Biographies
"W"
J. L. WAGGONER
One of the leading enterprises of Meridian, Idaho, a business that has
been developed from a humble beginning into an industry that adds
materially to the commercial interests of the city, is the Meridian
Hardware and Implement Company. The rapid growth of this concern may be
largely accredited to the sterling abilities of its president, J. L.
Waggoner, who, like other successful business men of Idaho, is an
example of the agriculturist who has turned his attention to commercial
lines. Mr. Waggoner still retains an interest in farming operations,
having been the owner of valuable property in the southwestern part of
the state since his advent here in 1900, although his home is in
Meridian, in which city he has identified himself with enterprises of a
business and educational nature.
J. L. Waggoner was born June 25, 1870. in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and
is a son of Alfred and Amanda (Weaver) Waggoner, natives of the
Keystone state. They migrated to Nebraska in 1883, where Alfred
Waggoner took up farming, and there he continued to operate
successfully until his death, in 1004, when he was sixty-two years of
age. His wife passed away in 1902, when fifty-eight years old. J. L.
Waggoner was the oldest of his parents' six children, and his education
was commenced in the public schools of his native place and completed
in Nebraska, whence he was brought as a lad of thirteen years.
After leaving school, he started to work on his father's Nebraska farm,
but in 1900 came to Idaho and settled on land in the southwestern part
of the state, embarking in agricultural operations on his own account.
Subsequently he purchased an interest in the Meridian Hardware and
Implement Company, and when this firm was incorporated, Mr. Waggoner
became its president, Mr. Groves its secretary and treasurer, and Mr.
James Jackson its vice-president. A large, modern stock was installed,
and modern methods soon brought the concern into public favor and
caused a decided increase in its business. This has had a steady and
pleasing growth to the present time, and now the business which began
in such a humble manner is rated among the most substantial firms of
the city and has a large trade throughout this part of the state.
Mr. Waggoner's broad foresight and unerring judgment are recognized by
his business associates, and his reputation in financial and commercial
circles of Ada county is high. He is a director of the Meridian
Telephone Company, and his interest in educational matters has been
shown by his long and valued service as a member of the school board.
In political matters he is a Republican, and his fraternal connection
is with the Modern Woodmen of America. Out-door sports have always
found him an ardent devotee, and during his vacation periods he spends
his time in the excellent hunting and fishing to be found in this part
of the state.
In February, 1891, Mr. Waggoner was married in Nebraska, to Miss Emma
Diller, and two children have been born to this union: Clinton, born in
Nebraska in 1893, who is now in business with his father; and Ina, born
in 1899, 'n Nebraska. Mrs. Waggoner is a member of the Presbyterian
church, .among the congregation of which she has numerous warm friends.
[HISTORY OF IDAHO VOLUME
II; BY HIRAM T. FRENCH, M. S.; Publ. 1914; Transcribed and submitted to
Genealogy Trails by Andrea Stawski Pack.]
JAMES HEARKNETT WALLIS
The distinction of being the second oldest newspaper man in Idaho
belongs to the prominent Rexburg lawyer, who has been further
distinguished by many and varied public offices. English by birth, he
has since his young manhood lived the virile, purposive, effective life
of an American of the most widely recognized type. He was born in
England on April 13, 1861, his parents being James Wallis and Jane
Sarah Booth. In the common schools of London he received his elementary
education as a boy. But his period of schooling ended when he was nine
years of age and from then until he was a mature man his only
instruction was of that informal sort which a clever, open-minded youth
or man gathers from his contact with the world. When he was a boy of
fourteen James Hearknett Wallis was apprenticed, according to the
English system of thus combining learning with serving, to the
newspaper business at Chester, England. He came to the United States in
May, 1881, and since that time his career has been one of steady
progress.
Mr. Wallis was only twenty years of age when he published a newspaper
at the county seat of Bear Lake County, Idaho. He later owned the
Montpelier Post, the Soda Springs Republican, the Sugar City Times, the
Snake River Current and the Fremont Journal, the two last being
eventually consolidated under the name of the Current Journal; he was
also later associated, as partial owner and as editor and manager, with
the publication of the Rexburg Standard.
Mr. Wallis was not satisfied with the journalistic vocation. His
capacity for public service was such that from 1892 to 1896 he was
honored with the rank of lieutenant-colonel on the staff of Gov.
William J. McConnel. In the last mentioned year the talented journalist
entered upon a course of legal study, winning his degree of Bachelor of
Laws from the University of Nebraska in that year. Ten years later he
was the recipient of a similar degree from Grant University of Law, at
Chattanooga, Tennessee.
