Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present.., Part 56

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 56

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Mr. Henderer was born on the ranch which is still his home, October 11, 1865, and has known no other home. His boyhood days were spent in the district schools, and the training received there was followed by a course of instruction at Scottsburg, where he was further prepared for the battle of life. After leaving school he followed in the foot-

steps of his honored father and became a tiller of the soil, and since then he has given his undivided attention to his farming interests. He owns one thousand and twenty-nine acres of land along the Umpqua river. Of this, five hundred acres are rich bottom land, and is utilized in raising cereals. The balance of his land is devoted chiefly to pasturage, for he raises both cattle and sheep.

July 2, 1890, Mr. Henderer was united in marriage with Nettie Traylor, and they have a family of six children. Their names are Fannie, Eliza, Charles, Carrie, Mabel and Newton.

CHARLES M. HENDERER. The pub- lishers of this volume are pleased to introduce to the readers of this history of western Ore- gon one who is successfully following agri- cultural pursuits in Douglas county, the scene of his nativity. Mr. Henderer is of German parentage and was born June 6, 1862, near Elkton, Ore. His father, C. G. Henderer, was born near Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1820. He was reared and educated there and learned the cabinetmaker's trade. In 1848 he embarked for America and settled for a brief period at St. Louis, Mo. He worked at his trade at In- dependence, Mo., for two years, and in 1850, he went overland to California and followed mining for an equal length of time. In 1852 he journeyed as far north as Scottsburg, Ore., and resumed work at his trade, and about two years afterward he bought a ranch which he operated until 1857. Returning to Independ- ence, Mo., he was united in marriage with Emeline F. Meador, formerly of Tennessee. In 1859, accompanied by his wife, Mr. Hen- derer re-crossed the plains, and purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land near Elkton, and it was upon this farm that Charles M. was born. The father was successful as a rancher and was among the most prosperous citizens in that locality. His original purchase of three hundred and twenty acres was added to until he had acquired a farm of large dimen- sions, one thousand and forty-six acres in all, and he lived there the remainder of his life. Four children were born to him and his wife. They are Carrie, who died at the tender age of two years; Charles M., the subject of this biography ; Frances, the wife of J. J. Hedden, of Scottsburg ; and J. J., who resides on a part of the homestead ranch.

Charles M. Henderer grew to manhood upon his father's farm, and lived the life of an ordi- nary farmer's boy incident to the time and locality. In 1882 his marriage with Sarah

JOSEPH G. DONALDSON.

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

A. Cox was celebrated, and the following year they bought the east half of Estes' farm, four miles north of Drain. This has since been their home, and except for a brief interval of a year and a half, during which he was en- gaged in the livery business at Cottage Grove, Mr. Henderer has followed farming and stock- raising exclusively. He owns three hundred and twenty acres of land which is finely lo- cated and well drained. In his political views his preference is decidedly for the Repub- lican party, which he supports by his vote and influence. He is deeply interested in various fraternal orders, and has a membership in I. O. O. F. and A. O. U. W. societies. He and his wife have three children living, and one, Her- man H., is deceased. Those living are Will- iam C., John T. and Fleming.

JOSEPH G. DONALDSON. In August, 1864, Josepl. G. Donaldson located in Tillamook county, Ore., coming from California, where he had emigrated in 1859. He was born in Lumpkin county, Ga., March 12, 1837, a son of John Donaldson, who was a miller and carpenter by occupation and one of the prominent men of Lumpkin county. As a boy he attended the public schools of Georgia, but owing to the fact that his parents had a large family it early in life fell to his lot to assist in the support of the family, and the greater part of his education was derived from practical pursuits, augmented from year to year by study and observation. From his earliest boyhood he had been reared upon a farm. In 1859, having heard of the opportun- ities for advancement in the far west, he decided to make the venture. Severing home ties, he went to New York City and embarked on a steamer for Panama, and after crossing the isthmus, again embarked for California, reach- ing the Golden Gate in the fall of 1859. He at once took up mining, and in Nevada county he followed that occupation four years, at the end of which time he moved to Oregon, settling in Tillamook county.

