USA > Oregon > The Oregon native son, Vol. I > Part 60
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REV. DAVID LESLIE.
Little did the man, whose name is the title to this sketch, think when he came to Oregon in 1837 that the country he had come to would in so brief a time be known as a great and thriving commonwealth, nor yet, wlien he bestowed a name upon a loca- tion near its central portion. that such place would become its capital. But it is even so. Oregon takes her place among the greatest of states, and Salem is her seat of govern- ment.
Mr. Leslie was born in New Hampshire in 1.97. and iwas descended from Puritan stock. In 1822 he was admitted to the minis- try of the Methodist church and labored for the Master in New England until 1836 when he left with his wife and three daugh- ters for Oregon. coming around Cape Horn on a sailing vessel, arriving in September, 1837.
He entered at once upon the work to which
BIOGRAPHICAL.
he had been assigned, laboring principally at the Old Mission. Salem, and Oregon City upon the laying out of a portion of the lands there belonging to the Mission into town lots, Mr. Leslie changed the name to Salem. It is said that the meaning of Chemekete is "here we rest," or "here are at peace," the word Salem also signifies "peace."
Mr. Leslie was one of the founders of the Willamette University, and was president of its board of directors for twenty-five con- ¿cutive years. And in the organization of the provisional government of Oregon he wok a leading part. Thus in establishing Christianity, order of government, and
founding educational
institutions in
the
state, he won an honorable standing among the foremost and most worthy of the pio- meers. He was first married to Miss Mary A. Kinney, and had by her six children; she died in 1841. In 1844 he again married, this time to Mrs. A. (Judson) Alley, by whom he had three children. All of his children, ex- cept one, are now dead. One was buried in the East; one in tropical lands; two daugh- ters and a son were carried over the Wil- lamette falls in a dreadful accident; three daughters. as well as the first Mrs. Leslie, sleep in Oregon graves. The second wife and a daughter. Helen, survived him. He lived in Salem at the time of his death. which occurred March i 1869. There was probably loss of adventure in his life and work in Oregon than in that of several of his fellow- laborers; but it was done well; a record that can never be effaced.
REV. GUSTAVUS HINES.
The title prefixed to the name of the man whose name heads this brief sketch would indicate his calling, but, though he was a minister, and one true and faithful to the duties of his chosen calling. he was to the people of early Oregon, much more. being among those who labored for the advance- ment of its best interests, securing recog- nition by the United States government, and founding the commonwealth so long con- ducted among themselves and known as the provisional government. The history, wheth- er ecclesiastical or political, of Oregon, can- not be written without making honorable mention of his name.
Mr. Hines was born in Herkimer county. New York. September 16, 1809, and there Sved until his majority. In 1832 he was or- dained a minister of the Methodist church by the Genesee conference. He filled im- portant appointments in his native state un- :il 1839, when he was appointed a missionary to Oregon, and after a long passage around Cape Horn on the ship Lausanne, he arrived at his new field of labor on the first of June, 1×40. Entering upon his work, he was first detailed to explore the Umpqua, by Rev.
Jason Lee, the superintendent of missions, with a view to the establishment of a mis- sion in that region. His experiences with the Indians of that locality convinced him that it would be unwise to attempt doing anything with them as they were treacher- ous in character and disposed to be hostile, and the idea contemplated was abandoned.
· On his return the conduct of the Indian Manual Labor School, afterwards the Oregon Institute, and after the Willamette Univers- ity, was given him, and under his superin- tendency it made rapid and stable progress. Upor the removalof theinstitution to Salem, be located in that place, building the first house there constructed. From the date of his arrival up to 1846 there were but few efforts put forth for the formation of a gov- ernment among the settlers, but what he was as active participant, laboring to that end in all ways that he could. In the latter year he returned to New York, where he re- sumed his labors in the Genesee conference until the winter of 1852, when he was again transferred to Oregon. This time he came across the plains, arriving here in October, 1853. During his residence in the East he published a history of Oregon which did much to further emigration. It tends rather to the narrative order of writing and is very interesting. In 1868 he issued another work entitled "Oregon and Its Institutions."
Upon coming to Oregon the second time. he resolved to make it his future home, and did so. He died December 9, 1873. Three years before his decease he lost his wife, Mrs. Lydia Hines, whose death occurred March 14, 1870.
