The centennial history of Oregon, 1811-1912, Part 94

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

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In his political views Mr. Sellers is a demo. crat and has served as road supervisor for four years and as school trustee for one. He is one of the enterprising and progressive men of his community and takes an earnest interest in everything pertaining to the pub- lic welfare. Both he and Mrs. Sellers are members of the Christian church and gener- ously contribute of both their means and time in furthering its work. He is a worthy representative of a highly esteemed pioneer family and has many friends in the county, whose regard he has won through his personal worth.

HENRY E. BURMESTER, JR., M. D., is one of the prominent and successful dentists of North Bend, Coos county, where he is en- gaged in the practice of his profession. He was born in Prineville, Oregon, March 15. 1883, and is a son of H. E. and Mary (Craft) Burmester, the former a native of Pennsyl- vania and the latter of Iowa. The father came to Oregon in 1854 by way of the isth- mus and the mother emigrated to this state when a child, with her parents, who crossed the plains with ox teams. They were mar- ried in Linn county, Oregon, where they have since continued to reside. At the present time they are living on a farm near Scio, Linn county. Their residence is located on three hundred and twenty acres of land which was the original donation claim taken by the paternal grandfather of the subject of this review. To Mr. and Mrs. H. E. Burmester, Sr., eight children were born: Mrs. Leone Waln, of Linn county, Oregon; Agnes, the wife of Mr. Cramer, a resident of Mar- ion county, Oregon; Christopher C., who resides on a part of the old homestead in Scio, Linn county, Oregon; Harry, de- ceased; H. E., Jr., the subject of this sketch; Eliza, who is deceased; Mrs. Earl Calavan, who resides in Lyons, Linn county, this state; and Charley, who resides at home.

H. E. Burmester, Jr., was reared in his parents' home and received his early educa - tion in the public schools of Linn county. He later was graduated from the North Pacific Dental College at Portland, Oregon. Imme- diately after his graduation, at the age of twenty-two years he opened dental offices at North Bend where he has since continued successfully in the practice of his profession. He is the owner of a fine residence at North Bend in which he resides and owns property in the town and at Ten Mile Lake.

Dr. Burmester was united in marriage July 12, 1905, just after his graduation from col- lege to Miss Maud E. Shelton, who was born in Linn county, Oregon, April 15, 1883, and who is a daughter of Alfred M. and Jennie (Turner) Shelton. Her parents came from Missouri to Oregon, crossing the great plains and settled in Linn county where the father took up a donation claim on which he estab- lished his home and continued to live until the time of his retirement from active life in 1910. He was one of the early pioneers of Linn county and now maintains his resi- dence at Lyons. To Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Shelton thirteen children were born. six of

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THE CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF OREGON

whom are living: Mrs. Stacy Andrews, who resides in Albany, Linn county, Oregon; Har- vey, a resident of Linn county; Joseph, who resides in Linn county; Emma, the wife of J. N. Blyiew, of Crabtree, Linn county; Ida, who married R. Worthington, of Oswego, Clackamas county, Oregon; and Mrs. Bur- mester. Dr. and Mrs. Burmester are the parents of one child, Kathaline J., born No- vember 26, 1909. They are members of the Episcopal church of North Bend.

Dr. H. E. Burmester is one of the well known and successful dentists of North Bend and is interested in every movement intended to improve the condition of the people in his county and state.

GEORGE W. LOOSLEY. Various business interests and activities have claimed the at- tention of George W. Loosley, whose efforts have not only been a source of individual profit but also an element in public progress and prosperity. He now makes his home on a ranch on the west bank of Wood river, three miles south of Fort Klamath, and has con- verted the place from a tract of wild land into a well developed farm. He was born at Champoeg, Clackamas county, Oregon, August 16, 1856, a son of John and Lucy (Walling) Loosely. The father was born in Oxford, England, February 8, 1824, and the mother in Muscatine, Iowa, January 22, 1834. The father served an appren- ticeship at the miller's trade and when twenty-one years of age crossed the At- lantic to New York, whence he made his way to Chicago. There he operated a mill for a year and in 1852 made his way to the gold mines of California. He followed min- ing near Yreka and also in Jackson county, Oregon, and he operated the first gristmill at Albany. Oregon. He was married there and later went to Champoeg, where he conducted a gristmill for Major Mclaughlin. Subse- quently he removed to the Grande Ronde In- dian reservation in Yamhill county, where he was in the employ of the government under General John F. Miller for about three years. He next went to McMinnville, where he op- erated a gristmill for several years, but he lost all that he had in the milling business about 1870. He was also in ill health and he had a family of seven children to support. Conditions looked very dark and discouraging but in 1871 he made his way to Klamath Agency, secured a tract of government land and filed on his homestead, settling in the Wood River valley before the survey was made. The remainder of his life was here passed, his death occurring November 8, 1900. He engaged in the cattle business here, start- ing with sixty head, and he was the first to demonstrate the fact that cattle could re- main in the valley through the winter, the other settlers telling him that there was too much snow. Mr. Loosley, however, cut hay and fed his stock and his care of them en- abled them to withstand the hard winter. He owned three hundred and twenty acres of land and had from three hundred to four hundred head of cattle on the range, for the whole country was open then. During the

