The centennial history of Oregon, 1811-1912, Part 169

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

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THE CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF OREGON

also served at this time as deputy post- master for

two years, and for four years carried the United States mail. In 1888 he was again reelected town marshal and was also appointed city tax collector and street commissioner, while in the same year he also received the appoint- ment of notary public. He was also elected justice of the peace for the north and south Forest Grove precincts and was reelected to that office without opposition, proving a most capable official, his decisions being strictly fair and impartial. In 1890, having taken up a homestead, close to Gales Creek, Mr. Ad- kins resigned his position as justice of the peace and town marshal and in the year 1891 removed to his farm, whereon he has resided continuously since. He also sold his business and office in Forest Grove and has given his attention to general agricultural pursuits and other business interests and duties. He carried the mail from Gales Creek to the Wilson River postoffice, a dis- tance of thirty-six miles, for four years be- ginning in 1904, and has been continuously appointed by the governor to the office of notary public, receiving his last appointment on the 2d of May, 1910, for a two years' term. In politics he has always been a stal- wart republican, unfaltering in his support of the party.

On the 11th of October, 1866, Mr. Adkins was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Catherine Frances Campbell, a daughter of Jeremiah and Elizabeth Campbell, pioneers of Missouri, removing to that state from Tennessee. Her father, who was born in 1801, was a soldier in the early Indian wars, in the War of 1812 and the Mexican war, in which General Price was paymaster, Mr. Campbell becoming well acquainted with him. Mr. Campbell was a Douglas democrat until after the outbreak of the Civil war, when he voted for Abraham Lincoln. He was the owner of slaves and an extensive farm. His family numbered twelve children, four sons and eight daughters, of whom Mrs. Adkins was the youngest. Jeremiah Camp- bell died at the advanced age of eighty-seven years. In early womanhood Mrs. Adkins engaged in teaching school and following her marriage was a devoted wife and mother, who carefully managed the affairs of her household to the time of her death, which occurred July 26, 1904. To Mr. and Mrs. Adkins were born twelve children, six sons and six daughters, of whom three sons and two daughters are deceased. The seven liv- ing are: Julia E., the wife of Timothy J. Hoare, of Portland, Oregon; Mary O., the wife of Harry McFarland, of Marshfield, Oregon; Joshua J., who married Cora B. Pratt and lives in this state; John W., who wedded Julia Bennett and resides at Great Falls, Montana; Martha S. M., the wife of Clay Trites, of Hillsboro, Oregon; Charles M., who married Mrs. Alice Smith and lives at Wilson River, Oregon; and Lena G., who lives in Portland.

Mr. Adkins has been a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen since 1887 and has held all of the offices from in-

side watchman to that of deputy past grand. He organized Lodge No. 106 at Gales Creek in 1896 and has been very active in the order. He is likewise a member of James B. Mathen Post, "No. 6, G. A. R., of Forest Grove, with which he united in 1886. He belongs to the Lincoln Club and in church work has ever been active and helpful. He was licensed to preach in Missouri in 1876 and was ordained to the work of an evangelist in Oregon on the 5th of June, 1885, in the Primitive Baptist church. For ten years he had charge of five churches. His influence has always been on the side of righteousness and truth, of progress, reform and improve- ment. He has ever been loyal to any cause that he has espoused and his name has come to be recognized as a synonym for good citizenship and for upright manhood in the community where he makes his home.

LORENZO D. BURK is a well known citi- zen of Bonanza where he took up his abode in July, 1890. He was born in Decatur county, Iowa, June 8, 1867, and was reared in Union county, Iowa, where he remained until eight- een years of age, spending his youthful days in the home of his parents, Robert Emmett and Caroline A. (Carter) Burk, the former a native of Decatur county, Iowa, and the lat- ter of Decatur, Illinois. They were mar- ried, however, in Iowa, where Charles Carter, the father of Mrs. Burk, had settled among the early pioneers. He was a native of Vir- ginia and on removing to the middle west invested largely in land, at one time paying taxes on about half the property in the county. He also did an extensive business as a railroad contractor and as a dealer in live stock. He reared a family of eleven children, four sons and seven daughters. The Burk family remained residents of Iowa until the 11th of March, 1885, when they came to the coast, settling at Red Bluff, California, where Mr. and Mrs. Burk still reside. The father has been a lifelong car- penter and contractor. Their children are: Lorenzo D .; Guy Clarence, living at Red Bluff, California; Charles Arthur, whose home is in Redding, California; and Daisy May, the wife of John Ginn, also of Red Bluff. Both of the brothers of L. D. Burk are carpenters.

