Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present.., Part 17

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 17

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The birth of Mr. Bell occurred in Mount Sterling, Montgomery county, Ky., February 24, 1814. The father was a native of Philadelphia, and early removed to Kentucky, where he en- gaged as a wholesale hat merchant. In 1834 he went to Missouri, where his death occurred at the age of eighty-eight years. His wife, for- merly Virlinda Grimes, was born in Bourbon county, Ky., and died in Missouri at the age of fifty years. Of their four children the only one now living is J. C. Bell, of this review. He received his education at the academy of his na- tive town, his first employment being as a clerk in a store there. When his parents removed to the state of Missouri, Mr. Bell, then twenty years old, accompanied them, and there bought a farm and engaged in raising tobacco, in which employment he remained for two years, in 1837 entering the mercantile world as a wholesale and retail grocer of Clarksville, Pike county, Mo. This business was successfully conducted for about three years, when he went to New Or- leans for eighteen months and then to Platte county, Mo., where he passed the ensuing ten vears. While in that location he was married in Weston, in 1845. to Sarah E. Ward, who was born in Greenup county, Ky., in 1829, after- ward becoming a resident of Fleming county, where she was reared and educated. She was the daughter of Gen. Thompson Ward, a com- mander in the war of 1812, and an attorney and politician, representing his district in the Ken- tucky legislature for sixteen years. He moved to Weston, Mo., and in 1854 came to Oregon, crossing the plains with ox teams in a journey of five months. He settled in Salem, where he followed farming and stock raising until his death, which occurred at the age of eighty-five

vcars. His wife. who before her marriage was Sarah Kountz, died in Salem, at the age of sixty-seven years. Besides Mrs. Bell the other daughter of this family now living is Mrs. Nancy Belt, the wife of Dr. Belt, of Salem.

In 1850 Dr. Belt brought his family to Oregon and Mr. Bell accompanied them, leaving his own wife in their Missouri home until he had first tried the western life. They set out primarily for the gold fields of California, leaving May I of that year, but through delays they changed their intentions and came instead to Oregon. On the way they fell in with Major Davis and came to Portland, but left Mr. Davis here while they journeyed on to Salem, which city was the scene of about twenty years of the practical busi- ness life of Mr. Bell. In the same year he was appointed manager of a store at The Dalles, where he was employed in hauling supplies to the soldiers as well as carrying on a large trade with the Indians. Major Tucker was the com- manding officer and Mr. Bell had been appointed by Colonel Loring. He built the first house and occupied it at The Dalles before the officers were in their own quarters. Until 1851 Mr. Bell remained there, then sold out, and purchasing thirty-two pack mules, conducted a pack train from Salem to Yreka, Cal., a distance of two hundred and fifty miles, which occupation was continued for a year. The year following he returned to Missouri and in 1854 came back across the plains with his family. During this trip they experienced the horror, while camping on the banks of the Oyhee river, of witnessing a massacre of a party of emigrants by Indians, which would probably have been their own fate had not Mr. Bell performed a strategic move- ment which averted the danger. In Salem Mr. Bell opened a general merchandise establishment and continued the same for many years, also buying a farm near that city, where he engaged in stock raising and cultivation of wheat, this latter, however, occupying his attention for only three years. After selling his business in Salem in 1870 and also his farming interests he re- tired from active duties until his appointment by Cleveland as postmaster of Astoria, at which time he moved his family there and served in that capacity for four and a half years. In 1890 he removed to Portland, which has since re- mained his home, conducting until his retirement a real estate business here, in which he met with the uniform success which had character- ized the efforts of his life.

Throughout his entire residence in this state Mr. Bell has been associated with the enterprises calculated to advance the interests of the com- munity, taking an active part in all affairs that have come within his range of influence, which has, fortunately, been wide and far-reaching

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through his business contact with the people of the state. In 1861 he was one of the stock- holders of The Arena, in Salem, the first Demo- cratic paper of the city, and the same year as- sisted very materially in the election of Colonel Baker to Congress, his tragic death at Ball's Bluff, in 1861, being especially felt by those who had sent him as their representative. In 1864, while Mr. Bell was in San Francisco, the Demo- cratic party nominated him for state treasurer, but he was defeated at the election. He has been very active in the Democratic conventions, acting as delegate to the state, county and local meetings. While living in Weston, Mo., he gave much aid in the time of the Mexican war, assisting in recruiting the regiments of Colonel Donovan and General Price, both being organ- ized at Fort Leavenworth. Mr. Bell then ranked as lieutenant-colonel.