first two years of his residence in this part of the state he was employed at the Indian agency, at which time his nearest neighbors were at Klamath Falls, forty miles away, with some soldiers at the fort. He was largely instrumental in having this valley settled by homeseekers and he contributed in large measure to the early improvement and prog- ress in this part of the state. His wife sur- vived him and passed away in the Wood River valley May 28, 1912. She was a daughter of' Jerome B. and Sarah Walling, natives of the middle west, who in 1847 crossed the plains to the Willamette valley and settled on the present site of Amity, in Yamhill county, where they secured a donation claim. In 1864 Mr. Walling removed to Boise, Idaho, where he secured land and put in the first ir- rigation system and also planted the first orchard of that district. He prospered in his undertakings and had a goodly compe- tency to leave to his large family at his death.

George W. Loosley was the second in order of birth in a family of eleven children, the other being: Nancy, the deceased wife of Jacob Moyer; Mary, the wife of John H. Smart, of Wood River valley; J. F., also liv- ing in this valley; Rosa, the wife of George L. Nutley, of Tacoma, Washington; Bird, of Klamath Falls; Philip Sheridan, living at Tolo, Oregon; Marion, of Wood River valley; Fannie, the wife of Oscar Bunch, of Fort Kla- math; Milan A., of the Philippine Islands, in the signal service department of the govern- ment; and Benjamin, who is postmaster of Fort Klamath.

George W. Loosley remained at home with his parents until twenty-four years of age. He was married May 2, 1880, to Emma An- derson, who was born at Brownsville, Oregon, December 8, 1858, a daughter of the Rev. Marion and Malissa (Arnold) Anderson, who were born, reared and married in the middle west, and in 1851 settled in the Rogue River valley of Oregon, whence they later removed to the Willamette valley. The father was a lifelong clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church. His wife died in January, and he in April of 1861, when they were residing near Ashland, Oregon.

In 1882 Mr. Loosley built and operated the first steamboat on the Upper Klamath lake. It was a screw-propeller, called the General Howard. He afterward built the City Kla- math, a stern wheel boat but in 1887 he dis- posed of his steamboat interests and has since concentrated his energies upon ranching. He owns thirteen hundred acres in Wood River valley in three ranches. His own home is pleasantly situated three miles south of Fort Klamath, on the west bank of Wood river, and through his efforts the place has been transformed from a tract of wild land into a highly improved property. He has every acre under ditch and owns the water supply. The fencing, ditching and irrigating have all been done by him and he also erected good buildings upon his place, which is devoted to the raising of cattle. In 1895 he assisted in establishing the first creamery in Wood River valley at Fort Klamath and for a year after

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THE CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF OREGON

acted as manager, after which the business was sold to his brother John F. Loosley, who still conducts it. George W .. Loosley also' spent two years in the butchering business at Ashland, from 1908 until 1910, as a member of the Neil-Loosley Company. They owned three markets, bought and sold cattle and carried on an extensive business, their sales in the retail department amounting to sixty thousand dollars annually.

. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Loosley have been born four children. Earl was born June 28, 1881, and died January 3, 1882. Edward K., who was born March 4, 1883, is the owner of a fruit ranch at Beswick, California. He mar- ried Bessie Butler and has one child, George. Carey V., born June 13, 1885, is at home. Clara M. is the wife of Fred R. Neil, a stock- man of the Wood River valley, and they have two children: Joe, born March 11, 1907; and Frederick, born May 13, 1910. Edward Loos- ley spent one year in the State University and is a graduate of the Armstrong Business Col- lege. Carey spent three and a half years at the State University and is now superin- tendent of the Abner Weed ranch of twenty- two thousand acres in Wood River valley. Clara pursued a normal course at Ashland.

