The centennial history of Oregon, 1811-1912, Part 3

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

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Unto Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell have been born seven children: Leila, now the wife of J. A. Pilgrim, a resident of Hilts, California ; Laura Myrle, at home; W. H .; Doris; Fay ; Robin, who died at the age of three years; and Norman. Mr. Caldwell owns a pleasant home and also four lots on West C street. As previously stated, he is a socialist and at the present time he is serving as a mem- ber of the city council, to which he was elected in December, 1911, he and Ernest Everton being the first representatives of that party chosen to office here by popular suffrage. He has also held some school offices and the cause of education finds in him a warm friend. Mr. and Mrs. Cald- well and all the members of their family . except the youngest are members of the Baptist church, Fay joining at the age of eight years, at that time being the youngest member of the church. Mr. Caldwell's fra- ternal relations are with the Modern Wood- men of America. There have been no par- ticularly unusual chapters in his life history but his record is characterized by progress owing to the fact that each day he has faithfully performed the tasks that have de- volved upon him and in this way has found strength and inspiration for the duties of the ensuing day.

PATSY T. TOOSEY, who is conducting a blacksmith business at Banks and has the patronage of a large surrounding territory, was born in Italy, on the 1st of September, 1886. His parents were Paul and Angel (Lenza) Toosey, who are still living in sunny Italy, where the father has followed black -- smithing throughout his entire life. Unto him and his wife were born six children: Urlando, who died in Italy at the age of four years; Sante, who passed away in Italy when twenty-one years of age; Nicholina, who died in Italy at the age of fourteen years; Loneta, the wife of Patsy Sipoletti, still living in Italy; Patsy T., of this review; and Mary, who is with her parents. The father was born in 1851 and the mother in 1848, and they are still residents of the land of their nativity.

Patsy T. Toosey, of this review, is the only member of the family who came to America. He arrived in the new world in

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1902. leaving Italy on the 1st of January and landing at Boston, Massachusetts, where he remained for a brief period. He after- ward went to Clinton, Massachusetts, and there resided three years, during which period he worked at the blacksmith's trade. Later he became a resident of Philadelphia and secured employment in the Meadville steel shops, where he spent three years. Still his ambition was not satisfied for he believed that better opportunities could be secured elsewhere and accordingly he sought the ad- vantages of the west, making his way to Portland. Oregon, where he entered the em- ploy of the Tongue Point Lumber Company as a blacksmith. There he worked for eight months, after which he went to Vancouver, Washington. where he joined the Porter Brothers Railroad Construction force engaged in building the North Bank railroad. Six months thus passed, after which he came to Banks. Washington county, and purchased a blacksmith shop in which he is still carry- ing on business. He owns the shop and is accorded a large patronage, having many patrons who come to him from over a wide territory. He is an efficient, capable work- man and does all in his power to satisfy his patrons.

Since becoming a naturalized American - citizen Mr. Toosey has advocated the prin- ciples of the republican party yet is liberal in his thoughts and does not hesitate to vote as his judgment dictates even though it should be contrary to his usual party affiliations. Ile holds membership with the order of Mac- . cabees at Greenville. His religious faith is that of the Catholic church, in which he was reared. He has never had cause to regret his determination to seek a home in the new world, for he here found the opportunities which he sought and in their improvement has made gradual and substantial progress, being now at the head of a growing business which returns to him a satisfactory annual income.

ADELBERT BROOKS, who has made for himself a creditable position in business circles as a nurseyman of Carlton, was born on the 27th of February, 1869, in Pennsyl- vania, his parents being John and Delilah (Kelly) Brooks who were also natives of the Keystone state, where they were reared and married. They resided for some time at Corry, Pennsylvania, but in 1884 came with their family to Oregon, settling first near Portland, where they lived for three years. They afterward spent a similar period in this city at the end of which time the father purchased land near Carlton and embarked in the nursery business and in the raising of fruit in which he continued until his death in 1909. He is still survived by his wife, at the age of seventy-six years, and she now makes her home in La Fayette, Oregon. At the time of his demise John Brooks was the owner of his home place of one hundred and sixty acres, another tract of ninety acres in Yamhill county and one hundred and sev- enty acres in Pennsylvania. Unto him and his wife were born eleven children of whom

eight are still living: Rose, of Montavilla, Oregon; Jay and Allie, both of La Fayette; Adelbert and Frank, who are partners in business; Bert, of La Fayette; Edith, of Portland; and Minnie also of La Fayette.

