Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present.., Part 38

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 38

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

After the death of the elder man the younger had left no ties to bind him to the east, and he at once sought to join a company bound for the trip across the plains. He failed to join the party he sought, but became, instead, a member of the Applegate party, who crossed in 1843. Locating in Oregon City, he followed out the suggestion of Peter Burnett, who was also one of the party that crossed the plains in 1843, and began the study of law. With that application which ever distinguished his efforts, the colonel soon became familiar with the common sense idea of jurisprudence contained in the few books which came into his possession, and two years later qualified to fill the office of judge under the provisional government.

Always a stanch Democrat, it required no small degree of courage for Colonel Nesmith to ally himself on the side of another party and plat- form, as he was compelled to do, at the time of the breaking out of the Civil war. Many of those who had always been his friends, Demo- crats in politics, gave their support to the south- ern cause, while his ideas of honor and his deep- rooted convictions made the colonel a stanch Unionist. He was not an abolitionist, nor in sympathy with the anti-slavery agitation, and it was because of this that his friends expected him to join them in their espousal of the south- ern cause. He did not, however ; he stood apart from the regular party ranks, and in 1860 accepted a position as elector on the Douglas ticket. He was elected through the votes of the Douglas Democrats and the Republicans, the latter having entire confidence in the integrity and the worth of the man selected to fill the position. He therefore became senator to fill the place left vacant by General Lane, for many years a warm personal friend of the colonel's, and who accepted the place of vice president on the old Democratic ticket with Breckinridge. Whatever trials and difficulties arose during the time in which Colonel Nesmith served as senator were met with that same courage, that frank, fearless honor, but masterly will and intellect, which contributed so largely to the personal suc- cess of the man. It was not an easy position to fill, and a man less worthy in any way would have failed in the discharge of duties. Until the close of the war he upheld national authority and be- came a trusted adviser of President Lincoln. After its close, however, he vigorously opposed the re- construction measures of the Republican party, and was ever afterward identified with the Demo- cratic party. Upon his return to Oregon he be- came a leader in that party, and in 1873 was elected to fill the vacancy in Congress caused by the death of his cousin, Joseph G. Wilson.

Colonel Nesmith was never too busy in the pur- suit of his profession, or his own aggrandizement

in any way, to neglect his duty as a citizen and a pioneer in the western state. He was one of the number who fought in the Cayuse war in 1848 to avenge the death of Whitman, and again in 1855 he served with distinction in the Rogue river and Yakima wars, earning there the title by which he has ever been known, that of colonel. In 1857 he was appointed superin- tendent of Indian affairs, and served for two years, in a position of great responsibility, cov- ering a field which included Oregon, Washing- ton and Idaho. He also served at one time as United States marshal at Salem, and became a member of the state legislature, meeting every duty promptly, and as promptly fulfilling it. This most admirable trait was that which won the commendation of those who had the interests of Oregon at heart, and meant to intrust them only to men who possessed the courage, honesty and earnestness of purpose to carry forward the great plan which was to make her one of the first of the states.

In 1846 Colonel Nesmith was united in mar- riage with Pauline Goff, whose father was a pioneer of 1844, and she bore him the following children : Joseph Lane, Mary J., Harriet, Va- lena, James and William. The death of the colonel occurred in 1885. Thus passed away from mortal sight one of the men to whom Ore- gon owes her greatness; but memory survives the lapse of time, and his name loses none of the luster which attaches to it as that of a pioneer. a courageous, loyal, worthy man and gentleman.

BLUFORD D. SIGLER. In the business ca- reer of Blufora D. Sigler, the young man of the present generation may find a source of inspira- tion and encouragement. Coming to Portland when that city was at the zenith of its era of early commercial development, he was still a very young man when he decided to establish himself independently in business. But the northwest, with its boundless resources, is a country of young men, and here Mr. Sigler found abundant opportunity to build the founda- tions of a business which is amply rewarding his laborious and well-considered efforts.

