Gaston, Joseph.  "The Centennial History of Oregon, 1811-1912."  Vol. 2. 
Chicago, Clarke Publishing Co., 1912. p. 643.
 
JOSEPH EFFENBERGER

     is a prominent representative of industrial interests in Tillamook county,
owning and operating a sawmill and box factory at Nehalem. Among the worthy
residents here of German birth he is numbered, being a native of Hessen,
Germany, born May 17, 1852. His parents were also natives of that country, where
the father died when his son Joseph was a lad of twelve years. The mother
afterward came to the United States and spent her last days in Nebraska.
     Joseph Effenberger pursued his education in the schools of Germany and was
a young man of twenty-one years when he heard and heeded the call of the western
world. He had previously learned the machinist's trade so that he had something
to serve as a foundation on which to build his success on this side of the
Atlantic. Arriving in the United States, he proceeded into the interior of the
country, settling first in Otoe county, Nebraska, where he took up the
occupation of farming, cultivating tracts of rented land. He spent five years in
that state and on the expiration of that period came to Oregon in 1883, taking
up his abode in Tillamook county. He secured one hundred and sixty acres in a
homestead claim a mile west of Nehalem and still owns that property, upon which
he resided for nine years. He then built a hotel at the north fork of the
Nehalem river, which he personally conducted for fourteen years and which he
still owns. In 1904 he bought a sawmill with a capacity of ten thousand feet and
he also has a box factory. He is still operating the mill and is thus closely
associated with the industrial interests of the county, developing a business of
considerable volume and importance so that lie derives therefrom a substantial
financial return. In addition to his other interests he is the owner of
considerable valuable real estate and his sound judgment has enabled him to make
judicious investments.
     In 1874 Mr. Effenberger was married to Miss Mary Tohl, a native of Germany,
and they were married in the fatherland, immediately afterward coming to the new
world, settling, as previously stated, in Nebraska. Eight children have been
born unto Mr. and Mrs. Effenberger, all of whom are yet living: Emma, the wife
of Washington Steele, who resides at Seaside, Oregon; Clara, the wife of David
Pareyoy, of Nehalem; Hulda, the wife of the Rev. William Romer, of Los Angeles,
California; and Hugo, William, Otto, Oscar and Allie, all living in Nehalem.
     In his political views Mr. Effenberger is a stalwart republican and keeps
well informed concerning the vital and significant problems of the day, yet has
never been an office seeker. He was elected justice of the peace in Tillamook
county in 1908 and that his rulings were strictly fair and impartial was
indicated in the fact that he was reelected in 1910, so that he still fills the
office. His support can always be counted upon to further any movement for the
public good, for he is a most loyal citizen of his adopted country. He left
Germany in order to escape forced military service and took out his papers
announcing his intention of becoming an American citizen as soon as he reached
Nebraska. He has deep attachment for the stars and stripes as the symbol of his
adopted land and his public spirit is manifest in his hearty cooperation in all
movements for the general good.


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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in January 2008 by Diana Smith.  Submitter
has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.