Clark County WA Archives Biographies.....Lieser, M. D., Herbert C. August 21, 1848 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/wa/wafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Ila Wakley iwakley@msn.com September 20, 2009, 5:14 pm Source: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company HERBERT C. LIESER, M. D. An experienced physician of proven ability, Dr. Herbert C. Lieser has practiced successfully in Vancouver for nearly twenty years and represents one of the pioneer families of this locality. An interesting sketch of his father appeared in the Oregon Journal of April 25, 1925, and was prepared by Fred Lockley, who said: "About four miles out from Vancouver, as you follow the paved road eastward along the tree-fringed and tranquil Columbia, you will see a well kept and substantial farmhouse on the right-hand side of the road. Apple trees, fragrant with a profusion of delicately pink blossoms, a wobbly-legged red calf, an old hen busily instructing her brood of fluffy, yellow chicks how to scratch for their living, a new Dodge car in the foreground and the sky- reflecting Columbia flowing through fertile farm lands, make a picture worth going from Portland to see. This is the home of H. C. Lieser and family and it is one of the early-day donation land claims of Clark county. I spent a recent afternoon with Mr. Lieser, looking over photographs of early-day residents of the county, while Mr. Lieser told me of the cards that have been dealt to the different individuals by fate and how they had played their hands. "When we had talked of many a long-gone pioneer I said, 'You are a most interesting chronicler and historian of others. How about yourself? When did you come to the Oregon country? How long have you lived in Clark county? What have you been doing during the past sixty or seventy years?' 'I have lived in Clark county seventy-five years,' said Mr. Lieser. 'I doubt if there are many residents of this county who have lived here as long as I have. I was born in Wisconsin, August 21, 1848. My father, Louis Lieser, was born at Frankfort-on- the-Main, Germany, October 3, 1817. He was killed here on his donation land claim on June 5, 1907, when in his ninetieth year. He went into the pasture to bring out a young bull. It attacked him and gored him to death. My mother's maiden name was Eliza Hollingsworth. She was born September 24, 1822. She was of English parentage. Her people owned an estate in England and on their coat of arms was the motto, "Endure with patience." " 'Father and mother were married November 3, 1842. They had five children. Father was a great admirer of Henry Clay, so when I arrived he named me Henry Clay Lieser. We crossed the plains to Oregon in the summer of 1850. Most of the emigrants used oxen, but father drove a span of horses to his prairie schooner. He stopped at The Dalles, where he ran a store for a short time. Late that fall he hired a bateau with some Indian rowers and came down the Columbia. In his youth in Germany he had noticed that the large cities are built on navigable rivers, so he decided to take up a claim on the Columbia. He visited Portland but thought that as it was located on a mere tributary of the mighty Columbia, the tiny hamlet would never amount to much and that the logical site for a great city was on the Columbia and if there was ever a great metropolis in years to come it would be at Vancouver. His logic and reasoning were good, but he overlooked the human element; for it takes more than a favorable geographical location to make a city -— it takes men of vision, courage and enterprise, and Portland had that type of men. Father took up six hundred and forty acres late in the fall of 1850, locating four miles from Vancouver. His land bordered the Columbia for a mile and here he lived and died. " 'When I was a boy there was no road to Vancouver on account of the heavy growth of timber. We either went by boat or traveled the Indian trail that was located at high water mark on the river bank. In about 1856 or 1857 the Sisters of Charity established at Vancouver the Providence school for young ladies and also a school for smaller children to which both boys and girls were admitted. I was among the first pupils in this school. One of the teachers was Father J. B. A. Brouillet, who came to Fort Vancouver in the fall of 1846 with Father A. M. Blanchet. I have the most pleasant memories of Father Brouillet. He was kindly and cordial and we children were glad to do what he asked us to do. I remember one thing he used to do. When he boys were out in the yard at recess Father Brouillet would suggest games to us, one of which was to send one of the boys outside and tell him to come in and greet us. He would raise his hat to us and we would touch our caps to him. We took turns at being visitor and quite enjoyed the game, which, of course, was designed to teach us to be polite and have good manners. What did the boys play in those days? We played "Run, sheep, run," "Pom-pom-pull-away," marbles, tops and all the games that boys have played since time whereof the memory of man runneth not to the contrary. We rode sticks for horses in place of scooters or bicycles, as the boys do today. We ran and swam and managed to have a good time. Occasionally Bishop Blanchet would visit us, though I remember him much less clearly than Father Brouillet. Among my schoolmates was a neighbor boy, Adolphus Crate, whose father ran the Hudson's Bay mill near us. Yes, I boarded at this school. You see, my mother died when I was seven years old. " 'About 1858, when I was ten, father took me to Portland and placed me in the Portland Academy. I boarded at the home of the principal, Rev. C. S. Kingsley. Mrs. Kingsley was one of the teachers. She was a fine, motherly woman. Her husband had the older pupils, while we younger children