California

Biography of John F. Sheehan

JOHN F. SHEEHAN. – The gentleman whose name heads this brief memoir, an excellent portrait of whom appears in this history, has been a leading business man and resident of Port Townsend, Washington for almost thirty years. Mr. Sheehan is a native of the Sunny south, and was born in Baltimore Maryland, in 1840. When but an infant he suffered the irreparable loss of his father by death. His widowed mother then, with her two sons, our subject being but eighteen months old, paid a visit to Ireland, and at the end of one year returned to Baltimore. John F. … Read more

Biography of Frederick D. Schnebly

FREDERICK D. SCHNEBLY – Our subject was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, in 1832, and was educated in the Franklin and Marshall College of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In 1854 he started for California by way of Nicaragua. In passing up the Pacific, the steamer, Star of the West, on which he had taken passage, took fire; but the horrors of a burning ship tragedy were avoided by the timely and effective labors of the crew and passengers. After stopping for a time in San Francisco, he visited the Sandwich Islands, but, returning to the Golden state, spent two unsuccessful years in mining. … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Mrs. John H. Stahl

MRS. JOHN H. STAHL. – This lady is a native of Niederklein, Prussia, and came to San Francisco in 1858. In 1860 she was married to John Stahl, and in 1862 came to Cañon City, Oregon. There Mr. Stahl engaged in the brewery business in 1863; but, upon the burning of the city and the loss of their property, they removed to Walla Walla, Washington Territory. Indeed, Cañon City saw rough times in those days, having once burned and twice washed away, and often invade by the Indians. still pursuing the same business in Walla Walla, they again met with … Read more

Biography of Hon. James Harvey Slater

HON. JAMES HARVEY SLATER. – Mr. Slater has ever borne a conspicuous part in the public affairs of Oregon; and no one has preserved a more honorable name. His mental qualities are solid rather than brilliant, and his operations weighty rather than keen. He is a man whose integrity has never been impeached; and he has ever been relied upon as a friend of the people. In his two terms at Washington, once as congressman, once as senator, he has performed some very effective work for our state; and all Oregonians hold him in high esteem. The following brief sketch … Read more

Biography of N. K. Sitton

N.K. SITTON. – This pioneer of 1843 was born in Calway county, Missouri, in 1825. As a boy in school he read Lewis & Clarke’s travels, and being an active and intelligent youth seventeen years old, at the time of the great interest that prevailed in the border states respecting Oregon, was moved to join the party of Applegate Or Burnett, and made the journey with these noted men across the plains. he remembers meeting with Whitman on the Sweetwater, and recalls his services in guiding the emigrants from Fort Hall. Arriving in Oregon he found employment on various farms … Read more

Biography of Hon. T. C. Shaw

HON. T.C. SHAW. – This honored pioneer of 1844 was born in Clay County, Missouri, near Liberty, the county-seat, February 23, 1823. On his father’s side the stock was Scotch-Irish, and on his mother’s Welsh and English. His father, Captain William Shaw, was born in Eastern Tennessee, and belonged to a large family of that name who settled in Maryland at an early date, whence they removed into Tennessee, North Carolina and Missouri; and from the latter state the Oregon branch of the family came in the year 1844. His mother, whose maiden name was Sarah Gilliam, was the sister … Read more

Biography of David Murray

DAVID MURRAY. – This gentleman is a well-known capitalist. He has retired from active business, and is now reaping the benefits of a life full of even and unceasing hard work. David Murray is a name that every youngster in the Kittitass valley, Washington, is familiar with. It might be well for those very same youths if they had a few of the hardships to go through that Mr. Murray did in his early life. He was born in Maine in 1831, and at the age of twenty left his home to seek his fortunes in the Golden state of … Read more

Biography of E. R. Rogers

E.R. ROGERS. – The subject of this brief sketch is a son of Charles and Jane P. Rogers, and was born in Freeport, Maine, November 29, 1829. He there received a common-school education, and early took to the sea, “a life on the ocean wave” being the bent of his inclinations. He at the early age of fourteen shipped in Boston for New Orleans and Europe. he continued in that calling until he arrived in San Francisco, on October 10, 1849, in the bark Sarah Warren, a vessel subsequently well known on Puget Sound as one of its early lumber … Read more

Biography of Frank A. Moss

Frank A. Moss. For over thirty years the name Moss had been significant of the finest integrity and ability in connection with the banking affairs of St. Marys. The First National Bank of that city is practically a product of the financial genius of the Moss family. The founder and for many years the president was the late John A. Moss, and that office is now filed by his son, Frank A. Moss. The late John A. Moss was born in London, England, May 5, 1846, and had an experience that identified him with the frontier towns of Kansas. He … Read more

Biography of Ed Heeney

Ed Heeney. For over thirty-five years the name Heeney had been associated with the mercantile enterprise of Severance. The firm of Ed Heeney & Son conducts the largest hardware, implement and furniture house in that part of Doniphan County. The senior member of the firm, who is now practically retired from business responsibilities, is Mr. Ed Heeney, who had lived in Northeastern Kansas since 1870 and had acquired and built up extensive interests both as a farmer and business man. The Heeney family comes from the vicinity of Oldcastle, County Meath, Ireland, where Ed Heeney was born May 21, 1852. … Read more

