Siskiyou County,
California
Biography Project
Siskiyou County Biographies
have been hard to track down.
Siskiyou County was created on March 22, 1852, from
parts of Shasta and Klamath Counties, and named after the
Siskiyou
mountain range. Parts of the county's territory
were given to Modoc County in 1855.
Siskiyou County is bordered by three Counties in Oregon:
Jackson, Josephine & Klamath, as well as by Counties
in California: Del Norte, Humboldt, Modoc,
Trinity & Shasta.
Check the above Counties for Biographies, you may find
Family.
If you have family lore or personal biographies to
share, send along a note.
J. W. MITCHELL
... is a representative of industrial
activity at Medford where he is
engaged in wagon-making and in dealing in wagon-maker's
supplies. He is also well known in the town as a
public-spirited citizen and is now serving as a member
of the city council. He was born at
Fort
Jones, Siskiyou
county,
California, February
22, 1867, his parents
being James and Minerva (Quigley) Mitchell, who were
natives of Indiana. The father
learned the harness-maker's trade in
St.
Louis, Missouri, and after
his marriage he crossed the plains at an early day,
locating in Siskiyou county,
California, where he
conducted a harness-making business at
Fort
Jones to the time
of his death.
J. W. Mitchell was but ten years of age
at the time of his father's demise and a lad of twelve
years when his mother was called from this life. In
their family were nine children, six who reached adult
age and are still living. J. W. Mitchell was the
youngest son and with one exception the youngest child.
He remained at the place of his nativity until he had
attained his majority, when he went upon the stock
ranches of eastern Oregon, spending
four years as a cowboy. He then returned to
Montague,
California, where he
began learning the blacksmith's trade, after which he
continued in that business together with farming, taking
up government land there. In 1901 he came to
Medford and
established his present business in connection with E.
C. Boeck, under the firm style of Mitchell & Boeck.
The relation was continued for about ten years, or until
October, 1911. when Mr. Mitchell purchased his partner's
interest and now conducts an independent business under
his own name as a wagon maker and dealer in wagon
maker's supplies. He has built up a good business in
this connection and he also does automobile repairing
and rubber-tire works, employing four men. The business
was started in a small way on
Main
street, the partners
doing all of their own work and their blacksmithing at
that time. As the years have passed, however, the
factory has constantly increased and the business has
assumed large and profitable proportions. In 1902 Mr.
Mitchell in connection with Mr. E. C. Boeck purchased
eighty acres of land five miles northeast of
Medford and began
the cultivation of an apple and pear orchard. In this
and other ways Mr. Mitchell has won success as the
result of his well directed labors.
On Christmas Day of 1890 was celebrated
the marriage of Mr. Mitchell and Miss Phoebe A. Woodson,
who was born in Ashland, Oregon, in 1870, and is a
daughter of James and Laura (Million) Woodson. The
Million donation land claim is now a part of the site of
the city of Ashland. Mr. Woodson
also crossed the plains at an early day and became
identified with the pioneer development of that
community. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell have been born two
children, Grace Elizabeth and Marvin James, aged
respectively eighteen and twelve years.
Mr. Mitchell
is well known in Odd Fellows circles, holding membership
in the lodge and encampment. Politically he is a
democrat and is now serving for a third term as a member
of the city council, in which connection he exercises
his official prerogatives in support of many progressive
public movements. He favors the town's advancement along
modern lines and his reelection to office indicates the
confidence and trust reposed in him by his fellow
townsmen.
The Centennial History of
Oregon, 1811-1912,
Vol III, ~ Joseph Gaston [Page 292]
HON. ABNER WEED.
Few men of
southern Oregon and northern
California are more
widely known than the Hon. Abner Weed because of his
extensive land holdings, his important industrial
interests and his prominence in political circles. He
owns twenty-one thousand acres of land in one body in
Klamath county, Oregon, devoted to
the raising of hay and to grazing purposes. He has
operated extensively along various lines in this section
of the country and his value as a citizen is widely
acknowledged. He was born in Dixmont, Penobscot county,
Maine, September
18, 1842, the son of
Abner and Sarah (Ryan) Weed, who were natives of the
Pine Tree state and belonged to old families there. They
spent their entire lives in
Maine, the father
following the occupation of farming. Hon. Abner Weed,
the youngest of a family of eight children, resided with
his parents until 1S63, when at the age of twenty-one
years he enlisted for service in the Civil war. Up to
that time he had lived the usual life of a farm boy,
taking advantage of the educational opportunities
offered by the common schools. Donning the nation's blue
uniform he went to the front as a member of Company C,
Eighth Maine Volunteer Infantry. He served with that
command until the close of the war, two and one-half
years later. He participated in the
James
river expedition under
Butler and was
serving under President Grant at the time of the
surrender of Lee. He did provost guard duty in
Virginia until 1866.
mostly at Richmond, and was continuously in active
service save for a period of three months spent at home
on a furlough, following a sunstroke which incapacitated
him for duty.
In 1866 Abner
Weed returned home, remaining a resident of
Maine until 1868.
He then went to Iowa, where he
lived for one year, and in 1869 made his way to
California. He spent
about twenty years in the Sierra
Nevada country, mostly in the town of
Truckee, logging and
working in the winters during that period. He did some
contract work and worked for wages also. In 1889 he
removed to Siskiyou county,
California, where he has
since made his home. In that county he first operated a
sawmill near Sisson. He made a steady advance in that
business and became one of the most prominent lumbermen
of the section. About seven years ago, however, he
disposed of his interests there and has since engaged in
dealing in land and cattle, owning now twenty-one
thousand acres of land all in one body in Klamath
county. He also has about eleven thousand acres in
Siskiyou county, which is hay and grazing land and a
part of which is mining property. Mr. Weed founded the
town which bears his name???Weed,
California???and there
built a sawmill, a store, a box factory and a residence.
He built twenty-three miles of the California &
Northeastern Railroad, now owned by the Southern Pacific
Company, and forming a part of the main line through
Klamath Falls. In Contra
Costa county,
California, he owns a
ranch of sixteen hundred acres. Thus he is one of the
most extensive landholders in this section.
Abner Weed
was married in Maine in 1885 to
Miss Rachel C. Cunningham, a native of that state and a
daughter of Chandler Cunningham. The children of this
marriage are: Abbie G, the wife of Alexander Albee, who
lives near Weed; E. C, who was born December
31, 1874, and died
in February, 1911; Eleanor, who was born in 1878 and
died at the age of three years; and Horace A., who
resides upon his father's ranch, is married and has two
children.
He is a
republican and for your years filled the office of state
senator in
California, while for
eight years he was supervisor at Siskiyou. His fellow
townsmen recognize the fact that he is capable and
public-spirited and desire his services in office, yet
his ambition does not lead in that direction.
Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order
"of Odd Fellows, the Masons and the Elks. Whatever he
undertakes he carries forward to successful completion
and he is a man of sound judgment, progressive and
determined, and possesses that rare perception which
enables one to see the possibilities and opportunities
of a situation.
The Centennial History of
Oregon, 1811-1912,
Vol III, ~ Joseph Gaston [Page 746]
JAMES GEHRIG
BEARD.
Residence,
1238
Washington Street; office,
Courthouse, Red Bluff. Born December
30, 1879, in Etna,
Siskiyou County,
California. Son of John
Samuel and Annie (Ackley) Beard. Married June 1 I, 1902,
to Louise Sophia Smith. In 1886 entered Yreka grammar
schools, graduating there from in June, 1895. Entered
Siskiyou
County
High
School in September,
1895, taking combined literary and commercial courses
for three years. Admitted to bar at
Sacramento,
California, January
4, 1909. January
8, 1909, formed
partnership with his father, Judge J. S. Beard,
practicing under firm name of Beard & Beard, at
Yreka, which partnership existed until death of Judge
Beard on December 12. 1910. Official reporter of the
superior Court of Siskiyou
County from April 29,
1905, to January
7, 1909. On September
13, 1909, appointed
official reporter of the Superior Court of Tehama
County, California, which position he now holds,
practicing at intervals at Yreka until the firm of Beard
& Beard was dissolved by death of Judge Beard.
Republican.
History Of
The Bench and Bar of California : Edited BY J.
C. Bates, Bench and Bar Publishing Company Publishers,
San
Francisco, 1912 [Page
225]
H. J. O'BRIEN
...has for twenty-five years engaged
extensively in the breeding and raising of horses and
is one of the foremost representatives of this
business in Bonanza and the Yonna valley. He was born
in Galesburg,
Knox county. Illinois.
July 2, 1859,
and is a son of William and Alice (Philips) O'Brien,
both of whom were natives of
Ireland,
born in Galway
and Tipperary
respectively. The mother was fourteen years of age
when she crossed the Atlantic
and the father was a youth of fifteen. They were
married at Galesburg, Illinois,
where they were numbered among the first settlers. Mr.
O'Brien worked for Mr. Gale and Mrs. O'Brien worked
for Mr. Ferris, and it was upon the farms of those two
men that the city of
Galesburg
was built. Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien resided there until
the Civil war and he assisted in erecting all of the
principal buildings there at that time including
Knox College
and the seminary. He was a stone and brick mason and
took an active part through his trade in the
improvement of the city. He and his brothers, Martin.
