Biographies
"D"
JOHN D. DALY
A resident of the west during all of his life, having been born in the
state of Oregon, John D. Daly has been prominently connected with the
commercial, industrial and financial interests of this part of the
country for a long period, and holds a position of prestige among the
men whose activities are serving to add to the importance of Boise as a
business, educational and social center. As president and director of
several substantial banking houses he keeps a finger on the financial
pulse of the public and the character of the enterprises with which his
name has been linked furnishes ample evidence of his high position in
the business world of the Northwest. John D. Daly was born in Canyon
City, Oregon, May 13, 1866, and is a son of Eugene and Mary A.
(Donohoe) Daly.
Eugene Daly was born in Ireland, and first came to the United States in
1853, settling in Boston, Massachusetts. About the year 1862 he made
his way to California, via the Isthmus of Panama, and remained in that
state until 1864, when he removed to Canyon City, Oregon, there
following mining and being engaged in the mercantile business from 1866
to 1868. Like all the miners and prospectors of his day. and section,
Mr. Daly both made and lost money in his various ventures, but when he
passed away, at fifty-six years of age, in Prairie City, Oregon, he was
fairly well to do. In i860 he returned to Ireland and was there married
to Mary A. Donohoe, and she died in 1897, in Prairie City, Oregon, at
the age of fifty-three years. Of their nine children, John D. was the
fourth in order of birth.
After attending the public schools Of Prairie City, Oregon, and Santa
Clara College, Santa Clara, California, John D. Daly went to Drewsey,
Harney county, Oregon, where at the age of twenty-four years he formed
a partnership with Abner Robbins and engaged in the general mercantile
business, under the firm style of Daly & Robbins. He continued to
be associated with Mr. Robbins for twelve years, after which he
continued the business alone. Starting in a small way, this was
developed into the leading business of its kind in the city, its trade
continuing to increase rapidly with the passage of the years. Mr. Daly
was elected the first president of the First National Bank of Ontario,
and during the following year, 1902, he established and became
president of the First National Bank of Burns, Oregon, a position which
he still holds.
In 1903 he disposed of his interests in the bank at Ontario, and in
1904 came to Boise to make his permanent residence, and is now a
director of the Pacific National Bank of Boise, and vice-president of
the Allen Wright Furniture Company. With unbounded faith in the future
of Idaho, and believing it to be the land of opportunity for the poor
man, Mr. Daly has encouraged settlement here, has contributed his
capital to fostering the growth of various industries, and in many ways
has assisted in developing the industrial and commercial greatness of
the state. He is a member of Masonic Blue Lodge Oriental No. 60. and
has attained to the Shriner degree.
On May 5, 1894, Mr. Daly was married to Miss Daisy Robertson^ who was
also born in Oregon, daughter of Joseph Robertson, and they have two
daughters: Mary and Eunice. The family residence is at No. 1015 Hays
street.
[HISTORY OF IDAHO VOLUME
II; BY HIRAM T. FRENCH, M. S.; Publ. 1914; Transcribed and submitted to
Genealogy Trails by Andrea Stawski Pack.]
WILLIAM DAVIDSON
William Davidson, a leading attorney of Boise, Idaho, has been engaged
in general practice here since 1900 or practically since he was
admitted to the bar. He has gained popularity and prominence as a man
and as a lawyer, and occupies a well established position in the
professional and social life of this city.
Born in Scott County, Virginia, on April 29, 1878. Mr. Davidson is the
son of M. Z. and Lucy J. (Collings) Davidson. The father was born in
Virginia, likewise the mother, and they are now residents of Oregon. He
left his native state in 1881 and located in Missouri, Cass County
being his home for years until he removed to Idaho in 1900 and later to
Oregon. He is fifty-four years old and is retired from active business.
They have six children, William B.; Ethel F. who married Perry F.
Lewis; Nancy V., who married Walter Teiter; R. Hirschel T.; A. Harold,
and Carl.
