Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present.., Part 62

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 62

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N. LARAUT, SR., has spent his life for the most part in California and Oregon, and has at- tained an influence and position of eminence among the citizens of Douglas county, where he has made his home since 1854. His career has been varied and interesting, touching the life of many different parts of the state, but in his ad- vanced age he is still industrious, giving an illus- trious example to younger generations.

He was born on Canadian soil, May 7, 1824. on a farm about thirty miles south of Montreal. There he lived until the gold excitement in Cali- fornia occurred, when he embarked on the Em- pire City for San Francisco, traveling via the Isthmus of Panama. He was a young man of energy and promise, not in the least afraid of hard labor, and directly after his arrival in San Francisco he secured employment on the Feather river for three months. However, he was not satisfied with this employment, but was impatient to work in the mountains, and therefore resigned his position and sailed for Oregon, the trip re- quiring six weeks' time. Traveling inland on the Willamette river, he finally located at Butte- ville, where he spent the winter months with F. X. Matthieu.

In 1851 Mr. LaRaut purchased a team of horses, preparatory to working in the Yreka mines during the summer. In the fall he re- turned to Butteville, rented a threshing machine of Mr. Matthieu, and did the first threshing ever done in that neighborhood by machinery. As compensation for his work and help he received wheat which he sold to Dr. McLoughlin of Ore- gon City. He now owned two teams of horses,

and this gentleman also gave him plenty of work as a teamster until he returned to the mines. When he had successfully disposed of his horses he bought mules and formed a pack train, work- ing in the Eureka mines, Josephine county, as well as in many other places, until 1853.

Mr. LaRaut then conceived the idea of using his pack train in another way, loaded it with pro- visions and met the emigrants who were flocking in large numbers to the eastern and northern parts of the state. On these trips he sometimes went as far as where Pendleton is now located, and in 1855-56 he carried the supplies for the troops who were then quelling the Rogue River Indian in- vasion. At this time he sold provisions at re- duced rates. Bacon was in demand, and he was offered fifty cents a pound for all he could bring but after waiting seven years for his pay, the government closed the deal by giving him ten cents a pound.

Mr. LaRaut desired to own land of his own, and in 1854 was given a donation claim of one hundred and sixty acres, some twelve miles west of Roseburg, near what is now the village of Wardton. At the close of the Indian war, March 16, 1856, he was joined in marriage with Amy Rowley, who had crossed the plains in 1853, and they began life on the new farm. This union was blessed with eleven children, whose names are as follows: Genevieve, Clintona, Stephen A., Alva, Narcisse, Charles, Clara, Ida, Leland, Ethel and Lucy. Clara died in infancy and Leland when nineteen years of age. Alva and Charles are also deceased. Genevieve is now Mrs. L. A. Mars- ters, and lives on a ranch near Cleveland, Ore. Clintona is the wife of Robert A. Booth, a mem- ber of the Booth-Kelley Lumber Company in Eugene, Ore. Stephen A. lives in Saginaw, Ore. Narcisse is a rancher and resides on his farm near Wilbur. Ethel is postmistress at Saginaw. Ida is employed at Grants Pass, and Lucy still resides at home with her parents.

In the fall of 1870 Mr. LaRaut sold his claim and bought the place where he now resides. This purchase, consisting of four hundred and eighty acres, is twelve miles northwest of Roseburg, along the North Umpqua river. Two hundred acres of the land lies in Garden Valley, and he raises a large amount of valuable stock on this tract. He also carries on general farming with good profit. Although well along in years he possesses splendid health, his faculties are unim- paired, and he is classed among the substantial citizens of the county.

Politically Mr. LaRaut was a Democrat until after the Civil war, but in 1864 became a Repub- lican. In religious convictions he is liberal, while his wife is a member of the Christian Church of Roseburg, which the family attend.

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

JOHN BEAR. Among the thriving busi- ness men of Marshfield John Bear occupies a noteworthy position. Industrious, energetic and persevering, he has accomplished much work since coming here, by means of thrift and good judgment acquiring a large property. The owner of a valuable farm, and a well- conducted livery stable, he manages both with ease and profit, each bringing him in a good income. A foreigner by birth and breeding, he was born August 16, 1841, at Olbold, Fin- land, where his parents, Peter and Mary (Sangquert) Bear, spent their entire lives, his father having been a liveryman and farmer.

