The centennial history of Oregon, 1811-1912, Part 104

Author: Gaston, Joseph, 1833-
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago, The S.J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 1072

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In 1868 Captain Bensell was married at Millville to Mrs. Mary Sturdevant, who was born in Illinois. She is a daughter of Hiram H. Hall, a native of Connecticut. The father came to Oregon in 1877 and took up his home with Captain and Mrs. Bensell. Hc

R. A. BENSELL

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died at the advanced age of ninety-one years and six months. Captain Bensell is an active member of the Episcopal church and is great- ly interested in Sunday-school work, being at the present time superintendent of the Sunday school. He is deeply interested in education and has most efficiently filled the office of school director. Politically he affil- iates with the republican party. He has served as member of both county and state central committees and has been very promi- nent in promoting the interests of his party. He was elected to the state legislature from Benton county in 1868 and 1876. In 1882 he was a candidate for the state senate from Benton and Polk counties but was defeated by the narrow margin of twenty-three votes. He has at various times occupied a chair in the town council and was for three years mayor of Newport. Under his administra- tion the electric light and city water plants were installed and movements were started which have assisted materially in the develop- ment of the town. He has now arrived at the age of seventy-four and for nearly fifty years he has been identified with the growth of Oregon. He is still in possession of a gratifying measure of health and strength and it is the earnest wish of a large circle of associates and friends that he may for many years be spared to enjoy the fruits of his wisely directed labors.

DAVID BOWMAN is a native of Oregon and since he was fifteen years of age has been engaged in various representative in- dustries in different parts of the state. After many years spent in farming, blacksmithing and carpentering, and in many other occupa- tions, he came in 1910 to Curry county, where he opened the first cheese factory in the section and is now operating it success- fully, having built up in two years a modern business of considerable importance. He was · born in Polk county, in 1870, a son of Wil- liam and Mary J. (Ball) Bowman, natives of Missouri and pioneer settlers in Oregon. His father crossed the plains when he was eleven years of age and being an orphan, made his home with a Mr. O'Neal until his marriage. The mother of our subject came to Oregon when she was but three years old and set- tled with her parents on a donation land claim in Polk county in Ballston, a town named after her father. Mr. and Mrs. Bow- man were married in Polk county and lived in that section until she died. In their family were eight children: William B., of Polk county; Abbie, the wife of Glen Zum- walt, of Polk county; Babe, who died in in- fancy; David, of this review; Drusilla, who married T. S. Coffee, of Dallas; Bernice, the widow of Bert Brooks, of Dallas, who re- sides with her mother; Rodney, of Ballston; and Thomas, who resides with his mother in Dallas.

David Bowman attended the district schools of Polk county until he was fifteen years of age and since that time has been earn- ing his own livelihood, working at various occupations. Until he was thirty he followed the blacksmithing and carpentering trades

in eastern Oregon and then purchased four hundred acres of land in the same section which he improved and operated until 1910 and which he still owns. In the latter year he returned to Polk county and after a short stay came to Curry. county where he built the first cheese factory in this section of the state. In partnership with his brother-in- law, Henry Miller, he operates this enterprise and also a similar one at Parkersburg, and is known as one of the progressive and en- terprising business men of the county.

In 1903 Mr. Bowman was united in mar- riage to Miss Lillian Berry, a native of Polk county, and a daughter of George and Mary (Huffman) Berry. In their family were eight children: William, a resident of Florence; Nannie, the wife of Elias Connor, of Port- land; Ettie, deceased; Frank, of Sheridan; George, who resides in Portland; Lillian, the wife of our subject; Clara, who married Wil- lard Sloan, of Dallas; and Ethel, the wife of Henry Miller, of Parkersburg, Mr. and Mrs. Bowman have one daughter, La Verne, who was born October 28, 1908.

Mr. Bowman gives his allegiance to the so- cialist party and for three years was post- master of Clem. He is well known in the affairs of the Woodmen of the World, but bis principal interest outside of his business affairs is given to school work. He believes that children should be properly and prac- tically trained and given the advantage of scientific equipment. As school director and school clerk he has applied a knowledge gained by study and thought and has in- fluenced in no slight way local conditions and systems. His activities are all of the same broadly useful kind and make him one of the most worthy native sons of Ore- gon.

