Idaho County ID

Biography of Aaron Freidenrich

Aaron Freidenrich, one of the most prominent merchants of Grangeville, and the managing member of the firm of Alexander & Freidenrich, wholesale and retail dealers in general merchandise, is in control of the largest establishment of the kind in the town, and perhaps no town of equal proportion in the entire country can boast of a better or more extensive store. The success of this enterprise is due to him whose name begins this sketch, a most energetic and progressive man, whose sound judgment is supplemented by industry and honorable methods. These qualities have brought to him a most creditable … Read more

Biography of Alexander D. McKinlay

The west is peopled with brave men, as men’s bravery is measured, but it has some notable citizens whose experiences extend back into the days of constant adventure and ever present peril. Could the exploits and dangers of such men of the west be written down and put into book form, they would form a series of narratives of more absorbing interest than the most exciting romances of western life and adventure that have ever been penned. A fair representation of this class is Alexander D. McKinlay. He is a son of Henry and Barbara Clarke McKinlay, natives of Scotland, … Read more

Biography of James and Thomas Surridge

The Surridge Brothers, of Bridgeport, Idaho County, came to the territory of Idaho in June 1876, and are numbered among the most enterprising and progressive citizens of the community in which they make their home. They are both natives of London, England, sons of John and Mary (Cochran) Surridge, who emigrated to America in 1859, bringing with them their three children. They located at Milan, Monroe County, Michigan, where the father improved a good farm and spent his remaining days. Mr. Surridge died in 1898, at the age of seventy-two years, and his wife is still living, in 1899 at … Read more

Biography of Jacob C. Garber

The efficient and capable postmaster of Grangeville, Jacob C. Garber, is a native of Rockingham County, Virginia, born near Fort Republic, January 7, 1829. The family is of Swiss origin and the ancestors of our subject crossed the Atlantic to the New World prior to the Revolutionary war. They were long residents of Pennsylvania and Virginia, and in religious faith were Dunkards. Martin Garber, the father of our subject, was born in the Old Dominion and married Miss Magdalen Mohler, a lady of German lineage and a representative of one of the old Virginian families. Fourteen children were born of … Read more

Biography of Charles A. Schnabel

Thirty-seven years have passed since Charles Augusta Schnabel came to Idaho. This state, so aptly termed “the gem of the mountains,” was then a wild district, its lands unclaimed, its resources undeveloped. A few courageous frontiersmen had dared to locate within its borders, but the work of progress and improvement remained to the future, and there was little promise of early development. In the years which have since passed Mr. Schnabel has not only witnessed a most wonderful transformation, but has largely aided in the labors which have transformed the wild tract into a splendid commonwealth. Now in his declining … Read more

Biography of Henry Wax

Henry Wax, president of the board of trustees of Grangeville and one of her most enterprising business men, claims California as the state of his nativity, his birth having occurred in San Francisco, on the 4th of August, 1859. His parents were Jacob and Amelia (Elkles) Wax natives of Germany, who located in California in pioneer days. The year 1852 witnessed their arrival in the Golden state, where the father carried on merchandising in several towns up to the time of his death. He passed away in his forty-fourth year, his estimable wife having been called to the home beyond … Read more

Biography of John F. McLean

John F. McLean, sheriff of Idaho County, is a native of Indiana, born in Lebanon, June 22, 1843. The family is of Scotch lineage and was founded in America by Samuel McLean, the grandfather of our subject, who crossed the Atlantic with his family and took up his residence in Pennsylvania. He was a miller and millwright by trade, and after spending some time in the Keystone state, he went to Indiana, becoming one of the pioneer settlers there. He lived to be eighty-four years of age, and his wife, who was four years his junior, passed away at the … Read more

Washington County Its Towns, Resources, Etc.

Washington County lies on the western border of the state of Idaho, and about five hundred miles from the Pacific coast. It contains a large area of land suited to various purposes. It has a population of over five thousand people. Its inhabitants are, generally speaking, enterprising and thrifty people, many of them having settled here in the early 6o”s and have remained ever since. The early settler devoted himself to stock-raising and placer-mining, and he thought that was all the county was fit for. But as the county began settling up it was soon found that anything which grew … Read more

Early Residents of Idaho County, Idaho

John Aram, born in Seneca, N. Y., in 1827, came with his brother Joseph to Cal. in 1850 by sea. He resided 5 years in San Jose, and 4 years in Amador County, Cal., after which he removed to Oregon in 1859, and to Grangeville, on Camas prairie, Idaho, in 1864. He married, in 1853, Sarah Barr, born in Wyoming County, N. Y., in 1831. Loyal P. Brown, born in Coos County, N. H., in 1829, came to Cal. by sea in 1849, the schooner Haunt Nut, of the Massasoit Company, bringing them to the Isthmus of Panama. Crossing on … Read more

Biography of Matthew H. Truscott

The leading merchant and efficient postmaster of Mount Idaho, Matthew H. Truscott, has been a resident of this state since 1865, and has therefore been a witness of the greater part of its growth and development, has seen its wild land reclaimed for purposes of cultivation, its rich mineral storehouses give forth their treasures, and the forests yield their trees to be converted into the homes of white men, who thus replaced the tents of the Indians. He was a young man of only twenty years when he arrived in the territory, his birth having occurred in England, March 20, … Read more