The youngest child in a family of four sons and one daughter, John Bear received a com- mon school education in his native land. In 1857, in the ship commanded by his uncle, Capt. Charles Hubblebone, he came to Amer- ica, and the following two years lived with this uncle in Baltimore, Md. Enlisting in 1861 as a private in the United States navy, he served as gunner for a year on the small boat Blackfish. Shipping as a common sea- .man in October, 1862, he sailed to various American ports during the following winter. Arriving at San Francisco, Cal., in the spring of 1868, he left the vessel, finding employment at first in the city. Subsequently purchasing an interest in a schooner, Mr. Bear bought and sold wood, trading in the San Francisco mar- kets. Coming to Coos Bay in 1863, he worked for a year at North Bend, being in the employ of the Simpson Lumber Company, contract- ing, and getting out cedar and match wood. The following three years he was a trader in San Francisco. Locating in Marshfield in 1867, Mr. Bear was engaged in the logging and saloon business in this city for nineteen years. Purchasing land, he embarked in agri- cultural pursuits in 1888, and in the same year bought out the livery business of Alexander Lang. Both of these industries he has since managed most successfully, and has become a large property owner. He does a large amount of contracting and teaming, making a specialty of heavy hauling. He has recently sold considerable real estate, but still owns nine hundred acres of valuable land about six miles east of the city, and in the city he owns his livery barn. and a fine resident property.

In Marshfield, Ore., Mr. Bear married for his first wife Mary Walline, who was born in Finland, and died in Marshfield. She bore him seven children, two of whom, a son and a daughter, are dead, the son having been drowned. Of the five children living, two are married. Senda became the wife of James Nichols: Edna married Dr. Henry Waldis, and Edna, Chester and Albert make their

home with their father. Mr. Bear married for his second wife Mrs. Maggie Jenson, a native of Denmark. Of this union there are no children. Mr. Bear is a Democrat in poli- tics, and has been identified with public af- fairs as councilman and road supervisor, in each office serving a number of terms. Fra- ternally he is a member of Blanco Lodge No. 48. A. F. & A. M., and is a Knight of Pyth- ias. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is one of the board of trustees of that organization.

MARION HAYDEN. Besides an honored name, one of the finest properties in Benton county, and a reputation for industry and pro- gressiveness, that capable pioneer, Thomas Coffer Hayden, left sturdy and willing sons to maintain his agricultural policy, and take their places among the forceful upbuilders of a prosperous locality. The old homestead upon which he lived and labored for the best part of his life is now occupied by two of his twelve children, Marion and Jasper, the for- mer of whom was born where he now lives, two miles north of Alsea postoffice, March 28, 1862. Further mention of the family is found in the biography of Jasper Hayden, the older of the sons, but one is nevertheless moved to say that the elder Hayden was one of the far- sighted and resourceful pioneers of 1852, and that he bravely and even joyfully worked his way to the front in spite of deterring and even discouraging obstacles.

Marion Hayden is a farmer because he likes the work, and because inheritance and train- ing have fitted him to live near to the heart of nature. Like the other boys of his neigh- borhood he attended the public schools while assisting with the work on the paternal farm, and he has lived in the same place uninter- ruptedly all his life. The brothers have con- trol of about two hundred and seventy-five acres of valley land, and are engaged in gen- eral farming and stock-raising, making a spe- cialty of high-grade Shorthorn cattle, Cots- wold sheep and Angora goats. They are con- tinually adding to the modern improvements already established on the farm, and together make a study of popular and latter-day meth- ods. They have excellent houses, barns and outbuildings, and facilities for caring for large numbers of fine stock.

His devotion to Republican politics and his understanding of the popular needs of the com- munity have brought Mr. Hayden into official prominence, culminating in his election to the legislature in 1902. During the session he

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

served with merit as chairman of the commit- tee on Indian affairs, and as a member of the committee on roads and highways. He has also been school director and road supervisor on several occasions, and has always worked for the greater benefit of his county. He finds recreation and help at the meetings of Camp No. 6366, M. W. A., of Alsea, of which lodge he is past advisor, and at Hope Grange, also of Alsea. He married in 1886, in the Alsea val- ley, Jennie M. Malone, who was born in Tal- lapoosa county, Ala., November 10, 1861, a daughter of C. L. Malone, further mentioned elsewhere in this work. Six children have been added to the Hayden home: Crawford, Jessie, Ruth, Cecil, Herschel, and Charles. Mr. Hayden's personal charactertistics are such as to win the honest regard of all with whom he comes in contact, and these, com- bined with a genial and approachable manner, have won him many and permanent friends.

