Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present.., Part 14

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 14

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Arriving in Portland in the fall of 1851, Cap- tain Hoyt located his family in a house owned by Captain Irving on Second street, and five years later he purchased a quarter of a block on the corner of Sixth and Morrison streets, where his death occurred in 1862. As soon as he came here he interested himself in boating, and for his purpose bought a vessel, fitted it with new machinery, and christened it the Multno- malı. The Multnomah certainly had a success- ful career, and while plying between Portland and Astoria, towed, freighted, and also carried the mails. About this time he bought an interest in the Eliza C. Anderson, a well known river boat of its day, but the Multnomah claimed his attention to the last, rewarding him handsomely for the investment. The mail contract which he had signed with the government did not ex- pire until a year after his death, and his wife was obliged to fulfill the contract, which her experience with her husband amply fitted her to do. She continued to live in the home on the corner of Sixth and Morrison streets until 1878, and then went to make her home with her daugh- ter, Mrs. Phillips, until her death, September I, 1893. Mrs. Hovt was a woman of large heart and practical ideas. She was well edu-

cated and well read, and kept pace with her fam- ily in their studies and interests. She had a brother, John Middleton, who was a wagon maker by trade, and who came to Portland at an early day, plying his trade when there was great need of mechanics and master workmen. Richard Hoyt, the oldest son of the captain, was born in Albany, N. Y., in 1847, and was edu- cated in the Willamette University and the old Portland Academy. He was fourteen years old at the time of his father's death, but young as he was, he was thoroughly familiar with the river, and was able to take the Multnomah from Portland to Astoria. He married and had three children, Herbert H., Christina, who died aged eighteen years, and Lindley. Sarah M. was born in Portland in 1853, and was educated in the public schools and St. Helen's Hall. Her mar- riage with P. F. Phillips occurred in 1875, her husband being a native of St. Johns, New Bruns- wick. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Phillips, but John Richard, the oldest son, died at the age of six years, and Ralph died March 3, 1903, at the age of seventeen. The other children are: Minnie S .; Aimee W .; Maude M .; and Hazel and Harry, twins. Mary Frances Hoyt was born in 1856 and for her first husband married T. S. Carr, by whom she had two children, a son who died at the age of three years, and a daughter. Ethel, now the wife of Marcus Eddy Spaulding, of Tacoma, Wash. For her second husband Mrs. Carr mar- ried Loyal B. Stearns, and at present makes her home in Portland. Mrs. Hoyt was a de- voted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, towards the support of which her hus- band liberally contributed, although he was not a member.

JOHN H. JONES. One of the most kindly and gracious, as well as substantial and forceful representatives of past and present commercial activity in Oregon, is John H. Jones, president of the Jones Lumber Company, and the oldest active lumber merchant in the state, if not in the northwest. This venerable, liberal and thor- oughly successful manipulator of western oppor- tunities was born on a farm near Carthage, N. Y., October 3, 1832, a son of Justus and a grand- son of Elihu Jones, the former of whom lost his father when but fourteen years of age and was thus thrown upon his own resources at an early age. His mother afterward married a Mr. Hal- sey, and he himself was apprenticed to a black- smith in New Jersey, from which condition, akin to servitude. he escaped and ran away to Canada. While in the Dominion he married and settled on a farm, an-l later removed to Carthage. N. . Y., where he farmed and plied his trade for

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many years. He died in 1847, at the advanced age of eighty-seven years.

Justus Jones was born in Ogdensburg, N. Y., March 14, 1807. In 1845 he removed to the vicinity of Keokuk, Iowa, where he engaged in farming until the fall of 1848. He then re- moved his family to Lakeview, Dane county, Wis., traveling with ox teams, where they made their home until the spring of 1852. Not con- tent with the prospects in Wisconsin, he once more hitched up his ox teams, loaded his wag- ons and started on the long journey for Port- land; and notwithstanding the many dangers and deprivations incident to such a trip in those days, arrived safely at Fort Laramie, July 4. 1852, after having traveled three months and three days. November 27 following the fam- ily reached Portland, and in the month of Feb- ruary. 1853, he and his two sons made the first settlement at Clatskanie, Columbia county. The pioneer family at once engaged in logging and lumbering with fair success, but at the end of three years the father returned to Portland, where the remainder of his life was spent. He died at the Jones sawmill in 1893, at the age of about eighty-five years. His wife, Lois Hast- ings, was a daughter of John Hastings, who went from Massachusetts, about 1800, and set- tled in Jefferson county, N. Y., where Mrs. Jones was born. The family came of Puritan stock and were related to the famous Bacon fam- ily. Mrs. Jones died in Oregon in 1879, leav- ing two children, of whom Elihu King, her youngest son, resides in Portland.

