The centennial history of Oregon, 1811-1912, Part 38

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

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On October 23, 1879, Mr. Mckinney wedded Miss Margaret E. Kerr, who was born in Ohio, the daughter of James W. and Cyrcnia (Harman) Kerr, the father a native of Gettys- burg, Pennsylvania, and the mother of Ohio. The parents lived in Ohio for several years, or until 1860, when they moved to Columbus, Indiana, where the father passed away in 1883, the mother surviving him until October, 1898. In their family were six children: Esther: Chloe; Martha: Margaret E., now Mrs. McKinney; Millard F .; and Laura. who is deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. McKinney have been born five children: Mrs. Maud E. Mochel.

JOHN MCKINNEY

MRS. JOHN McKINNEY

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a university graduate and the wife of a Presbyterian minister at Albany, Oregon; Mrs. Helen C. Guiss, of Woodburn, also a col- lege graduate; John R., who attended uni- versity, graduating from the mechanical en- gineering department, and is now living at home; Avon, who is now attending high school; and Alice, who died in infancy.

In politics Mr. Mckinney is a republican but he has never sought or desired office, pre- ferring to give his entire time to his business interests. He has always been an active and industrious citizen, a man of excellent business ability, and has commanded the con- fidence and esteem of all with whom he has been associated. He may truly be called a self-made man, for he started in life empty- handed and now is the owner of a thriving foundry and general machine shop and much valuable real estate.

CARL D. SHOEMAKER, active and promi- nent in newspaper circles of Roseburg, with which he has been connected through his paper, the Evening News, since 1911, is well known in that city as an able and conscien- tious journalist. He was born in Napoleon, Ohio, June 20, 1882. His father, Milton Shoemaker, was born in Mount Blanchard, Ohio, November 1, 1857, and is in the dry- goods business in Napoleon. The mother, Jemema (Kuhn) Shoemaker, was born in Heinsheim, Germany, October 12, 1859. To the parents of our subject four children were born: Carl D .; Samuel J., in business with his father in Ohio; Dr. Bertram R., a prac- ticing physician, of Athens, Ohio; and Hilde- garde, living at home.

Carl D. Shoemaker received his early edu- cation in the common schools of Ohio and later attended the Napoleon high school, from which he was graduated with. the class of 1900. He then attended the Ohio State Uni- versity and received his degree of B. A. in 1904. He was graduated from the law de- partment of the same institution in 1907 with the degree of LL. B. and practiced the legal profession in Columbus until December, 1911. At that time he purchased the Even- ing News in Roseburg and has been operat- ing it since. In the course of a year of his residence in this city he has gained a reputa- tion for ability and fearlessness in the jour- nalistic field.

On July 27, 1907, Carl D. Shoemaker was united in marriage to Miss Loa E. Turney, a daughter of Dr. Charles F. Turney, of Co- lumbus, Ohio, and they have one son, Milton F. Mr. Shoemaker is a republican and his position at the head of the largest news- paper in Roseburg makes him a power in political circles. He takes an intelligent in- terest in public affairs and is well versed in local and national matters of government. He holds membership in the Presbyterian church of Roseburg, in which faith he was reared. He is a member of the Delta Tau Delta and Acacia college fraternities, belongs to the blue lodge, the chapter, commandery and shrine of the Masonic order, and is affil- iated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Loyal Order of Moose. Carl Vol. IV-11

D. Shoemaker never abuses the power which his position as owner of a newspaper gives him and he never uses his influence for paltry or unworthy purposes.

HARRY WEAVER WALKER is success- fully engaged in the operation of his father's improved ranch, located three quarters of a mile from Cooston in Coos county, Oregon. He was born May 10, 1888, in Coos county, and is the son of W. L. and Alice R. (Weaver) Walker, being an only child. The father set- tled in California at an early day and in 1885 removed to Coos Bay and established his home on Coos river, at which place he had his residence for three years and then removed to Coos Bay where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of valuable agri- cultural land.

Harry Weaver Walker received his educa- tion in the public schools of Oregon and re- mained under the parental roof until twenty- one years of age at which time he rented his father's farm and engaged in general farm- ing, to which he has since continued to give his entire attention, making a specialty of dairy farming and also of raising potatoes which he sells in the open market.

