Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present.., Part 67

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 67

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ive life, and when William was very young, he took his family to Logansport, Ind., where he engaged in business until the spring of 1852. The winter previous had been spent in perfecting plans for emigration to the far west, and the provisions and equipment for a family of eleven was necessarily large. Mr. Chance had succeed- ed in business, and was therefore able to live in as much comfort as the times permitted. Dire disaster confronted the family ere they reached their goal in the west, for illness entered their ranks, and laid low the father and two children, the former being left in a wayside grave at Fort Laramie. Distressed beyond measure, the mother hired a man to drive the team the rest of the dis- tance, and a comparatively comfortable journey followed in the wake of their terrible loss.

Mrs. Chance was made of the fiber which with- stands trouble and deprivation, and which has a remedy for any woe, however great or seemingly overwhelming. Arriving at The Dalles, she sup- ported herself and children by keeping a board- ing tent for about six weeks, and then came down the Columbia river, across from Sauvie's Island, where she spent the winter. Here she met George Watkins, who had crossed the plains the same year, and whom she subsequently married. In the spring of 1853 Mr. and Mrs. Watkins went to Shoalwater Bay, Wash., and built a sawmill, which they operated with considerable success. In the meantime Mr. Watkins had become promi- nent in politics, had filled a number of important local offices, and had finally been elected to the state legislature. While absent at the session high water washed the mill away and completely destroyed the machinery, and it was to this scene of desolation that he returned, after serving his district in a highly creditable manner. Gathering together what little remained to them, they traded the mill site for a place on the Willapa Prairie, Wash., but sold out the next year and removed to Cascades. There Mr. Watkins took up building and contracting on a large scale, and in the spring of 1856, when at the height of his success, he was killed while at work, by the Indians, who unexpectedly appeared and engaged in a general massacre.

In the spring of 1856 Mrs. Watkins removed to Portland, where she met and married her third husband, Daniel Bailey. While a resident of Portland she was an active member of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church. In 1858 they went to Yamhill county, locating on a section of land in the Chehalem Valley, seven miles from Lafayette, and there Mr. Bailey conducted general farm- ing and stock-raising enterprises until disposing of the farm in 1860. For a year they lived in Lafayette, and then bought a farm of one hun- dred and eighty-seven acres, which is at present

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the property of William Green Chance. In 1862 they removed to a farm upon a portion of which Garibaldi has since been built, and here they made their home for some years, in 1862 removing to Netarts Bay, where they conducted a boarding house. William Green was thirteen years old at this time, and he accompanied his mother and stepfather back to the Garibaldi farm in the winter of 1863, little thinking at the time that he would one day be the sole possessor of its fertile acres. In 1874 the mother sold her farm and retired to her present home in Tillamook, where at one time she was an active and ener- getic woman, deeply interested in the happenings around her, and in the success of her children. For the past ten years has been an invalid. Her father and grandfather were with Washington in the Revolutionary War, the latter the first four years and the former the last four. One brother, James S. Comiskee, was a soldier in the Mexican war, and died while crossing the Gulf of Mexico.

William Green Chance left the home place in 1868 and engaged in fishing in Astoria, the fol- lowing year transferring his efforts to Eagle Cliff. June 29, 1869, he removed to a farm con- stituting a suburb of Portland, and soon after- ward found employment in the press room of the Oregonian, where he arose from an humble po- sition to that of assistant pressman, remaining in that office for nearly eleven years. In 1880 he left Portland and engaged in railroad con- struction with the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company, in 1881 returning to Tillamook county, where he found that the farm sold by his mother in 1872 had never been paid for, and was incum- bered with a heavy mortgage. He took posses- sion of the farm, bought the mortgage, and has made this his home ever since. Mr. Chance has made about all of the improvements on his farm, bringing it to a high state of cultivation, and has one of the most paying properties in his neighbor- hood. The farm is four and a half miles south- east of Tillamook, and has excellent watering fa- cilities, as well as modern and convenient barns, outhouses and general appointments. A tract of one hundred acres has been cleared of timber and is available for general produce, the balance be- ing devoted to stock-raising, a specialty being made of Durham cattle. Mr. Chance milks thirty- five cows.

