Bradford,
H. L. 1851 -
Clark,
Harry H. 1858 -
Cralle,
L. J. 1818 -
Escallier,
Hippolyte P. 1862 -
McCullough,
Michael 1826 -
Messec,
I. G.
Peterson,
Augustus 1833 -
Patrik
Stromblad
WILLIAM BYRON BARNES,
...living in
Klamath Falls, has been
active in political and fraternal circles us well as in
business affairs. At one time he was quite extensively
engaged in stock-raising and is still the owner of
valuable timber claims in the state. At the present
writing he is serving for the second term as sheriff of
the county, his reelection being proof of the confidence
reposed in him and of the excellent record which he made
as an official during his first term. He was born in
Bridgeport, Mono
county,
California, May 14, 1865, his
parents being James A. and Mary J. (Patterson) Barnes,
both of whom were natives of
Ohio. They were
reared and married in
Birmingham, Iowa, and in
1862 came to
California, crossing
the plains with horse teams. The father died in Modoc
county,
California, in 1898,
when about fifty-six years of age. his birth having
occurred in 1842. The mother resides with her son Hiram at
Kelseyville, Lake county.
California. The father
had farming interests in Modoc county at the time of his
death. In early days he was a freighter and engaged in
teaming for many years. In his family were five children:
Hiram, of Kelseyville; Frank, of
Summer Lake, Oregon; William
Byron; Marion, living in
Lakeview, Oregon; and Emma,
who died in May. 1891. William B. Barnes was reared in
Bridgeport to the age
of nineteen years, when the family removed to Modoc
county. Later he went to
Summer Lake and there
engaged in the stockraising business until he came to
Klamath Falls in 1904.
Here he conducted the American Hotel until about 1908.
when he was elected sheriff of the county, in which
position he is now serving for the second term. He has
always voted with the republican party and has filled a
number of local offices, also taking an active part in the
organization work of the party. For two years he served as
assessor of Lake county,
Oregon, and for
two years was deputy sheriff of Modoc county,
California. He has
frequently been a delegate to party conventions and has
served repeatedly on election boards. While he has
disposed of his large ranch in Lake county he
still owns timber claims but devotes the greater part of
his time and attention to his official duties.
In 1885 Mr. Barnes was married to
Miss Tilly McDowell, a native of
Missouri, who was
reared in Oregon and
California and is a
daughter of Mrs. Flavia McDowell, who has been
postmistress at Summer
Lake for many
years. The four children of this marriage are: Marion, who
is acting as deputy sheriff; Golda, the wife of Vernon
Houston, of Klamath
Falls; Hazel, who
is in the sheriff's office; and Zeddie.
Mr. Barnes is a self-made man. He had
little opportunity for acquiring an education and whatever
he has won or enjoyed in life has been the result of his
own efforts. In the early days he engaged in teaming from
Lakeview,
Oregon, to
Redding,
California, for four
or live years and also in logging in Shasta county,
California, with a
twelve horse team for one season before he went into the
cattle business. The necessity of providing for his own
support and earning his living wherever he could find the
opportunity prevented him from having a home until after
his marriage. This brought him into contact with many
rough characters and the knowledge which he gained in that
class of service proved valuable to him in the discharge
of his duties as sheriff. He has made an excellent record
in office especially in the capture of cattle and horse
thieves whom he has followed as far east as the
Missouri river, bringing to punishment
various men of this class who had been stealing in the
northwest for twenty years. His work in this connection
has been valuable to the community and his record as
sheriff is one well worthy of praise.
The Centennial History of
Oregon, 1811-1912:
Joseph Gaston - V4 1912 S J Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago
Page 641
HENRY SNOWGOOSE
...is the owner of one hundred acres
of land on the Klamath river, adjoining Keno, of which
half is under cultivation, and in addition to raising the
cereals best adapted to the soil and climate he has given
considerable attention to live-stock interests, making a
specialty of the breeding of jacks. He dates his residence
here from 1891. He was born in Parke county, Indiana, September 8, 1842. a son of
Henry and Selma (Wendel)
Snowgoose, both of whom were natives of
Germany, where they
were reared and married. They came to the
United States in 1839,
settling in Indiana, where both
died. The father had devoted his life to merchandising.