In his political views Mr. Loosley is a re- publican, having always supported the party, as did his father before him. His father voted twice to make Oregon a free state when the question of slavery was before the people. Fraternally Mr. Loosley is connected with Ashland Lodge, No. 112, F. & A. M., and his wife is a member of the Eastern Star. They also hold membership in the Episcopal church and are interested in all that pertains to the material, intellectual, political and moral ad- vancement of the district.

STEWART BATES EAKIN, who passed away on the 14th day of February, 1912, was for many years one of the most influen- tial factors in local business and financial cir- cles, and contributed largely toward pro- moting the general development of Eugene. As one of the founders and organizers of the First National Bank, of which he was vice president for many years, he was a dis- tinctive figure in the business life of the community, and he was also prominently identified with political affairs, and not only filled some of the leading county and city offices but represented his district in the state senate and legislature.

He was born in Rutland, Kane county, Illi- nois, six miles from Elgin, on the 28th of August, 1846, and was a son of Stewart Bates Mary (McEldowney) Eakin. The father was a native of Ireland, of Scotch- Irish parentage, and the mother was born in the United States. The father came to the United States in 1840 and was married June 12, 1844. The family home was for many years located in the state of Illinois. In 1866, the father. mother and other members of the family started across the plains from Bloom, now Chicago Heights, Illinois, for Oregon. They were four months making the journey across the prairies with a mule team, meeting with the usual experiences encoun-

tered by all who came to the northwest at that period in an emigrant train. Upon their arrival in Lane county they located three miles northwest of Eugene, enduring the hardships and privations incident to pioneering the world over. The father con- tinued to reside there until his death which occurred March 12, 1892, at the age of sev- enty-six years. Mrs. Mary Eakin died No- vember 5, 1866. Of seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Eakin our subject died recent- ly and six are still living. In order of birth these seven are: Stewart Bates Eakin, de- ceased; Judge Robert Eakin of Salem, this state; Jane Paul, the wife of Calvin Hall- nah, of Eugene; Herbert, who lives in Cot- tage Grove; Mary C., who married John Mc- Queen, of Portland; Judge James A., of As- toria; and Walter, who is engaged in the abstract business in Astoria. Stewart Bates Eakin, Sr., was twice married, his second wife being Mrs. Nancy (Bates) Leslie who died November 29, 1896.

The first twenty years in the life of Stew- art B. Eakin were passed in his native state. He received his education in Bloom, Illinois. When he was twelve years of age he worked in his father's store before and after school hours and his bed was in the store build- ing, up to the time of their departure for Oregon in 1866. He drove a team across the plains and passed one winter with his parents in Oregon, but began clerking in the store of Peters & Parsons in April 1867, and con- tinued with this firm until 1870, when he engaged in the sheep business. Not having the necessary experience in this line, his ef- forts were not successful and he sold out at the end of the year. He then secured a clerkship with F. B. Dunn, remaining with that house until the spring of 1874, when unsolicited he was nominated on the repub- lican ticket for sheriff of Lane county, and was elected by a majority of one vote, the county being strongly democratic. His ten- ure of office was for two years and he served with so much satisfaction that in 1876 he was renominated and elected by a three hun- dred and thirty majority and was again re- nominated and elected in 1878, continuing in the office until 1880, when he began clerk- ing for T. G. Hendricks, remaining one year. In 1881 he made his first eastern trip and passed six months amid old and new scenes. Returning to Eugene in the spring of 1882 he was elected to the state legislature, being the only republican elected from Lane coun- ty. In 1888 he was elected to the state sen- ate from Lane county, being the first re- publican senator from this county in eighteen years. During his political career Mr. Eakin was never defeated.

He first became identified with local busi- ness and financial affairs in 1883, when to- gether with T. G. Hendricks he organized a private banking house, known as the Hen- dricks & Eakin Bank. This was conducted as a private institution with Mr. Hendricks as president and Mr. Eakin, as cashier, until February 27, 1886. when they secured a char- ter for a national bank and thus established the First National Bank of Eugene, which be-

STEWART B. EAKIN

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THE CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF OREGON

gan business March 9, 1886, with a paid-up capital of fifty thousand dollars, Mr. Eakin becoming cashier, which office he held for several years when in April, 1899, he was elected vice president and continued in this office until his death. He was also one of the organizers and a heavy stockholder of the Eugene Water Works Company. He possessed unusual business sagacity and met with excellent success in his undertakings and not only was one of the largest stock- holders in this bank, but he also had exten- sive property interests in the state.

