Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present.., Part 86

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 86

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and in Douglas county held various local of- fices. He was broad and liberal in his ideas, and evidenced a practical interest in the gen- eral affairs by which he was surrounded. He was honored and respected by his business and social associates, and gained the reputation of being a thoroughly modern and practical agriculturist.

Mrs. Johnson is a native of Indiana, and was born August 28, 1842, a daughter of Will- iam H. and Sarah J. (Jones) Perkins, natives of New York state, and the latter born in Genesee county, March 17, 1820. Mr. Perkins moved to Indiana at an early day, and his wife moved there with her parents when she was a child. They were married in Indiana in 1837, and lived in the Hoosier state on a farm until moving to Illinois in 1847. Even then there were vague reports of gold on the coast, but Mr. Perkins continued to await more favorable and better founded opinions, so that his plans for crossing the plains were not perfected until the spring of 1853. His journey extended from March to September, and he took his family and household goods with ox and horse and mule-teams, meeting with few mishaps or serious trouble with the Indians. Mr. Perkins was elected captain of the company, and piloted his many charges through the wilderness with due appreciation of his large responsibility. He spent the first winter in Oregon near LaFayette, and finally settled on the farm which his father had al- ready pre-empted upon his arrival a couple of years before, and which the older man pre- sented to his son. Here he lived until moving into Tillamook county, where he died in 1893, at the age of seventy-eight years. Six chil- dren were born into the family, and two grew to maturity, Myron Perkins, of Ashland, Ore., and Mrs. Johnson. Since her husband's death, Mrs. Perkins has lived with her great-grand- daughter, Mrs. Eugene Jenkins, of Tillamook.

CAPT. E. JOHNSON. The distinction of being in length of service the oldest pilot on the Lower Columbia river as well as on the bar belongs to Capt. E. Johnson, an old-time and honored resident of Astoria. Familiar with every detail of the management of sca- crafts, of whatever nature, and well acquainted with the waters of this section, he is admir- ably fitted for the position he has so long and worthily filled. A man of strong personality, vigorous, resolute and quick of apprehension. he readily inspires confidence in others, and invariably proves himself entirely trustworthy. Although of foreign birth, he has been a true and loyal citizen of his adopted country, serv-

E. & Cofelt

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ing with fidelity and bravery in the United States navy during the Civil war, and being equally as faithful in times of peace and pros- perity. A native of Sweden, he was born All- gust 12, 1847, near Gottenburg, where his father, John Johnson, although a farmer by occupation, was a vessel owner, and engaged to some extent in the coast trade.

Beginning life as a sailor when but a boy, Captain Johnson at first made coastwise trips, but afterward sailed on ocean voyages. Com- ing to New York city when eighteen years old, he enlisted as a volunteer in the United States navy in 1863, and for two years served on board the Tennessee, which was assigned to the gulf squadron. Being honorably discharged in 1865, he sailed by way of the Cape of Good Hope to Australia, from there coming on the barque Eva to San Francisco, Cal., and subse- quently being employed as a boatman on the Sacramento river. Locating in Astoria on September 29, 1868, Mr. Johnson was at first a common sailor on the bar, and subsequently served for eight months as second officer on board the California, which plied between Port- land and British Columbia. Returning then to Astoria, he was licensed, in 1872, as pilot on the Columbia River bar, and has since held the position. In his long experience in this capacity, Captain Johnson has been very suc- cessful, and, although he has sometimes been placed in very trying positions he has never met with an accident during the thirty and more years that he has held a pilot's license. Thrifty, prudent, and an excellent manager, Captain Johnson has acquired considerable city property, having built his own residence, in addition being the owner of several other resi- dences.

The captain married, in Astoria, Mary Parker, who was born in this city, a daughter of H. B. Parker. Mrs. Johnson died in 1889, leaving three children: Irena C .; Mary A .; and C. H., third officer on the steamer Elder. Politically Captain Johnson is identified with the Republican party ; fraternally he is a mem- ber of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks ; and religiously he is a Lutheran.

