USA > Oregon > Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present.. > Part 23
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The genealogy is traced from Joseph and Eliza- beth ( Norton) Dolph to their son, Chester V. Dolph, who was born at Whitehall, N. Y., on Lake Champlain, February 14, 1812. and died November 3, 1869. His wife was Elizabeth V. Steele (born 1813. died 1884), whose parents were William Steele ( 1785-1868) and Rachel Vanderbilt ( 1795-1883). William Steele was a son of John B. and Grace Seville ( Brown) Steele. Rachel Vanderbilt was a daughter of Cornelius and Elizabeth ( Rodman) Vanderbilt, her father being a member of one of the most noted pioneer families of Staten Island, in New York.
In the family of Chester V. Dolph were four sons, namely : Joseph Norton, deceased, late United States senator from Oregon ; Cyrus Abda, the subject of this narrative; and William V., who is living at the old home in New York, and John Mathew, an educator of note now living at Port Jervis, N. Y. Cyrus Abda Dolph was born on his father's farm near Havana, Chemung (now Schuyler ) county, N. Y., September 27, 1840. The mame of Abda was given him in honor of his forefather, Abda Dolph, who was born in Bolton, Mass., in 1740, and served with distinction during the Revolution, as did also a brother, Charles, to whom congress voted the thanks of the country for military services. As a boy Cyrus A. Dolph assisted in the work of the farm during the summer and attended the village school during the winter. At
the age of eighteen he began to teach school, which occupation he followed from 1859 to 1862.
During the progress of the Civil war the Indians on the western plains took advantage of the disturbed condition of the country to harass emigrants seeking to settle in the west. So serious did the condition become that con- gress, during its session of 1861-62, made an appropriation to provide military escort for emi- grants crossing the plains to Oregon. In the spring of 1862 the two brothers, Joseph Norton and Cyrus Abda Dolph, enlisted in a company known as the Oregon Escort and assisted in bringing a train of immigrants across the country to Oregon and Washington, after which they received an honorable discharge at Walla Walla, and thence came to Portland. In 1866 he was admitted to the bar and took up active practice of the law. Ever since then he has ranked among the leading professional men of Port- land. In June, 1869, without solicitation on his part, the Republicans nominated him as city attorney, and he was elected by a large majority, serving the full term of two years. During a temporary absence from the city, in 1874, he was nominated by the Republicans for the state legislature, but declined the honor, as he did two years later, when the nomination for the state senate was tendered him. In 1891 he was urged to accept the appointment of circuit judge of the northern judicial district and was unanimously endorsed by the best citizens of the northwest. However, feeling that an acceptance of the high honor would mean a life work and thus inter- fere with other plans, he declined the position. Notwithstanding his refusal to accept official posi- tions, he is a stanch Republican and always gives his support to the men and measures of the party. For many years he was a member of the water works committee, and at this writing he is regent of the University of Oregon and presi- dent of the board of trustees of the Portland
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Library Association. Associated with a num- ber of other citizens, he organized the Security Savings and Trust Company, of which Hon. H. W. Corbett was president up to the time of his death.
Nor do the movements and organizations hitherto mentioned represent the limit of Mr. Dolph's activities. He was one of the founders of the Portland Savings Bank and the Commer- cial National Bank of Portland. For some years he has held the office of president of the North- ern Pacific Terminal Company of Oregon, and has also been financially interested in the Ore- gon Improvement Company. Besides acting for years as a director of the Oregon & Califor- nia Railroad Company, in 1883-84 he was re- tained as general attorney for the corporation. From 1883 to 1889 he was a member of the di- rectorate of the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company. In 1883 Henry Villard, then presi- dent of the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Com- pany and the Northern Pacific Railroad Com- pany, selected Mr. Dolph as general attorney of the first-named corporation and consulting attorney in Oregon for the latter company. These positions he has filled with efficiency and in a manner indicative of his high legal talent. The many important and intricate questions that have arisen in relation to these two great con- cerns he has handled with dispatch and decision, disposing of them to the entire satisfaction of the officers and stockholders of the companies.
