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.