His clear and intimate knowledge of life in all the phases with which
newspaper life familiarizes one has made Mr. Wallis a peculiarly
effective lawyer and his legal practice has been of a very individual
character, his activity in that regard having covered the years 1889 to
1909. He has, moreover, been called upon to serve in the important
capacities of city attorney, county attorney, United States
commissioner; and he has also held for three terms the position of
chief clerk in the Idaho legislature, besides one as judicial committee
clerk for the state senate. In 1909 he was appointed to the office of
state dairy, food and sanitary commissioner and is still the efficient
incumbent of the same position. Mr. Wallis has been for twenty years a
loyal member of the Republican party. He is identified with the church
of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
The wife of Commissioner Wallis was before her marriage Miss Elizabeth
Todd, a daughter of Robert Todd and Elizabeth Cutts. Mrs. Wallis is
also a native of London, England, the date of her birth being November
3, 1864. Her union to Mr. Wallis was solemnized on June 9, 1881, at
Salt Lake City, Utah. They are the parents of the following sons and
daughters: Edith Elizabeth, now Mrs. Lester T. Wright; May Lillian, now
Mrs. Dan R. Smith; Violet Martha, now Mrs. George Harrison; Hearknett,
who is deceased; James Benjamin, who married Miss Jessie McAlister;
Jessie Bertha, who is Mrs. George Robinson; John Arthur; Robert Henry;
Vivian Bertrum Todd, now deceased; William Budge; Genevieve Katherine;
Lily-Bell; Pearl;
Ruby; and Thelma. Mr. and Mrs. Wallis also have three grandchildren, Howard Harrison, Benita Wallis, and Grace Robinson.
[HISTORY OF IDAHO VOLUME
II; BY HIRAM T. FRENCH, M. S.; Publ. 1914; Transcribed and submitted to
Genealogy Trails by Andrea Stawski Pack.]
CHARLES W. WAYLAND
Representing in a most effective and successful manner a line of
enterprise that is of inestimable importance in any community, Mr.
Wayland is senior member of the firm of Wayland & Fennell,
architects, and he and his coadjutor exemplify in their work the best
modern ideas and policies incidental to their profession. They have
been concerned with the planning and erection of many fine public and
business buildings in Idaho, and their reputation constitutes their
best commercial asset, both in a technical way and in the matter of
honorable and straightforward business transactions. Mr. Wayland well
merits recognition in this publication and on other pages of the same
will be found further data concerning the business of his firm, in a
sketch dedicated to his associate, James A. Fennell.
Mr. Wayland claims the fine old Bay state as the place of his nativity
and is of representative families whose names have been identified with
the annals of American history since the colonial era. He was born in
the city of Boston, Massachusetts, on the 8th of December, 1874, and is
a son of James W. and Elizabeth (Hurd) Wayland, both of whom were
likewise born in that state. James W. Wayland was for many years
prominently identified with the lumber and milling business in the east
and in Minnesota, and he has been a resident of Idaho since 1907.
He is the owner of a fine ranch in Ada county, about five miles distant
from the capital city, and is there engaged in diversified farming and
the raising of high-grade cattle. He is a man of sterling character and
marked business acumen and in the state of his adoption has gained the
staunchest of friends. He is a Republican in his political
proclivities. His wife is a member of the Methodist church. Of their
three children two are living, Charles W., of this review, being the
younger, and Mabel, being the wife of Elmer A. Newell, of Meridian,
this state.
Charles W. Wayland was about fourteen years of age at the time of the
family removal to Minnesota, and in the public schools of Duluth, that
state, he pursued his studies until he had completed the curriculum of
the high school. Under effective preceptorship he became a student of
the architectural art and science and he gained a thorough knowledge of
the same with valuable practical experience, by which he supplanted a
natural predilection for work of this order.
He continued to be employed as a draftsman and general assistant in
architectural lines in the city of Duluth until 1900, when he came to
Idaho and established his residence in Boise. After [haying' been
employed as a draftsman in the office of William S. Campbell for two
years he was admitted to partnership in the business, under the firm
name of Campbell & Wayland, and this alliance continued until 1904,
when the partnership was dissolved by mutual consent.
In March of that year Mr. Wayland entered into his present partnership
with James A. Fennell, and they have since conducted a most prosperous
business as general architects and supervisors of building
construction. As the previously mentioned sketch of the career of Mr.