On September 27, 1871, Mr. Eakin was united in marriage to Miss Eliza J. Had- ley, who was born in Lane county on the 12th of September, 1852, and is a daughter of Henry D. and Loretta (Cox) Hadley. The father was a native of Portland, Maine, and the mother of Sandusky, Ohio, and they were married in Illinois. They crossed the plains to Oregon in 1851, settling ten miles south- west of Eugene, where the father acquired two thousand acres of land and engaged in stock-raising. He became one of the largest sheep-raisers in this section and extended the boundaries of his ranch until it com- prised four thousand acres of land, while his herds contained as high as seven thou- sand head of sheep. He met with most grati- fying prosperity and the latter years of his life were passed in retirement in the city of Eugene, where he passed away April 2, 1906, at the venerable age of ninety-one years. The mother was eighty-two at the time of her death, which occurred on the 12th of July, 1904. Mr. Hadley figured prom- inently in the early political life of Lane county, and was one of the. first members of the Oregon legislature, while lie served for some years as justice of the peace, and in lieu of a better place, oftentimes held his court under the shade of an old oak tree near the center of the city of Eugene, the tree having stood there until about a year ago when it was cut down. More extended men- tion of the Hadley family is made in an- other part of this work. Mrs. Eakin is the eldest of the four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Hadley, the other members of the family being: Charles and Frank, who are residents of Eugene; and George, who is liv- ing on a part of the old home ranch. To Mr. and Mrs. Eakin was born one daughter, Georgie Myrtle, who died at the age of seven months.

In matters of religious faith Mr. Eakin was a Presbyterian, as is also Mrs. Eakin, and in politics he was a republican. He was a man well adapted to pioneering as he was resourceful and fearless, and possessed the determination of purpose that enabled him to reach his objective point, whatever it might be. He was deeply interested in the improvement of educational institutions and for several years he handled the funds of the University of Oregon, greatly to the benefit of that school. He was also regent of the Normal School at Monmouth until it was closed by an act of a state law. He gave Lane county and the city of Eugene notable service both as a private citizen and Vol. IV-26

a public official, and was loved and esteemed throughout the community, where he had hosts of friends who paid him that tribute of absolute loyalty which his splendid char- acter so well merited.

IRA B. BARTLE, M. D., is one of the well known and respected citizens of North Bend, Coos county, where he is successfully engaged in the general practice of medicine. He was born in Woodhull, New York, September 16, 1871, and is a son of William and Hannah (Baxter) Bartle, both of whom are natives of New York. They celebrated their marriage in that state and there continued to live un- til 1885 at which time they settled at Larned. Kansas. In 1904 they removed to Oregon and established their home at Eugene where they are still living. They are the parents of three children: Ella, the deceased wife of V. Neal of Tillamook, Oregon; Ira B., the sub- ject of this review; and Phillip, who is en- gaged in the general practice of medicine at Eugene, Oregon.

Ira B. Bartle was reared in his parents' home and received his elementary education in the public schools of New York. In 1885 he removed with his parents to Kansas where he continued his studies and was graduated from the high school in Larned, Kansas, in 1891. He then took up the study of medicine in a college at Keokuk, Iowa, and was gradu- ated therefrom with the degree of M. D. in the class of 1894, after which he engaged in the practice of his profession for some time in Kansas and later settled at Carmen, Ok- lahoma. Some time later he went to Louisi- ana where he pursued a course of study in the Tulane University for four years and then returned to Carmen, Oklahoma, where he again opened offices and was engaged in the practice of his profession until 1904. In that year he removed to Oregon, locating first at Eugene where he practiced medicine for three years, after which he settled in North Bend and has since successfully followed his pro- fession at that place. He is one of three phy- sicians of North Bend who are engaged in tlie general practice of medicine. Dr. Bartle is physician for the Simpson Lumber Company and has been United States quarantine officer of this port for three years. While in Okla- homa he was one of the executive board of doctors of that state. He is the owner of a fine home and other property in North Bend and has a summer home up the river. He also owns a cranberry ranch in North Inlet, Coos county.

Dr. Bartle was twice married. His second~ union was with Miss Maud R. Coke, a native of Coos county and a daughter of R. J. and Barbara Coke, of North Bend, Oregon. The father was a native of Tennessee and the mother of Kansas. Mrs. Bartle came with her parents, who were among the early settlers of this part of the state, to Oregon. Her fa- ther owns and operates the Coos Bay Grocery of North Bend. To Mr. and Mrs. Coke two children were born: Ralph, a resident of Los Angeles, California; and Maud R., the wife of the subject of this review.

