Washington County, Idaho Biographies

 JOHN BRYON AND EMMA (OTTMAN) GLASCOCK AND FAMILY

 John Bryon Glascock, was born in Yolo County, California on November 14th, 1857. He was the eleventh child of Spencer and Sarah (Glascock) Glascock. Spencer & Sarah Glascock had the following children; Harrison (who died in Marion County, Missouri at the age of a year), Harriett, Clinton, Charles, Ann, Daniel, Margaret, James, Mary, Emma, Sarah. John was the eleventh child in this family.

Spencer, was a native of Virginia. As a young man he left Virginia to go to the wilderness of Marion County, Missouri. There he married, Sarah Glascock daughter of Asa and Anna Glascock on the 14th of May, 1833. Then Spencer Glascock left Missouri with horses without his family for El Dorado County, California in 1850 to check out the mining broom that California was having that year. He mined there till about January 1852. Then he crossed the plains back to Missouri to get his family and belongings to bring them to California. Then in April of the same year the family, which consisted of Sarah, Harriett, Clinton, Charles, Ann, Margaret, James and Emma left Missouri to Yolo County, California where Sarah’s brother, George and his wife lived. In 1866 Spencer applied for a Donation land claim in the Capay Valley in Yolo County, California and took up freighting as an occupation. There is a Glascock Spring and a Glascock Mountain named after Daniel and Clinton in Capay Valley. Daniel (Tuck) and Clinton belonged to a gang of outlaws that had their headquarters “with a skull and crossbones carved in a tree”, on the Glascock Mountain in the Capay Valley.

About 1877, after Spencer died, four of his sons, John, Charles, Clinton, Daniel, one sister, Sarah, accompanied by his widow left California for Idaho. According to stories passed down from the family the brothers rode into Weiser on stolen horses, they had stolen from outside a bar in California. Some court records in Yolo, Coulsa County, California verify this. They were among the earliest settlers in Weiser, Idaho. They camped in the sagebrush without any conveniences of life till they were able to get Homestead’s.

John met a young woman, Emma Ottman, born 14th of February 1860 in New York. She was the daughter of Henrich (Henry) and Francisco (Frances) Ottman of Weiser who had came in about 1880 from Atchison County, Missouri. They were married 1st of January 1878 in Boise, Ada County, Idaho.  They received One Hundred and Sixty Acres Donation land claim, along the Weiser River in SW, Washington County, Idaho.

They had the following children, Margaret (Maude), John S, Llewellyn and George Oscar Glascock.  Their first child, Margaret Glascock, nickname Maude, born about 1879. She married George Coleman at Weiser, Idaho on the 7th of January 1899. They had the following children; William and Raymond. Maude died in 1911, although her tombstone has 1910 on it, but according to a land record she still was still alive as of 16th of January 1911. Both George and Maude are both buried at the Oywhee Cemetery near Nyssa, Oregon.

Their second child, John S Glascock, nickname Jack, born on the 1st August 1880, Weiser, Idaho. John married Cora Schweitzer at Vale, Oregon on the 15th of June. They had the following children; John and Alice. He died the 30th of November 1973 at Phoenix, Arizona. He is buried at the Owhyee Cemetery near Nyssa, Oregon. Cora, died on the 1st February 1965 at Phoenix, Arizona. She’s buried in Arizona.

Their third child, Della Llewellyn Glascock, was born on the 26 February, 1882, Weiser, Idaho. She married Harry Robinson. They had the following children; Francis, Edna, Juanita, and Winoma. She died 3rd January 1947, Portland, Oregon, buried in Rose City Cemetery at Portland, Oregon. Harry is buried in the Lincoln Memorial Park at Portland, Oregon.

