Skip to main content

Full text of "Pen pictures from the garden of the world, or Santa Clara county, California"

See other formats 


GC 

979.401 
Sa68f 
1158673 


M, 


QENEAL.OGY  COUL.ECTION 


1833  01102  7890 


lilllllHIWllllll— IMMi— I^IMMI 

^  Ramblings  in  Romance      f 

Last  week  R.  R.  Stuart  was  telling  us  of  the 
time  when  he  was  on  the  trail  of  a  copy  of  the 
Santa    Clara    volume    "Pen    Pictures    of    the 
Garden  of  the  World"  which  contained  an  intro- 
'  duction  by  Judge  David '  Belden.     The  search 
I  took  Stuart  to  a  farm  near  Coyote  and  uncov- 
ered not  only  the  book  but  a  coincidence.    The 
book  was  found  discarded  with  rubbish   and 
when  Stuart  offered  a  dollar  the  woman  of  the 
j  farm  was  surprised.    Then  she  turned  the  pages, 
!  saw  what  it  was  and  said,  "If  grandfather's 
I  write-up  is  in  this  book  I  wouldn't  sell  it  at 
any  price."     "I  don't  think  you'll  find  your 
grandfather's  biography  in  this  book,"  I  replied. 
"You'll  find  that  in  the  Santa  Clara  County 
history  which  was  published  in  1881."     "She 
was  referring  to  Orvis  Stevens,"  says  Stuart, 
"who  came  to  California  in  1852.    After  a  pre- 
liminary year  in  the  mines  on  the  Yuba  River 
I  and  some  farming  and  stock-raising  experience 
;  in  another  part  of  the  State,  he  had  moved  to  a 
farm  in  Santa  Clara  County.    Along  about  1875, 
he  rented  the  'Twelve-Mile  House'  and  for  a 
number  of  years  operated  a  store,  blacksmith 
shop  and  postoffice  in  connection  with  the  hotel. 
The  old  inn  still  serves  the  public  at  Coyote. 
As   she    stood   thumbing   through    the   leaves, 
something  green  and  crisp  slipped  out  and  flut- 
tered to  the  ground.    It  was  a  five-dollar  bill. 
At  first  she  appeared  to  think  I  was  in  some 
way  mixed  up  with  the  money,  but  since  that 
didn't  make  sense,  the  solution  finally  occurred 
to  her.    The  book  had  belonged  to  her  parents, 
and  years  before  when  she  was  a  girl  and  lived 
at  home,  her  mother  had  said  to  her  one  day: 
'I've  put  five  dollars  in  the  Bible,  and  I  can't 
find  it.'    Accordingly  they  got  down  the  Bible 
•  and  the  whole  family  had  taken  turns  in  search- 
'  ing  for  the  bill.    It  was  never  found,  and  many 
and  sinister  had  been  the  suggested  solutions 
of  the  mystery.    Of  course,  the  mother  had  con- 
fused the  two  big  books,  and  the  bill  had  lain 
hidden    all   these   years.     Under   the   circum- 
stances, she  was  glad  to  sell  the  history  for 
$1.00,  since  she  was,  in  reality,  getting  $6.00  for 
,  something  she  had  thrown  away." 


.^■ 


^^ 


PICT 


KHOIwI      TliE 


CJi^^ 


ardep  of  tl^i^ 


■^^^ 


Sahta  Clara  County,  California. 


Containing  a  History  of  the  County  of  Santa  Clara  from  the  Earliest 
Period  of   its  Occupancy  to   the  Present   Time,  together  with 
Glimpses  of  its  Prospective  Future ;  with  Profuse  Illus- 
trations of  its  Beautiful  Scenery,  Full-Page  Por- 
traits of  Some  of  its  most  Eminent  Men, 
and  Biographical  Mention  of  Many 
of  its  Pioneers  and  also  of 
Prominent    Citizens 
of    To-day. 


Edited   by   H.  S.  E^QOXE^. 
* 


CHICJ^GO: 
Xlie    Le^sfis    Publistiingf    Corqpariy. 

1888. 


-^w^ 


Piisiiiii 


~^^ 


1158673 


iENERAL   iilSTORY. 


General  Description 17,  26 

Native  Races 27 

Spanish  Occupation 2S 

Mission  of  Santa  Clara 28,  29,  31 

Pueblo  of  San  Jose 29,  30 

Vancouver's  Report 

Alameda 31,  119 

Early  Spanish  Customs 

The  Rodeo  32 

The  Matanza 33 

Architecture  33 

Agriculture 33 

Laws,  etc 35 

Church  at  the  Pueblo 35 

Secularization  of  the  Mission 36 

First  Census  (Mexican) 36 

First  Foreigners 37,38,  58 

The  Murphy  Party 38 

Schallenberger's  Story 48 

Donner  Party 58 

Micheltorena  War 63 

Mexican  War 63 

Battle  of  Santa  Clara   67 

First  American  Flag 68 

Discovery  of  Gold 70 

San  Jose  as  Capital  of  the  State 71 

Grandma  Bascom's  Story 71 

The  First  Constitution  72 

The  First  Legislature 74 

California  Admitted  as  a  State   74 

County  Boundaries 75 

County  Government,  etc 75,  76 


Land  Titles.. 76 

Private  Land  Agents 76,  77,  216 

Grants  to  the  Pueblo 77 

Mission  Grants 78 

Suertes 78 

Settlers'  War 80 

Survey  of  City  of  San  Jose 80 

Five-hundred-acre  Lots 81 

Bench  and  Bar  82 

The  Press 102 

Political  Record 109 

Roads  and  Highways 119 

Railroads 123 

The  Lick  Observatory 1 26 

Old  Landmarks  135 

Santa  Clara  County  in  the  War 137 

County  Institutions 139 

Court  House 139 

County  Jail 140 

County  Hospital 140 

Almshouse. 141 

Schools 142 

State  Normal  School 143 

Santa  Clara  College 144 

College  of  Notre  Dame 144 

University  of  the  Pacific 145 

Leland  Stanford,  Jr.,  University 145 

Garden  City  Business  College 145 

City  Government  of  San  Jose 147 

City  Officers 151 

Fire  Department 154 

River  Improvements 158 


Sewerage  System i5o 

Financial  Operations  of  the  County 162 

Petroleum  and  Natural  Gas 164 

Agricultural  Society 167 

History  of  Horticulture 170 

History  of  Viticulture 180 

Quito  Oilve  and  Vine  Farm 184 

Churches — San  Jose 186 

Artesian  Wells 189 

Banks— San  Jose 190 

Societies — San  Jose 192 

Manufacturing  Industries 195 

Fredericksburg  Brewery 197 

Street  Railroads 201 

Gilroy 201 

Santa  Clara 205 

Los  Gatos 208 

Saratoga 212 

Lexington 213 

Alma 213 

Wrights 

Milpitas 

Al  viso 

Mountain  View 


213 

2«3 

213 

2H 

Mountain  View  Station 214 

Mayfield, . .    214 

New  Almaden  Quicksilver  Mines 214 

Post-office 216 

Board  of  Trade,  San  Jose 670 

Hotel  Vendome,  San  Jose 670 

Public  Improvements 67I 

The  Death  Penalty 672 

Temperature 672 


""^^eXs^ 


lIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES. 


Adams,  T.  B 275 

Agnew,  Abram 445 

Ahlers,   Henry  C 380 

Ainsworth,  William 530 

Albee,  O.  J 467 

Alexander,  W.  G 307 

Allen,  S.  R 477 


Alley,  O.  F 578 

Allison,  O.  U 663 

Allison,  W.  D 384 

Anderson,  Neil 628 

Anderson,  Philip 530 

Angney,  W.   Z 313 

Apperson,  R.  W 443 

Aram,  Joseph. 553 


Archer,  Lawrence 90 

Argall,  F.  L 404 

Arnerich,  Mateo 420 

Arnold,  Mrs.  0 351 

Arthur,  J.  C 455 

Arthur  J.   G 595 

Ashley,  A.  N 530 

g  hley,  John  T 529 


C0N7ENTS. 


..  5'6 


Askam,  O.  P 

Atkinson,  W.  W 608 

Austin,  CD 328 

Austin,  D.  B 306 

Auzetais,  John  E 5^3 

Ayer,  S.  F 5« 


Babb,  Clement  E. 

Babb,  JohnP 

Bachman,  B.  F. . . 
Badger,  John  W. 

Bailey,  D.  C 

Baker,  R.  J. 


251 

.....   252 

321 

453 

650 

451 


Balbach,  John 5^9 

Baldacci,  S 508 

Ball,  Peter 645 

Ballard,  F.  D 442 

Ballou,  J.  Q.  A 227 

Baltz,  Peter 404 

Banks,  RoUa 322 

Barker,  A.  M 368 

Barker,  S.  A 99 

Barnes,  Thatcher  F 485 

Barney,  John  W 256 

Barron,  Edward 49° 

Bartlett,  B.  L 316 

Barton,  Joseph 267 

Bassett,  Bruce  A 354 

Bassignano,  V 635 

Baumgartner,  F.  A 39° 

Beach,  E.  F 5^4 

Beach,  Tyler 506 

Beal,  G.  P 4°° 

Beans,  T.  E 19° 

Beauchamp,  William 478 

Beaumont,  J.  B 598 

Beaumont,  J.  M 599 

Beck,  M.  W 288 

Belden,  David 84 

Bellew,M 221 

Bennett,  A.  G 398 

Bennett,  Wirt  K 557 

Benson,  Henry  M 378 

Berghauser,  J.  G.  F 439 

Bergin,  John  J 646 

Berreyessa,  J.J 488 

Berryman,  Arthur 326 

Besse,  H.  T 459 

Billings,  Moses  F 432 

Bishop,  Samuel  A 657 

Bitancourt,  A.  1 606 

Blabon,  W.  L  316 

Black,  John  C 94 

Blackmar,  F.  W 44° 

Blaine,  George 655 

Blake,  D.  H 469 

Blake,  F.  W 106 

Blakemore,  C.  L 365 

Blanchard,  W.  W 200 

Block,  Abram 264 

Bodley,  Thomas 634 

Bohlmann,  Frank 348 

Bollinger,  A.J 465 

Bollinger,  Christian 565 


Booksin,  Henry 369 

Booksin,  L.  A 43° 

Boots,  William 275 

Bopp,  Charles  F 454 

Boring,  S.  W 601 

Boulieu,  Oliver 281 

Boulware,  J.  W 637 

Bowden,  Nicholas 97 

Bowdish,  M.  S 306 

Bowman,  George  M I75 

Boyce,  D.  S 229 

Brackett,  Nathaniel 466 

Bradley,  E.  L 368 

Brady,  James 358 

Branham,  B.  F 5'8 

Branham,  Isaac 49' 

Breyfogle,  C.  W 191 

Bridges,  Frank 573 

Briggs,  John  G 572 

Briggs,  Jos.  W 572 

Briggs,  M.  C 286 

Briggs,  R.  S 25s 

Brill,  John  W 377 

Brimblecom,  F.  A 294 

Britton,  Ephraim 468 

Britton,  F.  F 273 

Britton,  Martin 273 

Bronaugh,  C.  A 607 

Broughton,  S.  Q 55' 

Brown,   Frederick 59' 

Brown,  George  M 483 

Brown,  Joseph  E 392 

Brown,  W.   D 664 

Browne,  George  C 643 

Bruch,  Charles 590 

Brunst,  Frank 379 

Bryan,  J.  W 312 

Bryant,  B 333 

Bubb,  Benjamin  T  237 

Buck,  F.E 666 

Buckner,  R.  B 92 

Bull,  George  P 235 

Bulmore,  R.  R 335 

Burchard,   D.  W 96 

Surges,  Tristam 475 

Burns,  B.  E  60; 

Burrell,  C 59' 

Burrell,  James  B 266 

Burrell,  Lyman  J 263 

Butcher,  Mrs.  E.  A 483 

Byron,  George 447 

C 

Calderon,  A 33^ 

Caldwell,  Robert 234 

Calkins,  Mark 276 

Campbell,  Benjamin 526 

Campbell,  J.  H 96 

Campbell,  William 525 

Canney,  J.  D 566 

Canright,  F.  P 5^5 

Carrel,   Henry  439 

Carpenter,  H.  F 291 

Carson,  George 595 

Cash,  A.B 545 


Castro,  C 350 

Cavallaro,  L.  S 372 

Chandler,  Mrs.  A 291 

Chapman,  A.  L 573 

Chase,  F.  W 299 

Childs,  C.  W 338 

Childs,  W.  W 337 

Chipman,  L.J 473 

Chrisman,  A.  P 593 

Christian,  John 405 

Church,  Jer.  B 253 

Chynoweth,  Louis 344 

Cilker,  John 307 

Clark,  E.  A 506 

Clark,  Mrs.  Sylvia 656 

Clark,  Walter  A 516 

Clarke,  Ira  P 640 

Clayton,  James  A 359 

Coe,  S.  A 647 

Coffin,  D.  W  471 

Coil,  Alex 63s 

Collins,  R.  E 377 

Colton,  A.  D 434 

Colombet,  C 559 

Combs,  J.  W 200 

Conant,  T 388 

Coney,  B.  G 322 

Conklin,   E.  B 525 

Cook,  C.  C 396 

Corcoran,  F.  L 355 

Corey,  Benjamin 247 

Corey,  C.  H 503 

Cottle,  Frank 419 

Cottle,  Ira 419 

Cottle,  Martial 352 

Cottle,  Royal,  Sr 4>8 

Cottle,  William  J 532 

Cottle,  Warren 334 

Cottle,  W.  0 580 

Courtney,  J.  T 236 

Cowan,  W.  W 544 

Cox,  William 618 

Cozzens,  W.  W 617 

Craft,  Benjamin 471 

Crandall,  A.  W  97 

Crittenden,  Orrin 3^9 

Cropley,  C.  H 45« 

Cross,  George 652 

Crossley,  John  P 274 

Crowley,  James 589 

Cummings,  E.  C . .  .     589 

Cunningham,  Joseph 323 

Curnow,  J.  R 390 

Curtis,  Perry 57' 

Cutler,  C.  W 4'° 


Dahlstrom,  Leopold 290 

Daniel,  J.  A.   P 647 

Darling,  E.  W 583 

Davies,  E.  H 292 

Davis,  I.  M 362 

Davis,  S.  B 487 

Davison,  E.  A 328 


CONTENTS. 


Dawson,  E.  L 17S 

Dawson,  J.  M 174 

Day,  J.  C 422 

De  Crow,  W $88 

Deidrich,  R.  V 494 

De  Lacy,  H.  A 104 

De  Lacy,  S.  W 104 

Delaney,  E.J 388 

Denning,  Alfred 245 

Dennis,  Aaron 638 

Dent,  Rawley  E 514 

Derenne,  A.  D 647 

Dewar,   R 588 

Dickenson,  J 588 

Dilley,  J.  S 279 

Distel,  B 347 

Doerr,  Charles 5S7 

Donnely,  T.  H 244 

Dornberger,  L 24S 

Downing,  N.  H 2S0 

Dreischmeyer,  F 584 

Dubs,  Michel 626 

Dudley,  J.  P 412 

Dunn,  Frank 484 

Dunne,  Mrs.  C 494 

Durkee,  D.,Jr 571 

E 

Eastin,  James  W 649 

Eberhard,  Jacob 286 

Edwards,  H.  W 507 

Edwards,  W.  A.  Z SS5 

Einfalt,   R.  G 106 

Ellsworth,  John  H 592 

Emlay,   H.  F 335 

Enright,  James 575 

Erkson,   William   639 

Evans,  E.  H 264 

Evans,  Josiah 651 

F 

Farley,  Eben  C 500 

Farney,  Mark 521 

Farr,  Henry 31S 

Farrell,  M..  Sr 467 

Farrington,  A 433 

Farwell,  F.   M 312 

Fatjo,  Antonio 285 

Fellon,  J.  A 628 

Ferguson,  L.  C 328 

Field,  A.  G 668 

Fieldsted,  C 269 

Fine,  Mrs.  Louisa 2S9 

Finigan,  L 403 

Finley,  James 220 

Fisher,  J.  E 260 

Flickinger,  J.  H 177 

Fleming,  George  A 538 

Foster,  Joseph 559 

Fowler,  J.  S 631 

Fox,  B.  S ...    172 

Fox,  R.  D 414 

Francis,  Louise  E 106 

Franck,  F  C 497 

Francois,  C 630 


French,  C.  A 618 

Frink,  Daniel 517 

G 

Gaffany,  Owen  E 315 

Gallagher,  A.  T 464 

Galpin,  P.  G 324 

Gardner,  G.  W 432 

Gartelmann,   D 310 

Gaston,  A.  A 372 

Gay,  M.   H   346 

Geiger,  William  C 622 

Gibson,  M.  S 44S 

Gillespie,  T.  J 508 

Gillespie,  W.  W 400 

Gish,  David  E 440 

Glendenning,  Robert 222 

Goodenough,    S 434 

Goodrich,  E.  B 225 

Goodrich,  E.   E 181 

Goodrich,  Levi  1 225 

Gordon,  J.  E 311 

Grant  Bros 271 

Grant,  John  T 260 

Grant,  Robert 575 

Graves,  Jacob 48 1 

Graves,  Sylvester 433 

Green,  William  H 396 

Greenawalt,  D 436 

Greeninger,  A 636 

Gregory,   S.  0 632 

Gribner,  Mrs.  P 382 

Griswold,    Benson 533 

Gruwell,  U.  L 566 

Gussefeld,  William 405 

H 

Hagan,  C.  A 631 

Haines,  C .  T 402 

Haines,  N.  J   473 

Hale,  O.  A 380 

Hall,  Horace  B 567 

Hall,  J.  U 261 

Hall,  Nathan 319 

Halsey,  George  M . .    627 

Hamilton,   Frank 568 

Hamilton,  James  A 625 

Hamilton,  L.   E 303 

Hamilton,  Zeri 463 

Hammond,  W.  H 367 

Handy,  G.  W 266 

Hannon,   Patrick 442 

Harry,  James 335 

Hart,  Conard 352 

Harlman,  C .  H 624 

Hatman,  F.   D 399 

Hawley,  William 421 

Hayes,  Mary  A 254 

Headen,  Benjamin  F 249 

Hebard,  Lewis 320 

Helliesen,  C.  F.  A 624 

Hensley,  John   R 457 

Herbert,  William  B 497 

Herriman,  J.   R 266 

Herrington,  D.  W 93 


Herrington,  Irving 288 

Herrmann,  A.  T 364 

Herrmann,  C 366 

Hetty,  John 290 

Hicks,  Bedford 294 

Hildebrand,  A 304 

Hills,  Miles 379 

Hinman,  R .  W 623 

Hirst,  A.  C 375 

Hobson,  David 486 

Hobson,  T.  W 568 

Hodges,  P.C 332 

Hogg,  H.  C 300 

Holland,  S 644 

HoUenbeck,  B.  W 616 

Holloway,  E.  A 334 

Holsclaw,  M.  T 341 

Holthouse,  E.  H 480 

Hooker,  A.  O   396 

Hornberger,  J.  A .• 233 

Hostetter,  G.  K 478 

Houghton,  S.  0 89 

Hourecan,  John 325 

Howe,  I.  D 386 

Huggins,  A.  G 384 

Hughes,  William  P 107 

Hull,  James  F 243 

Hunter,  A.  B 250 

Hutchinson,  J.  C 326 

Hyland,  M.  H 98 

I 

Ingall,  Sarah  T 585 

Ingleson,  Charles 486 

Ireland,  William  H 482 

J 

Jackson,  A.  J 535 

Jackson,  F.  M 301 

Jarvis,  G.  M 397 

Jefferds,  F.  G 476 

Jenkins,  G.  C 529 

Jewell,  F.  F 283 

Johnson,  Julian 536 

Johnson,  J.  W 490 

Johnson,   Peter 660 

Johnson,  S.  R 242 

Johnston,  John 544 

Jordan,  M.  C ! .  528 

Jordan,  P.  H.,  6c  Co 504 

Josselyn,  J.  H 401 

Judd,  C.  A 403 

Judson,  H.  C 444 

K 

Kammerer,  A 540 

Keesling,  H.  G 383 

Keesling,  T.  B 517 

Keith,  P.   G 641 

Kell,  M.  D 435 

Kelley,  Thomas 648 

Kelly,  J.  H 410 

Kelty,  Thomas. . .' 5S0 

Kennedy,  J.  F 496 

Kenyon,  J.  M 437 


CONTENTS. 


Kerloch,  M 43° 

Kerr,  William  C 6l6 

Kerwin,  Thomas 454 

Kifer,  S.  H 272 

Kimberlin,  J.M 534 

King,  A.  L 594 

Klee,  John 57^ 

Klein,  Norman 399 

Knowles,  F.  W 3«8 

Knowles,  John 292 

Koch.J.  P 579 

Koch,  Valentine 644 

Kooser,  H.  H 40S 

Krahl,  L.  W 461 

Krumb,  Louis 387 

Kundert,  B 628 

Kuns,  H.  L ..  623 

Kunz,  F.  W 359 

L 

Lake,  Albert 394 

Lamar,  J.  B IC30 

Lamolle,  Madam  V.,  &  Co 367 

Langford,  P.  S 305 

Langford,  R.  J 623 

Larson,  Paul 578 

Lasette,  M.  A 247 

Lauck,  George 282 

Laurilliard,  A 627 

Lawrence,  A.  C 479 

Lebrun,  Charles 622 

Leeman,  F.  C 476 

Leeman,  W.  H 476 

Le  Fevre,  William 626 

Leib,  S.  F 93 

Leigh,  Hugh  A  489 

Lendrum,  A 233 

Lendrum,  James 233 

Lendrum,  William  E 648 

Lenzen,  Jacob 363 

Lenzen,  Michael 621 

Lenzen,  Theodore 621 

Leonard,  H.   M 257 

Lester,  Nathan  L 576 

Lester,  William  1 450 

Lewis,  John  F 354 

Lillick,  Henry 574 

Lingley,  W.  L 305 

Linquist,  J.   A 618 

Little,   Horace 348 

Lobdell,    Frank 299 

Logan,  A.  P 270 

Lord,  Hersie  F 406 

Lord,  J.  H 488 

Loryea  Bros 515 

Loupe,  Louis 627 

Love,  C.  W 280 

Lovell,  Ira  J 52: 

Lowe,  James  R 95 

Luke,  N.  G 227 

Lundy,  D.  S 583 

Lupton,  J.  F 441 

Lynch,  George  W 593 

Lynch,  Michael 259 


Lyndon,  James 303 

Lyndon,  J.  W 301 

M 

Macabee,  Edward 327 

Machado,  John 584 

Madonna,  1 344 

Main,  H.  H 104 

Malcom,  James 317 

Malovos,  Andrea 268 

Malpas,  A 586 

Manly,  W.   L 502 

Martin,  John 504 

Martin,  Patrick 491 

Martin,  Z.  H 586 

Marvin,  Charles 355 

Massol,  Fen 655 

Maynard,  Mrs.  H.  G 308 

Maxey,  T.  J 539 

McAfee,  A.  F 283 

McBride,  Mrs.  Georgie 452 

McCabe,  A.  M 395 

McCarley  James  A 382 

McCarley,  William  B 382 

McCarthy,  Joseph 425 

McCarthy,  Martin 629 

McCaughin,  W.  J 344 

MeComas,   Rush 363 

McCubbin,  R 570 

McCurrie,  J.  P 339 

McDonald,  J.  W 298 

McDonald,  Michael 414 

McGuire,  Lyman 619 

McKee,  J.  O 519 

McLaughlin,  E 192 

McLellan,  D.J  596 

McMillan,  J.  G 348 

McMurtry,  William  S 619 

McNeal,  G.  B 308 

McNeil,  A.  B 398 

McPherson,  A.  L 524 

McPherson,  R.  C 164 

McWilliams,  A.  S 413 

Meade,  Mrs.  E.  S   378 

Meads,  John  W 558 

Menzel,  R 580 

Mercier,  Jules 639 

Merithew,  J.  C 633 

Messing,  Henry 494 

Miller,  James 56 

Miller,  J.J 342 

Miller,  S.  B 296 

Miller,  William  C 443 

Millikin,  John 560 

Millikin,  Samuel 561 

Mills,  L.  R 258 

Mitchell,  T.  W 178 

Mockbee,  J.  S 664 

Mocker,  William 630 

Montgomery,  J.  W 323 

Montgomery,  T.  S 253 

Moodie,  R.  C 211 

Moody,  A.  E 390 

Moody,  D.  B 503 


Moore,  P.  C 558 

Morey,  H.  C 328 

Morgan,  John 5^4 

Morrell,  H.  C 599 

Morrow,  Wm.  C 103 

Morse,  C.  C 561 

Moulton,  S.  A 527 

Moultrie,  J.  A 9° 

Murdock,  John 3°9 

Murphy,  Bernard 56 

Murphy,  B.  D 613 

Murphy,    Daniel 56,  639 

Murphy,  Ellen 5^ 

Murphy,  James 55 

Murphy,  John  M 5^ 

Murphy,  William 581 

Myall,  Edward 5^1 

N 

Nace,  John  A 287 

Neben,  E.  T 403 

Newhall,  S 43« 

Nicholson,  A 302 

Nicholson,  George 455 

Nplting,  F 534 

Normandin,  A 4°° 

Northern,  W.  L 602 

Norton,  John  P 45° 

Norwood.J.G 55' 

O 

Oberdeener,  S 285 

O'Brion,  C.  F 350 

Ogier,  James  H 219 

Oldham,  W.  Frank 597 

O'Neil,  Timothy 200 

Osborne,   A.  E 361 

Osborn,  Thos 452 

O'Toole,  Elizabeth 34; 

Otter,  Karl 510 

Ousley,  George  W 381 

Owen,  Charles  P 376 

P 

Page,  G.  W 509 

Palen,  Maria 415 

Park,  M.  C 298 

Parker,  Charles 235 

Parker,  James  S 661 

Parker,  L.  F 416 

Parr,  Charles 237 

Parr,  Edward  N 249 

Parrish,  E.J 319 

Parsons,  M.   E 425 

Patrone,  P 632 

Patterson,  A 448 

Paul,  Sylvanus  S 245 

Pearce,  W.  L 602 

Peard,  J.J 477 

Peck,  Wesley 296 

Pender,  Wm.  R 460 

Penniman,  A.  C 600 

Perkins,  P.   C 603 

Perkins,  Wm.  F 641 

Petersen,  T.  W 401 

Pettit,  E.  T 462 


CONIENIS. 


Pfister,  Adolph 357 

Pfister,  F.  M 99 

Phegley,  J.  F 534 

Phelps,  C.  A 239 

Phelps  Bros 339 

Phippen,  J.  S 347 

Pieper.J.  H 562 

Pierce,  R.  E 368 

Pillot,  John  E 596 

Pinkard,  E.  N 288 

Pitkin,  C.  A 387 

Pittman,  James  M 651 

Place,  Elvert  E 590 

Polak,  Jacob 509 

Polhemus,  Charles  B 357 

Polhemus,  George  B 360 

PoIlard,L.W 555 

Pollard,  W.  D 262 

Pomeroy,  Hiram 474 

Ponce,  J.  P 643 

Porter.D.  J 375 

Potts,  F.  S.,  Jr 594 

Potts,  J.  S 


223 


Price,  Elijah 327 

Pullan,   H 552 

Pyle,  E.  G 604 

Pyle,  Thomas 231 


Quinn,  Wm 346 

Quivey,  James 349 


Randall,  Azro 228 

Raney,  Felix 513 

Ransom,  J.  W 385 

Rea,  Samuel 333 

Rea,  Thomas 336 

Reed,  W.  D 564 

Reinhardt,  H 37 1 

Rengstorflf,  H 417 

Reynolds,  John 88 

Rice,  William 316 

Riddell,  D.  C 393 

Riddell,   Speer 394 

Riehl,  Adam 531 

Righter,  F.  M 407 

Roberts,  George 272 

Roberts,  W.  H 563 

Robinson,  Amos 340 

Rodgers,  J.  C 459 

Rogers,  F.  S 309 

Rose,  Abraham 608 

Ross,  John  E 418 

Ross,  Marcellus 409 

Ross,  N.  L 535 

Ross,  William 416 

Rucker  Bros 604 

Rucker,  J.  E 605 

Rucker,  W.  B 262 

Rutledge,  R.  F 424 

Ryan,  Michael 554 

Ryder,  B.  L 98 

Ryder,  G.  W 667 


Sage,  Lewis  A 377 

Saisset,  P.,  de 662 

Sanders,  S.  P 450 

Sanor,  Michael 449 

Sargent,  J.  P 665 

Saxe,  A.  W 278 

Schallenberger,  Moses 56 

Schemmel,  Henry  L 246 

Scherrebeck,  T.  J 653 

Scherrer,  George 383 

Schiele,  Charles  M 495 

Schilling,  F 646 

Schloss,  Louis 457 

Schnabel,  Ernst 465 

Schneider,  Fred  A 524 

Schoof,  Gerhard 366 

Schroder,  Albert 505 

Schulte,  Bernhart 273 

Scott,   Henry 224 

Scott,  James 556 

Scott,  William 543 

Scott,  Wm.  H 629 

Sears,  A.  E 300 

Sears,  Henry 563 

Seely,  C.  R 240 

Seifert,  George  W 499 

Selby,  J.  S 438 

Senter,  German 279 

Settle,  C.  T 577 

Seybolt,  George  L 423 

Shafter,  F.  R 456 

Shafter,  J.  D 256 

Shannon,  Thos 408 

Shaw,  W.J 240 

Shaw,  Isaiah 598 

Shelly,  William 424 

Shore,  T.  B 445 

Shore,  Wm.  C 304 

Shortridge,  CM 102 

Sinnott,  John 547 

Skinner,  David  E 431 

Skinner,  Morris 446 

Smith,  Bradley 546 

Smith,  C.  C 229 

Smith,  Jacob 6n 

Smith,  W.  L 474 

Snedaker,  H 407 

Snow,  George  W 429 

Snyder,  George  W 411 

Snyder,  Jacob 606 

Snyder,  John 353 

Spaulding,  J.  S 633 

Spence,  A.  A 4^3 

Spence,  D.  J 505 

Spenee,  R.  B 373 

Spencer.F.  E 86 

Spencer,  H.  A 620 

Spencer,  J.  N 642 

Spencer,  Wm.  E 247 

Spitzer,  L.  A 609 

Spring,  T.  W 39, 

Steiger,  Andrew 5  u 


Stierlin,  C.  C 669 

Stewart,  G.  W 457 

Stock,  John 513 

Stockton,  S.  P 538 

Stone,  L.  D 582 

Stonier,  J.  H 224 

Stout,  J.  C 612 

Sullivan,  Michael 242 

Sullivnn,  M.  R 582 

Sullivan,  P.  G 297 

Sund,  Herman 587 

Sutherland,  Wm 542 

Swall,  George 519 

Sweigart,  J 613 

Swope,  Jacob 470 

Swope,  Jacob,  Jr 470 

T 

Taaffe,  M.  J 259 

TaafTe,  W.   F 356 

Tait,  Magnus 320 

Tantau,  F.  W 541 

Tantau,  Matthew 541 

Taylor,  E.   L 327 

Taylor, James 3,5 

Taylor,  S.  P 637 

Templeton,  S 319 

Theuerkauf,   F 540 

Theuerkauf,  Miss  M 520 

Thomas,  Chas.  G 548 

Thomas,  E.M 458 

Thomas,  George  E 548 

Thomas,  Massey 611 

Thomas,   R.  A 543 

Thompson,  J.  F 103 

Tilden,  Mrs.  S.   E 277 

Tillotson,  H 542 

Tisdale,  W.  D 191 

Tomkin,  A.   R 374 

Topham,  Edward 438 

Tourny,  Julius 598 

Towle,  G.  W 284 

Towne,  Peter 643 

Townsend,  J.  H.  M 57 

Townsend,  John 57 

Trautham,  W.  H.  B 108 

Treanor,  Thos 666 

Trefren,  J.  L 343 

Trimble,  John 230 

U 

Umbarger,  David 253 

V 

Vance,  Thomas 370 

Vandegrift,  C.  W 617 

Van  Fleet,  A.  N 289 

Van  Schaick,  H.  D 204 

Varcoe,  James 332 

Vestal,  D.  C 371 

Veuve,  Wm.  P 100 

Vostrovski,  J 391 


Wade,  C.  E 


...   536 


CONTENTS. 


Wade,  E.  H 269 

Waite,  John 351 

Wakefield,  L.  H 596 

Wakelee.C.  H 654 

Walker,  Robert 321 

Wallis,  J.  S 91 

Walters,  Henry 663 

Warburton,  H.   H 241 

Ward,  W.  F 645 

Warden,   B.  A 107 

Warren,  Wm 34S 

Watson,  Daniel  W 421 

Watson,   D.   L 662 

Watson,  Wm.  0 531 

Weber,  C.   M 331 

Wehner,  Ernest 532 

Welburn,  O.  M 340 

Welch,  G  eorge 365 

Welch,  Robert , 429 

Weller,  J.  R 220 

Wenstrom,  John 259 

Wentz,  Christian 308 

Wert,  Frank  A 550 

Wetmore,  J.  A 246 

Whipple,  T.  S 395 

Whitehurst,  J.   S 244 

Whitney,  George 343 

Wilcox,  E.J 597 

Wilcox,  Harvey 324 

Wilcox,   I.  A 329 

Wilder,  A.  E 311 

Wilder,  E.  A 310 

Willett,  Larry 472 

Willey,  Howard 334 

Williams,  C.  W 105 

Williams,  J.  E 261 

Williams,  S.  R 5'5 

Wilson,  Mrs.  E.  A 423 

Wilson,  C.  G 356 

Winsor,  John 549 

Withrow,  A.  A 392 

Wood,  A.  H  480 

Wood,  David 342 

Wood,  Helen  P 415 

Woodhams,  A.  R 428 

Woodhams,  Joseph 428 

Woodrow,  W.  L 265 

Woodruff,  L.  D 460 

Worcester,  H.   B 145 

Worthen,  G.  W 426 


Worthington,  C.  H 549 

Wright,  CD 94 

Wright,  James  R. .    302 

Wright,  William 231 

Y 

Yocco,  Edward  C •    5J4 

Young,  C.  W 547 

Z 

Zanker,  W 544 

Zuck,  James  C 341 

PORTRAITS. 

Angney,  W.  Z 313 

Aram,  Joseph 553 

Balbach,  John 5^9 

Belden,  David Frontispiece 

Bishop,  S.  A 657 

Boring,  S.  W 601 

Boulieu,  Oliver 280 

Boulieu,  Mrs.  Oliver 281 

Breyfogle,  C.  W 191 

Britton,  M 273 

Cash,  A.  B  . .   545 

Childs,  C.  W  338 

Chipman,  L.  J 473 

Crittenden,  Orrin 369 

Cross,  George 537 

Dawson,  J.  M I74 

Eastin,  James  W 649 

Faniey,  Mark 521 

Fox,  B.  S 414 

Goodrich,  L 225 

Graves,  Sylvester 433 

Graves,  Jacob 48 ' 

Hamilton,  J.  A 625 

Headen,  B.  F 249 

Herbert,  W.  B 497 

Johnson,  Peter 505 

Keith,  P.  G 641 

Langford,  P.  S 305 

Lendrum,   James 233 

Leonard,  H.  M 257 

Lupton,  J.  F 441 

Martin,  Patrick 49' 

McCarthy,  Joseph 425 

Murphy,  James 55 

Murphy,  Martin 38 


Ogier,  J.  H 219 

Osborne,  A.  E 361 

Potts,  J.  S 223 

Raney,  Felix 513 

Rengstorff,  Henry 417 

Ross,  Marcellus 409 

Sanor,  M 449 

Sargent,  J.  P 665 

Schloss,  Louis 457 

Scott,  W.  H 629 

Senter,  German 279 

Settle,  C.  T 577 

Snyder,  John 353 

Spaulding,  J.  S 633 

Spitzer,  L.  A 609 

Sullivan,  P.  G 297 

Taylor,  S.  P 46S 

Van  Fleet,  A.  N 289 

Warburton,  H.  H 241 

Wilcox,  L  A 329 

Woodrow,  W.  L 265 

ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Residence  of  the  Late  David  Belden 84 

Residence  of  Oliver  Boulieu 283 

Residence  of  F.  F.  Britton 273 

Prune  Orchard  of  A.  P.  Chrisman 593 

Santa  Clara  County  Court  House 139 

Fruit-drying    Establishment    of    W.  W. 

Cozzens 617 

Fredericksburg  Brewery •. .   197 

Residence  of  the  Late  B.  F.  Headen,  . . .  249 
Shady  Nook  Home,  Residence  of  Mrs. 

S.  T.Ingall 585 

Glen  Wildwood,  Residence  of  J.  H.  Joss- 

elyn 401 

Residence  and  Orchard  of  H.  A.  Leigh.  489 

Lick  Observatory 126 

Ringwood  Farm,  Residence  of  the  Late 

James  Murphy 56 

Quito    Olive    Farm,    Property   of  E.   E. 

Goodrich 180 

Residence  of  J.  W.  Ransom 385 

Residence  and  Orchard  of  D.  C.  Riddell  393 

San  Jose  Sewerage  Map 160 

Congress  Hall,  L.  A.  Sage  Proprietor...   212 

Fair  View  Farm  of  A.  N.  Van  Fleet 289 

Residence  of  Robert  Walker 321 

Farm  and  Vineyard  of  William  Warren. .   345 


!  JLS  IT  IB  no^yy^. 


BY     HOM.     IDJL^^IID     BE^r^IDKN. 


r//£:  FOLLOIVING    SKETCH    OF    THE    SANTA    CLARA     VALLEY    IVAS    PUBLISHED    /A 
OF    SAN    FRANCISCO,    JUNE,    iS»!. 


THE    OVERLAND    MONTHLY 


TO  the  visitor  approaching  the  Santa  Clara  Valley, 
each  mile  traversed  ushers  in  some  delightful 
surprise,  introduces  a  new  climate.  If  his  advent  be 
from  the  north,  the  hills  of  scanty  verdure,  which  en- 
circle the  bay,  recede  upon  either  hand  and  assume  a 
softer  contour  and  richer  garb.  The  narrow  road- 
way that  skirts  the  salt  marsh  has  widened  to  a  broad 
and  fertile  valley  that  stretches,  as  far  as  the  eye  can 
reach,  in  luxuriant  fields  of  grass  and  grain.  Border- 
ing this  verdant  plain,  in  lines  and  splendors  all  their 
own,  come  the  hills,  and  into  the  recesses  of  these 
hills  creep  the  little  valleys,  and,  as  they  steal  away  in 
their  festal  robes,  they  whisper  of  beauties  beyond, 
and,  as  yet,  unseen.  In  full  keeping  with  the  trans- 
formed landscape  is  the  change  in  climate.  The 
harsh,  chili  winds  that  pour  in  through  the  Golden 
Gate  and  sweep  over  the  peninsula,  have  abated 
their  rough  vigor  as  they  spread  over  the  valley,  and, 
softened  as  they  mingle  with  the  currents  from  the 
south,  meet  as  a  zephyr  in  the  widening  plain. 

If  the  approach  be  from  the  south,  the  traveler, 
wearied  with  the  desert  and  its  hot,  dry  airs,  is  conscious 
of  a  sudden  change.  The  sterile  desert  has  become  a 
fruitful  plain,  and  the  air  that  comes  as  balm  to  the 
parched  lungs  is  cool  and  soft  and  moist  with  the 
tempered  breath  of  the  sea.  Upon  every  hand  and 
to  every  sense  there  is  a  transformation  that  would 
scarce  be  looked  for  outside  Arabian  romance.  If  it  | 
3 


be  springer  early  summer,  miles  upon  miles  stretches 
the  verdant  plain  ;  over  it  troops  sunshine  and  shadow ; 
across  it  ripple  the  waves.  Summer  but  changes  the 
hue  and  heaps  the  plain  with  abundant  harvests,  while 
the  first  rains  bring  again  the  verdure  and  the  beauty 
of  spring. 

"An  ocean  of  beauty!"  exclaims  the  charmed  be- 
holder. Nor  is  this  comparison  to  the  sea  altogether 
an  idle  fancy.  At  a  period  geologically  recent,  the 
Sierra  Nevadas  and  the  Coast  Ranges  of  mountains 
inclosed  a  basin  about  four  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
in  length  by  about  forty  in  width,  comprising  the 
present  valleys  of  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin 
Rivers.  During  the  same  period  the  region  east  of 
the  Sierras,  now  embraced  in  the  State  of  Nevada, 
and  the  Territories  of  Utah  and  Arizona,  was  an  in- 
land sea  connected  with  the  Pacific  by  straits  and 
inlets. 

The  evaporation  from  this  body  of  water  affected 
materially  the  climate  of  the  adjacent  regions.  Low- 
ering, as  it  must  have  done,  the  general  temper- 
ature and  increasing  the  humidity,  it  induced  pre- 
cipitation from  the  saturated  winds  of  the  Pacific, 
while  from  its  own  evaporation  it  added  materially  to 
the  rainfall  it  thus  invited.  From  these  causes,  the 
precipitation  of  that  period,  both  as  to  volume  and 
duration,  must  have  been  greatly  in  excess  of  the 
present,  and  vegetation  must  have  been  correspond- 
(17) 


18 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


ingly  more  luxuriant.  From  the  slopes  of  the  mount- 
ain ranges  the  waters  flowed  southerly  in  a  majestic 
stream,  forming  broad  lakes  as  the  basin  widened,  a 
river  where  the  narrowing  valley  restricted  its  borders, 
until,  passing  through  the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  and 
the  present  valleys  of  Santa  Clara  and  Pajaro,  it  found 
an  outlet  in  Monterey  Bay. 

In  the  era  that  measured  the  existence  of  this 
ancient  river,  it  had  borne  in  its  turbid  waters  the 
disintegrations  of  the  regions  it  traversed,  and,  in  the 
ooze  and  slime  of  the  lakes  that  intercepted  its  course 
and  stilled  its  current,  was  the  decaying  mold  of  gen- 
erations of  forests  that  had  flourished  on  its  banks. 
At  a  later  geological  period — probably  the  Quaternary 
— there  was  an  upheaval  of  the  southern  part  of  this 
basin,  its  axis  probably  being  near  the  present  course 
of  the  Salinas  River.  With  this  rise  came  a  depres- 
sion in  the  bay  of  San  Francisco.  The  drainage  was 
now  to  the  north.  The  Coast  Range  was  broken 
through  at  the  Golden  Gate,  and  the  waters  of  the 
great  basin  found  there  their  outlet  to  the  sea;  while 
the  former  lakes,  uplifted  and  drained,  were  trans- 
formed into  fertile  plains.  During  the  same  period, 
the  sea  that  lay  to  the  east  of  the  Sierras  was  cut  off" 
from  the  Pacific.  The  evaporation  of  this  now  land- 
locked basin  was  in  excess  of  the  rainfall,  and  gradu- 
ally these  waters  receded  until,  to-day.  Salt  Lake  is 
the  remnant  of  that  inter-ocean  which  once  extended 
through  thirty  degrees  of  latitude  and  from  the  Rocky 
Mountains  to  the  Sierras. 

This,  the  recent  history  of  these  regions,  the  geologi- 
cal records  upon  every  hand  fully  attest — here  by  beds 
of  water-worn  pebbles,  by  strata  of  clay  (always  the 
deposit  of  quiet  waters)  that  underlie  the  whole  valley, 
by  the  trunks  of  trees  that  the  drill  of  the  well-borer 
discovers  hundreds  of  feet  beneath  the  surface,  and 
by  the  vast  deposit  of  vegetable  mold  that  forms 
everywhere  the  surface  soil  of  the  valley;  while  to  the 
east,  mountains  of  marine  shells  and  fossils,  vast  beds 
of  salt,  beach  lines  upon  the  slopes  of  the  mountains, 
attest  the  existence  of  the  sea  that  left  these  proofs 
of  its  presence  and  wrote  with  its  fretful  waves  the 
story  of  its  long  companionship  upon  these  rugged 
cliffs,  and  then  shrank  from  them  forever. 

With  the  subsidence  of  this  sea,  there  came  that 
change  in  climate  which  now  characterizes  this  coast. 
The  vapors  from  the  Pacific  were  now  absorbed  by  the 
dry  air  of  this  region,  and  the  precipitation  which  the 
sea  had  promoted,  the  desert  now  prevented.  The 
classification  of  these  seasons  as  wet  and  dry  often 
misleads — for  while  the  latter  is  all  that  the  term  im- 


plies, the  rainy  season  has  as  much  of  sunshine  as  of 
storm,  as  the  records  abundantly  show.  A  brief 
epitome  of  these  seasons  and  the  attendant  phenom- 
ena will  be  given: — 

Beginning  with  the  month  of  October,  the  signs 
of  a  coming  change  are  apparent.  The  winds,  no 
longer  constant  from  one  quarter,  become  variable 
both  as  to  direction  and  force,  or  wholly  cease. 
Sudden  blasts  raise  miniature  whirlwinds  of  dust  and 
leaves,  which  troop  over  the  fields,  and  the  stillness 
of  the  night  is  broken  by  fitful  gusts  and  the  sudden 
wail  of  the  trees  as  the  breath  of  the  coming  winter 
sweeps  through  them.  These  are  the  recognized 
precursors  of  the  season's  change,  and  are  usually 
followed,  in  the  first  ten  days  of  October,  by  an  inch 
or  more  of  rain ;  and  this,  usually,  by  weeks  of  the 
finest  weather.  The  effect  of  these  first  rains  is 
magical.  The  dust  is  washed  from  the  foliage  and 
is  laid  in  the  roads  and  fields.  The  air  has  a  fresh 
sparkle  and  life.  The  skies  are  a  deeper  azure,  and 
the  soft  brown  hills  seem  nearer  and  fairer  than  be- 
fore. It  is  the  Indian  summer  of  the  East;  but,  instead 
of  the  soft  lassitude  of  the  dying  year,  here  it  comes 
with  all  the  freshness  and  vigor  of  the  new-born  spring. 

If,  in  this  and  the  succeeding  months,  there  are 
further  showers,  the  grass  springs  up  on  every  hand, 
and  the  self-sown  grain  in  all  the  fields.  The  hills 
change  their  sober  russet  for  a  lively  green.  Wild 
flowers  appear  in  every  sheltered  nook.  Hyacinths 
and  crocuses  bloom  in  the  gardens,  and  the  perfume 
of  the  violet  is  everywhere  in  the  air.  In  the  latter 
part  of  November  the  rainy  season  is  fully  established. 
A  coming  storm  is  now  heralded  by  a  strong,  steady 
wind,  blowing  for  a  day  or  two  from  the  southeast, 
usually  followed  by  several  days  of  rain,  and  these 
succeeded  by  days  or  weeks  without  a  cloud — and 
thus,  alternating  between  occasional  storms  and  fre- 
quent sunshine,  is  the  weather  from  October  to  April 
— the  rainy  season  of  California.  The  amount  of  rain 
that  falls  varies  materially  with  the  locality.  In  San 
Jose  it  is  from  fifteen  to  twenty  inches,  while,  in  places 
not  ten  miles  distant,  twice  that  amount  is  recorded. 
During  this  period  there  are  from  thirty  to  forty  days 
on  which  more  or  less  rain  falls;  from  fifty  to  seventy 
that  are  cloudy;  the  rest,  bright  and  pleasant.  These 
estimates  will  vary  with  particular  seasons;  but,  tak- 
ing the  average  of  a  series  of  years,  it  will  be  found 
that  from  October  to  April  one-half  the  days  are 
cloudless,  and  fully  three-fourths  such  that  any  out- 
door vocation  can  be  carried  on  without  discomfort 
or  inconvenience. 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD: 


19 


Cyclones  and  wind-storms  are  wholly  unknown, 
and  thunder  is  only  heard  at  rare  intervals,  and  then 
as  a  low  rumble  forty  miles  away  in  the  mountains. 
With  the  month  of  March  the  rains  are  practically 
over,  though  showers  are  expected  and  hoped  for  in 
April.  Between  the  first  and  tenth  of  May  there 
usually  falls  from  a  half  to  three-fourths  of  an  inch  of 
rain.  Coming  as  this  does  in  the  hay  harvest,  it  is 
neither  beneficial  nor  welcome.  By  the  first  of  July 
the  surface  moisture  is  taken  up  and  dissipated,  and 
growth  dependent  upon  this  ceases.  The  grasses 
have  ripened  their  seed,  and,  self-cured  and  dry,  are 
the  nutritious  food  of  cattle  and  sheep.  The  fields 
of  grain  are  yellow  and  ripe  and  wait  but  the  reaper. 
Forest  trees  and  shrubs  have  paused  in  their  growth. 
This,  to  the  vegetable  world,  is  the  season  of  rest. 

This  is  the  winter  of  the  Santa  Clara  Valley — winter, 
but  strangely  unlike  winter  elsewhere,  for  here  man 
"has  interposed.  Here,  by  art  and  by  labor,  he  has 
reversed  the  processes  of  nature  and  constrained  the 
course  of  the  seasons.  In  gardens,  bright  with  foliage 
and  resplendent  with  flowers,  there  is  spring  in  its 
freshness  and  beauty;  while  in  orchards  teeming  with 
fruits,  and  vineyards  purple  with  ripening  grapes, 
summer  and  autumn  vie  for  the  supremacy.  And 
so,  with  changing  beauty  and  ceaseless  fruition,  pass 
the  seasons  of  this  favored  clime.  If  in  these  seasons, 
the  resident  or  the  visitor  finds  but  one  succession  of 
enjoyments,  to  the  farmer  and  fruit  grower  they  are 
of  the  utmost  practical  importance  as  well  as  con- 
venience. Those  months  that  in  the  East  preclude 
all  farming  operations,  are  here  the  season  of  most 
active  industry  and  preparation.  With  the  rains  of 
November  plowing  and  seeding  begin  and  continue 
with  but  little  interruption  to  the  first  of  March.  If 
the  rains  are  continued  too  late  in  the  spring,  the  later- 
sown  fields  are  usually  cleaner  crops  and  of  superior 
quality,  while  without  these  later  rains,  the  earlier- 
sown  is  likely  to  be  most  successful.  It  is  in  the 
harvesting,  however,  that  the  advantages  are  most 
apparent — an  advantage  hardly  understood  elsewhere 
an  I  scarcely  appreciated  here. 

Here  the  favored  farmer  gathers  his  matured 
crop  with  no  possibility  of  rain  interfering,  and  with 
no  thought  of  the  storms  that  elsewhere  make  this  a 
season  of  severest  toil  and  constant  anxiety.  His 
hay,  as  he  cuts  it,  falls  upon  soil  as  dry  as  is  the  air 
above  it,  and  is  cured  without  further  handling  or 
labor  than  to  collect  it  in  cocks  or  stacks.  The  grain, 
matured  and  dry,  waits  without  waste  or  detriment 
for  weeks  or  months  for  the  reaper,  and  in  October, 


and  often  far  into  November,  the  hay  presses  and 
threshers  may  be  seen  busy  with  the  hay  and  grain 
that  has  remained  in  cocks  or  stacks  for  the  past  five 
months. 

For  the  fruit  grower,  these  seasons  are  even  more 
favorable  than  to  the  farmer.  To  the  visitor,  the 
thousands  of  acres  of  orchard  and  vineyard  without 
a  weed  or  a  blade  of  grass  to  be  seen,  would  rep- 
resent an  apparent  amount  of  labor  and  culture  abso- 
lutely appalling — and  so  it  would  be — not  merely 
appalling,  but  quite  impossible  under  the  climatic  con- 
ditions of  other  regions.  In  sections  where  frequent 
rains,  constant  humidity,  come  with  the  summer,  the 
seeds  of  every  form  of  weeds  ripen  with  every  week 
of  sunshine  and  germinate  with  every  shower.  The 
surface  moisture  usually  favors  their  continued  growth 
and  development,  and  the  only  possible  conditions  for 
successful  tillage  are  those  of  constant  warfare  with 
weeds.  Here  the  seeds  near  the  surface  germinate 
with  the  winter  rains  and  are  turned  under  and  de- 
stroyed with  the  first  plowing.  The  surface  dries  to 
a  depth  of  three  or  four  inches  at  the  commencement 
of  summer  and  so  remains  through  the  whole  season. 
In  this  dry  soil  it  is  impossible  for  seeds  to  germinate 
or  plants  to  live.  Anyone  who  has  ever  attempted 
to  start  seeds  in  the  summer  knows  how  indispensable 
is  constant  moisture,  and  will  readily  understand  how 
effectively  this  feature  of  the  climate  co-operates  with 
the  cultivator  and  preserves  to  trees  and  vines  all  of 
the  moisture  and  nutrition  that  the  soil  contains. 

The  Californians'  estimate  of  the  climate  of  their 
State  has  been  the  theme  of  much  facetious  comment. 
In  view  of  the  fact  that  elsewhere  those  who  are  able, 
spend  half  the  year  on  the  St.  Lawrence  or  the  coast 
of  Maine,  to  escape  the  heat  of  summer,  and  the  other 
half  in  Cuba,  Florida,  or  on  the  shores  of  the  Medi- 
terranean, to  avoid  the  rigors  of  winter;  that,  in  fact, 
most  of  their  lives  are  migrations  in  search  of  climate 
— the  residents  of  this  State  may  accept  with  equa- 
nimity the  badinage  of  these  birds  of  passage,  and 
may  well  felicitate  themselves  upon  those  conditions 
that  bring  to  their  very  door  the  summer  of  the 
Thousand  Isles  and  the  winter  of  the  Antilles.  That 
this  is  not  an  exaggeration  is  easily  shown.  Ther- 
mometrical  records,  however  accurately  kept,  are  quite 
apt  to  mislead  those  who  seek  to  deduce  from  them 
practical  results. 

There  are  many  important  conditions  not  ex- 
pressed in  these  observations.  It  is  well  understood 
that  from  the  dryness  of  the  air,  forty  degrees  below 
zero  is  more  tolerable  in  Dakota  than  thirty  degrees 


20 


PEN  PICTURES  FR03I  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


higher  in  the  humid  air  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard  ;  and, 
lor  the  same  reason,  and  almost  in  the  same  ratio,  as 
to  heat.  It  would  be  but  little  consolation  to  a  person 
to  know  that,  some  thousands  of  miles  away,  the 
temperature  from  which  he  was  suffering  would  be 
quite  endurable.  So  as  to  averages  which  usually 
form  a  conspicuous  feature  of  these  records.  It  is 
not  from  the  averages,  but  from  the  extremes,  that 
men  suffer  and  vegetation  dies.  Nor  do  even  the  ex- 
tremes represent  the  effect — their  continuance  is  im- 
portant, A  plant  often  survives  a  severe  frost  and 
then  succumbs  to  a  much  lighter  repetition,  and  a 
degree  of  heat  that  may  be  endured  for  a  day,  be- 
comes intolerable  when  continued  for  several.  In 
view  of  these  well-recognized  facts,  I  propose  to 
present  the  question  of  temperature  as  shown  by 
effects  which  are  readily  appreciated  by  all,  rather 
than  by  compilations  of  figures  thus  liable  to  mislead. 
The  rains  of  October  are  usually  followed  by  frosts, 
sufficiently  sharp,  in  the  lowlands  of  the  valley,  to  kill 
the  more  delicate  plants.  During  the  months  of  De- 
cember, January,  and  February  these  frosts  are  more 
frequent  and  severe.  Every  variety  of  grapes,  figs, 
olives — in  short,  all  the  semi-tropic  plants — remain 
unaffected  by  the  frosts.  Callas,  fuchsias,  geraniums, 
and  heliotropes,  when  grown  by  the  wall  of  a  house, 
in  the  shade  of  an  evergreen,  or  given  the  slightest 
covering,  flourish  and  bloom  through  any  winter,  and, 
in  many  seasons,  do  so  without  any  protection  what- 
ever. 

********* 

Every  known  variety  of  rose  flourishes  without  the 
least  protection,  and  not  only  do  they  retain  their 
leaves,  but  there  is  not  a  day  in  the  winter  when 
blossoms,  hardly  inferior  to  those  of  June,  cannot  be 
gathered  in  the  open  grounds  of  any  garden.  The 
lemon  verbena  shrub  here  attains  a  height  of  from 
ten  to  twenty  feet,  with  a  trunk  from  two  to  ten  inches 
in  diameter.  Bees  increase  their  stores  during  the 
rainy  season,  and  every  clear  day  humming-birds 
and  butterflies  appear  in  the  gardens. 

For  personal  comfort,  fires  are  usually  started  in 
the  morning,  die  down  toward  noon,  and  are  rekindled 
for  the  evening.  As  little  fire  as  can  be  kept  burn- 
ing, usually  suffices  for  comfort.  There  are  days, 
stormy,  damp,  or  cold,  when  more  fire  is  required. 
Such  days  are  the  exception,  however,  and  the  rule  is 
as  stated. 

Within  the  last  twenty  years  snow  has  fallen  in  San 
Jose  on  three  occasions.  In  no  instance  was  it  over 
three  inches  in  depth.     It  disappeared  before  night- 


fall of  the  day  on  which  it  fell,  and  its  presence  trans- 
formed the  usually  staid  city  into  a  snow-balling 
carnival.  In  the  dry  season,  beginning  with  April, 
the  mornings  are  clear,  calm,  and  not  unpleasantly 
warm.  About  noon,  a  brisk  breeze  from  the  bay 
blows  down  the  valley.  This,  harsh  as  it  sweeps  in 
through  the  Golden  Gate,  is  soft  and  mild  here.  It 
goes  down  with  the  sun,  and  the  night  tliat  follows  is 
calm  and  cool.  A  high,  light  fog  sometimes  hangs 
over  the  valley  in  the  morning,  but  disappears  by 
eight  or  nine  o'clock.  During  the  summer  montiis, 
three  or  four  heated  terms  may  be  expected.  These 
are  usually  in  periods  of  three  days,  and  the  ther- 
mometer indicates  from  ninety  degrees  to  ninety-five 
degrees  Fahrenheit.  Upon  the  morning  of  the 
fourth  day  a  fog  generally  appears,  a  cool  breeze 
springs  up,  and  the  former  temperature  is  restored 
and  maintained  for  weeks  before  another  heated  term. 
As  these  periods  are  the  extreme  of  the  season,  somC 
indicia  will  be  given  by  which  they  may  be  under- 
stood and  estimated.  Through  a  part  of  these  days, 
exposure  to  the  sun  is  disagreeably  hot,  but  not 
dangerously  so.  Under  the  shade  of  a  tree  or  in  the 
shelter  of  a  well-constructed  house,  it  is  perfectly  com- 
fortable. The  evenings  that  follow  are  so  cool  that 
persons  rarely  sit  upon  the  porches  of  their  houses,  and 
a  pair  of  blankets  is  required  for  comfort  while 
sleeping. 

Summarizing,  it  may  be  said  that,  in  any  part  of  the 
year,  days  too  hot  or  too  cold  for  the  comfort  of  those 
engaged  in  ordinary  outdoor  vocations  are  rare,  and 
that  a  night  uncomfortably  warm  is  absolutely  un- 
known. It  may  be  added  that  the  fears  and  fore- 
bodings with  which  the  seasons  are  elsewhere  greeted, 
are  here  unheard  of;  coming  with  no  rigors,  they 
bring  no  terrors,  and  are  alike  welcomed  by  all,  not 
as  a  relief  but  as  a  change.  In  these  conditions, 
health  and  personal  comfort  are  largely  subserved, 
and  also  in  them  the  horticultural  possibilities,  of 
which  we  are  to-day  but  upon  the  threshold,  are 
assured ;  and  these,  the  elements  of  present  and  of 
prospective  prosperity,  are  as  constant  as  the  ocean 
currents  in  which  they  have  their  origin,  as  perma- 
nent as  the  mountain  ranges  which  bound  the  field 
of  their  exhibition. 

The  county  of  Santa  Clara  has  an  area  of  rather 
more  than  a  million  of  acres.  Of  this,  about  two 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  acres  is  valley — the  an- 
cient lake  bed,  or  the  alluvial  deposits  of  existing 
streams — three  hundred  thousand  acres  is  rolling  hills 
and    mountain    slopes,   well    adapted    to    fruit;     the 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


residue  valuable,  principally  for  pasturage.  While 
the  general  contour  presented  by  the  valley  is  that  of 
a  level  plain,  it  is,  in  fact,  a  series  of  gentle  undu- 
lations, with  marked  variations  in  the  quality  of  the 
soil.  In  what  is  now,  or  has  recently  been,  the  lower 
portions  of  this  plain,  the  soil  is  a  black,  tenacious 
clay,  known  as  "adobe."  It  is  very  fertile  and  pro- 
ductive, but  requires  much  care  as  to  the  time  and 
manner  of  cultivating  it,  and  is  well  adapted  to  hay 
and  grain.  The  higher  lands  of  the  valley  are  a 
light,  loamy,  and  sometimes  gravelly  soil.  This  is 
easily  cultivated  and  is  well  adapted  to  all  the  cereals 
and  to  most  varieties  of  fruit.  In  the  vicinity  of  the 
bay  there  are  many  thousands  of  acres  of  salt  m.arsh. 
No  effort  worthy  the  name  has  been  made  to  reclaim 
them,  though  the  task  would  seem  a  not  difficult  one. 
It  is  safe  to  predict  that  at  no  distant  day  these  lands 
will  be  reclaimed  and  among  the  most  productive 
and  valuable  in  the  county. 

The  "warm  belt"  is  a  tract  upon  the  slopes  of  the 
hills  that  environ  the  valley.  It  has  an  altitude  of 
from  two  hundred  to  eight  hundred  feet.  It  is  gen- 
erally, and  in  some  localities  wholly,  free  from  frost. 
In  this  belt,  to  the  east  of  Milpitas,  potatoes,  peas, 
etc.,  are  grown  in  the  open  air  through  the  whole 
winter,  for  the  San  Francisco  market.  Upon  the  Los 
Gatos  and  Guadalupe  Rivers  are  some  hundreds  of 
acres,  formerly  dense  willow  thickets,  but  now  in  the 
highest  state  of  cultivation.  These  lands  are  regarded 
as  the  most  desirable  in  the  valley.  The  soil  is  a 
sedimentary  deposit,  easily  cultivated,  requiring  but 
little  irrigation,  and  producing  every  variety  of  fruit 
and  vegetable.  Thirty  miles  south  of  San  Jose  is  the 
town  of  Gilroy.  The  soil  of  the  valley  is  here  fertile 
and  productive.  Over  a  considerable  portion,  the 
subterranean  moisture  maintains  the  growing  pastures 
throughout  the  year,  and  some  of  the  most  successful 
dairies  in  the  State  are  here  established.  The  more 
elevated  parts  of  the  valley  and  the  slopes  of  the  hills 
are  well  adapted  to  fruits  and  vines.  The  summers  of 
Gilroy  are  warmer  and  drier  than  in  San  Jose.  The 
cool  winds  from  the  bay  are  materially  softened  as 
they  sweep  down  the  valley,  and  the  differences  of 
temperature  between  the  day  and  night  are  not  so 
marked.  The  air  is  mild  and  balmy,  and  the  nights 
agreeably  cool  and  pleasant. 

The  water  courses  within  the  county  greatly  di- 
minish, when  they  do  not  wholly  disappear,  in  the  sum- 
mer. Sinking,  as  they  approach  the  valley,  they 
augment  the  subterranean  resources  which  supply  the 
artesian  wells.     These  are  found  all  over  the  valley. 


They  are  usually  from  sixty  to  one  hundred  feet  in 
depth,  though  some  find  a  larger  and  more  permanent 
supply  at  a  much  greater  depth.  The  water  is  raised 
by  windmills  into  tanks,  and  is  ample  for  household 
and  gardening  purposes.  About  Alviso  and  near  the 
bay,  hundreds  of  acres  of  strawberries  and  of  vege- 
table gardens  are  irrigated  from  these  wells,  and  the 
water  rises  to  the  surface  with  such  force  that  the 
mo-t  massive  appliances  arc  required  to  restrain  the 
flow. 

Of  the  varied  productions  of  this  valley  it  is  difficult 
to  speak  in  terms  which  shall  not  savor  of  exagger- 
ation. The  question  is  no  longer  what  can,  but  what 
cannot,  be  successfully  produced.  With  the  early 
settlers  cattle  were  the  staple,  and  of  the  vast  herds 
which  roamed  over  the  country,  little  more  than  the 
hides  and  tallow  were  utilized.  The  cereals,  it  was 
supposed,  could  only  be  grown  in  the  summer,  and 
where  irrigation  was  afforded.  The  gold  discovery 
changed  all  this.  It  furnished  not  only  a  market  for 
the  cattle,  but,  soon  after,  it  was  ascertained  that  the 
rainy  months  were  the  season  of  growth,  and  that 
wheat  sown  with  the  early  rains  matured  enormous 
crops  of  the  finest  quality.  The  success  which  at- 
tended this  last  industry  relegated  the  cattle  interest 
to  the  extensive  and  less  valuable  ranges  eastward, 
while  the  prodigal  quantity  and  superior  quality  of 
the  wheat  produced  enabled  it,  not  only  to  success- 
fully compete  with  all  rivals  in  the  markets  of  the 
world,  but  to  fix  for  years  the  price  of  the  bread  of 
a  hundred  millions  of  people.  As  the  herdsman  had 
given  way  to  the  tiller  of  the  soil,  .so  the  latter,  and 
for  the  same  reason,  has  made  way  for  a  more  profit- 
able industry — the  growing  of  fruits.  That  this  has 
not  long  since  supplanted  all  other  industries  was  not 
from  any  doubt  as  to  production  or  quality,  but  simply 
as  to  transportation.  This  problem  satisfactorily 
solved,  and  the  fruit  growers  of  this  valley  can  have  no 
successful  rivals. 

To-day,  with  this  industry  comparatively  new,  its 
means  of  transportation  a  monopoly,  its  markets  but 
recently  found,  and  its  methods  of  reaching  these 
markets  an  experiment — with  all  these  to  contend 
against,  the  fruits  of  this  valley  are  as  well  known 
and  highly  esteemed  in  the  markets  of  the  East  and 
of  the  world  as  are  those  of  Sicily,  Asia  Minor,  and 
the  Adriatic — where  ages  have  been  given  to  the  in- 
dustry, where  skilled  labor  is  at  the  very  lowest  stage 
of  compensation — and  the  ocean  is  the  easy  pathway 
to  a  world  of  consumers.  The  capacity  of  this  valley 
in  this  direction  is  no  new  discovery.     It  is  as  old  as 


22 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


its  settlement.  A  hundred  years  ago  the  Mission 
Fathers  introduced  the  grape  which  still  bears  their 
name  and  perpetuates  their  memory;  and  orchards  of 
pear  and  olive,  coeval  with  these  vineyards,  still  bear 
abundantly,  and  attest  alike  the  capacity  of  the  re- 
gion and  thejudgment  and  forethought  of  those  who 
thus  demonstrated  it,  while  the  older  records  make 
frequent  mention  of  planting  and  vintage,  the  fruits 
and  the  harvests  of  those  ancient  days.  But  neither 
record  nor  relics  is  needed  to  show  the  varied  capacity 
of  this  region.  The  valley,  upon  every  hand,  is  to-day 
exhibiting  it.  By  the  side  of  his  fields  sown  to  grain 
or  in  grass,  the  farmer  plants  an  orchard  or  a  vine- 
yard ;  between  the  rows  of  trees  or  of  vines  he  tills 
and  plants  as  before,  and  gathers  full  harvests  of  roots, 
etc.,  while  waiting  the  fruition  of  his  trees.  His  labors 
alternate  between  his  fields  of  grain  and  of  vines,  and 
his  teams  are  to-day  transporting  from  his  farm  tons 
of  hay  for  the  market,  and  tons  of  grapes  for  the 
winery. 

Nature,  in  everything  prodigal,  is  in  nothing  invidi- 
ous, and  were  the  fruit  production  to  absolutely  cease, 
the  valley  would  remain  one  of  the  richest  agri- 
cultural regions  of  the  globe.  I  have  referred  to  the 
wheat  production,  still  successfully  continued,  except 
where  supplanted  by  some  more  profitable  product. 
Its  hay  crop  is  to-day  the  principal  supply  of  the  San 
Francisco  market.  In  the  vicinity  of  Santa  Clara  are 
fields  of  corn  that  never  felt  rain  nor  knew  irrigation, 
and  that  will  compare  favorably  with  the  crops  of  the 
valley  of  the  Mississippi,  while,  besides  this,  whole 
farms  are  growing  garden  seeds,  which  have  long 
commanded  the  highest  prices  in  the  Eastern  markets. 
Extensive  hop  yards  were  established,  and  the  vines 
grew  and  bore  luxuriantly,  and  only  the  high  price  of 
labor  prevented  their  being  to-day  a  staple  of  the 
valley.  Near  Gilroy  some  of  the  most  successful  as 
well  as  extensive  dairies  in  the  State  are  established, 
while  in  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains,  upon  the  west, 
petroleum  is  found,  and  its  further  development  prose- 
cuted with  every  prospect  of  success.  Of  the  fruit 
product  of  this  county  it  is  impossible  to  speak  accu- 
rately— difficult  to  speak  instructively.  At  the  pres- 
ent writing,  enormous  canneries,  employing  thousands 
of  laborers,  are  running  night  and  day.  Drying  ap- 
paratuses on  every  hand,  and  in  almost  every  field, 
are  employed,  while,  in  every  direction,  acres  upon 
acres  are  covered  with  bags  of  fruit  preserved  by 
drying  in  the  sun — every  resource  of  labor  or  of 
mechanism  is  tasked  to  the  utmost,  and  even  the  school 


vacation    is    extended  that  the  children  may  aid  to 
preserve  the  enormous  crop. 


The  orchards  in  bearing  are  generally  increasing  in 
their  yield  and  will  continue  so  to  do  for  many  years, 
while  extensive  areas  are  coming  into  bearing  and  the 
planting  of  new  orchards  and  vineyards  is  constantly 
going  on.  In  fact,  the  system  of  summer  culture 
which  renders  irrigation  unnecessary,  makes  all  the 
arable  land  in  the  county  available  for  fruit.  In  view 
of  these  facts,  estimates  would  be  but  the  merest  con- 
jecture. One  thing  may  be  said — that  all  the  fruits 
of  the  temperate  zone,  and  most  of  the  semi-tropical 
fruits,  are  now  grown  in  the  greatest  perfection  and  in 
quantities  which  tax  to  the  utmost  the  resources  and 
labor  attainable  to  gather  and  preserve  them.  Orange 
trees  have  been  grown  for  many  years  in  this  county 
(in  San  Jose  more  for  ornament  than  for  fruit),  gener- 
ally seedlings,  and  with  no  care  as  to  either  selection 
or  culture.  In  the  vicinity  of  San  Jose  considerable 
groves  have  been  growing  for  twenty  years,  produc- 
ing abundant  crops  of  well-flavored  fruit.  The  citrus 
fairs  held  last  year  (1887)  in  San  Jose  and  other 
places,  showed  the  very  extensive  sections  where  these 
fruits  were  being  successfully  grown ;  and  this,  with 
the  stimulus  of  a  market,  has  induced  the  planting 
of  orange  trees  throughout  the  warm  belt  of  this 
county.  That  these  trees  will  grow,  and  luxuriantly, 
and  that  they  are  not  affected  by  the  frost,  is  estab- 
lished ;  and  that  certain  varieties  will  mature  excel- 
lent fruit,  is  certain.  If,  however,  it  shall  be  found 
wanting  in  the  flavor  or  qualities  of  the  oranges  of 
Tahiti  or  Florida,  it  is  because  it  does  not  have  the 
long  hot  season — the  burning  days  and  sweltering 
nights — of  those  countries.  I  question  whether  it 
would  be  desirable  to  accept  that  climate,  though 
with  it  we  could  secure  this  single  production. 

The  great  and  increasing  extent  of  the  fruit  pro- 
duction, the  fact  that  over  much  of  the  State  it  is 
being  prosecuted  with  energy,  suggests  the  frequent 
inquiry,  "Where  is  the  future  market  for  all  this  to 
be  found?  This  is  the  inquiry  that,  at  some  stage  of 
development,  confronts  every  form  of  industrial  enter- 
prise, whether  the  product  of  the  soil  or  the  result  of 
manufacture.  The  subject  is  too  extensive  and  too 
intricate  to  here  receive  but  the  briefest  consideration. 
The  fruit  product  of  this  State  is  the  result  of  special 
climatic  conditions  existing  within  restricted  limits. 
Unlike  manufactures,  this  form  of  production  cannot 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD: 


23 


be  extended  by  either  art  or  enterprise.  Upon  the 
other  hand,  the  consumers  will  be  found  wherever 
any  industry  can  be  maintained,  or  men  can  exist. 
If,  then,  fruit  production  shall  increase  in  geometrical 
ratio,  nature  has  fixed  the  limits  within  which  this 
progression  must  cease,  while  no  such  bounds  exist  to 
the  range  of  consumption. 

Farther  than  this,  experience  and  invention  are 
constantly  diminishing  the  cost  of  production  and 
thus  enlarging  the  class  of  consumers.  If  wheat  and 
wool,  staples  of  the  world,  and  everywhere  grown,  are 
rarely  found  in  excess  of  profitable  production,  it  may 
fairly  be  assumed  that  these  special  products  of  Cali- 
fornia, thus  limited  to  an  area  and  restricted  as  to 
conditions,  will  be  always  a  profitable  industry.  The 
question,  however  important,  is  at  present  but  one  of 
speculation,  and  time  alone  can  give  the  full  solution. 
Dependent  as  this  region  is  upon  the  regular  rains  of 
winter,  the  knowledge  that  these  sometimes  fail  makes 
the  subject  of  rainfall  one  of  much  anxious  consider- 
ation. There  is  a  theory  that  the  seasons  move  in 
cycles  of  twelve  years,  passing,  by  regular  gradation, 
from  a  maximum  to  a  minimum  rainfall  in  that  period 
and  culminating  in  a  season  of  floods  and  of  drought 
at  the  other.  The  observations  of  the  last  few  years 
do  not  fully  support  this  theory  of  gradual  transition, 
although  records  extending  back  to  the  year  1805 
seem  to  indicate  that  the  twelfth  year  is  deficient  in 
rain.  Should  these  dry  years  recur  in  the  future,  the 
disastrous  and  destructive  consequences  of  the  past 
are  not  likely  to  follow.  The  industry  of  the  State 
was  then  cattle  raising  and  the  country  was  stocked 
to  its  fullest  capacity.  With  a  drought  the  short-lived 
natural  grasses  failed;  the  water  courses  dried  up,  and, 
as  no  provision  had  been  made  for  supplying  either, 
the  cattle  perished  by  thousands. 

At  present,  the  land  is  more  profitably  utilized  in 
other  pursuits,  and  cattle  are  comparatively  few,  and  for 
these,  some  provision  can  be  made.  Trees  and  vines, 
though  their  product  may  be  diminished,  are  not  de- 
stroyed by  a  drought,  however  severe.  Large  areas 
of  irrigated  lands  will  furnish  vast  supplies  of  forage 
food,  and  the  reclaimed  sections  contribute  in  the 
same  direction,  while  railroads  transport  these  prod- 
ucts as  needs  may  require.  A  further  consideration 
— the  possible  effect  of  artificial  conditions  upon  rain- 
fall— may  be  worth  estimating.  It  has  been  often 
asserted  that  the  cutting  off  of  the  forests  of  the 
Sierras  and  the  Coast  Range  would  diminish  the  rain- 
fall, and  in  other  ways  prove  detrimental  to  the 
moisture  supply.     If  this,  as  a  consequence  of  denu- 


dation, follows  anywhere,  it  may  be  doubted  whether 
it  does  here.  In  almost  every  instance  the  removal 
of  the  timber  is  followed  by  a  dense  growth  of  young 
trees  or  of  thicket,  and  the  effect  of  this,  either  as  in- 
ducing precipitation  or  retaining  moisture,  must  be 
fully  equal  to  that  of  the  larger  but  scattering  trees 
thus  replaced. 

Further  than  this,  in  the  valley  of  the  San  Joaquin, 
hundreds  of  square  miles  of  prairie  and  plains  are 
now,  by  irrigation,  thoroughly  saturated,  and  from 
waters  that  had  their  former  evaporation  surface  in 
the  area  of  a  comparatively  small  lake.  On  the  slopes 
of  the  Sierras  the  same  causes  are  at  work.  Water 
stored  in  immense  reservoirs  is  conducted  in  canals 
to  thousands  of  acres  of  orchards  and  vineyards. 
These  causes,  large  at  present  and  constantly  enlarg- 
ing, cannot  but  produce  some  effect  upon  the  rainfall 
of  this  coast.  Regions  that  before  absorbed  the  moist- 
ure, now,  by  their  own  evaporation,  contribute  to  it 
and  induce  precipitation.  If  it  be  argued  that  these 
causes  are  inadequate  to  the  results  suggested,  it  may 
be  replied  that  forest  and  prairie  fires,  the  burning  of 
cities,  the  firing  of  cannon,  are  known  to  be  followed 
by  copious  rains.  The  meteorological  conditions  that 
accompany  a  saturated  atmosphere,  are  often  very 
nearly  in  equilibrium,  and  a  very  slight  disturbing 
cause  may  determine  for  or  against  precipitation. 
The  causes  I  have  indicated  are  neither  transitory 
nor  insignificant.  They  embrace  areas  equal  in  ex- 
tent to  States,  and  are  affecting,  in  a  marked  degree, 
the  temperature  and  climate  of  these  extensive  re- 
gions. If  any  consequences  shall  follow  from  these 
changes,  every  reason  seems  to  indicate  that  they  will 
be  found  in  an  increased  rainfall  and  against  the  re- 
currence of  drought.         ***** 

In  this  description  of  the  capabilities  and  climate 
of  the  Santa  Clara  Valley,  I  have  substantially  de- 
scribed San  Jose — for  this  is  her  environment,  these 
are  her  resources,  this  the  rich  setting  of  which  the 
"Garden  City"  is  the  central  gem.       *        *        * 

The  roads  of  San  Jose  and  vicinity  are  wide,  well- 
graded  and  ballasted  with  gravel  and  rock,  of  which 
there  is  an  inexhaustible  supply  in  the  immediate 
vicinity.  Unaffected  by  frost  or  flood,  they  improve 
with  use  and  require  but  little  attention  to  maintain 
them  in  the  finest  condition. 

Each  year  adds  many  miles  to  the  hundreds  of 
miles  now  in  use,  while  the  trees  with  which  most 
of  them  are  bordered  are  rapidly  developing  them 
into  stately  avenues.  These  roads,  as  they  extend 
into  the  country,  are  little  affected  by  either  the  rains 


24 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN   OF  THE   WORLDS 


of  winter  or  the  droughts  of  summer,  and  delightful 
drives,  free  from  either  mud  or  dust,  are  to  be  found 
in  every  direction  and  at  all  times.  The  residents 
thoroughly  appreciate  and  fully  avail  themsilves  of 
this  attractive  feature  of  the  county,  and  probably  in 
no  place  in  the  country  are  so  many  teams  to  be 
found  driven  with  perfect  confidence,  not  only  by 
women,  but  often  by  the  merest  children.  To  the 
visitor  who  drives  at  random  over  these  roads,  every 
turn  brings  a  new  surprise,  reveals  a  new  beauty. 
Now  the  road  is  through  an  avenue  of  stately  trees ; 
then  comes  a  succession  of  gardens ;  and  again  it  is 
the  abandoned  channel  of  a  former  stream,  where 
giant  and  gnarled  sycamores  and  old  oaks  shade 
the  way,  and  then  for  miles  a  bewildering  succession 
of  vineyards,  orchards,  and  fruitful  fields;  while  every- 
where, half  hidden  in  the  orchards,  nestling  among 
the  vines,  embowered  amid  the  roses,  stately  man- 
sions and  beautiful  cottages  bespeak  alike  the  thrift 
and  refinement  of  their  occupants. 

When  the  stranger  thus  finds  each  day,  and  for 
months,  a  new  avenue,  with  new  beauties  before  and 
about  him,  he  will  give  credence  to  the  assertion  that 
here  are  to  be  found  more  delightful  drives  than  in 
any  other  city  of  the  State,  and  will  declare  it  fitly 
named  the  "Garden  City."  Of  the  hundreds  of  miles 
of  these  drives,  which  lead  in  every  direction,  some 
are  deserving  of  more  than  this  general  mention. 
The  Alameda,  a  broad  and  beautiful  avenue  leading 
to  Santa  Clara,  is  three  miles  in  length,  as  level  as  a 
floor,  and  shaded  by  trees  planted  by  the  Mission 
Fathers  a  hundred  years  ago.  Bordered  throughout 
its  whole  extent  with  beautiful  residences,  it  puzzles 
the  passer-by  to  know  where  San  Jose  ends  and  her 
sister  city  begins.  Another  notable  drive  is  to  Alum 
Rock,  a  distance  of  seven  miles  over  a  road  as  perfect 
as  art  can  make  it,  through  a  deep  gorge  with  a 
prattling  stream  keeping  company,  to  a  natural  park 
of  four  hundred  acres  owned  by  the  city.  Here,  in  a 
sheltered  nook,  a  comfortable  hotel,  shaded  by  mighty 
oaks,  is  kept,  with  mineral  springs  of  every  quality 
and  every  temperature  bubbling  up  in  every  direction. 
Sc  irce  a  day  in  the  summer  that  a  party  is  not  found 
picnicking  in  this  park,  and  making  the  hills  ring 
with  music  and  merriment.  To  the  west,  within  a 
dozen  miles,  is  the  Almaden  quicksilver  mine,  em- 
ploying three  hundred  laborers,  and  supporting  a 
population  of  a  thousand  ;  a  place  interesting  as  being 
the  richest  deposit  of  cinnabar  on  the  continent,  or 
perhaps  in  the  world,  and  also  for  the  thorough  .system 
and  scrupulous   neatness  exhibited    on    every  hand. 


Another  drive  is  to  the  Guadalupe,  second  only  to 
the  Almaden;  another  to  Los  Gatos,  where  all  the 
zones  and  all  the  seasons  seem  to  have  combined  to 
crown  this  favored  spot  with  the  choicest  treasures  of 
them  all;  another  to  Saratoga,  with  its  soda  spring, 
unsurpassed  in  the  State,  gushing  from  the  hill-side; 
to  Lexington,  last  of  this  triad  of  mountain  beauties; 
and  everywhere — in  the  little  valleys,  garlanding  the 
hill -sides,  climbing  to  the  very  summit  of  the  mount- 
ains— orchards,  orange  groves,  and  vineyards.  The 
drive  into  these  hills  is  always  delightful ;  but  it  is  in 
the  spring,  when  everything  is  in  bloom,  that  it  ap- 
pears in  all  its  glory.  Then,  as  far  as  the  eye  can 
reach,  hill-side  and  plain  are  decked  in  all  1  he  splendors 
of  the  rainbow.  Here  the  white  blossoms  of  the 
prune  sway  in  the  breeze  like  drifting  snow,  while, 
beside  these,  the  valley  is  blushing  with  the  dainty 
hues  of  the  apricot,  the  peach,  and  the  apple,  and  the 
vineyards  are  upon  every  side,  in  their  delicate  green. 
It  is,  in  fact,  one  vast  parterre  of  floral  beauty — its 
coloring  by  acres — and  stretching  away  for  miles, 
until  the  distant  hills  frame  in  the  gorgeous  picture. 
In  all  these  mountain  villages  are  to  be  found  hotels, 
cozy  and  pleasant,  and  as  the  guest  sits  in  the  evening 
upon  the  porches  and  sees  the  lamps  of  the  distant 
city  twinkling  like  fireflies  below  him,  with  the  electric 
lights  gleaming  like  planets  above  them,  with  the  soft, 
dry  air  that  stirs  but  in  zephyrs,  he  can  but  feel  that 
this  is  indeed  an  earthly  elysium. 

In  the  morning  a  strilcing  sight  sometimes  awaits 
the  visitor.  The  sky  is  blue  and  cloudless  as  ever, 
but  the  valley  has  disappeared.  A  fog  has  crept  in 
during  the  night  and  engulfed  the  plain,  as  though 
the  ocean  was  asserting  its  old  dominion.  Upon 
every  hand  the  hills,  that  held  the  ancient  sea  in  their 
long  embrace,  now  clasp  this  fleeting  phantom  as 
though  in  its  shadowy  image  there  were  cherished 
memories  of  the  past.  Above  it,  like  islands,  rise 
hills  and  peaks.  As  still  as  fleecy  wool  sleeps  this 
soft  white  sea.  But  even  while  you  look  and  wonder, 
the  sun  asserts  his  power  and  the  still  lake  swells  in 
waves  and  rolls  in  billows.  Through  rifts,  you  catch 
glimpses  of  houses,  of  forests,  and  of  fields,  and  then 
— you  know  not  how,  )-ou  see  not  where — the  fleecy 
mantle  is  gone,  anJ  the  valley,  in  sheen  and  sunshine, 
is  again  before  you. 

Eighteen  miles  east  of  San  Jose,  upon  the  summit 
of  Mount  Hamilton,  is  the  Lick  Observatory.  The 
road  by  which  it  is  reached  is  twenty-four  miles  in 
length,  was  built  by  the  county  at  a  cost  of  $85,000, 
and  is  as  complete  as  money  and  skill   can  make  it. 


PEN  PICTURES  FBOM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


25 


It  connects  with  the  Alum  Rock  Avenue,  about  four 
miles  from  San  Jose,  and  from  this  point  is  carried  up 
the  western  slope  of  the  hili.  As  the  road  ascends, 
the  valley  comes  into  view,  each  turn  of  the  road  dis- 
closing some  new  charm.  Seven  miles  of  this  and 
the  road  passes  to  the  eastern  side;  the  valley  is  no 
longer  in  sight.  But  with  this  change  comes  a  new 
attraction.  You  are  now  in  the  mountains,  and  deep 
gorges  upon  the  one  hand,  and  the  steep  hill-side  on 
the  other,  make  the  landscape;  again,  and  the  road  is 
traversing  valleys  gorgeous  with  wild  flowers  or  roll- 
ing hills  dotted  with  stately  oaks.  Ten  miles  of  this 
and  Smith  Creek  is  reached.  Here,  in  a  charming 
nook  of  the  mountain  half  encircled  by  a  sparkling 
stream,  a  comfortable  hotel  is  found.  Near  as  the 
summit  appears  from  this  point,  there  i-^  yet  fifteen 
hundred  feet  of  sheer  ascent  and  the  road  winds  three 
times  round  the  peak  and  is  seven  miles  long  in  as- 
cending it.  As  the  summit  is  approached  the  valley 
unrolls  before  you  like  a  vast  panorama,  and  the 
picture  that  was  left  behind  is  again  in  view;  until,  at 
last,  at  a  height  of  four  thousand  two  hundred  and 
fifty  feet,  you  are  at  the  observatory. 

From  here,  the  view  is  grand  and  impressive.  At 
your  feet,  dotted  with  villages  and  rimmed  with  a 
cordon  of  protecting  hills,  sleeps  the  valley  in  all  its 
loveliness,  and,  beside  it,  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco, 
flecked  with  the  sails  of  commerce.  To  the  east,  the 
snow-clad  peaks  of  the  Sierras  bound  the  distant 
horizon,  while  south,  the  valley  stretches  away  till  hid 
by  the  misty  hills.  Upon  the  west  are  the  forest 
slopes  of  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains,  with  lakes  and 
reservoirs  that  gleam  in  the  sunlight  like  burnished 
silver;  while,  upon  the  more  distant  horizon,  a  lighter 
shade  tells  where  sea  and  sky  meet  and  mingle  in  the 
blue  Pacific.  North,  if  the  day  is  clear,  you  are 
pointed  to  a  dim  shadow  scarce  outlined  on  the  dis- 
tant sky,  and,  as  you  strive  to  fi.x  the  wavering,  doubt- 
ful image,  you  are  told  that  this  is  Shasta,  which,  four 
hundred  miles  distant  and  fourteen  thousand  four 
hundred  and  forty  feet  liigh,  is  enthroned  in  undis- 
puted majesty  over  the  great  valley.  As  you  note  this 
horizon  stretching  away  on  every  hand,  you  can 
readily  accept  the  statement  of  Professor  Whitney, 
that  from  the  summit  of  this  mountain,  more  of  the 
earth's  surface  is  visible  than  from  any  other  known 
point  upon  the  globe ;  and  the  blue  sky  and  trans- 
lucent atmosphere  attest  the  assertion  that  there  are 
here  twice  the  number  of  nights  that  are  favorable  to 
observations  than  are  anywhere  else  to  be  found. 
Upon  this  height  stands  the  observatory,  which  the 
4 


founder  decreed  should  have  the  most  powerful  glass 
and  thorough  equipment  that  skill  and  ingenuity 
could  produce;  and  most  thoroughly  have  those 
assigned  to  this  duty  executed  their  trust. 

If  years  have  been  employed  for  the  erection  of 
these  buildings,  it  is  because  they  are  to  remain  for  the 
centuries,  and  they  are  as  massive  and  as  durable  as 
the  rock  of  which  they  seem  but  a  part.  In  the 
equipment,  the  scientific  knowledge  and  mechanical 
ingenuity  of  the  world  were  called  into  requisition, 
and  this  is  the  grand  result.  Nor  are  the  appoint- 
ments of  this  place,  perfect  and  ample  as  they  are, 
better  adapted  to  its  purposes  than  are  the  natural 
surroundings.  Elsewhere,  observatories  are  erected 
amid  the  busy  marts  of  trade,  and  among  the  haunts 
of  men.  Here,  the  rugged  mountain  fjrbids  all  other 
companionship,  and  sterility  and  solitude  keep  sen- 
tinel watch  at  the  portals  of  this  temple  of  science. 
It  is  fitting  that  this  be  so,  for  what,  to  the  watcher 
of  the  skies,  are  the  aspirations  of  life,  the  ambitions 
of  men?  What  to  him  are  the  boundaries  of  nations 
or  the  measures  of  time?  The  field  of  his  explorations 
is  illimitable  space,  the  unit  of  his  line,  the  vast  orbit 
of  the  earth.  The  centuries  of  Egypt,  hoary  with 
age,  are  scarce  seconds  on  his  dial.  The  Pharaohs 
are  to  him  but  men  of  yesterday.  He  gauges  the 
nebulous  mist  that  enwraps  Orion,  that  veils  Andro- 
meda, and  proclaims  the  natal  day  of  systems  yet  to 
be.  He  notes  the  changing  hues  and  waning  light  of 
blazing  stars,  and  declares  when,  rayless  and  dark, 
with  retinues  of  dead  worlds,  they  shall  journe}-  on  in 
the  awful  stillness  of  eternal  night.  Well  may  he 
who  deals  with  these,  the  problems  of  the  skies,  dwell 
alone  and  apart  from  other  men. 

In  the  central  pier,  which  supports  the  great  tele- 
scope, is  the  tomb  of  Jarnes  Lick.  Lonely  in  this  life, 
alone  in  his  resting-place;  this  seems  indeed  his  fit 
mausoleum,  and  the  visitor  reads,  though  it  be  un- 
written, as  his  epitaph,  the  inscription  in  England's 
great  cathedral  on  the  tomb  of  its  architect :  "  Si 
inonumentiim  requiris,  ciraunspice." 

The  return  trip  is  much  more  agreeable  than  the 
ascent.  As  the  carriage  sweeps  down  the  mountain 
road,  with  its  many  curves,  the  landscape  again  un- 
folds with  scenes  and  shades  that  come  and  go  like 
the  figures  of  a  kaleidoscope;  and,  in  three  short 
hours,  the  traveler  is  again  in  San  Jose,  with  recol- 
lections of  the  mountain  road,  the  marvelous  prospect, 
the  lofty  mountains,  and  the  lonely  tomb,  that  can 
never  be  effaced.  ****** 

Muchof  the  happiness  of  a  communits- depends  upon 


26 


PEN  PICTURES  FEOM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD:' 


the  social  habits  of  its  people.  In  San  Jose,  social 
gatherings  and  festivities,  picnics  and  excursions,  are 
more  frequent  than  in  most  Eastern  communities. 
The  weather  permits,  and  the  disposition  of  the  people 
encourages  them;  and  those  relaxations  which,  in 
most  places,  are  the  privilege  of  the  few,  are  here  the 
practice  of  the  many.  In  the  summer,  many  families 
resort  to  the  hills  or  to  the  shores  of  Monterey  Bay. 
Here,  in  cottages  readily  hired,  in  tents  or  booths, 
they  remain  for  weeks,  relieved  of  much  of  the 
formality,  as  well  as  the  drudgery,  of  ordinary  domes- 
tic life.  Others,  more  adventurous,  make  up  expedi- 
tions to  the  Sierras,  Yosemite.or  even  Shasta.  They 
take  their  own  teams,  and  in  capacious  wagons  store 
the  bedding  and  supplies  required  for  a  month  or 
more  of  nomadic  life.  Of  the  weather  they  take  no 
heed,  for  that  is  assured. 

Wherever    night   overtakes   them   they  camp,  and 


remain  or  move  on  as  inclination  or  fancy  may  prompt- 
From  the  farm-houses  they  replenish  their  larder  and 
procure  feed  for  their  teams.  And  they  return  after 
weeks  of  this  gypsy  life,  with  bronzed  cheeks,  to  re- 
sume with  vigor  the  duties  of  life,  to  live  over  their 
past  wanderings,  and  to  plan  new  expeditions  for  the 
future.  ********* 
In  this  paper  I  have  endeavored  to  represent  to  the 
visitor  the  surroundings  he  will  here  find;  to  the 
settler,  the  conditions  with  which  he  will  have  to  deal. 
I  shall  make  no  attempt  to  forecast  even  the  near 
future;  it  is  proclaiming  itself  The  tramp  of  a 
coming  host  is  upon  every  hand — the  tide  of  a  human 
sea,  impelled  by  forces  that  permit  no  ebb.  It  comes, 
and  between  the  desert  and  the  sea  it  finds  the  prom- 
ised land^ — Egypt  in  its  fertility;  Sicily  in  its  fruits 
and  flowers;  Italy  in  its  beauty;  America  in  its  free- 
dom, its  enterprise,  and  its  energy. 


The    Native    races. 


THE  reader  will  have  acquired  a  good  idea  of  the 
topography  of  climate  and  general  character- 
istics of  Santa  Clara  County  from  the  foregoing 
sketch  from  the  pen  of  the  Honorable  D.  Belden. 
In  regard  to  the  people  who  inhabited  this  lovely 
spot  prior  to  its  occupancy  by  the  whites,  we  have 
very  little  knowledge  either  by  record  or  tradition, 
nor  is  it  necessary  that  we  should  have.  They  were 
a  race  of  mild-mannered,  ignorant,  and  generally 
inoffensive  Indians,  without  language,  customs,  or 
history,  that  would  be  either  instructive  or  entertain- 
ing to  the  general  reader.  The  only  interest  we  have 
in  them  is  that  they  were  the  immediate  predecessors 
of  the  white  race  in  this  beautiful  valley.  They  were 
called  the  Olhones,  sometimes  Costanes,  and  subsisted 
on  the  spontaneous  fruits  of  the  soil,  together  with 
small  game  which  they  were  enabled  to  kill  or  capture 
with  their  rude  implements  or  weapons.  Like  nearly 
all  the  natives  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  both  of  North 
and  South  America,  they  worshiped  the  sun,  but 
this  was  about  the  only  point  in  which  they  resembled 
their  Southern  neighbors.  While  Cortez  and  Pizarro 
found  in  Mexico  and  Peru  a  sort  of  civilization,  the 
natives  of  California  had  nothing  that  redeemed 
them  from  absolute  barbarism.  They  believed  in  an 
evil  spirit,  and  their  religious  rites  and  ceremonies 
were  principally  devoted  to  its  propitiation  rather  than 
to  the  adoration  of  a  Supreme  Being,  with  power  to 
protect  them  from  the  anger  of  their  evil  god.  In 
this  they  seem  to  have  resembled  the  Chine.se. 

Their  religious  idea  of  rewards  and  punishments 
appertained  to  their  material  existence.  If  they  had 
any  belief  in  a  future  state  they  had  nothing  to  indi- 
cate it  except,  perhaps,  in  their  funeral  ceremonies,  in 
which  they  decorated  the  corpse  with  feathers,  flowers, 
and  beads,  and,  placing  his  bows  and  arrows  beside 
the  remains,  burned  them  amid  shouts  and  cries. 
They  had  one  custom  which  was  common  to  all  the 
Indians  along  the  coast,  but  whether  it  was  a  religious 


ceremony,  a  sanitary  measure,  or  a  recreation,  we  are 
not  informed.  It  was  called  the  temescal.  An  adobe 
house,  in  the  shape  of  a  dome,  was  built  on  the  banks 
of  a  creek.  It  had  a  hole  in  the  top  for  the  escape  of 
the  smoke,  while  an  aperture  at  the  side  served  the 
purpose  of  a  door.  The  ceremony,  if  it  can  properly 
be  called  such,  consisted  in  packing  the  interior  of  the 
hut  with  people,  raising  the  temperature  by  means  of 
fires  to  as  high  a  degree  as  possible.  When  the  heat 
became  unendurable  they  would  rush  from  the  hut 
and  with  cries  and  shouts  plunge  into  the  waters  of 
the  creek. 

They  had  no  villages,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of 
the  term,  but  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year  they 
would  herd  together  at  certain  fixed  places,  which  the 
Spaniards  named  randiei'ias.  They  were  generally 
peaceable.  We  have  no  record  of  any  wars  in  which 
they  were  engaged,  nor  have  any  relics  of  pre-historic 
battle-fields  been  found  by  their  successors.  After 
the  secularization  of  the  missions  there  was  at  one 
time  a  rumor  that  the  Indians  were  on  the  war-path 
and  were  making  threatening  demonstrations  toward 
this  valley;  but  it  was  only  a  rumor,  and  we  can  find 
no  authentic  account  of  any  overt  act  that  could  be 
logically  construed  into  organized  hostility. 

They  had  no  prominent  men  or  noted  chiefs  whose 
names  survive.  The  Seminoles  had  their  Osceola,  the 
Shawnees  had  Tecumseh,  the  Pokanokets  had  King 
Philip,  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  had  Blackhawk,  the  Cayu- 
gas  had  Logan,  but  the  Olhones  have  left  not  even  a 
ripple  on  the  sea  of  oblivion  into  which  they  have  so 
recently  passed.  Not  much  can  be  said  of  these 
natives  that  would  be  interesting — nothing  that  would 
be  instructive.  Our  history  begins  where  theirs  ended. 
Their  existence  here  served  as  a  motive  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Mission  of  Santa  Clara,  which  was  the 
beginning  of  civilization  in  Santa  Clara  Valley,  and 
the  real  starting-point  for  our  history. 

(27) 


28 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


SPANISH   OCCUPATION. 

In  1776,  the  natal  year  of  our  republic,  Califor- 
nia was  a  province  of  Spain  and  was  governed 
through  the  viceroy  of  Mexico,  whose  headquarters 
were  established  at  the  city  of  Mexico.  The  Span- 
ish monarch  at  that  time  was  Don  Carlos  III.,  and 
the  Mexican  viceroy  was  Felipe  de  Neve.  The 
banner  of  the  Holy  Church  had  been  carried  in  the 
van  of  the  Spanish  forces  in  all  their  military  opera- 
tions in  the  Western  Hemisphere,  and  all  their  con- 
quests had  been  made  in  noniitie  Doininis.  The 
introduction  of  the  arts  of  civilization  into  the  con- 
quered provinces  proceeded  on  the  same  principle. 
The  first  step  was  to  afford  religious  instruction  to 
the  natives,  and  to  this  end  missions  under  the  control 
of  the  church  were  established  at  such  points  as  were 
deemed  advisable.  At  the  time  of  which  we  write, 
seven  of  these  missions  had  been  established  in 
Upper  or  Alta  California,  to  wit:  The  Mission  San 
Diego,  at  San  Diego,  July  16,  1769;  the  Mission  Car- 
mel,  or  San  Carlos,  at  Monterey,  June  3,  1770;  the 
Mission  San  Antonio,  at  San  Luis  Obispo,  July  14, 
1771;  the  Mission  San  Gabriel,  at  Los  Angeles, 
September  8,  1771;  the  Mission  San  Luis  Obispo,  at 
San  Luis  Obispo,  September  i,  1772;  the  Mission 
Dolores,  at  San  Francisco,  October  9,  1776;  the 
Mission  San  Juan  Capistrano,  at  Los  Angeles, 
November  10,  1776. 

At  this  time  the  Spaniards  had  a  military  post, 
called  a  presidio,  at  San  Francisco,  which  was  then 
known  as  Yerba  Buena.  It  seems  that  in  all  the 
enterprises  undertaken  by  the  Spaniards  in  the  New 
World,  the  church  had  concurrent  jurisdiction  with 
the  military  authority.  In  fact,  almost  all  the  com- 
mands issuing  from  the  crown  placed  the  church  first, 
and  the  military  force  was  treated  simply  as  an 
auxiliary  in  the  work  of  introducing  the  Christian 
religion  to  the  heathen  inhabitants  of  New  Spain. 
These  two  powers  generally  acted  in  harmony.  There 
was  no  restriction  of  the  Holy  Fathers  in  their  selec- 
tion of  sites  for  their  missions,  and  no  hesitation  on  the 
part  of  the  military  authorities  in  granting  a  guard  of 
soldiers  for  their  protection  when  asked  for.  Official 
information  in  regard  to  the  founding  and  conduct  of 
the  missions  was  conveyed  to  the  headquarters  of 
church  and  State  through  two  distinct  channels,  that 
is  to  say,  the  church  received  its  report  through  the 
priesthood  and  the  State  through  the  commandants 
of  the  districts  furnishing  the  military  support. 

In  1776  the  viceroy  of  Mexico  learned,  unofficially, 


that  two  new  missions  had  been  established  near  the 
Bay  of  San  Francisco,  and  in  September  of  that  year 
he  sent  a  communication  to  Don  Fernando  Riviera, 
who  was  at  that  time  commanding  at  San  Diego, 
conveying  this  intelligence  and  asking  him  to  make 
an  inspection  and  return  a  full  report.  This  meant, 
for  Don  Fernando,  a  march  of  several  hundred  miles 
through  a  wild  country  and  over  rugged  mountains, 
but  military  discipline  did  not  permit  him  to  hesitate. 
Accompanied  by  twelve  soldiers,  intended  as  guards 
for  the  new  missions,  he  proceeded  northward.  After 
a  long  and  tiresome  journey  the  party  arrived  at 
Monterey.  Here  Don  Fernando  learned  that  the 
viceroy  had  been  misinformed ;  that,  instead  of  two 
new  missons,  only  one  had  been  established,  and  that 
one  at  San  Francisco  (Dolores).  Father  Tomas  de  la 
Pena,  and  another  priest,  who  had  been  appointed  to 
perform  the  religious  duties  of  the  expedition,  joined 
the  party  at  Monterey,  and  together  they  started  on 
their  journey  to  San  Francisco.  Their  route  was 
nearly  identical  with  that  now  occupied  by  the  South- 
ern Pacific  Railroad.  During  the  march  the  party 
made  a  halt  near  the  present  town  site  of  Santa  Clara, 
and  being  impressed  with  the  salubrity  of  the  climate 
and  the  wonderful  fertility  of  the  soil,  as  evidenced  by 
the  natural  vegetation,  they  determined  to  there 
locate  a  mission  for  the  instruction  of  the  mild- 
mannered  natives,  whose  curiosity  was  barely  sufficient 
to  conquer  their  timidity. 

This  was  in  the  latter  part  of  the  month  of  Novem- 
ber, a  season  when  our  lovely  valley  possesses  a 
peculiar  beauty,  and  which,  it  seems,  was  sufficient  to 
entrance  these  holy  friars,  although  they  had  long 
been  accustomed  to  the  delightful  climate  of  what  is 
now  known  as  Southern  California.  This  valley  was 
then  known  as  the  San  Bernardino.  The  party  pro- 
ceeded to  San  Francisco,  which  they  reached  on 
the  twenty-sixth  of  November.  Having  discharged 
his  official  duties  at  the  presidio,  Don  Fernando  re- 
turned to  Monterey,  and,  at  the  Mission  Carmel,  took 
the  preliminary  steps  toward  establishing  a  mission  at 
the  place  which  had  so  charmed  him  on  his  journey  to 
San  Francisco.  A  party,  under  the  direction  of  Rev. 
Father  Murguia,  was  organized  and  started  for  their 
new  field.  By  the  last  of  December  all  the  soldiers 
intended  for  guards,  together  with  their  families,  were 
mustered  at  San  Francisco,  and  on  the  sixth  day  of 
January  took  their  departure  for  this  valley.  The 
party  consisted  of  Rev.  Father  de  la  Pena,  the  com- 
mandant of  the  presidio,  and  the  soldiers  and  their 
families.     On  reaching  their  destination  a  cross  was 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


29 


erected,  and  on  the  twelfth  day  of  January,  1777,  the 
first  mass  ever  said  in  the  valley  was  celebrated  by 
Father  Pefia. 

This  planting  of  the  symbol  of  the  church  and  the 
celebration  of  its  rites  marks  the  true  beginning  of  the 
history  of  the  Santa  Clara  Valley.  The  cross  which 
was  then  upraised  still  stands  erect  and  marks  the 
dividing  line  between  idolatry  and  Christianity — be- 
tween barbarism  and  civilization.  A  few  days  after 
this  Father  Murguia  arrived  from  Monterey  with  his 
party,  and  on  January  18,  1777,  the  formal  ceremonies 
prescribed  by  the  church  for  the  founding  of  missions 
were  performed,  and  the  Mission  of  Santa  Clara  was 
established;  and  from  this  time  this  valley,  which  had 
hitherto  been  known  as  San  Bernardino,  became  the 
Valley  of  Santa  Clara.  That  our  readers  may  more 
readily  comprehend  the  work  of  the  missions  we 
present  the  followi  g  brief  general  description,  as 
given  by  Father  Gleeson  in  his  work  entitled,  "History 
of  the  Catholic  Church  in  California:" — 

"The  buildings  were  generally  quadrilaterals  inclos- 
ing a  court  ornamented  with  fountains  and  trees,  the 
whole  containing  the  church,  the  Fathers'  apartments, 
storehouses,  barracks,  etc.  Within  the  quadrangle,  at 
the  second  story,  was  a  gallery  running  round  the  entire 
structure,  upon  which  opened  the  workshops,  store- 
rooms and  other  apartments.  The  entire  manage- 
ment of  each  establishment  was  under  the  care  of  two 
religious;  the  elder  attended  to  the  interior  and  the 
younger  to  the  exterior  administration.  One  portion 
of  the  building,  which  was  called  the  'monastery,' 
was  inhabited  by  the  young  Indian  girls.  Tiiere, 
under  the  care  of  approved  matrons,  they  were  care- 
fully instructed  and  trained  in  those  branches  neces- 
sary for  their  condition  in  life.  They  were  not  per- 
mitted to  leave  till  of  an  age  to  be  married — this 
with  a  view  of  preserving  their  morality. 

"  In  the  schools,  those  who  exhibited  more  talent 
than  their  companions  were  taught  vocal  and  instru- 
mental music,  the  latter  consisting  of  the  flute,  horn, 
and  violin.  In  the  mechanical  departments,  the  most 
apt  were  promoted  to  the  position  of  foremen.  The 
better  to  preserve  the  morals  of  all,  none  of  the 
whites,  except  those  absolutely  necessary,  were  em- 
ployed at  the  mission.  The  daily  routine  was  as 
follows:  At  sunrise  they  arose  and  proceeded  to  the 
church,  where,  after  morning  prayer,  they  assisted  at 
the  holy  sacrament  of  the  mass.  Breakfast  next 
followed,  after  which  they  proceeded  to  their  respect- 
ive employments.  Toward  noon  they  returned  to  the 
mission  and  spent  the  time  from  then  till  two  o'clock 


between  dinner  and  repose,  after  which  they  repaired 
to  their  work  and  remained  engaged  until  the  even- 
ing angelus,  about  an  hour  before  sundown.  All 
then  betook  themselves  to  the  church  for  evening 
devotions,  which  consisted  of  the  ordinary  family 
prayers  and  the  rosary,  except  on  special  occasions, 
when  other  devotional  exercises  were  added.  After 
supper,  which  immediately  followed,  they  amused 
themselves  in  divers  sports,  games,  and  dancing,  till 
the  hour  for  repose.  Their  diet  consisted  of  an 
abundance  of  beef  and  mutton,  with  vegetables  in 
the  season.  Wheaten  cakes  and  puddings  or  por- 
ridges, called  atole  and  pinole,  also  formed  a  portion  of 
the  repast.  The  dress  was,  for  the  males,  linen  shirts 
and  pants,  and  a  blanket  which  was  to  be  used  as  an 
overcoat.  The  women  received  each,  annually,  two 
undergarments,  a  gown,  and  a  blanket.  In  years  of 
plenty,  after  the  missions  became  rich,  the  Fathers 
distributed  all  the  surplus  moneys  among  them  in 
clothing  and  trinkets." 

From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the  good  Fathers  had 
a  care  over  the  temporal  as  well  as  the  spiritual  wel- 
fare of  their  charges.  Santa  Clara  Mission  soon 
became  a  flourishing  institution.  The  natives  were 
teachable,  willing  to  learn,  and  reasonably  industrious. 
The  land  was  fertile  and  yielded  abundant  harvests, 
and  each  year  saw  a  gratifying  increase  in  the  num- 
bers of  those  who  relinquished  heathenism  for  Chris- 
tianity, and  the  habits  of  savagery  for  the  arts  of 
civilization. 

In  1784,  nearly  seven  years  after  the  establishment 
of  the  mission,  came  the  ceremony  of  formal  dedica- 
tion, under  the  ministration  of  the  Father  Junipero 
Serra,  president  of  the  missions  of  California.  This 
occurred  May  16,  and  was  attended  by  Don  Pedro 
Fages,  who  had  succeeded  Neve  as  Governor  of  Cali- 
fornia. Father  Murguia  did  not  live  to  witness  this 
imposing  ceremony,  he  having  died  of  a  slow  fever 
five  days  prior  to  the  event. 

In  June  of  the  same  year  in  which  the  Santa  Clara 
Mission  was  established,  Don  Felipe  de  Neve  sug- 
gested to  his  superiors  the  advisability  of  establish- 
ing a  settlement  on  the  Guadalupe  River,  forty- eight 
miles  from  the  presidio  at  San  Francisco  and  seventy- 
eight  miles  from  Monterey.  He  described  the  ex- 
traordinary fertility  of  the  country  and  demonstrated 
that  it  would  not  only  furnish  ample  supplies  for  the 
troops  quartered  at  the  presidio,  but  would  in  a  very 
short  time  yield  a  handsome  revenue  to  the  crown. 
The  suggestion  was  several  months  in  traveling 
through    the    Spanish    circumlocution    office,    but   it 


30 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


finally  reached  the  end  of  its  journey  and  was  ap- 
proved, and  in  November  of  that  year,  Don  Jose  de 
Moraga,  a  Spanish  lieutenant  commanding  at  the 
presidio  at  San  Francisco,  received  orders  to  detail 
nine  soldiers  who  had  experience  as  agriculturists, 
two  settlers,  and  three  laborers,  and  proceed  to  form  a 
settlement  at  the  point  indicated  in  the  Governor's 
suggestion.  This  he  did,  and  located  his  camp  on 
the  banks  of  the  creek  just  north  of  the  present  city 
limits,  and  called  it  the  "  Pueblo  de  San  Jose  de 
Guadalupe." 

He  reported  his  location  to  the  central  government 
through  the  usual  channels,  and  two  years  afterward, 
March  6,  1779,  his  actions  were  approved.  In  1782, 
Lieutenant  Moraga  was  directed  to  make  an  allot- 
ment of  land  to  each  of  his  troops,  which  he  did,  as 
will  be  seen  by  the  accompanying  diagram.  The 
names  of  the  original  settlers  were:  Ygnacio  Archuleta, 
Manuel  Gonzalez,  Jose  Tiburcio  Vasquez,  Manuel 
Amesquita,  Antonio  Romero,  Bernardo  Rosalez, 
Francisco  Avila,  Sebastian  Alvitre,  and  Claudio 
Alvirez. 

It  was  not  long  until  the  settlers  discovered  that 
they  had  made  a  mistake  in  the  selection  of  a  site 
for  their  town.  The  place  was  comparatively  low, 
and  during  the  winter  frequently  overflowed,  much  to 
the  discomfort  of  the  settlers.  This  caused  much  dis- 
content, but  no  direct  steps  were  taken  to  secure  a  re- 
location of  the  pueblo  until  1785,  when  a  formal 
petition  was  sent  to  the  central  authorities  asking  per- 
mission to  move  the  settlement  to  higher  ground. 
In  his  report  on  the  subject.  Lieutenant  Moraga 
states: — 

"At  the  time  I  obtained  command  as  commis- 
sioner of  the  pueblo,  the  water  raised  so  high  that 
a  little  more  would  have  carried  off  our  houses. 
Some  of  them  were  much  injured,  and  we  were 
deprived  of  going  to  mass  and  confession,  not  being 
able  to  pass  to  the  mission  without  going  round 
circuitously  a  distance  of  three  leagues,  to  avoid  the 
bad  places,  which  were  so  numerous  in  such  weather. 
And  in  the  bad  places  many  were  left  afoot  without 
being  able  to  use  their  horses;  nor  could  they  look 
after  their  cavallado  (meaning  their  horses  turned  out 
to  graze),  nor  use  them  to  notify  each  other  in  case  of 
any  trouble  or  accident.  Already  in  the  pueblo,  and 
in  the  adjoining  mission,  on  such  occasions,  the  wild, 
unchristianized  Indians  have  committed  depredations. 
Finally,  for  sowing  wheat,  corn,  and  other  grains, 
the  carrying  of  the  mails,  and  the  passage  of  pack 
trains,  it  (the  new  site    recommended),    offers    great 


advantage,  as  well  as  for  timber  and  wood;  every- 
thing is  nearer  and  more  convenient,  and  I  fully 
approve  of  the  view  of  the  citizens." 

Some  of  our  older  citizens  now  living  can  remem- 
ber the  miserable  condition  in  which  these  lowlands 
were  plunged  at  the  time  of  high  water,  and  could  add 
something  to  Lieutenant  Moraga's  list  of  incon- 
veniences. But  since  the  improvement  of  the  chan- 
nel of  the  creek,  under  American  occupation,  nothing 
of  this  kind  has  been  known.  -  It  required  twelve 
years  from  the  time  the  first  petition  was  transmitted 
to  the  Governor  before  the  removal  could  be  accom- 
plished, but  it  was  finally  effected  in  1797,  the  center 
of  the  new  site  being  at  about  the  present  northwest 
corner  of  Market  and  El  Dorado  Streets. 

At  the  death  of  Father  Murguia,  as  noted  above, 
the  Mission  of  Santa  Clara  was  placed  under  the  di- 
rection of  Father  Diego  Noba,  and  under  his  super- 
vision continued  the  successful  work  of  the  institution. 
Looking  at  our  beautiful  valley  at  the  present  time, 
covered  with  orchards  and  vineyards  and  stately 
edifices,  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  what  its  appearance 
was  at  that  time.  The  only  writing  which  will  ap- 
proach a  description  is  from  the  report  of  Captain 
Vancouver,  the  great  navigator,  who,  having  come  into 
San  Francisco  Bay,  visited  the  mission  in  1792.  It 
contains  not  only  a  statement  of  the  appearance  of 
the  country,  but  the  condition  of  the  mission.  He 
says : — 

"We  continued  our  course  parallel  to  the  sea-coast, 
between  which  and  our  path  the  ridge  of  mount- 
ains extended  to  the  southeastward,  and,  as  we 
advanced,  their  sides  and  summits  exhibited  a  high 
degree  of  luxuriant  fertility,  interspersed  with  copses 
of  various  forms  and  magnitude,  and  verdant  open 
spaces  encircled  with  fruit  trees  of  different  descrip- 
tions. About  noon  we  arrived  at  a  very  enchanting 
lawn,  situated  amid  a  grove  of  trees  at  the  foot  of 
a  small  hill,  by  which  flowed  a  very  fine  stream  of 
excellent  water.  We  had  not  proceeded  far  from  this 
delightful  place,  when  we  entered  a  country  I  little 
expected  to  find  in  these  regions. 

"For  almost  twenty  miles  it  could  be  compared  to  a 
park  which  had  originally  been  planted  with  the  true 
old  English  oak;  the  underwood,  that  had  probably 
attained  its  early  growth,  had  the  appearance  of 
having  been  cleared  away,  and  had  left  the  stately 
lords  of  the  forest  in  complete  possession  of  the  soil, 
which  was  covered  with  luxuriant  herbage,  and  beauti- 
fully diversified  with  pleasing  eminences  and  valleys, 
which,  with  the  lofty  range  of  mountains  that  bounded 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


31 


the  prospect,  required  only  to  be  adorned  with  neat 
habitations  of  an  industrious  people,  to  [iroduce  a 
scene  not  inferior  to  the  most  studied  effect  of  taste  in 
the    disposal   of  grounds.         *         *         *         * 

"Soon  after  dark  we  reached  the  Santa  Clara  Mis- 
sion. Our  journey,except  through  the  morass.had  been 
pleasant  and  entertaining,  and  our  reception  at  Santa 
Clara,  by  the  hospitable  Fathers  of  the  mission,  was 
such  that  e.xcited  in  every  breast  the  most  lively  sen- 
sations of  gratitude  and  regard.  Father  Tomas  de  la 
Peua  appeared  to  be  the  principal  of  the  missionaries. 
The  anxious  solicitude  of  this  gentleman  and  of  his 
colleague.  Father  Joseph  Sanchez,  to  anticipate  all 
our  wishes,  unequivocally  manifested  the  principles 
by  which  their  conduct  was  regulated.  The  buildings 
and  offices  of  the  mission,  like  those  of  San  Francisco, 
form  a  square,  but  not  an  entire  inclosure. 

"It  is  situated  in  an  extensive,  fertile  plain,  the  soil 
of  which,  as  also  that  of  the  surrounding  country,  is  a 
rich,  black,  productive  mold,  superior  to  any  I  had 
before  seen  in  America.  The  church  was  long  and 
lofty,  and  as  well  built  as  the  rude  materials  of  which 
it  is  composed  would  allow,  and,  compared  with  the 
unimproved  state  of  the  country,  was  infinitely  more 
decorated  than  might  have  been  reasonably  expected. 
Apartments,  within  the  square  in  which  priests  re- 
sided, were  appropriated  to  a  number  of  young  female 
Indians,  and  the  like  reasons  were  given  as  at  San 
Francisco  for  their  b:ing  so  selected  and  educated. 
Their  occupations  were  the  same,  though  some  of 
their  woolen  manufactures  surpassed  those  we  had 
seen  before,  and  wanted  only  the  operation  of  fulling, 
with  which  the  Fathers  were  unacquainted,  to  make 
them  very  decent  blankets.  The  upper  story  of  their 
interior  oblong  square,  which  might  be  one  hundred 
and  seventy  feet  long  and  one  hundred  broad,  was 
made  use  of  as  granaries,  as  were  some  of  the  lower 
rooms;  all  of  which  were  well  stored  with  corn  and 
pulse  of  different  sorts;  and,  besides  these,  in  case  of 
fire,  there  were  two  spacious  warehouses  for  the  re- 
ception of  grain,  detached  from  each  other  and  the 
rest  of  the  building.s,  erected  at  a  convenient  distance 
from  the  mission.  These  had  been  recently  finished, 
contained  some  stores,  and  were  to  be  kept  constantly 
full,  as  a  reservoir  in  the  event  of  such  a  misfortune. 

"The  maize,  peas,  and  beans  are  sov\n  in  the  spring 
months  and  succeed  extremely  well,  as  do  hemp  and 
flax,  or  linseed.  The  wheat  affords,  in  general,  from 
twenty-five  to  thirty  for  one,  according  to  the  season, 
twenty-five  for  one  being  the  least  return  from  their 
fields,  notwithstanding  the  enormous  waste  occasioned 


by  their  rude  method  of  threshing,  which  is  performed 
in  the  open  air  by  the  treading  of  cattle.  Neither 
barley  nor  oats  were  cultivated.  As  the  superior 
grains  could  be  cultivated  with  the  same  labor  that 
the  inferior  ones  could,  they  had  some  time  ago  de- 
clined the  cultivation  of  them.  Here  were  planted 
peaches,  apricots,  apples,  pears,  figs,  and- vines,  all  of 
which,  except  the  latter,  promised  to  succeed  well. 
The  failure  of  the  vine  here,  as  well  as  at  San  Fran- 
cisco, is  ascribed  to  a  want  of  knowledge  in  their  cult- 
ure, the  soil  and  climate  being  well  adapted  to  some 
sorts  of  fruits.  The  priests  had  a  guard  of  a  corporal 
and  six  soldiers."  The  great  navigator  did  not  dream 
that  in  less  than  a  hundred  years,  this  fertile  valley 
would  be  sending  her  fruits  to  all  parts  of  the  globe, 
and  that  her  wines  would  be  in  competition  with  the 
products  of  the  most  noted  vineyards  of  the  Old  World. 

The  beginning  of  the  present  century  saw  both  the 
religious  colony  at  the  mission  and  the  civil  colony  at 
the  pueblo  fairly  settled.  There  had  been  some  dis- 
pute as  to  the  line  dividing  the  two  jurisdictions,  but  it 
had  been  finally  determined  by  locating  it  midway 
between  them,  or  about  the  position  of  the  Mt.  Diablo 
meridian.  The  present  Alameda  was  also  laid  out, 
for  the  purpose  of  affording  easy  communication  be- 
tween the  pueblo  and  the  mission.  It  was  about  one 
hundred  feet  wide,  with  a  row  of  trees  on  each  side, 
and  one  through  the  center.  The  trees  were  of  black 
willow  and  sycamore,  but  the  sycamores  have  long 
since  disappeared.  There  was,  originally,  a  ditch  run- 
ning through  the  center  of  the  road  for  the  purpose 
of  drainage,  but  when  the  adjoining  fields  began  to 
be  cultivated,  the  water  was  diverted  from  the  ditch, 
and  it  gradually  filled  up  and  was  obliterated.  There 
is  a  tradition  among  the  older  inhabitants  that  the 
trees  were  planted  on  the  Alameda  for  the  purpose  of 
affording  a  refuge  from  the  attacks  of  the  cattle  that 
were  running  at  large  through  the  country.  This, 
however,  must  have  been  a  mistake,  for,  at  the  time 
the  Alameda  was  constructed,  there  were  only  one 
hundred  and  fifteen  head  of  cattle  owned  in  the  district. 
Although  this  was  not  the  object  of  their  planting, 
there  are  many  well-authenticated  cases  where  these 
trees  have  afforded  protection  to  pedestrians  from  the 
horns  of  infuriated  steers. 

The  history  of  Santa  Clara  County  is  divided  into 
three  distinct  periods :  The  grazing,  or  stock-growing 
era;  the  agricultural,  or  grain-growing  era;  and  the 
horticultural,  or  fruit-and-vine-growing  era,  and  the 
lines  between  them  are  plainly  marked.  The  mission 
and  the  pueblo  were  both  pastoral  communities,  and 


32 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


by  them  was  inaugurated  the  first  era;  the  second 
came  with  the  American  occupation,  while  the  third 
dates  its  birth  from  the  advent  of  the  transcontinental 
railroads. 

From  the  founding  of  the  two  original  colonies  up 
to  the  American  occupation,  the  Santa  Clara  Valley- 
has  no  history  of  importance,  and,  in  fact,  no  records 
from  which  history  could  be  written,  except  the  mis- 
sion archives.  The  population  increased  as  the  fer- 
tility of  the  soil  became  known,  and  in  a  very  few 
years  the  Spaniards  had  taken  possession  of  all  the 
then  desirable  land  without  reference  to  the  rights  of 
the  natives.  In  fact,  the  Indians  were  not  considered 
to  have  any  rights,  unless  they  had  placed  themselves 
under  the  protection  of  the  mission.  The  herds 
increased  more  rapidly  than  the  population,  and  it  was 
but  few  years  until  the  entire  plain  was  covered  with 
cattle,  horses,  and  sheep.  The  latter  were  grown 
principally  for  their  wool,  from  which  the  people 
manufactured  their  clothing;  the  horses  were  used  for 
transportation  and  in  the  care  of  their  herds,  while 
their  chief  dependence  was  their  cattle.  Money  was 
exceedingly  scarce,  and  its  substitute  was  hides  and 
tallow. 

Outside  of  the  pueblo  all  was  grazing  land, 
and  any  citizen  of  good  character,  who  had  cattle, 
could  have  assigned  to  him  a  tract  of  any  reasonable 
extent.  These  grants  were  called  rauclios,  and  ihe 
grantees,  ranclieros.  There  were  no  regular  lines 
dividing  the  ranchos,  their  boundaries  being  deter- 
mined by  certain  permanent  landmarks.  The  grants 
usually  ran  f  jr  a  specified  number  of  leagues,  which 
were  measured  in  a  very  primitive  manner.  Two 
men  on  horseback,  with  a  measuring  line  of  rawhide, 
would  ride  around  the  boundaries,  accompained  by  a 
judge  and  witnesses.  In  addition  to  the  impossi- 
bility of  horsemen  making  accurate  measurements, 
the  rawhide  rope  would  either  stretch  or  shrink 
according  to  the  state  of  the  atmosphere.  But  this 
was  a  matter  of  little  consequence  at  that  time.  The 
land  was  worth  nothing  to  the  Government,  and  if 
the  measurements  varied  a  few  leagues  from  the 
amount  specified  in  the  grant  it  made  no  particular 
difference  so  long  as  it  did  not  conflict  with  previ- 
ous grants.  There  were  generally  no  improvements 
except  some  rough  buildings  and  corrals,  many  of 
the  rancheros  residing  at  the  pueblo.  There  were 
no  fences,  the  cattle  roaming  at  will  through  the 
country,  the  owners  relying  on  their  brands  and  ear- 
marks for  identification.  At  a  specified  time  each 
year,  generally  about  the  middle  of  March,  earlier  or 


later  according  to  the  peculiarities  of  the  season,  all 
of  the  cattle  were  brought  up,  the  proper  brands  and 
marks  placed  on  the  calves,  and  returned  to  their 
respective  ranchos. 

These  annual  segregations  were  termed  rodeos,  and 
were  attended  by  all  the  rancheros  and  their  vaqueros^ 
or  herdsmen,  in  the  district.  This  was  necessary,  for 
the  reason  that  cattle  would  sometimes  stray  for  a 
distance  of  fifty  or  sixty  miles,  and  owners  of  large 
herds  would  find  some  of  their  property  on  nearly 
every  rancho  in  the  country.  Notice  of  a  rodeo 
would  be  given  by  sending  messengers  to  all  the  cattle 
owners  in  the  district,  and  these,  with  their  vaqueros, 
would  assemble  on  the  appointed  day  at  the  designated 
place.  All  the  cattle  on  the  rancho  were  gathered  in 
one  place,  where  each  ranchero  would  take  out  those 
bearing  his  brand,  including  unbranded  calves  which 
followed  their  mothers.  What  was  left  belonged  to 
the  owner  of  the  ranc  o.  It  often  happened  that 
calves  would  escape  the  rodeo  and  reach  maturity 
without  branding.  These  were  termed  orejana,  and 
belonged  to  no  one,  or,  more  properly,  they  belonged 
to  any  ranchero,  who,  finding  them  on  his  rancho, 
would  take  them  up  and  mark  them.  The  party 
would  move  from  rancho  to  rancho  until  all  the  cattle 
in  the  district  had  been  through  the  rodeo.  The 
rodeo  season  was  one  of  festivity.  On  each  rancho 
entertainment  was  furnished  for  all,  and  evenings 
devoted  to  music,  dancing,  and  feasting  would  follow 
each  day's  work. 

Some  idea  of  the  number  of  cattle  in  this  district  may 
be  had  from  the  statement  that  one  ranchero,  Joaquin 
Bernal,  who  occupied  the  Santa  Teresa  Rancho,  about 
eight  miles  south  of  San  Jose,  branded  about  five  thou- 
sand head  of  calvjs  each  year.  This  cattle  business 
developed  the  settlers  into  the  best  horsemen  in  the 
world.  They  lived  in  the  saddle,  and  it  was  said  that 
any  one  of  them  would  walk  two  miles  for  the  purpose 
of  catching  up  a  horse,  in  order  that  he  might  ride 
half  a  mile.  In  fact,  it  was  unsafe  for  a  pedestrian  to 
be  outside  the  pueblo.  The  wandering  cattle  would 
often  attack  a  man  on  foot,  while  they  would  make 
no  demonstration  against  one  who  was  mounted. 
Some  of  the  feats  of  these  horsemen  seem  incredible. 
They  would,  at  full  gallop,  ride  down  a  wild  bull, 
seize  it  by  the  tail,  pass  it  under  his  legs,  and  throw 
him  on  his  back  without  slacking  speed.  Placing  a 
Mexican  dollar  between  each  knee  and  the  saddle, 
they  would  leap  hurdles  without  displacing  the  coin. 
They  could  pick  up  any  article  from  the  ground  with 
their  horses  running  at  the  top  of  their  speed.     Their 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


33 


animals  were  trained  so  that  they  hardly  needed  the 
rein  for  their  control.  The  young  men  especially 
took  great  pride  in  the  education  of  their  horses,  and 
it  was  not  an  unusual  thing  to  see  a  party  of  these 
caballeros  with  guitars  in  their  hands  and  mounted  on 
their  gaily-caparisoned  steeds,  marching  through  the 
streets  of  the  pueblo,  playing  on  their  instruments^ 
and  at  the  same  time  controlling  their  animals  so 
that  they  kept  perfect  time  to  the  music.  Their 
dexterity  with  the  lasso  or  riata,  as  it  was  more  fre- 
quently called,  was  no  less  astonishing.  As  an 
offensive  weapon  it  was  more  effective  in  their  hands 
than  knife  or  pistol.  With  it  they  could,  without  dis- 
mounting, catch,  throw  down,  and  tie  the  wildest  and 
fleetest  steer  on  the  plains;  and  there  are  many 
stories  now  current  of  the  same  exploit  having  been 
performed  on  the  fierce  grizzly  of  the  mountains. 

After  the  rodeo  came  the  butchering  season,  or 
matansa,  as  they  called  it.  This  was  the  annual 
slaughtering  of  cattle  for  their  hides  and  tallow,  and 
usually  occurred  in  May,  or  at  a  time  in  the  spring 
when  the  season  was  far  enough  advanced  to  predict 
with  sufficient  certainty  as  to  the  amount  of  feed  that 
would  be  produced  ;  and  on  this  depended  the  number 
of  cattle  slaughtered,  as  their  object  was  to  keep  only 
as  many  as  they  could  furnish  pasturage  for.  The 
matanza,  from  an  esthetic  point  of  view,  is  not  near!)- 
so  attractive  as  the  rodeo,  but  it  was  fully  as  neces- 
sary, for  this  was,  practically,  the  gathering  of  the 
annual  crop.  The  beeves  were  killed  and  skinned  and 
the  hides  dried  in  the  sun;  the  best  of  the  tallow  was 
removed  and  placed  in  bags  made  of  hides;  the  other 
fat  was  made  into  soap.  The  best  pieces  of  meat  were 
cut  into  thin  strips  or  torn  into  shreds  and  dried  in 
the  sun,  thus  making  what  the  Mexicans  called  came 
seca,  and  which  was  known  to  the  Americans  as 
"jerked  beef"  The  hides  and  tallow  were  sold  either 
to  the  vessels  at  San  Francisco  or  to  local  dealers  at 
the  pueblo,  and  these  two  articles  were  all  that  these 
primitive  people  had  to  export  from  this  fertile  valley, 
the  "Garden  of  the  World."  What  a  change  has 
half  a  century  wrought !  The  average  market  price 
of  the  hides  was  a  dollar  and  a  half  in  cash  or  two 
dollars  in  trade,  while  tallow  brought  three  cents  per 
pound  in  trade.  These  prices  were  within  the  recol- 
lection of  the  "oldest  inhabitant,"  and  they  must  have 
been  much  less  before  the  advent  of  the  Americans. 

The  old  records  of  Eastern  commercial  houses  show 

that  their  vessels  were  sometimes  compelled  to  remain 

a   full    year    on  this  coast  before  they   could  obtain 

sufficient  quantity  of  hides  and  tallow  to  pay  for  the 

5 


goods  brought  out  for  barter  with  the  rancheros. 
This,  however,  was  only  when  the  season  was  unfavor- 
able for  stock.  The  dwellings  of  these  people,  although 
lacking  in  architectural  adornment,  were  solidly  built 
and  very  convenient.  The  material  used  was  the 
black  soil  of  the  lowlands,  which  was  mixed  with  straw 
and  moulded  into  bricks  eighteen  inches  square  and 
three  inches  thick.  These  bricks  were  dried  in  the 
sun  and  laid  in  the  walls  with  a  mortar  made  of  the 
same  material.  The  rafters  were  rough  poles  denuded 
of  bark,  while  the  roof  was  of  rushes,  called  tides,  and 
fastened  with  rawhide  thongs.  In  later  days  the  tule 
roof,  in  the  more  pretentious  buildings,  gave  place  to 
the  tile,  a  heavy,  cumbrous  arrangement,  but  less 
impervious  to  water  and  not  so  susceptible  to  fire. 
The  bricks  were  called  adobes,  and  they  gave  their 
name  to  the  soil  from  which  they  were  made. 

Their  agricultural  products  were  limited,  and  their 
implements  rude.  They  cared  to  raise  no  more  than 
was  necessary  for  their  own  subsistence.  Wheat, 
beans,  maize,  melons,  and  pumpkins  constituted  nearly 
their  entire  crop,  although  the  different  fruits  were 
cultivated  to  some  extent  at  the  mission.  Stewed 
beef  and  beans,  well  seasoned  with  red  peppers  (cJiili 
Colorado)  was  their  principal  dish,  while  for  bread  they 
used  the  tortdla,  a  flat,  wafer-like  cake  made  generally 
of  wheat  flour,  but  frequently  of  corn  meal,  and  was 
baked  on  flat  irons  before  the  fire.  This  was  a  rude 
sort  of  diet,  but,  with  their  skill  in  preparation,  it  was 
very  palatable  and  wholesome;  dyspepsia  was  an  un- 
known disease  among  them.  Their  plows  were  con- 
structed from  branches  of  trees,  where  a  proper  crook 
could  be  found,  the  portion  representing  the  point  and 
share  being  sometimes  shod  with  a  bullock's  horn  or 
iron.  An  oak  branch  served  the  purpose  of  a  harrow. 
Their  beasts  of  burden  were  o.xen ;  horses,  although 
numerous,  were  hardly  ever  used  for  this  purpose. 
The  yoke  was  placed  across  the  foreheads  and  fastened 
with  rawhide  thongs.  Their  vehicles  had  but  two 
wheels,  and  these  were  sections  of  a  log  with  holes 
bored  through  the  center  for  the  insertion  of  the  axles, 
which  were  held  in  place  by  hard-wood  pins  on  each 
side.  There  was  no  lubricator  known  that  would 
modify  the  unearthly  screeching  emitted  from  these 
rude  carts  when  in  motion.  A  good  representation 
of  these  rude  vehicles  will  be  found  in  the  picture  of 
the  Santa  Clara  Mission  on  the  following  page. 

The  crops  were  cut  with  a  sickle  or  any  other  im- 
plement that  would  serve  the  purpose.  The  grain- 
fields  were  protected  from  invasion  by  the  wandering 
herds  of  horses  and  cattle  by  means  of  rows  of  brush. 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD: 


or  ditches.  Their  methods  of  threshing  were  still 
more  rude.  The  process  is  thus  described  by  Judge 
R.  F.  Peckham,  a  pioneer  of  1846 : — 

"  The  floor  of  the  corral,  into  which  it  was  custom- 
ary to  drive  horses  and  cattle  in  order  to  lasso  them, 
from  constant  use  had  become  hardened.  Into  this 
inclosure  the  grain  would  be  piled,  and  upon  it,  the 
manatlia,  or  band  of  mares,  would  be  turned  loose  to 
tramp  out  the  seed.  The  wildest  horses,  or  mayhap 
the  colts  that  had  been  driven  but  once,  and  then 
to  be  branded,  would  be  turned  adrift  upon  the 
straw,  when  would  ensue  a  scene  of  the  wildest  con- 


SA.NTA.    CLARA     IVIISSION 


fusion,  the  excited  animals  being  urged,  amidst  the 
yelling  of  vaqueros  and  the  cracking  of  whips — here, 
there  and  everywhere,  around,  across,  and  length- 
wise— until  the  whole  was  trampled  and  naught  waS 
left  but  the  grain  and  chaff.  The  most  difficult 
part,  however,  was  the  separating  of  these  two  ar- 
ticles. Owing  to  the  length  of  the  dry  season  there 
was  no  urgent  haste  to  effect  this;  therefore,  when 
the  wind  was  high  enough,  the  trampled  mass  would 
be  tossed  into  the  air  with  large  wooden  forks  cut 
from  the  adjacent  oaks,  the  wind  carrying  away  the 
lighter  chaff  and  leaving  the  heavier  grain.  With  a 
favorable  breeze  several  bushels  of  wheat  could  thus 
be  winnowed  in  the  course  of  a  day;  while  strange 
as  it  may  appear,  it  is  declared  that  grain  so  sifted 
was  much  cleaner  than  it  is  now." 

From  the  same  source,  also,  we  have  the  following 
description  of  an  old-time  Spanish  mill:^ 


"The  mill  in  which  their  grain  was  ground  was 
made  of  two  stones,  as  nearly  round  as  possible, 
of  about  thirty  inches  in  diameter,  and  each  being 
dressed  on  one  side  to  a  smooth  surface.  One  was 
set  upon  a  frame  some  two  feet  high,  with  the  smooth 
face  upwards;  the  other  was  placed  on  this  with 
the  even  face  downwards,  while  through  an  inch 
hole  in  its  center  was  the  wheat  fed  by  hand.  Two 
holes  drilled  partly  through  each  admitted  an  iron 
bolt,  by  means  of  which  a  long  pole  was  attached. 
To  its  end  was  harnessed  a  horse,  mule,  or  donkey, 
and  the  animal  being  driven  round  in  a  circle  caused 
the  stone  to  revolve.  We 
are  informed  that  these 
mills  were  capable  of  grind- 
ing a  bushel  of  wheat  in 
about  twelve  hours  \  " 

The  people  themselves 
were  of  a  light-hearted, 
joyous  temperament,  best 
described  by  our  word 
"jolly."  They  never  made 
a  toil  of  a  pleasure,  nor 
permitted  labor  to  inter- 
fere with  their  amusements. 
With  all  this  they  were  rev- 
erent in  religious  matters, 
the  women  in  particular 
being  very  devout  in  their 
observance  of  all  the  church 
ordinances.  The  men  al- 
ways uncovered  in  passing 

the     church     door,    which 

was  always  open.  Their  principal  amusements  were 
competitive  trials  of  horsemanship,  music,  dancing, 
bull-fighting,  and  gambling.  Bull-fighting  was  abol- 
ished by  law  in  1854,  but  no  legislative  enactment 
could  ever  restrain  the  Spaniard's  passion  for  gam- 
bling. They  would  gamble  on  horse-races,  cock-fights, 
bull  and  bear-fights,  but  their  principal  game  was 
monte,  and  at  this  they  would  wager  money,  horses, 
cattle,  and  even  the  clothing  from  their  backs.  With- 
in the  memory  of  some  of  the  older  pioneers  are  the 
names  of  many  rich  families  who  were  reduced  from 
affluence  to  poverty  by  this  vice.  To  obtain  money 
with  which  to  gratify  this  passion,  lands  would  be 
pledged  or  sold,  and,  in  this  manner,  vast  domains 
were  lost  to  the  original  holders.  With  all  this,  they 
were  a  temperate  people,  into.xication  being  almost 
entirely  unknown  prior  to  the  American  occupation. 
Their  disputes  were   few  and   easily  adjusted.     The 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD:' 


35 


administration  of  justice  was  simple  and  effective,  and 
the  results  j^enerally  satisfactory,  the  more  so  because 
cases  were  decided  on  their  merits  and  not  on  techni- 
calities. Judge  Peckham  says  of  the  administration 
of  justice  under  the  Mexican  regime: — 

"  There  were  neither  law  books  nor  lawyers,  while 
the  laws  were  mostly  to  be  found  in  the  traditions  of 
the  people.  The  head  officer  in  each,  village  was  the 
Alcalde,  in  whom  was  vested  the  judicial  function,  who 
received,  on  the  enactment  of  a  new  law,  a  manuscript 
copy  called  a  baiido,  upon  the  obtaining  of  which  a 
person  was  sent  round  beating  a  snare  drum,  which 
was  the  signal  for  the  assemblage  of  the  peo[ile  at  the 
Alcalde's  office,  where  the  act  was  read,  thus  promul- 
gated, and  forthwith  had  the  force  of  law.  When  a 
citizen  had  cause  of  action  against  another,  requiring 
the  aid  of  court,  he  went  to  the  Alcalde  and  verbally 
stated  his  complaint  in  his  own  way,  and  asked  that 
the  defendant  be  sent  for,  who  was  at  once  summoned 
by  an  officer,  who  simply  said  that  he  was  wanted  by 
the  Alcalde.  The  defendant  made  his  appearance 
without  loss  of  time,  where,  if  in  the  same  village,  the 
plaintiff  was  generally  in  waiting.  The  Alcalde  com- 
menced by  stating  the  complaint  against  him,  and 
asked  him  what  he  had  to  say  about  it.  This  brought 
about  an  altercation  between  the  parties,  and,  nine 
times  out  of  ten,  the  Alcalde  could  get  at  the  facts  in 
this  wise,  and  announce  judgment  immediately,  the 
whole  suit  not  occupying  two  hours  from  its  begin- 
ning. In  more  important  cases  three  '  good  men ' 
would  be  called  in  to  act  as  co-justices,  while  the  tes- 
timony of  witnesses  had  seldom  to  be  resorted  to.  A 
learned  American  judge  has  said  that  the  native  Cal- 
ifornians  were,  in  the  presence  of  their  courts,  gen- 
erally truthful.  What  they  know  of  false  swearing  or 
perjury  they  have  learned  from  their  associations 
with  the  Americans.  It  was  truthfully  said  by  the 
late  Edmund  Randolph,  that  the  United  States  Board 
of  Commissioners  to  settle  private  land  claims  in  Cal- 
ifornia had  been  the  graves  of  their  reputations." 

Until  1803  the  only  church  in  the  jurisdiction  was 
the  mission  church  at  Santa  Clara.  In  that  year  the 
population  of  the  pueblo  and  surrounding  country 
had  increased  to  such  an  extent  that  it  was  considered 
necessary  that  a  place  of  worship  should  be  erected 
nearer  home. 

The  petition  for  the  establishment  of  a  chapel  within 
the  limits  of  the  pueblo  set  forth  not  only  that  the 
mission  church  was  too  distant  for  the  poblanos  to 
attend  regularly,  but  that  the  journey  was  fraught 
with  too  many  dangers.     What  constituted  the  haz- 


ard in  passing  this  short  distance  we  are  not  informed 
by  the  petitioners,  and  whether  it  was  the  danger  of 
being  gored  by  wild  cattle  or  of  being  drowned  by  the 
high  waters  of  the  Guadalupe,  is  left  to  conjecture. 
Whatever  criticisms  might  have  been  made  on  the 
petition,  they  did  not  amount  to  serious  objections, 
and  the  building  of  the  new  church  was  agreed  to. 
An  invitation  was  sent  to  Don  Jose  de  la  Guerra, 
commandante  at  San  Carlos  or  Carmel,  near  Mon- 
tery,  to  act  as  sponsor.  He  replied  that,  while  he  felt 
flattered  by  the  invitation,  his  daily  walk  was  so  full 
of  errors,  or,  as  he  put  it,  so  full  of  impiety,  that  he 
did  not  feel  himself  fit  for  the  duty;  but  he  appointed 
Don  Jose  Estudillo,  a  cadet,  to  officiate  in  his  place. 
The  corner-stone  was  laid  on  the  twelfth  day  of  July, 
with  appropriate  ceremonies.  The  following  state- 
ment, written  in  the  Spanish  language,  was  deposited, 
among  other  things,  in  the  stone,  and  gives  a  full  ac- 
count of  the  proceedings: — 

"  In  the  pueblo  of  San  Jose  de  Guadalupe,  the 
twelfth  of  July,  1803,  Sefior  Don  Carlos  IV.  being  King 
of  Spain,  Don  Jose  Joaquin  de  Arrillaga,  Governor  ad 
interim  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  Royal  Army; 
the  retired  sergeant,  Macario  de  Castro,  Commissioner 
of  the  Pueblo;  Ignacio  Archuleta,  ordinary  Alcalde, 
and  Bernardo  Heridia  and  Francisco  Gonzale.s,  regi- 
dores,  at  six  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  said  day  was 
made  the  consecration  of  the  first  stone  and  mortar 
of  the  church,  which  was  commenced  in  the  said  pu- 
eblo, dedicated  to  the  patriarch  Senor  St.  Joseph  and 
the  virgin  Guadalupe;  which  ceremony  was  celebrated 
with  much  solemnity  by  the  Reverend  Friar,  Jo  eph 
Viader,  minister  of  the  Santa  Clara  Mission;  Don 
Jose  Maria  Estudillo,  cadet,  acting  as  god-father,  by 
proxy,  from  Alferez  de  Jose  Antonio  de  la  Guerra  y 
Noriega,  commandante  at  the  presidio  at  Monterey, 
and  who  placed  under  the  first  stone  money  of  every 
sovereign,  and  a  duplicate  of  this  document,  in  a  bottle 
sealed  with  wax,  for  its  preservation  in  the  future;  and 
for  the  present  we  sign  it  in  the  said  pueblo,  the  day, 
month,  and  year  aforesaid. 

■f  ^  t-Qi-'-'M?      "Fr.  Jose  Viader, 

-^-*-'^'^'^-''  *  '^      "Jose  Maria  Estudillo, 
"  As  proxy  for  Alferez  de  la  Guerra  y  Noriega. 

"Macario  de  Castro,  Commissioner^ 

In  the  first  quarter  of  the  present  century  two  im- 
portant events  occurred  which  had  a  marked  effect 
upon  the  country.  We  refer  to  the  throwing  off  by 
Mexico  of  the  yoke  of  old  Spain  and  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Mexican  republic,  and  the  secularization 
of  the  missions.     The   independence  of  Mexico  was 


36 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN   OF  THE   WORLD." 


acknowledged  in  1 821,  and  the  practical  destruction 
of  the  missions  followed  soon  after.  As  early  as  18 13 
it  was  suggested  by  the  home  government  that  the 
missions,  as  a  distinct  institution,  had  accomplished 
their  work  and  could  be  turned  over  to  the  secular 
clergy,  and  the  services  of  the  Fathers  be  dispensed 
with.  It  is  thought  that  this  suggestion  was  animated 
by  a  desire  on  the  part  of  the  government  to  absorb 
the  "  pious  fund,"  a  revenue  which  had  been  set  aside 
for  the  support  of  the  missions.  Whether  or  not  this 
suspicion  was  true,  it  had  that  effect.  Some  idea  of 
the  work  accomplished  by  the  Fathers  up  to  this 
period  may  not  be  uninteresting.  Between  the  years 
1802  and  1822  seven  thousand,  three  hundred  and 
twenty-four  Indians  were  baptized  at  Santa  Clara 
Mission,  two  thousand  and  iifty-six  were  married,  six 
thousand  five  hundred  and  sixty-five  had  died,  and 
one  thousand  three  hundred  and  ninety-four  still  lived. 
It  is  estimated  that  there  were  four  thousand  Indians 
in  the  surrounding  rancherias  who  had  not  succumbed 
to  the  influence  of  the  Fathers,  and  were  what  were 
called  "wild." 

The  proposition  to  confiscate  the  pious  fund  was 
a  menace  which  tended  to  unsettle  affairs  at  the  mis- 
sion. As  Father  Gieeson  says  :  "It  was  not  to  be  ex- 
pected that  with  such  a  resolution  before  their  eyes 
the  Fathers  would  be  as  zealous  in  developing  the  nat- 
ural resources  of  the  country  as  before,  seeing  that 
the  result  of  their  labors  was,  at  any  time,  liable  to 
be  seized  on  by  the  government  and  handed  over  to 
strangers."  The  converts  soon  perceived  this  lack  of 
zeal  and  became  imbued  with  the  .same  spirit.  The 
new  republic  showed  as  much  hostility  to  the  mis- 
sions as  the  Spanish  crown  had  done,  and  finally, 
in  1826,  the  Federal  government  issued  an  order  to 
the  authorities  in  California  directing  the  liberation 
of  the  Indians,  and  a  few  years  later  an  act  was 
passed  by  the  Legislature  ordering  the  whole  of  the 
missions  to  be  secularized  and  the  religious  to  with- 
draw. To  justify  this  act,  it  was  stated  that  the 
missions  were  never  intended  to  be  permanent  estab- 
lishments, but  were  to  give  way,  after  a  time,  to  the 
regular  ecclesiastical  system,  when  the  people  would 
be  formed  into  parishes,  attended  by  a  secular  clergy. 
The  decree  was  passed  in  1833  and  put  in  force  in 
1834.  The  lands  were  handed  over  to  the  Indians  to 
work  or  to  abandon,  and  they  generally  chose  the 
latter. 

When  the  decree  went  into  effect  there  were 
eighteen  hundred  Indians  at  the  mission  of  Santa 
Clara,   while    the    mission   owned  seventy-four  thou- 


sand two  hundred  and  eighty  head  of  cattle,  four 
hundred  and  seven  yoke  of  working  oxen,  eighty-two 
thousand  five  hundred  and  forty  sheep,  one  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  ninety  horses  broken  to 
the  saddle,  four  thousand  two  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  brood  mares,  seven  hundred  and  twenty-five 
mules,  and  one  thousand  hogs.  Eight  years  later 
there  were  only  four  hundred  Indians  at  this  mis- 
sion, with  fifteen  hundred  head  of  cattle,  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  horses,  and  three  thousand  swine.  This 
decrease  continued  until  in  a  few  years  the  work  of 
the  missions  was  only  a  matter  of  history.  The  orig- 
inal cross  erected  by  Father  Pefia  still  stands  as  a 
monument  to  the  memory  of  the  fathers  whose  relig- 
ious zeal  led  them  into  the  wilderness  of  the  new 
world  for  the  purpo.se  of  teaching  to  the  benighted 
natives  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  and  the  arts  of 
civilization.  Some  remnants  of  the  orchards  planted 
by  them  are  still  in  existence,  and  show  how,  at  the 
very  commencement  of  the  history  of  this  country,  its 
future  destiny  was  indicated. 

The  first  enumeration  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  pu- 
eblo was  taken  in  1831,  and  showed  one  hundred  and 
sixty-six  men,  one  hundred  and  forty-five  women,  one 
hundred  and  three  boys,  and  one  hundred  and  ten 
girls,  making  a  total  of  five  hundred  and  twenty-four. 
This  would  not  seem,  now,  as  a  very  great  increase  of 
population  for  a  period  of  forty  years,  but  when  we 
consider  that  this  was  drawn  principally  from  colo- 
nies which  were  themselves  sparsely  peopled,  the 
growth  of  the  pueblo  of  San  Jose  de  Guadalupe  will 
be  more  justly  estimated.  The  colonists  had  nearly 
the  whole  Pacific  Coast  from  which  to  select  their  lo- 
cations, and  the  fact  that  so  many  chose  the  Santa 
Clara  Valley  shows  that  even  then  its  wonderful  fer- 
tility and  magnificent  climate  were  duly  appreciated. 

While  these  events  were  transpiring  in  this  locality, 
other  portions  of  the  Pacific  Coast  were  being  looked 
over  by  a  different  class  of  people.  Adventurous 
navigators  had  visited  the  different  natural  ports,  while 
Vancouver  had  made  his  survey  of  the  coast  along 
the  present  California  line.  The  Russian  fur  traders 
had  founded  Sitka,  and  extended  their  operations  even 
to  California.  Ships  from  the  East  India  Company 
visited  here  in  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century,  at 
which  time  American  vessels  began  to  make  their  ap- 
pearance. The  British  fur  companies  came  in  later, 
and  in  181 1  John  Jacob  Astor,  the  organizer  and  leader 
of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company,  founded  the  town  of 
Astoria  near  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  This  colony, 
however,  soon  succumbed  to  the  British  traders,  and 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


37 


many  of  the  colonists  came  to  California.  It  was 
from  the  ships  that  visited  this  coast  that  the  first 
foreigners  came  to  this  valley.  Overland  travel  to 
California  did  not  commence  until  the  forties.  The 
first  foreigner  to  locate  in  this  valley  was  John  Gilroy, 
who  was  a  sailor  on  board  a  vessel  belonging  to  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  that  touched  at  Monterey  in 
1 8 14.  He  was  a  Scotchman  and  the  causes  for  his 
abandoning  his  ship  are  differently  stated.  One  re 
port  is  that  he  had  a  quarrel  with  one  of  his  officers 
and  deserted,  while  it  is  just  as  positively  stated  that 
he  had  a  severe  attack  of  the  scurvy  and  was  left  on 
shore  to  be  cured.  However  that  may  have  been,  it 
is  well  authenticated  that,  in  that  year,  he  found  his 
way  into  this  valley  from  Monterey,  and  stopped  at 
San  Ysidro,  which  was  afterwards  named  Gilroy  from 
him. 

He  was  hospitably  received  and  finally  married 
into  the  wealthy  family  of  the  Ortegas.  He  was  a 
man  of  considerable  force  of  character,  and  accumu- 
lated a  large  property  in  lands  and  cattle,  but  at  last 
died  poor  in  1869.  His  real  name  was  said  to  be 
John  Cameron,  but  he  was  always  known  here  as 
Gilroy.  He  was  accompanied,  on  his  advent  into  this 
valley,  by  a  comrade  whom  he  called  "Deaf  Jimmy," 
who  tarried  but  a  short  time  and  then  went  north  of 
the  bay. 

Prominent  in  the  history  of  California  is  the 
name  of  Robert  Livermore,  also  a  native  of  Scotland, 
who  came  here  in  18 16,  but  remained  only  a  short 
time,  when  he  went  north  and  settled  in  the  valley 
which  now  bears  his  name.  In  those  early  days 
every  person  was  called  a  foreigner  who  was  not  a 
Spaniard  or  a  Mexican,  and  there  was  a  distinction 
made  even  between  these.  The  Spaniards,  or  Cas- 
tilians,  as  they  insisted  on  calling  themselves,  were 
those  whose  families  came  from  Spain  and  whose  de- 
scendants had  never  intermarried  with  the  natives  of 
the  New  World.  They  were  very  proud  of  the  purity 
of  their  blood.  The  Mexicans  were  the  descendants 
of  those  who  had  mixed  with  the  native  races  of 
Mexico,  and  into  whose  language  had  crept  many  of 
the  old  Aztec  words  and  phrases. 

In  i8i8  there  came  here  a  man  whose  name  is  his- 
toric in  this  community,  Don  Antonio  Sunol.  He 
was  a  native  of  Barcelona,  Spain,  but  had  served  in 
the  French  navy  under  the  First  Empire.  He  was 
an  officer  of  distinction  and  was  present  when  Napo- 
leon surrendered  after  Waterloo.  He  then  sought  the 
New  World  andsettled  inthis  valley,  where  he  achieved 
distinction,  wealth,  and  respect.     He  died  in  San  Jose 


in  1865,  after  an  experience  here  of  nearly  half  a 
century.  The  first  citizen  of  the  United  States  to 
settle  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley  was  Philip  Doak. 
He  was  a  block  and  tackle  maker  employed  on  a 
whaling  vessel.  He  left  his  vessel  in  1 822  at  Monterey 
and  came  here,  settling  near  Gilroy.  He  located  him- 
self on  the  ranch  of  Mariano  Castro,  afterwards 
known  as  the  "Las  Animas,"  and  finally  married  one 
of  Castro's  daughters.  Matthew  Fellom  came  here  in 
the  same  year  and  located  near  San  Ysidro,  or  Old 
Gilroy,  as  it  is  now  called.  Fellom  was  a  Dane,  and 
also  belonged  to  a  whaler,  which  he  left  at  one  of  the 
northern  ports  and  made  his  way  overland  to  San 
Jose.  The  land  on  which  he  made  his  location  is 
now  owned  by  W.  N.  Furlong.     He  lived  until  1873. 

These  were  the  only  foreigners  that  we  have  any 
record  of  as  living  here  up  to  1830,  if  we  except  one 
William  Willis,  an  Englishman,  who  was  known  to 
be  in  the  pueblo  in  1828,  but  whose  antecedents  or 
subsequent  history  are  unknown.  It  has  been  esti- 
mated that,  at  this  time,  the  number  of  foreigners  in 
the  whole  of  California  did  not  exceed  one  hundred. 
From  this  time  on  the  arrivals  in  this  valley  became 
more  frequent.  John  Burton  came  here  in  1830;  he 
was  afterwards  Alcalde  of  the  pueblo.  Harry  Bee, 
the  oldest  living  inhabitant  of  the  county,  came  to 
this  valley  in  1833,  but  he  had  been  on  the  coast  for 
six  years  prior  to  that  time.  He  had  passed  most  of 
the  intervening  time  at  Monterey,  where  he  had  come 
in  1827  with  a  Dr.  Douglas,  a  naturalist.  He  was 
quite  active  during  the  Mexican  War,  performing  valu- 
able services  for  General  Fremont  as  scout  and 
courier.  At  the  same  time  came  William  Gulnac, 
James  Alexander  Forbes,  James  Weekes,  Nicholas 
Dodero,  John  Price,  William  Smith,  nicknamed  "Bill 
the  Sawyer,"  George  Ferguson,  Thomas  Pepper,  who 
the  Californians  called  "Pimiento,"  William  Welsh, 
a  man  called  "Blind  Tom,"  Charles  Brown,  and  a  per- 
son called  "Moche  Dan."  Thomas  Bowen  and  Will- 
iam Daily  came  in  1834.  Of  these,  several  were 
prominent,  either  in  the  early  days  or  in  the  later 
history  of  the  county.  Gulnac  was  for  many  years 
mayor  domo  at  the  Mission  San  Jose.  He  married  into 
the  Ceseiia  family.  Forbes  was  vice-consul  for  Great 
Britain.  Weekes  served  as  Alcalde  in  1847.  In  1838 
Henry  Woods  and  Lawrence  Carmichael  arrived. 

These  people  all  came  by  vessel  and  chance  decided 
their  location.  They  affiliated  with  the  Spanish  popu- 
lation, in  many  instances  marrying  into  their  families 
and  adopting,  to  a  great  extent,  their  customs  and 
methods  of  living.     Overland  ti  avel  commenced  about 


38 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


1841.  Even  before  this  tim.e  settlements  had  been 
made  in  Oregon,  and  that  country  was  much  better 
known  than  California.  For  this  reason,  and  because 
California  was  a  foreign  country,  nearly  all  the  over- 
land trains  were  pointed  to  Oregon.  Some  of  these 
having  reached  the  Sierras  and  hearing  something  of 
California,  came  here  instead.  In  1841  Josiah  Bel- 
den,  Charles  M.  Weber,  and  Grove  C.  Cook  came 
overland,  as  did  also  Henry  Pitts,  Peter  Springer, 
William  Wiggins,  and  James  Rock.  In  1843  Major 
S.  J.Hensley,  Julius  Martin,  Thomas  J.  Shadden,  and 
Winston  Bennett  made  the  trip  across  the  plains. 
The  advent  of  this  party  was  an  important  incident, 
as  with  it  came  three  ladies,  wives  of  Martin,  Shad- 
den, and  Bennett,  the  first  foreign  ladies  to  settle  in 
the  district.  The  next  year,  1844,  came  the  Murphy 
party.  The  history  of  these  people  is  important,  from 
the  fact  that  they  were  the  first  to  cross  the  mount- 
ains with  wagons,  and  that  from  their  advent  to  the 
present  time  they  have  been  an  important  factor  in 
the  development  of  the  State. 

STORY  OF  THE  MURPHY  PARTY. 
Martin  Murphy,  Sr.,  was  bom  in  County  Wexford, 
Ireland,  November  12,  1785.  Here  he  grew  to  man's 
estate,  an  intelligent,  industrious,  and  pious  man,  but 
dissatisfied  with  the  meager  amount  of  political  liberty 
accorded  to  the  Irish  citizens  of  Great  Britain,  in  Ire- 
land. He  married,  at  an  early  age,  a  Miss  Mary 
Foley,  whose  family  afterwards  became  prominent  in 
America,  two  of  them  becoming  archbishops  and 
others  achieving  high  places  in  commercial  and 
manufacturing  pursuits.  Several  children  were  born 
to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Murphy  in  Ireland.  As  the  family 
increased,  so  did  Mr.  MurpSy's  desire  for  larger  free- 
dom, and  in  1820  he  emigrated  to  Canada,  taking  all 
his  children  except  his  oldest  son,  Martin,  and  his 
daughter  Margaret.  He  settled  in  the  township  of 
Frampton,  near  Quebec,  v/here  he  purchased  a  tract 
of  land  and  commenced  to  create  a  home.  Two  years 
afterwards  his  son  Martin  and  his  daughter  Margaret 
joined  them  from  Ireland.  Martin,  Jr.,  went  to  work 
at  Quebec,  where  he  met  and  married  Miss  Mary 
Bulger,  July  18,  1831.  The  next  year,  the  cholera 
having  become  epidemic  at  Quebec,  young  Martin 
purchased  a  tract  of  land  near  his  father,  and  moved 
onto  it  with  his  family.  Old  Mr.  Murphy  was  still 
not  satisfied  with  his  political  surroundings  and  looked 
longingly  across  the  border  to  the  great  republic, 
beneath  the  folds  of  whose  starry  flag  perfect  re- 
ligious and  political  liberty  was  maintained.  Finally, 
in  1840,  he  removed  his  family  (except  his  sons  Mar- 


tin and  James,  with  their  families)  across  the  then 
western  wilds  to  the  State  of  Missouri,  and  settled  in 
Holt  County,  on  what  was  then  called  the  Platte  Pur- 
chase. Martin  Murphy,  Jr.,  who,  when  he  left  Quebec, 
had  settled  in  Frampton,  bought  land,  hewed  timbers, 
and  erected  a  roof-tree  for  his  young  family,  remained 
in  Canada  until  1842,  when  he  sold  his  property,  and, 
with  his  brother  James,  joined  his  father  in   Missouri. 

The  Murphys  were  essentially  a  family  of  pioneers; 
not  from  a  nomadic  disposition  that  rendered  them 
uneasy  unless  in  motion,  but  because  they  were  seek- 
ing certain  conditions  and  were  determined  not  to 
rest  until  they  found  them.  That  no  obstacle  would 
stop  them  in  their  search  for  political  liberty  was 
demonstrated  when  they  abandoned  their  native  land 
to  seek  a  home  in  America,  and  still  further  proved 
when  they  left  the  home  built  up  in  Canada,  for  the 
unknown  wilds  of  Missouri.  This  second  journey 
was  full  of  inconvenience,  and  at  that  early  day  was 
an  undertaking  formidable  enough  to  cause  the 
bravest  to  hesitate.  The  course  was  as  follows  :  Up 
the  St.  Lawrence  River  past  Montreal  and  across 
Lake  St.  Louis  to  Kingston;  thence  across  Lake 
Ontario  and  up  the  Niagara  River  to  Lewiston,  near 
the  Falls;  thence  across  the  country  to  Buffalo; 
thence  across  Lake  Erie  to  Cleveland;  thence  by 
canal  south,  across  the  State  of  Ohio,  to  the  town  of 
Portsmouth;  on  the  Ohio  River;  thence  down  the 
Ohio  to  the  Mississippi,  touching  at  Cincinnati  and 
Louisville;  thence  up  the  Mississippi  to  St.  Louis,  and 
thence  up  the  Missouri  to  the  Platte  Purchase. 

The  location  of  the  Murphy  settlement  was  a  few 
miles  below  the  present  site  of  the  city  of  St.  Joseph, 
but  at  that  time  there  was  nothing  but  a  primitive 
mill  used  for  grinding  corn.  The  place  occupied  by 
our  pioneers  was  called  by  them  the  "  Irish  Grove," 
in  memory  of  their  native  land.  They  had  purchased 
several  hundred  acres,  which  they  cultivated,  and 
proceeded  to  lay  the  foundations  of  a  home.  Here 
was  a  rich  soil,  which  responded  with  bounteous 
crops  to  the  efforts  of  the  husbandman,  and  here  also 
was  the  perfect  political  liberty  in  pursuit  of  which 
the  patriarch  had  traveled  thousands  of  miles,  en- 
countering dangers  by  land  and  by  sea.  But  there 
were  two  things  lacking — health  and  educational  and 
religious  privileges.  The  virgin  soil,  covered  with 
decayed  vegetation,  the  deposit  of  centuries,  was  the 
lurking-place  of  deadly  malaria,  and,  when  turned  up 
by  the  plow,  the  atmosphere  was  filled  with  germs  of 
that  dread  disease,  fever  and  ague,  the  scourge  of  the 
West  in  the  days  of  its  early  settlement.     There  were 


^yi€aji^^t^7^  ^.y^LMy 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


39 


no  schools  or  churches,  teachers  or  ministers  of  the  gos- 
pel. 

All  of  our  settlers  were  attacked  by  the  prevalent 
disease,  and  some  of  them  died.  Among  these  were 
his  wife,  and  Eliza,  Mary,  and  Nellie,  daughters  of  his 
son  Martin.  Martin  Murphy,  the  head  of  the  family, 
was  in  anguish  of  mind  at  the  condition  of  affairs.  He 
was  a  devout  Catholic  and  had  reared  his  family  in  that 
faith.  He  saw  his  younger  children  and  his  grand- 
children growing  up  in  the  wilderness  with  no  religious 
instruction,  and  no  holy  priest  to  administer  the  con- 
solation of  the  church  to  the  sick  or  dying.  The 
absence  of  these  things  was  a  heavy  price  to  pay  for 
the  broad  domain  whose  fertile  soil  would  soon 
blossom  into  a  valuable  estate.  While  matters  were 
in  this  condition  the  settlement  was  visited  by  Father 
Hookins,  a  Catholic  missionary,  who  had  penetrated 
the  wilderness  to  administer  the  sacraments  to  those 
of  his  faith  who  located  their  homes  on  the  outskirts 
of  civilization.  He  found  the  Murphys  in  much  dis- 
tress, mourning  over  loss  of  loved  ones  and  full  of 
anxiety  as  to  the  fate  of  others  who  were  sick.  He 
was  a  man  of  wide  information  and  had  traveled 
much.  He  had  met  brothers  in  the  church  who  had 
described  the  glorious  climate  and  fertile  soil  of  Cali- 
fornia, a  country  which  owed  its  settlement  to  the 
Mission  Fathers,  and  where  the  cross  was  planted  on 
every  hill-side  and  in  every  valley,  and  which  was 
under  a  government  of  which  Catholicism  was  the 
established  religion.  All  these  things  Father  Hook- 
ins  told  the  bereaved  family  in  the  days  that  he  passed 
with  them,  trying  to  answer  their  eager  inquiries 
with  detailed  information.  As  to  the  location  of  this 
wonderful  land  he  could  tell  them  that  it  was  on  the 
shore  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  that  it  lay  in  a  westerly 
direction  from  fever-stricken  Missouri,  but  as  to  the 
distance,  route,  or  character  of  the  country  or  people 
intervening,  he  had  no  knowledge  that  would  be  use- 
ful to  anyone  attempting  the  journey.  But  in  spite 
of  this  lack  of  all  information  as  to  how  to  reach  this 
Arcadia,  when  Martin  Murphy  announced  his  inten- 
tion to  seek  it,  he  found  his  entire  family  ready  to 
follow  him.  We  cannot  sufficiently  admire  the 
indomitable  mind  that  could  make  so  great  a  deter- 
mination with  so  little  hesitation. 

Men  have  made  perilous  expeditions  upon  com- 
pulsion or  in  quest  of  glory,  but  this  proposition  of 
the  Murphy  family  to  cross  pathless  plains  and  track- 
less deserts,  and  scale  inaccessible  mountains,  with 
uncertainty  as  to  food  supplies  and  the  certainty  of 
meeting  tribes  of  Indians,  almost  sure  to   be  hostile, 


and  to  do  this  with  half  a  dozen  men  and  boys,  with 
a  larger  number  of  helpless  women  and  children, 
meets  no  parallel  in  history.  The  voyage  of  Colum- 
bus when  America  was  discovered,  contained  no 
element  of  danger — only  uncertainty.  His  path  was 
defined;  he  would  sail  due  west,  taking  sufficient  pro- 
visions; if  in  a  certain  time  he  met  no  land  he  would 
return  by  the  same  easy  route.  It  was  a  venture  that 
required  but  a  small  portion  of  the  courage,  and 
involved  none  of  the  labor,  entailed  upon  the  Murphy 
party.  Much  has  been  said  and  written  to  the  glory 
of  Fremont,  called  the  Pathfinder,  who,  two  years 
later,  crossed  the  continent.  He  had  with  him  a 
large  body  of  hardy  and  experienced  frontiersmen, 
versed  in  all  knowledge  of  woodcraft,  and  inured  to 
exposure  and  hardships  of  all  kinds.  He  had  Kit 
Carson  and  his  company  of  scouts,  the  most  skillful 
ever  known  on  the  continent.  He  had  abundant 
supplies,  with  a  force  sufficient  to  cope  with  any  hostile 
band  he  might  encounter.  He  had  no  women  or 
helpless  children  to  impede  his  movements,  and  he 
had  the  trail  of  the  Murphy  party  to  guide  him.  In 
view  of  all  the  circumstances,  the  journey  of  these 
Missouri  emigrants  in  its  inception  and  consumma- 
tion transcends  everything  of  the  kind  of  which  we 
have  any  record. 

But  little  time  was  allowed  to  escape  after  the 
decision  was  made  to  seek  the  new  El  Dorado,  and 
the  first  of  March,  1844,  found  them  with  their 
belongings  at  Nisnabotna,  a  point  on  the  Missouri 
River,  in  the  northwest  corner  of  Missouri,  and  about 
fifty  miles  south  from  Council  Bluffs.  Here  they 
were  joined  by  a  party  made  up  by  Dr.  Townsend, 
and  they  also  found  a  large  number  of  others,  some 
forty  wagons  in  all,  but  most  of  these  were  going  to 
Oregon.  Those  bound  for  California  were  only  eleven 
wagons,  with  the  following-named  persons  composing 
the  party:  Martin  Murphy,  Sr.;  Martin  Murphy,  Jr., 
wife  and  four  children,  James,  Martin,  Patrick  W., 
Bernard  D.;  James  Murphy  and  wife  and  daughter 
Mary;  Bernard  Murphy,  John  Murphy,  Ellen  Murphy, 
Daniel  Murphy,  James  Miller  and  his  wife,  inr  Mary 
Murphy,  and  family;  Mr.  Martin,  father  of  Mrs. 
James  Murphy;  Dennis  Martin,  Patrick  Martin,  Dr. 
Townsend  and  wife,  Allen  Montgomery  and  wife. 
Captain  Stevens,  Mr.  Hitchcock,  Mrs.  Patterson  and 
family.  Mat  Harbin,  Mr.  Calvin,  John  Sullivan  and 
sister,  Robert  Sullivan,  Michael  Sullivan,  John  Flom- 
boy,  Joseph  Foster,  Oliver  Magnet  (a  Frenchman), 
Francis  Delanct,  old  Mr.  Greenwood,  John  Green-, 
wood,  Britton  Greenwood,  and   M.  Schallenbcrger. 


40 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD: 


Notwithstanding  the  smallness  of  their  numbers, 
they  determined  to  go  on,  keeping  with  the  Oregon 
party  as  far  as  their  paths  ran  together;  after  that 
they  would  trust  to  their  own  resources  to  bring  them 
safely  through  to  the  promised  land.  They  proceeded 
north  to  Council  Bluffs,  where  they  organized  the 
entire  company  for  offense  and  defense.  Mr.  Stevens 
was  chosen  captain,  and  corporals  of  guard  were 
selected  from  among  the  younger  men.  After  laying 
by  for  a  few  days  in  order  to  make  repairs  and  perfect 
their  organization,  the  crossing  of  the  Missouri  River 
was  commenced. 

From  Mr.  Moses  Schallenberger  we  have  obtained 
many  of  the  particulars  of  this  famous  expedition. 
The  difficulties  that  met  the  party  at  this,  the  first 
stage  of  their  journey,  would  have  stopped  many 
stout-hearted  men.  The  wagons  were  safely  crossed 
in  a  rude  flat-boat,  and  it  was  intended  to  swim  the 
cattle.  The  river  was  full  and  they  refused  to  take 
the  water,  and  when  forced  in  would  swim  in  a  circle, 
trying  to  save  themselves  by  climbing  on  each  other's 
backs.  They  were  finally  permitted  to  return  to  the 
bank,  but  some  were  stuck  in  the  sand,  which  had 
been  tramped  by  them  until  it  was  as  tenacious  as 
quicksand.  When  the  water  receded,  a  few  of  the 
mired  cattle  were  dug  out  with  pick  and  spade,  but 
others  were  fastened  so  securely  and  deep  that  it  was 
impossible  to  rescue  them,  and  they  were  abandoned. 
It  was  a  question  whether  they  would  be  able  to  cross 
their  cattle  at  all.  At  last  an  expedient  was  hit 
upon.  Two  men  got  into  a  canoe  with  a  line,  which 
was  tied  round  the  horns  of  one  of  the  gentlest  of  the 
oxen.  The  ox  was  urged  into  the  water  until  he  was 
compelled  to  swim,  after  which  the  men  in  the  canoe 
could  easily  guide  him.  Other  cattle  were  then 
forced  into  the  stream,  and  following  the  lead  of  the 
first,  they  were  all  safely  crossed  to  the  other  side. 

They  were  now  in  the  country  of  the  Otoe  Indians, 
a  tribe  which,  though  not  considered  hostile,  had  a 
very  bad  reputation  for  honesty.  Of  the  people  of 
the  train  only  a  few  had  crossed  over  when  night 
came,  and  the  young  men  volunteered  to  go  over  and 
stand  guard.  Those  who  were  on  the  Otoe  side 
were  Martin  Murphy  and  his  family,  and  John  Sulli- 
van with  his  two  brothers  and  his  sister  Mary,  who 
afterwards  married  Mr.  Sherbeck,  of  San  Francisco. 
John  Murphy  and  Moses  Schallenberger  had  been 
chosen  corporals  of  the  guard.  They  were  mere  boys 
in  age,  not  over  seventeen  years,  but  were  excellent 
marksmen,  and  had  a  reckless  bravery  born  of 
frontier  life.     The  wagons  were   formed   into  a  corral 


by  drawing  them  into  a  circle  and  placing  the  tongue 
of  one  wagon  on  the  hind  wheel  of  the  one  in  front, 
thus  making  a  very  good  sort  of  a  fortification.  The 
guard  was  placed  outside  of  the  corral  and  relieved 
every  two  hours,  each  relief  being  in  charge  of  a 
corporal,  whose  duty  it  was  to  go  from  post  to  post 
and  see  that  each  sentinel  was  alert.  While  in  places 
where  the  cattle  might  be  lost  or  stolen,  it  was  cus- 
tomary to  graze  them  under  charge  of  herdsmen 
until  dark  and  then  to  bring  them  to  the  corral  and 
chain  them  to  the  wagons.  This  precaution  was 
taken  on  this  first  night  across  the  river,  on  account 
of  the  bad  reputation  of  the  Otoes. 

The  time  passed  quietly  until  midnight,  when  the 
young  corporals  became  disgusted  with  the  monotony 
and  resolved  to  play  a  joke  on  John  Sullivan.  The 
proposition  was  made  by  John  Murphy,  and  in- 
dorsed by  Schallenberger,  though  not  without  some 
misgivings  as  to  what  the  result  would  be  if  Martin 
should  detect  them.  But  to  be  assured,  they  informed 
Mr.  Murphy  of  the  plot,  who  entered  heartily  into  the 
spirit  of  the  scheme.  Accordingly,  John  unfastened 
Sullivan's  cattle  and  drove  them  some  distance  into 
the  woods,  and  he  then  gave  the  alarm.  Sulli- 
van, who  t  seems  had  all  night  been  convinced  in  his 
own  mind  that  the  Indians  were  hovering  about  the 
camp,  jumped  up  with  his  gun  in  his  hand,  and  all 
joined  in  pursuit  of  the  oxen.  After  a  long  chase,  in 
which  Sullivan  was  given  a  due  amount  of  exercise, 
the  cattle  were  again  captured  and  secured  to  the 
wagon,  Sullivan  returning  to  his  slumbers.  He  had 
barely  got  to  sleep  when  the  alarm  was  again  given, 
and  he  again  turned  out,  with  some  words  not  indicat- 
ing much  respect  for  the  thieving  Otoes.  This  time 
the  boys  had  driven  the  cattle  further  than  before,  and 
the  only  way  they  couldbefoUowed  was  by  theclinking 
of  the  yoke  ring.  During  the  chase,  Sullivan  climbed 
to  the  top  of  a  log,  and  stood  listening  intently  for 
this  sound.  John  Murphy,  who  was  lying  concealed 
behind  this  log,  when  he  saw  Sullivan  in  this  position, 
fired  into  the  air  with  his  gun,  which  was  a  shotgun 
heavily  loaded.  Sullivan  leaped  into  the  air,  and,  as 
soon  as  he  could  recover  himself,  ran  at  full  speed  to 
the  wagons,  crying  out  that  he  had  been  shot  by  an 
Indian.  In  the  meantime  the  cattle  were  recovered 
and  secured  to  the  wagon,  and  Sullivan  stood  guard 
over  them  until  daylight.  He  frequently  afterwards 
referred  to  the  narrow  escape  he  had  from  the  Indians 
in  the  Otoe  country. 

The  next  morning  the  captain,  in  commending  the 
courage  and  skill  of  the  young  men  in  twice  recaptur- 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


41 


ing  the  cattle,  expressed  his  surprise  that  Sullivan's 
oxen  should  have  been  taken  each  time  and  none  of 
the  others  disturbed.  The  boys  explained  this  by 
calling  attention  to  the  fact  that  Sullivan's  cattle 
were  white,  and  could,  on  that  account,  be  seen  better 
in  the  dark.  Two  days  aftel"  this  event  the  entire 
train  had  been  brought  across  the  Missouri  and  was 
rolling  toward  the  West.  The  "Horn,"  a  stream  en- 
countered before  reaching  the  Platte  River,  wascrossed 
by  sewing  rawhides  over  one  of  the  wagon  boxes  and 
thus  constructing  a  rude  ferry-boat.  The  wagons 
were  unloaded  and  taken  apart  and  put  across  the 
stream  in  this  boat,  which  occupied  much  time  and 
was  tedious  work.  The  horses  and  cattle  were  com- 
pelled to  swim.  This  was  the  last  stream  where  they 
were  compelled  to  swim  their  stock;  all  the  others 
they  were  able  to  ford.  No  striking  incident  occurred 
during  their  journey  through  the  Otoe  nation. 

Arriving  at  the  country  of  the  Pawnees,  they  found  a 
village  deserted  by  all  but  women,  children,  and  infirm 
old  men.  It  seems  that  a  short  time  previously  the 
Sioux  had  made  a  raid  on  them  and  exterminated 
nearly  all  their  able-bodied  men.  When  the  party 
received  this  intelligence  they  knew  they  would  not 
be  molested  while  in  the  Pawnee  country.  This  gave 
them  more  confidence  in  grazing  their  cattle,  but  the 
vigilance  of  the  guard  was  not  relaxed  at  night.  In 
fact,  the  Pawnees  were  not  considered  hostile ;  it  was 
the  Sioux  nation  from  which  they  had  most  to  fear, 
they  being  the  most  warlike,  cruel,  and  treacherous 
Indians  at  that  time  known  to  the  whites. 

Before  reaching  Laramie,  herds  of  buffaloes  were 
encountered.  The  first  were  a  few  old  bulls  which, 
not  being  able  to  defend  themselves  from  the  at- 
tacks of  the  younger  animals,  had  been  driven  from 
the  herd.  They  were  poor  and  scrawny,  but  as  they 
were  the  first  that  the  boys  had  seen  they  must  neces- 
sarily have  a  hunt.  After  putting  about  twenty 
bullets  into  the  body  of  one  old  patriarch,  they  suc- 
ceeded in  bringing  him  to  the  ground  within  fifty  feet 
of  the  wagons,  in  the  direction  of  which  he  had  charged 
when  first  wounded.  The  meat  was  poor  and  did  not 
pay  for  the  ammunition  expended  in  procuring  it. 
However,  before  Fort  Laramie  was  reached,  the  party 
were  able  to  secure  an  abundance  of  meat  from 
younger  buffaloes,  which  is  generally  conceded  to  be 
superior  to  that  from  any  other  animal. 

The  party  reached  Fort  Laramie  with  little  fatigue 

and  no  loss.     Here  they  found  about  four  thousand 

Sioux  encamped    round   the    fort.     They    had    their 

squaws  and  children  with  them,  and   for  this  reason 

6 


were  not  considered  dangerous,  this  tribe  being  loth 
to  fight  when  accompanied  by  their  families.  While 
there  was  no  immediate  danger  to  be  apprehended, 
there  was  great  probability  that,  after  leaving  the  fort, 
they  would  encounter  a  hunting  or  war  party.  These 
bands  usually  consisted  of  from  one  hundred  to  five 
hundred  men,  unencumbered  by  women  or  children, 
and  never  were  known  to  waste  an  opportunity  to 
take  a  scalp.  The  party  remained  at  Laramie  several 
days,  having  a  good  camp,  with  plenty  of  grass  for 
their  stock.  They  traded  some  of  their  horses  for 
Indian  ponies,  thinking  they  were  more  hardy  and 
accustomed  to  the  work  on  the  plains.  They  also 
bought  moccasins  to  replace  their  boots  and  shoes, 
which  were  pretty  well  worn  out  by  their  long  tramp. 
In  resuming  the  march,  still  greater  precautions  were 
taken  to  prevent  surprise  by  the  Indians.  The  wag- 
ons were  kept  close  together,  so  that  they  could  be 
formed  into  a  corral  with  no  unnecessary  delay.  As 
the  Indians  in  those  days  had  no  fire-arms  it  was 
thought  they  could  be  kept  at  such  a  distance  that 
their  arrows  could  not  reach  the  pioneers.  Fortu- 
nately, the  party  had  no  use  for  these  precautions,  for 
no  Indians  were  encountered  until  the  Snake  nation 
was  reached. 

For  so  large  a  train,  the  party  was  unusually  har- 
monious, only  one  occasion  of  discord  having  arisen 
among  them.  This  occurred  while  passing  through 
the  Sioux  country.  The  orders  were  that  no  fires 
should  be  lighted  after  dark.  This  order  was  disre- 
garded by  an  old  gentleman  named  Derby,  who 
kept  his  fire  burning  after  hours.  Dr.  Townsend, 
who  had  charge  of  the  watch  that  night,  remonstrated 
with  the  old  man.  Derby  said  that  Captain  Stevens 
was  an  old  granny,  and  that  he  would  not  put  out  his 
fire  for  him  or  any  other  man.  However,  the  fire  was 
extinguished  by  Townsend,  who  returned  to  his  duties. 
A  few  minutes  only  had  elapsed  until  the  fire  was 
burning  as  brightly  as  before.  Dr.  Townsend  went 
again  to  Derby  and  told  him  he  must  put  the  fire  out. 
"No,"  answered  Derby,  "I  will  not,  and  I  don't  think 
it  will  be  healthy  for  anyone  else  to  try  it."  The 
Doctor,  seeing  that  argument  was  useless,  walked  up 
to  the  fire  and  scattered  it  broadcast,  saying  to  Derby 
at  the  same  time,  "It  will  not  be  well  for  you  to  light 
that  fire  again  to-night."  The  Doctor  was  known  to 
be  very  determined,  although  a  man  of  few  words, 
and  Derby's  fire  was  not  again  lighted.  But  the  next 
morning  he  complained  to  the  captain,  who  it  seems 
had  been  a  witness  to  the  transaction  of  the  night  be- 
fore.    Captain  Stevens  sustained  Dr.  Townsend,  and 


42 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


Derby,  with  an  oath,  declared  that  he  would  not  travel 
with  such  a  crowd,  and  he  actually  did  camp  about 
half  a  mile  behind  the  train  for  a  week  afterwards; 
but  he  lighted  no  fires  after  dark.  One  day  when  the 
party  had  stopped  for  noon,  some  of  the  boys,  return- 
ing from  a  buffalo  hunt,  reported  that  they  had  seen 
a  band  of  Sioux.  That  night  Derby  camped  with 
the  train  and  remained  with  them  afterwards,  cheer- 
fully submitting  to  all  the  rules. 

John  Murphy  had  been  quite  ill  for  some  time,  but 
was  now  recovered  sufficiently  to  get  around.  He 
was  anxious  to  go  on  a  buffalo  hunt  and  persuaded 
Schalienberger  to  accompany  him.  The  boys  were 
quite  proud  of  their  skill  as  hunters,  and  promised  the 
camp  a  good  supply  of  fresh  meat  on  their  return. 
They  started  early  in  the  morning,  well  mounted  and 
equipped  for  their  expedition.  They  saw  several 
bands  of  buffaloes,  and  followed  them  nearly  all  day, 
but  in  spite  of  all  their  strategy  they  were  unable  to 
get  near  enough  to  shoot  with  any  certainty.  Each 
herd  had  bulls  stationed  as  sentinels  on  the  higher 
grounds,  who  would  give  the  alarm  before  our  hunters 
could  get  within  reach.  Finally,  the  declining  sun 
warned  them  that  they  must  return.  Reluctantly 
they  turned  their  horses'  heads  toward  camp,  revolv- 
ing in  their  minds  the  big  promises  they  had  made 
before  setting  out  in  the  morning,  and  the  small  chance 
there  was  of  their  fulfillment.  They  had  seen  plenty 
of  antelope,  but  to  carry  antelope  into  camp,  when 
they  had  promised  buffalo,  would  be  considered  a  sort 
of  disgrace. 

On  the  return,  however,  the  herds  of  antelope  be- 
came more  numerous,  and  some  came  so  near  to  the 
hunters  that  Murphy  declared  he  was  afraid  they 
would  bite  him,  and,  drawing  up  his  rifle,  killed  one 
in  its  tracks.  Schalienberger  suggested  that  since  the 
antelope  was  dead  they  had  better  save  the  meat. 
They  dismounted  and  commenced  the  process  of 
butchering.  While  thus  engaged  their  horses  strayed 
towards  camp.  They  had  only  got  about  a  hundred 
yards  when  Schalienberger,  fearing  they  might  go  be- 
yond recall,  proposed  to  bring  them  back.  Taking 
from  his  waist  a  handsome  belt  containing  a  fine 
brace  of  pistols,  which  Mr.  Montgomery  had  made  for 
him,  together  with  shot  pouch  and  powder  horn,  he 
started  in  pursuit  of  the  horses.  He  overtook  them 
without  trouble,  and,  noticing  that  a  blanket  that  had 
been  on  Murphy's  horse  was  gone,  he  looked  for  it  on 
his  way  back  to  the  antelope.  Not  finding  it,  he 
called  to  Murphy,  who  joined  in  the  search.  They 
soon  found  the  blanket  and  started  to  return  to  their 


game  and  guns.  Much  to  their  surprise  they  could 
find  neither.  They  hunted  until  dark  without  success, 
and  then  turned  their  unwilling  course  towards  camp. 
They  fully  realized  the  ridiculousness  of  their  position. 
Starting  from  camp  with  much  boasting  of  the  large 
amount  of  buffalo  they  were  going  to  bring  in,  and  re- 
turning, not  only  with  no  meat,  but  without  arms  or 
ammunition — the  affair  was  altogether  too  humiliat- 
ing. As  they  went  along  they  concocted  one  story 
after  another  to  account  for  their  unfortunate  con- 
dition, but  each  was  rejected.  The  plan  that  seemed 
most  likely  was  to  say  that  they  had  been  captured 
by  Indians  and  robbed  of  their  arms;  but  this  story, 
after  careful  consideration,  was  voted  to  be  too  trans- 
parent, and  they  finally  resolved  to  face  the  music  and 
tell  the  truth.  Their  reception  at  camp  can  better  be 
imagined  than  described. 

The  next  day,  with  a  party  of  six  men,  they  went 
to  a  spot  they  had  marked  as  not  being  more  than 
three  hundred  yards  from  where  they  had  left  their 
guns,  and,  although  they  continued  the  search  for 
several  hours,  could  find  nothing.  There  were  thou- 
sands of  acres  covered  with  grass  about  four  feet  high, 
and  all  presenting  exactly  the  same  appearance;  it 
would  have  been  impossible  to  find  their  property  ex- 
cept by  accident. 

Thus  far  on  their  journey  the  emigrants  had  been 
taking  things  very  easy,  and  had  not  made  the 
progress  they  intended,  but  they  had  no  fears 
that  they  would  not  get  through.  Some  of  tl-.e 
party  were  getting  short  of  provisions,  but  this  gave 
them  little  trouble,  as  they  were  still  in  the  buffalo 
country.  They  determined  to  stop  before  they  got 
entirely  out  of  the  buffalo  grounds  and  kill  and  dry 
enough  meat  to  last  them  through;  if  their  flour  be- 
came exhausted,  they  could  use  their  dried  meat  for 
bread  with  bacon  for  meat,  and  thus  get  along  very 
well.  Their  route  continued  up  the  Platte  and  Sweet- 
water, the  ascent  being  so  gradual  that  it  was  hardly 
perceptible.  They  lived  almost  entirely  on  fresh 
meat,  from  three  to  five  men  being  detailed  as  hunters 
each  day.  After  going  some  distance  up  the  Sweet- 
water, it  was  resolved  to  go  into  camp  and  remain 
long  enough  to  accumulate  sufficient  meat  for  the 
remainder  of  the  journey. 

As  the  American  bison,  or  buffalo,  is  now  practi- 
cally extinct,  and  their  existence  will  soon  be  beyond 
the  memory  of  even  the  oldest  inhabitant,  a  descrip- 
tion of  this  hunt  may  not  be  out  of  place  in  these 
pages.  John  Murphy,  Allen  Montgomery,  Joseph 
Foster,  and  Moses  Schalienberger  started  out  at  day- 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


43 


light,  intending  to  hunt  together,  but  they  soon  became 
separated,  Murphy  and  Foster  following  one  herd  of 
cows  and  Montgomery  and  Schallenberger  another. 

We  will  follow  the  latter  party,  gathering  our  facts 
from  Mr.  Schallenberger's  narration.  They  kept  after 
the  herd  all  day  without  being  able  to  get  within 
rifle  range,  owing  to  the  fact  that  a  picket  guard  of 
bulls  was  always  kept  on  the  highest  points,  who  gave 
the  alarm  on  the  approach  of  the  hunters.  Finally 
they  reached  a  large  mound  of  rocks,  under  shelter  of 
which  they  thought  they  might  reach  a  ravine  which 
would  furnish  cover  within  range  of  the  game.  They 
reached  the  top  of  the  mound,  and,  looking  over,  dis- 
covered an  old  bull  on  the  other  side,  fast  asleep.  To 
keep  out  of  sight  of  the  herd  they  would  be  compelled 
to  pass  in  front  of  his  nose.  They  crawled  along 
cautiously,  near  enough  to  touch  him  with  their  guns, 
and  they  began  to  hope  for  success  in  their  under- 
taking; but  as  soon  as  they  came  in  front  of  his  nose, 
he  seemed  to  wind  them,  and,  starting  up  with  a  snort, 
he  rushed  off  toward  the  cows  at  full  speed.  Aggra- 
vated by  their  failure,  Montgomery  sent  a  bullet  after 
the  bull,  which  tumbled  him  on  the  plain.  The  report 
of  the  rifle  startled  the  herd  and  caused  them  to  move 
on. 

The  hunters  followed  them  until  nearly  dark,  when 
they  stopped  at  a  small  tributary  of  the  Sweetwater 
to  drink.  Here  the  men,  by  crawling  on  their  stom- 
achs and  taking  advantage  of  a  few  grcasewood 
bushes  that  were  growing  here  and  there  over  the 
plain,  succeeded  in  approaching  within  about  two  hun- 
dred yards  of  the  game.  It  was  now  nearly  night- 
fall, and  although  the  distance  was  too  great  for  ac- 
curate shooting,  it  was  their  last  chance,  and  they  re- 
solved to  make  the  venture.  Selecting  a  good-look- 
ing cow,  they  both  aimed  at  her  heart.  At  the  word 
"fire"  both  rifles  were  discharged  simultaneously. 
The  bullets  struck  the  quarry  just  above  the  kidneys, 
and  her  hind  parts  dropped  to  the  ground.  The  hunt- 
ers concealed  themselves  behind  the  brush  and  re- 
loaded their  rifles.  In  the  meantime  the  entire  herd 
gathered  round  the  wounded  cow,  sniffing  the  blood 
and  pawing  and  bellowing. 

While  thus  engaged,  Montgomery  and  Schallen- 
berger emerged  from  their  concealment,  and,  advanc- 
ing to  about  seventy-five  yards,  shot  down  seven  of 
the  best  of  them;  but  as  they  advanced  nearer,  the 
herd  took  fright  and  galloped  off,  all  but  one  bull, 
which  remained  near  the  broken-backed  cow,  and 
showed  fight.  Two  bullets  were  fired  into  him,  and 
he  walked  off  about  forty  yards  and    laid   down  and 


died.  On  examining  the  cow  first  shot,  they  found 
the  two  bullet-holes  not  two  inches  apart,  but  neither 
one  was  within  three  feet  of  the  point  aimed  at. 

It  was  now  quite  dark,  and  they  could  not  return  to 
camp.  Accordingly,  they  made  their  bed  between 
the  carcasses  of  the  two  cows,  and,  butchering  the 
others,  carried  the  meat  to  this  place  to  protect  it  from 
the  wolves  These  animals  gathered  in  large  numbers 
and  made  night  hideous  until,  towards  morning,  they 
were  driven  off  by  a  huge  bear,  who  had  come  for  his 
breakfast.  As  soon  as  it  became  light  enough  to 
shoot,  Montgomery  and  Schallenberger  attempted 
to  kill  the  bear,  but  he  went  away  so  rapidly  that 
they  could  not  follow  him.  After  returning  from  pur- 
suit of  the  bear,  they  finished  butchering  their  game, 
which  process  consisted  of  cutting  out  the  choice 
pieces  and  leaving  the  rest  to  the  wolves.  Packing 
the  meat  on  their  horses,  they  started  for  camp  about 
three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  They  traveled  until 
after  dark,  but  could  find  no  camp.  The  moon  was 
in  the  third  quarter,  but  the  night  was  cloudy,  and 
they  became  bewildered.  They  traveled  all  night, 
walking  and  leading  their  horses.  At  daybreak  they 
crossed  the  trail  of  the  wagons  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  from  camp.  They  arrived  at  the  wagons  just  as 
the  guard  was  taken  off  They  were  nearly  worn  out 
with  fatigue,  but  Schallenberger  says  he  felt  a  great 
deal  more  cheerful  than  when  he  and  Murphy  came 
into  camp  with  neither  meat  nor  arms.  The  other 
hunting  parties  had  been  equally  successfully,  and  a 
week  was  spent  in  this  camp  killing  and  curing  meat, 
after  which  they  resumed  their  journey  up  the  Sweet- 
water. In  this  camp  was  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
James  Miller  a  daughter,  who  was  named  Ellen  In- 
dependence, from  Independence  Rock,  which  was 
near  the  place. 

They  continued  sending  out  hunting  parties  until 
they  reached  the  summit  of  the  Rocky  Mount- 
ains, when  the  buffalo  disappeared.  There  was  still 
plenty  of  deer  and  antelope,  which  rendered  it  un- 
necessary to  draw  on  their  supply  of  dried  meat.  On 
reaching  the  summit  they  saw  that  the  water  ran  to- 
wards California,  and  their  hearts  were  rejoiced  as 
though  already  in  sight  of  the  promised  land.  They 
had  no  idea  of  how  much  farther  they  had  to  go. 
They  had  already  come  hundreds  of  miles  and  natu- 
rally supposed  that  their  journey  was  nearing  its  end. 
Neither  did  they  realize  that  they  were  still  to  en- 
counter obstacles  almost  insurmountable  and  undergo 
hardships  compared  to  which  their  journey  thus  far 
had  been  a  pleasure  excursion, 


44 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


The  emigrants  now  moved  towards  Green  River, 
by  way  of  Little  and  Big  Sandy.  They  camped  on 
Big  Sandy  twenty-four  hours,  and  there  old  man 
Hitchcock  was  appointed  pilot  for  one  day,  he  saying 
that,  from  information  he  had,  he  could  take  them  to 
Green  River  by  a  cut-off  that  would  save  a  hundred 
miles'  travel.  By  this  route  he  thought  the  distance 
from  Big  Sandy  to  Green  River  was  about  twenty- 
five  miles.  Not  knowing  the  character  of  the  country, 
and  thinking  the  distance  was  short,  the  emigrants  did 
not  prepare  a  supply  of  water  to  take  with  them,  as  they 
might  have  done  and  saved  themselves  much  suffering. 

Starting  at  daylight  they  traveled  until  dark, 
most  of  the  distance  being  across  a  rough,  broken 
country,  but  found  no  Green  River  or  water  of 
any  kind.  At  last  they  were  compelled  to  halt  in 
the  midst  of  a  desolate  country,  tired  and  nearly 
famished  for  water.  The  poor  cattle  suffered  terribly, 
and  notwithstanding  their  precautions  in  herding 
them,  about  forty  head  of  cows  and  young  cattle 
broke  away  in  the  night.  The  next  morning  they 
pushed  forward  as  soon  as  it  was  light  enough  to  see, 
and  at  eleven  o'clock  reached  Green  River. 

This  was  their  first  real  hardship  on  the  march,  and, 
coming  unexpectedly,  it  found  them  unprepared,  and 
their  sufferings  were  much  greater  than  they  otherwise 
would  have  been.  The  next  morning  after  their 
arrival  at  Green  River,  they  detailed  six  men  to  hunt 
for  the  cattle  that  had  broken  loose  on  the  march 
from  Big  Sandy.  This  detail  consisted  of  Daniel 
Murphy,  William  Higgins,  Mr.  Bean,  Perry  Derby, 
Mat  Harbin  and  Moses  Schallenberger.  After  start- 
ing on  the  hunt,  a  difference  of  opinion  arose  as  to 
the  route  the  cattle  had  taken.  Murphy,  Schallen- 
berger, and  Bean  thought  they  had  taken  the  back 
track  to  the  Big  Sandy;  the  others  thought  they  had 
made  for  the  nearest  water,  which  was  at  Green  River, 
some  twelve  miles  below  the  point  reached  by  the 
emigrants. 

Not  being  able  to  agree,  they  divided  the  party, 
Murphy,  Bean,  and  Schallenberger  going  back  to  the 
Sandy.  About  half  way  across,  while  this  party 
were  riding  along  in  Indian  file,  Murphy,  who 
was  in  advance,  suddenly  ducked  his  head,  threw 
his  body  over  to  the  side  of  his  horse,  and,  wheeling 
round,  signaled  to  the  others  to  do  the  same.  They 
obeyed,  and,  putting  their  horses  to  full  speed,  followed 
Murphy  to  a  small  canon,  which  they  ascended  for  a 
quarter  of  a  mile.  During  this  time  not  a  word 
had  been  spoken,  but  now,  coming  to  a  halt,  they 
inquired  what  was  the  matter.     Murphy    laconically 


replied,  "  Indians."  The  party  dismounted  and  tied 
their  horses,  and,  getting  down  on  their  stomachs, 
crawled  to  a  point  where  they  could  overlook  the 
plain.  Here  they  discovered  a  war  party  of  about  a 
hundred  Sioux,  who  were  so  near  that  their  conversa- 
tion could  be  distinctly  heard.  They  passed  within 
twenty  yards  of  the  spot  where  our  emigrants  were 
concealed,  without  discovering  them,  and  the  little 
party  drew  a  long  breath  of  relief  when  the  last  feath- 
ered top-knot  disappeared  down  the  horizon.  It  was 
a  close  call,  for  had  their  presence  been  known,  the 
little  band  of  whites  would  never  have  seen  the  golden 
plains  of  California. 

Again  mounting  their  horses,  they  proceeded  to 
the  Big  Sandy,  where  they  found  all  the  missing 
cattle.  Gathering  them  up,  they  passed  the  night 
in  their  old  camp,  and  the  next  morning  set  out  on 
their  return  to  Green  River.  They  had  proceeded 
only  half  a  mile  when  they  discovered  two  Indians 
on  horseback  on  the  top  of  a  hill  about  a  mile  dis- 
tant. In  a  couple  of  minutes,  two  more  made  their 
appearance  in  another  direction,  and  within  ten 
minutes  they  were  surrounded  by  a  couple  of  hundred 
Indians,  all  whooping  and  charging  in  a  manner  to 
strike  terror  to  the  bravest  heart.  There  seemed  no 
escape,  but  the  little  party  resolved  to  sell  their  lives 
as  dearly  as  possible.  In  the  short  time  they  had  for 
consultation,  it  was  determined  that  when  they  ap- 
proached within  range  each  man  should  select  his 
Indian,  shoot  him,  and  then  charge,  trusting  to  Provi- 
dence to  get  through  to  camp.  They  said  good-by 
to  each  other  and  waited  the  onset. 

About  twenty  of  the  Indians  were  in  advance  of  their 
party,  and  when  these  had  approached  to  a  distance  of 
two  hundred  yards,  the  emigrants  signed  to  them  to 
stop.  This  they  did,  and  sent  three  men  without 
arms  to  parley.  These  came  on  until  they  were  only 
fifty  yards  distant,  when  they  halted  and  held  out 
their  hands  as  a  sign  of  friendship.  Schallenberger 
says  that  at  this  sign  their  hair,  which  up  to  this  time 
had  been  standing  as  erect  as  the  quills  on  the  back 
of  a  porcupine,  began  to  resume  its  proper  position 
and  their  blood,  which  had  been  jumping  through 
their  veins  like  a  race-horse,  reduced  its  pace  to  a 
moderate  gait.  The  Indians  proved  to  be  a  party  of 
friendly  Snakes,  who  were  in  pursuit  of  the  band  of 
Sioux  from  which  our  party  had  had  such  a  narrow 
escape  the  day  before.  They  were  very  friendly,  and 
some  of  them  accompanied  our  friends  to  assist 
them  in  driving  their  cattle  quite  a  distance  on  their 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD:' 


45 


way  back    to  Green  River,  which  they  reached  about 
nine  o'clock  at  night. 

The  route  of  the  emigrants  now  lay  across  a 
broken  country  to  Bear  River,  where  they  found  old 
"  Peg-leg  "  Smith,  as  he  was  called.  He  was  one  of 
the  earliest  trappers  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  was 
living  alone  in  the  hills.  He  had  a  band  of  fat  ponies, 
which  he  exchanged  for  some  of  the  poor  and  tired 
horses  of  the  train.  Proceeding  down  Bear  River, 
they  arrived  without  adventure  at  Fort  Hall,  which 
was  the  point  at  which  the  Oregon  party  was  to 
separate  from  those  going  to  California.  Here  they 
were  compelled  to  purchase  flour,  for  which  they  paid 
a  dollar  a  pound.  The  Murphy-Townsend  party  had 
started  with  a  supply  of  provisions  sufficient  for 
eight  mouths,  but  others  were  not  so  well  provided. 
In  fact,  several  had  run  out  of  flour  and  bacon  some 
time  previously,  and  the  others  had  divided  with 
them.  As  for  meat,  the  party  thought  they  had 
plenty;  if  their  dried  meat  and  bacon  became  ex- 
hausted, they  could  kill  the  young  cattle  they  had 
brought  along  for  that  purpose.  The  parting  with  the 
Oregon  party  was  a  sad  one.  During  the  long  journey 
across  the  plains,  many  strong  friendships  had  been 
formed,  and  the  separation  was  deeply  regretted  by 
all.  Our  emigrant  train  now  consisted  of  eleven 
wagons  and  twenty-six  persons,  all  as  determined  to 
push  on  to  California  as  on  the  day  they  left  Council 
Bluffs.  The  country  they  had  traversed  was  more  or 
less  known  to  trappers  and  hunters,  and  there  had 
not  been  much  danger  of  losing  their  way;  neither 
were  the  obstacles  very  formidable.  But  the  re- 
mainder of  the  route  lay  for  most  of  the  distance 
through  an  unknown  country,  through  which  they 
must  find  their  way  without  map,  chart,  or  guide, 
and,  with  diminished  numbers,  overcome  obstacles 
the  magnitude  of  which  none  of  them  had  any  con- 
ception. 

After  remaining  at  Fort  Hall  for  several  days,  the 
party  resumed  its  march,  crossing  the  country  to 
Beaver  Creek,  or  Raft  River,  which  they  followed  for 
two  days;  thence  westward  over  a  broken  country  to 
Goose  Creek;  thence  to  the  head-waters  of  Mary's 
River,  or  the  Humboldt,  as  it  has  since  been  named. 
Here  they  encountered  the  Digger  Indians.  The 
language  of  this  tribe  was  unknown  to  old  man 
Greenwood,  who  had  hitherto  acted  as  pilot  and 
interperter,  but  by  use  of  signs  and  some  few  words 
of  the  Snake  language,  he  managed  to  converse  with 
them  in  a  limited  way.  The  journey  down  the 
Humboldt  was  very  monotonous.     Each  day's  events 


were  substantially  a  repetition  of  those  of  the  day 
before. 

There  was  plenty  of  good  grass,  and  the  party 
was  not  inconvenienced  by  the  alkali  water,  which 
caused  so  much  trouble  to  trains  that  afterwards 
came  over  this  route.  The  Indians  seemed  to  be 
the  most  indolent  and  degraded  of  any  that  the 
party  had  yet  encountered.  They  were  totally  with- 
out energy.  They  seemed  very  friendly  and  every 
night  hundreds  of  them  visited  the  camp.  This  they 
continued  to  do  during  the  entire  journey  down  the 
Humboldt,  a  distance  of  five  hundred  miles.  Al- 
though they  showed  no  signs  of  hostility,  the  emi- 
grants did  not  relax  their  vigilance,  and  guard  duty  was 
strictly  performed.  At  the  sink  of  the  Humboldt, 
the  alkali  became  troublesome,  and  it  was  with  diffi- 
culty that  pure  water  was  procured  either  for  the  peo- 
ple or  the  cattle.  However,  no  stock  was  lost,  except- 
ing one  pony  belonging  to  Martin  Murphy,  Sr.,  which 
was  stolen.  The  party  stopped  at  the  sink  for  a  week 
in  order  to  rest  the  cattle  and  lay  out  their  future 
course. 

Mr.  Schallenberger  states  that  their  oxen  were 
in  tolerably  good  condition;  their  feet  were  as  sound 
and  much  harder,  and  except  that  they  needed  a 
little  rest,  they  were  really  better  prepared  for  work 
than  when  they  left  Missouri.  The  party  seemed  to 
have  plenty  of  provisions,  and  the  only  doubtful 
question  was  the  route  they  should  pursue.  A  desert 
lay  before  them,  and  it  was  necessary  that  they  should 
make  no  mistake  in  the  choice  of  a  route.  Old  Mr. 
Greenwood's  contract  as  pilot  had  expired  when  they 
reached  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Beyond  that  he  did 
not  pretend  to  know  anything.  Many  anxious  con- 
sultations were  held,  some  contending  that  they  should 
follow  a  southerly  course,  and  others  held  that  they 
should  go  due  west.  Finally,  an  old  Indian  was  found, 
called  Truckee,  with  whom  old  man  Green  talked  by 
means  of  signs  and  diagrams  drawn  on  the  ground. 
From  him  it  was  learned  that  fifty  or  sixty  miles  to  the 
west  there  was  a  river  that  flowed  easterly  from  the 
mountains,  and  that  along  this  stream  there  were 
large  trees  and  good  grass.  Acting  on  this  informa- 
tion. Dr.  Townsend,  Captain  Stevens,  and  Joseph 
Foster,  taking  Truckee  as  a  guide,  started  out  to  ex- 
plore this  route,  and  after  three  days  returned,  report- 
ing that  they  had  found  the  river  just  as  the  Indian 
had  described  it.  Although  there  was  still  a  doubt  in 
the  minds  of  some  as  to  whether  this  was  the  proper 
route  to  take,  none  held  back  when  the  time  came  to 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD:' 


start.  In  fact,  there  was  no  time  for  further  dis- 
cussion. 

It  was  now  the  first  of  October,  and  they  could  see 
that  if  a  heavy  fall  of  snow  should  overtake  them 
while  yet  in  the  mountains,  it  would  be  almost  im- 
possible for  them  to  get  through.  Thus  far  there  had 
been  no  trouble  with  the  Indians.  All  that  they  had 
met  had  been  treated  kindly,  and  the  natives  had 
rather  assisted  than  impeded  them  in  their  journey. 
It  had,  however,  required  constant  watching  on  the 
part  of  the  older  men  to  prevent  the  hot  blood  of  the 
younger  ones  from  boiling  over  now  and  then.  This 
was  particularly  the  case  with  John  Greenwood,  who, 
being  a  half-breed,  had  a  mortal  hatred  for  the  Indians. 
On  several  occasions,  when  an  ox  would  stray  away, 
he  would  accuse  the  natives  of  having  stolen  it,  and  it 
would  require  the  utmost  exercise  of  authority  to  pre- 
vent him  from  precipitating  hostilities.  It  seemed  as 
if  he  was  more  anxious  to  kill  an  Indian  than  to  reach 
California. 

On  the  morning  that  the  start  was  made  from  the 
sink  of  the  Humboldt,  a  general  engagement  be- 
came very  imminent.  Schallenberger,  whose  con- 
duct on  the  march  had  been  conspicuous  for  cool- 
ness and  discretion,  missed  a  halter  from  his  horse, 
and  on  searching  for  it  saw  one  end  projecting  from 
under  the  short  feather  blanket  worn  by  an  Indian 
who  was  standing  near.  Schallenberger  demanded 
the  halter,  but  the  Indian  paid  no  attention  ;  he  then 
attempted  to  explain  to  him  what  he  wanted,  but  the 
Indian  pretended  that  he  did  not  understand.  He 
then  took  hold  of  the  halter  to  remove  it,  when  the 
Indian  stepped  back  and  drew  his  bow.  Schallen- 
berger ran  to  the  wagon,  took  his  rifle,  and  drew  a 
bead  on  the  redskin,  and  was  about  to  pull  the  trigger 
when  Martin  Murphy  rushed  in  and  threw  up  the 
muzzle  of  the  gun.  The  whole  camp  was  in  con- 
fusion in  a  moment,  but  the  matter  was  explained, 
and  the  Indians  loaded  with  presents  until  they  were 
pacified.  If  the  Indian  had  been  killed,  there  is  no 
doubt  that  the  entire  party  would  have  been  mas- 
sacred. It  did  not  need  the  reprimand  that  Schallen- 
berger received  from  his  brother-in-law,  Dr.  Townsend, 
to  convince  him  of  his  folly,  and  no  one  regretted  his 
rashness  more  than  he  himself  did. 

The  party  left  the  sink  of  the  Humboldt,  having 
cooked  two  days'  rations  and  filled  all  the  available 
vessels  with  water.  After  traveling  with  scarcely  a 
halt  until  twelve  o'clock  the  next  night,  they  reached 
a  boiling  spring  at  what  is  now  Hot  Spring  Station, 
on  the  Central   Pacific  Railroad.     Here  they  halted 


two  hours  to  permit  the  oxen  to  rest.  Some  of  the 
party  dipped  water  from  the  spring  into  tubs,  and 
allowed  it  to  cool  for  the  use  of  the  cattle.  It  was  a 
sad  experiment,  for  those  oxen  that  drank  it  be- 
came very  sick.  Resuming  the  march,  they  traveled 
steadily  until  two  o'clock  the  next  day,  when  they 
reached  the  river,  which  they  named  the  Truckee,  in 
honor  of  the  old  Indian  chief,  who  had  piloted  them 
to  it. 

The  cattle,  not  having  eaten  or  drank  for  forty- 
eight  hours,  were  almost  famished.  This  march  was 
of  eighty  miles  across  an  alkali  desert,  knee  deep  in 
alkali  dust.  The  people,  having  water  in  their  wag- 
ons, did  not  suffer  so  much,  but  there  were  occasions 
when  it  was  extremely  doubtful  if  they  would  be  able 
to  reach  water  with  their  cattle.  So  crazed  were  they 
with  thirst  that  if  the  precaution  had  not  been  taken 
to  unhitch  them  while  yet  some  distance  from  the 
stream,  they  would  have  rushed  headlong  into  the 
water  and  wrecked  the  wagons  and  destroyed  their 
contents.  There  being  fine  grass  and  good  water 
here,  the  party  camped  two  days,  until  the  cattle  were 
thoroughly  rested  and  refreshed. 

Then  commenced  the  ever-to-be-remembered  jour- 
ney up  the  Truckee  to  the  summit  of  the  Sierras.  At 
first  it  was  not  di.scouraging.  There  was  plenty  of  wood, 
water,  grass,  and  game,  and  the  weather  was  pleasant. 
The  oxen  were  well  rested,  and  for  a  few  days  good 
progress  was  made.  Then  the  hills  began  to  grow 
nearer  together,  and  the  country  was  so  rough  and 
broken  that  they  frequently  had  to  travel  in  the  bed  of 
the  stream.  The  river  was  so  crooked  that  one  day 
they  crossed  it  ten  times  in  traveling  a  mile.  This  al- 
most constant  traveling  in  the  water  softened  the  hoofs 
of  the  oxen,  while  the  rough  stones  in  the  bed  of  the  river 
wore  them  down,  until  the  cattle's  feet  were  so  sore 
that  it  became  a  torture  for  them  to  travel.  The  whole 
party  were  greatly  fatigued  by  the  incessant  labor.  But 
they  dared  not  rest.  It  was  near  the  middle  of  Octo- 
ber, and  a  few  light  snows  had  already  fallen,  warning 
them  of  the  imminent  danger  of  being  buried  in  the 
snow  in  the  mountains.  They  pushed  on,  the  route 
each  day  becoming  more  and  more  difficult.  Each 
day  the  hills  seemed  to  come  nearer  together  and  the 
stream  to  become  more  crooked. 

They  were  now  compelled  to  travel  altogether  in 
the  bed  of  the  river,  there  not  being  room  between  its 
margin  and  the  hills  to  furnish  foothold  to  an  o.x. 
The  feet  of  the  cattle  became  so  sore  that  the  drivers 
were  compelled  to  walk  beside  them  in  the  water,  or 
they  could  not  be  urged  to  take  a  step;  and,  in  many 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


47 


instances,  the  teams  had  to  be  trebled  in  order  to  drag 
the  wagons  at  all.  On  top  of  all  these  disheartening 
conditions  came  a  fall  of  snow  a  foot  deep,  burying 
the  grass  from  the  reach  of  the  cattle,  and  threatening 
them  with  starvation.  The  poor,  foot-sore  oxen,  after 
toiling  all  day,  would  stand  and  bawl  for  food  all  night, 
in  so  piteous  a  manner  that  the  emigrants  would  for- 
get their  own  misery  in  their  pity  for  their  cattle.  But 
there  was  nothing  to  offer  them  except  a  few  pine 
leaves,  which  were  of  no  effect  in  appeasing  their 
hunger.  Still  the  party  toiled  on,  hoping  soon  to  pass 
the  summit  and  reach  the  plains  beyond,  and  that 
beautiful  land  so  eloquently  described  to  them  by 
Father  Hookins.  In  face  of  all  these  obstacles,  there 
was  no  thought  of  turning  back.  One  day  they  came 
to  some  rushes  that  were  too  tall  to  be  entirely  cov- 
ered by  the  snow;  the  cattle  ate  these  so  greedily  that 
two  of  James  Murphy's  oxen  died.  However,  by  con- 
stant care  in  regulating  the  amount  of  this  food,  no 
evil  effects  were  experienced,  although  it  was  not  very 
nourishing.  These  rushes  were  scattered  at  irregular 
intervals  along  the  river,  and  scouts  were  sent  out 
each  day  to  find  them  and  locate  a  camp  for  the  night. 
Some  days  the  rushes  would  be  found  in  a  very  short 
drive,  and  sometimes  they  would  not  be  found  at  all. 

In  this  manner  they  dragged  their  slow  course  along 
until  they  reached  a  point  where  the  river  forked,  the 
main  stream  bearing  southwest  and  the  tributary 
almost  due  west.  Then  arose  the  question  as  to  which 
route  should  be  taken.  There  being  an  open  space 
and  pretty  good  feed  at  the  forks  of  the  river,  it  was 
decided  to  go  into  camp  and  hold  a  consultation. 
This  camp  was  made  on  what  is  now  the  site  of  the 
city  of  Truckee,  and  the  route  pursued  by  these  emi- 
grants is  practically  that  now  followed  by  the  Cen- 
tral Pacific  Railroad.  After  considering  the  matter 
fully,  it  was  decided  that  a  few  of  the  party  should 
leave  the  wagons  and  follow  the  main  stream,  while 
the  others  should  go  by  way  of  the  tributary,  as  that 
seemed  to  be  the  more  promising  route  for  the  vehi- 
cles. 

Those  who  left  the  party  were  Mrs.  Townsend,  Miss 
Ellen  Murphy,  John  Murphj',  Daniel  Murphy,  Oliver 
Magnan,  and  Mrs.  Townsend's  servant,  Francis.  They 
each  had  a  horse  to  ride,  and  they  took  with  them  two 
pack-horses  and  some  provisions.  The  ladies  had 
each  a  change  of  clothing  and  some  blankets,  and 
each  man  had  a  rifle  and  ammunition.  There  was 
still  some  game  to  be  found,  and  as  the  Murphys  were 
good  hunters  there  was  no  thought  of  their  starving. 
In  our  account  of  this  journey  we  have  followed  the 


narrative  of  Mr.  Schallenberger,  who  has  kindly  fur- 
nished us  with  the  facts.  In  regard  to  this  separation, 
John  Murphy  says  that  there  was  no  consultation  or 
agreement;  that  the  persons  spoken  of  were  traveling 
in  advance  of  the  rest  of  the  party,  and,  coming  to  the 
forks  of  the  river,  naturally  took  the  main  stream,  ex- 
pecting the  others  to  follow,  which  they  did  not  do. 
However  this  may  be,  the  fact  remains  that  the  par- 
ties here  separated  and  went  the  different  routes  as 
above  stated. 

The  party  with  the  wagons  proceeded  up  the  tribu- 
tary, or  Little  Truckee,  a  distance  of  two  miles  and  a 
half,  when  they  came  to  the  lake  since  known  as 
Donner  Lake.  They  now  had  but  one  mountain  be- 
tween them  and  California,  but  this  seemed  an  im- 
passable barrier.  Several  days  were  spent  in  attempts 
to  find  a  pass,  and  finalh'  the  route,  over  which  the 
present  railroad  is,  was  selected.  The  oxen  were  so 
worn  out  that  some  of  the  party  abandoned  the  attempt 
to  get  their  wagons  any  further.  Others  determined  to 
make  another  effort.  Those  who  determined  to  bring 
their  wagons  were  Martin  Murphy,  Jr.,  James  Murphy, 
James  Miller,  Mr.  Hitchcock,  and  old  Mr.  Martin, 
Mrs.  James  Murphy's  father.  The  others  left  their 
wagons. 

The  snow  on  the  mountains  was  now  about  two 
feet  deep.  Keeping  their  course  on  the  north  side 
of  the  lake  until  they  reached  its  head,  they  started 
up  the  mountain.  All  the  wagons  were  unloaded 
and  the  contents  carried  up  the  hill.  Then  the  teams 
were  doubled  and  the  empty  wagons  were  hauled  up. 
When  about  half  way  up  the  mountain  they  came  to 
a  vertical  rock  about  ten  feet  high.  It  seemed  now 
that  everything  would  have  to  be  abandoned  except 
what  the  men  could  carry  on  their  backs.  After  a 
tedious  search  they  found  a  rift  in  the  rock,  just  about 
wide  enough  to  allow  one  ox  to  pass  at  a  time. 
Removing  the  yokes  from  the  cattle,  they  managed  to 
get  them  one  by  one  through  this  chasm  to  the  top  of 
the  rock.  There  the  yokes  were  replaced,  chains 
were  fastened  to  the  tongues  of  the  wagons,  and 
carried  to  the  top  of  the  rock,  where  the  cattle  were 
hitched  to  them.  Then  the  men  lifted  at  the  wagons, 
while  the  cattle  pulled  at  the  chains,  and  by  this  in- 
genious device  the  vehicles  were  all,  one  by  one,  got 
across  the  barrier. 

After  reaching  the  summit  a  drive  of  twenty  miles 
westerly  brought  them  to  the  head-waters  of  the  Vuba 
River,  where  the  able-bodied  men  started  for  Sutter's 
Fort,  then  known  as  New  Helvetia,  and  now  as  the  city 
of  Sacramento.     They  walked  and  drove  the  cattle. 


48 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD:' 


expecting  to  return  immediately  with  supplies  for  the 
train.  The  others  remained  in  camp.  Thus  were 
the  first  wagons  that  ever  made  tracks  in  California 
soil,  brought  across  the  mountains. 

Those  who  remained  with  the  wagons  on  the 
Yuba  were  Mrs.  Martin  Murphy,  with  her  four  boys, 
Martin,  James,  Patrick  W.,  and  Bernard  D.;  Mrs. 
James  Murphy,  with  her  daughter  Mary;  Mr.  James 
Miller,  wife,  and  three  children;  Mrs.  Patterson,  with 
her  children,  and  old  Mr.  Martin,  Mrs.  James  Murphy's 
father.  Leaving  them  here  for  the  present,  we  will 
return  to  the  wagons,  which  had  been  abandoned 
when  the  party  divided  at  the  forks  of  the  Truckee. 

Dr.  Townsend  and  Mr.  Schallenberger  had  brought 
with  them  an  invoice  of  valuable  goods,  which  they 
had  intended  to  sell  in  California.  When  the  wagons 
were  abandoned,  Schallenberger  volunteered  to  re- 
main with  them  and  protect  the  goods  until  the  rest 
of  the  party  could  reach  California  and  return  with 
other  and  fresher  animals  with  which  to  move  them. 
Mr.  Schallenberger  thus  describes  his  experience: — 

"  There  seemed  little  danger  to  me  in  undertaking 
this.  Game  seemed  to  be  abundant.  We  had  seen  a 
number  of  deer,  and  one  of  our  party  had  killed  a 
bear,  so  I  had  no  fears  of  starvation.  The  Indians  in 
that  vicinity  were  poorly  clad,  and  I  therefore  felt  no 
anxiety  in  regard  to  them,  as  they  probably  would 
stay  further  south  as  long  as  cold  weather  lasted. 
Knowing  that  we  were  not  far  from  California,  and 
being  unacquainted,  except  in  a  general  way,  with 
the  climate,  I  did  not  suppose  that  the  snow  would  at 
any  time  be  more  than  two  feet  deep,  nor  that  it 
would  be  on  the  ground  continually. 

"After  I  had  decided  to  stay,  Mr.  Joseph  Foster 
and  Mr.  Allen  Montgomery  said  they  would  stay 
with  me,  and  so  it  was  settled,  and  the  rest  of  the 
party  started  across  the  mountains.  They  left  us  two 
cows,  so  worn  out  and  poor  that  they  could  go  no 
further.  We  did  not  care  for  them  to  leave  us  any 
cattle  for  food,  for,  as  I  said,  there  seemed  to  be  plenty 
of  game,  and  we  were  all  good  hunters,  well  furnished 
with  ammunition,  so  we  had  no  apprehension  that  we 
would  not  have  plenty  to  eat,  that  is,  plenty  of  meat. 
Bread  we  had  not  tasted  for  many  weeks,  and  had  no 
desire  for  it.  We  had  used  up  all  our  supply  of 
buffalo  meat,  and  had  been  living  on  fresh  beef  and 
bacon,  which   seemed  to  satisfy  us  completely. 

"The  morning  after  the  separation  of  our  party, 
which  we  felt  was  only  for  a  short  time,  Foster,  Mont- 
gomery and  myself  set  about  making  a  cabin,  for  we 
determined  to  make  ourselves  as  comfortable  as  possi- 


ble, even  if  it  was  for  a  short  time.  We  cut  saplings 
and  yoked  up  our  poor  cows  and  hauled  them  together. 
These  we  formed  into  a  rude  house,  and  covered  it 
with  rawhides  and  pine  brush.  The  size  was  about 
twelve  by  fourteen  feet.  We  made  a  chimney  of 
logs  eight  or  ten  feet  high,  on  the  outside,  and  used 
some  large  stones  for  the  jambs  and  back.  We  had 
no  windows;  neither  was  the  house  chinked  or  daubed, 
as  is  usual  in  log-houses,  but  we  notched  the  logs 
down  so  close  that  they  nearly  or  quite  touched.  A 
hole  was  cut  for  a  door,  which  was  never  closed.  We 
left  it  open  in  the  day-time  to  give  us  light,  and  as  we 
had  plenty  of  good  beds  and  bedding  that  had  been 
left  with  the  wagons,  and  were  not  afraid  of  burglars, 
we  left  it  open  at  night  also.  This  cabin  is  thus  par- 
ticularly described  because  it  became  historic,  as  be- 
ing the  residence  of  a  portion  of  the  ill-fated  Donner 
party  in  1846. 