GEORGE W. LEWIS. The sheriff of Josephine county is a member of an old southern family, but is himself a native of Oregon, born near Brownsville, Linn county, January 31, 1857. The family has been honorably and intimately as- sociated with the history of Oregon since the early pioneer days. His father, J. P. Lewis, was born near Keytesville, Chariton county, Mo., be- ing a son of Fielding Lewis, who was a native of Tennessee and an early settler of Missouri. The father and grandfather came west at the same time and at once began the task of building up a home in a new country. (For a more de- tailed account of the family see sketch of John M. Lewis elsewhere represented). In the father's family there were four sons and three daugh- ters, of whom George W. is next to the eldest. Another son, J. M., is a leading citizen of Port- land and at this writing holds the office of coun- ty treasurer.

After having passed his boyhood years on a farm in Linn county and meanwhile attending district schools, in 1873 George W. Lewis accom- panied the family to Sucker Creek valley, where he engaged in prospecting and mining for nine years. Among the places where he operated were Silver creek, Sucker creek and Althouse. On abandoning the occupation of a prospector he turned his attention to farming in the Sucker Creek valley, entering eighty acres of bottom land near Sucker creek. This he improved for farm- ing and fruit-raising. To some extent also he was interested in the raising of stock. In 1902 he was nominated for sheriff on the Republican ticket and received the election, taking the oath of office in July, 1902, for a term of two years.

Thereupon he moved into Grants Pass, where he now makes his home. The nomination came to him without solicitation and unanimously, a fact which proves his standing with the people. His election is a fitting recognition of his labors for the welfare and success of the Republican party, to whose platform he has ever given stanch al- legiance. As sheriff he has proved himself to be perfectly fearless, a firm defender of the law and an enemy of law-breakers. His time is devoted closely to the duties of the office, and he permits himself few hours of recreation. His only fra- ternal relation is with the Woodmen of the World.

In Josephine county occurred the marriage of George W. Lewis to Adelia Holland, who was born in this county, received her education in local schools, and is a woman of noble character and a devoted member of the United Brethren Church. Her father, James Holland, was a pio- neer of Josephine county, where he settled on Althouse creek, and the postoffice of Holland was named in his honor. In the family of George W. and Mrs. Lewis there are eight children, namely : Melvin M. and Charles T., who cultivate their father's farm; Ada, Burt, Irvin, Allie, Lloyd and Lola. During the experience of Mr. Lewis in mining he located twenty acres of placer claims on Althouse creek and developed a fine placer mine, having Ernest Lister as a partner in the enterprise and operating the mine under the title of Lewis & Lister.

LEONARD L. JEWELL. During the early days in the history of the Plymouth colony the Jewell family was among those sturdy lovers of freedom who sought a liome within its borders. For many years afterward their descendants lived and labored within the borders of New England. .Silas Jewell, who was born in New Hampshire, the son of a Revolutionary soldier, removed to New York and subsequently to Pennsylvania, where he died. His son, Leonard, was born while the family lived in New York, and later engaged in farming in Pennsylvania, from which state he went to the front as a soldier in the Civil war. Relinquishing agricultural pursuits he be- came a minister in the Baptist denomination, and for ten years served as pastor of a church near Durhamville, S. C. From there he came to Ore- gon and died at Grants Pass. Only one son, Leonard I .. , was born of his union with Eliza- beth Evans, daughter of Peter Evans, who died in Kansas.

Near Odin, Potter county, Pa., Leonard L. Jewell was born March 18, 1859. From the age of seven years he was reared near Eldred. In addition to attending the country schools he spent two terms as a student in the grammar

