Ada County ID

Ada County ID, established in December 1864, is located in southwestern Idaho and serves as the state’s most populous county, with Boise as its county seat and largest city. The county’s establishment came during a period of significant expansion and settlement in the Pacific Northwest, spurred by the discovery of gold and the subsequent mining booms in Idaho Territory. Its geographic features, including the Boise River and surrounding foothills, have played a pivotal role in its development, influencing settlement patterns, agriculture, and the establishment of transportation routes. Ada County’s early records, crucial for genealogical research, begin in the 1860s and encompass land transactions, mining claims, and vital records that detail the lives of early settlers, many of whom were miners, farmers, and entrepreneurs drawn to the region by economic opportunities. The area was traditionally inhabited by the Shoshone and Bannock tribes, who utilized the river valleys and foothills for hunting, fishing, and gathering. For genealogists, Ada County’s historical records, including census data, marriage, birth, and death records, provide invaluable insights into the socio-economic dynamics of the region and the ancestries of families who have called it home since its establishment.

Biography of Joseph C. Straughan

When we think of the wonderful development of our country in the last half century we find that it is largely due to two agencies, railroad construction and civil engineering, and of both of these industries Joseph C. Straughan is a representative. The era of progress and development in the various sections of this great republic west of the Atlantic coast has been almost invariably ushered in by railroad construction, and the vast network of glistening rails that trace their parallel course over mountain and plain and through the fertile valleys, represent more than mere corporate enterprise and accomplishment, since … Read more

Williams, Melvin F. – Obituary

Melvin F. Williams, 51, a former Baker City resident, died July 18, 2003, at the Veterans Hospital in Boise. There will be a private family service. Melvin was born Aug. 30, 1951, in Baker City to Fred and Enola (Derrick) Williams. He was raised and educated in the Baker City area. He joined the U.S. Army at the age of 17 and served in Vietnam as a medic. He married Kathy Schuh in 1969. They had two children. In 1976 he married Charlotte (Wood) Stephens, and they moved to Albany in 1980. After Vietnam he worked for the Union Pacific … Read more

Biography of John S. White

The subject of this review has been long and conspicuously identified with the history of the great west, and in varied official positions has proved a wise and discriminating factor in the public life. He is at the present time the incumbent of the important office of judge of probate of Elmore County, retaining his residence at Mountain Home, the flourishing and attractive little city which is the capital of said County. Judge White is a native son of the old Empire state, and may look with satisfaction upon a lineage which traces back to the stanchest of old New … Read more

McClaren, C. M. – Obituary

C. M. McClaren Passes (From the Haines Record) It was learned yesterday that C.M. McClaren, formerly of Haines died at Boise, Sunday. Mr. McClaren was 80 years of age and is survived by a wife and a son, Frank. North Powder News – Oregon Trail Weekly Friday May 1 1931 Transcribed by Charlotte Carper

Biography of W. H. Puckett

The junior member of the well known law firm of Hawley & Puckett is the gentleman whose name forms the caption of this sketch. He is still a young man, but has attained a position of distinction at the bar that many an older practitioner might well envy. He was born at Herndon Place, Ballard County, Kentucky, on the 8th of August 1869. His father, W. J. Puckett, was a native of Jackson, Mississippi, and became one of the prominent lawyers of Kentucky, where he practiced successfully for a number of years. He is now living retired in Denver, Colorado. … Read more

Planting, Freada Lucille – Obituary

Freada Lucille Planting, 86, of Boise, died Saturday, Dec. 14, 2002, in a Boise care center. Funeral services will be held at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 18, at Central Assembly Christian Life Center, 12000 Fairview Ave., with Pastors Loren Yadon Ted Buck and Marion Fretwell (Freada’s brother) officiating. Burial will follow at Cloverdale Cemetery. Services are under direction of the Alden-Waggoner Funeral Chapel, Boise. A viewing will be held today from 4 to 8:30 p.m. at the funeral home, with the family greeting friends from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Freada Lucille Planting was born April 7, 1916, at the family … Read more

