"much preferred"......hold on now,and don't forget the semi
I don't have a source for this (yet) but the abundance of 30-30 lever rifles likely had much to do with cost. The levers were "much preferred" because (I suspect) they were cheaper than Remington's competing pump AND SEMI AUTO rifles (the models 8 and 81). I cannot say what a M94/336 cost in, say 1920, but I am near certain it would be far less than the complex to manufacture Rem pumps and auto rifles. Even in my lifetime, until the advent of the price point poly bolt rifle, a Marlin 336 was a good bit cheaper than a first rate bolt rifle like the Model 70 or 700, only the Savage 110, and the Rem 788 could compete with the price of a lever carbine . Thirty-thirty's were also a great deal cheaper to shoot than '06, .270. At the public range near my home, prior deer season, spent 30-30 brass was very common, until price point bolt rifles hit the scene. I'd bet 90% of that was shot in scoped Marlin rifles.
But the old pumps indeed had a following. In PA, where SA centerfires were prohibited for deer/bear hunting ( and still are I believe) those wanting the fastest repeat shot chose the Remington pumps, in .35 Rem usually. There were thousands of hunters carrying the "candy cane" magazined Remington pumps , the rifles passed down from one generation to the next. The Rem 14/141 were not uncommon in the PA woods into the mid 70's at least, even though the design was superceded by the Rem Pump "7 series". Remington even made special runs of the 7-series pumps in .35 Rem for Grice's Gun Shop in PA, I hear they sold like hotcakes.
If you peruse any old meatpole photos from back in the day, it is not hard to find near entire camps armed with the old Remington pumps. The same can be said of lever rifles too, of course. To my knowledge, only Marlin made a contemporary lever rifle in .35 Rem. Savage made a few pumps in .35, the model 170, but they are scarce. I'm thinking the Savage pump was made thru the mid 70's, but I have never seen one in .35, though I know it was available.
The .35 had a bit of a reputation as a kicker. Many of the old pump rifles will be found with recoil pads installed afterwards, often poorly unfortunately. Launching a 200 gr slug at a solid 2000 fps plus from the 22" barrels of the pump rifles (remember, the lever carbines were typically 20") they killed with authority. The 30-30 and being the equal of the .35 is still debated, but there is no question in my mind the .35 hits harder, no matter how hard that might be to measure, and the bigger hole lets out more blood and air. That was important in the crowded deer woods of PA.