"  On  the  evening  of  the  day  we  finished  our  little 
house  it  began  to  snow,  and  that  night  it  fell  to  a 
depth  of  three  feet.  This  prevented  a  hunt  which  we 
had  in  contemplation  for  the  next  day.  It  did  not 
worry  us  much,  however,  for  the  weather  was  not  at 
all  cold,  and  we  thought  the  snow  would  soon  melt. 
But  we  were  doomed  to  disappointment.  A  week 
passed,  and  instead  of  any  snow  going  off  more 
came.  At  last  we  were  compelled  to  kill  our  cows, 
for  the  snow  was  so  deep  that  they  could  not  get 
around  to  eat.  They  were  nothing  but  skin  and 
bones,  but  we  killed  the  poor  things  to  keep  them 
from  starving  to  death.  We  hung  them  up  on  the 
north  side  of  the  house  and  covered  them  with  pine 
brush.  That  night  the  meat  froze,  and  as  the  weather 
was  just  cold  enough  to  keep  it  frozen,  it  remained 
fresh  without  salt.  It  kept  on  snowing  continually, 
and  our  little  cabin  was  almost  covered.  It  was  now 
about  the  last  of  November  or  first  of  December, 
and  we  began  to  fear  that  we  should  all  perish  in  the 
snow. 

"The  snow  was  so  light  and  frosty  that  it  would 
not  bear  us  up,  therefore  we  were  not  able  to  go  out  at 
all  except  to  cut  wood  for  the  fire;  and  if  that  had 
not  been  near  at  hand  I  do  not  know  what  we  should 
have  done.  None  of  us  had  ever  seen  snow-shoes, 
and  of  course  had  no  idea  how  to  make  them,  but 
finally  Foster  and  Montgomery  managed  to  make 
something  they  called  a  snow-shoe.  I  was  only  a 
boy  and  had  no  more  idea  of  what  a  snow-shoe  looked 
like  than  a  Louisiana  darkey.  Their  method  of  con- 
struction was  this:  Taking  some  of  our  wagon  bows, 
I  which  were  of  hickory  and   about  half  an  inch  thick, 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD: 


49 


they  bent  them  into  an  oblong  shape  forming  a  sort 
of  hoop.  This  they  filled  with  a  network  of  rawhide. 
We  were  now  able  to  walk  on  the  snow  to  bring  in 
our  wood,  and  that  was  about  all  there  was  to  do. 
There  was  no  game.  We  went  out  several  times  but 
never  saw  anything.  What  could  we  expect  to  find 
in  ten  feet  of  snow  ?  It  would  sometimes  thaw  a 
little  during  the  day  and  freeze  at  night,  which  made 
a  crust  on  the  snow  sufficiently  thick  to  bear  the 
weight  of  a  coyote,  or  a  fox,  and  we  used  sometimes 
to  see  the  tracks  of  these  animals,  but  we  were  never 
fortunate  enough  to  get  a  sight  of  the  animals  them- 
selves. 

"We  now  began  to  feel  very  blue,  for  there  seemed 
no  possible  hope  for  us.  We  had  already  eaten  about 
half  our  meat,  and  with  the  snow  on  the  ground  get- 
ting deeper  and  deeper  each  day,  there  was  no  chance 
for  game.  Death,  the  fearful,  agonizing  death  by 
starvation,  literally  stared  us  in  the  face.  At  last, 
after  due  consideration,  we  determined  to  start  for 
California  on  foot.  Accordingly  we  dried  some  of 
our  beef,  and  each  of  us  carrying  ten  pounds  of  meat, 
a  pair  of  blankets,  a  rifle  and  ammunition,  we  set  out 
on  our  perilous  journey.  Not  knowing  how  to  fasten 
snow-shoes  to  our  feet  made  it  very  fatiguing  to  walk 
with  them.  We  fastened  them  heel  and  toe,  and 
thus  had  to  lift  the  whole  weight  of  the  shoe  at  every 
step,  and  as  the  shoe  would  necessarily  sink  down 
somewhat,  the  snow  would  crumble  in  on  top  of  it, 
and  in  a  short  time  each  shoe  weighed  about  ten 
pounds. 

"  Foster  and  Montgomery  were  matured  men, 
and  could  consequently  stand  a  greater  amount 
of  hardship  than  I,  who  was  still  a  growing  boy  with 
weak  muscles  and  a  huge  appetite,  both  of  which 
were  being  used  in  exactly  the  reverse  order  designed 
b)'  nature.  Consequently,  when  we  reached  the  sum- 
mit of  the  mountain  about  sunset  that  night,  having 
traveled  a  distance  of  about  fifteen  miles,  I  was 
scarcely  able  to  drag  one  foot  after  the  other.  The 
day  had  been  a  hard  one  for  us  all,  but  particularly 
painful  to  me.  The  awkward  manner  in  which  our 
snow-shoes  were  fastened  to  our  feet  made  the  mere 
act  of  walking  the  hardest  kind  of  work.  In  addi- 
tion to  this,  about  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  I  was 
seized  with  cramps.  I  fell  down  with  them  several 
times,  and  my  companions  had  to  wait  for  me,  for 
it  was  impossible  for  me  to  move  until  the  paroxysm 
had  passed  off.  After  each  attack  I  would  summon 
all  my  will  power  and  press  on,  trying  to  keep  up 
with  the  others.  Toward  evening,  however,  the  at- 
7 


tacks  became  more  frequent  and  painful,  and  I  could 
not  walk  more  than  fifty  yards  without  stopping  to 
rest. 

"  When  night  came  on  we  cut  down  a  tree  and 
with  it  built  a  fire  on  top  of  the  snow.  We  then 
spread  some  pine  brush  for  our  beds,  and  after  eating 
a  little  of  our  jerky  and  standing  round  our  fire  in  a 
vain  attempt  to  get  warm,  we  laid  down  and  tried  to 
sleep.  Although  we  were  thoroughly  exhausted) 
sleep  would  not  come.  Anxiety  as  to  what  might 
have  been  the  fate  of  those  who  had  preceded  us,  as 
well  as  uncertainty  as  to  our  fate,  kept  us  awake  all 
night.  Every  now  and  then  one  of  us  would  rise  to 
replenish  the  fire,  which,  though  it  kept  us  from  freez- 
ing, could  not  make  us  comfortable.  When  daylight 
came  we  found  that  our  fire  had  melted  the  snow  in  a 
circle  of  about  fifteen  feet  in  diameter,  and  had  sunk  to 
the  ground  a  distance  also  of  about  fifteen  feet.  The 
fire  was  so  far  down  that  we  could  not  get  to  it,  but  as 
we  had  nothing  to  cook,  it  made  but  little  difference. 
We  ate  our  jerky  while  we  deliberated  as  to  what  we 
should  do  next.  I  was  so  stiff  that  I  could  hardly 
move,  and  my  companions  had  grave  doubts  as  to 
whether  I  could  stand  the  journey.  If  I  should  give 
out  they  could  afford  me  no  assistance,  and  I  would 
necessarily  be  left  to  perish  in  the  snow.  I  fully 
realized  the  situation,  and  told  them  that  I  would  re- 
turn to  the  cabin  and  live  as  long  as  possible  on  the 
quarter  of  beef  that  was  still  there,  and  when  it  was 
all  gone  I  would  start  out  again  alone  for  California. 
They  reluctantly  assented  to  my  plan,  and  promised 
that  if  they  ever  got  to  California  and  it  was  possible 
to  get  back,  they  would  return  to  my  assistance. 

"  We  did  not  say  much  at  parting.  Our  hearts 
were  too  full  for  that.  There  was  simply  a  warm 
clasp  of  the  hand  accompanied  by  the  familiar  word, 
'  Good-by,'  which  we  all  felt  might  be  the  last  words  we 
should  ever  speak  to  each  other.  The  feeling  of  lone- 
liness that  came  over  me  as  the  two  men  turned  away 
I  cannot  express,  though  it  will  never  be  forgotten, 
while  the,  '  Good-by,  Mose,'  so  sadly  and  reluctantly 
spoken,  rings  in  my  ears  to-day.  I  desire  to  say  here 
that  both  Foster  and  Montgomery  were  brave,  warm- 
hearted men,  and  it  was  by  no  fault  of  theirs  that  I 
was  thus  left  alone.  It  would  only  have  made  mat- 
ters worse  for  either  of  tliem  to  remain  with  me,  for 
the  quarter  of  beef  at  the  cabin  would  last  me  longer 
alone,  and  thus  increase  my  chances  of  escape.  While 
our  decision  was  a  sad  one,  it  was  the  only  one  that 
could  be  made. 

"  My  companions  had  not  been  long  out  of  sight 


50 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


before  my  spirits  began  to  revive,  and  I  began  to 
think,  like  Micawber,  that  something  might  'turn 
up.'  So  I  strapped  on  my  blankets  and  dried  beef, 
shouldered  my  gun,  and  began  to  retrace  my  steps 
to  the  cabin.  It  had  frozen  during  the  night  and 
this  enabled  me  to  walk  on  our  trail  without  the 
snow-shoes.  This  was  a  great  relief,  but  the  exertion 
and  sickness  of  the  day  before  had  so  weakened  me 
that  I  think  I  was  never  so  tired  in  my  life  as  when, 
just  a  little  before  dark,  I  came  in  sight  of  the  cabin. 
The  door-sill  was  only  nine  inches  high,  but  I  could 
not  step  over  it  without  taking  my  hands  to  raise  my 
Igg  *  *  *  As  soon  as  I  was  able  to  crawl  around 
the  next  morning  I  put  on  my  snow-shoes,  and,  tak- 
ing my  rifle,  scoured  the  country  thoroughly  for 
foxes.  The  result  was  as  I  had  expected — ^just  as  it 
had  always  been — plenty  of  tracks,  but  no  fox. 

"Discouraged  and  sick  at  heart,  I  came  in  from  my 
fruitless  search  and  prepared  to  pass  another  night  of 
agony.  As  I  put  my  gun  in  the  corner,  my  eyes  fell 
upon  some  steel  traps  that  Captain  Stevens  had 
brought  with  him  and  left  behind  in  his  wagon.  In 
an  instant  the  thought  flashed  across  my  mind,  'If  I 
can't  shoot  a  coyote  or  fox,  why  not  trap  one.'  There 
was  inspiration  in  the  thought,  and  my  spirits  began 
to  rise  immediately.  The  heads  of  the  two  cows  I 
cut  to  pieces  for  bait,  and,  having  raked  the  snow 
from  some  fallen  trees,  and  found  other  sheltered 
places,  I  set  my  traps.  That  night  I  went  to  bed  with 
a  lighter  heart,  and  was  able  to  get  some  sleep. 

"As  soon  as  daylight  came  I  was  out  to  inspect  the 
traps.  I  was  anxious  to  see  them  and  still  I  dreaded  to 
look.  After  some  hesitation  I  commenced  theexamina- 
tion,  and  to  my  great  delight  I  found  in  one  of  them  a 
starved  coyote.  I  soon  had  his  hide  off  and  his  flesh 
roasted  in  a  Dutch  oven.  I  ate  this  meat,  but  it  was 
horrible.  I  next  tried  boiling  him,  but  it  did  not  im- 
prove the  flavor.  I  cooked  him  in  every  possible 
manner  my  imagination,  spurred  by  hunger,  could 
suggest,  but  could  not  get  him  into  a  condition  where 
he  could  be  eaten  without  revolting  my  stomach.  But 
for  three  days  this  was  all  I  had  to  eat.  On  the  third 
night  I  caught  two  foxes.  I  roasted  one  of  them,  and 
the  meat,  though  entirely  devoid  of  fat,  was  delicious. 
I  was  so  hungry  that  I  could  easily  have  eaten  a  fox 
at  two  meals,  but  I  made  one  last  me  two  days. 

"I  often  took  my  gun  and  tried  to  find  something  to 
shoot,  but  in  vain.  Once  I  shot  a  crow  that  seemed 
to  have  got  out  of  his  latitude  and  stopped  on  a  tree 
near  the  cabin.  I  stewed  the  crow,  but  it  was  difficult 
for  me  to  decide  which  I   liked  best,  crow  or  coyote. 


I  now  gave  my  whole  attention  to  trapping,  having 
found  how  useless  it  was  to  hunt  for  game.  I  caught, 
on  an  average,  a  fox  in  two  days,  and  every  now  and 
then  a  coyote.  These  last-named  animals  I  carefully 
hung  up  under  the  brush  shed  on  the  north  side  of  the 
cabin,  but  I  never  got  hungry  enough  to  eat  one  of 
them  again.  There  were  eleven  hanging  there  when 
I  came  away.  I  never  really  suffered  for  something 
to  eat,  but  was  in  almost  continual  anxiety  for  fear 
the  supply  would  give  out.  For  instance,  as  soon  as 
one  meal  was  finished  I  began  to  be  distressed  for  fear 
I  could  not  get  another  one.  My  only  hope  was  that 
the    supply  of  foxes  would    not  become   exhausted. 

"One  morning  two  of  my  traps  contained  foxes. 
Having  killed  one,  I  started  for  the  other,  but,  before  I 
could  reach  it,  the  fox  had  left  his  foot  in  the  trap  and 
started  to  run.  I  went  as  fast  as  I  could  to  the  cabin 
for  my  gun,  and  then  followed  him.  He  made  for  a 
creek  about  a  hundred  yards  from  the  house,  into 
which  he  plunged  and  swam  across.  He  was  scram- 
bling up  the  opposite  bank  when  I  reached  the  creek. 
In  my  anxiety  at  the  prospect  of  losing  my  breakfast, 
I  had  forgotten  to  remove  a  greasy  wad  that  I  usually 
kept  in  the  muzzle  of  my  gun  to  prevent  it  from  rust- 
ing, and  when  I  fired,  the  ball  struck  the  snow  about  a 
foot  above  reynard's  back.  I  reloaded  as  rapidly  as 
possible,  and  as  the  gun  was  one  of  the  old-fashioned 
flint-locks  that  primed  itself,  it  did  not  require  much 
time.  But,  short  as  the  time  was,  the  fox  had  gone 
about  forty  yards  when  I  shot  him.  Now  the  problem 
was  to  get  him  to  camp.  The  water  in  the  stream 
was  about  two  and  a  half  feet  deep  and  icy  cold.  But 
I  plunged  in,  and,  on  reaching  the  other  side,  waded 
for  fort)'  yards  through  the  snow,  into  which  I  sank  to 
my  arms,  secured  my  game,  and  returned  the  way  I 
came.  I  relate  this  incident  to  illustrate  how  much 
affection  I  had  for  the  fox.  It  is  strange  that  I  never 
craved  anything  to  eat  but  good  fat  meat.  For  bread 
or  vegetables  I  had  no  desire.  Salt  I  had  in  plenty, 
but  never  used.  I  had  just  coffee  enough  for  one  cup, 
and  that  I  saved  for  Christmas. 

"My  life  was  more  miserable  than  I  can  describe. 
The  daily  struggle  for  life  and  the  uncertainty  under 
which  I  labored  were  very  wearing.  I  was  always 
worried  and  anxious,  not  about  myself  alone,  but  in 
regard  to  the  fate  of  those  who  had  gone  forward.  I 
would  lie  awake  nights  and  think  of  these  things,  and 
revolve  in  my  mind  what  I  would  do  when  the  supply 
of  foxes  became  exhausted.  The  quarter  of  beef  I 
had  not  touched,  and  I  resolved  to  dry  it,  and,  when 
the  foxes  were  all  gone,  to  take  my  gun,  blankets,  and 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


51 


dried  beef  and  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  my  former 
companions. 

"Fortunately,  I  had  a  plenty  of  books,  Dr.  Town- 
send  having  brought  out  quite  a  library.  I  used  often 
to  read  aloud,  for  I  longed  for  some  sound  to  break 
the  oppressive  stillness.  For  the  same  reason,  I  would 
talk  aloud  to  myself  At  night  I  built  large  fires  and 
read  by  the  light  of  the  pine  knots  as  late  as  possible, 
in  order  that  I  might  sleep  late  the  next  morning, 
and  thus  cause  the  days  to  seem  shorter.  What  I 
wanted  most  was  enough  to  eat,  and  the  next  thing  I 
tried  hardest  to  do  was  to  kill  time.  I  thought  the 
snow  would  never  leave  the  ground,  and  the  few 
months  I  had  been  living  here  seemed  years. 

"One  evening,  a  little  before  sunset,  about  the  last  of 
February,  as  I  was  standing  a  short  distance  from  my 
cabin,  I  thought  I  could  distinguish  the  form  of  a  man 
moving  towards  me.  I  first  thought  it  was  an  Indian, 
but  very  soon  I  recognized  the  familiar  face  of  Dennis 
Martin.  My  feelings  can  be  better  imagined  than  de- 
scribed. He  relieved  my  anxiety  about  those  of  our 
party  who  had  gone  forward  with  the  wagons.  They 
had  all  arrived  safely  in  California  and  were  then  in 
camp  on  the  Yuba.  They  were  all  safe,  although 
some  of  them  had  suffered  much  from  hunger.  Mrs. 
Patterson  and  her  children  had  eaten  nothing  for  four- 
teen days  but  rawhides.  Mr.  Martin  had  brought  a 
small  amount  of  provisions  on  his  back,  which  were 
shared  among  them.  All  the  male  portion  of  the 
party,  except  Foster  and  Montgomery,  had  joined 
Captain  Sutter  and  gone  to  the  Micheltorena  war. 
Dr.  Townsend  was  surgeon  of  the  corps.  My  sister, 
Mrs.  Townsend,  hearing  that  Mr.  Martin  was  about  to 
return  to  pilot  the  emigrants  out  of  the  wilderness, 
begged  him  to  extend  his  journey  a  little  farther  and 
lend  a  helping  hand  to  ler  brother  Moses.  He  con- 
sented to  do  so,  and  here  he  was.  Being  a  Canadian, 
he  was  accustomed  to  snow-shoes,  and  soon  showed 
me  how  to  fix  mine  so  I  could  travel  with  less  than 
half  the  labor.  He  made  the  shoe  a  little  narrower, 
and  fastened  it  to  the  foot  only  at  the  to",  thus  mak- 
ing the  heel  a  little  heavier,  so  that  the  shoe  would 
drag  on  the  snow  instead  of  having  to  be  lifted  at  every 
step." 

The  next  morning  after  Martin's  arrival  at  the  cabin 
he  and  Schallenberger  started  to  return.  Schallen- 
berger's  scanty  diet  and  limited  e.xercise  rendered 
this  a  rather  trying  journey  for  him.  But  they  arrived 
safely  at  the  emigrants'  camp,  which,  during  Martin's 
absence,  had  been  moved  two  days' journey  down  the 
hills.     At  this  camp  was  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Martin 


Murphy  a  daughter,  the  first  white  child  born  in 
California.  She  was  named  Elizabeth,  and  afterwards 
married  Mr.  William  Taaffe. 

To  make  this  history  complete,  we  must  return  to 
the  party  which,  separating  from  the  wagons  at  the 
forks  of  the  Truckee,  followed  the  main  stream. 
They  continued  up  the  river  to  Lake  Tahoe,  and  were 
the  first  white  people  to  look  upon  that  beautiful  body 
of  water.  Here  they  crossed  the  river,  keeping  on 
the  west  side  of  the  lake  for  some  distance,  and  then 
struck  across  the  hills  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Ameri- 
can River,  which  they  followed  down  to  the  valley. 
This  route  was  exceedingly  rough,  much  more  so  than 
the  one  up  the  Truckee  on  the  other  side.  The 
American  River  was  wider  and  deeper  th^an  the 
Truckee,  and  fully  as  crooked.  They  were  compelled 
to  cross  it  many  times,  and  frequently  their  horses 
were  compelled  to  swim,  and  the  current  was  so  swift 
as  to  make  this  a  very  hazardous  undertaking.  Mrs. 
Townsend  rode  an  Indian  pony,  which  was  an  ex- 
cellent swimmer.  She  would  ride  him  across  the 
river  and  then  send  him  back  by  one  of  the  boys  for 
Ellen  Murphy.  Once  this  pony  lost  his  feet.  He 
had  crossed  the  river  several  times  and  was  nearly 
worn  out.  John  Murphy  had  ridden  him  back  to  get 
a  pack  saddle,  and  on  returning,  the  pony  fell.  John, 
though  an  excellent  swimmer,  had  a  narrow  escape 
from  drowning.  The  water  was  running  with  the 
force  of  a  mill  race,  while  the  bed  of  the  stream  was 
full  of  huge  rocks,  against  which  he  was  dashed  and 
disabled  from  swimming.  The  party  on  the  banks 
were  paralyzed  with  terror  as  he  was  swept  down  the 
raging  torrent.  Recovering  themselves,  they  hurried 
down  the  stream,  expecting  at  every  step  to  see  his 
mangled  body  thrown  upon  the  shore.  But  John  had 
not  lost  his  head  in  his  deadly  peril.  Watching  his 
opportunity,  as  he  was  swept  under  a  willow  tree 
which  grew  on  the  bank,  he  seized  the  overhanging 
branches  and  held  on  with  a  death  grip  until  he  was 
rescued.  The  ice-cold  water  and  the  mauling  he  had 
received  from  the  rocks  rendered  him  unconscious. 
A  warm  fire  restored  him  to  his  senses,  but  it  was 
many  days  before  he  fully  recovered  from  the  shock 
caused  by  his  involuntary  bath. 

The  party  were  twenty-one  days  in  getting  to  the 
valley.  They  did  not  suffer  for  food,  for  they  were 
soon  out  of  the  snow  and  in  a  game  country.  John 
and-  Dan  Murphy  were  excellent  hunters,  and  there 
was  no  scarcity  of  meat.  If  game  was  scarce  there 
was  plenty  of  cattle  roaming  about,  which  made  star- 
vation impossible.     They  followed  the  American  River 


52 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLDS 


until  they  came  to  St.  Clair's  ranch,  where  they 
stopped  for  some  time.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  St.  Clair  re- 
ceived them  with  a  warm  hospitality,  which  excited 
the  liveliest  feelings  of  gratitude  in  the  hearts  of  the 
emigrants.  These  feelings  were  mingled  with  remorse 
when  they  thought  of  the  number  of  St.  Clair's  calves 
that  had  been  killed  on  the  way  down  the  river.  They 
had,  of  course,  intended  to  pay  for  them,  but  just  at 
that  time  they  had  no  money.  The  idea  of  accept- 
ing the  hospitality  of  a  man  whose  cattle  they  had 
killed,  worked  on  their  feelings  until  it  nearly  broke 
their  hearts.  The  teachings  of  their  father,  the  old 
patriarch,  had  kept  their  consciences  tender,  and  they 
held  many  secret  consultations  as  to  what  should  be 
done  in  the  premises. 

They  finally  determined  to  confess.  The  lots  cast 
for  spokesman  elected  Dan  Murphy,  but  it  was  agreed 
that  all  should  be  present  to  give  him  their  moral 
support.  Dan  opened  the  interview  by  carelessly  in- 
quiring who  owned  all  those  calves  that  they  had  en- 
countered coming  down  the  river.  St.  Clair  said  he 
guessed  they  all  belonged  to  him.  "Well,"  said  Dan, 
"there's  a  good  bunch  of  them.  What  are  calves 
about  three  months  old  worth  in  this  country?"  St. 
Clair  told  him.  "Well,"  resumed  Dan,  "we  killed 
some  of  them  to  eat,  and  we  haven't  got  any  money 
to  pay  you  now,  but  if  you  will  let  us  work  out  the 
price  we  will  be  very  much  obliged."  The  earnest- 
ness of  the  boys  amused  Mr.  St.  Clair  very  much,  and 
when  he  told  them  that  they  were  welcome  to  the 
calves  they  had  killed,  and  as  many  more  as  they 
wanted  to  eat,  they  retired  from  the  interview  with  a 
gseat  load  lifted  from  their  consciences. 

From  St.  Clair's  they  went  down  to  Sutter's,  arriv- 
ing there  about  the  same  time  that  the  men  from  the 
wagons  got  in.  Here  they  found  great  excitement. 
Micheltorena  had  been  appointed  by  the  Mexican 
Government  as  Governor  of  California,  with  both 
civil  and  military  authority.  The  former  officials, 
Alvarado  and  Vallejo,  had  resolved  to  resist  his 
authority,  and  had  joined  with  them  General  Castro. 
The  native  Californians  were  very  jealous  of  the  for- 
eigners, especially  the  immigrants  from  the  United 
States.  Taking  advantage  of  this  feeling,  the  revolu- 
tionists had  roused  the  country  and  collected  quite  a 
formidable  army.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  in- 
tention of  the  leaders,  it  was  openly  talked  by  the 
rank  and  file,  that,  after  they  had  settled  their  difficulty 
with  Micheltorena,  they  would  drive  the  foreigners 
from  the  country.  The  Murphy  party  had  not  come 
two  thousand  miles  across  desert.s  and  mountains  to 


be  driven  back  into  the  hills  without  an  effort  in  their 
own  defense,  and  without  hesitation  they  joined  a 
company  that  Captain  Suiter  was  raising  for  the  as- 
sistance of  Micheltorena,  who  held  the  legal  com- 
mission as  Governor  of  California.  With  this  com- 
pany they  went  South,  doing  good  service  in  the  cam- 
paign as  far  as  Santa  Barbara.  Here,  there  being  no 
further  need  of  their  services,  they  started  to  return 
to  their  women  and  children,  whom  they  had  left  with 
the  wagons  on  the  Yuba. 

Here  was  another  instance  of  the  indomitable  cour- 
age of  these  men.  The  whole  country  had  been  roused 
against  Micheltorena  and  the  foreigners,  and  here  was 
a  handful  of  these  same  foreigners  who  had  been  ar- 
rayed against  them  in  every  movement  from  the  Sacra- 
mento to  Santa  Barbara,  now  returning  alone  through 
this  hostile  country  with  no  protection  but  their  trusty 
rifles.  The  boldness  of  the  act  was  only  equaled  by 
the  skill  which  enabled  them  to  make  the  return 
journey  without  firing  a  hostile  gun.  It  seems  as  if 
the  hand  of  Providence  had  upheld  them  through  all 
their  tribulations  and  dangers,  and  preserved  them  for 
some  great  destiny. 

They  arrived  at  the  wagons  about  the  same  time 
that  Schallenberger  was  rescued  by  Dennis  Martin 
from  his  perilous  situation  in  the  cabin  by  Donner 
Lake.  About  the  time  Schallenberger  joined  the 
wagons,  with  Martin,  a  man  named  Neil,  who  had 
been  sent  by  Captain  Sutter,  with  a  supply  of  provis- 
ions and  horses,  arrived  at  the  camp.  The  emigrants 
now  were  in  a  very  cheerful  frame  of  mind,  being 
only  one  day's  march  from  the  plains,  and  the  end  of 
their  year's  journey  in  sight.  The  next  day  they 
pushed  on,  all  mounted,  some  with  saddles,  some 
with  pack-saddles,  and  some  bare-back,  and  that  night 
camped  at  the  edge  of  the  valley,  on  the  banks  of 
Bear  River.  This  was  the  first  of  March,  just  one 
year  from  tlie  time  they  left  Missouri.  They  found 
Bear  River  full  and  still  rising,  from  the  melting  snow 
in  the  mountains  and  the  heavy  rainfall  of  the  season. 
There  was  no  bridge  or  ferry,  and  an  attempt  was 
made  to  find  a  tree  of  sufficient  length  to  reach  across, 
but  in  vain.  In  this  search  for  a  tree  Mr.  Neil,  who 
had  gone  down  the  stream,  was  cut  off  from  the  main- 
land by  the  rapidly  rising  waters,  leaving  him  on  a 
little  island,  which  was  soon  submerged,  and  as  he 
could  not  swim,  he  was  compelled  to  climb  a  tree. 
His  cries  for  help  finally  reached  the  ears  of  those  in 
camp,  and  Schallenberger  and  John  Murphy,  each 
mounting  a  horse  and  leading  a  third  one,  swam  into 
the  foamingtorrent  ^nd  brought  him  safely  to  the  shore, 


PEN  PIOTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


53 


Again  the  affairs  of  the  emigrants  began  to  assume 
a  gloomy  aspect.  Bear  River  had  overrun  its  banks 
until  it  was  ten  miles  wide.  The  small  supply  of 
provisions  sent  in  by  Captain  Sutter  had  been  ex- 
hausted. Two  deer  had  been  killed,  but  this  afforded 
scarcely  a  mouthful  each  to  so  large  a  party.  There 
was  no  direction  in  which  the}-  could  move  except  to 
return  to  the  hills,  and  this  would  only  be  making 
their  condition  worse.  Three  days  passed  with  no 
food.  They  could  hear  the  lowing  of  the  cattle  across 
the  river,  and  now  and  then  could  discern  the  grace- 
ful forms  of  herds  of  antelope  on  the  other  side  of 
the  water.  Mr.  Schallenberger  relates  an  incident 
that  occurred  at  this  time.  The  Hon.  B.  D.  Murphy 
was  then  a  little  chap  only  four  years  old.  As  Schal- 
lenberger was  sitting  on  a  wagon-tongue,  whittling  a 
stick  and  meditating  on  the  hollowness  of  all  earthly 
things,  and  especially  of  the  human  stomach,  little 
Barney  approached  him  and  asked  if  he  would  lend 
him  his  knife.  "Certainly,"  replied  Schallenberger, 
"but  what  do  you  want  to  do  with  it?"  "  I  want  to 
make  a  toothpick,"  said  Barney.  The  idea  of  needing 
a  toothpick  when  none  of  the  party  had  tasted  food  for 
three  days  was  so  ridiculous  that  Schallenberger  for- 
got the  emptiness  of  his  stomach  and  laughed  heartily. 

There  was  a  large  band  of  wild  horses  belonging 
to  Captain  Sutter,  which  were  ranging  in  the  foot-hills 
on  that  side  of  the  river  where  the  emigrants'  camp 
was  located.  The  question  of  killing  one  of  these 
had  been  seriously  discussed.  The  proposition  had 
been  earnestly  opposed  by  Martin  Murphy,  who  had 
declared  that  it  was  not  food  fit  for  human  beings, 
and  that  although  in  the  last  stages  of  starvation  his 
stomach  would  revolt  at  such  diet.  The  respect  that 
the  young  men  had  for  Mr.  Murphy  restrained  them 
from  committing  equicide  for  some  time.  But  at  last 
it  became  a  question  of  horse  meat  or  starvation. 

One  morning  Mr.  Murphy  rode  back  over  the  trail 
to  see  if  he  could  find  any  trace  of  an  ox  that  they 
had  lost  on  the  march,  while  Schallenberger  and 
Dennis  Martin  went  hunting  for  something  to  eat. 
Returning  empty  handed,  it  was  decided  to  kill  a 
horse.  Accordingly,  Neil  drove  the  band  as  near 
camp  as  possible,  and  Schallenberger  shot  a  fine,  fat 
two-year  old  filly.  Mr.  Murphy  did  not  arrive  until 
the  meat  had  been  dressed  and  was  roasting  before 
the  fire.  He  had  been  unsuccessful  in  his  search  and 
was  delighted  to  find  that  the  boys  had  succeeded. 
With  his  face  glowing  with  pleasure  in  anticipation  of 
the  feast,  he  inquired,  "Who  killed  the  heifer?"  The 
party  pointed  to    Schallenberger,  and    Mr,    Murphy, 


patting  him  on  the  shoulder,  exclaimed:  "Good  boy, 
good  boy,  but  for  you  we  might  all  have  starved!" 
When  the  meat  was  cooked  he  ate  of  it,  eloquently 
praising  its  juicy  tenderness  and  fine  flavor,  which,  he 
said,  surpassed  any  meat  he  had  ever  tasted.  About 
the  time  he  had  satisfied  his  appetite,  his  brother- 
in-law,  James  Miller,  drew  out  the  filly's  mane  from 
behind  a  log,  exhibited  it  to  Mr.  Murphy,  and  asked 
him  to  see  what  queer  horns  they  had  taken  from  the 
heifer  of  which  he  had  just  been  eating  so  heartily. 
Mr.  Murphy's  stomach  immediately  rebelled,  and  he 
returned  to  the  ground  the  dinner  which  he  had  eaten 
with  so  much  relish,  saying,  when  he  had  recovered 
from  his  paroxysm,  that  he  thought  he  had  detected  a 
peculiarly  bad  taste  about  that  meat.  He  never,  by 
any  artifice,  could  be  induced  to  taste  horse  flesh 
again. 

Soon  after  this,  the  waters  receded  sufficiently  to 
allow  the  party  to  reach  Feather  River,  where,  near 
Hick's  Farm,  Captain  Sutter  had  prepared  a  boat  to 
ferry  them  across.  Here  the  vaqueros  brought  them 
a  fine  fat  cow,  and,  for  the  first  time  in  many  months, 
they  had  what  Schallenberger  called  a  "good  square 
meal." 

Our  pilgrims  had  reached  the  promised  land. 
Their  enduring  faith  had  been  lost  in  sight,  and  their 
hopes  had  ended  in  fruition.  The  old  patriarch  had 
gathered  his  flock  around  him  in  the  shadow  of  the 
Cross,  in  a  country  through  the  length  and  breadth 
of  which  the  name  of  his  family  was  destined  to  be- 
come a  household  word,  and  in  the  development  and 
history  of  which  they  were  to  become  prominent.  Of 
all  the  property  with  which  they  started,  little  was  left 
on  their  arrival  in  California.  As  Mrs.  James  Murphy 
said  to  the  writer,  "  We  brought  very  little  property 
with  us,  but  we  did  bring  a  good  many  days'  work." 

After  a  short  rest  at  Sutter's  Fort,  the  party  sepa- 
rated, each  to  seek  a  location  and  to  plant  his  roof  tree 
in  his  adopted  land. 


Mr.  Martin  Murphy,  Sr.,  with  the  unmarried 
portion  of  his  family,  which  consisted  of  his  three  sons, 
Bernard,  John,  and  Daniel,  and  his  daughters,  Ellen, 
Margaret,  and  Joanna,  came  to  Santa  Clara  County 
and  purchased  the  Rancho  Ojo  de  Agua  de  la  Coche, 
situated  on  the  Monterey  road,  south  of  San  Jose,  near 
what  has  since  been  known  as  the  Twenty-one  Mile 
House.  Here  he  lived  for  many  years,  loved  and  re- 
spected by  all  who  knew  him.  Coming  daily  in  con- 
tact with  the  native  Californians,  he  commanded  their 
good-will  and  respect,  in  spite  of  their  natural  jeal- 


54 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


ousy  and  hatred  of  the  foreigners.  In  grateful  re- 
membrance of  the  power  which  had  safely  led  him  by 
land  and  sea,  through  so  many  perils,  to  this  haven  of 
rest,  he  built  a  beautiful  chapel  on  his  ranch,  which, 
in  honor  of  his  patron  saint,  he  named  San  Martin. 
His  house  was  located  on  the  then  most  traveled 
road  in  California,  and  he  always  held  its  door  wide 
open  to  the  wayfarer.  His  liberal  hospitality,  his 
charity,  his  piety,  his  inflexible  integrity,  and  his  warm 
heart  and  sympathizing  disposition,  compelled  the 
friendship  of  all  who  knew  him,  and  when  he  died  there 
was  grief  throughout  the  State.  Courts  adjourned, 
and  business  was  suspended,  while  from  every  direc- 
tion people  gathered  to  assist  in  the  last  sad  rites  of  the 
patriarch  and  pioneer.  For  the  last  few  years  of  his 
life  he  had  retired  from  active  business,  making  his 
home  at  San  Francisco,  and  paying  periodical  visits 
to  the  different  members  of  his  family.  When  death 
overtook  him,  which  was  on  March  i6,  1865,  he  was 
at  the  house  of  his  daughter,  Margaret  Kell,  near  San 
Jose. 


Martin  Murphv,  Jr.,  the  eldest  son  of  Martin 
Murphy,  located,  after  the  emigrant  party  broke  up  at 
Sutter's,  on  the  Cosumne  River,  in  what  is  now  Sacra- 
mento County.  His  family  consisted  of  seven  chil- 
dren, as  follows:  James,  Martin,  Patrick  Washington, 
Bernard  Daniel,  Elizabeth,  Mary  Ann,  and  Ellen. 
Here  he  purchased  four  leagues  of  land  and  erected 
a  house.  About  the  first  thing  he  did  after  taking 
possession  of  his  new  home,  was  to  look  around  for  a 
school-teacher.  This  he  found  in  the  person  of  one 
Patrick  O'Brien,  an  educated  man,  who,  having  be- 
come reduced  in  circumstances,  had  joined  the  army. 
He  came  across  the  mountains  with  Fremont  and 
probably  deserted.  While  engaged  in  teaching  at 
Murphy's,  General  Sherman,  then  a  lieutenant,  ar- 
rested him  and  took  him  away.  We  understand, 
however,  that  he  was  finally  released.  This  was  the 
first  school  ever  held  in  Sacramento  County.  At 
this  place  their  daughter  Mary, afterward  Mrs.  Richard 
T.  Carrol,  of  San  Francisco,  was  born.  The  land 
which  Mr.  Murphy  had  purchased  in  Sacramento 
County  was  very  fertile,  but,  desiring  to  live  near  his 
people,  he  removed  to  this  county,  and  purchased  the 
Rancho  Pastoria  de  las  Borregas,  near  Mountain 
View,  containing  four  thousand  eight  hundred  acres. 
While  awaiting  the  building  of  a  house  on  the  new 
homestead,  the  family  took  up  its  residence  in  San 
Jose,  occupying  a  house  opposite  where  the  convent 
now  stands,  which  was  owned  by  Mariano  Hernandez. 


They  were  living  here  when  Hernandez  made  his 
remarkable  escape,  as  is  elsewhere  reported  in  this 
history.  The  first  intimation  the  family  had  of  this 
event  was  the  visit  of  the  officers  to  search  the  house. 
The  John  Foster  whom  Hernandez  was  accused  of 
murdering  was  a  brother  of  the  Joseph  Foster  who 
crossed  the  plains  with  the  Murphy  party. 

The  Rancho  Pastoria  de  las  Borregas  became  the 
permanent  home  of  Martin  Murphy,  and  here  he, 
with  his  estimable  wife,  reared  their  large  family. 
Here  was  born  James  T.  Murphy,  their  youngest 
child.  The  mantle  of  Martin  Murphy,  Sr.,  had  de- 
scended on  his  oldest  son,  and  all  the  traits  which 
characterized  the  founder  of  the  family  seemed  de- 
veloped in  a  greater  degree,  if  that  were  possible,  in 
the  son.  His  strict  integrity,  devout  piety,  kind  and 
gentle  disposition,  liberal  hospitality,  united  with  a 
firmness  of  character,  all  combined  to  give  him  a 
place  in  the  affection  and  respect  of  the  people  that 
no  one  has  ever  since  been  able  to  command.  His 
wife  was  a  worthy  companion  for  such  a  man.  Shar- 
ing all  his  trials,  she  lessened  them,  and  partaking  of 
his  joys,  she  doubled  them;  and  together  they  have 
impressed  their  character  upon  their  children  to  such 
a  degree  that  they  have  made  them  worthy  to  suc- 
ceed them.  Language  can  accord  no  higher  praise 
than  this.  These  people  also  imprinted  their  individ- 
uality on  their  material  surroundings  to  such  an 
extent  that  the  homestead  soon  forgot  its  old  Span- 
ish name  and  became  known  throughout  the  country 
as  the  "Murphy  Ranch."  Their  efforts  were  pros- 
pered to  an  eminent  degree,  and  although  they  ac- 
quired vast  domains  in  several  other  counties,  they 
never  abandoned  the  first  home  which  they  had 
erected  in  Santa  Clara  County.  The  facilities  afforded 
by  the  schools  and  colleges  of  the  Catholic  Fathers 
and  Sisters,  enabled  them  to  see  their  children 
educated  in  all  the  higher  branches,  and  to  become 
cultured  men  and  women,  with  ability  and  disposition 
to  carry  the  honored  family  name  untarnished  to 
future  generations. 

As  the  desire  for  religious  and  educational  facilities 
was  the  controlling  sentiment  that  induced  the  Mur- 
phys  to  cross  the  wilderness,  it  was  also  the  main- 
spring of  their  actions  after  arriving  at  their  destina- 
tion. To  Martin  Murphy  was  due  the  establishment 
of  the  College  of  Notre  Dame  in  this  county.  A 
number  of  the  Sisters  had  established  a  school  in  the 
Willamette  Valley,  in  Oregon.  In  1851,  four  Sisters 
from  Cincinnati  started  to  join  this  religious  colonj', 
and    Sister  Loyola  and  Sister  Mary  came  down  from 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


55 


Oregon  to  San  Francisco  to  meet  them.  While 
waiting  for  the  arrival  of  the  vessel  from  Panama^ 
they  accepted  the  invitation  of  Mr.  Murphy  to  visit 
his  family  at  Mountain  View.  During  this  visit  they 
called  at  Santa  Clara  and  San  Jose,  and  determined 
to  establish  an  institution  here.  The  College  of 
Notre  Dame  is  the  result  of  this  determination. 

On  the  1 8th  of  July,  1881,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Murphy 
celebrated  their  "  golden  wedding  "  at  the  homestead 
at  Mountain  View.  This  event  will  be  a  landmark 
in  the  history  of  the  county.  About  fifteen  thousand 
people  were  present,  including  the  most  distinguished 
men  of  the  State.  People  came  hundreds  of  miles  to 
offer  their  congratulations.  They  were  all  entertained 
in  princely  style  beneath  the  shade  of  the  noble  live- 
oaks  on  the  lawn.  Hundreds  of  the  best  animals 
from  the  immense  herds  were  slaughtered  for  the 
feast,  while  the  choicest  vintages  of  France  and  Cali- 
fornia were  represented  in  limitless  abundance.  The 
virtues  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Murphy  were  celebrated  in 
song  and  in  story,  the  most  eminent  men  of  the  com- 
monwealth leaving  their  business  to  lay  their  tiibute 
of  respect  at  the  feet  of  these  pioneers. 

Soon  after  this  event,  Mr.  Murphy's  health  began 
to  fail,  and  three  years  later,  October  20,  1884,  he 
died,  full  of  years  and  of  honor. 


James  MuRriiv,  the  second  son  of  Martin  Murphy, 
Sr.,  was  born  in  County  Wexford,  Ireland,  September 
19,  1809,  and  was  eleven  years  of  age  when  his 
father  removed  to  Canada.  At  that  time  he  was  a 
bright,  intelligent  boy,  with  stout  muscles  and  an 
active  brain.  He  was  of  great  assistance  to  his  father 
in  establishing  their  new  home,  where  he  remained 
until  he  attained  man's  estate.  He  early  developed 
a  taste  for  the  lumber  business,  and  when  twenty-four 
years  of  age,  made  a  journey  to  Maine  in  this  interest. 
He  remained  there  but  a  short  time,  however,  soon 
returning  to  Canada,  where  he  went  into  business  for 
himself,  which  he  conducted  successfully  for  nine 
years.  During  this  time  he  met  Miss  Ann  Martin,  a 
beautiful  and  intelligent  young  lady,  who  had  come 
over  from  Ireland  in  1829,  with  her  parents,  and 
settled  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Murphys,  who  had 
preceded  them  about  eight  years.  Miss  Martin  was 
born  at  Thomastown,  in  King's  County.  She  was 
only  seven  years  of  age  when  her  parents  came  to 
America,  and  therefore  her  husband  was  acquainted 
with  her  from  childhood,  and  knew  her  many  sterling 
qualities.  Two  children  were  born  to  them  in  Canada^ 
the  eldest   being  a  son,  whom  they  named    Martin, 


from  his  grandfather,  and  who  died  while  still  in 
Canada.  The  other  child  was  a  daughter,  whom 
they  named  Mary,  and  who  afterwards  married  B.  S. 
Machado,  and  is  now  living  near  Gilroy,  in  Santa 
Clara  County.  In  1842  Mr.  Murphy,  with  his  brother 
Martin,  joined  the  other  members  of  the  Murphy 
family  in  Holt  County,  Missouri,  on  the  Platte  Pur- 
chase, as  it  was  then  called.  The  history  of  this 
journey  will  be  found  in  the  general  history  of  the 
Murphy  family.  During  their  residence  in  Missouri, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  visited  the  lumber  regions 
in  the  vicinity  of  St.  Joseph,  where  he  was  engaged 
in  business  for  a  short  time.  He  accompanied  the 
family  in  their  memorable  journey  through  the  wilder- 
ness to  California,  and  took  his  full  share  of  the  trials 
and  dangers  of  that  historic  expedition.  After  arriv- 
ing in  California,  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  offer  his 
services  in  defense  of  the  Government  in  the  Michel- 
torena  war.  After  the  battle  of  Chauvenga  he  re- 
turned to  Sutter's  and  then  chose  a  location  for  his 
family  in  Marin  County.  Here  he  engaged  in  the 
lumber  business  and  furnished  the  timbers  for  Leides- 
dorff  wharf,  the  first  wharf  built  in  San  Francisco, 
then  Verba  Buena. 

On  the  discovery  of  gold  every  person  who  could 
get  there,  went  to  the  mines,  leaving  the  fields  unfilled 
and  the  mills  idle.  Not  being  able  to  procure  labor, 
Mr.  Murphy's  lumber  operations  came  to  a  halt.  Not 
desiring  to  remain  idle,  he  determined  to  go  to  the 
gold  fields.  He  visited  Sutter's  Mill,  where  gold  was 
first  discovered,  and  from  there  to  Placerville,  then 
called  "Hangtown,"  and  visited  all  the  diggings  in 
that  vicinity.  He  came  to  the  conclusion  that,  for  a 
man  who  had  a  family,  mining  was  too  precarious  a 
business.  Therefore,  in  the  fall  of  1848,  he  came  to 
Santa  Clara,  and,  with  his  brother  Daniel,  purchased 
the  Rancho  de  las  Llagas,  near  Gilroy.  He  remained 
here,  prospering  by  agricultural  pursuits,  until  after 
the  survey  of  the  famous  five-hundred-acre  lots.  He 
purchased  a  number  of  these  lots,  lying  north  of  San 
Jose,  and,  having  built  a  house  for  his  family,  took 
possession  of  his  new  home  in  1849.  Here  he  lived 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  January  13,  1878. 

The  "Ringwood  Farm,"  the  homestead  of  James 
Murphy,  is  one  of  the  landmarks  of  Santa  Clara 
County.  From  the  time  he  took  possession  of  it  in 
1849,  it  was  carefully  and  intelligently  tilled,  and  not- 
withstanding the  open-handed  liberality  of  its  owner, 
was  very  profitable.  In  1872  he  erected  a  magnifi- 
cent mansion  at  a  cost  of  forty  thousand  dollars,  and 
surrounded  it  witli    beautiful    ground--.     He  planted 


56 


PEN  PICTURES  FRO 31  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


one  of  the  first  olive  orchards  in  the  county,  and  dem- 
onstrated that  this  valuable  fruit  could  be  profitably 
grown  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley.  At  the  time  of  his 
death,  he  had  accumulated  property  valued  at  about 
$300,000.  His  death  was  much  regretted  by  the  en- 
tire community,  which  followed  him  as  mourners  to 
his  last  resting-place.  His  widow,  a  bright  and  intel- 
ligent lady  of  seventy-six  years,  still  occupies  the 
homestead,  which  is  managed  by  the  youngest  son, 
Daniel  J,  a  worthy  son  of  a  good  father.  They  have 
had  nine  children,  as  follows:  Martin,  born  and  died 
in  Canada;  Mary  F.,  born  in  Canada,  February  4, 
1842;  Martin  D.,  born  at  Sutter's  Fort,  February  6, 
1845  ;  Helen  E.,  born  at  Corte  Madera,  December  18, 
1847,  deceased.  The  other  children  were  born  af 
Ringwood  Farm,  and  are:  Wm  B.,  August  21,  1850; 
Lizzie  A,  July  8,  1853;  Julia  A,  January  6,  1853; 
Helen,  April  18,  i860,  died  in  infancy;  Daniel  J.,  April 
25,  1861. 


Bernard  Murphy,  son  of  Martin  Murphy,  Sr., 
came  to  Santa  Clara  County  with  his  father,  and  lived 
with  him  on  the  ranch  near  the  Twenty-one  Mile 
House,  until  he  married.  His  wife  was  Miss  Catherine 
O'Toole,  who  afterwards  married  James  Dunne.  They 
had  one  child,  Martin  J.  C.  Murphy,  a  bright  young 
man  whose  early  years  gave  promise  of  an  illustrious 
career.  He,  however,  was  attacked  by  disease  in  the 
midst  of  his  studies,  and  died  .at  Washington,  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  in  1872.  His  father,  Bernard,  was 
killed  in  the  fatal  explosion  of  the  steamer/^«;y  Li/id, 
in  1853. 


John  M.  Murphy,  son  of  Martin  Murphy,  Sr., 
soon  after  settling  in  this  county,  with  his  father, 
entered  the  store  of  Chas.  M.  Weber,  in  San  Jose.  At 
the  discovery  of  gold,  he  went  to  the  mines,  taking 
with  him  a  stock  of  goods.  He  employed  the  Indians 
to  prospect  and  dig  for  him,  and  probably  has  had 
more  gold  in  his  possession  than  any  other  miner  on 
the  Pacific  Coast.  He  was  the  first  treasurer  of 
Santa  Clara  County,  and  was  afterwards  elected  re- 
corder and  then  sheriff.  In  later  years  he  was  en- 
gaged in  mercantile  business,  which  he  followed  until 
failing  health  compelled  him  to  retire.  His  wife  is 
Virginia  F.  Reed,  daughter  of  James  F.  Reed,  and  one 
of  thfe  ill-fated  Donner  party. 


Daniel  Murphy  settled  with  his  father  on  the 
ranch  at  the  Twenty-one  Mile  House.  He,  with  his 
brother  Bernard,  bought  other  property,  and   at  the 


time  of  his  death  he  owned  large  landed  estates  in 
California,  Nevada,  and  Mexico.  His  rancho  in  Du- 
rango  comprised  some  million  and  a  half  acres,  and 
included  the  mountain  of  magnetic  iron  made  famous 
by  the  report  of  Alex.  Von  Humboldt.  He  devoted 
nearly  his  entire  life  to  the  cattle  business,  his  herds 
numbering  thousands  of  head.  He  died  October  22, 
1S82. 


Ellen  Murphy  married  Chas  M.  Weber,  of  San 
Jose,  afterwards  of  Stockton. 


James  Miller  and  his  wife  (Mary  Murphy)  set- 
tled in  Marin  County,  where  they  became  prominent 
citizens. 

Sketches  of  the  younger  generations  of  the  Murphy 
family  will  be  found  in  other  pages. 


MoSES  SCHALLENBERGER  was  born  in  Stark 
County,  Ohio,  November  9,  1826.  He  was  a  son  of 
Jacob  and  Barbara  Schallenberger,  who  were  emi- 
grants from  Germany,  his  father  being  of  Swiss  and 
his  mother  of  German  birth.  They  both  died  in 
Stark  County,  when  Moses  was  but  six  years  of  age, 
and  he  was  taken  into  the  family  of  Dr.  Townsend, 
who  had  married  his  sister.  It  was  with  them  that 
he  made  the  famous  journey  across  the  plains,  as  above 
related.  Dr.  Townsend  was  induced  to  undertake 
the  journey  to  California  by  the  ill  health  of  his  wife. 
At  that  time  they  were  living  in  Buchanan  County, 
Missouri,  as  was  Mr.  Montgomery,  another  of  the 
party.  Montgomery  was  a  gunsmith,  and,  during  the 
winter  of  1842-43  made  a  quantity  of  guns  and  pistols, 
ox  shoes,  and  also  fixed  up  the  wagons,  and  did  every- 
thing in  the  way  of  iron-work  necessary  to  furnish  a 
complete  outfit  for  the  trip.  They  had  intended  to 
start  early  in  the  spring  of  1843,  but  a  Mr.  Potter, 
who  had  an  interest  in  the  expedition,  dying  unex- 
pectedly, the  start  was  delayed  until  the  next  year. 
They  spent  this  time  in  perfecting  their  arrangements, 
among  which  was  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Montgomery  to 
a  young  lady,  Miss  Armstrong,  who  was  living  at  Dr. 
Townsend's.  About  the  first  of  March  they  arrived 
at  the  rendezvous  at  Nisnabotna,  where  they  were 
joined  by  the  Murphy  party.  To  Mr.  Schallen- 
berger we  are  indebted  for  the  facts  concerning  this 
historic  journey  which  we  have  given  above.  Of  these 
first  wagons  that  made  tracks  in  California,  Mr. 
Schallenberger  has  in  his  possession  a  wheel,  which  he 
guards  as  a  precious  relic.  Mr.  Schallenberger's  first 
employment  in  California  was  in  the  mercantile  es- 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD" 


57 


tablishment  of  Larkin  and  Greene  at  Monterey,  where 
he  remained  until  the  termination  of  the  Mexican 
War.  The  firm  was  largely  engaged  in  furnishing 
supplies  to  the  United  States  navy,  and  Mr.  Schallen- 
berger's  duties  consisted  in  procuring  these  supplies 
from  the  country,  and  superintending  their  delivery. 
In  July,  184S,  furnished  with  an  invoice  of  goods  by 
the  firm,  he  made  a  successful  venture  on  his  own  ac- 
count in  the  mines  on  Yuba  River.  Later  he  enga;4ed 
with  James  H.  Gleason  as  a  partner  in  trade  in  Mexi- 
can goods  at  Monterey,  which  he  closed  in  Decem- 
ber, 1850,  when  the  death  of  his  brother-in-law,  Dr. 
Townsend,  necessitated  his  coming  to  San  Jose  to 
manage  his  estate.  The  same  fatherly  care  that  he 
had  received  from  the  doctor  was,  in  return,  bestowed 
by  him  on  the  doctor's  only  child,  John  H.  M.  Town- 
send.  He  was  married  September  20,  1854,  to  Miss 
Fannie  Everitt,  at  the  residence  of  Thomas  Selby,  in 
San  Francisco.  Mrs.  Schallenberger  is  a  native  of 
Alabama,  born  in  1834.  Her  father,  John  Everitt,  was 
for  six  years  judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  at 
Mobile,  and  his  ability  as  a  lawyer  and  fairness  as  a 
judge,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  no  decision  of  his 
was  ever  reversed.  Mrs.  Schallenberger  came  to  San 
Francisco  in  1852,  with  her  brother-in-law,  Mr.  S.  L. 
Jones.  The  young  couple  set  up  housekeeping  on 
Dr.  Townsend's  estate,  but  a  year  later  they  moved 
to  the  homestead,  on  the  Coyote  River,  two  miles 
north  of  San  Jose,  where  they  have  lived  ever  since. 
The  house  they  first  erected  was  burned  in  1870,  but 
was  immediately  replaced  by  one  more  adapted  to 
their  prosperous  circumstances,  and  in  keeping  with 
the  progress  of  the  country.  Their  present  home  is 
large,  convenient,  and  substantial,  and  is  surrounded 
with  beautiful  grounds,  ornamented  with  choice  shrub- 
bery and  flowers.  The  house  was  erected  at  a  cost  of 
$13,000.  The  farm  consists  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen 
acres  of  fertile  sediment  land,  devoted  to  the  pro- 
duction of  fruit  and  vegetables.  Mr.  Schallenberger 
was  one  of  the  early  horticulturists,  having  planted 
ten  acres  to  orchard  in  1858.  They  have  had  five 
children,  viz.:  Louise,  wife  of  Thomas  Montgomery, 
San  Jose;  Margaret  E.,  a  teacher  in  the  State  Normal 
School;  Lloyd  E.,  in  business  with  his  uncle,  S.  L. 
Jones,  at  San  Francisco;  Fanny,  a  student  at  the 
State  Normal  School,  and  Milton  P.  Mr.  Schallen- 
berger is  a  member  of  the  Santa  Clara  County  Pioneer 
Society,  by  which  association  he  is  held  in  the  highest 
regard,  both  on  account  of  his  trials  in  the  early  days, 
and  his  character  as  a  citizen. 
8 


Dr.  John  Townsend. — No  historyof  the  American 
pioneers  of  California  could  well  be  written  without 
mention  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  A  thoroughly 
educated  physician,  a  man  prominent  in  every  com- 
munity in  which  he  ever  had  lived,  who,  had  he  so 
chosen,  could  have  settled  anywhere  in  the  old  States, 
and  won  renown  and  fortune, — he  was,  notwithstand- 
ing, possessed  of  that  spirit  of  adventure  which  con- 
tinuously led  him  westward  in  search  of  new  fields  to 
conquer.  He  was  born  in  Fayette  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania, a  county  unequaled  in  that  State,  and  perhaps 
in  any  other,  in  the  number  of  men  which  it  pro- 
duced and  sent  out  to  subdue  the  wildness  of  the 
Northwest  and  of  the  Pacific  Coast.  His  father, 
John  F.  Townsend,  was  from  England,  and  was  one 
of  the  pioneers  of  Fayette  County.  Dr.  Townsend 
received  his  first  degree  in  medicine  at  Lexington 
Medical  College.  He  successfully  and  successively 
practiced  in  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana, and  Missouri, 
marrying  in  Stark  County,  Ohio,  in  1832,  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Louise  Schallenberger,  a  sister  of  Moses  Schallen- 
berger, whose  history  appears  in  this  connection.  In 
the  pioneer  party  of  1844  from  Missouri,  which  did  so 
much  in  opening  to  the  world  this  grand  valley.  Dr. 
Townsend  was  one  of  the  master  spirits.  He  was 
one  of  the  first  Alcaldes  of  San  Francisco,  and  for 
two  years  before  coming  to  this  county  (which  he  did 
in  1849)  he  held  the  scales  of  justice  so  evenly  as  to 
cause  him  to  be  ever  remembered  for  his  judicial  in- 
tegrity. Upon  removing  to  Santa  Clara  Valley,  he 
established  his  home  in  an  adobe  house,  on  what  is 
now  the  Milpitas  road,  two  miles  from  San  Jose. 
There  he  commenced  the  improvement  of  one  hun- 
dred and  ninety-five  acres  of  land,  intending  to  live 
the  life  of  a  quiet  agriculturist,  avoiding  the  turmoil 
of  the  city,  and  the  cares  of  a  professional  life,  but  the 
All-ruling  Power  decreed  otherwise,  both  himself  and 
his  wife  dying  of  cholera  in  1850.  Their  pioneer 
homestead  property  is  now  owned  by  their  son  and 
only  child,  John  H.  M.  Townsend,  who  was  born  in 
San  Francisco,  November  26,  1848,  and  in  his  or- 
phaned infancy  and  youth  was  cared  for  by  his  guard- 
ian and  uncle — Moses  Schallenberger.  He  spent  the 
greater  part  of  his  school  life  in  attendance  upon 
Santa  Clara  College,  going  to  England  when  sixteen 
years  of  age.  He  there  studied  two  years  under 
private  tutorship.  Later,  he  was  two  years  a  student 
at  Cambridge  University.  He  married  Miss  Kate 
M.  A.  Chisholm  at  Cambridge,  in  1872.  They  have 
four  children — Eva,  Ethel,  Arthur,  and  Maude.  Pub- 
lic-spirited and  enterprising,  Mr.  Townsend  is  one  of 


58 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


Santa  Clara  County's  representative  men.  He  served 
in  the  Assembly  of  the  State  of  1883  and  1884,  being 
elected  on  the  Democratic  ticket.  He  has  also  held 
local  trusts,  and  has  served  on  the  County  Board  of 
Supervisors,  being  elected  in  1877.  He  is  actively  in- 
terested in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley  Agricultural  So- 
ciety, and  has  served  several  years  as  director  of  that 
organization.  The  family  residence,  shaded  and  sur- 
rounded by  beautiful  grounds,  is  located  near  the 
crossing  of  the  Coyote  Creek  by  the  Milpitas  road. 

Those  who  came  to  this  county  in  1845,  as  far  as 
can  be  learned,  were  Frank  Lightston,  J.  Washburn, 
William  O'Connor,  William  C.  Wilson,  John  Dau- 
benbiss,  and  James  Stokes.  In  the  following  year, 
1846,  the  survivors  of  the  Donner  party  arrived,  sev- 
eral of  whom  became  residents  of  this  county.  The 
fearful  sufferings  of  these  people  make  a  story  of  hor- 
rors almost  unparalleled  in  history.  So  terrible  was 
their  experience  that  it  has  been  almost  impossible  to 
induce  the  survivors  to  recount  it,  the  remembrance 
seeming  to  haunt  their  entire  lives  like  a  hideous 
specter.  Mr.  James  F.  Reed,  the  original  leader  of 
the  party,  and  afterwards,  until  his  death,  a  prominent 
and  esteemed  citizen  of  San  Jose,  in  his  last  years 
gave  his  story  to  the  public,  and  from  it  we  quote: — 

"  I  left  Springfield  with  my  family  about  the  middle 
of  April,  1846.  We  arrived  at  Independence,  Mis- 
souri, where  I  loaded  two  of  my  wagons  with  jaro- 
visions,  a  third  one  being  reserved  for  my  family. 
Col.  W.  H.  Russell's  family  had  started  from  here 
before  our  arrival.  We  followed  and  overtook  them 
in  the  Indian  Territory.  I  made  application  for  the 
admission  of  myself  and  others  into  the  company, 
which  was  granted.  We  traveled  on  with  the  company 
as  far  as  the  Little  Sandy,  and  here  a  separation  took 
place,  the  majority  of  the  members  going  to  Oregon, 
and  a  few  wagons,  mine  with  them,  going  the  Fort 
Bridger,  or  Salt  Lake  route  for  California.  The  day 
after  our  separation  from  the  Russell  Company,  we 
elected  George  Donner  as  captain,  and  from  this  time 
the  company  was  known  as  the  '  Donner  party.'  Ar- 
riving at  Fort  Bridger  I  added  one  yoke  of  cattle  to 
my  teams,  staying  here  four  days.  Several  friends  of 
mine  who  had  passed  here  with  pack-animals  for 
California,  had  left  letters  with  Mr.  Vasquez,  Mr. 
Bridger's  partner,  directing  me  to  take  the  route  by 
way  of  Fort  Hall,  and  by  no  means  to  take  the  Hast- 
ing's  cut-off.  Vasquez,  being  interested  in  having  the 
new  route  traveled,  kept  these  letters.  This  was  told 
me  after  my  arrival  in  California.  Mr.  McCutchcn, 
wife  and  child,  joined  us  here. 


"  Leaving  Fort  Bridger  we  unfortunately  took  the 
new  route,  traveling  on  without  incident  of  note,  until 
we  arrived  at  the  head  of  Weber  Caiion.  A  short  dis- 
tance before  reaching  this  place  we  found  a  letter  stick- 
ing in  the  top  of  a  sage-brush.  It  was  from  Hastings. 
He  stated  that  if  we  would  send  a  messenger  after 
him,  he  would  return  and  pilot  us  through  a  route 
much  shorter  and  better  than  the  caiion.  A  meeting 
of  the  company  was  held,  when  it  was  resolved  to  send 
Messrs.  McCutchen,  Stanton,  and  myself  to  Mr. 
Hastings;  also,  at  the  same  time,  we  were  to  examine 
the  caiion  and  report  at  short  notice.  We  overtook 
Mr.  Hastings  at  a  place  called  Black  Rock,  south 
end  of  Salt  Lake.  Leaving  McCutchen  and  Stanton 
here,  their  horses  having  failed,  I  obtained  a  fresh 
horse  from  the  company  Hastings  was  piloting  and 
started  on  my  return  to  our  company  with  Mr.  Hast- 
ings. When  we  arrived  at  about  the  place  where 
Salt  Lake  City  is  built,  Mr.  Hastings,  finding  the 
distance  greater  than  anticipated  by  him,  stated  that 
he  would  be  compelled  to  return  the  next  morning  to 
his  company.  We  camped  this  evening  in  a  caiion, 
and  next  morning  ascended  to  the  summit  of  a 
mountain  where  we  could  overlook  a  portion  of  the 
country  that  lay  between  us  and  the  head  of  the 
caiion  where  the  Donner  company  were  encamped. 
After  he  gave  me  the  direction,  Mr.  Hastings  and  I 
separated.  He  returned  to  the  companies  he  had 
left  the  morning  previous,  I  proceeding  on  eastward. 
After  descending  to  what  may  be  called  the  table- 
land, I  took  an  Indian  trail  and  blazed  the  route 
where  it  was  necessary  the  road  should  be  made,  if 
the  company  so  directed  when  they  heard  the  report. 

"When  McCutchen,  Stanton, and  myself  got  through 
Weber  Caiion,  on  our  way  to  overtake  Mr.  Hastings, 
our  conclusions  were  that  many  of  the  wagons  would 
be  destroyed  in  attempting  to  get  through  the  canon. 
Mr.  Stanton  and  Mr.  McCutchen  were  to  return  to  our 
company  as  fast  as  their  horses  could  stand  it,  they 
having  nearly  given  out.  I  reached  the  company  in 
the  evening  and  reported  to  them  the  conclusions  in 
regard  to  Weber  Caiion,  at  the  same  time  stating  that 
the  route  I  had  blazed  that  day  was  fair,  but  would 
take  considerable  labor  in  clearing  and  digging. 
They  agreed  with  unanimous  voice  to  take  that  route 
if  I  would  direct  them  in  the  road-making,  they  work- 
ing faithfully  until  it  was  completed.  Next  morning 
we  started,  under  these  conditions,  and  made  camp 
that  evening  without  difficulty,  on  Bossman  Creek. 
The  afternoon  of  the  second  day  we  left  the  creek, 
turning  to  the  right  in  a  caiion,  leading  to  a  divide. 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


59 


Here  Mr.  Graves  and  family  overtook  us.  This 
evening  the  first  accident  that  had  occurred  was  caused 
by  the  upsetting  of  one  of  my  wagons.  The  next 
morning  the  heavy  work  of  cutting  the  timber  com- 
menced. We  remained  at  this  camp  several  days. 
During  this  time  the  road  was  cleared  for  several 
miles.  After  leaving  this  camp  the  work  on  the  road 
slackened,  and  the  farther  we  advanced,  the  slower  the 
work  progressed.  I  here  state  that  the  number  of 
days  we  were  detained  in  road-making  was  not  the 
cause,  by  any  means,  of  the  company  remaining  in 
the  mountains  during  the  following  winter. 

"  We  progressed  on  our  way  and  crossed  the  outlet 
of  the  Utah,  now  called  Jordan,  a  little  below  the 
location  of  Salt  Lake  City.  From  this  camp  in  a 
day's  travel  we  made  connection  with  the  trail  of  the 
companies  that  Hastings  was  piloting  through  his 
cut-off.  We  then  followed  his  road  around  the  lake 
without  any  incident  worthy  of  notice  until  reaching 
a  swampy  section  of  country  west  of  Black  Rock,  the 
name  we  gave  it.  Here  we  lost  a  few  days  on  the  score 
of  humanity,  one  of  our  company,  a  Mr.  Holloron, 
being  in  a  dying  condition  from  consumption.  We 
could  not  make  regular  drives,  owing  to  his  situation. 
He  was  under  the  care  of  George  Donner,  and  made 
himself  known  to  me  as  a  Master  Mason.  In  a  few 
days  he  died.  After  the  burial  of  his  remains  we 
proceeded  on  our  journey,  making  our  regular  drives, 
nothing  occurring  of  note  until  we  arrived  at  the 
springs,  where  we  were  to  provide  water  and  as  much 
grass  as  we  could  for  the  purpose  of  crossing  the 
Hastings'  Desert,  which  was  represented  as  being 
forty  or  fifty  miles  in  length;  but  we  found  it  at  least 
seventy  miles. 

"  We  started  to  cross  the  desert,  traveling  day  and 
night,  only  stopping  to  water  and  feed  our  teams  as 
long  as  water  and  grass  lasted.  We  must  have  made 
at  least  two-thirds  of  the  way  across  when  a  greater 
portion  of  the  cattle  showed  signs  of  giving  out. 
Here  the  company  requested  me  to  ride  on  and  find 
the  water  and  report.  Before  leaving,  I  requested 
my  principal  teamster,  that  when  my  cattle  became 
so  exhausted  that  they  could  not  proceed  further 
with  the  wagons,  to  turn  them  out  and  drive  them  on 
the  road  after  me  until  they  reached  the  water;  but 
the  teamster,  misunderstanding,  unyoked  them  when 
they  first  showed  signs  of  giving  out,  starting  with 
them  for  the  water.  I  found  the  water  about  twenty 
miles  from  where  I  left  the  company,  and  started  on 
my  return.  About  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  I  met  my 
teamsters  with  all  my  cattle  and  horses.     I  cautioned 


them  particularly  to  keep  the  cattle  on  the  road,  for 
as  soon  as  they  would  scent  the  water,  they  would 
break  for  it.  I  proceeded  on  and  reached  my  family 
and  wagons.  Some  time  after  leaving  the  men,  one 
of  the  horses  gave  out,  and  while  they  were  striving 
to  get  it  along,  the  cattle  scented  water  and  started 
for  it;  and  when  they  started  with  the  hors /s,  the 
cattle  were  out  of  sight;  they  could  not  find  them  or 
their  trail,  as  they  told  me  afterwards.  They,  suppos- 
ing the  cattle  would  find  water,  went  on  to  camp.  The 
next  morning  the  animals  could  not  be  found,  and 
never  were,  the  Indians  getting  them,  except  one  ox 
and  cow.  Losing  nine  yoke  of  cattle  here  was  the 
first  of  my  sad  misfortunes.  I  stayed  with  my  family 
and  wagons  the  next  day,  expecting  every  hour  the 
return  of  some  of  my  young  men  with  water,  and  the 
information  of  the  arrival  of  the  cattle  at  the  water. 
Owing  to  the  mistake  of  the  teamsters  in  turning  the 
cattle  out  so  soon,  the  other  wagons  had  driven  miles 
past  mine  and  dropped  their  wagons  along  the  road 
as  their  cattle  gave  out,  and  some  few  of  them  reached 
water  with  their  wagons. 

"  Receiving  no  information,  and  the  water  being 
nearly  exhausted,  in  the  evening  I  started  on  foot 
with  my  family  to  reach  the  water.  In  the  course  of 
the  night  the  children  became  exhausted.  I  stopped, 
spread  a  blanket,  and  laid  them  down,  covering  them 
with  shawls.  In  a  short  time  a  cold  hurricane  com- 
menced blowing;  the  children  soon  complained  of 
the  cold.  Having  four  dogs  with  us,  I  had  them  lie 
down  with  the  children  outside  the  covering.  They 
were  then  kept  warm.  Mrs.  Reed  and  myself  sitting 
to  the  windward,  helped  to  shelter  them  from  the 
storm.  Very  soon  one  of  the  dogs  started  up  and 
commenced  barking,  the  others  following  and  making 
an  attack  on  something  approaching  us.  Very  soon 
I  got  sight  of  an  animal  making  directly  for  us. 
The  dogs  seizing  it,  changed  its  course,  and  when 
passing,  I  discovered  it  to  be  one  of  my  young  steers. 
Incautiously  stating  that  it  was  mad,  in  a  moment  my 
wife  and  children  started  to  their  feet,  scattering  like 
quail,  and  it  was  some  minutes  before  I  could  quiet 
camp;  there  was  no  more  complaint  of  being  tired  or 
sleepy  during  the  remainder  of  the  night.  We  ar- 
rived about  daylight  at  the  wagons  of  Jacob  Donner, 
the  next  in  advance  of  me,  whose  cattle  having  given 
out,  had  been  driven  to  water.  Here  I  first  learned 
of  the  loss  of  my  cattle,  it  being  the  second  day  after 
they  had  started  for  water.  Leaving  my  family  with 
Mr.  Donner,  I  reached  the  encampment.  Many  of 
the  people  were  out  hunting  cattle;  some  of  them  had 


60 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


their  teams  together  and  were  going  back  into  the 
desert  for  their  wagons.  Among  them  was  Jacob 
Donner,  who  tcindly  brought  my  family  along  with 
his  own  to  the  encampment. 

"  We  remained  here  for  days  hunting  cattle,  some 
of  the  party  finding  all,  others  a  portion,  but  all  hav- 
ing enough  to  haul  their  wagons  except  myself  On 
the  next  day,  or  the  day  following,  while  I  was  out 
hunting  my  cattle,  two  Indians  came  to  the  camp, 
and  by  signs  gave  the  company  to  understand  that 
there  were  so  many  head  of  cattle  out,  corroborating 
the  number  still  missing.  Many  of  the  people  be- 
came tender-footed  at  the  Indians  coming  into  camp, 
and  thinking  they  were  spies,  wanted  to  get  clear  of 
them  as  soon  as  possible.  My  wife  requested  that 
the  Indians  should  be  detained  until  my  return,  but 
unfortunately,  before  I  returned,  they  had  left.  Next 
morning,  in  company  with  young  Mr.  Graves — he 
kindly  volunteering — I  started  in  the  direction  the 
Indians  had  taken.  After  hunting  this  day  and  the 
following,  remaining  out  during  the  night,  we  returned 
unsuccessful,  not  finding  a  trace  of  the  cattle.  I  now 
gave  up  all  hope  of  finding  them,  and  turned  my 
attention  to  making  arrangements  for  proceeding  on 
my  journey. 

"In  the  desert  were  my  eight  wagons;  all  the  team 
remaining  was  an  ox  and  a  cow.  There  was  no  alter- 
native but  to  leave  everything  but  provisions,  bedding, 
and  clothing.  These  were  placed  in  the  wagon  that 
had  been  used  by  my  family.  I  made  a  cac/ie  of 
everything  else,  the  members  of  the  company  kindly 
furnishing  a  team  to  haul  the  wagon  to  camp.  I  di- 
vided my  provisions  with  those  who  were  nearly  out, 
and,  indeed,  some  of  them  were  in  need.  I  had  now 
to  make  arrangement  for  a  sufficient  team  to  haul 
that  one  wagon.  One  of  the  company  kindly  loaned 
me  a  yoke  of  cattle,  which,  with  the  ox  and  cow  I 
had,  made  two  yoke.  We  remained  at  this  camp, 
from  first  to  last,  if  my  memory  serves  me  right, 
seven  days.  Leaving  this  camp  we  traveled  for  sev- 
eral days.  It  became  necessary,  from  some  cause,  for 
the  party  who  loaned  me  the  yoke  of  cattle,  to  take 
them  back.  I  was  again  left  with  my  ox  and  cow, 
but  through  the  aid  of  another  kind  neighbor,  I  was 
supplied  with  another  yoke  of  cattle. 

"Nothing  transpired  for  some  days  worthy  of  note. 
Some  time  after  this  it  became  known  that  some 
families  had  not  enough  provisions  remaining  to  sup- 
ply them  through.  As  a  member  of  the  company,  I 
advised  them  to  make  an  estimate  of  provisions  on 
hand  and  what  amount  each  family  would  need  to 


take  them  through.  After  receiving  the  estimate  of 
each  family,  on  paper,  I  then  suggested  that  if  two 
gentlemen  of  the  company  would  volunteer  to  go  in 
advance  to  Captain  Sutter's  (near  Sacramento),  in 
California,  I  would  write  a  letter  to  him  for  the  whole 
amount  of  provisions  that  were  wanted,  and  also  stat- 
ing that  I  would  become  personally  responsible  for 
the  amount.  I  suggested  that,  from  the  generous 
nature  of  Captain  Sutter,  he  would  send  them.  Mr. 
McCutchen  came  forward  and  said  that  if  they  would 
take  care  of  his  family  he  would  go.  This  the  com- 
pany agreed  to.  Mr.  Stanton,  a  single  man,  volun- 
teered if  they  would  furnish  him  with  a  horse.  Mr. 
McCutchen,  having  a  horse  and  a  mule,  generously 
gave  the  mule.  Taking  their  blankets  and  provisions, 
they  started  for  California. 

"After  their  leaving  us  we  traveled  on  for  weeks, 
none  of  us  knowing  the  distance  we  were  from  Cali- 
fornia. All  became  anxious  for  the  return  of  Mc- 
Cutchen and  Stanton.  It  was  here  suggested  that  I 
go  in  advance  to  California,  see  what  had  become  of 
McCutchen  and  Stanton,  and  hurry  up  supplies. 
They  agreed  to  take  care  of  my  family.  That  being 
agreed  upon,  I  started,  taking  with  me  about  three 
days'  provisions,  expecting  to  kill  game  on  the  way. 
The  Messrs.  Donner  were  two  days'  drive  in  advance 
of  the  main  party  when  I  overtook  them.  With 
George  Donner  there  was  a  young  man  named  Walter 
Herren,  who  joined  me." 

Leaving  Mr.  Reed  and  his  companion  to  make  their 
journey  across  the  mountains  in  search  of  relief,  we 
return  to  the  main  body  of  hungry  and  tired  immi- 
grants, toiling  along  the  trackless  wilderness,  and  for 
their  experience  we  give  the  story  as  told  by  Mr.  Tut- 
hill  in  his  valuable  history. 

"Mr.  Reed's  and  Mr.  Donner's  companies  opened  a 
new  route  through  the  desert,  lost  a  month's  time  by 
their  operations,  and  reached  the  foot  of  the  Truckee 
Pass,  in  the  Sierra  Nevadas,  on  the  thirty-first  of  Octo- 
ber, instead  of  on  the  first,  as  intended.  The  snow  began 
to  fall  on  the  mountains  two  or  three  weeks  earlier 
than  usual  that  year,  an'd  was  already  so  piled  up  in 
the  pass  that  they  could  not  proceed.  They  attempted 
it  repeatedly,  but  were  as  often  forced  to  return.  One 
party  built  their  cabins  near  the  Truckee  Lake,  killed 
their  cattle,  and  went  into  winter  quarters.  The  other, 
Donner's  party,  still  believed  that  they  could  thread 
the  pass,  and  so  failed  to  build  their  cabins  before 
more  snow  came  and  buried  their  cattle  alive.  Of 
course  they  were  soon  destitute  of  food,  for  they  could 
not  tell  where  their  cattle  were  buried,  and  there  was 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


Gl 


no  hope  of  game  on  a  desert  so  piled  with  snow  that 
nothing  without  wings  could  move.  The  number  of 
those  who  were  thus  storm-stayed  at  the  very  thresh- 
old of  the  land  whose  winters  are  one  long  spring, 
was  eighty,  of  whom  thirty  were  women,  and  several 
children.  The  Mr.  Donner  who  had  charge  of  one 
company  was  an  Illinoisan,  sixty  years  of  age,  a  man 
of  high  respectability  and  abundant  means.  His  wife 
was  a  woman  of  education  and  refinement,  and  much 
younger  than  he.  During  November  it  snowed  thir- 
teen days;  during  December  and  January,  eight  days 
in  each.  Much  of  the  time  the  tops  of  the  cabins 
were  below  the  snow  level. 

"  It  was  six  weeks  after  the  halt  was  made,  that  a 
party  of  fifteen,  including  five  women,  and  two  In- 
dians, who  acted  as  guides,  set  out  on  snow-shoes  to 
cross  the  mountains,  and  give  notice  to  the  people  of 
the  California  settlements  of  the  condition  of  their 
friends.  At  first  the  snow  was  so  light  and  feathery 
that  even  in  snow-shoes  they  sank  nearly  a  foot  at 
every  step.  On  the  second  day  they  crossed  the 
"divide,"  finding  the  snow  at  the  summit  twelve  feet 
deep.  Pushing  forward  with  the  courage  of  despair, 
they  made  from  four  to  eight  miles  a  day.  Within  a 
week  they  got  entirely  out  of  provisions ;  and  three 
of  them,  succumbing  to  cold,  weariness,  and  star- 
vation, had  died.  Then  a  heavy  snow-storm  came 
on,  which  compelled  them  to  lie  still,  buried  between 
their  blankets  under  the  snow,  for  thirty-six  hours. 
By  the  evening  of  the  tenth  day  three  more  had  died, 
and  the  living  had  been  four  days  without  food.  The 
horrid  alternative  was  accepted — they  took  the  flesh 
from  the  bones  of  their  dead,  remained  in  camp  two 
days  to  dry  it,  then  pushed  on.  On  New  Year's,  the 
sixteenth  day  since  leaving  Truckee  Lake,  they  were 
toiling  up  a  steep  mountain.  Their  feet  were  frozen. 
Every  step  was  marked  with  blood.  On  the  second 
of  January,  their  food  again  gave  out.  On  the  third 
they  had  nothing  to  eat  but  the  strings  of  their  snow- 
shoes.  On  the  fourth,  the  Indians  eloped,  justly  sus- 
picious that  they  might  be  sacrificed  for  food.  On 
the  fifth  they  shot  a  deer,  and  that  day  one  of  their 
number  died.  Soon  after  three  others  died,  and  every 
death  now  eked  out  the  existence  of  the  survivors.  On 
the  seventh  all  gave  out  and  concluded  their  wander- 
ings useless,  save  one.  He,  guided  by  two  stray, 
friendly  Indians,  dragged  himself  on  till  he  reached  a 
settlement  on  Bear  River.  By  midnight  the  settlers 
had  found,  and  were  treating  with  all  Christian  kind- 
ness, what  remained  of  the  little  company  that,  after  a 


month  of  the  most  terrible  sufferings,  had  that  morn- 
ing halted  to  die. 

"  The  story  that  there  were  emigrants  perishing  on 
the  other  side  of  the  snowy  barrier  ran  swiftly  down 
the  Sacramento  Valley  to  New  Helvetia,  and  Captain 
Sutter,  at  his  own  expense,  fitted  out  an  expedition  of 
men  and  of  mules  laden  with  provisions,  to  cross  the 
mountains  and  relieve  them.  It  ran  on  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  the  people,  rallying  in  public  meeting, 
raised  $1,500,  and  with  it  fitted  out  another  expedi- 
tion. The  naval  commandant  of  the  port  fitted  out 
still  others.  The  first  of  the  relief  parties  reached 
Truckee  Lake  on  the  nineteenth  of  February.  Ten 
of  the  people  in  the  nearest  camp  were  dead.  For 
four  weeks  those  who  were  still  alive  had  fed  only  on 
bullock's  hides.  At  Donner's  camp  they  had  but  one 
hide  remaining.  The  visitors  left  a  small  supply  of 
provisions  with  the  twenty-nine  whom  they  could  not 
take  with  them,  and  started  back  with  the  remainder. 
Four  of  the  children  they  carried  on  their  backs. 
Another  of  the  relief  parties  reached  Truckee  Lake 
on  the  first  of  March.  They  immediately  started 
back  with  seventeen  of  the  suff'erers;  but  a  heavy 
snow-storm  overtaking  them,  they  left  all,  except  three 
of  the  children,  on  the  road.  Another  party  went 
after  those  who  were  left  on  the  way,  found  three  of 
them  dead,  and  the  rest  sustaining  life  by  feeding  on 
the  flesh  of  the  dead. 

"  The  last  relief  party  reached  Donner's  camp  late  in 
April,  when  the  snows  had  melted  so  much  that  the 
earth  appeared  in  spots.  The  main  cabin  was  empty, 
but  some  miles  distant  they  found  the  last  survivor  of 
all  lying  on  the  cabin  floor  smoking  his  pipe.  He 
was  ferocious  in  aspect,  savage  and  repulsive  in  man- 
ner. His  camp  kettle  was  over  the  fire,  and  in  it  his 
meal  of  human  flesh  preparing.  The  stripped  bones 
of  his  fellow-sufferers  lay  round  him.  He  refused  to 
return  with  the  party,  and  only  consented  when  he 
saw  there  was  no  escape.  Mrs.  Donner  was  the  last 
to  die.  Her  husband's  body,  carefully  laid  out  and 
wrapped  in  a  sheet,  was  found  at  his  tent.  Circum- 
stances led  to  the  suspicion  that  the  survivor  had 
killed  Mrs.  Donner  for  her  flesh  and  her  money,  and 
when  he  was  threatened  with  hanging,  and  the  rope 
tightened  round  his  neck,  he  produced  over  $500 
in  gold,  which,  probably,  he  had  appropriated  from 
her  store." 

Messrs.  Reed  and  Herren,  who,  as  has  been  stated 
in  Mr.  Reed's  narrative,  went  ahead  after  the  de- 
parture of  McCutchen    and  Stanton,  after  enduring 


62 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


fearful  hardships,  reached  Sutter's  Fort  at  Sacramento, 
or  New  Helvetia,  as  it  was  then  called.  On  their 
way  down  in  Bear  River  Valley,  they  met  Stanton 
with  two  Indians  and  provisions  going  to  the  relief  of 
the  emigrants.  Mr.  McCutchen  had  been  prostrated 
by  sickness  and  was  unable  to  accompany  him. 

Mr.  Reed's  request  to  Captain  Sutter  for  mules  and 
supplies  was  unhesitatingly  complied  with,  and  a  re- 
lief party  fitted  out.  In  the  meantime,  however,  the 
snow  had  fallen  so  heavily  that  in  spite  of  the  most 
desperate  efforts  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  enter 
the  pass.  The  party  returned  for  more  help,  but, 
unfortunately,  the  Mexican  War  was  on  and  every 
able-bodied  man  was  away.  At  Captain  Sutter's 
suggestion,  Mr.  Reed  started  for  San  Francisco  to 
see  if  he  could  not  procure  help  there.  He  was  com- 
pelled to  make  the  journey  by  land,  and  arrived  at 
San  Jose  at  the  time  that  city  was  in  a  state  of  siege. 
Here  he  was  compelled  to  remain  until  after  the 
battle  of  Santa  Clara.  Arriving  at  San  Francisco, 
the  public  meeting  that  Mr.  Tuthill  speaks  of  above, 
was  held,  and  the  relief  parties  fitted  out.  Mr.  Reed 
and  Mr.  McCutchen  accompanied  the  first  of  these, 
which  went  by  the  river.  Before  leaving  San  Fran- 
cisco, however,  he  learned  of  the  arrival  at  Bear 
Valley  of  the  seven  survivors  of  the  party  that  left  the 
Donner  camp  after  his  departure.  At  Johnson's 
ranch  he  got  news  of  a  relief  party  ahead  of  him, 
sent  out  by  Sutter  and  Sinclair.  He  pushed  on  with 
his  party,  and  on  the  route  met  this  company  return- 
ing with  some  of  the  immigrants,  among  whom  were 
his  own  wife  and  two  of  his  children.  They  only 
stopped  a  few  minutes  for  greetings,  and  pushed  on  to 
the  relief  of  the  other  sufferers,  whom  they  reached 
about  the  middle  of  the  next  day. 

The  first  camp  was  that  of  Mr.  Breen.  Mr.  Reed 
says:  "  If  we  left  any  provisions  here,  it  was  a  small 
amount,  he  and  his  family  not  being  in  want.  We 
then  proceeded  to  the  camp  of  Mrs.  Murphy,  where 
Keesburg  and  some  children  were.  Here  we  left 
provisions  and  one  of  our  company  to  cook  for  and  at- 
tend them.  From  here  we  visited  the  camp  of  Mrs. 
Graves,  some  distance  further  east.  A  number  of  the 
relief  party  remained  here,  while  Messrs.  Miller,  Mc- 
Cutchen, and  one  of  the  men,  and  myself,  proceeded 
to  the  camp  of  the  Messrs.  Donner.  This  was  a 
number  of  miles  further  east.  We  found  Mrs.  Jacob 
Donner  in  a  very  feeble  condition.  Her  husband  had 
died  early  in  the  winter.  We  removed  the  tent  and 
placed   it  in  a  more  comfortable    situation.     I    then 


visited  the  tent  of  George  Donner,  close  by,  and  found 
him  and  his  wife.  He  was  helpless.  Their  children 
and  two  of  Jacob's  had  come  out  with  the  party  we 
met  at  the  head  of  Bear  Valley.  I  requested  Mrs. 
George  Donner  to  come  with  us,  as  I  would  leave  a  man 
to  take  care  of  both  George  Donner  and  Mrs.  Jacob 
Donner.  Mrs.  George  Donner  positively  refused, 
saying  that  as  her  children  were  all  out-she  would  not 
leave  her  husband  in  the  condition  he  was  in.  *  * 
*  *  When  I  found  that  Mrs.  George  Donner  would 
not  leave  her  husband,  we  took  the  three  remaining 
children  of  Jacob  Donner,  leaving  a  man  to  take  care 
of  the  two  camps.  Leaving  all  the  provisions  we  could 
spare,  and  expecting  the  party  from  Sutter's  Fort 
would  be  in  in  a  few  days,  we  returned  to  the  camp 
of  Mrs.  Graves,  where  all  remained  during  the  night 
except  McCutchen,  Miller,  and  myself,  we  going  to 
the  cabin  of  Mr.  Breen,  where  two  of  my  children 
were.  Notice  was  given  in  all  the  camps  that  we 
would  start  on  our  return  to  Sutter's  early  next  day. 
About  the  middle  of  the  day  we  started,  taking  with 
us  all  who  were  able  to  travel." 

The  relief  party  that  came  after  Mr.  Reed  did  not 
reach  the  sufferers  as  soon  as  was  expected,  and  the 
disasters  that  occurred  in  the  meantime  have  already 
been  related.  The  full  details  of  all  the  sufferings  of 
this  unfortunate  party  would  fill  a  larger  book  than 
this,  with  horrors  unimaginable.  Each  of  the  relief 
parties,  and  especially  that  conducted  by  Mr.  Reed, 
endured  sufferings  equal  to  those  experienced  by  the 
unfortunates  in  the  winter  camp,  and  we  think  we  are 
within  bounds  of  truth  in  the  statement  that  history 
has  no  parallel  to  the  heroism  displayed  by  these 
people  in  their  efforts  to  rescue  their  suffering  friends. 

In  this  year,  1846,  came  also  Isaac  Branham,  Jacob 
D.  Hoppe,  Charles  White,  Joseph  Aram,  Zachariah 
Jones,  Arthur  Caldwell,  William  Daniels,  Samuel 
Young,  A.  A.  Hecox,  William  Haun,  William  Fisher, 
Edward  Pyle  with  their  families,  Wesley  Hoover  and 
wife,  John  W.  Whisman  and  wife,  William  and 
Thomas  Campbell,  Peter  Ouivey,  Thomas  Kell  and 
their  families,  Thomas  West  and  four  sons,  Thomas, 
Francis  T.,  George  R.  and  William  T.,  John  Snyder, 
Septimus  R.  Moultrie,  William  J.  Parr,  Joseph  A. 
Lard,  Mrs.  W.  H.  Lowe,  Mrs.  E.  Markham,  L.  C. 
Young,  R.J.  Young,  M.  D.Young,  Samuel  C.  Young, 
S.  0.  Broughton,  R.  F.  Peckham,  Z.  Rochon,  Joseph 
Stillwell,  George  Cross,  Ramon  S.  Cesena,  M.  Hollo- 
way,  Edward  Johnson,  and  James  Enright.  Many 
of  these  people  and  their  descendants  have  made  their 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  ''GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


mark  on  the  history  of  the  county,  as  will  be  more 
fully  seen  by  reference  to  their  respective  biographical 
sketches. 

MICHELTORENA  WAR. 

After  Mexico  had  achieved  her  independence,  as 
previously  related,  the  people  generally  fell  into  the 
new  order  of  things,  and  for  several  years  public  affairs 
were  conducted  without  much  friction.  In  1836, 
however,  the  disposition  of  the  Mexican  people  to  re- 
volt, asserted  itself,  but  the  ferment  did  not  reach 
San  Jose  until  1842.  Juan  B.  Alvarado  had  been  in- 
augurated as  civil  governor  of  California,  while  Gen- 
eral Vallejo  held  chief  command  of  the  military  forces. 
Between  these  two  a  jealousy  had  sprung  up,  each 
accusing  the  other  of  usurping  powers  not  belonging 
to  his  office.  Each  complained  to  the  central  govern- 
ment at  the  city  of  Mexico.  The  quarreling  and  fre- 
quent appeals  of  these  two  functionaries  at  last  be- 
came unendurable,  and,  in  1842,  General  Micheltorena 
was  dispatched  to  California  to  supersede  both  Alva- 
rado and  Vallejo. 

The  first  intimation  these  officers  had  of  this  unex- 
pected result  of  their  appeals  to  the  general  govern- 
ment, was  the  appearance  of  General  Micheltorena  at 
San  Diego,  with  full  powers  to  assume  both  the  mili- 
tary and  civil  government  of  the  department  of  Cali- 
fornia. This  was  a  turn  of  affairs  as  undesired  as  un- 
expected, and,  laying  aside  their  personal  differences, 
Alvarado  and  Vallejo  formed  an  alliance  to  resist 
what  they  termed  the  usurpation  of  Micheltorena. 
Uniting  their  influence,  it  was  not  a  difficult  matter 
to  bring  the  Spanish-speaking  inhabitants,  always 
ready  for  an  uprising,  to  their  standard.  Among 
other  arguments  used  to  induce  them  to  join  the  re- 
volt against  the  general  government,  was  the  rapid 
influx  of  foreigners,  particularly  of  Americans.  The 
pastoral,  indolent,  pleasure-loving  Mexicans  were  no 
match  in  business  affairs  with  the  energetic,  wide- 
awake, and,  in  many  cases,  unscrupulous  foreigner. 
Wherever  he  had  located  he  had  possessed  the  coun- 
try. Even  at  that  early  day  .=ome  of  the  far-seeing 
ones  among  the  native  population  predicted  that,  un- 
less the  tide  of  immigration  was  immediately  stopped, 
California  would  be  lost  to  their  people.  This  senti- 
ment was  made  use  of  by  Alvarado  and  Vallejo,  and 
the  boast  of  their  troops  was,  that,  after  disposing  of 
Micheltorena,  they  would  settle  with  the  foreigners. 
The  Americans,  or  "Gringos"  as  they  called  them, 
were  particularly  the  subjects  of  their  hatred. 

The  Micheltorena  War  made  no  impression  on  this 


community.  The  new  governor,  after  landing  at  San 
Diego,  advanced  up  the  country  as  far  as  what  is  now 
known  as  the  Twelve  Mile  House  on  the  Monterey 
road.  Here,  learning  that  the  country  around  the  bay 
was  in  arms  again.st  him,  he  retired.  With  this  ex- 
ception, the  campaign  was  conducted  elsewhere. 
Some  of  the  foreigners  residing  in  the  Santa  Clara 
Valley  joined  Micheltorena,  while  others  who  had 
joined  him  in  other  places  afterwards  became  resi- 
dents of  this  community.  Except  this,  the  war  had 
no  effect  on  this  county.  After  a  series  of  reverses 
Micheltorena,  in  1845,  was  compelled  to  quit  the 
country.  When  this  was  accomplished,  Pio  Pico  was 
chosen  governor,  and  Jose  Castro,  who  had  given 
material  aid  to  Alvarado  and  Vallejo,  was  appointed 
general. 

THE  MEXICAN  WAR. 

The  feeling  against  the  Americans  was  growing 
more  intense.  The  enlistment  of  many  of  them  under 
the  banner  of  Micheltorena,  together  with  acts  of  ag- 
gression on  the  part  of  others,  had  served  to  aggra- 
vate the  feeling  of  enmity,  but  no  organized  move- 
ment against  them  was  made  until  the  following  year, 
1846.  Gen.  J.  C.  Fremont,  who  had  been  conducting 
a  topographical  survey  for  the  United  States,  had  lost 
a  portion  of  his  party,  and  visited  this  district  to  look 
for  them.  Having  heard  that  they  were  camped  on 
the  San  Joaquin  River,  he  sent  Kit  Carson  with  two 
companies  to  pilot  them  into  the  Santa  Clara  Valley. 
Pending  their  arrival,  he  went  to  Monterey,  and,  being 
short  of  provisions,  he,  in  company  with  Thomas  O. 
Larkin,  called  on  General  Castro,  and,  stating  the 
cause  of  his  being  there,  asked  permission  to  pass 
through  the  country.  A  verbal  assurance  that  he 
would  be  unmolested  was  given,  but  a  written  pass- 
port was  not  granted,  General  Castro  stating  that  his 
word  was  as  good  as  any  written  document  could  be. 
A  like  assurance  was  also  received  from  Don  Manuel 
Castro,  then  prefect  of  the  district.  Returning  to  San 
Jose  he  met  Kit  C;irson,  who  had  safely  arrived  with 
the  missing  party  from  the  San  Joaquin,  but  not  find- 
ing here  a  sufficient  store  of  provisions,  he  determined 
to  g  )  back  to  Monterey. 

On  the  way  back  he  encamped  at  the  Rancho  La- 
guna  Seca,  about  eigliteen  miles  south  of  San  Jose, 
the  property  of  William  Fisher.  Here  a  Mexican 
came  into  camp  and  claimed  certain  horses  belonging 
to  the  command,  alleging  that  they  had  been  stolen. 
General  (then  Captain)  Fremont,  knowing  that  the 
horses  had  been  brought  by  his  command  from  the 


64 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD:' 


United  States,  refused  to  give  them  up.  The  Mexi- 
can, who  was  evidently  in  the  employ  of  the  Mexican 
authorities,  left  the  camp,  and,  riding  to  San  Jose, 
lodged  a  complaint  with  the  Alcalde,  against  Fremont, 
charging  him  with  the  crime  of  horse  stealing.  On 
the  twentieth  of  February,  1846,  the  Alcalde  issued  a 
summons  citing  Fremont  to  appear  before  him  and 
answer  the  charge.  This  summons  Captain  Fremont 
refused  to  obey,  but  sent  a  written  communication  to 
Dolores  Pacheco,  who  was  then  Alcalde,  setting  forth 
his  title  to  the  animals  claimed.  Having  done  this  he 
proceeded  to  cross  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains,  taking 
nearly  the  same  route  now  followed  by  the  South 
Pacific  Coast  Railroad.  Failing  to  reach  him  by  civil 
process,  the  prefect,  Don  Manuel  Castro,  sent  him, 
by  an  armed  escort,  a  message  commanding  him  to 
immediately  leave  the  country,  or  force  would  be  used 
to  compel  him  to  do  so. 

Fremont,  convinced  that  the  Mexican  authorities 
were  determined  to  molest  him,  immediately  marched 
to  Hawkes'  Peak,  a  rough  mountain  about  thirty 
miles  from  Monterey,  and  intrenched  himself  See- 
ing that  his  intended  victim  had  taken  the  alarm. 
General  Castro  threw  off  all  disguise,  and,  placing  him- 
self at  the  held  of  a  company  of  about  two  hundred 
men,  with  a  couple  of  small  cannon,  made  a  demon- 
stration toward  the  American  position.  Don  Jose's 
courage,  however,  does  not  seem  to  have  been  equal 
to  his  vanity,  for,  while  announcing  to  his  followers, 
and  to  the  headquarters  at  Mexico,  the  dire  retri- 
bution that  he  was  about  to  visit  on  the  cursed 
"Gringos,"  he  contented  himself  with  showing  his 
force  at  a  safe  distance  from  the  rifles  of  the  Ameri- 
cans. Finding  that  this  display  did  not  strike  terror 
to  the  hearts  of  the  strangers,  and  compel  them  to 
flight,  he  essayed  by  treachery  to  accomplish  that 
which  he  had  not  courage  to  attempt  by  force.  He 
wrote  a  letter  to  Fremont  proposing  that  they  should 
join  forces,  and  together  march  against  Governor 
Pio  Pico  and  conquer  the  country  for  themselves. 
John  Gilroy,  the  Scotchman  whom  we  have  spoken 
of  as  being  the  first  foreigner  to  settle  in  this  county, 
was  selected  as  the  messenger  to  bear  this  proposition 
to  Fremont.  Whether  Castro  intended  by  this  means 
to  get  Fremont  into  his  power,  or  whether  he  really 
meditated  treachery  against  his  own  country,  will 
never  be  known,  for,  when  Gilroy  reached  Hawkes' 
Peak,  which  he  did  on  the  tenth,  the  enemy  had  van- 
ished. Fremont  had  waited  throe  days  for  Castro's 
attack,  and,  not  having  any  more  time  to  spare,  had 


abandoned  his  camp,  and  by  a  forced  march  reached 
the  San  Joaquin  Valley. 

As  soon  as  Castro  learned  that  the  enemy  had  re- 
tired, his  courage  revived,  and,  making  a  charge  on 
the  abandoned  works,  secured  material  for  a  grandil- 
oquent dispatch,  which  he  lost  no  time  in  writing  and 
forwarding  to  Monterey.  The  report,  after  reciting 
the  deeds  of  valor  performed  by  himself,  concluded 
with  the  statement  that  he  should  not  return  to  peace- 
ful pursuits  until  every  accursed  foreigner  had  been 
swept  from  the  country. 

At  this  time  there  was  great  dissatisfaction  on  the 
part  of  the  Mexican  inhabitants  of  California,  by  rea- 
son of  the  treatment  they  were  receiving  at  the  hands 
of  the  central  government.  They  received  no  assist- 
ance or  protection  from  Mexico,  and,  while  taking  care 
of  themselves,  were  paying  revenue  to  the  general 
treasury.  This  dissatisfaction  finally  culminated  in  a 
convention  held  at  the  Mission  San  Juan,  at  which 
the  question  was  discussed  as  to  which  power,  En- 
gland or  France,  should  be  selected  to  establish  a  pro- 
tectorate over  the  country.  Don  Mariano  Guadalupe 
Vallejo  was  a  member  of  this  convention,  and  de- 
livered an  eloquent  speech  against  submitting  to  a 
protectorate  from  any  power,  and  urging  his  people  to 
declare  their  independence  and  set  up  a  government 
for  themselves.  While  his  speech  did  not  induce  the 
protectionists  to  abandon  their  position,  it  had  the 
effect  of  postponing  their  decision,  and  this  delay 
made  it  possible  for  the  United  States  to  acquire 
California.  The  English  Government  it  seems  was  in 
communication  with  Pico  and  Castro,  and  confidently 
expected  through  them  to  add  California  to  its  list  of 
colonies.  Admiral  Seymour,  with  the  frigate  Colling- 
wood,  was  lying  in  the  harbor  at  Acapulco,  about  to 
sail  for  Monterey,  to  take  possession  of  the  country. 
At  the  same  time  Commodore  Sloat,  with  a  United 
States  vessel,  was  at  the  same  port. 

John  Parrot,  afterwards  a  prominent  citizen  of  San 
Francisco,  was  then  in  Mexico,  and  in  a  position  where 
he  was  enabled  to  learn  something  of  the  intentions 
of  the  British  Government  in  regard  to  California. 
Ascertaining  that  a  movement  was  about  to  be  made 
to  hoist  the  English  flag  over  the  capitol  at  Monterey, 
he  sent  a  courier  to  Commodore  Sloat  warning  him 
of  this  intention.  The  Commodore  immediately  went 
to  sea.  He  reached  Monterey  Bay,  and,  on  the 
seventh  day  of  July,  1846,  hoisted  the  star-spangled 
banner  over  the  capitol  of  the  department.  Admiral 
Seymour    arrived    soon    afterward,    but,    having   no 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


65 


authority  to  inaugurate  hostilities  with  the  United 
States,  he  was  powerless.  If  the  convention  at  San 
Juan  had  declared  the  independence  of  Alta  Cali- 
fornia, or  had  taken  other  steps  to  sever  their  alle- 
giance to  Mexico,  the  result  would  have  been  quite 
different.  But,  being  a  colony  of  a  country  which 
was  at  war  with  the  United  States,  the  capture  of 
California  by  Commodore  Sloat  was  entirely  legiti- 
mate, and  no  outside  power  had  a  right  to  interfere. 

Two  days  after  raising  the  American  flag  at  Mont- 
erey, Commodore  Sloat  issued  the  following  procla- 
mation, a  copy  of  which  was  sent  by  a  courier,  Henry 
Pitts,  to  General  Castro,  then  with  his  forces  at  San 
Jose: — 

"To  tJic  inhabitants  of  California — 

"The  central  troops  of  Mexico  having  commenced 
hostilities  against  the  United  States  of  America  by 
invading  its  territory,  and  attacking  the  troops  of  the 
United  States  stationed  on  the  north  side  of  the  Rio 
Grande,  and  with  a  force  of  seven  thousand  men, 
under  the  command  of  General  Arista,  which  army 
was  totally  destroyed,  and  all  their  artillery,  bag- 
gage, etc.,  captured  on  the  eighth  and  ninth  of  May 
last,  by  a  force  of  twenty-three  hundred  men,  un- 
der the  command  of  General  Taylor,  and  the  city  of 
Matamoras  taken  and  occupied  by  the  forces  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  two  nations  being  actually  at 
war  by  this  transaction,  I  shall  hoist  the  standard  of 
the  United  States  at  Monterey  immediately,  and  shall 
carry  it  through  California.  I  declare  to  the  inhabit- 
ants of  California,  that,  although  I  come  in  arm.s,  with 
a  powerful  force,  I  do  not  come  among  them  as  an 
enemy  of  California;  on  the  contrary,  I  come  as  their 
best  friend,  as  henceforth  California  will  be  a  portion 
of  the  United  States,  and  its  peaceable  inhabitants 
will  enjoy  the  same  rights  and  privileges  they  now 
enjoy,  together  with  the  privilege  of  choosing  their 
own  magistrates  and  other  officers  for  the  adminis- 
tration of  justice  among  themselves;  and  the  same 
protection  will  be  extended  to  them  as  to  any  other 
State  in  the  Union.  They  will  also  enjoy  a  perma- 
nent government,  under  which  life  and  property  and 
the  constitutional  right  and  lawful  security  to  worship 
the  Creator  in  the  way  most  congenial  to  each  one's 
sense  of  duty  will  be  secured,  which,  unfortunately,  the 
central  government  of  Mexico  cannot  afford  them,  de- 
stroyed, as  her  resources  are,  by  internal  factions  and 
corrupt  officers,  who  create  constant  revolutions  to 
promote  their  own  interests  and  oppress  the  people. 
Under  the  flag  of  the  United  States,  California  will 
9 


be  free  from  all  such  troubles  and  expenses;  conse- 
quently the  country  will  rapidly  advance  and  improve, 
both  in  agriculture  and  commerce;  as,  of  course,  the 
revenue  laws  will  be  the  same  in  California  as  in  all 
other  parts  of  the  United  States,  affording  them  all 
manufactures  and  produce  of  the  United  States  free 
of  any  duty,  and  of  all  foreign  goods  at  one-quarter 
the  duty  they  now  pay.  A  great  increase  in  the 
value  of  real  estate  and  the  products  of  California  may 
be  anticipated.  With  the  great  interest  and  kind 
feelings  I  know  the  government  and  people  of  the 
United  States  possess  toward  the  citizens  of  California, 
the  country  cannot  but  improve  more  rapidly  than 
any  other  on  the  continent  of  America.  Such  of  the 
inhabitants,  whether  natives  or  foreigners,  as  may  not 
be  disposed  to  accept  the  high  privileges  of  citizen- 
ship, and  to  live  peacefully  under  the  Government  of 
the  United  States,  will  be  allowed  time  to  dispose  of 
their  property,  and  remove  out  of  the  country,  if  they 
choose,  without  any  restriction,  or  remain  in  it,  main- 
taining strict  neutrality.  With  full  confidence  in  the 
honor  and  integrity  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  country, 
I  invite  the  judges,  Alcaldes,  and  other  civil  officers,  to 
execute  their  functions  as  heretofore,  that  the  public 
tranquillity  may  not  be  disturbed,  at  least  until  the 
government  of  the  territory  can  be  definitely  ar- 
ranged. All  persons  holding  titles  to  real  estate,  or 
in  quiet  possession  of  lands  under  color  of  right,  shall 
have  these  titles  guaranteed  to  them.  All  churches, 
and  the  property  they  contain,  in  possession  of  the 
clergy  of  California,  shall  continue  in  the  same  right 
and  possession  they  now  enjoy.  All  provisions  and 
supplies  of  every  kind  furnished  by  the  inhabitants  for 
the  use  of  United  States  ships  or  soldiers,  will  be  paid 
for  at  fair  rates;  and  no  private  property  will  be 
taken  for  public  use  without  just  compensation  at  the 
moment.  JoHN  D.  Sloat, 

"CommanJer-in-Chief  of  the  U.  S.  Naval  Force  in  the  Pacific  Ocean." 

This  proclamation  of  Commodore  Sloat  was  the  first 
announcement  to  the  white  inhabitants  of  California 
that  war  was  pending  between  the  United  States  and 
Mexico. 

We  left  the  Mexican  commander,  Castro, at  Hawkes' 
Peak,  where  he  had  captured  the  abandoned  camp  of 
Captain  Fremont.  From  there  he  marched  to  differ- 
ent points,  and  finally  established  his  headquarters  at 
Santa  Clara.  In  the  meantime  the  American  in- 
habitants of  California  had  become  thoroughly  con- 
vinced that  some  action  was  necessary  on  their 
part  to  preserve  their  lives  and  property  from  the 
attacks    of    the    Mexicans,   who   seemed  resolved    to 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


carry  out  their  threat  formerly  made,  that  "after 
disposing  of  Micheltorena,  they  would  settle  with 
los  Americanos!'  They  were  too  weak  in  numbers 
to  make  headway  against  such  forces  as  Castro  and 
the  numerous  guerrilla  leaders  could  bring  into  the 
field;  but,  relying  on  securing  accessions  to  their 
numbers  from  the  large  trains  of  immigrants  arriving, 
and  to  arrive,  from  across  the  mountains,  they  resolved 
to  organize.  Besides  the  Americans,  there  were 
representatives  from  many  other  nations  amongst  the 
population  on  this  coast,  all  in  equal  jeopardy. 

A  meeting  was  held  in  Sonoma,  on  June  14,  1846, 
which  resulted  in  a  declaration  of  independence,  and 
the  raising  of  the  famous  "  Bear  Flag,"  on  the  plaza 
of  that  town,  as  the  standard  of  what  they  termed 
the  California  Republic.  At  the  time  of  the  capture 
of  Sonoma,  there  were  taken  prisoners,  General 
Vallejo,  who  had  so  eloquently  acted  the  part  of  a 
Patrick  Henry  at  the  convention  of  San  Juan,  to- 
gether with  his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Jacob  P.  Leese, 
an  American;  Lieutenant-Colonel  Victor  Prudon,  and 
Captain  Don  Salvador  Vallejo.  The  Bear  Flag  party 
communicated  with  Fremont,  who  joined  them  at 
Sonoma,  on  the  morning  of  June  25,  with  ninety 
mounted  men,  called  the  Fremont  Rifles.  On  the 
receipt  of  the  news  of  the  capture  of  Sonoma,  Gen- 
eral Castro  issued  two  proclamations,  which  are  inter- 
esting, as  showing  how  much  more  energetic  he  was 
in  speech  than  in  action. 

"  The  citizen  Jose  Castro,  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  Cavalry 
in  the  Mexican  Army,  and  acting  General  Com- 
mander of  the  Department  of  California: — 
"Fellow-citizens :  The  contemptible  policy  of  the 
agents  of  the  United  States  of  North  America,  in  this 
department,  has  induced  a  portion  of  adventurers,  who, 
regardless  of  the  rights  of  men,  have  daringly  com- 
menced an  invasion,  possessing  themselves  of  the  town 
of  Sonoma,  taking  by  surprise  all  that  place,  the  mili- 
tary commander  of  that  border.  Colonel  Don  Mariano 
Guadalupe  Vallejo,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Don  Victor 
Prudon,  Captain  Salvador  Vallejo,  and  Mr.  Jacob 
P.  Leese.  Fellow-countrymen,  the  defense  of  our 
liberty,  the  true  religion  which  our  fathers  possessed, 
and  our  independence,  call  upon  us  to  sacrifice  our- 
selves rather  than  losethese  inestimable  blessings;  ban- 
ish from  your  hearts  all  petty  resentments,  turn  you 
and  behold  yourselves,  these  families,  these  innocent 
little  ones  which  have  unfortunately  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  our  enemies,  dragged  from  the  bosom  of 
their  fathers,  who  are  prisoners  among  foreigners,  and 


are  calling  upon  us  to  succor  them.  There  is  still 
time  for  us  to  rise  en  masse,  as  irresistible  as  retribu- 
tive. You  need  not  doubt  that  divine  Providence  will 
direct  us  in  the  way  to  glory.  You  should  not  vacil- 
late because  of  the  smallness  of  the  garrison  of  the 
general  headquarters,  for  he  who  will  sacrifice  himself 
will  be  your  friend  and  fellow-citizen. 

"Jo.sE  Castro. 
''Headquarters,  Santa  Clara,  June  ly,  iS.^6." 


"Citizen  Jose  Castro,  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  Artillery 
in  the  Mexican  Army,  and  acting  General  Com- 
mander of  the  Department  of  California: — 
"  All  foreigners  residing  among  us,  occupied  with 
their  business,  may  rest  assured  of  the  protection  of 
all  the  authorities  of  the  department,  whilst  they 
refrain  entirely  from  all  revolutionary  movements. 
The  general  commandancia  under  my  charge  will 
never  proceed  with  vigor  against  any  persons,  neither 
will  its  authority  result  in  mere  words,  wanting  proof 
to  support  it;  declaration  shall  be  taken,  proofs  exe- 
cuted, and  the  liberty  and  rights  of  the  laborious, 
which  are  ever  commendable,  shall  be  protected.  Let 
the  fortune  of  war  take  its  chance  with  those  ungrate- 
ful men,  who,  with  arms  in  their  hands,  have  attacked 
the  country,  without  recollecting  they  were  treated  by 
the  undersigned  with  all  the  indulgence  of  which  he 
is  so  characteristic.  The  inhabitants  of  the  depart- 
ment are  witnesses  to  the  truth  of  this.  I  have 
nothing  to  fear,  my  duty  leads  me  to  death  or  victory. 
I  am  a  Mexican  soldier,  and  I  will  be  free  and  inde- 
pendent, or  I  will  gladly  die  for  these  inestimable 
blessings.  JOSE  C ASTRO. 

"Headquarters,  Santa  Clara,  June  ly,  184.6." 


Notwithstanding  these  valorous  declarations,  Castro 
neglected  to  take  the  field,  but  remained  inactive,  the 
only  movement  on  his  part  being  to  change  his  camp 
from  Santa  Clara  to  San  Jose.  On  the  ninth  of  July, 
just  twenty-three  days  after  the  issuance  of  these 
proclamations,  in  which  the  doughty  general  had 
declared  his  unalterable  determination  to  die  in 
defense  of  his  country,  the  messenger  bearing 
Commodore  Sloat's  proclamation  came  riding  into 
San  Jose.  His  approach  had  been  announced  some 
little  time  before,  and  Castro  had  his  men  in  ranks 
when  the  courier  arrived.  Having  received  the  dis- 
patch and  glanced  over  it  to  ascertain  its  purport,  he 
formed  his  men  in  line  in  front  of  the  juzgado  on 
Market  Street,  and  announcing,  "Monterey  is  taken 
by  the  Americans,"  proceeded  to  read  to  them  the 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD:' 


67 


proclamation,  which,  having  been  concluded,  he  ex- 
claimed: "What  can  I  do  with  a  handful  of  men 
against  the  United  States? "  I  am  going  to  Mexico! 
All  you  who  wish  to  follow  me,  right-about-face ! 
All  that  wish  to  remain,  can  go  to  their  homes."  A 
very  few  of  his  men  elected  to  go  with  Castro,  and  with 
these  he  rode  off  southward,  on  the  same  day.  He 
did,  however,  give  the  Americans  a  parting  kick. 
Having  arrested  Charles  M.  Weber  in  his  store  in  San 
Jose,  he  carried  him  off  a  prisoner,  detaining  him  until 
the  party  reached  Los  Angeles,  where  he  was  released. 

While  these  events  were  transpiring,  Thomas 
Fallon  raised  a  company  of  twenty-two  men  at  Santa 
Cruz,  for  the  purpose  of  joining  the  Bear  Flag  party. 
Crossing  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains  he  had  arrived 
within  about  three  miles  of  San  Jose,  when  he  learned 
that  Castro  was  holding  both  San  Jose  and  Santa 
Clara  with  a  force  of  about  three  hundred  men. 
Thinking  it  not  advisable  to  risk  his  small  company 
in  an  engagement  with  such  a  superior  force,  he  fell 
back  into  the  mountains.  Here  he  received  some 
accessions  to  his  numbers  and  returned  to  the  valley, 
concealing  himself  in  the  willows  and  mustard  along 
the  creek.  Here  he  heard  of  the  arrival  of  Commo- 
dore Sloat's  courier  and  of  Castro's  intention  to  retire- 
Getting  his  men  into  their  saddles,  they  dashed  into 
San  Jose  and  rode  to  the  juzgado.  But  it  was 
too  late;  Castro  had  fled  and  Fallon's  force  was  too 
small  for  pursuit.  He,  however,  took  possession  of 
the  juzgado,  together  with  the  archives  of  the  pueblo, 
and  made  a  prisoner  of  the  Alcalde,  Dolores  Pacheco. 
This  Pacheco,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  the  Alcalde 
who  summoned  Fremont  to  appear  before  him  to 
answer  the  charge  of  horse  stealing.  Captain  Fallon 
announced  his  victory  to  Commodore  Sloat,  who  sent 
him  an  American  flag,  which  was  raised  over  the  juz- 
gado on  the  thirteenth,  and  was  the  first  standard  of 
the  United  States  to  float  in  the  grateful  breezes  of 
this  beautiful  valley.  Fallon  appointed  James  Stokes 
as  Alcalde,  and  then,  with  his  company,  joined  Fre- 
mont, who  had  moved  down  to  San  Juan. 

The  necessity  of  holding  San  Jose  and  the  fertile 
valley  of  which  it  was  the  center,  induced  the  com- 
mander of  the  United  States  sloop  of  war  Portsmontli 
to  dispatch  its  purser,  Watmough,  to  the  pueblo,  with 
thirty-five  marines,  as  soon  as  it  became  known  that 
Fallon  had  gone  south.  He  made  his  headquarters 
at  the  juzgado,  and  strengthened  his  command  by  the 
enlistment  of  a  few  volunteers.  The  tide  of  war, 
however,  had  flowed  southward,  and  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  short  expedition  against  the  Indians  of  San 


Joaquin  Valley,  the  military  operations  did  not 
amount  to  much.  He  returned  to  his  vessel  in  Oc- 
tober. 

At  this  time  Commander  Hull,  of  the  United  States 
sloop  of  war  Warren,  was  in  command  of  the 
northern  district  of  California,  and  from  him  issued 
commissions  to  Charles  M.  Weber  as  captain,  and 
John  M.  Murphy  as  lieutenant,  of  a  company  to  be 
enlisted  in  the  land  service,  to  serve  during  the  war. 
They  raised  a  company  of  thirty-three  men,  and 
established  headquarters  in  an  adobe  building  on  the 
east  side  of  what  is  now  known  as  Lightston  Street. 
This  company  did  good  service  in  scouting  the  coun- 
try and  preventing  depredations  by  the  straggling 
remnants  of  Castro's  command,  and  securing  supplies 
for  the  use  of  the  troops. 

About  the  time  Weber  and  Murphy  received  their 
commissions,  a  body  of  immigrants  arrived  at  Sutter's 
Fort,  where  they  were  met  by  Captain  Swift,  of  Fre- 
mont's battalion,  who  had  been  detailed  as  recruiting 
officer.  Among  the  immigrants  was  Joseph  Aram, 
who  afterwards  became  an  honored  citizen  of  Santa 
Clara  County.  Aram  immediately  enlisted  and  was 
appointed  a  captain.  With  his  volunteers  he  pro- 
ceeded to  escort  the  families  of  the  immigrants  to 
Santa  Clara,  where  he  made  his  headquarters,  in 
November.  The  accommodations  were  very  inade- 
quate, and  the  season  being  a  very  rough  one,  four- 
teen died  by  February,  and  many  more  became 
seriously  sick.  Captain  Aram  had  a  force  of  thirty- 
one  men,  and  hearing  that  a  Colonel  Sanchez  with  a 
large  force  of  mounted  Mexicans  was  threatening  the 
mission,  he  proceeded  to  put  it  in  as  good  condition 
for  defense  as  his  means  would  permit.  Wagons, 
and  even  branches  cut  from  the  trees  on  the  Ala- 
meda, were  used  to  construct  barricades  across  the 
various  approaches. 

At  the  time  Captain  Aram  took  possession  of  the 
mission.  Captain  Mervin,  of  the  United  States  Navy, 
sent  Lieutenant  Pinckney  with  Midshipmen  Wat- 
mough and  Griffin,  of  the  Savannah,  and  sixty  men, 
to  re-inforcc  Weber  and  Murphy,  at  San  Jose.  On 
the  afternoon  of  November  2,  this  force  took  posses- 
sion of  the  juzgado  and  transformed  it  into  a  barrack, 
entrenching  the  position  by  breastworks  and  a  ditch. 
Videttes  were  stationed  on  all  the  roads,  and  a  senti- 
nel posted  on  the  Guadaloupe  bridge.  In  addition  to 
these  precautions,  Weber  and  Murphy's  company 
were  almost  continually  in  the  saddle,  scouting  the 
country  in  all  directions.  This  was  absolutely  nec- 
essary, as  the  Mexican  Sanchez,  with  a  large  force, 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  ''GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD: 


was  hovering  around  the  valley,  picking  up  stragglers 
and  looking  for  a  favorable  opportunity  to  make  a 
sudden  attack.  At  the  same  time,  the  Americans 
were  anxious  to  meet  Sanchez  on  a  fair  field,  but  his 
movements  were  so  erratic  and  rapid  that  he  could 
not  be  brought  to  bay. 

In  the  first  days  of  September,  Sanchez,  by  means 
of  an  ambush,  surprised  and  captured  Lieut.  W.  A. 
Bartlett,  of  the  United  States  sloop  Warren,  and 
who  was  then  acting  as  Alcalde  of  San  Francisco. 
He,  with  five  men,  were  out  looking  for  supplies  of 
cattle  and  reached  a  point  near  the  Seventeen  Mile 
House,  when  Sanchez  dashed  out  from  the  brush  and 
made  them  prisoners.  Martin  Corcoran,  afterward  a 
prominent  citizen  of  Santa  Clara  County,  was  with 
the  captured  party.  The  prisoners  were  carried  to 
Sanchez'  camp,  which  was  among  the  redwoods  in  the 
foot-hills  of  the  Santa  Cruz  Range.  Word  was 
brought  to  San  Jose  that  Sanchez  was  somewhere  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  valley,  and  Weber  and 
Murphy  started  out  in  pursuit  with  their  company. 
After  advancing  a  few  miles,  they  ascertained  that 
Sanchez  had  received  large  accessions  to  his  force, 
including  a  piece  of  artillery,  and  was  occupying  a 
strong  position  in  the  hills  back  of  San  Mateo. 
Captain  Weber's  little  company  being  too  small  to 
render  an  attack  advisable,  pushed  on  to  San  Fran- 
cisco to  report  to  the  commander. 

As  soon  as  Weber  had  passed  on,  Sanchez  came 
down  out  of  the  hills  and  encamped  north  of  San 
Jose,  on  the  Higuerra  ranch.  Two  days  later  he 
started  for  the  pueblo,  thinking  he  could  capture  it 
without  a  figlit,  as  Weber's  company  was  absent. 
He  took  up  a  position  on  the  Almaden  road,  south 
of  town,  and  sent  in  a  flag  of  truce,  demanding  a  sur- 
render, stating  that  he  had  with  him  two  hundred 
men,  whose  eagerness  for  battle  could  with  difficulty 
be  restrained;  but  if  the  American  forces  would  leave 
San  Jose,  they  would  be  permitted  to  depart  un- 
molested. Lieutenant  Pinckney  refused  the  offer, 
doubled  his  guards,  and  prepared  for  battle.  That 
night  was  one  of  great  anxiety  to  the  little  band 
behind  the  intrenchments  on  Market  Street.  Every 
one  was  on  the  qui  vive,  and  although  each  nerve  was 
strung  to  its  utmost  tension,  there  was  no  flinching, 
even  in  the  face  of  the  overwhelming  odds  opposed 
to  them.  During  the  night,  Sanchez  circled  round 
the  town  and  carefully  inspected  the  position  of 
the  Americans  from  every  point.  But  when  he 
saw  the  preparations  made  for  his  reception,  his  heart 
failed  him,  and  he  rode  off  with  his  command  and 


went  into  camp  about  five  miles  north  of  Santa  Clara. 
He  kept  with  him  Lieutenant  Bartlett  and  his  men, 
whom  he  had  taken  prisoners  a  few  days  before.  At 
that  time,  J.  Alex.  Forbes,  the  acting  British  Consul, 
was  at  Santa  Clara.  Mr.  Forbes,  taking  a  small 
English  flag  in  his  hand,  visited  the  camp  of  Sanchez 
for  the  purpose  of  negotiating  for  the  release  of  the 
prisoners.  Sanchez  was  willing  that  Bartlett  might 
go  with  Forbes,  but  would  not  consent  that  he  should 
be  turned  over  to  the  Americans  unless  \.\\&y  would 
deliver  up  Capt.  Charles  Weber  in  his  place.  Forbes 
communicated  this  proposition  to  the  commander  at 
San  Francisco,  and,  pending  a  reply,  took  Bartlett  to 
his  own  home  in  Santa  Clara.  Word  came  quickly 
from  San  Francisco  that  Sanchez'  proposition  could 
not  be  entertained,  and  Bartlett  was  returned  to  the 
Mexican  camp. 

During  this  time  Weber's  company  had  reached 
San  Francisco,  where  it  was  joined  by  other  forces, 
and  all  were  placed  under  the  command  of  Capt. 
Ward  Marston,  United  States  Marine  Corps,  of  the 
Savannah.  The  composition  of  this  army  was  as 
follows:  Thirty-four  marines  under  command  of 
Lieut.  Robert  Tansill;  a  six-pound  ship's  gun,  with 
ten  men,  commanded  by  Master  William  F.  D.  Gough, 
assisted  by  Midshipman  John  Kell;  the  San  Jose 
Volunteers,  a  body  of  thirty-three  mounted  men, 
under  command  of  Capt.  Charles  M.  Weber  and 
Lieut.  John  M.  Murphy,  with  James  F.  Reed,  who 
was  seeking  relief  for  the  Donner  party,  as  second 
lieutenant;  Yerba  Buena  Volunteers,  under  command 
of  Capt.  William  M.  Smith,  and  a  detachment  of  twelve 
men,  under  command  of  Capt.  J.  Martin.  The  whole 
force  numbered  one  hundred  and  one  men.  They 
advanced  from  San  Francisco,  and  on  the  second  day 
of  January,  1847,  came  in  sight  of  Sanchez'  forces, 
about  four  miles  north  of  Santa  Clara.  The  Mexican 
force  was  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  men,  or  more 
than  two  to  one  against  the  Americans,  but  notwith- 
standing this  great  discrepancy,  the  little  band  of 
American  troops  advanced  to  the  attack  with  enthu- 
siasm. Sane  fz,  whose  scouts  had  brought  him 
intelligence  of  the  approach  of  the  troops  from  San 
Francisco,  first  sent  his  prisoners  towards  the  Santa 
Cruz  Mountains,  and  then  with  a  great  show  of  valor 
made  ready  for  battle.  As  soon  as  the  Americans 
came  in  sight  of 'the  enemy,  they  pressed  on  to  the 
attack,  before  which  Sanchez  fell  back.  The  Ameri- 
cans continued  to  advance,  and  brought  their  one 
piece  of  artillery  into  position,  but  at  the  third  round 
it  was  dismounted  by  the  recoil,  and  half  buried  in  the 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


69 


mud.  The  infantry,  however,  kept  up  a  hot  fire 
whenever  they  could  get  in  range,  which,  owing  to 
the  extreme  caution  of  the  enemy,  was  not  often- 
A  good  deal  of  ground  was  thus  traversed,  until 
finally  Sanchez  made  a  strong  demonstration  around 
the  right  flank  of  the  Americans,  evidently  with  the 
intention  of  cutting  off  and  stampeding  a  large  band 
of  horses  that  were  in  charge  of  the  United  States 
troops. 

The  reports  of  the  artillery  and  the  volleys  of 
musketry  had  aroused  the  people  of  the  mission,  who 
ascended  the  house-tops  to  witness  the  battle.  Cap- 
tain Aram,  with  the  men  under  his  command,  was 
anxious  to  join  the  conflict,  but  as  all  the  women  and 
children  of  the  country  were  under  his  protection,  he 
did  not  feel  at  liberty  to  abandon  them,  especially  as 
Sanchez,  in  his  retrograde  movements,  was  approach- 
ing his  position.  However,  when  the  Mexicans  made 
the  demonstration  on  the  American  right,  as  above 
stated.  Captain  Aram,  at  the  head  of  his  men,  marched 
from  the  mission  with  speed  to  attack  Sanchez'  right 
wing.  At  the  same  time  Weber  and  Murphy's  com- 
pany charged  home,  and  drove  the  entire  Mexican 
force  from  the  field  and  towards  the  Santa  Cruz 
Mountains,  while  the  Americans  marched  in  triumph 
to  the  mission.  The  Mexican  loss  was  four  men 
killed  and  four  wounded.  The  Americans  had  two 
men  slightly  wounded. 

Soon  after  Sanchez  had  been  driven  from  the  field, 
he  sent  in  to  the  mission  a  flag  of  truce,  offering  a 
conditional  surrender.  The  reply  was  that  the  sur- 
render must  be  unconditional.  Sanchez  answered 
that  he  would  die  before  he  would  surrender  except 
on  the  conditions  proposed  by  him.  Finally,  a  cessa- 
tion of  hostilities  was  agreed  upon  until  such  a  time 
as  his  proposition  could  be  submitted  to  the  com- 
mander of  the  district,  at  San  Francisco. 

During  this  armistice,  and  the  day  after  the  battle, 
January  3,  Captain  Aram  went  to  the  Mexican  cor- 
ral to  look  for  some  horses  that  had  been  stolen  from 
the  Americans.  While  in  the  Mexican  camp  word 
was  brought  in  that  another  American  force  was 
advancing  from  the  direction  of  the  Santa  Cruz 
Mountains,  and  Sanchez,  who  seemed  to  be  in  great 
fear  of  an  attack,  requested  Captain  Aram  to  go  out 
and  meet  them  and  inform  them  of  the  armistice.  As 
no  re-inforcements  were  expected  from  that  direction, 
Aram  could  not  imagine  what  this  force  could  be; 
but  he  rode  out  to  meet  them,  accompanied  by  a  few 
men,and  the  acting  British  Consul,  J.  Alex.  Forbes.  It 
seems  that  the  hope  that  England  would  take  a  hand 


in  the  affairs  of  California  was  not  entirely  abandoned, 
for,  as  Lieutenant  Murphy  states,  Forbes  carried  with 
him  a  small  English  flag,  concealed  under  the  skirts 
of  his  saddle,  presumably  for  the  purpose  of  invoking 
the  aid  of  the  strangers  should  they  prove  to  be  En- 
glish. Several  of  the  men  in  the  escort  saw  the  flag, 
and  said  afterwards  that  had  an  attempt  been  made 
to  induce  British  interference  its  bearer  would  not 
have  survived  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  negotiations. 
As  it  happened,  however,  the  new  party  proved  to  be 
a  force  of  fifty-nine  men  under  command  of  Cap- 
tain Maddox,  of  the  United  States  navy.  They 
were  disappointed  to  hear  of  the  armistice,  but  re- 
spected its  conditions.  Three  days  after  this  event 
a  courier  arrived  from  San  Francisco  with  orders 
informing  Captain  Marston  that  Sanchez'  surrender 
must  be  unconditional. 

On  the  next  day,  the  seventh,  Lieutenant  Grayson 
arrived  at  the  mission  with  another  re-inforcement  of 
fifteen  men,  and  on  the  eighth  Sanchez  unconditionally 
surrendered  his  entire  force.  His  men  were  allowed 
to  return  to  their  homes,  which  most  of  them  did,  and 
afterward  became  good  citizens  of  the  United  States. 
Sanchez  was  taken  to  San  Francisco,  and  for  a  time 
was  held  as  a  prisoner  of  war  on  board  the  Savannah, 

The  battle  of  Santa  Clara  was  the  last  of  hostilities 
in  this  county.  The  theater  of  war  was  transferred 
to  the  South,  and  no  hostile  gun  was  afterwards  fired 
in  the  beautiful  valley  of  Santa  Clara.  But  few 
months  elapsed  after  this  engagement  before  the 
soldiers  on  both  sides  were  mingled  together  in  the 
friendliest  kind  of  business  and  social  relations.  This 
will  not  seem  remarkable  when  it  is  remembered  that 
the  inhabitants  of  California  had,  for  a  number  of 
years,  been  dissatisfied  with  their  relations  to  the 
Mexican  Government.  They  had  contemplated  a 
revolution,  and  had,  in  a  manner,  accomplished  it 
when  they  drove  Micheltorena  from  the  country. 
They  did  not  intend  to  set  up  a  government  for  them- 
selves, but  were  seeking  the  protection  of  some  foreign 
power.  It  is  true  they  had  no  love  for  the  United 
States,  but  that  government  having  taken  possession 
of  the  country,  they  accepted  the  situation  as  being 
much  better  than  their  former  condition,  although 
not  what  they  had  hoped  to  achieve.  The  equal 
justice  which  was  administered  by  the  new  adminis- 
tration of  affairs  soon  reconciled  them  to  their  lot, 
and  in  a  very  few  years  they  congratulated  them- 
selves that  things  were  as  they  were,  and  not  as  they 
had  sought  to  make  them. 

Hostilities  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico 


70 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


ceased  early  in  1848,  and  February  2  of  that  year 
the  treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo  was  signed,  by 
which  California  was  ceded  to  the  conquerors.  This 
treaty  was  ratified  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States  March  16,  was  exchanged  at  Queretaro  May 
30,  and  was  proclaimed  by  the  President  July  4. 

California  was  now  the  property  of  the  United 
States,  but  had  neither  Territorial  nor  State  organiza- 
tion. In  fact,  it  had  no  Territorial  existence  until 
1849.  During  this  time  its  affairs  were  administered 
by  the  senior  military  officers  stationed  in  California. 
These  military  governors  were  as  follows :  Commo- 
dore John  D.  Sloat,  from  July  7,  1846;  Commodore 
Robert  F.  Stockton,  August  17,  1846;  Colonel  John 
C.  Fremont,  January,  1847;  General  Stephen  W. 
Kearney,  March  i,  1847;  Colonel  Richard  B.  Ma- 
son, May  31,  1847;  General  Bennett  Riley,  April 
13.  1849- 

DISCOVERY   OF   GOLD. 

In  January,  1848,  came  the  discovery  of  gold  at 
Sutter's  Mill.  The  excitement  caused  by  this  event  has 
been  described  both  in  prose  and  verse.  It  spread 
like  a  conflagration  throughout  the  coast,  and,  over- 
leaping the  Sierras,  swept  over  the  continent,  and 
thence  across  the  Atlantic  to  the  Old  World.  It 
came  to  the  Santa  Clara  Valley  after  the  annual  grain 
crops  had  been  planted.  All  business  was  suspended 
and  everybody  rushed  to  the  mines.  Many  succeeded 
in  securing  a  good  supply  of  the  precious  metal,  but 
many  more  did  not.  The  grain  in  the  fields  grew 
and  ripened,  but  waited  in  vain  for  the  reaper,  and 
was  finally  wasted  or  devoured  by  the  grazing  herds. 
Each  report  of  a  rich  find  intensified  the  excitement, 
while  the  numerous  stories  of  disappointment  seemed 
not  to  allay  the  fever.  The  town  and  country  were 
deserted.  There  being  no  crops,  for  lack  of  harvest- 
ers, all  food  supplies  went  up  to  fabulous  prices.  The 
flour  used  was  brought  chiefly  from  Chili  and  sold 
for  $20  per  barrel.  Everything  else  in  the  way  of 
food,  excepting  meat,  was  proportionately  high.  La- 
bor, when  it  could  be  procured,  was  from  $10  to  $18 
per  day.  Lumber  cost  $100  per  thousand  feet  for  the 
hauling  alone.  For  two  years  the  onions  raised  on 
about  six  acres  of  ground  near  where  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad  depot  now  stands  yielded  a  net  profit 
of  $20,000  per  year. 

It  has  gone  into  history  that  the  first  discovery  of 
gold  was  made  in  January,  1848,  by  Marshall,  in  the 
race  at  Sutter's  Mill.  Mrs.  Virginia  Murphy,  daugh- 
ter of  James  F.  Reed,  and  one  of  the  Donner  party, 


says  that  gold  was  discovered  at  Donner  Lake  in 
the  winter  of  1846-47.  She  says:  "We  were  seated 
around  the  fire  when  John  Denton,  a  gunsmith  by 
trade,  while  knocking  off  chips  from  the  rocks  on 
which  the  wood  was  placed,  saw  something  shining. 
He  examined  it  and  pronounced  it  to  be  gold.  He 
then  knocked  off  more  chips  from  the  rock,  and 
hunted  in  the  ashes  for  more  of  the  shining  particles 
until  he  had  gathered  a  tablespoonful.  He  wrapped 
the  gold  in  a  piece  of  buckskin  and  put  it  in  his 
pocket.  When  the  first  relief  party  came  in  he  went 
out  with  it,  but  died  on  the  way,  and  the  gold  was 
buried  with  him.  When  I  saw  my  father,  Mr.  Reed, 
I  told  him  of  the  circumstance,  and  he  said:  'If 
John  Denton  says  that  that  is  gold  it  is  gold,  for  he 
knows.'  My  father  intended  to  go  back  to  Donner 
Lake  to  search  for  the  precious  metal,  but  before  he 
started,  gold  was  discovered  at  Sutter's  Mill;  hence, 
he  did  not  return  to  the  lake.  I  have  been  told  that 
the  rocks  used  for  the  fire-place  had  been  washed 
down  from  a  mountain  where  gold  was,  but  this 
mountain  was  probably  many  miles  away." 

In  the  latter  part  of  1848  some  of  the  citizens  of 
San  Jose  who  had  gone  to  the  mines  returned.  Some 
had  made  fortunes,  others  a  few  hundred  or  a  few 
thousands  of  dollars,  and  others  had  made  nothing, 
and,  having  become  disgusted  with  their  luck,  came 
home  to  engage  in  other  pursuits.  Up  to  this  time 
the  immigration  to  California  had  been  made  up  of 
those  who  were  seeking  homes  for  agricultural  and 
other  business  purposes,  but  its  character  was  entirely 
changed  by  the  discovery  of  gold,  and  for  severa 
years  all  classes  of  people  poured  into  the  State. 
They  came  by  land  and  by  water  in  search  of  the 
glittering  metal.  They  were  from  all  countries  and 
were  of  all  classes  of  society,  from  the  highest  to  the 
lowest,  and  met  here  on  a  common  level.  Some  of 
the  most  talented,  educated,  and  refined  men  of  the 
nation  worked  with  pick  and  pan  with  nothing  in 
their  outward  appearance  to  indicate  the  sphere  in 
which  they  had  been  reared.  There  was  the  usual 
proportion  of  thieves,  gamblers,  and  "knights  of  indus- 
try," and  crime  became  rampant.  Judge  Lynch  pre- 
sided at  many  of  the  extemporized  courts,  and 
"miners'  law"  was  the  law  of  the  land.  A  very  large 
number  came  with  the  intention  of  quickly  acquiring 
a  fortune  and  returning  home.  But  few  of  these 
anticipations  were  realized.  Many  of  the  successful 
ones,  charmed  with  the  climate  and  fertile  soil  of 
California,  became  permanent  residents.  Many  of 
those  who  were  unsuccessful  in  the   mines   became 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD: 


71 


successful  in  other  pursuits,  and  made  their  homes 
here.  Of  both  of  these  classes  San  Jose  received  a 
large  portion,  and  agriculture  and  other  industries 
began  to  be  developed.  Better  buildings  were  con- 
structed, business  enterprises  inaugurated,  the  Mexi- 
can inhabitants  with  their  grazing  herds  were  gradu- 
ally pushed  aside  by  the  rustling  American  from 
across  the  mountains,  and  the  vast  pastures  trans- 
formed into  fields  of  grain.  The  fertile  soil  of  the 
valley,  when  excited  by  the  industry  and  improved 
implements  of  the  immigrant,  developed  a  mine  of 
wealth  no  less  valuable  than  the  rich  placers  of  the 
mountains. 

THE    FIRST   CAPITAL. 

The  large  increase  in  population,  and  the  number 
of  different  business  enterprises  that  were  inaugu- 
rated, created  a  demand  for  a  government  different 
from  that  administered  by  the  military  department, 
and  for  a  code  of  laws  other  than  the  traditions  of 
Mexican  jurisprudence.  The  matter  was  represented 
to  General  Riley,  then  military  governor,  who  called 
the  people  to  meet  in  convention  and  frame  a  consti- 
tution preliminary  to  asking  Congress  for  admission 
as  a  State  of  the  Union.  This,  the  first  Constitu- 
tional Convention,  met  at  Monterey  on  the  first  day  of 
September,  1849.  The  delegates  sent  from  San  Jose 
were  Joseph  Aram,  Kimble  H.  Dimick,  J.  D.  Hoppe, 
Antonio  M.  Pico,  Elam  Brown,  Julian  Hanks,  and 
Pedro  Sansevain. 

The  people  of  San  Jose,  even  at  this  early  day, 
did  not  lack  the  spirit  of  enterprise  which  has  since 
distinguished  them.  At  a  public  meeting  held  for 
that  purpose,  a  committee  consisting  of  Charles  White 
and  James  F.  Reed  was  appointed  for  the  purpose  of 
attending  the  convention  and  urging  upon  that  body 
the  advisability  of  selecting  San  Jose  as  the  future 
capital  of  the  new  State,  This  committee  was  met 
by  representatives  from  other  localities,  each  on  the 
same  errand.  San  Jose,  however,  carried  off  the  prize, 
but  in  order  to  accomplish  this,  they  were  compelled 
to  enter  into  an  agreement  that  suitable  buildings  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  State  government  should 
be  furnished  in  time  for  the  meeting  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, which  was  the  fifteenth  of  the  ensuing  Decem- 
ber. As  there  were  no  such  buildings  in  the  town, 
this  was  a  rather  bold  undertaking  on  the  part  of  the 
committee.  During  the  year,  a  large  adobe  house 
had  been  built  by  Messrs.  Rochon  and  Sansevain,  on 
the  east  side  of  Market  Plaza,  about  opposite  where 
the  new  City  Hall  now  stands.       This   was  the   only 


building  in  the  town  that  anyways  approached  the 
requirements  of  the  State.  The  Ayuntamiento,  or 
Town  Council,  resolved  to  rent  this  house  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  the  Legislature.  But  the  rent  asked 
was  $4,000  per  month,  and  after  further  consideration, 
it  was  concluded  to  purchase  the  property  for  $34,000, 
that  sum  being  less  than  would  have  to  be  paid  for  a 
year's  rent. 

It  was  easy  enough  to  resolve  to  purchase;  but  to 
provide  the  means  was  a  matter  of  considerable 
difficulty.  There  was  no  money,  and  the  owners  of 
the  building  would  not  take  the  pueblo  for  security. 
At  this  juncture,  a  number  of  public-spirited  citizens 
came  forward  and  executed  a  promissory  note  for 
$34,000,  with  interest  at  eight  per  cent  per  month, 
and  thus  solved  the  difficulty.  The  names  appended 
to  the  note  were:  R.  M.  May,  James  F.  Reed,  Peter 
Davidson,  William  McCutcheon,  Joseph  Aram,  David 
Dickey,  Charles  White,  F.  Lightston,  R.  C.  Keyes, 
Peter  Quivey,  J.  D.  Hoppe,  J.  C.  Cobb,  K.  H.  Dim- 
ick, Benjamin  Cory,  W.  H.  Eddy,  Grove  Cook, 
Isaac  Branham,  J.  Belden,  and  P.  Sansevain.  The 
deed  was  taken  in  the  names  of  Aram,  Belden,  and 
Reed,  as  trustees  for  the  purchasers,  with  a  condition 
that  the  property  should  be  conveyed  to  the  pueblo 
when  it  should  pay  for  the  same.  The  State  issued 
bonds  to  the  amount  of  $50,000,  to  pay  for  the 
property.  These  bonds  were  sold  for  forty  cents  on 
the  dollar,  leaving  the  original  purchasers  considera- 
bly out  of  pocket  on  the  investment.  To  recover  the 
balance,  suits  were  instituted  against  the  city,  and  the 
litigation  continued  for  a  number  of  years  in  differ- 
ent forms.  A  history  of  this  dispute  will  be  found 
in  the  chapter  on  "  Land  Titles,"  further  on  in  this 
work.  From  Mr.  Hall's  history  of  San  Jose,  we  take 
the  following  description  of  this  building:  "  It  was 
sixty  feet  long,  forty  feet  wide,  and  adorned  with  a 
piazza  in  front.  The  upper  story  contained  but  one 
room,  with  a  stairway  leading  thereto.  This  room 
was  occupied  by  the  Assembly.  The  lower  story 
was  divided  into  four  rooms.  The  largest  one  was 
forty  by  twenty  feet,  and  was  the  Senate  chamber. 
The  other  rooms  were  used  by  the  secretary  and 
various  committees.  In  front  of  it  stood  a  liberty 
pole,  the  top  splice  of  which  was  the  same  that  stood 
before  the  juzgado,  bearing  the  ample  folds  of  the 
first  United  States  colors  which  wafted  in  this  valley. 
This  same  top  splice  forms  the  upper  part  of  the 
pole  now  in  front  of  the  engine  house  on  Lightston 
Alley.  The  gilt  ball  at  the  top  contains  a  written 
history  of  the  facts  pertaining  thereto."     This  splice. 


72 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD: 


with  its  gilt  ball,  was  afterwards  removed  and  placed 
on  the  top  of  the  old  City  Hall,  on  Market  Street. 

The  election  to  ratify  the  Constitution  was  held 
November  13,  1849,  the  San  Jose  District  casting  five 
hundred  and  sixty-seven  votes,  all  for  its  adoption. 
Peter  H.  Burnett  was  at  the  same  time  elected  Gov- 
ernor, his  opponent  being  W.  S.  Sherwood. 

The  condition  of  affairs  in  San  Jose  at  that  time  was 
very  crude,  both  socially  and  commercially.  It  is 
well  illustrated  by  "  Grandma  Bascom's  Story,"  from 
the  graceful  pen  of  Mrs.  M.  H.  Field,  of  San  Jose, 
and  which  was  published  in  the  Overland  Montlily, 
for  May,  1887,  and  from  which  we  quote: — 

"We  reached  Sacramento  on  the  last  day  of  Octo- 
ber. Then  we  took  a  boat  for  San  Francisco.  Our 
fare  was  $132,  and  we  were  eight  days  in  getting  to 
San  Francisco.  It  rained  and  rained.  I  remember 
at  Benicia  we  paid  $1.50  for  a  candle.  At  San  Fran- 
cisco we  had  hoped  to  find  a  house  all  ready  to  be 
put  together,  which  Doctor  had  bought  in  New  York 
and  ordered  sent  round  the  Horn.  He  had  also  sent 
in  the  same  cargo  a  great  lot  of  furniture  and  a  year's 
supply  of  provisions,  but  they  never  came  till  the  next 
April,  and  then  everything  was  spoiled  but  the  house. 
We  had  also  bought  in  San  Francisco  two  lots  at 
$1,700  each.  The  best  we  could  do  was  to  camp  on 
them.  The  first  night  in  San  Francisco  Mr.  Bryant 
came  to  take  supper  with  us,  and  the  Doctor,  to  cele- 
brate, bought  $5.00  worth  of  potatoes.  We  ate  them 
all  for  supper,  and  didn't  eat  so  very  many  either! 

"  We  had  intended  from  the  first  to  come  to  the 
Santa  Clara  Valley,  for  Doctor  said  that  wherever  the 
Catholic  Fathers  had  picked  out  a  site  must  be  a  good 
location.  The  children  and  I  stayed  in  the  city  while 
Doctor  came  on  horseback  to  San  Jose  and  bought  a 
house  for  us.  Then  he  came  back,  and  we  started  for 
San  Jose  with  Professor  Jack,  while  Doctor  stayed  in 
the  city  to  buy  and  ship  furniture  and  provisions  to 
us.  We  came  to  Alviso  in  the  boat  and  paid  another 
$150  in  fare,  just  for  me  and  the  children.  From 
Alviso  we  came  to  San  Jose  by  the  Pioneer  stage, 
through  fearful  mud  and  pouring  rain,  paying  an 
'ounce'  each  for  fare.  On  the  boat  I  got  acquainted 
with  two  nice  gentlemen,  both  ministers,  whose  names 
were  Blakeslee  and  Brierly.  They  two  were  coming 
to  San  Jose;  also  a  Mr.  Knox. 

'"We  haven't  any  place  to  lay  our  heads  when  we 
get  there,'  one  of  them  said. 

"  'Well,  I've  got  a  house,'  said  I,  'just  as  if  I  was  in 
Kentucky,  and  if  you  can  put  up  with  what  I'll  have 
to,  you  can  come  with  me  and  welcome.'     So  we  were 


all  driven  straight  to  my  house,  on  the  corner  of 
Second  and  San  Fernando  Streets.  It  was  just  dark, 
and  the  tenth  of  December. 

"  The  house  had  been  bought  of  a  Mrs.  Matthews, 
and  she  was  still  in  the  house.  Doctor  had  paid 
$7,000  for  the  house  and  two  fifty-vara  lots.  I  ex- 
pected to  see  at  least  a  decent  shelter;  but,  oh,  my  !  it 
was  just  as  one  of  the  children  said,  'Most  as  good 
as  our  old  Kentucky  corn-crib.'  It  had  two  rooms 
and  a  loft,  which  was  climbed  into  by  a  kind  of  ladder. 
The  roof  was  of  shakes  and  let  the  rain  right  through, 
and  the  floor  was  of  planks,  laid  down  with  the 
smooth  side  up,  and  great  cracks  between  that  let  the 
water  run  out.  I  was  thankful  for  that!  There  was 
a  chimney  in  the  house,  and  fire-place,  but  hardly  a 
bit  of  fire,  nor  any  wood.  It  was  rather  a  forlorn 
place  to  come  to  and  bring  visitors  to,  now,  wasn't  it  ? 
Yet  we  had  been  through  so  much  that  the  poorest 
shelter  looked  good  to  me,  and  besides  it  was  our 
new  home.  We  must  make  the  best  of  it.  Mrs. 
Matthews  had  a  good  supper  for  us  on  a  table  spread 
with  a  white  cloth,  and  the  children  were  overjoyed 
to  see  a  real  table-cloth  once  more. 

"  'Will  you  tell  me  where  I  can  get  some  wood?'  I 
said  to  Mrs.  Matthews,  thinking  that  a  fire  would  be 
the  best  possible  thing  for  us  all. 

"'You  can  buy  a  burro  load  in  the  morning,'  she 
answered.  '  I've  used  the  last  bit  to  get  supper  with.' 
Well,  the  end  of  it  was  we  took  our  supper  and  went 
to  bed — nut  on  our  nice  Kentucky  feather-beds,  but 
on  buffalo  skins  spread  on  the  floor,  and  without  any 
pillows.  Mr.  Knox  and  Mr.  Blakeslee  and  Mr.  Brierly 
climbed  up  into  the  loft,  and  turned  in  as  best  they 
could.  Mr.  Knox  was  sick,  too,  but  I  could  not  even 
give  him  a  cup  of  hot  tea.  I  said  to  Mrs.  Matthews 
that  I  wished  I  could  heat  a  stone  to  put  to  his  feet. 

"'Stone!'  said  she;  'there  are  no  stones  in  this 
country.' 

"We  slept  as  if  we  were  on  downy  beds,  we  were  all 
so  tired.  The  next  morning  I  bought  a  'burro'  load 
of  wood  for  an 'ounce.'  Everything  cost  an  'ounce.' 
I  soon  got  used  to  it.  Wheat  was  75  cents  a  pound, 
butter  $1.00  a  pound,  eggs  $3.00  a  dozen.  A  chicken 
cost  $3.00,  milk  $1.00  a  quart.  But  their  prices 
matched  all  around.  Doctors  charged  $5.00  for  draw- 
ing a  tooth,  and  other  things  in  proportion.  I  don't 
know  as  it  made  any  difference.  I  divided  my  man- 
sion into  four  rooms,  with  curtains.  Doctor  came  and 
brought  us  furniture  and  all  the  comforts  money 
would  buy.  He  paid  $500  to  get  shingles  on  our 
roof.     Mr.  Blakeslee  and  Mr.  Brierly  stayed  with  us. 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


73 


We  all  seemed  to  get  on  well  together.  It  was  not 
till  spring  that  doctor  found  a  black  man  who  could 
cook.  He  paid  $800  for  him.  Folks  said  he  wouldn't 
stay — for,  of  course,  he  was  free  in  California — but  he 
did.     He  lived  with  us  for  four  years. 

"  People  began  to  ask  if  they  couldn't  stay  with  us 
just  for  a  few  days  till  they  found  some  other  home; 
and  then,  somehow,  they  stayed  on.  Everybody  had 
to  be  hospitable.  The  Legislature  was  in  session  and 
the  town  was  more  than  full.  The  first  thing  I  knew 
I  had  thirteen  boarders — senators  and  representatives, 
and  ministers,  and  teachers.  Nobody  who  came 
would  go  away.  I  could  always  manage  to  make 
people  feel  at  home,  and  they  would  all  say  that  they 
would  put  up  with  anything,  and  help  in  all  sorts  of 
ways,  if  I  would  only  let  them  stay.  It  was  as  good 
as  a  play  to  see  them  help  me.  Mr.  Leek  (he  was  the 
enrolling  clerk  in  the  Legislature)  was  a  wonderful 
hand  to  make  batter-cakes.  We  got  up  a  reputation 
on  batter-cakes,  and  our  house  was  dubbed  '  Slapjack 
Hall,'  by  my  boy  Al.  It  stuck  to  us.  Mr.  Bradford, 
from  Indiana,  could  brown  coffee  to  perfection. 

"  Mr.  Orr  and  Mr.  McMullen  always  brought  all  the 
water.  They  were  senators.  I  used  to  think  they 
liked  the  job  because  there  was  a  pretty  girl  in  the 
house  where  they  got  the  water.  And  that  reminds 
me,  several  families  got  water  from  the  same  well.  It 
was  just  a  hole  in  the  ground,  about  eight  or  ten  feet 
deep,  and  no  curb  around  it.  Once  a  baby  was  creep- 
ing round  on  the  ground  and  fell  into  it.  The  mother 
saw  it  and  ran  and  jumped  in  after  it.  Then  she 
screamed,  and  I  ran  out.  There  she  was  in  the  well, 
holding  the  baby  upside  down  to  get  the  water  out 
of  its  lungs!  'Throw  me  a  rope  !'  she  screamed,  and 
I  ran  for  a  rope.  Then  she  tied  it  around  the  baby, 
and  I  drew  it  up.  Meanwhile,  our  cries  brought  men 
to  the  rescue,  and  they  drew  up  the  poor  woman. 
We  tried  to  keep  the  well  covered  after  that. 

"  It  .seemed  impossible  to  get  a  cook.  We  even  had 
a  woman  come  down  from  San  Francisco,  but  she 
didn't  stay  when  she  found  we  really  expected  her  to 
cook.  She  .said  she  was  a  niece  of  Amos  Kendall's, 
and  wasn't  going  to  cook  for  anybody.  Professor 
Jack  helped  me  steadily,  and,  as  I  said,  everybody 
lent  a  hand.  We  had  a  very  gay  time  over  our  meals, 
and  everybody  was  willing  to  wash  dishes  and  tend 
baby.  I  used  to  go  up  to  the  Legislature  and  enjoy 
the  fun  there  as  much  as  they  enjoyed  my  house- 
keeping. The  March  of  that  winter  was  something 
to  remember.     People  used  to  gel  swamped  on  the 


corner  of  First  and  Santa  Clara  Streets.  A  little  boy 
was  drowned  there.     It  was  a  regular  trap  for  children. 

"Oh,  did  I  tell  you  I  built  the  first  church  and  the 
first  school-house  in  San  Jose  ?  I  did.  I  built  it  all 
alone,  with  my  own  hands,  and  the  only  tool  I  had 
was  a  good  stout  needle.  It  was  the  famous  '  Blue 
Tent '  you  have  heard  of.  Mr.  Blakeslee  asked  me  if 
I  could  make  it,  and  I  told  him  of  course  I  could. 
He  bought  the  cloth  and  cut  it  out.  It  was  of  blue 
jean,  and  cost  seventy-five  cents  a  yard.  The  Presby- 
terian Church  was  organized  in  it,  and  Mr.  Blakeslee 
had  a  school  in  it  all  winter. 

"  We  had  a  good  deal  of  party  going,  and  gave  en- 
tertainments, just  as  if  we  had  elegant  houses  and  all 
the  conveniences.  The  Spanish  people  were,  some  of 
them,  extremely  stylish.  The  ladies  had  dresses  as 
rich  as  silk  and  embroidery  could  make  them,  and  in 
their  long,  low  adobe  houses  there  were  rich  carpets 
and  silk  curtains  trimmed  with  gold  lace.  I  went  to 
the  first  wedding  in  one  of  these  houses.  Miss  Pico 
married  a  Mr.  Campbell.  It  was  very  grand,  but  the 
odd  dresses  and  the  odd  dishes  upset  my  dignity 
more  than  once.  Governor  and  Mrs.  McDougall  lived 
in  an  adobe  house  on  Market  Street,  and  they  had  a 
grand  party  there.  I  had  a  party,  too,  one  day,  and 
asked  all  the  ladies  of  my  acquaintance.  Mrs.  Bran- 
ham  had  given  me  six  eggs,  and  I  made  an  elegant 
cake,  which  I  was  going  to  pass  around  in  fine  style. 
I  began  by  passing  it  to  one  of  the  Spanish  ladies, 
and  she  took  the  whole  cake  at  one  swoop,  wrapped 
it  up  in  the  skirt  of  her  gorgeous  silk  dress,  and  said, 
'  Mucha  gracias.'  I  was  never  so  surprised  in  my 
life,  but  there  was  nothing  I  could  do.  The  rest  of 
us  had  to  go  without  cake  that  time. 

"  Cattle  and  horses  ran  about  the  streets,  and  there 
were  no  sidewalks.  We  had  to  just  pick  our  way 
round  as  best  we  could. 

"  In  the  spring  my  piano  came.  It  was  sent  by  way 
of  the  Isthmus.  It  was  the  first  piano  in  San  Jose. 
It  made  a  great  sensation.  Everybody  came  to  see 
it  and  hear  my  little  girl  play.  Indians  and  Spanish 
used  to  crowd  round  the  doors  and  windows  to  hear 
the  wonderful  music,  and  many  a  white  man,  too,  lin- 
gered and  listened  because  it  reminded  him  of  home. 

"  We  moved  into  a  better  house  in  the  spring,  very 
near  where  the  Methodist  Church  South  now  stands. 
We  paid  $125  a  month  for  it.  But  when  I  look  back 
it  seems  to  me  that  I  never  had  such  an  intellectual 
feast  as  in  old  'Slapjack  Hall.'  The  gentlemen  who 
figured  as  cooks  in  my  kitchen  were  the  most  intelli- 
gent and  agreeable  men  you  can  imagine.    They  were 


74 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


all  educated  and  smart,  and  they  appeared  just  as 
much  like  gentlemen  when  they  were  cooking  as 
when  they  were  making  speeches  in  the  Legislature. 
I  don't  believe  we  ever  again  had  such  a  choice  set 
of  folks  under  our  roof  here  in  San  Jose.  Doctor  and 
I  felt  honored  to  entertain  them,  and  yet  they  paid 
us  $20  a  week  for  the  privilege. 

"  Of  course  you  know  General  Fremont  and  his  wife 
were  here  that  winter,  and  I  knew  them  both.  Mrs. 
Fremont's  sister,  Mrs.  Jones,  and  I  were  great  friends. 
Yes,  indeed,  there  never  were  finer  people  than  my 
boarders  and  neighbors  in  '49.  Let  me  see;  there 
were  the  Cooks  and  Hoppes,  and  Cobbs  and  Joneses, 
the  Branhams  and  Beldens,  and  Hensleys  and  Will- 
iams, the  Bralys,  the  Hesters  and  Crosbys,  Murphys, 
Dickinsons,  Hendersons,  Kincaids,  Campbells,  Reeds, 
Houghtons,  Tafts  and  Moodys.  Then  amongst  the 
Spanish  were  the  Picos  and  Sunols.  Very  likely  I 
have  forgotten  a  great  many,  just  telling  them  off  in 
this  fashion,  but  I  never  forget  them  really.  Many  of 
the  best  citizens  of  San  Jose  now,  with  wives  and 
children,  yes,  and  grandchildren,  were  slim  young  fel- 
lows then,  who  had  come  to  California  to  seek  their 
fortunes.  Fine,  enterprising  boys  they  were  too. 
Some  of  them  boarded  with  me.  C.  T.  Ryland  and 
P.  O.  Minor  were  inmates  of  'Slapjack  Hall,'  and  Dr. 
Cory  and  the  Reeds  will  remember  it  well. 

"  In  1852  we  moved  out  on  the  Stockton  ranch,  and 
bought  our  own  farm  in  Santa  Clara,  on  which  we 
built  our  permanent  home,  Somerville  Lodge.  I  re- 
member we  paid  our  head  carpenter  $16  a  day.  The 
house  cost  us  $10,000.  It  would  not  cost  $1,000 
now.  We  bought  seeds  to  plant  a  garden,  and  an 
ounce  of  onion  seed  cost  an  ounce  of  gold  !  We  paid 
$6.00  each  for  our  fruit  trees.  A  mule  cost  $300;  a 
horse,  $400.  But  doctors'  services  were  just  as  high- 
priced,  and  so  we  kept  even." 

THE   FIRST   LEGISLATURE. 

The  first  Legislature  met  December  15,  1849,  and 
on  the  20th  the  first  civil  Governor  was  inaugurated. 
Representatives  from  other  districts  who  had  been 
disappointed  in  not  securing  the  capital  at  the  Con- 
stitutional Convention,  renewed  their  efforts  in  the 
Legislature.  About  the  first  bill  introduced  into 
the  Assembly  was  by  George  B.  Tingley,  providing 
for  the  removal  of  the  capital  to  Monterey.  The 
State  House  was  not  well  adapted  to  the  use  of  the 
Legislature,  nor  were  all  the  conveniences  of  life  to  be 
had  in  San  Jose  at  that  early  day.  The  people  of  the 
city,  however,  exerted  themselves  to  make  the  condi- 


tion of  affairs  as  pleasant  as  possible.  They  kept 
open  house  and  entertained  the  law-makers  to  the  best 
of  their  ability. 

This  Legislature  passed  the  act  which  gave  San 
Jose  its  first  legal  incorporation  under  the  United 
States  rule.  The  act  was  passed  in  March,  1850,  and 
on  the  eleventh  of  April  the  Ayuntamiento  held  its 
last  meeting,  and  the  new  Common  Council  held  its 
first  meeting  under  the  charter  on  the  13th. 

The  anniversary  of  national  independence  was 
gratefully  remembered  in  this  first  year  of  American 
civil  administration  in  California.  Mr.  Hall  says 
"  there  was  a  grand  celebration,  and  much  more  inter- 
est felt  than  on  such  occasions  in  the  Eastern  States. 
The  isolation  from  the  other  States  made  the  feeling 
of  national  pride  increase.  We  felt  as  though  we 
were  in  a  foreign  land,  and  the  tendency  was  to 
brighten  and  vivify  the  love  of  the  whole  country  in 
every  American.  On  that  occasion  the  Hon.  Will- 
iam Voorhies  delivered  the  oration;  James  M.  Jones 
also  delivered  one  in  Spanish  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Mexicans  present.  Mr.  Sanford,  a  lawyer  from  Geor- 
gia, read  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Thir- 
teen young  ladies  dressed  in  blue  spencers  and  white 
skirts  rode  on  horseback,  followed  by  the  'Eagle 
Guards,'  commanded  by  Capt.  Thomas  White;  also 
five  hundred  citizens,  some  on  horseback,  some  in 
carriages,  and  some  afoot,  made  up  the  national  pa- 
geant that  wound  its  way  to  the  south  of  the  town,  a 
mile  or  more,  in  the  grove  near  the  Almaden  road  ; 
and  there  the  ceremony  was  performed,  to  the  great 
pleasure  and  pride  of  the  American  settlers  in  this 
new  country." 

UNDER   STATE  GOVERNMENT. 

On  the  ninthday  of  September,  1850,  California  was 
admitted  to  the  Union  as  a  State,  and  on  the  sixth 
day  of  January  following  the  State  Legislature  as- 
sembled at  San  Jose.  On  the  eighth  Governor  Bur- 
nett tendered  his  resignation,  and  John  McDougall 
was  sworn  in  as  his  successor.  The  overwhelming 
question  was  the  removal  of  the  capital  from  San 
Jose.  The  citizens  did  all  in  their  power  to  retain 
it,  offering  large  grants  of  valuable  real  property  and 
funds  for  the  construction  of  public  buildings.  The 
State  scrip  which  the  members  were  compelled  to  re- 
ceive as  pay  for  their  services  was  worth  only  forty 
cents  on  the  dollar,  but  was  taken  at  par  by  the  citi- 
zens of  San  Jose.  In  short,  every  honorable  effort 
was  made  to  retain  the  capital,  but  in  vain.  General 
Vallejo  exerted  a  greater  influence,  and  an  act  was 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


75 


passed  February  14  removing  the   State  government 
to  Vallejo. 

With  this  Legislature  the  boundaries  of  Santa 
Clara  County,  as  a  political  subdivision  of  the  great 
State  of  California,  were  defined.  It  originally  in- 
cluded Washington  Township,  of  Alameda  County, 
but  this  was  afterwards  cut  off,  and  the  county  re- 
duced to  its  present  limits,  which  are  as  follows  :  Be- 
ginning at  a  point  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  San 
Francisquito  Creek,  being  the  common  corner  of 
Alameda,  San  Mateo,  and  Santa  Clara  Counties; 
thence  easterly  to  a  point  at  the  head  of  a  slough, 
which  is  an  arm  of  the  San  Francisco  Bay  at  its 
head,  making  into  the  mainland  in  front  of  theGegara 
rancho  ;  thence  easterly  to  a  lone  sycamore  vtree  that 
stands  in  a  ravine  between  the  dwellings  of  Flujencia 
and  Valentine  Gegara ;  thence  easterly  up  said  ravine 
to  the  top  of  the  mountains,  as  surveyed  by  Horace 
A.  Higley  ;  thence  on  a  direct  line  easterly  to  the 
common  corner  of  San  Joaquin,  Stanislaus,  Alameda, 
and  Santa  Clara  Counties,  on  the  summit  of  the 
Coast  Range ;  thence  southeasterly,  following  the 
summit  of  the  Coast  Range  to  the  northeast  corner  of 
Monterey  County;thence  westerly,  following  the  north- 
ern boundary  of  Monterey  County  to  the  southeast 
corner  of  Santa  Cruz  County  ;thence  northwesterly, fol- 
lowing the  summit  of  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains  to  the 
head  of  San  Francisquito  Creek ;  thence  down  said 
creek  to  its  mouth ;  thence  in  a  direct  line  to  the 
place  of  beginning.  Containing  about  one  thousand 
three  hundred  square  miles. 

COUNTY   GOVERNMENT. 

The  county  government  was  at  first  administered 
by  the  Court  of  Sessions,  which  held  jurisdiction  until 
1852,  when  the  Board  of  Supervisors  was  created. 
In  1854  the  government  again  went  into  the  hands 
of  the  Court  of  Sessions,  where  it  remained  until  the 
next  year,  when  the  Board  of  Supervisors  was  revived, 
and  has  administered  the  affairs  of  the  county  ever 
since.  Thus  far  we  have  as  nearly  as  possible  fol- 
lowed the  history  of  Santa  Clara  County  in  chrono- 
logical order;  but  in  order  to  facilitate  reference  we 
shall  henceforward  treat  each  subject  separately. 
Following  is  a  list  of  those  who  have  administered 
the  government  of  the  county  from  the  date  of  its 
organization  to  the  present  time: — 

On  the  first  day  of  June,  1850,  the  Court  of  Ses- 
sions was  organized,  with  J.  W.  Redmon,  President, 
and  Caswell  Davis  and  H.  C.  Smith,  Associate 
Justices. 


July  5 — J.  W.  Redmon,  President;  John  Gilroy, 
Caswell  Davis,  Associates. 

August  18 — J.  W.  Redmon,  President;  Charles 
Clayton  and  Caswell  Davis,  Associates. 

October  6,  1851— J.  W.  Redmon,  President;  R.  B. 
Buckner  and  Marcus  Williams,  Associates. 

December,  185 1 — J.  W.  Redmon,  President;  Cyrus 
G.  Sanders  and  Marcus  Williams,  Associates. 

May  14,  1852— J.  W.  Redmon,  President;  Peleg 
Rush  and  Cyrus  G.  Sanders,  Associates. 

An  election  for  Supervisors  was  held  June  3,  1852, 
and  in  July,  1852,  the  new  Board  was  organized  as 
follows: — 

Isaac  N.  Senter,  Chairman;  Fred  E.  Whitney, 
William  E.  Taylor,  Jacob  Gruwell,  Associates. 

December  6,  1852 — L.  W.  Bascom,  Chairman; 
John  B.  Allen,  A.  M.  Church,  Levi  Goodrich,  Joseph 
C.  Boyd,  Associates. 

September  7,  1853 — George  Peck,  Chairman; 
Daniel  Murphy,  R.  G.  Moody,  William  Daniels,  W. 
Gallimore,  Associates. 

In  April,  1854,  the  Court  of  Sessions  again  took 
charge,  being  composed  as  follows: — 

R.  B.  Buckner,  President;  Caswell  Davis,  Thomas 
L.  Vermuele,  Associates. 

October  i,  1854 — R.  B.  Buckner,  President;  Cas- 
well Davis,  C.  G.  Thomas,  Associates. 

On  April  9,  1855,  another  Board  of  Supervisors 
was  elected.  The  organization  of  the  Board  from 
that  time  has  been  as  follows: — 

April,  1855,  to  November,  1855— Samuel  Hender- 
son, William  R.  Bassham,  Daniel  Murphy. 

From  November,  1855,  to  November,  1856— Will- 
iam R.  Bassham,  William  R.  Bane,  Samuel  Morrison. 

From  November,  1856,  to  October,  1857 — Cary 
Peebels,  China  Smith  and  D.  R.  Douglas. 

From  October,  1857,  to  October,  1858 — Joseph  H. 
Kincaid,  Samuel  A.  Ballard,  Albert  Warthen. 

From  October,  1857,  to  November,  1859 — John  M. 
Swinford,  H.  D.  Coon,  Eli  Jones;  Isaac  Branham 
served  vice  Jones. 

From  November,  1859,  to  December,  i860 — -H.  D- 
Coon,  H.  J.  Bradley,  Isaac  Branham. 

From  December,  i860,  to  October,  1861— H.  J. 
Bradley,  William  M.  Williamson,  H.  D.  Coon. 

From  October,  1861,  to  November,  1862 — H.  J. 
Bradley,  William  M.  Williamson,  J.  H.  Adams. 

From  November,  1862,  to  March,  1864— William 
M.  Williamson,  J.  H.  Adams,  S.  S.  Johnson. 

From     March,     1864,    to    March,     1866 — John    A. 


76 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


Quinby,  Chapman  Yates,  L.  Robinson,  J.  A.  Perkins, 
Frank  Sleeper. 

From  March,  1866,  to  March,  1868— John  A. 
Quinby,  Frank  Sleeper,  John  A.  Perkins,  J.  O.  A. 
Ballou,  John  Cook. 

From  March,  1868,  to  March,  1870— David  Camp- 
bell, John  Cook,  William  H.  Hall,  W.  H.  Patton, 
Oliver  Cottle.  (Cottle  served  vice  Ballou,  who  re- 
signed.) 

From  March,  1870,  to  March,  1872 — David  Camp- 
bell, William  H.  Hall,  W.  H.  Patton,  J.  M.  Battee, 
Samuel  I.  Jamison. 

From  March,  1872,  to  March,  1874— J.  M.  Battee, 
William  Paul,  W.  N.  Furlong,  S.  I.  Jamison,  J.  W. 
Boulware. 

From  March,  1874,  to  March,  1876— J.  M.  Battee, 
William  N.  Furlong,  J.  W.  Boulware,  Alfred  Chew, 
William  Paul,  A.  King,  H.  M.  Leonard. 

From  March,  1876,  to  March,  1878— S.  F.  Ayer, 
J.  M.  Battee,  Alfred  Chew,  W.  N.  Furlong,  A.  King, 
H.  M.  Leonard,  W.  H.  Rogers. 

From  March,  1878,  to  March,  1880— S.  F.  Ayer, 
W.  H.  Rogers,  W.  N.  Furlong,  John  Weathers,  J.  H. 
M.  Townsend,  M.  D.  Kell,  H.  M.  Leonard.  (Town- 
send  resigned  December,  1S79,  and  was  succeeded  by 
James  Snow.) 

From  March,  1880,  to  February,  1883 — S.  F.  Ayer, 
John  Weathers,  James  Snow,  M.  D.  Kell,  H.  M. 
Leonard,  H.  H.  Main,  Samuel  Rea. 

From  February,  1883-1885— W.  E.  Ward,  H. 
Tillotson,  W.  O.  Watson,  H.  McCleary,  Peter  Don- 
nelly, H.  H.  Main,  S.  A.  Blythe. 

From  March,  1885,  to  March,  1887— S.  F.  Ayer,  W. 
A.  Z.  Edwards,  A.  Greninger,  P.  Donnelly,  W.  O. 
Watson. 

From  March,  1887,  to  1888— S.  F.  Ayer,  W.  A.  Z. 
Edwards,  A.  Greninger,  W.  O.  Watson,  James  Pheg- 
ley. 

Following  are  the  dates  at  which  the  several  town- 
ships in  the  county  were  first  organized: — 

Almaden,  1850;  Alviso,  1850;  Burnett,  1850;  Fre- 
mont, 1850;  Gilroy,  1850;  Milpitas,  1861;  Redwood, 
1850;  San  Jose,  1850;  Santa  Clara,  1850. 

LAND   TITLES. 

As  to  the  titles  by  which  real  property  is  held  in 
this  county,  while  a  detailed  statement  of  all  the 
technicalities  through  which  they  have  passed  would  be 
out  of  place  in  a  work  of  this  kind,  a  general  review 
may  not  be  uninteresting  or  unprofitable. 

By  the  treaty  with  Mexico  by  which  California  was 


ceded  to  the  United  States,  it  was  provided  that  pri- 
vate ownership  in  lands  should  be  respected,  in 
other  words,  that  the  agreements  which  the  Govern- 
ment of  Mexico  had  made  with  its  subjects  in  refer- 
ence to  acquiring  title  to  lands  should  be  carried  out  by 
the  United  States.  The  Mexican  Government  had 
been  liberal  in  granting  its  territory  to  private  per- 
sons, but  it  prescribed  certain  formalities  to  be  per- 
formed before  a  complete  title  vested  in  the  grantee. 
These  conditions  were,  briefly,  as  follows: — 

The  party  asking  a  grant  of  lands  must  present  a 
petition  to  the  Governor,  stating  that  the  applicant  is 
a  citizen,  the  head  of  a  family,  and  that  he  is  in  need 
of  grazing  lands,  having  flocks  and  herds  to  main- 
tain. It  must  contain  a  general  description  of  the 
tract  he  desires,  and  be  accompanied  by  a  map  or 
sketch  called  a  deseno.  The  petition  when  received 
by  the  Governor  was  by  him  referred  to  the  Alcalde, 
or  some  other  like  inferior  officer  having  jurisdiction 
nearest  the  land  of  which  the  grant  was  asked.  This 
reference  was  generally  made  by  a  foot-note,  or  mar- 
ginal order,  directing  the  referee  to  inform  himself  in 
regard  to  the  facts  set  forth  in  the  petition,  whether  it 
would  interfere  with  the  rights  of  other  parties  to 
whom  grants  had  previously  been  made,  whether  the 
interests  of  the  government  would  be  injured  or  jeop- 
ardized by  complying  with  the  petition,  and  such 
other  information  as  he  might  deem  important,  and  to 
report  upon  it.  Upon  receiving  the  report  of  the  Al- 
calde, if  it  contained  no  objection,  the  Governor  made 
what  is  called  a  "provisional  grant."  The  descrip- 
tions in  these  provisional  grants  were,  usually,  very 
meager,  and  frequently  referred  to  the  petition  and 
deseno  to  help  them  out.  Frequently  the  grant  was 
made  of  a  certain  number  of  leagues  within  gener- 
ally described  exterior  boundaries,  and  out  of  this 
originated  many  of  the  frauds  which  resulted  in  the 
getting  of  many  more  leagues  than  was  intended  to  be 
granted  by  the  government.  The  grant  was  either  of 
a  grazing  right  or  in  absolute  property.  It  properly 
should,  and  generally  did,  contain  a  provision  to  the 
effect  that  it  should  be  presented  to  the  Territorial 
Departmental  Assembly,  which  was  the  legislative  body 
of  the  territory  of  Alta  California,  sitting  at  Monte- 
rey, for  approval. 

It  also  provided  that  what  is  called  "juridical  pos- 
session" should  be  given.  To  this  effect  an  order  was 
generally  made  to  some  inferior  officer,  an  Alcalde  or 
prefect,  or,  in  earlier  days,  to  some  inferior  military 
officer,  directing  him  to  go,  with  assisting  witnesses, 
upon  the  land  and  put  the  grantee  in  actual  posses- 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD: 


77 


sion.  The  grant,  however,  was  considered  provisional 
or  incomplete  until  it  was  presented  to  the  Depart- 
mental Assembly  and  approved  by  that  body.  If  all 
these  formalities  were  strictly  complied  with,  the 
boundaries  defined  and  marked  out,  and  it  was  not 
within  the  exterior  boundaries  of  prior  concessions  or 
reservations,  it  was  called  a  perfect  or  complete  title 
as  contradistinguished  from  a  provisional  or  inchoate 
title. 

At  the  time  of  the  cession  of  California  there  was 
probably  not  a  perfect  or  complete  title  in  the  whole 
territory  of  Alta  California.  Under  the  terms  of  the 
treaty,  however,  the  holders  of  these  incomplete  titles 
were  to  be  permitted  to  go  on  and  complete  them 
under  the  laws  of  the  United  States. 

After  the  acquisition  of  California,  and  after  ascer- 
taining the  inchoate  condition  of  the  land  grants  and 
the  importance  of  having  them  segregated  from  the 
public  domain,  and  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out 
the  provisions  of  the  treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo, 
an  act  was  passed  by  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  on  the  third  of  March,  1851,  providing  for  com- 
missioners to  be  appointed  by  the  President  for  the 
purpose  of  ascertaining  and  settling  private  land 
grants  in  California,  with  a  right  of  appeal,  by  either 
the  government  or  claimant,  to  the  United  States 
District  Court  for  the  State  of  California,  or  to  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court.  To  this  commission 
all  claimants  were  required  to  present  their  petitions 
for  confirmation  of  their  claims.  Failure  to  so  pre- 
sent them  within  a  specified  time  after  the  passage  of 
the  act  worked  a  forfeiture  of  the  claim,  which  was 
thereafter  treated  as  part  of  the  public  domain.  Upon 
these  claims  being  confirmed  by  these  various  tribu- 
nals, surveys  were  made  by  the  Surveyor-General  and 
patents  issued  thereon. 

Those  lands  which  had  not  been  granted  by  the 
Mexican  Government  were  subject  to  the  laws  of  the 
United  States  governing  the  disposition  of  the  public 
domain.  Besides  these  two  classes  of  lands  there  was 
a  third,  that  is,  the  lands  granted  to  pueblos. 

Under  the  plan  of  Tepic,  on  the  formation  of  each 
new  pueblo  in  the  New  World,  it  was  entitled,  for  its 
own  use,  for  building  purposes  and  for  cultivation  and 
pasturage,  to  a  square  of  land  extending  one  league 
in  each  direction  from  the  center  of  the  plaza,  mak- 
ing in  all  four  square  leagues.  Where  the  topogra- 
phy of  the  country,  either  by  reason  of  the  juxtapo- 
sition of  the  sea  or  of  mountain  barriers,  prevented 
the  land  being  taken  in  the  form  of  a  square,  the  four 


leagues  were  taken  in  some  other  form  so  as  to  include 
the  pueblo. 

On  the  settlement  of  the  pueblo  of  San  Jose,  the 
Mission  of  Santa  Clara  having  been  established  to  the 
west,  the  Mission  of  San  Jose  to  the  north  and  east, 
and  the  Mission  of  San  Juan  to  the  south,  it  became 
necessary  to  designate  the  boundaries  so  that  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  pueblo  and  the  adjoining  missions 
would  not  conflict.  From  year  to  year  the  old  inhab- 
itants of  the  pueblo,  in  company  with  the  younger 
persons  in  the  community,  were  accustomed  to  go  out 
and  visit  the  monuments  erected  to  designate  these 
lines,  and  to  cast  additional  stones  upon  them  to  keep 
them  intact.  The  delimiting  line  between  the  pueblo 
and  the  Mission  of  San  Jose  ran  from  the  mountains 
to  the  bay,  about  midway  between  Warm  Springs 
and  the  present  town  of  Milpitas.  On  the  west  (re- 
sulting from  the  settlement  of  a  controversy  between 
the  Mission  Fathers  and  the  authorities  of  the  pueblo) 
the  Guadalupe  River  was  fixed  as  the  boundary, 
while  the  line  between  the  pueblo  and  the  Mission  of 
San  Juan  was  fixed  across  the  valley  to  the  south  in 
the  vicinity  of  Las  Llagas  Creek. 

San  Jose,  before  the  admission  of  California  to  the 
Union,  was  one  of  the  few  populous  settlements  in 
California,  and  was  known  at  that  time,  and  before, 
as  the  "  Upper  Pueblo."  It  was  selected  by  the 
framers  of  our  first  constitution  as  the  future  capital 
of  the  State.  Such  an  important  destiny  spurred  the 
inhabitants  to  an  extra  effort  to  provide  suitable  ac- 
commodations for  the  officers  of  the  State  and  its 
august  Legislature.  By  various  efforts,  in  the  new  and 
rather  chaotic  condition  of  things,  the  faith  of  the 
embryo  city  was  pledged  to  pay  the  expenses  of  build- 
ing a  State-house  fronting  on  the  plaza.  It  was 
rather  a  pretentious  building  for  those  times,  but 
would  be  considered  very  insignificant  in  comparison 
with  the  structures  surrounding  that  locality  at  the 
present  day.  At  all  events,  with  wages  at  an  ounce  a 
day  for  carpenters  and  masons,  and  lumber  at  several 
hundred  dollars  a  thousand  feet,  its  appearance  and 
size  were,  by  no  means,  commensurate  with  its  cost, 
which  was  $34,000. 

The  city  becoming  involved  and  unable  to  pay, 
under  the  direction  of  James  M.  Jones,  an  attorney 
then  lately  arrived  from  Louisiana,  a  judgment  was 
obtained  against  her  and  in  favor  of  the  creditors. 
An  execution  was  issued  on  this  judgment,  and  all 
the  pueblo  lands  sold  at  sheriffs  sale,  and  bought  in 
by  a  syndicate  styling  itself  the  "  San  Jose  Land  Com- 


78 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLDS 


pany."  This  syndicate  soon  became  known  in  the 
local  vernacular  as  the  "  Forty  Thieves,"  although  the 
number  of  its  members  was  less  than  forty,  and  they 
were  by  no  means  thieves.  But  the  title  they  claimed 
under  became  popularly  known,  and  has  passed  into 
history,  as  the  "Forty  Thieves'  Title." 

The  San  Jose  Land  Company,  after  acquiring  its 
sheriff's  deed  to  lands  belonging  to  the  city,  as  before 
related,  claiming  to  be  the  successor  in  interest  to  the 
pueblo,  presented  its  claim  to  the  United  States  Land 
Commission  sitting  in  San  Francisco,  praying  for  con- 
firmation to  it,  of  the  lands  contained  within  these 
boundaries,  asserting  that  there  had  been  a  concession 
by  the  Spanish  crown  to  the  pueblo  of  that  large 
tract.  A  mass  of  documentary  evidence,  correspond- 
ence, etc.,  was  introduced,  also  the  testimony  of  wit- 
nesses, to  the  fact  that  these  monuments  had  been 
placed  there  years  before,  and  had  been  recognized 
by  the  citizens.  Although  no  formal  concession  or 
grant  had  ever  been  found  or  produced,  it  was  asserted 
that  those  acts  indicated  that  one  had  actually  been 
made.  The  Board  of  Commissioners  and  the  United 
States  District  Court  confirmed  the  grant  to  these 
exterior  boundaries. 

In  the  meantime  settlers  had  located  on  lands  in- 
cluded in  this  tract,  under  the  impression  that  it  be- 
longed to  the  government,  or  to  private  parties  of 
whom  they  had  purchased.  They  had  made  improve- 
ments and  established  homes.  By  this  decision  ex- 
tending the  limits  of  the  pueblo,  their  property  was 
absorbed,  and  they  united,  some  fourteen  of  them,  in 
securing  an  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States. 

At  this  time  there  was  in  existence  a  body  known 
as  the  Commissioners  of  the  funded  debt  of  the  city 
of  San  Jose.  Judge  Spencer,  who  was  a  member  of 
this  board,  was  anxious  to  have  the  decision  of  the 
District  Court  sustained,  knowing  that  the  land  com- 
pany had  no  valid  claim,  and  that  if  the  title  to  this 
large  tract  was  confirmed  to  the  city,  it  could  be  main- 
tained. He  succeeded  in  effecting  a  compromise,  by 
which  the  Supreme  Court  affirmed  the  decision  of  the 
lower  court,  except  as  to  the  tracts  owned  by  the 
fourteen  settlers  as  before  stated.  A  final  decree  was 
made  to  this  effect.  Afterward  this  large  body  of 
land  was  sold  in  tracts,  to  actual  settlers,  at  the  price 
fixed  by  the  United  States  Government  for  its  public 
lands.  With  the  proceeds  of  these  sales  the  debt  of 
the  city  of  San  Jose  was  extinguished,  and  up  to  1887 
the  city  had  no  debt  of  any  kind  whatever.     In  due 


time   the  pueblo  was   surveyed    out,  and,  in    1884,  a 
patent  was  issued. 

This  claim  of  the  San  Jose  Land  Company  was  the 
subject  of  more  or  less  litigation  and  trouble  from 
time  to  time  until  1869.  It  came  up  in  the  case  of 
Branham  et  al.  versus  the  City  of  San  Jose,  where  it  was 
held  by  the  Supreme  Court  that  the  city's  lands  were 
not  subject  to  execution  and  sale  under  a  judgment 
against  her.  A  number  of  years  later,  upon  the  adop- 
tion of  a  charter  for  the  city,  a  clause  was  inserted 
which,  it  was  claimed,  confirmed  the  land  company's 
title.  Upon  that  claim  an  action  was  brought  in  the 
United  States  Circuit  Court  for  the  District  of  Cali- 
fornia to  recover  possession  of  the  large  body  of  land 
within  the  corporate  limits  which  had  not  passed  by 
legalized  grants.  The  case  was  Leroy  versus  Chaboya 
et  al. — some  six  hundred  different  defendants  being 
named,  and  involving  the  title  to  a  very  large  portion 
of  the  land  within  the  city  limits.  Mr.  E.  Spencer, 
who  was  counsel  for  the  defendants,  obtained  a  ruling 
from  the  District  Court  to  the  effect  that  the  provisions 
of  the  charter  referred  to  did  not  amount  to  a  con- 
firmation in  favor  of  the  land  company,  or  its  succes- 
sor, thus  ending  a  case  of  great  importance  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  city  and  surrounding  territory,  and 
which  went  far  to  settle  land  titles  in  this  vicinity. 

MISSION    GRANTS. 

Grants,  of  rather  an  indefinite  character,  were 
claimed  to  have  been  made  to  the  various  missions,  of 
which  there  were  a  number,  both  in  Northern  and 
Southern  California.  When  the  missions  were  secu- 
larized, as  elsewhere  related,  these  grants  reverted  to 
the  State.  Notwithstanding  this  act  of  secularization, 
several  of  the  missions  retained  more  or  less  landed 
property,  such  as  church  edifices,  orchards,  etc.,  and 
these,  in  most  instances,  were  afterwards  confirmed  to 
the  church;  but  a  large  body  of  grazing  lands  passed 
into  the  general  domain,  and  was  re-granted  to  pri- 
vate individuals.  There  was  quite  an  extended  legal 
warfare  before  these  lands  were  confirmed  to  the 
church.  It  was  claimed  that  when  the  missions 
were  secularized  all  property  reverted  to  the  Mexican 
Government,  and  as  it  had  never  been  re-granted  it 
became  the  public  domain  of  the  United  States  on 
the  session  of  California,  and  therefore  subject  to  pre- 
emption. The  orchard  property  of  Santa  Clara  was 
particularly  valuable,  and  was  settled,  on  by  several 
sets  of  squatters.  The  first  was  T.  W.  Redmon, 
county  judge,  who  held  the  orchard  for  several  years, 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


79 


selling  the  fruit  at  enormous  prices.  It  went  through 
several  hands,  and  was  the  subject  of  much  litigation, 
but  was  finally  confirmed  to  Archbishop  Allemany, 
representing  the  church. 


We  have  related  how  Lieutenant  Moraga,  under 
direction  of  the  Spanish  Government,  partitioned  to 
the  original  settlers  the  lands  of  the  new  pueblo. 
These  allotments  were  made  in  accordance  with  a 
rule  adopted  by  the  government,  by  which  rule  all 
pueblos  or  towns  were  to  be  laid  out  and  established 
under  the  plan  of  the  city  of  Tepic.  Under  this  plan 
the  tracts  of  land  were  divided  into  three  classes: 
so/ares,  or  building  lots;  siiertes,  or  lots  for  cultivation, 
and  egidos,  or  commons  for  pasturage  and  wood.  By 
the  Tepic  method  each  head  of  a  family  was  given 
four  suertes  and  one  solar. 

There  is  a  sufficient  record  of  this  allotment  having 
been  made  by  Moraga  at  the  first  location  north  of 
the  present  city,  but  no  record  has  ever  been  found 
of  a  similar  allotment  having  been  made  after  the  site 
of  the  pueblo  had  been  removed  to  its  present  loca- 
tion. It  is  a  legitimate  presumption  that  such  parti- 
tion was  made,  although  there  is  no  record  evidence. 
Judge  Spencer  tells  us  that  in  1852,  and  even  later, 
there  remained  landmarks  that  showed  something  of 
the  general  plan  of  the  location.  Among  these  were, 
in  several  places,  stumps  of  hedge-rows  forming  alleys 
leading  to  the  Guadaloupe  River— evidently  roads  used 
by  the  women  who  went  to  the  creek  to  wash.  He 
says  that  at  that  time,  and  until  the  willows  and  other 
vegetation  was  destroyed,  the  Guadaloupe  was  a  peren- 
nial stream,  supplied  in  the  summer-time  .from  the 
springs  in  the  lower  ground  south  of  town,  while 
from  the  Guadaloupe  were  the  remains,  tolerably  de- 
fined, of  ditches  leading  into  the  Canoas  Creek.  This 
word  "  canoas,"  besides  meaning  "  canoe,"  also  signi- 
fies a  "  trough;"  and  it  was  probably  for  this  latter 
meaning  that  the  Mexicans  applied  it  to  this  stream, 
as  they  evidently  used  it  for  the  purpose  of  conveying 
water  to  their  suertes,  or  planting  lands. 

There  were  also  remains  of  branch  ditches,  or 
acequias.  One  went  out  and  crossed  the  plaza  near 
the  site  of  the  new  City  Hall,  and  continued  on, 
crossing  First  Street  near  San  Fernando,  as  if  to  irri- 
gate the  land  sloping  to  the  north  and  east.  Another 
one  was  a  little  west  of  Market  Street,  crossing  Santa 
Clara  Street  diagonally,  going  through  the  grounds 
now  occupied  by  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  and  con- 
tinuing to  the  present  site  of  Hotel    Vendome  ;   from 


this  was  irrigated  the  lands  between  it  and  the  Guad- 
aloupe River,  which  it  paralleled.  In  one  of  the  suits 
regarding  the  land  claimed  as  suertes,  old  Pedro 
Chaboya  and  other  old  Mexican  witnesses  testified 
that  all  the  alkali  ground  in  the  northeast  portion  of 
the  city  was,  in  very  early  days,  fine  land  for  crops  ; 
hut  the  Coyote  River  having  overflowed  its  banks 
and  rushed  down  across  the  country,  the  soil  was 
washed  off,  and  when  the  water  receded  or  evapo- 
rated it  was  transformed  into  an  alkali  sink. 

It  seems  that  there  must  have  been  suertes  in  the 
vicinity  of  where  these  acequias  ran;  but  whether  they 
were  granted  with  actual  title,  or  only  for  temporary 
use,  there  is  no  evidence.  It  was  most  probably  the 
latter;  or,  if  actual  title  was  granted,  the  suertes  were 
abandoned.  This  conclusion  is  reached  from  the  fact 
that  years  ago  the  oldest  inhabitant  could  not  remem- 
ber the  location,  and  also  from  the  custom  of  the 
Mexicans,  in  those  primitive  days,  of  using  as  little 
labor  as  possible  in  growing  their  crops.  Where  the 
soil  was  refractory  they  were  unable,  with  their  rude 
implements,  to  get  it  into  proper  condition  for  plant- 
ing. When  the  land  became  too  hard  to  work  easily 
they  would  abandon  it  and  go  somewhere  else.  It 
was  their  custom  to  scout  the  foot-hills  for  places 
where  the  winter  rains  had  washed  down  the  rich 
surface  soil  from  the  mountains,  and  here  they  would 
repair  with  their  families  in  early  spring.  Having 
built  their  reviadas,  or  brush  houses,  they  would  plant 
the  soft,  rich  beds  with  corn,  beans.  Chilis,  melons, 
etc.,  and  watch  them  during  the  summer,  herding  off 
the  wild  cattle  that  roamed  in  droves  over  the  plains. 
As  the  crops  matured  they  would  gather  them,  hang- 
ing the  Chilis  on  long  strings,  like  beads;  the  corn 
would  be  husked,  and  the  husks  saved  as  wrappers 
for  cigarettes  and  tomales.  It  was  feast-time  with 
them  when  the  melons  were  ripe,  and  fandangoes  fol- 
lowed each  other  in  rapid  succession.  When  the 
crops  were  all  gathered  the  family  would  return  to  the 
pueblo,  and  the  following  spring  renew  their  prepara- 
tions for  their  little  crops,  or  milpitas,  as  they  called 
them.  The  margin  of  the  hills  northeast  of  San  Jose 
abounded  in  these  rich,  mellow  spots,  and  from  this 
was  derived  the  name  given  to  the  Milpitas  rancho 
and  town.  We  have  re-cited  this  custom  only  for  the 
purpose  of  strengthening  the  presumption  that  the 
title  to  the  suertes  to  the  east  of  Market  Street  was 
but  temporary,  and  had  lapsed  or  been  abandoned 
long  prior  to  the  American  occupation.  Knowing 
the  easy-going,  indolent  nature  of  the  people,  and 
that  the  character  of  the  soil  in  the  immediate  vicinity 


80 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


of  the  pueblo  renders  it  particularly  difficult  to  work 
after  a  few  years'  irrigation,  it  is  not  forcing  a  conclu- 
sion to  suppose  that  they  should  abandon  a  field  on 
which  their  rude  implements  could  make  no  impres- 
sion, for  the  more  fertile  and  tractable  ground  at  the 
foot  of  the  mountains  and  elsewhere. 

But  with  the  Americans  came  the  land  speculators, 
and,  as  the  pueblo  grew  in  importance  and  its  lands 
in  value,  suits  were  inaugurated  to  obtain  possession 
of  some  of  the  most  valuable  portions  of  the  city 
under  the  suerte  title.  None  of  them,  however,  were 
successful,  but  they  formed  a  chapter  of  the  most  im- 
portant and  sharpest  litigation  of  the  county.  There 
being  no  record  of  the  original  allotment  of  suertes, 
their  existence  could  only  be  proved  by  parol  testi- 
mony, and  for  this  purpose  the  "oldest  inhabitant" 
was  in  constant  demand.  The  few  old  landmarks 
which  we  have  mentioned  were  marshaled  with  all 
the  dignity  due  their  antiquity,  but  neither  these  nor 
the  imperfect  family  traditions  of  the  oldest  poblanos 
were  sufficient  to  warrant  a  judgment  in  favor  of  the 
claimants. 

settlers'  war. 

The  methods  used  by  the  Mexicans  to  measure  and 
mark  out  the  boundaries  of  their  grants  were  very 
crude,  and  resulted  in  much  inaccuracy.  Many  of 
them,  when  surveyed  out  by  the  United  States,  shrank 
or  expanded  their  dimensions  to  the  extent  of  many 
hundreds  of  acres.  Persons  who  had  settled  on  what 
was  thought  to  be  government  land  would,  after  som.e 
years  of  labor,  find  themselves  included  within  the 
boundaries  of  a  neighboring  grant,  and  would  be 
compelled  to  lose  their  homes  or  purchase  them 
again  of  another  owner.  Some  persons  were  com- 
pelled to  purchase  their  farms  several  times  before 
their  title  became  assured.  This  caused  great  dissat- 
isfaction among  the  settlers,  and  societies  were  formed 
to  meet  adverse  claimants,  with  force  if  necessary,  to 
prevent  eviction. 

These  societies,  though  very  determined  in  the  ex- 
pression of  their  rights,  generally  avoided  violent 
measures.  In  fact,  with  one  exception,  they  confined 
their  efforts  to  the  raising  of  funds  for  the  purpose  of 
defending  their  claims  in  the  courts.  The  exception 
referred  to  occurred  in  1861,  and  is  thus  recorded  by 
Mr.  Hall :  "  The  greatest  excitement  and  demonstra- 
tion that  was  ever  exhibited  in  this  county  upon  the 
question  of  land  titles  took  place  this  year.  The 
grant  of  Antonio  Chabolla  for  the  tract  of  land 
known  as  the  Yerba  Buena  Rancho,  lying  east  or 


southeast  of  the  town,  had  been  confirmed  to  the 
claimants  thereof  under  the  Chabolla  title  by  the 
United  States  courts.  There  were  many  settlers  of 
the  land,  some  of  whom  had  occupied  the  same  for 
quite  a  lengthy  period  under  the  belief  that  it  was 
public  land.  They  seemed  to  be  of  opinion  that  the 
grant  was  a  fraudulent  one,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  the  land  had  been  patented  by  the  United  States 
in  accordance  with  the  decree  of  confirmation.  The 
advice  which  had  been  given  the  settlers  was  evi- 
dently not  that  kind  which  had  a  tendency  to  better 
them,  or  to  cause  them  to  view  the  matter  in  the 
proper  light.  They  were  induced  to  expend  money 
in  the  way  of  lawyers'  fees  that  was  as  useless  as 
throwing  money  in  the  sea.  The  government  had 
conveyed,  in  fee  simple,  the  land  to  the  claimants,  and 
no  party  but  the  United  States  could  move  to  set 
aside  that  patent  upon  the  ground  of  fraud  or  any 
other  ground.  Suits  in  ejectment  had  been  instituted 
against  some  of  the  settlers  on  said  land,  and  judg- 
ments rendered  against  them  for  possession  of  certain 
tracts  in  the  third  judicial  district  of  this  State,  in  and 
for  the  county  of  Santa  Clara.  Wm.  Matthews,  Esq., 
of  counsel  for  plaintiff  in  those  cases,  caused  writs  of 
execution  for  possession  to  be  issued  to  the  sheriff 
of  the  county,  that  the  plaintiff  might  have  possession 
in  accordance  with  his  judgments. 

"  The  sheriff  summoned  a  posse  of  six  hundred  men 
to  meet  him  at  the  court-house,  to  go  with  and  to 
aid  him  in  executing  the  writ.  When  the  posse  as- 
sembled at  the  court-house  they  were  asked  if  they 
were  armed,  to  which  they  replied  in  the  negative; 
and  being  asked  if  they  would  arm  themselves,  like- 
wise replied  in  the  negative.  As  the  posse  would 
render  no  assistance,  they  were  dismissed  by  the 
sheriff.  About  one  o'clock  P.  M.  about  a  thousand 
settlers  paraded  through  the  town,  some  on  horses, 
some  in  wagons,  some  on  foot,  and  nearly  all  armed. 
They  had  one  small  cannon.  All  of  the  settlers' 
leagues  of  the  county  and  some  from  adjoining 
counties  were  said  to  have  been  present.  Toward 
the  close  of  the  day  they  went  to  their  respective 
homes  without  doing  any  damage,  save  that  of  dis- 
obeying the  writ."  When  the  excitement  cooled  off, 
better  councils  prevailed,  and  the  differences  were 
settled  peaceably. 

SURVEY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  SAN  JOSE — FIVE-HUNDRED- 
ACRE  LOTS. 

Until  1847  there  had  not  been  much  certainty  as 
to  the  location  of,  or  titles  to,  lots  in  the  pueblo  or 


PEN  PICTUBES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


81 


town  of  San  Jose.  It  seemed  to  have  been  taken  for 
granted  that  the  laws  regulating  the  establishment  of 
Mexican  towns  had  been  complied  with,  and  that 
those  in  possession  had  valid  titles.  Whether  the 
title  was  good  or  not,  seemed  to  be  a  matter  of  little 
consequence  under  the  then  existing  condition  of 
affairs.  There  were  no  regularly  laid-out  streets. 
The  center  of  the  town  was  the  juzgado,  or  the  plaza, 
and  the  houses  were  scattered  north  and  south  on 
irregular  lines,  with  roadway  between.  This  roadway 
is  now  Market  Street.  After  the  defeat  of  Sanchez 
at  the  battle  of  Santa  Clara,  and  the  certainty  that 
the  arms  of  the  United  States  would  be  victorious  in 
Mexico,  the  foreigners  became  impressed  with  the 
conviction  that  Alta  California  would  be  ceded  to  the 
victors  and  a  permanent  government  established. 
Viewed  in  this  light,  the  solares  and  the  suertes  of  the 
pueblo  became  of  more  importance,  and  an  attempt 
was  made  to  settle  the  question  of  their  ownership. 
There  was  a  well-authenticated  record  of  the  distri- 
bution of  lots  by  Lieutenant  Moraga,  at  the  first 
location  of  the  pueblo  north  of  town ;  but  if  any 
distribution  had  been  made  when  the  pueblo  was 
relocated,  there  was  no  record  showing  it. 

Early  in  1847  the  ayuntamiento and  Alcalde  directed 
Mr.  William  Campbell  to  survey  out  a  plat  of  land  a 
mile  square,  to  be  laid  out  in  building  lots.  This, 
assisted  by  his  brother  Thomas,  he  did,  the  tract  so 
surveyed  lying  between  the  following  boundaries : 
On  the  north  by  Julian  Street,  on  the  cast  by  Eighth 
Street,  south  by  Reed  Street,  and  west  by  Market. 
This  tract  was  intended  to  exclude  all  questions  of 
title  arising  from  suerte  claims.  Mr.  John  Burton, 
who  was  then  Alcalde,  and  had  resided  here  twenty 
years,  stated  that  the  result  of  his  investigation  was 
that  no  suerte  claims  extended  farther  south  than 
Julian,  except  the  Gongora  claim,  or  further  east  than 
Market  Street.  This  is  the  original  plat  of  San  Jose, 
and  from  this  survey  may  be  dated  the  existence  of 
the  city.  The  streets  were  located  through  this  tract, 
making  nine  blocks  from  Julian  to  Reed,  and  eight 
blocks  from  Market  to  Eighth.  The  exact  course  of 
the  streets  running  north  and  south  was  N.  45°  west, 
magnetic  variation  15°  22"  east.  The  length  of  these 
streets  was  five  thousand  six  hundred  and  seven  feet. 
The  cross  streets  were  laid  out  at  right  angles  to 
these. 

The  survey  having  been  completed  and  a  map  filed, 

the  Alcalde  gave  notice  to  all  persons  claiming  land 

within  the  limits  of  this  surve}',  to  present  them  to 

him  for  investigation,  and,  if  found   valid,  he  would 

II 


issue  them  a  new  title.  Burton,  who  was  no  lawyer, 
seemed  to  possess  a  remarkably  level  head.  Notwith- 
standing persistent  litigation  on  the  part  of  contesting 
claimants,  all  the  Alcalde  grants  under  the  Campbell 
survey  have  been  held  by  the  Supreme  Court  to  be 
valid.  In  Campbell's  survey  four  blocks  were  re- 
served for  a  public  square.  This  was  named  Wash- 
ington Square,  and  is  the  present  location  of  the  State 
Normal  School. 

The  town  having  thus  been  located,  its  limits  and 
the  boundaries  of  its  blocks  and  lots  defined,  the  set- 
tlers from  the  States  resolved  to  secure  a  partition  of 
the  outside  lands  belonging  to  the  pueblo.  A  meeting 
was  called,  the  proposition  to  make  the  survey  into 
lots  of  five  hundred  acres  each  was  adopted,  and  J. 
D.  Hutton  appointed  to  make  the  survey.  This  was 
done  in  July  of  the  same  year.  The  lots  were 
numbered  consecutively,  and  corresponding  numbers 
placed  in  a  hat,  of  which  each  head  of  a  family  was 
permitted  to  draw  one,  entitling  him  to  choose  a  lot, 
his  choice  being  in  the  order  of  the  numbers  drawn, 
z.  e.,  the  person  drawing  number  one  was  entitled  to 
first  choice,  and  so  on.  After  the  drawing  the  Alcalde 
gave  to  each  party  a  certificate  of  title.  These  Al- 
calde titles  to  the  five-hundred-acre  lots  were  after- 
ward declared  invalid  by  the  Supreme  Court. 

In  May,  1848,  another  survey  of  the  town  plot  was 
made,  this  time  by  C.  S.  Lyman.  He  was  a  practical 
surveyor  and  possessed  all  the  necessary  implements 
for  practical  work.  By  this  survey  the  limits  were 
extended  eastwardly  to  Eleventh  Street.  He  en- 
larged Washington  Square  to  its  present  dimensions, 
eleven  hundred  and  sixty  feet  by  one  thousand  and 
five  feet.  He  laid  out  St.  James  Square,  which 
is  six  hundred  and  ten  by  five  hundred  and  fifty  feet. 
Market  Square,  the  site  of  the  new  City  Hall,  he 
fixed  at  eleven  hundred  and  sixty  by  two  hundred 
and  fifty-nine  feet.  Market,  Santa  Clara,  and  Fifth 
Streets  were  made  one  hundred  feet  wide;  all  the 
streets  running  north  and  south,  except  Fifth,  were 
made  eighty  feet  wide.  The  system  adopted  in  this 
survey  is  the  one  now  in  use.  San  Fernando  Street 
is  the  base  line  and  the  ranges  are  counted  easterly 
from  Market  Street.  Other  surveys  have  been  made 
as  additional  territory  was  taken  into  the  city  limits, 
but  as  these  are  of  comparatively  recent  date  and  are 
fully  shown  by  maps  and  plots  in  the  city  archives,  a 
description  is  unnecessary  in  these  pages. 

The  tract  of  land  lying  west  of  Market  Street  and 
along  the  Guadaloupe  River,  was  used  for  cultivation, 
and  was  not  surveyed  into  town  lots  for  several  years 


82 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


after  California  was  admitted  into  the  Union.  It  was 
held  as  suertes,  and  was  watered  by  an  acequia,  or 
ditch,  leading  from  the  Arroyo  Tulares,  or  Canoas 
Creek,  south  of  town.  This  ditch,  which  has  been 
previously  described,  furnished  water  to  the  people 
for  some  time  after  California  became  a  State;  but 
gradually  the  foreigners  acquired  this  land  from  the 
Mexican  grantees  and  streets  were  opened  from  time 
to  time,  as  the  population  increased.  This  fact  will 
explain  the  difference  in  the  system  of  numbering 
and  naming  as  well  as  of  the  peculiarities  of  location 
and  construction  of  the  streets  in  this  locality. 

BENCH   AND    BAR. 

The  Mexican  laws  provided  for  a  judicial  system 
composed  of  what  were  called  Courts  of  the  First, 
Second,  and  Third  Instance.  The  first  was  an  inferior 
tribunal,  and  it  was  provided  that  there  should  be  one 
at  each  chief  town  in  the  district.  The  second  heard 
appeals  from  the  first,  and  had  also  original  jurisdiction 
in  certain  cases.  The  third  was  exclusively  an  ap- 
pellate court.  Courts  of  Second  and  Third  Instance, 
which  were  to  sit  only  at  the  capital  of  the  depart- 
ment, were  never  organized  in  the  territory  of  Cali- 
fornia, and  Courts  of  First  Instance  had  no  existence 
until  after  the  American  occupation,  the  first  judges 
being  appointed  in  1849  by  the  American  authorities. 
Prior  to  that  time  justice  was  administered  in  San  Jose 
by  Alcaldes.  The  first  American  Alcalde  was  James 
Stokes,  who  was  appointed  by  Captain  Fallon  when 
he  deposed  Dolores  Pacheco,  as  is  elsewhere  related  in 
these  pages.  He  was  succeeded  by  John  Burton,  who 
came  to  the  pueblo  about  1830.  All  kinds  of  disputes 
were  brought  before  him  for  settlement.  The  written 
law  was  meager,  but  that  made  no  difference.  Anyone 
who  had  a  grievance  took  it  to  the  Alcalde,  who,  after 
investigation,  applied  the  general  principles  of  justice, 
irrespective  of  law. 

In  December,  1846,  Burton  concluded  that  he  would 
divide  his  labors  and  responsibilities,  and,  accordingly, 
appointed  a  committee  of  twelve  to  assist  him  in  his 
work.  The  persons  selected  were:  Antonio  Sunol, 
Dolores  Pacheco,  Jose  Fernandez,  Jose  Noriega,  Felix 
Buelna,  Salvador  Castro,  William  Fisher,  Isaac  Bran- 
ham,  Grove  C.  Cook,  Mr.  White,  Captain  Hanks,  and 
Guillermo  Weekes.  These  gentlemen  administered 
justice  for  some  time,  and  their  decisions  were  as  im- 
plicitly obeyed  as  though  they  were  a  legally  consti- 
tuted tribunal.  The  Court  of  the  First  Instance  was 
organized  in  1849,  and  held  its  last  session  March  30, 
1850,  when  the  County  and  District  Courts  were  or- 


ganized. The  practice  in  the  Court  of  the  First  In- 
stance, and,  in  fact,  for  some  time  afterward,  was  what 
might  be  called  conglomerate. 

There  was  no  code  of  laws  and  no  fixed  penalties. 
The  lawyers  were  from  different  States,  as  were  the 
few  law  books  that  were  in  existence.  On  the  trial  of 
a  case,  one  lawyer  would  insist  on  its  being  considered 
in  the  light  of  the  statutes  of  Pennsylvania,  while  his 
opponent  would  quote  the  New  York  code  as  the  rule 
which  should  govern.  There  were  as  many  different 
penalties  for  crime  as  there  were  States  represented 
in  the  law  library  of  the  pueblo.  All  this  would  have 
had  a  tendency  to  confuse  the  court  if  he  had  not 
had  the  good  sense  to  reject  all  authorities  and  prec- 
edents and  use  his  own  self-made  law.  Primitive  as 
the  practice  of  the  law  was  at  that  time,  the  adminis- 
tration of  justice  seems  to  have  been  generally  satis- 
factory This  cheerful  acquiescence  in  the  decisions 
of  Alcaldes  and  judges  of  First  Instance  might  be  due 
to  the  fact  that  there  was  no  appeal. 

The  first  judge  of  the  County  Court  was  John  W. 
Redmon,  a  man  whose  vagaries  will  be  remembered 
as  long  as  the  "  oldest  inhabitant "  survives.  He  came 
from  Missouri,  had  been  a  physician,  and  claimed  to 
have  been  present  at  the  battle  of  New  Orleans,  where 
he  lost  his  foot.  He  was  of  a  crabbed  disposition, 
rough  in  his  language,  and  not  inclined  to  soften  his 
remarks  when  expressing  his  opinions  of  members  of 
the  Bar.  He  was  once  asked  by  the  Bar  to  resign,  but 
refused  in  language  more  expressive  than  elegant. 
He  held  the  office  until  1853,  when  he  resigned,  and 
E.  C.  Allen  was  appointed  for  the  unexpired  term. 
R.  B.  Buckner  was  chosen  at  the  ensuing  election, 
and  sat  on  the  bench  for  four  years.  The  administra- 
tions of  Judges  Allen  and  Buckner  were  in  great  con- 
trast to  that  of  Judge  Redmon,  and  the  attorneys  ex- 
perienced great  relief  when  they  realized  that  they 
could  address  the  court  without  being  greeted  from 
the  bench  with  some  sarcastic  remark  bordering  on 
insult.  After  Judge  Buckner  the  judges  of  the  County 
Court  were  as  follows  :  John  H.  Moore,  from  1857  to 
1861  ;  Isaac  N.  Senter,  from  1861  to  1867  ;  Lawrence 
Archer,  from  1867  to  July,  1871,  when  he  resigned  to 
accept  the  Democratic  nomination  for  Congress;  R.  I. 
Barnett,  appointed  for  the  unexpired  term  of  Judge 
Archer;  D.  S.  Payne,  from  1871  to  1879.  He  was  the 
last  County  Judge,  the  judiciary  system  having  been  re- 
modeled by  the  new  Constitution  of  the  State.  The 
Court  of  Sessions  was  an  adjunct  to  the  County  Court, 
having  jurisdiction  in  criminal  cases,  except  murder, 
manslaughter,  and  arson.     It  was  presided  over  by  the 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


83 


County  Judge,  who  called  to  his  assistance  two  jus- 
tices of  the  peace,  who  were  selected  by  lot  from 
among  those  elected  for  the  different  townships.  This 
Court  also  had  jurisdiction  of  county  affairs,  perform- 
ing the  duties  now  devolving  upon  the  Board  of  Su- 
pervisors. The  Court  of  Sessions  passed  out  of  ex- 
istence in  1855.  In  the  organization  of  the  District 
Court  the  Third  Judicial  District  was  composed  of  the 
counties  of  Contra  Costa,  Alameda,  Santa  Clara, 
Santa  Cruz,  and  Monterey,  including  the  present 
county  of  San  Benito.  John  H.  Watson,  for  whom 
the  town  of  Watsonville  was  afterwards  named,  was 
the  first  judge.  The  first  term  of  the  District  Court  was 
opened  on  the  twenty-second  day  of  April,  1850.  The 
first  case  tried  was  an  action  for  foreclosure  of  mortgage 
given  to  secure  the  payment  of  a  promissory  note  for 
$5,000,  with  interest  at  eight  per  cent  per  month! 
The  first  indictment  found  in  the  county  was  against 
Juan  Higuera  a/ias  Toreto,  and  charged  the  defend- 
ant with  grand  larceny  in  taking  a  horse  belonging  to 
Joseph  W.  McClelland.  This  indictment  was  after- 
wards quashed  on  motion  of  the  district  attorney. 

The  first  grand  jury  was  composed  of  the  follow- 
ing-named persons  :  Chas.  White,  foreman,  James  F. 
Reed,  William  Campbell,  David  Dickey,  William 
Higgins,  Geo.  W.  Bellamy,  Jeptha  Osborn,  J.  W. 
McClelland,  Arthur  Shearer,  C.  Campbell,  Lewis 
Cory,  W.  G.  Banden,  James  Murphy,  R.  M.  May, 
Jas.  Appleton,  Carolan  Matthews,  F.  Lightston,  W. 
Hoover,  C.  Clayton,  J.  D.  Curd. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  names,  as  far  as  they 
can  be  ascertained,  of  the  members  of  the  early  Bar 
of  Santa  Clara  County;  among  them  are  many  who 
have  achieved  State  and  national  reputation:  A.  C. 
Campbell,  E.  D.  Baker,  Rufus  A.  Lockwood,  Edmund 
Randolph,  Geo.  B.  Tingley,  James  M.  Jones,  A.  J. 
Yates,  C.  T.  Ryland,  Simeon  K.  Gibson,  John  H. 
Moore,  R.  B.  Buckner,  Wm.  T.  Wallace,  Lawrence 
Archer,  F.  H.  Sandford,  R.  P.  Clement,  Wm.  M.  Staf- 
ford, W.  T.  Gough,  P.  O.  Minor,  Julian  Smart,  Craven 
P.  Hester,  J,  M.  Williams,  F.  S.  McKinney,  J.  Alex. 
Yoell,  E.  O.  Crosby,  H.  M.  Van  Voorhies,  O.  H. 
Allen,  Frederic  Hall,  Wm.  B.  Almond,  A.  Redmon, 
A.  L.  Rhodes,  Wm.  H.  Ramsey,  Wm.  Matthews,  D. 
P.  Belknap,  Thomas  White,  H.  P.  Hastings,  F.  B. 
Murdock,  James  White,  Jos.  R.  Gitchell,  Azariah 
Martin,  Chas.  M.  Fox,  R  A.  Jones,  Frs.  E.  Spencer, 
S.  O.  Houghton,  J.  A.  Moultrie,  C.  B.  Yamgh,  Alfred 
Cowles. 

The  first  court-house  was  the  old  juzgado,  front- 
ing the  plaza,  which  at  that  time  extended  north,  to  or 


beyond  First  Street.  It  was  not  well  adapted  to  the 
purpose,  and  in  1850  the  court  was  removed  to  a  two- 
story  adobe  building  on  the  west  side  of  First  Street, 
about  opposite  Fountain  Alley.  It  occupied  this 
building  until  the  latter  part  of  185 1,  when  it  was  for 
a  short  time  held  in  the  Bella  Union  Building,  on 
Santa  Clara  Street.  From  there  it  went  to  the  State 
House  Building,  near  the  corner  of  Market  and  San 
Antonio  Streets,  where  it  remained  until  that  building 
was  burned  down.  It  then  went  into  temporary  quar- 
ters at  the  City  Hall,  then  located  on  Lightston  Street, 
between  El  Dorado  and  Santa  Clara;  in  the  mean- 
time the  county  purchased  a  lot  at  the  southeast  corner 
of  Second  and  Santa  Clara  Streets,  and  the  buildings 
were  fitted  up  to  accommodate  the  county  offices  and 
courts.  Here  the  department  of  justice  rested  until 
1868,  when  it  went  into  temporary  quarters  in  the 
Murphy  Block,  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Market  and 
Santa  Clara  Streets.  Its  stay  here  was  only  for  a 
few  weeks,  for  in  the  same  year  the  present  court- 
house was  completed  and  ready  for  occupancy. 

The  District  Bench  was  occupied  by  Judge  Watson 
until  1 85 1,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Craven  P. 
Hester,  who  presided  until  1859.  He  was  succeeded 
by  Sam  Bell  McKee.  The  Legislature  of  1871-72 
created  a  new  judicial  district,  which  was  called  the 
Twentieth,  and  composed  of  the  counties  of  Santa 
Clara,  Santa  Cruz,  and  Monterey.  Hon.  David  Belden 
was  appointed  judge  of  the  new  district,  to  fill  the 
bench  until  the  ensuing  election.  He  was  then 
elected  and  presided  over  the  court  until  the  reorgani- 
zation of  the  judicial  system  and  establishment  of  our 
present  Superior  Courts  in  1880.  Under  the  new  sys- 
tem, Santa  Clara  County  was  allowed  two  judges,  and 
at  the  election  held  in  1879  David  Belden  and 
Francis  E.  Spencer  were  chosen.  The  great  learning 
and  sound  reasoning  of  these  jurists  gave  the  bench 
of  Santa  Clara  County  a  reputation  second  to  none 
in  the  Union.  Many  times  have  these  learned  judges 
been  called  upon  to  preside  at  trials  of  important 
cases  elsewhere,  and  hardly  ever  is  the  calendar  called 
that  it  does  not  disclose  some  suit  of  magnitude  sent 
to  them  for  adjudication  from  other  counties.  On 
the  opening  of  the  Superior  Court  in  1880  a  division 
of  the  business  was  made  and  the  rule  then  adopted 
has  been  adhered  to  ever  since.  The  court  was  di- 
vided into  two  departments.  Judge  Belden  taking 
Department  i,  and  Judge  Spencer  Department  2. 
All  criminal  business  was  assigned  to  Department  i, 
and  all  probate  and  insolvency  business  to  Department 
2.     The  other  cases  were    distributed   alternately  in 


84 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


the  order  of  their  numbers  on  the  register,  Department 

1  taking    the  odd-numbered  cases  and    Department 

2  the  even  numbers.  Judge  Belden  died  May  14, 
1888,  and  the  vacancy  was  filled  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  John  Reynolds,  a  lawyer  of  many  years' 
practice  both  at  this  Bar  and  in  San  Francisco.  It  is 
fitting  that  a  sketch  of  the  life  and  services  of  these 
eminent  jurists  should  be  presented  in  this  work. 


David  Belden  was  born  at  Newtown,  Fairfield 
County,  Connecticut,  August  14,  1832.  He  came  of 
old  Puritan  stock  and  inherited  their  fairness  of  char- 
acter and  untiring  energy,  with  none  of  their  intoler- 
ance. Mr.  Belden's  father  was  a  lawyer  of  consider- 
able prominence  in  New  England.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  native 
State,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  his  education.  He 
learned  all  there  was  to  learn  in  these  institutions, 
which,  though  noted  for  their  efficiency,  could  scarcely 
lead  him  to  the  door  of  the  higher  education  he  was  to 
achieve  by  his  own  unaided  efforts,  the  completeness 
of  which  excited  the  admiration  of  all  who  had  the 
good  fortune  of  his  acquaintance.  On  reaching  his 
majority  in  1853,  he  came  to  California,  stopping  at 
Marysville  for  two  years,  where  he  read  law.  He 
went  to  Nevada  City  in  1855,  and  commenced  the 
practice  of  his  profession.  During  his  residence  at 
Nevada  City,  he  also  directed  his  attention  toward 
mining,  but  this  was  more  for  the  purpose  of  practi- 
cally studying  the  geologic  character  of  the  country 
than  for  acquisition  of  the  precious  metals.  For  the 
same  reason  he  visited  Virginia  City,  Nevada,  and 
made  critical  examination  of  the  different  silver- 
bearing  lodes  of  Mt.  Davidson.  Everything  he  did 
seemed  to  be  with  the  object  of  acquiring  useful  in- 
formation, which,  when  once  stored  in  his  retentive 
memory,  was  never  lost.  The  knowledge  thus  gained 
he  bestowed  with  a  lavish  hand  on  those  around  him. 
Many  a  miner  whose  heart  had  become  sick  with  hope 
deferred,  has  received  hints  from  Judge  Belden  which 
have  enabled  him  to  realize  his  golden  anticipations; 
and  many  a  mechanic  has  received  through  him  the 
light  by  which  he  has  been  able  to  do  perfect  work. 
No  knowledge  was  so  humble  that  he  would  not 
stoop  to  pick  it  up,  and  none  so  lofty  that  he  would 
not  climb  to  reach  it.  There  seemed  no  limit  to  the 
capacity  of  his  mind  for  the  acquisition  of  wisdom. 
His  powers  of  both  analysis  and  synthesis  were  won- 
derful, and  however  refractory  might  be  the  ore  that 
went  into  the  laboratory  of  his  brain,  it  came  out 
pure  and    shining  metal.     In    1859    he    was    elected 


county  judge,  and  occupied  the  bench  four  years.- 
In  1865  he  was  selected  by  the  people  to  represent 
Nevada  County  in  the  State  Senate.  Here  his 
broad  statesmanship  and  matchless  eloquence  won 
new  laurels  and  gave  him  a  State-wide  reputation. 
At  the  expiration  of  his  term  as  senator,  he,  together 
with  his  wife,  visited  the  Old  World  and  traveled  for 
some  months  through  Europe.  In  this  tour  he  took 
occasion  to  investigate,  on  the  spot,  many  things  of 
which  he  had  only  read,  and  returned  with  much  in- 
formation added  to  his  already  large  store  of  knowl- 
edge. Art,  science,  horticulture,  mechanism,  road- 
making,  political  economy,  literature,  architecture, 
domestic  economy, — he  absorbed  everything.  Re- 
turning from  Europe  he  removed  to  San  Jose,  in 
1869,  and  resumed  the  practice  of  the  law.  In  1871, 
the  Twentieth  Judicial  District  was  created,  and  he 
was  appointed  its  judge.  In  1873  he  was  elected  to 
the  same  position  by  a  practically  unanimous  vote. 
The  district  then  was  composed  of  the  counties  of 
Santa  Clara,  Santa  Cruz,  San  Benito,  and  Monterey. 
He  held  this  position  until  the  judiciary  system  of  the 
State  was  reorganized,  when  he  was  elected  judge  of 
the  Superior  Court.  He  was  re-elected  in  1884,  and 
continued  on  the  bench  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
May  14,  1888.  While  his  wonderful  learning  excited 
admiration,  and  his  strict  integrity  induced  respect,  no 
less  did  his  warm  and  sympathetic  nature  command  the 
affection  of  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  He 
was  simple  in  his  habits  and  unostentatious  in  his 
appearance.  Anyone  could  approach  him  and  draw 
at  will  on  his  great  stores  of  knowledge,  while  neither 
his  heart  nor  his  purse  were  closed  to  the  tale  of  dis- 
tress. He  was  eminently  a  progressive  man  and 
ready  to  lend  his  valuable  assistance  to  every  enter- 
prise for  the  benefit  of  the  community.  Many  of  our 
proudest  monuments  owe  their  existence  to  the  timely 
and  intelligent  efforts  of  Judge  Belden.  The  amount 
of  work  he  performed  was  enormous,  and  it  was  this 
interminable  labor  without  rest  that  finally  accom- 
plished his  death.  He  possessed  a  robust  frame,  but 
it  was  worn  out  by  his  still  more  vigorous  mind.  It 
would  be  impossible  to  enumerate  the  many  great 
works  which  his  assistance  has  rendered  possible. 
His  handwriting  is  visible  on  every  page  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  county  since  his  name  was  enrolled  as  one 
of  its  citizens.  At  his  death  the  whole  State  mourned, 
and  at  his  obsequies  all  were  present  to  pay  tribute  to 
his  memory.  Business  was  suspended,  the  temple  of 
justice  in  which  he  had  so  long  presided  was  draped 
in  mourning,  and  the  people  from  all  the  walks  of  life 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  ''GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


85 


came  forth  with  grieving  hearts  to  place  their  floral 
offerings  on  the  tomb  of  their  counselor  and  friend. 
The  remains  were  borne  to  their  last  resting-place  by 
his  brothers  in  the  profession,  and  the  eulogy  pro- 
nounced by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  through 
its  chief  justice,  Searles.  The  whole  people  composed 
the  cortege  and  none  were  left  who  did  not  show 
visible  signs  of  the  sorrow  which  filled  their  hearts. 
Judge  Belden  was  married,  April  21,  1861,  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  C.  Farrell,  of  New  Jersey,  a  lady  eminently 
fitted  to  be  the  wife  of  such  a  man.  Highly  educated 
and  accomplished,  but  with  strong  domestic  instincts, 
she  made  for  him  a  most  congenial  home.  Possessed 
of  strong  intelligence,  she  was  able  to  render  him  val- 
uable assistance  in  most  of  his  work.  She  was  his 
support  and  consolation  during  his  wedded  life  and  his 
true  mourner  after  his  death.  She  remains  on  the 
homestead,  and  preserves  it  in  the  same  condition  in 
which  it  was  left  by  her  husband. 