Mr. Sigler was born in Georgetown, Vermil- ion county, Ill .. November 27. 1866. His fam- ily was founded in Illinois by his paternal grand- father, John Sigler, a native of Pennsylvania, who became one of the earliest pioneer farmers of Vermilion county. His son, Samuel W. Sig- ler, father of B. D., was born in Illinois, and was reared and educated in that state. U'pon the outbreak of the Civil war he left his farm to take up arms in the defense of the Union, and served as a private in Company C, Seventy-

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third Illinois Volunteer Infantry. His active service continued until the close of hostilities. He married Deborah Smith, a native of Ver- milion county and a daughter of Jefferson Smith, an extensive farmer and an early settler of Illinois. In 1870 Mr. Sigler moved with his family to Medoc, Jasper county, Mo., and en- gaged in a general merchandise business, which he disposed of five years later in order to take up his residence in Dayton, Ore., where he es- tablished a similar business. In 1883 he re- moved to Portland and conducted a feed business until 1898, but in that year returned to Dayton, where he now resides.

The only child in his father's family, B. D. Sigler received his education in the public schools of Illinois and Missouri, concluding his studies in the high school of Portland, to which city he removed with his parents in 1883. In his boyhood he had become familiar with the mercantile business, having been educated along these lines by his father, and in 1886 became a clerk in a store in Mount Tabor. At the expir- ation of two years he became identified with the sawmill business of Smith Brothers & Company, whose works were located at the foot of Harri- son street. In 1897, in company with Samuel E. Wrenn and W. V. Smith, he organized the Multnomah Box Manufacturing Company, which succeeded to the business of the Multnomah Box Company. This enterprise proved highly suc- cessful, and at the end of three years was dis- posed of at advantageous terms. The whole- sale feed business next engaged the attention of Mr. Sigler, who organized the Sigler Milling Company in 1901, with himself as secretary and manager. The concern conducts an extensive and constantly increasing trade in flour, feed, lime, land, plaster, and shingles, besides doing a general commission business. A. T. Smith is president, and A. J. McDaniel vice-president. The business is located on the corner of Front and Madison streets, occupying a building 30x 75 feet, and containing four floors.

Aside from the enterprises with which he is identified in Portland, Mr. Sigler has taken a wholesome interest in politics, the Republican party receiving his stanch and unqualified sup- port. In 1902 he was nominated for council- man for the sixth ward, and elected by a major- ity of one hundred and twenty-five. In the council he is a member of the committees on ac- counts and current expenses, sewers and drain- age, and parks and public property; and is chairman of the committees on liquor license, and on health and police. He is a life member of the Multnomah Amateur Athletic Club, of which he served as secretary for one year; and is now vice-president of the same and a member

of the Commercial Club. His marriage, which occurred in Portland united him with Veina E. Adair, a graduate of the University of Oregon, whose parents came to this state in the early '50s.

REUBEN DANNALS, one of the pioneers of Clackamas county, was born in Greene county. Ohio, October 23, 1829, and is the second oldest son of the four sons and five daughters born to Reuben and Hannah (Wyckel) Dannals, natives respectively of Pennsylvania and the east.

From his native county of Bedford, Pa., the elder Reuben Dannals removed with his parents to Ohio, and later to Illinois and Iowa, coming to Oregon in 1865. Settling in Linn county. he farmed for several years, but at the time of his death, in 1883, at the age of eighty-two years. was living a retired life. All of the children of the family were obliged to work hard from early morning until late at night, and Reuben per- formed his share with willing heart and capable hand. As might be expected. he had little time for either leisure or study, and his education has been a matter of his own acquiring during later years. He was one of the most enthusiastic of the little band who crossed the plains in search of larger opportunities. Although there were eighteen wagons from their own neighborhood in Iowa, the Indians were so very troublesome that they were obliged to fall in with a freight train for protection during the most dangerous part of the journey. Three ponies were stolen during the dawn of one morning, and they had many other experiences which added zest and interest to the journey.

When the family arrived in Clackamas county Mr. Dannals bought, on his own responsibility. one hundred and forty-two and one-half acres of land, a part 'of which he soon after sold, and at present his possessions consist of eighty of the original acres, besides one hundred and sixty acres at Highland, this state. He is engaged in general farming and stock-raising, and has met with great success in his chosen occupation. With him across the plains came the wife of Mr. Dannals, formerly Hannah Colson, who was born in Ohio, and whom he married in Iowa. Three children have been born into the family of Mr. and Mrs. Dannals, of whom Charlotta is the oldest : Hiram is the second child and only son; and Minnie is the youngest. Mr. Dannals is a Democrat in polities and is fraternally associated with the Grangers. He enjoys the respect and good will of all who know him, and his integrity and public spiritedness have never heen ques- tioned.

