished south- ern family, Mr. Griffith's lineage is traced direct- ly back to Benjamin Griffith, his great-grand- father, who, although born in South Carolina, was the first of the family to locate in Georgia, and for a number of years lived in Hall county. Upon his removal to Gilmer county, that state, he was accompanied by his son Stephen and fam- ily. He was in affluent circumstances, a planta- tion owner of large possessions, and his remain- ing days were spent in Gilmer county. His son Stephen, the grandfather of John B., was born in the neighborhood of Greenville, S. C., in 1808. and about 1863 he left Gilmer county, Ga., for a home in Alabama, spending the latter part of his life in Walker county, where he died in 1892. Being a man of consequence in his sec- tion, he was elected to the state legislature and was officiating in that capacity during the ses- sion just prior to the one which adopted the or- dinances of secession. He opposed secession, however, and was a strong Abolitionist.

William K. Griffith, the father of John B., was born in Hall county, Ga., January 13, 1830. But two years of age when his parents and grandparents moved to Gilmer county, it was there that his home was located ever afterward, on the old Georgia plantation. Unlike the re- mainder of his people, he was a Union man and a Republican. Although loyal to the Union in his heart and not a coward, when the time came to assume his part in the great internecine con- flict, he did not have courage to take up arms against dearly beloved relatives and neighbors. and thus became an alien in his family, which held an indisputable place of prominence in the south, and to avoid being drafted into the Union army he joined the Confederates, but never fired a shot in their cause. He enlisted in

1862 and served in the lieutenant quarter-mas- ter's department until the close of the war, be- ing mustered out of service in May, 1865.

The marriage of William K. Griffith took place in 1850 in Gilmer county, and he was united with Esther Wikle, a daughter of Henry Wikle, a native of Germany, who afterward came to America and settled in North Carolina for a time, and in 1839 removed to Gilmer county, Ga. Mrs. Griffith is a native of Haywood coun- ty, N. C., having been born in November, 1829, and although advanced in years, she is still living on the old plantation in Georgia. Nine chil- dren were born to her and her husband, and the latter passed to his eternal rest at the old home, January 16, 1895. Their children are as fol- lows: Stephen H., who resides at Bedfield, Kla- math county, Ore .; John B .; Levi, who resides in Giliner county, Ga .; Sarah, wife of W. L. Pettit, of Somervell county, Tex .; William, who resides in Poe valley, Klamath county, Ore .; Mary, wife of J. C. Walker, also a resident of Gilmer county, Ga .; Asa, deceased; Jane, wife of William Cloninger of Gilmer county, Ga .; and James, who is also deceased.

Born as he was at the old Georgia home pre- viously referred to, near Ellijay, July 22, 1853, John B. Griffith attended the common schools of Georgia during his youth, and in 1872 he was sent to. Alabama to live with his 'grand- father, and it was there that he had the advan- tage of furthering his education by a two years' attendance at high school. During this interval, in 1873, he became licensed to preach the gospel in Alabama, and after his removal to Texas he was ordained a minister of the Baptist Church in 1878. He followed teaching, however, as a profession four years in Alabama, and after re- moving to Texas in 1875, he took up the double occupation of teaching and preaching in Collin county, continuing for four years, subsequently removing to Montague county, where he discon- tinted teaching and devoted his undivided at- tention to his ministerial labors, during his four years' residence in that county.

It was not until 1884 that he went to the northwest and located in Poe valley, Klamath county, Ore., and he has been identified with that section ever since, not alone as a minister and a teacher, having taught the Bonanza school the first year and the Klamath Falls school the second year of his residence there, but he took up the occupation of farming in 1886 in Poe val- ley, and has been successfully engaged in farm and ranch pursuits ever since. In 1899 he pur- chased two hundred and thirty-six acres of land, ten miles east of Klamath Falls, and re-engaged in farming and stock-raising, having met with fair success and made many substantial improve- ments on his place. He was closely allied with

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the Populist party during its existence, but he now coincides with the Democratic party. Mean- time, in 1888, he was elected county surveyor of Klamath county on the Democratic ticket, fill- ing that office in a most capable manner for one term. The home ties of Mr. Griffith date back to June 14, 1876, when he was united in mar- riage with Miss Mary E. Spencer in Col- lin county, Tex., the lady having been born in the same county August 10, 1858. Seven chil- dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Griffith, but the third and fourth, Esther and Carl by name, were removed from the family circle by death some time since. The others still surround the fireside with cheer and comfort and are named William E., Tisdale E., Attie, Clyde and Maria.

