Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present.., Part 79

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 79

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BEMAN B. BROCKWAY. The develop- ment and growth of Douglas county has been ably assisted by the energetic labor and enter- prise of its prosperous agriculturists, many of whom came here as pioneers, and have cleared and improved valuable and productive farms. Prominent among this number is Beman B. Brockway, an extensive and successful farmer and one of the most respected citizens of the town of Brockway, which was named in his honor by the Post Office department. A native of Chautauqua county, N. Y., he was born February 12, 1829. His parents, Horace and Eliza (Morse) Brockway, were both life-long residents of New York state, where their four children were reared and educated. The father was a man of some prominence, and was actively engaged in mercantile pursuits during his active life.

Growing to manhood in his native county, Beman B. Brockway attended the district schools and Westfield Academy, receiving a practical education. When twenty-three years of age, he determined to test the truth of the wondrous stories that had traveled across the continent in regard to the golden wealth of California. Ac- cordingly, in 1852, accompanied by his brother, Burban Brockway, he crossed the plains with ox-teams, being six months on the journey. The company to which he was attached had some trouble on the way, the Indians stealing a part of the loose stock. Mr. Brockway and his brother kept together, spending the first winter at Humboldt creek, Cal. The next eight years they were employed in mining in- Josephine county, Ore., being fairly successful. Locating in Douglas county in 1858, they invested their savings in land, buying six hundred and ten acres, lying eight miles south of Roseburg. The brother, Burban Brockway, of whom a brief personal sketch will be found elsewhere in this volume, attended to the farming and stock-rais- ing for the next two years, while B. B. Brock- way continued his mining operations in Joseph- ine county. Prior to this time, however, he had served three months in the Rogue River Indian war, enlisting in the company commanded by

Captain Buoy, and later commanded by Captain P. C. Nolan, and taking part in the battle of the Meadows.

Joining his brother on their farm in 1860, Mr. Brockway and he made many improvements of value on their ranch, and carried on an ex- tensive business until 1879, when they divided the property. Since that time Mr. Brockway has managed his three hundred and twenty-five acres of land most successfully, devoting his time and attention to general farming and stock- raising. Intelligent, capable and enterprising, he has been one of the foremost in promoting the highest interests of the town and county, and as a man of integrity and honor he has ever been held in deep respect by the community in which he resides. In 1870 Mr. Brockway mar- ried Mrs. Margaret A. Rice, who was born in Ohio, and died on the home farm in Douglas county, Ore., in 1881, leaving no children. Mr. Brockway married for his second wife, Mary F. Drew, a native of Iowa, and they have three children, namely: Edith E., Charles B. and Mary M. Mr. Brockway is without doubt the oldest Republican of Douglas county, and during his career has been very active in politics. For two years he served as county commissioner, and served one term as a representative to the state legislature in the session of 1880.

MITCHELL BROTHERS. The firm of Mitchell Brothers, composed of Horace T. and Henry E. Mitchell, is among the newer acquisi- tions to the business contingent of Ashland. As proprietors of the Depot stables they are catering to the pleasure-seeking public. In May, 1901, they constructed their new barn on Fourth street, 75x100 feet, with ample facilities for the accom- modation of forty-five horses and the storing of two hundred tons of hay. Their barn is equipped in the most modern style, with all kinds of car- riages and vehicles that are needed by the man of business and the seeker after pleasure and recrea- tion.

The ancestors of the Mitchells are noted for longevity, the grandparents on both sides of the family having attained the age of eighty-six years. Samuel Mitchell, the grandfather, was born in Paris, Ky. He moved from his native state and settled in the vicinity of Quincy, Ill., later 1110V- ing to Platt county, Mo., and spent the last days of his life at the home of his son George W. in Leavenworth county, Kans. He married in early manhood Mrs. Eliza Foster Stone, a native of Virginia.