Patrick. Henry and Thomas, were the only Irish
republicans in Galesburg
at the time of the Civil war. Patrick and Henry both
lost their lives while defending the Union, one at
Shiloh
and the other at
Gettysburg.
Two years after the war H. J. O'Brien removed with his
parents to the Grand Prairie, Livingston county,
Illinois, and subsequently to Greenwood county,
Kansas, where they became pioneers, settling there two
and a half years before the railroad was built. At
length H. J. O'Brien came to the west and his parents
followed him. becoming early residents of the Pacific
coast. Eventually, however, they sold out in the
northwest and returned as far as
Oklahoma,
both passing away there in 1909 when about eighty
years of age. In their family were four children: H.
J.; Edward. who died in
Iowa;
Willie, who has not been heard from in twenty years;
and Myra,
the wife of William Drake, of
Hennessey, Oklahoma.
H. .T. O'Brien removed from Kansas to
Oregon in 1880 and spent six months in traveling over
the state, searching for a favorable location. He came
to Klamath county with William Hanley. bringing
cattle, and spent two years between this district and
Rogue river,
in teaming. On the construction of the railroad to
Ashland
in 1882 he located permanently in Klamath county,
homesteading one hundred and sixty acres of land upon
which he now resides. This is today well improved and
under a high state of cultivation. For some time he
was actively engaged in the construction of new
railroads in the northwest but for the past twenty
yearn he 1ms dealt in horses, breeding black Perchrron
stock. He is half owner of
Richmond, a fine sire
owned by the Lost River Valley Percheron Horse
Company. They paid twenty-four hundred dollars for him
when he was three years old and he is now valued at
three thousand dollars. Mr. O'Brien is also the owner
of Beau Sire for which he paid one thousand dollars
when he was less than three years old. Although Mr.
O'Brien learned the carpenter's trade in early life he
has handled horses through the greater part of the
period of his majority and is an excellent judge of
fine animals, doing much to improve the grade of
horses raised in this section.
Mr. O'Brien was married in 1901 to Mrs.
Addie Clark, who was born in the Cottonwood mining
camp, in Siskiyou county.
California,
March 8, 1860.
When she was eighteen months old her parents removed
to Jacksonville where she remained until eight years
of age, when she went to Linkriver, now Klamath Falls,
a trading post, being the first white girl to reside
there. At that time there were only a half dozen
shacks in the town. Soldiers and the Indians
constituted the chief population of the district
although there were trappers and hunters. Mrs. O'Brien
heard the first shots of the Modoc war and saw the
first victims. In 1874 she went to
Colorado
and was there married to S. B.
Clark.
She resided there before
Cripple Creek
came into prominence, near the present site of the
town, and after living in that state went to
Minnesota,
where she lost her husband and eldest child. Mr. Clark
passing away in 1891. She then returned to Josephine
county, Oregon,
where she lived for three years, after which she again
came to Klamath county and was married here to Mr.
O'Brien. She had eight children by her first marriage:
Minnie S., who died at the age of twelve years; Etta
A., who is the wife of Walker Blanton, of Washington;
Lilly A., the wife of Charles Flackus of Yonna valley;
Emma C., the wife of George Gibson, of Boise.
Idaho:
Silas, of Klamath county; Willie, who is a twin
brother of Silas, of
Davis;
Jessie E., of Minnesota;
and Irving H.. of
Ontario.
Oregon.
Mrs. O'Brien never resided in a frame house until she
went to Minnesota
in 1883 having up to that time always lived in pioneer
districts where her home was a log house. She attended
school at Jacksonville
when it was but a mining camp and at
Ashland
when there was only one store in the town. She also
went to school in Linkriver the present
Klamath Falls,
when there were only six pupils there and she crossed
the Link river on the ferry before the bridge was
built. In 1870 she walked across the Link river bed
when it was dry, caused by a south wind that held the
waters back in the lake. She made that crossing with
her father and when in the bed of the stream picked up
two fish. Such a thing has seldom occurred within the
memory of man. Few. indeed, are more familiar with the
history of this state and its development or can
relate more interesting incidents concerning the early
days. Mr. O'Brien has been a republican since age
conferred upon him the right of franchise, casting his
first presidential vote for
Garfield and always
supporting the party, and is now a progressive
republican. Fraternally he is connected with the
Knights of Pythias.
The Centennial History of
Oregon, 1811-1912,
Vol IV, ~ Joseph Gaston
[Pages 59-60]
J.
G. WIGHT
...was for many years identified with
educational interests and contributed in large measure
toward the development ofthe schools, but he is now
concentrating his time and energies upon the
cultivation of crops and the raising of stock, having
one of the well improved ranches of Klamath county,
situated in the Yonna valley not far from Hildebrand.
He was born near Hamilton, Wentworth county,
Ontario.
Canada,
April 27. 1859, his parents being James and Agnes
(McKinley) Wight, in whose family were fourteen
children, of whom J. G. Wight was the fifth. He
resided at the place of his birth until 1880, was
reared to farm life and acquired his education in the
district schools. He then made his way westward in
company with his sister Barbara to Solano county,"
California, and there
engaged in farming for about four years. He also
attended school to some extent in that district, for
he has ever been interested in educational
advancement, finding genuine joy in the study that
brings him a broader intellectual outlook. In 1884 he
came to Klamath county and preempted one hundred and
sixty acres of land, to which he has since added,
until now he has two hundred and forty acres in the
Yonna valley, six miles north of Dairy. Most of his
time, however, has been spent elsewhere in school work
until the last four years, during which time he has
resided continuously on his ranch. He was graduated
from the state normal school at Monmouth and for about
ten years he engaged in teaching in Polk and Yamhill
counties. He also taught at Bonanza, Klamath county,
for five years, and in 1904 was elected county
superintendent of schools, which position he filled
for one term of four years. On his retirement from
that office, in which he had made a most creditable
record, he returned to the ranch and has since engaged
in the cultivation of the crops best adapted to soil
and climate and in the raising of stock, in both
branches of his business meeting with success which is
the legitimate outcome of persistent, earnest effort.
In 1909 Mr. Wight was married to Miss
Mary L. Davison, who was born near
Salem, Oregon,
November 14, 1868,
and was reared and educated In
Jackson
county. She is a graduate of the
Ashland Normal School
with the class of 1889. and also Heald's
Business College
of San Francisco,
of the class of 1893. She, too, was a capable and
successful teacher, having taught for ten years in
Jackson
county, Oregon,
for four years in Siskiyou county,
California,
and for four years in Klamath county, making a total
of eighteen years. She is a daughter of Andrew and
Mary A. (Wright) Davison. the former a native of
Fountain county, Indiana, born in 1832, and the latter
a native of Ohio,
born in 1837. Her father crossed the plains to
California
in 1830 and in 1851 oame to
Jackson
county. His wife made the journey across the country
in 1852 through the Rogue river
valley, her parents taking up a donation claim there.
Mrs. Davison is now homesteading on eighty acres near
the Wight home and she also has a residence in
Medford.
She has been a widow since 1884. Her husband was a
miner in early life and later secured a donation claim
in Jackson county, where he
resided until the time of his death. In their family
were nine children, six of. whom are yet living,
including Mrs. Wight. Both Mr. and Mrs. Wight are
widely and favorably known in the Yonna valley, the
circle of their friends increasing as the circle of
their acquaintance widens. Mr. Wight votes with the
republican party but has never been an office seeker,
preferring to concentrate his energies upon the
professional interests and the business cares which
have occupied his time since he attained his majority.
He has advanced step by step, his eyes fixed on the
goal of success, never deviating from the path of
honorable achievement.
The Centennial History of
Oregon, 1811-1912,
Vol IV, ~ Joseph Gaston [Page 98]
SAMUEL PADGETT
...is the postmaster and a merchant of
Keno and is conducting a well appointed store, while
his business activities place him with the
enterprising citizens of the community. He was born
April 22. 1874, in Kansas, his parents being J. L. and
Eliza C. (Lissman) Padgett, who were natives of
Indiana and were reared and married there. They
afterward resided at different periods in
Kansas
and Missouri
as well as a number of places in the middle west. In
1891 they came to
Oregon
and the father engaged in merchandising at Keno until
he retired and removed to
Ashland
about four years ago. His death there occurred in
October, 1910, when he was sixty-seven years of age.
The mother is now living in Siskiyou county,
California,
at the age of seventy-one years. The father had ranch
and timber interests and also city property in
Ashland
and town property in Keno. He was a veteran of the
Civil war, having served for two years as a member of
Company I, Seventeenth
Indiana
Regiment of Volunteer Infantry. He belonged to the
Grand Army Post at
Ashland.
and he gave his political allegiance to the republican
party although the other members of the family were
democrats. For about eight years he served as
postmaster at Keno, proving a faithful incumbent in
that office. During the greater part of his life he
was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal
church. Unto him and his wife were born two children,
the elder being Albert F., of Dorris, Siskiyou county,
California.
When only fourteen
months old Samuel Padgett was taken by his parents to
Missouri,
where he resided until seventeen years of age. The
family then came to Klamath county,
Oregon,
and Samuel Padgett has since resided in this locality.