ENOS J. COFFELT is an enterprising farmer of Coos county, Ore., residing eight miles east of Marshfield, where he carries on general farm- ing and stock-raising, and also conducts an ex- tensive dairy business. He has the distinction of having been one of the first directors of the Coos Bay Creamery, which he was active in or- ganizing and promoting. Mr. Coffelt was born in Monroe county, Tenn., December 4, 1844, and

is the son of Wyatt Coffelt, who was a minister of the Methodist Church South. In 1860 the family removed to Benton county, Ark., where the father engaged in his calling and in farming also. He died at the advanced age of eighty-nine years. Prior to moving to Arkansas he was mis- sionary among the Cherokee and Creek Indians for eight years. His wife, Jane Sliger, who was a native of Pennsylvania, passed away at the age of seventy-four years.

Enos J. Coffelt was educated in the district schools of the vicinity of his home, and early learned the trade of a carpenter. He remained at home until twenty-two years old, after which he spent two years in Newton county, Mo., follow- ing the occupation of teaming. Returning to Arkansas, he engaged in tilling the soil in that state for a number of years. In 1874 he removed to Texas, where he remained nine years follow- ing farming and merchandising. In 1883 he came to Oregon, locating on Catching slough, in Coos county, remaining there until he settled on the farm where he now lives, eight miles east of Marshfield. The land is well improved and he has a neat dwelling and good out buildings.

Mr. Coffelt has been married twice. His first wife was Mary Ainsworth, and their marriage took place in 1868. By this union there was one child, James Wyatt, now an engineer on a Coos river boat. After fourteen months of wedded life his wife died, and in 1872 he married Sarah Condron, who is a native of Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Coffelt have had the following children : Edgar T., living in the vicinity; Essie, the wife of Frank Rogers ; Alva Floyd and Bronte, who are still living at home.

Together with his son, Alva Floyd, and daugh- ter, Bronte, Mr. Coffelt owns five hundred and twenty acres of fine land. He is also a stock- holder in the Coos Bay Creamery and is a man of influence in his vicinity.

Mr. Coffelt and his wife are members of the United Brethren Church. Fraternally he affil- iates with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and Fraternal Union of America. He is a So- cialist politically, and has held all the minor offices in his vicinity.

LEWIS HAYES. Money or influence have had no part in fashioning the career of Lewis Hayes, one of the prosperous farmers of Jose- phine county. Ever since he can remember Mr. Hayes has had a wholesome admiration for grit and determination, and his present position would indicate that he has never lost track of these virtues. This pioneer of 1852 has passed through about all the experiences common to the early days, and what is better still has profited by his observations, utilizing them for his continued ad-

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

vancement. He has lived on his present farm, seven miles south of Grants Pass, since 1865, and has one hundred and fifty acres of land which he is devoting to general farming and stock-raising. He has many fine improvements, including a large and comfortable residence, and in the management of his property adopts new methods and invests in late agricultural imple- ments as far as practicable.

The Hayes family was established in the east at an early day by the paternal grandfather of Lewis, who came from England with three of his brothers, and presumably settled in Connecticut. In this center of conservatism Orlando Hayes, the father of Lewis, was born about 1790, and was reared in Vermont, to which he was taken by his parents when quite young. When he was eighteen years of age he went with the rest of the family to Cuyahoga county, Ohio, which at that time had few settlers, and those living at remote distances front each other. Here he mar- ried Nancy Hull, a native of New Jersey, after- ward settling on the farm in Cuyahoga county, where his twelve children were born, among them Lewis, whose birth occurred March I, 1829. Of this large family of children Lewis only is living, he being the fourth oldest of the family. Orlando Hayes was a large hearted and patriotic man, and during the war of 1812 car- ried government express packages over a given route. He lived to be seventy-three years old, his death occurring about 1860. He tilled many acres of virgin soil during his long and active life, and left a comfortable competence at the end of his useful career, although his wife had died twenty years before, and his children were all able to care for themselves.