The only survivor of the family is Henry Snowgoose, his
sister Louisa, who was his junior, having died in early
life.
Henry Snowgoose resided in
Indiana until
twenty-one years of age, devoting his time largely to the
acquirement of an education and to the work of the fields.
He began teaching when twenty years of age and after a
year went to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where he entered the
Iron City Commercial College, from which in due time he
was graduated. For about twenty-five years he successfully
engaged in teaching in the district schools of
Iowa, proving
himself a capable educator who imparted clearly and
readily to others the knowledge that he had obtained. In
1891 he came to Keno, where he has since resided. He owns
one hundred acres adjoining the town and lying along the
Klamath river. Of this he has about fifty
acres under the plow and his methods of farming are modern
and progressive. He makes a specialty of raising jacks,
having brought a carload here from
Iowa when he
came. He also conducts a feed stable and he has a
boat-landing at his place. In addition to his other
property he owns four city lots and two dwellings and his
realty possessions are the visible evidence of his life of
thrift and energy.
In Iowa, in 1865.
Mr. Snowgoose was married to Miss Sarah Frances Taylor, a
native of Indiana, who died
in Iowa in 1868.
leaving two children: Daniel, whose home is in
Jerome, Arizona; and John,
living in Mono county,
California. In
Iowa, in 1871,
Mr. Snowgoose was again married, his second union being
with Amanda Perkins, a native of
New
York. They have
one son, Charles, of Klamath
Falls.
Mr. Snowgoose was reared in the faith
of the democratic party but afterward became a populist
and is now independent. He has served for three terms as
justice of the peace and for six years held that office in
Iowa. His
decisions were strictly fair and impartial and he has made
a most creditable record in this connection. Laudable
ambition prompted him to come to the new and growing
Pacific coast country, where he believed that better
opportunities could be secured, Gradually he has worked
his way upward undeterred by obstacles and difficulties in
his path and his energy and persistency of purpose have
featured largely in the attainment of the success which is
now his.
Good, Rachel Applegate. History
of Klamath
County,
Oregon : Its
resources and its people, illustrated
Klamath Falls, Or.: unknown, 1941,
Pages 111-112
EDWARD KELLER
...is of that class who recognize and
utilize opportunities and in so doing contribute to public
prosperity as well as to individual success. He has been
the chief promoter of various enterprises and interests
which featured prominently in the growth and upbuilding of
this state and he never falters in the accomplishment of
any task to which he sets himself, if success may be
gained by persistent endeavor and honorable effort, tie
lives at New Pine Creek and is the treasurer of the Pine
Creek Water Company, also president of the Eureka Mining 4
Milling Company and a stockholder in several of the banks
of this district. He has not always been a resident of the
far west, although he has ever resided west of the
Mississippi. His birth
occurred in Buchanan county.
Iowa, January
10. 1858, his parents being Morris and Crecensia (Gruman)
Kellor, both of whom were natives of
Germany, born in
1814 and 1816 respectively. They were reared and married
in that country and with the desire to enjoy better
business opportunities came to the
United States in 1840,
settling first in
Wisconsin. They were
afterward pioneers of Iowa, removing
thither about the time when the state was admitted to the
Union. In 1866
they went to
Nebraska and in 1882
became residents of Alameda county,
California, where
their last days were passed, the mother dying about 1895
and the father in 1899. The latter had long been a farmer
and in early life was a cabinet-maker. In his family were
nine sons, of whom one died at the age of fifteen years,
while eight are now living. He also had two daughters. The
living are: B. H., a resident of Columbus, Nebraska; John,
of Richland, Nebraska; Christine, the widow of Henry
Foster, of Clearwater, Nebraska; J. J., of Newport,
Nebraska; H. W., living in David City, Nebraska; Richard,
whose home is in Oakland, California; M. J., of Seattle,
Washington'; Amelia, the wife of C. M. Taylor, of New Pine
Creek; Edward, of this review; and Albert, of Alaska.
