The centennial history of Oregon, 1811-1912, Part 93

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


USA > Oregon > The centennial history of Oregon, 1811-1912 > Part 93


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Edmund M. Gallier has been in partner- ship with his brother for sixteen years and their harmonious relations during that time have been an important factor in their suc- cess. The younger brother was also born in Kendall county, Illinois, his natal day being October 5, 1861. He came to Oregon with his parents in pioneer times and has been a resident of the state since 1873. He received his education in the public schools and began active life when he was sixteen years of age, operating a sheep ranch in Coos county in partnership with his brother. He later worked at various occupations for sev- eral years and in 1885 went to Coquille where he learned the blacksmith's trade and conducted a shop in association with his father for five years. He then became iden- tified with the management of the Robinson Hotel but after one year moved to Bandon where he opened the first blacksmith shop in the city. In 1906 he entered into partner- ship with his brother Stephen in the conduct of the Tupper Hotel which was renamed the Gallier Hotel and has been successful and prosperous.


Both of the Gallier brothers are married. On January 12. 1887. Stephen wedded Miss Mary A. Langlois, a native of Curry county and a daughter of William and Mary A. Langlois. the former a native of the Isle of Guernsey, England. and the latter of Vir- ginia, and both early settlers in Oregon. Her father sailed the sea in his younger vears but later settled on a ranch in Curry county where he died in 1880. His wife


made her home with Stephen Gallier until her death which occurred in 1898. Mr. and Mrs. William Langlois had eight children, seven of whom are living: James, who re- sides in Cape Blanco, Oregon; Frank. of Langlois; John, Thomas O., Mrs. Ella Nel- son, and Charles E., all of Bandon; and Mary A., the wife of our subject. To Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Gallier have been born six children: W. W., who has passed away; one child who died in infancy; Lentner Ervin, who was born December 23, 1892, and edu- cated in the Bandon high school; Edna, who was born in March, 1896, and is pursuing her studies in high school; Ellen, who has passed away; and Gladys, who was born in 1899, and is a student in the Bandon high school.


Edmund M. Gallier has been twice mar- ried. On December 29, 1885, he wedded Miss Emma L. Clemens, a native of San Francisco, who died in Oregon, in August, 1888. In April, 1891, Edmund Gallier was wedded to Miss Alice C. Tuttle, who was born in Pow- nal, Maine, and who is a daughter of S. J. and Amanda Tuttle of that state. They came to California at an early date and settled in San Francisco county, where the father operated a dray line for some time. They resided in various sections of the state until 1888 when they moved to Oregon set- tling in Coquille where the father conducted a hotel until his death which occurred in 1904. his wife's death having long preceded his. To Mr. and Mrs. Tuttle were born four chil- dren: Herbert M., who resides in California : Ernest, who is living in North Yarmouth, Maine; Ervin, who was a twin to Ernest. and who has passed away; and Alice C .. the wife of our subject. Mr. and Mrs. Ed- mund Gallier became the parents of four children : Edmund W., who was born in 1893. and who is a student in the Bandon high school; one child who died in infancy; Reed A., who was born in 1896 and is a student in high school; and Alice K., whose birth oc- curred in 1898. and who is also pursuing lier studies in the Bandon high school.


Both Gallier brothers give allegiance to the republican party and each has served in various important official capacities. Ste- phen was sheriff of Coos county for three terms from 1900 to 1906, was mayor of Ban- don for two years and a member of the town council for three. He brought to his public duties the same ability and power of ad- ministration which have made him success- ful in the conduct of his business affairs. Edmund served as town marshal for six years and for eight years was deputy sheriff under Harlocker and also under his brother Stephen. He was a member of the town council for a number of years and always fulfilled his duties in an irreproachable man- ner. Stephen Gallier is a member of the Knights of Pythias and both brothers af- filiate with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Edmund is well known in the af- fairs of the Woodmen of the World. The Callier brothers are thorough business men working together in the most harmonious relations. Their affairs are carried on care-


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fully and along progressive lines. They are capable and alert and have built up a dis- tinct and substantial success upon long ex- perience and efficient management. In all phases of their business life they have shown a comprehensive knowledge and a power of making their energies effective and have met with the measure of success which always rewards earnest, persistent and well directed labor.


