Nez Perce 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 James Edwards

After a long period of active connection with the industrial interests of northern Idaho, James Edwards is now living a retired life in Grangeville. He was born in Richmond, Chittenden county, Vermont, on the 20th of June, 1838, his parents being George and Martha Sophia (Burr) Edwards, both of whom were natives of Massachusetts. The father was a farmer and a dealer in cattle and grain. He attained the age of only fifty years, but his wife lived to the ripe old age of eighty-four years. They were Universalists in religious faith, and Mr. Edwards was a man of ability, … Read more

Biography of Noyes B. Holbrook

Mr. Holbrook dates his residence in Idaho from 1862, and is therefore one of its pioneer settlers. He has witnessed almost the entire growth and development of the state, and has largely aided in its progress and advancement, neglecting no duty of citizenship and withholding his support and cooperation from no measure for the public good. He is now proprietor of the roller-process flouring mill at Juliaetta, and is an enterprising business man whose honorable methods commend him to the confidence and secure him the patronage of a large portion of the community with which he is connected. Mr. Holbrook … Read more

Wilson, Donna Rae Fine Mrs. – Obituary

Donna Rae Wilson, 59, of Joseph, a former Baker County resident, died Aug. 12, 2005. Her memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the First Baptist Church, 1420 W. North St., in Enterprise. Burial will be at 11:45 a.m. Thursday at the Grangeville, Idaho, Cemetery. Donna was born on Feb. 23, 1946. She attended schools in Idaho at Clearwater Valley and Grangeville. She married Ray Wilson in 1961 and began her adventurous life on a sheep ranch in Hells Canyon. The couple had two sons and a daughter. After the Forest Service forced them off of their land … Read more

Wagner, Della – Obituary

Della Wagner Dies At Hospital Della C. Wagner, 82, resident of 1306 Fifth St., and a retired business woman, died at a local hospital Saturday. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Dempsey’s Funeral Chapel, with Rev. Keith Mills officiating. Burial will follow in Grandview cemetery. Born at Summerville July 28, 1878, Mrs. Wagner had resided in La Grande for 24 years. She was a member of the Methodist church, the Eastern Star and was past president of the Rebekah Assembly of Idaho. Mrs. Wagner and her husband operated a general store and ran the post office … Read more

Biography of Charles A. Thatcher

Identified with pioneer life in Oregon, Washington and Idaho, Charles Albert Thatcher figured long and prominently in the development and progress of the northwest and in the events which form its history. He lived an honorable, upright life, won prosperity through determined purpose and indefatigable energy, and at all times enjoyed the esteem of his fellow men, by reason of those sterling qualities of manhood which in every land and every clime awaken admiration and regard. Mr. Thatcher was born in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, July 24, 1826, and was a representative of an old American family. He acquired his education … Read more

Hooker, Frances Harriet – Obituary

Union, Oregon Frances Harriet Hooker, 92, of La Grande and formerly of Union, died April 4 at a local care home in La Grande. A life tribute and celebration will begin at 3 p.m. Friday at the Union Cemetery in Union. Loveland Funeral Chapel & Crematory is in charge of arrangements. Through the last 92 years, those who knew Frances say she touched many lives and helped many people as a volunteer at senior meals and the local food bank at the United Methodist Church in Union. She was usually the first one at church on Sundays and would turn … Read more

Blang, Patricia M. – Obituary

La Grande, Oregon Patricia M. Blang, 63, of La Grande died Nov. 4 of natural causes at a care center in La Grande. There will be a celebration of life service at the Union County Senior Center at 11 a.m. Wednesday. Friends are welcome and encouraged to attend. Burial will be at Asotin Cemetery in Asotin, Wash. Loveland Funeral Chapel is handling the arrangements. Mrs. Blang was born to William Murphy Watkins and Opal Marie Truitt on July 20, 1943, in Lewiston, Idaho. She married Richard J. Blang on June 28, 1980. She enjoyed teddy bears, stuffed animals and singing. … Read more

Biography of John B. West

John B. West, the register of the land office, at Lewiston, was born in Leicester, North Carolina, July 31, 1861. The family to which he belongs is of English origin and its founders in America became residents of the south in colonial days and participated in the development of that part of the country, taking part in many of the events which go to form its history. Erwin West, the father of our subject, was a native of North Carolina and married Miss Caroline Dover, who was likewise born in that state. They had a family of fifteen children, eleven … Read more

Biography of Peter J. Pefley

An Idaho pioneer of 1864, Peter J. Pefley, is now engaged in the harness and saddlery business in Lewiston, and has long been accounted one of the representative men of the state, for the active interest he has taken in promoting her welfare renders him one of her valued citizens. His childhood days were spent on the Atlantic coast. He was born in Roanoke County, Virginia, June 6, 1830, and traces his ancestry back to the Fatherland, whence John Pefley, his great-grandfather, came to America, sailing from Baden-Baden in 1730. He took up his residence in Virginia, and there occurred … Read more

