The thrifty farmer and stockman, who is mentioned at the head of this article, is one of the builders of the reservation country, having taken his present home place about two miles northwest from Morrow at the opening of the section to settlement. He has persevered here in the good work of improvement and is now a leading man of the section.
Bertram W. Tefft was born in Elgin, Illinois, on December 2, 1867 being the son of Thomas W. and Emily (Jolls) Tefft. The mother was born in Elgin and died about 1868. The father was born in New York State on October 30, 1824. He went to California in 1849, when he went to Elgin. He filled the office of chief of police there and was in Company A. One Hundred and Forty-First Illinois Infantry and now lives in Elgin.
Our subject received an academic education, and when nineteen came to Nez Perces County and settled on unsurveyed land and proved up later. He took his present place at the opening of the reservation and has now a fine six room residence, a first class barn, and other improvements to match. He was here when there were but four votes cast in his precinct, thus being a real pioneer in this section. On this prairie, on June 22, 1892, Mr. Tefft married Miss Catherine, daughter of Lemuel and Sarah A. Hendrickson, who came to Oregon in 1843. Mrs. Tefft’s uncle, Milton Doan, was the first white child born in Multnomah County. Her father died in the Potlatch country in 1887 and her mother died May 16, 1 90 1. Mr. Tefft has the following brothers and sisters, Harvey W., Albert P. and Emma Mead. Mr. Tefft has brothers and sisters named as follows: Margaret Slaven, William, Elizabeth Miller, Grace Sharp, Mary Park, Nellie Stevens, Benjamin. Five children have been born to this couple, Victor, Evelyn, Ruth, Loris and Ray. Mr. Tefft is a Democrat and a progressive and public minded man, well liked and of good standing.
Source: An Illustrated History of North Idaho: Embracing Nez Perce, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho; Western Historical Publishing Company, 1903