OTIS A


Otis A Wolverton
Submitted by:  Lynn Mack
 
Otis A.WOLVERTON, who is now living at Monmouth, where he is filling
the office of mayor, is widely and favorably known in Polk county, for
he has here spent his entire life.  He was born on a farm eight miles
south of Monmouth, May 10, 1861, and is a son of John and Mary
(NEALEY) WOLVERTON, the former a native of New York and the latter of
Ohio.  In 1853 the father and mother left their home in Burlington,
Iowa, and with ox team and wagon set out for Oregon.  On reaching this
state they located on land eight miles south of the present site of
Monmouth, where he became the owner of six hundred and forty acres.
This he brought to a high state of development, continuing its
cultivation and improvement until 1880, when he took up his residence
in the town and there lived retired during the balance of his life.
He was very successful in the conduct of his farming interests and
became prominent in community affairs, serving as treasurer of
Christian College, now the State Normal school, and also as a member
of the city council of Monmouth.  He passed away on the 30th of
December, 1902, at the age of eighty years, and the mother's demise
occurred September 20, 1909, when she had reached the advanced age of
eighty-four years.  They were numbered among the earliest settlers of
the state and were widely known and highly esteemed.  They became the
parents of seven children, of whom five are living, a brother of the
subject of this review being Judge Charles E. WOLVERTON, a prominent
jurist of Portland.
 
Otis A. WOLVERTON was reared in Polk county, where he attended the
district schools and also the public schools of Monmouth, subsequently
pursuing a course of study in Christian College.  On starting out in
life independently he rented the old home place and later purchased
three hundred and fifty acres of the homestead, continuing active in
its operation from 1880 until 1902, or for a period of twenty-two
years.  He became well known as a stock raiser, introducing the first
herd of Jersey cattle into Polk county, and was very successful in the
conduct of his interests.  In 1902 he took up his residence in
Monmouth and four years later was appointed postmaster, serving in
that capacity until 1914, since which time he has lived practically
retired, although he gives considerable attention to the raising of
bees, now having sixty stands, and is finding that line of work both
profitable and interesting, for he could not be content to lead a life
of utter idleness.
 
On the 22d of November, 1885, Mr. WOLVERTON was united in marriage to
Miss Rosa LOUGHARY, and they became the parent of three children:
Reuel, who was engaged in the electric business in Portland and passed
away February 13, 1915, at the age of twenty-eight years; Edith, the
wife of J. D. BOLTER, who is operating the home farm; and Leto, who is
a graduate of the State Normal school and is now engaged in teaching
in the schools of Portland.  The wife and mother passed away August
13, 1905, and on the 18th of October, 1910, Mr. WOLVERTON wedded Mrs.
Irene DALTON
..
In his political views Mr. WOLVERTON is a republican and is much
interested in the welfare and progress of his community, serving for
two years as a member of the city council, while for twelve years he
has been a member of the school board, doing all in his power to
advance educational standards in his section of the state.  In 1918 he
was chosen mayor of Monmouth and so excellent was his record in that
office that he was reelected in November, 1920.  He has always been
loyal to the trust reposed in him and is giving to the city a most
progressive and business-like administration, the worth of his work
being generally acknowledged.  For ten years he has been president of
the Monmouth Improvement Company, in which connection he has done much
to promote the business interests of his city and extend its trade
relations.  He is also a member of the local Grange, and fraternally
is identified with the Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
and the Rebekahs, while his religious faith is indicated by his
membership in the Christian church.  Mr. WOLVERTON has devoted much of
his life to public service and at all times has been actuated by a
public-spirited devotion to the general good.  He has led a busy,
active and useful life and his many sterling traits of character have
won for him an enviable position in the regard of his fellow townsmen.
 
History of Oregon, Biographical, Vol. II, The Pioneer Historical
Publishing Company, 1922, Pages 199-120
 
 

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