CAPT. JOHN H. WOLF.
Few steamboat men of the Pacific coast have gathered around them so many warm, personal friends as was possessed by Cap- tain John H. Wolf, the subject of this sketch, who departed this life on October 14, 1885. Captain Wolf was born in Germany in 1824, and came to Oregon in 1852, sailing from his native land on the schooner Emhous direct for this port. Soon after his arrival he com- menced steamboating on the old Multno- mah. with Captain Richard Hoyt, Sr. From a subordinate position he was rapidly ad- vanced until he became captain of the Belle. and then onward until placed in command of the best steamers of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, handling nearly every boat belonging to that great corporation. and later those of the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company. A thorough steam- boat man in every respect, it has been writ- ten of Captain Wolf that "no night was too dark and no fog too dense, to baffle his su- perior skill." He was known to all acquaint- ances as the very essence of kindness, the . personification of generosity, and a man
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OREGON NATIVE SON.
whose memory will ever awaken a flood of pleasant memories in the minds of those who knew him best. For the third of a cen- tury he commanded steamers on the inland waters of Oregon, respected and trusted by his employers, loved and honored by those who traveled upon his boats.
The morning following his demise the Oregonian, among other things, said of Cap- tain Wolf:
"Shortly before 12 o'clock last night Cap- tain John H. Wolf, the veteran steamboat man, died at his residence on the corner of North Eighth and B. streets. He had been ill for about six weeks with a complication of heart disease and indigestion. Three days ago he became weaker, and while it was feared he could not recover. his death was not expected so soon. Captain Wolf reached his 61st year on the 21st of last April. He was the oldest officer in the O. S. N. and the . O. R. & N. company's service, and no mas- ter was more careful and possessed more skill. Until the railroad superseded the steamboat the entire traveling public knew the quiet, steady captain. and a great many old residents, when they read the heading of this item, will feel a sort of personal loss in the death of this good and honest man. He leaves a wife and three daughters, one of them the wife of Mr. John Klosterman, to mourn the loss of a kind and indulgent hunsand and father. Financially the family is left in comfortable circumstances."
Captain Wolf was married on July 24, 1857. to Miss Philippina Saling. who depart- ed this life December 22, 1897. To them were born three daughters. Sophie, Clara and Mary. Sophie is now the wife of Mr. John Klosterman; Clara is unmarried and Mary is the wife of Mr. F. J. Alexander Mayer. Born and raised in Portland. the children of Captain Wolf have ever sustained the good name of their deceased parents. None are more highly respected in the community in which they reside.
J. C. HAWTHORNE, M. D.
A cultivated gentleman, a thorough Chris- tian, a master of his profession, a greatly beloved and honored citizen passed from life on February 15, 1ss1. in the death of Dr. J. C. Hawthorne, who had been a resident of the city and state since 1857. He was born in Mercer county. Pennsylvania. March 12, 1819. and was the son of James and Mary (Donnell) Hawthorne, who were of English descent. He received his rudimentary edu- cation in his native county, and for a time studied medicine under Doctor Bascom, of Mercer. Later he became a student of the Medical University of Louisville, Kentucky, from which institution he graduated with highest honors. In
partnershp with his
cousin, Dr. Hawthorne, he practiced medi- cine in Louisville until 1850, when he re. moved to California, where, in Placer county. he engaged in general practice and hospital work. Here he became widely known for his professional skill, and so highly esteemed that, in opposition to his desires, he was elected a member of the state senate for two successive terms. In 1857 he came to Port- land, where his worth as a practitioner and citizen found speedy recognition, and in 1858 he took charge of the county hospital under contract with the county court. Sub. sequently he founded a private hospital for the insane, which he conducted with such success that he was placed in charge of the unfortunates of the state. This contract was renewed from time to time, and was in force at the time of his death, when he had 500 patients under his charge. During the twenty-one years he had charge of the asylum it became widely known as one of the best institutions of its kind in the United States. His work in this direction placed him among the few who have gained na- tional renown in the treatment of insanity. and the curative rate of his establishment was considered equal to that of any similar concern in the world. As proof of his skill and popularity, although democrat. he was retained in office for many years after the republican party came into power. In Oregon he declined all suggestions of be- coming a candidate for high stations, as be- ing devoted to his profession. outside of the laurels to be gained therein he had no am- bition. He died at the summit of usefulness. universally regretted. and left behind him the memory of a broad-minded, courageous man, gifted with rare talents. whose career was eminently useful to his fellows, and in every way worthy of emulation.
