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ADDINGTON

      James and Matilda Addington, both born in North Carolina, lived for some time in Georgia.  Four of their eight children were born there, three in Arkansas, and one in

Missouri.[1]

      Moses (Mode) Addington was born in Georgia in 1853. He married Katie Sipe in her native state, Missouri. Three sons, Moses, John, and Sylvanus G. ("Bud"), and a daughter, Minnie, were born before the families started west in 1886.[2]

      The Addington wagon train arrived in Council Valley in 1888 after two long, weary years on the way from Missouri. The group was entirely family members, including the grandparents, James and Matilda, their son Moses and his wife Harriet ("Katie"), and their four children.[3]

      Soon they were active in the development of the area.

      James Addington died at Meadows in January, 1909, at age eighty years. He is buried there.[4]  His wife, Matilda, born about 1830, died at Council and is buried in Kesler cemetery.[5]

      Harriet Sipe Addington (March 4, 1849-March 19, 1903) is buried in Meridian cemetery and so is her husband, Mode (Moses ).[6]

      Moses Addington was killed at Seneca, Missouri, April 19, 1921, in a gun fight which arose over ownership of a house. Mr. Addington and Bee Middleton shot each other to death and Middleton's son, Bee, was also shot.[7]

      Mr. Addington had lived at Council until 1917. He went to Missouri to live but planned to return to Council. His body was returned to Idaho and buried beside his wife.

      Bud Addington was an early businessman in Council. He was a buyer for a large meat-packing company and he also raised cattle and sheep.

      About 1899 he owned a meat market on Main Street [Illinois Ave.] and a slaughterhouse by the Weiser River. There was a disastrous fire, burning the entire block where the meat market stood. [1902] Several years later there was another fire which again destroyed the meat market. [1915] Bud's son, Hugh, remembers many hams, bacon, and other meats spread out on tables with everyone invited to help himself. The meat had gone through the fire and was very well cooked.

      The slaughterhouse stood on the bank of Weiser River. Indians were still coming to the valley at that time. They camped below the slaughter house. When butchering was done they came to ask for the entrails, which they cleaned and ate.[8] (The small ones were baked to a puffy crisp, like cracklings. The large ones were turned, cleaned, filled with fat, and baked. The heat caused them to puff and expand. This food was called mie-mie by the Nez Perce and was used as a seasoning.[9]

      Bud Addington married Anna Biggerstaff. They had one son, Hugh. Bud and Anna were divorced in 1909.[10] He married Myrtle Perkins in 1925.[11]  Anna moved from the area and died in Payette in 1959. Bud died November 28, 1937. He is buried in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery.[12]

[1] 1870 Census of Harrison, Boone County, Arkansas.

[2] Hugh Addington, interview.

[3]  Ibid.

[4] Council Leader, January 9, 1909.

[5] Hugh Addington, interview.

[6] Meridian Cemetery records, Meridian, Idaho; Adams County Leader, August 26, 1921.

[7] Adams County Leader, August 26, 1921.

[8] Hugh Addington, interview.

[9] Leda Scott Scrimsher, "Native Foods Used by the Nez Perce Indians of Idaho " M.A. thesis,

University of Idaho, 1967.

[10]  Hugh Addington, interview.

[11]  Marriage records, Washington County, Weiser, Idaho.

[12]  I.0.0.F. Cemetery records.

___________________________

ALLEN

Charlie Allen was a miner who was well known around Council and Salubria.

He was born April 28, 1868 in Montana, son of George and Olivia Moody. His maternal  grandparents, Robert Maybell and wife Sarah --, were born in Ireland. George and Olivia were married in Wisconsin and traveled from there to Montana by covered wagon before 1866 and settled near Helena. Olivia carried $50,000.00 sewn into her bustle. Charlie had a sister, Sarah, born about two years before he was.[1]

A group of ten men decided to go to "the geysers" (now Yellowstone Park) to prospect for gold. Among them was George Moody. The Indians considered the area their own and forbidden ground. The men were all killed.[2]

May 4, 1870, Olivia Moody married Levi Allen, who had been a friend of her late husband. They were married in Helena.[3] Levi was also a prospector and spent much time in Idaho. He was one of the party who discovered the Peacock mine in the Seven Devils.

Levi and Olivia Allen had one son, Grover Allen, born in 1873 in Montana.[4]

Charles Moody took his stepfather's name and for the rest of his life he was known as Charlie Allen.

In the 1870s and '80s Montana was a booming area. Mines were discovered and produced great wealth. Law and order were yet to come. Helena was a very rough town. Even the children saw much violence. While a small boy, Charlie went to town with his stepfather. They went into a saloon and Charlie stood near the door. A gunfight erupted between two men and the one standing next to the child was killed and fell against him).[5]

Soon after 1880 Levi Allen moved his family to Salubria, Idaho. From there they traveled through Council on their way to and from the Seven Devils. They lived for a while in the Devils mining area. Olivia was one of the first white women to live there.

Levi Allen owned a sawmill on Bacon Creek, near Salubria, and his sons worked there. In 1893 Levi was given a contract to provide telephone poles for the area.[6]

Charlie Allen leased Mathews' Meat Market in Salubria in March, 1894, and by fall he had mining claims in the Devils which became his real interest. From that time forward he was a miner and never lost his enthusiasm for outdoor life and the search for gold.[7]

Charlie married Mrs. Amy Smith in March, 1900. She was the widow of Frank Smith and had five children. She and Charlie had one daughter, Nettie. They were divorced in February, 1905, and, October 24 of that year Charlie married Ova "Josie" Biggerstaff White-widow of Robert White, Jr. of Council. She had two children--Ray and Ruth White. She and Charlie had sons--George and Ted.[8]

Allens lived above Council where Charlie had a sawmill and in 1912 moved to Glendale.

Josie had a violent temper and threatened at various times to kill Charlie by shooting him. Not knowing when she might actually try it, Charlie was careful not to leave any shells in his gun, but once he was tired and forgetful and failed to unload it.While he was eating dinner she took the gun and slipped outside. A sixth sense made him open the door in time to see her and knock the rifle (a .303 Savage) downward as she fired. He was shot twice in the leg. Leaving Charlie where he fell, she left, taking Ted, who was quite small. Charlie sent George for help.[9] According to the Weiser Weekly Signal, this happened at Tamarack on May 4, 1913.[10] The paper states clearly that the weapon was aimed at Charlie's head and that Josie meant to kill him and that this time the charges were far more serious than those of two years before when she beat a school teacher almost to death at Bear.[11]

The doctor said the leg must be amputated, but Charlie flatly refused, saying, "If I'm going to Hell I'll go on two legs!" Five days after the shooting the Allens moved to Council and rented a house behind the Zink hospital so Charlie would be close to the doctor and hospital. While he was hospitalized his best friend, Ike Whiteley, spent much time with him, smuggling in special things which he wasn't supposed to have. Charlie asked him to promise not to let them amputate his leg if he reached the point where he could not resist. Ike said he'd kill anyone who tried it, and that took care of the matter.[12]

The Leader of June 27, 1913, carried this account of the surgery:

Delicate Operation

Dr. Dudley came up Tuesday from Weiser and on Wednesday assisted Dr. Brown in performing a delicate operation on Charles Allen whose leg was broken by a shot from a rifle some six weeks ago. He could not be operated on at the time due to the mangled flesh about the bone. Wednesday the surgeons cut into the leg, removed five fragments of bone, dressed up the ends of the bone and put in three bone-plates, one on top and one on each side of the bone. There had been considerable destruction of the soft part around the bone, on account of which it will be some time before he can use the leg, but in the end he will have a good limb, possible a little shorter than the other.[13]

The leg was saved but Charlie limped the rest of his life. He and Josie divorced soon after he recovered.

Associated with mining all of his life, Charlie Allen's name appears in connection with the Yellow Jacket, Red Ledge, North Hornet, Peacock, and Blue Jacket mines, among others. He prospected on Deep Creek and Big Creek. As early as the snow melted he took a pack string and headed for his claims each year and returned before snow fell in the fall. In later years he did assessment work for several mining companies.[14]

Charlie had done lots of hand drilling and powder work. In 1927 he was hired as Superintendent of North Hornet mine. The company took a big diamond drill in there, hoping to open up a really large vein, but in January 1928 the mine was closed due to the owner's involvement in litigation concerning their Red Ledge mine.

A real conservationist, Charlie lived off the land. He never hunted for sport. He hunted and fished, in season or out, when he needed food. He had a deep respect for nature and he had no use for anyone who hunted just for sport or wasted game of any kind. He always said no game warden would take him in without a gun. One summer he and Frank Kennedy were out prospecting. With them were Charlie's sons, George and Ted. Provisions were running low so one of the men shot a deer. As they were dressing it out they saw the game warden coming. Frank Kennedy threw a tarp over the deer and then ran to a small stream nearby to wash the blood from his hands and Charlie, realizing that was too conspicuous, started digging in a small swampy place. He smeared mud over any spots of blood on himself and his clothes. He told the game warden he was trying to clean out a spring.[15]

Young George saw the fresh deer liver lying in full view on a log. It was too late to cover it so he quickly sat on it and remained there until the warden left.

Charlie said, "Let me see your gun, Jake. I think it's just like mine. The warden gave it to him and Charlie removed the shells before handing it back. "Thanks. I was running low on shells." "You can't do that. That's all the shells I've got," Jake said "Oh, you'll be back in town before I will." Of course, the warden knew what had been going on but there was little he could do at that point and he soon departed.[16]

About 1905 Charlie Allen had a sawmill at Landore and later one at Cuprum.

After Landore ceased to operate--the mines and smelter-Charlie and others were mining above White Monument. Supplies ran low so he walked to Landore, where he got a wheelbarrow, loaded it with a sack of flour and other supplies, and pushed it the many long uphill miles to their mine.

Among other things, Charlie was a freighter, driving the heavy clumsy freight wagons to various mining areas, hauling machinery, food, ore, or almost anything. A story was often told to illustrate his freighter's ability. He had a small wirehaired dog that went everywhere with him. On a trip from Cuprum to Homestead, Oregon, down the perilous Kleinschmidt grade, Charlie reached the bottom and missed his little dog. He walked back and found him near the top. It seems the dog could not make it around one of the sharp turns in the road.[17]

August 26, 1927, Charlie married Nellie Bond, stepdaughter of Grant Moore. They had one son, Charles Grant Allen.

Charlie Allen died May 9, 1938, at their home on Cottonwood. His marker in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery very appropriately depicts a miner and his pack string.[18]

To this writer Charlie Allen was a special breed of man. If he said something was true, it was. What he said he'd do, he did. He was gentleness itself to the very old and the very young. He never forgot a friend or forgave an enemy.

Olivia Allen moved to Spokane many years before her death there July 1, 1936.[19]

1 Nellie Stahl, Amity, Oregon, oral interview, 1974.

2 Ibid.

3 Marriage record, Olivia Moody and Levi Allen, Bureau of Vital Statistics,

Helena, Montana.

4 Nellie Stahl, interview.

5 Ibid

6 Salubria Citizen, June 9, 1893.

7 Nellie Stahl, interview.

8 Ibid.

9 Ibid

10 Weiser Weekly Signal, May 8, 1913.

11 Weiser Semi-Weekly Signal, January 27, 1911.

12 Nellie Stahl, interview.

13 Leader, June 27, 1913.

14 Nellie Stahl, interview.

15 Ibid.

16 Ibid.

17 Orril Lewis, telephone interview, 1974.

18 Nellie Stahl, interview.

19 Death certificate, Olivia Allen, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Olympia,

Washington.

More on the Allens:

From Winifred Lindsay --

Concerning Council Valley Museum photo 95439: The original of the photo of the Allens was donated to the Idaho Historical Society by Mrs. Alma Lorton Morrison of Walla Walla.   She was a childhood friend of Winifred's and furnished her with the following info from the Allen family bible:

 Levi Allen, born Missouri, 1839 - crossed the plains in 1859 going to Puget Sound area.  To Walla Walla in 1860 & engaged in sawmill business.  Married widow, Olivia Maybell Moody in 1871 who had two children, Sarah, b. 1867 and Charles, b. 1869: both were adopted by Mr. Allen.  Levi and his wife had one son, Grover b. 1873 - died 1953, never married.  Levi killed by car in 1919.

 Sarah Moody Allen married Eugene Lorton, a young printer, in 1886.  Mr. Lorton later became owner of the very prosperous Tulsa, Oklahoma World.  They had 4 daughters, one being Alma Lorton Morrison of Walla Walla.

 When Levi and Olivia married, Sarah was 4 yrs. old, Charles was age 2. Sarah & Eugene Lorton were married at Salubria were Alma was born.

See also: Lorton

________________________

ANDERSON

Rufus D. Anderson was born April 16, 1829, in Venago, Pennsylvania, and married Nancy Anne Davison there October 29, 1851.[1]

They were in Council Valley before 1877, for his name appears on a letter to Governor Brayman on that date, appealing for arms to protect the settlers from Indians.

Mrs. Anderson, born October 9, 1834, died November 8, 1897,[2] and is buried in the Kesler Cemetery.

Rufus Anderson was a Union veteran of the Civil War. He enlisted first on July 1, 1863, as a private at Omaha, Nebraska, in Company D, Second Regiment, Volunteer Nebraska Infantry and was discharged at Georgetown, Maryland, February 2, 1862, because of disability. He enlisted again in Company D, Second Nebraska Cavalry, on October 16, 1862, at Omaha and was discharged as wagoner September 18, 1863, by reason of expiration of service.[3]

He drew twelve dollars a month pension.  He was a blacksmith.

June 16, 1898, Rufus Anderson was admitted to the Old Soldier's Home, in Boise, due to "Senile weakness - complications, Mental stupor, wholly incapacitated."[4]

Rufus died April 30, 1899, and is buried in the Fort Boise Military Cemetery.[5]

His pension record shows his children: Horace W., George W., James J., Lovina L., Adaline, Preston G., and Olive May.

This was a tragic family. Mental illness stalked them. James committed suicide by jumping into the river.[6]

Preston Anderson, called "Press," was a hard working man and a good friend to those he liked. He was born in Weiser November 15, 1872, one of nine children. He was sent to the state hospital several times for mental problems.[7]

Press Anderson took a homestead when he was of age and lived on it all his life. At the time of his death there was only one other homesteader in the valley on his original entry.[8]

Press had some unusual ideas and was very religious. He wore his hair long and thought he was Jesus Christ. He had a deep fear of the devil and  did many things to keep him away from his farm on Hornet Creek.  He put crosses of tape on his windows to keep the devil out.  A patch of hay was always left in the center of the meadow because "The devil is in there." He bought a cow from Mr. Peebles but she developed sore teats and he asked Mr. Peebles to take her back.  He was sure the devil was in her.

One winter when hay was very scarce Press had an excess. Neighbors and even family wanted to buy some.  He said, "No.  My friend, Mr. Peebles, needs it."  It did not matter that Mr. Peebles had plenty to meet his needs. Press was looking out for a friend. [9] Press Anderson ran a blacksmith shop in town for a time. He died October 8 or 9, 1924, at his home.[l0] He and James are buried In the Kesler Cemetery.

Horace "Bill" Anderson, born 1857, married Delilah Anna Lane in Indian valley.  She was born in Indiana 1n1862.  Bill died of heart trouble at his home on Mill Creek in February, 1924.  Delilah died August 10, 1940.  They had ten children: Charlotte, Anne, Alta, Jessie, Elsie, Millie, Aaron E., Oliver L., Horace C., and Cornelia.[11]

Aaron Elsworth Anderson, son of Bill and Delilah, was born on the family ranch on Hornet Creek April 8, 1884.  He married Mary Winkler August 26, 1907. They had one son, George.[12]

 Mr. Anderson died at his home on Mill Creek in 1947 and is buried in the I.O.O. F. Cemetery.

1 Service record of Rufus D. Anderson, Veterans Hospital , Boise, Idaho.

2 Pension record of Rufus D. Anderson, General Services Administration,

Washington, D.C.

3 Ibid.

4 Service record of Rufus D. Anderson.

5 Ibid.

6 Weiser Signal, April 13, 1899.

7 Mrs. Nellie Peebles Smith, Boise, Idaho, oral interview, 1972.

8 Obituary of Press Anderson, Adams County Leader, October 17, 1924.

9 Mrs. Nellie Peebles Smith, interview.

10 Obituary of Press Anderson.

11 Obituary of Horace Willis Anderson, Adams County Leader, February 8,

1924.

12 Obituary of Aaron E. Anderson, Adams Count Leader, November 7, 1947.

----------------------------

B

BAIRD

Ewing Craig "Pinky" Baird was born near Little Rock, Arkansas, February 1, 1848. When he was six weeks old his family started west -- a trip which lasted seven months. They were often attacked by hunger and savage Indians. "Pinky" was one of fifteen children in the family.[1]

Early in 1849, the Bairds settled at Hangtown, near Sacramento, California. Later they moved to Oregon and homesteaded the site now occupied by the town of Grants Pass. Pinky lived there until he was nineteen years old. At that time he brought a herd of cattle over the Oregon Trail, crossed Snake River, proceeded to Upper Squaw Creek and to what is now Ola. His brother, Carol, had preceded him there by one year.[2]

E. C. "Pinky" Baird was a well-known Indian fighter. He served as an independent Indian scout for the government during the time of unrest in 1878-79. He was one of those who signed a petition to Governor Brayman in 1878 asking for guns and soldiers to protect the area from Indians who were on the rampage.[3]

Indians had killed some of his family and Pinky had a deep hatred of them. Believing that the only good Indian was a dead Indian, he did his best to make many of them good. Once when he was riding from Council to Meadows an Indian shot through his hat. He fell from his horse, pretending to be dead, but crawled behind a rock. He stuck his hat on a stick and held it barely above the rock. When the Indian came to finish him off Baird shot him.[4] Baird killed Eagle Eye, a renegade Shoshoni Indian who participated in the Billy Monday massacre. [Baird did not kill Eagle Eye, although he claimed to have done so. Also, the Indians responsible for the Billy Monday Massacre (also known as the Long Valley Massacre) were never identified.]

In early days E. C. Baird engaged in mining and freighting in Thunder Mountain, Warrens, and The Seven Devils area.[5] About 1892 he made his home in Council while freighting from the Seven Devils.[6]

March 31, 1906, he married Mrs. Ellen (Newell) Wilson, a widow. She died January 23, 1909, and on June 17, 1911, he married Mrs. Laura Gordon.

The life of this Colorful Character ended July 10, 1912, at his home north of Council. At his request he was buried in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery, under the auspices of that lodge.[7]

1 Obituary of Ewing Craig "Pinky" Baird, Council Leader, July 11, 1912.

2 Ibid.

3 Letters to Governor Brayman, Idaho Adjutant General's records, Idaho Territorial Archives, Boise.

4 Mary Thurston, interview.

5 Early Days of Adams County, Idaho.

6 Obituary of Ewing Craig "Pinky" Baird.

7 Ibid.

___________________________

BEIER

Frederick William Beier was the son of German-born William H. and Catherine Flore Beier. He was born at Buffalo, New York, November 19, 1853.[1]

Fred and his brother, Henry, attracted by the Virginia City gold rush, came west in 1875 or '76. They did little prospecting but worked at other things. After a few years they moved on to Ellensburg, Washington, where they remained about a year before their final move to Council Valley in 1883.[2]

May 3, 1887, Fred Beier married Amelia Snow, daughter of Bernard and Matilda Snow, of Indian Valley. She was born in 1866 at Ephriam, Utah, and came with her family to Indian Valley in 1882.[3]

In 1889 Fred Beier bought the homestead of Jacob and Elizabeth Groseclose. It contained one hundred and sixty acres.[4]  This was the family home until Fred's death. Beier's first enterprise, aside from farming, was a sawmill which gave Mill Creek its name.[5]

Herbert Beier tells some of his memories of that area:

At first Dad had a partner, Milt Wilkerson. Dad soon bought Wilkerson's share. I don't know the date of the first mill, located at the mouth of the canyon. I well remember the second location up the canyon, nearer the timber. The location of the mill, house barn, bunk house and the home are all vivid in my mind. I remember the six large oxen and some other details at that place. About 1898 must have been the end of our stay there. My brother, Fred, who was about ten years old, would read the war news (Spanish-American) from the weekly newspaper to the men. They thought he was a very smart boy.  We only went to the mill in summer. On Sunday, usually, mother, Fred and I would drive to the ranch and take produce to the mill.

The ranch home was a white weather-board two-story house, with a one-story wing added for a kitchen at a later date.  The house and other buildings were destroyed by fire on March 17, 1901--a St. Patrick's day I will always remember.

The large log barn, just east of the garden, was not burned but was torn down. The wagon and tool building, also the wood shed, were made from parts from the old barn.

I remember the first train I ever saw, probably about 1895-96. Dad was a County Commissioner and he took the family, mother, Will and me, to Weiser. The trip was made by team and wagon and we camped out two nights on the way.

By the time the railroad was built to Council Will and I were old enough to ride our pony down to a place near the mouth of Middle Fork to see the construction work. That was on Sunday so we only saw the train when not at work. It had gone to Weiser for supplies but we saw it return. At that time the plan was to build along the river to the mouth of Cottonwood but that route was abandoned for the present one. A crew of men worked all winter on the rock cut near Higgins' place. The men frequently came to our place on Sunday to buy apples.

Dad gave the land on which Cottonwood school was built.[6]

The Beier children were:  Fred, Herbert, Gerry, Nettie, Alice, and Donald.

Mr. Beier died September 1, 1933. Mrs. Beier hired men to operate the ranch and she moved to an apartment in Weiser. She died January 12, 1945.[7]

Henry Beier, born about 1856, married Viola Babcock. They had no children. Mr. Beier engaged in farming and cattle raising. He died at his home in Ontario, Oregon, November 22, 1919.[8]

1 Donald Beier, interview, Kuna, Idaho, 1974.

2 Ibid.

3 Ibid

4 Deed on file in Idaho State Archives, Boise, Idaho.

5 Donald Beier, interview.

6 Herbert Beier, California, in a letter to Donald Beier, 1974.

7 Donald Beier, interview.

8 Ibid.

___________________________

BIGGERSTAFF

Tolbert B. Biggerstaff, the second of five children of Wesley V. and Mary Ann Biggerstaff, was born in Carroll County, Arkansas, June 2, 1851. He married, in January, 1873, Harriet E. Whiteley, daughter of Joseph Whiteley and his first wife.[1]

Emily Biggerstaff, sister of Tolbert, married Lewis Harp and they came to Council about 1890.

Tolbert Biggerstaff moved his family from Arkansas to Missouri to Idaho. Records vary, showing 1886 and 1888 as time of arrival in Council Valley.

Mr. Biggerstaff was a rancher and operated a stage line. [He actually operated a stage stop (on Fort Hall Hill), not a line.]

Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Biggerstaff. They were: Anna, Ova, Josephine, Olive, Cora, Lida, Emma, and Arden C.[3]

Anna married Sylvanus G. ("Bud") Addington and had one son, Hugh. They separated and she moved from the area. They each remarried.[4]

Ova "Josie" married (1) Robert White, Jr., who served in the Spanish-American War. They had two children, Ruth and Ray White. Robert died in 1904*. Ova married (2) Charles Allen. Their children were George and Ted. She had a very violent temper and it almost cost someone's life on at least two occasions. January 11, 1911 she attacked Melissa Buriff, the school mistress of Bear Creek School, with a wooden club approximately four inches by eighteen inches, striking her about the head and face. Miss Buriff was so severely injured that she was put to bed immediately upon arrival at Robertson's, where she boarded. Next morning she was taken by sled to Council, put on the train to Weiser and was admitted to the hospital there as soon as possible. All of this was because of something reportedly said in the classroom. Ova was brought to trial on assault charges and found guilty. She was fined heavily and the newspaper gave her no sympathy, stating that the only reason she was not sentenced to prison was because she had several small children.[5]

 [*Robert died in 1906. Re: Weiser Signal April 21, 1906--Robert White Jr. died.  Was confined to his bed since November.  Crossed the plains as a boy.  Not quite age 30. Buried in Kesler Cemetery.]

Two years later she was again in trouble for attempted murder. She tried to kill her husband by shooting him with a rifle.[6]  Soon after that she and Charlie Allen were divorced and she moved to Payette and married several more times before 1955, when she died.

A. C. Biggerstaff was arrested for murder at Copperfield, Oregon, February, 1909. He was charged with killing an old man named Moore. The old fellow was beaten so badly that he died several days later, never having regained consciousness. Biggerstaff admitted having fought with him but protested he was not responsible for his death.[7] In later years A. C. Biggerstaff lived in California.

Lida Biggerstaff married Don Mathias and died very young of a brain tumor.

Emma married Edward Eugene Hart. Cora married (1) Patsy Kane and (2) I. N. Goldsmith. Olive married J. J. Jones.

Tolbert B. Biggerstaff died in Payette August 31, 1929. Harriet, his wife, died there also at the home of her daughter, Ova J. Applegate, January 29, 1939. Both are buried in Kesler Cemetery at Council.

1 Obituary of Tolbert B. Biggerstaff, Adams County Leader, September 8,

1929.

2 Ibid.

3 Ibid

4 Hugh Addington, interview.

5 Weiser Semi-Weekly Signal, January 27, 1911.

6 Weiser Weekly Signal, May 8, 1913.

7 The Leader, February 12, 1909.

  BIGGERSTAFF         

      FROM 1910 Census of "Weiser Canyon"

site # 149  Tolbert B. and Harriet E. Biggerstaff (55) - his age illegible - both born in Arkansas - married 37 years - 7 kids born, 6 now living -  his occupation illegible but looks interesting  site # 150  James (30) and Emma (22) Harp -  married 4 years - 2 kids: Eva (4) and Hattie (3) both born in Idaho.  Farmer

____________________________

BLACK

William Black planted the first commercial orchard on Hornet Creek in 1885.[1] The fruit was of prize-winning quality and was known nationally and internationally. It took a prize at the Chicago World's Fair and some was sent to London and Paris for exhibition. Before long others saw that the area was adapted to fruit growing and many commercial orchards sprang up, making fruit one of the county's most important crops.

The school report of District 25--Council--for 1885 shows that Mrs. Dora Black was the teacher. She taught for some time on Hornet Creek.

In 1892 there was an epidemic of diphtheria in which two small sons of William and Dora Black died. They were among a number of deaths in the area caused by the dreaded disease. Harry R. Black - age 8 years, 3 months. Ralph Black - age 30 months. Their little graves are under the only pine tree in the alfalfa field on  the family farm, which is now owned by William Kampeter. [2694 Upper Dale Road] They are surrounded by a white picket fence and Mr. Kampeter carefully tends them.

Mr. Black sold the farm to B. B. Day in 1901 and they moved away from Idaho. Health authorities would not allow the children's bodies to be moved, fearing the diphtheria germs would be spread and cause a new outbreak of the disease. Mrs. Black tried again in recent years to have them moved, but it was again forbidden.[2]

1 Lorene Mitchell, "Historical Facts of Adams County," manuscript, in Idaho

State Historical Society Library, Boise.

2 Edith Zink, Mountain Home, Idaho, oral interview, 1974.

______________________________

BOWMAN

Earl Wayland Bowman, born in Missouri March 13, 1875, was orphaned at the age of ten or twelve and rambled over the west.

As a youngster in Salt Lake City he was broke and apprenticed himself to a printer. This was to have a lasting effect on his life. He rode the Texas range as a cowboy for a time.

In 1902 Mr. Bowman and his wife, Elva, moved to Council where they took an 80-acre homestead and he began his writing career. During the four years they were proving up on their homestead he wrote newspaper editorials. One of these pointed to the need of a newspaper in Council. Ivan Durell came and established such a paper--the Council Leader, which later became the Adams County Leader. Bowman walked the five miles round trip from his home to town, to set the type for the newspaper. He wrote editorials and news and sold ads. In 1912 he was a feature writer for the Boise Capital News and later published a magazine called "The Golden Trail."[1]

In May, 1910, E. W. Bowman bought a White Steamer automobile to transport land speculators about the valley, hoping to interest them in investing in land and orchards.[2]

Earl Wayland Bowman was elected in 1914, by a large majority, to the Idaho State Senate. He was Idaho's only Socialist legislator.[3] He worked to have Adams County formed from a portion of Washington County and next he lobbied to have Council made the County seat.[4]

Bowman served as war correspondent for the Boise Capital News in July 1916 when trouble erupted on the Mexican border. He was attached to the Second Idaho Regiment of the National Guard.[5]

When he returned from Mexico they moved to Boise. Here he wrote The Ramblin' Kid, which was published as a serial in a weekly magazine and later in book form. It was made into a movie in 1923, starring Hoot Gibson.

Among his later works were Solemn Johnson Plus and Arrowrock, which included his poems and seven short stories which had been printed in Argosy and The American Magazine.

Mr. and Mrs. Bowman had two daughters.

Mr. Bowman died in Los Angeles. His works have been given to the Boise State University Library. These include books, letters, magazines, newspapers, original manuscripts, and unpublished novels.

1 Obituary of Earl Wayland Bowman, Adams County Leader, September 19, 1952

2 The Leader, May 13, 1910.

3 Obituary of Earl Wayland Bowman.

4 Ibid.

5 Ibid.

_____________________________

BRAUER

William Brauer was born February 24, 1839, in the village of Bergholtz, Province of Uckermark, Prussia. He came to America with his family when he was about eight years old.

He married August 28, 1878, in Rawlins, Wyoming, Lydia M. (Groseclose) McCann, widow of H. J. McCann. She had five children. Her first husband died March 7, 1878 in a three-day storm.

Lydia Groseclose was born May 9, 1850, at Boon River, Iowa, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Groseclose.

Guy Brauer was born October 9, 1880, at Lake Creek, Carbon County, Wyoming Territory.

William Brauer was a staunch Mason. He mortgaged his farm in Wyoming to build the Masonic Hall there.

He was a sheepman in Wyoming. He brought his family to visit his wife's parents in Council. He saw how well apples and other crops grew in the valley and was impressed by such productivity. He sold his sheep and ranch and moved to Hornet Creek. They traveled with three teams of horses, two wagons, and a two-seated covered buggy. One wagon was the typical covered variety. One was a sheep wagon, covered, too, but arranged to serve as cook wagon for a sheep camp. Mr. Brauer had kept it when he sold the sheep. It was used for cooking the family's meals on the trip.

C

CAMP

Harrison Camp was born in Shippensville, Pennsylvania, December 21, 1838. He came west in 1858 as an employee in government transportation service and was a government teamster during the time the Indians and whites were struggling for supremacy. He went back to Kansas and married Elizabeth Jane Fife January 13, 1869. They started west in 1882 with three children. One winter was spent in eastern Oregon and then they went on to Council where they arrived July 7, 1883. They homesteaded two miles north of town, on Mill Creek. They had three sons, William, Byron, and Floyd, and two daughters, Grace and Bessie.[1]

Mrs. Camp died April 30, 1913.[2]  Mr. Camp died June 12, 1920.

William H. Camp was born in Kansas in 1869. He married Mary Delight Warner. Their children were Ella, Barney, Harry, Amos, and Gene. William died of blood poisoning June 16, 1937.[3]

Mary Delight Warner was born February 20, 1873, at Willard City, Utah, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Amos Warner. She came to Idaho with her parents in 1883. The family settled first at Albion, and in 1890 they moved to Bear Creek, north of Council. She married William Camp at Cuprum in 1904.

They lived there until moving February 2, 1959. She and her husband are buried in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery.[4]

1 Obituary of Harrison Camp, Adams County Leader, June 18, 1920.

2 Obituary of Elizabeth Jane Camp, Adams County Leader, April 30, 1913.

3 Obituary of William H. Camp, Adams County Leader, June 18, 1937.

4 Obituary of Mary D. Camp, Adams County Leader, February 2, 1959.

_____________

CANNON, BILL

Bill Cannon squatted on a claim near the head of Rapid River.

He was the first one in there according to Ace Barton.  Cannon

Creek was named after him.*Tape of Ace Barton by Camp

CARR

J. A. Carr was born in Loudon County, Virginia, October 5, 1855, and died October 12, 1937.[1]

In 1891 he settled in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was married there in 1901 to Harriet Piper. They came to Council in 1903 with her brother, Seldon Piper, and his wife.[2]

Joseph and Harriet Carr homesteaded 160 acres at the foothills just east of the village of Council and made a home there.[3] He brought irrigation water to his land and raised peaches and apples of excellent quality. He took an exhibit of apples to the National Horticultural Congress at Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 1907 and brought home seven silver cups and a number of medals and ribbons. This eventually led to planting of many Council Valley orchards and Mesa Orchard. In other years he again attended the Horticultural Congress and added more trophies to his collection.[4]

Mr. Carr maintained an insurance and real estate office in Council for many years. A. L. Freehafer was his partner for nine years prior to 1915, when the Freehafers moved to Payette.[5]

Mrs. Carr was a Sunday School teacher in the Congregational Church for years.

1 Obituary of J. A. Carr, Adams County Leader, October 15, 1937.

2 Ibid.

3 Homestead records, state office, Bureau of Land Management, Boise.

4 Obituary of J. A. Carr.

5 Ibid.

_________________________________

CHILDS

Henry Childs, born about 1840 in Virginia, was Hornet Creek's first settler. He was one of three bachelors living in the area before the Moser family arrived in 1876.[1] [Childs arrived in 1868]

It was he who gave Hornet Creek its name. He spent the winter of 1876 on the Creek and, in the summer, noted the nests of hornets. After a very unpleasant encounter with a nest of them he told Mosers there were millions of them up there.[2]

Mr. Childs homesteaded on Hornet Creek[3] and at one time had a partner, A. W. Peebles. This did not work out well and before long Mr. Peebles moved his family to Cottonwood.

The census of 1880 shows John Milligan and Henry Childs were both miners by occupation and were boarding with the John Anderson family.[4]

For a time Henry Childs served as a Justice of Peace.[5]

The Council Leader reported that Henry Childs left Council May 3, 1910, and returned to his old home in Oneida, New York, to spend the rest of his days. He had been a resident of Council valley for about forty-two years. From this it would seem that he arrived about 1868, which was eight years before the first family settled at Council.

1 Matilda Moser manuscript.

2 Ibid.

3 Homestead records, state office, Bureau of Land Management, Boise.

4 1880 census, Council Valley, Washington County, Idaho.

5 Records of First Bank of Council, Idaho Historical Society, Boise.

?

6 Council Leader, May 5, 1910.

7 Ibid.

_________________________________

CLIFTON (see Groseclose)

John Henry Clifton deserted the military and changed his name from "Kronic" to Clifton. [Info from

Helen Zielinski, 1999]

_________________________________

COOL

L. S. Cool was the editor of Council's first newspaper--The Council Journal--in 1901. In 1905 it became the Advance and Mr. Cool was still editor and publisher. This paper had a short life, and the area was soon without a newspaper until Ivan Durrell started the Leader in 1908.[1]

Fred Cool, brother of L. S. Cool, herded sheep for a Utah outfit. When he quit that job he had four hundred dollars. He rented a shed and an old fanning mill and started cleaning grain. People laughed at him, but he kept on and soon had a thriving feed store.[2]

He shipped cattle and became prosperous. People stopped laughing and started calling him "Mr. Cool." He said, "No, it's still just Fred." Prosperity did not change him.

Fred Cool bought the bank, treated people fairly and honestly, and made money. Within ten years he was reported to be a millionaire.  He was a shrewd businessman.[3] He sold the bank in 1922 and moved to Portland, where he died in 1940.[4]

[Fred Cool ran a hotel in Portland for several years, after he was partners with Dale Donnelly in the feed store in Council.]