To Mr. and Mrs. Bell were born ten children, of whom two died in infancy in Missouri and one at the age of two years in Salem; Nancy Garnett, born in Missouri, married Walter Jack- son and died in Portland, leaving two children, Alice Bell and Harold, who . now make their home in that city; Laura W., born in Missouri, married J. H. D. Gray, formerly county judge of Astoria, Ore., but who is now deceased; they hecame the parents of eight children ; William T. is engaged in the mercantile business in Enter- prise, Ore., and has three children, two sons and one daughter, namely: Memory, Burnett and Helen; Alice is the wife of S. Z. Mitchell, of Tacoma, Wash., the manager of the General Electric and Improvement Company, and they have one son, Sidney A .; Sarah Blanche is the wife of Capt. R. E. Davis, who is connected with the Willamette Iron Works, and they have one son, Robert Bell; Genevieve is the wife of C. M. Maxwell, an electrician of Seattle, Wash., and they have two sons, Allyne and John C .; Robert Edward is married and engaged as an electrician in Tacoma, Wash. The sons were all educated in Salem University, and the daughters in the parochial school, Sisters of the Sacred Heart, all making their home with their parents until marriage, trained to domesticity by the father, who has always cared more for his home than anything else in the world. Mr. Bell is a member of the Pioneer Association of Oregon, and fraternally is a member of the Masonic or- der, having been made a Mason in Clarksville, Mo., in 1837. He is a charter member of Mult- nomah Chapter, R. A. M., at Salem.

FRANK S. FIELDS, County Clerk of Mult- nomah county, has been prominently identi- fied with Portland and its vicinity for a period of more than a quarter of a century.

During that time his career has caused him to become recognized as a man of most estimable personal qualities, who is unselfishly devoted to the promotion of those movements calculated to enhance the numerous advantages of the city and the state as a desirable place of residence, as well as to educate the rest of the world in the many material advantages offered by the com- monwealth to men of energy and enterprise.

His father, Samuel H. Fields, was born near Lexington, Ky., in 1821, and at an early age was made an orphan. In his youth he went to Missouri with the intention of assisting in the pioneer development of that state. There he learned his trade, that of mason, and about 1854 removed to Milwaukee, Wis., where he estab- lished himself in business as a contractor and builder. Subsequently he carried on operations in the same calling in Kilbourn City and New Lisbon, in that state. In 1875 he came to Ore- gon and purchased a tract of twelve and one- fourth acres in Mount Tabor, which he con- verted into a fine fruit farm. The remainder of his life was spent at Mount Tabor, where his death occurred in 1896. During the Civil war he served as a member of the Eighth Wisconsin Infantry. His widow, who before her marriage was Luconda Hamilton, now makes her home in Mount Tabor. In their family are four chil- dren, namely; Eliza J., wife of E. J. Brubaker, postmaster of and merchant in Mount Tabor ; Louis R., superintendent of the Oregon division of the Southern Pacific Railroad; Charles E., who is engaged in the real estate business in Portland; and Frank S., the youngest child in the family.

Frank S. Fields was born April 13, 1862, in New Lisbon, Juneau county, Wis., where the first thirteen years of his life were spent. With his parents he came to Oregon in 1875, attending school at Mount Tabor until he reached the age of sixteen. In young manhood he began his business career by becoming a telegraph opera- tor in Oregon. For eight years he was sta- tioned at Halsey, Ore., as telegraph operator and agent for the Oregon & California Railroad Company. His entry into public life occurred in 1887, when he began a two years' term as city recorder of Halsey. He also served one term as mayor. In 1890 he engaged with his brother, Charles E., in the real estate business in Port- land, the firm name being C. E. & F. S. Fields. They laid out an addition of eight acres north- west of Mount Tabor, Summit Addition to Mount Tabor (comprising sixteen acres), Sum- mit Annex to the same place (ten acres), and Mount Tabor Central Tract Addition (eight acres). They also laid out Mount Tabor Con- mercial Block, a tract of one acre where t1.^ postoffice now stands, and a five-acre addition

WILLIAM BARLOW.