George W. Mitchell, the father of the Mitchell brothers, was born near Quincy, Ill., May 4, 1838, and was reared mostly in Platt county, Mo. In 1859 he moved to Kansas, settling on a farm in

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Kickapoo township, Leavenworth county. In 1884 he moved with his family to Wallowa coun- ty, Ore., where he engaged in the stock business until his removal to Ashland in 1901. In De- cember, 1860, he was united in marriage with Miss Melissa Keyes, a native of Ohio and the daughter of Horace and Sarah (Reader) Keyes. Horace Keyes was born in Waldo county, Me., in 1809, and when eight years of age he was taken by his parents, Jotham and Mary (Everett) Keyes, to Marietta, Ohio. They remained in that state until 1843. when they moved further west, settling in Iowa, where the parents both died. In 1858 Horace Keyes moved to Kansas, where he followed farming until his death, which occurred in Atchison in 1895. Unto George W. and Melissa (Keyes) Mitchell were born four children : Sallie E., who died at the age of two years; Horace T .; Henry E .; and Mary H., the wife of T. C. Bunnell, of Wallowa county, Ore.

Horace T. Mitchell was born in Kickapoo township, Leavenworth county, Kans., June 7, 1863. He was reared upon his father's farm, at- tending the district schools, and gaining a clear insight into the realm of books by close applica- tion thereto. In 1884 he accompanied his parents to Wallowa county, Ore., and remained under the parental roof tree until his twenty-third year. At this age in his career he accepted a position with John Ladd as driver of the stage coach be- tween La Grande and Joseph, a distance of eighty miles. He retained this position for four years, during which time the stage lines had passed into different hands several times. In 1890 he en- gaged in farming on one hundred and sixty acres of land in Wallowa county, and subsequently was engaged in the mercantile business for about eighteen months, at Lostine, Ore. In 1901 he disposed of his interests in eastern Oregon and came to Ashland, and forming a partnership with his brother Henry E., at once began the erection of their livery barn.

November 19, 1890, at Lostinc, Ore., Horace T. Mitchell was united in marriage with Flora Poley, a native of Illinois, and the daughter of Benjamin and Nancy (Groves) Poley, who set- tled in Oregon in 1889. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell are the parents of three children, named as fol- lows : Jennie V., Hattic P. and Delbert K. The family attend the Christian Church, in which Mr. Mitchell serves as deacon. In politics he en- dorses the principles of the Republican party, and is a member of the Ashland Board of Trade.

llenry E. Mitchell, the junior member of the firm, was born in Kickapoo township, Leaven- worth county, Kans .. September 4, 1865. Hc ac- companied his parents to Wallowa county, Ore., in 1884. and there engaged in farming until 1899, in which year he opened a livery business at Lostine, Ore. In 1901 he sold out his business

there and joined his brother, Horace T., thus forming the firm of Mitchell Brothers. Like his brother, he votes the Republican ticket, and takes a keen interest in the welfare of his party.

JOHN H. SMART. Prominent among the industries which residents of Oregon have prose- cuted with a fair degree of profit, mention be- longs to the sheep business, and perhaps few men are more closely connected with this occupation than John H. Smart, of Fort Klamath, a pioneer of the state and one of the most honored citizens of Klamath county. A native of Missouri, Mr. Smart was born on a farm near Independence, the county seat of Jackson county, the date of his birth being April 21, 1836. The family of which he was a member consisted of four daughters and seven sons, he being the sixth in order of birth. Only two of the number are now living, John H. and D. O., the latter a real-estate man in Kansas City, Mo. Their father, Judge James Smart, was born in Kentucky and there grew to man- hood and married Elizabeth Hughes, likewise a native of the Blue Grass state. About 1832 they removed to Missouri and settled in Jackson county, where he engaged in farm pursuits and also officiated as county judge, having been elect- ed to that position on the Democratic ticket. About 1846 his wife died at their Missouri home, when about forty years of age. At the time of his death, in 1860, he had reached the age of sixty-five.

The advantages enjoyed by John H. Smart in boyhood were limited. Like all boys in frontier localities he was obliged to work early and late, assisting in clearing land and building up a home for the family. When twenty years of age he started out in the world for himself and since then has earned his own livelihood. At that time the Pacific coast region was attracting thousands of brave and rugged young men, and he was one of those whose face Destiny turned toward the setting sun. May 10, 1857, he started on the long journey, with oxen for motive power, and on the Ist of November, of the same year, he ar- rived in California. His first location was in Contra Costa county, where he took up farm pur- suits In 1869 he removed from there to Jack- son county, Ore .. and settled on a farm ncar Jacksonville. Not long afterwards he began to be interested in the raising of sheep, which in- (lustry he has since successfully conducted.