Biography of Capt. William Martin

CAPT. WILLIAM MARTIN. – Captain Martin, of the first real immigration, that of 1843, is still living in a hale age at Pendleton, Oregon. He was born in West Virginia in 1822, and came west to Missouri in 1841. In 1843 he joined a company coming to Oregon, being intimately associated with Daniel Waldo. Reaching Oregon after the vicissitudes of that eventful march, he took up a claim at Howell’s Prairie, working for Waldo at ten dollars per month, although wages were sixty dollars. But the former figure was his pre-agreement with Waldo; and he would not dishonor it. In … Read more

Biography of Henderson Orchard

Each community is judged by the character of its representative citizens, and its social, intellectual and business standing is determined thereby. The sterling worth, commercial ability and enterprise of the leading men are mirrored forth in the public life of the town, and therefore the history of the people of prominence is the history of the community. No account of Grangeville would be complete without the life record of Henderson Orchard, the popular president of the board of trade and a man whose public spirit is manifested in his many efforts to improve the conditions and promote the upbuilding of … Read more

Sullivan, Sean Richard – Obituary

La Grande, Oregon Sean Richard Sullivan, 27, of La Grande and formerly of The Dalles died Aug. 14 in Riggins, Idaho, following an automobile accident. A Mass of Christian Burial was held today at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church with burial at the Island City Cemetery. Mr. Sullivan was born June 15, 1979, to Joseph Patrick and Toni Gaye Walker Sullivan in Portland. He graduated from The Dalles High School in 1998, and from Eastern Oregon University this year with a degree in Rangeland Management. He worked at various jobs, including at D&B Supply and the auction yard. … Read more

Biography of Joshua G. Rowton

One of the prominent farmers of Camas prairie is Joshua Graham Rowton, who was born in Benton County, Missouri, June 16, 1850. He is of English descent, his ancestors having been early settlers of Kentucky, where the family was founded by John Rowton, the grandfather of our subject. He afterward removed to Missouri and was numbered among the pioneers of that state. William Willis Rowton the father of Joshua, was born near Louisville, Kentucky, and when a young man accompanied the family on their emigration to Missouri. He made his home in Benton County but died at the early age … Read more

Biography of John Wagener

John Wagener is one of the owners of the Trook and Jennings mine and five-stamp mill, one mile southeast of Silver City. He is also proprietor of several stock ranches and since pioneer days has been active in the development of the business resources of this state. A native of Germany, he came to America hoping to better his financial condition, and whatever success he has achieved is due entirely to his own labors. Mr. Wagener was born June 30, 1833 and in his native land acquired his education. When a young man of nineteen years he bade adieu to … Read more

Lewis, Ruth Everest Mrs. – Obituary

Ruth Everest Lewis, 90, of Roseburg, a former Baker City resident, died Feb. 2, 2002, at a private home in Roseburg. Her private family graveside service will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Morris Hills Cemetery at Boise under the direction of Alden-Waggoner Funeral Chapel. Ruth Everest Lewis was born in 1911 at White Bird, Idaho. She was the first of the five children born to Ethel Bourland Everest and George A. Everest. The family soon moved to Grangeville, Idaho. Ruth was educated in the Grangeville, Idaho, and Brownsville, N.Y., schools and then entered Blair Business College at Spokane, Wash. … Read more

Biography of Warren P. Hunt

Warren Palmerton Hunt, who has been a highly respected citizen of Lewiston since 1862, and is numbered among the California pioneers of 1854, was born in Erie County, New York, March 13, 1832, a son of Isaac and Diantha (Allbee) Hunt, the former a native of Vermont and the latter of the Empire state. In 1852 the father went by way of the Cape Horn route to California, but returned to his farm in Erie County, where he made his home until his death, which occurred in the eighty-sixth year of his age. His wife passed away in her eighty-second … Read more

Biography of William F. Schmadeka

This gentleman has been such an important factor in the upbuilding of Grangeville that his life record forms a part of its history, and no work purporting to give an account of the growth and improvement of Idaho and her towns and cities would be complete without an account of his life. He has always resided in the northwest, his interests are centered here, and he has labored untiringly for the best interests of this section of the country. A native of Lane county, Oregon, he was born on the 5th of September, 1860, and is a son of George … Read more

Biography of Samuel G. Benedict

Samuel Benedict, a brave Idaho pioneer, who was killed by the Nez Perces Indians June 14, 1877, was born in Kingston, Canada, and was of English lineage. In his early manhood he married Miss Sarah Kelley, a native of New Brighton, New York, and in 1862 they came to Idaho. They were among the earliest settlers in the northern section of the state and Mr. Benedict established a general mercantile store at the mouth of White Bird River, where he was carrying on business at the time of his death. When the Nez Perces Indians went upon the warpath they … Read more

Biography of James Harvey Forney

A visit to the library of the gentleman whose name is above and a chat with him in his pleasant home at Moscow, are sufficient to dispel any idea that the new west is without culture or men of ability interested in its educational progress and development. Mr. Forney has given some of the best years of an active and useful life to the cause of education in Idaho, and has attained more than local distinction otherwise. James Harvey Forney, a prominent citizen of Moscow, Idaho, and ex-United States district attorney for the district of Idaho, was born in Rutherford … Read more