THE POLK COUNTY OBSERVER, FRIDAY, MAY 14, 1915.
h Judge Collins Prominent
I in Polk County's History
.J"
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JUDGE JAMES LAYTON COLLINS.
Photo by Stone.
The eighty-second anniversary of
the birth of Judge James Layton Col
llnB, the earliest surviving resident of
Polk county, wag celebrated on Sun
day in a quiet, unpretentious manner,
only the home-folk being present to
tender congratulations upon the at
tainment of a ripe old age by this pio
neer settler of Oregon and to wish
for him many more returns of the
day. He was a member of the first
party of emigrants to enter the Wil
lamette valley by way of Klamath
Falls, and across the Siskiyou, Ump
qua and Calapooia mountains. This
was at the age of thirteen years. But
a history of the eventful career of this
honored citizen is best told by the
Portrait and Biographical Record,
which contains the following brief
sketch of his life.
Prominent among the representa
tive men of Polk county is Hon. James
L. Collins, known not alone as one
whose name was among the first to be
iotntified vith the American settle
ments in Cregon, but rather for his
intimate relations with the permanent
history of our commonwealth. Begin
ning in pioneer days, in the midst of
undeveloped resources and a rude civ
ilization, he gave himself wholly to
the western cause, faithful in the pur
suit of duty, whether in camp or field,
as a soldier In defense of the settlers
or a citizen in the material upbuilding
of the country; through the changes
of time and progression he has ad
vanced his own interests and those of
his adopted state by lifting himself to
a position of exceptional prominence
among the many who are entitled to
the esteem and admiration of the pres
ent generation. The Interest which
(j (ftaches to the pioneers of Oregon is
not inspired by curiosity, but rather
by that affection which centers about
the lives and deeds of those who blaz
ed the trail for the westward march
of progress. Before torching upon
the life of Judge Collins we will give
a brief outline of the ancestry to
which he owes those characteristics
which have enabled him to become
a power among many hampering con
dltions. His maternal grandfather
was a descendant of Thomas Wyatt,
a man well known In the history of
England through his opposition to the
marriage of Queen Mary to Philip of
Spain, and who was beheaded by her
orders for his participation in the re
bellion which- occurred about 1654
Sir Henry Dyatt, the father of Thomas
Wyatt, was a member, of the privy
council of Henry the Eighth. His ma
ternal grandmother, Elizabeth Sea,
was descended from the Duke of Ar
gyll, while his father's mother was
Jane Eddings, the representative of
an old Virginia family. Smith Collins,
the father of Judge Collins, was born
In Orange county, Va., in 1804, the
son of George, and the grandson of
William, both of whom were natives
of the same location. The latter was
an Intimate friend of George Washing
ton and served under him in the Rev.
olutionary war.
In 1846 Mr. Smith Collins outfitted
for the trip across the plains, having
decided to become a pioneer of the
northwest. Besides ten yoke of oxen
he brought with him valuable loose
cattle and horses upon a trip made
memorable by innumerable hardships
and dangers. They crossed the Kan
sas river, thence followed the Republi
can fork, and the Platte river, by Ft.
Laramie, and on to the Black hills.
They were not molested by the In
dians until they reached the Humboldt
valley, In Nevada, but from there on
they encountered considerable difficul
ties. One week was consumed In
passing through the Umpqua canon,
a distance of twelve miles, as they
were compelled to bridge over the
rocks, follow the streams, etc. Upon
their arrival at the present site of
Eugene City, they found but one
house, that having been built by Eu
gene Skinner, but with no occupants.
Here the subject of this sketch re
mained with the wagons and exhaust
ed stock during the winter, while the
rest of the family proceeded on pack-
horses, to the settlements on the
Luckiamute river, about sixty miles
further north.
