Portland Oregon

Harris, Lavelle – Obituary

La Grande, Oregon Lavelle Harris, 93, of La Grande, died March 9 at her home. A memorial service is planned for 11 a.m. Saturday at Daniels Chapel of the Valley, 1502 Seventh St., La Grande. A complete obituary will be published at a later date. The Observer – Obituaries for the week ending March 17, 2007 1913-2007 LaVelle Harris, 93, of La Grande, died March 9. A memorial service is planned for 11 a.m. Saturday at Daniels Chapel of the Valley, 1502 Seventh St., La Grande, with burial to follow at the Union Cemetery. Mrs. Harris was born April 6, … Read more

Efforts to Build a Road to the Atlantic States

It was a memorable conflict, that conducted by the first rival railroad companies of Oregon; with matter in it for a novelist. It would be rash to intimate that Elliott with all his mythical capitalists was an agent of Holladay all the time, the general opinion being that he was at first acting only for himself, or that the East Side Company knew the extent of his romances, which they used so well to their advantage. It would on the other hand be difficult to believe that Holladay, or the original East Side Company, were actually imposed upon by representations … Read more

Colton, Rodney Perry – Obituary

Rodney Perry Colton, 80, of Portland, and a former Baker City resident, died June 15, 2003. The Rosary will be said Thursday at 9:30 a.m. at Holy Rosary Catholic Church at 375 N.E. Clackamas in Portland. A Funeral mass will follow. Arrangements are under the direction of Young’s Funeral Home. Rodney was born April 9, 1923, at Baker City. He served in the U.S. Army Air Force from February 1944 to November 1945, flying P-38 Lightning fighter planes. He owned Rancho Flowers until 1999, when he retired. He lived in the Portland area for 57 years. Rodney is survived by … Read more

Establishment of a Civil Government in Portland

The first effort looking toward the organization of a civil government was made in 1841, at Champoeg, which at the time was the seat of the principal settlement in the Willamette Valley. It originated among the members of the Methodist Mission, and for that reason did not have the cordial support of the independent settlers. The movement failed, and although several causes contributed to this result, the main reason was the unpopularity of its chief promoters among those Americans disconnected with the missions. At this time, says an early pioneer, the people of Oregon were divided into two great divisions … Read more

Bowman, LeRoy – Obituary

Funeral services for LeRoy Bowman, well-known Butter Creek rancher, will be conducted at 3 p.m. tomorrow at Folsom Chapel, here by the Rev. O. D. Harris, Christian Church minister. Ted Roy will sing. [Interment at Olney Cemetery.] Mr. Bowman, 55, died at St. Anthony’s hospital yesterday [May 14, 1947]. He was born Feb. 15, 1892 near Pendleton to the late Mr. and Mrs. O. P. Bowman, Umatilla County pioneers, who came to Oregon with their parents when they were both small children. Mr. Bowman was educated in the Pendleton and Portland schools and Feb. 28, 1914 married Gladys Van Orsdall, … Read more

Warnock, Alice Anatoinette Brown Mrs. – Obituary

Alice Antoinette Warnock, 94, died Aug. 16, 2002, at St. Elizabeth Hospital after a brief illness. Private burial was at the Sumpter Cemetery. There will be a memorial celebration of her life at 3 p.m. Sunday at the McEwen Community Church in Sumpter Valley. Pastor Bill Cox will officiate. There will be a beef barbecue at the church for family and friends after the service. Alice was born June 17, 1908, to Herbert and Theresa Nystrom Brown at Portland. She was raised on farms at Woodburn and Mohawk, and graduated from Eugene High School in 1924 at the age of … Read more

Biographical Sketch of John T. Jewell

JOHN T. JEWELL. – Mr. Jewell is a member of the Cove Dairy Company. He is a native of Indiana, having been born in that state in 1836. After receiving his education there and in Illinois, he was drawn west in 1859 by the Pike’s Peak gold excitement. From that point he quite naturally came on to Oregon. His first employment was at West Portland, supplying steamboats with wood. As early as 1863 he moved to the Grande Ronde, entering into business as a freighter. Two years later he located a beautiful claim at The Cove, Oregon, and has devoted … Read more

Biography of Joseph Schoewaiter Smith

Joseph Schoewaiter Smith, was born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, June 20, 1824. His ancestors at an early day emigrated from England and Wales and settled in New Jersey and their descendants are now scattered all over the United States. At the age of eight years he accompanied his parents to Clermont County, Ohio, and three years later to Vermilion County, Indiana. He received such education as a farmer’s boy of ambition could receive at that day in a pioneer neighborhood. During the summer he worked on the farm and in the winter attended such schools as the county afforded. He … Read more

Biography of Solomon Hirsch

There is something inspiring in the record of a busy and useful life; something stimulating in the details of a career that is marked by a generous and beneficent purpose; something worthy of emulation in the success that has been wrought by unselfish means. Such has been the record of the gentleman whose name is the title of this biography, and so thoroughly have the varied lines of his efforts been blended with the agencies which have been conducive to the material progress of the Pacific Northwest during many years that no history of this portion of the Union, and … Read more

Bukowiec-Crow-Woolf, Travis – Obituary

Halfway, Oregon Travis Lane Bukowiec-Crow-Woolf, 25, of Halfway, died Oct. 4, 2004, as the result of a one-vehicle accident near Halfway. His funeral was Friday at Pine Valley Presbyterian Church in Halfway. Travis was born on Dec. 14, 1978, at Portland. He was raised in Vancouver, Wash., and was a graduate of Brush Prairie High School. Travis loved life and enjoyed it to the fullest. He enjoyed drawing, hunting, fishing, old cars and just goofing off. He had recently remade his home in Halfway. Travis had two favorite sayings, “posse up” and “we’re burnin’ daylight. Survivors include his parents , … Read more