Klamath county, where he now resides, became the home of Mr. Smart as carly as 1878. On a ranch owned by D. A. Stearns he fed and pas- tured the sheep that he had brought with him from Jackson county. In the spring of 1879 he moved the sheep near his present location and engaged in farm work on a place four miles east

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

of Klamath Falls, where during much of the sub- sequent period he has conducted general ranch- ing. In 1895 he removed to his present place, in the vicinity of Fort Klamath, where he owns and operates one hundred and sixty acres. In partnership with H. B. Loosely he has thirty-two hundred head of sheep, of which eleven hundred belong to him. The sheep are raised for mutton and have proved profitable, giving fair profits in return for the labor and care expended upon them. Ever since coming to Klamath county he has devoted himself exclusively to the sheep bus- iness, with the exception of six years when he filled the office of county assessor. To this posi- tion he had been elected on the Democratic party, he being a pronounced adherent of this party.

The family of Mr. Smart consists of his wife, formerly Mary Brannan, and an only daughter, Etta. His wife's father, John Loosely, was a na- tive of Oxfordshire, England, on the river Thames, and at an early age came to the United States, crossing the plains to Oregon in 1852. His original location was in Yamhill county, and from there in 1871 he came to Klamath county, whose population at that time was exceedingly small. His object in coming here was to build and conduct a gristmill at Indian agency, and this plant he established upon a firm basis, after which he gave his attention to the raising of stock on a farm near Fort Klamath. At this writing he is an extensive and successful sheep- raiser, in which industry he owns interests repre- senting a considerable moneyed value.

CHARLES BARTON CROSNO. In local and national affairs the name of Charles Barton Crosno, of Toledo, stands pre-eminent, his in- fluence having been felt in the establishment of many beneficial enterprises in both Lincoln and Benton counties, whose interests were so nearly identical until their separation. He has served in various offices of trust and responsibility, ac- cepting the positions, not because he aspired to public honors, but that he might be of service to his town, county and state, and in each and every office he has proved himself worthy of the confidence and respect of his fellow-men. As · councilman, mayor, representative and senator he performed his duties with commendable zeal, and as collector of customs at Yaquina he is equally faithful and painstaking. A son of Reuben S. Crosno, he was born March 4, 1845, at Elk Prairie, Jefferson county, Il1.

Born and reared in Wilson county, Tenn., Reuben S. Crosno removed to Illinois in 1820, becoming a pioneer of Jefferson county. Taking up one hundred and sixty acres of land at Elk Prairie, he improved a good farm, on which he resided until his death, at the age of sixty-eight

years. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Early in life he was a Whig, but during his later years was identified with the Democratic party. He married Mary Wells, who was born in North Carolina, which was also the birthplace of her father, William P. Wells, who removed with his family to Alabama, going from there to Illinois in 1818, and there spending his remaining years as a farmer. Eight sons and one daughter were born to their union, and of these four sons lived to years of maturity, Charles Barton, the seventh child in order of birth, being the youngest survivor of the parental household.

Receiving his rudimentary education in the common schools of his native town, Charles Bar- ton Crosno remained at home until after attain- ing his majority. Leaving Illinois on April 4, 1865, he crossed the plains with ox-teams, com- ing by the Platte river route, to Vancouver, Wash., where he arrived October 6, of that year. Coming to Benton county, Ore., which then in- cluded Lincoln county, he was a student at Phil- omath College from 1868 until 1872, leaving but three months prior to his time of graduation. He subsequently taught school in Benton county, first in Bellfountain and then in King's Valley. In 1873 he attended the Portland Business Col- lege, taking the full business course, and a course in telegraphy. Locating in King's Valley in the fall of 1873, Mr. Crosno there carried on a gen- eral store for eight years, under the firm style of Connor & Crosno. Selling out in 1881, he was engaged in farming until 1883, when he was ap- pointed clerk of the Siletz Indian Reservation, a position that he held until 1887. Coming to To- ledo in April, 1887, he was engaged in mercantile business for about eighteen months.