Fennell gives ample details concerning specific points in the extensive
business operations of the firm, it is not necessary to repeat the data
in the article here presented. It is sufficient to say that the firm
have designed and had charge of the erection of many fine buildings in
Boise and other parts of the state, and that both of its members hold
secure place in popular confidence and esteem, the while they are
numbered among the aggressive and public-spirited citizens of the
capital city.
In politics Mr. Wayland accords unswerving allegiance to the Republican
party, and he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, in which he
has served as eminent commander of Idaho Commandery No. 1, Knights
Templars, and potentate of Elkorah Temple in Boise, and he also holds
membership in the local lodges of the Knights of Pythias and the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
On the fourteenth of January, 1903, Mr. Wayland wedded Miss Daisy
McConnell, who was born and reared in Idaho and who is a daughter of C.
S. McConnell, an honored and influential citizen of Boise. Mr. and Mrs.
Wayland are popular figures in the best social life of the capital city
and their pleasant home is brightened by the presence of their two fine
little sons,—Charles Vorrell and James H.
In his chosen profession Mr. Wayland holds a foremost position, and
this prestige is fully justified by his ability and his close attention
to all details of his business. He has won success of the highest order
and the business of the firm is constantly expanding in scope and
importance.
[HISTORY OF IDAHO VOLUME
II; BY HIRAM T. FRENCH, M. S.; Publ. 1914; Transcribed and submitted to
Genealogy Trails by Andrea Stawski Pack.]
ROBERT R. WEDEKIND
On the roster of Idaho's successful lawyers the name of Robert R.
Wedekind, of Boise, occupies a prominent place. He is a young man of
large ability and high character, the representative of a family that
has a strong record for worth and attainment, and he is of that type of
citizen so valued in a young and growing commonwealth.
Born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, January 20, 1869. He is a son of Rev. A.
C. Wedekind, D. D., who was a prominent Lutheran minister of
Pennsylvania and New York City and during his service numbered many
distinguished people among his flock, one of them being President
Buchanan. The wife of Reverend Wedekind was Miss Eveleen A. Raiguel
before her marriage.
Both parents passed away in San Diego, California, but are interred in
Lebanon, Pennsylvania. To their union were born seven children who are
mentioned as follows: Katherine, the eldest, is now the wife of Dr. G.
P. McGregor, of Dallas, Oregon; Luther L. Wedekind is a surgeon in the
United States navy with the rank of commander; Edwin H. Wedekind, a
graduate of Columbia University, New York, is a mining engineer and is
now located at San Francisco, California; Robert R. Wedekind, the
subject of this biographical sketch, was next in order of birth; George
Wedekind, a graduate of the United States naval academy at Annapolis,
was a first lieutenant in General Grigsby's Rough Rider regiment in the
Spanish-American war and resigned from the service with the rank of
ensign; he is now a ranchman in Bonneville county, Idaho; Miss Evelyn
Wedekind, now a resident of Chicago, has traveled in foreign climes and
has visited many of the Oriental countries chaperoned by her brother
Luther L., of the U. S. navy; Florence, the youngest of the family, is
now Mrs. N. R. Seidel, of La Grange, Illinois.
Next to the efficacy of good brains and blood in shaping a man's future
comes his environment—circumstances surrounding the boy and the man,
the influences molding his character. Robert R. Wedekind was brought up
in a cultured home and enjoyed the inestimable advantage of being
reared under the care of loving, superior and devoted parents. After
completing a high school education he became a student in the
University of New York, but owing to his father's ill health he later
left the university to remain with his parents. Accompanying them to
San Diego. California, he there continued his studies in the profession
he had chosen, that of law, and was admitted to practice in 1895 by the
supreme court of California. Later he was appointed deputy district
attorney there and served two years. From California he went to Butte,
Montana, where he was admitted to practice by the supreme court of that
state. Here he rose rapidly at the bar, his abilities soon drawing the
attention of the F. A. Heinze Company, at whose solicitation he became
a member of their legal staff and remained thus identified six years,
or until that company was absorbed by the Amalgamated Copper Company.
Mr. Wedekind came to Boise, Idaho, in 1909 after the dissolution of the
Heinze Company and became associated in law with Alfred A. Eraser, one
of the leading legal minds of the state, with large and very successful
general law practice. Mr. Wedekind evinces his interest in the civic
and material development of Boise as a member of the Commercial Club,
and fraternally he is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks.
