Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present.., Part 35

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 35

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Mr. Kezartee married, in Roseburg, Belle Mof- fitt, who was born and reared in this city, a (laughter of Francis Moffitt, an carly pioneer of Roseburg, and one of its most respected citi- zens. Politically Mr. Kezartee is actively identi- fied with the Republican party, and is now serv- ing his district as road supervisor. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church.

hb. Metschen.

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

HON. PHIL METSCHAN. Truth is always stranger than fiction, and in the lives of even the most dignified of men is an element of romance. This is noticeable in the record of Phil Metschan, the president of the Imperial Hotel Company of Portland, and ex-state treasurer of Oregon. Lit- tle did the boy of fourteen foresee the future that awaited him as he crossed the ocean, in a three-masted clipper, and during the tedium of forty days on shipboard amused himself by pon- dering upon what he would do in America. But the dreams of the boy never turned to the far- distant shores of the Pacific, nor did they reveal to him the honors which the future held for him as Destiny awaited his coming to the sunset sea.

In Hesse-Cassel, Germany, Phil Metschan was born March 24, 1840, a son of Frederick U. and Caroline C. (Schiricke) Metschan, natives of the same province. His father was a graduate of Heidelberg College, which was founded in 1386, and is the oldest university in Germany. He was a lawyer by profession and an attaché of the Duke of Hesse. Like all of his family, he adhered to the Lutheran religion. His death occurred in February, 1875, and three years later his widow came to America with three of her daughters. Her death occurred in Canyon City, Ore., in 1884. Of her eight children three daugh- ters and two sons survive, one son, Max, being a deputy in the office of the internal revenue col- lector at Tacoma.

When Phil Metschan arrived in Cincinnati he had only $4.75 with which to begin in the new world. However, he had two uncles there. and one of them took him into the meat market to learn the butcher's trade. In the spring of 1858 he went to Leavenworth, Kans., and began in business in Shawnee market, but was taken ill and forced to change his occupation. Those were the days of the Pike's Peak excitement, and he joined the throng of gold-seekers westward bound. In the spring of 1859 he crossed the plains to Denver and thence to California Gulch . (now Leadville), where he opened a meat mar- ket. Returning to Leavenworth in the fall of 1860, he enjoyed the privilege of voting for Abra- ham Lincoln. In the spring of 1861 he went back to California Gulch, but soon joined an expedition for the far west, traversing the pony express route and landing in Sacramento just before the floods of 1861. During the winter he was employed on General Hutchinson's ranch. In the spring of 1862 he started for the Caribou mines in British Columbia, but a short stay in Victoria convinced him of the futility of the enterprise and he returned to the States, arriv- ing in Portland in June, 1862. Soon afterward lie went to Canyon City, Grant county, Ore .. where he followed mining and prospecting at

first, and then opened a meat market, conducting the same and a general mercantile business until 1890.

After settling in Canyon City Mr. Metschan married Miss Mary Schaum, who was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, and died in Salem, Ore., in 1895. His second marriage took place in San Rafael, Cal., and united him with Mrs. F. D. Sweetser, who was born in Canada and accompanied her parents to California. His children, all born of his first marriage, are named as follows: Frank, a stockman at Silvies, Har- ney county, Ore .; Anna, whose husband, George H. Cattanach, is an attorney of Canyon City and ex-representative; Mrs. Amelia Meredith, of Salem; Julia, Mrs. Griffith, whose husband is a physician in the state insane asylum at Salem ; Phil, formerly cashier of the Grant County Bank and now proprietor of the Paris hotel at Hepp- ner, Ore .; Otto, who is engaged in the stock business in eastern Oregon; Anton H., a clerk in the Wells-Fargo Bank; Lillian ; and Edward who is attending the Pennsylvania Dental Col- lege at Philadelphia.

