Mountain Home Idaho

Biography of Charles R. Kelsey

Among the more recent accessions to the town of Mountain Home is Charles R. Kelsey, a gentleman of large business experience, who, as a wholesale dealer in groceries and hardware and general merchandise, has already proved himself a potent factor in the business circles of his adopted county. Mr. Kelsey is a native of New York State, born in Delaware County, at Cannonsville. November 2, 1837, and in his veins flows the blood of French and German ancestors, who were among the early settlers of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father, Michael B. Kelsey, was born in that city and counted among … Read more

Biography of William J. Turner

The first resident of Mountain Home was William J. Turner, and since the time of his arrival here his history has been inseparably interwoven with that of the town. He is now its postmaster and proprietor of its leading hotel, and from the beginning he has been most active and earnest in promoting and aiding its upbuilding and improvement. A native of the Buckeye state, Mr. Turner was born March 17, 1854, and is of English and Irish descent, his ancestors having been early settlers of Maryland and Virginia, where they located in colonial days. They were prominently associated with … Read more

Biography of William E. Wilson

Not many of the successful men of the west are “to the manner born,” fewer still were born in the state in which their successes have been achieved. William E. Wilson is a conspicuous member of this class, the product of one western state, the progressive citizen of another, and some account of his career forms a necessary part of the work of the plan and scope of this. William E. Wilson was born in the state of Oregon, December 29, 1862, a son of James and Nancy Wilson, who were among the pioneers of Idaho and who are referred … Read more

Biography of William F. Smith, M. D.

The state of Idaho, with its pulsing industrial activities and rapid development, has attracted within its confines men of marked ability and high character in the various professional lines, and in this way progress has been conserved and social stability fostered. He whose name initiates this review has gained recognition as one of the able and successful physicians of the state, and by his labors, his high professional attainments and his sterling characteristics has justified the respect and confidence in which he is held by the medical fraternity and the local public. A representative physician and surgeon of Mountain Home, … Read more

Biography of Edward C. Helfrich

The superior business ability of Mr. Helfrich has been an integral factor in the commercial activity whereon has rested much of the prosperity of southern Idaho. The world judges the character of a community by those of its representative citizens, and yields its tributes of admiration and respect for the ability and accomplishments of those whose works and actions constitute the record of the state’s prosperity and pride. Therefore it is proper that a just celebrity should be given to those men who are prominent in their day and generation, that the living may enjoy the approbation of their contemporaries … Read more

Biography of William H. Manion

Elmore county figures as one of the most attractive, progressive and prosperous divisions of the state of Idaho, justly claiming a high order of citizenship and a spirit of enterprise which is certain to conserve consecutive development and marked advancement in the material upbuilding of the section. The county has been and is signally favored in the class of men who have controlled its affairs in official capacity, and in this connection the subject of this review demands representation as one who has served the county faithfully and well in positions of distinct trust and responsibility. He was the incumbent … Read more

Collier, Rulen Frank – Obituary

Union, Union County, Oregon Rulen Frank Collier, 86, of Union, died March 24, 2005, at his home. His funeral will be Wednesday at 1 p.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Union. Don Baxter will conduct the service. Interment will be at the Union Cemetery. Visitations will be Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Daniels Chapel of the Valley in La Grande and on Wednesday at noon at the church prior to the service. All are invited to bring a dish and attend a potluck after the service at The Hut in Union. Rulen … Read more

Biography of James O’Neill

James O’Neill came to the northwest from the far-off Atlantic coast: nor have his travels been limited by his journey across the continent, for he spent some time among the mountains in the distant south. He was born in Rondout, New York, May 6, 1861 his parents being Patrick and Hannah (Mullroy) O’Neill, natives of Ireland. Both crossed the Atlantic to the United States in childhood, and were reared, educated and married in the Empire state. The father, who was a tanner by trade, died when our subject was only about five years old leaving the mother to care for … Read more

Biography of Carter W. Burns

Among the public officials of Elmore county is Carter W. Burns, of Mountain Home, who is now acceptably serving as sheriff. His entire life has been spent west of the Mississippi, his birth having occurred in Jackson county, Iowa, on the 5th of April 1856. The family is of Scotch descent and was early founded in the state of Missouri, the paternal grandfather of our subject having taken up his residence there when the region was an almost unbroken wilderness Jerome Samuel Burns, the father of our subject, was born in Missouri and wedded Miss Mary Kuntz, a native of … Read more

Biography of Columbus R. Shaw

One of the most enterprising, energetic and successful businessmen of Caldwell, is the gentleman whose name appears above. He is a native of the state of Missouri, his birth having occurred in Ray County, in 1859. His father, William P. Shaw, was a native of Tennessee, whence he removed to Missouri, in 1833, becoming one of the pioneers of the latter state. He married Miss Julia A. Waterman, a native of New York, whose people were also numbered among the early settlers of Missouri. The Shaw family is of Irish origin, and leaving the Emerald Isle crossed the Atlantic to … Read more

