Yamhill County OR

Biography of Gen. Joel Palmer

GEN. JOEL PALMER. – There have been few men in Oregon more universally respected, or whom the people have more delighted to honor, than General Palmer. A plain, unpretentious man, who assumed absolutely nothing, he was nevertheless conscious of his superior abilities, and had no hesitancy in assuming commensurate responsibilities. For natural capacity and sagacity in great affairs, he ranks with the first men of our state, such as General Lane, Colonel Cornelius, Judge Kelly or Governor Gibbs. He reckoned himself as a New Yorker, both parents having been natives and residents of that state, although at the time of … Read more

Biography of Hon. Thomas Patton

HON. THOMAS PATTON. – There is scarcely a man in Oregon, who enjoys a greater measure of esteem, both in his own community and abroad, than the gentleman whose name heads this memoir. With the usual substantial and popular qualities of the pioneers, he has a touch of dash and a breadth of view which lift him somewhat above the horizon of even the first business men and thinkers of the Pacific Northwest. He is prominent among those who have given the tone and pose to the peculiarly refined and genial society of the Capital city. He was born in … Read more

Biography of Robert C. Mays

ROBERT C. MAYS. – The well-known and capable business man, whose name appears at the head of this article, is one of the most widely known men of Union, and Wallowa counties, and is at the present time handling a large business as warehouseman at Elgin, where he is numbered among the leading residents of that thriving city, and he has made a record in this section that is both crowned with gratifying success from a financial standpoint, and wherein he has maintained a representation that is untarnished and displayed talents that properly place him among the real leaders 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

Golden, Charles – Obituary

La Grande, Union County, Oregon Sudden Death Of Citizen From La Grande, Oregon Charles Golden, a farmer of La Grande, aged 55 years, who was attending the Grand Lodge of Oddfellows in this city, died suddenly early Wednesday morning at the home of J. W. Looney, on North G street, of neuralgia of the heart. Mr. Golden was taken ill at the meeting held in Burns’ hall and was conveyed to the Looney residence in an auto. He was put to bed and was able to sleep for about 10 minutes, when there was a recurrence of severe pain, and … Read more

Smith, Thomas – Obituary

Elgin, Oregon Aug. 9 — Thomas Smith, memorial service, 1 p.m., United Methodist Church, Elgin The Observer – August 4, 2008 ___________________________________ Thomas Ira Smith, 93, of McMinnville and formerly of Elgin, died July 10 in McMinnville. Memorial services will begin at 1 p.m. Aug. 9 at the United Methodist Church at Fifth and Birch Street in Elgin. Autumn Crematorium in Tigard was in charge of arrangements. Tom was born Sept. 22, 1914, to Ira Arthur and Henrietta Esther (Cruikshank) Smith in Gridley, Calif. The family soon moved to Elgin where Tom graduated from Elgin High School in 1932. Joining … Read more

Simmons, James Daniel – Obituary

Joseph, Wallowa County, Oregon James Daniel Simmons, the small son of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Simmons, passed away Monday, October 9, 1922, at Enterprise. The cause of his death was a broken appendix. He was three years, two months and twenty days old. Internment was in the Prairie Creek cemetery near Joseph, Tuesday, at 2:30 p.m., Rev. C.O. Heath offering a short burial service at the grave. Source: Enterprise Record chieftain, October 12, 1922 Contributed by: Sue Wells

Biography of Philip F. Castleman

PHILIP F. CASTLEMAN. – Those who now make the trip in the palatial car across the continent from the populous cities and thickly settled districts of the union, and view the Pacific Northwest in its present development, can but faintly realize the dangers and privations the sturdy pioneers experienced in reaching here, nor yet understand the troubles they had with the red man who then roamed its confines at will, and knew no law save what pleased the savage heart the best. They often meet among its residents not a few upon whom the snows of many winters have fallen, … Read more

Purinton, Louise – Obituary

Louise Alice Purinton of Newberg died December 20, 2001, at the age of 87. Louise was born the daughter of William Edward and Mary Elizabeth (Stills) Cooper in Troy on February 19, 1914. Louise came from a family of six girls and three boys, growing up and attending school in the Wallowa County area. In 1930 Louise was married to Dwight Warren Purinton and they made their home in Troy and Lostine, where she worked as a Licensed Practical Nurse, Dwight preceded her in death on March 27, 1975. For a short time she lived on the Oregon Coast and … Read more

Biography of James Johnson

JAMES JOHNSON. – James Johnson, a pioneer of 1844, son of James Johnson of Berkshire county, Massachusetts, was born on his father’s farm in 1814, and as a child moved with his parents to a new home in Onondaga county, New York, living there until he attained his manhood. In 1836 he gave rein to the desire for change and adventure and freedom, which ultimately made of him one of the early pioneers of Oregon, going in that year with his brother Daniel to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, and engaging in work as carpenter near Lafayette. In the winters, when there … Read more