Since casting his first presidential vote for U. S. Grant, Mr. Chance has stanchly sided with the Republican party, and has taken a keen in- terest in local and state politics. For years he has been connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is also a member of the Fraternal Union of Tillamook. James S., the only survivor of his four children, is living with his father, and aiding with the management of

the farm. Mr. Chance is a typical western farm- er, full of energy and push, and extremely pro- gressive and broad-minded. His word is as good as the traditional bond, and his personal worthi- ness and integrity are unquestioned.

CHARLES LIVINGSTON MALONE. A soldier of the Confederacy to whom the strains of Dixie appeal as a voice from out the past, awakening memories of that proud aristocracy below the Mason and Dixon line which flour- ished because of the loveliness of its women and the chivalry of its men, and which has now lost its bitterness and extended its hands to the more strenuous north, is Charles Livingston Malone, owner of a farm of four hundred acres in the Alsea valley, two miles south of the postoffice of that name. From cottonfields and negro songs and southern heat to northern Oregon is a long way, yet the very contrast has furnished the most interesting phases of Mr. Malone's life, and illustrates that adaptiveness for which the southern gentleman is justly renowned.

Of Scotch-Irish-Welsh descent, Mr. Malone was born in Coweta county, Ga., August 13, 1831, a son of John and grandson of William Malone, the latter of whom was born in Vir- ginia. The grandfather eventually moved to Ballard county, Ky., where his son John was born December 31, 1800, and where he lived until attaining young manhood. Intent upon an independent livelihood, he made his way to Oglethorpe county, Ga., where he met and mar- ried Harriet Bailey, who was born in Ogle- thorpe county, November 14, 1814, and who bore him two children, Charles Livingston and Anne, the latter of whom died in Alabama at the age of sixteen. Mrs. Malone was a daughter of James and Nancy (Dix) Bailey, and on the paternal side the family participated in the Rev- olutionary war. John Malone moved with his family from Georgia to Alabama when Charles was fifteen years of age, settling on a farm in Tallapoosa county, where he died August 20, 1857. His wife survived him until December 29, 1898.

In Georgia Charles Livingston Malone learned all about farming as conducted in the south, and at the same time gained a fair common school education. In 1854 he married Frances Russell, born in Georgia, September 8, 1830, and to whom has been born eight children : John Russell, of Alabama; James, also of Ala- bama; Virginia Manassas, the wife of Marion Hayden, of the Alsea valley; William, living at home; Wade H., conducting a store and the postoffice of Alsea; Sarah, the wife of F. M. Thorp, of St. Helens; and two children who died in infancy. After his father's death Mr.

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Malone continued to live with his mother, and the latter accompanied the family to Oregon in 1880, and lived with them until her lamented death. Several months of the war had gone by when Mr. Malone enlisted, April 19, 1862, in Company C, Forty-seventh Alabama Volunteer Infantry, as second lieutenant, the greater part of his service being in the state of Virginia. Until the death of the famous general he was with Stonewall Jackson, then under General Longstreet and finally under General Fields. He participated in such important battles as the seven days' siege before Richmond, the bat- tle of Cedar Run, Second Manassas, Harper's Ferry, Antietam, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, Fredericksburg, Knoxville and the Wilderness. During the latter contest he was captured and sent to Fort Delaware, May 6, 1864, and de- tained there until after the surrender of that great soldier, Robert E. Lee. From the rank of sec- ond lieutenant Mr. Malone was advanced to first lieutenant after the battle of Bull Run, and after the battle of Knoxville he was promoted to the rank of captain of Company C. He fought with all the bravery and intrepidity of the great heart of the south, and from his gloomy prison awaited with feverish expectancy for knowl- edge of the doomed Confederacy.

Mr. Malone located on his present farm short- ly after coming here in 1880, and at the present time one hundred of his four hundred acres are under cultivation. His farm is well equipped with modern implements and buildings, the ma- jority of which are due to the enterprise and progressiveness of the present owner. He is engaged in general farming and stock-raising, especially the latter, to which he devotes the greater part of his land. Mr. Malone is a Dem- ocrat in every fibre of his being, yet manifests that tolerance and broad-mindedness which comes of the power to judge impartially, what- ever one's personal preference. He has served as school director for several terms, and in this capacity has evidenced his keen appreciation of educational advantages.