Upon removing with his family to Iowa in 1845, John H. Jones attended the district schools at intermittent intervals, and experienced the same unsatisfactory advantages after settling in Dane county, Wis., in 1848. When the family set out over the plains in 1852 he drove an ox team to Fort Boise, and was there attacked with bilious fever, from the ravages of which he was relieved by the incessant care of his mother. Arriving in Portland in the fall of 1852 he spent the winter in the city, and in the spring located on a farm in Clatskanie, in what is now Colum- bia county, which remained his home for three years. In 1855 he located at Cedar Mills, Wash- ington county, Ore., seven miles from Portland. and there erected and operated the small water- wheel mill which marked the beginning of his career as a lumber merchant. This mill was en- tirely of his own construction, and in it he en- gaged in the manufacture of lumber until 1870, when he located in Portland. In the meantime, however, he had returned to the east in 1862, via Panama, and in 1864 married Jane Catherine Osborne, a native of New York, with whom he returned to his mill in Oregon, by way of the Panama route.

In 1871 Mr. Jones erected a steam mill on the Macadam road. This was burned in 1873, re- built at once, and again destroyed in a similar manner in July, 1889, through sparks from the railroad locomotives. Just prior to the last dis- aster he had dissolved partnership in the milling firm, but his brother rebuilt the property and he again took an interest and incorporated the firm of E. K. Jones & Co. in 1891. The Jones Lumber Company, incorporated in 1901, grew out of the latter-named concern, and Mr. Jones became its president, as he had been of its prede- cessor. The mill has a maximum capacity of fifty thousand feet per day, and its output is shipped to California and many eastern points.

During all these years Mr. Jones has extended his abilities into various lines of development. Several business and other structures in the city are due to his faith in the continued prosperity of his adopted state, and he owns besides sev- eral residences and some country property. Mr. Jones is at the present time the oldest active lumberman in this section, and though seventy years of age still retains the business ability and fine personal traits which have brought about his remarkable success in the west. He has given abundant evidence of his appreciation of the opportunities by which he was surrounded by investing heavily in town and country prop- erty, and has in many ways taken an active part in those affairs intended to contribute to the general development of his adopted home.

The wife of Mr. Jones died in 1875, leaving four children : Elizabeth Lois, wife of William Towne of Holyoke, Mass .; Lovina Dell, wife of W. H. Grindstaff of Portland; Birdie Lucy, wife of George D. Schalk of Portland ; and Her- man Halsey, manager of the Jones Lumber Company.

HERMAN HALSEY JONES. Among the younger business men of Portland, Herman Hal- sey Jones, secretary, treasurer and manager of the Jones Lumber Company, is securely fortified in a position whose responsibilities he has so suc- cessfully shouldered as to entitle him to a con- spicuous place in the ranks of the most enter- prising and sagacious representatives of the commercial world of the Pacific northwest. While it is true that opportunities of no mean nature were placed within his grasp when he stood upon the threshold of his business career, his record proves that, unlike many a young man similarly situated, he was possessed of powers of discernment and judgment sufficient to enable him to make the most of these opportunities from his first effort to the present time.

The family to which Mr. Jones belongs has a

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record for enterprise, energy and initiative work extending through several generations. The history of the identification of the fam- ily with the industrial interests of Oregon began more than a half a century ago when, in 1852, Justus Jones, the paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, came from his pioneer home in Wisconsin and established one of the earliest lumber industries of this state in the vicinity of Portland. His son, John H. Jones, took up this business where the pioneer left off, and the representative of the third generation is now energetically engaged in prosecuting the business developed by his father, whose advanced age renders him willing to allow the brunt of the great responsibilities attached to the conduct of the enterprise to fall upon the younger and more active man.

