Oregon City Oregon

Biography of Hon. John M. Bacon

HON. JOHN M. BACON. – There are three places in the Northwest that have almost antique associations. These are Astoria, Vancouver and Oregon City. Of none of them is the flavor of old times more pronounced than amid the rocks and bluffs and by the falls and the old buildings of the latter place. Here one of the old pioneers may be found in the person of a gentleman whose portrait appears on the opposite page. It was as to the last place to go that Mr. Bacon came to Oregon. A native of Buffalo, New York, born in 1822, … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Nathan Brown

The worthy pioneer and capable business man of whom we now have the privilege of speaking is one of the leaders in the business realm of Burns, being senior member of the firm of N. Brown & Sons, general merchants, who have one of the largest stocks in the county and do a mammoth business, being well established and highly esteemed by all. Mr. Brown was born in Germany, in January, 1835, and at the age of thirteen years came to America. In 1852 he came via Cape Horn to San Francisco, and thence to Oregon City, where he engaged … Read more

Biography of A. Lawrence Lovejoy

A. LAWRENCE LOVEJOY. – The subject of this memoir was born in Groton, Massachusetts, March 14, 1808, and was the third son of Doctor Samuel and Betsey Lawrence Lovejoy, descendants of good English families. His mother, Betsey Lawrence Lovejoy, was a cousin and adopted sister of Amos and Abbot Lawrence of Boston. When quite young he moved with his parents to Townson, Massachusetts, where he was a pupil of the Reverend David Palmer until the age of sixteen, when the death of his mother made it necessary for him to reside with an elder brother in Boston, where he engaged … Read more

Biography of Capt. J. H. McMillen

CAPT. J.H. McMILLEN. – Captain McMillen, a fitting example of the men whose stout courage, tireless energy and ready friendliness laid the groundwork of our state, is a pioneer of 1845, having crossed the plains with W.H. Rector, Colonel Taylor, Hiram Smith and others of that large immigration. Of Scotch ancestry, he traces his American lineage to a great-grandfather who crossed the Atlantic and settled in Rhode Island, where a numerous family grew up around him. The grandfather, James, pushed westward as far as New York; and in that state Joseph, the father, was born. Arriving at maturity he married … Read more

Biography of Judge Aaron E. Wait

JUDGE AARON E. WAIT. – Judge Wait, who needs no introduction to the people of Oregon, was born in Whately, Massachusetts, on Sunday, December 26, 1813. His father was a soldier in the war of that period, and died in the service. His family name on his mother’s side was Morton, of Scotch descent. His ancestry on his father’s side were English. At fourteen years of age Aaron went to the adjoining town of Hatfield, and learned the “broom trade.” By money earned at that trade, and afterwards by teaching, he was enabled to increase his education. He taught country … Read more

Gill, George – Obituary

Minam, Oregon George Gill, 76, of Baker City passed away at his home on June 6, 2007. Memorial Services will be held at the Eagles, 2935 H St. in Baker City on Saturday, June 16, at 1 p.m. An additional memorial will be held on the Minam at a later date. Mr. Gill was born in Oregon City to Manuel and Mary Gill. He attended several schools in Oregon as a child, moving with his family as his father worked in the construction business. When he was 12 years old, his father bought a ranch on the Minam in Wallowa … Read more

Wright, David Nixon “Cruiser” – Obituary

David Nixon “Cruiser” Wright, 69, a former Baker City resident, died Feb. 28, 2006. There was a gathering of family and friends Saturday at Golden’s Funeral Home in Salem. Dave was born on May 20, 1936, at Oregon City to LeRoy and Helena Wright. His parents spent most of their adult lives in Baker City. LeRoy was an Extension agent and Helena was a Baker teacher. Dave was a 1954 Baker High School graduate. He spent his career in banking and the automobile industries. He was an avid golfer and spent many enjoyable hours with his family and friends on … Read more

Stewart, Chester A. – Obituary

Chester A. Stewart, 96, passed away on Nov. 23, 2006, at the Oregon City Health Care Center, Oregon City, Ore. A Celebration of Life was held at the Christian Church of Richland at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 29. Gordon Bond officiated. Chester was a retired minister, having served the Christian Church of Richland for many years and retiring from there in 1985. Chester loved his Lord and was passionate about preaching the Word, sticking closely to Scripture from the King James Version which he personally considered the true translation. Gardening was one of his hobbies with a special interest … Read more

Biography of Rev. Gustavus Hines

REV. GUSTAVUS HINES. – Gustavus Hines was born in Herkimer county, New York, in 1809. On his mother’s side he was descended from the Carvets and Wilkensons of the old Massachusetts colony, and on his father’s from the Hopkinns of Rhode Island, all names of the highest respectability and even celebrity in the early history of New England. Governor Carvet of Massachusetts colony, and Stephen Hopkinns, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, were of the same families. he grew to his majority in the county of his birth, and in 1832 removed to Cattaraugus county, in the … Read more

Stevens, Jeffery Max – Obituary

Union County, Oregon Obituary La Grande, Oregon Jeffery Max Stevens, 39, formerly of La Grande, died March 10 after battling cancer. There will be a private family memorial service in Canby. Arrangements are under the direction of Loveland Funeral Chapel. Jeffery was born Aug. 22, 1967, to Arthur and Shirley (Shelly) Stevens in Oregon City, where he graduated from high school. He never married and was a painter by trade. He enjoyed spending time with his children, taking trips to the Wildhorse Casino in Pendleton, bowling and working in his yard. Survivors include his children, Jessy Stevens of Milwaukie and … Read more

