Biography of James Kesling

JAMES KESLING. – This gentleman is one of those large-hearted, kindly men who are loved by all the neighbors and by all the neighbors’ children. His life embraces a wide range of interesting experiences, and covers a period of nearly forty years on this coast. He was born in Ohio in 1835, but moved with his folks to Indiana six years later. In 1852 he came with the family of Honorable Luther Elkins, now of Linn county, across the plains to Oregon. Reaching Portland, then a town of shanties and but few good houses, in the woods, young Kesling and … Read more

Biography of Hon. Orvin Kincaid

HON. ORVIN KINCAID. – Mr. Kincaid’s life has embodied very much of the rough romance of an untamed and mining country, and in its entirety would read like a tail of Arabia. He is a native of the granite state, having been born in Grafton, New Hampshire, in 1821. His father, a man of powerful physique, a blacksmith of Scotch-Irish parentage, gave him a training both at school and at the forge, and took the boy with him on his removals to Massachusetts and Vermont. Upon reaching his majority young Kincaid spent eighteen months in Ohio and the old West, … Read more

Kingston, Carol Rae Westerlund Mrs. – Obituary

Carol Rae Kingston, 61, of Troy, a former longtime Baker City resident, died Aug. 25, 2003, of natural causes at Ellensburg, Wash. There will be a memorial fellowship potluck dinner for family and friends at 1 p.m. Friday at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Memorial Club, 2005 Valley Ave. Carol was born on May 1, 1942, at Baker City to Esther Mae and John Harold Westerlund. She was a 1960 Baker High School graduate and joined the U.S. Army that same year. She had worked at Marvin Wood Products from July 1986 to January 2000. She and her husband, Kenneth … Read more

Biography of Dietrick Kelling

DIETRICK KELLING. – The subject of this sketch, whose portrait also appears herewith, was born in Bremen, Germany, in 1831. In 1851 he came with his thousands of countrymen to New York. Two years later he “moved on” to California. He mined ten years in the golden state, whence he went to Idaho; and from the rocky wilderness in which he there was he came to Walla Walla, Washington Territory. He there invested in two blocks in the then embryo city. This was at that time a supply point for Idaho and British Columbia. In connection with his business there … Read more

Biography of Jay A. Kellogg

JAY A. KELLOGG. – This gentleman is a native of Illinois, where he was born in Boone county, February 21, 1851. He is a son of Eli D. Kellogg. His mother’s maiden name was Margaret J. Passage. When he was eight years old, the family crossed the plains to California and settled at Weaverville in that state. He there received the rudiments of his education at the public school, and continued his studies at St. Joseph College in Humboldt county. After a residence of ten years in Weaverville, Mr. Kellogg engaged in the lumber business in Humboldt county. In the … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Noah S. Kellogg

NOAH S. KELLOGG. – This renowned prospector, whom Fortune has singled out as her favorite from among many thousands, was born in Ohio in 1829. In 1852 he began the journey across the plains, reaching Council Bluffs that year, and coming on to Portland, Oregon, in 1853. He terminated his trip at the Sound the same season. The next year he engaged in lumbering at Port Gamble, and continued in that business until 1870, spending one year, 1860, in the Boise basin. Since 1870 Mr. Kellogg has devoted the most of his attention to mining, traveling in British Columbia, California … Read more

Allen, Alford B. – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Alford B. Allen was born in Washington, Indiana, on July 23, 1929. However at the age of 17, he spent two weeks convincing the county clerk to change his birth records to indicate he was born in 1928 so that he could enlist during WWII. While in the Navy, in addition to performing duties as an electrician’s mate, he was a member of a Navy boxing team and was known for his fierce left hook, winning all of his bouts by knockout. Towards the end of his service, he was stationed in Astoria where he met Dora … Read more

Patterson, Lola B. Brannock Mrs. – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Lola B. Patterson, 77, a 45-year resident of Oak Harbor, Wash., and a former Baker City resident, died Oct. 23, 2003, at Providence General Medical Center in Everett, Wash., after a long illness. Her graveside service will be at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Mount Hope Cemetery. There was a funeral today at Burley Funeral Chapel at Oak Harbor, Wash. Pastor Benjamin J. Norris officiated. Mrs. Patterson was born on May 10, 1926, at Baker City to Adoniram Judson Brannock and Alma E. Irvin Brannock. She was raised at Baker City where she graduated from high school. She … Read more

Sampson, Gerald Weston “Sam” – Obituary

Gerald Weston “Sam” Sampson, 72, of Baker City, died of kidney disease on June 8, 2006, at his home. Burial will be at Husum, Wash. Sam was born on Dec. 5, 1933, to Claude and Rachel Rowland Sampson at White Salmon, Wash. He was a 1951 graduate of Washougal High School at Washougal, Wash. Sam enlisted in the U.S. Army on March 2, 1953, and served during the Korean War. He received an honorable discharge from the Army on Sept. 22, 1959. After the service, he worked for an Oregon trucking company as a dispatcher and terminal manager. Sam and … Read more

Ahma, LaWanda Estelle Lambeth Mrs. – Obituary

LaWanda Estelle Lambeth (Ahma), 87, was born on Nov. 14, 1918, and passed away peacefully, surrounded by loving grandchildren on March 3, 2006. She lived in Michigan, Calif., and Oregon until the passing of her second husband, Lt. Col. William F. Lambeth on April 12, 2003. She then moved to Vancouver, Wash., to live with her grandchildren, Pamela and Roger Spence. She is survived by 20 grandchildren, and 33 great-grandchildren. Special thanks to Dana Parker, her caregiver, for the loving treatment she provided to our grandmother. She was preceded in death by her first husband, Joseph Chaf; mother, Addie Becker; … Read more

