Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present.., Part 81

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 81

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wagons with two mules to each, and two barrels of liquor in each wagon, the journey being made by water and land, as was the custom in those days. The liquor was so welcome to the Indians that Mr. Matthieu was able to trade one gallon of it for as many as fifteen buffalo skins, such bartering meaning great profit to the company for which he was working. While there, he learned the Indian language. After one season he returned with his furs to St. Louis, where he engaged with Joe Rubedow, a fur trader, at that time located above Fort Benton, in the Black Hill country, where he remained until the spring of 1842. In that year, at Fort Laramie, he joined the first emigrant train bound for the great west. This train consisted of fifty or sixty wagons, and one hundred and fifty people, sixty-one of whom were men, under the command of Hastings and Lovejoy. At Fort Hall the emigrants were com- pelled to abandon their wagons and walk the bal- ance of the way, driving their oxen. There Mr. Matthieu and six others left the train and joined the Hudson Bay Company, going on to Wal- lula, Wash., from which settlement they fol- lowed the Indian trail to Mount Hood and The Dalles, and on pack animals from there to Oregon City.

The morning after his arrival in this part of Oregon Mr. Matthieu started for the Willamette valley, where the Hudson Bay Company had trappers. At that time there were about two hun- dred and fifty families scattered throughout the country, principally French Canadians, employed by the Hudson Bay Company, having come there at different times between the years 1824 and 1842. On reaching the valley Mr. Matthieu took up his abode with Etien Lucien, a Canadian by birth, who had settled here in 1811. One of the most striking conditions of the times when Mr. Matthien took up his residence in this sec- tion of the country was the absence of gold or silver for currency, a necessity being given in ex- change for provisions, labor or land. In 1843, Mr. Matthieu took up a claim of three hundred acres near Fairfield, but he never made his home in the location. In 1844 he bought a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres, paying $600 therefor, and upon which he now makes his home, having removed here in 1846. The farm is located one and one-half miles southwest of Au- rora, Marion county. He at once erected a hewed log house, in the same year building a house at Butteville, where he followed the carpenter's trade. Later he purchased some property in Au- rora and improved it, though he still made his home on the claim. In 1851 he started a general merchandise store in Butteville, in company with George La Rock and Mr. Du Puis. the three con- tinuing in partnership for twelve years, when Mr. Matthieu became sole owner and conducted

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the business until 1866. At that date he sold his stock and returned to his farm.

At variance with his steady business interests, Mr. Matthieu has branched out in other direc- tions, among his ventures being a trip to Califor- nia, in 1849, during the gold excitement. In partnership with another, he loaded fourteen pack horses with flour and other provisions, intending to dispose of their stock to the miners. The ven- ture was not a success, financially, as Mr. Mat- thieu lost $2,000, and after three months, much of which time he suffered from illness, he re- turned by water to Portland, Ore. A more pleas- ant diversion in his pioneer life was a trip back to Canada in 1858, where he enjoyed visiting the scenes of his childhood.

By the marriage of Mr. Matthieu, April 15, 1844, to Rosalie Aussant, who died February 12, 1901, aged seventy-four years, he has had fifteen children, named in order of birth as follows: Philomene, born April 20, 1845, now Mrs. Dwight Geer, of Wilbur, Wash .; Charles, born July 7, 1847, and living on the home farm ; Clara, Mrs. Ouimette, born August 16, 1849, and now a widow; Rose, born November 10, 1851, now the wife of Charles Bergevein, of Portland ; Pris- cilla Clotilda, born November 10, 1851, and died November 7, 1874; Arcino Laodice, born Janu- ary 4, 1857, and now the wife of A. Burton; Francis Xavier Edward born October 17, 1858, and died November 3, 1891 ; Henry Clovis, born November 9, 1860, and died February 19, 1862; Alfred Stephen, born November 14, 1862, a drug- gist in Portland; John Joseph Fabian, born Octo- ber 30, 1864, and living on the home farm; Ernest Theodore, born August 2, 1866, located in Salem; Francis L., born February 25, 1868; Robert Wilfred, born August 5, 1869, and was accidentally shot April 20, 1895, dying within an hour and ten minutes; Mary Louise, born July 25. 1871, now the wife of Samuel Howard, of Portland ; and Violet Adelaide, born April 21, 1873, and died September 12, 1896.