Brought to California when a boy in his teens, Lorenzo D. Burk resided in Tehama county until he came to Klamath county, Oregon, in July, 1890, since which time he has made his home in Bonanza. Throughout his entire life he has engaged in farming and stock-raising and is now the owner of two ranches of one hundred and sixty acres each and a timber tract of five hundred acres. Three years ago he built a fine home in Bo- nanza and spends the winters in the town in order to give his children the benefit of the educational advantages offered by the city schools.

On the 27th of May, 1894, Mr. Burk was united in marriage to Miss Birdie Horton, who was born eight miles from Bonanza on the Horton ranch in Klamath county, May 27, 1875, and has always resided here. She

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THE CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF OREGON

is a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Poe) Horton, and Poe Valley in this part of the state was named for her grandfather. William Horton was a native of New York and his wife was born in the Willamette valley, where they were married, after which they removed to Poe Valley, being numbered among its first settlers. Their remaining days were passed here. Mrs. Burk was only a few days old when her mother died and was left an orphan at the age of eight years by her father's death. Mr. Horton built the first hotel and livery barn in Klamath Falls,, the former being known as the Ameri- can Hotel. He engaged in stock-raising dur- ing the greater part of his life and was a valued, early settler of this district. His family numbered five children: Charles, of Seattle, Washington, who built the Yonna Valley dam and has extensive interests in Klamath county; Anna, the wife of J. O. Hamaker; Jackson, living at Klamath Falls; Ella Jane, who died at the age of eight years; and Mrs. Burk, who by her marriage has become the mother of two children, Glenn and Milburn.

Mr. and Mrs. Burk are widely and favora- bły known in Klamath county, having a large circle of warm friends in Bonanza and throughout the surrounding district. His po- litical allegiance is given to the republican party and, while not a politician in the usu- ally accepted sense of the word, he has served as deputy sheriff and as school trustee for a number of years. He has led a busy life, and his energy and enterprise have placed him among the substantial citizens of the county.

JAMES H. RUSSELL, who passed away at Ashland on the 1st of October, 1895, came to Jackson county more than six decades ago and during much of the remainder of his life was actively engaged in the marble busi- ness here. He had the honor of erecting the first monuments in five counties of Oregon and was one of the very foremost representa- tives of that branchi of activity in the United States. His birth occurred in Tennessee on the 5th of April, 1823, his parents being James and Mabel (Howard) Russell. They died in the prime of life, when their son James was but five years of age.

James H. Russell attended the public schools of Washington county, Ohio, near Marietta, until fifteen years of age and then went to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, to serve an apprenticeship at marble working and stone- cutting, following the completion of which he labored as a journeyman workman in that city. In 1849 he joined a party of seventy young men who were going to the gold fields of California, crossing the plains from the Missouri river with the "big mule train." After mining on the Yuba river for two years, Mr. Russell and three companions, Messrs. Gibbs, Hare and Barron, came to Jackson county, Oregon, locating at a place now called Barron. The first named of Mr. Russell's companions, Mr. Gibbs, was killed during the Indian war of 1853 by a suppos- edly friendly Indian. The comrades took up

a donation claim of two sections of land and, continuing in partnership, engaged in farm- ing and also established the Mountain House, a popular hostelry which they conducted until 1858. Mr. Russell was a veteran of the Indian wars of 1853-56 and held the rank of major in the regiment commanded by Colonel John Ross. In 1860, he located on Coleman creek, near Phoenix, where he opened a marble quarry and put in a marble mill which was operated by water power and where he produced Oregon marble. A year later he went to Canyon City and while working in the Blue Mountain mines was struck by a huge boulder which shattered his leg and inflicted such serious injury that he was unable to return home for eighteen months. On April 14, 1865, he removed with his family to Ashland, where he erected a marble mill, its site being at the rear of the lot now occupied by the Odd Fellows build- ing. After his accident he had the able as- sistance of his wife, who had in his absence employed her leisure hours in developing her hitherto latent talent, becoming in the mean- time an adept marble cutter and sculptor. Quarrying his marble in Josephine county, Mr. Russell had it hauled to Ashland by teams until the completion of the railroad as far as Roseburg, when he had it shipped from the east. He erected the first monuments in Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Klamath and Lake counties and in Siskiyou county, Cali- fornia. After his first mill was destroyed by fire he ordered and had all his marble shipped from the east, continuing in this business during the remainder of his life. He built up an enviable reputation throughout the country, his name being fourth from the top in length of time in business and in financial integrity in the marble directory of the United States. A progressive and public- spirited citizen, he was a prominent factor in the erection of schoolhouses, churches and public buildings. He was an active and val- ued member of the Methodist Episcopal church and also belonged to the Jackson County Pioneer Association. He served in the capacity of town councilman and was a leader in the work of the prohibition party in Jackson county.