When Lewis Hayes was sixteen years old his parents moved to Henry county, Iowa, from where he started across the plains in the spring of 1852. Ife was six months on the way and came with ox-teams, spending the first winter on a farm near Salem, Marion county. October 18. 1853, he was united in marriage with Char- lotte Abbott, who was born on Mary's river. Sage county, Mo., December 18. 1832, and whose father, Samuel Abbott, was born in Kentucky, February 15. 1796. Mr. Abbott served as a pri- vate in the war of 1812 under General Taylor. In his youth he married Elizabeth Heatherly, a native of Tennessee, and thereafter engaged in farming until starting across the plains with his family in the spring of 1852. This journey was a very sad one, for on the way Mrs. Abbott suc- cumbed to the rigors of the overland trail, and was left in a wayside grave on the trackless plains. Mr. Abbott settled on a farm in Jose- phine county, and died there May 31, 1881, leav- ing six of the fifteen children born to himself and wife.

After his marriage Mr. Hayes located on a farm of three hundred and twenty acres on Long Tom river, eighteen miles west of Eugene, in the fall of 1865 removing to his present farm on Applegate creek, which he traded for his former property. For about fifteen years in the early days Mr. Hayes engaged in teaming from Cres- cent City to Jacksonville, as before the railroad had reached Roseburg all freight for southern Oregon came that way. Although he did not enlist in regular order, he as- sisted in quelling the Indian disturbances which threatened the lives and property of the settlers, but always made it a habit to retain as friendly attitude as possible towards the sup- planted Redmen. He has voted the Democratic ticket since attaining his majority, but has never taken an active part in promoting either his own or the cause of others for office. Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hayes, of whom Rachel is deceased; Elizabeth N. is the wife of Edelbert Osborn of Josephine county; Francis M. is at home with his father; Jefferson D. is a resident of Portland; Samuel Price died in in- fancy; Josephine is the wife of Henry Ruch of Josephine county ; David D. is a farmer at Grants Pass ; William L. and Eugene are at home. Mr. Hayes has steadfastly held to good government and every possible advantage for his fellow townsmen, promoting education while a member of the school board for several years, and im- proving the highways while a member of the board of road supervisors. He is respected for his honest convictions fearlessly expressed, for his loyalty to friends and associates, and for his devotion to his family and home.

JOHN HENRY HAWLEY. The president of the Polk County Bank at Monmouth is num- bered among the early pathfinders and home builders, who, in the stern, heroic days that tried the fiber of the manhood of men, amid almost incredible hardships and dangers, blazed the first narrow winding trails of progress through green wilds, and laid a sure foundation for the state whose heraldic ensign is now numbered among the sisterhood of states. Collectively the knights of the plains, upon whom a strong duty was im- posed, constitute one of the most imposing pageanis in the history of the world, beside which the Crusaders of old, with their perfumed clothes and high sounding titles, their chargers and re- tainers, pale into insignificance because of the futility and subsequent uselessness of their mis- sion. Not so the Oregon pioncer, in whose path has grown up the civilization of this part of the northwest, and many of whom possess to-day a memory which runs the gamut from primeval simplicity to cosmopolitan and strenuous activity.

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

To an exceptional degree, John Henry Hawley represents the class of men of whom we speak, and he came a long way with his father in the early days. He was born in London, Canada, March 10, 1835, and was but ten years of age at the time of the overland trip.

Cyrus B. Hawley, the instigator of the family emigration in 1844, was born in the state of New York, and about 1820 removed with his people to the vicinity of London, Canada. Here the parents lived on a farm, while the young man worked at whatever he could find to do, eventually engaging in building and contracting in London, many of his constructions still standing in the quaint old town. In 1836 he removed to Detroit, Mich., and worked at his trade, and two years later located on a little farm near Farmington, Iowa, where he continued contracting and agri- cultural pursuits for about two years. He then moved to Andrew county, Mo., locating near the town of Sparta. While working at building and gathering his harvests, he heard glowing accounts of the far west. Not being satisfied with the prospects of Andrew county, he determined to join an emigrant train in the hazardous journey over the prairies. Disposing of his farm, he equipped with ox-teams and wagons, his faithful wife, Elizabeth (Smith) Hawley, whom he mar- ried in the east, assisting him in every possible way. On the journey many pleasant incidents enlivened the company, and although the train was among the first to penetrate the wilds, they encountered very little opposition from the In- dians, and suffered comparatively little from chol- cra. small-pox or mountain fever. Gen. Cornelius Gilliam was captain of the train, and he proved a very genial and competent guide, but after awhile the party divided into several sections, cach going its separate way. Mr. Hawley lo- cated on a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres three miles east of McMinnville, and here he erected a log house for the accommoda- tion of his family, cleared his land of brush and timber, and was soon living in comparative com- fort. At best his farm yielded not more than was required for the maintenance of his four sons and three daughters, and the mining chances in the surrounding states appealed to him as worthy of attention. Accordingly he left his farm in charge of his oldest sons, and in the spring of 1862 went to the Boise Basin, Idaho, intending to add to his fortune from the gold mines. His dreams were not destined for ful- fillment, for the following year, in 1863, he was stricken with mountain fever, and died in November at the age of fifty-four years. He was a man of resource and ambition, and cherished a just pride of birth, his ancestors having been among the early emigrants from England to set- tle in the United States, and their descendants

