The centennial history of Oregon, 1811-1912, Part 70

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

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J. W. Depuy, the first born in a family of six children, was but one year of age when

CHRISTOPHER LONG

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THE CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF OREGON

taken by his parents to California and was a lad of six or seven when they returned to Linn county, Oregon. In the fall of 1881 he went to Umatilla county, this state, and after spending a number of years there, re- sided for a short time in eastern Washing- ton. In 1904 he came to Klamath county and has here made his home since. As above stated, he operates a ranch of three hundred and sixty acres at Midland and owns the Spring Lake Ranch, a tract of land compris- ing one hundred and sixty acres near Midland, Progressive, practical and persevering, he has won success in his undertakings and is widely recognized as a substantial agriculturist and valued citizen of his community.

On the 9th of December, 1889, Mr. Depuy was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary Corbin, who was born in Will county, Illinois, on the 11th of November, 1869, her parents being Oliver G. and Elizabeth (Giest) Corbin. She came to Oregon when eighteen years of age and subsequent to the arrival of her parents, who had crossed the plains to California and had later taken up their abode in this state. Oliver G. Corbin, who served in an Illinois regiment during three years of the Civil. war. is deceased. His widow makes her home in Washington. Mr. and Mrs. Depuy have the following children: Harvey; Edna, who is the wife of Walter A. Turner, of Klamath Falls; Homer; Jessie; Alfred; Elza; and a baby. With the exception of the second named, all of the above children are still at home. The parents are well known and the hospitality of the best homes of the locality is cordially extended to them.

CHESTER L. WITHERS resides in the Summer lake valley near the old homestead of the Withers family. In addition to the cultivation of sixty acres of fruit land he is now engaged in the operation of a flour mill and he controls water power used in connec- tion with the Chewaucan & Summer Lake Electric Light & Power Company, Incorpo- rated, of which he is the manager. His active connection with various interests constitutes him a leading business man of the district in which he makes his home. Moreover, he is entitled to representation in this volume as one of the native residents of the Summer Lake valley, his birth having here occurred March 9, 1877. He is a son of John A. and Melvina or "Dolly" (Hadley) Withers and a grandson of Peter and Effie Withers. The grandfather was a native of Missouri and a pioneer of the Willamette valley, having crossed the plains with ox teams. He served his country as a soldier in both the Mexican and Civil wars and was receiving from the government a pension at the time of his death, which occurred at Irving, Oregon, where his widow still resides. Their children were: John A .; Peter Clay, living at Irving; Mary, the wife of Charles Hadley, of Eugene, Ore- gon; and Ada, the wife of Wall Roberts, of Arizona. ·

John Allen Withers, the father of Chester L. Withers, was born May 1, 1854, in Benton county, Oregon, was reared under the par- ental roof and became one of the first settlers

of the Summer lake valley, arriving here about 1872. He engaged in the live-stock business, raising sheep, cattle and horses dur- ing the greater part of his life. He became the owner of about a thousand acres in this valley, securing six hundred acres of school land, receiving three hundred and twenty acres from his father and purchasing still other tracts. He was married May 10, 1875, to Mel- vina Frances Hadley, a native of Shasta county, California, and a daughter of Samuel B. Hadley, who crossed the plains from Illi- nois to Oregon in the early '40s and was one of the first settlers upon the present site of the city of Portland. He afterward went to Douglas county, becoming one of its early pioneers and securing there a donation claim. Subsequently he removed to Shasta county, California, but returned to Douglas county and later came to the Summer lake valley, where he was again one of the first to locate. Here he made his home until his death in 1891. In early manhood he married Emily A. Hammond, who accompanied him across the plains and died in Douglas county in 1886. Their children were: Albert H. and Mrs. Margaret L. Hannan, both now deceased; S. G., of Silver Lake; Mrs. John A. Withers; Melville F., a twin brother of Melvina and a resident of Lincoln county, Washington; John T., deceased; Mrs. Kitty E. Currier, of Sum- mer Lake; and Henry M., of Fruitland, Wash- ington. Mr. and Mrs. John A. Withers be- came parents of two children, Chester Law- rence and Charles Wayman, the latter resid- ing on the old homestead on Summer lake. He married Lottie D. Harris. The mother, having lost her first husband, became the wife of John H. Hayes, a prominent sheep- raiser of Heppner, Oregon. They spend most of their time, however, in Portland.

