Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present.., Part 77

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 77

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DUDLEY POLK MATHEWS. That farm- ing may be made a congenial as well as profit- able occupation is proved by the happy and thor- oughly contented life of Dudley Polk Mathews, owner and operator of a farm of six hundred acres on the Little Butte creek, twelve miles northeast of Medford. The visitor is impressed with the air of neatness and thrift pervading this property, and with the modern buildings and general improvements. Since coming to his present farm as a boy of nine, Mr. Mathews has known no other home. This was in March, 1854, and it is with a sense of pride and gratifi- cation that he recalls the many changes that have taken place, and which reflect the energy and pio- neer efforts of his noble-hearted father. Mr. Mathews was born on a farm in Mercer county, Mo., October 28, 1844, and four years later ac- companied his parents to Iowa. In 1853 the father, with his wife and six children, prepared to come to the coast, packing their household goods in two wagons, and investing in strong, trustworthy oxen to convey them the long distance. It is not recalled that any unusual incidents marked the journey, and in March, 1854, the family located on a farm now occupied by the son Dudley. where the father died at the age of seventy, his wife living until about the same age. The elder Mathews was a practical farmer and worthy man, and his children recall with pride his man- ly life and earnest efforts in their behalf. Ten more children were added to the care of the mother in the west, and all received as fair a

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common school education as the parents were able to give them.

The Mathews farm is devoted to general farm- ing and stock-raising, having admirable water- ing facilities in both wells and creek, and be- ing stocked with high grade cattle, horses and sheep. Mr. Mathews has made a special study of stock, and because of their excellent care he is able to command the best market prices. He is a genial and kind-hearted man, interested in all that has to do with his town and county, and adding his earnest support to charities and en- terprises of a worthy nature. Quiet and unos- tentatious, he has no political ambitions, although he supports the Republican party with his vote.

CAPT. WILLIAM C. HARRIS. While, measured by years, Captain Harris has not been a resident of Oregon for an extended period, yet it has been sufficiently long for him to impress his personality upon his immediate locality. Es- pecially is he well known in the vicinity of Marshfield and Sumner, where, by reason of his boating interests and his extensive transactions as a dairyman, he is an important figure in local affairs. When he came to Coos county imme- diately after his arrival in Oregon, he brought with him the Ruth, in addition to which he owns the gasoline boats, Sumner, five tons, and Curlew, eight tons, eight-horse power, both ply- ing between Sumner and Marshfield.

In Grant county, Wis., William Calvert Har- ris was born January 30, 1850. Three years before this his father, William, who was a na- tive of Washington county, W. Va., had come from the east and established his home at Platte- ville, Wis., but when news came of the dis- covery of gold in California he was fired with an eagerness to try his luck in the mines of the west. In 1850 he crossed the plains with ox- teams. On arriving in Nevada City he turned his attention to mining, in which he met the tistal succession of good and ill fortune so often the miner's fate. Removing to Humboldt, Cal., in 1875, he gave his attention to farming, and continued to reside at the same place until his death, in 1887, at the age of seventy-seven years. Four sons and three daughters were born of his marriage to Tacy, daughter of Peter Saltz- man, who was born in Pennsylvania and in mid- alle life settled in Wisconsin. The family was founded in America by his father, a IIollander, who became an early settler of Pennsylvania. He was hired by the Hessians to fight against the American colonists, but deserted and took sides with the colonists.

When three years of age William Calvert Har- ris was brought across the plains by his mother

and an uncle, the party making the trip with ox- teams. In the common schools he gained the rudiments of his education, and the knowledge there obtained was later supplemented by habits of close observation, thoughtful reading and the intelligent use of his reasoning faculties. Prior to his settlement in Oregon he was associated with various interests, chief among which was the management of a hotel and a store at Har- ris, Humboldt county, Cal. This place was start- ed by Mr. Harris and it bears his name at this time. About 1893 he took up the boating busi- ness on Humboldt hay, becoming at that time the owner of the gasoline boat which he brought to Oregon. His boating interests in Coos county, though important, do not represent the limit of his activities, for we find him busily engaged in the management of a large dairy business, with twenty-eight head of cows. Butter and cheese of the finest grades are made here; in fact, his cheese, when exhibited at the state fair in Salem in 1901-02, easily won a premium, and his success in this industry has led him to take up the business on a larger scale than at first planned.

