Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present.., Part 126

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 126

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Brought up in the Fatherland, Frederick Geyer attended school until fourteen years old, and the following two years worked with his father, who was a lumberman. Leaving home in 1851, he emigrated to America, sailing on the Elva from Hamburg to New York City, where he learned the baker's trade. Subsequently re- moving to Pennsylvania, he was engaged in lumbering in Pike county. From there Mr. Geyer went to Dodge county, Wis., settling in Mayville, where he ran a saw-mill for twenty years. Going thence to Lesueur county, Minn., he carried on general farming for a few years. In 1877 he came to Josephine county, Ore., and took up a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty acres of land, adjoining what is now the town of Grants Pass on the south. Clearing a portion of the land, which was then in its prim-

itive condition, Mr. Geyer built a house, barn and outbuildings, set out an orchard and in course of time improved and developed one of the best farming estates in this section of the county. As an agriculturist he was very successful and in addition to general farming he paid especial at- tention to stock-raising. which proved a profitable branch of industry. Selling his farm in 1894, Mr. Geyer bought one and three-fourths acres of land in the Lincoln Park addition to Grants Pass, and built the comfortable and conveniently- arranged residence which he has since occupied.

In Mayville, Wis., Mr. Geyer married Mary C. Streese, a native of Germany, and they are the parents of five children namely: Mrs. Ma- thilda Kingle, of Josephine county; Adolph, a mason, resides in Josephine county ; Mrs. Agnes E. Hoernlein, of Shasta county, Cal .; Alfred, a stockman living in Lake county, Ore .; Mrs. Hilda Weiner of Portland, Ore. Mr. Geyer is interested in local affairs, and for three years served as city councilman. He is a man of strong convictions, independent in thought, and is in full sympathy with the views of the Socialists.

THOMAS F. BEALL. It is eminently fitting that the farm of that honored pioneer, Thomas F. Beall, should be managed by his widow, who, with three of her children, is benefited by the unquestioned success of one of the bravest and noblest of the early settlers. Thomas F. Beall should be given a permanent place in his- tory and his name and deeds have found place in many works calculated to perpetuate such as he, and a brief outline only is necessary to re- call the lessons taught by his exceptionally worthy life.

Born in Montgomery county, Md., August 28. 1828, Mr. Beall was one in a family of many children, and he lived at home near Springfield, Ill., whither his parents had moved in 1832, un- til crossing the plains to Oregon in 1852, accom- panied by his brother. R. V. Beall. Starting in March, the brothers made the quickest time then on record, reaching Oregon City seventy-eight days later. Coming to Josephine county, they mined for a short time, and then took up a claim of three hundred and twenty acres, upon a part of which Central Point has since been built. Mr. Beall afterward bought the place of two hundred acres now occupied by his widow and children, three-fourths of a mile south of Central Point. August 20, 1859, Mr. Beall mar- ried Ann Hall, who was born in Champaign county, Ohio, and who came across the plains with the family of William H. Riddle. settling in Douglas county in 1851. In 1872 Mr. Beall built what was then a mansion. so great was the contrast between his own and the humbler homes

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of his neighbors, and the house still retains marks of its former substantiality and imposing appearance. For many years in the early days Mr. Beall engaged in freighting with his brother, and otherwise assisted in work which the members of the present generation will never he called upon to perform. Although not an en- listed soldier, he took an active part in the Rogue river war of '55-'56, and he always showed great interest in the development of the Demo- cratic party in the state. He was twice elected to the state legislature, in 1864 and 1884, his service being characterized by zealous efforts for the best welfare of his community. He was for many years a Mason, and was a genial, whole- souled man, helpful to those less fortunate than himself and invariably kind in his judgment of others. Of his twelve children, seven are liv- ing : Benjamin ; Asbury, a farmer of this vicinity ; Thomas, living at Lake View; Lee, also at Lake View; Tyson, at home; Clara, the wife of I. M. Lewis, of Reno, Nev., and Lulu, at home. Mr. Beall died April 19, 1886.