While making for himself a competency in the country of his adoption, Mr. Matthieu has not neglected to give his energies, mental, moral and physical, toward the upbuilding of the opportu- nities of the territory into a great and noble com- monwealth. His most earnest efforts have been devoted toward this end, since he first cast his vote for the provisional government, soon after which he was elected justice of the peace, being the first to hold that office in this community, an office which at that time included the duties of a circuit or probate judge. He discharged the duties of that position for four years. The only court on the coast, there was no appeal from his decision. He and Dr. Wilson served together. After the organized law Mr. Matthieu was one of the first county commissioners of Marion

county. In politics a stanch follower of Demo- cratic principles, Mr. Matthieu was very active in the organization of the Democratic party in Oregon, and served in 1874, and again in 1878, in the state legislature, ably representing the people who had honored him with their votes. He had previously given his time and attention to the laying out of roads, and the organization of schools, and many other public services too numerous to mention. During the Cayuse Indian war he was assistant quartermaster on French Prairie, and helped to raise a company, giving liberally of horses and provisions for the troops, thus proving his loyalty and courage. Among other noteworthy incidents in his life was the organization of the Pioneer Association, to which he contributed his efforts in company with Judge Grim, Eli Cooley and W. H. Reese, Mr. Matthieu being the only one of the four men now living. He was the first president of the society, serving for two years. A late honor in the life of Mr. Matthieu occurred when President Roosevelt vis- ited Salem, the place of honor beside the presi- dent on the platform being given to this ven- erable pioneer. Fraternally, Mr. Matthieu has been a Mason since 1856, being a member of Multnomah Lodge, of Oregon City. In June, 1901, the grand master's degree was conferred upon him by the state Grand Lodge, then in ses- sion at Portland. An evidence of the exceptional morality of Mr. Matthieu lies in the fact that though eighty-five years of age he can boast that never in his life has he used tobacco in any form, all other acts of his life corresponding to the high sense of honor that has placed him among the first citizens of Marion county.

MATTHEW SMALL. With southern blood his birthright and southern skies the first he ever looked upon, the father of Matthew Small was still a stanch Abolitionist, going even to the length of giving up his home and the pleasant associations of his young manhood to remove from the conditions that were so foreign to his inborn principles. Thomas Henderson Small was born in Wayne county, Ky., October 6, 1810, and was reared to the life of a farmer. In that state, December 22, 1831, he married Miss Elizabeth Burnett, who was born in Mer- cer county, Ky., July 14, 1806, and there they continued to make their home for some time. In 1832 they removed to Tennessee. Finding the social conditions there such as lie could not endorse, Mr. Small gathered up his worldly goods and with the proverbial ox-team started in September, 1852, on the journey over an un- settled continent. Whatever the remainder of their life was, one year of it was spent as was that of the Israelites of old, in wandering toward

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a land which they fondly hoped would prove the realization of their dreams. On the trip they had stopped in Gentry county, Mo., where they had remained through the winter, taking up the journey again with the breaking of the cold. They were providentially spared the depreda- tions of the Indians while on the way, reaching Oregon safely September 7, 1853, and coming direct to Marion county, where they settled in the Waldo Hills, about four and one-half miles south of Silverton and twelve miles east of Salem.

Having purchased the squatter's right to property in this locality, Mr. Small at once proved up on the claim, putting upon it all the im- provements that brought it from the wilderness to rank with the farms of this fertile county. His first wife having died on the old donation claim six miles south of Silverton, October 21, 1882. after a few years he married Mrs. Fannie E. Green, a native of Missouri, who was born Janu- ary 28, 1839, and died June 30, 1893. By his first marriage he had nine children, three of whom are living as follows : Henry, of California ; Matthew, of this review; and Rhea, living on the old' home place. Thomas H. Small died May 3, 1901, when over eighty-nine years of age, after a well-spent life, not the least of whose labors was his ministry in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, he having given about a third of his time to religious work. He was ordained to the ministry in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, in eastern Tennessce, about 1832. During the years of his residence in Oregon he performed onerous pastoral duties in various sections of the Willamette valley, and never sought pecuniary reward for his services. He was one of the best known men in the vicinity, and the general es- teem in which he was held has made his name one to he remembered.