Following  are  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  Bar 
in  respect  to  the  memory  of  Judge  Belden: — 

Whereas,  It  has  pleased  the  ever  wise  and  merciful  Author  of 
justice  to  remove  from  our  midst  and  from  the  scene  of  his  earthly 
labors  the  Honorable  David  Belden,  Judge  of  the  Superior  Court  of 
the  County  of  Santa  Clara  and  State  of  California;  and, 

Whereas,  In  his  death,  the  judicial  system  of  .Santa  Clara  County 
has  suffered  its  most  sad  and  serious  loss  since  its  organization;  and. 

Whereas,  The  whole  community  of  which  Judge  Belden  was  for 
many  years  a  useful  and  beloved  member,  unites  with  the  Bar  in  sincere 
grief  about  his  bier;  and, 

Whereas,  It  is  fitting  that  to  the  public  record  of  his  eminent  serv- 
ices as  a  judicial  officer  there  should  be  appended  the  seal  of  a  merited 
recognition  by  the  court  over  which  he  presided  with  dignity,  learning, 
and  honor;  be  it  therefore 

Resolved,  That,  in  the  untimely  death  of  the  Hon.  David  Belden, 
the  Bench  and  Bar  of  Santa  Clara  County  have  lost  a  most  able,  reli- 
able, just  and  respected  member;  the  State  of  California  a  most  use- 
ful, illustrious,  and  conscientious  jurist;  the  community  a  rare  exam- 
ple of  true  greatness  and  virtue;  that,  as  a  judge  of  the  Twentieth 
Judicial  District  of  the  State  of  California  from  1S71  until  1880,  and  of 
the  Superior  Court  of  Santa  Clara  County  from  iSSo  to  the  date  of  his 
death,  he  ever  wore  the  stainless  ermine  of  judicial  integrity,  displaying 
in  his  opinions  and  rulings  a  quick  perception  of  the  principlesof  justice, 
and  a  deep  and  discriminating  study  of  the  precedents  and  precepts  of 
law  applicable  to  every  case,  bearing  himself  always  with  a  lofty  impar- 
tiality toward  the  parlies  and  the  interests  involved.  In  his  administra- 
tion of  the  penal  statutes  to  offenders  brought  before  his  court  he  was  ever 
moved  with  earnest  and  untiring  desire  to  temper  the  severity  of  the 
sentence  with  that  degree  of  mercy  required  by  each  individual  case, 
to  foster  and  encourage  every  impulse  toward  virtue  concealed  in  the 
criminal's  heart.  In  his  bearing  toward  the  Bar,  he  was  distinguisheil 
for  the  graceful  and  uniform  courtesy  accorded  every  member,  and 
especially  noted  for  the  kindly  encouragement  which  constantly  flowed 
to  the  young  men  of  the  profession,  qualities  which  won  for  him  the 
esteem  and  veneration  of  the  former  and  the  confidence  and  love  of  the 
latter, — an  esteem,  veneration,  confidence,  and  love  which  cease  not  at 
his  grave,  but  which  will  continue  to  make  fragrant  his  memory 
through  the  years  to  come.     That  as  a  citizen,  sprung  from  the  ranks  of 


the  masses,  and,  rising  through  a  life-time  of  labor,  by  native  force  of 
character,  to  an  eminence  of  distinguished  usefulness,  his  career  compels  . 
the  admiration  of  all  classes  of  society,  and  should  especially  excite  the 
young  men  of  our  coast  to  an  imitation  of  the  virtues  of  his  public  and 
private  life.  In  the  shaping  of  public  affairs  his  advice  was  always 
easy  of  access,  and  ever  found  well-considered  and  wise.  No  member 
of  society  was  more  sensitive  to  the  pulsations  of  public  opinion,  or 
more  apt  in  appreciation  of  public  needs.  Never  forward  in  the  im- 
pression of  his  personality  upon  the  current  of  affairs,  he  was  never 
backward  in  meeting  the  emergencies  of  any  occasion  with  a  fortitude 
born  of  his  convictions  of  right.  With  broad  intellectuality,  with 
brilliant  literary  ability,  with  incessant  zeal,  he  investigated  every  prob- 
lem of  life  and  scattered  his  conclusions  broadcast  with  a  tongue  of 
silver  and  a  pen  of  fire.  That  though  his  loss  to  the  community  is 
lamented  as  a  judge  of  transcendent  ability  and  a  citizen  of  distin- 
guished usefulness,  it  is  as  a  man  among  men  that  the  death  of 
David  Belden  is  most  keenly  felt  and  most  sincerely  deplored.  The 
friend,  the  brother,  the  counselor,  the  very  model  of  all  the  social 
virtues,  he  lived  out  with  consistent  purity  his  simple  and  noble  exist- 
ence, and  is  gone  in  answer  to  the  morning  call  of  immortality.  Be- 
side the  unstained  robes  of  his  public  service  may  be  laid  the  equally 
immaculate  garments  of  his  private  life.  To  the  widow  of  our  de- 
parted friend  and  brother,  who,  through  the  well-filled  years  of  a 
noble  life  has  been  the  partner  of  his  joys  and  griefs,  the  Bar  of  Santa 
Clara  County  extends  the  comfort  of  the  heart-felt  sympathy  of  its 
every  member;  in  token  whereof  be  it 

Resolved,  That  as  a  body  the  Bar  attend  the  funeral  and  sepulture 
of  her  beloved  companion.  That,  as  a  mark  of  respect  to  their  late 
occupant,  the  judicial  chair  and  bench  of  Department  No.  I,  of  the 
Superior  Court  of  this  county,  be  draped  in  mourning  for  the  space  of 
twenty  days.  That  these  resolutions  be  offered  before  the  Superior 
Court  of  Santa  Clara  County,  at  the  next  sitting  thereof,  with  the  re- 
quest that  they  be  spread  upon  the  minutes  of  said  court;  that  a  certi- 
fied copy  of  the  same,  and  the  further  action  of  the  Court,  be,  by  the 
clerk  thereof,  transmitted  to  the  widow  and  family  of  the  deceased;  and 
that  one  publication  of  these  resolutions  be  made  upon  the  pages  of  the 
public  press. 

,  In  making  the  order  to  spread  these  resolutions  on 
the  minutes,  and  to  transmit  a  copy  to  the  widow. 
Judge  Spencer  said: — 

"Mv  Brothers  OF  the  Bar  ofSan  Jose:  In  the 
removal  by  death  of  my  honored  associate,  we,  in  com- 
mon with  his  relatives  and  community  at  large,  have 
indeed  suffered  a  great  and  irreparable  loss.  I  can 
but  ill  bring  myself  to  the  stern  realization  of  the  fact 
that  the  relentless  destroyer  has  taken  from  my  side 
one  who  for  these  eight  years  has  been  my  co-laborer 
in  the  delicate  and  arduous  duties  incident  to  the 
office  of  judge  of  the  Superior  Court;  one  with  whom 
I  have  oft  held  instructive  and  pleasant  consultations, 
and  with  whom  I  have  maintained  most  intimate  and 
cordial  personal  relations.  I  knew  him  well,  and  thus 
knowing  I  can  truly  say  that  his  virtues  were  many 
and  noble;  his  fauks  few  and  insignificant.  Indefati- 
gable and  conscientious  in  the  attention  to,  and  the 
performance  of,  his  judicial  duties,  he  was  stricken 
while  in  the  midst  of  his  labors.  With  Spartan  cour- 
age and  steadfast  devotion  to  duty,  inherited  from  his 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD: 


Puritan  ancestors,  for  nearly  three  years  did  he  battle 
with  death  and  stand  by  his  post  with  unswerving 
fortitude,  attending  to  every  duty  of  his  office.  To 
the  oft-repeated  solicitation  of  friends  to  give  himself 
relaxation  and  rest,  he  has  often  responded  from  the 
fullness  of  his  convictions  of  duty,  'I  would  rather 
wear  out  than  rust  out.'  And  most  truly  did  he  wear 
out  in  the  performance  of  his  judicial  duties,  for  not 
until  the  overtaxed  body  and  weakened  vital  organs 
had  broken  out  in  open  rebellion  did  he  yield  to  the 
inevitable,  and  was  carried  out  of  the  temple  of  justice, 
which  he  had  adorned  as  district  and  superior  judge 
for  sixteen  years,  to  linger  by  the  dark  river  until  the 
ferryman  should  come  to  transport  him  to  a  haven  of 
well-earned  rest. 

"Judge  Belden  was  at  the  time  of  his  death  fifty-five 
years  and  nine  months  of  age,  and  had  served  with 
distinction  and  honor  in  the  several  judicial  positions 
of  county  judge  of  Nevada  County,  district  judge 
of  the  Twentieth  Judicial  District,  and  superior  judge 
of  this  county  for  the  collective  period  of  twenty  years. 

"Not  only  was  he  an  able  expounder  of  the  law,  but 
the  citizens  of  his  former  mountain  home  had  delighted 
in  sending  him  to  the  halls  of  legislation,  where,  as  a 
senator,  he  distinguished  himself  as  an  able  law-maker 
and  a  leader  among  his  fellows. 

"  He  was  a  truly  remarkable  man.  Many  have  gone 
before  him  whose  legal  attainments  have  been  equal 
to  his.  Others  may  have  equally  possessed  the  treas- 
ure of  masterly  eloquence.  But  it  has  never  been  my 
fortune  to  find  combined  in  any  other  person  so  many 
rare  and  glowing  qualities  of  heart,  brain,  and  personal 
accomplishments. 

"  As  an  orator  it  has  been  truly  said  of  him  that 
'he  spoke  with  a  tongue  of  silver;'  his  command  of 
language  was  wonderful,  his  selections  beautiful  and 
most  happy.  He  was  wont  at  times  with  his  bursts  of 
eloquence  to  hold  his  listeners  delighted  and  entranced. 
Although  his  delivery  was  rapid,  he  never  hesitated 
for  an  apt  word  or  sentence.  '  His  words  came  skip- 
ping rank  and  file  almost  before  he  would.' 

"As  a  jurist  he  had  few  superiors.  Well  grounded 
in  the  elements  of  law,  and  conversant  with  the  mass 
of  judicial  precedents,  he  added  that  ready  perception 
of  principles  applicable  to  any  given  set  of  facts,  and 
that  peculiarly  incisive  power  of  reasoning  that  make 
the  true  lawyer. 

"But  his  attainments  by  no  means  stopped  with 
those  of  his  chosen  profession.  His  researches  in  the 
general  domain  of  knowledge  included  almost  every 
branch  of  science,  art,  history,  and  political  economy. 


"Although  not  a  specialist  in  any  one  department, 
he  was  at  home  as  well  when  gazing  at  the  gems  of 
night,  figuring  their  parallax  and  discussing  the  laws 
of  planetary  motion,  as  when  calculating  the  angle  of 
aperture  of  an  object  glass  or  studying  the  phenom- 
ena of  the  border  line  of  life  exhibited  in  the  amcebse. 

"But  as  a  judge  did  his  fitting  qualities  shine  forth 
with  undimmed  luster. 

"He  was  a  just  judge,  a  wise  interpeter  of  the  law 
and  evidence,  and  withal  simple  and  unassuming  in 
manner,  and  sympathetic  almost  to  a  fault. 

"He  has  passed  from  our  midst  forever.  The  chair 
that  he  was  wont  to  fill  with  so  much  dignity,  honor, 
and  credit  is  now  vacant.  His  robes  of  office  have 
been  replaced  by  the  winding  sheet.  We  have  laid 
him  away  in  his  final  resting-place,  and  have  taken  to 
our  hearts  the  solemn  and  instructive  monition  that 
the  sad  lesson  affords. 

"A  loving  wife  is  mourning  the  loss  of  a  loyal  and 
affectionate  husband.  The  Bar  of  this  county,  and 
the  profession  at  large,  lament  the  loss  of  a  cherished 
brother,  and  the  county  and  State  a  valued  citizen 
and  faithful  public  servant. 

"  But  the  memory  of  his  virtues  and  noble  qualities 
we  should  ever  keep  green  in  our  hearts,  and  it  is  em- 
inently fitting  that  the  resolutions  now  presented  by 
his  brothers  of  the  Bar  should  be  inscribed  upon  the 
pages  of  the  records  of  the  court  which  he  has  caused 
to  be  kept  so  many  years. 

"  Let  the  motion  be  granted,  and  an  engrossed  copy 
of  the  resolutions  be  presented  to  the  bereaved 
family." 


Hon.  Francis  E.  Spencer  was  born  at  Ticonder- 
oga,  Essex  County,  New  York,  September  25,  1834. 
During  his  infancy  his  parents  removed  to  Saratoga, 
and  thence,  in  1846,  to  Will  County,  Illinois.  Here  Mr. 
Spencer  attended  the  common  schools,  finally  gradu- 
ating at  the  academy  at  Joliet.  In  1852,  when  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  eighteen  years  of  age,  he 
removed  with  his  parents  to  California,  settling  at 
San  Jose.  Here  Mr.  Spencer  went  to  work  on  a 
farm,  raising  sheep  and  cattle,  and  general  agricult- 
ural work.  In  a  short  time,  however,  he  abandoned 
the  hills  and  grain-fields,  and  commenced  the  study 
of  medicine.  His  father  was  an  eminent  physician, 
and  this  fact  influenced  the  son  in  the  choice  of  a 
profession.  He  soon,  however,  became  dissatisfied 
with  his  choice.  His  mind  was  eminently  logical, 
and  would  be  content  with  nothing  but  exact  results. 
He  would    accept  no  proposition  that  could  not  be 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


87 


reduced  to  a  mathematical  certainty.  The  exquisite 
logic  of  the  law  suited  him  better,  and  he  became  a 
student  in  the  office  of  iVIessrs.  Archer  &  Voorhies, 
then  a  leading  law  firm  of  San  Jose.  He  was  a  quiet 
student,  and  attracted  no  particular  attention  until 
he  was  examined  for  admission  to  the  Bar  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  in  1858,  where  he  displayed  such 
thorough  knowledge  as  to  excite  comment.  In 
1863  he  was  appointed  city  attorney  for  the  city  of 
San  Jose,  and  served  as  such  for  seventeen  years. 
Soon  after  his  appointment  as  city  attorney  he  was 
made  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners  of 
the  Funded  Debt.  Here  he  made  a  record  that  es- 
tablished his  reputation  for  legal  learning,  and  as  a 
man  of  great  resources.  He  found  that  the  San  Jose 
Land  Company,  popularly  known  as  the  "  Forty 
Thieves,"  claiming  title  to  all  of  the  pueblo  lands  by 
virtue  of  a  clause  in  the  city  charter,  which  they  con- 
strued as  a  confirmation  of  their  claim,  had  secured  a 
decree  of  confirmation  by  the  United  States  District 
Court  to  the  pueblo  of  a  vast  tract  of  land,  as  is  more 
particularly  described  in  our  chapter  on  land  titles. 
From  this  decree  an  appeal,  prosecuted  by  certain 
ranch  owners,  was  pending  in  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court.  If  he  resisted  the  claim  of  the 
Land  Company,  or  contested  the  appeal  of  the  ranch 
owners,  his  intelligence  told  him  that,  instead  of  many 
thousand  acres  of  land,  the  pueblo  would  get  but  a 
very  small  tract.  He  resolved  to  aid  the  appeal  and 
fight  the  Land  Company  afterwards.  He  brought 
about  a  compromise  by  which  the  pueblo  secured  the 
whole  tract,  except  that  claimed  by  the  ranch  owners, 
and  then  in  a  subsequent  case  defeated  the  claim  of 
the  Land  Company.  Then  by  selling  a  portion  of 
the  remaining  land  at  the  government  price,  the 
commissioners  were  enabled  to  pay  off  the  entire 
debt  of  the  city. 

These  two  suits,  so  successfully  conducted  by  Mr. 
Spencer,  not  only  relieved  the  city  from  indebtedness 
of  every  character,  but  removed  the  last  cloud  from 
the  title  of  every  foot  of  land  within  the  limits  of  the 
pueblo.  As  city  attorney  he  watched  with  an  untir- 
ing vigilance  over  the  interests  of  the  city.  He  suc- 
cessfully prosecuted  the  case  of  the  city  against  the 
bondsmen  of  the  defaulting  treasurer,  Jasper  E.  Gunn, 
and  in  other  cases  secured  the  city  against  loss.  His 
sound  advice  to  the  city  officials  secured  the  effective 
and  prompt  administration  of  municipal  affairs. 
While  studying  law  he  had  made  hims.  If  familiar 
with  the  Spanish  language,  the  Spanish  customs,  and 
the  Spanish  and   Mexican  laws  affecting  land  grants 


and  titles,  and  on  this  subject  he  soon  became  an 
authority.  His  opinion  that  there  were  no  valid 
suerte  titles  east  of  Market  Street,  in  the  new  pueblo, 
has  been  confirmed  by  the  highest  courts  in  many 
cases.  In  the  famous  suerte  suits  of  Toro  versus 
Beach,  Beach  versus  Maldonado,  and  Luco  versus 
Hare,  this  opinion  was  fiercely  attacked  by  some  of 
the  best  lawyers  in  the  State,  and  fought  out  to  the 
last  ditch,  but  was  never  seriously  disturbed. 

As  attorney  for  defendants  in  the  case  of  Hart 
versus  Chaboya  et  a/.,  Mr.  Spencer  succeeded  in 
establishing  an  important  doctrine.  As  the  law  then 
stood,  upon  the  death  of  a  wife  her  heirs  inherited  one- 
half  of  the  common  property.  Upon  that  statute 
the  heirs  of  Jesse  B.  Hart  brought  suit  against  a  large 
number  of  purchasers  from  the  husband  involving  a 
large  tract  of  land  on  the  Yerba  Buena  Rancho,  in  the 
Evergreen  District.  He  was  successful  in  having  the 
Supreme  Court  hold  that,  although  the  descent  was 
cast  upon  her  heirs  for  a  moiety  of  the  common  prop- 
erty, yet,  as  the  husband  had  the  control  and  dispo- 
sition of  the  common  property  during  coverture,  he 
had  a  right  to  wind  up  the  estate  after  the  death  of 
the  wife,  and  that  conveyances  made  by  him  in  fur- 
therance of  that  object  were  valid.  This  decision 
saved  the  homes  to  a  large  number  of  farmers,  and 
established  a  rule  that  prevented  a  large  amount  of 
litigation  in  favor  of  speculators. 

In  these  important  cases,  coming  as  he  did  in  con- 
tact with  many  of  the  ablest  lawyers  of  the  nation, 
Mr.  Spencer  won  a  reputation  for  legal  ability  that 
commanded  profound  respect  from  the  Bar  every- 
where, and  his  calendar  contained  important  cases  in 
all  the  courts  of  the  State.  His  services  were  in 
especial  demand  in  actions  affecting  the  title  to  land, 
and  much  of  his  time  was  occupied  in  responding  to 
calls  from  other  counties.  In  fact,  the  permanent 
settlement  of  land  titles  in  California  is  due  to  the 
efforts  of  Judge  Spencer  as  much  as  to  any  other  one 
man. 

As  early  as  1861  he  was  elected  district  attorney, 
which  office  he  held  for  two  terms,  refusing  a  nomi- 
nation for  the  third.  During  his  incumbency  of  this 
office  he  did  much  valuable  work  for  the  county, 
among  which  was  the  recovery  of  large  sums  of 
money  on  forfeited  bonds.  In  1871  he  was  elected 
a  member  of  Assembly  and  was  made  chairman  of 
the  judiciary  committee  of  that  body.  It  was  during 
this  session  that  the  legislation  was  had  in  regard  to 
the  then  new  codes.  Mr.  Spencer's  legal  training 
and  clear  mind  enabled  the  committee  to  make  its 


88 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


reports  promptly  and  clearly  on  the  large  amount  of 
business  referred  to  it,  the  largest  and  most  compli- 
cated, perhaps,  that  has  ever  been  met  by  any  com- 
mittee of  the  Legislature  since  the  organization  of 
the  State.  How  well  this  work  was  performed  the 
statute  books  show  for  themselves.  During  this  ses- 
sion, also,  a  desperate  attempt  was  made  to  remove 
the  State  Normal  School  from  San  Jose.  He  had 
much  to  do  in  frustrating  these  efforts.  When  the 
judicial  system  of  the  State  was  reorganized  Mr. 
Spencer  was  elected  one  of  the  superior  judges  for 
Santa  Clara,  which  position  he  has  ever  since  held. 
One  very  noticeable  peculiarity  of  Mr.  Spencer's  work 
as  an  attorney  was  the  care  with  which  he  prepared 
his  cases  for  trial.  No  point  was  too  insignificant  to 
be  thoroughly  investigated,  and  the  law  and  authorities 
thoroughly  collated.  His  wide  practice  led  him  to  the 
study  of  many  specialties,  and  thus  no  opposing  expert 
testimony  found  him  unpi'epared.  His  critical  knowl- 
edge of  anatomy,  engineering,  geology,  metallurgy, 
and  mechanical  appliances,  with  all  the  new  theories 
developed  by  the  recent  progress  in  the  department 
of  microscopy  and  spectrum  analysis,  gave  him  high 
standing  in  scientific  circles.  All  this  knowledge  and 
these  habits  of  painstaking  labor  he  carried  with  him 
to  the  Bench.  As  his  services  as  an  attorney  were 
in  demand  throughout  the  State,  so  it  has  continued 
since  he  donned  the  ermine.  At  the  request  of  local 
judges  he  has  presided  at  the  trial  of  important  cases 
in  many  different  counties.  In  San  Bernardino  County 
he  tried  the  great  case  of  Stockman  et  a/.,  versus  Riv- 
erside Land  and  Irrigation  Company,  involving  the 
lands  and  the  canal  system  of  the  famous  Riverside 
Colony.  He  presided  at  the  trial  of  Huse  et  al.,  versus 
Den  et  al.,  in  which  vast  landed  interests  in  Santa 
Barbara  County  were  at  stake.  Also  in  important 
contested  election  cases  in  Sacramento.  Also  in  the 
great  mining  case  o/  White  versus  Merrill  et  al.,  in 
Department  i  of  the  Superior  Court  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. Besides  his  great  learning  and  sound  judg- 
ment, two  other  qualities  stand  out  prominently  in 
Judge  Spencer's  administration  of  justice,  i.  e.,  the 
firmness  and  dignity  with  which  the  affairs  of  his  tri- 
bunal were  conducted,  and  the  uniform  courtesy  which 
was  extended  from  the  Bench  to  the  Bar,  and  to  all 
others  who  appeared  in  his  court.  Outside  of  his 
profession,  also,  Judge  Spencer  has  ever  been  a  pro- 
gressive citizen,  liberally  subscribing  to  all  enterprises 
having  in  view  the  moral,  educational,  or  material 
advancement  of  the  community.  He  was  selected  as 
one  of  the    Board  of  Trustees    of  the  great   Leland 


Stanford,  Jr.,  University,  which,  being  an  institution 
devoted  to  practical  education,  cannot  but  recei\e 
great  benefit  from  Judge  Spencer's  learning  and 
experience. 


Hon.  John  Reynolds,  one  of  the  superior  judges 
of  Santa  Clara  County,  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Bar  of  California  for  the  past  thirty-five  years,  and  a 
resident  of  San  Jose  since  1871.  He  was  born  in 
Bedford,  Westchester  County,  New  York,  on  Feb- 
ruary 20,  1825,  and  received  his  education  at  the 
Union  Academy,  of  that  town,  conducted  by  his 
brother,  Alexander  G.  Reynolds.  Hon.  W.  H.  Rob- 
ertson, afterwards  county  judge  of  that  county,  and, 
later,  member  of  Congress  and  collector  of  the  port 
of  New  York,  received  his  education  with  him  at  the 
same  school,  each  going  from  it  at  about  the  same 
time  to  study  his  chosen  profession.  He  studied  law 
at  Sing  Sing,  New  York,  in  the  ofifice  of  his  brother, 
S.  F.  Reynolds,  afterwards  judge  of  the  Fourth  Dis- 
trict Court  of  San  Francisco.  Admitted  to  the  Bar 
by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of  New  York,  he 
commenced  the  practice  of  law  in  his  brother's  ofifice, 
and  there  continued  for  one  year.  Coming  to  Cali- 
fornia in  the  fall  of  1853,  he  was  admitted  to  practice 
by  the  Supreme  Court  of  California  in  that  year, 
opening  an  office  in  San  Francisco,  where  he  con- 
tinued until  the  fall  of  1871.  He  then  removed  to 
San  Jose,  engaging  in  the  practice  in  Santa  Clara 
County,  where  he  has  since  continued.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  first  Republican  State  Convention,  in 
1856,  chairman  of  the  Republican  County  Committee 
in  San  Francisco  during  the  presidential  election  of 
1864,  in  which  campaign  he  devoted  his  time  ex- 
clusively, for  seven  weeks  preceding  the  second  elec- 
tion of  Mr.  Lincoln,  to  his  duties  as  chairman  of  the 
County  Committee;  has  always  been  interested  in 
political  matters,  although  never  an  active  politician. 
He  was  married  in  1S55  to  Miss  Emily  Marshall,  of 
Sing  Sing,  New  York. 

Judge  Reynolds  was  lately  elected  one  of  the  fif- 
teen freeholders  to  frame  a  new  charter  for  the  city 
of  San  Jose.  This  position  he  resigned  to -accept  the 
judgeship  of  the  Superior  Court,  to  which  he  has 
lately  been  appointed,  succeeding  in  that  position  the 
late  Hon.  David  Belden.  At  the  establishment  of 
the  Free  Public  Library,  he  was  appointed  one  of  its 
trustees,  and  continued  to  hold  that  ofifice  until  as- 
suming the  duties  of  superior  judge.  He  was  elected 
a  member  of  Assembly  in  1880,  and  was  a  member 
of  that  body  during  the   memorable   session  of  the 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


89 


Legislature  of  1881.  On  account  of  certain  combi- 
nations with  which  he  did  not  sympathize,  and  which 
resulted  in  the  defeat  of  the  Apportionment  Bill,  he 
was  not  placed  at  the  head  of  the  Judiciary  Com- 
mittee; but  it  is  well  known  that  no  constitutional 
question  arose  in  the  committee,  or  the  House,  that 
he  was  not  consulted,  and  in  but  one  instance  was 
his  opinion  disregarded,  and  in  that  case  his  vote  is 
found  recorded  in  accordance  with  a  subsequent  de- 
cision of  the  United  States  Circuit  Court.  Judge 
Reynolds'  practice  as  an  attorney  at  the  Bar  of  Santa 
Clara  County  has  been  in  some  of  the  most  important 
suits  instituted  within  this  jurisdiction.  Actions  in- 
volving titles  to  lands  have  been  his  specialty,  and  in 
these  his  careful  practice  and  thorough  research  have 
been  often  commented  on.  The  most  important  and 
complicated  partition  suit  ever  had  in  this  county, 
and,  perhaps,  on  the  coast,  was  begun  and  managed 
by  him  to  the  end,  with  no  error  in  the  slightest  de- 
tail. This  was  the  partition  of  Las  Animas  Rancho, 
covering  the  city  of  Gilroy  and  many  thousand  acres 
of  outside  lands,  and  in  which  there  were  several  very 
hotly  contested  controversies,  involving  about  one- 
eighth  of  the  whole  rancho,  and  which  occupied  the 
court  weeks  in  trying.  There  were  about  two  thou- 
sand parties  to  the  record  in  this  action,  which  was 
pending  for  several  years.  The  careful,  methodical, 
painstaking  character  of  Judge  Reynolds,  together 
with  his  learning  and  knowledge  of  the  law,  acquired 
by  nearly  forty  years'  study  and  practice,  eminently 
fitted  him  to  receive  the  appointment  to  the  Bench, 
which  he  now  holds.  Among  the  lawyers  now  prom- 
inent at  the  Bar  of  Santa  Clara  County,  are  the  fol- 
lowing, of  whom  we  present  brief  personal  sketches: — 


Hon.  Sherman  Otis  Houghton.— The  names 
of  few  among  the  pioneers  of  California  are  more 
favorably  known,  or  have  been  more  closely  iden- 
tified with  the  best  progress  of  the  State,  than  that 
of  Hon.  S.  O.  Houghton.  Born  April  10,  1828,  in 
New  York  city,  he  enlisted,  when  but  eighteen  years 
of  age,  and  still  at  school,  in  Company  A,  First  New 
York  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  on  March  26,  1847, 
arrived  in  San  Francisco,  after  a  voyage  "  round  the 
Horn,"  to  see  service  in  the  Mexican  War.  A  part 
of  the  regiment,  including  his  company,  was  detailed 
to  Santa  Barbara,  but  in  a  short  time  were  sent  to 
the  seat  of  war,  the  force  numbering  one  hundred  and 
five,  all  told,  under  the  command  of  Lieut.  Col.  Henry 
S.  Burton.  On  arriving  in  Mexico  they  took  up  a 
position  commanding  the  town  of  La  Paz,  where  they 


occupied  a  church  and  other  buildings.  They  forti- 
fied the  position,  and  successfully  held  their  own 
against  the  most  strenuous  exertions  of  the  enemy 
for  several  weeks,  until  relief  came,  when  they  took 
the  offensive,  meeting  with  signal  success,  and  capt- 
uring the  commander  of  the  Mexican  forces.  Mr. 
Houghton  was  regularly  promoted  for  merit  from  the 
ranks,  to  sergeant-major,  lieutenant,  and  adjutant 
of  the  command.  In  September,  1848,  he  returned 
to  Monterey,  and,  with  six  of  his  brother  officers,  pur- 
chased an  outfit  and  went  to  the  mines,  meeting  with 
some  success.  In  the  spring  the  company  separated, 
Mr.  Houghton  coming  to  San  Jose  in  March,  1849. 
He  then  purchased  oxen  and  wagons,  proceeded  to 
Stockton,  and  established  a  trading-post  at  Sullivan's 
Creek,  running  a  pack-train  between  that  point  and 
the  camps  about  Sonora.  After  this  Mr.  Houghton 
purchased  in  Stockton  a  stock  of  goods,  intending  to 
spend  the  winter  in  the  mountains  trading.  The 
rains  came  on,  however,  the  goods  could  not  be  moved, 
and  had  to  be  sacrificed  With  a  Mr.  Peasley  he 
then  engaged  in  the  cattle  business  at  San  Jose,  the 
speculation  paying  badly  on  account  of  the  deprecia- 
tion in  value  of  the  scrip  issued  by  the  State  at  that 
time.  In  1852  Mr.  Houghton  assisted  in  taking  the 
census  in  Santa  Clara  County;  in  the  same  year  he 
was  appointed  deputy  county  recorder.  In  1854  he 
was  elected  to  the  common  council  of  the  city,  and 
chosen  its  president;  in  1855  was  elected  mayor  of 
the  city,  holding  office  until  1856.  In  1871  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  Forty-second  Congress,  and 
re-elected  in  the  following  year  to  the  Forty-third 
Congress,  Mr.  Houghton  being  a  Republican  in  poli- 
tics, and  a  consistent  member  of  the  party.  From 
1852  till  1856  he  read  law  during  his  leisure  moments, 
and  in  the  latter  year  entered  the  law  office  of  W.  T. 
Wallace  and  C.  T.  Ryland.  In  i860  Mr.  Ryland 
withdrew  from  the  connection,  when  Mr.  Houghton 
formed  a  partnership  with  Judge  Wallace,  which  con- 
tinued till  the  latter's  removal  to  San  Francisco,  in 
1864.  Mr.  Houghton  has  been  a  prominent  member 
of  the  Bar  of  San  Jose,  having  a  very  large  practice, 
especially  in  the  settlements  of  the  old  Spanish  es- 
tates and  the  unraveling  of  their  intricate  titles.  In 
1886  he  removed  to  Los  Angeles,  which  city  he  has 
since  made  his  home,  though  he  still  retains  his  large 
real  estate  and  other  interests  in  this  valley. 

On  August  23,  1859,  Mr.  Houghton  married  Miss 
Mary  M.  Donner.  She  died  on  the  21st  of  July  fol- 
lowing, leaving  one  child,  Mary  M.,  who  was  born 
June  7,  i860.     On  October  10,  iS6i,he  married  Eliza 


90 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD: 


P.  Donner,  the  third  and  youngest  daughter  of  George 
and  Tamsen  Donner,  who  was  born  March  8,  1843- 
She  left  Springfield,  Sangamon  County,  Illinois,  with 
her  parents  early  in  the  year  1846,  and  is  one  of  the 
survivors  of  the  ill-fated  Donner  party,  whose  terrible 
fate  is  one  of  the  most  melancholy  in  the  early  annals 
of  California.  Mr.  Houghton  is  one  of  the  leading 
citizens  of  this  State,  a  gentleman  honored  and  es- 
teemed by  all,  and  a  sturdy  specimen  of  the  fine  pio- 
neers of  California. 


Hon.  Joseph  A.  Moultrie  was  bom  in  Franklin, 
Missouri,  in  1827.  He  received  his  early  education 
there  and  in  Madison  County.  After  reading  law  for 
a  time  in  the  office  of  W.  V.  M.  Bay  he  enlisted  in  the 
United  States  Army,  to  serve  during  the  Mexican 
War.  His  regiment  was  the  First  Missouri  Cavalry, 
better  known  as  the  famous  "Doniphan's  Regiment." 
His  company  was  mustered  in  at  Fort  Leavenworth, 
with  John  D.  Stephenson  as  captain.  The  regiment 
was  attached  to  the  "Army  of  the  West,"  Gen.  S.  W. 
Kearney  commanding.  The  command  left  Fort 
Leavenworth  June  27,  1846,  and  marched  across  the 
plains  to  Santa  Fe.  The  operations  of  Doniphan's 
Regiment  make  one  of  the  most  interesting  and 
thrilling  chapters  in  the  history  of  the  Mexican  War. 
After  the  occupation  of  what  is  now  known  as  New 
Mexico,  two  companies  of  the  regiment,  Mr.  Moultrie's 
company  being  one  of  them,  were  detailed  to  go  out, 
under  the  guidance  of  Col.  Joe  Walker,  the  famous 
Indian  fighter,  to  treat  with  the  Navajo  Indians. 
Mr.  Moultrie  participated  in  all  the  battles  and  skirm- 
ishes in  which  his  regiment  was  engaged,  including 
the  battle  of  Sacramento,  near  Chihuahua.  He  was 
one  of  the  fourteen  men  who  volunteered  for  the 
perilous  duty  of  carrying  dispatches  to  Gen.  Wool,  at 
Buena  Vista.  The  distance  was  about  five  hundred 
miles,  through  a  rough  country,  infested  with  hostile 
Mexicans.  The  perils  and  hardships  which  this  ex- 
pedition encountered  and  overcame  would  fill  a  book. 

The  enterprise,  though  looked  upon  as  a  forlorn 
hope,  was  successful.  Mr.  Moultrie  was  mustered 
out  of  service,  with  his  company,  at  New  Orleans,  in 
the  latter  part  of  June,  1847.  He  returned  to  Mis- 
souri, where  he  remained  two  years,  and  again  started 
for  the  Pacific  Coast.  He  arrived  at  Santa  Fe  in 
1849,  where  he  stayed  until  January,  1850.  With  two 
companions,  he  continued  his  journey  to  California. 
At  San  Diego  they  separated,  and  Mr.  Moultrie,  se- 
curmg  a  mule,  rode  to  San  Jose,  which  he  reached  in 
June  of  the  same  year,  the   journey  from    Santa  Fe 


occupying  six  months.  He  went  to  the  mines,  but 
was  unsuccessful  and  returned  to  San  Jose  in  1852. 
He  secured  five  hundred  acres  of  land  near  Menlo 
Park,  which  he  farmed  for  one  year,  and  then  accepted 
an  appointment  as  deputy  sheriff  of  Santa  Clara 
County.  While  occupying  this  position  he  resumed 
the  study  of  law  under  the  instruction  of  Judge 
Archer.  Later,  he  entered  the  law  office  of  W.  T.  Wal- 
lace, and  when  the  latter  was  elected  attorney -general 
in  185s,  Mr.  Moultrie  became  his  deputy,  serving  in 
that  capacity  for  two  years.  He  was  elected  district 
attorney  for  Santa  Clara  County,  which  office  he  held 
two  years.  In  1861  Mr.  Moultrie  took  an  active  part 
in  the  organization  of  Mono  County,  and  was  ap- 
pointed its  first  county  judge.  At  the  election  two 
years  later  he  was  elected  to  the  same  position  for  a 
term  of  four  years.  He  resigned  before  the  expira- 
tion of  his  term,  and  again  went  to  the  mines,  and  was 
again  unsuccessful.  He  then  resumed  his  law  prac- 
tice in  San  Jose,  which  he  has  continued  ever 
since.  Judge  Moultrie  has  conducted  some  of  the 
most  important  cases,  both  civil  and  criminal,  which 
have  been  tried  at  this  Bar,  but  has  devoted  most  of 
his  attention  to  cases  involving  the  title  to  real  estate. 
He  is  a  popular  and  respected  citizen,  as  well  as  a 
prominent  member  of  the  Bar.  He  is  a  Democrat  in 
politics,  and  was  chosen  a  delegate  to  the  National 
Convention  that  nominated  Samuel  J.  Tilden  as 
President  of  the  United  States. 


Judge  Lawrence  Archer,  attorney-at-law,  rooms 
I,  2,  and  3  Archer  Building,  corner  of  First  and  Santa 
Clara  Streets,  San  Jose,  has  been  prominently  identi- 
fied with  the  legal  profession  and  the  material  and 
political  interests  of  San  Jose  since  1853,  and  a  resi- 
dent of  California  since  1852,  in  which  year  he  crossed 
the  plains  from  St.  Joseph,  Missouri,  not  so  much  for 
the  golden  attractions  presented  then  by  California  as 
the  promise  held  out  of  a  restored  health,  the  latter 
having  been  undermined  by  the  malaria  of  Yazoo 
County,  Mississippi,  and  not  much  improved  by  a  resi- 
dence on  the  banks  of  the  Missouri.  A  native  of  South 
Carolina,  where  he  was  born,  in  the  Anderson  district 
(now  Anderson  County)  in  1820,  he  there  received  his 
primary  education,  after  which  he  attended  the  Uni- 
versity of  Virginia,  and  later  studied  law  in  the 
office  of  Armisted  Burt,  a  prominent  attorney  of 
Abbeville,  South  Carolina.  These  educational  ad- 
vantages were  largely  paid  for  by  his  own  earnings, 
his  father,  who  had  been  a  merchant  and  planter  of 
South  Carolina,    having    met   with  financial    reverses 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  ''GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


91 


while  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  yet  a  lad,  throw- 
ing the  latter  on  his  own  resources  at  an  early  age. 
His  parents  were  John  and  Ann  (Mosely)  Archer, 
both  natives  of  Virginia.  Removing  to  Yazoo  County, 
Mississippi,  in  1841  he  was  admitted  by  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  State  of  Mississippi  to  the  prac- 
tice of  law,  which  he  followed  in  Yazoo  County  two 
years.  The  malarial  fevers  of  that  region  making  a 
change  of  climate  necessary,  he  removed  to  St.  Joseph, 
Missouri,  making  the  trip  by  steamboat  the  greater 
part  of  the  way,  then  by  stage,  and  finally,  owing  to  an 
accident,  the  latter  part  of  the  way  on  foot.  He 
practiced  law  in  that  city  with  success,  remaining 
there  for  eight  years,  and  finally  resigned  the  office  of 
district  attorney,  to  which  he  had  been  elected  three 
years  previously,  to  come  to  California  in  search  of 
health,  which  seemed  impossible  to  regain  elsewhere. 

He  settled  in  Sacramento,  where  he  remained  until 
after  the  great  fire  of  1852,  then  removed  to  San 
Francisco,  where  he  remained  a  short  time,  finally 
settling,  in  January,  1853,  in  San  Jose,  where  he  has 
remained  permanently  since  that  time,  and  where  he 
has  since  devoted  himself  to  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession. 

In  1867  he  was  elected  county  judge,  holding  that 
position  until  August,  1871,  when  he  resigned  that 
for  the  session  of  1875-76.  He  was  made  chairman 
of  the  Committee  on  Corporations,  which,  on  account 
of  the  part  taken  by  the  railroads  in  the  politics  of  the 
State,  was  the  most  important  committee  in  the 
House.  As  chairman  of  that  committee  he  prepared 
a  bill  to  regulate  fares  and  freights,  which  became 
famous  as  the  "Archer  Bill."  Up  to  this  time  the 
people  had  been  industriously  educated  to  the  im- 
pression that  no  one  who  had  not  served  for  years  in 
the  transportation  business  could  intelligently  act  in 
this  matter.  Judge  Archer  demonstrated  that  there 
was  one  man  at  least  who  could  grasp  and  solve  the 
problem. 

The  bill  was  defeated  in  the  Senate,  but  the  agita- 
tion arising  from  it  resulted  later  in  the  passage  of 
the  "Railroad  Commission  Bill."  In  1864  he  re- 
moved with  his  family  to  New  York,  remaining  there 
for  eighteen  months,  during  which  time  he  did  not 
enter  into  the  practice  of  his  profession  or  any  busi- 
ness engagements.  He  returned  to  his  California 
office  to  enter  the  campaign  as  a  nominee  for  Con- 
gress from  this  district,  which  at  that  time  included 
San  Francisco  and  the  entire  southern  portion  of  the 
State.  Judge  Archer  has  twice  been  elected  mayor  of 
San  Jose,  the  first  time  in  1857  and  again  in  1877,  '" 


neither  case  elected  as  a  representative  of  either  of  the 
great  political  parties,  but  as  a  candidate  of  the  better 
elements  of  both  parties,  the  last  time  opposing  the 
nominee  of  the  so-called  Workingmen's  party.  He 
also  served  one  term  in  the  State  Legislature  in  1866. 

He  was  married  in  Missouri,  in  1848,  to  Miss  Louise 
Martin  of  St.  Joseph.  This  lady  died  in  1869,  leaving 
one  child,  Louise,  now  the  wife  of  M.  J.  Flavin,  a 
merchant  of  San  Francisco.  He  was  married  in  1870 
to  Miss  Alice  B.  Bethell,  a  native  of  Indiana,  at  that 
time  on  a  visit  to  relatives  in  California.  There  have 
been  born  to  them  two  children:  Lawrence,  born  in 
1 87 1,  and  Leo,  born  in  1874.  Lawrence  is  now  attend- 
ing the  Santa  Clara  College,  and  Leo  attending  the 
public  schools  of  San  Jose. 

Judge  Archer  has  160  acres,  in  the  southeast  cor- 
ner of  San  Jose,  where  he  resides,  and  on  which  he 
has  an  orchard  of  thirty  acres,  planted  in  cherries, 
apricots,  and  prunes.  This  place  he  has  owned  since 
1 86 1,  and  has  devoted  it  to  farming  and  fruit  raising. 

The  Judge  took  great  pride  in  his  cherry  orchard, 
which  consisted  of  four  acres,  from  which  the  income 
averaged  about  $3,000  per  year.  He  was  the  first 
fruit-grower  in  Santa  Clara  County  to  utilize  the 
labor  of  women  and  children  in  his  orchard,  thus  giv- 
ing desirable  employment  to  a  large  number  of  deserv- 
ing people.  Judge  Archer  foresaw  the  future  prosper- 
ity of  San  Jose  when  he  first  settled  here,  and  has  done 
much  to  develop  the  resources  of  the  county.  He 
purchased  largely  of  real  estate,  and  the  fact  that  he 
could  always  procure  what  money  he  wanted  with  no 
other  security  than  his  word,  indicates  the  estimation 
in  which  he  was  held  by  the  community.  He  was  al- 
ways foremost  in  improvements;  he  built  the  first 
prominent  brick  building  on  First  Street,  and  always 
kept  in  advance  of  the  first  rank  of  progress.  Dur- 
ing all  the  heated  political  campaigns  in  which  he  has 
taken  a  prominent  part,  not  one  word  has  ever  been 
spoken  reflecting  on  his  ability  or  integrity. 


Hon.  Joseph  S.  Wallis,  of  Mayfield,  has  been 
associated  with  the  Bar  of  Santa  Clara  County  for 
upward  of  thirty  years;  and  while  most  of  his  con- 
temporaries of  the  '50's  have  passed  away  or  retired 
from  the  active  practice  of  the  law,  he  stands  to-day 
among  the  most  active  and  able  men  in  the  ranks  of  the 
profession.  Judge  Wallis  is  a  native  of  Massachusetts, 
born  at  Salem,  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  October,  1825. 
The  Wallis  family  was  established  in  this  country 
generations  back,  when  the  brothers,  Aaron  and 
Joseph  Wallis,'  came  from  England,  among  the  early 


92 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


settlers  of  the  old  colony  of  Massachusetts.  His 
father,  Joseph  Hutchinson,  was  a  merchant,  and  con- 
ducted a  large  furniture  business.  His  mother's 
maiden  name  was  Sarah  D.  Hutchinson.  She  was  also 
of  English  ancestry,  and  sprang  from  the  Governor 
Hutchinson  family,  of  Massachusetts. 

The  subject  was  reared  at  Salem,  and  received  his 
scholastic  training  there  at  the  English  High  School 
and  Latin  Grammar  School,  where  young  men  were 
prepared  for  college.  His  eagerness  to  advance,  his 
progress  and  standing  in  his  classes,  caused  the  break- 
down of  his  health  from  overstudy,  so  that  he  was  com- 
pelled to  withdraw  from  school.  At  the  breaking  out 
of  the  California  gold  excitement,  he  decided  to  go  to 
the  new  El  Dorado,  thinking  thereby  to  regain  his 
health  and  perhaps  to  eventually  associate  himself 
with  the  profession  he  had  already  been  making  prep- 
arations to  enter — the  law. 

Going  to  Boston,  he  took  passage,  January  24,  1849, 
on  the  ship  Capital,  bound  for  California.  Stops  were 
made  at  Rio  de  Janeiro  and  at  Valparaiso;  storms 
were  encountered  off  Cape  Horn  and  elsewhere,  and 
when  they  came  into  the  harbor  of  San  Francisco,  it 
was  the  nineteenth  of  July.  Mr.  Wallis,  who  was  at 
the  head  of  the  party  which  had  come  out  on  the  Cap- 
ital, took  his  company  as  far  as  Sacramento,  where  they 
disbanded,  and  a  few  of  them  accompanied  him  into 
the  Middle  Yuba  River  country,  where  they  opened  up 
the  early  mines  in  that  vicinity.  In  December,  1850, 
he  returned  to  San  Francisco,  and  there  engaged  in 
clerking.  In  1852  he  resumed  the  reading  of  law,  in 
the  office  of  William  H.  Rhodes.  He  was  admitted 
to  the  Bar  at  Sacramento,  before  the  Supreme  Court 
of  California,  on  the  fifteenth  of  August,  1855,  though 
he  had  previously  assisted  Mr.  Rhodes  in  his  practice. 
He  was  associated  with  that  noted  lawyer  until  the 
fall  of  1857. 

On  the  seventh  of  November  of  that  year,  he  came 
to  Santa  Clara  County,  and,  locating  at  Mayfield,  has 
ever  since  been  a  citizen  of  that  place.  In  1859  and 
i860  he  was  associate  judge  with  John  Moore,  in  the 
Court  of  Sessions  of  Santa  Clara  County,  and  in  1862 
was  chosen  by  the  electors  of  this  district  to  a  seat  in 
the  Senate  of  California,  serving  in  the  sessions  of  that 
year  and  1863.  His  legal  standing  commanded  a  po- 
sition for  him  on  the  important  Committee  un  Judi- 
ciary, of  which  he  was  one  of  the  earnest  working 
members.  The  arduous  duties  thus  entailed  allowed 
little  time  for  other  committee  work,  though  he  also 
assisted  in  the  labors  of  the  Engrossment  and  other 
committees.     On  the  eighteenth  of  February,  1870, 


he  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States. 

He  was  married  July  25,  1854,  to  Miss  Sarah 
Green,  a  native  of  Ohio.  She  came  to  California  in 
1844,  with  the  Martin  Murphy  party,  which  is  treated 
of  in  extended  mention  elsewhere  in  this  volume. 
She  owned  the  land  where  Sutter  built  his  mill,  and 
it  was  on  property  of  which  she  had  been  the  former 
possessor  that  gold  was  discovered  in  1846.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Wallis  were  the  parents  of  five  children,  viz.: 
Talbot  H.,  State  Librarian  at  Sacramento;  Eva  (Hess), 
of  San  Jose ;  Josephine  (Ingalls),  of  San  Jose ;  William 
A.,  who  is  in  the  employ  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Rail- 
road, and  resides  at  Oakland;  and  Joseph,  who  died  at 
the  age  of  twenty-three  years,  at  Sacramento,  where  he 
was  a  practicing  lawyer. 

Judge  Wallis  has  always  taken  an  active  interest  in 
public  affairs — local,  State,  and  national.  He  has  the 
honor  of  having  been  a  member  of  the  Free-soil 
Convention  that  nominated  Van  Buren  and  Adams. 


R.  B.  BUCKNER,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born 
in  Winchester,  Clark  County,  Kentucky,  in  1822. 
He  received  his  education  at  Centre  College,  Danville, 
Kentucky,  and  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years  he  joined 
his  parents  in  Missouri,  where  they  had  gone  several 
years  previous,  leaving  him  attending  school,  and 
bought  a  farm  in  Jackson  County.  His  father  resided 
on  this  farm  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1854. 
The  judge  engaged  in  school-teaching  in  Missouri, 
close  to  the  Kansas  line,  until  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Mexican  War,  when  in  1846  he  enlisted  in  the  First 
Regiment  of  Missouri  Volunteers,  Colonel  A.  W. 
Doniphan  commanding.  The  regiment  marched  to 
Santa  Fe,  which  was  then  in  Mexican  territory,  where, 
the  Navajo  Indians  being  troublesome.  Judge  Buck- 
ner's  and  another  company  of  soldiers  were  sent  out 
to  quell  them,  which  they  did,  making  a  treaty  of 
peace  with  them;  and  then,  continuing  their  march, 
they  passed  through  the  country  of  the  Zunis  and 
Laguna  tribes,  and  joined  their  regiment  at  Socorro, 
on  the  Rio  Grande,  and  marched  on  into  Mexico.  On 
Christmas-day  of  that  year  they  met  the  Mexican 
troops  in  the  battle  of  Brazito.  The  enemy  having 
twelve  hundred  cavalry,  a  regiment  of  infantry,  and  a 
small  piece  of  artillery,  his  own  regiment  consisting 
of  but  eight  hundred  men,  a  battery  of  six  guns,  and 
fifty  cavalry,  the  chances  were  decidedly  against 
them;  but,  notwithstanding  that  fact,  they  were  victo- 
rious, as  they  were  also  at  the  battle  of  Sacramento, 
fought  later.     They  entered  the  city  of  Chihuahua, 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


93 


Mexico,  March  2,  1847,  the   principal   battles   having 
been  fought  before  their  regiment  reached  there. 

On  the  twenty-seventh  of  the  following  April  they 
were  ordered  to  General  Taylor's  headquarters  at 
Monterey,  which  they  reached  in  June;  there  they 
were  ordered  to  New  Orleans  for  muster.  Sailing  from 
Point  Isabel  they  reached  that  city  the  fifteenth  day 
of  June,  1847;  immediately  on  their  arrival  they  were 
mustered  out  of  the  service,  and  the  judge  returned  to 
his  home  in  Missouri,  where  he  spent  the  winter. 
In  the  spring  of  1848  he  made  a  trip  into  Mexico  for 
the  purpose  of  trading.  On  his  return,  at  Santa  Fe, 
he  heard  of  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California,  and, 
hastening  home,  began  preparations  for  a  trip  to  the 
land  of  gold. 

In  the  spring  of  May,  1849,  he  started,  with  the  cel- 
ebrated "  Hudspeth  Train,"  consisting  of  sixty-four 
wagons  with  ox-teams.  They  had  the  usual  experi- 
ence of  parties  crossing  the  plains  in  that  early  day, 
and  reached  the  Sacramento  River  at  Lassens,  on  the 
tenth  day  of  October,  1849.  The  judge  came  imme- 
diately to  San  Jose,  but  the  gold  fever  being  upon  him 
he  left  for  the  mines  soon  after,  and  in  two  months 
returned  to  this  city  completely  cured.  He  then  en- 
gaged as  clerk  for  various  firms  in  the  mercantile  bus- 
iness, which  occupation  he  only  followed  a  short  time. 
Having  studied  law  while  he  taught  school  in  Missouri, 
he  concluded  to  put  his  knowledge  into  practice,  and 
accordingly  opened  an  office  with  Judge  Bowdon,  of 
Santa  Clara.  In  1853  he  was  elected  judge  of  Santa 
Clara  County,  which  office  he  held  for  three  years, 
when  he  was  elected  mayor  of  San  Jose,  and  filled  that 
position  one  year.  For  the  past  eleven  years  Judge 
Buckner  has  been  the  policejustice,  now  including  the 
office  of  city  justice  of  San  Jose.  When  not  engaged 
in  public  office  he  has  continued  the  practice  of  law 
to  this  date. 

In  1854  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Louisa 
McCabe,  a  native  of  Washington  County,  Missouri, 
who  came  with  her  parents,  P.  T.  McCabe  and  Martha 
(Davidson)  McCabe,  across  the  plains  to  this  State  in 
1849.  Her  father,  who,  at  the  ripe  old  age  of  eighty- 
five  years,  still  lives,  was  sheriff  of  Santa  Clara  Count) 
in  the  years  1854-56.  Judge  Buckner  and  his  wife 
have  an  adopted  daughter  and  a  niece.  Miss  Fannie 
Montgomery,  who  has  lived  with  them  all  her  life;  she 
is  at  present  an  employe  of  the  post-office  in  San  Jose. 
The  judge  is  a  member  of  San  Jose  Lodge,  No.  10, 
F.  and  A.  M.,  and  of  the  Mexican  War  Veteran  As- 
sociation of  San  Jose,  and  supports  the  Democratic 
party. 


S.  F.  Leib  came  to  this  country  in  1869,  settling  in 
San  Jose.  Mr.  Leib  was  born  in  Fairfield  County, 
Ohio,  in  1848,  his  father,  Joseph  Leib,  having  re- 
moved thither  from  Pennsylvania,  with  his  parents, 
in  1806,  when  but  seven  years  of  age.  At  this  very 
early  date  in  the  history  of  Ohio  the  Indians  had  but 
recently  held  almost  unlimited  possession,  and  an  old 
Indian  trail  ran  through  the  Leib  farm. 

Joseph  Leib's  wife  was  Clarissa  Allen,  a  native  of 
Ohio,  her  father  having  come  there  from  Vermont 
at  a  very  early  date.  Here  in  Fairfield  County  they 
lived  their  entire  married  lives,  and  here  they  died — 
Joseph  Leib  in  1880,  his  wife  in  1863.  There  were 
born  to  them  three  sons:  L.  H.  Leib,  who  was  killed 
at  Bolivar,  Tennessee,  in  1862,  while  leading  his  com- 
pany into  action;  Joseph  Leib,  now  living  in  Illinois, 
and  S.  F.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

Mr.  Leib,  with  his  brothers,  attended  the  public 
schools  of  their  native  section  until  he  commenced 
the  study  of  law  at  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan,  from  which 
institution  he  graduated  in  1869.  He  relieved  the 
monotony  of  school  life,  however,  by  enlisting  in 
Company  E,  159th  Ohio  Infantry,  in  the  spring  of 
1864,  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  but  was  mustered  out  of 
service  the  same  year. 

Since  coming  to  California  Mr.  Leib  has  been  not 
only  a  successful  practitioner  of  the  law,  but  fortunate 
in  business  ventures,  and  his  lovely  home  on  the  beau- 
tiful Alameda  is  remarked  by  everyone  who  passes  it. 
Here,  after  the  business  day  is  ended,  he  is  received 
by  wife  and  children  into  that  true  home  peace  and 
enjoyment  which  is  worth  the  heaviest  toil  to  win; 
and  here  he  expects  to  make  his  future  home.  Be- 
side his  city  home,  Mr.  Leib  owns  one  hundred  and 
ten  acres  in  the  Capertino  district,  eight  miles  from 
San  Jose,  on  the  Stevens  Creek  road,  which  he  has 
all  planted  in  French  prune  trees,  seventy  acres  of 
which  are  in  full  bearing.  Mr.  Leib  varies  the  rou- 
tine of  law  practice  by  experimental  horticulture,  in 
the  success  of  which  he  finds  much  pleasure.  He 
handles  all  his  own  prunes — drying  them  in  the  sun 
— and  has  already  established  for  them  a  wide  repu- 
tation on  account  of  the  thorough  manner  in  which 
the  drying  and  packing  processes  are  accomplished. 

Mr.  Leib  is  a  member  of  John  A.  Dix  Post,  No. 
42,  San  Jose,  G.  A.  R. 


D.  W.  Herrington.— This  gentleman,  one  of  the 
early  pioneers  of  Santa  Clara  County,  is  a  native  of 
Indiana,  born  near  Paris,  Jennings  County,  December 
23,  1826.     Mr.  Herrington  left  the  paternal  home  at 


94 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


the  age  of  thirteen,  removing  to  Madison,  Indiana, 
where  he  worked  at  his  trade,  carpenter  and  joiner, 
until  the  age  of  nineteen.  He  had  the  misfortune  to 
lose  the  use  of  his  right  arm  at  this  age,  and  was 
compelled  to  give  up  his  trade.  He  immediately  en- 
tered the  Asbury  University  at  Greencastle,  Indiana, 
where  he  remained  the  greater  part  of  four  years. 
On  the  thirteenth  of  March,  1850,  he  left  school  and 
started,  with  an  ox-team,  from  Greencastle  for  Cali- 
fornia, arriving  at  Placerville  on  the  tenth  day  of  Au- 
gust of  the  same  year.  During  the  first  six  months 
in  California  he  worked  in  the  gold  mines,  after  which 
he  went  to  Sacramento,  living  there  and  at  Sutter- 
ville  from  May,  1S51,  until  December,  1853.  At  this 
time  impaired  health  compelled  him  to  make  a  change, 
and  he  started  for  Los  Angeles,  but,  on  reaching  Santa 
Clara,  in  January,  1854,  decided  to  remain  for  a  time, 
and  has  been  at  this  place  and  in  San  Jose  ever  since. 

From  1855  to  1861  Mr.  Herrington  followed  the 
occupation  of  teaching,  when  he  took  up  the  study  of 
law.  He  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  in  1862,  and  has 
been  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  ever  since.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  State  Legislature  in  1863;  was 
elected  district  attorney  in  1865,  holding  this  office 
until  1867,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Constitutional 
Convention  of  1878-79,  which  formed  the  present 
Constitution  of  California. 

In  1858  Mr.  Herrington  married,  in  Santa  Clara, 
Miss  Mary  Harriet  Hazelton,  a  native  of  Ohio,  who 
had  removed  with  her  parents,  Hiram  and  Martha  E. 
Hazelton,  at  an  early  age,  to  Michigan,  coming  thence 
to  California  in  1852.  From  this  marriage  there  are 
six  children:  Irving,  justice  of  the  peace  and  real  estate 
agent  in  Santa  Clara;  Rachel,  now  a  teacher  in  the 
Santa  Clara  public  schools,  having  graduated  from 
the  State  Normal  School  in  1883;  Leona,  wife  of  The- 
odore Worth,  of  Bradley,  Monterey  County;  Clarence, 
now  studying  law  in  his  father's  office  in  the  city  of 
San  Jose;  Howard,  now  engaged  in  the  painting  bus- 
iness in  Los  Angeles  County,  and  Bertram  A.,  now 
teaching  in  the  public  schools  at  San  Miguel,  having 
graduated  from  the  State  Normal  School  in  1887. 

Mr.  Herrington  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Order, 
and  also  of  Santa  Clara  Lodge,  No.  52,  I.  O.  O.  F 
He  has  been  city  attorney  of  San  Jose  since  1879. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  having  belonged  to 
that  party  since  1861. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Herrington  were  Joseph  and 
Rachel  (Davis)  Herrington.  His  father  was  a  native 
of  Maryland,  removing,  when  an  infant,  with  his  par- 
ents to  Pennsylvania,  and  later  to  Indiana,  where  he 


died  in  1859.  His  mother  was  a  native  of  Tennessee. 
She  died  in  1861,  aged  sixty-nine  years.  Both  par- 
ents  are  buried  at   Paris,  Jennings  County,   Indiana. 


Charles  D.  Wright  is  one  of  the  prominent 
members  of  the  Bar  of  Santa  Clara  County,  of  which 
he  has  been  a  practiciihg  member  for  more  than  fif- 
teen years.  Mr.  Wright  is  a  son  of  the  Empire  State, 
born  in  Watertown,  Jefferson  County,  New  York. 
His  early  education  was  obtained  in  his  native  State, 
and  when  fifteen  years  of  age  he  came  to  the  Pacific 
Coast  and  to  Santa  Clara  County.  In  1865  he  entered 
the  law  office  of  Hon.  S.  O.  Houghton  as  a  student, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  in  1868.  He  has  en- 
joyed a  very  large  and  lucrative  law  practice.  Mr. 
Wright  has  always  been  a  pronounced  Republican  in 
his  political  affiliations,  and,  possessing  the  courage  of 
his  convictions,  he  has  taken  an  active  part  as  a  local 
political  leader,  for  which  he  is  well  fitted  because  of 
his  superior  judgment  of  human  nature,  and  his  rare 
tact  and  executive  ability  in  controlling  and  directing 
men.  His  candor  and  integrity  of  character  inspire 
confidence,  and  he  has  proved  a  successful  fighter  of 
political  battles.  He  managed  the  campaigns  which 
elected  his  former  preceptor,  Mr.  Houghton,  to  the 
United  States  Congress.  His  efforts  in  politics  have, 
however,  all  been  in  behalf  of  his  friends,as  he  has  never 
been  a  candidate,  nor  sought  office  for  himself  As 
a  lawyer  Mr.  Wright  excels  in  his  clear  conceptions 
of  a  cause,  and  such  a  logical  presentation  of  the  facts 
as  carries  conviction  with  his  argument  in  the  minds 
of  the  jury  and  the  court.  He  has  practiced  chiefly 
in  the  civil  courts. 

In  1885  the  subject  of  this  memoir  married  Miss 
MoUie  Murphy,  born  in  Santa  Clara  County,  and  a 
daughter  of  John  M.  and  Virginia  Reed  Murphy. 
Her  father  was  one  of  the  famous  Murphy  expedition, 
whose  perilous  experiences  are  narrated  at  length  in 
this  work,  and  her  mother  was  one  of  the  Donner 
party,  whose  terrible  trials  and  sufferings  are  also 
given  in  detail  elsewhere  in  this  volume. 


John  C.  Black,  attorney  at  law,  whose  law  offices 
are  at  rooms  18  and  19  Knox  Block,  and  resi- 
dence at  No.  322  North  Third  Street,  San  Jose,  is  a 
native  of  Butler  County,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was 
born  in  1834.  He  there  received  his  early  education, 
attending  later  Alleghany  College  at  Meadville,  Penn- 
sylvania, of  which  Bishop  Kingsley  was  then  a  pro- 
fessor. In  1855  he  left  college  to  come  to  California, 
arriving  at  San   Francisco  by  the   Panama  route    in 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


95 


March  of  that  year,  at  once  proceeding  to  Jackson, 
Amador  County,  where  he  engaged  in  mining  for  two 
years.  Deciding  on  a  more  permanent  direction  for 
his  energies,  he  came  to  the  Santa  Clara  Valley,  where 
he  devoted  himself  for  several  years  to  teaching 
school  and  studying  law. 

Being  admitted  to  the  Bar  by  the  Supreme  Court 
in  Januaiy,  1863,  he  removed  to  Yuba  County,  where 
he  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law.  He  filled  the  office  of 
assistant  district  attorney  in  Marysville  during  1863 
and  1864,  and  then  removed  to  San  Jose,  where  he  has 
continued  the  practice  of  law  since  that  time,  filling  the 
office  of  notary  public  in  1867  and  1868.  Was 
elected  district  attorney  in  1871,  holding  the  office 
until  March,  1874.  He  was  married  in  1868  to  Miss 
Marian  J.  Millard,  a  native  of  Iowa,  who  came  to  Cali- 
fornia with  her  parents  in  her  early  childhood,  in  1853. 
They  have  six  children:  Clara  N.,  now  attending  the 
Normal  School;  John  N.,  attending  the  University  of 
the  Pacific;  Walter  R.,  Edmund,  James  G.,  the  three 
latter  attending  the  public  schools  of  San  Jose,  and 
an  infant  now  one  year  old. 

Mr.  Black's  parents  were  James  and  Nancy  A. 
(Russell)  Black,  natives  of  Pennsylvania,  where  they 
lived  until  1874,  when  they  removed  to  California,  and 
have  since  resided  in  San  Jose.  They  had  five  sons 
in  the  Union  army  during  the  late  war,  all  coming 
out  alive,  although  several  were  badly  wounded.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  member  of  Garden  City 
Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  of  Mount  Hamilton  Lodge,  No. 
142,  A.  O.  U.  W.,  of  San  Jose,  a  Republican  in  poli- 
tics, and  in  favor  of  tariff  protection  to  American 
industries.  W.  W.  Black  is  interested  in  the  San 
Jose  Woolen   Mill. 


Hon.  James  R.  Lowe,  a  successful  and  prominent 
representative  of  the  San  Jose  Bar,  was  born  in  New- 
buryport,  Massachusetts,  on  April  25,  1840.  Up  to  the 
age  of  twelve  years  he  attended  school  in  his  native 
town,  removing  with  his  parents  to  San  Jose,  Cal- 
ifornia, where  they  settled  in  1852.  He  completed 
his  school  education  at  Gates'  Institute,  in  the  latter 
city.  Appointed  United  States  consul  to  the  city  of 
Tehuantepec,  Mexico,  by  President  Andrew  Johnson, 
he  represented  the  United  States  at  that  place  at  the 
time  the  Emperor  Maximilian  was  shot  at  Queretaro 
by  order  of  President  Juarez.  On  his  return  from 
Mexico  he  studied  law  with  the  Hon.  F.  E.  Spencer, 
now  superior  judge,  and  was  admitted  to  the  Bar. 
In  1876  Mr.  Lowe  was  elected  president  of  the  Board 
of  Education  of  San  Jose,  holding  that  office  for  two 


successive  terms,  during  which  time  the  schools  were 
managed  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the  people  of 
this  city,  and  in  a  manner  unexcelled  before  or  since. 

He  was  elected  in  1884  State  senator  on  the 
Republican  ticket,  and  regarded  among  the  ablest 
members  of  that  body.  His  record  as  senator  was 
among  the  best.  During  the  extra  session  of  1886 
he  took  a  very  active  part  towards  the  passage  of  laws 
in  favor  of  irrigation,  holding  that  "the  waters  flowing 
in  our  rivers  and  streams  should  not  be  allowed  to  roll 
idly  to  the  sea,  but  should  be  thrown  upon  the  arid 
plains,  and  they  be  made  to  blossom  like  the  rose." 

Resulting  from  that  legislation  in  which  Mr.  Lowe 
took  so  prominent  a  part,  irrigation  districts  have 
been  inaugurated  under  the  State  laws,  and  thousands 
of  acres  of  comparative  desert  have  been  transformed 
into  beautiful  and  profitable  homes.  Mr.  Lowe  has  a 
place  of  eighty  acres,  located  in  the  foot-hills  west  of 
the  town  of  Milpitas,  which  he  contemplates  planting 
in  trees  and  vines  in  1889. 

He  was  married,  in  1861,  to  Miss  Inez  Pacheco,  a 
member  of  the  celebrated  Pacheco  family,  of  Califor- 
nia, who  was  educated  at  the  convent  of  Notre  Dame, 
in  San  Jose.  She  died  in  May,  1872,  leaving  four  chil- 
dren: James,  Mary  (who,  while  driving  in  her  father's 
carriage  in  1887,  was  thrown  out  and  instantly  killed, 
and  at  whose  death  San  Jose  was  a  house  of  mourn- 
ing, so  generally  beloved  was  she),  Ralph,  now  in 
his  graduating  course  at  the  San  Jose  Commercial 
College,  and  William  W.,  now  engaged  in  San  Jose 
as  searcher  of  records.  He  was  married  in  1874  to 
Miss  Enna  Forsyth,  a  native  of  Maumee,  Ohio,  a 
lady  of  very  rare  intellectual  attainments  and  culture, 
who  was  for  several  terms  president  of  the  Board  of 
Education  of  Santa  Clara  County,  filling  that  position 
with  eminent  credit  to  herself  and  satisfaction  to  the 
people  of  the  county.  This  estimable  lady  died  in 
1887,  leaving  three  children:  Alexander,  Duncan,  and 
Eleanor. 

Senator  Lowe's  parents  were  James  R.  and  Mary 
(Tuckwell)  Lowe.  His  father  was  born  in  Chester- 
field, England,  in  1808.  Educated  as  a  landscape  gar- 
dener and  horticulturist,  he  displayed  such  rare  taste 
and  skill  in  laying  out  and  embellishing  large  parks 
and  gardens,  that  he  was  employed  to  come  to  the 
United  States  and  superintend  the  laying  out  and 
adorning  the  exquisite  grounds  and  horticultural  plots 
of  James  Arnold,  of  New  Bedford.  He  later  did  sim- 
ilar work  for  the  late  Ben:  Perley  Poore,  at  Indian  Hill 
Farm,  near  Newburyport,  Massachusetts.  He  re- 
moved to  California  in  1852   with  his  family,  and  en- 


96 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


in  San  Jose  in  the  same  profession.  There 
are  many  places  in  San  Jose  and  CaHfornia  that  bear 
witness  to  his  master  skill  and  rare  taste  and  culture 
in  the  art  of  beautifying  the  face  of  nature.  He  was 
the  means  of  bringing  to  California,  and  propagating 
here,  many  valuable  plants  and  trees,  to  which  em- 
ployment he  was  devoted  up  to  his  death,  in  1874. 
A  man  of  genial,  affable  disposition,  fond  of  telling 
and  listening  to  a  good  story,  he  had  many  and 
valued  friends;  in  fact,  a  very  happy  type  of  the 
representative  English  gentleman.  He  was  several 
times  elected  a  member  of  the  City  Council  of  San 
Jose.  Mr.  Lowe's  mother  was  a  native  of  Newbury- 
port,  Massachusetts,  and  a  member  of  the  celebrated 
Sherborn  family,  of  New  Hampshire. 

Further  particulars  of  Mr.  Lowe's  services  as  a  hor- 
ticulturist in  Santa  Clara  County  will  be  found  in 
our  chapter  on  horticulture. 


Daniel  W.  Burchard. — Holding  a  prominent 
and  important  position  among  the  public  officers  of 
this  county,  is  Mr.  Daniel  W.  Burchard,  attorney  at 
law  and  assistant  district  attorney.  His  father  was 
the  Rev.  John  L.  Burchard,  for  ten  years  a  member  of 
the  Missouri  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  While  he  was  stationed  in  Benton  County, 
Missouri,  on  March  5,  1858,  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  born,  and  came  with  his  parents  to  Califor- 
nia in  the  same  year.  His  father  was  located  first 
at  MarysviUe,  remaining  there  four  years,  and  after- 
wards for  siv  years  in  Stockton.  In  1868  he  was 
sent  to  Gilroy,  where  Daniel  attended  school.  After 
a  four  years'  residence  here,  his  father  returned  to 
MarysviUe,  when  he  was  appointed  Indian  agent  at 
Round  Valley.  In  1872  the  family  removed  to  Oak- 
land, in  order  to  afford  the  children  better  educational 
advantages.  After  passing  through  the  schools  of 
Oakland,  Daniel  went  up  to  the  reservation,  where  he 
taught  school  and  studied  law.  In  1879  and  1880  he 
studied  law  in  the  office  of  Henley  &  Johnson,  of 
Santa  Rosa,  the  senior  member  of  that  firm  being 
Hon.  Barclay  Henley,  late  member  of  Congress  from 
First  District.  Mr.  Johnson  is  now  attorney-general 
for  the  State. 

Mr.  Burchard  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  nine  days 
only  after  attaining  his  majority,  and  first  "hung  out 
his  shingle  "  in  Washington  Territory.  He  remained 
there  but  a  short  time,  when  he  returned  to  California, 
and  for  three  years  practiced  law  in  Hollister,  serving 
one  year  as  city  attorney.  Removing  to  San  Jose, 
he  entered  into  partnership  with  Moore  &  Moore,  and 


on  the  election  of  Howell  Moore  to  the  office  of  dis- 
trict attorney  he  was  appointed  deputy. 

Mr.  Burchard  is  a  hard  worker,  as  can  be  gathered 
from  the  fact  that  he  has  appeared  in  fifteen  hundred 
cases  since  he  began  practice,  six  hundred  of  them 
being  criminal  cases.  It  is  noteworthy,  also,  that,  al- 
though so  young  a  man,  he  has  been  connected  with 
many  cases  involving  heavy  interests.  Among  these 
may  be  noted  the  congressional  election  contest  of 
Sullivan  versus  Felton;  the  senatorial  contest  of  Ry- 
land  versus  Conklin;  a  number  of  homicide  criminal 
cases  in  which  the  final  penalty  was  inflicted,  and 
others. 

On  March  6,  1881,  Mr.  Burchard  was  married 
to  Miss  Cora,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Hon.  Rush  Mc- 
Comas,  the  county  treasurer.  They  have  four  chil- 
dren: Marcie,  Mary,  Ernest,  and  Ethel. 

Mr.  Burchard's  family  is  of  Scotch  and  German 
extraction,  and  is  fully  represented  in  professional 
and  intellectual  pursuits.  His  father  is  a  thoroughly 
self-made  man,  educating  himself  for  the  ministry  by 
his  own  efforts,  and  passing  his  life  in  the  service  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  His  mother  is  a 
native  of  Virginia,  a  descendant  of  the  pioneers  who 
first  settled  that  State.  His  only  brother  is  Dr.  L. 
S.  Burchard,  of  Oakland,  and  his  only  sister  is  the 
wife  of  C.  H.  Twombly,  the  San  Francisco  capitalist. 


James  H.  Campbell,  a  prominent  lawyer  and 
former  district  attorney  of  Santa  Clara  County,  was 
born  in  Andover,  Massachusetts,  in  1850.  He  came 
to  Nevada  County,  California,  in  1859,  where  he  re- 
mained until  1867,  since  which  time  he  has  resided  in 
San  Francisco  and  in  Santa  Clara  County.  In  1871 
he  graduated  from  the  famous  Santa  Clara  College, 
and  in  1872  commenced  the  study  of  law,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  Bar  in  1874.  In  the  same  year  he  was 
appointed  to  the  office  of  assistant  district  attorney 
of  Santa  Clara  County,  in  which  position  he  continued 
until  1876.  In  1879  he  was  elected  district  attorney, 
and  remained  in  office  until  1885.  He  was  twice 
elected  to  that  office,  and,  owing  to  the  effect  of  the 
new  constitution,  then  recently  adopted,  remained  in 
office,  by  virtue  of  his  first  election,  for  nearly  three 
years.  Since  1885  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  gen- 
eral practice  of  his  profession  in  San  Jose,  and  occu- 
pies a  prominent  position  among  the  members  of  the 
Bar  of  Santa  Clara  County. 

In  1878  Mr.  Campbell  was  married  to  Miss  Mary 
Faulkner,  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  her  parents,  John 
F.  and  Ann    Faulkner,  having  come  to  California  in 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


97 


the  early  days.     Of  this  union   there   are   three   chil- 
dren: Argyll,  Maud,  and  Irene. 

During  Mr.  Campbell's  incumbency  of  the  office 
of  district  attorney,  he  conducted  many  important 
murder  trials,  including  those  of  Majors,  Jewell,  and 
Showers,  for  the  murder  of  William  Renowden  and 
Archibald  Mclntyre,  near  Los  Gatos.  These  pris- 
oners were  all  convicted,  Majors  and  Jewell  being 
hanged,  and  Showers  sentenced  to  imprisonment  for 
life.  A  peculiarity  of  Majors'  trial  was  that  he  was 
first  convicted  and  sentenced  to  imprisonment  for  life 
for  the  murder  of  Renowden,  and,  while  serving  this 
sentence,  a  second  prosecution  was  instituted  for  the 
murder  of  Mclntyre,  for  which  crime  he  was  convicted 
and  hanged.  As  a  matter  of  courtesy,  Mr.  Campbell 
followed  the  case,  which  was  transferred  to  Alameda 
County,  on  a  change  of  venue,  and  prosecuted  it  there. 
He  was  also  instrumental  in  the  conviction  of  Wasi- 
lewsky,  in  Santa  Clara  County,  for  the  murder  of  his 
former  wife  in  Los  Gatos,  the  prisoner  being  hanged. 
This  case  was  remarkable  for  the  discovery  of  the 
criminal  and  his  conviction  when  every  clue  seemed 
to  have  vanished.  In  political  principles  Mr.  Camp- 
bell is  a  Democrat. 


Hon.  Albert  W.  Crandall  was  born  in  the  town 
of  Gaines,  Orleans  County,  Western  New  York,  in 
1835.  His  parents,  John  L.  and  Hannah  (Brown) 
Crandall,  moved  into  that  State  in  iSi4or  181 5,  when 
it  was  still  a  wilderness,  and  carved  out  there  a  home 
for  themselves.  Mr.  Crandall  attended  the  Albion 
Academy  at  Albion,  the  county  seat,  spending  several 
years  there  preparing  for  college.  He  entered  the 
University  of  Rochester,  and  graduated  with  honors  in 
the  class  of  1862.  Among  his  classmates  at  the  uni- 
versity was  Albion  W.  Tourgee,  the  author  of  the  well- 
known  "Fool's  Errand." 

During  the  time  Mr.  Crandall  was  preparing  for 
college  he  taught  school  for  several  terms,  being  at  one 
time  principal  of  one  of  the  public  schools  of  the  city 
of  Buffalo.  After  graduating  he  studied  law  in  Albion, 
with  the  legal  firm  of  Church  &  Sawyer.  Mr.  Church 
was  afterwards  the  chief  judge  of  the  Court  of  Ap- 
peals of  New  York  State.  Mr.  Crandall  was  admitted 
to  the  Bar  in  1863,  and  until  1878  practiced  law  in 
Albion.  In  that  year  he  came  to  California,  stopped 
at  San  Jose,  and  went  on  to  Los  Angeles,  where  he  re- 
mained until  in  1880  ;  he  returned  to  San  Jose,  and  has 
resided  here  since  that  time,  enjoying  a  large  practice. 
In  Albion  Mr.  Crandall  had  built  up  a  profitable  and 
enlarging  practice,  but  ill  health  compelled  his  re- 
13 


moval  to  this  State,  preferring  to  sacrifice  his  pro- 
fessional interests  there  rather  than  to  jeopardize  his 
health.  During  his  residence  in  Los  Angeles  he  lived 
an  almost  out-of-door  life,  riding  and  driving  about 
the  country  until  his  health  was  perfectly  restored, 
finding  this  particular  life  an  incentive  to  remaining 
there  for  a  time. 

In  1880,  having  completely  recovered  his  health  and 
strength,  he  returned  to  San  Jose,  and  has  since  en- 
gaged actively  in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  and 
having  also  a  fondness  for  outside  and  open-air  em- 
ployments, he  purchased,  with  Mr.  Gaines,  an  eighty- 
acre  ranch,  which  is  mostly  planted  to  vines.  This  is 
situated  on  the  Branham  road,  just  west  of  the  Ala- 
meda road,  near  the  Five  Mile  House.  The  vines  com- 
prise both  wine  and  table  grapes.  The  latter  have 
always  paid  w  ell,  while  the  former,  which  are  mostly 
made  into  dry  wines  (red  and  white),  are  also  on  a 
satisfactory  paying  basis. 

Mr.  Crandall  married  Miss  Maria  Pettingill,  of  Mon- 
roe County,  New  York,  in  1863.  Her  parents,  Reuben 
and  Clarissa  (Green)  Pettingill,  were  natives  of  New 
Hampshire,  moving  into  New  York  State  about  1816. 
Mr.  Pettingill  was  well  known  as  "Deacon  Pettingill," 
having  for  more  than  forty  years  been  prominently 
connected  with  the  Baptist  Church  at  Ogden,  New 
York.  There  is  only  one  child  from  this  union,  namely, 
Albertine,  born  in  1865,  now  living  with  her  parents  in 
San  Jose. 

Mr.  Crandall  is  a  member  of  Friendship  Lodge,  No. 
210,  of  the  Masons  of  San  Jose.  He  is  a  Republican 
in  politics,  and  earnestly  in  favor  of  a  high  protective 
tariff.  He  was  chairman  of  the  Central  Committee  of 
this  county  during  the  campaign  of  1884,  and  is  now 
senator  for  the  Thirty-first  Senatorial  District  of  Cal- 
ifornia, having  been  elected  by  a  triumphant  majority. 
It  should  also  be  stated  that  Mr.  Crandall  was  chair- 
man of  the  County  Central  Committee  of  the  Repub- 
lican party  in  his  county  in  New  York  State,  during 
several  political  campaigns,  and  also  held  several  civil 
offices  while  there,  being  collector  of  tolls  on  the  Erie 
Canal  for  two  terms,  clerk  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors, 
clerk  of  the  Probate  Court,  and  was  once  nominated 
for  district  attorney,  but  declined. 


Nicholas  Bowden,  attorney  at  law,  of  the  firm  of 
Archer  &  Bowden,  rooms  i,  2  and  3  Archer  Building, 
San  Jo.se,  was  born  in  the  County  Kilkenny,  Ireland, 
in  1851.  In  1S53  his  parents  removed  to  America, 
settling  in  Cooperstown,  Otsego  County,  New  York, 
where  he  attended  the  public  schools  up  to  the  age  of 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


fifteen  years.  He  then  entered  a  general  merchandise 
store,  the  largest  in  that  county,  going  through  all  the 
gradations  from  errand  boy  to  head  salesman  and  as- 
sistant bookkeeper,  for  four  years.  In  1869  he  came 
West,  and,  after  a  short  residence  in  St.  Louis,  Mis- 
souri, located  at  Evansville,  Indiana.  Here  he  re- 
mained seven  years,  engaging  first  as  bookkeeper  in  a 
mercantile  esiablishment.  In  1874  he  took  charge  of 
the  Evansville  Daily  and  Weekly  Courier,  one  of  the 
principal  Democratic  newspapers  in  the  State  of  In- 
diana. This  paper  he  successfully  managed  for  three 
years,  always  taking  an  active  interest  in  politics,  al- 
though never  accepting  nomination  or  appointment  to 
office.  He  was  a  member  of  the  State  Convention 
which  nominated  "Blue  Jean"  Williams  for  the  gov- 
ernorship of  Indiana  in  the  campaign  of  1876,  which 
ticket,  as  well  as  the  national  Democratic  ticket,  were 
successful  in  that  State  after  a  very  exciting  campaign. 
He  was  one  of  the  Democrats  who  went  South  to 
watch  the  visiting  statesmen,  as  the  gentlemen  of  both 
parties  were  called  who  went  to  Louisiana  in  that 
year  to  watch  the  returning  Board,  and  see  that  each 
received  a  fair  count  of  the  votes  cast.  He  was  also 
endeavoring  to  recuperate  his  health,  which  had  be- 
come impaired  by  too  close  attention  to  business. 
Returning  to  Evansville  in  March,  1877,  and  having 
another  attack  of  typhoid  pneumonia,  he  resigned  his 
newspaper  management,  intending  to  pass  a  year  in 
California.  Finding  his  health  improved,  and  liking 
the  climate  and  people,  he  decided  to  remain. 

In  the  fall  of  1877  he  took  the  management  of  the 
San  Jose  Daily  Herald,  which  he  retained  until  June, 
1880.  While  the  current  of  events  had  up  to  this  time 
kept  him  in  other  business  channels,  his  inclinations 
and  ambitions  had  always  tended  towards  the  study  of 
law,  which  he  engaged  in  regularly  in  the  fall  of  1880, 
in  the  office  of  Archer  &  Lovell,  for  two  years.  In 
the  fall  of  1882  he  was  admitted  to  practice  by  the 
Supreme  Court  en  banc,  after  the  usual  examination, 
and  became  a  law  partner  of  Judge  Lawrence  Archer, 
in  the  place  of  Mr.  Lovell,  who  had  retired,  this  asso- 
ciation continuing  to  this  time.  He  was  married  on 
October  4,  1 883 ,  to  Miss  Sallie  Trimble,  a  native  of  San 
Jose,  the  eldest  daughter  of  John  Trimble,  lately  de- 
ceased, one  of  the  early  pioneers  of  California  and  a 
veteran  of  the  Mexican  War.  They  have  one  child, 
Lawrence  Archer  Bowden,  now  about  one  year  old. 

Mr.  Bowden  has  always  been  actively  and  earnestly 
interested  in  the  political  questions  of  the  day,  and 
while  not  devoting  time  belonging  to  his  profession,  to 
active  politics,  he  has  always  given  a  warm  support 


to  the  Democratic  party,  and  has  been  prominent  in 
its  councils.  In  recognition  of  his  position  and  dis- 
interested party  service,  he  has  been  nominated  by  the 
Democratic  State  Convention,  recently  held  at  Los 
Angeles,  as  one  of  the  Cleveland  and  Thurman  pres- 
idential electors  for  California. 


Bainbridge  L.  Ryder,  attorney  at  law,  is  one  of 
the  rising  and  successful  young  lawyers  of  the  Pacific 
Coast.  He  was  born  in  the  town  of  Natick,  Massachu- 
setts, twenty-seven  years  ago.  Mr.  Ryder  came  to 
California  for  his  health,  arriving  in  the  early  part  of 
January,  1882.  On  recuperating  he  employed  his  spare 
hours  in  reading  law,  and,  later,  entered  the  law  office 
of  Hon.  T.  H.  Lane  as  a  student,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  Bar  in  February,  1885.  In  May,  1888,  he  was 
appointed  court  commissioner  of  the  Superior  Court 
of  Santa  Clara  County.  He  is  one  of  three  attor- 
neys of  the  city  who  are  recommended  in  the  last 
"Bankers'  Direatory,"  by  the  bankers  of  San  Jose, 
as  competent  and  trustworthy  attorneys  to  attend 
to  legal  business  from  abroad.  Mr.  Ryder  was  the 
instigator  and  prime  mover  in  organizing  the  San 
Jose  Board  of  Trade,  which  is  now  a  large  and  thrifty 
body,  composed  of  about  all  of  the  leading  men  of 
the  city,  with  a  membership  numbering  more  than  two 
hundred.  By  his  experience  in  the  practice  of  com- 
mercial law  he  was  brought  in  contact  with  such 
bodies  in  other  cities,  and  deemed  such  an  organi- 
zation of  vital  importance  to  this  city  and  county. 
Mr.  Ryder  is  interested  in  the  Reed  Gulch  and 
Golconda  Extension  mines,  and  owns  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  of  land,  twenty-one  miles  south  of 
San  Jose,  which  he  intends  planting  to  orchard.  He 
is  also  a  member  of  the  Ryder  Shingle  Company, 
owning  a  shingle  mill  in  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains, 
situated  about  twenty-five  miles  from   San  Jose. 


M.  H.  HVLAND,  attorney  at  law,  residing  at  No- 
132  North  Fourth  Street,  San  Jose,  is  a  most  pleasing 
example  of  what  might  be  termed  a  pre-eminently 
self-made  man.  Courteous  in  his  home,  frank  and 
affable  in  iiis  conversation  and  intercourse  with  his 
fellow-man,  he  is  withal  a  clear-headed  and  successful 
business  man,  an  able  attorney,  and  a  politician 
honored  in  the  councils  of  his  party.  Born  in  Bos- 
ton, Massachusetts,  in  1852,  he  was,  by  the  death  of 
his  parents,  Thomas  and  Jane  (Leighton)  Hyland, 
thrown  upon  his  own  resources  at  a  very  tender  age. 
Leaving  Boston  at  the  age  of  nine  years,  he  went  to 
New    Hampshire,  where    he    worked  on   farms,  and 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


later  in  Massachusetts  for  about  six  years.  During 
that  time  he  worked  in  Boston  for  about  one  year. 
In  1869  he  came  to  California,  remaining  in  San 
Francisco  for  a  few  months,  when  he  came  to  San 
Jose,  where  he  has  remained  almost  constantly  since 
that  time.  His  first  employment  here  was  in  a  plan- 
ing mill,  where  he  continued  for  about  two  years, 
gathering  together  sufficient  capital  to  establish  him- 
self in  the  poultry,  fish,  and  game  business.  In  this 
business  he  continued  until  1882,  making  a  fair  finan- 
cial success  In  January,  1883,  he  accepted  the  posi- 
tion of  chief  deputy  in  the  county  clerk's  office,  hold- 
ing that  position  for  two  years,  during  which  time  he 
devoted  his  spare  hours  to  the  study  of  law.  During 
all  these  years  of  labor  and  gradual  advancement  in 
life,  Mr.  Hyland  had  been  studying  privately  and  im- 
proving his  mind,  gathering  together  the  elements  of 
a  self-acquired  education.  In  January,  1885,  he  was 
admitted  to  the  Bar  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
State.  He  has  since  that  time  been  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  law  and  in  looking  after  his  varied  in- 
terests. 

He  was  married,  in  1878,  to  Miss  Annie  E.  Jami- 
son, a  native  of  Clay  County,  Missouri,  her  parents 
having  moved  to  that  State  from  Kentucky.  In 
1864  they  came  to  California,  crossing  the  plains  in 
the  regulation  ox-team  wagons. 

Mr.  Hyland  is  a  member  of  San  Jose  Lodge,  No. 
34, 1.  O.  O.  F.,  and  is  secretary  of  that  Lodge.  He 
is  also  secretary  of  the  Odd  Fellows'  Hall  Association. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Democratic  party  and  secre- 
tary of  the  Democratic  County  Committee. 


Samuel  Alphonso  Barker  was  born  in  Kenne- 
bec County,  Maine,  July  26,  1833.  His  paternal  an- 
cestors were  English,  and  those  on  his  mother's  side 
were  Scotch.  His  family  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  the 
country,  his  people  having  come  to  America  about 
seven  years  after  the  Mayflozver.  The  family  in 
this  country  is  descended  from  two  brothers,  Noah 
and  Carr  Barker,  the  latter  being  the  ancestor  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch.  His  descendants  settled  in 
Maine,  while  it  was  still  a  part  of  the  province  of 
Massachusetts.  Mr.  Barker's  maternal  ancestors  were 
also  early  in  America.  His  mother's  father  was  a 
Revolutionary  soldier,  and  it  was  while  on  the  march 
to  Canada,  under  Arnold,  that  he  selected  the  tract  of 
land  upon  which  he  afterwards  settled.  This  tract 
was  afterwards  a  part  of  the  city  of  Hallowell.  He 
engaged  in  ship-building  for  a  few  years,  and  then 
removed  to  the  neighboorhood  of  Reedville,  where  he 


purchased  a  farm  and  devoted  himself  to  agricultural 
pursuits.  This  farm  is  still  in  possession  of  his  de- 
scendants. The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  educated  in 
his  native  State,  and,  in  1S54,  commenced  the  study 
of  law  in  the  office  of  Judge  Josiah  H.  Drummond, 
who  has  since  been  attorney-general  of  the  State. 
In  1857  Mr.  Barker  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of  Maine.  He  practiced 
his  profession  successfully  for  ten  years  in  his  native 
State,  and  in  1867  came  to  California,  being  attracted 
hither  by  a  desire  to  renew  his  health,  which  too  close 
application  to  business  had  impaired.  He  had  chosen 
Santa  Clara  County  for  his  residence  and  came  di- 
rectly to  San  Jose. 

He  here  resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession, 
selecting  the  department  of  counselor  rather  than 
that  of  advocate.  He  has  confined  himself  as  nearly 
as  possible  to  probate  and  commercial  cases  and  cases 
involving  the  title  to  lands.  His  sound  judgment 
and  knowledge  of  the  law,  especially  in  the  depart- 
ments which  he  had  selected  for  his  specialties, 
brought  him  a  large  and  lucrative  practice.  '  The  ac- 
curacy of  his  opinions  in  regard  to  the  investment  of 
capital  attracted  to  him  many  clients,  who  have  trusted 
implicitly  to  his  judgment  and  his  integrity,  and  have 
never  had  occasion  to  regret  their  confidence.  In 
all  questions  touching  estates  of  deceased  persons  and 
the  laws  affecting  real-estate  titles,  Mr.  Barker  is  con- 
sidered an  authority.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Bar  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  and  of  the  United 
States  District  Court.  He  is  att  rney  for  the  Board 
of  Trade  of  San  Jose,  and  of  the  Garden  City  Sav- 
ings Union.  He  was  married,  April  S,  1858,  to 
Sarah  E.  Parshley,  of  Maine,  and  has  three  children: 
Charles  A.,  now  assistant  manager  of  the  San  Fran- 
cisco Lumber  Company;  Frank  P.,  deputy  recorder 
and  auditor  of  Santa  Clara  County,  and  Alfred,  now 
a  .student  at  the  California  Military  Academy,  at 
Oakland. 

Frank  M.  Pfister. — This  gentleman,  the  son  of 
Adolph  Pfister,  was  born  in  San  Jose  in  1851.  In 
early  youth  he  attended  the  public  schools,  and  the 
Gates  Institute,  then  the  Santa  Clara  College,  for  two 
years,  after  which  he  was  three  years  at  the  Univer- 
sity at  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan,  from  which  institute  he 
graduated  as  an  attorney  at  law,  in  1874.  After  his 
graduation  Mr.  Pfister  returned  to  San  Jose  and  con- 
tinued his  studies  of  the  statutes  of  California  for  a 
season,  after  which  he  went  to  Inyo  County  and  com- 
menced the  practice  of  law,  remaining  there  during  a 


100 


PEN  PICTURES  EROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


part  of  the  years  1875-76.  He  then  returned  to  San 
Jose  and  formed  a  co-partnership  with  J.  J.  Burt,  in 
the  practice  of  law,  later  drifting  into  the  manufact- 
ure of  lime,  of  which  work  Mr.  Burt  took  especial 
charge,  while  Mr.  Pfister  became  drawn  into  political 
life,  being  elected  county  treasurer  in  1882.  He 
remained  in  this  office  for  the  term  of  two  years. 
Then,  not  wishing  re-nomination  to  a  position  of 
such  undue  responsibility  for  the  amount  of  recom- 
pense, he  became  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  city 
justice  of  San  Jose,  being  elected  in  18S4.  That 
office  he  held  for  two  years,  then  became  justice  for 
San  Jose  township,  which  position  he  now  holds. 

Judge  Pfister  is  yet  interested  with  Mr.  Burt  in 
lime  works  in  Santa  Clara  County,  near  the  Guada- 
loupe  mines.  These  works  are  of  a  capacity  of  one 
hundred  and  forty  barrels  per  day.  There  are  also 
works  in  San  Benito  County,  near  Tres  Pinos,  of  a 
smaller  capacity. 

Judge  Pfister  has  always  been  identified  with  the 
Democratic  party.  He  is  a  member  of  the  San  Jose 
Parlor,  N.  S.  G.  W. 


Judge  Joseph  Basil  Lamar  is  a  descendant  of 
old  Huguenot  ancestors,  who  settled  in  Charleston, 
South  Carolina,  in  colonial  days.  Both  his  grand- 
sires — Lamar  and  Winn — were  soldiers  in  the  War  of 
the  Revolution.  The  Judge  has  a  highly  prized  relic 
of  those  times, — a  gold  watch  which  strikes  the  time, 
which  his  grandfather  Winn  carried  during  that  war, 
and  was  on  his  person  when  he  was  taken  prisoner  by 
Lord  Cornwallis  at  Camden,  South  Carolina. 

Judge  Lamar  was  born  in  Georgia  in  1827,  edu- 
cated and  reared  in  his  native  State,  and  studied  law 
and  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  before  he  was  twenty-one 
years  of  age,  by  special  act  of  the  Legislature.  After 
practicing  a  short  time  he  came  to  California.  Start- 
ing from  home  in  company  with  five  other  young 
men,  they  halted  at  New  Orleans,  where  they  met 
Gen.  Mirabeau  B.  Lamar,  second  president  of  the 
republic  of  Texas,  and  relative  of  the  Judge — who 
advised  the  party  to  make  the  trip  through  Mexico. 
And,  furnished  with  letters  of  introduction  to  prom- 
inent persons  at  the  principal  cities,  and  a  good  stock 
of  information  and  advice  from  him,  they  crossed  the 
gulf  to  Vera  Cruz,  and  made  the  trip  overland,  visit- 
ing the  city  of  Mexico  and  other  points-  of  interest, 
and  consuming  three  months  en  route.  Embarking 
at  Mazatlan,  they  sailed  for  San  Francisco,  where 
they    arrived   April   24,    1849.     Mr.    Lamar    and   his 


companions,  like  most  of  the  immigrants  of  that  day, 
were  gold  seekers  and  went  into  the  mines. 

Mr.  Lamar  settled  in  Mendocino  County  in  1854. 
In  1858  he  was  elected  to  the  Legislature  from 
Sonoma  County.  While  serving  in  that  body  the  fol- 
lowing year,  Mr.  Lamar  prepared  and  introduced  the 
bill  organizing  Mendocino  County;  and  in  i860  he 
was  elected  to  represent  the  new  county  in  the  Leg- 
islature. In  1866  he  was  elected  county  judge  of 
Mendocino  County;  he  served  one  term — four  years — 
and  then  resumed  his  law  practice,  in  which  he  has 
been  engaged  ever  since.  In  1876  he  was  appointed 
attorney  for  the  Board  of  State  Harbor  Commissioners, 
and  held  that  position  four  years.  In  1883  he  set- 
tled in  San  Jose,  where  he  has  ever  since  been  en- 
gaged in  the  practice  of  his  profession. 


Wm.  p.  Veuve,  one  of  the  junior  members  of  the 
Bar  of  San  Jose,  was  born  in  that  city  on  the  twenty- 
eighth  day  of  March,  1853,  under  the  shadow  of  the 
old  juzgado,  or  town  hall,  in  which  the  ayuntamiento, 
or  town  council,  held  its  sessions  in  the  days  when, 
under  Spanish  and  Mexican  rule,  the  city  was  a 
pueblo,  known  as  San  Jose  de  Guadalupe.  Located 
in  the  center  of  the  plaza,  or  square,  the  adobe  houses 
of  the  pobladores,  or  founders  of  the  pueblo,  faced  the 
juzgado  from  the  four  sides  of  the  plaza.  In  one  of 
these  primitive  dwellings,  the  residence  of  Donna 
Juana  Pacheco,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  first  saw  the 
light  of  day.  The  exterior  of  Donna  Pacheco's  adobe 
house  might  not  have  indicated  that  it  was  the  abode 
of  opulence,  yet  the  owner  was  the  widow  of  a  poblador 
whose  lands  were  measured  by  leagues,  and  whose 
cattle  were  numbered  by  hundreds. 

The  hospitality  of  the  native  Californians  was 
proverbial,  but  at  no  hacienda  in  the  land  was  there  a 
warmer  welcome  for  stranger  or  friend  than  at  the 
casa  of  this  good  old  lady.  Dead  these  many  years, 
may  she  have  found  the  "ever-during"  gates  of 
Heaven  as  widely  open  as  were  always  the  doors  of 
her  humble  abode  on  Market  Street,  in  the  pueblo  of 
San  Jose. 

Mr.  Veuve's  father,  Eugene  L.  Veuve,  is  a  native 
of  Chaux-de-Fonds,  Switzerland,  of  Huguenot  ances- 
try, and  came  to  America  in  1845,  landing  at  Mobile, 
Alabama,  where,  after  a  brief  sojourn,  he  went  to  New 
Orleans,  and  from  there,  in  1849,  made  the  overland 
journey  to  California,  through  New  Mexico  and  Ari- 
zona, in  an  emigrant  train.  Escaping  the  perils  of 
"field  and  flood"  and  Indians,  he  reached  Los  Angeles 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  ''GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


in  the  winter  of  '49.  He  remained  there  about  six 
months,  and  then  joined  the  tide  of  travel  setting 
northward  to  the  mines,  arriving  in  San  Jose  in  the 
spring  of  '50.  Here,  struck  with  the  natural  advan- 
tages of  the  place,  he  decided  to  locate  for  the  prac- 
tice of  his  trade,  that  of  watchmaker  and  jeweler,  and 
at  once  opened  a  shop  on  Market  Street,  near  the  old 
juzgado.  Mr.  Jackson  Lewis  arrived  in  San  Jose 
about  this  time,  and  he  and  the  elder  Mr.  Veuve  are 
the  pioneer  watchmakers  of  the  city. 

Mr.  E.  L.  Veuve's  wife,  and  the  mother  of  Wm.  P. 
Veuve,  was  born  in  the  County  Kildare,  Ireland,  and 
went  to  Chili,  South  America,  when  a  young  girl. 
Her  maiden  name  was  Eleanor  Nugent.  Upon  the 
discovery  of  gold  in  California,  the  exodus  from  Chili 
to  the  New  El  Dorado  bore  her  thither,  with  many 
other  pioneer  residents  of  all  parts  of  the  State.  Her 
husband  (she  had  married  a  Mr.  Pettit)  had  left  Chili 
in  a  sailing  vessel  with  all  his  worldly  possessions,  and 
she  was  to  follow  afterward  by  steamer  and  join  him 
in  San  Francisco.  But  one  disaster  after  another 
overtook  him.  He  was  shipwrecked  off  the  coast  of 
Mexico,  and  lost  a  valuable  stock  of  goods  that  was  a 
part  of  the  ship's  cargo.  He  was  taken  down  with 
fever,  and,  while  lying  sick  and  helpless  in  a  strange 
land,  was  robbed  of  his  money.  But  after  many 
hardships  he  reached  San  Jose,  whither  his  wife  had 
gone,  but  only  to  be  stricken  with  cholera,  of  which 
terrible  scourge  he  died. 

Mr.  Wm.  P.  Veuve's  parents  were  married  in  San 
Jose,  in  1852,  and  have  ever  since  then  resided  here. 
Their  old  homestead,  facing  Market  Plaza,  was  built 
about  the  year  1854,  and  is  one  of  the  ancient  land- 
marks in  that  part  of  the  city.  About  this  time  there 
was  established  a  public  school  in  a  rude  building  on 
the  plaza,  and  a  Mr.  Erie  presided  over  its  destinies. 
To  this  school  went  the  subject  of  this  sketch  when 
but  a  child,  accompanying  his  elder  half-brother,  who 
was  a  regular  attendant  at  its  exercises.  The  school 
was  afterwards  transferred  to  quarters  on  Washing- 
ton Square,  Mr.  Erie  continuing  to  be  its  principal 
teacher.  Under  this  pioneer  school-master  of  San 
Jose  it  was  not  a  case  of  Spare  the  rod  and  spoil 
the  child,  for  he  was  an  exponent  of  what  might  be 
termed  muscular  tuition.  Young  Veuve  continued 
to  attend  the  public  schools  of  his  native  city  until 
1868,  when  he  entered  Santa  Clara  College,  from 
which   institution   he   was    graduated   in    1874.      His 


studies  there  were  not,  however,  continuous,  for  they 
were  interrupted  by  a  two  years'  engagement  with 
the  firm  of  Auzerais  Brothers,  as  their  book-keeper. 
After  receiving  his  degree  in  the  classical  course,  but 
not  immediately,  Mr.  Veuve  commenced  the  study  of 
the  law  in  the  office  of  Thos.  H.  Bodley,  Esq.,  an  old 
and  well-known  practitioner  at  the  Bar.  In  April, 
1877,  he  was  duly  licensed  to  practice  by  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  State,  and  from  that  time  he  has  de- 
voted himself  to  his  chosen  profession,  practicing  at 
the  Bar  or  presiding  on  the  Bench. 

At  the  general  election  of  1880  he  was  elected  city 
justice  and  police  judge,  being  one  of  only  two  suc- 
cessful candidates  on  the  Democratic  ticket.  In  1882 
he  was  re-elected  to  the  same  office.  Mr.  Veuve  was 
the  first  incumbent  of  this  office,  and  in  the  beginning 
of  his  first  term  experienced  considerable  difficulty  in 
administering  its  jurisdiction,  owing  to  defects  in  the 
law  creating  it.  The  Legislature,  however,  at  the 
suggestion  of  Mr.  Veuve,  passed  a  remedial  measure, 
and  thereafter  no  trouble  was  encountered.  In  1884, 
having  received  superior  inducements  from  friends  in 
the  county  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  he  resigned  his  office 
and  took  up  his  residence  there.  The  ties,  however, 
which  bound  him  to  his  native  city  were  so  strong 
that,  after  an  absence  of  about  two  years,  he  returned 
to  San  Jose,  where  he  has  since  continued  to  practice 
law,  with  ever-increasing  success. 

In  1 88 1  Mr.  Veuve  married  Miss  Jennie  Wilson, 
and  a  little  girl,  named  Vida,  is  the  result  of  their 
union. 

He  has  a  half-brother,  H.  H.  Veuve,  who  is  of  the 
firm  of  A.  Vignier  &  Company,  French  importers, 
San  Francisco,  and  a  younger  full  brother,  A.  L. 
Veuve,  who  was  for  a  long  time  manager  of  the  Pa- 
cific Manufacturing  Company,  at  Santa  Clara,  and 
who  is  now  engaged  in  managing  the  affairs  of  the 
Shasta  Lumber  Company,  in  Shasta  County. 

Mrs.  Mary  C.  Hoffman,  widow  of  the  late  Herman 
Hoffman,  is  a  half-sister  of  Mr.  Veuve,  whose  parents, 
still  living,  hale  and  hearty  in  their  old  age,  reside 
with  her  on  Guadalupe  Street,  in  San  Jose. 

In  politics  Mr.  Veuve  is  a  Democrat,  active  and 
prominent  in  his  party's  councils. 

He  is  a  member  of  Los  Gatos  Parlor,  No.  126,  N. 
S.  G.  W.,  and  takes  great  interest  in  the  success  of 
this  distinctively  Californian  Order. 


8-T^FiEi   f>:r.ei©^. 


THE  first  newspaper  published  in  Santa  Clara 
County  was  issued  in  1850,  by  James  B.  Devoe. 
It  was  called  the  State  Journal,  and  was  discontinued 
on  the  adjournment  of  the  Legislature,  in  1851. 

In  January,  1851,  the  San  Jose  Daily  Argus  was 
published  during  the  senatorial  campaign.  It  was  in 
the  interest  of  John  C.  Fremont. 

San  Jose  Weekly  Visitor.  This  was  the  first  per- 
manent newspaper  in  San  Jose.  It  was  commenced 
June  20,  185 1,  by  Emerson,  Damon  &  Jones.  At 
first  it  was  Whig,  but  in  October  it  changed  over 
to  the  Democracy.  In  August,  1852,  its  name  was 
changed  to  the 

Register,  and  was  published  by  T.  C.  Emerson 
and  Givens  George,  with  F.  B.  Murdoch  as  editor. 
In  1853,  Murdoch  having  obtained  control  of  the 
Register,  its  name  was  changed  to  the 

San  Jose  Telegraph.  In  i860  the  Telegraph  went 
into  the  hands  of  W.  N.  Slocum,  and  in  1861  it  was 
changed  to  the 

San  Jose  Weekly  Mercury,  with  J.  J.  Owen  and  B. 
H.  Cottle  as  proprietors.  In  November  of  that  year 
the 


Daily  Mercury  was  started  in  connection  with  the 
Weekly,  but  was  discontinued  in  1862.  In  1869  J.  J. 
Conmy  came  into  the  firm,  and  in  August  of  that 
year  the  publication  of  the  Daily  was  resumed,  but 
discontinued  in  1870.  Mr.  Conmy  retired  from  the 
firm  this  year.  In  1871  Cottle  sold  out  his  interest 
to  Owen.  In  1872  Owen,  having  purchased  the 
Daily  Guide,  again  resumed  the  publication  of  the 
Daily  Mercury  in  connection  with  the  Weekly.  Soon 
after,  Cottle  again  bought  a  half  interest  in  both 
papers,  but  again  sold  to  Owen,  in  1874.  In  1877 
it  was  incorporated  under  the  style  of  the  Mercury 
Printing  and  Publishing  Co.,  Mr.  Owen  holding  the 
majority  of  the  stock.  In  1884  he  sold  his  interest 
to  C.  M.  Shortridge,  proprietor  of  the  Daily  Times, 
and  the  name  of  the  paper  was  changed  to  the  Times- 
Mercury.  In  1885  F.  A.  Taylor  entered  into  nego- 
tiations for  the  purchase  of  the  paper,  but  the  trans- 
(102) 


action  was  not  consummated.  In  the  meantime  the 
name  was  changed  back  to  the  Daily  Mercury.  At 
this  time  it  absorbed  the  Daily  Republic. 


Charles  M.  Shortridge,  the  present  editor  and 
proprietor  of  the  San  Jose  Daily  and  Weekly  Mercury^ 
was  born  at  Pleasant  Grove,  a  small  hamlet  near  Mt. 
Pleasant,  Iowa,  on  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  August, 
1857.  He  came  to  California  when  a  small  boy.  He 
first  stopped  at  Nevada  City,  where  he  worked  until 
he  had  saved  a  few  dollars,  when  he  came  to  San  Jose 
for  the  purpose  of  attending  the  public  schools,  which 
had  a  great  reputation  for  efficiency.  Not  having 
money  enough  to  support  himself  while  attending 
school,  he  hired  out  to  the  San  Jose  Gas  Company 
as  a  lamp-lighter,  for  a  salary  of  $28  per  month. 

Having  completed  his  course  at  the  public  schools 
with  honor,  he  went  to  work  in  the  office  of  the  Daily 
Mercury  as  general  utility  boy,  sweeping  out  the 
office,  running  errands,  and  doing  whatever  was  to 
be  done.  While  attending  school  he  had  selected 
journalism  as  his  future  profession,  and  determined 
to  master  the  business  in  all  its  departments.  Hav- 
ing no  money  of  his  own,  and  no  rich  relatives  to 
start  him  in  business,  he  was  obliged  to  commence 
at  the  bottom  of  the  ladder.  But  when  he  had  placed 
his  foot  on  the  first  round,  he  fixed  his  eye  on  the 
top,  and  never  rested  until  he  was  there.  While 
working  as  office  boy  he  familiarized  himself  with 
the  details  of  the  composing  room  and  press  rooms. 
He  worked  his  way  into  the  business  department, 
keeping  the  books  and  collecting  the  bills,  and  over- 
seeing the  mailing  and  subscription  department,  and 
thence  he  went  on  the  local  staff  He  continued 
with  the  Merairy  for  seven  years,  until  1883.  He 
was  then  twenty-six  years  old,  with  all  the  informa- 
tion in  regard  to  the  newspaper  business  that  he 
could  acquire  in  San  Jose,  and  determined  to  start 
for  himself  He  had  no  money,  but  was  full  of  prac- 
tical ideas  which  he  had  worked  out  while  with  the 
Mercury. 

He   severed    his   connection  with  this  paper,  and 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


103 


went  into  the  real-estate  and  insurance  business. 
This  was  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  "  pot  boiling" 
until  he  could  perfect  his  plans.  Some  of  the  busi- 
ness men  and  capitalists  of  San  Jose  had  watched 
young  Shortridge's  career,  and  had  been  favorably 
impressed  with  his  talent,  pluck,  and  perseverance. 
He  had  many  offers  of  lucrative  positions,  but  he 
would  not  turn  aside  from  the  aim  of  his  life.  He 
succeeded,  after  some  time,  in  securing  financial  back- 
ing sufficient  to  purchase  the  Daily  Tifnes,  paying 
$5,500  for  it.  He  immediately  enlarged  it,  and,  at 
great  expense,  secured  the  exclusive  right  to  the 
morning  telegraphic  dispatches  for  San  Jose.  Many 
of  his  friends  looked  on  with  dismay  at  what  seemed 
to  them  to  be  the  most  reckless  extravagance,  while 
his  enemies  and  journalistic  rivals  prophesied  speedy 
bankruptcy.  But  the  young  man  was  hewing  to  the 
line  he  had  laid  down  for  a  guide  after  careful  meas- 
urement. What  seemed  to  his  friends  as  recklessness 
was,  in  fact,  the  result  of  the  soberest  kind  of  thought. 
He  was  simply  exhibiting  the  nerve  necessary  to  the 
proper  execution  of  his    plans.     This  was    in   1883. 

In  1884  he  secured  control  of  the  stock  of  t';e  Mer- 
cury Printing  and  Publishing  Co.,  and,  in  less  than 
two  years  from  the  day  he  walked  out  of  the  Mer- 
cury office  a  poor  boy,  with  scarcely  a  penny  in  his 
pocket,  he  walked  back  again  as  its  proprietor.  He 
combined  the  Times  and  Mercury,  added  new  mater 
rial  and  presses,  and  proceeded  to  make  the  new 
journal  twice  as  good  as  either  of  them  were  before. 
His  expenses  were  greatly  increased,  but  the  income 
was  in  a  much  larger  proportion.  In  1885  he  ab- 
sorbed the  Republic,  a  morning  paper  which  had  been 
started  that  year.  This  plan  of  combining  forces  is 
one  of  the  peculiarities  of  Mr.  Shortridge's  journalistic 
career.  He  wastes  no  ammunition  in  fighting  com- 
peting journals.  If  a  paper  develops  enough  im- 
portance to  become  a  rival,  he  absorbs  it;  but  unless 
it  has  this  importance  he  ignores  it. 

During  Mr.  Shortridge's  ownership  of  the  Mercury, 
more  special  editions  have  been  issued  than  during 
all  the  former  history  of  journalism  in  San  Jose. 
These  specials  run  from  sixteen  to  sixty-four  pages, 
generally  profusely  illustrated,  and  always  in  the 
interest  of  the  material  resources  of  the  county.  Mr. 
Shortridge  is  now,  1888,  thirty-one  years  of  age.  He 
is  a  ready  speaker,  a  Republican  in  politics,  devoted 
to  the  principle  of  protection  for  American  industries, 
and  a  firm  believer  in  the  future  greatness  of  the 
Santa  Clara  Valley,  the  '^  garden  of  the  world." 


The  Semi-Weekly  Tribune  was  issued  by  Givens 
George,  July  4,  1854.  In  1855  it  was  published  by 
George  &  Kendall.  In  1859  it  was  sold  to  George 
O'Dougherty.  In  1862  and  1863  it  was  suppressed 
for  eight  months  by  order  of  General  Wright.  In 
1863  it  was  purchased  by  F.  B.  Murdoch,  who  changed 
the  name  to  the 

Patriot.  The  San  Jose  Weekly  Patriot  was  started 
by  Murdoch  in  1863.  In  1865  he  commenced  the 
publication  of  the  Daily  Patriot.  In  1875  he  sold 
out  to  S.  J.  Hinds  and  J.  G.  Murdoch.  In  1876 
it  was  purchased  by  the  Murphys,  and  the  name 
changed  to  the 

San  Jose  Daily  Herald,  which  name  it  still  retains. 
In  1878  it  purchased  and  absorbed  the  San  Jose 
Argus,  the  weekly  being  called  the  Herald  Argus. 
In  October,  1884,  a  joint-stock  company  was  formed 
under  the  style  of  the  Herald  Publishing  Company, 
which  purchased  the  Herald,  and  still  conducts  it. 
The  officers  of  the  company  are:  H.  H.  Main,  presi- 
dent; W.  C.  Morrow,  secretary;  J.  F.  Thompson, 
treasurer.  Mr.  Thompson  is  editor,  Mr.  Morrow 
is  city  editor,  and  Mr.  Main  is  business  manager. 
Under  this  administration  the  Herald  has  thrived 
wonderfully  and  taken  a  high  rank  among  the  journals 
of  this  coast.  The  Herald  \^  Democratic  in  politics, 
having  changed  its  political  affiliations  when  it 
changed  its  name  from  the  Patriot. 


J.  F.  Thompson,  editor  of  the  Herald,  was  born 
in  Massachusetts,  and  is  now  fifty-one  years  of  age. 
He  entered  journalism  at  the  age  of  twenty.  He 
came  to  California  in  the  '70's,  and  was  engagrd 
on  some  of  the  leading  papers  of  the  State.  In  1878 
he  went  on  the  Herald  as  its  editor,  and  afterwards 
leased  it  from  the  Murphys  and  ran  it  successfully 
until  1884,  when  he  went  into  the  joint-stock  company 
that  purchased  it.  He  has  been  its  editor  continu- 
ously for  ten  years,  and  his  efforts  have  done  much 
towards  placing  the  paper  in  its  present  prosperous 
and  influential  position.  He  early  became  identified 
with  the  horticultural  and  viticultural  interests  of  the 
county,  and  his  opinions  on  these  subjects  are  consid- 
ered authoritative. 

W.  C.  Morrow,  city  editor  of  the  Herald,  was 
born  in  Alabama,  and  is  now  thirty-four  years  of  age. 
He  early  developed  great  literary  talent,  and,  when  a 
mere  boy,  wrote  many  things  that  provoked  favorable 
comment  from  distinguished  literary  men.  He  came 
to  San  Jose  in  1879,  and  was  immediately  engaged  as 


104 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


a  writer  on  the  Mercury.  While  engaged  in  news- 
paper work  he  wrote  several  charming  novels,  poems, 
and  short  stories  that  gave  him  high  standing  among 
the  literati  of  the  coast.  His  efforts  attracted  the 
attention  of  Eastern  publishers,  and  many  of  the  pro- 
ductions of  his  pen  found  place  in  the  columns  of 
leading  magazines  and  journals  of  the  Atlantic 
States.  When  the  Herald \V3.5  reorganized  he  became 
its  city  editor,  to  the  profit  of  the  paper  and  the  bene- 
fit of  the  community. 


H.  H.  Main,  the  business  manager  of  the  Herald, 
was  born  in  Wisconsin,  and  is  forty  years  of  age.  He 
taught  school  for  several  years  in  that  State,  and 
came  to  California  for  the  benefit  of  his  health.  For 
sanitary  reasons,  he  settled  at  Los  Gatos,  and  engaged 
in  the  lumber  and  wood  business.  In  1880  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  county  Board  of  Supervisors, 
and  re-elected  in  1883,  being  chosen  as  chairman  of 
the  Board  during  the  latter  term.  He  had  a  natural 
taste  for  journalism,  being  a  close  reasoner  and  a 
ready  writer.  He  was  the  projector  of  the  Los  Gatos 
Mail,  and  its  business  manager  during  the  first  years 
of  its  existence.  He  came  onto  the  Herald  when 
the  company  was  incorporated,  and  his  management 
has  steered  it  prosperously  through  the  shoals  and 
quicksands  which  have  wrecked  so  many  journalistic 
barks  in  Santa  Clara  County,  and  brought  it  to  the 
open  sea  and  prosperous  gales  of  success. 


The  Sa.n  ]ose  Daify  Re/>orter  was  started  in  i860, 
by  W.  Frank  Stewart.  It  soon  changed  to  a  weekly, 
and  was  finally  discontinued,  after  a  few  months'  exist- 
ence. 

The  Daily  and  Weekly  Courier  was  started  in  1865, 
by  Geo.  O.  Tiffany,  but  lasted  only  a  few  months. 

The  Santa  Clara  Argus,  by  W.  A.  January,  com- 
menced publication  in  1866  as  a  weekly.  In  1876 
the  Daily  Argus  was  issued  and  ran  for  two  years, 
until  .sold  to  the  Herald,  in  1878. 

The  Saturday  Advertiser  began  publication  Au- 
gust II,  1866.  It  was  discontinued  February  19, 
1869. 

The  Daily  Independent  was  started  May  7,  1870, 
by  a  company  of  printers.  It  was  the  first  paper  in 
San  Jo.se  to  receive  news  by  telegraph.  In  Decem- 
ber of  that  year  it  was  purchased  by  Norman  Porter, 
who,  in  turn,  sold  it  to  the  Guide  in  1871. 

The  Daily  Guide  was  started  by  Stockton  and 
Hansborough,  in  February,  1871.  Hansborough  sold 
out  his  interest  to  Stockton    during  the  same  year. 


Stockton  purchased  the  Independent  of  Porter  and 
absorbed  it.  In  January,  1872,  Porter  took  the 
Guide  and  sold  it  to  J.  J.  Owen,  who  merged  it  into 
the  Daily  Mercury. 

The  Daily  Press  was  published  by  J.  J.  Conmy  for 
a  few  weeks  during  1872. 

The  Reporter  was  published  by  H.  A.  De  Lacy, 
from  April  to  August,  1872. 

The  California  Agriculturist  (monthly)  was  started 
by  Brand  and  HoUoway,  in  1871.  S.  H.  Herring 
purchased  it  in  1874,  and,  after  running  it  a  few  years, 
sold  it  to  the  Rural  Press,  of  San  Francisco. 

The  Daily  Evening  Tribune  was  published  during 
the  campaign  of  1872,  by  Clevenger  and  Armstrong. 

The  Daily  Independent  Californian  was  published  by 
Herring  and  Casey  during  the  local  option  campaign 
of  1874. 

The  Daily  Garden  City  Times  was  started  by  a 
syndicate  of  printers  and  literary  men  in  1874.  It 
lasted  about  six  weeks. 

The  Daily  and  Weekly  Advertiser  was  published  by 
B.  H.  Cottle  from  May  to  December,  1875. 

The  Weekly  Balance  Sheet,  a  commercial  paper,  was 
started  by  H.  S.  Foote,  February,  1876,  and  was  sold 
the  same  year  to  the   Weekly  Argus. 

The  California  Journal  of  Education  was  run  for  a 
few  weeks,  in  1876,  by  George  Hamilton. 

The  Temperance  Clidmpion  was  published  by  A.  P. 
Murgotten,  in  1876.  It  was  discontinued  the  next 
year. 

The  Pioneer,  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  "Men  of 
'49,"  was  started  by  A.  P.  Murgotten,  in  1876.  It  was 
discontinued  in  1881. 

The  Headliglit,  an  evening  daily,  was  started  by  a 
syndicate  of  printers,  in  1879.  Its  name  was  after- 
wards changed  to  the  Record,  and  it  soon  afterwards 
retired  from  the  field. 

The  Daily  Moniing  Times  was  started  in  1879. 
The  history  of  this  paper  is  contained  in  the  following 
biographical  sketch  of  its  projector. 


Stephen  W.  De  Lacy  was  born  in  New  Orleans, 
Louisiana,  May  3,  1843.  Here  he  learned  the  trades 
of  ship  carpentering  and  steam  engineering.  In  1863 
he  removed  to  New  York  City,  and  in  the  summer  of 
that  year  sailed  via  Panama  for  California,  arriving  in 
San  Francisco  July  2.  Proceeding  at  once  to  Santa 
Clara  County,  where  his  parents  resided,  he  first  set- 
tled in  Almaden  township,  and  remained  for  two 
years  in  the  employ  of  the  company  then  managing 
the  celebrated  quicksilver  mines.     He  then  removed 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


105 


to  the  city  of  San  Jose,  and  went  into  tlie  business  of 
contracting  and  building,  which  he  followed  for  sev- 
eral years.  In  1870  he  entered  the  ranks  of  journal- 
ism, as  a  reporter  with  the  San  Jose  Daily  Independ- 
ent, and  shortly,  in  conjunction  with  his  brother, 
Hugh  A.  De  Lacy,  started  the  San  Jose  Weekly  Re- 
porter. In  1872  he  joined  the  Dally  Record  at  Fiochc, 
Nevada,  remaining  as  its  city  editor  for  nearly  a  year. 
Returning  to  San  Jose  in  1873,  he  became  the  city 
editor  of  the  Daily  Evening  Patriot,  and  continued  in 
the  position  when  the  name  of  that  paper  was  changed 
to  Herald.  Resigning  in  1879,  Mr.  De  Lacy  began 
the  publication  of  the  Daily  Morning  Times,  believing 
that  the  field  was  good  for  an  independent  newspaper. 
In  that  enterprise  he  was  associated  with  J.  G.  Mur- 
doch, formerly  foreman  of  the  Herald;  the  editorial 
department  being  intrusted  to  F.  B.  Murdoch,  a  vet- 
eran journalist,  formerly  proprietor  of  the  Patriot, 
who  subsequently  became  a  partner  in  the  newspaper. 
The  firm  name  was  Times  Publishing  Company. 
Their  first  issue  was  on  July  15,  1S79,  and  the  paper 
was  favorably  received.  On  the  first  of  January,  1880, 
Mr.  De  Lacy  became  sole  proprietor  by  purchase  of 
the  interests  of  his  partners.  From  that  time  the  suc- 
cess of  the  Times  was  remarkable.  The  aim  of  the 
owner  and  manager  was  to  present  a  paper  which,  in 
its  treatment  of  local  events,  should  be  equally  read- 
able and  reliable;  in  general,  the  implacable  foe  of 
wrong,  the  inflexible  champion  of  right,  and  at  all 
events  independent  in  opinion,  and  fearless  in  its  ex- 
pression beyond  the  possibility  of  clique,  faction,  or 
sinister  interest  to  influence.  In  the  realization  of 
that  ideal,  his  success  was  decisive  and  permanent. 
But  at  the  height  of  success,  Mr.  De  Lacy  conceived 
the  idea  that  a  daily  newspaper  founded  and  conducted 
on  the  principles  of  the  Times  would  flourish  in  San 
Francisco.  Accordingly,  on  the  sixth  of  September, 
i8'83,  he  sold  to  C.  M.  Shortridge,  proprietor  of  the 
San  Jose  Alerciuy,  his  entire  interest  in  the  Times, 
binding  himself  not  to  resume  journalism  in  San  Jose 
for  three  years. 

On  the  sixteenth  of  February,  1884,  in  connection 
with  James  H.  Barry,  a  popular  printer  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, Mr.  De  Lacy  began,  under  what  seemed  favor- 
able auspices,  the  publication  of  the  Daily  Evening 
Star.  Its  principle  was — in  the  expressive  phrase  of 
the  day — "anti-boss,  anti-monopoly."  But  powerful 
enemies  and  journalistic  rivalry,  and  especially  the 
spurious  fidelity  of  the  industrial  classes,  in  whose  in- 
terest the  paper  was  conducted,  proved  too  much  for 
the  enterprise.  On  the  nineteenth  of  June,  1884,  hav- 
14 


ing  lost  heavily,  the  Star  Company  suspended, 
promptly  discharging  all  its  obligations  to  a  penny. 
Mr.  De  Lacy  returned  to  San  Jose  and  engaged  in 
various  business.  On  the  sixth  of  September,  1886, 
upon  the  expiration  of  his  bond,  he  pluckily  re-issued 
the  Daily  Morning  Times,  meeting  with  great  success 
in  the  enterprise  of  re-establishing  it,  conducting  it 
upon  its  original  plane,  and  pushing  it  up  to  its  former 
position  as  a  generous  advocate  of  the  rights  of  the 
people. 

Mr.  De  Lacy  married,  September  10,  1875,  Clara  J., 
daughter  of  J.  W.  Haskell,  and  has  five  children: 
Edith  Viola,  Walter  Haskell,  Stephen  Percival,  Ed- 
ward Ralph  Merlin,  and  Clara  Estelle  De  Lacy. 


The  Daily  Evening  News  was  started  and  run  dur- 
ing the  campaign  of  1882,  by  W.  D.  Haley. 

The  City  Item  was  established  by  H.  A.  De  Lacy, 
in  1883.  Its  name  was  changed,  in  1885,  to  the  Eve- 
ning News,  which  name  it  still  bears. 

The  projector  of  this  journal,  Mr.  H.  A.  De  Lacy, 
was  born  in  New  Orleans,  September  23,  1845.  He 
came  to  California  in  1862,  and  went  to  work  at 
the  New  Ahiiaden  mines  as  engineer.  In  1865  he 
came  to  San  Jose  and  engaged  in  the  business  of 
carpenter  and  builder  for  several  years.  In  1870  he 
was  appointed  deputy  sheriff,  where  he  developed 
great  skill  as  a  detective  officer.  After  his  term  ex- 
pired as  deputy  sheriff",  he  was  appointed  on  the 
police  force  of  San  Jose,  and  was  afterward  elected 
constable  of  the  township.  In  1872  he  published  the 
Reporter,  but  discontinued  it  in  order  to  devote  his 
whole  time  to  his  professional  duties.  But  he  had 
developed  a  taste  for  journalism  that  could  not  be 
wiped  out,  and  in  1883  he  established  the  City  Item, 
intending  to  make  it  small  and  do  all  the  work  him- 
self. However,  it  met  with  such  success  that  he  was 
compelled  to  enlarge  it  and  secure  assistance  in  his 
work.  Mr.  C.  W.  Williams,  a  young  man  of  great 
business  ability,  was  taken  in  as  a  partner  and  as- 
sumed the  business  management  of  the  enterprise, 
Mr.  De  Lacy  confining  himself  entirely  to  the  edito- 
rial department.  This  was  a  strong  combination,  and 
its  effect  was  immediately  apparent.  The  business 
rapidly  increased,  and  the  paper  has  been  enlarged  no 
less  than  six  times  during  the  five  years  of  its  exist- 
ence. In  1885  the  name  was  changed  to  the  Evening 
Nezvs,  which  name  it  now  bears. 

The  Santa  Clara  Valley,  a  monthly  journal  devoted 
to  the  horticultural  and  viticultural  interests  of  the 
community,  and   to  advertising  the  resources   of  the 


106 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  ''GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD" 


county,  was  started  by  H.  S.  Foote,  in  1884.  In  1886 
he  sold  out  to  Mr.  H.  A.  Brainard,  who  has  conducted 
the  paper  ever  since,  having  added  to  its  name  the 
Pacific  Tree  and  Vine,  thus  enlarging  its  field  to  the 
entire  State,  and  doing  away  «  ith  its  exclusively  local 
character. 

Mr.  H.  A.  Brainard  is  a  native  of  New  York,  and 
received  a  liberal  education,  including  the  highest 
classical  course  in  the  educational  institutions  of  that 
State.  The  peculiar  tendency  of  his  mind,  however, 
was  toward  natural  science,  and  he  became  one  of  the 
most  accurate  engineers  and  surveyors  of  the  Empire 
State.  His  work  in  laying  out  and  superintending 
the  construction  of  a  large  section  of  the  West  Shore 
Railroad,  is  unsurpassed  in  the  history  of  railroad 
construction  in  that  State.  He  became  also  a  thor- 
ough theoretical  and  practical  botanist,  and  these  two 
qualifications  he  brought  to  bear  in  his  work  on  the 
Santa  Clara  Valley.  The  first  he  utilized  in  making 
accurate  and  detailed  maps  for  publication  in  his  jour- 
nal, and  the  latter  for  imparting  valuable  horticultural 
information  to  his  readers.  His  maps  have  been 
found  of  great  value  to  nearly  every  citizen,  and  his 
paper  has  become  a  recognized  authority  on  the 
coast,  and  has  been  the  means  of  bringing  many 
settlers  to  this  county.  The  literary  department  is 
under  the  direction  of  Miss  Louise  E.  Francis,  a  lady 
of  great  talent  and  a  graceful  writer. 

The  Enterprise,  a  weekly  paper,  was  published  in 
Mayfield,  by  W.  H.  Clipperton,  in  1869-70.  It  was 
afterwards  removed  to  Gilro}',  and  its  name  changed 
to  the 

Gilroy  Telegram,  but  it  was  discontinued  after  the 
political  campaign  of  the  latter  year. 

The  Gilroy  Advocate  was  established  at  Gilroy, 
September,  1868,  by  G.  M.  Hanson  and  C.  F.  Macy. 
In  1869  it  went  into  the  hands  of  Kenyon  &  Knowl- 
ton,  and  in  1873  to  Murphy  &  Knowlton.  H.  Cof- 
fin became  publisher  in  1873,  and  continued  for  two 
years,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  H.  C.  Burckhart. 
In  January,  1876,  J.  C.  Martin  took  charge,  but  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  D.  A.  Dryden,  in  October  of  the 
same  year.  The  paper  was  soon  afterwards  leased 
to  Frank  Dryden  and  J.  Vaughn,  who  conducted  it  a 
few  months,  when  F.  W.  Blake,  the  present  proprietor, 
having  purchased  the  majority  of  the  stock,  assumed 
control.  During  all  its  twenty  years  of  existence  the 
Advocate  has  been  highly  esteemed  as  a  home  paper, 
and  particularly  is  this  the  case  under  its  present 
management. 


F.  W.  Blake  is  a  native  of  London,  England,  hi-s 
father  being  a  leading  physician  of  that  city.  Two 
of  his  brothers  were  educated  in  that  profession  and 
are  now  iri  full  practice,  one  in  England  and  another  in 
San  Francisco.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  had  no  taste 
for  medicine,  and  he  secured  a  clerkship  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  Customs.  Here  he  remained  for  five  years, 
coming  in  contact  with  the  officers  of  merchant  ves- 
sels from  all  parts  of  the  world.  When  his  parents 
died,  he  being  then  twenty-five  years  old,  he  accepted 
the  invitation  of  the  captain  of  a  merchant  vessel  to 
make  a  voyage  with  him.  He  came  to  New  York 
in  1 86 1,  and,  after  remaining  a  few  weeks,  went  to 
Chicago  and  soon  after  joined  the  telegraph  ex- 
pedition to  Salt  Lake  City.  From  there  he  came  to 
San  Francisco.  Here  he  went  into  the  mercantile 
business,  in  which  he  continued  for  twelve  years.  He 
had  been  liberally  educated,  and  had  cultivated  a  de- 
cided literary  taste.  He  was  a  close  and  forcible,  as 
well  as  a  graceful,  writer.  Retiring  from  the  mercan- 
tile business,  he  took  a  position  on  the  Hollister  Ad- 
vance, and  soon  after  purchased  Xho.  Advocate,  ■sjs,  above 
stated.  In  his  statement  of  events  he  is  terse  and  ac- 
curate, and  in  his  editorials  his  reasoning  is  logic. 
He  has  made  the  Advocate  a  representative  of  the 
people  composing  the  community  where  it  is  pub- 
lished. 

The  Gilroy  Crescent  was  established  in  January, 
1888,  by  R.  G.  Einfalt.  It  started  prosperously  from 
the  first  and  has  maintained  its  position  ever  since. 
It  is  well  conducted  and  thoroughly  meets  the  demands 
of  its  patrons,  as  its  increasing  business  well  proves. 
Mr.  Einfalt,  its  publisher,  is  a  native  son  of  the  Golden 
West,havingbeen  born  at  Weaverville,  Trinity  County, 
California,  October  23,  1866.  His  parents  were  J.  M. 
and  E.  J.  (Smith)  Einfalt.  His  father  is  a  native  of 
Germany  and  his  mother  of  Missouri,  her  parents 
having  emigrated  from  Virginia  to  that  State.  In 
1868,  when  Mr.  Einfalt  was  only  two  years  old,  his 
parents  removed  to  Gilroy,  and  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  grew  up  with  the  city. 

During  his  course  at  the  Gilroy  High  School,  he 
suspended  his  studies  and  went  into  the  office  of  the 
Valley  Record,  in  1883,  where  he  remained  two  years 
and  a  half  He  then  returned  to  school  and  com- 
pleted the  course,  graduating  with  honor.  During 
his  connection  with  the  Valley  Record  he  developed 
great  journalistic  ability,  and,  on  leaving  school,  es- 
tablished the  Crescent.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Gilroy 
Parlor  N.   S.  G.  W.,  of  which  he   is  secretary.     Al- 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF   THE    WORLD." 


107 


though  a  young  man,  he  is  greatly  respected,  both  on 
account  of  his  worth  as  a  citizen  and  his  abiHty  as 
a  journalist. 

The  Valley  Record,  of  Gilroy,  was  established  May 
7,  1 88 1,  by  E.  S.  Harrison.  In  1884  it  was  purchased 
by  B.  A.  Wardell.  He  negotiated  its  sale  to  other 
parties,  who  changed  the  name  to  the  Gilroy  Gazette, 
but  the  conditions  not  being  complied  with,  the  paper 
reverted  to  Mr.  Wardell,  who  is  its  present  publisher 
and  editor. 

Mr.  Wardell  has  had  quite  an  eventful  life.  He 
was  born  in  New  York  City,  January  15,  1830.  He 
traces  his  ancestry  on  his  father's  side  back  to  the 
early  settlement  of  New  Jersey  in  colonial  times,  the 
family  coming  from  Wales  and  locating  at  the  beach 
at  Long  Branch,  which  took  the  name  of  Wardell's 
Beach.  His  father  was  a  wholesale  merchant  in  New 
York  City.  His  mother's  family  is  one  of  the  oldest 
in  New  York.  Her  father  was  a  sea  captain  engaged 
in  the  East  India  trade.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  reared  in  New  York  City,  and  began  his  business 
career  in  a  China  shipping  house.  The  firm  sent  him 
to  China  in  1845  for  the  benefit  of  his  health.  On 
reaching  Shanghai  he  accepted  the  position  of  book- 
keeper in  the  house  of  Wetmore  &  Co.  In  about  a 
year  this  firm  failed  and  Mr.  Wardell  went  into  busi- 
ness with  a  fellow-clerk  at  Foochow;  at  the  end  of 
two  years  he  sold  out  and  established  a  general  ship- 
ping house  at  Shanghai,  under  the  firm  name  of  Howe 
&  Co.  This  firm  bought  the  first  steamer  from  Cali- 
fornia, the  Santa  Cruz,  to  run  on  the  Yang-tse-Kiang. 
Afterwards  they  purchased  the  John  T.  Wright  in 
San  Francisco,  and  these,  with  the  steamer  Helles- 
pont, purchased  in  China,  constituted  the  line  run- 
ning from  Shanghai  to  Hongkong.  He  closed  out 
his  business  in  China  in  1863,  returning  to  the  United 
States  via  Europe.  The  money  he  had  made  in 
China  was  dropped  in  unsuccessful  speculations  in 
Wall  Street,  and  in  1872  he  started  for  California,  in- 
tending to  locate  in  Los  Angeles.  This  was  before 
the  boom,  and,  not  being  satisfied  with  the  appear- 
ance of  the  Southern  country,  he  went  to  San  Fran- 
cisco and  accepted  the  position  of  cashier  in  the  of- 
fice of  the  San  Francisco  Chronicle.  He  remained 
there  until  1 884,  when  he  purchased  the  Valley  Rec- 
ord, as  before  stated.  Mr.  Wardell  is  a  member  of 
the  F.  and  A.  M.  in  Gilroy,  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  and  the 
A.  O.  U.  W.  in  San  Francisco,  and  the  O.  E.  S.  in 
Gilroy.  He  was  married  in  California,  in  1876,  to 
Miss  Pauline  Fliess,  a  native  of  Vienna,  Austria.  Mr. 
Warden's  business  experience  and  literary  ability  have 


enabled  him  to  make  the  Gazette  a  flattering  success. 

The  Los  Gatos  Weekly  Mail  is  a  seven-column  folio, 
published  by  the  Mail  Publishing  Company,  the  fol- 
lowing gentlemen  being  the  officers:  Peter  Johnson, 
president;  Wm.  P.  Hughes,  editor  and  manager.  It 
is  one  of  the  neatest  looking  and  most  ably  edited 
country  papers  in  California.  Established  in  1884, 
it  met  with  success  from  the  start.  But  after  about 
eight  months,  the  manager,  H.  H.  Main,  chairman  of 
the  Board  of  Supervisors,  becoming  interested  in  many 
other  enterprises,  found  that  the  Mail  or  his  other 
business  would  have  to  be  given  up,  so  he  sold  to 
Wm.  P.  Hughes,  the  present  editor  and  manager,  and 
practical  proprietor. 

Mr.  Hughes  had  a  great  many  disadvantages  to  un- 
dergo, but  with  energy,  perseverance,  and  intelligence 
he  has  made  the  Mail  what  it  is  to-day — first-class  in 
every  respect,  and  paying  handsomely.  Its  circula- 
tion is  large  and  rapidly  increasing,  and  the  people  of 
the  section  have  the  utmost  confidence  in  it. 


Wm.  p.  Hughes,  the  editor  and  manager  of  the 
Mail,  was  born  in  Salem,  Marion  County,  Illinois,  on 
October  14,  1857.  His  parents  removed  to  Dixon, 
Lee  County,  Illinois,  in  1859,  thence  to  Austin, 
Texas,  where  Mr.  Hughes  resided  until  ten  years  of 
age,  when  he  left  home,  went  to  San  Antonio,  Texas, 
and  engaged,  with  a  namesake,  Thomas  Hughes,  to 
go  up  the  Chism  trail,  through  the  Indian  Territory, 
with  a  herd  of  ten  thousand  cattle.  After  arriving  in 
Parker,  a  town  near  the  border  of  the  Territory,  in 
Kansas,  he  engaged  as  an  apprentice  on  the  Journal, 
a  cow-boy  paper  published  there  at  that  time.  After 
serving  about  a  year  he  went  to  Topeka,  the  capital, 
and  served  three  years  on  the  Daily  State  Gazette, 
when  he  left  for  Quincy,  Illinois,  where  he  joined  the 
Typographical  Union,  of  which  society  he  is  an  hon- 
ored member  to-day.  He  then  traveled  extensively 
throughout  the  United  States  and  Canada,  working 
on  the  most  influential  dailies  in  North  America, 
when  he  returned  to  his  old  home  in  Austin  in  1876. 

In  the  spring  of  this  year  he  joined  the  Frontier 
Battalion  of  the  State  of  Texas,  known  as  the  Texas 
Rangers,  and  served  with  honor  and  credit  to  him- 
self and  State  until  November  30,  1877,  when  he  re- 
ceived an  honorable  discharge.  He  was  the  youngest 
member  ever  in  that  service.  He  then  foremanized 
on  various  papers  in  Texas,  and  went  to  New  Orleans 
in  the  fall  of  1878,  where  he  worked  on  the  Democrat. 
In  the  spring  of  1 879  he  took  a  trip  up  the  Mississippi 
River,   visiting  Vicksburg,   Memphis,  Cairo,  and  St. 


108 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD: 


Louis,  thence  to  Kansas  City,  and  finally  to  Denver, 
where  he  remained  until  August,  when  he  went  to  the 
then  "booming"  mining  camp  of  Leadville,  where  he 
resided  for  nearly  two  years,  working  on  the  Clironi- 
cle  and  dealing  in  mining  property. 

In  the  fall  of  1881  he  went  to  Laramie  City,  Wy- 
oming Territory,  where  he  took  the  position  of  fore- 
man on  the  Evening  Times,  which  he  held  for  about 
a  year,  when  he  came  to  California.  After  residing 
in  San  Francisco  and  Sacramento  about  six  months, 
he  returned  to  Laramie,  at  the  urgent  request  of  the 
proprietor,  to  resume  charge  of  the  composing  room 
of  the  Times.  Here  he  fell  a  victim  to  Cupid's  darts, 
and  married  his  present  wife,  the  daughter  of  P.  G. 
Murphy,  one  of  the  best-known  and  most  highly  re- 
spected ranchers  in  the  Rocky  Mountains.  He  and 
his  wife  then  went  to  Denver  and  Pueblo,  Colorado, 
where  they  resided  until  1883,  when  they  went  to 
Eureka,  Nevada.  Mr.  Hughes  held  a  responsible 
position  on  the  Sentinel  until  December,  1884,  when 
he  removed,  with  his  family,  to  San  Francisco. 

In  January,  1885,  he  purchased  the  controlling  in- 
terest in  the  Los  Gatos  Mail. 

He  is  a  young  man,  thirty  years  old,  and  is  possessed 
of  that  force  of  character  which  always  places  a  man 
in  the  front  rank,  and  yet  has  that  control  over  his 
temper,  smoothness  of  disposition,  courteous  and  ur- 
bane nature,  which  make  him  universally  esteemed. 


The  Los  Gatos  Weekly  News  was  established  July 
2,  1 88 1,  by  W.  S.  Walker,  who  went  to  Saratoga,  on 
the  advice  of  friends,  to  start  a  newspaper  enterprise 
in  that  town,  but,  passing  through  Los  Gatos,  saw  that 
it  had  a  bright  future  before  it,  and  at  once  com- 
menced the  publication  of  the  News,  a  five-column 
quarto,  with  "patent  inside."  He  afterward  increased 
the  size  of  the  paper  to  a  six-column  quarto,  still 
using  "  ready  prints."  By  his  enterprise,  and  a  con- 
stant advocacy  of  Los  Gatos'  splendid  claims,  the 
town  received  new  life,  and  Mr.  Walker  had  a  liberal 
patronage  for  his  pioneer  paper  of  the  foot-hills.  In 
April,  1885,  Mr.  Walker  sold  out  the  News  to  Messrs. 
W.  H.  B.  Trautham,  C.  C.  Suydam,  and  G.  Webster. 
In  March,  1886,  Mr.  Webster  sold  out  his  interest  to 
W.  H.  B.  Trautham  and  C.  C.  Suydam,  the  present 
owners  and  publishers  of  the  paper. 

The  paper  has  been,  and  is  yet,  independent  in 
politics,  and  is  devoted  to  the  horticultural  and  viti- 


cultural  interests  of  the  upper  part  of  Santa  Clara 
Valley;  and  it  has  been  a  'powerful  factor  in  the  on- 
ward march  of  that  section.  In  March,  1887,  the 
publishers  cast  aside  the  "  ready  prints,"  and  im- 
proved the  typographical  appearance  of  the  paper, 
which  has  had  a  liberal  patronage  from  its  founding. 

The  editor  of  the  News,  W.  H.  B.  Trautham,  was 
born  in  Greene  County,  Missouri,  March  16,  1847. 
The  early  part  of  his  life  was  spent  on  a  farm  in  his 
native  county.  After  a  solicitous  life  incident  to  the 
battles  in  and  near  Springfield,  he  entered  the  dis- 
trict schools,  and  soon  made  a  teacher  of  himself,  but 
not  being  content  with  the  education  attained,  com- 
menced a  course  of  study  in  the  Missouri  University 
in  1868,  and  graduated  from  that  institution  in  1872. 
At  the  close  of  his  college  life,  Mr.  Trautham  became 
the  principal  of  the  Varona,  Missouri,  public  schools, 
which  position  he  held  for  two  years,  when  he  was 
unanimously  called  by  the  Board  of  Education  of 
North  Springfield,  Missouri,  to  the  head  of  that  insti- 
tution. At  the  end  of  four  years,  his  health  having 
somewhat  failed,  he  resolved  to  give  up  teaching  and 
bought  a  half  interest  in  the  North  Springfield  South- 
zvester,  but  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  city  of 
Springfield  prevailed  on  him  to  take  charge  of  their 
High  School,  which  position  he  gave  up  in  the  spring 
of  1878,  to  give  his  undivided  attention  to  the  journal- 
istic venture.  The  paper  was  improved,  and  a  daily 
inaugurated.  Poor  health,  in  the  spring  of  1884,  made 
another  change  necessary,  when  the  Soiithwester  news 
and  job  offices  were  sold  out,  and  Mr.  Trautham  came 
with  his  family  to  Los  Gatos,  where  he  has  entirely 
regained  health,  and  where  he  has  been  constantly 
connected  with  the  Neivs  since  1885. 

In  1885  a  weekly  paper  called  the  Courier  was  pub- 
lished at  Mountain  View,  by  George  Wagstaff  It 
was  in  existence  but  a  few  months. 

'Y\\&  Mountain  View  Weekly  Register  commenced 
publication  in  April,  1888,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Register  Publishing  Company,  with  Harry  Johnston 
as  editor  and  F.  W.  Bacon  as  manager.  The  paper 
is  well  conducted,  newsy,  and  a  staunch  representa- 
tive of  the  community  in  which  it  is  published.  The 
business  management  shows  an  intelligent  energy  that 
will  insure  success,  while  the  editorial  and  literary  de- 
partments are  of  a  character  that  would  do  credit  to 
many  other  more  pretentious  journals. 


THE  first  election  for  officers  was  held  May,  1850, 
and  the  following  were  chosen: — 

J.  W.  Redinon,  county  judge. 

H.  C.  Melone,  county  clerk. 

J.  T.  Richardson,  county  recorder. 

John  Yontz,  county  sheriff. 

John  M.  Murphy,  county  treasurer. 

J.  H.  Moore,  county  attorney. 

Charles  E.  Allen,  county  assessor. 

Another  election  was  called  for  the  first  Wednesday 
in  September  of  the  same  year,  but  as  this  day  fell  on 
the  fourth  of  the  month,  and  the  State  was  not  ad- 
mitted until  the  ninth,  the  election  was  illegal  and  the 
old  officers  held  over  until  1851,  when  the  following 
were  elected: — 

H.  C.  Melone,  clerk. 

Joseph  Johnson,  sheriff. 

F.  G.  Appleton,  treasurer. 

J.  M.  Murphy,  recorder. 

J.  H.  Moore,  county  attorney. 

W.  Gallimore,  assessor. 

There  is  no  existing  record  of  these  two  elections, 
and  therefore  we  are  unable  to  give  the  number  of 
votes  cast  for  each  candidate.  From  this  time,  how- 
ever, the  record  is  complete,  and  the  following  tables 
will  show  the  names  of  each  candidate,  the  number  of 
votes  received  by  each,  and  the  party  to  which  he 
belonged.  The  following  abbreviations  are  used:  W 
for  Whig;  D,  Democrat;  DD,  Douglas  Democrat ;  R, 
Republican;  I,  Independent;  P,  People's  ;  T,  Temper- 
ance; WM,  Workingmen's;  NP,  Non-partisan;  KN, 
Knownothing;  YM,  Young  Men's;  A,  American;  Pn, 
Prohibition;  G,  Greenback. 

1852. 

State  Senator — 

Jacob  Grewell  (W) 833 

J.  F.  Williams  (D) 704 

Members  of  Assembly — 

Henry  C.  Smith  (D) 806 

Wm.  S.  Letcher  (D) 805 

Wm.  E.  Taylor  (W) 790 

Albert  Warthen  (W) 742 


District  Judge — 

Craven  P.  Hester  (W) 906 

Peter  O.  Minor  (D) 613 

County  Attorney — 

Jno.  H.  Moore  ( W) 77 1 

C.  T.  Ryland  (D) 762 

Public  Administrator — 

Thos.  Campbell  (W) 790 

County  Assessor — 

Thomas  S.  Burnett  (W) 77% 

Isaac  N.  Senter  (Dj 765 

County  Treasurer — 

Wm.  Aikenhcad  (W) 799 

Total  vote  of  county 1,61 1 

I8S3- 
Members  of  Assembly — 

Wm.  S.  Letcher  (W) 1,046 

F.  S.   McKinney  (W) 1,009 

J.  R.  Weller(D) 900 

D.  W.  Dickey  (D) 771 

County  Judge — 

R.  B.  Buckner  (Wj 1,010 

F.  W.  White  (D) 874 

County  Clerk — 

John   B.  Hewson  (W) 1,072 

S.  J.  Easley  (D) 810 

Sheriff— 

Wm.  McCutchen  (W) 996 

D.  O.  Houghton  (D) 883 

District  A  ttorney — 

Jno.  H.  Moore  (W) 998 

Couttty  Recorder — ■ 

S.  A.  Clark  (W) 982 

J.  M.  Mur,.hy  (D) 915 

County  Treasurer — 

F.  G.  Appleton  ( W) 996 

H.  C.  Skinner  (D) 885 

Public  Administrator — 

F.  D.  Hawkins  (W) 1,052 

A.  Shearer  (D) 797 

County  Assessor  — 
J.  H.  Morgan  (W) 1,033 

E.  P.  Reed(D) 838 

(109) 


110 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


County  Surveyor— 

W.  J.  Lewis  (D) I,ii6 

Wm.  Campbell  (W) 737 

Coroner — 

Asa  Finley  (W) 966 

Solomon  Rogers  (D) 867 

Total  vote  of  county i,794 

1854. 
State  Senator — 

Sherman  Day  (D) 1,022 

Wm.  S.  Letcher  (W) 857 

Members  of  Assembly — 

C.  T.  Ryland  (D) 1,275 

Wm.   R.  Gober  (W) 861 

Isaac  N.  Senter  (D) 842 

F.  S.  McKinney  (W) 640 

Public  Administrator — 

Cornelius  Yeager  (D) 1,124 

J.  A.  Moultrie  (W) 716 

Scattering i 

County  Assessor — 

Wesley  Gallimore  (W) 915 

E.  P.  Reed  (D) 889 

D.  Jackson 20 

Total  vote  of  county 1,879 

1855. 

Members  of  Assembly — 

George  Peck  (KN) 1,065 

Caswell  Davis  (KN) 1,055 

W.  J.  McClay  (,W) 1,014 

Augustus  Redmon  (D) 1,006 

Sheriff— 

Philip  T.  McCabe  (KN) 1,085 

S.  O.  Houghton  (D) 990 

County  Clerk — 

John  B.  Hewson  (KN) 1,124 

Joseph  R.  Weller 973 

County  Treasurer — 

F.  G.  Appleton  (D) 1,080 

N.  E.  Branham  (KN) 1,028 

County  Recorder — 

S.  A.  Clark  (KN) 1,143 

Green  Hanna  (D) 958 

County  Assessor — 

Jno.  C.  Bland  (KN) 1,036 

E.  P.  Reed  (D) 1,034 

District  Attorney — 

J.  Milton  Williams  (KN) 1,082 

Wm.  Matthews  (D) 1,017 

Public  Administrator — 

A.  B.  Caldwell  (KN) 1,104 

John  Yontz  (D) %77 


County  Surveyor — ■ 

L.  B.  Healy(KN) 1,152 

J.  R.  Conway  (D) 938 

Coroner — 

H.  P.  Swain  (KN) 1,103 

Harry  Wade  (D) 98 1 

Superintendent  of  Schools — 

Freeman  Gates  (KN) 1,068 

A.  T.  Swart  (D) 1,025 

Prohibitory  Liquor  Law,  Yes,  690;  No,  525. 

Total  vote  of  county 2,129 

1856. 

State  Setiator — 

John  Williams  (W) 727 

Noble  Hamilton  (D) 488 

Sam'l  B.  Bell 772 

Members  of  Assembly — 

H.  J.  Bradley   (W) 671 

F.  S .  McKinney  (W) 603 

L.  C.  Everett  (D) 545 

Wm.  M.  Lent  (D) 521 

Jno.  A.  Ouimby  (R) 787 

Noah  PaTmer  (R) 775 

Total  vote  of  county 2,064 

1857. 

Pay  the    State    Debt,   768;    Repudiate   the    State 

Debt,  919. 

Members  of  Assembly — 

Solon  S.  Simons  (D) i  ,404 

W.  W.  McCoy  (D) 1,407 

John  A.  Quimby  (R) 722 

Noah  Palmer  (R) 763 

County  fudge — • 

John  H.  Moore  (D) i,390 

A.  L.  Rhodes  (R) 772 

County  Clerk — 
John  B.   Hewson  (D) 1,370 

E.  A.  Clalk  (R) 778 

District  Attorney — 

J.  Alex.  Yoell  (D) 1,399 

Juhan  Smart  (R) 676 

A.  Redmon  (I) 3 

Sheriff— 

John  M.  Murphy  (W) 987 

H.  H.  Winchell  (R) 520 

Philip  T.  McCabe  (I) 680 

County  Recorder — 

Austin  M.  Thompson  (D) 1,280 

S.  A.  Clark  (R) 884 

J.  A.  Clark  (I) 3 

County  Treasurer — 

H.  C.  Malone  (D) 1,337 

F.  G.  Appleton  (R) 938 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


Ill 


County  Assessor — 

W.  H.  Patton  (D) i,o8o 

Robert  Hutchinson  (R) 603 

John  C.  Bland  {\) 449 

Wm.  Campbell  (I) 47 

Public  Administrator — 

A.  B.  Caldwell  (D) 1,487 

Harry  Wade  (R) 654 

County  Surveyor — 

Chas.  T.  Healy  (D) 1,435 

H.  C.  Benson  (R) 742 

Superintendent  of  Schools — 

Matthew  Mitchell  (D) 1,328 

James  Rogers  (R) 811 

Freeman  Gates  (i) 2 

Coroner — 

Thomas  J.  Ingersol  (D) 1,453 

P.  M.  Fowler  (R) 716 

Total  vote  of  county 2,289 

1858. 

State  Senator — 

R.  A.  Redmon  (D) 1,004 

Sam'l  B.  Bell(R) 613 

Members  of  Assembly — 

James  P.  Springer  (D). .  . .  ; 910 

E.  C.  TuUy  (D) 1,005 

Thos.  J.  West  (R) 746 

E.  D.  Bevens  (R) 624 

Public  Administrator — 

Jas.  H.  Kincaid  (D) 1,027 

Robert  Hutchinson  (R) 616 

Total  vote  of  county 1,71 7 

1859- 

For  Governor — 

Milton  S.  Latham  (D) 1,407 

Leland  Stanford  (R) 626 

John  Carney  (I) 367 

Members  of  Assembly — 

Jno.  Milton  Williams  (D) 1,433 

D.  B.  Bailey  (D) 1,349 

Thos.  J.  West  (R) 1,075 

H.  D.  Van  Shaick  (R) 772 

Sheriff- 

Jno.  M.  Murphy  (D) 1,334 

Ja.s.  H.  Morgan  (R) 968 

District  Attorney — 

A.  L.  Rhodes  (R) 1,237 

Chas.  B.  Younger  (D) 968 

County  Recorder — 

Jno.  R.  Wilson  (D) 1,510 

C.  M.  Putney  (R) 782 

S.  A.  Clark 2 


County   Treasurer — 

H.  C.  Melone  (D) 1,406 

C.  W.  Pomeroy  (R) 924 

County  Assessor — 

Wm.  R.  Davis  (D) 1,227 

James  Brownlce  (R) 1,089 

County  Surveyor — 

Charles  T.  Healy  (D) 1,722 

Public  Administrator — 

Wm.  Daniels  (D) 1,635 

John  Cook  (R) 661 

Coroner — 

Thos.  J.  Ingersol  (D) 1,311 

Jacob  Allen  (R) 992 

Superintendent  of  Schools — 

Matthew  Mitchell  (D) 1,198 

Freeman  Gates  (R) i  ,092 

County  Clerk — 

Jno.  B.  Hewson  (D) i  ,408 

David  B.  Moody  (R) 900 

A.  L.  Rhodes 11 

Total  vote  of  county 2,458 

1 86a 

Pay    the    State    Debt,    684;    Repudiate   the   State 

Debt,  660. 

State  Senator — 

Jno.  H.  Moore  (DD) 922 

A.  L.  Rhodes  (R) i,477 

Wm.  Van  Voorhies  (D) 618 

Members  of  Assembly — 

Daniel  Murphy  (DD) 952 

H.  D.  McCobb  (DD) 826 

H.  W.  Briggs  (R) 1,474 

J.  H.  Morgan  (R) 1,338 

R.  B.  Buckner  (D) 7SS 

A.  B.  Caldwell  (D) 627 

Total  vote  of  county 3,202 

1861. 

Members  of  Assembly — 

Charles  Maclay  (R) 1,722 

J.  Brown  (R) 1,636 

John   Zuck  (R) 1,767 

W.  T.  Wallace  (D) 1,201 

I.  N.  Thompson  (D) 1,169 

W.  R.  Bane  (D) 1,030 

Wm.  M.  Lent  (DD) 604 

John  W.  Owen  (DD) 449 

Jacob  Doane  (DD) 380 

Scattering 2 

County  fudge — 

Isaac  Senter  (R) 1,798 

J.  M.  Williams  (D) i,i49 

S.  O.  Houghton  (D) 368 

J.  S.  Wallis  (R) 4 


112 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  ^"GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


Comity  Clerk — 

Jas.  A.  Clayton  (R) 1,691 

E.  Leavesly  (D) 1,060 

Levi  P.  Peck  (D) 576 

Sheriff— 

J.  F.  Kennedy  (R) 1.810 

Wm.  McCune  (D) i  ,302 

Samuel  L.  Morrison  (D) 221 

County  Treasurer — 

C.  W.  Pomeroy  (R) 1,912 

J.  P.  Martin  (D) 1,171 

Jno.  R.  Wilson  (D) 233 

County  Recorder — 

L.  C.  Bostick  (R) 1,801 

G.  B.  Montgomery  (D) 1,136 

W.  A.  Senter  (D) 399 

District  Attorney — 

Frank  E.  Spencer  (R) 1,780 

Thos.  H.  Laine  (D) 1,170 

D.  W.  Herrington  (I) m 

Coujity  Assessor — 

D.  M.  Harvvood  (R) 1,759 

J.  W.  Eastin  (D) 1,179 

T.  J.  West  (I) 409 

Public  Administrator — 

Harry  Wade  (R) 1,751 

A.  B.  Caldwell  (D) 1,049 

Henry  Uhrbroock  (D) 369 

Superintendent  of  Schools — 

S.  S.  Wiles  (R) 1,791 

M.  Mitchell  (D) 1,228 

R.  P.  Thompson  (D) 311 

Tax  Collector — 

Noah  Palmer  (R) 1,731 

Jno.  M.  Murphy  (D) 1,389 

Elliott  Reed  (I) 229 

County  Surveyor — 

John  Reed  (R) 1,807 

S.  W.  Smith  (D) 1,281 

C.  T.  Healy  (D) 247 

Coroner — 

Jacob  Allen  (R^ 1,769 

J.  N.  Brown  (D) 1,165 

A.J.  Cory  (I) 398 

Total  vote  of  county 3,447 

1862. 

State  Senator — 

Joseph  S.  Wallis  (R) 1,747 

Thomas  Fallon  (D) i  ,426 

Members  of  Assembly — 

J.J.  Owen  (R) 1,684 

J.  W.  Owen  (R) 1,725 

D.  W.  Herrington  (R) i,73S 


Solon  S.  Simons  (D) i,4S7 

Martin  J.  Murphy  (D) 1,465 

Cortes  D.  Cheney  (D) i,459 

Total  vote  of  county 3, 1 73 

1863. 

State  Senator — 

Wm.  S.  McMurtry  (R) 1,966 

Wm.  M.  Lent  (D) 1,479 

Members  of  Assembly — 

J.  J.  Owen  (R) 1,921 

H.  D.  Van  Schaick  (R) 1,967 

Wm.  Erkson  {VC\ 1,966 

P.  B.  Tully  (D) 1,466 

Cary  Peebles  (D) i  ,470 

Jesse  Shuart  (D) 1,481 

Sheriff— 

J.  H.  Adams  (R) 1,978 

Wm.  Aram  (D) 1,460 

County  Clerk — 

Jas.  A.  Clayton  (R) 1,964 

John  B.  Hewson  (D) 1,475 

County  Treasurer — 

C.  W.  Pomeroy  (R) i,957 

Wm.  H.  Hall  (D) 1,487 

County  Recorder — 

M.  Leavenworth  (R).' 1,976 

Wm.  S.  Letcher  (D) 1,465 

District  Attorney — 

F.  E.  Spencer  (R) i,9S7 

Jno.  H.  Moore  (D) 1,483 

County  Assessor — 

D.  M.  Harwood  (R) 1,965 

J.  J.  Rogers  (D) 1,470 

Public  A  dm  iuistrator — 

John  Erkson  (R) 1,967 

Felix  Raney  (D) i  ,472 

Superintendent  of  Schools — 

Wesley  Tonner  (R) i,97i 

U.  E.  Squires  (D) 1,469 

County  Surveyor — 

A.  D.  Fuller  (R) 1,968 

S.  W.  Smith  (D) 1,472 

Coroner — 

A.  J.  Cory  (R) 1,973 

G.  B.  Tollman  (D) 1,471 

Tax  Collector — 

Noah  Palmer  (R) 1,915 

Martin  Corcoran  (D) 1,526 

Total  vote  of  county 3,559 

1865. 
State  Senator — 

W.  J.  Knox  (R) 1,641 

Chas.  Maclay  (I) i  >  1 39 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


113 


Members  of  Assembly — 

Jno.  Zuck  (R) 1 ,640 

J.  M.  Cory  (R) 1,668 

A.  B.  Hunt  fR) 1,574 

D.  S.  Blanchard  (I) 1,164 

H.  D.  Coon  (I) 1,157 

Jno.  Erkson  (I) 1,172 

Sheriff— 

J.  H.  Adams  (R) 1,741 

Geo.  H.  Jefferson  (I) 1,072 

James  Houston  (D) 11 

Tax  Collector — 

D.  J.  Burnett  (R) 1,670 

G.  Brohaska  (I) 1,132 

County  Clerk — 

A.  E.  Pomeroy  (R) 1,719 

F.  B.  Murdoch  (I) 1,077 

County  Recorder — 

M.  Leavenworth  (R) 1,727 

B.  F.  Headen  (I) 1,088 

County  Treasurer — 

A.  McCall  (R) 1,638 

R.  G.  Moody  (I) 1,162 

District  A  ttorney — 

D.  W.  Herrington  (R) 1,611 

Chas.  N.  Senter  (I) 1,176 

T.  H.  Laine(D) 13 

County  Surveyor — 

J.  J.  Bowen  (R) 1,655 

A.  H.  Parker  (I) 1,156 

Coroner — 

A.  J.  Cory  (R) 1,649 

R.  Eichler(I) 1,157 

County  Assessor — 

W.  O.  Barker  (R) 1,678 

W.  F.  Hester  (I) 1,125 

Public  Administrator — 

W.  W.  Lawrence  (R) i  ,602 

S.  W.  Brundage(I) 1,180 

Superititendetit  of  Schools — 

Wesley  Tonner  (R) 1,706 

John  Sharp  (I) 1,103 

Total  vote  of  county 1,780 

1867. 

Members  of  Assembly — 

D.  Huber  (R) 1,883 

Wm.  Erkson  (R) 1,889 

J.  F.  Holloway  (R) 1,838 

C.  T.  Ryland  (D) 2,030 

Jno.  H.  Moore  (D) 2,002 

W.  Z.  Angney  (D) 1,992 

15 


Sheriff— 

J.  H.  Adams  (R) 1,995 

N.  R.  Harris  (D) 1,895 

Tax  Collector— 

D.  J.  Burnett  (R) 1,909 

Martin  Corcoran  (D) ',985 

County  Clerk — 

A.  E.  Pomeroy  (R) 1,902 

J.  B.  Hewson  (D) 1,983 

County  Recorder — 

M.  Leavenworth  (R) 1,912 

J.  R.  Johnson  (D) 1,973 

County  Treasurer — 

D.  B.  Moody  (R) 1,906 

Thos.  Fallon  (D) 1,975 

District  Attorney — 

J.  H.  Logan  (R) 1,901 

D.  M.  Delmas  (D) 1,988 

County  Siirveyor — 

William  Isaacs  (R) 1,921 

A.  H.  Parker  (D) 1,964 

Coroner — 

Jacob  Allen  (R) 1,907 

J.  Turner  (D) 1,989 

County  Assessor — 

D.  R.  Jaynes  (R) 1,906 

Henry  Phelps  (D) 1,977 

Public  Administrator — 

J.  M.  Billings  (R) 1,897 

Wm.  M.  Lovell  (D) 1,992 

Superintendent  of  Schools — 

Stephen  McPherson  (R) 1,928 

J.  H.Braly(D) i,947 

County  fudge — 

R.  F.  Peckham  (R) 1,581 

L.  Archer  (D) i,794 

Total  vote  of  county 3.384 

1S69. 

State  Senator — 

Chas.  Maclay  (D) 2,125 

Charles  Silent  (R) i,9S7 

Members  of  Assembly — 

Wm.  B.  Shoemaker  (D) 2,165 

B.  D.  Murphy  (D) 2,229 

Thos.  R.  Thomas  (D) 2,192 

E.A.Clark  fR) 1,94' 

H.  D.  Van  Schaick  (R) 1,924 

J.  P.  Sargent  (R) 2,02 1 

Sheriff— 

N.  R.  Harris  (D) 2,229 

R.  B.  Hall  (R) 1,887 


114 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


Coiinty  Clerk — 

Jno.  M.  Littlefield  (D) 2,141 

Edgar  Pomeroy  (R) 2,032 

County  Recorder — 

Jos.  R.  Johnson  (D) 2,242 

John  E.  Youngberg  (R) 1,924 

Coicnty  Assessor — 

Henry  Phelps  (Dj 2,246 

W.  A.  Z.  Edwards  (R) 1,918 

District  A  ttorney — 

J.  M.  Williams  (D) 2,180 

S.  A.  Barker  (R) i,97S 

Treasurer  and  Collector — 

M.  Corcoran  (D) 2,262 

W.  J.  Colahan  (R) 1,911 

County  Surveyor — 

A.  H.  Parker  (D) 2,184 

L.  B.  Healy  (R) 1,983 

Superintendent  of  Schools — 

Nicholas  Eurlong  (D) 2,220 

J.  R.  Brierly  (R)    1,930 

Coroner — 

Luke  Robinson  (D) 2,216 

A.  J.  Cory  (R) i  ,949 

Pu  blic  A  dm  in  isti-ator — 

John  M.  Swinford  (D) 2,217 

J.  M.  BilHngs  (R) 1,943 

District  Judge — 

P'rancis  E.  Spencer i,599 

Sam  Bell  McKee i  ,500 

Total  vote  of  county 3.099 

1871. 

Member  of  Congress — 

Lawrence  Archer  (D) 2,369 

S.  O.  Houghton  (R) 2,808 

Members  of  Assembly — 

;  no.  H.  Moore  (D) 2,494 

Isaac  H.  Harris  (D) 2,285 

John  O'Toole  (D) 2,309 

Frs.  E.  Spencer  (R) 2,822 

J.  P.  Sargent  (R) 2,854 

F.  C.  Franck  (R) 2,777 

County  Clerk — 

J.  V.  Tisdall  (D) 2,418 

Cornelius  Finley  (R) 2,762 

Comity  Recorder — 

Jno.  R.  Wilson  (D) 2,389 

D.  C.  Bailey  (R) 2,789 

L.  C.  Bostick  (I) 12 

District  A  ttorney — 

Wm.  M.  Lovell  (D) 2,573 

J.  C.  Black  (R) 2,626 


Sheriff— 

N.  R.  Harris  (D) 2,490 

J.  H.  Adams  (R) 2,615 

Treasurer  and  Collector — 

M.  Corcoran  (D) 2,599 

R.  K.  Ham  (R) 2,589 

County  Assessor — 

Henry  Uhrbroock  (D) 2,536 

Thos.  M.  Lilly  (R) 2,660 

Superintendent  of  Schools — 

Jno.  H.  Braly  (D) 2,467 

G.  F.  Baker  (R) 2,712 

County  Surveyor — 

E.  Raynor  (D) 2,485 

A.  T.  Herman  (R) 2,722 

A.  Parker i 

Public  Administrator — 

Jno.  Paine  (D) 2,472 

J.  H.  Morgan  (R) 2,721 

Coroner — 

J.  Turner  (D) 2,449 

A.  J.  Cory  (R) 2,755 

For  Selling  R.  R.  Stock,  2,001;  Against  Selling  R. 
R.  Stock,  2,368. 
County  Judge — 

R.  I.  Barnett  (D) 1,479 

D.  S.  Paine  (R) 2,287 

Total  vote  of  county 5,217 

1S72. 
For  Congress — 

S.  O .  Houghton  (R) 2,049 

E.  J.  C.  Kewen  (D) 1,71 1 

1873- 

State  Senator — 

W.  S.  McMurtry  (R) 1,721 

Thomas  H.  Lainc  (I) 2, 1 56 

Charles  Maclay  (D) 329 

Members  of  Assembly — 

Thomas  Rea  (R) 2,033 

F.  C.  Frank  (R) 2,203 

J.  W.  Haskell  (R) 1,766 

J.  A.  Moultrie  (I) 1,939 

J.  M.  Cory  (I) 1,738 

Alex.  Hay  (ij i,994 

John  M.  Bruen  (D) 269 

J.  F.  Holloway  (I) 277 

County  Treasurer — 

D.  C.  Bailey  (R) 2,505 

Geo.  W.  Zimmer  (I) 1,582 

A.  B.  Moffit  (D) 83 

County  Clerk — 

Cornelius  P'inley  (R) 2,354 

John  B.  Hewson  (I) 1,816 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


115 


Auditor — 

H.  Fairfield  (R) 2,214 

J.  M.  Braly  (I) 1,768 

John  M.  Littlefield  (D) 155 

Sheriff— 

J.  H.  Adams  (R) 2,233 

S.  W.  Boring  (I) 1,946 

Tax  Collector — 
James  H.  Morgan  (R) 2,227 

B.  F.  Headen  (I) 1,532 

Jos.  Ingham  (D) 483 

District  Attorney — 

J.  C.  Black  (R) 2,057 

Thos.  Bodley  (I) 2,101 

—  Bartlett i 

Recorder — 

Wm.  J.  Colahan  (R) 2,496 

E.  H.  Swarthout  (I) 1,486 

John  Coombe  (D) 107 

Henry  Phelps i 

County  Surveyor — 

A.  T.  Herrmann  (R) 2,017 

F.  P.  McCray  (I) i  ,974 

A.  H.  Parker  (D) 175 

County  Assessor — 

Thos.  M.  Lilly(R) 2,146 

Henry  Phelps  (I) i  ,9 1 2 

John  Erkson  (D) 1 1 1 

Superintendent  of  Schools — 

R.  E.  Hewett  (R) 1,949 

James  G.  Kennedy  (I) 2,205 

Coroner — 

A.  J.  Cory  (R) 2,023 

J.  N.  Brown  (I) 2,007 

T.  D.  Johnson  (D).. 136 

Public  Administrator — 

E.  W.  Harrison  (R) 2,05 1 

J.  C.  Bland  (I) 2,017 

L.  O'Toole(D) 48 

District  Judge — 

David  Belden 2,4 1 5 

Scattering 11 

Total  vote  of  county 4,207 

1875. 

State  Senator— 

Jno.  A.  Ouimby  (R) 1,850 

W.  Z.  Angney  (D  &  I) 3,131 

H.  Jones i 

Ben  Hurd i 

Members  of  Assembly — 

Cyrus  Jones  (D  &  I) 2,275 

Thos.  M.  Lilly  (R) 2,151 

C.  T.  Settle  (R) 2,053 


L.  Archer  (D  &  I) 2,987 

S.  I.  Jamison  (D  &  I) 3,i  14 

Hugh  Jones  (D) 2,217 

David  Patterson  (I) 58 

Treasurer  and  Collector — 

J.  T.  Cochran  (R) i  ,797 

Wm.  A.  January  (D  &  I) 3.196 

Comity  Clerk — 

J.  J.  Sontheimer  (R  &  I) 2,692 

B.  Newman  (D) 2,283 

Sheriff— 

J.  H.  Adams  (R) . 2, 140 

N.  R.  Harris  (D  &  I) 2,854 

District  Attorney — 

S.  F.  Leib(R&  I) 2,252 

Wm.  M.  Lovell  (D) 2,733 

Recorder  and  Auditor — 

J.  W.  Herndon  (R  &  I) 2,387 

Wm.  B.  Hardy  (D) 2,618 

County  Assessor — 

W.  G.  Campbell  (R) 2,046 

Henry  Phelps  (D  &  I) 2,917 

County  Surveyor — 

A.  T.  Herrmann  (R  &  I) 2,257 

John  Coombe  (D) 2,522 

Superintendent  of  Schools — 

W.  \V.  Kennedy  (R) 2,257 

E.  Rosseau  (D  &  I) 2,688 

Sarah  L.  Knox i 

Coroner  and  Public  Administi-ator — 

F.  B.  Smith  (R  &  I) 2,476 

J.  Turner  (D) 2,480 

J.  D.  Scott  (I) 13 

County  Judge — 

D.  S.  Payne  (R  &  I) 1,762 

R.  B.  Buckner  (D) 1,663 

Total  vote  of  county 5,084 

1877. 
State  Senator — 

W.  H.  Ware  (R) 2,565 

B.  D.  Murphy  (D) 3,262 

Members  of  Assembly — 

Cyrus  Jones  (R) 2,5 10 

Rush  McComas  (R) 2,964 

Daniel  Finch  (R) 2,800 

Wm.  Hanna  (D) 2,997 

C.  W.  Upton  (D) 3,145 

J.  J.  McDaniel  (D) 2,943 

Dave  Patterson  (I) 8 

Mrs.  Knox i 

Treasurer  and  Collector^ 

F.  C.  Frank  (R) 2,237 

W.  A.  January 3,575 


116 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


County  Clerk — 

J.  J.  Sontheimer  (R) 2,962 

Louis  Krumb  (D) 2,862 

Sheriff— 

A.  G.  Hinman  (R) 2,381 

N.  R.  Harris  (D) 3,425 

District  Attorney — 

D.  W.  Herrington  (R) 2,630 

Wm.  M.  Lovell  (D) 3.204 

—  Yoell 2 

Recorder  and  Auditor — 

Leon  E.  Jones  (R) 2,686 

W.  B.  Hardy  (D) 3,121 

County  Surveyor — 

W.  B.  Covell  (R) 2,703 

John  Coombe  (D) 3, 1 27 

Superintendent  of  Schools — 

L.  J.  Chipman  (R) 2,966 

H.  D.  Burnett  (D) 2,652 

Coroner  and  Public  Administrator — 

A.  McMahon  (D) 3,079 

J.  B.  Cox  (R) 2,652 

Total  vote  of  the  county 5,827 

1878. 
SPECIAL   ELECTION. 
State  Senator — 

S.  W.  Boring  (NP) 2,415 

G.  E.  McDougall  (W) 2,394 

Assembly — • 

W.  M.  Williamson  (NP) 2,295 

J.  E.  Clark  (WM) 2,453 

Total  vote 4,748 

For  Delegates  to  Constitutional  Convention — 

T.  H.  Laine(NP  &  YM) 2,186 

R.  McComas  (NP  &  YM) 2,183 

E.  O.  Smith  (NP  &  YM) 2,238 

A.  Greeninger  (NP) 1  647 

J.  G.  Kennedy  (YM) 771 

J.  E.  Clark  (WM) 1,635 

J.  Carrick  (WM) 1,627 

D.  W.  Herrington  fW  &  YM) 1,949 

J.  A.  Moultrie  (WM) i  563 

H.  W.  Kelly  (WM) 1,591 

J.  R.  Weller  (NP  &  YM) 1,848 

Total  vote 3,82 1 

1879. 
State  Senator — 

George  F.  Baker  (R) 2,460 

J.  C.  Zuck(R) 2,376 

J.  E.  Clark  (WM) 1,975 

L.  B.  Ingalls  (WM) 1  9^5 

E.  O.  Smith  (D) 1,485 


J.  R.  Weller  (I)... 399 

H.  C.  Morey  (D) 1,386 

Members  of  Assembly — 

Rush  McComas  (R) 2,582 

J.  L.York(R) 2,162 

D.  Frink  (R) 2,302 

William  Vinter  (WM) 1 ,839 

Robert  Thomas  (WM) 1,878 

John  Chisholm  (WM) i,744 

A.  W.  Jones  (G) 307 

Massey  Thomas  (G) 257 

Rufus  Fiske  (G) 327 

John  P.  Finley  (D) 1,844 

A.  French  (D) 1,385 

C.  E.  Shore  (D) 1,361 

Judges  of  Superior  Court — 

David     elden  (R) 2,646 

Francis  E.  Spencer  (R) 2,364 

C.  C.  Stephens  (WM) 1,917 

D.  W.  Herrington  (WM) 2,085 

Lawrence  Archer  (D)-. 1,614 

Jno.  H.  Moore  (D) 1,375 

County  Treasurer — 

Henry  Philip  (R) 1,818 

N.  B.  Edwards  (WM) 1,836 

Wm.  A.  January  (D) 2,354 

County  Clerk — 

J.  J.  Sontheimer  (R) 2,881 

Louis  Bruch  (WM) 2,734 

J.  G.  Kennedy  (D) 14 

Sheriff— 

F.  E.  Williams  (R) 2,341 

Leon  E.  Jones  (WM) 1,542 

N.  R.  Harris  (D) 2,097 

District  Attorney — 

W.  W.  McKaig  (R) 2,334 

James  H.  Campbell  (WM) 2,373 

John  T.  Malone  (D) 1,276 

County  Recorder — 

Hamilton  W.  Stephens  (R) 2,417 

David  Wight  (WM) 1,744 

James  M.  Pitman  (D) 1,866 

County  Assessor — 

Hiram  Fairfield  (R) 2,402 

Alfred  Chew  (WM) 1,909 

Fred  Farmer  (D) 1,71 1 

County  Surveyor — 

W.  A.  Richards  (R) 2,818 

John  Coombe  (WM) 2,333 

John  Gash  (D) 780 

Superintendent  of  Schools — 

L.  J.  Chipman  (R) 2,866 

F.  H.  Gould  (WM) 1,772 

H.  D.  Burnett  (D) 1,378 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


117 


Coroner — 

J.  T.  Harris  (R) 2,273 

M.  S.  McMahan  (WM) 1,944 

A.  McMahon  (D) 1,798 

For  Chinese  Immigration 36 

Against  Chinese  Immigration 5,881 

Total  vote  of  county 6,045 

1880. 
Members  of  Assembly — 

John  Reynolds  (R) 3,064 

Milus  H.  Gay  (R) 3,099 

Christian  Wentz  (R) 3,097 

J.  A.  Moultrie  (D) 2,889 

L.  B.  Ingalls  (Dj 2,724 

L.  A.  VVhitehurst  (D) 2,842 

John  Robertson  (WM) 114 

Robert  Summers  (WM) 109 

Thomas  Shannon  (WM) 117 

Total  vote  of  county 5,936 

1882. 
State  Senator — 

H.  M.  Leonard  (R) 2,826 

S.  F.  Leib  (R) 2,859 

B.  D.  Murphy  (D) 3,377 

C.  H.  Maddox  (D) 3,067 

David  E.  Gish  (G) 69 

Thomas  Shannon  (G) 40 

Members  of  Assembly — 

S.  F.  Ayer  (R) 2,921 

J.  E.  Glendenning  (R) 2,875 

Howell  C.  Moore  (R) 2,853 

Adam  Riehl  (D) 3,091 

A.  B.  Hunter  (D) 3,098 

J.  H.  M.  Townsend  (D) 3420 

County  Treasurer — • 

C.  Wentz  (R) ' 2,847 

F.  M.  Pfister(D) 3,263 

County  Clerk — 

Clifford  J.  Owen  (R) 2,997 

W.  H.  Owens  (D) 3, 145 

Sheriff— 

David  Campbell  (R) 2,694 

B.  F.  Branham  (D) 3,458 

District  Attorney — 

F.  P.  Bull  (R) 2,836 

Jas.  H.  Campbell  (D) 3,296 

County  Recorder  and  A  uditor — 

H.  W.  Stephens  (R) 3,000 

Jas.  M.  Pitman  (D) 3,131 

County  Assessor — 

H.  Fairfield  (R) 2,88 1 

L.  A.  Spitzer  (D) 3,263 

County  Surveyor — 

Chas.  Herrmann  (R) 3,075 

John  Coombe  (D) 3,065 


Superintendent  of  Schools — 

L.  J.  Chipman  (R) 3,268 

E.  J.  Gillespie  (D) 2,895 

Coroner  and  Public  Administrator-  — 

J.  T.  Harris  (R) 3,135 

A.  McMahon  (D) 2,991 

Total  vote  of  county 6,171 

1884. 
State  Senator — 

James  R.  Lowe  (R) 3,829 

A.  W.  Saxe  (R) 3,877 

N.  T.  Biddle  (D) 3,266 

M.  Lennon  (D) 3,  H5 

J.  D.  Canney  (Pn) 145 

Robt.  Summers  (G) 213 

Members  of  Assembly — 

63d  Dist— W.  T.  Patterson  (R) 1,347 

B.  E.  Burns  (D) 878 

S.  D.Wood  (P) 76 

64th  Dist— J.  W.  Cook  (R) 1,370 

A.  F.  Sauffrignon  (D) 1,363 

R.  J.  Langford(Pn) 37 

65thDist.— D.  M.  Pyle  (R) 1,125 

Adam  Riehl  (D) 975 

C.  W.  Pedlar  (Pn)    31 

fudges  of  Superior  Court — 

David  Belden  (R) 4,285 

Francis  E.  Spencer  (R) 4,049 

J.  A.  Moultrie  (D) 3,037 

Luis  Argues  (D) 3,013 

Sheriff— 

F.  E.  Williams  (R) ■.  .2,919 

B.  F.  Branham  (D) 4046 

Giles  E.  McDougall  (G) 152 

D.  D.  Briggs  (Pn) 114 

County  Clerk — 

M.  J.  Ashmore  (R) 3,71 1 

J.  R.  Payne  (D) 3.372 

E.  B.  Fowler  (Pn) 132 

Recorder  and  Auditor — 

C.  J.  Lightston  (R) 3,402 

J.  M.  Pitman  (D) 3,696 

M.  A.  Stidston  (Pn) 134 

Treasurer — 
Rush  McComas  (R) 3,710 

G.  E.  Graves  (D) 3,409 

H.  B.  Land  (Pn) 139 

District  Attorney — 

Howell  C.  Moore  (R) 3,604 

J.  H.  Campbell  (D) 3,597 

Coroner  and  Public  Administrator — 

J.  T.  Harris  (R) 3.652 

J.  R.  Curnow  (D) 3.5  '7 


118 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


S2irveyor — 

Chas.  Herrmann  (R) 3,778 

John  Coombe  (D) 3.309 

N.  E.  Beckwith  fPn) 147 

Total  vote  of  county 7,282 

1886. 
State  Senator— 

3istDist.— A.  W.  Crandall  (R) 1,863 

P.  B.  Tully(D) 1,452 

W.  E.  Ward  (Pn) 106 

32d  Dist.— E.  B.  Conklin  (R) 1,842 

J.  W.  Ryland(D) 1,833 

A.  L.  Kellogg  (Pn) 123 

Members  of  Assembly — 

63d  Dist. — Henry  McCleary  (D) 1,016 

I.  A.  Wilcox  (R) 1,245 

Wm.  Rice(Pn) 98 

64thDist.— Wm.  Vinter(D) 1,215 

C.  M.  Weber  (Rl 1,553 

F.  E.  Caton  (Pn) 66 

65th  Dist— S.  N.  Rucker  (D) i  ,066 

George  Polhemus  (R) 995 

C.  W.  Pedlar  (Pn) 74 

Sheriff— 

B.  F.  Branham  (D) 3,378 

Jonathan  Sweigert  (R) 3,828 

F.  T.  Holland  (Pn) 190 

County  Clerk — 

C.  F.  Singletary  (D) 3,744 

M.  J.  Ashmore  (R) 3,420 

J.  B.  Capp(Pn) 232 

Auditor  a>id  Recorder — 

David  T.  Bryant  (D) 3,194 

Charles  P.  Owen  (R) 3,987 

Chas.  A.  Tupper  (Pn) 249 

District  A  ttomey — 

J.  H.  Campbell  (D) 3,511 

Howell  C.  Moore  (R) 3,660 

E.  B.  Fowler  (Pn) 240 

Treasurer — 

John  T.  Sherman  (D) 3,042 

Rush  McComas  (R) 4,127 

Geo  Follett  (Pn) 251 

Assessor — 

L.  A.  Spitzer  (D) 3,727 

H.  Fairfield  (R) 3,485 

W.  R.  Bardwell  (Pn) 222 


S7iperintendent  of  Schools — 

E.  Rousseau  (D) 3, 1 36 

L.  J.  Chipman  (R) 4,053 

S.  M.  Severance  (Pn) 238 

Coroner  and  Public  Administrator — 
A.  R.  Tomkin  (D) 3,85 1 

F.  K.  Saxe(R) 3,335 

F.  L.  Voorhies  (Pn) 263 

Surveyor — 

John  Coombe  (D) 3,380 

Chas.  Herrmann  (R) 3,770 

E.  E.  Gary  (Pn) 268 

Total  vote  of  county 7,477 

PRESIDENTIAL    ELECTIONS. 
Following  is  the  vote  cast  in  Santa  Clara  County, 
at  the  different  Presidential  elections,  since  its  organi- 
zation:— 

1852. 

Pierce  and  King 829 

Scott  and  Graham 682 

1856. 

Buchanan  and  Breckinridge.  .    809 

Fremont  and  Dayton 576 

Bell  and  Everett 673 

i860. 

Douglas  and  Johnson 881 

Lincoln  and  Hamlin i,477 

Breckinridge  and  Lane 722 

1864. 

Lincoln  and  Johnson i,930 

McClellan  and  Pendleton 1,202 

1868. 

Grant  and  Colfax 2,307 

Seymour  and  Blair 2,330 

1872. 

Grant  and  Wilson 2,219 

Greeley  and  Brown 1,670 

1876. 

Hayes  and  Wheeler 3,336 

Tilden  and  Hendricks 3,065 

1880. 

Garfield  and  Arthur 3,i  16 

Hancock  and  English 2,820 

1884. 

Blaine  and  Logan 3,839 

Cleveland  and  Hendricks 3.172 


THE  matter  of  furnishing  easy  and  convenient 
means  of  communication  between  the  different 
sections  of  the  county,  has  been  made  an  important 
question  by  the  county  government  since  its  organ- 
ization. The  demand  for  good  roads  has  been  met, 
almost  before  it  was  expressed,  and  the  result  of  this 
policy,  long  continued  with  a  liberal  spirit,  is  seen  in 
the  broad,  smooth,  well-kept  highways  reaching  to 
every  part  of  the  valley,  winding  among  the  foot-hills, 
and  extending  over  the  mountains.  Wherever  pos- 
sible, these  roads  are  watered  during  the  summer 
months,  thus  not  only  making  them  comfortable  to 
travel,  but  preserving  the  solid  bed  and  smooth  sur- 
face. Experience  has  taught  that  this  is  the  best,  as 
well  as  the  most  economical,  system  of  keeping  the 
roads  in  repair. 

Before  the  Americans  came  into  possession,  there 
were,  practically,  no  roads.  Travel  was  chiefly  per- 
formed on  horseback,  and  for  this  a  narrow  trail  was 
sufficient.  Where  the  ox-carts  ran,  there  were  tracks 
a  little  wider,  but  they  had  no  legal  existence  as  roads. 
There  being  no  fences,  and  the  country  being  used 
principally  for  grazing,  there  was  no  necessity  for  the 
warning  to  "keep  off  the  grass,"  and  in  going  from 
one  point  to  the  other,  the  route  was  generally  an  air 
line,  e.xcept  where  intervening  water  courses  com- 
pelled the  traveler  to  seek  an  easy  ford  or  crossing,  or 
where  opposing  hills  required  a  circuit  to  be  made. 
Even  when  wagons  first  came  into  use,  this  system 
was  kept  up,  and  in  the  winter-time,  when  the  ground 
was  wet  and  soft,  the  wagon  tracks  ran  parallel  to 
each  other  to  such  an  extent  that  it  was  a  common 
saying  that  the  road  from  San  Jose  to  San  Francisco 
was  three  miles  wide!  With  the  Americans,  however, 
came  a  different  system.  About  the  first  order  made 
by  the  county  government  after  its  organization,  was 
in  reference  to  public  roads.  This  order  is  of  inter- 
est, as  it  establishes  the  first  highways  in  the  county. 
It  was  made  by  the  Court  of  Sessions  on  the  sixth  day 
of  July,  1850,  and  is  as  follows: — 


"This  ordered  by  the  court,  that  the  following  roads 
be,  and  they  are  hereby  declared,  public  highways 
within  and  for  the  county  of  Santa  Clara,  to  wit: 

''First — A  road  commencing  at  the  city  of  San  Jose 
and  running  where  the  present  road  now  runs,  by 
James  Murphy's,  and  from  thence  to  the  right  of 
Lucencia  Higuera's  ranch,  through  the  Mission  of  San 
Jose  to  the  county  line,  where  the  road  crosses  the 
Arroyo  Delmaya  at  Suiiol's  I'anch. 

"Seco7id — Also  a  road  commencing  at  the  city  of 
San  Jose,  at  First  or  Monterey  Street,  and  running 
where  the  road  now  runs  to  San  Juan,  until  it  reaches 
the  county  line.     (This  is  the  present  Monterey  road.) 

"Third — Also  a  road  commencing  at  the  city  of 
San  Jose,  at  Santa  Clara  Street,  and  running  where 
the  present  road  now  runs,  to  the  Mission  of  Santa 
Clara,  and  from  thence,  by  the  left  hand  road,  to  the 
Old  Indian  Village,  thence  by  Busard's  to  S.  Roble's, 
and  from  thence  where  the  present  road  runs  to  the 
county  line. 

''Fourth — Also  a  road  commencing  at  the  city  of 
San  Jose,  at  Santa  Clara  Street,  and  to  run  where  the 
present  road  now  runs,  to  Santa  Cruz,  through  Fer- 
nandez' ranch,  by  Jones'  mill,  to  the  county  line." 

The  Jones'  mill  here  referred  to  is  the  present  town 
of  Los  Gatos. 

The  third  specification  in  the  order  above  set  forth, 
refers  to  the  road  to  San  Francisco,  S.  Roble's  ranch 
being  the  old  town  of  Mt.  View.  This  road  includes 
the  Alameda,  famous  in  song  and  story.  This  ave- 
nue, as  we  have  previously  related,  was  laid  out  by 
the  Fathers  of  the  mission.  The  trees  were  planted 
by  Father  Maguin  Catala,  the  work  being  performed 
by  the  Indians  under  his  instruction.  There  were, 
originally,  three  rows  of  trees,  one  on  each  side  and 
one  in  the  center.  The  ground  was  moist  and  full  of 
adobe,  which,  when  wet,  made  traveling  a  severe  pen- 
ance. Ditches  were  made  for  the  purpose  of  drain- 
age, but  imperfectly  accomplished  their  object.  The 
shade  of  the  trees  excluded  the   sunshine  and   pre- 

(119) 


120 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


vented  evaporation.  While  during  the  summer 
months  the  Alameda  was  a  most  charming  drive,  for 
four  or  five  months  in  the  year  it  was  almost  impass- 
able for  vehicles.  Travelers  passing  between  the  town 
of  Santa  Clara  and  San  Jose  were  compelled  to  seek 
the  side  of  the  road,  and  often  to  make  a  circuit  of 
four  or  five  miles.  After  dark  it  was  not  unusual  for 
people  to  lose  their  way  and  be  compelled  to  pass  the 
night  in  the  open  air. 

To  meet  this  trouble,  the  county  government  opened 
another  road  to  Santa  Clara  by  way  of  what  is  now 
known  as  Union  Avenue,  back  of  the  fair  grounds. 
This  did  not  entirely  obviate  the  difficulties,  and  in 
1862  a  franchise  was  granted  to  a  company  called  the 
"Alameda  Turnpike  Company,"  granting  them  the 
privilege  of  collecting  toll  on  the  Alameda,  they  to 
keep  the  road  in  good  condition  for  travel.  This 
company  erected  gates,  but,  owing  to  the  nature  of 
the  soil,  could  never  make  a  road  good  in  all  its  parts, 
at  all  seasons.  Many  complaints  were  made,  and 
finally,  in  1868,  the  county  purchased  the  franchise  of 
the  company  and  declared  the  road  free.  The  price 
paid  by  the  county  was  $17,737.50.  In  1870  the  re- 
port went  abroad  that  the  road  occupied  more  ground 
than  belonged  to  it,  and  that  several  feet  on  the 
south  side  was  government  land,  and  subject  to  pre- 
emption. Onenight  a  gang  of  squatters  carried  lumber 
out  on  the  road  and  inclosed  strips  of  land  on  the 
south  side,  and  in  the  morning  many  of  the  residents 
found  themselves  shut  off  from  the  highway.  The 
squatters,  however,  had  nothing  but  their  labor  for 
their  pains,  as  they  were  compelled  to  abandon  their 
claims  unconditionally.  To  prevent  a  recurrence  of 
the  dispute,  an  act  of  Congress  was  procured  in  1871, 
granting  to  the  county  a  right  of  way  for  the  road, 
1 1 5  feet  wide,  and  defining  its  location.  Accurate 
official  surveys  were  made  and  granite  monuments 
placed  so  that  the  exact  lines  should  be  always  pre- 
served. The  final  location  was  accomplished  in  1873. 
After  this  date  extraordinary  efforts  were  made  to 
keep  the  road  in  repair  and  maintain  its  beauty.  These 
efforts  were  measurably  successful.  One  of  the  great- 
est obstacles  in  the  way  of  improvement  was  the 
shade  cast  by  the  center  row  of  trees,  and  propositions 
for  their  removal  were  made  from  time  to  time,  but 
each  proposition  was  met  with  a  remonstrance  from 
the  people,  who  looked  upon  the  gnarled  willows  as  a 
link  connecting  the  past  with  the  present,  and,  al- 
though many  of  the  trees  had  died,  and  others  were 
in  advanced  stages  of  decay,  they  were  retained. 
Finally,  in  1887,  a  proposition  was  made  to  construct 


an  electric  railroad  along  the  center  of  the  avenue. 
In  view  of  this  improvement,  the  people  consented  to 
part  with  the  trees,  and  in  the  same  year  they  were 
removed.  In  the  meantime  a  portion  of  the  road  has 
been  macadamized,  and  it  will  be  paved  throughout 
its  entire  length  as  rapidly  as  circumstances  will  permit. 

The  "Santa  Clara  Avenue,"  or  "Alum  Rock"  road, 
as  it  is  more  generally  called,  is  the  beautiful  avenue 
from  San  Jose  to  the  Alum  Rock  Springs,  in  the 
canon  of  the  Penetencia,  east  of  town.  The  original 
road  was  established  by  order  of  the  Board  of  Super- 
visors in  June,  1866.  There  had  been  a  traveled 
road  there  previously,  but  not  established  by  any 
competent  authority.  In  1872  an  act  was  passed  by 
the  Legislature,  authorizing  the  city  of  San  Jose  to 
survey  and  improve  a  road,  to  be  known  as  the  "Santa 
Clara  Avenue,"  running  from  the  eastern  limits  of  the 
city  to  the  city  reservation  in  the  eastern  foot-hills. 

The  act  provided  for  a  Board  of  Commissioners  to 
be  appointed  by  the  Governor,  who  should  superin- 
tend the  work  of  construction  of  the  road,  and  should 
select  a  tract  of  four  hundred  acres  in  the  caiion,  for 
a  public  park.  To  construct  and  improve  the  road 
and  park,  a  tax  was  provided  on  all  property  in  the 
city  and  all  property  lying  within  three-quarters  of  a 
mile  on  each  side  of  the  proposed  avenue.  This  tax 
was  to  be  ten  cents  on  the  hundred  dollars  for  the 
first  year  and  five  cents  per  year  on  the  hundred  dol- 
lars for  the  next  three  years,  to  be  levied  by  the  city 
and  county  as  other  taxes  were  levied  and  collected. 
With  this  money  the  road  was  constructed  and  trees 
planted.  At  the  end  of  four  years,  when  the  special 
tax  expired,  the  road  was  kept  up  from  the  road  fund 
of  the  road  districts,  in  which  the  avenue  was  situated, 
until  1878,  when  an  act  was  passed  by  the  Legisla- 
ture, authorizing  the  Board  of  Supervisors  to  pay 
these  expenses  from  the  current  expense  fund. 

The  "Saratoga  Avenue"  was  created  at  the  same 
session  of  the  Legislature,  and  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  Santa  Clara  Avenue,  except  that  the  act  provided 
that  the  road  should  be  a  hundred  feet  wide  and  that 
the  special  tax  should  be  levied  and  collected  by  the 
town  trustees  of  the  town  of  Santa  Clara.  The  com- 
missioners began  work,  laid  out  and  opened  the  road, 
but  some  of  the  outside  property  owners  protested 
against  paying  the  tax.  The  objection  was  that  it 
was  an  unconstitutional  assessment,  inasmuch  as  it 
was  to  be  levied  and  collected  by  officers  not  elected, 
who  were  expected  to  pay  it.  The  courts  decided  the 
objection  to  be  valid,  and  the  road  went  into  the  hands 
of  the  county  government  as  a  public  higjiway,  and  all 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD:' 


121 


improvements  were  paid  for  from  the  road  fund  of  the 
district.  Not  having  a  special  revenue,  it  has  not  been 
improved  as  thoroughly  as  Santa  Clara  Avenue. 

In  early  days  there  seemed  to  be  an  impression  that 
the  most  practical  way  to  improve  the  county  roads 
was  to  grant  franchises  for  toll  companies,  who  were 
to  keep  the  roads  in  repair  in  consideration  of  the 
privilege  of  collecting  tolls.  The  argument  used  was 
that  the  people  who  used  the  roads  ought  to  pay  the 
expense  of  maintaining  them.  Acting  on  this  propo- 
sition, many  such  franchises  were  granted,  some  by 
the  Board  of  Supervisors  and  some  by  the  Legisla- 
ture. The  toll-gate  on  the  Alameda  was  the  out- 
growth of  this  idea. 

In  1861  the  San  Jose  and  Alviso  Turnpike  Com- 
pany secured  a  franchise  to  erect  gates  and  collect 
tolls  on  the  road  from  San  Jose  to  Alviso.  In  1863 
it  was  purchased  by  the  county  for  $5,000  and  de- 
clared a  public  highway.  In  1867  the  Saratoga  and 
Pescadero  Turnpike  received  a  franchise  for  a  toll- 
road  over  the  mountains  from  Saratoga.  In  1880 
this  road  was  purchased  by  the  county  for  $5,000,  and 
the    name  changed  to  the  "Congress  Springs"  road. 

The  Gilroy  and  Watsonville  road  was  a  toll-road  in 
early  days,  but  was  declared  a  public  highway  in 
1874. 

The  Santa  Cruz  road  from  Los  Gatos  over  the 
mountains  was  a  toll-road,  under  a  franchise  from  the 
State,  up  to  1878,  when  it  was  declared  a  public  high- 
way by  the  Board  of  Supervisors.  The  company  re- 
sisted the  action  of  the  Board  and  attempted  to  main- 
tain its  gates.  This  caused  considerable  excitement, 
and  threatened  serious  trouble.  The  teamsters  went 
in  a  body  and  tore  the  gate  down.  The  company 
fought  the  matter  in  the  courts,  and  the  case  is  now 
pending  on  a  motion  by  the  company  for  a  new  trial. 
In  the  meantime  the  gates  are  down  and  the  road 
free. 

The  Pacheco  Pass  road  was  formerly  a  toll-road. 
This  road  is  over  the  mountains  east  of  Gilroy.  In 
1879  it  was  purchased  by  the  county  for  $6,000,  and 
declared  a  public  highway. 

The  purchase  of  the  Pacheco  Pass  road  wiped  out 
the  last  toll-road  in  Santa  Clara  County. 

The  most  prominent,  if  not  the  most  important, 
highway  in  the  county  is  the  Mt.  Hamilton  road, 
or  Lick  Avenue.  It  has  a  world-wide  fame,  for  the 
reason  that  it  leads  to  the  great  Lick  Observatory, 
and  because  it  is  the  best  mountain  road  on  the  con- 
tinent. In  September,  1875,  James  Lick  addressed 
the  Board  of  Supervisors,  saying  that  he  would  locate 
16 


his  observatory  on  Mt.  Hamilton  if  the  county  would 
construct  a  first-class  wagon  road  to  the  summit; 
and,  if  the  county  had  not  sufficient  funds  on  hand  to 
accomplish  the  work,  he  would  advance  the  money 
and  take  the  county's  bonds  for  the  same.  The 
proposition  was  accepted  and  a  preliminary  survey 
was  ordered  October  4,  1875.  The  Committee  on 
Survey  reported  that  the  construction  of  the  road,  in- 
cluding bridges,  would  cost  $43,385.  Mr.  Lick  then 
deposited  $25,000  in  the  Commercial  and  Savings 
Bank  as  a  guaranty  that  he  would  stand  by  his  propo- 
sition. 

There  was  some  little  delay  caused  by  the  adjust- 
ment of  the  route  to  suit  the  convenience  of  property 
owners,  but  before  the  end  of  the  year  the  preliminary 
matters  had  all  been  arranged.  A.  T.  Herrmann  was 
appointed  engineer  of  the  work,  and  on  the  eighth 
day  of  February,  1876,  the  contract  for  construction 
was  let  to  E.  L.  Derby,  at  the  following  price: — 

Grading,  %6.gy}i  per  rod;  rocking  (where  suitable 
rock  is  found  in  the  cut),  $1.53  per  rod,  and  where 
suitable  rock  is  not  found  in  the  cut,  %1.77  per  rod; 
bridge  at  Smith  Creek,  $1,797.  It  will  be  seen  that 
up  to  this  time  the  work  had  gone  on  with  great 
expedition;  but  now,  the  people  having  had  time  to 
talk  the  matter  over,  considerable  doubt  was  ex- 
pressed as  to  the  advisability  of  the  enterprise.  It 
was  argued  that  the  county  might  go  to  great  ex- 
pense in  building  the  road,  and  that  in  the  end  Mr. 
Lick  might  change  his  mind  in  regard  to  the  location 
of  the  observatory.  In  that  event  the  county  would 
have  a  very  expensive  road  that  would  be  of  very 
little  practical  use.  The  majority  of  the  Board  had 
no  doubt  of  Mr.  Lick's  good  faith,  but  in  order  to 
satisfy  the  popular  demand,  they  arranged  matters 
so  that  Mr.  Lick  deposited  a  further  sum  of  $25,000, 
subject  to  warrants  drawn  for  the  construction  of  the 
road,  and  agreed  to  take  county  bonds  therefor,  paya- 
ble when  the  observatory  was  completed  on  the  mount- 
ain. When  this  point  was  settled,  an  opposition  was 
developed  from  another  source.  Mr.  Furlong,  as  chair- 
man of  the  Board,  had  been  directed  by  the  Board  to 
sign  the  contract  with  Derby  for  the  construction  of 
the  road.  This  he  at  first  refused  to  do,  but  finally  com- 
plied under  protest,  filing  his  written  objections  thereto. 

The  protest  claimed  that  there  was  no  authority  of 
law  for  the  building  of  the  road  in  this  manner,  as  the 
statute  required  all  money  levied  in  any  road  district 
to  be  expended  in  the  district  paying  the  same;  that 
there  was  no  law  for  compelling  the  county  at  large 
to  pay  for  a  road,  and  that  the  county  had  no  author- 


122 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


ity  to  enter  into  a  contract  with  Mr.  Liclc  to  advance 
the  money.  The  Board,  to  satisfy  the  former  objec- 
tion, passed  a  resolution  that  they  would  ask  the 
Legislature  to  pass  an  act  authorizing  the  county  to 
issue  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $120,000,  of  which 
$50,000  should  be  applied  to  the  indebtedness  of  the 
several  road  districts  of  the  county,  and  the  balance 
used  to  pay  the  warrants  drawn  for  the  construction 
of  the  proposed  road.  Thus  this  difficulty  was  dis- 
posed of.  There  were  innumerable  minor  obstacles 
to  contend  with  which  caused  much  trouble  and  vexa- 
tion to  the  promoters  of  the  enterprise,  but  they  were 
finally  disposed  of  Up  to  May  22,  1876,  the  sum  of 
$45, 1 1 5.34  had  been  paid  on  Derby's  contract.  In  the 
meantime  there  was  great  dissatisfaction  with  Derby's 
operations,  and  he  had  been  compelled  to  assign  his 
contract  to  his  bondsmen,  who  established  a  trust  for 
their  protection,  drawing  the  money  on  the  contract 
and  paying  the  contractor's  verified  bills.  This  dis- 
satisfaction caused  the  Board  to  appoint  a  committee 
to  investigate  the  work.  The  report  of  the  commit- 
tee showed  grave  misconduct  by  the  contractor  in  the 
prosecution  of  the  work.  They  found  that  the  con- 
tractor had  drawn  $47,687,  while  the  work  he  had 
done  entitled  him  to  only  $42,687;  that  to  complete 
the  road  according  to  specifications  would  require  an 
expenditure  of  $16,819  more. 

The  Board  was  importuned  to  pay  Derby's  debts, 
contracted  for  work  and  material  used  on  the  road. 
The  contractor  and  his  bondsmen  contended  that  the 
work  done  by  Derby  had  cost  about  $65,000  and  that 
there  was  some  $11,000  to  $13,000  of  claims  out- 
standing against  him.  All  propositions  to  relieve 
Derby's  bondsmen  or  to  pay  his  debts  were  rejected 
by  the  Board.  The  last  effort  made  by  Derby  in  this 
direction  was  a  communication  stating  that  the  cost 
of  the  road  to  that  date  was  $64,371,  and  that  he  had 
received  $44,000;  that  if  the  county  would  pay 
$18,000  more  he  would  make  the  road  passable,  or  that 
he  would  finish  the  road  according  to  specifications  for 
$26,500.  This  proposition  was  also  rejected.  On 
the  fourteenth  day  of  July,  the  engineer  estimated 
the  work  done  by  Derby,  at  contract  prices,  at  $52,- 
184,  including  Smith  Creek  bridge.  In  September 
they  declared  his  contract  forfeited.  The  Board  au- 
thorized its  committee  (October  5,  1876)  to  go  on 
and  complete  the  road.  This  the  committee  did,  em- 
ploying Messrs.  Drinkwater  and  Swall  as  superin- 
tendents. January  9,  1877,  the  Lick  Board  of  Trus- 
tees and  the  supervisors  made  an   official  inspection 


of  the  road,  the  trustees  officially  declaring  that  the 
work  had  been  done  in  a  satisfactory  manner,  and 
that  the  road  met  all  the  requirements  made  by  Mr. 
Lick.  This  inspection  was  a  general  holiday  through- 
out the  county,  there  being  about  five  thousand  vis- 
itors to  the  mountain  on  that  day.  January  13  the 
road  was  declared  to  be  fully  completed,  the  total 
cost  being  $73,458.81.  Of  this  amount,  $27,339.87 
was  in  outstanding  warrants  against  the  general  road 
fund.  An  act  was  passed  in  the  Legislature  of  1878, 
authorizing  the  Board  to  issue  bonds  to  pay  these 
warrants  and  accrued  interest,  the  bonds  to  bear  no 
interest,  and  to  be  payable  when  the  observatory  was 
practically  complete. 

This  brief  sketch  of  the  work  on  this  famous  road 
gives  but  an  imperfect  idea  of  the  thousand  obstacles 
that  were  thrust  in  the  path  of  the  enterprise.  There 
were  a  number  of  people  in  the  community  who  could 
see  no  advantage  in  the  improvement,  and  were  con- 
stantly raising  objections,  and  trying  to  thwart  the 
work.  The  Board  of  Supervisors  were  by  no  means 
unanimous  on  the  subject,  and  it  required  a  great 
deal  of  diplomacy  to  secure  the  passage  of  the  proper 
orders  at  the  proper  time.  Probably  the  most  ear- 
nest and  untiring  friend  of  the  road  was  Supervisor 
J.  M.  Battee,  chairman  of  the  road  committee.  To 
his  devotion  to  the  cause  is  due,  more  than  to  any  other 
one  man,  the  successful  termination  of  the  great  work 
that  has  attracted  the  attention  of  the  scientific  world 
to  the  summit  of  Mount  Hamilton.  The  gentlemen 
composing  the  Board  of  Supervisors  during  the  time 
the  Mount  Hamilton  road  was  in  course  of  construc- 
tion were: — 

1875,  W.  N.  Furlong,  chairman;  J.  M.  Battee,  J.  W. 
Boulware,  A.  Chew,  Abram  King,  H.M.Leonard,  Wm. 
Paul.  1 876,  H.  M.  Leonard,  chairman  ;  S.  F.  Ayer,  J.  M. 
Battee,  A.  Chew,  W.  N.  Furlong,  Abram  King,  W. 
H.  Rogers.  1S77-78,  same  as  in  1876,  with  the  ex- 
ception that  J.  M.  Battee  was  chairman. 

As  the  county  has  developed  its  horticultural  re- 
sources, and  it  has  been  ascertained  that  a  very  few 
acres  of  land  is  ample  for  the  maintenance  of  a  fam- 
ily, many  of  the  ranches  have  been  divided  into  small 
tracts,  creating  a  demand  for  more  roads.  This  de- 
mand has  been  met  as  promptly  as  possible  by  the 
Board  of  Supervisors,  until,  at  the  present  time,  there 
are  four  hundred  and  ninety-four  public  highways, 
laid  out,  improved,  and  named,  exclusive  of  streets  in 
incorporated  cities  and  towns  and  roads  in  their  sub- 
urbs.    During  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1888 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


123 


there  was  expended  for  road  purposes,  by  the  super- 
visors,  $76,516.45.     The  expenses  were  distributed  as 

follows: — 

Labor $59,36860 

Lumber 6, 106  22 

Materials 3>790  23 

Bridgework 2,37340 

Repairing  tools i,433   I5 

Land 2,699  25 

Surveying I>495  00 

Gravel  and  rock 336  95 

Implements 276  55 

Sprinkling 7,637  1° 

RAILROADS. 

Under  Mexican  rule,  the  transportation  of  passen- 
gers was  almost  exclusively  on  horseback.  Women 
and  children  would  occasionally  take  passage  for 
short  distances  in  the  rude  carts  of  that  time,  but  jour- 
neys generally,  whether  long  or  short,  were  performed 
in  the  saddle;  as  the  foreigners  came  in,  they  adopted 
the  same  custom,  for  the  reason  that  there  was  no 
other  means  of  conveyance.  When  affairs  became 
settled  after  the  Mexican  War,  and  the  country  began 
to  be  settled  up  with  immigrants  from  the  States, 
other  methods  of  transportation  for  passengers  and 
freight  were  looked  for.  Boats  were  secured  to  ply 
between  San  Francisco  and  Alviso,  and  connection 
with  them  was  made  from  San  Jose  by  such  wagons 
as  could  be  procured.  The  cost  for  passengers  for 
this  trip  was  thirty-five  dollars. 

In  April,  of  1850,  Messrs.  Ackley  and  Morrison 
put  on  a  line  of  stages  to  run  through  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  in  the  same  spring,  John  W.  Whisman  put 
on  a  line  to  run  to  San  Jose.  Trips  were  made  tri- 
weekly by  each  line,  thus  giving  a  daily  stage  each 
way.  The  fare  was  thirty-two  dollars,  and  the  sched- 
ule time  was  nine  hours.  In  September  of  that  year. 
Hall  &  Crandall  purchased  Whisman's  route.  The 
roads  became  so  bad  in  the  winter  that  the  stages 
were  withdrawn,  and  travel  to  San  Francisco  went  by 
way  of  Alviso. 

Two  steamboats,  the  fF/w.  Robinson  and  New 
Star,  furnished  the  water  transportation.  This  was 
a  great  improvement  over  the  old  mustang  route,  but 
was  not  yet  satisfactory  to  the  people  of  the  pueblo. 
Early  in  January,  1851,  a  meeting  was  called  for  the 
purpose  of  taking  steps  towards  building  a  railroad  to 
San  Francisco.  The  meeting  was  largely  attended, 
and  very  enthusiastic.  At  this  time  the  road  to 
Santa  Clara  along  the  Alameda  was  impassable,  and 
to  reach  that  town  from  San  Jose  necessitated  a  cir- 
cuit of  about  six  miles,  while  passengers  to  San  Fran- 
cisco were  compelled  to  work  their  passage  for  about 


half  the  distance.  Under  these  circumstances  it  is 
not  surprising  that  the  meeting  should  unanimously 
declare  in  favor  of  a  railroad.  Resolutions  to  this 
effect  were  adopted,  and  books  opened  for  subscrip- 
tions to  the  capital  stock.  Some  subscriptions  were 
made,  and  W.  J.  Lewis  was  appointed  to  make  the 
survey  and  estimate  of  the  cost  of  the  road.  The 
survey  was  completed  in  December,  and  the  estimate 
presented  as  follows:  For  construction  of  the  road, 
$1,385,726.17;  for  buildings  and  fixtures,  $49,000; 
rolling  stock,  etc.,  $104,400;  total  to  put  the  road  into 
operation,  $1,539,126.17.  These  figures  seem  to  have 
had  a  very  depressing  effect  on  the  railroad  enthusi- 
asm of  the  people,  for  we  hear  no  more  of  the  matter 
for  several  years. 

In  July  of  this  year  the  stage  fare  to  San  Francisco 
was  reduced  to  ten  dollars,  and  to  Monterey,  to  twen- 
ty-five dollars.  In  March,  1852,  Messrs.  Reed  and 
Kendall  organized  an  express  to  run  between  San 
Jose  and  San  Francisco  by  way  of  Alviso.  On  the 
eleventh  of  April,  1853,  the  boiler  of  ihe  Jemiy  Lind, 
a  steamer  on  the  Alviso  route,  exploded  with  dis- 
astrous effect.  She  had  left  Alviso  with  one  hundred 
and  fifty  passengers,  among  them  many  prominent 
citizens  of  San  Jose.  When  about  opposite  what  is 
now  Redwood  City,  the  explosion  occurred,  killing 
many  and  wounding  others.  Among  those  killed 
were  J.  D.  Hoppe,  Charles  White,  and  Bernard  Mur- 
phy. This  accident  spread  a  gloom  over  the  com- 
munity. A  public  meeting  was  called  and  resolutions 
expressing  sympathy  with  the  afflicted  were  adopted. 

In  October  of  this  year  the  first  telegraph  line  was 
built  connecting  San  Jose  with  San  Francisco.  It 
was  a  great  mystery  to  the  native  population,  some 
of  whom  thought  the  Americans  had  all  turned  Cath- 
olics and  were  erecting  innumerable  crosses  as  a  tes- 
timony of  their  faith.  It  was  cause  of  great  rejoicing 
among  the  people.  The  establishment  of  telegraphic 
communication  revived  the  desire  for  a  railroad, 
and  much  talk  was  indulged  in.  No  effective  steps 
were  taken,  however,  except  an  ordinance  passed  by 
the  common  council,  granting  St.  James  Park  for 
depot  grounds.  The  cost  of  building  the  road  and 
the  small  amount  of  freight  in  sight  did  not  promise 
very  favorably  as  an  investment  for  capital,  and  the 
enterprise  again  slumbered  for  a  number  of  years. 

In  1856  an  omnibus  line  was  established  between 
San  Jose  and  Santa  Clara  by  Crandall  Brothers,  and 
in  1857  a  weekly  express  to  Sonora  was  put  on  by 
Wm.  H.  Hoy. 

The  growth  of  business  in  San  Jose  and  the  devel- 


124 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD: 


opment  of  the  surrounding  country  brought  the  rail- 
road question  again  to  the  front  in  1859.  There  had 
been  a  large  increase  in  wealth  and  population  and 
this  time  the  people  determined  that  something 
should  be  accomplished.  A  meeting  was  held  in 
February  to  discuss  the  question  of  building  a  short 
line  of  railroad  to  Alviso  to  connect  with  fast  boats 
to  Alviso.  Estimates  were  presented  showing  that 
it  would  cost  $10,000  per  mile,  or  between  $150,000 
and  $200,000  to  put  the  line  in  running  condition. 
Books  were  opened  and  subscriptions  solicited,  but 
before  enough  money  could  be  secured  to  warrant 
the  commencement  of  the  work,  another  proposition 
was  made  that  caused  a  suspension  of  the  effort  in 
this  direction. 

A  company  had  been  organized  in  San  Francisco 
to  build  a  railroad  to  San  Jose  by  way  of  San  Mateo 
and  Redwood  City.  This  company  wanted  Santa 
Clara  County  to  take  $200,000  worth  of  the  stock  of 
the  enterprise.  It  was  found  impossible  to  raise  this 
amount  by  individual  subscription,  and  in  1861  an 
act  was  secured  by  the  Legislature  authorizing  the 
county,  through  its  Board  of  Supervisors,  to  subscribe 
for  this  amount  of  stock,  provided  that  the  people,  at 
a  regularly  called  election,  should  indorse  the  meas- 
ure. An  election  was  held  with  the  following  result: 
In  favor  of  subscribing  for  the  stock,  1,497  votes; 
against  the  proposition,  725  votes;  majority  for  tak- 
ing the  stock,  722.  No  time  was  lost,  and  the  Board 
of  Supervisors  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  May  made  the 
subscription  and  ordered  bonds  issued  for  the  pay- 
ment of  the  same.  These  bonds  bore  interest  at  the 
rate  of  seven  per  cent  per  annum,  and  were  payable 
in  fifteen  years.  The  work  of  building  the  road 
commenced  immediately,  and  on  the  sixteenth  day 
of  January,  1864,  the  road  was  completed  and  form- 
ally opened  with  a  grand  excursion  to  San  Jose. 
There  was  great  rejoicing  when  the  first  train  arrived. 
Flags  were  hoisted  and  everybody  took  a  holiday. 

The  county  had  a  railroad,  but  it  also  had  an  in- 
debtedness of  $200,000,  on  which  it  was  paying  a 
large  interest.  The  question  was  soon  mooted  as  to 
whether  it  would  not  be  policy  to  sell  the  railroad 
stock  owned  by  the  county  and  apply  the  proceeds 
toward  extinguishing  this  debt.  As  the  stock  was 
paying  no  dividends,  an  affirmative  conclusion  was 
soon  reached.  The  Legislature  was  appealed  to,  and 
in  April,  1864,  an  act  was  passed  authorizing  the 
county  to  sell  the  stock  owned  by  it  in  the  "San 
Francisco  &  San  Jose  Railroad,"  and  to  apply  the 
proceeds    to    the  redemption    of   county    bonds.     In 


November,  1864,  B.  G.  Lathrop  offered  to  buy  the  stock 
and  pay  $300,000  in  currency.  This  would  be  equiv- 
alent to  about  $170,000  in  gold.  The  proposal  was 
accepted,  but  Lathrop  neglected  to  make  his  offer 
good,  and  the  transaction  was  canceled.  In  Febru- 
ary, 1865,  Messrs.  C.  B.  Polhemus,  Peter  Donahue, 
and  H.  M.  Newhall,  offered  to  buy  the  stock  for  $200,- 
000,  either  in  currency  or  in  the  bonds  of  the  county, 
which  had  been  issued  to  pay  for  the  stock  when  it 
was  subscribed  by  the  county.  On  March  4  an 
agreement  was  made  with  these  parties  as  follows: 
the  purchasers  were  to  pay  the  sum  of  $200,000, 
either  in  currency  or  county  bonds,  as  above  stated, 
payment  to  be  made  in  eighteen  months  from  April 
4,  1865;  the  purchasers  in  the  meantime  were  to 
have  the  right  to  represent  and  vote  the  stock  at  any 
meeting  of  the  stockholders,  and  after  the  expiration 
of  eight  months  were  to  pay  to  the  county  treasurer 
all  interest  that  might  accrue  on  the  county  bonds 
above  referred  to.  Having  the  default  of  Mr.  Lathrop 
in  mind,  the  Board  of  Supervisors  exacted  from  the 
purchasers  a  bond  for  the  fulfillment  of  their  contract. 
Notwithstanding  this  bond,  the  purchasers  neglected  to 
comply  with  the  contract  until  the  Board  lost  pa- 
tience, and  in  1867  directed  suit  to  be  brought.  This 
brought  the  purchasers  to  the  front  with  propositions 
for  a  compromise,  and  the  suit  was  discontinued 
pending  these  negotiations.  This  lasted  for  two 
years  more,  when,  there  being  no  prospect  of  an 
amicable  settlement,  suit  was  again  instituted  in  1869. 
In  this  interval  Mr.  Polhemus  had  disposed  of  his 
interest  in  the  Railroad  Company,  and  had  been  suc- 
ceeded by  Mr.  Mayne.  The  purchasers  then  made 
another  proposition,  to  the  effect  that  they  would  pay 
for  the  stock  $100,000  in  money  and  would  build  a 
line  of  railroad  from  San  Jose  to  Gilroy.  This  prop- 
osition was  accepted,  and  its  terms  complied  with. 
In  1869  the  railroad  was  extended  to  Gilroy. 

In  1863  the  Western  Pacific  Railroad  Company 
was  constructing  that  portion  of  the  transcontinental 
railroad  between  Sacramento  and  Oakland,  and  of- 
fered, if  the  county  would  subscribe  $150,000  to  its 
capital  stock,  to  construct  a  branch  from  Niles  to  San 
Jose,  thus  placing  this  city  on  the  through  overland 
line.  On  the  fourteenth  of  April,  1863,  an  act  was 
passed  authorizing  the  county  to  make  this  subscrip- 
tion, and  the  election  held  for  this  purpose  resulted  as 
follows: — 

For  subscribing  to  the  stock,  1,01 1  votes;  against, 
479  votes;  majority,  532  votes.  With  this  authoriza- 
tion the  Board  subscribed  for  $150,000  of  the  stock, 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD: 


125 


and  directed  the  issue  of  seven  per  cent  bonds  payable 
in  twenty  years,  in  payment  thereof.  These  bonds 
were  issued  as  follows: — 

March  27,  1865,  $45,000;  August  19,  1865,  $60,000; 
October  23,  1865,  $45,000.  In  September,  1869,  this 
road  was  completed,  but  it  never  met  the  expecta- 
tions of  the  people.  It  gave  two  routes  to  San  Fran- 
cisco instead  of  one,  but  as  there  was  no  competition 
between  them,  it  had  no  effect  in  reducing  the  rates  of 
fare  or  freight.  The  stock  paid  no  dividends,  but  in 
the  manipulation  of  the  road  it  became  necessary  that 
it  should  be  got  out  of  the  hands  of  the  county.  Ac- 
cordingly, in  1 87 1  a  movement  was  made  for  its 
purchase.  Under  the  act  of  1864,  the  supervisors  had 
authority  to  sell,  but  they  thought  best  to  submit  the 
matter  to  a  vote  of  the  people  before  acting.  Ac- 
cordingly, a  special  election  was  held  with  the  follow- 
ing result: — 

For  selling  the  stock,  2,001  votes;  against,  2,368 
votes;  majority  against,  367.  Notwithstanding  this 
result,  the  Board,  at  its  session  in  October,  1871,  re- 
solved that  it  was  for  the  best  interests  of  the  county 
that  the  stock  should  be  sold,  and  appointed  agents 
to  negotiate  the  sale,  the  agents  to  receive  a  com- 
mission of  ten  per  cent  on  the  amount  received  for 
the  sale.  In  February,  1872,  a  sale  was  consummated, 
David  Colton  being  the  purchaser,  for  $120,000.  The 
claim  of  the  agents  was  compromised  for  $9,000,  leav- 
ing a  net  loss  to  the  county  of  $39,000. 