The youthful days of Adelbert Brooks were quietly passed, that time being given to the attainment of an education in the public schools and to the tasks which were assigned him by his father in connection with the conduct of the nursery business. In 1891 he joined his father and brothers in that business, with which he was connected until 1898, when he went to Pennsylvania where he conducted a lumber business until 1904. He then returned to Oregon and came into. possession of what is now known as the Carlton Nursery in partnership with his brother Frank. They are exclusive owners of the original nursery which was formerly carried on under the firm style of Brooks & Sons and which was established in 1891. In addition to this they own one hundred and twenty-seven acres of finely improved farm- ing land near Carlton. Their nursery is also located in that vicinity, is the third in size in the Willamette valley and ranks with the best in the state.

On the 5th of March, 1898, occurred the marriage of Adelbert Brooks and Miss Eliza- beth Bryan, who was born in Oregon and is a daughter of James and Sarah (Ramsey) Bryan, the father crossing the plains to the Pacific in the early '50s. He was then but three years old and his parents established the family home in Lane county. He spent his remaining days in this state and always followed farming and stock-raising until his last years, when he retired from the farm, sold his property and took up his abode in Carlton where he enjoyed a well earned rest until called to his final home in September, 1911. His widow still survives at the age of sixty-four years. In their family were nine children: Louise, residing in Dundee, Oregon; Lydia, who makes her home in Newberg, Oregon; Elizabeth, now Mrs. Brooks; Pleasant and Mary, who are also of Newberg; Minnie, living in Portland; Myron, of Carlton; Dot, of Aberdeen, Idaho; and Hugh W. of Carlton.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Brooks have been born six children: Essie V., born in 1899; Mabel D., in 1901; Lyle D., in 1902; Reta E. in 1904; Lynn in 1906; and Minnie, in 1908. The family residence is one of the finest in Carlton and is indicative of the active and successful business career of Mr. Brooks whose life has been well spent and whose en- ergy and careful management in business have been the source of the substantial pros- perity which has crowned his labors. Fra- ternally he is connected with the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows and he has many friends in this part of the state where mnchi of his life has been passed.

FRANK BROOKS, who is a partner of Adelbert Brooks in the nursery business. was born August 28, 1871. and the experi- ences of his early life were largely like those of his brother. In 1891 they embarked in

THE CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF OREGON

the nursery business with their father and brothers the enterprise being thus continued under the partnership relations for thirteen years, but the business is now owned by Adelbert and Frank Brooks and is conducted under the style of the Carlton Nursery. It comprises one hundred acres and is consid- ered one of the finest nurseries of its size in western Oregon. It is pleasantly located near the city limits of Carlton and their shipments include a very large amount of nursery stock each year. They also own one hundred and twenty-seven acres of fine land near Carlton and each has a fine resi- dence in the town in addition to a large packing house for their nursery stock.

On the 31st of May, 1907, Frank Brooks was united in marriage to Miss Mary Hutch- ings, who was born in Oregon, March 4, 1876, a daughter of Dovis and Amanda Hutchings the former of California and the latter of Oregon although since their marriage they have practically spent their time in the lat- ter state where the father has followed farming. He still lives at Tillamook but his wife died in 1909. In their family were six children of whom Mrs. Brooks is the eldest, the others being Cash, Bern, James, Roy and. one who died in infancy. Mr. Brooks be- longs to the Masonic lodge and to the Ar- tisans and in politics is independent voting as his judgment dictates without regard to party ties. Both he and his brother are recognized as men of excellent business ability and of marked enterprise, and the years are bringing to them substantial suc- cess in the management of their affairs.

HENRY VANDEHEY belongs to that class of men who sturdily persevere in anything they undertake and are usually numbered among the substantial citizens of their re- spective communities. He is now well estab- lished on a farm three miles south of Banks, Washington county, and the neat appearance of his place is evidence of the careful atten- tion he gives to his business. He was born in Wisconsin February 6, 1854, a son of John and Ardena Vandehey. The parents were na- tives of Holland and were married in the old country. They emigrated to America in 1851 and settled in Wisconsin where they lived for twenty-two years. At the end of the time named Mr. Vandehey moved with his family to Nebraska and six years later came to Washington county, Oregon, locating on a farm of forty acres. He died a year after his arrival and his widow made her home with her children until her death, which occurred in 1900. In their family were thir- teen children, ten of whom survive, namely: John, Martin, Adrien, Henry, Nellie, George, Theodore, Mary, Antone, and Annie. Peter died at the age of fifty years, Harriet at the age of twenty-six and one of the children was called away in infancy.