He continued with his parents until about sixteen
years ago, when he married and went to Siskiyou
county, California,
and settled about twenty-five miles south of Keno.
There he secured a homestead on which he lived for
seven years, at the end of which time he traded it for
a half interest in his present mercantile business,
making the trade with his brother. They now own
adjoining homesteads and each has a half interest in
the store at Keno. Mr. Padgett traded his homestead
for his brother's half interest in the store and he
has since been identified with the same. The father
gave to each of the two sons a third interest in the
business and kept a third but Samuel Padgett now owns
the whole store building and its appointments and he
has a half interest in his father's estate. He was
appointed postmaster on March 18, 1910.
In 1896 Mr.
Padgett was united in marriage to Miss Vina May Pratt,
who was born in Klamath county and is a daughter of
Newton
and Rebecca Jane Pratt. The former is deceased but the
mother still survives. Mr. Pratt was born in New York,
March 19, 1833,
a son of Jackson and Caroline (Smith) Pratt. They
removed to Michigan
when their son Newton
was a small boy and he was yet quite young when left
an orphan, his mother dying in
Michigan
and his father in
Indiana.
He was one of four sons, the others being: Warren and
Barney, both deceased; and Morgan, whose home is in
lower California. Newton Pratt resided in Michigan and
in Indiana, near Crown Point, until 1853. when he
crossed the plains, leaving his old home in April and
reaching Oregon
late in the fall. He spent two years in and near
Salem,
where he had a dray line, and in 1855 he went to
Siskiyou county and worked in the Scott valley until
1858. He then returned to
Salem and in 1859 again went
to Siskiyou county, where he had a small vegetable
ranch and also a livery stable in
Fort Jones
until 1862. After selling out he engaged in teaming
until he came to Klamath county and he was employed as
a teamster by the
United States
government during the Modoc war. He then located a
claim at Teater's landing and after living upon it for
two years sold it. He next purchased the McCormick
sawmill at Keno, which he operated for five years and
throughout the succeeding ten years was engaged in
teaming at Klamath Falls, hauling freight from
Roseburg to Redding, which were the nearest railroad
points at that time. For four years he engaged in
ranching in the Poe valley and then again spent two
years in Klamath Falls.
He next rented and operated the John H. Miller ranch
for three years, at the end of which time he removed
to Keno. where he died July 30, 1901.
Mrs. Pratt conducted a hotel in Keno for six years
after her husband's death. He had traded for the
property in 1891 and had managed the hotel up to the
time of his demise. Mrs. Pratt still owns a number of
pieces of property here and has displayed excellent
business ability in their management. Mr. Pratt was a
man of enterprise and perseverance, never afraid of
work, and his persistency of purpose was one of the
strong elements in his success. On the 6th of
February, 1865,
he wedded Rebecca Jane Gordon, who was born in
Muskingum county,
Ohio,
November 16, 1844.
She was but eight months old when her parents removed
to Buchanan county,
Missouri,
and in 1852 they crossed the plains to
Yreka, California.
Her father. Daniel Gordon, was a native of
New York
and when quite young was left an orphan. His wife, who
bore the maiden name of Sarah Castle, was a native of
Virginia
and when ten years of age removed with her parents to
"Ohio.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Gordon spent their last days in
Keno, passing away at the ages of ninety-six and
seventy-three years, respectively. He was a millwright
and cabinet-maker and thus provided for his family,
numbering seven children who reached adult age. Unto
Mr. and Mrs. Pratt were born two children: Linnie B.,
the wife of Henry Stout, of
Klamath Falls; and Vina May,
now Mrs. Padgett.
Mr. and Mrs.
Padgett have four children, Arthur Newton, Marion
Finley, Victor E. and Erwin F. In politics Mr. Padgett
is a republican but the honors and emoluments of office
have never attracted him. He prefers to concentrate his
attention upon his business affairs and their capable
direction is winning for him a gratifying measure of
success. He now has a well appointed store and as
postmaster of Keno is widely known.
The Centennial History of
Oregon, 1811-1912,
Vol IV, ~ Joseph Gaston
[Page 109]
GEORGE W. AGER.
The birthplace of George W. Ager was a
town bearing the family name and so called in honor of
his father, Jerome Bonaparte Ager, who was born in
New York
in 1829. He went to
California
in 1851, crossing the plains with ox teams. During the
first year of his residence on the coast he engaged in
mining at Cape Blanco
and in 1852 returned east with seventeen thousand
dollars which he had mined. In 1853 he crossed the
plains again and spent the rest of his life in
Siskiyou county, being closely identified with the
material development and progress of the district in
which he lived. He was married at Yreka to Miss Lucy
Jane Axtell, who was born in
Wisconsin
in 1848 and by way of the isthmus route came to the
Pacific coast with her parents. From Red Bluff she had
to ride horseback to Yreka, for there were no wagon
roads at that time. Following their marriage Mr. and
Mrs. J. B. Ager spent the rest of their lives in
Siskiyou county upon a ranch and he was well known as
a stockman of that locality. The town of
Ager
was named in his honor and became a shipping point for
a large tributary district in northern
California
and southern Oregon.
He was a prominent and influential resident of that
locality and his labors contributed much to its
improvement. He died November 14, 1900, and was
survived by his wife until February, 1911. Their
family 'numbered five sons and six daughters and with
the exception of one daughter all are now living.
George W. Ager,
the fifth child, made his home with his parents until he
came to Klamath county in 1900 and in the meantime
worked on the ranch with his father. He is now the owner
of one hundred and twenty acres in his home place,
together with two hundred acres about a mile distant
near Rainier. He now has a good property and many of the
improvements thereon were made by him. His farm is
devoted to the raising of both grain and stock and he
has a good orchard of two hundred trees.
In 1900 Mr. Ager
was united in marriage to Miss Blanche Stearns, a native
of Klamath county and a daughter of 0. A. Stearns, a
sketch of whom appears on another page of this work. Our
subject and his wife have three children: Irma, Lowell
and Julian. Mr. Ager has always lived in this district,
spending his youth and early manhood in Siskiyou county
and since that time residing in Klamath county. He has
been an interested witness of the work of improvement
and progress and he is numbered among those whose labors
as a farmer and stockman are contributing to the
improvement and substantial upbuilding of his part of
the state.
The Centennial History of
Oregon, 1811-1912,
Vol IV, ~ Joseph Gaston
[Page 294]
JAMES BERRY COLE,
...who has been a resident of Klamath
county for more than two decades, is the owner of two
ranches of one hundred and sixty acres each and in
their operation has met with gratifying success,
making a specialty of potato culture. His birth
occurred near Sedalia, Missouri,
on the 10th of March, 1866,
his parents being Leonard and Louisa A. (Spence) Cole.
The father was a native of Boone county,
Missouri,
while the mother's birth occurred near
Sedalia,
that state. During the infancy of their son James,
they took up their abode in Christian county,
Illinois,
and about six years later removed to
Dallas
county, Texas,
settling on a ranch fifteen miles south of the city of
Dallas.
Leonard Cole there passed away on the 5th of
April, 1910,
when eighty-five years of age, but is survived by his
widow, who makes her home at
Wheatland, Texas.
General agricultural pursuits claimed his attention
throughout his active business career. He learned the
saddler's trade in early life and later familiarized
himself with the occupation of plasterer, but found
the work of the fields more congenial and as a farmer
won prosperity. To him were born four children, as
follows: Charles, who is a resident of Happy Camp.
Siskiyou county. California; James Berry, of this
review : Thomas, living in Dallas county, Texas; and
Edward, of Eagle Ford,
Texas.
James
Berry
Cole remained under the parental roof until twenty-two
years of age and in 188S made his way to
San Diego, California.
A short time later he took up his abode in
Dixon,
that state, working on a ranch for a few years. In
1891 he came to the Klamath basin in Klamath county,
Oregon,
and took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty
acres, which he improved and still owns. Subsequently
he purchased his present home ranch of one hundred and
sixty acres, which he operates in connection with the
former, devoting his attention to general farming with
excellent results. During a number of years he was a
"buccuro," riding after cattle for many years. For the
past three years he has owned and operated a threshing
machine. He makes a specialty of potato culture and in
the season of 1912 planted eighty acres to that
vegetable. Through the successful conduct of his
agricultural interests he has won a reputation as one
of the substantial and representative citizens of his
community. Fraternally he is identified with the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, belonging to Lodge
No. 172 at Dixon, California.
The Centennial History of
Oregon, 1811-1912,
Vol IV, ~ Joseph Gaston [Page 349]
R. H. BUNNELL
...needs no introduction to the readers of
this volume or the residents of Klamath county, for he
is a member of the well known firm of Bunnell
Brothers??? prominent ranchmen of this
district???owning and cultivating five hundred acres
of land sixteen miles south of Klamath Falls and seven
and a half miles north of Merrill. He and his brother,
A. C. Bunnell, are natives of
California,
the former born in
Alameda,
on the 27th of June, 1878,
and the latter in Siskiyou county, on the 35th of
December, 1870. They are sons of A. F. and Alatilda
(Nantzel) Bunnell, the former a native of
New Jersey
and the latter of
New York city.