Biography of William Lauer

Since the establishment of Payette William Lauer has been identified with its development and upbuilding, and his labors have been most effective in promoting its welfare. He is the pioneer hardware merchant of the town, and still continues in that line of business, his well directed efforts bringing him success. He is among the worthy citizens that the Fatherland has furnished to the New World, his birth having occurred in Germany on the nth of November 1833. In his youth he crossed the Atlantic to New York with his father, Isaac Lauer, who made his home in the eastern metropolis … Read more

Biography of Henry Heitfeld

In considering the career of the present United States senator for Idaho, Hon. Henry Heitfeld, we are led to the following reflections: It is a well attested maxim that the greatness of a state lies not in its machinery for government, nor even in its institutions, but in the sterling qualities of its individual citizens, in their capacity for high and unselfish effort and their devotion to the public good. An enumeration of those men of the present generation who have won honor and public recognition for themselves and at the same time have honored the state to which they … Read more

Biography of Joseph K. Vincent

More than thirty-seven years have passed since Judge Vincent arrived in Idaho, and he is justly numbered among her honored pioneers and leading citizens. He has been prominently identified with her business life, being connected with mining, agricultural and commercial interests, and although he has rounded the psalmist’s span of three-score years and ten, and although the snows of many winters have whitened his hair, he has the vigor of a much younger man, and in spirit and interest seems yet in his prime. Old age is not necessarily a synonym of weakness or inactivity. It needs not suggest, as … Read more

Shreffler, Clem – Obituary

Clem Shreffler, 96, of Prairie City, a former Baker City resident, died Feb. 6, 2006, at Prairie City. His funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. Pastor Darrell Johnson of Grace Chapel at Prairie City and Ed Niswender of Calvary Baptist Church at Baker City will officiate. Vault interment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery. Visitations will until 7 o’clock tonight at the funeral home. Clem E. Shreffler was born to Ferd and Mary Shreffler in Culdesac, Idaho, on Feb. 22, 1909. Clem was the fourth of six children in the family. At … Read more

Couch, Iris Faye – Obituary

Wallowa, Oregon Iris Faye “Bobbie” Skaggs Couch, 90, died Dec. 4, 2007, in La Grande. She was born Dec. 7, 1916, at Lenore, Idaho, to Charles and Ethel Skaggs. A 1935 graduate of Enterprise High School, she and David T. Couch were married Sept. 19, 1937, in Enterprise. They made their home in Wallowa on Holmes Street. While her husband served in World War II, she ran the family insurance and real estate business in Wallowa. After his return, she continued working. He died in March 1955. As Mrs. Couch continued running the business, she took over the position of … Read more

Kiilsgaard, Marco – Obituary

Marco Kiilsgaard, 84, died April 12, 2005, at St. Elizabeth Care Center after a long illness. Her memorial service will be at 1 p.m. Monday at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2625 Hughes Lane. Bishop David Richards will preside and Dick Hindman will conduct the service. Marco was born on Oct. 13, 1920, at Rockland, Idaho, to Chris and Martha Hunsaker Kiilsgaard. She was their second child. She attended elementary school at Inkom, Idaho, but the family moved north to Bonners Ferry, Idaho, when Marco was in junior high school. After high school, she attended Lewiston Normal … Read more

Biography of Clinton T. Stranahan

Important official work has been done in Nez Perces County by Clinton T. Stranahan, now filling the office of United States Indian agent at Spaulding, and it was because of his faithfulness in smaller things that he was entrusted with these broader responsibilities, which he is discharging in a truly patriotic spirit. Clinton T. Stranahan was born in Clayton, Contra Costa County, California, in March 1859, and is descended from Irish ancestry. His forefathers settled early in the state of New York, and there his father, Ebenezer Stranahan, was born. In 1852 Ebenezer Stranahan went to California. He engaged in … Read more

Biography of John Green

For the past four years a distinguished member of the Lewiston bar, John Green was born in Wythe county, Virginia, September 30, 1860, and is a descendant of General Nathaniel Greene, of Revolutionary fame. His father, John W. Green, was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, and married Miss Betty Newell Fulton, a native of Staunton, Virginia, and a direct descendant of the noted family of Stewarts. Her father, Andrew S. Fulton, was judge of the Supreme Court and presided over the fifteenth judicial district of Virginia for thirty consecutive years. He was a cousin of J. E. Stewart, a prominent cavalry … Read more

Biography of Alfred Damas

The career of Mr. Damas has been a very eventful and interesting one, and now, at the age of sixty-four, he is the possessor of a handsome competence, the fitting reward of his well spent life. For twenty-six years he has been prominently connected with the mercantile interests of Lewiston and his efforts have been an important element in the progress and advancement of this section of the state. He was born far from his present home, being a native of Brussels, Belgium, where his birth occurred on the 18th of July, 1835. He attended school in his native country … 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