Henry Vandehey grew to manhood in Wis- consin and in the public schools of his native state secured his early education. At the age of nineteen he began learning the wagon- maker's trade, to which he faithfully applied himself for nine years. He then engaged in

farming, a pursuit which he followed for five years in Wisconsin. In 1879 he came to Washington county, Oregon, and engaged in farming for six years. He then went to Nebraska and farmed for a year, also taking up a homestead in that state. A year later he sold out and returned to Oregon where he has since resided. He now owns a well improved farm of seventy-five acres from which he receives handsome annual returns. He and his family occupy an attractive home and as each year witnesses a gratifying in- crease in his prosperity, he has just reason to congratulate himself on locating perma- nently under the favorable conditions that prevail in Washington county.

On September 13, 1875, Mr. Vandehey was married to Miss Elizabeth Vangreensven, who was born in Wisconsin, a daughter of Henry and Nellie (Coonen) Vangreensven. The parents were born in Holland and came to America with their parents in childhood. They were married in Wisconsin and lived in that state until 1879, when the family migrated to Washington county, Oregon. Mr. Vangreensven engaged successfully in farming in this county. He died at the age of fifty- three but his wife survived for a number of years, being called away at the age of sev- enty-eight. To them eleven children were born: Anna; Elizabeth, now Mrs. Henry Vandehey; John; Mary; Theodore; Nellie, who is deceased; Hattie; Dora; William; Mary Ann; and Delia, who died at the age of two years. Mr. and Mrs. Vandehey are the parents of twelve children, as follows: Nellie, who was born September 12, 1876, and is the wife of Frank Vandonelen, of Washington county; Harriet, who was born November 1, 1877, and resides at home; Bertha, who was born December 19, 1879, and is the wife of Harry Bryans, of Salem; Anna, born March 9, 1882, who married John Herb; Mary, who was born February 17, 1884, and is now the wife of Henry Vandonelen, of Washington county; William, who was born February 5, 1888, and resides at home; Clara, born June 21, 1891; Lawrence, who was born November 12, 1895, and is also at home; Raymond, born November 24, 1897; Julius, born March 11, 1900; and two daugh- ters who were named Julia, deceased.

Mr. Vandehey is a stanch advocate of the democratic party and casts his ballot in sup- port of its candidates and principles. He was reared in the Catholic faith and he and his family belong to that denomination. En- ergy, perseverance and thrift are recognized- the world over as the foundation of material prosperity and these three qualities are pos- sessed by Mr. Vandehey. He enjoys the esteem of many friends and fully deserves the honor that is accorded the fortunate individual who has fought and won in the great battle of life.

DR. MERRITT E. REITZEL, of Dayton, who has come to be recognized as one of the capable and successful practitioners of Yam- hill county, was born in Chicago, Illinois, January 10, 1870. His parents, Jacob and Elizabeth (Klugh) Reitzel, were natives of

THE CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF OREGON

Mountville, Pennsylvania, where they were reared and married, subsequently removing to Chicago about 1879. After two years' residence in that city they returned to Mountville, where they still make their home, and during his connection with active business affairs the father was a building contractor. At length his labor brought to him a substantial competence which sup- plies him with all of the necessities and many of the comforts of life now that he has retired from business.

Dr. Reitzel spent his youthful days in Mountville and after mastering the element- ary branches of learning in the public schools attended the academy at Lancaster, Penn- sylvania, and also the State Normal School at Millersville, Pennsylvania, where he spent one term. In 1889 he left home and after traveling for a considerable period in the northwestern states passed ten years largely in southern Oregon. In 1899 he took up the study of medicine, reading under the direc- tion of Dr. Ilouck, of Roseburg, this state. This brought him his initial acquaintance with the science that has since engaged his attention. The following fall he entered the medical department of the State University of Oregon but was not graduated until the spring of 1905. He then located in La Fay- ette, Yamhill county, where he engaged in active practice for four years, and in 1909 he came to Dayton, where he has since made lis home. Here his ability has won him recognition as an able member of the med- ical profession. He is a member of the Polk- Yamhill Medical Society, the Oregon State Medical Society and the American Medical Association and of the first named is the vice president. Anything which tends to bring to man the key to the complex mystery which we call life is of interest to him and his reading and investigation have brought him comprehensive knowledge of the science of medicine and the laws of health so that in his practice his work has been very ef- ficacious in checking the ravages of disease.

