History of the Pacific Northwest Oregon and Washington 1889

History of the Pacific Northwest Oregon and Washington. 2 v. Portland, Oregon: North Pacific History Company. 1889.

Biography of William Chapman

WILLIAM CHAPMAN. – The immigration of 1847 was large, and without accident, with the exception of those unfortunate members of it who remained at Doctor Whitman’s until the massacre. Mr. Chapman belonged to the arrivals of that year, and was closely connected with the sufferers of savage fury. He was born in Schuyler county, New York, in 1824, moving to the West in 1843. In 1847 he left Havana, New York, in company with John and Ronald Crawford, traveling with them to Independence, where they separated. There he joined John Wright, traveling with him to the Kaw river, where they … Read more

Biography of William C. Painter

WILLIAM C. PAINTER. – William C. Painter was born in St. Genevieve county, Missouri, April 18, 1830. His parents, Philip and Jean, lived on a farm; and the early years of William’s life were passed in that home. In 1850 his father started for Oregon with his family of wife and seven children, but died of cholera on the Little blue river. Two of his sons had been buried as they camped by that stream two days before; and only the mother, with her two daughters, Margaret A. and Sara J., and three sons, William C., Joseph C. and Robert … Read more

Biography of William Billings

WM. BILLINGS. – The name Billings at once suggests the picturesque hills and valleys of Vermont; and we find that the subject of this sketch is indeed a Green Mountain boy, having been born in Ripton in 1827. He lived upon his father’s place until 1846, and in that year went down to New Bedford and shipped before the mast. This step brought him to Washington Territory; for, in 1849, he was left at Honolulu, from whence, in the bark Mary, he came to California, the gold of the Yuba mines detaining him but a few months. Indeed, the best … Read more

Biography of William Barlow

WILLIAM BARLOW. – The proprietor of the beautiful Barlow ranch in Clackamas county, which is on the line of the Oregon & California Railroad, and supplied with a way station and warehouse of its own, is the son of Samuel Kimbrough Barlow, a pioneer of 1845, who did so much to open Oregon to settlement. William Barlow, the subject of this sketch, was born September 26, 1822, in Marion county, Indiana, and in 1836 settled with his father in Illinois, and in 1845 came out to Oregon, performing a journey, the details of which are found in the sketch of … Read more

Biography of Walter J. Reed

WALTER J. REED. – A view of this gentleman’s residence in North Yakima, Washington, his hotel (the Reed House in Cle-Elum), together with portraits of himself and his estimable wife, is placed among the illustrations of this work. Although not a pioneer of Washington Territory, he has been a great factor in the development of Yakima and Kittitass counties. He built the first two-story business house in North Yakima, and is the founder of the town of Cle-Elum, in Kittitas county. He has also advanced a great many matters of substantial interest in both counties, and is one of the … Read more

Biography of Walter A. Bull

WALTER A. BULL.- In the gentleman whose name heads this brief memoir, we find one of the most substantial farmers of the Kittitass valley, and the owner of the beautiful ranch, a view of which finds a place in this work. He is a native of Albany, New York, and was born June 20, 1838, being the son of John and Sarah (Fish) Bull. When our subject was ten years of age, he with his parents moved to Racine, Wisconsin, where his father engaged in the shipping business on the lakes, and where Walter attended school and resided until twenty … Read more

Biography of W. T. Wright

W.T. WRIGHT. – Among the many who with their parents braved the dangers and endured the hardships of the pioneer’s life, Mr. Wright whose portrait is herewith presented, deserves a prominent place. He was born in 1845 in the state of Illinois, and in 1852 with his parents came the over-memorable “plains across.” Although he was then a small lad, the terrors of that trip, over the long, dry, dusty and ofttimes dangerous roads, with slow, toiling ox-teams, are still vividly remembered by Mr. Wright, after a lapse of more than a third of a century; and their recollection will … Read more

Biography of W. T. Cook

W.T. COOK. – There may not be a million dollars at the end of the pathway of every industrious young man; but in this country there is a competency, and, what is more, an honorable business and a happy home. Mr. Cook’s career proves this. He was born in Polk county, Missouri, in1848. Being thirteen years of age at the outbreak of the Civil war, his education was neglected for the next five years; but, repairing this loss by his own exertions, he fitted himself as school teacher, and thus supported himself for three years. Coming to Oregon in 1874, … Read more

Biography of W. L. Adams A.M., M.D.

W.L. ADAMS, A.M., M.D. – The subject of this biography, a pioneer who drove his own ox team across the plains in 1848, is one of the most unique of western characters; and history entitles him to be placed in the catalog of the illustrious men who bore prominent parts in settling Oregon, and in molding public sentiment. To give a full history of his life would require a large book; but our limited space would require a large book; but our limited space forbids anything but a rapid glance at a few waymarks along the road traveled for nearly … Read more

Biography of W. H. Taylor

W.H. TAYLOR. – The subject of this sketch was born in Michigan in the year 1851. He was a farmer boy of that new England stock which has enriched so many of our American commonwealths. His parents removed to Iowa, and afterwards to Kansas, while he was a mere lad. At the age of twenty he abandoned the life of a farmer boy for a place where his talents would have broader field of usefulness, and entered the office of the Commercial, the leading paper in his section, where he learned the trade of a printer. Before the expiration of … Read more