After finishing with the schools in his home town. Mr. Davidson entered
Scarrett College in Neosho, Missouri, going from there to
Harrisonville, Missouri, where he entered the law office of A. A.
Whittsett, now circuit judge of Cass and Johnson counties, Missouri. He
read law under the able preceptorship of Judge Whittsett until he was
admitted to the bar of Missouri on January 3, 1900 and in April
following the young attorney went to Idaho, locating in Boise. He
engaged immediately in the practice of his profession, and from then
until now his rise has been rapid and sure. He is recognized as one of
the ablest men in his profession in this district, and is now
associated with W. H. Davison under the firm name of Davidson &
Davison.
On December 17. 1902, Mr. Davidson was united in marriage with Miss
Hattie B. Quarles of Boise, the daughter of James M. Quarles. They were
the parents of one child, Marion Davidson, born December 24, 1903, who
died in November, 1906.
Mr. Davidson is popular in Masonic circles, holding membership in the
blue lodge, the Scottish Rite and the Shrine, as well as the Eastern
Star. He has been master of the blue lodge, potentate of the Shrine,
past commander of Boise Council Kadosh No. 3, and past patron of the
Eastern Star. He is a member of the American Bar Association and in his
political affiliations he is a Democrat.
The success which has been the portion of Mr. Davidson since he has
been engaged in his profession is of no meager order, and is due in a
large measure to the many worthy traits of character and mind which are
his. He stands high in the esteem of his fellow men and his progress is
quite in keeping with his deserts as a man and a citizen.
[HISTORY OF IDAHO VOLUME
II; BY HIRAM T. FRENCH, M. S.; Publ. 1914; Transcribed and submitted to
Genealogy Trails by Andrea Stawski Pack.]
CAPTAIN E. G. DAVIS
 The
bar of Boise City, Idaho, is an acknowledged body of brilliant men,
some of whom have devoted their entire lives to the law and others,
who, with a wealth of enlightening experience, have come to it from
other fields of successful and honorable endeavor. Edwin Griffith
Davis, one of its foremost members, was born February 9, 1873, at
Samaria, Oneida county, Idaho, and is a son of Thomas J. and Elizabeth
Davis. The parents emigrated from Wales to the United States and
settled first in Pennsylvania, removing from there to Idaho, in 1868,
settling in Oneida county.
In the public schools of Oneida county, Edwin G. Davis secured the
educational training that enabled him to secure recognition and
position as a teacher, and in 1894-95 he was principal of the schools
of North Ogden, Utah, and in 1895-96 of the schools of Malad, Idaho. He
entered West Point, as a cadet from Idaho, under appointment of Hon.
Edgar Wilson, June 15, 1896, and was graduated June 15, 1000. His
military record is one that reflects unusual credit. He was second
lieutenant of the Fifth United States Infantry from June 15, 1900; was
transferred to the artillery corps May 7, 1901; was promoted to be
first lieutenant, July 1, 1901; was promoted to be captain, January 25,
1907, and was retired on account of physical disability incurred in the
line of duty, February 28, 1910. From September, 1900, to December,
1901, he was in service in the Philippine Islands. He was recalled to
West Point Academy and from 1903 until 1907 he was instructor there in
law and history.
After his necessary retirement from military life, Mr. Davis entered
actively upon the practice of law at Malad, Idaho, from April, 1910,
until November, 1910, when he sought a wider field and came to Boise
City in 1911. In his political affiliations he has been a Republican
ever since reaching his majority and when he left military for civil
life the people of Oneida county showed their confidence and
appreciation by electing him a representative to the state legislature,
and from 1911 to 1912 he served in the eleventh session and in the
special session of that legislature was majority floor leader. He
possesses many qualifications that peculiarly equip him for public life
and his future in his native state may be one of still greater
prominence. He is one of the ablest factors in the Republican party in
Ada county, and since September, 1911, has been secretary of the
Republican state central committee. Since January 6, 1913 he has been
secretary to Governor Haines.