PETER M. ABBEY, one of the well known hotel men of Oregon, who has been actively connected with the business in Newport for forty years, is a native of Watertown, Ohio. He was born August 19, 1837, a son of Seth Abbey, who was for many years a judge on the bench at Cleveland, Ohio, and subse- quently filled the office of sheriff of Cuyahoga county. He served as an officer in the Union army during the entire period of the great rebellion and rode the same horse home at the close of the war that he chose at the begin- ning. He was very prominent for a number of years in northern Ohio, being a man of good education, sound judgment and, as was demonstrated by his life, a true lover of his country.


Peter M. Abbey received his education in the public schools and spent his boyhood and youth under conditions that were favorable for an active and useful career. His first em- ployment was as clerk in a mercantile estab- lisliment and he continued there until 1862. He then went to Port Burwell, Canada, and engaged in buying and shipping cattle to Ohio. He was married in Canada and in 1866 came with his wife to Corvallis, Oregon, and remained at that place from September, 1866, to May of the following year. Having heard favorable reports concerning Newport, he and his wife traveled by wagon from Corvallis to Pioneer and then took passage aboard the old steamer Pioneer for Newport. There were few people in Newport at that time and it required a lively imagination to conceive the sınall settlement expanding into a thriving community. Mr. Abbey, however, had faith in the locality, which for forty-four years has been his home, and his early favorable im- pressions were verified. He entered the mer- cantile business, his customers for several years being principally Indians and fishermen. In 1871 he built the old Abbey Hotel in New- port and he lias ever since been identified witlı the hotel business. In 1911 the new Abbey Hotel was completed. It contains fifty-one rooms and, as it is entirely modern and is conducted in such a way as to give satisfac- tion to patrons, the reputation of the Abbeys as hotel-keepers is being well sustained.


In 1863 Mr. Abbey was married to Miss Cerena Reynolds, who was born at Vienna, Canada, July 6, 1848, and received a good edu- cation in the common and high schools of her native town. Her father was a farmer and was of Scotch descent, while her mother was of Irish descent. Mr. and Mrs. Abbey are the parents of four children, one of whom died in infancy. The others are: Edwin James, who was born November 29, 1865, and is con- nected with his father and brother in the hotel


business; Morton Hassard, born April 11, 1869, who is now manager of the Abbey Ho- tel; and Irene Ellen, who died June 6, 1873, at the age of two years.


Mr. Abbey is an adherent of the republi- can party but has never sought political honors. He and his estimable wife are mem- bers of the Presbyterian church. During the many years of his residence in Newport he has made a host of friends, who perceive in him those qualities that command confidence and respect. Capable and conscientious in the discharge of every trust, he lias assisted materially in the upbuilding of Newport and by his kindly and generous disposition has added to the comfort and happiness of all with whom he has associated.


JOHN W. COX is the owner of one of the fine ranches in the beautiful Wood River valley. His landed possessions are extensive, comprising fourteen hundred and eighty acres, two and one-half miles west of Fort Klamath. He was born in Roane county, Tennessee, November 27, 1861, his par- ents being Rufus and Malinda Catharine (Wilson) Cox, who were also natives of the same county. On leaving that state in 1881 they made their way to the Rogue River valley of Oregon, where their last days were spent, the mother dying in 1883, at the age of forty-eight years, while the father sur- vived until 1908, passing away at the age of seventy-five. He was interested in ranching and in connection with his son John owned one thousand acres of land near Med- ford devoted to farming and stock-raising.


John W. Cox was the eldest in a family of four sons and four daughters. He was a young man of twenty years at the time of removal of the family to the northwest and he resided with his parents until Decem- ber, 1892, when he married Elmira May Crain, a native of Jackson county, Oregon, to which place her father had removed from Ohio in 1851. Her father became a promi- nent and influential resident there and served in the state legislature. His wife, a native of New Jersey, arrived in Oregon in 1852 in company with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Crain remained residents of Jackson county until called to their final rest.