JOHN WALTER PRALL. The fortune which John Walter Prall has made in life is all the more valued since it is the result of his own unaided efforts. Thrown upon his own resources at the age of seven years, he has clearly demon- strated his ability to make and hold a prominent position in the every day affairs of life, while earning a livelihood and accumulating a com- petence not neglecting to give of his success that potent influence which materially aids in the moral, mental and financial growth of a com- munity. Mr. Prall is now a resident of Medford, Jackson county, and though but a brief time has elapsed since his permanent settlement in the west he enjoys the confidence and esteem of all who have come to know him. Commercially, he is well known, the result of his successful con- nection with a brick yard, while as a stock dealer no man on the coast exceeds him in the quan- tity of stock purchased.

John Walter Prall was born in Fayette coun- ty, Ohio, November 4, 1850, the son of Jacob Prall, also a native of that state. The elder man was a well-known hunter and trapper of the states in that section of the country and became very friendly and intimate with the Indians, by whom it is supposed he was killed, as he disap- peared when his son, John W., was but six months old and was never heard of again. His mother was in maidenhood Mary Ann Ryan, who was born near Kokomo, Howard county, Ind., the daughter of Messick Ryan, who was born and died in that state, having spent his entire life as a farmer. Mrs. Prall was married three times, besides two sons and one daughter by her first husband having two sons and two daughters by the other unions. John Walter Prall was the youngest of his father's family and received his education in the common schools of Indiana and Missouri, having been taken to the former state when he was but six months old, his mother re- turning then to her parental home. In the fall

of 1856 the mother took her family to Iowa, traveling in a large company to Spirit Lake. When within seventy-five miles of their destina- tion they stopped to spend the winter, which proved a disastrous one for them, as the Sioux Indians went on the war path, killing seventy- two families in the train, including nearly all of the relatives of Mr. Prall. Out of seventeen taken prisoner only two were rescued, these two being spared for eleven months when the govern- ment bought them; the others were tortured to death, one by one. The remainder of the party sought a refuge in northern Missouri, where Mr. Prall located near Trenton, Grundy county, securing a brief attendance in one of the primitive schools of the county. The following year found him earning his own livelihood, remaining in Missouri until 1861, when with the family he went to Osceola, Iowa. After the war he again located in Grundy county, where he continued to make his home until his marriage in 1868, in that year removing to Clay county, Neb. He there engaged in farming and with the accumulation of sufficient funds became interested in the cat- tle business, buying cattle and hogs and shipping to the markets of Chicago and Omaha with prof- itable results. In 1890 he came to The Dalles, Ore., and in the surrounding country purchased a thousand range horses and shipped to Nebraska and disposed of them with considerable profit, continuing in this occupation two years and be- coming the owner of about a dozen farms, which' contained an aggregate of sixteen thousand acres. Five of these farms are still in the pos- session of Mr. Prall. In 1891 he entered into partnership with a lawyer of Arcadia, Neb., John Wall by name, and this partnership con- tinued for four years. In 1895 he came to Medford and later bought the Risley ranch of one hundred and ninety-six acres located two and a half miles north of town, where he cultivated alfalfa and raised Jersey cattle. At a later date he bought the Hagy property, which consists of three acres set to fruit, and after renting the farm Mr. Prall removed to the city, where he has since made his home. As before mentioned, he is engaged in a brick manufactory located in this city and also has a plant at Gold Hill, which has a capacity of ten million per year. Mr. Prall will contract for brick buildings at any location in the state and has furnished brick for many buildings, among them being the postoffice at Salem, Ore. Mr. Prall owns the Fredenberg gold mine at Gold Hill, which is as yet entirely undeveloped though the mine is equipped with two tunnels seventy feet deep. In his stock deal- ing Mr. Prall buys at all the main stations from Grants Pass to Red Bluff, Cal., and ships to Portland and San Francisco.