Schlegel, Willard “Willie” – Obituary

Willard “Willie” Schlegel, 82, a former Elgin resident, died June 26, 2003, at Emmett Rehab & Healthcare in Emmett, Idaho. The family invites all of Willie’s friends to join them in a memorial celebration of his life on Saturday, July 26, at 2 p.m. at the Stampede hall on the rodeo grounds in Elgin. The oldest son of Velma and William “Bill” Schlegel, Willie was born March 12, 1921, in Whitefish, Mont. He attended school in Whitefish, where he excelled in sports. In high school he was a member of the all-star team in both football and basketball. After graduation, … Read more

Biography of George E. Gray

The profession of the law, when clothed with its true dignity and purity, and strength, must rank first among the callings of men, for law rules the universe. The work of the legal profession is to formulate, to harmonize, to regulate, to adjust, to administer those rules and principles that underlie and permeate all government and society and control the varied relations of man. As thus viewed, there attaches to the legal profession a nobleness that cannot but be reflected in the life of the true lawyer, who, conscious of the greatness of his profession, and honest in the pursuit … Read more

Hall, Lois Jean Beamguard Sanford Mrs. – Obituary

Lois Jean Beamguard Sanford Hall, 78, of Boise, a former Baker City resident, died Oct. 3, 2007, at her home. There will be a memorial service to celebrate and honor her life at 10 a.m. MDT Wednesday at the First United Methodist Church, Cathedral of the Rockies, in Boise. The Rev. Steve Tollefson and Ralph Lawrence will officiate. Burial will be at 1:30 p.m. MDT at the Rosedale Cemetery in Payette, Idaho, near her parents, William Clark and Vinnie Beamguard. Visitations will be from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday at The Cathedral of The Rockies, First United Methodist Church. … Read more

Biography of John A. O’Farrell

John Andrew O’Farrell was born in the county of Tyrone, province of Ulster, Ireland, on the 13th day of February 1823. He pursued his education in the common schools until his thirteenth year, and was then placed in a naval school where he remained for two years. He went to sea in the Oriental Steamship line when fifteen years of age, sailing from the East India dock on the Thames, London, England, to the city of Calcutta, Hindustan, East Indies. The return trip occupied seven months time and the vessel delivered and received mails and passengers at the isle of … Read more

Noland, William “Bill” Harold – Obituary

Enterprise, Oregon William (Bill) Harold Noland, 83, of Enterprise, died Nov. 2 at Wallowa Memorial Hospital after a lengthy illness. A 2 p.m. memorial service will be conducted Saturday at the VFW Post 4307 Hall in Enterprise, with private burial in the Enterprise Cemetery. Mr. Noland was born Feb. 2, 1923, in Boise. At 16 he left school to join the Civilian Conservation Corps for a year. He returned to high school in Idaho but left again during his senior year to join the Air Force in December 1941. He received his high school diploma while in the military. As … Read more

Jasper, Ella – Obituary

Funeral Scheduled For Ella Jasper Funeral services for Ella Jasper, 80, who died Thursday at Meridian, Idaho, following a long illness, will be held at the graveside in Summerville cemetery Sunday at 2 p.m. Mrs. Jasper was a resident of Union county nearly all her life, having moved to Meridian in 1920. She was the daughter of the late pioneers, Mr. and Mrs. David Boswell of Cove. Surviving her are four children, Mrs. Ora Fairbanks of San Jose, Calif., Mrs. Gladys Jasper and Vina Jasper both of Meridian, and Terrell Jasper of Caldwell. She leaves one sister, Mrs. Jennie DeLaney … Read more

Haefer, Ellen Green Mrs. – Obituary

Ellen Haefer, 88, of Boise, Idaho, formally of La Grande, Ore., died Nov. 23, 2007, in Kuna, Idaho, at the Kuna Living Center. Graveside services will be held Wednesday, Nov. 28, at 1 p.m. at Mount Hope Cemetery in Baker City, Ore. Ellen was born June 5, 1919, in Baker City to Herbert Green and Esther Lane Green. She married Willard Haefer in Walla Walla, Wash., in 1936. They had one child, Amelia (Amy) Worm. Ellen lived in Cornucopia and Muddy Creek and cooked in the Muddy Creek School in the 1940’s. She became a license practical nurse in 1950, … Read more