Herman Halsey Jones was born in Portland, March 17, 1870, and received his education in the public schools of that city. From his earliest youth he was more or less familiar with the busi- ness conducted by his father, and after entering the employ of the mill in 1890, beginning at the bottom of the ladder, he learned all the details of the business in its various departments. When the firm of E. K. Jones & Co. was incorporated in 1891 he was elected to the directorate, and filled the position of vice-president until assuming the positions of secretary and manager in 1898. Upon the organization of its successor, the Jones Lumber Co., in 1901, he became its secretary, treasurer and manager. The mill, located at No. 1280 Macadam street, has a capacity of fifty thou- sand feet per day of ten hours, and the yard, located at Fourth and Columbia streets, is the largest retail yard in Portland. The mill is op- erated by steam power, has double circular saws, lath mill, box shook plant and moulding plant, and its products are shipped to California and many eastern points.

In Portland Mr. Jones was united in mar- riage with Mamie C. Morris, a native of England, and a daughter of David A. Morris, foreman of the Willamette Steel & Iron Works. She came to the United States with her parents in 1876, and has resided in Portland since 1879. They are the parents of a son, named Morris Giesy. Mr. Jones is a member of the Native Sons of Oregon, and in political affiliation is a Republican, though not a seeker for public honors. He was one of the incorporators of the Portland City Retail Lumber Company, a clearing house association for the lumber mer- chants of this city. He is one of the energetic and typically western business men, possessing personal attributes which cannot fail to keep him among the foremost in business and social af- fairs.

ROCKEY PRESTON EARHART. During his public service, which lasted over a period of twenty-five years, Rockey Preston Earhart be- came a prominent and influential figure in the legislative life of the state of Oregon, serving almost constantly in some capacity during this time, and unlike many other public men every succeeding position lifted him higher in the esti- mation of the people whom he served. Always a careful, thorough business man, punctual in the discharge of duties, and always implicitly trusted, Mr. Earhart took a firm stand on every question which affected the people morally, so- cially or financially and they well knew that their interests were upheld by a representative in every way worthy of their trust and confidence .. Personally he was a man who influenced all with whom he came in contact, through the possession of a courteous, kindly disposition and a forceful, speaking magnetism, winning many friends, for whom he entertained a frank, warm and loyal attachment, which could not but be reciprocated. His splendid optimism, from which fine quality the greatness of the world has grown, caused him to be sought for at every gathering, political or otherwise, for he was an eloquent and engaging conversationalist, describing with striking force whatever had come within his line of vision. Such a char- acter as that of Mr. Earhart must stand for all time as one of the pillars in the magnificent statehood which has been erected in the north- west, and though gone from mortal sight, as all must go, he still lives in the hearts of those who knew him in the pioneer days of the country.

Mr. Earhart was born in Franklin county, Ohio, June 23, 1836, and received his education in the private schools of his native state, where he gained a practical business training. He left his home in 1855 and came to Oregon by way of the Isthmus of Panama, seeking a broader scope for his abilities. Upon his arrival in this section he came in contact with some of the public men of the day, and they, recognizing the ability which was needed in all departments of the growing west, secured for him an ap- pointment as clerk in the quartermaster's depart- ment at Ft. Yamhill, then under the command of Capt. Robert McFeely, who later became a general in the United States Army, and quar- termaster P. H. Sheridan, then an almost un- known soldier. Mr. Earhart remained in this department until 1861, this date being the signal for the departure of Sheridan, who went toward the states to offer his services in putting down the rebellion, during which time he served val- iantly in the Yakima Indian war, rendering val- uable assistance to the officials under whom he served. In 1861 he embarked in a merchandis- ing enterprise in Yamhill and Polk counties, con-

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tinuing so engaged for three years, during which time he was married, July 2, 1863, to Miss N. A. Burden, who was herself a young pioneer to the coast.