The marriage of Captain Harris was solem- nized in Humboldt county, Cal., and united him with Amelia Fawcett, a native of that state. They are the parents of six children, all of whom are at home, viz. : Clarence, Lizzie, Gilbert, Myr- tle, Ruth and Wilda. Politics has never filled a large place in the captain's life. In his views he is independent, favoring the men and measures he deems best adapted to promote the welfare of the people. Aside from his membership in the Fraternal Union, he has no affiliations with se- cret societies. In his home town of Marshfield he holds a position among the leading citizens and progressive business men, and contributes as his means will allow for public matters.

J. FRED PEEBLER. Having rendered ex- cellent service to the Southern Pacific Railway Company as brakeman and fireman for a number of years, J. F. Peebler now holds the important position of engineer, his run being between Rose- burg and Junction City. A skilled mechanic, thoroughly acquainted with the trade of a loco- motive engineer, he is admirably fitted for the work in which he is employed. He is painstak- ing, clear-headed, quick of perception, and has proved himself trustworthy not only in his every- day work, but in such emergencies as are liable to occur at any time and on any road. One of Oregon's native-born sons, his birth occurred June 27, 1867, near Lebanon, Linn county. He comes of substantial pioneer ancestry, his father, William Peebler, and his grandfather, David

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Peebler, having been among the earlier settlers of this section of the state.

Born and reared in Hardin county, Ky., David Peebler followed the march of civilization west- ward, removing first to Sangamon county, Ill., then to Jefferson county, Iowa. With his fam- ily, in 1853, he crossed the plains with ox teams, coming direct to Oregon. He located first in the Waldo Hills, Marion county, and in 1867 he purchased land in Linn county, near Lebanon, and was engaged in agricultural pursuits until his retirement from business cares. He died in Lebanon at the venerable age of ninety-seven years, two months and three days. He married Susan Imbler, by whom he had twelve children.

When a young man William Peebler came with his parents to Oregon, and lived at first in the Waldo Hills, afterwards removing to Mar- ion. After his marriage he settled in Harris- burg, Linn county, and for a number of years was engaged in freighting between that place and Portland. Eventually he bought land about two miles from Lebanon and improved a good homestead, on which he resided until his death, in 1890, at the early age of fifty-seven years. The maiden name of his wife was Susan Smith. She was born in Ohio, brought up in Iowa, came to Marion county, Ore., with her father, Elijah Smith, in 1852, and died in Portland, Ore., in 1898. Of the eleven children born of their union, ten grew to years of maturity, namely : Mrs. Margaret Taylor, of Portland; Thomas C., a merchant in Linn county ; George D., a con- ductor on the Southern Pacific Railway; Mrs. Edith A. Kearns, of Marion county ; J. F., the subject of this sketch; Mary E., of Portland; Nora M., who died in Portland; F. T., a stock- man near Oregon City; C. L., of Portland, and R. R., a brakeman on the Southern Pacific Rail- way.

Brought up on the home farm, J. F. Peebler attended the public and high schools of Lebanon, acquiring a practical education. In 1888 he began his railroad career as a brakeman on the Leb- anon branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad, a position that he held until 1890. In June of that year he was made fireman on that branch and six months later was transferred to the main line, running between Portland and Junction City. Promoted to engineer in 1898, Mr. Peeb- ler has had charge of freight and passenger trains between Roseburg and Junction City and has been very fortunate in his present position, having met with no serious accident. Locating in Roseburg in 1897. he has since faithfully per- formed the duties devolving upon him as a man and citizen, winning the esteem and approbation of his fellow-citizens.

At Junction City, Ore., Mr. Peebler married Minnie Houston, who was born in Missouri,

near Chillicothe, a daughter of William Houston. Her paternal grandfather, James Houston, was born and brought up in Maryland. A few years after his marriage he migrated with his family to Missouri, settling there as a pioneer. In 1866 he started for the Pacific coast, and after spend- ing a short time in Colorado came to Oregon and located in Lane county. On retiring from active labor he moved to Junction City, where he spent his declining years, and died in 1897.