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

school at Portville, N. Y. At the age of seven- teen years he was obliged to assume the manage- ment of the home farm, and continued in charge of the place until he was twenty-one, when he started out in the world for himself. His first employment was in a saw-mill at Prentiss Vale, Pa., where from a very humble position he worked his way up to be head sawyer. For two years he was a clerk in a general store at Eldred, after which he bought a jewelry business in the same town, operating the same successfully for three years. On deciding to settle further west he sold the business in 1886. Going to Omaha he was employed as a clerk in the office of the att- ditor of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail- road, and in the same city he gained some ex- perience in the buying of real estate, which proved most unfortunate. Of the savings of pre- vious years he had left less than $1,000 when in 1889 he came to Oregon and settled at Grants Pass. With this capital for a nucleus he started in a furniture store on Sixth street in partner- ship with J. R. Hale, under the firm name of J. R. Hale & Co. After eighteen months he sold his interest in the business and purchased a half interest in a hardware store with T. P. Cramer, under the firm name of Cramer & Jewell. Later the title was changed to Jewell & Dodge and finally he bought out Mr. Dodge and incorpo- rated the Jewell Hardware Company with him as president, and at the same time the store was enlarged to meet the increased demands of the trade. With Mr. Fry he bought the block, 50x 150, with an L 75x50, two stories in height. In 1899 he sold the business to the Riddle Hard- ware Company, but still owns the building.

The Grants Pass Banking & Trust Company was incorporated in 1901 and its bank opened for business on the ist of May. The company erected a building of white brick, but later sold that and now occupies quarters on the corner of Sixth and II streets, where a general banking business is conducted. The capital stock of the bank is $25,000, and its surplus $2,500, while de- posits aggregate $100,000 or more. The suc- cess of the institution is largely due to the safe and conservative management of its cashier, L. L. Jewell, whose cautious wisdom in making in- vestments and loans places the bank upon a sound basis and wins for it the confidence of the people. For some years past, even before leaving the hardware store, he has bought about $100,000 in gold dust every year. He owns a one-half in- terest in the Oscar creek mine, a good producer, and with a number of others owns valuable tim- her lands, also interests in the Golden Bar, Mount Lion, Big and Little Nugget and other mines. He is a member of the National Bankers' Asso- ciation and the Grants Pass board of trade, and in politics is a stanch Republican.

In Ashland, Ore., June 28, 1893, Mr. Jewell married Miss Amelia Calhoun, a native of Con- necticut, and now the mother of three sons, Dwight, Robert and Clifford. Her father, S. H. Calhoun, came to Grants Pass in 1888, but now makes Ashland his home. During the Civil war he saw active service as a member of a Con- necticut regiment. In religious connections Mr. and Mrs. Jewell are identified with the Presby- terian Church, in which he officiates as a trustee. Before leaving Pennsylvania he was made a Master Mason at Eldred and a Royal Arch Ma- son at Bradford, Pa. He now affiliates with Grants Pass Lodge No. 84, A. F. & A. M., Reames Chapter No. 28, R. A. M., in which he is past high priest, and is a charter member of Melita Commandery No. 8, K. T., at Grants Pass, in which he is prelate.

RALPH HENRY HOWELL. One of the wide-awake, brainy young men of Toledo is Ralph Henry Howell, who is now serving his first term as assessor of Lincoln county. Talent- ed and well educated, he has started out in life with fair prospects for a prosperous future, his energy, ability and excellent business tact bidding fair to place him ere long in a position of prom- inence among the leading men of his city and county. A native of Benton county, he was born February 14, 1873, in Benton county, near Mon- roe. His paternal grandfather, Stephen Howell, was born in Illinois, but spent a part of his early life in Ohio. He subsequently lived in the north- castern part of Iowa a few years, from there coming across the plains to Oregon in 1850. Lo- cating in Benton county, he took up a donation claim west of Monroe, and engaged in farming. Subsequently removing to the Alsea valley, he there spent his declining years, dying in 1876, at the age of three score and ten years.

Coming with his parents to Oregon when a lad of thirteen years, William Howell, the father of Ralph Henry, assisted in improving a farm in or ucar Monroe, for a few years attending the dis- trict school during the winter terms. Afterward settling in the Alsea valley, he was there engaged in agricultural pursuits until the fall of 1896. Desirous then of changing his occupation, he purchased the Farmers Hotel, at Corvallis, where he has since carried on a successful business in entertaining the traveling public. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Rexford, died in 1878, leaving four children, two sons and two daughters. Ralph Henry being the second child in order of birth.

Acquiring his preliminary education in the common schools of Benton and Lincoln counties, Ralph Henry Howell entered the Oregon Agri-

John Nordstroms

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

cultural College at Corvallis on September 18, 1894, and in 1899 was graduated from that insti- tution with the degree of B. S. Going to Cook's Inlet, Alaska, in 1900, he was employed for four and one-half months, as an engineer on the stcanıcr Kingfisher. Returning to Oregon, Mr. Howell assisted in the management of a saw-mill at Waldport, Lincoln county, about two years. In 1902 he was elected county assessor of Lin- coln county, and in this position of trust and re- sponsibility has since given most faithful and efficient service.