Judge Job Burden, the father of Mrs. Earhart, was one of the first judges appointed in that county, and was a pioneer of Oregon. His home was in Sangamon county, Ill., and from that state a party of emigrants, of whom the judge and his family were members, came in 1845, equipped with supplies, wagons and ox teams. The journey occupied six months, the elose of which found them safely located in the western state. Judge Burden followed farming in Polk county and endured all the hardships and priva- tions of the early settler, and by his earnest and persevering work proved his substantial qualities as a citizen of the county in which he made his home. He and his wife died there at ad- vaneed ages. Of their six children three dangh- ters survive, Mrs. Earhart having been born in Illinois in 1844 and thus crossed the plains at the age of one year. Of the children which blessed her union with Mr. Earhart, Alice A. is the wife of H. F. Gibson, of Seattle, Wash .; Eva T. is the widow of F. H. Alliston, of Port- land; Clara E. is the wife of Dr. George F. Koehler, of Portland; and Agnes L. is the wife of W. A. Holt, also of this city. They were all born in Oregon and were educated in the public and best private schools which the country af- forded.

Mr. Earhart engaged in merchandising until he received an appointment as United States Indian Agent at the Warm Springs Agency, to succeed Colonel Logan, remaining for about a year, when he was followed by Capt. John Smith. For some time after this he served as chief elerk and special Indian agent under Superintendent Huntington, and was secretary of the board of commissioners appointed by the general govern- ment to treat with the Klamath and Modoe In- dians. In 1868 he again engaged in the mercan- tile business at Salem, Ore., and continued there until 1872. In conjunction with other citizens Mr. Earhart was active in maintaining peace at the capital during the troublesome times when the Civil war was in progress and when an out- break might have occurred but for the courage and coolness of a few citizens who were pre- pared for active service at any moment. In 1870 Mr. Earhart was called upon to represent Marion county in the legislature, as a Repub- lican, and was there instrumental in securing the first appropriation for the erection of public buildings in the state. He moved to Portland at the close of the term and was engaged for some time in the business department of the Daily Bulletin. He was appointed chief clerk of the surveyor general's office in 1874 and success-

fully maintained this position until 1878, when he resigned to accept the office of secretary of state, to which he had been elected. He en- tered upon his duties and reorganized and sys- tematized the business of the office, and so ac- ceptably did he discharge his duties that he re- ceived the unanimous vote of the Republican state convention for renomination and secured a majority of twenty-five hundred votes in the June election, 1882. His second term was as eminently satisfactory as the first, and upon his retirement his administration was heartily en- dorsed by both parties. From 1885 to 1887 he served as adjutant general of the state, and in 1888 was elected member of the legislature from Multnomah county, and re-elected for a second term, which was never completed. In 1890 he was appointed collector of customs, a position which was also interrupted by the summons of death. During his last residence in Portland Mr. Earhart was instrumental in the organiza- tion and incorporation of the Northwest Insur- ance Company, taken up by the prominent men of the city of Portland, and in this company Mr. Earhart was appointed manager, which position he held for a number of years. His death oc- curred at his home in Portland, No. 365 Twelfth street, south, May 11, 1892.

In fraternal relations Mr. Earhart was very prominent, having been made a Mason in 1863 and had held every office in the gift of the fraternity. In 1872 he was elected grand seere- tary of the Grand Lodge, serving until 1878, when, in recognition of past services in that body, he was elected to the high and honorable position of grand master and re-elected in 1879. He was also sovereign grand inspector and at- tained the thirty-third degree in the Scottish Rite in Oregon. He assisted in the organization of the first commandery of Knights Templar estab- lished on the north Pacific coast, and served for four years as eminent commander, and upon his retirement he was presented with a handsome Masonic jewel. At the time of his death he was grand commander of Knights Templar of the state. Religiously he was a member of the Con- gregational Church.