1 Adams County Leader, November, 1924.

2 Lin Peebles, Emmett, Idaho, oral interview, 1974.

3 Ibid.

4 Adams County Leader, April 26, 1940.

_____________________________________

COPELAND

James Copeland was born In Alabama about 1844. He married Ida, daughter of Alex Kesler, born 1863 in Virginia. She was barely fourteen when they married.[1]

They came to Council in 1878 with Ida's parents, Alex and Martha Kesler, Andy Kesler, the William Harp family, and the George A. Winkler family. Some of the party stopped in Boise and some in Indian Valley, but they soon came on to Council, too.[2]

The 1880 census of Washington County shows the Copelands' children were a two-year-old son, William, and a three-month-old daughter, unnamed.

James Copeland was the discoverer of Copeland mines in Long Valley.  The Copelands farmed in Long Valley for a short time but soon sold out and moved from the area.

---------------------

From: "Valley County Idaho-Prehistory to 1920", edited by Shelton Woods, Action Publishing, 2002, page 45:

"In the area now called Copeland Flat, James Copeland found placer gold in 1863. Therafter, he mined it alternately with his claims in the Boise Basin. The few references which remain of this area refer to Copeland's Diggings as occupied by seasonal miners from Boise Basin.

"In the 1870 census, Copeland's Diggings were mingled with Deadwood and all other areas north and east of Garden Valley. If James Copeland was at Copeland Flat, that year as supposed, that subsection (Deadwood 2-3 1) of the census counted him and 14 others at Copeland's Diggings.

"In the 1880 census, Copeland Flat was only occupied by James Crew and Daniel Dinnin, but two new placer areas had opened up. The first was Kennally's Diggings (Kennally Creek). Kennally had departed the area by then, making William Evens the sole resident at Kennally's Diggings. The second placer area was "Lakeville".

In the 1880 census, James Copeland was located at Lakeville with John Wilson and Lyman Smith. The trio were listed as "mess mates," meaning that they were independent miners rather than partners. "Lakeville" was probably Jim Creek, three miles below present-day McCall where Copeland formally filed claims in 1894.

"Small placers are short-lived. After 1870, Copeland wintered in the Council Valley with his family, and Copeland's activities would seasonally move each year. Where the censuses found Copeland was simply a snapshot in time. The salient point is that gold was largely confined to the Gold Fork River. Copeland gave the county two place names: Copeland Flat for his surname, and Jim Creek, the diminutive of his given name.

1 1880 census, Council Valley, Washington County, Idaho.

2 Matilda Moser manuscript.

_______________________________________

COSSITT

Harlow Hopkins Cossitt married Minerva Isabelle Green at Buffalo Gap, Dakota Territory, March 31, 1886. She was born in Park County, Indiana, September 17, 1854.[1] They farmed in the Black Hills of South Dakota before moving farther west. Four children were born in South Dakota.[2]

They stopped for a while at Parkman, Wyoming. Their youngest son, Frank, was born there during a terrible blizzard. Mr. Cossitt was away from home at the time and only the children were with their mother. The oldest daughter, who was under seven years old, was her only help. The date was December 16, 1894.[3]

Apparently the family had wanderlust and an urge to get to Idaho. Traveling by wagon and oxen they arrived in Council with five small children about 1899. They lived first with the Poynors on their ranch on Mill Creek. The Poynors had one of the first orchards in the valley. The Cossitts were friends of the Krigbaum family, who lived on what would later be known as Deseret Ranch.

Prior to 1901, the Cossitts moved to town and Mrs. Cossitt opened a restaurant and boarding house across the street from the area on which the Pomona Hotel was built later. There were few boarders at a time because there were only two or three rooms upstairs. The restaurant was a busy place. There Mrs. Cossitt fed many people. Miners who were down on their luck were sure of a meal there whether they had the price or not. No man went hungry. Some paid at the time, some paid later, and some never paid. She kept no records--just each man's conscience caused him to feel guilty if he ignored his debt to her.[4] Winklers owned the building which housed her restaurant, but in 1911 when the Pomona Hotel was built Mrs. Cossitt sold her business for $2,000.00 and the new owners operated it for some time. Her husband built a home near the railroad tracks. In later years this was the home of the Lemon family.[5]

Minerva Cossitt, known to many as "Mother Cossitt," was a short lady--very energetic, hard- working, gentle, and generous. She was a midwife who delivered many babies in Council valley. She assisted Dr. Frank E. Brown for years. A very special baby whose birth she attended was Ida Cox, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James B. Cox. The mother died shortly after the child was born and Mr. and Mrs. Cossitt raised her as their own child.[6]

H. H. Cossitt was a carpenter. He built many of Council's residences. In 1902 he and Charley Whiteley built the annex on the schoolhouse on the hill. An advertisement in the Council Journal that same year stated, "H. H. Cossitt has a complete line of coffins, caskets and burial robes." He became Adams County's first coroner when the county was formed in 1911.

There were five Cossitt children. Three of them married Council people. Lyman married Edna Belle Seavey. Nancy Harriet married Lewis Winkler, Frank married Vera Simmons. Ed married a lady from Weiser. Gertrude worked in the bank when Mr. Clapp was manager and later moved to California.

1 Obituary of Minnie Isabelle Cossitt, Adams County Leader, July 28, 1922.

2 Ida Cox Jacobsen, Boise, Idaho, oral interview, 1973.

3 Ibid.

4 Obituary of Minnie Isabelle Cossitt.

5 Ida Cox Jacobsen, interview.

6 Ibid.

_______________________________________

COX

James Buchanan Cox was a blacksmith. About 1900 he, his wife, and four children came from the Eugene, Oregon, area to settle in Council

Mrs. Cox died in 1901, shortly after the birth of their daughter, Ida. J. B. Cox was a partner of Winklers in the blacksmith shop for a while. After that he returned to Oregon, leaving his tiny daughter for Mrs. Cossitt to raise. The next oldest child was seven years older than Ida and did not require the care which an infant did.

Ida's first school was the one on the hill. About mid-term of her first year that school was closed and the children moved to the new brick one. Her teacher was Mamie Grey, a sister of Mrs. L. L. Burtenshaw. When Ida was about five years old there was a big fire in town. She said:  I went to watch the fire, but was more impressed by the ladies from the fancy house. My, they were so pretty! I wasn't supposed to look at them, of course. It was forbidden to even look at the fancy house. I was supposed to look at the other side of the street. But everyone else was watching the fire instead of me so I could look as much as I liked. The house was the building which now houses the Adams County Leader. There were lots of ladies and probably five or six rooms upstairs.[1]

1 Ida Cox Jacobsen, interview.

_____________________________________

CRISS

Sam and Harry Criss were Jewish peddlers who came first to Council with packs. Soon they brought packages or bundles of fabric, thread, needles, scissors, and similar items necessary to make dresses and suits.[1]

About 1898 they settled in Council and opened a store.

Harry Criss moved to Weiser in 1913 and opened a store in the Weiser Hotel.

In 1915 Sam Criss's store burned and he opened in a temporary location, but he soon had a new store.[2]

He married Bessie Jermuloski. He died in 1933 and Mrs. Criss moved to Portland. She died August 13, 1955, at Richmond, Virginia, but she is buried in Portland.[3]

1 Matilda Moser manuscript.

2 Adams County Leader, April 1, 1915.

3 Ibid., August 26, 1955.

_____________________________________

CUDDY

John Cuddy was not a Council resident, but he was an important factor in its development for it was his mill which provided all of the flour used in the area in early days.

He was born in Tipperary, Ireland, November 15, 1834, and came to America with his family when he was six years old.[1]  In 1871 he married Delia Tyne, who was also born in Ireland.[2]  She was a gay, laughing girl who loved life and feared nothing.

In 1869 he settled on Rush Creek,[3] five miles north of the present town of Cambridge. Here he built a two-story lumber and grist mill. On the ground floor he sawed rough lumber and he ground flour in the upper story. Cuddy flour became an important item of food in the mining camps of Boise Basin, Warrens, and Florence as well as in Council Valley, Salubria, and Middle Valley. Mrs. Cuddy cut and sewed the flour sacks, then stamped "Cuddy's Flour" on them. These sacks were put to a multitude of uses in every household, becoming children's clothes, quilts, curtains, aprons, dish towels, and diapers.

One winter John Cuddy started to Boise with two four-horse teams and wagons loaded with dressed hogs and bacon. Snow and mud were so deep it took them four days to travel nine miles. They took the loads as far as possible each day and then returned to the house to sleep.

On one trip from Boise Cuddy brought back several hundred pounds of stock salt. He also brought some kerosene which spilled all over the salt, making it unusable. However, he had no intention of discarding such a valuable load. He spread the salt out in the spring sunshine which soon evaporated the odor.

John Cuddy was liked by almost everyone. Chief Joseph, of the Nez Perce Indians, was his very good friend.

The 1880 census of Washington County lists their children: Katie, Nellie, John, Mary, and a six- month-old son who was as yet unnamed.

John Cuddy died November 9, 1899, and is buried in the Salubria Cemetery.

1 Obituary of John Cuddy, Salubria Citizen, November 10, 1899.

2 1880 Census of Washington County, Idaho.

3 Obituary of John Cuddy.

D

DAVIS

Byron DeKalb Davis and family came from Colorado, via Washington, to Council about 1887.

They lived first on Cottonwood and later on Hornet Creek.[1]

1 Matilda Moser, notes, unpublished.

[There is a whole book on this Davis family: "Listen the Pine Trees are Singing" by Cary Davis

George.]

______________________________________

DOUGHTY

Charles Thomas Doughty was born in western Jackson County, Ohio, February 2, 1882. In his youth he migrated to Oklahoma, and then to Council when he was about twenty years old. He worked first on the East Fork ditch and then for Mr. Peck on Hornet Creek for a year and a half.[1]

He attended Boise Business College and then worked in J. F. Lowe's general merchandise store for three and one half years. Then he became a partner of George Winkler, Sr., and Sam Criss in Council Hardware. Before long the other partners sold their interest to M. C. Fuller, who later retired, leaving Tom the sole owner.[2]

November 7, 1906, Tom married Katie Hart of Council. To them were born six children, four of whom grew to maturity. They were Ralph A., Helen, Norman, and Louise.[3] The other two died as infants in a very tragic manner. Lola Allison and Raymond Eugene, one a baby and the other only two years old, were burned to death in a home fire August 7, 1909. Their tiny bodies were recovered from the ashes next day and were buried in one casket.[4]

Tragedy continued for this family. While on a fishing trip to Granite Lake with friends, Tom was drowned July 17, 1932.

Katherine ("Katie") Amelia Hart was born October 1, 1888, at Lincoln, Nebraska, and moved to Council as a child with her family. She attended Council schools. In 1934, after her husband's death, she moved to Nampa, where she remained until her death March 12, 1963.[5]

1 Obituary of Charles Thomas Doughty, Adams County Leader, July 22, 1932.

2 Ibid.

3 Ibid.

4 Council Leader, August 13, 1909.

5 Obituary of Katherine Amelia Doughty, Adams County Leader, March 15, 1963.

______________________________________

DRAPER

John W. Draper was born in Indiana October 17, 1842. He came to Idaho as a young man and settled in Middle Valley. He was married in 1883 at Council to Mary Elizabeth Harrington, daughter of William Riel Harrington and his wife Martha (Lovelace). Mary was born in Wyandotte County, Kansas, November 4, 1862, and came to Idaho with her father and brothers in 1882.[1]

Mr. and Mrs. Draper had six children. Emma died at age three and Jessie as an infant. James, Nute, Minnie, and Lydia grew to be adults.

John Draper died September 25, 1914, and Mary in 1942.

1 Obituary of Mary Elizabeth Harrington Draper, Adams County Leader, April 3, 1942.

__________________________________

DUREE

The Duree family were French Huguenots who came to America before the Revolutionary War.

Before long they migrated into Kentucky and from there to Indiana.[1]

Isaac Jackson Duree, son of Peter W. and Rebecca Duree, was born in Indiana November 18, 1827. His father was a Methodist minister. By 1850 the family was living in Mercer County, Missouri.[2] I. J. Duree (known as "Jackie") married Rachel--, born August 2, 1831, in Indiana. They had five sons and five daughters. Rachel died in Princeton, Missouri, May 2. 1876. Jackie then married Nancy Lenore Norman, a widow with a son, Mel Norman.[3]

Nancy was born July 2, 1842, in Indiana. She moved to Missouri with her parents when she was nine years old. She married Jackie Duree in Mercer County in 1877.

Jackie Duree brought his family to Idaho by train. They came in an emigrant car in which the family rode with all their possessions. They were let off the train at the Weiser River bridge. They went to the Midvale area, settling first in Lower Valley, then to the upper end of Middle Valley. They were there about six years before moving to Council Valley in 1888.[4]

They settled in the Cottonwood area. Their homestead was on the east side of the road into Council, on Lester Creek.[5] Their grandson, John Gould, remembers when the telephone came to Council in 1906. He watched as the wires were strung and ran to tell his grandmother about them because they were shiny and exciting.

Nim Duree made a trip to Boise once a year, hauling hogs to market and, on the return trip, bringing

groceries and supplies.[6]

Later, Durees lived up Cottonwood Canyon.

The Duree children who came to Council were (by first wife):

Dave Duree--married (1) Ida Moser (2) Ella Shaw Nimon--did not marry

Ellen--married Frank Potter Viola--married George Gould Mel Norman--step-son--ran the dray line and the stage line from Council to Cuprum and other towns in that area.

(By second wife):

Ida Duree--married Edgar Moser

Charlie--born June 10, 1881, died December 26, 1892

Jackie Duree died while on a visit to a son in Hanston, Kansas, November 10, 1903. His widow, Nancy Lenore, married Henry Shaw in 1907. She died May 17, 1911, and is buried in the Cottonwood Cemetery.[7]

1 John Gould, Council, Idaho, oral interview, 1971.

2 1850 census of Mercer County, Missouri.

3 John Gould, interview.

4 Ibid.

5 Homestead records, state office, Bureau of Land Management, Boise.

6 John Gould, interview.

7 Ibid.

ECKLES, BILLIE

Billy Eckles: Harris, p 23: Eckles was elected sheriff in 1892

and has since lived in the Salubria Valley,... and was in the

mercantile business at Cambridge."  Forest p 24

ECKLES, JOHN

Eckles Creek was named after JOHN Eckles, who was first a

prospector and later the first settler on Big Bar on the Snake

River.  Conley p 144 "Early pioneers Arthur Ritchie and John

Eckles are buried there. [Big Bar] Amos Camp and Jesse Smith

said Mr. Kinney was also interred on Big Bar, in a grave now

beneath the water.  The grave markers were provided and

packed by A. Huntley...."

1900 census:  John Eckles  Apr 1840, Ohio   age 60    single

miner Camp p 10 "John Eckles and Arthur Ritchie settled here

[on Big Bar] in the early 1890's and started growing fruit and

vegetables to sell to the mining communities high in the

mountains."  "John Eckles won top prizes in the Trans-

Mississippi Fair at Omaha, Nebraska, in 1898 for his fruit.

These hardy farmers would harvest their produce, pack it on

mules and ride into the Seven Devils Mountains to sell their

wares to hungry miners." CL July 4, 1912: John Eckles died

while doing his morning chores, had a coughing spell just

outside his cabin.  His sister and her husband came out to find

him coughing up blood.  They carried him into the cabin, but he

had died by the time they got him to his bed.  Lived on his Snake

River ranch for 25 years [since 1887] and lived in this part of

Idaho for about 30 years [1882].  He was 72 years old, never

married.  Funeral service held in his home.

EVANS

      FROM 1910 Census of "Weiser Canyon"

site #154 - Thomas (35) and Lucy (25) Evans - he is Ranger for Forest Service - 3 kids: daughter (illegible) age 3, Thomas 4, Mary 1 yr 2 mos.

_______________________________________________

FRAISER

    John W. Frasier Called   By   Death John Walker "Pete" Frasier, 78 of Weiser, who served as an Adams county commissioner for dozen years, died  Tuesday morning at a Weiser hospital after an illness of two weeks. Services will be held this (Friday) afternoon at 2:30 p.m. at the Cambridge Baptist church, with the Rev. Dale Wakem officiating.   Internment will follow at Cambridige,  under the direction of the Northam-Jones  chapel of Weiser. Mr. Frasier was born  Dec. 3, 1881, in Nevada, 'Mo., and married in, Missouri to  Willette Carter Nov. 2, 1902,  The couple moved to Coffeyville, Kan.., where  heloperated: a livery stable with his brother, A. B. Frasier.

    From 1907 to 1910  the family lived in Montana, and  then   at Ontario and in the  Boise valley where he farmed.  In 1910 they moved' to a ranch in. Indian Valley, where Mrs. Frasier died June 16, 1939. On June 24, 1940, he married Lena Schillig and the  couple moved to Vale where Mr. Frasier spent the next five years associated: in the operation of the Vale Livestock Commission company, work that he continued for. the Weiser Livestock Commission company from 1950 to 1957.

    Mr. Frasier was a  Production Credit association director and a member of the IOOF at  Indian Valley, the Elks at Weiser,  the Modern Woodmen and the Council Valley Grange. Surviving are his wife, Lena, at Weiser; two sons, John Frasier, Council, and Hal F. Frasier, In-Indian Valley;  one daughter, Mrs. Walter Grossen  Camibridge; a stepson George Schillig, Dallas, Texas; a brother, George Frasier; Nevada, Mo.; a sister, Mrs. Mary Walton,  Parsons,  Kan,  and nine grandchildren  Three sons and a daughter preceded their father in death.

FIFER

William M. Fifer was born in Missouri September 19, 1873. His family moved to Montana when he was very young. He went to Weiser, where he was a jeweler's apprentice in 1900.

He married Mabel --; and in 1904 they moved to Council, where Mr. Fifer had the town's first jewelry store. Within a few years the family moved to Parma, Idaho, and in 1936 to Redmond, Oregon.

There were two sons, Harold and Ivan.

Mr. Fifer died July 3, 1962.[1]

1 Obituary of William M. Fifer, Adams County Leader, July 5, 1962.

________________________________________

FREEHAFER

Albertus L. Freehafer, born February 12, 1868, in Richland County, Ohio, was the son of Andrew and Martha Kinton Freehafer. He married Olive Robinson in Ohio August 18, 1897. She was the daughter of Samuel and Anna Robinson.[1]

Albertus was a gifted child and went to school at an early age. He graduated from high school in Belleville, Ohio, and in 1893 he received his degree from Ohio Northern University. He taught school for three years, then entered a law office where he remained for three and one half years before moving to Utah. There he went back to teaching school and became principal of Scofield, Utah, high school. In 1902 the family came to Council to teach school. They taught in the schoolhouse on the hill, Mr. Freehafer teaching the upper grades, Mrs. Freehafer the middle grades, and Maude Peters taught the lower grades. Mr. Freehafer was Council 's first school principal. He served for three years.[2]

Mr. Freehafer took the bar examination before the Supreme Court and was admitted to practice law. In this field he spent the rest of his life.

A. L. Freehafer was in the insurance and real estate business with Joseph A. Carr, was a director of the First Bank of Council, and handled the legal matters for the merger of the Council State Bank and the First Bank of Council. He was elected in 1906 to the state legislature as county representative. He was elected state senator in 1908 and again in 1910. He was chairman of the board of trustees of Council and was appointed city attorney in 1911.[3]

Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Freehafer had only two children: Marie, born in May, 1898, and a baby who died in 1912. Marie married William McC1ure and they are the parents of Jim McClure, Idaho's United States Senator.[4]

Some time after Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Freehafer came to Council his parents came. They soon returned to Ohio but Mr. Freehafer came back to Idaho later and died there in 1915 at age seventy-five.[5]

William E. Freehafer, brother of Albertus, was born in Ohio January 18, 1875, and first came to Idaho to visit his brother. His wife was Lillie Uselding, whom he married in Grafton, Wisconsin, November 28, 1906. They came to Council that same year and remained the rest of their lives.  At one time he operated a confectionery store and for many years was active in mining and real  estate.

They had one son, William E., Jr., and a daughter Rose Ethel Freehafer.

[The original info here said William E., Jr had "one son, William E., Jr., and one daughter, Emily.[6] This was corrected by Kara Bachand, the granddaughter of Rose Ethel in June of 2009]

1 French, History of Idaho, v. 2, p. 810.

2 Ibid.

3 Ibid.

4 Marie McClure, Payette, Idaho, oral interview, 1973.

5 Ibid.

6 Obituary of William E. Freehafer, Adams County Leader, August 5, 1960.

GALEY

In 1910 four young men came to Council from Pennsylvania. They were Bill Spahr, Bob Lindsay, Paul Schaff, and Tom Galey. Tom Galey stayed only one summer but the others remained to make Council their home. Frank Galey arrived in 1911.[1] They all came from families who had a little money and could afford an adventure. They had "itchy feet" and wanted to see the west.[2] They were joined by Mason Kerr in 1921.[3]

The young men bought ninety acres of newly planted apple trees as a Promotion scheme for stock sales in Pennsylvania. Most of those trees died. [4]

Later Frank Galey planted more trees on his ranch northeast of town, and they produced well until they were pulled because of old age.

Eventually Frank Galey bought the Mason Kerr tract which adjoined his own acreage and also the 130-acre Deseret Ranch on the west side of Highway 95.[5]

While visiting his mother in Orlando, Florida, Frank met Edith McGuire. They were married April 27, 1925. Their children were Romaine, Frank, Jr., Dorothy, and Maribel.

Frank S. Galey, born November 16, 1885, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, died in Orlando, Florida, November 10, 1972. He is buried in Morris Hill Cemetery in Boise.

All of the young Easterners are now gone except Bill Spahr, who is ninety-three years old. He lives in California near his only daughter, Billie Jane Phillips, but he usually returns to Council for a month each summer.[6]

1. Mrs. Frank Galey, Sr., Boise, Idaho, July 5, 1977.

2. Frank Galey, Jr., Boise, Idaho, 1973.

3. Obituary of Mason Kerr, Adams County Leader , May 9, 1930.

4. Frank Galey, Jr., Boise, Idaho, 1973.

5. Mrs. Frank Galey, Sr., Boise, Idaho, July 5, 1977.

6. Ibid.

____________________________

GIFFORD

Eliza Gifford, born July 6, 1862, married Olaf Sorensen at Monroe, Utah. They moved with her family to Vale, Oregon, in 1884 and that same year came to Council.

The Sorensens settled on what was later the Art Kidwell place. She planted the big trees and what was among Council Valley's first fruit trees on that place. She kept them alive by carrying water to them until they were well grown.[1]

Her husband died in 1905 and is buried in the Winkler Cemetery. She was married in 1917 to Charles C. Draper. They had no children but raised Steve Tierney, her nephew, often called Steve Draper. Eliza Draper died in 1935 and her husband in 1936. Both are buried in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery.

Morgan Gifford was born January 28, 1875, at Monroe, Utah. He settled in Long Valley about 1892 and married Candace Wicklund in Weiser November 29 1905. They had one daughter and two sons, Aubrey and Norval.

The Giffords lived on-Cottonwood Creek for a while.

Mr. Gifford died March 17, 1944, in Daly City, California.

  1. Obituary of Eliza Draper,  Adams County Leader, February 1, 1935.

GIFFORD          

     From Carlos Weed Oct 5, 1996:

     Morgan Gifford homesteaded about where the Golf course is now. He was the son of Moses and Sarah Gifford and sister of Ella Stevens.  He had 3 kids: boys = Aubrey (oldest), Norville  girl = Gertha.  Carlos went to school with all the kids.  Morgan's mother, Sarah Gifford, homesteaded out somewhere along South Exeter at the end of a land where locust trees now grow.  Morgan's sister, Elizabeth, married Olaf Sorenson.  She had a homestead on S. Exeter, part of which is where Nello Jenkins now lives.  She married Charlie Draper (after Olaf died?).  Olaf Sorenson was buried on the little knob where Stefanis now live. Any graves on this hill were later moved.  He said something about there having been plans to make that hill into a park. 

_____________________________________________

GLENN

The 1870 census of Mt. Pleasant, Boone County, Arkansas shows William D. Glenn, his wife, Rebecca, and children Sarah, James F., George W., Eva, Eliza, William, Joel P., Jeff Davis, Martha, and Thomas J.[1]

In 1881 the Glenns moved to Grande Ronde Valley, Oregon, near Summerville. On July 23, 1883, they moved to Council, settling first on Cottonwood and later going to West Fork.[2] [Now 2657 West Fork Road-info from Winifred Hubbard-McLeod-Overlander, 13331  D 41st Dr, Yuma, AZ 85367 in 2007]

William D. Glenn was a private in the Civil War, according to the Idaho Adjutant General's burial records.[3] William, born January 19, 1826, died October 31, 1893. His wife Rebecca, was born October 6, 1827. They are buried in Winkler Cemetery.[4]

      Added: Rebecca died Oct 26, 1914-from Council Leader, Oct 30, 1914.

Thomas Jesse Glenn, born July 22, 1869, in Boone County, Arkansas, married Amanda Farlein in Council. Their children were Roy, Jeff, Otto, Earl, Viola, and Margaret.[5]

Amanda died in 1923 and Thomas died in 1937. They are buried in Winkler Cemetery.[6]

William Marion Glenn, born March 13, 1860, died October 7, 1937 at Ontario, Oregon. His family settled near Fruitvale soon after 1863. On March 8, 1894 he married Martha Louiza Hinkle. They had two sons, Herbie and Isaac. Mr. Glenn was the last pioneer living on his original homestead. He cut wild hay for his cattle with an "armstrong," as did other pioneers. He ate jerked venison for winter meat. Early in 1884 he took out and finished the first irrigation ditch from Weiser River in the valley. It is still in use. He put out one of the first orchards and planted some of the first alfalfa to see if it would grow in larger fields in the area.[7] [Isaac (Ike) Glenn was born in 1896 and died in 1975.]

Mrs. Glenn died April 13, 1928. She was brushing her hair by lamplight in the living room while her husband built the morning fire in the kitchen. Her hair got too near the lamp and caught fire. She was badly burned and died of the effects.[8]

 Joel P. Glenn married Cora Sult of Roseberry and lived for years on the McMahan place and later on West Fork. [At the present location of 2202 Ridge Road.]

John Emsley Glenn, son of Frank P. and Elizabeth Glenn, was born April 12, 1878, in Boone County, Arkansas. He came west with his parents in oxen drawn wagons. They had some horses to ride and for scouting journeys.

He and his sister and brothers attended the little white school, halfway between Fruitvale and Council. Classes lasted about three months during the summer and it was an eight-mile walk for the Glenn children each day. One day while John and his sister, Walsa, were coming home, a party of Indians in war paint came riding very fast and passed the children as if they had not seen them. It was later learned some whites had stolen horses from them, and they were in pursuit. Some time later the Indians came back through with their horses. They had caught the men starting to swim the horses across the Snake River, where now the Brownlee dam and hydroelectric plant stand, and killed the white men. There were five or six of them.

Community entertainments were music and dancing. At first this was in homes but later in the log schoolhouse. There were box socials and debating teams.

The men spent the long winter months getting logs out by sleigh to be split into wood or to construct a new building. Roofs were made by splitting blocks of fir or larch (tamarack) into shakes, using a wooden mallet and a tapered piece of iron with a wooden handle, called a frow, to drive into the block and pry off the thin piece of wood. The larch shakes would last thirty years or more.

While the men were doing these things the women made quilts and knitted socks, sweaters, and mittens of wool from the sheep. The wool was first carded by holding two carding boards together and pulling in opposite directions, shredding the wool so it could be spun into thread.

      On the place John Glenn homesteaded there was a large swimming hole in the Weiser River, close to their house. By the hole were several piles of rocks made in a circle where the Indians would build a fire within the circles, heat the rocks, and then pour water on the hot rocks and steam-bathe. When well steamed they would dive into the water hole. This did not work well when the measles were contracted. It killed many.

      The pioneers took wagons to Payette Lakes, where the wagons were filled with fish caught in seines. They were salted to keep them from spoiling, then transported back through Council and on to Boise where the fish were traded for sugar, flour, salt, and other necessary staples. Never forget the plug tobacco: when the man was through chewing it, it was dried to be smoked in the corncob pipe.

Money was scarce and so was fruit. People took their grain to George Robertson's water-powered mill to be ground into flour and corn meal.[9]

John Glenn was killed instantly by a falling tree as he cleared near his pipe lines in Placer Basin on August 22, 1936. He is buried in the I.O.O.F. cemetery.[10]

----------

Additional Glenn family info from Winifred Hubbard-McLeod-Overlander (daughter of Maggie Glenn Hubbard), 13331  D 41st Dr, Yuma, AZ 85367 in 2007:

William D. & Rebecca Glenn had 12 children while living in Arkansas, leaving for the West to "Green Round Valley" for a while. [Grande Ronde?] Then journeying on to Cottonwood Creek near Enterprise, Oregon [?] for awhile, then on to settle & start at 2657 West Fork Road in 1883. [West Fork of the Weiser River near what was later known as Fruitvale.]

Born to this family-- Thomas Jesse Glenn, the youngest boy, July 19, 1869-died March 14, 1937. Thomas married Amanda Elizabeth Farlien, Nov 20, 1902 in Council. Amanda-July 28, 1877 - April 12, 1923. They farmed and delivered garden stuff to neighbors and friends. To this family were born:

Roy Glenn-September 10, 1903 - June 16, 1995

Earl Glenn-August 16, 1905 - Dec 22, 1962

Jeff Glenn-Feb 2, 1907 - Nov 18, 1995

Viola Glenn-Aug 21, 1908, 1908 - Feb 2, 2003

Otto Glenn-April 4, 1911 - Feb 19, 1982

Maggie Glenn-Mar 9, 1913

Jacob Glenn-Jan 1, 1915 - April 29, 1993

All the above were born on West Fork of the Weiser River. In 1914 they moved to Cambridge, Idaho, to Advent Gulch where they farmed. Thomas J. Glenn delivered produce and eggs to McCanniel Market in Cambridge for several years. The children went to a school at Advent Gulch.

Maggie Glenn married William John Hubbard, June 16, 1932 in Vale, Oregon. Their children:

Winifred Louise, David LeRoy, Jack D., Delbert Jesse

1. 1879 US Census, Mt. Pleasant, Boone County, Arkansas.

2. Fred Glenn, Fruitvale, Idaho, oral interview, 1975.

3. Idaho Adjutant General"s  burial records Adjutant General"s office, Boise, Idaho.

4. Cemetery records of Winkler cemetery, Idaho Genealogical Library, Boise, Idaho.

5. Fred Glenn, oral interview.

6. Winkler Cemetery records.

7. Adams County Leader, October 15, 1937.

8. Ibid., April 20, 1928.

9. Fred Glenn, oral interview.

10.  Adams County Leader, August 28, 1936.

_____________________________________________________

GOULD

John Hancock Gould married Annie Stutzman, who was Pennsylvania Dutch, in Pennsylvania. Her parents were from the Palatinate, which is now part of Germany.

John Hancock had a contract on the Erie Canal but was paid off with worthless stock.

They went to Australia to raise sheep and stayed three years. One child was born and died there. They sold out in Australia and went to Minnesota, then later to St. Marys, Ontario, Canada. George Gould was born there May 29, 1868.

Mrs. Gould died and John remarried. They sold their property and planned to move west to the Assiniboine River area. There was no railroad across there, so they had to come down to Chicago and then back north to Canada. The family went in a passenger train car and John in an emigrant car on the same train. He had a bred mare which required special care, so he rode with her. In the same car was a barrel of iron. Near Sauk Center, Minnesota, an axle broke on the car, wrecking it. The barrel of iron rolled struck Mr. Gould in the chest, and caused his death. He is buried in Blanshard, Ontario, Canada. This was in 1879.

The family stayed in Pennsylvania. George's step-mother had children of her own and did not want him so he stayed with his aunt, Lucy Cade, for a time. Later, he lived with an uncle who was a doctor.

 When George was nineteen he went to Lakeview, Oregon, and the following year he taught school at Summer Lake. Early in the summer of 1888 he moved to Idaho and spent the summer working on the Stewart ranch on Payette River at what was known as Falk's Store. In the fall of 1888 he came to Council and soon acquired ownership of the present J. D. Mink farm on Cottonwood. By 1890 he was established as a farmer and cattle raiser and adopted the "90" brand, which he kept all his life.

George Gould married Viola Duree in Council February 23, 1893. Their children, John, Clarence, Anna, and Lester, were born on Cottonwood. At first the family had a tiny house by the spring but Mr. Gould built the large home which still stands on the farm.

In 1909 Mr. Gould bought the ranch north of Council which was home to the family for sixty years.[2301 US Hwy 95]

Old George Winkler had homesteaded and cleared the land.

George Gould kept a daily diary from 1906 until his death. In it he recorded the weather, important events, family records, prices, and other interesting items. Prices are quite interesting. For example: in 1914 the Goulds built a large barn, The diary states, "The lumber, laid down on the ground, cost ten dollars per thousand feet." In 1920, "Old cows are worth four cents a pound. Young cows are worth four and one half cents a pound." May 12, 1920: "I bought an Oaklund car from Twite, for $1445.00.[2]

Mrs. Gould died in September 1948 and Mr. Gould August 28, 1951.[3]

1. John Gould, oral interview, Council, Idaho, 1973. [Although there is no footnote number in the text for this reference, most of the information here probably came from this interview.]

2. George Gould's diaries, in the possession of John Gould, Council, Idaho.

3. John Gould, oral interview.

[For more on the Gould family, see History Corner files (accessible from Museum home page). It is the 4th column in the series.]

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GRAHAM

William Graham, a Civil War veteran, brought his family to Idaho from Missouri in the late 1880s.

They settled on Crooked River.[1]

William was a miner and a prospector with "itchy feet," and he never stayed long in one place. That was the reason he came to Idaho. He was active at Idaho City and several other mining areas.

His daughter, Ella, married John Lakey.

1. Edith Zink, Mountain Home, Idaho, oral interview

_______________________________

GREGG

George F. Gregg was born March 15, 1866, at Neosha, Missouri. While a young man he moved to Ohio and in 1905 to Council to teach school. He married Maude Peters, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John 0. Peters, November 29, 1906. They had one daughter.

Maude Peters was a teacher in the schoolhouse on the hill several terms She was also County Superintendent for several years.

Mr. Gregg taught school for some time. He was a justice of peace for two years and when Adams County was formed, in 1911, he became its first probate judge.[1]

He was teaching school on Cottonwood when he became too ill to continue his work. He had suffered for years from tuberculosis and drugs no longer helped., When his illness progressed to the advanced stage he moved into a tent house in the hope of finding some relief. This was the accepted treatment for tuberculosis at that time. Mrs. Zink cared for such patients at her hospital and tent houses were part of her facilities.[2] Mr. Gregg died March 5, 1914.

In 1918 Maude Peters Gregg married Rev. E. L. Iverson, pastor of the Congregational Church 1918-21. It is quite possible that many residents of the area owed their lives to the Rev. Mr. Iverson, who devoted most of his time during the flu epidemic of 1918-19 to care and nursing of the sick, giving physical as well as spiritual assistance.

The Rev. and Mrs. Iverson moved to California in 1921 and he died at Oakdale in 1936. His wife died at the home of their daughter in Los Altos January 22, 1960.

1. Obituary of George F. Gregg, Adams County Leader, March 6, 1914

2.  Lin Peebles, Emmett, Idaho, oral interview, 1974.

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GROSECLOSE

One of the first five families in Council was that of Jacob Groseclose.  He was born in Indiana May 14, 1825, and died December 20, 1908. His wife, Elizabeth, was born in Virginia May 2, 1826, and died April 9, 1910. They are buried in Hornet Creek cemetery.

