Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present.., Part 132

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 132

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1888. Not caring then to rebuild his plant, he subsequently confined his attention to his fur- niture business alone, until selling that out, in August, 1903. Mr. Linn in the meantime had other interests of value that consumed a part of his time, and to which he is now specially de- voted. He has a ranch of one hundred and sixty acres, twenty acres of which are already devoted to the culture of fruit, principally apples, and another orchard is in process of development. He is also a stockholder in the Jacksonville Mill- ing and Mining Company, of which he is presi- dent and business manager. This company, which was incorporated with a paid up capital of $10,000, is developing a large quartz mine about two miles west of Jacksonville.

Mr. Linn married Annie Sophia Hoffman, a native of Covington, Ind., who came to Oregon with her father, William Hoffman, in 1853. Mr. Hoffman was born in Baltimore, Md., and in his early life spent a number of years in Indiana. Coming from there to Oregon with his family, he located four miles southeast of Jacksonville, where he followed farming for two years. Re- moving to Jacksonville in 1855, he became promi- nently identified with public affairs, and for about twenty-five successive years was county recorder and clerk. He died in this city in 1885, at the venerable age of four score and four years. He was active in politics, at first being a Douglas Democrat, and later becoming a stanch adherent of the Republican party. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Linn seven children have been born, namely: Corinne, living at home; Mar- garet. of Portland; William, deceased; Fletcher, president and manager of the Oregon Furniture Manufacturing Company, of Portland; George, a druggist of Eugene, Ore .; Mary, wife of Lewis J. Gay; and James, deceased. Politically Mr. Linn is a tried and true Democrat, and has filled many public offices of importance and re- sponsibility. In 1854 he was appointed county treasurer of Jackson county, and served fourteen consecutive years, eight years of the time mak- ing his trips to Salem overland, on horseback, carrying from $12,000 to $14,000 in his saddle bags. He has served as councilman a number of terms, many times being president of the coun- cil, and nearly all of his active life he has been school director. Fraternally Mr. Linn belongs to Warren Lodge, No. 10. A. F. & A. M .; and to Oregon Chapter, No. 4, R. A. M.

HENRY W. KIRCHOFF. Oregon is rich in its industrial resources, and is fortunate in its mineral deposits, which are varied and ex- tensive, more especially in the southern section. Among the residents of Josephine county who, by their knowledge, enterprise and judgment,

have been prominently identified wtih the de- velopment of the mining interests of the great northwest is H. W. Kirchoff, of Grants Pass, one of the early miners of the Rocky moun- tains. He was born April 16, 1857, in New Orleans, La., a son of August Kirchoff.

Born and reared in Peine, Germany, near Bremen, August Kirchoff was the son of people of prominence and wealth, and received supe- rior educational advantages. Emigrating to the United States, he located first in New Orleans, where he was engaged in the hardware business. Just prior to the breaking out of the Civil war he moved with his family to Illinois. Settling in Peoria, he erected a large building, and was there prosperously engaged in business as a hardware merchant until his death. He married Ida Von Bodenstedt, who was born in Germany, of noble ancestry, being a daughter of Frederick Von Bodenstedt, the owner of a large estate, and a palatial residence. She died in Illinois. Of the seven children that she bore her husband, four are living, two daughters and two sons. Henry W. Kirchoff is the oldest child of the family and the only one living in Oregon. The other son, W. R. Kirchoff, is a resident of Poca- tello, Idaho.

Brought up in Peoria, Ill., Henry W. Kirchoff was educated in the public schools, being gradu- ated from the high school of that city. In 1876 he was attracted to the mining regions of South Dakota by the exciting stories concerning the rich discoveries of gold, and was there engaged in prospecting for a year. Going thence to Salt Lake City, he embarked in mining in the old Telegraph mine, in Brigham canon. While he was thus employed, in 1877, the Leadville strike was made, and he rushed to that part of Colo- rado. After mining in Leadville ten months, he returned to Utah, and for two years operated a quartz mine in Dry Canon diggings. He subsequently continued his mining operations in Utah, first in Ophir district, then in Silver Reef district, finally returning to Brigham canon. In 1879, outfitting in Salt Lake City, Mr. Kirchoff went to the Woods River region in Idaho, where he discovered and opened the first mine, which he operated with success until 1884. The fol- lowing two years he mined in the Lost River dis- trict, where he was one of the first to stake a claim. Following the gold hunters to the newly discovered mines in the vicinity of Salmon river, he mined there for awhile, and then continued his operations in the Payette country, in Boise county, Idaho, remaining there until 1892, when he went to Chicago and on to Arkansas.

