Corvallis Oregon

Biographical Sketch of George W. Harris

GEORGE W. HARRIS. – This successful business man of Morrow county was born at Pittsfield, Pike county, Illinois, February 18, 1858. During his minor years he followed the fortunes of his parents, who moved to Iowa in 1860, and four years later crossed the plains to California with ox-teams, locating at Red Bluff. In 1865 they came to Oregon and located at Monmouth. From that date many changes and removals were undergone, including a return to California, a residence at Corvallis and again at Eugene; also a trip across the continent to Missouri, Texas and Iowa, and a return to … Read more

Colter, Norma Fay – Obituary

Norma Fay (Horn) Colter, 75, formerly of Elgin, died March 5 at Corvallis. A funeral was held for her at Northside Church in Corvallis on March 8. A celebration of life is planned for 1 p.m. March 22 at the Elgin Methodist Church. The family has indicated that floral arrangement are not necessary. Born July 6, 1932, to Mercedes McCain, Norma was raised from birth by Arthur and Annie McCain. At age 13 she traveled to Oregon with her grandparents and lived with her uncle and aunt, Jim and Agnes Hicks. On Oct. 23, 1948, at age 16, she married … Read more

Biography of Major James Bruce

MAJOR JAMES BRUCE. – Major Bruce is one of our citizens who needs no introduction to the people of the Northwest; since he is known personally, not only to all the old pioneers, but to most of the second generation of the toilers of Oregon. He was born November 3, 1827, in Harrison county, Indiana, and at the age of ten moved with his parents to Quincy, Illinois. At twenty he began a border career, going to Texas, making many excursions in that then unsettled region, and at Cross Timbers joined Major Johnson’s rangers. He accompanied these troopers upon their … Read more

Luhrs, Sarah J. – Obituary

Sarah J. Luhrs, 88, formerly of North Powder and La Grande, died Tuesday March 11 in Eugene. A service will be start at noon Monday at West Lawn Funeral Home in Eugene. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to noon at West Lawn Funeral Home. Mrs. Luhrs was born March 1, 1920 in North Powder to Dick and Enolia (Gorham) Brothers. She married John Luhrs on Aug. 23, 1938 in Wallowa. They were married 47 years. John Luhrs died Feb. 16, 1984. She was a foster home care giver in La Grande, Corvallis, and Clarkston, Wash. She had lived in … Read more

Biography of Hon. James P. Stewart

HON. JAMES P. STEWART. – In a notice of the Honorable James P. Stewart by the local press, when his name was presented for the suffrages of his fellow-citizens for a seat in the legislature of Washington Territory, it was most truthfully said: “he is a man of affairs, – a big, bronzed, broad-shouldered man, who moves about among his fellow-men with that quiet consciousness of strength that carries conviction and wins. He has been a winner all his life; and people applaud his winning. He has been as honest as he has been progressive. Mr. Stewart is a native … Read more

Biography of Hon. James Harvey Slater

HON. JAMES HARVEY SLATER. – Mr. Slater has ever borne a conspicuous part in the public affairs of Oregon; and no one has preserved a more honorable name. His mental qualities are solid rather than brilliant, and his operations weighty rather than keen. He is a man whose integrity has never been impeached; and he has ever been relied upon as a friend of the people. In his two terms at Washington, once as congressman, once as senator, he has performed some very effective work for our state; and all Oregonians hold him in high esteem. The following brief sketch … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Dr. V. C. Balkans

A well known and popular physician of Prairie City, and one whose kind, attentive treatment of the sick, and geniality of manner towards the well have made hint deservedly the favorite of all classes, was born near Corvallis, Ore, in 1871. He received his preliminary education in the schools of Prineville, and later in Portland. He graduated from Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia in 1894, and then practiced for a while in the hospital there. In January 1895, he located at Prairie City, where he is still practicing. He is married to Miss Clara McHaley, and his home is the … Read more

Hansell, Delmar A. – Obituary

Delmar A. Hansell, 85, of La Grande, and a former Baker City resident, died Aug. 1, 2002, at his home. A celebration of his life took place Aug. 2 at Loveland Funeral Chapel, with Pastor Gary Hood of ioneer Park Church officiating. Mr. Hansell was born Feb. 3, 1917, in Corvallis to William Henry and Lydia L. Bullis Hansell. He attended Corvallis and Newport high schools. He married Ernestine (Teen) Gardener on Nov. 12, 1947, in Caldwell, Idaho. They lived in Corvallis, then moved to Baker in 1950 and to La Grande in 1956, where Mr. Hansell was a custodian … Read more

Biography of Hon. E. B. McElroy, A.M., Ph. D.,

HON. E.B. McELROY, A.M., Ph. D. – Among the institutions of our country, none more deservedly attract the attention of all lovers of law and order than do our public schools. It is all-important, therefore, that each commonwealth should have some men of learning and ambition at the head to represent, as it were, in a single individual, the individual interests of very child in the state. Especially is this the case in our state, where we are in reality but just laying aside the swaddling clothes of self-government, and endeavoring to lay broad and deep the foundations of a … Read more

Calavan, Virgil L. – Obituary

Virgil L. Calavan, 75, former Albany mayor who was active in civic affairs here for many years, died Friday morning in a Corvallis hospital after a long illness. Mr. Calavan was the former owner of a drug store in East Albany which is now Lammers’ Pharmacy. After selling the East Albany store he operated Mason’s Drug Store in downtown Albany, which is now owned by Gerald Steele. He had lived in Corvallis since 1946. A 1911 graduate of Oregon State College, Mr. Calavan was a school principal in eastern Linn County before he opened his first drug store in Albany. … Read more

