History of the Pacific Northwest Oregon and Washington 1889 Collections – Page 31 of 34

Biographical Sketch of Jacob Long

JACOB LONG. – This venerable pioneer, the first to settle in the north end of Indian valley, and whose seventy-four years have but little bent his frame, was born in 1815 in Pennsylvania. At the age of nine he became a pioneer of the West, moving with his parents to Ohio. At the age of seventeen he took his flint-lock rifle and made a tour of the woods and prairies of the old West, visiting the French and Indian trading-post of Chicago, and spending a winter on the Elkhart river in Indiana, with Schomack, the chief of the Pottawottamies. Returning … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Jackson Wright

JACKSON WRIGHT. – Mr. Wright’s life on this coast embodies bits of a sharp experience with Indians as may be found in the records of any of our pioneers. He was born in Missouri in 1842, and in 1850 came to Oregon with his father Lazorus Wright, who took up a Donation claim on Myrtle creek, and was a captain in the war of 1855-56. He removed to the Grande Ronde valley in 1863, where he lived until his death in 1885. At the age of twenty-two our subject engaged in business of his own, and in 1868 was married … Read more

Biographical Sketch of J. W. George

J.W. GEORGE. – This gentleman is the second son of Presley and Mahala George, and was born in Ohio November 11, 1835, but removed to our state at so early an age as to receive his education at the Santiam Academy in Linn county. He became well known as one of the most promising young men of our state, and early developed unusual business capacity. In 1873 he made a permanent home at Seattle, Washington Territory, and entered actively into the business and social development of this metropolis of the Sound, acquiring also extensive real estate and property interests. July … Read more

Biographical Sketch of J. P. Kinnison and H. A. Kinnison

J.P. and H.A. KINNISON. – These two brothers, who have united their fortunes through life were born on the Mississippi river about one hundred miles below St. Louis in the years 1838 and 1840, respectively. They received a common-school education, and, developing a riving disposition, crossed the plains in 1853. San Mateo, California, was their first home, and stock-raising their business until 1862, when they came to the Powder river valley, and were the first to break the ground of that beautiful region. They have been engaged in agriculture and stock-raising every since, and consider themselves fairly successful. In 1876 … Read more

Biographical Sketch of J. N. Gilbranson

J.N. GILBRANSON. – There is no European country to which the United States is more in debt than to the Scandinavian peninsula. From there we had Ericsson, whose invention of the Monitor is deemed by many to have turned the tide of war in 1862. From the country of Ericsson we have also many of our best citizens. One of these is Mr. Gilbranson, who was born at Christiana, Norway, in 1834, and came to Chicago in 1854. He resided in Missouri until the war broke out, being actively engaged in his business of contracting and building. Returning to Chicago, … Read more

Biographical Sketch of J. M. Pruett, M.D.

J.M. PRUETT, M.D. – The native-born sons of Oregon who have had the wisdom to prepare themselves for a professional or business career have quite generally shown themselves fully equal to those born and raised elsewhere. The subject of this sketch is one of these. He was born at Salem in 1849, his father being the well-known pioneer J. W. Pruett, who crossed the plains in 1847. Young James remained with his father until the death of the latter, which occurred in 1866. He then went to California, where he remained for two years, after which he returned to Oregon … Read more

Biographical Sketch of J. H. Stanley

J.H. STANLEY. – J.H. Stanley is a native of Missouri, where he was born in 1858. In 1878 he came to the Willamette valley, where he studied for three years, finishing his education. He then went to Union County, Oregon, and taught as principal of the City School at Union for one year. Afterwards he went to Weston, where he taught in the same capacity. he then went to Morrow County, where he took up a ranch in 1883, which he still owns and runs. He commenced teaching in the fall of 1885, and was appointed county school superintendent, and … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Hugh N. George

HUGH N. GEORGE. – Hugh, the eldest of the three sons of Presley and Mahala George, and not the least distinguished among the three eminent brothers, was born in Morgan county, Ohio, November 9, 1828. He was educated at Granville College and followed the profession of teacher for nearly thirteen years. He as one of the prominent educators of Oregon in early times, and was twice elected school superintendent of Linn county. He was admitted to practice as an attorney in 1863, and for a time was editor of the Albany Journal. In 1864, after an exciting canvass, he was … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Hon. Paine Page Prim

HON. PAINE PAGE PRIM. – Always to be remembered along with such men as Thornton, Strong, Kelly, Lancaster and Boice, among the judiciary lights of our state, is Judge Prim. He is a Tennesseean by birth, and graduated from the law school at Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee, and began his first legal practice at Sparta in White county of the same state. Like many ambitious young men of the East, he looked to the West as his best field, and came to Missouri in 1851, but arriving at Independence, joined an emigrant train and came on to Oregon. arriving in … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Hon. Melancthon Z. Goodell

HON. MELANCTHON Z. GOODELL. – The family of which this pioneer is a member has ever been prominent and influential in the Pacific Northwest since its arrival hither. Jothan W. Goodell, the father was a pioneer of Ohio; and it was at Vermilion that Melancthon was born in 1837. In 1850 the family crossed the plains, the eight children being deemed no serious hindrance. A stop-over was made at Salt Lake one winter; and it has been thought that they missed but little a great calamity from Mormon treachery. Reaching Portland in 1851, they made their first home in Polk … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Hon. Joseph Foster

