USA > Oregon > The Oregon native son, Vol. I > Part 23
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Soon after this the war broke out; and he became very active in raising recruits. He made a three months' tour of speaking in a county that he mentions as tolerably strong
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
copperhead, and there secured three compa- He was offered the rank of major, but Jeclined. accepting in M'a thereof the chap- bincy of Holinan's battalion, Fremont's body- waard. Serving one hundred days, he re- turned to college, and graduating came out in 1862 again to Oregon, making the journey alone with his wife and two men. He began business here the second time as dealer in turpentine, but afterwards became a member of the Methodist conference, preaching at Roseburg, Salem, Vancouver, and again at Salem, in all a period of nine years. Remov- ing to Portland, he opened a museum, a col- lection of natural curiosities.
In 1876 he took up the real-estate business; and in this has continued to the present time with great success. In 1883 he laid out the town of Sellwood, and is at present develop- ing the delightful suburban retreat at Garden Home, or West Portland. He has also been active in a public way to improve the city and state, being one of the number to solicit funds for the Board of Immigration, securing pledges which will produce an income of twenty-five hundred dollars a month.
As an Indian fighter, Mr. Wood served in the company of Colonel Backenstock in 1855, and saw some skirmishes in the Coeur d' Alene country, and was nearly captured at the Des Chutes. As a pioneer, he was first to build a quartz mill on Pine creek, and operated the Gem gold mine. He was the first to build and run a flour mill in the Grand Ronde, and was a member of the first party to set a flag on the top of Mount Hood. He has been grand commander of the Indian War Veterans for several terms. He is also col- lecting data for such wars, and also of the Indians, their names, habits, superstitions, legends, etc. He has a family of three sons and four daughters: William Hosea, Edward C., Virginia A., Emma R., Mary . B., John and Nellie.
JOHN TUCKER SCOTT.
Perhaps there is no feature in which Amer- ican life has become more noticeable than i11 the development of influential families. Without titles to distinguish them, as in the old world, still, we nevertheless have among our citizens whose surnames are patents of ability, if not of legal nobility. This fact is well set forth in the older communities of the
Atlantic states, and the younger West is foig- ing to the front in such respect with her. Without instituting comparisons, and only intending those of usual force or efficiency, we shall not miss the general verdict of the peo- ple of the Pacific Northwest in naming the members of the family of the pioneer whose name heads this memoir. All the members of his family have been persons of marked ca- pacity, and the journalistic field of this sec- tion of the Union has been well nigh dom- inated by some of them:
Mr. Scott was himself a very marked man, the very ideal of a Western pioneer. Born in Kentucy in 1809, he was, almost from the day of his birth, on the advance wave of Western immigration. As the name implies, his ancestry was Scotch, the original pioneer coming from Scotland about the year 1755. and ultimately settling in North Carolina. On the side of his mother the ancestry was from an old family of Pennsylvania; and the se- verity of those times will be indicated by the fact that in her infancy she lost both parents by the violence of Indian savages.
About 1798 the family removed to Washing- ton county, Kentucky, and became therefore among the first after the Revolutionary war to occupy for the American nation the west- ern slopes of the Appalachian mountains. The region was scarcely well under control of the whites before a further removal was made in 1824 to the wilderness of Illinois, and a new home made in Tazewell county on the Illinois river. There Mr. Scott grew to man- hood, and there he made his own home, mar- rying Miss Anna Roloefson, of Kentucky. herself a pioneer and a woman of very supe- rior intellect. There were ten children born to them on that Western farm, two of whom died and were buried there.
In 1852, however, when the bulk of the labor of settlement had passed, he felt again that irresistible migratory impulse to go West even to the Pacific. In this way only was it possible for him to work out his superabun- dant mental and moral vigor, and to satisfy his ideality. The crossing of the plains was un- dertaken in that year when the cholera was abroad; and the wife and mother fell a victini to the scourge. Her death was an irreparable loss, and has never ceased to be mourned by her children.
