Idaho County ID

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 Robert H. Leonard

Into the bosom of the earth the hand of nature placed many rich mineral deposits, and the great value of these, together with the magnificent forests and rolling lands of Idaho, have gained for the state the well deserved title of the “Gem of the Mountains.” Its mines are now yielding a large output of gold and silver, which adds to the wealth and prosperity of the country as well as of the individual mine owners. Among the enterprising and prominent business men who are now engaged in the development of the rich mineral resources of the state is Robert … Read more

Ringer, Barbara E. Strong Mrs. – Obituary

Barbara E. Ringer, 77, of McMinnville, and a former Baker County resident, died Dec. 20, 2000, at a McMinnville assisted living facility. Her funeral will be Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Macy & Son Chapel in McMinnville. The Rev. Jim Kirby of Community Christian Church will officiate. Entombment will be at Evergreen Memorial Park Mausoleum. Visitations will be Thursday from noon to 7 p.m. at Macy & Son Chapel. Mrs. Ringer was born Nov. 12, 1923, at Pollock, Idaho, to James and Maude Irvin Strong. She spent her youth in Baker City, graduating from Baker High School in 1942. … 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

Biography of William A. Hall

Honored and respected by all, there is no man in northern Idaho who occupies a more enviable position in professional circles than William A. Hall, who for many years has devoted his energies to the practice of law and to the spread of the gospel among his fellow men. Born in England, February 15, 1847, he was five years of age when brought to America by his parents, William and Lucy (Atkinson) Hall, who crossed the Atlantic with their six children and became residents of Walworth county, Wisconsin. There the father engaged in farming up to the time of his … Read more

Jewell, Robert “Mike” – Obituary

Robert “Mike” Jewell, 65, of Boise and a former Baker City resident, died Jan. 16, 2005, at Capital Care Center. He died of Alzheimer’s disease which he battled for more than eight years. His funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the Calvary First Assembly of God Church, 102 N. 18th St. in Boise. Burial will be at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery. Visitations will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. today at Accent Funeral Home, 1303 N. Main St., Meridian, Idaho. Mike was born at Boise on Aug. 11, 1939. He attended grade school at Franklin Elementary … 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

Coyle, Roy A. – Obituary

Funeral serviced for Roy A. Coyle, Sr., 82, of 2022 Resort St., longtime Baker and Baker county resident will be conducted at 2 p.m. Monday, February 25 at Grays West and Co. Pioneer Chapel. The Rev. Gerald C. Nelson of the United Methodist Church in Baker will officiate. Vault interment will follow in the family plot at Mt. Hope Cemetery with the Baker Veterans Organizations conducting graveside honors. Mr. Coyle died suddenly at his home early Thursday afternoon. He was born in Flora, Oregon the son of Howard and Estella Cannon Coyle. He had his schooling in Elk City, Idaho, … Read more

Carter, Rita – Obituary

Elgin, Oregon Formerly of Elgin Rita Carter 80, of Kooskia, Idaho, and formerly of Elgin, died Oct. 20 at her nephew’s home in Boise. Cremation Society of Idaho is in charge of arrangements. La Grande Observer – October 21, 2009 ___________________________________ Rita Ann H.S. Carter Formerly of Elgin 1929-2009 Rita Ann Heald Seiler Carter, 80, formerly of Kooskia, Idaho, and Elgin, died Oct. 20 at her nephew’s home in Boise, Idaho. Services will be held at St. Catherine’s Catholic Church in Kamiah, Idaho, on Nov. 7. Time of service is pending. Cremation Society of Idaho is in charge of arrangements. … Read more

Biography of James W. Poe

James W. Poe, a distinguished lawyer and Idaho pioneer, residing at Lewiston, is a native of Jackson county, Missouri, his birth having there occurred on the 15th of January, 1838. His father, William B. Poe, was born in North Carolina, and married Mrs. Nancy Mulkey, nee Johnson, a native of South Carolina, by whom he had four children, two of whom are yet living. He valiantly served his country as a soldier in the Mexican war, and in 1853 crossed the plains to Oregon with his family. Our subject accompanied his parents on their westward emigration, and acquired his education … Read more

