Roney, Nelson
From Lane Co Oregon
Revision as of 16:48, 27 September 2007
Nelson (Nels) Roney built the Shelton-McMurphy-Johnson House, in 1887 - 1888. He was born in Wapakoneta, Auglaize County, Ohio, September 2, 1853, a son of Thomas and Caroline H. (Levering) Roney. He came to Oregon in 1876, and settled in Eugene which had, at that time, a population of less than one thousand people. He is known as the father of Lane County Covered Bridges, having built a large number of the areas bridges, including the original Ferry Street Bridge. He was also responsible for construction of many of the important Eugene buildings of his time, including the Lane County Courthouse, Smeede Hotel, the Episcopal and Methodist churches, the Eugene Opera House and several buildings at the University of Oregon. On June 5, 1889, Nels was married to Mrs. Orilla G. (Baker) Humphrey, a daughter of Captain John Baker of Salem, Oregon, who came across the plains in 1846 and was one of the first settlers of Oregon. He was also a major stockholder in the Eugene Electric & Heating Company and in the Bohemia gold mines of Oregon.