Their fourth child was my grandfather, George Oscar Glascock, nickname Pete, born 4th May 1884, Weiser, Idaho. According to my mother, Viola Glascock Fields, her father George Oscar was the first white child born in the new section of Weiser after the old town buried down. The old section of Weiser had burned down two times so which time it was I don’t have proof. George, married Anna Jo Robertson, at Vale, Oregon on the 24th of August 1914. To this union six children were born, Emma, Viola, Thelma, Gloria, Laverne and Lovena. My grandfather was killed 22nd September 1937 in a hunting accident at Flag Prairie, Grant County, Oregon. You take the Dalles Military Road South West of Prairie City, Oregon to get where he was hunting when he got killed. Anna Jo died 20 October 1944 at Ontario, Oregon due to heart trouble she had most all of her life. They are buried along side each other in the Owyhee Cemetery near Nyssa, Oregon. The Owyhee cemetery was started by George’s wife, Anna’s father Joseph Robertson.

After John, had died from a gun wound on the 8th day of September 1889. She sold 80 acres of her land to Frank M. Hubbard of Weiser. Then 2nd of October, 1895 she sold another eighty acres of her land to Thomas W. Kimborough and Mary E. Kimborough. After her husband died, she went to keeping house and caring for Frank Hubbard’s children. Her death occurred at his home, November 6, 1898. She died from heart failure. She had contacted a severe cold and immediately after dinner on Sunday and one of her children went for Doctor Shirley, but when arrived death had already occurred. She was buried on Monday, at the Hillcrest Cemetery, Weiser along side of her husband. She leaves two sons and two daughters. She leaves a brother, Henry Ottman, three sisters, Rose Gallient of Weiser, Fannie Johnston of Huntington, Oregon, Francis Cooke of Seattle, Washington and Laura Charlbeorg of Eureka, California. Proceeded her in death was a sister, Helena McKinney of Midvale, Idaho, a brother, Frederick and her parents.

According to the Weiser Leader newspaper Friday 13 September 1889, the following is the write up on the “Killing of John Bryon Glascock” 8th September 1889. John passed away the 8th of September 1889 due to a gun wound he received in a shooting at the Palace Saloon, Weiser, Idaho. According to the verdict of the Coroner’s Jury, at the inquest held over the body of John B. Glascock on Sunday, 9th September 1889. The shooting occurred between the hours of ten and eleven o’clock Saturday night on the corner of Commercial and First Streets, in front of the Palace Saloon. A troop of the 2nd Cavalry in route for Boise on their return from Payette Lake, camped near here on the island near the bridge over the Weiser, River. The man had been in the streets during the day and seemed to be a quiet and orderly set of men. There was no drinking among them and seemed to be only enjoying themselves. A, party of eight soldiers were standing in the front of the Palace Saloon when a Corporal of the Cavalry Troops, named James Brink, was shot through the neck not fatally. The evidence before the Coroner’s Jury proved the deed was done by a shot from a pistol in the hands of the deceased, John B. Glascock, who immediately ran down Commercial Street, followed by the soldiers who fired several shot’s which one of them hit John B. Glascock, which caused his death. The bullet passed through his body near a area of his heart He was found in the doorway of a cellar in the rear of one of the buildings near the old bakery. A grave question presents itself in this tragedy, where does the responsibility rest? The newspaper had written several articles on not having any kind of law in Weiser.

Mr. Glascock was not looked upon as a hard citizen or hoodlum. He had lots of warm friends, and every one like Johnny. He was a persistent joker and there was no limit to this trait in his character and never did play a joke with evil intent. It was particularly was all fun with him. John’s word was his bond and all that knew him agreed. He was prompt in all his money transactions, and could go to any of his friends and get what he wanted, just on his word. The fault of the deceased lay in being the associates of a hard class of men of whom he was easy duked, and being sober some addicted to drinking, was easily persuaded to do things, in his sober moments, he would of never thought about doing this.

Now according to his son, John S., Glascock, the story about this shooting in the paper hasn’t been told all together right. This is the way the story was told to my mother, Viola Glascock Fields, by John B’s son John (Jack) Glascock. John B., was playing cards in the Palace Saloon with his friends and some of the Cavalry Troops came into the Saloon, and made several remarks and they started shooting and everyone started to scatter. John B., jump over the bar and one of the Cavalry Troops soldier’s leaned over the bar, shot John B in the back. John B ran out of the Saloon, crawled into basement down the street. Several people could hear him moaning but they were afraid to look to see how he was. When they finally did go look, they found him dead. They sent for his wife and thirteen year old son, John (Jack) to identify John B. John B had stuffed his wound with gunnysacks. John (Jack) said the owner of the bar told him that there’d always be a jug outside the door for him. He only went once to pick the jug up as, his mother told him not to pick it up anymore, as she thought it more or less a bribe for them to keep their mouth’s quite, as they always thought they had covered up the real truth in order to get law and order in Weiser.

