Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present.., Part 134

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 134

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Locating on a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres near Riverton, on the Coquille river, Judge Nosler afterward purchased an- other farm the same size, but disposed of both properties in 1875 and came to Coquille. In 1874 he was elected county judge, was re- elected in 1878, and served in all eight years. His decisions, as in Missouri, were favorably received, and were always characterized by moderation and painstaking regard for truth and justice. He settled on forty-five acres of land adjoining Coquille on the north, and farmed on a small scale, at the same time tak- ing an active interest in the small hamlet dignified by the name of Coquille. In 1883 he engaged in a drug business, which proved confining and debilitating, and caused him to dispose of his store and stock to Mr. Knowl- ton in 1888. Removing to Portland in 1891, on account of impaired health, he was under medical treatment until 1893, at the same time conducting a grocery business in Albina, a suburb of Portland.

Returning to Coquille in the fall of 1893. Mir. Nosler has since lived retired from active business, but in the meantime had interested himself in the county seat fight before men- tioned. He is deserving of unstinted praise for the splendid activity which has character- ized his later years, for illness has laid its heavy hand upon him. and catastrophe has given him a severe and relentless visitation. Judge Nosler married Mathilda E. Farmer in Putnam county, Ind., who died as the result

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of an accident. Returning from a visit with friends, and accompanied by her husband, her son and his wife and baby and a young lady friend, in endeavoring to pass a vehicle, the carriage was thrown over the precipice by the frightened horses, a distance of thirty feet. Mrs. Nosler died instantly and Judge Nosler suffered from injuries which have since practically crippled his whole frame. The rest escaped with slight injuries. The chil- dren of this marriage are: Amos, of Bridge, Ore .; James, of this place; William, deceased ; Wesley and Bert E., of Coquille; and Emma, deceased. At Eugene, Ore., December 31, 1890, Judge Nosler married Mrs. Henrietta Sovereign (nee Van Blaricom), who was born in Stark county, Ind., September 22, 1851, and who came to Oregon in 1871. For eleven years the present Mrs. Nosler lived in various places along the coast, but finally settled in Eugene as a desirable permanent residence. Five children were born of Mrs. Nosler's first marriage, four of whom are living: Charles Sovereign is a well-known hop-grower in Lane county, Ore .; Catharine became the wife of Mr. Lile, who is an extensive stock-raiser in Lane county ; Henrietta Brewer lives in Boise, Idaho, her husband being a rancher; and Ed- winna G. Mulkey, of Eugene, is proprietor of a hotel. Mary, the second daughter, died when young.

Judge Nosler has filled many important po- litical offices besides the responsible one of magistrate. He has served as justice of the peace, constable, road supervisor and school director, and at the time of his removal to Portland resigned from the postmastership of Coquille, to which he was appointed in 1888. The Republican party has always claimed his allegiance. Judge Nosler is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and is fraternally connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Rebekahs. He is a member of the Universalist Church.

WILLIAM A. WRIGHT. Since coming to Klamath Falls in the fall of 1879, William A. Wright. has occupied a position in keeping with his excellent business ability, and high character. He was born in Scott county, Ill., May 15, 1843, and inherits the substantial traits of his English ancestry, profiting also by the strain of Teutonic blood given by his pa- ternal grandmother, a German lady of nobil- ity. His paternal grandfather, who estab- lished the family in America, brought with him from England a thorough knowledge of the shipwright's trade, which he followed for many years in Utica, N. Y. Silas W., the

father of William A., was born in Utica, in February, 1814, and in youth learned the shoe- maker's trade, although he never used it as a means of livelihood, preferring rather the less confining life of the farmer. As a young boy he moved with his parents to near Terre Haute, Ind., on the Wabash river, and from there to near Winchester, Ill., locating on a farm. Here Silas W. married, in 1838, Mary Anne Redman, born near Marietta in 1823, and who now lives near Woodburn, Marion coun- ty, Ore. With his wife and children Mr. Wright moved from Illinois to Wisconsin in 1852, and in Pierce county, near Prescott, en- gaged in farming until settling on a farm in Johnson county, Mo., in 1867. His son, Wil- liam A., having gone to California in 1868, he joined him in 1874, living in Sonoma county, until 1877. For the following five years he lived in Jackson county, Ore., and in 1881 re- moved to Clackamas county, where his death occurred on a farm in the vicinity of Liberal. His oldest son, Edgar, lives in Los Angeles, Cal., where he conducts a general merchandise store; Luke died young; William A. is the next in order; George died young; Emeline also died young ; Silas A. lives in Springfield, Mo .; Nelson E. is deceased ; Mary A. E. is de- ceased; Richard A. is a farmer of Clackamas county ; Harrison A. is a physician at Wilbur, Wash .; Sarah Jane is the wife of G. W. Dim- mick of Hubbard, Ore .; and Orin H. is a far- mer of Clackamas county.