Biography of Henry Perry Isaacs

HENRY PERRY ISAACS. – Like many old settlers. Mr. Isaacs is so fully identified with Walla Walla, Washington, that the place would not be itself in his absence. In matters of public interest, such as schools, churches and general business enterprises, he has always had a leading part, and as the pioneer in the erection and operation of flour mills “East of the Mountains” deserves lengthy mention. He was born in Philadelphia in 1822, of English and Scotch parentage. There he was educated, and absorbed with eagerness the great lessons of that time. he commence business when only seventeen years … Read more

Biography of Hon. Orange Jacobs

HON. ORANGE JACOBS. – Hon. Orange Jacobs is a son of new York, a state which is the first in wealth, population, trade, manufactures and commerce, and first in the number of her sons and daught4ers who had gone out to make homes in other regions, and to develop their resources with New York brain and brawn. Virginia claims the proud distinction of being the “Mother of Presidents;” and New York could claim the prouder title of being “the mother of States and Territories.” In 1880 the Empire state had more than one million two hundred and fifty thousand sons … Read more

Andrews, William H. “Bill” – Obituary

William H. “Bill” Andrews, 74, a longtime Baker City resident, died Feb. 28, 2006, at St. Mary Medical Center in Walla Walla, Wash. There will be a potluck luncheon and get-together at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 18, at Harvest Church, 3720 Birch St. “A good time to visit and reminisce because that is what Bill liked to do best,” his family said. Bill was born on May 18, 1931, at Pompeii, Mich., to Paul and Beulah Andrews. He attended elementary school at Pompeii, and was a 1951 Ithaca High School graduate. Upon graduating, he worked for General Motors at Lansing, … Read more

Biography of Richard Jeffs

RICHARD JEFFS. – The subject of this brief sketch was born in Westchester, Westchester county, New York, December 27, 1827, where he was brought up, working on his father’s farm until he was nineteen years of age. He then went to New York City, where he remained for eighteen months. In February, 1851, he started for California by way of Panama, arriving in San Francisco in March of that year. He started almost immediately for the mines, where he remained until 1858. During the great gold excitement of 1858-59, on the Frazer river, British Columbia, when thousands of people were … Read more

Biography of Frank Johnson

FRANK JOHNSON. – The career of this well-known contractor is a clear case of the promotion of merit. He has acquired an enviable position in the business world from simple integrity and excellence of worth. He was born in Holland in 1844, and came with his widowed mother to New York in 1852. He went soon to Buffalo, and there began to learn the trade of a carpenter and joiner. The war breaking out, and an appeal being made to the patriotic young men of the city, he volunteered as a soldier and served gallantly until the close of the … Read more

Biography of Thomas Johnson

THOMAS JOHNSON. – The gentleman whose name appears above belongs to three towns on the east slope of the Cascades, – Goldendale, Ellensburgh and Cle-Elum; and it may almost be said that in the course of their development these three towns belong to him. At least, he has been a leading and constructive spirit in them. He is a native of Canada, where he was born in 1839, and came to this coast in search of the golden fleece at Caribou in 1862. The Province, however, detained him but a year; and he came down to Rockland opposite The Dalles, … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Thomas H. Kayler

THOMAS H. KAYLER. – Mr. Kayler, a gentleman of wide reputation, was born in Lenox county, Canada, in 1856, and resided on his father’s farm sixteen years, and afterwards learned the drug business at Napanee. In the spring of 1876 he came to California, and made his first location in Sacramento, where he found employment in the drug store of Justice Gates & Co. The following year he removed to Santa Rosa, coming soon afterwards to Portland. The next summer, in company with Peter Graham, he drove with teams to the Palouse country, and located on three hundred and twenty … Read more

Stufflefield, Brent Alden – Obituary

Brent Alden Stubblefield, 47, a former Baker City resident, was surrounded by his family when he died March 12, 2006, in Vancouver, Wash., after a short battle with cancer. All of Brent’s friends are invited to join his family in a Celebration of Life on April 12, at 1 p.m. at the Menucha Hall at the Columbia Gorge. For information and directions go to www.Menucha.org or send an e-mail to tamich@netzero.net. Arrangements are under the direction of Emily’s Cremation & Burial Service of Milwaukie, Ore. Brent was born on Nov. 11, 1959, at Baker City, the first child of Keith … Read more

Biography of Hon. William F. Keady

HON. WM. F. KEADY. – “The pen is mightier than the sword;” and the editor is greater than the captain. He is not simply a gossip and talker, but a thinker. The man who has grown up in a newspaper office can make his way in the world wherever a way is possible, and becomes a pillar in society. This is the case with Mr. Keady, who was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1821. He learned the printer’s trade, and entered the printing office of the Iroquois Journal at Middleport, Illinois, in 1852. Within six months he was half … Read more

Singer, Carl Henry – Obituary

Carl Henry Singer, 88, of 130 Bryant Ave., No. 22, Walla Walla, Wash., died April 4, 2006, at St. Mary Medical Center in Walla Walla, Wash. Funeral service was held at Groseclose Funeral home at 315 W. Alder St. at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 3, 2006. The Rev. Albert Gillin of First Presbyterian Church officiated. Burial followed in Mountain View Cemetery, 2120 S. Second Ave. Memorial contributions may be made to Walla Walla Senior Center through the funeral home. Mr. Singer was born Nov. 22, 1917, in Boise, Idaho, to Henry and Carrie Chandler Singer. He graduated from Baker, … Read more