Born in Maryland, not far from Baltimore, William Houston removed with his parents to Missouri, where he was ordained as a minister of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Com- ing to Oregon in 1875, he settled at Junction City, where he did a great deal of mission work and assisted in the organizing and building of many churches in this section of the state. He also worked at his trade of a plasterer for many years. He was a man of genuine worth, much respected for his sterling integrity. He married Mary J. Taylor, who was born in Maryland, a daughter of Robert Taylor, who became a pio- neer farmer of Missouri, where he reared his family. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Hous- ton nine children were born, of whom we men- tion the following: Mrs. Caroline Goach, died in Lane county ; John died in Iowa; William L. is a real estate dealer in Eugene, Ore .; David L. is a conductor on the Southern Pacific Railway, with headquarters at Portland; C. P. is a grocer at Junction City; Elizabeth died in childhood ; Jennie died when young ; Robert, of Salem, Ore., is a freight agent on the Southern Pacific Rail- way, and Minnie is the wife of J. F. Peebler.

Politically Mr. Peebler is a stanch Republican. Fraternally he is a member of Laurel Lodge No. 13, A. F. & A. M., and is prominently identified with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, belonging to Division No. 476, of Roseburg, and with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, belonging to Division No. 542, of Roseburg. . Mrs. Peebler is a member of the Eastern Star.

ROBERT ROBERTSON. Among the able and skilled machinists connected with the South- ern Pacific Railroad no one occupies a position of greater responsibility than Robert Robertson, foreman of the roundhouse at Roseburg. A man of exceptionally fine character and good business ability, he has won deserved success by a thorough mastery of his trade, fidelity to his trusts, and by his honest dealings with all with whom he is brought in contact. Of undiluted Scotch blood, he was born in Kilbirnie, Ayrshire, Scotland. October 8, 1864. a son of James Rob- ertson. His grandfather Robertson was born and reared in the Scotch Highlands, but after-

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wards settled as a farmer in the Lowlands of Scotland.

A native of Forfarshire. Scotland, James Robertson learned the machinist's trade when young, and for many years was a locomotive en- gineer in Glengarnock, Scotland, being in the employ of the Glengarnock Steel anl Iron Com- pany. He died at the age of fifty-six years, in his native country. He married Catherine Mc- Arthur, who was born in the Highlands, and spent her entire life in Scotland. Of the eleven children born of their union, nine grew to years of maturity, and seven are living, Robert and his brother Duncan being the only ones to cross the broad Atlantic.

After acquiring a practical education in the national schools of Kilbirnie, Robert Robertson began learning the trade of a machinist with the Glengarnock Steel and Iron Company, serving as an apprentice from the age of sixteen years until attaining his majority. He afterwards worked for the same company for a year, ac- cumulating a little money. Like so many of his thrifty and enterprising countrymen, he looked to America as the field of promise, and accordingly, in 1886, he sailed from his old home with all the courage and earnestness of purpose needful for a young man about to enter upon a new life in a new country. Arriving at Hamil- ton, Ont., he secured a position with the Grand Trunk Railway Company as machinist, and re- mained in that city until 1888, when the shops were removed to Stratford, whither he also went, continuing in the company's employ three months longer. In May, 1889, Mr. Robertson came to Portland, Ore., and at once entered the employ of the Southern Pacific Railway Company, the ensuing two years being a machinist at the shops on the west side of the city. The following two years he worked in the Jefferson street shops of the narrow gauge road, and was subsequently employed in the car shops on the east side of the city for four months. In December, 1895, he was transferred to the shops at Roseburg, and remained here as machinist until 1900, when he went back to East Portland as foreman of a gang of workmen, a position that he retained a year. Returning to Roseburg in 1901, Mr. Robertson has since been foreman of the roundhouse, a po- sition of great responsibility. He has entire supervision of all the shops, employes, engineers, firemen, etc., of this section, the division under his charge being particularly active, handling

about twenty-four engines in as many hours. It is needless to say that he performs all the duties (evolving upon him with conscientious faithful- ness and ability, being devoted to the interests of his employers and of the employes of the road. On the corner of Mosier and Ford streets he has erected a most pleasant and comfortable resi-

dence, where he and his wife delight to entertain their many friends.