In the spring of 1147 Mr. Collins
took up a donation claim located be
tween the Luckiamute and Soap creek,
in Polk county, and entered at once
upon the work of reclaiming the land
front Its wilderness state. The Mock
which he had brought with him to
Oregon he turned upon the open
range. By energy, perseverance and
management, he acquired a large
amount of property, in later years
trading stock for land in the southern
part of Polk county, which he retain
ed until the time of his death in 1872
Judge James Layton Collins was
born in Warren county, Mo., May 9,
1833, and shortly before his thirteenth
birthday he was enroute for Oregon, a
member of the first company that ever
came by way of the Klamath lakes,
and across the Siskiyou, Umpqua and
Calapooia mountains into the Willam
ette valley. He was often detailed to
drive the foremost team that broke
down the thick sage brush upon the
trackless waste and was thus in the
van of danger and difficulty through
out the greater part of the trip. On
October 10, the party arrived in the
Willamette velley at the present site
of Eugene City. There a great many
of the hardships and perils of pioneer
life fell upon the shoulders of Judge
Collins, then a mere lad, the neces
sity of providing game in sufficient
quantity for the support of himself
and two sick companions, enforcing
him to shoulder his gun, and with
Its breech breaking the ice in the
sloughs and streams, wade through
them in order to reach good hunting
grounds on the other shore. In the
spring of the following year he set
tled with his parents in Polk county,
where he helped to erect and Improve
their pioneer home. For several years
he remained at home, assisting in the
general work of the farm. During
this period he followed out his nat
ural inclinations and began to de
vote every spare moment to study;
not being able to procure lights, he
pursued his studies by the glow of
the pitchwood fire In the rude fire
place, the foundation for knowledge
having been laid In the subscription
schools of his native state. After a
(ew years, when the family could
manage to get along without his as
sistance, he became a student in the
Id Oregon Institution at Salem, then
conducted by Professor Hoyt. and
hlch has since become Willamette
University. Being under the neces
sity of working for his maintenance
while attending school, he was first
employed by Father Waller. Profes
sor Hoyt soon recognized the intel
lectual qualities of the ambitious lad,
and employed him to cut wood and
to work in the campus garden, for
these services paying him twenty-five
cents per hour. He occupied a room
In the upper story of the college
building, and for two years put In
many hours of hard labor daily, and
soon became proficient in Greek and
other branches.
In 1853 Judge Collins went to the
mines of northern California, where
he remained until the fall of 1855,
when he returned to Oregon. The leg
islature being in session, he secured
position as reporter for the Demo
crat-Standard, and continued as such
until the close of the session, during
which the capital was removed from
Corvallis to Salem. A few days be
fore the adjournment of the legisla
ture Capt. B. F. Burch organized
Company B of the recruiting battalion
of the first regiment of the Oregon
Mounted Volunteers, for service in the
Yakima Indian war. Judge Collins
at once enlisted, and after the ad
journment of the assembly he joined
the troops in the field on the Columbia
river and participated In the hard
ships and perils which followed. He
was with Coloned Thomas R. Corne
lius throughout his famous "horse
meat campaign," when the volunteers
pursued the Indians for two months.
being often reduced to the necessity
of subsisting upon the horses cap
tured from or abandoned by the In
dians in their flight. He also took
an active and honorable Dart in the
battle of the Simcoe, which won for
him the respect of his officers and
the confidence and esteem of all his
comrades in arms.
After the close of hostilities Judge
Collins returned to Polk county and
engaged In teaching school, at the
same time continuing his studies. He
ad previously studied law under Hon.
B. F, Harding and Hon. L. F. Orow-
er while a resident of Salem, and in
185 he made application for admis
sion to the bar. Judge Wilson, then
district attorney, wrote the motion for
his admission, a committee was ap
pointed, consisting of Judges J. O.
Wilson, George H. Williams and Ben
Hayden, to examine him, and he was
admitted November It, of the same
ear. During the session of 1864 and
the special session of 186S he was
chief clerk of the house of represen
tatives. In 1869 he was appointed by
Gov. Geo. L. Woods county judge of
Polk county, and the same year was
appointed by Judge Deady to the of
fice of the United States commission
er, which he held up to the present
time. He has served as deputy pros
ecuting attorney for several years and
has been attorney for the state in
managing the school fund for Polk
county for the past fifteen years. In
politics the Judge is a republican,
though he had been a democrat until
the breaking out of the Civil war.