W. R. BEATTIE is the owner of one of the finest ranches in Coos county where he carries on general farming and specializes in dairying and stock-raising. He was born in Pennsylvania on the 16th of March, 1868, and is a son of William and Margaret (Crawford) Beattie, the former a native of England and the latter of Scotland. The father came to America in 1856 and a few years later returned to his native country. In Scotland he married and returned with his wife to America. They settled in Penn- sylvania where William Beattie worked in the coal mines for several years. In 1870 they removed to California and a few years later came to Oregon, settling on the Coos river in Coos county. Here Mr. Beattie bought land and operated a farm and dairy until his death, in 1903. His wife is still living on the homestead at the age of sev- enty-two years. They were the parents of eight children: Mrs. Church, who resides on the northi inlet; W. R., of this review; J. C., who makes his home on the Coos river; Mrs. Daniel Quinn, of Seattle, Wash- ington; Mrs. J. W. Ross, of San Francisco, California; Annie, who is deceased; and two children who died in infancy.

W. R. Beattie received his education in Coos county and completed it at the age

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of fifteen years. He worked as a farm la- borer for a number of years and by much saving and strict economy was enabled to purchase eighty acres of land on the Coos river. Later he took up a homestead claim on Ten Mile lake and operated these one hundred and sixty acres for a number of years. He has continuously added to his original purchase until now he has under cultivation six hundred acres of the finest farm land in the district. He makes a spe- cialty of dairying and stock-raising and man- ages his enterprise in a progressive and scientific way. The products of his dairy are noted for their cleanliness and purity and for the sanitary conditions under which they are manufactured. He owns a fine herd of graded cattle and does an extensive business along this line.

Mr. Beattie gives his political allegiance to the republican party and takes an in- telligent interest in public affairs although he has never sought office. He gives his entire time and attention to the management and direction of his dairy and stock farm. He began in a humble way and has built up from a small beginning one of the finest ranches in Coos county, and is recognized in the district as one of its leading and most prosperous citizens.

SAMUEL ANDERSON PATTISON, whose activities in the real-estate field are factors in individual success and public progress at Central Point and in other sections of Jackson and Marion counties has been a resident of Oregon since 1898. He is widely known in journalistic and real-estate circles. He was born November 17, 1860, in Ohio county, Virginia. His father, Thomas Pat- tison, a native of the same county, was born in 1802, and was a son of John Pattison, who was one of the early settlers of the Old Dominion. The latter was a minister of the Dissenter church and also engaged in teach- ing. Thomas Pattison wedded Jane Hum- phrey, whose birth occurred in Ohio county, Virginia, in 1824. She was a daughter of Robert Humphrey and a granddaughter of John Humphrey who was the first actual set- tler of that part of the state.

Samuel Anderson Pattison is indebted to the common-school system of his native county and also of Washington county, Penn- sylvania, for the early educational privileges which he enjoyed. The necessity of aiding in the work of the home farm forced him to put aside his text-books when he was six- teen years of age and to agricultural pur- suits he devoted his attention until 1885. In that year he removed westward and in 1889 spent his time in Nebraska, Kansas, and Indian Territory. Through the two succeeding years he was a resident of Wy- oming and in 1891 he went to Idaho where he remained for about seven years. During that period he engaged in newspaper pub- lication at Emmett, Idaho. In 1898 he re- moved to Condon, Oregon, where he published the Condon Globe until 1906. In that year he went to Central Point and there estab- lished the Herald. In addition to looking

after this publication he engaged in town site and town addition work. He owns real estate at Central Point, Condon and in Ma- rion county, Oregon.

On the 7th of February, 1894, at Boise, Idaho, Mr. Pattison was married to Miss Elattic B. Stone, a daughter of George F. and Mary C. (Owen) Stone, the former a native of Vermont and the latter of Pennsyl- vania. Both crossed the plains in 1861 and Mr. Stone was one of the first party of miners in the Boise basin after the dis- covery of gold there. Mr. and Mrs. Patti- son have three children, S. Everett, Cathe- rine and Dorothy.