Chester L. Withers was reared in the usual manner of lads who spend their youth upon the ranches of the northwest. He remained at home until 1901, when he went to Paisley, where he embarked in general merchandising, continuing in business there for seven years. He established an enterprise conducted under the name of the Paisley Mercantile Company and when L. S. Ainsworth joined him as a partner the store was carried on under the firm style of Ainsworth & Withers. At length they sold to the Paisley Mercantile Company, Mr. Withers, however, still remaining as a stockholder. The business is now carried on under the style of the Chewaucan Mercantile Company of Paisley and has a paid-up capi -. tal of seventy-five thousand dollars. While he still remains a director of the company, he has retired from active management, devoting his energies to other interests. He now gives considerable attention to horticultural pur- suits, residing near the old homestead, where he cultivates sixty acres of fruit of almost every variety, producing some of the finest fruits that have been raised in the northwest. In 1908 he built a flour mill, with a capacity of thirty-five barrels. In the operation of the mill he has good water power, which also furnishes power for the Chewaucan & Sum- mer Lake Electric Light & Power Company, Incorporated, of which Mr. Withers is the

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manager. He is an alert and enterprising business man, watchful of opportunities, and the spirit of progress and improvement actu- ates him in all that he does.

In 1904 Mr. Withers was married to Miss Melva Lewis, who was born in Chicago in 1888, a daughter of the Rev. M. M. and Emma Lewis. Her father was the builder of the Second Baptist church in Portland and was long active in the work of the ministry in the northwest but is now deceased. Mr. Withers holds membership with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a worthy representa- tive of one of the honored pioneer families of this section of the country and the work instituted by his grandfather and carried on by his father is now being continued by him, for he is proving himself a public-spirited citi- zen who in advancing individual interests through his business connections is also pro- moting the general welfare and prosperity.

ALBERT BROWNELL is president and manager of the Portland Wholesale Nursery Company, which was organized and incor- porated in 1907, since which time he has been the chief executive officer, his enterprise and ability being manifest in the continuous growth and success of this undertaking. New York claims Mr. Brownell as one of her native sons, his birth having occurred in Erie county, April 24, 1854, his parents being Thomas I. and Priscilla (Southwick) Brownell. The fa- ther was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, but when he was quite young his parents re- moved from New England to western New York, where he was reared as a farm boy. Not desirous of making agricultural pursuits his life work, however, he later turned his attention to merchandising. He died in 1886, at the age of sixty-four years, his birth hav- ing occurred in 1822. His wife was a de- scendant of Cassandra Southwick and was a representative of the Southwick family whose American progenitor came to this country on the ship following the Mayflower and settled in New England. The maternal grandfather of Albert Brownell was Job Southwick, a nurseryman.

In the acquirement of his education Albert Brownell passed through consecutive grades until he eventually became a high-school stu- dent in Evans, New York. When a young man he removed to the vicinity of Traer, Iowa, where he engaged in teaching and farm- ing for five years. He afterward spent the succeeding five years in Missouri in the same lines of business and in 1884 came to Ore- gon, establishing his home near Albany, where he engaged in farming. In 1888 he turned his attention to the nursery business, being one of the pioneers in that line of labor in this state. He continued to reside at Albany until five years ago, when he came to Portland and organized the Portland Wholesale Nursery Company, which was at that time incorpo- rated with Mr. Brownell as its president and manager. They grow their own stock at Woodburn, carrying a general line of nursery stock and nurserymen's supplies, which they sell at wholesale, doing only a mail order business. Their trade covers the territory

as far east as Iowa and they have a large sale in eight or ten western states. Three years ago the company purchased The Dalles Nursery, which was established in 1890 by R. H. Weber, and thus extended the scope of their activities.