have filled many positions of trust and responsi- bility.

John Henry Hawley built up a strong consti- tution while working on the donation claim near McMinnville, and his want of educational chances in the early days was realized as he approached maturity. At the age of twenty-one he took a two years' course at the Bethel Academy, and, having qualified as a teacher, he taught school in both Polk and Yamhill counties. With the money thus earned he bought a little farm of ten acres in 1858 and in 1861 went to the gold mines of Idaho. Although moderately successful, he spent only one year in the mines, and then returned home. The next years he engaged with his brother-in-law, Jonathan Atterbury, in packing provisions to the Idaho camps. In 1864 he em- barked in the mercantile business in Bethel, Polk county, and in the meantime purchased four hun- dred acres of land upon which he began to engage in farming in 1875. Beginning with 1892 he spent a year in Salem, Ore., and then came to Monmouth, where he invested heavily in the stock of the Polk County Bank, of which insti- tution he has since been president. Much of the success of the bank is due to the financial acumen of this tried and trusted official, whose name rep- resents strength, integrity and absolute control of his business affairs. At the same time he con- tinues to be interested in his farm, where he raises grain to a considerable extent, and makes a specialty of registered Lincoln sheep, and other high grade stock.

In 1858 Mr. Hawley was united in marriage with Eliza Mulkey, who was born in Missouri, a daughter of Luke Mulkey, a native of Kentucky. As a young man Mr. Mulkey removed from Kentucky to Missouri and after crossing the plains in 1847, located near Corvallis, in Benton county, where his death occurred in 1895. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hawley, of whom Horace G. and May I. are deceased; William H. is a merchant of Pendleton, Ore .; Curtis L. is living on the old farm; Constance is the wife of B. F. Mulkey, of Ashland, Ore .; Luke M. is in the mercantile business with his brother in Pendleton, Ore .; and Maude E. is living at home. Since attaining his majority Mr. Hawley has taken a keen interest in local and gen- eral politics and has allied himself with the Re- publican party. He has filled many positions of trust and responsibility in the community, and is at present the chief executive of the city of Mon- mouth. During the session of 1882 he was a member of the state legislature from Polk county, serving on the committee for the enrollment of bills. At one time he was justice of the peace of Bethel, Ore. An elder and trustee of the Christian Church, Mr. Hawley is a teacher of the bible class in the Sunday school, and con-

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

tributes generously towards the maintenance of the church. His two story frame house on Col- lege avenue is one of the hospitable and delight- ful centers in the town, and here one of the stal- wart founders of the present prosperity of Polk county spends the hours between his arduous po- litical and business responsibilities.

DOCTOR FRANKLIN DEAN. A man of good business tact, great intelligence and enter- prise, Doctor Franklin Dean has become widely known to many of the citizens of Coos county as the proprietor of the Coquille City Herald. This lively, newsy sheet is devoted to the current events of the day, both foreign and local, and through the efficiency of its owner and publisher has been made into an unusually good paper, which has attained a large circulation throughout the city and its suburbs. A son of Robert Dean, he was born April 22, 1862, near Rolla, Mo. His paternal grandfather, Aaron Dean, was born and reared in Virginia, but subsequently settled in Tennessee, near Nashville, where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits for many years. .After retiring from active pursuits, he lived in Missouri, making his home with his son Robert, near Rolla, until his death.