June 24, 1874, Mr. Dolph married Eliza Car- dinell, a native of Canada, and daughter of Charles. Cardinell, of French-Huguenot ancestry. They became the parents of four children, namely: Joseph N., Hazel Mills, William Van- derbilt and John Mathew Dolph.
Beginning in law practice in Portland, Mr. Dolph has since continued professional practice in this city, where, at different times, he has been associated as partner with a number of the brightest minds connected with the bar of this city and state. In 1883 he became the senior member of the firm of Dolph, Bellinger, Mal- lory & Simon. Ten years later the title was changed to Dolph, Mallory, Simon & Guerin, the other members of the firm being Rufus Mallory, Hon. Joseph Simon and John M. Guerin, all men of note, distinguished in the annals of the law in their home city and state, and forming, in their association, a partnership of legal talent of exceptional strength, character and ability.
HON. JOSEPH NORTON DOLPH. The life which this narrative sketches began near Watkins, N. Y., at a village then known as Dolphsburg, October 19, 1839, and came to a close in Portland, Ore., March 10, 1896. (See
preceding sketch for the genealogy of the Dolph family). The intervening years represent a period of great activity and high honors. Into the life of the boy at an early age there came high aspirations for the future, and these ambi- tions were associated with the west, in which he had become interested through reading in the New York Tribune Fremont's "Military Expedi- tion to the Pacific Coast," Washington Irving's "Astoria," and Dr. Elijah White's account of mis- sionary life in Oregon. The way did not at once open for him to seek a home in the north- west, and meantime, at the age of eighteen, he began to teach school, which occupation he fol- lowed for eight years. His leisure hours were devoted to the study of law with Hon. Jeremiah McGuire at Havana, N. Y., and in 1861 he re- ceived admission to the bar.
The hoped-for opportunity to locate in the west came in the spring of 1862, when he and his brother enlisted in Captain Crawford's Company, known as the Oregon Escort, raised under an act of congress (1861-62) for the purpose of protecting the immigration of that year against hostile Indians. As orderly sergeant of this company he crossed the plains, receiving an hon- orable discharge at Walla Walla, Wash. His service during the expedition was so satisfactory that the following year, when the same captain was again detailed to accompany an expedition of similar character, he endeavored to secure the services of his former orderly, but the latter had other plans in view, and so declined.
In the spring of 1863 Mr. Dolph formed a partnership with John H. Mitchell, which con- tinued until the latter was elected to the United States senate. Meantime, in October of 1864, Mr. Dolph was elected city attorney. He pre- pared and proposed important amendments to the city charter, which were afterward adopted, and he also revised for publication the ordinances of the city. In January of 1865 President Lincoln appointed him United States district attorney for the district of Oregon, and this position he held until 1866, when he resigned it to take his seat in the state senate. During the session of 1866 he served in that body, again taking the seat in the session of 1868, but a contest arising he was deposed by a strict party vote. However, the confidence maintained in his ability by the people was exhibited in 1872, when he was returned to the senate by an in- creased majority, after which he rendered effi- cient service in the two succeeding sessions. A still higher, though strictly party, honor came to him in 1866, when he was chosen chairman of the state Republican central committee, and his service of two years in that capacity proved be- yond a doubt that he was one of the greatest lead- ers of his party in the northwest. Not only was he
G. W. SHAVER.
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an eloquent advocate of party principles, but was also a man of remarkable executive ability, thus admirably qualified to direct the functions of an important committee. Perhaps no service ren- dered his party was greater than that in connec- tion with the meeting of the electoral college at Salem in 1876. After Governor Grover had given the certificates of election to Cronin, Mr. Dolph advised the course adopted by the Repub- lican electors, and on the spot drafted the papers which were by the electoral commission adjudged sufficient to establish the election of Messrs. Odell, Cartwright and Watts. Thus the papers drafted by him secured the return of Dr. Watts as Re- publican elector and thereby decided the vote of Oregon in favor of Rutherford B. Hayes for president.