Beginning anew with good resolution, not- withstanding losses and trials. Mr. Scott made
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OREGON NATIVE SON.
his first stoppage in Yamhill county, but a year later went to the Puget Sound country near Olympia. There he passed through the · perils of the Indian war, repeating many of the experiences of the old Kentucky life. He saw plainly enough the future of that great region; but the development of it lingered a quarter of a century too late for him. In the meantime his large family was growing up; and he would not deprive them of educational advantages. Consequently, he removed to Washington county, Oregon, in 1859, in order to be near Pacific University. He occupied the old place of Joseph Gale, and the next year secured town property and removed to Forest Grove. At that beautiful village he remained until his death in September, 1880. The score of years spent there were quiet and happy, being passed very largely in intellectual recreations, in attendance upon, and deep in- terest in, the educational and literary and re- ligious life of the place, and in the perforni- ance of neighborly offices. He had married Mrs. Ruth Eckler Stevenson, and her two sons and his own two children born of that union were given the best of educational ad- vantages. Such business operations as he could conduct in a small town aside from the lines of traffic were carried on; and at the time of his death his fortune was sufficient for the necessities of his family.
In person, he was tall, powerful and erect, with immense features, bold and strongly carved. He was ever a great thinker, and wore a brow deeply marked with the lines of intellectuality. Morally he was a man of earnest purposes and positive opinions. He possessed deep religious convictions and great courage, and was always ready for the further- ance of educational and religious enterprises. His feelings were invariably kindly and benev- olent; and never in his life was he engaged in a brawl. His memory is a perpetual treas- ure to his family, and the life he lived of last- ing value to the state.
His son, H. W. Scott, for thirty-five years the leading journalist of the Northwest, has made the name a household word over the en- tire Pacific coast. He was the first graduate of Pacific University, receiving the degree in 1861: and he soon after began the study of law, and was one of the most active during the days of the war to conduct the enrollment of men as subject to military duty. He soon became editor of the Oregonian, and, with the exception of a few years, has continued with
it, and is at present not only its editor-in- chief but its controlling stockholder.
Mrs. Abigail S. Duniway is scarcely les. known as the first editor of the New North- west, a paper which she established for the purpose of carrying on the contest for woman suffrage in the Northwest, and as a public speaker. Mrs. Kate Coburn enjoys a like rep- utaion as an editorial writer on the Oregonian. Mrs. M. F. Cook, wife of the early resident of Lafayette, and Mrs. S. M. Kelty, of the same place, Mrs. H. L. McCord, of East Portland, and Mrs. R. E. Latourette, of Oregon City. and Charles, of Portland, have taken respon- sible and honorable positions in society. John, a youth of great promise and ambition, died in 1860. Mrs. M. A. Fearnsidé, a woman remarkable for the moral beauty of her char- acter, and Charles are also deceased.
MRS. ROBERT A. MILLER.
In the year that Oregon became a state. a little girl was born on the old Griffith farm. east of Salem. Eighteen years later Sarelia Griffith graduated from the classic halls oi Oregon's oldest educational institution, Wil- lamette University, and soon after became the bride of her college classmate, Quincy A. Grubbe. Death soon entered the happy home and left Sarelia Grubbe a widow. Bravely conquering her grief, the young widow en- tered the schools of her native town as a grade teacher. So great was her popularity and success that in the third year she was made principal of the East Salem High School, with twelve rooms and 700 pupils. and before the year closed was elected super- intendent of all the city schools of Salem, with the highest salary ever paid a lady in Oregon outside of Portland. In order better to discharge the duties of her high position, Mrs. Grubbe made an extended Eastern tour among the principal schools of the United States and Canada. Special studies were made of methods at Winnipeg. Montreal, Troy, N. Y., New York City, Washington, Philadelphia and Chicago. On her return Mrs. Grubbe was welcomed by a grand reception and banquet given by the leading citizens of our capitol city. With ability, industry and rare enthu- siasm. Mrs. Grubbe superintended the city schools of Salem for four years, resigning upon the occasion of her marriage with Colonel Robert A. Miller, of Oregon City. For several years now, Mrs. Miller has been
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
the popular ard gifted leader of two Shakes- pearean clubs, and has frequently appeared before schools and educational bodies as a Shakespearean reader and critic. In scholarly attainment, in winning manner and attractive social qualities, the mantle of the first Grand President of the Native Daughters of Oregon could not have ""en on more worthy shoul- ders.
SOL BLUMAUER.