Mr. Brownell was married in 1878 to Miss Nettie M. Read, a daughter of William C. Read, of Tama county, Iowa, and a represen- tative of one of the old families of New York that received a grant of land from the king. Mr. and Mrs. Brownell are the parents of three children: Joyce P., the wife of J. D. Neiland, of Portland; Clare A., the wife of E. W. Read of Sandy, Oregon; and Dorothy. The parents are members of the Congrega- tional church and Mr. Brownell is a progress- ive, public-spirited citizen, interested in all that has effect upon the upbuilding and wel- fare of his city and state. He has the tact which enables him to know how to meet peo- ple and, whether in business or social rela- tions, he is ever the same courteous, genial gentleman, whose sterling and admirable traits of character win him high regard. More- over, he has been the architect of his own fortunes and has builded wisely and well, his life history constituting an example of in- dustry, determination and honorable dealing that others might profitably follow.

WILLIAM LAUGHLIN, JR., manages the farm, three miles east of Yamhill, which his father has owned for many years. It is one of the most valuable properties in this section and is the result of the energy, perseverance and intelligent foresight expended upon it by the Laughlin family. Mr. Laughlin was born February 8, 1871, on the old Hutt donation claim, and is the son of William and Phoebe (Roberts) Laughlin, of whom a more extended review is published on another page of this work.

William Laughlin, Jr., left his native state to make his start in life and, going into Washington, secured a position as teamster, which he held for about two years. He re- turned home about 1892 and then undertook the management of his father's farm.

On July 13, 1895, William Laughlin was united in marriage, at McMinnville, Oregon, . to Addie Pearl Maxwell, a daughter of Albert P. and Sarah (Branstetter) Maxwell. The latter's father was in service on the Union side in the Civil war and was mustered out in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, on the 26th of October, 1865. Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell were both born in the state of Missouri but have been residents of the coast states since 1874. when they first came to Oregon and settled in Polk county. One year later they went to Benton county for a two-year sojourn, but at the end of that time they returned to Polk county, and having purchased a team and rented a farm, engaged in agricultural pur- suits for about five years. Their permanent home, however, was to be in Washington, and in 1881 they moved to that state. About this time the father was left with the re- sponsibility of taking up new land and of rearing his family, for the mother passed away in 1881. Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell were

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the parents of six children: Aca and Arthur F., both deceased; Mrs. Annie O. Roberts, of Yamhill county; Mrs. William Laughlin, Jr .; and Peter P. and Mrs. Susie A. Works, both of whom reside in Portland, Oregon. Mr. Maxwell has lived in various parts of Wash- ington during the last thirty years but has now come to Yamhill to spend his retired life at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Laughlin.

To Mr. and Mrs. Laughlin five children have been born: Marcus Ray, born May 23, 1896; Albert E., who was born September 2, 1897; Mary Ella, born July 19, 1900; Charlie, born March 31, 1903; and Leona, born August 20, 1906. At the present time the four oldest children are attending school and it is the intention of the parents to give to them all the school advantages it will be possible to provide, as Mr. and Mrs. Laughlin both ap- preciate the value derived in later life from a good school education. With the exception of six months in Alaska Mr. Laughlin has lived continuously on the farm in Yamhill county since his marriage and has been interested and active in this community, striving to raise the educational and social standards and to develop the natural resources of the county. In politics Mr. Laughlin has never sought recognition by seeking office. He is a stanch republican, believing that the principles of his party stand for the best that there is in political and economic welfare.

ROBERT GLENN SMITH is one of the acknowledged leaders of the democratic party of his state and one of the well known and successful attorneys of Grants Pass, Josephine county, Oregon, where he is successfully en- . gaged in the general practice of law. He was born in Jacksonville, Oregon, November 27, 1864, and is a son of Edwin and Minerva V. (Fidler) Smith. The former was a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Iowa. The founder in this country of his family. was Rob- ert Smith, a native of Ireland, who emigrated at a very early date to America and settled in New York. The next in line of descent was Daniel Smith, a native of Troy, New York. He purchased an entire township of land in Indiana county, Pennsylvania, where he was engaged in general farming for the remain- ing years of his life, his death having oc- curred at the age of ninety-nine years. He was deacon in the Presbyterian church for forty years and an officer in the commissary department during the Revolutionary war. The paternal grandfather, Daniel Smith, Jr., was born on the old homestead in Indiana county, Pennsylvania, and on selling his in- terests there, he removed to Pittsburg where he was engaged in the banking business until 1844, at which time he suffered a complete financial loss, occasioned by the great fire which destroyed a large portion of that city. He afterward engaged in the general con- tracting business for some time from which he later retired and established his residence at Clairsville, Pennsylvania, where he con- tinued to live until the time of his death. Daniel Smith, Jr., was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Copely. She was a native of