Mr. Walker was united in marriage July 3, 1909, at Cooston, to Miss Jeanette E. Nass, a native of Wisconsin and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Herman Nass, who became the parents of thirteen children: Louis, a resident of Washington, who is married and has two children; William, a resident of Washington, who is married and has one child; Laura, who is the wife of W. E. Homme, postmaster of Cooston, Oregon, by whom she has three children; Gustave, a resi- dent of Washington; Mamie, who is the wife of Clarence Botts, of Tacoma, Washington, by whom' she has one child; Otto, a resident of Washington; Richard, who makes his home in Coos county with Harry W. Walker, of this review; Herbert and Grover, both of whom reside in Wisconsin; Jeanette E., the wife of our subject; Ella and Esther, both of whom reside at home with their parents in Wisconsin; and Ellen, who is deceased.

Mr. and Mrs. Walker are the parents of one child, Herbert, who was born May 9, 1910. Mr. Walker is liberal in the exercise of his franchise, having no definite affilia- tion with any party. He is a director of the school board of the district in which he lives and is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Mr. Walker has been in full charge of his father's farm since 1909 and as the superin- tendent of that property he has made a very creditable success. He is highly respected in the community in which he resides and is one of the well known and useful citizens of Coos county.

GEORGE MELVIN MILLER. To George Melvin Miller more than to any other indi- vidual is due the development of Florence, the seaport of Lane county. His labors have directly and indirectly benefited this part of the state and the consensus of public

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opinion places him with the leading citizens of Eugene. He was born in Lane county, Oregon, May 22, 1857, and is a son of Hulings and Margaret B. (Witt) Miller. His paternal grandfather, Hnlings Miller, Sr., laid down his life on the altar of his country while serving as a soldier in the War of 1812 under command of General William Henry Harrison. His son and namesake was born in Ohio, whence he removed to Liberty, Indiana. He was a well educated man for his day and engaged in teaching school in Indiana, in which state he married and there four of the older children were born. After living for a time on the Indian Reserve in western Indiana, where he also engaged in teaching, he emigrated to Oregon in 1852, with his family, settling at Coburg in the foothills, where he resided until his death, which occurred in 1884. Unto him and his wife were born five children: John D., who was a dentist and practiced in Philadelphia but lost his health through his service in the Civil war; James, living at Creswell, Oregon; Joaquin, who is far famed as the poet of the Sierras; Ella, who became the wife of John Luckey but is deceased; and George Melvin.

The last named attended the public schools and afterward took up the profession of teaching. Desirous of advancing his own education, he later entered Monmouth (Ore- gon) College and also attended the Univer- sity of Oregon in the year in which it was opened. He began reading law with Judge Walton and following his admission to the bar practiced at Eugene and at Independence but has given most of his time to real-estate dealings, in which connection he has become very widely known. On the 26th of May, 1887, he purchased the original town site of Florence, becoming owner of ninety acres, for which he paid ten dollars an acre. He had first visited this site in 1883, driving a wagon to a point twenty-five miles from Eugene and then walking the remainder of the distance, carrying his blankets. He was accompanied by D. P. Thompson, S. W. Con- don and Professor Lee, who was superin- tendent of schools of Eugene. At Mapleton they found an Indian, who had a boat and took them down to what is now the site of Florence. At that time there was only a board house there and one white family- about a half dozen inhabitants in all. There was a small store in a shanty conducted by A. J. Moody. On that trip of two days Mr. Miller saw the possibilities for the build- ing of an attractive seaport town there. Mr. Moody had obtained title to his holdings of ninety acres and when this was put on sale after his death nobody bid for it and the sale was continued until the following year. In the meantime a wagon road had been opened between Eugene and Mapleton and settlers began to move in and take up gov- ernment land. Biggar Herman was attorney for the administrator for the Moody estate and through him Mr. Miller learned that the property could be bought but only through public sale at auction. Mr. Herman also said that the land would not be put up for

sale again without a guarantee of at least one bid and Mr. Miller guaranteed the bid. He proved to be the only bidder and secured the title to the property. Later he secured a homestead claim adjoining the site and subsequently purchased a half interest in the Chicago addition and one hundred and fifty acres in another tract. He has since been selling lots and buying acreage, and has dealt extensively in that district. His sound judgment and keen prescience were manifest in his purchase of the land at Florence, for he recognized its possibilities and wisely used the opportunity that came to him. Operating extensively in real estate there through the intervening years, he has de- rived therefrom a handsome and well earned fortune.