Hallmark, William Lewis – Obituary

Cove, Oregon William Lewis Hallmark, 86, of Portland and formerly of Cove died June 14. Mr. Hallmark was born July 29, 1919, in Cove. He graduated from Cove High School and helped run the family store. On Dec. 24, 1937, he married Winifred Mae Slauson, and attended Oregon State University and Eastern Oregon Normal School. He studied engineering and put himself through school by working for the Forest Service. He celebrated his 21st birthday while fighting a forest fire. In 1942 he began working for Willamette Iron and Steel as a draftsman in the shipyard. After the war he became … Read more

Biography of Edward James Northrup

Edward James Northrup was born in Albany, New York, July 4th 1834, and was a son of Nelson Northrup, long known as a merchant in old Oregon. He spent several years of his early life in school, but when quite young began his business career as a clerk in a book store in Boston, where he remained until 1852, when he came to Portland. Here he entered the general merchandise store of Northrup & Simonds, of which firm his father was senior member, remaining with them as clerk until 1856, when associating himself with James M. Blossom, he succeeded to … Read more

Biography of H. McDonald

H. McDONALD – Mr. McDonald, who arrived in San Francisco in August, 1849, in the ship Hopewell of Warren, Rhode Island, and reached Portland the first time in August, 1850, on the brig Joaquina of San Francisco, was one of the earliest residents of Portland and of our state, and in the capacity of architect and stair-builder has done some of the most creditable work on our coast. One of his more recent successes, and something of a test of his skill, were the plans and specifications for the buildings for the Indian school at Chemawa, which were preferred to … Read more

Biography of Daniel H. Lownsdale

Lownsdale, Daniel H., the son of one of the earliest settlers of Kentucky, was born in Mason county, in that State, April 8, 1803. As was the custom in those days, he was married young, at the age of 23, to Ruth, youngest daughter of Paul Overfilled, Esq., the head of one of the most prominent families of northeastern Kentucky. In obedience to the adventuresome spirit inherited from his father, who had abandoned the comforts of civilization in his youth to become one of the conquerors of Kentucky, Lownsdale, with his young wife, “moved on” and settled in Gibson county, … Read more

Phelps, Bessie McEwen – Obituary

Bessie L. Phelps, 87, lifetime Ellensburg area resident, died Monday [November 8, 1976] at a local nursing home. She was born in Ellensburg, Sept. 15, 1889, a daughter of the late James E. and Elizabeth McEwen Ferguson. She attended Dysart School No. 5 in the Fairview district. She and Odie N. Phelps, were married in 1914 (correct date was August 30, 1911) and they operated the Palm Café and Candy Store on Pearl Street for a number of years in partnership with the late Dan Bates. The Phelps lived in Lewiston, Ida. And Portland, Ore. For a time during the … Read more

Portland Oregon’s Growth and Improvements

Growth and Improvements: Appearance of the City in 1850 – The First Brick Building – Brick Buildings Erected From 1850 to 1860 – List of Buildings in 1855 – Portland During the Indian War of 1855 and ’56 – Rapid Growth in 1862 – Increase in Population and Wealth, Improvement and Growth From Year to Year – Present Development and Importance of Portland.

Biography of Henry D. Green

Green, Henry D., for many years a prominent figure in the commercial affairs of Portland, was born in Tompkins county, New York, October 16, 1825. Shortly after attaining his majority, in 1853, he came to Oregon and established himself at Astoria, in partnership with W. Irving Leonard. This firm purchased the mercantile business house of Leonard & Green, which was established at that point in 1850, by John Green and H. C. Leonard, at that date the only mercantile house, except the Hudson Bay Company’s trading post, at the mouth of the Columbia river. He remained at Astoria until 1856, … Read more

Hallock, Mary Peninger – Obituary

Mary P. Hallock, who resided at 8413 SW 14th Ave., died Wednesday [April 9] at a Portland hospital. A native of Central Point, Mrs. Hallock was 82 and lived most of her life in Portland. Surviving are her husband Joseph H., a son, State Sen. Ted Hallock, a sister, Bertha Pomerene, all of Portland; and a brother, William Peninger, Central Point. There will be no funeral. Entombment will be at Riverview Cemetery Mausoleum. The Oregonian, April 11, 1975 Contributed by: Shelli Steedman

Bilyeu, Archie M. – Obituary

Archie M. Bilyeu, retired auto dealer and longtime Portland resident, died Monday [November 6] at 118 Mercury St., Gladstone, where he had made his home since August. He was 78. Born May 3, 1894 in Brownsville, Ore., he had lived in Portland since the early 1920s and at one time was a Kaiser-Frazer dealer there. He was a member of Willamette Lodge No. 2, AF & AM. Survivors include his wife, Marguerite; two sons, Wally, Chula Vista, Cal.; Martin, Portland; a brother, Floyd, and a sister, Gertrude Christopherson, both Hemet, Cal.; and two grandchildren. Services will be held Thursday at … Read more

Comstock, Blanche Helen Lee – Obituary

A funeral Mass will be at 1 p.m. Thursday, May 14, 1998, in St. Anthony Catholic Church in Portland for Helen L. Comstock, who died of congestive heart failure May 12 at age 95. Mrs. Comstock was born March 19, 1903, in Bandon. Her maiden name was Lee. She was a legal secretary with Nelson and Nelson law firm for many years before retiring in 1964. She was a member of the church. She married John K. in 1929; he died in 1969. Survivors include her daughters, May Lou Swan [Mary Lou] and Barbara Delaney, both of Portland, Helen Horton … Read more