These  two  railroads  are  now  part  of  the  Northern 
Division  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Company. 

As  the  country  to  the  north  of  San  Jose  began  to 
develop  fruit  culture,  especially  strawberries,  black- 
berries, etc.,  necessity  was  found  for  a  more  con- 
venient and  rapid  means  of  transportation  to  San 
Francisco.  The  two  railroads  already  constructed 
just  skirted  the  border  of  this  fruit  district,  and  ship- 
pers were  compelled  to  haul  their  fruit  to  San  Jose, 
Santa  Clara,  or  Milpitas  to  get  it  on  the  cars;  arrived 
in  San  Francisco,  it  had  to  be  hauled  on  trucks  for  a 
long  distance  from  depot  to  market,  and  this,  besides 
the  delay,  bruised  and  injured  the  fruit,  to  the  great 


loss  of  the  producer.  In  addition  to  these  inconven- 
iences, the  railroad  company  could  not  see  the  ne- 
cessity of  adopting  a  time  schedule  to  accommodate 
this  traffic.  This  caused  the  question  of  a  narrow- 
gauge  railroad  to  connect  with  fast  boats  at  Alviso 
to  be  revived.  In  1870  a  meeting  was  held  and  sub- 
scription books  opened.  Strenuous  efforts  were  made 
to  get  the  stock  taken.  Chief  among  the  promoters 
of  the  scheme  were  John  G.  Bray,  then  president  of 
the  Bank  of  San  Jose,  S.  A.  Bishop,  and  Cary  Peebels. 
Pending  the  floating  of  the  stock,  a  fast  boat  was 
put  on  the  line  between  Alviso  and  San  Francisco,  and 
the  fruit-growers  hauled  to  the  Alviso  wharf  instead 
of  shipping  by  rail.  The  narrow-gauge  proposition 
made  but  little  progress  for  several  years,  when  a 
company  was  formed  called  the  "Santa  Clara  Valley 
Railroad  Company,"  but  it  accomplished  nothing  ex- 
cept to  establish  an  office  in  San  Jose  and  procure  a 
few  conditional  rights  of  way.  Finally,  in  1876,  a  new 
company  was  formed,  under  the  name  of  the  "South 
Pacific  Coast  Railroad  Company,"  with  A.  E.  Davis 
as  its  president.  This  company  asked  no  favors. 
It  had  money  to  buy  everything  it  needed,  including 
the  right  of  way.  It  built  the  road,  and  in  April, 
1878,  the  first  train  came  into  San  Jose,  and  in  May 
the  road  was  opened  for  business.  They  immediately 
proceeded  to  extend  the  line  south  to  Santa  Cruz,  and 
completed  it  after  much  time  and  labor  spent  in  tun- 
neling the  mountains.  The  road  did  a  prosperous 
business  from  the  first.  In  1887  it  sold  out  to  a  syn- 
dicate of  stockholders  of  the  Southern  Pacific,  and 
changed  the  name  to  the  "South  Pacific  Coast  Rail- 
way." In  1886  a  branch  was  constructed  to  the 
Almaden  mines,  leaving  the  main  line  at  Campbell. 
In  the  same  year  the  Southern  Pacific  built  a  line  to 
the  same  point,  connecting  with  the  trunk  line  at 
Hillsdale. 

In  1885  a  railroad  was  projected  from  Murphy's,  on 
the  Southern  Pacific  Road,  near  Mountain  View,  to 
Saratoga.  Several  miles  of  this  road  were  constructed, 
but,  there  not  being  money  enough  under  control  of 
the  projectors,  the  enterprise  was  abandoned. 


iw~^ 


^^   ON    MOUNT    HAMILTON.  ^ 


"*'~^i^ 


"'*^^^5C*J?^^^ 


THE  history  of  the  great  observatory  on  Mt.  Hamil- 
ton, containing  the  largest  telescope  in  the  world, 
and  the  biography  of  its  founder  must  necessarily  be 
both  interesting  and  important.  James  Lick  was  of  a 
quiet,  uncommunicative  disposition,  and  left  but  little 
from  which  to  write  his  life  history.  The  prominence 
which  he  achieved  by  his  princely  gift  to  science  has 
caused  people  from  all  sections  of  the  country  to  re- 
call incidents  of  his  life,  and  these  fragments  have  been 
gathered  together  and  woven  into  a  connected  narra- 
tive by  the  San  Jose  Mercury,  from  which  we  compile 
the  following: — 

James  Lick  was  born  at  Fredericksburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania, August  25,  1796.  His  ancestors  were  of  Ger- 
man extraction  and  spelled  the  family  name  "Liik." 
His  grandfather  had  come  to  America  early  in  the 
century  and  had  served  in  the  army  of  Wasliington 
during  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  Nothing  is  known 
of  the  life  of  James  Lick,  until  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years  he  entered  himself  as  an  apprentice  to  an 
organ-maker  at  Hanover,  Pennsylvania.  He  worked 
here  for  a  short  time,  and  in  18 19  took  a  position  in 
the  employ  of  Joseph  Hiskey,  a  prominent  piano 
manufacturer  of  Baltimore,  Maryland.  An  incident 
of  his  experience  here  has  been  recalled. 

One  day  a  penniless  youth,  named  Conrad  Meyer, 
applied  at  the  factory  for  employment.  He  attracted 
the  fancy  of  young  Lick,  who  took  the  stranger  in 
charge,  provided  him  with  food  and  proper  clothing, 
and  secured  him  a  place  in  the  establishment.  The 
friendship  thus  formed  lasted  through  life.  The  pref- 
erence of  James  Lick  for  the  youth  was  justified  by 
his  later  life.  In  1.854  the  pianos  of  Conrad  Meyer 
took  the  first  prize  in  the  London  International  Ex- 
hibition, their  maker  possessing  an  immense  manufac- 
tory in  Philadelphia  and  ranking  as  one  of  the  most 
eminent  piano-makers  in  the  United  "States. 

In  1820  James  Lick  left  the  employment  of  Joseph 
Hiskey  and  went  to  New  York,  expecting  to  start  in 
business  on  his  own  account.  This  venture  was  re- 
(126) 


stricted  by  his  want  of  capital,  and,  if  attempted  at 
all,  was  brief,  for  in  the  following  year  he  left  the 
United  States  for  Buenos  Ayres,  South  America,  with 
the  intention  of  devoting  himself  there  to  his  trade. 
He  found  the  Buenos  Ayreans  of  that  period  a  singu- 
larly handsome  and  refined  race  of  almost  purely 
Spanish  extraction,  and  attaining,  by  their  mode  of 
life  in  the  fine  climate  of  that  region,  a  remarkable 
physical  and  social  development.  By  careful  atten- 
tion to  business  he  prospered  among  them,  accumu- 
lating a  considerable  competence  during  his  first  ten 
years  of  South  American  experience.  "In  1832," 
writes  his  friend  Conrad  Meyer,  in  the  Philadelphia 
Btdletin,  "  I  was  in  business  on  my  own  account  on 
Fifth  Street  near  Prune,  Philadelphia,  when  I  was 
suddenly  surprised  one  day  at  seeing  James  Lick 
walk  in.  He  had  just  arrived  from  South  Amer- 
ica, and  had  brought  with  him  hides  and  nutria  skins 
to  the  amount  of  $40,000,  which  he  was  then  dis- 
posing of  Nutria  skins  are  obtained  from  a  species 
of  otter  found  along  the  River  La  Plata.  He  stated 
that  he  intended  settling  in  Philadelphia,  and  to 
this  end  he  some  days  later  rented  a  house  on  Eighth 
Street,  near  Arch,  with  the  intention  of  manufact- 
uring pianos,  paying  $400  as  rental  for  one  year 
in  advance.  In  a  few  days  he  left  for  New  York  and 
Boston,  and,  writing  me  from  the  latter  city,  an- 
nounced that  he  had  given  up  the  idea  of  remaining 
permanently  in  Philadelphia,  and  requested  that  I 
should  call  on  the  house  agent  and  make  the  best  set- 
tlement I  could  with  him.  I  did  so,  and  receiving 
from  him  $300  out  of  the  $400,  I  returned  the  key." 
The  sudden  change  of  purpose  which  led  James  Lick 
to  abandon  his  design  of  remaining  in  Philadelphia 
and  return  to  South  America  seems  to  indicate  a 
whimsical  temper.  It  may  be,  however,  that  during 
his  ten  years'  stay  in  Buenos  Ayres  he  cherished,  as 
many  men  do,  an  ideal  of  his  youth,  and  dreamed  out 
a  business  career  in  his  native  land  which,  when  he 
returned  to  it,  he  saw  to  be  impracticable.     He  went 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


127 


back  to  Buenos  Ayres,  filled  certain  piano  orders  he 
had  taken,  settled  his  affairs  there,  and  sailed  for  Val- 
paraiso, Chili,  where  for  four  years  he  followed  his 
vocation.  Occasionally  his  friend,  Conrad  Meyer, 
heard  from  him,  the  correspondence  being  limited  to 
orders  for  pianos  to  be  shipped  to  him,  with  drafts 
for  their  payment;  but  outside  of  these  indications 
that  Mr.  Lick  was  engaged  in  trade,  little  is  known  of 
his  life  in  Valparaiso  or  the  business  ventures  he  en- 
gaged in  outside  of  his  trade.  At  the  end  of  four 
years  he  quitted  Valparaiso,  and  went  to  Callao,  Peru. 

He  lived  in  Peru  for  eleven  years,  occupying  himself 
in  manufacturing  pianos,  with  occasional  investments 
in  commercial  enterprises.  That  he  was  successful  is 
shown  by  the  statement,  made  by  himself,  that  in 
1845  he  was  worth  $59,000.  At  this  time  he  began 
to  think  seriously  of  coming  to  California.  His  friend, 
Mr.  Foster,  of  the  house  of  Alsop  &  Co.,  of  Lima, 
urged  him  to  remain  in  Peru.  He  told  Lick  that  the 
United  States  would  not  acquire  California;  that  the 
inhabitants  were  a  set  of  cut-throats  who  would  mur- 
der him  for  his  money,  and  that  it  would  be  folly  for 
him  to  abandon  a  lucrative  business  to  go  to  a  new 
country  that  had  so  bad  a  reputation.  To  all  these 
arguments  Mr.  Lick  replied  that  he  knew  the  charac- 
ter of  the  American  Government;  that  it  was  not 
of  a  nature  to  let  go  of  a  country  it  had  once  acquired, 
and  as  for  being  assassinated,  he  had  confidence  in 
his  own  ability  to  protect  himself  He  determined  to 
go,  but  before  he  could  go  he  had  to  fill  orders  for 
several  pianos  he  had  contracted  for.  This  would  not 
have  been  a  difficult  matter  had  it  not  been  for  the 
fact  that,  at  this  juncture,  all  his  workmen  left  him  to 
go  to  Mexico.  As  he  could  not  replace  them,  he 
went  to  work  himself,  and  after  two  years  of  hard  labor 
finished  the  last  of  the  pianos.  He  determined  that 
there  should  be  no  further  delay  in  his  departure. 

His  stock,  which  his  inventory  showed  him  was 
worth  $59,000,  he  sacrificed  for  $30,000.  This  money, 
which  was  in  Spanish  doubloons,  he  secured  in  a  large 
iron  safe,  which  he  brought  with  him  to  California. 
Among  the  odd  articles  which  James  Lick  brought 
to  California  from  Peru  was  the  work-bench  which 
he  had  there  used  in  his  trade.  It  was  not  an  elab- 
orate affair,  and  the  object  of  its  deportation  to 
this  land  of  timber  hardly  appears,  unless  Mr.  Lick 
had  acquired  an  affection  for  this  companion  of 
his  daily  labors.  He  retained  this  bench  through  all 
his  California  experience,  and  it  now  stands  in  the 
hall  of  the  Lick  Observatory  at  Mt.  Hamilton. 

Mr.  Lick  arrived  in  San  Francisco  late  in  1847.  At 


that  time  there  was  little  to  indicate  the  future  pros- 
perity of  the  metropolis  of  the  Pacific  Coast.  Cali- 
fornia Street  was  its  southern  boundary,  while  San- 
some  Street  was  on  the  water  front.  Sand  dunes 
stretched  out  to  the  southern  and  western  horizon, 
with  occasionally  a  rough  shanty  to  break  the  mo- 
notony of  the  landscape.  Mr.  Lick  quietly  invested 
his  money  in  these  sand  hills,  paying  dollars  for  lots 
that  were  not  considered,  by  the  inhabitants,  as  worth 
cents.  He  came  to  Santa  Clara  County  and  pur- 
chased the  property  north  of  San  Jose,  on  the  Guad- 
aloupe,  which  afterwards  became  famous  as  the  Lick 
Mills  property.  He  also  bought  the  tract  of  land 
just  inside  the  present  southern  city  limits,  and  which 
was  afterwards  known  as  the  Lick  Homestead.  All 
these  lands  were  vacant  and  unimproved;  at  this  time 
the  agricultural  lands  were  not  considered  of  any 
value.  Even  as  prominent  and  intelligent  a  man  as 
John  B.  Weller  said  he  "would  not  give  six  bits  for 
all  the  agricultural  lands  in  California."  It  is  a  ques- 
tion with  some  people  as  to  whether  these  purchases 
by  Mr.  Lick  were  the  result  of  luck  or  foresight. 
Although  considered  eccentric,  Mr.  Lick's  business 
sagacity  has  never  been  doubted,  and  it  is  fair  to  sup- 
pose that  he  foresaw  the  commercial  importance  of 
San  Francisco,  and  the  future  agricultural  importance 
of  the  fields  of  the  Santa  Clara  Valley. 

During  seven  years  after  his  arrival  Mr.  Lick  en- 
gaged in  no  particular  business  other  than  to  invest  his 
Spanish  doubloons  as  above  stated.  The  first  improve- 
ment of  his  property  made  by  Mr.  Lick  was  done  upon 
that  portion  of  his  Santa  Clara  County  lands  known 
as  the  "Lick  Mill  Tract."  An  old  flour  mill  had  stood 
upon  the  property  when  he  purchased  it  in  1852,  and 
this  fact  may  have  moved  his  mind  toward  the  erec 
tion  at  that  point  of  his  own  mill.  In  1853  he  began 
to  lay  the  plans  and  gather  the  material  he  intended 
to  employ  in  its  construction.  In  1855  work  was  be- 
gun, and  to  those  who  saw  the  structure  rise,  it  was 
the  wonder  of  the  time.  The  wood  of  which  its  in- 
terior finish  was  composed,  was  of  the  finest  mahog- 
any, finished  and  inlaid  in  the  most  solid,  elegant,  and 
expensive  style.  The  machinery  imported  for  its 
works  was  also  of  a  quality  never  before  sent  to  the 
Pacific  Coast.  The  entire  cost  of  the  mill  was  esti- 
mated by  Mr.  Lick  himself,  at  $200,000.  It  became 
known  by  the  name  of  the  "Mahogany  Mill,"  or 
perhaps  more  commonly  as  "Lick's  Folly."  When 
put  in  operation  it  turned  out  the  finest  brand  of 
flour  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  It  will  always  be  a  mat- 
ter of  doubt  whether  this  mill  was  erected   by  Mr. 


128 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD:' 


Lick  as  a  whim  of  his  eccentric  nature  or  as  a  protest 
against  the  flimsy,  cheap,  and  temporary  style  of 
building  then  common  to  the  new  State. 

There  is  a  romantic  legend  preserved  in  the  mem- 
ory of  the  old  acquaintances  of  Mr.  Lick  which  goes 
to  explain  the  origin  of  the  famous  mill.  The  tale 
runs  that  when  Lick  was  a  boy  he  was  apprenticed  to  a 
miller  who,  besides  the  possession  of  a  competency 
and  a  flourishing  business,  had  also  an  exceedingly 
pretty  daughter.  Strange  as  the  assertion  may  seem 
to  those  who  were  acquainted  only  with  the  unlovely 
old  age  of  this  strange  character,  James  Lick  was  a 
comely  young  man,  and  upon  him  the  miller's  daugh- 
ter cast  approving  ejes.  Lick  met  her  more  than  half- 
way, and  a  warm  attachment  sprang  up  between  the 
apprentice  and  the  heiress.  The  ancient  miller,  how- 
ever, soon  saw  the  drift  of  matters,  and  interposed  his 
parental  authority  to  break  the  peaceful  current  of 
true  love.  Young  Lick  declared  that  he  loved  the 
girl  and  wished  to  marry  her,  with  her  father's  con- 
sent. Thereupon  Hans  became  indignant,  and,  point- 
ing to  his  mill,  exclaimed:  "Out,  you  beggar  !  Dare 
you  cast  your  eyes  upon  my  daughter,  who  will  in- 
herit my  riches  ?  Have  you  a  mill  like  this  ?  Have 
you  a  single  penny  in  your  purse?"  To  this  tirade 
Lick  replied  that  he  had  nothing  as  yet,  but  one  day 
he  would  have  a  mill  beside  which  this  one  would  be 
a  pig-sty  ! 

Lick  at  once  departed,  and  at  length  drifted  to  Cal- 
ifornia, seeking  the  fortune  which  in  one  minute  he 
had  determined  to  possess,  and  which  determination 
never  afterward  for  a  moment  left  him.  Nor  did  he 
forget  his  last  words  to  the  miller.  When  he  was  a 
rich  man  he  built  this  mill,  and  when  it  was  finished 
there  had  been  nothing  left  undone  which  could  have 
added  to  the  perfection  of  its  appointments.  Its  ma- 
chinery was  perfect,  and  its  walls  and  floors  and  ceil- 
ings of  polished,  costly  woods.  Not  being  able  to 
bring  the  miller  to  view  the  realization  of  his  boyish 
declaration.  Lick  caused  the  mill  to  be  photographed 
within  and  without,  and,  although  his  old  sweetheart 
had  long  since  been  married,  he  sent  her  father  the 
pictures  and  recalled  to  him  the  day  he  boasted  of  his 
mill. 

Although  the  Mahogany  Mill  gratified  Mr.  Lick's 
pride  in  its  construction  and  in  the  brand  of  its  product, 
and  although  it  may  have  satisfied  the  ancient  grudge 
against  the  traditional  miller,  it  was  not  a  financial 
success.  The  periodical  floods  of  the  Guadaloupe 
River  inundated  the  lands  about  it,  destroyed  his  or- 
chards and  roads,  and  interfered  with  the  operation  of 


the  mill.  In  the  year  1873  he  surprised  everybody 
with  the  gift  of  the  whole  property  to  the  Thomas 
Paine  Memorial  Association  of  Boston.  For  some 
years  he  had  been  a  close  student  and  great  admirer 
of  the  writings  of  Paine,  and  he  took  this  means  of 
proving  the  faith  that  was  in  him.  On  January  16, 
1873,  he  made  a  formal  transfer  of  the  property  to 
certain  named  trustees  of  the  association,  imposing 
upon  these  the  trust  to  sell  the  same  and  donate  one- 
half  ofthe  proceeds  to  the  building  of  a  memorial  hall 
in  Boston,  and  so  invest  the  other  half  that  a  lecture 
course  could  be  maintained  out  of  its  increase.  The 
association  sent  an  agent  out  to  California  to  look  over 
the  acquisition,  with  power  to  deal  with  it.  Without 
consulting  Mr.  Lick,  he  sold  the  property  for  about 
$18,000,  and  returned  home,  at  which  proceeding  the 
donor  was  so  completely  disgusted  that  he  lost  all  his 
past  interest  in  the  advancement  of  the  theories  of 
Thomas  Paine ! 

The  next  scheme  of  improvement  to  which  Mr. 
Lick  turned  his  attention  after  the  completion  of  his 
mill  was  the  erection  of  the  Lick  Hotel  in  San  Fran- 
cisco. He  had  bought  the  property  upon  which  it 
stands  for  an  ounce  of  gold-dust,  soon  after  his  arrival 
in  California,  and  until  1861  it  had  lain  idle  and  un- 
improved. The  lot  originally  extended  the  entire 
length  of  the  block,  on  Montgomery  Street,  from 
Sutter  to  Post,  and  the  hotel  would  have  covered  this 
space  had  not  Mr.  Lick  sold  the  Post  Street  corner 
to  the  Masonic  order.  The  story  goes  that  Alexander 
G.  Abell,  on  behalf  of  the  Masons,  approached  Mr. 
Lick  with  an  offer  to  buy  the  property.  The  owner, 
in  accordance  with  his  seldom  violated  custom,  refused 
to  part  with  the  property,  until  Mr.  Abell  frankly  ex- 
plained that  the  Masons  had  been  all  over  the  city 
looking  for  a  site  and  could  find  none  that  answered 
their  requirements  like  this,  when  Mr.  Lick  gave  way 
and  sold  them  the  corner.  The  hotel  is  a  familiar 
object  to  all  who  visit  San  Francisco.  At  the  time 
of  its  construction  it  was  the  finest  hostelry  on  the 
Pacific  Coast,  and  it  still  ranks  well  up  among  first- 
class  family  hotels.  Its  internal  finish  was,  in  the 
main,  designed  by  Mr.  Lick  himself,  who  took  a 
special  pride  in  the  selection  of  fine  materials  and  in 
their  combination  in  artistic  and  effective  forms.  The 
dining-room  floor  of  the  hotel  is  a  marvel  of  beauti- 
ful wood-work,  made  out  of  many  thousand  pieces  of 
different  wood,  and  all  polished  like  a  table.  It  was 
probably  the  early  devotion  of  Mr.  Lick  to  the  trade 
of  a  piano-maker  which  caused  him  to  take  this  keen 
delight   in   the  use  of  fine  woods,  which  manifested 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


129 


itself  both  in  his  Mahogany  Mill  and  in  the  Lick  Hotel. 

That  part  of  the  life  history  of  James  Lick  which 
lies  between  the  years  1861  and  1873  is  full  of  inter- 
est to  those  who  would  form  a  correct  estimate  of  the 
man.  The  course  of  affairs  had  amply  justified  his 
early  judgment  of  the  future  values  of  California  real 
estate.  His  sand-hill  lots,  bought  for  a  song  in  1848, 
grew  to  be  golden  islands  of  wealth  amid  the  rising 
rivers  of  metropolitan  trade.  The  investments  made 
in  Santa  Clara  County  lands  all  proved  profitable 
and  yielded  rich  returns.  By  the  very  bull-dog  tenac- 
ity with  which  he  hung  to  his  acquisitions,  he  became, 
during  the  '6o's,'  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  on 
the  Pacific  Coast.  His  reputation,  too,  was  State- 
wide, made  so  not  only  by  his  wealth,  but  by  the 
rumor  of  his  eccentricities.  He  had  already  passed 
the  age  of  sixty  years,  when  most  men  begin  to 
"glide  into  the  lean  and  slippered  pantaloon."  He 
even  attained  and  overstepped  the  prophetic  boundary 
of  three-score  years  and  ten.  Yet  he  still  maintained 
the  positive,  energetic,  self-possessed  individuality  of 
his  earlier  years. 

It  is  very  probable  that  the  advancing  age  of  James 
Lick  acted  upon  his  nature  in  developing  into  active 
eccentricities  the  natural  peculiarities  of  his  disposi- 
tion. Most  of  the  pioneers  who  1  emember  him  during 
the  first  decade  of  his  California  career,  describe  him 
as  a  close,  careful,  self-contained  man,  cold  and  some- 
times crabbed  of  disposition,  going  his  own  lonely 
way  in  business  and  in  life.  Those  who  knew  him 
between  '61  and  '73  intensify  these  characteristics  and 
declare  him  to  have  been  miserly,  irascible,  selfish, 
solitary,  who  cherished  little  affection  for  his  race  or 
kin,  and  whose  chief  delight  appeared  to  lie  in  the 
indulgence  of  the  vi^hims  of  a  thorny  and  unfragrant 
old  age.  It  is  probable  that  this  later  estimate  of  Mr. 
Lick  presents  his  character  with  too  much  of  shadow, 
and  that,  as  our  narrative  develops,  and  combines 
the  incidents  and  traditions  of  this  period  of  his  life, 
and  lays  them  alongside  the  grand  conceptions  of  his 
closing  years,  his  real  self  will  be  revealed  in  outlines 
less  repulsive  and  more  consistent  with  the  achieve- 
ments of  his  completed  career.  In  fact,  from  these 
few  men  who  held  the  confidence  and  shared  in  all 
the  plans  of  Mr.  Lick,  has  ever  gone  out  the  denial 
that  he  was  miserly  or  selfish  or  forgetful  of  his  duties 
to  mankind,  and  the  claim  that  beneath  the  ice  of  his 
outward  nature  flowed  the  warm  currents  of  a  philan- 
thropic heart. 

The  traditions  of  Mr.  Lick's  eccentric  career  during 
these  years  are  numerous  and  amusing.  Most  of  his 
17 


time  after  the  completion  of  his  hotel  was  spent  in 
Santa  Clara  County.  He  lived  upon  his  Lick  Mill 
property  and  gave  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  its  im- 
provement. Upon  it  he  began  early  to  set  out  trees 
of  various  kinds,  both  for  fruit  and  ornament.  He 
held  some  curious  theories  of  tree-planting  and  be- 
lieved in  the  efficiency  of  a  bone  deposit  about  the 
roots  of  every  young  tree.  Many  are  the  stories  told 
by  old  residents  of  James  Lick  going  along  the  high- 
way in  an  old  rattle-trap,  rope-tied  wagon,  with  a 
bear-skin  robe  for  a  seat  cushion,  and  stopping  every 
now  and  then  to  gather  in  the  bones  of  some  dead 
beast.  People  used  to  think  him  crazy  until  they 
saw  him  among  his  beloved  trees,  planting  some  new 
and  rare  variety,  and  carefully  mingling  about  its 
young  roots  the  finest  of  loams  with  the  bones  he  had 
gathered  during  his  lonely  rides.  There  is  a  story 
extant,  and  probably  well  founded,  which  illustrates 
the  odd  means  he  employed  to  secure  hired  help  at 
once  trustworthy  and  obedient.  One  day  while  he 
was  planting  his  orchard  a  man  applied  to  him  for 
work.  Mr.  Lick  directed  him  to  take  the  trees  he 
indicated  to  a  certain  part  of  the  grounds  and  there 
to  plant  them  with  the  tops  in  the  earth  and  the  roots 
in  the  air.  The  man  obeyed  the  directions  to  the 
letter,  and  reported  in  the  evening  for  further  orders. 
Mr.  Lick  went  out,  viewed  his  work  with  apparent 
satisfaction,  and  then  ordered  him  to  plant  the  tree 
the  proper  way  and  thereafter  to  continue  in  his  em- 
ploy 1 

Another  story  similar  to  this  is  handed  down  and 
is  entirely  authentic.  Mr.  Lick  was  at  one  time  the 
owner  of  what  is  now  the  Knox  Block  corner,  in  San 
Jose.  A  fire  having  destroyed  its  buildings,  much 
debris  of  burned  brick  remained  scattered  over  the 
lot.  One  day,  while  Mr.  Lick  was  walking  about 
viewing  his  property,  a  young  stranger  applied  to  him 
for  work,  and  was  instructed  to  collect  a  certain  quan- 
tity of  these  brick  and  pile  them  neatly  in  a  corner. 
This  he  did  and  reported,  when  he  was  told  to  take 
the  same  brick  and  pile  them  neatly  in  another  corner 
Without  a  word  he  executed  the  singular  order,  and 
was  at  once  employed  and  long  retained  by  the  eccen- 
tric man,  who  had  thus  put  his  obedience  to  the  test. 

Mr.  Lick  was  as  fond  of  flowers  as  of  trees,  and  took 
great  pains  in  the  cultivation  of  rare  and  beautiful 
plants.  He  was  very  susceptible  to  praise  of  his 
garden,  and  equally  sensitive  to  its  criticism.  One  day 
a  party  of  ladies  visited  his  Mahogany  Mill,  and  were 
invited  to  view  his  flowers.  They  were  profuse  in 
their  compliments,  and  he  was  all-courteous  until  one 


130 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  ''GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD: 


of  the  party  remarked  that  she  had  lately  seen  in  San 
Francisco  much  finer  specimens  of  some  of  his  plants. 
His  demeanor  changed  at  once,  and  telling  the  com- 
pany he  had  yet  another  flower  garden  to  show  them, 
he  led  them  by  a  tortuous  trail  out  into  the  midst  of 
a  field  of  blossoming  mustard,  which  grew  like  a  rank 
forest  upon  part  of  his  property,  and  then  slipped 
away  and  left  them  to  criticise  his  "other  garden,"  and 
extricate  themselves  as  best  they  could. 

After  Mr.  Lick  had,  with  almost  infinite  exertion, 
improved  his  mill  property,  he  found  the  invest- 
ment an  unsatisfactory  and  unprofitable  one.  The 
annual  floods  of  the  Guadaloupe  invaded  his  orchard, 
destroyed  his  garden,  and  covered  his  land  with  a  de- 
posit of  sediment  and  debris.  And  so  he  resolved  at 
last  to  transfer  his  care  to  the  tract  of  land  lying  just 
south  of  San  Jose,  and  now  known  as  the  Lick  Home- 
stead Addition.  Presently  the  people  of  Santa  Clara 
County  witnessed  a  strange  spectacle.  Day  after  day 
long  trains  of  carts  and  wagons  passed  slowly  through 
San  Jose,  carrying  tall  trees  and  full-grown  shrubbery, 
from  the  old  to  the  new  location.  Winter  and  sum- 
mer alike  the  work  went  on,  the  old  man  superintend- 
ing it  all  in  his  rattle-trap  wagon  and  bear-skin  robe. 
His  plans  for  this  new  improvement  were  made  re- 
gardless of  expense.  Tradition  tells  that  he  had  im- 
ported from  Australia  rare  trees,  and,  in  order  to 
insure  their  growth,  had  brought  with  them  whole 
ship-loads  of  their  native  earth.  He  conceived  the 
idea  of  building  conservatories  superior  to  any  on  the 
Pacific  Coast,  and  for  that  purpose  had  imported  from 
England  the  materials  for  two  large  conservatories 
after  the  model  of  those  in  the  Kew  Gardens  in 
London.  His  death  occurred  before  he  could  have 
these  constructed,  and  they  remained  on  the  hands  of 
his  trustees  until  a  body  of  San  Francisco  gentlemen 
contributed  funds  for  their  purchase  and  donation  to 
the  use  of  the  public  in  Golden  Gate  Park,  where  they 
now  stand  as  the  wonder  and  delight  of  all  who  visit 
that  beautiful  resort. 

It  was  in  the  year  1873,  when  James  Lick  was 
seventy-seven  years  old,  that  he  began  to  make  those 
donations,  of  the  then  vast  estate  he  possessed,  which 
culminated  in  his  famous  deeds  of  trust.  How  long 
he  had  given  to  secret  thought  upon  the  subject  no 
one  can  tell,  but  that  his  gifts  were  the  outcome  of 
mature  deliberation,  seems  beyond  a  doubt.  For 
years  preceding  his  bequests  he  had  been  a  wide  reader 
upon  many  subjects.  He  held  a  peculiar  belief,  or 
rather  want  of  belief,  regarding  the  future  existence, 
and  deemed  an  earthly  immortality  of  remembrance 


all  that  there  was  of  eternal  life.  He  studied  every- 
thing written  about  Thomas  Paine,  and  made  his 
works  the  text  of  his  own  opinions.  It  is  related  that, 
while  he  was  engaged  in  the  improvement  of  the  Lick 
Homestead  property,  he  became  involved  in  an  argu- 
ment one  day  with  Adolph  Pfister  over  some  religious 
subject,  when  the  latter  suggested  that  he  put  to 
practical  proof  the  merits  of  Paineism  as  contrasted 
with  other  moral  agencies,  by  the  erection  of  a  grand 
college  on  his  property  for  the  education  of  young 
men  in  his  favorite  doctrine,  and  for  their  equipment 
as  teachers  and  missionaries  of  Paine.  The  old  man 
appeared  attracted  with  the  idea,  and  gave  it  consid- 
erable thought,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  it  found 
form  in  his  gift  of  the  Lick  Mill  property  to  the  Paine 
Memorial  Association  of  Boston,  which  was  the  first 
in  time  of  his  donations. 

It  was,  as  we  have  already  noted,  on  January  16, 
1873,  that  Mr.  Lick  made  his  donation  of  the  Lick 
Mill  property  to  the  Thomas  Paine  Association.  On 
February  15,  1873,  he  executed  two  other  gift  deeds, 
one  to  the  California  Academy  of  Science,  and  the 
other  to  the  Society  of  California  Pioneers.  To  the 
former  he  granted  a  lot  of  forty  feet  frontage  on 
Market  Street  near  Fourth,  San  Francisco,  and  to  the 
latter  society  a  lot  of  like  dimensions  on  Fourth  Street 
near  Market.  These  gifts  he  clogged  with  certain 
conditions  as  to  the  kind  of  buildings  to  be  erected, 
etc.,  which  were  deemed  irksome  by  the  donees.  Ne- 
gotiations began  between  Mr.  Lick  and  the  societies, 
which  continued  during  most  of  the  year  1873,  when 
Mr.  Lick  finally  offered  to  relieve  his  gift  from  all 
burdensome  conditions.  This  purpose  was  yet  un- 
accomplished at  the  time  of  his  death,  but  after  some 
little  difficulty  was  arranged  satisfactorily  to  all  con- 
cerned by  his  trustees.  Upon  the  valuable  properties 
thus  generously  disposed  of,  now  stand  the  beautiful 
buildings  of  the  two  societies  which  received  his  bene- 
factions. 

The  first  trust  deed  by  which  Mr.  Lick  gave  all  his 
immense  estate  to  charitable  and  educational  objects 
was  dated  June  2,  1874.  Among  the  several  provis- 
ions of  this  instrument  was  one  giving  to  San  Jose 
$25,000  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  an  orphan 
asylum,  and  one  appropriating  $700,000  for  establish- 
ing an  observatory  on  land  belonging  to  Mr.  Lick 
near  Lake  Tahoe,  in  Placer  County.  An  investiga- 
tion of  the  appropriateness  of  this  site  was  at  once  set 
on  foot.  It  was  soon  ascertained  that  the  severity  of 
the  climate  about  the  chosen  location  would  seriously 
interfere  both  with  the  effective  operation  of  the  tel- 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


131 


escope  and  with  the  comfort  of  the  visiting  public. 
Mr.  Lick  then  determined  upon  a  change  of  site  to 

some  spot  nearer  civilization,  and  looked  towards 
Mount  St.  Helena,  in  Napa  County,  as  the  proper 
point.  He  visited  St.  Helena  and  ascended  part  way 
to  its  summit,  but  before  he  had  pursued  his  inquiries 
far  enough  to  arrive  at  a  conclusion,  other  circum- 
stances conspired  to  change  his  mind  and  direct  his 
eyes  to  Santa  Clara  County  in  search  of  a  favorable 
site  for  his  observatory. 

Although,  out  of  the  large  amount  of  property  dis- 
tributed by  Mr.  Lick,  San  Jose  received  but  $25,000, 
the  people  of  that  city  were  very  grateful  and  ac- 
knowledged their  gratitude  in  a  well-worded  series 
of  resolutions  prepared  by  Judge  Belden,  adopted 
by  the  mayor  and  common  council,  beautifully  en- 
grossed and  officially  transmitted  to  Mr.  Lick  at  San 
Francisco.  Other  recipients  of  Mr.  Lick's  benefac- 
tions had  either  responded  coldly,  or  had  made  no 
response  at  all,  and  the  action  of  the  people  at  San 
Jose  presented  a  strong  contrast  which  attracted  Mr. 
Lick's  attention  and  caused  him  to  think  that  per- 
haps he  had  not  done  as  much  as  he  should  for  the 
county  which  had  so  long  been  his  home.  The  reso- 
lutions reached  him  at  the  time  he  was  in  doubt  as 
to  the  location  of  his  observatory,  and  he  consulted 
his  then  confidential  agent,  Mr.  Thos.  E.  Fraser,  as  to 
the  availability  of  the  mountain  summits  surround- 
ing the  Santa  Clara  Valley  for  the  home  of  the  tele- 
scope. His  attention  was  first  called  to  Mount  Bache, 
which  rises  to  the  height  of  ^bout  four  thousand  feet 
on  the  southwest  in  the  Santa  Cruz  Range;  but  it  was 
found  that  frequent  sea  fogs  would  interfere  with 
the  vision  on  that  elevation.  Mr.  Fraser  then  re- 
ferred Mr.  Lick  to  Mount  Hamilton,  and  was  by  him 
instructed  to  ascend  to  its  top  and  investigate  its 
qualifications  for  the  purpose  in  hand.  In  August, 
1875,  Mr.  Fraser,  accompanied  by  Hon.  B.  D. 
Murphy,  then  mayor  of  the  city  of  San  Jose,  went 
upon  the  mountain,  found  it  free  from  fog,  equable  of 
climate,  easy  of  access,  and  generally  suitable  for  the 
location  of  the  great  observatory.  Mr.  Lick  then  ad- 
dressed a  communication  to  the  Board  of  Supervisors 
of  Santa  Clara  County,  offering  to  locate  the  observ- 
atory on  Mount  Hamilton,  if  the  county  would  con- 
struct a  road  to  the  summit.  The  matters  relating  to 
this  branch  of  the  subject  will  be  found  fully  related 
in  our  chapter  on  "  Roads  and  Highways." 

In  the  meantime  Mr.  Lick  had  found  that  his  deed 
of  trust  did  not  express  his  intentions  as  he  desired. 
He  found,   among  other  things,  that  the  strict  con- 


struction of  its  terms  would  postpone  the  carrying  into 
effect  of  his  benefactions  until  after  his  death.  He 
wanted  the  work  to  be  pushed  forward  during  his 
life-time.  After  duly  considering  these  matters  he 
addressed  a  communication  to  his  trustees,  setting 
forth  his  conclusions  and  intentions,  and  revoking  the 
deed  and  asking  them  to  resign  the  trust.  The 
trustees  consulted  a  lawyer,  and  upon  his  advice  de- 
clined to  resign,  for  the  alleged  reason  that  they  had 
already  converted  about  a  million  of  dollars  of  the 
real  estate  into  money  and  could  not  be  absolved 
from  responsibility  by  Mr.  Lick's  will  alone.  This 
involved  Mr.  Lick  in  a  controversy  with  his  trustees 
which,  at  first,  threatened  disaster  to  the  beneficiaries. 
Jno.  B.  Felton  was  Mr.  Lick's  attorney,  and  instead  of 
precipitating  his  client  into  a  lawsuit,  he  used  the 
columns  of  the  newspapers  so  vigorously  that  the 
trustees  became  disgusted  and  made  up  an  agreed 
case,  by  which  the  courts  relieved  them  of  responsi- 
bility and  annulled  the  deed. 

On  September  21,  1875,  a  new  and  final  deed  was 
executed  by  Mr.  Lick,  with  Richard  S.  Floyd,  Ber- 
nard D.  Murphy,  Foxan  D.  Atherton,  John  H.  Lick, 
and  John  Nightingale  as  trustees.  The  clause  in  the 
deed  in  reference  to  the  observatory  is  as  follows: — 

"Third — To  expend  the  sum  of  seven  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  ($700,000)  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing 
land,  and  constructing  and  putting  up  on  such  land 
as  shall  be  designed  by  the  party  of  the  first  part, 
a  powerful  telescope,  superior  to  and  more  powerful 
than  any  telescope  yet  made,  with  all  the  machinery 
appertaining  thereto  and  appropriately  connected 
therewith,  or  that  is  necessary  and  convenient  to  the 
most  powerful  telescope  now  in  use,  or  suited  to  one 
more  powerful  than  any  yet  constructed;  and  also 
a  suitable  observatory  connected  therewith.  The 
parties  of  the  second  part  hereto,  and  their  successors, 
shall,  as  soon  as  said  telescope  and  observatory  are 
constructed,  convey  the  land  whereupon  the  same 
may  be  situated,  and  the  telescope  and  the  observa- 
tory, and  all  the  machinery  and  apparatus  connected 
therewith,  to  the  corporation  known  as  the  'Regents 
of  the  University  of  California;'  and  if,  after  the  con- 
struction of  said  telescope  and  observatory,  there 
shall  remain  of  said  seven  hundred  thousand  dollars 
in  gold  coin  any  surplus,  the  said  parties  of  the  sec- 
ond part  shall  turn  over  such  surplus  to  said  corpora- 
tion, to  be  invested  by  it  in  bonds  of  the  United 
States,  or  of  the  city  and  county  of  San  Francisco,  or 
other  good  and  safe  interest-bearing  bonds,  and  the 
income  thereof  shall  be  devoted  to  the  maintenance 


132 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


of  said  telescope  and  the  observatory  connected  there- 
with, and  shall  be  made  useful  in  promoting  science; 
and  the  said  telescope  and  observatory  are  to  be 
known  as  the  'Lick  Astronomical  Department  of  the 
University  of  California-'" 

On  making  the  new  deed  Mr.  Lick  selected  Mount 
Hamilton  as  the  site  for  the  University,  and  the 
trustees,  acting  with  the  regents  of  the  State  Univer- 
sity, secured  an  act  of  Congress  setting  apart  the 
public  land  at  the  summit  for  this  purpose.  This 
tract  contains  about  five  hundred  acres,  and  is  so  sit- 
uated as  to  prevent  settlement  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  observatory,  or  the  inauguration  of  any 
enterprise  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  that  would 
be  inimical  to  the  interests  of  the  institution. 

John  B.  Felton  charged  $100,000  for  his  services  in 
annulling  the  first  deed,  and  presented  the  bill  to  the 
new  trustees.  They  refused  to  allow  the  claim  unless 
Mr.  Lick  would  sign  a  written  authorization.  Mr. 
Felton,  with  Mr.  Murphy,  one  of  the  trustees,  called 
on  Mr.  Lick  for  this  purpose. 

"Mr.  Felton,"  said  the  old  philanthropist,  "when  we 
made  the  contract  upon  which  that  claim  is  based,  we 
supposed  that  to  cancel  my  first  trust  deed  would  be  an 
exceedingly  arduous  matter,  involving  much  expense, 
a  long  delay  and  years  of  the  most  elaborate  and  an- 
noymg  litigation.  The  whole  entanglement,  however, 
has  been  adjusted  in  a  few  months  without  any  diffi- 
culty, but  little  outlay,  and  with  only  a  formal  litigation; 
I  think,  under  the  changed  circumstances,  you  ought 
to  diminish  the  amount  of  your  fee." 

"Your  proposition,  Mr.  Lick,"  responded  Felton,  "re- 
minds me  of  a  story  I  once  heard  about  a  countryman 
who  had  a  bad  toothache  and  went  to  a  rustic  den- 
tist to  have  the  offender  extracted.  The  dentist  pro- 
duced a  rusty  set  of  instruments,  seated  him  in  a 
rickety  chair,  and  went  to  work.  After  some  hours  of 
hard  labor  to  himself,  and  the  most  extreme  agony 
to  the  countryman,  the  tooth  was  extracted,  and  he 
charged  him  a  dollar.  A  few  months  later  the  same 
countryman  had  another  attack  of  toothache,  and  this 
time  thought  best  to  procure  a  metropolitan  dentist. 
He  went  to  the  city,  found  the  best  dentist  in  it,  and 
offered  his  swollen  jaw  for  operation.  The  expert 
dentist  passed  his  hand  soothingly  over  his  face,  lo- 
cated the  tooth  with  painless  delicacy,  produced  a 
splendid  set  of  instruments,  and  before  the  country- 
man knew  it,  had  the  tooth  out.  His  charge  was  five 
dollars.  'Five  dollars!'  said  the  countryman,  'why, 
when  Jones,  down  at  the  village,  pulled  my  last  tooth 
it  took  three  hours,  during  whicla   he   broke  his  chair, 


broke  my  jaw,  broke  his  tools,  and  mopped  the  whole 
floor  with  me  several  times,  and  he  only  charged  me 
a  dollar.     You  ought  to  diminish  your  bill!'  " 

Mr.  Lick  signed  the  authorization  and  Mr.  Felton 
received  his  money. 

In  1876  Mr.  Lick  had  trouble  with  his  trustees. 
One  of  the  duties  Mr.  Lick  wished  first  performed 
was  the  erection  of  his  family  monument  in  Freder- 
icksburg, Pennsylvania.  It  was  during  the  arrange- 
ment for  this  work  that  the  causes  attending  the  re- 
tirement of  the  second  Board  arose,  and  in  this  wise. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  among  the  members  of  this 
Board  of  Trustees  was  John  H.  Lick.  Although 
James  Lick  is  reputed  to  have  never  been  married,  this 
man  was  his  son.  He  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  on 
June  30,  1818,  just  about  the  time,  it  will  be  noticed, 
of  James  Lick's  somewhat  hurried  departure  for  New 
York,  and  thence  to  South  America.  Who  was  the 
mother  of  this  boy  does  not  appear,  unless,  perhaps,  it 
was  the  miller's  comely  daughter.  Long  after  Mr. 
Lick  came  to  California  he  sent  for  his  son,  then 
grown  to  manhood,  and  kept  him  for  some  years  at 
work  in  the  Mahogany  Mill.  Here  he  remained  until 
August,  1 87 1,  when  he  returned  to  his  Eastern  home. 
When  Mr.  Lick  made  his  first  deed  of  trust,  he 
directed  the  payment  to  his  son  of  $3,000.  With 
this  pittance  John  H.  Lick  was  naturally  dissatisfied, 
and  hence  in  the  second  deed  he  was  given  the  sum 
of  $150,000,  and  made  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  rest. 
To  him,  as  trustee,  the  power  was  delegated  to  con- 
tract for  the  Fredericksburg  monument,  but  for  some 
reason  he  failed  or  refused  to  sign  the  contract. 
When  this  fact  was  made  known  to  James  Lick,  in  the 
summer  of  1876,  he  became  very  much  incensed 
against  John  H.  Lick,  and  began  to  suspect  that  he 
had  still  further  designs  upon  his  property,  and  in 
the  weakness  of  his  old  age  he  included  the  whole 
Board  in  his  ill-humor,  and  suddenly  required  the  res- 
ignation of  the  whole  body.  In  this  the  trustees,  ex- 
cept John  H.  Lick,  concurred,  and  a  new  Board  was 
appointed  by  Mr.  Lick.  Captain  Floyd  having  been 
in  Europe  during  this  last  entanglement,  was  not  in- 
cluded in  the  old  man's  wrath,  but  was  re-appointed 
on  the  new  Board. 

Mr.  Lick  died  October  i,  1876,  and  before  the  new 
Board  was  fully  organized.  He  was  eighty  years  of 
age.  His  body  lay  in  state  at  Pioneer  Hall,  San 
Francisco,  and  was  followed  by  an  immense  proces- 
sion to  Lone  Mountain  Cemetery,  there  to  rest  until  a 
more  fitting  resting-place  might  be  ready  for  its  re- 
ception.    Some  months  before  his  death,  in  a  conver- 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


133 


sation  with  B.  D.  Murphy  upon  the  subject  of  the 
probability  of  his  death,  Mr.  Lick  expressed  the  desire 
that  he  might  be  buried  on  Mount  Hamilton,  either 
within  or  to  one  side  of  the  proposed  observatory, 
after  the  manner  of  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  the  archi- 
tect of  St.  Paul's  cathedral,  who  was  buried  in  the 
crypt  in  1723. 

Immediately  on  the  death  of  his  father,  John  H. 
Lick  returned  from  the  East  and  secured  letters  of  ad- 
ministration upon  the  estate.  This  was  understood 
to  be  the  beginning  of  an  attempt  to  nullify  the  trust 
deed;  after  testing  several  points  in  the  courts,  the 
trustees  finally  effected  a  compromise  by  which  they 
were  to  pay  Lick  $535,000  in  full  of  all  claims  against 
the  estate.  The  Society  of  Pioneers  and  the  Acad- 
emy of  Sciences  had  been  made  residuary  legatees  by 
the  deed,  and  they  insisted  that  this  payment  to  John 
Lick  should  be  made  pro  rata  from  each  of  the  be- 
quests. The  Academy  of  Sciences  was  particularly 
active  in  the  courts  to  compel  the  payment  to  be 
made  in  this  manner.  After  nearly  a  year  of  litiga- 
tion, the  courts  decided  that  the  special  bequests 
could  not  be  disturbed,  and  the  compromise  money 
must  come  from  the  share  of  the  residuary  legatees. 

As  soon  as  possible  after  the  completion  of  the  road 
to  the  summit,  work  was  commenced  on  the  buildings. 
About  two  million  six  hundred  thousand  brick  were 
used,  all  of  which  were  manufactured  in  the  immediate 
vicinity.  Early  in  1887,  the  work  had  progressed 
sufficiently  to  permit  the  request  of  Mr.  Lick  in  re- 
gard to  his  burial-place  to  be  complied  with,  and  on 
the  ninth  day  of  January  his  remains  were  brought 
to  San  Jose,  whence,  followed  by  a  large  procession  of 
officials  and  prominent  citizens,  they  were  conveyed 
to  the  mountain.  A  tomb  had  been  prepared  in  the 
foundation  of  the  pier,  which  was  to  support  the  great 
telescope,  and  in  this,  with  imposing  ceremonies,  were 
the  remains  deposited.  The  following  document, 
signed  by  the  trustees  and  representatives  of  the  State 
University,  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  Pioneers,  and 
the  mayor  of  San  Jose,  was  sealed  up  with  the  casket: 

"This  is  the  body  of  James  Lick,  who  was  born  in 
Fredericksburg,  Pennsylvania,  August  25,  1796,  and 
who  died  in  San  Francisco,  California,  October  i, 
1876. 


"It  has  been  identified  by  us,  and  in  our  presence 
has  been  sealed  up  and  deposited  in  this  foundation 
pier  of  the  great  equatorial  telescope,  this  ninth  day 
of  January,  1887. 

"In  the  year  1875  he  executed  a  deed  of  trust  of 
his  entire  estate,  by  which  he  provided  for  the  comfort 
and  culture  of  the  citizens  of  California,  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  handcraft  and  rede-craft  among  the 
youth  of  San  Francisco  and  of  the  State;  for  the  de- 
velopment of  scientific  research  and  the  diffusion  of 
knowledge  among  men,  and  for  founding  in  the  State 
of  California  an  astronomical  observatory,  to  surpass 
all  others  existing  in  the  world  at  this  epoch. 

"This  observatory  has  been  erected  by  the  trustees 
of  his  estate,  and  has  been  named  the  Lick  Astronom- 
ical Department  of  the  University  of  California,  in 
memory  of  the  founder. 

"This  refracting  telescope  is  the  largest  which  has 
ever  been  constructed,  and  the  astronomers  who  have 
tested  it  declare  that  its  performance  surpasses  that 
of  all  other  telescopes. 

"The  two  disks  of  glass  for  the  objective  were  cast 
by  Ch.  Fell,  of  France,  and  were  brought  to  a  true 
figure  by  Alvan  Clark  &  Sons,  of  Ma.ssachusetts. 

"Their  diameter  is  thirty-six  inches,  and  their  focal 
length  is  fifty-six  feet  two  inches. 

"Upon  the  completion  of  this  structure  the  regents 
of  the  University  of  California  became  the  trustees  of 
this  astronomical  observatory." 

The  contract  for  the  great  lens  was  made  with 
Alvan  Clark  &  Sons,  of  Cambridge,  Massachusetts, 
for  $5 1 ,000.  They  employed  M.  Fell  &  Sons,  of  Paris, 
to  cast  the  glass.  The  contract  was  made  in  1880. 
In  1882  the  flint-glass  was  cast  and  sent  to  Messrs. 
Clark,  but  it  was  not  until  1885  that  a  perfect  crown- 
glass  could  be  obtained.  The  Clarks  succeeded  in 
obtaining  a  true  figure  in  1886,  and  on  the  twenty- 
ninth  of  December,  of  that  year,  the  great  lens  reached 
Mount  Hamilton.  The  mounting  of  the  instrument 
and  other  details  of  construction  occupied  eighteen 
months'  more  time,  and  in  June,  1888,  the  whole  work 
was  completed.  The  transfer  of  the  observatory  from 
the  trustees  to  the  regents  of  the  university  took  place 
June  I,  1888,  being  fourteen  years  from  the  date  of 
Mr.  Lick's  first  deed. 


BUILDINGS. 

DURING  the  Spanish  and  American  administra- 
tion in  California,  the  architecture  was  of  a  very 
rude  character.  The  walls  of  the  best  houses  were  of 
adobe,  and  the  roofs  generally  of  straw.  Later,  tiles 
were  substituted  for  straw  in  the  more  pretentious 
structures.  This  style  of  building  was  in  vogue  for 
some  time  after  the  American  occupation.  Up  to 
1850,  the  city  of  San  Jose  had  more  the  appearance  of 
a  military  camp  on  the  frontier,  than  of  a  town.  The 
rude  houses  with  their  thatched  roofs  were  supple- 
mented by  tents,  and  there  was  hardly  a  comfortable 
building  in  the  district.  The  ordinance  establishing 
the  first  fire  limits,  passed  July  11,  1850,  gives  a  pretty 
good  idea  of  the  character  of  the  houses.  These  limits 
were  described  as  commencing  at  the  intersection  of 
Second  and  St.  James  Streets,  thence  along  Second 
to  San  Carlos,  thence  to  the  Acequia,  thence  along 
the  Acequia  northerly  to  a  point  which  would  inter- 
sect a  prolongation  of  St.  James  Street,  and  thence 
easterly  and  along  St.  James  Street  to  the  place  of 
beginning.  Within  these  limits  it  was  prohibited  to 
erect  any  structures  composed  of  canvas,  willow,  cot- 
ton cloth,  tules,  mustard,  reeds,  or  other  grassy  sub- 
stances, under  a  penalty  of  not  less  than  twenty-five 
or  more  than  two  hundred  dollars.  It  also  forbade 
the  existence  of  any  hay-stacks,  unless  inclosed  or 
suitably  guarded,  and  enjoined  the  removal  of  those 
then  in  existence,  under  the  same  penalty.  There 
were,  however,  some  better  buildings  in  the  city  than 
this  ordinance  would  seem  to  indicate. 

Three  years  prior  to  this,  in  1847,  Mr.  William 
Campbell  had  commenced  the  erection  of  a  saw-mill 
on  Quito  Creek,  afterwards  known  as  Campbell 
Creek,  in  the  western  part  of  the  county.  Owing  to  the 
scarcity  of  labor,  everybody  having  gone  to  the  mines, 
the  mill  was  not  completed  until  1848,  in  which  year 
Zachariah  Jones  also  completed  a  mill.  These  mills 
furnished  a  supply  of  building  material,  but  it  was 
costly,  the  charge  for  hauling  alone  being  a  hundred 
(134J 


dollars  per  thousand  feet,  while  the  lumber  cost  any- 
where from  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  seven  hundred 
dollars  per  thousand  While  these  efforts  were  being 
made  to  secure  building  material  from  the  foot-hills, 
other  attempts  were  being  made  nearer  home.  In  the 
latter  part  of  1848  Mr.  Osborn  succeeded  in  making 
brick,  and  he  erected  houses  of  this  material  the  same 
year.  The  first  was  built  at  the  corner  of  Fifth  and 
St.  John  Streets,  another  on  Fifth  between  St.  John 
and  St.  James,  and  a  third  on  St.  John  between  Fourth 
and  Fifth  Streets.  Brick -layers,  carpenters,  and,  in 
fact,  mechanics  of  all  kinds,  commanded  sixteen  dol- 
lars per  day  for  their  services,  and  this,  with  materials 
at  a  correspondingly  high  price,  made  the  building  of 
houses  a  pretty  expensive  operation.  Nothing  but 
the  rich  products  of  the  newly  discovered  gold  mines 
rendered  it  possible. 

The  City  Hotel,  the  principal  hostelry  of  the 
pueblo,  was  built  in  1849.  It  was  located  on  the  west 
side  of  First  Street,  about  where  the  Martin  Block 
now  stands.  The  old-timers  do  not  speak  in  glowing 
terms  of  its  accommodations  for  guests.  The  price 
for  board  and  lodging  was  $5.00  per  day;  single 
meals,  $2.00. 

The  Mansion  House,  on  First  Street,  between  Santa 
Clara  and  St.  John,  occupied  the  present  site  of  the 
Music  Hall  building.  It  was  commenced  in  1849  and 
completed  early  in  1850.  It  was  erected  by  Joseph 
S.  Ruckle,  and  cost  $100,000.  This  was  the  popular 
hotel  for  many  years,  and  was  headquarters  for  the 
members  of  the  Legislature,  members  of  the  Bar,  and 
business  and  professional  men.  In  1853  Mr.  A.  S. 
Beaty  was  installed  as  landlord,  and  his  memory  will 
always  be  kept  green  by  those  who  were  fortunate 
enough  to  have  been  his  guests.  The  building  was 
burned  May  31,  1865. 

The  United  'States  Hotel  was  erected  in  1850  on 
San  Pedro  Street.  It  was  first  called  the  Pavilion, 
but  its  name  was  changed  as  above.  The  frame  of 
this  building  was  made  in  Australia,  and  when  com- 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


135 


pleted  the  building  cost  over  $50,000.  It  never  paid 
interest  on  the  investment,  and,  in  1879,  it  was  moved 
upon  Sixth  Street  and  converted  into  a  dwelling- 
house.  In  the  same  year  A.  Chattelle  expended  $50,- 
000  in  erecting  a  two-story  building  on  the  west  side  of 
Market  Street  near  El  Dorado  Street,  which  was  called 
the  French  Hotel.  The  lower  portion  was  used  for 
gambling  and  became  notorious. 

J.  D.  Hoppe,  in  1850,  with  Levi  Goodrich  as  archi- 
tect, put  up  what  was  called  a  fine  adobe  building  on 
the  northeast  corner  of  Santa  Clara  and  Market 
Streets,  where  T.  W.  Spring's  store  now  is.  The 
adobes  were  taken  from  the  old  juzgado,  which  was 
torn  down  this  year.  Frank  Lightston  built  two 
adobe  houses  on  Santa  Clara  Street  opposite  the 
Auzerais  House.  These  buildings  stood  until  1871. 
O.  L.  Crosby  built  the  house  afterwards  occupied 
by  Mrs.  Hensle}-  in  what  was  afterwards  known  as 
the  Hensley  grounds,  on  First  Street  between  Julian 
and  Empire.  Wm.  Van  Voorhies,  who  was  then  Sec- 
retary of  State,  built  a  frame  house  on  Second  Street 
near  William,  in  this  year.  The  old  Morgan  House 
was  built  this  year  by  Messrs.  May,  Lee,  and  McCune. 
It  was  on  the  corner  of  First  and  San  Fernando 
Streets,  and  was  run  as  a  boarding-house  at  first,  but 
was  opened  as  a  hotel  in  185 1,  by  John  R.  Price.  In 
1867  a  portion  was  torn  down  and  the  corner  built  up 
with  brick,  and  a  few  years  afterwards  all  of  the  old 
wooden  building  was  removed  to  make  place  for  the 
Wilcox  Block.  During  this  year  Governor  Burnett 
occupied  a  house  on  Second  Street,  near  San  Carlos. 
It  was  considered  a  good  building  then,  but  would 
hardly  meet  popular  opinion  as  a  governor's  mansion 
now.  The  State  House  we  have  spoken  of  elsewhere. 
It  was  built  by  Sansevain  and  Rochon,  in  1849. 
In  1850  also  was  built  the  Bella  Union.  It  stood 
on  the  present  site  of  the  Auzerais  House,  on  Santa 
Clara  Street.  It  was  a  two-story  frame  building  with 
a  sheet-iron  roof.  The  frame  was  brought  from  the 
Eastern  States  via  Cape  Horn.  It  was  opened  as  a 
drinking  saloon  about  Christmas  and  played  a  con- 
spicuous part  in  the  early  history  of  the  city. 

From  1850  there  was  not  much  building,  nearly 
everybody  being  at  the  mines;  but  in  1853  nearly  a 
hundred  houses  were  erected.  Many  of  these  were  of 
brick,  it  being  estimated  that  i ,  1 50,000  brick  were  used 
that  year,  all  but  9,000  being  manufactured  in  Santa 
Clara.  Among  the  most  prominent  of  these  build- 
ings was  one  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Santa  Clara 
Street  and  Pacheco  Alley,  which  was  occupied  by  the 
Supreme  Court,  and  one  at  the   southeast  corner  of 


Market  and  Santa  Clara  Streets.  Merritt  Brothers 
built  a  two-story  brick  building  on  Fifth  Street  near 
St.  John.  This  was  considered  an  aristocratic  struct- 
ure in  those  days.  It  is  still  standing.  Auzerais 
Brothers  built  their  brick  store  on  Market  Street  be- 
tween El  Dorado  Street  and  the  Catholic  Church. 
A  two-story  frame  house  was  brought  from  San  Fran- 
cisco and  put  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Santa  Clara 
and  First  Streets,  where  Knox  Block  now  stands.  It 
was  called  the  Railroad  Hotel.  The  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame  commenced  their  brick  college  building  this 
year,  with  Levi  Goodrich  as  architect.  The  county 
jail  on  San  Fernando  Street,  between  Third  and 
Fourth,  was  built  at  a  cost  of  $15,000  in    1854. 

In  1855  the  old  City  Hall  on  Market  Street  was 
built.  It  was  of  brick  and  adobe,  68x42  feet  and 
two  stories  high.  We  speak  of  this  in  the  past  tense 
in  view  of  the  new  City  Hall,  which  is  fast  approach- 
ing completion.  Some  brick  buildings  were  erected 
this  year  on  the  east  side  of  Market  Street  between 
Santa  Clara  and  El  Dorado  Streets.  Peter  Davidson 
built  some  brick  stores  near  the  northwest  corner 
of  Market  and  Santa  Clara  Streets. 

In  1856  Eli  Jones  &  Co.  erected  a  brick  store  on 
the  east  side  of  First  Street  between  El  Dorado  and 
Santa  Clara  Streets. 

In  1857  Mr.  Stock  built  a  house  on  First  Street. 

In  1858  Pfister  &  Co.  built  a  two-story  brick  build- 
ing on  the  southeast  corner  of  First  and  Santa  Clara 
Streets,  where  Safe  Deposit  Block  now  stands.  The 
Catholic  Church  was  encased  in  brick.  This  building 
was  afterward  destroyed  by  fire.  P.  O.  Minor  put  up 
the  concrete  building  on  the  west  side  of  First  Street 
between  El  Dorado  and  San  Fernando. 

In  1859  Auzerais  Brothers  built  several  buildings 
on  Market  Street  south  of  their  store.  Martin  Mur- 
phy built  ninety  feet  of  the  brick  stores  on  the  east 
side  of  Market  Street.  Clemente  Colombet  built  the 
brick  block  on  the  west  side  of  Market  Street,  called 
then  the  San  Jose  Hotel,  now  the  Cosmopohtan. 
Stark's  Theater  was  built  this  year.  It  was  on  First 
Street  nearly  opposite  the  New  York  Exchange.  It 
was  opened  with  the  play  of  "  Richelieu." 

In  1863  the  foundations  of  the  Auzerais  House, 
on  Santa  Clara  Street,  were  laid.  It  was  completed 
in  1865.  Cost  of  building  and  furniture,  about  $160,- 
000.  Patrick  Welch  erected  his  brick  stable  on  First 
Street,  north  of  Santa  Clara.  King  and  Knoche 
built  the  brick  building  on  First  Street,  north  of 
El  Dorado.  The  old  railroad  depot  on  San  Pedro 
Street  was  built  this  year. 


136 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


In  1864  the  Hensley  Block,  at  the  northwest  corner 
of  Market  and  Santa  Clara  Streets,  was  erected.  It 
was  then  called  the  Masonic  and  Odd  Fellows'  Hall 
Building.  It  was  occupied  below  by  James  Hart's 
dry-goods  store,  when  it  was,  early  in  the  70's,  rented 
for  the  use  of  the  post-office,  and  continued  in  that 
use  until  1888.  C.  T.  Ryland  built  a  two-story  brick 
building  at  the  northeast  corner  of  First  and  San 
Fernando  Streets.  He  added  to  it  in  1869.  It  is 
now  used  as  the  Lick  House.  In  this  year  the  first 
part  of  Knox  Block  was  erected,  at  the  northwest 
corner  of  Santa  Clara  and  First  Streets.  Two  stores 
were  added  on  First  Street  in  1867. 

In  1866  the  Court  House,  opposite  St.  James' 
Square,  was  commenced.  It  was  not  finished  until 
1868.  Haskell  &  Porter,  Strauss  &  Brown,  S.  A. 
Clark  and  John  Stock,  erected  brick  buildings  on  the 
west  side  of  First  Street,  between  San  Fernando  and 
El  Dorado  Streets. 

In  1867  the  Santa  Clara  Street  School-house  was 
built.  The  New  York  Exchange  Building,  on  First 
(Street,  was  completed  this  year,  and  opened  by 
Martin  Corcoran.  Levy  Brothers  built  a  brick  build- 
ing at  the  southwest  corner  of  First  and  Santa  Clara 
Streets.  It  has  been  remodeled,  and  is  now  owned 
and  occupied  by  the  First  National  Bank.  John 
Balbach  put  up  his  brick  building  on  Santa  Clara 
Street,  between  Market  and  First.  Part  of  the  old 
Morgan  House,  at  the  northwest  corner  of  First  and 
San  Fernando  Streets,  was  removed,  and  a  brick 
building  erected.  The  remainder  of  the  house  was 
afterwards  taken  away,  and  the  block  completed  with 
a  two-story  brick  structure.  Part  of  this  block  is 
now  occupied  by  the  Garden  City  National  Bank. 

In  1868  Martin  Murphy  built  the  brick  building 
on  the  south  side  of  Santa  Clara  Street,  between 
Lightston  Street  and  Market,  now  occupied  by  the 
City  Stables.  Adolph  Pfister  built  the  brick  build- 
ing at  the  southeast  corner  of  Santa  Clara  and  Sec- 


ond Streets.  Charles  Otter  built  the  brick  building 
at  the  southwest  corner  of  St.  John  and  First  Streets, 
forming  a  portion  of  the  New  York  Exchange  Block. 
H.  M.  Newhall  erected  the  building  at  the  northeast 
corner  of  Market  and  First  Streets,  since  occupied 
by  T.  W.  Springs'  store. 

In  1870  Brohaska's  Opera  House  was  completed. 
It  was  situated  on  the  north  side  of  Santa  Clara 
Street,  between  Second  and  Third.  It  was  finished 
in  modern  style,  and  was  considered,  at  that  time, 
the  best  theater  building  in  the  interior  of  the  State. 
It  was  opened  with  "  London  Assurance,"  with  John 
T.  Raymond  as  "Mark  Meddle."  The  building  was 
destroyed  by  fire  in  1881.  This  year  the  Jewish 
Synagogue,  corner  of  Third  and  San  Antonio  Streets, 
was  built.  The  first  normal  school  building  was 
commenced  this  year.  Music  Hall  Building,  on 
P^irst  Street,  was  erected.  The  new  county  jail  was 
built.  The  first  asphaltum  sidewalk  was  constructed 
this  year.  It  was  on  the  north  side  of  Santa  Clara 
Street,  from  First  to  Market.  It  was  built  by  a 
Frenchman,  named  Neuval,  and  was  the  best  ever 
made  in  the  city,  lasting  for  many  years. 

In  1 87 1  the  Bank  of  San  Jose  Building  was  erected. 

In  1872  the  Safe  Deposit  Block  was  built.  Later 
it  was  extended  south  to  Fountain  Street. 

It  is  not  intended  in  this  chapter  to  give  the  dates 
of  construction  of  all  the  buildings  in  the  city,  but  to 
give  some  of  the  old  landmarks,  and  to  trace  the 
march  of  improvements  for  the  first  twenty  years  of 
American  occupation.  During  the  Spanish  and 
Mexican  administration,  which  covered  a  period  of 
more  than  half  a  century,  not  more  than  a  dozen 
buildings  were  erected  in  the  pueblo,  and  these  were 
of  the  rudest  character.  Within  twenty  years  after 
the  Americans  took  possession,  the  pueblo  had  be- 
come a  thriving  city,  with  substantial  business  blocks 
and  beautiful  residences,  and  has  already  become 
known  as  the  "Garden  City." 


i^JiD 


^O^' 


iili  WUm  ifisli  Is  llf 


•T^nr' 


G^% 


DURING  the  War  of  the  RebelHon,  Santa  Clara 
County  evinced  her  willingness  to  stand  by  the 
Union,  both  with  money  and  men.  Of  the  former, 
many  thousands  of  dollars  were  contributed  and  placed 
at  the  disposal  of  the  Sanitary  Commission.  Of  the 
latter,  more  volunteers  were  tendered  than  required, 
and  many  crossed  the  mountains  in  order  to  enlist 
under  the  old  flag.  Those  who  enlisted  here  were 
either  retained  in  the  State  or  sent  to  Arizona  and 
New  Mexico.  There  was  no  draft  ever  ordered  in 
California  to  secure  her  proportion  of  troops,  while 
there  was  always  a  reserve,  in  the  volunteer  companies 
organized  under  the  State  laws,  more  than  sufficient 
for  any  emergency  that  might  arise.  California  was 
far  from  the  center  of  government,  with  a  long  line 
of  exposed  sea-coast,  and,  in  case  of  foreign  compli- 
cations, subject  to  attack.  For  these  reasons  it  was 
necessary  that  her  people  should  remain  at  home  to 
protect  their  own  territory.  This  was  done  to  a  great 
extent,  although  each  regiment,  as  it  was  organized, 
understood  that  it  was  to  be  sent  East  to  take  position 
at  the  front.  Many  men  from  Santa  Clara  County, 
not  being  able  to  enlist  at  home,  went  to  San  Fran- 
cisco and  other  cities  where  the  quota  was  not  filled, 
in  order  to  be  enrolled.  These  were  credited  to  other 
counties.  Of  those  who  enlisted  from  Santa  Clara 
County  we  have  record  of  the  following: — 

COMPANY  C,  FIRST  REGIMENT. — Infantry. 

Organized  in  San  Jose,  June,  1861.  Re-organized 
as  veterans  at  Las  Cruces,  New  Mexico,  Noveinber 
29,  1864.  This  company  was  on  duty  in  New  Mex- 
ico, operating  in  the  heart  of  the  Apache  country. 
They  had  many  desperate  engagements  with  the  In- 
dians. Lieutenant  Vestal,  with  his  company,  assisted 
in  the  capture  of  the  notorious  Showalter  and  his  part}'. 
The  company  while  in  the  desert  marched  a  distance 
of  over  two  thousand  miles. 

SECOND   REGIMENT. — Infantry. 

Organized    November    29,    1861.     Served    against 
Indians  in  northern  part  of  the  State  and  in  Arizona. 
iS 


The  Santa  Clara  men  in  this  regiment  were  generally 
credited  to  Mayfield.  T.  C.  Winchell  was  Adjutant 
of  this  regiment;  Montgomery  Maze  was  Second 
Lieutenant  of  Company  A;  C.  P.  Fairfield  was  First 
Lieutenant  of  Company  I. 

THIRD  REGIMENT. — Infantry. 

Organized  in  1861.  Served  in  Utah  and  Colorado. 
J.  C.  Merrill  was  Captain  of  Company  B  of  this  reg- 
iment. There  were  Santa  Clara  County  men  in 
Companies  D,  E,  and  G.  William  J.  Callahan,  de- 
ceased, was  in  the  latter  company. 

EIGHTH  REGIMENT.— Infantry. 

Company  C  was  organized  at  San  Jose  in  1864. 
After  being  mustered  in,  the  regiment  was  stationed 
at  Fort  Point,  California. 

FIRST   BATTALION    OF   MOUNTAINEERS. 

Organized  in  1862.  Served  in  the  mountain  cam- 
paigns against  the  hostile  Indians  in  California  and 
Nevada.  Geo.  W.  Ousley  was  Captain  of  Company 
B  of  this  battalion. 

FIRST  CAVALRY  REGIMENT. 

Company  E  organized  August,  1861.  Served  in 
Arizona,  New  Mexico,  and  Te^as.  Engaged  against 
the  Kiowa,  Comanche,  Navajo,  and  Apache  Indians. 
There  were  Santa  Clara  men  also  in  Companies  I 
and  L  of  this  regiment. 

FIRST  BATTALION  OF  NATIVE  CAVALRY. 

Company  A  was  organized  in  San  Jose  in  1883,  by 
Captain  J.  R.  Pico.  Served  in  California  and  Arizona. 
The  battalion  was  composed  principally  of  native 
Californians. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing  troops  mustered  into 
the  United  States  service,  the  following  organizations 
were  held  in  the  State  service: — 

FIRST  REGIMENT.— Cavalry. 

H.  M.  Leonard,  Major. 

Compaity  E,  Redtvood  Cavalry. — H.  M.  Leonard, 
Captain;  E.   Vandyne,  First  Lieutenant;  D.  J.  Bur- 

(137) 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


nett,  Senior  Second  Lieutenant;  H.  C.  Morrill,  Junior 
Second  Lieutenant.  Sixty  men  in  the  company,  all 
armed. 

Compmiy  /,  Burnett  Light  Horse  Guard. — J.  R. 
Hall,  Captain;  P.  Henry,  First  Lieutenant;  J.  Chris- 
man,  Senior  Second  Lieutenant;  A.  J.  Fowler,  Junior 
Second  Lieutenant.  Fifty  men  in  the  comp?.ny,  all 
armed. 

Company  K,  New  Alniaden  Cavalry. — L.  F.  Parker, 
Captain;  J.  P.  Dudley,  First  Lieutenant;  H.  H.  Curtis, 
Senior  Second  Lieutenant;  A.  F.  Foster,  Junior  Sec- 
ond Lieutenant.  Forty  men  in  the  company,  all 
armed. 

NATIONAL    LIGHT   ARTILLERY. 

S.  O.  Houghton,  Captain;  C.  T.  Henley,  First  Lieu- 
tenant; Jacob  Weigent,  Junior  First  Lieutenant;  N.  B. 
Edwards,  Senior  Second  Lieutenant;  Edward  Ladd, 
Junior  Second  Lieutenant. 

FIFTH  REGIMENT.— Infantry. 

A.  Jones  Jackson,  Colonel;  A.  B.  Rowley,  Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel; J.  Porter,  Major;  J.  O.  Wanzer,  Adju- 
tant; Chas.  N.  Senter,  R.  Q.  M.;  A.  J.  Corey,  Surgeon. 

Company  A,  Union  Guard. — Chas.  P.  Crittenden, 
Captain;  E.J.  Morton,  First  Lieutenant;  Geo.  Evans, 
Senior  Second  Lientenant;  N.Klein,  Junior  Second 
Lieutenant.     Sixty  men,  armed  with  rifles. 


Company  B,  San  Jose  Zouaves. — A.  W.  White, 
Captain;  M.  Campbell,  Fir.st  Lieutenant;  F.  B.  Fuller, 
Senior  Second  Lieutenant;  W.  T.  Adel,  Junior 
Second  Lieutenant.  Eighty  men,  armed  with  rifle 
muskets. 

Company  C,  Alviso  Rifles. — Thatcher  F.  Barnes, 
Captain;  John  Root,  First  Lieutenant;  Edward  W. 
Williams,  Senior  Second  Lieutenant;  Chas.  E.  Morri- 
son, Junior  Second  Lieutenant.  Sixty  men,  armed 
with  rifle  muskets. 

Company  E,  Gilroy  Guards. — John  H.  Adams,  Cap- 
tain ;  William  O.  Barker,  First  Lieutenant ;  W.  N. 
Furlong,  Senior  Second  Lieutenant;  William  Van 
Gundy,  Junior  Second  Lieutenant.  Forty  men, armed 
with  rifle  muskets. 

Company  H,  Santa  Clara  Guard. — William  H. 
Swope,  First  Lieutenant;  W.  H.  Menton,  Senior 
Second  Lieutenant;  A.  F.  Harlow,  Junior  Second 
Lieutenant.     Sixty  men,  armed  with  rifle  muskets. 

JOHNSON  GUARD. — Unattached. 

John  M.  Murphy,  Captain;  N.  B.  Edwards,  First 
Lieutenant;  J.  F.  Faulkner,  Senior  Second  Lieuten- 
ant; P.  W.  Riordan,  Junior  Second  Lieutenant.  Fifty 
men,  armed  with  muskets. 


=1^^:^^:^^^^^^^^^^] 


©^»a^  M»»aiawai#Bfc%  | 


c:t=Jt3F=a3C5 


^X?=zMf=^Z=3iS=^^=:S^-5=t\S 


COURT  HOUSE. 

FOR  a  short  time  after  the  county  was  organized 
under  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  the 
old  juzgado  was  used  as  a  court-house.  It  was  ill 
adapted  for  this  purpose,  and,  in  addition  to  its  incon- 
veniences, it  belonged  to  the  city,  and  was  under 
control  of  that  municipality.  From  the  first  day  of 
the  county's  existence  it  felt  the  necessity  of  provid- 
ing suitable  buildings  for  the  accommodation  of  its 
courts  and  officers.  The  lack  of  money  with  which 
to  either  purchase  or  build  was  a  serious  obstacle  to 
the  settlement  of  the  difficulty.  In  June,  1850,  the 
Court  of  Sessions,  then  the  legislative  department  of 
the  county,  gave  notice  that  the  county  judge  would 
receive  proposals  from  parties 'owning  property  which 
they  would  either  give  or  sell  to  the  county  for  a  site 
for  county  buildings.  Among  the  responses  to  this 
notice  was  one  from  James  F.  Reed,  who  offered  to 
donate  eight  lots  in  the  block  bounded  by  Third, 
Fourth,  William,  and  Reed  Streets,  to  be  used  as  a 
site  for  the  court-house,  and  two  lots  in  the  block  im- 
mediately south,  to  be  used  as  a  site  for  the  county 
jail.  This  offer  the  county  accepted,  but  the  build- 
ings were  not  placed  there,  and  the  negotiations  came 
to  nothing. 

The  next  month  the  court  made  another  order,  by 
which  it  authorized  the  county  judge,  J.  W.  Redmon, 
to  select  a  proper  site  for  county  buildings,  and  di- 
recting "that  he  cause  to  be  erected  the  necessary 
buildings  and  superintend  the  same,  and  that  he  draw 
from  time  to  time  his  warrant  on  the  county  treasury 
for  such  sums  as  may  be  necessary  for  that  purpose." 

This  was  an  extraordinary  power  to  grant  to  any 
one  man,  but  it  was  never  exercised  to  its  full  extent. 
In  the  meantime,  the  county  government  had  moved 
from  the  old  juzgado  to  the  building  on  First  Street, 
opposite    Fountain    Alley,   and  afterwards  the    Bella 


Union  Building  on  Santa  Clara  Street,  where  the 
Auzerais  House  now  stands. 

In  1851  Judge  Redmon  selected  Market  Plaza  as 
the  site  for  the  court-house,  and  the  same  was  pur- 
chased from  the  city.  This  included  the  old  State 
House,  which  was  fixed  up  for  the  use  of  the  courts 
and  county  officers.  This  building  seems  to  have 
been  looked  upon  by  the  people  as  common  property, 
and  they  were  accustomed  to  hold  all  sorts  of  meet- 
ings and  entertainments  there.  This  was  considered 
by  the  county  government  as  an  infringement  of  its 
dignity,  and  in  July,  1852,  the  sheriff  was  ordered  to 
"take  charge  of  the  court-house  and  allow  no  dances, 
balls,  or  shows  to  be  held  therein."  This  order  elicited 
such  a  cry  of  indignation  from  the  people  that,  within 
two  days  after  its  issuance,  it  was  modified  so  as  to 
allow  the  use  of  the  building  as  an  assembly  hall  and 
place  of  entertainment,  but  instructing  the  sheriff  to 
collect,  for  such  uses,  a  sufficient  amount  to  pay  the 
fees  of  a  janitor  and  watchman. 

The  old  State  House  having  burned,  the  court-house 
was  removed  to  the  adobe  building  on  Lightstone 
Street,  owned  at  that  time  by  Frank  Lightstone,  and 
the  officers  again  began  to  look  about  for  permanent 
location.  Levi  Goodrich  was  appointed  as  architect, 
and  directed  to  present  plans  and  specifications,  the 
idea  being  to  rebuild  on  the  old  lot  at  Market  Plaza. 
The  plans  were  drawn,  and  the  clerk  directed  to  call 
for  bids;  but  before  anything  further  was  done,  A.  S. 
Caldwell  made  a  proposition  to  sell  the  county  the  lot 
and  buildings  at  the  southeast  corner  of  San  Fernando 
and  Second  Streets.  A  committee  was  appointed  and 
reported  that  the  building,  with  a  little  alteration, 
would  be  suitable  for  a  court-house,  and  the  purchase 
was  made.  The  price  paid  was  $4,000.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1853,  this  building  was  officially  declared  to  be 
the  county  court-house,  the  same  order  setting  apart 
(139) 


140 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


the  south  room  on  the  lower  floor  as  the  district  court- 
room. This  building  was  afterwards  known  as  the 
"What  Cheer  House,"  and  is  still  standing.  The 
county  sold  the  State  House  lot  to  a  Mr.  Briggs  for 
$500,  reserving  the  right  to  use  the  jail  thereon  until  a 
new  jail  could  be  built.  The  county  occupied  its  new 
quarters  for  sixteen  years,  when  it  became  necessary 
to  have  enlarged  accommodations.  An  order  was 
made  offering  a  hundred  dollars  for  the  best  plan  for 
a  new  court-house. 

Pending  this  matter,  the  clerk  was  authorized  to 
negotiate  with  the  city  council  for  the  use  of  the  sec- 
ond story  of  the  City  Hall  on  Market  Street  for  a 
court-room.  This  resulted  in  a  two  years'  lease  of 
the  upper  portion  of  the  City  Hall,  in  return  for  which 
the  county  gave  the  city  the  use  of  a  portion  of  the 
lot  at  the  corner  of  San  Fernando  and  Second  Streets. 
This  exchange  was  effected  in  August,  i860.  In  the 
latter  part  of  this  year,  Levi  Goodrich  presented  plans 
for  a  new  building,  which  were  adopted,  and  he  re- 
ceived the  premium  of  $100  offered  therefor.  In 
March,  of  1861,  the  Board  of  Supervisors  asked  Hon. 
A.  L.  Rhodes  to  procure  the  passage  of  an  act  by  the 
Legislature,  authorizing  the  county  to  issue  bonds  to 
pay  for  the  building;  they  also  directed  Mr.  Goodrich 
to  prepare  working  drawings. 

The  lease  of  the  City  Hall  expired  in  1862,  and  at 
that  time  Martin  Murphy  was  finishing  his  brick 
block  on  Market  Street.  He  offered  to  rent  the  up- 
per portion  of  these  buildings  to  the  county  for  $190 
per  month,  and  finish  them  in  a  manner  suitable  for 
use  as  county  offices,  the  large  hall  at  the  corner  of 
Market  and  El  Dorado  Streets  to  be  used  as  a  court- 
room. The  county  accepted  the  offer  and  took  a  five 
years'  lease,  with  the  privilege  of  renewal.  This  was 
the  last  location  of  the  court-house  prior  to  the  con- 
struction of  the  present  building. 

Two  years  elapsed  before  anything  more  was  done 
towards  a  new  building.  During  this  time  there  grew 
up  a  sentiment  that  the  old  lot  at  the  corner  of  San 
Fernando  and  Second  Streets  was  not  a  suitable  lo- 
cation, and  the  supervisors  were  urged  to  purchase 
another  lot.  There  was  some  opposition  to  this  sug- 
gestion, and  some  heated  debates  were  had  over  it  at 
the  Board  meetings.  Two  of  the  supervisors,  Messrs. 
Quimby  and  Yates,  were  opposed  to  buying  another 
lot,  and  when  the  resolution  was  adopted  to  change 
the  location,  voted  in  the  negative,  as  they  also  did  at 
each  subsequent  stage  of  the  proceedings.  Among 
the  sites  offered  the  Board  was  the  one  now  occupied 
by  the  court-house.     It  was  owned  by  W.  H.  Hall, 


who  offered  to  sell  it  to  the  county  for  $5,000.  The 
committee  appointed  to  examine  the  title  reported 
that  they  had  had  it  examined  by  the  "best  attorneys 
in  the  city,"  and  that  it  had  been  pronounced  valid 
The  purchase  was  consummate^,  Mr.  Hall  receiving 
from  the  county  the  sum  of  $7,353  in  currency,  in  lieu 
of  the  $5,000  in  gold,  the  extra  $2,353  being  the  dif- 
ference between  gold  and  greenbacks  at  that  time. 
The  original  tract  was  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven 
and  a  half  feet  front  on  First  Street  by  two  hundred 
and  seventy-five  feet  deep;  subsequently  twelve  and  a 
half  feet  more  frontage  was  secured  from  JosiahBelden, 
and  in  1867  more  frontage  was  purchased,  the  price  of 
the  latter  being  $40  per  foot.  Adjoining  property  is 
now  rated  at  $275  per  front  foot.  Work  on  the  court- 
house was  pushed  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  on  Jan- 
uary I,  1868,  the  county  officers  took  possession. 
Originally  there  was  but  one  court-room,  the  ceiling  of 
which  extended  to  the  roof  In  1879  a  floor  was  laid 
cutting  this  apartment  into  the  two  rooms,  as  they  now 
are.  The  cost  of  the  building  was  about  $200,000. 
COUNTY  JAIL. 

The  first  county  jail  was  located  on  the  lot  occupied 
by  the  old  State  House,  and  was  erected  when  that 
building  was  used  as  a  court-house.  When  that  lot 
was  sold  to  Briggs,  the  county  reserved  the  right  to 
use  the  jail  until  a  new  one  could  be  built.  In  1854 
a  contract  was  awarded  to  Marcus  Williams  to  erect 
a  jail  on  the  last  part  of  the  lot  at  the  corner  of  Second 
and  San  Fernando  Streets.  The  price  was  to  be  $15,- 
000,  and  R.  B.  Buckner  was  appointed  a  committee  to 
superintend  the  construction.  This  jail  was  completed 
January  2,  1855.  It  was  of  brick,  with  iron  cells,  and 
was  considered  a  remarkably  secure  place  for  confin- 
ing prisoners.  It  was  used  until  1871,  and  did  good 
service.  It  was  injured  by  the  earthquake  of  1864, 
but  the  walls  were  drawn  back  to  their  places  with 
iron  rods  and  the  building  pronounced  as  good  as 
new. 

When  the  new  court-house  was  built  it  was  found 
necessary  to  have  the  county  jail  nearer  to  the  court- 
rooms, and  Levi  Goodrich  was  directed  to  prepare 
plans  for  a  new  building.  The  plans  were  submitted 
and  adopted,  and  the  architect  directed  to  proceed 
with  the  construction.  This  was  in  1870,  and  during 
the  next  year  the  jail  was  completed  and  in  use. 
The  old  jail  was  torn  down  and  the  brick  used  in  the 
new  building.  The  old  jail  lot  was  sold  for  $5,850. 
COUNTY  irosriTAL. 

The  first  organized  effort  to  care  for  the  indigent 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  ''GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


141 


sick  was  made  in  1854,  when  a  committee  from  the 
common  council  met  a  committee  from  the  Board  of 
Supervisors  and  agreed  to  act  in  concert  in  this  mat- 
ter. By  the  terms  of  this  agreement  the  county  was 
to  bear  two-thirds  of  the  expense  and  the  city  one- 
third.  All  affairs  concerning  indigent  sick  were  to  be 
managed  by  a  joint  committee,  composed  of  two 
members  of  each  Board.  The  council,  however,  re- 
fused to  confirm  the  action  of  its  committee,  alleging 
that  they  were  able  to  take  care  of  their  own  indigent 
sick.  On  this  the  supervisors  appointed  George  Peck, 
R.  G.  Moody,  and  William  Daniels  as  a  relief  com- 
mittee, or  Board  of  Health.  During  this  year  the 
county  received  $869.49  as  its  share  of  the  State  relief 
fund. 

The  next  year,  1855,  a  county  physician  was  ap- 
pointed and  the  citj-  agreed  to  pay  $50  per  month  to- 
wards maintenance  and  medical  attendance  for  indi- 
gent sick.  About  the  same  time  the  old  Levy  prop- 
erty was  rented  for  a  hospital,  the  county  paying  a 
monthly  rent  of  $40  per  month.  In  November  of 
the  same  year  the  county  advertised  for  propo.sals  for 
a  house  and  lot  for  hospital  purposes.  In  response  to 
this  call  the  Merritt  Brothers  offered  to  sell  the  old 
Sutter  House  for  $5,500.  This  house  was  situated  to 
the  northeast  of  the  city,  and  to  it  was  attached 
twenty-five  acres  of  ground.  The  proposition  was  ac- 
cepted and  the  county  occupied  the  premises  until 
February,  1856,  when,  the  owners  failing  to  make  a 
good  deed  to  the  property,  the  contract  for  the  pur- 
chase was  rescinded.  The  county  then  advertised  for 
proposals  for  taking  care  of  the  indigent  sick.  The 
first  contract  was  let  to  Dr.  G.  B.  Crane,  who  agreed 
to  maintain  the  patients  and  furnish  medical  and  sur- 
gical attendance  for  $4,600  per  year,  the  number  of 
patients  not  to  be  more  than  seven  per  day,  or,  if  in 
excess  of  that  number,  to  be  paid  for  at  that  rate. 
For  several  years  the  patients  were  farmed  out  in  this 
manner,  the  county  paying  the  contractor  from  $4,000 
to  $5,000  per  year  for  the  service. 

In  i860  the  necessity  for  a  hospital  building  be- 
came very  apparent,  and  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  select  a  site.  Many  offers  of  property  were  made, 
but  the  proposal  of  Hiram  Cahill  was  finally  ac- 
cepted. This  tract  contained  twelve  acres  of  land, 
and  was  situated  on  the  south  side  of  South  Street, 
just  west  of  the  Los  Gatos  Creek.  The  price  paid 
was  $4,000.  The  buildings  were  repaired  and  en- 
larged, and  a  pest-house  built  on  the  creek  to  the 
south.  These  premises  were  occupied  until  1871. 
Before  this  time,  however,  in  1868,  the  hospital  be- 
came   too   small    to    accommodate    all    the    patients. 


The  city  had  grown  much  larger,  and  there  was  con- 
siderable objection  to  the  location  of  the  institution 
so  near  to  the  city  limits.  An  effort  was  made  to 
secure  another  location,  but  it  was  three  years  before 
a  new  site  was  chosen.  The  Board  finally  purcha.sed, 
of  John  S.  Conner,  one  hundred  and  fourteen  acres 
of  land  where  the  infirmary  is  now  situated.  The 
price  paid  was  $12,400.  In  1875  the  contract  for  the 
building  was  awarded  to  W.  O.  Breyfogle,  for  $14,- 
633.70.  Messrs.  Lenzen  &  Gash  were  the  architects. 
Before  this,  however,  the  buildings  from  the  old 
grounds  had  been  removed  to  the  new  site,  and  the 
old  premises  cut  up  into  lots  and  sold,  netting  the 
county  $4,518.64.  In  1884  eighty-one  acres  of  the 
new  tract  were  sold  to  different  parties,  leaving  thirty- 
three  acres  in  the  present  grounds.  The  money  ac- 
cruing from  these  sales  amounted  to  $14,727.71,  being 
$2,327.71  more  than  the  cost  of  the  entire  tract. 

Up  to  1883  there  was  no  almshouse  in  Santa  Clara 
County.  Invalids  in  destitute  circumstances  were 
cared  for  at  the  county  hospital,  while  the  indigent 
who  were  not  invalids  were  cared  for  by  allowances 
by  the  Board  of  Supervisors.  These  allowances  were 
of  money,  provisions,  clothing,  fuel,  etc.,  as  each  case 
might  demand.  For  many  years  the  destitute  chil- 
dren were  cared  for  by  the  Ladies'  Benevolent  So- 
ciety, this  society  receiving  from  the  supervisors  a 
monthly  allowance  of  a  certain  amount  per  capita. 
Many  children  are  still  cared  for  in  this  manner. 
Each  supervisor  exercised  a  supervision  over  the 
destitute  of  his  respective  district,  and  all  allowances 
were  made  on  his  recommendation.  This  was  a 
vexatious  duty  for  the  Board,  and  whatever  care  was 
exercised,  impositions  were  successfully  perpetrated. 

The  expense  necessarily  incurred  by  this  system 
of  affording  relief  began  to  be  very  burdensome,  and 
in  1883  steps  were  taken  to  establish  a  county  farm. 
In  March  of  that  year  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  examine  the  matter,  and  this  committee  reported 
the  advisability  of  organizing  an  almshouse.  From 
this  time  to  the  latter  part  of  1S84  the  Board  occu- 
pied itself  in  examining  different  sites  offered  for  the 
location.  Finally  the  present  site  was  adopted,  and 
a  hundred  acres  of  land  purchased  of  James  Boyd, 
for  $25,000.  The  tract  contained  the  present  main 
building,  which  had  been  erected  some  years  pre- 
viously by  John  O'Toole,  a  former  owner,  at  an  ex- 
pense of  $21,000,  and  which  was  intended  as  a  resi- 
dence. Now  all  aid  to  destitute  persons  is  extended 
through  this  institution.  Persons  not  residents  of  the 
county  are  not  aided  at  all,  but  are  returned  to  the 
counties  where  they  belong. 


THE  first  record  that  we  have  of  the  establishment 
of  pubHc  schools  is  a  document  which  was  found 
among  the  old  archives  of  the  pueblo,  and  purporting 
to  be  a  contract,  made  in  i8li,  between  the  com- 
missioners of  the  pueblo,  on  behalf  of  the  families 
thereof,  and  Rafael  Villavicencio,  for  the  instruction 
of  all  the  children  of  the  pueblo.  Having  been  sent 
to  the  commander  at  Monterey,  it  was  returned  with 
additions  and  modifications,  and  the  document  thus 
amended  constituted  the  first  school  law  of  the  city 
of  San  Jose.  As  such,  as  well  as  on  account  of  its 
peculiarity,  it  deserves  a  place  in  this  work.  Fol- 
lowing is  the  text:  "I  return  to  you,  that  the  same 
may  be  placed  in  the  archives,  the  obligation  which 
the  inhabitants  of  the  neighborhood  have  made  with 
the  infirm  corporal,  Rafael  Villavicencio,  who  trans- 
mitted it  to  me  by  official  letter  of  the  thirtieth  of  last 
September,  in  which  he  obligated  himself  to  teach 
the  children  of  this  pueblo  and  vicinity  to  read,  write, 
and  the  doctrine,  and  to  be  paid  therefor  at  the  rate 
of  eighteen  reals  per  annum,  by  every  head  of  a 
family,  in  grain  or  flour.  As  in  this  obligation  of 
both  parties  the  conditions  are  not  expressed,  which 
I  consider  ought  to  be,  I  have  thought  proper  to 
dictate  them,  that  you  may  make  it  known  to  both 
parties  in  public,  with  their  consent,  and  that  it  be 
signed  by  you,  the  Alcalde,  Regidores,  and  the  teacher, 
and  registered  in  the  archives.  Firstly,  the  pay  of 
eighteen  reals  annually,  by  each  and  every  head  of 
a  family,  I  think  is  quite  sufficient  for  the  teacher, 
and  as  it  is  all  they  can  give,  in  virtue  of  which  the 
commissioner  will  be  obliged  to  collect  the  same  at 
the  proper  time,  in  order  to  deliver  it  to  the  teacher. 
The  teacher,  in  virtue  of  the  pay  which  is  to  be  made 
to  him,  will  also  be  obliged  to  perform  his  obligation 
with  the  greatest  vigilance  and  strictness,  without 
giving  his  attention  to  anything  else  but  the  teaching. 
As  the  hours  are  not  expressed  in  which  the  attend- 
ance of  the  children  ought  to  be  at  school,  they  will 
be  these:  six  in  a  day, — three  in  the  morning  and 
(142) 


three  in  the  afternoon ;  in  the  morning  from  eight 
o'clock  until  eleven,  and  in  the  afternoon  from  two 
until  five,  it  being  the  duty  of  the  commissioner  to 
compel  the  fathers  to  make  their  children  attend,  and 
to  see  that  the  teacher  in  no  instance  fails.  Every 
Thursday  and  Saturday  afternoon  the  children  will 
not  write  or  read,  but  explanations  will  be  given  them, 
these  two  afternoons,  of  the  doctrine  (faith),  at  which 
times  the  commissioner  will  attend,  and  advise  the 
teacher  that  he  must  answer  for  the  much  or  little 
explanation  which  he  may  make.  When  the  teacher 
observes  the  absence  of  any  of  the  scholars  at  the 
school,  he  will  notify  their  fathers,  who  will  give  some 
satisfactory  reason  why  they  were  absent  on  that 
morning  or  afternoon;  and  if  they  should  be  absent 
a  second  time,  then  he  will  notify  the  commissioner, 
who  will  compel  the  fathers  to  send  their  children, 
without  receiving  any  excuse  or  pretexts,  particularly 
from  the  mothers,  because  they  will  all  be  frivolous, 
since  the  children  have  sufficient  time  to  do  all  that 
they  are  required  to  do.  Lastly,  during  the  time  in 
which  the  children  are  at  school,  their  fathers  will  be 
exempt  from  being  responsible  to  God  for  them,  and 
the  teacher  will  be  the  one  who  is  thus  responsible; 
as  he  will,  also,  in  consideration  of  his  pay,  be  re- 
sponsible for  the  education  and  teaching  of  the  holy 
dogmas  of  the  religion;  and  the  teacher  is  he  who 
must  be  responsible  to  God,  the  parish  priest,  and  to 
their  authority. 

"It  is  also  understood  that  the  fathers  are  obliged  to 
examine  their  children  at  home,  as  to  the  advance- 
ment which  they  may  make,  and  to  complain  to  the 
commissioner  when  they  see  no  advancement,  in  order 
that  he  may  remedy  the  matter,  if  necessary.  As  the 
teacher  is  responsible  in  the  divine  presence  for  the 
education  and  good  examples  of  his  scholars,  and  as 
he  must  answer  to  the  State  for  the  fulfillment  of  his 
obligations,  he  has  the  right  to  correct  and  punish 
his  scholars,  with  advice,  warning,  and  lashes,  in  case 
of  necessity;  and  particularly  he  ought  to  do  it  for 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


143 


any  failure  to  learn  the  doctrine,  for  which  he  ought 
not  to  accept  any  excuse,  nor  to  pardon  anyone  from 
punishment  who  fails  to  learn  it,  or  who  does  not 
commit  to  memory  the  lesson  which  may  be  given 
him." 

We  have  no  informaJ:ion  as  to  how  long  the  "  infirm 
corporal "  conducted  this  school,  but  it  was  a  fair  type 
of  the  educational  system  of  the  country  up  to  the 
time  when  the  parish  schools  were  organized  under 
the  immediate  supervision  of  the  church,  and  taught 
by  the  priests.  These  teachers  were  men  of  high 
education,  and  the  curriculum  consisted  of  consid- 
erably more  than  the  "  reading  and  writing "  bar- 
gained for  with  Raphael  Villavicencio,  and  we  may 
logically  infer  that  the  spiritual  instruction  of  the 
pupils  was  on  a  correspondingly  high  plane.  At  the 
present  day  we  see  these  parish  schools  developed 
into  such  institutions  as  the  St.  Joseph's  day  school, 
and  the  Academy  of  Notre  Dame,  presided  over  by 
men  and  women  who  have  abandoned  the  world  for 
the  purpose  of  devoting  their  lives  to  this  noble  work. 

The  first  Protestant  school  of  which  we  have  any 
record  was  opened  by  Rev.  E.  Bannister  in  185 1,  and 
was  called  the  San  Jose  Academy.  In  it  were 
taught  not  only  the  English  branches,  but  the  classics. 
At  first  it  was  a  private  enterprise,  but  in  the  same 
year  it  was  incorporated,  having  a  Board  of  nine 
trustees. 

In  1853  a  school  for  young  ladies,  called  the  Bas- 
com  Institute,  was  opened.  It  was  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the  Pacific  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  and  was  managed  by  nine  trustees. 
Mrs.  R.  C.  Hammond  was  the  first  principal.  She 
was  succeeded  by  Samuel  Lea  as  principal,  with  Orrin 
Hinds  as  assistant,  and  the  institution  continued  pros- 
perously until  October,  1859. 

The  first  common  school  was  organized  by  a  com- 
mittee of  citizens  in  March,  1853,  and  was  taught  by 
Rev.  Horace  Richardson.  In  June  of  the  same  year 
the  committee  opened  another  school  in  the  Baptist 
Church  and  employed  Orrin  Hinds  as  teacher. 

Of  those  whom  the  discovery  of  gold  brought  to 
this  coast,  a  large  proportion  were  men  of  liberal  edu- 
cation, many  of  them  collegians  and  fitted  to  take 
the  highest  rank  in  the  various  professions.  By  rea- 
son of  their  intelligence  and  mental  culture,  these 
men  were  put  to  the  front  in  public  affairs.  They 
determined  that  the  new  State  should  have  every 
facility  for  popular  education  that  could  be  afforded. 
Legislation  on  this  subject  commenced  early  and 
was  characterized  by  a  spirit  of  liberality,  which  was 


met  with  enthusiasm  by  the  people  at  large.  As  a 
result  of  this  legislation  this  county  was,  in  1855,  di- 
vided into  sixteen  school  districts.  Having  a  large 
number  of  educnted  men  to  draw  on  for  a  supply  of 
teachers,  the  schools  became  wonderfully  efficient 
from  the  start.  The  liberal  salaries  paid  teachers  at- 
tracted the  best  educational  talent  from  the  older 
States,  and,  almost  from  the  very  beginning,  the  com- 
mon schools  of  California  took  rank  with  the  very  best 
in  the  Union.  Especially  was  this  the  case  in  Santa 
Clara  County,  where  the  liberal  appropriations  of  the 
State  were  supplemented  by  equally  liberal  ones  from 
the  county  funds,  which  enabled  these  schools  to  be 
at  once  placed  in  a  most  effective  condition.  The 
school  statistics  for  1888  show  that  Santa  Clara 
County  has  seventy-three  school  districts,  with  one 
hundred  and  seventy-four  teachers;  that  there  are 
eleven  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty-nine  school 
children  between  the  ages  of  five  and  seventeen  years, 
and  that  there  are  eighty  public  school  buildings, 
erected  at  an  average  cost  of  about  $5,000  each.  The 
public  school  property  is  estimated  at  $436,072;  the 
school  libraries  contain  seventeen  thousand  one  hun- 
dred and  seventeen  volumes,  valued  at  $25,178.  The 
schools  are  graded  from  primary  departments  to  the 
High  School,  and  the  course  of  study  includes  all 
branches  necessary  to  enable  the  pupil  to  matriculate 
at  the  State  University. 

The  city  now  owns  the  following  principal  school 
buildings: — 

Santa  Clara  Street  School,  containing  eight  rooms 
and  assembly  hall;  built  in  1867,  at  a  cost  of  $22,000. 

Reed  Street,  or  Third  Ward  School,  eight  rooms 
and  assembly  hall;  built  1870;  cost  $16,000. 

Fourth  Ward  School,  eight  rooms  and  assembly 
hall;  built  1874;  cost  $18,000. 

First  Ward  School,  eight  rooms  and  assembly  hall; 
built  1875;  cost  $20,000. 

Second  Ward,  or  Empire  Street  School,  eight  rooms 
and  assembly  hall;  built  1877;  cost  $19,000. 

There  are  several  smaller  buildings  at  convenient 
points  in  the  city,  while  another  large  house  to  cost 
$20,000  is  about  to  be  erected. 

THE  STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL 

Was  established  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  May  2, 
1862.  It  opened  its  doors  with  thirty-one  pupils.  It 
was  located  in  San  Francisco,  where  it  occupied  rooms 
in  the  public-school  buildings  of  that  city,  first  of  the 
San  Francisco  High  School,  then  rented  rooms  on 
Post  Street,  and  afterwards  at  the  Lii.coln  Grammar 


144 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


School.  Its  usefulness  in  providing  efficient  teachers 
for  the  public  schools  of  the  State  was  soon  recognized, 
and  in  1870  an  appropriation  was  made  for  the  erec- 
tion of  suitable  buildings.  One  of  the  most  memo- 
rable battles  ever  witnessed  in  the  legislation  of  the 
State,  occurred  on  the  question  of  selecting  a  location 
for  this  institution.  Nearly  every  county  in  the  State 
offered  a  site,  and  some  of  them  large  subsidies  in 
money.  San  Jose  offered  to  give  Washington  Square, 
containing  twenty-eight  acres,  for  the  use  of  the 
State,  and  this  offer  was  accepted.  A  large  and  mag- 
nificent wooden  building  was  erected  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  architect,  Mr.  Theo.  Lenzen.  This  build- 
ing, with  all  of  its  contents, including  furniture,  maps, 
charts,  library,  apparatus,  and  museum,  was  burned  to 
the  ground,  February  11,  1880.  The  Legislature  was 
then  in  session  and  a  bill  was  immediately  introduced 
into  that  body  for  an  appropriation  to  rebuild,  the 
school  in  the  meantime  occupying  rooms  in  the  High 
School  building. 

An  effort  was  made  to  change  the  location  of  the 
institution,  and  the  fight  of  1870  again  came  on  with 
renewed  vigor.  But  San  Jose  was  again  successful, 
and  an  appropriation  was  made  with  which  the  pres- 
ent magnificent  building  was  erected.  The  number 
of  students  for  the  year  1887-88  was  five  hundred 
and  ninety-seven;  there  were  sixty-one  in  the  gradu- 
ating class. 

SANTA  CLARA  COLLEGE. 

This  institution  is  in  the  town  of  Santa  Clara, 
near  the  old  Mission  Church,  which  is  included  in  the 
grounds.  It  is  a  Catholic  school,  established  by  the 
Jesuits,  through  Father  Nobili,  in  1851,  but  was  not 
incorporated  and  empowered  to  confer  degrees  until 
1855.  Since  that  time  its  career  has  been  one  of  prog- 
ress in  all  the  branches  of  a  liberal  Christian  educa- 
tion. Many  of  the  most  prominent  men  of  the  State 
claim  her  as  tr///ia  iiiatcr.  The  best  educators  of  the 
famous  Society  of  Jesus  have  occupied  chairs  in  the 
faculty  and  have  administered  the  affairs  of  the  in- 
stitution in  a  manner  that  has  given  the  Santa  Clara 
College  a  world-wide  reputation.  Its  curriculum  does 
not  stop  with  the  ordinary  college  course,  but  em- 
braces the  learned  professions  as  well.  When  the  hills 
and  gulches  of  California  were  full  of  prospectors  for 
the  precious  metals,  the  opinions  of  the  Department 
of  Metallurgy  were  sought  for  as  absolute  authority, 
while  in  the  Departments  of  Agriculture  and  Horti- 
culture it  has  rendered  equally  valuable  service  to 
the  State.  Students  from  the  Old  World  seek  its 
academic  shades  to   perfect   themselves  in  specialties, 


while  its  halls  are  filled  with  young  men  of  all  classes 
and  creeds.  It  stands  on  a  historic  spot,  surrounded 
with  the  traditions  of  the  days  when  the  little  band 
of  devoted  priests  planted  the  banners  of  the  church 
in  this  lovely  valley,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  our 
present  greatness.  The  original  cross,  erected  in  1 877, 
still  stands  before  its  portals. 

COLLEGE  OF  NOTRE  DAME. 
The  massive  buildings  and  beautiful  grounds  of  the 
College  of  Notre  Dame,  standing  in  the  heart  of  the 
populous  city  of  San  Jose,  in  no  way  indicate  the 
small  beginning  from  which  they  sprung.  In  1844 
a  band  of  devoted  Sisters  established  a  mission 
school  in  the  Willamette  Valley,  in  Oregon.  In  185 1 
other  Sisters  of  the  Order  started  from  Cincinnati  to 
join  in  the  work  on  the  Willamette.  They  were  to 
come  by  way  of  the  Isthmus,  and  Sister  Loyola  of 
Nouvain,  and  Sister  Mary  of  Nismes,  came  down 
from  Oregon  to  San  Francisco  to  meet  them.  Finding 
that  they  would  be  compelled  to  wait  some  time  for 
the  arrival  of  the  vessel  from  Panama,  these  Sisters 
accepted  the  hospitality  of  Mr.  Martin  Murphy,  and 
became  his  guests  at  his  ranch  near  Mountain  View. 
They  looked  through  the  valley  and  were  charmed 
with  its  natural  beauties  and  advantages.  At  this 
time  Father  Nobili  was  laying  the  foundations  of 
Santa  Clara  College.  He  suggested  that  the  Sisters 
should  establish  an  educational  institution  here,  and 
these  suggestions  were  supplemented  by  the  urgent 
entreaties  of  Mr.  Murphy  and  other  citizens.  The 
Sisters  were  easily  persuaded.  They  chose  the 
present  site  for  their  buildings,  purchasing  at  first  a 
tract  of  ground  10134X137I  feet.  There  was  no 
Santa  Clara  Street  then,  and  no  improvements  near 
them.  San  Jose  had  but  twenty-six  houses,  and  they 
were  nearly  all  on  Market  Street,  or  further  east. 
The  ground  was  grown  up  with  mustard  and  weeds, 
through  which  an  acequia,  or  water-ditch,  flowed  slug- 
gishly. The  only  improvements  were  three  adobe 
walls  with  a  tile  roof  Whether  or  not  the  Sisters 
knew  it  at  the  time,  they  made  a  very  shrewd  selec- 
tion, the  old  mustard  patch  having  become  immensely 
valuable.  Having  made  their  choice  of  location, 
they  did  not  delay  their  work.  Mr.  Goodrich,  the 
architect,  was  employed,  and  by  August  their  school 
was  in  operation.  From  this  small  beginning  has 
risen  one  of  the  grandest  educational  institutions  in 
the  Union.  The  foundations  of  the  present  main 
building  were  laid  in  1854,  and  the  Sisters  have  added 
buildings  from  year  to  year,  until  they  have  reached 
their  present  dimensions. 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD: 


145 


UNIVERSITY  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 
This  institution  was  established  in  1851,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  For 
the  first  few  years  of  its  existence  it  had  a  hard  strug- 
gle for  life.  It  occupied  buildings  in  the  town  of 
Santa  Clara,  working,  watching,  and  waiting  for  a  re- 
ward for  its  labors.  In  1S66  the  tract  of  land  on  the 
Alameda,  known  as  the  University  tract,  was  subdi- 
vided into  lots,  with  a  site  for  the  University  reserved 
in  the  center.  In  1871  the  first  building  was  com- 
pleted and  the  University  established  in  its  perma- 
nent home.  The  expense  of  the  building  absorbed 
all  the  funds,  and  the  question  of  meeting  current  ex- 
penses and  maintaining  the  efficiency  of  the  institu- 
tion was  a  nightmare  that  continually  haunted  the 
trustees.  In  1872,  at  the  General  Conference  held  in 
San  Jose,  a  desperate  effort  was  made  for  salvation. 
Eloquent  appeals  were  made  to  the  members  of  the 
Conference,  and  to  the  lay  brethren,  and  to  the  friends 
of  education  generally.  The  result  was  that  different 
sums  were  pledged  by  individuals,  sufficient  in  the 
aggregate  to  make  up  a  respectable  endowment. 
With  this  the  institution  took  a  new  lease  of  life  and 
has  prospered  ever  since.  A  new  building,  to  be  used 
as  a  boarding-house,  was  soon  erected,  and  this  was 
followed  with  other  and  more  pretentious  improve- 
ments. The  first  college  class  graduated  from  a 
classical  course  in  the  State  of  California  was  sent 
out  from  this  institution  in  1858.  Hon.  Thomas  H. 
Laine,  of  San  Jose,  was  a  member  of  this  class.  The 
college  course  is  open  to  males  and  females  alike. 
The  curriculum  is  complete,  and  the  high  position  in 
the  various  walks  of  life  taken  by  its  alumni  fully 
demonstrates  the  thoroughness  of  its  discipline. 

GARDEN   crry   business  college  and  academy. 

Prof  H.  B.  Worcester,  proprietor  of  the  Garden 
City  Business  College  and  Academy,  came  to  San 
Jose  in  the  fall  of  1876,  and  took  charge  of  the  Busi- 
ness College  Department  of  the  San  Jose  Institute 
for  one  term;  and  in  January,  1877,  opened  a  school 
for  instruction  in  book-keeping,  and  for  business  train- 
ing, in  his  own  private  parlors.  Eight  years  before,  in 
1869,  Prof  James  Vinsouhaler  established  a  commer- 
cial college  in  San  Jose,  which  he  conducted  success- 
fully until  his  death,  in  the  spring  of  1876.  The 
business  college  was  then  connected  with  the  Insti- 
tute, changing  the  name  to  Institute  Business  Col- 
lege. But  the  combination  proved  unsuccessful,  and 
the  school  soon  went  down.  After  the  collapse  of  the 
institute,  Professor  Worcester  leased  its  building  on 
19 


First  and  Devine  Streets,  in  which  he  carried  on  his 
young  and  growing  school  till  near  the  close  of  1878. 
He  then  leased  the  hall  in  the  Farmers'  Union  Build- 
ing, corner  of  Santa  Clara  and  San  Pedro  Streets, 
and  removed  his  school  to  it.  There  was  at  first  con- 
siderable unoccupied  room  in  the  large  hall,  forty  by 
eighty  feet  in  area,  but  under  the  professor's  able  man- 
agement it  .soon  grew  to  the  full  capacity  of  the  hall. 
Still  thinking  to  improve  and  enlarge  the  facilities  of 
the  college.  Professor  Worcester  leased  the  still  more 
commodious  quarters  the  college  now  occupies,  known 
as  Commercial  Hall,  at  59  South  Market  Street. 
The  room  is  one  hundred  feet  square,  and  is  divided 
into  a  lecture-room,  school-room,  recitation-rooms  and 
office.  It  is  admirably  lighted  and  in  every  way  well 
adapted  for  the  purpose,  and  is  fitted  up  and  fur- 
nished with  all  the  furniture  and  appliances  of  a  first- 
class  commercial  college,  including  desks  and  sittings 
for  a  hundred  students.  The  attendance  during  the 
school  year  numbers  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to 
two  hundred.  The  business  course  embraces  book- 
keeping, penmanship,  arithmetic,  business  paper,  com- 
mercial law,  business  correspondence,  business  prac- 
tice, lectures,  and  reading.  The  academic  course  in- 
cludes such  studies  and  instruction  as  will  fit  the 
pupils  to  enter  any  of  the  literary  colleges  or  universi- 
ties. Many  of  the  graduates  from  the  Garden  City 
Business  College  are  filling  prominent  positions  in 
banks  and  other  large  business  establishments. 

After  obtaining  his  early  education,  Professor  Wor- 
cester enlisted  in  the  U  S.  Army,  from  which  he  was 
discharged  at  the  end  of  two  years' service  on  account 
of  ill  health.  He  took  a  course  in  Bryant  &  Strat- 
tan's  Business  College,  and  entered  upon  a  career  of 
twelve  years  of  practical  business  life,  at  the  end  of 
which  he  was  tendered  the  principalship  of  the  Aurora 
Business  College,  in  Aurora,  Illinois.  He  filled  this 
position  from  1873  till  1875,  when  he  resigned  to  come 
to  California,  to  recover  his  wife's  failing  health.  As 
an  instructor  in  the  school-room  Professor  Worcester 
has  few  equals.  His  methods  are  original,  and  his 
power  to  present  facts  and  impart  knowledge  to  the 
receptive  mind,  is  peculiarly  striking  and  impressive. 

LELAND    STANFORD,  JR.,    UNIVERSITY. 

In  1884  Senator  Leland  Stanford  announced  his 
intention  of  founding  an  institution  of  learning,  as  a 
monument  to  the  memory  of  his  deceased  son,  and  to 
endow  it  with  property  valued,  at  that  time,  at  $10,- 
000,000.  The  location  selected  for  this  great  univer- 
sity was  the  famous  Palo  Alto  Rancho,  in  tlic  northern 


146 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF   THE    WORLD." 


part  of  Santa  Clara  County.  It  was  to  be  as  com- 
plete in  its  scope  as  any  of  the  noted  universities  of 
the  Old  World,  with  the  modern  idea  of  a  thorough 
technical  education  in  all  the  departments  of  art,  me- 
chanics, agriculture,  and  horticulture.  This  idea  was 
elaborated  by  consultation  with  eminent  men,  and  on 
the  twenty-first  day  of  May,  1887,  the  corner-stone  of 
the  great  institution  was  laid  in  the  presence  of  the 
prominent  men  of  the  State.  In  the  meantime  the 
value    of  the  property,  constituting    the    endowment. 


had  increased  to  nearly  double  the  first  estimate,  and, 
with  the  rapid  growth  of  the  State,  will  be  worth  over 
$20,000,000  by  the  time  the  university  is  ready  to  re- 
ceive students.  With  this  magnificent  fund  there  will 
be  no  limit  to  the  usefulness  of  the  institution.  It  is 
not  the  province  of  this  work  to  describe  the  buildings, 
which  are  of  the  most  substantial  character,  and  will 
endure  when  this  book  is  forgotten.  The  work  is  being 
pushed  rapidly  forward  by  skilled  workmen. 


^^^^^ 


CITY  GOVEHMMENT. 


h^^^^^^ 


CITY   OF   SAN   JOSE. 

IT  was  two  years  after  the  close  of  the  war  with 
Mexico  and  the  cession  of  Alta  California,  before 
the  city  of  San  Jose  had  a  government  under  the 
American  system.  Up  to  that  time  the  Alcalde  had 
been  the  chief  executive  officer,  and  the  Ayuntamiento, 
or  Town  Council,  had  been  the  legislative  body  for  the 
pueblo.  This  was  the  Spanish  method,  and  had  been 
continued  by  the  Americans,  who  retained  the  system, 
but  selected  their  own  countrymen  for  Alcalde  and 
members  of  the  Ayuntamiento. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  city  of  San  Jose  was 
passed  by  the  Legislature  March  27,  1850,  by  which 
it  was  directed  that  the  city  government  should  con- 
sist of  a  mayor  and  seven  councilmen,  who  were 
designated  a  "  body  politic  and  corporate,"  under 
the  name  of  "The  Mayor  and  Common  Council  of 
the  City  of  San  Jose."  This  name  is  still  retained, 
notwithstanding  all  the  changes  that  have  been  made 
in  the  charter  since  that  time.  By  this  act  the  city 
limits  were  fixed  as  follows:  "  Beginning  on  the  east 
bank  of  the  Coyote  River,  two  miles  south  of  the 
center  of  Washington  Square,  in  the  pueblo  of  San 
Jose,  and  running  due  west  to  the  west  bank  of  the 
San  Jose  River  (Guadaloupe);  thence  following  down 
the  bank  of  said  river  to  a  point  four  miles  distant 
in  a  straight  line;  thence  due  east  to  the  east  bank  of 
the  Coyote  River;  thence  up  the  bank  of  said  river 
to  the  place  of  beginning."  The  act  also  provided 
that  an  election  for  city  officers  should  be  held 
on  the  second  Monday  of  April,  and  in  each  year 
thereafter.  The  election  resulted  in  the  choice  of 
Josiah  Belden  as  mayor,  and  F.  B.  Clement,  Benj. 
Cory,  James  D.  Curl,  John  H.  Garrison,  Peter 
Shereback,  Julian  Hanks,  and  William  Foster,  as 
councilmen. 

The  first  building  used  as  a  City  Hall  was  the  old 
juzgado,  but  in  1S50  this  building  was  torn  down  and 
the  seat  of  city  government  was  located  in  an  adobe 


building  on  what  is  now  Lightston  Alley,  where  it 
remained  until  the  City  Hall  on  Market  Street  was 
completed,  in  1855. 

The  first  city  tax  was  levied  July  1 1,  1850,  and  was 
one  per  cent  on  the  assessed  value  of  all  property. 

The  first  council  voted  themselves  pay  at  the  rate 
of  sixteen  dollars  per  day,  against  the  protest  of  Benj. 
Cory.  This  pay  ordinance  was  repealed  in  December 
of  the  same  year.  Dr.  Cory  presenting  the  motion  for 
repeal,  in  which  he  was  sustained  by  the  almost  unan- 
imous sentiment  of  the  people,  and  a  bare  majority 
of  the  common  council. 

The  first  order  looking  to  the  improvement  of 
streets  was  on  December  2,  1850,  which  provided  for 
sidewalks  on  First  Street,  from  the  north  end  of  the 
City  Hotel  to  San  Fernando  Street;  on  Santa  Clara 
Street,  from  First  to  Market;  on  Market,  from  Santa 
Clara  to  San  Fernando;  on  the  south  side  of  San 
Fernando,  from  Market  to  First;  on  San  Jose  Street, 
from  south  end  of  the  legislative  hall  to  San  Fernando 
Street.  These  sidewalks  were  to  be  of  "the  best  inch- 
and-quarter  pine,  red  or  fir  wood,  with  well-made 
gravel  crossings,  and  of  five  feet  in  width;"  one-half 
the  expense  to  be  borne  by  the  property  owners. 

The  income  of  the  city  for  the  first  year  of  its  in- 
corporation was  $37,359.30,  and  its  expenditures 
amounted  to  $37,106.04.  The  expenses  included  a 
debt  of  $7,500  handed  down  to  it  from  the  Ayunta- 
miento of  the  previous  year. 

There  was  considerable  difficulty  in  straightening 
out  the  complications  arising  from  the  purchase  of  the 
property  known  as  the  State  House,  as  related  in  a 
previous  chapter.  The  city,  having  purchased  it  from 
the  trustees,  Aram,  Belden,  and  Reed,  had  it  on  hands 
when  the  capital  was  removed  from  San  Jose.  Soon 
after  that  event,  the  city  sold  it  to  the  county  for  the 
location  of  county  buildings.  The  trustees,  not  hav- 
ing been  paid,  asserted  a  claim,  and  there  were  also 
filed    on    the    building    mechanics'    liens    to   a    large 

(147) 


148 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD:' 


amount.  The  title  was  sought  to  be  clouded  in  all 
directions,  and  was  so  tangled  up  that  it  was  not  until 
1853  that  the  sale  to  the  county  was  fully  completed. 
There  seemed  to  have  been  an  understanding  that  the 
money  received  from  the  county  should  be  paid  to  the 
trustees,  Messrs.  Aram,  Belden,  and  Reed,  but  this 
was  not  done;  hence  the  litigation  related  in  our 
chapter  on  land  titles. 

The  city  was  divided  into  four  wards  in  April,  1853, 
and  a  fire  warden  appointed  for  each  ward.  An  ap- 
propriation of  $2,000  for  fire  apparatus  was  also 
made. 

In  1855  the  office  of  captain  of  police  was  created, 
and  delegates  to  the  Fire  Department  were  also  pro- 
vided for. 

April  16,  1855,  the  mayor  and  common  council 
held  its  first  session  in  the  new  City  Hall,  on  Market 
Street. 

In  the  earlier  years  of  the  city's  existence  it  was 
compelled  to  struggle  with  a  large  debt,  which,  be- 
ginning with  the  burden  imposed  by  the  preparations 
for  the  first  Legislature  (a  legacy  from  the  old  Ayun- 
tamiento),  increased  from  year  to  year.  The  high 
prices  of  materials  and  labor  rendered  any  kind  of 
public  improvements  a  costly  undertaking,  while  the 
small  amount  of  taxable  property  gave  an  income 
much  too  small  for  the  necessities  of  the  young  mu- 
nicipality. Warrants  on  the  city  treasury  were  not 
paid,  for  want  of  funds,  and  as  each  year's  tax  was  col- 
lected disputes  arose  as  to  whether  it  should  be  ap- 
plied to  the  whole  floating  debt  pro  rata,  or  each 
warrant  paid  in  full  in  order  of  its  issuance.  How- 
ever this  question  might  be  decided,  it  was  sure  to 
give  dissatisfaction  to  a  large  number  of  citizens. 
Added  to  this  was  the  more  serious  trouble  of  provid- 
ing for  the  absolute  wants  of  the  city.  People  would 
neither  furnish  materials  nor  perform  labor  for  city 
warrants  without  adding  to  the  current  prices  a  sum 
sufficient  to  cover  interest  for  an  indefinite  time.  As 
the  usual  rate  of  interest  in  tho.e  days  was  three  per 
cent  per  month,  the  debt  increased  with  race-horse 
speed,  while  the  income  came  in  halting  at  a  snail's 
pace.  Finally,  in  1856,  the  Legislature  passed  an  act 
authorizing  the  city  to  fund  its  floating  debt  by  the 
issuance  of  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $40,000,  to  bear 
interest  at  the  rate  of  twelve  per  cent  per  annum. 
To  perform  this  work  the  mayor,  president  of  the 
council,  and  city  treasurer  were  constituted  a  "Board 
of  Commissioners  of  the  Funded  Debt  of  the  City  of 
San  Jose."  The  existence  of  Ihis  Board  was  limited 
to  the  following  July.     They  issued   a  portion  of  the 


bonds  provided  for,  which  gavea  temporary  relief;  but 
in  1858  the  city  was  again  in  financial  straits,  and  the 
Legislature  again  came  to  its  aid.  By  an  act  passed 
in  that  year  it  revived  the  Board  of  Fund  Commis- 
sioners, appointing  on  the  Board  Wm.  Daniels,  Thos. 
Fallon,  and  James  C.  Cobb,  vacancies  to  be  filled  by 
appointment  by  the  city  trustees.  The  new  Board 
was  authorized  to  issue  bonds  enough  to  cover  the 
full  amount  of  $40,000  provided  by  the  former  act, 
and,  to  assist  in  the  payment  of  these  bonds,  the  city 
trustees  were  authorized  to  convey  to  these  commis- 
sioners all  the  city's  right  and  title  to  the  pueblo  lands 
and  other  property.  The  bonds  were  to  be  paid  by 
1866.  It  was  under  this  act  that  the  proceedings  were 
had  which  are  related  in  our  chapter  on  land  titles,  and 
which  resulted  in  the  confirmation  to  the  city  of  the 
large  body  of  pueblo  lands,  and  which  enabled  the 
commissioners  to  extinguish  the  entire  indebtedness 
of  the  city.  This  latter  event  was  accomplished  in 
1865.  This  financial  experience  of  the  city  was  the 
cause  of  incorporating  in  one  of  the  early  charters  a 
provision  to  the  eff"ect  that  the  common  council  should 
create  no  debt  upon  the  credit  of  the  city.  For  more 
than  twenty-two  years  this  proposition  was  adhered 
to,  and  San  Jose  was  the  only  city  of  its  class  in  the 
Union  that  had  no  debt  of  any  kind  whatever. 

A  public  meeting  of  citiz  .'ns  was  held  January  24, 
1857,  to  take  measures  towards  reconstructing  the 
city  charter.  It  was  declared  the  opinion  of  the  meet- 
ing that  the  old  charter  should  be  abolished.  A  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  draft  a  new  charter.  At  a 
subsequent  meeting  Wm.  Matthews  presented  amend- 
ments to  the  old  charter,  which  were  adopted.  An 
act  embodying  these  amendments  was  passed  by  the 
Legislature,  but  vetoed  by  the  Governor;  but,  March 
27,  another  act  was  passed,  which  the  Governor 
signed,  and  the  new  charter  was  accomplished.  Un- 
der the  new  system,  the  government  of  the  city  was 
vested  in  five  trustees,  a  treasurer,  a  clerk  and  asses- 
sors, and  a  collector. 

An  ordinance  authorizing  Geo.  Wheeler  and  John 
Ashley  to  lay  gas-pipes  in  the  streets  was  passed 
January  11,  1858.  Nothing  ever  came  of  this  enter- 
prise. 

In  July,  i860,  James  Hagan  secured  a  franchise 
from  the  city  for  this  purpose.  On  the  twenty-first 
day  of  January,  i86i,the  first  lights  were  given.  This 
is  the  origin  of  the  present  San  Jose  Gas  Company. 
There  were  then  only  ei:_;hty-four  consumers  and 
seven  street  lights.  The  consumption  of  gas  for  the 
first  year  was  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  thousand 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN   OF  THE    WORLD.' 


149 


cubic  feet,  which  consumed  three  thousand  six  hun- 
dred and  fifty  tons  of  coal  in  its  manufacture. 

Oak  Hill  Cemetery  has  been  the  burying-ground  for 
the  city  since  its  incorporation,  as  it  had  been  for  the 
pueblo  for  some  years  prior  to  that  time.  In  1858 
an  ordinance  was  passed  fixing  rates  at  which  the 
burial  lots  should  be  sold,  and  prescribing  rules  for 
the  government  of  the  cemetery.  Adjacent  property 
has  been  acquired  from  time  to  time. 

Jasper  D.  Gunn,  who  had  for  five  years  been  city 
marshal,  absconded,  having  embezzled  $2,700  of  the 
city's  money.  Gunn  was  tried  and  acquitted  of  the 
criminal  charge,  but  his  bondsmen  were  sued  by  the 
cit)'  and  judgment  obtained  against  them. 

In  Burton's  apportionment  of  pueblo  lands,  certain 
lots  had  been  reserved  for  school  purposes.  These 
lots  had  been  assessed  for  taxation,  and  had  been 
sold,  for  non-payment  of  taxes,  to  private  persons. 
In  1863  the  common  council  concluded  that  all  these 
sales  were  illegal,  and  sought  to  recover  the  lots.  To 
this  end  it  employed  W.  T.  Wallace  to  bring  suits 
in  ejectment  against  those  in  possession,  the  fee  to 
be  $8,000.  Immediately  after  this  contract  was  made, 
the  regular  city  election  came  on,  and  a  new  council 
was  elected.  The  mayor  in  his  message  said:  "The 
tenure  by  which  these  lots  and  land  are  held  is  known 
to  you  all.  It  is  known  that  the  city  did  adopt  pre- 
liminary measures  to  set  apart  this  land  for  school 
purposes;  but  it  is  further  known  that  all  the  acts  of 
our  city  government,  from  that  time  up  to  the  action 
of  our  late  council,  have  been  of  such  a  character  as 
to  afford  the  most  undoubted  evidence  that  it  did 
not  consider  that  'setting  apart'  of  said  lots  and 
land  as  legal  or  morally  binding  upon  itself;  hence 
they  had  taxed  them,  and  caused  them  to  be  sold  for 
the  payment  of  taxes.  The  common  council  and 
the  commissioners  of  the  Funded  Debt  have  sold, 
and  by  deed  vested  individuals  with  full  ownership 
of,  a  large  part  of  this  land,  and,  so  far  as  plighted 
faith  and  the  sacredness  of  moral  obligations  can  be 
binding  upon  a  municipality  like  ours,  the  individual 
rights  to  this  land  and  these  lots  thus  derived,  vested, 
and  secured,  ought  to  be  held  forever  undoubted  and 
inviolate."  The  council  was  of  the  same  opinion,  and 
canceled  the  contract  with  Wallace.  He  brought 
suit  against  the  city  to  recover  his  fee.  He  secured 
a  judgment  in  the  Third  District  Court,  but  the  city 
appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court,  which  reversed  this 
judgment,  and  the  plaintiff  recovered  nothing. 

Donald  McKenzie  was  granted  permission,  in  May, 
1864,  to  lay  water-pipes   in   the   streets  of  the  city. 


This  was  the  beginning  of  the  San  Jose  Water  Com- 
pany. 

In  1866  Washington  and  St.  James'  Squares  were 
fenced,  and  Market  Plaza  graded.  The  latter  square 
was  afterward  finely  improved,  but  the  location  of 
Chinatown,  on  San  Jose  Street,  prevented  its  being 
a  popular  resort. 

In  1879  an  act  was  passed  by  the  Legislature 
authorizing  the  city  to  open  Market  Street  through 
the  plaza,  and  close  San  Jose  and  Guadaloupe  Streets, 
and  sell  the  vacant  lands  adjoining  Market  Street 
as  opened.  There  was  so  much  opposition  to  this 
that  the  street  commis  ioner  saw  fit  to  accomplish 
his  work  in  the  dark.  The  people  awoke  one  morn- 
ing to  find  the  trees  and  shrubbery  in  the  line  of  the 
street  cut  down  and  destroyed.  The  square  reinained 
in  a  dilapidated  condition  for  several  years.  Finally 
the  street  was  improved,  but  none  of  the  adjoining 
lots  were  sold.  It  was  selected,  after  the  burning  of 
Chinatown,  in  1887,  as  the  site  for  the  new  City  Hall. 
The  heirs  of  Antonio  Maria  Pico  have,  from  time  to 
time,  claimed  this  property  on  the  ground  that  it  was 
granted  to  the  pueblo  by  their  ancestor  to  be  used 
as  a  plaza,  and  was  forfeited  when  that  use  ceased. 
The  claim  of  the  Pico  heirs  has  never  caused  any 
uneasiness  in  regard  to  the  title  to  the  square. 

Some  spasmodic  attempts  were  made  toward  the 
improvement  of  Washington  Square,  but,  besides 
inclosing  it  with  a  wooden  fence,  in  1866,  planting  a 
few  trees  and  making  a  circular  drive  in  1869,  nothing 
of  moment  was  accomplished.  In  1871  it  was  granted 
to  the  State  as  a  site  for  the  Normal  School,  and  has 
been  under  that  jurisdiction  ever  since. 

The  improvement  of  St.  James'  Square  was  more 
vigorously  pressed.  In  1869,  some  of  the  trees  hav- 
ing been  planted  two  years  previously,  a  systematic 
system  was  adopted.  The  grounds  were  laid  out 
into  walks,  grass  was  planted,  and  a  superintendent 
was  employed.  This  system  was  modified  and  im- 
proved in  the  winter  of  1887-88,  when  it  was  brought 
to  its  present  beautiful  condition. 

In  a  work  of  this  character  it  would  be  neither 
profitable  nor  interesting  to  record,  in  detail,  all  the 
work  of  the  city  government  during  its  existence. 
The  city  records  are  sufficiently  full  and  explicit  to 
afford  all  necessary  information  in  this  regard.  While 
it  was  considered  a  remarkably  good  thing  to  be  able 
to  say  that  the  city  owed  no  one  a  penny,  the  clause 
in  the  charter  forbidding  the  council  to  create  any 
debt  often  became  a  cause  of  embarrassment  to  the 
city    government.     The    rapid    growth    of    the   city 


150 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


created  a  demand  for  extraordinary  expenses,  which 
could  not  be  made  without  a  large  increase  in  the 
rate  of  taxation.  The  channels  of  the  streams  needed 
to  be  improved,  so  as  to  prevent  overflow.  A  system 
of  sewerage  was  necessary,  and  there  was  a  rapidly 
growing  demand  for  increased  school  facilities.  A 
tax  sufficient  to  meet  these  requirements  would  have 
been  a  burden  against  which  the  people  would  have 
protested.  An  attempt  was  made  in  1874  to  break 
over  the  rule  prescribed  in  the  charter.  A  resolution 
was  adopted  by  the  council,  directing  the  drafting  of 
a  bill  to  be  presented  to  the  Legislature,  authorizing 
the  city  to  issue  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $40,000,  the 
proceeds  to  be  used  for  the  building  of  school-houses. 
The  bonds  were  to  run  twenty  years,  and  bear  eight 
per  cent  interest.  Nothing  further  was  done  in  the 
matter,  however,  and  it  rested  until  1880.  At  the 
city  election  held  that  year  the  matter  of  issuing 
bonds  was  submitted  to  the  people,  in  connection 
with  other  propositions.  These  propositions  and  the 
result  of  the  vote  are  as  follows:  To  incur  a  debt  to 
build  the  new  City  Hall — for,  842;  against,  1,096. 
To  open  Second  Street  through  St.  James'  Square — 
for,  192;  against,  1,649.  To  establish  a  free  public 
library — for,  1,232;  against,  605. 

This  disposed  of  the  question  of  a  city  debt  for 
another  six  years.  In  1886  a  proposition  was  sub- 
mitted to  the  people  at  a  special  election,  asking  for 
the  issuance  of  bonds  for  the  following  purposes: — 

Public  sewers $150,000 

A  new  city  hall 100,000 

Iron  bridges 25,000 

Improvement  of  squares 7>500 

Improvement  of  streets I7i50° 

Total $300,000 

It  required  a  two-thirds  vote  to  carry  any  of  these 
propositions,  and  they  were  all  lost.  Within  twelve 
months,  however,  the  people  experienced  a  change  of 
heart.  The  great  tide  of  immigration  that  was  flow- 
ng  into  the  southern  country  had  attracted  the  at- 
tention of  the  San  Jose  Board  of  Trade,  which  was 
making  strenuous  efforts  to  turn  the  stream  in  this 
direction.  Another  effort  was  made  to  bring  up  the 
improvements  of  the  city.  Public  meetings  were 
held,  and  the  common  council  petitioned  to  call  an 
election,  asking  the  people  to  vote  for  or  against  the 
issuance  of  bonds  for  the  following  purposes: — 

Completing  the  mam  sewer $150,000 

Branch  sewers 13S.000 

Building  new  city  hall 150,000 

Cross  walks  and  parks 50,000 

Wooden  bridges 1 5,000 

Total $500,000 


The  vote  was  in  the  affirmative  on  all  these  propo- 
sitions. The  bonds  were  issued  payable  in  twenty 
years,  and  bearing  interest  at  five  per  cent.  The  bonds 
were  sold  to  Mr.  A.  Sutro,  who  paid  one-eighth  of 
one  per  cent  premium. 

Early  in  1888  it  was  discovered  that  the  election 
which  authorized  the  issuance  of  these  bonds  was  not 
held  strictly  in  accordance  with  the  statute.  The 
irregularity  claimed  was  that  the  notice  was  one  day 
short  of  the  time  required  by  law.  There  was  some 
difference  of  opinion  as  to  whether  or  not  this  was  a 
fatal  error,  but  the  purchaser  of  the  bonds  did  not  de- 
sire to  leave  the  matter  undecided,  and  asked  that  it 
be  settled.  There  was  a  proposition  to  make  up  an 
agreed  case,  and  submit  it  to  the  courts  for  adjudica- 
tion, and  another  proposition  to  call  a  new  election, 
issue  new  bonds,  and  cancel  the  old  ones.  The  latter 
method  was  considered  to  be  somewhat  hazardous. 
The  people  had  three  times  rejected  the  proposal  to 
create  a  debt  against  the  city,  and  there  was  a  chance 
t  at  a  two-thirds  vote  might  not  be  again  obtained. 
A  result  of  this  kind  would  have  been  most  disastrous, 
inasmuch  as  it  would  not  only  stop  all  the  improve- 
ments that  had  been  commenced,  but  would  have  been 
a  breach  of  faith  that  would  have  destroyed  the  repu- 
tation of  the  municipality.  This  latter  consideration, 
however,  was  not  seriously  entertained  by  many  of  the 
citizens,  the  majority  holding  to  the  opinion  that  al- 
though the  people  might  be  opposed  to  incurring  a 
debt,  they  were  not  only  willing  but  anxious  to  pay 
any  obligation  honestly  incurred,  and  would  not  take 
refuge  behind  any  legal  technicality  to  avoid  a  just  re- 
sponsibility. This  opinion  was  fully  confirmed.  A 
new  election  was  called,  and  the  proposition  to  issue 
new  bonds  carried  by  a  practically  unanimous  vote. 
The  new  bonds  were  issued,  and  the  old  ones  burned 
in  the  presence  of  the  mayor  and  common  council  and 
a  large  concourse  of  citizens. 

During  the  last  few  years,  preceding  1888,  much  in- 
convenience was  experienced  from  the  fact  that  the  ex- 
isting charter  was  not  broad  enough  for  the  city.  San 
Jose  had  grown  rapidly,  and  was  developing  necessi- 
ties that  were  not  provided  for  in  the  old  municipal 
constitution.  The  new  constitution  of  the  State,  which 
prohibited  local  legislation,  and  the  statutes  enacted 
under  it,  prevented  amendments  after  the  old  manner. 
Pursuant  to  the  new  order  of  things,  at  the  regular 
city  election  held  in  April,  1888,  a  board  of  fifteen 
freeholders  were  elected,  who  were  authorized  to  frame 
a  new  charter  for  the  city.  The  following-named  cit- 
izens constituted  the  Board:  L.  Archer,  C.  W.  Brey- 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


151 


fogle,  J.  H.  Campbell,  A.  W.  Crandall,  G.   E.   Graves, 

A.  Greeninger,  V.  Koch,  L.   Lion,  B.   D.  Murphy,  D. 

B.  Moody,  H.  Messing,  C.  L.  Metzger,  John  Reynolds, 
John  W.  Ryland,  D.  C.  Vestal.  These  gentlemen 
prepared  a  charter  and  submitted  it  July  6,  1888.  It 
will  be  voted  on  by  the  people  at  the  next  general 
election,  or  at  such  other  time  as  the  council  may 
dictate. 

.  The  city  limits  have  not  been  materially  changed 
since  the  first  incorporation.  Following  is  their  de- 
scription as  they  now  exist:  Beginning  on  the  center 
line  of  Second  Street,  at  a  point  one  mile  and 
a  half  southeasterly  from  its  intersection  with  the 
center  line  of  San  Fernando  Street;  thence  running 
in  a  straight  line  parallel  with  San  Fernando  Street  to 
the  center  of  the  Coyote  Creek;  thence  down  follow- 
ing the  center  of  said  creek  to  its  intersection  with  a 
line  drawn  through  the  center  of  Rosa  Street;  thence 
along  said  line  through  the  center  of  Rosa  Street  in  a 
straight  course  to  a  point  forty  rods  southwesterly 
from  the  west  bank  of  the  river  Guadaloupe;  thence 
in  a  straight  line  to  a  point  in  the  center  line  of  San 
Fernando  Street,  produced  forty  rods  southwesterly 
from  the  said  west  bank  of  the  river  Guadaloupe; 
thence  in  a  straight  line  parallel  with  Second  Street 
to  a  point  that  a  line  drawn  from  it  to  the  place  of 
beginning  will  be  parallel  with  San  Fernando  Street; 
thence  along  said  line  to  the  place  of  beginning. 

The  division  of  the  city  into  wards  has  never  been 
changed  since  the  order  of  the  council  in  1853,  which 
created  four  fire  wards,  as  follows:  First  Ward,  north 
of  Santa  Clara  Street  and  west  of  First  Street;  Sec- 
ond Ward,  north  of  Santa  Clara  Street  and  east  of 
First  Street;  Third  Ward,  South  of  Santa  Clara  Street 
and  east  of  First  Street;  Fourth  Ward,  south  of  Santa 
Clara  Street  and  west  of  First  Street. 

In  1884  the  system  of  street  numbering  was  changed 
to  the  present  method,  which  is  as  follows:  Santa 
Clara  Street  is  the  starting-point,  being  number  one; 
thence  north  and  south  in  regular  order,  in  each  di- 
rection, with  one  hundred  numbers  to  each  block. 
Each  number  is  designated  as  being  either  north  or 
south. 

Following  is  a  list  of  all  the  city  officers  from  the 
first  election  in  1850  to  the  present  time: — 
1850. 

Josiah  Belden,  mayor;  Thos.  B.  Gadden,  clerk. 
Councilmen — F.  B.  Clement,  Benjamin  Cory,  James  D. 
Curl,  John  H.  Garrison,  Peter  Sherback,  Julian  Hanks, 
William  Foster. 


1851. 

Thos.  W.  White,  mayor;  Joseph  Simpson,  clerk;  F. 
Lightston,  tieasurer;  John  H.  Watson,  attorney;  C. 
E.  Allen,  assessor;  G.  N.  Whitman,  city  marshal. 
Councilmen — Joseph  Aram,  J.  B.  Devoe,  Benjamin 
Cory,  H.  C.  Melone,  Josiah  Belden,  J.  D.  Hoppe,  J. 
M.  Murphy. 

1852. 

Thos.  W.  White,  mayor;  E.  P.  Reed,  clerk;  A.  J. 
Yates,  treasurer;  F.  S.  Mclvinncy,  attorney;  J.  M. 
Williams,  assessor;  Geo.  Hale,  marshal.  Council- 
men — Joseph  Aram,  J,  B.  Devoe,  Benj.  Cory,  H.  C. 
Melone,  Josiah  Belden,  J.  D.  Hoppe,  J.  M.  Murphy. 

1853- 

Thos.  W.  White,  mayor;  E.  P.  Reed,  clerk;  Thos. 
Vermeule,  treasurer;  F.  S.  McKinney,  attorney;  E.  P. 
Reed,  assessor;  Geo.  Hale,  marshal.  Councilmen — 
J.  C.  Emerson,  P.  O.  Minor,  Benj.  Cory,  J.  H.  Watson, 
Levi  Goodrich,  M.  W.  Packard,  J.  M.  Williams. 

1854. 
■  Thos.  W.  White,  mayor;  E.  P.  Reed,  clerk  and  as- 
sessor; Thos.  Vermeule,  treasurer;  A.  C.  Campbell, 
attorney;  Geo.  Hale,  marshal.  Councilmen — Jos. 
Aram,  W.  M.  Stafford,  F.  Lightston,  J.  M.  Murphj-, 
Chas.  Moody,  J.  McGill,  S.  O.  Houghton 
1855. 

S.  O.  Houghton,  mayor;  E.  P.  Reed,  clerk  and 
assessor;  J.  H.  Moore,  treasurer;  T.  E.  Soublette, 
marshal.  Councilmen — Wm.  Daniels,  A.  S.  Beaty, 
S.  M.  Cutler,  J.  M.  Murphy,  P.  O.  Minor,  C.  Martin, 
R.  G.  Moody. 

1856. 

Lawrence  Archer,  mayor;  E.  P.  Reed,  clerk  and 
assessor;  j.  H.  Moore,  treasurer;  F.  S.  McKinney,  at- 
torney; T.  E.  Soublette,  marshal;  Eli  Corwin,  super- 
intendent of  schools.  Councilmen — Thos.  Fallon, 
C.  W.  Pomeroy,  S.  M.  Cutler,  John  B.  Price,  Levi 
Goodrich,  J.  M.  Murphy,  Givens  George. 
1857. 

In  this  year  the  city  government  was  organized  as 
a  Board  of  Trustees,  the  president  of  the  Board  being 
ex-officio  mayor. 

R.  G.  Moody,  mayor;  Chapman  Yates,  clerk  and 
assessor;  T.  H.  Moore,  treasurer;  T.  E.  Soublette, 
marshal;  Eli  Corwin,  superintendent  of  schools.  Trus- 
tees— Thomas  Fallon,  Wm.  Daniels,  T.  C.  Cobb, 
Marcus  Williams. 

1858. 

P.  O.  Minor,  mayor;  Chapman  Yates,  clerk;  J.  H. 
Moore,    treasurer;  Wm.    R.    Davis,    assessor;    T.    E. 


152 


PEN  PICTURES  FRO 31  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


Soublette,  marshal;  Eli  Corvvin,  superintendent  of 
schools.  Trustees — C.  W.  Pomeroy,  A.  Pfister,  T. 
P.  Martin,  N.  B.  Edwards. 

1859. 

City  government  organized  again  as  mayor  and 
common  council.  Thos.  Fallon,  mayor;  Wm.  R. 
Davis,  clerk  and  assessor;  Frank  Grant,  treasurer;  J. 
D.  Gunn,  city  marshal;  Eli  Corwin,  superintendent  of 
schools.  Councilmen — C.  W.  Pomeroy,  A.  Pfister, 
J.  M.  Williams,  James  Morrison,  R.  G.  Moody. 
i860. 

R.  B.  Buckner,  mayor;  J.  V.  Tisdall,  clerk;  L.  P. 
Peck,  treasurer,  W.  R.  Davis,  assessor;  J.  D.  Gunn, 
marshal ;  Robert  Thomson,  superintendent  of  schools. 
Councilmen — J.  R.  Lowe,  J.  R.Wilson,  Arthur  Shearer, 
Adam  Holloway,  S.  D.  Gavitt. 
1861. 

J.  W.  Johnson,  mayor;  J.  R.  Lowe,  Jr.,  clerk;  L. 
P.  Peck,  treasurer;  A.  M.  Younger,  assessor;  J.  D. 
Gunn,  marshal;  R.  P.  Thomson,  superintendent  of 
schools.  Councilmen — J.  R.  Lowe,  W.  W.  McCoy, 
C.  T.  Ryland,  Adam  Holloway,  J.  M.  Williams. 
1862. 

J.  W.  Johnson,  mayor;  J.  R.  Lowe,  clerk;  L.  P. 
Peck,  treasurer ;  A.  Campbell,  treasurer;  S.W.Smith, 
assessor;  W.  S.  Patterson,  marshal;  C.  T.  Healy,  en- 
gineer; L.  Hamilton,  superintendent  of  schools. 
Councilmen— E.  J.  Wilcox,  W.  O'Donnell,  C.  D. 
Cheney,  Adam  Holloway,  Thomas  Bodley. 
1863. 

J.  A.  Quinby,  mayor;  J.  T.  Calahan,  clerk  and 
assessor;  D.  B.  Moody,  treasurer;  F.  E.  Spencer, 
attorney;  J.  C.  Potter,  marshal;  L.  Hamilton,  superin- 
tendent of  schools.  Councilmen — C.  W.  Pomeroy, 
Jesse  Hobson,  John  Bonner,  C.  Yates,  D.  J.  Porter, 
L.  Magenheimer. 

1864. 

John  Quinby,  mayor;  J.  T.  Calahan,  clerk  and 
assessor;  D.  B.  Moody,  treasurer;  F.  E.  Spencer, 
attorney;  J.  C.  Potter,  marshal;  L.  Hamilton,  super- 
intendent of  schools.  Councilmen — C.  W.  Pomeroy, 
Jes.se  Hobson,  John  Bonner,  J.  M.  Cory,  D.J.Porter, 
L.  Magenheimer. 

1865. 

John  A.  Quinby,  mayor;  J.  T.  Calahan,  clerk  and 
assessor;  C.  Yates,  treasurer;  F.  E.  Spencer,  attorney; 
J.  C.  Potter,  marshal:  D.  S.  Payne,  superintendent  of 
schools.  Councilmen — C.  W.  Pomeroy,  Jesse  Hob- 
son, John  Bonner,  J.  M.  Cory,  D.  J.  Porter,  L. 
Magenheimer. 


1866, 

John  A.  Quinby,  mayor;  J.  T.  Calahan,  clerk  and 
assessor;  C.  Yates,  treasurer;  F.  E.  Spencer,  attorney ; 
A.  B.  Hamilton,  marshal;  W.  C.  Hart, superintendent 
of  schools.  Councilmen — C.  W.  Pomeroy,  Abram 
King,  J.  A.  Clayton,  J.  M.  Cory,  D.  J.  Porter,  L. 
Magenheimer. 

1867. 

J.  A.  Quinby,  mayor;  J.  T.  Calahan,  clerk  and  as- 
sessor; C.  Yates,  treasurer;  F.  E.  Spencer,  attorney; 
A.  B.  Hamilton,  marshal;  J.  H.  Pieper,  engineer;   W. 

C.  Hart,    superintendent  of  schools.     Councilmen — 
China  Smith,  Abram  King,  J.  A.  Clayton,  J.  M.  Cory, 

D.  J.  Porter,  J.  A.  Leighton. 

1868. 
M.  Leavenworth,  mayor;  J.  T.  Calahan,  clerk  and 
assessor;  C.  Yates,  treasurer;  F.  E.  Spencer,  attorney; 
A.  B.  Hamilton,  marshal;  J.  H.  Pieper,  engineer;  J. 
M.  Littlefield,  superintendent  of  schools.  Council- 
men — China  Smith,  John  Balbach,  J.  R.  Hall,  Charles 
Otter,  D.  J.  Porter,  J.  A.  Leighton. 

1869. 
M.  Leavenworth,  mayor;  J.  T.  C  dahan,  clerk  and 
assessor;  H.  O.  Weller,  treasurer;  F.  E.  Spencer,  at- 
torney; Wm.  Sexton,  marshal;  J.  H.  Pieper,  engineer; 
Chas.  Silent,  superintendent  of  schools.  Councilmen 
— D.  C.  Vestal,  John  Balbach,  D.  C.  Bailey,  Chas. 
Otter,  D.  J.  Porter,  D.  T.  A.lams. 

1 870. 
Adolph  Pfister,  mayor;  John  T.  Calahan,  clerk  and 
assessor;  H.  O.  Weller,  trcasur -r;  F.  E.  Spencer,  at- 
torney; Wm.  Sexton,  marshal;  J.  H.  Pieper,  engineer; 
W.  C.  Hart,  superintendent  of  schools.  Councilmen 
— A.  P.  Hulsc,  Frank  Lewis,  D.  C.  Bailey,  J.  J.  Denny, 
D.  J.  Porter,  D.  T.  Adams. 

1871. 
Adolph  Pfister,  mayijr;  John  T.  Calaiian,  clerk  and 
assessor;  C.  Yates,  treasurer;  F.  E.  Spencer,  attorney; 
Wm.  Sexton,  marshal;  J.  H.  Pieper,  engineer;  W.  B. 
Hardy,  superintendent  of  schools.  Councilmen — A. 
P.  Hulse,  S.  N.  Johnson,  Frank  Lewis,  Robt.  Page, 
J.  J.  Denny,  L.   Krumb. 

1872. 
Adolph  Pfister,  mayor;  J.  T.  Calahan,  clerk  and 
assessor;  W.  A.  January,  treasurer;  F.  E.  Spencer, 
attorney;  Wm.  Sexton,  marshal;  J.  H.  Pieper,  engi- 
neer; E.  A.  Clark,  superintendent  of  schools.  Coun- 
cilmen— D.  C.  Vestal,  S.  N.  Johnston,  Frank  Levvi.s, 
Robert  Page,  J.  J.  Conmy,  L.  Krumb. 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


153 


1873. 
B.  D.  Murphy,  mayor;  M.  Maze,  clerk  and  assessor; 
W.  A.  January,  treasurer;  F.  E.  Spencer,  attorney-;  A. 

B.  Hamilton,  marshal;   J.  H.  Pieper,  engineer;    E.  A. 
Clark,   superintendent    of  schools.     Councilmen — D. 

C.  Vestal,   C.    S.    Crydenwise,    Frank     Lewis,  John 
McCune,  J.  J.  Conmy,  A.  Greeninger. 

1S74. 

B.  D.  Murphy,  mayor;  M.  Maze,  clerk  and  assessor; 
W.  A.  January,  treasurer;  F.  E.  Spencer,  attorney;  J. 
V.  Tisdall,  chief  of  police;  J.  H.  Pieper,  engineer;  J. 
O.  Hawkins,  superintendent  of  schools.  Council- 
men — W.  O.  Barker,  C.  S.  Crydenwise,  Frank  Lewis, 
John  McCune,  A.  Lake,  A.  Greeninger,  W.  F.  Ellis, 
J.  Lenzen. 

1875- 

B.  D.  Murphy,  mayor;  Wm.  Castle,  clerk  and  as- 
sessor; W.  A.  January,  treasurer;  F.  E.  Spencer,  attor- 
ney; J.  V.  Tisdall,  chief  of  police;  J.  H.  Pieper,  engi- 
neer; L.  F.  Chipman,  superintendent  of  schools. 
Councilmen — G.  W.  Lowery,  W.  O.  Barker,  J.  Swei- 
gert,  Frank  Lewis,  D.  Hellyer,  A.  Greeninger,  W.  F. 
Ellis,  J.  Lenzen. 

1S76. 

B.  D.  Murphy,  mayor;  Wm.  Castle,  clerk  and  as- 
sessor; J.  A.  Lotz,  treasurer;  F.  E.  Spencer,  attorney; 
J.  V.  Tisdall,  chief  of  police;  J.  H.  Pieper,  engineer; 
L.  F.  Chipman,  superintendent  of  schools.  Council- 
men — A.  L.  Bascom,  G.  W.  Lowery,  J.  Sweigert,  M. 
Hale,  Geo.  B.  McKee,  A.  Greeninger,  D.   C.  Vestal, 

D.  Hellyer. 

1877. 

B.  D.  Murphy,  mayor;  W.  N.  Castle,  clerk  and  as- 
sessor; J.  A.  Lotz,  treasurer;  J.  V.  Tisdall,  chief  of 
police;  J.  H.  Pieper,  engineer;  F.  E.  Spencer,  attor- 
ney; L.  F.  Chipman,  superintendent  of  schools. 
Councilmen — Sol.  Easterday,  J.  Y.  McMillan,  Theo- 
dore Gebler,  A.  L.  Bascom,  A.  Greeninger,  M.  Hale, 
G.  B.  McKee,  D.  C.  Vestal. 
1878. 

Lawrence  Archer,  mayor;  W.  N.  Castle,  clerk  and 
assessor;  Jos.  A.  Lotz,  treasurer;  F.  E.  Spencer,  at- 
torney; D.  N.  Haskell,  chief  of  police;  W.  O.  Brey- 
fogle,  street  commissioner;  J.  H.  Pieper,  engineer; 
Jas.  G.  Kennedy,  superintendent  of  schools.  Coun- 
cilmen— B.  H.  Cottle,  Sol.  Easterday,  Theo.  Gebler,  A. 
Greeninger,  H.  C.  Kaiser,  C.  L.  Kennedy,  C.  J.  Mar- 
tin, J.  Y.  McMillan.  In  this  year  the  city  clerk  ab- 
sconded and  Charles  Keane  was  appointed  to  fill  the 
vacancy. 
20 


1879. 

Lawrence  Archer,  mayor;  W.  F.  Ellis,  clerk  and 
assessor;  J.  A.  Lotz,  treasurer;  F.  E.  Spencer,  attor- 
ney; D.  N.  Haskell,  chief  of  police;  W.  O.  Brcyfogle, 
street  commissioner;  J.  H.  Pieper,  engineer;  J.  G. 
Kennedy,  superintendent  of  schools.  Councilmen — 
R.  S.  Carter,  Denis  Corkery,  B.  H.  Cottle,  S.  Grozelier, 
H.  C.  Kaiser,  C.  L.  Kennedy,  C.  J.  Martin,  J.  Y.  Mc- 
Millan. 

^       1880. 

B.  D.  Murphy,  mayor;  W.  F.  Ellis,  clerk  and  as- 
sessor; J.  A.  Lotz,  treasurer;  D.  W.  Herrington,  attor- 
ney; D.  N.  Haskell,  chief  of  police;  W.  O.  Brey- 
fogle,  street  commissioner;  J.  H.  Pieper,  engineer;  T. 
B.  Finch,  superintendent  of  schools.  Councilmen — 
R.  S.  Carter,  D.  Corkery,  S.  Grozelier,  H.  C.  Kaiser, 
A.  King,  C.  J.  Martin,  J.  Y.  McMillan,  C.  T.  Settle. 
1S81. 

B.  D.  Murphy,  mayor;  W.  F.  EUis,  clerk  and  as- 
sessor; J.  A  Lotz,  treasurer;  D.  W.  Herrington,  attor- 
ney; D.  N.  Haskell,  chief  of  police;  W.  O.  Breyfogle, 
street  commissioner;  J.  H.  Pieper,  engineer;  A.  W. 
Oliver,  superintendent  of  schools.  Councilmen — H. 
H.  Anderson,  S.  Grozelier,  H.  C.  Kaiser,  C.  L.  Ken- 
nedy, A.  King,  C.  J.  Martin,  H.  Messing,  C.  T.  Settle. 

1882. 

C.  J  Martin,  mayor;  W.  F.  Ellis,  clerk  and  assessor; 
A.  C.  Bane,  treasurer;  D.  W.  Herrington,  attorney; 
W.  B.  Shoemaker,  chief  of  police;  D.  H.  Kelsey, 
street  commissioner;  J.  H.  Pieper,  engineer;  J.  G. 
Kennedy,  superintendent  of  schools.  Councilmen — 
H.  H.  Anderson,  A.  De  Long,  S.  Grozelier,  V.  Koch, 
H.  Messing,  Homer  Prindle,  A.  Sauffrignon,  C.  L. 
Kennedy. 

18S3. 

C.J.  Martin,  mayor;  W.  F.  Ellis,  clerk  and  assessor; 
A.  C.  Bane,  treasurer;  D.  W.  Herrington,  attorney; 
W.  B.  Shoemaker,  chief  of  police;  D.  H.  Kelsey, 
street  commissioner;  J.  H.  Pieper,  engineer;  J.  G. 
Kennedy,  superintendent  of  schools.  Councilmen — C. 
L.  Kennedy,  W.  H.  McCarthy,  P.  O'Brien,  VV.  F. 
Hughes,  V.  Koch,  H.  Prindle,  A.  Sauffrignon,  A.  Ue 
Long.  De  Long  resigned  and  F.  E.  Smith  was  ap- 
pointed to  fill  the  vacancy. 

1 884. 

C.  T.  Settle,  mayor;  W.  F.  Ellis,  clerk  and  assessor; 
John  R.  Wilson,  treasurer;  D.  W.  Herrington,  attorney; 
W.  D.  Brown,  chief  of  police;  John  Purccll,  street 
commissioner;  J.  H.  Pieper,  engineer;  J.  G.  Kennedy 
superintendent  of  schools.     Councilmen — A.  G.  Ben- 


154 


rEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


nett,  C.  S.  Crydenwise,  C.  L.  Kennedy,  V.  Koch, 
W.  H.  McCarthy,  W.  R.  McKannay,  P.  O'Brien,  W. 
F.  Hughes. 

1885. 

C.  T.  Settle,  mayor;  Thos.  Bodley,  clerk  and  as- 
sessor; Ji  o.  R.  Wilson,  treasurer;  D.  W.  Herrington, 
attorney;  W.  D.  Brown,  chief  of  police;  John  Purcell, 
street  commissioner;  J.  H.  Pieper,  engineer;  L.  F. 
Curtis,  superintendent  of  schools.  Councilmen — A. 
G.Bennett,  C.  S.  Crydenwise,  (J.  L.  Kennedy,  V. 
Koch,  W.  H.  McCarthy,  W.  R.  McKannay,  G.  W. 
Jame^,  Fred  Zung. 

1886. 

C.  W.  Breyfogle,  mayor;  Thos.  Bodley.  clerk  and 
assessor;  J  no.  R.  Wilson,  treasurer;  D.  W.Herrington, 
attorney;  W.  D.  Brown,  chief  of  police;  John  Purcell, 
street  commissioner;  J.  H.  Pieper,  engineer;  L.  F. 
Curtis,  superintendent  of  schools.  Councilmen — R. 
B.  Dunlap,  S.  Grozelier,  G.  W.  James,  F.  Zung,  W.  H. 
McCarthy,  D.  McGinley,  C.  L.  Kennedy,  Homer 
Prindle.  Kennedy  resigned  and  Geo.  Evans  was 
appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy. 
1887. 

C.  W.  Breyfogle,  mayor;  Thos.  Bodley,  clerk  and 
assessor;  J  no.  R.  Wilson,  treasurer;  D.  W.  Herring- 
ton,  attorney;  W.  D.  Brown,  chief  of  police;  John 
Purcell,  street  commissioner;  J.  H.  Pieper,  engineer; 
F.  P.  Russell,  superintendent  of  schools.  Council- 
men— R.  B.  Dunlap,  S.  Grozelier,  O.  A.  Hale,  D.  Mc- 
Ginley, Homer  Prindle,  J.  D.  Roberts,  F.  Stern,  P. 
Warkentin.  Prindle  resigned  and  G.  W.  James,  was 
appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy. 
1888. 

S.  W.  Boring,  mayor;  Thos.  Bodley,  clerk  and  as- 
sessor; Jos.  F.  Columbet,  treasurer;  D.  W.  Herring- 
ton,  attorney;  W.  D.  Brown,  chief  of  police;  John 
Purcell,  street  commissioner;  J.  H.  Pieper,  engineer; 
F.  P.  Russell,  superintendent  of  schools.  Council- 
men— P.  Warkentin,  C.  M.  Schiele,  F.  M.  Stern,  A.  B. 
Hunter,  O.  A.  Hale,  Geo.  B.  Dittus,  John  D.  Roberts, 
Wm.  Petry. 

FIRE  DEPARTMENT. 

The  first  official  action,  of  which  we  have  record, 
looking  toward  the  protection  of  property  from 
fire,  was  taken  by  the  mayor  and  common  council 
July  1 1,  1850,  when  it  established  the  first  fire  limits  as 
follows:  Commencing  at  the  center  of  Second  and  St. 
James  Streets;  thence  along  Second  to  San  Carlos; 
thence  along  San  Carlos  to  the  Acequia;  thence  along 
the  Acequia  to  a  point  that  would  intersect  the  pro- 
longation of  St.  James  Street;  thence  along  St.  James 


Street  to  the  place  of  beginning.  At  the  same  time 
it  was  ordered  that  within  these  limits  there  should  be 
erected  no  edifice  composed  of  canvas,  willow,  cotton 
cloth,  tules,  mustard,  reeds  or  other  grassy  substances, 
under  a  penalty  of  not  less  than  twenty-five  nor  more 
than  two  hundred  dollars;  also  forbade  the  mainte- 
nance of  hay-stacks,  unless  suitably  guarded,  under  a 
like  penalty.  The  word  "edifice,"  used  in  the  order 
of  the  mayor  and  common  council,  seems  a  little  out 
of  place  when  applied  to  tents  and  huts,  such  as  are 
here  described. 

About  this  time  a  volunteer  fire  company  was 
formed,  called  "Fire  Engine  Company  No.  i."  This 
was  a  misnomer,  as  there  was  no  engine  or  other 
apparatus  in  the  county.  The  company  seems  to 
have  realized  this,  as  in  the  same  year  it  changed  its 
name  to  "  Eureka  Fire  Company  No.  i."  The  mem- 
bers made  application  to  the  common  council  for  an 
engine.  But  as  there  was  no  fire  machinery  to  be 
had  on  the  coast,  and  the  city  had  no  money  to  pur- 
chase with  t  ven  if  the  machine  had  been  procurable, 
the  company  was  compelled  to  work  with  buckets 
and  such  rude  appliances  as  they  could  reach.  What 
it  lacked  in  apparatus,  however,  it  made  up  in  en- 
thusiasm, and  accomplished  much  good.  The  inflam- 
mable nature  of  the  materials  of  which  the  buildings 
weie  constructed  rendered  it  almost  an  impossibility 
to  extinguish  a  fire,  but  this  same  frailty  of  construc- 
tion enabled  the  firemen  to  destroy  connections  and 
prevent  the  spread  of  conflagrations.  The  most 
notable  fires  during  the  existence  of  this  company 
were  the  burning  of  the  house  of  Samuel  C.  Young, 
on  Third  Street,  supposed  to  have  been  caused  by 
rats  igniting  matches,  and  the  destruction  of  the  old 
State  House.  The  latter  event  occurred  in  March, 
1853,  and  demonstrated  the  imperative  necessity  of 
more  adequate  protection.  Prior  to  this  time  the 
city  government  seemed  to  think  that  private  enter- 
prise would  take  this  responsibility  from  the  council- 
This  opinion  is  based  on  a  clause  of  Mayor  White's 
message  of  185 1,  in  which  he  says:  "  I  would  respect- 
fully urge  that  a  fire  department  be  immediately 
organized,  and,  if  necessary,  that  an  engine  and  other 
apparatus  be  procured;  but  there  is  reason  to  believe 
that  the  public  spirit  of  our  citizens  will  render  any 
outlay  by  the  city  in  this  matter  unnecessary." 

Having  thus  relegated  the  matter  to  the  "  public 
spirit  of  the  citizens,"  the  matter  rested  until  1853, 
when  the  council  passed  an  ordinance  dividing  the 
city  into  four  fire  wards,  and  appointed  the  following 
persons    as    fire  wardens:  For   District  No.  i,  M.  W- 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


155 


.  Alvin    C.    Campbell;    No.   3,  A.  S- 
4,   Peter   Davidson.     At    the    same 


Packard  ;  No.  : 
Woodford ;  No, 
time  an  appropriation  was  made  of  $2,000  for  the 
purchase  of  a  fire  engine,  with  hooks  and  ladders, 
the  president  of  the  council  being  authorized  to 
draw  warrants  and  orders  in  such  sums  as  he  should 
deem  advisable  and  pay  the  same  over  to  the  com- 
mittee of  citizens  that  should  be  selected  by  the 
people. 

As  a  result  of  this  action,  Hook  and  Ladder  Com- 
pany No.  I  was  organized  in  the  latter  part  of  1853, 
and  on  January  6,  1854,  it  notified  the  council  of  its 
organization  and  asked  for  an  appropriation  for  the 
purchase  ol  apparatus.  The  matter  was  referred  to 
a  committee,  which  was  instructed  to  confer  with  the 
foreman  and  draw  up  an  ordinance  covering  the 
matter  contained  in  the  memorial.  The  committee 
was  also  authorized  to  secure  the  lease  of  a  suitable 
lot  on  which  to  erect  a  building  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  the  company.  The  committee  reported  that 
Frank  Lightston  had  agreed  to  let  a  lot  for  the  nom- 
inal rent  of  twenty-five  cents  per  annum,  if  the  com- 
mittee would  erect  suitable  buildings  within  twelve 
months.  The  lease  was  effected  and  the  old  engine 
house  on  Lightston  Street,  for  so  many  years  a  promi- 
nent landmark,  was  erected. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  council  held  June  26,  1854, 
new  fire  wardens  were  elected,  and  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  ascertain  if  a  fire  engine  could  be  pur- 
chased in  San  Francisco.  At  the  next  meeting  this 
committee  reported  that  an  engine  could  be  obtained 
for  $1,800,  and  that  hose  would  cost  $1.50  per  foot. 
The  committee  also  reported  that  four  cisterns  would 
be  required,  and  recommended  that  one  be  located 
at  the  center  of  the  intersection  of  Market  and  Santa 
Clara  Streets,  one  at  the  intersection  of  First  and 
Santa  Clara  Streets,  one  in  front  of  the  Mariposa 
Store,  on  Market  Street,  and  one  in  front  of  Jones' 
Store,  on  First  Street.  This  latter  location  was  about 
opposite  Fountain  Alley.  All  the  recommendations 
of  the  committee  were  adopted,  and  the  apparatus 
purchased,  at  a  cost  of  $2,546.25.  Of  this  amount 
the  citizens  contributed '$1,355,  and  the  remainder 
was  paid  out  of  the  city  treasury.  The  cisterns  were 
located  as  recommended  by  the  committee,  and  for 
more  than  twenty  years  were  maintained  and  used 
for  fire  purposes. 

The  engine  purchased  at  this  time  was  historic.  It 
had  been  used  by  the  Volunteer  Fire  Department  of 
New  York  as  early  as  1830,  and  was  known  as  "Old 
41,"  its  quarters  being  at  the  corner  of  Delaney  and 


Livingston  Streets.  Levi  Goodrich,  the  architect,  and 
Abe  Beatty,  the  first  landlord  of  the  Mansion  House, 
used  to  run  with  the  old  machine  in  New  York.  In 
1850  it  was  sent  to  San  Francisco,  and  sold  to  the 
engine  company  of  which  Senator  Broderick  was 
foreman.  The  city  of  San  Jose  purchased  it  from 
the  Broderick  Company.  When  brought  to  San  Jose 
it  was  given  into  the  hands  of  the  Empire  Company, 
and  its  name  changed  to  "Empire  No.  i."  It  is  now 
at  the  county  almshouse. 

The  city  had  now  a  very  effective  fire  department 
of  two  companies,  with  what  was  considered  in  those 
days  excellent  apparatus,  manned  by  the  most  prom- 
inent citizens  of  the  city,  full  of  that  heroic  enthusiasm 
for  which  the  volunteer  fire  companies  of  America 
were  noted.  Hook  and  Ladder  Company  had  a  fine 
truck,  manufactured  by  D.  J.  Porter  and  H.  J.  Has- 
kell, the  woodwork  being  done  by  C.  S.  Crydenwise. 

A  grand  parade  of  the  department  took  place  on 
New  Year's  day  of  1855.  Both  companies  assembled 
at  the  new  engine  house  on  Lightston  Street,  which 
had  just  received  its  finishing  coat  of  paint  from  the 
brush  of  James  Gourlay,  a  veteran  fireman,  who  still 
lives  to  recount  his  e.xperiences.  A  procession  was 
formed,  which  marched  through  the  principal  streets 
of  the  city  to  the  "  brick  church,"  at  the  northeast 
corner  of  Second  and  San  Fernando  Streets.  Here 
Rev.  Eli  Corwin  delivered  a  prayer,  and  Miss  Mary 
Crane,  in  behalf  of  the  ladies  of  San  Jose,  presented 
Empire  Company  with  a  beautiful  silk  banner.  The 
department  then  repaired  to  the  City  Hall,  where 
they  partook  of  a  bountiful  collation,  and  passed 
several  hours  in  speech-making  and  social  intercourse. 
This  was  the  first  public  parade  of  the  fire  depart- 
ment. After  this  they  occurred  annually  on  the 
Fourth  of  July. 

On  the  thirty-first  of  May,  1855,  a  disastrous  fire 
occurred  in  the  most  populous  portion  of  the  city. 
The  fire  originated  on  a  short,  narrow  alley  east  of 
Market  and  south  of  El  Dorado  Street.  There  were 
several  other  tenements  on  the  same  alley.  Immedi- 
ately west  of  these,  and  fronting  on  Market  Street, 
were  the  stores  of  Lazarus  &  Co.,  clothing  and  dry 
goods  merchants,  corner  of  Market  and  El  Dorado 
Streets ;  the  fruit  and  grocery  store  of  Giovani  Mul- 
inari;  the  vegetable  and  groceiy  store  of  Baptiste 
Soularis;  the  jewelry  store  of  E.  L.  Veuve;  the  con- 
fectionery establishment  of  Madam  Alviso,  and  the 
extensive  saddlery  emporium  of  August  Schweeb. 
All  of  these  suffered  considerable  lo  s.  The  progress 
of  the  fire  southward  was  somewhat  checked  by  the 


156 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


brick  walls  of  the  Auzerais  Building,  and  this  ob- 
stacle, with  the  heroic  efforts  of  the  little  fire  depart- 
ment, prevented  that  portion  of  the  city  from  entire 
destruction.  After  the  fire  had  burned  down,  the 
half-consumed  remains  of  a  man  were  found  in  the 
ruins. 

This  fire,  and  the  rapid  growth  of  the  city,  dem- 
onstrated the  necessity  of  further  additions  to  the  fire 
department,  but  it  was  nearly  a  year  before  anything 
was  accomplished.  In  1856  Mr.  James  Gourley,  who 
had  been  on  a  visit  to  New  York,  returned,  bringing 
with  him  a  hand  engine,  which  he  proposed  to  sell 
to  the  city.  The  council  agreed  to  purchase  it  if  a 
company  could  be  formed  to  handle  it.  This  was  no 
difficult  matter,  and  in  a  few  days  a  company  re- 
ported as  ready  for  service.  This  company  was 
called  "  Torrent  No.  2,"  and  went  into  the  depart- 
ment May  12,  1856.  The  old  "Torrent"  engine  did 
good  service  for  many  years,  and  is  now  in  the  coun- 
try doing  duty  with  a  threshing-machine.  It  has 
"  paid  for  itself"  many  times. 

These  three  companies  constituted  the  fire  depart- 
ment of  San  Jose  for  many  years,  and  this  apparatus, 
with  the  addition  of  new  hose  and  a  hose  cart  or  two, 
comprised  all  the  apparatus  until  1865,  when  the 
present  steam  engine  used  by  Empire  Company  was 
purchased  by  the  city.  This  of  course  caused  the  old 
engine  used  by  Torrent  Company  to  present  a  very 
insignificant  appearance,  and  the  boys  cast  about  for 
a  better  machine.  Mr.  Gourley  went  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, where  he  found  a  beautiful  Hunneman  hand 
engine  for  sale  very  cheap.  He  spent  some  time  in 
testing  its  capacity,  and,  being  fully  satisfied,  came 
back  and  reported  to  the  company.  Application  was 
made  for  its  purchase.  The  price  was  $1,700  cash,  and 
the  city  only  had  $1,250  available  for  this  purpose. 
The  council  finally  agreed  that  if  the  balance  could 
be  collected  by  subscription,  they  would  buy  the  en- 
gine. A  meeting  of  the  company  was  called  and  the 
proposition  presented.  There  was  a  good  deal  of  dis- 
cussion, the  tenor  of  which  was  that  it  was  useless  to 
attempt  to  raise  so  large  an  amount.  Finally  Gourley 
threw  $50  on  the  table,  saying  that  it  was  about  the 
last  dollar  he  had,  but  it  should  go  towards  purchasing 
the  new  machine.  Immediately  the  coin  began  to  be 
poured  on  the  table,  and  in  less  than  twenty  minutes 
the  whole  amount  was  raised.  The  machine  was  pur- 
chased and  remained  with  the  company  until  1873, 
when  the  city  purchased  a  Clapp  &  Jones  steamer  for 
the  Torrents,  and  the  old  Hunneman  was  turned  over 
to  Franklin  Company,  which  had   lately  been  organ- 


ized. A  few  years  later  it  was  sold  to  the  town  of 
Turlock,  where  it  is  still  doing  good  service. 

In  1855  the  department,  with  consent  of  the  council, 
established  a  Board  of  Delegates,  by  which  it  was 
practically  governed.  This  Board  consisted  of  a  num- 
ber of  members  selected  from  each  company.  The 
office  of  chief  engineer  had  been  created  and  soon  be- 
came a  position  of  great  labor  and  responsibility.  In 
1866  the  department  asked  the  council  to  provide  a 
salary  for  the  chief,  but  the  application  was  denied  on 
the  ground  that  the  city  charter  would  not  permit. 
The  officers  and  members  served  from  1853  to  1876, 
a  period  of  twenty-three  years,  with  no  compensation, 
giving  their  best  service,  and  often  risking  their  lives, 
for  the  benefit  of  the  property  owners  of  the  city.  In 
addition  to  this,  much  of  the  money  required  for  their 
proper  equipment  was  taken  from  their  own  pockets. 

In  1859  a  fire  occurred  in  the  kitchen  of  W.  T. 
Wallace's  house,  which  then  stood  on  First  Street 
about  where  the  John  Stock  Building  now  is.  The 
Fire  Department  displayed  such  skill  and  energy  that 
but  a  slight  damage  resulted.  In  recognition  of  their 
services  on  this  occasion  Judge  Wallace  presented  the 
department  with  $1,000,  which  was  placed  in  a  fund 
for  the  relief  of  sick  or  disabled  firemen.  This  was  the 
beginning  of  the  Firemen's  Charitable  Association, 
which  was  soon  after  organized,  the  members  paying 
specified  dues,  and  receiving  benefits  as  they  became 
entitled  to  them.  In  1869  an  act  was  passed  by  the 
Legislature  incorporating  the  department,  and  pro- 
viding for  exemption.  By  its  terms  a  person  who  had 
served  in  the  department  for  five  years  was  entitled  to 
a  certificate  which  exempted  him  from  military  serv- 
ice or  the  paying  of  poll-tax.  It  also  prescribed  rules 
for  the  government  of  the  Fireman's  Charitable  Fund. 
This  fund  continued  in  existence  until  the  paid  Fire 
Department  was  organized,  when,  most  of  the  mem- 
bers having  withdrawn,  it  was  divided  among  the  sur- 
vivors. There  was  very  little  left  at  the  end  to  divide; 
but,  during  its  existence,  it  accomplished  a  great  deal 
of  good,  many  thousand  dollars  having  been  disbursed 
for  the  relief  of  its  members  and  their  families. 

Early  in  1876  the  question  of  organizing  a  paid 
fire  department  began  to  be  agitated.  The  city  had 
been  out  of  debt  for  many  years,  property  had  largely 
increased  in  value,  and  she  felt  herself  financially  stout 
enough  to  assume  this  burden.  At  this  time  the  city 
had  two  steamers.  Empire  and  Torrent;  one  hand  en- 
gine, the  Franklin's;  two  hose  companies,  the  Alert's 
and  the  Eureka's,  and  Hook  and  Ladder  Company 
No.  I.     Each  of  these  machines  were  housed  in  build- 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


lo 


ings  owned  by  the  city,  except  Hook  and  Ladden 
which  occupied  a  rented  room  near  the  California 
Theater.  The  proposition  of  the  city  was  to  take 
possession  of  all  this  property,  and  allow  the  old  de- 
partment to  seek  other  quarters  and  apparatus  or  dis- 
band. The  Volunteers  naturally  considered  this 
method  of  procedure  as  savoring  of  ingratitude.  They 
had  given  long  years  of  hard  service  with  no  compen- 
sation, and  objected  to  being  summarily  dismissed. 
The  machinery  which  the  cily  proposed  to  take  rep- 
resented many  hundreds  of  dollars  of  their  own  money, 
which  they  had  contributed  for  the  general  good,  and, 
although  the  title  was  undoubtedly  in  the  city,  they 
thought  they  had  some  claim  to  consideration.  They 
could  not  legally  object  to  turning  over  the  property 
and  vacating  their  quarters,  but  they  resolved  to  dis- 
band all  the  companies.  The  paid  department  was 
organized  October  3,  1876,  and  just  before  midnight 
before  the  day  the  ordinance  went  into  effect,  all  the 
companies  paraded  the  streets,  and  when  the  last 
stroke  of  twelve  o'clock  sounded,  left  the  machines  in 
front  of  the  City  Hall  and  on  Santa  Clara  Street. 
This  was  the  last  of  the  Volunteer  Fire  Department 
of  San  Jose,  as  intelligent,  well-disciplined,  and  public- 
spirited  a  body  of  men  as  was  ever  organized  in  any 
city  on  the  continent. 

We  have  omitted  one  or  two  links  in  the  history  of 
the  Volunteers,  which  we  will  supply  here.  In  the  fall 
of  1870,  Washington  Hose  Company  was  organized, 
and  did  good  service,  but,  after  a  short  time,  being  dis- 
satisfied with  the  failure  of  the  city  to  provide  either 
suitable  quarters  or  apparatus,  disbanded.  In  1875 
the  people  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  city,  needing 
more  adequate  protection  from  fire,  organized  Eureka 
Hose  Company,  and  a  house  was  built  for  them  on 
Ninth  Street  near  St.  John.  In  1876  Alert  Hose 
Company  was  organized.  At  first  they  used  the  old 
hose  cart  of  the  disbanded  Washingtons,  but  soon 
afterwards  purchased  a  handsome  carriage,  which  they 
still  use.  This  company  is  made  up  of  young  men 
about  town  and  does  excellent  service  when  the  alarm 
sounds. 

From  an  old  and  defaced  chart  we  have  been  able 
to  decipher  a  few  of  the  names  of  the  old  members  of 
Hook  and  Ladder  Co.  No.  i.  They  are  Joseph  Mc- 
Gill,  Jo.s.  H.  Munn,  Calvin  C.  Martin,  Isidro  Braun, 
John  B.  Hewson,  Wm.  McGill,  Joh  ;  C.  Emerson, 
Geo.  Hall,  William  Cummings,  Elihu  Allen,  Jos.  Y. 
Ayer,  Geo.  M.  Yoell,  S.  H.  Bohm,  S.  H.  Covert,  S. 
Waterman,  Aug.  Schweeb,  P.  H.  Burgman,  D.  C. 
Chadwick,  James  Gourley,  Joseph    Basler,  James  D. 


Page,  John  Balbach,  Geo.  Lehr,  Charles  E.  Allen, 
Chas.  F.  Wiley,  Edward  Woodnutt,  Frank  Lightston, 
Elliott  Reed,  E.  P.  Reed,  Wm.  A.  Murphy,  Levi 
Goodrich,  D.  J.  Porter,  Samuel  Orr,  Chas.  Moody, 
Josiah  Belden,  Levi  P.  Peck,  C.  S.  Crydenwise,  John 
Q.  Pearl,  Henry  J.  Haskell,  S.  O.  Houghton,  J.  .H. 
Fhckinger,  John  M.  Murphy,  J.  O.  McKee,  R.  G. 
Roberts,  John  Yontz,  Hartley  Lanham,  Eli  Jones,  A. 
W.  Bell,  Geo.  Allen,  Thos.  Soublette,  A.  J.  Eddy,  G. 
W.  Warner,  B.  F.  Davis,  Wm.  A.  Munn,  J.  P.  Cham- 
berlain, Frank  McKee,  Wm.  Lowrey,  John  Mott, 
Sam  Jacobs,  John  T.  Calahan,  Chas.  Martin,  L.  F 
Redfield,  Geo.  Pennington,  Julian  Smart,  Narciso 
Suiiol. 

We  have  also  managed  to  gather  the  following 
names  of  old  members  of  Empire  No.  i : — 

F.  G.  Appleton,  A.  S.  Beaty,  J.  E.  Brown,  B.  F. 
Brown,  S.  H.  Brown,  John  Beaty,  Thos.  Brown,  Geo. 
H.  Bodfish,  George  Bego,  M.  P.  Baker,  A.  C.  Camp- 
bell, P.  Carlos,  Chas.  A.  Clayton,  J.  Cerinsky,  C.  Crit- 
tenden, C.  D.  Cheney,  S.  Dial,  Wm.  H.  Dearing, 
Peter  Davidson,  N.  B.  Edwards,  A.  Eaton,  R.  Fisher, 
John  Forney,  M.  Fisher,  J.  H.  Gregory,  Jasper  D. 
Gunn,  Levi  Goodrich,  Geo.  Hale,  D.  Herrington,  M. 
Hellman,  Adam  Holloway,  S.  J.  Hensley,  Geo. 
Hanna,  James  Hartwell,  S.  N.  Johnson,  J.  W.  Johnson, 
Geo.  H.  Jefferson,  Richard  Knowles,  R.  Langley, 
Frank  Lewis,  R.  H.  Leetch,  C.  W.  Lander,  Fred 
Malech,  Herrick  Martin,  J.  McKenzie,  Philander 
Norton,  B.  G.  Porter,  Peter  Pongoon,  C.  M.  Putney, 
Peter  Quivey,  Wm.  Runk,  A.  W.  Stone,  F.  E. 
Spencer,  M.  Stern,  J.  M.  Sherwood,  F.  Stock,  M.  R. 
Smith,  F.  B.  Tompkins,  Daniel  Travis,  Francis  Thelig, 
William  Travis,  A.  M.  Thompson,  T.  Whaland,  T. 
Williams,  Wm.  Whipple,  George  Whitman,  F.  Wood- 
ward, C.  W.  Wright,  D.  Yocham,  C.  T.  Ryland,  J.  A. 
Moultrie. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  these  lists  cannot  be  made 
complete,  and  also  that  no  records  have  been  pre- 
served showing  the  membership  of  the  other  volunteer 
companies,  but  all  books  and  papers  seem  to  have 
been  abandoned  in  the  same  manner  as  the  machines 
were  turned  over  to  the  city;  but,  as  the  city  could 
not  see  the  necessity  of  preserving  the  records,  they 
have  become  scattered  or  destroyed. 

About  the  time  the  paid  Fire  Department  was  or- 
ganized the  city  also  adopted  an  automatic  fire  alarm 
system,  which  has  been  improved  from  time  lo  time. 
At  the  present  time  the  department  consists  of  Empire 
and  Torrent  Companies,  each  with  a  steamer;  Frank- 
lin, Alert,  Eureka  and  Protection    Hose    Companies, 


158 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


and  Hook  and  Ladder  Company,  with  improved 
truck  and  elevating  ladders.  Negotiations  are  now 
in  progress  for  the  purchase  of  another  steamer,  which 
is  much  needed. 

The  chiefs  of  the  Fire  Department  under  the  vol- 
unteer system  were,  as  near  as  can  be  now  ascertained: 
C.  E.  Allen,  John  B.  Hewson.  Levi  Peck,  J.  C.  Potter, 
Dan  Leddy,  Adam  Hollowa\-,  James  V.  Tisdall,  Wm. 
Petry,  and  J.  C.  Gerdes.  The  officers  under  the  paid 
department  have  been: — 

From  iStj  to  iSjg — J.  C.  Gerdes,  chief;  W.  D. 
Brown,  assistant;  James   Gourlay,  hydrant    inspector. 

Fro}n  i8jg  to  1881 — J.  C.  Gerdes,  chief;  James 
Brady,  assistant;  James  Gourlay,  hydrant  inspector. 

From  1881  to  1887— ^.  D.  Brown.chicf ;  R.  Hoelbe, 
assistant;  James  Gourlay,  hydrant  inspector. 

From  1887  to  present  time — James  Brady,  chief; 
John  T.  Moore,  assistant;  James  Gourlay,  hydrant 
inspector. 

PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS. 

Among  the  most  important  of  the  public  enter- 
prises accomplished  by  the  city  are  the  improve- 
ment of  the  channels  of  the  streams  and  the  system  of 
sewerage.  The  history  of  these  two  great  works  will 
be  found  interesting  and  valuable.  For  this  history 
we  have  drawn  on  the  official  report  of  Mr.  J.  H. 
Pieper,  the  engineer  who  had  the  work  in  charge  from 
its  commencement  to  its  completion. 

The  necessity  of  enlarging  and  otherwise  improv- 
ing the  channels  of  the  streams  passing  through  the 
territory  of  the  city  was  felt  at  an  early  date.  In- 
undations of  extensive  districts  adjacent  to  both  sides 
of  the  creeks  and  rivers  within  and  outside  of  the  city 
limits  during  the  "  rainy  seasons"  were  of  frequent 
occurrence,  flooding  a  belt  of  land,  at  times,  more 
than  half  a  mile  wide  and  in  certain  localities  to  a 
depth  of  five  and  more  feet,  causing  distress  and  in 
some  instances  considerable  loss  of  property  to  the 
people  residing  within  the  limits  of  the  inundated 
district.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  reports  of 
the  press  of  such  occurrences,  here  and  elsewhere,  did 
not  redound  to  the  prosperity  of  the  city  of  San  Jose. 

The  apparent,  if  not  real,  magnitude  of  the  work 
contemplated,  when  considered  in  connection  with  the 
means  that  seemed  available  for  the  work,  necessarily 
deferred  its  commencement.  Moreover,  there  was  no 
provision  or  authority  of  law  existing  under  which 
the  work  could  have  been  undertaken  at  that  time. 

In  the  year  1870,  however,  a  special  act  of  the 
State  Legislature  was  enacted  which  empowered  the 
Board  of  Supervisors  of  Santa  Clara    County  to  im- 


prove the  rivers  and  streams  flowing  through  Santa 
Clara  County,  including  those  passing  through  the 
city. 

Under  this  act  the  Board  of  Supervisors  appointed 
Edwin  Raynor,  a  civil  engineer  (now  deceased),  to 
make  the  necessary  surveys,  plans,  and  estimates  of 
the  proposed  work.  The  engineer  made  the  surveys 
for  the  proposed  improvements  of  a  part  of  the  Guad- 
aloupe  River,  and  filed  his  report  with  the  Board  of 
Supervisors  of  said  county,  November  6,  1871.  On 
December  14  of  the  same  year,  a  protest,  signed  by  a 
two-thirds  majority  of  the  interested  property  holders 
(who  were  authorized  by  law  to  object  to  the  further 
prosecution  of  the  proposed  work),  was  filed  with  the 
Board  of  Supervisors,  and  all  further  proceedings  in 
this  matter  were  thereupon  ordered  to  be  stopped  by 
said  Board. 

The  next  step  was  taken  by  citizens  and  interested 
property  holders,  by  the  presentation  of  a  petition, 
addressed  to  the  mayor  and  common  council  of  the 
city  of  San  Jose,  April  22,  1873,  urging  the  work  of 
"widening,  straightening,  and  deepening  of  the  chan- 
nel of  the  Guadaloupe  River  within  the  city  limits,  and 
to  take  such  other  action  as  will  secure  the  protection 
of  lands  contiguous  to  said  river  or  stream  from  over- 
flow." In  compliance  with  this  petition  the  mayor 
and  common  council  passed  an  ordinance,  approved 
by  the  mayor,  the  Hon.  A.  Pfister,  August  6,  1872, 
directing  J.  H.  Pieper,  city  engineer,  to  make  a  survey 
of  this  river  and  to  report  the  same  to  the  mayor  and 
common  council,  accompanied  by  a  diagram  map  of 
the  location  of  said  stream  and  the  proposed  alter- 
ations of  its  channel.  This  survey  was  approved 
November  3,  1873;  but,  in  the  absence  of  authority 
on  the  part  of  the  city  government  to  improve  the 
channels  of  the  streams  as  referred  to  above,  nothing 
further  could  be  done  until  after  the  enactment  of  a 
new  city  charter  by  the  State  Legislature  in  1874. 

This  charter  enabled  the  mayor  and  common  coun- 
cil to  levy  an  annual  tax  not  exceeding  ten  cents  on 
the  $100  of  taxable  property,  and  also  authorized  the 
city  to  cause  improvements  to  be  made  on  the  streams 
at  any  place  outside  the  corporate  limits,  whenever, 
in  the  opinion  of  the  mayor  and  common  council,  the 
exigencies  of  the  case  might  require  them.  Under 
this  act  the  improvement  of  the  channels  of  the 
streams  flowing  through  the  city  has  been  gradually 
and  successfully  accomplished,  until,  at  the  present 
time,  very  little  remains  to  be  done. 

The  work  was  commenced  in  May,  1875,  at  which 
time  the  mayor  and  common  council  adopted  a  reso- 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


159 


lution  authorizing  the  payment  of  ten  cents  per  cubic 
yard  of  earth  excavated  and  removed  from  the  Guad- 
aloupe  River,  at  such  times  and  places  as  the  mayor 
and  common  council  should  direct. 

This  river  enters  the  city  at  its  western  limits  about 
two  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  north  of  Willow 
Street,  and  thence  passes  through  the  corporate  limits 
of  the  city  in  a  northwesterly  direction  a  distance  of 
about  fifteen  thousand  and  seventy-five  feet.  It  re- 
ceives two  tributary  streams  within  the  city;  one  of 
these  is  the  Tulares  de  los  Canoas,  which  joins  the 
Guadaloupe  at  a  point  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  south  of  San  Salvador  Street;  the  other  the 
Los  Gatos  Creek,  forming  its  confluence  with  the 
Guadaloupe  about  five  hundred  and  forty  feet  north 
of  Santa  Clara  Street. 

The  channel  of  the  Guadaloupe  River  was  originally 
very  irregular  in  width,  varying  from  a  minimum  of 
about  twenty-five  feet  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the 
city  to  a  width  of  seventy-five  to  one  hundred  and 
fifteen  feet  in  other  parts.  In  depth  its  channel  varied 
from  five  to  fifteen  feet,  its  course  being  very  erratic, 
turning  abruptly  from  one  side  to  the  other. 

During  freshets  the  river  overflowed  its  banks, 
forming  in  various  places  side  channels  through  ad- 
jacent lands,  washing  out  the  soil,  which  consists  prin- 
cipally of  a  rich  sedimentary  sandy  loam,  to  depths 
varying  from  one  to  six  feet,  and  at  one  time,  after  a 
protracted  rain-stoim,  sweeping  and  destroying  several 
tenement  houses.  The  aggregate  fall  of  the  river 
channel  from  the  point  of  its  entrance  into  the  city 
territory  to  its  lower  exit,  was  found  to  be  forty-two 
feet.  This  fall,  however,  was  irregular  and  varied 
from  one  inch  per  hundred  feet  in  the  central  part  of 
the  city,  to  more  than  one  foot  per  hundred  feet  in 
exceptional  cases  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  chan- 
nel ;  while,  in  its  lowest  part,  from  the  confluence  of 
the  Los  Gatos  Creek  northerly  to  the  northern  city 
limits,  it  had  a  more  uniform  grade  of  three  to  three 
and  one-half  inches  per  one  hundred  feet.  The  bed 
of  the  river  consisted  principally  of  clay,  or  adobe, 
wet,  and  in  many  places  spongy  and  difficult  of  ex- 
cavation. In  the  absence  of  any  definite  data  as  to 
the  maximum  of  flood-waters  to  be  provided  for,  the 
problem  to  be  solved  was  rather  perplexing.  But, 
taking  the  sectional  area  of  the  high  flood-waters  ex- 
perienced during  the  winter  of  1868  as  they  passed 
over  and  across  the  railroad  track,  and  from  Orchard 
Stre  t  along  the  middle  of  Santa  Clara  Street  and 
over  the  Alameda  road  to  Stockton  Avenue,  includ- 
ing the  sectional  areas  of  the  old  channels  of  both  the 


Guadaloupe  and  Los  Gatos  Rivers,  a  cross  section  of 
the  entire  volume  of  flood-waters  was  thus  obtained, 
from  which  conclusions  were  derived  that  a  tolerably 
uniform  channel  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen  to  one 
hundred  and  twenty  feet  in  width  between  the  upper 
bank  line,  and  having  side  slopes  of  one  and  one-half 
to  one  and  an  average  depth  of  about  thirteen  and 
one-half  feet,  would  afford  the  requisite  capacity,  and 
that  these  dimensions  would  be  also  fully  sufficient 
for  the  channel  from  Santa  Clara  Street  southerly  to 
the  junction  with  the  Tulares  de  los  Canoas,  and  up  to 
the  vicinity  of  the  westerly  terminus  of  Grant  Street, 
in  which  section  the  grade  of  the  river  channel,  as 
stated  above,  was  much  less  than  north  of  its  junction 
with  the  Los  Gatos. 

From  Grant  Street  southerly  to  the  western  city 
limits,  the  existing  conditions  as  to  an  increased 
gradient  admitted  of  a  gradual  reduction  of  the  di- 
mensions of  the  proposed  channel  to  a  width  of  about 
eighty-five  feet  at  its  upper  bank  lines,  as  well  as  of  a 
somewhat  lessened  depth. 

With  these  conclusions  arrived  at,  systematic  sur- 
veys for  the  improvement  of  the  channel  of  this  river 
were  then  made  from  time  to  time,  and  from  year  to 
year,  as  the  means  were  at  hand  to  do  the  work ;  the 
new  bank  and  levee  lines  and  grades  were  established, 
and  the  amount  of  the  necessary  excavations  along 
the  river-frontage  of  each  of  the  respective  owners  of 
the  adjacent  lands  determined  by  a  proper  system  of 
cross-section  levels.  Many  of  the  adjacent  property 
owners  gave  the  land  necessary  for  this  improvement, 
and  did  the  work  of  excavation  at  the  statutory  price 
of  ten  cents  per  yard.  Mr.  Martin  Murphy  not  only 
gave  the  land,  but  did  the  work  along  his  line  at  his 
own  expense.  But  nearly  all  the  channel  north  of 
the  bridge,  at  the  crossing  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railroad,  had  to  be  improved  under  the  contract  sys- 
tem, and  cost  from  thirteen  to  sixteen  cents  per  yard. 
The  entire  cost  of  the  improvement  was  $30,503.94. 

The  Los  Gatos  enters  the  city  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  southwest  of  Santa  Clara  Street,  and  after 
a  short  run  in  a  northerly  direction  unites  its  waters 
with  those  of  the  Guadaloupe,  entering  said  river  at 
an  angle  of  about  forty  degrees.  The  former  channel 
of  this  creek  was  confined  almost  throughout  its  en- 
tire length  within  the  city  between  redwood  bulk- 
heads, and  had  a  width  of  thirty  to  thirty-five  feet 
only.  Its  course,  moreover,  was  exceedingly  crooked, 
having  the  form  of  the  letter  S  in  its  meandering; 
it  extended  the  length  of  one  thousand  one  hundred 
feet,  while  a  straight  line  drawn  from  the  point  of  its 


160 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD: 


entrance  into  the  city  to  its  junction  with  the  Guada- 
loupe  measured  about  eight  hundred  and  fifty  feet. 
However,  it  formed  in  this  winding  course,  except  in 
a  single  instance,  the  boundary  between  the  lands  of 
different  owners,  holding  opposite  sides  of  the  creei<, 
and  to  this  fact  and  attendant  difficulties  in  adjusting 
these  boundaries,  it  is  to  be  regretted,  must  be  traced 
the  cause  of  the  somewiiat  unsatisfactory  result  of 
the  improvement  of  this  comparatively  short  creek 
channel  as  to  its  proper  alignment. 

Under  the^e  conditions  the  work  of  improving  this 
stream  had  to  be  done  in  a  less  systematic  and  de- 
sirable manner  than  contemplated  at  the  outset ;  yet 
the  channel  has  been  materially  straightened  as  com- 
pared with  its  former  course,  and  its  width  has  been 
increased  to  about  double  what  it  was  formerly,  af- 
fording a  capacity  which  will  prove  amply  sulificient 
to  hold  within  its  banks  flood-waters  of  the  greatest 
freshets  experienced  during  the  last  twenty  years. 
The  channel  of  tiris  stream  has  also  been  widened 
outside  of  the  city  limits  to  a  considerable  extent,  at 
the  expense  of  the  county  of  Santa  Clara.  Its  depth 
within  the  city  limits  is  about  thirteen  and  one-half 
feet,  and  both  banks  have  been  secured  by  a  wooden 
bulk-head,  having  a  batler  of  four  feet  in  this  height, 
and  leaving  a  water-way  of  about  sixty-six  feet,  mean 
width.  A  length  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  .feet  of 
the  new  bulk-head  on  the  easterly  side  of  the  channel, 
at  an  unavoidable  turn  in  its  course  where  the  full 
force  of  the  rapid  current  of  the  stream  strikes  it, 
was  destroyed  some  years  ago  by  flood-waters.  It 
has  since  been  replaced  by  willow  fascine  work,  which, 
at  the  present  time,  forms  a  solid  facing  of  growing 
willows,  not  likely  to  be  injured  hereafter  by  the 
action  of  the  stream.  A  part  of  the  bulk-head  along 
the  easterly  side  of  the  stream  was  built  by  Mr.  John 
Auzerais,  now  deceased,  at  his  own  expense.  The 
entire  cost  of  the  improvement  of  the  Los  Gatos  was 
$2,992.50. 

The  Tulares  De  Los  Canoas  passes  through  the 
northwestern  part  of  the  city,  and  joins  the  Guada- 
loupe  a  short  distance  south  of  Auzerais  Avenue. 
Its  entire  length  within  the  city  limits  is  about  six 
thousand  seven  hundred  feet.  It  is  an  irregular 
channel,  and  varies  in  width  from  ten  to  thirty  feet, 
and  in  depth  from  four  to  seven  feet.  Since  the  im- 
provement of  the  Guadaloupe  River  this  creek  has  not 
overflowed  its  banks,  showing  that  former  overflows, 
especially  in  its  lower  course,  were  due  mainly  to 
"  back-water "  from  the  Guadaloupe  River.  The 
only  locality  upon  which  improvements  were   made 


on  the  channel  of  this  creek,  was  north  and  south 
of  the  Duane  Street  crossing,  where  it  has  been  reg- 
ularly improved  for  a  length  of  about  three  hundred 
and  thirty-four  feet,  by  straightening  its  course  and 
by  excavating  it  to  a  regular  cross  section,  having  a 
mean  width  of  eighteen  feet  by  a  depth  of  seven  and 
one-half  feet. 

Coyote  River  forms  the  eastern  boundary.  It 
has  a  deep,  very  wide  and  irregular  channel  along 
the  city  line,  and  there  is  no  danger  of  overflow 
at  any  place  adjoining  city  territory.  It  has  been 
found  necessary,  however,  to  protect  its  westerly  bank, 
which  reaches  a  height  of  twenty-two  to  twenty-five 
feet,  and  consists  of  a  sandy  loam,  interstratified  with 
sand  and  fine  gravel  from  the  action  of  the  current. 
This  work  was  done  immediately  north  and  south 
of  the  crossing  of  Santa  Clara  Street,  during  the  years 
1875  and  1876,  at  which  time  the  bank  had  to  be 
sustained  by  willow  fascine  facings  and  wing-dams, 
which  have  ever  since  remained  intact,  the  willows 
now  forming  a  dense  living  barrier,  as  it  were,  to 
further  encroachments  of  the  river  at  these  points. 
The  expenditures  incurred  for  this  work  amounted 
in  the  aggregate  to  thi.  sum  of  $2,449.70.  There 
was  also  expended  for  a  somewhat  extensive  break- 
water embankment,  built  about  one-half  mile  south  of 
the  city,  during  the  year  1872,  the  sum  of  $3,866.86, 
this  being  one-half  of  its  cost,  the  other  half  having 
been  paid  by  the  county  of  Santa  Clara.  The  em- 
bankment was  built  to  avert  the  danger  of  overflows 
from  the  river  at  this  locality,  where  its  strong  current 
during  times  of  freshets  made  rapid  progress  in  the 
destruction  of  its  westerly  bank,  which  consists  here 
also  of  a  sedimentary  sandy  loam  and  yields  very 
readily  to  the  undermining  and  abrading  action  of 
flood-waters.  The  total  cost  of  river  improvement  to 
date  has  been  $44,087.41.  The  main  channel  of  the 
Guadaloupe,  below  its  junction  with  the  Los  Gatos, 
has  a  carrying  rapacity  of  sixteen  thousand  cubic  feet 
per  second,  which  is  ample  for  all  purposes. 

The  first  attempt  to  furnish  drainage  for  the  city 
was  made  in  1867,  when  a  wooden  sewer  three  by 
four  feet  in  size  was  built  on  Fourth  Street,  from 
San  Fernando  to  Taylor  Street,  a  distance  of  about 
six  thousand  two  hundred  and  eighty  feet.  It  was 
designed  for  the  purpose  of  surface  and  storm-water 
drainage,  and  to  replace  an  open  ditch  which  then 
existed  on  Fourth  and  other  streets,  and  was  built  at 
the  comparatively  shallow  depths  of  three  to  eight 
feet.  In  1872  temporary  sewers,  consisting  princi- 
pally of  redwood  box    drains,   were  built  in    several 


^= 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


161 


streets  and  connected  with  the  branches  from  the 
Fourth  Street  sewer. 

This  arrangement  was  of  a  very  temporary  charac- 
ter, and  in  1S70  the  city  engineer,  Mr.  J.  H.  Pieper, 
was  instructed  to  propose  and  submit  a  system  of 
permanent  sewerage  for  the  city.  This  was  done,  and 
the  present  effective  system  was  the  result.  Its  cost 
was  estimated  at  $200,000.  The  city  had  no  money 
at  that  time  available  for  this  purpose,  and  the  work 
was  postponed  from  year  to  year.  On  several  occa- 
sions it  was  proposed  that  the  council  ask  for  author- 
ity to  make  a  loan,  but  the  prevailing  sentiment  was 
against  creating  any  debt.  The  levy  of  a  tax  sufficient 
to  carry  on  the  enterprise  was  as  warmly  opposed  as 
the  proposition  to  issue  bonds.  The  matter  stood 
thus  for  nearly  ten  years.  In  the  meantime  the  city 
had  grown  rapidly,  and  the  question  of  drainage  could 
no  longer  be  postponed.  It  was  resolved  to  begin 
the  work  and  carry  it  along  as  rapidly  as  money  could 
be  obtained  to  pay  for  it. 

In  1880  ground  was  broken  and  the  work  was  con- 
tinued with  more  or  less  vigor,  according  to  the  con- 
dition of  the  sewerage  fund,  until  1887,  when  the 
loan  of  $285,000  was  made,  $150,000  for  the  main 
sewer  and  $135,000  for  branch  sewers.  Up  to  this 
time,  however,  the  sum  of  about  $165,000  had  been 
expended  and  the  system  was  in  fair  working  order. 
The  reason  why  the  cost  has  been  so  much  in  excess 
of  the  original  estimate  is  found  in  the  fact  that  it  is 
intended  to  build  a  covered  sewer  to  the  bay  instead 


of  the  open  ditch  now  used  as  an  outlet,  and  to  extend 
the  .system  over  much  more  territory  than  was  at  first 
intended.  It  may  be  said  that  the  loan  of  $285,000 
was  to  cover  new  work  not  estimated  on,  or  contem- 
plated in  the  original  proposition. 

The  main  sewer  is  on  Fifth  Street,  extending  from 
San  Fernando  Street  to  the  bay,  a  distance  of  nearly 
eight  miles.  From  San  Fernando  to  Taylor  Streets 
it  is  built  of  brick,  thirty-six  by  fifty-four  inches  in 
the  clear,  from  twenty-one  to  thirteen  feet  below  the 
surface.  From  Taylor  Street  to  the  outlet  sewer,  near 
C.  Younger's  line,  a  distance  of  six  thousand  and 
sixty-seven  feet,  it  is  of  brick,  sixty  inches  in  diameter 
and  from  thirteen  to  ten  feet  below  the  surface 
Thence  through  lands  of  Younger,  Maloney,  and  Col- 
lins, a  distance  of  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  five 
feet,  it  is  of  redwood,  and  from  seven  to  three  feet 
below  the  surface.  Thence  to  the  Guadaloupe  River, 
about  a  mile  from  Alviso,  it  is  an  open  ditch.  The 
location  of  the  open  ditch  is  now  being  changed  so  that 
it  will  open  directly  into  the  bay,  and  will  be  covered 
along  its  entire  length. 

The  branch  sewers,  except  on  Taylor  Street,  from 
Fifth  to  Tenth,  and  on  San  Fernando  Street,  from 
Third  to  Eighth  (which  are  of  brick),  are  of  vitrified 
stone  pipe.  They  now  comprise  a  distance  of  over 
thirt)'  miles. 

The  accompanying  map  will  show  the  location, 
size,  and  direction  of  all  the  sewers  constructed  to  the 
present  time. 


*        OF  THE  COUNTY.        fe- 


M- 


'*^=?^^^=^ 


THE  question  of  a  public  revenue  became  promi- 
nent immediately  upon  the  organization  of  the 
county.  There  were  no  improvements  or  property  to 
start  with.  Everything  had  to  commence  from  the 
begmning.  In  this  respect  the  county  was  in  a  worse 
condition  than  the  city,  which  fell  heir  to  all  the 
property  of  the  old  pueblo,  and  which  enabled  it  to 
not  only  pay  all  debts  but  left  a  very  handsome  sur- 
plus. The  county  had  to  create  everything,  with  no 
material  at  hand  for  the  purpose.  Its  necessary  offi- 
cers were  numerous  and  salaries  were  high.  There 
were  no  public  buildings  and  no  highways,  no  schools, 
and,  comparatively,  a  small  property  valuation  on 
which  to  levy  a  tax.  But  with  all  these  needs  the 
new  government  did  not  propose  to  overburden  the 
people  with  taxation.  The  first  levy  was  twenty-five 
cents  on  the  hundred  dollars,  with  a  poll-tax  of  two 
dollars  and  a  half  The  next  year  the  levy  was  fifty 
cents  on  the  hundred  dollars,  with  twenty-five  cents 
added  for  building  purposes.  The  year  following,  the 
levy  was  reduced  to  thirty  cents,  with  five  cents  for 
buildings,  and  in  1853  it  was  again  raised  to  fifty 
cents  for  general  purposes,  with  twenty-five  cents  for 
buildings  and  five  cents  for  schools.  These  levies 
were  exclusive  of  the  tax  for  State  purposes. 

The  revenue  was  far  short  of  the  requirements  of 
the  county.  Warrants  were  issued  that  went  to  pro- 
test, and  in  1856  a  debt  of  over  $60,000  had  ac- 
cumulated. Then  the  aid  of  the  Legislature  was 
invoked,  and  an  act  was  passed  by  that  body  and 
approved  April  9  of  that  year,  authorizing  the 
county  government  to  issue  bonds  to  the  amount  of 
$67,500,  payable  in  ten  years  and  bearing  twelve  per 
cent  interest.  These  bonds  were  issued  and  given  to 
creditors  in  lieu  of  their  claims,  and  thus  the  entire 
debt  of  the  county  was  funded  up  to  March  i,  1856. 
These  bonds  were  redeemed,  as  required  by  the  act, 
in  1866. 

In    1 86 1    the  county  was  struggling  with  the  rail- 
road problem,  and  the  people  were  willing  to  assume 
(162) 


almost  any  burden  that  might  insure  the  building  of 
a  road  to  San  Jose.  Several  efforts  had  been  made 
to  secure  private  subscriptions  for  the  purpose  of 
constructing  a  railroad  to  Alviso  to  connect  with  a 
line  of  boats,  but  all  had  been  unsuccessful.  At  this 
time  came  the  San  Francisco  &  San  Jose  Railroad 
Company  with  the  proposition  that,  if  the  county 
would  subscribe  for  $200,000  of  the  stock  of  the 
company  and  issue  bonds  in  payment  of  the  same, 
the  road  would  be  built.  The  proposition  was  popu- 
lar, and  on  April  9,  1861,  a  law  was  enacted  by  the 
Legislature  authorizing  the  county  to  make  the  sub- 
scription and  to  issue  bonds  payable  in  fifteen  years, 
and  bearing  seven  per  cent  interest.  These  bonds 
were  redeemed  as  follows:  The  railroad  stock  was 
sold  (as  related  in  our  chapter  on  railroads),  to 
Messrs.  Donahue,  Newhall,  and  Mayne,  and  the  pro- 
ceeds, $100,000,  applied  to  redemption  of  the  bonds. 
Five  thousand  dollars'  worth  were  redeemed  as  pro- 
vided by  the  act  creating  the  indebtedness.  The  re- 
mainder matured  and  were  redeemed  in  1876  by  new 
bonds  issued  in  that  year.  One  bond  of  a  thousand 
dollars  was  not  presented  for  payment  until  1880, 
having  evidently  been  mislaid  by  the  owner. 

In  1865  the  Western  Pacific  Railroad  Company 
asked  the  county  to  subscribe  for  $150,000  of  its 
capital  stock,  under  the  provisions  of  an  act  of  1863. 
The  people  accepted  the  proposition,  and  bonds  were 
issued  payable  in  twenty  years,  with  interest  at  seven 
per  cent.  Of  these  bonds  $5,000  were  paid,  and  the 
remainder,  $145,000,  refunded  by  the  issue  of  what 
was  called  the  "Redemption  Bonds  of  1885."  These 
were  issued  in  three  series,  to  wit: — 

April  13,  1885— $45,000— 4 >^  per  cent. 

Aug.   19,   1885— $55,000— 4 

Oct.    23,  1885 — $45,000—4 

In  March,  1866,  the  I-egislature  authorized  the 
county  to  issue  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $130,000  for 
the  purpose  of  erecting  county  buildings.  These 
bonds  were  payable  in   fifteen  years,  with  interest  at 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


163 


twelve  per  cent,  and  were  known  as  the  "  Court  House 
Bonds;"  $II2,000  of  these  bonds  were  redeemed  in 
1872  with  money  received  from  sale  of  theW.  P.  R.  R. 
stock,  as  noted  in  chapter  on  railroads.  Four  years 
later  the  Legislature  authorized  another  issue  of 
bonds  by  the  county  to  the  amount  of  $80,000,  to 
pay  for  the  construction  of  the  jail.  These  bonds 
were  payable  in  ten  years  and  carried  ten  and  one- 
half  per  cent  interest. 

The  "Court  House  Bonds"  and  the  "Jail  Bonds" 
were  refunded  in  1873  by  the  issuance  of  bonds  to 
the  amount  of  $130,000,  payable  in  twelve  years  and 
bearing  eight  per  cent  interest.  These  new  bonds  were 
called  the  "  Court  House  and  Jail  Bonds."  At  the 
time  they  became  due  there  remained  unpaid  the  sum 
of  $56,000,  which  was  refunded  in  January,  1885. 

In  May,  1876,  bonds  known  as  "Redemption  Bonds 
of  1876"  were  issued.  The  amount  was  $96,000,  with 
seven  per  cent  interest,  and  due  1890.  The  proceeds 
of  the  sale  of  these  bonds  were  used  to  redeem  the 
S.  F.  &  S.  J.  R.  R.  bonds  of  186 1.  Of  these  bonds 
there  is  $48,000  now  outstanding. 

In  April,  1878,  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $31,065.60 
were  issued  for  the  purpose  of  funding  the  debt  due 
the  estate  of  James  Lick,  for  moneys  advanced  for 
the  construction  of  the  Mount  Hamilton  road.  These 
bonds  were  known  as  the  "  Lick  Avenue  Bonds,"  and 
bore  no  interest.  They  were  all  redeemed  in  1888. 
The  new  constitution,  which  went  into  effect  in  1880, 
and  the  laws  enacted  under  it,  permitted  all  counties 
to  fund  any  floating  debt  that  might  be  outstanding 
prior  to  the  first  of  January,  1880.  The  same  laws 
also  provided  that,  after  January  i,  1880,  the  county 
should  incur  no  indebtedness  in  any  fiscal  year  in 
excess  of  the  revenue  of  that  year.  When  this  law 
went  into  effect  there  was  a  floating  debt  of  about 
$95,000,  principally  against  the  several  road  funds, 
which  the  supervisors  did  not  fund.  There  was  some 
misapprehension  as  to  the  full  effect  of  the  law,  and 
while  the  expenses  of  the  county  were  kept  within 
the  limit  of  the  tax  levy  each  year,  the  revenue  was 
used  to  pay  outstanding  warrants  in  the  order  of  their 
issuance.  Thus,  in  1883,  the  warrants  issued  prior  to 
January,  1880,  had  been  paid,  while  an  equal  amount 
of  those  issued  in  1881  and  1882  were  still  outstand- 
ing. As  the  law  was  interpreted  to  mean  that  the 
revenue  of  1883  could  not  be  applied  to  payment  of 
warrants  of  previous  years,  the  Board  was  in  a  quan- 
dary. There  was  a  debt  of  $95,000,  with  no  means 
of  payment  under  the  law.  Many  meetings  were 
held,   and    many    suggestions    made.     It  was  finally 


resolved  to  treat  the  payment  of  the  warrants  issued 
prior  to  1880  as  an  error  of  book-keeping,  and  to 
consider  the  current  debt  as  being  the  debt  existing 
at  that  time.  This  solved  the  difficulty,  and  bonds 
to  that  amount  were  issued,  payable  in  twenty  years, 
with  interest  at  five  per  cent.  Bonds  to  the  amount 
of  $56,000,  payable  in  twenty  years,  and  bearing  six 
per  cent  interest,  were  issued  in  January,  1885,  for 
the  purpose  of  redeeming  the  Court  House  and  Jail 
Bonds  of  1872. 

The  bonded  indebtedness  of  the  county,  therefore, 
at  this  time,  is  as  follows,  after  deducting  the  amount 
of  bonds  redeemed: — 


Bonds  of  1876. . .  .$  48,000. , 

"      1883 77,000. 

"     1885 50,000. 

"      1885 45,000. 

"     1885 100,000. 


.Due,  iSgo 7    percent. 

•  "     1903 5 

.    "     1905 6        " 

•  "    1905  ■■■A'A    '' 

•  "    1905 4 


$320,000 

This  is  practically  the  total  debt  of  the  county  at 
this  time,  the  law  prohibiting  the  creation  of  any  debt 
that  cannot  be  paid  by  the  revenue  of  the  current 
year. 

The  following  tables  will  show  the  increase  in  the 
value  of  property  in  the  county  from  its  organization 
Unfortunately  the  records  for  the  first  four  years  have 
been  mislaid,  but  enough  remains  to  show  the  won- 
derful increase  in  wealth,  especially  during  the  past 
six  years : — 


1850 
1851. 
1S52. 
1853- 
1854. 
1855. 
1856. 
1857. 
1858. 
1859. 
i860. 
1861. 
1862. 
1S63. 
1864. 
1865. 
1866. 


1S69. 
1870. 
1871. 
1872. 
1S73. 
1S74. 
1875- 
1876. 
1877. 
1S78. 
1879. 
18S0. 


1S83. 


Books  missing 

Books  missing 

T.  S.  Burnett — Books  missing 

J .  H .  Morgan — Books  missing 

.W.Gallimore $  5.355. 

John  Bland 5,122, 

John  Bland 5,449, 

W.  H.  Patton 4.5o4, 

W.  H.  Patton 5,131. 

,W.  R.  Davis — Books  missing 

W.  R.  Davis 5,677, 

D.  IVI.  Harwood 5,oi2: 

,D.  M.  Harwood 6,038, 

D.  M.  Harwood 6,129, 

,D.  M.  Harwood 6,883. 

.W.  O.  Barker 6,955, 

,W.  O.  Barker 8,165, 

.Henry  Phelps 9.3o6, 

.Henry  Phelps 10,674, 

.Henry  Phelps Ii,459. 

,  Henry  Phelps 11,781, 

.T.  M.  Lilly l2,o8S, 

.T.  M.  Lilly 3>.322, 

.T.  M.  Lilly 27,528, 

.T.M.Lilly 3i,7°7, 

.Henry  Phelps 29,362, 

.Henry  Phelps 28,175, 

.Henry  Phelps 27,990, 

.  Henry  Phelps 27,603, 

.  Hiram  Fairfield 24,604, 

.Hiram  Fairfield 25,514 

.Hiram  Fairfield 26,018 

.Hiram  Fairfield 26,018 

.L.  A.  Spitzer  (city  property) 11,983, 

.L.  A.  .Spitzer  (country  property). .    20,554, 


.$1  40 


I  65 
I  90 


2  48 
2  40 
2  33 
2  60 
2  54 
2  47 


I   40 

1    30 
I  65 


I  50 
I  50 
I  50 
I  50 
I  13 
I  45 


1G4 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE   "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


Year.        Assessor.  Assessment. 

884.  .L.  A.  Spitzer  (city  property) 12,506,646. 


Rate. 
92 


.L.  A.  Spitzer  (country  property) . .    24, 124,435 • 

885.. L.  A.  Spitzer  (city  property) 13,951,654 95 

885.  .L.  A.  Spitzer  (country  property). .    26,344,537 i  20 

886.  .L.  A.  Spitzer  (city  property) 13,420,716 90 

886.  .L.  A.  Spitzer  (country  property).  .    26,286,071 i   20 

887.. L.  A.  Spitzer  (city  property) 15,510,691 90 

887.  .L.  A.  Spitzer  (country  property). .    28,002,830 i  20 

888.. L.  A.  Spitzer  (city  property) 20,971,544 

888.. L.  A.  Spitzer  (country  property)..    36,313,408 

This  shows  an  increase,  since  1882,  of  %l\,266,6y6, 
or  more  than  a  hundred  per  cent. 

The  property  of  the  county,  consistint,^  of  pubHc 
buildings,  grounds,  etc.,  is  estimated  at  this  time  to 
be  worth  about  half  a  miUion  of  dollars.  Thus  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  county  has  a  very  handsome 
silrplus  over  and  above  its  $320,000  of  indebtedness. 
An  item  showing  the  rapid  growth  of  the  country  is 
this:  In  1887  the  number  of  acres  of  land  assessed 
was  five  hundred  and  eighty-nine  thousand  nine  hun- 
dred and  sixty-five;  in  1888  the  number  was  five 
hundred  and  eighty-eight  thousand  one  hundred  and 
thirty  one.  The  difference,  one  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred and  thirty-four  acres,  was  subdivided  into  lots 
and  blocks,  and  rated  as  city  property. 

The  number  of  fruit  trees  in  the  county,  as  near  as 
can  be  estimated,  is  two  million  three  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  six  hundred  and  thirty-four.  The 
value  of  the  fruit  crop  was,  in  round  numbers,  two 
million  and  a  half  dollars. 

Acres  ol  grapes io,6i8 

"     strawberries 509 

*'     blaclvberries 127 

"     raspberries 39 

"      wheat 23,721 

"     barley 26,997 

"     corn 215 

"     hay 49,265 

Gallons  of  brandy  manufactured 60,125 

"      wine  "  703.475 

beer  "  1,270,140 

PETROLEUM  AND  NATURAL  GAS. 
Up  to  the  present  time  the  development  of  the  pe- 
troleum resources  of  Santa  Clara  County,  and,  in  fact, 
of  California,  has  been  entirely  the  work  of  one  man 
— Mr.  Robert  C.  McPherson.  He  was  born  in  Buf- 
falo, New  York,  May  6,  1840,  and  was  reared  and 
educated  there.  His  father,  John  McPherson,  was  a 
Scotchman  and  had  settled  in  Buff"alo  when  it  was  a 
small  village.  His  business  was  that  of  a  beef  and 
pork  packer.  In  1859,  when  the  first  oil  excitement 
occurred  in  Pennsylvania,  Robert,  with  his  brother 
Angus,  went  there  and  operated  until  1873,  when  he 
came  to  California.  At  that  time  there  had  been 
some  desultory  prospecting  in  the  southern  counties, 
particularly  in  what  is  known  as  the  Pico  District. 
Oil  had  been  found  by  shallow  wells  but  no  intelligent 


and  thorough  effort  had  been  made  toward  a  complete 
development.  The  work  had  been  done  principally 
by  the  San  Francisco  Petroleum  Company,  the  di- 
rectors of  which  dil  not  seem  inclined  to  make  ex- 
pensive experiments.  When  Mr.  McPherson  came 
upon  the  ground,  his  experienced  eye  at  once  saw 
that  the  prospecting  had  been  of  a  very  superficial 
character.  Against  the  protests  of  the  company  and 
against  the  remonstrances  of  his  friends,  he  com- 
menced sinking  a  well  with  the  determination  to  reach 
the  reservoir,  which  he  calculated  was  at  a  depth  of 
about  thirteen  hundred  feet.  After  much  expense 
and  many  discouragements  he  struck  the  oil-bearing 
sand  at  a  depth  of  twelve  hundred  and  ninety-five  feet. 
The  oil  flowed  over  the  top  of  the  derrick,  eighty  feet 
high.  This  was  the  first  deep  well  ever  drilled  in  Cal- 
ifornia, and  from  it  sprung  the  oil  interests  of  Southern 
California.  There  was  no  lack  of  capital  for  the  work 
after  Mr.  McPherson  had  shown  the  company  how  to 
employ  it  to  advantage.  He  operated  there  until  1874, 
when  he  sold  the  controlling  interest  to  Charles  N. 
Felton,  and  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  where  he  had 
leased  land  in  Moody's  Gulch  and  vicinity.  Here  he 
commenced  drilling  in  1878,  and  up  to  the  present 
time,  has  made  ten  wells.  As  a  matter  of  history 
the  operations  at  these  wells  are  important,  not  only 
as  to  what  has  already  been  accomplished,  but  as  a 
starting-point  for  future  work. 