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

known as East Paradise Springs, besides other plots. Frank S. Fields is now retired from the firm, which is known as Fields & Co., with offices in the Alisky building.

In 1895 Mr. Fields was appointed deputy clerk of the county court, under H. C. Smith, and this post he filled for two and one-half years, or until the expiration of his term. In 1902 the Republicans of Multnomah county nominated him for the office of county clerk, and he was elected, assuming the duties of that office July 7 of that year. At the time he entered the office, the law passed in 1901 consolidating the offices of clerk of the county court, recorder of conveyances and clerk of the circuit court into one office, to be known as county clerk, took effect. The enactment of this law resulted in the saving to Multnomah county of thousands of dollars annually, as under the old regime from twenty to twenty-five deputies were em- ployed in the three departments, whereas the work is now done by a reduced force under the direct supervision of Mr. Fields. He has always exhibited a keen interest in educational matters, and for some time served on the Mount Tabor school board in the capacity of clerk, holding this position until his election to the office of county clerk. Although not identified by mem- bership with any religious body, he does all in his power for the promotion of good along all avenues, and aids all worthy measures by ma- terial support. His wife is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Frater- nally he is connected with Mount Tabor Lodge No. 42, A. F. & A. M., Mount Tabor Camp, Woodmen of the World, holding the office of council commander in the lodge at Mount Tabor, with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Artisans and the United Brotherhood of Railroad Employes. He is also a member of the Board of Trade.

In Salem, Ore., April 24. 1883. Mr. Fields was married to Bessie E. Lindsay. She was born in Bucyrus, Ohio, but reared in Salem, where she removed with her parents in girlhood. Her training in the public schools of that city was supplemented by the full course in Willamette University, from which she was graduated. They are the parents of three children, Vera M .. a graduate of the Portland high school; Frank H. and Grace G.

WILLIAM BARLOW. In this great north- western country, with its boundless possibili- ties, and but imperfectly developed resources. its remoteness from the cradle influences of New England, and its diversified interests beckoning the traveler from afar, the large hearted, cour- ageous and far-sighted pioneer is revered for

what he has accomplished, and for the strength and hope which his sterling characteristics have infused into all departments of activity. At the present time there is in process of writing a history of the Barlow family, different members of which have made perceptible inroads into the opening of Oregon, and who, in their attain- ments and characters, are representative of the most far-reaching and helpful pioneership. Pending the completion of this interesting nar- rative, it is a pleasure to enumerate the salient points in the careers of the best known members of the family, with reference especially to their association with the state of Oregon.

Very early records credit the Barlows with emigration from Scotland, and with settlement near Plymouth Rock, Mass. Virginia became the home of the later members of the family. in which state the paternal great-grandfather. John, was born, and where he enlisted for ser- vice in the Revolutionary war, in time attaining to the rank of captain. His son, William, the paternal grandfather, was also born in Virginia. and after going into Kentucky with Daniel Boone to fight the Indians, liked the state so well that he forthwith settled therein. In Nicholas county he owned a large farm, and reared a large family, his death occurring at the age of sixty-five years.

Samuel K. Barlow, the father of William, and son of William, was born in Nicholas county, Kv., and in his youth learned the tailor's trade. When twenty-eight years old he removed to In- diana, but later took up his residence near Peoria. Fulton county, Ill .. just at the close of the Black Hawk war. Subsequently he pioneered where Chicago now stands, but because there was no prophet to advise him, refused to pay $400 for the property upon which now towers one of the greatest centers of activity in the world. At that time the prairie around and bordering on Lake Michigan was unbroken by farm houses or barns, and in the woods there roamed game of various kinds, as yet unfrightened by the gun or wily scheme of the pale faced hunter. Ignor- ing the chance to buy up the future site of Chi- cago, Mr. Barlow started from Fulton county to cross the plains, March 30. 1845, his means of transportation consisting of four teams of three yoke of oxen each. With his family he traveled alone to Independence, Mo., where the band was increased to one thousand wagons, and clivided up into different companies. Mr. Bar- low was captain of the company bearing his name, and faithfully guarded the interests of his charges through all the dreary months on the trail. The way was via the Platte and the Sweet Water rivers, the journey being rather a pleasant one, and singularly free from annoy- ances of Indians or the ravages of disease.