Herny chwonder

Emily Schroeder

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HON. J. HENRY SCHROEDER. A prac- tically inexhaustible capacity for hard work, marked versatility, unquestioned integrity and contagious public spirit, are distinguished fea- tures in the career of Hon. J. Henry Schroeder, farmer, ex-school superintendent, ex-represen- tative and prominent resident of Coos county. Mr. Schroeder is essentially Teutonic in his tendencies, as evidenced in the practical nature of his undertakings, and as further indicated in his appreciation of the arts, of science and more especially of music. He was born in Baltimore, Md., May 7, 1840, his father, Henry, being at the time engaged in an extensive shoe manu- facturing business in that city. The elder Schroeder was born in Hesse-Cassel, Germany, August 25, 1816, and was the son of a shoe- maker, from whom he learned the trade to which he devoted many years of his life. He was edu- cated in the public schools of his native town, and as a boy gave promise of the musical talent which in after years found vent in orchestral work in Baltimore.

At the age of eighteen Henry Schroeder left his native land for a new home in America. In Baltimore, Md., he began a shoe business on a small scale, and as success came his way he thought ever of the dear ones left behind in the old country. In 1836 he returned to Germany and brought his parents back with him, he being the only child, and in consequence exceptionally mindful of his parents. A few years later his father died, and he himself married, in 1838, Dorothea Deitz, who was born in Minden, Prus- sia, July 3, 1819. The young people continued to live in Baltimore until 1859, Mr. Schroeder taking a prominent part in musical affairs, and playing in the best orchestras in the city. With his wife and children he came to Oregon by way of the isthmus in what was known as the Her- mann emigration of 1859, and settled two and a half miles south of Myrtle Point, on the south fork of the Coquille river. To his farm of one hundred and twenty-four acres he afterward added forty acres, and here he reared his family of five children, of whom Hon. J. Henry is the oldest. William, the fourth child, was drowned in the Coquille river when the family first entered the country. The other children are Augustus H., who lives in the vicinity ; J. Fred, of Coquille ; Louisa, the wife of Orvil Dodge, of Myrtle Point; and Charles E., who lives at Myrtle Point. The parents lived on the Coquille until their house was destroyed by fire, after which they made their home with their sons, Augustus H. and J. Henry, the father living to be seventy- nine years, four months and twenty-four days old, and the mother attaining to more than four score years. Mr. Schroeder not only farmed and raised stock on an extensive scale in Coos

county, but plied his trade as well, and was known as one of the prominent and influential men of his district.

Following upon his graduation at the Male Central high school of Baltimore, J. Henry Schroeder learned the trade of pattern-maker and machine carpenter, which he followed until removing to Coos county with his parents in 1859. In this county he assisted his father in clearing and improving his farm, remaining on the home place until his marriage. December 31, 1861, to Emily Perry, who was born on a farm on the Clatsop plains, March 17, 1845. Mrs. Schroeder's father, William T. Perry, was one of the earliest pioneers of the Clatsop plains, having crossed the plains with ox-teams and set- tled there in the fall of 1842. He was a pioneer of pioneers, and his life and work merit the favorable mention found elsewhere in this work. After his marriage Mr. Schroeder located on his present farm, known as the Arago, and lo- cated half way between Myrtle Point and Co- quille. To his original purchase of one hundred and sixty acres he has added fifty, half of which is bottom land, and under a high state of culti- vation. This farm is associated with undertak- ings at once interesting and of prime importance in the development of Coos county. The first creamery built in the county, in 1892, and known as the Arago Creamery, was established and op- erated for many years by Mr. Schroeder. He also built the first complete silo in the county. He introduced the first Jersey cattle and Berk- shire hogs into the county, and still makes a specialty of these breeds. His dairy has steadily grown, until he now has one of the largest in the neighborhood. He brought the first riding culti- vator, corn planter, disc plow and manure spreader into Coos county.