recited to her. The following year I went home and attended school at Fisher's Landing, near here. I was eleven and father thought I was now old enough to do cooking and housework. I did the cooking over the fireplace. I made bread, which I baked in a Dutch oven, and baked biscuits by means of a reflector. I had a crane on which I hung my iron kettles in which I cooked the vegetables and in which I pot-roasted meat. I soon became a good cook and a neat housekeeper. " 'I lived at home, taking care of the house until I was sixteen, when I went to Forest Grove to enter Tualatin Academy. I boarded at the home of Elkanah Walker, a former missionary, who had come to the Oregon country in 1838. His son, Sam Walker, still lives at Forest Grove. Cyrus Walker, his oldest son, was, I believe, the first white boy born in the Oregon country. I spent six years at school there, four years in the academy and two years in the university. I could tell you enough to make a book about President Marsh, his brother Joseph, Professor Lyman, Professor Thomas Condon and my other instructors. While attending Pacific University at Forest Grove I earned my way by getting out cordwood at one dollar a cord and paid for my board by sawing wood and doing chores. For some time I boarded at the home of John T. Scott. His son, Harvey W. Scott, was the first graduate of Pacific University. Mrs. John T. Scott died while I was working for my board at their home.' " When a young man Mr. Lieser engaged in educational work, to which he gave his attention for a number of years, and was one of the early instructors in the public schools of Vancouver, also teaching in country schools in the Willamette valley. He took up the study of law and was admitted to the bar. For a few years he practiced in Vancouver and then returned to the donation land claim on which the greater part of his life has been spent. Mr. Lieser is a member of Riverview Grange and a progressive agriculturist who has demonstrated the value of science and system in promoting productiveness. In North Yamhill, Oregon, April 9, 1876, Mr. Lieser was married by Dr. Thomas Condon to Miss Elizabeth A. Hay, a niece of Lee Laughlin, who for about twenty years was president of the bank at McMinnville. To this union were born seven children, all of whom were reared on the old donation land claim in Clark county. Minnie May, the eldest, became the wife of William T. Fletcher and her demise occurred in the spring of 1927. Miles V., the first son, was a victim of the influenza epidemic of 1918 and died in October of that year. Herbert C. is the next of the family. Clyde L., acts as inspector of divers and as under water man for the city of Portland but lives in Vancouver. Leah completed a course in music at Pacific University, afterward graduating from the New England Conservatory of Music at Boston, Massachusetts, and is a teacher of music in Portland. Ralph L. was graduated from the University of Washington and in 1917 received the M. D. degree from the University of Oregon. He was an interne of St. Vincent's Hospital in Portland for two years and is now practicing with his brother, Dr. Herbert C. Lieser. Jessie L. received her higher education in Pacific University and is a teacher in the Grant high school at Vancouver. Dr. Herbert C. Lieser was born in Forest Grove, Oregon, and was a pupil in the rural schools of Clark county and the public schools of Vancouver. One year was spent in the academic department of Pacific University and for two years he attended the Oregon Agricultural College. In 1904 he completed a pharmaceutical course in the University of Washington and in 1908 he was graduated from the medical department of the University of Oregon. At each of these institutions of learning he was a co-student with Dr. Miles, with whom he worked as interne at the Good Samaritan Hospital, with which he was connected for a year. In 1909 Dr. Lieser began his professional career in Vancouver, forming a partnership with Dr. Miles, and is now associated with his brother, Dr. Ralph L. Lieser. They occupy a suite of offices in the United States National Bank building and their skill in the treatment of medical and surgical cases has brought them a large practice. In September, 1909, Dr. Herbert C. Lieser was married in Seattle, Washington, to Miss Mabel Copstick, a native of Montana and a daughter of William C. and Mary Copstick. For many years the father was connected with the Seattle post office, acting as superintendent of carriers, and still makes his home in that city but Mrs. Copstick died in 1916. Dr. and Mrs. Lieser have two children, William H. and Clyde L., who were born in Vancouver. The elder son is a high school pupil and his brother is attending grammar school. Dr. Lieser is a past exalted ruler of Vancouver Lodge of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and takes a keen interest in the activities of the organization. Through appointment of Governor Hart he was a member of the state board of health and in that connection rendered a public service of importance and value. Stable in purpose and keen in perception, he has steadily advanced toward the goal of success and his industry, ability and ambition insure his continued progress in his profession. Like her husband, Mrs. Lieser is much interested in matters pertaining to the history of the Pacific northwest and has two old and valuable woodcuts of Vancouver. Theirs is an attractive home, which has become a center of the social and cultural life of the community, and a wide circle of steadfast friends attests their personal popularity. Additional Comments: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. II, Pages 503-505 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/wa/clark/bios/liesermd87gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wafiles/ File size: 12.0 Kb