Edward Keller remained with his
parents until 1881. In 1877 the family went to the Black
Hills of Dakota and later the parents came to the coast,
Mr. Keller joining them the following year. He resided in
San Francisco for ten
years and then came to New Pine Creek, where he has since
made his home. He performed the different services
incident to the development of the ranch when at home and
after starting out independently in life he worked with
cattle for two years. After his arrival on the coast he
engaged in clerking in a store in
Alameda. Subsequent
to coming to New Pine Creek he engaged in merchandising
here for three years and in 1893 he entered the flour
milling establishment, of which he took personal charge in
1895. This has been his principal activity since and he
has developed a large trade, for he manufactures flour
according to modern processes and the excellence of his
product insures a ready sale. In various other fields,
too, his labors have constituted an element for public
progress here. In 1905 he became the first president of
the California & Oregon Light, Heat & Power
Company and has since remained its chief executive
officer, giving his entire attention to its interests
during the first year of its existence. He was one of five
men who put up the first telephone system here, called the
Lakeview & New Pine Creek Electric Company, Inc. Mr.
Keller was one of the directors but later disposed of his
interest in the business. He is the treasurer and was one
of the incorporators of the Pine Creek Water Company and
since its incorporation has been president of the Eureka
Mining & Milling Company. He was one of the original
stockholders in the First National Bank of Lakeview and
the Lakeview Savings Bank and is still connected with
those institutions. His investments in property, too, have
been extensive. He has one hundred and twenty acres of
timber and three hundred and seventy acres of farm land in
Goose lake valley and he raises more grain than any other
man in the valley. He also has one of the pleasant homes
here, which is situated in the east side of the village,
at the foothills of the mountains, near his mill, the
power for which is generated by the water from New Pine
creek.
In 1892 Mr. Keller was united in
marriage to Miss Sarah M. Dick, who was born in Mono
county,
California, in 1874, a
daughter of Morris Dick, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Keller
have three children, Richard, Elsie and Theresa, all born
in California, near New
Pine Creek. The state line runs through this town but Mr.
Keller's home is on the Oregon side. It is
a beautiful and attractive residence, which he erected in
1906. He owns here seventy-four acres, on which stand his
home and his mill. A part of the tract is on the mountain
side, while a portion is within the corporation limits of
the city. Mr, Keller is a republican but has never held
public office, always declining to accept positions of
political preferment. He recognizes what is necessary in
town building and in his business career has labored to
anticipate and meet the needs of the public. At all times
he is actuated by a spirit of loyalty to the community at
large and yet is not without that laudable ambition which
is ever the spur to industry, causing a man to push beyond
the point to which he has already attained and reach the
heights of success.
Good, Rachel Applegate. History
of Klamath
County,
Oregon : Its
resources and its people, illustrated
Klamath Falls, Or.: unknown, 1941,
Pages 405-406
GEORGE RITER
...is one of the well known business
men of
Roseburg, where he
is engaged in the real-estate and insurance business,
representing The West Coast Life Insurance Company of
San
Francisco, of which
he is district manager.
He was born in Pike county,
Illinois, March 31, 1856, and is a
son of Casper and
Christine (Shear) Riter, both of whom were natives of
Ohio. They
celebrated their marriage in
Illinois, to which
state they had moved with their parents when they were
children. The father was by occupation a farmer and, after
his wedding, first located in Pike county,
Illinois, and in
1871, removed to Kansas, from which
state he, some time later, went to
Utah, and from
there to Denver,
Colorado, where he
continued to live until the time of his death, which
occurred in 1907, at the age of seventy-nine years.
George Riter was reared in his
parents' home, and received his elementary education in
the public schools of
Illinois and
Kansas. At the age
of twenty years, he went to the
San
Juan country,
Colorado. After a
time, he went north where he engaged in mining at Black
Hawk., and Central City,
Colorado, where he
took up the work of amalgamation and milling, at the old
Winnebago mine, under Professor John Terry. After
completing the required course, he was graduated as
amalgamator of gold ores. Immediately after his
graduation, he went to Silver Cliff, where horn silver had
just been found. After remaining at Silver Cliff one
winter, he went to the scene of the Leadville excitement,
remaining there a year. Here he engaged in mining on Friar
hill and then returned to the San Juan country, where he
engaged in mining in the vicinity of Silverton. He then
went to New
Mexico and
Arizona, and then
returned to
Colorado.