In politics Mr. Pattison is independent, voting as his judgment dictates and support- ing those candidates whom he deems best qualified for the office to which they aspire. The only public position he ever held was deputy sheriff of Canyon county, Idaho, from 1894 until 1897. He is a noble grand of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, which office he filled for a number of terms at Con- don as well as at Central Point. In 1902, 1903, 1907 and 1908 he was a delegate to the Grand Lodge. He was consul commander of the Woodmen of the World and is a mem- ber of Medford Lodge, No. 1168, B. P. O. E. He has firm faith in the northwest and its future, recognizing the fact that the tide of emigration is steadily flowing westward and this, combined with its rich resources, must eventually become a well settled and well developed country. He is doing his full share in promoting its progress and his po- sition upon any vital question is never an equivocal one.

PAUL RAUBACK was born in Germany and after attaining his majority traveled around the world, becoming acquainted with the opportunities and advantages of other countries. He then came to America and traveled extensively through its western states and is now settled down to the quiet life of a prosperous farmer in Coos county. He was born on May 27, 1870, and is a son of Herman and Charlotte (Bockelman) Rau- back, botlı natives of Germany, where the father died in 1902. His mother is still liv- ing in her native country at the age of eighty-five years. Herman Rauback was a wagon manufacturer and followed this line of occupation until his death. He and his wife were the parents of eleven children, five of whom are still living: Paul, of this review; Herman and Otto, now residents of New York; and Johanna and Anna, who are residents of Germany.

Paul Rauback received his early education in the public schools of his native country. He left Germany in 1897 and traveled around the world. He stopped in London for a short time and then came to Canada. He arrived in the United States a short time after- ward, traveling through New York, and vis- ited nearly all of the states in the Union, settling in San Francisco in 1900. He spent many years in his travels and gained a broad-minded and liberal outlook upon life. He took an intelligent interest in the condi-

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THE CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF OREGON

tions which surrounded him in the different countries and especially in those pertaining to agricultural development. He lived in San Fransico for ten years and was interested in the Comstock gold mines which he operated until he came to Oregon and in which he still has large holdings. In 1910 he left Cali- fornia and came to Oregon, where he settled on Ten Mile lake, Coos county. He pur- chased two hundred and eighty acres of land a mile and a quarter from Lakeside and this he is improving and operating at the present time. He has a firm faith in the future of the state of Oregon and is keenly interested in its rising land values. He also owns prop- erty in San Francisco and Nevada and has extensive holdings in Alameda, California. He is one of the prosperous men in Coos county where his broad intelligence and high ability have gained him many friends.

In 1909 Mr. Rauback was united in mar- riage to Miss Gertrude Ewald. She was born in Berlin, Germany, and came to America with her parents when she was a child. She lived in California until her marriage and came with her husband to Coos county in 1910. She is one of four daughters born to her parents, who, with the exception of Mrs. Rauback, are residents of California. Mr. Rauback gives general allegiance to the republican party and votes that ticket on national issues but prefers to follow his judg- inent independently in local affairs. He takes an intelligent interest in politics but has never sought public office. He gives his attention entirely to the cultivation of his land in Coos county and to the management of his property in other western states. He brings to his occupation a broad knowl- edge of soil cultivation, and a liberal mind and a power of concentrating industry which are assets as valuable in farming as in busi- ness or the professions.

THOMAS MARTIN is a pioneer miller of Klamath county, where he located in 1884, building the first gristmill within the bor- ders of the county. He now makes his home in Klamath Falls and is still engaged in the inilling business, having one of the most thoroughly equipped plants of its kind in southern. Oregon. He was born in Dorset- shire, England, September 19, 1845, and is the son of Edward and Mary (Crocker) Mar- tin, who spent their entire lives in England, the father following the butcher's trade.

In their family were ten children, of whom Thomas Martin was ninth in order of birth and the only one who came to the United States. When thirteen years of age he was apprenticed to the millers' trade and was ac- tively connected with that business until seven years ago, when he retired. He is still, how- ever, the owner of the milling property. \It was in 1873 that he crossed the Atlantic to the new world and became a resident of Illinois. Five years later he resumed his westward journey and came to the Rogue river valley in Oregon. Up to this time he had always been in the employ of others but here he rented a mill and began business on his own account. In 1884 he came to

Klamath county and built the first grist- inill within its borders. This was an old burr mill with a capacity of twenty-five bar- rels in twenty-four hours. He enlarged the property, adding many modern improvements, and five years ago built the present mill at Klamath Falls, which is now operated by his sons, Mr. Martin remaining, however, financially interested in the enterprise. It is a modern roller process mill with a ca- pacity of one hundred and twenty-five bar- rels. He and his sons also have a mill at Merrill, which he erected in 1894, and which has a capacity of seventy-five barrels. He also owns a ranch of nine hundred and twenty acres in the Spring Lake country.