Following his marriage John W. Cox be- gan ranching independently, and with his wife owned about three thousand acres of land. Fourteen years ago he purchased his present ranch of fourteen hundred and eighty acres in the Wood River valley, about two and a half miles west of Fort Klamath. -


This ranch he operated for three years and then leased it out for ten years, but in the spring of 1912 he returned to the property and is again actively engaged in its man- agement. After leasing the ranch he went to Medford, where he engaged as a farmer and stockman for eight years. He next went to Oakland and San Jose, California, looking after his interests in that state. He is the owner of two ranches in the Sacramento val- ley, one of two hundred and four acres and the other of one hundred and sixty acres. On his home place lie has three hundred acres


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THE CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF OREGON


in timothy and runs some stock. For three years he was identified with the First Na- tional Bank of Medford but he has sold his interest in that institution. His ideas and methods are practical and are produc- tive of good results. His property is becom- ing very valuable. It is attractively situ- ated in one of the most beautiful valleys in the world, adjoining the Crater Lake National Park.


John W. Cox holds membership with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and both he and his wife are members of the Pres- byterian church, to the teachings of which they are loyal. They are interested in every- thing pertaining to the moral progress of the community and as a citizen Mr. Cox takes deep interest in the welfare and upbuilding of the district in which he lives.


ELMER E. MORRISON, who is conducting a highly lucrative hardware and farming im- plement store in Springfield, has been suc- cessfully identified with the local commercial fraternity for two and a half years. He was born in Polk county, Oregon, on the 9th of April, 1879, and is a son of Thomas J. and Elizabeth (Galloway) Morrison. The father is a native of Iowa and the mother of Ore- gon. The maternal grandparents were among the early pioneers of this state, making the trip overland from Illinois in 1854. Our subject is the eldest of the five children born to his parents, the others being as follows: Nellie, the wife of W. O. Hill of Heppner, this state, and the mother of one son, Herman; Etta, who married Jack Littell of Springfield, Oregon; Eva, the wife of Elza Sutton of Heppner, by whom she has had one child. Darold; and Carol, who is living in Port- land.


In common with his brothers and sisters, Elmer E. Morrison was given the advantages of a common-school education. At the age of fourteen years he laid aside his text-books and began preparations for a business career. as an employe of John Belt, a druggist. He continued in his service for two and a half years, following which he went to eastern Oregon, locating at Elgin. There he worked in a warehouse for a year and then engaged in the teaming business for a similar period. He subsequently went to Sumpter, Oregon, and worked in the gold mines for two and a half years. His next removal was to Hepp- ner, where he engaged in the dray business for two years, but was washed out at the time of the Heppner flood and lost eight horses and wagons, his house and all his other possessions. From Heppner he removed to Walterville. Upon his return to Lane county he turned his attention to agricultural pur- suits and rented one hundred and seventy acres of land which he devoted to hop culture. He withdrew from this occupation at the expiration of three years, went to Eugene and took a position in a hardware store. He soon gave this up, however. and came to Springfield and opened a small second-hand store. When he first engaged in this business he had a stock invoicing about three hundred dollars. but during the intervening period of


two and a half years he has increased his stock and enlarged his enterprise, giving up the second-hand business and now has one of the largest hardware and implement stores in Springfield which is one of the thriving and highly lucrative enterprises of the town.


For his wife and helpmate, Mr. Morrison chose Miss Vernie Clingan, the eldest child and only daughter of Pierce and Mary (Har- ris) Clingan. Mrs. Morrison has one brother, Fred A., who is a contractor and builder at Burns, Oregon. He is married and has one son, Hale. One daughter, Vernita, born on the 21st of April, 1905, and one son, Ken- neth, who died at the age of thirteen months, have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Morrison.


Mr. and Mrs. Morrison are members of the Christian church in the work of which they take an active interest. He holds the office of deacon in this organization and is leader of the choir, while at one time he was super- intendent of the Sunday school. In politics Mr. Morrison is a republican and he takes a helpful interest in all municipal affairs. He is now serving his second term as city treas- urer and he has refused the office of mayor on two different occasions. He is also a member of the school board. Although he has not long been a resident of the town, Mr. Mor- rison is held in favorable regard by all who know him in either a business or social way. ITe is prospering in his undertakings and in addition to his hardware and implement store he holds stock in the Commercial State Bank and is the owner of a very pleasant home. the hospitality of which is extended to the many friends of him and his wife.


GEORGE E. BEERS. Residing in Wood- ville, Jackson county, where he was born. George E. Beers is operating a well improved farm of twenty acres which under his good management yields copious harvests. He was born in this county February 26, 1874. a son of Stephen IT. and Elizabeth (Evans) Beers, the father a nativo of New York and the mother. of England. The parents mi- grated to Jackson county, Oregon. in 1871 and settled on a farm in the Evans valley, where the mother passed away in 1890. The father is still living on the old home place. having attained the age of sixty-eight years. In his family were six children only two of whom survive.