During all the time spent in his
travels as above cited, he was engaged in the mining
business. He crossed Arizona on a mule,
with pack animals, twice before there was a railroad
across the territory. From Colorado he went to the Wood
river country in Idaho, and was there engaged in mining
nearly three years, after which he went to the Okanagon
district in Okanagon county, Washington, and later to
British Columbia, where he was identified with the mining
industry for ten years. He then went to the
Thunder
Mountain district in
Idaho, during the
gold excitement at that place, being among the first to go
over the Dixie trail, and
making a second trip over the
Warren trail,
after which he went into the Bitter Root mountains, in
what was known in early days as the
Moose City district.
He then went to Grants
Pass, for a few
weeks, and from there to Goldfield,
Nevada, where he
remained for some time in the mining districts of that
state.
After leaving
Nevada he went to
California, and was
identified in mining in Inyo and Mono counties and still
has an interest in the Blind Spring Hill Company, which is
the owner of the oldest mining property in
California. He is also
the owner of mining interests in
British Columbia and
Idaho, and is a
stockholder in the Oregon & Washington Underwriters,
an incorporated insurance agency of Portland,
Oregon. On leaving
Enyo county,
California, he
purchased a team and started overland for
Roseburg, Oregon, traveling
along the Owens river for a short
distance, and crossing the desert and Pummice plains, to
Mono lake, at the foot of the Sierra
Nevada mountains. Thence he proceeded to
Bridgeport and after a
few days' travel crossed over into
Nevada by way of
Garden City, Carson
City, Steamboat
Springs, Reno, Lovelocks,
and old Winnemuckka, Willow Point,
Quinn River bridge, and
crossed the Nevada-Oregon boundary line at Denio.
Many times on the trip, he was
obliged to load the wagon with water and feed for his
horses for a two-day trip through the hot sands and Alkali
flats which lie between the watering places. From
Denio, Oregon, he
continued to Andrews, West Fall, Malheur. and
Baker City, Oregon, where he
rested his team for a few days and again started out for
Roseburg, by way of
Sumpter, Austin,
Prairie City, and down
the John Day river,
traveling the old military road to Mitchell, and across
the Blue mountains, and down
Mill creek to Prineville, in Crook county. where he again
rested his faithful team for two days.
After leaving Prineville, he
continued hi? journey by way of the Chutes river, and the
town of the Sisters, and crossed the lava capped range of
the Cascades, near the snowcapped mountain of the Three
Sisters, in a blinding snow storm. Then he descended the
lava-covered west slope to Lost creek, and then to the
beautiful McKenzie, and on down the river to Eugene and
turned toward Roseburg, by way of Cottage Grove, London
Springs, and the Shoestring route to Oakland, and on to
beautiful Roseburg. In the month of October, 1908, having
traveled over two thousand miles by team, he arrived in
that city.
Mr. Riter was united in marriage, August 22, 1909, to Mrs.
Marie Seldon Flint. Mr. Riter gives his political
allegiance to the' republican party, and is just the same
age as that great organization. He has never been at any
time an office seeker. He was made a Mason at
Silverton,
Colorado, in 1883,
in San Juan Lodge, No. 33. Afterward he affiliated with
Laurel Lodge, No. 13, of
Lewiston, Idaho, and he and
his wife are members of the Roseburg Chapter, No. 8, of
the Order of Eastern Star. Mr. and Mrs. Riter are members
of the Presbyterian church.
History
Of Idaho: By Hiram T French, M S, Volume III -
The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York,
1914, Pages 692-693
ARTHUR M BOWEN
This is a practical age and today,
more than ever before, whatever their vocation or calling,
men are measured by what they accomplish. "Efficiency" is
indeed the slogan of the hour and life a constant measure
of strength, a contest where ability, force and character
are the determining factors. Arthur M. Bowen, of
Twin Falls, a young
and native westerner, came to
Idaho in 1904 and
in less than a decade has become one of the leading men of
the state, both in his profession of law and as a factor
in the public life of the commonwealth.