Born November 13, 1820, on the parental homestead, near Nashville, Robert Dean was there reared and educated. Leaving home two years before attaining his majority, he was en- gaged in farming near Rolla. Mo., for several years. Going to Texas in the fall of 1880, he spent one winter in that state. Coming to Ore- gon in 1881, he located in Coquille, and is now living with his son, Robert J. Dean, in the im- mediate suburbs of the city. Although now a venerable man of eighty-three years, he is men- tally vigorous, possessing a wonderful memory for dates. He married Malinda Fulsome, who was born in Missouri, June 3. 1823, and died, in Coquille, Ore., in 1883. When she was a child, her father, who was an extensive dealer in horses, which he sold in the south, disap- peared from home, and was, without any doubt, murdered for his money, as he was known to frequently have large sums with him.

The sixth child in a family composed of six sons and one daughter. Doctor Franklin Dean received a limited knowledge of books, attending the district schools a short time cach year. At the age of sixteen years, in 1878, he went with his brother William to Texas, locating in Mon- tague county, where he was employed on a cattle ranch for three years. Coming with his parents to Coquille. Ore., in 1881, he, in partnership with his brother, J. A. Dean, embarked in jour- nalistic work. Establishing the Coquille City Herald, a weekly paper, he has since conducted

it with most satisfactory success. It is a bright, spicy journal, a favorite with the intelligent reading public, and its articles are clipped by the leading exchanges throughout the state. The publishing office is modernly furnished, being the finest in its equipments of any in the county. Elected county clerk in 1894, Mr. Dean served one term of two years, but has since devoted his entire time and energies to the interests of his valuable paper.

In Coquille, Ore., Mr. Dean married Barbara (Stone) Dryden, who was born in Missouri, February 28, 1862, and of the children born of their union two are living, namely: W. Ray and Lulu Frances. Mr. Dean has also one step- child, Clarence O. Dryden, proprietor of a job printing establishment in Coquille. Politically Mr. Dean is a Populist, but is not active in party ranks. Fraternally he belongs to the Woodmen of the World, and to the Fraternal Aid Association. Religiously he was the first member of the first church started in this city under the auspices of the Redeemed Israel Church.

CHARLES ERWIN CARL. Among the young men of Oregon who have risen to positions of responsibility in their various localities men- tion belongs to Mr. Carl, an energetic business man of Myrtle Point. Though young in point of years (having been born October 7, 1879) he possesses the shrewd and keen judgment that is associated with more mature years. Like a goodly number of the people of Coos county, he came from Iowa, Poweshiek being his native county. His parents, August and Amanda (Newcomer) Carl, were natives respectively of Germany and Mount Morris, Ill. The former, who was born near the Baltic sea, May 21, 1826, crossed the ocean to America at twenty-four years of age and settled in Illinois, but soon went further west. After Quantrell's raid in Kansas he joined the United States army. When the war closed he went to Iowa and settled at Deep river, Poweshiek county, where for a long period he was successfully engaged in farm pursuits. Finally he resolved to seek a home in Oregon and accordingly disposed of his ef- fects in Iowa prior to removal, then brought his family to the Pacific coast.

On the 28th day of May, 1881, he arrived at Norway, Coos county, and bought two hun- dred and forty acres, where he entered upon general farm pursuits. In June of 1901 he moved to Newburg, where he lived retired from active cares. His death occurred in that town May 8, 1903. In recognition of his services during the Civil war he was granted a pension by the government. Since his death Mrs. Carl

B WyHouston

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

has made her home at Myrtle Point. Of their eight sons and two daughters all but one are still living, Charles Erwin being the seventh in order of birth. His education was received in the grammar schools of Oregon, supplemented by reading and study, and he is now a well- informed man. His connection with the enter- prise of which he is the senior member dates from April 6, 1903, when he bought the general mercantile business now operated under the name of Carl, Guerin & Co. It is his aim to carry on every business transaction in an honorable manner, and his dealings have been such as to win the confidence of the people. His store is filled with a general stock of merchandise, valued at $9,000, and containing a full assortment of such commodities as are suited to the wants of the people of the community. Mr. Carl gives his attention so closely to the management of the business that he has, as yet, participated in social and political affairs to only a small extent. having no fraternal connections except his mem- bership in the Knights of Pythias, while in poli- tics he gives his support to the candidates of the Republican party.

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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 86

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