Indiana county, Pennsylvania, and passed away in Clairsville, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Smith was the daughter of Josiah Copely, Sr., a native of England, who emigrated to America settling in Indiana county first, and later was engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods at Kittanning, Pennsylvania, where he con- tinued to live until the time of his death. To Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Smith, Jr., seven chil- dren were born, the youngest being Edwin, who was the father of the subject of this review. He was born in Philadelphia, Sep- tember 7, 1837, and after his father's failure in business he secured employment as a nail cutter in Pittsburg and later went to Ohio from which state he removed to Newcastle, Pennsylvania, and was there engaged in the same line of employment. In 1850 he was employed as a clerk at Madison, Georgia, until 1853 and in that year he removed to the Pacific coast making the journey by way of the Isthmus of Panama. The boat on which he sailed was wrecked outside the Golden Gate but he succeeded in extricating himself from the wreckage and after swim- ming an almost incredible distance he final- ly reached the shore. He settled in EI- dorado county, California, and engaged in mining. During the years 1855-6 he was one of the volunteer soldiers in the war with the Piute Indians and followed his command in that campaign throughout California and Utah and was wounded in the leg during his time of service. In 1856 he went to Placer- ville and there engaged in the ice business. In 1858 he removed to Portland and followed the occupation of a carpenter until 1861 at which time he settled in Jacksonville and there established himself in the contracting and building business in which he continued. for a period of twenty years. He then estab- lished his residence at Grants Pass in Jose- phine county where he has since continued to reside.

Edwin Smith was united in marriage to Miss Minerva V. Fidler, a native of Iowa and the daughter of Dr. George and Jane (Strain) Fid- ler. Her father was a native of Pennsylvania and in early life removed to Iowa where for some time he was engaged in the practice of his profession. In 1849 he emigrated to Oregon, settling at the site of Coburg, Lane county, and three years later he removed to Jackson county, where he established his home and was continuously engaged in the practice of medicine until the time of his death, which occurred in California, at the age of ninety- two years. To Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Smith eight children were born: Robert Glenn, who is the subject of this review; Anna C., a clerk in the Portland postoffice; Samuel C., pub- lisher of the Hayward Review, of Hayward, California; Mary, the wife of a Mr. Martin, of San Francisco; Lincoln, of Montello, Ne- vada; Myra, the wife of a Mr. Phelps, of Eu- reka, California; William C., a resident of Portland, Oregon; and Mabel, the wife of Dr. Ralph Fenton, of Portland, Oregon.

Robert Glenn Smith was reared at home and received his early education in the public schools. He went to Portland at the age of fifteen and was employed as clerk in the office

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of the Hon. James C. Tolman, who was United States surveyor-general for Oregon. In that office he continued for a period of eighteen months at which time failing health com- pelled his resignation and he then engaged in educational work as teacher of the pub- lic school at Klamath Falls, Klamath county. In 1884 he settled at Grants Pass where he was employed as clerk in a drug store for a period of three years. He had during the immediate years last past been engaged in the study of law and in 1888, having thor- oughly qualified himself for the practice of that profession he was admitted to the bar and has since been continuously engaged in that profession. Previous to his admission to the bar he had, however, served for two years as deputy district attorney under Wil- liam Colvig.

Mr. Smith was united in marriage in Grants Pass, to Miss Emily Greenstreet, a native of Iowa and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Greenstreet. Her father emigrated to California at an early day and after spending some time in that state he started for the east, but was never heard from afterward, and it is believed that he became one of the unfortunate victims of hostile Indians. Mrs. Emily Smith passed away in December, 1904. In May, 1906, Mr. Smith married Miss Ida V. La Raut and one child, Helen, now five years old has been born to them. Mrs. Smith is a native of Oregon and a daughter of Narcisse La Raut, one of the early pioneers, who came to Oregon in 1849.