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Slowly the cavalcade moved into the Willamette valley, travel stained but hopeful, and ready to do and dare to an extent unappreciated by peo- ple under any other circumstances.

William Barlow helped very materially to build the first wagon road over the Cascade mountains. Previous to 1845, all immigrants coming to western Oregon came to The Dalles and were conveyed by bateaux down the Colum- bia to the Willamette valley. Mr. Barlow's father determined to make the route one con- tinuous journey by land. He and William Rec- tor blazed the route and S. K. Barlow's family and a few helpers followed. Upon Will- iam Barlow, the oldest son, devolved much of the responsibility and work of the undertaking. He and John M. Bacon were the first men to test the road. Following the blazed trees made by the pathfinders, they made the trip on foot to the Foster settlement, where provisions were procured to take back to the hungry women and children who were struggling with the diffi- culties of the new mountain road. The road was eighty miles long; sixty-five miles of it were cut through the primeval forests and canyons of the mountain slopes. The late Judge Mat- thew P. Deady, of the United State supreme court, said of it: "The construction of the Bar- low road contributed more toward the prosperity of the Willamette Valley and the future state of Oregon than any other achievement prior to the building of the railways in 1870."

Christmas eve, 1845, Mr. Barlow arrived with his family in Oregon City. He had been suc- cessful in Illinois, and had money with which to start life in the west. He bought a hotel for which he paid $2,000, later sold to his son, William, and also took up a claim of six hun- dred and forty acres near the city, which he eventually sold for $5,000. Later he bought six hundred and forty acres, upon a portion of which the town of Barlow has since been built and named in his honor, and this land he sold for $6,000. In the meantime he had purchased land in Canemah, and thither he repaired to spend his last years, his death occurring there at the age of seventy-two years. Mr. Barlow was one of the splendid personalities which illuminated the pioneer days of Oregon, and who, by his fine grasp of existing opportunities, furnished a worthy example to all would-be promoters of western interests. He was fashioned somewhat on the Cromwellian order, was of Scotch an- cestry, and fearless almost to audacity. He de- spised lies and soft people, and never stooped to a small meanness during the course of his long and well ordered life.

While living among the crude conditions of Indiana S. K. Barlow married Susanna Lee, who was born in South Carolina, and whose

father, William Lee, was born in Ireland. Mr. Lee's father was a colonel in the British army, and fought for the crown for seven years. In time he changed his tactics and fought against rather than for England, for which evidence of in- subordination he was captured and imprisoned in a dungeon for a year. After his release he sent his two boys, William and Frank, to America. and William settled in Charleston, S. C., where he enlisted for service in the Revolutionary war. He was a lieutenant of artillery and during the first engagement at Charleston a shell burst. causing him to be crippled for life, and cutting short his military service. Nevertheless, he lived to a good age, for he was sixty at the time of his death in South Carolina. His widow and her children removed to Kentucky, and later to Indiana, settling near Vincennes, but the mother finally removed to the vicinity of Indianapolis, and died there.

William Barlow, son of the pioneer, was born ten miles west of Indianapolis, Ind., October 26, 1822, and was reared in Indiana and Illi- nois. He was the second oldest of the five sons and two daughters born to his parents, and like the rest of the family availed himself of such education as was procurable at the little log subscription school-house. He came across the plains with his father, and bought six hundred and forty acres of land near the Clackamas river, and within six miles of Oregon City. After disposing of this land at a profit he went on the Molalla river and bought a section of land upon which he planted fifty acres in wheat. In 1848 he sold his property to Matthias Sweagle, a friend of the old days in Indiana and Illinois, who paid him $2,000 in gold. What this amount of money meant may be best judged when it is known that it was very scarce at that time, and that what little currency was to be had included English, Canadian, Mexican and various other kinds. Later Mr. Barlow brought up in Ore- gon City, where he bought wheat, made it into flour, and after getting in a supply of one thou- sand barrels of the latter commodity talked it over with his partner and decided that one ought to buy the other out. As no Barlow ever thought of backing down, the flour was soon under the exclusive ownership of the Barlow side of the house, and a rise in the price of flour enahled him to sell at an enormous profit. This happy chance proved the beginning of the success of Mr. Barlow, and placed to his credit what was then a comfortable competence.