Supplementary to his common school edu- cation, William A. Wright entered Hamlin University, near St. Paul, Minn., in 1861, and the following year began a course at Bryant & Stratton's Business College in Chicago, graduating in 1863. He then re-entered Ham- lin University, completing the course in 1867, with the degree of A. B., subsequently re- ceiving that of A. M. Mr. Wright studied . pharmacy at the Chicago National Institute, and in 1868 came to California via the Isthmus of Panama. For a year he engaged in a pho- tographic business in San Bernardino, and after disposing of this enterprise engaged in fruit packing and shipping for two years in Sonoma county. Removing to Mendocino county he was interested in stock-raising for three years, and after that turned his attention to educational work in Sonoma county for about four years. During this time he main- tained the chair of mathematics in the Pacific Methodist College for two years.

Upon coming to Oregon in 1879, Mr. Wright spent a few months in Jacksonville, and in the fall of the same year located in Klamath Falls, soon afterward starting his present busi- ness, handling drugs and books. Under the

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Republican administration of 1880 he was ap- pointed postmaster of the town, serving un- til 1887, and his other offices have included that of justice of the peace for six years and school director and clerk for many years. His activity extends into the Presbyterian Church, of which he is one of the most earnest work- ers and chief financial supports. Fraternally he is a member of Blue Lodge No. 77, A. F. & A. M., of Klamath Falls, and Ancient Order United Workmen. February 1, 1871, Mr. Wright was united in marriage with Jennie L. Martin, a native of Oskaloosa, Mahaska county, Iowa, and born December 22, 1844. The marriage ceremony was performed in San Bernardino, Cal., and five children have been born of the union: Silas R., a farmer of Morton, Wash .; George Irving, a druggist of Portland, Ore .; Flora M., a trained nurse liv- ing at San Francisco, Cal .; Harry R., who died in infancy ; and Carl M., living at home.

STEPHEN STUKEL. In the southern part of Klamath county, one-half mile east of Merrill, only a short distance from the Cal- ifornia state line, lies the homestead of Mr. Stukel, a pioneer of this section of the coun- try. By birth an Austrian, he was born in the province of Kerin, December 26, 1840, being a son of Joseph and Agnes (Poch) Stukel, na- tives of the same province as himself. His father, who followed farm pursuits, died in Austria in 1867, when about sixty years of age; and the mother died there in 1847, at about forty years of age. In their family were four daughters and four sons, the youngest of whom, Stephen, spent his boyhood days in Austria, but at thirteen years of age left home and set sail for America. Alone, save for a few acquaintances, he made the long voyage to the new world, where he landed on Christ- mas day of 1854. From New York he pro- ceeded to Chicago and thence to Stark coun- ty, Ill., where he secured work as a farm laborer.

Returning to New York in the summer of 1857, Mr. Stukel took passage for the Isthmus of Panama, in company with his brother, Jo- seph, who had joined him in Illinois. From the isthmus he proceeded to San Francisco on a sailing vessel, and after his arrival engaged in mining in Eldorado county. Like the ma- jority of miners, he had a little good luck and a little of the reverse kind. On his return to San Francisco in 1862 he took passage on a ship for Caribou, British Columbia, which at that time was attracting thousands of miners by reason of the recent discovery of gold. However, he was unsuccessful there, so pro-

ceeded to Portland, Ore., and from there to Josephine county after a brief sojourn in Jack- son county. Near Kerby he engaged in min- ing until 1865, when he enlisted as a bugler in the First Oregon Volunteers, serving as a member of Company I, in Klamath county and out toward Camp Harney. While on the frontier he participated in a skirmish with the Snake Indians, but had no serious encounter with the savages during his term of service. In July of 1867 he was mustered out at Jack- sonville, and from there came at once to Klamath county, settling two and one-half miles east of Klamath Falls, where he bought one hundred and sixty acres of state land.