Mr. Smith was for many years a loyal ad- herent of the republican party and was elected a member of the state legislature in 1894 and served in the session of that body in 1895 at which time he was chairman of the committee on railroads and transportation. Later, on account of his strong and conscientious anti- tariff views, he transferred his political af- filiations to the democratic party of which he is one of the representative members in his portion of the state. In 1904 he was elected as a democrat to the legislature from his county and in the session of 1905 he intro- duced and contended for several important measures that, though defeated then, were made laws in the next few years, among them being an anti-pass law, a railroad commission law and a corrupt practices act. In 1908 Mr. Smith received the democratic nomi- nation although not a candidate for repre- sentative in congress from the first congress- ional district. His opponent W. C. Hawley, however, was elected two years before by a plurality of seventeen thousand. Without making any but a perfunctory effort he suc- ceeded in cutting Hawley's majority to six thousand and he has again been nominated for the same office. In December, 1911, he was elected mayor of Grants Pass for one year.

Hon. Robert Glenn Smith is descended from one of the oldest of American families and is a man whose ability as an attorney and enterprising citizen of his state is recog- nized through the western inter-mountain country. He is one of the popular and dis- tinguished orators of the Pacific coast and

a man who readily associates himself with every public enterprise intended to advance and secure the best interests of the people in his state and county.

CHARLES AKEN PETERSON. The death of Charles Aken Peterson on March 19, 1910, removed from Coos county one of its upright, straightforward and progressive citizens, and deprived agricultural and mining interests in that section of a worthy and successful rep- resentative. Mr. Peterson was a man who lived a quiet life among his friends and with his family and who counted his most sub- stantial prosperity in their respect, esteem and love. He was born in Scotland in 1832, a son of John and Christina (Aken) Peter- son, natives of that country. He was the third in a family of six children, all of whom have passed away. The others were: James, Andrew, Maggie, Christina and Miriam.

Charles Peterson obtained a limited educa- tion in the public schools of Scotland and came to America when he was seventeen years of age, making the journey across the Atlantic with his brother Andrew. They settled in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and remained their one year, at the end of which time Mr. Peter- son was called to Scotland by the death of his father. He remained there only six months, returning to Pennsylvania at the end of that time where he followed the occupation of a coal miner for a long time. His residence in Oregon dates from 1873 in which year he came to Coos Bay, remaining for one year in that locality. At the end of that time he settled in Riverton where he took up a pre- emption claim of one hundred and sixty acres to which he added one hundred and fifty- three acres by purchase. He subsequently bought more adjoining land and at the time of his death was the owner of a fine tract of four hundred acres, most of which had rich coal deposits. Mr. Peterson did a small amount of coal mining and carried on general farming, being successful in both lines of occupation. He retired from active work sev- eral years before his death and sold the home- stead, moving to Riverton, where his widow now resides in an attractive and pleasant home. She has invested her comfortable for- tune judiciously and loans money out at in- terest and adds to her income in this way.

On July 21, 1872, Mr. Peterson was united in marriage to Miss Mary L. Gamble, a native of Pennsylvania and a daughter of John and Susan (Fritz) Gamble, also natives of that state. Mrs. Peterson is one of a fam- ily of two children, her brother John hav- ing passed away. Mr. and Mrs. Peterson became the parents of four children: Harrison James, born September 5, 1873, who married Miss Mettie Kight, a native of Kansas; Susan. who became the wife of M. W. McCormick of Riverton, by whom she has two children. Charles and Grant; Elson Monroe, born De- cember 9, 1876, who is engaged in business with his mother; and Charles A., whose birth occurred on November 9, 1879, and who mar- ried Miss May Price, a native of Iowa, by whom he has three children, Herbert, Charles and Theodore.

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MR. AND MRS. CHARLES A. PETERSON

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THE CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF OREGON

Mr. Peterson was a member of the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows and a devout adherent of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was practical in his religion and his be- liefs and standards influenced his every-day life. He took an active part in church af- fairs and in every way possible aided in the upbuilding and expansion of the religion which he professed. He gave his political allegiance to the republican party but never sought public office preferring to achieve his success in less conspicuous ways. He is a splendid example of a self-made man, hav- ing come to America with no money and very little education. He gained prosperity in business and the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens. The character of the work which he did during his life and the impor- tance of the place which he attained are evidenced by the deep and widespread regret which followed his death. He won success but he was a man who leaned more upon the friendship and popularity which he gained and quiet domestic happiness than upon business prominence and he was for- tunate in the attainment of both ambi- tions.

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The centennial history of Oregon, 1811-1912, Part 70

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