During his residence in Grant county Mr. Metschan was a prominent factor in Republican politics. For four years he held the office of county treasurer, for two years served as county clerk, and for four years officiated as county judge, after which (1888-1890) he again served as county clerk. In 1890 the Republicans placed him on their ticket for state treasurer and he was elected by a majority of sixty-seven hundred, while at the same time a Democratic governor was elected by five thousand majority. He as- sumed the duties of office in January, 1891, and about the same time established his home in Salem. At the expiration of his term he was re-elected by a plurality of twenty-three thousand over his Democratic opponent, his victory prov- ing not only his popularity as a man but also his successful administration in the high office with which he had been honored. In January, 1899, his second term being ended and a constitutional limit of office reached, he retired from the posi- tion in which he had served with distinguished fidelity and efficiency. In May of the same year he purchased the Imperial hotel and incorporated the Imperial Hotel Company, of which he is president and which has enlarged the hotel and increased its capacity.

Any reference to the life of Mr. Metschan would be incomplete without mention of his fra- ternal relations. He was made a Mason in Can- yon City Lodge No. 34, A. F. & A. M., of which he is past master. During 1896-97 he was hon- ored with the office of grand master of the grand lodge of Oregon. He was raised to the Royal Arch degree in Blue Mountain Chapter No. 7. of Canyon City, in which he is past high priest.

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For a time connected with Oregon Comman- dery No. I, K. T., he later became a charter member of DeMolay Commandery No. 5, K. T., of Salem, and is also identified with Oregon Con- sistory No. 1, and Al Kader Temple, N. M. S., of Portland. While in Canyon City he was in- itiated into the Odd Fellows as a member of Ho- bah Lodge No. 22, in which he is past noble grand. During 1881-82 he officiated as grand master of the grand lodge, I. O. O. F., of Ore- gon. In the Grand Encampment he is past grand patriarch, and also acted as supreme representa · tive to the Sovereign Grand Lodge in session at Los Angeles and later at Denver. Other organi- zations to which he belongs are Hope Lodge No. I, A. O. U. W., and Lodge No. 142, B. P. O. E., both of Portland. Upon the organization of the Illehee Club of Salem, in which he bore a prominent part, he was chosen its president. and since leaving Salem has still retained his connection with the society.

JOHN W. YORK, now deceased, was a pio- neer of Oregon of 1852, settling in this state in the fall of that year. He was born in Jackson county, Ga., near Raleigh, in 1800, and was an only child of James and Aletha Wright York. He came of English and Scotch ancestry. His grandfather was killed by the Tories. His father, at the age of sixteen, together with two brothers, fought in the Revolutionary war.

When but a year old John Wright York was taken by his parents to St. Louis, Mo .. and there his father died, after which the mother was mar- ried again and removed with her family to Ken- tucky, where the subject of this review lived for a few years. He then returned to Missouri and later went to Illinois. He acquired his education by the fireside, for there were no schools of any importance in the localities in which he lived. He, however, became a well read man, possess- ing a natural aptitude for intellectual work. He continually broadened his knowledge by reading, observation and investigation and during the greater part of his life he devoted his time and energies to the work of the ministry. When a young man he was licensed to exhort in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in 1826 was licensed to preach. He was then given charge of a circuit ; it required eight weeks to visit the different congregations therein. His speech was always correct, his arguments forceful, his logic convincing, and he exerted strong influence in behalf of Christianity and the development of upright manhood among his fellow men.

Mr. York was united in marriage to Miss Mary P. Collier, who was born in Jefferson county, Ky., in 1812. They became the parents of eight children, but five of the number died in

infancy or early childhood. Martha C., the eld- est, was born in Carrolton, Green county, Ill., February 5, 1831 ; Ann Aletha was born at Car- rolton, Green county, Ill .. January 3, 1833; and Emily Y. was born at Waterloo, Monroe county, Ill., January 24, 1835. They came with the family to Oregon in 1852. Martha Cordelia was married to William Masters at Dayton, Ore., May 13, 1860, and her family history is given in the sketch of his life given elsewhere. Ann Ale- tha became the wife of Rev. C. G. Belknap in Oregon. They reared four children, of whom three are yet living: Charles, Mary and Rosa. Mrs. Belknap died in May, 1880, in California, where she had lived since 1869. Her husband, however, still survives. Emily Y., the other member of the family of Mr. York, is a graduate of Willamette University of Oregon, being the first to pursue a full course in that institution. She afterward engaged in teaching in the public schools for one winter and for several years was a teacher in the "Old Portland Academy." She became the wife of A. W. Moore, of Olympia, Wash., who died within a few years, and she is now living with her daughter, Mrs. Mary E. Houck, in Roseburg, Ore.

