Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present.., Part 88

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 88

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settled in South Carolina about fifty years prior to the Revolutionary war. His great-grand- father, Amos Strange, lived in Laurens county, S. C., and raised a family of three sons and one daughter.

The eldest son, William Strange, grandfather of Rev. Ferdinand G. Strange, was born Decem- ber 8, 1791. He was married in 1811 to Mary L. Fowler and became the father of eight sons and three daughters, most of whom were born in Laurens county, S. C. In 1838, after the Cherokee Indians had been removed by the Fed- eral government, to Indian Territory, William Strange, his two brothers and their families moved from South Carolina to the Cherokee country, one settling in Alabama and the other two, including William, in Chattanooga county, Ga.

John Anderson Strange, the fourth son of William and Mary L. (Fowler) Strange, was born in Laurens county, S. C., September 12, 1824. He was married in Alabama, August 5, 1847, to Fidella Jane Grisham, a native of Blount county, Tenn., and the eldest daughter of Archi- bald and Mary Grisham, representatives of an old and honored family of east Tennessee. The majority of the family spell their name Gresham. This family is one of the most distinguished in the United States. It was founded in America by an Englishman, and representatives in the various generations have attained renown in the various vocations of life. Soon after his mar- riage, John Anderson Strange removed to east Tennessee, and remained in the south until the close of the Civil war. Though he loved the Union he naturally sympathized with the south by reason of his long residence there. But he was opposed to slavery, and refused to bear arms in defense of that institution. In 1867 he re- moved with his family to Bond county, Ill., but finding that climate too severe for a sontherner, he came to Oregon in 1871 and settled upon a farm in Douglas county. There he remained until his death, March 17, 1895. The death of his wife occurred April 19, 1894.

Ferdinand G. Strange was reared in the Pres- byterian Church, his ancestors having been identi- fied with that denomination for several genera- tions. He mited with that church in Bond county, Ill., in the fall of 1868. Believing him- self to be called to the ministry he entered Black- burn University at Carlinville, Ill., in October, 1869, and was graduated therefrom in June, 1873. after which he spent one year in Lane Theological Seminary, at Cincinnati, Ohio. He was married June 15. 1871, while in college, to Sarah A. Robinson, of Bond county, Ill. She was a young woman of beautiful character and happy disposition. Her father, James W. Rob- inson, a native of North Carolina, was of Scotch-

Irish extraction. In 1816, when he was sixteen years of age, he removed to Illinois with his parents, who settled upon a farm in Bond coun- ty. There he remained until the death of his wife, Mary Ann (Armstrong) Robinson, in 1890. He lived to be ninety-three years of age. Sarah (Robinson) Strange survived but a few years after her marriage, departing this life February 14, 1876. She left two sons: Pliny Robinson, a printer, now living in Jacksonville, Ore., and Henry A., who is engaged in the saw- mill business in Aberdeen, Wash. Both served in the Spanish-American war, Pliny as a second lieutenant in Cuba and the Philippines, and Henry as a private in Company B, Second Ore- gon Regular United States Volunteers.

The subject of this review was married a sec- ond time, November 7, 1877, to Sarah Naomi Vander Veer, of King City. Gentry county, Mo. She was a young lady of fine attainments who had taught school for seven years, and was well equipped to become a minister's wife. Her mother, Sarah LaTourette, was a woman of great intelligence and Christ-like spirit. Her father, Capt. John S. Vander Veer, was a fellow- student at West Point with Jefferson Davis, afterward president of the Confederacy, Robert E. Lee and others who figured prominently on both sides during the Civil war. Captain Vander Veer was graduated from West Point in 1830 and served as an officer in the United States army until 1840, when he resigned his commis- sion as captain, married and retired to a farm in Illinois. He did not serve in the Civil war, but gave to the Union army his eldest son, who died in his country's service. Captain Vander Veer sprang from one of the oldest Dutch families in the United States. His ancestors were residents of Somerville, N. J., for many years, and his parents were members of the church to which the famous Rev. T. DeWitt Talmage belonged, the two families being neighbors. Mrs. Strange is one of nine children, five of whom are liv- ing.