Moody's  Gulch,  which  is  a  branch  of  the  Los  Gatos 
Canon,  at  wells  Nos.  i  and  2  (which  are  about  one 
hundred  feet  apart),  runs  about  north  twenty  degrees 
east.  Altitude  at  this  point,  eleven  hundred  feet. 
At  the  bridge  a  little  above,  fine-grained  sandstones 
and  shales  strike  about  north  sixty  degrees  west,  and 
dip  sixty-five  southwest.  Within  two  hundred  feet 
east  of  this  bridge  and  seventy-five  feet  or  more  above 
the  bed,  and  still  higher  up  the  hill,  is  well  No.  5.  East 
of  this  and  yet  higher  is  well  No.  8.  On  the  opposite 
side  of  the  gulch  and  about  two  hundred  feet  from  it 
is  Logan  No.  I.  Altitude,  about  thirteen  hundred  and 
eighty  feet  above  sea-level.  About  three  hundred 
feet  south,  twenty  degrees  west,  from  Logan  No.  i,  is 
Plyler  No.  i.  All  the  oil  obtained  from  these  wells  is 
a  green  oil,  known  as  parafline  oil,  and  has  a  specific 
gravity  of  forty-four  degrees.  It  is  piped  a  distance 
of  about  a  mile  to  the  mouth  of  the  gulch,  where  it  is 
received  in  a  tank  that  stands  on  a  side  track  of  the 
South  Pacific  Coast  Railway.  The  first  well,  named 
Moody  No.  i,  struck  oil  at  about  eight  hundred  feet. 
Unfortunately  the  detailed  record  of  operations  has 
been  lost,  but  that  of  subsequent  wells  is  complete. 


PEN   PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


165 


Moody  No.  2  was  drilled  in  October,  1879.  It 
started  in  slate  with  streaks  of  rotten  sandstone.  At 
three  hundred  feet  better  sand  was  found,  twenty-five 
feet  thick.  Then  came  slate  and  shale  to  the  second 
sand,  twenty  feet  thick,  at  a  depth  of  six  hundred  and 
thirty  feet.  After  this,  sand  very  shelly  with  streaks 
of  shale  and  slate.  The  third  sand  was  struck  at 
seven  hundred  and  sixty  feet.  Here  the  well  began 
to  fill  with  oil.  It  was  drilled  to  eight  hundred  feet, 
where  it  pumped  thirty  barrels  a  day. 

Moody  No.  3  was  a  loss.  It  was  sunk  to  a  depth 
often  hundred  and  eighty  feet,  and  showed  signs  of 
oil  and  gas,  but  caved  in  and  was  lost. 

Moody  No.  4  was  drilled  in  August  and  September, 
1880,  and  was  started  in  shale  and  soft  sand.  At  two 
hundred  and  sixty  feet  struck  first  regular  sand,  thirty 
feet  thick.  Afterwards  streaks  of  slate  and  shale  until 
reaching  second  sand,  forty  feet  thick,  at  a  depth  of 
six  hundred  and  eighty-five  feet.  Then  streaks  of  slate, 
shale,  and  shells.  Struck  gray  sand,  twenty  feet  thick^ 
dark  gray  in  color,  at  a  depth  of  nine  hundred  and 
eighty  feet,  carrying  considerable  oil,  estimated  at  ten 
barrels  per  day.  After  this,  hard  shelly  formation  all 
the  way  until  reaching  third  sand,  at  ten  hundred  and 
forty  feet.  This  sand  is  first-class  oil-bearing  sand, 
carrying  pebbles.  On  sinking  five  feet  into  this  sand, 
the  well  began  to  fill  up  rapidly,  and  in  twenty-four 
hours  there  were  three  hundred  feet  of  oil  in  the  hole. 
At  ten  hundred  and  fifty-five  feet  struck  more  oil, 
which  seemed  to  be  increasing  very  rapidly.  At  ten 
hundred  and  seventy-five  feet,  the  well  made  its  first 
flow.  At  ten  hundred  and  eighty-five  feet  it  flowed 
one  hundred  barrels  per  day,  flowing  nearly  all  the 
time.  From  here  to  ten  hundred  and  ninety-five  feet 
the  sand  grew  finer  and  harder.  Drilled  to  eleven 
hundred  and  three  feet,  still  in  the  same  sand.  Here 
the  well  was  stopped. 

Moody  No.  5  was  started  in  slate.  Struck  first 
sandrock,  twenty  feet  thick,  at  depth  of  four  hundred 
and  sixty-five  feet.  After  this  ran  in  slate  and  shale 
until,  at  a  depth  of  six  hundred  and  thirty  feet,  struck 
second  sand,  ten  feet  thick.  Then  ran  in  shale  to 
nine  hundred  and  thirty  feet,  where  the  third  sand 
was  struck,  fifteen  feet  thick.  The  well  here  made 
two  flows.  This  well  was  pumped  for  a  while,  but  be- 
ing a  small  well  and  yielding  only  about  ten  barrels 
per  day  it  was  determined  to  go  deeper.  They  went 
through  slate  all  the  way  to  one  thousand  four  hun- 
dred and  twenty  feet,  but  there  was  no  change  in  the 
yield.  It  was  then  shut  down  and  pumped  at  seven 
hundred  and  thirty  feet,  yielding  ten  barrels  per  day. 


Moody  No.  6  showed  a  little  oil  at  eleven  hun- 
dred and  twenty  feet.  Went  fourteen  hundred  feet, 
but  the  well  was  never  pumped. 

Moody  No.  7  was  drilled  in  1880.  Started  in 
slate.  First  regular  sand,  twenty  feet  thick,  at  two 
hundred  and  seventy-five  feet.  Then  ran  in  slate  and 
shale  until  striking  second  sand,  fifty  feet  thick  at 
six  hundred  and  twenty-five.  Afterwards  in  slate, 
shale,  and  shells.  At  nine  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
struck  a  stray  sand,  fifteen  feet  thick,  with  a  little  oil. 
After  this,  very  shelly  with  shale  and  streaks  of  slate. 
At  ten  hundred  and  fifty  feet  of  hard  shells  run 
into  twelve  feet  of  slate.  Afterwards  shell  and  sand. 
More  sand,  with  oil  and  gas.  At  ten  hundred  and 
ninety  feet,  better  sand  with  more  oil.  At  eleven 
hundred  feet,  well  began  to  fill  up  with  oil.  At  eleven 
hundred  and  twenty-five  feet,  pumped  thirty  barrels 
per  day.  Afterwards  drilled  to  twelve  hundred  feet 
and  increased  the  yield  to  forty  barrels. 

Logan  No.  i  is  a  twelve-inch  hole,  drilled  in  18S0. 
Started  in  slate  and  sand.  Struck  first  sand  twenty 
feet  thick,  at  two  hundred  and  eighty  feet.  Then 
slate  and  shale  to  second  sand,  thirty  feet  thick,  at  six 
hundred  and  fifty  feet.  Then  slate  and  shells  mixed. 
At  eight  hundred  and  eighty-five  feet,  stray  sand  with 
some  oil  and  gas.  Afterwards  more  shells  with 
streaks  of  sand.  At  nine  hundred  and  fifty  feet, 
more  sand  and  better.  At  nine  hundred  and  eighty 
feet,  well  filling  with  oil  (two  hundred  feet  of  oil  in  the 
hole).  At  ten  hundred  feet,  filled  with  oil.  Put  in 
tubing  and  pumped  fifteen  barrels  per  day.  Drilled 
to  eleven  hundred  feet,  sand  all  the  way,  and  increased 
the  yield  slightly. 

Moody  No.  8  commenced  drilling  March  6,  1887. 
Started  in  rotten  sand  and  shale.  Had  slate  and  sand 
to  five  hundred  and  ninety-five  feet  when  struck  first 
regular  sand,  twenty-three  feet  thick.  At  six  hundred 
and  eighteen  feet  got  first  show  of  gas.  Slate  from 
bottom  of  sand  to  six  hundred  and  forty-five  feet, 
then  shale.  At  seven  hundred  and  fifteen  feet,  shelly. 
At  seven  hundred  and  forty  feet,  second  sand,  gray, 
twenty  feet  thick.  At  eight  hundred  and  thirty  feet, 
shelly,  with  show  of  gas.  At  ten  hundred  and  twenty 
feet,  slate  and  shells  mixed;  a  little  show  of  oil  with  an 
increase  of  gas.  To  ten  hundred  and  eighty-five  feet, 
slate  with  a  little  shale.  At  eleven  hundred  and 
thirty  feet,  slight  show  of  sand.  At  eleven  hundred 
and  eighty,  slate.  At  thirteen  hundred  and  eight  feet, 
shale.  At  fourteen  hundred  and  seventy-three,  slate. 
At  fifteen  hundred  and  fifteen  feet,  very  hard  slate. 
At  fifteen  hundred  and  thirty-five  feet,  slate  and  shells 


166 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


mixed.  At  fifteen  hundred  and  sixty-five  feet,  not  so 
shelly  and  more  slate.  At  sixteen  hundred  and  five 
feet,  shale  and  sand  mixed.  At  sixteen  hundred  and 
fifteen  feet,  some  shells  with  an  increase  of  gas,  with 
some  sand.  At  this  point  it  was  concluded  to  dis- 
continue work  temporarily. 

Plyler  No.  I,  seventy-three  feet  of  rotten  rock 
and  then  through  sandstone  to  one  hundred  and 
eighty  feet;  then  two  feet  of  slate;  then  soft  sandstone 
to  two  hundred  and  twenty  feet ;  then  two  feet  of  slate ; 
then  sandstone  to  three  hundred  and  eighty  feet,  the 
last  ten  feet  being  very  hard.  Sand  continues  with 
a  streak  of  coffee-rock  to  four  hundred  and  eighty 
feet;  then  hard  sand  to  five  hundred  feet;  then  gray 
sand  to  five  hundred  and  twenty  feet.  Slate  and  sand 
mixed  to  five  hundred  and  fifty  feet;  then  sand  and 
slate  to  seven  hundred  feet;  then  shale  and  sand  with 
a  little  show  of  gas;  at  seven  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  a 
small  pocket  of  water;  at  seven  hundred  and  fifty-four 
feet,  shale;  at  nine  hundred  feet,  hard,  gray  shells  with 
shale  mi.xed;  at  nine  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  sand  full 
of  yellow  pebbles;  at  ten  hundred  feet,  slate;  at  ten 
hundred  and  thirty  feet,  increase  of  gas;  at  ten  hun- 
dred and  forty  feet,  shale  and  light-colored  sand;  at 
ti;n  hundred  and  sixty  feet,  shells;  at  eleven  hundred 
and  ten  feet,  gray  sand  twenty-six  feet  thick;  at  eleven 
hundred  and    thirty-six  feet,  black  slate,  very  soft;  at 


twelve  hundred  and  four  feet,  dark  shale  with  some 
sand;  at  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  feet,  slate;  twelve 
hundred  and  ninety  feet,  slate  a  little  lighter  in  color; 
thirteen  hundred  and  thirty-five  feet,  shale;  fourteen 
hundred  and  fifty  feet,  slate;  fourteen  hundred  and 
sixty-five  feet,  black  slate;  fourteen  hundred  and 
seventy-five  feet,  black  slate  and  sand;  fourteen  hun- 
dred and  eighty-four  feet,  some  gas,  slate  soft  and 
cavey.     The  well  is  not  yet  finished. 

The  output  from  these  wells  up  to  1886  was  eighty 
thousand  barrels.  At  the  present  time  the  yield  is 
three  hundred  barrels  per  month,  all  of  which  is  taken 
by  the  San  Jose  Gas  Works  at  $3.00  per  barrel.  The 
wells  have  been  pumped  regularly  three  times  a  day 
since  they  were  drilled.  The  machinery  is  run  by  two 
twenty-horse-power  engines,  the  only  fuel  used  being 
natural  gas. 

Mr.  McPherson  says  that  there  is  every  indication 
that  natural  gas  in  large  quantities  can  be  found  in 
many  if  not  all  parts  of  the  Santa  Clara  Valley; 
the  character  of  the  formation  in  the  surrounding 
hills  and  the  dip  of  the  strata  leave  no  doubt  in 
his  mind  that  a  thorough  prospect  will  be  richly  re- 
warded. At  this  time  an  effort  is  being  made  to  in- 
corporate a  company  with  a  capital  stock  sufficient 
to  make  exhaustive  experiments. 


^^(QmigmwmmwmMm  B##i^irm>g 


IN  April,  1854,  a  number  of  the  farmers  and  stock- 
raisers  of  the  county  determined  to  organize  an 
agricultural  society.  A  call  for  a  meeting  was  made, 
and  on  May  6  of  that  year  they  came  together  at  the 
City  Hall.  The  call  had  been  responded  to  with  con- 
siderable enthusiasm,  and  the  agricultural  interests 
were  well  represented.  H.  C.  Melone  was  chosen  to 
preside,  and  H.  Hamilton  was  appointed  secretary. 
The  object  of  the  meeting  was  stated  by  Wm.  M. 
Stafford,  who  was  followed  by  others,  all  favorable  to 
the  proposition  of  establishing  a  county  agricultural 
society.  The  prevailing  sentiment  having  been  thus 
ascertained,  a  committee,  consisting  of  J.  F.  Kennedy, 
Joseph  Aram,  and  O.  P.  Watson,  was  appointed  to 
prepare  a  draft  of  a  constitution,  after  which  the  meet- 
ing adjourned  until  the  twentieth  of  the  same  month. 
The  meeting  assembled  at  the  court-house  at  the 
date  mentioned.  The  constitution  presented  by  the 
committee  was  adopted.  The  following  officers  were 
elected:  L.  H.  Bascom,  President;  J.  F.  Kennedy, 
Vice-President;  E.  P.  Reed,  Recording  Secretary;  W. 
S.  Letcher,  Corresponding  Secretary;  F.  G.  Apple- 
ton,  Treasurer.  Board  of  Managers — J.  B.  Allen,  of 
Gilroy;  Mr.  Frost,  of  Fremont;  James  Houston,  of  Al- 
vi.so;  Joseph  Aram,  Wm.  R.  Bassham,  Dr.  Langhorne, 
and  Samuel  Robinson,  of  San  Jose.  Committee  on 
Agriculture — H.  C.  Melone,  Oliver  Cottle,  Isaac  Bird, 
J.  R.  Weller,  G.  W.  Peck,  O.  P.  Watson,  and  H.  C. 
Skinner.  Committee  on  Horticulture — Joseph  Aram, 
J.  V.  Kenned)',  William  Daniels,  Louis  Prevost,  and 
John  Morse. 

There  is  no  record  of  any  fair  having  been  held 
under  the  auspices  of  this  .society;  but,  owing  to  its 
influence,  the  State  Agricultural  Fair  was  held  in  San 
Jo.se  in  1856.  This  fair  was  largely  attended,  Santa 
Clara  County  carrying  off  the  honors.  The  first 
thoroughbred  cattle  brought  to  the  State  were  ex- 
hibited at  this  time  by  Robert  Blaco. 

Prior  to  establishing  the  agricultural  society,  .1  hor- 
ticultural .society  had  been  formed,  and,  after  the  State 
Fair,  an    effort  was  made  to  unite  the  two   interests. 


On  the  thirteenth  of  December,  1856,  a  meeting  was 
called  for  this  purpose.  William  Daniels,  H.  C.  Me- 
lone, and  J.  C.  Cobb  were  appointed  a  committee  to 
prepare  a  constitution.  January  i,  1857,  the  consti- 
tution was  presented  and  adopted,  and  the  society 
formed  under  the  name  of  the  "Santa  Clara  Valley 
Agricultural  and  Horticultural  Society."  On  Feb- 
ruary 7  the  following  officers  were  elected:  President, 
William  Daniels;  Vice-Presidents,  Coleman  Younger 
and  Joseph  Aram;  Secretary,  J.  C.  Cobb;  Treasurer, 
R.  G.  Moody;  Directors,  L.  A.  Gould  and  Louis 
Prevost.  The  old  agricultural  society  met  on  the 
same  day  and  disorganized  by  the  following  resolu- 
tion: "That  the  treasurer  be,  and  i-  hereby,  instructed 
to  pay  to  each  member  of  the  society  the  amount 
subscribed  by  said  member,  provided  he  applies  for 
the  same  before  the  first  day  of  March  next,  and 
whatever  remains  in  the  treasury  after  said  first  day 
of  March,  to  be  paid  to  the  treasurer  of  the  Agri- 
cultural and  Horticultural  Society  of  the  Valley  of 
Santa  Clara,  subject  to  the  disposition  of  the  society 
last  mentioned."  After  adopting  this  resolution  the 
agricultural  society  adjourned  sine  die. 

At  a  meeting  held  July  2,  1857,  it  was  resolved  to 
hold  a  fair  on  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  of  Sep- 
tember. A  premium  list  was  arranged  and  the  fair 
held    with   great  success.     A  fair  was   also   held    in 

1858,  but  the  difficulties  attending  these  exhibitions 
made  it  evident  that  they  could  not  be  continued 
under  the  then  system  of  organization.  The  society 
had  no  funds,  but  was  obliged  to  rely  on  voluntary 
contributions  for  its  i^remium  lists.  After  much  dis- 
cussion of  ways  and  means,  it  was  determined  to  in- 
corporate the  society.  Pursuant  to  this  determina- 
tion, the  passage  of  .in  act  was  procured  in   March, 

1859,  incorporating  the  organization  under  the  name 
of  the  "  Santa  Clara  Valley  Agricultural  Society," 
and  from  this  date  runs  the  legitimate  history  of 
the  society.  The  first  officers  under  the  charter 
were:  William  Daniels,  President;  Gary  Peebels  and 
Coleman  Younger,  Vice-Presidents;  C.   B.  Younger, 

(167) 


168 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


Secretary;  R.  G.  Moody,  Treasurer;  Louis  Prevost 
and  H.  H.  Winchell,  Directors. 

One  of  the  greatest  inconveniences  experienced  by 
the  society,  both  before  and  after  its  incorporation^ 
was  the  lack  of  permanent  grounds  on  which  to  hold 
the  annual  exhibitions.  A  committee  had  been  ap- 
pointed, in  1857,  ^°  examine  into  the  propriety  and 
possibility  of  purchasing  the  necessary  grounds.  This 
committee  accomplished  nothing;  neither  did  any  re- 
sult flow  from  the  appointment  of  a  similar  com- 
mittee in  the  following  year.  But  in  1859,  at  the 
meeting  at  which  the  officers  were  elected  under  the 
act  of  incorporation,  a  committee  was  also  appointed 
to  solicit  subscriptions  with  which  to  purchase  fair 
grounds  for  the  society.  This  committee  consisted 
of  Gary  Peebels,  Gol.  Younger,  H.  H.  Winchell, 
H.  G.  Melone,  T.  Bodley,  H.  Shartzer,  and  J.  G. 
Gameron.  Other  members  were  added  to  this  com- 
mittee from  time  to  time.  The  struggles  of  the  so- 
ciety up  to  this  time  are  thus  related  by  Goleman 
Younger,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  society,  and  who 
always  shouldered  a  large  portion  of  the  work,  which 
resulted  in  its  success: — 

"In  the  first  place  they  had  had  no  funds,  no  hall, 
no  fair  grounds;  the  Board  would  appoint  their  com- 
mittees to  beg,  and  to  sell  annual  memberships  to 
form  a  basis  for  premiums;  then  they  would  have  to 
cater  for  what  we  now  call  a  hall,  and  for  a  piece  of 
ground  from  some  citizen  for  a  stock  fair  ground; 
and,  between  the  two,  with  other  necessary  expenses, 
they  were  in  luck  if  they  came  out  even.  And  thus 
it  continued  for  years,  until  the  old  committees,  or,  in 
other  words,  the  '  old  war  horses,'  were  ashamed  to 
beg.  Our  first  stock  fair  would  beggar  description; 
but  our  fruits,  grain,  vegetables,  and  flowers,  on  ac- 
count of  the  newness  of  the  country,  excited  more 
interest  then  than  now." 

The  committee  appointed  to  solicit  subscriptions 
for  the  purchase  of  grounds,  met  with  good  success- 
In  two  weeks  they  had  raised  the  sum  of  $14,464.55. 
There  were  one  hundred  and  ninety-nine  original  con- 
tributors, as  follows  :  The  county  of  Santa  Clara  gave 
$500  ;  William  Daniels  gave  $300. 

Those  who  gave  $200  were,  Martin  Murphy,  Sr., 
James  Lick,  Samuel  J.  Hensley,  Josiah  Belden,  Philip 
G.  Vibbard,  W.  M.  Williamson. 

Those  who  gave  $150  were  Adolph  Pfister,  E. 
Auzerais  &  Bro.,  Galvin  Martin,  Thos.  Bodley,  Naglee, 
Peach,  and  Billings. 

James  Murphy  gave  $125,  and  J.  F.  Kennedy  $120. 

Those  who    gave  $100    were  :    Goleman  Younger, 


H.  G.  Melone,  Gary  Peebels,  Wm.  B.  Thomburge, 
Hiram  Shortzer,  Rowley  &  Adams,  A.  S.  Beaty  & 
Bro.,  William  Reynolds,  S.  B.  Emerson,  William  Mc- 
Glay,  H.  H.  Winchell,  G.  W.  Pomeroy  &  Go.,  W.  W. 
McCoy,  E.  W.  Grover,  W.  W.  Hollister,  W.  M.  Lent, 
John  H.  Gameron,  John  Young,  R.  K.  Ham,  Daniel 
Murphy,  and  S.  P.  Goburn. 

Peter  Ouivey  gave  $70. 

Those  who  gave  $50  were  :  G.  Mengarini,  S.  J., 
J.  R.  Lowe,  Sr.,  Isaac  N.  Thompson,  Aus.  M.  Thomp- 
son, Delavan  Hoag,  Henry  Lawrence,  Isaac  Y. 
Brooks,  Antonio  Sunol,  F.  and  J.  Stock,  R  G.  Moody, 
V.  D.  Moody,  Morris  Wise,  S.  O.  Broughton,  E.  J. 
Wilcox,  Adam  Holloway,  L.  Froment  &  Co.,  W.  H. 
Hall,  L.  H.  Bascom,  John  G.  Bray,  Santa  Clara 
Brewery,  B.  S.  Fox  &  Co.,  S.  G.  Young,  J.  R.  Weller, 
Louis  Prevost,  William  Aram,  A.  Lervies,  John  H. 
Moore,  J.  G.  Cobb,  J.  B.  Van  Nest,  Louis  Pellier. 

John  Trimble  gave  $40. 

Those  who  gave  $25  were  :  H.  D.  McCobb,  Morgan 
&  Johnson,  Victor  Speckens,  S.  S.  Johnson,  A.  G 
Erkson,  John  West,  Horace  Hawes,  M.  Jourdan,  D. 
Gerdes,  G  Colombet,  Isaac  Branham,  John  M.  Mur- 
phy, G.  W.  Frazier,  S.  A.  Clark,  P.  H.  Burnett,  G  T. 
Ryland,  J.  P.  Springer,  P.  de  Saisset,  J.  Gerensky, 
John  Balbach,  Williams  &  Winslow,  A.  Delmas,  J.  D. 
Gunn,  Loewe  &  Bro.,  Levy  &  Bro.,  Leddy  &  Statsman, 
Haskell  &  Porter,  Yocco  &  Bro.,  Pearl  &  Reen,  Lilly 
&  Bothwell,  J.  W.  Sims,  William  Matthews,  E.  W. 
Case,  J.  R.  Wilson,  Lawrence  Archer,  F.  G.  Appleton, 
J.  B.  Bontemps,  G.  George  &  Co.,  William  McClay, 
N.  Hays,  John  W.  Hardwick,  G.  Brabaska,  William 
Travis,  Patrick  Fenton,  D.  Williams,  H.  H.  Warbur- 
ton,  James  Scott,  Mark  Hardy,  T.  S.  Bradley,  John 
W.  Leigh,  J.  A.  Ouinby,  Freeman  Gates,  John  John- 
son. 

Those  who  gave  $20  were:  Wm.  T.  Wallace,  Will- 
iam S.  Letcher,  Jackson  Lewis,  P.  O.  Minor,  Henry 
Deatsman,  James  Houston,  Madan  &  Fosgate,  F.  C. 
Franck,  J.  N.  Appleton,  Massey  Thomas,  C.  D. 
Cheney. 

Those  who  gave  $io  were:  H.  &  E.  A.  Van  Dal- 
sem,  Joseph  Bassler,  and  George  Bego. 

Edward  McGowan  gave  $8.00. 

G.  W.  Lander,  T.  D.  John.son,  J.  H.  Scull,  Matthew 
Mitchell,  B.  Bampard,  James  O'Brien,  S.  B.  Mont- 
gomery, R.  F.  Herrickand  Mr.  Rich  gave  $5.00  each; 
J.  L.  Miller  and  Wesley  Tonnar  gave  $2.00  each,  and 
Juan  Santa  Ana  gave  $1.00. 

In  addition  to  the  above  money  subscriptions  the 
following  donations  of  materials  and  labor  were  made: 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


George  H.  Bodfish  three  thousand,  six  hundred  and 
forty-one  feet  of  lumber  at  the  mill,  $91  ;  Green 
Hanna,  hauling  same,  $37;  J.  P.  Henning,  two  thou- 
sand and  seven  hundred  feet  of  lumber  at  the  mill,  $54; 
W.  K.  Bethel,  one  thousand  feet  of  lumber,  $30  ;  G.  B. 
Blanchard,  seven  hundred  feet  of  lumber,  $21 ;  Henry 
Jarboe,  lumber,  $25  ;  F.  A.  Shepard,  lumber,  $1 5  ;  F.  S. 
McGirr,  shingles,  $23;  Martin  McCarthy,  shingles,  $10; 
Jeremiah  Miller,  flag-staff  and  sundries,  $50;  F.  M. 
Fowler,  one  hundred  and  thirty  posts,  $20;  Maffic, 
blacksmithing,$40;  L.  A.  Gould,  pumps,  $75  ;  J.  Bass- 
ler,  pump,  $9;  C.  E.  Campbell,  lead  pipe,  $10;  R. 
Fletcher,  sashes,  $1.50. 

The  present  fair  grounds  were  purchased  in  1859, 
of  General  Naglee,  for  $6,000,  and  the  work  of  im- 
provement commenced.  The  tract  contains  seventy- 
six  acres  and  is  on  the  south  side  of  the  Alameda 
about  a  mile  from  the  city.  The  trees  were  planted 
from  1872  to  1876,  and  the  grand  stand  erected  in 
1878.  This  stand  was  built  with  money  loaned  by 
different  parties  who  are  to  be  repaid  from  the 
moneys  raised  by  sale  of  seats.  When  this  is  accom- 
plished it  will  be  the  property  of  the  society,  and,  we 
understand,  will  be  made  free. 

The  society  has  held  its  fairs,  annually  paid  ex- 
penses, and  is  out  of  debt,  except  for  the  money  bor- 
rowed to  erect  the  grand  stand.  All  the  best  stock 
are  shown  at  these  exhibitions,  and  the  best  horses  on 
the  coast  annually  compete  on  the  track.  Up  to 
1880  the  society  drew  an  annual  appropriation  from 
the  State  of  about  $2,000  with  which  to  pay  premi- 
ums. In  this  year  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  di- 
viding the  State  into  agricultural  districts,  Santa  Clara 
and  San  Mateo  Counties  forming  District  No.  5. 
The  act  also  prescribed  the  method  by  which  District 
agricultural  societies  should  be  formed.  When  this 
law  went  into  effect  it  stopped  all  State  aid  to  the 
county  society.  This  aid  was  absolutely  necessary, 
as  the  proceeds  of  the  fair  would  not  be  sufficient  to 
pay  good  premiums  and  other  necessary  expenses. 

The  society  did  not  want  to  change  its  old  organiza- 
tion to  an  organization  under  the  State  law,  for  fear  it 
might  in  some  way  jeopardize  the  title  to  its  real  estate, 


which  had  then  become  very  valuable.  The  only  way 
out  of  the  difficulty  seemed  to  be  to  organize  a  new 
society  under  the  State  law  and  arrange  with  the  old 
society  for  the  use  of  the  grounds.  This  was  accord- 
ingly done,  and  the  fairs  have  been  held  under  the 
auspices  of  the  San  Mateo  and  Santa  Clara  County 
Agricultural  Association,  until  the  present  year.  The 
new  society  was  formed  from  the  members  of  the 
old  one,  and  now  have  the  same  officers,  with  the  excep- 
tion that  the  Board  of  Directors  is  divided. 

Following  are  the  names  of  the  presidents  and 
secretaries  of  the  Santa  Clara  Valley  Agricultural 
Society  since  its  incorporation  in  1859: — 

DATE.  PRESIDENTS.  SECRETARIES. 

1859 William  Daniels C.  B.  Younger 

i860 William  Daniels C.  B.  Younger 

1S61 . . .  .S.  J.    Ilensley William  Daniels 

1862 William  Daniels C.  B.  Younger 

1862....  Gary  Peebels J.   R.  Lowe,  Jr. 

1S63 James  F.  Kennedy J.  R.  Lowe,  Jr. 

1864 James  F.  Kennedy Givens  George 

1865 W.  C.  Wilson Givens  George 

1866.... W.  C.  Wilson Givens  George 

1867.... W.  C.  Wilson Givens  George 

1868 W.  C.  Wilson Tyler  Beach 

1 869.... W.  C.  Wilson Tyler  Beach 

1870 W.  C.  Wilson Tyler  Beach 

1871. .  .  .W.  C.  Wilson Tyler  Beach 

1872. . .  .W.  C.  Wilson Givens  George 

1873....  W.  C.  Wilson D.J.  Porter 

1874 ... .  W.  C.  Wilson   D.  J .  Porter 

1875 W.  C.  Wilson Givens  George 

1876 J.    P.  Sargent D.  J.  Porter 

1877  .  . .  .Gary  Peebels E.  K.  Campbell 

1878. ...W.  C.  Wilson A.  P.  Miirgotten 

1879 N.   B.  Edwards A.  P.  Murgotten 

1880 N.  B.  Edwards W.  M.  Williamson 

18S1 C.  H.  Maddox Givens  George 

1882. . .  .J.  H.  M.  Townsend T.  S.  Montgomery 

1883. . .   J.  H.  M.  Townsend T.  S.  Montgomery 

1884  . .  .].  H.  M.  Townsend T.  S.  Montgomery 

1885 N.  B.  Edwards T.  S.  Montgomery 

18S6....N.  B.  Edwards G.  H.  Bragg 

18S7 N.  B.  Edwards G.  H.  Bragg 

1888.... E.   Topham G.  H.  Bragg 

The  following  are  the  names  of  the  officers  of  the 
District  Society  since  its  organization: — 

DATE.  PRESIDEN'iS.  SECRETARIES. 

1S81 Abram  King T.  S.  Montgomery 

1882 Aliram  King T.  S.  Montgomery 

1883. . .  .Abram  King T.  .S.  Montgomery 

1884. ...W.  T.  Adel J.  Hinman 

1885 J.  R.  Weller   A.  B.  Ellis 

1886. . .  .1.  R,  Weller Geo.  B.  Staniford 

1887. . .  .'I.  R.  Weller W.  C.  Morrow 

18S8 E.   Topham Geo.  H.  Bragg 


m 


C>^" 


FMCIT  AMll  TIME  IMBlJSTMIESs    11 


iHSSiiii 


y^AS^ 


■'e;^nnf>^ 


■-g^(nr^' 


0^9/. 


THE  adaptability  of  the  climate  and  soil  of  Santa 
Clara  County  for  horticultural  purposes  became 
apparent  long  before  the  first  American  visited  the 
valley.  The  Fathers  who  planted  the  Missions  planted 
orchards  at  the  same  time,  and  found  a  full  return  for 
all  their  labor.  The  fertility  of  the  soil  was  supple- 
mented by  a  peculiarity  of  climate  that  enabled  trees 
to  grow  many  more  weeks  in  the  year  than  in  other 
countries,  while  during  their  season  of  rest  there  was 
no  freezing  weather  to  chill  the  sap  and  delay  their 
progress  in  the  spring.  It  might  be  said  that  trees 
had  a  continuous  growth  throughout  the  year.  The 
result  was  that  a  very  few  seasons  brought  orchards 
to  a  condition  of  fruitfulness.  All  this  was  demon- 
strated by  the  experience  of  the  good  fathers  at  the 
Mission;  but,  even  with  this  experience  before  them, 
our  early  horticulturists  were  astonished  by  the  re- 
sults of  their  efforts.  They  had  been  accustomed  to 
sections  where  certain  fruits  would  flourish  and  others 
fail,  but  here  they  found  that  nothing  would  fail. 
The  peach,  pear,  apricot,  apple,  orange,  and  lemon, 
the  olive  and  the  tender  varieties  of  grapes  from  Italy 
and  Southern  France,  all  flourished.  It  was  neither 
too  cold  nor  too  warm  for  any,  and  the  soil  seemed  to 
contain  elements  suited  to  the  wants  of  each. 

What  were  the  varieties  of  fruits  planted  by  the 
Fathers  at  the  Mission  it  is  not  now  possible  to  ascer- 
tain in  detail.  Vancouver  says  that  he  saw,  on  his 
visit  in  1792,  peaches,  apples,  pears,  apricots,  figs,  and 
vines,  all  of  which,  except  the  latter,  promised  to 
succeed  well.  He  further  says:  "The  failure  of  the 
vine  here,  as  well  as  at  San  Francisco,  is  ascribed  to 
a  want  of  knowledge  in  their  culture,  the  climate  and 
soil  being  well  adapted  to  some  sorts  of  fruits."  The 
failure  of  the  vine,  as  related  by  Vancouver,  might 
have  been,  as  he  said,  the  result  of  ignorance  as  to  its 
culture;  but  if  this  was  so,  the  Fathers  soon  learned 
the  art  of  viticulture,  for  the  old  Mission  vines  are 
historic  for  their  strong  growth  and  abundant  fruitage. 
As  to  their  quality,  so  much  cannot  be  said.  They 
(170) 


are  now  a  relic  of  the  past,  and  although  many  of  the 
old  inhabitants  contend  that  for  a  table  grape  they 
possess  a  flavor  superior  to  that  of  any  of  the  foreign 
varieties,  the  fact  remains  that  they  have  been  practi- 
cally discarded  for  wine-making,  and  that  the  reputa- 
tion of  California  wines  has  been  built  on  varieties 
other  than  the  Mission.  This  grape,  however  it  may 
be  despised  now,  accomplished  a  great  object.  It 
demonstrated  the  adaptability  of  our  soil  and  climate 
for  the  growth  of  the  vine,  and,  by  giving  confidence 
to  our  early  viticulturists,  induced  them  to  expand 
their  operations. 

The  character  of  the  Mission  fruits,  with  few  ex- 
ceptions, was  about  the  same  as  the  grapes.  The 
olive  bore  a  small  fruit  little  prized  for  table  use  but 
rich  in  oil.  It  required  a  comparatively  long  time  for 
it  to  come  to  profitable  bearing,  but  never  failed  of  a 
large  crop  when  it  reached  that  point.  It  is  even 
now  preferred,  by  many  orchardists,  to  the  finer 
varieties.  The  peaches  and  apricots  were  seedlings, 
and  therefore  of  different  kinds.  At  that  time,  when 
this  was  the  only  fruit  to  be  had,  it  was  all  considered 
good.  The  only  distinction  made  was  that  some  ■ 
varieties  were  better  than  others.  Whether  or  not 
the  apples  and  pears  a  ere  seedlings  we  have  not  been 
able  to  ascertain.  It  is  more  than  likely  they  were, 
as  they  have  been  generally  classed  under  the  com- 
prehensive term,  "  Mission  fruit,"  and  are  different 
from  the  varieties  originated  in  America  or  imported 
from  France  or  Spain. 

This  Mission  orchard  was  the  only  source  of  fruit 
supply  to  the  valley  for  many  years,  and  for  some 
time  after  the  American  occupation  it  held  a  promi- 
nent position.  It  was  claimed  as  part  of  the  public 
domain  when  California  was  ceded  to  the  United 
States,  and  was  taken  possession  of  by  J.  W.  Redmon. 
It  proved  a  bonanza,  the  fruit  selling  at  fifty  cents  per 
pound,  while  the  yield  was  enormous.  Some  of  the 
old  trees  are  yet  vigorous,  although  neglected  for 
years   and   a   prey  to  all  the   pests   that    have   been 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


171 


known  to  Santa  Clara  County  orchards.  The  Mis- 
sion orchard  and  the  Mission  vineyard  furnislicd 
stock  for  the  few  orchards  that  were  planted  in  the 
early  years  of  the  American  occupation.  These 
plantings  were  few  at  first,  owing  to  the  gold  excite- 
ment, but  when  the  people  began  to  return  from  the 
mines  and  give  their  attention  to  agriculture,  the 
plantings  became  more  numerous. 

The  scarcity  of  fruit  and  consequent  high  prices 
gave  a  great  stimulus  to  horticulture.  Apples,  im- 
ported into  San  Francisco,  sold  at  retail  for  a  dollar 
apiece,  and  other  fruits  in  proportion.  People  thought 
that  at  half  these  prices  there  would  be  more  money 
in  a  bearing  orchard  than  in  the  richest  gold  mine  yet 
discovered.  This  idea  struck  many  people  at  the 
same  time  and  many  orchards  were  planted,  princi- 
pally apples  and  pears.  They  seem  to  have  over- 
looked the  fact  that  there  were  comparatively  few 
people  in  reach  of  their  orchards  at  that  time,  and 
that  there  were  no  facilities  for  transportation  to  a 
distance;  or,  if  they  did  realize  this  fact,  they  kept  on 
planting  all  the  same  and  trusted  to  luck. 

The  first  orchards  planted  after  the  American  oc- 
cupation, with  the  exception  of  a  few  private  trees, 
were  by  E.  W.  Case,  William  Daniels,  and  Joseph 
Aram.  Case's  orchard  was  of  about  350  trees,  and 
was  on  the  property  fronting  on  the  Alviso  road, 
owned  by  C.  B.  Polhemus.  Aram's  orchard  was  of 
twenty  acres,  and  was  situated  about  where  the 
woolen  mills  now  are.  Daniels'  orchard  was  about 
one  acre,  and  was  in  the  then  northern  part  of  town, 
on  a  tract  lying  between  Julian  and  St.  James  and 
Market  and  First  Streets.  Part  of  the  trees  planted 
by  these  gentlemen  were  furnished  by  a  man  named 
Ganz,  and  were  brought  by  him  from  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 
They  were  principally  apples.  This  was  in  1852.  In 
the  succeeding  year  Case  and  Aram  imported  more 
trees  from  the  nursery  of  Charles  Hovey,  at  Cam- 
bridge, Massachusetts.  Some  of  these  old  trees  are 
still  flourishing  and  bearing  large  crops  of  fruit. 
Among  them  is  an  apricot  tree  on  the  Hobson  place, 
formerly  a  part  of  Captain  Aram's  orchard,  which  is 
now  thirty-four  years  old,  a  vigorous  bearer,  and  a 
living  contradiction  to  the  statement  that  fruit  trees 
in  California  are  short-lived. 

In  the  spring  of  1852,  Commodore  Stockton,  who 
then  owned  the  Potrero  de  Santa  Clara  Rancho,  which 
lies  between  San  Jose  and  Santa  Clara,  imported  from 
Hovey's  Massachusetts  nursery, a  large  number  of  trees 
for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  nursery.  With  these 
trees  he  also  sent  out  a  professional    botanist   named 


Sheldon,  with  B.S.  Fox  and  Thomas  Egan  as  assistants. 
Sheldon  died  on  the  Isthmus  and  Mr.  Fox  took  charge 
ofthe  enterprise,  Mr.  Egan  assisting.  With  this  party 
came  also  J.  F.  Kennedy  as  salesman  and  commercial 
agent.  The  nursery  was  established  in  April,  1853, 
and  for  some  time  was  the  depot  for  nursery  supplies 
for  this  section.  These  trees  consisted  of  apples, 
peaches,  pears,  plums,  nectarines,  and  apricots.  With 
this  importation  came  also  the  first  strawberries  grown 
in  this  valley. 

In  1854-55  ^  Frenchman  named  Levalle  imported 
fruit  trees  and  planted  them  in  both  nursery  and 
orchard  form,  on  the  property  lying  north  of  Julian 
and  west  of  Market  Street,  now  owned  by  Peter 
O.  Minor.  He  planted  about  two  acres,  but  after- 
wards removed  the  orchard  to  the  west  side  of  the 
Coyote,  on  the  property  now  owned  by  Edward  Mc- 
Laughlin. In  1855-56  he  had  a  very  large  collection 
of  trees  in  his  nursery,  which  he  afterwards  sold  to 
H.  H.  Winchell,  China  Smith,  and  William  Smith,  and 
they  continued  the  nursery  business  for  some  years 
thereafter.  L.  A.  Gould  and  B.  F.  Watkins  planted 
their  orchards  and  nurseries  at  Santa  Clara  about 
this  time.  Mr.  Ballou,  who  was  at  that  time  employed 
in  the  Case  orchard,  says  that  from  the  three  hundred 
trees  planted  then,  mostly  apples,  a  few  specimens 
were  had  in  1855,  and  in  1856  about  eight  hundred 
pounds  were  produced.  Up  to  this  time  the  only 
apples  to  be  had  here  were  the  "Parrons,"  grown  at  the 
Mission,  and  which  were  very  inferior.  The  fruit 
from  the  new  orchards  above  metitioned  was  very  finei 
far  exceeding  anything  the  orchardists  had  seen  in  the 
East. 

During  1856  the  State  Horticultural  Society  held 
a  fair  in  San  Jose,  and  from  this  the  reputation  of 
the  Santa  Clara  fruit  spread,  and  people  came  hun- 
dreds of  miles  to  see  it.  Some  of  the  old  pioneers 
believe  to  this  day  that  the  display  of  apples  had  at 
that  fair  was  far  superior  to  any  that  has  been  made 
since.  This  of  course  is  a  mistake.  They  have  be- 
come accustomed  to  the  wonderful  fruit  of  the  Santa 
Clara  Valley,  and  the  novelty  has  worn  off. 

In  1853  a  horticultural  society  was  formed.  The 
meeting  for  organization  was  held  on  the  grounds  of 
Louis  Prevost,  now  known  as  Live  Oak  Park,  under 
a  live-oak  tree.  There  were  present  William  Daniels, 
Louis  Prevost,  Louis  Pellier,  J.  R.  Bontemps,  B.  S. 
Fox,  and  E.  W.  Case.  The  Pioneer  Horticultural 
Society  was  organized,  and  nearly  all  the  old-time 
horticulturists  became  members.  The  names  of  Jo.seph 
Aram,  J.  Q.  A.   Ballou,  R.   G.   Moody,  D.   Devine.  L. 


172 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD:' 


A.  Gould,  and  John  Llewelling  appear  prominent  on 
the  list  of  early  members.  In  speaking  of  this  organ- 
ization Colonel  Younger  says  that,  "during  the  balance 
of  this  year  and  the  year  1854,  they  met  once  a  month, 
brought  in  their  fruits  and  flowers  for  exhibition, 
to  compare  and  discuss  their  merits,  and  determine 
what  fruits  were  best  adapted  to  the  valley.  This  was 
often  most  interesting  and  instructive.  All  were  in- 
vited to  attend,  and  many  were  enticed  to  these  meet- 
ings to  see  the  development  of  the  fruit-growing  ca- 
pacity of  the  valley.  Many  ladies  attended  and  were 
richly  rewarded;  for,  after  witnessing  tlie  display  of 
fruit  and  flowers,  at  the  conclusion,  these  were  divided 
among  them."  This  Pioneer  Horticultural  Society 
afterwards  united  with  the  Agricultural  Society,  and 
in  a  short  time 'lost  its  identity. 

In  1S56,  as  we  have  stated,  nearly  all  these  earl)' 
orchards  had  commenced  to  bear,  and  the  quality  of 
the  fruit,  and  the  promise  of  extraordinary  production, 
gave  these  pioneer  orchardists  an  idea  of  the  resources 
of  the  climate  and  soil  in  this  direction.  Everything 
they  had  planted  had  prospered  beyond  their  most 
sanguine  expectations,  and  they  wererapidlyapproach- 
ing  the  conviction  that  nothing  could  fail  in  Santa 
Clara  Valley.  Being  in  this  frame  of  mind,  they  were 
ready  to  experiment  in  any  direction.  This  year 
stands  out  prominent  as  the  date  of  the  introduction 
of  the  French  prune  (Petit  Prune  d'Agen)  to  this 
county,  and,  in  fact,  to  this  coast.  This  fruit  has  be- 
come a  standard,  and  will  probably  always  remain  a 
favorite  with  our  orchardists.  The  history  of  its  first 
importation  will  be  interesting.  Louis  Pellier,  a  vine 
and  fruit  grower  of  France,  had  come  to  California  in 
the  winter  of  1848-49.  After  trying  his  fortune  in  the 
mines,  he  came  to  San  Jose  in  1850,  and  purchased 
the  tract  of  land  fronting  on  the  west  side  of  San 
Pedro  Street,  where  the  mills  of  the  Independent  Mill 
and  Lumber  Company  now  stand.  This  tract  was 
formerly  known  as  Pellier's  Gardens;  it  is  now  the 
Pellier  subdivision  of  the  city  of  San  Jose.  Here  he 
planted  a  nursery  and  orchard,  and  cultivated  flowers 
and  plants.  His  brother  Pierre  had  come  out  a  year 
behind,  and  was  assisting  him  in  his  work.  When 
Pierre  came,  he  brought  with  him  cuttings  of  some  of 
the  fine  varieties  of  grapes,  among  which  were  the 
Black  Burgundy,  Chasselas  Fontainebleau,  Made- 
laine,  and  others.  From  that  time  to  1854,  the 
experience  of  fruit-growing  here  had  shown  the  great 
horticultural  possibilities  of  the  country,  and  all  were 
reaching  out  for  new  varieties.  Louis  Pcllii  r  deter- 
mined to  transplant  the  best    fruits  from  his  native 


land  to  his  adopted  county.  In  accordance  with  this 
determination  he  sent  Pierre  back  to  France  in  1854, 
with  instructions  to  go  through  Burgundy  and  other 
parts  of  the  country,  and  secure  cuttings  and  cions  of 
the  best  varieties  of  fruit  grown  in  each.  This  was 
done.  Pierre,  with  another  brother,  John,  who  had  not 
yet  come  to  America,  spent  nearly  two  years  traveling 
through  France,  gathering  their  stock.  They  returned 
to  California,  bringing  with  them  a  large  variety  of 
fruit  cions.  Among  them  were  the  petit  prune,  the 
gros  prune,  with  many  varieties  of  cherries,  and  pears, 
and  plums.  The  petit  prune  was  not  at  first  very 
popular.  The  people  preferred  the  gros  prune  on  ac- 
count of  its  size  and  appearance.  As  the  fruit-growers 
at  that  time  knew  nothing  of  drying  or  canning,  but 
depended  on  selling  their  products  green,  anything 
which  had  an  appearance  of  inferiority  was  at  a  dis- 
count. The  cions  were  brought  from  France  by  the 
Pellier  brothers,  stuck  in  potatoes  and  packed  in  saw- 
dust. Immediately  on  their  arrival  they  were  grafted 
upon  stocks  prepared  for  them,  and  many  lived. 
While,  as  we  have  said,  the  gros  prune  soon  came  into 
great  demand,  the  little  prune  had  no  friends  for  many 
years.  It  was  finally  brought  to  the  attention  c  f  John 
Rock,  who  recognized  its  value  and  soon  popularized 
it.  There  has  been  great  dispute  as  to  whether  the 
French  prune  grown  in  California  is  the  true  French 
prune  of  commerce,  There  can  be  no  doubt  on  this 
point  as  far  as  Santa  Clara  County  is  concerned.  It 
was  brought  from  its  home  in  France  directly  to  San 
Jose,  by  people  who  had  been  familiar  with  it  from 
childhood,  and  there  can  be  no  mistake  as  to  its 
identity.  One  of  the  parties  who  brought  it  is  still 
living,  and  the  box  in  which  the  cions  were  packed  is 
still  in  existence,  with  all  the  marks  yet  legible. 

Mr.  B.  S.  Fox,  who,  as  we  have  stated,  came  out 
in  1852  with  the  nursery  stock  of  Commodore  Stock- 
ton, severed  his  connection  with  the  commodore  the 
next  year,  and  established  a  nursery  of  his  own  on 
the  Milpitas  road.  This  is  now  known  as  the  "Santa 
Clara  Valley  Nurseries  and  Botanical  Gardens."  He 
had  with  him  Thomas  Egan,  and  the  nurseries  were 
first  known  as  B.  S.  Fox's  Nurseries.  At  first  there 
were  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  acres,  and  it  was  the 
largest  tract  devoted  to  this  business  on  the  coast; 
the  acreage  was  still  further  increased  by  the  acquisi- 
tion of  more  land,  until  it  contained  over  two  hundred 
acres.  Mr.  Fox  was  an  Irishman  by  birth,  and  a 
thorough  botanist.  When  he  first  came  to  America 
he  procured  an  engagement  with  Charles  Hovey,  the 
well-known  nurseryman  of  Cambridge,  Massachusetts. 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF   THE    WORLD." 


173 


When  Commodore  Stockton  was  looking  for  a  com- 
petent man  to  take  charge  of  his  California  nursery, 
Mr.  Fox  was  recommended  to  him,  and  was  engaged 
for  the  position.  This  was  a  fortunate  circumstance 
for  Santa  Clara  County.  He  was  not  only  a  pioneer 
fruit  man,  but  a  man  of  great  scientific  knowledge, 
and  an  untiring  student.  To  his  experiments  we  owe 
three  of  the  finest  varieties  of  pears  now  cultivated, 
the  P.  Barry,  the  B.  S.  Fox,  and  the  Colonel  Wilder, 
which  have  been  placed  in  the  front  rank  by  the 
opinions  of  the  leading  pomologists  of  An.erica. 
His  magnificent  orchard  was  developed  from  the 
nursery,  and  was  not  planted  so  much  for  growing 
fruit  for  profit  as  to  test  the  varieties  which  he  was 
offering  for  sale.  To  his  enthusiasm  Santa  Clara 
County  owes  much  of  her  early  horticultural  develop- 
ment. Mr.  Fox  died  in  July,  1881,  at  Council  Bluffs, 
Iowa,  while  on  his  way  to  visit  his  early  home.  His 
nurseries  were  left  to  his  nephew,  R.  D.  Fox,  a  bio- 
graphical sketch  of  whom  appears  in  this  book,  and 
who  has  since  conducted  the  business  with  an  intel- 
ligence that  has  maintained  the  reputation  it  attained 
under  the  administration  of  his  uncle. 

In  1856  Captain  Aram  moved  his  nurseries  from 
town  to  the  place  on  the  Milpitas  road  where  he  now 
lives.  He  had  G.  W.  Tarleton  with  him  for  a  time, 
but  in  a  few  years  the  latter  gentleman  purchased 
the  tract  where  he  now  lives,  and  planted  it  to  orchard. 

In  1854  came  James  R.  Lowe.  This  gentleman 
was  an  Englishman  by  birth,  and  a  professional  bot- 
anist. He  had  been  engaged  in  some  of  the  most 
prominent  landscape  gardening  operations  of  the 
English  nobilit)',  and  had  come  to  America  to  super- 
intend some  work  for  New  England  nurserymen.  He 
came  to  California  at  the  request  of  Samuel  J.  Hens- 
ley.  He  laid  out  the  famous  Hensley  grounds,  which, 
up  to  the  time  they  were  subdivided  into  city  lots, 
contained  more  rare  plants  than  any  similar  area  in 
California.  Mr.  Lowe  was  in  constant  communica- 
tion with  the  superintendent  of  the  gardens  of  the 
Duke  of  Devonshire,  who  was  an  old-time  friend,  and 
hardly  a  mail  was  received  at  the  post-office  in  San 
Jose  that  did  not  contain  some  rare  plant,  bulb,  or 
cutting,  from  the  Duke's  gardens.  These  were  propa- 
gated with  care,  and  from  this  beginning  sprang  many 
of  San  Jose's  most  beautiful  gardens. 

Mr.  J.  Q.  A.  Ballou,  who  was  with  Mr,  Case  in  his 
early  nursery  operations,  went  into  the  fruit  business 
on  his  own  account  in  1856.  At  that  time  he  pur- 
chased the  place  on  the  Milpitas  road  now  occupied 
by  him  as  a  homestead,  and   in  February  of  1857  he 


planted  about  five  hundred  trees,  principally  apples 
and  pears.  In  1858  he  planted  fifteen  hundred  trees 
additional.  In  1861  he  procured  from  Louis  Pellier 
grafts  for  fifty  French  prune  trees.  From  these  grafts 
he  made  his  first  prunes  in  1867.  At  that  time  they 
were  not  popular,  and  only  small  quantities  could  be 
sold.  Pitted  plums  had  the  call  in  the  market  for 
several  years.  About  the  same  time  his  plums  came 
in  and  these  sold  readily  at  twenty-five  cents  per 
pound,  green.  They  were  of  new  varieties  not  before 
produced  here,  such  as  the  Columbia,  General  Hand, 
Quackenbos,  etc.  In  1868  Mr.  Ballou  made  eleven 
tons  of  dried  fruit  and  shipped  it  to  New  York  via 
Cape  Horn.  It  arrived  in  good  order  in  1869,  and 
was  sold  so  as  to  net  him  from  eighteen  to  twenty 
cents  per  pound. 

At  this  time  the  fruit  interests  of  Santa  Clara 
County  received  a  heavy  blow.  As  we  have  said,  the 
plantings  heretofore  had  been  principally  of  apples 
and  pears.  In  1868  the  yield  from  these  orchards 
more  than  glutted  the  market.  There  was  no  sale 
for  a  large  portion  of  the  product,  and  it  could  hardly 
be  given  away.  Part  of  it  was  sent  to  San  Francisco, 
but  the  proceeds,  except  in  some  cases,  hardly  paid 
the  large  cost  of  transportation.  Wagon  loads  were 
carted  off  to  the  mines,  but  with  all  this,  tons  of 
choice  fruit  rotted  under  the  trees.  This  experience 
disgusted  many  orchardists  and  they  neglected  their 
trees  or  dug  them  out  of  the  ground.  They  seemed 
to  have  no  idea  of  drying  their  fruit,  or  that  the  over- 
land railroad  would,  in  time,  give  them  an  Eastern 
market.  The  influence  of  this  experience  was  long 
felt  in  the  county.  People  generally  lost  confidence 
in  the  fruit  business,  and  even  now  persons  can  be 
found  who  shake  their  heads  when  they  contemplate 
the  extensive  orchards,  and  cite  the  seasons  of  1867-68 
as  proof  of  coming  disaster. 

The  plantings  in  the  celebrated  Willow  Glen  Dis- 
trict were  commenced  as  early  as  1858,  when  W.  C. 
Geiger  set  out  a  portion  of  his  cherry  orchard  on  what 
is  now  Willow  Street.  In  1862  C.  T.  Settle  planted 
an  orchard  of  apples  and  pears  on  what  is  now  the 
northeast  corner  of  Lincoln  and  Minnesota  Avenues. 
At  that  time  this  district  was  covered  by  a  dense 
growth  of  willows,  and  the  lower  portion  was  subject 
to  overflow  from  the  Guadaloupe.  The  only  road  was 
the  El  Abra,  since  called  Lincoln  Avenue,  and  the 
main  central  portion  of  the  district  was  owned  by 
Settle,  Cottle,  and  Zarilla  Valencia.  Settle  was  .soon 
after  followed  by  Royal  and  Ira  Cottle,  who  also 
planted  apples    and    pears.     Soon    afterwards    Miles 


174 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


Hills  and  a  Mr.  Sampson  purchased  the  Zarilla  tract, 
as  it  was  called,  and  subdivided  it  into  ten-acre  lots. 
They  planted  cherries,  peaches,  apricots,  etc.,  and  from 
their  subdivision  started  the  real  fruit  interest  in  this 
section.  The  first  experiment  was  on  strawberries, 
the  first  vines  being  planted  by  Downs  and  Arne,  on 
the  tract  now  owned  by  Gribner.  Their  venture  was 
so  profitable  that  it  created  quite  an  excitement  and 
nearly  everybody  in  the  Willows  planted  strawberries. 
At  that  time  there  were  artesian  wells  in  this  district. 
They  did  not  flow,  but  the  water  raised  so  near  the 
surface  that  it  could  be  easily  pumped  for  irrigating 
purposes.  This  industry  flourished  for  some  years, 
and  then  came  into  competition  with  the  strawberry 
growers  in  the  lowlands  near  the  bay.  Here  the 
artesian  wells  gave  a  great  flow,  and  the  Willow  peo- 
ple could  not  pump  water  and  compete  with  their 
neighbors.  They  converted  their  berry  patches  into 
orchards;  but,  with  the  experience  of  the  apple  and 
pear-growers  fresh  in  their  minds,  they  avoided  these 
varieties  and  planted  stone  fruits  almost  exclusively. 
After  the  railroad  was  built  and  the  market  extended, 
they  resumed  the  planting  of  apples  and  pears,  but 
discontinued  it  after  the  codlin  moth  made  its  ap- 
pearance. This  insect  being  now  likely  to  be  got  un- 
der control,  we  can  see  signs  of  the  revival  of  the  apple 
and  pear  industry. 

One  of  the  earliest  orchards  of  the  county  was  that 
of  D.  C.  Vestal,  on  the  Milpitas  road,  which  was  be- 
gun in  1854,  and  was  principally  apples  and  pears. 
This  orchard  is  prominent  as  being  the  place  where 
the  Moorpark  apricot  was  first  propagated  for  market. 
Geo.  Hobson,  who  had  an  orchard  and  nursery  on  the 
ground  now  occupied  by  L.  F.  Sanderson,  had  two  of 
these  trees,  but  held  them  in  little  estimation  on  ac- 
count of  their  irregularity  in  ripening.  From  these 
trees  Mr.  Vestal  procured  buds  and  worked  them  into 
a  few  trees  on  his  place.  When  the  fruit  came,  he 
was  so  pleased  with  its  size  and  flavor  that,  in  1869,  he 
planted  three  acres.  Mr.  Vestal's  experiments  at- 
tracted attention,  and  the  Moorpark  came  into  uni- 
versal favor.  Mr.  Vestal  says  that  as  this  tree  increases 
in  age  it  produces  regular  crops  and  ripens  its  fruit 
evenly.  As  proof  of  this  statement  he  cites  one  of 
the  original  trees  now  on  his  place,  which  is  thirty- 
four  years  old  and  has  failed  in  its  crop  onl)'  three 
times  since  it  came  int'j  bearing.  Many  seasons  he 
has  got  $12  worth  of  fruit  from  it.  In  1857  Mr. 
Vestal  received  a  sack  of  walnuts  from  a  friend  in 
Chili.  From  these  he  has  grown  three  trees,  from 
which  he    harvests  annually  about  $75  worth  of  nuts. 


These  trees  have   attained  great    size   and  are    very 
beautiful  as  well  as  very  valuable. 

As  the  orchards  of  the  valley  increased  in  number 
and  in  bearing  capacity,  the  fruit-growers  began  to 
fear  that  perhaps  there  might  come  a  repetition  of  the 
experience  of  1868,  and  the  crops  be  wasted.  Al- 
though the  new  orchards  were  of  fruits  suitable  for 
canning  and  drying,  no  one  had  attempted  thus  to 
preserve  them  for  market,  and  it  seemed  likely  that 
when  the  supply  exceeded  the  local  demand,  the  busi- 
ness of  fruit-growing  would  become  unprofitable. 
Just  before  this  contingency  arrived,  however,  the 
danger  was  averted  by  the  enterprise  of  a  gentleman 
not  theretofore  identified  with  the  fruit  interests. 

Dr.  James  M.  Dawson,  the  pioneer  fruit-packer 
in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley,  put  up  the  first  canned 
fruit  for  the  market,  in  1871.  From  observation  of 
the  superior  quality  of  the  fruits  then  grown  in  the 
valley,  Dr.  Dawson  foresaw  the  marvelous  possibilities 
of  its  climate  and  soils  for  fruit  production  as  a  factor 
of  commerce  on  the  Pacific  Coast;  and  he  also  real- 
ized that,  for  the  fruit  industry  to  attain  any  con- 
siderable importance,  it  was  a  prime  necessity  that 
means  should  be  provided  to  prepare  and  preserve 
the  fruits  for  commerce  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
where  they  were  grown.  Acting  upon  these  con- 
victions, and  stimulated  by  the  wise  counsel  and 
hearty  co-operation  of  his  wife,  Mr.  Dawson  resolved 
to  make  the  experiment  of  starting  a  fruit  cannery 
in  this  valley.  An  ordinary  cooking  range  was  pur- 
chased and  placed  in  a  12x16  shed  kitchen  in  the 
rear  of  their  residence,  on  the  Alameda;  and  on  this 
the  fruits  were  all  heated  before  being  placed  in  the 
cans.  The  fruits  were  obtained  by  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Dawson  driving  about  the  neighborhood  and  pur- 
chasing them  in  small  lots,  and  paying  five  to  eight 
cents  per  pound  for  them.  The  season's  pack,  con- 
sisting of  three  hundred  and  fifty  cases  of  fruits  and 
tomatoes,  was  made  in  this  modest  manner.  Dr. 
Dawson  thought  to  demonstrate  to  Eastern  people 
the  superiority  of  California  fruits  to  those  of  their 
own  States;  and  in  this  respect  the  fine  appearance 
and  excellent  flavor  of  his  experimental  effort  proved 
entirely  satisfactory.  The  next  year  the  base  of 
operations  was  changed  to  San  Jose,  the  cannery 
being  located  on  Sixteenth  and  Julian  Streets,  in  an 
orchard,  and  a  partnership  formed  with  W.  S.  Stevens, 
a  brother-in-law.  The  pack  that  season  was  double 
that  of  the  first. 

The  third  year,  1873,  another  addition  was  made 
to  the  firm,  including  Lendrum,  Burns  &  Co.,  grocers, 


1 


\-r^ 


'-/- 


77t^  ^- 


PEN  FICTUBES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD: 


175 


the  firm  name  beings  J.  M.  Dawson  &  Co.  A  large 
building  was  erected  on  the  corner  of  Fifth  and  Julian 
Streets,  in  which  the  pack  of  that  season  was  made, 
which  reached  eight  thousand  cases.  A  year  or  two 
later  the  business  was  incorporated  under  the  title  of 
San  Jose  Fruit  Packing  Co.,  Dr.  Dawson  being  made 
president.  The  plant  was  enlarged,  and  the  pack 
increased  to  twenty-five  thousand  cases  a  year.  The 
business  continued  in  this  way  till  1878,  when,  the 
cares  and  responsibilities  proving  too  great  for  his 
failing  health,  Dr.  Dawson  disposed  of  his  interest 
and  retired.  The  trade  had  extended  beyond  the 
limits  of  California  and  across  the  mountains  to  the 
Eastern  cities. 

In  1879  Dr.  Dawson  returned  to  his  place  on  the 
Alameda,  and  resumed  the  business  in  a  moderate 
way,  in  a  building  erected  for  the  purpose  in  the  rear 
of  their  residence,  under  his  individual  name,  J.  M. 
Dawson.  The  following  year  he  took  in  his  son, 
E.  L.  Dawson,  as  an  equal  partner,  the  firm  title 
becoming  "The  J.  PlI.  Dawson  Packing  Company." 
The  plant  was  enlarged  from  year  to  year,  the  front- 
age changed  to  Myrtle  Street,  and  the  pack  corre- 
spondingly increased. 

In  1883  Dr.  Dawson  retired,  placing  the  active 
management  in  the  hands  of  his  son,  the  junior 
partner,  who  has  conducted  the  business  ever  since. 
The  old  gentleman's  health  steadily  declined,  and  he 
passed  away  in  March,  1885.  His  interest  in  the 
business  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  widow,  who  is 
still  a  joint  owner  with  her  son,  under  whose  enter- 
prising management  it  has  prospered  and  grown. 
The  pack  and  sale  of  canned  goods  by  the  firm  in 
1887  was  over  one  hundred  and  forty  thousand  cases, 
giving  employment  during  the  busy  season  to  from 
three  hundred  to  five  hundred  hands.  The  aim  of 
the  Dawson  Packing  Company  has  always  been  for 
the  highest  standard  of  excellence  in  the  quality  of 
their  goods,  and  no  brand  of  canned  fruits  ranks  higher. 
Great  strides  of  improvement  have  been  made  in  the 
methods  of  fruit-packing  during  the  past  few  years> 
as  the  result  of  much  study  and  experimenting.  The 
fruit  is  cooked  by  steam,  after  being  put  into  the  cans 
cold,  and,  wherever  possible,  machinery  has  taken  the 
place  of  hand  labor,  and  the  process  expedited  and 
cheapened  many  fold,  while  the  quality  of  the  goods 
has  been  improved.  This  personal  thought  and  study 
have  developed  methods  somewhat  independent  of 
each  other,  which  are,  in  a  measure,  the  private  and 
secret  property  of  their  respective  discoverers;  there- 


fore the  fruit  is  handled  in  each  establishment  in  a 
manner  peculiarly  its  own. 

James  M.  Dawson  was  a  native  of  Maryland,  born 
in  1809.  Came  to  Ohio  a  young  man,  where  he 
studied  and  practiced  medicine  a  few  \  ears.  He 
removed  to  Iowa  in  185 1,  and  from  there  came  to 
California,  in  1870.  While  in  Iowa  he  married  Eloise 
Jones.  The  widow,  two  sons,  and  a  daughter,  survive 
him.  Mrs.  Dawson  and  the  daughter  reside  in  the 
pleasant  homestead  on  the  Alameda.  E.  L.  Dawson 
was  born  in  1859,  and  was  educated  in  the  University 
of  the  Pacific.  After  leaving  college  he  started  in  as 
an  apprentice  in  the  canning  business,  learning  the 
details  of  every  department,  and  thus  is  complete 
master  of  the  situation. 

The  history  of  the  Golden  Gate  Packing  Com- 
pany is  related  in  the  following  biographical  sketch  : — 

George  M.  Bowman,  vice-president  of  the  Garden 
City  National  Bank  of  San  Jose,  is  also  superintend- 
ent and  seen  tary  of  the  Golden  Gate  Packing  Com- 
pany, and  has  had  charge  of  the  extensive  busi- 
ness of  this  company  in  his  present  capacity  for 
eleven  years,  during  which  time  it  has  grown  to 
be  one  of  the  largest  fruit-packing  establishments 
on  the  Pacific  Coast.  The  company  was  incorpo- 
rated in  1877,  some  of  the  members  composing 
it  having  started  the  fruit-canning  business  in  a 
small  way  on  the  site  of  the  present  works,  Third 
and  Fourth  Streets,  between  Julian  and  Hensley 
Avenue,  two  years  previously.  The  company  in- 
creased the  facility  for  the  business  by  erecting  new 
buildings  and  other  improvements  the  first  year 
after  its  incorporation.  In  1881  the  entire  plant  was 
destroyed  by  fire.  New  and  larger  buildings  im- 
mediately succeeded  the  old  ones,  which  were  fitted 
up  with  the  best  and  most  approved  machinery,  con- 
stituting a  plant  worth  $50,000.  They  manufacture 
most  of  the  cans  used,  and  their  pack,  which 
averages  one  million,  nine  hundred  and  twenty-five 
thousand  cans,  includes  vegetables  and  all  the  varie- 
ties of  fruits  grown  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley.  Dur- 
ing the  busy  season,  from  four  hundred  to  four 
hundred  and  fifty  hands  are  employed.  The  con- 
stant aim  of  the  management  has  been  to  attain 
the  highest  standard  of  excellence  for  their  goods, 
and  the  "  Golden  Gate "  brand  is  recognized  by 
dealers  and  consumers,  wherever  introduced,  as 
having  no  superior.  The  principal  market  for  their 
product  is  the  New  England  States,  though  their 
goods  are  shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  United  States, 
and  to  Canada,  England,  India,  and  Australia.     Their 


176 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


fruits  are  carefully  selected,  put  up  in  heavy  syrup 
made  from  the  best  white  sugar,  and  are  held  in  such 
high  esteem  that  they  have  had  an  extensive  sale  in 
Boston,  New  York,  and  Philadelphia.  Messrs.  Cross 
&  Blackwell,  of  London,  England  (the  celebrated 
pickle  firm),  proposed  to  become  the  sole  agents  for 
Great  Britain  for  the  "  Golden  Gate  "  apricots,  and 
to  handle  no  others.  Mr.  Bowman,  to  whose  careful 
and  able  management  the  present  enviable  reputation 
and  success  of  this  company  is  largely  due,  is  a  native 
of  Iowa,  born  in  Dubuque  forty-four  years  ago ;  was 
educated  at  Cornell  College,  Mount  Vernon,  Iowa, 
and  came  to  California  in  1866.  Previous  to  engaging 
in  the  canning  business  he  was  employed  ten  years  by 
the  Wells,  Fargo  Express  Company.  He  married 
Miss  A.  C.  Coldren,  at  Boone,  Iowa,  in  1866,  who  was 
educated  at  the  same  institution  as  himself  The 
family  consists  of  two  sons  and  one  daughter,  and 
their  home  is  one  of  the  handsomest  in  the  Garden 
City. 

The  Los  Gatos  Fruit  Packing  Company  was  organ- 
ized in  1S82,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $10,000,  which 
has  since  been  increased  to  $25,000.  It  has  only  four- 
teen stockholders,  and  there  is  no  stock  to  be  bought. 
Its  officers  are  Samuel Templeton,  President;  James E. 
Gordon,  Secretary;  J.  W.  Lyndon,  Treasurer;  Robert 
Walker  and  Michael  Miller,  Directors.  The  institution 
commenced  work  in  a  building  60x80  feet,  with  ma- 
chinery giving  them  a  capacity  of  five  thousand  cases 
for  the  season.  The  product  of  this  factory  was  sent 
to  England,  where  it  immediately  attracted  attention, 
and  contracts  were  made  with  Liverpool  dealers  for 
the  entire  pack  for  the  two  following  years.  The 
favor  with  which  their  goods  were  met  in  the  market 
necessitated  enlarged  facilities;  new  buildings  were 
erected  and  new  and  improved  machinery  and  ap- 
paratus were  procured.  Their  plant  has  been  steadily 
increased  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  trade,  until 
they  now  employ  two  hundred  and  fifty  hands  and 
require  a  sixty-horse-power  boiler  to  do  their  cook- 
ing. The  pack  of  1887  was  eight  hundred  and  forty 
thousand  cans,  and  will  be  much  more  this  season. 


We  have  run  ahead  of  our  chronology  in  order  to 
give  the  foregoing  statements  in  regard  to  the  growth 
of  the  fruit-packing  industry.  The  canneries,  when 
established,  seemed  able  to  take  care  of  all  the  fruit 
suitable  for  that  method  of  packing.  But  there  were 
varieties  which  the  canners  could  not  utilize  to  ad- 
vantage in  this  manner.  Notably  among  these  were 
prunes  and  apples,  and   some  varieties  of  plums.     In 


July,  1874,  a  company  was  formed  called  the  "Aldeii 
Fruit  and  Vegetable  Preserving  Company."  The  pro- 
jectors were  W.  H.  Leeman,  F.  C.  Leeman,  C.  T, 
Settle,  Ira  Cottle,  M.  R.  Brown,  Royal  Cottle,  Oliver 
Cottle,  S.  Newhall,  W.  W.  Cozzens,  R.  C.  Swan, 
K.  D.  Berre,  A.  D.  Colton,  Miles  Hills,  J.  M.  Batter, 
T.  B.  Keesling,  M.  Hale,  and  Pedro  de  Saisset.  They 
purchased  an  Alden  evaporator  and  placed  it  at  the 
corner  of  San  Salvador  Street  extension  and  Josefa 
Street.  The  machine  was  of  no  great  capacity  and 
did  not  work  satisfactorily,  but  it  turned  out  some 
good  fruit,  and  in  1876  the  company  made  a  shipment 
of  about  fifteen  tons  of  dried  apricots.  The  returns 
from  this  shipment  were  so  large  that  it  satisfied  the 
people  that  there  was  a  great  future  for  fruit-growing 
in  this  county.  They  knew  that  methods  could  and 
would  be  devised  for  putting  their  product  into  an 
imperishable  shape  for  transportation,  and  they  started 
in  with  vigor  to  plant  their  orchards.  At  this  time 
the  Willows  was  the  principal  orchard  section  of  the 
county.  The  older  orchards  of  Ballan  Tarleton,  Aram 
Vestal,  and  others  that  we  have  mentioned,  were  north 
of  San  Jose,  and  David  Hobson  had  an  orchard  to- 
ward Berryessa.  The  orchards  of  Gould  and  Wat- 
kins  were  at  Santa  Clara,  and  there  were  others  in 
other  places,  but  the  Willows  was  nearly  all  planted 
to  fruit,  and  it  came  to  be  believed  by  some  that  this 
was  the  only  section  in  the  county  where  this  industry 
could  be  successfully  prosecuted.  There  is  a  record 
of  one  man  who  owned  a  fine  place  near  Berryessa, 
and  bought  a  tract  of  ground  in  the  Willows  in  order 
to  have  an  orchard.  That  same  Berryessa  farm  is 
now  one  of  the  most  promising  orchards  in  the  country. 
In  1856  Lyman  J.  Burrell  planted  an  orchard  and 
vineyard  in  the  mountains  near  the  Santa  Cruz  line. 
The  trees  and  vines  did  well;  some  of  the  old  peach 
trees  that  were  planted  at  that  time  are  still  alive  and 
are  bearing  full  crops.  This  was  the  first  planting  in 
the  mountains,  or,  in  fact,  outside  the  little  circle 
around  San  Jose  and  Santa  Clara,  as  we  have  before 
related,  with  the  exception  of  an  orchard  planted  by 
Benj.  Casey  in  1855  or  1S56,  on  the  Los  Gatos  road 
near  where  the  Cambrian  school-house  now  stands. 
In  1873  the  almond  orchard  now  nearly  covered  by 
the  town  of  Los  Gatos  was  planted,  and  in  1874  the 
large  orchard  on  the  Los  Gatos  road  now  owned  by 
Mrs.  Gardner  was  set  out,  and  also  the  almonds  on 
the  Kennedy  place.  Mr.  J.  F.  Kennedy,  whose  bio- 
graphical sketch  appears  on  another  page,  came  to 
California  in  1852  as  salesman  for  the  nursery  of 
Commodore    Stockton.       In    i860   he    moved    upon 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


177 


what  is  now  known  as  the  Kennedy  ranch,  near  Los 
Gates,  where  he  planted  a  small  orchard  for  family  use. 
There  were  some  few  small  orchards  in  the  Santa 
Cruz  Mountains,  chiefly  of  apples  and  pears,  as  early 
as  1874,  but  this  region,  with  the  foot-hills  on  this  side, 
took  no  rank  as  a  fruit  country  until  about  1880.  In 
1S76  W.  D.  Pollard  planted  twenty  acres*  two  miles 
north  of  Saratoga,  and  the  next  year  the  planting  of 
the  famous  O'Baniar  &  Kent  Orchard  (now  owned  by 
James  E.  Gordon)  was  commenced.  William  Rice 
also  planted  an  orchard  in  the  same  neighborhood. 
These  men  were  looked  upon  as  possessed  of  a  sort 
of  lunacy.  It  was  first  predicted  that  the  trees  would 
not  grow  in  such  dry,  thin  soil.  When  the  trees  did 
grow  it  was  prophesied  that  they  would  never  have 
vigor  enough  to  bear  a  paying  crop.  At  six  years 
old  the  trees  yielded  about  $500  per  acre,  and  then  the 
prediction  was  that  they  would  die  out  in  a  few  years. 
But  as  time  passed  and  the  trees  did  not  die,  but  con- 
tinued to  bear  good  crops,  the  people  accepted  the 
revelation  and  commenced  to  plant  for  themselves. 
Land  which  had  before  been  held  at  $30  per  acre 
jumped  to  $100,  and  is  still  increasing  in  value.  Land 
on  the  brushy  hill-sides,  considered  worth  about  $10 
an  acre,  has  been  cleared  and  planted  and  now  is 
covered  with  profitable  orchards  and  vineyards.  At 
the  present  time  there  is  scarcely  a  ten-acre  tract 
along  the  foot-hills  from  Los  Gatos  north  that  is  not 
occupied  with  fruit. 

The  orchard  interests  of  the  Berryessa  District  are 
practically  of  a  recent  date.  David  Hobson  had  an 
orchard  in  that  vicinity  planted  sometime  in  the  '6o's, 
and  Isaiah  Shaw  had  also  a  small  orchard,  but  it 
was  not  until  1880,  when  Mr.  Flickinger  commenced 
the  "  Pacific  Orchard,"  that  the  fruit  development  of 
this  section  really  began. 


J.  H.  Flickinger,  one  of  the  leading  exponents  of 
the  fruit  industry  of  Santa  Clara  County,  is  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch.  Coming  to  this  valley  in  1849, 
observing  the  gradual  unfolding  of  the  resources  of 
the  section,  and  grasping,  with  a  keenly  intuitive  in- 
stinct, its  wonderful  possibilities,  he  has  always  been 
foremost  in  advocating  and  illustrating  these  possi- 
bilities by  personal  exertion.  Mr.  Flickinger  was 
born  in  Germany  in  1830,  but  from  a  child  reared  in 
Erie,  Pennsylvania.  His  parents,  Adam  and  Katie 
(Hechtman)  Flickinger,  were  long  residents  of  Erie, 
and  owned  a  farm  near  the  place.  He  received  his 
early  education  in  the  usual  neighborhood  schools, 
later  attending  for  two  years  an  academy  in  Erie. 

At  the  age  of  nineteen,  attracted  by  the  wonderful 


stories  told  of  the  then  almost  unknown  California 
auii  its  treasures  of  gold,  he  went  to  New  York  and 
took  passage  for  this  State,  around  Cape  Horn,  on 
the  bark  Clyde.,  which  left  port  on  the  twenty-fourth 
of  April,  1849.  On  the  trip,  while  off  the  Cape, 
they  encountered  a  terrible  snow-storm,  which  in- 
crusted  the  sails  and  cordage  with  ice,  and  froze  the 
rudder,  causing  the  ship  to  drift  for  twenty  days 
toward  the  south  pole,  during  which  time  of  anxiety 
they  were  imperiled  by  floating  icebergs,  and  so  near 
exhausting  their  provisions  that  the  passengers  and 
crew  were  put  on  an  allowance  of  one  hard-tack 
cracker  and  a  cup  of  water  per  day!  Fortunately, 
the  wind  changed  and  they  weathered  the  Cape, 
reaching  Valparaiso  on  the  first  of  August,  where 
they  remained  three  weeks  to  recruit,  and  provision 
the  ship,  arriving  at  last  in  San  Francisco  on  the  first 
of  November,  1849. 

Mr.  Flickinger  came  to  San  Jose  in  December,  the 
"Legislature  of  a  thousand  drinks"  being  then  in 
session.  He  at  once  opened  a  meat  market,  which 
he  kept  through  the  winter.  When  the  Legislature 
adjourned  he  went  to  the  mines,  where  he  remained 
until  September,  1850,  when  he  returned  to  his  San 
Jose  meat  market.  In  the  spring  of  1851  he  extLnded 
his  business  to  general  merchandising,  in  which  he 
continued  two  years,  when  he  closed  this  and  went 
into  the  wholesale  cattle  business,  exclusively.  He 
continued  in  this  until  April,  1886,  when  he  went  into 
the  fruit-canning  business.  In  1880  he  had  purchased 
part  of  the  land  which  he  now  has  in  orchard,  adding 
to  it  at  different  times  until  he  has  now  two  hundred 
and  fifty  acres  on  Berryessa  Avenue  and  Lundy's 
Lane,  on  which  he  has  planted  twenty-five  thousand 
trees, — one  thousand  cherries,  eight  thousand  apricots, 
ten  thousand  peaches,  and  six  thousand  prunes,  of 
which,  in  1887,  about  fifteen  thousand  were  in  bearing. 
When  he  purchased  this  land  it  was  in  pasture, 
grain,  and  mustard,  and  honeycombed  by  squirrels 
and  gophers,  and  did  not  pay  current  expenses  and 
taxes.  He  immediately  inaugurated  a  revolution, — 
planted  his  orchard,  fought  squirrels  and  gophers, 
spent  money  lavishly,  but  judiciously,  until,  as  a  re- 
sult of  his  efforts,  in  1887,  in  his  cannery  and  drying 
establishment,  he  employed  over  four  hundred  persons, 
turning  out  of  the  orchard  goods  that  sold  for  over 
$100,000.  These  are  some  of  the  results  which  can 
be  obtained  in  Santa  Clara  County  by  well-directed 
effort  combined  with  pluck  and  knowledge.  The 
cost  of  his  canning  and  drying  plant  has  been  about 
$20,000. 


178 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


In  1858  Mr.  Flickinger  was  married  to  Miss 
Mary  A.  Smith,  a  native  of  New  York,  her  parents 
being  Dr.  China  and  Parnell  (Hall)  Smith,  who  came 
to  California,  from  Rochester,  New  York,  in  1855. 
Dr.  Smith  died  in  1885,  aged  eighty  years,  and  his 
wife  in  1880.  Both  died  in  and  were  buried  at  San 
Jose.  There  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Flick- 
inger five  children  :  Katie  and  Charles  S.  (twins),  born 
in  i860,  the  former  now  the  wife  of  L.  F.  Graham,  of 
San  Luis  Obispo,  and  the  latter  in  business  with  his 
father;  H.  A.,  born  in  1864,  also  in  business  with  his 
father;  Nellie,  born  in  1868,  now  the  wife  of  J.  R- 
Patton  ;  Sarah,  born  in  1870,  attending,  in  1888,  the 
Normal  School.  Mr.  Flickinger's  father,  who  is  now 
(1888)  over  eighty  years  of  age,  is  still  living  on  the 
old  homestead  in  Erie,  Pennsylvania;  his  mother  died 
in  1862.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F. 
Lodge,  No.  34,  San  Jose.  In  1856  he  joined  the  Re- 
publican party,  helping  to  carry  this  county  for  Fre- 
mont and  Dayton,  and  has  worked  in  this  harness 
ever  since.  He  believes  in  the  fullest  protection  of 
American  industries. 


In  1856  Sylvester  Newhall  came  to  Santa  Clara 
County  and  established  a  nursery  on  the  banks  of  the 
Coyote,  which,  after  a  few  years,  he  sold  and  removed 
to  the  Willows.  He  had  an  abiding  faith  in  the  hor- 
ticulture of  Santa  Clara  County  from  the  first,  and 
has  done  his  share  toward  making  that  faith  a  reality. 
He  has  not  only  constructed  a  large  nursery,  but  he 
has  also  planted  about  a  hundred  acres  of  orchard, 
which  is  at  this  time  coming  into  full  fruition. 

In  1863  came  John  Rock,  a  German  by  birth,  but 
with  many  years'  experience  in  the  nurseries  at 
Rochester,  New  York,  and  other  noted  fruit-growing 
sections  of  the  East.  He  established  a  small  nursery 
on  land  near  Alviso,  rented  from  Malavos.  He  soon 
moved  from  there  to  Wm.  Boots'  place,  and  in  1865 
purchased  forty-eight  acres  on  the  Milpitas  road  near 
San  Jose,  which  he  planted  to  a  nursery  of  fruit  and 
ornamental  trees.  In  1879  this  place  became  too 
small  for  his  operations,  and  he  purchased  his  present 
location,  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  acres,  near 
Wayne  Station.  The  rapid  strides  of  the  California 
fruit  interests  made  such  demands  on  the  Santa  Clara 
County  nurseries  that  in  1884  Mr.  Rock,  with  R.  D. 
Fox  and  several  other  nurserymen,  organized  the 
California  Nursery  Company,  and  purchased  four 
hundred  and  sixty-three  acres  of  land  near  Niles,  of 
which  three  hundred  and  thirty-three  acres  are  now 
planted  and  furnishing  stock,and  the  remainder  will  be 


planted  during  the  season  of  1888-89.  Mr.  Rock's  ex- 
hibiton  of  Santa  Clara  County  nursery  product'^  at  the 
New  Orleans  Expositon  of  1884  received  the  award  of 
all  the  principal  premiums  offered  in  that  department. 
The  capital  stock  of  the  California  Nursery  Company 
is  $100,000,  and  John  Rock  is  its  President,  and  R.  D. 
Fox,  its  Vice-President.  Although  these  nurseries 
are  just  outside  the  county  limits,  we  speak  of  them 
as  belonging  to  Santa  Clara  County,  for  the  reason 
that  they  are  the  result  of  Santa  Clara  County  energy 
and  Santa  Clara  County  capital. 

As  has  been  previously  stated,  there  was  a  consid- 
erable period  during  which  there  was  a  prevailing 
opinion  that  the  Willows  was  the  true  fruit  section  of 
the  county.  In  reference  to  this  opinion  very  little 
planting  was  done  outside  this  district  except  for  home 
use.  It  was  especially  held  that  west  and  south, 
toward  the  foot-hills,  where  the  water  was  so  far  be- 
neath the  surface,  trees  could  not  grow  and  produce 
profitable  crops.  One  of  the  first  to  break  over  this 
popular  superstition  was  Mr.  T.  W.  Mitchell,  the  re- 
sult of  whose  efforts  is   here  given. 


Thomas  W.  Mitchell  is  the  proprietor  of  the  San 
Tomas  Orchard,  the  largest  orchard  in  the  San  Tomas 
District.  The  property  fronts  the  Quito  road,  and  is 
situated  about  one  mile  southeast  of  Saratoga.  Mr. 
Mitchell's  residence,  whichis  approached  from  the  road 
over  an  avenue  eighty  rods  in  length,  stands  near  the 
center  of  his  one  hundred  and  eighteen  acres,  of  which 
eighty-three  acres  are  in  orchard.  He  bought  the  place 
in  1 88 1.  It  was  then  in  bad  condition,  having  been 
devoted  many  years  to  grain  culture,  and  sadly  neg- 
lected. Years  were  spent  in  bringing  the  property 
into  its  present  fine  condition.  Now  (in  18S8)  it  is  no 
disparagement  to  others  to  say  that  no  property  in 
the  neighborhood  shows  better  care  and  skill  in  man- 
agement, or  produces  better  results  than  does  this — 
in  fact,  'tis  not  saying  too  much  when  it  is  stated 
that  no  better  orchard  can  be  found  in  the  country. 

Fifteen  acres  are  devoted  to  the  culture  of  seventeen 
hundred  cherry  trees,  principally  of  the  Tartarian, 
Governor  Wood,  and  Royal  Ann  varieties.  No 
fruit  of  this  kind  in  the  county  ranks  higher  than  does 
Mr.  Mitchell's  in  the  San  Francisco  market.  The  crop 
of  1887  brought  $2,500.  Three  hundred  and  fifty 
young  peach  trees  comprise  the  peach  orchard,  and  four 
thousand  prune  trees  (chiefly  PVench),  the  prune 
orchard.  These,  with  six  hundred  almond  trees, 
Oregon  and  Bulgarian  prune  trees,  apple  and  pear 
trees,     besides    a    vineyard     covering    twenty    acres 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  TEE    WORLD.' 


179 


(planted  generally  in  rows  alternating  with  peach 
and  prune  trees),  make  the  grand  total  of  product 
and  revenue.  The  entire  property  of  one  hundred  and 
eighteen  acres  is  made  excellent  in  improvement  and 
grand  in  productive  results. 

Mr.  Mitchell  was  born  in  Fifeshire,  Scotland,  No- 
vember 29,  1825.  He  is  the  son  of  William  and  Eliza- 
beth Mitchell.  The  family  came  to  the  United  States, 
and  settled  in  Kenosha  County,  Wisconsin.  There  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  married  Miss  Martha  Williams, 
in  1856.  Later,  they  removed  to  Walworth  County, 
and  from  Wisconsin  came  to  California  in  1861.  They 
made  Calaveras  County  their  home  for  seven  years, 
leaving  it  in  1868  to  become  residents  of  San  Jose. 
There  they  lived  until  they  took  possession  of  their 
Santa   Clara  home  (before  described),  in  1881. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mitchell  are  the  parents  of  three 
children,  of  whom  two,  Ada  and  Frank,  are  living. 
Carrie,  the  wife  of  Charles  C.  Worthington,  died  at 
the  age  of  twenty-nine  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mitchell 
have  in  their  care  her  two  children,  Ada  Louisa  and 
Georgia  May.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mitchell  are  con- 
sistent members  of  the  Baptist  Church. 

Mr.  Mitchell  has  been  a  steadfast  supporter  of  the 
Republican  party  ever  since  its  organization. 


In  1880  G.  W.  Gardner  purchased  the  tract  on 
the  Los  Gatos  road  at  the  northwest  corner  of  what 
is  now  called  "Orchard  Homes."  It  ran  from  the 
corner  westerly  to  the  narrow-gauge  railroad.  This 
he  planted  the  same  and  the  following  years,  about 
the  same  time.  Henry  Curtner,  who  had  purchased 
what  was  known  as  the  "Johnson  Farm,"  situated  to 
the  south  and  east  of  Gardner's,  sold  it  out  in  sub- 
divisions and  it  was  planted  in  1882  and  1S83. 

The  Leigh  tract  was  subdivided  and  sold  in  1882 
and  planted  the  following  spring. 

Newhall's  forty-acre  prune  orchard  was  planted  in 
1883.  Most  of  the  other  orchards  on  Hamilton  Av- 
enue were  planted  the  year  before.  About  this  time 
also  were  planted  the  orchards  around  Campbell's 
Station,  along  the   Infirmary  road  and  Gruwell  road. 

Cozzen's  large  prune  orchard  on  the  Kirk  tract  was 
planted  in  1882,  and  the  one  at  the  corner  of  the  Stev- 
ens Creek    and    Infirmary  road  was  planted  in   1883. 

The  Bradley  prune  orchard  was  planted  in  1875, 
and  it  was  the  great  yield  of  these  trees  that  induced 
much  of  the  planting  of  French  prunes.  The  product 
of  this  orchard,  which  contains  ten  acres,  has  run  from 
$2,500  to  $4,000  each  season  since  the  trees  were  six 
years  old.       The    large  plantings    north  and    west  of 


Santa  Clara  date  from  1880,  and  so  with  the  Doyle, 
Cupertino,  and  other  districts  west.  Although  there  are 
some  older  orchards  around  Mayfield  and  Mountain 
View,  the  real  interest  in  fruit-growing  is  only  about 
four  3'ears  old.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  Evergreen 
District,  and  the  country  to  the  south  of  San  Jose,  and 
along  the  Monterey  road  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Gil- 
roy.  Many  years  ago  Mr.  Hiram  Pomeroy  demon- 
strated the  capacity  of  the  Little  Calaveras  Valley  as 
a  fruit  section,  but  as  nearly  all  of  that  valley  is 
owned  by  the  Spring  Valley  Water  Company,  no 
extensive  plantings  have  been  made.  The  hill-sides 
and  slopes  to  the  east  of  Milpitas  have  long  been 
noted  for  their  peculiarly  mild  climate,  the  Portuguese 
gardeners  growing  peas,  potatoes,  and  other  vege- 
tables for  the  midwinter  market.  In  the  last  six 
years  many  orchards  have  been  planted  in  this  region, 
as  well  as  to  the  north  towards  the  Warm  Spring 
section. 

It  would  not  be  profitable,  even  if  possible,  to  give 
the  names  of  the  owners  and  dates  of  planting  of 
all  the  orchards  in  the  county.  Among  the  biograph- 
ical sketches  in  this  book  will  be  found  the  experiences 
of  very  many  of  the  leading  fruit-growers,  and  these 
sketches  are  intended  to  fill  up  the  details  of  this  gen- 
eral history.  It  has  been  our  endeavor  to  give  starting 
points  from  which  those  interested  can  trace  the 
growth  of  this  great  industry,  which  is  evidently  to 
become  the  destiny  of  Santa  Clara  County. 

We  have  noted  the  transition  of  fruit  culture  from 
the  apple  and  pear  to  the  apricot,  peach,  prune,  and 
other  similar  fruits,  and  we  should  here  note  the  signs 
of  another  departure.  The  absorption  of  our  grain 
and  wheat  fields  and  hill-sides  by  the  horticultural  in- 
terests has  caused  some  people  to  predict  that,  in  time, 
the  pastures  having  been  converted  to  other  uses, 
meat  will  become  as  scarce  as  in  Italy  and  the  fruit 
and  vine  section-,  of  France.  While  the  millions  of 
acres  of  mountain  land  yet  remaining  may  furnish 
range  for  cattle  and  goats  for  an  indefinite  period, 
they  are  sure  that  the  days  of  the  "American  Hog"  in 
California  are  numbered.  Following  the  example  of 
Eastern  nations,  they  propose  a  substitute  in  the  olive. 
Whatever  may  be  the  fate  of  our  cattle  and  hog  in- 
terest, it  is  a  fact  that  the  planting  of  olives  has  re- 
ceived a  great  impetus  since  1886.  The  demands  on 
the  nurseries  have  been  more  than  could  be  supplied, 
although  their  stocks  have  been  greatly  increased  by 
large  importations.  These  demands  promise  a  large 
increase  for  future  years,  and  point  to  a  time  when 
olive  culture  will  be  general  throughout  this  countr>'. 


180 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD: 


In  view  of  this  fact  it  will  be  in  place  to  relate  what 
has  been  done  in  this  direction  to  the  present  time. 
We  have  spoken  of  the  olives  cultivated  at  the  mis- 
sions. Other  trees  were  planted  afterCalifornia  became 
a  part  of  the  United  States,  principally  for  home  use 
by  persons  of  French,  or  Italian,  or  Spanish  birth  or 
parentage.  The  first  attempt  of  any  magnitude  at  the 
cultivation  of  olives  in  an  orchard  was  at  what  is  now 
known  as 

THE  QUITO  OLIVE  AND  VINE  FARM. 
This  farm  of  eighty-one  acres,  distant  eight  miles 
from  San  Jose,  is  situated  on  the  Quito  road  near  its 
junction  with  Saratoga  Avenue.  This  particular  spot 
in  his  great  rancho  was  chosen  by  Seilor  Don  Jose 
Ramon  Arguello  for  his  country  homestead,  and  here, 
in  1865,  he  planted  the  first  of  the  olives,  a  small  vine- 
yard, and  a  fruit  orchard.  His  death,  in  1876,  led  to 
a  division  of  the  estate,  and  in  December,  1882,  the 
olive  farm  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  present  pro- 
prietor. The  development  of  the  place  has  been  car- 
ried forward  slowly  but  steadily  since  that  date.  The 
olives  had  been  planted  at  the  extremely  short  dis- 
tance of  sixteen  and  a  half  feet,  and  were  suffering 
from  insufficient  soil  and  lack  of  air  and  sun,  and  in 
the  month  of  March,  1883,  twelve  hundred  and  fifty 
of  from  ten  to  seventeen  years  of  age  were  cut  to  the 
stock  and  transplanted,  with  but  small  loss.  Some  of 
these  transplanted  trees  were  in  fruit  the  past  season, 
while  the  remainder  are  in  full  bloom  for  a  crop  in 
the  season  to  come.  The  trimmings  of  the  trees  were 
made  into  cuttings,  and  from  the  nurseries  of  1883  and 
the  two  following  years,  nearly  fifty  thousand  trees 
have  been  furnished  to  the  farm  itself,  and  to  the  new 
olive  orchards  of  this  and  adjacent  counties,  and  be- 
sides these  many  thousand  cuttings  have  been  sup- 
plied as  such.  The  entire  place  is  now  planted  in 
olives,  and  vines  are  planted  between  the  rows  of  trees, 
as  has  been  the  custom  for  many  centuries  in  Italy 
and  Spain.  There  are  twenty-five  hundred  trees  of 
from  fifteen  to  twenty-three  years  of  age,  and  three 
thousand  of  five  and  six  years'  growth,  from  the  cut- 
tings, and  thirty-two  thousand  vines  of  standard  wine 
varieties.  During  these  years  (i 882-1 888),  everything 
has  been  made  subservient  to  the  development  of  the 
place,  in  the  rc-making  of  the  old  orchard,  the  making 
of  the  new,  and  the  planting  of  the  vines;  but,  not- 
withstanding this,  the  oil  of  1885  stood  first  in  the 
tests  at  the  New  Orleans  Exposition,  and  received  a 
diploma  there,  as  at  various  California  fairs,  and  the 
pickled  olives  of  that  anel  the  following  years  met  with 
a  rapid  sale. 


The  wonderful  growth  of  the  olive  in  the  excep- 
tionally favorable  soil  and  climate  of  Santa  Clara 
Valley  makes  it  necessary  to  give  it  unusually  large 
distances,  and,  although  the  removal  of  one-half 
the  trees  of  the  older  orchard  on  alternate  diagonal 
lines,  left  the  remaining  trees  at  twenty-three  and  one- 
third  feet  distance,  their  growth  has  been  such  as  to 
demonstrate  the  need  of  still  further  removals.  In  this 
season,  in  March,  a  number  of  trees  were  transplanted, 
all  or  nearly  all  trees  now  of  twenty-three  years,  and 
all  trees  which  had  been  previously  transplanted  in 
1883.  In  the  coming  winter  from  six  to  eight  hun- 
dred old  trees  will  be  transplanted  from  the  oldest 
orchard. 

It  will  be  readily  seen  that  it  is  quite  impossible 
to  give  estimates  as  to  the  production  of  olives,  and 
the  profits  of  olive  culture,  whether  for  oil  or  olives 
in  pickle,  based  on  the  experience  of  the  Quito,  be- 
cause, up  to  1883,  the  trees  were  entirely  too  crowded 
to  be  productive,  and  because,  since  that  date,  the 
older  trees  have  been  recovering  from  those  years  of 
insufficient  space,  of  abuse  and  neglect,  or  re-making 
themselves  from  the  stock,  while  the  younger  trees 
have  not  as  yet  reached  the  year  of  bearing.  The 
grove  does,  however,  prove  beyond  a  question  that 
the  soil  and  climate  of  Santa  Clara  Valley  are  exceed- 
ingly well-suited  to  the  olive,  and  that  the  variety 
known  as  the  "Mission  Olive"  can  produce  oil  of  a 
high  grade,  and  olives  in  pickle  which  find  a  ready 
sale  in  the  home  market. 

The  buildings  consist  of  an  oil  mill — in  the  upper' 
story  of  which  the  proprietor  has  fitted  up  a  quaint 
apartment,  with  the  crusher  and  press  addition — 
winery,  barn,  and  commodious  houses  for  the  force. 
A  homestead  lot  between  old  oaks,  olives,  and  peppers 
has  been  left  for  a  residence;  and  an  attractive  feature 
of  the  place  is  the  "Pergola,"  an  arbor  two  hundred 
feet  long  by  ten  broad,  made  of  heavy  redwood  posts 
and  cross  beams,  on  which  climb  choice  varieties  of 
table  grapes,  and  to  the  south  of  which  is  a  line  of 
old  olives  and  fruit  trees  alternated.  In  the  coming 
year  this  will  be  so  completely  covered  as  to  give  a 
shady  resort  from  summer  heat.  It  was  from  vines 
of  this  arbor  that  astonished  Eastern  horticulturists 
gathered  grapes  still  palatable,  even  after  the  extreme 
frosts  of  the  season,  on  the  day  of  their  drive  through 
the  valley,  January  27,  1888.  Not  far  from  this  arbor 
are  some  old  cherries  which  seem  rather  shade  than 
fruit  trees,  in  their  extraordinary  size.  Seiior  Arguello 
showed  himself  well  acquainted  with  his  great  estate 
when  he  chose  this  spot  for  the  family  country  home. 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


ISl 


for  its  position,  although  on  the  plain,  commands  a 
view  exceptionally  extensive  and  beautiful,  while  its 
soil  admits  no  rival  for  fruit  culture. 

Whether  considered  as  a  place  of  residence,  as  an 
olive  farm,  or  as  a  wine  farm,  the  Quito  is  one  of  the 
choice  properties  of  the  valley,  and  one  of  the  most 
beautiful.  Its  position  is  such,  as  related  to  the  many 
vineyards  in  the  locality,  that  its  plant  for  wine  pro- 
duction and  storage  will,  almost  of  necessity,  be  in- 
creased this  year  or  the  following  year.  In  such  case 
the  arrangement  of  machinery  would  be  so  adjusted 
that  in  the  future,  besides  a  large  wine  production,  it 
will  be  able  to  deal  not  only  with  its  own  olives,  but 
with  the  olives  of  a  large  district,  as  the  newly-planted 
olive  orchards  come  into  bearing;  for  in  olive  culture 
it  is  inevitable  that  the  system  of  manufacture  will  be 
the  same  as  in  the  vine  and  fruit  cultures,  and  as  in  the 
olive  culture  of  Italy — the  product  of  many  farms  will 
be  brought  to  central  mills  for  the  process  of  manu- 
facture. This  is  a  most  desirable  economy  of  ma- 
chinery, and  of  skilled  and  experienced  labor  as  well- 
This  is  the  Quito's  natural  and  seemingly  inevitable 
evolution.  It  is  clear  that  the  increase  of  the  olive 
interest  in  the  State,  but  especially  in  Santa  Clara 
County,  will  be  very  great  in  the  next  few  years. 

Besides  the  profit  of  the  olive  farm,  this  tree  has  cer- 
tain especial  attractions.  By  its  almost  unlimited  life 
an  olive  orchard  is  ever  increasing  in  value.  By  its 
hardihood  it  can  occupy  much  land  unacceptable  to 
other  fruit  trees,  and  almost  valueless  for  general  farm 
uses.  The  world's  demand  for  olive-oil  is  so  far  in 
advance  of  the  supply  that  few  articles  of  consump- 
tion are  equally  adulterated  or  absolutely  falsified, 
and  the  mere  local  demand  of  California  for  pure  oil 
is  to-day  far  in  excess  of  the  present  supply,  and 
increases  more  rapidly  than  the  production.  These 
facts  seem  to  relegate  the  question  of  a  possible  over- 
production to  a  future  so  very  distant  that  the  olive 
farmer  may  safely  leave  it  out  of  his  calculation,  even 
when  thinking  of  his  olives  as  his  legacy  to  children 
and  grandchildren.  The  olive-oil  interest  of  Califor- 
nia is  even  safe  from  tariff  juggling,  which  seems  to 
threaten  other  fruit  interests  so  dangerously  at  the 
present  time,  for  it  is  competing  only  with  adultera- 
tions and  fabrications,  and  its  patrons  are  such  because 
it  is  what  they  demand — pure  olive  oil. 

There  is  another  important  consideration  favorable 
to  an  increasing  olive  industry  which  is  being  slowly 
recognized.  It  seems  as  if  this  interest  must  be  pushed 
to  a  great  development  as  offering  a  solution,  and  at 
the  present   the  only  solution,  of  the  labor  question  as 


related  to  the  harvesting  of  the  fruit  crop.  What 
other  than  a  very  extensive  olive  interest,  with  its 
winter  harvest — namely,  November  15  to  May  i — can 
take  up  the  great  mass  of  floating  labor  needed  for 
the  fruit  and  vine  industries,  as  these  set  free  in  No- 
vember, and  carry  it  on  until  they  call  for  it  again  in 
May?  Such  there  may  be,  but  as  yet  it  is  unknown 
in  California.  If  such  a  development  should  come, 
in  but  a  few  years  the  little  Quito  will  be  unnoticeable 
among  the  many  and  larger  groves  of  the  county;  but 
it  will  always  have  its  modest  place  in  the  history  of 
the  valley  as  the  first  (that  of  the  American  excepted), 
and  that  where  the  experiments,  always  necessary  in  a 
new  industry,  and  often,  for  a  time,  disappointing  and 
unsatisfactory  to  the  beginner,  have  been  tried  out; 
and  to  those  who  read  the  history  of  their  home, 
their  long  lines  of  somber  green  will  stand  for  years, 
per  aps  for  centuries,  a  pleasing  memorial  of  the 
cultured  Spanish  gentleman  who  alone  of  his  genera- 
tion foresaw  the  wonderful  future  of  his  beloved  and 
beautiful  valley;  nor  will  they  forget  to  bless  the 
memory  of  the  old  Spanish  Padres  who  brought  the 
olive  with  them  from  their  Iberian  home  across  the 
sea.  Lovers  will  bide  tryst  under  the  spreading 
branches,  and  brides,  perhaps,  meet  their  grooms  at 
the  altar,  as  did  Beatrice  the  immortal  Dante,  in  pur- 
gatory, "above  the  veil  of  dazzling  white,  bound  with 
the  olive  wreath;"  for  through  all  the  centuries  it  has 
come  down  to  us  as  the  emblem  of  wisdom,  and  has 
been  borne  by  the  herald  ever  as  a  sign  of  peace. 

The  proprietor  of  the  Quito  Olive  Farm,  Mr.  Ed- 
ward E.  Goodrich,  was  born  at  Maiden,  Massachusetts, 
August  12,  1 84s,  but  is  of  the  New  Haven  branch  of 
the  Connecticut  family  of  the  name.  He  was  gradu- 
ated at  Yale  College  in  the  class  of  1866,  and  at  the 
Albany  Law  School  in  1867.  April  23,  1878,  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Sara  M.  Shafter,  daughter  of  the 
late  Judge  Oscar  L.  Shafter,  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
this  State.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Goodrich  have  four  children 
— one  boy  and  three  girls. 

The  citrus  fruits  have  been  cultivated  in  Santa 
Clara  County  for  a  period  antedating  tradition.  Or- 
ange and  lemon  trees  early  found  place  in  the  mis- 
sion orchard,  and  many  were  brought  here  by  the 
earlier  immigrants  from  Mexico.  They  were  com- 
mon in  the  door-yards  and  gardens  of  the  old  Span- 
ish homesteads,  and  bore  abundant  fruit,  although  not 
of  the  best  quality.  Orange  and  lemon  trees  of  a 
better  variety  were,  many  years  ago,  planted  on  the 
grounds  of  W.  H.  Rogers  and  W.  S.  McMurtry  at 
Los  Gatos,  and  grew  thriftily  and  bore  well.     Chris- 


182 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


tian  Feldstadt,  on  the  eastern  foot-hills,  had  an  or- 
chard of  oranges  and  semi-tropical  fruits,  which  was  a 
source  of  considerable  profit. 

In  1880  Mr.  Harvey  Wilcox  planted  sixteen  acres 
to  oranges  in  the  hills  overlooking  Los  Gatos,  on  the 
property  now  occupied  by  the  Catholic  fathers.  At 
six  years  of  age  these  trees  brought  a  large  harvest 
of  beautiful  fruit.  As  a  rule  citrus  fruits  were  not 
planted  for  the  market,  but  as  an  ornament,  and  to 
furnish  a  home  supply.  For  this  reason  public  atten- 
tion was  not  called  to  this  branch  of  horticulture  un- 
til the  winter  of  1886-87.  At  that  time  the  San  Jose 
Horticultural  Society  called  a  citrus  fair,  when  or- 
anges and  lemons  were  presented  for  exhibition  from 
one  hundred  and  sixty-three  different  localities  in  the 
county.  Many  of  these  exhibits  were  from  orchards 
of  considerable  acreage,  whose  owners  testified  to 
healthy  growth  and  satisfactory  fruitage.  This  ex- 
hibition was  made,  not  for  the  purpose  of  showing 
citrus  culture  as  a  leading  industry  of  the  valley,  but 
to  demonstrate  to  Eastern  visitors  that  Santa  Clara 
County  possessed  a  soil  and  climate  suitable  to  the 
growth  of  those  fruits. 

It  is  very  doubtful  whether  orange  culture  ever  be- 
comes a  very  important  branch  of  Santa  Clara  County 
horticulture.  This  will  not  be  for  lack  of  adaptability 
of  soil  and  climate,  but  because  it  does  not  pay  so 
well  as  other  departments  of  fruit-growing,  nor  is  it 
so  sure  or  capable  of  being  conducted  with  so  little 
labor.  Oranges  must  be  marketed  in  a  fresh  state, 
and  must  be  transported  long  distances  at  high  freight 
rates,  while  the  profit  is  not  in  proportion  to  the  risk. 
In  other  fruits  the  producer  can  place  his  crop  in  an 
imperishable  state,  and  hold  it  until  the  condition  of 
the  market  suits  him  to  offer  it  for  sale.  The  profit 
on  the  stardard  fruits  grown  in  Santa  Clara  County, 
rui  :s  from  $1 50  to  $200  per  acre,  which  is  large  enough 
to  suit  any  reasonable  disposition. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  operations  of  the  Alden 
Fruit  and  Vegetable  Preserving  Company,  as  giving 
a  great  impetus  to  the  orchard  business.  The  com- 
pany met  with  no  success  in  its  work,  because  the 
machine  used  was  incompetent.  It,  however,  dem- 
onstrated what  could  be  done  with  proper  apparatus. 
After  the  Alden  Company  retired,  Mr.  W.  W.  Coz- 
zens  took  up  the  business  of  fruit  evaporating,  erect- 
ing a  drier  at  his  place  in  the  Willows,  and  conducted 
it  successfully  until  his  death,  when  it  was  taken  in 
hand  by  his  sons,  who  have  made  great  improvement 
in  machinery  and  methods,  and  are  still  carrying  on 
the  work.     Geo.  A.  and    C.  F.   Fleming,  of  the  Wil- 


lows, soon  went  into  the  business  with  an  evaporator 
of  their  own  invention.  In  1887  they  erected  exten- 
sive branch  works  at  Campbell's  Station,  and  in  1888, 
at  Marysville,  Yuba  County.  More  particulars  of 
these  operations  will  be  found  in  the  personal  histo- 
ries of  these  gentlemen,  elsewhere  recorded  in  this 
book. 

The  rapid  increase  in  the  yield  of  the  orchards  led 
to  apprehensions  that  the  production  would  outrun 
the  capacity  of  the  canneries  and  evaporators.  It  had 
come  to  be  a  popular  belief  that  an  evaporator  was 
necessary  to  the  proper  drying  of  fruit,  and  there  was 
a  great  demand  for  this  kind  of  machinery.  Many 
inventions  were  presented,  but  they  either  lacked  in 
ability  to  do  good  work,  or  in  capacity  to  do  enough 
of  it,  or  were  too  expensive  to  be  operated  with  profit. 
The  idea  that  fruit  must  be  machine-dried  to  secure 
the  top  market  prices,  was  gathered  from  compara- 
tive quotations  in  Eastern  prices  current.  It  did  not 
occur  to  the  people  that  the  Eastern  sunshine  was 
different  from  the  sunshine  in  the  Santa  Clara  Val- 
ley; that,  in  that  country,  they  had  frequent  summer 
rains  and  heavy  dews  at  night,  while  in  this  valley 
there  was  a  high  barometer,  no  summer  rains,  and  no 
dew,  and  that  here  sun-drying  was  equivalent  to  evap- 
oration, with  the  only  difference  that  it  was  a  slightly 
longer  operation.  To  offset  the  difference  in  time 
was  the  fact  that  all  out-of-doors  was  available  to  the 
sun-drier,  and  that  the  amount  of  fruit  that  could  be 
exposed  at  once  more  than  made  up  for  the  time  re- 
quired for  its  curing. 

But  the  people  came  to  know  these  things  in  a 
natural  way.  The  apricot  crop  of  1887  was  unusu- 
ally large.  Many  new  orchards  came  into  bearing 
that  year,  while  the  older  trees  had  more  capacity. 
Every  tree  of  three  years  of  age  or  more  was  bend- 
ing beneath  its  load  of  fruit.  The  canneries  and 
evaporators  could  not  handle  one-third  of  the  crop, 
and  the  orchardists  were  compelled  to  resort  to  sun- 
drying  or  permit  their  crops  to  rot  under  the  trees. 
They  chose  the  latter,  and  the  result  was  a  revela- 
tion. By  properly  preparing  the  fruit  it  came  from 
the  drying  trays  bright  and  luscious  in  appearance, 
and,  in  the  opinion  of  experts,  fully  equal,  if  not  su- 
perior, in  quality  to  that  cured  by  machine.  The 
experience  of  that  j-ear  settled  the  problem  of  pre- 
paring fruit  for  market,  and  settled  it  in  a  manner 
most  satisfactory  to  the  orchardist. 

The  experience  of  1887  also  solved  another  problem 
that  was  causing  considerable  anxiety  on  the  part  of 
the  fruit-grower.     The  thoughtful  ones  had  for  some 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  ''GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


183 


time  been  working  with  the  labor  question.  They 
foresaw  the  time  when  the  fruit  yield  would  be  too 
large  to  be  handled  by  the  available  workmen  then 
in  the  valley.  When  the  large  crop  of  this  year  came 
on  they  concluded  that  the  crisis  had  arrived.  And 
so  it  had  ;  but  it  did  not  bring  the  disaster  that  had 
been*  anticipated.  The  trustees  of  the  different  schools 
extended  the  summer  vacation,  and  women  and  chil- 
dren went  to  the  orchards.  The  crop  was  all  har- 
vested in  good  shape,  and  the  children  earned  a  great 
deal  of  money.  Girls  twelve  years  old  could  earn 
$i.OO  a  day,  and  others  older  or  more  skillful  earned 
from  $i.oo  to  $2.00  per  day.  Boys  learned  habits 
of  industry,  and,  as  working  in  the  orchards  was 
popular,  none  were  ashamed  of  the  labor.  Besides 
showing  the  fruit-growers  where  to  secure  their  future 
help,  the  moral  lesson  of  1887  was  invaluable. 

In  1886  the  consumers  of  fruit  in  the  East  became 
convinced  that  the  prunes  grown  in  Santa  Clara 
County  were  superior  in  quality  to  those  grown  in 
France,  when  similar  grades  were  compared.  This 
superiority  is  due  to  two  causes:  First,  because  the 
peculiar  soil  and  climate  of  this  section  induces  a 
thriftier  growth  and  a  more  perfect  ripening  of  the 
fruit,  and  complete  development  of  the  sugar;  second, 
because  of  the  method  of  curing  practiced  here.  In 
France  the  process  through  which  the  prunes  are 
carried  results  in  cooking  the  fruit  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent.  This  renders  it  soft  and  pleasant  to  eat  in 
a  raw  state,  but  when  made  into  sauce  it  loses  much 
of  its  flavor.  In  the  California  process,  where  the 
fruit  is  cured  by  exposure  to  the  sun,  no  cooking 
results,  and  the  fruit  retains  its  full  flavor. 

In  1887  a  gentleman  from  France  visited  San  Jose, 
and  represented  himself  as  having  been  a  superin- 
tendent of  one  of  the  large  prune-curing  establish- 
ments of  Bordeaux.  He  desired  to  establish  a  similar 
business  here,  and  offered  to  guaranty  that  the  Cali- 
fornia-dried prunes,  treated  by  the  French  process, 
would  recover  seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  weight  lost 
in  drying.  While  the  secret  of  his  process  was  not 
divulged,  it  must  necessarily  be  inferred  that  the 
weight  thus  restored  would  be  in  the  nature  of 
moisture,  and  while  it  would  add  to  the  specific 
gravity  of  the  fruit,  w  uld  not  increase  the  quantity 
of  nutritious  elements.  This  indicates  that  while  the 
weight  of  California-cured  prunes  is  made  up  en- 
tirely of  the  fruit  elements,  that  by  the  French  process 
is,  to  a  considerable  extent,  of  water. 

We  have  seen  that  the  planting  of  strawberries  in 
this  county  was  first  undertaken  as  an  industry  in  the 


Willows  District,  but  was  abandoned  when  planting 
began  in  the  artesian  belt.  The  first  strawberry  plants 
brought  to  this  county  came  with  Commodore  Stock- 
ton's nursery  tree-,  in  1S52.  They  were  grown  for 
fruit  to  a  limited  extent  on  the  Stockton  ranch,  but 
were  not  planted  for  market  purposes  until  Downs 
and  Orne  set  out  their  three-acre  tract  in  the  Willows. 
The  present  strawberry  section  lies  north  of  San  Jose 
and  Santa  Clara,  towards  Milpitas  and  Alviso.  The 
first  person  to  go  into  this  business  in  this  district 
was  Mr.  Cary  Peebels,  who  planted  a  few  acres,  in 
1868,  on  the  place  now  owned  by  Mr.  Agnew,  at 
Agnew's  Station.  His  success  induced  other  plant- 
ings, and  in  a  very  short  time  the  whole  belt  of 
country  where  flowing  artesian  water  was  available 
was  engaged  in  this  industry.  In  many  instances 
too  great  an  acreage  was  devoted  to  strawberries. 
Charles  Wade,  on  the  Alviso  road,  had  one  hundred 
and  forty  acres  planted  in  1874,  but  was  compelled 
to  curtail  his  operations  for  the  reason  that  labor 
could  not  be  obtained  to  care  for  the  crop  Others 
found  themselves  in  the  same  predicament.  The 
only  4abor  thus  far  found  available  for  this  industry 
has  been  that  of  Chinese,  who  work  on  a  kind  of 
co-operative  system.  The  owner  of  the  land  fur- 
nishes the  ground,  plants,  and  water,  and  sells  the 
crop.  The  Chinamen  plant,  cultivate,  and  harvest. 
One-half  the  proceeds  go  to  the  owner  of  the  land 
and  one-half  to  the  Chinamen. 

The  Chinese  are  a  shrewd  people,  and,  controlled 
as  they  are  by  the  Six  Companies,  are  able  to  make 
such  combinations  as  to  their  labor  as  they  may  de- 
sire. This  is  probably  the  reason  why  the  acreage 
of  strawberries  is  kept  at  about  the  same  amount 
from  year  to  year.  A  person  who  desires  to  go  into 
this  business  must  consult  the  Chinamen.  If  they 
think  the  increase  in  production  will  be  greater  than 
the  market  can  stand,  he  will  get  no  labor.  If  the 
Chinamen  decide  that  the  new  acreage  will  not  over- 
stock the  market,  he  will  get  all  the  labor  he  wants. 
The  work  of  growing  and  harvesting  strawberries  in 
the  lowlands  is  peculiarly  distasteful  to  white  people. 
Many  unsuccessful  efforts  have  been  made  to  sub- 
stitute laborers  of  other  nationalities  for  the  Chinamen 
but  no  success  has  followed  these  attempts.  It  may 
be  that  this  problem  will  work  itself  out  to  a  suc- 
cessful solution,  as  have  so  many  other  vexed  ques- 
tions connected  with  our  horticulture.  For  many 
years  Santa  Clara  County  was  the  only  source  of 
supply,  for  this  fruit,  for  the  San  Francisco  market. 
Other  sections  have  since  engaged   in  the   business, 


184 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


but  this  county  still  furnishes  about  ninety  per  cent 
of  all  the  strawberries  grown  in  the  State. 

The  first  horticultural  society  of  Santa  Clara 
Count)',  as  we  have  related,  came  into  existence  in 
1854,  and  lost  its  identity  in  1859,  when  the  Santa 
Clara  Valley  Agricultural  Society  was  incorporated 
under  the  laws  of  the  State.  It  held  no  separate  fairs 
after  1856.  In  1882  a  new  society  was  formed,  which 
is  still  in  existence.  In  1884  this  society  held  its  first 
fair  in  the  California  Theater  Building  on  Second 
Street.  The  success  of  this  exhibition  created  an  en- 
thusiasm which  led  to  the  building  of  the  Horticultu- 
ral Hall  on  San  Fernando  Street,  in  1886,  where  three 
annual  exhibitions  are  now  held.  A  citrus  fair  takes 
place  in  January  or  February,  a  flower  festival  in  May, 
and  an  exhibition  of  horticultural  and  viticultural 
products  late  in  the  summer.  This  history  would  be 
incomplete  if  it  failed  to  record  the  fact  that  the  suc- 
cess of  these  exhibitions  and  the  building  of  the  Horti- 
cultural Hall  has  been  due  almost  exclusively  to  the 
ladies  connected  with  the  fruit-growing  interests  of 
Santa  Clara  County.  When  the  subject  of  holding 
the  first  fair  was  presented,  the  horticultural  society 
doubted  its  ability  to  carry  it  through  to  a  successful 
conclusion  and  the  matter  was  referred  to  the  San 
Jose  Grange.  The  ladies  belonging  to  this  organiza- 
tion took  up  the  burden,  canvassed  the  county  for 
articles  for  exhibition,  arranged  the  display,  and  car- 
ried the  enterprise  forward  to  a  phenomenal  success. 
They  did  the  same  thing  the  succeeding  year,  and 
the  male  members  of  the  two  organizations,  having 
been  shown  how  to  do  the  work,  have  since  added  their 
assistance.  The  efforts  of  the  ladies  having  pointed 
out  the  field  to  be  occupied  and  the  methods  by  which 
it  could  be  taken  into  possession,  the  men  marched  on 
to  the  ground  and  went  into  camp. 
VITICULTURE. 

Before  the  American  occupation,  vines  were  planted 
here  and  there  through  the  valley  from  cuttings  pro- 
cured from  the  Mission,  but  these  plantings  could 
hardly  be  called  vineyards.  The  first  planting  of  any 
magnitude  was  made  by  Charles  Lefranc,  at  the  New 
Almaden  Vineyard,  in  1852.  Mr.  Lefranc  was  born 
at  Pas.sy,  a  suburb  of  Paris,  and  came  to  California 
in  1850.  In  1857  he  married  Miss  AdeleThee,  whose 
father,  Eticnne  Thee,  owned  a  half  interest  in  the 
tract  of  land  where  the  New  Almaden  Vineyard  is 
now  located.  Mr.  Lefranc  purchased  the  other  half 
in  1851,  and  afterwards  came  into  ownership  of  the 
whole  tract. ' 

Mr.   Thee  iiad    planted  a  few  Mission  vines  on  the 


place  before  Mr.  Lefranc  took  charge.  The  latter 
gentleman  increased  the  area,  planting  such  of  the 
finer  varieties  as  he  could  obtain,  his  idea  being  to 
grow  grapes  for  table  use.  At  that  time  imported 
wine  was  a  drug  in  the  market,  owing  to  the  fact  that 
several  vessels  having  wine  cargoes  had  come  into 
San  Francisco  and  had  been  abandoned  by  their 
crews,  who  sought  the  mines.  This  wine  was  several 
years  in  excess  of  the  demand,  and  much  of  it  was  sold 
as  low  as  fifteen  cents  per  gallon.  With  these  cargoes 
on  the  market  there  seemed  to  be  no  profit  in  growing 
grapes  for  vintage. 

Mr.  Lefranc's  early  importations  were  in  1854,  and 
were  made  through  the  house  of  Henry  Shroeder, 
whose  agent  in  France  acted  for  Mr.  Lefranc  in  pro- 
curing cuttings.  The  first  of  these  arrived  and  were 
planted  in  the  year  above  mentioned,  and  each  suc- 
ceeding season  added  to  the  varieties.  Among  these 
were  the  Sauvignons,  Semillon,  Challosse,  Menu 
Finot,  Chauche  Gris,  Malbec,  Cabernet  Franc,  Pinots, 
Miller  Burgundy,  Chasselas  Fontainbleau,  Chasselas 
Rose,  Madelaine,  Muscat  Frontignan,  Muscat  Rose, 
Black  Muscats,  Chasselas  Muscat,  La  Folle  Blanc, 
Napoleon,  Grenache,  Carignan,  and  others.  He  also 
procured  some  varieties  from  General  Vallejo,  who 
had  also  made  importations  from  Europe.  The 
Verdal  was  introduced  into  this  county  by  Mrs.  Le- 
franc in  1859,  who  brought  the  cuttings,  on  horseback, 
from  the  Caiiada  Raymunde  ranch,  they  having  been 
presented  to  her  by  a  Spanish  nobleman,  who  had 
brought  them  from  the  old  country. 

In  1858  Mr.  Frank  Stock  planted  a  vineyard  at  the 
corner  of  Eighth  and  William  Streets,  in  San  Jose. 
He  imported  valuable  German  varieties,  among  which 
were  the  Johannisberg  Reissling,  Franklin  Reissling, 
Tramin^,  Golden  Chasselas,  and  Zinfandel.  When 
this  vineyard  was  discontinued,  in  1869,  Mr.  Stock  pre- 
sented his  vines  to  Mr.  Lefranc,  who  removed  them  to 
the  New  Almaden.  In  the  course  of  time  the  glut  of 
French  wine  at  San  Francisco  disappeared,  and  there 
came  a  demand  for  more.  Then  Mr.  Lefranc  turned 
his  attention  to  wine-making,  his  first  considerable 
vintage  being  in  1862.  He  continued  his  plantings 
until  he  had  one  hundred  and  thirty-one  acres  in 
vineyard,  the  youngest  vine  now  being  seven  years 
old.  His  wine  crop  in  1887  was  eighty-five  thousand 
gallons;  in    1888  it  is  one  hundred  thousand  gallons. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  early  importations  of  Louis 
Pellier,  who  got  several  fine  varieties  in  1854  at  the 
time  he  introduced  the  French  prune.  Antonio  Uel- 
mas  was  also  an  early  importer  of  vines,  his  vineyard 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


185 


being  near  where  Delmas  Avenue  now  is.  Pedro 
Sansevain  also  had  some  good  varieties  at  an  early 
day.  Victor  Speckens  had  a  vineyard  containing 
some  choice  vines,  which  were  in  bearing  in  1868. 
This  vineyard  went  into  the  hands  of  John  Auzerais, 
who  enlarged  it  and  planted  many  new  varieties. 
This  place  is  a  short  distance  east  of  Berryessa,  on  the 
Penetencia  Creek. 

The  principal  plantings  of  noble  varieties,  after 
these  above  noted,  were  made  from  1868  to  1S71. 
The  Stocktons  planted  the  Gravelly  Ridge  Vineyard, 
southwest  from  San  Jose,  now  the  property  of  Gaines 
&  Crandall.  D.  M.  Harwood  planted  the  Lone 
Hill  Vineyard,  near  Lefranc's,  now  the  property  of  C. 
Freyschlag.  Frank  Richmond  planted  in  the  same 
neighborhood,  now  known  as  the  Arnerich  place.  In 
1871  Norman  Porter  planted  the  vineyard  in  the 
Cupertino  District  now  owned  by  Captain    Merithew. 

The  Cupertino  District  has  become  famous  for  its 
vines,  and  a  brief  account  of  its  development  will  not 
be  uninteresting.  In  1849  Elisha  Stevens,  who  was 
captain  of  the  Murphy  party  in  1844,  settled  on  the 
ranch  now  known  as  "  Blackberry  Farm,"  and  gave 
his  name  to  Stevens  Creek.  He  planted  about  four 
acres  of  Mission  grapes  in  the  creek  bottom.  He 
also  planted  blackberries,  and  from  this  came  the 
name  of  the  place.  Soon  after  this  a  Spaniard  named 
Novato,  who  had  settled  in  the  foot-hills  near  Perma- 
nente  Creek,  planted  a  few  cuttings  from  Captain 
Stevens'  vineyard.  With  the  exception  of  random 
patches  here  and  there,  this  was  all  the  planting  done 
in  this  district  until  1870.  Much  of  the  land  was  thin 
and  covered  with  chemissal,  and  had  no  reputation 
either  for  fertility  or  endurance.  Many  grain  farmers 
became  poor  in  endeavoring  to  make  a  living  there, 
and  it  was  considered  a  pure  waste  of  money  to  in- 
vest it  in  grape  cuttings  and  in  the  labor  required  to 
plant  and  care  for  them.  In  1870  Mr.  S.  R.  Williams 
came  into  the  district  and  took  a  contract  from  Wm. 
Hall  to  clear  and  plant  one  hundred  acres  to  vines, 
and  care  for  them  for  three  years  for  half.  He  did 
this  and  received  his  deed  for  fifty  acres.  Part  of 
this  tract  was  on  the  original  claim  located  by  Captain 
Stevens.  The  next  vineyard  planted  was  that  of 
Norman  Porter,  as  related  above.  About  this  time 
the  report  reached  this  district  that  the  people  of 
Sonoma  and  Napa  Counties  were  digging  up  their 
vines  as  unprofitable,  and  this  put  an  end  to  further 
plantings  in  Cupertino  for  some  time,  except  so  far 
as  Williams  was  concerned.  He  extended  his  vine- 
yard and  retained  his  faith  in  the  industry.  Porter 
became  sick  of  his  investment  and  sold  out  just  as 
his   vines  came  into  bearing,  and,  it  is  said,  the  first 


crop  harvested  by  the  grantee  amounted  to  the  money 
paid  for  the  place!  However  this  may  be,  it  is  cer- 
tain that  the  great  growth  and  product  of  the  vines 
dissipated  the  fears  of  the  people,  and  a  general  era 
of  planting  began.  Williams  planted  still  more.  He 
was  followed  by  Portal,  who  set  out  the  Burgundy 
Vineyard,  and  J.  F.  Thompson,  who  planted  forty  acres 
adjoining.  They  were  followed  by  Hall,  Gardner, 
Doyle,  Wright,  Montgomery,  Bubb,  Farr,  Blabon, 
Hallenbeck,  Combe,  and  others.  These  plantings 
were  mostly  made  from  1880  to  1885.  They  were  of 
the  choicest  varieties  that  could  be  had,  and  the  result 
has  indicated  that  the  despised  chemissal  land  is  their 
true  home. 

While  this  district  was  being  developed,  other  sec- 
tions were  undergoing  a  similar  transformation.  The 
Union  and  Los  Gatos  Districts,  Evergreen,  Madrone, 
and  the  Collins  Districts,  the  foot-hills  above  Sara- 
toga, and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  valley  towards 
the  Mission  San  Jose,  were  in  many  places  converted 
into  vineyards.  Most  of  the  vines  on  the  San  Fran- 
cisco road,  and  Boyter  road,  north  and  west  of  Santa 
Clara,  have  been  planted  since  1880,  as  were  the  vine- 
yards of  Bingham  &  Edwards,  Paul  O.  Burns,  Hen- 
ning,  and  others,  near  Evergreen.  In  1856  Lyman 
J.  Burrill  planted  grapes  in  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains, 
near  the  summit.  He  was  followed  by  D.  C.  Felley, 
H.  C.  Morrill,  and  others.  From  this  district  were  sent 
the  grapes  that  carried  off  the  important  premiums 
at  the  New  Orleans  Exposition  of  1884.  The  Mountain 
District,  as  it  is  called,  produces  exceptionally  fine 
table  grapes,  hundreds  of  tons  of  which  are  annually 
shipped  to  the  Eastern  market. 

The  business  of  wine-making  has  hardly  kept  up 
with  the  enormous  strides  of  the  grape-growers,  but 
has  lately  added  to  its  speed  and  will  overtake  its 
companion  in  the  near  future.  Too  many  growers 
depended  on  the  professional  wine-makers  for  a  mar- 
ket, and  have  found  that  the  crops  were  too  large  for 
the  presses,  cellars,  and  cooperage.  Several  large 
wineries  were  built  in  1887-88,  and  the  business  of 
wine  storage,  as  an  investment,  is  being  favorably 
considered  by  local  capitalists.  There  seems  to  be  no 
doubt  that  the  question,  "  What  shall  we  do  with  our 
graoes  ?-"  will  be  as  satisfactorily  answered  as  was  the 
similar  question  in  regard  to  the  fruit  crop. 

To  summarize  the  condition  of  the  fruit  and  vine 
interests  of  Santa  Clara  County  at  this  time,  1888, 
there  are,  in  round  numbers,  twenty  thousand  acres 
planted  to  fruit  trees,  and  fifteen  thousand  acres 
planted  to  vines.  The  value  of  this  crop  this  year  is 
estimated  at  $3,500,000,  all  of  which  is  new  money 
brought  into  the  county. 


^^  vrnkr^^^ff-  ^^( 


CHURCHES. 
J\^  ETHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.— Is 
^  yj^  situated  on  the  west  side  of  Second  Street,  near 
its  intersection  with  Santa  Clara  Street.  The  or- 
ganization was  effected  in  the  fall  of  1849,  with 
the  following  members:  Wm.  Campbell,  Mark  Will- 
iams and  wife,  Asa  Finley  and  wife,  John  Jones 
and  wife,  Mrs.  Nancy  Young,  and  a  French  gentle- 
man and  wife  whose  names  are  forgotten.  Very  soon 
after,  a  building  on  Third  Street,  opposite  Moody's 
mills,  was  purchased  by  them  and  dedicated  early  in 
the  year  1850.  July,  1853,  it  was  moved  to  the  corner 
of  Second  and  Santa  Clara  Streets,  and  enlarged. 

In  1868  a  frame  building,  capable  of  holding  si.x 
hundred  persons,  was  erected  on  the  lot  upon  which  the 
present  edifice  now  stands.  On  the  twenty-second  of 
February,  1868,  this  church  was  burned  to  the  ground 
by  a  su|)posed  anti-Chinese  incendiary.  The  loss  was 
$18,000.  Another  building  was  erected  on  the  same 
site,  at  a  cost  of  $21,000,  and  was  dedicated  on  the 
eighteenth'of  July,  1869,  Bishop  Kingsley  preaching 
the  sermon. 

There  have  been  seventeen  pastors  appointed  to 
the  charge  since  its  organization,  as  follows:  Revs. 
Charles  McClay,  William  J.  McClay  (twice),  Mr. 
Brier,  Robert  R.  Dunlap,  William  Hulbert,  John 
Daniels,  Mr.  Phillips,  R.  Y.  Cool,  Thomas  Dunn 
(twice),  P.  G.  Buchanan,  Isaac  Owen.s,  D.  A.  Dryden, 
Jolin  R.  Tanzy,  E.  S.  Todd,  C.  C.  Stratton,  R.  L. 
Horford,  Frank  F.  Jewell,  Robert  Bentley,  T.  S. 
Dunn,  Frank  F.  Jewell,  D.  D.  In  1882,  about  $8,000 
was  expended  in  building  a  brick  addition  to  base- 
ment of  church  for  u.se  of  Sunday-school,  social  hall, 
etc.,  and  in  placing  a  new  organ  in  the  church.  The 
church  has  been  refurnished  throughout,  and  $2,000 
of  the  church  debt  paid  off  this  year. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. — On  tlie  twenty- 
fifth  day  of  May,  185 1,  Rev.  A.L.Wynne  organized  this 
society  with  the  following-named    members:  Charles 
Campbell,     Nancy    Campbell,     Margaret    Campbell, 
(.86) 


Elizabeth  Ray,  Alexander  Hatler,  Nancy  Hatler, 
Marcus  Williams,  Anson  Williams,  and  J.  W.  Powell. 
The  first  building  was  on  the  corner  of  Second  and 
San  Fernando  Streets,  and  was  constructed  of  brick, 
and  was  used  as  a  place  of  worship  until  the  fall  of 
1874,  when  it  was  removed  to  give  place  to  the  present 
wood  structure  now  used  by  the  church  as  a  house  of 
worship.  Mr.  Wynne  was  succeeded  as  the  pastor  of 
this  church  in  1854  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Graham.  In 
1855  Rev.  B.  F.  Johnson  was  the  pastor.  In  1856  and 
1857  Rev.  O.  P.  Fitzgerald,  D.  D.,  was  the  pastor.  He 
was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Simmons,  who  served 
for  two  years.  Rev.  Mr.  Rubel  was  the  successor  of 
Mr.  Simmons,  and  served  in  i860.  Rev.  Morris  Evans 
was  pastor  in  1861  and  Joseph  Emory  in  1862.  Rev. 
O.  P.  Fitzgerald,  D.  D.,  was  returned  to  this  station  in 
the  fall  of  1862  and  served  during  1863  and  1864. 
Rev.  George  Sim  was  the  pastor  in  1865  to  1867. 
Rev.  W.  F.  Compton  was  pastor  in  1868  and  1869, 
and  Rev.  A.  M.  Bailey  in  1870.  In  the  fall  of  1870 
Rev.  George  Sim  was  again  appointed  and  served  for 
two  years. 

Rev.  J.  C.  Simmons  was  again  the  pastor  in  1873. 
Rev.  Mr.  Hopkins  came  to  the  charge  in  the  fall  of 
1873,  and  remained  until  the  fall  of  1876.  Mr.  Hop- 
kins was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  E.  K.  Miller,  who 
remained  two  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
H.  B.  Avery,  in  1878,  and  resigned  October,  1880. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  George  Sim,  who  remained 
in  charge  till  the  fall  of  1883,  when  he  was  succeeded 
by  J.  W.  Atkinson,  who  resigned  October,  1885. 
During  Mr.  Atkinson's  term  the  remainder  of  the 
church  debt,  amounting  to  $1,100,  was  paid.  Mr. 
Atkinson  was  succeeded  by  C.  Y.  Rankin,  D.  D. 
Since  Mr.  Rankin's  incumbency,  the  church  has  been 
renovated,  and  new  rooms  opened  up.  The  mem- 
bership has  been  increasing  steadily.  The  church, 
during  the  past  year,  has  purchased  the  following 
property:  House  and  lot  on  Delmas  Avenue,  same 
being  used  as  a  permanent  home  for  the  presiding 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


187 


elder  of  San  Francisco  district ;  house  and  lot  on 
South  Seventh  Street,  residence  of  the  pastor  of  the 
church.  E.  R.  Bailey  is  superintendent  of  the  Sun- 
day-school, and  has  over  one  hundred  children  under 
his  charge. 

First  Baptist  Church. — Organized  May  19,  1850, 
by  Rev.  O.  C.  Wheeler,  of  San  Francisco,  who  was 
the  first  Baptist  minister  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  It 
had  only  eight  members  at  the  beginning.  This 
small  membership  could  not  afford  to  engage  a  per- 
manent pastor,  and  arrangements  were  made  by  which 
monthly  meetings  were  held,  which  were  conducted  by 
Mr.  Wheeler.  In  November  of  that  year  a  lot  was 
purchased,  and  a  building  erected,  at  the  corner  of 
Third  and  Santa  Clara  Streets.  Here  Rev.  L.  O. 
Grenell,  from  the  Baptist  Home  Missionary  Society, 
took  temporary  charge,  and  in  the  following  Feb- 
ruary was  elected  permanent  pastor.  The  place  of 
meeting  was  afterwards  moved  to  the  corner  of  Sec- 
ond and  San  Antonio  Streets,  where  a  brick  building 
had  been  erected  for  that  purpose.  In  1877  a  new 
and  commodious  structure  was  built,  which  was 
burned  in  1882.  The  present  tabernacle  was  then 
erected.  The  pastor  now  officiating  is  Rev.  A.  W. 
Runyon,  who  was  called  in  1887. 

Trinity  Church  (Episcopal). — Rev.  S.  S.  Etheridge 
began  the  regular  services  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
in  San  Jose,  in  November,  i860,  occupying  the  old 
City  Hall.  The  first  organization  of  the  parish  of 
Trinity  Church  was  made  in  February,  1861.  Trinity 
Church  was  built  in  1863.  The  Rev.  S.  S.  Etheridge 
continued  in  charge  of  the  parish  until  his  death,  in 
February,  1864.  After  his  death  the  Rev.  T.  A. 
Hyland  officiated  for  some  months.  The  Rev.  D.  D. 
Chapin  was  then  called  to  the  rectorship,  and  re- 
mained in  charge  until  January,  1866.  During  this 
time  the  mortgage  upon  the  church  lot  was  removed, 
and  improvements  were  made  upon  the  church  and 
grounds.  In  April,  1866,  the  Rev.  E.  S.  Peake  was 
called  and  remained  rector  until  December  i,  1870. 
On  July  27,  1867,  the  whole  debt  of  the  church  hav- 
ing been  removed,  or  assumed  by  individuals  in  the 
vestry  and  congregation,  the  building  was  consecrated 
to  the  worship  of  God  by  Bishop  Kip.  In  January, 
1871,  the  Rev.  Geo.  Wm.  Foote  was  called  to  the 
rectorship  of  the  church.  In  1876  the  church  was 
enlarged  to  nearly  double  its  former  capacity,  and 
much  improved.  In  1872  the  rectory  was  built.  In 
1880  four  stained  windows  were  presented  to  the 
church,  and  the  Sunday-school  was  presented  with 
a  chime  of  five  bells.     Mr.  Foote   resigned   the  rec- 


torship in  October,  1884,  and  was  succeeded  by  the 
Rev.  J.  B.  Wakefield,  D.  D.,  who  came  from  Rich- 
mond, Indiana,  where  he  was  rector  of  St.  Paul's 
Church  for  twenty-nine  years.  Since  Mr.  Wakefield's 
appointment  the  church  has  been  completed  by  the 
erection  of  a  tower  and  spire,  and  a  considerable  sum 
is  now  on  hand  for  the  building  of  a  chapel,  guild 
rooms,  etc.,  to  be  built  upon  an  adjoining  lot.  The 
church  is  in  a  prosperous  condition,  and  has  over  four 
hundred  communicants. 

Christian  Chn rch.—Th\s  church  was  first  organized 
about  1870.  The  members  met  in  a  little  hall  over 
the  Home  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company's  office, 
on  Santa  Clara  Street;  Rev.  Gary,  minister.  They 
afterwards  met  in  Champion  Hall  for  several  years. 
Rev.  W.  D.  Pollard  officiating.  In  March,  1883,  Rev. 
J.  W.  Ingram  came  to  San  Jose  from  Omaha,  Ne- 
braska, and  was  appointed  minister.  The  members 
then  moved  to  the  California  Theater,  where  they  held 
their  meetings  until  January,  1885,  when  they  moved 
into  their  new  church,  which  had  been  erected  on 
Second  Street,  between  San  Antonio  and  San  Fer- 
nando Streets.  When  Mr.  Ingram  first  took  charge, 
the  membership  was  about  fifty,  and  has  gradually 
increased  in  numbers.  At  the  present  writing  they 
have  a  membership  of  three  hundred.  On  July  15, 
1888,  Mr.  Ingram  resigned,  and  was  succeeded  by 
George  E.  Walk. 

The  First  United  Presbyterian  Church  of  San  Jose. — 
This  church  was  organized  November  6,  1874,  twenty- 
eight  members  uniting  at  that  time.  Rev.  A.  Cal- 
houn, by  appointment  of  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  United  Presbyterian  Church  of  North  America, 
commenced  missionary  work  in  San  Jose  in  the  fall 
of  1874,  and  remained  in  charge  until  the  spring  of 
1879,  when  he  was  chosen  pastor  of  the  congregation, 
and  regularly  installed  by  the  United  Presbytery  of 
San  Francisco.  The  organization  occupied  a  little 
hall  over  the  San  Jose  Savings  Bank,  now  the  Home 
Mutual  Insurance  Company's  building,  for  about  four 
years.  In  the  fall  of  1878,  the  congregation  erected 
a  church  on  the  corner  of  Fifth  and  Santa  Clara 
Streets,  the  lot  and  church  costing  them  over  twelve 
thousand  dollars.  The  location  is  good  and  the 
church  a  model  of  neatness  and  comfort. 

The  Society  of  Friends. — The  first  religious  meeting 
of  the  Society  of  Friends,  otherwise  known  as  Quak- 
ers, was  held  in  June,  1866,  in  the  building  at  the 
corner  of  Ninth  and  St.  John  Streets.  The  lot  was 
donated  by  Jesse  and  David  Hobson.  In  1873  these 
meetings  were  regularly  organized  under  the  author- 


188 


PEN  PICTUBES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


ity  and  discipline  of  the  Iowa  Yearly  Meeting  of  the 
Society  of  Friends.  Jane  M.  F.  Canney  and  Adon- 
ijah  Gregory  were  the  regularly  appointed  ministers. 
In  1886  the  society  purchased  a  lot  on  Stockton 
Avenue,  near  the  Alameda,  and  erected  a  neat  meet- 
ing-house, where  services  are  now  held. 

German  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. — This  church 
was  founded  in  the  year  1861,  by  Rev.  A.  Kcllner, 
but  the  first  regular  pastor  was  Rev.  G.  H.  Bollinger. 
After  the  lapse  of  several  years,  the  Rev.  Hermann 
Brueck  arrived,  in  1868,  and  preached  to  the  German 
residents  in  the  old  City  Hall,  when  a  small  society  was 
formed  and  a  Sunday-school  organized.  Mr.  Brueck's 
term  of  service  lasted  three  years,  when  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Rev.  C.  H.  Afflerbach.  During  the  first 
year  of  this  gentleman's  administration  the  present 
valuable  church  property,  on  Third  Street,  between 
Santa  Clara  and  San  Fernando  Streets,  was  acquired. 

Mr.  Afflerbach  served  four  years,  and  was  succeeded 
by  the  Rev.  G.  H.  Bollinger,  who  served  a  term  of 
three  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  F.  Bonn, 
who  served  four  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  F. 
A.  Worth,  who  had  charge  for  four  years.  Mr.  Worth 
was  succeeded  by  Rev.  C.  H.  Afflerbach,  who  is  now 
the  pastor.  The  church  has  a  membership  of  about 
one  hundred. 

The  First  Congregatiotial  Church  of  San  Jose. — 
Services  were  first  held  in  connection  with  this  church 
April  II,  1875.  On  May  3,  an  "ecclesiastical  society" 
was  formed,  and  on  June  2,  1S75,  the  church  was 
organized,  Rev.  Theodore  T.  Munger  acting  pastor, 
who  officiated  until  the  appointment  of  Rev.  M.  Wil- 
let  in  1879,  wiio  served  for  three  years  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Rev.  Martin  Post.  Mr.  Post  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  Chas.  W.  Hill,  who  is  the  present  pastor.  The 
church  building  was  first  erected  on  San  Antonio  be- 
tween Second  and  Third  Streets.  In  1887  the  build- 
ing was  moved  to  the  corner  of  Second  and  San 
Antonio  Streets,  and  a  large  addition  was  built  to  it, 
making  in  all  a  very  handsome  structure.  The  new 
building  was  dedicated  December  27,  1887. 

Evangelical  Association. — This  society  was  formed 
in  October,  1879,  with  Rev.  F.  W.  Voeglein  acting  as 
pastor.  The  meetings  were  held  in  Druid's  Hall  on 
First  Street  until  188 1,  when  they  moved  into  their 
new  church,  which  had  been  erected  on  their  lot  on  the 
corner  of  Second  and  Julian  Streets.  Mr.  Voeglein 
left  for  Japan  in  1882,  and  was  succeeded  in  turn  by 
the  following-named  gentlemen:  Revs.  F.  W.  Fisher, 
T.  Suhcr,  C.  Grucn,  and  ]•".  A.  Fra.sc.  Mr.  PVase  came 
in    May,    1887,  and  is    now  officiating  as  pastor. 


First  Presbyterian  Cliurclt  of  San  Jose. — This 
church  was  organized  on  the  afternoon  of  October  7, 
1849,  by  Rev.  Mr.  Douglass,  James  Mathers  and  his 
wife,  Sarah  Warren  Dutton,  S.  W.  Hopkins,  Oliver 
Crane,  Austin  Arnold,  and  Dr.  James  C.  Cobb.  The 
first  services  were  held  in  the  juzgado,  or  judgment 
hall,  of  the  Alcade's  court.  The  organization  was 
called  the  Independent  Presbyterian  Church  of  San 
Jose.  The  first  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  was 
administered  in  February,  1850,  in  a  blue  tent  made 
by  "  Grandma"  Bascom.  Mr.  Brayton  succeeded  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Douglass  as  pastor,  and  was  duly  installed, 
and  first  administered  the  sacrament   October  6,  1850- 

Up  to  this  time  the  State  House  had  been  used,  in 
conjunction  with  the  Baptists,  as  a  place  of  woiship. 
In  the  latter  part  of  1850  a  neat  building  of  wood  was 
erected  on  a  fifty-vara  lot  situated  on  the  east  side  of 
Second  Street  between  Santa  Clara  and  St.  James 
Streets.  This  building  cost  $3,000,  and  was  dedicated 
P'ebruary  9,  1 851,  by  Rev.  S.  H.  Wiley.  Mr.  Brayton, 
the  pastor,  resigned  January,  1852,  and  was  succeeded 
by  the  Rev.  Eli  Corwin. 

On  March  19,  1865,  the  name  of  the  church  was 
changed  from  that  of  the  Independent  Church  of  San 
Jose  to  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  San  Jose. 
Mr.  Corwin  severed  his  connection  with  the  church 
in  the  month  of  October,  1858,  and  was  succeeded  by 
the  Rev.  L.  Hamilton,  who  entered  upon  his  labors 
as  pastor  May  i,  1859.  Mr.  Hamilton's  incumbency 
continued  until  the  end  of  1864. 

On  January  10,  1865,  the  Rev.  William  Wisner 
Martin  was  elected  in  his  place.  Mr.  Martin  was 
taken  ill  and  never  returned  to  his  parish.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  James  S.  Wylie.  Mr.  Wylie  ten- 
dered his  resignation  and  the  same  was  accepted 
March  25,  1869.  On  account  of  damages  done  to  the 
church  building  by  an  earthquake,  October  10,  1868, 
services  were  held  in  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  Building.  On  April  4,  1869,  Murphy's 
Hall,  at  the  corner  of  Market  and  El  Dorado  Streets, 
was  secured,  and  the  assistance  of  Rev.  P.  V.  Veeder 
engaged.  The  pulpit  was  without  a  permanent  min- 
ister until  October  28,  1869,  at  which  time  the  Rev. 
William  Alexander  was  appointed.  Mr.  Alexander 
resigned  March  28,  1871,  and  was  succeeded  by  the 
Rev.  Ebcn  Morrison  Betts,  who  was  appointed  Octo- 
ber 22,  1871. 

On  July  15,  1877,  he  resigned  the  pastoral  office, 
and  was  succeeded  November  4,  1878,  by  Rev.  John 
Paul  Egbert,  who  served  a  term  of  four  years. 

For  several  years  subsequent  to  Mr.  Egbert's  resig- 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF   THE    WORLD." 


180 


nation,  the  church  was  without  a  regular  minister.  In 
1884,  Rev.  H.  C.  Minton  was  elected  pastor,  and  is 
now  occupying  that  position. 

Unitarian  Church. — First  organized  as  the  Unity 
Society  of  San  Jose,  in  1867.  The  pastors  up  to 
April,  1888,  were:  Charles  G.  Ames,  J.  W.  Hatch,  D. 
Cronyn,  W.  W.  McKaig,  and  Mr.  Fowler.  Its  meet- 
ings were  held  in  Murphy's  Hall,  corner  of  Market 
and  El  Dorado  Streets;  then  at  Armory  Hall,  after- 
wards San  Jose  Opera  House;  then  at  Music  Hall; 
then  at  California  Theater.  In  April,  1888,  the  Unity 
Society  dissolved  and  the  Unitarian  Church  was  or- 
ganized, with  N.  A.  Haskell  as  pastor. 

St.  Joseph's  Catholic  Church. — The  history  of  the 
Catholic  Church  has  been  told  all  through  this  narra- 
tive. It  was  the  pioneer  of  the  county,  and  has  ex- 
erted its  influence  during  all  the  subsequent  years. 
The  first  building,  as  we  have  related,  was  erected  in 
1803.  In  1835  a  better  building,  constructed  of  adobes, 
was  erected  on  the  same  site.  This  building  was  after- 
wards encased  in  brick.  It  endured  many  vicissitudes, 
having  been  racked  by  earthquakes,  and  was  finally 
destroyed  by  fire.  The  present  magnificent  building 
was  erected  during  the  last  ten  years,  having  been 
completed  in  1887.  It  stands  over  the  site  of  the 
original  church  of  1803. 

ARTESIAN    WELLS. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  American  occupation,  the 
scarcity  of  good  water  was  one  of  the  greatest  incon- 
veniences which  the  inhabitants  of  San  Jose  had  to 
contend  with.  The  Mexican  people  procured  water 
for  household  purposes  from  the  acequias,  or  irrigat- 
ing ditches,  that  traversed  the  pueblo  in  several  places. 
The  most  important  of  these  was  the  one  from  the 
Canoas  Creek,  that  ran  northerly  through  the  town, 
west  of  Market  Street,  and  this  was  kept  open,  and  a 
guard  placed  over  it,  for  seveial  years  after  the  present 
city  government  was  instituted.  This,  in  addition  to 
being  neither  palatable  nor  wholesome,  was  not  suffi- 
cient in  quantity  to  supply  the  rapidly  increasing 
population.  To  meet  the  constantly  growing  demand, 
shallow  wells  were  dug  at  different  points.  These 
wells  were  of  an  average  depth  of  about  eight  feet,  and 
although  they  increased  the  supply  of  water,  could 
not  improve  its  quality.  "Grandma  Bascom's  story," 
told  in  the  foregoing  pages,  describes  one  of  these 
pioneer  wells.  They  were  mere  holes  in  the  ground 
without  walls,  or  curbing,  or  pumps. 

This  state  of  things  continued  until  1854,  when  the 
Merritt    Brothers    built    their    brick    house  on    Fifth 


Street.  In  January  of  that  year  they  commenced 
boring  for  a  lower  stratum  of  water,  seeking  a  stream 
that  did  not  act  as  a  sewer  for  all  the  accumulated 
filth  on  the  surface  of  the  ground.  They  struck  water 
at  fifty  feet  deep,  but  determined  to  go  deeper.  At 
eighty  feet  they  tapped  a  stream  that  came  rushing  to 
the  surface  like  the  eruption  of  a  volcano.  The  hole 
was  six  inches  in  diameter,  and  the  pressure  was  suffi- 
cient, as  Mr.  Hall  says  in  his  "History  of  San  Jose," 
to  run  a  saw-mill.  The  success  met  in  prospecting 
this  well,  immediately  induced  the  boring  of  others. 
In  the  same  month,  Mr.  J.  S.  Shepard  had  a  well  sunk 
on  his  place  about  three  miles  east  of  town.  This  well 
went  through  muck  and  clay  to  a  depth  of  seventy- 
five  feet,  to  a  stratum  of  sand.  Five  feet  in  this  sand 
the  water  was  struck,  and  although  the  pipe  was  ex- 
tended sixteen  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
the  water  came  out  of  the  top  as  though  forced  by 
powerful  machinery.  During  the  next  month  T. 
Meyers  bored  a  well,  getting  a  plentiful  supply  of 
water.  But  the  greatest  well  in  the  history  of  the 
county  was  bored  in  August  of  the  same  year,  by  G. 
A.  Dabney,  near  San  Fernando  Street.  Mr.  Hall 
thus  describes  it :  "After  boring  six  feet,  the  auger  en- 
tered a  bed  of  clay,  through  which,  a  distance  of  fifty- 
four  feet,  it  penetrated,  when  the  water  rushed  up  with 
a  force  unknown  here  in  well-boring.  It  flooded  the 
surrounding  lands  so  that  it  became  a  serious  question 
how  the  water  should  be  disposed  of  The  city  coun- 
cil declared  it  a  nuisance,  and  passed  an  ordinance 
directing  Dabney  to  stop  or  control  the  flow  of  water; 
and,  if  not,  he  should  pay  a  fine  of  $50  for  every  day 
he  allowed  it  thus  to  run.  The  ordinance  had  no  ef- 
fect on  the  dynamical  properties  of  the  water,  nor  any 
on  Dabney;  it  flowed  on,  rising  nine  feet  above  the 
surface  of  the  ground  for  about  six  weeks,  when  other 
wells  which  were  bored  in  that  vicinity  lessened  its 
force  and  volume.  It  was  a  curiosity  and  received 
visitors  daily.  A  stream  flowed  therefrom  four  feet 
wide  and  six  inches  deep." 

After  this  demonstration  of  the  fact  that  artesian 
water  was  to  be  had,  there  was  no  more  complaint  in 
regard  to  lack  of  this  necessary  fluid.  The  old  ace- 
quia  fell  into  disuse  and  finally  disappeared.  Wells 
were  sunk  in  various  localities,  and  always  with  good 
results;  but  as  the  wells  accumulated  the  force  of 
the  flow  was  somewhat  diminished,  as  in  the  case  of 
Dabney 's  well,  except  as  new  streams  were  tapped. 
Especially  were  wells  made  on  the  lower  land  to  the 
north  of  town,  for  irrigating  purposes.  At  one  time 
the  California  Land  Investment  Company,  which  had 


190 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


acquired  several  thousand  acres  of  salt-marsh  land 
along  the  shore  of  the  bay,  attempted  to  reclaim 
it  by  means  of  artesian  wells.  The  project  was  to 
build  levees  around  their  property  to  shut  out  the  sea, 
pump  out  the  salt  water,  and  replace  it  with  fresh 
artesian  water.  They  went  so  far  as  to  bore  many 
wells,  but  abandoned  the  project,  either  because  it 
was  impracticable,  or  on  account  of  the  expense. 
The  wells,  however,  were  a  great  source  of  annoy- 
ance to  the  people  to  the  north.  Being  allowed  to 
flow  continually,  the  water  in  other  wells  was  low- 
ered, until  many  of  them  ceased  to  flow  at  all.  The 
matter  became  so  disastrous  that  an  act  was  passed 
by  the  Legislature  declaring  it  a  misdemeanor  to  per- 
mit flowing  artesian  wells  to  remain  uncapped  when 
not  in  use.  After  much  labor  this  law  was  enforced, 
and  the  injured  wells  recovered  their  vigor. 

Perhaps  no  natural  peculiarity  of  the  Santa  Clara 
Valley  has  been  so  little  understood  as  the  location 
of  artesian  streams.  Many  attempts  have  been  made 
to  trace  and  locate  the  artesian  belt,  but  it  is  continu- 
ally being  struck  outside  these  locations,  ai  d  no  one 
now  cares  to  risk  his  reputation  by  saying  where  it 
is  not.  It  was  at  first  thought  to  lie  exclusively  be- 
tween San  Jose  and  the  bay,  following  the  lower 
levels  of  the  valley.  In  1870  artesian  water  was  sup- 
posed to  have  been  found  in  the  San  Felipe  Valley, 
southeast  of  Gilroy.  But  one  night  a  well,  windmill, 
tank,  house,  and  frame,  on  the  property  of  Mr.  Buck, 
sunk  out  of  sight,  and  the  longest  sounding-line  was 
unable  to  discover  its  whereabouts !  This  indicated 
that  the  supply  was  a  lake,  and  not  a  stream.  In 
1887  flowing  artesian  water  was  found  at  Gilroy,  and 
that  neighborhood  is  likely  to  be  fully  developed  in 
this  respect.  Mr.  R.  C.  McPherson,  who  for  ten  years 
has  been  sinking  oil  wells  in  the  Santa  Cruz  Mount- 
ains, says  that  often  the  pressure  of  water  is  so  great 
as  to  force  itself  through  the  seams  of  pipe  that  was 
considered  to  be  perfectly  water-tight. 

With  all  the  facts  understood,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  artesian  water  can  be  had  at  any  point  in  the 
valley,  not  excepting  the  higher  grounds  near  the 
foot-hills.  As  yet  no  efficient  prospect  has  been 
made,  except  in  the  region  generally  accepted  as  the 
artesian  belt;  but  we  feel  assured  that  a  well  sunk  to 
a  depth  of  twenty-five  hundred  feet  would  find  a 
stream  with  sufficient  force  to  give  a  surface  flow,  in 
the  most  unlikely  location.  The  well-boring  machin- 
ery and  tools  used  at  the  present  time  are  inadequate 
for  these  deep  wells  on  the  higher  grounds.  The  der- 
rick  is   usually  but  twenty  feet  high,  the  tools  are  of 


comparatively  frail  construction,  and  the  work  is  all 
done  by  hand.  We  predict  that  when  the  company 
now  being  organized  begins  to  prospect  for  natural 
gas,  with  proper  implements,  the  artesian  belt  will  be 
found  to  be  practically  limitless. 

BANKS. 

T/te  Bank  of  San  Jose. — The  pioneer  bank  in  the 
Santa  Clara  Valley  was  opened  for  business  in  March, 
1866,  by  W.  J.  Knox  and  T.  Ellard  Beans,  under  the 
firm  title  of  Knox  &  Beans,  and  was  conducted  as 
a  private  banking  house  until  January  31,  186S,  on 
which  date  it  was  incorporated  as  a  State  bank,  be- 
ing the  first  bank  incorporated  in  interior  California. 
The  first  officers  were  John  G.  Bray,  President;  T. 
Ellard  Beans,  Cashier  and  Manager;  John  T.  Cala- 
han  was  appointed  Assistant  Cashier  in  1880,  which 
position  he  still  holds;  C.  W.  Pomeroy,  Secretary. 
The  capital  stock  is  $200,000.  In  1870  Mr.  Bray 
died,  and  Mr.  Beans  became  president,  which  posi- 
tion he  still  holds.  Henry  Philip  succeeded  him  as 
cashier,  and  acted  in  that  capacity  till  1875,  when 
Clement  T.  Park,  the  present  cashier,  succeeded  him. 

In  1871  the  Bank  of  San  Jose  Block,  on  the  north- 
east corner  of  First  and  Santa  Clara  Streets,  was  be- 
gun, and  completed  the  following  year.  The  build- 
ing has  a  frontage  of  ninety  feet  on  Santa  Clara 
Street,  and  one  hundred  feet  on  First,  is  symmetrical 
in  architectural  design,  and  cost  $120,000.  Besides 
the  commodious  banking  rooms,  there  are  several  fine 
stores  on  the  first  floor.  The  second  floor  is  occu- 
pied, in  part,  by  the  San  Jose  Board  of  Trade,  and 
the  remainder  and  the  upper  story  are  devoted  to 
offices. 

The  bank  has  been  under  the  able  management  of 
Mr.  Beans  throughout  its  entire  history,  and  its  career 
has  been  one  of  marked  success,  as  the  following  facts 
and  figures  show:  The  Bank  of  San  Jose  has  paid 
two  hundred  and  forty  dividends  up  to  July  i,  1888, 
aggregating  two  hundred  and  ninety-one  per  cent  of 
the  par  value  of  the  capital  stock,  with  an  additional 
surplus  of  seventy-five  per  cent.  It  does  strictly  a 
commercial  business;  has  correspondents  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, New  York,  and  London,  on  which  it  draws 
direct. 

T.  Ellard  Beans  was  born  in  Salem,  Ohio,  sixty 
years  ago.  His  early  business  life  was  passed  in  mer- 
cantile pursuits;  spent  two  years  in  a  banking  house 
in  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania.  Came  to  California  in 
1849;  directed  his  attention  to  mining  for  a  time,  and 
later  was  engaged  in  merchandising  in  Nevada  City 
seven  years;  came   near  losing  his   life  by  the  great 


^k^ 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


191 


fire  in  that  place  in  1856.  He  came  to  San  Jose  in 
1866,  and  the  same  year  projected  and  established 
the  bank,  as  before  stated.  Mr.  Beans  is  one  of  that 
honored  class  termed  self-made  men,  and  has  long 
been  regarded  as  one  of  San  Jose's  most  able  and  re- 
liable business  men. 

The  First  National  Bank  of  San  Jose  was  organ- 
ized July  II,  1874,  with  a  paid-up  capital  of  $500,000. 
Mr.  W.  D.  Tisdale,  the  present  president,  was  its  first 
cashier,  and  has  been  the  active  manager  of  the  bank 
from  its  organization.  The  bank  is  situated  on  the 
southwest  corner  of  First  and  Santa  Clara  Streets. 
It  does  a  general  commercial  banking  business,  and 
draws  direct  on  San  Francisco,  New  York,  and  the 
principal  cities  of  Europe,  having  correspondents  in 
the  leading  banks  of  those  cities.  The  First  Na- 
tional pays  no  interest  on  deposits.  The  fourteen 
years  of  its  business  life  have  been  years  of  steady 
prosperity  and  growth.  The  accumulated  surplus 
and  dividends  aggregate  $176,000;  and  the  present 
deposits  are  about  $600,000.  In  1S80  W.  D.  Tisdale 
became  president,  and  L.  G.  Nesmith,  hitherto  as- 
sistant cashier,  became  cashier,-  which  position  he 
now  holds.  The  bank  employs  si.x  clerks,  besides 
the  officers. 

Mr.  Tisdale  came  to  the  Pacific  Coast  in  1S54, 
when  nine  years  of  age,  and  was  for  many  years 
identified  with  mining  interests  in  Nevada  County, 
California.  He  settled  in  San  Jose,  in  1872,  and 
soon  after,  with  others,  took  steps  to  organize  the 
bank.  Mr.  Tisdale  is  of  old  Mohawk  Dutch  stock, 
the  son  of  William  L.  Tisdale  (now  a  resident  of 
Santa  Clara  County),  and  was  born  in  Utica,  New 
York.  He  married  Miss  Gephart,  a  native  of  Mich- 
igan. They  have  four  children.  William  L.  Tisdale 
has  been  a  resident  of  this  State  since  early  in  fifty, 
and  now  lives  on  the  Alameda,  retired  from  active 
business.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  the  First  National 
Bank. 

The  Garden  City  National  Bank  was  chartered  and 
organized  on  the  third  day  of  June,  1887,  and  opened 
for  business  on  July  18,  1887,  with  $100,000  capital 
paid  in.  Dr.  C.  W.  Brcyfogle,  who  projected  and 
perfected  its  organization,  was  chosen  president, 
George  M.  Bowman,  vice-president,  and  Thomas  F. 
Morrison,  cashier.  The  bank,  being  a  regular  national 
bank,  confines  its  transactions  to  commercial  business 
solely.  It  is  situated  on  the  northwest  corner  of  First 
and  San  Fernando  Streets,  almost  in  the  geographical 
center  of  San  Jose,  and  occupies  a  beautiful  suite  of 
banking  rooms,  fitted   up  expressly  for  its  use,  with 


a  ten  years'  lease.  The  eighteen  stockholders  are 
among  the  best  known,  most  competent,  and  suc- 
cessful business  men  of  Santa  Clara  County.  The 
bank  draws  directly  upon  San  Francisco,  New  York, 
and  all  the  principal  cities  of  Europe,  and  has  cor- 
respondents in  all  important  commercial  centers. 
The  Garden  City,  the  youngest  of  San  Jose's  banking 
houses,  starts  off  under  very  promising  auspices.  Its 
brief  history  so  far  fills  the  measure  of  the  most  san- 
guine projectors.  At  the  end  of  its  first  eight  months' 
operations  the  report  showed  $177,894.51  in  indi- 
vidual deposits;  demand  certificate  deposits  amount- 
ing to  $48,150.13,  and  undivided  profits  of  $5,37045. 

Dr.  C.  W.  Breyfogle  emanates  from  the  heart  of 
the  Buckeye  State,  was  born  in  Columbus,  Ohio,  in 
June,  1841.  He  was  graduated  from  Ohio  Wes- 
leyan  University,  in  1863,  having  con^pleted  a  four 
years'  college  course  in  three  years.  The  same  year 
he  left  college  he  entered  the  U.  S.  army  as  Second 
Lieutenant  of  Company  E  in  the  9th  Ohio  Cavalry, 
which  was  assigned  to  Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman's  com- 
mand. Lieutenant  Breyfogle  soon  rose,  by  suc- 
cessive promotions,  to  First  Lieutenant  and  to  Cap- 
tain of  his  company.  His  eyesight  becoming  seriously 
impaired  bj-  an  attack  of  paralysis  of  the  optic  nerve, 
Captain  Breyfogle  was  compelled  to  resign  at  the 
end  of  fourteen  months  of  service,  and  seek  relief 
After  a  partial  recovery  from  his  affliction,  he  began 
reading  law  in  the  office  of  Judge  Rankin,  in  Co- 
lumbus; but  just  before  he  finished  the  course  his 
eyes  again  failed,  and  he  had  to  abandon  study.  On 
being  cured  by  homeopathic  treatment,  Mr.  Breyfogle 
was  so  pleased  with  the  system  that  he  resolved  to 
master  it.  He  began  to  study,  and,  in  1865,  grad- 
uated from  the  Homeopathic  Medical  College  at 
Philadelphia,  and  commenced  practice.  Two  of  his 
brothers  followed  his  example,  studied  medicine  with 
him,  and  are  practicing  physicians. 

Dr.  Breyfogle  came  to  California  and  to  San  Jose 
in  1 87 1,  broken  down  in  health  by  overwork  in  the 
profession  in  Louisville,  Kentucky.  He  rapidly  re- 
covered, and  spent  fifteen  years  in  active  practice  in 
Santa  Clara  County,  from  which  he  retired  to  take 
the  presidency  of  the  bank.  In  May,  1886,  Dr. 
Breyfogle  was  elected  mayor  of  the  city,  and  filled 
the  office  two  years.  During  his  administration  a 
number  of  measures  of  great  benefit  to  the  city  were 
inaugurated  and  crystallized  into  laws.  Among  them 
is  an  ordinance  authorizing  the  issuing  of  city  bonds 
for  $500,000  for  the  purpose  of  making  much-needed 
improvements.     This  measure  met  with  a  determined 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  ''GARDEN   OF  THE    WORLD." 


opposition,  and  one  defeat,  but  finally  triumphed. 
The  new  City  Hall  was  commenced,  and  a  general 
system  of  sidewalk  construction  started.  In  Febru- 
ary, 1885,  Dr.  Brcyfogle  organized  the  San  Jose 
Building  and  Loan  Association,  with  a  capital  stock 
of  two  thousand  five  hundred  shares  of  $200  each. 
The  stock  was  so  rapidly  taken  that,  at  the  end  of 
the  first  year,  the  stock  was  increased  to  $1,500,000, 
in  series  of  one  thousand  shares  each.  The  associa- 
tion has  proved  very  popular,  and  is  a  benefaction  to 
home-seekers  of  small  means.  It  has  erected  about 
eighty  buildings,  mostly  in  San  Jose.  In  the  same 
year  (18S5)  Dr.  Breyfogle  also  organized  the  Odd 
Fellows'  Association,  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  hall 
for  the  order.  This  enterprise  was  a  flattering  suc- 
cess, culminating  in  the  erection  and  completion  of 
the  splendid  block  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Santa 
Clara  and  Third  Streets,  one  of  the  finest  in  the  city. 
Dr.  Breyfogle  is  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Free- 
holders, and  has  served  in  the  City  Board  of  Educa- 
tion. Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  Dr.  Breyfogle  is  an 
enterprising,  public-spirited,  cultured  gentleman,  of 
whom  the  city  may  well  feel  proud. 

The  San  Jose  Safe  Deposit  Bank  of  Savitigs  first 
opened  its  doors  for  business  on  the  first  day  of  May, 
1885,  as  an  incorporated  institution  under  the  laws  of 
California,  in  the  Safe  Deposit  Block,  on  the  southeast 
corner  of  Santa  Clara  and  First  Streets,  with  Mr.  E. 
McLaughlin  as  manager.  On  May  4,  1869,  Mr.  E. 
McLaughlin  and  C.  T.  Ryland  established  a  private 
banking  house  in  a  building  previously  erected  for 
the  purpose  by  Mr.  McLaughlin,  on  Santa  Clara 
Street,  between  First  and  Second  Streets.  Mr.  Mc- 
Laughlin had  intended  to  open  the  bank  himself,  but 
the  partnership  was  formed  with  Mr.  Ryland  before 
he  was  ready  to  start.  In  1872  the  firm  erected  the 
Safe  Deposit  Block,  which  it  moved  into  and  occu- 
pied until  their  business  was  merged  into  the  Com- 
mercial Savings  Bank,  two  years  later.  The  Commer- 
cial Savings  Bank  was  organized  as  a  joint-stock 
company,  with  Messrs.  E.  McLaughlin,  C.  T.  Ryland, 
and  Martin  Murphy  as  stockholders,  and  opened  for 
business  May  13,  1874,  with  E.  McLaughlin  as  active 
manager.  It  leased  the  banking  rooms  in  the  Safe 
Deposit  Block,  and  occupied  them  until  it  moved  to 
the  opposite  corner,  in  1886.  In  January,  1883,  Mr. 
McLaughlin  disposed  of  his  interest  in  the  bank  and 
retired  from  its  management.  In  February  of  the 
same  year  he  purchased  Mr.  Ryiand's  interest  in  the 
Safe  Deposit  Block.  Ever  since  it  was  opened,  the 
Safe  Deposit  Bank  has  been  under  the  official  control 


of  Mr.  McLaughlin  as  manager,  with  M.  Malarin  as 
president,  and  John  E.  Auzerais  as  cashier.  Its  ele- 
gant banking  rooms  are  equipped  with  one  of  the 
largest  and  best  safety  deposit  vaults  on  the  Pacific 
Coast,  or  in  the  whole  country.  It  is  thirty-one  feet 
long,  twelve  feet  four  inches  broad;  is  fitted  up  with 
small  safety  vaults  for  private  individuals;  has  double 
doors  with  time-locks,  and  is  both  fire  and  burglar 
proof  The  bank  does  both  a  commercial  and  savings 
business.  It  keeps  its  own  accounts  with  New  York 
and  London,  and  has  its  own  independent  connec- 
tions with  business  in  those  cities,  as  well  as  with  San 
Francisco.  The  paid  up  capital  of  the  bank  is  $300,- 
000,  with  a  reserve  fund  of  $75,000,  and  a  nominal 
capital  of  $1, 000,000.     It  pays  interest  on  deposits. 

E.  McLaughlin  is  a  native  of  the  Keystone  State, 
born  in  Philadelphia  in  1829.  His  early  life  was 
chiefly  passed  in  New  Orleans.  He  came  to  Califor- 
nia during  the  gold  excitement,  and  embarked  in  the 
hardware  business  in  Nevada  County  in  1852.  In 
1 866  he  sold  out  and  spent  a  year  in  Europe,  and  on 
returning,  came  to  San  Jose  in  1868,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  retiring  from  active  business.  But  not  feeling 
contented  to  be  idle,  he  decided  to  engage  in  banking, 
and  erected  the  building  for  that  purpose  before  men- 
tioned. He  still  is  interested  in  the  hardware  busi- 
ness in  Los  Angeles.  The  Safe  Deposit  Block  (which 
he  sold  to  the  bank  for  $200,000)  is  one  of  the  finest 
business  blocks  in  interior  California.  It  is  three 
stories  in  height  and  beautiful  in  architectural  design> 
having  a  frontage  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  and 
one-half  feet  on  First  Street,  seventy  feet  on  Santa 
Clara,  and  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  feet  on  Foun- 
tain Street.  Besides  the  splendid  banking-rooms, 
there  are  several  stores  on  the  first  floor.  The  other 
stories  are  used  for  offices. 

The  Commercial  and  Savings  Bank  was  organized 
May  13,  1874.  It  first  occupied  rooms  in  the  Safe 
Deposit  Block,  but  in  1885,  on  the  organization  of  the 
Safe  Deposit  Bank  of  Savings,  it  moved  to  its  pres- 
ent quarters  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Santa  Clara 
and  First  Streets.  Its  capital  is  $1,000,000,  of  which 
$300,000  is  paid  up.  Its  surplus  fund  amounts  to 
$180,000.  Its  officers  are  B.  D.  Murphy,  president; 
F.  P.  Ryland,  cashier;  John  T.  McGeoghegan,  sec- 
retary. 

.SOCIETIES. 

Odd  Fellotus'  Hall  Association. — This  association 
was  organized  in  December,  1884.  The  capital  stock 
consists  of  four    thousand    and    five  hundred   shares 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


193 


valued  at  $io  per  share.  The  stock  was  subscribed 
for,  and  the  money  paid  in  long  before  the  comple- 
tion of  the  building.  The  building  is  located  on  the 
corner  of  Santa  Clara  and  Third  Streets.  There  are 
two  large  halls  in  the  upper  story  used  for  lodge  rooms, 
which  are  probably  as  spacious  and  elegantly  fitted 
up  as  any  lodge  rooms  in  the  State.  The  promoters 
of  this  organization  deserve  a  great  deal  of  credit  for 
the  enterprise  and  energy  displayed  by  them  in  thus 
adding  to  San  Jose  one  of  its  most  handsome  build- 
ings. The  association  has  paid  regular  dividends  and 
the  stock  is  now  held  at  a  premium. 

The  present  officers  are  :  C.  W.  Breyfogle,  Presi- 
dent; Henry  Phelps,  Vice-President;  C.  W.  Pomeroy. 
Treasurer;  M.  H.  Hyland,  Secretary  ;  D.  J.  Porter' 
C.  D.  Freitag,  J.  Jacqulin,  Henry  Phelps,  C.  W.  Brey- 
fogle, Karl  Klein,  and  Jacob  Lenzen,  Directors. 

San  Jose  Lodge,  No.  j./,  /.  O.  O.  F. — This  was  the 
first  Lodge  of  I.  O.  O.  F.  instituted  in  Santa  Clara 
County.  It  was  organized  at  San  Jose,  December 
30,  1854,  with  the  following  charter  members  and 
first  officers  of  the  Lodge:  O.  P.  Watson,  T.  R.  Kibbe, 
Jas.  H.  Morgan,  John  R.  Wilson,  Wm.  Brothers, 
F.  F.  Letcher,  Jas.  M.  Merritt,  John  R.  Price,  G.  B, 
Crane,  M.  D.  First  officers  of  the  Lodge :  Past  Grands, 
T.  R.  Kibbe,  George  Peck;  O.  P.  Watson,  Noble 
Grand;  Jas.  H.  Morgan,  Vice-Grand  ;  John  R.  Wilson, 
Recording  Secretary;  John  B.  Hewson,  Permanent 
Secretary;  Geo.  B.  Crane,  Treasurer. 

The  present  officers  are:  M.  Pixley,  P.  G.;  Plin 
Ford,  N.  G.;  H.  P.  Larautte,  V.  G. ;  M.  H.  Hyland, 
R.  S.;  Hugh  Young,  P.  S.;  H.  Moser,  Treasurer; 
Thomas  Williams,  Henry  Phelps,  and  Dr.  J.  C.  Stout, 
Trustees. 

Garden  City  Lodge,  N^o.  1^2,  /.  0.  O.  F.,  was  insti- 
tuted March  20,  1868,  with  the  following  charter 
members  :  R.  S.  Carter,  J.  P.  Backesto,  F.  T.  Risdon. 
A.  P.  Hulse,  G.  W.  Kneedler,  C.  C.  Cook,  H.  E. 
Hills,  R.  Scott,  C.  W.  Pomeroy,  D.  J.  Porter  and 
C.  G.  Button.  The  Lodge  now  has  two  hundred  and 
fifty  members,  and  has  assets  amounting  to  about 
$12,000.  The  following  are  the  Noble  Grands  from 
organization  to  date:  C.  C.  Cook,  Robert  Scott, 
C.  W  Pomeroy,  A.  R.  Manly,  D.  C.  Vestal,  D.  J. 
Porter,  S.  A.  Barker,  H.  A.  Crawford,  J.  H.  Miller, 
M.  H.  Gay,  WilUam  Grant,  J.  W.  Haskell,  J.  B. 
Church,  T.  J.  Cook,  J.  A.  Lotz,  H.  H.  Curtis,  H.  T. 
Wells,  C.  L.  W.  Sykes,  G.  H.  Blakeslee,  W.  L. 
Coombs,  W.  M.  Ginty,  H.  L.  Cutter,  C.  H.  Simonds, 
L.  J.  Chipman,  Robert  Caldwell,  C.  J.  Owen,  Homer 
Prindle,  B.  G.  Allen,  C.  W.  Breyfogle,    H.   W.    Cote, 


John  Manzer,  W.  A.  Parkhurst,  J.  J.  Bradley,  George 
Lendrum,  W.  H.  Hammond,  P.  F.  Gosbey,  R.  P. 
Munroe,  C.  A.  Hubback,  J.  P.  Jarman,  H.  A.  Saxe, 
A.  C.  Bates,  and  S.  B.  Caldwell. 

The  other  officers  at  present  are:  C.  J.  Owen,  R.  S.; 
J.  R.  Bailey,  P.  S.;  and  J.  A.  TuUy,  Treasurer. 

Allemania  Lodge,  No.  ijS,  L  O.  O.  F. — The  estab- 
lishment of  this  Lodge  dates  September  2,  1870,  the 
f  )llowing  being  the  charter  members  :  Charles  E. 
Raabe,  Theodore  Gebler,  C.  Claassen,  J.  Knipper,  H. 
Albert,  F.  Biebrach,  Jacob  Haub,  and  Louis  Ran- 
schenbach. 

The  original  officers  were  :  C.  E.  Rabb,  N.  G. ;  T. 
Gebler,  V.  G.;  C.  Claassen,  Treasurer,  and  J.  Knipper, 
Secretary. 

Stella  Rchekah  Degree  Lodge,  No.  22,  L  O.  0.  F. — 
This  Lodge  was  instituted  January  12,  1S7S,  with  the 
under-mentioned  charter  members:  G.  H.  Blakeslee, 
Mrs.  G.  H.  Blakeslee,  J.  J.  Connor,  Mary  J.  Connor, 
Mrs.  D.  Ackerman,  S.  A.  Barker,  Mrs.  S.  A.  Barker, 
Mrs.  D.  J.  Porter,  F.  Buneman,  Mrs.  F.  Buneman, 
D.  Boernert,  Mrs.  D.  Boernert,  H.  A.  Crawford,  Mrs. 
H.  A.  Crawford,  T.  J.  Cook,  Mrs.  T.  J.  Cook,  W.  L. 
Coombs,  Mis.  W.  L.  Coombs,  J.  W.  Coombs,  Mrs. 
J.  W.  Coombs,  H.  H.  Curtis,  Mrs.  H.  H.  Curtis, 
Wm.  J.  Colahan,  Mrs.  C.  Smith,  C.  Crudts,  Mrs.  C. 
Crudts,  Milton  Campbell,  Mrs.  M.  Campbell,  J.  F. 
Chambers,  Mrs.  J.  F.  Chambers,  G.  W.  Ethell,  Mrs. 
G.  W.  Ethell,  T.  Gebler,  Mrs.  T.  Gebler,  A.  Gabriel, 
Mrs.  A.  Gabriel,  Sam.  P.  Howes,  Mrs.  Sam.  P.  Howes, 
C.  A.  Hunt,  Mrs.  C.  A.  Hunt,  C.  A.  Hough,  Mrs.  C.  A. 
Hough,  S.  H.  Herring,  Mrs.  S.  H.  Herring,  J.  W. 
Haskell,  Mrs.  J.  W.  Haskell,  Jos.  Hodgetts,  W.  A. 
Jackson,  Mrs.  W.  A.  Jackson,  S.  B.  Jacobs,  G.  C. 
Manner,  Mrs.  R.  Kenyon,  Henry  Lux,  R.  W.  Kibbey, 
J.  Knipper,  Mrs.  J.  Knipper,  Jos.  A.  Lotz,  Albert 
Lake,  W.  M.  Lovell,  W.  A.  Lewis,  Mr.s.  W.  A. 
Lewis,  J.  McCole,  Mrs.  J.  McCole,  Wm.  McLeod, 
Mrs.  Wm.  McLeod,  J.  H.  Miller,  Ben.  Miller,  Mrs. 
Ben  Miller,  H.  Moser,  Mrs.  H.  Moser,  J.  J.  Menefee, 
Mrs.  J.  J.  Menefee,  H.  Mitchell,  Mrs.  H.  Mitchell,  G. 
Nelson,  W.  L.  Northern,  Mr.s.  W.  L.  Northern,  S.  New- 
son,  Mrs.  L.  C.  Newson,  Jos.  O'Connor,  Henry  Phelps, 
C.  W.  Pomeroy,  Mrs.  C.  W.  Pomeroy,  A.  C.  Perkins, 
Mrs.  A.  C.  Perkins,  Jules  Pelle,  D.  J.  Porter,  Charles 
Patocchi,  W.  A.  Parkhurst,  Mrs.  W.  A.  Parkhurst, 
Mr.s.  A.  K.  Philbrook,  H.  Piessnecker,  Mrs.  H.  Pie.ss- 
necker,  Louis  Ranschenbach,  Mrs.  D.  Ranschenbach, 
Charies  E.  Schroder,  Charies  S.  W.  Sikes,  Mrs.  Louisa 
Sikes,  D.  L.  Shead,  Mrs.  D.  L.  Shead,  Chas.  Shephard, 
Mrs.  C.  Shephard,  M.  Schlessinger,  Mrs.  M.  Schless- 


194 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN   OF  THE    WORLD." 


inger,  J.  N.  Spencer,  Mrs.  J.  N.  Spencer,  H.  J. 
Stone,  Mrs.  H.  J.  Stone,  T.  C.  Winchell,  W.  C. 
Wilson,  Thomas  Williams,  Mrs.  T.  Williams,  H.  T. 
Welch,  Mrs.  H.  T.  Welch,  W.  M.  Williamson,  Leo- 
pold Weltch,  Wm.  L.  Woodson,  Hugh  Young,  Mrs. 
H.  Young,  G.  W.  Zimmer,  Mrs.  G.  W.  Zimmer, 
A.  C.  Tedford,  L.  J.  Tedford,  Mrs.  S.  E.  Morton,  Mrs. 
Ellen  Lux,  Mrs.  M.  L.  Lovell,  Mrs.  Emma  Manner, 
Mrs.  Addie  Wilcox,  Mrs.  Esther  Eslich,  Mrs.  E. 
Pearce,  Mrs.  E.  M.  Rhodes,  Mrs.  Mary  Sterens,  Mrs. 
Fanny  O'Connor,  J.  B.  Church,  Mrs.  J.  B.  Church, 
D.  H.  Kelsey,  Mrs.  D.  H.  Kelsey,  H.  J.  Jamian,  Mrs. 
H.  J.  Jamian. 

The  first  officers  elected  were:  P.  G.,  C.  W.  Pomeroy, 
N.  G.;  Mrs.  J.  J.  Crawford,  V.  G.;  Mrs.  Mary  Jackson, 
R.  S.;  Mrs.  Louisa  Sikes,  F.  S.;  Mrs.  C.  A.  Hunt, 
Trcas.;  Theo.  Gebler,  L  G.;  T.  J.  Cook,  W.;  W.  L. 
Woodrow,  C;  G.  W.  Ethcll,  O.  G.;  Mary  A.  Williams, 
R.  S.  N.  G.;  Mrs.  D.  Ranschenbach,  L.  S.  N.  G.; 
Theo.  C.  Winchell,  R.  S.  V.  G.;  Gustave  Nelson, 
L.  S.  V.  G. 

Moiiui  Hamilto7t  Lodge,  No.  43,  A.O.U.  W^.— The 
Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  organized  their 
Lodge  August  i,  1878.  The  original  officers  were: 
J.  B.  Church,  P.  M.  W.;  Thomas  H.  Cordell,  M.  W.; 
A.  B.  Hamilton,  G.  F.;  W.  P.  Veuve,  O.;  James  M. 
Pitman,  Recorder;  O.  A.  Hale,  F. 

San  Jose  Stanim,  No.  yj,  U.  O.R.M. — This  society, 
which  is  a  branch  of  the  Red  Men's  Lodge,  was  or- 
ganized April  2,  1865,  with  the  following  charter  mem- 
bers: R.  Gerdes,  L.  Schoen,  A.  HoUoway,  W.  Roese, 
T.  Lenzen,  L  Moser.  The  officers  were:  R.  Gerdes, 
Chief;  T.  Lenzen,  Second  Chief;  L.  Schoen,  Secretary, 
and  H.  Foertsch,  Treasurer. 

Phil.  Sheridan  Post,  No.  7,  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public.— This  Post  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Repub- 
lic was  organized  August  10,  1S78,  with  the  following- 
named  charter  members:  W.  F.  Ellis,  A.  M.  Henkel, 
H.  T.  Welch,  John  White,  Charles  Smith,  John  S. 
Gessell,  D.  N.  Haskell,  J.  B.  Wright,  L.  L.  Nattinger, 
D.  M.  Rodibaugh,  F.  H.  Angell.  The  following  is  a 
list  of  the  Post  Commanders  since  the  organization 
of  the  Post:  W.  F.  Ellis,  A.  G.  Bennett,  L.  L.  Nat- 
tinger, Orrin  Taber,  Ira  Moore,  H.  S.  Foote,  H.  B. 
Worcester,  J.  J.  Peard,  H.  T.  Welch,  and  Bradley 
Smith. 

John  A.  Dix  Post,  No.  42,  G.  ^.  j?.— This  Post  was 
organized  at  Druids'  Hall,  March  23,  1882,  at  which 
time  thirty-two  members  were  enrolled.  The  officers 
were :  Orrin  Taber,  Commander;  C.  W.  Breyfoglc, 
Senior  Vice-Commander;  George  M.  Bowman,  Junior 


Vice-Commander;  J. H.Russell, Adjutant;  J.  C.  Stout, 
Quartermaster;  A.  P.  Turner,  Chaplain;  Dr.  Thomas 
Kelly,  Surgeon;  A.  G.  Bennett,  Officer  of  Day;  S. 
Baker,  Officer  of  Guard.  In  1884  they  moved  to  what 
was  known  as  old  Masonic  Hall,  on  First  Street,  where 
they  bought  the  furniture  and  fixtures  and  refitted  and 
decorated  the  hall  throughout.  It  is  now  called  Grand 
Army  Hall  The  present  officers  are:  J.  C.  Stout,  Com- 
mander; W.  J.  Wolcott,  Senior  Vice-Commander;  S.  F. 
Parker,  Junior  Vice-Commander;  S.  B.  Anderson,  Ad- 
jutant; N.  R.  Carson,  Quartermaster;  J.  G.  Gale,  Chap- 
lain ;  J.  K.  Sccord,  Surgeon;  A.  G.  Bennett,  Officer  of 
Day;  M.  J.  Fancher,  Officer  of  Guard.  The  following- 
named  have  been  Post  Commanders:  George  M.  Bow- 
man, J.  H.  Barber,  Judson  Rice,  C.  W.  Gausline,  A.  G. 
Bennett,  J.  C.  Stout. 

Ariel  Lodge,  No.  248,  Lndependent  Order  of  B'nai 
B'rith. — This  Lodge  was  organized  July  12,  1875.  The 
present  officers  are:  E.  M.  Rosenthal,  President ;  Louis 
Schloss,  Vice-President;  Samuel  N.  Stern,  Secretary; 
J.  E.  Harris,  Financier;  E.  W.  Kowsky,  Treasurer; 
B.  M.  Bloom,  Guard ;  M.  Schlesinger,  Sentry.  Trus- 
tees, Jacob  Rich,  L.  Hart,  and  H.  Levy. 

Sa7i  Jose  Grove,  No.  2j,  U.  A.  O.  D. —  San  Jose 
Grove,  No.  23,  U.  A.  O.  D.,  was  organized  June  11, 
1873,  by  the  following  Druids:  George  A.  Gebhardt, 
Adams  Schroeder,  F.  H.  Schuoter,  J.  H.  Thompson, 
Charles  Valiant,  and  Philip  Buchele.  The  present 
officers  are:  John  Cavallaro,  Junior  Past  Arch;  Frank 
Stebbins,  N.  A.;  A.  Tullick,  V.  A.;  J.C.  McNamara, 
Recording  Secretary;  L.  S.  Cavallaro,  Treasurer;  F. 
Pozzo,  Financial  Secretary;  A.  Quanchi,  Conductor; 
John  Jasperizza,  Inside  Guard;  G.  A.  Bonna,  Outside 
Guard;  G.  A.  Gebhardt,  M.  Lenzen,  C.  A.  Merkle, 
Trustees.  Past  Noble  Arches  of  the  Grove  are:  F.  D. 
Boernert,  F.  Bayersdofer,  H.  H.  Curtiss,  L.  S.  Caval- 
laro, Joseph  Calice,  George  A.  Gebhardt,  S.  Gaspal- 
lon,  E.  Juth,  M.  Lenzen,  W.  W.  Markham,  C.  A. 
Merkle,  G.  A.  Berd,  F.  Pozzo,  A.  Pillot,  V.  Spagnoli, 
George  Schmidt,  M.  Trueman,  O.  Ziglier,  and  A.  M. 
Gubiotti. 

Harmony  Lodge,  No.  /,  Order  of  Sons  of  Hermann. 
— This  Lodge  was  organized  July  20,  1S79.  The  first 
officers  were:  F.  Zueschke,  President;  E.  Boernert, 
Vice-President;  P.  Warkentin,  Secretary;  G.  Geb- 
hardt, Treasurer;  S.  Volk,  Conductor;  G.  Meyer,  In- 
side Guard;  E.  Heckman,  Outside  Guard. 

San  Jose  Turn-  Verein. — This  society  was  organized 
June  17,  1868,  by  Henry  Seebach,  Chris.  Yertts, 
Charles  Doerr,  E.  Reinhardt,  F.  Hoos,  Wm.  Con- 
radys,    Wm.  Ziegler,    Wm.  Althaus,   Julius  Kreiger. 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


195 


The  first  officers  were:  F.  Hoos,  President;  Henry 
Seebach,  Vice-President  ;  E.  Reinhardt,  Recording 
Secretary;  C.  Doerr,  Corresponding  Secretary;  W. 
Conradys, Treasurer;  W.  Ziegler,  First  Leader;  Julius 
Kreiger,  Second  Leader;  W.  Althaus,  Curator. 

San  Jose  Germania  Verein. — The  San  Jose  Verein 
was  started  in  1856,  and  was  continued  as  a  German 
club  until  1865,  when  the  Germania  was  organized. 
The  two  were  then  consolidated  and  the  Germania 
was  instituted.  The  first  President  of  the  San  Jose 
Verein  was  Louis  Krumb,  there  being  associated  with 
him  as  members  Adolph  Pfister,  John  Balbach,  Louis 
Magenheimer,  and  others.  On  the  formation  of  the 
Germania  in  1865,  Louis  Krumb  was  elected  Presi- 
dent and  Dr.  Eichler,  Secretary. 

Granger  Lodge,  No.  2g§,  L  0.  G.  T. — The  charter 
for  this  Lodge  was  granted  March  2,  1874.  The  orig- 
inal officers  were  S.  B.  Caldwell,  W.  C.  T. ;  Jennie  M. 
Young,  W.  V.  T.;  Mrs.  M.  Cozzens,  W.  Chap.;  W. 
W.  Cozzens,  W.  Sec;  Mrs.  H.  A.  Malone,  W.  A.  S.; 
Mrs.  Maria  Gulp,  W.  F.  S.;  James  Eddy,  W.  T. ;  W. 
S.  Boyles,  W.  M. ;  Robert  Campbell,  W.  L  G ;  R.  D. 
Guard,  W.  O.  G.;  Kate  Cozzens,  W.  R.  H.  S.;  Mrs. 
McMahan,  W.  L.  H.  S.;  Henry  Mitchell,  P.  W.  C.  T- 

Phil.  Slieridan  Relief  Corps,  No.  2. — Organized  De- 
cember 8,  1883.  The  following  have  been  its  Presi- 
dents since  organization:  1884,  OUve  Welch;  1885, 
Emma  W.  Angell;  1886,  Serena  A.  Foote;  1887, 
Sophronia  Smith;  1888,  Hattie  L.  Holcombe. 

MANUFACTURING   INDUSTRIES. 

The  San  Jose  Woolen  Mills. — Judge  R.  F.  Peckham 
visited  the  Eastern  States  in  1868,  and  looked  through 
many  of  the  leading  manufacturing  establishments, 
especially  those  engaged  in  the  production  of  silk, 
cotton,  and  woolen  goods.  He  determined  to  try  to 
start  a  woolen  mill  in  San  Jose,  and  to  that  end 
gathered  all  the  necessary  statistics  in  regard  to  the 
cost,  expense  of  operating,  and  products  of  such  an 
institution.  He  then  returned  to  San  Jose,  and  con- 
sulted with  some  of  his  financial  friends  in  regard  to 
the  possibility  of  raising,  by  means  of  a  joint-stock 
company  or  corporation,  the  necessary  amount  of 
money  for  the  purpose,  which  had  been  estimated 
would  require  a  capital  of  $200,000. 

It  was  decided  to  organize  on  a  capital  of  $100,000, 
build  the  mill,  get  it  ready  for  occupation,  then  double 
the  capital  stock,  and  get  the  rest  of  it  taken,  and  call 
it  in  by  installments  as  needed  for  a  working  capital. 

In  1869  the  building  was  commenced  under  the 
management  of  Judge  Peckham,  who  had  been  elected 


president  and  managing  agent  of  the  company.  The 
cost  of  the  mill  was  $83,000,  leaving  only  $17,000  of 
the  original  capital.  The  capital  stock  was  doubled 
and  put  upon  the  market;  but  after  a  thorough  can- 
vass of  the  county  $17,000  of  the  new  capital  was  all 
that  could  be  converted,  and  the  concern  was  com- 
pelled to  start  with  a  cash  capital  of  $30,000,  barely 
enough  to  pay  running  expenses  for  ten  weeks.  As 
manufacturing  was  a  new  thing  in  the  State,  capitalists 
had  no  confidence  in  the  project  and  refused  to  ad- 
vance money  except  at  rates  of  interest  that  would 
eat  up  all  the  profits  and  sink  the  capital.  Cash  had 
to  be  paid  for  dye-stuffs,  labor,  and  stock,  and  the 
goods  had  to  be  sold  on  credit,  ranging  in  time  from 
ninety  days  to  one  year.  Consequently  there  were 
no  profits  for  the  stockholders,  and  the  concern  was 
on  the  brink  of  bankruptcy. 

It  was  then  resolved  to  again  double  the  capital 
stock  and  dispose  of  $283,000  of  it,  for  thirty-three 
and  one-third  cents  on  the  dollar.  In  less  than  a 
month  this  was  done,  and  in  less  than  six  months  the 
mill  was  on  a  paying  basis,  and  has  been  so  ever  since. 
The  mills  are  located  at  the  corner  of  San  Pedro  and 
Hobson  Streets. 

Moody's  Mill. — The  oldest  mill  in  the  city,  now  in 
operation,  was  first  erected  by  R.  G.  Moody  in  1854, 
on  the  bank  of  the  Coyote  Creek,  about  the  spot  where 
Empire  Street  strikes  that  stream.  Here  the  propel- 
ling power  was  water,  procured  from  an  artesian  well; 
the  business  was  transferred  to  its  present  location  on 
Third  Street  in  the  year  1858,  where  steam  was  used 
instead  of  water  to  drive  the  machinery.  The  prem- 
ises consist  of  the  mill  and  warehouse,  with  a  capacity 
for  the  storage  of  forty  thousand  sacks  of  flour,  and 
has  its  frontage  on  Third,  but  running  through  to 
Fourth  Street.  It  put  in  the  porcelain  rollers  soon 
after  their  introduction  on  this  coast,  and  manufactured 
the  celebrated  "Lily  White"  flour.  It  is  now  a  part  of 
the  central  milling  combination. 

Enright's  Fotindry  and  Machine  Shops. — This  enter- 
prise was  founded  by  Joseph  Enright  in  1864,  on  the 
site  it  now  occupies  on  the  southeast  corner  of  First 
and  William  Streets.  The  premises  contain  all  of  the 
necessary  machinery  and  workshops  needed  in  their 
large  and  prosperous  business.  A  specialty  is  the 
manufacture  of  Enright's  celebrated  straw-burner 
threshing  engines,  but  machinery  of  all  kinds  is 
built. 

Tlie  Pioneer  Carriage  Manufactory. — John  Balbach 
established,  on  Santa  Clara  Street,  next  door  to  the 
San  Jose  Savings  Bank,  the  first  shop  where  a  bnjkcn 


196 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


vehicle  could  be  repaired  or  a  new  one  built.  The 
building,  which  was  of  adobe,  was  destroyed  in  1853, 
and  a  frame  house  erected  on  the  ground,  this  in  turn 
being  replaced  by  the  present  brick  erections.  He 
then  moved  his  busness  to  Fountain  Alley,  between 
First  and  Second  Streets,  where  he  is  now  located. 
C.  S.  Crydenwise,  the  pioneer  carriage-maker,  has 
charge  of  the  wood-working  department. 

Pacific  Carriage  Factory. — This  establishment  was 
founded  in  1874  by  D.  Hatman  and  A.  Normandin, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Hatman  &  Normandin.  It  is 
now  located  on  Santa  Clara,  between  San  Pedro  and 
Orchard  Streets,  where  a  general  carriage  manufact- 
uring business  is  carried  on  to  the  amount  of  $20,000 
per  annum.  There  are  twelve  men  employed  on  the 
premises. 

Globe  Carriage  JVor/cs. — These  works  are  in  a  fine 
brick  building,  erected  in  1878,  on  San  Fernando 
Street,  they  originally  having  occupied  a  position  on  St. 
John  Street.  Here  occupation  is  given  to  about  ten 
men,  although  there  are  facilities  for  working  twenty. 
The  business  comprises  every  manner  of  carriage  and 
blacksmith  work. 

Santa  Clara  Valley  Mill  and  Lumber  Company. — In 
the  fall  of  the  year  1864,  W.  P.  Dougherty  started  this 
enterprise,  then  located  on  First  Street,  near  San 
Fernando,  where  he  had  a  lumber  yard.  In  1869  an 
interest  was  sold  to  C.  X.  Hobbs  and  Samuel  McFar- 
lane,  when  the  name  of  the  firm  became  Hobbs, 
Dougherty  &  Co.  In  the  following  year  William  H. 
Hall  and  Mr.  Dougherty  purchased  the  share  of  Mr. 
Hobbs,  when  the  style  of  the  firm  was  changed  to  W. 
P.  Dougherty  &  Co.,  who  bought  out,  in  1870,  the 
sash  factory  and  planing-mills  of  Metcalf,  McLellan 
and  W.  W.  Pratt,  ,is  also  the  lumber  business  of  Mc- 
Murtry  &  McMillan,  when,  more  extensive  premises 
being  required,  in  1871  they  moved  to  those  now  oc- 
cupied by  them  on  San  Fernando  Street  between 
Third  and  Fourth  Streets.  In  1873  the  business  had 
so  increased  that  the  firm  decided  to  incorporate,  in 
accordance  with  the  laws  of  the  State,  under  the  name 
of  the  Santa  Clara  Valley  Mill  and  Lumber  Com- 
pany, and  the  following  directors  were  elected: — 

B.  P.  Rankin,  James  M.  Thorp,  Jacob  Lenzen, 
W.  W.  Pratt,  W.  H.  Hall,  James  Dougherty,  and  W. 
P.  Dougherty.  The  President  of  the  concern  is  W. 
P.  Dougherty,  and  the  Secretary,  James  M.  Thorp. 
The  ground  on  which  the  premises  stand  occupy  five 
fifty-vara  lots,  while  the  woodwork  turned  out  by  the 
sash  and  planing  mills  is  considered  the  finest  in  the 
State.     Many  of  the  magnificent  mansions  in  the  sur- 


rounding counties,  notably  that  of  James  C.  Flood, 
the  "Bonanza  King,"  have  been  supplied  with  all  the 
material  of  this  nature  from  this  establishment.  The 
lumber  mills  of  the  company  are  located  in  the  Santa 
Cruz  Mountains,  about  twenty-five  miles  from  San 
Jose,  on  the  line  of  the  South  Pacific  Coast  Railroad, 
where  they  also  own  eight  thousand  acres  of  timber 
lands. 

Lidependent  Mill  and  Liunber  Company. — T.  J.  Gil- 
lespie first  started  this  as  a  private  concern.  A  short 
time  thereafter,  July  I,  1876,  the  business  was  incor- 
porated under  the  laws  of  the  State.  The  officers 
elected  were:  Directors — A.  C.  Stoddard,  C.  C.  Cook, 
Smith  Henderson,  James  M.  Young,  T.  J.  Gillespie, 
and  J.  W.  Lowry.  T.  J.  Gillespie  was  elected  Pres- 
ident, and  J.  W.  Lowry,  Secretary.  The  corporation 
deals  in  all  kinds  of  lumber,  and  manufacture  mould- 
ings, brackets,  and  do  all  kinds  of  mill  work,  such  as 
planing,  sawing,  wood-turning,  etc.,  while  in  con- 
nection with  the  mill  is  a  lumber  yard,  the  lumber 
being  procured  from  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains. 
The  works  are  situated  on  San  Pedro  Street,  between 
Julian  and  St.  James. 

Angora  Robe  and  Glove  Company. — This  enterprise 
was  started  in  1875,  as  a  joint-stock  company,  C.  P. 
Bailey  being  President,  and  A.  L.  Pomeroy,  Secretary. 
It  was  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of 
California,  July  31,  1875,  with  the  above-named 
officers,  and  has  ever  since  maintained  a  flourishing 
business.  The  principal  articles  made  are  robes, 
whip-lashes,  and  gloves,  the  latter  being  a  specialty. 
These  find  a  ready  market  in  this  and  adjoining 
States.  The  business  is  now  under  the  control  of 
C.  P.  Bailey,  the  factory  being  located  on  Fifth 
Street,  between  Wasliington  and  Empire  Streets. 

Tannery  of  Grozelier  &  Nelson.- — The  first  and 
only  tannery  in  San  Jose  is  located  on  the  corner  of 
Park  Avenue  and  River  Street,  and  occupies  two 
fifty-vara  lots.  The  business  was  commenced  in  the 
year  i860,  by  Simon  Grozelier  and  Gustavus  Nelson. 
The  buildings  consist  of  beam-hou.se  and  curriers' 
shop,  and,  indeed,  all  the  necessary  adjuncts  to  the 
manufacture  of  leather,  the  machinery  for  which  is 
now  driven  by  an  engine  of  sixteen-horse  power, 
which  took  the  place,  in  1S63,  of  a  horse-power  mill. 
There  is  an  annual  consumption  of  about  five  hun- 
dred cords  of  tan  bark,  which  is  procured  from  the 
Santa  Cruz  Mountain.s.  The  hides  come  partly  from 
San  Francisco  and  partly  from  the  Santa  Clara 
Valley,  the  leather  manufactured  being  principally 
sole,  harness,  skirting,  bridle,  kips,  and  calf-skins,  of 


m^moi 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


197 


which  there  is  an  annua!  out-turn  of  about  ten  thou- 
sand hides,  a  sale  being  found  for  them  all  over  Cali- 
fornia. The  leather  produced  here  will  bear  favor- 
able comparison  with  that  of  any  other  tannery  in 
the  State.  Steady  employment  is  given  to  fifteen 
men. 

San  Jose  Fruit  Packiiig  Covipany. — J.  M.  Dawson 
and  W.  S.  Stevens  commenced,  in  a  crude  and  ex- 
perimental way,  to  can  fruit.  They  succeeded  in 
putting  up  a  few  hundred  cases  for  the  market,  and, 
encouraged  by  their  efforts,  the  next  year  formed  a 
company,  under  the  firm  name  of  J.  M.  Dawson  & 
Co.,  composed  of  J.  M.  Dawson,  W.  S.  Stevens,  and 
Lendrum,  Burns  &  Co.  They  rented  the  corner  lot 
on  Fifth  and  Julian  Streets,  where  the  San  Jose 
Fruit  Packing  Company  is  now  located,  and  there 
built  some  rough  buildings,  procured  a  small  boiler, 
fitted  up  accoi'ding  to  the  best  information  they  had, 
and  enlarged  their  business  very  much  from  the 
previous  year,  putting  up  about  four  thousand  cases. 
The  next  year,  1874,  finding  the  demand  for  their 
can  goods  still  increasing,  even  beyond  their  means 
and  capacity,  in  June  they  took  Wilson  Hays  in 
partnership,  and  further  enlarged  their  works  and 
products.  In  January,  1875,  the  present  company 
was  formed,  and  incorporated  as  the  San  Jose  Fruit 
Packing  Company,  by  the  following-named  gentle- 
men :  J.  M.  Dawson,  W.  S.  Stevens,  John  Burns, 
Wilson  Hays,  H.  A.  Keinath,  T.  B.  Dawson,  and 
George  Lendrum,  and  succeeded  the  old  J.  M.  Daw- 
son firm.  From  these  small  beginnings  it  has,  in 
sixteen  years,  grown  to  be  one  of  the  first  institutions 
in  the  county,  employing  over  five  hundred  hands, 
mostly  women  and  girls,  during  the  running  season, 
and  putting  up  about  two  million  cans  a  year,  which 
involves  an  outlay  of  ov.r  $1  50,000  annually. 

Golden  Gate  Packing  Company. — This  company 
have  their  works  on  Julian  Street,  between  Third  and 
Fourth  Streets,  and  was  started,  in  1875,  by  W.  H. 
Mantz  and  W.  S.  Stevens.  It  afterwards  became  the 
property  of  a  joint-stock  company,  and  was  finally 
incorporated,  in  1877,  by  F.  S.  Hinds,  A.  P.  Jordan, 
and  H.  A.  Keinath,  of  San  Jose.  The  original  prem- 
ises were  burnt  to  the  ground,  December  19,  1879, 
and  was  rebuilt  in  May,  18S0.  It  is  a  two-story 
building,  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  in  length,  and 
eighty  in  width.  The  cans  used  are  manufactured 
on  the  premises.  Employment  is  given  to  five  hun- 
dred persons,  principally  females.  The  business  is 
increasing  each  year,  showing  a  larger  export,  chiefly 
to  Eastern  and  foreign  markets. 


San  Jose  Gas  Company. — This  company  was  started 
October  6,  i860,  under  a  franchise  granted  by  the 
common  council  of  the  city  to  James  Hagan,  who 
immediately  thereafter  commenced  the  erection  of 
the  present  works,  on  the  corner  of  Third  and  San 
Fernando  Streets.  In  the  same  month  the  company 
was  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  State  by  James 
Hagan,  J.  K.  Prior,  and  Thomas  Anderson.  Mains 
and  pipes  were  first  laid  October  24,  from  the  works 
along  Third  Street  to  San  Fernando,  thence  to  First 
Street,  to  Santa  Clara  Street,  then  north  and  south 
on  Market  Street,  and  on  January  21,  1861,  houses 
were  first  lighted,  the  gas  being  supplied  to  eighty- 
four  consumers  at  the  rate  of  $10  per  one  thousand 
cubic  feet.  In  1862  street  lamps  were  erected,  and 
the  public  thoroughfares  were  illuminated.  The  com- 
pany has  since  extended  its  mains  to  the  town  of 
Santa  Clara,  a  distance  of  three  miles.  In  1879  they 
bought  out  the  Garden  City  Gas  Company,  a  rival 
company  which  had  been  started  the  year  previous, 
and  thus  obtained  control  of  the  entire  gas  supply  of 
the  city,  as  well  as  that  of  the  town  of  Santa  Clara. 
The  premises  on  Third  Street  occupy  two  fifty-vara 
lots,  and  comprise  office,  retort  house,  gasometers, 
coal  shed  and  purifying  house.  The  works  on  San 
Augustine  Street,  near  the  Alameda,  cover  nearly 
three-fourths  of  an  acre,  the  principal  buildings  there 
being  the  retort  house,  purifying  room,  coal  shed,  as 
well  as  a  gasholder,  generator,  and  superheater. 

The  Fredericksburg  Brewery. — It  is  an  interesting 
thing  to  watch  the  growth  and  development  of  a 
rising  city,  with  the  manifold  interests  that  go  to  make 
up  its  progress  and  advancement.  In  this  respect  San 
Jose  is  a  worthy  example.  A  few  years  ago  she  was 
a  lovely  city,  it  is  true,  favored  as  the  place  of  resi- 
dence of  many  of  the  wealthy  men  of  the  State,  yet 
almost  wholly  unknown  outside  for  any  one  striking 
particular.  But  all  these  things  are  changed,  and  to- 
day San  Jose  is  known  far  and  wide,  still  for  its  beauty 
and  popularity  as  a  seat  of  residence,  but  much  more 
on  account  of  the  products  of  her  manufacturing  and 
industrial  establishments,  which  are  sought  far  and 
v;ide  because  of  their  superior  e.xcellence.  A  case 
strongly  in  point  is  Uie  Fredericksburg  Brewery,  whose 
beer  has  achieved  a  distinction  unrivaled  on  this  coast 
for  purity,  healthfulness,  and  tonic  qualities.  On  a 
visit  to  tliis  great  institution  we  must  ask  the  reader  to 
accornpany  us.  Embarking  on  one  of  the  handsome 
cars  of  the  Electric  Road  we  are  whirled  rapidly  along 
the  famous  Alameda  Avenue,  with  its  leafy  shade,  past 
the  homes  of  wealthy  men,  sheltered  with  giant  trees 


198 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


and  embowered  in  flowers,  to  a  point  where  stirring 
life  and  bustling  activity  proclaim  the  presence  of 
some  great  enterprise.  It  is  the  Fredericksburg  Brew- 
ery, the  widest  known  and  the  most  extensive  estab- 
h'shment  of  its  kind  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
Immediately  opposite  is  the  Agricultural  Park,  where 
the  annual  county  fairs  are  held,  and  on  every  side 
are  splendid  private  residences,  the  home  of  culture 
and  affluence.  The  great  pile  of  massive  brick  build- 
ings that  make  up  this  mammoth  brewing  establish- 
ment are  very  sightly  in  their  appearance.  Fronting 
on  the  grand  thoroughfare  of  the  Alameda  is  the  re- 
ception hall,  as  yet  a  modest  structure,  to  be  replaced 
in  the  near  future  by  a  seemly  building  to  correspond 
with  the  great  brick  buildings  beyond.  It  is  flanked 
by  a  pretty  garden  and  a  commodious  hotel  and  re- 
freshment saloon,  each  feature  being  liberally  pat- 
ronized by  those  who  enjoy  the  bounties  afforded 
and  the  beauties  surrounding.  Not  far  beyond,  and 
fronting  on  Cinnabar  Street,  which  here  meets  the 
Alameda,  are  the  large  and  substantially  handsome 
buildings  devoted  to  the  various  departments  of  the 
brewing  business,  three  fine  two-story  brick  edifices, 
from  whose  junction  is  now  rising  a  lofty,  command- 
ing center,  to  be,  when  finished,  of  three  stories,  con- 
structed in  the  strongest  manner,  and,  as  is  shown  by 
the  plans,  an  elegant  structure.  It  is  the  new  brew- 
house.  In  it  will  be  placed  a  new  copper  beer  kettle, 
of  a  capacity  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  barrels, 
also  an  iron  mash  tub  with  copper  bottom,  an  im- 
mense hop-jack,  hot-water  tanks,  etc.,  all  of  the  best 
construction  and  manufactured  by  the  George  F.  Ott 
Copper  and  Iron  Manufacturing  Company,  Philadel- 
phia. In  the  malt-house  the  curious  visitor  will  .see 
the  enormous  vats  wherein  is  soaked  the  barley,  the 
vast  stone  cellars  where  it  is  placed  to  sprout,  the 
chambers  for  drying,  and  the  mills  for  grinding,  some 
slight  conception  of  the  magnitude  of  all  these  opera- 
tions being  obtained  when  it  is  remembered  that  .seven 
tons  per  day  of  barley  are  transformed  into  malt. 

The  engine-rooms  next  attract  attention,  where 
there  is  a  row  of  four  huge  boilers,  and  furnaces,  sup- 
plying steam  for  the  engines  needed  to  propel  the 
machinery  of  the  establishment,  its  lifting,  and  pull- 
ing and  pumping,  its  mills,  its  elevators,  and  its  en- 
ginery. There  are  in  all  ten  pumps,  all  necessarily 
of  great  power,  employed  in  the  establishment,  forcing 
the  beer  in  the  different  stages  of  its  manufacture  to 
the  various  parts  of  the  building.  Pure  artesian  water 
is  supplied  from  two  artesian  wells.  One  of  the  most 
interesting  departments  is  the  refrigerator  room,  where 


two  engines  of  forty-horse  power  each  are  kept  busy 
in  the  manufacture  of  ice,  the  capacity  being  over  fifty 
tons  per  day,  and  in  forcing  salt  water,  cooled  beneath 
the  freezing  point  of  fresh  water,  through  the  storing 
rooms.  The  pipes  containing  this  water  are  en- 
veloped in  a  constant  coating  of  ice,  presenting  a 
strange  appearance  as  one  comes  upon  them  after  the 
genial  atmosphere  of  out-of-doors,  or  the  torrid  heat 
of  the  engine-rooms.  The  storage  cellars  present  a 
sight  that  will  not  be  easily  forgotten,  range  after 
range  of  giant  tanks  and  vats  and  casks,  containing 
each  from  thirty-five  to  two  hun  ired  and  fifty  barrels 
of  beer.  The  fermenting  room,  with  its  long  line  of 
frothing  vats,  when  the  beer  is  preparing  for  the  stor- 
age cellars,  the  filters,  the  great  ocean  of  cooling  ship 
— but  why  attempt  to  describe  the  indescribable?  It 
must  be  seen  to  be  appreciated,  and  in  despair  we 
abandon  the  attempt  to  picture  in  detail. 

After  inspecting  the  main  departments  the  visitor 
will  not  easily  tire  of  going  through  the  bottling,  and 
washing,  and  the  packing-rooms,  the  cooperage  shops, 
watching  the  curiously  capped  bottles  that  are  under- 
going the  process  of  Pasteurization,  the  exquisite  finish  ' 
of  the  clear  and  beautiful  Pilsener  and  Culmbacher 
lager  beers  prepared  for  export;  and  after  it  is  all  over 
he  will  quaff  with  a  new  appreciation  the  nectar  of  the 
crystal  clear  and  wholesome  beer  presented  at  the 
hand  of  the  genial  F.  A.  Baumgartner,  the  foreman 
who  has  done  the  honors  of  the  establishment  by 
accompanying  him  through. 

These  latter  departments  occupy  commodious 
wooden  buildings  distinct  from  the  main  brewery,  and 
are  admirably  fitted.  To  help  the  imagination,  it 
must  be  known  that  from  eight  thousand  to  ten 
thousand  bottles  per  day  are  required,  these  bottles 
being  made  some  in  Illinois  and  some  in  Germany, 
and  the  annual  production  has  risen  from  the  very 
small  beginning  made  in  1869,  to  a  grand  total  of 
fifty-three  thousand  barrels  from  May  to  May  last 
year,  and  a  probable  sixty  thousand  during  this  pres- 
ent year,  ending  1889.  In  all  some  one  hundred  and 
twenty  men,  women,  and  children  find  employment, 
the  wages  paid  and  the  hours  of  work  having  always 
been  eminentlysatisfactory.  In  San  Jose  fifteen  horses 
are  needed  for  the  wagons,  and  a  like  number  are 
used  in  connection  with  the  San  Francisco  business. 
The  brewery  is  connected  directly  by  an  independent 
switch  with  the  Narrow  Gauge  Railway,  a  material 
advantage  when  it  is  considered  that  shipments  upon 
an  immense  scale  are  required  to  fill  the  growing  de- 
mands from    Central    and    South  America,    Old   and 


PEN  PICTURES  EROM  THE  "GARDEN   OE  THE    WORLD:' 


199 


New  Mexico,  Japan,  Australasia,  the  Sandwich  Is- 
lands, and  the  most  distant  portions  of  the  Pacific 
Coast  States  and  Territories,  in  addition  to  the  large 
and  firmly  established  local  trade. 

This  great  business  was  inaugurated  on  a  very  small 
scale  in  1869,  and  has  steadily  prospered,  until  now,  un- 
der the  efficient  management  of  its  proprietors,  Messrs. 
Ernst  Schnabel  and  Ernst  A.  Denicke,  the  business 
is  unsurpassed,  Mr.  Schnabel,  a  biographical  sketch 
of  whose  successful  life  appears  on  another  page,  is 
the  manager  of  the  brewery  at  San  Jose,  and  his 
watchful  oversight  the  direct  cause  of  the  purity  and 
excellence  of  the  beer,  while  Mr.  Denicke  resides  in 
San  Francisco  and  manages  the  outside  business. 
They  possess  ample  capital,  and,  backed  as  they  are 
by  long  and  successful  experience,  and  untiring  en- 
ergy, the  Fredericksburg  Brewing  Company  consti- 
tutes one  of  the  most  important  commercial  institu- 
tions of  the  State. 

Alt.  Hamilton  Stage  Co. — The  history  and  descrip- 
tion of  the  Lick  Observatory  upon  Mt.  Hamilton,  and 
of  the  nicely  finished  highway  leading  to  it,  is  given 
under  appropriate  headings  elsewhere  in  this  volume. 
A  short  time  ago  Messrs.  F.  S.  Chadbourne,  the 
wealthy  furniture  dealer  of  San  Francisco,  San  Diego, 
and  Portland;  A.  H.  Boomer,  of  the  California,  Oregon, 
and  Idaho  •  Stage  Co.,  and  S.  D.  Brasto,  Division 
Superintendent  of  Wells,  Fargo  &  Co.'s  Express,  an- 
ticipating that  the  site  of  the  observatory  would  be  a 
tempting  place  of  resort  to  the  public,  formed  a  cor- 
poration called  the  "Mt.  Hamilton  Stage  Co.,"  for  the 
purpose  of  establishing  a  superb  line  of  stages  be- 
tween San  Jose  and  that  point.  Mr.  Chadbourne 
was  elected  President,  Mr.  Boomer,  Vice-President, 
and  Mr.  Brasto,  Secretary  and  Treasurer.  A.  W. 
Ingalsbe  was  appointed  local  agent  for  San  Jose,  and 
Jo.  Bacon  assistant  agent.  The  company  sent  out 
agents  to  purchase  the  best  horses  for  stage  service  to 
be  found  on  the  Pacific  slope;  placed  an  order  for 
twelve  eleven-passenger  coaches,  constructed  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  afford  to  each  passenger  an  outside 
seat,  and  began  the  erection  of  post-houses,  stables, 
etc.,  on  the  route.  They  sounded  the  country  also 
for  old  and  experienced  stage-drivers,  whom  they  uni- 
formed in  corduroy  suits  and  broad-brimmed  stage- 
drivers'  sombreros.  Tally-ho  coaches  are  also  being 
built,  hung  very  low,  which,  when  completed,  will  be 
preceded  by  a  bugler  to  announce  the  special  points 
of  view,  stoppages,  etc. 

There  are  two  changes  of  horses,  the  coaches  be- 
ing four   and  six  horse,  one  at  Hall's  Vallc}-,  and  one 


at  Smith's  Creek.  At  the  latter  point,  passengers 
stop  thirty  minutes  for  dinner  at  the  Smith  Creek 
Hotel,  an  establishment  owned  by  T.  E.  Snell  &  Son, 
and  ably  conducted  by  Mrs.  Hattie  Garnosset.  The 
Mt.  Hamilton  Stage  Co.  contemplates  also  the  erec- 
tion of  a  hotel  near  the  summit  so  that  visitors  can 
remain  over  and  by  night  view  the  moon  and  stars 
through  the  largest  telescope  in  the  world.  The  re- 
turn trip  is  perhaps  more  enjoyable  than  the  ascent. 
As  the  stage  sweeps  down  the  road  with  its  many 
curves,  the  landscape  unfolds,  and  in  three  short  hours 
the  tourist  is  again  in  San  Jose,  with  ineffaceable  re- 
collections of  the  mountain  road,  the  marvelous  pros- 
pect, the  lofty  mountain,  and  the  lonely  tomb. 

The  Western  Granite  and  Marble  Company,  one  of 
the  representative  industries  of  San  Jose,  and  of  the 
Santa  Clara  Valley,  was  organized  in  May,  1888,  with 
C.  T.  Ryland  as  President,  John  W.  Combs,  Vice- 
President;  D.  B.  Murphy,  Treasurer;  T.  P.  Ryland, 
Secretary;  W.  W.  Blanchard,  Manager,  and  T.  O'Neil, 
Superintendent.  Their  office,  yard,  and  works  are  sit- 
uated on  North  First  Street,  at  the  crossing  of  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railroad,  and  are  supplied  with 
steam  polishers,  and  the  other  requisite  machinery  to 
expedite  the  business.  The  company  owns  its  own 
granite  quarries  at  Yuba  Pass,  California,  known  as 
the  Crystal  Lake  Quarries,  the  stones  from  which 
have  no  superior  in  the  world.  The  marble  used  is 
chiefly  from  Vermont.  The  company  employ  from 
forty  to  fifty  skilled  workmen,  including  a  special  artist 
in  designing.  Besides  the  finest  and  most  elaborate 
monumental  and  tombstone  work,  the  company  makes 
a  specialty  of  building  material  in  any  style  of  finish. 
They  have  a  branch  house  in  Oakland  for  the  exhibi- 
tion and  sale  of  manufactured  goods.  Their  trade  ex- 
tends over  California,  and  the  contiguous  States  and 
Territories,  and  will  reach  $100,000  during  the  year 
1888. 

Although  this  company  was  but  recently  incorpo- 
rated, the  history  of  its  origin  and  business  dates  back 
over  a  period  of  years.  J.  W.  Combs  established  the 
marble  business  in  San  Jose  in  1870;  and  in  1878  W. 
W.  Blanchard  and  T.  O'Neil  opened  the  first  perma- 
nent granite  manufactory  in  the  city.  In  1883  a 
partnership  was  formed  between  the  three  men,  and 
the  two  interests  combined  und'T  the  firm  title  of 
Combs,  Blanchard  &  O'Neil.  The  combination  com- 
prised men  of  brains,  energy,  and  ability,  and  its 
business  prospered  from  the  start,  growing  to  such 
proportions  that  in  order  to  own  and  operate  their 
own    quarries,  and    meet    other  requirements,  it    was 


200 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


thought  best  to  merge  the  concern  into  an  incorpo- 
rated company,  with  larger  capital,  which  was  con- 
summated as  above  stated. 