In 1842 Mr. York, of this review, was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died in St. Clair county, Ill. He was at that time preaching in central Illinois, being connected with the Illinois Conference. He afterward wedded Nancy S. Barrett, a daughter of Judge Barrett, of Farmington, Mo .; she died of cholera in 1844. only ten months after their marriage. For his third wife he chose Mrs. Parmelia Ann Quinton, nee Bush. On account of the ill health of his wife he started for the northwest in 1852, hoping that she would be benefited by change of climate. This hope was realized, for her health soon im- proved and she lived until December 17, 1880, when she passed away in Corvallis at the age of sixty-nine years.

Mr. York was the owner of three farms in Illi- mois, which he had purchased at different places where he was engaged in his ministerial labors. . He started overland with ox teams and he also had a fine stock of horses and cattle. On the 15th of April, 1852. he left Carlisle, Ill., and arrived in Oregon in October of that year. While on the trip the Indians stole his stock, and cholera broke out among the members of the party, one of the number dying of that discase. There were eighteen young ladies and seventeen young men in the train of twenty wagons and the party was therefore a lively one and the trip enjoyable. When the family arrived in Oregon Mr. York had only ox teams to haul his car- riage and wagons. Making his way to Cor- vallis he there located a claim of three hundre.] and twenty acres, upon which be established his

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home, giving his attention to its cultivation and improvement. He never discontinued his labors in the ministry, however, but preached for one year at Corvallis, for two years at Albany, for one year in the Mohawk valley and for one year as presiding elder of the Umpqua district. Throughout his entire life he preached the gos- pel and was stationed for a time at Dayton, Ore., and later at Rock Creek. near Oregon City. Throughout his residence in this state he re- mained in the Willamette valley, save for the period of two years spent in the Umpqua valley. He covered his circuit on horseback, being one of the pioneer preachers of the northwest. He was on that circuit when the first church was built at Corvallis and up to the time of his death he never faltered in his efforts to establish Chris- tianity upon a firm basis in this state.

In early life Mr. York was a strong Whig, and afterward became a stalwart Democrat, while at the time of the Civil war he gave a stanch sup- port to the Union cause. He was a man of large form, strong and rugged, and proved a very use- ful citizen of the Sunset state from pioneer times down to his death. Selling his farm he removed to Corvallis, where he lived for about twenty- five years, spending his last few years in retire- ment. There is no measurement by which we can determine the strength, extent and scope of his labors, but it is well known that his influence was a powerful factor for good in the early days of Oregon.

WILLIAM MASTERS. They who planted civilization in the northwest, who braved the dan- gers and trials of pioneer life, are fast passing away. On the roll of the honored dead appears the name of William Masters, who was a pioneer of Oregon of 1852. He was born in Lancaster, Pa .. May 17. 1819. a son of Christopher Masters, who was born in Chester county, Pa., March 17, 1778, and died in Fairfield, Ind., November 6, 1859, and Mary (Kerling) Masters, who was born November 14. 1781, and died August 10, 1838. In the family were fourteen children, of whom William was twelfth in order of birth. On the home farm he was reared and in the district schools he obtained his early education, which was supplemented by a course of study in a college in Indianapolis, where he was a schoolmate of Gen- eral Burnside. He went to Indiana when nine- teen years of age. In early life he served an ap- prenticeship as cabinetmaker there, later he re- moved to Fairfield, Franklin county, Ind., where he followed his trade.

It was during his residence in that place that William Masters was united in marriage to Miss Mary Garrison. They became the parents of four children during their residence in the east. In

1852 they started with their family on the long journey across the plains to Oregon. It was with the hope of more rapidly acquiring a fortune and of establishing a good home for his family that Mr. Masters came to the Sunset state. After traveling for long weary months, just as the train crossed the Sandy river, Mrs. Masters and two children died and are now buried in Lone Fir cemetery. The party arrived at their destination in September, 1852, having made the journey with ox teams. Mr. Masters located in Portland, where he opened a wagon shop in partnership with Mr. Jacobs, continuing in that business at the corner of Second and Morrison streets until 1859, when he sold out. He then became a part- ner in an enterprise for the packing and shipping of apples to California and in this was very suc- cessful for a number of years. He then opened a general mercantile establishment, forming a co- partnership with F. Harbaugh and W. W. Baker, being thus engaged until 1863, when he went to the Caribou mines, driving a band of cattle. When the Indians became hostile and waged war against the settlers in 1855-56, he volunteered for service when recruits were called for, going to the Cascades, where the Indians were committing depredations, with a company of volunteers from Portland.