[HISTORY OF IDAHO VOLUME
II; BY HIRAM T. FRENCH, M. S.; Publ. 1914; Transcribed and submitted to
Genealogy Trails by Andrea Stawski Pack.]
JOSEPH C. WHITE
The Coeur d'Alene citizen who is the organizer and manager of the Red
Collar Steamship Line is a remarkable man in that every project he has
ever attempted has met with success. A most emphatic quality of
appreciation and credit is due him for his very valuable achievement in
regard to the important transportation line for which the residents of
Idaho and Washington owe him so much gratitude. A man of unusually keen
judgment, he is prounounced--even by those who meet him for only a
short interview--"a hustler, a mover and a pusher." His life is one
that is worth reviewing in some detail.
Joseph C. White was born in Wyoming, Otoe County, Nebraska, on the
sixteenth day of March, 1865. He lived in that locality until about
eleven years of age, at which time his parents removed to Colorado and
he with them. The public schools of Otoe County, the graded schools and
high school of Denver contributed to his education. The courses of
higher education he later pursued in the University of Denver. Not to
be satisfied merely with the advanced studies along lines of
literature, science and classics, young White looked ahead to his
future needs as a man who must have dealings with the business world.
Unlike many young men with a university degree but with a pathetic lack
of practical knowledge, Joseph White combined with his collegiate
courses a season of evening study at a business college in Denver.
Engineering, homestead holding combined with mining, and transportation
activities in his present capacity have been the larger elements of Mr.
White's career. His first Idaho location was in Wallace, where he
remained for one year, while engaged in the duties of an engineering
position in connection with the Corbin railroad. From that employment
he passed to one of a similar nature, with residence at Spokane.
During a part of this time he was in the government service and during
all of his engineering experience was financially fortunate. His last
service in that line was for the Seattle Lake Shore Company, for whom
he worked while living in Spokane and for whom he went to Seattle. In
1892 he closed this engagement and returned to Idaho, which ever since
has been his home.
In the year mentioned Mr. White took up a homestead in Kootenai County,
which he occupied for about eight years. His peculiar gift for
transportation enterprises and allied activities was not to be wasted,
however. He moved into Coeur d'Alene and associated himself, first with
the lumber business and later with the electric railroad which was
operating between Coeur d'Alene and Spokane, being chief engineer for
the railroad company during the construction of the road. This line is
recognized as one of the best equipped in the United States, and as Mr.
White built and completed it, the road is regarded as a worthy monument
to his ability. It was in 1904 that he severed his connection with this
company and entered upon the enterprise for which he has been most
highly commended.
Citizens had long felt the need of a properly managed steamship line
between Coeur d'Alene and St. Joe. Boats were manipulated by single
owners, without definite method, without satisfactory regularity and
without the needed equipment and conveniences. It was with a
realization of the much desired improvements that Mr. White organized
the Red Collar Steamship Line, which has brought about a new era in
transportation in this locality. All the former shipowners were induced
to merge their interests into that of an organized company; new and
modern boats have been added; a double daily schedule service was
established; arrangements were methodically differentiated for
passenger, mail, express and freight service. All this service is first
class, and for its initiation Mr. White is almost wholly responsible.
He is still the company's manager and active head, a position which his
many friends and the public at large hope he may continue to fill for
many more years.
Such is a brief outline of the career of Mr. White in practical
affairs, omitting his youthful efforts as a cadet in industry. His
early mining speculations he does not consider of great importance,
although in buying leases and speculating on them he was for a time
almost phenomenally successful.
In political affairs Joseph C. White is conservatively and
independently a Democrat. He is one of those up-to-date thinkers along
economic lines who believe that party theories are of great value in
unifying and making purposive the desires of the people along national
lines; but he does not believe in narrow bondage to party views because
of inheritance or previous affiliation. He takes a very active interest
in politics and is noted for his sane opinions in local affairs. He
served his county as surveyor for two years. He was a member of the
board of education for six years, acting as its president throughout
that period. He was a member of the Idaho legislature in the session of
1898-9, serving that body as chairman of the fusion caucus and of the
committee on state affairs. As a tribute to the high quality of his
service in such capacity, Mr. White was presented, at the close of the
session, with a beautiful gold-headed cane, the gift of Governor Hunt
and others.
The fact that Mr. White's genial personality makes him a great social
favorite is attested by the fact that his membership has been sought by
the Coeur d'Alene Commercial Club, the Spokane Social Club, the Inland
Club of Spokane, the Rotary Club and the Transportation Club of
Spokane. In the following secret societies he holds high place: The
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, in which he has passed all honors up
to the thirty-second degree, being now past high priest in his chapter;
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows; the Knights of Pythias; and the Hoo-Hoos.