In 1897 Mr. Kirchoff went with the first party to Alaska, and engaged in mining at Ketch- ikan, where he discovered and put in operation several lodes, and where he still owns an inter-

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est in quartz mines. After a three years' stay in Alaska he returned to Oregon, and has since been a resident of Grants Pass. In partnership with C. W. Preston, of New York City, he bought the famous placer diggings on Briggs creek, containing over one hundred acres. His diggings are well supplied with water, and equipped with a giant, which he operates about seven months every year. Mr. Kirchoff is also interested in quartz mining property in Curry county, Ore., and Del Norte county, Cal., which he is developing, in both sections having good prospects of obtaining rich results. In 1903 he discovered sulphide ore, which is easily acces- sible, on his mining property in Del Norte coun- ty, Cal. He is an expert assayist, and does all of his assaving himself.

In 1892 in Ogden, Utah, Mr. Kirchoff mar- ried Mrs. Josephine Walker, who was born in Illinois, and was reared in Crescent City, Cal., where her father, John Basye, a pioneer settler, built the old McGrew road. By her first mar- riage Mrs. Kirchoff had one son, W. W. Walker, D. D. S., who was graduated from the Chicago College of Dental Surgery, and is now a dentist in Grants Pass. Politically Mr. Kirchoff is a Republican.

GEORGE ANDREW JACKSON. Within the city limits of East Medford is a little fruit ranch of five acres owned by George Andrew Jackson, a pioneer of 1854, and a man who has acted as well as thought since he took up the burden of life in the far west. A fair measure of success has come to him as a miner and stock- man, but at present his existence is a leisurely one, and devoted to fruit-raising principally, al- though he spends considerable time in taking par- ties to the mountains, and exploiting the many charms of this well favored locality.

Mr. Jackson has reached the biblical allotment of years, but notwithstanding his seventy years of age he enjoys good health, and still looks at life through roseate glasses, seeing the beauty and kindliness in both human and inanimate na- ture. He was born in Missouri, October 13, 1833, and comes honestly by his fondness for stock of all kinds, for both his father, William Bartlett Jackson, and his grandfather, William, were judges par excellence of the horse, and ac- quired their livelihood through his purchase and sale. Grandfather William was quite a charac- ter in his way, and no more enthusiastic horse- man was known in Henry county, Ky., whither he removed from Virginia at a very early day. While he owned a farm, his revenue came prin- cipally from horse-trading and selling, into which he ventured with true Kentucky enthusi- asm. He married in Virginia, and in Kentucky,

his son, William Bartlett Jackson, was born. In 1828 the latter removed to Sheridan coun- ty, Mo., where he was joined two years later by his father, where he lived to be eighty-six years of age, his latter life being spent with his children. His son William followed his exam- ple in business, became an excellent judge of horses, and carried to a successful finish many a shrewd trade. Unlike many thus employed he gained a reputation for integrity and fair deal- ing, and at the time of his death in 1859, at the age of sixty-five, left many friends to mourn his loss. His wife, formerly Eliza Berry Owens, was born in Kentucky and died in Missouri, hav- ing reared a family of six sons and three daugh- ters, of whom George Andrew is the second son and third child.

George Andrew Jackson was twenty years old when he left his home in Missouri and crossed the plains to Sacramento City, Cal., arriving in the fall of 1854. After four years of rather successful mining at Diamond Springs, Eldor- ado county, he made his way to The Dalles, and from there up through the Yakima country to the Fraser river, British Columbia, in 1858, reaching there September I. December 20, of the same year, he gave up a paying packing business and made the long journey to Eugene, coming by way of canoe to Fort Hope, by steamer to Fort Langley, by a Hudson Bay steamer to Victoria, and United States steamer "Constitution" to Olympia. From there he came with horses to Cowlitz Landing, from there with Indians and canoes to Monticello, and from there to Portland on the steamer "Cowlitz," finally reaching Eugene January 1, 1859. A month later he went to Jacksonville, Ore., and engaged in mining for a couple of months, and then went to California with a band of cattle, returning soon after and engaging in a cattle business on the Rogue river. For twelve years he was one of the well known men in his vicin- ity, his large ranch being located six miles above Table Rock. Success came to him, but the re- sponsibility was a wearing one, and in 1871 he sold his stock and engaged in raising fruit, par- ticularly melons, for the Portland market. He came to Medford in 1893, purchased his five- acre tract, and has since led a peaceful and not too busy life in a home where comfort, hospital- ity and good will prevail.