Sol Blumauer was born July 28, 1862, in Portland, Multnomah county, Oregon, on the northeast corner of Fourth and Morrison streets. His old home was removed from there fifteen years ago, for the erection of a three-story brick building, called the Blu- mauer Block, and which is the property of his father, Simon Blumauer. since 1851. His education was obtained in the public schools of Portland. In 1877 he entered the employment of Hexter, May & Co .; in 1880 he was admitted a full partner in the firm. For ten years he traveled for the interest of his fırın, visiting every city, town and hamlet in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. In 1891 he sold his interest in above firm, and bought stock in the Blumauer-Frank Drug Co., the leading wholesale drug firm on the coast, and has been vice-president of above firm since then. He married Miss Hattie Fleischner, a Native Daughter of Oregon, nine years ago, and has one daughter seven years old. Mr Blumauer is a promenent member of the Chamber of Commerce of this city, and always cheerfully gives his assistance and time to all public enterprises for the benefit of the city and state. He is one of the original incor- porators of the Native Sons of Oregon, and now holds the office of Grand President in the Grand Cabin.
SAMUEL D. SMITH.
Samuel D. Smith, the subject of this brief sketch, was born in the canton of Uri, Switz- erland, and came to America when but a small boy. For a portion of the time he lived in Chillicothe, Ohio, and later in Jack- son county, Illinois. In 1849 he caught the westward fever and being more than he could resist he started across the plains, arriving in Oregon in 1849. Being of an energetic disposition he could not remain idle, and accepted a position on one of the river stean- ers. This avocation he quit to enter upon the restaurant business in Portland, which
he carried on so successfully that he was not long in obtaining a very desirable lot, and when circumstances would warrant be- gan the erection of a hotel-the Occidental- which for a score of years was the principal hotel in the Pacific Northwest. There is hardly an old pioneer who has not been reg- istered as its guest, and the recollection of such hours and the many courtesies extended by the host are memories not to be forgot- ten. Believing that greater reward was in speculation, he retired from hotel-keeping and entered the new chosen field, one which, as he expected, brought him generous re- turns. Mr. Smith was of good habits, bore an excellent reputation, both in private life and in the business world. In the first his deportmient was well worthy of emulation; in the latter his word was as good as his bond.
In 1867 he was married to Miss Margaret E. Watkins, a beautiful and highly cultured young lady, and they have made their home in Portland since such time. Eight children were born to them, two sons and six daugh- ters, three of the latter being married, and to men of well-recognized ability in army and business circles.
In 1894 Mr. Smith received a paralytic stroke from which he never recovered. On February II, 1895, he passed to his rest, in his 65th year, mourned by a wide circle of friends and his immediate family.
CYRUS H. WALKER.
Captain Walker was the son of Rev. Elkanah and Mrs. Mary R. Walker, mission- aries and pioneers to Oregon of 1836. He was born at Waiilatpu, Oregon ter- ritory, December 7,
1839. The house in which he first saw the light was the home of Dr. Marcus Whitman, who with his wife and others were murdered therein . by the Indians in 1847. While yet an in- fant he was taken by his parents to Tshima- kain, where they had a mission station. The companions of his youth at this place were his sister, two years younger than himself. and Edwin Eells, the son of Rev. Cushing and Myra F. Eells, associates of his parents in missionary work. During the winter of 1845-46, he attended school at the Whitman mission, Andrew Rodgers being the teacher. Among the scholars were Perrin B. Whit- man, John, Frank,. Catherine and Elizabeth Sager, Eliza Spalding and Helen Meek.
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OREGON NATIVE SON.
The bill of fare for those days was fresh and corned beef, venison, dried buffalo meat procured from the Indians, fresh and dried salmon, bread and wild berries in season. The first apple he ever saw was in 1847, and it is needless to say that he has never forgotten how good it tasted. Their clothing, except that made from deerskins, came from New England via Cape Horn and the Sandwich islands to Vancouver, and from thence by bateaux to old Fort Walla Walla, then by pack animals over a hundred miles to the station. Sugar tasted better than it does nowadays to him. His footwear was mocca- sins until the winter of 1848-49, when he be- came the possessor of a pair of red-topped boots. During the days following the Whit- man massacre the family expected that the Indians would attempt to murder them also, . and had it not been for the coming of two men from Fort Colville and the friendship of a Spokane Indian chief who camped near by to assist in their defense, they would proba- bly have been killed as those at the Whitman station. In March, 1848, they removed to Fort Colville, remaining there until June of that year, when volunteers arrived and they were conducted to the Willamette valley. As they passed by Whitman station the route was through the recently made grave- yard, and they found scattered here and there long golden hairs which came from the head of Mrs. Whitman. On reaching The Dalles oak trees were seen for the first time by him. Oregon City was reached on June 20, 1848. Here the family remained until the fall of 1849. During his stay there he attended school. The first brass band that came to. Oregon made its advent during this time, and was brought there by Colonel Loring. In October, 1849, the family went to Forest Grove. Here he was kept in school until his education was finished. In the 6os, when the government withdrew the regulars from the West for the civil war, he enlisted as a volun- teer, and was elected lieutenant of his com- pany, serving for two years. At the present
Vancouver was named by Lieutenant Broughton, a British naval officer, in October. 1792. Himself and the crew of the launch in which he ascended the river were probably the first white men to venture so far inland, up to that time.
time he lives on a farm near Albany. He married and has a family. He is president o! Delazon Smith's Cabin at Albany, and one of the grand trustees of the Grand Cabin.