During the early days of Mr. Dolph's experi- ence as an attorney he acted as counsel for the Oregon & Central and the Oregon & California Railroad Companies, and also as counsel for Ben Halliday, who was then running his steamships from Portland to San Francisco, and was also constructing the Oregon & California Railroad. When Mr. Mitchell was elected to the United States senate in 1872 he retired from the firm, and thereupon Mr. Dolph took into the firm as partners Judge E. C. Bronaugh, C. A. Dolph and Joseph Simon. For some years he was retained as attorney for the Oregon Steamship Company, the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company, the Oregon Improvement Company, the Oregon Transcontinental Company, and other corpo- rations organized by Henry Villard, whose name is so indissolubly associated with the de- velopment of the northwest coast. He was also the adviser of the officers of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company at Portland, attorney for various minor corporations, also president of the Oregon Improvement Company, and vice-presi- dent of the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Com- pany and the Oregon Transcontinental Company.
The highest honor of Mr. Dolph's life came to him in 1883, when he was chosen to succeed Hon. Lafayette Grover, Democrat, in the United States senate. Assuming the duties of his position, he was at once placed on the committee on public lands and claims. In 1886 he was chosen chair- man of the committee on coast defenses. The committee on commerce also received the benefit of his wide experience. Measures presented by him in the interests of navigation have become laws and have proved invaluable in the develop- ment of our country's maritime interests. As a member of the committee on foreign relations, he also proved himself an astute statesman. In 1889, at the expiration of his first term, he was elected to succeed himself, without opposition, by the two legislative houses, and during his second term held practically the same committee rela-
tions as during the first. In every respect he proved himself a patriot and an able statesman, and his retirement from the senate in 1895 was a source of regret to his colleagues in that body, as well as to the people of his home state. Dur- ing the twelve years of his official service he made his home in Washington, where he and his wife (formerly Augusta E. Mulkey) enter- tained on a liberal scale and with the greatest hospitality, extending a hearty welcome not only to people of that city, but to visiting friends from the Pacific coast. Since his death, Mrs. Dolph has continued to make her home in Washington.
In closing this résumé of Senator Dolph's career, mention should be made of his fraternal relations. In 1876 he was elected Most Worthy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge, I. O. O. F., State of Oregon, which position he filled for one year. Nor was his identification with Masonry less conspicuous, for in that body he was, in 1882, elected Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Oregon, and in this office he showed the same tact, executive ability and wise judgment characteristic of him in other positions. In physique Senator Dolph was stalwart, of im- posing appearance, grave in demeanor and earn- est in expression, which physical attributes were but the outward expression of high mental quali- fications and unsullied honor.
GEORGE WASHINGTON SHAVER. One of those to whom the finding of gold on the coast opened up vistas of vast possibility was George Washington Shaver, erstwhile farmer, who crossed the plains in a party with ox teams and wagons in 1849, intent upon wresting from the earth sufficient riches to enable him to carry out many ambitious projects. He was born in Camp- bell county, Ky., March 2, 1832, and in the south- ern state received as fair an education as his father's many responsibilities permitted. While still a young man he removed to Missouri, and while here became enthusiastic on the subject of the coast.
That Mr. Shaver was successful in life was due partially to his failure as a miner, else he had remained longer than a year in California, and this state might never have benefited by his noble and capable citizenship. Arriving in Ore- gon in 1850, he settled in the Waldo Hills, Mar- ion county, from which place he removed to southern Oregon, where he again tried his luck at mining. February 2, 1854, found him in Port- land, where he married Sarah Dixon, daughter of a pioneer of that section, and with whom he returned to his farm in Marion county. Here four children were born to them, and six more were born after their removal to Portland in 1860, settling in what is now known as the Eliza-
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beth Irving addition. During his early residence in Portland Mr. Shaver found an outlet for his energies in the wood business, whose possibili- ties he seemed to appreciate more than any other at that time, and upon which he embarked with a great deal of enthusiasm and expectation of success. For many years he furnished the steam- ers plying between Portland and San Francisco with all the wood used in their business, and he further branched out and furnished the wood for river' boats and barges. Large portions of the forests that reared their densely crowded trees in the primeval days disappeared under the necessity for providing timber to these boats, and Mr. Shaver probably denuded more acres of land during his busy career than did any other man of his time.