The parents were reared in the east but were married
in Siskiyou county, California, the father having made
the trip there around Cape Horn in 1849, while the
mother arrived at a later date, having come to the
coast with her sister. A. F. Bunnell in 1852 located
on Scott Barr, in Siskiyou county, and subsequently
made his way to Alameda.
He was a shop man, machinist and millwright, working
along those lines during the greater part of his life,
although at an early date he engaged in mining in
Scott valley. Subsequently, however, he worked at
trades and spent the last part of his life at farming.
He died at the home of his sons, when seventy-one
years of age, his birth having occurred in 1839. The
mother survives him and is living in
Ashland, Oregon. In her family
are seven children: A. C.; Lottie, the wife of Frank
Triplett. of Maxwell, California; Ella May, the wife
of S. T. Reeve, of Ashland, Oregon; R. H., of this
review; Evelyn, the wife of Howard G. Turner, of
Portland; and two children who died in early life.
R. H. Bunnell spent
his youthful days under the parental roof, and is
indebted to the public schools for his education and to
his lather's training for his business knowledge. He
came to Klamath county in 1896 and has here remained
through the intervening years. He has always been
engaged in ranching and for four or five years has been
a partner with his elder brother, A. C. Bunnell, in the
ownership, development and cultivation of a ranch of
five hundred acres, all in one body. This is not only
irrigated by the government ditch but they also have a
private system of irrigation and being thus able to turn
the water on and off when it is needed, they keep their
fields in excellent condition and produce good crops.
The place presents a neat and attractive appearance and
manifests the careful supervision and practical methods
of the owners.
R. H. Bunnell is a
republican and is acting as foreman of road construction
work, having charge of a crew employed on the building
of a new country road. He is also serving as a member of
the school board of his district. His fraternal
connection is with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
which organization finds him a worthy and valued member.
On the 1st of June,
1912, R. H. Bunnell
was united in marriage to Miss Ida Smead, a native of
St. Louis.
His brother, A. C. Bunnell, was married in 1907 to
Miss Laura Goudie, a native of
Scotland, and they have
three children, James, Lois and John. Mrs. A. C.
Bunnell gave birth to four children, three daughters
and a son, in June, 1911, each weighing four and a
quarter pounds, but all died. Seven children were thus
born to them during the first four years of their
married life.
The Bunnell
brothers are widely and favorably known in Klamath
county and the work which they are doing establishes
them as progressive and representative agriculturists.
The Centennial History of
Oregon, 1811-1912,
Vol IV, ~ Joseph Gaston [Pages 370-371]
W.
L. TINGLEY,
...who devotes his time and energies to
the raising of grain and stock, is the owner of a
ranch comprising four hundred and eighty acres and
situated about three miles east of
Midland in Klamath
county. His birth occurred in New Brunswick, Canada,
on the 9th of September, 1867, his parents being
Harvey and Abby (Dobson) Tingley, who spent their
entire lives in that province. The father devoted his
attention to general agricultural pursuits throughout
his active business career.
W. L. Tingley, who
was the second in order of birth in a family of seven
children, remained under the parental roof until
eighteen years of age and then made his way to Siskiyou
county, California, where he worked as a laborer. For a
number of years he was employed in lumber camps by Abner
Weed. In the summer of 1906 he purchased his present
ranch of four hundred and eighty acres in Klamath
county, Oregon, and took up his abode thereon the
following April. One hundred and eighty acres thereof is
under the government ditch. During the past five years
he has been engaged in the pursuits of farming and
stock-raising and his labors in this connection have
been attended with excellent results.
In March, 1904,
Mr. Tingley was united in marriage to Miss Bertha L.
Moss, a native of
California and a daughter
of William Moss. Mr. and Mrs. Tingley have two
children, Floyd and Thelma. Mr. Tingley is republican
in his political views, loyally supporting the men and
measures of that party. He well deserves a place among
the representative agriculturists and respected
citizens of his community.
The Centennial History of
Oregon, 1811-1912,
Vol IV, ~ Joseph Gaston [Pages 386-387]
RUFUS N. PHELPS
...has resided almost continuously in
Lake
county since 1873 and during the greater part of the
time has been connected with the sheep industry, but
in 1912 he opened a livery barn in Paisley.
He is also the owner of a blacksmith shop and feed
yard. He was born May 13, 1869,
in Washington Territory,
while his parents were en route from
Ohio
to Portland, Oregon.
His father, Joseph B. Phelps, was born in the Buckeye
state in 1822 and was there married to Mary A. Prior,
whose birth occurred in
Pennsylvania
in 1830. Starting ???westward they drove across the
country, stopping at different points for a year or
two but ultimately locating in
Portland.
After a short time they removed to
Roseburg
and Mr. Phelps was employed on the construction of a
railroad in the bridge building department. In June,
1873, he removed to Drews valley in Lake
county, where he remained for ten years, during which
period he was engaged in running stock on the range.
On the expiration of that decade he removed to
Paisley
and in 1898 took up his abode at
Grants Pass,
where he died in 1902. His wife survived him for five
years, passing away in 1907. Joseph B. Phelps had
followed carpentering and also conducted a hotel in
the east, but after coming to the northwest had
engaged in the cultivation of ranch property and in
stockraising. To him and his wife were born nine
children of whom three died in infancy, the others
being: Charles, a resident of Siskiyou county,
California; Caroline, the wife of Dan Cameron, of Gold
Hill, Oregon; Ida Kate, the wife of J. H. Bull, of San
Juan, California; Jennie, the wife of S. P. Cleland,
of Arizona; Joseph B.. also living in
Arizona; and Rufus N.
Rufus N. Phelps was about four years of
age when the family came to Lake county, where he has
since made his home with the exception of a year spent
in Reno, Nevada, and six years in the gold mines at
Grants Pass. The sheep industry claimed his attention
throughout the greater part of the period of his
residence in Lake
county but in 1912 he purchased a livery stable in
Paisley and erected a
barn one hundred by sixty feet. The mows hold one
hundred and thirteen tons of hay. He keeps seven teams
and two saddle horses and also conducts a feed yard.
He is also the owner of a blacksmith shop which,
however, he rents out.
On the 17th of
April, 1895,
Mr. Phelps was united in marriage to Miss
Adelaide
Ross, who was born in
Jackson
county, Oregon,
in 1867, and is a daughter of General John E. Ross,
long a prominent and influential resident of this
state. Mr. and Mrs. Phelps are the parents of four
children, Ross, Marie Ethel, Eva and Carl. The family
is well known in Paisley
and
Lake county and they
have many friends here. Mr. Phelps has led a busy and
useful life, working persistently for the success
which he has attained and giving his attention at all
times closely to his work.
The Centennial History of
Oregon, 1811-1912,
Vol IV, ~ Joseph Gaston [Pages 493-494]
WILLIAM ANDREW CURRIER.
...With four miles of frontage along
Summer lake and a large acreage included within his
ranch, William Andrew Currier is developing one of the
finest properties in Lake
county. Fruit of every variety, vegetables of every
kind, the cereals best adapted to soil and climate,
all grow luxuriantly here; but the principal feature
of his work is the raising of horses, he being
recognized as conducting the most extensive business
of that kind in his county. He was born in
Corvallis,
Benton
county, Oregon,
October 12, 1851.
His father," Jacob Manley Currier, was a native of
Irasburg, Vermont,
born February 12, 1827.
On leaving the
Green Mountain
state he resided for ten years in
Lowell, Massachusetts,
and went to New York
in 1842. In 1844 he became a resident of
Missouri
and two years later crossed the plains with his
brother-in-law, A. L. Humphrey, and two sisters,
Elizabeth B. and Sally Foster. He settled on a
donation claim near
Corvallis
and still resides there. Although he has reached the
advanced age of eighty-five years, his mind is clear
and he relates many interesting incidents of the early
days, including his experiences when he served as a
soldier in the Cayuse Indian war. In August, 1850. he
married Maria Foster, who was born in Coshocton
county, Ohio,
April 11, 1834,
and was a daughter of Andrew Foster, a soldier of the
War of 1812. Maria Foster had crossed the plains with
her parents in 1845 and she died when her son, William
A., was eight years of age. He was the eldest of four
children, the others being: Lorena, the wife of J. W.
Belknap, of Hanford, California; M. C., living in
Paisley; and Anna Maria, who died when one year old.
Mr. Humphrey, who accompanied Jacob M. Currier to the
northwest, served as a member of the first
Oregon legislature.
William A. Currier, born and reared on
the old homestead in
Benton
county and indebted to its public-school system for
the educational advantages which he enjoyed, came to
Lake
county in 1875. when about twenty-four years of age,
and settled on Summer lake, where he still lives. On the 19th of
January, 1379,
he married Miss Kitty E. Hadley, who was born in
Siskiyou county,
California,
a daughter of a lieutenant of the
Rogue River war. Mr. and
Mrs. Currier became the parents of three children: Ada
F., the wife of Francis Kimes, of Hanford, California;
Eva, the wife of John Lutz, of Bellingham, Washington;
and William Manley. mentioned elsewhere in this work.
There are also four grandchildren, the elder daughter
having two children, William Francis and Virgil David,
while Mrs. Lutz has one son, Harold Andrew, and
William Manley Currier has a son, Manley George.