To Ferdinand G. and Sarah Naomi (Vander Veer) Strange six children have been born. Of these, the second, a daughter, died in infancy. Of those surviving. Ferdinand A. is engaged in the grocery business at Walla Walla, Wash .; John V. is engaged in literary work and publish- ing; Chalmers L. is a student in the Normal College at Ashland, Ore .; and Earle H. and Edith R. are at home.

Rev. Ferdinand G. Strange was licensed to preach the gospel by the presbytery of Alton, at Greenville, Ill., April 11, 1874. He was or- dained to the ministry by the same presbytery, November 15. 1874. and installed as pastor of the church at Carlyle, Ill. He remained in charge of that church until January 1, 1877, when he be-

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came pastor of the churches at Empire Prairie and King City, Mo. November 1, 1880, he re- signed these charges and became pastor of the society at Hiawatha, Kans., where he remained until June 1, 1883. At that time, believing that the northwest would afford broader opportuni- ties for labor, he accepted a call to the First Presbyterian Church of Seattle, Wash. Five years later he removed to Ashland, Ore., and took charge of the First Presbyterian Church of that city, serving as its pastor for fourteen and a half years, or until his resignation, June 1, 1902, to become pastor of the church at Marshfield, where he remained until October 1, 1903, when he accepted his present charge.

Mr. Strange received the degree of Master of Arts from Blackburn University in 1876. He has been moderator of the Oregon synod once, and has filled a like office in the presbytery several times. He has also been clerk of the synod and of the presbytery for many years, and four times has been a delegate to the general assembly. During his career as a minister of the gospel he has received six hundred and fortv-five mem- bers into the church, and is still actively engaged in the furtherance of his life's purpose.

Mr. Strange became a member of Granite Lodge No. 23, Knights of Pythias, of Ashland, Ore., several years ago, of which he is past chancellor. He is now a member of Myrtle Lodge No. 3, of Marshfield, of which he is vice-chancellor commander.

BENJAMIN C. SHULL. The efforts of Benjamin C. Shull, well known throughout Coos county, have resulted in a material prosperity as well as in establishing himself in the confi- (lence and esteem of his neighborhood and the general public. Coming to Oregon in 1872 he at once laid hold of the opportunities by which lie was surrounded, being among the first to realize the possibilities of the dairy business in this vicinity and to actively engage in the work, through persevering effort acquiring two farms which are among the best equipped of those used for dairying purposes in Coos county. He is also a stockholder in the well equipped and mod- ern creamery near his farms, and serves as a di- rector and treasurer of the creamery company, having taken an active part in its establish- ment.

Mr. Shull is the representative of an old Ger- man family, his paternal grandfather, Simon Shull, having emigrated from the Fatherland prior to the Revolutionary war. He settled in North Carolina and shortly afterward proved his patriotismn for his adopted country by serving as a soldier in the Revolutionary war, after which he became a wagon-maker and planter. In the

course of time he married and reared a large family and his descendants are now scattered over the western part of the continent. His .son, Joseph Shull, learned the trade of wagon- maker and blacksmith, and in manhood married Miss Elizabeth Mast, the daughter of a wealthy planter. Of the eight children which were born to them the fourth son was Benjamin C. Shull, whose birth occurred October 23, 1845, near Boone, Watauga county, N. C. He passed his childhood days in his native state, imbibing the spirit which has ever characterized the southern people. When he was only fifteen years old the cloud of possible disruption settled over the land and in the same spirit which prompted the ac- tions of his grandfather he cast in his lot with the citizens of his native state, enlisting, when little more than seventeen, as a Confederate soldier in Company A. Sixth North Carolina Cavalry. These troopers were known as Vi- dettes, and were principally on detached service at the front, Mr. Shull serving on picket duty on advanced posts between the Confederate and Federal lines, as well as carrying dispatches. He was in many skirmishes and in some important engagements, serving in all fifteen months, dur- ing which time he had never received a wound or been taken prisoner by the Fedcrais. Upon the final surrender of General Lee Mr. Shull returned to his home in North Carolina and there remained until his twenty-seventh year. In 1872 he came west and located in Coos county, Ore., earnest in his faith of the possibilities of the state and his ability to establish himself as a factor in the agricultural life. He had early be- come inured to hardships and deprivations by a practical home training, as well as his experience in the army, and with the thrift characteristic of the nation to which his ancestors belonged, he was not long in making a creditable beginning. The first ranch of which Mr. Shull became the owner was located on the north fork of the Co- quille river, ten miles north of Myrtle Point, and consisted of one hundred and seven acres. This was entirely uncultivated land; since then lic has cleared forty acres, as well as making many other improvements. In 1886 he bought the ranch known as the John Hill donation claim, consisting of one hundred and fifty-one acres, located on the south fork of the Coquille river, four miles south of Myrtle Point, sixty acres of which are bottom land. In addition to this he has a ranch of two hundred acres located one mile and a half north of his home place, eighty acres being bottom land, and in the same vicinity eighty acres which is used for grazing purposes. Thic chief occupation of Mr. Shull is general farming and dairying, a herd of Jersey and Durham cows supplying milk for the dairy. In 1885 Mr. Shull was united in marriage with