Biography of Hon. William Wallace Thayer

HON. W.W. THAYER- William Wallace Thayer, the present chief justice of the supreme court of Oregon, came to this state in 1862. He was born at Lima, Livingston county, New York, July 15, 1827. His boyhood was spent upon a farm in that county, where he attended the common schools and received the meager instruction that the times and circumstances of farm life afforded. But an early love for books and a retentive memory, characteristics that mark him even to-day, supplied what was lacking in his school education. He became a wide reader of standard literature; and, having determined to … Read more

Chepenafa Tribe

Chepenafa Indians. A Kalapooian tribe, some times regarded as a subdivision of the Lakmiut, formerly residing at the forks of St Marys creek, near Corvallis, Oregon. They are now on Grande Ronde reservation, being officially known as Marys River Indians, and number about 25.

Robbins, Darlene Emma Mrs. – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Darlene Emma Robbins, 71 died Monday, January 26, 2004 in Baker City, Oregon after a lengthy illness. Memorial services will be held Monday, February 2, 2004 at 11 a.m. in the Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place Street with Rev. Ron Kratzer officiating. Inurnment will follow at Baker Cemetery at a later date. Mrs. Robbins was born September 13, 1932, in Bentonville Arkansas to Austin and Grace Robbins. In 1936, she moved from Nebraska to Ontario, Oregon at the age of four. She graduated from Ontario High School in 1950. She met her future husband while attending the … Read more

Battrick, Robin Louise – Obituary

La Grande, Oregon Robin Louise Battrick, 56, formerly of La Grande, died July 31 at her home in Coffey, Mo., following a 10-month battle with cancer. A funeral service and burial will be in Coffey, with memorial services to follow in Corvallis and La Grande. Robin was born July 17, 1951, in Bloomington, Ind. After a transient childhood with stops from Florida to Alaska, her family settled in La Grande in September 1965. She graduated from La Grande High School in 1969 as co-valedictorian. She attended Reed College in Portland and Oregon State University. Robin served a mission for the … Read more

Biography of Louis F. Horning

Louis F. Horning, who follows farming on Camas prairie, is a native of the Sunset state, his birth having there occurred August 20, 1851. His father, Frederick Horning, was born in Prussia, August 9, 1822, and was educated in Germany, after which he came with his father, George Godfrey Horning, to America. The last named was likewise a Prussian by birth, and on crossing the Atlantic he took up his residence in St. Louis, being one of the pioneers of that now populous city. For fifteen hundred dollars he sold ten acres of land which is now in the heart … Read more

Biography of Milton Canterbury, M. D.

Milton Canterbury, M. D., of Redlands, was born in Greenup County, Kentucky. His father, Reuben Canterbury, a farmer, was born in North Carolina. The name originated in Kent County, England, from the estate of a man by that name, and for whom the city of Canterbury was named. Reuben Canterbury married Miss Elizabeth Lycaas, a native of Kentucky. The union was blessed with thirteen children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the eighth. He first attended the common schools of his native county and afterward attended a short time the college at Marietta, Ohio. From there he went … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Mrs. Martha Burnett

MRS. MARTHA BURNETT.- The subject of this biography was born September 28, 1838, in Franklin county, Missouri, and is the fourth child and oldest daughter of Roland and Elizabeth Hinton. Her parents emigrated to Oregon in 1846, and located their Donation claim in the southern part of Benton county, near Monroe. In her twenty-first year, 1859, she was married, on June 12th, to Honorable John Burnett. They took up their residence in Corvallis, where Judge Burnett entered into the practice of law, and prospered in the practice of his profession. There is a vast difference in the Oregon of 1846 … Read more

Courtney, Pinkney L. – Obituary

Mrs. B.T. Long received word Thursday evening of the death of her father, P. L. Courtney at Payette, Idaho and left for that place Friday. M. O. Courtney of Lostine accompanied her. P. L. Courtney was one of the earliest settlers of the valley and lived here until recent years when he was compelled to try a different climate to relieve asthma from which he was a sufferer. He spent the past year in California from there going to Payette only two weeks ago and on the trip contracted the influenza to which he succumbed. Pinkney L. Courtney was born … Read more

Biographical Sketch of James P. Atwood, M.D.

JAMES P. ATWOOD, M.D. – One of the most successful physicians of Baker City, Oregon, is the gentleman whose name appears as the heading of this sketch. A careful and conscientious gentleman of temperate habits, and thoroughly reliable in all public and professional as well as private matters, he enjoys the confidence of the public, and has a large practice. He was born in Wisconsin in 1846, but was educated in Oregon, at Sublimity and at Corvallis, and took his degree in medicine from the medical department of the Willamette University at Salem, and from the medical department of the … Read more

Donnelly, Roderick – Obituary

Formerly of La Grande 1921-2009 Roderick W. ‘Doc’ Donnelly, 88, formerly of La Grande, died Oct. 12 at his home in Richmond. A private family gathering will be held at a later date. Sweeney Mortuary of Condon is in charge of arrangements. Roderick was born May 23, 1921, the first son of Virginia Odessa Wechter and Hamilton Keyes Donnelly at his grandmother’s house at the top of the Donnelly Grade in Wheeler County. He was the grandson of a founding father of Wheeler County. He attended grade school in a one-room school at Service Creek. He attended high school in … Read more