An Illustrated History of Central Oregon, Western Historical Publishing Company,
Spokane, WA., 1905, pages 407-408.

JOHN W. ELTON, who resides six miles out from The Dalles, is one of the
prosperous farmers of Wasco county. He was born in Montgomery county, Missouri,
on August 27, 1848, the son of John W. and Louisa J. (Pennington) Elton. The
father was born in Missouri, and his parents in Maryland. His grandfather was a
native of France and came to America with the French troops and fought in the
Revolution for the independence of the colonies. Our subject's father died when
this son was eight. The mother was born in Kentucky and now lives in Missouri,
the wife of William Jasper Skinner. John W. was reared and educated in Missouri
and Wisconsin, to which latter state he went in 1865. In 1870 he came west to
Oregon, settling in Washington county. For five years he did farming there and
also wrought in the logging camps. In 1876, he came to Wasco county and then
went to Klickitat county, Washington, where he lived for eight years. Then he
sold his homestead there and bought the place where he now lives. It consists of
one hundred and twenty acres, ten of which are bearing orchard. As the soil is
especially adapted for cherries, he is planning to plant many more trees of the
best varieties. He also raises prunes and peaches and berries. Last year he sold
one thousand boxes of fruit besides much dried. He also raises fine blooded
Jerseys and some hogs, and is a prosperous man.      

On May 19, 1875, at Cornelius, Oregon, Mr. Elton married Miss Mary J. Davis, who
was born on "Five Oaks Farm," in Washington county, Oregon, on August 30, 1856.
The farm was taken by her mother's father in 1843. Mrs. Elton's parents were
Andrew J. and Catherine (Zachary) Davis. The father was born in Illinois and
came from an old American family. His father was in the war of 1812, and some
members of the family have been in all the struggles front the earliest colonial
days until the war in the Philippines. The mother was a native of Texas and came
to Oregon with her parents in 1843. Her father took a donation claim called the
"Five Oaks" and there she was married. Mr. Elton has the following named
brothers, Thomas J., Samuel H., W. Albert, Robert T., and James A., and two half
brothers, David L. and John W. Heebner, and two sisters, Rebecca Holder, and
Jane Mounts. Mrs. Elton has three brothers, Ralph A., James, Albert, and one
sister, Zillah Metsdorff. To Mr. and Mrs. Elton, the following named children
have been born; Mary E., superintendent of the telephone office in The Dalles;
Minnie J., a teacher in the primary department of the schools in The Dalles, and
the possessor of a life diploma from the state of Oregon; James, graduate of the
Pullman college and now civil engineer at Mace, Idaho, and formerly a noted
athlete in college circles, and a veteran of the Philippine war of Company L.
Second Oregon Infantry; Albert J., a student at the state university at Eugene;
Eugene R., a mining man in Baker City; Ruby C., aged nine; and Ruth, aged six.
Mrs. Elton's grandmother on her mother's side was Zillah Grant, a cousin of the
late U.S. Grant. Mr. Elton is a member of the A.F. & A.M., of the I.O.O.F., and
of the W.W. Politically he is a socialist and nominee of his party for state
senator.      

In 1904, Mr. Elton went to the World's Fair at St. Louis as a representative to
the National Good Roads Convention, he being an enthusiastic promoter of good
roads. Also, he wished to study concerning building and architecture, being a
building contractor, and he had the pleasure of meeting many noted men in that
line, from whom he received much profit. To make the journey more enjoyable, Mr.
Elton visited his mother at Jonesburg, Missouri, and the occasion was utilized
for a family reunion and four generations were represented, there being
forty-eight relatives at the meeting. Mr. Elton was much gratified to find all
of the voters of the family on both sides ardent Socialists, and good expounders
of the doctrines of that growing party. However, he returned to his pleasant
western home, more than ever satisfied with the bountiful resources and good
things Nature has strewed here with a lavish hand.

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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in January 2005 by Jeffrey L. Elmer. 
Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned
above.