Their children Jacob, Austin, Isaac, Frances, and Charlotte were born in Iowa. Rosanna* was born near Denver as they traveled west.

In 1876 the family joined a wagon train and journeyed west. They traveled by ox teams and covered wagons. Some of them rode horses. They killed buffalo, rabbits, and prairie chickens to eat and burned buffalo chips for the cooking fire. They stayed a few days at a fort along the way. Frances played with the children in the fort and when her parents left they thought she was with them but she was still playing. When they realized she had been left behind a man returned on horseback for her.

The oxen became foot-sore and the yoke caused sores, like saddlesores on horses, so there were many delays.

The first winter [1876-77] in Idaho was spent at Fort Boise. The next spring [1877] they went on to Indian Valley and finally to Council, where they settled on Cottonwood Creek. Later part of this homestead was owned by Palmer Higgins,

Jacob Groseclose, Jr., born February 22, 1855, joined Captain Galloway's Army as an Indian scout. Indians stole some horses in Indian Valley. [Horses stolen August 1878.] Volunteers were requested to retrieve them. Five* scouts, including Jacob Groseclose, volunteered. All but one, Three-Fingered Smith, were killed. This was known as the Billy Monday massacre in Long Valley. Smith was badly injured but survived to tell the story. Austin Groseclose also served as a volunteer scout for Captain Galloway.[1] [*There were four men who followed the Indian tracks: Jake Groseclose, Tom Healy, William Monday, and Smith. Why they were called "scouts" here is not clear. They were civilian volunteers.]

About 1881 the Groseclose family moved to Lick Creek. They retained part of Jacob's homestead on Cottonwood until 1889, when they sold to Fred Beier.[2] Elizabeth exercised her right to take a homestead on Lick Creek.

Jacob and Elizabeth raised their children to be Christians. On Sunday they would gather their family around them to sing hymns out of their hymnal, which had square notes. Jacob would dress in clean clothes, tie a red handkerchief around his neck, put his boots on (with one pant leg out usually), and was dressed up for Sunday. In later years when he decided to walk to Council, he would dress up this way and think nothing of it.

Elizabeth was a good seamstress and she taught all her girls to sew, but they had to learn to make garments by hand as they might not be able to afford a sewing machine when they married. She taught her granddaughters to knit and saw to it that they did some of it every day.

In the early pioneer days there were no wooden floors in the homes but dirt packed down, and brooms were made of tough straw. Women cooked in large iron kettles hanging over the fireplace fire, and the house was heated by the fireplace. Water was heated by hanging a tea kettle over the fire. Light was provided by candles and later by kerosene lamps. The family lived, usually, in one large room, and the cracks were chinked in between the logs of the house with mud or rags to keep the warmth in and the cold out.

A medicine man came about once a year with all kinds of liniments, ointments, and cure-alls in his "hack," drawn by one or two horses. He made a living selling these items. For amusement the pioneers fished, hunted, trapped animals for their skins, skied in winter, went bobsled riding with bells on the horses' hames, hiked for miles, rode bucking broncos and steers, target practiced, danced, and played cards. Picnics were a favorite activity, especially on the Fourth of July when they had foot-races and sold home-made ice cream and lemonade.

On Decoration Day families gathered at the cemetery to decorate the graves, then went to a brook where the ladies spread a pot-luck dinner and everyone helped himself and visited.

On election day they all voted and were very patriotic. They had a big celebration with picnicking and dancing. They waltzed, square-danced, and danced the schottische, quadrille, and tag to change partners. They sang and played music. There were usually banjos, violins, mouth harps, and any instruments which they owned at the dances. The men would get drunk and sometimes end up in a fight.  They had a society for young people called "Literary" where they gathered to play games and have fun. There were box socials where the girls would out-do themselves to make attractive boxes with delicious lunches in hopes their favorite boy friend would buy it, for they had to eat with whoever bought it.

Jacob Groseclose died December 20, 1908, and Elizabeth died April 9, 1910. They are buried in Hornet Creek cemetery.

John Henry Clifton, born November 16, 1854, in Lincoln, Nebraska, died January 13, 1932. He married Sarah Frances Groseclose. She died November 13, 1935, in Council.

John Henry was a fisherman among the Indians at Pyramid Lake in Nevada, where he learned a great deal about herbs to eat and use in the woods. From there he moved to Crooked River and took up a homestead (three-hundred-acre timber claim) where he cleared the land to make fields. It was a beautiful setting with Cuddy Mountain in the background.

He married Sarah Frances Groseclose at her parent's home in 1895, and they raised their family on Crooked River. Her four children from a previous marriage helped with the chores on the ranch until they grew up.

A friend named Mrs. Ferris lived with them for some time and taught the children in their home. For a time there was a schoolhouse down by the Davis's place, then later a better school building was erected half a mile north of the Clifton home. The teacher boarded at the Cliftons' most of the time. The teacher would ring a hand bell to take up school. Once the children went up the hillside and ate wild onions. The teacher rang the bell and when they came to class they smelled so of onions that she almost dismissed them. One great sport was snowball fighting. The larger boys were kept busy sharpening pencils by hand, as there were no pencil sharpeners. Classes were all in one room so the teacher was busy with recitation most of the day. The best spellers were sent to other schools where they would have a spelling bee.

The Cliftons had a "stopping-place" for some time to feed the freighters and their horses. Many times they would hear the bells on the hames of the horses coming from a distance, and would get up in the middle of the night to start a fire in the wood cook stove and cook for them. Many times they had barely enough to feed them, so far from town and no refrigeration, except for a milk house which was built right over Crooked River. Here they kept cream, milk, eggs, butter, cottage cheese, and  uttermilk. They milked cows twice a day and Frances and her daughters worked diligently, skimming and churning cream to make butter and buttermilk.

They went to town once or twice a year with a team and wagon for staples Otherwise they raised their food such as vegetables, pork, mutton, beef, chickens, and eggs. Fruits were kept by drying and canning, and in winter fruits, fresh and canned, were kept in a sawdust-lined cellar in the center of which was placed a light, kerosene lantern or pan of red hot coals to warm the room to prevent freezing. Some meat was kept frozen, hung high in the eaves of the wood shed in winter. Bacon, hams, and smoked salmon were kept in the smokehouse and some fish (whitefish in barrels from McCall) were salted down in brine. Sauerkraut was delicious in salted brine and so were pickles. Vinegar was made from fruit juice. They made a trip to the lower country once a year to bring home fruit and salmon, as there were only trout in Crooked River. The only honey was from a bee tree.

John raised cattle on his three hundred fifty acres and harvested hay and grain which he fed to his stock in winter.

There were many arguments between farmers about water rights, since they depended upon the ditches which they made to bring water to their fields for irrigation.

Deer hides made excellent, soft leather when soaked in ashes and water, The leather was cut into strips for shoe laces, ties for saddles and ropes.

Every animal must pay for its keep or could not be kept, and nothing must be wasted. A reservoir was built on the end of the cook stove, in later years, for hot water; water was pumped by hand and carried in a bucket to fill the reservoir. A bucket of water sat on the wash bench, with a dipper for drinking. Lye was used in the scrub water to keep the bare wood floors white. Washing was done on a washboard in a galvanized tub, and clothes were whitened by boiling them in a copper boiler on the kitchen stove. 'Wood was chopped to firebox size and neatly stacked in the woodshed, and there were stacks of pitch for starting fires.

John could be found with his family around the heater in winter, playing solitaire, eating apples, or telling stories about the grizzly bears he had encountered in the early days before so many were killed. Frances would tell stories about the encounters she and her family had in early days with Indians. At other times some member of the family might read aloud, or someone might sing favorite songs since they all loved music.

The Clifton home burned twice. The house John built first caught fire because of a faulty stovepipe and very few things were saved. The second house was much larger and more beautiful, but a spark caught on the roof and before John could unhitch the horses in the field to ride in to try to put it out, it was out of hand. As he tried to throw out dishes a large sack of sugar caught on fire, melted, and dripped onto his back and burned him badly. A third fire was the saloon across the road. Because water had to be carried in buckets it was impossible to put out the fire.

It was great fun to hunt and pick wild flowers. Many bloomed as soon as the snow melted. There were buttercups, bluebells, yellow crocus, wild rock violets with a strong, sweet fragrance, rooster heads, Indian paint brush, lupines, goldenrod, clover with red and white blossoms, sour dock, yellow dock, white daisies, Johnny-jump-ups, wild roses, larkspur, and many more. Pussy willows were always a joy, skunk cabbage made itself known, and there were huckleberries, elderberries, and wild strawberries. Besides, there were chokecherries and mushrooms of various kinds.

Numerous birds migrated to nest there: blue jay, magpie, robin, wren, crossbeak, swallow, hummingbird, bluebird, meadowlark, crow, blackbird, killdeer, and others. The owl, grouse, and hawk stayed all year.

John had a blacksmith shop where he heated iron and forged it to the desired shape, such as tools and horseshoes. He had a wheel in Crooked River with a belt which furnished the power to sharpen tools, and Frances used it in later years to run a washing machine.

John and Elizabeth retired to California to get away from the deep snow and cold.[3]

1. Oral history by Mrs. Vollie Zink, Mountain Home, and Ruby Fuller, Payette, Idaho, 1974.

2. Deed on file in Idaho Historical Society, Boise, Idaho.

3. Vivian Boyles, Cambridge, Idaho, oral interview, 1974.

______________________________

Children of Jacob and Elizabeth Groseclose:

Jacob Jr. (Jake)--Killed in the Long Valley Massacre, Aug. 20, 1878 and is buried in an unmarked grave at the massacre site about a quarter mile north of the Cascade Reservoir dam.

Austin--

Sarah Frances--Married John Henry Cliffton. Children: Dan, Manilla and Percy.

Manilla married Victor Oling.

Manilla and Victor Oling's daughter, Louise, married Lawrence "Toots" Rogers. Louise and Toots had one child: Helen Rogers Zielinski.

Another daughter of Manilla and Victor's--Ruth--married Arnold Emery.

Lydia Groseclose --Married __ Weddle, then Wm. Brauer. Children with Brauer:

Otto Brauer

Guy Brauer

Dora Brauer--married Lewis Keith Lakey (son of Lewis & Pheby Lakey*) Children:

     Otto Lakey--married Dorothy __

     Mildred Lakey--married George Fuller

     Ruby Lakey--married George Fuller's brother

     Ted Lakey

     Doug Lakey

     Keith Lakey--never married

Another son of Lewis & Pheby Lakey--Jacob Lakey--married Lottie Montgomery. Lottie's sister,

Lilly Montgomery, married Robert Harrington.

Charlotte "Lottie" Groseclose-- married __ Linder

Isaac--

Rose Ann Groseclose--The short-lived "Rose" post office on Cottonwood Creek was named after her. Rose married Arthur V. Robertson (See Robertson section)

_________________________________________

GROSSEN

Adolph Grossen, his sister Elizabeth, and Elise Wafler, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Anton Wafler, came to the United States in 1899. They were all born in Frutigen, Switzerland.[1]

They went to Salubria, Washington County, Idaho, because relatives, Mr. and Mrs. John Rosti, lived there. Adolph Grossen married Elise Wafler in Salubria April 29, 1899. with John Rosti and Elizabeth Grossen as their witnesses.[2]

Adolph was naturalized in March, 1912.[3]

The Grossens homesteaded up the canyon now known as Grossen's Canyon. In 1927 they moved to Indian Valley and rented the Ellis Snow farm. They soon bought a ranch at Alpine, where they remained the rest of their lives.[4]

Their children were Edith, Effie, Walter, Raymond, and Louise.

Elise Wafler Grossen was born April 20, 1879; died April 14, 1951 Adolph died June 13, 1965.

Both are buried in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery.

Bobby Wafler came to the United States two or three years after the Grossens came. He was an orphan who was raised by Elise's parents. He and Elise were double cousins--their mothers were sisters and their fathers were brothers. He was sexton of the Congregational Church for many years and was active in the affairs of the Council library.[5]

1. Edith Selby, Council, Idaho, oral interview, 1973

2. Marriage records of Washington County, Weiser, Idaho.

3. Adams County Leader , March 21, 1912.

4. Edith Selby, oral interview.

5. Ibid.

HAGAR

Albert Lewis Hagar was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 9, 1878, son of Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Hagar. He left home at age seventeen, spending fifteen years in the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming, and California. He came to Council in August 1910, and on August 28, 1918 he married Sadie May Bell. They had three children, Theodore Albert, Lily May, and Robert.

Mr. Hagar operated Council Creamery for many years. He drowned in the Weiser River December 7, 1945, while duck hunting. He is buried in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery.[1]

1. Obituary of Albert Lewis Hagar, Adams County Leader, December 9, 1945.

--------------------------------------

HAHN

Weiser Signal, Jan 16, 1904

    Frank Hahn moving to Council

Weiser Signal, Jan 9, 1904

    Frank Hahn, of Weiser, has bought the Council - Meadows Stage line, formerly owned they the late Mr. Crowell.  A.R. Krigbaum will carry the mail.

Weiser Signal, Mar 16, 1904

    A tale of the hardships of just trying to get from Council to New Meadows:  Frank Hahn's first spring as proprietor of the Council - Meadows stage line has been difficult.  The stage left Council with a bob sled since there was still snow.  But it had rained all night, and the streams were flooding.  They came to a washed out bridge in the Canyon.

   "The sled was unloaded and the mail sacks piled on top of the seat and lashed on, and at it Hahn went.  The horses went almost out of sight and struggled through, the sled floating on top like a boat."  He went back across, loaded more cargo .  This time the sled went under water, and Hahn almost jumped to swim for his life before the sled finally made it across.  A third trip to ferry the remaining passengers went without mishap.  "At every creek on the mountain the water had cut a deep gully down through the ice and snow, and where the stage did not stand on end, we made flying leaps across, and wherever there was a depression, the horses broke through the well-soaked snow into the treacherous water beneath,..."  The exhausted horses were exchanged, and passengers fed, at Steven's station at noon.  "Above old miner Fillie's cabin, the down stage was met - Tommy White with a bob-tailed cutter from Norton's station. [Norton ran an establishment with a liquor license near present-day Tamarack] He also had experienced a merry time.  Having painfully reached Price valley, the front of his sled had plunged out of sight in a deep, mushy stream of slow-moving snow and water and the half buried, half drowned horses could not get it out.  After getting wet to the skin he had gotten the horses loose from the rig and out."  Most of his passengers had to continue on foot for a wet, miserable mile until they reached Norton's, while Tommy brought in the lightened sled.  When the two sleds met, they unloaded them and laboriously turned them around by hand, trading rigs rather than try to pass each other.  Some of Hahn's passengers walked all the way from there to Norton's, where Hahn's group gave up and spent the night.  White's group spent the night at Steven's.

    The next morning, the slush was frozen.  A team was sent from New Meadows and met Hahn's sled at the impassible place where White's sled had submerged.  The passengers had to jump a three foot wide gap over a raging, four foot deep stream, and the mail and baggage was thrown across.  The trip to New Meadows finally ended at noon, after "... dragging through a continuous string of deep holes of water and mush-snow.   Several freighters on the road during this time had to abandon their loaded wagons.  No mystery why people were so glad to see the coming of the railroad.

Weiser Signal, Apr 30, 1904

    The roads are so flooded that the Hahn stage company resorted, on one recent trip, to hauling mail and passengers by riding horses.  The "stage" from Council to Meadows consisted of 23 horses bearing 19 passengers and sacks of mail and baggage.

The Weiser Semi-Weekly Signal, Oct 7, 1905

"Jim Winkler has traded his ranch in the upper part of this [Council] valley to Frank Hahn for his feed barn."

Nov 18, 1905

            "A bank for Council is an assured fact.  The directors for the first year are C.M. Jorgans, J.F. Lowe, Frank Hahn, Isaac  McHahan, John Ennis."  Not known which building will be used.... rumored that a new building will be erected.

The Weiser Semi-Weekly Signal, Nov 29, 1905

      Frank Hahn has sold his livery barn to Jim Winkler and is selling his horses.

The Weiser Semi-Weekly Signal, Dec 2, 1905

      Frank Hahn has leased his Council - Meadows stage line to Mode Addington.

The Weiser Semi-Weekly Signal, May 16, 1906

      Graduating 8th grade at Council: Lena Koontz, Maud Lewis, Bertha Mathias, Howard Elliott, Georgia Ross, Gertie Cossitt, Will Hahn, Della Jackson.

The Weiser Semi-Weekly Signal, Aug 15, 1906

      Fraternal Order of Eagles incorporated at Council. Aerie No. 1267.  Frank Hahn and Thomas Dartmouth as directors. A new building will soon be erected.

The Weiser Semi-Weekly Signal, Nov 21, 1906

      Frank Hahn has a large barn under construction.  Fell and broke three ribs while working on it.

      A. Beckstead of Payette visited his brothers in law: Wm Fifer and Frank Hahn.

Weiser American, Thurs, Aug 17, 1911

      Thomas C. Jones, owner of the Hahn ranch, is remodeling, adding rooms and sleeping porches

Council Leader, Aug 7, 1914

    Son born to the Wm. Hahns Aug 2

Council Leader, Apr 23, 1915

    Frank Hahn sold his ranch to James McGinley of Nebraska

Weiser American, Aug 9, 1917

      Page 1, continued on p 8: "Five members of Hahn family killed"  2 miles East of Payette.  Train was going 35 mph.  Engineer said the car didn't stop after he saw it approaching the tracks 75 feet from the crossing, then it appeared to stall on the tracks.  Mr. Hahn Sr. "was carried along on the pilot of the engine with his feet entangled in the braces of the headlight." "Mrs. Hahn died in the baggage room at the Payette depot.  Elsie died soon after she arrived at the Doctor's office.  Joe died Monday afternoon.  Alice is the only surviver = broken hip, knee and head wound - she woke up Tuesday afternoon.

      The Hahn's came to this area from Montana about 18 years ago.  Mr. Hahn was an overland freight in Montana.  He was on the first board of Adams Co. Commissioners.  Frank Jr. had been examined and accepted for the Navy, and was to leave for Salt Lake in a week.

The News, Cambridge Idaho - Aug 10, 1917

      Mr. and Mrs. Frank Hahn and children hit by train at crossing two miles north of Payette. Whole family killed, except daughter, Alice, who was alive when paper went to presses..  Pieces of the car were thrown 100 feet.  Frank was 60, Mrs.=54  Frank Jr. = 25    Joe = 20   Elsie = 17       Alice = 13

Adams County Leader, Feb 27,1920

      Born to Mr. & Mrs. Wm Hahn, a boy on Feb 23

_________________________________

HAINES

In 1882 William R. Haines and family were living in Haines Oregon, where their children--Henry, Lemuel, Sadie, and Eddie--were born.[1]

The family moved to Long Valley in 1887 and remained there until the summer of 1890,[2] when they moved to Crooked River. Nine years later they went to Weiser, then to Payette, and finally back to Council, where they settled on the I. J. Duree farm on Lester Creek. In a few years they were restless again and moved to Crooked River.

Eddie Haines, born February 23, 1882, married a widow with one daughter. He died November 24, 1936. He is buried in Cottonwood Cemetery. So are his father, William R. (1858-1945), his step-mother, and his wife.

1. Obituary of Eddie Haines, Adams County Leader , November 26, 1936.

   2. bid.

______________________________

HALLETT

Arthur Guy Hallett was born June 28, 1881, in Provo, Utah, son of Thatcher and Ermina Hallett. At age nineteen he left Provo, going to Lander, Wyoming, where he married Mary E. Casto August 2, 1902.

In August 1917 they sold out in Wyoming, took camping equipment and covered wagon, and moved west in true pioneer spirit. They spent two months and enjoyed Yellowstone Park and other areas along the way. They arrived in Council in late October and bought the land which originally was owned by Zadoc Loveless and son William, north of town on Weiser River. They were immediately busy establishing a farm and getting the children in school. There were no improvements on the farm so they lived in tents until Mr. Hallett built a house, which was completed just before Christmas.[1]

Their farm was on the area occupied by Council Fort in 1878, during the Indian unrest. Mr. Hallett plowed up pieces of the fort and removed some of the chimney stones. He also turned up pieces of chain which had been used in the first sawmill in the area.[2]

Mr. and Mrs. Hallett had six children

Mr. Hallett died in 1938 and is buried in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery. His wife is living in Council.

1. Obituary of Arthur Guy Hallett, Adams County Leader, May 13, 1938

2. Mary E. Hallett, Council, Idaho, oral interview, 1972

___________________________________________

HAM

Charles L. Ham was born in Sullivan, Moultrie County, Illinois, March 10, 1868, and died August 27, 1936.

When he was thirteen his family moved to Texas and stayed there five years. Next, he went to Walla Walla, Washington, and was married there December 25, 1889, to Eunice Bell Barnette.

They moved to Council in 1906 and lived on West Fork for thirteen years before moving into town. Charles Ham was sheriff, 1917-18.[1] He went into business, operating a Conoco service station south of the town square in the back of Ike Whiteley's building. When Conoco closed him out there he leased lots from the Odd Fellows Lodge and built a Texaco station on Main Street and operated it until his death.[2]

Seven sons and one daughter were born to Eunice and Charles Ham.

Eunice Bell Barnette Ham was born March 12, 1871, at Wallula, Washington, and died in October

1962.

1. Obituary of Charles L. Ham, Adams County Leader, September 4, 1936

2. Francis Ham, Boise, Idaho, oral interview, 1975

____________________________________

HANCOCK

George W. Hancock, born 1833, married and lived in Missouri, where sons Gene and John were born.

George served in the Confederate Army from Missouri.[1] After the war he and his family moved to Sherman, Texas, and in 1881 they moved to Indian Valley, Idaho, traveling by horse-drawn wagons. On the last part of their journey they were accompanied by the Ross brothers, Jack and James. Hancock's home in Indian Valley was near Alpine store.[2]

George Hancock died in 1917. He and his wife are buried in Kesler Cemetery.

Gene Hancock was born in Green County, Missouri, September 22, 1857. He was six years old when his family moved to Sherman, Texas. In early days he practically owned the east side of Council and Mr. Moser owned the west. Here he conducted a store, hotel, and livery. Later he sold his business to Mr. Bolen and moved to a ranch in Council Valley, but his love of horses was overpowering and he reestablished himself in livery and dray business-at one time owning forty horses.[3]

John Hancock married Josephine Underwood in 1892. The ceremony was performed by Davy Richardson, J. P., who was one of Council's first school teachers. Josephine's parents were Thomas and Liddy Underwood. Her mother died when she was very small and she was raised by Mrs. Starr on the Starr ranch.[4]

John and Josephine Hancock traded for the Overland Hotel in Council in 1892[5] and moved there the same year. Before long he also owned a feed yard for freighters, a store, and a saloon in Council. Later he was the game warden for eighteen years. Their sons were born in Council--Fred, born August, 1893, died July, 1920, and Blake, born 1895.

John and Josephine separated in 1909 and he married Lulu Prince in December, 1912. She was born in Princeton, Kentucky, March 6, 1865 and died April 25, 1956. John died January 30, 1940.

Both are buried in Kesler Cemetery.

1. Burial records in Adjutant General's office, Boise, Idaho.

2. Obituary of John Hancock, Adams County Leader, January 12, 1940.

3. Ibid.

4. Blake Hancock, New Meadows, Idaho, letter interview, 1974.

5. Ibid.

_________________________________

HANSEN, NEILS

Neils Hansen, born in Denmark March 4, 1852, died February 3, 1931. He was a mechanic and engineer by trade and a musician by choice. He followed the sea for years.

Matilda Jubenlats was born December 23. 1851, at Harstead, Sweden. She came to the United States, landing December 3, 1873, and went to Ludington, Michigan where she married Neils Hansen December 10. They came to Idaho in 1903[1] and lived on Pole Creek. They farmed and, at one time, had a sawmill there.[2] They were known as "Pole Creek Hansens."

They moved to Council about 1930.

They had no children.

Both are buried in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery.

1. Obituary of Neils Hansen, Adams County Leader, February 6, 1931.

2. Obituary of Matilda Hansen, Adams County Leader, March 21, 1941.

______________________________________

HANSEN, RASMUS

Rasmus Hansen was born in Denmark and married Anna Maria there in 1879. They came to the United States in 1881 and settled at Logan Utah. Two years later they came to Council and famed on Hornet Creek.[1]

Their children were: William, Nels, Soren, Anna, Mrs. Christian Ross, and Mrs. Ellis Hartley.

Rasmus died in 1920. After his death Anna Marie moved to the Fruitland bench and died there at the home of her son-in-law, Ellis Hartley. She was born November 21, 1855; died December 23, 1940. Both are buried in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery.

Soren Hansen married Dora D. Lakey, daughter of Sarah Lakey, born Grant County, Oregon. He was born June 4, 1881, in Denmark. He had both legs terribly crushed while working in Council Meat Market, about 1930.[2] He died at the John Kesler home November 3, 1932. Dora Hansen died March 31, 1925. Both are buried in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery.

1. Obituary of Anna Marie Hansen, Adams County Leader, December 27, 1940.

2. Obituary of Soren Hansen, Adams County Leader, November 11, 1932.

________________________________

HARP

James Harp, born April 28, 1828, in Tennessee, was the son of John and Lucy Harp. He married Sarah Clark in 1846 in Washington County, Arkansas. She was born in Tennessee in 1832 and was barely fourteen when they were married.[1]

Their children included Viny, William, Louis, Hardy, Martha, Sam, and Elizabeth.[2]

Late in January 1878 James's children started westward with their families, traveling with oxen and covered wagons. Those in the group were Hardy Harp, his wife, and two small sons; William, his wife, and two sons; Samuel, who was single; Martha and her husband, George Robertson; and sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Harp. There were several other families in the wagon train, including George A. Winkler, Alex Kesler and his brother Andy, and James Copeland.

When the train reached Barry County, Missouri, George M. Winkler and Elizabeth Harp ran away and got married.

Boise Valley appealed to the Harps and they stopped there for several years, settling south of Eagle near the river. George and Martha Robertson remained, too. In very early 1881 they moved on to Council.

Hardy Harp stayed in Indian Valley for a short time. He had married Rena Burke in Arkansas when she was barely fourteen. One daughter died before they started west. Other children were Grant, William, Edgar, Jesse, Dora, Nora, Dewey, and Jake. The family moved back to Boise from Council and lived for several years on a farm below Star or Eagle. On July 13, 1901, they moved back to Council, where Hardy took an eighty-acre homestead four miles north of town. They later moved to Cascade.

Louis Harp, born October 10, 1852, at Eureka Springs, Arkansas, was married to Emily Biggerstaff in 1879. She was a sister of Tolbert Biggerstaff. Louis operated a farm at Council until Emily's death in 1935. He went to Payette to live with his son, Sam. There were six other sons: James Robert, William, Jasper, Elmer, and Wesley, and one daughter, Bertie Harp.[3]

Louis Harp died March 11, 1942, and is buried in Winkler Cemetery beside his wife and parents.[4]

William Harp was born in Madison County, Arkansas, June 16, 1849. He married Jane Hall in 1870. They homesteaded the present Frank Galey place. They settled at Fruitvale and so did George and Martha Robertson. William died May 31, 1928.[5]

Viny Harp did not come to Idaho. James Harp served in the Union Army during the Civil War. He enlisted June 24, 1862, in Company E, First Regiment Arkansas Volunteer Cavalry and was discharged in 1865 at the end of the war.[6]

After their children came to Idaho James and Sarah were lonely and wanted to join them. They came most of the way by stage because James was ill. They arrived in Council in 1881 and settled three-quarters of a mile northeast of town. James did not live long after they came to Idaho. He died November 24, 1881.[7]

Sarah kept the farm for some years. In her later years she lived with her son Sam. She was a tiny Irish lady, with a typical Irish temper, and when she got upset with Sam she would tie some of her possessions in a big kerchief and go to Hardy's for a week or so until her temper cooled. Then she went back to Sam's home.

When Sam and his family moved to Walla Walla she went with them and remained until her death March 14, 1914. Her body was brought to Council for burial beside James in the Winkler Cemetery.[8]

1. James Harp's Civil War records, G.S.A., Washington, D.C.

2. Luella Allen, Boise, Idaho, 1974, oral interview.

3. Ibid.

4. Winkler Cemetery records in Genealogical Library, Boise, Idaho.

5. Ibid.

6. James Harp's Civil War records.

7. Mrs. Luella Allen.

8. Ibid.

Children of James and Sarah Harp:

     Viny

     William, b. June 16, 1849 / d. May 31, 1928--married Jane Hall, 1870

     Louis, b. Oct. 10, 1852 / d. Mar11, 1942 --married Emily Biggerstaff, 1879

     Hardy,  -- married Rena Burke

     Martha, b. Jan 12, 1860 / d. Aug 10, 1923--married George Robertson

     Samuel, b. Oct 1858   --married Jennie Kesler in 1881

     Elizabeth, b. Jan 9, 1862 / d. Sept 20, 1954 --married George Winkler, 1879

_______________________________

HARRINGTON

Very shortly after 1880 Reil* Harrington and son Robert settled on Hornet Creek. Reil was called "Black Tail" because of the many deer of that species that he was able to shoot.[1]

 [*The spelling on his tombstone is "Ryal."]

William Reil (Rayle) was born January 31, 1835, and died in 1922.2 His wife, Martha Lovelace, died in Kansas in 1871 when their son Robert was three years old.[3]

Reil soon moved to Leadville, Colorado, taking his two sons and one daughter with him. In 1881* the family moved to Indian Valley, Idaho. There were only a few families and a fort there. In a short time the family moved to Council and the children attended school. Their teacher was Robert White.[4]

 [This date is wrong. The family was at Indian Valley in 1877, and shortly thereafter came to Hornet Creek. See obituary at end of this section.]

Robert Zadock Harrington, son of William and Martha, was born February 14, 1868, in Wyandotte County, Kansas. He married Lily Montgomery in Indian Valley. They settled on Hornet Creek where fifteen of their sixteen children were born.[5]

 Robert Harrington died in August, 1943. He is buried in Hornet Creek Cemetery, as are many of his family.

The Harringtons came to Idaho by a horse-drawn wagon. They were among the earliest settlers on Hornet Creek.[6]

Robert earned money by hauling supplies into Landore with four-horse teams.[7]

Lewis Clark Harrington, son of Reil and Martha, was born August 4, 1861. He came west with his father, brother, and sister. They spent the first winter at Fort Boise, going on to Indian Valley and Council the next year.[8]

He married Sarah E. Halford at Payette. They lived at Council until her death in 1900. He then moved to Kooskia, where he died November 4, 1961, at one hundred years of age. He is buried in Hornet Creek Cemetery.[9]

Lilly Montgomery was born at Jamison, Oregon, August 11, 1872, daughter of John and Martha Montgomery. Her parents moved to Boise when she was one year old. When she was fourteen she was ill and her parents thought it wise to move her to a higher elevation. They chose a farm on Hornet Creek. On June 29, 1890, she married Robert Harrington in Indian Valley.

Her obituary tells about her life in Council Valley:

She attended Upper Dale school, going on skis in winter. Her first textbook was the Almanac until her parents brought books from the old home in Boise. Her parents also brought the first fruit cans into the district and Jars that were round on the bottom and sealed with pitch. Most fruit to be canned was wild. Her mother's birthday usually marked the date for family vacation when supplies were packed and the family went to the mountains to camp out and pick huckleberries. Of eight hundred quarts of canned fruit needed for the large family two hundred quarts were huckleberries, the others were choke cherries and sarvis berries.

In the first few years of married life Mr. Harrington worked for other farmers and received his pay in produce which supplied part of their livelihood and their only money income was from herding horses on the range for other people. Their own team was Mr. Harrington's own saddle horses, broke to work. Grain received for labor was taken to Cuddy's mill, near where Cambridge is now, and ground into flour or corn meal. These trips were usually made in caravan, several neighbors going at the same time.

The children were taught early to share in household tasks.

Mrs. Harrington did her own sewing, buying cloth by the bolt, and after the garments were made the scraps were pieced into quilts.

Social life was enjoyed, in spite of the hardships and sometimes the refreshments served were turnips.

When the youngest child was fourteen, they sold the homestead and, after moving three times in one year, purchased the old Stutzman place on Hornet Creek where they lived until Mr. Harrington's death in 1943. Since then Lilly has lived with her children. She died February 17, 1957.[10]

Clark Harrington, brother of Reil, born December 13, 1832, was also an early Hornet Creek settler. His wife, Mary A., was born May 13, 1846, and died November 3, 1887. They are buried in Hornet Creek Cemetery.[11]

Clark and Reil Harrington were Civil War veterans. They fought for the Union.

1 William Winkler, Early Days of Adams County (Weiser: Signal American, 1923) 2 Hornet Creek Cemetery records, Idaho Genealogical Library, Boise.

3 Obituary of Robert Zadock Harrington, Adams County Leader, August 6,1943.

4 Ibid.

5. Ibid.

6. Johnny Harrington, Council, Idaho, letter interview, 1974.

7 Ibid.

8 Obituary of Lewis Clark Harrington, Adams County Leader, November 17, 1961.

9 Military records of Lewis Clark Harrington, General Services Administration, Washington, D.C.

10 Obituary of Lillie Harrington, Adams County Leader, February 22, 1957.

11 Hornet Creek Cemetery records.

_______

Obituary of William Ryal Harrington, Adams County Leader, June 2, 1922:

Timer in Council Valley Brought Home for Burial--

William R.Herrington, a man .whom everyone in Council, at least among the older generation, knew and called by his first name, died at Kooskia: Idaho, on May 24, 1922, and the body was shipped to his old homebere, where it arrived last Saturday and was buried in the local cemetery, the same day. Deceased was born January 31, 1836,  in  Iowa.  From  there  he moved to Kansas just before the beginning of the Civil war. He enlisted in the service and served with a Kansas regiment.  From Kansas, Herrigton moved to Colorado, where he lived about five years, coming to Idaho in 1876 settling in Salubria valley.  Three years later he came to Council Valley.  In 1861 Mr. Herrington was married to Miss Lucy* Loveless, who died nearly 50 years ago in Kansas.  To them  were born six children, three of whom survive, as follows:  Lewis C. Herrington of Kooskia, Idaho; Mrs. Mary Draper Tamarack, and Robert, of Council.

  [* Should read "Martha"]

_______________

From file in Adams County Courthouse (instrument no. 26351, filed May 15, 1941), in Lillie Harrington's handwriting:

 Robert Harrington and Lillie Montgomery were married June 29th 1890 at Indian Valley Idaho by John Wilkerson, J.P.

 Robert Harrington was born in Wyandotte, Kan. on Feb 14th 1868.

 Lillie Montgomery was born on Willow Creek near Vale, Malhuer Co. Ore. on Aug 11, 1872.

 Elsie Harrington was born Nov 18th 1891.

 Bessie was born mar 5th 1893

 Winnie was born Oct 12th 1894

 Robert Vernon was born Apr 9th 1896

 Harold Ray was born May 26th 1897

 Martha Ellen was born Feb 20th 1899

 Glen Alfred was born Oct 21st 1900

 Harvey Louis was born Sept 7th 190_

 Kenneth Alva was born Apr 3rd 1904

 Dollie Inez was born Nov 24th 1905

 Erma Lillie was born Oct 3rd 1907

 Minnie Louise was born June 11th 1909

 Perry Lyal was born Apr 5th 1911

 Clyde Alton was born June 23rd 1913

 Mary Lucile was born Oct 29th 1915

 Johnie Harley was born Nov 30th 1917

Now this is correct by their mother. All were born on Hornet Creek near Council, Adams Co. Ida.