In time Mr. Shaver became president of the Shaver Transportation Company of which his son, Capt. James W., was treasurer and manager, and thus was greatly enlarged his field of ac- tivity. His death, which occurred October 26, 1900, removed from accustomed haunts one of the most useful of the founders of the commer- cial greatness of Oregon. He was not only a man of sound business judgment and capacity for observation and action, but in his character he embodied all that is excellent and of good report. No worthy cause but profited by his generosity and large heartedness; no friend but was benefited by his counsel and assistance. To the end he retained in increasing measure the confidence of all with whom he was ever associat- ed, and to his family and friends left the heritage of a good name, and the dignity of a small for- tune.
CAPT. JAMES W. SHAVER. The Shaver Transportation Company occupies an altogether unique position among the large developing forces of the great northwest, and has had much to do with shifting from one place to another the products of the dense forests for which Oregon is famous, and for placing the output of the great mills in their respective localities of use- fulness. No more familiar sights greet the ob- server on the Columbia and Willamette rivers than the heavily loaded barges, puffing tow boats, in advance of stealthily gliding rafts of logs, and other craft calculated to promote the clear- ance of the enormous water business of the state.
Capt. James W. Shaver, the present head of the Shaver Transportation Company, was born in Waldo Hills, within five miles of Silver- ton, Ore., October 2, 1860. To his father, Capt. George W. Shaver, is due the organization of the transportation company. At the time of his death in October, 1900, he was survived by his wife, formerly Sarah Dixon, who was
born in the east, and who still lives at the old home in Portland. Of the ten children who grew to maturity in this household, four sons and four daughters are living: John R., sheriff of Clackamas county, and living in Oregon City ; Alice, Mrs. Wittenberg of Portland; James W .: Lincoln, captain and chief engineer in Multnomalı county ; George M., interested in the transporta- tion company, and who spends his summers in Alaska ; Delmar, a captain in the employ of the company ; Pearl, Mrs. George Hoyt of Portland ; and Susie, Mrs. A. S. Heintz, of Portland.
Locating in Portland with his parents when six years of age, Capt. James W. Shaver nat- urally received his education here, and at an early age became interested in his father's enterprises. which then consisted of a livery business in East Portland, as well as a large cord wood concern. They had a wood yard in East Portland and at the Shaver dock, and at this early stage of pro- ceedings were of immense importance in the wood business of the day. In 1880 Mr. Shaver embarked in the boating business, and with Henry Corbett and A. S. Foster bought out Mr. Bureau, continuing business under the name of the Peo- ple's Freighting Company. The firm inaugurat- ed its activities by running the steamer Manzan- illa, and Mr. Shaver became captain of the boat and manager of the company, which operated be- tween Portland and Clatskanie. Soon afterward the father joined the company and Mr. Corbett stepped out, having previously purchased the in- terest of Mr. Foster. At this time, June 10, 1893. a re-organization was effected, under the name of the Shaver Transportation Company, the father being president, and the son secretary and treas- urer. In 1889 the G. W. Shaver was built and called after the father; this useful little craft was one hundred and forty feet long. The Sarah Dixon, named after the mother, took its place among other boats on the rivers in 1892, and after that the Manzanilla was sold, the Shaver and Dixon doing all the work of the company. About 1900 the Shaver was sold, and the same year a tow boat called No Wonder was purchased for towing logs. The next year, in 1901, the firm built the Henderson, also used for towing pur- poses, and these boats are in constant use, among other undertakings towing for three of the larg- est mills here. For many years Mr. Shaver acted in the capacity of captain for the company. but of late years has devoted his time to manag- ing the business, and is still secretary and treas- urer. He of course has a captain's license, and is remarkably familiar with all phases of river life in this state. The offices of the firm are located at the foot of Washington street.
In Portland Mr. Shaver was united in mar- riage with Annie Schloth, who was born in Port- land, and whose parents were very early settlers
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of the state. Mr. Shaver is variously identified with social and fraternal organizations in the county, among them being the Woodmen of the World. He is a man of strict integrity, and the public at large place the greatest confidence in his character and business ability.