In the early days Mr. Schroeder followed mill- wrightingand beach-mining and he assisted in the construction of the first export saw-mill on the Coquille river, afterward filling the position of head sawyer and filer for several years. Even in those days he took an active part in politics. and in his service demonstrated the worth of that high minded conscientiousness which is a distinguishing trait of his character. He has always felt and impressed upon his fellow poli- ticians that their integrity and usefulness should be commensurate with their responsibility, and should always tend towards the betterment of the county. Continuously from 1868 until 1876 he served as superintendent of schools of Coos county, being re-elected in 1870 and 1874. In1 1878 he was elected county representative, serv- ing one term, and in 1894 was elected county judge, serving one term. Mr. Schroeder has been clerk of the school board for many years, and has held other offices of trust and responsi-

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bility. At the present time he is serving his fourth term as president of the Coos County Pioneer and Historical Society, and at times has contributed interesting and valuable informa- tion regarding Coos and Curry counties for pub- lication. No one now living here has observed more intelligently or remembered more accurately than this honored pioneer, and an evening spent with him in his hospitable home can result but in large gain to his guests. The best in all de- partments of activity represented in his county has received his warmest support ; the substan- tial, useful and lasting, embodying his ideas of progress. He has been an active worker and advocate to perpetuate the pioneer history of the state and county. Education as a factor in west- ern development seems to him paramount, and worthy of every effort on the part of those who have the good of the county at heart. Eleven children have been born into the Schroeder household, of whom Dora C. is the wife of T. P. Hanley, of the vicinity of Parkersburg ; Mary is the wife of Harry S. Kribbs, of Coquille; Will- iam H. is conducting a general merchandise busi- ness and serving as postmaster of Arago; Ella J. is the wife of George Laingor, of Myrtle Point; George T. has charge of Simpson's creamery at Lake. Coos county ; Walter V. is a farmer in this vicinity; Clarence is butter-maker at Davis' creamery at Norway ; Ralph is at home ; Alice is the wife of Allie Hite, of Coquille; and Gustave and Henry are living at home.

WILLIAM BYBEE. In the whole of Jack- son county, Ore., there is no more extensive land owner than William Bybee, to whom belongs the distinction of having owned at different peri- ods more than half of Jackson county, whose in- terests have been identified with his own since first coming to this locality in the spring of 1854. A native of the state of Kentucky, born near Winchester, Clark county, April 20, 1830, and reared upon a farm, he was the recipient of but a meager education, and in the spring of 1850 he started out to seek his fortune. At Cass coun- ty, Mo., he entered the employ of the govern- ment, in the transfer of freight to Mexico, con- tinuing to work in that capacity for about six months. In the spring of 1851 he accompanied a train of government supplies to Larimer, Kans., and a few months later returned to Cass county. Ilaving an intense desire to go further west and try his fortune of the Pacific slope, Mr. Bybee, in company with eight others, congregated at Larimer, provisioned an outfit of several wagons, drawn by mule teams and started for the far west in the spring 1852. Arriving at Diamond Springs, ('al .. they spent the winter at that place in pros- pecting and mining, with only fair success, and

the following spring pushed on to the vicinity of Portland, Ore., where they remained about a year.

Mr. Bybee first came to Jackson county in the spring of 1854, and during July, August and September, with Jesse Walker and about fifty other settlers, he assisted in protecting the set- tlers from the raids of the Indians, whose dep- redations caused considerable trouble in that lo- cality. They chased the foe a distance of about- two hundred and fifty miles before subduing them, and then returned home and disbanded soon afterwards. Mr. Bybee bought a donation claim near Jacksonville, and before him was the gigantic task of clearing the land if he would cultivate the rich soil. By perseverance and pa- tient efforts he soon began to prosper, and in a very short time added four hundred acres to his original claim. Subsequent purchases increased his farm to one of larger dimensions, until now he owns seventeen hundred acres in that locality. Here the greater part of his life has been spent, and during these years thousands of dollars have been spent in the improvement of his land. Stock-raising is his principal business, although a part of his wealth is the result of successful mining operations. For a period of forty-one consecutive years Mr. Bybee supplied the miners in this vicinity with choice porkers, which he drove to the mines himself, often realizing a handsome profit therefrom. By keen foresight all his savings were invested in real estate and more and more attention was given to stock-rais- ing and buying and selling land. In addition to his splendid home farm, his possessions at this writing include twenty-nine hundred acres in the Rogue river region, fifteen hundred and sixty acres along Antelope creek, and five hundred acres along Evan's creek, seven miles above Wi- mer. Fine mineral springs are located on the latter farm, which enhance its value exceed- ingly.

