Lewiston Morning Tribune – July 23, 1933

North Central Idaho is blessed with mountain beauty and wild rivers.  In the early days small boats, or ferries were used to cross the Clearwater.

The Idaho Statesman – June 20, 1899

ORO FINO FERREY TIED UP.

The Steamer Hannaford Ran Into the Wire Cable.

Lewiston Tribune:  C. C. Fuller, one of the interested parties in the Oro Fino townsite and ferry, arrived in Lewiston yesterday afternoon from Moscow.

Mr. Fuller stated to a Tribune representative that the ferry at that place is now tied up owing to an accident to the cable caused by the steamer Hannaford running into it and breaking a strand, and owing to the extremely high water it was deemed unsafe to run it.  Mr. Fuller immediately came out and telegraphed to Portland for a new one.

Mr. Fuller states that the drowning of men and horses there is nearly an every day occurrence, and within a few days five men and a dozen horses were drowned in the treacherous Clearwater.

Mr. Fuller expects great things for the new town of Oro Fino, and predicts a rapid growth.  The town now boasts of a newspaper, seven business houses, and a number of minor enterprises.  He expects to return within a few days.

As early as 1883,  a bridge, over the Clearwater to Lewiston was being built.  As automobiles became common, more bridges were built, over the creeks and rivers.

The rivers which sustain life, sometimes choose to take it.

Following are several accounts of people, with connections to Cavendish-Teakean, who were taken by the river.

Earnest Leonard Brown – October 1883 – June 24, 1900

Earnest Leonard Brown was born in October of 1883, the second child and son of Samuel and Lucy (Ives) Brown.

The Brown family settled in the Palouse area in the Spring of 1881 and were followed by Samuel’s parents, who settled near Leland, on the Big Potlatch, later that same year.   The Brown’s were one of the first settlers of the region and Earnest’s grandfather James William Brown, was the 1st white settler to die and be buried, in the area, his final resting place is the cemetery in Southwick, Idaho.

The only information about Earnest, other than census information are two short mentions, in local papers:

The Colfax Gazette – June 29, 1900

A 16-year-old son of S. L. Brown was drowned Monday while attempting to swim a deep hole in Union Flat Creek, near the Hamilton bridge.

The Pullman Herald – July 7, 1900

A sad drowning is reported from Union Flat Creek, 15 miles south of Pullman, the victim being Earnest, the 16 year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. S. L. Brown.

There is no mention if Earnest’s body was recovered, the family plot, in the Ewartsville Cemetery, has no stone for Earnest. (more…)

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“Am I not a Man and a Brother — Am I not a Woman and a Sister”
                               Anti-Slavery meeting poster 1863

Background – I have spent the last several years seeking information on my GGG-Grandfather Ellwood Brown and his involvement in the Underground Railroad, after reading his biography and discovering my GGG-Grandmother’s obituary, which mentioned them helping to run the movement, my interest was piqued and the research began.  After reaching out to historians and scavenging the Internet, I have been able to piece together, via old newspapers and books, his life’s story.  Ellwood is mentioned, on page 77,  of the book “History of the Underground Railroad in Chester and the Neighboring Counties of Pennsylvania.”

John Russell, Micah Whitson, Henry Carter, and Ellwood Brown are also mentioned as friends of the fugitive, whose assistance was always freely given.

Please keep in mind, the bulk of this information was published in the mid to late 19th  century and the language and nomenclatures are of that time.  (Note:  He apparently spelled his name both as Ellwood and Elwood) Following is his story:

Ellwood Brown was born December 27, 1808, in Harford County, Maryland to Josiah and Margaret Brown.  He was either the fourth, or fifth son born to them. His father died in 1812, leaving his widow Margaret and six children.  Josiah Brown’s accounts were entered into probate on June 9, 1812.   The probate documents state that Margaret, was a Quaker.  Margaret’s last appearance in probate court, concerning Josiah’s estate occurred on June 27, 1820.  The death of Josiah caused great hardship to his family, as this excerpt from Maryland Chancery Court shows:

S512-387

342: Thomas W. Bond vs. Margaret Brown, Joseph Brown, John Brown, Absalom Brown, Josiah Brown, Ellwood Brown, and Rachel Brown, HA.  Mortgage foreclosure on Knaves Misfortune, Harris Trust, Gibsons Ridge, Prestons Chance, Abotts Lot. Recorded (Chancery Record) 114, p. 705. (Note: The description in another Chancery record reads Abell’s Lot, not Abotts.)