He was born in Mono county,
California. April 26, 1876, and when a
small boy accompanied his parents to
Nevada, where he
lived until about eighteen years of age and acquired his
education. After leaving school he worked for a time in
the mines of Nevada and
Utah and later
taught school in the latter state. In the meantime he had
begun to prepare for law and so assiduously and
intelligently directed his energies to that accomplishment
that at the age of twenty-three he had qualified for the
profession and was formally admitted to the bar in 1899.
He began the practice of law in
Eureka,
Utah, and came
from there to Blackfoot, Idaho, in 1904,
where he remained three years. The next four years he was
a resident of Hailey,
Idaho, and from
there he came to Twin
Falls in 1911. He
has been very successful in his chosen profession and
stands high at the bar of Idaho, as is evidenced by his
nomination in 1912 for the office of justice of the
supreme court of Idaho. In line
with his professional interests he affiliates with the
Twin Falls County Bar Association and is a member of the
American Bar Association. As a Democrat he has long taken
an active interest in political affairs. While a resident
of Hailey, Blaine county, he
served as a member of the state senate during the tenth
session of the state legislature and at that time
supported both the direct primary law and the local option
law and took a strong stand in favor of an effective
employers' liability law. In fact, all measures that had
for their true aim the progress of the state and the
welfare of its citizens received his unreserved
commendation and stanch support. He was a Democratic
candidate for congress in 1910 and, as previously stated,
has now been nominated as a justice of the supreme court
of Idaho. His whole
life has been spent in the West and he is well acquainted
with the conditions and advantages of the various states
of this section. From this knowledge and experience he
asserts his firm belief that
Idaho offers more
opportunities for men and women of push and industry, of
vigor and ambition, than does any other state of the
Union.
Mr. Bowen was married at
Salt Lake City,
Utah, February 12, 1898, to Miss
Elizabeth Bernhart, a daughter of Mrs. W. B. Kennedy, of
Eureka,
Utah. One son
and three daughters have been b9rn to their union, namely:
Theodore E., Phoebe,
Elizabeth and Nellie.
Fraternally Mr. Bowen is associated
with the Masonic order, the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and
the Woodmen of the World. In the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows he has "passed all the chairs" of his local lodge
and is a member of the grand lodge of that order. He is
also a member of the Twin Falls Commercial Club.
History Of Idaho: By Hiram T French, M S,
Volume III - The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago
& New York, 1914, Pages 948-949
HON. JOHN W.
MOORE.
No history of San
Joaquin county would be complete
without mention of Hon. John W. Moore, one of its best
known and most popular citizens. He is conducting
extensive agricultural interests on Union Island, and,
moreover, is representing his district in the general
assembly, to which position he was called by his fellow
townsmen, who, recognizing his worth and ability, have
made him their leader in matters of legislation. His
public career shows that the trust reposed in him has not
been misplaced, for his official service has been
characterized by unfaltering loyalty to the welfare and
best interests of his district.
One of
California's native
sons, John W. Moore was born in Butte county on the 15th of June, 1855. His
parents are Lucian B. and Matilda (Spalding) Moore, the
former a native of Penobscot county,
Maine, and the
latter of
Kentucky. The family
history has it that one of the ancestors in the paternal
line came to America in the
Mayflower, and the progenitor of the Spalding family
arrived about thirty-two years after the landing of the
Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock. Henry A. Moore, the
great-grandfather of John W. Moore, was a valiant soldier
of the Revolutionary war, and one of the maternal
ancestors, familiarly called Jack Spalding by his many
friends, was also a member of the Continental army. He was
connected with the Spalding who, with two other soldiers
of the Revolutionary war, challenged Major Andre at
Tarrytown and found concealed upon him
the papers which had been given him by Benedict Arnold,
and which were to betray the American forces into the
hands of the British.