Biography of Benjamin and Hosea Eastman

Tales of heroism have been the theme of song and story throughout all ages. He who has gone forth to battle for his country, his home or his principles, has figured in history, in literature and in music, and his bravery has stirred the souls of men through all times. All honor to such an one, and yet his heroism is no greater or his daring more pronounced than that of the honored pioneers of the west. Men reared in comfortable homes, accustomed to all the conveniences and privileges of life in the east, have come into the wild western … Read more

Biography of Solomon M. Jeffreys

In the front rank of the columns which have advanced the civilization of the northwest, Solomon M. Jeffreys has led the way to the substantial development, progress and up building of Idaho, being particularly active in the growth of Weiser, where he still makes his home. He is numbered among the pioneers of Idaho, California and Oregon, his memory going back to the time when the entire Pacific coast was but very sparsely settled, when the Indians were more numerous than the white men, and the land had not been reclaimed for purposes of cultivation, but remained in the primitive … Read more

Biography of Charles A. Schnabel

Thirty-seven years have passed since Charles Augusta Schnabel came to Idaho. This state, so aptly termed “the gem of the mountains,” was then a wild district, its lands unclaimed, its resources undeveloped. A few courageous frontiersmen had dared to locate within its borders, but the work of progress and improvement remained to the future, and there was little promise of early development. In the years which have since passed Mr. Schnabel has not only witnessed a most wonderful transformation, but has largely aided in the labors which have transformed the wild tract into a splendid commonwealth. Now in his declining … Read more

Biography of John Crete, Sr.

The Fatherland has furnished to America many of her valued citizens, men who have crossed the Atlantic to ally their interests with those of “the land of the free.” Adapting them-selves to entirely new surroundings, customs and manners, they have achieved success and won a place among the representative men of the communities in which their lots have been cast. Such is true of John Crete, the genial, well-known and popular proprietor of the War Eagle Hotel, at Silver City. Born in Hasbrouck, Hanover, Germany, April 25, 1832, he was a son of a Ger-man soldier who afterward became a … Read more

Biography of Homer G. Patterson

Homer G. Patterson is a leading member of the Idaho legislature, representing Blaine County, and is a prominent practitioner of dentistry in Hailey. Dentistry may be said to be almost unique among other occupations, as it is at once a profession, a trade and a business. Such being the case, it follows that in order to attain the highest success in it one must be thoroughly conversant with the theory of the art, must be expert with the many tools and appliances incidental to the practice of modern dentistry, and must possess business qualifications adequate to dealing with the financial … Read more

Cahuilla Tales And Beliefs

Future Life Mukat created a place in the east as a residence for the spirits of the dead. This was called Telmikish (compare telewel, spirit). At the entrance to Telmikish were two constantly moving mountains or large hills. They would come together and separate, come together and separate this movement never ceased. Montakwet was made guardian of this entrance, and he will never die. When the spirits of the dead find their way to him, he questions them. One of the tests he puts to them is the making of many figures in the game we know as “cat s … Read more

Cahuilla Calendar

Several informants stated that there were only three seasons Taspa budding of trees Talpa hot days Tamitva cold days August Lomas of the Martinez reservation, my most reliable informant, named eight seasons, each one based upon the development of the mesquite bean, which used to be the main food. They were Taspa budding of trees Sevwa blossoming of trees Heva-wiva commencing to form beans Menukis-kwasva ripening time of beans Merukis-chaveva falling of beans Talpa midsummer Uche-wiva cool days Tamiva cold days The old men used to study the stars very carefully and in this way could tell when each season … Read more

Cahuilla Dogs

Dogs can not talk, but they understand everything that is said. They have a soul just as we have. When the people left Mukat s house and came to this valley, there was one dog with them; his name was Hakliswákwish. The people on the Martinez reservation still name their dogs after that first dog. From the very beginning, dogs were given certain names, either because of their looks or their individual actions. Sometimes people named their dogs after certain spots in the mountains which they considered their own. Following is a list of dog names which are said to … Read more

Cahuilla Industries and Knowledge

For a long time, the Cahuilla say, they did not wear any clothes at all. The first they had were breech clouts of deer skins and mountain sheep skins. In cold weather they used skins thrown over their shoulders. Mesquite bark was rubbed and pounded and pulled until it became soft. It was then used as diapers for babies and skirts for women. Warm blankets of rabbit skin strips were woven. Cahuilla Earth-Covered Homes The sweathouse or hoyachet was quite extensively used among the Cahuilla in days past. There is one which is still used on Morongo reservation. This is … Read more

War and the Cahuilla People

The Cahuilla, like most of the California Indians, have been a very peaceful people. Their main troubles were between villages, and were caused by boundary disputes. Each village had definite boundaries, within which the inhabitants lived, hunted, and gathered mesquite and other food products. Food was very scarce in the old days and any infringement of one group on the land of the adjacent group was considered grounds for enmity and often subsequent war. Poisoned arrows were used when it was considered necessary. A small strip of flesh which is connected with the lungs of animals was dried and softened … Read more