Frank M. Hubbard is numbered among the successful farmers of Weiser. He was born in Pike county, Illinois, on the 9th of July 1851, his parents being Joseph and Sarah (Venable) Hubbard. His father was born in Wisconsin, and the mother was a native of Illinois. They crossed the plains with oxen in 1853 being six months in making the long and perilous journey to the northwest. Indians occasioned them considerable annoyance, but they accomplished the journey in safety and located in Silverton, Marion County, Oregon, where the father obtained three hundred and twenty acres of land, which he successfully cultivated for forty years. His life’s labors were then ended by death in 1887 when he had attained the age of seventy-five years. He was a very industrious and energetic farmer and his labors brought him good returns. Both he and his estimable wife were members of the Baptist Church. She survived him two years, and departed this life in 1889, at the age of seventy-four. On their journey across the plains they brought with them their three children, and five others were added to the family after their arrival in Oregon. Seven of the number still survive.
Frank Marion Hubbard, the third in order of birth, was only two years old at the time of the emigration of the family westward. He acquired his education in the public schools of the Willamette valley, and in 1869 came to Idaho. He engaged in freighting from Kelton, Utah, to the city of Boise and to Boise basin, and later turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, purchasing, four hundred and eighty acres of land near Weiser, where he erected a residence, devoting his energies to the development and cultivation of the land. There he carried on agricultural pursuits until 1887, when he sold out. In 1895 he purchased other lands, and is now the owner of a valuable tract of three hundred and forty acres, near the town of Weiser. He has a good residence and fine orchard and carries on general farming. He is a most energetic and progressive agriculturist, follows advanced methods, and is very neat and thrifty in the care of his property. He now owns one of the fine farms of the locality and has met with good success in its operation.
In 1874 Mr. Hubbard was united in marriage to Miss Ella Lowe, of Silverton, Oregon, and they have had six children, five sons and a daughter, namely: Melvin W., Calvin Rosco, Millard Fillmore, Lelah Winnefred, Frank M. and Orval H. Mrs. Hubbard died October 12, 1889, at the age of thirty-four years. She was a faithful and loving wife and mother, and her death was deeply deplored by her many friends as well as her immediate family.
In his political views Mr. Hubbard has been a lifelong Democrat, and on that ticket was elected county assessor in 1888. The following year he was nominated for county sheriff but was defeated by nine votes. In 1893, however, he was again elected county assessor, receiving a very large majority, a fact which indicated his faithfulness and ability while holding the office on a former occasion. He is a valued member of the Masonic fraternity and Odd Fellows’ society, and commands the esteem of his fellow men by reason of his upright life, his fidelity to every trust reposed in him, his genial manner and genuine friendliness.