On July 23, 1900. Captain Davis was married at Salt Lake City, Utah, to
Miss Elsie Poll, who is a daughter of Frederick and Rose Poll,
residents of Salt Lake. Genial, pleasant, cultured and courteous,
Captain Davis wins many friends through his personality and is a valued
member of Boise Lodge No. 310, B. P. O. Elks. He has won laurels also
in other fields, his text book on constitutional law being an authority.
Source: HISTORY OF IDAHO VOLUME II; BY HIRAM T. FRENCH, M. S.; Publ. 1914
Transcribed and submitted to Genealogy Trails by Andrea Stawski Pack
PETER M. DAVIS
A business man of long standing and high reputation in Boise, where he
is a representative of the leading insurance companies. Peter M. Davis
has been identified with a number of enterprises that have brought him
prominently before the public, and holds a high place in the esteem of
business associates and the public at large. Mr. Davis is a native of
New York City, and was born October 22, 1857. His father, also named
Peter M. Davis, served in the War of the Rebellion and met his death in
the battle of Antietam. His wife was Charlotte McEnnery, who was born
in 1827, and her death occurred at Lewiston, Idaho, on December 1.
1901, when she was seventy-four years of age. After the death of her
husband, she supported herself and children by teaching music, and in
1866, came to Idaho, by way of the Isthmus of Panama and overland by
stage, settling in Lewiston, where she spent the remainder of her life.
A brave, courageous Christian woman, she endeavored to rear her son to
habits of industry and integrity, and had a warm place in the
affections of all who knew her.
Peter M. Davis attended the common schools of Lewiston, Idaho,
following which he took a course at Walla Walla, Washington. After
completing his education, he was apprenticed to the trade of printer,
following this, however, for but a short time, when he became a clerk,
for seventeen years working for Joseph Alexander. He also spent two
years in mining at Boise, and for a time was engaged in a general
merchandise business, but eventually entered the insurance business,
and now has one of the largest enterprises of its kind in this part of
the state. He is state agent for the Continental Casualty Company and
the London Guarantee and Accident Company, and also represents a number
of old line fire insurance companies. Since his arrival in Boise, in
1901 he has made a wide acquaintance, and his popularity speaks for
itself. During the last "Wet'' and "Dry" campaign of the Tax Payers'
Association, Mr. Davis was secretary and manager of the victorious
"Wets," the election occurring in June, 1912. His offices are situated
at No. 403 Overland building.
A Democrat in his political views, he has always been active in civic
affairs, and has represented his locality in various positions, being
county treasurer in 1882-3 and 1884-5 of Nez Perce county, and was
Idaho's first insurance commissioner in 1901-2 to which lie was
appointed by Gov. F. W. Hunt. He was formerly a member of the Odd
Fellows and the Knights of Pythias, and passed through the latter
lodge's chairs to the Grand Lodge of the state. His religious
connection is with the Catholic church.
During the negotiations preceding the government treaty with the Nez
Perces Indians for their lands, the validity of which made a majority
of the names necessary, it was found that all the long-haired or wild
Indians were distinctly opposed to the treaty, while those who had
received religions instructions, though in favor of the treaty, were
greatly in the minority. At this time the government had in custody an
Indian named James Reuben, who had mingled with the whites and was a
fluent conversationalist and somewhat of an orator, but a wayward
Indian. However, he was very influential among the tribe, and Mr.
Davis, in conjunction with a committee of prominent citizens of
Lewiston, suggested the advisability of dismissing the charge of
selling; whisky against this Indian and thus securing his influence
among the members of the tribe to bring about the treaty. His
suggestion was accepted, and he and associates were appointed to take
this Indian in hand, succeeding, after many hours of persuasion and
argument, in getting the red man's co-operation. Runners were sent out,
and after several weeks a sufficient number of signatures were secured
to transfer the vast Nez Perces lands to the United States.