The home life of Mr. White began in 1895. In February of that year Miss
Harriett Whitmore of Farmington, Washington,--a niece of Mr. and Mrs.
M. R. Fish of that place, -- became Mrs. Joseph C. White. She and Mr.
White have in the ensuing years become the parents of a quartet of
children. The eldest, a son named Clarence, died in childhood; Frances,
the first daughter, is now in school; Alfred K. is still at home and
little Constance is yet in her babyhood.
In every phase of his useful, upright and nobly ordered life, Mr. White
is a citizen of the highest standing. To few is it given to succeed so
unfailingly in all undertakings; to be so fortunate materially; to be
so potent an influence in things intellectual and civic; and to hold,
withal, such high regard in the eyes of his fellow-men. The loyalty he
professes for the splendid state he has made his home and the faith he
holds in her future is no less than the faith and loyalty entertained
toward Joseph C. White by all who knew him.
Source: "A History of Idaho" by Hiram T. French, Volume III, published by The Lewis Publishing Company, 1914.
Submitted by Don Tharp
ALLEN WILCOX
In a narrow sense pharmacy is merely the art of compounding and mixing
drugs according to the prescription of the physician, but the
successful pharmacist of today generally perfects himself in
theoretical pharmacy, which requires a knowledge of botany, zoology and
mineralogy. In addition, the modern druggist, when taking up his
calling, must be prepared to face prolonged hours of service, as long
and tedious, perhaps, as to be found in any other line of endeavor,
while his establishment is required at all times to be at the disposal
of the general public. One of the successful and progressive
pharmacists of Idaho who has proven himself worthy of the confidence
placed in him, and who brought to his calling a thorough training and
natural inclination, is Allen Wilcox, of Meridian, where he has been in
business Since 1912. Mr. Wilcox is a native of the West, having been
born at Brandon, September 15, 1876, the second in order of birth of
the seven children of Mathew A. and Delia (Gardner) Wilcox.
Mathew A. Wilcox was a native of Canada, from whence he emigrated some
time after his marriage to the United States, settling in Boise in
1899. Here he has continued to be engaged in contracting, being now
aged fifty-two years. His wife was also a native of Canada, and now
lives in Boise, being forty-six years old.
Allen Wilcox accompanied his parents to Boise in 1899, there completing
his preliminary education in the public schools, and following this
went to Omaha, Nebraska, and took a full course in a pharmaceutical
school. Almost immediately after graduation from that institution, he
came to Meridian, and in 1912 purchased the business of W. W. Hayden,
which had been established by Mr. Hayden in 1905. He has continued to
be proprietor of this drug store, and carries a full line of drugs,
medicines, toilet articles and other goods found in similar stocks in
the large cities of the West. Mr. Wilcox is an alert, progressive and
enterprising young business man, and progressive methods and courteous
and obliging manners have served to draw to his establishment a large
share of Meridian's best patronage. He has devoted himself almost
exclusively to his business affairs, and as a result has found little
time to devote to outside matters, although he supports the principles
and candidates of the progressive Republican element. Any movement that
promises to be of benefit to his adopted city meets with his hearty
approval and cooperation, and he is at all times ready to voice his
belief in the commercial and industrial future of Idaho. Like all live,
active men of the West, he is fond of athletic sports, baseball being
his chief diversion.
On June 10, 1908, Mr. Wilcox was united in marriage with Miss Louise
Morrison, at Boise, Idaho, she being the daughter of ex-Gov. J. T. and
Mrs. Morrison, of Boise. One child has blessed his union: Francis, who
was born August 4, 1910, in Boise. Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox are members of
the Congregational church, and have numerous friends in Meridian's
social and church circles.
[HISTORY OF IDAHO VOLUME
II; BY HIRAM T. FRENCH, M. S.; Publ. 1914; Transcribed and submitted to
Genealogy Trails by Andrea Stawski Pack.]