John  W.  Combs  was  born  in  New  York  State,  Oc- 
tober 17,  1836.  His  father,  who  was  noted  for  his 
skill  as  a  mechanic,  died  in  Mr.  Comb's  boyhood,  and 
having  a  blind  mother  to  support,  he  never  attended 
school  but  fourteen  months.  He  started  in  life  as  a 
butcher  bo}',  which  led  him  to  study  the  forms  and 
structure  of  animals;  and  having  natural  taste  for  art, 
he  one  day  asked  a  marble  cutter  for  a  block  of  marble, 
and  taking  it  to  his  room,  he  procured  an  old  chisel  and 
mallet,  and  while  sitting  up  with  his  sick  mother,cut  the 
figure  of  a  lamb  out  of  it.  In  this  first  effort  the  young 
tyro  was  so  successful  and  caused  so  much  favorable 
comment,  that  it  determined  the  current  of  young 
Combs'  life.  He  started  in  to  learn  the  trade  of  mar- 
ble cutter  at  seventeen  years  of  age,  and  soon  became 
very  expert  in  figure  carving.  Although  he  never 
took  a  lesson  in  art,  he  has  made  many  pieces,  busts, 
and  faces  in  basso-rilievo  from  photographs,  which  have 
been  pronounced  fine  likenesses.  One  of  his  pieces 
was  a  basso-rilievo  of  Pope  Leo  which  sold  at  a  Cath- 
olic fair  for  $150.  Other  pieces  have  been  valued 
much  higher;  among  them  a  bust  of  ex-Senator 
Henry  C.  McEwen,  of  Dixon,  Salina  County,  which 
was  presented  to  the  Senator  by  a  company  of  friends 
with  appropriate  ceremonies.  His  figure  work  has 
taken  numerous  first  prizes  at  fairs  and  exhibitions 
wherever  shown.  He  came  to  San  Jose  in  1870,  and 
has  been  in  the  marble  business  ever  since,  in  the  re- 
lation of  proprietor  or  joint  partner 

Mr.  Combs  was  married  in  Ogdcnsburg,  New  York. 
He  lost  his  wife  in  1865,  who  died  leaving  two  sons 
and  a  daughter.  Mr.  Combs  married  his  present  wife 
in  the  same  city  on  January  19,  1867.  His  two  sons 
are  both  superior  workmen  in  marble.  He  is  vice- 
president  of  the  Western  Granite  and  Marble 
Company. 

W.  W.  Rlanchard  is  a  native  of  Maine,  born  in  1853. 
He  attended  school,  learning  his  trade,  and  carried  on 
a  granite  quarry  in  his  native  State,  shipping  dimen- 
sion stock  to  Boston.  In  1876  he  sold  out  his  busi- 
ness and  came  to  California,  working  at  his  trade  for 
a  time  in  San  Francisco  and  Oakland;  came  to  San 
Jose  and  opened  the  granite,  monument,  and  building- 
stone  business,  in  partnership  with  T.  O'Neil,  in  1878. 

In  1884  Mr.  Blatichard  married  Miss  Lulu  K.  Baker, 
daughter  of  Rev.  G.  R.  Baker,  a  prominent  Methodist 
clergyman,  who  was  prominent  in  establishing  the 
University  of  the  Pacific,  and  hiying  the  foundation 


for  its  present  flourishing  career.  Mr.  Blanchard  is 
now  manager  of  the  Western  Granite  and  Marble 
Company. 

Timothy  O'Neil,  superintendent  of  the  Western 
Granite  and  Marble  Works,  was  born  in  Connecticut, 
thirty-five  years  ago,  and  learned  the  trade  of  stone- 
cutter in  the  city  of  Hartford.  He  worked  at  it  at 
several  points  in  the  East:  did  some  of  the  work  on 
the  Centennial  buildings  in  Philadelphia.  He  came  to 
California  near  the  close  of  1875,  and  worked  at  his 
trade  until  starting  in  business  with  Mr.  Blanchard  in 
San  Jose,  in  1878.  Mr.  O'Neil  married  Mary  Frances 
Devine,  in  1886.  She  is  the  daughter  of  J.  J.  Devine, 
a  pioneer  who  came  to  this  State  in  1850. 

San  Jose  Brush  Electric  Light  Co.,  organized  Feb- 
ruary 25,  1882.  In  1881  J.  J.  Owen, proprietor  of  the 
San  Jose  Mercury,  conceived  the  idea  of  lighting  the 
city  by  means  of  electricity,  which  he  proposed  to  use 
by  means  of  high  towers  which  he  thought  could  be 
so  construcred  as  not  to  obstruct  travel  on  the  streets. 
The  great  electric  tower  at  the  corner  of  Santa  Clara 
and  Market  Streets  is  the  outcome  of  this  idea. 
Through  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Owen,  money  enough  was 
raised  by  subscription  to  complete  this  work,  which 
will  stand  as  a  monument  to  his  disinterested  public 
spirit.  Soon  after  the  completion  of  the  tower,  the 
system  of  cranes  and  masts  was  introduced,  and  is  now 
in  successful  operation.  A  full  account  of  the  opera- 
tions of  this  company  will  be  found  in  the  biographi- 
cal sketch  of  Pedro  de  Saisset,  elsewhere  in  this  book. 

San  Jose  Water  Company. — This  company  was  es- 
tablished November  26,  1866,  by  Donald  McKenzie 
and  John  Bonner,  of  San  Jose,  and  R.  Chabot,  of  Oak- 
land, Alameda  County,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $100,- 
000.  The  city  of  San  Jose  and  the  town  of  Santa 
Clara  granted  them  exclusive  water  privileges  for  the 
term  of  twenty-five  years.  To  carry  out  their  plan 
tanks  were  constructed,  engines  built,  and  the  city 
supplied  with  water  from  artesian  wells.  At  the  end 
of  two  years  the  supply  thus  obtained  was  found  in- 
sufficient for  the  growing  wants  of  the  community; 
therefore  the  right  to  use  the  water  of  the  Los  Gates 
Creek  was  obtained,  and  a  new  company  formed  in 
1868,  with  an  increased  capital  of  $300,000,  with  N. 
H.  A.  Mason,  President;  D.  McKenzie,  Vice-Presi- 
dent; W.  B.  Rankin,  Secretary;  C.  X.  Hobbs,  Super- 
intendent; E.  McLaughlin,  Treasurer. 

On  the  formation  of  the  new  company,  work  was 
begun  in  bringing  the  waters  of  the  Los  Gatos  Creek 
to  San  Jose.  Reservoirs  were  made,  and  pipes  laid 
throughout  the  city,  thus  affording  a  generous  supply. 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


201 


The  water  was  originally  taken  from  the  tail  race  of 
the  mill  at  Los  Gatos,  but  other  water  rights  in  the 
mountains  have  since  been  acquired,  besides  large 
wells  near  the  Guadaloupe  Creek,  on  the  Alameda, 
from  which  the  water  is  raised  by  powerful  pumps. 
STREET     RAILROADS. 

Sau  Jose  and  Santa  Clara  Railroad  Company. — The 
Legislature  of  California,  in  March,  1868,  granted  a 
franchise  to  S.  A.  Bishop,  Charles  Silent,  Daniel  Mur- 
phy, D.  B.  Moody,  and  their  associates  to  construct 
a  horse  railroad  along  the  Alameda  from  San  Jose  to 
Santa  Clara.  Messrs.  Moody  and  Murphy  having 
declined  to  avail  themselves  of  the  franchise,  a  new 
directorate  was  organized.  S.  A.  Bishop  was  elected 
President;  John  H.  Moore,  Treasurer,  and  Charles 
Silent,  Secretary.  Work  was  first  started  August  31, 
and  the  cars  made  their  initial  trip  on  November  i. 
In  1869  the  line  was  extended  eastward,  along  Santa 
Clara  Street,  to  the  Coyote  bridge,  and  afterward  to 
McLaughlin  Avenue.  In  18S7  the  company  obtained 
a  franchise  from  the  city  and  county,  and  constructed 
the  present  electric  railroad,  which  is  the  first  of  the 
kind  ever  built  on  the  coast. 

The  First  Street  Railroad  was  built  in  1870  by  S. 
A.  Bishop,  and  was  the  first  narrow-gauge  street  rail- 
road track  laid  in  the  United  States.  Its  original 
route  was  from  the  then  San  Pedro  Street  depot, 
along  San  Pedro,  Julian,  and  First  Streets  to  Reed 
Street.  Mr.  Bishop  sold  his  interest  to  F.  C.  Bethel, 
who  sold  to  Geo.  F.  Baker,  and  he  to  Jacob  Rich, 
who  now  controls  it.  The  route  has  been  changed 
since  to  correspond  with  the  general  system  of  street 
raikoads,  it  being  now  from  the  Market  Street  Depot 
along  First  Street,  Willow  Street,  and  Lincoln  Ave- 
nue to  Minnesota  Avenue  in  the  Willows. 

Market  Street  and  Willow  Glen  Horse  Railroad 
Company. — The  Board  of  Supervisors  of  Santa  Clara 
County,  and  the  mayor  and  common  council  of  the 
city  of  San  Jose,  granted  a  franchise,  on  February  1 1_ 
1876,  to  C.  T.  Bird,  Chas.  B.  Hensley,  John  Auzerais, 
F.  J.  Sauffrignon,  J.  C.  Bland,  Oliver  Cottle,  Isaac 
Bird,  F.  Bras.sy,  T.  W.  Spring,  James  R.  Lowe,  R.  C. 
Swan,  and  S.  Ncwhall  to  establish  a  street  railroad. 
This  enterprise  developed  into  the  Market  Street  and 
Willow  Glen  Railroad  Company,  and  was  incorpo- 
rated February  23,  1876,  with  J.  J.  Denny,  John 
Auzerais,  Isaac  Bird,  F.  J.  Sauffrignon,  and  C.  T. 
Bird,  Directors;  C.  T.  Bird,  President;  J.  Auzerais, 
Treasurer,  and  F.  Brassy,  Secretary.  The  route 
originally  authorized  was  from  the  intersection  of 
Julian  and  Market,  along  Market,  San  Fernando, 
26 


San  Salvador,  and  Bird  Avenues  to  Willow  Street. 
When  the  First  Street  road  extended  its  line  down 
Willow  Street,  the  road  was  discontinued  from  the 
corner  of  Delmas  Avenue  southerly.  The  route  has 
since  been  changed,  it  being  at  present  from  the  depot 
at  Market  Street  along  Market,  San  Fernando,  and 
Delmas  Avenues.  The  road  is  now  controlled  by 
Jacob  Rich. 

Tlie  Peoples  Horse  Railroad  Company. — The  com- 
mon council  of  the  city  of  San  Jose  granted  to  the 
Southeast  Side  Horse  Railroad  Company,  on  Febru- 
ary 26,  1877,  a  franchise  for  a  narrow-gauge  railroad, 
to  Jacob  Rich,  C.  G.  Harrison,  W.  S.  McMurtry,  J. 
Y.  McMillan,  and  S.  W.  Boring,  the  original  stock- 
holders and  trustees  of  the  association,  the  officers 
being  Jacob  Rich,  President;  S.  W.  Boring,  Secretary. 
The  same  parties  afterward  procured  a  franchise  for  a 
narrow-gauge  road,  taking  for  its  starting-point  the 
center  of  Second  and  San  Fernando  Street.s,  and 
running  thence  to  Market  and  Santa  Clara  Streets; 
on  Santa  Clara  Street  to  the  Alameda,  and  thence  to 
the  town  of  Santa  Clara.  Approved  February  28, 
1879.  The  Southeast  Side  Company  deeded  all  its 
franchises  to  the  new  corporation,  named  the  People's 
Horse  Railroad  Company.  This  road  is  no  longer 
in  operation  as  originally  laid  out. 

Nortli  Side  Horse  Railroad  Company. — In  June, 
1875,  a  franchise  was  granted  to  the  above-named 
company,  commencing  at  the  intersection  of  St.  John 
and  First  Streets,  and  running  thence  to  Fourteenth 
and  Mission  Streets.  The  officers  were:  W.  S.  Mc- 
Murtry, President;  J.  Y.  McMillan,  Secretary;  and  C. 
G.  Harrison,  Manager.  It  is  now  controlled  by  Jacob 
Rich. 

The  early  history  of  San  Jose  is  identical  with  the 
history  of  the  surrounding  country.  So  nearly  were 
their  interests  and  enterprises  commingled  that  an 
attempt  to  treat  them  separately  would  complicate 
the  narrative  to  an  extent  to  render  it  nearly  unin- 
telligible. After  the  organization  of  the  county  and 
its  general  settlement  by  "  foreigners,"  which  was  the 
general  appellation  given  to  immigrants,  different  sec- 
tions began  to  develop  different  interests;  villages  and 
towns  came  into  existence,  and  it  is  of  these  we  pro- 
pose to  give  brief  mention. 


GILROY. 

This  beautiful  and  thriving  city  is  situated  on  the 

Monterey  road,  about  thirty  miles  south  of  San  Jose. 

That   portion  of  the  county  was   formerly  known   as 

Pleasant    Vallev.  -    The   first   house   erected   was    by 


202 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


James  Houck,  in  1850.  It  was  a  small  roadside  inn 
and  stable,  intended  for  the  accommodation  of  trav- 
elers between  Monterey  and  San  Jose.  It  was  built 
of  split  redwood,  and  was  situated  to  the  north  of 
Lewis  Street,  and,  we  believe,  is  still  standing.  The 
next  house  was  on  Lewis  Street,  near  Monterey 
Street,  and  here  a  store  was  opened  by  Lucien  Ev- 
erett. This  was  followed  by  a  building  by  John 
Eigelberry.  The  first  hotel  in  the  town  was  built 
by  David  Holloway  in  the  winter  of  1853-54.  It 
was  quite  a  pretentious  structure,  and  stood  between 
Lewis  Street  and  Martin's  Lane.  About  the  same 
time  David  Holloway  opened  a  blacksmith  shop,  and 
Eli  Reynolds  put  up  a  building  for  a  saddler's  shop. 
About  this  time  a  post-office  was  established,  James 
Houck  being  the  postmaster.  It  is  said  that  he  could 
neither  read  nor  write !  In  1852  the  first  school  was 
opened,  and  continued  for  one  season.  In  1853  a 
school  building  was  erected  by  subscription,  and 
school  was  taught  by  Mr.  Jackson,  the  trustees  be- 
ing W.  R.  Bane  and  Dempsey  Jackson. 

The  first  Protestant  religious  services  were  held  in 
1852,  at  the  residence  of  W.  R.  Bane,  and  were  con- 
ducted by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Anthony,  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  In  1853  Rev.  J.  T.  Cox,  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  organized  a  con- 
gregation, and  held  services  in  the  school-house;  and 
in  1854  a  church  building  was  erected  at  a  cost  of 
a  thousand  dollars.  Both  the  school-house  and  the 
church  have  been  replaced  by  handsome  modern 
buildings.  The  town  continued  to  attract  settlers, 
and,  being  situated  on  the  principal  thoroughfare  of 
the  county,  thrived  and  prospered. 

In  1867  F.  S.  Rogers,  a  dentist,  opened  an  office, 
and  in  1S6S  James  C.  Zuck  established  the  first  law- 
yer's office  in  the  town.  Zuck  and  Rogers  formed 
a  partnership  for  conducting  a  real-estate  business. 
They  purchased  five  acres  in  the  northwestein  part 
of  town,  and  sold  it  at  once  as  town  lots.  Twenty 
acres  more,  on  Monterey  Street,  near  the  center  of  the 
town,  were  purchased  of  John  Eigelberry,  and  sold 
in  the  same  manner.  W.  L.  Hoover  then  came  into 
the  firm,  and  thirty  acres  more  land,  on  the  east  side 
of  Monterey  Street,  were  inuxhased  from  L.  F.  Bell, 
subdivided  into  lots,  and  sold. 

On  February  iS,  1868,  the  town  was  incorporated 
under  the  laws  of  the  State,  and  christened  the  town 
of  Gilroy.  March  7,  of  the  same  year,  an  election 
for  town  officers  was  held,  and  the  following  were 
chosen:  Trustees,  John  C.  Looser,  William  Hanna, 
Frank  Oldham,  Jacob  Einstein,  Jacob  Rcithcr;  Treas- 


urer, H.  "VVangenheim;  Assessor,  James  Angel;  Mar- 
shal, A.  W.  Hubbard.  The  Assessor  failed  to  qualify, 
and  H.  D.  Coon  was  appointed  in  his  place.  J.  M. 
Keith  was  appointed  Town  Clerk. 

In  March,  1870,  an  act  was  passed  by  the  Legisla- 
ture incorporating  Gilroy  as  a  city,  with  the  govein- 
ment  vested  in  a  mayor,  city  marshal  and  ex-officio 
tax  collector,  a  city  clerk  and  ex-officio  assessor,  and 
a  city  treasurer.  At  the  first  regular  election  under 
this  charter,  which  was  held  May  10,  1870,  the  fol- 
lowing officers  were  elected:  J.  M.  Browne,  Mayor; 
City  Treasurer,  M.  Einstein;  City  Clerk,  George  T. 
Clark;  City  Marshal,  M.  Gray;  Councilmen,  William 
Hanna,  Jacob  Reither,  J.  B.  Morey,  C.  K.  Farley, 
William   Isaac,  Volney  Howard. 

A  great  obstacle  to  the  prosperity  of  the  city  was 
the  question  of  title  to  the  land  on  which  it  was  situ- 
ated. The  ownership  in  the  land  was  an  undivided 
interest  in  the  Las  Animas  Rancho,  an  early  Spanish 
grant.  The  rancho  had  never  been  partitioned,  and 
there  was  an  uncertainty  as  to  where  any  particular 
holder  might  be  located  when  the  different  interests 
were  set  off.  This  state  of  affairs  was  a  source  of 
great  annoyance,  as  it  practically  clouded  all  the 
titles  in  the  city  and  vicinity.  Many  meetings  were 
held  for  consultation.  The  matter  culminated  Jan- 
uary 3,  1879,  when  Henry  Miller,  the  largest  owner 
in  the  rancho,  filed  his  complaint  in  partition.  The 
defendants  were  all  the  other  owners,  and  numbered 
over  a  thousand.  The  court,  after  hearing,  appointed 
County  Surveyor  A.  T.  Herman,  J.  M.  Battec,  and  H. 
M.  Leonard,  as  commissioners  to  survey  and  set  off 
to  each  owner  his  interest  in  the  tract.  It  required 
several  years  to  accomplish  this,  and  it  was  not  until 
June  19,  1886,  that  the  final  decree  was  filed.  This 
settled  forever  the  question  of  title,  and  each  owner 
of  property  in  Gilroy,  or  vicinity,  has  a  claim  to  his 
land  that  is  undisputed  and  indisputable. 

Notwithstanding  it  was  thus  handicapped,  Gilroy 
did  not  halt  in  the  march  of  progress  either  before 
or  during  this  litigation.  Substantial  improvements 
were  made,  and  the  city  was  beautified  by  handsome 
and  substantial  buildings,  beautiful  gardens,  fine 
streets,  and  good  sidewalks.  A  school  system  was 
built  up  which  is  unsurpassed  in  its  efficiency  by  any 
in  the  Union.  A  certificate  of  graduation  from  the 
Gilroy  High  School  carries  as  much  influence  where 
that  institution  is  known,  as  a  diploma  from  a  college 
or  university.  A  strong  and  efficient  fire  depart- 
ment has  been  organized,  and  shows  in  the  front  rank 
at  the  amiual  tournaments.     Good  hotels  are  numer- 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


203 


ous.  Gas  and  water  companies  have  been  organized, 
and  are  increasing  their  capacity  in  proportion  to  the 
demand  for  their  services.  The  growth  of  the  city, 
however  rapid  it  might  have  been  prior  to  the  settle- 
ment of  land  titles,  has  received  a  new  impetus  since 
that  incubus  was  removed,  and  the  onward  march  has 
been  increased  to  a  double-quickstep. 

And  there  is  no  reason  why  this  should  not  be. 
Surrounding  the  city  are  leagues  of  the  most  fertile 
land  in  California.  Wherever  the  experiment  has 
been  made,  it  has  been  found  to  surpass  expectations 
in  its  producing  power.  Fruits  of  all  kinds  mature 
crops  of  quality  and  quantity  unsurpassed.  The 
climate  is  superb,  the  people  are  energetic,  public- 
spirited  citizens,  and  good  neighbors.  With  every. 
thing  to  make  life  profitable  and  enjoyable,  we  cannot 
err  in  predicting  for  the  city  of  Gilroy  a  future  pros- 
perity seldom  experienced  anj'where,  even  in  progress- 
ive America. 

Following  are  some  of  the  enterprises  of  Gilro)-: — 

Gilroy  Gas  Company. — The  present  gas  works  which 
supply  the  city  of  Gilroy  were  completed  in  Novem- 
ber, 1886,  the  work  being  done  by  the  firm  of  Sims 
&  Morris,  of  San  Francisco,  at  an  expense  of  $17,500 
for  the  plant  and  mains.  The  total  length  of  mains 
is  about  thirteen  thousand  feet,  the  original  contract 
having  been  for  ten  thousand  feet  of  mains.  The 
capacity  per  month  is  about  three  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  cubic  feet.  There  are  one  hundred  and  ten 
business  places  and  residences  supplied  by  the  works_ 
The  city  has  twenty-three  street  lamps,  which  were 
put  up  at  the  time  of  the  erection  of  the  plant.  These 
works  succeeded  the  old  pneumatic  process,  which 
proved  inadequate,  but  upon  which  the  place  depended 
for  about  sixteen  years.  The  works  are  owned  by  a 
local  corporation,  the  officers  of  which  are:  President, 
Thos.  Rea;  Vice-President,  L.  A.  Whitehurst;  Treas- 
urer, Bank  of  Gilroy;  Secretary,  Geo.  W.  Lynch,  of 
San  Francisco.  Directors:  L.  A.  Whitehurst,  J.  H. 
Ellis,  Amos  Robinson,  Geo.  W.  Lynch,  Thos.  Rea; 
and  the  manager  of  the  works,  who  has  held  that 
position  since  their  building,  is  Edgar  A.  Holloway. 
The  works  arc  operated  under  a  lease  for  five  years 
by  Geo.  W.  Lynch. 

Mills  of  Whitehurst  &  /lodo^es.^This  firm  was  or- 
ganized in  1869,  under  the  name  of  Ricketts,  White- 
hurst &  Hodges.  Mr.  Ricketts  retired  after  about  two 
year-^,  and  since  that  time  the  firm  has  remained  as  at 
present.  For  ten  years  they  carried  on  the  business 
of  manufacturing  and  wholesaling  lumber  alone,  and 
they  then  bought  the  planing-mill  of  William  Ilanna, 


which  they  have  ever  since  conducted.  Here  they 
manufacture  for  the  local  market.  They  employ  from 
thirty  to  forty  men.  They  employ  some  six  or  seven 
men  in  their  planing-mill;  and  in  the  timber,  and  at 
hauling,  at  least  thirty  men  are  employed. 

This  firm  is  composed  of  L.  A.  Whitehurst  and  P. 
C.  Hodges. 

Catholic  Clmrch. — The  predecessor  of  the  present 
Redemptorist  Mission  Catholic  Church  was  located 
about  five  miles  from  Gilroy,  on  the  ranch  of  Dan- 
iel Murphy,  and  was  erected  in  1852,  through  the 
liberality  of  Martin  Murphy.  The  building  came 
into  disuse  as  a  church,  and  was  finally  burned  down. 
Father  Devos  was  the  pastor  at  the  time  of  building. 
He  came  from  San  Jose  every  third  Sunday,  and 
after  his  death  Father  Bixlo  became  pastor.  Dedi- 
cated by  Archbishop  Joseph  Alemany.  The  church 
building  of  the  St.  Mary's  congregation,  at  Gilroy, 
succeeded  it.  It  was  erected  in  1S66.  December  17, 
1866,  it  was  first  used  as  a  church.  The  dedicatory 
ceremonies  were  performed  by  Father  Hudson,  the 
power  having  been  delegated  to  him  by  Bishop  Thad- 
dcus  Smat.  The  church  building  is  seventy-two  by 
thirty-three  feet.  Original  contract  price,  $3,400,  but 
the  contractor,  Mr.  Stout,  died  during  the  progress  of 
the  building,  and  Father  Hudson  completed  it  at  a 
cost  of  $500  additional.  The  interior  height  is  twent)^- 
four  feet,  and  it  is  sixty-four  feet  to  the  top  of  the 
cross.  The  value  of  the  church  building  is  about 
$5,000.  The  school-house  was  built  in  1871.  The  main 
building  is  seventy-two  by  twenty-eight  feet,  two  stories. 
There  are  two  school-rooms  and  two  music-rooms. 
There  is  a  boys'  school  building,  erected  in  1877, 
through  the  beneficence  of  Mrs.  James  Dunn,  who  do- 
nated $5,000  for  that  purpose,  and  $1,000  of  that  sum 
was  invested  in  the  building  and  furnishing,  while  the 
remaining  $4,000  was  intended  as  a  fund  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  institution,  which  should  allow  the  boys 
to  attend  free. 

This  is  also  taught  by  the  Sisters  of  the  Sacred 
Heart.     The  size  is  forty  by  twenty  feet. 

There  is  a  chapel  for  the  use  of  the  Sisters  and  the 
girls  of  the  school,  which  is  forty  by  twenty  feet,  and 
was  erected  in  1874. 

The  Gilroy  Opera  House. — This  opera  hall  was 
erected  in  1874,  by  a  company.  The  dimensions  are 
124x50  feet.  The  seating  capacity  of  the  hall  is 
seven  hundred,  but  the  hall  has  a  capacity  for  one 
thousand  one  hundred,  as  has  been  demonstrated. 
The  leading  stockholder  is  John   G.   Otto,  who  has 


204 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


two  hundred  and  seventy-two  shares.  The  manager 
is  Vic  Bassignano,  who  is  also  secretary. 

Railroad  Office. — The  railroad  was  built  into  town 
in  1869,  under  the  name  of  Santa  Clara  and  Pajaro 
Valley  Railroad.  The  agents  from  the  first  have 
been  C.  F.  Cevelling;  C.  Robinson,  now  an  attorney 
at  San  Francisco;  J.  Skidmore,  deceased;  —  Newhall, 
now  in  San  Francisco;  W.  H.  Haydock,  now  as- 
sistant superintendent,  with  headquarters  at  San 
Francisco;  C.  Hornbeck,  now  superintendent's  clerk 
at  Los  Angeles;  C.  S.  Green,  now  clerk  at  Mojave; 
and  H.  T.  Emlay,  present  incumbent.  M.  J.  Han- 
rahan  has  been  baggage-master  since  April  i,  1881. 
Roger  O'Conner  has  been  warehouseman  since  the 
road  was  built.  W.  B.  Lawson  is  freight  clerk. 
Gilroy  station  ranks  next  to  San  Jose  in  business  on 
the  road.  The  freight  office  is  40x300  feet;  passenger 
depot,  40x100  feet.  The  grain  warehouse  has  a  ca- 
pacity for  some  three  thousand  tons ;  engine  house, 
with  capacity  for  two  engines;  pumping  works,  wood 
bins,  and  coal  bins  with  capacity  for  one  thousand 
tons  of  coal. 

Mills  of  the  Central  Milling  Company. — The  original 
buildings  of  the  mill  are  still  standing,  but  additions 
have  been  made,  so  that  the  buildings  are  now 
120x100  feet.  The  mill  was  originally  built  by 
Major  McCoy,  of  San  Jose,  and  it  passed  out  of  his 
hands  into  those  of  a  man  named  Fitz.  The  next 
owners  were  J.  M.  Brown,  C.  Burrell,  and  Smith  Bros. 
The  Central  Milling  Company  purchased  the  prop- 
erty in  1887.  The  officers  of  the  company  are: 
President,  C.  L.  Dingley;  Secretary,  P.  P.  Moody; 
General  Superintendent,  J.  Cross  ;  Superintendents — 
Salmos  Mill,  V.  D.  Black;  Victor  Mills,  Wm.  Stine- 
beck;  San  Luis  Obispo  Mill,  Mr.  Armstrong;  Gil- 
roy Mill,  H.  D.  Van  Schaick;  King  City  Mill,  Mr. 
Stinebeck.  The  roller  process  is  used  in  the  mills, 
and  they  have  six  sets  of  rolls,  including  three  "Little 
Giants,"  and  two  sets  of  rolls  have  two  pairs  each. 
The  capacity  of  the  mill  is  from  forty-five  to  fifty 
barrels  per  day  of  twelve  hours.  The  wheat  of  the 
mill  is  shipped  from  the  country  surrounding  Gilroy, 
which  produces  a  splendid  article  of  wheat,  both  for 
staple  grades  of  flour  and  for  use  in  the  manufacture 
of  macaroni.  The  mill  has  been  running  as  a  cus- 
tom mill  since  the  Central  Milling  Company  has 
owned  it. 

H.  D.  Van  Schaick,  manager  of  the  Gilroy  mills 
of  the  Central  Milling  Company,  is  a  native  of  Onon- 
daga County,  New  York,  born  ten  miles  east  of 
Syracuse,  on  the  twcnty-si.xth  of  July,  1828,  his  par- 


ents being  Josiah  and  Mary  (Bellenger)  Van  Schaick. 
The  Van  Schaick  family  is  an  old  New  York  family, 
having  been  in  that  State  since  thirty  years  previous 
to  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  Colonel  Van  Schaick, 
a  member  of  the  family,  was  in  the  Revolutionary 
War,  and  served  at  Yorktown.  The  father  of  the 
subject  was  in  the  war  of  18 12,  towards  its  close; 
was  a  carpenter,  joiner,  and  wagon-maker  by  trade, 
but  spent  most  of  his  life  as  a  farmer  and  a  contractor. 
The  subject  was  reared  at  his  birthplace  to  farming, 
assisting  his  father  in  his  contracts,  and  of  making 
salt  barrels  for  the  salt  works  at  Syracuse,  etc.  He 
remained  in  New  York  until  1852,  when  he  started 
to  California,  making  the  trip  across  the  plains  during 
the  cholera  season;  and  he  himself  took  the  cholera, 
but  recovered  after  he  had  been  given  up.  He  started 
from  home  April  14,  1852,  and  arrived  near  Yankee 
Jim's,  in  El  Dorado  County,  California,  August  23, 
1852,  and  engaged  in  mining.  After  a  few  months, 
finding  mining  unsatisfactory,  he  walked  to  Sacra- 
mento, took  a  steamer  to  San  Francisco,  and  thence 
walked  to  San  Jose,  where  he  arrived,  with  finances 
very  low,  on  the  fourteenth  of  September,  1852,  and 
the  next  day  his  capital  consisted  of  his  clothing  and 
personal  effects,  his  money  being  gone;  and  he  started 
out  to  look  around  for  a  place  to  start  in.  He  ob- 
tained work  on  a  farm  near  San  Jose,  for  a  couple  of 
months,  and  for  another  farmer  the  remainder  of  the 
season. 

In  the  fall  of  1853  he  came  to  Gilroy,  and  started 
with  a  team  of  four  yoke  of  oxen,  which  he  brought 
down  for  a  man.  He  went  into  the  Redwoods  and 
engaged  in  chopping  and  splitting  lumber,  and  as  a 
saw-mill  was  soon  built,  he  took  a  contract  to  furnish 
six  hundred  thousand  feet  of  lumber,  at  $2.00  a  thou- 
sand at  tiie  stump,  scale  measure.  Finishing  the  con- 
tract, with  a  partner  he  engaged  in  building  the  saw- 
mill, working  at  felling  the  trees.  After  the  mill  got 
to  running  he  engaged  with  Bodfish  &  Thomas,  the 
proprietors.  Was  engaged  in  the  Redwoods  till  the 
spring  of  1S56,  when  he  engaged  in  farming  on  a  farm 
he  bought  in  the  valley;  also  engaged  in  teaching  si.x 
months  in  the  year.  He  taught  school,  altogether, 
in  Gilroy  Township  nearly  fourteen  terms. 

He  afterwards  bought  a  farm  at  San  Ysidro,  and 
subsequently  sold  it  and  bought  a  farm  of  one  hun- 
dred acres.  Next  he  engaged  again  in  teaching,  liv- 
ing at  San  Ysidro  till  1868,  and  then  he  came  to  Gil- 
roy, and  afterward  bought  a  half  interest  in  a  grocery 
store,  where  he  was  engaged  in  merchandising  with 
his  father-in-law  about  a  year,  and  with  Mr.  Steuben 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


205 


for  a  couple  of  years;  then  Mr.  Van  Schaick  ran  the 
business  alone  for  about  six  months.  He  then  sold 
a  half-interest  to  a  man  named  Dryden.  They  were 
together  three  years,  and  he  was  alone  then  till  1879. 
He  engaged  in  the  mill  by  the  month,  and  became 
superintendent  March  30,  1887. 

His  first  wife  was  Susan  Angel,  a  native  of  Mis- 
souri. Her  parents  came  here  in  1846.  She  died  in 
1868.  By  that  marriage  they  had  five  children,  four 
of  whom  are  living.  The  names  of  their  children 
are:  Jackson  E.,  Nellie  Jane,  Frank  Charles,  Angie 
Annette,  deceased,  and  Lena  Arnett.  His  present 
wife  was  Mary  Wright,  a  native  of  California.  Her 
parents  reside  near  Hollister.  They  have  one  child, 
named  Guy.  Mrs.  Van  Schaick  is  principal  of  Gilroy 
High  School.  She  is  politically  a  Republican.  Mr. 
Van  Schaick  was  elected  to  the  Legislature  in  1863, 
and  served  the  regular  term  of  1863-64,  being  in  the 
war  Legislature.  He  was  a  member  of  I.  O.  O.  R, 
and  has  passed  through  all  the  chairs.  He  is  now 
R.  S.  to  N.  G. 


SANTA  CLARA. 

The  early  history  of  San  Jose  and  Santa  Clara  run 
in  parallel  lines.  The  connection  between  the  two 
places  has  been  so  intimate,  and  they  are  so  closely 
joined  by  location,  that  they  will  before  many  j-ears 
become  one  city.  Tradition  has  it  that  William  Clark 
was  the  first  American  to  locate  in  Santa  Clara. 

This  is  the  man  who  first  reduced  the  ore  from  the 
New  Almaden  mines.  In  1846  there  came  the  Har- 
lands,  Van  Gorden,  Samuel  Young,  Tabor,  Allen, 
Jones,  Dickinson,  and  Bennett.  In  1848  we  find  J. 
Alex.  Forbes,  Jonathan  and  Charles  Parr,  William 
Booth,  Fielding  Lard,  Riley  Moutry,  Cobcb  Rand, 
George  W.  Bellamy,  Dr.  H.  H.  Warburton,  —  Bazard, 
William  McCutchen,  William  Haun,  Washington 
Moody,  John  Whisman,  William  Campbell,  Thomas 
Hudson,  James  Linns,  Anson  Angel  and  others. 

There  were  two  stores,  one  kept  by  Robert  Scott, 
where  the  cracker  factory  is  now  located,  and  one  by 
a  Frenchman  at  the  corner  of  Franklin  and  Alviso 
Street.s.     The  only  hotel   was  the  Bellamy  House. 

The  first  frame  building  was  built  as  a  residence  for 
Father  Real,  the  priest  in  charge  of  the  mission  at 
the  southwest  corner  of  Santa  Clara  and  Alviso 
Streets.  The  lumber  was  sawed  with  a  whipsaw 
by  Fielding  Lard,  in  the  Pulgas  Redwoods.  Immedi- 
ately aferwards,  buildings  were  erected  by  Lard,  Scott 
&   Haun.     In    1850  a  building  was  erected  on   Lib- 


erty Street,  to  be  used  as  a  school-house.  It  was 
built  by  subscription  and  was  long  known  as  the  "lit- 
tle brick  school-house."  It  was  used  as  a  place  of 
worship  by  all  denominations.  In  1853  the  first  church 
was  built  by  the  Methodists.  In  the  same  year  the 
female  seminary  was  erected  to  the  west  of  Main 
Street  between  Liberty  and  Lexington.  In  1850 
Peleg  Rush  imported  twenty-three  houses  from  Boston 
and  set  them  up  in  the  town.  The  Union  Hotel  was 
built  in  1850,  and  conducted  by  Appleton  &  Ainslee. 
In  185 1  the  Santa  Clara  College  was  established,  and 
this  institution  is  now  the  prominent  feature  of  the 
town. 

In  1850  the  town  site  was  surveyed  by  William 
Campbell  into  lots  a  hundred  yards  square,  and  one  lot 
given  to  each  citizen,  with  the  understanding  that  he 
was  to  build  a  house  on  it  within  three  months:  failing 
to  do  so,  the  lot  could  be  taken  by  another.  There 
was  no  town  government  until  1852,  when  the  follow- 
ing officers  were  chosen  trustees:  F.  Lard,  S.  S.John- 
son, A.  D.  Hight,  F.  Cooper,  Riley  Moutry;  Clerk,  C. 
W.  Adams;  Assessor,  A.  Madan;  Marshal,  William 
Fosgate.  In  1862  a  regular  charter  was  obtained  in 
accordance  with  the  State  laws,  and  the  following  gen- 
tlemen chosen  as  trustees:  J.  R.  Johnson,  A.  B. 
Caldwell,  R.  K.  Ham,  J.  L.  Guernsey,  Henry  Uhr- 
broock.  This  charter  was  amended  in  1866,  and  again 
in  1872.  The  town,  as  at  present  laid  out,  is  two  miles 
long  and  a  mile  and  a  half  wide:  it  is  handsomely  laid 
out  and  beautifully  ornamented  with  shrubbery,  flow- 
ers, and  rare  plants.  It  is  a  quiet  place  as  becomes  a 
seat  of  learning,  and  is  much  sought  after  as  a  place  of 
residence.  Its  easy  communication  with  San  Jose  and 
San  Francisco,  and  the  social  nature  of  its  intelligent 
people,  render  it  especially  desirable  for  this  purpose. 
It  is  well  equipped  with  all  the  necessities  and  con- 
veniences of  a  modern  town,  having  a  gas  and  water 
company,  many  churches,  excellent  schools,  besides  the 
colleges,  a  bank,  and,  in  fact,  everything  to  be  desired 
in  the  neighborhood  of  a  home.  The  newspaper  of 
the  town,  the  Santa  Clara  Jojirnal,  is  a  dignified 
journal,  ably  edited  and  conducted.  It  is  entirely  de- 
voted to  the  interests  of  the  community,  and  deserves 
the  warm  support  that  it  receives  from  the  people. 

Nearly  all  the  secret  societies  and  beneficial  organi- 
zations have  full  lodges,  while  musical  and  literary 
societies  find  here  a  natural  home.  The  town  is  sur- 
rounded by  fruitful  orchards  and  vineyards,  and  it  is 
one  of  the  first  places  to  which  the  San  Josean  con- 
ducts the  Eastern  tourist  who  desires  to  see  the  coun- 
try west.     It  is  the  historic  spot  of  this  county. 


206 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD: 


FRATERNAL  AND   BENEFICIAL   ASSOCIATIONS. 

California  is  renowned  for  the  rapid  and  substantial 
growth  of  the  many  social,  fraternal,  and  b  'ncficial 
organizations  which  have  sprung  up  within  its  bor- 
ders during  the  past  thirty-five  years.  In  numerical 
strength,  wealth,  and  influence  the  Order  of  Ameri- 
can Odd  Fellowship,  with  its  three  hundred  and  fif- 
teen lodges,  embracing  a  membership  of  over  twenty- 
five  thousand,  scattered  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  State,  is  entitled,  perhaps,  to  rank  first 
among  the  associations  of  this  character  on  the  Pacific 
Coast.  The  Order  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons, 
with  its  two  hundred  and  thirty  lodges,  and  a  mem- 
bership of  over  fifteen  thousand,  the  Ancient  Order 
of  United  Workmen,  with  a  membership  of  nearly 
twenty  thousand,  the  Chosen  Friends,  the  Knights 
of  Honor,  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Red  Men, 
are  only  a  very  few  of  the  many  fraternal  societies 
which  have  gained  a  firm  and  lasting  foothold  in  the 
Golden  State.  It  is  not  our  purpose,  however,  to 
attempt  a  history  of  these  institutions,  nor  of  any 
particular  one  of  them,  but  merely  to  make  a  brief 
review  of  the  Order  of  Odd  Fellowship  in  Santa 
Clara  County,  and  more  particularly  of  the  two  subor- 
dinate lodges  of  that  order  located  in  our  own  beauti- 
ful little  city. 

There  are,  at  the  present  time,  in  our  county,  ten 
lodges  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  P^ellows, 
with  a  membership  of  about  one  thousand — or,  one 
Odd  Fellow  to  every  seven  and  a  half  voters.  In 
point  of  lodges  there  are  seven  counties  in  the  State 
having  a  greater  number  than  Santa  Clara  County, 
while  in  point  of  membership  our  county  ranks  fifth. 

The  town  of  Santa  Clara,  and  the  country  adjacent 
thereto,  has  indeed  proved  to  be  a  prolific  field  for 
this  popular  organization.  Here  are  at  present  estab- 
lisiicd  two  subordinate  lodges,  with  a  combined  mem- 
bership of  nearly  two  hundred  and  fifty;  an  Encamp- 
ment of  Patriarchs,  numbering  over  one  hundred 
members;  a  Rebckah  Lodge,  with  a  membership  of 
one  hundred  and  ten,  and  a  Canton  of  Patriarchs 
Militant,  well  equipped,  well  drilled,  and  a  most 
potent  auxiliary  to  the  older  branches  of  the  order. 
Santa  Clara  Lodge,  No.  52,  ranks  among  the  pioneer 
lodges  of  the  State  in  the  work  of  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows  of  California.  It  was  insti- 
tuted on  the  eighteenth  day  of  January,  1856,  with 
eight  charter  members,  whose  names  appear  upon  the 
charter  in  the  following  order:  James  H.  Morgan,  Z. 
L.  Garwood,  E.  Smith,  Hiram  Hamilton,  Jno.  West, 
M.  C.  ]5akcr,  James  Barr,  and  William  Cameron.    Of 


this  charter  list,  John  West  alone  retains  member- 
ship in  the  lodge  he  assisted  in  organizing;  Messrs. 
Smith  and  Garwood  reside  in  other  parts  of  the  State, 
and  the  remainder  of  the  little  band  have  "  crossed 
the  dark  and  silent  river."  During  the  first  twelve 
years  the  membership  had  increased  to  about  sixty, 
and  by  economy  and  good  financial  management 
sufficient  funds  had  been  accumulated  to  warrant  the 
effort,  on  the  part  of  the  lodge,  to  secure  a  home  of 
its  own,  where  it  might  provide  the  requirements  and 
accommodations  not  to  be  found  in  rented  halls. 

With  this  object  in  view  an  arrangement  was  en- 
tered into  in  October,  1S67,  with  Mr.  M.  W.  Whittle, 
a  prominent  member  of  the  lodge,  who  agreed  to 
furnish  the  site  and  erect  the  basement,  or  first  story, 
of  the  building,  while  the  lodge  agreed  to  complete 
the  structure.  Under  this  agreement  work  was  at 
once  commenced  and  pushed  to  completion  in  May 
of  the  following  year.  On  July  i,  1S6S,  the  hall  was 
dedicated  to  the  principles  and  uses  of  Odd  Fellow- 
ship, with  imposing  ceremonies,  the  officers  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  California  ofificiating.  Here,  in  a 
stately  edifice,  located  on  one  of  the  most  prominent 
corners  in  the  business  portion  of  town,  with  a  large 
and  commodious  lodge-room,  anterooms,  reception 
rooms,  etc.,  all  fitted  up  in  the  most  elegant  manner, 
Santa  Clara  Lodge,  No.  52,  entered  upon  a  new  era. 
True,  the  handsome  and  substantial  structure  which 
reared  its  head  high  above  its  less  pretentious  neigh- 
bors, and  the  handsome  furnishings  and  equipments, 
had  incurred  an  indebtedness  beyond  the  immediate 
available  means  of  the  lodge,  but  this  was  promptl}- 
provided  for  in  a  manner  which  caused  no  perceptible 
ripple  in  the  affairs  of  the  lodge,  and  no  embarrass- 
ment to  the  members  thereof  From  the  date  the 
lodge  took  up  its  abode  in  its  new  and  elegant  quar- 
ters, its  progress  was  steadily  onward  and  upward; 
and  so  rapid  had  funds  accumulated  that,  in  1875, 
when  Mr.  Whittle  signified  his  intention  of  disposing 
of  his  interest  in  the  building,  the  lodge  promptly 
paid  the  amount  demanded,  and  became  the  sole  pos- 
sessors of  the  property,  together  with  the  valuable 
property  adjoining  it  on  the  south.  This  purcha.se,  as 
in  the  case  of  building,  involved  the  lodge  to  some 
extent,  but  they  who  had  succes.sfuUy  managed  the 
former  indebtedness  were  still  at  the  helm  and  proved 
themselves  to  be  equal  to  the  emergency,  as  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that,  in  the  month  of  July,  1879,  the  last 
evidence  of  indebtedness  against  the  lodge  was  can- 
celed in  accordance  with  conditions  and  agreements 
previously  entered  into.  Conspicuous  among  those  who 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  ''GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


207 


labored  faithfully  and  well  for  the  lodge's  interests 
during  its  early  history  we  note  the  names  of  A- 
Madan,  J.  M.  Billings,  N.  Cook,  M.  W.  Whittle,  D.  W. 
Herrington,  John  H.  Dibble,  and  A.  J.  Landrum.  To 
the  sagacity  and  good  judgment  of  these  devoted 
adherents  the  lodge  owes  much  of  its  prosperity  and 
standing.  Of  the  brothers  last  named,  A.  Madan  has 
"  passed  out  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death,"  leaving  behind  him  a  name  honored  and  be- 
loved by  all.  Brothers  Billings,  Cook,  Herrington, 
Dibble,  and  Landrum  are  still  regular  attendants  at 
their  lodge  meetings,  directing  its  movements  and 
assisting  with  their  counsels.  The  membership  at  the 
present  time  is  one  hundred  and  thirty;  the  average 
age  of  the  members  is  forty-four  years;  number  of 
past  grands,  forty-two,  among  whom  are  seven  past 
district  deputy  grand  masters,  and  one — Nathaniel 
Cook — has  attained  the  rank  of  past  grand  master  of 
the  jurisdiction  of  California. 

True  Fellozvship  Lodge,  No.  23S,  L  0.  0.  F.,  is  a 
worthy  scion  of  Santa  Clara  Lodge,  No.  52,  and  for 
good  work  and  good  management  ranks  high  among 
the  lodges  in  the  jurisdiction  of  California.  This 
lodge  was  instituted  by  Grand  Master  D.  D.  Welty, 
on  the  tenth  day  of  November,  1875,  with  fourteen 
charter  members.  The  names,  as  they  appear  in  the 
charter,  are :  E.  V.  Thorne,  M.  Beck,  J.  H.  Howard, 
E.  R.  Dille,  Jacob  Eberhard,  C.  W.  Vandegrift,  G.  A. 
Elliot,  J.  H.  Dinegan,  L  Hyman,  B.  F.  Fish,  A.  V. 
Fatjo,  J.  W.  Canfield,  W.  W.  Smead,  and  J.  Cherry. 

Eight  of  the  charter  members  held  withdrawal 
cards  from  Santa  Clara  Lodge,  five  held  cards  from 
various  Eastern  lodges,  and  one  signed  the  petition  for 
a  charter  as  an  ancient  Odd  Fellow.  Two  of  the 
charter  members  have  died;  three  have  been  sus- 
pended for  non-payment  of  dues  ;  one  has  withdrawn 
from  the  order  and  eight  still  retain  their  membership 
in  the  lodge.  The  number  of  members  at  the  present 
time  is  about  one  hundred,  twenty-four  of  whom  are 
past  grands,  and  three  of  these  are  past  district 
deputy  grand  masters.  The  average  age  of  the 
membership  is  thirty-seven  years. 

Numerical  strength  is  not  the  only  evidence  of 
prosperity,  to  which  the  young  lodge  may  justly 
lay  claim,  for  it  has  been  equally  successful  in  its 
financial  affairs.  During  the  thirteen  years  of  its  ex- 
istence, the  lodge  has  provided  amply  for  its  own 
wants;  it  has  taken  excellent  care  of  its  sick  and  dis- 
abled brethren,  and  it  has  scattered  its  charities  with 
a  generous  hand,  besides  accumulating  funds  and 
property  more   than  sufficient  to  guarantee    against 


possible    financial    embarrassment,  present    or  future. 

The  advent  of  True  Fellowship  Lodge,  No.  238, 
gave  an  impetus  to  Odd  Fellowship  in  Santa  Clara 
never  before  experienced.  A  good-natured  rivalry 
between  the  two  lodges  was  inaugurated,  which  re- 
sulted in  the  enrollment,  under  the  banner  of  the 
"  Triple  Links,"  and  in  the  furtherance  of  the  princi- 
ples of  Friendship,  Love,  and  Truth,  many  of  our 
most  honored  and  respected  citizens. 

SKETCH  OF  METHODISM. 

Methodism  in  California  was  first  planted  in  Santa 
Clara,  unless  a  class  organized  by  Rev.  W.  Robertson 
in  San   Francisco  is  entitled  to  an  earlier  date. 

In  early  November  of  1846,  William  Campbell,  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  from  Sa- 
line County,  Missouri,  arrived  at  Santa  Clara,  then  a 
military  post  under  command  of  Captain  Maddux,  of 
the  U.  S.  Marine.  On  the  first  Sabbath  in  November, 
Adney  A.  Heacox,  a  local  preacher,  just  arrived  from 
Galena,  Illinois,  preached  in  an  adobe  building  fifty 
feet  west  of  the  present  Catholic  Church,  used  at  the 
time  by  Mr.  Campbell  as  a  temporary  residence,  by 
permission  of  an  Irish  Catholic  named  Norris.  Mr_ 
Heacock  continued  to  preach  until  February,  1847, 
when  he  removed  to  Santa  Cruz.  William  Campbell 
held  prayer-meetings,  assisted  every  two  weeks  by  an 
exhorter  from  Benicia  named  Jones,  who  continued 
services    through    the    spring    and    summer  of    1847. 

Later,  in  1849,  William  Taylor  (now  Bishop  Taylor) 
visited  the  valley  and  preached  in  the  house  of 
Wallace  Finley,  on  the  land  of  William  Campbell, 
south  of  Santa  Clara.  A  little  later  Isaac  Owen 
visited  the  valley,  and  he  and  Taylor  greatly  encour- 
aged the  work. 

In  1851  Charles  Maclay  came  out  from  the  Balti- 
more Conference,  was  appointed  pastor  of  the  charge, 
and  in  1852  erected  the  first  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  Santa  Clara.  It  was  built  of  adobe,  and 
stood  near  the  place  now  occupied  by  the  large  brick 
house  of  worship.  Dr.  William  Morrow  had  previ- 
ously been  pastor,  but  resigned  on  the  arrival  of 
Maclay.  The  first  quarterly  conference  was  held  Sep- 
tember 8,  1851. 

Rev.  William  Hulbert  succeeded  Maclay,  and  he  in 
turn  was  succeeded  by  N.  P.  Heath,  in  1854,  Adam 
Bland  being  presiding  elder.  Rev.  J.  Daniels  succeeded 
Heath  in  1856,  A.  S.  Gibbons,  president  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  the  Pacific,  at  that  time  located  in  Santa 
Clara,  being  superintendent  of  the  Sabbath-school. 

In  1857-58  R.  B.  Stratton  was  preacher  in  charge, 
and  M.  C.  Briggs  presiding  elder.     In  1858-59,  W.  S. 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


Urmy  was  pastor.  This  was  a  prosperous  pastoral 
term. 

In  1859-60  C.  V.  Anthony  was  pastor,  followed  by 
J.  B.  Hill  in  1S60-61.  In  1S61-62,  M.  C.  Briggs  was 
pastor.  The  faithful  labors  of  Mr.  Hill  had  prepared 
the  way,  the  large  basement  of  the  new  church  was 
ready  for  use,  and  a  very  gracious  and  important  re- 
vival added  a  large  number  to  the  membership, 
among  them  two  of  the  present  members  of  the  Cali- 
fornia Conference. 

In  1863-64  J.  T.  Peck,  afterwards  bishop,  was  in 
charge.  In  1864-65  T.  H.  Sinex  was  pastor,  and  I. 
Owen,  P.  E.  During  Dr.  Sinex'  term  the  present 
church  was  completed,  and  named  the  Centenary 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  In  October  of  1868  a 
severe  earthquake  shook  the  pinnacles  from  the  church 
and  damaged  the  walls. 

In  1867-68  J.  A.  Bruner  was  preacher  in  charge, 
and  remained  a  full  pastoral  term  of  three  years. 

In  1870-72  J.  H.  Wythe  was  pastor.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Q.  J.  Collin,  who  remained  until  1876^ 
when  E.  R.  Dille  came  into  the  pulpit  for  a  three- 
years  term.  At  the  conference  of  1878-79,  Wesley 
Dennett  was  appointed  to  the  charge,  and  remained 
three  years,  when  George  Clifford  took  the  pastorate 
for  a  similar  term. 

In  September,  1887,  M.  C.  Briggs,  the  present  in- 
cumbent, was  appointed  to  the  place.  The  length  of 
his  term  must  be  "  relegated  "  to  the  arbitrament  of 
the  future. 

From  this  sketch  it  would  appear  that  Santa  Ckira 
is  the  oldest  university  town  in  the  State,  and  the 
Santa  Clara  Church  is  the  pioneer,  the  mother,  grand- 
mother, and  great-grandmother  of  all  the  churches. 
Yet  her  eye  is  not  dimmed  nor  her  natural  force 
abated. 


LOS  GATOS. 
The  first  builing  in  this  now  thriving  town  was 
P'orbes'  Mill,  and  for  many  years  the  place  was 
known  by  that  name.  This  enterprise  was  begun  by 
James  Alex.  Forbes,  in  1850,  but  it  was  not  completed 
until  four  years  afterwards.  It  was  an  old-fashioned 
structure  with  overshot  wheels  twenty  feet  in  diameter, 
which,  owing  to  the  lack  of  power,  the  water-head  be- 
ing only  twenty  feet,  was  not  successful  in  its  opera- 
tions. It  passed  from  Forbes  to  a  P'rench  firm,  V. 
Marzion  &  Co.,  who  also  made  a  failure.  A.  Pfister 
&  Co.,  of  San  Jose,  then  leased  the  property,  but 
found  it  unprofitable.  It  then  passed  into  the  hands 
of  Samuels  &  Planner,  who  raised  the  water,  by  means 


of  a  dam,  to  a  height  of  thirty  feet.  In  1866  W.  H. 
Rogers  &  Co.  purchased  the  property,  raised  the 
the  head  to  sixty  feet,  and  substituted  the  turbine 
wheel  for  the  old  overshot.  In  1870  the  head  was 
raised  to  two  hundred  feet.  This  gave  abundance  of 
power  to  all  the  machinery.  At  this  time  the  com- 
pany was  made  a  joint-stock  concern,  W.  H.  Rogers, 
J.  Y.  McMillan,  W.  H.  Rector,  W.  S.  McMurtry,  and 
C.  C.  Hayward  being  the  incorporators.  It  was 
known  as  the  Los  Gatos  Manufacturing  Company. 
A  four-set  woolen  mill,  two  stories  high,  was  erected 
and  operated  successfully  until  1872,  when  it  burned 
down  and  was  not  rebuilt.  The  flouring  mill  con- 
tinued operations,  changing  its  system,  in  1883,  from 
stones  to  improved  rollers,  and  turning  out  a  product 
that  became  noted  throughout  the  coast  for  its  uniform 
excellence.  In  18S6  the  Central  Milling  Company  of 
San  Jose  was  formed.  The  Los  Gatos  Mills  went 
into  the  combination  and  were  closed.  Up  to  1859 
there  were  no  houses  in  Los  Gatos  except  the  mill  and 
a  few  cabins  occupied  by  the  workmen.  In  1862  Mr. 
Samuels  built  a  house,  which  has  since  been  occupied 
by  W.  S.  McMurtry  as  a  residence.  McMurtry  & 
McMillan  started  a  store  and  lumber  yard  in  1863. 
This  store  afterwards  came  into  the  hands  of  the  Los 
Gatos  Manufacturing  Company. 

The  country  around  the  town  was  settled  more 
rapidly  than  the  town  itself  The  history  of  these 
early  settlers  will  be  found  in  our  biographical  sketches. 
These  settlers  found  the  wildcats  numerous  in  the  ad- 
jacent hills,  and  very  destructive  to  their  property. 
This  gave  the  name  "Los  Gatos"  to  the  town.  The 
first  hotel  was  kept  by  H.  D.  McCobb,  who  was  also 
the  first  postmaster,  having  been  appointed  in  1864. 

The  establishment  of  the  woolen  mills  attracted  a 
few  people  to  the  place.  In  the  meantime  the  lumber, 
wood,  and  timber  industry  commenced  to  grow  in  the 
mountains,  and  Los  Gatos  became  a  stopping-place 
for  the  teamsters.  The  building  of  the  Santa  Cruz 
Turnpike  road  placed  it  on  the  route  of  travel  be- 
tween Santa  Cruz  and  San  Jose.  A  few  people  be- 
came attracted  by  the  beauty  of  location  and  salu- 
brity of  climate,  and  made  it  their  home.  A  church 
was  built  in  1871.  There  was  a  good  school  building 
long  prior  to  this. 

Although  Los  Gatos  kept  along  in  the  march  of 
progress,  its  real  prosperity  dates  from  1877.  Early 
in  this  year  the  South  Pacific  Coast  Railroad  was 
completed  to  that  point,  and  the  town  and  surround- 
ing country  immediately  came  into  notice. 

Travelers  saw  the  orange  and   lemon    trees  in  the 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


209 


grounds  of  Mr.  Rogers  and  Mr.  McMurtry,  with  their 
heavy  fruitage  and  the  luxuriant  growth  of  the  fig  and 
vine  and  otlier  semi-tropical  fruits,  and  realized  that 
they  were  in  the  true  "warm  belt."  They  told  their 
friends,  and  from  them  the  report  spread,  and  the 
people  of  Los  Gatos  awoke  to  find  their  town  lots 
worth  nearly  as  much  per  front  .foot  as  they  had  for- 
merly been  per  acre.  At  this  time  the  settlement  had 
been  almost  exclusively  on  the  cast  side  of  the  creek. 
But  the  location  of  the  railroad  depot  on  the  west 
side,  and  the  great  demand  for  property  anywhere  in 
the  vicinity,  caused  the  town  to  cross  the  stream  and 
extend  in  that  direction.  About  this  time,  also,  there 
came  into  bearing  a  few  of  the  orchards  that  had  been 
planted  by  enterprising  people,  and  it  became  known 
that  the  Los  Gatos  "red-lands,"  which  had  been  a 
comparative  failure  for  grain,  were  perfectly  adapted 
to  horticulture.  They  had  been  selling  at  from  $15 
to  $25  per  acre,  and  the  success  of  these  early  orchards 
sent  the  price  up  to  $40  and  $60  per  acre.  Non-pro- 
gressive settlers  who  had  no  faith  in  the  horticultural 
resources  of  this  section,  subdivided  their  land  and 
sold  it  at  these  figures,  congratulating  themselves  on 
having  made  a  big  thing  out  of  the  enthusiastic  immi- 
grant. Those  who  remained  around  the  place,  how- 
ever, saw  that  same  land  go  up  to  $200  and  $300  per 
acre,  and  their  gratification  was  changed  to  chagrin. 
They  solaced  themselves  and  each  other  with  the 
declaration  that  people  who  bought  at  such  prices 
were  "crazy  fools;"  but  as  the  orchards  and  vineyards 
came  into  bearing  and  yielded  crops  which  annually 
amounted  to  more  than  the  purchase  price  of  the 
lan.l,  they  confessed  their  mistake.  Some  of  the  old 
citizens  saw  the  signs  of  the  times  and  amassed 
fortunes.  They  were  classed  as  "lucky  ones."  The 
only  luck  was  in  being  able  to  see  the  great  wealth 
that  lay  in  the  soil  of  that  vicinity. 

In  1S77  there  was,  in  the  hills  back  of  Los  Gatos, 
large  tracts  of  land  still  belonging  to  the  government. 
It  was  then  considered  valueless  But  the  horticult- 
ural prospector  cleared  it  from  the  brush  and  planted 
trees  and  vines  and  reaped  as  rich  a  harvest  as  his 
neighbor  in  the  valley.  It  required  more  labor,  but 
the  result  has  been  equally  gratifying. 

It  is  impossible  to  give  the  order  in  which  the  differ- 
ent families  located  in  this  place.  When  the  tide  of 
immigration  started  it  came  with  a  rush,  and  still  con- 
tinues. In  1887  the  town  had  grown  to  such  an 
extent  that  it  required  an  independent  government. 
In  July  an  election  was  held  to  ascertain  the  will  of 
the  people  as  to  the  proposition  to  incorporate  under 
27 


the  State  laws.  The  question  was  answered  in  the 
affirmative  by  a  majority  of  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
six  votes. 

On  August  6  the  final  order  was  passed  incorporat- 
ing the  town  and  declaring  the  following  as  its  first 
officers:  Trustees — J.  W.  Lyndon,  P.  Perkins,  Geo. 
Seanor,  D.  D.  Holland,  H.  Sund;  Treasurer,  Geo.  S. 
McMurtry;  Clerk  and  Assessor,  A.  E.  Wilder;  Marshal 
and  Tax  and  License  Collector,  J.  L.  Gelatt.  The  fol- 
lowing were  declared  to  be  the  boundaries  of  the  new 
municipality:  Commencing  at  the  corner  of  sections  21, 
22,  27,  and  28,  in  township  8  south,  range  i  west.  Mount 
Diablo  base  and  meridian;  thence  northerly  along  the 
line  between  sections  21  and  22,  and  the  same  pro- 
longed to  the  south  line  of  lands  of  Levi  Hill,  or  the 
same  prolonged  thence  northwesterly  along  said  Hill's 
line  to  center  of  Los  Gatos  Creek;  thence  down  the 
center  of  creek  to  its  intersection  with  the  continuation 
easterly  of  the  south  line  of  the  Dawes  tract,  being 
also  the  continuation  easterly  of  the  north  line  of  lands 
of  Magnus  Tait;  thence  northwesterly  along  said  last- 
named  line,  and  the  continuation  thereof  to  northeast 
corner  of  lands  of  H.  C.  Houghton;  thence  southwest- 
erly along  the  east  line  of  Houghton's  land  to  its  inter- 
section with  the  Los  Gatos  and  Saratoga  road;  thence 
southwesterly  in  a  straight  course  through  lands  of 
Massal  Buchanan  and  McCullagh,  to  the  extreme 
westerly  point  of  what  is  known  as  Fairview  Addition, 
and  continuing  in  the  same  course  to  its  intersection 
with  the  line  dividing  lands  of  McCullagh  and  P.  Her- 
old ;  thence  southeasterly  along  the  last-named  line  to  its 
intersection  with  the  ^g  section  line  running  north  and 
south  between  lands  of  J.  W.  Lyndon  and  Livermore, 
thence  southerly  along  last-named  line  to  the  south 
boundary  line  of  section  20,  township  8  south,  range 
I  west;  thence  along  the  south  line  of  said  section  20 
and  21  easterly  to  the  place  of  beginning. 

The  census  showed  that  there  were  fifteen  hundred 
inhabitants  within  the  limits  of  the  new  town. 

The  Los  Gatos  Hotel  \s  the  lineal  descendant  of  the 
first  hotel  established  in  Los  Gatos.  It  had  its  begin- 
ning in  a  cottage  owned  by  H.  D.  McCobb,  which 
stood  a  short  distance  above  where  the  railroad  depot 
now  is.  McCobb  sold  it  to  J.  W.  Lyndon  in  1S68; 
Lyndon  sold  it  to  Morgan  Covell,  who  conducted  it 
several  years.  Jacob  Rich  then  acquired  it,  and  in 
1872  it  was  re-purchased  by  Mr.  Lyndon,  who  en- 
larged it  and  greatly  improved  it.  In  1878  it  was 
moved  to  its  present  position,  and  practically  rebuilt. 

The  Wilcox  House  was  built  by  Harvey  Wilcox  in 
18S5.     It  was  erected  to  accommodate  the  great  tide  of 


210 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


immigrants  and  tourists  that  has  been  pouring  into 
Los  Gatos  seeking  health  and  homes 

The  Los  Gatos  Gas  Company  was  organized  in  1SS5, 
in  which  year  the  present  woiks  were  built.  The 
company  commenced  supplying  gas  to  consumers  in 
June  of  that  year. 

TJte  Los  Gatos  School-house  was  erected  in  18S6,  at 
a  cost  of  $8,000.  The  building  is  fifty-three  by  sev- 
enty-.six  feet  and  supported  by  a  substantial  brick 
foundation.  The  height  to  the  top  of  the  flag-staff  is 
ninety-three  feet  above  the  ground.  The  building  con- 
tains four  class-rooms,  thirty-two  by  thirty-four  feet, 
and  one  room  is  16x1 8  feet.  The  ceilings  are  fifteen 
feet  high  and  each  room  is  provided  with  blackboards 
which  extend  entirely  around  the  ro  m.  All  the  win- 
dows are  supplied  with  inside  blinds  in  upper  and 
lower  sections.  In  the  matter  of  ingress  and  egress  the 
building  is  well  constructed.  The  corridors  are  twelve 
feet  wide  and  the  stairways  five  feet,  with  hand-rails  of 
white  cedar  capped  with  black  walnut.  The  newels 
are  of  fine  black  walnut  finished  in  oil.  There  are 
two  sinks  with  faucets  on  the  first  floor  and  one  on 
the  second.  The  building  and  grounds  are  well 
drained  by  underground  redwood  boxes.  The  rooms 
are  ventilated  by  large  transoms  opening  into  the  cor- 
ridors, from  which  a  ventilating  shaft  four  feet  square 
opens  through  the  roof  The  rooms  are  furnished 
with  single  Star  Bent  wood  seats  and  teachers'  cabinet 
stands.  The  house  is  so  constructed  that  another  four 
class-room  building  can  be  added  whenever  it  be- 
comes necessary,  and  so  constructed  as  to  appear  as 
well  as  if  the  whole  had  been  erected  at  once. 

The  Bank  of  Los  Gatos  commenced  operations 
in  1883  as  a  private  enterprise,  under  the  auspices  of 
Kirkland  &  Conklin.  In  November  of  the  same 
year  it  was  incorporated  under  the  State  laws,  with 
the  following  stockholders:  John  Stanfield,  Samuel 
Templeton,  S.  F.  Lcib,  H.  E.  Huggins,  Robert 
Walker,  A.  E.  Wilder,  H.  H.Kooser,  A.  Berryman,  D. 
D.  Holland,  Geo  B.  Holland,  James  A.  Hamilton,  Chas. 
Milliken,  J.  S.  Fowler,  W.  C.  Shore,  George  Seanor, 
Mack  Davis,  J.  W.  Lyndon.  The  present  oiificers  are 
Samuel  C.  Templeton,  President;  John  Stanfield,  Vice- 
President;  Eben  C.  Farley,  Cashier.  The  capital 
stock  is  $50,000,  all  taken. 

The  Los  Gatos  Ice  Works  were  organized  in  1885, 
by  an  incorporated  company  of  which  A.  King  is  pres- 
ident, and  W.  D.  Tisdale  principal  ov;ner,  superin- 
tendent, and  manager.  It  has  eight  tanks,  each  of 
which  has  a  capacity  of  ten  tons.  Its  product  is  sold 
in  San  Francisco,  San  Jose,  Los  Gatos  and  Santa  Cruz. 


The  Los  Gatos  and  Saratoga  Wine  Company  was 
organized  in  June,  1885,  by  the  vine-growers  in  the 
vicinity  of  Los  Gatos  and  toward  Saratoga.  The 
capital  stock  is  $20,000,  and  is  all  in  the  hands  of  vine- 
growers.  The  product  in  1885  was  eight  thousand 
gallons;  in  1886  it  was  eighty  thousand  gallons,  and  in 
1887  the  company  made  one  hundred  and  ten  thou- 
sand gallons  of  wine,  and  thirty-five  hundred  gallons  of 
brandy.  Its  officers  are:  Henry  Wadsworth,  President; 
Wm. Warren,  Vice-President;  Geo  W.  Lynch,  Secre- 
trary;  A.  Malpas,  Business  Manager;  H.  A.  Merriam, 
Superintendent  of  Winery. 

Santa  Cruz  Mountain  Iniproveutent  Company. — In- 
corporated July,  1886,  for  the  purpose  of  furnishing 
facilities  for  improving  and  building  up  the  mountain 
district  back  of  Los  Gatos.  Its  officers  are:  J.  S. 
Fowler,  President;  H.  C.  Morrill,  Vice-President;  V. 
Aveiill,  Treasurer;  C.  E.  Aiken,  Secretary.  The 
Summit  Opera  House  was  built  by  this  company. 

The  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  Los  Gatos  was 
organized  by  Rev.  J.  M.  Newell,  of  Santa  Clara,  July 
3,  1 88 1,  with  twenty-three  members  and  with  G.  W. 
McGrew  as  elder,  to  whose  efforts  previous  to  that 
date  its  existence  is  due.  Rev.  R.  C.  Moodiehas  been 
its  minister  from  the  first.  Trustees  were  elected  July 
lO,  as  follows:  S.  S.  Butler,  John  Henderson,  W.  D. 
Hudson,  E.  W.  Mills,  and  Samuel  Templeton.  The 
Sunday-school  was  organized  July  17.  with  E.  W. 
Mills  as  superintendent.  Services  were  held  every 
Sunday  forenoon,  for  twelve  weeks,  in  Lyndon  Hall. 
By  that  time  a  lot  had  been  purchased  from  J.  Y. 
McMillan,  with  a  dwelling-house,  which  was  converted 
into  a  chapel  and  used  as  a  place  of  worship,  morn- 
ing and  evening,  for  three  years.  In  1882  Mr.  Moodie 
built  a  cottage  on  the  church  lot,  and  in  1885  pur- 
chased a  portion  of  the  lot,  with  a  frontage  of  fifty 
feet,  including  the  chapel,  which  he  joined  with  his 
cottage,  making  his  present  residence,  which  is  in- 
tended for  a  parsonage,  cost  about  $1,600.  The 
church  edifice  was  erected  in  1884-85,  at  a  cost  of 
about  $3,300,  or  $5,000  inclusive  of  furniture,  organ, 
chairs,  chandeliers,  carpet,  bell,  fence,  and  sheds.  It 
was  first  occupied  for  a  union  thanksgiving  service, 
in  18S4.  It  was  completed  by  the  following  April, 
and  dedicated,  without  debt.  May  3,  1S85.  One  hun- 
dred and  forty-two  persons  have  been  connected  with 
the  church  as  members.  Its  present  membership  is 
ninety-three,  of  whom  twelve  are  absent.  The  Sun- 
daj'-school  numbers  one  hundred  and  twenty,  with 
M.  Howell  as  superintendent.  The  elders  are  M. 
Howell,   E.   B.   Conklin,    R.   W.    B.    McLellan,    and 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


211 


L.  S.  Wood.  The  trustees  are  S.  S.  Butler,  E.  B. 
Conklin,  M.  Howell,  J.  C.  Mansur,  C.  H.  Woodhams. 
Auxiliary  organizations  are  a  Ladies'  Aid  Society, 
a  Woman's  Home  and  Foreign  Missionary  Society, 
a  young  people's  society,  and  a  mission  band,  called 
"  The  Busy  Workers."  The  pastor's  salary  is  raised 
by  subscription.  The  church  received  aid  from  the 
Board  of  Home  Missions  the  first  four  years,  but  has 
since  been  self-supporting.  Current  expenses  and 
benevolent  contributions  are  raised  by  church  col- 
lections. Improvements  are  from  time  to  time  pro- 
vided for  by  the  Ladies'  Aid  Society.  The  congre- 
gational expenses  last  year  were  $1,415.  The  benev- 
olent contributions  were  $353. 

R.  C.  Moodie  was  born  in  Craftsbury,  Vermont, 
June  19,  1852.  His  father,  Robert  Moodie,  was  born 
in  Scotland,  April  23,  178S;  removed  to  Craftsbury, 
Vermont,  in  1831,  where  he  died  at  the  age  of  ninety, 
in  1878.  His  mother,  Phcbe  Augusta  (Blanchard), 
was  born  in  Greensboro,  Vermont,  in  18 10,  and  lived 
nearly  all  her  life  in  Craftsbury.  She  was  married 
to  Robert  Moodie  in  1832,  as  his  second  wife,  and 
was  the  mother  of  eight  children  (Robert  Moodie 
having  one  daughter  by  a  former  wife),  of  whom 
R.  C.  Moodie  is  next  to  the  youngest,  and  only  two 
others  are  living.  She  died  in  1877.  Young  Moodie 
worked  on  his  father's  farm  until  he  was  nineteen, 
with  an  occasional  term  at  the  Craftsbury  Academy 
and  at  a  district  school,  when  he  taught  in  a  district 
school  one  winter;  went  in  the  spring  of  the  same 
year  to  an  academy  at  Meriden,  New  Hampshire; 
then  two  years  were  spent  in  Williston  Seminary, 
Easthampton,  Massachusetts;  then  the  .summer  vaca- 
tion was  spent  at  Amenia,  New  York,  in  studies  that 
v\ould  have  occupied  the  senior  year  at  Williston 
Seminary;  and  he  entered  Yale  College  at  New 
Haven,  Connecticut,  in  the  autumn  of  1874,  and 
graduated  in  1878;  tien  spent  three  years  in  a  Pres- 
byterian Theological  Seminary  at  Auburn,  New  York, 
graduating  in  May,  1881.  He  was  married  the  eight- 
eenth of  tlic  same  month,  came  to  California  in  June, 
and  settled  in  Los  Gatos  in  July. 

Carrie  Augusta  Root  (wife  of  R.  C.  Moodie)  was 
born  in  Craftsbury,  Vermont.  They  have  two  chil- 
dren, Walter  Chafey  and  Willis  Beecher,  ages  six 
and  four  respectively. 

Ridgely  Lodge,  No.  2Q^,L  0.  O.  F.,  was  instituted 
at  Los  Gatos,  April  4,  1882,  by  Past  Grand  C.  J. 
Owen,  D.  D.  G.  M.  Its  charter  members  were:  T.  S. 
Cleland,  B.  J.  Allen,  L.  A.  Cole,  James  Eddy,  Jay  E. 
Fuller,  J.    J.    Roberts.     First   officers:    B.    G.    Allen, 


N.  G.;  J.  E.  Fuller,  V.  G.;  James  Eddy,  R.  S.;  T.  S. 
Cleland,  Treasurer.  Present  officers :  E.  A.  Kennedy, 
N.  G.;  Geo.  S.  McMurtry,  V.  G.;  L.  E.  Hamilton, 
R.  S.;  A.  E.  Wilder,  Recording  Secretary;  W.  Lee, 
Treasurer. 

Los  Gatos  Lodge,  No.  76,  A.  0.  U.  W. — Organized 
January  11,  1879.  First  officers:  J.  T.  Harris,  P. 
M.  W.;  T.  S.  Cleland,  M.  W.;  H.  C.  Black,  F.;  J.  B. 
Waterman,  O.;  A.  F.  McFarland,  Recorder;  H.  U. 
Ball,  G.;  Tho.s.  W.  Cox,  I.  W.;  Wm.  Parks,  O.  W. 

Los  Gatos  Parlor,  No.  12.J.,  N.  S.  G.  W.,  was  organ- 
ized March  23,  1888.  Officers:  Past  President,  G.  D. 
Wilson;  President,  Geo.  S.  McMurtry;  First  Vice- 
President,  Edward  C.  Yocco;  Second  Vice-President, 
N.  G.  Rogers;  Third  Vice-President;  R.  L.  Hutch- 
inson; Recording  Secretary,  Fen  Massol;  Financial 
Secretary,  J.  H.  Coult;  Treasurer,  James  Stanfield ; 
Surgeon,  R.  P.  Gober.  There  are  three  Trustees: 
Geo.  R.  Emerson,  Fred.  W.  Perkins,  W.  S.  Baker; 
Inside  Sentinel,  F.  F.  Watkins ;  Outside  Sentinel, 
A.  M.  Howell.  Charter  members:  W.  J.  Baker, 
James  J.  Stanfield,  Robt.  L.  Hutchinson,  Freeman 
L.  Howes,  William  A.  Riggs,  Robt.  F.  Kennedy, 
Daniel  McCarthy,  Wm.  P.  Veuve,  Wm.  C.  Swinford, 
Robt.  D.  Baker,  Frank  F.  Watkins,  Edward  C.  Yocco, 
Fred.  W.  Perkins,  Alexander  M.  Howell,  Geo.  S. 
McMurtry,  Geo.  R.  Emerson,  Noah  G.  Rogers,  Geo. 
D.  Wilson,  J.  H.  Coult,  Hugh  R.  Roberts,  R.  P. 
Gober,  Fen  Massol. 

CLIMATE. 

The  following  description  of  the  climate  of  Los 
Gatos  was  written  by  one  who  has  made  the  subject 
a  special  study:  "The  Santa  Cruz  Mountains  shut  off 
the  harsh  breezes  from  the  ocean,  and  the  creeping 
fog  from  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco  very  rarely  finds 
its  way  into  this  vicinity.  Calla  lilies  and  the  ten- 
derest  geraniums  flourish  and  bloom  in  open  air  the 
year  around.  Tomatoes  and  green  peas,  gathered 
from  the  vines,  often  form  a  part  of  Christmas  din- 
ners, with  strawberries,  taken  from  the  vines  in  open 
air,  for  dessert.  The  altitude  above  the  ocean,  be- 
tween four  and  five  hundred  feet,  and  freedom  from 
fogs,  have  caused  the  place  to  be  sought  by  many 
invalids  who  have  regained  their  health.  The  bay 
wind  generally  prevails  through  the  day  and  the 
mountain  breeze  at  night.  This  thoroughly  ventilates 
the  foot-hills  and  adds  to  their  healthfulness.  We 
have  no  thunder  and  lightning,  and  no  cyclones,  hur- 
ricanes or  tornadoes;  no  heavy  frosts  or  snows,  floods 
or  droughts  ;  no  malarious  diseases.  From  the  first 
of   May  to  the  first  of  November  we  have  no  rain. 


212 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN   OF  THE   WORLD: 


no  showers,  while  in  what  we  call  the  winter  months 
showers  and  rains  fall  sufficient  to  thoroughly 
moisten  the  ground.  We  have  much  clear  weather 
in  winter — about  the  same  as  April  and  May  in  the 
East.  The  soil  is  so  deep  and  open  that  where  it  is 
thoroughly  cultivated  it  remains  moist  to  within  a 
few  inches  of  the  surface  all  summer.  Travelers  who 
have  spent  years  in  search  of  the  model  climate  say 
that  our  climate  could  not  be  surpassed  on  the  globe, 
and  they  certainly  are  correct.  The  great  variety  of 
growing  orchards  add  beauty  to  the  general  appear- 
ance of  the  foot-hills  and  the  valley,  which  spread 
out  below  Los  Gatos  into  a  picture  without  a  parallel." 


SARATOGA. 

This  village  was  founded  by  Martin  McCarthy  in 
185 1.  He  laid  it  out  in  lots  and  blocks  at  that  time, 
and  called  it  McCarthysville.  The  first  settlers  after 
McCarthy  were  William  Haun  and  his  father-in-law, 
John  Whisman.  They  built  a  flour-mill,  which  was 
destro3'ed  by  fire  in  1864.  While  the  mill  was  build- 
ing Washburn  and  Pipkin  opened  a  store,  and  Henry 
Jarboe  started  a  blacksmith  shop.  The  first  post- 
master was  Levi  Millard,  who  was  appointed  in  1855. 
In  1863  the  town  site  was  re-surveyed  and  additions 
made.  The  vacant  land  came  into  the  hands  of 
Charles  Maclay,  who  re-christened  it  with  the  name 
of  Saratoga.  Its  original  founder  is  now  dead,  but 
his  widow  still  lives  on  the  place,  and  that  she  has 
kept  up  with  the  progress  of  events  will  be  seen  by 
her  biographical  sketch  elsewhere  in  this  book.  A 
paper  mill  and  a  pasteboard  mill  were  established  in 
1 868,  the  former  by  E.  T.  and  W.  T.  King,  and  the 
latter  by  Peter  Somerville.  Both  were  afterwards  de- 
stroyed by  fire. 

The  town  has  become  widely  known  from  its  loca- 
tion near  the  Pacific  Congress  Springs,  which  has  be- 
come one  of  the  most  famous  summer  resorts  on  the 
coast.  These  springs  were  discovered  in  1850.  Among 
those  who  early  discovered  the  wonderful  properties 
of  the  waters  of  these  springs  were  D.  O.  Mills  and 
Alvinza  Hayward,  wealthy  business  men  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. They  formed  a  joint-stock  company,  consist- 
ing of  themselves  and  O.  F.  Griffin,  Louis  McLane, 
E.  O.  Knight,  and  other  prominent  men,  and  pur- 
chased seven  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  including  the 
spring  and  its  surrounding.s.  The  plan  was  for  each 
to  erect  a  cottage  for  himself  and  family,  and  to  erect 
a  main  building,  to  be  used  as  a  boarding-house  for 
all.     Only  two  cottages  were  built.     The  main  build- 


ing was  erected  and  contained  fourteen  rooms.  It 
was  formally  opened  June  16,  1866.  In  1872  the 
property  was  purchased  by  Lewis  P.  Sage  and  his 
son,  Lewis  A.  Sage.  There  was  no  cleared  land  on 
the  place  at  this  time,  nor  was  it  easy  of  access.  The 
purchasers  procured  the  construction  of  a  good  road, 
and  set  about  improving  the  place  both  as  to  build- 
ings and  for  agricultural  purposes.  This  work  has 
been  done  principally  by  Lewis  A.  Sage,  who  has  had 
the  sole  management  of  the  place.  The  hotel  was 
reconstructed  and  enlarged,  until  it  now  has  sixty- 
three  rooms. 

A  reservoir  containing  twenty  thousand  gallons 
has  been  built,  which  is  supplied  with  pure  water 
from  the  Quito  Creek.  Forty-five  acres  are  planted 
to  vines  of  the  choicest  wine  varieties,  of  which 
the  largest  portion  are  si.x  years  old  and  bear 
profusely.  Fifteen  acres  are  in  French  prunes,  now 
three  years  old,  and  seventy-five  acres  are  devoted  to 
general  agricultural  purposes.  Two  hundred  acres  are 
used  for  pasturage,  while  the  remainder  is  devoted  to 
prescr\  ing  game  and  fish  for  the  use  of  the  guests  at 
the  hotel.  These  hills  abound  with  game  of  all  kinds, 
while  the  streams  are  abundantly  supplied  with  mount- 
ain trout.  This  makes  Congress  Hall  a  popular  resort 
for  sportsmen  as  well  as  invalids,  and  business  men 
seeking  recreation.  Mr.  James  E.  Gordon,  in  his 
lecture  on  Saratoga  and  its  surroundings,  says: — 

"  The  tourist  or  visitor  to  Saratoga  need  take  no 
thought  as  to  his  entertainment,  as  Congress  Hall  is  one 
of  the  most  comfortable  and  attractive  hotels  on  the 
Pacific  Coast.  It  consists  of  a  spacious  main  building, 
with  broad  veranda, and  a  number  of  two-story  cottages 
adjoining,  grouped  upon  a  plateau  on  the  mountain 
side,  and  surrounded  by  shade-trees,  a  beautiful  lawn, 
and  rare  tropical  plants  and  flowers.  Facing,  as  it 
does,  the  grand  old  mountains  across  the  canon,  which 
are  covered  with  forest  trees,  some  of  them  of  giant 
size,  and  the  whole  covering  seven  hundred  and 
twenty  acres,  the  surroundings  make  one  feel  that 
there  is  plenty  of  room  and  comfort  everywhere,  and 
just  the  place  to  have  a  good  time.  After  a  sumptu- 
ous lunch  a  short  walk  brings  you  to  a  rustic  bridge 
crossing  a  clear  mountain  stream,  delightfully  shaded, 
wild  and  romantic,  along  which  you  wend  your  way 
to  the  celebrated  Congress  Springs,  surrounded  by 
shady  nooks,  rustic  seats,  and  miniature  water-falls. 
Aside  from  its  valuable  medicinal  properties,  it  is  one 
of  the  most  pleasant  mineral  waters  in  existence. 
There  are  bath-rooms  convenient  to  the  hotel,  where 
hot  and  cold  baths  are   served  with  wonderful  effect 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


213 


upon  the  weak  and  afflicted."  The  water  of  the 
spring  is  celebrated  the  world  over  as  a  remedy  in 
cases  of  dyspepsia,  rheumatism,  and  impurities  of  the 
blood,  as  well  as  a  refreshing  beverage  and  invigorat- 
ing tonic.  Its  analysis  is  chloride  of  sodium,  119. 159; 
sulphate  of  soda,  12.140;  carbonate  of  soda,  123.351; 
carbonate  of  iron,  14.030;  carbonate  of  lime,  17.295; 
silica,  alumina,  with  trace  of  magnesia,  49.882. 

As  we  have  related  in  our  chapter  on  horticulture, 
the  Saratoga  District  was  the  very  first  to  discover 
and  take  advantage  of  resources  in  the  direction  of 
fruit  and  vine-growing.  The  success  of  the  earlier 
orchards  induced  the  planting  of  others,  and  the  suc- 
cess of  these  has  kept  up  the  enthusiasm  until  nearly 
the  whole  country  is  a  succession  of  orchards  and 
vineyards  yielding  golden  harvests  to  their  owners. 

T/zc  Saratoga  Village  Improvement  Association  was 
organized  in  1887,  its  objects  being  to  buy  unimproved 
land,  plant  and  cultivate  trees  and  vines  thereon,  and 
sell  in  ten-acre  lots  on  easy  terms;  to  build  houses, 
mills,  factories,  and  supply  same  with  water  and  gas; 
construct  roads,  bridges,  and  sidewalks;  to  manu- 
facture the  products  of  our  fields  and  forests,  and 
generally  to  develop  the  resources  of  Saratoga. 

A  tract  of  five  hundred  acres  has  been  secured, 
which  will  be  divided  into  ten-acre  lots  as  soon  as 
fifty  subscribers  are  obtained.  The  price  of  the  lots, 
including  planting  and  cultivating  trees,  will  be  $3,000, 
payable  in  seventy-two  monthly  in.stallments. 

The  Saratoga  Wine  Company  is  an  association  of 
vine-growers  who  have  formed  an  incorporation  for 
the  purpose  of  manufacturing  into  wine  the  product 
of  their  vineyards,  and  thus  protect  themselves  from 
any  combination  that  may  be  formed  by  dealers. 
The  officers  are:  A.  D.  Macdonald,  President;  Lewis 
A.  Sage,  Secretary  and  Treasurer;  Peter  Warner,  Man- 
ager The  winery  is  in  the  building  at  Saratoga  for- 
merly used  as  a  flouring-mill.  Last  season  the  vintage 
amounted  to  sixty-three  thousand  gallons. 


SMALLER  TOWNS. 

LEXINGTON. 

Lexington  was  at  one  time  quite  a  flourishing 
hamlet.  Situated  about  three  miles  above  Los  Gatos, 
it  was  the  headquarters  for  the  early  lumbermen  and 
people  otherwise  employed  in  the  mountains.  It  was 
also  the  stopping-place  for  the  Santa  Cruz  stages. 
The  advent  of  the  railroad,  which  left  it  on  one  side, 
took  away  all  its  support,  and  it  has  since  almost 
ceased  to  exist.  It  is  in  the  heart  of  the  mountain 
fruit  district,  but  trade  and  traffic  do  not  reach  it. 


This  place,  which,  before  the  building  of  the  rail- 
road, was  only  a  wayside  inn,  has  grown  into  consid- 
erable importance  since  that  time.  Its  history,  as  a 
village,  dates  from  1877,  and  is  too  recent  to  have 
much  interest. 

WRIGI1T.S. 

Wrights  is  a  small  hamlet  near  the  summit  of 
the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains.  It  came  into  existence 
in  1878,  when  the  railroad  was  completed.  It  is  the 
shipping-point  for  wood,  and  also  for  much  of  the 
fruit   grown  in  that   portion  of  the  mountain  district. 

MILPITAS. 

We  have  shown,  in  our  chapter  on  land  titles,  how 
this  name  originated.  The  town  came  into  existence 
in  1856,  when  Frederick  Creighton  erected  the  first 
building  and  opened  a  store.  A  post-office  was  also 
established  at  this  time,  with  Creighton  as  postmaster, 
and  J.  R.  Weller  as  assistant.  In  1857  the  first  hotel 
was  opened  by  James  Kinney,  who  was  succeeded  by 
A.  French.  The  building  was  destroyed  by  fire  in 
1S60,  but  was  rebuilt  by  Mr.  F"rcnch,  who  has  ever 
since  been  its  proprietor.  The  town  has  kept  up 
with  the  times  in  the  way  of  improvements.  It  has 
neat  churches,  and  one  of  the  best  school  buildings 
in  the  country.  It  contains  shops  and  stores  sufficient 
for  the  necessities  of  the  surrounding  country,  anfi 
the  inhabitants  are  contented. 
ALVISO. 

In  1849  it  was  thought  that  this  town  was  destined 
to  become  a  great  city.  Sitting,  as  it  does,  at  the 
head  of  San  Francisco  Bay,  it  was  thought  that  it  would 
become  the  shipping-point  for  all  the  lower  country. 
It  was  predicted  that,  in  a  comparatively  few  years, 
shipping  from  all  parts  of  the  world  would  be  moored 
at  its  wharves,  and  its  immense  warehouses  be  filled 
with  the  products  of  all  nations.  For  a  time  it  was  a 
very  active  place.  Warehouses  were  built,  and  build- 
ings erected  for  hotels,  dwellings,  and  stores.  The 
railroad,  however,  diverted  travel  in  1866,  and  it  be- 
came nearly  deserted.  The  arrival  of  the  South 
Pacific  Coast  Railroad,  in  1876,  revived  business 
somewhat,  but  its  people  no  longer  anticipate  that  it 
will  become  the  metropolis  of  the  Pacific  Coast.  The 
town  was  incorporated  in  1852,  with  John  Snyder  as 
its  first  treasurer,  and  A.  T.  Gallagher  as  its  first 
marshal.  Thomas  West  and  Robert  Hutchinson  were 
members  of  the  first  Board  of  Trustees.  Its  charter 
has  been  allowed  to  lapse,  and  it  has  now  no  inde- 
pendent existence. 


214 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   HIE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


MOUNTAIN  VIEW. 
The  old  town  orig-inally  consisted  of  a  staf^e  sta- 
tion on  the  San  Francisco  road,  built  by  James  Camp- 
bell, in  1852.  Opposite  this  station  Richard  Kan- 
opened  a  store,  which  was  managed  by  Jacob  Shum- 
way.  In  1853  the  Weilheimer  Brothers  opened  a 
store,  as  did  also  a  Hungarian  called  "Doc."  The 
town  was  surveyed  into  lots  and  blocks  by  Frank 
Sleeper  and  Mariano  Castro,  but  the  town  has  shown 
no  disposition  to  stray  away  from  the  one  principal 
street.  It  never  was  incorporated.  In  1869  Mr.  S. 
P.  Taylor  erected  the  hotel  which,  since  his  death, 
has  been  conducted  by  his  widow.  In  1S76  Enter- 
prise Hall  was  built  by  a  local  association.  Mountain 
View  Lodge,  No.  244,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  was  instituted  June 
2,  1876. 

MOUNTAIN  VIEW  STATION, 

Or  New  Mountain  View,  was  the  outgrowth  of  the 
railroad.  It  was  laid  out  by  S.  O.  Houghton  in  1865. 
The  first  house  was  built  by  Shirley  and  Haines,  for 
a  saloon.  The  next  building  was  the  hotel,  built  by 
D.  Frink  and  Shirley.  The  Methodist  Epi.scopal 
Church,  South,  was  built  in  October,  1S72,  and  for  the 
first  year  was  under  the  charge  of  Rev.  Isaac  L.  Hop- 
kins. Mountain  View  Lodge,  No.  194,  F.  and  A.  M., 
was  organized  in  1868.  Mountain  View  Lodge,  No. 
59,  A.  O.  U.  W.,  was  organized  October  16,  1878. 
Golden  Wreath  Lodge,  No.  327,  I.  O.  G.  T.,  was  or- 
ganized May  14,  1880.  The  two  brick  warehouses 
were  built  in  1878,  by  Smith  and  Bubb. 
MAYFIELD. 
In  1853  David-  Adams  built  a  public  hou.se  on 
what  is  now  the  route  of  the  San  Francisco  road,  and 
called  it  "  Uncle  Jim's  Cabin."  It  became  noted  in 
the  days  of  stage  travel.  The  next  building  was 
used  as  a  butcher  shop  by  Rama  &  Cinovia,  and 
was  built  in  1854.  C.  J.  Fuller  built  a  store  in  1855, 
and  shortly  afterwards  a  blacksmith  shop.  In  this 
year  a  post-office  was  established,  with  James  Otterson 
as  postmaster.  In  1857  Doctor  Gunning  located  in 
the  town,  as  did  also  Judge  Wallis.  In  the  meantime 
Fuller  had  sold  out  his  mercantile  business  to  Will- 
iam Paul.  The  railroad  arrived  in  1S64,  but  the  sta- 
tion was  located  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  the 
town.  About  two  years  afterwards  it  was  changed  to 
its  present  position.  The  town  was  regularly  laid 
out  by  William  Paul  in  1867,  and  streets  opened 
named,  and  graded.  In  1866  Page  &  Peers  opened  a 
lumber  yard,  and  in  186S  the  Mayficld  Brewery  was 
built.     Tiie  Catholic  Church  was  erected  in  1871    and 


in  1872  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  built. 
Mayficld  Lodge,  No.  192,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  was  instituted 
September  13,  1871.  The  town  seems  now  to  have 
entered  on  a  new  era  of  prosperity.  In  addition  to 
the  impetus  received  by  the  development  of  its  great 
horticultural  resources,  the  establishment  of  the  great 
Stanford  University  in  the  immediate  vicinity  has 
given  it  great  importance. 


NEW  ALMADEN  QUICKSILVER  MINE. 
The  history  of  this  famous  mine  has  been  fre- 
quently written,  but  has  never  been  presented  in  bet- 
ter form  than  by  Mrs.  Carrie  Stevens  Walters,  in  the 
excellent  hand-book  of  Santa  Clara  County,  pub- 
lished by  E.  S.  Harrison  in  1887.  As  the  duty  of 
the  historian  is  to  present  facts,  we  give  those  con- 
nected with  this  institution  in  the  language  of  Mrs. 
Walters:— 

"Almaden — from  two  Arabic  words — «/,  'the,' 
viadcTi,  'mine' — was  the  name  given  to  the  most 
famous  quicksilver  mine  of  the  world,  located  in 
Spain.  Its  namesake  of  Santa  Clara  County,  hav- 
ing no  superior,  with  the  single  exception  above  men- 
tioned, deserves  more  than  a  passing  notice  in  a  work 
of  this  character.  The  New  Almaden  quicksilver 
mine  is  situated  about  fourteen  miles  southwest  of 
San  Jose,  in  a  low  range  of  hills  running  parallel  with 
the  Coast  Range.  Tradition  states  that  this  mine 
was  known  to  the  native  Indians  nearly  a  century 
ago,  and  that  they  used  the  ore — red  sulphurct  of 
mercury — to  form  a  pigment  paste  by  pounding  and 
moistening  it.  In  1824  the  existence  of  the  mine 
was  made  known  to  Don  Antonio  Sunol,who  worked 
it  for  silver;  but  not  finding  this  metal,  and  not  sus- 
pecting the  real  nature  of  the  deposit,  abandoned  it 
at  the  end  of  a  year.  In  November,  1845,  a  Mexican 
officer  named  Andres  Castillero,  visiting  at  Santa 
Clara  Mission,  was  shown  some  of  the  ore,  and  while 
experimenting  for  silver,  discovered  quicksilver.  He 
at  once  filed  his  right  to  the  mine  as  a  di.scoverer, 
according  to  the  Spanish  and  Mexican  law,  after 
which  he  formed  a  stock  company,  dividing  the  mine 
into  twenty-four  shares.  An  American  named  Wm. 
G.  Chard  was  then  employed,  who  commenced  the 
reduction  by  charging  a  gun  barrel  with  small  pieces 
of  ore,  stopping  the  vent  with  clay,  placing  the  muz- 
zel  into  a  barrel  of  water,  and  building  a  fire  around 
the  other  end.  The  mercury,  being  driven  off  by  the 
heat  in  the  form  of  vapor,  passed  out  at  the  muzzle. 
was  condensed  in  the  water,  and    precipitated   in  the 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


215 


form  of  liquid  quicksilver.  Three  or  four  gun  barrels 
were  thus  employed  for  several  weeks.  Six  whaler's 
try-pots  were  next  obtained,  capable  of  holding  three 
or  four  tons  of  ore,  and  a  sort  of  furnace  formed  by 
inverting  three  over  the  other  three,  by  which  some 
two  thousand  pounds  of  metal  were  reduced.  About 
this  time — 1846 — the  mine  was  visited  by  General 
Fremont,  who  established  its  value  at  about  t/ttrty 
thousa)id  dollars!  Soon  after  this,  Barron,  Forbes  & 
Co.,  of  Tepic,  Mexico,  became  the  principal  stock- 
holders, and  in  1847  Alexander  Forbes,  of  the  firm, 
arrived  with  laborers,  funds,  and  everything  necessary 
to  the  proper  working  of  the  mine.  A  thorough  ex- 
amination gave  so  much  promise  that  work  was  pros- 
ecuted with  vigor.  In  1850  furnaces  were  first  con- 
structed and  large  quantities  of  ore  reduced  under 
the  superintendence  of  the  late  Gen.  H.  W.  Halleck. 
As  the  true  value  of  the  mine  became  apparent, 
disputes  concerning  the  title  arose.  The  company 
bought  in  two  titles  for  protection.  But  matters  be- 
came so  complicated  that  in  October,  1858,  an  injunc- 
tion was  placed  on  the  mine,  which  remained  until 
February,  1S61,  during  which  time  no  work  was  done. 
In  1864  the  company  disposed  of  the  mine  and  all 
improvements,  including  eight  thousand  five  hun- 
dred and  eighty  acres  of  land,  for  $1,700,000,  to  a 
company  chartered,  under  the  laws  of  New  York  and 
Pennsylvania,  as  'The  Quicksilver  Mining  Company,' 
which  company  is  the  present  owner. 

"  The  workings  of  the  mine,  past  and  present,  ex- 
tend over  an  area  the  extreme  limits  of  which  could 
barely  be  included  within  a  rectangular  block  five 
thousand  feet  long  from  north  to  south,  six  thousand 
feet  wide  fiom  east  to  west,  and  two  thousand  three 
hundred  feet  in  depth,  counting  from  the  summit  of 
Mine  Hill,  the  upward  limit  of  the  ore  deposit.  The 
workings  do  not  cover  all  the  area  here  indicated,  but 
are  very  irregularly  distributed  within  it.  Mining  ex- 
perts will  readily  understand  from  this,  and  also  from 
the  fact  that  ore  bodies  seem  to  obey  no  special  law 
of  distribution,  but  are  a  puzzle  to  geologists,  the 
difficulty  offered  in  the  workings  of  this  mine.-  In  its 
famous  rival,  Almaden  of  Spain,  the  ore  bodies  are 
placed  with  remarkable  regularity,  increasing  in  rich- 
ness as  depth  is  obtained,  and  all  included  within  a 
rectangular  block' seven  hundred  feet  long,  by  three 
hundred  and  fifty  broad,  and  one  thousand  and 
twenty-seven  in  depth.  It  may  be  interesting  to 
pursue  this  comparison  a  little  further.  For  instance: 
the  average  salary  paid  to  workmen  at  the  Spanish 
mine  is  sixty  cents  per  day  ;  at  New  Almaden,  about 


$2.40.  The  number  of  workers  employed  at  old 
Almaden,  three  thousand  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
six  ;  at  New  Almaden,  four  hundred  and  sixty;  the 
yield  per  ton  of  ore  at  New  Almaden  averages  lit- 
tle more  than  twenty  pounds  of  quicksilver;  at  old 
Almaden  the  general  average  is  about  two  hundred 
pounds  of  quicksilver  to  the  ton;  the  average  cost 
of  extracting  per  flask  of  seventy-six  and  one-half 
pounds  at  old  Almaden  is  $7.10;  at  New  Almaden 
the  cost  is  $26.38.  It  is  safe  to  affirm  that,  had  the 
Spanish  mine  the  same  difficulties  to  overcome  in 
working  as  are  encountered  at  New  Almaden,  it 
would  long  since  have  been  shut  down,  despite  the 
Rothschilds,  its  lessees.  These  facts  naturally  lead 
one  to  inquire  something  of  the  management  of  the 
Santa  Clara  County  Almaden.  The  mine  came  un- 
der control  of  its  present  manager,  Mr.  J.  B.  Randol, 
in  1870.  At  that  time  there  was  an  interest-bearing 
debt  against  the  property  of  over  one  and  a  half  mill- 
ion dollars.  The  amount  of  ore  in  sight  was  dis- 
couragingly  small,  the  extraction  very  costly,  and  the 
stockholders  were  so  pushed  to  carry  on  the  workings 
of  the  mine  that  they  were  compelled  to  raise  $200,000 
by  subscription.  The  systems  of  working  the  mine 
were  crude  and  expensive,  furnaces  and  condensers 
imperfect,  and  the  mine  developed  only  to  the  eight 
hundred-foot  level,  with  one  main  shaft.  Much  of 
the  ore  was  brought  from  lower  to  higher  levels  in 
bags  made  of  ox-hides,  and  carried  by  Mexicans  by 
means  of  a  strap  over  the  forehead — from  one  hun- 
dred and  forty  to  two  hundred  pounds  being  conveyed 
at  a  load.  Now,  in  1886,  exploration  and  exjiloita- 
tion  have  been  made  in  nine  shafts,  six  of  which  are 
in  active  operation;  there  is  a  network  of  under- 
ground passages  aggregating  nearly  fifty  miles  in 
length ;  mining  work  is  carried  on  to  a  depth  of 
two  thousand  three  hundred  feet,  while  the  machin- 
ery is  the  most  complete  and  economical  of  any  mine 
in  the  world.  In  those  sixteen  years  three  hundred 
and  eighteen  thousand  flasks  of  quicksilver  have  been 
reduced,  over  $5,000,000  disbursed  for  labor,  and  yet 
with  atotal  profit  to  the  owners  of  more  than  $4,000,000. 
The  funded  debt  has  been  paid,  large  amounts  ex- 
pended in  permanent  improvements,  and  over  $1,000- 
000  declared  in  dividends.  More  than  one-half  the 
world's  supply  of  quicksilver  comes  from  Califoinia. 
A  greater  portion  of  this  is  produced  at  New  Alma- 
den, a  small  amount  being  put  out  by  other  mines  in 
the  Stale. 

"  In  those  earlier  days  the  social  condition  of  the 
workmen,  who  were   mostly  Mexicans,   was   inferior- 


216 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  ''GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


The  place  was  noted  for  lawlessness,  and  was  a  rendez- 
vous for  Mexican  banditti.  Little  restraint  was  ex- 
ercised over  the  men,  and  gambling,  drinking,  and 
licentiousness  were  common.  Large  wages  were  paid, 
and  it  was  no  uncommon  occurrence  for  a  man  to  be 
killed  after  pay-day.  There  were  no  advantages  of 
church  or  schools.  Water  for  cooking  and  drinking 
purposes  was  carried  on  donkeys  and  sold  by  the  pail- 
ful. 

"  Now  the  visitor  leaves  the  railroad  station  two 
miles  from  the  hacienda  where  are  located  the  re- 
duction works  of  the  mine.  Almost  the  first  thing  to 
greet  the  eye  is  a  pretty  school-house  with  its  groups 
of  neat,  tidy  children.  Two  teachers  are  employed 
here  and  four  at  the  school  on  the  hill,  three  miles 
further  on,  for  ten  months  in  the  year,  the  schools  be- 
ing in  the  regular  county  school  system.  Along  the 
single  street  for  half  a  mile  are  clean,  pretty  cottages 
the  homes  of  the  hacienda  workmen,  each  cottage 
literally  embowered  in  choice  roses  and  other  flowers. 
These  houses  are  owned  mostly  by  the  company,  who 
lease  them  to  the  workmen  at  from  $2.00  to  $5.00  per 
month.  Cuttings  and  plants  are  supplied  free  from 
the  beautiful  gardens  of  the  manager,  where  are 
grown  more  varieties  of  roses  than  in  any  other  place, 
perhaps,  in  the  county.  Along  the  street  in  front  of 
the  houses  a  stream  of  purest  water  is  conducted  in  a 
channel  for  domestic  purposes.  The  street  is  bordered 
with  shade-trees,  and  a  neat  brick  walk  extends  its 
entire  length.  Everywhere  are  seen  signs  of  thrift 
and  prosperity;  the  people  look  well  kept  and  con- 
tented, while  an  all-pervading  spirit  of  order  and  s)'s- 
tem  extends  to  the  remotest  ramifications  of  this  im- 
portant industry. 

"  Three  miles  up  a  steep  but  wcU-gradcd  road 
brings  one  to  the  mine  proper,  where  arc  the  great 
shafts  with  their  huge  engines,  in  one  of  which,  the 
engine  of  the  Buena  Vista  shaft,  is  a  piece  of  iron 
weighing  twelve  tons.  The  miners  are  principally 
Mexican  and  Cornish.  Two  pretty  church  edifices, 
a  Methodist  and  a  Catholic,  located  at  the  Hill  Set- 
tlement, were  built  almost  entirely  by  contributions 
from  the  company  and  manager.  A  social  organiza- 
tion, called  the  '  Helping  Hand,'  for  which  the  com- 
pany erected  and  fitted  up  a  club  building,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  workmen,  has  a  fine  library  of  nearly 
five  hundred  volumes,  besides  a  list  of  magazines  and 
daily  and  weekly  newspapers  of  the  best  published. 
Here  are  held  frequent  entertainments,  given  by  the 
members,  and  the  society  is  a  wonderful  factor  in  the 


promotion  of  sociability,  general  information,  and 
mental  culture. 

"The  Miners'  Fund,  to  which  each  employe  con- 
tributes one  dollar  per  month,  pays,  among  other  ex- 
penditures for  the  good  of  the  miners,  the  salary  of  a 
resident  physician,  a  most  skillful  and  competent 
gentleman,  whose  services  are  gratuitous  to  the  con- 
tributors. The  value  of  this  arrangement  will  be 
better  understood  when  it  is  known  that  a  great  ma- 
jority of  the  workmen  are  married  men  -with  families. 
The  management  encourages  this  class,  feeling  that, 
as  a  rule,  it  is  more  reliable  and  responsible  than  that 
composed  of  men  with  no  domestic  ties.  The  popu- 
lation of  the  settlement  is  about  fourteen  hundred,  of 
which  six  hundred  are  under  twenty  years  of  age. 
The  essentials  of  a  true  home,  children,  and  flowers, 
flourish  unrestrained  at  New  Almaden.  The  pay-roll 
is  noted  for  men  who  have  been  long  in  the  employ 
of  the  company;  and  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  add 
that  during  Mr.  Randol's  management  such  a  thing 
as  a  '  strike '  has  never  been  thought  of" 

Since  September,  1887,  the  management  of  the 
system  inaugurated  and  built  up  by  the  superintend- 
ent, Mr.  Randol,  has  been  intrusted  to  Col.  Ferdinand 
Von  Leicht,  who  has  been  connected  with  the  quick- 
silver interests  of  California  since  1868. 


POST-OFFICES. 
Following  is  a  list   of  post-offices  in   Santa  Clara 
County  at  the  present  time: — 

Agnew,  Gilroy,  Mountain  View, 

Alma,  Gilroy  Hot  Sp'gs,  New  Almaden, 

Alviso,  Gubserville,  Patchin, 

Bell's  Station,        Hillsdale,  San  Felipe, 

Campbell,  Lawrence,  San  Jose, 

Coyote,  Los  Gatos,  Santa  Clara, 

Cupertino,  Madrone,  Saratoga, 

Evergreen,  Mayfield,  Sargent, 

F'rohm,  Milpitas,  Wrights. 


PRIVATE  LAND  GRANTS. 

Following  is  a  list  of  the  various  tracts  of  land  in 
Santa  Clara  County  to  which  title  was  granted  by 
the  Spanish  and  Mexican  Governments: — 

Arroyo  de  los  Pilarcitos,  one  square  league,  to  Can- 
delario  Miramontes. 

Canada  del  Corte  de  Madera,  to  Domingo   Peralta, 

Canada  de  San  Felipey  Las  Animas,  two  square 
leagues,  to  Charles  M.  Weber,  patented  August  9, 
1866. 

Caiiada  dc  Pala,  eight  thousand  by  twelve  hundred 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


217 


varas,  to  Jose  de  Jesus  Bernal  et  a/.,  patented  August 
9,  1863. 

Canada  de  los  Capitancillos,  to  Guadaloupe  Mining 
Company. 

El  Corte  de  Madera,  two  square  leagues,  to  Maximo 
Martinez,  patented  June  14,  1858. 

El  Pasito  de  las  Animas,  three  thousand  and  forty- 
two  acres,  to  Robert  Walkinshaw. 

Embarcadero  de  Santa  Clara,  one  thousand  varas, 
to  Barcelia  Bernal. 

Juristac,  one  square  league,  to  Antonio  and  Faustin 
German. 

La  Polka,  one  square  league,  to  Bernard  Murphy, 
patented  March  3,  1S60. 

La  Purisima  Concepcion,  one  square  league,  to 
Juana  Briones. 

Los  Tularcitos,  to  Antonio  Higuera  ct  a/.,  heirs  of 
Jose  Higuera,  patented  July  8,  1870. 

Las,  Animas  or  Sitio  de  la  Brea,  to  Jose  Maria 
Sanchez. 

Las  Coches,  half  square  league,  to  Antonio  Sunol 
ei  al,  patented  December  31,  1857. 

La  Laguna  Seca,  four  square  leagues,  to  Liberata 
Cesafia  Bull,  et  a/.,  patented  November  24,  1865. 

Los  Capitancillos,  three-quarters  of  a  square  league, 
to  Charles  Fosset,  patented  'February  3,  1865. 

Las  Animas,  to  Frederick  E.  Whiting. 

Milpitas,  one  square  league,  to  Jose  Maria  Alviso. 

Mission  of  Santa  Clara,  to  Juan  C.  Galindo. 

Mission  of  Santa  Clara,  thirteen  and  thirteen-hun- 
dredths  acres,  church  property,  patented  March  3, 
1858. 

Ojo  de  Agua  de  la  Coche,  two  square  leagues,  to 
Bernard  Murphy,  patentetl  January  4,  i860. 

Patrero  de  Santa  Clara,  one  square  league,  to 
Robert  F.  Stockton. 

Pastoria  de  las  Iiorrcgas,  three  thousand  two  hun- 
dred and  seven  and  a  quarter  acres,  to  Martin  Murphy, 
patented  December  15,  1865. 

Pueblo  of  San  Jose,  to  mayor  and  common  coun- 
cil of  San  Jose,  confirmed  October  8,    1866. 

Pala,  one  square  league,  to  Ellen  White  lV  <?/., 
widow  and  heirs  of  Charles  White. 

Quito,  three  square  leagues,  to  Manuel  Alviso,  pat- 
ented May  14,  1866. 

Rincon  de  San  Franci.squito,  half  .square  league,  to 
Maria  Antonio  Mesa,  widow  of  Rafael  Soto. 

Rancho  del    Refugio,  or  Pastoria  del  las  Borregas, 


three  square  leagues,  to  Thomas  Pachcco  and  Augus- 
tin  Alviso. 

Rincon  de  los  Esteros,  to  Francisco  Berrcyessa  ft 
a/.,  heirs  of  G.  Berreyessa. 

Rincon  de  los  Esteros,  to  Rafael  Alviso  tV  a/. 

Rincon  de  los  Esteros,  two  tliousand  acres,  to  Ellen 
E.  White. 

Rincoiiada  de  los  Gatos,  one  and  a  half  square 
leagues,  to  Sebastian  Peralta  and  Jose  Hernandez, 
patented  March  19,  i860. 

Santa  Ana  y  Quien  Sabe,  seven  square  leagues,  to 
Juan  Miguel  Angas  and  Manuel  Larios,  patented  May 
I,  i860. 

San  Isidro,  one  square  league,  to  Ouentin  Ortega  et 
a/.,  patented  September  27,  1869. 

San  Francisco  de  las  Llagas,  six  square  leagues,  to 
Bernard  Daniel,  James  and  Martin  Murphy,  patented 
March  19,  1868. 

San  Antonio,  one  square  league,  to  Encarnacion 
Mesa  t'/  a/.,  patented  August  6,  1866. 

San  Vicente,  one  square  league,  Maria  L.  B.  Ber- 
reyessa. 

Santa  Teresa,  one  square  league,  to  Augustin  Ber- 
nal, patented  March  8,  1867. 

San  Isidro,  one  square  league,  to  Ouentin  Ortega, 
patented  October  22,  1868. 

San  Francisquito,  eight  suertcs  (two  hundred  varas 
each),  Maria  Concepcion  Valencia  de  Rodriguez  ei 
a/.,  patented  June  8,  1868. 

San  Antonio,  six  thousand  one  hundred  and  two 
acres,  to  William  A.  Dana  et  a/.,  patented,  no  date  re- 
corded. 

Ulistac,  half  square  league,  Jacob  D.  Hoppe,  pat- 
ented October  12,  1868. 

Las  Uvas,  three  square  leagues,  to  Bernard  Murphy, 
patented  February   18,  i860. 

Verba  Buena,  or  Socaye,  twenty-four  thousand  three 
hundred  and  forty-two  and  sixty-four  one-hundredths 
acres,  to  Antonio  Chavalla,  patented  January  3,  1859. 

Tract  of  land,  two  thousand  varas,  confirmed  to 
James  Enwright. 

Tract  of  lantl,  fifty  by  sixty  varas,  confirmed  to 
Francisco  Arce. 

Two  tracts  of  land,  three  hundred  and  fifty-eight 
and  fifty-one  one-hundredths  acres,  to  Mary  S.  Ben- 
nett. 

Los  Huecos,  nine  leagues,  Hornsty  and  Roland, 
granted  May  6,  1846,  by  Pio  Pico,  to  Louis  Arenas 
and  John   Roland. 


28 


■/-  ^-  <^r 


H^-- 


||AMES  H.  OGIER,  deceased.  The  subject  of 
^  this  sketch  was  born  in  Baltimore,  Maryland, 
'i^  March  28,  1830.  He  was  the  son  of  John  Ogier, 
who  was  born  on  the  Island  of  Guernsey,  in  the 
English  Channel,  but  was  reared,  from  nine  years  of 
age,  in  Maryland,  where  his  father,  a  representative  of 
one  of  the  prominent,  long-established  families  of  the 
Isle  of  Guernsey,  made  his  American  home. 

James  H.  Ogier,  whose  name  heads  this  sketch,  was 
reared  and  educated  in  Baltimore.  Before  the  attain- 
ment of  his  majority  he  was  associated  with  his  father 
in  the  management  of  an  extensive  vegetable  and 
small-fruit  interest,  having  the  city  of  Baltimore  for 
their  market.  When  twenty-one  years  of  age,  the 
subject  of  our  sketch  came,  via  the  Isthmus  route,  to 
this  State,  reaching  San  Francisco  on  the  second  of 
August,  185  I,  in  company  with  James  H.  Cornthwait, 
also  a  native  of  Baltimore.  The  first  year  both  worked 
for  wages,  but  the  following  season  (1852),  in  partner- 
ship with  John  Inglcson  and  John  Hakesly,  they 
bought  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  land  on  the 
Alviso  road,  three  miles  north  of  San  Jose,  and  at 
once  commenced  its  improvement.  Within  a  few 
years  Mr.  Ogier  bought  out  the  interests  of  Messrs. 
Inglcson  and  Hakesly,  and  finally,  in  1859,  that  of 
Mr.  Cornthwait  also,  thus  becoming  the  sole  owner. 
Gradually  his  real-estate  holding  increased,  until  the 
homestead  was  enlarged  to  two  hundred  and  eighty 
acres. 

On  the  twenty-fourth  of  May,  1866,  Mr.  Ogier  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Margaret  Branham,  the 
daughter  of  Isaac  Branham,  deceased.  Mr.  Branham 
was  one  of  California's  heroic  pioneer  men,  who  braved 
the  perils  of  plain,  mountain,  and  desert  in  coming  to 
this  valley  at  the  early  date  of  1846.  (Elsewhere  in 
this  volume  appears  a  detailed  sketch  of  his  life.)  Mrs. 
Ogier  was  born  in  Callaway  County,  Missouri,  July  21, 
1841,  and  her  fifth  birthday  was  spent  on  the  plains 
on  the  way  to  California.  She  was  educated  at  the 
Notre  Dame  Convent  at  San  Jose,  she  and  her  sister 


Elizabeth  (now  deceased)  entering  as  members  of  its 
first  classes.  Mrs.  Ogier  afterwards  became  a  student 
at  Bascr^m  Institute.  All  of  her  married  life  has  been 
spent  at  her  present  home.  She  is  .the  mother  of 
seven  living  children,  all  of  whom  are  yet  at  her  home. 
Their  names  are:  Elizabeth  Hargest,  John  Branham, 
Fannie  Grayson,  James  Lee,  Ada  Reid,  Walter  Tul- 
lidge  and  Margaret.  Her  sixth  child,  Florence  Eaton 
died  at  the  age  of  fourteen  months. 

Mr.  Ogier  was  an  active  man,  who  pushed  the  work 
of  improvement  rapidly  and  vigorously.  His  farm 
showed  evidences  of  his  energy  and  business  manage- 
ment. He  erected  his  fine  family  residence  in  1883, 
and  spared  no  expense  in  making  a  noble  struct- 
ure, which  contains  every  needed  comfort  and 
convenience.  He  came  to  Santa  Clara  a  poor  young 
man,  but,  by  industry  and  the  good  management 
which  results  from  experience  and  thorough  knowl- 
edge, he  made  his  business  a  profitable  one.  He 
acquired  an  ample  competence,  and  left  his  family  a 
good  home,  without  incumbrance,  although  he  was 
obliged  to  purchase  the  original  homestead  three 
times,  from  as  many  different  claimants  under  Mexi- 
can grants,  before  he  could  obtain  a  perfect  title. 

He  was  a  strong  man,  physically  and  mentally, 
and,  although  much  interested  in  general  public  affairs, 
he  always  refused  political  official  position.  At  one 
time  he  served  as  a  Director  of  the  Santa  Clara  Val- 
ley Agricultural  Society,  and  at  his  death  was  one  ol 
the  stockholders  and  a  Director  of  the  San  Jose  Sav- 
ings Bank.  While  yet  in  his  prime,  his  useful  and 
active  life  was  brought  to  a  close  on  the  seventh  of 
May,  at  Baltimore,  Maryland,  while  visiting  his  only 
brother,  John  Ogier.  His  remains  were  brought  back 
to  his  home  and  interred  in  Oak  Hill  Cemetery  at 
San  Jose.  In  his  death  his  family  sustained  the  loss 
of  a  kind  husband  and  father,  and  the  community 
that  of  a  prosperous  citizen,  who  was  willing  to  use 
his  prosperity  for  the  advancement  of  public  welfare. 
(219) 


220 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


aKON.  JOSEPH  R.  WELLER  is  one  of  the  pio- 
(^^  neers  of  Santa  Clara  County,  a  sketch  of  whom 
■  is  of  great  interest.  He  was  born  near  Washing- 
ton, in  Warren  County,  New  Jersey,  October  lo,  1819. 
His  parents,  Peter  R.  and  Elizabeth  (Smock)  Wcller, 
were  natives  of  that  State.  When  he  was  about  the 
age  of  five  years,  his  father  emigrated  to  Livingston 
County,  New  York,  where  he  was  engaged  in  farming, 
in  which  occupation  the  Judge  was  reared  until  the 
age  of  nineteen  years.  His  education  at  this  age  was 
limited  to  the  common  schools  of  the  district.  From 
this  time  he  commenced  to  educate  himself,  and  for 
two  and  a  half  years  was  a  student  at  the  Temple 
Hill  Academy,  in  Genesee,  New  York,  under  the  tui- 
tion of  Prof  Horatio  N.  Robinson,  the  celebrated 
author  of  mathematical  text-books.  He  afterwards 
taught  in  the  public  schools  and  attended  the  Ithaca 
Academy,  and  while  there  was  selected  by  the  Board 
of  Supervisors  of  Livingston  County  as  their  repre- 
sentative teacher  to  attend  the  State  Normal  School 
at  Albany.  He  graduated  at  this  school  in  1846. 
He  was  then  engaged  by  Colonel  W.  W.  Wadsworth 
as  an  associate  with  Henry  Willey,  to  take  charge  of 
an  agricultural  college  in  the  Genesee  Valley,  a  posi- 
tion which  he  occupied  until  the  failing  health  of 
Mr.  Wadsworth  compelled  a  discontinuance  of  the 
enterprise.  He  also  at  this  period  devoted  consider- 
able attention  to  the  study  of  law.  In  the  spring  of 
1849  he  was  employed  as  a  teacher  in  Prof  H.  M. 
Boehm's  private  seminary  on  Statcn  Island,  New 
York,  in  which  occupation  he  continued  until  May, 
1850,  when,  under  the  influence  of  the  gold  fever,  he 
left  New  York  on  the  brig /()/;;/  Frcncli  for  California, 
reaching  the  mouth  of  the  Chagres  River  after  a 
stormy  passage  of  thirty-six  days.  He  and  his  com- 
panions crossed  the  Isthmus,  and,  after  suffering  a 
delay  of  six  weeks  at  Panama,  embarked  on  the  ship 
Columbus  for  San  Francisco,  at  which  place  he  arrived 
August  7,  1850.  After  a  short  stay  in  that  city  he 
located  in  the  mines  at  Coloma,  El  Dorado  County, 
but  ill  health  compelled  an  abandonment  of  his  min- 
ing prospects,  and  in  the  spring  of  185  i  he  came  to 
Santa  Clara  County.  Upon  his  arrival  he  located  on 
the  Charles  Weber  Ranch,  and  there  remained  until 
his  health  was  restored.  After  engaging  in  various 
occupations,  among  which  was  a  trip  to  the  mines  in 
Mariposa  County  with  produce,  he  rented  a  farm  from 
James  Murphy,  and  for  the  next  two  years  was  en- 
gaged in  farming  operations.  In  May,  1853,  he  set- 
tled in  Milpitas  upon  a  fine  tract  of  land,  where  he 
has   since    resided.     This    farm    now   comprises    two 


hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  an  original  tract  of  four 
hundred  acres  in  extent.  With  the  exception  of  a 
small  orchard,  he  devotes  his  land  to  the  growing  of 
hay  and  grain,  and  stock-raising.  Of  the  latter  he 
has  a  dairy  of  twenty-five  cows.  He  is  also  quite 
extensively  engaged  in  raising  some  of  the  finer  breed 
of  horses,  particularly  thoroughbred  trotting-stock, 
at  the  head  of  which  is  his  well-known  stallion 
"  Orion,"  which  is  a  descendant  of  the  famous  horse, 
"  Elmo."  In  1872  he  purchased  six  hundred  acres  in 
the  hills  east  of  and  about  five  miles  from  Milpitas, 
which  he  still  owns.  In  1855  Mr.  Weller  organized 
the  Milpitas  School  District,  and  was  appointed  one 
of  its  Trustees,  a  position  which  he  held  continuously 
until  1879.  The  Judge  was  elected  in  1856  to  the 
office  of  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  held  that  office 
until  1878.  He  was  also  one  of  the  Associate  Judges 
of  Santa  Clara  County.  In  187S  he  was  elected  as  a 
member  of  the  State  Constitutional  Convention,  and 
assisted  in  framing  the  present  Constitution  of  the 
State. 

Judge  Weller  is  a  strong  and  consistent  Republican 
in  politics,  taking  a  great  interest  in  all  political  mat- 
ters affecting  the  prosperity  of  the  county.  He  is  a 
man  of  progressive  tendencies,  and  decided  character, 
an  earnest  advocate  of  all  public  and  private  measures 
that  tend  to  the  advancement  of  the  welfare  and 
morals  of  the  community.  He  is  well  known  through 
the  county,  and  is  one  of  its  most  esteemed  and  re- 
spected citizens.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church;  was  one  of  the  original  founders  and 
organizers  of  that  church  in  Milpitas,  and  has  ever 
since  remained  one  of  its  strongest  supporters. 

In  186c  Judge  Weller  married  Mrs.  Marian  W. 
(Hart).  Battey,  the  widow  of  Jonathan  Battey,  who 
was  a  native  of  New  York.  Her  parents,  Solomon 
and  Lucinda  (Palmer)  Hart,  were  residents  of  Madi- 
son County,  New  York.  From  this  marriage,  two 
children  have  been  born:  Marian  Elizabeth,  and  May 
Lucinda.  Of  Mrs.  Weller's  children  by  her  first  mar- 
riage there  is  living  Henry  G.  Batte}',  who  married 
Miss  Addie  Russell,  of  Santa  Cruz,  and  is  now  re- 
siding in  Douglas  County,  Washington  Territory. 


rfTijAMES  FINLEY.  There  is  nothing  so  decidedly 
@^  characteristic  of  the  American  people  as  their 
'^  ability  to  turn  their  hands  quickly  to  different 
occupations,  and  at  the  same  time  make  a  success  of 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


221 


them.  It  is  this  facility  which  makes  this  country 
the  home  of  invention,  and  places  our  people  at  the 
head  of  progress.  A  gentleman  who  exemplifies  this 
fact  very  fully  is  Mr.  James  Finley,  the  Superintendent 
of  the  County  Almshouse,  a  man  of  no  common 
order. 

He  was  born  in  the  county  of  Antrim,  Ireland,  in 
1845,  the  son  of  William  and  Eliza  (Hanna)  Finley, 
his  father  being  of  Scotch  descent  and  his  mother  of 
English.  His  father  was  a  farmer,  and  at  this  calling 
James  was  reared,  until  at  the  age  of  eighteen  he  left 
the  farm  and  went  to  flax-dressing,  becoming  foreman 
of  the  flax-mills.  In  1867  he  came  to  the  United 
States,  going  to  Paincsville,  Ohio,  where  he  worked 
for  Stores,  Harrison  &  Co.  in  their  nurseries.  In 
1868  the  greater  promise  of  California  tempted  him 
hither,  since  which  time  he  has  been  a  resident.  After 
visiting  the  southern  portion  of  the  State  he  came  to 
Santa  Clara  County,  and  took  a  position  as  engineer 
in  the  Saratoga  Paper  Mills,  learning  there  the  trade 
of  paper-making,  and  continuing  at  it  for  four  years. 
After  leaving  Saratoga  he  was  engaged  for  a  year  in 
the  redwoods  of  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains,  in  the 
tannery  business.  He  then  went  to  Sonoma  County, 
acting  as  engineer  there  for  two  years.  On  his  return 
to  San  Jose,  Mr.  Finley  entered  the  machine  shops  of 
Joseph  Enright  as  an  engineer,  also  acting  as  sales- 
man and  traveling  agent.  In  1880  he  entered  the 
fire  department  of  San  Jose  as  an  engineer,  and  was 
so  engaged  until  March,  1885,  when  he  received  the 
appointment  of  Superintendent  of  the  Santa  Clara 
Almshouse,  a  position  which  he  still  retains.  A  de- 
scription of  this  institution  appears  in  another  portion 
of  this  work,  hence  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  say 
further  than  that,  under  the  able  management  of 
Mr.  Finley,  it  is  considered  one  of  the  best-conducted 
institutions  of  the  kind  in  the  country.  His  esti- 
mable wife  acts  as  matron,  and  worthily  seconds  her 
husband  in  the  conduct  of  affiiirs.  It  should  be  staled, 
however,  before  dismissing  the  subject,  that  under 
Mr.  Finley's  management  the  institution  is  self-sus- 
taining. In  the  management  of  the  almshouse  Mr. 
Finley  displays  ability  of  no  mean  order,  as  it  is  a 
large  and  important  institution.  He  gives  universal 
satisfaction  in  his  position.  In  1884  he  visited  Los 
Angeles  County,  where  he  purchased  forty  acres  of 
fine  orchard  and  vineyard  land,  thinking  then  of 
making  his  residence  there.  He  is  still  the  owner  of 
this,  excepting  only  six  acres  deeded  to  his  father-in- 
law.  In  1 88 1  he  married  Miss  Sarah  E.  McGary.the 
daughter  of  Garret  W.  and   Catherine  (Sparks)   Mc- 


Gary.  Her  father  was  a  native  of  Kentucky,  who 
came  to  California  in  the  days  of  '49.  Her  mother 
was  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  who  came  to  Cali- 
fornia in  1851.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Finley  have- two  children, 
Bessie,  born  September  24,  1882,  and  William  J.,  born 
September  26,  1884. 

In  politics  Mr.  Finley  is  Republican,  of  consistent 
principles,  believing  in  the  protection  of  American 
interests  and  industries.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
American  Legion  of  Honor,  in  high  standing. 


■m 


i^- 


|MtICHAEL  BELLEW  resides  on  the  south  side 
(s^^  of  the  Mil[)itas  and  Alviso  road,  on  the  east 
s^  bank  of  the  Coyote  Creek,  in  the  Milpitas 
I  School  District,  about  three  miles  east  of  Al- 
viso, and  one  mile  west  of  Milpitas.  There  he  is  the 
owner  of  ninety-three  acres  of  land,  ten  acres  of  which 
are  devoted  to  fruit  culture,  comprising  apricots,  Ger- 
man prunes,  plums,  pears,  apples,  peaches,  and  cher- 
ries. He  has  also  three  acres  producing  strawberries 
of  the  Sharpless  variety,  while  in  his  extensive  vege- 
table cultivation  he  is  using  twenty  acres,  upon  which 
he  raises  onions,  carrot.s,  potatoes,  etc.  There  are  also 
4*  acres  devoted  to  asparagus.  The  remainder  of 
this  land,  with  the  exception  of  il  acres  of  blackber- 
ries, is  devoted  to  hay,  grain,  and  stock.  Of  the  lat- 
ter he  has  a  dairy  of  forty  milch  cows,  also  twenty 
head  of  horses  of  the  Normandy  gray  Messenger 
stock.  A  fine  artesian  well  furnishes  a  six-inch  flow 
of  water  over  an  eight-inch  pipe,  giving  all  the  water 
needed  for  irrigation  and  stock  purposes.  Mr.  Bellew 
is  also  the  owner  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight 
acres  of  land  on  the  north  side  of  the  Alviso  and 
Milpitas  road,  lying  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Coyote 
Creek.  Twenty  acres  of  this  land  are  devoted  to  aspar- 
agus, five  to  strawberries,  and  twenty  to  the  production 
of  various  market  vegetables.  The  remainder  of  this 
place  is  used  for  hay,  grain,  and  stock.  There  is  also 
a  good   artesian   well   on   this  place. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Meath 
County,  Ireland,  in  1830.  His  parents,  Michael  and 
Mary  (Clinton)  Bellew,  were  natives  of  that  county. 
In  early  life  his  schooling  facilities  were  limited.  His 
father  was  a  cattle  trader  and  drover,  in  which  calling 
he  was  reared  until  eighteen  years  of  age.  He  was 
also  during  this  time  made  familiar  with  farming  op- 
erations. The  knowledge  gained  by  Mr.  Bellew  in 
these  years  of  stock-raising  and  farming  have  been  of 


222 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


great  assistance  in  after  years.  In  1848  he  accompa- 
nied his  uncle  to  the  United  States,  landing  in  New 
York.  From  there  he  went  to  Massachusetts  and 
was  engaged  as  a  farm  laborer  in  various  places  in 
that  State  for  about  three  years,  after  which  he  re- 
moved to  Seneca  County,  New  York,  and  followed 
farming  occupations  until  1853,  when  he  came  to  Cal- 
ifornia, 77'rt  the  Nicaragua  route,  arriving  in  San  Fran- 
cisco in  January.  After  a  short  visit  to  Santa  Clara 
County  and  the  mines,  he  returned  to  that  city,  where, 
after  a  short  stay,  he  located  in  the  mines  in  Butte 
County,  and  for  several  months  was  engaged  in  an 
unsuccessful  pursuit  after  wealth.  Disgusted  with  his 
want  of  success,  he  entered  the  Government  employ 
at  Mare  Island,  where  he  worked  until  August,  1861, 
when  he  took  up  his  present  residence  upon  land  he 
had  purchased  the  previous  year.  Since  that  time 
Mr.  Bellewhas  followed  the  calling  of  farmer.  Energy 
and  industry,  combined  with  a  well-poised  intellect 
and  natural  business  tact,  have  insured  his  success, 
and  he  now  owns  some  of  the  finest  lands  in  his  sec- 
tion. He  is  a  well-known  and  respected  member  of 
the  community  in  which  he  lives.  Catholic  in  religion 
and  Democratic  in  politics,  in  both  relations  he  is 
strong  and  consistent.  In  October,  1858,  he  married 
Miss  Eliza  Kcnney,  the  daughter  of  Edward  and  Mary 
(Tracy)  Kenney,  who  were  natives  of  Roscommon 
County,  Ireland.  By  this  marriage  six  children  have 
been  born,  five  of  whom  are  living,  viz.:  William  F., 
John  H.,  Mary  E.,  Catherine  R.,  and  Joseph  M.  In 
the  management  of  his  extensive  farms,  Mr.  BcUew 
is  ably  assisted  by  his  sons,  above  mentioned. 


Robert  GLENDENNING,  deceased.  The 
<^^^  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  near  Edinburgh, 
"V'  Scotland,  in  1824.  His  parents  were  Joseph 
and  Margaret  (Messer)  Glendenning.  His  early  youth 
and  bojhood  were  spent  on  his  father's  farm.  His 
educational  advantages  were  those  afforded  by  the 
common  schools  of  his  home.  Having  improved 
well  such  advantages  as  the  schools  he  attended  af- 
forded, he  succeeded  in  fitting  himself  for  a  teacher, 
to  which  vocation  he  devoted  several  years  after  leav- 
ing the  farm. 

In  1847  he  went  to  Australia,  where  he  engaged  in 
stock-raising  for  about  three  years.  During  his  resi- 
dence in  Australia,  he  was  united  in  marriage,  on 
the  tliirty-first  of   December,  1S49,  to   Miss  Margaret 


Howie,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Rev.  James  Howie  and 
Mary  (Carr)  Howie.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Howie  were  na- 
tives of  Scotland,  who  emigrated  to  Australia  in  1847. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Glendenning,  the  parents  of  our  subject, 
were  passengers  on  the  same  vessel,  and  from  the  ac- 
quaintance and  friendship  formed  at  that  time  sprung 
the  marriage  of  Robert  Glendenning  and  Margaret 
Howie. 

On  the  day  following  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Glendenning  started  for  California.  Upon  their  ar- 
rival in  San  Francisco  Mr.  Glendenning  engaged  in 
teaming,  but  soon  afterward  came  to  Santa  Clara 
County,  in  the  autumn  of  1850.  He  bought  out  the 
squatter's  right  of  an  English  occupant  of  what  was 
supposed  to  be  Government  land,  located  about  three 
miles  west  of  Santa  Clara,  on  what  is  now  the  Home- 
stead road.  At  the  time  that  Mr.  Glendenning  pur- 
chased the  farm  upon  which  Mrs.  Glendenning  and 
the  younger  members  of  the  family  reside,  it  was 
mostly  covered  with  brush  and  large  trees;  and  while 
soil  was  productive,  3et  he  and  all  others  of  the  early 
pioneers  of  the  Golden  West,  labored  hard  to  clear 
and  cultivate  the  wild  land,  and  endured  many  hard- 
ships in  years  of  drought  (such  as  1864),  so  well  remem- 
bered by  the  pioneers.  After  these  lands  had  been 
improved  and  buildings  erected  upon  them,  the 
owners  of  the  Alviso  grant  made  claim  to  the  property, 
and  Mr.  Glendenning  was  compelled  to  purchase  their 
right,  paying  $30  per  acre  for  two  hundred  acres, 
after  having  paid  other  parties  for  the  land! 

Many  of  the  pioneers  were  so  discouraged  at  having 
to  buy  the  land,  having  paid  other  parties  for  it,  that 
they  abandoned  their  farms  after  having  improved 
them  more  or  less,  and  sought  homes  elsewhere.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Glendenning,  though  much  discouraged, 
went  earnestly  to  work  to  again  purchase  their  home. 

In  his  death,  which  occurred  April  23,  1868,  his 
wife  and  children  lost  a  faithful  friend  and  protector, 
and  the  community  an  esteemed  citizen.  After  his 
death  Mrs.  Glendenning,  with  her  young  children, 
the  oldest  being  but  sixteen,  continued  to  endeavor  to 
pay  for  the  home,  and  with  an  earnestness  of  purpose 
and  a  never-tiring  zeal  succeeded,  after  years  of  toil,  in 
paying  for  the  old  home.  In  accordance  with  Mr. 
Glcndenning's  wishes,  when  the  children  reached  the 
age  of  majority  one-half  of  the  estate  was  given  to 
Mrs.  Glendenning,  containing  the  house  and  other 
buildings,  and  the  remaining  half  was  divided  equally 
among  tlie  six  children.  Sixty  acres  of  the  property 
is  in  vines  and  orchard,  the  remainder  being  utilized 
for  tliu  i)rotluction  of  hay  and  grain. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


225 


for  some  time  in  the  Danish  navy.  After  leaving  the 
Danish  navy  he  went  to  Germany;  fi'om  there  he 
sailed  around  Cape  Horn  to  Valparaiso,  and  remained 
on  the  coast  for  some  time;  and  from  there  he  came 
to  San  Francisco  in  1863.  After  spending  some  time 
at  that  place  he  went  to  the  mining  districts  at  Em- 
pire City,  Nevada,  where  he  worked  in  a  mill  f(M- 
about  six  months,  when  he  returned  to  San  Francisco 
and  bought  a  restaurant,  which  he  conducted  for 
about  a  year,  when  he  again  went  to  the  mining  dis- 
tricts at  Virginia  City,  where  he  worked  as  chief  cook 
in  hotels.  After  remaining  there  some  time  he  re- 
turned to  his  old  calling,  the  coasting  trade,  where  he 
served  as  cook  and  steward  for  a  year.  In  1870  he 
made  a  visit  of  a  few  months  to  his  old  home  in  Den- 
mark, returning  to  San  Francisco  and  again  engaging 
in  the  restaurant  business.  Among  his  ventures  in 
this  line  was  the  establishment  of  the  Arcade  Restau- 
rant, on  Sixth  Street,  which  he  conducted  till  1874, 
when  he  made  a  second  visit  to  Denmark.  Upon  his 
return  to  San  Francisco  he  opened  the  Empire  Res- 
taurant, on  Second  Street,  which  he  kept  till  1S86, 
when  he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County  and  took  up 
his  residence  upon  the  land  heretofore  described. 
Bringing  to  his  new  pursuits  the  habits  of  industry 
and  economy,  and  the  business  knowledge  gained  by 
long  experience  in  many  places  and  occupations,  he 
is  assured  of  success  in  his  present  enterprise. 

In  1874,  while  Mr.  Scott  visited  his  home,  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Bodil  Josephine  Marie  Rasmusfen,  daugh- 
ter of  Hans  Jacob  and  Maren  (Nielsen)  Rasmusfen> 
natives  of  Lollard,  Denmark.  Four  children  were 
born  to  them,  of  whom  but  one  is  living,  William 
Valdemer,  aged  (188S)  seven  years. 


->->->-yj 


Si^JZ 


'-44<- 


|jj|EVI  I.  GOODRICH  was  born  in  New  York 
S^s^  city  on  the  first  day  of  January,  1S22,  of  the 
'n  old  Puritan  stock,  and  able  to  trace  his  geneal- 
ogy not  only  beyond  Cromwell's  time,  but  even  to 
those  who  had  sprung  from  the  union  of  the  brave 
and  gallant  Charlemagne  and  the  fair  Hildegarde. 
His  parents  died  when  he  was  very  )'Oung,  and  his 
early  life  was  spent  witii  relatives  in  Stockbridgc, 
Massachusctt'^.  Here  he  obtained  a  ■. ommon-schoul 
education,  and  learned  the  carpenter's  trade  with  his 
cousin  Horace,  with  whom  he  combined  afterward 
as  the  firm  of  Horace  &  Levi  Goodrich,  builders- 
The  first  business  venture  of  his  own  was  made  be- 
29 


fore  he  was  nineteen  years  old,  viz.,  the  designing  of 
the  residence  of  E.  W.  B.  Canning,  in  or  near  Stock- 
bridge,  about  which  time  there  occurred  an  incident 
that  showed  him  his  latent  power,  and  directed  his 
life's  career.  Miss  Catherine  M.  Sedgwick,  the  tal- 
ented author,  while  visiting  Europe  was  charmed 
with  certain  styles  of  house  architecture,  which  she 
saw  during  her  travels.  The  bay-window,  especially, 
captivated  her  fancy,  and  on  her  return  she  deter- 
mined to  have  one  in  her  home  in  Stockbridge.  At 
that  time  there  was  not  a  bay-window,  nor  an  archi- 
tectural drawing  of  one,  in  America.  Miss  Sedg- 
wick described  the  window  as  well  as  she  could  to 
the  superintendent  of  the  desired  improvement,  who 
for  days  studied  and  worried  over  the  design  he  was 
trying  to  make,  and  finally  got  sick  without  having 
accomplished  anything.  Young  Levi  Goodrich,  who 
was  employed  upon  the  building,  hearing  the  matter 
discussed  among  the  older  workmen,  and  being  a 
keen,  close  observer,  began  to  develop  ideas  of  his 
own  on  the  subject.  Thus,  when  the  master  work- 
man was  unable  to  go  on,  he  remarked  to  his  Cousin 
Horace, — 

"  I  think  if  Mr. had  done  this,"  explaining  his 

plan  as  he  spoke,  "the  window  could  be  built." 

"Levi,"  replied  his  cousin,  surprised  at  the  exhibi- 
tion of  ability  in  this  embryo  architect,  "could  you 
do  it?     If  so,  it  would  be  a  tall  feather  in  your  cap." 

"  I  think  I  can,"  was  the  modest  but  self-reliant 
answer,  and  to  work  he  went  with  the  enthusiasm 
and  perseverance  of  genius. 

Aided  by  the  descriptions  of  Miss  Sedgwick,  he 
drew  the  plans  (which  were  in  his  possession  at  the 
time  of  his  death)  and  constructed  the  window  to  her 
entire  satisfaction. 

"Nature  designed  you  for  an  architect,"  said  the 
wise  woman  ;  "do  not  disappoint  her;  make  its  study 
your  life  work,"  and  forthwith  she  gave  him  a  letter 
of  introduction  to  the  then  well-known  architect  of 
New  York,  Mr.  R.  G.  Hatfield.  With  this  gentle- 
man Mr.  Goodrich  studied,  and  laid  the  foundation 
for  his  professional  success  in  New  York  city,  as 
elsewhere. 

In  1849,  inoculated  with  the  "gold  fever,"  then 
raging  in  the  Eastern  and  Middle  Atlantic  States,  he 
closed  up  his  business  and  sailed  from  New  York  in 
the  ship  Loo  Clioo,  which  was  bound  for  California 
via  Cape  Horn.  He  had  with  him  a  large  quantity 
of  finished  building  material,  which  he  sold  at  a  good 
profit,  upon  arriving  at  San  Francisco,  September  16 
of  the  same  year,  thereby  foreshadowing  the  far-seeing 


•226 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


executive  and  financial  ability  for  which  he  was  after- 
ward so  eminently  distinguished.  Before  he  left 
the  vessel  he  began  the  practice  of  his  profession,  be- 
ing called  upon  to  draw  plans  and  specifications  for 
a  three-story  wooden  building,  which  was  speedily 
erected  upon  the  corner  of  Washington  and  Kearney 
Streets,  the  present  site  of  the  old  Hall  of  Records. 
Tins  was  the  first  work  wrought  in  San  Francisco  by 
a  professional  architect.  After  the  lapse  of  a  couple 
of  months  he  came  to  San  Jose  by  way  of  Alviso. 
This  voyage  across  the  bay,  which  required  three 
days,  was  taken  in  a  small  sailing  craft.  He  reached 
San  Jose,  his  future  home,  afoot,  and  his  first  work 'in 
his  adopted  city  was  the  building,  the  following  spring, 
of  an  adobe  house  at  the  junction  of  Santa  Clara  and 
Lightstone  Streets,  making  the  adobes  from  clay 
taken  from  the  site  of  the  present  Auzerais  House. 
When  the  ancient  juzgado  (or  court-house)  was  torn 
down,  he  constructed  from  the  same  material  (adobe, 
of  which  it  was  composed)  a  large  building  at  the 
northeast  corner  of  Market  and  Santa  Clara  Streets, 
for  John  Hoppe.  During  the  succeeding  thirty-five 
years,  the  following  prominent  and  elegant  buildings 
in  the  Garden  City  have  sprung  from  his  fertile  brain 
and  trained  hand,  viz.:  The  First  Presbyterian  Church, 
a  large  portion  of  the  Convent  of  Notre  Dame,  Knox 
Block,  a  large  number  of  the  public-school  buildings, 
the  court-hou.se  and  county  jail,  the  Bank  of  San 
Jose,  Martin  Block,  the  present  Normal  School,  the 
University  of  the  Pacific,  and  many  others  of  equal 
importance,  besides  numerous  elegant  private  resi- 
dences both  in  San  Jose  and  the  surrounding  country. 
In  fact,  the  reputation  of  Mr.  Levi  Goodrich  as  an 
architect  of  pre-eminent  ability  extended  over  this 
vast  State,  as  is  attested  by  the  court-houses  and  jails 
of  Monterey  and  San  Diego  Counties.  In  the  now 
flourishing  capital  of  the  latter,  Horton's  Bank  and 
the  Masonic  Temple  were  also  of  his  designing.  As 
has  been  aptly  and  eloquently  said,  "The  study  of 
architecture  with  Mr.  Goodrich  was  no  bread-and- 
butter  trade;  it  was  a  charm  and  fascination. 

"  No  poet  or  painter  ever  basked  in  the  ideals  of 
beauty,  no  singer  was  ever  entranced  by  the  har- 
monies of  sound,  more  than  he  with  the  laws  of  sym- 
metry and  proportion.  To  him  the  Corinthian  cap- 
ital, or  Doric  column,  or  Lombardian  portico  was  a 
poem  and  song.  Twice  he  visited  the  Old  World  to 
drink  in  the  genius  that  poised  the  dome  of  St.  Peter, 
grained  the  arches  of  Cologne,  or  lifted  up  the  spires 
of  St.  Paul." 

In  1 85 2  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Board  of 


Supervisors,  but  would  consent  to  serve  only  one 
term. 

Two  years  later  he  married  Miss  Julia  Peck,  of 
San  Jose,  by  whom  he  had  one  son,  Mr.  E.  B.  Good- 
rich. This  young  man,  after  a  six  years'  training  in 
the  Edward's  Place  school,  Stockbridge,  Massachu- 
setts, returned  to  California,  entered  his  father's  of- 
fice and  studied  his  profession,  working  with  his 
father,  and  finally  succeeding  him. 

During  the  interval  between  Mr.  Levi  Goodrich's 
two  visits  to  Europe,  as  previously  mentioned,  he 
discovered,  in  1870,  the  valuable  quality  of  the  stone 
in  the  now  famous  Goodrich  quarries,  situated  south 
of  San  Jose,  on  the  Almaden  road,  which  he  pur- 
chased the  same  year.  These  quarries  are  composed 
of  a  peculiar  sandstone,  which  has  become  famous 
among  architects  for  the  evenness  of  its  texture  and 
the  rich  beauty  of  its  color.  These  two  characteris- 
tics render  it  particularly  valuable  for  ornamentation, 
while  its  durability  and  wonderful  fire-proof  qualities 
make  it  most  desirable  for  general  building  purposes. 
Critical  analysis  and  comparison  have  been  made  by 
leading  experts  of  Europe,  who  pronounce  it  the 
most  valuable  deposit  of  building  stone  in  the  world. 
The  supply  is  inexhaustible.  Among  the  buildings  in 
which  this  stone  is  used  in  Santa  Clara  County,  are 
the  State  Normal  School,  the  Lick  Observatory,  the 
University  of  the  Pacific,  the  new  City  Hall  of  San 
Jose,  the  Exhibition  Hall  of  the  College  of  Notre 
Dame,  and  the  Leland  Stanford  University.  The 
quarries  are  represented  in  San  Francisco  in  the  Pio- 
neer Building,  the  Union  Club,  the  History  Building, 
Lachmann  Block,  the  Starr  King  Memorial,  the  Chil- 
dren's Playhouse  at  Golden  Gate  Park,  and  many 
other  prominent  piles,  including  the  Masonic  Temple 
at  Oakland. 

The  second  marriage  of  Mr.  Goodrich,  wliich  was  sol- 
emnized on  the  fifteenth  of  January,  1879,  was  when 
he  wedded  Mrs.  Sarah  F.  Knox,  a  lady  of  intelligence 
and  refinement,  and  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
women  in  the  State.  Remarkably  social  in  disposi- 
tion, loving  in  heart,  liberal  in  sentiment,  and  coura- 
geous in  living  up  to  her  highest  convictions  of  right 
and  duty,  this  union  proved  a  rarely  happy  one;  and 
although,  when  contracted,  each  had  passed  what  is 
considered  the  romantic  period  of  life,  their  pure  sen- 
timent and  loyal  affection  for  each  other  proved  a 
marriage  in  its  most  sacred  sense.  For  years  Mrs. 
Goodrich  has  devoted  her  time,  her  money,  and  her 
social  influence  to  the  cause  of  equal  rights  for 
women,  claiming  that  for -them  the  right  to  use  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


227 


ballot  was  the  foundation  of  the  justice,  freedom, 
and  dignity  of  citizenship  so  long  denied  them.  In 
this  noble  and  heroic  effort  her  husband  ever  stood 
by  her,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  with  his  generous  en- 
couragement and  ardent  sympathy.  Nothing  less 
could  have  been  expected  of  this  man,  with  his  rug- 
ged, sincere  nature,  great  intelligence,  and  poetic  sen- 
sibilities. Added  to  his  intellectual  vigor,  and  to  his 
integrity  of  purpose  and  action,  was  a  heart  as  tender 
as  that  of  a  loving  child,  and  a  sunny  temper  whose 
genial  rays  were  felt  alike  by  friend,  neighbor,  and 
employe.  His  appreciation  of  the  beautiful  in  fine 
art  was  akin  to  his  love  of  music;  he  practically  dem- 
onstrated the  latter  by  his  skill  as  a  flutist. 

In  1886,  full  of  the  honors  and  comforts  which  had 
followed  in  the  wake  of  his  indefatigable  zeal  and 
labor,  he  retired  from  his  profession,  dividing  his  time 
between  the  development  of  his  quarries  and  the 
beautiful  home  now  so  inexpressibly  dear  to  him. 

April  2,  1SS7,  while  on  a  visit  to  San  Diego  with 
his  wife,  after  a  day  of  enjoyable  sight-seeing,  in 
which  he,  doubtless,  overtaxed  his  vital  forces,  he  was 
stricken  with  apoplex)'  while  sitting  beside  his  wife  at 
the  dining-table  of  the  Horton  House.  He  was  in- 
stantly removed  to  a  bed  and  physicians  summoned, 
but  "the  silver  cord  was  loosened,"  and  in  a  few  min- 
utes, although  surrounded  by  every  loving  care  and 
attention,  his  spirit  departed.  He  was  beloved,  hon- 
ored, and  mourned  by  all  within  his  vast  circle  of 
friends.  Verily  the  work  of  his  hands  praises  him, 
and  the  elegance  of  the  city  of  his  adoption  is  his 
proudest  monument! 


"T^nCHOLAS  G.  LUKE  resides  on  the  San  Fran- 
c".^  cisco  road,  in  the  Millikin  School  District,  about 
T  two  and  a  half  miles  west  of  Santa  Clara.  His 
residence,  a  neat  cottage,  is  upon  a  fine  orchard  prop- 
erty of  twelve  acres  in  extent,  fully  improved  and 
under  a  high  state  of  cultivation.  The  trees  in  this 
orchard  are  about  equally  divided  among  apricots, 
Bartlett  pears,  and  French  prunes.  There  is  a  row  of 
olive  trees  completely  surrounding  the  tract.  Be- 
tween the  pear  and  jirune  trees  he  has  planted  grape- 
vines of  the  Muscat  of  Alexandria  and  Flaming  To- 
kay varieties.  Mr.  Luke  is  an  enthusiast  upon  the 
dturc  of  Santa  Clara  County,  and  takes  a  just 


fruit 

pride  in  the  success  he  has  achieved  in  producing  this 

beautiful  orchard.      lie  is  also  an  equal  owner  with 


Thomas  H.  Heist,  of  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  of  thirty 
acres  of  land  located  on  the  southwest  corner  of  the 
Saratoga  and  Alviso  road,  and  Reed  Lane,  in  the 
Millikin  School  District,  about  one  mile  north  of  his 
residence.  This  land  will  be  fully  improved  by  these 
gentlemen  at  an  early  date,  by  being  planted  with  a 
varied  assortment  of  the  best  fruit-trees  suited  to  its 
location,  climate,  etc. 


M|OHN  Q.  A.  BALLOU.  Mention  must  be  made 
©^of  one  of  the  oldest  orchard  properties  of  Santa 
"'^Clara  County,  upon  which  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  resides.  It  is  located  on  the  San  Jose  and 
Milpitas  road,  in  the  Orchard  School  District,  about 
two  and  a  half  miles  north  of  the  business  center  of 
San  Jose,  and  is  of  forty  acres  in  extent.  Upon  this 
place  are  eighteen  acres  in  orchard,  producing  peaches 
principally,  but  also  pears  and  other  varieties  of  fruit. 
The  balance  of  this  well-known  tract  is  devoted  to 
hay.  Of  late  years  Mr.  Ballou  has  not  devoted  the 
attention  to  this  tract  as  in  former  years,  on  account 
of  his  having  extensive  farming  and  fruit  lands  in 
other  sections  of  the  county,  one  of  which  is  one 
hundred  and  forty-two  acres,  on  the  San  Jose  and 
Alviso  road,  one  and  a  half  miles  north  of  San  Jose. 
He  devotes  this  land  entirely  to  hay,  grain,  and  stock. 
Among  the  latter  may  be  mentioned  some  excellent 
draft  horses  of  the  Norman  breed.  Five  artesian 
wells  furnish  the  required  water,  one  of  which  is 
worthy  of  special  mention,  being  five  hundred  and 
thirty  feet  in  depth,  having  a  seven-inch  pipe.  This 
well  flows  one  thousand  gallons  per  minute,  nearly  one 
and  a  half  millions  of  gallons  in  twenty-four  hours. 
The  force  of  the  water  is  sufficient  to  raise  itself  thirtj^- 
five  feet  above  the  surface.  Among  other  properties 
owned  by  Mr.  Ballou  are  ten  and  a  half  acres  in  San 
Jose,  bounded  by  Empire  and  Jackson  and  Twelfth 
and  Thirteenth  Streets.  This  property  is  in  orchard, 
producing  peaches  and  apricots.  There  is  also  an 
artesian  well  at  this  point,  which  furnishes  a  good 
supply  of  water.  He  is  also  the  owner  of  eleven 
acres,  lying  on  the  north  side  of  Julian  Street  between 
Terraine  Street  and  the  Guadaloupe.  This  is  devoted 
to  the  production  of  hay.  Upon  his  home  farm  Mr. 
Ballou  has  erected  a  fine  two-story  residence,  in  which 
he  has  all  the  comforts  that  constitute  a  well-ordered 
home. 


228 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


He  was  born  in  Hartland,  Windsor  County,  Ver- 
mont, March  26,  1827.  His  parents  were  Otis  and 
Lydia(Chamberlain)  Ballou.  His  father  was  a  native 
of  Rhode  Island;  his  mother  was  born  •  in  New 
Hampshire,  and  was  the  descendant  of  one  of  the 
Revohitionary  patriots.  In  1834  his  father  moved 
his  family  to  Cheshire  County,  New  Hampshire, 
where  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared.  His 
early  life  was  spent  in  schooling,  but  at  the  age  of 
fourteen  years  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  well- 
known  boot  and  shoe  manufacturers,  G.  N.  Far- 
well  &  Co.,  of  Claremont,  New  Hampshire.  His 
brother-in-law,  Lewis  Perry,  was  a  member  of  the 
firm.  Mr.  Ballou  was  of  an  industrious,  energetic, 
and  ambitious  disposition,  and  at  the  age  of  tw^ty- 
two  had  risen  to  the  position  of  foreman  of  the  man- 
ufacturing department.  He  continued  in  this  employ 
until  March,  1849,  when  he  left  Boston  on  the  ship 
Swi-dcn,  which  was  bound  around  Cape  Horn  for 
California.  This  vessel  carried  about  one  hundred 
pas.sengers,  and  was  commanded  by  Capt.  J.  G. 
Cotting.  Among  the  passengers,  mention  may  be 
made  of  the  following  well-known  citizens  of  Califor- 
nia: L.  P.  Treadwell,  a  prominent  merchant  of  San 
Francisco,  and  Colonel  Warren,  the  well-known  edi- 
tor of  the  California  Farmer.  From  San  Francisco 
Mr.  Ballou  went  to  several  mining  points  in  the  State, 
but  finally  located  at  DownieviUe,  Yuba  County, 
where  he  remained  until  1852,  at  which  time  he  re- 
turned East.but  came  back  to  California  the  same  year, 
accompanied  by  his  brothers,  Warren  S.  and  Charles 
O.,  and  his  brother-in-law,  Corydon  Gates.  They 
took  up  their  residence  at  DownieviUe.  There  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  remained  until  March,  1853, 
when  he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County.  After  a  short 
stop  here  he  went  to  Monterey  County  and  located 
on  a  tract  of  land,  intending  to  make  his  home 
there,  but  this  land  proving  to  belong  to  one  of  the 
many  Spanish  grants  which  plastered  this  State,  he 
abandoned  the  project  and  returned  to  Santa  Clara 
County  in  1854,  where  he  followed  various  occupa- 
tions until  the  fall  of  1S55.  Then  he  purchased  an 
interest  in  the  nursery  of  E.  W.  Case,  and  remained 
in  that  business  connection  until  1857,  at  which  time 
he  moved  to  his  present  residence,  and  established 
the  nursery  business  there,  which  he  conducted  until 
1863. 

Mr.  Ballou  has  for  years  been  considered  one  of 
the  best  posted  men  on  fruit  cultivation  in  Santa 
Clara  County,  and  he  is  well  deserving  of  this  honor, 
having  devoted  years  of  time  and  study  in  obtaining 


the  best  results  with  the  varied  products  which  this 
soil  would  bring  forth. 

In  1864,  while  on  a  visit  to  his  New  England  home, 
he  married  Miss  Catherine  J.  Kimball,  daughter  of 
Timothy  D.  and  Jane  Alice  (Mann)  Kimball,  resi- 
dents of  Claremont,  New  Hampshire.  By  this  mar- 
riage two  children  have  been  born,  viz.:  Allis  K.  and 
George  H. 

Mr.  Ballou  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity 
and  affiliated  with  Lodge  No.  10  of  San  Jose.  He 
takes  a  great  interest  in  the  political  affairs  of  the 
day,  and  is  a  strong  and  ardent  Republican.  In  1866 
Mr.  Ballou  was  elected  as  a  Supervisor  of  his  district. 
He  has  always  been  a  public-spirited  and  progressive 
man,  and  has  entered  into  various  industries  which 
have  helped  to  build  up  this  county,  among  which 
may  be  mentioned  the  San  Jose  Fruit  Packing  Com- 
pany, of  which  he  was  one  of  the  original  stock- 
holders, and  from  1879  exercised  a  controlling  interest 
in  the  affairs  of  the  company,  until  1882,  when  he  sold 
out  to  San  Francisco  parties.  The  many  enterprises 
of  this  character  that  have  taken  Mr.  Ballou's  time 
have  caused  him  to  somewhat  neglect  fruit-culture, 
and  it  is  doubtful  whether  he  will  ever  again  resume 
his  former  life  as  a  Icadinc:  orchardist. 


■4^^- 


M|ZRO  RANDALL  was  born  in  Topham,  Orange 
<^^  County,  Vermont,  July  15,  1825.  His  father 
T  died  in  his  infancy,  and  the  continued  sickness 
of  his  mother  left  him  to  the  mercies  of  the  world, 
and  he  was  bound  out  to  Hale  Grow,  a  farmer  resid- 
ing near  the  place  of  his  birth.  His  term  of  servi- 
tude was  to  extend  until  he  reached  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years,  but  the  ill  treatment  he  received  caused 
him  to  leave  Mr.  Grow  long  before  that  age.  When 
sixteen  years  old  he  ran  away  from  his  guardian,  but 
was  induced  upon  the  promise  of  better  treatment  to 
return.  He  then  staid  until  he  was  eighteen,  when 
he  left,  and  until  1853  was  working  at  various  pur- 
suits in  Vermont.  In  this  latter  year  he  came  by  the 
Isthmus  route  to  California.  Immediately  upon  his 
arrival  in  San  Francisco  he  left  for  El  Dorado  Count)', 
where  he  was  engaged  in  mining  until  1861.  In  this 
year  he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  and  engaged  in 
the  lumber  business  here  and  in  Santa  Cruz  County 
until  1865,  when  he  sold  out  his  interests,  and  for  the 
next  four  years  was  engaged  as  a  foreman  in  con- 
structing the   San  Jose  Water  Company's  works.     In 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


1869  he  purchased  an  orchard  in  the  Willows,  upon 
which  he  lived  until  1873,  when  he  sold  out  and  re- 
turned to  the  redwoods,  and  was  engaged  for  a  year 
in  the  lumber  business.  In  1874  he  rented  one  hun- 
dred and  nine  acres  of  land  east  of  Berryessa,  after 
which  he  purchased  the  same  place  and  conducted 
farming  operations  until  1887.  In  this  year  he  pur- 
chased twenty  acres  of  fine  orchard  property  at  Berry- 
essa, upon  whicn  he  is  now  residing.  This  place  is 
fully  improved  and  very  productive.  Ten  acres  are 
devoted  to  apricots,  while  two  and  one-half  acres  are 
in  French  prunes.  There  is  also  about  one  acre  each 
of  apples,  peaches,  and  cherries,  and  he  has  a  few 
trees  of  plums,  pears,  almcmds,  etc.  A  productive 
vineyard  of  five  acres  is  producing  grapes  of  the  Zin- 
fandel  variety. 

In  1868  Mr.  Randall  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Annie  McClain,  a  native  of  Canada,  but  a  resident  of 
Santa  Clara  County.  From  this  marriage  have  been 
born  six  children:  Mary  Elizabeth  Frances,  Arriette 
Anna,  Stasia  Loretta,  Lillie  Cecelia,  Teresa  Isabel, 
and  Ida  Lucy.  Mr.  Randall  was  in  his  early  youth 
deprived  of  nearly  all  the  advantages  of  a  schooling, 
but  he  is  a  man  of  good  sound  sense,  and  energetic 
and  industrious  habits,  which  have  enabled  him  to 
achieve  success  and  gain  a  fair  share  of  this  world's 
goods. 


>~-m 


InlAVID  S.  BOYCE  was  born  in  Huntingdon 
S^  County,  Province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  August 
^  18,  1838.  His  father,  Edward  Boyce,  was  a  na- 
tive of  Wexford  County,  Ireland,  while  his  mother  was 
of  German  descent.  His  early  life  was  spent  on  his 
father's  farm,  receiving  at  the  same  time  a  fair  educa- 
tion. When  seventeen  years  of  age  he  went  to  Toronto 
and  there  engaged  in  the  carriage  and  wa;;on-making 
trade  until  185 8.  He  then  came,  via  the  Isthmus 
route,  to  California,  arriving  at  San  Francisco  in  Sep- 
tember of  that  year.  Soon  after  his  arrival  he  pro- 
ceeded to  the  mines  in  Tuolumne  and  Calaveras 
Counties.  He  was  engaged  in  mining  until  1859,  in 
which  year  he  located  at  Redwood  City,  San  Mateo 
County,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade  until  1863;  in 
that  year  he  located  at  Milpitas.  He  worked  at  his 
trade  at  that  and  other  places  until  1867,  and  in  that 
year  established  a  shop  in  Milpitas.  In  1868  he  took, 
as  a  partner  in  his  business,  Edward  Topham  (whose 


sketch  appears  in  this  volume),  since  v.'hich  the  firm 
has  been  known  as  Boyce  &  Topham. 

In  1870  Mr.  Boyce  was  married  to  Miss  Annie 
Cottle,  daughter  of  Orville  B.  and  Sarah  (Marshall) 
Cottle,  residents  of  Santa  Clara  County.'  Four  chil- 
dren have  blessed  this  union,  viz.:  Sarah  Elma,  Helen 
Sylvia,  Clara  Edna,  and  Edward  Orville.  Mr.  Boyce 
is  a  member  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Work- 
men; is  a  stanch  Republican  in  politics,  taking  an 
intelligent  interest  in  the  political  questions  of  the 
day.     In  business  he  has  been  successful. 

The  firm  of  Boyce  &  Topham  is  well-known 
through  his  section  of  the  county.  They  are  black- 
smiths and  carriage-makers,  and  they  have  in  their 
well-regulated  works  all  the  appliances  for  the  manu- 
fa^ffing,  as  well  as  the  repair,  of  wagons,  farm  and 
agricultural  implements.  They  are  the  manufact- 
urers of  the  well-known  Milpitas  fruit-wagon;  also 
the  inventors  and  manufacturers  of  a  weed-cutter  and 
cultivator  combined,  which  bears  their  name.  The 
American  gang-plow  is  another  important  article 
which  their  establishment  turns  out.  A  steam  en- 
gine furnishes  the  motive  power  in  running  the  saws, 
lathes,  etc.,  used  in  their  business.  Their  works  be- 
ing located  in  an  agricultural  section,  they  are  well 
patronized,  as  they  deserve  to  be. 

J|hARLES  C.  smith,  of  the  firm  of  Phelps  & 
^^  Smith,  real -estate  agents,  No.  13  South  First 
''■  Street,  San  Jose,  has  been  a  resident  of  Cali- 
fornia since  1859,  and  of  Santa  Clara  County  since 
i860.  He  was  born  in  Hesse  Darmstadt,  Germany, 
in  1838,  on  his  father's  farm,  where  he  worked  and 
attended  school  up  to  the  age  of  seventeen  years. 
He  then  decided  to  come  to  America,  arriving  in  New 
York  in  1S56,  and  remaining  there  until  1859,  being 
engaged  mostly  in  blacksmithing.  In  1859  he  came 
to  California,  becoming  interested  in  farming,  stock- 
raising,  and  vine  culture,  and  at  the  same  time  con- 
ducting a  blacksmith  and  wagon-repairing  establish- 
ment at  Evergreen,  in  Santa  Clara  County.  There 
he  remained  twenty-seven  years,  during  which  time 
he  accumulated  a  competency.  In  1887  he  removed 
to  San  Jose,  where  he  entered  into  partnership  with 
Henry  Phelps  in  the  real-estate  business,  his  long 
and  successful  career  of  farming  and  vine  culture  hav- 
ing given  him  a  full  knowledge  of  real-estate  values 
in   Santa  Clara  County.     Mr.  Smith   has  a  ranch  of 


230 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD: 


one  hundred  and  forty-two  acres,  of  which  thirty 
acres  are  in  wine  grapes,  the  remaining  portion,  ex- 
cept a  small  orchard,  being  devoted  to  hay  and  grain- 
Besides  his  ranch,  Mr.  Smith  has  property  inter- 
ests in  San  Jose,  and  is  a  large  stockholder  and  presi- 
dent of  the  Union  Mill  and  Lumber  Company,  of 
Santa  Cruz'County.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  the  San 
Jose  Agricultural  Works,  as  well  as  in  the  Hotel 
Vendome.  He  has  a  fine  residence  on  the  corner 
of  Eleventh  and  St.  John  Streets,  where  he  has  also 
built  two  other  fine  cottages,  which  he  rents,  much 
improving  that  immediate  locality,  and  has  other 
property  interests.  Mr.  Smith  is  a  public-spirited 
and  enterprising  citizen,  giving  his  support  liberally 
to  any  public  enterprise  that  promises  to  add,lo  the 
growth  and  prosperity  of  San  Jose  and  the  SWHta 
Clara  Valley.  He  has  been  School  Trustee  in  his 
district  for  several  terms.  He  is  a  Republican  and  a 
full  believer  in  the  value  to  our  industries  of  a  pro- 
tective tariff 

He  was  married,  in  iS6i,  to  Miss  Mary  Pfeiffer,  a 
native  of  German}^,  who  came  to  California  in  1S55 
with  her  parents.  They  have  ten  children:  Charles 
C,  now  managing  his  father's  ranch;  Katie,  who  is 
married  and  living  in  San  Jose;  Frank  J.,  engaged  in 
shipping  cord-wood  from  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains 
to  San  Jose;  William  and  Julius,  attending  High 
School  in  this  city,  and  Henry,  Oscar,  Maud,  Louis, 
and  Walter,  also  attending  the  public  schools  of  San 
Jose. 


IpOHN  TRIMBLE  (decea.sed)  was  born  in  Mont- 
©^  gomery,  now  Warren,  County,  Missouri,  Febru- 
'^'^  ary  17,  1828,  the  son  of  John  and  Margaret 
(Turley)  Trimble,  natives  of  Kentucky,  who  emigrated 
to  Missouri  with  the  pioneers  of  that  State.  A  few 
years  after  his  birth,  his  parents  moved  with  him  to 
Callaway  County,  same  State,  where  he  was  reared  as 
a  farmer,  receiving  such  an  education  as  the  primitive 
schools  of  that  period  afforded.  When  war  was  de- 
clared with  Mexico,  he  enlisted  in  Colonel  Doniphan's 
regiment,  the  First  Missouri  Cavalry,  and  rendered 
active  service.  His  regiment  left  Fort  Leavenworth, 
Kansas,  June  27,  1846,  and  made  an  overland  march 
to  Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico,  where  they  joined  the 
command  of  General  Kearney,  and  took  part  in  the 
conquest  of  that  territory.  He  was  engaged  in  the 
battles  of  Sacramento  and   Bracito,  antl   participated 


in  all  the  service  done  by  his  regiment.  The  regi- 
ment was  mustered  out  at  New  Orleans  in  1847,  after 
which  Mr.  Trimble  returned  to  his  home  in  Missouri. 
After  following  farming  there  until  the  spring  of  1849, 
he  crossed  the  plains  with  ox  teams  to  California,  ar- 
riving at  Lassen's  ranch,  on  the  Sacramento  River,  in 
September  of  the  same  year.  After  a  few  we.ks 
spent  in  the  mines  in  Shasta  County,  the  young  pio- 
neer came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  and,  in  company 
with  Samuel  Q.  Broughton  and  Robert  Bailey,  em- 
barked in  farming  operations  at  Berryessa. 

In  the  spring  of  185 1  Mr.  Trimble  went  to  mining  in 
El  Dorado  County,  but  after  a  six  months'  trial  of  his 
enterprise  he  returned  to  his  farm,  and  remained 
there  until  the  fall  of  1S52,  when  he  embarked  upon 
a  steamer  and  went  back  to  Missouri.  In  1853  he 
married  and  returned  with  his  bride  to  California, 
across  the  plains,  bringing  with  him  about  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  head  of  cattle,  which  he  drove  to  this 
valley.  His  partner,  Mr.  Broughton,  accompanied 
him  in  this  stock  enterprise.  Mr.  Trimble  was  then 
successfully  engaged  in  extensive  stock+aising  and 
farming  operations  until  1857,  when  he  sold  out  and 
puichased  the  place  upon  which  his  widow  nfiw 
resides,  comprising  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of 
land  located  on  the  San  Jose  and  Milpitas  road,  in 
the  Orchard  School  District,  about  five  miles  north 
of  San  Jose.  These  lands  Mr.  Trimble  profitably  cul- 
tivated and  improved,  planting  fifty  acres  in  orchard, 
comprising  pears,  peaches,  apricots,  apples,  prunes, 
cherries  and  plums.  He  became  also  an  extensive 
grower  of  strawberries,  raspberries,  and  blackberries, 
continuing  also  in  extensive  farm  operations  and  in 
stock-raising.  Among  his  early  and  chief  improve- 
ments, mention  should  be  made  of  three  artesian 
wells,  which  yet  produce  an  abundance  of  water  for 
irrigation  and  other  purposes. 

April  20,  1853,  in  Callaway  County,  Mis.^ouri,  Mr. 
Trimble  married  Miss  Mary  Miller,  daughter  of  Mar- 
tin and  Jane  (Miller)  Miller,  residents  of  that  county. 
Mr.  Miller  was  a  native  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  and  his 
wife  of  Kentucky.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Trimble  had  seven 
children,  five  of  whom  are  living,  namely:  Sarah  R., 
who  married  Nicholas  Bowden,  an  attorney  at  law, 
and  resides  at  San  Jose;  Margaret  J.;  Mary  Frances, 
who  married  Albert  K.  Whitton,  and  now  resides  in 
this  county;  Mattie  M.,  and  John  R.,  residing  at  the 
"Trimble  Home"  with  their  mother. 

In  December,  1885,  Mr.  Trimble  was  stricken  v;ilh 
paralysis,  from  whicli  he  partially  recoveretl,  but  in 
the  following  summer  he  was  again    attacked  hy  the 


BIO  GRAPHIC  A  L  SKETCHES. 


231 


disease,  and  died  from  the  effect  of  a  third  stroke, 
September  i6,  1887.  Mr.  Trimble's  long  residence  in 
Santa  Clara  County  gave  him  extensive  acquaintance, 
and  his  sterling  worth  and  upright  character  brought 
him  the  esteem  and  respect  of  all. 


.|l|HOMAS  PYLE,one  of  the  early  pioneers  of  this 
^  State,  and  a  man  who,  until  the  time  of  his  death, 
'v^  which  occurred  August  i,  1853,  was  prominently 
identified  with  the  history  of  California,  encountering 
many  perils  and  hardships,  but  in  it  all  acting  the 
gentleman  and  laying  the  foundation  of  comfort  and 
competence  for  his  family,  is  the  subject  of  this 
brief  biograpliical  sketch.  He  was  born  in  Kentucky, 
March  i,  18 10,  his  parents  being  Edward  G.  and 
Mary  Rosanna  Pyle,  themselves  also  natives  of  the 
same  State.  During  Mr.  Pyle's  youth  his  parents 
emigrated  to  Illinois,  where  his  father  followed  the 
vocation  of  farmer  and  surveyor.  Mr.  Pyle  was 
brought  up  to  the  calling  of  farmer,  his  education 
being  limited  to  what  was  afforded  by  the  country 
schools. 

For  several  years  he  farmed  in  Illinois  and  Indiana, 
and  later  in  Missouri,  until  on  May  26,  1846,  he 
started  overland  for  California,  arriving  at  Sacramento, 
in  this  State,  on  October  20  of  that  year.  He  at  once 
joined  the  little  force  under  General  Fremont,  and 
was  engaged  with  that  gallant  commander  in  all  the 
stirring  events  of  that  date.  He  accompanied  the 
general  to  Los  Angeles,  finally,  where  he  was  dis- 
charged on  the  pacification  of  the  country,  when  he 
returned  to  his  family,  and  engaged  in  the  business  of 
stock-raising  in  Tuolumne  County. 

In  1850  he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  transfer- 
ring his  stock  interests  hither,  and  carrying  on  at  the 
same  time  the  general  business  of  a  farmer  upon  the 
same  land  still  occupied  by  his  widow.  This  is  lo- 
cated on  the  King  road  in  the  Pala  School  District, 
about  three  miles  east  of  the  business  center  of  San 
Jose.  Mr.  Pyle  was  an  industrious  and  energetic 
man  during  his  life,  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  this 
section  of  the  State,  always  at  hand  in  every  moment 
when  his  presence  could  be  of  benefit.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Vigilantes  in  1852,  who  did  such  great, 
good  work  for  the  law-abiding  citizens. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pyle  had  four  children  :  Edward  G., 
born  May  26,  1838,  who  married  Miss  Margaret 
Hanney,  a  native  of  Scotland;  they  reside  on  the  old 
homestead.     Mary,    born    October   26,    1S39,  married 


Wm.  C.  Overfelt,  since  deceased;  she  lives  on  a  por- 
tion of  the  old  homesteail.  William  Henry,  born 
April  18,  1842,  married  Miss  Mary  A.  Fi.sk,  a  native 
of  Maine;  they  reside  at  Los  Angeles.  The  fourth  is 
John  Francis,  born  December  31,  1844,  who  married 
Miss  Margaret  E.  Houston,  of  Santa  Clara  Count}', 
and  now  resides  on  apportion  of  the  old  homestead. 
This  homestead  originally  consisted  of  four  hundred 
and  ten  acres,  being  purchased  by  Mr.  Pyle  on  locat- 
ing in  this  valley,  and  being  a  part  of  five  hundred 
acres,  tract  No.  47.  Before  his  death  he  sold  ten  acres 
of  this  tract,  the  remainder  being  divided  up  amongst 
the  children,  e.xcc[)t  seventy-two  acres  reserved  with 
the  old  homestead.  This  is  devoted  to  the  growth  of 
hay  and  grain. 

After  the  death  of  her  husband  Mr.s.  Pyle,  in  1S58, 
married  Daniel  Tanner,  a  resident  of  Santa  Clara 
County.  A  large  part  of  the  great  hardships  of  the 
early  days  necessarily  fell  upon  the  women,  and  these 
pioneer  ladies  can  relate  exciting  accounts  of  their 
trials  and  sufferings.  While  Mr.  Pyle  was  in  the 
service  under  General  Fremont,  he  left  his  wife  and 
young  family  alone  in  Tuolumne  County,  with  but 
scanty  supplies  of  sustenance.  Indeed,  at  one  time 
they  were  brought  to  such  a  strait  that,  had  it  not 
been  for  the  kindness  of  the  Indians,  who  shared  with 
them  their  game  and  acorns  and  such  other  food  as 
they  had,  they  would  have  perished.  But  it  was  a 
trial  that  had  to  be  borne,  as  the  needs  of  country 
always  come  first.  It  should  be  stated  further,  that 
Mrs.  Pyle  was  the  daughter  of  Levi  and  Mary  Good- 
win, natives  of  Pennsylvania,  who  emigrated  to  Ohio 
at  an  early  date.  Her  parents  afterwards  went  to 
Indiana  and  finally  to  Illinois,  where  they  died,  in  an 
honored  old  age. 


gMILLIAM  WRIGHT,  one  of  the  pioneer  agricul- 
'S'^p  turists  of  Santa  Clara  County,  dates  his  birth  in 
e^  HarfordCounty,  Maryland, March  18, 1826.  His 
'  parents,  William  and  Mary  (Spencer)  Wright, 
were  natives  of  that  State.  Of  their  six  children,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  the  fourth  child.  At  the 
age  of  fifteen  years  he  left  home  to  learn  the  miller's 
trade.  Sickness  compelled  him  to  abandon  that  work. 
He  then,  not  long  after,  entered  a  mercantile  establish- 
ment, conducted  by  his  brother,  in  Havre  de  Grace, 
where  he  remained  as  a  clerk  until  January,  1849,  at 
which  time  he  contracted  the  gold  fever,  and  in  com- 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   TPIE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


pany  with  seven  others,  young  men  from  the  same 
town,  started  for  California,  the  New  El  Dorado.  Go- 
ing to  Philadelphia,  they  joined  the  "  Gordon  Asso- 
ciation," after  visiting  New  York  city,  where  they 
remained  about  three  weeks.  The  company  was  di- 
vided, one  division  to  go  overland,  and  one,  number- 
ing one  hundred  and  thirty,  to  sail  by  way  of  Cape 
Horn.  Mr.  Wright  and  his  friends  from  Havre  de 
Grace  joined  their  fortunes  with  the  last-mentioned 
party,  all  sharing  alike  in  the  purchase  of  a  complete 
outfit  of  provisions,  mining  tools,  tents,  etc.  Before 
reaching  San  Francisco  the  company  broke  up,  but 
the  party  of  eight,  including  Mr.  Wright  and  his 
friends  from  his  town,  held  together. 

A  few  incidents  connected  with  the  voyage,  and 
mining  life  later,  have  sufficient  interest  to  be  worthy 
of  mention,  and  are  given  in  Mr.  Wright's  own  words. 
The  vessel  left  New  York  city  February  6,  1849. 
Forty-eight  days  passed  before  reaching  Rio  de 
Janeiro.  Forty-five  days  the  ship  was  becalmed  off 
the  Cape  of  St.  Roque,  during  which  time  she  did 
not  make  five  degrees.  In  entering  the  port  of  Rio 
Janeiro  during  the  darkness  of  a  stormy  night,  the 
ship  barely  escaped  being  wrecked  on  the  rock-bound 
shore;  it  was  a  narrow  escape.  In  that  port  ten  days 
were  passed  in  provisioning  and  taking  in  water  sup- 
plies. Finally,  upon  sailing,  through  the  carelessness 
or  indifference  of  the  captain,  thirteen  of  the  party 
were  left  on  shore.  The  turning  of  Cape  Horn 
brought  them  into  midwinter  (June).  The  vessel, 
to  have  sea  room,  amid  the  severe  snow-storms  in- 
cident to  the  season,  made  sixty-one  degrees  south. 
No  port  was  made  between  Rio  Janeiro  and  San 
Francisco,  and  toward  the  last  all  were  placed  upon 
a  short  allowance,  both  of  water  and  food.  Sep- 
tember 12,  after  a  voyage  of  over  twenty-four  thou- 
sand six  hundred  miles,  covering  seven  months  and 
six  days,  the  party,  with  glad  hearts  and  joyous  antic- 
ipations, landed  at  San  Francisco.  Their  surprise 
can  hardly  be  told  at  finding  their  thirteen  friends 
waiting  to  receive  them.  They  had  secured  passage 
from  Rio  Janeiro  after  a  delay  of  but  few  days,  and 
beat  the  old  ship  several  days  into  San  Francisco. 
Mr.  Wright  had  only  $4.00  in  his  pocket,  with  no 
meal  to  be  obtained,  or  lodging,  at  less  than  $1.00 
for  the  poorest;  so  he  was  obliged  to  seek  employ- 
ment at  once.  Strong-handed  and  willing,  with  the 
demand  for  labor  at  big  pay,  he  was  always  employed 
at  various  occupations,  during  a  stay  in  the  city  of 
sufficient  length  to  earn  enough  to  buy  supplies  for 
a  campaign  in  tlie  placer  diggings.     With  his  friends 


(the  original  party  made  up  at  home)  he  embarked 
in  a  small  schooner  for  Stockton,  where  they  hired 
an  ox  team  to  carry  their  tent  and  traps  to  a  camp 
on  Woods  Creek,  sixty  miles  away. 

The  rains  made  the  journey  through  the  flooded 
and  muddy  country  slow  and  tedious.  Some  days 
not  more  than  three  miles  were  traveled.  Brush  had 
to  be  cut  and  pressed  into  the  mud  to  make  a  founda- 
tion for  blankets  before  sleeping.  Eight  days  brought 
the  party  to  camp.  A  few  days  later  they  moved  a 
short  distance,  to  Woods  Creek'.  There,  in  their 
tent  and  a  log  cabin  built  by  themselves,  the  winter 
was  passed,  but  continuous  rain  kept  them  from 
doing  much.  Running  short  of  provisions,  they  paid 
at  the  rate  of  $1.00  per  pound  for  flour,  pork,  salt,  or 
anything  in  the  way  of  food.  Scurvy  in  one  of  the 
party  compelled  the  paying  of  $4.00  per  pound  for 
potatoes.  Spring  opening,  some  of  the  party  re- 
turned East,  some  to  San  Francisco,  and  some  to 
other  points.  In  the  early  summer  Mr.  Wright,  and 
those  who  remained  with  him,  moved  to  the  Tuol- 
umne River,  where  Mr.  Wright  bought  into  a  com- 
pany, in  what  was  called  the  "  Missouri  Bar,"  a  gold 
claim.  Here  they  worked  all  summer,  until  the 
month  of  September,  digging  a  canal  and  building  a 
dam,  preparatory  to  turning  the  course  of  the  river. 
When  they  had  about  completed  their  labors  in  this 
direction,  a  freshet  came  and  overflowed  everything, 
and  carried  the  dam  away,  thus  destroying  what  they 
had  labored  so  hard  to  accomplish.  Then  four  or 
five  of  the  party  went  a  little  farther  up  the  river  and 
built  a  wing  dam. 

At  this  time  Mr.  Wright  left  the  river  and  went 
to  a  place  called  "Chinese  Camp,"  for  dry  diggings, 
where  he  built  a  house,  and,  with  a  partner,  went  into 
the  mercantile  business  in  the  winter  of  1850-51. 
This  was  a  very  dry  winter,  there  not  being  sufficient 
water  for  the  miners  to  work.  In  consequence  a 
great  many  engaged  in  hauling  goods  to  the  camp, 
and  there  offered  them  for  sale  for  less  than  what 
Mr.  Wright  had  paid  for  his  goods  in  Stockton. 
This  was  up-hill  business.  The  roads  being  in  good 
condition,  enabled  a  great  many  to  engage  in  it.  In 
the  spring  Mr.  Wright  bought  out  his  partner,  and 
during  the  summer  closed  the  business  altogether. 
In  November  he  came  down  to  Santa  Clara  Valley, 
and  with  a  partner  bought  the  place  where  he  now 
lives.  He  then  returned  to  Stockton,  and  made  ar- 
rangements preparatory  to  working  the  farm.  He 
bought  a  team  and  farming  implements,  and  drove 
across  the  mountains  baj^k  to  the  valley.     Not  being 


c4>c.e<f 


Si^^n^^t^^^/^t^^^^-T^xy 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


233 


familiar  with  the  art  of  farming,  they  hired  a  man  to 
come  with  them,  at  a  salary  of  $ioo  per  month,  to 
teach  them  what  to  do.  In  the  course  of  a  year  Mr. 
Wright  bought  out  his  partner,  and  has  made  this 
his  home  up  to  the  present  time.  The  ranch  orig- 
inally contained  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  and 
Mr.  Wright  has  added  to  it  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  more,  making  in  all  three  hundred  and  twenty 
acres,  principally  a  grain  and  stock  farm,  with  only 
a  few  acres  in  vines  and  trees.  In  April,  1863,  after 
having  lived  on  the  place  for  fifteen  years,  he  returned 
East  to  his  native  town,  and  there,  on  the  twenty- 
eighth  of  September,  1863,  was  married  to  Helena 
Trcadwell,  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Samuel  E.  and  Ann 
Treadwell,  of  Havre  de  Grace.  They  have  two  chil- 
dren, Dora  T.  and  William  T. 


.^m,, 

*!^ij^* 


■TAMES  LENDRUM,  deceased.  Among  the  well- 
's/ known  and  representative  farmers  of  Santa  Clara 
^  County  was  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  a  brief 
;Yi-«///d' of  whose  life  is  herewith  given.  Mr.  Lcndrum 
was  born  June  4,  1833,  in  Fermanagh  Count}',  Ire- 
land. His  paients,  William  and  Margaret  (Lendrum) 
Lendrum,  were  of  Scotch  descent,  but  natives  of  the 
county  in  which  he  was  born.  His  early  life  was 
spent  upon  his  father's  farm,  where  he  was  schooled 
to  those  practical  and  industrial  pursuits  that  were 
so  essential  to  his  success  in  after  life.  He  also 
learned  the  trade  of  a  gardener,  and  was  educated  in 
the  common  and  important  branches  of  English 
studies.  In  1854,  at  the  age  of  twentj'-one  years,  he 
emigrated  to  the  United  States  landing  in  New  York, 
and  from  there  went  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  -.Nhere  he 
established  himself  in  the  dairy  business.  After  a 
two  years'  successful  prosecution  of  this  enterprise,  he 
returned  to  New  York  and  entered  into  the  grocery 
business  with  his  cousin,  George  Lendrum.  This  en- 
terprise was  brought  to  a  clo^e  in  1857  by  a  disas- 
trous fire  which  destroyed  their  store  and  stock  of 
goods,  leaving  him  without  a  business,  and  with  very 
limited  means. 

On  February  18  of  this  year  he  married  Miss  Ann 
Jane  Ried,  the  daughter  of  Alexander  and  Eliza 
(Birney)  Ried,  who  were  natives  and  residents  of  Ty- 
rone County,  Ireland.  Inmnediately  after  this  mar- 
riage Mr.  Lendrum  and  his  bride  sailed  by  the  I'ana- 
ma  route  for  California.  Arriving  in  San  Francisco 
in  April  of  that  year,  and  after  a  short  stay  in  that 
30 


city,  he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County  and  located  in 
San  Jose,  where  he  worked  as  a  gardener  and  nursery- 
man for  Isaac  Hillman.  In  1857  he  purchased  three 
hundred  acres  of  land,  known  as  the  Silver  Creek 
Ranch,  and  there  engaged  in  farming,  stock-raising, 
and  dairy  business  until  1863,  when  he  purchased 
twenty  acres  of  land  just  east  of  San  Jose,  on  what  is 
now  known  as  McLaughlin  Avenue.  After  remain- 
ing there  for  a  few  months,  he  purchased  three  hun- 
dred acres  of  land  locafed  on  the  east  side  of  the  same 
avenue,  and  south  of  the  Alum  Rock  road,  upon 
which  he  took  up  his  residence,  and  commenced  its 
improvement  and  cultivation.  Upon  this  farm  he  re- 
sided until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  February, 
1885. 

Mr.  Lendrum  was  well  and  favorably  known  in 
this  county.  He  was  a  man  of  strict  integrity  and 
was  honest  and  straightforward  in  his  dealings.  These 
qualities,  coupled  with  his  energetic  and  industrious 
habits,  enabled  him  to  acquire  large  and  valuable  es- 
tates, also  valuable  city  property.  He  was  a  consist- 
ent member  of  the  Methodist  Church,  and  his  daily 
life  was  such  as  gained  liim  the  respect  and  esteem  of 
his  associates,  who  joined  his  family  in  sincerely 
mourning  his  death.  His  widow  is  now  (1888)  resid- 
ing on  the  old  homestead  on  McLaughlin  Avenue, 
where  she  is  enjoying  the  comforts  of  the  wealth 
which  the  well-directed  efforts  of  her  husband  have 
left  to  her  disposal.  A  large  portion  of  this  home- 
stead land  has  recently  been  platted  and  sold  for  res- 
idence property,  while  the  remainder  is  still  used  for 
farm  productions. 

Of  the  five  children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lendrum, 
four  are  living,  viz.:  William  Edward,  who  married 
Miss  Josephine  McMeekin,  of  San  Jose;  he  is  a  resi- 
dent of  San  Jose,  where  he  is  engaged  in  business  as 
a  druggist;  Margaret  Emily,  who  is  residing  on  the 
old  homestead;  James  George,  residing  in  San  Fran- 
cisco; and  Birney  Ale.xander,  residing  at  his  mother's 
home.  Lizzie,  the  eldest,  was  born  February  i,  i86i, 
and  died  April  25,  1S79. 


-0: 


""|OHN  A.  HORNBERGER,  grain  dealer.  No.  20 
©/'  West  Santa  Clara  Street,  San  Jose,  has  been 
•!'''  identified  with  the  material  and  business  interests 
of  the  Santa  Clara  Valley  for  the  past  twenty  years. 
He  was  born   in    Lebanon   County,   I'ennsylvania,  in 


234 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


1838,  but  was  brought  up  in  Lancaster  County  in  that 
State,  his  parents  removing  there  when  he  was  six 
years  of  age.  He  attended  school  at  that  place  for 
some  years,  and  later  assisted  his  father  in  the  iron- 
forging  business,  rolling  mills  not  then  being  in  exist- 
ence. This  he  continued  up  to  the  age  of  twenty-two 
years.  In  i860  he  left  home  and  came  to  California, 
settling  immediately  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley,  where 
he  engaged  in  farming,  which  occupation  he  has  fol- 
lowed almost  continuously  since  that  time  up  to  the 
last  two  years.  During  that  time  he  passed  one  year, 
parts  of  1S63  and  1S64,  in  mining  pursuits  in  the 
mines  of  Silver  Mountain,  town  of  Monitor  Califor- 
nia. Not  meeting  with  success  in  that  venture,  he 
returned  to  Santa  Clara  County,  purchasing  a  home 
at  Mountain  View,  and  renting  land.  He  engaged  ex- 
tensively in  farming  in  that  neighborhood.  In  1870 
he  added  the  occupation  of  grain-buying,  continuing 
in  both  lines  of  business  until  within  the  last  two 
years,  when  he  gave  up  farming  and  has  since  devoted 
himself  exclusively  to  his  grain-purchasing  interests. 
In  1869  Mr.  Hoinberger  was  married  to  Miss  Kate 
Miligan,  a  native  of  Ireland,  whose  parents  removed 
to  the  United  States,  .settling  in  New  York,  when  she 
was  but  an  infant.  To  this  marriage  there  have  been 
born  three  children,  two  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 
One,  a  son,  John  A.,  Jr.,  is  about  to  terminate  his 
school  days  and  enter  the  grain  business  with  his  fa- 
ther, taking  charge  of  the  grain  warehouse  at  Mount- 
ain View,  California.  The  primary  education  of  this 
son  was  received  at  the  public  schools  of  Mountain 
View,  after  which  he  passed  one  year  at  the  Oakland 
Military  Academy,  and  two  years  at  the  University 
of  the  Pacific.  Mr.  Hornberger,  while  devoting  his 
energies  actively  to  his  business  operations,  and  not 
taking  an  active  part  in  political  matters,  has  yet 
found  time  to  devote  to  the  educational  inrerests  of  his 
district.  He  has  represented  the  Mountain  View 
District  as  School  Director  for  the  past  eleven  years, 
and  while  much  of  his  time  is  now  spent  in  San  Jose 
he  yet  finds  opportunity  to  fulfill  the  duties  of  that 
office,  which  his  friends  still  insist  must  rest  upon  him. 
A  man  of  magnificent  physique,  of  massive  brain  and 
generous  impulse,  John  A.  Hornberger  has  achieved 
a  satisfactory  success  from  his  efforts  in  life,  his  Ger- 
man ancestry  and  American  instincts  being  prominent 
factors  of  that  end.  His  parents  were  John  and  Mary 
A.  (Boughter)  Hornberger,  natives  of  Pennsylvania,  of 
German  descent.  The  life  of  his  father  was  mostly 
passed  in  developing  the  iron  interests  of  his  na- 
tive  State,  where   he    died    in   1867,  being  buried    in 


Johnstone,  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Hornberger's  mother 
still  lives  in  Marietta,  Lancaster  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania. 


^R.  ROBERT  CALDWELL,  for  the  past  twelve 
'^^  years  one  of  the  most  successful  physicians  of 
^  i\  San  Jose,  has  been  in  the  active  study  and  prac- 
tice of  the  medical  profession  since  1S64.  Born  at 
Independence,  Missouri,  in  1845,  he  came  with  his 
parents  at  a  very  early  age  to  San  Jose,  where  he  at- 
tended Santa  Clara  College  up  to  the  age  of  nineteen 
years.  Commencing  the  study  of  medicine  in  1864,  he 
continued  it  for  two  years,  under  the  preceptorship  of 
his  father.  Dr.  A.  B.  Caldwell,  at  San  Jose.  At  the 
end  of  this  time  an  expedition  was  fitting  out  to 
build  a  telegraph  line  along  the  Pacific  Coast  through 
then  Russian  America,  across  Behring's  Straits,  and 
through  Siberia  and  Russian  Europe  to  St.  Peteisburg, 
in  case  the  Atlantic  cable,  then  being  in  course  of  con- 
struction, should  prove  a  failure,  and  he  joined  the  ex- 
pedition as  one  of  its  acting  surgeons.  Starting  in 
1866  and  returning  in  1868,  costing  the  Western 
Union  Telegraph  Company  $3,000,000,  its  objects  and 
labors  were  rendered  unnecessary  by  reason  of  the 
successful  laying  and  operating  of  the  Atlantic  Cable. 
There  were  one  thousand  men  and  several  ships  en- 
gaged in  the  expedition,  about  a  thousand  miles  of 
survey  made  through  Russia  and  Siberia,  and  nine 
hundred  miles  of  line  constructed  in  British  Columbia. 
After  more  than  a  year  of  perfect  isolation  from  all 
knowledge  of  the  outside  world  pased  in  Siberia  and 
among  the  Esquimax,  they  were  recalled. 

During  his  absence  in  Siberia,  and  after  his  return 
in  1868,  Dr.  Caldwell  continued  thestudy  of  medicine, 
graduating  in  1869  in  the  Medical  Department  of  the 
University  of  California.  After  practicing  about  a 
year  with  his  father  in  Santa  Clara,  he  made  a  tour  of 
Europe,  visiting  the  hospitals  and  attending  medical 
schools  in  the  further  study  of  his  profession.  After 
a  rest  at  home  for  some  months  he  made  a  trip  to 
Yokohama,  Japan,  visiting  also  various  places  in 
China.  He  became  for  one  year  surgeon  of  the  Cos/a 
Rica,  a  steamship  of  the  Pacific  mail  service  running 
from  Yokohama  through  the  inland  sea  to  Shanghai, 
then  settling  at  Nagasaki,  on  the  i.sland  of  Kiusiu, 
where  he  enjoyed  for  four  jears  a  very  successful 
practice  among  its  foreign  residents.     On  the  death 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


235 


of  his  father  in  1S76  he  returned  to  San  Jose,  where 
he  has  devoted  himself  exclusively  to  his  practice 
since  that  time. 

He  was  married  in  November,  1876,  to  Miss  Lulu 
Stevenson,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Elizabeth  Ste- 
venson, natives  of  Kentucky,  where  her  father  died 
in  1863,  the  family  removing  to  California  in  1874. 
They  have  three  children,  Roberta,  Arthur  E.,  and 
Louise.  Dr.  Caldwell  is  a  member  of  the  Garden 
City  Lodge,  No.  134,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  of  Enterprise 
Lodge,  No.  17,  A.  O.  U.  W.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  California,  and  also 
a  member  of  the  California  Academy  of  Science  of 
San  Francisco.  He  usually  supports  the  Democratic 
party  on  questions  of  national  policy. 

The  parents  of  the  subject  of  our  sketch  were  Dr. 
A.  B.  and  Mary  Ann  (Combs)  Caldwell,  natives  of 
Kentucky,  who  removed  to  Independence,  Missouri, 
in  1843,  returning  to  Kcntuck}- in  1849,  in  which  year 
Dr.  A.  B.  Caldwell  came  to  California.  He  engaged 
in  mining  at  various  places,  built  the  first  house  in 
Nevada  City,  California,  and  there  conducted  mer- 
cantile business  for  two  years.  He  sold  out  his  in- 
terest there  and  returned  to  Kentucky  for  his  family, 
bringing  them  to  Santa  Clara  County  in  the  fall  of 
that  year.  There  the  family  has  continued  to  live, 
Dr.  A.  B.  Caldwell  engaging  in  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine, until  his  death,  in  1876. 


->H>B 


SlM, 


(T^S- 


g^HARLES  PARKER.  Among  the  rich  and  pro- 
'^  ductivc  farm  properties  in  the  Jefferson  School 
(3)1=  District,  that  owned  by  Mr.  Parker  is  worthy  of 
mention.  He  has  fifty-four  acres,  under  a  high 
state  of  cultivation,  fifteen  acres  of  which  are  produc- 
ing onion  seed;  twelve  acres  are  devoted  to  berry  culti- 
vation, producing  strawberries  of  the  Longworth  and 
Sharpless  varieties.  The  remainder  of  this  land,  ex- 
cept eight  acres  planted  with  onions,  is  devoted  to 
hay,  grain,  and  stock-raising.  One  fine  artesian  well, 
flowing  three  inches  over  a  seven-inch  pipe,  furnishes 
all  water  needed  for  irrigation  and  stock  purposes. 
Mr.  Parker's  farm  is  located  in  the  district  above 
named,  on  Wilcox  Lane,  one-half  mile  north  of  the 
Kifcr  road,  and  about  three  miles  northwest  of  Santa 
Clara.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Jack- 
son County,  Missouri,  March  20,  1845.  His  father, 
William   Parker,  was  a  native  of  Kentucky,  and  his 


mother,  Sarah  H.  (Wilson)  Parker,  was  a  native  of 
Maryland.  They  were  married  in  Kentucky,  and  in 
1838  moved  to  Missouri,  where  his  father  engaged  in 
farming  and  stock-raising,  to  which  calling  Mr.  Parkei 
was  reared  until  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age,  receiv- 
ing at  the  same  time  such  an  education  as  the  com- 
mon schools  afforded.  In  1863  he  left  home  and 
started  West,  and  for  the  next  four  years  was  engaged 
as  a  teamster  for  the  different  freighting  companies 
between  Kansas  City  and  Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico. 
In  1867  he  returned  to  Missouri  and  located  in  Jack- 
son County,  where  he  rented  a  farm,  and  followed  the 
occupation  of  a  farmer  until  1871.  In  this  latter  year 
he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  and  located  on  the 
Kifcr  road,  on  the  place  now  owned  by  W.  H.  Ireland, 
and  about  a  mile  southeast  of  his  present  residence, 
where  he  remained  until  1S77,  when  he  purchased  the 
farm  before  described. 

Mr.  Parker  is  an  energetic  and  progressive  citizen, 
and  one  who  is  respected  and  esteemed  by  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  resides.  He  is  a  liberal  and  con- 
servative Democrat,  and  is  identified  with  the  best 
elements  of  his  party.  He  is  a  member  of  Santa 
Clara  Lodge,  No.  52,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows. In  January,  1870,  he  married  Miss  Elsie  T. 
Mason,  daughter  of  James  C.  and  Mary  (Staples) 
Mason,  residents  of  Jackson  County,  Missouri.  She 
died  February  i,  1871.  Mr.  Parker's  second  marriage 
was  to  Miss  J.  J.  Hudson,  a  resident  of  Santa  Clara 
County,  whom  he  wedded  in  November,  1876.  She 
is  the  daughter  of  William  D.  and  Mary  A.  (Haun) 
Hudson.  There  is  one  child,  Ethel  tl.,  born  by  the 
second  marriage. 


K§^^- 


tEORGE  P.  BULL  resides  on  a  fine  tract  of  land 
west  of  the  San  Jose  and  Milpitas  road,  on  the 
■jj^  west  bank  of  the  Coyote  Creek.  This  tract 
comprises  177  acres,  located  in  the  Orchard  Dis- 
trict, about  three  miles  north  of  San  Jose.  His  land 
is  all  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation  and  very  pro- 
ductive. Twenty  acres  are  planted  with  strawberries 
of  the  Sharpless  variety,  seven  acres  with  raspberries, 
and  three  acres  with  blackberries.  Forty  acres  are 
devoted  to  the  production  of  various  kinds  of  vegeta- 
bles, and  the  remainder  of  the  farm,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  small  orchard,  is  used  for  raising  grain  and 
.  a}',  and  for  pasturing  stock.     It  is  Mr.  Bull's  inten- 


236 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD: 


tion  in  the  immediate  future  to  devote  loo  acres  to 
the  culture  of  small  fruits.  One  fine  artesian  well 
furnishes  plenty  of  water  for  all  purposes.  This 
splendid  farm  shows  the  care  and  attention  which 
Mr.  Bull  gives  to  it,  and  ranks  among  the  best  in  the 
district. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  enjoj-s  the  honor  of 
being  a  native  Californian,  dating  his  birth  in  this 
county,  August  24,  1853.  His  parents  were  Dr. 
George  H.  Bull  and  Mrs.  Liberata  (Cesena)  (Fisher) 
Bull.  His  father  was  born  in  Troy,  New  York,  and 
was  the  son  of  Judge  Archibald  Bull,  of  New  York- 
His  mother  is  a  native  of  Mexico,  and  of  Spanish 
descent.  She  came  to  this  State  in  1844,  with  her 
husband,  Capt.  William  Fisher,  who  died  not  many 
years  afterwards.  Mr.  Bull's  father  came  to  Califor- 
nia in  1850,  and  established  himself  in  the  practice  of 
medicine  in  San  Francisco,  and  later  in  Santa  Clara 
County.  In  1852  he  married  Mrs.  Fisher,  and  at  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1854,  he  left  to  the  care  of 
his  widow  their  only  child,  the  subject  of  our  sketch. 
In  1856  his  mother  married  Cajsar  Piatti,  a  native  of 
Italy,  and  a  pioneer  of  California,  to  which  State  he 
came  in  1849. 

Mr.  Bull's  educational  advantages  were  of  the  best. 
After  completing  the  course  of  study  in  the  Santa 
Clara  College,  he  became  proficient  in  civil  engineer- 
ing and  surveying,  a  profession  which  he  followed 
until  1874,  at  which  time  he  entered  the  employ  of 
Daniel  Murphy,  as  foreman  of  his  extensive  farm  and 
stock  ranches  near  Gilroy  (now  owned  by  Daniel  M. 
Murphy  and  Mrs.  Morgan  Hill).  After  being  thus 
engaged  for  about  a  year,  he  married,  June  20,  1875, 
Miss  Elizabeth  A.  Murphy,  the  daughter  of  James 
and  Ann  (Martin)  Murphy,  whose  history  appears  in 
this  volume. 

He  then  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising  on 
lands  near  Gilroy,  and  on  his  father-in-law's  home 
property  in  San  Jose  Township.  In  this  work  he 
remained  about  two  years,  and  then  went  into  the 
grocery  business  in  San  Jose  for  three  years.  Re- 
turning to  agriculture,  he  again  took  charge,  with  his 
brother-in-law,  D.  J.  Murphy,  of  the  lands  last  men- 
tioned, and  over  which  he  had  before  exercised  a 
partial  supervision.  He  was  thus  employed  until,  in 
1884,  he  cstablised  his  family  upon  the  property 
where  they  now  live,  which  was  his  wife's  portion  of 
her  deceased  father's  estate. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bull  have  three  children,  viz.:  George 
L.,  born  July  19,  1876;  James  R.,  born  June  29,  1878, 
and  Anita  B.,  born  August  5,  18S3.     Mr.  Bull  is  Dem- 


ocratic in  his  politics,  but  liberal  in  his  views  on  all 
political  questions.  He  is  greatly  interested  in,  and 
always  ready  with  time  and  means  to  advance,  the 
prosperity  and  welfare  of  his  section. 


-m 


giAMES  THOMAS  COURTNEY  dates  his  birth 
©^  in  Salem,  Massachusetts,  November  11,  1835. 
^  His  father,  James  E.  Courtney,  was  a  native  of 
Meath  County,  Ireland.  His  mother,  Catharine  (To- 
bin)  Courtney,  was  born  in  Quebec,  Canada  East. 
Until  the  age  of  seventeen  years  Mr.  Courtney  at- 
tended school.  In  1840  the  family  moved  to  Cayuga 
County,  New  York,  where  James  T.  resided  until  he 
came  to  California,  in  1859.  In  1852  he  engaged 
himself  as  a  locomotive  fireman  on  the  railroad  from 
Auburn  to  Syracuse,  New  York.  After  two  years  of 
this  work  he  was  employed  on  the  Erie  Canal,  and  by 
his  industry  and  attention  to  business  became  the 
owner  and  captain  of  a  canal-boat  before  he  was 
tv^/enty-one  years  of  age.  He  continued  this  occupa- 
tion until  1857,  when  he  entered  the  railroad  employ 
and  learned  the  trade  of  engineer,  at  which  he  worked 
until  1859.  In  that  year  he  came  by  the  Isthmus 
route  to  California  and  located  in  Tehama  County, 
engaging  in  farm  work  and  teaming,  after  which  he 
went  to  Butte  County,  where  he  was  an  engineer  in  a 
lumber  mill  until  1862.  He  then  made  a  trip  to 
Oregon,  and  for  some  months  was  prospecting  for 
gold  on  the  Powder  River.  Not  meeting  with  the 
desired  success,  he  returned  to  California,  and  located 
in  Santa  Clara  County.  For  the  ne.xt  seven  years 
Mr.  Courtney  was  engaged  in  various  occupations. 
He  worked  at  farm  labor,  and  was  also  an  engineer  in 
Moody's  Milks.  In  1866  he  was  the  proprietor  of  the 
St.  George  Hotel,  and  in  1887  occupied  the  same 
position  in  the  United  States  Hotel.  In  1868  he  was 
one  of  the  builders  of  the  first  steam  laundry  erected 
in  San  Jose.  In  1869  he  entered  into  business  as  a 
well-borer,  an  occupation  which  he  has  successfully 
and  profitably  conducted  since  that  date. 

In  1870  Mr.  Courtney  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Annie  Coughlin,  a  native  of  Ireland.  From  this 
marriage  there  are  three  children,  viz. :  James  E.,  John 
H.,  and  Mary  C,  all  of  whom  are  living  with  their 
parents,  and  now  (1888)  attending  school.  Mr.  Court- 
ney is  an  industrious  and  practical  mechanic,  and  by 
his  attention   to  business   and  square  dealing  has  se- 


J^^l^^-^ 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES: 


223 


Mrs.  Glendenning  and  her  entire  family  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Baptist  Church.  Of  the  seven  children 
born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Glendenning,  all  but  one  are 
living,  and  have  homes  near  the  old  homestead. 
Joseph  G.,  the  eldest,  married  Miss  Harriet  Turner,  of 
Santa  Clara,  and  resides  on  his  portion  of  the  home- 
stead; Mary  C.  the  wife  of  Geo.  Crittenden,  with  their 
two  sons,  reside  on  the  farm  just  north  of  the  home- 
stead; James  E.  married  MissGussie  Farley,  of  Santa 
Clara,  and  with  their  two  children,  son  and  daughter, 
reside  on  the  Homestead  road  near  Santa  Clara; 
George  W.  makes  his  home  with  his  mother  and  takes 
charge  of  her  farm.  Maggie  C.  married  William  E. 
Burrell,  of  Alviso  (now  deceased),  and  with  her  little 
daughter  lives  with  her  mother;  and  Ella  L.  is  en- 
gaged as  a  teacher  in  the  Los  Gatos  High  School. 


fR.  JOHN  S.  POTTS,  for  years  considered  one  of 
the  most  prominent  and  successful  physicians  of 
(yj-  San  Jose,  has  been  identified  with  the  history  and 
interests  of  Santa  Clara  County  since  1875.  Born 
September  2,  1840,  near  Mexico,  Missouri,  near 
which  town  his  father  owned  and  operated  an  exten- 
sive farm  and  stock  ranch,  he  early  developed  that 
keenness  of  perception  and  decisiveness  of  action 
which  have  made  his  mature  life  so  marked  a  success. 
He  early  attended  the  public  school  of  his  native 
town,  entering  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years  the 
University  of  Missouri,  at  Columbia,  where  he  re- 
mained almost  four  years,  and  where  he  would  have 
graduated  in  a  few  months  in  the  class  of  1861  had 
not  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  War  not  only  put  an 
end  to  his  studies  but  to  the  very  existence  of  his 
a/wa  mater  for  a  period  of  several  years.  Under  the 
influence  of  the  military  ardor  then  ablaze  throughout 
the  land,  he,  with  many  of  his  college  associates,  en- 
tered the  military  service,  where  he  remained  several 
years.  After  leaving  the  army  he  decided  on  and 
commenced  the  study  of  medicine,  attending  first  the 
St.  Louis  Medical  College,  and  later  the  College  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons  of  Keokuk,  Iowa,  where  he 
received  his  degree.  He  afterward  attended  lectures 
at  Bellevue  Hospital  Medical  College,  and  the  College 
of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of  New  York,  passing 
several  winters  in  attending  lectures  and  gaining  clin- 
ical experience  in  the  hospitals  of  that  city.  Return- 
ing to  Mexico,  Missouri,  in  1869,  he  devoted  himself 
energetically  to    the    practice    and    further    study  of 


medicine,  his  efforts  being  followed  with  well-earned 
success  professionally  and  financially. 

Reports  from  California  conveying  special  climatic 
attractions  to  Mrs.  Potts,  they  made  a  trip  to  this 
coast.  A  short  time  spent  in  Santa  Clara  County 
decided  them  as  to  their  future  residence.  Settling 
in  San  Jose  in  1875,  Dr.  Potts  resumed  the  practice 
of  medicine,  where  his  abilities  and  success  soon  ad- 
vanced him  to  the  first  rank  among  the  leading  phy- 
sicians. In  1880  he  visited  Europe,  where,  besides 
making  the  grand  tour,  he  devoted  much  time  to  his 
profession  in  the  hospitals  at  Edinburgh,  London, 
Dublin,  Paris,  Berlin,  and  Vienna.  He  returned  to 
California  with  the  feeling  that  the  climate  and  at- 
tractions of  the  Santa  Clara  Valley  were  decidedly 
unexcelled.  Resuming  practice,  he  has  at  the  same 
time  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  various  move- 
ments for  the  development  of  the  material  interests 
of  this  county.  One  of  the  originators  of  the  Board 
of  Trade,  he  helped  to  make  that  organization  the 
means  and  channel  through  which  to  disseminate 
abroad  a  knowledge  of  the  great  resources  and  un- 
bounded attractions  of  this  county.  One  of  the 
first  also  to  realize  the  value  of  a  really  first-class 
hotel,  possessing  accommodations  sufficient  for  the 
coming  tide  of  tourist  travel,  and  adapted  in  the  ele- 
gance of  its  appointments  and  beauty  of  its  sur- 
roundings to  the  needs  of  such  a  class,  he  threw  him- 
self into  the  breach,  expended  his  money,  patience, 
and  energy,  talked,  wrote,  and  traveled  until  at  last 
the  magnificent  Hotel  Vendome  became  an  estab- 
lished institution.  The  election  of  Dr.  Potts  to  the 
presidency  of  the  Hotel  Vendome  Company  is  an 
assurance  of  the  permanent  success  of  that  institu- 
tion, and  of  the  maintenance  of  the  hotel  in  a  style 
commensurate  with  its  opportunities. 

Dr.  Potts  has  been  a  member  of  the  Santa  Clara 
County  Medical  Society  since  its  organization,  and 
has  served  a  regular  term  as  its  President.  He  is  a 
member  of  Friendship  Lodge,  No.  210,  F.  &  A;  M., 
also  of  San  Jose  Commandery,  No.  10,  K.  T.  He  is 
interested  in  fruit  culture,  being  one  of  a  syndicate 
which  owns  the  celebrated  Knob  Hill  Orchard. 

Dr.  Potts  was  married  in  1864  to  Miss  Mattie  Hen- 
derson, eldest  daughter  of  John  S.  Henderson,  of 
Calloway  County,  Missouri.  She  died  in  1865,  leav- 
ing one  daughter,  Mattie,  now  the  wife  of  Jeter  Wal- 
thall, of  San  Jose.  In  1866  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Sallie  Quisenberrj',  whose  father  was  a  prominent 
merchant  of  Columbia,  Missouri.  Mrs.  Potts  is  a 
graduate  of  Christian  College,  located  at  Columbia. 


224 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


Her  parents  were  William  B.  and  Joanna  Quisen- 
berry.  The  parents  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
were  John  and  Pvlargaret  (Spence)  Potts,  natives  of 
Kentucky  and  Virginia,  and  the  former  for  many 
years  a  prominent  farmer  and  stock-raiser  of  Audrain 
County,  Missouri.  His  mother  still  lives  in  Mexico, 
Missouri. 


^s-^^. 


'-H<^- 


IT-^ 


PAMES  HENRY  STONIER  dates  his  birth  from 
November  i6,  1835,  in  Yates  County,  New  York. 
T  His  parents,  Joseph  and  Mary  Ann  (Hardwick) 
Stonier,  were  natives  of  England,  who  emigrated  to 
the  United  States  in  1835.  Until  he  was  fifteen 
years  of  age  his  life  was  spent  on  a  farm.  He  then 
learned  the  trade  of  painter,  which  occupation  he  fol- 
lowed for  the  next  three  or  four  years.  A  portion  of 
this  time  he  was  located  in  Peoria,  Illinois,  at  which 
place  he  was  also  engaged  in  acquiring  an  education. 
In  1854,  desirous  of  bettering  his  condition,  he  started 
by  the  Panama  route  for  California,  and  arrived  in 
San  Francisco  in  January,  1855.  The  next  five  years 
he  devoted  to  mining  in  El  Dorado  County.  He 
then  quit  this  occupation  and  located  in  San  Jose, 
where  he  devoted  eighteen  months'  time  to  perfecting 
his  education  at  the  University  of  the  Pacific.  The 
next  five  years  he  spent  in  farming  near  Berryessa, 
upon  rented  land.  He  then  took  up  his  residence  in 
San  Jose,  where  he  lived  for  seven  years,  at  the  same 
time  conducting  his  farm  operations  in  the  country, 
as  well  as  cultivating  land  in  the  city. 

In  1874  he  removed  to  land  which  he  purchased  on 
the  Hostetter  road.  This  place  was  formerly  owned 
by  Mr.  Jackson,  and  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Will, 
iam  Ainsworth.  Mr.  Stonier  cultivated  and  improved 
this  place  until  he  sold,  and  took  up  his  present  resi- 
dence, which  is  located  on  the  Hostetter  road,  in  the 
Eagle  District,  about  three  and  one-half  miles  north- 
cast  of  San  Jose.  His  original  purchase  was  eighty 
acres;  but  a  few  years  ago  he  sold  forty  acres,  retain- 
ing the  same  amount,  upon  which  his  house  is  located. 
This  land  is  very  productive,  and  shows  the  care  ex- 
ercised in  its  cultivation.  Ten  acres  are  devoted  to 
the  production  of  fruit,  containing  one  thousand  and 
two  hundred  apricots  and  prunes,  with  also  a  few 
trees  of  other  fruits  such  as  are  raised  in  that  section 
of  the  country.  One  and  a  half  acres  are  in  corn, 
which  grows  luxuriantly  without  irrigation  ;  the  bal- 


ance of  his  land  is  devoted  to  hay,  grain,  and  stock. 

In  1862  Mr.  Stonier  married  Miss  Matilda  Tomlin- 
son,  of  Santa  Clara  County,  daughter  of  Mrs.  Meadow- 
craft,  who  lived  in  San  Jose.  Of  their  twelve  children, 
eleven  are  living,  viz.:  Emma,  who  married  Augustus 
Fisher,  now  living  in  Los  Angeles;  Alfred,  who  mar- 
ried Miss  Rella  K.  Haynes,  now  living  near  San 
Miguel,  Monterey  County ;  Clara,  James,  Joseph, 
Sydney  H.,  Tillie,  Edith,  Bert,  Milton,  and  Stanley 
are  living  on  the  old  homestead  with  their  parents. 

Mr.  Stonier  is  a  self-made  man,  who  started  in  life 
almost  without  the  rudiments  of  an  education.  Years 
of  time  and  his  wages  were  spent  in  educating  him- 
self, until  he  was  a  well-informed  man.  He  takes  a 
great  interest  in  the  school  of  his  district.  He  was 
Superintendent  of  the  Berryessa  Methodist  Episcopal 
Sunday-school  from  1875  until  1884.  He  is  a  consist- 
ent member  of  the  Methodist  Church,  and  a  decided 
Prohibitionist.  He  is  now  a  candidate  on  the  Prohibi- 
tion ticket  for  the  office  of  Supervisor.  His  daily  life 
is  such  as  to  gain  the  respect  and  esteem  of  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  resides. 


->«- 


M-* 


ifflENRY  SCOTT,  of  the  Jefferson  District,  owns 
ffk^  and  resides  upon  a  tract  of  sixteen  acres  on 
/3T  Scott's  Lane,  north  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railroad,  and  about  one  mile  northwest  of  Santa 
Clara's  business  center.  This  land  is  devoted  to  the 
cultivation  of  hay  and  the  raising  of  stock.  Among 
the  stock,  mention  must  be  made  of  two  high-bred 
stallions,  from  trotting  stock.  One  of  these  is  called 
"Designer,"  sired  by  the  well-known  horse  "Director;" 
the  other.  Sultan  S.,  sired  by  the  famous  horse  Sultan, 
that  a  few  years  ago  was  sold  for  $15,000.  These 
horses  are  now  (1888)  but  three  years  old.  The  in- 
terest displayed  by  Mr.  Scott  in  the  improvement  of 
stock  will  eventually  be  of  great  value  to  the  industry 
of  stock-raising  in  the  county. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  on  the  Isle  of 
Feio,  Denmark,  March  4,  1845.  His  parents,  Ras- 
mus and  Karen  (Hansen)  Peterson,  were  natives  of 
Denmark,  where  his  mother  died,  the  father  becoming 
a  resident  of  San  Francisco  in  1874.  After  her  death 
Mr.  Scott  lived  upon  a  farm  until,  when  fourteen 
years  old,  he  entered  upon  a  seafaring  life.  He  spent 
eleven  years  on  the  sea,  holding  various  positions  on 
the  different  vessels  in  which  he  sailed,  and  serving 


.;S:,^—(;~(riJA^i- ^- 


•/^ 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


237 


cured  a  fafr  share  of  this  world's  goods.  He  is  the 
owner  of  a  comfortable  home  on  the  corner  of  Thir- 
teenth and  St.  John  Streets,  in  San  Jose,  and  a  fine 
farm  of  two  hundred  and  sixty-eight  acres  near 
Mountain  View,  in  this  county.  In  1885  he  purchased 
a  section  of  land  (six  hundred  and  forty  acres)  in 
Fresno  County,  which  he  still  owns.  Politically,  he  is 
a  consistent  Republican. 


IgENJAMIN  T.  BUBB  (deceased)  was  born  in 
^^W  Washington  County,  Mo.,  February  15,  1838,  son 
J^  of  William  and  Mary  Ann  Bubb.  Benjamin  was 
reared  on  a  farm  and  when  twelve  years  of  age 
came  with  his  parents  to  California.  March  12,  1850, 
the  family  started  across  the  plains  from  Missouri  with 
an  ox  team,  also  bringing  with  them  a  number  of 
cattle,  some  of  which  were  brought  safely  through  and 
some  were  lost  on  the  way.  The  family  consisted  of 
William  Bubb,  his  wife,  and  eight  children.  They 
went  into  the  mining  district  at  Fremont  on  the  Sac- 
ramento River,  arriving  there  on  the  twenty-fifth  of 
August,  1850,  where  they  kept  a  boarding-house. 

In  March,  185 1,  they  moved  to  Downieville,  Sierra 
County,  where  they  carried  on  the  same  business.  In 
October  of  that  year  they  came  to  Santa  Clara 
County,  and  after  stopping  a  few  days  in  Santa  Clara, 
proceeded  to  Fremont  Township,  where  William  Budd 
bought  a  farm  of  eighty  acres,  and  resided  there  until 
his  death,  June  11,  1864.  He  was  born  May  14,  1788. 
His  wife  died  October  21,  1879.  There  are  six  chil- 
dren living:  John  Budd,  residing  in  the  Lincoln 
School  District,  this  county;  Mrs.  Sarah  Brimhall,  of 
Los  Angeles,  California;  Mrs.  Rebecca  Bailey,  resid- 
ing near  Santa  Clara;  Mrs.  McCubbin,  living  near 
Alviso;  Mrs.  Olive  Shore,  of  this  township;  and  Mrs. 
Mary  A.  McDonald,  of  San  Jose.  Benjamin  T.  Bubb 
attended  the  public  schools  of  this  district,  in  his  boy- 
hood days,  besides  doing  farm  work.  He  was  a  man 
well  posted  upon  different  subjects,  was  a  great  reader, 
and  had  a  faculty  of  retaining  what  he  had  read. 

After  the  death  of  his  father  he  remained  on  the 
iiome  place  for  a  short  time  with  his  mother,  who 
afterward  made  her  home  with  him  until  her  death. 
In  1864  Mr.  Bubb  located  on  his  ranch  of  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty-eight  acres,  where  he  lived  until  his 
death,  February  25,  1888.  He  was  united  in  marriage 
June  28,  1871,  with  Sarah  J.  Smith,  by  whom  he  had 
seven  children,  viz.:  Charles  R.,   born  June  3,  1S72; 


William  F.,  February  8,  1874;  Alice  G.,  January  21, 
1876;  George  R.,  October  30,  1877;  Benjamin  C, 
March  30,  1881;  Ernest  M.,  January  7,  1883;  John, 
January  6,  1887.  Mrs.  Bubb  was  born  in  Washington 
County,  Missouri,  and  came  to  California  about  the 
eighth  of  October,  1870.  Mr.  Bubb  was  a  member 
of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church,  of  Mountain 
View,  having  connected  himself  with  that  organization 
seventeen  years  ago,  and  was  an  Elder  in  the  church 
at  the  time  of  his  death.  His  parents  were  Baptists 
and  reared  their  children  in  that  faith,  but  there  being 
no  church  of  that  denomination  here  at  that  time  he 
joined  the  Presbyterians. 

About  four  years  before  his  death  he  became  a 
member  of  the  A.  O.  U.  W.  of  Mountain  View.  Mr. 
Bubb  was  a  Democrat  and  took  quite  an  active  part 
in  the  political  matters  of  the  township,  many  times 
acting  as  judge  of  the  polls  during  the  elections.  He 
was  a  man  of  enterprise  and  public  spirit,  and  took 
an  active  interest  in  the  advancement  of  his  county. 
His  death  caused  universal  regret  througliout  the 
community  in  which  he  had  lived.  In  his  family  he 
was  kind  and  affectionate;  as  a  member  of  the  churcli 
he  was  faithful,  active,  and  liberal.  He  had  none  of 
that  littleness  which  sets  up  individual  opinion  as  tJie 
standard  for  all  the  world,  but  walked  himself  with 
God,  content  that  other  men  should  enjoy  the  same 
liberty  he  himself  possessed. 