In 1898 Dr. Reitzel was married to Miss Jessie Bell, of Hampshire, Illinois, who was at that time on a visit in Oregon. Unto them has been born a daughter, Clare Eliza- betlı. Dr. Reitzel holds membership in La Fayette Lodge, No. 29, I. O. O. F .; La Fayette Lodge, A. O. U. W .; Dayton Camp of the Woodmen of the World; and La Fay- ette Lodge of United Artisans. In these organizations he is widely and favorably known and in professional circles has gained an extended acquaintance, his close con- formity to a high standard of professional ethics having gained for him the warm re- gard of those who are also practitioners of medicine and surgery. His practice has con- stantly developed in extent and importance and he is now well established in his chosen life work.

CAPTAIN GEORGE GANS. The enduring gratitude of all lovers of liberty is due such soldiers as have upheld the stars and stripes at the time the union of the states was threatened, and by their sacrifices and suffer- ings the men who served in the Civil war not

only set free three million slaves but they established the American republic on a safe and enduring foundation so it is today the greatest nation over which the sun shines. Among the men who fought and suffered in the Civil war may be named Captain George Gans, who, in his earlier years, was called upon to endure tlre troubles and trials of the hard laborer but who at last has established himself in comfortable circumstances and in a pleasant home. He was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, on the 3d of August, 1840, a son of Joseph and Phebe (Rogers) Gans. The father was a tanner by trade and operated a tannery in Fayette county where he resided until early in the '40s. At that time he removed to Green county, Wisconsin, where he farmed and in the '80s he came to Shenandoah, Iowa, where his death occurred when he was eighty years of age.

George Gans remained under the parental roof until he enlisted for service in the Civil war. He was educated in the public schools of Fayette county and assisted his father in the latter's business undertakings, but when President Lincoln needed volunteers to assist those already in the field Mr. Gans, then al- most twenty-one years of age, enlisted in Company C, Third Wisconsin Volunteer In- fantry. On the 24th of April, 1861, leaving his coat and plow in the field he set out to give his services for the Union cause. He served in the Army of the Potomac, and was wounded in the leg at Cedar Mountain on the 9th of August, 1862,' and was discharged. When he recovered he reenlisted in Company D, Thirty-sixth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. At the time of his second enlistment lie was made sergeant of his company. After the battle of the Wilderness the first lieutenant had lost his voice, the second lieutenant had recently died of typhoid fever and the cap- tain had become ill, and Mr. Gans was placed in command of the company. From that time until he suffered the loss of a hand in front of Petersburg in June, 1864, he commanded the company. After this accident he was sent to the Camden Street Hospital at Balti- more and then to Annapolis for six weeks. In the battle of Cold Harbor he sustained two injuries, one in the shoulder and one in the head. Upon leaving the hospital he was sent to Madison, Wisconsin, where he. was given command of four hundred men and where he remained until hostilities ceased. He was discharged on the 22d of June, 1865, and immediately afterward returned home where he engaged in the mercantile business in Juda, Wisconsin. In 1876 he left Wiscon- sin for Nebraska and five years later went to New Mexico where he was connected with the Mescalero Apache Indian Agency. His position was that of issue clerk and he re- tained it for five years before accepting the position of assistant live-stock agent for the Santa Fe railroad. After remaining with that company for three years, with head- quarters at Las Cruces, he discontinued cleri- cal positions. In 1892 he came to Oregon and located in Salem where he has since re- sided. Two years later he was given the

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position of bailiff of the circuit court and is still occupying that office.

Late in the '60s Captain Gans was married to Miss Anna Llewellyn of Tabor, Iowa. To their union six children were born, five of whom survive, namely: George G., who is a bookkeeper in San Francisco, California; Hope, who is married to Fred Lockley, manager of the Pacific monthly of Portland; D., a daughter who was a student in Willamette University for seven years and is married to Dr. Arthur Gale, a prominent physician of Madras, Oregon; Bonnie, who is living at home, and was stenographer in the weather bureau at Washington but was compelled to resign on account of ill health; and Reba, who is a graduate of the Normal department of Willamette University and now the wife of Thomas Mountain, an implement dealer of Walla Walla, Washington. The three daugh- ters were teachers in the Salem schools.