JOB N. ARNOLD. One of the finest repre- sentatives of those sturdy, industrious and thrifty agriculturists of Lincoln county, who have achieved success in their chosen vocation by shrewd foresight and wise management is Job N. Arnold, now living somewhat retired from active business in the city of Toledo. En- ergetic, patriotic and public-spirited, he fought for his country's honor in the civil war, and has since been a most faithful and loyal citizen. He was born March 21, 1836, in Luzerne county, Pa., where he grew to man's estate. He comes from substantial New England ancestry. his father, William Arnold, having been a native of Rhode Island.

At the age of twenty years William Arnold re- moved to Luzerne county, Pa .. where he carried on general farming for nearly a quarter of a century. Locating at New Auburn, Minn., in 1857, he continued in his independent vocation in that locality until his death, in 1884. at the venerable age of eighty-two years. His wife, whose maiden name was Ruth Wilhur, was born and reared in New York state, married in Penn- sylvania and died in Minnesota. Of their fami- lv of two sons and three daughters. Job N. was the first child.

Having acquired a practical common school education in the schools of his native county, Job N. Arnold removed with his parents to Min- nesota, where he assisted in the pioneer lahor of clearing a farm from the wilderness. Enlist- ing in the United States army in 1862, he was mustered into service as fifth sergeant of Com-

pany F, Fourth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to the western division. Go- ing south with his regiment, he participated in many important engagements, including the fol- lowing: At Corinth, Miss., in May, 1862; Iuka, Miss., September 19, 1862; Corinth, Miss., Oc- tober 3 and 4, 1862; Fort Pemberton, in March, 1863; Forty Hills, May 3, 1863; at Raymond, Jackson and at Champion Hills, Miss., May 16, 1863; was at the siege of Vicksburg in May, 1863; at Missionary Ridge in November, 1863; at Savannah, Ga., in December, 1864; Altoona Pass, Ga., October 5, 1864; Columbia, S. C., February 16, 1865, and in several other less im- portant engagements. On June 12, 1865, at Louisville, Ky., he was honorably discharged, with a most honorable record for bravery and fidelity. Returning to New Auburn, Minn., where he owned a good farm, Mr. Arnold was engaged in the various branches of agriculture for ten years. In 1875 he migrated across the continent to Oregon, locating in Lincoln coun- ty and taking up a homestead claim about two miles east of Toledo. Continuing in his chosen work, he met with success in his agricultural operations, accumulating a handsome compe- tency. Building a pleasant residence in Toledo, near the court house, in 1885, he has since oc- cupied it, living a rather retired life in the city.

While a resident of Minnesota Mr. Arnold married Mary A. Card, who was born in Penn- sylvania, a daughter of Jonathan Card. Mr. Card was born and reared in New England, Rhode Island being his native state. When a young man he settled in Pennsylvania, subse- quently removing to New Auburn, Minn., where he followed carpentering and building for a few vears. In 1864 he crossed the plains, coming to Oregon and locating first in Toledo, where he continued as a carpenter for a number of years. On retiring from the activities of life, about two years prior to his death. he settled in Linn coun- tv and spent his remaining days in Waterloo. He was active in politics and an adherent of the Democratic party. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Arnold four children have heen born, name- lv: Hamilton L., a lumberman in Harrison, Idaho: Remus, the postmaster at Toledo, Ore .; Rav V .. deceased. and Phoebe Ruth, deceased. Politically Mr. Arnold is a straightforward Re- publican. and socially he is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and attended the national encampment of the Grand Army Att- gust 17, 1903. at San Francisco, Cal.

ROBERT V. BEALL. Under the influence of the spirit of progress and appreciation in the west the name of Beall has taken on a varied significance, in the first generation represented

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on the slope farming and stock-raising being brought to its highest development, and in the second generation the art of photography finding as true and fine an exponent as may be found in any part of the country. The personal character- istics behind the various attainments of the family are radically the same, and bespeak a broad and comprehensive view of life, aug- mented by the desire to make the best of oppor- tunities and abilities placed within reach of the respective aspirants for wealth and influence.

In Maryland, around which is centered so much of the early historic aristocracy of Amer- ica, a Scotch ancestor settled many, many years ago, and presumably aided in establishing one of the large plantations for which the state was justly famous. The home in Montgomery coun- ty was the birthplace of both Robert V. Beall and his father, Thomas F., the former having been born June 15, 1831. Dorcas (Beadow) Beall, who died when her son Robert was a year old, and who was the mother also of seven other children, of whom Robert V. and Mrs. Sarah Sampson, of Springfield, Ill., alone survive, was born in Maryland, and spent her entire life in her native state. Her husband survived her for many years, his death occurring July 3, 1851. He was a practical and successful farmer, and as a youth shouldered his musket and defended his country against the English in the war of 1812.