He was the pioneer in cutting up the large donation claims into small tracts for higher tillage, beginning in 1887 with the Solomon Zumalt donation claim near Eugene. Mr. Miller spent the greater part of four years, from 1898 to 1902, in southeastern Alaska, following various occupations from practic- ing law to stampeding for mining claims in close proximity to the disputed boundary line between Alaska and Canada, and natu- rally, as an American citizen, took a deep interest in the settlement of the question pending between the British and American governments. He happened to 'be in Skag- way on a morning in June, 1901, when the Canadian customs officials raised the British flag over their improvised customs house in that town. Mr. Miller, seeing the flag floating over what he knew to be American soil, promptly cut the halyards and lowering the British colors, carefully folded them and laid them aside. Asked by what authority he did this, he replied, "By the authority of an American citizen," and added that the British flag could not be raised again in Skagway unless the flag of the United States floated above it. The incident very nearly led to international complications. The gov- ernment sustained Mr. Miller in his action and the British government repudiated the act of its officials in Skagway. President Roosevelt sent out a body of soldiers and established a post at Haines Mission on the Chilcat peninsula. A commission was ap- pointed and a boundary line established sub- stantially as claimed by Mr. Miller, and Skagway remained in American territory.

Mr. Miller was one of the organizers of the Presbyterian church in Florence, and was for a time one of its elders.

In 1885 he married Lischen Coggswell, a daughter of John Coggswell, of Eugene.

THOMAS APPLEGATE, a well known and respected resident of Yoncalla, is a native son of this state, his birth having occurred in Polk county on the 27th of August, 1847. His parents were Charles and Malinda (Miller) Applegate, who are mentioned at greater length on another page of this work, in connection with the sketch of George Applegate, a brother of our subject. Thomas Applegate was but three years of age when brought by his parents to Douglas county

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and it was here that he was reared and edu- cated, attending the public schools and also Wilbur Academy, in which institution he pursued his studies during a short term. At the time he reached his majority his four older brothers had married and left the farm and his father was approaching old age, so that the management and operation of the home place necessarily fell to his lot. When twenty-six years of age he rented land from his father and began farming on an exten- sive scale. In 1878 he removed to Grant county, Oregon, but at the end of a year returned to Yoncalla. While living in Grant county he had purchased about three hun- dred acres of land in Douglas county and after his return resided thereon for two and a half years. On the expiration of that period, in the spring of 1882, he sold his ranch and removed to Jackson county, return- ing to Yoncalla, however, in the spring of 1883 and turning his attention to the saw- mill business. In 1888 he removed to Oak- land, California, and spent the following six- teen years in the Sacramento valley, being employed on the large ranches of that valley. In 1905 he once more returned to Yon- calla, Oregon, where he has remained to the present time.

In 1875 Mr. Applegate was united in mar- riage to Miss Hortense Reed, a daughter of Dr. Calvin Reed, who was the first practicing physician of Douglas county. In 1850, while crossing the plains from Anamosa, Iowa, to Oregon with ox teams, he was one of the victims in the epidemic of cholera then raging but survived the dread disease. After arriving in Douglas county he took up a dona- tion claim where the town of Winchester now stands and built thereon a gristmill and also a sawmill, these being the first mills erected in the county. Mr. and Mrs. Apple- gate have eight children, as follows: Agnes, who is the wife of Edward Kaehler, of Glenn county, California; Carl R., who is engaged in ranching in Glenn county, California; Beatrice, the wife of Dallas Crouch, of Spring- field, Oregon; Audley E., who is a contractor and builder of Portland, Oregon; Homer G., who is the proprietor of a hotel at Butte City, California; Harriett, the wife of C. Ray Beckley, who is in the service of the firm of Toft & Company, commission merchants of Portland, Oregon; James E., living in Marshfield, Oregon; and Vivian, who is em- ployed in an office in Portland. In politics Mr. Applegate is a stanch republican, loyally supporting the men and measures of that party. His wife belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church. He has always been a hard worker and it has been through his unremitting energy that he enjoys his present comfort and prosperity.