_______________________________________

HASTINGS, JACK             

Jack Hastings- another old timer that came into the Rapid River

area about 1900.*Tape of Ace Barton by Camp

HEATHCO

George Heathco came to Council about 1912 with his sister Minnie Thompson. They travelled by covered wagon from Oklahoma. George returned to Oklahoma.[1] [Correction/ addition by Patsy Phipps Bethel: George was just helping her move west.]

Mrs. Minnie Thompson was a widow. Her husband, Andrew Thompson, died in Oklahoma. After his death she homesteaded on the site of the present city of Tulsa. She married [Samuel Thompson] the brother of her late husband but they were divorced.[2]  In Council she married George Phipps June 29, 1902.

The Heathco family came to Council by train, arriving June 29, 1914. They got off the train at the Vista switch and went to the home of Mr. and Mrs. George Phipps, who lived on Cottonwood. They stayed with Phipps until the following June. Those who came were Solomon and his wife, Elizabeth C., their son George, and his wife, Bertha.[3]

Solomon S. Heathco was born in [Davidson County] North Carolina, September 17, 1840. He served as a Confederate soldier during the Civil War [4] and was wounded. A rifle ball lodged in his body where it remained all his life. He told children that if they listened carefully they could hear it roll. The youngsters strained their ears trying to hear it.

Mr. Heathco was one quarter Cherokee Indian. His maternal grandfather, was a full-blood Cherokee. [Correction/ addition by Patsy Phipps Bethel:  Solomon's father had Catawba blood (from his father , Nicholas's, side--not his mother's side), and his Mother was full blooded Cherokee. So  Solomon was 1/4 Cherokee and about 1/8 Catawba. ]

Solomon Heathco married Elizabeth C. Murphy, who was born October 10, 1845. She died March 27, 1916. He married again, in Council--a marriage which did not last. His third marriage was to Mrs. Elizabeth L. Simmons, a widow eighty years old. He was eighty-four. He died August 1, 1927. He and his first two wives are buried in Cottonwood Cemetery.

George Heathco was born March 27, 1880, near Alville, Johnson County, Missouri. He was one of nine children. He married Bertha Wheeler in Greer County, Oklahoma, September 18, 1912. She was born in Bledsoe County, Tennessee, to James and Margaret Davenport Wheeler.* Her brother, Jim Wheeler, had married and moved to Council before the Heathcos came. He was school custodian for many years.

 [*[Correction/ addition by Patsy Phipps Bethel: Bertha Heathco's parents were James and Sarah Craig Wheeler.]

George and Bertha Heathco settled near the upper end of Cottonwood Canyon on a farm which his sister, Minnie Phipps, gave them. Rob Thompson lived farther up the canyon. His house is gone now and the Heathco house is the last one up the canyon. It is a two-story house which was built by Rob Thompson. Their first house was a little one on a small hill across the creek from the present house. It was beside the orchard, which is still growing. Their cellar was there for years after the present house was built In 1915 there was a flood in Cottonwood Canyon which missed the Heathcos' house only because it was on a hill. It drowned their chickens and pigs.[5]

There were thirteen Heathco children. Two died in infancy and one as a young child. The others were Earl, Margaret, Merle, Ida Mabel, Trudi, Dilah, Dorothy, Mayme, George, Eunice, and Phyllis.

George Heathco died in 1942 and is buried in Cottonwood Cemetery beside his parents and children.

[By Patsy Phipps Bethel: The Heathco's had changed their name from HAITHCOCK or HEATHCOCK I had a heck of a time finding them in NC, said something about the name change, as I couldn't imagine why they did it.  An acquaintance spoke up and said I do.  Her name was Trebblecock. I kinda figured it out, kids being what they are]

1.Patsey Bethel, Boise, Idaho, oral interview, 1975.

2.Ibid.

3. Bertha Heathco, Council, Idaho, oral interview, 1972.

4.Burial records in Idaho Adjutant General's Office, Boise, Idaho.

5.Bertha Heathco, oral interview.

__________________________________________

HIGGINS

John Higgins was born in Kentucky in 1812. By 1880 or earlier, he was living near Omaha, Nebraska,[l] where he had married Ruthie Ann Martin. She died near Heber Spring, Nebraska.' in 1876.

About 1882 John Higgins hitched his teams to wagons and headed west to Myrtle Creek, Oregon, with his two sons. There they remained for a year and then moved to Council, in 1884. One son remained in Oregon, but Palmer W. Higgins and his wife came to Council and settled with John on Cottonwood Creek. They were neighbors of Jacob Groseclose. This land remained in the Higgins family until the 1960s when Palmer's son, John, retired and sold the farm to Peebles.[2]

The post office of Rose, Idaho, was in John Higgins' home. It was named for Rose Groseclose,[3] who was born there.** This post office was a place to exchange news, a center of the community. People stopped, visited, sent or received their mail, heard the latest neighborhood news, and reported on their own families. On April 29, 1896, the name Council Valley was officially changed to Council and the post office at Rose was closed.

 [**Correction by Harold "Shep" Smith: "Laura Higgins of Cambridge in her 1973 interview may not have been quite accurate in saying that Rose was born on Cottonwood in 1885 as it is carved in stone at the Council Cemetery that she was born in 1867. About 18 years of age would have been more like it, the way my pencil figures."]

Palmer Higgins married Alice Willard. They had ten children, two dying in infancy. They had a baby girl who died and they buried her beneath a pine tree on their ranch. On November 14, 1894, they lost a four-year-old son, Thomas Jefferson Higgins. At that time they realized the need for a permanent cemetery. They chose the present site, on a hill behind their house. The land was deeded by the Higgins family to be used as a cemetery forever and to revert to the family if ever used otherwise. In 1896 "Trapper John" Anderson was buried there and others followed--John A. Higgins in 1898 and many more. There are now seventy known and some unknown graves.

Other children of Palmer and Alice Higgins were John, William J., Henry, Ben, Lee, Alice, and Ida Rose. [Richard Higgins is listed on a 1909 Cottonwood School program.]

Palmer Higgins, born 1853, died October 1, 1940.

Alice M. Willard was born December 4, 1859 in Greensboro, Vermont. When she was three years old the family went to Iowa and later to Nebraska. She married Palmer N. Higgins in 1876. She died August 13, 1943. She and Palmer are buried in Cottonwood Cemetery beside their children.

1. Census of Douglas County, Nebraska, 1880.

2. Laura Higgins, Cambridge, Idaho, letter interview, 1973.

3. Ibid.

________________________________

HILDERBRAND

John Hilderbrand was born in Germany in 1850. He married Fredricka Welfert. They had two children, a son who died in infancy and a daughter Mary, born in Germany in 1872. They came to America three years later.[1]

They settled on a farm in Iowa, where John died in 1889.

Christian Hilderbrand came to America with his brother John. He did not stay in Iowa but ventured farther west, settling for a while in California. While there he heard of Boise Valley and drifted there with others in search of gold. Later, upon hearing of the riches in other places, he went to Eldorado, where luck failed to smile on him; so he came back to Idaho. He stayed for a while in Silver City and found in the War Eagle Mountain that fortune was more kind. He sold some properties which made quite a fortune for him. From there he went to the Seven Devils country. There he had mines which were rich in silver, gold, and copper. He was the owner of the Mayflower group. There was an area called the Hilderbrand District.

In 1896 Fredricka came to Idaho to visit Christian Hilderbrand, her late husband's brother. They were married at Salubria April 26, 1896, and gave their place of residence as Falls, County of Washington, Idaho.[2] They returned to Iowa until 1908, when they came to Council.[3] Christian was familiar with beautiful Council Valley and he bought the ranch on Hornet Creek which was later owned by his son-in-law, Gus Kampeter.

He also bought several businesses in Council, including the Overland Hotel,[4] where they lived for a while. After the disastrous fire of 1915 they bought property west of town, later owned by W. R. McClure, and built a home.

Mr. Hilderbrand died in 1915

Fredricka Welfert, born in Statton, Germany, October 10, 1849, was confirmed in the German Lutheran church at age fourteen. She married John Hilderbrand in October, 1871.

She said her family was very poor and food was scarce. Al vegetable peelings were used. They wasted nothing.

Fredricka's family lived on, or near, the mountain in which legend says King Frederick is buried. The legend says he comes out once every hundred years and sends out a messenger to see if the ravens are still flying. If so, he goes back for another one hundred years. When the ravens no longer fly he will return and save Germany by reuniting it.

About 1923 Mrs. Hilderbrand purchased the home in which she lived until her death.

She suffered greatly during the First World War because all of her relatives, except her immediate family, were in Germany, but she loved her adopted country and wanted to help. She set a goal for herself-.to knit one hundred pairs of socks for "the Boys".

Author's notes:

Mrs. Hilderbrand was affectionately known to all, in her later years, as "Grandma Hilderbrand." She wore a crisp white cap over her hair. She lived in a house with a white picket fence. I went out of my way going home from school so I could pass her house. We children liked to make a stick clickety-clack along the pickets. This annoyed "Grandma" and she'd come out and shout at us. I don't know why this was fun. We loved her. Apparently, she never told on us for if Mother had known what I was doing she would have used the stick for another purpose.

It was the custom to give birthday offerings in church--one penny for each year of age. I remember the minister calling Mrs. Hilderbrand's name on her birthday and asking how old she was. Her prompt reply was, "I'm eighty-four years young." That was her attitude toward life.[5]

Fredricka Hilderbrand died November 17, 1933. She and her husband are buried in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery.

1 Hilda Ham, Council, Idaho, letter interview, 1974.

2 Marriage records of Washington County, Idaho.

3 Hilda Ham, letter interview.

4 Adams County Leader, April 2 and April 9, 1915.

5 Marguerite Moore Diffendaffer, Boise, Idaho, 1973.

________________________________

HINKLE

Elijah Hinkle, born about 1833 in Pickens County, South Carolina, was the son of Elijah Hinkle who was a prosperous farmer there. His wife, Mary A--, was born in the same county about 1837.[1]

She was nineteen when they were married.

Elijah served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.[2]

At least three children were born in South Carolina. They were Sarah E., Milos A., and Martha. The family moved to Boon County, Arkansas, where they spent ten years before moving on to Chautauqua County Kansas, for five years, and eventually arrived in Council about 1883.[3] By then there were three more children--Jake, Abraham, and Nancy E.

Nancy Hinkle married John Root, who was a school teacher.

Martha married William M. Glenn.

1. 1850 and 1860 census, Pickens County, South Carolina, and 1880 census, Chautauqua County, Kansas.

2. Burial records in Idaho Adjutant General's office, Boise, Idaho.

3. Ernest McMahan, Boise, Idaho, 1973.

______________________________________

HOUSTON

James B. Houston, born in 1834, was the son of Robert Houston. The family came west with ox teams over the Oregon Trail in the first of the famous wagon trains. They settled at Albany, Oregon, in 1848.[1]

 James Houston married Mary Ellen Kinzer, who was born in Des Moines, Iowa , January 8, 1849. She came to Oregon with her family over the OregonTrail.[2] They were married July 17, 1873. He was an Oregon Indian War veteran.

They famed extensively near Albany[3] and several years later moved to North Powder and Lakeview, Oregon. They came to Council with George Gould in 1888,[4] settling on Cottonwood Creek, on a homestead. There they spent the rest of their lives. Their children were William H., Van N., Benjamin, Tom, Ellen, Anna, and Emma.

James died in 1904 and Mary Ellen January 18, 1935. She was the last of the four older Houstons. They all rest side by side in Cottonwood Cemetery.

Thomas Houston, born in 1842, married Armilda Kinzer, sister of Mary Ellen. She was born September 14,1852, at the foot of Mt. Hood, on the old Barlow route, while the train laid over for a few days rest. On account of the place of her birth she was nicknamed "Hoodie," a name which stuck to her through the years.

She married Thomas B. Houston at Albany, Oregon, when she was twentytwo. They came to Council July 22, 1890,[5] and settled on Cottonwood near James and Mary Ellen.  Their children were Ben, Bill, Tom, Van, Ralph, and Mark. Tom was a sheepman who took pack trains of supplies to sheep camps.

Thomas died in 1901 and Amilda July 21, 1930, almost forty years to the day since they had arrived in Council Valley.

1. Obituary of "Hoodie" kinzer Houston, Adams County Leader, July 25, 1930.

2. Ibid.

3. 1850, 1860, 1870 censuses, Linn County, Oregon,

4. John Gould, Council, Idaho, 1972

5. Obituary of Armilda E. Einzer Houston, Adams County Leader, July 25, 1930.

IVERSON

Rev rend E. L. Iverson, pastor of the Congregational Church from 1918 to 1921,[1] married Mrs. Maude (Peters) Gregg in 1918.

During the flu epidemic he devoted most of his time to care and nursing of the sick.

In 1921 they moved to Oakdale, California. He died there April 18, 1936.

Mrs. Iverson died at Los Altos, California, January 22, 1960.

1. Obituary of Reverend E.L. Iverson, Adams County Leader, May 8, 1936.

JOHNSON, HANNIBAL F. "SEVEN DEVILS JOHNSON"

      One of the colorful characters who once inhabited the Council

and Seven Devils areas was Hannibal F. Johnson.  He was a

miner and poet, who acquired the title "Seven Devils Johnson"

from the local residents.  Johnson, born in Indiana in 1830, came

west looking for gold, and was in the Boise area in the early

1850's.  He later located a mining claim in the Seven Devils

about 1884.  In 1892, he ran for the office of Washington

County Senator against T.C. Galloway.  During the campaign,

Galloway called Johnson "Pine Tree Johnson", claiming that he

had real no home and lived under a pine tree.  Johnson won the

election and served one term.  * Pickett p. 42-3 and Elsensohn

303 Johnson apparently never married, and did a great deal of

traveling from place to place around the country, driving a

two-wheeled cart.  In a time when doctors were few and far     

between, he was in demand as an authority on home remedies.

He was a good natured man with a keen sense of humor, and

seemed to be liked by almost everyone.  *Cary, pp. 34-35

Weiser Leader, Sept 27, 1889  Printed in its 24 verse entirety:

The poem "Cuddy Flour" by H.F. Johnson "We publish the same

by request, believing it to be written in a good spirit toward Mr.

Cuddy and that it is aimed as a farewell to his burr mill flour."

Cuddy received his new roller mill Saturday for his location at

Salubria.              

Weiser Leader, Oct 25, 1889 "Farewell to Idaho" poem printed.

As with the Cuddy poem, the credit is given only to "A Seven

Devil Miner".  [By H.F. Johnson]

Salubria Citizen, April 12, 1895    H.F. Johnson has written a

book of Idaho Poems.

Salubria Citizen, Apr 19, 1895   H.F. Johnson's book of poems

costs 50 cents.

Salubria Citizen, Apr 21, 1899 Seven Devils Johnson is

"canvassing for two books..."  The Illustrated New Testament

and a history of tour war with Spain. [I assume this means

selling door to door, more or less.]

Salubria Citizen, June 2, 1899 P.W. Johnson of Spokane, is in

Council visiting his ex-senator brother H.F. Cambridge Citizen,

Oct 12, 1900 H.F. Johnson running on the Progressive ticket for

State senator - A.H. Wilkie for Rep., same party.

Cambridge Citizen, Mar 15, 1901 H.F. Johnson has taken the

agency for a chemical fire extinguisher, and will be traveling the

area demonstrating what his machine will do. 

Weiser Signal, Mar 26, 1904 H.F. Johnson, of Pollock, and

partners own the Alliance group of gold mining claims, about 8

miles up the main Rapid River.

Weiser Signal, Aug 24, 1904 P.W. Johnson, of the firm of

Haworth & Co. of Council...

Council Journal, Mar. 18, 1902 P.W. Johnson - secretary of the

Council Board of Trade

Council Journal, June 5, 1902   H.F. Johnson and his brother

P.W. have a gold mine called the Ajax on the West Fork of

Rapid River             

In the early 1890's, R.E. Lockwood, for whom Lockwood

Saddle is named, was doing some mining in the Devils, and

staying at a camp in the head of Rapid River near the North Star

mine.  One evening Mr. Johnson visited the camp, and all of the

men present became caught up in lofty discussions of philosophy

and literature.   Lockwood later wrote, it was a "feast of reason

and a flow of soul". *Camp p 46  Johnson recited one of his

mountain poems for the  group, and Lockwood was greatly

impressed.  Lockwood recalled,  "There, with true nature in all

her vastness and grandeur spread out beneath us, (we were at an

altitude of about 8,000 feet) with the green forests stretching

away for miles, with mountain 'turrets reaching to the  sky' above

us, it was easy to appreciate the impulses which inspired the

lines." * camp p47  Lockwood was the editor of the Weiser

Signal newspaper, and was so enthusiastic about Johnson's

poems that he risked his own money in 1895 to publish a 125

page book of the poets works which was entitled  Poems of

Idaho .

This poem from which Lockwood quoted above, was included in

the book of Johnson's poetry:

JOHNSON

Gay D. Johnson was born near Ramseytown North Carolina, October 18, 1890. About 1896 the family moved to Kentucky.[1]

There was very little employment in that area except in the mines, so in 1910 the three Johnson brothers, Alonzo, Freeman, and Gay, came west looking for work. They settled at Republic, Washington, and sent for their mother and sisters.[2]

In 1913 Gay's sister, Dora, married Grant Moore of Council. Gay visited them about 1916, liked his new brother-in-law, and stayed to work for him.[3]

Gay Johnson enlisted in the army in 1917. He was with the military police division and remained with the occupation forces in France for a time after the close of the war.[4]

Shortly after he returned to Council, Gay married Annie Gould, January 29, 1922. Annie, born in 1897, was the daughter of George and Viola Gould. They lived on the Bill Phipps place on Cottonwood. Their children were a son who died shortly after birth, Clyde, Dorothy, and Elmer.[5]

Annie died in 1949 and is buried in Weiser Cemetery.[6]

In the early 1950s Gay Johnson sold his ranch and moved to Sandpoint and married Virgie

1. Gay D. Johnson, Sandpoint, Idaho, oral interview, 1974.

2. Ibid.

3. Dora Johnson Moore, Boise, Idaho, oral interview, 1970

4. Gay D. Johnson , oral interview.

5. Ibid

6. Ibid

JONES, CHARLES W.

Salubria Citizen, Apr 22, 1898, Charles Allen appointed

constable of Lick Creek precinct and  C.W. Jones = justice of

the peace of same.

Salubria Citizen, Mar 3, 1899 Capt. E.W. Baughman will go

down the Snake from Huntington to check on the feasibility of

running a steamer from Lewiston.  The steamer has made it to

Wild Goose rapids a number of times.  C.W. Jones, who has a

big copper mine on the Snake, is in on the scheme, and plans to

haul ore this way to Lewiston.

Salubria Citizen, Mar 17, 1899 C.W. Jones started off with his

river scow to go from Weiser 25 miles to his Copper Chief mine

on the Snake.

Salubria Citizen, Mar 24, 1899

      C.W. Jones made it to his mine

with his scow on the Snake

Salubria Citizen, Apr 14, 1899 C.W. Jones has made it to the

mouth of Deep creek in "Hells canyon"

Salubria Citizen, Apr 28, 1899 C.W. Jones's scow is named

"Hotel Weiser" and set sail on March 8

Salubria Citizen, Jan 12, 1900 Liquor licenses issued: Nick

Klosaner,  Gossi & Dellacqua,  - Degitz & Jones,

Cambridge Citizen, Apr 12, 1901 "The first sale of town

property was made in the new town of  Decorah on March 28th,

when C.W.Jones sold his entire interest in the saloon business,

including buildings and fixtures to Nick Klosaner of Cuprum for

$4,000." elegant billiard table and other furniture

Cambridge Citizen, May 9, 1902  Mention of the Advance paper

in Council - Mr. Jones, publisher

THE ADVANCE  Council paper  C.W. Jones, publisher

              The Advance, July 24, 1902

Weiser Signal, June 15, 1904 C.W. Jones now in charge of the

Peacock, White Monument, Helena and several other mines -

lives in Landore.

The Weiser Semi-Weekly Signal, July 12, 1905 C.W. Jones -

"Charlie" lives at Landore

KAMPETER

August Fredrick Kampeter was born in Germany July 27, 1858.

He came to America when he was twenty-six years old and located it Pleasant Grove, Iowa. On June 10, 1896, he married Mary Hilderbrand.[1]

They had a farm at Danville, Iowa, until they came to Council, November 5, 1908, and settled on Hornet Creek.[2] They chose the Council area because Mary's mother and stepfather were living there. Those who came to Idaho were "Gus" and Mary and their children John, Hilda, Clara, Vida, Louise, and Albert. Three more children, Viola, Bill, and Beth, were born on Hornet Creek.

The Kampeters came west on the train. Hilda was too young to remember how long the trip took-only that they were very tired. The only livestock they brought were two dogs.[4]

Mary W. Hilderbrand, born August 21, 1872, at Stuttgart, Germany, came to America at two years of age. She died October 5, 1961. She is buried beside her husband in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery. Mr. Kampeter died at home March 22, 1936.[5]

1. Obituary of August Frederick Kampeter, Adams County Leader, March 27, 1936.

2. Ibid

3. Hilda Ham, Council, Idaho oral interview, 1974

4. Ibid.

5. Obituary of Mary Kameter, Adams County Leader, October 14, 1961.

KECKLER

Augustus Henry Keckler was born May 25, 1875, at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He farmed for a while in Illinois before moving to Council in 1910.

He was married September 23, 1913, in Boise to Bertha Brown of Indian Valley.

Mr. Keckler was prominent in the development of Mesa orchard district.

There were two sons, Lewis and Donald, and two daughters, Mrs. Harold White and Mrs. Carroll Schmidt.

Mr. Keckler died August 25, 1955, and is buried in Indian Valley.[1]

Emory John Keckler, son of Abraham and Elizabeth Alice Keckler, was born at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, November 30, 1877. As a young man he worked with his brother, Gus Keckler, as a guide through the battlefield.

He graduated from barber college at Mt. Morris, Illinois. On June 28, 1908, at Chicago, he married Mary Ruth Horton, daughter of James and Katherine Horton.

Mr. Keckler owned and operated a barber shop in Chicago until 1918 when they came to Council. In Council he owned and operated a barber shop for over forty years.

The Keckler children were Joe, Katheryne, Jim, and Alice.

Mr. Keckler died November 24, 1959,[2] and Mrs. Keckler in May, 1966.[3]

1. Obituary of August Henry Keckler, Adams County Leader, August 26, 1955.

2. Obituary of Emory John Keckler, Adams County Leader, November 27, 1959.

3. Obituary of Mary Ruth Keckler, Adams County Leader, May 19, 1966.

KERR

Mason Kerr born February 14, 1889 at Sewickley, Pennsylvania, came to Council in 1921[1] to join Frank Galey, William Spahr, and Robert Lindsay.

These four young men all came from well-to-do families who were able to sponsor their spirit of adventure. The four men bought ninety acres of newly planted apple orchard as a promotional deal. The trees died and they went on to other things.[2]

Mason Kerr served in World War I.[3]

He was killed at his home, May 4. 1930. He and an employee, George Richards, were in the barn when a quarrel rose. A shot was fired and Richards ran out shouting, "He's shot himself!" The bullet entered behind his ear and came out near his chin (a difficult suicide shot). Richards was charged with murder[4] but at his trial on December 30 he was exonerated.

1. Obituary of Mason Kerr, Adams County Leader, May9, 1930

2. Frank Galey, Jr., Boise, Idaho, oral interview, 1973.

3. American Legion records, Council, Idaho (courtesy of Charlie Winkler).

4. Mason Kerr, obituary.

KESLER

Alex Kesler was born in Green Brier County, West Virginia, December 4, 1829.[1] His brother, Andrew, was born September 13, 1819.

Alex Kesler married Martha J. Summerville in Wirt County, Virginia (now West Virginia), September 29, 1859.[2] Martha was born May 2, 1836.[3] Her father, Andrew Summerville, was born in Ireland and her mother, Rebecca as born in Virginia. Martha's sister, Letitia, married George A. Winkler.[4]

Alex and Martha moved to Kansas in 1868 and the next year to Arkansas. They left there in late January 1876, heading west by way of Kansas and Missouri as part of a family group. The wagon train was made up of Alex's brother, Andrew Kesler-; George A. Winkler's family; James Copeland and his fourteen-year-old bride Ida (Kesler); William Harp and family; and George Robertson and his wife, Martha Harp Kesler. They traveled by ox teams and wagons.[5]

When they reached Boise Valley the Harps and Robertsons stopped.

In Indian Valley the group heard of troubles with the Indians and decided to stay there until the problem was settled.[Nez Perce War of 1877] The Alex Keslers' youngest daughter, Elva, was born [at Salubria] shortly after their arrival in Indian Valley and soon after that they moved to Council Valley, where they arrived October of 1877**.[6] Mosers, Whites, Copelands, and Winklers were well settled there.

    [Elva Kesler, who later married Robert Young, was born in December of 1877.]

The Keslers settled north of the present town site in a house they built. Their house was known as the "Beehive" because of the large family--10 children.

The children of Alex and Martha Kesler were: Rebecca (remained single), Elizabeth (married John Pickens), Ida (married James Copeland), Lewis (married Lena Day), William (married Milly Pottinger), John (married Edna Wisdom), Jennie (married Sam Harp), Emma (died young of typhoid fever), James (married Anna Schultz), and Elva (married Robert Young).[7]

John Kesler died September 13, 1937.[8] this excerpt from his obituary describes the family home:

In retrospect, I glance backward a half a century, to the home of young John, looking eastward, Council mountain towering 8000 feet above sea level, northward the peaks of the Seven Devils, its range towering in the distance; westward Cuddy mountain with its timbered slopes and to the southward the great open sagebrush plains, the solitude of the valley certains presents a picture that can be naught but awe inspiring and make us realize the handiwork of our Creator and the smallness of man.

Nestling almost in the center of the valley, built of logs, with the huge porch looking eastward, and the gorgeous lilac bush shading the front yard, while flanking either side, large fruit trees laden with golden apples, and red-cheeked pears, the latch string hanging outward, bidding the neighbor and the stranger alike to enter and partake of the true southern hospitality of a pioneer home. Seated before the huge fireplace, in an old fashioned arm chair, I can yet see Uncle Alex, as we were wont to call him gazing silently at the flickering embers, the kettle steaming on the crane, Aunt Martha busy preparing the long table for the midday meal, loading it with choicest viands that only a southern housewife could prepare, the table being set, all repaired around the festive board, the stranger within the gates occupying the seat of honor, after dinner the older men returning to the front porch to discuss news of the neighborhood, and to devise ways and means of getting new settlers into the valley, or improvement of the road to Weiser. The boys, including John, repairing to the river with spears and rifle to capture the toothsome Chinook, or possibly the bear that had been invading the swine herd, along the river, or maybe to lure the wily buck, that had been making' nightly visits to the bean patch.

The mail carrier on the route from Indian Valley to Warren, on his semi-monthly visit, arrives and reports an Indian uprising, that already some depredations had been committed, word was sent from house to house to the few settlers in the valley, and hurried consultations were held, a fort was erected near the river about three-quarters of a mile northwest of Council, the fort being a crude stockade enclosed affair. The women and children were hurried into the protection of the crude affair, the men standing guard and plying their daily toil. The war over, the settlers returned to their homes and regular routine.

Alex and Martha Kesler were the founders of Kesler Cemetery. There are many graves there, some marked and some not. Martha died August 5, 1909, and Alex died May 2, 1913. They are buried in Kesler Cemetery as are their son John and daughter Emma.

For many years John and his wife, Edna, ran the valley's first poor farm. The large white two-story house which was built on the family homestead still stands. It is west of the railroad tracks and north of Kesler Cemetery.

John and Edna Kesler had five children: Leila, Chester, Emma, Paul, and John, Jr.

James Kesler, born April 25, 1874, at Little Rock, Arkansas, came to Council at age three with his family. He married Anna Shultz. They had two children, Anna and George. About 1903 James opened a jewelry store. After several years he went to New Meadows and was in the same business but returned to Council in 1919 and operated a jewelry store until a week before his death, January 3, 1947.[9]

 1.Obituary of Alex Kesler, Adams County Leader, May 9, 1913.

 2.Ibid.

 3.Obituary of Martha Kesler, Adams County Leader, August 6, 1909.

 4.1850 census, Wirt County, Virginia, 70th -district, Family #16.

    1860 census, Wirt County, Virginia, Zackville, Family #43.

 5. Obituary of John Kesler, Adams County Leader, September 17, 1937

6. Ibid.

7 Lila Young Perkins, Boise, Idaho, oral interview, 1974.

8 Obituary of John Kesler.

9 Obituary of James Kesler, Adams County Leader, January 3, 1947.

KNIGHT

Leonard Randall Knight was born October 1, 1897, son of Leonard and Alice B. Knight of Langford, South Dakota. They came to Idaho about 1911 and made a home at Council.

Immediately after World War I started Randall enlisted in the service. He suffered severe injury which caused permanent disability, requiring long periods of hospitalization in veterans' hospitals, and he never fully overcame the effects. In late years he was unable to work and increasing disability resulted in his death.[1]

In June, 1929, he married Gladys Bowman, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Wayland Bowman.

1. Obituary of Leonard Randall Knight, Adams County Leader, May 13, 1949.

KRIGBAUM

James Krigbaum was born in Maryland about 1826 and emigrated to Illinois as a young man. He became a farmer there and raised fine stock. Tales drifted back 'from those who had gone to the California gold fields. In the early '50s he decided to see for himself this fabulous land. He went by way of the Isthmus of Panama. He remained in California until 1856, then he returned to Illinois.

James Krigbaum married Margaret McClaren, who was born in Iowa about 1843 but came to Illinois later to live.

From Illinois the family moved to Texas, and in 1884 they moved again-this time to Council, where they settled three miles north of town. Here they remained the rest of their lives.[1]

They had six sons and four daughters. Ross, the oldest son, the fifth child, was born in Fulton, Illinois, April 16, 1869. He first went to school in Texas, but schools were poor and there was much work to be done at home so he had little opportunity for an education. He left school at age nine and worked on his father's farm until he was seventeen, when he left home and struck out on his own.

In Idaho Ross took a contract to carry mail between Indian Valley, Warren, and Roosevelt. He carried mail many years, most of the time in the back country, as wages were better on snowshoe lines. In twenty-three years he traveled over sixty thousand miles on skis and on foot and carried over 32,850 pounds of express. Sometimes he was snowed in on the high mountains, sick and lying out under the trees in twenty feet of snow.

Albie Ross Krigbaum married Annie Osborn in New Meadows in 1915. They owned Krigbaum Hot Springs.[2]

Ed Krigbaum carried mail across the mountain from Council to Thunder Mountain. His twin brother Marcus was a farmer in Council.

Dollie Krigbaum taught school in Council area. Before 1900 she taught the Cottonwood Creek school. She married Harry Bowman and had four children.[3]

James Krigbaum died March 19, 1902. He and his wife are buried in Kesler Cemetery.[4] His marker resembles a white tree stump. She has no marker.[5]

1. Ruth Maxon, Boise, Idaho, oral interview, 1973.

2. French, History of Idaho, vol. 2,  p.813

3. Ruth Maxon, oral interview.

4. Obituary of James J. Krigbaum, Council Hournal, May 19, 1902.

5. Ruth Maxon, oral interview.

LAKEY

The Lakey family migrated from Missouri to Walla Walla, Washington, in the summer of 1861, and in 1881 to Council. They settled on Hornet Creek. There were three brothers and their families: John, Andy, and Lewis.

Andy was wagonmaster for the forty-wagon train.

John Lakey married Sarah Foster in Missouri, and their first child was born on the plains. The fathers of both of them were dead, but their mothers came west with them and so did Sarah's sister, Pheby.

Lewis Lakey married Pheby Foster in July 1861 at a camp meeting in the forks of Big and Little Piney rivers on Lander's Cutoff. Pheby had a twin sister who died at age four. She was told to hurry and do an errand. She ran and fell, breaking her back, which caused her death.

The trip took some months, traveling by oxen-drawn covered wagons. No furniture was brought along. They made what they needed when they settled. A few pieces of this early hand-made furniture are still in the possession of descendants and are cherished. Only bare necessities were in the wagon, mostly food, bedding, and a few farm items.

Most foods were dried or salted. Dry beans, "shuck" beans, corn meal, flour, sugar, coffee, dried corn, hominy, and salt pork were the basics. Various greens, fish, and game were secured along the way whenever possible. Wild fruits may have added to the menu at times. A cow was driven with them and provided milk and butter.

There were several incidents with Indians during the westward trek. The family had a small black dog, called Coalie, which they loved very much. When they arrived at the Platte River in Nebraska the Indians refused to let them cross. The river was half a mile wide and not very deep, but the bottom was quicksand, making the crossing dangerous at best. After some time the Indians finally agreed to let the wagons cross if the Lakeys would give them the dog. Since there was no choice, they agreed. Next day they passed the Indians' camp site. There lay Coalie's head. The Indians had eaten him.[1]

There was a young smart aleck with the train. He had no family. He boasted that he would kill the first Indian he saw. The wagonmaster told him to save his powder and lead because he might need it and killing an Indian would cause trouble. However, he did not listen. The first Indian he saw was a young squaw, sitting on a log, nursing her baby. He shot her. The next morning the wagon party woke to discover they were surrounded by hostile Indians. Their demands were simple--surrender the one who killed the squaw or all would die. There was no choice. Reluctantly they turned the young man over to the Indians for punishment. His death was terrible. The Indians skinned him alive, removing every inch of skin, They kept their promise and caused no more trouble for the others. No one in the wagon train ever forgot the incident.[2]

At Vale, Oregon, the train divided, some wagons going to California and the rest of the train taking the road to Walla Walla, Washington. They crossed the Blue Mountains on the old Louton road.

Lewis Lakey had several yoke of oxen and three wagons. By March 1864 he had only one ox and his saddle horse, so he put the harness on the ox and plowed the first ground on his farm.

Lakeys left Walla Walla in the fall of 1878 and went to John Day, Oregon. There tragedy struck. Five small children died of diphtheria. Two were children of Lewis and Pheby and three were of John and Sarah.

The surviving children of John and Sarah were Dora, Andy, Charles, and Jake, Lewis and Pheby had nine who grew to maturity: Andrew, Jacob, Rebecca, John, David, Keithley, Thomas, Lydia, and Charles,

The family left the John Day area in May 1881 and settled on Hornet Creek September 14, 1881. Here Lewis built a one-room log cabin with a dirt floor. Bunks were built along the walls for the nine children and parents. There were no stores and no money to buy clothes. Mrs. Lakey made the boys Pants by hand from seamless sacks. They had no shoes and they went barefooted on the snow. The crust cut their feet and they often left bloody tracks.

The men helped build the road up Hornet Creek.[3]

It was quite a trip from Hornet Creek to Weiser. With four horses and a freight wagon twenty miles a day was good. It usually took ten days to make the round trip.

The children attended Upper Dale School, walking two and a half miles each morning and night. John Lakey, Jr., got a third-grade education. His teacher was Dora Black, wife of William.

John Lakey, son of Lewis and Pheby, married Ella Graham. Her father, William Graham, was a Civil War veteran who came from Missouri in the late 1880s to prospect.[4] He settled on Crooked River. The Lakey children were: Alta, Edith, Irene, Harry, Fred, Jesse, Juanita, Dale, and Everett.[5]

Pheby Lakey died November 26, 1904; Lewis, June 19, 1911; and Sarah, November 3, 1916. All are buried in Hornet Creek Cemetery.