George E. Beers remained at home until he · was of age and attended the common schools of the community, meanwhile assisting his father in the work of the farm. After at- taining majority he was employed by neigh- boring farmers for a time but as he was careful to save his earnings he was soon able to bny twenty acres of land. Upon that farm he has placed valuable improvements. He has brought the fields to a high state of cultivation.


Mr. Beers was married in 1900 to Miss Ida Magerle. a native of Jackson county, and to their mmion one son. Lloyd S., was born. June 27, 1906. Mr. Beers supports the republican party and as he has taken a great deal of interest in educational affairs he has for some time been a member of the school


E. E. MORRISON


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THE CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF OREGON


board. He has long been regarded as one of the best citizens of the community, being greatly respected by a large number of busi- ness and personal friends with whom he as- sociates. He takes an active interest in the upbuilding of the community along all lines and has great faith in the state of his na- tivity.


WILLIAM V. COPE, who died in Coquille, March 22, 1909, had been for twenty-one years a resident of Curry county, prominently identified with business and agricultural in- terests. He was known as one of the most able, progressive and. public-spirited men of his section and his death was regretted by a large circle of friends who honored and es- teemed him for the upright and honorable qualities in his character. He was born in Canada, in March, 1846, a son of Benjamin and Nancy (Vermilyea) Cope, the former a native of New York and the latter of Can- ada. In their family were seven children: Alexis L., of Canada; Elmira, who resides in California; Helen M., the wife of Michael Keiser, of Sparks, Nebraska; William V., of this review; Peter P., who has passed away; Benjamin E., a resident of Canada; and James A., who lives in Bandon.


William V. Cope lived with his parents until he was six years of age and then made his home with a cousin until he had reached his eleventh year. At that early age and until he was nineteen he worked on a farm. Afterward he went to Wisconsin and engaged in general farming in various sections of that state for five years, going to Minnesota at the end of that time in order to take a position as foreman on a large ranch. After two years lie rented a farm which he de- veloped and improved until he went to Cali- fornia settling in Humboldt county. In that section he purchased land which, however, he soon sold and then operated a rented farm until he came to Oregon. He settled in Curry county in 1888 and bought one hundred and twenty acres of land and engaged in dairying and teaming and was also identified with the cooperage business, on a small scale. He brought the first thresher to this county. In 1906 he moved to Coquille and established himself in the butcher business, in which he remained until just prior to his death, which occurred March 22, 1909. His widow now owns the home in Coquille and a fine dairy ranch of one hundred and twenty acres, two miles from Langlois, on which she makes her home.


On January 26, 1868, Mr. Cope was united in marriage to Miss Sarah M. Emerson, who was born in New York, a daughter of B. N. and Hannah (Pope) Emerson. Mrs. Cope is one of two children. Her brother, Richard B., lives in Eureka, California. Mr. and Mrs. Cope became the parents of eight children: Ralph E .. a rancher of Langlois, who is mar- ried and has four children; Leora E., the wife of W. P. Beckett, of Ilwaco, Washing- ton, by whom she has four children; Delle M., who married Fred Belloni, of Coquille; Helen M., the wife of J. M. Nye, also of Co- quille, by whom she has one child; Benjamin


E., who lived in Langlois, and died, leaving a wife and one child; Alexis W., of Lang- lois, who is associated with his mother in the operation of the home farm; William E., who is also a partner with his mother and brother in the conduct of the home ranch; and Mary V., who passed away at the age of twelve years.


Mr. Cope was identified with the American Protective Association and also belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He gave his allegiance to the republican party and served as county commissioner for two terms and also did able work as road super- intendent. During the twenty-one years of liis residence in Curry county he took an active and helpful part in the work of im- provement and progress, which has been car- ried forward along various lines. Possessed of determination, energy, and unflagging in- dustry, he worked his way upward through hardships and obstacles until he gained a prominent place among the representative citizens of the section. His qualities of mind and heart were evidenced by the sincere and widespread regret wihch attended his death.