On July 22, 1872, Mr. Martin was united in marriage to Miss Thirza Puttemon, who was born in Somersetshire, England, in 1848. Fight months after their marriage they sailed for the United States and in this country all their children were born, namely: Mary Ann, who died in 1890, at the age of six- teen years; Samuel Edward, who operates the mill and store at Merrill; Charles J., who conducts the mill at Klamath Falls; Sarah Elizabeth, the wife of Carey Rumsley, of Klamath Falls; John Henry, who is asso- ciated with his brother Edward in milling and mercantile interests at Merrill; Nellie, who died at the age of one year; and Maude, the wife of E. L. Hosley, of Merrill.

In politics Mr. Martin has ever been a stalwart republican since becoming a natu- ralized citizen of the United States. He has never sought nor desired office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his individual interests. He belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen and has the high es- teem of his brethren of that organization. When he came to Klamath county he was in limited financial circumstances and he did practically two men's work in order to gain a start. No grain was grown here when he built his mill and only a few hundred bush- els the first year, but this fast became a great grain producing center and milling operations have long been successfully con- ducted in this district.

CHARLES C. LOW, for some years a mem- ber of the police force of Klamath Falls, was born in Des Moines, Iowa, May 19, 1854, his parents being Levi B. and Jane (Cleve- land) Low, who were natives of Indiana, born, reared and married in the vicinity of Elkhart. They removed to Iowa about 1850 and in 1864 they crossed the plains to Ore- gon, residing in the Willamette valley until 1870. The mother of Charles C. Low had died in Iowa when her son was but three years of age, after which the father married again. In 1870 he took up his abode in Jackson county, Oregon, where he died in 1881 at the age of fifty-nine years. He had been a life long farmer. There were two children born of the father's first marriage, of whom Charles C. is the elder, and there were six children by the second marriage.

Charles C. Low spent his youthful days under the parental roof until he reached the age of sixteen, when he started out to make

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his own way in the world, securing employ- ment in Jackson county. In 1886 he came to Klamath Falls and has since made his home in this district. He followed farming and stock-raising until 1906, when he took up his abode in Klamath Falls in order to pro- vide his children with the excellent educa- tional privileges offered by the public schools here. For two years he conducted a livery stable and feed barn and has since been a member of the police force. At the present writing he has the nomination for sheriff of Klamath county on the republican ticket, which is equivalent to an election. At one time he owned three ranches but disposed of this land and now owns only his home, which is a new residence at No. 421 Oak street.

On the 1st of January, 1883, Mr. Low was united in marriage to Miss Lena Lavenberg, who was born in Phoenix, Jackson county, Oregon, November 19, 1863, and is a daugh- ter of Daniel and Elizabeth Lavenberg. The father was a native of Pennsylvania and of German descent. The mother was born in Germany. At an early day they crossed the plains.

Mr. and Mrs. Low became parents of four children, Royal J., Lloyd L., Elsie E. and Josie M. Mr. Low belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity and in politics has been a lifelong republican, giving earnest support to the party because of his firm be- lief in its principles. He is a self-made man who from the age of sixteen has depended entirely upon his own resources and has gradually worked his way upward. He now occupies a creditable position as one of the representative citizens of Klamath Falls.

GEORGE RITER is one of the well known business men of Roseburg, where he is en- gaged in the real-estate and insurance busi- ness, representing The West Coast Life In- surance Company of San Francisco, of which he is district manager.

He was born in Pike county, Illinois, March 31, 1856, and is a son of Casper and Christine (Shear) Riter, both of whom were natives of Ohio. They celebrated their marriage in Illi- nois, to which state they had moved with their parents when they were children. The father was by occupation a farmer and, after his wedding, first located in Pike county, Illi- nois, and in 1871, removed to Kansas, from which state he, some time later, went to Utah. and from there to Denver, Colorado, where he continued to live until the time of his death, which occurred in 1907, at the age of seventy-nine years.