Elected to the state legislature in June, 1888, Mr. Crosno served as a member of the house in the session of 1889, and the following year, which was prior to the division of the county, he was elected state senator from Benton county, and served one term, or two sessions of the senate. While there he introduced the bill creating Lin- coln county, and with the assistance of Messrs. Jones and Bensell had the bill passed. Ever interested in the educational progress of the coun- ty and state, he introduced two bills in 1891 and 1893, securing appropriations for the Oregon State Agricultural College, at Corvallis. In both sessions, he introduced and championed road bills, good public highways being one of his pet hobbies, and educational bills. He was a ment- ber of various committees, and served as chair- man of the committee on counties, and of the committee on education. From 1895 until 1897 Mr. Crosno was sergeant-at-arms in the state senate. He has also been very prominent in municipal affairs, having had the distinction of serving as the first mayor of the city of Toledo.

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

He was for two terms councilman, and for fif- teen consecutive years has been school director, being re-elected to the office six times. On Oc- tober 7, 1898, he was appointed collector of cus- toms at Yaquina, Ore., and has since filled the position with ability and fidelity.

In Philomath, Ore., December 14, 1873, Mr. Crosno married Charlotte King, a native of that city. Her father, David King, who was born and reared in New Jersey, crossed the plains with the customary ox-team train in 1852, settling in Benton county, Ore., near Philomath. He after- wards removed to Corvallis, where he resided tin- til his death, at the age of seventy years. He was a man of very fine character, honest and up- right in all his dealings, very active in the Re- publican ranks, and for one term was county commissioner. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Crosno five children have been born, namely : Aden B., of Toledo; Effie, wife of Dr. S. S. Thayer, of Toledo; C. K., who, with his father, is engaged in the real estate business in Toledo, and is also runnning a launch on the bay; Ger- tie, deceased; and Tillie. Politically Mr. Crosno is a Republican, and fraternally he is a member of Toledo Lodge, I. O. O. F. In addition to his. real estate business in this city, he is also identi- fied with the Lincoln Abstract Company.

GEORGE WILD. A man of superior me- chanical talent and ability, George Wild is in- timately associated with the industrial progress of Ashland as superintendent of the machinery de- partment of the Ashland Iron Works, in which he is financially interested. By birth a foreigner, he spent his early life in his native land, and since coming to this country he has resided in different cities and states, having had a wide and varied experience, but always being engaged in mechan- ical pursuits of some kind. A native of Switzer- land, he was born September 24, 1859, in the can- ton of Zurich, which was also the birthplace of his parents, George, Sr., and Julia Wild.

The only child of his parents, George Wild spent the earlier years of his life in Switzerland, which is noted the world over for its lofty moun- tains, beautiful lakes, and magnificent and roman- tic valleys. Completing his school studies at the age of fourteen years, he afterwards served an apprenticeship of six years at the machinist's trade in a large shop at Winterthur, at the same time attending a school for mechanics. Acquir- ing proficiency in his trade, he came to America in the spring of 1879, and the following year worked in the mills of the Jolict Steel Company, at Joliet, Ill., as a machinist. Going then to Chi- cago, he remained there three years, being em- ployed in a machine shop. Coming to Oregon in 1883, Mr. Wild located in Portland, where he

was employed for five years in the car shops be- longing to the old Oregon and California Rail- way Company. When this company was merged into the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, in 1888, he continued with the new organization, in the same capacity, and in the same shops, for four years, when he was made foreman of a gang. For a time he subsequently had charge of the round house at Roseburg. Being offered a position as general foreman of the car sheds at Portland, he accepted it, and served most efficient- ly until February, 1901, when he was promoted to the office of assistant master mechanic at Dunsmuir, Cal. Resigning this position in June, 1902, Mr. Wild settled in Ashland, buying an interest in the Ashland Iron Works, and becom- ing superintendent of its machinery department, and secretary of the company. At these works, which were organized with a capital of $20,000, machinery of all kinds is manufactured, including casting machinery, saw-mill and mining machin- ery. This company is also the sole manufac- turer of the famous Redfield Pneumatic Engine and Frame, a portable saw for cutting logs in the woods. The engine is simple in design, weighs only sixty-five pounds, and is composed almost entirely of brass and steel tubing, its construc- tion and adjustment being of such a simple na- ture that any man or boy can learn all about its management in a very short space of time. It is especially adapted for operating the saws used in cutting logs for different purposes, either for shingles, fuel for locomotives, or for heavy tim- bers, one man, with a machine of this kind doing the work much more rapidly, and with much less expense, than heretofore. By the use of seventy- five pounds of compressed air, which can be ob- tained by using a steam, belt, gasoline or motor driven compressor, a two and one quarter horse power can be developed, and with a higher pres- sure a corresponding increase in power can be obtained.