SAMUEL BLAKELY has been prominently identified with the history of southern Oregon, and is a veteran in the agricultural business. He came to Douglas county in 1852 and settled upon his present farm, which has since been his home and the scene of many years of labor, of seedtime and harvest. Mr. Blakely was born in Wayne county, N. Y., August 24, 1831. When twelve years old, his parents moved to Clinton county, Iowa, thence to Clayton county, and finally to Jackson county. Leaving the last named county in 1852, they crossed the plains. Six months af- ter starting they arrived in Douglas county, Ore.,

where Samuel took up a donation claim of one hundred and sixty acres. Upon this he built a log cabin containing one room and here resided, working by day labor among the neighbors. Dur- ing the Rogue river war he became a member of the Home Guards, and assisted in bringing the Indians to terms. In 1862 he went to the mines of Idaho for about a year, and was very success- ful.

In 1865 Mr. Blakely was united in marriage with Matilda Mallard, and to them six children have been born. They are : Arthur, who lives near the home place; Annie, wife of John Alexander, of Glide; Lester, who is his father's able assist- ant on the ranch ; Phinetta, wife of M. Garner, of Montavilla. Ore .; Robert, at home; and Forest. Mr. Blakely owns six hundred acres of land, all adjoining and on the North Umpqua river. It is well located fifteen miles northeast of Roseburg on the Oak creek road, and is devoted chiefly to stock-raising and general farming. Mr. Blake- ly is practically retired from the active duties of life, as his sons perform nearly all of the manual labor on the farm. In other words, he is enjoy- ing a grateful rest, after a life of toil. He has endorsed the action of the Republican party both by his influence and by his vote.

WALLACE BALDWIN. During the many years of his residence in Oregon, Mr. Baldwin has seen the development of the state from a wild and unimproved condition to a foremost rank among the commonwealths of our nation. Particularly has his interest been keen in the southern part of the state, where he makes his home, being one of the business men of Klamath Falls. A native of Philadelphia, Pa., born Oc- tober 6, 1833, he is of English descent, his pa- rents, Robert Thompson and Elizabeth (Hitch- cock) Baldwin, having been natives of Hunting- donshire. His father, who was a son of James Baldwin, a lifelong resident of England, was born on July 13, 1795, and there learned the harness- maker's trade. Taking passage from Liverpool he arrived at New York July 22, 1830, his wife and children joining him the following year. For some time he followed his trade in Philadelphia. In 1838 he moved to St. Louis, where his fam- ily joined him the next year. Subsequently he came to Oregon, and died at Klamath Falls June 21, 1889. His first wife died in St. Louis, in 1849. Born of their marriage were Robert, Har- riet, Joseph, Robert (2d), Mary, Harry and Al- fred, all of whom died in infancy or middle life ; Wallace, a business man of Klamath Falls; and Harriet (Mrs. J. P. Roberts), formerly of Kla- math Falls, but now deceased. After the death of his first wife Robert T. Baldwin married Isa- belle Hammond, by whom he had a son, George

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T. Baldwin, in whose sketch on another page will be found further mention of the family history.

During his boyhood days Wallace Baldwin was a pupil in the schools of St. Louis. When nine- teen he left home and crossed the plains to Cali- fornia, starting in the spring of 1853 and con- suming six months in the trip, which was made with oxen for motive power. From San Fran- cisco he traveled by boat to Portland, where he arrived on Christmas day. In the spring of 1854 he came to southern Oregon, and the next year settled on Wagner creek, Jackson county. Two years later he bought a right to one hundred and sixty acres and embarked in farm pursuits. Dur- ing the years that followed he met his share of good fortune and reverses, on the whole, how- ever, getting a little ahead with each season. In 1880 he moved from Wagner creek to Ashland, where he secured work. In 1885 he came to Klamath Falls, joining his father, with whom he worked at the harness-maker's trade. After the father's death he continued the business alone and still has it in charge, being engaged in gen- eral harness-making and repair work. Included in his possessions are eleven city lots in Klamath Falls, and a residence adjoining his place of busi- ness.