On selling out that place in 1878 Mr. Stukel moved four miles north of Merrill, where he took up a homestead claim, a pre-emption claim and a timber culture claim, making four hundred and eighty acres altogether. For many years he made his home on that land. Settling there when it was in its original pri- meval condition, he found it an arduous task to bring the property into a condition that proved profitable to himself, yet he is a man of great energy and determination and labored year after year, not allowing himself to be- come discouraged at the paucity of results. In the end he was repaid for his patient labor, for the property is now greatly increased in value. On selling the land to his sons, April I, 1903, he moved to a new homestead of sev- enteen acres, east of Merrill, where he now resides. In politics he is a stanch Republican. After the organization of Klamath county Governor Moody appointed him county com- inissioner, which position he filled acceptably. For years he served as road supervisor and many times was chosen director of his school district.

In Douglas county, Ore., December 8, 1871, occurred the marriage of Mr. Stukel and Miss Delila Purdue, who was born August 1, 1855. Her father, John Purdue, crossed the plains to Oregon about 1850 and served in the Rogue River Indian war, and the war of 1855-56. After a half century of close identification with the growth of Oregon he passed away at his home in Douglas county, in February, 1900, when he was eighty-four years of age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Frances Mills, did not long survive him, her demise occurring in January, 1901, when she was eighty-two years of age. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Stukel are seven in number, viz .: Alexander, deceased ; Joseph and Fred- erick, who own the large farm near Merrill, formerly the property of their father; Olive, wife of Samuel M. Heller, of Minnesota; Min- nie, Mrs. George Wilson, of Merrill, Ore .;

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Amy, wife of Albert Davis, also of Merrill; and Stephen, Jr., who resides with his parents. To Mrs. Stukel belongs the distinction of having been the first woman to act as school director in Klamath county, as well as the first woman to file and prove up on a timber land claim in the entire state of Oregon.

JOHN HARRISON SOWELL. That part of supposed fiction which is based upon real- ity, and which has for its setting the pioneer days of the south and west, would be en- riched by the life story of John Harrison Sowell, one of the honored early settlers and present residents of Josephine county. The narrative has to do with the border days of Texas, and with the days which tried the souls of men in Oregon, before conveniences or comforts were known here to any extent, and when the struggle for existence made up the sum of men's work from the rising to the setting of the sun, and from the beginning to the end of many years.

Mr. Sowell was born near Fort Townsend, Ga., May 4, 1826, his ancestors on both sides of the family having arrived in America at a very early day, and in time to participate in the wars of independence from English rule. The paternal grandfather, John Sowell, was born in South Carolina, as was also Jos- eph Sowell, the father of John Harrison, as well as his mother, Louisa (Rudolph) Sow- ell. The Rudolphs were of German extrac- tion, while the Sowells were originally known in Scotland. Grandfather Rudolph was an officer in the Colonial army during the Revo- lutionary war, and afterward settled in South Carolina. Joseph Sowell and his wife spent several years of their wedded life in South Carolina, moving from there to Georgia, and when John Harrison was four years old tak- ing up their residence in Tennessee. Thence they removed to Arkansas, and from there to Texas in 1835, locating in the wilderness of Fannin county. Texas in those days was a precarious place to live in, for the Comanche Indians viewed with great misgivings the ad- vent of the pale face into their happy hunt- ing grounds. Neighborly visits where the Sowells lived on Red river, where is now Sow- ell's bluff, were almost unheard of, and the protection of life and property constituted the chief work of the settlers. The year after the family arrived in Fannin county little nine-year-old John Harrison was captured by the Comanche Indians, and for two years was kept a prisoner in the Wichita mountains along the Arkansas river. In the meantime operations for his recovery were instituted by