In Portland, Ore., in 1890, Mr. Robertson married Maggie McArthur, who. was born and reared in Kilbirnie, Ayrshire, Scotland, and into their home four children have been born, name- ly : James, Lillian R., Alexander W. and Rob- ert. Fraternally Mr. Robertson was made an Odd Fellow in Canada, and is now a member, and past noble grand, of Philitarian Lodge No. 8, at Roseburg; is a member, and past chief patriarch, of the Roseburg Encampment ; is now marshal of the Grand Encampment of Oregon ; and belongs to the Knights of the Maccabees. Religiously he is a Presbyterian.

HON. JOHN W. COWLS. The name of Hon. John W. Cowls is inseparably associated with the early educational, judicial, mercantile and financial development of Yamhill county, and his death, November 24, 1896, removed from accustomed haunts and innumerable friends a noble, versatile and well-adjusted personality. During very early colonial days his emigrating ancestors settled in Massachusetts, where was born his paternal grandfather, Adonijah, one of the stanch supporters of colonial independence during the Revolutionary war. This patriotic sire removed in later life to New York state, where his son, Cyrus, the father of John W., was born. The latter married Rachel White, a native of New York, and whose people were also early settlers in Massachusetts, and devoted members of the Methodist Church. As far back as au- thentic records go, the male members of the Cowls family have been fraternally associated with the Masons.

A native of Onondaga county, N. Y., Hon. John W. Cowls was born November 3, 1823, and was educated at the De Reuter Institute and the Pompey Hill Academy. The knowledge thus gained was applied to educational work, in which he engaged in his native state, and in connection with farming, after his removal to Ohio, in 1840. From Wisconsin, which was his home for five years, Mr. Cowls crossed the plains to California in 1852, and though he was moderately success- ful in prospecting and mining in the vicinity of Placerville, failing health interfered with his cherished plans, and compelled his removal to the more bracing climate of Oregon. At no time of large proportions, his available assets were soon diminished to $2.50, and in order to replen- ish his depleted finances he earnestly sought em- ployment as a teacher. In passing, one day, he encountered Zebedee Sheldon in his yard, who, reckoning before consulting his wife, arranged

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very favorable terms with the disconsolate scholar for the education of his six children. The bottom falling out of this arrangement, Mr. Cowls offered to teach the children a few days for his room and board, and so favorably im- pressed the parents with his worth, that his serv- ices were retained for some time. Two of the boys thus instructed developed into physicians, one locating in Salem and the other in Eugene City. After three months in the Sheldon home, Mr. Cowls secured a school two and a half miles from the present site of McMinnville, and at that time but few and widely separated settlers inhab- ited the region, the children for the most part arriving for their tuition on horseback, and in their general lives experiencing deprivations un- thought of by the searchers after knowledge of to-day.

This particular school was recalled by Mr. Cowls as the center from which radiated his later success, for he was thus thrown into intercourse with the older members of the community, who quickly arrived at an appreciation of his abilities. Though still continuing to teach, he was able also to fulfill his duties as county auditor, an office to which he was elected after the first meet- ing of the Republicans in Oregon in 1857. When the state constitution was adopted, he was elected county clerk, and afterward served for eight years as county judge, during the latter office engaging also in farming three miles northwest of McMinnville. His special fitness for official responsibility being fully demonstrated, Mr. Cowls was nominated and elected to the state senate, and during the session admirably main- tained the best interests of those who had worked in his behalf. Beginning with 1864, Mr. Cowls operated a mercantile establishment in McMinn- ville, in partnership with James R. Bean, but after a year and a half, returned to his farm, ostensibly to remain for the rest of his life. How- ever, his ambition to accomplish largely had by no means diminished, for in 1888 he established the McMinnville National Bank, of which insti- tution he was the honored and capable president for the balance of his life. The impress of his sterling integrity pervaded this developing enter- prise, and invested it with a substantiality not exceeded by any of its kind in the county. Be- sides owning the building in which the bank is housed, Mr. Cowls otherwise contributed to the structural development of McMinnville, and after erecting the first residence, in 1865, when few people had as yet identified their lot with the embryo town, built several residences and public buildings.

The first wife of Mr. Cowls was formerly Mrs. Lucretia Martin, and of this union there was horn a daughter, Mary, who died at the age of two and a half years. The present Mrs. Cowls

was formerly the wife of James F. Bewley, and she was, before her first marriage, Lucy E. Graves.