In Waldport, Ore., Mr. Howell married Lona Harrison, who was born in Minnesota, a daughter of William Henry Harrison. A native of St. Lawrence county, N. Y., Mr. Harrison removed to Minnesota in 1861, and was there engaged in general agriculture for nearly a quarter of a century. Coming with his family to Oregon in 1885, he bought land on the Alsea bay, where he continued in his former occupation a few sea- sons. He is now residing in Waldport, being in- terested to a considerable extent in the manufac- ture of lumber of all kinds. Politically Mr. Howell is an earnest supporter of the principles of the Republican party, and an active worker in its ranks. Fraternally he is a member of New- port Lodge No. 85, A. F. & A. M., and belongs to the Artisans.

JOHN NORDSTROM. The salmon fish- eries and canneries on the Oregon side of the Columbia river employ in the vicinity of five thousand people, and the salting and packing of salmon stands second in the list of important industries of the state. Millions of dollars are invested in these fisheries, which generally yield a fair profit to investors. The Alaska Fisher- men's Packing Company, although of only a few years' duration, is one of the most successful companies doing business in that section, which fact is undoubtedly due to the undivided efforts of John Nordstrom, the subject of this writing, who succeeded in organizing the company in 1898, and ever since its incorporation has served as its manager and secretary.

As his name indicates, Mr. Nordstrom is a native of Sweden, his birth having taken place November 1, 1854, at Grunsunda Sacken, West- ternorrland, also the birthplace of his father, Jonas Nordstrom, who was a mill-wright by oc- cupation. His mother died when he was but six years old, leaving three sons, John being the eld- est. The others are Jonas, a farmer at Twin Lake, Mich., and Andrew, a farmer in Clatsop county, Ore.

Public instruction is compulsory for all chil- dren in Sweden as it should be in all countries, and Mr. Nordstrom went to school until he at-

tained the age of fourteen years. He then spent five years in the lumber yards of Husum. When nineteen years old be became apprenticed and served as a retail grocery clerk in Herno- sand one year and another year in Sundsvall, as bookkeeper and clerk. Having saved enough to pay expenses, he entered the college at Sunds- vall and graduated with the first honors of his class.

Soon after leaving college he obtained a lucra- tive position with the Alvik Lumber Company in Sundsvall and remained in their employ from 1876 until 1883, being bookkeeper and cashier most of the time. In 1883 he resigned, much to the discomfiture of his employers, who, how- ever, voluntarily tendered him an excellent recommendation. For four years thereafter he was superintendent of a grocery store.

In 1887 Mr. Nordstrom came to America, lo- cating for a short time in North Dakota, where his father-in-law lived. After a five months' stay there, in February, 1888, he came to Ore- gon. Going directly to Astoria, he entered the employ of W. F. McGregor, proprietor of the Astoria Box Company, and for thirteen years served as bookkeeper for that firm, when he re- signed, to accept his present position as secre- tary of the Alaska Fishermen's Packing Com- pany.

This company is engaged in fishing and pack- ing salmon in Nushagak-Bristol bay, Alaska, where they have extensive fisheries and can- neries. Sixty thousand cases are packed in one season. Vessels are chartered to take supplies to the plant, and after the packing is completed the cases are brought in the same way to Astoria, where the employes also return until the next season. From Astoria the product is sold through different parts of the United States and other countries.

While still in his native land, Mr. Nordstrom was united in marriage with Anna Westling, also of Swedish nativity and a daughter of Isaac Westling. They have four children : Turie, who is bookkeeper for the cannery in Alaska, and Rosa, Lily and Esther. The family are influ- ential members of the Swedish Lutheran church, being counted among its most worthy members. Fraternally Mr. Nordstrom is a mem- ber of the Knights of Pythias, the Woodmen of the World, and Ancient Order of United Work- men. He is also a member of the Chamber of Commerce and for the past six years has served as recording secretary of the Scandinavian Be- nevolent Association. Politically he is a stanch supporter of the men and measures of the Re- publican party and in 1901 was elected a member of the city council. Mr. Nordstrom's record is certainly praiseworthy and his success is well deserved, as he is a man of worth and integrity.

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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 62

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