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Miss Olive Berry, a native of Oregon, and the daughter of John Berry. The latter was a native of New York and became a pioneer of Oregon and a factor in the agricultural life of the coun- try. To Mr. and Mrs. Shull have been born seven children, all of whom are living and are at home with their parents, namely: Roby, Roy, Elizabeth. Ada, Jennie. Lloyd and Ross. In his political relations Mr. Shull is a Democrat, and though he has never aspired to official recogni- tion, has taken an active and helpful interest in local affairs, and assisted materially in bringing about good government. At various times he has been called upon to occupy minor positions in the vicinity and has always acquitted himself well and honorably. In fraternal relations .he is identified with Myrtle Lodge, No. 78, A. F. & A. M., is a member of the chapter of the Eastern Star, and also belongs to the Grange.

Mr. Shull is properly classed as one of the men to whom a community looks for that type which bespeaks the best in human nature. For more than a quarter of a century he has been a resi- cent of this county and each succeeding year has added to the esteem in which he is unversally held. It has not been by precept but by the ex- ample of an upright life that he has made his influence felt and appreciated, and his name is synonymous with honor and integrity.

JOHN WASHINGTON SEARS. There are few of the residents of Myrtle Point whose resi- dence in Oregon antedates that of Mr. Sears. This pioneer of 1852 was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, a son of Curtis and Nancy ( Hughey) Sears, natives respectively of New York and Virginia. His father in early man- hood accompanied other members of the family to Ohio. For a time he lived in New Orleans, La., where he was employed as teamster and mail-carrier. From New Orleans he returned to Ohio and later settled in Iowa county, Iowa, on a farm two and one-quarter miles east of North English, where he continued agricultural pursuits until the feebleness incident to old age prevented further labors. At the time of his death, which occurred in Iowa October 30, 1885, he had reached the great age of ninety-eight years and six months. His wife died in the same state September 1. 1888, aged eighty-seven years, four months and seventeen days.

In a family circle comprising six sons and six daughters. John W. Sears was sixth in order of birth. As might be surmised, his advantages as a boy were limited. Schools were few in num- ber and imperfect in their method of instruction. Yet in them, by diligent application, he laid a foundation on which in later years was built a broad and thorough education. When his

parents moved to Iowa he accompanied them and aided in developing the farm near North English. Born September 20, 1834, he was eighteen years of age when, in 1852, in company with several other young men, he joined the Pinkerton company (under George Pinkerton as captain) and with them crossed the plains with ox-teams. The party crossed the Missouri river at Gainesville on the 11th of May and ar- r'ved at Portland on the 7th of September, after a tedious journey via the North Plattte river route. His first location was on Althouse creek, in Josephine county, where Browntown now stands. In September. 1853, he turned his at- tention to the packing business from Oregon City and other points to the mines. While remuner- a.ive, the work was difficult and dangerous, so i11 1858 he turned his attention to farming and settled in the Rogue river valley, in Jackson county. Besides this work he engaged to some extent in mining.