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 Mrs. Lucinda J. Brearley

In a history of the settlement of a state there is usually but slight reference made to the part which the women have taken in its development. This is, of course, due to the more active connection of the pioneer men with public life, while the wives, mothers and daughters are concerned in the duties of home making. Great credit, however, is due the brave pioneer women, who stand courageously by the side of husbands and fathers, sharing with them in the hardships and dangers which accompany the development of a new section; nor is their influence a minor factor … Read more

Hafer, Guy – Obituary

Cove, Oregon Guy Hafer, 71, of Cove died unexpectedly at his home Oct. 27. Memorial services will begin at 2 p.m. Friday at Loveland Funeral Chapel, 1508 Fourth St. A dinner will follow at the Cove Sportsmen’s Club on Highway 237. A private burial will be held at a later date. Guy was born on a farm near Falfa, Colo., on July 31, 1936, to Charles “Paul” Edward and Erma Irene (Rea) Hafer. He, his sister and brothers grew up on farms and ranches in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado around Durango. Guy rode horseback to small country schools … Read more

Biography of Jessie K. Clarke, M. D.

In no field of endeavor requiring intellectuality has woman failed to demonstrate her equality with man, and more and more the different lines of professional labor are opening to her, and therein she is winning successes that are most creditable. Dr. Jessie K. Clarke, although a recent acquisition to the medical fraternity of Grangeville, has already demonstrated her right to be classed among the foremost physicians of Idaho County, and her ability is indicated by the liberal patronage she now enjoys. She makes a specialty of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat, and her labors have been attended … 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 John M. Crooks

John M. Crooks, now deceased, was numbered among the Idaho pioneers of 1862 and was at one time the owner of the land upon which the town of Grangeville is now located. He was born in Indiana, June 28, 1820, and was of Irish and German lineage. He married Martha Pea, a native of Virginia, and in 1852 they crossed the plains to Oregon, accompanied by their five children. One child was added to the number during the journey. For many long weeks they were upon the way, traveling across the arid sands or through the mountain passes, but at … Read more

Biography of Alonzo L. Richardson

Thirty-eight years have passed since Alonzo L. Richardson came to Idaho, then a sparsely populated territory of the extreme northwest, its splendid resources undeveloped, its advancement a development of the future. For many years he has been closely identified with the work of progress, and is now filling the position of clerk of the United States court in Boise. A native of Missouri, Mr. Richardson was born in Franklin County that state, on The 19th of December 1841, and is a representative of one of the old families of Virginia. His ancestors located there in 1750, and there occurred the … Read more

Biography of George Schmadeka

History was at one time almost entirely a record of wars, a tale of conquest in which armed hosts went forth to capture, pillage and destroy, but with advancing civilization it has become a very different chronicle, being now more particularly the story of the onward march of progress, the upbuilding of towns and the establishment of those enterprises and interests which contribute to man’s happiness and welfare. In pursuing the study of Idaho’s history we find that the flourishing town of Grangeville owes its existence in part to the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. He arrived on Camas … 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

Walker, Sydney W. – Obituary

Sydney W. Walker, 89, of Grangeville, Idaho, and a former Baker City resident, died Aug. 19, 2006, at Life Care Center in Lewiston, Idaho. His funeral will take place Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Blackmer Funeral Home in Grangeville. Inurnment will be Friday at 2 p.m. at the Prairie View Cemetery in Grangeville. Sydney was born Sept. 2, 1916, at Steele, N.D., a son of Sydney A. and Faye Crofoot Walker. The family moved to Grangeville, where he graduated from high school in 1936. Following his graduation the family moved to Baker City, where he worked in the shoe … Read more