As Robert V. Beall grew to manhood the world of business appeared more interesting by far than tilling the soil, and in order to pave the way for future success he learned the carpenter's trade in Springfield, Ill., afterward working thereat for a couple of years. His entire family became interested in the emigration to the west, and in the spring of '52 Robert V. and his brother, Thomas F., came to the coast with mule teams, setting out March I, arriving at St. Joseph, Mo., May 3, and in Oregon City July 18, 1852. This was the fastest trip as yet accomplished by any of the settlers, seventy-eight days being the time required for the journey. The boys had two mule teams, and there were only six wagons in the train, thus minimizing the possibility of hindrance from illness or other causes. Stopping at Oregon City for a month, the brothers pur- chased provisions sufficient to last for some time and packed them across the mountains to Jo- sephine county. Here they followed mining for a couple of weeks, but not finding anything to justify a continuance of their search they came to the Rogue River valley September 17, 1852, and took up a donation claim of three hundred and twenty acres. The town of Central Point now occupies a portion of this land, and in June, 1853, they added to their possessions an adjoin- ing farm the same size, for which they paid $600.

They built a small cabin on the farm, proceeded to clear and till their land, and kept bachelor apartments until the marriage of Thomas F., November 10, 1859. After that Robert V. lived with the young people until his own marriage, April 19, 1864, to Maria Riddle, a native of Illi- nois, and who crossed the plains in 1851 with her father, William H. Riddle. For full infor- mation concerning the Riddle family reference is made to the sketch of George W. Riddle, of Azalea, Douglas county, this state.

The year of his marriage Mr. Beall built the most modern house as yet constructed in his neighborhood, and that it was well put up is evident from the fact that it is still in a fair state of preservation, in spite of its half century of usefulness. The house now occupied by the family is indicative of the prosperity which fol- lowed in the wake of the owner, who progresses with the times, and is a believer in all that tends to increase the well-being and happiness of the human race. The Beall home stands in a grove of walnut and fragrant locust trees, ideally shel- tered from the winds of winter and the fierce heat of summer. Needless to say that a model garden contributes to a well-set and tempting table, or that books and pictures and the com- forts of existence minister to a household per- vaded by a spirit of peace and good-will and prosperity. Mr. Beall has devoted his land to grain and general produce, and fine stock have added their quota to a yearly income in keeping with the energy and resourcefulness of one of the most popular and well known farmers in Jackson county. Years ago Mr. Beall engaged in freighting from the Willamette valley to the Rogue River valley, and at one time, with his brother, conducted a meat market at Jackson- ville. Many incidents of importance mark these careers of pioneer and later usefulness, for Mr. Beall and his brother brought the first threshing machine into Jackson county, and also introduced to the farming population the first McCormick mower. It will thus be seen that progress has been their watchword, and has led them on to accomplish things of lasting value in the com- munity. Mr. Beall has the best of barns and general improvements, and he raises in large numbers Jersey cattle and Poland-China hogs. Two children have been born to himself and wife, of whom Mary, the oldest child and only daughter, is the wife of Charles Strang, of Med- ford, Ore., and R. Vinton has developed a re- markable talent for photography.

Special mention is due to the younger Mr. Beall because of his more than creditable work as a photographer. He has availed himself of every advantage in his chosen calling, and is a graduate of the Illinois College of Photography. His work compares favorably with that of the

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foremost masters of the art in this country, he being particularly proficient in posing and in the manipulation of lights and shadows. Already he has attained to prominence among the men whose reproductions delight the eye and per- petuate the memory of friends, and who bring to their interesting occupation the soul of an artist and the heart of a lover of all things beauti- ful. Mr. Beall has his studio on the home place, and its furnishings and accessories are such as to permit the greatest scope for arrangement. His patrons include the most exacting in town and country, and it would seem that his future is assured in an appreciative and delighted com- munity. Of one thing his friends are convinced, and that is that Mr. Beall will know no resting- place as far as his life-work is concerned. Be- lieving in, interminable vistas, he will proceed always with renewed vigor, sounding every fascinating possibility and creating new methods. To the gifted and far-seeing, photography, per- fect as it has beconie, is yet in its infancy, and therefore is an inspiration to the ambitious and painstaking.