It is assumed Margaret passed shortly after her last appearance in probate court.  However, she did instill within her children the beliefs of her faith and social justice, as the biography of Elwood’s older brother shows:

ABSALOM BROWN (deceased), died at his residence in Springvale, Columbia Co., Wis., March 23, 1880, 77 years old. He was born in Cecil Co., Md., Nov. 5, 1803, being the third son of Josiah and Margaret BROWN; six years after this, his father and finally crossed the Susquehanna River into Harford Co., Md., where he bought a large tract of land lying between Bellair and Abingdon, on the Baltimore road; his father sickened and died in a few days after he went there, leaving his mother and six children in a part of the country poisoned with slavery; care and hard work soon wore on his mother, and seven years after his father’s death, his mother died; Absalom was then put to the hatter’s trade, and being misused, he left there and went to Brown Co., Ohio, where he had relatives…(Source–The History of Columbia County Wisconsin, 1880)

The relatives in Ohio are not known and no information has been found on Josiah Jr., Joseph, or John Brown and there are some discrepancies in dates.  According to the obituaries of their sister Rachel, she was born in Cecil County, not Harford and she was born in 1811, which would mean Absalom was approximately eight years old and Ellwood would have been about three, when they arrived in Harford County.

According the his biography Ellwood was schooled at the Bel Air Academy, in Harford County but his time there was cut short, most likely due to the family financial problems, following the death of his father.  It appears that the family was forced to split and the children were sent to various relatives.  Ellwood was sent to live with an uncle, it is likely his sister Rachel was sent to the same family, in Little Britain, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. (more…)

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Since I began this website, a couple of years ago, I have done a Memorial Day post to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.  The first post covered the Civil War, last year I covered WWI and this year will be WWII.  Because this website focuses on the Cavendish-Teakean area, this post will cover those most closely connected with this area. Following are brief biographies of five young men who made the ultimate sacrifice, for their country, in WWII:

Lieutenant Russell Alanson Betts
February 17, 1911 – April 29, 1942
Sergeant Henry Oscar Wittman
August 5, 1915 – August 29, 1943
Lieutenant Bernard Francis Armstrong
December 13, 1920 – May 5, 1944
Private Oscar Wayne Lind
March 3, 1922 – November 14, 1944
Sergeant Earl Chester McIver
August 24, 1924 – April 30, 1945

(more…)

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Postcard – World War I

The six names listed below are the young men from, or with connections to,  the Clearwater Valley.  These men made the ultimate sacrifice for their country in “The Great War.” I hope you will take a moment to reflect on the lives lived and sacrificed, for God and Country, as we honor the fallen this weekend.

Private Charles Swinton Hunt Rennison
November 30, 1878 – September 18, 1917
Lieutenant Harold Everett Kinne
February 28, 1896 – July 19, 1918
Private Alton Bellomy
June 1, 1892 – July 26, 1918
Private Charles Augustus Bobbitt
October 11, 1893 – October 6, 1918
Private Glenn Royal Dieterle
February 17, 1891 – October 11, 1918
Private Bernard Smith Armstrong
October 17, 1893 – November 6, 1918

While researching the Cavendish Cemetery and putting together the community ties and relationships of those buried there, I came across the stone of Bernard S. Armstrong.  In researching Bernard, I discovered he was a casualty of WWI and thought it appropriate to write something about his life and the lives of the five men, with ties to Clearwater County, as we honor the memories of the fallen, this Memorial Day. (more…)

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Newspaper Stories - Walter Stiles

Newspaper Stories – Walter Stiles

When my Grandmother Stila M. (Harlan) Gleason passed away on May 7, 2002, not only did we lose the family matriarch but we lost the our family historian.  I had been dabbling with the family tree for a couple of years and but hadn’t really delved into researching and documenting the life stories of individuals.  I decided someone should document our family’s history to preserve it for future generations and so began my adventurous  journey, as an amateur genealogist, the search for Uncle Walter Stiles and the discovery of an interesting life.

Walter Stiles

Walter Stiles was born in Chicago, Illinois, in October of 1867, the second child and son of George Washington and Mary Jane (Cunningham) Stiles.   Walter’s father was born in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and his mother in New York.

George W. Stiles - Moves West - Abilene Weekly Reflector, December 5, 1889

George W. Stiles – Moves West – Abilene Weekly Reflector, December 5, 1889

The family remained in Illinois until the late 1870s and then headed West to Dickinson County, Kansas.  The family would remain in Dickinson County until 1889, when George Sr. headed west to Washington and Idaho.  The family, including wife Mary, along with Walter, Albert and daughter Emma, would soon follow.  Oldest son George Jr., remained in Kansas, until 1891.  The family had settled in Idaho; when George Jr. and his family joined them.

(more…)

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