WESLEY A. BEAN is a native son of Ore- gon and has been identified with various rep- resentative enterprises since he began his active life. At the present time he is suc- cessful as a general merchant in Riverton, having built up a flourishing business from a humble beginning. He was born in Doug- las county, November 5, 1862, and is a son

of Stephen and Martha (Allen) Bean, the former a native of Indiana and the latter of Kansas. The father came to Oregon in 1844 and settled in the Willamette valley, while the mother came to the Umpqua val- ley with her people in the early days of the settlement of that district. Both crossed the plains with ox teams and were among the pioneers in Oregon. Stephen Bean was a machinist by trade and after settling in the Willamette valley he followed that line of occupation for a number of years, finally buying land in Douglas county, which he operated until his retirement. He moved to Coos county and established his residence at Lampa, on the Coquille river, where he died in March, 1906. His wife survived him until 1910. They were the parents of eleven chil- dren: Clara, the widow of A. Burns, of Port- land; William S., a merchant of Newburg; Susan, who has passed away; Mary, the wife of C. E. Hasard, postmaster of Drain, Ore- gon; Wesley A., the subject of this sketch; James L., postmaster and general merchant in Lampa; Annie, the wife of J. H. Timon, of California; Myrtle, who married T. L. Rendle, a ranchman of Tacoma, Washington; Albert S. and Edgar, both of whom reside in Lampa; and a child who died in infancy.

Wesley A. Bean was educated in the public schools of Douglas county and learned his father's trade of carpentering. He remained at home until he was twenty-one years of age and assisted in the operation of the farm. When he attained his majority he entered a normal school and after a three years' course was engaged as teacher in the district schools of several counties in Oregon, fol- lowing this line of occupation for six years. At the end of that time he became identified with coal mining in Riverton. He formed a partnership with J. H. Timon and opened the first mine of this character in the village, which has since been known as the Timon mine. Mr. J. H. Timon was the discoverer of the vein and both he and Mr. Bean were active in the development of the enterprise for a number of years, finally selling out his interest to his partner, who employed him as superintendent and manager. He acted in these capacities for eight years, abandoning mining at the end of that time in order to resume carpentering. He worked at this oc- cupation and at sawmilling for several years and then established himself in the merchan- dise business in Riverton, being still con- nected with this line of activity. It was a very small enterprise when it was purchased by Mr. Bean but it has grown rapidly and expanded along modern and progressive lines. The store has been enlarged twice to accom- modate the growing patronage. Mr. Bean carries a stock worth about five thousand dollars and this he keeps complete and up- ·to-date in every particular, his rapidly in- creasing trade being an evidence of his pros- perity. He has invested in local property, owning his own residence and several busi- ness lots in Riverton. When the postoffice was reestablished he was appointed post- master and has acted in this capacity since that time, gaining success in the conduct of

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the office by reason of the same qualities of painstaking care and conscientiousness which have made his commercial career a valuable factor in expansion.

On December 27, 1897, Mr. Bean was united in marriage to Miss Mabel Martin, a native of California and a daughter of J. E. and Ella (Hensley) Martin. The parents came to Oregon in 1892 and after two years set- tled in Riverton, where they purchased a home. The father is well known as a painter in the village. He and his wife had seven children: Archie, a resident of Riverton; Mabel, the wife of our subject; George, also a resident of Riverton; Clifford, who is in business with our subject and who married Miss Mabel Sanford, a native of Oregon; Rob- ert, who is engaged in the stock business in Riverton in partnership with his brother Archie; Nellie, who has passed away; and Joseph, also a resident of Riverton. Mr. and Mrs. Bean have two children: Bernice, who was born May 28, 1904, and who died a short time afterward; and Dorothy S., whose birth occurred on July 28, 1905, and who is now attending school.

In his political views Mr. Bean is inde- pendent and never seeks public office. He holds membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and in the Woodmen of the World. He has sought success along commer- cial lines and has gained the reward of his industry and activity in increased efficiency. He is energetic, straightforward and hon -. orably ambitious and measures up to the highest standards of personal honor and pres- ent-day business ethics.

TILLO M. COLLVER is one of the success- ful farmers of Coos county located at Catch- ing inlet on his highly improved ranch of one hundred and sixty acres, where he is engaged in agricultural pursuits, making a specialty of dairy farming. He was born October 21, 1869, on Coos river, and is a son of A. B. and Ruth (Rice) Collver. The parents cele- brated their marriage in Iowa and in 1852 crossed the plains with ox teams to Oregon, settling in Douglas county on a donation claim where they continued to live until 1857, at which time they removed to Coos bay and purchased a farm of two hundred and forty acres located on Coos river where they spent the remainder of their lives, the father passing away in 1902 at the age of eighty-two years and the mother's death oc- curring in 1903 when she was seventy-six years of age. In their family were eleven children: Philura, deceased; Henrietta, who makes her home with the subject of this re- view; A. M., who resides in Forest Grove; Adelia, who is the wife of Isaac Powell of eastern Oregon, by whom she has ten chil- dren; Orace G., who resides in Culver, Crook county, Oregon; William A., of Coos county, who is married and has two children; John T., of North Bend, who is married and has two children; Sarah D., now deceased, who became the wife of William H. Church, by whom she had five children; Andrew F., of Newport, Oregon, who is married and has

eight children; Howard, of Coquille, who is married and has seven children; and Tillo M., of this review.