DELBERT M. WINSOR
Delbert M. Winsor, the genial and enterprising president of the Boise
Carriage and Implement Company, Incorporated, has been a citizen of
Idaho since 1903 and has spent most of his mature manhood in the west
and Middle West. He is by birth a New Yorker, his parents, Aaron Winsor
and Kathrine (Mangan) Winsor. having maintained the family homestead in
the Empire state. Aaron Winsor was a native of Pennsylvania who became
a resident of New York in his childhood and as he grew to maturity
engaged in agricultural pursuits in that state. Mrs. Aaron Winsor, born
and reared in Cork, Ireland, had as a young girl immigrated to this
country with her parents. The family settled in New York, where
Kathrine Mangan was married to Aaron Winsor, where they reared their
children and where both died, the former in 1881 at the age of
forty-six years and the latter in 1900 at the age of seventy-three
years. Of their seven children Delbert M. Winsor was the second. He was
born in Franklinville, New York December 12, 1860.
Delbert Winsor attended school until he reached the age of eighteen,
after which he was engaged in railroad work for six years. He then
entered the creamery business in Elgin, where he remained for three
years. Having thoroughly learned the details of this business, he
removed to Clinton county, Iowa, where he established creameries and
for eight years supervised the operation of the same. At the end of
that time Mr. Winsor sold out the business and became a traveling
salesman for the Harvester Company in Iowa. This engagement extended
from 1895 to 1903, and after concluding it, he came to Idaho, where he
represented the Moline Plow Company throughout the state of Idaho for
eight years. He also extended his work as a traveling representative of
this firm in the states of Nebraska, Idaho and northern Missouri. In
the meantime Mr. Winsor established in 1909 the Boise carriage and
implement business in Boise, securing competent assistance and
management. In 1911 he began the personal management of the enterprise
and has since continued in that active capacity. The business, which
was incorporated in 1909, is one of Boise's successful commercial
activities.
Mr. Winsor is a member of the fraternal order of the Modern Woodmen of
America and his political interests are with the Republican party. He
is a supporter of the Methodist church, of which his family are
members. Mrs. Winsor, who was formerly Miss Ida Rhue, and to whom he
was married in 1883, was a resident of Anamosa, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs.
Winsor are the parents of a daughter and two sons. Miss Neta Winsor is
a graduate of Pocatello Academy of Idaho; Buel Winsor, who completed
the commercial course in his Boise high school studies, is in business
with his father; Lee Winsor is also a graduate of the Boise high school.
[HISTORY OF IDAHO VOLUME
II; BY HIRAM T. FRENCH, M. S.; Publ. 1914; Transcribed and submitted to
Genealogy Trails by Andrea Stawski Pack.]
ALBERT WOLTERS
An appointment to take charge of the assay office of Boise about forty
years ago brought to this state Mr. Albert Wolters, and he has been a
permanent resident since that time. Mr. Wolters has had an experience
of nearly fifty years in the mining and business affairs of the west,
and during most of his residence in Idaho has been identified with
mining affairs, either as an official assayer or as a promoter and
developer of mineral resources on his own account. Mr. Wolters has had
a varied and on the whole, a very successful career, has utilized many
opportunities for public service, and by reason of his long residence,
his business activities, and his official connections he is one of the
most thoroughly esteemed citizens of the state.
Albert Wolters was born in Prussia. Germany, May 1841, a son of Carl
and Augusta Wolters. his father having been a mining official in
Prussia. Albert was the only son, and both parents died in their native
land. He grew to manhood in Prussia, and was given unusual advantage in
both a general and a technical education. He attended a college of
mines, and also the university and had considerable technical and
practical experience in his native country.
On April 24, 1866, Mr. Wolters landed in New York City and after three
months in the east, went to California; locating at Central City he
opened an assay office which he conducted until 1868. Then at
Georgetown, Colorado, he brought in to it the first silver mill in that
vicinity. In 1869 he took charge of the Baker Silver Mining Company's
mill of Philadelphia, where he continued in active charge until the
mill was burned in 1871. His business career was then interrupted by a
visit to his fatherland, but after a few months in his old home, and
enjoying the companionship of his parents, he returned to America, and
received appointment from President Grant to take charge of the assay
office in Boise, Idaho.
In that capacity, Mr. Wolters came into contact with practically all
the mining operators of the seventies, and he continued as assayer at
Boise until July 1, 1883. He then moved to Hailey in the Wood river
district, where in partnership with David Falk. he engaged in the
mining and smelting business. Their operations were not altogether
prosperous, and the partnership failed in 1885. Following this reverse.
Mr. Wolters was employed at wages for a time, but then returned to
assaying and mining in Hailey, which was the center of his extensive
business operations as a miner for a number of years until 1905. In the
latter year he moved to Boise, of which city he has since been a
resident.