Matthew Small was born October 25, 1836. in Sweetwater, Monroe county, Tenn., receiving his education through the medium of the dis- trict schools, principally in his native state. He journeyed to the west with his parents and remained with them until his marriage, which occurred in Oregon April 2, 1857, uniting him with Miss Mary J. McAlpin, a native of Indiana. Their first home was one mile north of the old home place, but in 1870 they removed to the location where they now live, about a half-mile south of Silverton, on the old mountain road. The house in which the family live was built in 1853. In his farming Mr. Small has always heen progressive, endeavoring to bring this in- dustry to a higher standard of excellence and to make it pleasant as well as profitahle. In addition to city property Mr. Small and his wife own nine hundred and fifty acres, upon which he is at present engaged in general farming and stock-raising. He is also interested in fine sheep

and goats, being the first man to introduce Angora goats into the Willamette valley. His first wife having died March 9, 1891, at the age of forty-nine years six months and four days, he married Margaret M. Moore, April 5, 1892. She is a native of Ottawa, LaSalle county, Ill., and a daughter of William Craig and Margaret Jane (Wauchope) Moore, born respectively in Pennsylvania and Ireland. They died in LaSalle county, 111. By his first union Mr. Small had five children, only three of whom are living: Olivia, wife of Capt. David Craig, of Macleay, Ore .; Isham B., of Oswego, Ore .; and Narvesta, wife of James G. Smith, of Silverton. The children by his second marriage are Hugh Talmage and John Quincy. Politically Mr. Small is a supporter of the Prohibition party, and finds, his religious home in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

In closing this brief sketch of the life of Mr. Small, it is but just to add that, throughout his entire career, he has been highly esteemed by his fellowmen. The admirable traits in his charac- ter-his probity, his generosity toward others, his fine religious qualities, his public spirit, and the broad view he takes of affairs in general- all contribute to render him one of the most worthy citizens of the Willamette valley. Not only his family, but his many friends and ac- quaintances, view his record with feelings of justifiable pride; and when the time comes that he shall be called from the scene of his earthly labors, his good works will stand perpetually as a monument to the graciousness, honor and unselfishness which have characterized his entire career.

HON. BENJAMIN F. BONHAM, an Ore- gon pioneer of 1853, a practitioner grown old in the service of legal science, and the recip- ient of many unsolicited political honors, is a man of broad and liberal mind, whose life has been one of labor and untiring devotion to the best interests of his adopted state. He is recognized as a profound student of the law and as a jurist his decisions have been impar- tial, showing a careful consideration of the legal points at issue, and yet never losing sight of the merits of the case, with a view to pro- moting substantial justice between man and man. Having passed the age of three score and ten years, we present to our readers a chronological record of the life work of a man who has conferred honor and dignity upon society.

Judge Bonham was born October 8, 1828, near Knoxville, Tenn., and was reared prin- cipally in Indiana, to which state his people removed when he was twelve years of age. At a very early day an English forefather

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settled in Virginia, where was also born his paternal grandfather and namesake, Benjamin, a planter who settled in East Tennessee. Vir- ginia was also the birthplace of his son, John P. Bonham, the father of Judge Benjamin F., who in time combined farming and merchan- dising near Knoxville. In 1840 he removed to Middletown, Henry county, Ind., where he continued his former occupation up to the time of his death in 1864. He was a Democrat in politics and held membership with the Metho- dist Episcopal Church. His wife, Sarah (Jones) Bonham, was born in East Tennessee and died in Indiana. Her father, John Jones, was also born in Virginia.

Of the seven children in his father's family, Judge Bonham is one of two survivors, and the only one to come to the Pacific coast. Like many other men who have attained promi- nence in the west and elsewhere he undertook self support in the humble capacity of a school teacher, having qualified therefor in the pub- lic schools and in Delaware County Seminary, at Muncie, Ind.

In 1853 he came across the plains, arriving in Oregon in September, and for the first two years was engaged in teaching school, one year on French Prairie and one in Salem. In the meantime he had been reading law, with a view to entering the legal profession. In 1856 he was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of Oregon. The unsettled condition of the country at that time had need of just such latent resources as were embodied in this promising young attorney, and he at once stepped into positions requiring tact and ability. In the early '5os he held the offices of territorial auditor, librarian and superin- tendent of schools in Marion county, and while thus diversely engaged served as a member of the last territorial and the first state legislature. In 1860, upon retiring from public office, he began to devote all his attention to the prac- tice of law, and in 1870 was elected a member of the Supreme Court, at the same time serv- ing ex-officio as judge of the Circuit Court for six years. Between the years 1874 and 1876. inclusive, he was Chief Justice of the state of Oregon. Upon retiring from office he resumed practice in partnership with Judge W. M. Ramsey, continuing until 1885.