One of the most magnificent properties in Oregon was left as an inheritence to Dr Hawthorne's widow and two daughters. Louise H. and Catherine, the beautiful Haw- thorne Park being a portion of it. Mrs. Hawthorne is a pioneer daughter of Cali- fornia. and here in Portland is greatly be- loved by those so fortunate as to enjoy the honor of her acquaintance.
The kindly disposition and good deeds of Dr. Hawthorne will live so long as lasts the memory of those who knew him in lif .. Almost literally speaking. "his friends were numbered by his acquaintances."
James Hawthorne. father of Dr. Haw thorne. was a graduate of Washington Co' lege. Mercer. Pa., so that the deceased can. of educated stock.
CHARLES W. CORNELIUS. M. D.
Dr. Charles W. Cornelius. one of Port land's prominent physicians. son of Ben- jamin and Rachel Cornelius. pioneers of
-
455
BIOGRAPHICAL.
1.49, was born on his father's donation land claim, in Cornelius plains, seven miles north of Forest Grove. Washington county, Octo- ber 13, IS56.
He received his education at Pacific Uni- versity, Forest Grove, one of the pioneer in- stitutions of the state. In 1877 he began the study of medicine with Dr. F. A. Bailey, of Hillsboro, but in 1879, the then city of Spo- kane, Washington, offered such attractions that he removed to that place for the pur- pose of establishing himself in business. He there erected a drug store, the third busi- ness house of the embryo city, and therein carried on the drug business for about 18 months, when he sold out and returned to Portland and again took up his studies, at- tending the medical department of the Wil- lamette University for two terms. He then purchased and conducted one of the leading retail drug houses in Portland until 1SS6, when he received a very advantageous offer for his business, which he accepted, and re- moved to San Francisco, California.
In the latter city he was for a year the lesee and manager of one of its leading theaters. Disposing of such interests, he re moved to Southern Oregon and engaged i- mining. but that inate longing to complete his medicinal studies caused him to return to Portland. where he entered the medical department of the Oregon State University, graduating therefrom in 1889. gaining the reputation of being one of the most studious. painstaking students who ever attended the institution.
Soon after receiving his degree, he formed a partnership with Dr. H. R. Littlefield, and began the active practice of his profession In Portland, where he has since resided, with the exception of a few months spent in Alaska during 1898. He arrived in Skag- way just as the epidemic of spinal menin- vitis broke out. and so successfully did he handle the dread disease that there was "Ich a demand for his services that his own ""alth gave way on account of excessive la- 'or. and he was glad to return to Portland.
In 1894 Dr. Cornelius was elected coroner : Multnomah county. on the republican 'rket. by an overwhelming majority. in which capacity he served with great credit o himself and the community. The doctor 4 a prominent member of quite a number ' fraternal and beneficiary orders. among om being the Masonic. Odd Fellows. Fnights of Pythias. Red Men, Elks. Druids 1d Fagles. He is also a member of the 'at- Medical Society.
The doctor's father has been dead since 56 His mother is still alive and resides ! Portland. at. 318 Montgomery street. in an legant and comfortable home, and. for the int fourteen years. the doctor and his two "ters have been living with her.
WILEY B. ALLEN.
Here is the story of a native son that should prove inspiring to every youth of Oregon. It is a tale of the magnificent busi- ness success that may be achieved by untir- ing, sleepless energy. coupled with integrity of purpose and a matchless zeal to deserve and retain the confidence and good will of all with whom our subject comes in con- tact.
Wiley B. Allen first saw the light of day upon the romantic banks of the Abiqua river, near Silveton, April 25, 1855. His in- fant days were passed among the fragrant flowers and the birds and the bushes of his surroundings, his silken locks often playing with the zephyrs that frequently sighed through the towering fir trees of his native heath.
Arriving at a suitable age, the youth at- tended the district school. where he was noted for his studious habits, and completed his education at the Willamette University under Professor T. M. Gatch, graduating with highest honors.