Independent in his views, Mr. Jackson inclines rather to the Populist party, drawn thither by his intense sympathy with the down-trodden and unfortunate element in the world. In 1894 he was elected assessor of Jackson county, serving two years, and in 1896 was elected county clerk for two years. Socially he is connected with the Fraternal Union of America. Mr. Jackson mar- ried, in Jackson county, Ore., February 12, 1874,

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Sarah A. Myers born in Scotland county, Mo., and daughter of Jacob Myers, an Indianaian who located in Missouri at a very early day. Mr. Myers came to Oregon in 1864 and at pres- ent lives on his ranch near Table Rock, having attained to the advanced age of eighty-nine years. William Bartlett Jackson, named for his grandfather, is a bookkeeper in the Medford Bank, and is the only child born to his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Jackson have opened their hearts and home to an adopted daughter, Gridley. Mr. Jackson is respected by all who know of his earnest and industrious life, and through his coming here Medford gains a large-hearted and noble-minded citizen.

THOMAS JOSEPH KENNEY. A native Oregonian, the son of one of Jackson county's early pioneers' and a descendant of distinguished ancestry, Thomas J. Kenney is a worthy repre- sentative of the esteemed and valued citizens of Jacksonville. Dependent upon his own resources from an early age, he labored with indomitable will and courage, and by his persistent energy and foresight hecame established among the suc- cessful business men of the city while he was yet a comparatively young man. A son of Daniel M. Kennev, he was born in Jacksonville, December 23, 1855. His grandfather, John Ken- ney, came from New Orleans, La., to Oregon in 1857. After his second marriage, he removed to Oakland, Cal., where he spent the remainer of his life, passing away at the advanced age of four score years.

A native of New Orleans, La., Daniel Mow Kenney was born March 0. 1822. Coming by way of the Isthmus to the Pacific coast in 1850, he was engaged in mining on the Sacramento and Tuolumne rivers for two vears. Removing from Yreka, Cal., to Oregon in the spring of 1852, he established the first business house in Jacksonville. opening a store of general mer- chandise, which he conducted until his death, February 18, 1860. As a merchant he met with a fair share of success, and as one of the leading members of the Whig party he was active in politics. Februarv 18, 1855. at Dardanelles, Ore., he married Elizabeth T'Vault, who was born in Evansville, Ind .. a daughter of W. G. T'Vault. Her paternal grandfather. William T'Vault, was born, reared and married in France. Emigrating to the United States in 1818, he lo- cated in Tennessee, near Nashville, where he had relatives. among them being the Clavbornes, people of distinction. F Removing to Indiana about the time of its admission to the Union as a state, he settled in Evansville. where he was in business as a capitalist until his death, at an

advanced age. His wife, who attained a ripe old age, also spent her last years in that city. W. G. T'Vault was born March 23, 1818, on the ocean, while his parents were en route to this country. Educated for the legal profession, he first practiced as an attorney at Booneville, Ind., and then in Plymouth, and while a resident of the latter city was a representative to the state legislature. He subsequently lived for a short time in Warsaw, Ind., from there coming across the plains to Oregon in 1845.

Locating in Oregon City, W. G. T'Vault prac- ticed his profession there for seven years, and under the name of The Oregon Spectator edited and published the first newspaper published on the Pacific coast. He was active in public af- fairs, served as the first postmaster general of the territory of Oregon, and represented Clacka- mas county in the constitutional convention. He was a man of brilliant attainments, and a noted writer and journalist. Coming to Jackson coun- ty in 1852, he took up a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres, known as the Darda- nelles, as it was the only trail along the east side of the Rogue river. Taking up his residence in Jacksonville in 1855, he started the first news- paper published south of the Calapooia moun- tains, calling it the Table Rock Sentinel. In addition to his journalistic work he followed his profession, and for a number of terms was prosecuting attorney for the fifth judicial dis- trict. He was for several years a representative to the state legislature, and in 1858 was speaker of the house. He died in 1868 of smallpox. He married Rhoda Boon Burns, who was born in Kentucky, and was a granddaughter of the famous hunter and trapper, Daniel Boone. She was of patriotic ancestry, her father, a corporal in the Revolutionary army, having received a land grant for his services in that war a tract that includes the site of the present city of Bowl- ing Green, Ky. Of the union of Daniel M. and Elizabeth (T'Vault) Kenney, three children were born, namely: Thomas Joseph, the subject of this sketch; William G., city marshal of Jack- sonville; and Rhoda, deceased. Mrs. Daniel M. Kenney is an honorary member of the State Press Association ; a member of the State and Southern Oregon Pioneer Associations and of the Presbyterian church. W. G. T'Vault was prominent in all public affairs, was acquainted with Dr. McLoughlin and Dr. Whitman, and in his house the first proclamation of the gov- ernor of the territory was written. In 1847 he went with a party to interview the Indians, and his daughter Elizabeth acted as interpreter for General Lane.