Biography of General Joseph Lane

GENERAL JOSEPH LANE. – Joseph Lane first saw the light of day in North Carolina, December 14, 1801. He was reared in Henderson county, Kentucky. At the early age of twenty he was married to Miss Polly Hart, soon afterwards settling in Vanderburg county, Indiana, where he followed the humble life of a farmer for twenty-five years. While in the pursuit of this occupation, he was prominent as a leader in all matter of enterprise in the county. He soon drifted into politics, and was chosen to represent the county in the state legislature. He was continued in the same … Read more

Ward, Lois Eileen – Obituary

Enterprise, Oregon Lois Eileen (Ward) Anderson Funeral Services were conducted Sunday afternoon for Mrs. Richard Anderson (Lois Ward), 28, of Oregon City. Rev. Earl Rogers officiated. Music was provided by Mrs. Ralp Kay and Mrs. Garnet Best who sang “Beyond the Sunset”. Pallbearers were Keith Searles, Harold Lay, Bob Hamilton, Jack Christy, Bob Freels and Clyde Fleenor. Interment was in the Enterprise cemetery. Her first funeral was held at 10:30 Saturday at the chapel of Atkinson Memorial Congregational church in Oregon City. Lois Eileen Ward was born January 6, 1923 in Portland, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Landy Ward. … Read more

Biography of William C. Noon

William C. Noon was born in Leicester, England, in 1835. At the age of nine years he came with his parents to America, settling in Andover, Massachusetts, where his father found employment at his trade in a woolen mill. He received the benefits of a common school education until thirteen years old when he began to work in a woolen mill at Andover. He was employed for several years thereafter in similar mills at Lawrence and Worcester, Massachusetts, and for some three or four years in the State of Maine. During this period he acquired a very thorough knowledge of … Read more

Menolascina, Kay Sharon Phillips Mrs. – Obituary

Kay Sharon Menolascina, 68, of Baker City, died July 16, 2009, at an adult foster care home after an extended illness. At her request, her body was cremated. Private inturnment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery. Mrs. Menolascina was born on Nov. 17, 1940, at Oregon City to Raymond I. and Emma “Jean” Phillips. Kay graduated from Franklin High School where she sang in the choir. She also attended Business College. For more than 10 years she and her husband, Dino, operated D & K Detector Sales, a successful metal detecting and prospecting business they started together in 1968 in … Read more

Roy, Doris Mary Scott Mrs. – Obituary

Dorris Mary Scott Roy, 88, a former Baker City resident, died Aug. 10, 2001, in Oregon City. Mrs. Roy was born on Sept. 30, 1912, at Corvallis to Frank and Malinda Scott. She was proud of her roots and the fact that she was a native Oregonian. Her paternal grandfather came West in a wagon train from Dubuque County, Iowa, and settled at Tangent in 1853. After graduating from Corvallis High School, she completed a degree in home economics from Oregon State University and earned a master’s degree in Extension Education from the University of Wisconsin. She lived in Baker … Read more

Biography of J. T. Hunsaker

J.T. HUNSAKER. – This pioneer of 1846, one of the most substantial and upright men of one state, who has borne his full share of the burden and heat of the day in building up Oregon, was even from the first upon the advanced wave of American civilization, having been born at Jonesboro, Illinois, in 1818, and having assisted in laying the foundations of that giant state of the old West. He began domestic life in 1837, marrying Miss Emily Collins of the same state, and devoting his energies to the development of a farm. He was moved, however, by … Read more

French-Laird, Hester M. Holden Mrs. – Obituary

Hester M. French-Laird, 87, of Oregon City, a former Baker City resident, died March 5, 2006. Her funeral Mass will be celebrated at 2 p.m. Thursday at St. Luke’s Catholic Church at Woodburn. Interment will be at Lincoln Memorial Park Cemetery in Portland. Visitations will be until 5 o’clock tonight at Cornwell Colonial Chapel in Woodburn. Hester was born on Jan. 22, 1919, at Baker City to Ward and Gwendolyn Holden. She was raised at Baker City and married John “Jack” French in 1938. He died in 1979. In 1995, she married Richard Laird. She lived at Woodburn from 1981 … Read more

Biography of Robert W. Worsham

This enterprising and representative citizen of Malheur County has the distinction of being one of the early pioneers of Oregon, while also he was among the very first in many mining regions where he endured the almost overwhelming hardships there encountered and wrought with a strong hand and courageous heart, doing well his part in the great development of the west. Robert W. was born in Hopkinsville, Christian County, Kentucky, on April 30, 1839, being- the son of Robert and Emeline (Elgin) Worsham. He was reared on a farm and in the winter months attended school. In 1852 he came … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Penubra Kelly

PENUBRA KELLY. – The gentlemen whose name heads this sketch is the son of that Sterling old pioneer, Reverend Clinton Kelly, and of Mariah (Crane) Kelly, and was born in Kentucky in 1845. The first three years of his life were passed in that state, when he accompanied his parents across the plains to Oregon, arriving in Oregon City in the fall of 1848. In 1849, the family, which was quite large (Penumbra being one of fifteen children, six of whom were born to his father by former marriages), removed to a Donation land claim near East Portland; and since … Read more

Long, Alice Elizabeth Shaw Mrs. – Obituary

Alice Elizabeth Long, 89, a long time resident of Baker City, died Friday, April 24, 1998 in Oregon City, Oregon. A celebration of life was held on Tuesday, April 28, 1998 at the St. John’s Episcopal Church, Milwaukie, Oregon, and a graveside service was held on Wednesday, April 29, 1998 at 2:00 pm at the Mt. Hope Cemetery in Baker City. Alice Elizabeth Long was born on November 21, 1908 in Haines, Oregon to Thomas L. and Frances V. Asher Shaw. She attended grade school and high school in Haines. She obtained her bachelor of arts degree in 1930 from … Read more