^HARLES  PARR,  born  in  England,  May  5, 
'^  1827,  crossed  the  Atlantic  in  1842,  together  with 
(3)1=  father,  mother,  three  brothers,  and  four  sisters; 
also  in  company  with  Jonathan  Parr,  an  uncle, 
and  family;  also  William  Booth,  who  was  his  mother's 
brother,  and  family.  All  landed  safely  in  New  Or- 
leans. When  moving  up  the  Mississippi  River,  the 
youngest  brother  died  suddenly,  and  was  buried  on  an 
island.  Soon  after  arriving  at  the  city  of  St.  Louis, 
Mis.souri,  death  deprived  him  of  his  mother.  The 
following  spring  the  three  families  moved  to  Lee 
County,  Iowa,  and  there  engaged  in  farming  until 
1846,  in  which  year  he  and  the  three  families  started 
to  cross  the  plains  to  the  Pacific  Coast.  All  went  on 
reasonably  well  till  they  reached  North  Platte  River, 
where,  after  camping,  their  cattle  stampeded..  They 
got  them  back,  after  a  little  trouble,  but  they  contin- 
ued stampeding  as  long  as  they  had  strength  to  do 
so.     One    night,   on    South    Platte,   they    stampeded 


238 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


three  times,  and  the  company  lost  as  many  as  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five.  Their  caravan  at  that  time 
consisted  of  forty-one  wagons.  In  the  course  of  two 
days  they  got  back  twenty-five  cattle,  but  in  getting 
them  back  they  lost  one  man,  Trimble,  leaving  a  wife 
and  seven  children.  This  man  Trimble  was  killed  by 
the  Pawnee  Indians.  A  partner  of  his,  named  Har- 
ris, was  captured  and  stripped  of  his  clothing,  ready 
to  receive  his  death-blow,  when  he  was  rescued  by 
some  of  the  party!  The  loss  of  the  cattle  weakened 
the  caravan,  so  much  so  that  one  family,  named  Scott, 
went  back  to  Missouri;  but  the  widow  Trimble  went 
through  to  Oregon.  Their  cattle  stampeded  again 
at  Chimney  Rock,  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  when 
they  were  hitched  up  to  the  wagons.  It  was  a  scene 
never  to  be  forgotten. 

When  the  party  reached  Fort  Bridgcr,  the  Graves 
family,  with  three  wagons,  concluded  to  go  to  Califor- 
nia; and  as  there  was  no  party  in  the  rear  going  that 
way,  they  undertook  to  overtake  Reed's  party,  after- 
ward the  Donner  party.  The  latter  were  eighteen 
days  ahead,  and  were  going  through  by  Easton's  cut- 
off and  Salt  Lake,  being  the  third  party  to  take  that 
route.  On  reaching  Fort  Laramie,  the  party  moving 
westward  were  notified  by  the  Sioux  Indians  that 
they  could  not  be  permitted  to  travel  through  their 
territory  unless  sqme  substantial  compensation  was 
forthcoming,  which  they  received,  and  the  party  were 
then  allowed  to  proceed.  When  Sweetwater  was 
reached,  the  company  suddenly  found  themselves  sur- 
rounded by  a  force  of  some  seven  hundred  redskins, 
who  were  on  the  war-path  against  the  Snake  Indians. 
They  therefore  hastily  collected  their  wagons  and  pre- 
pared for  action.  For  a  time  the  prospect  was  gloomy. 
The  Indians  were  bold  and  rough,  in  many  instances 
pushing  their  way  through  to  the  wagons,  thus  fright- 
ening the  women  and  children.  The  chief  of  the 
tribe.  Smoky,  was  notified  of  this,  and  he  rode  in 
among  them,  commanding  them  to  disperse,  which 
they  did, and  the  emigrants  were  permitted  to  proceed. 
Mr.  Parr  thinks  that  had  it  not  been  for  the  timely 
interference  of  the  chief,  a  bloody  tragedy  would  have 
followed. 

The  Parrs  continued  their  way  toward  Oregon  by  the 
old  route,  by  the  way  of  I'ort  Mall.  When  they  got 
to  that  point  they  lay  by  a  day  or  two,  to  rest  their 
cattle.  There  news  came  that  there  was  a  new  cut-off 
to  Oregon  known  as  Applegatc's.  The  caravan  con- 
cluded to  take  it,  thus  leaving  the  old  California  trail 
about  forty  miles  west  of  Fort  Hall.  When  they  got 
to  Goose  Creek,  where    they  were  to  take  the  cut-off. 


they  were  surprised  to  see  coming  into  their  camp 
two  companies  which  had  taken  Easton's  cut-off,  and 
which  were  over  twenty-one  days  ahead.  Mr.  Easton 
came  in,  and  told  them  not  to  take  Applegate's  cut- 
off, or  they  would  be  overtaken  by  winter,  and  they 
would  never  reach  Oregon.  He  advised  them  to  go 
to  California,  and  they  accepted  the  suggestion.  The 
party  had  eagerly  looked  forward  to  their  arrival  at 
Johnson's,  on  Bear  River,  where  they  supposed  they 
would  find  a  store  and  get  supplies,  but  this  was  not 
the  ca?e.  They  had  been  an  entire  week  without 
anything  to  eat  except  a  few  acorns  and  a  little  poor 
meat.  They  applied  for  flour  (which  was  there  made 
by  grinding  wheat  in  a  little  hand-mill),  but  he  had 
none.  The  next  thing  to  flour  was  what  he  called 
bran,  and  of  this  they  purchased  some.  They  ex- 
changed two  head  of  cattle  for  a  fat  steer,  which  they 
slaughtered  and  m.ade  a  pudding  of  suet  and  bran. 
When  it  came  to  eating,  the  suet  part  was  all  right, 
but  the  bran  could  not  be  swallowed,  and  the  pudding 
was  voted  a  failure.  The  meat  had  to  be  eaten  Cali- 
fornia fashion,  which  made  all  hands  sick.  Two  or 
three  days  later  they  went  down  to  Captain  Sutter's 
Fort,  and  there  got  flour,  faring  very  well  for  a  few 
days. 

In  this  journey,  with  all  its  hardships,  perhaps  the 
saddest  day  was  that  on  which  the  news  came,  early 
in  the  morning,  that  Trimble  was  killed,  and  the  cattle 
not  recovered  ! 

Leaving  the  American  River,  they  made  their  way 
to  Livermore,  Contra  Costa  County,  where  our  subject 
left  his  family  and  came  to  the  town  of  Santa  Clara, 
where  he  was  joined  in  the  spring  of  1S47  by  his  rela- 
tives, all  save  his  father,  who  died  at  Livermore  from 
the  effect  of  a  broken  leg,  which  had  been  unskillfully 
treated.  While  he  was  cutting  down  a  tree,  it  fell 
upon  him,  breaking  one  of  his  legs  in  two  places. 
He  was  buried  at  Livermore,  in  December,  1846. 

Job  Parr  was  married  in  England  to  Miss  Elizabeth 
Booth,  a  native  of  Staffordshire,  and  their  seven  chil- 
dren were:  Charles,  the  .-subject  of  this  sketch;  John, 
who  went  to  Australia,  married  there,  and  returned 
to  California,  where  he  died,  leaving  one  living  child, 
Fannie,  who  is  married  and  lives  near  Sonora  ;  Eliza- 
beth, widow  of  John  Dixon,  who  lives  in  Santa  Clara  ; 
Edna,  wife  of  John  Bohlman,  living  at  New  Almaden ; 
Simpson,  deceased  ;  Diana,  married  and  lives  in  the 
Sandwich  Islands;  Prudence,  who  removed  from  Cal- 
ifornia to  the  Sandwich  Islands  ;  and  Job,  decea.sed. 

Charles  Parr  was  a  young  man  when  the  party 
started    across    the    plains    on    this  memorable    trip. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


239 


While  at  Livermore  his  father  sold  two  yoke  of  oxen 
and  a  wagon  to  Mr.  Forbes,  who  was  remodeling 
some  old  adobe  houses  which  were  included  in 
the  property  of  the  Jesuit  College  at  Santa  Clara, 
and  as  that  gentleman  had  no  white  men  to  manage 
the  oxen,  he  asked  Mr.  Parr  to  send  one  of  his  boys 
along,  and  so  Charles  was  chosen.  About  three 
months  after  coming  to  Santa  Clara,  he  went  home 
on  a  visit  to  the  family,  and  while  there  his  father's 
death  occurred,  Charles  holding  him  in  his  arms 
when  he  passed  away.  He  afterward  returned  to 
Santa  Clara,  and  was  first  employed  by  James  Alex- 
ander Forbes,  for  Dennis  Marten.  While  working  in 
the  redwoods,  in  the  spring  of  1847,  he  went  to  Bear 
River  and  witnessed  the  remains  of  the  Donner  party. 
Here  he  joined  the  party  that  went  up  the  American 
River  to  procure  lumber  to  construct  the  famous 
Sutter's  Mill.  At  the  end  of  three  months  he  pro- 
ceeded to  San  Francisco,  and  afterward  back  to 
Santa  Clara.  In  1848  he  was  employed  in  the  New 
Almaden  quicksilver  mines.  In  the  latter  part  of 
that  year  he  made  a  journey  to  the  Mokelumne  River, 
and  Calaveras  and  Tuolumne  Counties,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  mining,  an  occupation  he  continued  at  inter- 
vals for  the  two  succeeding  years,  and  finally  returned 
to  this  county.  Here,  in  Santa  Clara,  he  opened  a 
public  house,  in  partnership  with  Dr.  Warburton,  for 
one  year.  He  then  built  a  similar  establishment, 
which  he  conducted  for  six  months,  when  he  engaged 
in  blacksmithing.  In  1854  he  engaged  in  stock- 
raising  on  the  Coast  Range,  which  he  abandoned  the 
next  year  on  account  of  ill  health.  He  then  resided 
in  Santa  Clara  till  the  fall  of  1S62,  when  he  moved  to 
his  present  farm  of  one  thousand  two  hundred  acres. 
In  April,  1854,  he  married  T.  Gracia.  They  have 
ten  children  :  Joseph  E.,  Prudence,  Teresa,  Simpson 
N.,  Charks,  Belle,  Stephen  A.,  Agnes,  Eugene,  and 
Mary. 


(MHARLES  a.  PHELPS  resides  on  the  corner 
^  of  the  Santa  Clara  and  Kifer  roads,  in  the  Jef- 
(a>|°  ferson  School  District,  one  mile  north  of  the 
northern  limit  of  Santa  Clara,  at  which  point  he 
is  the  owner  of  fifty  acres  of  productive  land.  With 
the  exception  of  a  small  orchard,  this  land  is  devoted 
to  the  production  of  hay  and  grain,  and  to  the  dairy 
business.  Fifteen  acres  are  producing  alfalfa,  yield- 
ing four  or  five  crops  each  year,  giving  an  aggregate 
of  from  five  to  seven  tons  per  acre.     Among  his  stock 


is  a  dairy  of  fifteen  cows,  a  portion  of  which  are  of 
full-blood  Jersey  stock.  He  has  also  some  full-blood 
English  shire  horses,  among  which  is  his  stallion 
"  Sampson."  Mr.  Phelps  takes  a  great  interest  in 
improving  the  breed  of  cattle  and  horses  in  the  county, 
and  in  his  twenty  years  of  farming  has  done  his  share 
toward  that  end.  Two  flowing  artesian  wells  furnish 
all  the  water  needed  for  irrigation,  stock,  and  domes- 
tic use. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Jefferson 
County,  New  York,  October  17,  1858.  He  is  the  son 
of  Charles  A.  and  Cynthia  (Hamilton)  Phelps.  His 
father  was  a  native  of  England  and  was  formerly  in 
the  English  army,  serving  in  Canada.  In  1840  his 
father  went  to  Michigan,  and  after  a  two  years'  stay 
removed  to  Steuben  County,  Indiana,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  farming  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in 
185 1.  Mr.  Phelps  was  reared  as  a  farmer,  receiving 
such  education  as  the  common  schools  afforded.  The 
death  of  his  father  occurring  when  he  was  but  thirteen 
years  of  age,  placed  the  greater  part  of  the  care  and 
attention  of  the  farm  upon  him,  and  he  was  early 
taught  by  experience  many  of  those  practical  ideas 
which  have  been  so  useful  to  him  in  after  life. 

In  1859  he  came  by  steamer  route  to  California, 
arriving  in  San  Francisco  in  November  of  that  year. 
For  the  next  two  years  he  was  engaged  at  farm  labor 
in  different  counties  of  the  State.  In  1862  he  visited 
Washington  Territory  and  Oregon,  seeking  a  desira- 
ble location.  He  finally  settled  about  three  miles 
from  Hillsborough,  Oregon,  where  he  was  engaged  until 
1865  in  raising  grain.  In  the  latter  year  he  came  to 
Santa  Clara  County,  taking  up  his  residence  in  Santa 
Clara  upon  a  block  of  land  which  he  purchased.  For 
the  next  four  years  Mr.  Phelps  was  engaged  in  vari- 
ous enterprises,  the  chief  of  which  was  pressing  and 
baling  hay.  P""or  one  year  he  rented  the  farm  of  Mr. 
Coffin,  on  the  Coffin  road  north  of  Santa  Clara,  and 
afterward  rented  300  acres  of  land  from  Moses  Davis, 
near  Santa  Clara,  which  he  cultivated  until  1883.  He 
then  purchased  fifty  acres  of  this  tract,  upon  which 
he  resided  until  1S87.  In  that  year  he  sold  the  fifty- 
acre  tract  and  took  up  his  residence  before  described. 
Mr.  Phelps  is  a  member  of  Santa  Clara  Lodge,  No. 
52,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  Odd  Fel- 
lows Beneficiary  Association.  Politically,  he  is  a 
strong  Republican,  and  takes  an  interest  in  the  polit- 
ical questions  of  the  country.  He  is  liberal  and  pub- 
lic-spirited; ready  to  aid  in  all  that  tends  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  his  section  and  county.  In  1869  he 
married   Miss   Mary  Wilcox,  whose   parents   died  in 


240 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


her  infancy,  from  cholera,  at  Sacramento.  From  this 
marriage  there  are  five  children  living,  named  Leonora 
I.,  Hattie  W.,  Frank  D.,  Ollie  A.,  and  Ruby. 


^ffilOOLSEY  J.  SHAW  was  born  in   Montgomery 
Sefss   County,  New    York,    October    17,    1809.     His 

f  father,  John  Shaw,  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey, 
and  his  motlier,  Joan  (Woolsey)  Shaw,  of  New 
York.  His  father  was  a  blacksmith,  to  which  calling 
Mr.  Shaw  was  reared,  and  he  also,  in  his  young  man- 
hood, had  considerable  experience  in  farm  labor. 
His  education  was  limited  to  the  common  schools  of 
that  date.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  years  he  went 
to  Lake  County,  Ohio,  and  worked  for  his  uncle  in 
the  manufacture  of  axes  and  farming  implements. 
He  continued  this  occupation  until  1S32,  when  he  re- 
turned home  and  accompanied  his  father  and  family 
to  Perry,  Lake  County,  Ohio,  at  which  place,  in  con- 
nection with  his  father,  he  established  a  blacksmith 
shop.  In  1S35  he  married  Miss  Phebe  Ann  Bartrom, 
the  daughter  of  Levi  Bartrom,  of  Lake  County,  Ohio. 
In  1844  he  retired  from  his  blacksmithing,  pur- 
chased a  farm,  and  commenced  his  career  as  a  farmer. 
After  two  years  of  farm  life  he  engaged  in  boating 
on  the  Ohio  Canal,  and  freighting  on  Lake  Erie.  In 
1S46  he  removed  to  a  farm  on  the  Fox  River,  near 
Chicago.  He  erected  a  blacksmith  shop  upon  his 
farm,  and  for  the  next  four  years  was  engaged  as  a 
farmer  and  blacksmith.  In  May,  1S50,  he  started 
overland  for  California.  His  trip  across  the  plains 
was  devoid  of  particular  incidents  until  he  reached 
the  "sink  of  the  Humboldt,"  where  he  lost  his 
horses,  and  was  compelled  to  walk  for  over  three  hun- 
dred miles  to  his  destination.  Arriving  in  Placer- 
ville.  El  Dorado  County,  July  4,  1850,  he  entered 
into  mining,  an  occupation  which  he  followed  at  this 
point  and  on  the  north  fork  of  the  Feather  River 
until  the  next  year.  He  then  returned  East  by  the 
Panama  route  and  remained  with  his  family  until 
1S52.  In  the  spring  of  that  year  he  started  across 
the  plains  accompanied  by  his  family,  arriving  in  Cal- 
ifornia that  fall.  In  the  spring  of  1853  he  came  to 
Santa  Clara  County  and  located  in  the  Berryessa 
District,  on  the  Pcnctencia  Creek,  taking  up  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres  of  government  land.  He  com- 
menced its  cultivation  and  improvement,  and  also 
followed  tlie  occupation  of  blacksmith  at  this  place. 
Other  claimants  sprang  up  and   contested  his  claims. 


but  after  a  long  course  of  litigation  he  secured  his  title. 
In  1858  he  purchased  the  Alum  Rock  Ranch, 
containing  736  acres.  The  famous  Alum  Rock 
Springs  were  upon  this  ranch.  In  1865  Mr.  Shaw 
built  a  hotel  at  the  Springs,  which  is  still  standing. 
While  owning  this  land  Mr.  Shaw  was  largely  en- 
gaged in  stock-raising  and  the  dairy  business.  He 
also  owned  three  hundred  acres  of  land  on  Kings 
River,  Tulare  County,  which  he  stocked  with  cattle. 
In  1874  he  closed  up  most  of  his  business  in  Santa 
Clara  County,  and  moved  to  Fresno  County,  where 
he  was  extensively  engaged  as  a  stock-raiser  until 
1 88 1,  when  he  returned  to  Santa  Clara  County  and 
took  up  his  residence  upon  forty  acres  of  his  old 
homestead,  in  the  Berryessa  School  District,  where  he 
has  since  lived.  This  land  is  in  orchard,  and  is  in 
a  high  state  of  cultivation,  showing  great  care  on  the 
part  of  Mr.  Shaw.  Among  the  trees  of  this  orchard 
are  one  thousand  five  hundred  Silver  and  French 
prunes,  nine  hundred  peaches,  five  hundred  apricots, 
one  hundred  and  fifty  plums,  and  a  variety  of  nearly 
all  the  fruits  grown  in  this  county.  The  land  is  so 
situated  that  it  can  be  irrigated  from  the  Fenetencia 
Creek  during  the  rainy  season.  Mr.  Shaw  is  now 
(1888)  in  his  eightieth  year,  and,  despite  his  long  and 
laborious  life,  is  hale  and  hearty.  His  mental  facul- 
ties are  unimpaired,  and  his  memory  is  stored  with  a 
rich  fund  of  reminiscences  of  early  life  in  California. 
He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Church  for 
nearly  sixty  years,  and  has  all  his  life  been  a  strong- 
advocate  of  schools  and  churches.  In  politics  he  has 
been  a  strong  Republican,  but  at  present  is  a  Prohibi- 
tionist. Of  the  seven  children  born  to  them,  six  are 
living,  namely:  Adelia,  wife  of  George  Frizier,  of  Los 
Angeles;  Henry  H.,  who  married  Miss  Lizzie  Valpey 
and  lives  in  Alameda  County;  Matilda,  wife  of  Henry 
H.  Wing,  of  Oakland;  Henrietta,  wife  of  J.  Mauls- 
bary,  of  Fresno  County ;  Levi,  who  married  Miss 
Nathan  and  lives  in  San  Benito  County  ;  and  Laverne, 
wife  of  Henry  White,  of  Napa  County. 


,W;HARLES  R.  SEELY  was  born  in  Cattaraugus 
^  County,  New  York,  in  1830.  His  parents,  Nor- 
(2J>=  man  B.  and  Lydia  (Crook)  Seely,  were  natives 
of  New  York.  In  1835  his  father  moved  to 
Whiteside  County,  Illinois,  and  in  1840  removed  to 
Jones  County,  Iowa,  where  he  pursued  the  occupation 
of  a  farmer.     He  was  also  the  owner  of  a  lumber 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


241 


mill.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools,  and  reared  as  a  farmer.  When 
nineteen  j'ears  of  age  he  rented  a  farm  and  entered 
into  business  on  his  own  account  as  a  farmer  and 
stock-raiser.  In  1849  Mr.  Seeiy  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Miss  Salena  Southern,  the  daughter  of 
John  and  Elizabeth  Southern,  natives  of  Virginia, 
but  residents  of  Tipton,  Cedar  County,  Iowa.  In 
1853  he  came  by  the  Isthmus  route  to  California. 
Upon  his  arrival  in  San  Francisco  he  proceeded  im- 
mediately to  El  Dorado  County,  and  in  connection 
with  his  father  purchased  a  hay  farm.  After  one 
year  he  sold  out  his  interest  in  this  farm,  and  en- 
gaged in  the  occupation  of  freighting  supplies  from 
Sacramento  to  the  mines.  In  May,  1S55,  ^''^  returned 
to  his  home  in  Iowa,  where  he  remained  until  1S57, 

In  this  latter  year  he  came  overland  to  California, 
bringing  his  family  with  him,  and  located  in  Solano 
County,  where  he  purchased  two  hundred  and  forty 
acres  of  land.  For  the  ne.xt  ten  years  he  resided 
there,  devoting  his  land  to  the  production  of  grain 
and  to  raising  stock.  In  1S67  he  retuincd  to  the  old 
homestead  in  Iowa,  upon  which  he  made  extensive 
improvements,  with  the  design  of  spending  the  re- 
mainder of  his  days  there,  but  the  delights  of  Cali- 
fornia climate  and  the  varied  productions  of  its  soil 
induced  him  to  change  his  mind.  In  1869  he  again 
crossed  the  plains  with  his  family,  located  in  Solano 
County,  and  purchased  six  hundred  and  forty  acres 
of  land.  His  title  to  this  land  proved  worthless,  and 
after  two  years'  residence  there  he  removed  to  Stan- 
islaus County,  and  purchased  one  thousand  four  hun- 
dred and  sixty-one  acres  of  land,  most  of  which  he 
devoted  to  grain.  He  resided  upon  this  land  until 
1881.  Desiring  a  change  of  climate  and  an  easier 
mode  of  life,  in  the  latter  )ear  he  removed  to  Santa 
Clara  County,  and  located  in  San  Jose.  In  1SS6  he 
purchased  a  fine  orchard  property  and  home  on 
Bascom  Avenue,  about  one  miie  south  of  Santa 
Clara.  There  are  forty-eight  and  one-half  acr^_s  in 
this  tract,  all  of  which  is  in  orchard  except  that  por- 
tion occupied  by  his  beautiful  residence,  extensive 
grounds,  and  out-buildings.  Among  the  latter  is  a 
fruit-dryer,  with  a  capacity  of  three  tons  per  day. 
His  orchard  is  one  of  the  finest  in  that  section  of  the 
county,  and  Mr.  Secly  is  an  enthusiast  in  his  new 
occupation.  He  has  sixteen  acres  each  of  apricots 
and  French  prunes.  His  orchard  is  also  producing 
peach'-s,  pears,  plums,  cherries,  walnuts,  almonds,  and 
figs. 

Mr.  Seely  has  made  a  success  in  his  farming  opcr- 
31 


ations,  and  has  secured  a  competency.  The  same 
intelligent  and  energetic  principles  applied  to  his 
calling  as  an  orchardist,  coupled  with  his  sound  busi- 
ness views,  are  bound  to  produce  like  results.  He 
is  a  consistent  member  of  the  Methodist  Church. 
Politically  a  strong  Republican,  he  is  still  liberal  and 
conservative  in  all  political  actions. 

Of  the  thirteen  children  from  the  marriage  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Seely,  but  eight  are  living,  viz.:  Martin  B., 
Mary  Belle,  Hattie,  George  B.,  Gertrude,  Charles  R., 
Alice,  and  Lillie.  Martin  B.  married  Miss  Emma 
Mahoney.  Mary  Belle  married  Augustus  Stewart. 
Hattie  married  Frank  Coats.  George  B.  married 
Miss  Margaret  Turner.  All  the  above  are  residing 
in  Stanislaus  County.  Gertrude  married  Charles 
Blaisdell,  now  deceased.  Mrs.  Blaisdell  and  the 
other  children  reside  with  their  parents. 


-^^; 


m^ 


§r 


lirENRY  HULME  WARBURTON,  M.  D.,  one 
G^'i^  of  the  early  pioneers  of  Santa  Clara,  was  born 
"^if  in  Staffordshire,  England,  May  23,  1S19.  He  is 
a  son  of  John  Warburtcn,  M.  D.,  under  whose  tui- 
tion he  prepared  himself  for  the  practice  of  medicine. 
He  received  his  literary  education  at  an  endowed 
school  at  Gigglcsw'ick,  Yorkshire,  Elngland.  At  the  age 
of  twenty-two  he  entered  the  London  Hospital  Medi- 
cal Institute,  where  he  took  a  full  course  of  lectures, 
after  whicli  he  practiced  with  his  father  until  June, 
1844,  when  he  came  to  America,  arriving  at  New 
York  city  July  9  following.  He  remained  in  New 
York  practicing  medicine  until  the  autumn  of  1S45, 
when  he  went  to  New  London,  Connecticut,  and 
there  embarked  as  surgeon  in  the  whaling  vessel 
Corca,  under  Capt.  Benjamin  Hemstead.  He  cruised 
on  the  northwest  coast  of  North  America,  the  coast 
of  New  Zealand,  and  also  visited  the  Sandwich  Isl- 
ands a  number  of  times.  At  San  Francisco,  in  1S47, 
he  resigned  his  commission  as  surgeon  of  the  vessel, 
and  after  visiting  various  gold  diggings  he  located,  in 
1848,  at  Santa  Clara,  at  that  time  a  small  Catholic 
mission.  The  Doctor  is  widely  known  as  a  skillful 
physician,  and,  with  the  exception  of  several  months 
spent  in  visiting  friends  and  relatives  in  England  in 
1870,  he  has  never  left  his  field  of  practice,  which  ex- 
tends over  a  large  portion  of  California  and  parts  of 
Oregon  and  Washington  Territory. 

In    1855  he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Catherine  Pennel, 
nee   Long,    a    daughter    of   Peter    and    Hilah    Long. 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD: 


There  were  born  to  them  seven  children,  two  of  which 
died  in  infancy.  Those  living  are:  Caroline  Astoria, 
Ellen  Ann,  John  Garrett,  Charles  Pennington,  and 
rienry  Luke.  They  also  raised  one  adopted  daugh- 
ter, Sarah  Isabella,  wife  of  R.  C.  Blackman,  of  San 
Francisco. 

The  Doctor  and  his  family  are  all  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  he  is  an  Odd  Fel- 
low, being  one  of  the  original  members  of  Santa  Clara 
Lodge,  No.  52,  of  Santa  Clara. 


IglCHAEL  SULLIVAN.  One  of  the  stanch, 
<^{i^  sturdy,  honorable  old  settlers  of  California  and 
<^  this  valley  is  the  gentleman  whose  name  heads 
I  this  article.  Born  in  Limerick,  Ireland,  in  1S31, 
his  father  emigrated  to  Canada  ten  years  later. 
They  removed  shortly  afterward  to  Missouri,  tilling  a 
farm  which  the  elder  Mr.  Sullivan  had  taken  up,  to 
which  occupation  young  Michael  was  trained.  When 
he  was  thirteen  years  of  age  (1844)  he  set  out  with 
the  family  of  Martin  Murphy,  Sr.,  for  California,  con- 
tinuing with  his  family  until  he  reached  the  age  of 
twenty-three,  and  settling  with  them  in  the  Santa 
Clara  Valley.  In  1854  he  purchased  one  hundred 
and  ninety-seven  acres  of  land  on  the  north  side  of 
the  Alum  Rock  road,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  east 
of  San  Jose,  and  took  up  his  residence.  On  No- 
vember 13,  1855,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Margaret 
Welsh,  daughter  of  Robert  and  Johanna  (Welsh) 
Welsh,  who  were  natives  of  Kilkenny  County,  Ire- 
land, where  she  was  born.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that 
Mr.  Sullivan  was  in  this  county  while  it  was  still 
under  Mexican  domination,  and  though  at  the  time 
but  a  youth  of  sixteen  years  he  gallantly  took  up 
arms  and  helped  to  wrest  this  fair  land  from  Mexican 
supremacy  and  place  it  under  the  stars  and  stripes. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  San  Jose  contingent  that 
joined  the  little  force  commanded  by  Capt.  Ward 
Marston,  numbering  in  all  about  one  hundred  men. 
They  met,  and  after  a  series  of  some  pretty  severe 
engagements  with  the  Mexican  forces  under  Colonel 
Sanchez,  the  latter  surrendered  unconditionally.  It 
will  thus  be  seen  that  he  has  led  an  active  and  adven- 
turous life,  meeting  the  hardships  and  discourage- 
ments incident  to  a  pioneer's  life,  and  reaping  the  re- 
ward of  his  arduous  labors.  At  present  Mr.  Sullivan 
owns  about  one  hundred  and  fifteen  acres  of  his  orig- 
inal tract,  and  upon  it  is  raising  hay  and  grain  with 
considerable  profit. 


When  first  taken  up  this  land  was  wild  and  unculti- 
vated, and  its  state  of  high  cultivation  shows  the  care 
and  attention  bestowed  upon  it  by  Mr.  Sullivan.  He 
is  a  man  of  great  force  of  character  and  natural  abil- 
ity; for,  although  in  his  early  life  deprived  of  nearly 
all  the  advantages  of  schooling,  by  his  unaided  efforts 
he  has  acquired  a  goodly  share  of  the  education  one 
gets  from  an  active  life,  and  has  achieved  a  success  in 
life  due  to  sound  common  sense,  native  wit,  and  good 
judgment.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics  and  a  con- 
sistent member  of  the  Catholic  Church,  being  sincere 
in  all  his  principles. 

He  is  the  father  of  the  following-named  children: 
Nellie,  married  to  John  Shchan,  and  now  residing  on 
a  portion  of  the  old  homestead;  Robert  P.,  who  mar- 
ried Miss  Susie  Barber,  and  lives  in  San  Jose;  Mary 
Kate,  married  James  Shehan,  and  is  living  on  the 
homestead;  Edward  J.,  at  home  with  his  parents,  as 
are  also  Richard,  John,  and  Vincent. 


M'AMUEL  R.  JOHNSON.  Among  the  beautiful 
^  and  productive  orchards  in  the  Hamilton  District, 
J^~^  San  Jose  Township,  that  owned  by  Mr.  Johnson 
is  worthy  of  special  mention.  This  orchard  is 
located  on  Moorpark  Avenue,  or  Gruwell  road,  about 
three  miles  southwest  of  the  business  center  of  San 
Jose.  It  is  fifty-one  acres  in  extent,  all  under  a  high 
state  of  cultivation,  and  devoted  to  orchard  purposes, 
which  is  classed  as  follows:  Nineteen  acres  of  apricots, 
twelve  acres  of  French  prunes,  eight  acres  of  apples, 
four  acres  of  egg  plums,  five  acres  of  cherries,  one  and 
one-half  acres  of  pears,  and  three-fourths  of  an  acre  in 
almonds.  There  are  also  a  few  vines  of  choice  table 
grapes,  and  a  select  family  orchard  containing  nearly 
all  varieties  of  fruit  grown  in  the  county.  Mr.  Johnson 
is  also  the  owner  of  a  magnificent  tract  of  360 
acres  in  extent  in  the  Meridian  School  District,  on  the 
Doyle  road,  three  and  one-half  miles  southwest  of  his 
orchard  property.  Sixty  acres  of  this  land  are  planted 
with  vines,  producing  wine  grapes  of  the  Zinfandel, 
Grenache,  and  Charbano  varieties;  also  three  acres  of 
table  grapes  of  the  Black  Hamburg  and  Muscat  varie- 
ties. There  is  an  extensive  orchard  upon  this  place, 
comprising  seventy-five  acres  of  French  prunes  antl 
twenty  acres  of  cherries.  The  rest  of  the  land  is  de- 
voted to  hay  and  grain. 

The   subject    of  this    sketch    was    born    in    Parke 
County,    Indiana,    November    i,    1830.     His    father, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


243 


Isaac  Johnson,  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  his 
mother,  Mary  (McKinley)  Johnson,  was  born  in  In- 
diana. His  early  life  was  spent  on  a  farm,  and  his 
education  confined  to  the  common  schools.  He  con- 
tinued his  farm  labor  until  1853,  when  he  came  over- 
land to  California,  and  located  in  Solano  County. 
He  rented  land  in  that  county,  and  for  two  years  en- 
gaged in  raising  grain.  In  1S55  he  returned  East  and 
located  in  Sydney,  Fremont  County,  Iowa,  where  he 
was  engaged  in  a  general  merchandise  business  until 
1857.  He  then  moved  to  Cass  County,  Nebraska, 
where  he  continued  his  mercantile  pursuits  until  1866. 
In  that  year  he  located  at  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa,  and 
was  engaged  in  the  wholesale  grocery  business  for 
eight  years.  In  1874  he  moved  to  Omaha,  Nebraska, 
and  there  conducted  an  extensive  wholesale  grocery 
business  until  1885,  when  he  sold  out  and  retired  from 
mercantile  pursuits.  For  thirty  years  Mr.  Johnson 
was  actively  engaged  in  mercantile  life,  during  which 
time,  by  his  energy  and  sound  business  principles,  he 
accumulated  a  competency.  He  was  identified  and 
associated  with  many  public  enterprises,  investing  his 
capital  therein,  among  which  was  the  cable  road  system 
in  Omaha.  He  is  now  (1888)  the  President  of  the 
Omaha  Cable  Tramway  Company.  Mr.  Johnson  has 
visited  California  many  times  during  his  business  life, 
and  fully  appreciates  its  advantages  in  climate,  soil, 
etc.  In  1886  he  purchased  his  orchard  property  on 
Moorpark  Avenne,  and  in  1887  purchased  360  acres 
on  the  Doyle  road.  His  business  interests  are  such 
in  Omaha  that  as  yet  he  has  been  unable  to  reside 
permanently  in  this  county,  though  his  family  and 
himself  spend  a  large  portion  of  each  year  at  his  resi- 
dence on  Moorpark  Avenue.  It  is  his  intention  in 
the  near  future  to  take  up  his  permanent  residence  in 
Santa  Clara  County. 

In  1856  Mr.  Johnson  married  Miss  Martha  Spratlcn, 
the  daughter  of  James  and  Sarah  H.  (Lynch)  Spratlen, 
natives  of  Virginia,  but  now  residents  of  Fremont 
County,  Iowa.  Mrs.  Johnson  died  in  1S70,  leaving 
four  children,  viz.:  Franklin  B.,  who  married  Miss 
Marian  Reed;  Hattie  L.,  who  married  Ed.  B.  Will- 
iams; William,  and  Nettie;  all  the  above  reside  in 
Omaha.  In  1873  he  married  Miss  Fannie  M.  Bcrger, 
daughter  of  Enos  and  Elizabeth  Berger,  natives  of 
Virginia,  now  residents  of  Santa  Clara  County.  From 
this  marriage  there  arc  two  sons,  Samuel  Edgar  and 
Ralph  Raymond,  who  are  residing  with  their  parents. 


;~r  AMES  F.  HULL.  California  has  made  a  wonder- 
s'' ful  progress,  and  people  are  fond  of  attributing  it 
^  all  to  its  genial  climate  and  its  fertile  soil.  They 
are  wrong  in  giving  these  all  the  credit.  California, 
with  all  her  unparalleled  natural  resources,  lay  a  desert 
until  settled  up  with  men  of  bone  and  sinew  and 
brains,  who  comprise  the  vast  majority  of  its  American 
settlers.  This  was  notable  in  the  early  days,  and  is 
not  less  so  now.  The  energy,  the  money,  and  the 
business  capacity  of  the  men  still  coming  in  are  help- 
ing mightily  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  State.  It  is  for 
this  reason  that  we  are  glad  to  read  the  life  history  of 
the  men  of  California,  as  they  are  full  of  interest  and 
instruction.  Mr.  James  F.  Hull  is  the  owner  of  ten 
acres  of  land  as  choice  as  any  in  the  valley,  situated 
on  the  White  road  in  the  Pala  School  District,  about 
three  and  a  half  miles  east  of  the  business  center  of 
San  Jose.  He  has  set  it  all  out  in  orchard,  planting 
500  apricots,  500  French  prunes  and  about  50  other 
trees  of  the  different  sorts  that  prosper  in  this  valley, 
to  afford  a  variety.  There  is  a  plentiful  supply  of 
water,  which  is  reached  in  wells  at  the  depth  of  ninety- 
eight  feet,  but  irrigation  is  not  necessary,  vegetables 
and  small  fruits  coming  to  the  choicest  perfection 
without. 

Mr.  Hull  was  born  in  Mineral,  West  Virginia,  De- 
cember 29,  1844,  being  the  son  of  William  and  Jemima 
(Tucker)  Hull,  both  natives  of  Virginia.  His  father 
was  a  farmer,  and  to  the  same  calling  the  son  was 
brought  up,  but  at  the  same  time  learning  the  carpen- 
tering and  blacksmithing  trades.  In  i868  he  married 
Miss  Elmira  V.  Parsons,  the  daughter  of  Job  and 
Sarah  (Larch)  Parsons,  who  were  residents  of  his 
section  of  the  State.  He  then  started  on  his  own 
account  and  for  two  years  or  more  worked  his  father- 
in-law's  farm.  In  1871  he  removed  to  Newton 
County,  Indiana,  where  he  lented  a  farm  and  car- 
ried it  on  four  years,  until,  December  15,  1874,  he 
started  for  California.  Fresno  was  the  point  chosen 
for  a  location,  and  here  he  became  a  farmer  and  stock- 
raiser,  at  the  same  time  engaging  as  a  builder  of 
houses  and  bridges,  and  also  starting  a  shop  for  black- 
smithing  and  carriage  work.  Mr.  Hull  followed  these 
employments,  meeting  with  a  very  satisfactory  and 
deserved  success,  until,  in  March,  1888,  he  sold  out  at 
a  fair  profit  and  came  to  Santa  Clara  County.  Here 
he  purchased  the  beautiful  spot  where  he  now  resides, 
and  immediately  began  its  improvement.  He  has 
built  himself. an  elegant  and  commodious  cottage  of 
two  stories,  and  is  in  a  position  to  make  life  comforta- 
ble.    He  has  five  children    living:  Albertie,    Emma, 


244 


PEN  PIC  WEES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD: 


Josephine,  Laura,  Helen,  and  James  Truman,  all  of 
whom  live  at  home,  and  such  of  them  as  are  old  enougli 
attend  school.  Mr.  Hull  is  a  gentlemen  of  broad  edu- 
cation and  of  good  attainment;  a  Democrat  in  politics, 
but  at  the  same  time  both  liberal  and  conservative  in 
sentiment,  taking  a  living  interest  in  all  questions  of 
the  day.  In  Fresno  County  he  was  a  School  Trustee, 
and  was  closely  identified  with  the  best  interests  of 
that  section.  He  has  transferred  his  allegiance  to  this 
valley,  and  is  enthusiastic  over  its  prospects,  being 
emphatically  what  is  considered  the  best  kind  of  an 
immigrant. 


M-«- 


>-H>« 


§[pEL  S.  WHITEHURST  was  born  in  Le.xing- 
<■  ton,  Missouri,  August  4,  1844,  being  a  son  of 
W  William  M.  Whitehurst  and  Sarah  (Shipp)  White- 
hurst,  who  were  both  natives  of  Princess  Ann  County, 
Virginia,  where  they  were  married  in  1829.  Their 
union  was  blessed  with  six  children,  who  are:  Thomas 
W.,  a  teacher  by  profession  for  the  past  twenty-five 
years,  and  a  resident  of  Saratoga,  this  county;  Albert 
L.,  a  lumber  dealer,  residing  in  Gilroy;  William  H., 
living  in  Hickman  County,  Kentucky;  Edwin  B.,  the 
proprietor  of  a  hotel  at  Pierce's  Mills,  Santa  Cruz 
County;  Henrietta,  the  only  daughter,  died  at  the  age 
of  four  years,  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri.  Joel  S.  White- 
hurst was  married  in  1869  to  Miss  P'annie  Logan, 
daughter  of  Alexander  Logan  and  Sarah  (ttee  Easly) 
Logan.  They  are  the  parents  of  si.x  children,  whose 
names  are;  Edith,  George,  Susie,  Estelle,  Sadie,  and 
Joel  A.  Mr.  Whitehurst's  father  was  an  early  pioneer 
of  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  where  he  manufactured  car- 
riages and  plows,  as  he  did  both  in  Virginia  and 
Lexington,  being  the  first  manufacturer  of  plows  in 
the  latter  place. 

In  1849  he  and  two  of  his  sons  came  to  California, 
where  he  worked  in  the  mines  on  the  Feather  River 
near  Oroville,  with  varied  success.  In  1852  he  re- 
turned to  Lexington,  where  he  remained  until  1863, 
when  he  again  came  to  this  State,  and  made  his  home 
with  his  sons  Joel  S.  and  A.  L.  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  on  March  10,  1887,  in  the  eighty-second 
year  of  his  age.  Mr.  Whitehurst's  mother  died  when 
he  was  an  infant.  He  came  to  California  in  1867,  go- 
ing first  to  Lexington  and  then  to  Gilroy,  where  he 
had  charge  of  a  mill.  In  1878  he  came  to  the  Wil- 
lows and  bought  eight  and  one-fourth  acres  of  land, 
paying  $350  an  acre  not  including  the  improvements. 


His  place  is  planted  mostly  to  French  and  silver 
prunes,  the  latter  known  as  a  seedling  of  the  Califor- 
nia's Golden  Drop  variety.  He  has  about  1,400 
of  these  trees,  they  being  an  experiment  with  him^ 
Mr.  Plummer,  of  Oregon,  having  introduced  them 
here.  The  firm  of  King,  Moose  &  Co.,  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, paid  two  and  one-half  cents  a  pound  for  the 
fruit  in  1S87,  while  the  French  prunes  brought  only 
from  one  and  a  half  to  two  cents  a  pound.  A  whole- 
sale grocer  from  Chicago  was  greatly  interested  in 
these  prunes  and  anxious  to  handle  them  extensively. 
Those  sold  here  in  1887  were  dried  and  bleached 
and  then  sold  at  the  drier  for  fifteen  cents  a  pound  to 
a  Chicago  fruit  dealer.  Mr.  Whitehurst  has  about 
six  hundred  French  prunes.  All  his  trees  are  twelve 
feet  apart,  making  nearly  three  hundred  trees  to  the 
acre.  This  thick  growth  of  trees  would  not  succeed 
on  any  land  less  fertile  than  that  at  the  Willows.  He 
has  not  as  yet  fertilized  his  land  in  any  way. 


fHOMAS  H.  DONNELY.  Among  the  well- 
known  and  popular  liveryinen  of  San  Jose  is  the 
<$y^  subject  of  this  sketch,  a  brief  rcsiniu'  of  whose 
life  is  herewith  given.  Mr.  Donncly  was  born  in 
Oxford  Township,  Canada  West,  July  27,  1859.  His 
father,  James  Donnely,  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  aad 
his  mother,  Ann  (Patterson)  Donnely,  was  born  in 
Canada.  He  was  reared  upon  his  father's  farm  until 
the  age  of  thirteen  years.  At  this  early  age  he  com- 
menced life  upon  his  own  account,  working  at  farm 
labor  in  the  summer  seasons  and  attending  school  in 
the  winter  months.  He  continued  this  occupation 
until  1879,  in  which  year  he  came  to  California  and 
made  his  home  in  Santa  Clara  County.  His  first 
work  in  this  county  was  at  farm  labor  for  W.  A.  Z. 
Edwards,  near  San  Jose.  He  remained  with  Mr.  Ed- 
wards nearly  two  years,  and  then  worked  for  Isaac 
Dixon  in  the  Mount  Hamilton  District,  until  18S3. 
In  the  latter  year  he  returned  to  San  Jose,  and,  in 
partnership  with  George  Whitney,established  himself 
in  the  livery  business  at  No.  174  West  Santa  Clara 
Street.  This  business,  under  the  able  management 
of  Mr.  Donnely  and  his  partner,  has  been  successful 
and  profitable,  and  their  establishment  ranks  as  one 
of  the  best  appointed  and  patronized  stables  in  San 
Jose. 

By    his    first    marriage    Mr.    Donnely    had    a  son, 
Howard  A.  by  name.     In  1S85  he  married  Miss  Har- 


BIO  GRA  PIIICA  L  SKETCHES. 


245 


riet  Farnsworth,  for  his  second  wife.  She  is  the 
daughter  of  Oliver  and  Harriet  (Hostetter)  Farns- 
worth, who  are  residents  and  pioneers  of  Santa  Clara 
County.  One  child,  Louise,  has  been  born  by  this 
marriage;  she  died,  and  was  buried  December  24, 
1887.  Mr.  Donnely  is  one  of  the  energetic  and  en- 
terprising business  men  and  respected  citizens  of  San 
Jose,  taking  an  interest  in  all  that  concerns  the  pros- 
perity and  growth  of  the  city.  In  politics  he  is  a 
conservative  Republican. 


MiLFRED  DENNING  resides  near  the  corner  of 
sip  the  Almaden  road  and  Orchard  Street,  at  the 
■^  southern  limits  of  San  Jose,  at  which  point  he  has 
*  a  blacksmith  and  carriage-repairing  shop.  He  is 
located  in  a  section  of  the  county  that  makes  his 
work  a  desirable  acquisition,  and  b^ing  a  thorough 
mechanic  and  master  of  his  calling,  he  is  well  sup- 
ported by  the  community  in  which  he  resides.  In 
addition  to  his  repairing  of  wagons  and  agricultural 
implements,  he  also  hianufactures  such  wagons  as  are 
required  by  orchardists,  and  others  engaged  in  like 
callings.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in 
Stockton,  California,  January  29,  1857.  His  parents, 
John  H.  and  Rachel  J.  (Crumcs)  Denning,  were  na- 
tives of  Indiana,  who  came  to  California  in  1S56.  His 
father  located  in  Stockton,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
farming  and  stock-raising  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred in  1866.  After  the  death  of  his  father  his 
mother  married  Matthew  Svveetland  (since  deceased) 
of  Stockton.  Mrs.  Sweetland  is  now  (1888)  living  in 
Loudan  City,  Fayette  County,  Illinois.  Mr.  Denning 
was  engaged  at  school  until  twelve  years  of  age,  when 
he  became  an  apprentice  to  Joseph  Rceley,  a  black- 
smith in  Jenny  Lind  Township,  Calaveras  County. 
He  worked  at  this  calling  about  four  years,  then  for 
several  years  was  engaged  in  various  occupations, 
among  which  was  farming,  sheep-shearing,  and  black- 
smithing.  During  this  time  he  lived  in  different 
countie.5  until  1885,  when  he  located  in  Monterey 
County.  In  this  latter  year  Mr.  Denning  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Agnes  E.  Antoine,  daughter  of 
Joseph  and  Jennie  (Wyllie)  Antoine,  residents  of 
Castroville,  Monterey  County.  Her  father  was  a  na- 
tive of  Portugal,  her  mother  a  native  of  Scotland,  of 
Scotch  descent.  He  resided  in  Monterey  County  un- 
til March,  1S88,  when  he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County, 
and    established     the    shop    before    mentioned.     Mr. 


Denning  is  a  thorough  mechanic  and  master  of  his 
profession,  straightforward  in  his  dealings,  and  reli- 
able. He  takes  an  intelligent  interest  in  the  affairs 
of  the  day;  is  a  Democrat,  but  conservative  and 
libera!  in  his  views. 


%<- 


fYLVANUS  S.  PAUL  resides  at  Berryessa,  where 
until  recently  he  owned  a  fine  thirty-acre  orchard. 
cfc  This  land  he  kept  in  a  state  of  high  cultivation, 
and  among  the  trees,  which  are  six  j-ears  old,  are 
twelve  hundred  apricot-^,  nine  hundred  French  prunes, 
four  hundred  peaches,  three  hundred  cherries,  fifty 
pears,  also  a  few  trees  each  of  nearly  all  the  varieties 
of  fruit  raised  in  that  section.  It  is  worthy  of  men- 
tion, as  showing  the  productions  of  the  land  in  this  dis- 
trict, that  in  1887  the  yield  from  the  apricots  in  this 
orchard  was  over  $150  per  acre. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Monroe 
County,  New  York,  March  4,  1828.  His  parents  were 
Zebulon  and  Melinda  (Sperry)  Paul.  His  father  was 
a  native  of  Massachusetts  and  his  mother  of  Connec- 
ticut. In  early  life  he  was  reared  as  a  farmer,  his 
education  being  limited  t  j  the  common  schools  of  that 
date.  In  1847,  when  but  nineteen  years  of  age,  he 
started  in  life  for  himself  and  located  in  Walworth 
County,  Wisconsin,  upon  the  land  which  his  father 
had  purchased  and  given  to  him.  There  for  }ears  he 
followed  the  general  occupation  of  a  farmer,  meeting 
with  the  success  that  his  well-directed  industry  en- 
titled him  to.  In  1853,  while  on  a  visit  to  Ohio,  he 
married  Miss  Sophia  Gibson,  the  daughter  of  Prof 
John  Gibson  and  Sarah  (Cushman)  Gibson,  natives 
of  Massachusetts.  Professor  Gibson  was  a  promi- 
nent musician  and  composer.  The  result  of  this  mar- 
riage was  two  children.  Mrs.  Paul  died  April  14, 
i860.  In  1862  Mr.  Paul  married  Miss  Ellizabeth 
Green,  daughter  of  John  Green,  a  native  of  New  York, 
in  which  Stateshe  was  born.  In  1881  Mr.  Paul  rented 
his  farm  and  visited  California.  He  was  so  well  pleased 
with  climate,  soil,  etc.,  that  upon  his  return  to  Wis- 
consin he  sold  out  most  of  his  interests  there,  and  in 
1883  returned  to  Santa  Clara  County  and  located  at 
his  present  place  of  residence.  Although  he  has  been 
but  a  few  j-ears  in  the  county,  he  has  identified  him- 
self with  the  community  in  which  he  resides.  He  is  a 
consistent  member  of  the  Baptist  Church,  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Masonic  fraternity.  Politically,  he  is  a 
strong  Republican.     I'rom   Mr.   Paul's  first  marriage 


246 


FEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD: 


there  is  living  Dephonzo  G.,  who  married  Miss  Eva 
Tenny,  of  Wisconsin.  They  are  now  residing  at 
Livermore,  CaHfornia.  No  children  were  born  from 
his  second  marriaee. 


SKENRY  L.  SCHEMMEL,  emporium  of  music, 
Gcp'  pianos,  and  musical  merchandise,  wholesale  and 
"^  retail,  Nos.  72  to  78  East  Santa  Clara  Street, 
San  Jose,  is  the  agent  for  Santa  Clara  County 
and  adjoining  counties  south,  for  the  Steinway,  Steck, 
Gabler  and  Vose  pianos.  He  also  deals  in  sheet- 
music,  and  all  the  special  makes  of  brass  and  stringed 
instruments. 

Born  in  Hamburg,  Germany,  in  1848,  he  went 
through  the  various  preparatory  schools;  he  attended 
the  gymnasium  and  the  university.  During  all  these 
years  he  had  devoted  considerable  time  to  the  study 
and  practice  of  music.  His  tastes,  indeed,  led  him  to 
adopt  music  as  a  profession,  but  in  this  he  was  op- 
posed by  his  father,  who  wished  him  to  pursue  a 
business  career.  About  this  time,  complication  arose 
relative  to  his  entering  upon  his  term  of  usually  re- 
quired military  service.  Not  satisfied  with  the  out- 
look, and  being  favorably  disposed  to  the  political 
ideas  dominating  our  American  government,  he  de- 
cided to  come  to  the  United  States.  Arriving  in 
New  York  in  1S70,  he  proceeded  at  once  across  the 
continent  to  San  Francisco,  where  he  devoted  himself 
to  a  musical  career,  meeting  with  a  satisfactory  degree 
of  success.  The  climate  not  agreeing  with  him  at 
the  bay,  he  removed  to  San  Jose,  where  he  taught 
music  for  fourteen  years.  In  1885  Mr.  Schemmel 
opened  the  musical  establishment  now  owned  and 
conducted  by  him,  investing  carefully  at  first  and  to 
but  a  limited  extent,  but  after  feeling  the  pulse  of  the 
trade  he  extended  his  operations,  enlarging  the  store 
he  then  occupied,  adding  the  store  adjoining  for  his 
pianos,  extending  in  the  rear  for  what  is  now  his 
manufacturing,  repair,  and  polishing  rooms.  In  busi- 
ness he  has  been  very  successful,  having  been  united 
with  valuable  piano  agencies  since  opening,  the  con- 
fidence developed  by  so  many  years  of  teaching  music 
and  contact  with  people  of  musical  taste  contributing 
largely  to  this  result.  Mr.  Schemmel  was  married  in 
1875  to  Miss  Mathilda  Pfister,  daughter  of  A.  Pfister, 
one  of  our  earliest  pioneer  merchants  and  most  re- 
spected citizens.  They  have  three  children,  Louisa, 
Adolph,  and  iM-ank. 


Mr.  Schemmel  is  a 
his  political  ideas  and 


man  naturally  independent 
ififiliations. 


John  a.  WETMORE,  one  of  those  who  is  making 
©^  noteworthy  improvements  in  Santa  Clara  County, 
'^    is  a  native  of  Brownville,  Jefferson  County,  New 
York,  born  September  19,  1834.     He  was  reared  there, 
and  at  the  age  of  twenty  started  out  in  life  for  him- 
self    In  185s  he  located  at  Portland,  Dodge  County, 
Wisconsin,  and  engaged  in  farming.     In  1884  he  went 
into  Ashland  County  for  the  purpose  of  prospecting 
in  the  Gogebic  mining  region.     He  was  for  some  time 
interested  in  the  Ashland  mine,  and  still  has  interests 
in  the  celebrated  "  Germania,"  and  also  property  in 
Dane  County,  Wisconsin.     In   1887  he  came  out  to 
Santa  Clara  County.     His  wife  was  formerly  Sarah 
M.   Hayes,  a  native   of  Waterloo,  Jefferson   County, 
Wisconsin.     Mr.  Wetmore  has   a  ranch  of  no  acres, 
near  Eden  Vale  Station,  on  the  Southern  Pacific  Rail- 
road.    Of  this,  sixty-three  acres  are  valley,  and  the 
remainder    foot-hill    and    table    land.     That    in    the 
foot-hills    is  used  for  pasture,  while,  of  the   remain- 
der, twenty-five  acres  will  be  devoted  to  fruit.      Al- 
ready he    has    planted    1,500  trees,  as    follows:    Six 
varieties  of  apricots,  nine  of  cherries,  six  of  prunes, 
eight  of  pears,   ten   of   peaches,  nineteen  of  apples, 
seven  of  plums,  two  of  figs,  four  of  almonds,  three  of 
quinces,  two  of  nectarines,   three  of  pecans,  five  of 
table  grapes,  four  of  currants,  besides   English  wal- 
nuts, English  mulberries,  and  pomegranates.     There 
are  also  700  strawberry  plants,  1 50  blackberries,  and 
a  small  number  of  gooseberries.     Mr.  Wetmore  has 
completed,  in.  188S,  the  erection  of  some  of  the  most 
beautiful    building    improvements    on    the    Monterey 
road.     The  residence  is  in  Queen  Anne  style,  and  is 
forly-two  by  sixty-two  feet  in   ground  area,  exclusive 
of   verandas.     There    is    a    basement  of  six    feet    in 
height,  and   from  this   the   studding  rises  twenty-si.x 
feet,  while  it  is  forty-eight  feet  to  the  highest  point. 
The   materials   used   in   the  construction  are  Oregon 
pine,  California  redwood,  and  Spanish  cedar.     A  con- 
spicuous feature  is  the  large  and   handsome  vestibule, 
from  which  rises  the  elegantly  finished  main  stairway 
of  Spanish  cedar.     The  grates  and  mantels  arc  ele- 
gantly designed  and  carved.     The  architect  was  J.  K. 
Ericson,  and  he  and  B.  Osen  were  the  builders.     The 
barn  and  tank-house,  in  one  building,  is  also  a  hand- 
some structure.    The  cost  of  these  improvements  was 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


247 


about  $1 1,000.  Mr.  Wetmore,  the  proprietor,  is  a 
veteran  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  and  is  a  member 
of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  RepubHc. 


.?|7[fARTIN  ANDREW  LASETTE,  wlio  is  in 
(T^O^  charge  of  the  carpenter  work  of  the  great  Staii- 
a^  ford  University  buildings,  is  a  native  of  West- 
I  Chester  County,  New  York,  born  on  the  i6th 
of  November,  1846,  his  parents  being  Michael  Henry 
and  Honour  Lasctte.  His  father  was  a  builder  in 
early  life,  but  afterward  gave  up  that  occupation  and 
became  a  farmer.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
reared  to  the  age  of  ten  years  in  Westchester  County, 
when  he  removed  into  the  city  of  New  York,  and 
there  learned  the  trade  of  carpenter.  He  resided  in 
the  metropolis  until  1865,  when  he  went  to  New  Or- 
leans and  engaged  in  business  as  a  master  builder, 
and  so  continued  for  two  years  and  a  half  He  then 
returned  to  New  York  city,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
the  same  business  until  i  S73,  in  which  year  he  removed 
to  California,  and  located  at  San  Francisco,  eventually 
embarking  in  business  there  as  a  contractor  and 
builder.  August  27,  18S7,  he  assumed  the  position 
of  foreman  of  carpenter  work  on  the  University 
buildings.  For  this  position  his  long  career  as  a 
master  builder  makes  him  a  valuable  man.  About 
thirty  men  are  employed  in  his  department  of  the 
work,  but  the  force  will  be  increased  as  the  buildings 
progress.  Mr.  Lasette  is  a  member  of  a  San  Fran- 
cisco Lodge  of  the  A.  O.  U.  W. 


j^-Jg)-. 


^MILLIAM  E.  SPENCER,  of  Fremont  Township, 
Cw^  is  a  native  of  Philadelphia,  born  June  27,  1S42, 
<%!•  his  parents  being  Edmund  and  Ellen  (Munson) 
■  Spencer.  William  E.  was  reared  to  the  age  of 
fifteen  years  in  his  native  city,  attending  the  primary 
school,  corner  of  Thirteenth  and  Race  Streets,  and 
at  Reed  Street  and  Schuylkill  Schools.  At  the  age  of 
fifteen  he  left  Philadelphia  and  went  to  Iowa,  locating 
at  Cedar  Falls,  in  Blackhawk  County.  In  1861  he 
crossed  the  plains  to  Virginia  City,  Nevada,  and  fol- 
lowed teaming  in  that  vicinity  until  1864,  when  he 
came  to  California.  He  managed  the  Inego  ranch 
for  six  years.     He  then   bought  a  place  in  the  Cala- 


veras Hills.  Here  he  remained  for  a  year  and  a  half, 
then  sold  out  and  went  to  the  city,  where  he  was  en- 
gaged for  nearly  three  years  as  a  carpenter.  He  then 
came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  where  he  continued 
in  the  building  trade.  He  bought  thirty-five  and 
three-fourths  acres  in  1886,  where  he  now  resides,  on 
the  San  Francisco  and  San  Jose  road,  between  May- 
field  and  Mountain  View,  and  at  once  commenced  its 
improvement,  so  that  it  now  gives  promise  of  be- 
coming one  of  the  most  handsome  places  in  tliis 
beautiful  neighborhood.  He  has  planted  about  twelve 
acres  in  fruit,  one-half  of  that  amount  having  been 
planted  in  1887,  and  the  remainder  in  1888.  The 
trees  are  principally  Silver  and  French  prunes,  with 
some  peaches,  apricots,  nuts,  etc.  All  the  improve- 
ments, and  there  are  many,  have  been  made  since 
the  present  proprietor  came  into  possession.  He  had 
previously,  however,  improved  a  place  near  Santa 
Clara. 

Mr.  Spencer  was  married  in  this  county,  to  Miss 
Ella  Connell,  a  native  of  Massachusetts.  They  were 
the  parents  of  six  children,  of  whom  one,  Josephine, 
is  deceased.  Those  hving  are:  William,  Agnes, 
Benjamin,  Herbert,  and  Edward.  Politically,  Mr. 
Spencer  is  independent,  forming  his  judgment  after 
principles  are  enunciated  and  candidates  placed  in 
nomination  for  official  position. 


->^^>> 


S^^-4 
^-^ 


A 


hose  residence  is  No. 
435  South  Second  Street,  and  whose  office  is  at 
No.  97  South  First  Street,  San  Jose,  is  a  living 
witness  of  the  wonderful  transformation  which 
California  and  the  Santa  Clara  Valley,  and  indeed 
the  whole  Pacific  Coast,  has  undergone  since  1847. 
In  that  year,  antedating  even  the  Argonauts,  he 
crossed  the  plains  with  the  regulation  ox  team,  and 
arrived  in  Portland,  Oregon,  in  September,  when  the 
nucleus  of  that  city  consisted  of  a  half-dozen  houses. 
Not  fancying  the  outlook,  he  took  passage  on  the 
brig  Henry  for  San  Francisco,  where  he  arrived  in 
November,  1 847.  He  there  found  that  two  physicians, 
Drs.  Townsend  and  Fourgeaud,  had  already  estab- 
lished themselves,  and  felt  that  the  field  was  pretty 
fully  occupied.  Learning  of  the  Pueblo  de  San  Jose 
de  Guadaioupe,  he  took  passage  on  a  small  sail-boat 
which  plied  between  San  Francisco  and  Alviso,  a  trip 
at  that   time  of  twenty-four  hours.     There   he  found 


248 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


no  houses,  but  met  a  young  supercargo  wHo  had  a  lot 
of  hides  to  be  shipped  to  San  Francisco  by  the  sail- 
boat on  which  Dr.  Cory  had  arrived.  Through  the 
interpretation  of  this  young  man,  a  Mexican  was  in- 
duced to  carry  the  Doctor's  books  and  baggage  on 
his  ox-cart  and  to  hire  him  his  horse  for  the  ride  to 
San  Jose,  to  which  point  he  and  the  young  supercargo 
came.  There  being  no  physician  at  this  town,  and  in 
fact  no  physician  having  located  here  up  to  that  time, 
the  subject  of  our  sketch  settled  down  and  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  medicine,  in  which  he  has  continued 
up  to  thi.s  time. 

In  the  years  1848-9  Dr.  Cory  made  two  trips  to  the 
mines,  remaining  a  few  months  each  time.  He  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  first  State  Legislature,  which 
convened  at  San  Jose,  and  which  organized  the  ma- 
chinery of  the  State  governmiCnt.  The  district  from 
which  he  was  elected  extended  from  M  onterey  to 
Martinez.  In  1850  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
Common  Council,  holding  that  position  from  185 1  to 
1855.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Education,  which  place  he  held  for  four  years.  In 
1S72  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Booth,  Trustee 
of  the  State  Normal  School,  which  place  he  held  for 
ten  years. 

Dr.  Cory  was  born  in  Oxford,  Ohio,  November  17, 
1S22.  He  attended  the  common  schools  of  Oxford 
up  to  the  age  of  fifteen  years.  He  then  entered  the 
Miami  University,  graduating  there  in  the  classical 
course  at  the  age  of  twenty  years,  receiving,  in  1842, 
the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts.  He  commenced  the 
study  of  medicine  under  his  father.  Dr.  James  M. 
Cory,  of  Oxford,  Ohio,  attending  later  the  Medical 
College  of  Ohio,  at  Cincinnati,  where  he  graduated 
in  the  spring  of  1845.  He  practiced  medicine  for  two 
years  with  his  father,  and  then  emigrated  west  to  the 
Pacific  Coast.  He  was  married  in  1853  to  Miss  Sarah 
A.  Braly,  a  native  of  Missouri,  who  crossed  the  plains 
in  1847  with  her  i)arcnts.  Rev.  John  E.  and  Susanna 
(Hyde)  Ihaly.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Cory  have  eight  living 
children:  John  B.,  now  engaged  in  fruit-raising  at 
VacaviUe  and  at  Lodi,  California;  Elizabeth,  the  wife 
of  Dr.  H.  C.  Ledyard,  now  residing  in  Constantinople; 
Mary,  the  wife  of  Dr.  F.  K.  Ledyard,  of  San  Jose; 
Louis  L.,  now  practicing  law  in  Fresno,  California; 
Susanna,  Ilattie,  Edith,  and  Sallie.  Dr.  Cory  is  a 
member  of  Howard  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  No.  14,  and 
P)lue  Lodge,  No.  10,  P".  and  A.  M.  He  has  always 
been  a  consistent  Republican,  having  voted  and 
worked  for  the  election  of  Fremont  in  1S56.  His 
family  is  of  Scotch    descent.     There    is    no    need   to 


mention  here,  where  Dr.  Cory  is  so  well  known  in  his 
private  and  professional  capacities,  the  great  esteem 
in  which  he  is  held  by  people  of  every  degree.  The 
book  of  his  life  has  been  an  open  one,  admired  and 
esteemed  by  all  who  glance  through  its  pages. 


i^^-i 


|||AMBERT  DORNBERGER,  of  Mayfield,  was  a 
(^^  resident  of  Mayfield  when  this  valley  was  but 
T  sparsely  populated,  and  improvements  on  a  large 
scale  had  not  been  thought  of  He  is  a  native  of 
Alsace,  born  near  Strasburg,  April  3,  1828,  his  parents 
being  George  and  Catherine  (Wanzel)  Dornberger. 
His  father,  who  was  a  farmer,  died  when  Lambert 
was  but  five  years  old.  His  mother  died  June  18, 
1869,  aged  nearly  seventy-three  years.  Lambert 
Dornberger  was  reared  in  Alsace  to  rural  life.  At 
the  age  of  thirteen  he  commenced  the  shoemaker's 
trade,  but  gave  it  up  after  an  experience  of  two  and 
a  half  j'ears.  He  engaged  in  dairying  and  was  at  the 
head  of  a  dairy  of  one  hundred  cows.  He  excelled 
in  the  business,  and  received  from  the  Government 
for  finest  dairying  a  silver  medal  and  five  hundred 
francs.  He  left  the  home  of  his  youth  June  9,  1850, 
went  to  Havre,  and  took  passage  on  the  sail-ship 
Jl/amdo,  bound  for  New  York,  at  which  port  he  ar- 
rived after  a  voyage  of  forty  days.  He  went  at  once 
to  West  Point,  where  he  remained  two  and  a  half 
years. 

On  the  fourth  of  November,  1852,  he  took  passage 
on  the  steamer  Georgia,  New  York  to  Aspinwall, 
thence  overland  to  Panama,  and  from  there  to  San 
Francisco,  where  he  arrived  December  6.  He  had 
acquired  the  Panama  fever  en  route,  and  remained  in 
the  city  sick  therefrom  for  some  time.  Early  in  1854 
he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  and  bought  a  squat- 
ter's right  to  a  piece  of  land  near  Mayfield.  In  1857 
he  gave  up  this  right,  owing  to  litigation,  and  bought 
a  squatter's  claim  to  government  land  in  the  mount- 
ains along  the  line  between  Santa  Clara  and  San 
Mateo  Counties.  He  set  about  improving  the  place, 
and  was  soon  engaged  in  his  old  business  of  dairying- 
In  1S62  he  began  to  devote  more  attention  to  general 
farming,  and  this,  with  stock-raising,  was  his  occupa- 
tion until  November,  1869,  when  he  removed  to  May- 
field,  having  bought  land  where  he  now  resides ;  and 
all  the  handsome  improvements  about  the  place  have 
been  made  since  that  time.     In  this  place  there  are 


,^/:^4rMtA^^^o 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


249 


some  forty-eight  acres,  but  his  extensive  mountain 
ranch  contains  one  thousand  two  hundred  acres. 

Mr.  Dornberger  was  married  in  San  Francisco, 
September  lo,  iS6i,  to  Miss  Anna  Kleinclaus,  a  na- 
tive of  Alsace,  and  daughter  of  Michel  and  Mary 
(Remer)  Kleinclaus.  They  have  seven  children,  viz.: 
Eugene,  who  is  on  the  mountain  ranch ;  Gustave,  Al- 
bert, Victor,  Julia,  George,  and  Edward.  Mr.  Dorn- 
berger is  politically  a  Democrat. 

i^R.  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  HEADEN.  the 
G^  son  of  Joseph  and  Mary  Headen,  was  born  in 
(^  Virginia,  November  24,  1 8 1 3.  His  parents  moved 
to  Kentucky,  where  most  of  his  youth  was  passed,  in 
Shelby  County,  that  State.  The  village  in  which 
they  lived,  Headcnville,  was  named  in  honor  of  his 
father,  Joseph  Headen,  who  was  a  man  greatly  re- 
spected for  his  integrity  and  piety.  A  chapel  which 
he  built  in  the  village  also  bears  the  name  of  Headen 
Chapel.  Deciding  to  educate  himself  for  the  medical 
profession,  Dr.  Headen  took  a  course  in  the  Worth- 
ington  Medical  College,  Ohio,  at  which  he  was  gradu- 
ated with  high  honors,  in  May,  1837.  He  went  to 
Indiana,  opened  an  office,  and  commenced  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  the  same  year.  In  January  of 
the  following  year  he  married,  and  continued  his 
practice  of  medicine  in  Indiana  until  1852,  when  he 
came  with  his  family  across  the  plains  to  California, 
arriving  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley  in  October.  He 
bought  a  tract  of  sixty-one  acres  just  outside  the 
town  of  Santa  Clara,  and  at  once  began  to  improve  it, 
by  erecting  a  house  for  his  family.  The  rainy  season 
came  on,  and  the  building  materials  being  very  scarce 
and  hard  to  procure,  many  difficulties  were  experi- 
enced in  accomplishing  this  task.  This  done,  the 
Doctor  next  turned  his  attention  to  clearing  off  the 
land  and  preparing  it  for  cultivation.  It  was  in  a 
state  of  nature,  untouched  by  the  hand  of  man,  and 
covered  with  a  forest  of  mustard  so  high  that  in 
hunting  for  his  cattle  the  Doctor  had  to  .stand  on  the 
back  of  one  ox  to  enable  him  to  find  the  others!  But 
despite  the  obstacles,  the  work  of  improving  pro- 
gressed. Flower  seeds,  many  of  which  were  car- 
ried across  the  plains  in  the  Doctor's  pockets,  were 
planted,  young  trees  were  brought  from  the  mount- 
ains in  little  sacks  of  eaith  and  set  out,  and  soon 
"the  wilderness  began  to  blossom  as  the  rose,"  under 
the  deft  hand  and  good  taste  of  Dr.  ficaden.  The 
32 


land  was  rapidly  brought  under  cultivation,  first  to 
the  cereals,  then  largely  to  strawberries  and  other 
small  fruits,  and  later  to  orchard  and  vinej'ard,  of 
the  choicest  varieties  of  fruits. 

In  March,  1853,  Dr.  Headen  was  elected  one  of 
the  Trustees  of  the  University  of  the  Pacific,  then  a 
young  and  struggling  institution.  It  soon  became 
the  idol  of  his  heart,  and  he  devoted  much  of  his 
time  and  labor  to  it  for  about  twenty  years,  in  that 
official  capacity.  Many  of  these  years  he  was  Secre- 
tary of  the  Board,  and  during  the  time  of  the  erec- 
tion of  the  main  college  building  he  was  Treasurer. 
From  the  time  he  settled  in  this  valley.  Dr.  Headen 
was  a  faithful  and.  consistent  member  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  of  which  he  was  Steward  and 
Trustee.  He  passed  from  this  life  to  the  reward  be- 
yond, on  the  twenty-eighth  of  August,  1875,  and  his 
remains  were  buried  according  to  the  ceremonial  of  the 
Masonic  Order,  of  which  he  was  a  member.  He  left 
the  widow,  a  son,  and  three  daughters,  to  mourn  their 
sore  bereavement.  Since  the  Doctor's  decease,  Mrs. 
Headen  has  occupied  the  splendid  homestead,  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  in  the  valley,  and  now  within  the 
town  limits,  and  has  successfully  managed  the  or- 
chard and  vineyard,  realizing  a  fine  income  therefrom. 
More  than  one  first  prize  has  been  won  by  the  prod- 
uct of  her  trees  and  vines.  The  vineyard  consists  of 
the  choicest  varieties  of  table  grapes — Muscats,  To- 
kays, and  others.  Three  years  ago  Mrs.  Headen  sold 
the  crop  of  grapes  on  a  little  over  six  acres,  on  the 
vines,  for  $2,500.  As  high  as  ten  tons  to  the  acre 
have  been  produced;  and  from  a  single  plum  tree  of 
the  Washington  variety  she  gathered  one  year  nine 
hundred  pounds  of  fruit! 


fDWARD  N.  PARR  is  a  native  of  Santa  Clara 
County  and  a  descendant  of  one  of  California's 
-4^  earliest  pioneers.  He  was  born  on  the  Laurel 
Wood  Farm,  near  Santa  Clara,  March  27,  1852, 
being  the  son  of  Jonathan  and  Eliza  (Lowe)  Parr, 
natives  of  England,  who  emigrated  to  the  United 
States  and  settled  in  Lee  County,  Iowa.  In  1846  his 
parents  came  across  the  plains  to  California,  and  lo- 
cated in  Santa  Clara  County,  taking  up  their  residence 
at  the  place  of  his  birth.  In  1856  his  father  pur- 
chased a  large  tract  of  land  on  the  Los  Gatos  Creek, 
about  six  miles  south  of  Santa  Clara,  in  Redwood 
Township,  and  there  resided  until  his  death,  which  oc- 


250 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  IHE  "GARDEN  OF   THE    WORLD." 


curred  September  ii,  1867.  Mr.  Parr's  mother  died 
August  6,  1866.  His  youtli  and  early  manhood  were 
spent  on  his  father's  farm,  where  lie  became  inured 
to  the  toil  and  life  of  a  stockman  as  well  as  a  farmer. 
For  his  education  he  was  dependent  upon  the  dis- 
trict schools.  His  father  dying  when  he  was  less 
than  sixteen  years  of  age,  threw  additional  care  upon 
himself  and  brothers,  which  prevented  the  consum- 
mation of  such  educational  designs  as  had  been  con- 
templated. After  the  death  of  his  father  he  received 
his  portion  of  the  landed  estate,  amounting  to  four 
hundred  and  forty-four  acres. 

September  11,  1872,  Mr.  Parr  married  Miss  Vir- 
ginia Johnson,  who  was  born  in  San  Jose,  January  9, 
1853.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Archibald  and  Mary 
(Little)  Johnson,  who  were  natives  of  Virginia,  and 
among  the  California  pioneers  of  '49,  locating  in 
Santa  Clara  County  in  1852.  From  the  date  of  Mr. 
Parr's  taking  possession  of  his  portion  of  the  estate 
of  his  father,  until  1887,  he  was  engaged  in  conduct- 
ing his  extensive  farm  operations  and  stock-raising. 
During  this  time  his  lands  had  given  him  an  abun- 
dant yield  and  increased  in  value.  In  the  latter  year 
he  sold  three  hundred  and  fifteen  acres,  retaining  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  acres  of  the  northern  por- 
tion of  the  old  homestead,  after  which  he  purchased 
fifteen  acres  of  land  on  the  Santa  Clara  and  Santa 
Cruz  road,  about  five  miles  south  of  Santa  Clara,  and 
connecting  by  private  roadway  with  his  farm  lands. 
This  he  has  planted  in  orchard,  principally  with 
French  prunes  and  apricots,  but  has  also  a  full  variety 
of  fruit  for  family  use.  He  has  erected  at  this  place 
a  substantial  and  well-ordered  residence  of  modern 
architectural  design,  which  presents  an  attractive  ap- 
pearance. 

Mr.  Parr  is  well  known  throughout  his  section  of 
the  county.  lie  is  an  intelligent,  energetic,  and  pub- 
lic-spirited citizen,  one  who  gains  and  holds  the  re- 
spect of  the  community  in  which  he  resides.  He  is  a 
consistent  member  of  the  Methodist  Church,  South. 
He  is  associated  with  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen,  being  a  member  of  Los  Gatos  Lodge,  No. 
76.  He  is  also  a  member  of  Ridgely  Lodge,  No.  294, 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Los  Gatos.  In  politics  Mr.  Parr  is 
Democratic,  but  is  conservative  in  his  views.  He  has 
served  as  School  Trustee  in  the  Cambrian  School  Dis- 
trict for  six  years.  From  the  marriage  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Parr  there  are  four  children,  viz. :  Edward  Lester, 
born  August  25,  1S73;  Edna  Lulu,  December  25, 
1877;  Charles  Earl,  December  5,  1879;  and  Hazel 
Virginia,  January  9,  1883. 


aKON.  A.  B.  HUNTER  is  one  of  the  old  "  Forty- 
G^^  niners  "  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  has  resided  in 
^f  Santa  Clara  County  since  185 1,  except  a  few 
months  spent  in  the  mines  on  Feather  River, 
Butte  County,  in  the  summer  of  1852.  Mr.  Hunter 
is  a  Virginian  by  nativity,  born  in  Augusta  County, 
in  1826.  When  a  small  child,  his  parents  removed 
to  Missouri,  where  he  grew  to  manhood,  with  such 
educational  advantages  as  that  then  frontier  States 
afforded.  Mr.  Hunter  was  among  the  first  to  cross 
the  plains  after  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California,  in 
search  of  the  coveted  yellow  dust.  On  arriving  he  at 
once  went  into  the  mines  on  Feather  River,  and  there 
spent  the  rest  of  1849  and  a  part  of  1850. 

In  the  fall  of  the  latter  year  he  went  to  what  is  now 
the  American  Valley,  and,  being  one  of  the  first  to  set- 
tle there,  he  started  a  stock  ranch,  naming  it  the 
American  Ranch,  a  title  which  was  afterward  given 
to  the  valley.  In  company  with  several  others,  Mr. 
Hunter  opened  a  hotel  and  general  supply  and  pro- 
vision store,  known  as  a  "trading  post."  Owing  to  a 
severe  illness,  from  which  he  was  not  expected  fully 
to  recover,  Mr.  Hunter  sold  his  interest  in  the  business 
in  the  fall  of  185 1,  being  carried  and  hauled  out  of 
the  valley,  expecting  to  go  to  the  Sandwich  Islands 
for  his  health.  He  came  to  Santa  Clara  County  to 
visit  some  of  his  friends  before  his  departure,  and 
while  here  recovered  so  rapidly  that  he  abandoned 
the  projected  trip  and  remained  in  this  valley.  So 
well  has  this  climate  of  the  Pacific  agreed  with  him 
that  he  has  never  had  a  day's  sickness  since. 

After  regaining  his  health,  Mr.  Hunter  spent  the 
summer  of  1852  in  the  mines,  as  before  stated,  then 
returned  to  Santa  Clara  County,  and,  in  partnership 
with  another  gentleman,  engaged  in  the  live-stock 
business.  Their  custom  was  to  go  out  on  the  plains 
and  buy  stock  which  was  thin  in  flesh,  bring  it  into 
the  valley  and  fatten  it  up,  and  then  sell  it  in  the  San 
Francisco  market.  In  1855  Mr.  Hunter  purchased  a 
farm,  which  he  still  owns,  near  where  Lawrence  Station 
now  is,  married,  and  settled  down  to  farm  life.  Here 
he  resided  till  1883,  when  he  removed  with  his  family 
to  San  Jose.  During  the  latter  years  of  his  residence 
on  the  farm,  Mr.  Hunter  paid  considerable  attention 
to  the  culture  of  strawberries,  having  ten  or  twelve 
acres,  the  average  product  being  $300  per  acre,  and 
the  cost  of  cultivation  and  harvesting  about  half  that 
sum. 

In  1882  Mr.  Hunter  was  elected  to  the  State  Leg- 
islature on  the  Democratic  ticket,  and  filled  the  office 
two  terms.      In  the  spring  of  1888   he  was  elected   a 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


251 


member  of  the  City  Council,  in  the  Second  Ward,  and 
is  still  serving  in  that  body.  He  retired  from  active 
business  when  he  left  the  farm.  Mrs.  Hunter's 
maiden  name  was  Rutledge.  She  was  born  in  Vir- 
ginia, but  came  to  California  when  quite  young.  Her 
parents  are  residents  of  Santa  Clara  County.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Hunter  have  had  five  children,  two  sons  and 
two  daughters  living.  One  son  was  accidentally 
killed  by  falling  lumber  in  a  yard  in  San  Jose  in  iSSi. 


IgEV.  CLEMENT  E.  BABB,  D.  D.  In  the  II- 
'^ky,  lustrated  Pacific  Stales  of  May  5,  1888,  there 
"t"  appeared  an  article  from  the  pen  of  one  of  our 
most  gifted  writers,  one  who  has  delighted  thou- 
sands by  her  beautiful  word  pictures,  both  in  verse 
and  prose,  of  California  scenes  and  of  subjects  weight- 
ier and  not  less  interesting.  The  article  is  headed 
"  Laurel  Ranch,"  and  it  describes  the  pleasant,  leafy 
home,  and  gives  the  life  history,  of  one  of  Santa  Clara 
County's  most  honored  citizens.  Dr.  Clement  E. 
Babb.  The  writer  of  this  history  only  regrets  th  it 
he  cannot  incorporate  the  account  entire,  and  shall 
make  no  apology  for  borrowing  wherever  possible  the 
thought,  and  even  the  very  words,  of  that  brilliantly 
written  page. 

"  Laurel  Ranch "  is  the  typical  home  of  retired 
comfort  and  of  cultured  ease,  yet  not  the  retirement 
of  idleness,  but  rather  the  change  from  one  active  em- 
ployment to  another  that  leads  one  closer  to  nature 
in  her  gentler  and  more  charming  moods.  The  ranch 
is  a  compact  body  of  235  acres  of  land,  covering 
some  of  the  low  foot-hills  that  fringe  the  base  of 
Mount  Hamilton,  and  by  its  succession  of  hill  and 
vale  it  affords  innumerable  pleasant  prospects  and  de- 
lightful sheltered  nooks.  In  one  of  these,  a  tiny,  nest- 
like valley,  rests  a  flower-surrounded  cottage,  almost 
completely  engirdled  with  orchard  and  vineyard  hill- 
slopes,  and  having  a  knoll  of  considerable  height  cov- 
ered with  a  growth  of  forest  trees,  while  the  home 
itself  is  amid  a  tropical  grove  of  pepper  trees  and 
palms.  It  is  situated  at  the  head  of  Fleming  Avenue, 
in  the  Mount  Pleasant  School  District,  at  an  easy 
drive  of  five  miles  from  San  Jose.  Of  the  ranch,  100 
acres  are  in  orchard,  of  which  forty  are  in  apricots, 
twenty-five  in  almonds,  fifteen  in  peaches,  ten  in 
French  prunes,  ten  in  olives,  and  ten  in  apples,  pears, 
plums,  persimmons,  oranges,  figs,  and  walnut  trees,  be- 
sides tw(5  acres  in  table  grapes,     The  rest  of  the  land 


is  devoted  to  hay  and  the  pasturage  of  stock.  Of 
these  the  Doctor  has  about  twenty-five  head,  and  is 
devoting  himself  to  the  improvement  of  the  grade, 
especially  in  horses. 

Dr.  Babb  was  born  in  Pittston,  Pennsylvania,  on 
August  19,  1821,  the  son  of  John  P.  and  Marj^ 
(Shriner)  Babb,  both  natives  of  that  State,  but  of 
German  extraction.  The  ancestors  of  the  family 
came  over  as  members  of  the  Penn  Company,  and 
from  that  time  were  identified  with  the  country  of 
their  adoption.  Dr.  Babb's  grandfather  was  a  sol- 
dier in  the  Revolutionary  War,  while  his  father  com- 
manded a  company  in  the  War  of  1812.  His  father 
was  an  architect  and  builder,  a  man  of  energy  and 
ability,  a  sample  of  whose  substantial  work  still  re- 
mains in  the  noted  Columbia  Railroad  bridge,  across 
the  Schuylkill,  near  Philadelphia.  He  also  con- 
structed the  dam  for  the  Lynchburg  (Virginia) 
water  works.  The  son  graduated  at  Dickinson  Col- 
lege, Pennsylvania,  at  nineteen,  and  at  the  Dickinson 
Law  School  two  years  later.  He  practiced  law  in  Hills- 
dale, Michigan,  for  three  years.  Then,  determining 
to  leave  the  bar  for  the  pulpit,  he  studied  theology 
at  the  Union  Seminary,  New  York,  and  also  at  Lane 
Seminary,  Cincinnati.  While  yet  in  the  seminary, 
he  was  called  to  preach  in  the  Plrst  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Indianapolis,  in  the  pulpit  just  made  va- 
cant by  the  removal  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher  to 
Brooklyn.  Here  he  met  with  warm  appreciation. 
After  his  ordination  he  was  elected  their  pastor,  and 
for  five  years  held  that  important  office.  Those  who 
knew  him  at  that  time  speak  of  his  ministry  as  char- 
acterized by  remarkable  zeal  and  devotion,  and  his 
preaching  as  eloquent,  forcible,  and  persuasive.  But 
he  was  of  slender  habit,  and  his  overtaxed  voice  gave 
way  so  completely  that  for  years  he  was  entirely  un- 
fit for  public  speaking.  He  now  gave  his  attention  to 
journalism,  and  directly  became  editor  of  the  Chris- 
tian Herald,  of  Cincinnati,  the  principal  organ  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  west  of  New  York.  F"or  seven- 
teen successive  years  he  was  elected  to  the  editorship 
of  this  paper  by  the  Synods  having  it  in  charge,  and 
when,  after  the  union  of  the  Old  and  New  School 
branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  the  Herald  was 
consolidated  with  the  /'/w/^jVtv-,  he  continued  his  work 
as  associate  editor  of  the  new  paper. 

Dr.  Babb  was  married,  in  1S4S,  to  Miss'  Lydia 
Hulbert,  of  Hillsdale,  Michigan,  and  during  all  these 
years  of  editorial  service  resided  in  the  city  of  Cin- 
cinnati or  its  suburbs,  and  was  active  in  all  its  phil- 
anthropic  and   religious   work.     During  the   war    he 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  J  HE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


proved  himself  a  stanch  patriot;  was  chosen  Chaplain 
of  the  Twenty-second  Ohio  Volunteers  in  November, 
1861,  and  was  at  the  capture  of  Fort  Donelson,  the 
battle  of  Shiloh,  and  the  siege  of  Corinth.  In  1873, 
owing  to  failing  health,  he  decided  to  remove  to  a 
friendlier  climate,  and  came  to  California.  Until 
1874  he  resided  in  San  Jose,  but  then  purchased  the 
"  Laurel  Ranch,"  which  he  is  now  so  wonderfully  im- 
proving. 

Mrs.  Babb  is  a  daughter  of  Chancey  Hulbert,  an 
eminent  attorney  at  law  of  Northern  Ohio,  who  died 
in  early  manhood.  They  have  two  children,  Frank 
H.  and  Helen,  both  living  with  their  parents.  The 
son  is  a  graduate  of  Marietta  College,  Ohio,  and  not 
only  takes  entire  charge  of  the  orchard  and  the  stock, 
but  is  also  active  in  other  spheres  of  usefulness,  being 
President  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association, 
of  San  Jose,  and  Superintendent  of  the  Sunday- 
school  of  the  First    Presbyterian  Church. 

It  should  be  stated  further  that  Dr.  Babb  is  still  an 
associate  editor  of  the  Herald  and  Presbyter,  where, 
over  the  now  well-known  and  favorite  initials  of  "  C. 
E.  B.,"  his  weekly  letters  are  weekly  expected.  The 
Interior,  of  Chicago,  and  the  Occident,  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, also  make  weekly  calls  upon  his  facile  and 
forcible  pen.  After  coming  to  California,  Dr.  Babb, 
in  a  measure,  recovered  his  voice,  and  has  frequently 
added  preaching  on  Sunday  to  his  vast  week-day 
preaching.  He  has  even  occasionally  taken  pastoral 
charges  for  short  periods,  and  always  is  an  original 
and  vivid  speaker  as  well  as  thinker.  His  style  is 
chiefly  characterized  by  simplicity,  earnestness,  pict- 
uresqueness,  and  a  wonderful  freshness  and  aptness  of 
illustration.  He  is  of  slight,  nervous  figure,  with  a 
delicate,  refined  face,  keen  blue  eyes,  abundant  gray 
hair,  and  the  active  movement  of  a  young  and  vigor- 
ous man.  He  is  extremely  cordial  in  manner,  and 
overflowing  with  cheerful  sociability.  Whoever  en- 
ters his  cottage  door  finds  welcome,  good  cheer,  whole- 
some and  inspiring  thought,  and  a  charming  domestic 
atmosphere. 

§OHN  P.  BABB.  There  is  no  happier  lot  in  the 
world  than  that  of  the  proprietor  of  a  landed 
W  estate,  who  lives  upon  his  acres  and  devotes  him- 
self to  their  cultivation — that  is,  where  the  soil  is 
fertile  and  the  climate  genial,  such  as  is  the  case  in 
the    Santa    Clara   Valley.     That    is   the   reason   why 


everywhere,  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
county,  "hill-side  and  hollow,  and  the  verdant  plain," 
all  are  dotted  with  the  residences  of  comfort  and  con- 
tentment. One  of  these  delightful  cottages,  which 
bespeak  at  once  both  thrift  and  culture,  is.  the  Hill 
Crest  Orchard,  near  the  head  of  Fleming  Avenue, 
in  the  Mount  Pleasant  School  District,  amid  the  roll- 
ing foot-hills  that  skirt  the  base  of  Mount  Hamilton. 
It  is  the  home  of  Mr.  John  P.  Babb,  who  owns  sixty 
acres  here,  twenty-five  of  which  are  orchard  land,  pro- 
ducing apricots,  French  prunes,  and  almonds,  as  also 
a  scattering  variety  of  peaches,  apples,  plums,  cher- 
ries, etc.  All  are  thrifty  and  vigorous,  betokening  at 
once  careful  attention  and  a  favoring  soil  and  loca- 
tion. There  is  also  a  small  vineyard,  including  Mus- 
cat, Black  Hamburg,  Flame  Tokay,  Sweetwater,  and 
Malaga  grapes,  designed  chiefly  for  table  use.  The 
remainder  of  the  ranch  is  devoted  to  hay  and  the 
raising  of  live  stock,  water  for  every  purpose  being- 
obtained  at  a  depth  of  forty  feet. 

Mr.  Babb  was  married  in  1861  to  Miss  Nettie  Hct- 
field  Williams,  a  native  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  They 
have  two  children,  Clement  E.  and  Walter  W.,  both 
at  home  with  their  parents,  and  members  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  of  San  Jose.  Mr.  Babb 
was  born  in  Wilkes  Barre,  Pennsylvania,  May  28,  1837, 
the  son  of  John  P.  and  Mary  (Shriner)  Babb,  and  is 
the  brother  of  Rev.  Clement  E.  Babb,  D.  D.,  whose 
interesting  biography  precedes  this.  His  father 
died  when  he  was  but  four  years  old;  his  mother 
died  four  years  after.  At  the  age  of  twelve  years  he 
removed  to  Indiana,  but  four  years  afterward  returned 
to  Pennsylvania.  When  eighteen  years  old  he  be- 
came a  shipping-clerk  in  a  commission  house  in  Cin- 
cinnati, afterward  learning  the  duties  of  a  printer; 
shortly  he  was  promoted  to  the  reportorial  staff  of 
the  Cincinnati  Ga::;ette.  In  1S60  he  engaged  in  farm- 
ing in  Jennings  County,  Indiana,  continuing  there 
until  1874,  when  he  came  to  this  county  in  California 
and  purchased  the  valuable  ranch  where  he  now  re- 
sides, which  at  that  time  was  wholly  unimproved. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 
of  San  Jose,  being  one  of  its  Deacons,  his  whole  family 
being  also  members  in  good  standing  of  that  church. 

During  the  war  he  was  a  Sergeant  in  Company  B, 
i'37th  Indiana  Volunteers,  entering  the  service  in  1864. 
He  remained  until  the  close  of  the  struggle,  being  on 
detached  service  in  the  Commissary  Department  at 
Tullahoma, Tennessee,  and  having  charge  of  the  books 
of  that  department.  After  the  conclusion  of  hostili- 
ties he  received  an  honorable  dischartre. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


253 


It  should  be  further  stated  that  Mrs.  Babb's  parents 
were  named  John  M.  and  Catheruie  J.  (Lane)  Will- 
iams; her  father  was  of  a  good  New  Jersey  family, 
and  is  still  living,  residing  near  Wrights,  Santa  Cruz 
Mountains.  Her  mother,  a  native  of  Ohio,  died  when 
Mrs.  Babb  was  quite  young. 


fHOMAS  S.  MONTGOMERY,  President  and 
Manager  of  the  firm  of  Montgomery,  Rea  & 
eH=  Co,  is  one  of  the  representative  business  men 
of  San  Jose,  whose  career  has  been  excep- 
tionally successful.  The  company  of  which  he  is  the 
head  was  incorporated  in  November,  1S87,  to  carry  on 
a  general  real-estate,  building,  insurance,  and  loaning 
and  investment  business,  and  is  the  outgrowth  of  the 
real-estate  business  established  ten  years  previously 
by  Mr.  Montgomery  in  San  Jose.  After  nine  years 
of  profitable  operations  alone,  he  formed  a  part- 
nership with  Mr.  James  Rea,  the  Vice  -  President 
of  the  company,  in  1886;  and  a  year  later  other  gen- 
tlemen became  interested,  and  articles  of  incorpora- 
tion were  taken  out.  The  company  makes  a  specialty 
of  building  and  selling  houses  on  the  installment  plan. 
The  volume  of  business  transacted  is  among  the 
largest  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley,  their  sales  of  real 
estate  alone,  in  18S7,  aggregating  $2,000,000.  In  one 
day  in  August,  18S7,  their  sales  amounted  to  nearly 
$400,000.  Besides  their  real  estate  and  insurance,  the 
company  has  a  large  rental  and  collection  business, 
including  the  control  of  many  of  the  prominent  blocks 
of  the  city.  Mr.  Montgomery  estimates  that  the  value 
of  all  classes  of  real  estate  in  and  about  San  Jose  has 
doubled  during  the  past  seven  years. 

The  gentleman  whose  name  heads  this  sketch  is  a 
native  son  of  the  Santa  Clara  Valley,  born  thirty-two 
years  ago.  At  thirteen  years  of  age  he  started  out 
in  life  as  a  newsboy,  and  at  sixteen  became  entirely 
self-dependent.  He  took  a  course  of  business  train- 
ing, graduated  at  two  business  colleges,  and  taught  in 
the  San  Jose  Institute  two  years.  He  was  then  em- 
ployed as  bookkeeper  two  years,  after  which  he  began 
dealing  in  real  estate.  He  is  a  director  in  the  com- 
pany which  erected  and  owns  the  Hotel  Vendome, 
incorporated  for  $250,000,  and  also  one  of  the  organ- 
izers and  a  director  of  the  Garden  City  National  Bank. 
His  parents  settled  in  Santa  Clara  County  in  1853, 
and  still  reside  here.  His  father  is  a  Virginian  by 
birth,  and  his  mother  is  a  native  of  Ohio. 


MhAVID  UMBARGER,  residing  on  the  Monterey 
S#^  road,  south  of  San  Jose,  has  the  honor  of  being 
0},^  one  of  the  "  Forty-niners  "  of  California.  He  is 
a  native  of  Wythe  County,  West  Virginia,  born 
in  October,  181 5,  his  parents  being  Leonard  and  Mar- 
garet (Cooper)  Umbarger,  both  of  them  residents  of 
Virginia.  David  was  reared  in  his  native  county,  and 
resided  there  until  1838,  when  he  went  to  Clark 
County,  Illinois.  In  1846  he  removed  to  Kentucky. 
On  the  second  day  of  April,  1849,  he  set  out  for  Cali- 
fornia, and  at  West  Liberty,  Missouri,  he  became  one 
of  a  party  bound  for  the  golden  coast.  Their  jour- 
ney was  a  long  one,  the  route  adopted  taking  them 
by  way  of  San  Diego,  from  which  point  they  went  by 
water  to  San  Francisco,  sailing  through  the  Golden 
Gate  on  the  eleventh  of  January,  1850.  He  at  once 
went  into  the  mines  of  Mariposa  County,  and  after- 
ward to  a  camp  on  Curtis  Creek,  near  Sonora.  He 
spent  the  winter  in  San  Francisco,  and  in  the  spring 
resumed  mining  at  Auburn.  From  there  he  went  to 
Nevada,  and  thence  to  the  Yubas,  and  on  Feather 
River.  In  1853  he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County, 
locating  where  he  now  resides,  he  having  bought  land 
at  this  place  in  185 1.  He  has  made  every  vestige  of 
improvement  to  be  seen  here,  and  has  been  an  eye- 
witness to  the  great  transformation  which  has  since 
occurred  in  this  valley.  His  ranch  is  an  attractive 
place  of  1 38  acres,  devoted  to  grain  and  pasture.  It 
is  productive  land,  and  is  well  kept  up. 

Mr.  Umbarger  is  a  member  of  the  Christian  Church, 
and  is  a  Democrat  in  politics. 


JEREMIAH  B.  CHURCH.  Among  the  wdl- 
@/  known  citizens  of  Santa  Clara  County  is  the  sub- 
■^i^  ject  of  this  sketch,  a  few  facts  in  regard  to  whose 
life  are  herewith  given.  Mr.  Church  is  a  native  of  the 
Province  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  dates  his  birth  July  2, 
1829.  His  parents,  George  and  Annie  (Browneil) 
Church,  were  also  natives  of  Nova  Scotia.  Until  the 
age  of  eighteen  years  he  was  occupied  upon  his  fa- 
ther's farm,  where  he  became  well  versed  in  the  practi- 
cal labors  of  farm  life.  In  1847  he  left  the  farm  and 
learned  the  trade  of  blacksmithing,  a  calling  that  he 
followed  until  1852.  In  that  year  he  embarked  on  the 
ship  Mary  Merrill,  for  a  voyage  around  Cape  Horn 
to  California.  This  long  but  uneventful  voyage  ter- 
minated in  September  of  the  same  year,  when  he  dis- 
embarked at  San   Francisco.     Soon  after  his  arrival 


254 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


he  engaged  in  mining  in  Placer  County.  He  was  en- 
gaged in  mining  for  about  two  months,  being  com- 
pelled to  abandon  the  occupation  en  account  of  ill 
health.  He  then  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  ar- 
riving in  December,  1S52.  His  first  enterprise  in  the 
county  was  in  renting  a  farm  two  and  one-half  miles 
southwest  of  San  Jose,  which  he  cultivated  for  the  next 
three  years.  In  1859  he  rented  the  farm  of  John 
Townsend,  on  the  Milpitas  road,  north  of  San  Jose, 
and  there  engaged  in  general  farming  until  1868.  In 
the  latter  year  he  took  up  his  residence  in  San  Jose, 
where,  in  partnership  with  W.  O.  Barker,  he  en- 
gaged in  the  livery  business,  they  being  the  proprie- 
tors of  the  Grey  Eagle  Stables.  This  business  was 
successfully  conducted  for  three  years,  when  his  fail- 
ing health  compelled  his  retirement  from  the  firm. 
His  continued  ill  health  compelled  him  to  abandon 
all  business  enterprises  until  1874,  when  he  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  Board  of  Supervisors  as  Superintend- 
ent of  the  Santa  Clara  County  Infirmary,  a  position 
he  has  held  almost  continuously  since  that  date.  Mr. 
Church's  management  of  this  important  institution  is 
worthy  of  notice.  He  seems  to  be  "  the  right  man  in 
the  right  place."  His  long  experience,  untiring  zeal, 
and  straightforward  business  management  have  placed 
the  Infirmary  in  the  ranks  of  the  best  conducted  pub- 
lic institutions  in  the  county.  The  records  of  the  in- 
stitution are  kept  in  the  most  systematic  manner,  for 
which  he  is  entitled  to  great  credit,  as  the  system  was 
almost  entirely  inaugurated  and  perfected  by  himself 
In  political  matters  Mr.  Church  is  a  strong  and  con- 
sistent Republican.  He  is  a  member  of  Garden 
City  Lodge,  No.  142,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  being  Past  Grand 
of  the  same.  I  le  is  also  a  member  of  the  A.  O.  U.  W., 
and  is  trustee  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  which  office  he 
has  held  for  the  last  seven  years. 

In  iSCohe  married  Miss  Emily  Page,  the  daughter 
of  James  and  Elizabeth  Page,  who  were  residents  of 
Nova  Scotia.  They  have  four  children  living,  viz.: 
George  P.,  Arthur  P.,  Lillian  E.,  and  Ethel  P.  Arthur 
P.  resides  at  Los  Angeles,  Lillian  E.  is  a  teacher  in 
the  public  schools  in  San  Benito  County,  and  the 
others  are  residing  with  their  parents. 

^^^ • 

.*Ty|RS.  MARY  A.  HAYES.  In  the  l,nely  valley 
i.j.'Js  of  Santa  Clara,  where  there  are  .so  many  feat- 
\M  ures  to  charm  and  delight  the  eye  of  the  lover 
I  of  the  beautiful,  it  is  indeed  a  difficult  task  to 
select  the  most  handsome  individual  places;  but  even 
here  there  are  .some  which  present  so  many  attractions  I 


as  to  be  worthy  of  much  more  than  a  passing  notice. 
Some  six  miles  south  of  San  Jose,  on  the  main  high- 
way between  that  point  and  Monterey,  is  one  of  these 
notable  places.  It  is  the  farm  residence  of  Mrs. 
Mary  Hayes  and  her  family,  and  is  said  by  those 
competent  to  judge,  to  have  no  superior  in  natural 
beauty  in  the  State  of  California.  In  this  tract  are 
240  acres,  and  of  this,  a  beautiful  natural  grove  of 
live-oak  trees  cover  thirty  acres.  This  is  the  residence 
plat.  Along  its  front,  and  bordering  the  avenue,  is  a 
row  of  stately  eucalyptus  trees,  which  adorn  the 
place  without  intercepting  the  view  from  the  roadway. 
When  the  present  owners  took  possession,  in  1887,  the 
grounds  were  already  handsome,  but  a  vast  amount  of 
labor,  judiciously  directed,  has  since  been  expended 
in  beautifying  them.  An  evergreen  bower,  inclosing 
flower  beds  in  many  designs,  occupies  a  portion  of  the 
space  between  the  residence  and  the  road  front.  The 
winding  walks  are  also  bordered  with  evergreens  and 
roses.  The  building  improvements,  which  are  to  be 
on  an  extensive  scale,  will  require  some  time  before 
the  plans  of  the  owners  are  realized.  In  1887  the 
contract  was  let  for  the  construction  of  the  stable 
building,  and  the  same  year  finished,  at  a  cost  of  $10,- 
000.  It  is  a  handsomely  designed  structure,  not  ex- 
celled in  the  county,  and  has  every  appointment  for 
the  housing  and  comfort  of  fine  driving  horses. 
Among  its  beauties  may  be  mentioned  five  attractive 
sleeping-rooms  for  attendants.  The  crowning  building 
improvement,  however,  is  to  be  the  palatial  residence, 
which  will  be  commenced  and  possibly  completed 
in  1888,  at  a  cost  of  between  $50,000  and  $75,000. 
Eastern  architects  are  now  engaged  on  the  plans  for 
the  building.  One  eighty-acre  tract  on  the  place  has 
been  set  aside  for  fruit-growing.  Already  thirteen 
acres  have  been  planted  to  choice  varieties,  suited  to 
the  climate,  including  apricots,  pears,  peaches,  plums, 
French  and  German  prunes,  almonds,  cherries,  quinces, 
apples,  and  figs.  About  500  vines  have  been  set  out, 
— all  choice  varieties  of  table  grapes.  The  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad  Company  has  located  a  station  at 
this  point  on  its  line,  and  has  appropriately  named  it 
"Eden  Vale."  The  owners  of  this  property,  although 
comparatively  new-comers  to  this  valley,  are  public- 
spirited  and  take  an  active  interest  in  the  welfare  of 
Santa  Clara  County. 

Mrs.  Mary  Hayes,  the  head  of  the  family,  is  the 
widowof  Anson  E.  Hayes.  From  published  volumes 
of  genealogy  of  the  Hayes  and  Folsom  families,  the 
following  facts  arc  mainly  obtained:  Anson  E.  Hayes 
was  born  at  Granby,  Connecticut,  August  27,  1813. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


255 


He  came  of  an  old  New  England  family,  who  were 
prominent  in  colonial  and  revolutionary  times,  and 
was  a  cousin  of  ex-Pi-esident  Rutherford  B.  Hayes. 
He  came  in  early  childhood  to  New  York,  and  resided 
there  until  1S42,  when  he  removed  to  Waterloo,  Jef- 
ferson County,  Wisconsin,  where  he  followed  agricult- 
ure until  his  death.  He  was  twice  married :  First 
in  Fort  Atkinson,  Wisconsin,  July  4,  1848,  to  Helen 
Jerusha  Hopson,  daughter  of  Simeon  and  Ruth  Hop- 
son.  She  was  born  at  Scriba,  New  York,  May  16, 
1826,  and  her  death  occurred  July  24,  1852,  at 
Waterloo,  Wisconsin.  Mr.  Hayes  was  married  the 
second  time,  May  14,  1854,  to  Miss  Mary  Folsom. 
She  is  a  native  of  Holland,  New  York,  and  a  daughter 
of  Rev.  Abraham  and  Miriam  (Bean)  Folsom.  Rev. 
Abraham  Folsom  was  born  in  New  Hampshire, 
August  9,  1784,  and  was  a  son  of  Daniel  and  Mary 
(Moody)  Folsom.  He  was  one  of  five  brothers  who 
became  ministers,  out  of  a  family  of  seven.  Abra- 
ham learned  the  blacksmith's  trade,  but  in  1803  was 
ordained  a  Free-will  Baptist  preacher.  In  181 3  he 
was  married,  at  Gilmanton,  New  Hampshire,  to 
Miriam  Bean,  who  was  born  May  5,  1786,  and  died  at 
Waterloo,  Wisconsin,  in  January,  1866.  From  New 
Hampshire  he  went  to  Tunbridge,  Vermont,  and 
from  there  to  New  York  in  1828.  -He  became  pastor 
at  Cuba,  in  the  latter  State,  officiating  in  that  capacity 
over  one  flock  for  twenty-one  years.  He  is  described 
as  a  man  of  singular  modesty  and  simplicity,  and 
was  regarded  as  an  eloquent  preacher  and  a  very  re- 
markable man.  Though  called  to  the  office  of  a 
teacher  and  preacher,  he  did  not  entirely  forsake  the 
business  of  a  mechanic,  but  showed  his  ability,  when 
desired,  using  his  tools  in  manual  labor.  His  children 
were:  Hannah  (deceased),  Abraham  French,  Edna 
(deceased),  Stephen,  who  died  in  1878,  William  A., 
who  resides  in  Tuscumbia,  Missouri;  Jeremiah,  who 
resides  in  Alexander,  Dakota;  Matilda  (deceased), 
Lucina,  who  resides  at  Eden  Vale ;  Mary  (Mrs.  Hayes), 
and  Lodema,  the  wife  of  Isaac  Atwood,  who  also  re- 
sides at  Eden  Vale. 

Mrs.  Hayes  was  but  three  years  of  age  when  her 
father  removed  to  Cuba,  New  York,  and  there  she  re- 
mained until  she  had  reached  twenty-four,  when  the 
family  removed  to  Waterloo,  Wisconsin.  She  had 
taught  school  while  in  New  York  and  resumed  the 
profession  for  a  time  in  Wisconsin,  and  in  the  latter 
State  she  finished  her  schooling  at  the  educational 
institutions  of  Waterloo  and  Columbus.  Her  chil- 
dren were  three  sons,  the  youngest  of  whom,  Charles 
Carroll,  was  born  August  24,  1S61,  and  died  February 


26,  1865.  The  two  surviving  sons  make  their  home 
with  their  families,  at  the  Eden  Vale  Farm.  The 
older,  Everett  Anson,  married  Nettie  L.  Porter,  a 
graduate  of  Wisconsin  State  University,  at  Madison, 
and  daughter  of  Clinton  H.  (deceased)  and  Mary 
(Monroe)  Porter,  both  of  whose  parents  were  natives 
of  New  York.  They  have  two  children:  Sibj'l  Char- 
ity and  an  infant  boy.  Mr.  Hayes  is  a  graduate  of 
the  Wisconsin  State  University,  both  in  letters  and  in 
law.  He  practiced  law  as  a  profession  for  six  years, 
a  portion  of  the  time  in  Madison,  in  the  firm  of  E.  A. 
&  J.  O.  Hayes,  and  the  remainder  with  Colonel 
Knight,  at  Ashland,  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Knight  &  Hayes.  J.  Orley  Hayes,  the  younger 
brother,  married  Miss  Clara  I.  Lyon,  a  graduate  of 
Wisconsin  State  University,  and  daughter  of  Judge 
William  P.  Lyon,  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Wiscon- 
sin. Her  mother  was  Adelaide,  nee  Duncan.  Mr. 
Hayes  was  educated  at  Wisconsin  State  University, 
and  is  a  graduate  of  the  Law  Departnlent.  He  prac- 
ticed his  profession  five  years,  and  then,  like  his 
brother,  was  compelled  to  make  his  practice  subserv- 
ient to  the  management  of  the  great  business  interests 
of  the  family  in  the  Lake  Superior  Iron  Mines. 
These  mines  are  the  celebrated  "Germania,"  at  Hur- 
ley, Wisconsin,  and  the  "Ashland,"  which  is  in  Mich- 
igan, though  only  one  mile  distant.  These  two  mines 
employ  about  1,000  men  in  taking  out  ore.  The  min- 
eral extracted  is  all  the  best  Bessemer  ore,  and  the 
output  at  Hurley  reaches  over  300,000  tons  per  an- 
num. One-half  of  the  Ashland  mine  sold,  a  short 
time  since,  for  the  highest  price  ever  known  in  the 
history  of  iron  mining  in  this  country.  E.  A.  and 
J.  O.  Hayes  arc  tiie  principal  officers  in  both  com- 
panies. While  they  are  eminent  in  their  chosen  pro- 
fession, the  placing  of  these  great  mining  interests  on 
their  present  footing  has  compelled  them  to  withdraw, 
for  the  time,  almost  entirely  from  their  law  practice. 


Wji^  S.  BRIGGS,  master  builder  on  the  construction 
^^'  of  the  buildings  for  the  Leland  Stanford,  Jr., 
^■■'  University,  is  a  man  who  has  made  his  own 
way  in  the  world,  and  progressed  to  positions  of  re- 
sponsibility from  modest  beginnings.  He  is  a  native 
of  North  Lancashire,  England,  born  March  19,  1833, 
and  was  reared  there  to  the  age  of  twenty-three  years, 
learning  the  stone-mason's  and  general  building  trades. 
He  came  to  America  in  1857,  and  to  California  in  the 
following  year. 


256 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


||OHN  W.  BARNEY  was  born  in  Coles  County, 
&.  Illinois,  June  19,  1849.  His  parents,  David  and 
^'^  Catharine  (Davis)  Barney,  came  across  the  plains 
to  California  in  1850,  and  established  themselves  in 
the  hotel  business  in  the  mining  districts,  at  which 
they  continued  until  1853,  in  which  year  Llie}' came 
to  Santa  Clara  County.  Mr.  Barney  was  reared  and 
educated  in  this  county,  attending  the  public  schools 
until  1S62.  In  that  year  he  left  school  and  went  to 
work  at  farm  labor.  Although  but  a  lad,  he  was 
strong  and  willing  to  work,  and  was  able  to  do  the 
work  of  a  man  in  the  harvest-field.  At  the  age  of 
nineteen  years  he  went  into  partnership  with  John 
Reed  in  harvesting  grain.  After  one  season  of  this 
he  sold  out  his  interest  in  the  machinery,  etc.,  and 
engaged  himself  in  teaming  and  hauling  grain  to  Al- 
viso.  In  1869  he  entered  into  partnership  with  James 
A.  Hutchinson,  and  rented  two  hundred  acres  of  land 
near  Salinas,  Monterey  County,  and  for  the  next  three 
years  was  engaged  in  raising  grain.  He  was  also  quite 
extensively  engaged  in  teaming,  which  he  continued 
until  1878.  In  this  latter  year  he  removed  to  Wash- 
ington Territory,  where  he  worked  at  farm  labor  for 
about  a  year.  In  1879  he  returned  to  Santa  Clara 
County,  and  in  January  of  the  next  year  married 
Mrs.  Sarah  J.  (Layton)  Ware,  widow  of  David  Ware, 
of  Santa  Clara  County.  In  iSSo  he  located  in  Wash- 
ington Territory,  Lewis  Count}',  intending  to  make 
his  home  there.  While  there  he  met  w  ith  an  accident 
which  resulted  in  the  loss  of  his  right  leg.  This  com- 
pelled an  abandonment  of  all  prospects  of  building- 
up  a  home  in  that  country,  and  he  returned  to  Santa 
Clara  County.  His  disability  was  such  as  to  render 
him  unable  to  follow  laborious  pursuits,  and  in  18S2 
he  located  in  Alviso,  where  he  opened  a  saloon  in  the 
Alviso  Hotel,  a  calling  lie  has  since  pursued.  Mr. 
Barney  has,  through  his  misfortune,  been  compelled  to 
take  up  a  calling  that  is  not  congenial  to  his  tastes, 
but  he  is  conducting  it  in  a  straightforward  and  re- 
spectable manner.  I'^rom  the  marriage  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Barney,  three  children  have  been  born,  viz.: 
Charles  A.,  Frank,  and  Morgan  Daniel.  From  Mrs. 
Barney's  previous  marriage  there  is  one  child  living, 
Albert  I).  Ware. 


r^jOIIN  D.  SHAFTER.  This  well-known  and 
@^'  highly  respected  resident  of  Santa  Clara  County 
T  is  a  native  of  Vermont,  having  been  born  in 
Athens,  of  that  State,  in    1820.      His  parents,  John 


L.  and  Ruth  (Dean)  Shafter,  were  both  natives  of 
Vermont,  living  on  a  farm  which  they  owned  at 
Athens,  and  where  they  died  and  are  buried,  the 
mother  dying  in  1866,  aged  seventy-eight  years;  the 
father  in  1868,  aged  eighty-one  years.  Mr.  Shafter's 
paternal  grandfather  was  born  in  England  in  1759, 
removing  to  the  United  States  with  his  parents  when 
quite  young.  He  became  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  the 
Revolution,  and  later  represented  his  district  for  many 
years  in  the  State  Legislature.  The  maternal  grand- 
father was  of  English  descent.  Mr.  Shafter  attended 
the  district  schools  of  his  native  place  and  worked  on 
his  father's  farm  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  gold 
fever  in  California,  when,  with  others  composing  a 
stock  company  who  bought  the  ship  Re£-///i/s,  he  came 
to  California  by  way  of  Cape  Horn.  Captain  Brad- 
ford was  the  ship's  commander,  and  they  were  210 
days  in  making  the  trip,  arriving  safely  in  San  Fran- 
cisco October  10,  1849.  They  had  loaded  the  ship 
with  provisions,  with  the  timbers  of  a  house  ready  to 
put  up  upon  its  arrival,  to  be  used  for  mercantile  pur- 
poses, and  also  with  freight  for  others.  On  their 
arrival,  however,  they  abandoned  their  plan  of  operat- 
ing together  as  a  company,  and  sold  their  house  and 
provisions.  The  ship  was  taken  to  Benicia  and  an- 
chored there,  to  be  used  as  a  home  in  case  any  of  the 
owners  should  have  occasion  to  use  it  as  such,  on 
account  of  sickness  or  other  cause.  Their  chests  and 
other  effects  were  stowed  in  the  ship,  which  was  then 
left  in  charge  of  two  keepers.  These  guardians  after- 
ward sold  the  vessel  without  authority,  appropriated 
the  proceeds,  and  returned  to  Massachusetts.  Mr. 
Shafter,  with  others,  went  to  the  mines,  working  in 
El  Dorado  County  until  the  spring  of  1852,  with  the 
usual  average  results,  when  he  returned  to  the  old 
farm  in  Vermont  to  take  care  of  his  father  and  mother. 
Perhaps  another  motive  was  mingled  with  filial  dut)-, 
as  he  was  married  in  September  of  1852  to  Miss  Susan 
Richmond,  a  native  of  the  same  town.  There  were 
born  to  them  three  children:  Frank  R.,  now  engaged 
in  fruit-raising  in  Santa  Clara  County;  Florence  R., 
wife  of  Charles  Bothwell,  of  San  Jose,  and  Minnie, 
who  died  in  San  Francisco  in  1862.  Mr.  Shafter 
lived  on  the  Vermont  farm  from  1852  to  1859,  his 
eldest  child  being  born  there;  the  other  two  were  born 
at  Point  Reye-s,  California.  In  1859  Mr.  Shafter  re- 
turned with  his  family  to  California,  and  took  charge 
of  the  celebrated  Point  Reyes  Ranch  for  its  owners. 
Here  he  lived  for  five  years,  improving  the  ranch  and 
developing  the  dairy  industry  at  that  point.  In  1S64 
he  rented  a  ranch  at  Point  Reyes,  and,  buying  stock. 


-€^_    /?Z^    cC^-^^----^- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


257 


commenced  dairying  on  his  own  account,  being  quite 
successful,  until  he  sold  out,  in  1S69.  He  then  took 
his  family  for  a  visit  to  the  old  home  in  Vermont,  his 
parents  having  died  in  the  meantime.  In  the  sum- 
mer of  1870  he  returned  to  California,  coming  to  the 
Santa  Clara  Valley,  where  he  purchased  the  "  Fred 
Hall  Ranch,"  containing  5,400  acres,  in  Hall's  Valley, 
at  the  foot  of  Mount  Hamilton.  He  engaged  in 
stock-raising  on  this  ranch  until  1883,  when  he  sold 
this  property  and  has  since  lived  in  San  Jose,  his  resi- 
dence being  at  442  South  Fifth  Street. 

Mr.  Shafter  has  been  a  Republican  since  the  for- 
mation of  the  party,  first  being  a  member  of  the  Free- 
Soil  party  from  its  organization.  Mrs.  Shafter  had 
two  half-brothers,  who  did  good  service  in  the  late 
Civil  War,  one  of  them  now  enjoying  a  pension  from 
the  government  on  account  of  disability  caused  by 
service  at  Port  Hudson,  Louisiana.  Her  grandfather 
was  in  the  Revolutionary  War  from  Massachusetts. 
The  grandparents  of  both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shafter  were 
among  the  early  pioneers  of  that  section  of  Vermont. 


-€-4^'^— ^ 


MjOERVEY  morgan  LEONARD,  manager  and 
6(j|r3  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Bank  of  Santa  Clara 
"S^  Count}',  at  Santa  Clara,  was  born  in  the  town 
of  Worthington,  Hampshire  County,  Massachusetts, 
February  9,  1836.  His  father,  Robert  B.  Leonard, 
was  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  and  of  English-Welsh 
extraction,  whose  ancestors  came  to  America  previous 
to  1650,  and  settled  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the 
Massachusetts  Colony.  They  were  prominent  iron 
manufacturers,  their  first  forge  being  erected  in  1652. 
His  mother,  Jiee  Abigail  Sampson,  was  also  a  native 
of  Massachusetts  and  of  English  ancestry.  She  was 
a  lineal  descendant  of  Abram  Sampson,  who  emi- 
grated to  America  from  England  in  1629  or  1630, 
and  who  was  a  brother  of  Henry  Sampson,  one  of 
the  Pilgrims  who  came  from  England  in  the  May- 
Jloiver.  The  Sampsons  were  numbered  with  the  most 
prominent  men  of  those  early  times, 

Mr.  Leonard  was  reared  and  educated  at  his  native 
place,  where  for  a  time  he  was  employed  in  his  fa- 
ther's blacksmith  shop.  Not  liking  this  occupation, 
young  Leonard,  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years,  en- 
gaged in  school-teaching  at  the  neighboring  town  of 
Chesterfield.  Soon  afterward,  however,  he  abandoned 
school-teaching  and  engaged  with  a  boot  and  shoe 
manufacturer  as  a  cutter,  in  which  capacity  he  con- 
tinued until  his  nineteenth  )-ear.  At  this  period  of  his 
33 


youth  he  was  seized  w^ith  a  spirit  of  adventure,  and 
thus  embarked  for  the  Pacific  Coast  by  way  of  Nic- 
aragua, arriving  at  San  Francisco  in  1855.  He  spent 
two  years  in  gold-mining  on  Humbug  Creek,  Siski- 
you County,  and  though  quite  successful  at  mining  he 
was  forced  to  abandon  it  on  account  of  rheumatism. 
He  next  embarked  in  farming  near  Santa  Clara,  and 
in  1 86 1  purchased  two  hundred  and  eighty  acres  of 
the  Quito  Ranch,  which  he  improved  and  owned  un- 
til 1875,  selling  which  he  became  a  resident  of  Santa 
Clara. 

During  the  late  war  Mr.  Leonard  took  strong 
grounds  on  the  side  of  his  country,  and  in  1861  en- 
listed in  the  Redwood  Cavalry  Company  stationed 
at  Santa  Clara,  ever  ready  to  respond  to  the  call  of 
the  State  of  California.  Enlisting,  he  became  Or- 
derly Sergeant;  six  months  later  he  rose  to  the  rank 
of  Captain,  and  two  years  later  was  promoted  to 
Major  of  the  First  Cavalry  Regiment  California  State 
Militia,  commanded  by  Colonel  Taylor. 

In  June,  1875,  he  with  others  incorporated  the 
Bank  of  Santa  Clara  County,  and  was  made  one  of  its 
Directors,  and  was  for  a  short  time  Chairman  of  its 
Finance  Committee,  when  he  was  chosen  as  its  Man- 
ager. Previous  to  his  becoming  connected  with  the 
Bank  of  Santa  Clara  County,  in  1874,  he  became  as- 
sociated with  the  San  Jose  Savings  Bank,  which  went 
into  liquidation  in  1880,  when,  being  its  President,  he 
carried  it  through  the  crisis  of  that  year,  paying  the 
depositors  in  full,  and  returning  also  to  the  stockhold- 
ers a  large  share  of  their  investment.  In  1882,  when 
it  became  necessary  to  quiet  the  titles  of  the  old  Mex- 
ican land  grant,  the  Los  Animas  Rancho,  containing 
many  thousands  of  acres, — which  by  its  divisions  and 
subdivisions,  including  the  corporation  of  Gilroy,  had 
become  involved  in  confusion,  and  his  adaptability  to 
unravel  the  most  intricate  business  problems  being 
recognized  by  Judge  David  Belden, — he  was  by  him 
appointed,  with  two  other  gentlemen,  commissioner 
to  partition  that  body  of  land,  which  required  nearly 
two  years  to  accomplish,  the  partitioning  of  that 
rancho  being  the  most  difficult  ever  made  in  the 
State.  With  his  numerous  other  business  connec- 
tions he  is  one  of  the  Directors  of  the  Garden  City 
National  Bank  of  San  Jose,  he  being  one  of  its  incor- 
porators when  organized  in  1887.  He  is  also  Vice- 
President  of  the  Central  Milling  Company  of  San 
Jose,  which  has  a  system  of  eleven  flour  mills  in  the 
counties  of  Santa  Clara,  Santa  Cruz,  San  Benito, 
San  Luis  Obispo,  and  Monterey,  representing  over 
a  half  million  of  dollars.     Politically,  Mr.  Leonard  is 


258 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD: 


a  Republican.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Supervisors  of  Santa  Clara  County  for  nine  success- 
ive years,  1872  to  18S1,  acting  as  its  Chairman  a 
portion  of  the  time. 

In  May,  18 — ,  Mr.  Leonard  was  married,  at  Mil- 
pitas,  to  Miss  Adelaide  L.  Hart,  who  died  at  Santa 
Clara  in  1882,  leaving  three  children:  Marion  A.,  a 
student  at  the  University  of  the  Pacific;  Lelia  L.  and 
Hervey  H.,  attending  the  High  School  at  Santa 
Clara.  In  September,  1884,  Mr.  Leonard  was  united 
in  marriage,  at  Santa  Clara,  with  Miss  Ada  May 
Hollenbeck.  He  is  a  member  of  Santa  Clara  Lodge, 
No.  52,  I.  O.  O.  F. 

In  briefly  sketching  the  life  and  business  career  of 
our  subject,  mention  has  only  been  made  of  a  few  of 
the  more  prominent  events  of  his  life.  While  he  has 
been  blessed  by  Providence  in  his  affairs  above  the 
average  citizen,  it  requires  but  a  glance  over  the  years 
of  his  business  life  to  discover  the  secret  of  his  suc- 
cess. In  all  his  transactions  may  be  seen  that  fine 
mental  equipoise,  keen  perception,  firmness  of  pur- 
pose, and  integrity  of  character  which  everywhere 
mark  tb.c  successful  man  in  every  land. 


->->->¥> 


M 


M<^- 


SJFq  R.  MILLS,  capitalist.  Among  the  capitalists 
<3^  of  San  Jose  must  not  be  omitted  the  subject  of 
"I'  this  sketch,  one  of  the  earliest  pioneers  of  Cali- 
fornia, for  many  years  actively  identified  with  her 
mercantile  interests,  and  a  resident  of  San  Jose  since 
1872.  Born  in  Delaware  County,  New  York,  May 
4,  1823,  he  received  a  grammar-school  education,  re- 
moving, at  the  termination  of  his  school  days,  to  New 
York  City,  where  he  engaged  in  the  drug  business. 
In  this  he  continued  until  1849,  when,  attracted  by 
the  wondrous  tales  of  fortunes  so  readily  gathered 
among  the  foot-hills  of  the  Sierras,  he,  with  a  party  of 
young  men,  formed  a  company,  purchased  the  schooner 
Olivia,  fifty-seven  tons  register,  making  with  her  the 
voyage  by  way  of  the  Straits  of  Magellan  to  San 
Francisco.  Their  vessel,  which  was  the  second  small- 
est ever  arriving  in  San  Francisco  from  such  a  trip, 
was  laden  with  an  assorted  cargo  such  as  they  deemed 
would  be  b-st  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  new  coun- 
try. They  arrived  in  San  Francisco  on  July  3,  1849, 
spending  a  glorious  Fourth  under  the  shadows  of  the 
sand  hills  of  Yerba  Buena. 

Selling  out  their  schooner  and  cargo,  Mr.  Mills  at 
once  entered  the  wholesale  grocery  business,  merging 
tliat  into  the  wholesale  h'quor  trade  in  1852.    In  1852, 


during  one  of  the  largest  fires  of  those  days,  he  was 
burned  out,  causing  a  loss  of  over  $40,000.  In  i  S49  he 
erected  a  large  two-story  building  on  Clark's  Point,  the 
lumber  costing  him  $350  per  thousand  feet.  This  was 
the  first  building  erected  in  San  Francisco  which  had 
sash  doors.  In  this  business  he  continued,  operating 
heavily  and  being  one  of  the  largest  importers,  until 
failing  health  required  him  to  close  up  business  in 
1872,  when  he  removed  to  San  Jose,  where  he  has 
since  resided.  Mr.  Mills  and  partners  in  1856  oc- 
cupied, on  Sacramento  Street,  San  Francisco,  two 
stores,  each  thirty  feet  by  one  hundred  feet,  having  a 
basement  and  two  stories  above.  The  basement  and 
two  floors  above  were  filled  with  goods  to  their  ut- 
most capacity. 

In  that  year,  when  murder  and  crime  seemed  to 
have  no  restraint  at  the  hands  of  the  law,  an  outraged 
community  arose  and  purged  itself  of  its  most  ag- 
gressively vicious  elements.  The  Vigilance  Commit- 
tee took  possession  of  the  upper  floor  of  the  building 
occupied  by  Mr.  Mills  and  his  associates  in  business, 
and  virtually  placed  not  only  that  building  but  the 
whole  street  fronting  that  block  in  a  state  of  siege. 
The  committee  took  possession  of  the  keys  of  the 
stores,  instituting  search  at  regular  intervals  to  see 
that  no  one  secreted  himself  or  any  material  by  which 
the  Vigilantes  could  have  been  blown  up  in  their 
"  fort  "  on  the  floor  above.  Neither  Mr.  Mills,  his  as- 
sociate, nor  employes  were  allowed  ingress  or  egress 
without  the  proper  countersign.  This  was  called 
Fort  Gunny.  Gunny  sacks  filled  with  sand  were  piled 
up  around  the  sides  of  the  building,  the  street  was 
barricaded,  neither  teams  nor  pedestrians  being  al- 
lowed to  pass  without  authority.  All  this  time  Mr. 
Mills  and  his  associates  were  more  or  less  favorable  to 
the  intentions  of  the  committee,  bjit  their  business 
was  brought  to  a  stand-still.  This  continued  for  more 
than  six  months,  resulting  in  a  loss  to  the  firm  of 
fully  $50,000,  for  which  the  firm  was  promised  redress, 
but  never  received  a  dollar!  They  did  not  realize  it 
at  the  time,  but  they  could  have  made  the  city  of 
San  Francisco  pay  for  these  losses. 

Mr.  Mills  was  the  former  owner  of  the  ranch  on 
which  are  situated  the  present  Azule  Seltzer  Springs. 
These  were  originally  developed  by  him  under  the 
name  of  Mills  Pacific  Seltzer  Springs,  which  were 
later  sold  to  Mr.  John  W.  Ryland.  He  is  a  stock- 
holder in,  and  Director  of,  the  First  National  Bank  of 
San  Jose.  In  the  carl}'  days  of  San  Francisco  Mr. 
Mills  was  for  about  four  years  member  of  the 
State  Militia  in  a  company  of  Light  Dragoons.      He 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


259 


is  an  original  and  always  a  consistent  Republican, 
having  been  a  Whig  before  the  organization  of  the 
latter  party.  His  parents  were  natives  of  New  York 
State,  passing  their  lives  in  Delaware  County. 

^^ 


'ji^^ARTIN  J.  TAAFFE.  of  Fremont  Township, 
S^^O"?^  is  one  of  the  enterprising  young  men  of  Santa 
^#f  Clara  County.  He  is  a  native  of  San  Fran- 
I  cisco,  and  son  of  William  P.  and  Elizabeth  Uva 
(Murphy)  Taaffe.  His  father  was  for  years  a  large 
wholesale  merchant,  and  again  carried  on  business  in 
Santa  Clara  County.  His  death  occurred  in  San 
Francisco.  The  mother  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  a  daughter  of  Martin  Murphy,  Sr.,  whose  portrait 
adorns  this  work,  and  who,  as  the  leader  of  that  noble 
party  of  settlers  of  1S44,  did  so  much  toward  estab- 
lishing the  authority  of  tiie  United  States  over  this 
section,  and  made  for  himself  and  his  descendants  a 
name  that  will  always  hold  a  high  place  of  honor  in 
the  history  of  California.  Martin  J.  Taaffe  was  but 
two  years  of  age  when  his  parents  removed  to  Santa 
Clara  County  from  San  Francisco,  and  he  was  reared 
at  their  residence,  the  old  Martin  Murphy  homestead, 
near  Mountain  View.  He  was  educated  at  Santa 
Clara  College,  and  then  went  to  work  superintending 
the  extensive  farming  operations  on  the  old  home- 
stead. Seven  months  later,  in  1SS7,  he  came  to  his 
present  location,  on  the  farm,  of  the  Taaffe  heirs,  con- 
sisting of  4,400  acres,  in  which  he  owns  an  undivided 
one-fourth  interest.  He  farms  1,100  acres,  and  calls 
this  tract  Rose  Hill  Farm.  The  location  of  this  farm 
is  certainly  a  desirable  one.  From  it  a  commanding 
view  may  be  obtained  of  a  large  portion  of  the  Santa 
Clara  Valley,  while  the  bay,  Oakland,  a  part  of  San 
Francisco,  and  a  part  of  several  neighboring  counties, 
maybe  plainly  seen.  The  Adobe  Creek  runs  through 
the  place,  and  numerous  never-failing  springs  supply 
an  abundance  of  water  for  all  purposes.  The  new 
residence,  constructed  in  1888,  at  a  cost  of  over  $5,000, 
occupies  probably  the  most  beautiful  natural  building 
site  on  the  ranch,  being  on  a  level,  shelf-like  spot,  well 
up  on  the  hill-side.  There  is,  howev.er  a  large  spring 
higher  up,  from  which  water  for  domestic  purposes 
will  be  obtained,  and  brought  to  the  house  by  means 
of  pipes.  About  800  acres  of  the  tract  is  cut  for 
grain,  wheat  being  the  principal  crop,  and  a  fair 
average  is  about  twelve  sacks  to  the  acre,  th.Higli  as 
high  as  twenty-one  sacks  to  the  acre  have  been  cut. 
Barley  averages  between  fifteen  and  sixteen  sacks  to 


the  acre.  An  average  of  hay  is  two  tons  per  acre. 
Mr.  Taaffe  conducts  his  farming  operations  on  modern 
principles,  and  has  an  orderly  appearing  and  well- 
kept  ranch. 


->-H>«: 


M 


■A<^^ 


.q\^^JCHAEL  LYNCH,  Superintendent  of  the 
G^o'5^  grounds  and  greenhouses  at  the  Timothy  Hop- 
e^  kins  place,  is  a  citizen  of  Santa  Clara  County, 
!  residing  near  the  line  of  San  Mateo.  He  was 
born  in  County  Meath,  Ireland,  and  at  the  age  of  six- 
teen years  he  began  to  acquire  a  practical  knowledge 
of  floral  gardening.  When  eighteen  he  went  to  En- 
gland, and  for  five  years  was  employed  in  his  profession 
at  the  Bancroft,  Beachley,  and  Ollerton  places,  at 
Liverpool.  In  1S68  he  came  to  America,  and  was  lo- 
cated at  New  York  until  1S71,  when  he  came  to  Cali- 
fornia via  Panama,  arriving  at  San  F'rancisco  February 
22,  1871.  Two  years  later  he  came  to  Menlo  Park,  to 
take  charge  of  the  grounds  of  Major  Rathbone,  Con- 
sul at  Paris.  After  five  years  there  he  accepted  a 
similar  position  with  L.  L.  Robinson,  at  Antioch. 
He  was  there  two  years  and  seven  months,  and  was 
then  employed  by  J.  C.  Flood  to  take  charge  of  the 
laj'ing  out  and  ornamentation  of  the  grounds  of  his 
Menlo  Park  place.  These  beautiful  grounds,  which 
outshine  any  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  are  not  sur- 
passed in  beauty  in  the  country,  are  the  results  of  the 
taste  of  Mr.  Lynch,  who  had  carte  blanche  while  there 
engaged,  and  the  place  is  a  monument  to  his  ability 
in  his  profession.  In  September,  1886,  his  services 
were  obtained  by  Mr.  Hopkins,  and  he  now  has 
charge  of  the  Menlo  Park  and  California  Street  (San 
Francisco)  places.  Mr.  Lynch  was  married  in  New 
Jersey  on  the  day  he  started  for  the  Pacific  Coast,  to 
Miss  Mary  Payton.  They  have  eight  children, 
namely:  James,  Mary,  Joseph,  Michael,  Jennie,  Ed- 
ward, John,  and  Rose. 


->->¥^: 


SL. 


:>§^-<- 


(T 


||OHN  WENSTROM  was  born  in  Skone,  Sweden, 
Q/  in  1835,  his  parents  being  Paul  Olsen  and  Bengta 
■*^  (Swanson)  Wenstrom,  also  natives  of  that  place. 
He  was  reared  to  farm  life  until  the  age  of  eighteen 
years,  receiving  at  the  same  time  such  an  education 
as  the  common  schools  afforded.  In  1853  he  entered 
into  a  five  years'  apprenticeship  as  a  blacksmith.  Af- 
ter serving  three  years  his  master  gave  him  his  papers. 
He  then   established  a  cE^rriage  and  blacksmith  shop 


260 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD: 


of  his  own.  In  1857  he  married  Miss  Johanna  Nel- 
son, daughter  of  Mons  and  Margaret  Nelson,  natives  of 
Sweden.  Mr.  Wenstrom  successfully  conducted  his 
business  until  1869,  in  which  year  he  emigrated  to  the 
United  States.  Shortly  after  his  arrival  in  New  York- 
he  proceeded  to  Boston,  Massachusetts,  and  after 
working  for  a  few  months  at  that  place  he  removed 
to  Lawrence,  Kansas.  After  working  for  abuut  two 
years  at  his  trade,  he  established  a  shop  in  Lawrence 
and  entered  into  business  on  his  own  account.  He 
conducted  this  shop  for  one  year,  and  then  rented  a 
farm  near  Lawrence,  upon  which  he  took  up  his  resi- 
dence. He  established  a  blacksmith  shop  on  his  farm 
and  engaged  in  farming  and  blacksmithing  until  1876. 
In  this  latter  year  he  came  to  California  and  located 
at  Salinas,  Monterey  County.  Afterward  he  estab- 
lished a  blacksmith  shop  at  Gabilan,  where  he  re- 
mained till  187S.  He  was  the  postmaster  at  Gabi- 
lan during  his  two  years'  residence  there.  In  the  fall 
of  1878  he  removed  to  San  Jose,  and  after  some 
months  working  at  his  trade  he  entered  into  partner- 
ship with  Alexander  Gutt,  in  the  hotel  and  saloon 
business.  He  also  engaged  in  the  same  business  with 
his  brother.  In  March,  18S2,  he  removed  to  Alviso, 
where  he  established  a  blacksmith  and  carriage  re- 
pair shop.  Mr.  Wenstrom,  since  the  latter  date,  has 
been  a  resident  of  Alviso,  and  by  his  energetic  and 
indus-  trious  habits,  and  honest  dealing,  has  firmly 
established  himself  in  business.  He  is  a  thorough 
mechanic,  a  master  of  his  calling,  and  well  supported 
by  the  community  in  which  he  resides.  In  his  po- 
litical views  he  is  Democratic.  He  has  served  three 
years  as  a  School  Trustee  in  his  district.  Mrs. 
Wenstrom  died  in  1875.  To  them  were  born  nine 
children,  five  of  whom  are  living,  viz.:  Nels  Peter, 
Teckla,  Ellnora  C,  Hilma  U.,  and  Jennie  M.  Teckla 
married  Charles  Olsen,  and  resides  near  San  Jose. 
The  other  children  are  living  at  home. 

;;-,  OHN  E.  FISHER,  Secretary  of  the  Santa  Clara 
@^  Valley  Land  and  Loan  Association,  at  No.  45 
t'^  West  Santa  Clara  Street,  San  Jose,  was  born  near 
Woodland,  Yolo  County,  California,  January  17,  1864. 
He  received  his  primany  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  Woodland,  and  later  attended  the  Univer- 
sity of  the  Pacific  for  five  years,  graduating  in  18S4. 
He,  with  his  mother  and  her  family,  removed  to  San 
Jose  in  1875.     On  November  i,  18S4,  he  took  charge 


of  the  books  of  Mr.  R.  L.  Higgins,  in  the  real  estate 
and  insurance  business,  and  May  25,  1885,  he  bought 
an  interest  in  the  business.  On  February  9,  1S86,  the 
firm  incorporated  under  the  name  of  the  "Santa  Clara 
Valley  Land  and  Loan  Association,"  of  which  Mr. 
Fisher  became  the  Secretary.  He  is  a  member  of 
Palo  Alto  Parlor,  No.  82,  N.  S.  G.  W.,  of  San  Jose. 
Mr.  Fisher's  parents  were  John  H.  and  Arabella  M. 
(Gladstone)  Fisher,  both  natives  of  Pennsylvania. 
His  father  came  to  California  in  1854,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  agriculture  and  stock-raising  in  Yolo 
County.  He  died  in  1S67.  There  were  born  to  them 
three  daughters  and  one  son:  Clara,  Hattie,  John 
E.,  and  Eva.  Hattie,  the  wife  of  Frank  D.  Lauter- 
man,  of  Los  Angeles,  died  March  5,  1888,  leaving  an 
infant  daughter.  She  was  a  graduate  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  the  Pacfiic.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  and 
his  two  sisters  still  occupy  the  maternal  hoir.e.  Their 
residence  is  on  University  Avenue,  University 
Grounds,  near  the  Alameda.  The  family  still  retain 
their  agricultural  interests  in  Yolo  County. 

f"]0HN  T.  GRANT.  One  of  the  best  orchards  in 
_  ^  the  Berryessa  District  is  the  thirty-acre  tract 
^  owned  by  Mr.  Grant.  This  orchard  is  located  at 
Berryessa,  on  Capital  Avenue,  about  four  miles  north- 
east of  the  business  center  of  San  Jose.  Twenty 
acres  of  this  land  were  planted  in  1884,  and  the  rest 
in  1887.  This  orchard  contains  the  following  trees: 
1,000  apricots,  800  peaches,  800  French  prunes,  150 
plums,  and  a  few  trees  each  of  nearly  all  varieties  of 
fruit  grown  in  that  section  of  the  county.  His  land 
is  admirably  located,  and  can  be  irrigated  by  water 
from  the  Penetencia  Creek.  The  orchard  is  under  a 
high  state  of  cultivation,  and  is  destined  to  be  very 
productive.  It  is  worthy  of  mention  that  three-year- 
old  apricot  trees  in  18S7  yielded  over  $120  per  acre. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Oneida 
County,  New  York,  December  18,  185 1.  His  parents, 
John  T.  and  Clementine  (Smith)  Grant,  were  natives 
of  that  State.  In  1855  his  father  removed  to  Miami 
County,  Kansas,  where  he  purchased  land  and  en- 
gaged in  farming  until  his  death,  in  1886.  Mr.  Grant 
was  reared  to  the  calling  of  his  father,  receiving 
such  an  education  as  was  afforded  by  the  common 
schools.  He  conducted  his  farming  operations  upon 
the  old  homestead  until  the  dcatli  of  his  mother,  which 
occurred  in  1878.  In^that  year  he  came  to  California, 
and  after  a  visit  to  Santa  Clara  County  went  to  San 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


261 


Joaquin  County,  and  there  worked  for  his  brother, 
George  VV.  Grant,  for  about  two  years,  or  until  the 
fall  of  iSSo.  He  then  returned  to  Santa  Clara 
County,  and  engaged  in  work  on  the  Berryessa  road, 
for  Smith  &  Flickinger,  in  orchard  culture.  (Dr. 
China  Smith,  the  partner  of  J.  H.  Flickinger,  was  his 
uncle.)  In  1883  he  purchased  the  twenty  acres  of  his 
orchard  property,  and  commenced  its  improvement. 
In  1886  he  purchased  the  ten  acres  adjoining,  and 
took  up  his  residence  upon  the  same.  In  December 
of  the  same  year  he  married  Miss  Mattie  E.  Fickett, 
daughter  of  Dr.  Stillman  H.  and  Elizabeth  (Stevenson) 
Fickett,  of  Stockton.  Mrs.  Grant's  father  is  a  pioneer 
of  California,  a  prominent  and  well-known  dentist  in 
Stockton.  Mr.  Grant  is  an  enterprising  and  energetic 
young  man,  well  schooled  and  versed  in  orchard  culti- 
vation, and  bids  fair  to  become  one  of  the  leading 
orchardists  in  his  section  of  the  county.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Republican,  and  takes  a  great  interest  in  the 
future  welfare  and  prosperity  of  the  county. 


->-»H-: 


M 


M<-< 


M|R.  JOSEPH  UNDERWOOD  HALL,  one  of 
S#^  the  leading  physicians  of  San  Jose,  and  since  the 
^&^  early  '50's  a  practicing  physician  in  California 
and  Nevada,  has  his  residence  on  North  Third 
Street,  and  his  office  in  the  Beach  Building,  corner 
of  East  Santa  Clara  and  Second  Streets,  occupying 
the  same  conjointly  with  Dr.  W.  S.  Thorne,  with 
whom  he  is  associated  in  the  practice  of  medicine 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  on  December  8, 
1822,  at  Glasgow,  Barren  County,  Kentucky.  His 
grandfather,  Judge  John  Hall,  emigrated  from  Penn- 
sylvania, and  was  the  first  pioneer  that  entered  the 
wilderness  of  Barren  County,  then  Warren  County. 
His  father,  Michael  W.  Hall,  was  one  of  the  judges  of 
the  quarter  sessions  court  of  Barren  County  for  some 
years,  having  succeeded  his  father,  and  also  represented 
his  county  in  the  Kentucky  Legislature  several  terms. 
Dr.  Hall  received  his  literary  education  at  Glasgow, 
and  studied  medicine  under  the  preceptorship  of  Dr. 
George  Rogers  of  that  place,  subsequently  continuing 
his  medical  studies  at  Louisville,  taking  his  first 
course  of  lectures  there,  at  the  Jefferson  Medical  Col- 
lege. The  excitement  following  the  discovery  of  gold 
drew  him  to  California,  where  he  arrived  in  1S52. 
He  settled  then  at  Orleans  Flat,  engaging  in  the 
practice  of  medicine,  and  becoming  at  the  same  time 
interested  in  mining  and  ditch  speculations.  He  was 
President  of  the  Eureka  Canal  Company,  subsequently 


consolidated  with  the  Miners'  Ditch,  until  1858,  during 
which  year  he  returned  to  Kentucky,  going  thence  to 
Philadelphia,  where  he  completed  his  medical  course 
at  the  Jeffer-son  Medical  College,  graduating  at  that 
institution  in  1859.  He  then  returned  to  Kentucky 
and  spent  one  year  with  his  relatives  and  friends  in 
that  State.  During  the  war  he  was  in  charge  of  the 
Post  Hospital  at  Lexington  for  two  years,  there  hav- 
ing an  extensive  surgical  experience.  In  1862  he  re- 
turned to  the  Pacific  Coast,  locating  on  the  Comstock 
Lode,  where  are  to  be  found  the  most  extensive  silver 
mines  of  the  world.  Here  also  was  a  large  field  for 
surgical  work,  owing  to  the  great  number  of  accidents 
of  daily  occurrence  in  the  mines. 

In  1865  he  returned  to  Glasgow,  Kentucky,  where 
he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Kate  B.  White, 
whose  parents,  Thomas  J.  and  Sarah  (Frances)  White, 
were  also  natives  of  Kentucky,  their  ancestors  having 
removed  thither  at  an  early  date.  Upon  his  return 
from  Kentucky  to  the  Pacific  Coast,  he  was  appointed 
Surgeon-General  of  the  State  of  Nevada  by  Gov- 
ernor Blaisdel,  serving  eight  years  under  his  adminis- 
tration, and  was  re-appointed  by  Governor  Bradley, 
serving  four  years. 

The  children  of  Dr.  Hall  are  nine,  namely:  Leon 
M.,  now  pursuing  a  course  in  mechanics  at  the  State 
University  at  Berkeley;  Joseph  U.,  at  present  attend- 
ing Cooper  Medical  College  in  San  Francisco;  Graily 
H.,  Pearl  W.,  Kate  B.,  Beatrice,  Grace  A.,  E.  Mercedes, 
and  Hal  V.,  the  latter  six  occupying  the  paternal 
home  and  attending  school  at  San  Jose. 

(T^APT.  JOSEPH  E.  WILLIAMS  was  born  on 
^  Prince  Edward  Island,  March  25,  1830,  but  left 
&Y  there  when  a  mere  boy,  and  when  twelve  years 
old  went  to  sea  as  a  fisherman,  and  about  a  year 
later  came  to  the  United  States,  and  shipped  on 
board  of  large  ships  engaged  in  foreign  trade  at 
Liverpool,  London,  and  the  East  Indies.  He  fol- 
lowed this  for  several  years,  and  was  in  the  coasting 
trade  until  twenty-one  years  old,  when  he  was  given 
the  command  of  the  ship  Corinne,  engaged  in  the 
coasting  trade  in  summer  and  lying  by  in  the  winter. 
He  had  command  of  this  ship  for  two  or  three  )-ears. 
After  this  he  became  an  officer  on  a  packet  ship  en- 
gaged in  carrying  passengers  and  merchandise,  and 
sailed  to  nearly  all  the  Atlantic  ports  of  Europe,  as 
well  as  of  the  American  coast.  He  was  engaged  in 
this  business  five  or  six  years,  and  then  became  mas- 


262 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


ter  of  a  merchant  ship,  in  which  business  he  continued 
up  to  1870.  He  then  went  to  San  Francisco,  and  for 
a  time  was  engaged  in  business  there.  In  1881  he 
went  to  Sierra  County,  California,  and  took  charge  of 
a  mine,  and  after  remaining  there  five  years  returned 
to  San  Francisco.  In  1SS7  he  purchased  his  present 
place,  a  part  of  which,  however,  he  bought  the  year 
before.  The  place  contains  forty-two  acres,  of  which 
fourteen  are  in  orchard,  mostly  in  Crawford  peaches 
and  Moorpark  apricots.  He  has  a  small  family  or- 
chard, also  a  vineyard  of  fifteen  acres,  consisting  of 
Muscat  and  choice  wine  grapes,  the  vines  and  orchard 
being  six  years  old.  Captain  Williams'  ranch  is  situ- 
ated at  the  corner  of  the  county  road,  Castro  Street, 
and  Bailey  Avenue. 

Captain  Williams  was  married  in  San  Francisco, 
December  11,  1S79,  to  May,  daughter  of  Hon.  John 
Thomson,  of  Prince  Edward  Island,  who  was  for 
many  years  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
They  have  two  children:  Reginald  Hadley,  born  June 
19,  18S3,  and  Anita  Josephine,  born  January  3,  1885. 
They  lost  one  child  that  died  in  infancy. 

Sj||lLLIAM  B.  RUCKER,  who  is  Clerk  of  the 
<S^^  Board  of  Supervisors,  was  born  in  Santa  Clara 
tt^  County  in  1857.  His  parents,  J.  E.  and  Susan 
I  (Brown)  Rucker,  came  to  California  in  1853, 
from  Missouri,  and  settled  at  once  in  the  Santa  Clara 
Valley.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  attended  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  San  Jose  until  he  attained  the  age  of 
sixteen  years,  when  he  attended  the  University  of  the 
Pacific  for  a  short  time.  In  1875  he  went  to  San 
Benito  County  and  took  charge  of  his  father's  ranch 
there;  he  remained  until  February,  1S06,  when  he  re- 
turned to  San  Jose,  and  received  the  appointment  of 
Deputy  Recorder  of  this  county,  which  office  he  filled 
one  jcar  and  was  then  appointed  Deputy  County 
Clerk  and  Clerk  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors,  which 
office  he  still  occupies. 

In  April,  1S82,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
MoUie  McCarley,  also  a  native  of  this  State  and 
county.  Her  parents,  Samuel  W.  and  Hannah 
(Harbert)  McCarley,  came  to  California  in  the  pio- 
neer days  of  its  settlement.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rucker 
have  one  child,  a  son,  born  June  27,  1S85,  who  bears 
the  name  of  George  A.  Mrs.  Rucker  has  one  sister 
and  four  brothers.  Her  sister  Annie  is  the  wife  of 
D.  B.  Fuller,  of  Evergreen,  this  county,  who  is  en- 
gaged in  fruit-raising,     Her  brothers,  W.  B.  and   Al- 


bert, are  in  partnership  in  the  livery  business.  Frank 
J.  McCarley  is  in  the  United  States  mail  service,  and 
Samuel  W.,  Jr.,  is  now  attending  school  in  San  Jose. 
Mr.  Rucker  is  a  member  of  Mt.  Hamilton  Lodge,  No. 
43,  A.  O.  U.  W.,  of  San  Jose;  he  is  also  a  member  of 
Palo  Alto  Parlor,  No.  82,  N.  S.  G.  W.,  and  is  District 
Deputy  Grand  President  for  Santa  Clara  County,  and 
Recording  Secretary  of  Company  B.,  Fifth  Infantry, 
Second  Brigade,  N.  G.  C,  to  which  company  he  be- 
longs. 


mgEV.  WILLIAM  D.  POLLARD  was  born  in 
^2.  Spencer,  Owen  County,  Indiana,  April  12,  1840. 
■•■'r  His  father,  Uriah  Pollard,  was  a  native  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  when  six  years  old  removed  with  his 
parents  to  North  Carolina,  where  he  was  reared.  He 
was  married  there  to  Sarah  Dameron,  a  native  of 
North  Carolina.  Uriah  Pollard  was  the  owner  of  one 
slave,  although  he  did  not  believe  in  slavery.  He 
was  strongly  opposed  to  the  liquor  traffic  for  sixty- 
five  years.  He  took  a  firm  stand  against  using  it 
in  the  harvest-field,  and  although  strongly  opposed, 
finally  won  the  day.  Mrs.  Pollard  was  a  woman  of 
sterling  qualities,  like  those  of  old,  ever  providing 
for  her  children.  Each  child  grew  in  virtue  and  be- 
came the  head  of  an  honorable  family.  They  moved 
to  Owen  County,  Indiana,  in  1831,  and  lived  there 
twenty  years.  In  1851  they  moved  to  McLean 
County,  Illinois,  where  they  died,  Mr.  Pollard  in  1S79, 
aged  eighty-two  years,  and  his  wife  in  1874.  They 
reared  a  family  of  seven  children,  all  of  whom  are 
now  living,  three  sons  and  four  daughters.  W.  D. 
Pollard  is  next  to  the  youngest.  He  made  his  home 
with  his  parents  till  twenty-five  years  of  age.  He 
was  educated  at  the  Eureka  College,  in  Woodford 
County,  Illinois,  he  and  his  wife  attending  school  one 
year  after  their  marriage.  He  was  reared  in  the 
Christian  faith,  his  mother  being  a  very  pious  woman, 
and  his  father  a  class-leader  for  forty  years. 

He  was  married  June  29,  1865,  to  Lizzie  J.  IIows- 
mon,  who  was  born  in  Ohio,  January  15,  1845.  Her 
parents  moved  from  Ohio  to  McLean  County,  Illinois, 
when  she  was  an  infant.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pollard 
were  teachers  in  the  public  school.  After  leaving 
college  they  returned  to  their  old  home  in  McLean 
County;  here  Mr.  Pollard  taught  school  for  a  year, 
and  then  returned  to  Woodford  County  and  taught  a 
year.  The)-  then  went  to  Gilman,  Iroquois  County 
Illinois,  and   took  charge  of  the  public  school   there, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


263 


for  one  year,  and  from  there  to  Scott  County,  where 
he  taught  three  years,  thence  to  Morgan  County, 
where  both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pollard  taught  in  the  public 
schools  for  three  years.  In  1875  they  came  to  Santa 
Clara  County. 

He  at  once  bought  a  ranch  of  twenty  acres  and 
planted  it  to  fruit-trees,  and  at  the  same  time  engaged  to 
teach  the  Sar.atoga  public  school,  which  he  did  for  four 
years.  Mr.  Pollard  has  been  actively  engaged  in 
raising  fruit,  having  had  at  different  times  as  many  as 
1 50  acres.  He  has  realized  $5.00  per  acre  from  three- 
year-old  prunes,  $75  per  acre  when  four  years  old, 
and  $200  when  five  years  old.  The  best  he  ever  real- 
ized from  prunes  was  $550  per  acre.  In  1887  he 
realized  $300  per  acre  from  five-year-old  peach-trees. 

Mr.  Pollard  has  been  a  preacher  for  twenty-five 
years.  He  began  his  ministry  about  the  time  he 
commenced  school-teaching,  and  has  many  times 
preached  three  times  a  day.  Has  held  protracted 
meetings  and  taught  school  at  the  same  time.  For 
the  past  three  years  he  has  been  preaching  in  Santa 
Cruz.  The  most  of  his  efforts  in  this  direction  have 
been  gratuitous.  The  richness  of  his  life  has  been 
spent  in  the  ministry,  he  having  obtained  from  this 
service  the  largest  results.  Mr.  Pollard,  in  the  death 
of  his  wife,  February  2,  18SS,  met  with  his  greatest 
loss.  She  was  his  constant  companion  and  helper  in 
his  Christian  work.  She  was  the  mother  of  three 
children,  all  of  whom  survived  her.  In  1883  Mr. 
Pollard  bought  a  half  interest  in  Washington  College, 
in  Alameda  County,  where  both  he  and  his  wife  taught 
for  one  year.  This  was  the  close  of  their  teaching, 
having  devoted  about  fifteen  years  to  it  and  twenty- 
five  years  to  the  ministry.  He  at  present  gives  his 
time  to  preaching.  His  present  ranch  consists  of 
forty  acres, — thirty-four  acres  of  French  prunes, 
four  acres  of  pears,  and  two  acres  of  peaches,  there 
being  about  lOO  trees  to  the  acre  and  ranging  from 
two  to  six  years  old. 


JKYMAN  J.  BURRELL,  deceased,  was  born  in 
<^  Massachusetts,  September  5,  1801.  Both  of  his 
T  parents  were  natives  of  Massachusetts.  His 
father,  Jabez  Burrell,  was  one  of  eight  sons  and  three 
daughters.  Lyman  lived  in  Massachusetts  until  he 
was  twelve  years  old,  when  his  father  removed  to  the 
Western  Reserve  and  settled  in  Sheffield,  Lorain 
County,  Ohio.     His   father  was  a   pioneer,  and   took 


up  and  cleared  his  land.  Lyman  had  a  farm  in  Shef- 
field given  him  by  his  father,  which  he  cultivated. 
He  married  when  about  twenty-six  years  old,  and  his 
wife  died  six  or  seven  years  afterward.  He  was 
married  again  in  1839,  to  Clarissa  Wright,  a  native  of 
Connecticut.  Previous  to  this  he  went  to  Elyria,  the 
county  seat  of  Lorain  County,  and  was  twice  elected 
County  Treasurer  on  the  Whig  ticket. 

In  1849  he  came  to  California,  leaving  his  family  at 
home.  He  worked  in  the  mines  with  average  success 
for  two  years  or  more,  and  made  about  $2,000.  On 
returning  to  Elyria,  and  while  crossing  the  isthmus  at 
Panama,  he  contracted  the  "  Panama"  fever,  and  w^is 
in  a  very  weak  condition  when  he  reached  his  home 
in  Ohio.  In  about  a  year,  thinking  himself  sufficiently 
well,  he  started  for  California,  but  upon  reaching  New 
York  was  obliged  to  return  home.  In  1852  he  made 
the  journey,  and  his  family  joined  him  the  following 
year.  Upon  his  arrival  in  California  he  rented  land 
from  Cary  Peebles,  of  Santa  Clara,  planted  four  or 
five  acres  to  onions,  and  in  1853  he  planted  potatoes 
and  pumpkins  on  land  belonging  to  the  late  James 
Lick.  In  June,  1853,  he  made  his  first  excursion  into 
the  mountains  with  a  party  looking  for  a  home,  and 
all  took  up  land  on  the  ridge  between  the  Burrell  and 
Los  Gatos  Creeks.  He  took  one-fourth  of  a  section, 
under  the  pre-emption  laws,  supposing  it  to  be  gov- 
ernment land,  and  built  a  house  and  settled  there. 
The  other  parties  with  him  took  up  claims  for  stock 
ranches,  and  were  only  there  at  times.  The  nearest 
permanent  neighbor  was  Charles  McKierman,  famil- 
iarly known  as  "  Mountain  Charley,"  and  he  was 
three  and  a  half  miles  away. 

After  living  there  six  j'ears  he  found  he  was  on  a 
Spanish  grant.  He  thereupon  bought  a  third  of  one- 
ninth  interest  in  the  grant,  his  share  being  about 
3,500  acres,  for  which  he  paid  $1,500.  He  engaged 
in  stock-raising,  first  raising  hogs,  but  had  to  give 
that  up  as  there  were  too  many  bears  and  panthers. 
He  then  took  a  herd  of  cattle  on  shares  from  John 
A.  Ouincy,  and  mide  some  money.  During  the  first 
five  years  he  lived  there,  there  was  no  wagon  road, 
till  the  Santa  Cruz  Turnpike  was  built.  His  nearest 
post-office  was  Santa  Clara,  and  everything  was 
packed  to  and  from  his  place  on  the  backs  of  horses. 
For  two  years  he  followed  the  old  Santa  Cruz  trail, 
striking  it  at  "Mountain  Charley's."  Instead  of  trav- 
eling this  roundabout  way  any  longer  he  picked  out 
and  opened  a  trail  from  his  place  toward  San  Jose, 
which  was  adopted  by  the  Turnpike  Company  when  it 
built   the  turnpike  road.      He  sold   off  his  land   from 


264 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN   OF  THE   WORLD." 


time  to  time  in  large  and  small  tracts,  so  that  at  the 
time  of  his  death  he  had  but  about  i,000  acres  left. 
His  wife  died  in  1857.  She  was  the  mother  of  three 
children  :  James  Birney,  Martha,  and  Clara,  the  wife 
of  H.  C.  Morrell.  He  married  again  in  1864,  Mrs. 
Lucy  Lewis,  who  died  in  January,  1875.  f^^  was 
again  married  in  February,  1S76,  to  Mrs.  P.  T.  Vining. 
He  died  June  3,  1884. 


|i- 


MiBRAM  BLOCK  is  a  native  of  Bohemia,  and 
<a^j^  was  born  at  Schwihau  in  1830.  When  fourteen 
^  years  of  age  he  came  to  America,  and  on  his 
*  arrival  here  went  directly  to  St.  Louis,  Missouri, 
where  he  had  several  brothers.  Having  only  a  lim- 
ited education,  he  attended  school  at  St.  Louis  until 
his  seventeenth  year.  He  then  obtained  a  situation 
as  a  clerk  in  the  wholesale  and  retail  dry-goods  house 
of  Nathan  Abies,  in  which  he  acquired  an  interest  in 
1850.  In  1852,  on  account  of  poor  health,  he  with- 
drew his  interest  in  the  firm  and  came  West  to  Ne- 
vada City,  where  he  became  associated  with  S.  Furth, 
in  the  mercantile  business,  after  which  he  also  en- 
gaged in  private  banking  until  1874.  In  1856  he 
became  a  resident  of  San  Francisco,  where  his  firm 
also  engaged  extensively  in  business.  Meeting  witli 
reverses  in  1874,  caused  by  the  depreciation  of  min- 
ing stocks,  and  also  by  accommodating  friends  in 
whom  his  faith  was  too  sanguine,  he  was  forced  to 
make  an  assignment.  In  1878,  after  settling  up  his 
affairs,  by  the  advice  of  his  physician,  he  abandoned 
mercantile  and  banking  pursuits  and  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  fruit-culture,  and  with  what  little  he  saved  from 
his  financial  wreck  he  invested  in  a  fruit  ranch  near 
Santa  Clara,  long  known  as  the  Gould  Fruit  Ranch. 
Mr.  Gould  was  a  noted  horticulturist,  and  it  was  he 
who  first  shipped  California  fruits  to  Eastern  States, 
as  well  as  foreign  countries,  i.  c,  Au.stralia,  Sandwich 
Islands,  and  China.  Mr.  Block's  ranch  contains 
nincty-si.x  acres,  and  he  grows  many  varieties  of 
fruit,  but  the  pear  is  his  speciality,  the  land  being 
best  adapted  to  that  fruit.  He  is  widely  known  as  a 
pear  ciilturist,  and  he  ships  yearly  large  quantities  of 
pears  to  Eastern  markets.  Although  deeply  in  debt, 
with  the  help  of  friends  Mr.  Block  has  succeeded  in 
removing  every  financial  incumbrance  from  his  ranch, 
the  result  of  his  persevering  industry  under  the  most 
trying  difficulties.  He  ranks  among  the  prominent 
horticulturists  of  the  State  of  California,  and  in  1S85 


was  appointed  a  member  of  the  California  State 
Board  of  Horticulturists,  by  Governor  Stoneman,  to 
fill  a  vacancy,  and  afterward  by  Governor  Waterman, 
to  a  full  term  of  four  years,  and  is  now  a  member  of 
the  Board.  He  is  also  one  of  the  Trustees  of  the 
Home  for  the  Care  and  Training  of  Feeble-minded 
Children,  a  State  institution  at  Santa  Clara,  having 
been  appointed  by  Governor  Bartlett  in  1887. 

Politically,  Mr.  Block  is  independent,  and  never 
votes  a  strictly  partisan  ticket;  and,  although  of  for- 
eign birth,  he  loves  the  free  principles  of  the  United 
States,  and  believes  in  adhering  to  and  upholding  the 
laws  of  his  adopted  country.  He  is  still  unmarried, 
and  will  probably  never  be  a  benedict,  or  allow  him- 
self to  be  a  party  to  a  matrimonial  alliance. 


PLI  HUGH  EVANS,  son  of  Hugh  and  Jcrusha 
(Cone)  Evans,  was  born  in  Oneida  County,  New 
^p  York,  June  5,  1824.  His  father  was  a  native  of 
New  Hampshire  and  his  mother  of  New  York. 
The)'  both  died  in  New  York.  Of  fourteen  children 
they  reared  twelve,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  being 
the  youngest  of  the  family.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he 
went  to  Wiscons'n, where  he  worked  indifferent  parts 
of  the  State  for  four  years.  In  1S49  he  came  to  Cal- 
ifornia, making  the  trip  overland  with  ox  teams. 
When  the  party  was  organized  at  the  Missouri  River, 
it  numbered  eighty-one  persons,  under  Captain  Har- 
aszthy.  Mr.  Evans  acted  as  cook  for  the  mess  to 
which  he  belonged.  It  took  them  eleven  months  to 
make  the  trip,  by  the  southern  route.  The  party 
went  into  camp  twenty-five  miles  south  of  Santa  Fe, 
in  New  Mexico,  where  it  remained  six  weeks  recruit- 
ing the  cattle.  The  party  reached  San  Diego  on 
Christmas-day.  Mr.  Evans  remained  there  about 
three  weeks,  when  he  took  passage  on  a  sailing  vessel 
and  reached  San  Francisco  in  February,  1850.  The 
next  month  he  went  to  the  Yuba  River  mines  and 
began  mining,  remaining  there  four  months,  wiien  he 
returned  to  San  Francisco  and  went  into  the  Red- 
woods, back  of  Redwood  City.  There  he  engaged 
in  hauling  logs.  After  going  to  the  mines  again  and 
to  the  Redwoods  back  of  Oakland,  in  1853  he  came 
to  San  Jose,  v\'hcre  he  remained  four  years  running  a 
grist-mill.  In  1S57,  with  some  others,  he  organized 
a  stock  company  and  took  a  contract  for  making  a 
part  of  the  Santa  Cruz  Turnpike  toll-road.  In  1858 
he  bought  liis  present  place,  of  eighty  acres,  where  he 
has  since  resided. 


,*€■ 


f 


5^  ^.    5^^-.-.^^ 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


265 


He  was  married,  in  1861,  to  Jemima  Ann  Ricketts, 
who  died  in  November,  1862.  In  1870  he  was  again 
married,  to  Julia  A.  Purdon,  a  native  of  Oneida 
County,  New  York.  They  have  no  children.  He  has 
about  thirty  acres  under  cultivation,  viz.:  70  French 
prunes,  seven  years  old,  150  Hungarian  prunes,  eleven 
years  old,  500  egg  plums  just  coming  into  bearing, 
25  Columbia  plums  in  bearing,  20  Oregon  silver 
prunes,  100  pears,  mostly  Bartletts,  five  years  old, 
200  apples,  twenty  years  old,  and  1 50  cherries,  some 
of  which  are  eighteen  years  old.  He  also  has  about 
four  acres  in  vineyard,  about  four  years  old,  with  the 
exception  of  half  an  acre,  which  are  twenty  years 
old. 


gpiLLIAM  L.  WOODROW,  of  the  firm  of  True- 
Sets^  man  &  Woodrow,  undertakers,  No.  117  South 
(gjv  First  Street,  San  Jose,  has  been  a  resident  of  the 
Pacific  Coast  for  the  past  twenty-six  years,  and  for 
the  past  eighteen  years  has  been  the  leading  under- 
taker in  California  outside  of  San  Francisco.  A  na- 
tive of  Pembroke,  Genesee  County,  New  York,  where 
he  was  born  July  5,  1835,  his  parents  removed  when 
he  was  six  years  old  to  Churchville,  Monroe  County, 
where  the  family  lived  four  years.  There  his  mother 
died  on  January  6,  1844,  and  is  buried  in  Churchville 
Cemetery.  In  1845  the  family  removed  to  Spencer- 
port  in  the  same  county,  near  the  city  of  Rochester. 
Soon  after  they  removed  to  Spencerport  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  went  to  live  with  an  old  farmer  named 
Lemuel  Brown,  a  friend  of  his  father.  On  this  farm 
he  remained  four  years,  attending  school  in  the  win- 
ter months,  and  aiding  in  the  general  work  as  far  as 
he  could  in  the  summer.  Here  he  acquired  those 
habits  of  industry  and  attention  to  the  duties  of  life 
which,  coupled  with  the  precept  and  example  incul- 
cated by  that  old  Christian  gentleman,  have  done 
much  to  make  his  private  life  and  business  career  so 
marked  a  success.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  years  he  re- 
turned to  Spencerport,  soon  after  which  the  family 
removed  to  Lee  County,  Iowa.  Here  his  father  pur- 
chased a  farm,  which  the  subject  of  this  sketch  took 
charge  of,  the  knowledge  he  had  gained  in  New 
York  State  enabling  him  to  manage  it  practically, 
which  he  did  until  1856.  Until  the  age  of  nineteen 
years,  Mr.  Woodrow  always  attended  school  during 
the  winter  months,  acquiring  all  the  elements  of  a 
public-school  education. 

On    December  9,   1856,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one 
34 


years,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Margaret  E.  Wilcox- 
son,  of  Clay  Grove,  Iowa,  daughter  of  Berry  Wilcox- 
son,  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  respectable  residents 
of  that  part  of  the  country.  Mr.  Wilcoxson  owned 
one  of  the  finest  farms  and  the  largest  orchards  in 
that  section,  being  especially  devoted  to  his  orchard. 

Mr.  Woodrow  after  his  marriage  conducted  a  farm 
on  his  own  account  until  1862.  He  then  started 
across  the  plains,  taking  his  wife  and  two  children  in 
ox  wagons.  Leaving  the  Missouri  River  May  22,  he 
reached  California  four  months  later,  the  Rev.  D.  E. 
Bushnell  being  a  member  of  his  train.  His  first  ex- 
perience in  mining  was  in  Butte  County,  on  the  Yuba 
River  north  of  Marysviile.  After  devoting  four  years 
to  mining  and  dealing  in  mining  property  in  Butte 
County,  California,  and  in  Humboldt  and  Virginia 
City,  Nevada,  with  varying  fortunes,  he  came  to  Santa 
Clara  County  in  impaired  health  in  November,  1866. 
Here  he  engaged  in  farming  at  Berryessa  for  two 
years,  his  family  residing  in  San  Jose.  This  occupa- 
tion not  being  congenial,  he  purchased,  in  i87i,ahalf 
interest  in  the  undertaking  business  with  his  present 
partner,  Marcus  Trueman,  in  which  they  have  contin- 
ued since  that  time. 

His  two  elder  daughters,  born  in  Iowa,  are  Jennie 
L.,  wife  of  William  H.  Flagg,  of  San  Francisco,  and 
Mollie  F.,  wife  of  Charles  J.  Hirsch,  also  of  San 
Francisco.  Since  coming  to  the  Pacific  slope  three 
children  have  been  born  to  them:  Charles  W.,  at 
Humboldt,  Nevada;  George  B.  and  Grace  E.,  at  San 
Jose.  George  B.  died  in  1877,  at  San  Jose,  aged  five 
years  and  three  months.  Mr.  Woodrow's  first  wife 
died  January  2,  1882.  In  1883  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Emma  H.  Kellner,  daughter  of  Rev.  Augustus 
Kellner,  Pastor  of  the  First  German  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  of  San  Francisco,  which  church  he  es- 
tablished in  1853,  and  of  which  he  was  pastor  until 
his  death,  some  years  later.  Mrs.  Woodrow  was  born 
August  I,  1858.  She  was  for  twelve  years  the  organ- 
ist of  the  German  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of 
San  Jose.  They  have  had  one  child.  Hazel  Augusta, 
who  died  in  March,  1888,  aged  one  year.  Mr.  Wood- 
row's  parents  were  Benjamin  and  Mary  F.  (Sprague) 
Woodrow,  the  former  a  native  of  England,  and  the 
latter  of  New  York.  His  father,  now  eighty-one 
years  old  (1888),  is  interested  with  his  son,  J.  M. 
Woodrow,  in  the  Jasper  County  National  Bank,  of 
Newton,  Iowa,  of  which    J.    M.    is    President. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  owns  some  valuable  or- 
chard property  in  the  neighborhood  of  San  Jose,  and 
an  elegant  home  on  Third  Street,  between  St.  James 


266 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


and  Julian  Streets.  He  is  a  member  of  Friendship 
Lodge,  No.  2IO,  F.  &  A.  M.;  of  San  Jose  Lodge;  No. 
34,  L  O.  O.  F.,  and  of  Enterprise  Lodge,  No.  17,  A. 
O.  U.  W.  He  is  also  President  of  the  State  Funeral 
Directors'  Association.  He  is  now  holding  the  office 
for  the  second  term,  having  b.een  re-elected  May  14, 
'88.  He  has  been  a  member  of  and  actively  connected 
with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  San  Jose  for 
the  past  twenty-two  years,  and  has  been  one  of  the 
stewards  of  the  church  for  twenty-one  years,  and  also 
Treasurer  of  the  church  for  a  time.  The  very  marked 
success  which  has  attended  Mr.  Woodrow  in  his  un- 
dertaking business  is  due  to  the  gentle  and  sympa- 
thetic care  with  which  he  attends  personally  to  its 
details.  Until  that  sad  hour  has  arrived  when  it  be- 
comes necessary  to  prepare  the  treasured  forms  of 
our  loved  ones  for  their  last  long  rest,  few  can  appre- 
ciate how  necessary  are  the  services  of  one  skillful 
and  experienced  to  lift  the  burden  of  direction  from 
those  bereaved,  and  administer  tenderly  and  under- 
standingly  the  last  sad  rites  to  the  beloved  dead. 
Then  we  require  the  aid  of  the  experienced  and  care- 
ful undertaker.  Mr.  Woodrow  is  all  that  a  funeral 
director  should  be,  combining  thorough  knowledge 
with  excellent  taste  and  a  delicacy  of  refinement. 
Those  who  have  had  occasion  to  employ  him  profes- 
sionally during  the  past  eighteen  years,  understand 
and  appreciate  the  superior  manner  in  which  he  has 
always  performed  the  last  sad  offices  of  his  profession. 


-^.  :==?K§^-^g'- 


^ 


:EORGE  WARREN  HANDY,  son  of  Elisha 
and  Asenath  Handy,  was  born  in  Auburn,  New 
York,  January  5,  1843.  At  the  age  of  thirteen 
he  removed  to  Iowa  and  was  graduated  at  the 
State  University  at  Iowa  City  in  1862.  The  same 
year  he  enlisted  in  Company  F,  Twenty-second  Iowa 
Infantry,  and  served  till  the  close  of  the  war.  He 
served  in  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  and  in  the  Shenan- 
doah Valley  with  General  Sheridan.  In  1863  he  was 
commissioned  Second  Lieutenant,  and  in  1864,  First 
Lieutenant,  and  was  mustered  out  in  the  fall  of  the 
next  year.  After  the  war  he  entered  Harvard  Medi- 
cal College  at  Boston  and  graduated  in  186S,  when 
he  began  the  practice  of  medicine  in  Boston.  In  1870 
he  went  to  St.  Louis,  where  he  practiced  his  profession 
till  1873,  and  then  went  to  Atlanta,  Georgia,  where  he 
had  charge  of  a  surgical  institution.  In  1880  he  came 
to  California  and  located  in  Oakland.  In  1883  he 
purchased  his  present  ranch,  between  Los  Gatos  and 


Saratoga.  Dr.  Handy  was  married  in  1868,  to  Au- 
gusta Haskell,  a  native  of  Garland,  Maine.  They 
have  two  daughters:  Una,  born  November  17,  1872, 
and  Nellie,  born  September  12,  1876. 

Dr.  Handy  has  450  acres  of  land,  of  which  150  are 
under  cultivation.  He  has  125  acres  in  French  prunes, 
containing  18,000  trees,  and  25  acres  in  cherries, 
pears,  and  grapes.  The  product  for  1887  was  about 
500  tons.  Dr.  Handy  deals  extensively  in  real  estate 
in  this  and  other  counties. 


n|AMES  BIRNEY  BURRELL  was  born  August 
©^  4,  1840,  and  was  married  June  18,  1 871,  to  Mary 
^  L.  Campbell,  a  native  of  California.  After  his 
marriage  he  built  his  present  house  on  that  portion  of 
his  father's  estate  where  he  resided  until  November 
18,  18S2,  when  he  went  to  Southern  Mexico  and  took 
up  5,000  acres  of  land  under  the  Mexican  Coloniza- 
tion Company,  and  returned  January  31,  1883.  In 
April  of  the  same  year  he  went  back  to  Mexico  and 
remained  eleven  months.  In  December,  1884,  he 
made  a  third  trip  to  Mexico,  returning  to  California 
in  May,  1886.  He  made  the  journey  again  the  same 
year,  remaining  until  April,  1888.  He  has  forty  acres 
of  land  on  his  home  place,  and  about  300  acres  on 
the  Los  Gatos  Creek.  His  first  vineyard  was  planted 
in  1856.  From  that  time  to  1876  he  raised  good 
crops  of  peaches,  there  being  no  failure  during  that 
time.  Many  trees  are  still  strong  that  were  planted 
in  1856  and  1857.  Mr.  Burrell's  two  children  are: 
Frank,  born  September  i,  1873,  and  Willie,  May  27, 
1 8  So. 


-'^>¥i 


S^^ 


<M« 


tAPT.  JAMES  R.  HERRIMAN  was  born  in 
-..  Bangor,  Maine,  March  10,  1837.  His  father, 
(3jl=  Hezekiah  Herriman,  also  a  native  of  Maine,  was 
a  ship-master,  as  were  other  members  of  his 
family.  He  followed  the  sea  for  some  years,  but  dur- 
ing the  last  ten  years  of  his  life  was  in  business  in 
Bangor,  where  he  died.  His  wife,  Margaret,  7ice  Bas- 
sett,  was  a  native  of  Maine,  and  she  died  in  Stockton. 
They  reared  six  children,  five  sons  and  one  daughter. 
All  the  sons  were  seafaring  men  and  commanders  of 
large  vessels.  One  has  since  died.  James  R.,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  reared  in  Bangor.  Upon 
the  death  of  his  father,  his  mother  moved  to  Prospect, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


267 


Maine,  and  afterward  he  went  to  Winterport,  Maine, 
where  he  attended  school  until  fifteen  years  of  age. 
He  then,  like  a  great  many  boys,  got  the  sea  fever 
and  went  to  sea.  He  shipped  as  a  cabin  boy,  and 
from  this  he  passed  through  the  several  grades,  until 
at  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  became  captain  and  took 
command  of  a  vessel,  and  from  this  time  on  his  life 
was  on  the  sea.  He  has  had  command  of  five  dif- 
ferent ships,  all  large  ones.  He  was  engaged  in  the 
merchant  trade  with  foreign  countries,  mostly  with  the 
East  Indies,  Europe,  and  California.  During  the  late 
Civil  War  he  was  in  command  of  a  transport  vessel, 
conveying  troops  and  munitions  of  war  for  the  United 
States  Government.  He  was  at  York  River,  lying 
there  with  army  stores.  During  the  fight  "  contra- 
bands "  came  there  in  large  numbers  and  were  shipped 
to  different  places,  Captain  Herriman  landing  his  load 
of  them  at  Annapolis,  Maryland.  He  was  with  the 
transports  on  the  Mississippi  River,  below  New  Or- 
leans, when  the  attack  was  made  on  Forts  St.  Philip 
and  Jackson,  his  vessel  being  loaded  with  shot  and 
shell  for  the  war  vessels  which  followed.  He  lay  just 
below  the  mortar  boats.  After  the  forts  were  silenced 
by  the  gunboats  the  transports  followed  them  up  to 
New  Orleans.  The  captain  was  in  transport  service 
until  May,  1864,  when  he  was  discharged  by  the 
government.  He  then  returned  to  his  old  trade  in 
the  mercantile  business,  in  which  he  continued  until 
he  took  command  of  the  clipper  ship  America,  in 
which  he  had  an  interest  from  1882  to  1887.  In  1887 
she  was  badly  damaged  in  a  gale  off  San  Pedro.  She 
was  afterward  repaired,  and  is  now  running  along  the 
coast.  Captain  Herriman  severed  his  connection  with 
it  soon  after  it  became  damaged,  and  in  May  he  pur- 
chased his  present  ranch  near  Saratoga,  where  he  has 
since  resided.  The  ranch  has  nearly  twenty-three 
acres,  all  in  fruit,  eleven  acres  in  French  prunes,  five 
acres  in  apricots,  the  rest  in  peaches,  plums,  and  cher- 
ries, and  all  in  bearing.  In  1887  he  had  twelve  tons 
of  apricots,  and  five  tons  of  peaches.  The  ranch  is 
called  "The  Anchorage."  The  firSt  year  he  was  on 
the  place  it  paid  eight  per  cent  interest  on  the  invest- 
ment. 


POSEPH  BARTON,  deceased.  The  Bartons  were 
a  military  race  of  people,  brave  and  honorable  in 
''^  all  their  dealings.  In  the  early  settlement  of  the 
country,  when  wild  animals  were  plentiful,  and  the 
Indians  troublesome,  many  times  have  they  been  an- 
noyed by  them,  and  on  certain  occasions  have  been 


in  places  of  imminent  peril  and  danger  to  their  lives. 

Joseph  Barton  was  born  in  Wilson  County,  Tennes- 
see, December  17,  1820.  His  great-grandfather  came 
over  from  England,  and  bound  out  his  two  boys,  who 
were  half-brothers,  returned  to  England,  and  was  never 
heard  from  since.  One  of  these  sons  married  and 
reared  a  family  of  seven  children,  four  sons  and  three 
daughters,  of  whom  one,  Gabriel  Barton,  was  the 
father  of  Joseph  Barton.  Gabriel  Barton  was  com- 
monly called  Colonel  Barton,  and  at  one  time  he 
was  sheriff  of  Wilson  County.  He  was  an  intimate 
friend  of  Samuel  Houston,  and  during  one  of  the 
unpleasant  affairs  in  which  Houston  became  impli- 
cated,— a  duel, — Barton  acted  as  Houston's  second 
and  manager  of  the  affair. 

Mr.  Barton  married  Jane  Johnson,  a  Tennessee 
lady,  and  native  of  Wilson  County,  who  reared  a 
family  of  eight  children — five  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters. Mr.  Barton  died  July  8,  1862,  and  his  wife  in 
1857. 

Joseph  Barton  was  the  eldest  child  of  his  father's 
family.  He  was  reared  in  his  native  county,  and  re- 
ceived such  education  as  he  could  from  the  district 
schools,  which,  in  those  days,  were  primitive.  He 
lived  with  his  parents  until  he  was  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  when  he  went  to  live  with  his  grandmother, 
who  had  a  large  plantation  and  a  number  of  slaves, 
and  no  one  to  manage  the  estate  for  her.  Mr.  Bar- 
ton did  this  in  a  very  creditable  manner,  and  remained 
with  his  grandmother  until  1850.  He  then  started 
for  the  Golden  State,  making  the  journey  across  the 
plains,  packing  their  luggage  on  the  backs  of  mules; 
and,  after  being  on  the  road  for  about  four  months, 
landed  within  the  lines  of  California.  He  went  into 
the  mines  of  Yuba  County,  where  he  remained  one 
winter,  but  was  taken  with  the  rheumatism  and  com- 
pelled to  leave  the  place.  He  went  to  Sacramento, 
and  came  from  there  to  the  Santa  Clara  Valleyi 
where  he  engaged  in  gardening  with  William  T.  Mc- 
Clellan,  afterward  his  father-in-law.  After  working 
at  this  for  a  short  time,  he  removed  to  Stevens  Creek, 
and  settled  on  a  strip  of  land  which  he  pre-empted 
from  the  government.  He  afterward  purchased  160 
acres  more  adjoining  the  claim  he  had;  also  another 
piece  of  50  acres,  making  in  all  320  acres. 

He  was  married  in  1859,  on  the  second  day  of 
December,  to  Lavinia  C.  McClellan,  who  was  born 
in  Cass  County,  Missouri,  January  22,  1840,  and  came 
to  California  with  her  parents  in  1849.  At  the  time 
Mr.  Barton  moved  upon  his  place  it  was  as  nature 
made  it.     He  went  to  work  cutting  down  the  trees 


268 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


and  brush  that  covered  the  land  in  great  abundance, 
and  commenced  making  other  improvements.  In 
1872  the  house  that  was  first  erected  was  moved  to 
the  site  of  the  present  house,  and  was  remodeled, 
with  extensive  improvements  and  additions.  The 
place  has  at  the  present  time  109  acres,  which  is  all 
under  cultivation.  Twenty  acres  of  it  are  in  vine- 
yard. There  is  a  small  orchard  of  various  kinds  of 
fruit,  which  is  twenty-two  years  old,  and  is  one  of  the 
first  orchards  set  out  in  this  section  of  the  country. 
Mr.  Barton's  death  occurred  February  5,  1883.  He 
left  a  widow  and  five  children:  Jennie  E.,  wife  of  W. 
L.  Palmer  of  San  Jose,  Alice  M.,  Annie,  Grant,  and 
Ruth.  There  are  also  three  children  deceased. 
Frank  died  June  i,  1868,  at  the  age  of  two  and  a  half 
years.  Kate  died  July  13,  18S1,  nearly  nineteen 
years  old,  and  Florence  died  December  5,  18S1,  in 
her  third  year. 

Joseph  Barton  was  a  man  highly  respected  by  the 
community,  and  greatly  admired  by  his  many  friends. 
He  was  a  very  industrious  man  and  sacrificed  his  life 
for  the  good  of  his  family.  He  was  a  devoted  mem- 
ber of  the  Advent  Church  of  Santa  Clara,  and  in 
former  years,  while  in  Tennessee,  was  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  order,  but  during  his  residence  in  Cali- 
fornia never  renewed  his  relations  with  it.  Although 
a  Southern  man  by  birth,  yet,  during  the  late  war, 
while  he  had  brothers  in  the  Confederate  army,  he 
was  a  firm  Union  man  and  a  devoted  supporter  of 
the  national  government.  He  was  outspoken  in  his 
manner.  He  at  one  time,  together  with  others  in  his 
neighborhood,  bought  a  cannon  and  afterward  a  na- 
tional flag,  which  were  placed  at  Mountain  View. 
He  took  a  great  interest  in  educational  matters.  As 
his  own  education  was  somewhat  limited,  he  having 
greatly  educated  himself,  he  was  much  interested 
in  the  district  school,  and  endeavored  to  give  his 
children  the  best  education  his  means  permitted. 


IKNUREA  MALOVOS  owns  and  resides  upon 
(^p>  an  extensive  farm  and  orchard  property  of  286 
^  acres,  known  as  the  "  Light-house  Farm,"  and 
t  situated  in  the  Midway  School  District,  lying 
half  a  mile  east  of  the  San  Jose  and  Alviso  road, 
about  five  and  a  half  miles  north  of  San  Jose,  and 
three  and  a  half  south  of  Alviso.  He  is  largely  in- 
terested in  horticulture,  having  140  acres  in  orchard, 
producing  principally  peaches  of  the  "Lemon  Cling- 
stone "    variety.     This   large    orchard   also    furnishes 


cherries,  prunes,  plums,  apricots,  apples,  pears,  and 
quinces.  Seven  acres  are  in  grapes  of  the  Verdal 
variety,  sixty  acres  in  asparagus,  and  the  remainder 
in  hay  and  grain.  Mr.  Malovos  is  also  interested 
somewhat  in  stock-raising.  There  are  five  artesian 
wells  on  this  farm,  most  of  them  flowing  freely,  but 
to  increase  the  water  supply  he  has  erected  fine 
steam  pumping  works,  with  a  capacity  of  from  1,500 
to  2,000  gallons  per  minute.  Mr.  Malovos  employs  a 
large  force  of  men  to  carry  on  the  extensive  enter- 
prises of  his  immense  orchard,  having  from  ten  to 
sixty  men,  as  the  exigencies  of  the  season  require. 
He  hires  none  but  white  labor,  being  opposed  to  any 
labor  element  that  does  not  tend  to  enrich  and  build 
up  the  country  of  his  adoption.  With  characteristic 
energy,  he  has  erected  one  of  the  finest  residences  of 
the  section,  surrounded  by  beautiful  and  extensive 
grounds,  and  filled  with  all  the  comforts  and  luxuries 
of  modern  life. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Giuppana, 
Dalmatia,  Austria,  October  18,  1845.  He  is  the  son 
of  Pietro  and  Margerita  (Gassivoda)  Malovos,  both 
natives  and  residents  of  the  place  of  his  birth.  In 
youth  he  had  fair  opportunities  for  acquiring  an  ed- 
ucation, of  which  he  availed  himself.  He  lived  on 
his  father's  farm  until  fourteen  years  old,  at  which 
age  he  entered  the  marine  service.  He  followed  a 
seafaring  life  until  1862,  when  he  located  at  Mata- 
moras,  Mexico,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande.  Here 
he  engaged  in  lightening  stores  from  vessels  lying  oif 
the  mouth  of  the  river  to  the  landings.  He  found  this 
work  very  profitable.  It  was  during  Maximilian's 
occupation  of  Mexico  and  the  War  of  the  Rebellion, 
and  as  this  was  a  neutral  port,  business  was  brisk. 
Beginning  with  one  small  schooner,  Mr.  Malovos 
soon  increased  the  number  to  five,  the  largest  of 
which  he  himself  commanded.  The  closing  of  the 
war  and  the  restoration  of  peace  in  Mexico  threw 
open  the  neighboring  ports,  and  thus  destroyed  Mr. 
Malovos'  business.  After  suffering  heavy  losses,  he 
closed  up  his  affairs  in  1868,  and  came  to  this  State, 
arriving  in  San  Francisco  on  the  eighth  of  April  of 
that  year. 

He  came  directly  to  Santa  Clara  County,  and  here 
spent  the  two  following  years  in  various  pursuits.  In 
1870  he  took  possession  of  the  ranch  upon  which  he 
now  lives,  and  at  once  commenced  its  cultivation  and 
improvement,  with  the  results  of  which  we  have 
spoken  in  the  beginning  of  our  sketch. 

In  the  same  year  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Mrs.  Maria  }.  G.,  a  daughter  of  Domingo  and  Mag- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


2G9 


dalena  Alviso.  They  have  nine  children,  viz.:  Mich- 
ael G.,  Peter,  Marcus,  Andreas,  Stephen,  Magdalena, 
Margerita,  Catarina,  and  Delfina. 

As  a  man  of  intelligence  and  enterprise,  as  one  who 
is  bound  to  carry  through  to  a  successful  issue  each 
enterprise  in  which  he  engages,  Mr.  Malovos  is  well 
known.  Coming  to  this  country  from  one  so  entirely 
different  in  manners  and  customs,  he  has  yet  become 
thoroughly  identified  with  his  new  home,  making  his 
residence  here  pleasant  and  profitable  for  his  asso- 
ciates, as  well  as  for  himself 


PPHRAIM  H.  WADE.  Among  the  successful 
mechanics  of  San  Jose  is  the  above-named  gen- 
-sp  tleman,  whose  blacksmith  and  carriage  repair 
shop  is  located  on  the  corner  of  Orchard  and 
Willow  Streets.  Mr.  Wade  established  this  shop  in 
1877,  and  since  that  date  has  successfully  and  profit- 
ably conducted  the  same.  He  is  the  owner,  of  his 
shop,  residence,  and  three  lots  at  this  point.  He  also 
owns  a  fine  orchard  property  on  Madden  Avenue,  just 
west  of  the  Meridian  road.  This  orchard,  containing 
nine  acres,  was  purchased  by  him  in  1SS4,  and  im- 
mediately planted  with  apricots  and  French  prunes. 
Great  care  and  attention  on  his  part  has  produced  one 
of  the  finest  orchards  in  that  section.  Mr.  Wade  was 
born  in  Prairie  du  Chien,  Wisconsin,  April  3,  1839. 
His  father,  John  H.  Wade,  was  a  native  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  a  descendant  from  the  old  Puritan 
colonist  of  New  England.  His  mother,  Catherine 
(Claus)  Wade,  was  a  native  of  Germany.  His  father 
enlisted  in  the  United  States  service,  and  was  Drum 
Major  in  the  Fifth  United  States  Infantry,  stationed 
at  Detroit,  Michigan,  to  which  place  he  moved  his 
family.  This  regiment  was  actively  engaged  in  the 
Mexican  War,  and  Mr.  Wade  was  wounded.  In  the 
spring  of  1848  he  came  North  and  went  to  Newport 
Barracks,  Kentucky,  where  he  died  from  the  effect  of 
his  wounds,  in  that  year.  In  1852  Mrs.  Wade  and 
family  came  to  California  and  located  in  Benicia, 
where  she  engaged  in  the  dairy  business,  which,  with 
the  assistance  of  her  children,  she  successfully  con- 
ducted for  several  years.  In  1854  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  entered  the  employ  of  the  Pacific  Mail  Com- 
pany at  Benicia,  as  an  apprentice  to  the  blacksmith 
trade.  He  worked  at  this  calling  until  1858.  In  that 
year  the  Fraser  River  mining  excitement  induced 
him  to  try  his  fortunes  in  the  mines.  This  proved  a 
failure,  and   he   returned   to  Benicia  and  resumed  his 


work  for  the  Pacific  Mail  Company  until  1863.  For 
the  next  .two  years  he  was  employed  in  the  United 
States  Arsenal  at  Benicia,  after  which,  in  1865,  he  went 
to  Mare  Island  and  was  employed  in  the  United  States 
Navy  Yard  until  1872.  In  this  latter  year  he  returned 
to  the  East  and  entered  the  Boston  &  Albany  Rail- 
road machine  shops,  at  Springfield,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  was  employed  until  July  4,  1876.  He  then 
returned  to  California,  and  shortly  after  located  in  San 
Jose,  where  he  worked  in  McKenzie's  Foundry  for 
about  a  year.  He  then  established  the  shop  before 
mentioned.  Mr.  Wade  is  an  enterprising  and  success- 
ful mechanic.  He  is  well  known  and  respected  in  the 
community  in  which  he  resides.  He  is  a  strong  and 
consistent  Republican,  taking  a  deep  interest  in  all 
questions  and  public  movements  that  affect  the  pros- 
perity of  his  section  and  county.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen,  being  asso- 
ciated with  Enterprise  Lodge,  No.  17,  of  San  Jose. 
December  21,  1870,  Mr.  Wade's  mother  died  at  Val- 
lejo,  California.  In  1876  Mr.  Wade  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Mrs.  Mary  J.  (Connors)  Davis,  a  resi- 
dent of  San  Francisco.  From  Mrs.  Wade's  previous 
marriage  there  is  one  child  living,  Fannie  Davis,  who 
married  James  Lively,  now  residing  in  Fresno  County. 


tAPTAIN  CHRISTIAN  FIELDSTED,  rcsid- 
-,.  ing  on  the  corner  of  Emory  and  Myrtle  Streets, 
(3)t  near  the  University  of  the  Pacific,  San  Jose,  has 
been  a  resident  of  California  since  1849,  and  of 
San  Jose  since  the  fall  of  1853.  He  was  born  in 
Frederickstad,  Norway,  October  18,  1822,  and  at- 
tended school  at  his  native  place  up  to  the  age  of 
fifteen  years.  In  1836  he  commenced  going  to  sea, 
and  followed  that  life  for  seventeen  years,  visiting 
almost  every  part  of  the  globe.  During  the  last  few 
years  he  was  captain  of  his  own  vessel  and  part 
owner  of  two  others.  In  1848-49  he  made  a  trip  from 
Boston  to  San  Francisco  as  first  mate  of  the  brig 
N'orth  Bend.  On  arriving  in  San  Francisco,  like  al- 
most every  man  who  came  to  California  in  that  year, 
no  matter  what  his  previous  occupation,  he  tried  the 
mines  for  a  while.  In  two  months  he  was  so  success- 
ful as  to  make  money  enough  to  purchase  the  schooner 
Tivo  Brothers,  which  he  bought  at  a  low  figure.  He 
made  a  trip  with  her  to  Oregon,  where  he  discavered 
in  Shoal  Water  Bay  an  oyster-bed,  the  first  oysters 
found  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  On  his  return  trip  he 
brought  to  San  Francisco  1,700  baskets  of  oysters. 


270 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


each  holding  a  little  over  a  half  bushel.  Oysters  were 
then  selling  at  an  ounce  ($i6)  a  basket.  He  sold  a 
few  baskets  at  that  price,  and  was  offered  $20,000  for 
the  cargo.  Not  thinking  that  amount  sufficient  he 
planted  them  at  North  Beach,  which  was  a  very  un- 
fortunate move,  as  the  sand  from  the  surf  destroyed 
the  whole  lot !  He  was  then  relying  on  the  judg- 
ment and  advice  of  a  Cape  Cod  man,  whom  he  em- 
ployed at  $500  per  month,  and  supposed  to  be  a 
practical  oyster  man,  but  who  really  knew  little 
about  the  business.  Captain  Fieldsted  himself  had 
no  knowledge  of  the  oyster  business.  On  his  next 
trip  the  whole  cargo  of  oysters  were  spoiled  in  a 
thunder-storm  off  Point  Reyes.  Arriving  from  his 
third  trip,  San  Francisco  was  burning,  so  he  planted 
his  oysters  in  Mission  Creek,  where  they  were  stolen 
and  marketed  before  he  returned  from  his  fourth  trip^ 
when  he  had  a  partner  who  understood  the  business. 
On  that  trip  they  made  $7,000  each,  and  the  next 
trip,  being  the  fifth,  he  brought  2,700  baskets,  which 
he  planted  off  Rincon  Point,  where  they  were  de- 
stroyed by  drum-fish.  In  trying  to  harpoon  a  drum- 
fish  he  fell  overboard,  and  as  a  consequence  was  dis- 
abled for  several  months.  Thus  ended  his  oyster 
experience  !  A  party  who  went  into  the  same  busi- 
ness about  the  time  Captain  Fieldsted  left  it,  is  now  a 
millionaire,  from  money  made  in  bringing  oysters  to 
San  Francisco  I  After  regaining  his  health  he  pur- 
chased a  ranch  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley,  for  which 
he  had  to  pay  three  different  claimants,  at  different 
times,  finally  getting  a  perfect  title.  There  were  in 
the  ranch  156  acres,  situated  four  miles  east  of  San 
Jose.  This  ranch  he  kept  until  1882,  when  he  sold  it 
and  removed  to  his  present  residence,  near  the  Uni- 
versity, where  he  has  since  resided.  Mis  ranch  was 
devoted  to  fruit,  grain,  and  hay. 

In  1846  he  was  married  to  Miss  Emily  C.  French, 
of  Southhampton,  New  Hampshire.  She  died  in  1880. 
In  1882  he  was  married  to  Miss  Nancy  Waterman 
Winsor,  a  native  of  Providence  County,  Rhode  Island. 
Captain  Fieldsted  is  in  his  declining  years,  enjoying 
the  comforts  of  a  pleasant  home.  Having  no  active 
business  interests,  he  passes  his  time  happily  in  the 
society  of  his  friends  and  his  cultured  and  charming 
wife,  surrounded  by  all  that  renders  life  desirable. 
Mrs.  Fieldsted's  parents  were  Andrew  and  Lydia 
(Winsor)  Winsor,  both  natives  of  Rhode  Island. 
Their  ancestors  emigrated  from  England  in  the  time 
of  Roger  JVVilliams.  One  of  her  ancestors,  Joshua 
Winsor,  was  with  him  one  of  the  original  owners  of 
what    is    now    Providence,    Rhode    Island.     Captain 


Fieldsted's  parents  were  Jacob  and  Gerta  (Anderson) 
Fieldsted,  both  natives  of  Norway.  His  father  was  in 
his  early  days  in  the  war  between  Sweden  and  Nor- 
way, ending  in  18 14,  a  Lieutenant  of  Infantry.  In 
later  years  he  was  a  civil  officer  in  Frcderickstad,  his 
position  corresponding  to  that  of  Alcalde  of  a  town  in 
the  early  days  of  California.  The  family  are  attend- 
ants at  the  Congregational  Church. 


^^. 


|ipNTHONY   P.   LOGAN   is  a  son   of  Alexander 
(a^ys  Logan,  who  is  a  native  of  Lexington,  Kentucky, 

t  where  he  was  born  in  181 3,  and  removed  with 
his  parents  to  Lexington,  Missouri,  at  an  early 
date,  being  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  that  place. 
In  1839  he  married  Miss  Sarah  Easly,  a  native  of 
Asheville,  North  Carolina,  by  whom  he  has  eight 
children.  The  first  born  was  George  S.,  who  now 
lives  on  his  own  farm  at  Alma.  Their  second  child 
was  Jane  M.,  born  in  1842.  She  married  Vincent 
Ricketts,  and  died  in  1865;  is  buried  in  Lexington, 
California.  Their  next  was  Hester  A.,  who  was  mar- 
ried in  1862  to  L.  A.  Whitehurst,  and  is  now  living  in 
Gilroy.  Anthony  was  the  fourth  child,  and  was  born 
in  1846.  Fannie  M.  was  born  in  1848;  in  1871  she 
married  J.  S.  Whitehurst,  and  is  now  living  at  the 
Willows.  William  P.  Logan  was  born  in  Lexington, 
Missouri,  in  1850,  andlives  at  Santa  Maria,  California. 
The  two  younger  children  were   born   in  this   State. 

In  1852,  the  health  of  Mr.  Logan's  father  failing,and 
hearing  such  fabulous  tales  of  the  climate  and  gold  of 
this  State,  he  sold  his  farm,  and  in  company  with  his 
family  crossed  the  plains.  Leaving  Lexington,  Mis- 
souri, in  May,  they  arrived  in  San  Jose  the  following- 
September.  Anthony  P.  Logan  was  at  that  time  a 
child  of  but  six  years  of  age;  still  he  retains  a  vivid 
recollection  of  that  memorable  trip.  His  father 
bought  sixty  acres  in  the  Willows,  which  was  then  a 
wilderness  of  brush.  He  soon  sold  out  to  a  Mr.  Cole, 
and  moved  to  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains,  on  account 
of  his  health.  He  finally  settled  about  three  miles 
from  the  town  of  Lexington,  which  he  had  named 
after  the  city  of  his  nativity.  He  still  resides  there, 
and  his  wife,  who  died  in  March,  1887,  is  buried 
near  by. 

In  1874  the  subject  of  this  sketch  bought  eight 
acres  of  land  in  the  Willows,  which  he  has  since 
planted  mostly  to  Hungarian  prunes,  they  being 
best  cultivated  for  Eastern  shipping.  The  crop 
averages    about    $1,200   a    year.     He    also,    with  his 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


271 


brother,  owns  200  acres  near  Alma,  this  county,  which 
he  is  planting  to  apples  and  pears,  expecting  to  ship 
the  fruit  to  Mexico  and  China,  where  there  is  a  great 
demand.  In  1875  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Susan  E.  Kneedler,  of  San  Jose,  a  daughter  of 
John  Kneedler,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Martha  (Sparks) 
Kneedler,  a  native  of  England,  who  came  to  this 
State  in  1856. 

Mrs.  Susan  E.  Logan  has  one  brother,  Fulton 
S.  Kneedler,  now  living  at  San  Diego,  and  two 
sisters,  Misses  Effie  and  Blanche,  both  living  with 
their  parents  at  the  Willows.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Logan 
have  one  child,  John  A.,  who  was  born  November  18, 
1876.  He  is  attending  the  public  school  at  the  Wil- 
lows. Mr.  Logan  is  a  member  of  Garden  City  Lodge, 
No.  142,  I.  O.  O.  F.  In  politics  he  is  independent, 
with  Democratic  proclivities.  Mr.  Logan's  maternal 
grandfather,  Stephen  I.  Easly,  was  a  soldier  in  the 
War  of  1S12,  and  a  son  and  son-in-law  of  men  who 
fought  side  by  side  under  General  Washington  in  the 
Revolutionary  War.  His  paternal  great-grandfather 
and  his  oldest  son  were  killed  at  Yorktown,  fighting 
under  La  Fayette  for  freedom.  Mr.  Anthony  Logan's 
grandfather  Logan  was  a  companion  of  Daniel  Boone 
in  settling  up  Kentucky.  He  belongs  to  a  family  of 
pioneers  of  valor  and  of  nerve,  many  of  whom  de- 
voted their  lives  to  the  advancement  of  civilization, 
while  others  died  in  their  country's  cause. 


5^^ 


fRANT  BROTHERS.  Theodore  F.  Grant  was 
born  in  Boston,  Massachusetts,  February  22, 
•jj^  1828.  His  father,  Charles  Grant,  was  a  native  of 
Boston,  and  his  grandfather,  Moses  Grant,  was 
one  of  the  Colonials  who  went  out  in  the  Boston  har- 
bor, where  they  boarded  the  English  ships  and  threw 
the  cargo  of  tea  overboard.  Charles  Grant  and  bis 
wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Sarah  Richards,  after- 
ward moved  to  Roxbury,  which  is  now  Boston,  where 
they  died,  the  former  in  1856  and  the  latter  in  1871. 
They  reared  a  family  of  five  children,  of  whom  four 
are  living — three  sons  and  one  daughter.  The  boys 
were  reared  in  Boston,  educated  at  the  high  schools, 
and  grew  to  manhood.  In  1846  Theodore  went  to 
Maine  and  located  at  Portland,  where  he  kept  a  lamp 
store.  He  furnished  the  people  with  lamps  and 
camphene,  which  at  that  time  was  the  principal  mode 
of  producing  light.  He  remained  there  three  years, 
when  he  closed  his  business  and  started  for  Califor- 
nia.     He  sailed  from  Portland  in  the  schooner  Ortolan, 


a  sixty-five-ton  vessel,  which  is  probably  the  smallest 
vessel  that  ever  made  the  trip  to  the  Pacific  Coast. 
The  vessel  left  Portland  in  November,  1849,  sailed 
through  the  Strait  of  Magellan  and  Smith's  Chan- 
nel, and  arrived  at  San  Francisco  in  June,  1850.  The 
trip  was  a  rough  and  dangerous  one  for  so  small  a 
vessel;  she  was  reported  in  San  Francisco  to  be  lost 
the  day  before  she  arrived.  The  first  thing  Mr.  Grant 
did  was  to  take  charge  of  a  store-ship  belonging  to 
Hawley  &  Stirling,  where  he  remained  until  fall.  He 
then  entered  the  Montgomery  House  as  clerk,  where 
he  remained  until  August,  185 1,  when  he  came  to  the 
town  of  Santa  Clara.  Plere  he  clerked  for  Fletcher 
Cooper  in  general  merchandise  business  until  1857. 
He  then  hired  the  post-office  from  another  man,  who 
had  received  the  appointment,  and  in  connection  with 
it  opened  a  stationery  and  periodical  depot.  Thus 
Mr.  Grant  was  virtually  postmaster  of  Santa  Clara 
during  his  residence  there  up  to  1858;  also  was  Treas- 
urer of  the  town.  He  removed  from  there  to  San 
Jose,  and  was  Treasurer  of  that  city  and  Deputy  Re- 
corder, which  position  he  filled  two  years.  In  the  fall 
of  1859  he  came  to  his  present  place,  where  he  and 
his  brother  have  since  resided.  Theodore  F.  Grant 
was  married  in  1865  to  Margaret  Shaw,  a  native  of 
Ireland,  who  came  to  this  country  in  1859.  They 
have  two  children — a  son  and  daughter. 

George  H.  Grant  was  born  in  Roxbury,  Massachu- 
setts (now  Boston),  July  2,  1826.  When  he  was  four- 
teen years  old  he  entered  the  auction  store  of  Horatio 
Harris  &  Co.,  one  of  the  largest  auction  houses  in 
Boston,  where  he  served  as  chief  clerk  until  January, 
185 1,  after  being  there  eleven  years.  He  then  started 
for  California,  sailing  from  New  York  to  Chagres,  a 
port  on  the  Atlantic  side  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama, 
and  from  there  crossed  the  isthmus  on  mules,  and  up 
the  Chagres  River  in  canoes  to  where  he  took  a 
steamer  for  San  Francisco.  He  entered  the  wholesale 
commission  store  of  George  Shaw  &  Co.,  and  was  with 
them  one  year.  He  then  went  into  the  grocery  busi- 
iness  with  S.  C.  Bradshaw,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Bradshaw  &  Co.,  which  partnership  lasted  a  little  over 
a  year.  At  this  time  he  bought  200  acres  of  land  at 
Point  Reyes,  in  Marin  County,  and  invested  in  a  small 
fishing  smack,  in  which  he  put  in  a  year's  provisions, 
farming  implements,  etc.,  and  started  for  the  fishing 
place.  On  the  way  there  he  was  wrecked  during  a 
heavy  storm,  in  what  is  called  Drake's  Bay,  and  lost 
everything  he  had  on  board.  This  disaster  to  him 
discouraged  the  enterprise.  He  returned  to  San 
Francisco  as   soon  as  possible   and  then  came  to  this 


272 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


valley,  where  he  has  since  remained,  having  first  come 
to  the  place  about  six  years  previous  to  his  brother's 
arrival.  The  ranch  contains  357  acres,  with  about 
100  acres  under  cultivation.  It  is  situated  in  the  foot- 
hills in  Fremont  Township,  about  four  miles  southwest 
of  Mountain  View. 


^4^ 


fEORGE  ROBERTS,  residing  on  Stockton  Ave- 
nue, corner  of  Julian  Street,  San  Jose,  was  born 
yh  at  New  York  Mills,  near  Utica,  New  York,  May 
22,  1832.  He  attended  school  near  Utica  until 
nineteen  years  of  age,  when  he  engaged  in  farming 
and  various  other  occupations  until  i860,  and  then 
removed  to  California,  coming  by  way  of  Panama. 
In  1844  his  parents  removed  to  Osceola,  Lewis 
County,  New  York.  Here  he  worked  for  a  time  on 
his  father's  farm,  and  in  1848  went  to  work  on  the 
Erie  Canal,  driving  horses,  where  he  remained  two 
years.  In  New  York  city  he  drove  stage  on  the 
East  Broadway  line  for  two  years,  when  he  returned 
to  Osceola,  where  he  remained  until  i860.  Upon  his 
arrival  in  California  he  engaged  in  mining  in  Omega, 
Nevada  County,  which  he  followed  for  three  years, 
when  he  established  a  mercantile  house  and  did  a 
large  business,  mostly  in  mining  supplies.  His  busi- 
ness extended  over  a  large  area,  taking  in  the  sur- 
rounding camps  for  twenty  miles.  He  packed  his 
goods  on  mules  and  horses  to  the  cabins  and  mines 
of  his  customers.  After  actively  conducting  this  bus- 
iness for  six  years,  he  sold  out  and  came  to  San  Jose, 
where  he  invested  largely  in  real  estate,  engaging 
also  in  a  wholesale  and  retail  store,  and  for  a  short 
time  kept  the  Lick  House  in  San  Jose. 

In  1874  he  sold  out  these  interests.  Then,  with 
Fred  Adams,  he  organized  the  Lompoc  Valley  Land 
Company  and  removed  to  Lompoc,  Santa  Barbara 
County,  becoming  Secretary  of  the  company.  He 
also  engaged  in  business,  keeping  a  general  merchan- 
dise store,  including  drugs,  dry  and  fancy  goods,  boots 
and  shoes,  etc.  All  the  company's  lands  were  sold  at 
large  prices,  and  at  present  (188S)  are  worth  three  or 
four  times  the  price  for  which  they  were  sold.  Mr. 
Roberts  owns  a  number  of  farms  in  that  valley,  and 
much  of  the  town  property.  The  farms  are  rented  to 
farmers  who  raise  English  mustard,  beans,  corn,  po- 
tatoes, and  summer  crops.  Most  of  the  yellow  mus- 
tard used  in  the  United  States  comes  from  that  valley, 
there  being  shipped  from  San  Francisco  to  New  York, 
England,  and  other  countries  over  100,000  tons  annu- 


ally. They  also  raise  immense  quantities  of  beans  of 
all  kinds.  Mr.  Roberts,  having  large  real  estate  inter- 
ests in  San  Jose,  returned  here  and  purchased  his 
present  home.  He  married  Miss  Nancy  Green  in 
Osceola,  Lewis  County,  New  York,  in  185 1.  She 
was  a  native  of  Otsego  County,  New  York. 

Mr.  Roberts  has  always  been  an  interested  and  ac- 
tive Republican,  voting  for  Fremont  in  1856.  His 
parents,  John  and  Sarah  (Bowers)  Roberts,  were  born 
in  England,  where  they  married  and  came  to  the 
United  States  in  1827.  Mr.  Roberts  has  two  sisters — 
Eleanor,  the  wife  of  H.  S.  Williams,  a  farmer  in 
Shasta  County,  and  Sarah,  the  widow  of  Christopher 
Stilman,  residing  at  Clark's  Mills,  New  York  State. 
Mrs.  Roberts' parents  were  Seymour  and  Phebe  (Rob- 
inson) Green,  natives  of  New  York  State,  where  they 
passed  their  lives  and  are  now  buried  in  Osceola,  New 
York.  Mr.  Roberts'  father  still  lives  at  Clark's  Mills, 
New  York,  and  is  now  (1888)  eighty-one  years  of  age. 
His  mother  died  and  was  buried  there,  in  1852.  Mr. 
Roberts  has  an  orchard  of  thirteen  acres  on  Taylor 
Street,  near  King  Street,  San  Jose.  This  is  set  out 
to  apricots  and  prunes  in  about  equal  quantities,  with 
a  few  plums  and  peaches.     It  is  all  in  full  bearing. 

^^^ 

^gHELVY  HOOD  KIFER  was  born  in  Louis- 
^  ville,  Kentucky,  November  9,  1842.  His  father, 
m^  John  Kifer,  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
his  mother  of  Kentucky.  In  1845  they  removed 
to  Jackson  County,  Missouri,  where  they  bought  a 
farm  on  the  Santa  P"e  road,  twelve  miles  from  Inde- 
pendence, and  lived  there  eight  years.  In  1853  they 
sold  their  farm  and  came  to  California  overland,  mak- 
ing the  trip  with  ox  teams.  They  left  Missouri  in 
April  and  reached  California  in  November.  Two  of 
Mr.  Kifer's  sons  had  preceded  him  to  this  State — 
William  coming  in  1849,  and  Thomas  in  1850.  They 
were  located  near  Santa  Clara,  and  Mr.  Kifer  made 
his  home  with  them  for  a  while,  and  afterward  located 
on  the  Murphy  Ranch,  on  Adobe  Creek.  He  sup- 
posed he  had  settled  on  government  land,  and  it  later 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Murphys,  when  Mr.  Kifer 
was  obliged  to  abandon  it.  He  then  located  at 
Mountain  View,  where  he  purchased  a  place  from  a 
man  named  Rice,  which  afterward  turned  out  as  the 
other  place  did,  this  time  falling  into  the  hands  of 
John  Sullivan.  While  living  there  Shelvy,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  bought  his  present  place,  after 
which  his  parents  moved  on  it  and  made  their  home 


K^yf/L    ^(^^-^^- 


i*iiBittiidiiiiiililiMii,iiaiiliii,iii(ibiMwiMiliii 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


273 


with  him  for  four  or  five  years,  when  they  returned  to 
Mountain  View,  where  his  father  died  in  January, 
1873.  His  widow  still  lives,  and  resides  with  her 
children.  She  reared  a  family  of  eight  children,  of 
whom  five  are  now  living.  Shelvy  remained  with  his 
parents  until  i860,  and  two  years  later  he  went  to 
Montana,  where  he  was  engaged  in  prospecting  for 
six  months  in  the  mines.  He  then  returned  to  Santa 
Clara  County.  Since  he  purchased  his  place  he  has 
lived  on  it,  with  the  exception  of  two  years  spent  in 
Monterey  County,  where  he  was  engaged  in  farming. 
His  farm  contains  seventy-five  acres,  all  under  culti- 
vation, thirty  acres  being  in  wine  grapes,  four  and  five 
years  old,  and  a  family  orchard  of  500  trees  four  years 
old.  The  remainder  of  his  land  is  in  hay  and  grain. 
The  place  is  located  two  and  a  half  miles  south  of 
Mountain  View.  He  erected  a  handsome  dwelling- 
house  in  the  spring  of  1888.  He  was  married  in  1870 
to  Isabella  Smith,  a  native  of  Nova  Scotia,  who  came 
to  California  a  few  years  before  her  marriage.  They 
have  five  children;  Susie  B.,  Flora  M.,  Lillian,  Shelvy 
H.,  and  Anna.  They  lost  one — Johnny — who  died 
in  1886,  aged  twelve  years. 


>-»h) 


&^-<-< 


SigARTIN  BRITTON  was  born  April  12,  1820, 
S^O^  near  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  Jcf- 
<i«i,    ferson  County,  New  York.     Much  of  his  youth 

!  was  spent  in  Chicago,  where  his  father,  Hiram 
Britton,  at  one  time  owned  a  large  tract  of  land,  in 
what  is  now  the  heart  of  that  city. 

Martin  Britton  wedded  Miss  J.  M.  Pierce,  in  Wis- 
consin, March  21,  1849,  and  in  1861  came  across  the 
plains  to  California,  living  in  San  Francisco  and  Oak- 
land about  two  years.  They  became  residents  of 
Santa  Clara  County  in  1863,  and  on  November  10, 
1866,  established  their  residence  at  the  Willows,  hav- 
ing lived  previously  at  Santa  Clara.  Martin  Britton 
came  to  California  on  account  of  failing  health,  and 
was  much  benefited.  On  arrival  his  entire  capital 
did  not  exceed  $100.  He  became  the  owner  of  a 
valuable  tract  of  land,  which  is  now  occupied  by  his 
widow  and  son,  he  having  died  April   18,  i886. 

Mrs.  Britton  now  occupies  the  fine  residence  just 
completed  before  his  death.  Mr.  Britton  was  among 
the  first  men  at  the  Willows  who  turned  their  at; 
tention  to  horticulture.  He  was  a  careful  man, 
and  a  successful  fruit-grower.  In  1878  he  sold  the 
fruit  from  465  prune  trees,  covering  four  and  one-third 
acres,  for  $1,800,  the  age  of  the  orchard  being  but 
35 


five  and  one-half  years.  In  1S79,  $1,400  was  realized; 
in  1880,  $3,200.  In  1 88 1,  the  family  being  on  a  visit 
East,  not  as  good  results  were  obtained;  but  in  1882 
the  crop  brought  $3,1 10,  and  in  1887,  $1,850. 


ISRANK  F.  BRITTON,  one  of  the  representative 
S^  horticulturists  of  the  Willows,  resides  on  Cherry 
T  Avenue.  He  dates  his  birth  in  Richland  County, 
Wisconsin,  Februrary  5,  1855.  He  is  the  son  of  Mar- 
tin and  Jane  M.  (Pierce)  Britton,  and  from  his  early 
remembrance  has  been  a  resident  of  California,  and 
has  thus  witnessed  its  marvelous  development.  With 
his  father  he  became  early  interested  in  fruit-growing, 
and  has  much  to  do  with  showing  the  wonderful  ca- 
pacity of  the  climate  and  soil  of  Santa  Clara  County, 
combined  with  intelligent  and  skillful  management, 
for  producing  a  variety  of  fruits  for  the  markets  of  the 
world.  He  is  an  enthusiastic  believer  in  prunes,  as 
the  fruit  of  all  fruits  .'"or  our  horticulturists,  although 
he  raises  other  fruits.  Of  the  3,000  trees  on  the  fifty 
acres  bought  in  1887,  and  owned  by  himself  and  his 
wife's  father,  2,600  are  prune  trees.  From  three  acres 
of  cherry  trees,  he  has  sold  the  crop  on  the  trees  at 
an  average  of  nearly  $1,000  per  year. 

Mr.  Britton  went  East  for  his  bride,  wedding  Miss 
E,  M.  Gates,  daughter  of  R.  S.  Gates,  of  Fort  Atkin- 
son, Jefferson  County,  Wisconsin,  on  the  nineteenth 
of  November,  1884.  In  all  efforts  to  build  up  the 
material  interest  of  Santa  Clara  County,  Mr.  Britton 
lends  a  helping  hand.  A  member  of  the  American 
Horticultural  Society,  he  is  interested  in  that  particu- 
lar industry,  while  politically  he  is  for  protection,  and 
a  firm  Republican. 


»->->>; 


&^- 


H<H-<~ 


§ERNHART  SCHULTE,  residing  on  the  Coyote 
Creek,  in  Midway  District,  four  miles  north  of 
^^  San  Jose,  is  the  owner  of  a  fine  residence  prop- 
erty of  over  twenty-five  acres.  This  place  he 
purchased  in  1878,  it  then  being  a  part  of  a  grain  field. 
All  the  improvements,  buildings  or  otherwise,  have 
been  made  by  him.  An  orchard,  comprising  cherry, 
apple,  peach,  pear,  and  other  fruit  trees,  covers  fifteen 
acres. 

Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schultc  are  natives  of  Germany, 
but  have  lived  in  the  United  States  for  over  forty 
years.  The  latter  was  born  March  13,  1831,  and  the 
former,  January  i,  1S22.     After  coming  to  the  United 


274 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


States,  and  landing  at  New  Orleans,  Mr.  Schulte  went 
to  St.  Louis,  where  he  lived  for  two  years,  going 
thence  to  Quincy,  Illinois,  where,  in  1850,  he  was 
married.  A  few  years  were  spent  in  that  city,  and 
then  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schulte  removed  to  St.  Paul,  Min- 
nesota, which  was  then  hut  a  small  village.  There, 
in  what  is  now  known  as  West  St.  Paul,  they  took 
up  160  acres  of  government  land,  which  they  im- 
proved and  lived  upon  for  many  years.  After  the 
close  of  the  war,  they  came,  via  Panama,  to  this 
State,  and  spent  their  first  winter  in  San  Francisco. 
Mr.  Schulte  soon  purchased  640  acres  of  railroad  land 
in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley;  and  this  magnificent  tract 
he  converted  into  a  grain  and  stock  ranch,  which  he 
still  owns.  In  1879  they  removed  from  that  property 
to  their  present  home  in  this  fertile  valley. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schulte  have  four  children  living — 
three  daughters  and  one  son.  Mrs.  Louisa  Hay  and 
Henry,  are  residents  of  Tracy,  in  the  San  Joaquin 
Valley.  Mrs.  Caroline  Feihman  lives  on  the  parental 
homestead,  five  miles  from  Tracy,  and  Clara  resides 
with  her  parents.  One  daughter,  Annie  Maria,  died 
in  1887,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four  years.  Henry 
Schulte,  with  his  brother-in-law,  John  Hay,  is  en- 
gaged at  Tracy  in  the  manufacture  of  combined  har- 
vesters, which  were  invented  and  patented  by  Mr. 
Hay  and  himself 

Mrs.  Schulte  is  a  consistent  member  of  the  Metho- 
dist Church.  Mr.  Schulte,  in  local  politics,  is  bound 
by  no  party  nominations,  but  votes  for  good  men — 
not  for  parties.  In  national  politics  he  is  identified 
with  the  Republican  party.  A  life  of  industry  and 
economy  have  made  Mr.  Schulte  a  prosperous  land 
owner,  and  a  man  of  influence,  while  the  many  genial 
traits  of  this  kind-hearted,  worthy  couple,  have  caused 
them  to  be  regarded  as  the  best  of  neighbors  and  the 
truest  of  friends. 


^^APTAIN  JOHN  P.  CROSSLEY  was  born  near 
■^  Middletown,  Connecticut,  April  9,  1882.  His 
Oyr  father,  David  Crossley,  was  an  Englishman  who 
came  to  the  United  States  when  about  fifteen 
years  of  age.  He  married  Maria  L.  Chamberlin,  a 
native  of  Connecticut,  and  they  made  their  home  in 
that  State,  and  both  died  there.  lie  was  a  weaver, 
and  was  connected  with  the  Crossleys,  manufacturers 
of  the  celebrated  Crossley  carpets,  of  English  and 
American  manufacture.  There  were  nine  children  in 
the  family  who  grew  to  maturity,  of  whom  four  sons 


followed  the  sea.  One  of  the  daughters,  Mary  Ann 
Crossley,  married  Charles  Van  Pelt,  a  nephew  of 
C.  C.  Vanderbilt,  on  his  mother's  side.  They  came 
to  California  in  1848  or  1849,  in  the  schooner  James 
L.  Day,  with  the  steamer  Confidence  in  frame  on 
board.  Charles  Van  Pelt  and  his  brother  John  were 
pioneer  steamboat-men  in  California.  They  put  the 
Confidence  together  in  San  Francisco,  and  ran  her  on 
the  Sacramento  River,  which  is  said  to  have  been  the 
first  steamboat  to  run  on  that  river. 

John  P.  Crossley  was  reared  in  Connecticut,  and 
there  received  his  early  schooling.  When  eight  years 
of  age  he  began  taking  his  first  lessons  as  a  seaman 
or  steward  on  the  rivers  and  Long  Island  Sound.  He 
then  went  before  the  mast  and  served  in  this  capacity 
on  different  vessels  for  nine  or  ten  years.  When  sev- 
enteen years  old  he  was  mate  of  a  vessel,  and  at  nine- 
teen years  of  age  was  master  of  one.  From  that  age 
he  was  master  of  seventeen  or  eighteen  different  sail- 
ing vessels  and  steamers.  During  the  late  war  he 
was  in  the  transport  service,  and  carried  the  first  cargo 
of  mules  for  General  McClellan's  army  about  the 
time  he  was  moving  his  troops  to  Fortress  Monroe. 
He  was  in  Butler's  expedition  up  the  James  River, 
as  master  of  a  transport,  carrying  supplies.  At  the 
point  where  General  Grant  crossed  the  James  River 
with  his  army  after  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness,  the 
pontoon  bridge  was  lashed  to  Captain  Crossley's  ves- 
sel, which  was  anchored  in  the  river.  Seventy-two 
hours  was  consumed  in  effecting  the  crossing.  Dur- 
ing the  whole  war  he  was  more  or  less  connected  with 
the  Government  service. 