On July 4, 1901, Mr. Davis was married to Margaret O'Keeffe, daughter
of John O'Keeffe, a native of Ireland, and two children have been born
to "this union: Charlotte Ann, who married Edgar J. Anderson, of
Lewiston; and Marguerite, who resides at home.
[HISTORY OF IDAHO VOLUME
II; BY HIRAM T. FRENCH, M. S.; Publ. 1914; Transcribed and submitted to
Genealogy Trails by Andrea Stawski Pack.]
DIDRICH J. A. DIRKS
Didrich J. A. Dirks, secretary of the Boise Association of Credit Men,
since 1907 a citizen of this place, is with his family a valuable
acquisition to the community. Mr. Dirks is of German nativity, but has
claimed the United States as his home since his early childhood. His
father, John H. Dirks, was born in Germany and became a professor in
the German schools. In 1877 he left his location in Hanover and came to
America with his family. He settled first in Missouri, prepared himself
for the ministry of the Lutheran church and began his pastoral labors
in a district of Missouri. After a few years he removed to Nemaha
County, Nebraska, where he organized a church and brought about the
construction of an edifice for purposes of worship.
He is still the pastor of this congregation and the building he made
possible is after thirty-six years still a landmark in Nemaha County.
Mrs. John H. Dirks, of German birth, was born in 1841, died in 1911,
after a saintly life of devotion to her family. She and the Reverend
Dirks were the parents of live children, of whom Didrich J. A. Dirks is
the eldest. In Hanover, Germany, he was born eleven years before the
immigration of the family to this country, the date of his birth being
July 16, 1866.
The German schools having given Didrich Dirks his elementary schooling,
the years immediately following his removal to Missouri were marked by
conditions which made it desirable that he receive his chief
instruction from his scholarly father. After completing his general
education, he entered upon agricultural pursuits, which he followed for
four years. At the end of that time he accompanied his parents to
Nebraska and there began mercantile activities, in which he was very
successful and which he found satisfactorily profitable. In this work
he continued for thirteen years in Nemaha County, where his character
and reputation were so clearly recognized as superior that he was
induced to undertake political activities. In 1903 he was elected to
the office of county treasurer. For four years he continued in this
official position, discharging the duties incumbent upon him with a
high degree of efficiency and of satisfaction to all concerned.
In 1907 Mr. Dirks was prevailed upon to accept the position of
secretary of the Boise Credit Men's Association and in the spring of
that year he came to this city. Since that time he has filled the
responsibilities of that position. He has built up the association from
a group of a few members to its present large enrollment. He occupies a
handsome suite of offices on the third floor of the Idaho building and
enjoys a reputation for exceptionable ability and trustworthiness.
The family of Mr. Dirks consists of his wife, a son and a daughter.
Mrs. Dirks was formerly Miss Anna Evers, a daughter of Thomas and
Margarete Evers, well-known fanners of Nemaha county, Nebraska. The
Evers-Dirks marriage took place in 1886 and during the subsequent years
a son, John T. Dirks, and a daughter, Margarete, have been born and
reared. John Dirks is a graduate at the University of Nebraska; his
sister, Miss Margarete, is a graduate of Christian College, Columbia,
Missouri, and now resides in Boise with her parents. The members of the
Dirks family are active in the work of the Lutheran church and in
social life in Boise. Mr. Dirks is a talented musician and his genial
manner has won him many friends. He is affiliated with the Republican
Party, and is a member of the organizations of the Knights of Pythias
and of the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
[HISTORY OF IDAHO VOLUME
II; BY HIRAM T. FRENCH, M. S.; Publ. 1914; Transcribed and submitted to
Genealogy Trails by Andrea Stawski Pack.]