Lucian B. Moore, the father, came to
California from
Maine in 1849,
making his way around Cape Horn on a
sailing vessel, which dropped anchor in the
harbor of
San
Francisco on the i5th
of December. For several years he engaged in mining for
gold and was quite successful in his search for the
precious metal. During the '505 he served as Chinese tax
collector in Marysville. Yuba county,
California. He was
very prominent in local political circles in that county,
and was also a recognized leader in state politics. He
gave his political allegiance to the Republican party,
strongly championed its measures, and did effective
service in its behalf. In his business career he likewise
displayed qualities of leadership, and his marked
enterprise, keen sagacity and unfaltering diligence made
him a prosperous citizen. He died in the year 1882, and
the state thereby lost one of its honored and valuable
pioneer citizens.
John W. Moore was reared in Yuba
county, California, living with his maternal grandparents
until fourteen years of age, at which time he began
earning his own living at the old Jefferson mine in that
county. He followed mining there for a short time, and
subsequently went to Gold Run in Placer County,
California, where he
continued his search for gold. Subsequently, however, he
engaged in silver mining for a number of years at
Virginia City, Nevada, and later
turned his attention to mining and contracting at Bodie in
Mono county,
California, where he
resided for some time. On the expiration of that period he
came to
Stockton and was
connected with the Stockton Independent, a local
newspaper, for three years. At the present writing, in
1904, he is engaged in general agricultural pursuits on
Union Island, having
located here in 1888, and through the intervening period
he has successfully carried on general farming. He is most
progressive in His methods of agriculture, using the
latest improved machinery and putting to the practical
test the most modern ideas concerning farm methods. In all that he
does he is eminently practical, and his efforts have
resulted in winning for him a position of prominence among
the leading representatives of this great department of
business activity in San
Joaquin county.
On the 9th of May, 1877, occurred the
marriage of Hon. John W. Moore and Miss Susanna Hooper, of
Bodie, California, and to them have been born four
children, but only two are living: John W. and Hazel.
Fraternally Mr. Moore is connected with the Native Sons of
the Golden West, being one of the oldest members of the
lodge in
Stockton. He also
affiliates with Morning Star Lodge, F. & A. M., and
with the Elks Lodge in
Stockton. In
politics he is an unfaltering Republican, and for years
has taken an active and helpful part in promoting the
interests of the Republican party in San
Joaquin county. His name is
associated with important legislative measures. On the 6th of November, 1902, he was
elected to represent the twenty-fourth district of
California in the general assembly for a term of two
years. He introduced a bill for increasing the salaries of
the attendants in the various asylums of the state, and
for state institutions, but withdrew same, having
compromised the matter with the governor and the president
of the board of the Lunacy Commission, whereby an increase
of twenty percent was guaranteed them, which was
satisfactory to all concerned. Conjointly with Hon. August
E. Muenter he prepared and secured the passage of a bill
for the purpose of securing the right of way for a canal
to carry off the flood waters of the Mormon slough in
San
Joaquin county. Great benefit has
resulted to the community through this measure, which
passed both houses and became a law.
Mr. Moore is widely and favorably
known throughout the community, his abilities well fitting
him for leadership in political, business and social life.
The terms progress and patriotism might be considered the
keynotes of his character, for throughout his career he
has labored for the improvement of every line of business
or public interest with which he has been associated, and
at all times has been actuated by a fidelity to his
country and her welfare.
A History Of The
New California: It's Resources and People - Edited
by Leigh H Irvine, Illustrated. Vol II, The Lewis
Publishing Co., New York & Chicago, 1905 - Pages
1020-1021
CLARENCE
MARION KIRKPATRICK
Homesteading on 120 acres northwest of Malin, Clarence
Marion Kirkpatrick is proud of the ranch and home he has
built up since he took over the land in 1904, planting
barley, wheat and rye for his first crops. He was born in
Mono County, California, June 10, 1881, to Abe and Belle (Barnes)
Kirkpatrick. His father was born in Van Buren County,
Iowa, in 1858, and died in
Iowa, in 1895. His mother, also a
native of Iowa, was born in Van Buren
County in 1857, and, in 1910, came to
Klamath County to make her home with the
four of her seven children that reside here. She passed
away at Klamath Falls, January 19, 1937. Completing his schooling,
in 1896, Clarence Kirkpatrick engaged in farm work in
Iowa, until coming to
Klamath County in 1900, and worked on the
Steve Low ranch four years before acquiring his homestead.