Throughout the period of his residence
in Lake county William Andrew Currier has been
numbered among its most prominent and respected
citizens and enjoys the confidence and esteem of all
who know him. He and his wife are owners of about
twenty-five hundred acres of land, of which a' tract
of one hundred and five acres is near Han ford,
California,
while the remainder is in or near the Summer lake
valley. He has never specialized to any extent in
cattle-raising, never owning, more than four hundred
head, and he now has only about forty head, but he is
the largest owner of horses in
Lake
county. He branded two hundred and fifty colts in 1910
and he now has about eight hundred horses. He has some
very valuable horses, standard-bred, and he owns
fifteen jacks, about fifty mules and fifteen
stallions. His great business activity has constituted
an important feature in the upbuilding and progress of
the district in which he lives and the course which he
has pursued has furnished a splendid example to his
neighbors, showing what can be accomplished through
industry and determination and also proving how
productive the district is in cereals, fruits and
vegetables. He has developed a fine orchard,
containing all kinds of fruit, which he raises for his
own use and also for local consumption. His apples,
known as Summer Lake
Beauties, won the first premium at the county fair at
Lakeview in 1907, as did also his cherries. His prune
trees, heavily laden with fruit, are a beautiful sight
to behold, and in 1911 his orchard produced a late
Crawford peach which was eleven inches in
circumference. His fruit and vegetables have attained
the highest possible degree of perfection and he has
one of the best gardens in the county. In addition to
his individual efforts along agricultural and
horticultural lines and in stock-raising, Mr. Currier
has had other interests. He was at one time owner of
the Chewaucan hotel at Paisley,
which he sold to his son. He is a director of the
Chewaucan Mercantile Company of Paisley. He is likewise
interested in the Chewaucan & Summer Lake Electric
Light & Power Company. His home is pleasantly and
attractively located, with the mountains in the rear
and the lake in front, the broad expanse of waters
enabling him to see for a distance of fifty miles on a
clear day.
Mr. Currier's
political allegiance has always been given to the
democratic party but he has never been a politician in
the sense of office seeking, although for four years
he filled the office of county commissioner. He was
also postmaster of Paisley for two or three years and
has carried the mail for a few months at a time on a
number of occasions, making the trip from Paisley to
Silver Lake, a distance of sixty miles. His fraternal
relations are with Paisley Lodge, No. 177,
I.
O. 0. F. Mr. Currier belongs to that progressive type
of men who have been instrumental in the upbuilding
and development of southern
Oregon. Recognizing and
utilizing its opportunities, he has promoted the
interests and welfare of the county and at the same
time has upbuilded his own fortunes until he is now
one of the prosperous residents of the Summer lake
valley. He has never infringed upon the rights of
others and in all his dealings has been strictly
straightforward, so that his business integrity and
honor have won for him the highest commendation and
regard.
The Centennial History of
Oregon, 1811-1912,
Vol IV, ~ Joseph Gaston [Pages 512-513]
ALEXANDER E. CULVER
...has lived in Jackson county only since
1911, but has demonstrated his right to be classed
with the enterprising and progressive citizens who are
bending their energies toward the development of the
rich mineral resources of this part of the state. He
became identified with mining here in 1910, and is now
secretary of the Pleasant Creek Gold Dredge Mining
Company. He was born in
La Salle, Illinois,
October 25, 1859,
and is a son of A. W. and Elizabeth E. (Mitchell)
Culver, both of whom were natives of
Ohio,
in which state they were also reared and married. The
grandfather, John D. Culver, was a native of
Vermont
and became a civil engineer in the employ of the
United States
government, doing much surveying and other engineering
work in the states of
Ohio,
Indiana
and Illinois.
While thus engaged he discovered some persimmons said
to be poisonous but he thought he would try the fruit
and was the first white man to eat a wild persimmon.
He died in Galesburg, Illinois,
when eighty-six years of age, at which time his
grandson, A. E. Culver, was a lad of twelve years. His
son, A. W. Culver, was one of the pioneer settlers of
California,
arriving at Oakland
in 1849. Three years later he returned to
Ohio
and resided in that state and also in
Missouri
until he once more became a resident of
Oakland, California,
about twenty years ago. He died in 1906 at the ripe
old age of eighty years and his wife passed away in
Los Angeles, California, in 1910. He was
a blacksmith and followed that trade for about thirty
years.
Alexander E. Culver was the eldest in
a family of two sons and three daughters and spent his
youthful days in Ohio,
Missouri
and Kansas.
He became a resident of
California
in 1885, settling first in
Los Angeles,
whence he removed to Siskiyou county, where for
twenty-three years he was engaged in the lumber
business, meeting with good success in his
undertakings. In 1908, however, he sold his sawmill
and leased his planing mill to renters. In 1910, he
made investment, in mining interests in
Jackson
county, Oregon,
and the following year took up his abode in Woodville.
He now devotes his energies entirely to mining and is
secretary of the Pleasant Creek Gold Dredge Mining
Company. In 1899 Mr. Culver was married to Miss Eva
Nelson, a native of Nevada county, California, and a
daughter of Ole Nelson, u lumber man, now residing in
Siskiyou county. Mr. and Mrs. Culver have four
children, Mariam, Nelson, Albert and Eleanor. Mr.
Culver belongs to the Masonic fraternity and also to
the Benevolent Protective Order of .Elks. His
political allegiance is given to the republican party.
He has held a few public offices, including that of
justice of the peace and served on the republican
central committee of Siskiyou county,
California. He was one of
the first Johnson men in that county, being a warm
friend of the governor. He closely studies the vital
and significant problems of the day and his energy and
labors have always been effective forces for progress
in the community in which he has lived.
The Centennial History of
Oregon, 1811-1912,
Vol IV, ~ Joseph Gaston [Page 892]
GEORGE W. OWEN
...is one of the prominent stock men of
Jackson county, Oregon, where he is engaged in the
operation of his ranch of seven hundred acres located
three miles south of
Ashland.
He was born in Sacramento, California,
April 22. 1863. and is a son of James and Susan (Tull)
Owen, the former a native of
New York
and the latter of
Kentucky.
They celebrated their wedding in
Illinois
and later established their home in
Missouri.
In 1863 the father with his family crossed the plains
with ox teams to
California
and settled on a ranch located in that state six miles
from Sacramento.
He later removed to Siskiyou county, where he lived
for ten or twelve years and then moved to Lassen
county and from there to Nevada, where he remained for
a brief time and then returned to Lassen county,
California. In 1879 he came to
Oregon
locating in what is now Klamath county, but at that
time was a part of Lake
county. Here he engaged in stock-raising, with which
he continued to be prominently identified until the
time of his death, which occurred in 1900. During his
residence in Oregon he was one of
the enterprising and influential citizens of Klamath
county.
George W. Owen was
reared at home and received his early education in the
public schools. At the age of seventeen years he
became a wage earner and feeling the need of a better
education, after working for two years, he saved money
to pay for a course at the old
Ashland Academy. After
completing his studies at that institution he returned
to Klamath county and for a number of years worked as
an employe for various stock-raisers. He later engaged
In stockraising himself and some time after was
associated with his brother James, with whom he
continued for a number of years. In 1895 he sold his
interest in the enterprise and came to Jackson county,
where he established his home on seven hundred acres
of ranch land situated three miles south of Ashland
and there has since continued to reside, devoting his
time and attention to general farming and
stock-raising.
George W. Owen was
united in marriage in 1895 to Miss Camilla K. Walker,
a daughter of Minus and Phoebe J. (Erb)
Walker,
who were early settlers of
Jackson
county. To Mr. and Mrs. Owen one child has been born,
Minnie, who is in her sophomore year in the high
school at Ashland. Mr. Owen is
affiliated with the republican party but has never
been an office seeker. He is a member of Ashland
Lodge, No. 944, B. P. O. E., and of Ashland Lodge, No.
45, I. O. O. F. George W. Owen is one of the
successful and well known stock men of Jackson county
and highly esteemed for his integrity and is in every
way entitled to be numbered among the desirable and
useful citizens of the community in which he lives.
The Centennial History of
Oregon, 1811-1912,
Vol IV, ~ Joseph Gaston [Page 938]
WALLACE GALBREATH,
...who for many years was identified with
the mining interests of the northwest, operating in
quartz fields, is the owner of a ranch of one hundred
and sixty acres and an attractive health resort known
as Bybee Springs. The place is pleasantly situated on
Evans creek, fifteen miles from Woodville, and has
three mineral springs possessing splendid medicinal
properties. Air. Galbreath is devoting his energies to
the management of the resort and the conduct of his
ranch, eighty acres of which is under cultivation. He
is one of Oregon's
native sons, his birth having occurred in Yamhill
county, April 24, 1869,
his parents being Robert and Mary Ann [Debbst]
Galbreath. The father was born in
Pennsylvania
in 1815 and the mother was a native of
New Jersey.
The parents were married in
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania,
and about 1863 became residents of Yamhill county,
Oregon,
where the father engaged in ranching for a time but
afterward conducted a saloon. Later he went to
Klamath Falls, where he
operated a stock ranch. His death there occurred when
he had reached the age of eighty-four years and
fifteen days. His wife survived him for a number of
years, passing away at Stockton, California, in
December, 1910, when seventy years of age.
