Clarke County OR

Biography of William R. Anderson

WM. R. ANDERSON. – This well-known pioneer of Clarke county was born in West Virginia in 1822, and there received his education and was apprenticed to learn the working of leather and the manufacture of boots and shoes. Being possessed of a roving disposition, he went out to Missouri in 1848, and the year following took the final step to reach the Pacific. His trip across the mountains was brought about by his hiring to drive a government wagon to Fort Hall. Reaching this point too late to return that season, the commander proposed to the squad of thirty-six men … Read more

Biography of George W. Proebstel

GEORGE W. PROEBSTEL. – The subject of this sketch was born upon a farm in Missouri in 1842. When ten years old he crossed the plains with his father, Jacob Proebstel, driving an ox-team and experiencing the usual hardships attending such a trip. On one occasion he saw his mother pay a dollar a pound for flour, which was hard to secure even at that price. It was the Fourth of July that his party reached Independence Rock, and found there a large train celebrating the holiday with music and dancing. The behavior of the cowboys whom he saw made … Read more