In politics Captain Gans is a warm sup- porter of the republican party. He was com- mander of the Nebraska Post of the Grand Army of the Republic. In religious faith he is affiliated with the Episcopal church. He holds membership in the Chemeketa Lodge, No. 10, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having joined the same in January, 1866. By his genial disposition and public spirit Cap- tain Gans has attracted many friends who hold him in high esteem as a worthy worker in the cause of humanity.

EARL C. BRONAUGH, JR., has for more than two decades been a representative of the Portland bar and to an understanding of uncommon acuteness and vigor he added a thorough and conscientious preparatory train- ing. While in recent years he has largely concentrated his efforts upon corporation law, he is constantly inspired by an innate in- flexible love of justice and a delicate sense of personal honor which controls him in all his personal relations. He enjoys in large measure the confidence and respect of his fellow practitioners and that he has the trust of the general public is indicated in the extensive clientage accorded him.

Mr. Bronaugh has always resided west of the Mississippi and during the greater part of his life upon the Pacific coast. He was born in Cross county, Arkansas, February 26, 1866, and was only two years old when brought to Oregon by his father, Earl C. Bronaugh, Sr., of whom extended mention is made elsewhere in this work. Reared amid a home atmosphere of intellect and morality, Earl C. Bronaugh came to young manhood well equipped to become the worthy successor of an honored father. After mas- tering the elementary branches of learning in the public schools of Portland, he attended the University of the Pacific at San Jose, California, and on his graduation therefrom received the Bachelor of Arts degree. Three years later his alma mater conferred upon him the Master of Arts degree. His prelimi- nary law studies had been pursued in the of- fice of Whalley, Bronaugh & Northup and his preparation for the profession was com- pleted as a law student in the University of

Oregon, where he won his Bachelor of Law degree in 1890. In June of that year, he was admitted to the bar and entered upon practice as the fourth member of the firm of Bronaugh, McArthur, Fenton & Bronaugh. Following the death of Judge McArthur in 1897 and the retirement of his father the firm style became Fenton, Bronaugh & Muir, and upon the dissolution of that partnership in February, 1900, Earl C. Bronaugh was joined by his cousin, Jerry Bronaugh, in organizing the law firm of Bronaugh & Bronaugh, which existed until Earl C. Bronaugh was appointed to the circuit bench in December, 1907, by governor Chamber- lain, to succeed Judge Arthur L. Frazer, de- ceased. He was reelected to the office in June, 1908, and during the last year of his service on the circuit bench he also occu- pied the position as judge of the juvenile court. As circuit court judge he rendered decisions that were strictly fair and impar- tial, his opinions being sustained in the great majority of cases which were appealed. More- over, comparatively few appeals were taken and he was recognized as one of the ablest members who have presided over the circuit court. As judge of the juvenile court he also did excellent work, instituting a service that stands for a higher civilization in his rec- ognition of the good in each individual and the possibilities for redemption of the young offenders. He had many important cases come before him during his service as judge, and altogether his was a strenuous work that in- cluded the trial of five homicide cases in the first year, in which he was obliged to pronounce the death sentence four times. In June, 1910, he resigned to reenter upon the active practice of law.

On his retirement from the bench the Mult- nomah County Bar Association held a ban- quet in his honor, on which occasion he was presented with a loving cup, and in the pre- sentation of speech Charles J. Schnabel, pres- ident of the Association, said: "It is a re- markable fact and perhaps rightfully appre- ciated that the highest honor that can be paid to Judge Bronaugh is to recall that in the history of Oregon's judiciary, not with- standing the multitude of judges that have come and gone in that interval, this is the second occasion when by unanimous and spontaneous consent a testimonial of this character has been paid to a retiring judge Certainly the highest enconium of a judge's success in the administration of his exalted and powerful office is not the plaudits of the multitude but the respect and standing accorded him by the lawyers. Men at times who are elevated from the ranks to a posi- tion of power and influence degenerate into tyrants but in Judge Bronaugh's case no man living and having experience with him would think of such an aspersion to his judicial career. He not only loved a square deal but was himself a square dealer."

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The centennial history of Oregon, 1811-1912, Part 3

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