They had a family
of four sons and four daughters, of whom Wallace
Galbreath was the second son and fourth child. He
began working for himself when nine years of age and
at length went to lower California, where he was
employed on a ranch for five years. He afterward
returned to Klamath and rode on the range after stock
all through eastern and southern
Oregon.
He was thus identified with stock-raising interests
for about ten years, at the end of which time he was
married and turned his attention to quartz mining,
which he followed most of the time in northern
California
and southern Oregon
until about two years ago. In 1911 he purchased his
present home, becoming the owner of a tract of one
hundred and sixty acres, one-half of which is devoted
to the cultivation of the crops best adapted to soil
and climate. Because of the mineral springs found upon
his place he is conducting a health resort there, his
property being known as Bybee Springs, so called
because of the fact that the original owner was
William Bybee. It lies within fifteen miles of
Woodville on Evans creek and here are entertained many
invalids. Mr. Galbreath bought the place when his wife
was an invalid, having been In very poor health for
five years. Since her arrival here her health has been
entirely restored owing to the curative properties of
the waters and the fine climate of the district. Mr.
Galbreath gives his entire time to the management of
his ranch and resort, yet he is the owner of placer
mines in Siskiyou county,
California.
On the 27th of
November, 1894, Mr. Galbreath was married to Miss
Mamie Johnson, who was born in Pennsylvania, June 11, 1874,
and went to California with her parents, Mr. and Mrs.
M. L. Johnson, who are now residents of Ashland,
Oregon. Her girlhood days were spent in the Golden
state. By her marriage she became the mother of three
children, Clyde, Alden and Bernice, all of whom were
born at Yreka, Siskiyou county, California, where Mr.
and Mrs. Galbreath made their home from the time of
their marriage until their removal to their ranch near
Woodville. They have become well known and have gained
many friends here, although having lived in this
district for less than two years. Their many
substantial traits of character are recognized and Mr.
Galbreath is proving his worth as in enterprising and
progressive business man.
The Centennial History of
Oregon, 1811-1912,
Vol IV, ~ Joseph Gaston [Pages 951-952]
REUBEN HENRY WHITE
...was a lifelong resident of Klamath
county save for a few months spent in Siskiyou county,
California.
He was born in Klamath Falls.
February 26, 1871,
and passed away at Yuma,
Arizona
on the 15th of February, 1912,
when almost forty-one years of age. His parents were
Henry and Katharine White. The father was a native of
Missouri
and married a full-blooded Klamath Indian. He became
closely identified with the interests of the northwest
and was accidentally killed at
Klamath Falls.
In the family were two children: Rosa Bell, the wife
of William Skeen, who resides on Klamath marsh; and
Reuben Henry. After losing her first husband the
mother became the wife of Wesley Cole, who is now in
the Soldiers' Home, while Mrs. Cole resides at
Fort Klamath. There were two
children of that marriage: John Cole, who is with his
mother: and Maggie, the wife of Harry Pearson, of
Keno, Klamath county.
Reuben Henry White
was reared in Klamath county and after arriving at
years of maturity was married, in 1890, to Miss
Margaret Moody, who was born in Siskiyou county,
California. October 1, 1865.
and is a daughter of William and Nellie (Gwin) Moody.
Mr. Moody was a white man while his wife was a
full-blooded Indian. He died in Keno. August 8. 1890.
while Mrs. Moody now makes her home in Klamath Falls.
In the family of Mr. and Mrs. White were four
children. Ethel, Eva. Ruby and Beulah. The eldest is
the wife of John Copeland, of
Fort Klamath
and they have two children, John and Jesse. Mr. White
was in Arizona
for his health when death claimed him. Mrs. White
acquired her education in
Jacksonville.
Oregon. She was reared
In Siskiyou and Jackson counties and never resided on
the reservation until she was married. Mr. White
devoted his entire life to stock-raising and had
charge of eight claims on the Klamath
reservation???his own. his mother's, his wife's and
those belonging to his children. Mrs. White still has
charge of these eight claims, each one of which
comprises one hundred and sixty acres of land and is
valued at twenty five thousand dollars. In their
management Mrs. White displays excellent business
ability and keen discrimination and her enterprise and
progressive methods are winning for her and her family
substantial success.
The Centennial History of
Oregon, 1811-1912,
Vol IV, ~ Joseph Gaston [Page 1035]
WILLIAM T. LEEKE
...was
born at Hamden, New Haven county, Connecticut, on the 23d
of May, 1846, and is a son of Dana W. and Abigail
(Goodyear) Leeke. both of whom were likewise born and
reared in that place and both of whom were descendants
of those of the respec??tive names who were identified
with the early settlement of the
New Haven colony. The original progenitor of the
Leeke family in America was Philip Leeke, who emigrated
from Staffordshire, England, in 1638, and he was a
member of the Davenport colony that founded New Haven,
Connecticut, in that year. Thomas Leeke, grandfather of
him whose name initiates this sketch, was a boy at the
time of the war of the Revolution and he eventually
became a prosperous farmer in the vicinity of
New Haven, where his entire life was passed. Dana
Winton Leeke likewise passed his entire life in
New Haven county, where he resided on the
ancestral homestead and held prestige as one of the
representative farmers of that section of the state. He
was about eighty-four years of age when he was summoned
to the life eternal, and the old homestead continued in
the possession of the family from the Colonial days
until 19m,'when the same was sold by William T. Leeke,
of this review, who thereupon effected a settlement of
the estate. Mrs. Abigail (Goodyear) Leeke died on the
old homestead in 1882. She was a daughter of Seymour
Goodyear, a lineal descendant of Stephen Goodyear, who
likewise was a member of the
Davenport party of colonists who came from
England and founded the
New Haven
colony in 1638. Stephen Goodyear became acting governor
of the colony and later he was regularly elected
governor. Dana W. and Abigail (Goodyear) Leeke became
the parents of five sons and five daughters, all of whom
attained to years of maturity, and of the number William
T. was the seventh in order of birth. Only two others of
the children are now living.
The
environment and labors of the old homestead farm just
mentioned compassed the childhood and youth of William
T. Leeke, and those familiar with conditions on the
New England farmsteads in the early days will
recognize the fact that he early had fellowship with
ar??duous toil. Under the incidental discipline he waxed
strong in mind and body, and after duly availing himself
of the advantages of the common schools of the locality
and period he entered Fort Edward Collegiate
Institution, at Fort Edward, New York. in which he was graduated. He soon put
his scholastic acquirements to practical use by adopting
the pedagogic profession, in which he was a successful
and popular teacher from 1867 to 1889. In the year first
mentioned, shortly before reaching his legal majority,
Mr. Leeke came to California, in company with his brother Henry W.,
who died at Napa, this state, at the age of thirty-four
years. The brothers made the journey by way of the
Isthmus of Panama, as this was before the day of the
transcontinental railroads, and soon after his arrival
William T. Leeke began teaching in the schools of
California. He was engaged in this work for the
ensuing four years and also found requisition for his
services as a pri??vate tutor in certain branches of
study. He devoted a year to normal study in one of the
leading institutions in San Francisco, and there??after he was a valued
instructor in Ashland College, at Ashland, Oregon. where he remained thus engaged for a
period of eight years. This institution did admirable
work in its various departments and was eventually
merged into a state normal school. Mr. Leeke was made
pres??ident of the college during the latter part of his
connection therewith, and ably administrated its affairs
along executive lines while continuing his active
services as an instructor. He also held the position of
supervising of the public schools of
Ashland, Oregon,
for one year, and his name merits a place of honor on
the roster of the able and popular pioneer teachers on
the Pacific coast.
In July, 1880, Mr. Leeke made a radical
change in his field of labor by entering the Indian
service of the government, and in November, 1882, he was
appointed superintendent of the
Yainax Indian Training School in Klamath county,
Oregon. His work in this school was di??rected
with so much of discrimination and success that it
became a model for other institutions of the same order.
In 1887 Mr. Leeke left the government service and
returned to California. He joined the
Ontario colony, in
San Bernardino county, and located upon a tract of
twenty acres, adjoining his present beautiful home in
the little city of Upland.
He was one of the pioneers of the colony and had
purchased the land mentioned in 1884. Here he planted
one of the first orange groves in this district, and
here he took up his permanent abode in 1887, as has
already been intimated in this context. He has been
specially influential in the development and upbuilding
of this favored district along both civic and industrial
lines, and he has stood exemplar of the most vital
public spirit and the most progressive policies. His
capital has been gained largely through his active
association with local enterprises and he has at the
present time many important investments in this section
of the state.
In July, 1891, under the administration
of President Harrison, Mr. Leeke re-entered the
educational bureau of the Indian service, as he was at
that time appointed by the president to the office of
supervisor of Indian educational work for northern
California and also for the states of
Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Nevada. and he did much to systematize and
render efficient the work thus assigned to him. He
retired from this service in the autumn of 1893 and
again took up his residence at North Ontario, San Bernardino county,???to which place the name of
Upland was applied later. He became one of the
organizers of the Commercial State Bank at
Upland, and when the same was reorganized as
the Commercial National Bank he continued as one of the
principal stockholders of the institution, of which he
has been a director and vice president for the past
several years. He was also one of the organizers and
original stockholders of the Ontario-Cucamonga Fruit
Exchange, which has its headquarters in
Upland. and he was vice- president and a
director of this institution for several years past. Mr.