1 Mrs. Vollie Zink, Mountain Home, Idaho, oral interview, 1974.

2 Andy Lakey, manuscript, in possession of Mrs, Vollie Zink, Mountain Home, Idaho.

3 Zink, oral interview.

4 Ruby Fuller, Payette, Idaho, 1974.

5 Cemetery records of Hornet Creek Cemetery, Idaho Genealogical Library, Boise, Idaho.

________________________________

LAPPIN

Charles Franklin Lappin was born September 16, 1872. His family moved from Illinois to La Grande, Oregon.[1]

Charles married Catherine Kloostra December 26, 1900, at Union, Oregon. They lived at La Grande for a while then moved to Hatton, Washington, and in 1904 to Council. A year later they bought a ranch northeast of town. They had a large apple orchard.

Their children were Fred, Charles, Ruth, Alice, and John.

Catherine Kloostra was born in Velsen, Holland, June 11, 1880, and came to America with her parents about 1895. They settled in Pennsylvania and in 1886 moved to Oregon.[2]

Mrs.  Lappin died August 25, 1945 , and her husband died June 30, 1959. They are buried in Winkler Cemetery.[3]

1. Charles Lappin, Council, Idaho, oral interview, 1972

2. Obituary of Catherine Kloostra Lappin, Adams County Leader, August 31, 1945.

3. Winkler Cemetery records, Council, Idaho, in Idaho Genealogical Library, Boise, Idaho.

__________________________________________

LAUZON, FRANK

Text with Forest Service photo in album: Frank Luzon went into

Rankin's camp about 1905, from Ottawa, Canada.  He was a

wonderful candidate for the liar's Club because of his gift for

expanding a most mediocre episode into a hilarious comedy or

record-breaking conflict.  Frank donated his pictures (plates) to

Winiford Lindsay who in turn donated the glass photo plates to

the Idaho Historical society in Boise.

LORTON

1/19/2005 email:

My name is Randy Krehbiel. I am a reporter for the Tulsa World, preparing a history of the newspaper for its centennial. In the course of my research I came across a bit about Charlie Allen on the museum web site. Charlie apparently was the brother of Sarah Allen Lorton, the first wife of Eugene Lorton, the World's long-time publisher and whose "second" family still owns the newspaper.

Info from Mr. Krehbiel:

      Eugene Lorton had two brothers, Jess and Otis, who as far as I know never lived in Idaho. Otis, I know, did not have a son, and in any event neither would have had children old enough to be Joe. It's possible he was a cousin. I don't know much about the extended Lorton family, except that Eugene's grandfather was named John Lorton and settled in Montgomery County, Mo., around 1830.

      Mida Lorton was Eugene's younger sister.

Eugene's brothers, Otis and Jess, had no sons. I went back and checked obituaries. Jess' obit has a cryptic reference to a "half-sister in Idaho." This could not have been Mida, who was a full sister and died in 1909. (Jess died in 1929). Eugene, Otis, Jess and Mida's mother had died when they were young, and their father Robert remarried -- the proverbial "wicked stepmother," according to Eugene's papers. I've never seen or heard any reference to half-brothers and -sisters from Robert's second marriage, but given Eugene's feelings toward his stepmother and his own personality it's possible he wouldn't have acknowledged them.

Notes added to "Council Valley-Here They Labored" file on web site:

More on the Allens From Winifred Lindsay --

Concerning Council Valley Museum photo 95439 (Mr. & Mrs. Levi Allen): The original of the photo of the Allens was donated to the Idaho Historical Society by Mrs. Alma Lorton Morrison of Walla Walla.   She was a childhood friend of Winifred's and furnished her with the following info from the Allen family bible:

 Levi Allen, born Missouri, 1839 - crossed the plains in 1859 going to Puget Sound area.  To Walla Walla in 1860 & engaged in sawmill business.  Married widow, Olivia Maybell Moody in 1871 who had two children, Sarah, b. 1867 and Charles, b. 1869: both were adopted by Mr. Allen.  Levi and his wife had one son, Grover b. 1873 - died 1953, never married.  Levi killed by car in 1919.

 Sarah Moody Allen married Eugene Lorton, a young printer, in 1886.  Mr. Lorton later became owner of the very prosperous Tulsa, Oklahoma World.  They had 4 daughters, one being Alma Lorton Morrison of Walla Walla.

 When Levi and Olivia married, Sarah was 4 yrs. old, Charles was age 2. Sarah & Eugene Lorton were married at Salubria were Alma was born.

Notes from area newspapers:

Salubria Citizen, March 8, 1895

    Dr. W.M. Brown and Eugene Lorton bought the Pioneer drug store and fixtures of John Cuddy... and will continue the drug business at the old stand under the firm name of Brown & Lorton.

Salubria Citizen, May 24, 1895

    Emma Edwards designed the new U.S. half dollar.  Her design was picked from several hundred.  She was staying in Salubria at the time she designed it, and editor Lorton says the woman on the coin was patterned after some young local lady.

Salubria Citizen, Oct 4, 1895

    Editor Lorton went to Idaho Press Assoc. meeting in Lewiston by train.

Salubria Citizen, Jan 17, 1896

    E.E. Lorton has purchased the drug store of Brown and Lorton.  Dr. Brown will stay on as "drug clerk".

Salubria Citizen, Sept 23, 1898

    The new Council school is finished and school will start Oct 3 - Miss [Mida] Lorton of Salubria teaching

Council Leader, Thurs. Sept 19, 1912

    J.I. Lorton - Druggist  - "Rexall will please all"

Council Leader, Jan 31, 1913

    J.I. Lorton bought the Ransopher drug stock and fixtures.  He will operate only one of his stores - the one he is now in.

Council Leader, Sept 18, 1914

    J.I. Lorton bought his brother's store in Cambridge and will run both that store and his present one in Council

Adams County Leader, Jan 20, 1922

    Joe Lorton, who ran the Council Pharmacy, now of Cambridge...

(I would appreciate it if you can give me info on how, or if, Joe Lorton was related to Eugene.)

See also: Allen

LOVELACE / LOVELESS

Zadock Lovelace and his son, William, were among Council Valley's first permanent settlers. Zadock Lovelace was a widower, and his son, William, was single. Zadock was born in Pennsylvania and William in Illinois.[1]

The Lovelaces came to Council from Wyandotte County, Kansas, in 1877.[2] They settled along the Weiser River, on land later owned by Arthur G. Hallett. The early fort was built on their property.[3]

Very little is known about these early settlers, including where they are buried.

Zadock Lovelace was the father of Martha, who married-William Reil Harrington in Illinois.[4] They named one son Robert Zadock Harrington.[5]

Mrs. John (Mary E.) Draper was another daughter who came to Council.

Zadock Lovelace died January 18, 1884,[6] leaving a sizeable tract of land to be divided among his heirs. Among old records of the First Bank of Council is the record of the distribution of his estate.[7]

1 1880 census of Council Valley, Washington County, Idaho, June 19, 1880

2 1870 census of Wyandotte, Wyandotte County, Kansas, July 12, 1870, Family #364.

3. Mary E. Hallett, Council, Idaho, oral interview, 1973.

4 1870 census, Wyandotte, Kansas, Family #365.

5 Obituary of Robert Zadock Harrington, Adams County Leader, August 6,1943.

6 Records of First Bank of Council, Council, Idaho, Idaho Historical Society , Boise, Idaho.

7 Ibid.

MATHIAS

Frank T. Mathias was born in Bloomfield, Iowa, February  3, 1852. He was married July 1, 1881, to Clista E. Green at San Leandro,  Van Buren County, Iowa.[1] She was born March 7, 1855.

The family started west, a long rambling trip. One son   was born in Iowa, one in Kansas, and one in Gunnison City, Colorado, where one son died at age five.

>From Gunnison City they went to Glenns Ferry, Idaho, then to Van Wyck, near Cascade, for one year, and finally in 1884 to Council. They traveled by team and wagon.

Two daughters, Ethel and Bertha, were born in Council.

Frank Mathias owned all the land in town which was east of the town square. His ranch contained 160 acres. The house, which burned about 1920, was at the foot of the schoolhouse hill. The land was clear and they could raise hay and good crops. They soon had a fine garden, fruits, and berries. Mr. Mathias built the first blacksmith shop in Council on his ranch. He was an excellent blacksmith.

The nearest market was at Weiser. Mr. Mathias made the trip twice a year, spring and fall, to buy or sell as needed. The trip took six days, two days each way and a two-day rest in Weiser to transact business.

There were Indians who still visited Council about 1900.   They were a peaceful group and caused no trouble. They camped by a thorn bush thicket across from the Mathias home. When one of the Mathias children was badly burned and did not respond to treatment one of the squaws said she could cure the burns. She gathered roots and plants and made a poultice which soon healed the boy's hand.

      In 1892 there was an epidemic of diphtheria in Council which caused the death of nine people, six of which were children. Frank Mathias was a carpenter as well as a blacksmith. Bertha remembered their house filled with the coffins he made. Mrs. Mathias lined them and covered them with black sateen. The burials were at night to help prevent the spread of the terrible disease. The Mathias children watched the lantern lights from their upstairs windows. The burials were in Kesler Cemetery.

Bill and Lewis Winkler, A. L. Freehafer, and Frank Mathias were part- ners in the Golden Rule mine between Warren and Burgdorf Hot Springs. The Mathias family spent eight years there, 1901-09.

Mrs. Mathias was elected First Vice Grand of the Diamond Rebekah Lodge in Council in June, 1901. The lodge had a rule that any officer who missed three meetings in a row would automatically lose her office. The family went to Warren and Mrs. Mathias missed two meetings. She was determined not to miss the third. Her husband said, "Mother, you can't make such a trip." Her son said, "I won't let you make the trip." But she did, taking twelve-year-old Bertha with her. They started at first light on Saturday morning.

Mrs. Mathias rode a little spotted Indian pony and Bertha rode Morgan Gifford's horse. They wore riding skirts and rode side-saddle ninety miles.

Near Squaw Meadows it began to rain. Soon it was pouring, and they were soaked. They saw a sheepherder's camp across the meadow, and the fire looked inviting. They rode across to the camp, and the men were very kind, giving them hot coffee and helping them get warm. One of the men pulled a pair of his wool socks over little Bertha's feet while her stockings were drying. Leaving the camp, they went on to Little Payette where they spent the night. The next night they stayed at Old Meadows. They arrived in Council at five-thirty Monday evening. Their clothes were removed from flour sacks and pressed. Mrs. Mathias attended her lodge meeting and Bertha visited friends. Early Tuesday morning they started the long trip home.  By fall the family was back in town, and Mrs. Mathias had no need to repeat the long trip to lodge meeting.

Don R. Mathias, born January 13, 1882, married Lida B. Biggerstaff  April 28, 1903. Bertha remembered, "Don was one of the world's gentlest and dearest people. Lida was a gorgeous young girl. She had the most beau- tiful red hair I've ever seen."

Lida died suddenly March 28, 1904. Don was a watchman at Hathaway's placer mining camp on Grouse Creek. He and Lida were the only ones in camp. They lived about three miles from Secesh Meadows, where they had to go for mail and supplies.

Don made the trip on snowshoes, and when he returned he found Lida on the floor by the bed. She was pregnant, and, as it was warm in the house, her husband thought she had fainted.

Mr. Wetter, who lived farther on, had returned with him but declined to come in, saying he had better get on. When Don couldn't rouse Lida he hurriedly called him back. Mr. Wetter knew at once that she was dead, but Don refused to accept the fact.  Not wanting to leave Don alone in his grief, Mr. Wetter sent him for help, telling him he could travel faster on snowshoes. There was a "sporting woman" living with some men several miles away. He was sure she would help. She came and so did the men. She was kind and helpful, making coffee and doing what she could.  It was a long cold trip to bring Lida home for burial at Council. They spread a cowhide and put a featherbed and pillow on it, wrapping her care- fully. Another pillow was put over her face. The cowhide was roped secur- ely around it all and for three days she was pulled over the snow. Ropes  were tied around the toboggan, and at night the ropes were thrown over a tree limb, and the body was pulled up into a tree, away from the animals.

Word had gone out to their families, and some of them met the group when they reached McCall and accompanied them home. Lida died of brain hemorrhage. She is buried in Kesler Cemetery.[2]

In 1906 Don Mathias married Maggie Morrison. They had one son and one daughter.

 Don Mathias died January 13, 1934, and is buried in Morris Hill Cemetery in Boise. So are his parents and both sisters.

Ethel Mathias married Swedish-born Ed Roden, and they lived in Council for a long time before moving to Boise. She died February 15, 1934.

Bertha Mathias, born August 23, 1889, in Council, married Carl Abercrombie in Boise May 31, 1913.[3]

Carl's parents were Young Howard Abercrombie and Alice Lindsay Aber- crombie of Boise.

Carl was a cement finisher and his father was a cement contractor. They built the Council Bank, and that is when Carl met Bertha.

Mr. and Mrs. Abercrombie had two children, Don and Doris. to Boise, where her family had gone in 1913.

Frank Mathias died i4 May 1928, leaving his heirs his interest in the Golden Rule placer mines.[4]

Bertha Abercrombie died November 10, 1973, and is buried in Morris Hill Cemetery beside her husband.

1. Obituary of Frank Mathias, Adams County Leader Council, Idaho, June 1, 1928

2. Bertha Mathias Abercrombie, Boise, Idaho, oral interview, 1972.

3. Marriage records, Washington County, Weiser, Idaho.

4. Bertha Mathias Abercrombie, oral interview, 1972

____________________________________________

McCLURE

Andrew Robertson McClure was born in Pennsylvania May 14, 1865, and his wife, Daisy, was born in Missouri April 2, 1870.

They came from Missouri to Idaho by emigrant car, a railroad car which carried the family, their household goods, and their livestock. In this way the men could take care of feeding and watering the animals. It took about a week to make the trip to Boise Valley, where the family remained for a while before moving to Council in 1909.

Both children, Mamie and Will, were born at Rich Hill, Missouri.

Will McClure, born October 12, 1893, was the second graduate from Council High School. He always said he got the highest grade in his class. He was the only one in it.[1]

 Will married Marie Freehafer. In later years they lived in Payette. They are the parents of Senator James McClure.[2]

Mamie McClure worked in the Adams County Courthouse until her retirement. She lives in Payette.[3]

A.R. McClure died January 12, 1945. Daisy Arnetta McClure died January 10, 1950.[4] Both are buried in Riverside Cemetery in Payette.

1.Mamie McClure, Payette, Idaho oral interview, 1974.

2.Marie Freehafer McClure, Payette Idaho, oral interview, 1974.

3.Mamie McClure, oral interview.

4.Riverside Cemetery records, Payette, Idaho.

______________________________________________

McGINLEY

Katherine McGinley, born December 13, 1891, at Denver, Colorado, was the daughter of James and Katherine McGinley.  She was raised at Ogallala, Nebraska and taught school there for several years.

They came to Council in 1916[1] and she married R. H: Caseman at Weiser. July 24, 1921.  She was a bookkeeper for Sam Criss in his general store. They moved to Fruitvale, where she served as postmistress for eight years. They had two sons, Robert M. and Walter R. Caseman. She died February 8, 1965.

Francis Sterling McGinley was a brother of Katherine, born June 19, 1893, at Ogallala, Nebraska.  He came to Idaho with his family.  He married Alma Reimers January 17, 1928, at Payette.  Following their marriage they farmed at Fruitvale until 1944,[2] when they purchased Fruitvale Mercantile and post office, which they operated until they retired in 1964.  He died in December

      There was one brother, Ed.

1 Obituary of Katherine McGinley Cageman, Adams County Leader, February 18, 1965

2. Obituary of Francis Sterling McGinley, Adams County Leader. December 18. 1969.

_________________________________________

McMAHAN

Jonathan McMahan, born in Indiana in February., 1850, was the oldest son of George and Hannah McMahan. He had three sisters, who did not come to Idaho, and a brother Isaac, the youngest, born in 1859 in Adair County, Missouri.

About 1876 Jonathan married Caroline Percilla Magers, born March 10, 1856, in Putnam County, Missouri. Her parents were Joseph and Percilla Magers.[1]

In 1876 Jonathan and Caroline moved to Ogden, Utah, on the train, then to Durkee, Baker County, Oregon, in a stage. With them came their small daughter, Cora, and Jonathan's brother, Isaac. They settled at Durkee, outside of Baker, where sons Edward and George were born. They all moved to Indian Valley in the spring of 1883. Here daughters Lilly and Daisy were born. They moved to Council and then to Meadows, where they were cattle ranchers and operated a store.[1]

Jonathan died March 11 1925 and Caroline September 7, 1939. They are buried in Meadows Cemetery.[2]

Isaac McMahan, born April 28, 1859, married in Baker on October 19, 1866, Lucy Elane Barnes, born at Forest Grove, Oregon. After 1877 they moved to the area now known as Alpine. They built a store and established a post office in it. It was Lucy who chose the name of Alpine, and it was approved by the post office department. She was the postmistress.

They were away from home for a Fourth of July celebration in 1894, when the store burned. They had chosen the Alpine area because at that time there was no store at Indian Valley and because it was along the road used by freighters and travelers to and from Meadows and the Seven Devils.

In 1894 they moved to Council, as it was a crossroads for miners and ranchers. Isaac entered partnership with John 0. Peters in the mercantile business. Their store was on the south side of the town square.

They traded the store to Joseph Whiteley for land at Fruitvale in 1903.[3]

The coming of the P.I.N. railroad brought about the founding of Fruitvale by Richard and Arthur Wilkie, J. L. B. Carroll, Isaac McMahan, Fred Brooks, George L. Robertson, Vollie Zink, and Miles D. Chaffee, each buying a fifty-dollar share. It was an incorporated townsite and shares were sold in it.[4]

Fruitvale store was built by the Wilkie brothers. The first to build a home there was W. N. Harp. They built a hotel which was later bought by Isaac McMahan and sold to the grange.[5]

Lucy McMahan died November 2,1927.

Their children were Earl, Ernest, Rollie, and Lester Isaac. Lester Isaac McMahan was born in Durkee, Oregon, October 23, 1887. He married Hattie Vassar in Weiser June 15, 1910. They ranched at Fruitvale until 1937 when they returned to Council where Lester worked in the sawmill until he retired in 1952. They had one son, George, and daughters Mildred and Lillian Lester Isaac McMahan died November 4, 1973.

1.    Ernest McMahan, oral interview, Boise, Idaho, 1974.

2.    Meadows Cemetery Records, New Meadows, Idaho.

3.    Ernest McMahan, Oral interview.

4.    Township records in records of First Bank Of Council, Idaho State Historical Society.

5.    Ernest McMahan, oral interview.

______________________________________

MINK

James D. Mink was born in Grant County, Virginia, February 23, 1871.

He married Rebecca Parzada Perkins February 26, 1891, at Rugby, Virginia.[1]

They moved from Virginia to Battle Creek, Nebraska, in 1894, and in 1901 to Soldier, Idaho, where they continued to farm. In 1918 they came to Council and settled on Cottonwood Creek. Here they farmed and raised cattle.[2]

The Mink children were: Nanny, Cora Elza, Fred ["Dick"], Owen C. ["Bud"], Edwin Carl [Carl],

Ira Fitzhugh [Fitz], Leo Munsey ["Jack"], and Tanner Charles ["Bob"].[3]

Rebecca Parzada Perkins was born at Marion, Virginia, March 18, 1871.[4]

She took a forty-acre homestead in 1919 at Council.[5]

Mr. Mink died in May 1953 and Mrs. Mink in 1959. They are buried in Weiser Cemetery.

1.    Obituary of James D. Mink, Adams County Leader, May 29, 1953.

2.    Beulah Mink, Boise, Idaho, oral interview 1972.

3.    Ibid.

4.    Obituary of Rebecca Parzada Mink, Adams County Leader, January 22, 1959.

5.    Bureau of Land Management homestead records, State B.L.M. office, Boise, Idaho

_____________________________

MISSMAN

Addison Charles Missman, born at Harmon, Illinois, June 10, 1866,[1] and his wife, Alice Fredricks, moved to Council in 1912 from Dixon, Lee County, Illinois. With them came their children and Alice's father, Joseph Fredricks, who had been a widower for years. The children were: Melvin, Earl, Ethel, Rolland, Glen and Esther, Vernon, and Hazel.

One daughter died on the family plantation in Mississippi some years before the family came west.

Addison Missman bought part of Council Orchards, eventually acquiring one hundred ten acres. This included the old Rinehart place, part of Loron Rinehart's, and part of Dr. Frank E. Brown's homestead.[2]

 Earl Missman patented a homestead[3] and his grandfather, Joseph Fredricks, bought a farm adjoining it.

Melvin Missman bought the Ingrahm ranch.[4]

Rollie and Glen served in the armed forces during World War 1[5] and went through the battles of Musse and the Argonne.

Alice Missman died June 1, 1917. Addison married Hattie May Robinson.[6]

He died February 11, 1943.

1.    Obituary of Addison Missman, Adams County Leader, February 19, 1943.

2.    Glen Missman, Boise, Idaho, oral interview, 1974.

3.    Bureau of Land Management homestead records, State B.L.M. office, Boise.

4.    Glen Missman, oral interview.

5.    American Legion records, Council, Idaho and Adjutant General's records, Boise, Idaho.

6.    Glen Missman, oral interview.

__________________________________

MONTOMERY

John Montgomery, Sr., was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in July, 1836, and his wife, Martha Ivors, was born in Canada about 1834. They were married at Auburn, Oregon. Sometime before 1864 they came to Idaho. Charles, Loretta, and Emma were born in Idaho.[1]

About-1869-70 the family moved to Jamison, Oregon. Here their daughter Lilly was born August 11, 1872. A year later they moved back to Boise and settled on State Street on one-half acre of ground now occupied by the State Capitol. John and Lottie were born there.

Lilly was ill, and when she was fourteen her family decided to move her to a higher elevation and chose a farm on Hornet Creek. The remaining seventy years of her life were to be spent in that area.

The Montgomery children attended Upper Dale School, going on skis in winter. Their first textbook was the Almanac, until their parents brought books from the old homestead in Boise. They also brought the first fruit cans into the district and jars that were round on the bottom and sealed with pitch. Most of the fruit available for canning was wild. Mrs. Montgomery's birthday was a day to look forward to, for it usually marked the start of a family vacation when supplies were loaded into a wagon and the family went to the mountains to camp out and pick blackberries. About 800 quarts of canned fruit was needed for the large family. Two hundred quarts were huckleberries and the rest were of chokecherries and sarvis berries.

Lilly married Robert Z. Harrington in Indian Valley June 29, 1890.[2] They were the parents of sixteen children.

John A. Montgomery Was born May 25, 1874, in Boise. He moved to Council with his family in 1886.[3] He was married on Christmas Day 1925 to Eva Ivers at Vale, Oregon. He worked away from the valley but always called it home. He came back to the area to make his home in March, 1945. He died September 9, 1954, aged 80 years.

Emma Montgomery married A. F. Lewis in 1887, and her sister Lottie married Jacob Lakey.

John Montgomery, Sr., died April 28, 1922, of Bright's Disease, aged 85 years. He is buried in Dale Cemetery beside Martha.

1.    Obituaries of John Montgomery Sr. Adams County Leader, May 5, 1922, and of John Montgomery Jr. Adams County Leader September 17, 1954.

2.    Marriage records of Washington County, Weiser, Idaho.

3.    Obituary of John Montgomery Jr.

___________________________

MOORE

Alfred Grant Moore was born March 18, 1872, at Oaktown, near Vincennes, Indiana. His parents were Isaac John Moore and Eliza (Ward) Moore. His mother died when he was three years old. His father married Hannah Coonrod Clark, a widow with two sons. Grant said she was a wonderful mother to her own sons, her three stepsons, and the three children who were born after she married his father.

The family moved to Clay County, Illinois, and later to Mound Valley, Kansas, where Grant grew up.

Grant married Cora Randolph and they had one son, Alva. Cora had tuberculosis and they moved to California for her health. Next they went to Oklahoma, where Cora died. Cora had asked Grant to promise he would let her sister, Mrs. Walter Rowley, raise Alva. He promised, but tried to work nearby so he could be near his son. When Walter Rowley was transferred by the railroad company to Cambridge, Idaho, Grant moved too. He worked for Loren Rinehart for a year or two, and in 1912 he bought a farm on Cottonwood Creek.[1]

On January 12, 1913, Grant Moore married Dora Johnson at Weiser.[2] She came by train from Corbin, Idaho. There was a massive snow slide which delayed her train for many hours. She was afraid Grant would think she wasn't coming. Dora was divorced and had a small daughter, Nellie.

Among Mae Beckman's and Stella Essex's [3] memories, some are outstanding:

In the early spring after Mother and Dad were married Dad was anxious to show off his bride and have her meet the neighbors. She dressed in a new hobble skirt which was the height of fashion. They walked across the meadows, going to see Mr. and Mrs. Beier. The spring run-off left small streams meandering across the meadows. When they came to one of these Mother could not step across it because the hobble skirt was tight around the bottom, allowing her to take only very small steps. Dad decided to carry her across the little stream. However, she was heavier than he thought and he dropped her in the water. Of course, they did not go on to visit and Mother never wore the skirt again.

When Walter and Mae Rowley went to California, about 1917, Alva went with them. He had contacted tuberculosis from his mother and required the hot, dry climate.

Dad took a forty-acre dry-land homestead adjoining the farm. He patented the land in 1920, after three years of back-breaking work. The land was dry, rocky and covered with sagebrush which had to be cleared. Mother held a lantern so Dad could see to grub it out. This was done after dark because the daylight hours were filled with the regular farm work and the grubbing could be done when it was too dark to do field work.

We three girls, Mae, Stella, and Marguerite, were born on Cottonwood. Nellie, Mae, and Stella attended school on Cottonwood before we moved to the Branden place on Hornet Creek in 1924.

Dad operated the siding for the Mesa tramway for several years. The apples came down the tramway from the orchards on a big carrier. Each carrier held many boxes of apples which had to be unloaded and stacked for shipping. They arrived at a rapid rate and had to be set off as soon as they arrived. Dad worked often as many as four or five shifts without relief. The tramway operated twenty-four hours a day in the rush season. Mother or one of us girls took hot food to him at meal times.

On Hornet Creek there was a rattlesnake den on the hill across the road from our house which was a constant worry to Mother and Dad. Each time we went out to play there was the warning, "Watch out for snakes." Many rattlers were killed in the yard and garden and even several on the porch.

Mother and Dad had enough money saved to buy a farm when the bank closed, January 29, 1926, taking all their money.

About that time Dad had what was called milker's rheumatism. He was unable to stand or walk. He crawled on his hands and knees to do the chores and Mother and we children did what we could to help. Dad's teeth were badly Infected and may have caused his illness for when he had them pulled the rheumatism soon cleared up.

We moved in 1930, to the John Kesler place and, in the fall of 1932, Dad bought a farm at New Plymouth. Mother and Dad retired in 1942 and moved to Payette.

Grant Moore died May 29, 1948.

Dora Johnson was born May 19, 1882, at Ramseytown, North Carolina, daughter of John and Eliza Johnson. In the 1890s her family moved to Rockcastle County, Kentucky. There she married Charlie Bond in 1905 and they had one daughter, Nellie. They were divorced in 1910 and Dora requested her maiden name be restored. She and Nellie came west with her mother, brothers, and sisters and lived at Corbin, Idaho, until she married Grant Moore.[4]

Dora Moore died June 6, 1970, in Boise and is buried beside Grant in Riverside Cemetery in Payette.

1.    Marguerite Moore Diffendaffer, Boise, Idaho, oral interview, 1970.

2.    Marriage records, Washington county, Weiser, Idaho.

3.    Mae Moore Beckman and Stella Moore Essex, Washougal, Washington, oral interview, 1970

4.    Marguerite Moore Diffendaffer, oral interview.

____________________________

MORRISON,  Reverend A.

Reverend A. Morrison, familiarly known as "Dad Morrison," was probably Council's first resident preacher.

He was an old-timer of the Pacific coast and was a resident of eastern Oregon for many years. He moved to Council in the 1880s. During most of his years there he lived in the George Moser home.

It is believed that at one time he was an ordained minister of the Church of United Brethren, but some thought he was a Unitarian. He had no church, just preached in homes or the schoolhouse. In his older years he was not very active in church work, devoting himself to politics. He was well known throughout the county.

Mr., Morrison died at the home of Mr. H. Nutt, in Council Valley, September 29, 1895.[1] There is no record of his place of burial.

1. Salubria Citizen, October 4, 1895.

___________________________________

MORRISON, Casper B.

Casper B. Morrison was born in Crawford County, Kansas, April 16, 1843, the son of William Isaac and Katherine Morrison.[1]

He served in the Union Army, 1864-1866, as a private in the Illinois infantry.[2]

On August 1, 1869, he married Margaret Lofton, born in Illinois, November 28, 1852.

When Margaret was fifteen she rode horseback from Illinois to Kansas. Her father drove a team of mules and her sister, Jane, and her brother, Will, drove an ox team. In crossing the river by ferry the ox team insisted upon following the mules as they had across the plains. The mule team was driven onto the ferry and the oxen, in their determination to follow, almost carried their load into the river after the ferry left the shore.

Casper and Margaret Morrison had six children: James Vanzant ("Van"), Anna May, Martha Bell, Mary Ellen, Maggie Matilda, and Fred Bowers.

The family migrated to Ironside, Oregon, about 1887, and in 1889 they moved to Council. Casper homesteaded a quarter section north and west of Council and they spent the rest of their lives there. Margaret died in 1900 and Casper in 1902. They are buried in Winkler Cemetery.

Van Morrison was born in Girard County, Kansas, August 8, 1880. He took a homestead in Council which bordered the south side of his parents'. He married Dora D. Sult of Long Valley November 1, 1901. They had six children: Harry, Emery, Oliver, Leonard ["Bricks"], Viola, and Alice.

Van was thrown from a horse when he was twenty-four years old. He was unconscious for several days but slowly recovered. However, the injury caused some damage which resulted in a personality change which lasted all his life.

In 1934 Van was gored by a farm bull which had been considered very gentle, in fact a pet. He died within a few hours on January 29, 1934. He is buried in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery.

Mrs. Morrison remarried in 1941 and lived at Scappoose, Oregon, where she died, June 18, 1962.

Dora Dissiah Sult, born in Wilson County, Kansas, April 25, 1883, was one of seven children of John Theodore and Virginia Sult. The family left Kansas in 1885 and in June 1888 they settled on Boulder Creek, near Roseberry, Idaho. Theodore Sult and his oldest son, Charles, built the Moser Hotel in Council in 1891.[3]

Anna May Morrison, daughter of Casper, born 1873 in Girard County, Kansas, married  Warren G. Taylor in Council May 14, 1889.

Martha Bell, born September 1, 1878, in Malheur County, Oregon, married Henry O'Connor Young in Council May 8, 1898.

Mary Ellen, born January 21, 1881, married James Alexander Winkler March 31, 1901, in Council.

Maggie Matilda, born May 22, 1883, married Don R. Mathias in Council May 23, 1906.

Fred B., born November 21, 1888, married in California.

1.    Viola Ventris, Scappoose, Oregon, oral interview 1973.

2.    Idaho Adjutant General's records, Boise, Idaho.

3.    Viola Ventris, Oral interview.

__________________________________

MOSER

George Milton Moser, born 1830, was the son of John Wesley and Nancy Holman Moser. Upon reaching manhood, George married Elizabeth Weaver Bailey, born December 12, 1839. The Moser and Bailey families were neighbors in Tennessee. After their marriage (1858?) they went to Kentucky. From there George served in the Union Army for several months during the Civil War.[1]

In 1867 the family moved to Arkansas. The 1870 census shows them living 2 in Dover, Pope County, Arkansas, and near neighbors of Robert P. White.[2]

1876 saw them headed west in a second attempt to find a home. They reached Council Valley October 25 that year.[3]

Mr. Moser was a shrewd pioneer. He chose the best possible location for his home, at the junction of the trails to the Seven Devils mines and to Meadows. The Council business district now stands on forty acres of his original one hundred-sixty-acre homestead. The present Adams County Courthouse stands on this land, also.

Moser's first log cabin was just west of the site of the Evergreen service station which was built many years later. This cabin was a lodging place for travelers, but it was soon too small to accommodate the traveling public and was replaced in 1891 by a large, two-story frame house. This was known as Moser's Hotel. Here stopped the early miners, prospectors, and freighters going to or from the Seven Devils.

Many were lured by reports of valuable minerals in the Seven Devils. Towns sprang up in those mountains. Before 1900 there were Cuprum, Decorah, Landore, and Helena. At the height of the activity, the population of Landore was estimated at 1,000. Decorah, located between Landore and Cuprum, was quite small. Helena and Iron Springs were very active in mining. Wagons loaded with machinery, furniture, groceries, and tools and drawn by four- or six-horse teams passed through Council regularly to these points. Other wagons came from the mines hauling ore to the railroad. These freighters had to eat and sleep and Moser Hotel was the place they went for both.

The Mosers had the first stove in Council Valley. Used to cooking in a fireplace, they had no idea how to use a stove. Mr. Moser built a fire in it--in the oven. Of course when the oven door was closed, the smoke Poured out, filling the cabin. Sure that this was not the thing to expect, Mr. Moser turned to his wife. "My God, Mother, get the children out. She's gonna' 'splode!"[4]

George Moser built good barns and a granary. The dry grain was kept in a three-room granary, each room holding a different kind of grain for feeding the horses, cattle, chickens, duck, and geese and for grinding into flour.

Canning fruit was unknown but much was dried or preserved and stored in crocks. Root vegetables were stored in pits. Holes were dug in the earth, lined with sand and then straw. Vegetables and apples were laid on the straw and covered with dirt. This prevented freezing.

Green string beans, in the shell, were spread on a cloth in the sunshine until they were completely dry. These were called "shuck beans" and were delicious when boiled with salt pork. Corn was cut from the cob and dried in the sun, also. Most fruits were peeled, sliced, and dried in the same manner.

George Moser died in Arkansas in 1894 and his widow, Elizabeth, died December 11, 1910. She is buried in Cottonwood Cemetery.

Adams County Leader, Apr 8, 1927

    Mrs. Emily Alice Moser Bramblee died at Boise - born 1862 - buried at the Morris Hill Cemetery in Boise

Matilda Moser's Notes:

In 1873 several families from Pope County, Arkansas, started west. When passing through Oklahoma they camped one night where the water was impure and several children became ill and some died, among them being two of the Moser children. The travelers were so discouraged that they returned to Arkansas. Three years later the Mosers with their four children and the Robert P. White family set out for the "Oregon Country." They were five months and eight days on the way. The Mosers had two wagons, ox-drawn, Mrs. Moser driving one team most of the way and Emily Alice, the 14-year-old daughter, driving the other team. Mrs. White drove their team much of the way, as the menfolk walked ahead to inspect the roadway. Each man carried a gun in case they should sight game birds or animals. Fording large streams was a difficult matter, especially crossing the Platte, which was the largest stream.

At Laramie, Wyoming, a camper who had been farther west told them about a valley he passed through that had impressed him. It was called Council Valley and was a sportsman's paradise. Grass was waist-high. There was cold mountain water, fish, and wild game in abundance. Mr. Moser decided to head for this land of promise. They reached Fort Boise in September, 1876, and Mr. White decided to stay there through the winter, but the Moser family moved on. At Falk's Store, near the present town of Payette, they set up camp shortly before the birth of a daughter whom they named Mary Ida. The family reached Council Valley about October 25, 1876. Between Weiser and Indian Valley roads were little more than trails, and north of Indian Valley there was only a trail.