In 1868, Mr. Wolters was married at Central City, Colorado, to Miss
Emelia Otto. The three children born of their marriage were: Marie,
deceased; Lucy, now the wife of R. M. Angel, who is county attorney of
Blaine county, Idaho; Ella, now the wife of P. F. Harne, who is
registrar of the land office at Hailey. The mother of these children
passed away on January I, 1902, and her remains now rest at Hailey. On
September 1, 1905, Mr. Wolters married Mrs. Wm. H. Jaumann, the widow
of William H. Jaumann.
Mr. Wolters has for many years taken an active part in politics, and
especially in politics so far as that word refers to activities in
behalf of good and efficient government. His political creed was at
first that of the Republican party, up to 1892, at which time he became
a populist. When that party became disrupted he joined the ranks of
Independents, and is now a member of the New Progressive party. For
seven years, from 1872 to 1879, ne served as deputy commissioner of
mining statistics in Idaho. For four years he was a school trustee in
Hailey, and in 1905 was elected to a term in the legislature from
Alturas (now Blaine) county.
In 1901 Mr. Wolters was chairman of the county commissioners of Blaine
county. As to religion he was reared in the faith of the Lutheran
church, and is a man who emphasizes in his life and conduct the golden
rule He was raised in Masonry in 1873; and has been a Master Mason for
forty years. Mr. Wolters is now owner of a silver and lead mine in the
Wood river district, but his chief interests are in Boise real estate.
He and his family own and reside in a beautiful home at 712 Eighth
street and he also owns a block of valuable property with several
excellent dwelling houses upon it.
[HISTORY OF IDAHO VOLUME
II; BY HIRAM T. FRENCH, M. S.; Publ. 1914; Transcribed and submitted to
Genealogy Trails by Andrea Stawski Pack.]
THOMAS J. WOONS
Thomas J. Woons is the pioneer real estate man of Twin Falls, Idaho,
and the leading one as well. He was there when the town was opened on
January 11, 1905, and has been there ever since, one of the shrewdest
and most wide-awake, alert and ambitious young men that have been
identified with the business life of that city. With acumen of that
order that lends accuracy to his judgment, keen to perceive and quick
to seize advantages, and with the resolution and nerve to attempt. Twin
Falls and this section of Idaho has had in him one of its most
energetic and forceful workers in its upbuilding.
He was born in Willmar, Minnesota, July 22, 1878, and was reared there
to the age of ten, when he accompanied his parents to the state of
Washington and lived there until his removal to Twin Falls, Idaho, in
1905. Thus he grew up amid the environment of Western energy and spirit
and familiar with the Western way of doing things. James and Ellen
(Fahey) Woods, the parents of Thomas J., are both natives of Canada,
were married there and followed farming there until they took up their
residence in Scott county, Minnesota, in 1873. The senior Mr. Woods
followed the same vocation in Minnesota until 1888, when he sold his
farm and came west to Washington. Locating in Olympia, he engaged in
contracting and farming there until 1891, when he again sold his
interests and then settled in Spokane. There he gave his attention to
contracting until 1905, when he came to Twin Falls, Idaho, and secured
near Shoshone Falls a ranch of 160 acres, which he is now engaged in
improving. The mother is deceased. Thomas J.. received a college
education in the Washington State College, from which he was graduated
with the class of 1903 as a Bachelor of Arts. Prior to that, however,
he had become interested in mining in the Coeur d'Alene district and
from 1897 to 1902 was very successful in his mining operations there.
On leaving college he entered into the insurance business at Spokane,
Washington, and followed it successfully until he came to Twin Falls,
Idaho, in January, 1905, being present at the opening of the town
on January 11. He became a large realty owner in Twin Falls and at once
engaged in the real estate business, being the first and therefore the
pioneer real estate dealer of this city. He was successful from the
beginning and through his business enterprise and indomitable spirit he
still remains the leading man in his line in Twin Falls. He has always
taken the initiative and has never been a follower. Guided by a shrewd
business instinct and possessed of a dauntless courage, he attempts and
succeeds where a less intrepid spirit would see failure from the start.
Mr. Woods has built many of the residences and business blocks of Twin
Falls. Naturally, a personal success has been his first aim, and he has
won it, but there is no more generous or public-spirited citizen of
this city than Mr. Woods nor one who has worked more indefatigably for
the upbuilding of this section, for he takes pleasure in large
accomplishment. He is deeply interested in what Idaho can do in the way
of horticulture and is himself the owner of a fine forty acre orchard
adjacent to the city. The term "self-made" is not misused in the case
of Mr. Woods, for he has builded entirely upon his own resources.