HENRY F. GOODSPEED. Of the pioneer settlers around Tillamook no name is better known than that of Goodspeed. With it is as- sociated practical and successful general farming, model dairying and high-grade stock-raising. Eli Goodspeed, founder of the family in this vicin- ity in 1876, set a criterion which agricultural as- pirants might do well to follow, and his son, Henry F., has not only profited by his teachings, but with fresher enthusiasm and greater physical vigor, has grasped every opportunity for improv- ing existing conditions. His dairy farm on the outskirts of the city with its memories of earlier days and the few residents and interests of what is now Tillamook, is one of the finest in this county, and one of the most valuable and pro- ductive.

Eli Goodspeed was born in New York state, and as a young man lived in the wilds of both Illinois and Ohio. In the former state he mar- ried a native daughter, Emmarett Moffitt, and in Hancock county, Ohio, his son, Henry F., was born on a large farm, January 23, 1856. A few years later the family removed to Guthrie coun- ty, Iowa, from where they set out in 1863 for Oregon, making the trip overland in the short period of three months. After a year in Auburn, Eli Goodspeed rented a farm near Forest Grove, Washington county, and in 1872 settled near Salem, where he farmed until 1876. He then purchased the farm of one hundred and sixty acres upon a portion of which part of Tillamook has since been built, and this is still his home, the scene of his mature and well directed efforts.

His wife is also still living, and rejoices in the fact that her two sons and one daughter have been spared to brighten her old age with their affection and sympathy.

Coming to Oregon when he was seven years old, Henry F. Goodspeed has known no other home, and recalls little of his life in Ohio or Iowa. While working with his father in the early days he received a fair education in the country schools and with this as a solid founda- tion has devoted the leisure of later years to read- ing and study. At the age of seventeen, he worked for a year on a farm near Forest Grove, Washington county, returning afterward to his father's home, and in 1878 he married Lillian Miller, who was born in Marion county, Ore., in 1857, and whose father, George W. Miller, was an Oregon pioneer of 1853, but is now de- ceased. Mr. Goodspeed came into possession of his present farm of two hundred acres in 1891, and has since devoted himself to its cultivation, at the same time caring for the parental farm. He has a modern residence, and such improve- ments as have been suggested by his enterprise and progressiveness, and which facilitate and lighten work. He is a successful dairyman, and has about two hundred head of fine stock and milch cows. He is to be congratulated upon the convenient location of his farm, which permits of country isolation, but brings the diversions and activities of the town within easy reach.

Mr. Goodspeed by no means confines himself and his good will to his immediate family circle, but rather promotes the well-being of his vicinity in every way in his power. He is a broad-minded politician who reflects credit upon his party be- cause of the honesty of his life and his clean po- litical service. Elected county clerk on the Re- publican ticket in 1880, he served continuously until 1886, and in 1895 he was chosen deputy sheriff, serving two years and a half. He was a member of the city council for one term. He is a man of fine character, generous as far as con- tributions to worthy causes is concerned, and withal is a supporter of education, morality and material advancement.

DWIGHT R. ANDRUS. To many active business men farming serves as a relaxation and diversion, its peace and general healthfulness contrasting helpfully with the mental worry and strain of other occupations. Such a man is Dwight R. Andrus, whom success has marked as her own, and who has made his home in Med- ford since 1896, having arrived in the state one year previously. Mr. Andrus occupies a home adjoining fifteen acres of land in the city limits, and is the owner of a fine ranch of sixty-five acres, probably one of the best paying fruit