On the 9th of May, 1854, Mr. Russell was united in marriage to Miss Ann Haseltine Hill, a native of Sweetwater, Tennessee, who came across the plains with her father, Isaac Hill, when a maiden of fourteen years, set- tling in Jackson county, Oregon. Mr. Hill was six months in making the journey from the Missouri river to Portland, then but a village. Since the death of her husband Mrs. Russell has continned the marble business most successfully, her shop being in the rear of her residence. She is one of the pioneer marble cutters of the country and the oldest woman marble worker in the United States. Her work, which is of a superior order, is to be found in southern Oregon, northern Cali- * fornia and eastern Oregon. Among thie beau- tiful and artistic monuments which she has erected in Ashland are the Atkinson, Wag- ner, Chitwood, Dennis Tolman, McCall, Gani- ard, Thomas Smith and Russell monuments,

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THE CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF OREGON

all the inscriptions on the same having been cut by herself. To Mr. and Mrs. Russell were born eleven children, as follows: James B., who is engaged in the marble business at Yreka, California; Mrs. Grace Fountain, an artist of ability residing in Oakland, Cali- fornia; Nellie, who is at home; Mattie, the wife of Rev. Boyd, of Woodland, California; Mrs. Mollie Enbanks, a twin sister of Mrs. Boyd, who died in Ashland; Mrs. Hortense Vining, of Los Angeles, California; Mrs. Theodosia Walter, of Portland, Oregon; Ber- tha, who is the wife of O. Winter and resides in Ashland; Mabel, an artist residing in Ashland; Carl,' who is engaged in mining in Siskiyou county, California; and Pearl, now Mrs. James Potter, of Weed, California.

Mrs. Russell belongs to both the Jackson County Pioneer Association and the State Pioneer Association, is a member and ex- president of the Woman's Christian Temper- ance Union and is also an active member of the First Presbyterian church. At Rest Cot- tage in Evanston, Illinois, the last earthly home of Frances E. Willard, may be seen a beautiful piece of Mrs. Russell's handiwork. It represents the badge of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, the white rib- bon bow, carved in marble. It was first ex- hibited at the Jackson County Fair and later at the World's Fair and is now in the memor- rial room in Rest Cottage. Mrs. Russell is a lady of wonderful versatility and many ac- complishments and is recognized as one of the best informed women on the history of southern Oregon in the state. She is fre- quently called upon to address local meet- ings on various subjects pertaining to early times here, being thoroughly familiar with the annals of Oregon from pioneer days down to the present.

CHARLES N. WAIT, a resident of Canby, is one of Oregon's most prominent citizens and one whose standing as an attorney, as a public official and as a politician has been brought about by the keen perception and the straightforward policies he has mani- fested at all times. His birth occurred in Oregon City, Clackamas county, on the 10th of February, 1856, his parents being Aaron E. and Mary Ann (Sprenger) Wait. He bears a name prominently identified with the legal fraternity of the state of Oregon. His American ancestors were connected with the early history of the eastern states, his paternal great-great-great-grandfather, Ben- jamin, having been born in Connecticut, from which state he moved to Hatfield, Massa- chusetts. This remote forefather was never wanting in physical or moral prowess, and because of his bold frontier experiences was known as an Indian annihilator. His fight- ing ability seems to have been inherited by his son, John, who was a soldier in the Whately Company, under Captain Henry Stiles, and afterward a sergeant in Captain Russell Kellogg's company, on the Benning- ton alarm. Joel, the son of John, followed the martial fortunes of Washington during the Revolutionary war and was in both the Hatfield Company, commanded by Captain

Graves, and the company of Captain Murry.