John B. Glascock’s funeral was held the 10th of September from the residence of John Radley, about two miles up the valley.

(Sometimes, there are different spellings of Glascock and Ottman: Glasscock and Ottmann and Oatman. Also on Emma’s mother there is records that say she was a Widner, Widmer, Widman & Whitrow. I don’t know what her maiden name is for sure. This information came from death, cemetery, census, nationalism paper, newspaper & personal knowledge.)

Written by their great granddaughter, Bonnie Bartlett. 10th of April, 2008

GEORGE AND ANNA ROBERTSON GLASCOCK

BIOGRAPHY OF MY GRANDPARENTS  

My grandfather, George Oscar Glascock was born May 4th, 1884 at Weiser, Idaho to John Bryon and Emma (Ottman) Glascock. His brother and sisters were John, Maude and Della. According to family members, he was the first white child born in the new part of Weiser, as the old section burned down two times before he was born. His father was killed in a shooting outside the Palace Saloon on January 8th, 1889. His mother died of a heart attack November 9, 1898 while getting supper ready for her children and the Frank Hubbard family. His sister’s helped raise him till his brother John took him with him to the Owyhee in Malheur County, Oregon in 1903.

When George first arrived on the Owyhee, he worked with a group of men to gather wild horses that were in the Owyhee breaks.  George and his brother John helped level land on the Owyhee for others with a four horse team and Fresno. He later was a cook when they started building the Oywhee dam. While working on this job, he and a friend, Sam Watson, went up Succor Creek to dig out young coyotes. While they were camped up there, a wild band of hog’s got into their provisions so they had to cut their trip short.

In 1911, George bought 15 acres from his sister, Maude & George Coleman. It was located near what is off of the corner of Owyhee Avenue and Heritage Drive.

At the age of 23, about January 1914 George took up homesteading one hundred and fifty nice acres, near the Owyhee River in the Kingman Kolony area. He pumped water to irrigate out the Owyhee River, first with a crude engine, later using an electric motor which the pump house that he built was shared with his brother John and the Fenn family. In May of 1917 my grandfather and his brother put a 42 foot lift ditch to water some of their high land. The water will be pumped

from the Owyhee River by the electric power line. In August of 1917, my grandfather purchased a new Deering mower which to harvest a fine crop of wheat on land which formerly produced only sagebrush. His ranch is one of those which are supplied with water by the electric power which was put in the spring to have a way of means to reclaiming much of the land that was barren.

On the 24th of August 1914, George married Anna Jo Robertson after a short

courtship at Vale, Oregon. She was the daughter of Joseph and Sarah Pettit Robertson. She was born the 20th March 1893 at the Bill Smith’s residence, which is called the Kingman Kolony area. Their wedding came as a complete surprise to their families and friends. After learning of their marriage the young people of the vicinity gave them a charivari party and serenaded the couple at their home.

Kingman Kolony area was started by A. G. Kingman in 1905 which was north of Adrian. It was a community of about twenty families which included the Glascocks and Robertson families. Joseph Robertson was the head of the Kingman Kolony school board.

George was ranching and farming before they were married, besides working as a cook.

To this couple five girls were born which included twins. Emma Glascock, 4 January 1915 on the Doc Pullen place on the Owyhee; Viola Nellie Glascock, 3rd September 1916 at the Bill McEwen place on the Owyhee; Thelma Buelah Glascock, 1 June 1919, Nyssa, Oregon; Gloria Belle Glascock, 9th November 1921 at the Holy Rosary Hospital at Ontario, Oregon; Laverne Luellen Glascock and Lovena Jo Glascock September 9, 1926 in a private hospital in Ontario, Oregon. Viola’s nickname was Ivy, Thelma’s was Tony, Laverne’s was Vicky and Lovena’s was Nicky. My grandparents and their daughters worked hard for everything that they had. They raised horses, mules, cows, calves, turkeys, chickens, sheep, bummer lambs (which are lambs without parents) and you had to bottle feed the bummer lambs by hand. You fed them with a bottle with a nipple. When it was time to take the calves to market the twins rode theirs that they had raised to the market to sell. They also raised hay, grain, corn and alfalfa which they sold to the sheep-men and others in the valley.