 DANIEL A. DUNNING
In personal attainments and practical achievements in the recent legal
history of Idaho, Daniel A. Dunning easily ranks among the foremost
lawyers of the state. He is one of the younger representatives of the
bar, but during his brief period of practice has handled large and
important cases with a skill that has been regarded as masterly by many
of his older contemporaries in the profession.
Mr. Dunning came to Boise in June, 1908, and at once opened an office
for practice, and in June, 1909, formed an association with E. E.
Garrett as the firm of Garrett & Dunning. Their specialty was land
and irrigation law, and in the handling of this class of business they
were one of the strongest firms in the state. Mr. Dunning is now
carrying on the same line of business himself alone. In 1911 he was
associate counsel with the attorney general of the state in one of the
most important cases in the history of Idaho as a commonwealth. This
was the celebrated case involving the right of the state to relinquish
unsurveyed lands and in lieu thereof select other portions of the state
domain. Largely through Mr. Dunning's arrangement of the arguments and
the presentation, this case was carried to a successful issue for the
state, the titles and authority in question were set at rest for all
time to come, and the decision will have a value beyond estimation for
all future generations of Idaho's citizens. The aggregate amount as
estimated at the present time involved in this case was about fifty
millions of dollars.
Mr. Dunning has had a varied and interesting career. He was born in
Atchison county, Kansas, September 25, 1874, the second of three
children in the family of Thomas J. and Katherine (Quinn) Dunning, who
are now residents at Meadows, Idaho. The father, who has always
followed farming, was born in Indiana and the mother in western
Missouri, and they moved to Idaho in 1909.
The family having removed to Colorado in 1881, Mr. Dunning was educated
in the public schools of Grand Junction, where he graduated from the
high school with the class of 1891. He began his practical career in
the service of the Rio Grande Western Railroad, learning telegraphy,
which was his regular occupation for about ten years. During _ the
Spanish war he resigned his position and enlisted in Battery B of the
Utah Volunteer Artillery. This battery was assigned to the Philippine
service, and for fifteen months he was actively engaged in fighting
insurrection in the islands. He received special mention as one of two
men out of the entire battalion having official credit for being in
thirty-eight engagements. In August, 1899, Mr. Dunning was honorably
discharged at San Francisco, re-entered the railway service at Provo,
Utah, and continued in that way until the first of July, 1000.
At that time he removed to Washington, D. C, as a government employee
in the census bureau, with which service he was connected for _ eight
years. This period spent in the nation's capital city was ideal for the
preparation for a larger career, and he utilized with incessant energy
the numerous privileges and advantages that surrounded him. He entered
the law department of the George Washington University, where he
pursued his studies in the evening classes and to such good purpose
that he was graduated with the degree LL. B. in 1907. In the following
year he resigned from the government service, and has since been
winning distinction at the bar of Idaho. He is a member of the county
and state bar associations. Politically, a Republican, he is active
only as a voter in national politics, but takes much interest in the
problems of good government in local affairs.
Mr. Dunning was married September 26, 1903. during his residence in
Washington, to Miss Alice H. Totten, who was born in the District of
Columbia, a daughter of Arthur I. and Sarah (Hall) Totten. Three
children have been born to their union, namely: John A., born in
Washington, May 28, 1906; and Sarah Totten and Mary Joseph, twins, born
in Boise March 28, 1910. Mr. Dunning's residence is on the Bench, where
he has a forty-acre tract of land, and where he gives considerable or
his leisure time to the practice of agriculture. His offices are a
suite in the Idaho building.
Aside from the care of the little suburban homestead, Mr. Dunning finds
his chief recreation among his books at his fine home library. Good
literature has always had a charm for him, and offers him much
diversion from the severer lines of the law. He is also a hunter and
fisherman. During his early life he was dependent entirely on the
income of his own labors, and it was through his own resources that he
prepared for his profession. He has gained a fine position as a lawyer,
and is one of the ablest men of Idaho.
[HISTORY OF IDAHO VOLUME
II; BY HIRAM T. FRENCH, M. S.; Publ. 1914; Transcribed and submitted to
Genealogy Trails by Andrea Stawski Pack.]