Biography of W. H. Mastin

W.H. MASTIN. – As a lien upon the gratitude of his fellow-men, one writes a book, another opens a mine, a third builds a house. Each one may do the work for himself, but nevertheless, in recognition of the wants and needs of others, suiting his operations to their tastes and necessities, and finding his chief satisfaction, not so much in the profit that he reaps from his industry, as from the position which he fills in the world of business and society, making himself, his skill and his work, a necessary part of the great whole. It is in … Read more

Biography of W. H. Holmes

W.H. HOLMES. – The subject of this sketch was born in the year 1850 in Polk county, Oregon. He came of sturdy pioneer stock, who were among the earliest settlers of this state, and to whom he is indebted for those qualities of mind and body which fit him to encounter the rugged contests of life or the arduous and difficult duties of his chosen profession. His early years were spent on the farm, engaged in the usual occupations of farm life; but his love of books drifted his mind towards other pursuits, and soon determined him to seek a … Read more

Biography of W. F. Courtney

W.F. COURTNEY. – This veteran among the Indian fighters and earlier pioneers was born in Illinois in 1832. At the age of thirteen, he crossed the plains with his parents in 1845. They reached The Dalles during the latter part of October of the same year; but before proceeding down the river they had to construct a flat boat as a means of navigation. This was attended with considerable difficulty, as there were no lumber mills in the country, and ever plank had to be whipsawed. The passage from The Dalles to the Upper Cascades was made without any event … Read more

Biography of W. B. D. Newman

W.B.D. NEWMAN. – This well-known pioneer and veteran of the Indian wars comes of primitive stock of old Virginia, where the English family settled on the south bank of the Potomac, and where the father of our subject was born in 1793, and grew up to be a stout defender of the young American republic in the war of 1812. The mother, Matilda Downing, was also of Virginia, having come from that state to Kentucky. William was born in 1827 in the latter state, and two years later accompanied his parents to Ohio. Meeting with the loss of his mother … Read more

Biography of Van B. De Lashmutt

VAN B. DE LASHMUTT. – The present mayor of Portland exemplifies the versatility characteristic of the early pioneers. As journalist, merchant, real-estate dealer, capitalist, banker and miner, he has been able to bring to bear his large abilities with equal facility. He is a native of the Hawkeye state, having been born at Burlington in 1842, where he passed his early years on a farm, – the best of all places to develop muscle and nerve. He reached Oregon in 1852, and when a youth of fifteen entered the office of the Salem Statesman, having a latent ambition for journalism, … Read more

Biography of Turner Oliver

TURNER OLIVER. – This wide-awake citizen of Union county is the son of Hiram W. Oliver, a biographical sketch of whom is also included in this work. He was born on May 7, 1860, in Iowa; and, although but four years old when crossing the plains, he remembers distinctly some of the exciting incidents of the journey to the Grande Ronde, particularly the pursuit of a band of Indians who were making off with the horses of the train, but upon close pressure were obliged to let go all except those belonging to two Dutchmen, who were in ill odor … Read more

Biography of Trueman Powers

TRUEMAN POWERS. – Among all the pioneers, few have left a richer legacy of quiet manhood than Trueman Powers. A gentleman of the past generation, of dignified and considerate manners, of deep conscientiousness, and prevailing force of mind and will, he occupies a distinctive place in the memory of all who knew him, and in the history of Oregon. He was born in Vermont in 1803. He received in that state the education then in vogue, which gave much prominence to music in its curriculum. The proficiency thus gained in singing was to Mr. Powers, a lifelong delight, and an … Read more

Biography of Thomas Smith

THOMAS SMITH. – Mr. Smith, whose life labors have had as their result in one particular the upbuilding of the handsome village of Winchester, near the Umpqua River, was born in Oxfordshire, England, February 12, 1823; and he crossed the Atlantic with his parents in 1830. The first American home was at Rochester, and a year later at Euclid near Cleveland, Ohio; and in 1834 a removal was made to La Porte County, Indiana. Thirteen years were spent in Indiana with his parents; but in 1847 the desire to go forth and test his powers in competition with others induced … Read more

Biography of Thomas Owens

THOMAS OWENS, – Thomas Owens, a pioneer of 1843, was born in Tazewell county, Virginia, in 1808. His father, Thomas Owens, was born in Wyeth county, Virginia, in 1757, and with his family came to Floyd county, Kentucky, in 1814, where he lived to the age of ninety-four. Father Owens, as his Kentucky neighbors called him, was we are told, “A valued citizen, known as a good husband, affectionate father and kind master.” Thomas Owens, the subject of this sketch, was a born pioneer, having the courage to bring his wife and three children across the plains with the immigration … Read more

Biography of Thomas Mercer

THOMAS MERCER. – This well-known and highly respected resident of Seattle, Washington, whose portrait, together with a view of his beautiful home, is appropriately placed in this volume, was born in Harrison County, Ohio, March 11, 1813, and was the eldest son of Aaron and Jane Dickerson Mercer, – the latter a native of Pennsylvania and the former from an old Virginia family. Thomas resided at his birthplace until twenty-one years of age, and after his school days entered his father’s woolen factory and learned the trade thoroughly. In 1834 he moved with his parents to Bureau County, Illinois, and … Read more