Biography of Van B. De Lashmutt

VAN B. DE LASHMUTT. – The present mayor of Portland exemplifies the versatility characteristic of the early pioneers. As journalist, merchant, real-estate dealer, capitalist, banker and miner, he has been able to bring to bear his large abilities with equal facility. He is a native of the Hawkeye state, having been born at Burlington in 1842, where he passed his early years on a farm, – the best of all places to develop muscle and nerve. He reached Oregon in 1852, and when a youth of fifteen entered the office of the Salem Statesman, having a latent ambition for journalism, … Read more

Saunders Phyllis Jane – Obituary

Cove, Oregon Phyllis Jane Saunders, 80, of Cove, died Aug. 12 at her home of natural causes. A funeral service will be Thursday at 2 p.m. at Loveland Funeral Chapel, 1508 Fourth St., La Grande. Phyllis was born Sept. 9, 1926, to Clyde and Virgie (Bell) Robinson in Tacoma, Wash., one of eight children. She was raised and educated all over the Northwest. Her father worked for Pacific Fruit and traveled throughout the Northwest, so she attended several schools. She eloped with Grant Saunders on Oct. 23, 1944, to Weiser, Idaho. After Grant returned from the Air Force and got … Read more

Biography of Ossian J. West, M. D.

It is noteworthy that but few of the more influential men of Idaho were born in the new west and fewer still within the limits of the state. There are some, however, who are identified with this part of our country by birth, by education and by lifelong residence. Dr. Ossian J. West, government physician and surgeon at the Nez Perces Indian Agency at Spaulding, is a son of the Rev. W. F. and Jane (Whipple) West, and was born in Oregon, August 24, 1866. His father, born in England, received a theological education in his native country and was … Read more

Ritter, Frances Ann Bainter Mrs. – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Frances Ritter, 68, of Baker City, died May 26, 2004, at her home in Baker City, after a short battle with cancer. Her graveside funeral will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Mount Hope Cemetery. Pastor Roger Scovil of the Baker Christian Church will officiate. Her every need was lovingly provided on a 24-hour basis by her daughter, Ronda, with additional support from her daughter, Jennie. The family extends its gratitude to the hospice program for contributing to their mother’s well-being and for the tender care in providing for her comfort. Frances Ann Bainter Ritter, named after … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Hon. James D. Burnett

HON. JAMES D. BURNETT. – Mr. Burnett, one of the best farmers of Douglas county, and a gentleman of eminent abilities in public affairs, was born in Blunt county, Tennessee, March 12, 1822. In 1850 he came to Oregon, settling first at Salem. Two years later he removed to Douglas county, taking a claim upon which he has lived to the present time, and which he has increased by purchase to the baronial dimensions of twelve hundred acres. He has ever been active publicly in establishing those institutions which reflect credit upon the community and advance society. He is a … Read more

Biography of Asahel Bush

ASAHEL BUSH. – The subject of this memoir, Asahel Bush, of Salem, is no ordinary man. His strong personality, quick and clear perception, energy and persistence of purpose, together with his strong common sense, would have made him distinguished in almost any walk of life. Mr. Bush was born at Westfield, Massachusetts, on June 4, 1824. His father, whose name he bears, was a person of prominence in the community, being frequently chosen to fill its public offices. His mother’s name was Sally Noble; and both his father’s and mother’s families were among the oldest of the town, having settled … Read more

Biography of Hon. William P. Lord

HON. WM. P. LORD. – Judge William P. Lord of the supreme court was born in the city of Dover in 1838. He was carefully trained for his education in the private schools of his native place until his twentieth year, when he matriculated in Fairfield College, New York. In less than three years he graduated from that college with the highest honors, being the valedictorian of his class. he at once began the study of the law in his native city; but, before he had time to complete the course of study necessary to his admission to the bar, … Read more

Biography of Joseph Holman

JOSEPH HOLMAN. – This pioneer of the North Pacific was born in Devonshire, England, in 1817, and came to the United States when nineteen years of age. Three years later he was at Peoria, Illinois, at which place he listened to a lecture on Oregon by Reverend Jason Lee, and was one of the party organized to cross the plains which left early in the spring of 1839, reaching the Willamette after fourteen months of travel, toil, hardships and privation. Many of the incidents of his trip are mentioned in the biographical sketch of Francis Fletcher in this book, he … Read more

Gyllenberg, John Powell “Jack” – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon John Powell “Jack” Gyllenberg, 79, a longtime Baker City resident, died June 18, 2004, at his home from cancer. His memorial service will be at 1 p.m. Friday at the Baker City Church of the Nazarene, 1250 Hughes Lane. Jack was born in Baker City on July 13, 1924, to John “Lee” and Marguerite “Madge” Powell Gyllenberg. He spent a number of years in Baker City before the family moved to Arlington during the Great Depression. In Arlington, Jack worked as a child on the Hartfield Wheat Ranch. In later years, he shared stories of driving truck, … Read more

Biography of John Minto

JOHN MINTO. – While Oregon was held to freedom and the American union against the magnified sprit of despotism of England, as exemplified in the Hudson’s Bay Company’s rule, in the valley of the Columbia, it is worthy of note that an Englishman made as good an American, and, in the capacity of settler, would do as much for American independence, as one born in Massachusetts or Virginia. In point of fact, many of the best Americans in Oregon were born in England, and proved in their career that American ideas, after all, are not so much a matter of … Read more