Spears, Claude Allen – Obituary

La Grande, Oregon Claude Allen Spears, 75, of Boise and formerly of La Grande, died Feb. 22 at a Boise hospital after a short illness. A memorial service took place Feb. 26 at Redeemer Lutheran in Boise. Burial will be at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery at a later date. Arrangements are under the direction of Alden-Waggoner Funeral Chapel of Boise. Mr. Spears was born Jan. 18, 1932, to Leonard and Frances Katherine (Berry) Spears in Eugene. He grew up and attended school in La Grande and later worked for Boise Cascade Corp. Drafted in 1952, he served two years … Read more

Kelso, Bonnie May Nedrow Scott, Mrs. – Obituary

Bonnie May Nedrow (Scott) Kelso, 73, lost her valiant battle with cancer on July 5, 2005, with her husband, Don, daughter, Michelle, and stepdaughter, Jan, by her side. Her funeral will be at 11 a.m. at the Ustick Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Meridian between Linder and Ten Mile Road. A graveside service and dedication will be at the new Veterans Cemetery in Boise. Bonnie was born at Hilgard outside of La Grande on Aug. 17, 1931, to John Nathan Nedrow and Evelyn May Ashby Nedrow. She and her family lived in small towns around Baker City … Read more

Biography of John Strode

With two of the most important industries that have contributed to the development and prosperity of the northwest, mining and stock rasing, John Strode has long been identified. He became a resident of California in 1852, ten years later went to Oregon, and since 1863 has made his home in Idaho. His birth occurred in Tennessee, on the 6th of February 1833, and he is of English, German and Welsh descent but the original ancestors, who came from England Wales and Germany, found homes in America at an early period in her history and were pioneer settlers of Kentucky. John … Read more

Couch, Minnith O. – Obituary

Enterprise, Wallowa County, Oregon Minnith O. Couch, 74, of Toppenish, Washington, died Saturday, Oct. 29, 1983 in St.. Alphonsus Hospital in Boise, Idaho. He was born Dec. 21, 1908 in Wallowa, to Leonard and Minnie (Fisher) Couch. He attended schools in Wallowa, graduating in 1927 from Wallowa High School. He attended Oregon State University; then he served in the Army during W.W.I, earning the Victory Medal, the American Theater Service Medal and the Asiatic Pacific Service Medal. In 1945 he was discharged and went to work in Portland, as an oiler in the Jones Lumber Company sawmill. He moved to … Read more

Purvis, Rusty Gene – Obituary

Rusty Gene Purvis, 39, of Portland, died Oct. 27, 2002. A graveside service will be held Friday at 3 p.m. at Ironside Cemetery. Floyd Cooper will officiate. Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel is handling the arrangements. Mr. Purvis was born Nov. 17, 1962, at Baker City to Don and Carol (Hill) Purvis. He attended Harper and Unity schools, and graduated from Riddle High School in 1981. He also attended Boise State University. He was employed by Zilog in Boise and Fujitsu in Portland as a computer technician. He enjoyed fishing, football and NASCAR racing. Mr. Purvis is survived by … Read more

Biography of George Ainslie

Hon. George Ainslie is a western man by birth, training and choice, and possesses the true western spirit of progress and enterprise. He belongs to the little group of distinctively representative business men who have been the pioneers in inaugurating and building up the chief industries of this section of the country. He early had the sagacity and prescience to discern the eminence which the future had in store for this great and growing country, and, acting in accordance with the dictates of his faith and judgment, he has garnered, in the fullness of time, the generous harvest which is … Read more

Biography of Dave Adams

While the race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong, the invariable law of destiny accords to tireless energy, industry and ability, a successful career. The truth of this assertion is abundantly verified in the life of Mr. Adams, who, though he has met many difficulties and obstacles, has overcome these by determined purpose and laudable endeavor, working his way steadily upward to success. He is now accounted one of the leading businessmen of Silver City, and has been prominently identified with the development of many of the leading business interests of Idaho since his … Read more