The girls rode horse back to Kingman Kolony School and church, which was nine miles round trip to there and back. It wasn’t thought of a hardship but of having fun while riding their horses.

My mother, Viola, had a horse named “Jetta”. Every once in a while when Mom rode “Jetta”, the horse would run away with her and she’d have to hang on for dear life till her horse slowed down to a trot. One time on the way home from school, my mother decided to challenge a new girl, Liz who was envied by others at school which included my mother. Liz was a Russian girl from a family of five. While they were both riding home on their horses from school, my mother decided to see how rapid Liz was at riding her horse, “Cactus”, which was a borrowed fast gelding. My mother went flying by on her horse, with her lunch box swinging, struck Liz’s head, knocking her off her horse. Liz bounced back to her feet and started walking home, while my mothers horse got spooked from the excitement and ran off with my mother hanging on for dear life till at last the horse slowed down. In the fall the milk cows were turned loose to graze on the open range so in the spring time on the way home from school the girls had to find the cows and herd them home.

Emma and my mother, Viola, put their sister Thelma in a wagon then hooked the wagon to a calf, then they sic the dogs on to the calf. Thelma and her calf went right through the fence. Afterwards they were glad she wasn’t hurt but they got in a lot of trouble with their parents for pulling this prankster joke. Another time Emma and her friend, Ruth was close to a farmer’s watermelon field. They steadily approached the patch in broad daylight. They spotted the one they was about to take, they carefully trumped it, lilting it from the vine. Then they heard a voice saying, “That’s all right girls, take as many as you want.” They froze in their tracks. It turned out to be the owner of the watermelon field.

The girls always were going swimming during the summer time on the Owyhee River which was near their house. They had a raft that they used on the river. My mother, Viola, decided it was time for her sister, Gloria to learn how to swim. She put her on the raft and pushed the raft out in the middle of the river and swam back to shore and left her sister on the raft. She yelled at her sister to get off the raft and swim back to shore as if she stayed on the raft, she’d be going down the river. After a little bit, Gloria knew her sister meant what she said. She got the nerve to get off the raft and got back into the water. After hanging on to the raft trying to get brave enough to let go of the raft, she finally let go of the raft and started dog paddling her way back to the shore. She learned how to swim that day to say the least. Gloria was quite a horseback rider, she done a lot of tricks with her horse. She’d ride with one of her twin sisters on her shoulder. She was always in the parades with her horse doing tricks along the route with one of the twins on her shoulder. Later on in life she used her niece Ruby Lou Hite to do the tricks on the horse. She’d have Ruby Lou in a pretty fancy red dress when she took her to the parades in Nyssa and Adrian, Oregon.

After Emma and my mother Viola entered high school they always went to the dances. They really like to dance; in fact all the girls loved dancing and were good dancers. One night, Emma got to drive their parent’s car to the dance. After the dance was over, one of the young men wanted a ride home with them as he lived in the same area as they did. It was quite a walk from Adrian to his home. The dances were mostly held at Adrian. The headlights weren’t working on their car and my mother, Viola, was supposed to set on the fender of the car and hold a kerosene lamp at night while Emma drove. Emma told the young man that he could ride home with them but he’d have to take Viola’s place and hold the kerosene lamp. Well, to say the least this young man was thrilled that he had a ride home instead of walking. Instead of my aunt Emma driving on the road she cut across the fields and gave him quite a ride home. This young man had a rough time hanging on as they hit quite a few rough spot’s. He didn’t know that she was doing this on purpose. She was always full of prankster tricks she done. I bet he was one happy young man to get home. He never did figure out that Emma cut across that field to give him a scare of his life. She said he never did ask for another ride home with them.

