Douglas County OR

Biographical Sketch of Matthew Neeves

MATTHEW NEEVES. – Mr. Neeves, a prominent citizen of Pendleton, Oregon, was born near Syracuse, New York, in 1830. He there received a common-school education and remained until he was twenty years old. Going west to Galesburg, Illinois, he made his way in that new section in the capacity of a Yankee school-master. After one year in that place he went to Platt county, and remained another year as teacher. In 1852 he was induced to join the company of the veteran pioneer Joab Powell, and arrived at Portland in October of the same year. He first turned his attention … Read more

Biography of Rufus Mallory

Rufus Mallory is of New England ancestry, and descended from a strong and hardy stock, well fitted for the furnishing of such elements as are needed to command success and produce laudable results in the new but rapidly growing country in which his lot was cast and where modern civilization has come with such splendid strides. About 1816 his parents left their home in Connecticut for the West, as New York State was then called, and settled in the town of Coventry in Chenango County, at which place the subject of our sketch, the youngest of a family of nine … 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

Biography of Adna C. Craig

ADNA C. CRAIG. – At the union depot on the line of the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company, at the south end of the Grande Ronde valley, is the Craigton Hotel, into which water is conducted through pipes from a spring half a mile away, and one hundred and sixty feet above. This water where it springs from the steep sidehill has a temperature of 180 degrees Fahrenheit, while at the hotel where it enters the bathroom its temperature is about 90 degrees. It shows by analysis iron, borax, sulphur and magnesia. For twenty years this hotel has been a … Read more

Stennfeld, Dorothy Ann – Obituary

La Grande, Oregon Dorothy Ann Stennfeld, 74, of La Grande, died Feb. 24 at her home. A celebration of life is planned for 1 p.m. Saturday at Zion Lutheran Church in La Grande. Mrs. Stennfeld, known as Ann, was born June 23, 1932, to Henry and Berniece Jackson Jones in Roseburg. She was raised in Myrtle Point, graduating from Myrtle Point High School in 1950. She graduated from Good Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing in Portland in 1954. On Sept. 25, 1954, she married Paul T. Stennfeld. After he died in 1975, she went to work for Grande Ronde Hospital … Read more

Barton, Bruce M. – Obituary

Bruce M Barton, 73, long time resident of Roseburg, Oregon died Friday, April 25, 2003, at Edgewood Pointe Assisted Living Complex in Beaverton. Memorial Services will be held at a later date in Texas with the spreading of the ashes in the Gulf of Mexico. Bruce was born March 31, 1930, in Baker. He was the son of Fay W. and Grace Stewart Barton. He attended Baker County Schools and graduated from Pine Valley Union High in Halfway. Bruce enlisted in the Navy becoming a Seabee, spending time on Adak Island in Alaska and Cubi Point in the Phillipines. After … Read more

Bogen, Belva Gene Lakey Mrs. – Obituary

Richland, Baker County, Oregon Belva Gene Bogen, 78, of Richland, died peacefully at her home surrounded by her family and friends on Nov. 9, 2005. A memorial service will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Richland Christian Church. Friends are invited to join the family for a reception following the service at the church. Belva Gene was born on March 25, 1927 in Drain, to Eugene Harold and Bessie Bell White Lakey. She was raised and educated in Drain, graduating from Drain High School in 1945. Upon graduation, Belva married her high school sweetheart, John Bogen, on June … Read more

Miller, Hudson Linden – Obituary

Hudson Linden Miller, 84, of Dolan Springs, Ariz., died Feb. 8, 2005, in Kingman, Ariz., of congestive heart failure. His funeral will be Saturday at 1 p.m. at The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints, 2625 Hughes Lane in Baker City. Bishop Tom Brock of Baker Valley Ward will conduct the service. Public visitation will be Saturday from noon until 1 p.m. in the Relief Society Room at the church. He was born Sept., 22, 1920, at Midvale, Idaho, to Philip and Alice Miller. He served as a cook in the Army Air Corps during World War II, ranched … Read more

Biography of George Harvey Emerson

GEORGE HARVEY EMERSON. – It is ever with peculiar interest that we observe the career of one who has been a soldier of the union. It was noticed that in the England of 1670, if any man was an exceptionally industrious and sober mechanic or man of business, it usually proved that he was an old soldier of Oliver Cromwell. In much the same way the severe discipline and the exercise of elf-devotion in our great war educated the soldier and prepared him for large and difficult enterprises. The subject of this sketch was born in Chester, New Hampshire, in … Read more

Evans, John – Obituary

John Evans Passes In Western Oregon John Evans, who for 20 years lived in the Lewis district, died at Marshfield Sunday afternoon, April 24, 1938. He and his wife moved there in the fall of 1934, going to a low altitude on account of Mrs. Evans’ health. Mr. Evans was taken ill more than a year ago, and improved, and then developed a new malady which his physicians believed was cancerous. He was unconscious for more than three days before the end came. Services were held at Marshfield Tuesday and the body was taken to Wenatchee, Washington, for burial after … Read more

Biography of Aaron Rose

AARON ROSE. – This gentleman, one of the earliest pioneers of the Umpqua valley, was born in Ulster county, in the State of New York, June 20, 1813, and was raised a farmer. He was married to Minerva Kelley in 1838. He crossed the plains with his family in 1851, arriving at Foster’s August 22d, and came directly to the valley of the South Umpqua, and settled at the mouth of Deer creek, upon the present site of the flourishing city of Roseburg, Oregon, September 23, 1851. He at once built a house and engaged in farming, in which he … Read more