Judge Aaron E. Wait, father of Charles N. and first chief justice of the state of Ore- gon, was born in Whately, Franklin county, Massachusetts, December 26, 1813, a son of Aaron Wait, also a native of Massachusetts, and a soldier during the War of 1812. Aaron Wait married Sarah Morton, a native of Whately and daughter of Solomon Mor- ton, representative of a prominent Massachu- setts family. Four children were born of this union: Eunice, Clementine, Charles G. and Aaron E. Aaron Wait died when his namesake son was an infant, and his wife afterward married again, in consequence of which the lad lived with his grandfather until his fourth year and then with his uncle until he was eight years old. His education was difficult of attainment owing to the lack of necessary funds and was chiefly acquired while serving an apprenticeship of four years at the broom maker's trade in Hatfield, Massachusetts, his spare money defraying the expenses attached to his schooling. For some time he subsequently engaged in teach- ing in New York, and in 1837 removed to the state of Michigan, where he studied law in Centerville, St. Joseph county, and was admitted to the bar of Michigan in 1842. Be- fore leaving the state he was the military secretary to Governor John S. Barry.

Accompanied by Judge Lancaster, Aaron E. Wait made preparations to cross the plains in 1847, there being forty wagons in the train and a large number of stock. The journey was not attended by any disastrous occurrences, although terrific storms made progress difficult at times. It is recorded that Judge Wait made a deep impression upon the Indians with his glasses, which he wore for near-sightedness and which the red men believed to endow him with almost su- pernatural powers, permitting him to see enormous distances and through practically everything. Arriving in Oregon, Mr. Wait settled in Oregon City, and here he entered upon the practice of law with ex-Senator James K. Kelley, with whom he remained for a number of years. In 1849 he varied his practice by going down into California on a little seventeen-ton vessel, intent upon claim- ing a share of the gold for which thousands were striving. He was fairly successful as a miner, his largest find in one place during the course of a day being sixty dollars, and ~ his largest all around find in a day was one hundred dollars.

Upon returning to Oregon Judge Wait be- came connected with the Cayuse War com- mission, which up to that time had accom- plished practically nothing. His service was marked by extreme fairness to all concerned, and he audited nearly all of the war claims, and every claim he allowed was met precisely as he had made it. The judge practiced under the provisional and territorial laws of Oregon, and was elected to the circuit bench in the fourth judicial district and later served as the first chief justice of Oregon, im- mediately after the admission of Oregon as a state in 1859. He held many important offices within the gift of his fellow towns-

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THE CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF OREGON

men, practically his only defeat taking place after his nomination to the senate in 1862. From a large legal practice Judge Wait gradually drifted into real-estate specula- tions, and, as seems natural with so many active nien, chose to spend his later life amid the peace and quiet of farming enterprises. In 1876 he removed to his six-hundred-acre farm near Canby, remained there for eight years and then went back to Portland, where he lived until 1897. The same year he re- turned to the Canby farm, where his death occurred December 13, 1898. He was a very large landowner, had two thousand acres in Jackson county, Oregon, his Canby farm of six hundred acres, and enough other Oregon land to make up five thousand acres. In Wash- ington lie owned one thousand acres. No finer type of the gifted and substantial citizen has invaded the ranks of law and agriculture in Oregon, and to none has been accorded more universal esteem or generous appreciation of splendid personal characteristics.

Aaron E. Wait was twice married. In Linn county, Oregon, lie wedded Miss Mary Ann Sprenger, who was born in McConnelsville, Olio, a daughter of a merchant who was born in Germany and came to the United States as a young man, settling in Penn- sylvania. From the latter state Mr. Sprenger removed to McConnelsville, Ohio, whence in 1849 he emigrated to Linn coun- ty, Oregon, his death eventually occurring ou liis donation claim at an advanced age. Of the first marriage of Judge Wait three children were born, of whom Charles N. is the only one living. His second marriage was to Catherine M. Quivey, who crossed the plains from Wisconsin in the early '50s with her parents, whose death occurred in Port- land. Unto Judge Wait and his second wife were born three children, but only one grew to maturity, Anna Evelyn, the deceased wife of Frank Hanford, of Seattle, Wash- ington.