Receiving a very limited common school edu- cation, Thomas J. Kenney began working as chore boy in the livery stable of Daniel Cawley

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when he was but eight years of age, and two years later, at the age of ten years, he began an apprenticeship at the trade of a harness maker. In 1880, borrowing $240, he embarked in the harness business on his own account. Begin- ning on a modest scale, he gradually enlarged his operations, at first taking in second-hand goods, then adding a stock of hardware, and for a time dealing in all kinds of merchandise. At the present time Mr. Kenney handles hardware and groceries, only, and is carrying on a large and lucrative business in, this line of goods, being one of the leading merchants of the city. By his own persevering efforts he has achieved suc- cess in business circles, and has accumulated con- siderable property. At Butte creek, he owns half interest in a mountain ranch of one hun- dren and sixty acres; on Williams creek he has a ranch of one hundred and sixty acres, which he devotes to the raising of grain and alfalfa ; and in Jacksonville he owns the business block in which his store is located, and has a fine resi- dential property, consisting of two lots, on which he has erected the dwelling house in which he lives. This is a two-story frame house, contain- ing eleven rooms, equipped with all modern im- provements, and is surrounded by a beautiful lawn, rendering it one of the most attractive estates in the vicinity. He is also a stockholder, and treasurer, of the Jacksonville Mining and Milling Company, which was incorporated with a capital of ten thousand shares.

In 1874, in Jacksonville, Mr. Kenney mar- ried Rosa Ulrich, who was born in Burlington, Iowa, a daughter of Christian Ulrich, a thrifty German citizen of that city. Three children have blessed their union, namely: Christian J., Mervyna, and Francis, all living at home. Po- litically Mr. Kenney is a stanch Republican, and is now a member of the city council, in which he has served many terms. He has often served as school director, and was chairman of the board when the new school house, costing $10,000, was built. Fraternally he is a member of Roseburg Lodge, No. 326, B. P. O. E .; and a charter member and treasurer of Banner Lodge, No. 23, A. O. U. W., of Jacksonville ; Jacksonville Assembly, No. 60, Artisans, and P. P. Prim Cabin, Native Sons of Oregon.

G. W. DONNELL. The distinction of being one of the best posted railroad men on the Pacific coast belongs to Mr. Donnell, the efficient and capable roadmaster of the Ashland district or division of the Southern Pacific Railroad, which important position he has filled in a satisfactory manner since July, 1899. The division over which his supervision extends is one hundred and forty-two miles long, and, extending as it

does through a mountain district, especially through Cow creek canyon, it is perhaps the most difficult section of the road in the state. Mr. Donnell is a railroad man of broad expe- rience and knows every foot of his division, com- prehending all the requirements of his position, and he makes his headquarters at Grants Pass in Josephine county.

A descendant of sturdy Scotch parents, Mr. Donnell was born March 26, 1872, and the name he bears is an adopted name, as he is a son of William and Catherine (Eaton) Inglis, both na- tives of Scotland, where their marriage took place. Soon afterward, they emigrated to Amer- ica and settled for some time in the eastern part of the United States, but in after years they found a more desirable home in California, and in that beautiful land of fruit and flowers the father followed farming pursuits until cut off by the ruthless hand of death. The widowed mother with four small children, two sons and two daughters, was thus left companionless and some time afterward married H. S. Donnell, and all the children took the name of Donnell.