December 15, 1860, he was united in mar- riage with Amanda L. Smith, who was born in Keokuk county, Iowa, December 9, 1848, and is the only one of the children now living born to to Charles Wesley and Sarah (Bevins) Smith, the latter of whom was born in Iowa and died of smallpox in Nevada county, Cal., in March, 1854, at the age of twenty-three years. Charles Wesley Smith, a pioneer of California and also of Tillamook county, Ore., was born in Ohio December 6, 1823, a son of Samuel and Char- lotte (Shintafer) Smith. The former was born March 21, 1781, and died November 21, 1854. and the latter died September 20, 1859, their

marriage occurring March 10, 1803. They were the parents of fifteen children, of whom Charles Wesley was the thirteenth child and eleventh son. He made his home at various times in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Iowa until his thir- tieth year, when he crossed the plains with his wife and daughter, Amanda L., then but five years of age. They arrived in Nevada City, Cal., in the fall of 1853, and spent the first winter there. In February, 1854, the family removed to a place called Joiners Ranch, now Lake City, where the wife and mother died. From that time until coming to Oregon, Mr. Smith lived in Placer and Nevada counties, where he en- gaged in mining and working in the timber, logging, making shakes, shingles and mining tim- bers. In 1863 he made a visit to Oregon, having received an invitation from his brother, Hiram Smith, who had been a resident of Tilla- mook county since 1853. Here he remained and engaged in farming for many years. He died July 18, 1900, aged seventy-six years, seven months and twelve days. He was an indulgent parent, a sympathetic friend and a kind and obliging neighbor, charitable to all whom he found in trouble. He accumulated considerable property and was quoted as one of the success- ful citizens of the county where he had made his home for so many years. Mrs. Donaldson was left motherless at the age of six years, was educated in the public schools of California, and was taught to be a model farmer's wife, be- coming an expert in household arts.

Joseph G. Donaldson came to Oregon to better his condition which, indeed, was the hope and expectation of all the early settlers. Upon his arrival here his worldly possessions consisted of $60 and some bedclothes. He settled on a farm in Tillamook county, which he home- steaded, and which Mrs. Donaldson's father had held for them by the payment of $50. The land was in a wild state, and with indomitable cour- age Mr. and Mrs. Donaldson began to make a comfortable home. Their first taxes were be- tween $10 and $15, and in 1903 were $312. They first began dairying on a small scale, milk- ing two cows in 1867, and during May, June and July, 1903, the income from their cattle, which has always been the chief source of revenue, was $400 per month. From 1864 until 1889 the fam- ily resided upon the farm that was the original homestead, at this time paying $2,500 for two hundred acres of fine bottom land. Removing his family to this place he began making im- provements that are seen today by visitors to the farm, where they will always find a welcome. In 1896 the old homestead was sold in order to make the final payment on the present farm, and upon the death of Mrs. Donaldson's father, who left her $2,000, she purchased the old place

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and now owns three hundred and twenty-seven acres of the finest farming land in the county.

Mr. and Mrs. Donaldson had sixteen children, namely : Sarah Nancy, born in Nevada county, Cal., September 16, 1862, died in early infancy ; Margaret Elizabeth, born June 13, 1864, in Ne- vada county, Cal., is the widow of M. H: Park- hurst ; Mary Emily, born June 20, 1866, is the wife of H. Herzinger, of Idaho county, Idaho; Charles Edwin, born April 26, 1868, resides in Tillamook county; Cordelia Florence, born October 5, 1869, married D. T. Edmonds, and they reside in Tillamook; Roxy Ann Grace, born June 20, 1871, married C. A. Smith, of Tillamook county; John Henry, born November II, 1873, lives in Tillamook county; May, born February 25, 1876, is the wife of R. Y. Blalock, and they reside near Tillamook; Robert E. Lee, born January 1, 1878, is now at home; Lelia Olive, born October 17, 1879. married A. G. West, and resides at Seattle, Wash .; Dora In- nocence, born September 13, 1881, married C. Nelson and lives in Pendleton, Ore .; Joseph Wesley, born September 20, 1883, was the next in order of birth; Grover Cleveland, born June 17, 1885, was killed by the accidental discharge of a gun May 4, 1898; Ivan, born May 19, 1887; Virgil, March 30, 1889, and Jessie Elvira, July 17, 1892, are at home. All of these children were born in Tillamook county except the two eldest. Mr. Donaldson died November 20, 1898, at his home, surrounded by his family and friends. He was an excellent farmer, a fair minded, honest and progressive and intelligent man, loyal to his family, his friends, and the occupation for which nature fitted him. The improvements on both of his farms were of his ideas, constructed on modern lines. The farms are among the most fertile in the county, located four miles east of Tillamook. Since the death of her husband, Mrs. Donaldson has carried on the farm work, assisted by her two sons and one grandson, and they are meeting with flattering success. Mrs. Donaldson has fifteen granddaughters and ten grandsons, the eldest of whom, a grandson, is sixteen years of age. All are living. Since her marriage in 1860 there have been forty-one births and five deaths within their immediate circle- two sons-in-law, one son by accident, and the father and husband of Mrs. Donaldson. During the residence of twenty-five years on the home- stead the services of a physician were needed but once. The family were reared in the doctrines of the Methodist church, South.