Prominent Cities and Towns of the State

Boise, The Capital City The following descriptive article is an excerpt from the souvenir edition of the Boise Sentinel, issued in June 1897: So much has been said and written and sung of “Boise, the Beautiful,” that the task of saying any-thing new seems utterly hopeless; and of this there is little need. While those who have made their homes here from the beginning, and those who from year to year have come to stay, might naturally be expected to be most fervent in their praises, they have not always been the happiest in laying appropriate tributes before the shrine … Read more

Cloudt, Avery L. – Obituary

Baker City, Baker County, Oregon Avery L. Cloudt, 82, died May 16, 2006, at the Elmore County Medical Facility at Mount Home, Idaho. Avery was born on Oct. 23, 1923, to Francis and Richard Cloudt at Red Rock, N.M., the youngest of three children. The family moved to the Eastern Oregon and western Idaho areas when he was 6. He attended area schools and was a 1941 Baker High School graduate. Avery worked as a miner’s helper at Cornucopia Mine until December 1941 when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He became an electrician in the Navy. He was honorably … Read more

Biography of William H. Baugh, M.D.

Dr. Baugh is the well known physician and druggist of Shoshone, and has a wide acquaintance throughout southern Idaho. A native of Missouri, he was born in Boonville, July 28, 1864, and is of German lineage. His paternal grandfather removed from one of the eastern states to Indiana, and there the Doctor’s father, Henry Clay Baugh, was born and reared. In 1860 he removed to Missouri and married Elizabeth Steger, of that state. He had previously crossed the plains to California, where he had engaged in mining with fair success. After his return to Missouri he engaged in stock raising … Read more

Biography of William Clarence Howie

Out of the depths of his mature wisdom Carlyle wrote, “History is the essence of innumerable biographies,” and Macaulay has said, “The history of a nation is best told in the lives of its people.” It is therefore fitting that the sketches of Idaho’s eminent and distinguished men should find a place in this volume, and to the number belongs William Clarence Howie, a prominent lawyer of Mountain Home. A native of Iowa, he was born in Davis County, near the Missouri state line, November 27, 1860. The Howie family originated in France. Two brothers, who were French Huguenots, were … Read more

Biography of John S. White

The subject of this review has been long and conspicuously identified with the history of the great west, and in varied official positions has proved a wise and discriminating factor in the public life. He is at the present time the incumbent of the important office of judge of probate of Elmore County, retaining his residence at Mountain Home, the flourishing and attractive little city which is the capital of said County. Judge White is a native son of the old Empire state, and may look with satisfaction upon a lineage which traces back to the stanchest of old New … Read more

Biography of Richard H. Bennett

The proprietor of one of the fine sheep ranches of southern Idaho, Richard H. Bennett maintains his residence in Mountain Home and from that point superintends his extensive business interests, in which he is meeting with good success. He is truly a self-made man, for he came to America empty-handed and through his own labors has worked his way steadily upward. He was born in England, March 19, 1850, a son of James and Jane (Sanders) Bennett, also natives of that country. In 1868, at the age of eighteen years, he severed the ties which bound him to his native … Read more

Biography of James S. Acker

James S. Acker, proprietor of the general mercantile cash store, at Mountain Home, is one of the successful businessmen of the town, and his enterprise and energy have given him rank among the leading representatives of commercial interests in Elmore county. A native of Alabama, he was born near Birmingham, on the 6th of August 1865. His ancestors were natives of Holland and at an early day joined a Dutch colony that settled in South Carolina. His father, Dr. J. W. Acker, engaged in the practice of medicine throughout his business career and became a very prominent and successful physician, … Read more

Bell, Sumiko Mrs. – Obituary

Sumiko Bell, 74, died April 25, 2006, at SunBridge of Nampa, Idaho, with family by her side. Sumiko was born on March 18, 1932, at Nagoya, Japan. She grew up in Japan and in 1954 met Lewis Edwin Bell while he was stationed in Japan. They fell in love and later married in 1958 in Japan. Lewis and Sumiko moved back to Mountain Home, Idaho, Air Force base. They had two daughters and one son. After retiring from the service in 1974, the family moved to Baker City, where Sumiko lived until 2002 when she moved to Nampa to be … Read more

Biography of Henry Dorsey

Henry Dorsey, deceased, formerly the proprietor of the Dorsey Cottage Hotel, at Mountain Home, was born in Hancock county, Ohio, in February, 1853, and traced his ancestors back to German and Scotch people who located in Pennsylvania at an early epoch in the history of the Keystone state. His father, David Dorsey, was born in Pennsylvania, and married Miss Rosana Wyant, also a native of that locality. In 1821, soon after their marriage, they started westward and located in the midst of the unbroken forests of Ohio. Mr. Dorsey was a farmer by occupation, and in order to prepare land … Read more