At that time he abandoned that party
and as a member of the state conven
tion at Eugene City aided in organis
ing the republican party for Its first
effective campaign In Oregon. He has
also served as chairman of the coun
ty central committee, and was a mem
ber of the stato central committee and
has nerved aa a member of the Dallas
city council. As county superinten
dent of schools for two years he was
active m the promotion of education-1
al matters, being instrumental in the
organization of Dallas college, and
takes great interest in all movements
pertaining to the general welfare of
the community. He is a member of
the Methodist Episcopal church and
served as trustee.
The marriage of Judge Collins oc
curred in Polk county in 1861, Miss
Mary Whiteaker becoming his wife.
She was born in De Kalb county, 111.,
in 1846, the daughter of John White
aker, who was one of the pioneers
of Polk county in 1847, and a relative
of John Whiteaker, the first governor
of Oregon. Mrs. Collins died in 1864,
leaving one daughter, Nellie, who is
a graduate of La Creole Academy, the
State Normal school at Monmouth,
and the New York State Normal col
lege at Oswego, N. Y. She is now
critic in the State Normal school at
Madison, S. D., which position she has
occupied for the past ten years. On
January 1, 1867, Judge Collins mar
ried for his second wife, Miss Mary
E. Kimes, a native of De Kalb coun
ty, Mo., and a daughter of Lewis Ray
Kimes, who started with his familv
for Oregon In 1852 and was drowned
while attempting to cross the Mis
souri river. His widow continued her
journey to Oregon, locating in Yam
hill county, where was born her son,
Lewis Ray Kimes, now a prominent
farmer of Polk county. To Judge
and Mrs. Collins were born ten chll
dren, namely: Ray Smith, deceased
Edgar Layton of Kalama, Wash.
Mary, wife of Prof. E. E. Watts, of
Washington county, Oregon; Ednelle,
of Dallas; Ben David, deceased; Ora;
Frank Wyatt, a mechanical engineer
in the Union Iron works of San Fran
cisco; Louise; James Dean; and Mar
garet, deceased.
In 1859 Judge Collins opened an of
fice in Independence, but since 1860
has been continuously engaged in the
practice of law in Dallas. By his con
temporaries he is regarded as an able
lawyer, a safe counselor, a -strong
pleader, well grounded in the prin
ciples of his chosen profession, and
equipped with unexcelled ability to
apply them correctly to the case in
hand. A young attorney once cast
reflections upon the integrity of Judge
Collins. Governor Glbbs replied: "He
is a man who may safely be trusted
with uncounted gold." An attempt
was once made to throw out of court
a case in which Judge Collins was
the attorney, i Judge Boise, who pre
sided, said: "Judge Collins has prac
ticed before me, and uniformly ap
peared with the best papers ever pre
sented in my court." The motion was
overruled.
This brief outline of the life record
of Judge Collins Illustrates what care
ful and thorough preparation, deter
mination and perseverance, supple
mented by a righteous ambition to at
tain a position of responsibility and
honor, win accomplish. Many a young
man of the. present generation, or of
generations yet to come, doubtless will
find in the story of his life much that
will prove an incentive to earnest and
conscientious effort, and without these
qualifications no man may hope to
make a success of his elected vocation,
regardless of the extent of his mental
r
CONSOLATION FOR THE LOVE LORN
utvv40 1 GOT AS FAR AS FIGURING
OUT HOW MUCH THE FURNJ TURE WOULD
COST WHEN SHE CHANGED HER MIND.
INSTEAD OF GETTING MAn iwr. iochimo
WITH HER, SAT. DOWN AND SMOKED AN
Ml U KSmssSt T -t-W-W I, A
j.
MM & J ssr sTTT iiiMMjj ' .sfW m
-J IUT ammr yy
0101E
WHAT IT
attainments.
A REAL HOT BISCUIT FIEND.
Professor Horner Accuses Van Orsdel
of Being Champion of Benton.
Ex-Mayor Van Orsdel has a reputa
tion In Corvallis for being the champ
ion hot-biscut eater of Benton coun
ty. If this statement Is not true then
Professor Hornet has grossly misrep
resented the facts. While the latter
was in Dallas on Tuesday he related
an Instance or two wherein "Van
had distinguished himself along this
particular line, asserting without fear
of successful contradiction that the
elongated individual to whom he re
ferred had eaten blank biscuits at
single sitting. The number is left blank
not because The Observer's represen
tative failed to catch the professor's
words but because of the humiliation
that Its publication might heap upon
the subject of this sketch.
Mr. Van Orsdel, who stood hard by
while the professor was relating his
Interesting experiences with the Dal
las man, acknowledged the corn, but
shifted the blame for his abnormal
appetite upon Mrs. Horner, whom he
declared could "beat the world making
biscuits." And Horner accepted the
compliment as though it were his very
own.
Booze Peddlers Arrested.
Coming over from Independence
last night a couple of young men
were spotted by Night Officer Dick
Rogers, as they were conveying a lot
of packages into a house on First
street, and their stock of goods was
taken charge of. It consisted of for
ty-four quarts of beer. One of the
young men was arrested, and this
morning was taken before Recorder
Van Tassel and fined tlO under the
ordinance prohibiting the carrying of
intoxicating liquors, pleading guilty.
The other escaped and fled from the
city, and has not yet been apprehend
ed. Albany Democrat.
Monday evening. May 14. will be
open meeting night of the Knights of
Pythias lodge, and the entertainment
committee Is busy preparing a pro
gram for the occasion. This lodge Is
constantly Increasing in membership.
AND
WHAT
irnn
DOES
Ozone or O S is the three valued form of Oxygen or O a, in other words it Is active Oxygen. It la so active that
when It comes In contact with substances containing Carbon Its third atom Immediately attacks the carbon and
forms carbonic acid with it, thus destroying disease germs the solids of which consist to t0 of carbon.
ozone is found in the air after thunderstorms where the lightning has transformed the natural Oxygen of the
air In a small part Into Ozone.
Ozone Is found In tile air of forests on high mountains and In the air at the sea shore, and health resorts are
for that reason located In such localities so as to give patients the benefit of the small amount of Ozone In the air
they breathe. But the amount thus naturally found In the air of certain localities Is very small and In serious cases
of disease Is far too small to effect a cure.
Ozone to be of value In diseases has to be Inhaled in a concentrated form, and to make this possible It has to-
be passed through certain ethereal oils to be deprived of Us Irritating qualities.
some ten years ago when practicing In
DR.
CHICAGO
being also an electrical engineer, was consulting
engineer for Chicago firms that were building Ozonators. Wishing to give the people of this section the benent at
Ozone treatment, he decided to make use of Ills experience in designing them, and last week went to Portland to build
one for use In his office.
He has now returned with the finished machine and Is ready to treat patients that need this form of treatment at
his office.
The composition of the oils has always been kept a profound secret by the manufacturers of Osne machines;
but Dr. TeH, designing the machines for them of course knows the composition of the oils.
Hop and Prune Stores.
We are selling our new model stoves
at a reduced price this year; 1-foot
stove $14; f-foot stove SIS. Dallas
Iron Works. 11-tf.
We have some men's and young
men's suits, strictly all wool and hand
tailored, at tt.M. tll.lt to Ut.tt.
that you will And are the best values
ia town. The Bee Hive store. II
OZONE TREATMENT
Is of the greatest value In all diseases that depend upon Infection by
DISEASE GERMS
After half an hour of Inhalation of the purified Osone the smell can be detected In the urine 24 hours later yet.
This shows that the Osone pervades tlie entire body wherever the bloodvessels ran carry K. It Is absorbed by the
blood In the lungs and destroys disease germs that may be In the blood and In addition Increases the number of the
red blood corpuscles. In other words It improves and purines the blood. Pure blood and disease are strangers.
IT HAS BEEN USED SUCCESSFULLY
IN LA GRIPPE. BRONCHITIS, TI IIKRCXLOM8, PNEUMONIA, TYPHOID FEVER, BIXX)D POISONING OF DIP
FERENT FORMS, CATARRH, INTESTINAL DISEASES, DIFFERENT FORMS OF SKIN DISEASES. NERVOUS
DISEASES. INDIGESTION, INSOMNIA, ANAEMIA, CONSTIPATION, IN FACT IN DISEASES THAT DEPEND UP
ON GERM INFECTION OR POOR BLOOD.
CONSULTATION ON OZONE FREE
It Washington Street, one half block east of 8. P. R. R, Depot
DALLAS, POLK COUNTT, OREGON.