In 1849 Mr. Barlow left his flouring business and went down to the mines of California on horseback, and during his absence from home collected a varied assortment of experience, al- beit his success as a miner did not reach large proportions. The Indians showed him a great

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‹leal of unsolicited attention, and while endeav- oring to turn them from the error of their ways he was compelled to acknowledge their superior- ity of numbers and fighting prowess, and re- treat to a safe haven. His object par excellence was to regain possession of a fine riding horse of which the red men had relieved him, but it is feared the horse had henceforth a much be- decked and savage master. After his flour sale Mr. Barlow bought the Lovejoy donation claim of three hundred and twenty acres on the hills back of where Canemah now stands, and after- ward he went into partnership with A. F. Hedges in laying out the town of Canemah. The part- ner went to New Orleans in 1850, bought an engine for a steamboat and saw mill, and a fine stock of general merchandise, and when he re- turned Mr. Barlow took the stock of goods and saw mill, and the partner took the boat, and all went merrily and successfully to the advantage of all concerned. The land back of Canemah increased in value and sold at a large profit, and the way of the pioneers was brightened by more than anticipated success.

Upon purchasing his father's place at Barlow Prairie in 1852, Mr. Barlow was practically free . from other business obligations, and in a position to devote all of his time to the cultivation of his fine property. A modern residence was un- fortunately burned in 1884, but Mr. Barlow at once arranged for a larger and more commo- dious residence. No more beautiful rural resi- dence contributes by its harmony and appropri- ateness to the agricultural well being of Clacka- mas county, nor is any farm more admirably managed or finely cultivated. Located on the Southern Pacific railroad, it has its own way station and warehouse, and while essentially a country home, is in close proximity to town in- terests. At one time Mr. Barlow was asked to put up $2,500 and thus become half owner of the land upon which Portland has since been built, the other man in the case, Dan Lonsdale, having paid $5,000 for it in leather. He after- wards traded a portion of the same land for the leather with which he had bought it to a tannery located on the property. Mr. Barlow was de- terred from entering into this transaction through the advice of his father, to whom he went for counsel. and whose opinion he valued more than that of anyone else in the world. Mr. Bar- low has been foremost in all public enterprises in his locality, his force of character, akin to that of his father, forcing him unwittingly into all that has called for strength and concerted action.

He early saw that the climatic conditions of his adopted state were suitable for orchard cul- ture and next to Mr. Llewellan of Milwaukee. was the first to establish an apple nursery. In 1852 he imported from Illinois, by way of the

Horn, a bushel of black walnuts, and a fine grove of bearing trees attest the success of this experi- ment. In public enterprises, Mr. Barlow's name was among the originators of the Oregon State Fair, the first woolen mill in Oregon, the build- ing of the first telegraph line, and in 1860 he gave up his residence and part of his farm for the establishment of barracks for the First Ore- gon Volunteers. In 1861 he moved to Oregon City and was enthusiastic in sanitary organiza- tions for the Union boys. Mr. Barlow was en- gaged in mercantile pursuits in the county seat for ten years, when he returned to the Barlow farm, where he has resided continuously for thirty-two years.

He is a Republican in political affiliation, and has served as county commissioner and assessor, and was nominated representative from Clacka- mas, but resigned on account of sickness. His political enthusiasm led him to give an inaugural ball and dinner in honor of Lincoln's first inau- guration. When Col. E. D. Baker arrived in Oregon, Mr. Barlow drove him to Salem in his family carriage. This carriage is now a histori- cal relic, having been shipped to Governor Aber- nethy via the Horn in 1859. Mr. Barlow pur- chased it on its transit and has owned and used it ever since.

Mr. Barlow often expresses his sentiments in regard to two great political movements of the last decade in these words: "There is just as good material in a woman to make an honest and intelligent voter as there is in a man, and there is just as good material in silver to make an honest dollar as there is in gold." He is fraternally associated with the Masons, and bears the distinction of being the oldest liv- ing member in Multnomah Lodge No. I. the first lodge organized on the coast.

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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 17

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