On the girl’s birthday’s my grandmother always had a birthday tea for them with their friends coming to the party. She called it a tea party; she’d make tea, homemade ice-cream along with a cake which usually was a chocolate cake. On my mother’s sixth birthday, she was given a party with several friends. Cake & cocoa was served.

Some of the girls attended 4H and would get to go to Corvallis, Oregon for a couple days. The Kingman Kolony School sent my mother and Leonard Nichols to the 4H summer session in Corvallis, Oregon in  June of  1911. She took Home Economics in school and had won 1st prize with Leonard winning 2nd prize.

Mom and Thelma would stay for days with their Uncle Frank & Aunt Nellie Newbill. Nellie was my grandmother’s sister. Thelma was named after her Aunt Nellie’s daughter who passed away at a young age.

My grandfather was somewhat of a moody person and there would be days he wouldn’t talk to anyone but his daughter Emma. He’d shut everyone else out.

My grandfather life was cut short at a young age. He was killed accidentally on his first hunting trip. They were hunting out of Prairie City, Oregon in the old Dallas Military Road area which is part of it is called Flag Prairie. He didn’t want to go but his friends talked him into going. He never liked guns as his father was killed in a shootout in Weiser, Idaho when he was about 5 years old. The shooting was one of those freak accidents that happens. Dwight Burke and my grandfather were seated on a log resting and James Hite and his hunting partner were across the  valley hunting. James looked across the valley in search of a deer when he spotted what he thought was one, instead it was his father-in-law seated on a log with a gun leaning back over his shoulder. James fired and the bullet entered the left side of my grandfather’s neck coming out the right shoulder. He died instantly at 11 a.m. that Wednesday morning of September 22, 1937. It took all day for the coroner to get at the scene to declare him dead as there was another hunting accident that the coroner was at just over the hill from them which was another life taken. My aunt Emma was there when her Dad was shot. They wouldn’t let her see him till he was put in the car for the trip back to Nyssa. After they put my grandfather in the car no one talked during the one hundred mile trip back home to the Nyssa Funeral Home. It was almost an all night drive. James sat in the back seat with my grandfather on their way back home. Emma told me other things but due to her family still living it won’t be told in this story.

According to some family members and friends, my grandfather was a very intelligent, handsome, honest, trustworthy and sincere with integrity of character which made his life a valuable asset to his family. I don’t remember him as I was three years old at the time of his death. He’s buried in the Owyhee cemetery near Nyssa. According to some of the family members his funeral, the preacher that done his service was a hell and fire type of speaker. The church that held his services was across from the cemetery where he is buried. At the time of his death the only daughters that were married was Emma & Viola.

About 1942, my grandmother, the twins, Gloria and Thelma moved to La Grande, Oregon for Gloria could get a degree for teaching school. Which Gloria ended up going into the Wac’s in WWII after a couple years of teaching school. They lived about there about 2 years till Gloria got out of school and got her teaching degree. Then they moved back on the Owyhee. My grandmother was a very loving person, her grandchildren called her Mom-Mom instead of grandma. I lived with her for a year at La Grande to finish my first grade schooling as my teacher at my school at Donnelly, Idaho would hold me all the time and I wasn’t getting an education. My parents sent me to live with my grandmother to finish that year in school. I can remember her making ice cream and cakes. I’d follow her around all the time. I was somewhat ornery when I went to stay with her as I couldn’t understand why I was sent there to live with them. She never spanked me and there were times I needed one. My Aunt Gloria would say “let me spank her” but my grandmother wouldn’t let her and believe me I took advantage of that situation.

Emma married James (Jim) Hite at the Christian parsonage in Payette, Idaho Monday the 4th of March 1935. Attending the wedding was her parents, Mr. and Mrs. George Glascock and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph Hite. She wore a brown silk crept wedding dress and he wore a business suit. They had three children, Ruby Lou, Annie Blanch and Joseph (Joe). James died December 18, 1986 at the Nyssa Hospital at Nyssa and buried in the Owyhee Cemetery.      