With $000 as his sole possessions. in 1876, young Mr. Allen located at San Jose, Cal- ifornia, where he opened a musical instru- ment establishment in a modest way. The enterprise was a success from the day of its beginning. his capital becoming multiplied many times over, but San Jose was too small a city for the genius of which we write. After a busy life of five years in the California town the young man removed to Portland. and in 1881 laid the foundation of what has developed into the most stupendous musical instrument concern on the Pacific coast. Its business has permeatedevery nook and corner of not only Oregon. Washington and Idaho, but reaches half way to Chic- ago to the east. and comes into active com- petition with. the gentleman's friendly com- petitors of the golden gate. The mind can scarcely conceive of the multitudinous ten- tacles of the great concern in which Mr. Allen is the beacon light and guiding spirit.
His mind. genius and hand has reached forth. not alone to the popular centers, but to the sparsely settled districts of the mountain ranges. the fertile valleys and beautiful vales of the large domain compris- ing what is popularly known as the Pacific coast. Anywhere and every where, in man- sion or in cabin, where the glitter of gold harms the eye and fascinates the mind. or le modest frock of the farm-wife and sun- sonnet of the milkmaid suggests merely comfort and refinement, mention music or instrument from which one extracts sweet cheerful and entrancing strains, and the Dame of Wiley B Allen at once come to mind It is symonomous of music. It bears upon its unseen wings "Peace on earth. good will to men." For music is peace. Good
1
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OREGON NATIVE SON.
will must reign where melody does dwell.
An acre of floor space-think of it-an acre of floor space is required to accomodate the business of the Wiley B. Allen house. Do not plead for any enumeration of his goods. Query what it may be in musical in- struments or in musical merchandise that is not on exhibition and one word will satisfy the curiosity. "Nothing," is the reply. The assortment is complete. The craftiest of craftsmen has not fashioned a thing of mus- ic. and, the pen has not written either a song of adoration of the Deity. the lofty in the classic, or on down to the rag-time jollities of the present hour, that may not be obtain- ed at the great emporium of musical har- mony of which both our city and state is proud.
Thus we have spoken of this native son. Other native sons may well profit by the lessons he has taught them. He has blazed the way. It should not be difficult to follow in his footsteps.
JAMES K. LOCKE, M. D.
Oregon has furnished many native sons who have been of greatest credit to it in various ways. In the practice of medicine none of them have, however, outstripped the subject of this sketch for ability, learning or desire to excel in this, the one profession which rec tires the greatest proficiency. Polk county may well be proud of the fact that the doctor was born within its pre- cincts.
Dr. Locke was born near Independence, December 19, 1861, on the farm of his par- ents, Harrison B. and Melissa P. Locke. His youthful years were spent at home and in such work as falls to the lot of the farm- er's boys ,but from the plow handles and the schools he steadily worked his way upw.rds to a professional career that brains and per- severance could only achieve.
The parents of the doctor were among the earlier pioneers to cross the plains. coming in 1845. Those were perilous days for those who came here to found a grand state, and the hardships they had to endure cannot be realized by those who never experienced such a trip. For a time subsequent to his arrival Mr. Locke, pere, was in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company. but finally took up a claim in Polk county, making that his future home. During the early Indian hos- tilities, the red skins burned his home. drove off his stock and comitteu other depredations upon his farm, but luckily noce of his fami- ly fell into savage hands He had the satis- faction of requiting them in a manner that brought them not only to a repentant mood. but also to peaceful behavior through the well-merited punishment
inflicted upon them by the Indian war veterans, of which he was one of the most active and bravest.
Dr. Locke acquired his earlier education in the district schools near home, and after. wards attended the Agricultural College ar Corvallis. Upon leaving school he went :) Independence and entered the office of Dr. T J. Lee, now deceased, where he began t .. study of medicine. After a year's time l .. went to St. Louis, Mo .. where he attended th ... Missouri Medical College. graduating ther» from with the highest honors, on March 4 1888. Returning to Oregon he located at Buena Vista, where he remained four years and a half and then removed to Portland Here, for the past seven years, he has en- joyed a most lucrative practice, his hand some parlors a Third and Madison sree:s being daily visited by a clientele compos. d of the best citizens of Oregon's metropoli- His practice will continue to grow as his genial disposition, upright demeanor and success as a physician wins goodwill and pa tients on every hand. His friends are num- bered by his acquaintance.
