Evan E. Filby's Blog: South Fork and More, page 35

Sheepmen John Wilson and Daniel Cummings Found Dead [otd 02/16]

On the morning of February 16, 1896, sheepman Edgar "Ted" Severe settled his flock and then set up camp. Twelve days earlier, a looming snow storm had chased him from the campsite, located about 26 miles south of the near-future town of Twin Falls. Ted was worried. His flock was well over into cattle country, west of the informal “deadline” that was supposed to separate sheep from cattle range.
Sheep wagon. Library of Congress.
He had received thinly-veiled threats, but no one had directly...

Wife, Sounding Board, and Philanthropist Lillian Bounds Disney [otd 02/15]

Lillian Marie Bounds, wife of the world-renowned entertainment innovator Walt Disney, was born February 15, 1899, in Spalding, Idaho, about ten miles east of Lewiston. She grew up on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation, where her father was a Federal marshal and a blacksmith.
Lewiston, ca. 1918. J. H. Hawley photo.
Around her, the Indians still wore traditional garb and the pioneer environment dominated. While the old “Wild West” was passing, horses were still far more common than cars. As a...

Mining and Irrigation Developer, and Boise Founder John A. O’Farrell [otd 02/13]

John O'Farrell. H. T. French photo.World traveler and Boise pioneer John Andrew O'Farrell was born February 13, 1823, in Ulster, Ireland. He went to sea after two years in a naval school: The round trip from London to Calcutta and back made O'Farrell a seasoned sailor at 16. He then became a crew member on an East India Company ship that sailed to Sydney, Australia, and widespread points in between.

O’Farrell remained in England for a year or so, qualifying as a shipyard worker. He then...

Pioneer Camas Prairie Physician John W. Turner, M. D. [otd 02/12]

Camas Prairie and Cottonwood, Idaho physician John Wesley Turner was born February 12, 1861, while his parents were visiting relatives and friends in Indiana. Afterwards, the family returned to their home in Kansas and John grew up in an area about forty miles south of Kansas City. As a young man, he worked at a drug store for two years before beginning classes at the Eclectic Medical Institute in Cincinnati.
Dr. Turner. [Illust-North]
Eclectic medicine prided itself on selecting “whatever...

Attorney and Legal Scholar Colonel Edwin G. Davis, D.S.M. [otd 02/09]

Colonel Davis. H. T. French photo.Colonel Edwin G. Davis was born on February 9, 1873, at Samaria, Idaho, near Malad City. An early interest in teaching led him to a year as school principal in Utah, followed by a year as a principal in Malad. Then, in 1896, a member of the U. S. House of Representatives from Idaho secured him an appointment to the Military Academy.

Davis graduated from West Point in June 1900. Three months later, he found himself in the Philippine, where the Army was trying...

Governor Bottolfsen Signs Junior College District Bill into Law [otd 02/07]

Governor Bottolfsen.
University of Idaho archives.On February 7, 1939, Governor Clarence A. Bottolfsen signed a bill that authorized the formation of local junior college districts in the state of Idaho. The new law allowed district voters to approve a local tax levy to support the school. Also, the district would receive half the state liquor store profits collected in the county where the school was located.

The law arose largely at the instigation of advocates in the Boise Valley, who had...

World War I Hero Army Lieutenant John Regan, D.S.C. [otd 02/06]

Timothy Regan. J. H. Hawley photo.U. S. Army Lieutenant John M. Regan, D.S.C., was born February 6, 1886, in Silver City, Idaho. John’s father Timothy, with ample capital from his hotel and other business interests, came into possession of many valuable mining properties as they fell on hard times. When the economy improved, Timothy grew not just prosperous, but quite wealthy. The family moved to Boise City in 1889 and father Regan quickly became a prominent leader in area development.

John...

Boise Watchmaker, Optician, and Inventor James T. Laughlin [otd 02/05]

Boise jewelry store owner, and inventor, James Thomas Laughlin was born February 5, 1863 on a farm about forty miles southeast of Canton, Ohio. While James was still very young, the family moved to a farm in western Illinois. They moved again in 1870-71 to a farm in western Iowa, about twenty miles from Omaha, Nebraska.
James Laughlin. [Hawley]
James worked for his father until about 1884, when he landed a job at a jewelry store in a small town about fifteen miles north of the family farm.

Back...

Idaho Developer and State Legislator Capt. John E. Yates [otd 02/04]

Idaho rancher and Boise banker and developer John E. Yates was born February 4, 1845 in Bristol, Maine, a coastal town about forty miles northeast of Portland. His father disappeared on a sea voyage when John was four years old, a fate that had overtaken several of John’s forebears and relatives. Despite that, Yates went to sea himself when he was sixteen. Ten years of experience gained him promotion to ship’s captain and the wherewithal to invest in the ships he commanded. 
Captain...

Right Reverend Alphonsus Glorieux, Bishop, Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise [otd 02/01]

Bishop Glorieux. H. T. French photo.The first Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise, the Right Reverend Alphonsus Joseph Glorieux was born February 1, 1844, in Belgium. After college, he went to seminary at the American College at Louvain, just east of Brussels. He graduated from there in 1867, and was ordained and sent to Roseburg, Oregon.

After four years at various posts, Glorieux was appointed President of St. Michael's College in Portland, Oregon. Then, in 1884, Catholic...