The gentleman whose biography we write was but a babe when his father died, and he knew no other father than H. S. Donnell, whose name he bears. This foster-father was a native of Au- gusta, Me., and descended from an old and worthy New England family. He enlisted in the Union army during the Civil war, and as a member of the Fourteenth Maine regiment he rendered valiant services to his country. He participated in many battles and on one occasion was wounded in the hip and was taken prisoner. He experienced the horrors of both Libby and Andersonville prisons, but was finally exchanged and, re-joining his regiment, he served until the close of the war. After the successful termina- tion of that bitter conflict, he took up his profes- sion as civil engineer and surveyor, and working in that capacity he went to California in 1869 in the employ of the Central Pacific Railway Com- pany. Later he followed similar work with the Southern Pacific Company and was engaged in surveying the route to Santa Cruz. In 1880 he went to Portland as assistant superintendent of construction for the east side line and afterward worked in the same capacity on the Oregon & California, and when the latter was absorbed by the Southern Pacific Company, he continued to hold his position until appointed roadmaster over the two west side lines, a position he still holds. He is a valued member of the G. A. R. organization.

G. W. Donnell received his education by at- tending school in the various railroad towns where his step-father was located, and was nine years old when the family removed to Portland, and his education was finished in that city. He

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began his railroad career in 1887 and for about a year he worked with the engineer corps in southern California, but in 1888 he accepted a position as track walker for the Oregon & Cali- fornia in the West Fork canyon. Two years later he was appointed assistant agent at Os- wego, and after one year's faithful service he was transferred from the traffic to the operating department and became division foreman on the main line, continuing to discharge the duties of this position until July, 1899, when further pro- motion followed and he became roadmaster of the Ashland district.

The marriage of Mr. Donnell took place at Riddle, Ore., and Miss Laura Feikert, a native of Ohio, was the lady of his choice. She is a daughter of James Feikert, who came to Oregon in 1880 and spent the remainder of his life in farming pursuits near Riddle. One child blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Donnell, and she is called Catherine. The family unite in worship- ing at the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which Mrs. Donnell is an active member. Al- though not a politician, Mr. Donnell votes a straight Republican ticket, and is interested in the political affairs in his locality. In fraternal orders, he is one of the most prominent Masons in Grants Pass. He was made a Mason in Port- land, being initiated in Hawthorne Lodge No. III, but now affiliates with Grants Pass Lodge No. 84. He is also allied with the Royal Arch Chapter, and the Knights Templar of Portland, of which he is junior warden. In addition, he holds a membership in the Oregon Consistory of Portland. He has one brother, A. J. Donnell, who resides in San Francisco.

IRVINE M. SMITH. Although a compar- atively new recruit to professional ranks in Tilla- mook, Dr. Irvine M. Smith is already the recip- ient of a patronage of gratifying proportions. which is merited by his ten years of practical experience in Moro, Sherman county, this state. Dr. Smith is a graduate of the Lebanon Acad- emy, and professionally qualified at the medical department of the Willamette University, which he entered in 1889, and from which he received his degree in 1892. Locating in Moro, he be- came practitioner of that thriving little town. and his departure to a new field in Tillamook was accompanied by the regret of many families and individuals who had come to look to him as a capable and courteous physician and friend. A native son of Oregon, Dr. Smith was born on a farm near Sublimity, Marion county, March 20, 1863. a son of John R. and grandson of Elijah Smith, both of whom were born in Ohio, and lived there for several years. Elijah Smith owned a large farm in the Buckeye state, upon

which his son John grew to manhood, leading a life in which work rather overshadowed either diversion or schooling. In the same neighbor- hood lived the family of David Peebler, a pioneer of Ohio who came from his native state of Ken- tucky as a young man, and who had a daughter named Annie. John Smith used to wend his way to the Peebler home very often after he became old enough to appreciate a bright and in- teresting girl, with the result that a wedding was solemnized, and a young couple started upon a united journey under favorable auspices. Chil- dren came to the new home, and in the meantime neighbors were meeting at cross roads and at threshing bees, and discussing the wisdom or foolhardiness of those of their number who had left their farms and crossed the plains to the coast. The conservative element did not include the family of either Elijah or John R. Smith, and during the winter of 1851-2 great prepara- tions were going on for the start in the early spring. The two families and some of their friends had a comparatively pleasant journey, meeting with few accidents, and little trouble with the Indians. Elijah took up a claim near Sublimity, Marion county, but his last days were spent in Macleay, to which town he removed a short time before his death. John R. bought his farm near Lebanon, Linn county, and lived there until 1897, when he removed to Lebanon, of which city he is postmaster at the present time. His father-in-law, David Peebler, also came to Oregon in 1852, located on a farm near Mehama, Marion county, but afterward removing to Leb- anon, Lynn county, where he died twenty years later.

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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 132

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