JOHN H. ROBERTS. Through his honor- able career as a business man no less than through his service as a state legislator, Mr. Roberts is well known to the people of Coos

county. When he was first elected to repre- sent his district in the lower house of the legis- lature in 1885 he at once identified himself with the important problems confronting the assem- bly. His work as chairman of the engrossing committee was of an important nature. Many bills calculated to promote the public welfare received his stanch support, notable among these being a bill to prohibit the carrying of concealed weapons and another concerning the bounty on wild animals running at large. The satisfactory nature of his services led to his re-election in 1887 and during the session that followed he was chairman of the engrossing committee and the committee on state instruction and books. During that session he championed a bill for the opening of the Middle Fork road between Roseburg and Myrtle Point, which became a law in 1889. During his third term, for which he was elected in 1889, he held the chairmanship of the engrossing committee and also that for the investigation of the books and affairs of the state treasurer's office. Through all of his service as a legislator he was a firm supporter of United States Senator Mitchell.

In Muskingum county, Ohio, Mr. Roberts was born March 21, 1841, a son of Daniel and Ke- ziah (Beatty) Roberts, natives respectively of Virginia and Pennsylvania. The paternal grand- father, John Roberts, was born in Botetourt county, Va., and settled in Muskingum county, Ohio, where he engaged in farming. When seventy-seven years of age he was accidentally killed while hauling lumber for the building of a church. At that time he was hale and robust, and one might have predicted for him a life rounding out a full century. Longevity has been noticeable in many generations of the fam- ily. The great-grandfather, who was a Scotch- man, died at one hundred and three years of age.

When his parents went to Ohio, Daniel Rob- erts accompanied them and settled on a farm. Later he became a farmer in Sheridan county, Mo. The spring of 1874 found him near Myrtle Point, Ore., in the midst of active farm pursuits. Throughout his life he was a believer in the doctrines of the German Baptist church and also a friend of public-school education. At the time of his death he was seventy-six years of age, while his wife died in 1903, when quite aged. They had a family of six sons and three daughters, of whom John H., of this review, is the oldest. Few advantages fell to his lot in boyhood. It was his to aid in the support of the family, and from the time he was large enough to be of assistance he became a valuable aid to his father. Under date of July 20, 1865, he was granted a certificate to teach school in Missouri, and this document is still one of his valued

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possessions, for it represents months of self- culture and close study on his part. At the close of his first term of school in 1866 he began in business in Trenton, Mo., where he conducted a grocery and boot and shoe business for two years. After continuing for some years he was obliged to sell out in 1872, on account of ill health. The following year he came to Oregon and settled at Myrtle Point, where he followed the trade of a carpenter and joiner for ten years. During the latter part of 1884 he entered Congressman Hermann's store as a clerk, but the next year embarked in the mercantile business for himself. This enterprise he conducted until 1892, when he sold out and went to Santa Ana, Cal. On his return three months later he opened a grocery at Bandon, where he remained for three years. In 1895 he went to Norway, Ore., where he conducted a store and acted as postmaster. On his return to Myrtle Point in 1896 he became manager of the Myrtle Point Bargain Store, and as such has continued to the present time.