While a resident of Portland, Ore., Mr. Wild married Miss Nell Beswick, a native of England, and they have one child, Mabel Wild. Politically Mr. Wild is a stanch Republican, and fraternally he belongs to the Knights of Pythias, and to the Woodmen of the World. In 1882 he made a trip to Europe, revisiting the scenes of his childhood, and took great pleasure in renewing acquaintance with his old friends and relatives.

A. W. FREEBERG. Ashland has its pioneer meat merchants with established reputations for fair dealing, but none who better understand their business, or are more in touch with latter- day demands than A. W. Freeberg, who, with his partner, J. C. Mitchell, has conducted the af- fairs of the Ashland Meat Company since 1901.

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

The fact that the present owners of the market are new comers by no means limits their chances for success, or renders their concern less a factor of municipal development. Mr. Freeberg is just such a man as the pioneer element is looking to to carry on the work begun by themselves, and he is possessed of the public spiritedness, de- termination, force of character and sound busi- ness judgment, to enable him to more than realize popular expectations.

A native of St. Louis, Mo., Mr. Freeberg was born April 27, 1873, his father, W. A., being a native of the same town, and born March 15, 1856. His grandfather, Philip William Freeberg, was born in Germany, and spent his youth on the ancestral estate overlooking the historic Rhine. He came to America in 1832, settling first at what is now Shelbyville, Ill., and in 1848 removing to St. Louis, Mo. He was a cabinet maker by trade, but in the southern town engaged in the jewelry business from 1859 to 1870. During the troublesome times leading up to the Civil war he was a member of the home guard, and helped to save the state against the machinations of Governor Jackson. His death occurred in 1897. He married Virginia Kinsel, who was born in France, and died in Missouri in 1896, a year before her husband. Captain Kinsel, the father of Mrs. Freeberg, was a well-known military man of his day, and was a captain in the Napoleonic war of 1812-15.

The only child born to his parents, W. A. Freeberg was educated in the public schools of St. Louis, and after learning the jewelry busi- ness from his father continued to work at the same in St. Louis until 1877. He then became somewhat of a wanderer, his ambition leading him to Denver, where, accompanied by a couple of companions, he walked from the Colorado city to Camp Oro, on the California gulch, where later sprang into existence the mining town known as Leadville, distinguished in the annals of border life as the most ribald, picturesque, and interesting of mining centers. The travel- ers, who were pioneers of the district, arrived just after the discovery of the Little Pittsburg mine by Richie and Hood in December, 1877, and the excitement was intense, people flocking there in droves from all directions. . Mr. Free- berg invested in some paying claims near Lead- ville, and with his little hoard started for the mines at Silver Cliff in 1880. This venture proved less remunerative however, and he lost heavily, a fact which induced him to return to legitimate business life in Denver. For a few months he worked at his trade, soon after re- turning to St. Louis, which in the meantime had lost its interest for one accustomed to the wild free life of the plains, and to the inspiration of towering mountains. Again locating in Den-

ver, he engaged in a jewelry business of his own, and in 1893 removed to Los Angeles, Cal., where he started an establishment at No. 406 Spring street. In 1896 he took a trip to Walla Walla, Wash., and from there went overland to the Yosemite valley, spending a month in view- ing the wonder of nature as shown nowhere else to the same kind and extent. A week at Lake Tahoe completed his journeyings for that time, and he afterward located in Walla Walla and engaged in a jewelry business from 1897 until 1902. Owing to ill health he disposed of his enterprise and traveled through California during 1902, locating then in Ashland, where he has since been engaged in a jewelry business. He is interested in mines in different parts of the west, principally on Elliott creek, in Siskiyou county. Mr. Freeberg is a Republican in poli- tics, and is fraternally connected with the Masons, coming to the Walla Walla Lodge from the lodge at Tonganoxie, Kans. He is also identified with the Knights of Pythias and the Eastern Star. Through his marriage in St. Louis, June 3, 1869, to L. C. Seiverden, four children have been born into his family, of whom Alfred W., the meat merchant of Ashland, is the oldest. Nellie is the wife of Mr. Solomon of Spokane Falls, Wash., and William and Irma are living at home.

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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 79

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