Latah County
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Henry J. Herman, 79, for 53 years a resident of the Uniontown and Rimrock sections, and among best known citizens of central Idaho and the south end of the Palouse country, who introducted the first registered purbred hogs and the first two-bottom gang plow into this community, was found dead at his home yesterday morning at 11 o'clock the victim of a cerrebral [sic] hemorrhage, according to Coroner E.M. Brower, who conducted an investigation.
Earl Sampson, farmer of the Arrow region, whose cattle graze near the Herman home in Beardy gulch, between the Vernon ranch at Hatwai and Spalding, and three-quarters of a mile north of the North & South highway, failed to see Mr. Herman when he called at the ranch at 9 o'clock. Returning at 11 and finding the chickens still penned up he called at the home of Mr. Herman and found him dead. Apparently Mr. Herman had been dead about six hours. He wore sleeping garments and had gotten up when stricken. He lived alone.
A native of Iowa, he came west in 1885 and located at Uniontown, where he was in the hardware business for nine years, also having charge of the telephone office and serving two terms at treasurer of Uniontown.
In 1894 he moved across the line into Idaho and engaged in farming. He claimed to have been the first citizen of Latah county to petition the commissioners at Moscow to create an independent highway district under an act passed by the legislature in 1895. He led a movement successfully to provide residents of Genesee with telephone service and worked on the construction of the first telephone line into Lewiston.
In 1906 he moved to the Rimrock region to become manager of the Clearwater Ranch company, one of the largest operators in that area, resigning in 1920 in favor of one of his sons to devote his time to other interests.
For 10 years Mr. Herman was president of the Farmers' union at Genesee and of the Union Warehouse company at that town, which developed into one of the leading cooperatives in the western country. For 18 years he was a member of the executive board of the Farmers' union of Idaho and Washington; president of the Idaho Wheat Growers' association, and trustee for Idaho of the Northwest Wheat Growers' association of Portland and Minneapolis.
Forty years ago the first registered hogs were introduced in the Genesee region by Mr. Herman. He sent east
and purchased about 20 head and engaged in breeding as a side line. Farmers claim the nucleus of purebred
herds in Nez Perce county in early days was formed by stock purchased from Mr. Herman.
At the time he
started using a two-bottom gang plow, the first known in central Idaho, farmers came for miles to see how
it worked, he related.
Active in democratic politics for many years, Mr. Herman was a candidate for state representative 12 years ago. For the last 14 years he lived on the 40-acre tract where he died, engaged in poultry-raising.
Survivors include two sons and two daughters, Walter M. Herman, Lewis A. Herman and Mrs. William Jenkins, all of Genesee, and Mrs. Louise Burbeck, Oakland, Calif.
The body is at the Brower-Wann chapel.
Lewiston Morning Tribune, February 12, 1938, p. 12
Transcribed by Jill Leonard Nock
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