Since the day that he first broke the soil an his own
land, Mr. Kirkpatrick has grown crops of alfalfa, clover
seed and grain but, about 1928, started raising potatoes.
Having purchased 92 acres in addition to the original 120,
he now has it all under irrigation. Water for most of the
land is provided through his own pumping plant which he
installed more than 20 years ago. When he needs relaxation
from ranch work, he goes fishing, a sport in which he is
always interested. He is a Republican, and a member of the
Malin Chamber of Commerce.
Mr.
Kirkpatrick was married
October 9, 1907,
in Klamath Falls to Lyda Turner who was born in this city,
October 9, 1888, a daughter of Abraham
Turner, born in London, England, March 29, 1837, and came to the United
States while a small boy, crossing the continent to settle
in California. He and his wife, Elizabeth (Webb) Turner,
born in Stockton, California, in 1861, moved to
Klamath Falls in 1888. Mr. Turner died at
his home here in 1919, and Mrs. Turner passed away in
Klamath Falls in 1938. Mrs. Kirkpatrick is
primarily a homemaker and mother, is a member of the
Klamath Falls Classmates Club, and past president and
secretary of the Helping Hand Society of Malin. Five
children were born to the Kirkpatrick's : Elizabeth Bell
(Mrs. Matt Obenchain), born in Klamath Falls, March 2, 1910; Elizia Kiziah (Mrs.
Archie McDonald), born in Malin, November 27, 1912; Orville Abraham, born June 5, 1918, married at Klamath Falls,
November 7, 1937, to Emma Gwendolyn Enloe
who was born at Marshfield, Oregon, November 13, 1919; George Walter, born on
ranch December 23, 1920, died February 26, 1935; Clarence Marion, born in
Klamath Falls, May
25, 1923.
The
Kirkpatrick's, sincere, friendly people, highly regarded
by their neighbors, attribute a large portion of their
success and contentment to the good-will and help of
Klamath County neighbors, as well as to
their years of work.
LESTER
F. KIRKPATRICK
It would
be hard to find a man more closely identified with the
business life and growth of
Klamath Falls than Lester F. Kirkpatrick,
who came here as a young man when the city was in its
infancy. Born in Mono County, California, April 26, 1883, he is the son of Abe and
Belle (Barnes) Kirkpatrick, the father a native of Keokuk,
Iowa, and a blacksmith by trade, who in the early Eighties
brought his family to Mono County, California, where he
worked at his trade for a few years and at the same time
took up mining for a year or two during the boom days of
Bodie, California. In 1885, he moved with his family to
Lake County, Oregon, locating about twenty miles
south of Lakeview on the Willow Ranch, and there opened a
blacksmith shop. In 1890, he returned to
Iowa, to be followed later by his
family, and remained there until his death, in 1895. Belle
Barnes Kirkpatrick was born in Van Buren County, Iowa, the
daughter of Hiram Barnes, whose birth occurred in 1818 in
Ohio. In 1850, he crossed the
plains via the overland route to
Sacramento in the same train of
emigrants with L. V. Loomis, a well known journalist who
kept an accurate log of the trip that was printed in book
form for historical record. Hiram Barnes crossed the
plains for one purpose to make $2,000 to pay off a
mortgage on his farm. He was successful in this and safely
made the return trip. Belle Barnes and Abe Kirkpatrick
were married in Iowa, and of their family four sons and
one daughter are living, four in Klamath County ; Clarence
M., of Malin ; Harry B., and Lester F., in Klamath Falls,
and Alma (Mrs. William Layman) of Merrill. In 1910 the
mother came to Klamath Falls and resided here until her
death, in January, 1937.
