Bonneville County ID

Biography of Hon. Ruel Rounds

Ex-Senator Ruel Rounds, postmaster and prominent citizen of Idaho Falls, was born in Rutland, Vermont, September 3, 1841, a son of William M. and Maria (Sanderson) Rounds, both natives of Vermont, where his ancestors were early settlers. Forefathers of his in both lines fought for American liberty in the Revolutionary war. His parents were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and wielded an influence for good upon all who knew them. His father, who was a successful farmer, died in his fifty-eighth year. His mother died ten years younger. Of their eight children, five are living and Ruel was the … Read more

Biography of Hon. Fredrick H. Turner

Hon. Fredrick Hugh Turner, merchant, Idaho Falls, and grand master of the grand lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Idaho, has represented his district ably in the state senate, and is in all respects one of the leading business men and most distinguished citizens of southeastern Idaho. Mr. Turner was born at Janesville, Wisconsin, October 31, 1858, a son of John and Margaret (Jehn) Turner. His father was an English barrister, born in London, who came to the United States in 1838, and located as a pioneer in Rock County, Wisconsin, where he became a prominent farmer … Read more

Bonneville County, Idaho Census Records

1870 Bonneville County, Idaho Census Free 1870 Census Form for your Research Hosted at Ancestry.com – 14 Days Free 1870 Bonneville County, Census (images and index) $ 1810-1890 Accelerated Indexing Systems $ Hosted at Census Guide 1870 U.S. Census Guide 1880 Bonneville County, Idaho Census Free 1880 Census Form for your Research Hosted at Ancestry.com – 14 Days Free 1880 Bonneville County, Census (images and index) 1810-1890 Accelerated Indexing Systems $ Hosted at Census Guide 1880 U.S. Census Guide 1890 Bonneville County, Idaho Census Free 1890 Census Form for your Research Hosted at Ancestry.com – 14 Days Free 1890 Veterans … Read more

Biography of Gilbert G. Wright

One of the most prominent businessmen of Idaho Falls is Gilbert G. Wright, manager of the Cooperative Wagon & Machine Company and of the Idaho Falls Milling Company. Mr. Wright is a native of Ogden, Utah, and was born September 28, 1867. His father, Gilbert J. Wright, was born in England and came to New York, whence he removed to Ogden, Utah, where he married Miss Annie Odell, also of English birth. He became a successful hardware merchant, and late in life he retired to Idaho Falls, where he and his wife are now living. The family are devoted members … Read more

Biography of Joseph A. Clark

The Idaho canal is fed by Snake River, ten miles above Idaho Falls. It has three head gates, is forty feet wide and thirty-five miles long and irrigates one hundred thousand acres of land, the country which it waters being largely settled by prosperous farmers who raise hay and grain in large quantities. The productiveness of this stretch of country and the prosperity which flows from it are made possible by this great inland improvement, and the canal was made possible largely through the personal efforts of Joseph A. Clark, who advocated it, promoted it and was chiefly instrumental in … Read more

Biography of Theron J. Smith

Theron J. Smith, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, has influenced the settlement of more families in the Snake river valley than any two or three other men. He has been a factor in local real-estate transactions, and without doubt has been, in a general way, one of the most efficient promoters of the growth and prosperity of Idaho Falls and the settlement and development of its tributary territory. As immigrant agent of the Oregon Short Line Railroad, he has brought many excursions to this part of the country from Iowa, Nebraska and Illinois, and these excursions have resulted in a marked … Read more

Biography of Ed. F. Winn

No work that might attempt to tell the story of the settlement and civilization of Idaho would be complete if it should contain no account of the hard, brave work performed by Deputy Sheriff and Deputy United States Marshal Ed. F. Winn, in ridding the country of the gangs of thieves, cut-throats and outlaws that once infested it. A book devoted to the exploits of Winn and other Federal and civil officers in this part of the country would be of thrilling interest. Ed. F. Winn is a native of Brownsville, Pennsylvania, and was born October 29, 1857. His parents, … Read more

Biography of Hon. Burdice J. Briggs

There are few men in southern Idaho better or more favorably known than Hon. Burdice J. Briggs, a lawyer of ability and success, an up-right and patriotic citizen, and the constant promoter of the best interests of the state and its people. His effective work in the legislature in behalf of irrigation entitles him to a prominent place in any volume which purports to give an account of Idaho and her leading useful citizens. Hon. Burdice J. Briggs was born at Bellevue, Nebraska, November 21, 1859, a son of Alpheus N. and Harriet (Green) Briggs. The Briggs family in America … Read more

Biography of Benjamin A. Jenne

Character and ability will come to the front anywhere. As boy and man, many a man has been buffeted by fortune and had almost insurmountable obstacles thrust in his path, but per-severance has cleared them away and he has gone on to success. Such has been the experience of the subject of this sketch, one of the rising and popular citizens and public men of Bingham County, Idaho, a man with a heart for any venture, and a smile for friend and foe. Benjamin P. Jenne, deputy sheriff and jailer of Bingham County, Idaho, was born at Poor Man’s Gulch, … Read more

Simpson, Dr. Charles D. “Chuck” – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Dr. Charles D. “Chuck” Simpson, 66, a longtime Baker City resident, died April 23, 2003, at his home. His memorial service will be at 10 a.m. Monday at the First Presbyterian Church, 1995 Fourth St. Pastor Susan Barnes will officiate. There will be a reception afterward in Rogers Hall. Charles Daye Simpson was born July 29, 1936, at Montrose, Colo. The family moved to Idaho in his early years and he was raised and received his schooling at Caldwell and Idaho Falls, Idaho. He continued his education at Idaho State at Pocatello and then went on to … Read more