C. L. DUTTON, M. D.
The physician occupies one of the most responsible, as well as
confidential, relations in our social existence. To him are entrusted
our innermost secrets, as well as the lives and welfare of our dearest
friends. To worthily and acceptably fill such a position is one of the
most difficult tasks ever imposed on man, and such a task we find is
assumed by C. L. Dutton, M, D., of Meridian, whose high standing in his
adopted community has been deservedly earned during ten years of
faithful and conscientious practice. Dr. Dutton was born at Elorado,
Kansas, September 8, 1874, and is a son of Sherrod W. and Susie A.
(Lawrence) Dutton. On the paternal side he is descended from natives of
Germany, who emigrated to the southern states at an early day, and his
maternal grandfather was a native of Vermont.
Sherrod W. Dutton was born in Kentucky, where he was given excellent
educational advantages, and in young manhood took up the profession of
physician and surgeon. The outbreak of the Civil war caused him to cast
his fortunes with the Confederacy, and for three years he served in the
southern army with the rank of major. On the close of hostilities, in
1865, Dr. Dutton removed to Kansas, choosing as his field of operation
the thriving little city of Eldorado, where, at the age of sixty-eight
years, he still continues in active practice, being one of the most
highly respected professional men of his locality. His wife, a native
of the state of Wisconsin, also survives, being fifty-eight years old.
They had a family of five children, of whom one is deceased, and Dr. C.
L. was the first in order of birth.
The preliminary educational training of C. L. Dutton was secured in
Kansas, following which lie entered the South Denver high school and
was there graduated. He has inherited not only the sterling traits of
his German and Irish ancestors, but also his father's inclination for
the medical profession, and after some preparation he entered the
University of Colorado, from which he was graduated in 1901, with the
degree of Doctor of Medicine. At once he entered upon the practice of
his profession at McCracken, Kansas, but after spending two years there
decided there was a wider field for his abilities to be found further
west, and accordingly came to Meridian. Dr. Dutton has had no reason to
regret his choice, for he has built up a lucrative practice and secured
a respectable clientele, and by his sterling integrity and gentlemanly
bearing has drawn about him many warm friends. Among his professional
brethren he is recognized as a man of superior abilities, and in 1910
he was elected president of the Southern Idaho Medical Society. He is a
deep and earnest student and takes a great interest in the work of this
organization, as well as in the Idaho State Medical Society and the
American Medical Association. He is a popular member of Meridian Blue
Lodge No. 47, of the Masonic fraternity, and of the local lodge of the
Woodmen of the World. In political matters Dr. Dutton is a stanch
Democrat, but has found that the duties of his profession occupy his
time and satisfy his ambitions, and so has not entered the public arena
as an aspirant for political preferment.
On June 8, 1904, Dr. Dutton was united in marriage with Miss Alice A.
Ackerman, of Grand Junction, Colorado, a graduate of the State
University, of Colorado, and daughter of J. Harvey and Ella Bell
(Brown) Ackerman, the former a deceased citizen of Grand Junction,
Colorado, while the latter still survives and makes her home there. Dr.
and Mrs. Dutton have had one son: Robert Roosevelt, who was born in
Meridian, May 5, 1907. Dr. Dutton has always taken an active interest
in the affairs of his city and county, and at all times has been found
ready to contribute, of both his time and means, toward the formation
of worthy enterprises tending to the advancement of the welfare of the
state. He is a man of judicial mind, instructive sagacity, indomitable
perseverance and great self-command, and whether acting in his
professional capacity or as a public-spirited citizen, he is eminently
worthy of the high regard and esteem in which he is universally held.
[HISTORY OF IDAHO VOLUME
II; BY HIRAM T. FRENCH, M. S.; Publ. 1914; Transcribed and submitted to
Genealogy Trails by Andrea Stawski Pack.]
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