Judge Bonham's substantial service in be- half of the Democratic party has brought him more than local renown, and in 1885 he was appointed by President Cleveland Consul- General to British India. In the fall of that year he embarked from the port of San Fran- cisco, and for over four years represented the United States at Calcutta, with credit to him- self and entire satisfaction to both govern-

ments. His experience in the foreign service of the United States at one of its important posts, enabled him to gain a comprehensive knowledge of international law, and his equip- ment in this respect was, upon his retirement from the position, of a much more practical nature than could have been gained in any of the technical institutions of learning. After his resignation from this post he set sail for the United States, coming by way of Suez canal, Marseilles, Paris and London, arriving home August, 1890. He again resumed the practice of law in Salem and vicinity in partnership with Hon. W. H. Holmes. In 1894 he was appointed postmaster of Salem, holding that office for four years, since which time he has devoted all his energies to the practice of law, and in 1899 entered into partnership with Carey F. Martin, a graduate of the state uni- versity and a very energetic and promising young attorney.

In 1858, at Salem, Judge Bonham was united in marriage with Miss Mildred A. Baker, who was born in Illinois in 1840, and is a daughter of John Baker, a well-known and highly re- spected Oregon pioneer of 1847, who is now residing on his donation claim near Salem at the age of eighty-seven years. Of the seven children born to Judge and Mrs. Bonham, two only are living-Raphael P. and Winona M., both of Salem. Three of the children-Frank E., Burton M. and Wayne L .- died of diph- theria in 1879, and two sons-Clinton O. and John Clifford-died of fever in 1881.

Judge Bonham is a member of the Marion County Bar Association of which he has been president for the past eight years. He is possessed of superior legal attainments, and his unceasing devotion to the best tenets of a great profession have brought him enviable standing, the friendship of kindred minds, and the highest regard of all with whom he has come in contact, in social, civil and judicial life.

E. Z. FERGUSON has every claim to rep- resentation in the history of western Oregon, as he is regarded by all as one of its essential and progressive citizens. Aside from being a good accountant and expert bookkeeper, hc has served as deputy county auditor and as deputy collector of customs. In 1890 he turned his attention to the abstract business and made a unique set of books. He organ- ized and incorporated the Abstract. Title & Trust Company, and has since served as secre- tary and manager of the company. It has re- cently finished the only complete set of rec- ords in Astoria. Mr. Ferguson is also director

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and vice-president of the firm of Ross, Higgins & Co., which does business not only in As- toria, but also in Skagway, Alaska.

Mr. Ferguson was born May 15, 1859, in Salem, Ore., and is descended from a distin- guished Virginia family. His paternal great- grandfather came from Scotland to Virginia and married a lady of French birth. His father, Albert WV. Ferguson, was a man of af- fairs and consequence, and was by far the most prominent Mason of his day in Oregon. (A brief review of his useful life will be found in another part of this history.) His mother, who died in Astoria in 1895, was known in maiden- hood as Margaret Wetzel. She was a native of Lewisburg, Va., and a descendant of Lewis Wetzel, the great hunter and trapper, who took such a prominent part in Indian warfare, and was the progenitor of the Wetzel family in that section.

Mr. Ferguson is one of a family of nine chil- dren. Three sons were born in the east and the others, four sons and two daughters, in Oregon, E. Z. being the youngest of the seven sons. Those of the family born in Oregon are as follows: H. B., who is mining in Alaska ; F. W., a printer in San Diego, Cal .; J. E., an architect and builder in Astoria ; E. Z., the sub- ject of this review; Lulu, who died at The Dalles, in April, 1864; and Ada, now the wife of John N. Griffin, of Astoria, Ore.