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ranches in the county. Devoting his land prin- cipally to apples and pears, he has seventeen hundred and seventy-five apple trees, including such well-known varieties as the Spitzenburg, that spicy and rare apple so long indigenous to the Hudson river county; the Newton pippin, redcheek pippin, Ben Davis and other kinds equally well known. In the pear line he makes a specialty of Bartletts and Howells, having about two hundred pear trees. As before inti- mated, Mr. Andrus makes but a side issue of fruit-raising and small farming, and mention thereof serves but to locate him in a community of which he is a comparative newcomer as re- gards time, but as regards substantial standing and influence he is an old resident. One of the experienced mining men of the coast, he is at present superintendent, secretary and treasurer of the Bill Nye Gold Milling and Mining Com- pany, incorporated for $600,000, and operating three miles south of Gold Hill on Galls creek. Coal mining has also come in for a share of his enterprise, and in 1897 he was the fortunate dis- coverer of a coal mine on Evans creek, now be- ing operated by a company incorporated by him- self and known as the Medford Coal Mining Company. The stock is owned by three men, and promises its promoters large profits, amply justified by the immense amount of coal already mined. In Klamath county Mr. Andrus owns three hundred and twenty acres of yellow and white pine, the preparation of which for the markets constitutes yet another industry in which he is extensively engaged.

If Mr. Andrus' life in the state has been a busy one, it is but a continuation of an equally cnergetic existence elsewhere. He was born in Macomb county, Mich., July 23, 1844, and comes of an ancestry which has furnished in- centive for well doing. His great-grandfather followed the banner of Washington in defense of colonial independence, enlisting in the state of Vermont, where he died on a farm which had long been in his possession and the home of his large family of children. His son, Elon, the next in line of succession, was born there, his patriotism finding vent in the war of 1812, in which he served as a corporal. Upon establish- ing his independent career he located on a farm in Cattaraugus county, N. Y., where Loren, the father of Dwight R., was born, and from where he removed to Macomb county, Mich., in 1828. Michigan was as yet a stranger to agricultural development of any importance, and the giant industries of fruit and lumber were as yet un- dreamed of in connection with its eventual su- premacy. In the wilderness he made a home, tilled his land, and came to be a man of influence in the locality. In time the village of Washing- ton reared its buildings and industries upon his

land, and no name anywhere around carried with it greater weight than his, being associated with strong personal characteristics, exercised as an Abolitionist, Whig and Republican, and as a deacon and trustee of the Methodist Episcopal church. In his youth education had not played an important part in his training, but his mature mind recognized its importance, and he left no stone unturned to place himself in touch with the literature and happenings of his time.

Loren Andrus was six years old when his father moved to Macomb county, Mich., and his early training included hard work on the wild farm and a fairly good education in the early pioneer schools. Later he became interested in both mercantile and farming enterprises, and at the same time acquired a reputation as a Whig and Republican politician. The last five years of his life were spent in retirement in Detroit, Mich., where his death occurred in 1900, at the age of eighty-eight years. He married Lucinda Davis, a native daughter of New York state, and who died on the old home place in Macomb county in 1892 at the age of seventy-five. Louis Davis, the father of Mrs. Andrus, was born in Vermont and became an early settler of Cat- taraugus county, N. Y., moving in after years to Macomb county, Mich., where he engaged in farming for the rest of his life. Mr. Davis met an accidental death at the age of forty-five while clearing his land. At the time he was holding a spike while his sons rolled a log onto the heap. Instead the log rolled on him, crushing his life out.

The oldest in a family of three sons and four daughters, Dwight R. Andrus completed his ed- ucation in the public schools, and at the outbreak of the civil war was preparing to enter college. Much against the wishes of his father, he enlisted at the age of eighteen in Company B, Twenty- second Michigan Volunteer Infantry, and as a soldier in the Army of the Cumberland partici- pated in the battles of Chickamauga, Chatta- nooga, all of the battles of the Atlanta campaign, and in spite of being present at twenty-six dif- ferent encounters his only wound was a scratch across the knuckles, which failed to even leave a scar. He was mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., and discharged at Detroit, Mich., in 1865, afterward returning to his home with the firmly- rooted belief that war was a terrible thing and ought to be avoided at any cost. The following year, in 1866, Mr. Andrus removed to Colorado and engaged in mining at Central City, and in 1868 pursued a similar occupation at Cimarron, N. M. In 1869 he arrived at Golden City, Col., engaged in a draying business a year, and then made his way to Macomb county, Mich., where he engaged in the hotel business at Junc- tion until 1871. In 1872 he started a butchering

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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 126

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