GEORGE H. HIMES.
Mr. Himes was born in Troy, Bradiord county, Pennsylvania, May 18, 1844. . His parents were Tyrus and Emeline Himes. In 1847 his parents moved to Illinois, remaining there until 1853; during this time young Himes received his schooling. In 1853 he crossed the plains with his parents, who settled on a farm near Olympia. . They were a part of the first train coming through the Cascade mountains by way of the Nachess Pass, and made their own roads as they trav- eled. In 1861 Mr. Himes learned the prin- ter's trade in the Standard office, in Olympia. and in 1864 he removed to Portland, where he has since resided. His occupation has always been that of job printing, with an occasional diversion in the way of publishing books and newspapers. In 1873 he published the Commercial Reporter, and was one of the proprietors of the Daily Bee in 1875. In 1885, in connection with H. O. Lang, he pub- lished the History of the Willamette Valley. For over fifteen years he has been the sec- retary of the Oregon Pioneer Association. serving them faithfully and ably, and without compensation. He is the present incumbent of that office. He still follows job printing. having a large plant in Portland.
In 1866 he was married to Miss Anna F. Riggs, daughter of D. L. Riggs, of Salem, a pioneer of 1853. They have had eight chil- dren, two of whom are deceased.
During the Indian hostilities of 1855 and '56 the residents of the country districts fled to shelter in the blockhouses erected by them. In Fort Hennis, located on Grand Mound prairie, Mr. Himes went, and though but a youth, was one of the guards over the women and children there, while the more adult with rifle met the treacherous foe in battle.
In 1824 it was related by Dr. John Mc- Loughlin as a trading post of the Hud son's Bay Company, and upon its wharves was discharged the first cargo entering the Columbia river, which came by the steamer Beaver, in 1836.
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LILLY DALE.
(In Chinook.)
Hyas klose polikely kliminilimin tocope, Mitlite klose konawa kah; Pe yacka tillicum mitlite memaluse bed, Nika kilihium, Lilly Dale. Chorus- O, Lilly, klose Lilly, hyas close, Lilly Dale, Alta tipso mitlite kopa yacka tenas memaluse house, Kekwilla stick pe tipso klose illahee.
Yacka chako ankutty nanich hyas close Iscum sick hyas tekope, Memaluse chuck mitlite yacka tekope latate, Nika kilihium, Lilly Dale. Chorus -- O, Lilly, klose Lilly-
Nika klatawa yacka wa-wa kopa cain illahee Spose wake nika iskum till; Nika wa-wa kopa nika, gah, wake siyah house, Mika mitlite, Lilly Dale. Chorus-O, Liliy, klose Lilly-
Keqwill chesnut stick, kah klose, tipso mitlite Kah chuck klatawa klose illahee, Kah kullakulla wa-wa tenas sun Kopa mitlite, Lilly Dale. Chorus-O, Lilly, klose Lilly-
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FIRST CHURCH BUILT IN ORIGINAL OREGON,
OREGON NATIVE SON.
VOL. I. AUGUST, 1899.
No. 4.
FIRST CHURCH BUILT IN THE ORIGINAL OREGON.
The very suitable frontispiece to this : the first church edifice erected in the old Oregon." Its surroundings are of Wier date, but the church itself, with Le exception of its window blinds, is exactly as it appeared at the time of its cection. While, of course,' there had Wen religious services held in private hauses, and in the schoolrooms connect- ol with the early missions before- its rrection, there is no doubt but this was !!! « first building erected . solely for ( hristian worship and service in the Pa- ofic Northwest. It is therefore one of the most interesting monuments of the rarly history .of this coast, and its erec- ton dates an epoch in the progress of vtvilization here.