In 1863, when the father moved to The Dalles, Mr. Ferguson was but a few years old, and he attended school until 1878, and then entered the Bishop Scott Academy at Portland, Ore. After a year's schooling in that institu- tion the academy burned down and young Fer- guson began his own career. He first worked as carpenter under his father and subsequently went to Pomeroy, Wash., and served as deputy county auditor under his brother. The latter position claimed his attention for two years and the year following he had a position as bookkeeper. In 1885 he came to Astoria and served as deputy collector of customs under John Hobson, a position he held for five con- secutive years, during which he became one of the best posted custom house officials of the city. He next engaged in the abstract busi- ness as before mentioned. Besides owning a large amount of valuable real estate in and about Astoria, he deals largely in real estate, timber lands, and is also interested in the in- surance business.

Mr. Ferguson was joined in marriage with Josephine Bryce, of Ontario, Canada, a daugh- ter of John Bryce, who is bookkeeper for the Flavel estate. Three children blessed this union : Lennette, Vance and Russell. In his religious views, his principles coincide with

those of the Episcopal Church, of which he is a member, having served as vestryman. He is deeply interested in the schools, and has been clerk of the board of education of Astoria for the past four years. Fraternally he is a mem- ber of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons ; and St. John's Commandery R. A. M., of As- toria. He was made a Mason in 1900, and is junior warden of Temple Lodge No. 7. Social- ly he is allied with the Native Sons and the Astoria Progressive Club.

SIMON R. LANE. In every community there are men who have finished their part in the arduous labors of daily life and are liv- ing in peaceful retirement. Such a one is Si- mon R. Lane, who has every claim to repre- sentation in the history of western Oregon, as well as Douglas county, not only from his de- scent from a distinguished family, but from his activity in developing the natural resources of that state. Simon R. Lane was born Febru- ary 29, 1832, in Vanderburg county, Ind., and is a son of the late Gen. Joseph Lane and his wife, who was, before her marriage with Mr. Lane, Mrs. Mary Hart. For further history of the Lane family see sketch of Gen. Joseph Lane.

Simon R. Lane was the fifth child in a family of ten, and he continued to reside in his native state until 1853. His schooling was necessarily limited, owing to the poor schools in his section, which were in session but three months during the year. The balance of the time was spent in farm work. In 1853, after his father's first term in congress, Simon ac- companied the family to Oregon, going by way of the Isthmus of Panama. His two elder brothers, Nathaniel and Joseph, had gone to the Pacific slope in 1851. Soon after his ar- rival in the far west, Mr. Lane engaged in mercantile pursuits at Winchester, Ore., in partnership with J. C. Floed. A successful business was carried on for several years, and in 1859 they located in Roseburg and again engaged in general merchandising. taking a new partner in the person of Mr. Haynes. The business continned to prosper under the name of J. C. Floed & Co., and in 1862 Mr. Lane withdrew. He then went to Umatilla Land- ing, where, in partnership with James Guth- rie, Jr., and his brother. La Fayette Lane, ex-member of the legislature, he carried on a similar business until 1864, when he sold out to advantage, and, returning to Dong- las county, engaged in farming and ranching. He first purchased the old Gen. Joseph Lane donation claim, but subsequently sold this and bought the General Lane ranch of two thou-

R. Elisabeth Ross

B. Frank Road

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sand acres, engaging in the stock business. About this time he began prospecting in Ran- dolph and Coos counties, and he operated the Pioneer Black Sand mine from 1869 to 1896. But eighty per cent of the gold was so fine that it could not be saved in paying quantities, so work in the mines was suspended. Mr. Lane then devoted his full attention to his farming interests until 1901, when he retired and moved to Roseburg. He still owns the Gen- eral Lane residence and has two other fine residences in that city. November 22, 1865, he was united in marriage with Catherine A. Drain, formerly of Iowa, and a daughter of Charles Drain, the founder of the city of Drain, Ore. A biography of Mrs. Lane is given on another page of this work. Six chil- dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Lane, namely, Ratliff Boone, Joseph C., Creed F., Eva, Paul and Francis B.

Ratliff Boone was associated for a number of years with Wells, Fargo & Co. He died in 1887. J. C. was deputy collector of customs at Kodiac, Alaska, and died in that country in 1896. C. F. was a rancher and died in 1888. Eva married Douglas Waite and resides on a ranch. Paul died in infancy, and Francis B. is a prominent rancher in Douglas county. Like his father, Mr. Lane is a devout Catholic. He is also a firm believer in the Jeffersonian principles of Democracy, but has had little or no inclination for political life.

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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 81

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