Leeke was also one of the promoters of the Ontario Power
Company, and he was general manager of the same from
1902 to 1907. Power was developed from the waters of
San Antonio creek, in the canon of the same name,
and this power is not only utilized for irrigation
purposes but also for the supplying of electric power
and lighting facilities to
Upland, Ontario
and Cucamonga. The success of this important improvement
has been in large measure due to the earnest and
indefatigable efforts and effective administrative
policies of Mr. Leeke. In 1908 he promoted and organized
the Palos Blancas Agricultural Company, in which he is
principal stockholder and which owns fifteen hundred
acres of land under concession from the Mexican
government, with a water supply of sixteen hundred
inches from the Culican river. The principal product on
this extensive Mexican ranch at the present time is
corn. but the intention of the owners is to develop the
same in the propagation of sugar cane and Hennquin
fiber. Mr. Leeke is president of the company and passes
considerable time each year on the great plantation, in
a section of country that is a veritable paradise for
the hunter and fisherman.
Mr. Leeke has ever given an unequivocal
allegiance to the Republican party and he is well
fortified in his opinions as to matters of public
polity, as a man of broad intellectual ken and wide
practical experience. In November, 1904, he was elected
to represent the thirteenth district in the state
senate, to fill out two years of an unexpired term, and
while he made an admirable record in the senate he
declined to become a candidate for re-election, as his
manifold business interests demanded his time and
attention. He was a member of the senate at the time
when the special session of the legislature was called
to make provisions for the relief of
San Francisco, after
its devastation by earthquake and fire. He is identified
with various civic organizations of representative order
and both he and his family are zealous members of the
Methodist Episcopal church.
In the year 1874, while a resident of
Oregon, Mr. Leeke was united in marriage to
Miss Annie Farlow, daughter of Hiram Farlow, who was a
native of Illinois and who became one of the pioneer
farmers of Oregon, where he died several years ago. Mrs.
Leeke did not long survive her marriage, as she was
summoned to the life eternal in 1876, leaving no
children. In 1878 was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Leeke to Miss Mary Quigley, who was born in Siskiyou
county, California, and who was a daughter of John
Quigley, a native of Ohio and a pioneer of California.
He was for many years engaged in the mercantile business
at Scott Valley.
this state, and he died a number of years ago. Mrs.
Leeke proved a devoted wife and mother and the gracious
at??tributes of her character gained to her the
affectionate regard of all who came within the sphere of
her influence. She passed to the life eternal on the 7th
of February, 1892, and is survived by three children,
???Ethel Frances remains at the paternal home and
presides most gra??ciously over the same; Dana Winston
was graduated in Pomona College, at Pomona, this state,
and thereafter in the Colorado School of Mines, at
Golden, and he is now mining engineer for the Utah
Copper Company at Garfield, Utah ; Frank Goodyear Leeke,
the younger son, is at the present time located on a
sugar plantation near the city. of Honolulu, Hawaii,
where he is perfecting himself in the practical details
of the propagation of sugar cane and the process of
manufacturing sugar, with the purpose of utilizing his
knowledge in connection with the development of the
sugar industry on the lands of the Palos Blancos
Agricultural Company in Mexico. of which he is assistant
manager and of which his father is the principal
stockholder, as has already been stated in this article.
American Biography and Genealogy
: Burdette, Robert J ~
Chicago
:: Lewis Pub. Co., 1919, [Pages
337-340]
JOHN B. POWER,
...carriage-maker at Cheney. is a native of
Pike county, Missouri, born January
25,1857.
When a child he came Illinois with his parents and three years later
moved with them to Minnesota, where he re??sided about eight years.
He then left home, going to Siskiyou county,
California. and coats became interested in some of
the largest mines in what was known as South Fork. He
used California nine years, prospecting over all of what
has since come to be known as the Cof??fee creek mining
country. In 1882 he came to Cheney and went TO work at
his trade, wagon and carriage-making, forming a
partnership with a wheelwright by the name of Ed. Hall.
In 1885 he purchased the interest of Mr. Hall and since
that time has been running the shop alone. He is an
excellent workman, and, be??ing also a good business
man. has succeeded in building up a large and profitable
trade, per??haps the largest in that line in the county
out??side of Spokane.
Edwards,
Jonathan, An
illustrated history of
Spokane
County,
state of
Washington
- San Francisco:
W.H. Lever, 1900, [Page 330]
LEE
VALENTINE CORBELL
Dating his residence in Klamath County
since his birth, and being also the son of a father who
came to Oregon as a young man, and a mother who was born
in Yreka, California, Lee Valentine Corbell is quite
well qualified to number among the representative
pioneers of the county, and is, likewise, prominently
connected with the cattle raisers of the Sprague River
district, where the old Corbell home ranch is located. A
native of Klamath Falls, he was born in this city on February 14, 1892. His parents were John Milton and Minnie
(Probin) Corbell, who were fa??miliar with a!1 phases of
pioneer life in Klamath County. John Corbell was born May 17, 1840, in a little town in
Iowa and "crossed the plains to
Oregon by means of ox teams in the early
sixties, when he was a young man. As a soldier of the
United States Army, he belonged to the 1st Regiment,
Oregon Volunteer Infantry, Com??pany I. He was stationed
at the old fort near
Fort Klamath until it was abandoned, after which he
lived at Olene, Oregon, and engaged in farming. His demise
occurred at the family home on the Klamath Reservation,
August 23, 1923. The mother, Minnie (Probin) Corbell,
was born in Yreka, California, 1861, and at??tended the early pioneer
schools of Klamath County, enduring the hardships and enjoying the
simple pleasures of that period. She married Mr. Corbell
in Klamath Falls,
December 19, 1883, and still survives him. remaining a
resident of this city. Four children were born, two died
in infancy-, and two are in
Klamath County, namely : Molly Lewis, a resident of
Chiloquin; Lee V.; also Mrs. Charles Lentz, a
half-sister of our subject. Mrs. Lentz is one of the
best known pioneers of
Klamath County and resides at Lentz Station, her home
for many years. Having attended the schools of
Klamath Falls, Lee Corbell started in the cattle
business as a youth of 16 on the old home ranch at
Sprague River, where he still lives. He has had small
herds of Herefords, Durham's
and Black Angus cattle.
On January
4, 1916, Mr. Corbell was united in marriage with
Ida Belle Skeen in Klamath Falls. She was the daughter of Joe Edward and
Dolly (Ball) Skeen, and was born at Sam's Neck,
Siskiyou County, California,
November 25, 1891. She attended the schools of
Siskiyou County and has centered her interests in the
home since her marriage. Her father was born at
Yreka, California, and was a well known cattleman of Sam's
Neck, until his death at Dorris.
California, on March
5, 1917. He had taken up a homestead at Sam's
Neck and engaged in diversified ranching as well as
cattle raising. living there all of his life. The mother
was born at the old home place now known as Laird's
Landing, California, which was a stopping place for cattle
drivers when shipping their stock to Montague.
California. The home bore the name of Doc Skeen's
Ranch, a historic spot in
California history and Mrs. Skeen still resides at
Sam's Neck. Of her seven children only one is in
Klamath County besides our subject Mamie Farnsworth,
who resides at Yamsey, Oregon. Outdoor activities are the paramount
interest of Lee Corbel!, who delights in hunting,
fish??ing, and riding. He is a member of the Masonic
Blue Lodge at Chiloquin, and also a member of the
Klamath Business Committee which meets at Klamath Agency
quarterly. He recalls many interesting facts of early
pioneer days and among them is the remembrance of a
stock ranch, owned by "Brick Jim," where the city of
Chiloquin, Oregon,
now stands. Mr. Corbell is now a Range Rider and Forest
Guard for the Forestry Department of the Interior United
States, located at Klamath Agency, and is serving with
the constant fidelity to duty characteristic of all his
work.
Good, Rachel Applegate. History of
Klamath County,
Oregon : its resources
and its people, illustrated Klamath Falls,
Or.: unknown, 1941, [Pages 309-310]
OLIVER L. GRAEBER.
A resident of
California since 1901, coming to the state while
still a minor and locating in
Chico,
where he attended secondary,' schools and subsequently
became identified with the social, religious and
business life of that city.
When a boy aged twelve years he made a declaration he
was going to be a physician, and from that time on he
took advantage of every, opportunity to learn more about
his chosen profession. Whatever occupation he found
himself in he was ever taking notice of information and
knowledge which he might use to good purpose later.
Thus he took special courses in English,
history. and various arts which were given in the
State Normal School there.
The death of his mother in 1913, and of his wife in
1916, prompted him to a determined effort to attain his
life goal???to become a physician ???for he felt
convinced that had natural agencies been applied, both
his mother and his wife would have been restored to
health.
He is now a resident of
San Francisco, with offices in the
Golden Gate Building. and is caring for a rapidly increasing
professional business. Doctor Graeber is a native of
Hannibal, Missouri, the youngest of nine children born to
Christian F. Graeber and Mary (Hoener) Graeber. Both
parents, who are now deceased. were born in
Germany, coming to the
United States in 1864. His father joined the Union
Army, enlisting in an Illinois
regiment and serving until the close of the war.