As a representative citizen of Jackson county, Mr. Bybee has carried into the political field the same keen judgment and foresight which have al- ways characterized his business transactions. In 1878 he was the successful candidate of the Democratic party for the office of sheriff, and during his four years of service the duties of this office claimed his attention assiduously and were executed in a prompt and fearless manner. Few enterprises have been inangurated in or about Jacksonville which have not had the benefit of his ability and profited by his influence and guid- ance. His extensive business interests have left . him little time for fraternal societies and he af- filiates with but one order. the Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows, which he joined in 1860.

The marriage of Mr. Bybee, November 16, 1854, united him with Miss Elizabeth A. Walker,

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a daughter of Jesse Walker, and this union has been blessed with eleven children. Riland D. was killed by a falling horse at the age of fif- teen; two others, Florence and Lily, died from diphtheria ; Jefferson was twelve years old at the time of his demise; Alexander also died young ; and Maude was five years old at the time of her death. Those living are J. William, a resident of Alaska; F. E., who resides at Medford; Rob- ert E., a citizen of Idaho; Effie, wife of Judge Prim, of Jacksonville; and Minnie, who is now Mrs. Fred Low. The beloved mother of these children passed to her eternal rest October 31, 1899.

HON. THOMAS MASON DIMMICK. The tannery enterprise of Hon. Thomas Mason Dimmiek at Marshfield occupies a place in the commercial world commensurate with the practi- cal business ability, public spirit and high char- acter of its promoter. One needs but to have visited the leather department at the World's Fair, at the Paris Exposition, or even to in- spect the stock of a large wholesale house in the principal cities of the states, to realize the art now embodied in the preparation of leather. Mr. Dimmick's tannery, started in 1880, covers a ground space of 70x72 feet, is two stories high, and is erected on the bay. Eighteen hundred hides are cured and prepared for shoes, purses, harness and other purposes during the year, and while the number is exceeded by many other establishments of the kind in the west, the quality of the work is unexcelled.

Mr. Dimmick came to Oregon in 1853, when a young child, he having been born at Lamoille, Bureau county, Ill., September 20, 1849. His father, Ziba Dimmick, founder of the family in the west, was born in Ohio, and as a boy re- moved with his parents to Illinois before the Black Hawk war. For a time he worked on a farm in Bureau county, but afterward found em- ployment in the lead mines at Galena, the same state. He came to California in 1849. via the Isthmus of Panama, returning in 1850 to make arrangements for the removal of his family to the west. This he accomplished with oxen in 1853, but ehancing to strike the Oregon trail at a cross roads, he changed his course, and came to Ore- gon instead of going to California. Spending the first winter at Camas Valley, Douglas county, he moved to Dimmick's Ferry in the spring of 1854. taking up the claim of six hundred and forty acres upon which he engaged successfully in stock-raising and farming until his death at the age of sixty-five. He endured the privations and hardships incident to the early days, and during the Rogue River Indian War of 1855 served as first lieutenant in an Oregon volunteer

company. He became prominent and popular, was public spirited and generous, and served as county commissioner for one term, though gen- erally averse to office holding. For his first wife he married Cynthia Hall, a native of Illinois, who died at the old home at the age of sixty years, leaving three sons and a daughter, all of whom are living, Thomas Mason being the youngest of all. Of. the second marriage there were ten children, five of whom were sons, and these also are all living. Mr. Dimmick improved his fine farm from timber and marshes, and as it skirted the Umpqua river the water facilities were ex- cellent. Dimmick's Ferry was known far and wide for many years, and it and the farm are still in the possession of the heirs, among whom is Thomas Mason Dimmick.

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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 38

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