As they reached the place now known as Mesa and found no road down the steep hill, Mr. Moser went back to Indian Valley, where a few families had' settled, and borrowed a plow that he might make a roadway. Upon reaching the place where the town of Council is now located, he found the junction of two trails, one leading toward the Seven Devils mountains and the other toward Lewiston and-other mining sections to the north. He decided this would be a good place to locate. He had some groceries, 35t in cash, and unbounded enthusiasm for the adventures ahead. Deer meat was plentiful. He erected a log cabin and gathered wood for winter use. As soon as he could leave the family he went to Indian Valley and obtained work, taking pay in foodstuffs.

In the spring of 1877 the Indians in various parts of the Territory, aroused by the invading white settlers, went on the warpath. Mr. Moser took his family to Indian Valley where a fort had been built and they spent the summer there. Upon their return home they were surprised to find that some cabbage plants which they had set out before leaving home had grown and formed heads.

Mr. Moser worked hard to develop his farm, much of it having to be cleared of thorn brush and some leveling done because of meandering streams across the land. A small stream brought water from springs on the east hillside and he filed on this water as it was very necessary for livestock, orchard, and garden. Horses soon took the place of oxen and a few milk cows were purchased. After several years he was able to buy one hundred head of cattle in eastern Oregon for $1,000.00. He found hog raising especially profitable, as there was a sale for them to Chinese buyers who in turn sold them in mining camps; and the cured meats were largely used in the boarding house which Mrs. Moser conducted, and any remaining amounts were sold to prospectors or directly to a store. For several years Mr. Moser made at least one trip each year to Boise or Baker to buy groceries and clothing. About one week was required for the trip.

In 1877 the Robert P. White and Alexander Kesler families came. Zadock Loveless and his son, William J. Loveless, also came that year. A trapper, Henry Childs, had wintered on Hornet Creek and remained in that section for several years. The George A. Winkler family arrived in 1878. That spring a fort was built on the Loveless land and each of the four families with children--Winklers, Keslers, Whites, and Mosers--was assigned a corner of the fort which they occupied during the summer as protection against the Indians, but they were not molested. Each day the men would go to their respective farms to work, the women often accompanying their husbands.

During the next few years there came the Rufus Andersons, Harry Camps, William Glenns, Sam Harps, James Copelands, and other families.

Bear, deer, coyotes, and other wild animals roamed at will and the settlers were compelled to protect their stock from predatory animals. Among the "adventures" Mr. Moser had during those early years in Council was one with a bear. This big bear had been annoying the neighborhood by killing pigs. Finally three or four men with guns and dogs went out to track the bear. Mr. Moser, going along a trail and stooping to avoid overhanging branches, came to a dry creek. As he reached the creek bed, the bear, angered by the dog, suddenly appeared and lunged down the opposite bank. Before the hunter could aim his gun the bear was upon him, snarling and biting. A clump of willows in the creek bed offered some protection.

The garden provided most kinds of vegetables, and always a patch of watermelons was included. Dried corn was used for hominy or corn bread; and for winter evenings popcorn or parched corn was a treat. My father was fond of "crunchy" foods, and occasionally he browned thin slices of potatoes in a Dutch Oven set over a bed of coals or in a long-handled frying pan.

Lye was used in preparing corn for hominy, and for this purpose a lye kiln was built in the rear yard. The kiln was filled with ashes, and water poured over the ashes filtered down into a trough which emptied it into a pail placed at the lower end. Lye was also used in making soap.

Sauerkraut was made in a barrel. A spade, cleaned and sharpened, was used to chop the cabbage to tiny pieces. Salt was then added and the barrel covered and set aside for cabbage to "sour."

Turnips, carrots, etc., were gathered and piled in heaps and covered with earth to protect them from freezing, and removed from the pit as needed

During the first ten years or more here only green coffee was obtainable. It was carefully browned in the kitchen oven and ground as needed in a grinder fastened to the wall. Later a boxlike grinder, which could be held on the knees, was operated by turning the handle round and round.

As soon as lumber could be procured, my father built a milkhouse' covered it with rustic, and lined it with shiplap. A row of shelves was made to hold the many shiny tin pans into which the strained fresh milk was poured. Mother churned often, as we used much butter and there was a ready market for any surplus. For years the regular price was 25t per pound for butter and 5t per quart for milk or buttermilk. For better clearance of milk from freshly churned butter, a "butter worker" was made of planed wood. The container was supported by four legs, the two in front being shorter than the others so that the milk drained into a pail placed at the lower end. The butter container was about 21/2 feet long and its base board had about a 6-inch sideboard on either side. A paddle for working the butter was fastened by a rod at the lower and narrower end. A wooden mold and paper, factory made, were used to form and protect the rolls of butter.

In those early years it seemed the weather was more predictable than at present and generally hog-killing time was late in November or early .December. Prior to that the animals were fattened by an extra supply of wheat, often cooked. In one of our log cabins was a large fireplace not regularly used. A 40-gallon cast iron kettle was placed there and into it a sack of wheat was poured and water added. If my brother wished to make a pair of skis he placed one end of ski-length boards in the simmering wheat and left it there until the board was softened enough to be bent to the proper shape. He then polished the skis and attached the leather foot holds

We children looked forward to hog-killing day because of the coming of several neighbor men to help my father and one or two women who helped my mother and sisters with the cooking and other extra work. Very early in the morning the large scalding vat was made ready. One year forty hogs were killed and dressed, and nearly as many some other years. All the helpers served without money payment but each one received payment in meats. Afterward the family began the task of salting and storing the meat preparatory to smoking at the proper time. Alder wood was used in the smoking process to give the desired flavor, and each piece of meat was hung up so that the smoke could circulate about it.

A large quantity of sausage was made into rolls and placed In rows on long clean boards which were then placed on the joists above to be smoked. There was lard to be rendered, largely for marketing; and the "cracklings" used to make both bar soap and soft soap, the latter being especially convenient for many cleansing purposes. The fresh liver, backbones, spareribs, and hearts were much enjoyed by the family and boarders alike. The brains, too, made a tasty dish when mixed with eggs and seasonings and fried. Head cheese was especially appetizing. This was made from the animals' heads and was quite a chore to prepare. The parts were cleaned and cooked until the meat was easily removed from the bones. It was then worked to a pulp and seasoning added. Then a cover was placed over the container and weighted down, which brought any excess fat to the top and it could be removed; the remaining Pulp congealed and it could be sliced, which made it good for sandwiches or for the table.

Deep snow in winter and colder weather than now was the rule. Mother had a spinning wheel and spun both cotton and wool thread from which socks, stockings, mittens, wristlets, and neck scarfs were made. However, before the spinning, cards were used to make the wool or cotton into small rolls 12 to 15 inches long. As no one had overshoes at that time, the wool hose were much needed in winter. Some men used "gunny sacks" to bind about their feet and legs when doing outside work, but many suffered from chilblains before rubber boots and overshoes came into use.

For a number of years roads were poor and there were no bridges. In winter sleighriding was enjoyable to young people who had some thrills and sometimes jolts in crossing small creeks as the snow was deep and generally frozen. Running water melted the ice in the center of creeks and the team of horses were reluctant to cross the small chasm. Sometimes they would cautiously edge down into the opening and up the other side but were as likely to jump across, causing the sleigh to strike the opposite bank with considerable force. It was in this way that Della, the nineteen-year-old daughter of the R. P. Whites, received a spinal injury that caused her death a few days later.

Four days was the usual time required for a trip to Weiser and return. Travelers on the Council-Hornet Creek road crossed the river in a small boat. This was hazardous in early spring when the ice broke up and the river overflowed its banks at some places. One such place was on the east side of town where there was a slough beginning a little north of the present bridge and extending south some distance. One man lost his life while trying to cross the river by boat. S. F. Richardson, who, near 1900, was in the store business where the Pomona Hotel now stands, disposed of his business and built a sawmill on elevated ground north of the present bridge. He filled the depression near the mill by dumping sawdust there, and the County had some work done; but it remained for the State Highway Department to grade up the roadway some years later and complete the work necessary to protect it.

The ice breakup in the spring of 1891 caused greater hardship than perhaps any other year. Two or three families further up the valley were compelled to leave their homes because of the river overflow. A family named Osborn living on the south side of Hornet Creek near the mouth of the Weiser River were threatened by overflow waters of the Hornet Creek. Their cries for help were heard by neighbors who helped them to higher ground and protection from the cold.

The George Groves family lived on the east side of the river about three quarters of a mile south of the present bridge. The house was on a slight elevation and a short distance from the river. After nightfall the ice broke and the raging waters forced a great stream of ice-laden water down along the east side of the Groves home. The family of five took refuge upstairs and then discovered that a wall of ice several feet high had formed all along in front of their house, so they, too, shouted for help. Several men went on horseback and found a river-like stream with water up to the sides of their horses. With difficulty they made the necessary trips to bring the members of the family one by one except the two-year-old twins, girls who were handed down from the ice wall to one man who took a bundled-up child under each arm and held it tightly while the gentle horse carried them safely across and on to a warm shelter.

In those days, as at present, the farmers depended largely upon stockraising as a means of support, and the saying was common that they had better barns than houses. About 1885 our big barn was built on the south half of the present Block 4 of Moser Division, in Council. It was arranged like many of the houses in the South in having two main parts with a passageway between the roof covering the entire building. The entire building was about 75 feet in length. Walls of the two stables were two stories high and built of logs. The passageway was wide enough to admit a wagonload of hay. A sliding derrick was up near the highest part of the roof and arranged to unload the hay in the loft of either stable. The lower parts housed milk cows and work horses. Along most of the outside of the building were lofts, for storage of hay and as overhead protection for other livestock in stormy weather. At one side of the passageway a swing was put up, and young folks enjoyed some thrilling rides in it.

Some of the hens preferred the barn instead of the chicken house as a Place for their nests; and gathering the eggs was a daily chore for some member of the family. This afforded each of us children, and even my grownup brother, the fun of hiding eggs near Easter time in the lofts, each one hoping to have the largest cache. In rare instances the discovery of another's cache brought exultation to the finder and dismay to the loser.

Many bands of migrating wild ducks and geese passed over the valley each spring and fall, and some would land at the small creek north of the present high school, only a few feet from the south end of our barn. Here they could enjoy a short rest period and a bath. Once some member of our family found an egg laid by a wild goose near the creek and brought it to Mother, who put this egg with some other goose eggs under a brooding hen. All the eggs hatched and the wild goose was apparently happy with the other geese until it was about mature. Then it "felt the call of the wild" as displayed by interest and agitation at the appearance of the migratory birds, and finally (during the third year of its life) it joined a migratory band.

In 1891 our first lumber house was built at the place where the Evergreen Station is and has been for a number of years (northeast corner of Block 4). Charles Sult and his son, Theodore, of Long Valley were the carpenters. In later years this building was purchased by George M. Winkler of Council and moved to the northeast part of town (now 202 N. Fairfield Street). It has remained in possession of members of the Winkler family, the present owners being Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Bass, who remodeled the house in 1959.

The first "post office" was in the home of Robert P. White and the mail was kept in the wooden box which was open to any patron. Edgar Hall was the first mailcarrier, coming once or twice a month, I believe, bringing the mail from some southern point and going on to places farther north. I remember my Mother saying that soon after the birth of my brother on January 31, 1879, Mr. Hall stayed overnight in our boarding house. The parents had not definitely decided upon a name for the baby and Mr. Hall suggested that they name the baby Edgar, and they did. Mr. Hall was pleased and on a later trip he brought a Bible for the baby. He also brought a Bible for James Copeland, Jr., who was born about the same time that my brother was. These were the first two white children born in Council Valley.

Alexander Kesler had the first regular post office with a box for each letter of the alphabet.

Dr. T. J. Sherwood, an elderly man, and his son Tom, who lived in the Meadows Valley for a comparatively short time, were the first occupants of the presently known Starkey property. Both hot and cold water emerge from a hillside a short distance from the Starkey Resort. Dr. Sherwood constructed a large wooden bathtub and set up a tent around it for use of the few patrons who risked driving over rough roads to get there to take baths. Dr. and Mrs. R. S. Starkey later located and platted the resort site and made considerable improvements. Dr. William M. Brown and A. E. Alcorn, druggist in Council, purchased the property from, the Starkeys and the Brown family assumed management, enlarging facilities which made it a delightful place for vacationers and as a health resort. Upon retirement of Dr. and Mrs. Brown the property was transferred to their daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lindsay, who each summer cooperated with the local Red Cross in providing swimming lessons for children.

Before the State Highway was built the road from Council to these Hot Springs was winding, and there were nine crossings of the Weiser River between the two places. These crossings were impressed upon my mind because of an incident. My oldest brother, Anderson, wanting to camp for a few days in that area, went there with a friend but Mother was to arrange about his ride home. At the appointed time Mother and three others of us took a picnic lunch and drove to Anderson's camp, where we ate and rested a short time. His equipment was put in the back part of the spring wagon, which was lighter, narrower and higher than a farm wagon. It had two spring seats which provided a rather high perch for the five of us. As we reached a river crossing and came down a bank where one side was lower than the other, the wagon turned over and dumped all its contents into the water, which was deep and swift to wade through as we hastily got on our feet and rescued the camp equipment and picnic supplies. Most were saved but a few small articles were swept away. We all got soaking wet but no one was hurt and we went merrily on our way. We still had several miles to travel and as the sun sank lower our thoughts turned to the discomfort of our slowly drying garments, and reaching home became our main objective.

Reference to springs on the east hillside appropriated by my father. soon after settlement here was heretofore made. The water from these springs followed a natural course that led westward along the north side of the old Schoolhouse Hill, then south along the east side of the present Main Street of Moser Division of the town of Council. After the death of my father and the settlement of the eastern part of the village, it became increasingly difficult to have the use of the water. Therefore my mother disposed of her right to it.

This section of Idaho is fortunate in having cold drinking water. Formerly all water for household use was from springs or wells. In recent years chlorine has been added to the water used in the Village of Council, which, since 1915, has been supplied with water from the springs above described, supplemented by water from the "Grossen" springs about 1-2 mile to the north; and some years later by a small spring located south of the first named springs, and by drilled wells and storage tanks. Sewers for the village were laid in 1939.

The early settlers soon realized the need for irrigation for farm land. My father, hoping to bring water from the Weiser River, bought a right of way 1/4 mile in length across a farm three miles north of ours. A ditch was constructed from the point of diversion on that farm to the place of intended use and the following year, which was 1893, he had the use of the water from the ditch. Because of failing health, in the spring of 1894 he went to Hot Springs, Arkansas, for treatment but passed away soon after reaching there. That year my mother tried to look after the ditch work, but frequent leaks prevented the water from reaching our farm. The next year she hired a man to camp near the head of the ditch and care for it. He tried hard to control the trouble but the leaks continued and the project was abandoned.

During the first sixteen years the settlers depended mainly on home remedies in case of illness or accident, as there was no practicing physician in the valley. However, in 1892 there was an epidemic of diphtheria and Dr. William M. Brown of Salubria was called and found many suffering from the dread disease which had gained considerable hold. Nine deaths resulted. The next epidemic here was in 1918 when influenza struck in many parts of the world. In this community sixteen lives were claimed, among whom were Mrs. Ida Selby and son Ray (mother and brother of Mrs. Clarence Hoffman of Council) and Mrs. Mattie Hartley (sister of William Hanson of Council).

Dr. Frank E. Brown of Salem, Oregon, a young physician, was the first in regular practice of medicine here. He came in the spring of 1901 and remained for fifteen years. He was a beloved physician and in movements for community improvements. His decision to return to his native state was made at the urgent request of an elderly specialist in a Salem clinic who desired to retire and have Dr. Brown succeed him.

William F. Winkler, who was twelve years of age at the time his father and family arrived in Council in 1878, wrote a very interesting account of the early settlers, the schools, religious services, and Indian tribes, which article was dated 1924 and, after Mr. Winkler's death in 1942, was published in pamphlet form. As far as we know this is the only firsthand record of those earliest days of settlement in this locality. By 1887 the school term had been changed to the summer months only and continued so until the present plan was adopted during the latter part of the 1890s. My remembrance is of hearing different old-timers speak of the first schoolhouse having burned down; and in 1887, a new schoolhouse was built about 1/2 mile north of the present "Square" on the east side of the main road. It was of rough lumber, box-type, and the desks and teacher's table and chair were handmade. That year the teacher was a Mr. Burgess, who was here temporarily from Indiana. He was a cousin of Mr. A. W. Peebles, a resident of Cottonwood, whose son Stephen for many years owned and occupied the old home place. Stephen passed on in December, 1961, and is succeeded by his son, Stephen L. Other teachers who in the following years taught in this old schoolhouse were: Mrs. John 0. Peters, Mrs. William Black, Mr. Herbert Lee, Mr. D. W. Richardson, and Mrs. Lizzie Canary, whose home was in Weiser.

During the winter of 1897-98 1 attended the public school a few months in Weiser. Our teacher was Miss Carrie Madge Blue, who the next year was married to Mr. J. F. Lowe, the school principal. Soon afterward they moved to Council. Mr. Lowe had a store for several years and eventually formed a partnership with Mr. J. J. Jones, a progressive farmer who resided on the farm now owned by the Lester Goulds. After a few years in the store business Mr. Jones and family moved to Portland. For several years Mr. Lowe gave some attention to farming, but his health failed, and the last few years of his life he was confined to his home. When the youngest of their four children was of school age, Mrs. Lowe resumed teaching for a short time but, due to illness in the family, was soon compelled to return to home duties. During the later years of her life she served for about ten years as county school superintendent, after which she continued to teach until the time of her death.

In the latter part of the 1890s a one-room rustic schoolhouse was erected on the hill north of the square. After two or three years another room was added. Teachers in the one-room building that I recall were: Miss Mida Lorton, whose term report showed an enrollment of sixty-six pupils, and who, was an unusually fine teacher, and Mr. John Root. In the two-room building in following years were Miss Maude Peters, Professor George G. Gregg, Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Freehafer, Mr. Willis, and possibly others.

By 1907 a brick building, two stories high, was built on acreage in the southeast part of town and served as both grade and high school until a high school building was erected in 1941 on E. Bleeker Avenue; and in 1958 a new elementary school was completed on an adjoining tract on the west side of Highway 95.

For a number of years community evening meetings were held at stated times in the schoolhouse for the purpose of holding debates, spelling,  ciphering, or other forms of entertainment. Anyone present could take part. There were a few very good spellers, among them a few ex-teachers; and there was much good-natured fun. On one occasion the man who pronounced the words gave the word "onion". It seemed no one could spell it and finally the man was asked to give the spelling from the book and he did: UNION. As interest increased, the longest and most difficult words to be found in the book were chosen. One of "Uncle Davy" Richardson's favorites was: Honi soit qui mal y pense. That sounded like music to us youngsters who had not the slightest idea what it meant or how to pronounce it correctly. The dictionary defines it as: Evil to him who thinks evil. It is said that an embarrassing moment in the life of a member of the English Royal Family caused this prompt expression by a Royal defender.

In winter dances were held in homes and a real attraction was the midnight supper. Skiing was popular among children and young adults. Skis were also commonly used by men when taking trips into the mountains for trapping or other purposes. William H. Camp, whose parents with their five children moved to Council from Kansas in 1883, was of particularly strong physique and carried very heavy packs on his back as he travelled by skis over the mountains to the Thunder Mountain mining camp during the boom there.

For those who liked games, checkers, cribbage, and other card games were home pastimes. Both young women and young men played croquet or other outdoor games in summer. Breaking broncos was popular among young men and baseball was sometimes played. As there was an abundance of fish, game birds, and wild animals, there were no restrictions on these sports.

Mr. Winkler, in his history of Council Valley, stated that the first religious services were held in 1879. Thereafter for the next twenty years or more evangelists came from time to time and held protracted meetings. Spirited singing of the gospel songs helped increase attendance. Joel Glenn became one of the local song leaders and was ably assisted by his brothers Dan and William. Joel used a "tuning fork" to get the correct tone

Frank T. Mathias and family came during the first half of the 1880s and located on a tract of land mostly north and east of the old schoolhouse hill. The Mathias home was where Mrs. Georgia York now lives; and Mr. Mathias had the first blacksmith shop a short distance south of his home on the east side of the present Galena Street. His later chief interest was in mining and the family spent some time in Warren and later moved to Boise.

Also during the 1880s came John 0. Peters bringing dry goods, carried at first in suitcases. Then he located temporarily three quarters of a mile north of Council and moved his wife and young daughter, Maude, there. Mrs. Peters taught a term of school in the nearby schoolhouse. Then they bought a plot of ground in Council (about where the present Merit Store is located) and erected a building which housed a general merchandise store, the family, and the post office, of which Mrs. Peters now had charge.

Abe and Sam Criss also brought merchandise of miscellaneous sort by cart or wagon and after a few years opened a store in Council. Some one of these early peddlers brought a package of goods tied up in a nice table cover. He may have arranged packages according to family needs, since the package we bought had woolen material in different designs for dresses and also shawls for my mother and each one of us girls and woolen cloth suitable for suits for my father and brother. The price for the package was $90.00.

With the Criss brothers came Carl Weed, a young man from Oregon who became a clerk in the store and remained with the firm until the owners retired and moved away. After a brief association with another firm, Mr. Weed opened a general merchandise store in his own name and thus served the community until 1941, when he disposed of the property and retired to his farm home southeast of town. There he had brought his bride many years before, and there their three children, Carlos, David and Mildred, were born and reared. About 1950 Mr. and Mrs. Weed moved to Ojai, California, and his son Carlos became owner of the old home place. Mrs. Carlos Weed, formerly Ella Camp, was the manager and first nurse in the Community Hospital of Council, and was the very efficient nurse employed by Dr. John A. Edwards of the Council Clinic. Carlos and Ella are the parents of five children.

The national depression during the 1890 decade caused many of the settlers to mortgage their farms; and ours was one of a number given in favor of a New England Mortgage Company. It was for $1200.00 with interest at 10% and matured in five years. One of the problems my mother faced after my father's death was to raise $120.00 annually for payment of the interest. This amount was not large of itself but when added to property taxes, costs of settling the estate, hiring help, and general maintenance of the farm, seemed almost "the last straw." A well-meaning neighbor advised her to sell the livestock and "let the old place go." However, she believed that if she kept the stock she would be able to pay the mortgage when it matured.

For years mining had flourished in the Boise Basin and many Chinese were employed in the various towns of that locality. The Chinese were especially fond of pork and chickens and occasionally a Chinese passing through this valley had bought pigs or chickens from us. Mother decided to take a load of shoats to Placerville and offer them for sale. My brother Edgar and one of my sisters went along to help. The load was quickly sold; and for three years thereafter she followed this plan to raise the $120.00 due in the fall. The last year I was privileged to go along, and after the pigs were sold we drove on to Garden Valley for a brief visit at the home of my oldest sister, Mrs. Miles S. Bramblee, and family. From Garden Valley we went to Boise and traded'-at Falk's Store. After Mother paid the grocery bill, Mr. Falk gave me about a pound chunk of Maple Sugar.

When the time arrived to pay the mortgage, a sufficient number of cattle were sold to make the payment and pay off some other indebtedness, although the price for 3-year-old steers was $16.00 per head and for cows $12.00 per head.

During the time the mortgage debt loomed before us some self-denial was necessary. One instance stood out in my memory. There was to be a Magic Lantern show at the school house and the price for admission was .25, a prohibitive price. In such instances Mother comforted us by saying that when the mortgage was paid we would not have to deny ourselves such entertainments. When the Release of Mortgage was received from the Mortgage Company our family had a day of rejoicing. Mother never mentioned her own self denial; and I have ever felt that her example of courage and loyalty to her family was of far more worth than any material gifts.

My parents were impressed by the quietness of the air, with seldom a breeze blowing, though an electrical or wind storm did occasionally strike with considerable force. A few times some damage was done to rail fences and shed roofs. Many of the early settlers were from tornado country and so did not give too much thought or worry to these lesser winds and storms.

About 1910 some residents, including A. L. Freehafer, Dick Ross, Lewis Winkler, John 0. Peters, and possibly one or two others desiring water for their lawns, put in a pumping system to cover two city blocks. They dug a deep well and lined it with bricks, built a strong tower, set up a large storage tank and a windmill above, installed pipe lines to the respective lawns and later were much disappointed to find there was not enough breeze to run the windmill.

As the water from the hillside spring provided only enough water for our poultry, stock, garden, and orchard, my father bought a right-of-way for a ditch across the E. Hinkle farm for a distance of one quarter of a mile (the farm was later owned by John Hoover). The water was to be diverted from the Weiser River for a distance of some three miles to a ditch running along the north line of our farm. He had the use of the water for one season before his death. Mr. Hinkle was paid one thousand dollars for the right-of-way.

First Families in Council Valley[5]

In October, 1876, two covered wagons drawn by oxen wended their way over hills and vales of Idaho toward the headwaters of the Weiser River.

In the first wagon were five persons--two adults and three small children. The driver of the second team was a fourteen-year-old girl and with her was a boy of twelve years of age.

As the little company reached the top of Middle Fork hill they beheld, over intervening hills, a beautiful valley some ten miles in length and two miles wide. On the west side a deep row of yellow balm and cottonwood trees showed the course of the Weiser River and steep hills rose abruptly on the west of the river. To the east the valley, covered with bright red hawthorn and yellow quaking asp trees, sloped gently upward to the mountains which were partially covered with pine and fir trees and whose tops were already covered with snow.

The driver of the first team, a small energetic man of middle age, gazed eagerly at this mecca of his dreams and his heart thrilled at the prospect of making a home in that land of glorious opportunity. The weary little woman by his side, holding in her arms a two-weeks-old babe, experienced a deep thankfulness that the six-months journey "across the plains" was ended and she said, "This is the last time we shall move."

There was no road down the steep Middle Fork hill, therefore it became necessary to return to Indian Valley where a plow was secured to use in constructing a road. Thus George M. Moser reached the place where the town of Council now is and decided to locate here on account of a junction of trails at this point--one trail leading to Meadows Valley and the other toward the Seven Devils.

In 1877 R. P. White and Alex Kesler came bringing their families. Zadoc Loveless and his son William J. Loveless also came that year. The box factory now stands on the southern part of the Loveless homestead.

The settlers spent most of the summer in a fort in Indian Valley because of warfare with Indians in certain sections of the territory. The next year a fort was built on the Loveless land and was occupied by the four families here, the men going forth daily to work on their respective homesteads.

In 1878 the George A. Winkler and Rufus Anderson families arrived, and during the next few years there came the Camps, Glenns, Harps, Copelands, and others. The first houses were built of logs and covered with "shakes." All the furniture was home made. A few of the chairs are still in use and prized by the owners. Fences were made of rails.

Bear, deer, coyotes and other wild animals roamed at will and the settlers were compelled to protect their stock from predatory animals.

During the first few years a trip was made once or twice a year to Boise or Baker after groceries and clothing. Soon, however, these could be purchased in Weiser and a man named Cuddy set up a flour mill in Upper Salubria Valley.

John 0. Peters came with dry goods carried at first in suitcases and later in a one-horse cart. Then came the "Jewish Peddlers," Abe and Sam Criss. One peddler conceived the idea of selling a package of dress goods, shawls, etc., tied up in a small tablecloth--all for the sum of $90.00, which the settlers willingly paid.

The roads were scarcely more than trails and there were no bridges. Four days of hard travelling were required for a trip to Weiser and return. For a number of years travelers on the Council  Hornet Creek road crossed the Weiser river in a small boat. This was a hazardous undertaking in spring when the River was a raging torrent and not confined within its banks as well as it is now.

R. P. White was the first postmaster and Edgar Hall was the first mail carrier who once a month made a trip on horseback or skis from Weiser to Warrens. The postmaster was not troubled by the "Christmas Rush" nor parcel post. No lock boxes were necessary as all mail was kept in one small box which could be pushed under the bed out of the way. Mr. Kesler served as postmaster for several years.

R. P. White also taught the first school and he was followed by George M. Winkler. The first professional teacher was David Richardson, who, during his residence in Idaho, taught in almost every school between Boise and Meadows Valley and was generally known as "Uncle Davy." Until about 1900 school was held only during summer and lasted three months. Since none of that brief time was spent in the many diversions of present day the pupils acquired a very creditable knowledge of subjects taught.

The social life was limited. Spelling contests were sometimes held in winter but parents and grandparents vied for honors. Infrequently itinerant preachers held services.

Dances were given in homes during winter, and a real attraction on such occasions was the midnight supper. No "dainty refreshments were served by the hostess." Each matron brought a washtub or box of equal size containing the best she was able to offer in the culinary art. Sleigh riding and skiing were popular winter sports, and young men found pleasure in breaking broncos to ride or drive.

About 1887 John 0. Peters opened a little store on what is known as the Bedwell ranch and shortly afterwards, he erected a store building across the road north of Evergreen Service Station and thus the town of Council was started. By 1900 there were buildings set close together along the four sides of the "Square" but fires at intervals destroyed all these old wooden buildings as the "bucket brigade" was entirely inadequate at such times.

The railroad was extended to Council, the town was platted, and a new era began in Council.

1.    Matilda Moser, notes, unpublished.

2.    1870 Census, Dover, Pope County, Arkansas

3.    Matilda Moser, notes.

4.    William Shaw, New Plymouth, Idaho, oral interview, 1973.

5. Adams County Leader , January 3, 1930.

MUCKENSTRUM or Muckensturm

There are indications that this name was spelled "Muckensturm"  We would appreciate receiving any evidence to clear up this confusion.

      Lee and his son, Frank lived west of West Fork of the Weiser, in what is now known as "Muckenstrum Canyon." They herded sheep on their homestead as part of their means of survival. Frank worked on hay crews, was in the military during WWI, married and lived in Boise. He drove an old Model T care when he lived here.

      Lee lived to be 100. He often claimed to be older than he actually was.[1 ]

      1-Dick Fisk interview

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NASER

Rudolph Naser was born in Switzerland in 1858. His wife, Petrea, was born in 1865 in Manti, Utah. Their children were born in Utah.

About 1905 the Nasers moved to Fairfield, Idaho, where their children grew up. Their children were Rudolph, Grace, Oscar, May, Leona, Merlin, and Bernice. Only three of the younger ones came to Council.

Mr. and Mrs. Naser farmed on Hornet Creek. Rudolph Naser died 1927 and his wife in 1945. They are buried in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery.[1]

Merlin Naser (1900-1963) married Jo Shaw.

1. Jo Naser, Boise, Idaho, oral interview,1973

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NICHOLS

Tom Nichols was born in Marshall County, Missouri, November 30, 1879. He married Clara Kidwell March 4, 1900, at Richland, Washington. They had five children.

He moved his family to Boise in 1907 and to Council Valley February 1, 1912.[1] He wife died April 7 of that same year.

Clara Charlotte Kidwell was born March 20, 1876, in Clark County, Illinois, daughter of William and Mary Kidwell. She moved as a child with her parents to Missouri and spent most of her early life at Rich Hill.

Mrs. Nichols had tuberculosis and was ill when they came to the valley and knew she was dying. She loved the mountains and wanted to rest here forever.

August 7, 1914, Thomas Nichols married Mrs. Maude Marrs. They were divorced.

In 1927 he married Minnie Gilmer, a widow with five children.

Tom was killed by a heavy construction truck belonging to the company for which he worked. He was horribly mangled. He died in September, 1936.

1.    Obituary of Thomas Nichols, Adams County Leader , September 4, 1936

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PECK

Peck Mountain was named for Andrew Peck.[1]

He was born in New York March 18, 1835. He was married in Iowa to Julietta Gilmer. They lived in Fayette County before moving to Colorado and, in 1882, to Council.

Julietta Peck was born in Canada.

There were six Peck children, Cora Ada, Frank W., Fred 0., Hattie, Rena, and Blanche.[2]

Andrew Peck died December 17, 1906, and Mrs. Peck February 10, 1912. Both are buried in Hornet Creek Cemetery.

1.    Mr. And Mrs. Vollie Zink, Mountain Home, Idaho, oral interview 1973.

2.    Matilda Moser, notes.

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PEEBLES

Alfred Wood Peebles, son of Daniel and Mary A. Peebles, was born January 11, 1858, at Chester Hill, Morgan County, Ohio.[1] When he was about twenty years old he went to western Iowa, where he remained a few years before going on to Cass County, Nebraska. There he married, February 23, 1881, Miss Eva Clark, his employer's daughter. She was born September 29, 1868, in Illinois and moved with her family to Nebraska when she was three years old.

Alfred and Eva farmed along the Niobrara River. Their first year on the farm everyone had the biggest crop of corn in history, but sales were poor. By hauling the corn thirty or forty miles it could be sold for only eleven cents a bushel, so they burned their corn for fuel. The next spring the Peebleses sold their farm and headed west as part of a large wagon train. They had a span of mules and a wagon.

When they got to Pocatello in June Mr. Peebles had only seventy-five cents in his pocket. They stayed there a month or so while he worked on the railroad and a surveyor taught him the skills of surveying.

With a little cash they were ready to move on. When they reached Weiser they were still undecided whether to go to California or to Oregon. An old man from Council Valley asked why they didn't go to "God's Country." He told them of the area now known as Council Valley, where berries grew thick, grass was tall and plentiful, game animals were everywhere, and timber was nearby. It sounded good, so that's where the Peebleses went, arriving in the fall of 1883. The land was all taken up on Cottonwood Creek, as was that along Hornet Creek and other choice areas. Alfred Peebles went to work for George Moser, making rails.

Henry Childs, a bachelor, was one of the three first white men in the Valley. He hired Alfred Peebles to make rails for him to fence his place on Hornet Creek. He paid two cents a rail and, in good timber, Mr. Peebles could cut one hundred rails a day. The next year Henry Childs took him in as a partner, which was not a good arrangement. Mrs. Peebles had to cook, wash, and keep house for Henry, who was far from immaculate. She soon said she had had enough of it.

In the summer of 1888 Mr. Peebles took a homestead on Cottonwood and they moved there. He bought a herd of cattle from Childs, going in debt for them. That winter - 1888 - was the worst in history, going to forty degrees below zero. Cattle died everywhere; all but one of Peebles' died. They were left with the obligation to pay for dead cattle.[2]

Mrs. Nellie Peebles Smith shared some of her memories of early days:

Every fall we could see the Indians passing through the Valley on their way to winter on Snake River where it was warmer. They came single file, mile after mile of them. They crossed the Weiser River at Indian Ford, about one quarter of a mile up-river from where Cottonwood Creek empties into it. The Indians often camped there, too. As a child I picked up arrowheads, strings of beads, and even old guns there.

Ma was terrified of Indians. She crossed the plains with a loaded gun at hand. The Indians in the valley frightened her. One night Pa had to be away from home. After dark she and the children heard yelling and screaming outside. She was sure it was Indians so one of the boys went out to check. He, too, was sure it was Indians, but to relieve Ma's mind he said, "It's cougars. Let's go upstairs and go to bed." Ma tried, but it was useless. She absolutely could not sleep with Indians prowling around her house. Something had to be done.

Ma always saved empty whiskey bottles, She proceeded to make bombs from several of them. She put nails, rocks, and anything else that would fit, into the bottle. Next, she added gunpowder and cut a slit in the corks to allow a dynamite fuse to be inserted. She lit the fuse and threw the bombs into the bushes where Indians might be hiding. The explosions sounded like gunfire and had a drastic effect on anything within their range. Rocks, nails, and broken glass flew in all directions.