Harding, Clara Golson Mrs. – Obituary

Clara Harding, 91, of Halfway died March 9, 2006. Her funeral took place Sunday at the Pine Valley Christian Center in Halfway. On Saturday at noon a service will be held at the Springfield Faith Center in Springfield. Friends are invited to join the family for a reception to follow. Interment will be at Lane Memorial Gardens in Eugene. Clara Irene Harding was born Aug. 12, 1914, on the family homestead in Big Stone Township, three miles from Corinth, N.D., to Sever Ellefson and Inga Jeanette Golson. Clara was educated at the country school in Big Stone Township at Corinth, … Read more

Biography of David Morey

David Morey, one of the pioneers of Redlands, was born in Perry County, Pennsylvania, in 1824. His father, Jacob Morey, moved to Delaware County, Ohio, at an early day, and took a farm out of the woods. He died there at the age of ninety years. His mother, Barbara (Jacobs) Morey, is still living, at the advanced age of ninety-two years. The subject of this sketch left home at the age of fourteen to learn the cabinet trade. He worked at this trade in Marysville, and in 1842 went to Indianapolis, where he remained until 1845. He then went to … Read more

Oesterling, Robert Alan – Obituary

Robert Alan Oesterling, 57, of Glide, died July 2, 2006, at his mother’s home in Baker City. His graveside memorial service will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Grandview Cemetery in La Grande. Robert Alan was born on Dec. 26, 1948, at La Grande to Robert Grandy and Winnifred Eloise Moore Oesterling. Rob was a champion swimmer in his teens and an avid hunter, the only one in the family. His passion for the outdoors was instilled in him at an early age and carried throughout his entire life. Rob loved exploring and learning. He could never pass a historic … Read more

Renfrow, Mary A. Wright Mrs. – Obituary

Services Held For Mary Renfrow Memorial services for Mary A. Renfrow sho passed away Thursday, December 4, 1958 in Forest Grove, where conducted Saturday at 2 p.m. by the Bollman Funeral Home from the Enterprise Church. The Rev. Al Boschee officiated, and Mrs. Don Kooch was organist. Mrs. Al Boschee and Mrs. Delbert Pratt sang “In The Garden” and “The Old Rugged Cross.” Casket bearers were: A.J. Oliver, Oscar Maxwell, James Fleet, Therval Gray, Hubert Johnson, Roy Carper, and vault entombment was in the Enterprise Cemetery. Mrs. Renfrow was the daughter of Jackson and Malinda Wright and was born January … Read more

Biography of F.C. Bramlet

A pioneer to this state, and a man who has wrought in all the occupations incident to the pioneer’s life, being also attended with many hardships, the subject of this sketch is today one of the most respected and admired residents of Wallowa county, and we are pleased to accord to him a representation in this volume that purports to chronicle the events of the history of the county and also the lives of its leading citizens, since he has been a potent factor in the establishment of the institutions of the county, and has been a faithful supporter of … Read more

Stone, Karl R. – Obituary

Karl Roy Stone, a well-known La Grande businessman and longtime head of the Union County Planning Commission, died Saturday at Grande Ronde Hospital. He was 89. Mr. Stone, of 1703 Cedar St., was born on Sept. 15, 1895, in Sterling, Kan., to Robert and Amalia “Mollie” Birk. He served with the U.S. Army during World War I, and was corporal of the honor guards at the funeral of Buffalo Bill Cody at Pike’s Peak, Colo. He married Genevieve Rogers at Watertown, N.Y., on Aug. 27, 1919. The couple homesteaded near Reedsport in 1920, and Mr. Stone owned and operated the … Read more

Lethlean, Betty E. Bennett Mrs. – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Betty E. Lethlean, 79, a long-time Baker City resident, died May 5, 2004, at her daughter’s home. Her funeral will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Baker City Christian Church, 2998 Eighth St. Pastor Roger Scovil will officiate. Vault interment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery. Visitations will be until 7 p.m. tonight at Coles Funeral Home. Betty was born on Nov. 21, 1924, at St. Louis, Mo. She was a daughter of Gordon and Esmerilda Tippett Bennett. She married William Ivan Gilliland and they moved to Baker City in 1944. He was killed in a logging … Read more

Ash, William Lewis – Obituary

La Grande, Oregon William Lewis Ash, 95, of La Grande died June 26. A graveside service will begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Cove Cemetery. Mr. Ash was born Nov. 9, 1910, to Ulysses Yaudes and Eve Belle Mayes Ash in Riddle. He was raised on a farm and attended a trade school in Los Angeles to learn to be an electrician. He loved gardening, and worked on the Becker farm in lower Cove. On June 16, 1947, he married Marie Kight in Cove. They lived on a 10-acre farm on the Cove road outside of Union. He worked … Read more

Moschkau, Michael Don – Obituary

Michael Don Moschkau, 32, of La Grande, died peacefully in his sleep on Jan. 9. A memorial service will be held on Monday at 1 p.m. at Faith Lutheran Church on Gekeler Lane in La Grande. Michael was born on Oct. 2, 1975 in Salem, the son of LeeRoy L. and Diane M. (Kirk) Moschkau. Though he was vision and hearing impaired from birth, Mike graduated from South Umpqua High School in Myrtle Creek with the Class of 1994. In 1997 he graduated from Umpqua Community College with an automotive degree. In 2003 he graduated from Eastern Oregon University with … Read more