Lambert, John A. – Obituary

John A. Lambert was born in Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 10, 1845, and died July 28, 1917, making him 72 years, 5 months and 18 days old. From Nashville he went with his parents to Illinois, and from there to Missouri.. In 1864 his parents died and he with an older brother crossed the plains, arriving in Oregon in December, 1869. He was converted and joined the Methodist Church of which he was a lifelong member. He was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ellen Coovert, March 13, 1870. Their home was on a farm four miles south of Dayton until … Read more

Maxwell, William J. (Billy) – Obituary

Services will be Friday, February 13, 10:30 a.m. at Macy and Son in McMinnville for William J. (Billy) Maxwell, 73, who died of a heart attack Monday, Feb. 9. The Rev. Bernard Turner will preside at service, which will be followed by private interment at Evergreen Memorial Park. Maxwell was born July 22, 1902 at Haines, Oregon the son of J.O. and Nancy Ann Maxwell. He grew up on a farm in the Muddy Creek area and graduated from Muddy Creek high school. He entered Linfield College in McMinnville, and after his graduation in 1924, he started a long teaching-administrative … Read more

Biography of James McBride, M.D.

JAMES McBRIDE, M.D. – The representative pioneer is born, not made. If we glance over the history of the state-builders of the Northwest coast, we will find that not only were they pioneers in fact, but pioneers by descent, the sons and grandsons of those who laid broad and deep the foundations of the earlier communities of this republic. Doctor James McBride was in this sense a representative pioneer. He was descended from patriotic revolutionary stock. His grandfather, James McBride, was one of the patriot soldiers of the Revolution; and his grandmother, Mary Crawford, was a sister of the mother … Read more

Hoffman, John Edward – Obituary

John Edward Hoffman, 82, of Forest Grove, a former Baker County resident, died Oct. 8, 2002, at Forest Grove. His graveside funeral will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Eagle Valley Cemetery in Richland. The Rev. Gordon Bond will officiate. Mr. Hoffman was born on June 14, 1920, at Council, Idaho, to George and Jasmine Garrett Hoffman. He was raised at Sparta. He entered the U.S. Army in 1944 and served in World War II. He was honorably discharged in 1946. He married Edna Nale on June 25, 1939, at Creswell. They were divorced in 1966. He married Thelma … Read more

Biography of Hon. A. R. Burbank

HON. A.R. BURBANK. – Mr. Burbank, a founder of society and business upon the Pacific coast, was born April 15, 1817, near Cincinnati, Ohio. He is the son of Major Daniel Burbank, an American officer in the war of 1812, who came with his family in an open boat down the Alleghany and Ohio rivers as early as 1814, and made a home on its northern shore near the present metropolis. The Major was from Williamstown, Massachusetts. His wife, Margeret Pinchen, was from Atica, New York. In 1818 a further move was made in the family boat down the Ohio … Read more

Biography of James Westley Hammack

James Westley Hammack, who is living on his ranch located one mile east of Lostine, has always devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits, and has met with a goodly measure of success. His life record was begun in Knox County, Kentucky, his parents being James and Elizabeth (Moore) Hammack, both of whom are now deceased, the father having passed away in 1899 and the mother in 1905. The early years in the life of James Westley Hammack were passed on the farm where he was born and in the cultivation of which he began to assist while still in his … Read more

Biography of James S. Davis

JAMES S. DAVIS – Mr. Davis is one of the most interesting and progressive men of our country. The tragic events of Steptoe’s expedition in 1858 are described in the body of this work, and need no repetition here. One of the most conspicuous landmarks in the region traversed by that ill-fated troop is the spire-like pinnacle of basalt which has ever since received the name of Steptoe. It lies in the midst of one of the richest and most productive farming regions in the world, the far-famed Palouse country. Long a solitude, it has lately been occupied by a … Read more

Ward, John – Obituary

Graveside funeral services for John Ward, 67, formerly of La Grande, who died Friday at a Newberg hospital, will be held Monday at 12:30 p.m. at Grandview Cemetery. Friends may call from 1 to 9 p.m. Sunday at the Daniels Valley Funeral Chapel, 1502 Seventh Street. A complete obituary will follow. La Grande Observer July 4, 1987.

Hutson, Carol Anne – Obituary

Carol Anne (Smith) Hutson, 63, of Kennewick and formerly of La Grande, died May 9 after a long illness. A private memorial service was held earlier in the month at Hillcrest Memorial Center in Kennewick. Carol was born Aug. 20, 1944, to Sherman Elton Smith and Josephine Amanda Thorpe in McMinnville. She married Richard Hutson. They later divorced. A retired library custodian and homemaker, Carol enjoyed rock hunting and arts and crafts projects. She lived in La Grande for 10 years, Lincoln City, Netarts, Tillamook and Salem and spent the last four years in Kennewick. She is survived by her … Read more

Biography of William Rice Dunbar

W.R. DUNBAR. – The mold in which a place is first cast is a great determining force in its future development. A quarter of a city which begins with mean buildings invites a class of neglectful or impecunious residents, and seldom outgrows its tendency towards squalor. The new settlers which come into a thriftless community sink more easily to the habits of their neighbors before them than they succeed in inciting those lax individuals to more industrious methods. On the other hand, also, thrift, vigor, a high level of public spirit and morality, leave a stamp which sets the tone … Read more