My mother Viola married my dad Clifford Fields on August 17, 1933 at the Presbyterian Church at Parma, Idaho. Her mother and her Uncle John Glascock was witness to their marriage. My mother wore a white outfit to get married in and my Dad wore a suit. Gracie Post signed their marriage record, which later Gracie became a Senator of Idaho. My mother met my Dad when he started working for her Dad. She took one look at him and told her mother and sisters, that’s the guy I’m going to marry. He was her first date and was still married to him when he passed away 7th of November 1981 on the way to the hospital at Council, Idaho between Mesa and Council of cancer. My brother, Pete was taking him to the hospital in his van and my brother, Rick was holding him in his arms when he passed away. They declared him dead at the hospital. He is buried along side my mother who passed away a year later on 2nd December 1982 at the hospital in Council of cancer. My parents are buried in the Owyhee Cemetery near Nyssa, Oregon next to each other. They had six children, Bonnie (Jackie); Thelma (Shorty); George (Pete); Shonna; Sharon and James (Rick).

Thelma married Wesley (Wes) Anderson at Payette, Idaho on the 17 August 1933. They had three children, Trena, Karen and David. Wesley died at the Oregon Medical Center in Portland of cancer 28th of July 1965. He was buried in the Gresham, Oregon Cemetery. She married Walt Heath a couple years after Wes death, then after his death she married Randy Randell, then after his death she married Carl Lingerfelter. She never had any children by these other marriages.

Gloria, married Stewart Guthery at the Boise, Idaho Court House on the 17th of January 1946. She wore a pinstriped suit and he wore a suit. They had two children, Fred and Shelly. Stewart died at the Hermiston Hospital in Hermiston, Oregon on the 20th August 2001. He’s buried at the Pleasant View Cemetery, Stanfield, Oregon. A couple years after he died she married Don Day from Hermiston, Oregon. They were married at Boardman, Oregon. They are living in an assisted living apartment in Hermiston as of at this writing.

Laverne, married Kendall L. Thomas at Caldwell sometime in the fall in 1944. They had three children, Adria Lee, Debbie and Shelly. Laverne divorced him and later married Boyd Saul. All of them now live in Florida. Lovena, married Johnny Freeman in Portland. They had one child, Linda Jo. She divorced him and then later then she married Robert Powell. She divorced him and then she married George Couch. They had a son, Chino. She divorced him and married Dennis Dunn, then they divorced. She lives near her son Chino in Columbus, Ohio.

My grandmother married O. R. Hite about a year after she moved back on the Owyhee. I always stayed with her quite a bit till she married O.R. and I felt like an outsider after she married him. My grandmother had an enlarged heart due to having rheumatic fever when she was a child. I can remember when she took ill and was in the hospital, before she passed away. We weren’t allowed in her room so we talked to her outside through a window. At that time they didn’t let children visit in a person in the hospital when someone was ill. She wasn’t in there very long till she passed away. She passed away at the Ontario Holy Rosary Hospital on the 22 of October 1944. She’s buried at the Owyhee Cemetery next to my grandfather. I didn’t get to go to her funeral and my Aunt Emma’s sister-in-law, Lila Johnson took care of us that day, but we didn’t stay very long at her house as Lila’s children were being very mean to my sisters and brother. She didn’t stop her children from working over my sisters and brother so I gathered them up and said we are leaving this place and we will walk to Emma’s and stay there till Mom and Dad get back. It was an eight mile walk. My cousins, Annie B and Ruby Lou (Emma’s children) asked if they could go with us and I told them yes, if they wanted to. Boy that was a long walk as I had to carry my sister, Sharon as I couldn’t find her shoes at Lila’s. The roads were dusty and rocky as it wasn’t a paved road like what we have now. It was just a county dirt lane. Boy were our parents surprised when we weren’t there at Lila’s. She told them I had taken them all to Emma’s and that’s where they would find us.

Written by their granddaughter, Bonnie Bartlett

(Now there’s going to be criticism about what I have written by some of the family. I talked to my aunts & mother to make sure I got things right. Sometimes their stories didn’t match up so I turned to court records, death certificates and my own personal remembrances. Each family always has different ideas what went on. I can’t please everyone, but this will give you some what of an idea about my grandparents. I’m the oldest of their grandchildren and lived with them quite a bit so I do know what I remember about them except my grandfather as I explained I didn’t know him.)

Updated 20 Sep 2008