Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/852

604 results. Mrs. Hidden combines with literary ability not only a desire but a talent to both serve and lead in every good work for the aid and improvement of women. Willing to work for the church, for the cause of temperance and for equality of civil rights before the law, the work has been put upon her for many years. Commencing by writing and reporting for the press, she has been called to serve the cause of temperance reform as vice-president of the W. C. T. U., both in the state of Vermont and the state of Washington; and as state superintendent of Sunday school work in Washington; and as state organizer and lecturer of the W. C. T. U., in Washington, and as commissioner to the World's Fair at Buffalo, from Washington. In the equal suffrage movement Mrs. Hidden organized the Vermont Equal Suffrage Association and was a co-worker with the brilliant coterie of talented women composed of Julia Ward Howe, Lucy Stone, and others in 1875; and last but not least served the city of Vancouver ably and well as a director of its public schools; besides other honors and services too numerous to mention.

In her verses of welcome to the delegates to the 25th anniversary of the W. C, T. U., of Oregon, she pays a noble compliment to the distinguished woman (Miss Willard) who founded the union:

Maria Louisa Trenholm Hidden was born in Trenholm, Kingsey, province of Quebec, Canada; moved to the state of Vermont in early life; from thence to Vancouver, state of Washington, and is now resident of the city of Portland. Her poem read at the last Pioneers Association meeting has been greatly admired and widely copied.

While Joaquin Miller is not strictly of Portland origin, yet as he is an Oregonian with troops of friends and acquaintances in Portland, and has more than once given the city, very friendly notice, it is but just to return the compliment here. Mr. Miller came to Oregon in infancy, settled at Eugene City, studied law, went to Grant County, then took to verse writing, went to London, England, attracted great attention among literary people, attained a national reputation and settled at Oakland California. The following lines descriptive of the men who pioneered the settlement of America from Plymouth Rock to Portland, Oregon, fairly illustrates Joaquin Miller's forceful style of writing.