Tillo M. Collver was reared in his parents' home and received his early education in the public schools of Oregon. At the age of fourteen he started in life for himself, taking up work with his brothers, with whom he continued for five years and then purchased a small number of cattle and some time later rented his brother's farm of two hundred acres and engaged in general farming. He afterward held the position of lighthouse keeper at Cape Argo for a short time but con- tinued to give the necessary attention to his farming interests on his brother's place, where he remained for a period of ten years engaged in stock-raising, truck-farming and dairying. He then, in company with his older brother, A. M. Collver, purchased a place of one hundred and sixty acres and in 1904 he bought his brother's interest in the property and since that time as sole owner and proprietor has devoted his attention to the improvement and cultivation of his ranch. Twenty acres of his property he has brought to a high state of cultivation and uses in his dairy business fifteen well selected cows, each of which nets him eighty-five dol- lars per annum, which is a maximum record in the dairy business.

On June 15, 1898, Mr. Collver was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Moore, a native of Wasco county, this state, and a daughter of William H. and Elmira (Towne) Moore, the former a native of Indiana and the latter of Illinois. The parents removed from Iowa to Oregon, settling in Wasco county in 1891. To them six children were born. Marshall, who is filling the office of postmaster at Fort Collins, Colorado, is married and has two chil- dren. Frank, residing at The Dalles, Ore- gon, is married and has two children. Carrie is the wife of Tillo M. Collver of this re- view. Anna married Ed Coffelt, of North Bend, and they have two children. Jennie is the wife of Clarence R. Collver of Douglas county, Oregon, and she has two children by a former husband. Arthur, who completes the family, resides with his sister, Mrs. Tillo M. Collver. Mr. and Mrs. Collver are the parents of six children: Chester A., born August 12, 1899, who is now attending school; Vernon W., born August 17, 1901, who is a pupil in the public schools; Gladys L., born August 31, 1903, who is also attending school; Gordon M., born August 28, 1905; Enid R., born September 10, 1907; and Marshall M., born May 5, 1911.

Mr. Collver is a loyal adherent of the re- publican party and has for the past three years been one of the officers of the school district in which he resides. He belongs to the Woodmen of the World, the Knights of Pythias and the Grange, and he and his wife are members of the United Brethren church. Mr. Collver is one of the well known agri- culturists of his portion of the state and is interested in every movement intended to

T. M. COLLVER AND FAMILY

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advance the interests of his community. He is a man respected by his friends and asso- ciates and in every way one of the substan- tial and desirable citizens of the county in which he resides.

JOSEPH McD. HAYES owns and operates two farms in Coos county and as an expert agriculturist is ranked among the represen- tative citizens of the district. The tract upon which he lives comprises eighty acres of fer- tile land, most of which is in a high state of cultivation. He is also the proprietor of a farm of thirty-two acres in another part of Coos county and divides his attention be- tween the operation of the two properties. He was born in Watauga county, North Carolina, in 1868, and is a son of John and Susan (Wagner) Hayes, of whom further mention is made elsewhere in this work. Joseph Hayes received his education in the public schools of Coos county, whither he had come as a child, and gained expert agri- cultural knowledge by assisting his father upon the work of the farm. He began his in- dependent career at the time of his marriage, when he was twenty-two years of age, and farmed a tract of land consisting of eighty acres which he purchased at that time. This property is located on the south fork of the Coquille river, twenty-five miles above Myrtle Point, and upon it Mr. Hayes has resided con- tinuously with the exception of three years. He has operated his farm along modern and scientific lines during this time and has brought it to a high state of cultivation. He has improved his outbuildings, granaries and barns; fenced his fields and planted his acres to the grains most suitable to soil and climate. He has made a success because he has founded his activities upon personal ex- perience and efficiency. He has added to his holdings and now owns eighty-seven acres in the tract upon which he resides, twenty acres of which are highly improved and de- veloped. He also owns another farm in Coos county comprising thirty-two acres.

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The centennial history of Oregon, 1811-1912, Part 38

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