On the 13th of May, 1860, Mr. Masters was married in Dayton, Ore., to Martha Cordelia York, and with his wife he came to Portland to live. By his first marriage he had four children : Lewis L. and Mary, who died at the same time the mother passed away ; S. LaFayette, who was born in 1848 and is now a resident of Tenino. Wash .; and J. Wilbur, who was born in the year 1850 and died in January, 1891. He was a mer- chant of North Yakima and at his death left four sons and a daughter. LaFayette is a farmer and is married and has nine living children: By his second marriage Mr. Masters became the father of three children, of whom one died in infancy. William York, born April 1, 1862, is mentioned later in this connection. Francis K., the other child, was born March 20, 1872. Both were born in Portland. Francis, after graduating from the public schools in Portland, attended the State University at Eugene for one year, was a student in the law school at Portland and was admitted to the bar and is now engaged in the abstract business.

William Masters was ever a stanch advocate of Republican principles and an active worker in this party, doing everything in his power to pro- mote its growth and insure its success. He was honored with several public offices and positions of trust ; from 1872 until 1874 he served as treas- urer of Multnomah county. No one was ever in doubt as to the position he occupied in regard to public affairs, for he was fearless and outspoken

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in defense of his honest convictions. In his busi- ness affairs he prospered. He lived in Yakima for eight years, where he was interested in farm- ing and stock-raising, and in Portland he engaged in speculating in land, buying, improving and then selling property. He became well-to-do, and was widely known as a successful business man. During the last thirteen years of his life he lived retired from active business cares. He started out in life, however, empty-handed and the suc- cess which he achieved was due to his own well directed efforts. He made a great deal of money, but seven times suffered loss by fire. After com- ing to Portland he purchased a home, his place covering a quarter of a block at the corner of Fourth and Morrison streets. He also lived on Jefferson street at the corner of Fourth street for three years and for fourteen years at the corner of Jackson and Sixth streets, there spending his last days, his death occurring in that home on the 5th of October, 1897. In the Methodist Episcopal Church he was a very active and helpful member. He belonged to the Taylor Street Methodist Church, was a leader in its work and was liberal in his contributions to its support. He also gave generously to other worthy causes. At the time of his death he held the oldest membership in the First Methodist Church here. He gave an unfal- tering allegiance to the temperance cause and was found as a champion of all measures pertaining to the moral progress of the community.

William York Masters, to whom we are in- debted for the history of his honored father, pur- sued his early education in the "Old Portland Academy," and afterward in the Agricultural College at Corvallis, where he pursued a full course and was graduated with the degree of A. M. in the class of 1882. He then read law with the firm of Killin & Moreland, and was ad- mitted to the bar in 1884. He then formed a co- partnership with Judge J. C. Moreland, which was maintained for some time, and since the dis- solution of the partnership Mr. Masters has been alone in practice. He was a stockholder and vice- president of the Pacific Coast Abstract Company, which in 1901 was re-organized under the name of the Pacific Coast Abstract Guaranty & Trust Company, with Mr. Masters as its vice-president and attorney. The office of the company is now located in the Failing building. He also enjoys a lucrative general law practice, is a capable at- torney, having broad and comprehensive knowl- edge of the science of jurisprudence, which he applies with accuracy and correctness to the points in litigation.

William Y. Masters was married in Corvallis March 31, 1886, to Miss Elizabeth M. Bell. who was born in Corvallis and is a daughter of H. M. Bell. They have three sons and two daughters, William H .. Bertha B., Edward W., Alfred R.

and Margaret E. The family home is at No. 605 Sixth street in Portland.