HON. JOSEPH FOSTER. – Mr. Foster was the fourth child in a family of eleven children, and the son of Thomas and Rosetta J. Larsky Foster. He was born near Hamilton, Ontario, April 10, 1828, where he lived until six years of age, when his parents moved to Geogy county, Ohio. When old enough he learned the tailor’s trade, and when twenty-one years of age went to Wisconsin, locating in Sheboygan, where he followed his trade for three years. He then, in 1851, started overland to the Pacific coast, and reached Portland in July, 1852. He went to the Shasta … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Hon. John W. Norval

HON. JOHN W. NORVAL. – Mr. Norval, at present state senator from Union and Wallowa counties, was born in Knox County, Illinois, June 5, 1840, and is the son of James and Mahala Applewhite Norval. He resided upon a farm at his native place until the age of twenty, having while a mere boy suffered the loss of his father, and being a member of a family of four brothers and one sister. In April, 1860, he came west to Alexandria, Missouri, where he joined an emigrant train and came across the plains to California, arriving at Stockton November 6, … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Hon. James D. Burnett

HON. JAMES D. BURNETT. – Mr. Burnett, one of the best farmers of Douglas county, and a gentleman of eminent abilities in public affairs, was born in Blunt county, Tennessee, March 12, 1822. In 1850 he came to Oregon, settling first at Salem. Two years later he removed to Douglas county, taking a claim upon which he has lived to the present time, and which he has increased by purchase to the baronial dimensions of twelve hundred acres. He has ever been active publicly in establishing those institutions which reflect credit upon the community and advance society. He is a … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Hon. Charles N. Byles

HON. CHARLES N. BYLES. – This is one of the town builders of the west. Out of his farm on Mound Prairie he has made Montesano a place of twelve hundred people. His father was a Presbyterian minister of Madisonville, Kentucky. Charles was born in 1844. In 1853 the family crossed the plains, and upon reaching Wallula struck out northwestward to the Sound, crossing the mountains via the Nahchess Pass. Moving down on Mound Prairie, they located a place fourteen miles south of Olympia. Here on these healthful fields the boy grew up to manhood, and, becoming of age, took … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Hon. Alvin T. Ferriss

HON. ALVIN T. FERRISS.- This representative citizen of Eastern Washington was born in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, in 1852, being the son of James R. and Mary Worth Ferriss. He resided at his birthplace until fifteen years old, at that date removing with his parents to Northwest Missouri. In the spring of 1872 he came west to Denver. After a short stay among the Rocky Mountains, engaged in mining and other operations, and at one time as railroad contractor on the Oregon Short Line, he crossed the continent in 1883 to Washington Territory, and, after looking over the country, selected Pullman … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Homer McFarland

HOMER McFARLAND, – Mr. McFarland, one of our most able young men, was born at The Dalles June 22, 1865, the youngest son of J.C. McFarland, and a nephew of E.B. McFarland, who was one of the oldest settlers of The Dalles, and one of her most substantial citizens. He received his early education at the Wasco Academy, attending until his nineteenth year. In 1885 he came to Lexington, Oregon, where he has been engaged in the general merchandise business ever since. This enterprise was the first of its kind in that town; and the firm, in which he holds … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Hiram W. Oliver

HIRAM W. OLIVER. – Mr. Oliver is a native of Indiana, and was born in 1827. He is the son of a farmer. In 1849 he moved to Illinois, farming until the fall of 1853, when he changed his residence to Iowa. In 1864 he crossed the plains to the Pacific coast, and located a claim in the Grande Ronde valley, Oregon, at the north end of the broad, timbered flat northwest of Summerville, and purchased a sawmill there which he is still operating. He manufactures a large quantity of excellent lumber, and also conducts large farming operations. He married … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Henry Rust

HENRY RUST. – This gentleman, who has a great reputation for energy, was born in Germany in 1835. He came to America in 1860, and almost immediately entered the Union army. He fought as a private in the battle of Bull Run, and was in the subsequent campaigns before Richmond, and in the severe experiences of the peninsula. Being severely wounded in 1862, he took a long furlough, yet re-entered the service and became a captain in the commissary department. After the war he went to Virginia City, Montana, mining, and in 1867 came to Clarksville, Baker county, Oregon, and … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Henry Jones

HENRY JONES. – The subject of this sketch is a native of Dodgerville, Iowa county, Wisconsin, where he lived until the breaking out of the war, when he enlisted in Company C, Twelfth Regiment, and served until November, 1864. He then moved to Iowa, remaining there until October, 1873, when he came to the Pacific coast, landing in Portland, Oregon, the same month. Mr. Jones married Miss Rosetta Sexton, granddaughter of the late James B. Stephens, of East Portland, on December 15, 1880, and has one son, Harry, who was born March 16, 1885. Mr. Jones was business manager of … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Henry Brook

HENRY BROOK. – The record of this gentleman is not only a satisfactory commentary upon his own business capacity, but also upon the dimensions of the business of the city, and a scale of its enterprises, since his coming here in 1883. Mr. Brook was born in England in 1842, and came to America in 1870, locating at Minneapolis. He reached Spokane Falls in 1883, doing since that time a very successful business. In 1885 he was elected a member of the city council, and while in that office favored the measure to buy the waterworks and furnish the people … Read more