While living on Wagner creek in 1875, Mr. Baldwin married Phoebe Alice Million, who was born in Ashland, this state, in August, 1855. Mention of her family appears in the sketch of William Million. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin are as follows: Dorothy Laura, wife of John Erlings, of Klamath Falls; Robert Thomp- son and Herbert Wallace, both of whom are with their parents. Fraternally Mr. Baldwin is con- nected with Lodge No. 137, I. O. O. F., at Kla- math Falls, in which he has passed through the chairs and is inside guard. In politics a Repub- lican, he has frequently been elected to the town council on that ticket, and has also been chosen to serve as school director. When a young man he was a member of the Oregon militia. After having been a private for two years, June 18, 1866, Governor A. C. Gibbs tendered him the ap- pointment of second lieutenant of Company A, First Regiment, First Brigade of State Militia, and this commission he held for one year.

W. A. FRATER. A striking illustration of one who fought and did his best, and came home again, is found in the person of W. A. Frater, ex-county treasurer of Douglas county, Ore., who, since 1898, has been filling the posi- tion of postmaster of Roseburg in an efficient and admirable manner. All has not been plain sailing on the road to prosperity with Mr. Fra- ter, who has had his share of adversity, and sev- eral times during his cventful life he has been

very near the bottom of the ladder, but with true American grit and energy each time he again plunged into the battle with renewed force, and soon regained his fallen fortunes.

Mr. Frater was born March 5, 1843, in Harri- son county, Ohio, and is of Scotch extraction. He is a son of George W. and Susana (Douglas) Frater, both natives of Northumberland county, England. The paternal grandfather, Thomas Frater, was born in Scotland in 1799, and with his wife, Isabella, removed to Northumberland county, England. He was salesman for Mat- thew Cully, an English nobleman with large landed estates. George W. Frater, the father, emigrated to America in 1818, and settled in Richie county, Va., where for seven years he fol- lowed agricultural pursuits. He then removed to Ohio, and resided in Harrison and later in Belmont county. He continued his chosen call- ing there until cut off by death, aged seventy- seven years. His wife was a daughter of John Douglas of Scotland, who was a shepherd on Cheviot Mountains, prior to his emigration to America. His marriage took place in Edinburg. In 1818 'he crossed the Atlantic and landed in Philadelphia, where he died shortly afterward from yellow fever. His wife died in Ohio, at the age of seventy-five years.

W. A. Frater is the youngest of a family of eleven children, eight of whom grew up, and five are still living. One brother, George, served in Company E, One Hundred and Seventieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and died in Harrison county. Mr. Frater was reared on a farm in Belmont county, Ohio, and he had the ad- vantage of attending exceptionally good district schools. He remained at home until the war and as a battalion was organized in his county ready for the war, he enlisted in 1862 and be- came a member of Company E, One Hundred and Seventieth Ohio National Guards, and was made orderly sergeant of his company. May 4, 1864. this company was mustered into service as Company C, One Hundred and Seventieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, of which Mr. Frater was made first duty sergeant, and saw active service along the Potomac and in the Shenan- doah valley. He participated in a number of engagements as a part of the Eighth Army Corps, and was mustered out of service Septem- ber 10, 1864, at Camp Chase. After the war Mr. Frater engaged in the stock business with his brothers, Robert and George, in Belmont county, and they shipped cattle, sheep and hogs throughout the east. They were the largest stock-dealers in their section, and continued in the business for twelve years. In 1877 Mr. Frater went west to Edwards county, Kans., and embarked in mercantile life in Kinsley. Erecting a frame building, he opened a grocery

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store, and in connection therewith handled all kinds of agricultural and farm implements. His store and contents were completely de- stroyed by fire in 1879, with a total loss amount- ing to $7,000. Thus reduced in circumstances, with hard times on all sides, he went out in the surrounding country and solicited sheep- shearing, and was fairly successful. In this way he obtained money to pay his expenses to Oregon, locating near Roseburg, on a farm which he leased for two years. He was anxious to take up a homestead claim and finally did so on Horse Prairie, and after living there seven years and putting $1,000 worth of improvements on it, his land was claimed by the railroad. Al- though Mr. Frater had evidence and beat them at the land office in his vicinity, the railroad gained the suit at the general land office and his seven years' labor was lost by him. Again re- duced in circumstances, he returned to Rose- burg and secured work at the carpenter's trade. While working on a building County Judge George W. Riddle came along and asked him to accept the appointment of county treasurer, to fill a vacancy, caused by the removal from office of an official who was $23,000 short in his accounts. It is needless to say that Mr. Frater accepted, taking charge of that office in 1893. The following year he was elected to the same office and was re-elected again in 1896, by a large majority. He met all the requirements as a public servant, but in the spring of 1898 he resigned to make application as postmaster, and George Dimmick was appointed his suc- cessor. Mr. Frater received his appointment April 15, 1898, and took possession of the post- office at once, and has held it ever since. Since taking possession, business has increased greatly, and he now covers four daily star routes, and since July 1, 1903, he has one rural free de- livery route.