The marriage of Mr. Roberts occurred in Grundy county, Mo., and united him with Louisa DeVaul, a native of that state. Her father, J. R. DeVaul, who was a Kentuckian by birth, and a farmer of Grundy county, Mo., settled in eastern Oregon about 1890 and in 1892 came to Myrtle Point, where he is living in retire- ment. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Roberts are named as follows: L. A., an attorney of Myrtle Point; David, deceased; J. C., who is editor of the Myrtle Point Enterprise; L. J., who is engaged in the milling business in this town; E. C., connected with his brother in the Enter- prise; Allison ; Emma, deceased; Mary J., wife of Edward Ratcliff, of Curry county, Ore .; Mar- tha, deceased, who became the wife of M. R. Lee, owner of the Myrtle Point. Bargain Store, of which Mr. Roberts is manager; Lydia, who was the first wife of Edward Lewellen, proprietor of a furniture store at Myrtle Point; Ruth, now the wife of Edward Lewellen; Jennie and Anna, who are at home, and Gracie, deceased.

Ever since becoming of an age to vote, Mr. Roberts has supported the principles and candi- dates of the Republican party. It was on this ticket he received the election to the legislature. His interest in education has been displayed by his service for fifteen years as clerk of the school board. At the opening of the Civil war he was an enthusiastic advocate of the Union and of- fered his services to protect the old flag. August 26, 1861, his name was enrolled as a member of Company C, Twenty-third Missouri Infantry, and shortly afterward he accompanied the army to the front, where he took part in the battle of Shiloh and minor engagements. He was dis- charged at Pacific City, Mo., January 17, 1863,

after which for two years he clerked for the sutler of the regiment. On his return home he was appointed enrolling officer with the rank of captain, and discharged the duties of the po- sition with fidelity and dispatch. His record as a soldier is one of which he and his family may well be proud.

ALEXANDER MARTIN, JR. As cashier and manager of the Klamath County Bank, of which his father, Alexander Martin, Sr., is presi- dent, the subject of this article is intimately as- sociated with one of the important financial in- stitutions of the county, an institution that through the conservative management of its of- ficials has come to hold a high rank among simi- lar enterprises in southern Oregon. Included among its depositors are many of the leading business men of the county, whose confidence has been won through the wise policy of the bank in matters of investments and loans. The establishment of the bank has thus proved of benefit to the people and to the town of Klamath Falls as well.

In Jacksonville, Jackson county, Ore., Alex- under Martin, Jr., was born July 3, 1867. His primary education was obtained in the schools of his native county. About 1879, after the death of his mother, the family removed to Oakland, Cal., and there he attended the public schools. Later he had the advantage of a course in Heald's Business College in San Francisco, from which he was graduated in 1884. Immediately afterward he left home and came to Klamath Falls, Ore., where he became a clerk in the mer- cantile establishment of Reames & Martin. Af- ter having continued for a time as a clerk, in 1886 he acquired an interest in the business, and this he conducted until 1899, when he dis- posed of his interest to F. W. Jennings. Since that time he has devoted his attention entirely to the management of the bank of which his father is the chief owner.

The marriage of Mr. Martin was solemnized in Klamath Falls in 1888 and united him with Martha F. Smith, who was born in Reno, Nev., November 8, 1866. Her father, Judge George W. Smith, now a resident of Phoenix, Ariz., was formerly identined with the citizenship of Klamath county, where for several years he en- gaged extensively in farming and also filled the office of county judge for four years. Mr. and Mrs. Martin are the parents of one son, who bears his father's name. In his political views Mr. Martin is a supporter of Republican prin- ciples. Preferring to give his attention wholly to business matters, he has as yet not mingled in public affairs, but he consented to serve as county treasurer and filled the office from 1894

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to 1896. In fraternal relations he is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen of Klamath Falls, in which he has passed through the chairs and is now financier. As a Mason he is active in Klamath Lodge No. 77, A. F. & A. M .; Siskiyou Chapter No. 21, R. A. M., of Ashland; Malta Commandery No. 4, K. T., also of Ashland; and Al Kader Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Portland.