The education of Charles N. Wait was ac- quired in the public schools of Portland, which training was supplemented by a course at the Bishop Scott grammar school. His first business experience was as general time- keeper on construction with the Oregon Rail- road & Navigation Company, whose employ he entered in 1880 and with whom he re- mained for eight years. In 1888 lie became chief clerk of the money order department of the Portland postoffice, and, owing to close confinement and consequent effect upon his health, resigned at the end of two years. For the following two years he acted in the capacity of deputy United States mar- shal under John Myers, after which he en- tered the law department of the Oregon State University, from which he was duly graduated with honors. In June, 1891, Mr. Wait began to practice in Portland, and for six years was a prominent and successful member of the bar of that city. His re- moval to Canby in 1897 forced him to dis- continue his practice in Portland and, with the exception of occasionally assisting some friend who may call upon him for legal advice, he devotes his entire attention to

liis real-estate holdings, and the various social and political positions he occupies. In Canby lie resides on the old home tract, the greater part of which he has sold in five and ten acre lots to the Canby Irriga- tion Company. He retained thirty acres of the more valuable part within the city limits for himself and also sold forty acres two years ago to the Clackamas Fire Association.

In 1879 Mr. Wait was married to Miss Laurena J. Marks, a daughter of S. F. Marks, who crossed the plains from Missouri in 1847. She was a native of Clackamas county and died on the 20th of July, 1891, leaving one son and two daughters, as fol- lows: Charles E., who resides in Canby on part of the old homestead property; Mrs. Anna M. Bates, a resident of Los Angeles, California; and Mrs. Myrtle J. Beatty, who resides in Freeman, California. On the 2d of October, 1895, in Washington, Mr. Wait was again married, his second union being with Wilhelmina Woicka, who was born in Portland and whose father, William, a jew- eler by trade, was born in Germany. Mr. Woicka came to America as a young man and died in San Francisco, California. Of this union there have been born two sons, Aaron E. and George N., both residing at home and attending school.

In politics Mr. Wait has been an active member of the democratic party and has done much to promote the progress of that party in his state both by accepting offices and by the advice he is so capable of giving because of his keen mind and legal train- ing. For one term he was deputy city at- torney of Portland, while during President Cleveland's last term he was secretary of the state democratic committee and at pres- ent is secretary of the State Democratic Club. These two positions have brought him into contact with the political leaders of the entire state and with many of national importance, so that his influence has been felt beyond the limits of Oregon. His posi- tion in the civic affairs in his immediate district has been quite as important and he has done much toward the development of Canby, among the offices he has held being that of justice of the peace, that of council- man for six years, of city recorder for two years and of mayor for two years. In all of these positions he has shown that public confidence · was not misplaced and that in politics, as in private citizenship, he ever favors justice, integrity and progress. Fra- ternally he is identified with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, of which he is past master; the Warner Grange, of which he is past master; the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks; the Red Men; and the Knights of Pythias.

CAPTAIN MILLARD FILLMORE PARKER, president of the Crater Lake Navigation Company, which owns and operates the Ma- zama and is doing much to develop water transportation facilities in this part of the state, comes to Oregon from the far off state of New York, his birth having occurred in Scipio, Cayuga county, February 5, 1855.

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His parents were Nelson C. and Lucinda A. (Stout) Parker, the former a native of Ca- yuga county and the latter of Seneca county, New York. The father spent his entire life in the county of his nativity, both he and his wife passing away at Moravia, New York. He was a school teacher in early manhood but after his marriage followed the occupa- tion of farming in order to support his fam- ily, consisting of wife and five children. His eldest son, Lee, is living on the old home farm in Cayuga county, the ownership of which has changed but three times since 1801, when Elijah Arnold took up his abode thereon. He died leaving the property to his heirs in 1867. It was then sold to Captain Parker's father and eventually passed into possession of his son Lee. Captain Parker is the second of the family. Stella, the only daughter, was drowned at the age of three years. William Pitt is a hardware mer- chant of Moravia, New York, living only about six miles from his birthplace. Nelson C. is chief decorator for the Illinois Cen- tral Railroad Company and lives in his private car, furnished him by the road.

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The centennial history of Oregon, 1811-1912, Part 169

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