Mr. and Mrs. Masters are members of the First Methodist Episcopal Church. He served as a member of the city council in 1901-02, is a mem- ber of Samaritan Lodge, I. O. (). F., of which he is past grand, also a member of the Encamp- ment. He likewise belongs to Industry Lodge, A. O. U. W., and was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega college fraternity when in college. He is now an active factor in professional circles of the city and is not only a worthy representative of an honored pioneer family, but also deserves mention in this volume by reason of his own per- sonal worth and prominence.

WILLIAM W. PLIMPTON. Few of the na- tive sons of Oregon have attained a more en- viable position in the business circles of Portland than the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this brief review. The greater percent- age of the men who have become actively iden- tified with the upbuilding of Portland, and in fact the entire Pacific northwest, are men who have emigrated from the more developed east, where they received the full benefits of fine schools and the experience of men who for years had been successful in the carrying on of various en- terprises. Thus to the young men of the north- west especial credit is due when in the face of the keen competition of thorough going business men with much older heads, they have reached a position of affluence.

William W. Plimpton is a descendant of an old English family, a member of which, John Plimpton, emigrated to this country in 1636 and settled at Medfield, Mass. Here the descendants of the family lived for many years, and here in 1826 the father of our subject, S. B. Plimpton, was born. He followed the shoemaker's trade for a few years, but at the age of twenty-five, the family ties being broken by the death of his parents, and attracted by the discovery of gold in California, he came to the Pacific coast, via the Horn. The first year was spent in the mines, at the end of which time he came to Oregon, and at Rainier. in Columbia county, he took up a donation claim and engaged in farming. In 1860 he removed to Westport. Here he met with sticcess and continued farming. and later re- moved to Oak Point, and still later returned to Westport. whence he removed to Willsburg. where he is now living. In 1853 he was united in marriage with Miss Lydia P. Wright. who was born at South Reading. now Wakefield, Mass. Of the children born of this marriage, three attained maturity, William W. being the oldest ; Sarah is now the wife of H. J. Winter-

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botham, of California; and Ortley is an elec- trician, now residing in Oregon.

William W. Plimpton is indebted to the public schools of Oregon for his preliminary education, which was supplemented by study in the gram- mar schools in the city of San Francisco. At the age of seventeen years, in 1871, Mr. Plimpton made his first start in life by obtaining a position with Knapp, Burrell & Co., implement dealers in Portland. Beginning at the bottom he steadily worked his way upward, step by step, and from the office he was promoted to the shipping de- partment, later had charge of the order depart- ment, in fact learning thoroughly every phase of the business. That his services were greatly ap- preciated is shown by the term of years he was with the firm, with which he severed his con- nection at the end of nearly twenty-five years, resigning in January, 1896. Profiting by the ex- perience he had here gained he at once took the necessary steps to organize the Western Storage & Transfer Company. The following six years he devoted his whole time and attention to the management and development of the business. From the first the enterprise proved to be a suc- cess and with Mr. Plimpton at the helm it rapidly came to the front, and in 1902, when he turned the management over to his son, it was consid- ered one of the most substantial concerns in the city. The warehouses, erected under the per- sonal supervision of Mr. Plimpton, are modern in construction and ample in size, covering one hundred and fifty by two hundred feet, ground dimensions. As stated, in 1902, Mr. Plimpton severed his connection with the business, doing so for the purpose of accepting a position with the Acme Harvester Company of Peoria, Ill., as assistant manager of their Portland office.

In 1888, Mr. Plimpton was united in marriage with Alice J. Miller, also a native of Oregon, being the second daughter of Adolph and Betsy Miller, who were early pioneers and located at Portland in 1853. Of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Plimpton, William M. was educated in the public schools and Scott Academy and is now occupying his father's former position with the Western Storage & Transfer Company; their other child, Ethel W., is now the wife of James D. M. Abbott, of Portland.

In politics Mr. Plimpton is an unswerving Re- publican, but he has never had the time or in- clination to take an active part in the campaigns of his party. Although his time and attention have been devoted to his business interests, Mr. Plimpton is a firm supporter of all measures cal- culated to be of benefit to the city and state. While there are many men who have risen from the ranks there are none that deserve more credit for what they have accomplished than does Mr. Plimpton.

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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 35

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