JARED D. WETMORE, M. D. Though a resident of Toledo but for a comparatively brief period, Dr. Wetmore has successfully identified his interests with the commercial, social and political progress of the city. He brought with him into the west a fund of en- thusiasm and helpful interest, a record of a thoroughly prosperous career, and has become an influential citizen in the various avenues which go to make the general advancement of a community. He was born on South creek, Bradford county, Pa., April 8, 1858, the son of George Wetmore, a lawyer by profession. The birth of the father occurred in December, 1822, and on attaining manhood he married Harriet Bandfield, a native of New York state, who died at Spring Lake, Mich., whither she had gone for her health, when Jared D. Wetmore was nineteen years old. George Wetmore died in 1858, at the early age of thirty-six, his death being caused by a falling tree in the woods near a saw-mill in which he was inter- ested. Jared D. is the youngest of the three sons and three daughters in the family. He instinctively understood that an education was the one thing for which to strive, and the pro- ceeds of a saw-milling venture, into which he had entered upon leaving the country school where he had received his first knowledge of books, were used to defray his expenses at the University of Michigan, which he entered in 1877, and from which he was graduated in the spring of 1879. He had previously studied medicine under the instructions of Dr. Wil- letts, and after his graduation from the uni- versity he entered Hahnemann Medical Col- lege of Chicago, and was graduated therefrom in 1882. In 1884 he took a post-graduate course at the Chicago Homeopathic Medical College, receiving instruction for the ameliora- tion of the ills of womankind from such an eminent authority as Dr. Ludlam, and study- ing surgery under Dr. Pratt. In 1878 he had engaged in a medical practice in Grand Tra- verse, Mich., and while in that state he im- proved his opportunity to attend a course of lectures in the medical department at Ann Arbor. After a short practice in Rockford, Mich., Dr. Wetmore returned to college, com-

pleting his studies in the spring of 1882, when he located in Malta, Ill., and conducted an ex- tensive practice until the spring of 1885. He then removed to Storm Lake, Iowa, where he remained two years, being the first United States surgeon appointed in the state during Cleveland's first administration. Returning then to Chicago the doctor soon became a prominent figure in professional circles, being appointed public vaccinator under the admin- istration of Carter Harrison, Sr., which posi- tion he maintained creditably until his location in the west, at that time having ten schools under his charge.

Dr. Wetmore came first to Oregon on a pleasure trip, and while in Portland became so impressed with the advantages offered the energetic and ambitious man that he decided to locate permanently in the state. Selecting Toledo as a place of residence he came in March, 1892, and at once began the establish- ment of a general practice, in combination with which he carried on a real estate busi- ness. He was appointed health officer of Ya- quina bay by Governor Chamberlain, and also held the position of physician and surgeon at the Siletz Indian agency. At present he is county health officer and examining physician for various fraternal and old-line insurance companies, among them being the Ancient Order of United Workmen, Foresters, Odd Fellows, Mutual Aid, Heptasophs, Women of Woodcraft, Conservative Life Insurance Com- pany of Los Angeles, Cal., and the Pennsyl- vania Mutual of Philadelphia.

Among the characteristic traits of Dr. Wet- more is his talent for music and painting, both having brought him more than local promi- nence. When only sixteen years of age he conducted a string orchestra and was the leader of a cornet band at the age of nineteen. He has copied many masterpieces of the an- cient and modern school, and his collection, kindly loaned at the state fair, was one of the most instructive and noteworthy exhibits, in later years having been awarded ten diplomas and ten premiums. In religion the doctor is not a member of any church, but he teaches the Bible class in the Methodist Episcopal Sunday-school, and has presented a library for the use of its pupils. An appreciation of men- tal training has induced him to lend his ability to the promotion of religious thought in the county and city, and through his untiring ef- forts the attendance at the Methodist Sunday- school has increased from thirty to one hun- dred and ten in a comparatively brief time. Politically he is a Democrat and has been an active worker in the ranks of the party, mak- ing his influence widely felt, and fraternally is

Isaac. A Quick Frances e& Quick

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

identified with many organizations, being a member of Jefferson Park Lodge No. 711, A. F. & A. M., of Chicago; Providence Chapter, R. A. M., of Chicago; Woodmen of the World ; Ancient Order of United Workmen; Forest- ers ; the Heptasophs; Mutual Aid; and the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows. The life of Dr. Wetmore has been ordered according to his own ideas, founded upon a maintenance of broad and helpful principles. Cast upon his own resources at the age of eleven years he has steadily made his way upward, pressing forward to the accomplishment of his early ambitions. Too much cannot be said in praise of men who fashion their lives so broadly and humanely, and who are instrumental in pro- moting to a marked degree the sanitary, pro- fessional, intellectual, moral and artistic wel- fare of a thriving and promising community.

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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 56

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