Ma gathered the children and went across the fields to Jackie Duree's home to spend the night. She carried a big corn knife and took a cut at every shadow and bush they passed. No Indian along the way would have been safe. Next morning Mr. Duree and his sons went to the house to see if it was safe for Ma and the children to go home. They reported that Indians had been in the house and moved things around but they were no longer in the area. Sometime later it was found that it was some white men who knew of Ma's fear and meant to scare her. Several men were seen, the day after the episode, with mysterious cuts and bruises on their faces and hands, presumably from Ma's bombs.

About 1896 the school district was divided and schools were built in Council, on Middle Fork, and on Cottonwood. The first one on Cottonwood was about where Mesa tramway ended years later. The second was east of the highway on Cottonwood Lane. It was on a small knoll east of Fred Beier's lane.

Alfred Peebles was clerk of the school board for twenty-four years on Cottonwood.

In those days school was not a full-time thing. From April until July the little ones went to school. The weather was good then and they did not have to wade deep snow. School was held three months in winter for big students. They were not needed so badly then at home to help with farm work. Most of those who walked in winter had rubber boots, but most often they were taken by team and sled.

Progress was rated by readers, not by grades. Instead of being first graders they started in the first reader. When they finished the fifth reader they were through school. Later, when the grade system began, anyone who completed the eight grade was qualified to teach school. A very few got an eighth-grade education.

Cottonwood could not keep a teacher. The big students were too hard to control. There were often grown boys, weighing as much as two hundred pounds, going to school. I don't know why they went because they apparently weren't interested in learning and they certainly were too big for anyone to force them to go. Their sole aim seemed to be to make life unbearable for the teacher.

One year a small man came to teach. Pa said, "You'll never be able to handle the winter school. Maybe the little ones." He tried, though. They gave him a terrible time. If he had to leave the room to get a bucket of water from the spring they'd spit tobacco juice in his ledger and do all kinds of mischief.

One cold winter day the boys had all been outside playing in the snow. When they came in they were coughing. That was all right with the teacher for awhile, but when it became obvious that they were forcing the coughs he told them to stop. Bill Higgins kept on. The teacher made him stand in front of the class. Bill cussed and cussed. (He said afterward he felt foolish talking and swearing like that before the smaller children.) He invited the teacher out behind the school, but the offer was refused. The boys all went to Higgins' place after school and plotted to beat up the teacher. The teacher knew what they were up to and he ran--leaving the country. He never came back.

There were no churches in the area. Whenever a traveling preacher came through he would hold services in a schoolhouse. Boys had a habit of putting pins in the stool on which the teacher sat. It had a padded cushion and they put the pins in from the bottom so they weren't visible until someone sat on them. A traveling preacher came to Cottonwood and, of course, during the service he sat on the teacher's stool. He was surprised by the pins and fell backward 'tipping the stool over. He stood up, said, "That stool must have had a weak leg." And he went on preaching, never making any further comments on school boys' humor.

John Root was a teacher at Cottonwood. Among his students was Jeph Locke, an ornery kid, about fourteen years old, who would not obey. One day in the school room Jeph was misbehaving so Mr. Root started toward him. Jeph scrooched down in his seat and his sister, Myrtle, jumped up and started screaming, "Don't you hurt him!" Mr. Root stopped and returned to his desk, not wanting to upset the students. When play time came and the students were outside playing, Myrtle gathered rocks in her apron and put them in her desk to throw at Mr. Root if he ever punished Jeph.

Mr. Root remained as teacher for seven or eight years. When the next teacher came he was surprised to find that the students were fairly peaceable. He had been told that Cottonwood was the toughest school in the district, which it was before Mr. Root came.

Linn Peebles relates:[3],

Mr. Root was a big man but very good--if you minded. The second day of school Jeph Locke caused a lot of trouble. Mr. Root licked him and after that he behaved much better.

Mr. Root taught later in Council.

George Gregg was sent to Cottonwood to teach, but he-was ill and was soon taken away for treatment.

The schoolhouse had only one room which was poorly heated and poorly lighted. Windows were small and few. Heat was provided by a pot-bellied stove in the corner. Those near it roasted while those farther away were cold. In winter there was always the odor of wet woolen coats, caps, mittens, and even underwear drying after the trip to school. In summer the room was uncomfortably hot, cooled only by open windows and door.

Benches were used instead of desks, and slates and slate pencils instead of paper and pencils which came into use later.

While those in the fifth reader were giving recitation the younger ones were studying and they had their turn to recite later.

A far cry from today's chrome and tile restrooms was the odorous, fly-infested privy behind the schoolhouse.

Water was carried in a bucket from the spring and set on a bench near the stove, in winter, to keep it from freezing. A drinking cup hung by the bucket.

Lunches came to school tied in a napkin or cloth. Often the children of a family ate together as it was easier to pack the lunch that way. Sometimes a bucket was the container and, in later-years, a lard pail or a cut-plug tobacco pail was the standard lunch bucket. When the weather was bad the students ate at their-desks, but in summer lunches were spread outdoors.

There were no physical education classes. Most students got plenty of exercise walking to and from school and doing farm chores.

Recesses and noon were spent playing tag or ball, racing, jumping. rope, and similar games. Winter fun included throwing snow balls, building snow men and snow forts', or playing Fox and Geese in the snow.

The school report of Council Valley for fall term, 1881, shows there were twenty-five students enrolled. The fall term report of 1894 lists twenty-seven students in White school and fourteen in Upper Council. By summer of 1894 Council School had forty-seven registered and Cottonwood had thirty.

My dad, Alfred Peebles, freighted to mines. He made one trip to Silver City and many to Warren. It took nine days to make the trip from Salubria to Warren and back. Dad had a contract to provide chicken and eggs for the miners. He had a verbal contract with a big Chinese cook called "Pigtail Charlie." In August, 1898, Dad took the family with him to make the delivery.- Besides Dad there were Mother, Dewey, Ralph, Rena, and myself. He had eight wagons. There were more eggs when we got there than when we started because the hens kept laying. Chickens sold for four dollars a dozen and eggs for twenty-five cents a dozen. Dad made $80.00 (four-$20.00 gold pieces) which was the most he ever made on a freighting trip.

Little Bertha Mathias was at Warren with her family when we got there. She was six years old, the same as I. She took me in tow and Pigtail Charlie was real good to both of us. We got candy or anything we wanted and he showed us how the gold was mined.

There was a big deep hole in the ground in which the Chinese had built a ramp, spiraling around the sides to the bottom. The water level was high so they operated a hand pump to pump the water out of the hole. This resembled the pump on a railroad hand car. They scraped the dirt and rock from ledges and put it into wheelbarrows to be hauled to the top. One Chinaman wore a harness over his shoulders, with two loops for the wheelbarrow handles to fit into. Another Chinaman also had a shoulder harness that also had a head band which hooked to the front of the wheelbarrow so he could pull while the other pushed as they ascended the ramp. On the top, the two men shoveled the dirt and rocks into a flume through which a torrent of water raced. Pigtail Charlie showed us the gold when the water was shut off and the gold was collected from the bottom of the sluice box. There were armed guards all around the mine.

Alfred Peebles surveyed and dug more ditches in Council Valley than all others combined did. He built, on contract, the old Middle Fork bridge. He finished it in thirty days, which many had said was impossible. His profit was $200.00. There were some who protested that that was too much money for one man to make in that length of time.

Dad's first contract was to furnish for Mr. Lowe, in Weiser, one hundred cords of wood, cut to sixteen-inch length, for six dollars a cord. This eventually ran to five hundred cords as Mr. Lowe had a contract for resale in Weiser. In 1906 Dad dug out his fence rails, cut them for wood, and sold them to the Weiser Institute for fuel. That was when he built the first wire fence on our farm.

Dad raised two to three hundred head of sheep and my sister and I herded them all over the low hills. I started carrying a .22 caliber gun when I was seven years old. There were coyotes and rattlesnakes to be guarded against.

Indians came to Jackson Creek area to gather tempi--a weed with a honeysuckle-type bloom. They dried the weed and used it as a remedy of some kind. (This was scarlet gilia, used by many tribes as a medicine. Tempi is not a Nez Perce word.) They gathered toweet for food. It grows about two feet high and has a root that resembles small white carrots about the size of a man's finger. They ate the roots. (Tsa' wet-kh is the Nez Perce name for Yampa. It is still one of their foods--eaten either raw or cooked.'

The Indians continued to come to the valley, in smaller . groups, after the white people came. They were always friendly to Dad, knowing him to be an honest man. On one occasion they came to him for help in recovering some horses which had been stolen from them by white men.

Children of Alfred and Eva Peebles were Willis, Ralph, Dewey, Henry, Linn, Steve, Nellie, Mary, Lydia, Clara, and Rena.

After the death of her husband Mary Peebles came to Idaho to spend her older years with her son Alfred and his family in Council. She died in 1925 and is buried in the I.O.O.F, Cemetery.

Alfred and Eva Peebles moved to Brownsville, Oregon, for his health in 1927.

1.    1860 census, Morgan County, Ohio.

2.    Nellie Peebles Smith, Boise, Idaho, oral interview, 1972

3.    Linn Peebles, Emmett, Idaho, oral interview, 1973

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PETERS

John Olaf Peters was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, December 26, 1839. He came to America in 1859 and went to the California gold fields and was taken by "gold fever" which lasted all his life. In 1865 he came to Idaho, located in Idaho City, and mined in the placer basin. He married Anna Easley February 17, 1878, at Garden Valley. Their two children Maude and George were born there. George died in infancy.

The 1880 census of Boise County, Idaho Territory, shows them as farmers in Garden Valley.[1]

Next, they moved to Boise where he had a general merchandise store for a year and a half. In 1881 they moved to Weiser and had a small store and worked in the mines for a short time.[2]

At some time during these early years he made trips to Council, carrying dry goods on his back and in suitcases. His packs held mainly small items such as needles, thread, scissors, shoelaces, and buttonhooks. It was obvious to him that the area was growing and needed a store.[3]

About 1887 he built the first business house in Council Valley, about one mile north of the present town, on what later became the Bedwell place. He and his family lived in the building which housed the store. Mrs. Peters taught one term in the nearby school.

Later, Mr. Peters built a store where the Merit Store stood in later years. The store burned and he went into business with Isaac McMahan in 1894 for a short time, then moved to Weiser and engaged in the hardware business for three years. After that he ran a sawmill and a butchershop for a short time each. He returned to Council in the fall of 1898 [4] and again went into business in Council, this time with J. F. Lowe, then sold his interest to J. J. Jones. He worked in the mines, devoting his time to developing his mine--the Golden King--near Steven's Station, twelve miles northeast of Council on the Weiser River.

Before long he was back in business in town, operating a hardware and dry goods store in the building where Peters and Gregg furniture store would be later. After four years he sold out and spent the winter visiting his brother in California. He returned to gold-seeking in the Seven Devils mining district for the summer. That fall, 1908, he opened a furniture store in what was later the location of State Restaurant.

John 0. Peters bled to death from a broken artery in his stomach, May 27, 1910. He is buried in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery.

Anna Easley was born in Ohio, 1845, to Swiss parents. She was educated there and came to Garden Valley as a young school teacher. She married

John 0. Peters. She went to California with their daughter and her family about 1921. She was ninety years old, almost to the day, when she died in Oakdale, California, in January, 1935.

Maude Peters taught school in the schoolhouse on the hill. She was county superintendent of schools for several years. She married the Rev. Mr. Iverson and moved to California.

1.    1880 Census, Boise county, Idaho Territory.

2.    Obituary of John Olaf Peters, The Leader, June3, 1910.

3.    Matilda Moser manuscript.

4.    Ibid.

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PFAAN

George Pfann was born June 8, 1879, at Kalastein, Austria. He was one of sixteen children.

He came to the United States with his grandmother when he was twenty-one and joined other members of his family at Dunbar, Nebraska. He set up a blacksmith shop, having served as an apprentice to his grandfather in Austria.

George and a brother [Mike] came to Adams County about 1912 and homesteaded on the Ridge.

Later he came to Council and started a blacksmith shop, which he operated until his death in August, 1956.

He became a naturalized citizen while in Nebraska.[1]

1.    Obituary of George Pfann, Adams County Leader, August 27, 1956

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PHIPPS

Mrs. Patsey Phipps's husband was killed in the Civil War. He served the Confederacy from North Carolina. They had two sons, George Washington and William W. Phipps.

      [Correction/ addition by Patsy Phipps Bethel: They had three sons, Silas, William Mitchell, and George Washington.  George and William came to Idaho to find an area to farm in 1877 and then returned to Missouri for their Mother.  She had married John Austin, a widower with several children.  They had two children.]

It was hard to make a living after the war. The slaves were needed to work the land but they had been freed. George and William came west [to Idaho] to find an area to farm [in 1877] and then returned to Missouri for their mother. She had married John Austin, a widower with several children. They had two children. [Correction/ addition by Patsy Phipps Bethel: One child was  Ed Austin.  He married Katie Duree Shaw.  The other child was a girl. The John Austin family was listed in the 1880 census at LaGrande, Oregon.

The Phipps family moved west [from North Carolina], stopping in Independence, Missouri, to rest the mules. They remained there ten years. Their next move was to La Grande, Oregon, and in 1881 or 1882 they moved to Council and settled on Cottonwood Creek.

Patsey Phipps Austin was born in North Carolina, April 11, 1835. She died July 10, 1897 John Austin's death date is unknown. Both are buried in Cottonwood Cemetery.[1]

William W. Phipps*, affectionately known to all as "Old Bill," was born January 11, 1858. He never married but made a home for his mother as long as she lived. They lived in a log house on his farm on Cottonwood. This house stood for many years, becoming the first home of Gay and Annie Johnson in 1922, and years later became their chicken house. It was torn down about 1950.[2] [*Correction/ addition by Patsy Phipps Bethel: William's middle name was  Mitchell.]

An interview with Mae Moore Beckman, daughter of Grant and Dora Moore:

I always called William Phipps "Uncle Bill" although he was no relation. Others called him "Old Bill" even though he did not live to be sixty. Our parents loved and respected him, checking on him if they did not see him frequently. He lived alone and had a bad heart and they knew he might die at any time. He told Dad that if he knew he was dying they would find him with his hands crossed on his chest, and that's the way Dad found him the morning he died. He was lying flat on his back in his kitchen where he had been cutting shavings to start his morning fire. His hands were crossed as he had said they would be.

Uncle Bill remains in my memory as a well-loved giant. He was a big man, clean in body and mind, ready to help anyone in need. He had a booming laugh of pure joy and loved people, especially children. I considered him my personal property. I loved to stroke his shiny black beard and to be carried around on his shoulder.

He was one of the early settlers in the Valley and knew much about Indian cures and medicines, often using them to help when the doctor could not.[3]

Old Bill Phipps's blacksmith shop still stands. It is a log building on the property now owned by "Woody" Jones.* Mr. and Mrs. Jones plan to create a museum in it. Bill salvaged the materials to start his blacksmith shop from Burnt Wagons Basin. These included anvils, axes, hammers, and mauls. A wagon train headed for the mines at Florence abandoned their wagons when the going got too rough on West Mountain. They took what they could carry on their backs and went on. People of Council area salvaged what they could, even burning the wagons to get the iron and nails.[4] [*The old Woody Jones place is 2305 Cottonwood Road. Jones donated the forge to the Council Valley Museum when he sold the place in 1999.]

Bill Phipps made the caskets for all burials in Cottonwood Cemetery for many years. He got rough lumber from the mills in the valley and hand planed them with a block and smoothing plane. For linings he used black sateen which he bought from John 0. Peters' store in Council. Until his death Bill had helped dig every grave in Cottonwood Cemetery.[5]

William Phipps died November 20, 1917 and is buried in Cottonwood Cemetery.[6]

George W. Phipps, called "Doc," was born in Ashe County, North Carolina, in 1861. On June 29, 1902, in Council, he married Minnie Isabel Heathco Thompson, widow of Andrew Thompson, who had died in Oklahoma.* They had one son who died in infancy and another son, Ray.[7]  Ray was Council's sheriff for several years.

      [*Patsy Phipps Bethel: After Andrew Thompson died, Minnie  married Andrew's brother, Samuel. Minnie said Samuel was not at all like Andrew who was a wonderful husband. After they went back to Oklahoma, she divorced him and came out here to homestead a place.  I

understand she worked some as a housekeeper for G.W. Phipps also.  Samuel and Andrew were Cousins of G.W. and Bill Phipps. Samuel and Andrew came out in 1900 to visit the Phipps.  Minnie had 2 sons by Andrew, and two sons by her later husband, G.W. Phipps.: Rheul who died at birth, and Ray]

The George Phipps family owned a farm west of the railroad, near the end of Cottonwood lane. They had a large orchard and shipped the first apples, three train carloads, from Council Valley. They also raised registered dairy cattle.

Their house burned three times and was rebuilt.* The first fire was discovered by the train crew, who blew the train whistle to attract attention to it.[8] [*Correction/addition by Patsy Phipps Bethel: The G.W. Phipps house burned two times and was rebuilt. It was located at 1725 US Highway 95.]

George Phipps died in June, 1941.[9] [Correction/addition by Patsy Phipps Bethel: George was  buried in the Cottonwood Cemetery.

Minnie Isabel Heathco, born in Rushville, Indiana, May 9, 1866, married Andrew Thompson. They had two sons. One died at two years of age and the other at twelve years. Mr. Thompson died [10] and his widow homesteaded on the site of the present city of Tulsa, Oklahoma. She and her brother, George Heathco*, came to Council by covered wagon. She wanted to visit some of her late husband's family. She remained and married George Phipps. Her brother returned to Oklahoma for some years, but later brought his family to Council. [11] Minnie Phipps died in October, 1944. She and George are buried in Cottonwood Cemetery.

      *[Patsy Phipps Bethel: She did not come to Council with her brother George Heathco, she came with her husband, Samuel Thompson.]

      1. Patsy Bethel, oral interview, Boise, Idaho, 1975.

      2. Nellie Smith Peebles, Boise, Idaho, oral interview, 1972.

      3. Mae Moore Beckman, Fairbanks, Alaska, interview, 1975.

      4. Linn Peebles, Emmett, Idaho, oral interview, 1973.

      5. Dora Johnson Moore, Boise, Idaho, 1970.

      6. Cottonwood Cemetery records, Idaho Genealogical Society, Boise,

Idaho.

7.Obituary of George W. Phipps, Adams County Leaders May 23, 1941.

8 Patsy Bethel, oral interview.

9 Obituary of George W. Phipps.

10 Obituary of Minnie Isabel Heathco Phipps, Adams County Leader, October 6, 1944.

      11 Patsy Bethel , oral interview.

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PIPER

Seward David Piper, born July 6, 1860, son of Johnson and Samantha Piper, died July 21, 1939.

He married Alice Roselina Powell in 1886 in Minnesota.

They had two sons, John and Jay, and two daughters, Hazel and Marjorie. Jay was killed when he was fishing alone. His gun fell on a rock, causing it to discharge.

Alice Powell was born March 27, 1861, in Verndale, Minnesota.

She taught Sunday school in the Congregational Church in Council for many years.

Mr. and Mrs. Piper were among the early settlers, coming to Council shortly after 1900.[1] [According to a note written on a photo in the Council Valley Museum, they came to Council on March 27, 1900.] Their home was just south of town.

Mrs. Piper died in September, 1947.

1. Obituary of Seward David Piper, Adams County Leader, July 28, 1939

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POYNOR

Joseph D. Poynor was born in Tennessee and grew to manhood there. He was an officer in the Confederate Army as a personal bodyguard for Jefferson Davis and was captured with him at the end of the war.[1]

Just after the Civil War he, his wife, Celia, and their seven sons came west as part of a large wagon train. Two sons became ill and died on the plains, one dying one evening and the other the next morning. They are buried in the same grave alongside the trail.

The Poynors went first to Warm Lake Fort, near La Grande, Oregon. One or two winters were spent there before making the move to Council, where they settled down to farming near Mill Creek.[2]

Joseph D. and Celia Poynor are buried in Portland, as are sons Hub and John. Joseph died in March, 1926.

Charles Poynor and wife, Maude, had the first fruit ranch on Mill Creek. Prospective buyers in the valley were shown these orchards to prove what could be grown in Council's fertile valley.

1.    Obituary of Joseph D. Poynor, Adams County Leader,  March 26, 1926.

2.    Neal Poynor, Boise, Idaho, oral interview, 1974

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PURNELL

Harry Marcus Purnell was born September 27, 1875, at Hillsboro, Indiana, the youngest of ten children of Henry and Nancy (Justice) Purnell.

When he was a small boy his family moved to Kerads, Kansas where they lived for eight years, and later moved to Coffeeville, Kansas, where he grew up. He spent three years at Veedersburg, Indiana, in school and was married there to Rosa May Price February 4, 1906.[1]

They moved west to the area of Bellingham, Washington, where he worked in the lumber industry until 1916. That year they traded their farm at Ferndale, Washington for that of Wiley B. Duncan at Council.

On June 6, 1916, the family started to Council, taking one month and one day to make the trip. They traveled by car--a one-cylinder Cadillac with carbide lights. There were no doors on the driver's and front passenger's seat. The back seat was enclosed. It was not an easy trip with six children and camping equipment in and on the car. The oldest child was ten-year-old Irene and the youngest was Herbert, who was nine months old. Mrs. Purnell said she carried the baby and pushed the car over Whitebird Hill.

Along the way they always tried to camp where there was a wire fence so they could suspend a black iron kettle from the wire and build a fire under it to cook beans for the next day's food.

George Winkler said he'd always remember the day the Purnell family arrived in Council. There were kids spilling out all over the car.

The farmhouse had a little furniture, so they shipped only a few things. When they got settled they traded their car for a milk cow. They did raise some garden the first summer but it was late before they could plant it and the crop was not very good. The milk and butter provided by the cow was more important than an automobile.

Mr. and Mrs. Purnell worked in the fields and Irene did the housework and cared for the younger children.

There was a lot of thorn brush on the farm, which was difficult to grub out, but Mr. Purnell cleared most of it. There was one particular thicket, between the house and the river, that had an infestation of rattlesnakes. It was impossible to clear the thorn brush as long as they were there. Alfred Peebles and Harry Purnell drove a herd of hogs into the area and they soon ate all of the snakes. Many weary backbreaking hours went into clearing the land by hand.

The Duncans had built a large two-story building on the farm. The lower floor had rock walls and was used as a woodshed and milk house. The upper story was an open-air dance floor. The roof was supported by studs and the only enclosure was of three-foot chicken wire around the house.

For a while the nearest neighbors were two young Indians, the Shaeffer boys, who lived in a little house on the Purnell farm. They were hard-working and friendly. After they moved away Mr. Purnell moved the little house and used it as his shop.

There were many hard years. At least once, Mr. Purnell paid his taxes by killing coyotes and collecting the bounty for them. He also had a permit to trap beaver and shipped many of their pelts.

Harry Purnell was an enthusiastic musician who played the harmonica, banjo, and violin exceptionally well.

Nine children grew to maturity. They were Irene, Arthur, Beulah, Ruth, Audrey, Herbert, Doris, Dorothy, and Florence. Three-month-old Henry died of whooping cough in 1918 and Raymond died at birth.

Indian Ford was near the Purnell farm. Some arrowheads and a few stone tools and weapons were found near there.

Harry Purnell died December 15, 1955, and his wife, Rosa, born in Springfield, Ohio, April 18, 1880, died December 12, 1956. They were both buried in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery December 17--one year apart.[2]

1.    Audrey Kilborn, Mesa, Idaho, letter interview, 1974.

2.    Doris Sheer, Boise, Idaho, oral interview, 1975.

260

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ROBERTSON, GEORGE

George Robertson was born in Barry County, Missouri, in 1851. He married Martha Harp, daughter of James and Sarah Harp.[1] They came west with her parents and two brothers and their families, Winklers and Copelands, in 1878.

George and Martha Robertson stopped in Upper Boise Valley, Ada County. Her brothers, Hardy and William, stayed, too.[2] In 1883 they went on to Council.

George Robertson took a one-hundred-sixty-acre homestead along the Weiser River.[3]

Mrs. Millie Bethel tells stories of her family's early days in the valley:

George Robertson and his son, Pete, had a flour mill on Mill Creek. I don't remember how long it was in operation.

Father raised acres of sugar cane and owned a sugar cane mill. a one-horse powered mill. The cane was topped, stripped, and cut in the field. It was hand-fed into the mill, the cane juice was squeezed out, caught in containers, and taken to a large vat with a furnace beneath. Then the cooking, stirring, and skimming began. The children were official tasters and were eager for the job when it was time for the stir-off which was usually quite late at night. The delicious sorghum was put into gallon cans, labeled, and sent to Council merchants Sam and Harry Criss.

My father and Mr. Sevey took out the first irrigation ditch in the area. They had no surveyor, just dug with pick and shovel, let the water follow, and dug some more.

My parents' first house was made of unplaned lumber and batted up. One day this flimsy house caught fire while my mother was working in the garden. Mother ran, screaming, to the house and a neighbor, Mr. M. D. Chaffee, came running, but they were too late to save my sister, Lena, who was Just the age to walk, clinging to chairs. [This house was at the present location of 2617 Fruitvale Glendale Rd.]

Father owned a sawmill, too, but I do not remember the time it was in operation.

A special event was the falling of a bee tree, along the river. Dad and my older brothers would fall the tree, then smoke the bees. One time the smoke didn't seem to work and Dad started running and got tangled up in some smoke weed. He bucked and snorted and the bees were popping it to him every jump. He used some words you wouldn't want to see in print. However, we got a good supply of honey to eat on Mom's good sourdough biscuits, not even thinking about the dead bees that had been carefully screened out.

The P.I.N. railroad bought a right of way through a part of Dad's land where he had set out an orchard. My father moved those big trees to another location. It was a lot of hard work but we still had an orchard.

      There were eight Robertson children: Albert, Mary (married Emsley Glenn), Laura (m. Jim Ward), Lena, Pete, Oliver, Millie (m. Roy Bethel) and Elizabeth.[4] [Mary married (Ed?) McGinley, Laura married Jim Ward, Millie married Roy Bethel, Elizabeth (Beth) married ___ Hill. Pete and Mary lived on the original home place into the 1960s.]

      Martha Harp, born January 12, 1860, died August 10, 1923.[5] George

Robertson died September 27, 1933.[6]

1.    Obituary of George Robertson, Adams County Leaders September 29, 1933

      2. 1880 census, Boise Valley, Ada County, Idaho.

3.  Millie Robertson Bethel, Weiser, Idaho, letter interview, 1975.

4. Ibid.

5. Obituary of Mrs. George Robertson, Adams County Leader, August 17, 1923.

      6. Obituary of George Robertson.

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This Robertson family is not in M. Diffendaffer's Book:

ROBERTSON, ARTHUR

Arthur V. Robertson married Rose Ann Groseclose. Children:

      Charles Hershel  1889 - 1941

      Austin ("Bud")  1891 - 1964

      Arthur ("Tuff")  1894 - 1977

      Mary  Vivian 1897 - 1976

            Married Bill Boyles. Their daughter, Velma, married Jack Aldrich. Their daughter,             Jeanne, married Larry Boehm.

      Addie ("Bergie")  1899 - 1989

      Thelma Rose  1901 - 1993

      Isaac ("Pug")  1904 - 1976

      Hester  1907 - 1983

Robertson Family History

as Compiled by Bergie Ingeborg Robertson, Smith, Tarr.. about 1985

My dad, Arthur V. Robertson, was born June 20,1868,to Grandad and Grandmother Robertson. They were either living in Iowa or Minnesota. There were five children in this family - three boys and two girls.  The. mother passed away when Dad was about fifteen months old. Being too much for the father to handle, Dad was taken by a couple by the name of Mike and Mary Harland to raise. They too came West, but I can't give the date, and they settled for a few years at Union, Oregon, where she ran a sort of boarding house. They came to Indian Valley (no date)and I don't know the ranch they first settled on. They never adopted Dad, so he was Arthur Harland until he and Mother married. Then he took back the Robertson name. Harlands were related to the Starrs and Leichliters.

They also raised a foster daughter by the name of Susie. She married a man named Julias Leddington. They spent a great share of their life at Weiser and had three sons. My parents had some hard times during their lifetime. Dad was very handy in many occupations; he was a carpenter, blacksmith, and sawmill worker. I remember watching him fit and shoe many horses before the time cars came into existence. He was hardy making skis and what was known as bobsleds and cutters. Also he worked with the crew who built the Kleinschmidt Grade. The present day equipment wasn't around in those days. They used horses and what were called scrapers and men with picks and shovels. The old grade is still being traveled. Mother made and sold lots of butter when the mines were booming as well as cooked and served meals to many freighters hauling supplies to the Seven Devils Mines.

Mother, Rose Ann Groseclose, was born in Colorado about thirty miles north of Denver on July 1, 1867. She was the last baby born of a family of seven children, three boys and four girls, born to Jacob and Elizabeth (Jones) Groseclose. The spring of 1876 the Grosecloses joined a wagon train coming west on a journey to California for the Gold Rush. They spent that winter at the fort in Wyoming and came to the fort in Idaho the summer of 1877, spending that winter at Fort Boise. They learned of the pioneer settlement forming in Council Valley, so they decided to leave the wagon train and see what that country had to offer. Grandad took up a homestead on Cottonwood, and the family grew up there. The place he homesteaded was known as the Old Byers Place. In August of 1878 the Indians stole some horses belonging to a man by the name of William Monday. The eldest son, named Jake, of the Groseclose family joined the group who went to follow the Indians in hopes of getting the horses back. They were getting near them at Cascade, and should have turned back. The Indians were hiding behind a large boulder which the trail went near. As the men came to the boulder, the Indians fired on them, Killing three -- Monday, Healey, and Jake Groseclose--and badly wounding the other one named Three-Fingered Smith. He hid from the Indians until darkness came and then traveled to Meadows Valley to report the massacre. The militia came and buried the bodies and inscribed their names on this large rock. Grosecloses left the Cottonwood area and went to the Lick and Bear Creek country, and Grandmother used her homestead right to file for a home there.

The rest or this was evidently written by another family member:

      Grandad passed away December 20, 1908, and Grandmother on April 8, 1910. Both are buried in the Hornet Creek Cemetery.

      Dad and Mother were married at Council, Idaho, August 17, 1888. Charles Herschel, the oldest son, was born at Indian Valley, August 12, 1889. When he was about six weeks old, they moved to the Bear Creek country, taking up a homestead where they raised the family. Herschel passed away November 27, 1941 at Council Hospital. Austin Tracy (Bud) was born at Bear on October 14, 1891. He passed away February 12, 1964, at Kuna, Idaho. Arthur Francis (Tuff) was born at Bear on May 2, 1894. He passed away March 11, 1977, at Halfway, Oregon. Mary Vivian was born at Bear on January 11, 1897, and passed away at Council on February 13, 1976. Addie Ingeborg (Bergie) was born at Bear on April 5, 1899, and left us at Holy Rosary Hospital, Ontario, Oregon, Sunday, December 10, 1989. Thelma Rose was born at Hornet Creek on September 27, 1901, and went on to better things at Holy Rosary Hospital, Ontario, Oregon, Tuesday, January 12, 1993. Isaac Emmett (Pug) was born at Bear on July 31, 1904, and passed away March 11, 1976 at Boise. Hester Elizabeth was born at Bear on November 24, 1907, and passed away February 12, 1983, at Council Hospital.

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ROPER

Charles Alvin Roper (April 26, 1867-August 26, 1944)[1] was a remittance man from the east. He was well educated but chose to live more or less as a recluse. He raised fruits and vegetables to sell in town. No one knew much about him and that's the way he wanted it.[2]

He was notoriously dirty and, although he kept a bath tub, the best use he found for it was as a container for coal.[3]

1.    I.O.O.F. Cemetery records, Idaho Genealogical Library, Boise, Idaho.

2.    Linn Peebles, Emmett, Idaho, oral interview, 1974

3.    Mary Thurston, McCall, Idaho, oral interview, 1973

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SELBY

Chester Selby, born March 30, 1896, in Boise, came to Council before War I.  His parents were divorced so he worked, saved his money and World War I.  His parents were divorced so he worked, saved his money and bought a ten-acre fan for his mother and the other children.[l]

Chester joined the Army May 28, 1918, as a private.[2]  He served as sheriff in Council in the early 1920s.

      The flu epidemic struck the Selby family hard. Mrs. Ida Selby and her son, Ray, died the same day--January 19, 1919.

      Chester Selby married Edith Grossen, and they lived on the farm he bought for his mother.  Chester died November 13, 1951.[3]

      Their children were Norman Ray (killed in a motorcycle accident, July 23, 1944), Vivian, and Lorraine.

1 Edith Selby, Council, Idaho, oral interview. 1973.

2 Idaho Adjutant General's records, Boise, Idaho.

3 Edith Selby, oral interview.

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SHAW, WILLIAM

      The Shaw family was in Pennsylvania very early, going later to Virginia, Ohio, and Iowa.

      William A. Shaw was born in Ohio, January 9, 1821.  He married Elizie --- born in Ohio in 1823.  Their sons, James and Scott, were born before the family moved to Missouri.  William R. Shaw was born on the plains of Nodaway County, Missouri, August 4, 1858, on the trip west.  Mount was born two years later in Wyoming.

      The family came to Idaho by covered wagon as part of a large wagon train. They had no particular destination in mind.  They just had itchy feet and wanted to come west.  They chose Weiser at random.  About 1876** they homesteaded one hundred sixty acres in what is now Welser, across from the present livery barns.[1] [**Actually 1866 or '67.]

When Indians were on the warpath Elizie Shaw was afraid they would come in the night and kill them.  When the men had to be away from home overnight she took the children up onto the roof, which was low and fairly flat, and they slept there.  She feared the dark all her life and it was probably due to that fear of Indians in early years.  She told, in later years, of taking her blankets and her children to a secluded spot among the sagebrush to spend the night, away from the house and fear of Indians.

      Old settlers remember the early two-story willow house built by Shaws. Pioneers were used to sleeping in the open and this was an ideal sleeping arrangement, an open-air institution with no danger of tuberculosis.

      Mr. Shaw died April 1, 1909, and Mrs. Shaw on July 28, 1905.[2]

      At age eighteen William R. Shaw was an Indian scout for "Captain Galloway's Army," which was Company E, First Regiment, Idaho Volunteer Militia. This was a reserve territorial militia, organized for protection of the settlers during Nez Perce Indian War.  No pensions were given to these men and the only records are in the Idaho Adjutant General's files.[3]

On November 29, 1882, William R. Shaw married Lena Madison at Weiser Bridge, called Poverty Flat.  (This was so named because of lack of water to grow crops.  The present name is Weiser.)  Lena was born November 13, 1863 at Manti, Utah, one of five children of Hans Christian Madison and his wife, Helena.  Her parents were born in Denmark.  Madisons settled in Loa, Utah.  They came to Weiser area about 1880.

William R. and Lena Shaw went to Brownlee when they were first married, then back to Weiser and, November 29, 1917, to Hornet Creek.  Mr. Shaw was a farmer.  They were the parents of thirteen children, eleven living to maturity. Twin daughters died of whooping cough at five months of age.

      Mr. Shaw told of the Billy Monday massacre.  One man who was with the group survived, though wounded.  He dragged himself into the creek and then to a hiding place beneath the bank or some overhanging branches. He was bleeding badly and afraid the Indians would see the blood in the water and so find him. They did not and he finally escaped, having a long way to go for help.