Biography of Edward Fanning

The career of this prominent Idaho merchant illustrates the claim, frequently made, that a man of enterprise will inevitably get into and make a success of the business for which he has the most liking and aptitude, regardless of discouragements and obstacles which would direct weaker men permanently into other paths of endeavor. Edward Fanning was born in county Carlow, Ireland, February 23, 1844, a son of Patrick and Bridget (Murphy) Fanning. His father was a farmer, and both his parents were born in the Catholic faith and were reared and lived and died in it, Patrick Fanning passing away … Read more

Biography of Hon. Samuel F. Taylor

Hon. Samuel F. Taylor was not a pioneer of Idaho Falls simply. He was one of a very few who were pioneers at that locality before the town had a beginning, and was active in an enterprise which was influential in locating a town at that point on the Snake river. He came to the place in 1870 with his cousin, J. M. Taylor, who with the firm of Taylor & Anderson, built the bridge across the Snake river at the falls. It was the first bridge in this part of the state, was a great aid to immigration and … Read more

Biography of De Forest Chamberlain

Not only has the subject of this all too brief sketch seen southeastern Idaho grow from a wild country, with only a few white inhabitants, to a rich agricultural country, containing thousands of good homes and acres of growing towns, inhabited by an industrious, prosperous, enlightened and progressive people, but he has participated in and assisted the slow, persistent work of development which was necessary to produce a change which is so complete that it has come to be popularly referred to as magical. De Forest Chamberlain is descended from English and Irish ancestors, who settled in America before the … Read more

Lyman, Viola Elizabeth – Obituary

Wallowa, Wallowa County, Oregon Mrs. Viola Lyman Laid To Rest Viola Elizabeth Lyman, daughter of Peter L. and Nancy Ann (Bannon) Lingenfelter, was born August 12, 1889, in Bradshaw County, Nebraska where she spent her early life. In 1906, with her family, she came west to Idaho Falls, where on December 22, 1915; she was married to Henry W. Lyman. In 1923, Mr. and Mrs. Lyman and family moved to Wallowa County which has since been her home. Mrs. Lyman passed away August 11, 1950 at the Wallowa Memorial Hospital in Enterprise after an illness of about three months. Mrs. … Read more

Biography of Louis Elg

The man who first used gas for illumination at Idaho Falls, who put in the first telephone and who set up the first soda fountain in the town, is Louis Elg, druggist. Front and Maine streets. In other respects Mr. Elg has been a pioneer as well. His life has been a busy and eventful one and its important details are well worth the writing and the reading. He was born in Sweden, June 8, 1853, and is descended from a long line of Swedish ancestors. His father, also named Louis Elg, was an ironworker and was frozen to death, … Read more

Willaims, Leanora – Obituary

Lenora “Nora” Ruth Williams, 93, of La Grande, died Saturday, Feb.19, 1994, at Mountain Vista Care Center. A service will be held at 2 p.m. on Wednesday at the Cove Cemetery the Rev. Kenton Thielen of the La Grande First Baptist Church officiating. Mrs. Williams was born on May 20, 1900, to Grant and Lucy Robin (Hayes) Gardner in Center, Colo. She moved with her family to Burntfork, Wyo., and then to Idaho Falls, Idaho, in 1910, and to Cove in 1912. On April 24, 1917, she married Edward W. Meroney. They divorced, in 1925. She married Raymond Williams on … Read more

Johnson, Roger Dale – Obituary

Roger Dale Johnson, 55, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, and formerly of La Grande and Union, died March 22 after an extended illness. Services are planned for a later date. Buck-Miller-Hann Funeral Home in Idaho is in charge of arrangements. Roger was born Nov. 9, 1952, to Burnies and Metta (King) Johnson in La Grande. He attended schools in Union and graduated from Union High School in 1971. He then served in the Army. Roger moved to Idaho Falls in 1988 and worked for Anderson Lumber until his health began to decline. He took great pride in his son, Tanner. He … Read more

Karg, William Franklin “Bill”, Dr. – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Dr. William Franklin “Bill” Karg, 75, of Eagle, Idaho, a former Baker City resident, died Dec. 7, 2004, at his home. The family had a private service to celebrate his life. Bill was born on April 18, 1929, at Baker City to Otto and Margaret “Pat” Karg. His father was a former Baker City fire chief. Bill attended Baker High School and then Pacific University at Forest Grove. He graduated with a degree in optometry on May 25, 1952. During college, he worked for the Forest Service where he was a firefighter. He married Ruby Lowe at … Read more

Biography of Carlyle L. Pelot

It is worthy of note that a majority of the pioneers of Idaho Falls were young, or comparatively young, men. They did not come to mold a new community in accordance with antiquated precedents which had been worn out elsewhere. They came open-eyed, susceptible to conviction, ready to take conditions as they existed and shape them according to the logic of the time and the place. How they succeeded, every one knows who knows anything of the history of the town. One of the most far-sighted of these pioneers was the man whose name appears above; and it is the … Read more

Bingham County

While not one of the most populous nor one of the most wealthy counties in the state, Bingham county does not by any means stand at the foot of the list. In 1891 the Idaho Register, published at Idaho Falls, in giving a description of Bingham County, stated that it was the largest county in the state. Its length was one hundred and seventy-six miles, its width ninety miles, and it contained about fourteen thousand square miles, or about eight million acres of land; it extended from the Montana line on the north to within about twenty-one miles of the … Read more