DR. PLATT A. DAVIS. On the 7th day of April, 1902, the citizenship of Marion county was deprived, by the hand of death, of the ser- vices of one of the most widely known, highly honored and beloved pioneer physicians of Ore- gon, Dr. Platt A. Davis. For half a century he had gone up and down the valley of the Willam- ette, crossing the prairie and climbing the hills in his daily rounds, and probably no other phy- sician in the valley was personally and intimately known by so large a number of the earlier in- habitants. Dr. Davis was born near Randolph, Ohio, September 11, 1825. He was educated for his professional career in Philadelphia, Pa. In 1852, at the age of twenty-seven years, he crossed the plains for Oregon. Locating at Silverton, Marion county, he at once opened an office for practice, and the remainder of his life was de- voted to his professional labors in and about Silverton. For many years the number of prac- titioners in the Willamette valley was small, and Dr. Davis was frequently compelled to make long and wearisome journeys over the mountainous country to the eastward of Silverton, as well as through all other sections of Marion county. Frequently his services were demanded in ad- joining counties, for within a few years after his location in Silverton his skill in medicine brought to him a fame that was not confined to his local field of practice. His work frequently was so laborious that a man possessed of lesser powers of endurance would have broken down under the strain.

In recognition of his eminent success as a practitioner Willamette University accorded him an honorary degree in 1871. At the time of his death he was probably the oldest physician in Oregon, and undoubtedly one of the most pro- foundly respected and beloved men who ever lived in the valley.

Dr. Davis was worthy of more than passing mention in the memoirs of the representative citi- zens of Oregon. He was possessed of charac- teristics which commanded attention wherever he was known. He had an unusually alert mind, was a great student, and extremely well-informed on all subjects which appeal to an analytical and inquiring intelligence. There was nothing small or narrow in his intellectual make-up. He was an entertaining and edifying conversation- alist, was broad and liberal in his views of affairs in general, and in his practice availed himself of many opportunities such as are sought by the humanitarian and public benefactor. His benefi-

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cences were numerous, though in doing good he was always absolutely free from ostentation. Throughout his entire career he exhibited a keen interest in the welfare of the community in which he made his home, and no taint or blemish ever marred the beauty and splendor of his life. Men like him are rare, and the life he led at all times will cause his name to be perpetuated as that of one of the noblest and most high-minded citi- zens of the Willamette valley.

Before coming to Oregon, Dr. Davis was en- gaged in practice for a few years in Iowa. He was married in Millersburg, Ill., in 1849, to Sopha Wolf, whose death occurred in 1864. Their children were: Dr. La Fayette L. Davis. of Lamborn, Kans .; Charles C. Davis, of Spo- kane, Wash .; Winfield S. Davis, deceased; Dr. Edward V. Davis, deceased; Dr. William Henry Davis, of Albany, Ore .; Mrs. Viola Davis Brown. of Walla Walla, Wash .; and Dr. S. T. Davis, Chicago, Ill. June 29, 1865, Dr. Davis was united in marriage with Susan Moore, who sur- vives him, and resides in Silverton. They be- came the parents of two daughters, Nellie, de- ceased; and Dr. Jessie (Davis) Brooks.

WILLIAM H. PENINGER. A large num- ber of the men now prominent in the development of the resources of Oregon are native-born sons of the state, and such a distinction belongs to Mr. Peninger, who was born February 13, 1856, in the county of Jackson, where he still makes his home. He is a member of an honored pioneer family. His father, John Peninger, was born in Hampshire county, Va., the son of a family of farmers early established in the Old Domin- ion. In his native county, in 1836, he married Mary Smith, who was born there January 7, 1816. Six years after marriage they removed to Iowa and settled on a raw tract of land, the development of which engaged their attention for some years. During 1852 they started across the plains with ox teams. It was a time of peril. Whole trains of cmigrants had been murdered by the Modoc Indians in that year. Pioneers truly carried their lives in their hands in at- tempting the long and toilsome journey across plains and deserts. Yet they escaped with no further trouble than the theft of some horses by the savages. However, the journey was marked by a great sorrow in the death of one of their little children.

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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 77

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