The marriage of Mr. Prall occurred in Grundy

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county, Mo., in 1868, and united him with Sarah J. Tolle, a native of Indiana, by whom he has had five children, namely : William J., who is thirty- one years old, resides in Idaho; Joseph died at the age of ten years; Theodore is at home; Charles, twenty-four years old, lives near here on his ranch; and Maud is deceased. In his fraternal relations Mr. Prall is associated with the Odd Fellows, being a member of Medford Lodge, No. 83, of Medford, and is a Republican in his political convictions. One of the most ab- sorbing interests of Mr. Prall is that of deer and elk raising, having given over fifteen acres of his ranch near Medford to this purpose. He has stocked the park with twenty deer and ten elk and contemplates raising for the market.

GEORGE W. PUCKETT. A brainy, wide- awake, enterprising business man, George W. Puckett, of Canyonville, is permanently identified with many of the leading industries of the place, being a miller, blacksmith, wagon-maker, farmer and stock-raiser. A man of versatile talents, he is succeeding well in each and all of his undertak- ings, and stands deservedly high in the estimation of the community. A native of Larue county, Ky., he was born August 3, 1859. His parents were born and reared in Virginia and Tennessee, his father being of French ancestry, and his mother of English descent. His maternal grandfather, who fought in the war of 1812, attained the re- markable age of one hundred and three years. After the removal of the parents to Kentucky the father engaged in farming, and subsequently died from wounds received in the Civil war.

Educated in the district schools, G. W. Puck- ett remained at home until after the death of his father, after which he lived with relatives until seventeen years old. Beginning the battle of life for himself at that age, he worked first as a farm laborer, and was afterwards engaged in a saw-mill as an engineer, an occupation which he followed a number of years. Migrating to Col- orado in 1886, he was engaged in stock-raising three or more years, and then came to Oregon. Locating in Canyonville, Mr. Puckett assumed the management of his present grist mill, which is run by water power, and has a capacity of forty barrels of flour per day. He also owns one hundred and forty acres of land, adjoining his mill property, and the town, and is carrying on general farming and stock-raising with profit. He likewise carries on a good business as a blacksmith and wagon-maker, his shop and smithy being busy places.

Mr. Puckett married Mrs. Nannie E. Philips, also a native of old Kentucky, and they are the parents of three children, namely: Pearl, Hilda J. and George W. Politically Mr. Puck-

ett affiliates with the Democratic party. Fra- ternally he is a prominent member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, having passed through all the chairs of Canyonville Lodge, which he has represented four times in the Grand Lodge of Oregon. He is also a member, and vice chancellor, of Olympia Lodge, No. 71, K. of P.

MERRITT BELLINGER. Through the long period of his residence in Oregon, covering more than one-half century, Mr. Bellinger has retained the confidence of his associates among the pio- neers now so rapidly passing away and has also won the respect of the younger generation now coming to the foreground in life's activities. Especially in southern Oregon are his friends numerous, for it is here that much of his active career has been passed. After many years de- voted to agricultural pursuits, in 1901 he removed to Medford, where he now conducts the largest real estate business of any resident of that town.

A native of Princeton, Canada, born February 2, 1833, Mr. Bellinger is a son of Honicle and Catherine (Holt) Bellinger, natives of Pennsyl- vania. In 1832 his father removed to Prince- ton, Canada, and in the fall of 1834 settled in St. Joseph county, Ind., afterwards making his home in Berrien county, Mich. At the time of discov- ery of gold in California he was one of those brave adventurers who periled the hardships of a trip across the plains. With him the object was not to search for hidden gold, but to till the soil of the new country beyond the mountains. With oxen for the motive power he came west in 1849, but stopped during the winter in An- drew county, Mo. May 7, 1850, he crossed the Missouri river and from there proceeded via the Platte river, Fort Hall and Fort Laramie. On the 22d of September he landed at Foster's place on the Barlow road. Fourteen miles east of Albany, Linn county, on Crabtree Fork, he took up a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres. A year later he sold his right and took up another claim of the same size, on Oak creek, near Lebanon, Linn county. In the spring of 1853 he again sold, this time coming to Jackson county and settling two miles east of Jacksonville, where he took up a claim of six hundred and forty acres. On that farm his death occurred in 1865 when about sixty-five years of age. In politics he voted with the Republican party. During his residence in Michigan he served as clerk of Berrien county. His wife survived him two years and died in eastern Oregon at the age of sixty-seven years. They were the parents of four children, namely: Simicoe, deceased; Francis, who crossed the plains with his family in 1855 and settled in Linn county, where he

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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 122

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