Lester
F. Kirkpatrick received his education in the grade and
high schools of Van Buren County, Iowa, and his first job
was with the E. H. Skinner firm of
Birmingham, Iowa, where he worked for five
years, learning the dry goods business. In 1903, he came
to Cottage Grove, Oregon, and worked for Ben Larch
and Company, dry-goods and merchandise. On January 20, 1904, he came to
Klamath Falls with a brother, Claude, now
deceased, and on that trip they were the only two
passengers for it was the last stage trip between
Ashland and Keno, the railroad
between Thrall and Pokegama having been just completed.
The next
year, in 1905, the young pioneer bought a couple of town
lots in Klamath Falls, to take care of the horses owned by
L. F., Clarence and Claude Kirkpatrick, who had entered
the freight business, hauling freight to the new railroad
terminal at Pokegama for two years. In 1906 the three
Kirkpatrick brothers hauled the first rails for the
horsecar street railway in Klamath Falls. During this period they
graded the streets in the Hot Springs district for the Klamath
Development Company. About this time Lester F. worked in
the old Schallock and Daggett Grocery Store, and later
with Levi F. Willits for a couple of years. In 1907 he
bought the lot and building where now is located the
Castleberry Drug Store. He worked for the George R. Hurn
Hardware Company in 1911. The next few years were varied ;
he moved to Medford and was employed in the
Medford Hardware Company, and later with the Medford
Furniture and Hardware Company; then lived for a short
time in San Jose, California, where his son was born. In
1914 he purchased an interest in the Dunsmuir Mercantile
Company at Dunsmuir, California ; in 1916 he was connected
with Shulers General Merchandise firm at
Mt. Shasta City, California.
On
January 1, 1917, Mr. Kirkpatrick again
centered his interests in Oregon after a six-year interval of
gaining wide experience in the mercantile business and
purchased the Fort Klamath Hotel, in
Fort Klamath. The following year he
bought an interest in the Merrill Mercantile Company at
Merrill, living there three years. From 1920 to 1926, he
was employed by the Klamath Clothing Company at
Klamath Falls, and from 1928 to 1929, was
employed with the old Brownsville Woolen Store of Klamath
Falls. In 1930 he took over the lease of this company and
opened a store under the name of Kirkpatrick and Kennett,
operating it with Webb Kennett until 1933, when he
purchased the Kennett interest to operate as Kirkpatrick
and Reeder, sold out his interest in the establishment in
1939 to Dick Reeder, thus ending an active career as one
of Klamath Falls' leading merchants during the years when
this growing city needed men of vision and enterprise.
Another of his successful enterprises was the purchasing
of old houses that he moved to his own lots, remodeled
into apartments and sold.
The
marriage of Mr. Kirkpatrick, in Klamath Falls, December 10, 1907, united him with Lola
Nelson, born in Spangle, Washington, April 19, 1882, the daughter of John R.
and Mary S. Nelson, pioneer settlers in Oregon who located
in Langell Valley in 1900, on what is now the Campbell
Ranch. Mrs. Kirkpatrick received her schooling in Spangle
and later in the Sacred Heart Academy in
Medford. She has been notably active
in P.T. A. work, is a Rebekah, and a member of the Oregon
Mothers. One son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Kirkpatrick,
Donald C., in San Jose, California,
January 1, 1918, now attending the
University of
Oregon, Class of 1941.
Fraternally, Mr. Kirkpatrick is a charter member of both
the Knights of Pythias and the Woodmen of the World in
Klamath Falls, and is a member of the
B.P.O. Elks, and of the Chamber of Commerce. During the
World War he was chairman of the local Red Cross drive. In
politics he is a Republican. He enjoys recreation in
hunting and outdoor sports, and he recalls with amusement
and pleasure the fun of the townspeople on early day boat
excursions on
Upper Klamath Lake. Mr. Kirkpatrick is known as
one of Klamath Falls' most public-spirited men,
with the interest of his home community coming first in
his heart, and he has done his full share in the
upbuilding of his city.
Good, Rachel Applegate: History
of Klamath County, Oregon : its resources and its
people, illustrated
Klamath
Falls, Or.: unknown, 1941, Page 438 440- Kirkpatrick,
Clarence & Lester