CAPT. GEORGE H. FLANDERS. A little more than a decade ago the city of Portland was called upon to give up one of the men whose character has truly left an ineradicable impres- sion upon the moral, social and commercial life of that city ; whose purity of thought, word and action has placed him as one apart from the large number of those who gave their strength and manhood to the upbuilding of the west ; who, though long passed away, is still remembered by the many friends who loved him and the many

John W. Meldrum

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who knew his worth through the kindness which he had shown them in the day of their need. Captain Flanders lived a life of such usefulness, intelligent, practical and Christian, giving freely of all wherewith he was blessed, in every busi- ness enterprise earnest for the. advancement. of the growth of the city but ever guarding his own honor and that of the community, the word be- ing the key note to the blamelessness of his en- tire life. A brief sketch of his life is herewith given, his participation in the early history of the city numbering him as one of the representative citizens.

George H. Flanders was born in Newbury- port, Mass., December 25, 1821, the representa- tive of an old New England family, the English ancestor having come to that state in 1640. There the father, John, was also born. From his earli- est boyhood Captain Flanders followed the sea, engaging in manhood in foreign trade, and finally he turned his eyes toward the western states, a splendid faith in their future justifying the removal here. In the year 1848 he came with his brother-in-law, Captain Couch, in a ves- sel of his own named "Palos," around the Horn to San Francisco and a little later became a resi- dent of our city, where he remained throughout the remaining years of a long and useful life, closely identified with the business interests of the city and the development of her resources. It is a fact worthy of note that Captain Flanders never revisited his home in the eastern states, so entirely content did he become in the life and interests which were his as a citizen of this section. He was first connected with Captain Couch in the building of the wharf which extended from Ankeny to Davis street and was known by the names of the two men, and Captain Flanders also built the Greenwich wharf. For several years he was engaged in the mercantile business here and in transportation between Portland and San Francisco, and also owned one-fourth of the Couch donation land claim, now known as Couch addition to the city. In connection with Captain Couch he built the first Masonic temple in the city, located at the corner of Front and Burnside streets, this being one of the first brick buildings here erected. One of the most important positions which the cap- tain filled was that of United States hull inspec- tor, succeeding to this upon the death of Captain Couch, and maintaining honorably and creditably the same for the period of ten years, at the ex- piration of that time resigning.

In fraternal relations Captain Flanders was a member of the Masonic order, belonging to Wil- lamette Lodge, and in religion he was a consci- entious member of Trinity Episcopal Church, in which he officiated as vestryman until his death. which occurred November 22, 1892. He married

Maria L. Foster, born in Winthrop, Mc., also blessed with the ancestry of a sturdy Puritan family, and she now makes her home in the old home in this city.

HON. JOHN W. MELDRUM. From an early period in the history of America the Mel- drum family has been identified with its growth, and it is a noticeable fact that its members have been associated with the pioneer element. Will- iam Meldrum, who was of Scotch-Irish descent, settled in Kentucky as early as 1804, while that state was yet in its infancy and unredeemed from the wilderness. At a later date he became a pioneer of Illinois, settling near Carrollton, where he passed the remaining years of his busy life. John, a son of this pioneer, was born in Shelby county, Ky., in March, 1808, and became a stonemason and builder, following that occupa- tion both in Illinois and Iowa.

As early as 1845 the Meldrum family started on the long and difficult journey across the plains. The family consisted of John Meldrum. his wife, Susanna Depew (Cox) Meldrum, and their four children. Starting from Council Bluffs, Iowa, in April, they followed the Platte and Green river route, and landed at Oregon City in October, 1845. The third in order of birth among the children was John W, who was born near Burlington, Iowa, December 17, 1839. From the age of six years he has been a resident of Oregon. Almost his earliest recollections are therefore of the far west, with its pioneer en- vironment and sparsely-settled communities. The hardships and privations incident to opening up a home in the wilderness he experienced while yet a boy, and in his later years he has looked back upon the past with a keen appreciation of the changes which time has wrought in our pop- ulation, improvements and well-being. His edu- cation was such as the early schools of the state afforded, but has been supplemented by self- culture and habits of reading and close observa- tion. His father had a claim near Ilwaco, Wash .. and for a time he remained there, assisting in clearing the land, but about 1856 he returned to Oregon City. The next few years witnessed a number of changes in his life. For a time he taught school, for two years read law, and for four years worked in the Florence and other mines.

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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 14

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