Dr. Locke was married on November ; 1890, to Miss Minnie B. Gibson, and olle child, a daughter of six, is the fruits of the union.
SAMUEL A. CLARKE.
There is much in the life of an active man that is worthy of preservation in the paz - of history, but circumstances will, at times, not permit of a full resume of the more in teresting and important incidents connected therewith. To our regret we are so situat- ed, as we take up the pen to write of the prominent and well known pioneer whos. name appears above.
Mr. Clarke is one of the few pioneers to Oregon who can say. as the old adage gors "like father, like son," for among those wl. , braved the perils of oceans deep in 16 .' were his ancesors. Men and women w !! bravely sundered ties of home and kind! ! to come to the new continent to find a new roof-tree; to establish a community free from: oppression: to fight for liberty; to ha !! down the flag of aristocracy and fiing to th- breeze an emblem dear to its all-Öld Glor;
In the annals of revolutionary days \' find the Wynkoops. the Strongs, the Clark. - the Jessups and others: soldiers, states !! " merchants, giants in the literary field. a :. . danies as mistresses of houses frequent by the founders of our government. scended from such was the subject of :' memoir. who, like them, became a piotr to a new country, and one of the promin . factors in its history. Mr. Clarke was hi in Cuba on his father's plantation non Holguin. the birthplace of the Cuban leade. Maceo ard Garcia, and was one of the!' children.
Here his earlier life was past amid -! 1 that goes to make a palatial home of !! jrich so beautiful in tropical climates. B .'
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
the perpetual summer idyl was to have sud- den ending. The father, uncle and five older children were swept away by fever. A sor- rowful ending of the Candelaria home. The mother took her three little boys north to educate them at New Haven. They landed at Baltimore, where the boy had his first glass of ice cream, dropping it on the stone walk because he thought it burned him.
There were no railroads at that time, so they traveled by stage to New York. The change from tropic life reacted on the lad and all his earlier life he was a victim of ill heath, which prevented his receiving a col- lege course, as was intended. At seventeen he went to New York to learn business with an eminent house of that day. At twenty, as his firm dissolved, he went to Charleston where his brother was in business. South- ern climate and conditions not suiting him. he went to Sandusky, Ohio, where he was employed in banking. In 1849 he started for Oregon. He arrived here in 1850, and in 1851 went overland to California with an ox team. returning in the fall after mining on Shasta plain where Yreka now stands.
At that time Portland was a mere village; little settlement above the Santiam-perhaps a half a dozen in the Umpqua. The Rogue river valley was without a settler, all the beautiful valeys of Western Oregon being almost in a state of nature. That fall he was connected in an enterprise to build a saw mill in Portland, where the ste 1 bridge now lands on the west side. There was then no improvement in that part of the city.
Meantime he had met Harriet Buckingham and they were married February 23, 1852. That fall he sold the mill and moved to Salem and bought a land claim from a set- tler for about what the land sold for when the title was completed. The Candelaria plan- lation remained in the family until now, but was sold, and the farm cost all that the mill brought and the Cuban inheritance added.
When his first crop of wheat ripened, he wung his cradle during the forenoons while the wife raked for binding. After noon he bound the wheat while she rode the pony bareback to drive up the oxen. when they loaded and hauled the wheat to the barn that he had built. In this way the harvest sas saved. At that season it was not pos- ible to hire help, so they had to do as they lid. In 1859 they removed to Salem, where hey afterwards lived for so many years.
For several years from 1860 he was east f the Cascades. and when Baker county was Organized was appointed its county clerk, at Wequest of leading citizen. After filling that erm he returned to Salem and was corres- fondent for the Oregonian during the legis- ture of '64; and then edited the Oregonian .uring the last year of the war, resigning to Attending to mining interests in Southern daho. Subsequently he went East and was bsent a year, part of the time superintend-
ing the boring for oil in West Virginia, where friends in New York had a great tract of land.
In San Francisco, on his return, he met the men who organized to build a railroad to the Oregon line. Acting in harmony with them he organized a corporation that com- menced to build the road, and in three years sold to Ben Holladay. He was secretary for three years.
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