JOHN R. SELLERS is most successfully engaged in general ranching and stock-rais- ing five miles east of Creswell, where he owns eight hundred and six acres of land, which has been in the possession of his family for over forty years. His birth occurred in Story county, Iowa, on May 15, 1854, his parents being James R. and Mary Ann (McCartney) . Sellers. The father's natal day was the 1st of September, 1827, and he was the second son of Mr. and Mrs. James Rodman Sellers who had the following children: John, who lives in Missouri; James R., the father of our sub- ject; William, who is living in Story county, Iowa; and Robert, Moses, Sarah, Julia, Maria and Thomas. James R. Sellers was reared to manhood in Illinois and there he was also educated and on the 7th of January, 1849, married Miss Mary Ann McCartney. He sub- sequently located in Story county, Iowa, whence he crossed the plains in 1863 to Cali- fornia. There he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land which he cultivated for eight years, at the expiration of which time he continued his journey westward, locating in Oregon in the fall of 1871. The following spring he bought four hundred and fifty acres of land. about five miles east of Creswell, which formed the nucleus of his large ranch. Three hundred and eighty acres of this was already cleared and under cultivation and. as he was able, he extended his holdings un- til liis home ranch embraced eight hundred and six acres. He subsequently purchased one hundred and six acres located in the same vicinity and seven hundred acres about four miles west of Creswell, making his holdings in Lane county aggregate sixteen hundred acres, ten hundred and fifty of which is till- able. Mr. Sellers resided on his ranch until 1897, when he withdrew from active work and removed to Eugene, living retired until his death on February 3, 1911, at the vener- able age of eighty-three years. The mother of our subject was born in the state of Mich-


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THE CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF OREGON


igan on the 25th of April, 1829, and was a daughter of Mary A. and Robert McCartney. Her parents were natives of the Empire state, whence they removed first to Illinois and later to Michigan and Iowa. The family of Mr. and Mrs. McCartney numbered five. To Mr. and Mrs. Sellers were born six children, our sub- jeet being the eldest son. In order of birth the others are as follows: Mary, the wife of J. L. Hunter, a carpenter of Eugene; James D., who is deceased; Martha Ann, the widow of A. G. Matthews, of Eugene; William T., a ranchman in Umatilla county; and Charles H., who is engaged in agricultural pursuits in Creswell. The mother passed away at the age of fifty-nine years.


John R. Sellers was a child of nine years when his parents removed to California and a youth of seventeen when the family lo- cated in Lane county. He began his educa- tion in the public schools of his native state and completed it in Oregon, remaining at home until he was twenty-one. After at- taining his majority he started out to make his own way in the world, going to eastern Oregon where he worked on a stock ranch at intervals for twenty years. During that time he gradually accumulated a herd of his own and for about ten years was en- gaged in stock-raising, meeting with very good success. He acquired two hundred and fourteen acres of land in that time which he has in hay that he uses in feeding his herds. In the spring of 1909, he disposed of his interests there and returning to Lane county bought the old home ranch from his fa- ther, and here in connection with the cul- tivation of his fields he continues to en- gage in stock-raising.


On the 23d of October, 1878, John R. Sellers was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Martin of Creswell, and to them have been born four children: Nora D., the wife of L. M. Streeter, of Port Klamath, this state; William Frank, who is engaged in mining in Nevada; Ethel M., who died in girlhood; and Tressa A., who is attending school at Enterprise, this state. Mrs. Sellers is a daughter of Ivan and Mary Ann (Tur- pin) Martin, whose family numbered five daughters and one son, as follows: Margaret A., the wife of Henry Rinehart, of Walla Walla, Washington; Elizabeth J., the wife of IV. E. Rinehart, of Cottage Grove; William Frank Martin, who is ranching at Kenewick, Washington; Matilda, who died in childhood; Mrs. Eliza Sellers; and Dora, the widow of James Helms, of Talent, Oregon. The par- ents of Ivan Martin were Joseph and Jane Martin, and to them were born, beside the father of the wife of our subject, the fol- lowing children: Isaac, Jonathan, Margaret, Urias, Francis, Ellen, Asinthia, Julian, Louis and Ephraim. The parents of Mary Ann (Turpin) Martin were John J. and Elizabeth Turpin, who were married at Bowling Green, Pike county, Missouri. Unto them was born beside Mary Ann Turpin one sister, Mar- garet, who became the wife of Ed Mulhol- land, and they are living in La Grande, Union county, Oregon.




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