The marriage of Mr. Frater took place in Beaver, Pa., when Isabella West became his wife. She is a native of Carroll county, Ohio. Eight children were born of this union, and five are still living. They are: George, of Riddle; James, of Portland; Mrs. Ann Ireland, of Rose- burg; Mrs. Lincoln Blackwell, of Gardiner ; and Mrs. Daisy Abraham, also of Portland. Mr. Frater is a member and past commander of Reno Post No. 29. G. A. R., and also affiliates with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. In his po- litical convictions he is a Republican.

HON. JOHN O. BOOTH, the county judge of Josephine county, was born in Lee county, Iowa, January 18. 1848, and was second in a family of twelve children born to Rev. Robert and Mary (Miner) Booth. When four years

of age he crossed the plains with his parents and settled on a donation claim in Yamhill county, Ore., near old Fort Yamhill. There the years of boyhood and youth were busily passed in such labors as fell to the lot of pioneers. His father being away from home often, the son early as- sumed many responsibilities and felt himself to be the protector of his mother and younger children in a region still inhabited by hostile In- dians. Schools being few and his opportunities to attend them rare, he studied at home of eve- nings, when the day's tasks were ended. When the family removed to Wilbur in 1867 he had the advantage of several years of study in Wilbur Academy.

The first position of responsibility to which Judge Booth was elected was that of county superintendent of schools of Douglas county, to which he was elected on the Democratic ticket in 1870. At the expiration of his term he turned his attention to farming and the stock business, beginning at Garden Valley, where he soon pur- chased a stock ranch of one thousand acres. As the years passed by he made many improvements on the place and bought other farms in that vi- cinity, one of which he later sold to Douglas county for a poor farm, afterward superintend- ing the place for the county during its first eight years as a public institution. For several years, in connection with his brother, Robert A., he conducted a mercantile business at Yoncalla, un- der the firm name of Booth Bros. On selling out to his brother, he resumed the care of his farms and stock.

Having become largely interested in property at Grants Pass, in 1894 Judge Booth settled per- manently in this city, but he still retains a farm of seven hundred and fifty acres in Scott's Valley. Douglas county. After coming to Grants Pass he undertook the management of the Western Hotel, which he brought into first-class condition and as yet owns. Later he operated the Josephine Hotel, conducting the two under one manage- ment for five years, but now limits his attention to the supervision of the Western. He erected two brick buildings on Front street, one of which he still owns. He also owns a two-story brick building in the Opera House block on Sixth strcet, a brick building across from the Western Hotel, a number of frame store buildings, as well as other property. No resident of Grants Pass has built more business property than he. With George E. Good he established and built the gas plant, which furnishes gas for lighting and heating the houses of Grants Pass. His mining interests are of an important nature, but he has disposed of a number of these, among them the placer mine on Illinois river, another known as the Jump-Off Joe, and others in the Grand Hills.

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In Garden Valley, October 8, 1871, occurred the marriage of Judge Booth to Mrs. Annie E. LaBrie, who was born in Fulton county, Ill. Her father, Alva Rowley, crossed the plains from Illinois to Oregon, in 1853, and after a year at Portland went to Ashland, and in 1855 removed to the French settlement in Douglas county. His next location was near Myrtle Point, Coos county, where he opened and operated a farm until his retirement. "At this writing he has reached his eighty-ninth year and is making his home with his daughter in Grants Pass. In the family of Judge and Mrs. Booth there are three children. Nettie Blanche, who was graduated from the Southern Oregon State Normal, mar- ried E. E. Dunbar, a large stockman, merchant, lumberman and wood contractor, residing at Wolf Creek, Josephine county. Amy L. is the wife of C. M. Holmes, manager of the Western Union Telegraph Company at Sacramento, Cal. John M., who was educated in the Grants Pass high school, the University of Oregon and North- western University in Evanston, Ill., is now a bookkeeper with the Sugar Pine Door and Lum- ber Company of Grants Pass.

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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 67

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