      William R. Shaw made medical history in Council Valley by surviving spotted fever at age seventy-six.  It was the first case of spotted fever which Dr. Thurston had ever seen.  Mr. Shaw almost died and  would have without the constant care of his daughter, who was a registered nurse.

      Mr. and Mrs. Shaw both died in 1942.

      Their son, Deb Shaw, collected rattlesnakes.  He used a forked stick and a wire noose to capture them.  He sold them to eastern restaurants for gourmet food.  He soon had to freeze them because the railroad required it. They refused to transport live rattlers.  Deb knew where there were twenty rattlesnake dens, nine of them on Hornet Creek.  He often caught one hundred a day, some as big as his arm and fifty inches long.  For a time he shipped live snakes to Balboa Park in San Diego, California, but the zoo and venom market dropped and he shipped only to Detroit restaurants.  The meat sold for about one dollar a foot.  He killed, skinned, and froze them at home.[4]

1 Jo Naser, oral interview, Boise, Idaho, 1973.

2 Weiser Cemetery records, Idaho Genealogical Library, Boise, Idaho.

3 Idaho Adjutant General's records, Captain Galloway's Muster roll.

4 Jo Naser; oral interview.

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SHAW, BEN

      Ben Shaw, born in Harrison County, Iowa, July 16, 1866, married Katie Bacus in 1888, and eighteen months later they moved to Idaho.  They settled on Middle Fork, where they soon had a two-hundred-acre ranch and a large band of sheep.  They had nine children.  Mr. Shaw was killed by a falling hay derrick in July, 1912.[1]

      William Daniel Shaw and his wife, Jane Tafina Wallace Shaw, came from Mondamon, Iowa, to Idaho in 1907.  They came with their children by train, spending three days and nights on the way.  They arrived March 31 at Middle Fork, where the train stopped to let them off.  They walked to his brother's home,. where they stayed a short time before starting their own homestead nearby.

      Mr. Shaw's father, Henry J. Shaw, was already living in the area.  As an old man, about 1907, he married Nancy Duree, widow of I. J. Duree. Henry J. Shaw, born January 19, 1833, died December 17, 1909.  Nancy, born July 5, 1843, died May 17, 1911.  They are buried in Cottonwood Cemetery.

      Children of William D. and Jane Shaw were:  Gilbert, Eddie. Ervie, Orville (burned to death at age three when the family home burned in 1917), Ben, Artie,. Louisa, Bill. John, Minnie, Floyd, Amos, and Arnold.

      Bill Shaw, born in May, 1897, married Nancy Moser, daughter of Edgar and Ida Moser, in 1919.[2]

Obituary of Ben Shaw, Adams County Leader, July 25, 1912.

William Shaw, New Plymouth, Idaho, oral interview, 1972.

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SNOW

Bernard Snow was born in Pomfret, Vermont, January 22, 1822, the only son of Ebenezer and Polly Hayes Snow.  He had three sisters.

      He followed the Forty-Niners to California, going by sailing ship around the Horn.  His wife, Louise, and a son were to come overland with friends.  They started but perished on the way.  It was a tragedy of pioneer travel.  While in California Bernard worked at various things, even as an actor of some ability.

      In 1860 he moved to the mining towns of Utah.  He apparently possessed the mechanical skill of his father and worked as a millwright and carpenter, building mining mills.

      In 1862 he met and married Matilda A. Sorensen.   She was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, April 10, 1845, and came to America in 1853 with her family. Her parents were Frederick C. and Amelia Flinto Sorensen.  There were three other children.  The voyage to America was by sailing vessel and required seven weeks.  Then they crossed the country in a covered wagon.

      The Snow children born in Utah were Gerry, Amelia, Nettie, and Melvin. Ellis was born in Idaho.

      They moved to Idaho in 1882, arriving in Indian Valley July 2.  Bernard filed a homestead claim on land along the Little Weiser River, where they engaged in farming and cattle raising.  He continued to do some carpenter work and helped his son-in-law, Fred Beier, build his first home on Cottonwood .

      The Snows operated the stage station and post office.  Travelers and mail came by stagecoach to Indian Valley and points north. In winter, sleighs replaced the stagecoaches.

Bernard Snow died February 23, 1893, and Matilda died June 25, 1921. Their son, Ellis, operated the family farm from the time he was a mere boy and became its owner after his mother's death.

      Gerry Snow, born December 26, 1863, at Ephriam, Utah, died February 14, 1950, at Ridgefield, Washington.  He was a farmer, deputy sheriff, and livestock buyer.  Each year he bought thousands of beef cattle in his home county and shipped them to meat packing plants on the Pacific coast.  These cattle were driven to a central point and shipped.  This was a big event for the stockmen concerned.

      In 1886 he married Effie Irene Dodge.  They lived in Washington County all their married lives.  They had three sons and two daughters.  They separated in 1906 and, in 1911, Gerry Snow married Myrtle Brown.

      Amelia Snow was born at Ephriam, Utah, August 27, 1867, and died at Weiser January 8, 1945.  She met and married,in 1887, Frederick William Beier.  They had four sons and two daughters.  Council was their home.

      Nettle Snow was born at Provo, Utah, June 14, 1871. She married Mathias McCarthy and moved to Wisconsin in 1895. at Fond du Lac  Wisconsin. She died October 25, 1948, at Fon du Lac Wisconsin.

      Ellis Snow was born in Indian Valley October 11, 1882.  He married a school teacher, Helen E. Meechan, June 10, 1910.  They operated the Snow family farm in Indian Valley, as well as several others which they acquired. In 1925 they moved to Council but continued to operate their farms.  They bought the Fred Beier farm on Cottonwood in later years.[l]  Their children were Nettle, Florence, Bernard, Edwin, Helen, and Melvin. [2]

      Ellis Snow died August 5, 1967. He and his wife are buried in Indian Valley.[2]

1 Herbert H. Beier, The Bernard Snow Family History, 1961 (unpublished).

      2. Indian Valley Cemetery records, Idaho Genealogical Library, Boise,

Idaho.

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SWEARINGEN

      Zeb Vance Swearingen was born in 1860 on a plantation near Winston- Salem, North Carolina.  The plantation was typical of the times, having many slaves.  After the Civil War circumstances were considerably different. When he was twenty years old he left his father's plantation and came west to Prineville, Oregon, where he lived for three years. Then Zeb went to Bergdorf to run a placer mining business for two years.  He mined with a partner near McCall, selling in 1893. In 1900 he bought a ranch on Middle Fork which he sold in 1936. His first wife was from the east and did not like western life.  They separated and she went home. His second wife, Margaret, died in 1929.[1]

      There were no children ,and after Zeb's death, February 3, 1945, there was a bitter court fight over the sizable estate.

1 Obituary of Zeb Vanee Swearingen, Adam~, February 9.       ·

1945.

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THOMPSON

John T. Thompson, born October 17, 1857 in Union County, Iowa, died May, 1933.

In 1863 he crossed the plains with his parents to Weiser. The next spring they moved to Falk's Store and, next, to Salubria. His father was killed while oiling a pitman rod on his thresher.

John married Emma Vandike, daughter of Mrs. Maria Merrit, in 1874. They had five daughters and two sons.

When the Indian War started he left his family at the fort and went to fight.

The Thompsons moved to Tuscarora, Nevada, in 1876 and he hauled sage brush to the mines for fuel. Their daughter, Alice, was born there. They returned to Idaho and lived on the old Underwood place. They cared for the three little Underwood girls after their mother died. A daughter, Florence, was born there.1 In the spring of 1880 the family moved to Hornet Creek. Five children--Anna, Emma, John, Lula, and George--were born there.2

John Thompson hauled the first load of ore from the Seven Devils to Weiser, which was the nearest railroad in 1894. He freighted to Silver City and other mining areas.

He and his wife separated but he kept the children together.

In 1899 he went to Sumpter, Oregon, to work in the mining camps.3

1. Obituary of John T. Thompson,  Adams County Leader, May 26, 1933

2. 1880 Census, Hornet Creek, Washington County, Idaho

3. Obituary of John T. Thompson

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Thorpe

Arthur Clayton Thorpe, born in western Iowa January 1, 1861, to parent! of Scottish origin, died April, 1931.

When he was seven years old his family moved to California by ox team, arriving at San Francisco in late 1868. He grew up there and worked as a stone cutter, carpenter, and boat handyman. At age twenty-seven he went to Oregon and Washington and to British Columbia prospecting and mining for gold. He was a storekeeper in a small town on the Columbia River.

A. C. Thorpe married Gennette May in Dayton, Washington, June 5, 1888. He was a farmer and stock raiser in Stevens County, Washington, for fifteen years.

Thorpes moved to Little Camas Prairie and raised stock before moving to Council in 1918.1

There were five children: Earl, Arthur, Raymond, Mary, and Mattie.

The Thorpe farm was on Hornet Creek, adjoining Art's farm.

Mrs. Thorpe died January 18, 1922.

1. Obituary of Arthur Clayton Thorpe, Adams County Leader, Council, Idaho, May 1, 1931

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THURSTON

      This Is March, 1971.  I am Mary Thurston, recording memories of my late husband, Dr. Alvin S. Thurston, who practiced medicine in a mountain community from 1931 to 1949.  The dates do not indicate pioneering, but the circumstances did.  He grew up in Chicago, receiving his medical training at the university of Illinois Medical School after two years in service during World War I, including being wounded in France and subsequent hospitalization.  He interned at St. Luke's, then a new and one of the largest hospitals in Chicago.  After two years' practice in Denver, he hunted for a small town, and found it in Council, Idaho.

      We arrived late one afternoon, having driven from Denver with a 5-month old daughter and a German Shepherd dog.  Dr. Higgs, from whom we were buying the practice, took us to see the house he had found for us, saying it was a real nice place.  It was a square box, partitioned into four rooms; one room had a sink in one corner, and a cupboard in the opposite corner; one room had a closet; there was a back porch.  "But where is the bathroom?" asked my city husband.  "Oh," was the nonchalant reply, "There aren't many bathrooms in town."  Well, we camped there a few days until we found a better house--at least it had another bedroom built on, a large porch, and a bath-- even if it did open between the back bedroom and the porch, and it was a bit cold in winter.  The house of course was stove-heated; in winter the frost stood on the wall of the north bedroom.  We took the electric range out of the kitchen to make room, in winter, for a chuck-wagon stove.

      The office facilities were similar, most of the homes too.  This was a remote area, and in the midst of the depression.  The first night we were there the doctor had to go out to deliver a baby; this house too had only a back-yard faucet.  When he came home, he laughed that he would have to write a book, "Mother Council," instead of the well-known "Mother India.

      Practice was general and varied--home deliveries, tonsillectomies and minor surgery in the office, pediatrics, fractures, everything. Dr. Higgs had had his brother, a surgeon, come from Fairfield twice a year to operate.

      In 1924 he did appendectomies at the Perkins ranch, up Hornet Creek, on Laura, Pearl, and Gene; he also operated at the Poynor ranch, on Mill Creek, and did more kitchen-table surgery at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Young. Mrs. Young also helped him with baby cases.  Dr. Thurston did a minimum of home surgery; instead he took his cases to a cottage hospital at Weiser, 60 miles away, or on 15 miles farther to Holy Rosary Hospital at Ontario.  He had to invent an ambulance--the front seat came out of the Ford, a board stretcher with a front leg went in, and the mattress was one cut down and covered with oilcloth--plastics were as yet unknown; later this was replaced with a rubber mattress.

      The extensive territory included all of Adams County, down into Washington County, on up into the Riggins country, the Seven Devils, and Hells Canyon, and later even into Long Valley.  After a couple of years he took on an assistant, Dr. Jim Dinsmore, and opened an office in New Meadows twice a week, 30 miles north of Council, for minor diagnosis, shots, and so on; also an office in Midvale thirty miles south on the road to Weiser.

      The Thursday afternoons at New Meadows were really long; they saw a record of 105 patients one day. A good friend, whose father had been a pioneer sheepman and who appreciated the difficulties, used to take over a box lunch every Thursday in the late afternoon, so they could have a bite if and when they had time.  This was the depression:  people couldn't afford gas and really appreciated having service brought to them!  For the same reason--to save them the 6D-mile trip to Weiser--he extracted teeth.  Before long he brought in an X-ray for the Council office**: again making it possible to give better service close to home.

[**1933]

      Dr. Dinsmore stayed a few years, went on to his own practice.  He was followed by a series of young doctors, until there were two at a time. Then the war came, the assistants went into the army, and for a while the practice was a one-man thing, necessarily somewhat curtailed.  Dr. Edwards came in 1947, is still there; also Dr. Thurston found an able assistant in Bud Grimes--no formal training but a natural who learned to do everything, driving the car, getting it ready to go on emergency trips complete with oxygen, giving anesthetic, doing the X-ray work, giving shots.  There was no way of explaining his position, or his ability, but he made the war years possible.

The office was a former "flat" over the drug store:  waiting room, consulting room, laboratory and small surgery combined (which the small daughters called "Daddy's kitchen").  Later an adjoining room became available and was filled with eight beds and couches of sorts, as well as some examining and consultation rooms.  That was where the tonsillectomy patients, sometimes eight in one morning, came out of the anesthetic.

Babies were delivered at home, as our second daughter was.  Hazel Perkins, untrained but willing, learned to give the necessary anesthetics and to assist in minor surgery.  Sometimes "home" was miles out in the country, with no phone, which meant the doctor sometimes spent the night, not always comfortable.  Or else a woman could stay in town with Grandma Zink, who also took care of sick people in her home; or they went to the home of Mrs. Grace Elliot, who had come to Council in her girlhood by covered wagon from Kelton, Utah:  her house had no running water, nor did that of Mrs. Edith Thorpe, or Mrs. Maude Nichols; but these women followed the doctor's directions carefully, which was all he asked.  Other women helped with home deliveries, particularly Mrs. Elgie Bratland, known to the younger generation as Salmon River Sue as she followed the Riggins ball games religiously.  Incidentally, the doctor's fee was $25 from the first office call until the baby was a month old; eventually it went up to $75.  Not all bills were collected, of course, but the doctor let it be understood that he objected to taking on a second delivery when no attempt had been made to settle for the first. Sometimes there were problems getting through the snowdrifts, and more than once the children's sled went into the car and was used to pull the heavy O.B. kit to the house from the road.  In case of a premature baby an incubator would be improvised from an apple box or carton, with light bulbs, flat irons, or hot water bottles.  And sometimes there would be an audience, not always welcome:  cold night, warm room, neighborhood women wanting to be helpful or just bored and glad for a little excitement.  Then there was the time the father knew the doctor couldn't get to Goodrich by road (in 1932 that stretch of road wasn't kept open in winter) so he arranged for him to make the night trip from Council by railroad handcar, ten or twelve miles. [This baby was Eleanor Schmid Riggin.]

      Quarantining was almost unknown.  During our first winter, there was an epidemic of small pox. City-trained Dr. Thurston had never seen a case, but he did quarantine. One man from Indian Valley announced laughingly at the Mesa Store that he was supposed to be quarantined; he didn't think it so fun when the storekeeper reported to the doctor and the sheriff. Also at that time the community learned about vaccination, and accepted it, though with some doubts. One Sunday afternoon, with the family going along for the ride, was spent in New Meadows vaccinating in the hotel lobby.

      One night there appeared at the door a young woman and a cowboy friend.  Her mother had been kicked by a horse, and the daughter had ridden three miles from their ranch to Wildhorse, a settlement on the Snake River down in Hells Canyon. The phones were out, so the cowboy rode with her about twenty miles--still no phones--to the Hanson ranch on Hornet Creek. Mr. Hanson [Bill] drove them the last ten miles to Council, then all of them back to the ranch, where he loaned the doctor a horse and a man to go along.  People are really kind; when they reached the ranch, the injured woman insisted they rest and have breakfast before they set her leg.  A week later they made the trip again, but by this time spring was on the way, roads were passable, and they went by car all but the final three miles from Wildhorse to the ranch. He was not a horseman, but those trips were necessary, so he made them.

      [The young woman who appeared at the door was Helena Moore (later Schmidt) who lived her entire life on "Starveout Ranch" on Wildhorse. Her mother, Carmeta Moore, was the one with the broken leg.  Carmeta was born Mar 11, 1879 and died at Wildhorse in July 1947. Dr. Thurston filmed part of this trip to Wildhorse with his home movie camera. Video versions of his films are available from the Council Valley Museum.]

      Another horseback ride was miles up the Middle Fork of the Weiser over what is now a pretty good motor road, but then was a mere trail.  This particular trip was about dawn, and he came home talking of the beautiful sunrise he had ridden through.  Not all the trips were hardship; in fact this particular one had a touch of humor in it:  the patient he had gone to see was a remittance man from a good Eastern family--indeed his brother was well known in Washington.  But Charlie was different, lived alone, and though his isolated house had a bathtub, he used it to store coal.

Highways in the snow could be bad.  I had a few uneasy hours one morning at six:  "Doc isn't here yet."  I knew he had started in plenty of time, learned later that--possibly not really awake at that hour--he had started to take the "summer turn" before going up Mesa Hill instead of the regular road to Indian Valley, and had to be shovelled out.  He was alone that time, which was unusual, because there were half a dozen men in town who said--and sincerely meant--"Don't ever start out at night or on a risky trip alone, Doc; call me and I'll be ready in five minutes."  So usually when it seemed advisable he'd take Hugh Addington from next door, Alta Ingram, Dee Russell of the Forest Service, Alex Shaw--all men who were not only willing, but capable of handling any road situation.  Even after Bud Grimes, the right-hand man, was part of the staff, these loyal friends were called on now and then.  I remember phoning Vern Brewer, a Forest Ranger, telling him where and when the doctor had gone.  He said, "Well, we'll give him another hour."  In less than that he phoned from the Hornet Creek Station, "Doc just stopped on his way home, and everything's fine.

      Homestead is down in Hells Canyon.  In summer one goes down the Kleinschmidt Grade, but it was winter when Aliene Darland called.  We knew her well; she belonged in Cuprum but was spending the winter down on the river. The phone connection was poor, very poor; all the doctor could understand was who was calling and that the need was urgent.  He drove through Cambridge and Brownlee, down the river part of the way on the railroad track.  That was before the dam and the subsequent roads.  He was a bit disconcerted when he arrived to find that Aliene was not calling for herself; but for a neighbor who was having a baby--and he hadn't brought his O.B. bag!

      Another memorable case occurred [in 1935] when Mr. Fanning, who had a small sawmill at Crooked River, about twenty miles above Council toward Cuprum, got his head caught in a saw and was cut so that his brain was exposed.  He had to be brought by improvised ambulance to Council, Alta Ingram this time riding in the back seat by him and giving constant reports to the doctor-- who was noted as being the fastest driver in the area.  They had to delay in Council because there was a very sick man there who had to be checked, Bill Shaw, who in his late seventies had a severe case of spotted fever. Then they went on to Ontario and took Mr. Fanning into surgery.  In a matter of weeks he was back at Crooked River, not as good as new, but able to be about.

      [Adams County Leader, June 14, 1935--Frank Fanning injured at the W.S. Rucker saw mill on Crooked river.  He stood up under the circular saw and it entered his brain cavity.  He is about 65 years old.

      Adams County Leader, Jun 21, 1935--Dr. Thurston says Mr. Fanning will have a metal plate for part of his skull, but will be "normal again after a few weeks."]

The side roads were often impassable, so Dr. Thurston ordered an outfit from Wisconsin, a cat track with runners to let down, and had it mounted on a Model A sedan.  That rig became known all over the area as Doc's snowmobile, and it went all sorts of places, noisy but effective. 

      [This snowmobile is also shown on Dr. Thurston's home movies. Gene Perkins had another just about like it which is in the films.]

      One day the doctor with one friend started for Brownlee, but drifts the size of a barn turned them back.  The Forest Service worked all night, and next day he started out again with three faithful companions, and the snowmobile loaded--some firewood in case they were caught in a blizzard, two milk cans of extra gasoline, and enough food for any emergency.  This time they went through, and fortunately the patient was not so ill but that he had waited fairly comfortably.  Even a flat tire on the snowmobile was taken care of when the son of the family had one the same size, and mounted it.

All this time the "home fires" were kept burning.  Council had a fine man, Mr. Alcorn, as drug store owner and pharmacist, and an excellent assistant in Charlie Winkler. Their hours were sometimes erratic, for they would fill prescriptions in emergencies as well as during regular hours.  The telephone exchange, too, cooperated; usually they knew where to locate the doctor as well as the office or his home did, if he were out on call, and wasted no time.  This was true of Midvale and New Meadows, as well as Council.  Mrs. Ethel Doyle had the exchange in the early days, and Mr. and Mrs. Erik Lawrence, affectionately known as Poppy and Mommy, were long-time managers and friends.

      And what about pay?  Well, there was a lot of meat taken in, including a quarter of tough beef that we had to eat up ourselves; there were potatoes, apples, any sort of produce.  The local grocer one day pointed to a team of horses pulling a sled down the street, sayings "Those horses belong to Doc and me--the fellow owes us both.  But we're letting him use them--he feeds them that way."  Our first fall in Council Ben gave us the hind quarter of a fawn, the choicest of all venison, on the grounds that he'd kept the doctor from going hunting to deliver his baby boy.  As long as we lived there, each fall brought a choice piece of meat.  They had a large family, and I used to drive out and get vegetables to credit to their account.  One fall Ben came into the office with a wad of bills, and said, "What do I owe you, Doc?"  Doc assured him he ought to keep enough to see him through the winter--he had just sold his wheat crop.  He insisted--they reached an agreement:  Ben owed $150, so they settled for $100 cash.  Some people ignored their bills, but the ones like Ben--and the ones who brought trout because Doc hadn't time to fish, or fresh peaches from down on the river, or showed their appreciation in the many ways they did--they kept up our faith in humanity.  There was even the woman who heard that the doctor, ill at the time, wanted chicken livers, not to be purchased in the store then, and brought a jar; I always felt she had butchered especially that day, and was duly grateful.

After a few years the time came when Dr. Thurston told the town we needed a hospital.  We owned a bit of property, taken partly on a bill; like other places it had a minimum of plumbing, but the people of the area rallied round, signed notes, found money and supplies, and under the direction of John East, a fine local carpenter, the result was what was described in the Adams County Leader for July 28, 1939, as "a most compact and complete nursing home, with two single rooms and two 2-bed wards, an operating room, a delivery room, bath room, linen room, and a most complete kitchen.  Dr. Thurston will turn all his patients, who have formerly been going to the Weiser and Ontario hospitals, to the new enterprise, and states that he has had enough needing hospitalization to keep a small nursing home going.  He has contracted with Ella Camp, a Council girl and a registered nurse, to have complete management of the establishment.  Dr. Thurston furnished the operating room with surgical instruments, but asked the community to help furnish the home with other necessary equipment.  He plans to turn over the whole home to a non-profit corporation with a board selected from the community at large, so it will be a community enterprise."  The paper published a detailed list of equipment needed; much was donated from what people could spare, a dresser here, a bed there, a couple of sheets, cooking utensils, an electric range from a Weiser merchant, similar contributions from local merchants, other goods and cash donations from all around, from Weiser to Riggins.  Even bridge for a long time was 256 on the corner, for the hospital.  As need arose--as someone said, when they began to have to hang patients on hooks in the hall--additions were built, remodeling was done.  It was truly a "Topsy"--"it just growed." The board of trustees was made up of representatives of the civic groups of the territory it served,

changing every year or so, except the treasurer, Mae Ingram, who was permanent--and efficient.

As a sequel--newer ways came in, the hospital was outdated. Dr. Thurston completed plans for a remodeled surgery, but died, in 1949, before it was finished.  Dr. Edwards, who had worked with him, stayed on.  As the need for a newer facility became more and  more apparent, the same community spirit worked out plans for a county hospital built just behind the old building.

None would have been prouder on May 8, 1962, when this new "Community Hospital" was dedicated than the country doctor of depression days, who had seen a need and had done his best to fill it.

Biography of Mary Thurston:

      Mary Planert Thurston was born in Cairo, Illinois in 1898 and was educated in Chicago schools.  In 1929 she married Dr. Alvin S. Thurston. From 1931 until Dr. Thurston's death they lived in Council, Idaho.  They had two daughters, and during the years the girls were growing up Mrs. Thurston was active in school and church affairs.  Their home was a gathering place for community affairs.   Both of the girls were Girl Scouts, and their mother was an enthusiastic Scout Leader.

      During the war years Mrs. Thurston taught in the high schools at both Council and Eagle. Primarily she taught English and Latin classes, but she also did a great deal of library work in both schools. After Dr. Thurston's death, Mrs. Thurston moved to McCall to establish her home and began her work here as Librarian and Latin teacher in the McCall Donnelly school system.

      Mrs. Thurston was one of the members of the first board in McCall to plan and promote our hospital.  Her cheerful, untiring efforts were devoted to both organization and fund raising activities.   Since the successful completion of this project she has continued to work for. the benefit of the hospital and auxiliary.

      After she retired from active teaching, Mrs. Thurston was appointed to the McCall Library Board, and as it's chairman she has been working closely with the State Librarian to continue improvements. The education of youngsters through use of library material is still a primary concern with her.    She is now engaged in a program to obtain a new building and facilities for the Library·

Mrs. Thurston's two lovely daughters are:

      1.  Mrs. Donald E. (Janet F.) McMahan, age 34, Fruitvale, Idaho, a graduate of Stanford University in 1952 with a major in biological sciences, and a graduate of University of California School of Medical Technology in 1954,.  She was employed for two years before marriage as a medical technologist at U. C. Medical Center in San Francisco, California.   She is now married to a rancher and newspaper publisher, and is the mother of four children.

      2. Mrs. Earl T. (Sally M.) Clark, age 32, Atlanta, Georgia, is a graduate of University of Oregon, class of 1954 with a major in business. She was employed as secretary for the United States State Department prior to her marriage in 1955 to Security Officer for the U. S. State Department.   She is the mother of three (living) children, and is active in church and State Department affairs.

      [Mary Thurston died in a Boise nursing home on Dec. 31, 1981.]

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Tomlinson

George W. and Mary E. Tomlinson had five children--Sarah, Ema, Edna, Henry, and Harry.

They moved from Raton, New Mexico, to Protem Missouri and in 1900 to John Day, Oregon, and finally in 1902 to Council.,

Harry Tomlinson, born May 16, 1894, at Raton, New Mexico, married Evelyn Sayles at Billings, Montana. He died in October, 1972.

Edna Tomlinson, born in April 1889 at Raton, New Mexico, married Rollie McMahan. He died in 1966 and Edna in May, 1970, at Nampa.

Sarah Tomlinson, born June 20, 1884 at Ault, Colorado, married Ralph Yantis at Council November 9, 1908. They homesteaded what is called Fort Hall hill, where they lived the rest of their lives. They had three sons, Ray, Frank, and Fred.

Mr. Yantis died suddenly on December 6, 1928. He took a load of turkeys to the lower valley the day before. Returning in the Ford, without curtains, he was seriously chilled. He was just recovering from influenza and apparently was still in a weakened condition.

1. Obituary of Mrs. Edna McMahan, Adams County Leader, June 4, 1970

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Wafler

Robert Wafler, born Fruitigen, Switzerland, September 22, 1883, died at his home in Council December 25, 1951.1 He was the youngest of four children, orphaned at an early age and cared for by an aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Anton Wafler. They were the parents of the late Mrs. Adolph Grossen. She and "Bobby" were cousins. Their mothers were sisters and their fathers were brothers.2

Bobby came to the United States in 1902, received his citizenship papers in 1912, and cherished them above all other possessions.

He worked for the P.I.N. railroad for a number of years.

For over forty years he was the custodian of the Congregational Church. He became a member of that church in Switzerland when he was fifteen and transferred his membership to Council in 1908. He served as a Congregational Sunday School teacher and secretary. He cared for Sunday School supplies, rang the bell, and was janitor. He was also town librarian.4

Bobby retired from church work two years before his death.

1.    Obituary of Robert Wafler, Adams county Leader January 4, 1952

2.    Edith Selby, Council, Idaho oral interview, 1973.

3.    Obituary of Robert Wafler.

4.    Ibid.

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Watt

R. C. Watt was an eccentric who lived in Council for many years. No one seemed to know much about him.

He was born in England and was a graduate of Oxford University.1 He was a justice of peace for a time in the 1920s.2 His home was on Galena Street near the present John Gould home. His house burned in 1935.

In Council he was known simply as "Old Watt," odd but a good man. He wore a beard and long hair. When the bows of his glasses broke he used string and tied his glasses to his hair.

I Records of his death and burial were not found.

1. John Gould, Council, Idaho oral interview

      2. Records of First Bank of Council, Idaho State Historical Society,

      Boise, Idaho

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Weed

Carl Weed was a young man when he came from Oregon to Council with Sam and Harry Criss. He worked for a time as a clerk in the Criss brothers' store. When they sold and moved away he worked in another store for a short time.

He soon opened his own store, which he operated until 1941 when he sold the store and retired to their farm southeast of town. This was the first home for him and his bride of many years before and is where their children Carlos, David, and Mildred were born and raised.

Mr. and Mrs. Weed moved to Ojai, California, about 1950.

Carlos took over the farm. He married Ella Camp. They have five children.

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White

Robert P. White was born in South Carolina August 14 1827, son of Henry F. and Elizabeth Wiley White.1 Both parents were born in South Carolina. His mother died there but his father moved to Arkansas, where he died before the Civil War.

The name of Robert's first wife is not known. They had one son, William H. White, born 1856 in South Carolina.

Robert P. White married Elenor B. Parnell in Arkansas in 1868. (She was born April 15, 1837.) They had two sons, Robert and Thomas J., and two daughters, Harriet E. and Della.

In 1873 a wagon train left Pope County, Arkansas, heading for Oregon. George Moser's family and that of Robert White were among the group. Somewhere in Oklahoma the wagon train made camp where the water was impure. Some of the party became ill and several children died, including two Moser children (one was a five-year-old girl) and four-year-old Harriet White. It was late in the season and the disheartened group felt it best to return to Arkansas. Another group started in 1876. The Mosers and Whites were again in the group. Along the way some of the people turned back, leaving only George Moser, Robert White, and their families to proceed to Idaho.2

From the  Idaho Statesman (Boise) of September 2, 1876, comes the account of their trip west:

Mr. Robert P. White, of Dover, Pope County, Arkansas, with his wife and two children, arrived here Sunday evening. Mr. George Moser and family, wife and four children, came with him. They came with ox teams and were five months and eight days on the road; lost one yoke of oxen but otherwise had very good luck, and their cattle are in fair condition. They intend to stop here and would like to get work in town, and another spring get farms to work. They appear to be good rustlers and we trust they will find employment and realize their full expectations in coming to this favored country.

The Mosers went on to-Council Valley in late October but the Whites remained in Boise until the next spring, when they became Council's second family.3

The Whites were stalked by heartbreak. A daughter died during their first attempt to come west. Robert Jr., born that same year, fought in the Spanish American War and died in 1904 in Council, leaving a widow, Ova "Josie" (Biggerstaff) White, a son, Ray, and a daughter, Ruth. Thomas J. White and a companion were shot as suspected horse thieves and their bodies were never recovered from the Snake River.5 Della White was only nineteen years old when she was killed in a sleighing accident in Council. Only William H. ("Bud") White, son of Robert and his first wife, lived out a full life span. He bought a farm on Hornet Creek, but by 1914 they were living in Montana.

Bob White was the valley's first school teacher, in the old stockade in 1880, holding the job for a couple of terms.

He was also Council Valley's first postmaster, keeping the mail in a box under his bed. This was in 1878.6

Bob White was not overly ambitious. He homesteaded one hundred sixty acres but farming wasn't successful for him. He was a story spinner and an easy-going dreamer.

He was a justice of peace for several years.8,

Robert and Elenor moved to Weiser for a time. Bob did some work with his team of mules, such as plowing gardens and hauling wood from the nearby hills. They finally moved back to Council.

After Bob got too old to work he and Elenor, affectionately known to all as "Mammy White," were put on the county. They lived in a small house near the present high school. Valley residents who had known and loved them from earliest days contributed farm produce and shared special foods with them, making the county's burden of support quite small.

Bob died March 11, 1915. "Mammy" continued to be loved and cared for by friends until her death July 26, 1923.

Robert, Elenor, Robert Jr., and Della are buried in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery.

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Wilkie

Fredrick C. Wilkie was born in New York City in 1841.

He moved to California but returned to New York to enlist in the Union Army during the Civil War. He enlisted as a First Lieutenant in Company G, Fifth New York Artillery Volunteers, January 16, 1862. Two months later he was promoted to captain and exactly three years later he became a major. He was injured in Virginia in 1863. His discharge was July 19, 1865.

      Fredrick Wilkie married Sarah E. ____________, who died March 31, 1884.

Their children were Fred, Arthur, Rich, Ralph, and Craig.1

In 1882 the Wilkies moved to Council Valley. They settled the area later known as Dale. Mr. Wilkie became postmaster there sometime before 1905.,

Art and Rich Wilkie were founders of Fruitvale, a real estate venture. They hauled lumber from their mill to the railroad and so decided to build a town where they loaded the lumber on the train. They incorporated with some others and sold shares in the townsite.

Major Wilkie entered the Boise Veterans' Home in 1905 and died there December 18, 1907.3 He and his wife were reportedly buried first on their farm and later moved to Hornet Creek Cemetery.

1.    Service record of Fredrick C. Wilkie, General Services Administration, Washington D.C.

2.    Township records in files of First Bank of Council, Idaho State Historical Society, Boise, Idaho

3.    Records of Veterans Hospital, Boise, Idaho.

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Wilson

William "Billy" Wilson, born December 16, 1881 at Green, Iowa, son of Hiram and Mary Wilson, died in April 1974 at age ninety-two. He was raised at Cripple Creek, Colorado, and worked as a miner.1

He married Verda V. Bates November 25, 1908, at Colorado Springs, Colorado. They had five children. She died in 1963.

During the early 1900s he drove ore teams and mined in Nevada and came to Idaho in 1914.

He served two terms as state senator from Adams County.1

Birdie Jennie Wilson was born at Cripple Creek, Colorado, April 18, 1894. She was the first girl baby born in that community.

She attended Iowa State College at Cedar Falls, Iowa, and taught in Iowa before coming to Council with her parents and brother "Billy." The family made their home on Hornet Creek. She taught in Upper Dale, Pleasant Ridge, and Mesa before her marriage to Clarence Schroff September 10, 1918.

They had five children--Walter, Eileen, Dell, Frank, and Claire.

1.    Obituary of William "Bill" Wilson, Idaho Statesman, April 18, 1974

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Winkler

Within a few months the family had settled on what later became George Gould's ranch north of Council. They cleared it of brush and soon had crops growing in the fertile soil.7

The health of the valley residents was cared for by "Aunt Lettie," as she was known to all. She had brought herbs with her from the south, planting them when she arrived in Council Valley to be sure she would have an ample supply.8 She was a midwife. From Council she traveled to Bear Meadows and Indian Valley. She often stayed ten or more days in a home caring for the sick. Her husband would not allow her to travel alone and insisted she have an escort. This usually fell to one of the boys.. They chopped wood, carried water, and did anything with which she needed help. Needless to say, there were no eager volunteers for the job.9

For many years the George A. Winkler ranch was stage headquarters for the traveling public going to Warren. The food served was plentiful and well prepared.

George M. Winkler, son of George A. and Letitia, was born September 25, 1856, in Virginia and died March 9, 1920. Elizabeth Harp Winkler was born in Madison County, Arkansas, January 9, 1862, and died September 20, 1954. They are buried in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery.