Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 24, 1972)
raw The Harlan Mel urdy Sr'n In the southwestern corner of this count) from 1893 to 1897 there was a Davidson Postoffice. It was established by Civil War veteran Gam aliel Davidson and his wife lzabella who bomesteaded there and be can raising their family besid the A.P. Lov gren family which has nun descendants in the county. The Davidson children in cluded a son Louis who married Ella Lovpren and who moved into lone so that their children could at tend school there. Their children were Mabel (Mrs. Arthur Reese) both of v. horn are dead, Elvina .Mrs. Kay Beesiey) o! Dobbins, Ca. Delia kMrs.' Harlan McCurdy. Sr.) and Tom of Los Ange les. Delia nurned Harlan McCurdy Sr. who came from the Mayvilie section of Gil liam County and who was op erating a confectionery store in lone at the time of their marriage. Delia says she ex pected candy and ice cream from then on-but Harlan's store burned down shortly after thev were married. M3SE RECENT McCl'RDYS After the f:re Harlan and Delia returned to the David son Ranch and farmed there until 15-52 .Ivan Cox has that property no.) After that they moved to Heppner and then later gave Arizona a try be f jr.: hu'.ing a place at Dul ;ura, Ca. They love to sun: t:..;r in Morrow and are up a", the Blake Ranch Resort :r.:s summer. Their children are Maxitie Mrs. Leonard Gil man) oi I a..: Beach, Ca. w ho has sons Lance and Brent, and Harlar, McCurdy, Jr. of Portland, who was with the M.C.G.G. far many years, resigning as manager in 1369. The Har lan McCurdy, J r' s. have three daughters. Dianne (Mrs. Bruce Mover) of MissoUa, Mont., Janet who works as a secretary in Portland, and Karen (Mrs Douglas Dubuque) who teaches the 2nd grade in Heppner. Mrs. Andrew Thomas Harris This is a look backward at the present Fred Kos kins Jr. ranch north of Hepp ner, which joins the south fence of the Willow Creek Golf Club. The Hoskins came there after the Frank Par kers, who came after the Benees. who came after the Oscar Minors, who bought the place from the homestead ers Mr. and Mrs. James Ferguson. A granddaughter of the Fergusons lives across the highway in the first house toward Heppner, a very pretty yellow bungalow, and her name is Mrs. Tom Har ris. Her mother, Julia Fer guson was born on that ranch in the house ber grandfather, James Ferguson built. Julia Ferguson married Dave Presley the son of a Butter Creek homesteader. MJjlKlM'NKlC i.oixji: jK- rVw n:iiui i. m hyk i: "' ' l.l.-li'U n ;.-n'T Ir.l. hi'Ii J Ki-tiiftnliralM , h.nii. tt (.MlHl IttMltN i 'I . . ' rn. T iw lit nr lie Orval Matheny brought in this handsome memorial folder beautifully printed in gold. 1972 is the Heppner Lodge's 75th birthday. The Lodge celebrated Keppner's anniversary Aug. 5th with a barbecue. was one of three M-irrow THE PRESLEYS Nancy Presley Harris is a descendent of two pioneer families ana is very close!;, identified with a third family, the George Vinsons. Her paternal grandparents, the Ransom Presleys homestcad ed on little Bitter Creek where the Bill Healy family is now. Her grandmother Car oline Presley came from Eng land. Her first husband Ransom Presley died, and she then married George Vinson, a very early homesteader up the creek aways. Nancy's father Dave who had inheri ted his parent's ranch sold it and bought further up the creek where the Randall Mar tins ownnow. Nancy's nrotfier Julia died and Nancy and her brother Elmer went to live with their grandmother and step-grandfather on the George Vinson homestead which is still the Vinson place. Elmer Presleyl'.S.N. m 1- f.ir-r .iir t liti.' f niti urn It ti' T -nii rw urn , I. .It lit.- t't ilu.-li ..( h. r I; furvn.-l; " boys killed in World War I. THE HARRIS FAMXY Tom Harris s parents came from Minnesota to live in Pen dleton after Ins father had retired. The antiques in the present Harris's home are from his parents - the old things from the Presley fam ily were lost in the floods. The Tom Harris's have two living children, a daughter Julia, now Mrs. Harold Hill of Coos Bay, and their son Darrell who lives on the Har ris Ranch on upper Rhea Creek; his wife the former Creth Craber helps the W rights at the Ruggs Store. They have two sons, Bob and John. The Harrises lost a daughter June as a child and a son Ren in a logging accident much later--his son Renne Harris is in Portland being ordained as an Epis copal minister; and daughter Sheryl (Mrs. Donald Hevener) lives in McMinnville. L KXTKKK'lt. mioWl.Ml TKAMS WITH 'KlI. l FBONT Wf RTOHK. The B.P.Dnhrrty family lius account was written by Mary Agnes Duly Dolierty about her husband's family. "B.P. Doherty (Little Bar ney) btrn in 1865, left Glein keen, Co. Donegal, Ireland and came to New York City about 1885 and on to Oregon to work for Cunningham Sheep at Pilot Rock. Charles Cun ningham was married to a Sarah Doherty who would be a cousin and who was the sister of James G. Doherty who settled early in Black Horse Canyon. B P. was good at carpenter work and built lots of panels and pens to hold sheep and cattle and worked his way into the sheep business with Antone Cunha of Echo, and they moved north and west to the Columbia River. They spent a winter where Hermiston is today." SETTLES IN SAND HOLLOW "B.P. homesteaded east of Sand Hollow next to the Van Winkle land (Hwy 207 goes by the old homestead). About 1890 he bought Hie Van Win kle place and started adding to the two places. Today the Navy Bombing range has quite a bit of his land, as has D.O. Nelson, GaryGneb, Larry Lindsay, and his sons Bernard P. and William J. Dohertv MORE DOHERTYS "In 1895 he m?rned Cath- eryn Doherty Little Katie) in Pendleton and they moved to Sand Hollow and she cook ed for big crews-lambing, haying and later harvesting. Tney had nine children-Mary 'deceased); Frank Curran, Pendleton, Bernard (Bar ney), Pendleton; Kathryn Monagle, who recently left Heppner for Pendleton; Will iam J. .Bill) on the home place; John ., Hermiston (deceased); Rosella Lindsay, Lexington (mother of Larry); Lawrence, retired, of Echo, Dorothy Ann, a nurse of Port land and Pendleton. "B.P. was well known for his kind acts to young Irish who came looking for work and the Doherty home was headquarters for many. When his children were in school he moved them to Pendleton and they all went to St. Jo seph's Academy. The Doherty home west of town was called The Grove and all the Irish people gathered there on Sun days in the cool trees and it was again home for them. "Barney passed away at Sand Hollow in August 1935. His soils William J, and grandson William James still farm the old home place, and there are three great-grandchildren living there now . The Dohertys look forward to be ing a century ranch in 1988." Mm. Frank Avert (Elsie Furlong Patrick Henry Furlong and his wife the former Mary Anne Noone, both second genera tion Irish, rushed out to California in 1849. but came back north to Oregon later. They first homesteaded on lihea Creek near Ruggs. but sold to E O Farnsworth and moved to McKinny Creek out of Hardman w here their eight children were born. The F'urlong "kids" were. Charlie, father of Kay (Mrs. Frank Anderson); Teresa i Mrs Fred Knighteni whose duaghter is Viola Knighten fYuitt, Jimmy (father of James & Howard Furlong); John, Bert Albert: Ernest, William. E:isie, and Scott, the lather of Mrs Verlm Math ews. These eight did a lot to keep the teachers busy at the Bur ton Valley and McDaniels schools FJIsie Furlong Avers has Ix-e-n a professional cook around Heppner. She cooked for awhile at O'DonneH's cafe now the Wagon Wheel i. for awhile at the new Pioneer Memorial Hospital, and for uwhiie ran her own restaurant called "Elsie's" beside the Masonic Bldg on Mam St where Turner. Van Marter and Bryant have their new office now. Elsie Furlong Avers says that she is the las! of the Furlongs in Eastern Oregon She admits to being 83 years old last June. As we visited I mentioned that Phebe Thom son Bartholomew who was just 98 was the oldest person I have written about. Elsie recalls that she was present at Phebe'sWth birthday party at the Butter Creek ranch and that Phebe said she felt like climbing a tree and riding a horse-and went quickly to do these two things- she climbed a tree and picked some apples, and saddled up and rode around the place. Elsie attends St. Patrick's Church.