Shortly after his arrival in Coos county, which occurred July IT, 1867, Mr. Sears bought land on the south side of the river, but the location proved harmful to his wife's health. For that reason he sought another home, removing in 1868 to the immediate vicinity of Myrtle Point. The year 1869 was spent on Roland Prairie on the south fork of the Coquille river. During 1870 he moved to the vicinity of Eckley, in Curry county, where he acquired, by gradual purchase, the ownership of nine hundred and twenty acres. For thirty years he made his home on that homestead, which, under his intelli- gent supervision, was transformed from an til- cultivated waste to an attractive estate. Much of his time was given to the raising of horses and cattle, in which industry he was successful. On his retirement he sold the ranch. In the fall of 1900 he returned east and spent a year visiting relatives and friends in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Oklahoma, and found that a rumor had reached the town of his death; con- sequently the surprise caused by his appearance may be better imagined than described. He re- turned to Myrtle Point in 1901, and has since resided there. His home is in a two-story mod- ern residence, which he erected in Myrtle Point and which is one of the most attractive prop- erties here. Having accumulated ample means, he can enjoy in the afternoon of his life the comforts which his capable management and unremitting industry render possible.

In Josephine county, where Grants Pass now stands, Mr. Sears was married. in 1857, to Catherine Williams, who, like himself, was a pioneer of Oregon. She was born April 19, 1839, on the present site of Atlantic City, N. J., and in May of 1851 came to Oregon with her brother-in-law. Oliver J. Evans, settling in

Andrew young

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Josephine county, where she continued to reside until after her marriage. Her death occurred in Curry county, October 29, 1897, thus terminat- ing a happy marriage that lasted forty years. The political views of Mr. Sears have always been those set forth in the platform of the Dem- ocratic party. During his residence in Jackson county, in 1857, he served as a justice of the peace, and at one time he also held the office of school director. His interest in the develop- ment of Oregon is keen. Having been for so many years a resident of the state, it is natural that he should maintain a feeling of deep interest in its welfare. In his quiet but forceful way he has done much for the good of his immediate vicinity, and Myrtle Point is fortunate in hav- ing among its citizens such men as John W. Sears.

ANDREW YOUNG. The substantial and well-to-do citizens of Clatsop county have no more worthy representative than Andrew Young, who occupies a position of prominence among the keen, progressive and business-like farmers who are so skillfully conducting the agricultural interests of this part of the state. His farm of two hundred and eighty acres, situated about six miles south of Astoria, is well improved, and well stocked, being one of the finest in its ap- pointments of any in the vicinity, everything about the place bespeaking the thrift and ex- cellent management of the proprietor. A native of Sweden, he was born about a mile from the city of Malmo, January 13, 1850, a son of Jens Young.

A life-long resident of Sweden, Jens Young was born about 1812, and died in the fall of 1850. when his son Andrew was an infant of six months. During his entire active life he served as a soldier in the regular army of Sweden. His wife, whose maiden name was Christina Neson, survived him, and married for her second hus- band, Hans Benson, a laborer. She died in her native county, in 1900, at the advanced age of eighty-two years. By her first marriage she had five children, three of whom were boys, namely : Benjamin, a resident of Astoria, Ore., where he is an extensive land owner and a capitalist ; Nels, a fisherman, living in Sweden; and Andrew, the subject of this brief sketch.

After acquiring a practical education in the public schools of his native country, Andrew Young remained at home until nineteen years old, when he began life as a sailor. Shipping before the mast in 1869, he sailed the seas in different vessels. visiting nearly all the import- ant ports of the globe. Coming up the Pacific coast on the English vessel Rockby Hall, in 1872, he landed in San Francisco, and the following

two years was employed in cruising along the coast. Settling in Oregon in the spring of 1874, he was engaged in fishing on the Columbia river for ten years, a part of the time being employed in the cannery business also. Going to the Fraser river, British Columbia, in 1882, Mr. Young, in partnership with his brother, Benjamin Young, started two canneries and was there profitably engaged in business until 1891, when he sold out. Returning to Clatsop county, Mr. Young then assumed possession of his present ranch, which he had purchased in 1885, and at once began its improvement. About forty-five acres of the land he has placed in cultivation, and he is now carry- ing on general farming and dairying after the most approved modern methods. He has a fine house, substantial barns and farm buildings, which, with their attractive environments, give visible evidence of the industry, good manage- ment and prosperity of the owner of the estate. An able, wide-awake business man, Mr: Young has accumulated a comfortable competency, having residential and business property of value in Astoria, and extensive interests throughout Alaska, where, in addition to other properties, he is a stockholder in the Alaska Packers' Asso- ciation, in Bristol Bay, and in the Alaska Fish- ermen's Packing Company of Astoria.