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THE CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF OREGON

Dr. Bartle was by his first wife the father of three children: Helen, who was born in 1898; Sanford, born in 1902; and Dorothy, whose birth occurred in 1906. Dr. Bartle's second wife received her education in Coos county and after passing through the lower grades was graduated from the high school. Subsequently she engaged in teaching school until the time of her marriage. She is a grad- uate of the State Normal school.

Dr. Ira B. Bartle belongs to the republican party and has been a member of the city council of North Bend for two years. He has fraternal relations with the Masonie lodge and with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and is a member of the Knights of Pyth- ias, having passed through all the chairs of this lodge. He is one of the successful physi- eians of Coos county and is a man whose aid is always to be relied upon to advance any public measure calculated to improve con- ditions for the people in his county and state.

ANDREW JACKSON HAMLIN is living upon two hundred and fifty-seven acres of land in Curry county, near Langlois, and is well known in agricultural circles of this section. He is a native of Oregon, born in Jackson county, in 1867, a son of James Hamlin, a native of Maine, and a pioneer of Jackson county. Andrew J. Hamlin is the youngest of seven children, six of whom are living, the others being: Rose, who is the wife of Jesse Wilson, of Medford; Julia, the wife of Thomas Myers, of Medford; and William, George, and Jefferson, all of whom reside in Medford.

Andrew J. Hamlin grew up upon the liome farm in Jackson county and received his education in the district schools. After his father died he assumed the management of the homestead and operated and developed this property until after the death of his mother. In 1901 he sold the farm and came to Curry county, settling near Langlois, where he bought two hundred and fifty-seven acres of unimproved land which, with the aid of his two sons, he cleared and developed, building barns, granaries, and other build- ings necessary for the complete equipment of a modern farm, and he occupies a pleas- ant home which he also erected.

In 1888 Mr. Hamlin was united in mar- riage to Miss Alva Fitzwater, a native of California, and a member of one of the pioneer families in that state. She is one of two children, the other having died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Hamlin have three sons. James Edward, who was born Feb- ruary 5, 1889, married Miss Mabel Gertrude Foster, December 24, 1911. She is a native of Washington and a daughter of J. L. and Sadie (Churchill) Foster, both of Illinois. Delbert was born March 28, 1891. Erwin V., the youngest member of the family, was born July 26, 1893, and is attending school.

Mr. Hamlin gives his allegiance to the re- publican party and is identified with the Improved Order of Red Men. For over a quarter of a century he has farmed in Ore- gon and eleven years of this time have been spent in Curry county, where his labors have

resulted in developing an uncultivated tract into a model farm. Thus he has added not only to his own prosperity bnt indirectly to general advancement and growth.

EDMONSON M. LEEVER. The life rec- ord of Edmonson M. Leever indicates what may be accomplished when industry is a dominant element in one's nature. It has been that quality which has gained for him a substantial measure of success and he is now the owner of a good farm on Anna creek, two miles north of Fort Klamath. He was born at Central Point, Jackson county, Oregon, October 2, 1867, and is a son of William and Elizabeth M. (Constant) Lee- ver. The father's birth occurred in Spring- field, Ohio, February 27, 1829, and the mother, a native of Illinois, was born January 2, 1839. William Leever erossed the plains in 1849 to the Willamette valley, making the journey with ox teams from his native state. After teaching school for two years he went to Portland, visiting the site of that city when there was only one cabin within its present corporation limits. Removing to Jackson county, he taught school at Cen- tral Point and spent the remainder of his life in that district, devoting the greater part of his time and attention to farming. He was injured in an accident which in- capacitated him for business for five or six years before his death, which occurred in 1903. His wife died July 19, 1900. In their family were ten children: W. C., who makes his home at Central Point, Oregon; Levina, the wife of Frank Hathaway, also of Central Point; Ida, the wife of John Bollinger, of Modesta, California; Edmonson M .; J. C., living at Visalia, California; T. S., of the same state; Ada, the wife of Walter Damon, of the John Day county of Oregon; Lucinda, the wife of W. J. Guy, of Portland; Nellie, the wife of Frank Jeffries, of California; and Elizabeth, the wife of Eli Mayer, of Exeter, California.

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The centennial history of Oregon, 1811-1912, Part 94

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