This church was projected by Rev. A. 1. Waller, who was appointed a mis- sonary to the Indians at Willamette ! alls and vicinity, by Jason Lee, in June, 1840. There were no white residents at this point at that time. Mr. Waller's family were the first white settlers at that place. His missionary work took in the Clackamas villages where Glad- stone now is, and the villages on both Mes of the Willamette at the falls. By !!! « close of 1842 a sufficient number of white people had located there to sat- iiy the far-seeing Waller that this would ·von become an important settlement, and that Indian missions were very soon to give place to white churches. not only
To meet what he saw was a certain number of The Native Son is a picture change, he wrote a subscription which, in its original form, just as it was cir- culated by Mr. Waller and signed by those who subscribed to it, is now in the possession of the writer. It will be interesting as a bit of history if we place the form of this first subscription for any such purpose ever made west of the Rocky mountains, together with the names subscribed upon it, on this page of The Native Son. It is as follows:
"Willamette Falls, Dec. 21, 1842.
"We, the subscribers, do hereby agree to pay on demand the several sums set opposite our respective names, for the purpose of erecting a chapel for the use of the Methodist Episcopal church at the Willamette Falls, said house or chapel to be built as soon as possible, and held in trust for said M. E. church by a com- mittee of five, to be elected annually by the society, and stated hearers of the congregation, at a meeting for that pur- pose, till a lawful corporation can be had and lawful trustees appointed to hold said house, premises, etc.
"Said committee for the present year to be George Abernethy, Robert Short- ess, David Carter, A. F. Waller and C. Rogers, who shall have charge of the building of said chapel, and to whom said subscriptions shall be paid; said house to be frame, etc., and of such size as the committee shall judge proper. considering the amount of the subscrip-
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OREGON NATIVE SON.
A. F. Waller. $ 30.00
George Abernethy 100.00
A. E. Wilson ... 30.00
Robert Shortess 30.00
L. H. Judson 50.00
Elijah White 50.00
James R. Robb. 30.00
James O'Neil. 10.00
S. Smith
25.00
John McCard 20.00
William Perry 10.00
John Dabenbis (three days' work)
Joseph Yatten (two days' work).
W. H. Gray
25.00
Jason Lee
50.00
J. L. Parrish
50.00
L. J. Hubbard.
20.00
William C. Sutton 20.00
W. A. Pheeffer 25.00
David Leslie
50.00
G. W. Le Breton 20.00
W. H. Willson 50.00
J. E. Long 10.00
N. R. Stoughton 10.00
Ś. C. Pomeroy
12.00
John Force
100.00
A. Beers 10.00
The house, a plain, neat structure, was immediately begun and, as rapidly as possible, pushed to completion. Only a few weeks before it was begun the im-
migration of 1842, consisting of 137 per- sons, including several families, had reached "The Falls." as Oregon City wa- then called, which about doubled the number of Americans in the country. and practically settled all question as to the future settlement of Oregon by an American instead of a British population.
The history of this church has been one of great interest, but cannot now be related. Its original location was at the upper end of Main street and on the east side of the street. Later it was removed to the location where the present Meth- odist Episcopal church stands, and later still removed a few feet to give place to that structure. The body of the church still stands, though occupied for other than church purposes. The building to the right in the picture is probably the oldest parsonage on the coast, it being erected only two years later than the church by Rev. G. Hines and having been occupied as a parsonage for fifty- five years. These two landmarks of real pioneer times are worthy of careful pres- ervation for the history they represent. H. K. HINES.
OREGON'S FIRST HOP YARDS.
Many stories have gone the rounds of the press relative to the beginning of this industry in Oregon, and as The Native Son has taken upon itself the task of publishing historical data regarding early industries of the Pacific coast, a word may not be amiss regarding the beginning of this great industry in the state.
In 1867, Adam Weisner emigrated from the State of Wisconsin to Oregon and settled at Buena Vista, Polk county. He rented five acres of ground on the upland and planted it in hops, having brought the roots with him from Wis- consin. The upland chosen was unfit for hop culture, and the experiment re- sulted in a failure, although Mr. Weisner
had gone to considerable expense in pre- paring ground, hop house, etc. George Leasure, then a resident of Polk county. purchased from Mr. Weisner sufficient roots for a five-acre tract, and planted the same in the spring of 1869 on a choice piece of bottom land in a suburb of Eugene city. This yard was a suc- cess and is still being successfully culti- vated. The Leasure hop yard was the first in the state to yield a harvest and the Weisner yard the first planted. The two hop houses built by Weisner and Leasure at Buena Vista and Eugene are still standing and photographs ought to be taken of them and preserved along with photographs of other fast-passing landmarks.
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