his father, who in 1837 was made captain of a company by Governor Sam Houston, of Texas fame, and through the continued in- terest of the governor a treaty was made with the Indians in 1838, whereby John was re- turned to his home. Two years later his child- ish heart was rent by the murder of his father by the same tribe of Indians, and young as he was he forthwith shouldered a gun and relentlessly pursued the blood-thirsty and re- vengeful red men. The account of the cap- ture and subsequent retention of little John Sowell would fill a volume of readable mat- ter, but a brief résumé must suffice in the present instance. He was surprised by the Indians in the tall grass in Fannin county in June, 1835, and though he made a desperate effort to escape. he was finally captured and placed on a horse behind one of the Indians, the other following on another horse. The procession avoided the roads and kept in the timber as much as possible, and at Caney creek, six miles from home, were joined by four other Indians. These stripped the boy of all his clothing, and threw him up behind a Buck Indian and across a sharp-backed horse, in which position he traveled up Red river to Choctaw, and then crossed into In- dian territory and camped for the night. Af- ter offering the lad a supper of broiled meat, which he refused, he was bound hand and foot and laid out on the grass to sleep with- out clothes or cover of any kind. Needless to say the Indians took turns in watching the night through, and after an early breakfast he was placed behind another Indian on an equally lean horse, and traveled up Red river to Wichita, where they met forty highly decorated warriors, with whom he camped for the night. There was violent discussion between the two parties, the first seeming to be the most animated, and emphasizing their remarks by slapping the poor boy on the back in such manner as to break the blisters made by the noon-day sun. He was brave though, and did not flinch, and the fact probably ap- pealed to their admiration for personal brav- ery. He recalls with pleasure one old buck who took him in his arms and befriended him, and beside whom he was later bound and slept. However, the Indian who had amused himself breaking the blisters did the binding and the little fellow's wrist hurt all night be- cause of the tightness of the cords. The old Indian was not pleased with the cut wrist in the morning, and after talking very loud for a time cut the strings which bound it. He later formed the Indians in two bands, taking the tormenting Indian in his own company, and placing the captive with a young Indian

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more kindly disposed. He also ordered a shirt put on the boy, and upon parting from him gave him a friendly hug. This noble red man was called Buffalo Hump, and was powerful in his time and place. That night, when camp was reached over on the Texas side, the boy was not bound, and he slept with the big young Indian, who seemed to take a kindly interest in him and covered him at night with a buffalo robe. The next morning they start- ed for the quarters on Trinity river, in a south- west direction, and that night in camp an Indian killed a young deer, which was roasted and supplied the material for a highly appre- ciated feast. In the travel next day the party came to Denton creek, where Captain Denton was killed six years later in an attack on the village. The lad was here delivered over to an old squaw, and though he attracted little attention after the first day, the Indians had a great deal of sport at his expense. During the day they would stick him with sharp sticks, and at night would heat sticks and burn him. The squaw who did most of the torturing got tired in about a week, and her little daughter, taking a fancy to him, caused him to gain the enmity of the other boys in the village. However, after an attack by a specially vicious boy he was ordered to hit back, and did so in such an effectual man- ner, that his reputation increased at a bound, and during the stay in the village he was often engaged in personal combat. In them he adopted the ways of his captors, learned the language, and became more or less reconciled to his fate. He was renowned for his bravery, and many of the smaller boys were afraid to meet him in an encounter.

In the meantime the lad's father was put- ting forth every effort to find him, and on his own responsibility equipped a small com- pany which searched during the entire sum- mer. Finally, through Governor Houston, the Indians were treated with, but for a long time maintained that the boy was dead. This the father did not believe. Finally, however, they came to the conclusion that such was his fate, and gave up the search. In the fall the Kiowas went to the village to sell a white boy which they had captured, and which cost the lad's father $500. The elder Sowell, thinking to gain some information from the captive of his own son, was told that he was alive and well, and forthwith renewed his efforts to find him. Nothing was accomplished before spring, though, and even then John Harrison was sent for three times before the old squaw and her daughter would consent for him to go to his father. By that time he had become quite an Indian and liked the life so well that

he didn't care to give it up. The Indians were satisfied that their good treatment of him would bind his heart to them, and that be- neath the paint and war trappings his father would fail to recognize him. The boy dis- appointed them, however, for as soon as he saw his father he thought of his former life, of the folks at home, and of all he had suffered at the outset of his life with the Indians. His father failed to recognize him until he heard his voice, and he then warmly embraced him, as did also Governor Houston, who was a member of the council. The council was held at Austin, Tex., and in time the party started with the boy for his former home, on the way meeting the chief of the tribe, his squaw and daughter with whom the lad had lived for so long. They had followed the trail to the white man's city, intent upon seeing the little fellow to whom they were sincerely at- tached. The squaw presented the boy with a new suit of buckskin and a breechclout deco- rated with beads and porcupine quills. The reunited family spent days in rejoicing over the return of their supposed lost boy, and fin- ally the father, fearing that he would again be captured, took him to Fort Smith, Ark., and placed him in school. Eighteen months later he returned to the home on Red river, and it is interesting to know that twice after- ward the settlement was raided by the Indi- ans, in the second of which raids the father of John lost his life.