LOT P. W. QUIMBY. In many and varied avenues Lot P. W. Quimby has been identified with the business interests of Portland and has given no small assistance in the material growth of the city. He has just retired from the posi- tion of game and forestry warden for the state of Oregon, having received the appointment in 1898, his life having previously been associ- ated as hotel keeper and liveryman, of the former being one of the oldest now living in the city. At one time in the past he served his state as a member of the legislature from Multnomah county, where he upheld the interests of his constituents and did all in his power to promote general movements for the welfare of the com- munity.
Mr. Quimby comes of a family of Scottish an- cestry, his father being Daniel Quimby, a native of Vermont, who lived to be seventy-two years old. Besides engaging as a blacksmith the elder man also followed farming in the latter part of his life, and through steady application and hard lahor he maintained a comfortable and even plen- tiful home for his family, and though of a limited education himself was vitally interested in giv- ing the best of advantages to his children. He married Polly Woodruff, also a native of Ver- mont, and she died the year after the death of her husband when she was sixty-nine years of age. Of their nine children two died in infancy, and one daughter at the age of fifteen ; six grew to maturity, namely: Mary E., who married James Mathewson and reared a family (she died in Massachusetts in 1890); H. A., who is a wholesale crockery merchant in Springfield, Mass .; Cordelia M., the widow of Hiram Nich- ols, of Lyndon, Vt .; D. J., a resident of Port- land, where he is proprietor of the International Hotel ; L. P. W., of this review, and Laura, wife of Edwin P. Swetland, of Portland. The chil- dren were all reared on the paternal farm, and though advantages were necessarily limited, two daughters became teachers in the eastern states.
The birth of Mr. Quimby occurred in Cale- donia county, Vt., July 6, 1839. and like the other members of his family, he was under the necessity of contributing his strength to the as- sistance of the farm work, for about three months of the year receiving instruction in the district school in the vicinity of his home. When seven- teen years old his education was considered com- plete, so far as further attendance was concerned,
and at eighteen years he went to work on a ped- dler's wagon, working for his brother-in-law, Mr. Nichols, traveling through the eastern states and Canada, though his principal time was spent in Vermont and New Hampshire. This occu- pation was continued for quite a number of years in the life of Mr. Quimby, but in 1859 he decided to try to better his condition by crossing the continent to the less crowded states of the Pacific coast. He accordingly left New York City, coming to California via steamer, by the isthmus, and upon his arrival there he at once began placer mining in Columbia. While there he became acquainted with D. O. Mills by selling his gold dust. Mr. Mills was one of the wealthy men of this country at this time. On leaving the mines Mr. Quimby went to San Francisco county and worked for three months on a farm in Susan valley, when he went into the city and engaged in the water business, peddling this necessity of life, and also assisting in hauling it to many of the important buildings of the city. He found this a lucrative occupation for quite a time, but finally engaged in the livery business, only a short time passing before he had there sold his interests and opened a restaurant on Market street. This also was disposed of, and February 22, 1862, he came to Portland.
On his arrival in this city Mr. Quimby formed a partnership with W. H. Bennetts and engaged in the livery and transfer business and forward- ing, bringing to the city the first platform scale and the first express wagon. In 1864 he sold out to John White, and later purchased the livery business of Sherlock & Bacon, located on Third street, remaining there for one year, when he again sold out and purchased an interest in the Weston Hotel, now known as the Occidental Ho- tel, and in partnership with Samuel D. Smith re- mained one year in that connection. Disposing of his interest to Mr. Smith he purchased the American Exchange, formerly the Lincoln House, and continued for three years, when he took a partner in the person of Charles Perkins and the two continued together until 1876, when Mr. Quimby again became sole owner and re- mained such until the loss of the property by fire in the year 1878. This meant a heavy financial loss to Mr. Quimby and he did not immediately re-open the hotel. He was appointed receiver for a grocery house about this time and he pro- ceeded to devote his time to the closing up of those affairs, and not until 1880 did he again engage in the hotel business, at this date opening up the Hotel Quimby, continuing successfully until 1897, for the first six months having a part- ner in the person of Mr. Hersey. Upon sale of the property in 1897 Mr. Quimby retired from his long accepted position as mine host, in which he had certainly met with success, for the repu-
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