At the close of the war the parents
moved to Marion County, Missouri. where the family was
reared and educated. On the paternal side, the Graeber
history runs back more than 700 years. His grandfather
was a pioneer Baptist missionary and minister in
Germany, and his maternal side comes from the
landed nobility of Western Prussia.
Oliver L. Graeber passed his boyhood on
a farm just outside of Hannibal. He attended grammar and high school
there and came to California to win his fortune. His father died in
Hannibal
in December, 1901.
Oliver L. Graeber has been an observant
student all his life, and has always taken keen delight
in acquiring knowledge with the object of applying it to
useful ends. While he was a resident of
Chico
the ???United States Plant Introduction Gardens- were
established there and he was employed several seasons
during his vacation time in doing special work in
connection with plant breeding and acclimatization
there.
On June 1,
1911, at Chico, he married Miss Anna V. Richardson, who
was born in Little Shasta Valley,
Siskiyou County, California.
Her father, a pioneer stock and grain raiser of that
county, is deceased, her mother, of English parentage
and related to the Duke of Bedford, is living.
A son, Richard Franklin Graeber, was
born while they were residing near
Watsonville, California, April
11, 1916.
May 28, 1916, Mrs. Graeber died from effects of a
burning accident. Immediately following this crisis,
Oliver L. Graeber disposed of his interests there and
located in San Francisco, where he entered
Healds Business College
to fit himself for taking up the studies for becoming a
physician.
He enrolled as one of the first class in
the California Chiropractic College when it opened in September, 1917, and
graduated with the degree of Doctor of Chiropractic May 29, 1919.
In 1919-20 he took a post-graduate course in Western
College of Naturopathy and received the degree of Doctor
of Naturopathy.
During 1920-21-22 he added to his knowledge by attending
the Western College of Chiropractic, graduating with the
degree of Doctor of Chiropractic and Chiropractic
Pharmacist.
During the summer of 1920 he took a special course in
spondylotherapy under Dr. Alva Emory Gregory of the
Gregory College of Spondylotherapy, Oklahoma City, and
received the degree of Doctor of Spondylotherapy.
His natural powers of perception, coupled with his
studious nature caused him to be chosen supervisor of
public clinics in each college he attended. Since 1919,
he has been an associate member of the American Society
of Applied Psychology.
In April. 1922, after an examination before the
California State Board of Medical Examiners, he was
given a license as a drugless practitioner. After
carefully analyzing his six years of studies in the art
of healing, he co-related the different methods into one
natural, logical system. which he has named "Doctor
Graeber's Drugless System of' Health."
He is liberal in his views of healing and believes
implicitly in the Biblical exhortation. "Prove all
things. hold fast that which is good" as being proper
for the healing profession as well as for other walks of
life.
Doctor Graeber is an exempt member of Engine Company No.
1 of the Chico Fire Department.
He is a member of the official board of the First
Baptist Church of San Francisco, being at present
secretary of the board of trustees. He is also a member
of the board of control of the Portrero Hill
Neighborhood House. and has always devoted much
attention to charitable work.
Although established but a short time.
his reputation as a physician has already extended from
one end of California
to the other and to many other states.
Millard, Bailey, History of
the San Francisco Bay Region : Chicago: American
Historical Society, 1924, [Pages 414-415]
LOUIS HUSEMAN
Louis Huseman, who is successfully
engaged in the real estate and insurance business in
Lompoc, has gained a wide reputation for his
up-to-date and enterprising business methods and stands
in the fore??front in his line of business in this
section of the county. He was born in Yreka, Siskiyou
county, California, January
15, 1870, and is a son of Louis and Fredericka
(Vetterline) Huseman, both of whom were born near
Frankfort, Germany. The father came to the
United States in 1850, when still a young man, and two
years later came to California, having previously spent two years at
Jacksonville, Oregon. He located at Yreka, and, having been a
tinsmith by trade, he naturally turned to the hardware
business, in which he was engaged up to the time of his
death, in 1886. He was also one of the founders and the
vice-president of the Siskiyou County Bank. Fraternally,
he was a York Rite Mason, and a member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Improved Order
of Red Men. In politics he was a democrat. His wife came
to the United States with her parents, and in the late '50s
the family came overland to
Yreka, California,
where she met and became the wife of Mr. Huseman.
Louis Huseman spent his boyhood days in Yreka, where he
attended the public schools, continuing his education in
St. Augustine College,
at Buecia, and Berkeley College. He then operated his father's ranch and
at the latter's death he bought the place, which he
conducted for about fifteen years. He then sold it and
engaged in a general mercantile business at Montague.
California, about two years. He then disposed of
that business and moved to Berkeley, California, where
he engaged in the real estate and insurance business
thirteen years. In 1914 he came to
Lompoc,
where he has followed the same lines of business to the
present time. He possesses a wide and accurate knowledge
of land and property values and has handled a large
amount of real estate throughout this locality, while
during the period of his residence here he has sold a
large amount of insurance, representing a number of the
strongest insurance companies in the country. His
business methods have been characterized by a strict
observance of the highest commercial ethics and he
commands to a marked degree the confidence and good will
of all who have had dealings with him.
In 1894 Mr. Huseman was united in marriage to Miss
Catherine S. Pyle, who was born and reared in
Yreka, California, a daughter of Curtis and Carrie E. (Moore)
Pyle, who were among the earliest settlers in that
locality, her father having been appointed postmaster
there by President Lincoln, serving a number of years.
Mr. and Mrs. Huseman have four children, Catherine,
Richard, Margaret and Louis, the last named being
assistant manager of the branch of the Pacific Southwest
Bank at Lompoc.
Mr. Huseman is rendering effective service as city
recorder of Lompoc. He is a member of Berkeley (Cal.)
Lodge, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and Lompoc
Lodge, Knights of Pythias. He is recognized as a
splendid citizen, one of Lompoc's
leading men of affairs, progressive in all that the term
implies, and is a man of high character, sturdy
integrity and unswerving honesty.
Phillips,
Michael James, History
of Santa Barbara County,
California : from its
earliest settlement to the present time
Chicago:
S.J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1927, Huseman,
[Pages 173-174]
LEMUEL D KING
While Baker county has produced millions of wealth from
her mines, she is nevertheless distinctively a stock
country as well as rich in mineral treasure, and many of
the most prominent citizens have been quick to perceive
the rich bestowals of nature in these associated lines
and have allied their efforts in following the course
pointed out by the natural resources of the country. Among the
progressive ones that have wrought a gratifying success
in these industries may be mentioned the prominent
citizen whose life's career it is now our pleasant
privilege to epitomize in a brief review.
Born in the greatest mining state of Union,
California, in Siskiyou county on November 3, 1861, and at
three years of age removed with his parents to Grant
County, equally famed with her sister political
organization in the production of the minerals, he has
been associated with the great industry of producing the
minerals from the native soil since his earliest
remembrance; using his own words, he was "Raised in the
mines, and educated in the public schools." His parents
were Flavius J and Nancy C [Fancher] King, natives
respectively of Arkansas and Alabama,
who crossed the plains with ox teams in 1859 and wrought
on the Pacific coast for many years in the development
of its resources and the advancement of its interests. The father was
a cabinet maker and designer. He passed from the scenes
of live in Washington, on
December 18, 1897,
and the mother departed this life at Susanville, Grant
county, in 1883.
The immediate subject of this sketch began the battle of
life on his own account when he was eighteen years of
age and mining was the work that he first took up, and
more or less he has continued at that occupation since. He also raised
stock in connection with the former, Susanville being
his headquarters until 1883, at which time he sold his
cattle and repaired to the john Day valley and occupied
himself with farming and teaming until 1887. In that year
he migrated to Baker county and acquired land where he
is living at the present time, eight miles southeast of
Whitney. He
continued the mining industry and stock raising and
added farming. He formed a partnership with his uncle,
Lemuel Barnett, and together they own three hundred and
twenty acres of land and handle one hundred and
twenty-five head of cattle. They are
progressive and prosperous and are among the most
substantial citizens of the entire county. In addition to
the property already mentioned, Mr King is equally
interested with his uncle in the
Phoenix
and other mines which give great promise of value and
richness.
At Prairie City, Grant County, on July 18, 1882, Mr King and Hattie
J, daughter of Joseph C and Sarah J [Dimmick]
Gillenwater, and a native of Grant County, were married,
and they have become the parents of the following
children: H Pearl, married to Joseph B Hardman, and is
living near by; Lemuel J; William C & Mary Z, twins;
Audry M. Mrs King's parents were among the first
settlers of Grant County, and the father is a native of
Tennessee, and the mother of Illinois. Mr King is
affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a
man respected and esteemed by all and has made a record
for faithfulness and enterprising accomplishment that is
both worthy and commendable, while his integrity and
uprightness are manifest to all who have to do with him.
Marcus Whitman :
An Illustrated history of Baker, Grant, Malheur
and Harney
Counties
: with a brief outline of the early history of the
state of Oregon.
Chicago:
Western Historical Pub. Co., 1902, [Pages
344-345]
All
Biographies transcribed by: Martha A Crosley Graham
Rights Reserved: CAGW
2011
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