He was reared in the Roman Catholic faith in religion, and in politics
is an independent thinker and voter. Fraternally he is affiliated with
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
In 1907 Mr. Woods was united in marriage to Miss Winifred E. Davies, a
daughter of John E. and Frankie I. (Guerney) Davies, of Twin Falls. A
daughter, Marjorie, has been born to their union.
[HISTORY OF IDAHO VOLUME
II; BY HIRAM T. FRENCH, M. S.; Publ. 1914; Transcribed and submitted to
Genealogy Trails by Andrea Stawski Pack.]
FRANK THEODORE WYMAN
In the closing months of Idaho's existence as a territory, Frank
Theodore Wyman was admitted to the bar, and since that time has been in
active practice in the state, the greater portion of the time at Boise,
where he stands as one of the leading attorneys and in ability and
success has few equals in the state. In the public life of Idaho, Mr.
Wyman has become conspicuous through his services in the legislature,
and was the author of several measures which have given character to
the fundamental laws of the state, and which have proved vital to the
welfare and progress of the citizenship.
Frank Theodore Wyman was born October 1, 1868, in Cleveland, Ohio. The
founder of the Wyman family in America was Francis Wyman, who was born
at West Mill in County of Herts, England. He was one of the early
American colonists, having come with a brother and located in
Massachusetts. The date of his settlement is not known but he signed
town orders at Woburn, Massachusetts, in 1640, which is sufficient
evidence of the early residence of the Wymans in America. The father of
the Boise lawyer was George Wyman, who was born May 4, 1824, at
Schroon, New York, was educated at Norwich University in Vermont, and
practiced law for twenty-five years at Cleveland, Ohio, where he stood
among the leaders of the bar.
Many times he declined office, although he was from early in his career
an active supporter of the Republican party. His death occurred at
Boise, Idaho, in 1892. George H. Wyman married Lucy Dix Mahan, a
daughter of Athan Mahan. Her father was the first president of Oberlin
College, was renowned as a preacher and educator, and author of
philosophical and religious works. The Mahan family was of Scotch Irish
descent. Mrs. George H. Wyman died at Cleveland, Ohio, in 1880.
Frank Theodore Wyman had only a high school education and relied on his
own efforts and private study for his advancement and acquisitions in
the field of law. In October, 1889, he became a resident of Boise, and
pursued his studies in that city until admitted to the bar by the
supreme court of Idaho territory in January, 1890. His first practice
was at Rocky Bar, which was then the county seat of Elmore county. In
December, 1890, he located in Boise, and for more than twenty years has
been following his profession, being now in partnership with his
brother, Harry C. Wyman.
At the third session of the Idaho legislature, in 1895, Mr. Wyman was a
member of the house from Ada county. He was given a place on the
judicial committee as chairman, and both in that committee and on the
floor of the house was one of the legislative leaders. He was author of
the state's mining law, championed women suffrage, and secured the
passage of the constitutional amendment providing for that fundamental
change in the organic law, and obtained the submission of the amendment
to the people. He also prepared the irrigation district law, and many
others which made legislative history. Mr. Wyman was Senator Shoup's
manager in the house.
In 1907 he was again returned to the lower house of the legislature,
and again became chairman of the judiciary committee. In that session
he introduced the direct primary bill which passed the house and was
defeated in the senate. However, Mr. Wyman has the satisfaction of
knowing that his original bill became the basis for the present primary
law in Idaho. He was also author during his second legislative term of
the anti-trust bill, the anti-lobby law, and many others. Mr. Wyman has
throughout his career been an active supporter of the Republican party,
but has never been in any sense an office seeker, and has worked for a
good government rather than any rewards which follow political
activity.
Fraternally he is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order
of Elks, and the Woodmen of the World. He is past master of Boise Lodge
No. 2, A. F. & A. M., is past grand lecturer in the state grand
lodge, has taken thirty-two degrees of Scottish Rite and is a member of
the Mystic Shrine.
On January 22, 1902, Mr. Wyman married Jessie Corbus, a daughter of
Franklin and Frances Corbus, both of whom were pioneer settlers of
Idaho. Mrs. Wyman was educated in the public schools, being a high
school graduate. Their three children are Frederic Potter Wyman, born
July 5, 1910, and now Francis Theodore Wyman, born October 11, 1903;
Lucy Corbus Wyman, born November 26, 1905, and deceased.
Source: 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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