Craig, Paul Dennis “Denny” – Obituary

Paul Dennis “Denny” Craig, 66, of Las Vegas, Nev., a former North Powder resident, died Aug. 20, 2002, at Las Vegas. Mr. Craig’s body was cremated. There was a private funeral at Las Vegas. There will be a memorial service at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, at the Haines United Methodist Church. Pastor Sally Wiens will officiate. Denny was born on March 11, 1936, at Baker City. He was raised on his parents’ ranch at North Powder and was a 1954 graduate of Powder Valley High School. He attended the University of Oregon at Eugene for one year and Eastern … Read more

Shives, Carol Ann Hull Mrs. – Obituary

Carol Ann Shives, 66, of Baker City, died Dec. 6, 2005, at her home. Her memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. Pastor Garth Johnson of the Agape Christian Center will officiate. Visitations will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. Mrs. Shives was born at Baker City to Howard Harrison and Lillian Hazel Stowell Hull. She was educated in Baker schools. She lived at Portland for 18 years, where she worked for Chase Textiles until her retirement. She also had lived at Salem and was a … Read more

Biographical Sketch of John S. Clark

JOHN S. CLARK. – Much interest attaches to this gentleman as the son of one of the earliest pioneers, and as being himself a native of Oregon. The father, Daniel Clark, was well known in the early days as an immigrant of 1844, who married Miss Bertha Herren, whose acquaintance he had formed upon the plains, and who lived near Hillsboro. After his return from the California gold mines, he located in 1851 the Clark Donation claim near Salem, upon which both he and his wife died. The son John S., whose name forms the caption of this article, was … Read more

Biographical Sketch of James P. Atwood, M.D.

JAMES P. ATWOOD, M.D. – One of the most successful physicians of Baker City, Oregon, is the gentleman whose name appears as the heading of this sketch. A careful and conscientious gentleman of temperate habits, and thoroughly reliable in all public and professional as well as private matters, he enjoys the confidence of the public, and has a large practice. He was born in Wisconsin in 1846, but was educated in Oregon, at Sublimity and at Corvallis, and took his degree in medicine from the medical department of the Willamette University at Salem, and from the medical department of the … Read more

Albertson, Allie Broughton Mrs. – Obituary

Allie Albertson, 103, of Salem, and a former La Grande resident, died July 7, 2001, at a Salem care center. Her graveside funeral will be Wednesday at 11 a.m. at the Island City Cemetery. The Rev. Mark Schlessman of the La Grande First Christian Church will officiate. Mrs. Albertson was born Feb. 19, 1898, at Boreing, Ky. She was one of nine children born to John D. “JD” and Marian (Hammack) Broughton Sr. The family moved to Wallowa County, and she was educated in Enterprise. After high school she attended Western Oregon University at Monmouth and Eastern Oregon University at … Read more

Biography of Samuel Allen

SAMUEL ALLEN. – This noble, whole-souled gentleman among the pioneers, who must now be reckoned with the dead was born in East Tennessee July 21, 1805. He was a son of William Allen, a soldier of the war of 1812. Soon after that conflict, Samuel was left fatherless by the death of this parent, and, with his mother and eight brothers and one sister, endured all the hardships and developed all the sturdy force of character, and still more learned the uprightness and integrity of the mountaineers of Tennessee, being nurtured – as were all the children of this family … Read more

Biography of Hon. Edward Hirsch

HON. EDWARD HIRSCH. – Someone has written, “There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, rough hew them as we may;” and the subject of this sketch is a living exemplification of it. When, away back in “the fifties,” he landed a poor boy in the city of New York, among strangers in a strange land, and looked about him for honest employment in any capacity, how little he dreamed that as years passed by he would hold the purse-strings for the then almost unknown territory of Oregon, when a few years later she should lay aside her swaddling clothes and … Read more

Crabtree, Thomas Jefferson – Obituary

Funeral services for Thomas J. Crabtree, 71, pioneer Willamette Valley resident who died suddenly Saturday [July 17, 1948] at the home of his stepson, Merle Anderson, Salem Route 89, will be held from the W. T. Rigdon Chapel today at 1:30 p.m. Concluding services will be in the family plot in the Pleasant Grove Cemetery near Crabtree. Prior to death, Crabtree had been employed by the Southern Pacific Railroad for 27 years. Surviving are his widow, Mrs. Pearl Crabtree of Salem; a son, Millard Crabtree of Coos Bay; three brothers, Job Crabtree of Salem, Knute Crabtree of Halsey, Ore., and … Read more

Ratcliff, T. A. – Obituary

Enterprise, Wallowa County, Oregon T.A. Ratcliff, a former resident of Enterprise for many years, died last Friday, September 19, 1919, at his home in Salem. He was 77 years old and had been ill for many months. A message telling that the end had come reached his son, George I. Ratcliff, Friday forenoon and he left for Salem in the afternoon. Mr. Ratcliff was born in Indiana and came to Wallowa County in 1888. He remained until 1900 when he moved to Salem where he remained. He is survived by his widow and the following children: C.A. Ratcliff, and Mrs. … Read more