In 1874, in San Francisco, Mr. Young mar- ried Johanna Frederickson, a native of Denmark, where her birth occurred November 22, 1846. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Young seven chil- dren were born, namely: William, at home; Bartlett, who died in infancy; Edward, a young man of brilliant promise, who enlisted, while yet a student at the Oregon Agricultural College, in Corvallis, in Company A, Second Oregon Regi- ment, and as a soldier in the Spanish-American war. was sent to the Philippine Islands, where he died of fever, August 13, 1898: Daniel, a resi- dent of Alaska; Julius, deceased; Edwin, also in Alaska ; and Agnes at home. Public-spirited, intelligent and keenly interested in the affairs of town and county, Mr. Young has never shirked the responsibilities of office, but has served as school director and road supervisor, and is now county commissioner, having been elected for a term of four years in 1900, on the Citizens' ticket. He is a member of Beaver Lodge, No. 35, I. O. O. F., of Astoria, and is a member and a trustee of the Lutheran church of Astoria. In politics he sustains the principles of the Democratic party.

CAPT. CHARLES S. GUNDERSON. No navigator, however skillful, can be master of all the waters to which he may have to sail his ship, and to avoid the risk of local dangers, competent persons called pilots, who are well acquainted

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with their respective localities, are employed to conduct the vessels safely into the harbor. The well-known pilot, Captain Gunderson, has spent the greater part of his life on the sea, visiting many different lands in the course of his travels. Born February 3, 1854, in Bergen, Norway, which was also the birthplace of his parents, Captain Gunderson but followed in the footsteps of his ancestors. His paternal grandfather was both captain and pilot, and his father, Capt. Ga- briel Gunderson, followed piloting as a profes- sion in the land of his nativity until his death in 1875.

At the age of thirteen years Capt. C. S. Gun- derson was apprenticed to learn the sail-maker's trade, and in 1871 went to sea, landing at New York city in 1872. Proceeding on to Chicago, Ill., he became a sailor on the Great Lakes and in 1876 was advanced to first mate. It was during the same year that he made his first trip to San Francisco and to Astoria. Upon his return to Chicago in 1878 he was master of the sailing ves- sel Mary Nau, on the Great Lakes, but in the fall of the same year he returned to Astoria and en- gaged in fishing. It was not until 1881 that Captain Gunderson became a licensed bar pilot, and he labored in that capacity on the Columbia river from that time until 1889. Purchasing the steamer Electric hc carried both passengers and freight in and out of Astoria and around the bay. conducting a profitable business for a period of four years. Upon his election as county recorder of conveyances in 1894 he sold his steamer and gave his undivided attention to the duties of that office for a couple of years and subsequently engaged in his old occupation of sail-making, do- ing quite a successful business in that line until the spring of 1898, when he resumed his former position as pilot on the Columbia river bar.

In his political views the captain is a stanch Republican, and is a valued member of the Cham- ber of Commerce. Fraternally he is allied with the Odd Fellows, joining the order in 1881, and is now past grand. Socially he is a member of the Scandinavian Benevolent Society, being ex- president of the same, and is now serving as trustee. In 1883 Captain Gunderson was united in marriage in Astoria, with Miss Annie Ander- son, a native of Butte des Morts, Winnebago county, Wis. Two bright children, Berntine and Ethel, are now the delight and joy of the house- hold.

WALTER CULIN, M. D., was born in Phila- delphia, Pa., June 26, 1866, and is the fifth of the five sons and two daughters born to John and Mira ( Barrett ) Culin, natives of New York city and Philadelphia, respectively. John Culin went to Philadelphia when a young man and there en-

gaged in what was probably the earliest mercan- tile brokerage business carried on in that city. His marriage occurred in Philadelphia in 1855, and his last days were spent on his ranch near Hainesport, N. J. His wife, who was born in 1834, is still living and makes her home at Haines- port, N. J. The children were given excellent educations, and Walter first attended the public schools of Philadelphia, afterward attending the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, from which he graduated in 1888, after a two years' course, with the degree of Ph. G. During this time he also attended medical lectures, and in 1890 grad- uated from the medical department of the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania. The same year he en- gaged in professional practice in western Washı- ington, and from 1892 to 1894 was located in Oc- cidental, Sonoma county, Cal. In the latter year he removed to Coos county, Ore., where he has since practiced his profession.

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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 88

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