George Riter was reared in his parents' home, and received his elementary education in the public schools of Illinois and Kansas. At the age of twenty years, he went to the San Juan country, Colorado. After a time. he went north where he engaged in mining at Black Hawk, and Central City, Colorado, where he took up the work of amalgamation and milling, at the old Winnebago mine, under Professor John Terry. After completing the required course, he was graduated as amal- gamater of gold ores. Immediately after his

graduation, he went to Silver Cliff, where horn silver had just been found. After re- maining at Silver Cliff one winter, he went to the scene of the Leadville excitement, re- maining there a year. Here he engaged in mining on Friar hill and then returned to the San Juan country, where he engaged in min- ing in the vicinity of Silverton. He then went to New Mexico and Arizona, and then returned to Colorado.

During all the time spent in his travels as above cited, he was engaged in the min- ing business. He crossed Arizona on a mule, with pack animals, twice before there was a railroad across the territory. From Colo- rado he went to the Wood river country in Idaho, and was there engaged in mining nearly three years, after which he went to the Okanagon district in Okanagon county, Washington, and later to British Columbia, where he was identified with the mining in- dustry for ten years. He then went to the Thunder Mountain district in Idaho, during the gold excitement at that place, being among the first to go over the Dixie trail, and making a second trip over the Warren trail, after which he went into the Bitter Root mountains, in what was known in early days as the Moose City district. He then went to Grants Pass, for a few weeks, and from there to Goldfield, Nevada, where he remained for some time in the mining districts of that state.

After leaving Nevada he went to California, and was identified in mining in Enyo and Mono counties and still has an interest in the Blind Spring Hill Company, which is the owner of the oldest mining property in California. He is also the owner of mining interests in British Columbia and Idaho, and is a stockholder in the Oregon & Washington Underwriters, an incorporated insurance agency of Portland, Oregon. On leaving Enyo county, California, he purchased a team and started overland for Roseburg, Oregon, trav- eling along the Owens river for a short dis- tance, and crossing the desert and Pummice plains, to Mono lake, at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Thence he proceeded to Bridgeport and after a few days' travel crossed over into Nevada by way of Garden City, Carson City, Steamboat Springs, Reno, Lovelocks, and old Winnemuckka, Willow Point. Quinn River bridge, and crossed the Nevada-Oregon boundary line at Denio.

Many times on the trip, he was obliged to load the wagon with water and feed for his horses for a two-day trip through the hot sands and Alkali flats which lie between the watering places. From Denio, Oregon, he continued to Andrews, West Fall, Malheur, and Baker City, Oregon, where he rested his team for a few days and again started out for Roseburg, by way of Sumpter, Austin, Prairie City, and down the John Day river, traveling the old military road to Mitchell. and across the Blue mountains, and down Mill creek to Prineville. in Crook county, where he again rested his faithful team for two days.

After leaving Prineville, he continued his journey by way of the Chutes river, and the

GEORGE RITER

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town of the Sisters, and crossed the lava- capped range of the Cascades, near the snow- capped mountain of the Three Sisters, in a blinding snow storm. Then he descended the lava-covered west slope to Lost creek, and then to the beautiful Mckenzie, and on down the river to Eugene and turned toward Rose- burg, by way of Cottage Grove, London Springs, and the Shoestring route to Oak- land, and on to beautiful Roseburg. In the month of October, 1908, having traveled over two thousand miles by team, he arrived in that city.

Mr. Riter was united in marriage, August 22, 1909, to Mrs. Marie Seldon Flint. Mr. Riter gives his political allegiance to the re- publican party, and is just the same age as that great organization. He has never been at any time an office seeker. He was made a Mason at Silverton, Colorado, in 1883, in San Juan Lodge, No. 33. Afterward he affil- iated with Laurel Lodge, No. 13, of Lewis- ton, Idaho, and he and his wife are members of the Roseburg Chapter, No. 8, of the Order of Eastern Star. Mr. and Mrs. Riter are members of the Presbyterian church.

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The centennial history of Oregon, 1811-1912, Part 104

Author: Gaston, Joseph, 1833- Publication date: 1912 Publisher: Chicago, The S.J. Clarke publishing company Number of Pages: 1072

Author: Gaston, Joseph, 1833-
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago, The S.J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 1072