In addition to fighting the Indians after his father's death, John Harrison Sowell served in the Mexican war, as a private in the Fifth Company of the Third Texas Cav- alry, under command of General Taylor. He participated in all of the principal engage- ments, and was twice wounded by soldiers, and thrice by Indian arrows. After the war he returned to Sowell's Bluff, now quite a settlement, and inhabited by Indians, blacks and a considerable sprinkling of whites. In 1846 Mr. Sowell married Martha Howell, who bore him a daughter, Mary Ann, now the wife of a Mr. Highlander, of Cameron, Tex. In 1849, upon hearing of the discovery of gold on the coast, Mr. Sowell left his family in Texas and went alone to California with a wagon and ox teams, arriving at San Jose December 15, 1849. The following spring he engaged in mining in Sonoma county, and at the same time engaged in a general mer- chandise business until 1854. He was suc- cessful, and in 1854 returned to his former home on Red river, only to find that his wife had died in 1851, while he was striving to make a fortune for her in the west. In 1856 he again crossed the plains, and the same year

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married Temperance Barker, of San Diego county, who was born in Kentucky May 8, 1828. The Barker family crossed the plains in 1856, and in 1857 Mr. Sowell and his wife's family came to Oregon and located near Rose- burg, Douglas county. In 1864 Mr. Sowell came to Josephine county, and the following vear took up the homestead which has since been his home. With the exception of the forty acres still retained in his possession the land has since been disposed of, after yield- ing a liberal income from sheep-raising and general products. About 1893 Mr. Sowell dis- covered a copper mine adjoining the old homestead, which proved a fruitful source of revenue, and for the development of which he formed the Sowell Copper Mine Company, now known as the Mount View Copper Com- pany. The original company erected a ten- ton smelter in 1902, and in 1903 Mr. Sowell stepped out of the business entirely, dispos- ing of his shares at a gratifying profit. Two sons have been born of Mr. Sowell's second marriage, John G. and Joseph L., both farm- ers in Josephine countv. Mr. Sowell has been a stanch supporter of the Democratic party in this county, and besides serving as justice of the peace for several years, has been an in- fluential member of the school board. His varied and interesting life, with its high lights, its dramatic phases, and its great opportun- ities for well doing, causes him to stand alone among his townsmen as far as adventure and action are concerned. His high character, public spiritedness, and unquestioned integ- rity also commend themselves as worthy of admiration and emulation and his place is among the men whose lives have redounded to the credit of Josephine county.

ALEXANDER M. JESS. Since the close of the Rogue River war Alexander M. Jess has occupied his present farm in Josephine county, seven miles west of Grants Pass. His life in the meantime has been that of the broad minded and progressive farmer, interested in education, religion, politics and a general practical devel- opment. Possessing unbounded confidence in the underlying principles of Republicanism, he has unremittingly supported the issues of that party, and especially during the early days his efforts were noticeable, and gathered adherents to the cause. During the wild and unsettled mining times he acceptably filled the office of justice of the peace, and since then has served as road supervisor, and for the past twenty years has been a member of the school board.

The family of Mr. Jess is interestingly inter- woven with the sccond great struggle for Brit-

ish supremacy in America. His father, Alexan- der Jess, who was born in Scotland, came to this country as a soldier in the war of 1812, but while fighting under the Union Jack must have ex- perienced a change of heart, for he soon after- ward became a loyal American citizen, and sub- sequently married Mary Cass, a native of New York state. In time he settled on a farm on the Erie canal, in Oneida county, N. Y., and there his two children, Isabella and Alexander M., were born, the latter in 1833. In 1834 small- pox broke out along the canal, and Alexander, Sr., his wife and little Isabella died during the scourge. One-year-old Alexander was taken to Brooklyn and reared by his paternal uncle, where he received a practical education in the public schools, and served a partial apprenticeship to a carpenter. At the age of eighteen he started out on his own responsibility, spending the win- ter of 1852 in St. Louis, Mo .. where he made arrangements to cross the plains to Oregon in the spring of 1853. He was five months on the trip, and received his board and accommoda- tions in exchange for driving oxen and making himself generally useful. Members of the party included the family of Jacob J. Moore, whose daughter, Martha J., then a lass of five, Mr. Jess was destined to marry after establishing himself in the new country.

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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 134

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