He  then  continued  sea  voyages,  engaging  in  the 
merchant  service,  visiting  most  of  the  continental 
ports  of  Europe,  the  West  and  East  Indies,  China, 
Japan,  and  African  India.  He  has  had  an  interest  in 
the  different    vessels    he   commanded.     In    October, 

1885,  he  concluded  to  abandon  the  sea,  and  in  April, 

1886,  bought  his  present  place  of  forty  acres  in  the 
Cupertino  District  in  Santa  Clara  County.  He  lias 
built  a  handsome  residence  and  other  buildings. 
When  he  purchased  the  place  it  was  all  in  vines,  but 
the  followmg  winter  he  planted  400  trees,  principally 
French  and  silver  prunes  and  almonds,  besides  a  few 
other  varieties.  In  1887  he  had  thirty-five  tons  of 
grapes,  from  which  he  made  5,300  gallons  of  wine, 
which  he  sold  the  following  spring. 

Captain  Crossley  was  married  in  1857  to  Nancy 
Jane  Mason,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Mason,  of  Somer- 
set, Massachusetts.  They  have  four  sons  and  one 
daughter,  viz.:  Clarence  S.,  a  steel-plate  engraver  and 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


275 


pen  sketcher,  of  Providence,  Rhode  Island  ;  John  P., 
Jr.,  Mabel  B.,  W.  Ernest,  and  Nathaniel  M.  They 
lost  two  children  in  infancy,  also  a  son,  the  eldest, 
Herbert  C,  who  was  lost  at  sea  July  31,  1S83,  being 
at  the  time  a  mate  on  his  father's  ship.  He  went  out 
ill  a  small  vessel  with  two  seamen  and  a  passenger  to 
visit  the  reefs  on  the  shore  of  Agincourt  Island,  thirty 
miles  north  of  Formosa,  to  see  if  there  were  any  out- 
lying dangers.  The  small  boat  was  in  sight  of  the 
large  vessel  until  the  current  carried  the  large  ship  out 
of  sight.  The  small  boat  and  its  crew  were  never 
seen  after  that,  although  search  was  instituted  by  his 
father,  who  spent  thirty  days  there,  and  other  small 
steamers  searched  along  the  shore  at  the  same  time, 
and  also  several  United  States  and  Chinese  war  ves- 
sels; and,  although  the  sea  was  smooth  and  weather 
fine  at  the  time  and  for  several  days,  still  no  tidings 
have  ever  been  heard  from  them ! 


-(§^-^€ 


^gAPTAIN  THOMAS  B.  ADAMS  owns  a  five- 
^  acre  orchard  property  on  Race  Street,  on  the 
(aH=  "  Sansevain  Villa"  tract,  in  the  Willow  District. 
This  place  he  bought  and  took  possession  ot  in 
February,  1885,  the  orchard  having  just  come  into  bear- 
ing at  that  time.  The  buildings  and  improvements 
have  all  been  made  by  Captain  Adams.  The  fruit 
trees  are  now  in  a  very  thrifty  condition,  and  com- 
prise white  cherry,  apricot,  and  egg  plum  trees  in 
about  equal  numbers.  In  the  season  of  1887  (the  first 
year  in  which  the  orchard  was  in  full  bearing),  $1,000 
was  realized  from  the  entire  crop.  In  the  same  sea- 
son, the  fruit  from  one-half  of  an  acre  of  white  cherry- 
trees  was  sold  for  $490.  These  facts  are  mentioned 
to  give  an  idea  of  the  thriftiness  of  this  young  or- 
chard. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  born  in  Washington 
County,  Maine,  in  1836.  He  commenced  a  seafaring 
life  as  a  sailor  boy  in  the  merchant  marine,  and  from 
this  position  was  promoted  rapidly,  reaching  the  hon- 
orable position  of  master  mariner  at  the  youthful  age 
of  twenty-two  years.  He  has  navigated  every  sea 
known  to  commerce,  and  for  over  twenty  years  has 
been  in  the  Pacific  trade. 

At  Eastport,  Washington  County,  Maine,  in  1865, 
he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Annie  A.  Chal- 
oner,  who  was  a  native  of  Lubec,  of  the  same  county.- 
The  family  home  was  established  at  Trescott,  Wash- 
ington County,  and  retained  until,  in  1873,  they  re- 
moved to  Calais,  Maine.     There  they  resided  for  four 


years,  when  they  came  to  San  Francisco,  which  city 
was  their  home  until,  as  before  stated,  they  became 
residents  of  Santa  Clara  County. 

The  captain  had  visited  this  coast  before  1S75,  in 
command  of  merchant  vessels  from  New  York  city. 
The  last  ship  he  sailed  in  the  Atlantic  merchant 
marine,  the  Hespents,  was  lost  on  the  passage  from 
St.  Mary's,  Georgia,  to  the  Rio  de  la  Plata.  Clearing 
from  St.  Mary's  March  9,  1875,  she  encountered  a  gale 
in  mid-ocean,  and  foundered,  though  kept  afloat  by 
the  most  strenuous  exertion  on  the  part  of  the  captain 
and  his  crew.  She  was  abandoned  350  miles  north 
of  the  Bermuda  Islands,  the  crew  being  rescued  by  an 
Australian  bound  vessel,  and  later  transferred  to  a 
Norwegian  steamer.  This  vessel  landed  them  at 
Havre,  France,  whence  by  a  sail  vessel  they  reached 
New  York.  By  this  misfortune  Captain  Adams  was 
quite  a  heavy  loser,  being  impoverished  to  the  extent 
of  $8,000.  It  caused  not  only  financial  trouble,  for 
the  great  mental  strain,  the  suffering,  and  responsi- 
bility, brought  the  first  gray  hairs  to  his  head.  Soon 
after,  the  captain,  in  obedience  to  a  summons  by  tele- 
graph, came  overland  to  San  Francisco,  and  took 
command  of  the  W.  C.  Parks,  a  vessel  in  the  Hono- 
lulu trade.  Since  that  date  he  has  sailed  as  master  of 
different  vessels  in  coasting  and  foreign  trade  from 
San  Francisco,  and  thus  called  the  Pacific  Coast  his 
home  for  two  years  before  he  brought  his  family  from 
the  East. 

Captain  Adams  enjoys  the  reputation  of  being  one 
of  the  most  successful  ship  masters  living,  and  has 
always  had  the  confidence  of  his  employers.  Though 
he  has  a  home  where  life  can  well  be  passed  pleasantly, 
his  long  life  on  the  ocean  has  weaned  him  from  the 
plodding  one  of  a  landsman.  His  seasons  for  rest  and 
recruiting  his  energies  are  spent  in  his  pleasant  home, 
but  his  vocation  is  still  that  of  a  thorough  seafaring 
man,  His  only  child,  Annie  Louise,  born  in  Septem- 
ber, 1868,  is  yet  at  her  parental  home. 

Captain  Adams  is  identified  with  the  Republican 
party.  He  is  interested  in  the  Masonic  fraternity, 
being  a  member  of  Washington  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M., 
of  Lubec,  Maine. 

^ 

|rlllLLIAM  BOOTS  is  the  owner  of  one  of  the 
S&1«^  largest  and  most  productive  farms  in  Santa 
ifc*  Clara  County.  It  is  magnificent  in  extent, 
1  containing  640  acres,  and  is  situated  on  the 
Alviso    and    Milpitas    road,    in    the    Alviso    District, 


276 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


about  six  miles  north  of  San  Jose,  and  three  miles 
southeast  of  Alviso.  An  orchard  of  twenty-three 
acres  produces  principally  phims  and  French  prunes, 
but  also  to  a  much  smaller  extent  nearly  all  the  varie- 
ties of  fruit  grown  in  that  section.  To  the  culture  of 
strawberries  of  the  Sharpless,  Cheney,  and  Longworth 
varieties,  six  acres  are  devoted.  Asparagus  is  ex- 
tensively cultivated,  thirty  acres  being  occupied  by 
this  vegetable.  The  remainder,  and  by  far  the  larger 
part,  of  this  ranch  is  used  as  a  hay  and  grain  farm, 
and  for  stock  purposes.  Mr.  Boots  is  interested  in 
stock-raising,  and  owns  some  fine  thoroughbred  racing 
horses  of  English  stock.  He  is  also  largely  interested 
in  raising  draught  horses  from  American  stock.  Eight 
artesian  wells,  ranging  in  depth  from  250  feet  to  600 
feet,  furnish  the  water.  Three  of  these  wells  are 
worthy  of  special  mention,  as  having  a  flow  of  nine 
inches  of  water  over  a  seven-inch  pipe.  The  well, 
from  which  the  water  for  domestic  use  is  taken,  upon 
being  capped,  displays  great  force,  and  throws  water 
from  a  small  nozzle  attached  to  an  inch  hose  fully 
forty  feet  high.  The  family  residence  is  a  fine  and 
commodious  one,  and  is  surrounded  by  well-ordered 
grounds. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  dates  his  birth  in  1825, 
and  is  the  son  of  James  and  Sarah  (Stringer)  Boots, 
who  were  residents  of  Jefferson  County,  Ohio.  His 
father  was  a  native  of  South  Carolina;  his  ancestry, 
whose  nationality  is  not  positively  known,  came  to 
the  American  colonies  at  an  early  period  in  the  his- 
tory of  our  country.  His  mother  was  a  descendant 
from  the  original  Penn  colonists  of  Pennsylvania. 
His  father  emigrated  to  Ohio  in  18 14,  being  one  of 
the  pioneers  of  that  State.  He  engaged  in  farm- 
ing, and  to  that  work  the  subject  of  our  sketch 
was  i-eared.  His  educational  advantages  were  ex- 
tremely limited,  he  never  having  received  more  than 
100  days'  schooling  in  his  life.  His  father's  failing 
health  compelled  him  to  take  charge  of  the  farm  and 
its  interests,  and  thus  to  aid  in  the  maintenance  of 
the  family.  This  care  fell  upon  him  when  he  was 
but  seventeen  years  old,  yet  he  fulfilled  these  arduous 
duties  most  faithfully  and  successfully.  He  remained 
on  his  father's  farm  until  185 1,  when  he  left  home  to 
come  to  this  State.  Reaching  St.  Louis  in  the  autumn 
of  that  year,  he  there  engaged  in  various  occupations, 
starting  from  there  on  the  overland  trip  in  the  spring 
of  the  following  year.  He  arrived  in  the  Sacramento 
Valley  on  the  fourteenth  of  August,  1852,  and  after 
a  short  stay  there  went  into  the  mines.  It  required 
only  a  five  days'  trial    to   convince   him   that  mining 


was  not  his  vocation,  and  he  abandoned  it  to  return 
to  farm  labor,  in  which  he  engaged  until  fall.  He 
then  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  sick  and  destitute 
of  money,  but  there  were  left  to  him  an  indomitable 
will  to  do,  and  courage  which  nothing  could  daunt. 
After  almost  six  months  of  weary  sickness  and  suf- 
fering, he  was  able  to  resume  work,  and  for  the  next 
six  months  was  engaged  in  farm  labor  for  wages.  At 
the  expiration  of  this  time  he  rented  land,  and  com- 
menced the  raising  of  grain.  A  thorough  knowledge 
of  agriculture,  combined  with  energetic  and  trained 
habits  of  labor,  and  a  strict  attention  to  business, 
soon  assured  his  success,  and  in  1862  he  was  able  to 
purchase  land  at  his  present  location,  upon  which  to 
base  his  future  operations.  Since  then  he  has,  from 
time  to  time,  added  to  the  acreage  of  his  farm,  until 
now  (in  18S8)  he  is  justly  considered  one  of  Santa 
Clara's  most  prosperous  and  successful  agriculturists. 

In  1859  Mr.  Boots  married  Miss  Mary  E.  Hough, 
of  Syracuse,  New  York.  They  have  three  children, 
all  of  whom  are  yet  members  of  their  father's  family 
at  the  old  homestead.  Their  names  are:  Charles  T., 
Mary  E.,  and  William. 

Mr.  Boots  is  one  of  the  most  widely  and  favorably 
known  citizens  in  this  section.  He  is  ready  to  give 
his  help  to  all  enterprises  of  real  merit  that  will  ad- 
vance the  interests  and  welfare  of  his  community. 
He  is  what  is  called  a  self-made  man,  and  is  certainly 
most  deserving  of  that  description.  His  position, 
when  he  became  a  resident  of  this  county,  and  the 
one  which  he  holds  now,  when  compared,  give  evi- 
dence as  to  the  courage  and  industry  which  must  have 
filled  the  intervening  years.  He  is  a  strong  and  con- 
sistent Republican,  and  during  the  late  war  was  an 
ardent  supporter  of  the  Union.  He  takes  a  deep 
interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  of 
which  he  is  a  member. 


^RMARK  CALKINS  is  the  owner  of  an  orchard 
(s^j^  farm  in  the  Berryessa  School  District,  located 
■L^  on  the  Milpitas  and  Berryessa  road,  about  four 
and  a  half  miles  northeast  of  San  Jose,  and  two 
and  a  half  miles  south  of  Milpitas.  His  property  con- 
tains thirty-four  acres,  and  is  devoted  to  fruit  culture. 
The  orchard  contains  1,700  P'rench  prune,  1,200  apri- 
cot, 500  peach,  and  75  cherry  trees.  There  are  also  a 
few  vines,  which  produce  table  grapes  of  the  Muscat, 
Tokay,  and  Sweetwater  varieties.  Mr.  Calkins  has 
made  the  cultivation  of  raspberries  of  the    Cuthbert 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


277 


variety  a  profitable  branch  of  the  industry,  as  his 
bushes  yield  largely  and  five  months  of  the  year.  Al- 
though the  orchard  is  young,  that  it  promises  to  be 
among  the  best  the  following  estimate  will  show:  In 
1 887,  from  the  two-year-old  apricot  trees,  the  crop  of 
green  fruit  sold  for  $45  per  acre,  \vhile  in  the  same 
season,  the  fruit  from  the  peach  trees  of  the  same  age 
realized  $85  per  acre.  Water  is  found  in  abundance 
on  this  farm  at  a  depth  of  60  feet,  and  from  a  ten-inch 
well  10,000  gallons  a  day  can  be  procured.  A  com- 
fortable cottage  home  and  substantial  out-buildings 
complete  the  aspect  of  prosperity  which  this  property 
wears.  Adjoining  this  farm  is  a  splendid  orchard  of 
74  acres,  containing  over  8,000  French  prune  trees. 
This  property  belongs  to  Mr.  Calkins'  brother-in-law, 
¥.  M.  Smith,  but  is  in  the  charge  of  Mr.  Calkins. 
His  success  in  the  management  of  these  large  inter- 
ests clearly  proves  his  thorough  knowledge  of  his 
business. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  born  in  Lincolnshire 
County,  England,  near  Brigg,  on  the  twenty-first  of 
March,  1843.  He  is  the  son  of  George  and  Mary 
(Markham)  Calkins,  who  emigrated  to  the  United 
States  in  1845,  and  located  at  Brockport,  New  York. 
There  they  made  their  home  for  a  few  years,  when  they 
went  as  far  west  as  Wisconsin,  and  settled  in  Wal- 
worth County.  There  they  engaged  in  farming,  and 
to  that  work  the  subject  of  our  sketch  was  reared,  at 
the  same  time  receiving  a  good  common-school  educa- 
tion. At  the  age  of  twenty  years  he  started  out  in  life 
for  himself  by  renting  and  working  land  in  Wisconsin. 
Engaged  in  agriculture  in  that  State,  he  spent  almost 
twenty  years,  leaving  it  in  1882,  to  come  to  this  State. 
He  located  in  Santa  Clara  County,  and  soon  after 
bought  twenty  acres  of  land  on  the  Hostetter  road,  in 
the  improvement  and  cultivation  of  which  he  spent 
eighteen  months.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  sold  the 
place  to  J.  G.  F.  Berghauser,  and  purchased  his  pres- 
ent homestead,  upon  which  he  has  since  resided.  He 
has  entered  thoroughly  into  his  horticultural  work, 
and  is  destined  to  rank  among  the  leading  fruit- 
growers of  the  county.  Politically,  he  is  a  Republican, 
and  has  held  several  offices  of  trust  in  the  gift  of  the 
people.  In  Wisconsin,  he  held  the  responsible  posi- 
tion of  Town  Treasurer  of  Richmond,  and  also  served 
two  terms  in  the  same  town  as  Supervisor.  Indus- 
trious, liberal,  and  public-spirited,  he  is  a  desirable 
acquisition  to  his  community. 

Mrs.  Calkins  was  formerly  a  resident  of  Wisconsin, 
in  which  State,  in  1878,  Mr.  Calkins  married  her. 
She  was  Miss  Ida    L.  Smith,  the   daughter  of  Henry 


G.  and  Charlotte  (Paul)  Smith,   natives  of  New  York, 
and  pioneers  of  Wisconsin.     Two  children  have  been 

born  in  the  family  of    Mr.  and   Mrs.  Calkins,  one  of 
whom,  Lena  M.,  is  living. 


->->->-« 


M 


'A-<~<-< 


-«RS.  SUSAN  E.  TILDEN.     Among  the  repre- 
i0(jrs  sentative  people  of  Alviso  is  the  subject  of  this 

14^  sketch,  a  brief  history  of  whose  life  is  as  follows: 
I  Mrs.  Tilden  was  born  in  New  York  city,  No- 
vember 7,  1832,  her  parents  being  Jacob  and  Lydia 
(Brower)  Ortley.  Her  father  was  a  sea  captain  by 
profession  and  a  large  ship  owner.  His  sudden  death 
from  cholera  in  1833  left  the  care  of  the  family  upon 
her  mother.  The  latter,  December  28,  1837,  married 
Daniel  Harker,  a  contractor  and  builder  of  New  York 
city.  His  son  by  a  former  marriage  was  Joseph 
Harker,  a  resident  of  the  Everett  House,  New  York, 
for  twenty-five  years.  Daniel  Harker  died  in  1S42, 
leaving  two  children,  Charles  H.  and  Louisa.  Feb- 
ruary 17,  1852,  Mrs.  Harker  started  with  her  family 
for  California,  taking  passage  in  the  clipper  ship 
RaccJiound  for  a  voyage  around  Cape  Horn,  and  her 
death  occurred  on  this  voyage,  when  the  vessel  was 
off  Cape  Horn,  May  4,  leaving  Mrs.  Tilden  and  her 
younger  half-brother  and  sister  in  a  comparatively 
unprotected  state.  Upon  her  arrival  in  San  Francisco, 
with  characteristic  energy  and  independence,  she  de- 
cided to  provide  for  herself  Her  brother,  J.  J.  Ort- 
ley, of  Alviso,  took  charge  of  her  half-brother.  She 
kept  her  half-sister  with  her,  and  for  the  following 
years,  until  1856,  supported  both  by  clerking  and  the 
millinery  business. 

May  I,  1856,  she  was  married  by  the  Rev.  Doctor 
Thomas,  of  San  Francisco,  to  Henry  F.  La  Bau,  a  na- 
tive of  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  June  of  the 
same  year  they  took  up  their  residence  in  Alviso, 
where  Mr.  La  Bau  was  bookkeeper  and  cashier  for  A. 
B.  Rowley,  in  his  extensive  grain  warehouse,  and  also 
for  R.  K.  Ham.  Mr.  La  Bau  was  thus  engaged  until 
a  short  time  before  his  death,  which  occurred  January 
23,  1866.  His  parents  were  Jonathan  and  Margaret 
(Bergasse)  La  Bau.  His  paternal  ancestry  were 
Huguenots  who  left  France  during  the  reign  of  Louis 
XIV.  and  settled  in  New  Jersey.  His  maternal  grand- 
father was  born  on  the  island  of  Scio,  of  Greek  parents, 
and  came  to  this  country  while  young,  settling  in 
Philadelphia.  In  1849  Mr.  La  Bau  left  New  York 
city  for  California,  bringing  with  him  sufficient  stock 
and  material   for    erecting    and  furnishing  a  general 


278 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


merchandise  store.  On  arrival  in  this  State,  he  estab- 
lished himself  in  business  in  Sacramento,  on  K  Street, 
and  continued  for  a  few  years  as  a  member  of  the  firm 
of  H.  F.  La  Bau  &  Co.  Meeting,  however,  with  too 
great  losses  by  fire  and  flood,  he  gave  up  his  place 
there,  and  in  1853-56  was  a  resident  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, where  he  was  a  member  of  the  Vigilance  Com- 
mittee, and  also  of  that  division  of  the  Fire  Company 
having  charge  of  Empire  Engine,  No.  i.  A  brother, 
N.  B.  La  Bau,  of  New  York  city,  who  married  Mary 
A.,  a  daughter  of  Commodore  Vanderbilt,  was  at  one 
time  a  member  of  the  New  York  State  Legislature 
Assemblj',  and  occupied  several  very  prominent  politi- 
cal positions. 

September  3,  1866,  Mrs.  Tilden  consummated  her 
second  marriage,  being  united  with  David  R.  Tilden, 
of  Alviso.  Mr.  Tilden  was  born  in  Northfield,  Ver- 
mont, April  2,  1832,  his  parents  being  David  R.  and 
Nancy  Tilden.  They  came  of  the  same  stock  as  the 
late  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  of  New  York.  Mr.  Tilden 
was  a  brother  of  Hebcr  N.  Tilden,  a  wholesale  mer- 
chant of  San  Francisco.  While  in  business  in  Alviso 
he  occupied  the  positions  of  postmaster  and  justice  of 
the  peace.  Mrs,  Tilden  continued  her  residence  in 
AKiso,  where  her  husband  was  engaged  in  mercantile 
pursuits,  until  his  death,  which  occurred  April  6,  1S75. 
Mrs.  Tilden  is  the  mother  of  four  children,  two  of 
whom  are  now  living,  viz.:  Marguerite  F.  La  Bau,  and 
Minerva  Tilden.  After  the  death  of  her  husband, 
Mrs.  Tilden  devoted  herself  to  the  care  and  educa- 
tion of  her  children,  and  in  1S78  moved  to  San  Jose 
in  order  to  secure  the  advantages  of  the  higher 
schools.  In  1880  she  returned  with  her  family  to 
Alviso. 

Desirous  of  some  occupatiun,  Mrs.  Tilden,  in  1SS3, 
opened  a  general  merchandise  store  in  Alviso,  an  en- 
terprise which,  with  the  able  assistance  of  her  daugh- 
ters, she  has  successfully  conducted,  having  the  most 
complete  and  best  appointed  store  in  Alviso.  hi  this 
connection  it  is  worthy  of  mention  that,  in  1S87,  Mrs. 
Tilden  built  the  finest  residence  in  Alviso,  being  a 
large  two-story  house  of  modern  architectural  design, 
and  has  surrounded  the  same  with  well-ordered 
grounds. 

^ ,   • ^'^^'^^       ^   ,  „^ 

^RTIIUR  WELLSLEY  SAXE,  A.  M.,  M.  D., 
^Yfe  was  born  at  Plaltsburg,  Clinton  County,  New 
"^  York,  in  the  year  1820.  His  father,  Jacob  Saxe, 
t  was  one  of  seven  sons  of  John  Sa.xe,  of  .Sax  Gotha, 
Germany,  who  came  to  America  in  1 760  or  'jo  and  first 


settled  in  Pennsylvania,  but  subsequently  removed  to 
Rhinebeck,  Dutchess  County,  New  York,  where 
Jacob  Saxe  was  born.  At  the  time  of  the  breaking 
out  of  the  Revolution  he  removed  with  his  family  to 
Highgate,  Vermont,  where  he  built  stores,  mills,  etc., 
and  lived  until  his  children  were  grown  up  and  began 
to  do  for  themselves,  and  where  Jacob  grew  from  boy- 
hojd  to  manhood,  and  was  given  a  common-school 
education  only.  He  began  his  business  life  at  Shel- 
don, Vermont,  as  a  merchant,  and  subsequently  en- 
gaged in  manufacturing  iron  at  Plattslaurg,  New 
York,  and  still  later  engaged  in  the  same  busine.ss  at 
Rossie,  New  York.  At  the  age  of  sixty  he  discon- 
tinued the  mercantile  and  manufacturing  business  and 
retired  to  a  farm  in  Franklin  County,  Vermont,  where 
he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days  and  died  in  1852, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-eight  years. 

His  mother,  uce  Rouena  Keith,  was  a  daughter  of 
Hannah  and  Alfred  Keith.  They  were  of  Scotch 
ancestry  and  were  among  the  original  settlers  of 
Massachusetts.  She  died  at  Sheldon,  Vermont,  in 
1872,  at  the  age  of  about  eighty  years.  Tliey  were 
both  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
To  them  were  born  thirteen  children,  eight  sons  and 
five  daughters.  Arthur  W.  Saxe  is  the  fourth  son. 
When  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age  his  parents  re- 
moved from  Plattsburg  to  Sheldon,  where  he  attended 
school  until  his  seventeenth  year.  He  then  entered 
the  preparatory  department  of  the  Wesleyan  Univer- 
sity at  Middletown,  Connecticut,  which  he  attended 
until  1840,  when,  in  his  twentieth  year,  he  entered  the 
Castlcton  Medical  College  at  Castlcton,  Vermont, 
at  which  he  graduated  as  M.  D.  in  1S43.  He  prac- 
ticed at  Swanton,  Vermont,  until  1850,  wlicn  he  came 
to  California.  Here  he  practiced  in  the  gold  dig- 
gings in  various  parts  of  the  State,  until,  tiring  of  it, 
in  1852  he  came  to  Santa  Clara  and  permanently  lo- 
cated. The  doctor  has  a  State-wide  reputation  as  a 
skillful  physician  and  surgeon,  and  has  an  extensive 
local  practice,  hi  1880  he  was  elected  President  of 
the  California  State  Medical  Society,  filling  thatoflfice 
one  year,  and  during  the  same  year  went  to  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  to  study  into  the  condition,  charac- 
ter, and  history  of  the  disease  of  leprosy  in  those 
island.s,  making  a  report  of  the  result  of  his  investiga- 
tions to  that  society  during  the  following  year. 

The  Doctor  is  a  lover  of  flowers,  and  his  flora!  and 
botanical  gardens,  with  their  numerous  native  and 
exotic  plants  and  trees,  manifest  liis  taste,  knowledge, 
and  slcill  as  a  floriculturist.  Among  his  hundreds  of 
varieties  of  flowers,  of  the   rose  genus  alone  he  has 


^£i/j9iarr  t;^W^^. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


279 


250  varieties.  He  also  excels  as  an  amateur  artist, 
and  the  products  of  his  brush  and  palette  adorn  the 
walls  of  his  well-appointed  and  pleasant  home  with 
sketches  of  the  chief  points  of  interest  in  the  Ha- 
waiian Islands. 

In  1844  he  was  married,  at  Sheldon,  Vermont,  to 
Mary  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Dr.  Fred  W.  and  Lois 
(Keith)  Judson.  They  have  two  living  children: 
•Fred  J.,  a  surgeon  dentist,  at  Oakland,  California, 
and  Frank  K.,  a  physician  and  surgeon,  at  San  Jose. 
They  lost  two  children  in  infancy. 

Not  to  mention  the  generous  and  charitable  nature 
of  the  Doctor  and  his  amiable  and  inestimable  wife, 
would  leave  this  brief  sketch  incomplete.  Their  acts 
of  charity  and  promptness  for  the  relief  of  the  desti- 
tute and  suffering,  have  endeared  them  to  the  com- 
munity in  which  they  have  lived  so  long.  Both  are 
consistent  Christians  and  efficient  working  members 
of  the  Santa  Clara  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  The 
Doctor  is  an  enthusiastic  Republican,  and  although 
no  aspirant  to  office,  he  was  elected  to  represent  his 
district  in  tlie  California  State  Senate  in  1884,  which 
he  filled  with  honor  to  himself  and  to  the  satisfaction 
of  his  constituents. 

§|AMES  S.  DILLEY  is  a  native  of  Ohio,  and  was 
_^  born  at  Hubbard,  Trumbull  County,  in  1816. 
^  His  parents  were  Cornelius  and  Sarah  (Lock) 
Dilley,  both  deceased.  Mr.  Dilley  received  his  edu- 
cation mostly  at  Farmington  Academy,  at  Farming- 
ton,  Ohio.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  began  to  teach 
in  the  schools  of  Trumbull  County,  and  taught  some 
three  years.  In  1838  he  went  to  Valparaiso,  Indiana, 
where  he  taught  several  years;  afterward  he  farmed 
near  Hebron,  on  the  Kankakee  River,  until  1843; 
next  he  went  to  Delaware,  Wisconsin,  and  engaged 
in  the  mercantile  business  till  1850,  when  he  came  to 
California,  overland,  and  engaged  in  mining  in  the 
gold  diggings  on  the  Middle  Fork  of  the  American 
River,  and  at  Negro  Bar,  now  Folsom.  After  spend- 
ing a  year  there  as  a  miner,  he  returned  to  Wisconsin, 
by  way  of  Nicaragua  and  New  York,  where  he  re- 
mained until  1854,  when  he  again  made  a  trip  to  Cal- 
ifornia, by  way  of  Panama;  he  engaged  in  mining 
and  merchandising  at  Drytown  till  1S56,  when,  re- 
turning to  Wisconsin,  he  was  employed  as  a  commer- 
cial traveler.  In  i860  he  made  his  second  trip  over 
the  plains,  this  time  being  accompanied  by  his  family, 
locating  at  Silver  City,  Nevada  Territory,  where  he 


was  engaged  in  business,  and  was  subsequently  elected 
and  served  one  term  as  County  Collector.  In  1862 
he  was  appointed  by  President  Lincoln  Internal 
Revenue  Collector  for  that  Territory  and  served  four 
years.  In  1866,  leaving  Silver  City,  he  came  to  Santa 
Clara,  where  he  established  himself  in  genera!  insur- 
ance and  real-estate  business. 

Politically,  he  was  originally  a  Whig  and  voted  for 
Wm.  H.  Harrison  in  1840  for  President,  afterward  be- 
ing among  the  organizers  of  that  party  in  Wisconsin, 
in  1848,  and  was  that  year  a  delegate  from  that  State 
to  the  National  Free-soil  Convention  held  at  Buffalo, 
New  York,  that  nominated  Martin  Van  Buren  for  the 
presidency.  At  the  organization  of  the  Republican 
party  he  became  a  Republican,  and  so  voted  until 
1SS5,  when  he  espoused  the  c  luse  of  the  Prohibition 
party,  of  which  he  is  a  zealous  partisan.  In  1872  he 
was  elected  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  of  Santa  Clara, 
which  office  he  held  by  re-election  for  six  consecutive 
years. 

In  1838  he  was  married,  at  Valparaiso,  Indiana,  to 
Miss  Sarah  A.  Richards.  They  are  members  of  the 
Episcopal  Church  of  Santa  Clara.  Eight  children 
were  born  to  them,  only  four  of  whom  are  living:  John 
B.,  of  Santa  Clara,  attorney  at  law;  Charles  R.,  min- 
ing in  Montana  Territory;  Sarah  A.,  wife  of  Seldin 
Hetzel,  register  of  the  U.  S.  Land  Office  at  Sacra- 
mento, and  Mary  E.,  wife  of  F.  D.  Kuettner,  holding 
a  clerical  position  at  Portland,  Oregon.  Their  oldest 
son,  James  D.,  died  in  Chicago,  Illinois,  in  1876,  from 
disease  contracted  while  serving  in  the  Union  army. 
He  was  out  during  the  whole  war,  serving  in  different 
Wisconsin  regiments.  Another  son  died  in  1S68  in 
Chicago,  where  he  was  engaged  in  the  mercantile 
business.     Two  otliers  died  in  infanc)'. 


— H>H 


M 


H<-^- 


tERMAN  SENTER,  a  retired  capitalist  and  bus- 
iness man  of  Santa  Clara,  was  born  in  Belfast, 
'«■  Maine,  in  18 10,  but  was  reared  in  Massachusetts 
and  New  Hampshire,  and  received  only  a  limited 
common-school  education.  He  served  an  apprentice- 
ship at  Lowell,  Massachusetts,  to  learn  the  trades  of 
carpenter  and  millwright,  both  of  which  he  followed 
for  five  years  at  different  places  in  the  East;  then  he 
went  to  Rock  Island,  Illinois,  where  he  pursued  his 
trades,  until  he  went  to  Galena,  Illinois,  in  1S46, 
where  he  worked  in  a  plow  manufactory  until  1852; 
next  he  went  to  Warren,  Jo  Daviess  County,  Illinois, 
where  he  engaged  in  manufacturing  plows  until  1859, 


280 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


when,  having  to  discontinue  all  business  on  account 
of  failing  health,  he  came  to  California  by  the  Isth- 
mus of  Panama,  locating  at  Santa  Clara  in  Novem- 
ber of  that  year.  He  was  intimately  acquainted  with 
General  Grant,  who,  on  Mr.  Senter's  departure  for 
California,  cashed  a  draft  of  $500  for  him  to  use  as 
spending  money  on  his  trip.  He  remained  in  Santa 
Clara  until  186S,  having  by  that  time  so  regained  his 
health  that  he  went  to  Santa  Barbara,  California,  and 
engaged  extensively  in  real  estate,  buying  at  one 
time  8,000  acres  of  land  on  the  Peninsula  of  Lower 
California,  near  Ensenado,  where  he  resided  from 
1882  to  1888.  He  returned  to  Santa  Clara  to  reside 
with  his  son.  Although  Mr.  Scnter  has  accumulated 
much  property  and  is  considered  wealth}-,  he  has  seen 
much  of  the  darker  phase  of  life,  and  has  met  with 
many  reverses,  but  he  never  allowed  himself  to  be- 
come despondent  on  meeting  financial  losses,  which 
he  considered  temporary  and  possible  for  him  to 
retrieve.  He  thought  his  only  and  great  loss  was 
when  death  entered  his  family  and  took  his  loved 
ones  from  him. 

He  has  been  three  times  married,  his  first  wife  be- 
ing Margaret  Vader,  whom  he  married  at  Ellington, 
New  York,  in  1834,  and  who  died  at  Warren,  Illinois, 
in  1S54,  leaving  him  eight  children,  only  four  of  whom 
are  living:  Mrs.  Hannah  Carlton,  of  Warren,  Illinois; 
Mrs.  Emma  Stout,  of  Santa  Barbara,  California; 
James,  of  San  Diego,  and  John,  of  Santa  Clara.  He 
was  again  married  at  Warren,  Illinois,  in  1S55,  to 
Mary  Vader,  a  sister  of  his  former  wife.  She  died  at 
Warren  in  1857.  His  third  wife  was  Mrs.  Raphela 
Hill,  relict  of  the  late  Daniel  Hill,  of  Santa  Barbara, 
whom  he  married  in  1871,  and  who  died  at  Santa 
Barbara  in  1S81. 

^#HAKLES  WILSON  LOVE  resides  on  the 
'^  Santa  Clara  and  Alviso  road,  in  the  AIvis<5  Dis- 
(S)r  trict,  about  five  miles  north  of  Santa  Clara,  and 
one  mile  south  of  Alviso.  His  farm  contains  fifty- 
five  acres  of  productive  land,  eiglit  acres  of  which  is 
in  orchard,  producing  pears,  apples,  and  prunes. 
About  twenty  acres  arc  devoted  to  berry  culture, 
strawberries  of  the  Longwortli  variety,  principally, 
but  also  raspberries  and  blackberries.  The  remainder 
of  the  land  is  used  for  the  production  of  hay  and 
grain,  and  for  stock  pasturage,  Mr.  Love  owning  some 
fine  cattle  of  thoroughbred  Jersey  stock.  There  are 
two  artesian   wells  upon  this  place,  one  of  which   is 


worthy  of  special  mention.  It  has  a  depth  of  742 
feet,  having  a  seven-inch  pipe  throughout  its  whole 
depth.  It  flows  three  inches  over  the  pipe,  and  the 
temperature  of  the  water  is  over  70°  Fahrenheit. 

Mr.  Love  dates  his  birth  in  Jersey  City,  New  Jersey, 
November  3,  1832.  He  is  the  son  of  Alexander  and 
Lily  (Le  Grande  Pride)  Love.  His  father  was  a  na- 
tive of  Glasgow,  Scotland,  and  was  a  veteran  of  the 
English  naval  service  in  the  War  of  181 2.  His 
mother  was  also  born  in  Glasgow,  and  was  of  French 
descent,  her  father  having  met  with  his  death  in  the 
famous  Battle  of  Waterloo.  When  ten  years  old  he 
was  taken  from  school  to  assist  his  father  in  his  work, 
that  of  gardening.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  was  appren- 
ticed to  the  ship  carpenter's  trade,  and  after  spending 
three  years  in  becoming  proficient  in  it,  he  went  to 
the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  He  there  engaged  for  a 
year  in  the  railroad  survey  and  construction.  He 
then  returned  to  New  York  and  remained  a  few 
weeks  before  leaving,  z'la  steamer  route,  for  California. 
He  reached  San  Francisco  in  April,  1850,  and  for  the 
next  six  years  was  engaged  in  the  coasting  trade  from 
that  city.  In  1856  he  came  to  Santa  Clara  Count)', 
and  settled  at  Alviso,  where  he  spent  the  four  years 
following  as  engineer  in  the  flouring  mills,  and  as  an 
employe  in  the  warehouses.  In  1S70  he  took  pos- 
session of  his  present  home,  and  since  then  has  made 
orchard  culture  there  his  occupation. 

Mr.  Love  married,  in  1865,  Miss  Soladad  Martin, 
the  youngest  daughter  of  John  and  Baselicia  Bernal 
(Ortega)  Martin.  Her  father  was  born  in  Scotland, 
and  came  to  this  State  in  1826,  in  the  capacity  of 
ship's  carpenter  in  the  English  naval  service.  Mr. 
Love  has  four  children,  viz.:  M.  Lily,  Ida  L.  H., 
James  A.  and  Charles  A. 

Mr.  Love  is  a  member  of  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen.  In  politics  he  is  a  strong  Repub- 
lican, and  has  several  times  been  delegated  by  his  as- 
sociates to  represent  them  in  the  State  and  County 
Conventions.  He  is  one  of  those  whose  many  genial 
traits  of  cliaractcr  malce  them  ever  welcome  and 
pleasant  companions,  and  Iiis  friends  arc  man)'. 


M§  H.   DOWNING,  editor    and    publisher   of   the 
G^'^   Santa  Chira.  Jp?/r//rt/,  was  born  at  Newark,  Mis- 


-i? 


souri,    June     19,    1S52.     He    was  reared    on    a 


farm  and  is  practically  sclf-cducatcd.     At  the  age  of 
twelve  years  he  lost    his    hearing,   caused    b)-  spinal 


(^^^i^^.^^^^<^^<^^^^^^ 


(^if/'.'c 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


281 


meningitis,  which  cut  him  off  from  schooling  advan- 
tages, and  he  never  attended  an  institute  for  the  deaf 
He  began  his  newspaper  experience  at  Shelbina, 
Missouri,  in  November,  18S2,  when  he  purchased  the 
Shelbina  Index,  which  he  conducted  with  httle  inter- 
mission until  coming  to  California  in  February,  1S86, 
when  he  took  charge  of  the  Livermore  Reviezu;  but, 
becoming  dissatisfied  with  the  outlook  there,  he  re- 
signed two  months  after  and  "  roughed  it,"  so  to  speak, 
from  that  time  to  November  i,  1886,  when  he  pur- 
chased the  Santa  Clara  Journal,  which  at  that  time 
was  a  "  patent  outside,"  poorly  patronized  and  doing 
a  very  small  business.  Under  his  management,  by 
February  i,  1887,  it  became  a  seven-column  weekly, 
and  all  home  printed.  January  i,  1888,  it  became  a 
six-page  weekly.  On  May  i,  1888,  he  began  to  pub- 
lish it  as  a  semi-weekly  paper.  The  newspaper  ca- 
reer of  this  remarkable  man  has  been  attended  with 
wonderful  success;  his  skill  and  executive  ability  as  a 
manager  place  him  on  the  highway  of  success,  and 
as  a  writer  he  takes  no  low  rank.  His  loss  of  hear- 
ing cuts  him  off  from  political  matters,  and  he  takes 
but  little  interest  in  them.  When  election  time  comes 
he  selects  his  men  and  votes  for  them  independent  of 
what  others  may  say.  On  this  point  he  is  firm  in  the 
conviction  that  it  is  degrading  to  his  manhood  to  al- 
low any  living  man  to  influence  his  vote  against  his 
principles.  He  is  a  member  of  no  church,  although 
he  believes  in  the  good  of  Christianity  and  aims  to 
live  a  Christian  life,  such  a  life  as  he  thinks  accept- 
able in  the  sight  of  God,  regardless  how  creeds  may 
view  it. 

On  the  seventeenth  of  April  he  was  married  to  Ida 
R.  Drake,  of  Shclbyville,  Missouri,  a  lady  who  de- 
scends from  one  of  our  oldest  and  best  Virginian  fami- 
lies, and  who  graces  their  home  with  that  rare  charm 
of  mind  and  person  born  of  the  true  lady,  and  for 
which  our  okl  Virginian  families  are  noted  the  world 
over.  She,  like  her  husband,  is  not  a  member  of  any 
church,  but  believes  in  an.d  lives  a  Christian  life. 
They  arc  the  parents  of  three  children:  Bertha  and 
Bcriiie,  twins,  and  Carl  M. 


j|lLIVER  BOULIEU,  of  the  Willow  District,  re- 
■^  resides  on  Lincoln  Avenue,  near  its  intersection 
'^  with  Fine  Avenue.  He  is  one  of  the  pioneers 
*  of  the  State,  coming  to  California  when  it  was 
yet  a  Mexican  Province.  He  was  born  near  Quebec, 
Canada,  March  15,  1810.  His  life  has  been  a  check- 
36 


ered  one  and  full  of  adventure.  His  father  was  a 
farmer  and  miller,  and  Oliver  remained  on  the  farm 
and  with  his  parents  until  about  fourteen  years  old, 
and  was  then  apprenticed  to  Alex.  Osgood,  and 
served  three  years  in  learning  the  trade.  In  1827  he 
removed  to  Upper  Canada,  worked  about  six  months 
getting  out  ship  timber,  and  then  emigrated  to  Bur- 
lington, Vermont,  working  at  his  trade.  He  remained 
in  Vermont  for  three  years,  and  while  in  Burlington 
Mr.  Boulieu  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  and  shak- 
ing hands  with  Henry  Clay,  Daniel  Webster,  and 
Martin  Van  Buren.  In  1831  he  moved  to  Boston 
and  remained  three  years,  working  for  Childs,  the 
banker.  Here,  in  1834,  he  met  General  Lafayette, 
and  mentions  with  pride  and  a  just  satisfaction  the 
grand  parade  given  to  the  General  in  Boston  upon 
his  last  visit  to  the  city  "  La  Granda  Parada."  From 
Boston  Mr.  Boulieu  went  to  New  Hampshire,  where 
he  resided  for  two  years ;  after  this  he  returned  to 
Canada  to  revisit  his  people,  and  then  came  back  to 
his  adopted  country,  locating  for  one  year  at  Detroit, 
Michigan.  We  find  him  next  in  Wisconsin,  where 
he  bought  three  sections  of  land,  and  remained  for 
three  years.  Rattlesnakes  were  so  numerous,  how- 
ever, that  he  was  finally  forced  to  sell  out.  One  af- 
ternoon he  killed  no  less  than  sixty  of  the  reptiles 
with  his  scythe  while  mowing. 

The  next  move  was  to  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  passing 
through,  on  the  way,  what  is  now  the  city  of  Chicago. 
At  St.  Louis  he  spent  the  winter,  taking  occasion  to 
pay  a  flying  visit  to  New  Orleans.  In  April,  1844, 
he  joined  General  Fremont's  expedition,  and  with 
him  went  to  Independence,  Missouri,  from  there  to 
Fort  Benton,  and  on  to  Fort  Laramie,  where  he  was 
stricken  with  cholera,  but  recovered  in  time  to  go  on 
with  the  command  to  Fort  Hall,  where  winter  over- 
took them.  So  far,  the  journey  consumed  six  months. 
Although  the  snow  was  already  falling,  but  a  week 
was  spent  here  recuperating  and  organizing,  and  then 
they  pushed  on  to  The  Dalles,  Oregon,  where  they 
spent  some  time  trading  with  the  Indians,  and  pro- 
curing new  horses  and  outfits.  The  next  stop  was  at 
Lake  Tahoe,  where,  on  account  of  the  loss  of  all  their 
animals,  they  were  forced  to  stop  and  recuperate.  The 
trials  and  privations  they  passed  through  can  hardly  be 
imagined.  Their  sufferings  were  terrible,  reaching  al- 
most the  perils  of  starvation.  At  the  lake,  however, 
they  met  a  body  of  about  5,000  Indians,  who  supplied 
them  with  food  in  abundance  and  provided  them  a 
guide.  After  three  days'  marching  they  reached  what 
is  now  known  as   Fremont's  Peak.     Here  the  guide 


282 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


abandoned  them,  and  for  a  time  they  were  hi  a  terrible 
ph'ght,  having  to  kill  their  mules  to  sustain  life.  Cold, 
freezing,  and  dying  with  hunger,  Mr.  Boulieu  made 
his  way  in  advance  of  the  party  to  the  summit  of  the 
mountain.  His  eyes  were  delighted  to  look  down 
into  the  valley  below,  the  first  to  do  so.  An  hour 
later,  General  Fremont  came  up  and  joined  him,  with 
three  others.  Here  they  divided  their  remaining  food, 
which  consisted  of  three  crackers,  among  the  starving 
five,  and  set  out  for  the  valley.  One  of  the  party  was  so 
enfeebled  by  cold  and  hunger,  added  to  the  fatigue, 
that  had  it  not  been  for  Mr.  Boulieu,  who  carried 
him  from  the  peak  to  the  camp,  he  must  have  per- 
ished, as  he  had  given  up.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that 
"  Fremont's  Peak "  might  as  well,  if  not  better,  be 
called  "  Boulieu  Peak,"  as  he  was  the  first  white 
man  to  ascend  the  mountain.  It  can  truly  be  said  he 
has  seen  his  full  share  of  danger  and  hardships,  and 
yet  to-day,  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine  years,  he  is  pos- 
sessed of  a  physical  vigor  which  might  well  be  en- 
vied by  a  man  in  fair  health  and  of  half  his  age. 
His  strength  and  power  of  endurance  were  of  the 
greatest  assistance  to  him  in  the  wild  Western  life  into 
which  he  entered  with  such  spirit.  It  took  them  a 
whole  week  of  travel  through  the  snow  before  they 
reached  Sutter's  Fort. 

Here  Mr.  Boulieu  left  General  Fremont's  com- 
mand, although  urged  by  the  latter  to  return  with 
him,  and  remained  near  Sacramento  for  two  years 
and  a  half,  then  establishing  a  tannery  at  Sutter's 
Fort.  Hides  were  bought  at  a  nominal  price,  and  the 
business  was  very  successful.  In  connection  with  the 
tannery  Mr.  Boulieu  kept  a  general  store.  During 
Fremont's  operations  in  the  conquest  of  California, 
in  the  Mexican  War,  he  bought  largely  of  the  goods, 
leather,  and  merchandise  of  Mr.  Boulieu,  for  which 
the  latter  has  never  been  paid.  Nearly  all  of  his  live 
stock  was  seized  for  use  during  the  war,  and  for  this 
loss  he  has  as  yet  received  no  compensation.  His 
bills  against  the  government,  amounting  to  $15,000, 
have  never  been  allowed.  Mr.  Boulieu's  services  to 
the  government  of  eleven  months  under  Fremont,  in 
the  expedition  of  1844,  and  under  the  "Bear  Flag," 
entitled  him  to  better  usage. 

After  living  at  Sutter's  Fort  for  two  years  and  a 
half,  he  moved  to  Santa  Rosa,  Sonoma  Valley,  where 
he  remained  eleven  years.  In  1856  he  removed 
to  the  Willows  and  took  possession  of  his  present 
home.  Here  he  owns  190  acres  of  as  fine  land  as 
can  be  found  in  one  body  in  Santa  Clara  County. 
Fifty  acres  arc  in  fruit,  of  which  twenty  acres  are  set 


to  prunes,  five  to  apricots,  four  to  peaches,  and  the  re- 
mainder furnishes  a  general  variety  of  cherries,  apples, 
pears,  etc.  The  orchard  is  young  but  coming  into 
bearing  the  present  year  (1888).  He  has  devoted  his 
time  to  general  farming,  grain-raising,  etc.  Mr. 
Boulieu  owns  a  fine  residence,  which  is  surrounded 
by  all  the  appurtenances  of  a  well-conducted  ranch. 
His  first  wife  lived  but  two  years  after  marriage  and 
left  one  son,  Oliver,  who  now  lives  at  Santa  Clara. 
His  present  wife,  formerly  Miss  Elise  Pinard,  a  native 
of  Canada,  he  married  in  1857.  They  have  eleven 
children:  Louis,  Elise,  Rosalie,  Marie,  Albert,  Charles, 
Victor,  Catherine,  Adella,  Theodore,  and  Lionell  J. 

After  an  active  life  Mr.  Boulieu  is  permitted  to 
enjoy  a  hale  and  hearty  old  age,  in  his  pleasant  home, 
in  the  midst  of  prosperity,  which  he  well  deserves. 


fEORGE  LAUCK,  proprietor  of  the  Santa  Clara 
Brewery,  at  Santa  Clara,  was  born  in  Baden^ 
yp  Germany,  June  17,  1838,  where  he  was  reared  as 
a  farmer  until  his  sixteenth  year,  when  he  came 
to  America.  On  his  arrival  here  he  went  to  New  Jer- 
sey, and  until  1858  he  worked  as  a  farm  hand  near 
Newark.  He  then  went  to  Galena,  Illinois,  where  he 
learned  brewing,  at  which  he  worked  until  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  Rebellion  in  1S61,  when  he  enlisted  as 
a  private  in  Company  F,  Twelfth  Regiment,  Illinois 
Volunteer  Infantry,  and  served  during  the  whole  war, 
his  regiment  being  among  the  first  out  and  last  to 
return.  He  was  promoted  from  its  ranks  to  the  posi- 
tion of  Corporal,  then  as  Sergeant,  and  during  the 
last  two  years  of  the  war  was  Orderly  Sergeant  of 
his  company.  He,  with  his  company  and  regiment, 
participated  in  the  Battle  of  Corinth,  siege  of  Atlanta, 
and  in  all  the  engagements  in  General  Sherman's 
celebrated  march  through  Georgia  from  Atlanta  to 
the  sea.  His  regiment,  called  the  ''  Bandbox,"  was 
reputed  for  bravery  and  endurance,  and  as  an  officer. 
Sergeant  Lauck  was  highly  esteemed  by  his  comrades. 
The  writer  of  this  sketch  was  informed  by  a  comrade 
of  Sergeant  Lauck's  that  after  the  battle  of  Alla- 
toona,  Georgia,  he  was  ordered  by  the  company  com- 
mander to  call  the  roll;  but,  as  he  looked  along  the 
line  and  saw  the  vacant  places  of  the  many  comrades 
who  had  fallen,  his  heart  failed  him,  and,  with  a  tear 
coursing  down  his  battlc-smoke-bcgrimed  face,  he  re- 
ported to  the  officer,  "All  present  or  accounted  for,"  in 
faltering  words,  without  calling  the  roll  as  ordered. 
He  was  discharged  with  his  regiment   at  Springfield, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


283 


Illinois,  in  the  latter  part  of  July,  1865.  He  then 
returned  to  Galena  and  resumed  work  as  a  brewer  at 
the  brewery,  which  he  left  when  he  enlisted  in  the 
Union  army.  There  he  worked  until  186S,  when  he 
came  to  California.  He  first  located  at  San  Fran- 
cisco, where  he  worked  in  the  National  Brewery  for 
five  years,  when,  in  1873,  he  went  to  Castroville,  Monte- 
rey County,  California.  There  he  purchased  a  brew- 
cry,  and  carried  on  brewing  until  1870,  when  he  closed 
it  and  came  to  Santa  Clara,  and  purchased  the  Santa 
Clara  Brewery,  where  he  has  carried  on  that  business 
since.  Mr.  Lauck  has  proved  himself  a  successful 
business  man,  and  although  he  left  his  parents  and 
native  land  a  mere  lad,  and  without  money,  to  begin 
life  for  himself  in  a  strange  land,  he  saved  his  earn- 
ings, which  have  proved  a  stepping-stone  to  his  busi- 
ness success  and  present  prosperity. 

November  16,  1865,  he  was  married,  at  Galena,  Illi- 
nois, to  Magdellcna  Eberhard,  who  died  at  Santa 
Clara,  California,  April  1 1,  1884.  To  them  were  born 
seven  children:  Julia  C,  Emma  S.,  wife  of  Samuel 
Oberdeener,  of  Santa  Clara,  Mary  Magdellena,  George 
A.,  Frank,  Clara,  and  Louisa.  All  his  children,  ex- 
cepting his  married  daughter,  are  still  with  him. 


piRANK  F.  JEWELL,  D.D.,  was  born  November 
^l"  9.  1830,  at  Floyd,  Oneida  County,  New  York. 
'f  He  is  one  of  five  children,  and  the  only  son  of 
Erastus  and  Phenie  (Miner)  Jewell.  He  was  reared 
on  the  farm  and  educated  in  the  public  schools  and 
select  academies  until  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  when 
he  began  teaching  in  his  native  county.  For  nine 
years  he  taught,  and  during  that  time  pursued  farm- 
ing on  his  father's  farm  two  years.  After  becoming 
of  age  he  was  elected  to,  and  held,  minor  township 
offices,  and  in  1855  was  elected  Justice  of  the  Peace, 
holding  that  office  by  re-election  four  years,  and  dur- 
ing that  time  studied  law.  Before  completing  his  law 
course  he  was  converted  and  united  with  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church  at  Orwell,  Oswego  County,  New 
York,  after  which  he  abandoned  the  study  of  law  and 
took  up  theology.  In  1859  he  was  placed  in  charge 
of  the  church  at  Heuvelton,  St.  Lawrence  County, 
New  York,  that  being  his  first  pastorate.  He  then 
filled  consecutively  the  pulpits  at  Malone,  P'ranklin 
County,  Adams,  Jefferson  County,  Ilion,  Herkimer 
County,  and  Oswego  city,  New  York.  He  was  then, 
in  1872,  transferred  to  the  Howard  Street  Methodist 
Episcojml    Church.   .San  Francisco,   California,  filling 


that  pulpit  three  years.  In  1875  he  was  placed  in 
charge  of  the  Central  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
San  Francisco,  and  in  iS78the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  at  San  Jose,  California.  In  1881  he  was  re- 
turned to  the  Howard  Street  Church  at  San  Fran- 
cisco, where  he  remained  three  years,  when,  in  1884,  he 
founded  the  Simpson  Memorial  Church  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, which  was  organized  with  a  membership  of  only 
eighteen,  and  with  no  house  of  worship.  The  mem- 
bership at  the  end  of  his  term  in  1887  numbered 
about  one  hundred,  and  a  church  edifice,  one  of  the 
finest  in  the  city,  had  been  erected,  at  a  cost  of  $40,- 
000.  In  September,  1887,  he  was  returned  to  the 
pastorate  of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at 
San  Jose.  Before  coming  to  California,  he,  from  1868 
to  1S72,  was  Secretary  of  the  Central  New  York  Con- 
ference, and  in  1872  was  elected  a  delegate  by  that 
Conference  to  the  General  Conference  at  Brooklyn, 
New  York,  and  in  1884  was  sent  by  the  California 
Conference  as  a  delegate  to  the  General  Conference  at 
Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania.  In  1874  the  University 
of  the  Pacific  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  D.  D., 
being  the  first  conferred  upon  any  by  that  institution. 
In  1849  Mr.  Jewell  was  married,  at  Orwell,  New 
York,  to  Miss  Charlotte  M.  Brooks,  daughter  of 
Charles  and  Fidelia  (Strong)  Brooks,  of  that  place. 
Three  children  were  born  to  them:  Octavia  S.,  wife  of 
C.  J.  Moyes,  died  at  San  Francisco  in  1882,  aged 
thirty  years;  Orla  H.,  late  member  of  the  San  Fran- 
cisco Produce  Exchange,  died  in  San  Francisco  in 
1884,  aged  thirty  years;  and  Estella,  wife  of  Thomas 
G.  VValkington,  a  member  of  the  San  Francisco  Prod 
uce  Exchange,  and  a  resident  of  that  city. 


>=t^=^ 


|raNDREW  FINLEY  McAFEE.  The  subject 
(3^1^  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Garrard  County, 
'^-  Kentucky,  on  March  22,  1836.  When  one  year 
of  age  his  parents  removed  to  Platte  County,  Missouri, 
and  took  up  land,  and  in  this  vicinity  Mr.  McAfee 
resided  until  twenty-five  years  of  age,  gathering  a 
practical  education  from  a  busy  life  of  labor,  and 
gleaning  such  book  learning  as  is  obtainable  at  the 
public  schools.  In  1863  he  went  to  Leavenworth, 
Kansas,  and  for  eight  years  was  a  master  builder  in 
the  government  employ.  He  then  returned  to  Mis- 
souri, residing  in  Harrisonville,  Cass  County,  where 
he  erected  a  large  public-school  building  and  other 
important  edifices.  In  1874  Mr.  McAfee  came  to 
California    and    at    once    entered    the    works    of  the 


284 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


Pacific  Manufacturing  Company,  in  Santa  Clara,  as 
draughtsman  and  foreman  of  the  works.  He  has  re- 
mained with  them  ever  since,  his  skill  and  practical 
experience  as  an  architect  and  builder  standing  them 
in  good  stead. 

Mr.  McAfee  is  a  man  of  the  times,  one  who  h-is 
risen  by  sheer  force  of  brains,  and  although  without 
technical  education  has,  by  his  natural  aptitude  for 
applied  mechanics  and  the  mechanical  arts,  arrived  at 
a  certainty  of  knowledge  excelled  by  few.  His  long 
and  satisfactory  performance  of  his  duties  with  the 
company,  the  efficient  direction  of  the  varied  and  ex- 
tended operation  of  the  works,  and  his  steady  and 
persistent  advancement  of  their  best  interests,  manifest 
his  fitness  for  positions  of  responsibility,  and  his  abil- 
ity to  manage  extensive  affairs. 

Mr.  McAfee  was  married,  in  1863,  to  Mrs.  Paine,  a 
native  of  Louisiana,  whom  he  met  while  visiting 
Missouri.  They  have  four  children  :  Flora,  Jesse, 
Mattie,  and  George  Andrew,  all  residing  with  their 
parents  at  their  handsome  residence  in  the  Davis  and 
Chapman  tract  between  San  Jose  and  Santa  Clara. 
Mr.  McAfee  was  a  member  of  the  Town  Council  of 
Santa  Clara  for  eight  years,  sending  in  his  resignation 
on  April  i,  1888,  on  moving  outside  the  town  limits. 
He  has  also  been  a  member  of  various  county  com- 
mittees, and  has  frequently  been  solicited  to  stand 
for  offices  in  the  election  gift  of  his  fellow-citizens, 
but  has  invariably  refused,  feeling  that  the  calls  of 
private  duties  and  the  engagements  of  business  pre- 
cluded public  service.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Ma- 
sonic Order,  holding  an  honorable  place  in  Friendship 
Lodge,  No.  210,  Howard  Chapter,  No.  14,  R.  A.  M., 
and  San  Jose  Commandery,  No.  10,  Knights  Temp- 
lars, and  also  a  member  in  good  standing  of  the 
A.  O.  U.  W.  Mr.  McAfee's  father  was  named 
George,  a  mechanic  and  practical  man.  His  grand- 
father and  his  two  brothers  came  out  from  Scotland 
and  accompanied  General  Boone  into  Kentucky 
when  it  was  a  wilderness,  being  pioneers  of  that  State. 
His  mother  was  of  English  descent.  Both  his  parents 
died  in  extreme  old  age  in  Missouri. 


tEORGE  WASHINGTON  TOWLE  was   born 
.      in  the  town  of  Newfield,   Maine,  November    i  5, 
■jp    1 8 10.     His    father  was  Major  Josiah  Tovvle,    a 
native  of  New   Hampshire,  and  was  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  that  portion  of  the  then   Province  of 
Maine.     He  was  a  successful  business  man  and  rep- 


resented his  town  in  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts, 
at  Boston.  He  was  twice  married,  his  second  wife 
being  Miss  Nancy  Doe,  a  daughter  of  a  prosperous 
farmer  of  Parsonfield,  Maine.  George  Washington 
was  the  first-born  son  of  his  mother.  He  received  a 
common-school  education,  supplemented  by  a  few 
terms  in  academies  at  Frycburg  and  Effingham.  At 
twenty  years  of  age  he  engaged  in  business  as  a  mer- 
chant at  Lincoln,  Penobscot  County,  Maine,  and  gave 
his  personal  attention  to  the  business  until  the  fall  of 
1839. 

Owing  to  the  disagreement  of  the  commissioners 
appointed  by  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  to 
locate  the  boundary  line  between  Maine  and  New 
Brunswick,  there  was  for  a  long  time  a  heavily  tim- 
bered tract  of  wild  land  larger  than  several  of  the 
States,  called  the  disputed  territory.  This  land  was 
drained  by  rivers  flowing  into  the  Province,  and  the 
valuable  pine  timber  was  each  winter  taken  off  by  the 
people  of  the  Province.  This  state  of  facts  was  rep- 
resented to  the  general  government,  and  the  necessity 
of  the  settlement  of  the  boundary  urged,  but  without 
effect.  Maine  finally  resolved  to  protect  her  property, 
and  in  January,  1839,  the  Legislature  passed  an  act 
instructing  the  State  Land  Agent  and  Sheriff  of 
Penobscot  County  to  raise  an  armed  force  of  300  men 
and  take  possession  of  the  territory  and  arrest  all 
persons  found  trespassing  there.  He  was  asked  to 
raise  a  company,  and  in  February  of  that  year  led  his 
company  100  or  more  miles  into  the  disputed  territory. 

This  act  of  Maine  caused  a  great  excitement  in  the 
Province,  and  the  British  troops  quartered  there  were 
ordered  to  proceed  to  the  disputed  ground,  and  the 
governor  of  Maine  ordered  out  the  militia.  In  the 
meantime  the  volunteers  were  re-inforced  and  moved 
down  the  Aroostook  River  some  seventy-five  miles 
and  took  a  position  on  a  hill  that  commanded  the 
line  as  claimed  by  Maine  and  the  Aroostook  River. 
Upon  this  hill  they  built  a  block-house  of  heavy 
timbers  and  surrounded  it  with  palisades,  and  named 
it  Fort  Fairfield.  While  this  was  in  progress  General 
Scott  was  sent  by  the  general  government  on  a  mis- 
sion of  peace  to  the  Province,  and  succeeded  in  pre- 
venting bloodshed.  On  the  arrival  of  the  militia  the 
volunteers  were  dismissed,  and  he  returned  to  his 
business.  In  the  fall  of  1S39  he  was  asked  to  take 
charge  of  this  post  in  a  half  civil  and  half  military 
capacity,  as  assistant  land  agent  and  captain,  and 
with  some  forty  men  he  took  charge  of  the  fort.  That 
winter  he  arrested  the  proprietors  and  confiscated  the 
teams  of  some  half  dozen  large  camps  of  trespassers, 


BIO  GRA  PHICA  L  SKETCHES. 


285 


which  discouraged  any  further  attempts  of  the  kind- 
He  remained  there  until  1841,  when  he  resigned,  and 
soon  afterward  the  place  was  occupied  by  United 
States  troops. 

He  then  went  into  business  at  Presque  Isle  as 
farmer,  lumberman,  and  merchant.  In  the  spring  of 
1849  he  closed  his  business  there,  moved  to  Bangor, 
and  became  connected  with  a  joint-stock  company 
that  purchased  and  loaded  a  vessel,  and  sailed  for  Cal- 
ifornia November  i,  1849,  as  President  of  the  com- 
pany, arriving  in  April,  1850.  He  and  a  few  others 
went  to  the  mines  of  the  Yuba  and  Feather  Rivers. 
Owing  to  sickness  he  left  mining  and  went  into  busi- 
ness in  Marysville,  as  furniture  manufacturer  and 
hotel-keeper.  He  left  there  in  1852,  and  for  a  short 
time  engaged  in  the  commission  business  and  keeping 
a  boarding  and  lodging  house  in  San  Francisco.  He 
sold  out  there  and  came  to  Santa  Clara  and  purchased 
the  land  where  he  now  lives. 

In  early  life  he  was  a  Democrat,  and  was  elected  by 
the  Legislature  of  Maine  a  member  of  the  Governor's 
Council  from  the  Seventh  District,  and  served  one 
term. 

In  1856  he  took  an  active  part  in  the  organization 
of  the  Republican  party  in  this  county,  and  remains 
a  Republican. 

In  1834  he  was  married,  in  Penobscot  County,  to 
Miss  Hephziba  Flint  Watson,  a  native  of  that  county 
and  a  descendant  of  the  Flint  family,  prominent  in 
that  State,  and  a  daughter  of  Rev.  Edmond  Watson, 
of  Penobscot  County.  Both  are  m.embers  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church.  They  have  two  living  chil- 
dren: Charles  B.,  a  teacher  at  Vallcjo,  California,  and 
George  W.,  Jr.,  an  attorney  of  San  P"rancisco.  They 
lost  four  children:  Helen  Mar,  who  died  April  12, 
1855,  aged  eighteen  years;  Julia  Katie,  October  20, 
1857,  aged  twelve  years;  Edwin  Henry,  October  30, 
1857,  aged  eighteen  years;  and  Elisha  A.,  November 
19,  1 86 1,  aged  twenty  years. 


^^AMUEL  OBERDEENER,  druggist  of  Santa 
^  Clara,  was  born  at  San  Francisco,  California,  Sep- 
i"  tember  14,  1859.  His  father,  Moses  Oberdeener, 
deceased,  was  a  prominent  druggist  and  prosperous 
business  man  at  Santa  Clara  for  a  number  of  years. 
Samuel  removed  with  his  father's  family  from  San 
Francisco  to  Santa  Clara  when  he  was  eleven  years  of 
age.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  graduated  at  the 
Santa    Clara    High    School    with    the  class   of  1874. 


He  then  entered  his  father's  drug-store  as  a  clerk,  at 
Santa  Clara,  to  learn  the  drug  business.  In  1S79  he 
entered  the  Department  of  Pharmacy  in  the  State 
University  of  California,  at  San  Francisco,  at  which 
he  graduated  with  honor  in  1880,  receiving  the  gold 
medal  awarded  for  his  high  standing  in  his  class. 
Returning  to  Santa  Clara,  he  clerked  in  his  father's 
drug-store  until  September  i,  18S2,  when  he  became 
his  father's  successor  by  purchase. 

Politically,  he  is  a  Republican.  In  188S  he  re- 
ceived the  unanimous  vote  for  member  of  the  Board 
of  School  Directors  for  the  town  of  Santa  Clara. 
He  is  an  Odd  Fellow,  and  holds  a  membership  in 
Santa  Clara  Lodge,  No.  52,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  which  he 
is  Past  Grand.  He  is  also  a  member  of  Santa  Clara 
Encampment,  No.  32,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  which  he  is  Past 
Chief  Patriarch  and  Treasurer.  In  1887  he  was  ap- 
pointed, by  the  Grand  Encampment  of  the  State  of 
California,  District  Deputy  Grand  Patriarch  for  the 
Thirteenth  District  of  the  State  of  California. 

April  25,  1887,  he  was  married  at  Santa  Clara  to 
Miss  Emma  Lauck,  daughter  of  George  and  Mag- 
dellena  Lauck,  of  Santa  Clara. 


M^- 


'»-yy^Jie-**- 


.MipNTONIO  FATJO  is  a  native  of  Spain,  and  was 
S^l^*'  born  in  1828,  at  Barcelona.  He  is  the  fourth 
'W  son  of  John  and  Madsona  (Ravvento)  Fatjo. 
*  In  his  fifteenth  year,  after  being  educated  in  the 
classic  school  of  Barcelona,  he  was  sent  to  South 
America  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Noguera,  on  a  tour  for 
his  health.  His  ancestors  were  of  an  old  and  wealthy 
family  of  Spain,  and  under  the  primogeniture  laws 
he,  being  the  fourth  son,  would  inherit  nothing  from 
his  father's  estate.  Knowing  this,  young  Fatjo,  on 
reaching  Santiago,  Chili,  informally  left  his  traveling 
companion,  when  a  merchant  of  that  city  came  on 
board  the  vessel,  inquiring  for  educated  young  Span- 
iards who  would  make  good  clerks.  He  was  em- 
ployed as  a  clerk  in  the  wholesale  dry-goods  house  of 
Infanta  Bros.,  of  Santiago.  In  Chili  young  men 
of  old  Spanish  families  are  sought  after  to  be  em- 
ployed as  mercantile  clerks,  and  the  father  of  young 
Fatjo  being  prominently  known  he  easily  obtained 
the  situation,  when  he  abandoned  the  voyage  pro- 
posed by  his  father.  He  remained  with  Infanta  Bros., 
at  Santiago,  for  six  years,  when,  in  1849,  hearing  of 
the  fabulous  gold  finds  in  California,  and  crazed  by  the 
reports,  he  conceived  the  uncontrollable  desire  to  visit 
those  rich  fields,  and,  asking  for  a  leave  of  absence,  he 


286 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


left  his  place  behind  the  counter,  never  to  resume 
work  again  in  Santiago.  He  came  to  Santa  Clara, 
where  he  met  Joseph  Argues,  with  whom  he  became 
associated,  and  with  whom  he  was  connected  in  busi- 
ness many  years,  dealing  in  cattle  and  carrying  on 
mercantile  business  in  Santa  Clara. 

At  Santiago,  Chili,  in  1847,  he  was  married  to  M. 
Salcedo,  who  died  at  Barcelona,  Spain,  in  1865,  and 
by  whom  he  had  five  children  :  Antonio,  Amelia, 
John,  Clorinda,  and  Luis. 

Twice  Mr.  Fatjo  has  been  obliged,  on  account  of 
failing  health,  to  visit  Spain,  the  first  time  spending 
only  a  few  months,  but  at  another  twelve  years,  his 
sons  who  were  associated  with  him  still  carrying  on 
the  mercantile  business  at  Santa  Clara.  He  married 
his  second  wife,  Mrs.  Raventos,  in  Santiago,  Chili,  in 
1S77.  He  and  his  family  are  Catholics  and  members 
of  the  Catholic  Church  at  Santa  Clara. 

Mr.  Fatjo  has  had  an  active  business  life,  and  suc- 
cess has  crowned  his  efforts,  and  now,  having  his  sons, 
who  are  still  connected  with  him,  to  bear  the  burden 
of  business  pursuits,  he  has  in  a  measure  retired,  and 
is  peacefully  and  happily  spending  the  declining 
years  of  his  life  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  children  and 
grandchildren,  blessed  with  all  that  makes  home 
pleasant  and  life  happy. 

^..  :=^-@^jg>-c=:  .^^ 


||ACOB  EBERHARD,  proprietor  of  the  Santa 
P^  Clara  Tannery,  at  Santa  Clara,  is  prominently 
■*"  known,  not  only  in  California,  but  also  in  many 
of  the  large  islands  of  the  Pacific  and  the  various 
States  where  the  products  of  his  extensive  tannery 
find  a  market. 

He  was  born  in  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Baden,  Ger- 
many, in  1837,  and  brought  to  America  by  his  par- 
ents, Michael  and  Magdellena  (Soth)  Eberhard,  when 
he  was  fifteen  years  of  age,  they  settling  at  Galena, 
Illinois,  where  young  Eberhard  learned  the  trade  of 
harness  and  saddle  making.  He  afterward  traveled 
through  Wisconsin,  working  at  his  trade  as  a  journey- 
man until  1858,  when  in  March  of  that  year  he  came 
to  California  via  Panama.  Here  he  was  variously 
employed  at  his  trade,  or  as  a  farm  hand,  or  a  miner 
in  the  gold  diggings,  until  1862,  when  he  opened  a 
harness  shop  in  Sacramento,  carrying  on  that  busi- 
ness there  until  1865,  when  became  to  Santa  Clara 
and  purchased  the  tannery  that  was  founded  in  1848, 
and  engaged  in  tanning  all  kinds  of  leather  for  the 
markets.     Beginning   on    a   small   scale,  he   has    in- 


creased its  capacity  to  the  largest  of  the  kind  in  the 
State,  requiring  seventy  men  to  perform  the  labors  in 
its  various  departments. 

Mr.  Eberhard  is  a  plain,  unostentatious  man,  who 
from  an  indigent  journeyman  harness-maker,  has,  by 
his  industry,  frugality,  and  good  judgment,  raised 
himself  to  the  plane  of  California's  leading  manu- 
facturers. His  leathers,  from  the  finest  Moroccos  to 
the  heaviest  sole-leather,  are  found  in  the  marts  of 
North  and  South  America,  the  islands  of  the  oceans, 
and  of  Europe.  In  the  community  in  which  he  lives 
he  is  highly  esteemed  for  his  integrity  and  benevo- 
lence. He  is  a  member  of  no  church,  but  is  a  mem- 
ber of  True  Fellowship  Lodge,  No.  238,  I.  O.  O.  F., 
of  Santa  Clara.  In  1864  he  was  married,  at  Santa 
Clara,  to  Mary  Glein,  a  resident  of  that  village.  To 
them  were  born  ten  children,  all  of  whom  are  still 
with  them. 


|IM  C.  BRIGGS,  D.  D.,  is  a  native  of  Rome,  Oneida 
<s^^  County,  New  York.  Plis  parents  were  both 
s^  teachers  in  their  youth,  and  his  father  was  a 
t  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812.  After  the  war  was 
over  his  attention  was  turned  to  farming,  and  he  lived 
to  the  ripe  old  age  of  ninety-two  years.  A  year  after 
the  birth  of  M.  C.  Briggs  his  parents  removed  to 
Martinsburg,  Lewis  County,  New  York,  where  they 
remained  until  he  was  eight  years  of  age,  when  they 
emigrated  to  Ohio  and  settled  at  Concord,  in  what  is 
now  Lake  County.  There  he  worked  as  a  farmer's 
boy,  and  attended  the  district  school  in  the  winter. 
At  that  time  he  was  bashful,  awkward,  sensitive  to  a 
fault,  read  such  books  as  children  rarely  read  nowa- 
days (because  he  had  access  to  no  others),  studied 
during  odd  half-hours,  and  often  at  night  till  one 
o'clock,  until  the  door  of  a  high  school  providen- 
tially was  opened  to  him.  Owing  to  his  father's  mis- 
fortunes, he  was  dependent  on  his  own  resources 
throughout  his  course  of  education,  both  classical  and 
theological. 

During  a  stay  of  a  year  and  a  half  in  Tennessee, 
license  was  given  him  to  preach.  The  kindness  re- 
ceived everywhere  in  the  South  greatly  endeared  its 
people  to  him,  although  he  abhorred  the  institution 
of  slavery  in  all  its  forms.  Returning  North,  he 
preached  for  a  time  in  the  Erie  Conference,  then 
went  to  the  Biblical  Institute  (now  the  Biblical  School 
of  the  Boston  University)  at  Concord,  New  Hamp- 
shire.    Graduating  in  June,  1850,  he  was  appointed 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


287 


by  Bishop  Morris,  as  a  missionary  to  California,  and 
sailed  from  New  York  September  9,  on  the  steamer 
which  brought  the  news  of  the  admission  of  Cali- 
fornia as  a  free  State.  October  17,  1850,  with  Rev. 
S.  D.  and  Mrs.  Simonds  and  others,  he  landed  on 
Long  Wharf,  in  San  Francisco.  On  October  10,  in 
the  following  year,  the  California  Christian  Advocate 
issued  its  first  number,  M.  C.  Briggs  and  S.  D.  Si- 
monds editors.  Months  previous  to  sustaining  this 
relation,  a  circular  came  into  his  hands  from  some 
unknown  source,  the  exposure  of  which,  by  the  Ad- 
vocate, brought  on  a  protracted  and  angry  contro- 
versy. As  he  was  forced  into  a  very  active  and  long- 
continued  participation  in  this  controversy,  it  may 
not  be  amiss  to  give  a  brief  outline  of  the  history  of 
events. 

Previous  to  the  calling  of  a  convention  to  form  a 
constitution,  an  opinion  prevailed  that  California  was 
a  country  in  which  to  get  gold  to  spend  elsewhere. 
Few  had  learned  to  regard  it  as  a  land  of  vast  re- 
sources, and  eminently  desirable  as  a  place  of  resi- 
dence. Hence  the  slavery  question  was  not  brought 
to  the  front,  and  some  wise  men  inserted  an  anti- 
slavery  clause  into  the  fundamental  law.  Before  the 
admission  of  the  State,  which  occurred,  after  a  long 
and  excited  debate,  September  7,  1850,  the  general 
view  had  greatly  changed,  and  the  "  chivalry"  ele- 
ment in  our  society  was  much  chagrined  at  its  over- 
sight, and  Southern  Members  of  Congress  interposed 
every  obstacle  to  the  admission  of  the  State.  In 
1851  a  meeting  of  pro-slavery  politicians  convened  at 
Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  to  devise  means  of  re- 
pairing the  fancied  loss  and  restoring  the  balance  be- 
tween the  free  and  the  slave  States.  Three  expedients 
were  agreed  upon  to  be  tried  in  succession.  The 
papers  outlining  the  scheme  were  so  carefully  dis- 
tributed that  Mr.  Briggs  knew  but  one  besides  him- 
self, other  than  the  known  friends  of  the  undertaking, 
who  received  a  copy.  This  paper  Mr.  Briggs  held 
quietly  for  a  considerable  time,  closely  observing  the 
movements  of  the  parties,  to  satisfy  himself  whether 
an  attempt  at  carrying  the  scheme  into  effect  would 
really  be  made.  Being  convinced  that  it  would,  he 
exposed  the  plan  in  an  editorial,  January  21,  1852. 
Many  old  Californians  will  remember  the  surprise 
and  rage  resulting.  Forced  into  a  prominence  he 
would  have  gladly  resigned,  and  impelled  by  a  con- 
viction of  duty  which  he  dared  not  disregard,  he 
joined  with  a  few  brave  men,  lectured  in  many  parts 
of  the  State,  had  his  life  threatened  many  times,  and 
sincerely  thanked  the  Lord  when  a  changed  condition 


of  popular  sentiment  left  him  free  to  retire  from  an 
arena  for  which  he  had  neither  taste  nor  ambition. 

Dr.  Briggs  is  an  earnest  worker   in  the  temperance 
cause. 


POHN  ALFRED  NACE  was  born  at  Hampstead, 
Carroll  County,  Maryland,  in  1832,  where  he 
T  was  raised.  His  parents  were  Peter  and  Susan 
(Hoover)  Nace.  His  mother  dying  when  he  was 
only  four  years  of  age,  he  was  taken  by  his  uncle, 
Daniel  Hoover.  He  was  educated  in  the  grammar 
school  of  Hampstead,  and  lived  with  his  uncle  until 
he  was  eighteen  years  of  age,  when  he  was  appren- 
ticed to  learn  the  trade  of  millwright,  serving  a  term 
of  three  years.  He  worked  at  that  trade  in  Carroll 
and  Harford  Counties,  Maryland,  three  years,  and 
during  the  winter  months,  when  the  weather  would 
not  permit  him  to  work  at  his  trade,  he  taught  school, 
teaching  seven  terms  in  the  counties  of  Carroll  and 
Harford,  Maryland,  and  York,  Pennsylvania. 

In  1857  he  discontinued  work  as  a  millwright,  and 
engaged  in  hotel-keeping  at  Abingdon,  Maryland, 
until  i860,  when  he  was  employed  to  travel  for  the 
publishing  house  of  Virtue  &  Yorston,  of  London, 
England,  and  New  York  city,  with  headquarters  at 
New  York  city.  In  1864  he  was  promoted  by  the 
same  house  to  general  agent,  and  was  located  at 
Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  1866  they  made  him 
Superintendent  of  all  the  American  agencies.  In 
1 868  he  resigned  that  position  to  accept  a  general 
agency  from  the  same  company  on  the  Pacific,  with 
his  headquarters  at  San  Francisco,  where  he  was  en- 
gaged in  the  general  book  business  until  1S70,  when, 
resigning  his  position  on  account  of  ill  health,  he  came 
to  Santa  Clara,  where  he  engaged  in  dealing  in  books 
and  stationery,  and  in  1872  added  a  job  printing-office 
to  his  business,  which  he  still  carries  on.  In  1S7S  he 
accepted  the  agency  of  Wells,  Fargo  &  Co.'s  express 
office  at  Santa  Clara,  and  at  the  same  time  was 
made  manager  of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  of- 
fice at  the  same  place.  During  1882  and  18S3  he 
edited  and  published  the  Santa  C\3.v2i  Journal. 

Politically  Mr.  Nace  is  a  Republican.  He  has 
served  one  term  of  two  years  as  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Town  Trustees,  a  term  of  two  years  as  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Education,  and  a  term  of 
one  year  as  Town  Treasurer  of  Santa  Clara.  He  is 
a  prominent  Odd  Fellow,  being  made  such  at  Abing- 
don, Maryland,  in  1S61,  and  was  made  a  Patriarch  at 


288 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


Pittsburg  in  1S65.  He  holds  a  membership  in  Santa 
Clara  Lodge,  No.  52,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  Santa  Clara  En- 
campment, No.  32,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  Canton  Pacific, 
No.  10,  Patriarchs  Militant,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  all  of  Santa 
Clara.  He  has  filled  all  the  ofifices  in  the  Subordinate 
Lodge  and  Encampment,  and  is  Past  Commander  of 
his  Canton,  of  Patriarchs  Militant,  and  is  the  present 
Grand  High  Priest  of  the  Grand  Encampment  of  the 
State  of  California. 

February  17,  1857,  he  was  married,  in  Harford 
County,  Maryland,  to  Miss  Sarah  R.  Scarff,  daughter 
of  Henry  and  Hannah  (Garretson)  Scarff.  They  are 
the  parents  of  nine  living  children:  Flora  M.,  Katie 
E.,  William  A.,  Charles  A.,  Gertrude  S.,  Estclla, 
Mabel,  Perly  A.,  and  Myrtle.  They  lost  one,  Henry, 
who  died  in  infancy.  Their  sons,  William  A.  and 
Charles  A.,  are  graduates  of  the  Santa  Clara  High 
School. 


MRVING  HERRINGTON,  Esq.,  a  Justice  of  the 
wb>  Peace  of  Santa  Clara,  was  born  at  Santa  Clara, 
T  July  9,  1859.  He  is  the  oldest  of  four  sons,  and 
one  of  six  children  of  Hon.  Dennis  W.  and  Mary  H. 
(Hazelton)  Herrington.  He  graduated  at  the  public 
High  School  of  Santa  Clara  in  the  class  of  1876,  and 
then  took  a  higher  course  at  "  Franklin  French  Acad- 
emy," at  Santa  Clara,  under  Prof.  0.  C.  Collins.  At 
the  age  of  eighteen  he  began  the  study  of  law  with  his 
father,  and  continued  three  years,  but  as  yet  has  not 
applied  for  admittance  to  the  Bar.  In  18S4  he  was 
elected  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  of  Santa  Clara,  and  re- 
elected in  1 886. 

July  29,  1885,  he  was  married,  at  Santa  Clara,  to 
Mattie  M.  Bascom,  daughter  of  Dr.  J.  C.  and  Fannie 
M.  (Jones)  Bascom.  Slic  is  a  native  of  Kentucky, 
and  came  to  Santa  Clara  with  her  parents  in  1SS3. 
She  is  a  member  of  the  MetJiodist  Episcopal  Cliurch. 
Mr.  Herrington  is  an  Odd  Fellow  and  member  of 
Santa  Clara  Lodge,  No,  52,  I.  O.  O.  F. 


-^^^- 


|MkILTON  W.  BECK,  contractor  and  builder  of 
b^O'^  Santa  Clara,  came  o\crland  by  wagon  train  to 
n^-  California  in  the  summer  of  1852.  Locating 
'  first  at  Placerville,  he  worked  in  the  gold 
diggings  till  the  fall  of  1854,  when  he  went  to  San 
F'rancisco  and  worlced  at  his  trade,  that  of  mason 
and   plasterer;  and,  mak'ing    that  city  liis   lieadquar- 


ters,  he  worked  there  and  prospected  through  the 
State,  until  1861,  when,  tiring  of  roaming  over  the 
State,  he  permanently  located  at  Santa  Clara,  and  en- 
gaged in  contracting  as  a  plasterer  and  mason. 

Mr.  Beck  was  born  in  Franklin  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania, July  4,  1830.  He  is  a  son  of  Henry  and  Mar- 
garet (Gordon)  Beck.  When  he  was  eight  years  of 
age  hii  parents  removed  to  Licking  County,  Ohio. 
He  lived  with  them  there,  and  afterward  in  Randolph 
County,  Illinois,  until  he  was  sixteen,  when  he  went 
to  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  to  learn  the  trade  of  plasterer 
and  mason,  serving  an  apprenticeship  of  three  years; 
and  he  worked  there  until  he  crossed  the  plains  for 
California.  He  secured  only  a  common-school  edu- 
cation. 

In  June,  1S66,  he  was  married,  at  Santa  Clara,  to 
Nina  B.  Diamond,  of  New  York.  They  have  two 
living  children:  Myrtie  A.,  a  student,  attending  the 
Cahfornia  State  Normal  School  at  San  Jose,  and 
Harry  M.,  a  clerk  in  the  stationery  department  of  the 
Bancroft  Publishing  House  at  San  Francisco. 

Mr.  Beck  is  very  unassuming  in  his  ways,  but  yet 
a  thoroughgoing  and  reliable  business  man,  and  is 
popular  as  a  master  mechanic  and  contractor.  He 
takes  pride  in  educating  his  children  and  fitting  them 
for  usefulness  in  life.  Although  not  a  church  mem- 
ber, he  is  an  attendant  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  while  his  wife  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
Church.     Politically  he  is  a  Republican. 


,-(^^^ 


PNOCH  NEEL  PINKARD  is  a  native  of  North 
Carolina,  being  born  in  Surry  County,  that 
^r  State,  in  1821.  When  eleven  years  of  age,  he 
was  taken  by  his  widowed  mother  lo  Georgia, 
where  he  lived  with  her,  in  Jaclcson  County,  until  he 
was  si.Ktcen,  when  he  went  to  Marion  County  and 
began  to  operate  for  himself  by  working  on  planta- 
tions. In  1839  he  went  to  the  State  of  Mississippi, 
where  he  was  employed  as  an  overseer  on  a  plantation 
in  De  Soto  County.  In  1840,  in  company  with  his 
brother,  he  went  to  Monroe  County,  Arkansas,  wliere 
he  suffered  from  sickness.  He  then  returned  to  Mis- 
sissippi. Having  no  schooling,  up  to  that  time,  and 
concluding  tiiat  it  was  necessary  to  have  something  of 
an  eilucation,  he  attended  school  in  De  Soto  County 
for  ten  months.  He  then  went  to  Texas,  and  was 
again  cmi)loycd  as  an  overseer  over  some  negro  slaves 
until  1S49,  when,  buying  a  plantation,  he  followed 
farming  until  1S53,  and   finding  there  was  no  money 


d-^  ^.   7'^^  S'l^^-^, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


in  that  business  there,  he  sold  out  and  came  to  Cali- 
fornia. Here  for  a  short  time  he  worked  in  gold  dig- 
gings in  Yuba  County,  when  he  went  to  Brown's  dig- 
gings in  th;  mountains  in  Plumas  County,  in  search 
of  his  brother,  who  had  preceded  him  to  California,  in 
1850.  On  finding  his  brother  he  became  associated 
with  him  in  gold  digging  there  and  at  Spanish  Flat, 
in  Sierra  County,  until  1S62,  when  he  quit  mining  and 
came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  accompanied  by  his 
brother.  Having  purchased  land  near  Saratoga,  he 
lived  there  and  farmed  until  18S2,  when,  purchasing 
a  pleasant  home  in  Santa  Clara,  he  settled  there  to 
spend  the  residue  of  his  life,  having  prudently  saved 
up  enough  to  enable  him  and  his  devoted  wife  to 
peacefully  pass  life's  closing  days  within  the  shadow 
of  the  church  of  which  they  are  both  consistent  mem- 
bers, both  being  Catholics. 

Up  to  June,  1864,  Mr.  Pinkard  had  lived  the  life  of 
a  bachelor,  and  a  greater  part  of  that  time  his  home 
was  a  bachelor's  hall;  but  at  that  date  he  was  married, 
at  Santa  Clara,  to  Catherine  Davis,  a  native  of  Ire- 
land, a  devout  Catholic  and  a  good  wife,  as  can  be 
seen  in  the  arrangement  of  their  pleasant  home. 
Orphaned  at  the  age  of  only  four  years,  and  reared 
by  a  widowed  mother  until  he  was  sixteen,  young 
Pinkard  had  to  b.uffet  the  world  for  a  living  at  a 
tender  age,  and,  manfully  meeting  the  vicissitudes  of 
life,  he  passed  from  youth  to  manhood  without  suc- 
cumbing to  the  snares  and  temptations  of  the  world, 
as  many  youths  have  in  more  favorable  circumstances; 
and,  having  passed  a  vigorous  middle  age,  he  is  now 
in  the  sear  and  yellow  leaf  of  old  age,  the  happier  for 
his  frugality  and  industry,  and  will  undoubtedly  pass 
the  rest  of  his  days  in  quietude  and  peace. 


IHLBERT  N.  van  fleet  was  born  in  Wood- 
t^FS  ville,  Mississippi,  May  7,  1846.  His  parents 
^  were  Martin  and  Elizabeth  (Jones)  Van  Fleet, 
'  the  former  a  native  of  Schenectady  County, 
New  York,  and  the  latter  of  South  Carolina.  The 
Van  Fleet  family  descended  from  the  Holland  Dutch. 
James  Van  Fleet,  the  great-grandfather  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  came  from  Holland  and  settled  at  New 
Amsterdam,  now  New  York.  Martin,  when  twenty- 
two  years  old,  went  to  Louisiana  and  from  there  to 
Mississippi,  where  he  married,  his  wife  having  been  a 
widow  and  the  owner  of  a  sugar  and  cotton  plantation 
of  3,000  acres.    They  afterward  moved  back  to  Louis- 


iana and  located  in  New  Orleans,  where  they  lived 
five  years,  when  they  moved  to  Livingston  County, 
Illinois,  remaining  there  five  years.  Mrs.  Van  Fleet 
died  there  in  1859,  and  the  next  year  Mr.  Van  Fleet 
moved  to  Seneca  County,  Ohio,  where  he  lived  three 
years.  He  was  married  again  in  Ohio,  to  Mrs.  Har- 
riet (Parks)  Burrows,  and  in  February,  1863,  came  to 
California  and  settled  in  West  Butte,  Sutter  County, 
where  he  died  in  1869.  Albert  N.  was  educated  in 
Republic,  Ohio,  and  at  Hesperian  College  at  Wood- 
land, California.  During  his  attendance  at  college  he 
taught  school  for  four  years  to  defray  his  college  ex- 
penses. He  was  married  August  5,  1865,  to  Elizabeth 
Harling,  a  native  of  Monroe  County,  Kentucky. 

After  his  marriage  he  settled  in  Yuba  County^ 
where  he  lived  eighteen  years  on  his  ranch  of  400 
acres.  In  October,  1883,  he  came  to  Santa  Clara 
County,  and  the  next  year  sold  his  farm  in  Yuba 
County  and  bought  his  place  of  forty-five  acres  on 
Fruit  Vale  Avenue,  between  Los  Gatos  and  Saratoga. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Van  Fleet  have  two  children:  Allen 
A.  and  Nora  E.,  the  latter  the  wife  of  William  Buck- 
nail,  a  resident  of  this  valley. 

Mr.  Van  Fleet  engaged  in  fruit-drying  in  1884,  and 
the  enterprise  under  his  management  has  been  very 
successful.  Extensive  improvements  have  been  made 
ea  ,h  year,  the  results  of  1887  showing  a  marked  in- 
crease over  the  previous  year,  the  drying  and  packing 
season  of  that  year  lasting  about  four  months.  For 
thirty  days  during  the  season  he  dried  thirty  tons  of 
fruit  per  day!  Mr.  Van  Fleet  employed,  in  drying 
this  large  amount  of  fruit,  two  large  evaporators  of 
the  T.  C.  Walter  manufacture,  from  fifty  to  one  hun- 
dred hands  being  employed  in  this  work,  all  white 
labor.  He  is  very  particular  in  the  handling  of  his 
fruit,  and  gives  this  department  his  personal  supervis- 
ion. The  brand  of  his  fruit  is  styled  the  "  Fairview 
Farm,"  which  readily  finds  sale  in  this  and  Eastern 
markets.  On  his  own  ranch  Mr.  Van  Fleet  has  six 
acres  of  silver  prunes  five  years  old,  twelve  acres  in 
French  prunes  and  the  rest  in  other  kinds  of  prunes 
and  peaches. 


ilffiRS.  LOUISA  FINE,  relict  of  the  late  Morgan 
(0W>  Fine,  came  with  her  husband  to  California  in 

fi849,  and,  after  a  long  and  tedious  trip  over  the 
plains,  located  in  the  beautiful  valley  of  Santa 
Clara.  She  was  born  in  Washington,  D.  C,  January 
15,  1809,  but  when  about  three  years  of  age  she  was 
taken  by  her  parents,  Richard  and  Eleanor  (Alandger) 


290 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


Belt,  to  Garrard  County,  Kentucky,  where  she  was 
reared,  and  where  in  1826  she  was  married  to  Mauzy 
Porter,  who  died  in  1828,  by  whom  she  had  two  sons, 
both  deceased.  In  1830  she  removed  with  her 
father's  family  to  Lafayette  County,  Missouri,  where, 
in  1834,  she  was  married  to  Morgan  Fine,  with  whom 
in  April,  1849,  she  started  for  California  in  pursuit  of 
health,  traveling  three  months  in  a  caravansary  of 
canvas-covered  wagons  drawn  by  ox  teams.  They 
located  on  a  tract  of  government  land  containing  160 
acres  in  Santa  Clara  County,  and  theirs  was  the  first 
house  built  between  San  Jose  and  Santa  Clara,  on  or 
near  the  Alameda,  it  being  a  rude  structure  built  of 
boards  split  out  with  a  frow,  and  in  which  they  lived 
until  they  provided  a  better  house  years  after.  Im- 
proving this  land,  they  lived  together  on  it  until  the 
death  of  Mr.  Fine,  July  17,  1879,  at  the  age  of  sev- 
enty-nine years.  They  have  four  sons  ar.d  two 
daughters:  Leagara  B.,  of  Santa  Ana,  California; 
Alexander  C,  of  Santa  Cruz  County,  California; 
Andrew,  a  physician  of  Oakland,  California;  Maria, 
wife  of  Geo.  T.  Ritch,  of  Sacramento,  this  State; 
Amanda  W.,  wife  of  J.  J.  McDaniels,  of  Santa  Clara; 
and  John,  who  is  still  with  her  at  Santa  Clara. 

In  his  youth  Mr.  Fine  became  a  member  of  the 
Christian  Church,  and  through  life  was  a  consistent 
Christian.  At  the  building  of  the  University  of  the 
Pacific,  at  San  Jose,  although  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  he  contributed  to  it 
of  his  means  and  aided  it  by  his  influence.  His 
daughter,  Mrs.  McDaniels,  was  one  of  its  first  gradu- 
ates. 

After  the  death  of  her  husband,  Mrs.  Fine  remained 
on  the  farm  until  1882,  when  she  sold  it  and  became 
a  resident  of  Santa  Clara,  with  the  intention  of  spend- 
ing the  closing  days  of  her  life  there.  In  her  girl- 
hood she  united  with  the  Christian  Church  in  Ken- 
tucky, and  she  is  now  a  member  of  the  church  at 
Santa  Clara,  being  a  member  of  the  same  denomina- 
tion for  sixty  years. 


->«+ 


M 


■A<-«- 


||OHN  HETTY,  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trus- 
^  tees  of  Santa  Clara,  and  a  mechanic,  was  born  in 
^  Baden,  Germany,  in  1822.  ]?y  the  death  of  both 
his  parents  he  was  obliged  when  quite  young  to  pro- 
vide for  himself  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  emigrated 
to  America,  locating  at  Sandusky  City,  Ohio,  where 
he  became  api)rcnticcd  to  learn  the  carpenter's  trade, 
serving  two  years.     He  followed    his   trade  at   San- 


dusky twelve  years,  when,  in  the  fall  of  1849,  he  went 
to  New  York  city  and  took  passage  on  the  sailing 
ship  Pozi'/i(rftan  for  San  Francisco.  On  account  of  the 
vessel  receiving  an  injury,  it  was  228  days  in  making 
the  voyage,  arriving  at  San  Francisco  July  29,  1850. 
It  was  detained  forty  days  at  St.  George,  one  of  the 
Bermuda  Islands,  for  repairs,  and  several  days  before 
reaching  the  island,  passengers  and  crew  were  obliged 
to  work  the  pumps  to  keep  the  ship  from  sinking. 
At  San  Francisco  he,  with  others,  purchased  a  small 
vessel,  called  a  whale-boat,  in  which  they  went  to 
Marysville,  selling  the  boat  at  the  end  of  the  voyage. 
They  mined  in  the  gold  diggings  near  Marysville, 
where  he  remained  until  1854,  when  he  came  to  Santa 
Clara  and  permanently  located. 

In  i860  he  was  married,  at  Santa  Clara,  to  Miss 
Margaret  Groh,  b)^  whom  he  has  four  children:  Louis 
B.,  an  electrician  and  bell-hanger  of  San  Francisco; 
Lucy  D.,  a  teacher  in  the  Santa  Clara  public  school; 
Mamie,  still  at  home;  and  Julius,  in  business  as  elec- 
trician with  his  brother  Louis  at  San  Francisco.  By 
a  former  wife,  deceased,  he  had  two  cliildren:  Mrs. 
Emma  Sassenrath,  of  Santa  Clara,  and  Charles,  a 
farmer  of  Colusa  County. 

He  is  a  member  of  Santa  Clara  Lodge,  No.  52, 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  of  Santa  Clara  Encampment,  No.  32, 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  has  passed  the  chairs  in  both.  He 
has  been  a  representative  in  both  the  Grand  Lodge 
and  Grand  Encampment  of  the  State  of  California, 
and  also  attended  the  Sovereign  Grand  Lodge  held 
at  San  Francisco  in  1869.  Politically,  he  is  a  Repub- 
lican. He  has  been  four  times  elected  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Santa  Clara,  having  served 
seven  years,  and  at  this  writing  is  serving  an  unex- 
pired term. 


fEOPOLD  DAHLSTROM,a  foreman  machinist 
in  the  machinist  department  of  the  Pacific  Man- 
T  ufacturing  Co.  of  Santa  Clara,  v/as  born  at  the 
village  of  Trolhatan,  Sweden,  June  4,  1843.  His 
parents  were  Lars  Magnus  Johnson  (a  sea  captain) 
and  Frcdericka  Louisa  (Mullcr)  Johnson.  His  father 
dying  when  he  was  very  young,  his  mother  was  mar- 
ried to  Arvid  Dahlstrom,  whose  name  he  bears. 
Tlirown  upon  iiis  own  resources  at  the  age  of  nine 
years,  and  remote  from  any  school,  he  had  no  school- 
ing advantages.  At  the  age  of  twelve  years  he  began 
to  learn  the  trade  of  blacksmithing  at  a  country  place 
in    Sweden   known   as  Jiidcrsfors,  and    worked  there 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


291 


until  he  was  nineteen.  He  then  went  to  Red  Rock^ 
in  Gotta  Elf,  Sweden,  where  he  worked  two  years  in 
the  shop  of  an  uncle,  and  while  with  him  attended 
evening  school,  and  with  that  and  private  study  he 
obtained  a  fair  education.  On  gaining  his  majority, 
in  1864,  he  went  on  a  sea  voyage  to  England,  making 
a  three  months'  cruise,  after  which  he  went  to  Gotten- 
berg,  Sweden,  where  he  worked  as  a  machinist  in  the 
railroad  shops  for  several  months.  He  then  went  to 
Stockholm,  Sweden,  and  worked  nearly  a  year;  re- 
turned to  Gottenberg,  and  worked  nearly  a  year; 
then  went  to  the  village  of  Leila  Edet,  where  he 
opened  a  shop  of  his  own  and  carried  on  blacksmith- 
ing  and  machine  work  until  1871,  when  he  emigrated 
to  America,  landing  at  Castle  Garden,  New  York, 
June  2,  1 87 1.  From  there  he  went  to  Moline,  Illi- 
noi-s,  where  he  was  employed  as  a  machinist  in  John 
Deere's  Plow  Works  till  October,  1882,  when  he  was 
employed  by  Messrs.  Mattison  &  Williamson,  to  come 
to  California  and  work  in  their  shop  at  Stockton  as  fore- 
man, and  was  so  employed  there  until  September,  1884, 
when  he  came  to  Santa  Clara  and  purchased  eighteen 
acres  of  land  near  Santa  Clara,  which  is  now  a  profit- 
able fruit  ranch,  where  he  enjoys  the  happiness  and 
comforts  of  a  pleasant  home,  the  product  of  his  own 
earnings.  The  special  varieties  of  fruit  that  he 
grows  are  the  apricot  and  prune.  With  his  fruit 
culture,  he  is  also  foreman  in  the  machine  department 
of  the  Pacific  Manufacturing  Company  of  Santa 
Clara,  a  position  that  he  is  well  qualified  to  fill. 

May  I,  1868,  he  was  married,  at  Gottenberg, 
Sweden,  to  Miss  Nellie  Christina  Nelson,  by  whom 
he  has  six  children:  Mrs.  Matilda  Anderson,  of  Golden 
City,  Colorado;  Mary  Lois,  Annie,  Charles  Leopold, 
Oscar  Frederick,  and  George  James.  All  of  their 
children  are  still  with  them  excepting  the  married 
daughter.  He  is  a  member  of  Charity  Lodge,  No.  6, 
1.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Stockton,  California. 


.^|\MRS.  AVELINE  chandler  is  the  relict  of 
<^(i^  Isaac  Chandler,  late  of  Santa  Clara,  who  located 
&^  in  1849  on  land  that  is  now  the  site  of  that  vil- 
lage. He  was  of  English  ancestr)'.  His  father,  Reu- 
ben, and  two  uncles,  Zachariah  and  Isaac  Chandler, 
were  among  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  who  landed  from  the 
Mayflower  on  Plymouth  Rock.  He  was  born  in  Con- 
cord, Vermont,  in  1788,  where  he  was  reared.  When 
twenty-four  years  of  age  he  went  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
where   he   engaged   in  the   mercantile  business   until 


1830,  when  he  removed  to  Jacksonville,  Illinois,  where 
he  was  in  business  until  he  came  to  California  in  1849. 
When  he  located  in  Santa  Clara,  he  was  for  a  number 
of  years  engaged  in  hotel-keeping,  and  accumulated 
considerable  property  in  Santa  Clara,  and  also  at 
Half-Moon  Pay,  and  on  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains. 
He  died  at  Santa  Clara,  September,  1872.  Mrs. 
Chandler,  nee  Aveline  Austin,  is  the  daughter  of  Owen 
and  Sarah  (Camron)  Austin.  She  was  born  at  Harris- 
burg,  Pennsylvania,  but  was  reared  in  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  and  Newport,  Kentucky.  She  was  married  in 
Cincinnati,  in  1824,  where  she  lived  with  her  husband 
and  reared  a  large  family.  In  1853  she  endured  all 
the  hardships  incident  to  traveling  over  the  plains,  to 
join  her  husband  in  California,  who  had  preceded  her 
four  years.  Mrs.  Cliandler  is  one  of  the  noblest  of 
women,  whose  many  friends  extol  her  for  her  inesti- 
mable qualities.  Her  Christian  fortitude  has  borne 
her  up  when  tried  with  trouble.  Of  her  eleven  chil- 
dren, nine  grew  to  maturity,  and  two  died  in  infancy. 
Those  living  are:  Mrs.  Martha  A.  Whittle, of  SantaCruz, 
California;  Mrs.  Emmarilla T.Jenkins,  of  Santa  Clara; 
William  A.;  Mrs.  Susannah  J.  Morgan,  of  Santa  Cruz; 
Mrs.  Mary  L.  Wilson,  of  Los  Angeles;  and  Mrs.  Julia 
C.  Hicks,  of  Santa  Clara.  John  L.  died  at  Santa 
Clara,  February  3,  1864,  aged  twenty-seven  years; 
Eliza,  wife  of  B.  F.  Whipple,  died  at  the  same  place, 
January  5,  1875,  aged  forty-four  years;  and  Albert  D., 
at  Menlo  Park,  September  18,  1879,  aged  thirty-two 
years.  Mrs.  Chandler  is  a  member  of  the  Santa  Clara 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 


|ENRY  FRANCIS  CARPENTER,  M.  D.,  was 
^  born  at  Douglas,  Massachusetts,  in  1S33.  When 
(i)  seventeen  years  of  age  he  went  with  his  parents, 
Seba  and  Malinda  (Learned)  Carpenter,  to  Wor- 
cester, Massachusetts,  where  he  lived  with  them  until 
manhood.  He  completed  his  education  in  the  Wor- 
cester High  School  in  1854,  and  in  1856  he  entered 
upon  the  Christian  ministry  as  a  minister  of  the  Ad- 
vent Christian  Church  at  Worcester,  being  ordained 
at  the  Wilbraham  camp-meeting,  Rev.  Edward  Bur- 
ham  officiating,  assisted  by  Revs.  H.  L.  Hastings  and 
S.  G.  Matthewson.  At  different  times  he  officiated  as 
pastor  at  Barry,  New  York,  Danielsonville,  Connec- 
ticut, Poultney,  Rutland,  and  North  Springfield,  Ver- 
mont, and  Fitchburg,  Massachu.setts.  In  i  S75  he  came 
to  California  and  accepted  the  pastorate  of  the  Advent 
Christian  Church  at  Vallejo,  where  he  officiated  until 


M. 


292 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD: 


1879,  when  he  came  to  Santa  Clara,  and  engaged  in 
the  practice  of  medicine  as  a  homeopathic  physician, 
he  having  studied  medicine  while  pursuing  his  minis- 
terial labors,  and  secured  a  diploma  from  the  Cali- 
fornia State  Medical  Examiners  in  1876.  The  doctor 
has  built  up  a  paying  practice,  and,  besides,  he  is  also 
editor  of  MessiaJis  Advocate  and  Herald  of  Ids  Ad- 
vent, published  at  Oakland.  He  became  its  proprie- 
tor and  editor  in  1881,  and  in  1885  he  tr.msferred  it 
to  the  Pacific  Advent  Christian  Publication  Society,  he 
being  retained  as  editor.  Although  of  a  very  frail 
constitution,  he  is  an  inveterate  worker,  and  is  con- 
stantly engaged  either  as  editor,  physician,  or  minis- 
ter.    Politically,  he  is  a  Prohibitionist. 

October  29,  1856,  he  was  married^»St  Worcester, 
Massachusetts,  to  Susie  A.  Vose,  of  East  Princeton, 
Mass  ichusetts.  They  have  two  children:  Mrs.  Lizzie 
Frances  Downs,  of  Tustin,  California;  and  Mrs.  Anna 
Martha  Worse,  of  the  vicinity  of  Santa  Clara,  Cali- 
fornia. 


|10HN  KNOWLES  was  born  at  Carlisle,  in  the 
(^  north  of  England,  August  2,  1832.  His  parents, 
W  Thomas  and  Sarah  (Iveison)  Knowles,  emigrated 
to  America  with  their  family  in  1841.  They  remained 
at  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  where  they  landed, 
until  1842,  when  they  removed  to  Salem,  Henry 
Cbunty,  Iowa.  His  father  dying  when  he  was  quite 
young,  he  was  obliged  to  assist  his  widowed  mother 
in  maintaining  her  family,  and  consequently  he  re- 
ceived only  a  limited  education.  Thinking  that  he 
could  earn  more  money  by  coming  to  California,  and 
be  better  enabled  to  assist  his  mother,  he,  in  the 
spring  of  1852,  made  arrangements  to  accompany  a 
neighbor  by  the  name  of  Henry  Brown,  for  whom  he 
was  to  drive  an  ox  team  across  the  plains,  thereby 
paying  the  expense  of  the  trip.  They  arrived  in 
August  at  a  place  between  Sacramento  and  Stock- 
ton, where  they  camped.  After  working  for  Mr. 
Brown  several  weeks,  putting  up  hay,  and  receiving 
no  pay,  as  he  supposed  he  would,  he,  nearly  destitute 
of  clothing  and  without  a  cent  of  money,  started  for 
Sacramento,  where  he  accidentally  met  ,an  old  friend 
and  school-mate,  Jackson  Ong,  by  whose  assistance  he 
obtained  board  and  lodging  until  he  found  employ- 
ment at  chopping  wood  by  the  cord  on  the  banks  of 
the  Sacramento  River  a  few  miles  from  the  city. 

Being  eager  to  earn  money  so  as  to  go  to  the  gold 
dig^'iigs,  he  over-did  and  was  laid  up  some  two  or 
three  weeks  by  sickness,  and  only  a  part  of  his  hard 


earnings  were  ever  received;  so,  after  recovering,  he 
was  again  penniless;  but,  fortunately  meeting  with 
Enos  Mendenhall,  a  friend  from  the  East,  he  was  em- 
ployed to  drive  a  freight  team,  by  which,  within  a 
month,  he  procured  money  enough  to  carry  out  his 
purpose  of  going  to  the  gold  diggings.  He  went  to 
Doty's  Flat,  in  Calaveras  County,  where  he  was  em- 
ployed at  $4.00  per  day,  and  during  the  following- 
winter  he  sent  his  mother  $250.  In  the  spring  of 
1853  he  went  to  Sierra  County,  where  he  successfully 
mined  on  a  large  scale  for  nearly  sixteen  years,  up  to 
1868,  at  the  diggings  of  Pine  Grove  and  Howland 
Flat.  In  i860  he  made  a  visit  East,  and  returning 
he  brought  his  mother  and  family  with  him.  In  1879 
he  engaged  in  the  grocery  business  at  Santa  Clara, 
and  still  carries  on  a  successful  business  in  that  place. 
He  is  an  Odd  Fellow,  being  a  member  of  True  Fel- 
lowship Lodge,  No.  238,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Santa  Clara. 
January  22,  1863,  when  on  a  second  visit  East,  he 
was  married,  at  Mount  Pleasant,  Iowa,  to  Amanda 
Pepper,  a  daughter  of  John  Pepper,  of  that  place. 
Before  going  for  his  bride,  he  had  provided  a  well- 
furnished  home  and  a  ranch  near  Santa  Clara,  which 
he  still  owns.  They  have  three  children:  Oliver  J.,  a 
farmer  in  San  Luis  Obispo  County;  F"annie  S.,  and 
Nettie,  still  with  them;  the  former  daughter  is  a  grad- 
uate of  the  High  School  of  Santa  Clara,  with  the  class 
of  1885. 


-^.g<^- 


H-<-<-<— 


vS 

.Ijp  H.  DAVIES,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
G^'  born  in  Sidney,  Kennebec  County,  Maine, 
4^  June  6,  1825.  His  father,  Charles  S.  Davies, 
Esq.,  was  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth  College, 
and  a  well-to-do  farmer,  who  had  seven  children,  all 
Republican  sons,  five  older  than  E.  H.,  and  one 
younger.  All  were  thorough  mechanics,  but  all  took 
their  turn  at  farming  until  they  were  large  enough  to 
launch  out  in  the  world  for  themselves.  At  the  age 
of  nineteen  he  went  to  Boston,  where  he  hired  out  to 
Messrs.  Fuller  &  Son,  bell-hangers.  No.  17  Devonshire 
Street,  at  $13  and  board  per  month.  This  gave 
Mr.  Davies  a  good  opportunity  of  seeing  all  parts  of 
the  "  Hub,"  and  also  of  .seeing  the  interior  of  some 
of  the  finest  dwellings,  hotels,  and  stcamship.s,  of  which 
he  took  advantage.  In  1S45  he  returned  to  Maine, 
and  with  his  brother  Aloiizo  engaged  in  manufactur- 
ing fancy  sk-ighs  and  buggies.  At  this  he  worked 
until  1850,  with  fair  .success,  but  thinking  a  change  of 
climate  might  do  him  good,  he  started  for  Kenosha, 
Wisconsin,  going  to  Buffalo  by  rail,  and  from  there  to 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


293 


Kenosha  by  way  of  the  Great  Lakes,  on  the  steamer 
Empire,  which  consumed  four  and  a  half  days'  time. 
He  was  tliere  employed  in  his  brother  Joshua's  ma- 
chine shop  for  one  year,  and  then  started  for  Maine, 
by  way  of  Chicago.  When  he  reached  Chicago,  being 
pleased  with  the  appearance  of  the  city,  he  thought 
he  would  remain  and  seek  employment.  The  first 
place  he  entered  was  the  machine  shop  of  P.  W. 
Gates,  situated  on  Canal  Street.  When  Mr.  Davics 
asked  for  a  situation,  Mr.  Gates  inquired  what  kind  of 
work  he  wanted  to  do.  Mr.  Davies  replied  that  it 
made  but  little  difference.  "Ah!"  said  Mr.  Gates,  in 
a  sarcastic  way,  "  I  presume  you  are  a  jack  of  all 
trades  and  good  at  none;  we  don't  want  you,  sir." 
Mr.  Davies  thought  he  would  make  one  more  trial 
before  leaving  Chicago,  and  the  next  place  he  tried 
was  the  extensive  machine  shop  of  Messrs.  H.  H. 
Scoville  &  Sons,  situated  on  Canal  Street,  near  Mr. 
Gates'.  Here  Mr.  Davies  was  very  particular  to  state 
the  kind  of  work  he  wanted.  Mr.  Scoville,  the  fore- 
man, asked  him  if  he  could  run  a  tennoning  machine, 
to  which  he  replied  that  he  did  not  know,  as  he  never 
had  run  one.  Mr.  Scoville  looked  him  in  the  eye  and 
said,  "  I  know  you  can;  you  look  as  though  you  could 
run  anything;  you  can  go  to  work  at  once."  He  re- 
mained there  eighteen  months,  and  was  quite  a  favorite 
in  the  shop,  no  one  getting  higher  pay  than  he. 

In  1852  he  returned  to  Maine,  and  engaged  in  his 
old  business,  that  of  carriage-making.  In  February, 
1853,  he,  with  H.  A.  Bachelder,  S.  S.  Sargent, 
Henry  Hatch,  and  Nathan  Jordan,  all  of  Oakland, 
Maine,  and  about  a  hundred  other  Yankees,  took 
passage  on  board  the  ship  P/ymouih  Rock,  at  Boston, 
bound  for^  Melbourne,  Australia,  arriving  there  in 
eighty-eight  days,  being  the  quickest  passage  that  had 
ever  been  made  from  Boston  to  Australia,  by  any 
craft  whatever.  After  arriving  at  Melbourne,  Mr. 
Davies,  with  his  party  of  four,  pitched  their  tent  in 
Canvastown,  which  is  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
Yarror  River.  They  were  compelled  to  stay  for  five 
days  before  their  tools  and  provisions,  which  weighed 
several  tons,  could  be  taken  from  the  ship.  After 
selling  a  part  of  their  provisions,  and  storing  several 
trunks  of  clothing  and  notions,  they  hired  a  two-horse 
dray,  and  went  to  the  "Mclvor"  diggings,  a  distance 
of  100  miles,  making  the  journey  in  eight  days. 
There  the  diggings  were  poor,  and  Mr.  Davics  con- 
cluded to  let  the  rest  of  his  party  dig  while  he  was 
making  candles,  filing  saws,  half-soling  boots,  and 
keeping  boarding-house.  After  a  few  months'  stay, 
they  hired  another  dray,  and  went  to  the  "  Bendigo" 


diggings,  which  were  eighty  miles  distant,  and  which 
were  better  than  the  "  Mclvor."  However,  the  stay 
here  also  was  short.  Mr.  Davies,  not  wishing  to  hire 
another  team  to  move  their  belongings,  concluded  to 
build  a  hand-cart,  which,  when  finished,  weighed  1 10 
pounds,  and  on  it  was  placed  some  500  pounds  of 
tools  and  provisions,  and  the  party  of  five  made  a 
start  for  the  famous  "Ballarat"  diggings,  distant  225 
miles,  which  was  accomplished  in  ten  days,  in  just 
half  the  time  traveled  by  horses.  Here  the  diggings 
were  rich,  and  the  party  did  well.  The  gold,  which 
was  coarse,  was  put  in  large-mouthed  pickle-bottles. 
Mr.  Davies  sent  his  gold  to  Philadelphia  and  had  it 
coined,  which  averaged  $21.30  per  ounce,  after  paying 
for  coining.  After  about  one  year's  tarry  in  Aus- 
tralia, the  startling  news  that  enormously  ricli  gold 
diggings  had  been  discovered  on  the  Amazon  River 
was  received.  He  at  once,  with  his  party  of  four, 
shipped  on  board  the  vessel  Sac  Siisa,  bound  for 
Callao,  South  America.  On  arriving  in  Callao,  he 
found  the  -report  was  untrue,  and  he  therefore  took  up 
his  quarters  at  Lima  for  a  few  weeks.  While  in  Lima 
he  was  offered  $7.00  and  board  per  day  at  "  some 
mechanical  work;"  this  not  being  quite  definite  enough, 
he  declined  the  offer.  Soon  after  leaving  Lima,  he 
found  that  the  "  some  mechanical  work  "  was  to  make 
counterfeit  money,  for  which  the  instigator  was 
brought  to  justice.  From  Callao,  Mr.  Davies  shipped 
on  board  the  steamer  Santiago,  bound  for  Panama,  at 
which  place  he  got  employment,  making  specie  boxes. 
After  three  weeks'  stay  at  Panama,  he  embarked  on 
the  steamer  Jo/ui  L.  Siczv/is,  bound  for  San  Francisco, 
California,  arriving  there  in  May,  1854.  Determining 
to  have  a  trial  at  mining,  he  went  directly  to  the 
mines  in  Tuolumne  County,  but  it  did  not  take  him 
long  to  find  that  California  mining  was  not  his  forte, 
and  he  shortly  afterward  returned  to  San  Francisco. 
In  the  fall  of  1854  he  ran  the  first  threshing-machine 
ever  made  in  California.  During  the  year  1855  he 
put  up  a  starch  factory  in  the  foot-hills  in  the  vicinity 
of  San  Leandro,  after  which  he  worked  on  the  Dow 
distillery  at  Mission  Dolores,  on  Mission  Creek,  where 
he  set  up  the  engine;  he  was  seven  months  at  this 
work,  for  which  he  received  $5.00  per  day  and  board. 
He  then  went  to  Sacramento,  where  he  worked  three 
months  in  the  Sacramento  Iron  Works,  being  there 
at  the  time  the  steamer  Pearl  blew  up,  near  Sacra- 
mento, killing  seventy-six  persons !  While  in  Sacra- 
mento the  sash  and  door  factory  of  Mr.  Ames,  situated 
on  Market  Street,  San  Francisco,  was  destroyed  by 
fire;  in   this  factory  Mr.  Davies  had  worked,  and   at 


294 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


the  time  of  the  fire  had  his  keepsakes,  specimens, 
sketch-books,  and  extra  clothes  stored,  all  of  which 
were  lost. 

Mr.  Davies  has  been  somewhat  of  a  traveler,  having 
been  over  the  Isthmus  twice,  across  the  continent  four 
times,  and  having  traveled  the  entire  circumference  of 
the  earth  once.  During  his  travels  in  foreign  lands, 
he  has  never  been  idle.  Being  somewhat  of  an  artist, 
he  has  made  sketches  of  numerous  places  and  things. 
Conspicuous  among  these  sketches  are  some  of  the 
native  trees  of  Australia,  such  as  the  gum,  box,  Iron- 
bark,  stringy  bark,  light-wood,  and  others,  none  of 
which  grow  to  the  height  of  the  gum  of  California, 
owing  to  the  inferiority  of  the  Australian  soil,  com- 
pared with  that  of  California.  In  the  fall  of  1855  he 
located  in  Santa  Clara,  managing  a  small  shop  for 
L.  A.  Gould,  the  artesian  well-borer,  for  one  year. 
In  1S56  he  started  the  Santa  Clara  Machine  Shop, 
situated  on  Main  Street,  which  he  conducted  for  four- 
teen years,  by  hand,  wind,  and  steam.  In  1S67  he 
closed  up  this  establishment,  married  a  Mrs.  Barney 
(who  died  fifteen  years  later),  after  which  he  went  to 
Massachusetts  and  purcliased  one  of  the  most  com- 
plete outfits  for  a  first-class  machine  shop  that  has 
ever  been  shipped  to  the  Pacific  Coast.  In  1S68  he 
built  the  present  "  Davies  Machine  Shop,"  which  is 
sixty-six  by  sixty-six  feet,  three  stories  high,  and 
situated  on  the  corner  of  Jackson  and  Liberty  Streets. 
During  the  thirty-three  years  that  Mr.  Davies  has 
been  in  Santa  Clara,  he  has  carried  on  business  for 
himself  thirty-two  years.  His  business  has  been  ex- 
clusively making  and  repairing  agricultural  imple- 
ments, and  making  pumps  and  windmills.  He  is  the 
inventor  of  the  galvanized  "lift"  pump,  and  also  a 
score  of  other  valuable  inventions.  The  Haines 
Header  seems  to  be  his  forte,  he  having  done  more 
work  on  them  than  all  other  shops  in  the  valley  com- 
bined. He  has  doubtless  made  more  improvements 
on  the  Haines  Header  than  has  been  made  on  it  by 
all  others,  since  the  first  one  went  into  the  field.  Of 
all  the  inventions  that  Mr.  Davies  has  made,  not  one 
has  proved  a  failure.  They  have  all  paid  well  on  the 
investments.  Mr.  Davies  is  a  brother  of  L.  B.  Davies, 
of  Columbus,  Ohio,  who  is  the  inventor  of  the  loco- 
inotive  pilot,  more  commonly  called  the  "cow-catcher." 
To  visit  the  shop  of  I\Ir.  Davies,  and  sec  the  arrange- 
ment of  tools,  and  those  of  his  own  make,  will  satisfy 
any  person  that  he  is  at  home  while  in  a  machine 
shop.  As  a  mechanic  he  is  a  success.  He  can  earn 
a  livelihood  at  over  thirty  distinct  trades  !  Mr.  Davies' 
motto  is,  "Waste  nothing  and  save  all."     This  has 


been  the  whole  secret  of  his  success.  He  never  has 
made  any  big  strikes  or  big  losses,  however.  In  1854, 
when  so  many  banks  failed,  he  lost  his  "  bottom  dol- 
lar;" $5,000  would,  perhaps,  cover  all  other  losses. 
While  Mr.  Davies  has  bjcn  very  close  and  saving,  he 
has  been  very  liberal  and  generous,  having  given  away 
in  presents  and  donations  over  $9,000.  At  the  present 
writing,  Mr.  Davies  is  sixty-three  years  of  age,  and  is 
almost  as  strong,  physically,  as  at  twenty  years  of 
age.  He  has  never  used  a  particle  of  tobacco,  or 
drank  a  glass  of  liquor,  in  his  life. 


-»H^ 


•M 


H<-<-<- 


fEDFORD  HICKS,  of  the  boot  and  shoe  firm  of 
C.  Hicks  &  Co.,  of  Santa  Clara,  was  born  at 
_M^  Sackville,  Province  of  New  Brunswick,  in  1848, 
where  he  was  reared.  His  parents  were  Thornas 
and  Elizabeth  (Harper)  Hicks.  At  the  age  of  sixteen 
he  began  to  learn  the  trade  of  shoe-making,  at  which 
he  worked  in  his  tiative  village  until  he  was  twenty- 
one  years  of  age,  when,  in  1S69,  he  came  over  the 
plains  to  California,  locating  at  Santa  Clara  in  the 
fall  of  that  year.  In  February,  1870,  he  engaged  in 
manufacturing  boots  and  shoes  at  Santa  Clara,  and  in 
August,  1876,  he  opened  a  boot  and  shoe  store  at  the 
same  place.  In  18S7  his  brother,  Coleman  Hicks,  be- 
c.xme  associated  with  him  in  the  firm  of  C.  Hicks  & 
Co.  Starting  out  in  a  business  life  with  nothing  but 
being  the  master  of  a  good  trade,  Mr.  Hicks  has 
proved  to  be  successful  in  business,  and  by  his  energy 
he  has  secured  a  good  patronage  from  the  community 
in  which  he  has  his  trade. 

December  28,  1876,  he  was  married,  at  Santa  Clara, 
to  Julia  C,  daughter  of  the  late  Isaac  and  Aveline 
(Austin)  Chandler.  They  have  two  children,  Harry 
M.  and  Bessie  A.  Mr.  Hicks  is  an  Odd  Fellow,  be- 
ing made  such  by  Santa  Clara  Lodge,  No.  52,  in  the 
fall  of  1 87 1,  in  which  he  still  holds  a  membership. 


^iRANCIS  ALDEN  BRIMBLECOM  and  Ed- 
^^  ward  Brimblecom  are  the  sons  of  Rev.  Samuel 
T  Brimblecom  and  Harriet  (wt'f  Buttrick),  his  wife. 
Their  father  was  the  son  of  Colonel  Samuel  Brimble- 
com, who  was  for  over  fifty  years  a  shoe  manufacturer 
in  Lynn,  Massachusetts.  Harriet,  his  wife,  was  the 
daughter  of  Colonel  Jonas  Buttrick,  of  Concord, 
Massachusetts,  and  the  granddaughter  of  Major 
John  Buttrick,  who    commanded    the  "  INIinute  Men  " 


BIO  GRAPHIC  A  L  SKETCHES. 


295 


at  the  North  Bridge,  April  19,  1775,  and  gave  the 
command  to  fire  "the  shot  heard  round  the  world." 

Francis  A.  was  born  in  Norridgewock,  Maine,  in 
1828,  and  Edward  at  the  same  place  two  years  later. 
They  were  members  of  a  family  of  ten, — nine  sons 
and  one  daughter, — nine  living  at  this  date  CiS88). 
In  1830  the  family  moved  to  VVestbrook  (now  Deer- 
ing),  two  miles  from  Portland,  where  the  father  estab- 
lished Westbrook  Seminar}/.  Six  years  later  they 
went  to  Massachusetts,  where  the  boys  were  at  school 
and  engaged  in  various  occupations  until  1S50;  then 
Edward  emigrated  to  Ogle  County,  Illinois,  where  he 
engaged  in  farming.  Francis  A.  came  to  California, 
via  Nicaragua,  arriving  in  San  Francisco  by  the  S. 
S.  Luis,  on  July  7,  1852.  They  were  delayed  thirty 
days  on  the  Isthmus,  and  the  steamer,  being  crowded 
to  its  utmost  capacity  with  her  own  passengers  and 
others  from  the  wrecked  North  America,  the  death 
rate  was  appalling  and  burials  at  sea  of  daily  occur- 
rence. In  San  Francisco  he  registered  at  the  Maine 
I  lotel,  where  beds  were  bunks,  in  tiers  of  three,  twenty 
or  more  in  a  room.  He  frequently  slept  there  after- 
ward, with  thousands  of  dollars,  in  fifty-dollar  gold 
pieces,  called  slugs,  under  his  pillow,  without  fear  of 
disturbance,  the  patrons  being  miners  and  working 
men. 

He  had  the  gO">d  fortune  to  fall  in  with  Dr.  Otis 
Blabon,  from  Santa  Clara,  with  a  two-mule  wagon-load 
of  potatoes,  which  he  sold  for  twelve  and  a  half  cents 
per  pound,  and  came  to  the  valley  with  him,  bringing 
all  his  business  capital,  fifty  cents.  He  got  employ- 
ment of  Spencer  Harvey  at  $75  per  month,  the  low- 
est wages  being  paid  at  that  time.  Mr.  Brimblecom 
was  then  as  green  a  hand  as  ever  went  into  the  har- 
vest-field, never  having  seen  wheat  except  in  flour. 
The  grain  was  stacked  in  the  center  of  a  corral  and 
fifty  horses  driven  round  and  round  it,  while  the  grain 
was  pitched  under  their  feet,  and  thus  500  bushels 
were  threshed  in  less  than  a  day,  so  fine  that  it  was 
run  through  the  fanning-mill,  straw  and  all.  While 
cleaning  grain,  coyotes  came  within  two  rods  of  the 
corral  and  stole  chickens,  and  were  away  like  a 
streak. 

In  October,  1852,  he  entered  into  partnership  with 
Mr.  Harvey  for  a  year,  farming  and  marketing,  and 
thus  Frank  Brimblecom  became  the  pioneer  market- 
man  of  the  valley.  Eggs  were  worth  from  $[.00  to 
$2.50  per  dozen  at  wholesale  in  San  Francisco.  It 
was  a  common  thing  to  leave  from  $25  to  $100  at  a 
farm-house  for  a  week's  eggs  alone.  Butter  was 
equally   profitable.      There    were    many    "  bachelor's 


halls"  in  those  days,  but  his  dealings  were  largely 
with  the  women  of  the  valley,  and  they  were  women 
of  integrity.  He  would  loan  them  from  $100  to  $500, 
without  scratch  of  a  pen,  to  assist  their  husbands  in 
their  operations,  and  do  it  indiscriminately;  and  the 
last  dime  was  invariably  paid.  These  women,  doing 
all  their  own  house-work,  would  wash  for  their 
bachelor  neighbors  for  twenty-five  cents  per  piece, 
care  for  the  vegetable  garden,  look  after  the  poultry, 
milk  the  cows,  make  the  butter,  and  poison  the  ground- 
squirrels,  which  were  numerous  and  very  destruct- 
ive to  crops,  or  shoot  them  with  a  rifle,  which  they 
handled  as  skillfully  as  a  man.  They  were  equal  to  the 
necessities  of  the  times.  Wives,  mothers.  Christian 
neighbors,  worthy  pioneers,  they  deserve  to  be  remem- 
bered in  statuary  and  song. 

In  1852-53  Mr.  Brimblecom  went  to  San  Francisco 
by  wagon,  and  often  paid  $7.00  per  night  for  himself 
and  two  horses  at  Cook  &  Depoister's  "San  Mateo." 
There  were  few  houses  and  no  towns  on  the  road. 
From  Mission  Dolores  to  San  Francisco  there  was  a 
plank  road  three  miles  over  the  sand  hills  (now  solid 
city),  where  he  paid  seventy-five  cents  toll.  With  the 
exception  of  a  visit  East,  in  1857-5S,  and  some  time 
in  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains,  where  he  located  gov- 
ernment land  in  the  timber  belt,  Mr.  Brimblecom 
has  employed  his  time  in  marketing,  and  of  late 
years  he  has  dealt  mostly  in  potatoes.  During  the 
Rebellion  he  belonged  to  the  brave  "  Home  Guards," 
Captain  (Colonel)  Jackson's  Company,  and  was  after- 
ward commissioned  Captain,  but  the  company  was 
soon  disbanded,  as  the  war  was  over. 

The  old  settlers  will  remember  a  younger  brother, 
Henry,  who  joined  Francis  in  business  in  1853.  To- 
gether they  made  the  first  move  to  form  the  Republi- 
can party  in  this  county.  Assisted  by  Dr.  A.  W.  Saxe 
and  editor  F.  B.  Murdock,  they  prepared  a  "call," 
to  which  they  got  a  large  number  of  signatures. 
They  then  had  them  printed  on  large  posters  and 
circulated  through  the  county,  calling  the  convention 
held  at  the  City  Hall,  San  Jose,  on  April  24,  1856. 
Dr.  Spencer,  father  of  the  Judge,  presided.  D.  A. 
Dryden  and  William  Maclay  spoke.  Jacob  Swope, 
Sr.,  was  nominated  for  Representative,  but  afterward 
declined,  although  a  strong  Republican,  and  Noah 
Palmer  and  Mayor  Quimby  were  elected  to  the  Leg- 
islature, Republican  success  being  due  to  the  division 
of  their  opponents  between  Democrats  and  Know- 
nothings.  Henry  went  East  in  1857,  graduated  at 
Dartmouth  College,  and  settled  at  Woosung,  Illinois, 
where  he  now  resides  with   his  wife  and   six  children. 


296 


FEN  PICTURES  fROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


Ill  iS6o  Edward  sold  his  farm  in  Illinois  and  joined 
his  brother  in  the  market  business,  running  a  branch 
at  Watsonville  for  several  years,  when  he  joined  the 
Santa  Clara  branch.  He  now  has  a  farm  at  Santa 
Maria  Valley,  San  Luis  Obispo  County.  The  eldest 
brother,  Captain  Samuel  A.  Brimblccom,  brought  a 
vessel  from  China  in  1S49.  He  took  charge  of  the 
store  ship,  Panama,  for  Macondray  &  Co.,  in  the 
San  Franci.sco  harbor,  and  went  East  in  1S50  to 
be  married.  He  founded  the  town  of  Woosung,  on 
the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  in  company  with  Cap- 
tains Roundy  and  Anderson.  He  returned  to  Cali- 
fornia in  1 86 1  and  took  charge  of  the  San  Francisco 
branch  of  the  business,  and  finally  located  on  gov- 
ernment land  at  Boulder  Creek,  Santa  Cruz  County, 
California,  where  he  now  resides  with  his  family.  In 
1863  they  were  joined  by  their  mother  and  sister, 
Lucy  Adeline,  the  latter  having  some  claims  as  a  pio- 
neer, being  the  first  woman  to  "  prove  up  "  on  govern- 
ment land  in  the  San  Francisco  office — the  160  acres 
adjoining  Boulder  Creek  railroad  station,  which  she 
still  holds.  In  1878,  the  mother,  then  in  her  eightieth 
year,  passed  away.  Her  remains  were  taken  b}'  her 
daughter  to  Concord,  Massachusetts,  where  they  rest 
with  her  fathers,  who  were  pioneers  of  the  East,  and 
first  settlers  of  Concord,  Massachusetts,  in  1635. 


->->%^^-<'<'<- 


|i|EV.  WESLEY  PECK,  son  of  Andrew  and 
s^  Polly  Peck,  was  born  in  Hamilton,  Madi-son 
"T-  County,  New  York,  September  25,  1831.  His 
father  was  born  in  Danbury,  Connecticut,  and 
his  mother  in  New  York.  Luther  Peck  (Wesley's 
grandfather)  felt  called  to  the  ministry  in  1816,  but 
told  the  Lord  if  he  would  excuse  him  he  might  have 
all  his  boys;  and  seventeen  of  his  children  and  grand- 
children became  ministers!  Andrew  Peck  was  born 
in  1800,  and  died  in  Cortland,  New  York,  in  1887. 
Wesley  was  educated  at  the  Cazenovia  Seminary,  in 
Madison  County,  New  York.  He  was  married,  in 
1851,  to  Harriet  C.  Stiles,  of  Cazenovia.  He  entered 
the  ministry  in  1853,  and  served  as  a  pastor  and  trav- 
eling minister  for  eleven  years  in  the  State  of  New 
York,  when,  in  1864,  he  came  to  California.  Here  he 
was  pastor  twenty  years,  and  presiding  elder  four 
years.  The  district  over  which  he  became  presiding 
elder  consisted  of  eleven  counties  in  Northern  Cali- 
fornia, and  he  traveled  over  tliis  district  in  his  own 
convc)-ancc,  making  C,000  miles  [)cr  year.  Being 
in   poor  health,  he  came   to    Los   Gatos  in  18S4,  and 


served  as  pastor  of  the  Methodist  Church  for  three 
years.  In  the  fall  of  18S7  he  closed  his  ministerial 
duties,  on  account  of  failing  health,  and  engaged  in 
the  real-estate  business,  in  which  he  has  been  inter- 
ested ever  since.  In  1SS7  the  Los  Gatos  Land 
Agency  was  organized,  under  the  firm  name  of  W. 
Peck  &  Co.  (W.  G.  AL^xander  and  B.  H.  Noble). 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peck  have  had  three  children:  Ellen 
H.,  who  died  March  27,  1876,  in  her  twenty-third 
year;  Charles  Wesley,  who  died  December  24,  1879, 
in  his  twenty-second  year;  and  Lillie  May,  born  April 
4,  1869,  who  resides  with  her  parents.  In  Januar)', 
1 888,  Mr.  Peck  was  appointed  a  Notary  Public,  to 
reside  at  Los  Gatos. 


-€ 


iHTEPHEN  BALDWIN  MILLER,  deceased,  was 
^  born  in  the  Province  of  Ontario,  in  the  Western 
^K^  part  of  Canada,  December  26,  1839.  His  father, 
William  Baldwin  Miller,  was  born  in  New  York, 
December  4,  1798,  and  his  mother,  Abigail  Robinson, 
was  also  born  in  New  York,  March  29,  1804.  Will- 
iam B.  removed,  when  a  young  man,  to  Canada,  and 
there  married.  He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and 
bought  100  acres  of  rough  land,  cleared  it  up,  and 
made  it  his  home  till  his  death,  September  20,  1853. 
His  wife  died  June  S,  1842.  Out  of  a  family  of  ten 
children  they  reared  eight,  who  grew  to  maturity,  four 
of  whom  have  since  died  with  consumption. 

Stephen  was  the  youngest  son,  and  next  to  the 
youngest  child.  He  lived  on  the  home  place  and 
was  married  there  April  24,  i86i,to  Margaret  Secord, 
a  native  of  the  county  where  he  was  born.  Her  fa- 
ther, Solomon  Secord,  was  born  January  18,  1803,  in 
Niagara,  Canada,  and  her  mother,  Mary,  at  Toronto, 
October  10,  1807.  Mrs.  Secord  died  October  12, 
1 88 1,  and  Solomon  is  still  living  in  the  home  he  made 
fifty-one  years  ago.  After  his  marriage,  Stephen  re- 
sided on  the  home  place  until  1869,  when  he  came  to 
California,  leaving  his  family  at  home.  He  first  en- 
tered the  mines,  and  then  went  into  the  lumber 
camps  near  Dutch  Flat,  and  was  there  engaged  for 
two  years.  He  went  to  San  P^-ancisco,  where,  in 
connection  with  his  brother  William,  he  engaged  in 
the  wood  and  coal  business,  together  with  grinding 
feed,  etc.,  and  continued  in  this  business  about  four- 
teen years.  Being  troubled  with  lung  difficulty,  and 
becoming  at  times  very  much  emaciated,  he  made  a 
few  visits  to  the  place  where  liis  widow  and  her  chil- 
dren now  reside,  making  one  of  these  trips  only  two 


^/U^A    ^^cA^^m^-M^ 


(DECEASED ) 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


297 


weeks  before  his  death,  March  31,  1885.  After  the 
death  of  her  husband,  Mrs.  Miller  made  her  home  in 
San  Francisco  until  the  next  fall,  when  she  purchased 
her  present  ranch  of  twenty-four  acres  near  Los  Gatos, 
on  the  Los  Gatos  and  Saratoga  road,  where  she  has 
built  a  fine  dwelling-house,  and  made  other  improve- 
ments, which  give  it  the  appearance  of  a  beautiful  and 
attractive  home.  She  has  twelve  acres  set  to  various 
kinds  of  fruit-trees,  some  of  which  are  now  in  bear- 
ing. Mrs.  Miller  has  four  children,  viz.:  Kittie  G., 
Nettie  E.,  William  ].,  and  Hale  R. 

^ 


I^ATRICK  G.  SULLIVAN,  deceased.  Among 
"^  the  successful  pioneer  farmers  of  Santa  Clara 
^T  County  was  the  above-named  gentleman,  a  brief 
history  of  whose  life  is  as  follows: — 
Mr.  Sullivan  was  born  in  Askeaton,  Limerick 
County,  Ireland,  in  18 13.  His  parents,  John  and  Ann 
(Sheehy)  Sullivan,  were  natives  of  that  county.  In 
1827  his  father  emigrated  with  his  family  to  Canada 
East  and  located  in  St.  Edwards  County,  where  he 
was  engaged  as  a  farmer  and  stock-grower,  in  which 
occupation  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared,  re- 
ceiving at  the  same  time  a  good  education.  After  ar- 
riving at  manhood  he  entered  into  partnership  with 
his  father  in  farming  operations  and  continued  the 
same  until  1S42,  when  he  took  a  portion  of  the  old 
homestead  and  operated  it  on  his  own  account.  In 
1842  he  married  Miss  Bridget  Madigan,  the  daughter 
of  Daniel  and  Ann  (Henley)  Madigan,  natives  of  Ire- 
land, who  emigrated  to  Canada  East,  and  afterward,  in 
1853,  came  to  California.  Mr.  Sullivan  was  engaged 
on  his  farm  until  185  i,  in  which  year  he  came  upon  a 
steamer  to  California.  He  arrived  in  San  Francisco 
January  2, 1852,  and  came  immediately  to  Santa  Clara 
County,  where  he  rented  land  and  enrolled  himself 
among  the  pioneer  farmers  of  the  county.  In  1854 
he  purchased  his  first  land  from  General  Naglee, 
comprising  fifty-three  acres  located  just  east  of  San 
Jose,  on  what  is  now  known  as  the  "Nursery  Tract." 
He  took  up  his  residence  upon  this  land  and  resided 
thereuntil  1856.  In  this  latter  year  he  rented  266 
acres  of  land  from  General  Naglee,  situated  on  what 
is  now  the  Alum  Rock  road,  at  the  corner  of  King 
road,  in  the  Pala  School  District.  This  land  was 
stocked  with  about  300  head  of  cattle,  among  which 
was  a  dairy  of  sixty  or  seventy  cows.  Mr.  Sulli- 
van early  saw  that  the  road  to  success  in  agricult- 
ural   pursuits    was  not  to    be    reached    by  exclusive 


grain  production,  but  that  only  diversified  farming 
could,  in  the  end,  be  profitable.  He  became,  with 
these  views,  one  of  the  pioneer  dairymen  of  the  county, 
and  his  sagacity  was  amply  rewarded,  and  through 
him  many  a  man  learned  also  the  road  to  success. 
Mr.  Sullivan  was  eminently  successful  in  his  operations 
upon  this  place,  and  from  his  first  occupancy,  devoted 
his  means  to  its  purchase.  As  the  land  increased  in 
value  and  he  made  improvements  upon  it,  claimants 
sprang  up  and  claimed  ownership  under  Spanish 
grants,  homesteads,  squatter  rights,  etc.,  and  it  was 
not  until  1865  that  he  gained  a  complete  title  and 
ownership  to  the  property.  In  the  meantime  his 
farming,  stock,  and  particularly  his  dairy  business,  had 
proved  very  remunerative;  also  his  fifty-three-acre 
tract  first  purchased  had  become  very  valuable,  and 
he  ranked  as  one  of  the  most  prosperous  and  wealthy 
farmers  of  his  section.  From  this  time  until  1879  he 
conducted  his  farm  operations.  In  this  latter  year  he 
retired  from  the  active  pursuits  of  life,  and  under  con- 
tract sold  his  farm  to  his  sons,  Daniel  G.,  Frank  J. 
and  Thomas  P.  R.  Mr.  Sullivan  also  sold  during  his 
life-time  fourteen  acres  of  his  fifty-three-acre  tract, 
and  at  his  death,  which  occurred  April  8,  1886,  left 
the  balance  of  his  valuable  property  to  his  widow. 

Mr.  Sullivan  was  an  intelligent,  energetic,  and  enter- 
prising business  man,  as  well  as  farmer.  His  foresight 
and  firm  belief  in  the  future  prosperity  and  growth  of 
the  county  induced  him  to  make  the  judicious  invest- 
ments which  resulted  in  giving  him  a  handsome  fort- 
une. He  always  ranked  in  public  spirit,  enterprise, 
and  liberality  in  public  improvements,  among  the  lead- 
ing men  of  his  section.  He  was  one  of  the  projectors 
of  the  Alum  Rock  road,  and  gave  the  right  of  way 
through  his  land,  and  fenced  the  road  at  his  own 
cost.  In  many  another  public  enterprise  he  was 
equally  liberal,  and  active  in  promoting  them.  He 
was  always  interested  in  public  affairs.  Though  never 
aspiring  to  office,  his  influence  was  always  felt  in  the 
elections,  and  always  exercised  for  what  he  believed 
to  be  for  the  best  interests  of  the  public.  He  was  a 
life-long  conservative  Democrat. 

From  the  marriage  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sullivan  seven 
children  are  living,  viz.:  Annie  A.,  who  married  Rich- 
ard Fitzgerakl,  living  in  Nevada;  John  C,  married 
Miss  Maggie  Carrol,  of  San  Francisco,  residing  in 
Napa  County;  Michael  R.,  married  Miss  Bridget 
Commons,  of  San  Jose,  and  now  a  grocer  in  that  city; 
Daniel  G.,  Frank  J.,  and  Thomas  P.  R.,  who  are  the 
owners  and  reside  upon  the  old  homestead ;  Mary  E., 
who  married  Thomas  J.    Scherrebeck,  of    San    Fran- 


298 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


CISCO,  and  now  residing  near  the  old  homestead; 
Katie  A.,  the  fourth  child,  died  August  2,  1887,  aged 
thirty  years;  Lizzie,  the  seventh  child,  died  at  the  age 
of  two  years.  Mr.  Sullivan  gave  to  his  children  the 
best  of  advantages  for  education.  John  C,  Thomas 
P.  R.,  and  Daniel  G.  were  educated  at  the  Santa  Clara 
College,  the  latter  graduating  in  the  class  of  1872. 
Frank  J.  was  educated  at  St.  Mary's  College,  in  San 
Francisco.  The  daughters  were  educated  in  the 
Convent  of  Notre  Dame  in  San  Jose.  The  family 
are  consistent  members  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

The  fine  farm  owned  by  the  Sullivan  brothers  is 
well  worthy  of  mention.  It  consists  of  266  acres, 
located  on  the  Alum  Rock  road  two  miles  east  of 
San  Jose.  There  are  120  head  of  cattle  on  this  place, 
100  of  which  are  used  for  dairy  purposes.  Among 
their  stock  are  some  of  the  finer  breeds,  such  as  Hol- 
stein  and  Durham.  Great  care  and  attention  are  taken 
in  breeding,  with  the  view  of  obtaining  the  most  pro- 
lific milkers,  and  in  this  great  success  has  attended 
their  efforts,  and  they  have  one  of  the  finest  dairies  in 
the  county.  There  are  two  fine  flowing  artesian  wells 
on  these  lands,  which  furnish  all  the  water  needed  for 
stock  and  domestic  use. 

John  Wellington  macdonald  was  bom 

©>■  near  the  city  of  Kingston,  Western  Canada,  lanu- 
^  ary  18,  1844.  His  father,  James  I.,  was  a  native 
of  New  York,  and  his  mother,  Sarah  McGuin,  a  native 
of  Pennsylvania.  James,  being  a  millwright,  when  a 
young  man  made  several  trips  into  Canada,  where  he 
put  up  a  number  of  flour  and  saw  mills.  He  married 
and  located  in  Portland,  Canada,  where  he  lived  for 
thirty-five  or  forty  years,  when  his  oldest  son,  Duncan 
S.  MacDonald,  took  charge  of  the  home  place,  and 
he  removed  to  Fredericksburg,  where  he  died  in  1882, 
aged  seventy-one  years.  His  wife  died  on  the  home 
place  in  1856.  They  reared  a  family  of  eight  children, 
four  sons  and  four  daughters,  of  whom  three  sons  and 
three  daughters  are  now  living.  John  W.  lived  with 
his  father  until  he  was  seventeen  years  of  age,  when 
he  made  his  home  with  his  uncle  at  Collins  Bay,  near 
Kingston.  For  two  years  and  a  half  he  worked  in 
several  different  kinds  of  mills  owned  by  his  uncle. 
Upon  leaving  his  uncle  he  attended  school  for  a  year, 
then  went  to  Watertown,  Jefferson  County,  New  York, 
and  worked  on  a  dairy  farm.  After  this  he  went  to 
St.  Lawrence  County,  where  he  remained  a  year. 
After  going   back  to  his  old  home  in  Canada,  where 


he  continued  for  a  year,  he  came  to  California  in  1868 
and  located  in  San  Jose.  He  spent  fourteen  months 
in  Nevada  and  Oregon,  after  which  he  was  in  the  em- 
ploy of  William  Berringer,  in  Oakland  and  San  Fran- 
cisco, in  the  hay  and  grain  business,  for  seven  years. 
He  was  also  employed  a  portion  of  this  time  in  San 
Jose.  In  1884  he  purchased  his  present  place  of 
twenty-two  and  one  half  acres  near  Los  Gatos,  where 
he  has  since  resided. 

He  was  married  in  Oakland,  in  1878,  to  Emily 
Cutter,  a  native  of  Tompkins  County,  New  York. 
Mr.  MacDonald  has  a  fine  vineyard  of  eight  and  one 
half  acres,  and  also  eight  acres  in  trees, — French 
prunes,  cherries,  apricots,  etc. 


:ONROE  C.  PARK  was  born  in  Lenawee 
County,  Michigan,  February  24,  1846.  His 
parents,  Thomas  K.  and  Sabrina  E.  Park,  were 
natives  of  Vermont,  settled  in  Michigan  in 
1844,  lived  there  nine  years,  and  then  removed  to 
Goshen,  Elkhart  County,  Indiana,  where  they  lived 
two  years.  They  then  went  to  Iowa  County,  Iowa, 
where  they  remained  three  years.  In  the  spring  of 
1858  they  moved  to  Franklin  County,  Kansas,  near 
Ccntropolis,  where  they  lived  seven  years.  They 
then  moved  to  Shawnee  County,  four  miles  from 
Topeka,  where  they  died,  the  mother  in  October, 
1883,  and  the  father  in  January,  1887.  They  reared 
five  children,  three  daughters  and  two  sons.  One 
son  has  since  died. 

Monroe,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  lived  with  his 
parents  till  twenty-three  years  of  age.  He  was  mar- 
ried April  I,  1869,  to  Lucy  E.  McNown,  a  native  of 
Racine  County,  Wisconsin.  After  his  marriage  he 
went  upon  a  farm  of  seventy-five  acres,  which  he  had 
purchased  when  twenty  years  old.  He  made  improve- 
ments and  lived  there  till  September  23,  1874,  when 
he  rented  his  place  and  emigrated  to  California.  He 
first  located  in  Santa  Rosa,  where  he  remained  about 
a  year.  He  then  moved  to  a  place  near  Guerneville, 
in  the  same  county,  and  went  to  teaming,  hauling 
wood  and  pickets  to  the  railroad.  He  continued  in 
this  business  about  a  year  and  a  half,  then  went  to 
Mendocino  County  and  took  up  160  acres  of  govern- 
ment land  under  the  homestead  act  in  the  Redwoods 
on  the  Mavarro  River,  and  staid  there  six  years.  He 
improved  the  place  during  that  time  by  putting  up 
buildings,  fences,  etc.  In  the  fall  of  1883  he  came  to 
Santa  Clara  County  and  moved  on  his  present  ranch, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


299 


which  he  purchased  in  1 88 1,  after  selling  his  Kansas 
ranch.  His  farm  in  Mendocino  County  he  sold  in 
1S87.  He  now  has  a  nicely  improved  ranch  of 
twenty  acres  all  in  fruit.  He  has  890  French  prunes 
four  years  old,  180  silver  prunes  two  years  old,  353 
apricots  two  and  four  years  old,  130  peaches  mostly 
four  and  six  years  old,  109  cherries  six  years  old,  38 
yellow  egg  plums  four  years  old,  22  Bartlett  pears  two 
years  old,  23  apples  from  four  to  six  years  old,  and 
20  fig  trees  three  years  old,  besides  other  choice  trees. 
He  has  three  acres  in  vines,  mostly  Muscat  and  table 
grapes,  from  four  to  six  years  old.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Park  have  four  children,  viz.:  Edward  K.,  born  Jan- 
uary 27,  1870;  Celia  E.,  February  24,  1872;  Clara  E., 
September  18,  1873;  Edith  M.,  May  7,  1886. 


|P0STER  W.  CHASE,  son  of  Cyrus  and  Sophro- 
^^  nia  (Bagley)  Chase,  was  born  in  Machias  Port, 
t'  Maine,  December 4,  1848.  His  parents  were  na- 
tives of  that  State.  His  father  died  April  25,  1852, 
and  was  buried  in  the  Gulf  of  Tehuantepec  on  his 
way  to  California.  His  mother  is  now  living  at 
Soquel,  with  one  of  her  daughters.  They  reared  a 
family  of  nine  children,  of  whom  three  have  since 
died.  The  oldest  of  the  family  died  when  a  small 
child.  Foster  was  reared  in  Maine  at  a  place  called 
Chase's  Mill,  after  he  was  five  years  old.  When 
nearly  nineteen,  he  came  to  California  via  Panama, 
and  landed  in  San  Francisco  in  October,  1867.  He 
at  once  went  to  work  for  his  brother,  Josiah  Chase,  on 
his  ranch,  and  remained  there  during  the  winter.  In 
the  following  March  h6  went  to  Lexington  and  took 
charge  of  a  lumber  yard  there  owned  by  his  brother 
Josiah,  and  continued  his  business  until  1883.  After 
remaining  at  Lexington  four  years,  he  went  to  his 
brother's  ranch  near  where  he  had  a  saw-mill  turning 
out  the  lumber.  In  1884  Mr.  Chase  bought  thirty-five 
acres  of  his  brother's  ranch,  on  which  he  has  since 
resided.  He  has  about  eight  acres  in  fruit,  consisting 
of  500  French  prunes,  150  egg  plums,  200  pears  and 
apples,  30  peach  and  apricot.  All  are  four  years  old 
except  the  apples  and  pears,  which  are  but  two. 

In  December,  1870,  he  was  married  to  Nannie  J. 
Howell,  who  was  born  February  21,  1850,  in  Linn 
County,  Missouri.  They  have  five  children,  namely: 
Maude  E.,  born  September  25,  1871;  Ralph  C,  No- 
vember 23,  1873;  Walter  W., October  31,  1878;  Irma 
P.,  April  6,  1884,  and  Chester  J.,  March  28,  1886. 
They  lost    one    child,  Charles    C,  born    February  11, 


1876,  and  died  October  2,  1S77.  Mi"S-  Chase  came  to 
California  with  her  parents  in  1852.  Her  father, 
Watkins  F.  Howell,  first  located  at  Grass  Valley, 
Nevada  County,  and  in  1855  removed  to  Santa  Clara 
County,  where  Mrs.  Chase  has  since  resided. 


IpRANK  LOBDELL,  son   of   Calvin   and   Eliza 
S^  Ann    (Williams)    Lobdell,    was    born    in     Lake 

f  County,  Illinois,  June  11,  1849.  His  parents 
were  natives  of  New  York  State  and  settled  in 
Lake  County  in  1843,  where  his  father  located  on  a 
pre-emption  claim  under  the  land  laws  of  the  United 
States.  They  have  a  family  of  four  children,  of  whom 
Frank  is  the  oldest  son.  He  lived  with  his  parents 
till  sixteen  years  of  age  and  attended  the  district 
school  while  living  at  home,  and  afterward  went  to 
the  High  School  at  Waukegan,  in  his  native  county. 
He  worked  as  an  apprentice  at  the  carpenter's  trade 
in  the  summer  and  attended  school  in  winter  for  two 
years.  He  then  went  to  Chicago  and  worked  as  a 
journeyman  carpenter,  and  was  there  during  the  great 
fire  of  1871.  In  the  winter  of  1871-72  he  opened  a 
contractor's  and  builder's  shop  with  O.  J.  Daily,  under 
the  firm  name  of  Daily  &  Lobdell.  About  this  time 
he  began  the  study  of  architecture,  and  attended  night 
schools  under  different  masters  for  about  three  years. 
After  this  he  turned  most  of  his  attention  to  archi- 
tecture, and  continued  the  practice  of  his  profession 
there  until  1876,  when  his  health  failed  and  he  was 
unable  a  great  deal  of  the  time  to  attend  to  business. 
On  March  4,  1877,  he  left  Chicago  and  came  to  Cali- 
fornia and  located  in  Bridgeport,  Mono  County,  where 
he  ran  a  restaurant  for  about  a  year  and  a  half,  when 
he  sold  it  and  moved  to  Bodie,  in  the  same  county, 
and  opened  a  notion  emporium,  dealing  in  cigars,  to- 
bacco, and  notions;  he  continued  in  that  business  there 
till  the  fall  of  1S80,  when  he  sold  out  and  moved  to 
Los  Gatos,  where  he  purchased  a  ranch  of  ten  acres 
about  a  mile  north  of  the  town,  and  planted  it  to 
trees  and  vines.  He  worked  at  the  carpenter's  trade 
until  1885,  when  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  pro- 
fession of  architecture.  In  the  fall  of  1887,  on  the 
growing  demand  for  his  work,  he  opened  an  office  in 
Los  Gatos,  where  lie  has  been  constantly  engaged 
ever  since.  He  has  made  a  great  many  designs  for 
builders  in  Los  Gatos  and  vicinity.  He  has  one  acre 
in  table  grapes,  five  years  old;  350  French  prunes, 
250  apricots,  200   peaches,  100  yellow  egg   plums,  all 


300 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


of  different  ages,  and  about  50  trues  of  different  vari- 
eties in  the  family  orchard. 

Mr.  Lobdell  was  married  in  1873,  to  Cora  A. 
Davis,  a  native  of  Lake  County,  IlHnois.  They  have 
four  children,  viz.:  Annie  R.,  Winniford,  Maud  R., 
and  Jessie. 


^K§^^ 


MMeV.  ARTHUR  ELLIOT  SEARS,  son  of 
<S^^  Edward  and  Jemima  (Root)  Scars,  was  born  at 
nf^  Walnut  Hills,  near  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  June  6, 
1823.  His  father  was  a  native  of  Massachu- 
setts, and  his  mother  of  Connecticut.  After  their 
marriage  his  parents  settled  in  Vermont,  and  then  in 
New  York.  From  New  York  they  removed  first  to 
Indiana,  and  then  to  Ohio,  where  the  father  died, 
June  10,  1831.  His  mother  afterward  married  Mathias 
Potter,  who  died  in  Milford,  Ohio.  She  removed  to 
Missouri,  and  became  a  member  of  her  son's  family, 
and  removed  with  him  to  Oregon,  where  she  died 
August  30,  1876.  She  was  the  mother  of  eight  chil- 
dren, of  whom  Arthur,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  is 
the  youngest  living.  He  lived  eight  years  in  Hamil- 
ton County,  and  after  that  in  Clermont  County,  Ohio. 
He  was  educated  in  Cincinnati,  where  he  attended 
Woodward  College.  In  the  fall  of  1845  he  went  to 
Missouri  and  joined  the  Missouri  Conference;  the  next 
year,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South.  He 
was  a  traveling  minister  in  that  Conference  nearly 
seventeen  years.  In  1862  he  emigrated  to  Oregon, 
and  was  transferred  to  the  Pacific  Conference,  and 
took  work  in  Oregon,  where  he  remained  twelve 
years.  He  was  Presiding  Elder  six  years,  and  served 
as  preacher  three  years  on  another  charge.  He  was 
agent  of  Corvallis  College,  a  State  agricultural  insti- 
tution under  the  management  of  the  Columbia  Con- 
ference of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South. 
In  1874  he  removed  to  Colorado,  and  there  had 
charge  of  the  entire  work  for  one  year;  the  next 
year  the  work  was  divided  and  he  was  continued  on 
the  Denver  District,  when  his  health  broke  down,  and 
he  was  compelled  to  leave  the  State.  He  then  came 
to  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  in  the  s[)ring  of  1878  settled 
in  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains,  near  Wrights  Station, 
on  his  present  place,  which  he  styles  the  "  Sunshine 
Ranch."  Here  he  has  devoted  a  part  of  his  time  to 
preaching,  as  a  local  preacher.  His  ranch  contains 
about  sixty  acres,  of  which  about  twenty  are  under 
cultivation.  He  has  about  600  prunes,  embracing 
the  different  varieties,  some  from  ten   to  fifteen  years 


old,  and  300  plums  of  different  varieties,  80  cher- 
ries, twenty  years  old,  besides  a  family  orchard.  He 
has  about  seven  acres  in  vines,  all  table  grapes.  This 
is  one  of  the  oldest  vineyards  in  the  mountains.  The 
ranch  was  purchased  from  Lyman  J.  Burrell.  Four 
acres  of  this  vineyard,  in  1887,  yielded  $1,300,  after 
all  expenses  were  paid. 

He  was  married  in  April,  1847,  at  Shelbyville,  Mis- 
souri, to  Julia  A.  Hawkins.  She  died  in  Carrollton, 
Missouri,  in  May,  1859.  She  was  the  mother  of  five 
children,  three  of  whom  are  living.  Mr.  Sears  was 
married  again  in  January,  i860,  to  Eliza  E.  De  France, 
in  Milan,  Sullivan  County,  Missouri,  and  by  her  had 
one  son.  The  first  children  are  :  Mary  C,  Laura  R., 
and  Arthur  L.  The  two  former  are  married.  Will- 
iam A.,  by  the  second  marriage,  is  now  married,  and 
principal  of  a  school  in  Contra  Costa  County. 


-<sC^ 


fAPT.  HENRY  C.  HOGG  was  born  in  Letcher 
(at  that  time  Perry)  County,  Kentucky,  January 
<sL  29,  1836.  His  father,  Hiram  Hogg,  was  a  native 
of  Culpeper  County,  Virginia,  and  removed  with 
his  parents  in  1802,  when  two  years  old,  to  Kentucky. 
Hiram  was  married  to  Levina  Polly,  a  native  of  Ken- 
tucky, and  reared  a  family  of  eleven  children,  who 
grew  to  maturity,  of  whom  five  are  now  living.  Mrs. 
Hogg  died  in  April,  1846.  Hiram  afterward  married 
Polly  Roark,  of  Kentucky,  and  by  her  had  seven  chil- 
dren, of  whom  five  are  now  living.  Hiram  died  in 
1863,  and  his  wife  in  1884.  Henry  C.  Hogg  is  now 
the  youngest  son  of  the  first  family.  He  made  his 
home  with  his  parents  till  he  was  nineteen  years  old. 
He  was  educated  principally  in  T^ee  County,  Virginia. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  studied  law,  and  at  the 
age  of  twenty-two  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  in  Irvine, 
Estill  County,  Kentucky,  and  practiced  law  there 
and  in  Perry  County  until  September,  1861.  He 
then  enlisted  in  Company  D,  Nineteenth  Kentucky 
Infantry,  as  a  private.  On  February  S,  1863,  he  was 
commissioned  First  Lieutenant,  and  March  10  of  the 
same  year  received  his  commission  as  Captain.  He 
was  at  Cumberland  Gap  in  1862,  and  in  December 
went  to  Vicksburg  with  General  Sherman,  and  re- 
mained there  until  after  the  surrender  of  the  city. 
From  Vicksburg  his  regiment  was  sent  to  New  Or- 
leans, where  he  served  under  General  Banks  until  he 
was  mustered  out,  January  28,  1865.  He  then  located 
at  Booneville,  Kentucky,  opened  a  law  office,  and  also 
en<rascd  in  general  merchandise.     He  lived  there  till 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


301 


1885,  when  he  sold  out  and  came  to  CahTornia.  He 
made  a  previous  visit  to  this  State  in  1884,  and  bought 
a  ranch  near  Saratoga  on  the  road  leading  from 
Saratoga  to  Mountain  View.  It  contains  nearly 
twenty-seven  acres.  In  1887  he  added  to  it  nine 
acres  more,  making  in  all  thirty-six  acres.  His  ranch 
has  450  French  prunes,  in  their  sixth  year,  and  1,480 
in  their  fifth  year,  250  apricots,  1 10  peaches,  and  100 
pears,  all  in  their  sixth  year,  and  40  cherries  in  their 
fourth  year. 

Mr.  Hogg  was  married  April  16,  1867,  to  Martha 
A.  Marion,  a  native  of  Owsley  County,  Kentucky,  and 
daughter  of  Matthew  and  Rebecca  (Kelley)  Marion, 
who  moved  from  Virginia  to  Kentucky  in  1850.  Mr. 
Marion  was  a  native  of  Tennessee  and  his  wife  of 
Virginia.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hogg  have  four  children, 
two  sons  and  two  daughters:  Charles  Henry,  born 
December  30,  1869;  Cora,  born  November  15,  1873; 
Raymond,  born  July  22,  1877;  Carrie,  born  April  17, 
1880. 


.^^RANK   M.  JACKSON,  son  of  Willard   C.  and 


Wr" 


Harriet  (White)  Jackson,  was  born  at  Lancaster 


T  Coos  County,  New  Hampshire,  June  22,  1847. 
His  parents  were  both  natives  of  Maine.  When  four- 
teen years  of  age,  his  parents  moved  to  Waltham, 
Massachusetts,  where  he  went  to  work  delivering  milk 
for  one  year.  He  then  engaged  with  A.  L.  Jewell  in 
the  manufacture  of  weather-vanes,  and  continued  in 
this  business  for  three  years.  He  attended  no  school 
after  leaving  Lancaster.  When  twenty  years  of  age 
he  went  to  Boston,  and  for  six  months  worked  for  the 
Fremont  Watch  Company  in  the  manufacture  of 
watches.  He  then  went  to  Elgin,  Illinois,  to  work  in 
the  watch  factory  there,  but  remained  only  about  five 
months.  He  then  returned  to  Boston,  and  again  en- 
gaged in  the  weather-vane  business,  with  J.  Harris, 
where  he  remained  for  five  years,  when,  in  1872,  he 
came  to  California  and  located  at  Marysvillc,  Yuba 
County.  He  there  entered  the  jewelry  store  of  Frank 
E.  Smith,  and  remained  with  him  two  and  one-half 
years.  In  1875  he  went  to  Chico,  Butte  County,  and 
engaged  in  the  jewelry  business,  in  which  he  con- 
tinued until  1882,  when  he  sold  out  and  went  to  Port- 
land, Oregon,  and  engaged  in  the  same  business. 
After  remaining  there  twenty-one  months  he  returned 
to  California,  in  1883,  and  purchased  his  present  ranch 
of  thirteen  acres  in  the  town  of  Los  Gatos.  It  con- 
tains 1,000  trees,  four  years  old,  of  which  750  are 
French    prunes,    150    peaches,   and    100    in   a  family 


orchard.      In  1884  he  started   a  book,  stationery,  and 
jewelry  store. 

Mr.  Jackson  was  married,  in  1873,  to  Lizzie  Hunt, 
a  native  of  Louisville,  Kentucky.  She  died  in  June, 
1878,  leaving  a  daughter,  who  survived  her  four  years. 
He  was  again  married,  in  1880,  to  Fannie  F.  Ringo, 
a  native  of  Gallatin,  Missouri.  They  have  a  son, 
three  years  old.  Mr.  Jackson  is  a  Knight  Templar, 
an  Odd  Fellow,  a  Workman,  and  a  Democrat.  He 
was  appointed  Postmaster  of  Los  Gatos  in  October, 
1885.  In  January,  1886,  the  office  was  changed  from 
a  fourth  to  a  third  class,  and  is  now  a  presidential 
office. 


||OHN  W.  LYNDON,  son  of  Samuel  and  Polly 
^  Caroline  Lyndon,  was  born  at  Alburgh  Springs, 
^  Grand  Isle  County,  Vermont,  February  18,  1836. 
When  between  ten  and  twelve  years  of  age  he  left  home 
and  began  to  earn  his  own  livelihood.  At  this  age  he 
went  to  New  Hampshire,  and  from  there  to  Massa- 
chusetts, and  was  in  Maine  for  a  short  time.  He  came 
to  California  in  October,  1859,  by  way  of  the  Isthmus 
of  Panama,  and  landed  in  San  Francisco  after  a  voyage 
of  twenty-three  days.  The  next  day  after  his  arrival 
he  went  to  San  Jose,  where  he  remained  a  few  days, 
when  he  went  to  Lexington  and  hired  out  to  H.  M. 
Hervey,  who  kept  a  boarding-house.  His  first  busi- 
ness was  the  driving  of  an  ox  team,  and  it  was  the 
first  attempt  of  his  life  in  that  business.  To  show 
his  skill  in  the  work,  he  says  he  tipped  his  wagon  over 
the  first  day!  Soon  becoming  dissatisfied  with  this 
business,  he  applied  for  something  else  to  do,  and  was 
sent  by  the  proprietor  to  his  ranch.  When  he  began 
to  work  for  Mr.  Hervey  he  had  but  sixty  cents. 
After  remaining  with  him  two  months,  he  hired  to 
Bernard  Joseph,  who  kept  a  grocery  and  general  store 
in  Lexington,  where  he  worked  more  than  two  years. 
The  money  saved  during  this  time  he  invested  in  a 
piece  of  land  in  the  Willows,  near  San  Jose.  He  then 
went  to  San  Francisco,  bought  some  goods,  and 
started  a  little  store  of  his  own  in  Lexington. 
After  carrying  on  the  business  for  a  year,  Joseph  pro- 
posed a  partnership,  which  was  accepted,  and  the 
business  carried  on  under  the  firm  name  of  Joseph  & 
Lyndon.  After  a  year  and  a  half,  Joseph  sold  his 
interest  to  Lyndon,  who  continued  in  the  business 
until  1868,  making  considerable  money.  He  sold  out 
in  1868,  and  took  a  trip  back  to  Vermont,  going  via 
Panama.  He  came  back  to  Santa  Clara  County  in  the 
fall  of  1869,  and  bought  the  lOo-acre  tract  on  which 


502 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


the  hotel  called  the  "Ten  Mile  House"  is  situated, 
which  at  that  time  was  owned  by  H.  D.  McCabb. 
He  paid  $7,500  for  it,  and  two  months  afterward  sold 
it  for  $10,000,  and  four  years  thereafter  he  re-purchased 
it  for  $8,500!  Upon  his  return  to  this  county  he 
located  in  Los  Gatos,  and  rented  the  piece  of  land  on 
which  the  Wilcox  House  and  depot  now  stand,  and 
kept  a  lumber  yard,  supplying  people  all  over  the 
valley  with  lumber.  When  the  railroad  came  through 
Los  Gatos,  in  1877,  Mr.  Lyndon  cut  up  a  part  of  his 
land  into  lots,  whic  was  the  beginning  of  the  laying 
out  and  selling  of  lots  in  Los  Gatos.  After  he  sold 
his  loo-acre  tract  the  first  time,  he  bought  a  lot  and 
moved  his  lumber  yard  to  East  Los  Gatos,  and  con- 
tinued the  business  there.  He  also  built  a  dwelling- 
house  and  store,  which  was  the  second  store  kept  in 
Los  Gatos.  Mr.  Lyndon  has  been  a  very  successful 
business  man.  When  he  came  to  California  he  did 
not  spend  his  money  as  fast  as  he  earned  it,  as  many 
did,  but  was  saving  and  industrious,  and  invested  his 
money  in  property  as  he  earned  it.  The  first  property 
he  bought  in  the  Willows  for  $500,  he  afterward  sold 
for  $4,000.  When  Los  Gatos  was  incorporated,  in 
1887,  Mr.  Lyndon  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees,  and  again  in  1888,  and  is  now  President 
of  the  Board.  He  has  been  a  School  Trustee  for 
many  years,  and  has  probably  done  more  to  build  up 
the  town  of  Los  Gatos  than  any  other  man.  He  was 
one  of  the  original  stockholders  of  the  Los  Gatos 
Fruit  Packing  Company,  organized  in  1882,  and  of 
the  Los  Gatos  Gas  Company,  incorporated  in  1884. 
He  is  also  a  stockholder  in  the  Los  Gatos  Bank. 

Mr.  Lyndon  was  married,  in  1872,  to  Theresa 
Rector,  a  native  of  Missouri,  a  daughter  of  W.  H. 
Rector,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Oregon,  who  after- 
ward removed  to  California.  They  have  two  children: 
Ora  Everett,  aged  twelve  years,  and  Irma  Lyle,  aged 
eight  years.  Mr.  Lyndon  built,  in  1887,  his  present 
residence,  situated  on  one  of  the  beautiful  knolls  in 
Los  Gatos,  overlooking  the  valley  and  surrounding 
country,  which  he  calls  "  Lyndon  Home." 


IgEV.  JAMES  RICHARDS  WRIGHT  was  born 
s=5^  in  Tallmadge,  Summit  County,  Ohio,  June  14, 
•^^  18 14,  and  was  reared  there.  He  attended  the 
Academy  of  Tallmadge,  and  afterward  ObcrJin 
College,  and  graduated  in  1839  in  the  college  depart- 
ment. He  afterward  studied  theology  privately  with 
a    Presbyterian    minister    at    Elyria,    Ohio,    and    was 


ordained  a  preacher  in  1841.  He  began  preach- 
ing at  Sheffield,  Lorain  County,  Ohio,  in  1842,  re- 
maining there  nine  years  and  then  going  to  Ridgeville, 
Ohio,  where  he  continued  his  sojourn  eight  years. 
From  there  he  went  to  Benzonia,  in  the  northern 
portion  of  Michigan,  where  he  remained  four  years, 
and  then  he  was  in  Sheffield  again  for  three  years. 

He  came  to  California  in  the  fall  of  1869  and  lo- 
cated on  his  present  place,  in  the  Santa  Cruz  Mount- 
ains. In  1873  he  opened  a  summer  resort  for  tour- 
ists and  visitors,  and  continued  in  this  business  till 
1887.  He  built  his  house,  called  "Arbor  Villa,"  situ- 
ated on  one  of  the  most  delightful  places  on  a  mount- 
ain ridge  1,500  feet  above  the  sea  level,  in  1877.  He 
has  134  acres,  of  which  forty  are  in  fruit-trees  about 
sixteen  years  old.  His  vines  are  of  the  same  age. 
The  ranch  was  first  started  in  March,  1868,  by  Elizur 
and  William  H.  Wright. 

Mr.  Wright  was  married,  in  1844,  to  Sarah  Holmes 
Vincent,  a  native  of  Boston,  Massachusetts.  They 
have  eight  children:  Elizur,  residing  on  the  home 
place;  William  H.,  Superintendent  of  a  canning  fac- 
tory in  San  Jose;  Albert  T.,  foreman  of  the  canning 
factory;  Henry  W.,  in  the  real  estate  and  insurance 
business  in  San  Jose;  Sumner  B.,  residing  in  San 
Bernardino  County;  Frank  Vincent  at  the  same  place; 
Lucy  A.,  wife  of  Captain  A.  Whittlesey,  of  Portland, 
Oregon  ;  and  Clara  A.,  residing  at  home.  They  lost 
two  children,  Charles  R.,  who  died  in  1876,  aged 
thirty-one  years,  and  James  Frederick,  who  died  in 
1880,  aged  twenty-eight  years. 


>.^^ 


ISUGUSTINE  NICHOLSON,  son  of  John  and 
silTs   Hannah    (Robinson)    Nicholson,    was    born    in 

t  Harrison  County,  Ohio,  February  21,  1830.  His 
father  was  a  native  of  County  Armagh,  Ireland, 
and  came  to  Ohio  about  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century.  His  wife  was  a  native  of  Delaware.  They 
made  their  home  on  a  farm  in  Harrison  County, 
Ohio,  from  the  time  of  their  marriage  till  their  death, 
he  dying  October  7,  1844,  aged  seventy-two  years, 
an  J  his  wife  in  April,  1S74,  aged  eighty-seven  years. 
They  reared  a  family  of  six  sons  and  three  daughters, 
Augustine  being  next  to  the  youngest  child.  He 
lived  on  the  home  place  till  twenty-five  years  old.  In 
the  spring  of  1855  he  went  to  Iowa,  and  in  the  fall  of 
that  year  bought  a  farm  in  Ringgold  County,  consist- 
ing of  400  acres,  then  returning  home  to  Ohio.  In 
the  spring  of  1857  he  went  again  to  Iowa  and  bought 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


303 


400  acres  more.  He  made  some  improvements  on 
the  first  purchase,  and  staid  there  two  years,  when  he 
went  to  the  northern  part  of  Missouri,  where  he  had 
a  sister  living,  and  remained  there  eight  or  ten  months; 
being  then  taken  with  the  ague,  he  returned  to  Ohio, 
where  he  Hved  till  1875,  having  previouly  disposed 
of  his  Iowa  lands.  In  the  spring  of  1875,  after  visit- 
ing some  of  the  Eastern  cities,  he  sailed  for  Liver- 
pool, and  from  there  he  went  to  Belfast,  in  which 
vicinity  he  had  relatives.  After  making  a  short 
visit  at  Belfast,  he  visited  Dublin,  London,  and  Paris, 
and  other  principal  places  of  interest,  and  then  went 
to  St.  Helier,  on  Jersey  Island,  where  he  remained 
from  September  till  the  following  May,  when  he  re- 
turned to  Ohio.  After  attending  the  Centennial  at 
Philadelphia,  the  following  October,  he  came  to  Cali- 
fornia, to  Los  Gatos  and  San  Jose.  He  spent  the 
winter  in  San  Jose,  and  in  July,  1877,  went  as  far 
east  as  Oskaloosa,  Jefferson  County,  Kansas,  where 
he  remained  till  after  the  holidays,  when  he  took  a 
trip  down  into  the  Indian  Territory  and  Texas. 

He  visited  Ohio,  and  was  married  there  April  9, 
1879,  to  Margaret  Miller,  a  native  of  Ireland.  In  the 
fall  of  the  same  year  he  brought  his  wife  to  California 
and  lived  in  Los  Gatos  two  years  and  a  half.  After 
making  one  more  trip  to  Ohio,  in  1882,  and  remaining 
there  a  year,  he  returned  to  Los  Gatos,  where  he  has 
since  resided.  March  3,  1885,  he  bought  his  present 
place  in  the  Almond  Grove  Addition,  and  in  the  fall 
of  the  same  year  built  his  present  house.  Just  two 
years  and  six  months  before  the  time  of  purchase,  he 
disposed  of  a  number  of  lots  by  auction  sale. 


IglNVILLE  E.  HAMILTON,  son  of  Asa  and 
<s^  Lydia  Hamilton,  was  born  in  Wellington,  Lorain 
T^  County,  Ohio,  March  14,  1844.  His  father  was 
a  native  of  Vermont,  born  in  1799,  and  was  one  of  the 
first  settlers  in  Wellington  Township,  in  that  county, 
in  1823,  and  lived  there  till  his  death,  April  4,  1866. 
After  his  death  his  widow  moved  to  the  oil  regions  of 
Pennsylvania,  where  she  died,  in  1881.  Linvillelived 
in  Wellington  till  he  was  twent}'-one  years  old.  Pie 
worked  with  his  father,  who  was  a  carpenter  and 
joiner,  until  sixteen  years  of  age,  when  he  was  ap- 
prenticed to  learn  the  carpenter's  trade.  In  1862  he 
enlisted  in  Company  C,  86th  Ohio  Infantry,  and  was 
honorably  discharged  in  the  winter  of  1863,  where- 
upon he  re-enlisted  in  Company  C,  176th  Ohio  In- 
fantry, and  served  till  the  close  of  the  war.     He  served 


through  the  campaigns  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumber- 
land, and  was  discharged  in  1865.  After  the  death 
of  his  father  he  went  to  Pennsylvania  with  his  mother 
and  remained  there  till  1878,  when  he  went  to  Hum- 
boldt, Humboldt  County,  Iowa,  and  went  to  work  at 
his  trade.  He  was  married  there  in  June,  1881,  to 
Jennie  L.  Henderson,  a  native  of  Canada,  of  Scotch 
descent.  In  1883  he  came  to  California,  reaching 
Los  Gatos  September  4,  where  he  has  lived  and 
worked  at  his  trade  ever  since.  They  have  one  son, 
William  Wallace,  born  August  18,  1882. 


"FAMES  H.  LYNDON,  son  of  Samuel  and  Polly 
@/'  (Carline)  Lyndon,  was  born  in  Grand  Island 
^  County,  Vermont,  May  6,  1 847,  where  he  lived  with 
his  parents  until  seventeen  years  of  age,  and  attended 
the  common  district  schools.  In  1863,  when  sixteen 
years  old,  he  went  to  Burlington  and  enlisted  in  the 
Fifth  Vermont  Infantry,  but  was  rejected  by  the  in- 
specting officer  on  account  of  his  age.  The  next 
year  he  went  to  Massachusetts  and  enlisted  in  Com- 
pany I,  Twenty-first  Massachusetts  Infantry.  He, 
with  some  300  recruits  for  the  regiment,  was  sent  to 
Galoups  Island,  in  Boston  Harbor,  where  they  re- 
mained about  six  weeks,  when  they  left  for  Annapo- 
lis, Maryland,  to  join  their  regiment,  which  was  at- 
tached to  the  Ninth  Army  Corps,  commanded  by 
General  Burnside.  They  remained  in  Annapolis  until 
the  middle  of  April,  when  they  were  ordered  to  join 
their  regiment  at  the  front.  Marching  by  way  of 
Washington  city,  they  joined  their  regiment  in  the 
Second  Brigade,  Second  Division  of  the  Ninth  Corps, 
near  the  Rapidan,  just  before  the  Battles  of  the 
Wilderness.  He  participated  in  these  battles,  and  in 
those  of  Spottsylvania  and  Cold  Harbor,  in  which 
latter  engagement  his  regiment  suffered  a  heavy  loss. 
After  the  battle  of  Cold  Harbor  the  Ninth  Corps  was 
ordered  to  City  Point,  where  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
invested  Petersburg  for  several  months.  After  the 
capture  of  several  of  the  outposts,  with  heavy  losses, 
the  city  of  Petersburg  fell,  after  a  siege  of  several 
months.  From  Petersburg  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
followed  Lee's  army  for  several  days,  the  Ninth  Corps 
going  as  far  as  Farmville,  which  they  reached  on  the 
eighth  of  April,  1865,  and  the  next  day  General  Lee 
surrendered  his  army  to  General  Grant,  which  practi- 
cally closed  the  war. 

The  Ninth  Corps   lay  at   Farmvil  e  about   a   week, 
when  it  was  ordered  to  City  Point,  where,  after  a  week 


304 


PEN    PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


or  ten  days,  transports  were  furnished  them  and  they 
were  sent  to  Alexandria,  Virginia.  They  remained 
just  back  of  Alexandria,  near  Fairfax  Seminary,  un- 
til after  the  grand  review  of  the  armies  of  Grant  and 
Sherman,  in  Washington  city, in  which  he  participated. 
After  this  he  went  into  camp  again  for  two  or  three 
weeks,  when  his  regiment  was  ordered  home,  and  was 
mustered  out  at  Reedville,  Massachusetts,  in  August, 
1865. 

He  then  returned  to  his  old  home  in  Vermont,  and 
in  1866  attended  the  academy  at  Aburgh  Springs, 
Vermont,  for  two  terms.  In  December,  1868,  he  left 
home  for  California,  via  Panama,  and  arrived  in 
San  Francisco  January  23,  1869.  He  came  at  once 
to  Los  Gatos,  where  his  brother  John  was  engaged  in 
business,  and  began  to  clerk  for  him  in  his  store, 
where  he  remained  till  1 871  In  1872  he  bought  his 
brother's  store  and  ran  it  for  a  year,  when  his  brother 
bought  an  interest  in  it,  and  a  year  afterward  he  sold 
his  interest  to  his  brother  John  and  went  into  the 
hotel  business,  keeping  the  hotel  known  at  that  time 
as  the  "  Ten  Mile  House,"  now  the  Los  Gatos  Hotel, 
where  he  remained  until  1875  ;  he  then  sold  out  and 
again  went  into  his  brother's  store  as  a  clerk,  and  re- 
mained with  him  until  1883,  when  he  sold  his  store. 
He  then  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  near  the 
depot  in  Los  Gatos,  which  business  he  still  follows. 
He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  is  a  member  of 
the  Ridgely  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  a  member  of  the 
A.  O.  U.  W.,  and  Past  Post  Commander  of  E.  O.  C, 
Ord  Post,  No.  82,  G.  A.  R. 

Mr.  Lyndon  was  married  August  12,  1873,  to  Anna 
J.  Murdock,  a  native  of  Ontario,  Province  of  Quebec. 
They  have  five  children,  viz.:  James  Lloyd,  born  June 
9,  1875;  William  Welden,  June  14,  1878;  Frances 
Ray,  September  4,  1881;  Clarence  Hardy,  March  15, 
1883;  Anna  May,  November  2,  1884. 


|KLEXANDER  HILDEBRAND,  son  of  Gustav 
<i^p  and  Bernhardine  Hildebrand,  was  born  in  Ber- 

flin, Germany,  May  22,  1827.  His  father  died  in 
1844,  and  he  lived  at  home  with  his  mother  two 
years  longer.  He  attended  the  primary  school  and 
afterward  the  gymnasium.  When  about  sixteen  years 
old  he  began  to  learn  the  carpenter's  trade,  working 
at  it  in  summer  and  in  the  winter  months  attending 
architectural  and  drawing  school  for  four  or  five  years. 
He  followed  his  trade  until  1S49,  when,  according  to 
the  custom  of  the  country,  he  entered  the  army,  where 


he  remained  a  year.  In  1850  he  sailed  for  San  I'>an- 
cisco,  but  after  being  out  at  sea  twenty-four  days  the 
vessel  was  wrecked  on  an  African  island.  He  was  on 
the  island  six  weeks,  when  he  obtained  an  opportunity 
to  leave  on  a  small  American  bark  bound  for  Rio 
Janeiro.  He  remained  in  Rio  Janeiro  three  or  four 
weeks,  the  yellow  fever  being  there  at  the  time.  He 
then  secured  passage  on  the  Sea  Bird,  a  steamer 
bound  for  San  Francisco.  At  Valparaiso  he  left  the 
boat  and  remained  there  three  or  four  months,  work- 
ing in  the  oflnce  of  an  architect  who  was  building  a 
custom  house.  Hearing  of  the  big  fire  in  San  Fran- 
cisco in  May,  185  i,  he  went  there,  where  he  remained 
in  business  till  1881  (with  the  exception  of  a  few 
months  spent  in  the  mines),  when  he  removed  to  Los 
Gatos,  where  he  had  bought  a  place  the  December 
previous.  The  place  contained  seventy-one  and  one- 
fourth  acres,  and  he  at  once  set  out  an  orchard  and 
vineyard  of  twenty-six  acres.  He  has  since  sold  the 
most  of  it,  and  now  has  but  six  acres  left.  In  1886 
he  turned  his  attention  to  drying  fruit. 

Mr.  Hildebrand  was  married,  in  1866,  to  Marie 
Wieland,  a  native  of  Germany,  who  died  in  January, 
1879,  leaving  a  family  of  four  children,  of  whom  one 
daughter  and  two  sons  are  living.  Mr.  Hildebrand 
was  married  again  in  December,  1879,  to  Emilie 
Bartholdt,  a  native  of  Germany,  and    by   her    has   a 


-€^^1-^- 


!ILLIAM  C.  SHORE,  son  of  Samuel  R.  and 
I  Narcissus  Shore,  was  born  in  Surry  County, 
North  Carolina,  September  15,  1830.  His 
father  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania  and  his 
mother  of  North  Carolina.  When  he  was  but  five  years 
old  his  parents  removed  to  Lafayette  County,  Missouri, 
and  lived  there  until  the  beginning  of  the  war,  when 
they  moved  to  a  place  near  Independence,  that  State, 
where  his  father  was  postmaster  of  a  small  place 
called  Chapel  Hill.  During  the  war,  the  Southen 
element  being  too  strong  f  x  him,  he  was  forced  to 
leave,  and  he  removed  to  Kansas  City,  where  he  died- 
His  widow  still  resides  there.  He  reared  nine  chil- 
dren, who  lived  to  be  grown,  of  whom  two  sons  and 
two  daughters  were  older  than  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  William  C.  lived  with  his  parents  till  he  was 
nineteen  years  of  age,  when,  in  1849,  he  came  across 
the  plains  to  California  with  o.\;  teams,  and  was  five 
months  making  the  trip. 

One  of  the  party  was  taken  sick   on   the   way,  and 


O^^     ci<    J^/^^^J^ 


BIO  GRA  PHI  CA  L  SKETCHES. 


305 


in  endeavoring  to  reach  a  place  where  there  was  a 
little  feed  for  stock,  the  party  stopped  to  let  him  die, 
as  they  did  not  want  him  to  die  while  traveling. 
After  the  party  halted  the  man  asked  them  why  they 
had  done  so,  and  they  told  him.  He  then  said,  with 
an  oath,  that  he  did  not  propose  to  die;  that  he  in- 
tended to  go  to  California  and  "  make  a  raise,"  and 
return  to  his  family,  marry,  profess  religion,  and  die 
like  a  white  man;  and,  calling  for  his  gun, he  directed 
them  to  drive  on.  He  recovered,  came  through  to 
California,  made  $S,ooo  or  $6,000,  and  went  back  to 
the  States;  but  whether  he  fulfilled  the  balance  of  his 
contract  is  not  known.  William  came  first  to  Sacra- 
mento and  then  went  to  Georgetown,  El  Dorado 
County,  where  he  followed  mining  for  three  years. 
In  the  spring  of  1853  he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County 
and  followed  farming  near  San  Jose  till  1864,  when 
he  went  to  Arizona  and  remained  six  months.  He 
then  returned  to  San  Jose,  where  he  remained  till 
1 88 1,  when  he  came  to  Los  Gatos,  and  in  1884  en- 
gaged in  the  retail  ice  business,  which  he  has  since 
followed. 

He  was  married  March  27,  1873,  to  Mary  A. 
Adams,  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  who  came  to 
California  in  1872.  They  have  two  children,  Dalton 
and  Daisy. 


-€"4^^^- 


I^LEASANT  S.  LANGFORD,  son  of  Stephen 
"^ys  and  Lydia  (Parent)  Langford,  was  born  in  Floyd 
W  County,  Indiana,  September  4,  18 1 8.  His  father 
was  born  in  Albermarle  County,  Virginia,  and 
his  mother  in  Culpeper  County,  same  State.  They 
were  married  in  Staunton,  Virginia,  in  1815,  and 
moved  to  Floyd  County,  Indiana,  in  18 16,  where  they 
lived  till  1830,  when  they  moved  to  Parke  County, 
Indiana.  In  1842  they  removed  to  Washington 
County,  Iowa,  where  they  lived  .some  time,  and  then 
returned  to  Indiana  on  a  visit,  where  Mr.  Langford 
was  taken  sick  and  died  in  1844.  Mrs.  Langford  was 
afterward  married  to  Judge  Louis  Noell,  and  died 
about  1880.  Mr.  Langford  was  a  soldier  in  the  War 
of  1812,  together  with  three  brothers,  one  of  whom 
was  a  captain.  In  Stephen  Langford's  family  there 
were  three  children,  of  whom  a  daughter  and  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  are  now  living.  Pleasant  made  his 
home  with  his  parents  till  twenty-one  years  old. 

In    1839  he    went    to   Washington    County,    Iowa, 
and  bought  160  acres  of  land,  improved  it  and  subse- 
quently bought  eighty   acres    more,   when   he  sold  a 
part  of  his  first  purchase.     He  put  up  the  first  frame 
39 


house  west  of  the  town  of  Washington.  He  started 
for  California  April  14,  1853,  ovt.rland,  with  ox  teams; 
arrived  here  in  September  of  that  year,  and  located 
in  Santa  Clara  County.  He  at  once  rented  a  piece 
of  land  west  of  Santa  Clara  and  farmed  for  one  year, 
when  he  removed  to  the  town  of  Santa  Clara  and  en- 
gaged in  teaming  for  three  years.  He  then  purchased 
240  acres  in  the  foot-hills  on  the  L  >s  Gatos  and  Sar- 
atoga road,  and  lived  there  sixteen  years.  The  land 
was  in  a  wild  state  and  he  cleared  and  made  the  im- 
provements on  it.  In  1874  he  sold  this  farm  and 
bought  his  present  place  on  the  Quito  road.  It  has 
eight  acres  in  fruit,  consisting  of  French  prunes,  apri- 
cots, peaches,  etc.,  besides  a  small  vineyard  for  family 
use.  He  raises  grain  upon  and  pastures  the  rest  of 
the  place.  The  farm  originally  contained  153  acres, 
but  now  only  forty. 

Mr.  Langford  was  married  in  1843  to  Sarah  M. 
Henderson,  a  native  of  Guernsey,  Ohio.  They  have 
had  twelve  children,  of  whom  seven  are  now  living, 
five  sons  and  two  daughters. 


■€^^1 


f-^MAlA^lAU  L.  LINGLEY,  son  of  John  and 
'g^^  Frances  (Chandler)  Lingley,  was  born  in  Fast- 
is port,  Maine,  November  30,  1831.  His  father 
1  was  a  native  of  Long  Island,  New  York,  and 
his  mother  a  native  of  Nova  Scotia.  They  made 
their  home  in  Eastport,  and  both  died  in  St.  John, 
New  Brunswick,  the  former  in  May,  1854,  and  the 
latter  in  1867.  William  lived  at  home  till  ten  years 
of  age,  when  he  went  up  the  St.  John's  River  and 
lived  with  a  man  named  George  Scribner  for  four 
years.  He  then  went  to  Nova  Scotia  and  remained 
a  year.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  became  a  sailor. 
He  shipped  at  St.  John,  New  Brunswick,  on  an  En- 
glish vessel  in  the  coaling  trade,  running  from  St. 
John  to  Pictou  on  the  English  side  to  Nova  Scotia, 
and  from  there  to  Boston.  After  making  the  trip 
twice,  he  shipped  on  board  of  an  American  vessel  and 
followed  sailing  for  about  twelve  years,  during  the 
summer  months  plying  along  the  coast,  and  in  the 
winter  making  trips  to  the  West  Indies.  After  this 
he  went  back  to  Eastport  and  was  married  to  Harriet 
Maria  Lincoln,   a  native  of  Perry,  Maine,  March  24, 

1853. 

In  1855  he  went  to  Pembroke,  Maine,  and  began 
teaming  for  the  iron  works  there,  being  in  the  employ 
of  William  E.  Coffin  &  Co.  till  February,  1864,  when 
he  enlisted  in  Company  B,  Thirty-first  Maine  Infantry, 


306 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


and  was  discharged  on  account  of  disability  in  March, 
1865.  Returning  to  Pembroke,  he  made  that  his 
home  till  September  15,  1875,  when  he  left  for  Cali- 
fornia and  located  at  Felton,  Santa  Cruz  County. 
He  was  there  until  May,  1878,  when  he  removed  to 
Klikitat  County,  Washington  Territory,  and  remained 
there  till  1880,  when  he  returned  to  California  and 
located  in  Los  Gatos,  where  he  still  lives.  They 
reared  one  daughter,  Efifie  Z.,  who  died  at  Stoughton, 
Massachusetts,  February  27,  1876,  in  her  twenty-first 
year.  She  was  the  wife  of  Eben  F.  Williamson. 
Mr.  Lingley  is  a  member  of  E.  O.  C.  Ord  Post,  No. 
82,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Los  Gatos;  also  of  Los  Gatos  Lodge, 
No.  76,  A.  O.  U.  W. 

5I&ELVILLE  S.  BOWDISH  was  born  in  Milford, 
'^0^  Otsego  County,  New  York,  March  7,  1837.     His 

f  parents,  Joseph  and  Ann  (Fairchild)  Bowdish, 
were  both  natives  of  New  York  State.  They 
reared  a  family  of  seven  children,  all  of  whom  are 
living — five  sons  and  two  daughters.  Joseph  Bowdish 
died  in  1877,  and  his  wife  in  188 1,  each  being  eighty- 
two  years  of  age  at  time  of  death.  Melville  was 
raised  in  Otsego  County  until  eleven  years  of  age, 
when  his  parents  removed  to  Illinois,  and  settled  on 
Fox  River,  in  Kane  County,  where  he  lived  until  1858, 
receiving  a  common-school  education.  In  1858  he 
came  to  California,  and  located  in  Contra  Costa 
County.  He  first  worked  on  a  ranch  by  the  month, 
then  bought  a  threshing-machine  and  threshed  for  two 
seasons.  Between  times  he  was  engaged  in  ditching. 
He  built  the  first  ditching-machine  used  in  California, 
and  used  quite  a  number  of  them  near  Antioch.  He 
was  engaged  in  that  business  until  i860,  when  he  went 
back  to  his  home  in  Illinois  and  remained  five  years. 
In  1866  he  returned  to  California,  and  located  in  San 
Francisco,  and  began  the  manufacture  of  mills  for 
grinding  feed  for  stock,  in  which  business  he  con- 
tinued for  two  years,  when  he  sold  out  to  M.  C.  Haw- 
ley  &  Co.,  who  owned  at  that  time  one  of  the  largest 
hardware  and  agricultural  implement  houses  on  the 
coast.  Mr.  Bowdish  was  employed  by  them,  and  was 
a  traveling  salesman  for  them  eight  years.  In  1876 
Mr.  Bowdish  bought  property  in  the  town  of  Santa 
Clara  and  moved  there,  and  at  the  same  time  bought 
a  ranch  near  Los  Gatos.  From  that  to  the  present 
time  he  has  made  his  home  at  Santa  Clara.  Besides 
his  property  in  Santa  Clara  he  has  three  ranches,  a 
wood  ranch  of  160  acres,  a  grain  and  stock  ranch  of 
200  acres,  and  a  fruit  ranch  containing  fifty  acres. 


Mr.  Bowdish  was  married  in  October,  1865,  to  Eliza 
Acres,  a  native  of  Kane  County,  Illinois,  who  died  in 
September,  1867.  Mr.  Bowdish  was  again  married, 
December  23,  1869,  to  Eleanor  J.  Ormsby,  also  a 
native  of  Kane  County,  Illinois.  They  have  two 
children  :  May  P.,  born  May  4,  1S77,  and  Arthur  J., 
born  October  28,  1880. 


fANIEL  B.  AUSTIN,  son  of  Alvin  B.  and  Sallie 
D.  (Rumsey)  Austin,  was  born  in  Tioga  County, 
_^  Pennsylvania,  February  12,  1834.  His  father 
was  of  Scotch  and  German  descent,  and  his 
mother  of  Scotch  and  French,  and  both  were  reared 
near  Lake  Champlain.  His  father  was  born  in  1800, 
and  was  a  drummer  boy  in  the  War  of  1812.  He 
died  on  the  home  place,  in  1882,  and  his  wife,  born 
1801,  died  in  1884.  He  was  a  lumberman,  and  at 
one  time  owned  large  timber  tracts  in  Tioga  County. 
They  reared  a  family  of  seven  children,  six  sons  and 
one  daughter,  of  whom  all  are  living  except  the  fifth 
son.  Daniel  B.  Austin  remained  on  the  home  place 
until  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  in  1853  came 
to  California,  by  Nicaragua  route,  from  New  York, 
through  Central  America,  and  arrived  at  San  Fran- 
cisco April  12,  1853.  His  first  employment  was  on 
the  steam  ferry-boat  Clinton,  plying  between  San  Fran- 
cisco and  San  Antonio  (now  East  Oakland),  where 
he  remained  nine  months,  at  a  salary  of  $16  per  day. 
He  then  engaged  in  the  butchering  business  in  San 
Francisco,  and  subsequently  became  a  farmer  at  San 
Pablo,  Contra  Costa  County,  in  partnership  with  Dr. 
J.  M.  Tewksbury,  who  owned  a  large  tract  of  land 
there.  He  farmed  until  1B63,  when  he  went  to  Austin, 
Nevada,  where  his  brother,  A.  B.  Austin,  resided,  and 
after  whom  the  town  was  named.  Mr.  Austin  at  once 
engaged  in  engineering  and  mining,  and  followed  this 
business,  principally,  for  nineteen  years.  He  put  up 
a  number  of  quartz  mills  for  reducing  ores,  etc.  He 
returned  to  California  in  1882,  and,  after  looking 
around  over  the  State,  selected  Santa  Clara  for  a  home 
and  purchased  sixty  acres,  situated  about  a  mile  and 
a  quarter  from  Los  Gatos,  on  the  Los  Gatos  and  Sara- 
toga road.  In  May,  1888,  he  sold  all  his  land,  except 
two  and  a  quarter  acres,  where  his  residence  is  situ- 
ated. He  was  married  at  Austin,  Nevada,  in  1S67, 
to  Fclicitas  Falez,  a  Mexican  lady  by  birth,  whose 
father  was  a  prospector  and  miner  in  the  State 
of  Nevada.  She  died  in  1869,  leaving  one  daughter, 
Delphena   C,   born  December  24,  1869.     Mr.  Austin 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


307 


again  married,  November  8,  187 1,  taking  this  time 
Sarah  C.  Rumsey,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania.  They 
have  six  children:  George  B.,  born  March  5,  1873; 
Birdie  E.,  May  31,  1874;  Floyd  L.,  October  27,  1875; 
Luther  R.,  January  5,  1S77;  Ruby  S.,  February  27, 
1879;  Jesse  S.,  May  27,  1S82. 

Mr.  Austin  is  one  of  the  original  stockholders  of 
the  Los  Gatos  and  Saratoga  Wine  and  Fruit  Company, 
and  one  of  the  directors  of  the  corporation.  He  has 
also  an  interest  in  some  silver  mines  in  Nye  County, 
Nevada.  He  was  mainly  instrumental  in  having  the 
Austin  School  District,  in  which  he  resides,  estab- 
lished, and  the  district  was  named  after  him.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  celebrated  First  California  Guard, 
under  Captain  Bluxon.  Each  member  of  this  com- 
pany was  six  feet  high.  Their  armory  was  located  on 
Pine  Street,  San  Fianciso,  and  th^)-  encamped  three 
months  each  year  on  the  Alameda,  in  San  Jose. 


OHN  CILKER,  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Bar- 
©/  loga)  Cilker,  was  born  in  Hanover,  Germany, 
^'^  March  15,  1833.  His  parents  came  to  the  United 
States  when  he  was  an  infant,  and  located  in  Detroit, 
Michigan.  They  afterwards  removed  to  Joliet,  Illi- 
nois, where  his  mother  died  about  1840,  and  then  his 
father  moved  back  to  Detroit,  where  he  died  in  1S41. 
Upon  his  father's  death  he  was  bound  out  to  a  law- 
yer in  Detroit  named  Alexander  Buell,  and  lived  with 
him  about  two  years,  when  Mr.  Buell's  wife  died  and 
he  was  again  bound  out  to  a  man  named  Peter  Fisher, 
living  with  him  two  years,  and  when  fourteen  years 
old  started  for  himself  He  lived  in  Wisconsin,  Illi- 
nois, and  Missouri.  In  1857  he  came  to  California 
and  went  into  the  gold  mines  near  Placerville.  In 
June,  1858,  he  went  to  the  Fraser  River  mines  in 
British  Columbia,  where  he  mined  for  a  while  and 
then  went  to  Washington  Territory  and  engaged  in 
the  lumber  business,  which  he  followed  for  ten  years. 
Mr.  Cilker  was  married  in  Victoria,  British  Columbia, 
December  9,  1867,  to  Jane  Lipsett,  a  native  of  County 
Donegal,  Ireland,  and  then  came  to  Santa  Clara 
County  and  settled  on  his  present  place,  on  which 
all  the  improvements  were  made  by  him.  He  has 
eight  children  living, — three  girls  and  five  boys. 
Mr.  Cilker  is  a  stockholder  and  president  of  the  Co- 
operative Wine  Company  of  Los  Gatos.  He  has 
1 74  acres  planted  as  follows:  Twelve  acres  to  almonds, 
now  si.x  years  old  and  in  good  bearing;  seventeen 
acres   in   French   prunes,  of  which   ten   acres  are  five 


years  old  and  se\en  acres  three  years  old.  He  has 
had  one  good  crop  from  the  older  trees,  and  the  trees 
are  full  ihis  year.  He  has  212  cherry  trees  six  years 
old,  bearing  well;  eight  acres  in  white  egg  plums  about 
two  years  old,  and  a  family  orchard  of  three  acres  of 
different  varieties,  consisting  of  250  trees,  which  are 
doing  well,  and  five  acres  of  peaches,  two  years  old. 
He  has  also  a  large  vineyard,  of  which  10,000  vines  are 
three  years  old,  10,000  two  years  old,  and  8,000  one 
year  old. 


|||SILLIAM  G.  ALEXANDER,  son  of  Calvin 
ts^^  and  Anna  (Wright)  Alexander,  was  born  in 
cAs  Madison  County,  New  York,  December  12, 
1  1829.  His  father  was  a  native  of  Canada  and 
his  mother  of  New  York  State.  William  remained 
with  his  parents  until  he  became  of  age,  when  he  be- 
gan work  at  the  carpenter  trade  and  followed  it  in 
Monroe  County  till  the  spring  of  1854,  when  he  came 
to  California  and  located  at  Sacramento,  where  he 
worked  at  his  trade  for  one  year.  The  following  year 
he  went  to  the  mines  on  Scott  River,  and  in  the  spring 
of  1858  returned  to  Monroe  County,  New  York,  and 
September  30,  1858,  was  married  to  Julia  A.  Colles- 
ter,  a  native  of  that  county.  After  his  marriage  he 
bought  a  farm  in  Monroe  County,  where  he  remained 
two  years.  In  the  spring  of  i860  he  went  to  St. 
Joseph,  Michigan,  where  he  remained  till  1875. 
During  this  time  he  was  engaged  in  different  kinds  of 
business.  The  first  year  he  was  a  contractor,  then  for 
three  years  he  was  engaged  in  buying  and  shipping 
fruit  to  Chicago.  After  that  for  two  years  he  was  in- 
terested in  the  manufacturing  and  shipping  of  lumber. 
He  then  went  into  the  business  of  manufacturing 
brick  and  shipping  the  same  to  Chicago,  after  the 
great  Chicago  fire.  In  May,  187=;,  he  came  to  Oak- 
land, California,  where  he  remained  one  year  in  the 
business  of  contractor  and  house  builder.  In  the 
spring  of  the  next  year  he  removed  to  Santa  Cruz, 
where  he  continued  his  business  as  contractor  till  Feb- 
ruary, 1884,  when  he  came  to  Los  Gatos  and  located. 
Since  he  came  here  his  principal  business  has  been 
contracting  and  building.  In  August,  1887,  he  became 
associated  with  W.  Peck  &  Co.  in  the  real-estate  and 
insurance  business.  He  started  the  Los  Gatos  Land 
Agency,  consisting  of  W.  Peck,  W.  G.  Alexander, 
and  Z.  H.  Vohde.  He  has  a  son,  Monroe  Hamilton 
Alexander,  born  July  21,  1855,  who  graduated  at  the 
University  of  the  Pacific  in    18S1,  and  is  now  a  Pro- 


308 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


fessor  of  English  Literature  in  the  same  college.  He 
has  a  daughter,  Jennie  Lulu,  born  in  St.  Jo.seph,  Mich- 
igan, December  21,  1868,  also  a  graduate  of  the 
University  of  the  Pacific  in  June,  1887. 

^^ 


IJefRS.  H.  G.  MAYNARD  located  in  Santa  Clara 

(s^Q^  County  in  1887,  purchasing  a  property  between 

a^    Los  Gatos  and  Saratoga  for  the  benefit   of  her 

!  children.  The  ranch  contains  forty  acres,  and 
is  called  "  Mascot  Villa."  Thirty-five  acres  are  in 
fruit-trees.  There  are  3,000  French  prune,  650  peach, 
370  Bartlett  pear,  570  apple,  and  200  apricot  trees,  all 
in  full  bearing.  There  is  a  nice  spring  of  water  on 
the  place.  The  house  is  a  large  and  substantial  one, 
surrounded  by  well-kept  grounds,  with  ornamental 
shrubbery,  etc.,  and  is  kept  in  excellent  order,  thanks 
to  the  energetic  management  of  H.  G.  Maynard,  Jr. 

Mrs.  Maynard  is  the  wife  of  H  G.  Maynard,  who 
came  to  California  in  1850,  and  in  1855  went  to 
Gold  Hill,  Nevada,  and  became  interested  in  many 
lines  of  business,  being  very  successful  as  a  banker. 
He  built  some  seventy-five  houses  in  the 'town,  includ- 
ing one  large  block  called  the  "Maynard  Block."  He 
was  married  in  1S64  to  his  present  wife,  she  being  the 
widow  of  James  D.  Jackson,  M.  D.,  of  Worcester, 
Massachusetts,  who  died  in  San  Francisco,  in  1863. 

After  Mr.  Maynard's  marriage,  he  returned  to 
Massachusetts  and  built  a  summer  residence  in  North- 
borough,  and  a  winter  residence  in  Boston,  where  he 
lived  five  years.  He  then  sold  his  Eastern  property 
and  returned  to  San  Francisco,  where  he  bought 
property  on  Bush  Street,  and  built  seven  houses  be- 
tween Powell  and  Mason  Streets.  In  1884  he  went 
to  Washoe  City,  Nevada,  and  engaged  with  Gov.  C. 
C.  Stephenson  in  the  Willow  Creek  silver  and  lead 
mines,  devoting  his  attention  solely  to  the  mines. 


fB.  McNEAL,  one  of  Santa  Clara  County's  wor- 
thy and  highly  esteemed  citizens,  was  born  in 
•3^^  Bangor,  Maine,  December  14,  1837.  After  re- 
ceiving a  common-school  education  in  his  native 
State,  he  engaged  in  the  knnber  business  with  his 
father.  At  twcnti'-one  years  of  age  he  went  to  St. 
Paul,  Minnesota,  and  engaged  in  lumbering.  He 
then  went  South,  where  for  a  time  he  managed  a 
plantation,  but  afterward  returned  to  Minnesota  and 
resumed  the  lumber  business.    In  1859  lie  sailed  from 


e)f 


St.  Paul  for  California,  landing  in  San  Francisco  July 
5  of  that  year.  Like  the  majority  of  new-comers  in 
the  early  days,  Mr.  McNeal  went  to  the  mines.  He 
was  there  engaged  in  getting  out  timber  for  mining 
purposes.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  late  war  Mr. 
McNeal  enlisted  in  the  Union  Army  and  served  for 
about  three  years.  At  the  close  of  the  Rebellion  he 
settled  in  Alameda  County,  California,  and  engaged 
in  farming. 

In  October,  1871,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Mary  May.  To  them  have  been  born  four  chil- 
dren, one  boy  and  three  girls.  The  family  are  con- 
sistent members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Mr.  McNeal  is  a  member  of  the  A.  O.  U.  W.  Lodge, 
and  in  politics  he  is  a  Prohibitionist.  The  family  res- 
idence is  situated  on  the  Berryessa  road,  where  Mr. 
McNeal  owns  twenty  acres  of  fine  land,  which  is  de- 
voted to  fruit  culture. 


-€■ 


■HRISTIAN  WENTZ  was  born  in  the  Grand 
Duchy  of  Baden,  Germany,  August  13,  1822. 
In  1833  he  emigrated  to  America  with  his  par- 
ents and  settled  in  the  vicinity  of  Port  Deposit, 
Maryland,  where  he  lived  until  he  attained  his  majority. 
He  was  one  of  the  first  in  his  locality  to  start  for  the 
California  gold  mines.  He  took  passage  on  the  ship 
Greyhound  dit  Baltimore,  January  10,  1849.  On  June 
3  he  arrived  in  San  Francisco  and  at  once  went  to  the 
mines  at  Jamestown,  in  Tuolumne  County.  He  there 
worked  until  fall,  when  he  returned  to  San  Francisco. 
In  the  spring  of  1 850  he  again  went  to  the  mines, — this 
time  on  the  Yuba  River  near  Foster's  Bar.  He  soon 
became  dissatisfied  with  mining  and  returned  to  San 
Francisco,  and  in  November,  1850,  he  came  to  Santa 
Clara  County,  where  he  began  farming  near  San 
Jose.  In  1856  he  removed  to  his  present  residence, 
at  Gilroy  (now  Old  Gilroy,  the  new  town  being  started 
in  1 861). 

Mr.  Wentz  has  always  taken  an  active  part  in  pub- 
lic afifairs,  and  is  recognized  as  a  man  of  clear  percep- 
tions and  sound  views,  and  has  often  been  called  upon 
by  his  fellow-citizens  to  fill  positions  of  honor  and 
trust.  In  1861  he  was  elected  Justice  of  the  Peace 
for  Gilroy  Township,  and  from  1872  to  1876  was 
Deputy  County  Assessor,  and  again  in  1880  and  1S81. 
In  1880  he  was  elected  to  the  General  Assembly  from 
Santa  Clara  County  and  served  his  constituents  with 
honor  and  credit.  He  served  on  the  Committees  on 
Horticulture  and  Vines,  Commerce,  and  Navigation, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


and  Labor,  at  both  the  regular  and  called  sessions. 
In  1882  he  was  an  unsuccessful  candidate  for  the 
ofifice  of  County    Treasurer  of   Santa  Clara  County. 

Mr.  Wentz  has  fifty-one  acres  of  land,  in  two  tracts, 
and  all  his  land  is  used  either  for  dairying  or  fruit- 
raising  purposes.  He  has  an  orchard  of  fourteen 
acres,  which  contains  most  of  the  varieties  of  fruit 
suitable  to  this  climate.  Some  of  the  trees  are  very 
old  and  have  attained  a  large  growth.  Four  acres  of 
this  orchard  were  set  out  by  Mr.  Wentz  in  1887-88. 
He  regards  the  French  prunes  as  the  most  successful 
fruit,  as  far  as  abundance  of  yield  is  concerned,  al- 
though he  has  had  great  success  with  Bartlett  pears. 
On  his  home  place  he  has  ten  acres  which  he  has 
cropped  for  twenty-seven  years,  and  it  yet  produces  an 
average  of  three  tons  of  hay  to  the  acre,  and  there 
has  never  been  a  failure.  He  milks  about  thirty  cows, 
and  ships  the  product  to  customers  at  Soledad  and 
San  Francisco.  He  manufactures  both  "Flats  "  and 
"Young  Americas." 

In  April,  1855,  Mr.  Wentz  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Eliza  E.,  daughter  of  Elder  J.  K.  Rule.  In  1868 
he  was  one  of  fifty  who  purchased  the  Justo  Rancho 
from  Col.  W.  W.  Hollister,  and  laid  it  out  into 
homesteads,  and  also  laid  out  the  town  of  Holiister, 
now  the  county  seat  of  San  Benito  County. 


-»->n 


M-<-- 


CT' 

f^,  S.  ROGERS,  of  the  firm  of  Morey  &  Rogers  in 
'~^"  •  Gilroy,  was  born  in  Hard  wick,  Worcester  County, 
Massachusetts,  August  15,  1822.  His  parents 
were  Obadiah  and  Lydia  (Reed)  Rogers,  both  of 
whom  belonged  to  old  Massachusetts  families.  They 
are  both  dead.  In  1S32,  when  ten  years  of  age,  his 
parents  removed  to  Lenawee  County,  Michigan,  where 
he  received  his  education  and  subsequently  taught 
school.  In  1848  he  went  to  Georgetown,  in  Scott 
County,  Kentucky,  and  engaged  in  teaching  there,  and 
two  years  later  crossed  the  plains  to  California,  ar- 
riving at  Placerville,  September  2,  1850.  Here  he  en- 
gaged in  mining  and  also  practiced  dentistry.  At  the 
end  of  si.K  years  he  returned  to  the  Eastern  States  and 
practiced  his  profession  for  nine  months,  when  he 
came  again  to  California  and  located  in  El  Dorado 
County, where  he  worked  at  dentistry  and  also  engaged 
in  the  business  of  running  a  saw-mill.  This  mill  was 
unfortunately  destroyed  by  fire,  whereby  a  heavy  loss 
was  sustained.  Consequently,  in  search  of  fresh  fields 
for  his  energy,  he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  in  1 866, 
and   located  his  family  temporarily  in  Santa  Clara, 


but  removed  to  Gilroy  September  4,  1867.  About 
this  time  he  entered  into  partnership  with  J.  C.  Zuck 
for  the  purpose  of  conducting  a  real-estate  business, 
and  later  Mr.  Hoover  joined  the  firm,  when  the  style 
of  the  firm  became  Zuck,  Rogers  &  Hoover.  He  was 
largely  instrumental  in  opening  many  of  the  promi- 
nent thoroughfares  in  Gilroy.  The  firm  of  Morey  & 
Rogers  was  organized  in  September,  1887,  to  do  a 
general  real-estate  and  insurance  business. 

In  his  political  affiliations,  Mr.  Rogers  is  a  Reijubli- 
can.  He  was  married  October  23,  1856,  to  Dency  C. 
Wilder,  a  native  of  New  York,  by  whom  he  had 
three  children,  namely:  Edward  O.,  born  August  29, 
1861,  died  September  17,  1863;  Fanny  W.,  born  Au- 
gust 9,  1 865;  and  Eugene  F.,  May  15,  1868. 


POHN  MURDOCK  was  born  in  County  Down, 
Ireland,  October  23,  1832,  his  parents  being  James 
^  and  Ann  (McKee)  Murdock,  both  of  Scotch 
blood.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  came  to  the 
United  States  witli  his  brother,  locating  in  Arkansas, 
where  he  remained  until  1852,  when  he  crossed  the 
plains  to  Marysville,  California,  and  found  employ- 
ment in  a  bakery  for  a  while.  He  next  went  to  Sutter 
County,  where  he  engaged  in  stock-raising,  and  in 
1868  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  bringing  eighty 
head  of  cattle  with  him.  In  1876  he  engaged  in  the 
dairying  business,  in  which  he  has  been  successful. 
His  present  residence  was  erected  in    1879. 

Mr.  Murdock  was  married  in  Sutter  County,  Janu- 
ary 10,  1867,  to  Miss  Catherine  L.  Bostwick,  a  native  of 
Ohio,  and  of  Pennsylvania  ancestry.  They  have  nine 
children:  William  Henry,  residing  in  Fresno;  Mary 
Ann,  wife  of  C.  Doan,  residing  in  San  Benito  County; 
David  M.,  a  resident  of  San  Jose;  Noble  D.,  a  resident 
of  San  Felipe;  Sarah  Jane,  John  C,  Charles  N., 
Robert  Frederick,  and  Catherine  L.  Mrs.  Murdock 
died  in  August,  1879. 

fn  politics  Mr.  Murdock  is  a  Republican.  He  is 
now,  and  has  been  for  fifteen  years,  a  School  Trustee 
in  Rhodes  School  District.  He  has  a  fine  garden,  and 
raises  nearly  all  kinds  of  vegetables.  Wild  clover  and 
oats  were  found  growing  on  the  place  when  he  set- 
tled on  it.  The  bur  clover  is  the  best  feed  he  has, 
and  the  alfalfa  also  does  well.  He  usually  rents  about 
100  acres  in  the  valley  for  feed  for  his  stock,  and  runs 
his  stock  on  that  when  he  can.  Mr.  Murdock  has  a 
ranch  of  879  acres,  nearly  eight  miles  due  east  from 
Gilroy,  in  the  Caiiada  De  Los  Osos.     He  has  from  100 


310 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


to  150  head  of  stock  cattle,  and  usually  milks  about 
forty  cows,  and  makes  100  pounds  of  cheese  per  day, 
for  which  he  finds  a  market  in  San  Francisco.  He 
has  obtained  as  high  as  eighteen  cents  per  pound  for 
cheese  this  season.  He  manufactures  the  Young 
America  cheese,  which  averages  eight  pounds  each. 
He  raises  the  Durham  breed  of  cattle,  preferring  them 
to  any  other  for  dairy  purposes. 


fANIEL  GARTELMANN  was  born  in  Bremen, 
Germany,  September  29,  1829.  His  parents, 
^!  Henry  and  Mattie  Gartelmann,  remained  in 
Germany,  where  they  died.  They  reared  a 
family  of  eight  children,  of  whom  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  is  the  eldest.  He  lived  on  his  father's  farm 
until  1847,  when  he  went  to  London,  England.  In 
1849  he  came  to  the  United  States,  and  first  located 
in  New  York.  He  was  employed  in  the  mercantile 
business  as  a  clerk,  and  afterward  engaged  in  the 
business  for  himself,  in  which  he  continued  until  1854. 
From  New  York  he  went  to  Savannah,  Georgia,  where 
he  remained  a  short  time,  and  then  went  to  Phila- 
delphia, and  was  employed  in  a  sugar  refinery,  having 
learned  the  business  during  his  residence  in  London. 
From  Philadelphia  he  went  to  New  York,  and  soon 
after,  in  1857,  sailed  from  that  port  for  California,  via 
Panama,  arriving  in  San  Francisco  in  August  of  that 
year.  He  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  at  San 
Francisco,  purchasing  a  half-interest  in  a  business  at 
the  corner  of  Dupont  and  Pine  Streets,  where  he  re- 
mained for  two  years.  He  then  sold  out  and  again 
embarked  in  business  on  the  corner  of  Drumm  and 
Jackson  Streets,  and  continued  there  until  1864.  He 
then  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  but  still  retained 
his  store  in  San  Francisco,  until  it  was  destroyed  by 
fire  in  1865.  This  was  quite  a  heavy  loss  to  Mr.  Gar- 
telmann, there  being  only  a  small  insurance  on  the 
property.  When  he  came  to  this  valley  he  bought 
320  acres  of  land,  in  company  with  a  man  named 
Henry  Wilbern,  which  partnership  continued  for  two 
years,  when  they  dissolved,  Mr.  Gartelmann  purchas- 
ing his  present  property  in  the  Collins  School  District, 
Fremont  Township.  The  place  originally  contained 
160  acres,  and  in  the  course  of  three  years  he  bought 
another  160  acres.  The  land  was  mostly  in  its  wild 
state,  being  covered  wit  1  chaparral  and  trees,  with 
only  a  small  part  of  it  cleared.  Mr.  Gartelmann 
directed  his  attention  to  making  improvements  on  the 
place,  clearing  the  land,  building  fences,  and  getting 


the  ground  in  a  state  suitable  for  cultivation.  It  has 
cost  him  many  a  hard  day's  work,  together  with  other 
expenses,  and  he  has  lived  to  see  good  returns  for  his 
labor  in  the  products  of  the  place,  and  the  great  in- 
crease in  value  of  the  property.  About  seven  years 
ago  he  commenced  selling  off  portions  of  the  land, 
and  at  the  present  time  has  sixty  acres,  all  in  a  high 
state  of  cultivation.  There  is  a  vineyard  of  forty-five 
acres  that  is  seven  years  old,  and  an  orchard  of  about 
1,200  trees,  consisting  principally  of  cherries  and 
French  prunes,  together  with  a  smaller  number  of 
other  kinds  of  fruit,  some  of  the  trees  being  twelve 
years  old.  In  18S7  the  vineyard  yielded  about  150 
tons  of  grapes.  The  present  year  (1888)  he  sold 
$86  worth  of  cherries  from  three-fourths  of  an  acre 
of  ground,  besides  supplying  the  family  with  what 
they  wanted  for  home  use. 

Mr.  Gartelmann  was  married,  in  1859,  to  Catherine 
Mary  Vordman,  a  native  of  Germany,  who  came  to 
California  the  same  year.  She  died  April  28,  1887, 
the  mother  of  six  children,  of  whom  four  are  living: 
Matilda  E.,  wife  of  Theodore  Brohaske,  of  San  Jose; 
Katie  M.,  Annie,  and  Daniel  H.,  all  residents  of  this 
county. 


■m 


j^- 


PLI  ALMOND  WILDER,  son  of  Keyes  and 
Tryphena  Wilder,  was  born  in  Alexander,  Gen- 
^  esec  County,  New  York,  September  13,  18 15. 
His  parents  were  natives  of  Massachusetts,  and 
settled  in  New  York  in  181 3  or  '14.  His  father  died 
in  New  York,  and  his  niothei  in  Wisconsin,  a  short 
time  after  removing  there.  Eli  lived  in  New  York 
until  he  was  twenty-three  years  old,  and  attended  the 
common  schools,  all  that  the  country  at  that  time 
afforded.  In  1839  he  removed  to  Wisconsin  and  en- 
gaged in  farming  for  about  five  years,  in  Green  Lake 
Count}'.  In  1844  he  went  into  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness in  the  town  of  Mackford,  and  afterward  in  the 
village  of  Markesan.  In  1858  he  removed  to  Hum- 
boldt County,  Iowa,  and  engaged  in  the  mercantile 
business  there  till  1883,  when  he  sold  out  and  came  to 
California  and  located  in  Los  Gatos,  where  he  has 
since  resided.  He  purchased  ten  acres  of  what  is  known 
as  the  Almond  Grove  in  Los  Gatos,  and  laid  it  off  into 
town  lots  in  1887.  He  was  formerly  a  Whig,  but  is  now 
a  Republican  ;  he  was  County  Clerk  of  Marquette 
County,  Wisconsin,  two  terms.  Justice  of  the  Peace  in 
the  village  of  Markesan  for  about  fifteen  years,  elected 
a  Justice  of  the  Peace  in   Los  Gatos  in    1886,  which 


BIOGBAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


ni 


position  he  still   holds,  and  is  also  Judge  of  the  Re- 
corder's Court  of  Los  Gatos. 

Mr.  Wilder    was   married,  September   17,   1 851,  to 
Julia   A.   Harkncss,   a  native  of   Pennsylvania. 


M- 


H^-^- 


316   E.  WILDER  was  born  in  Green  Lake  County, 
o^rfe  Wisconsin,  October  6,  18;^,  where  he  lived  until 

i 

'W  he  was  thirteen  years  old,  when  he  moved  with 
t  his  parents  to  Iowa.  He  attended  the  public 
schools  of  Iowa  and  the  Jefferson  Liberal  Institute  of 
Jefferson,  Wisconsin.  His  commercial  education  was 
received  at  Dubuque,  Iowa.  He  came  to  California 
in  1882,  and  in  the  spring  of  1885  was  engaged  as 
Assistant  Cashier  of  the  Bank  of  Los  Gatos.  In  Jan- 
uary, 1886,  he  was  promoted  Cashier,  which  position 
he  now  fills.  He  was  married  in  1874,  to  Cynthia 
I.  Tibbetts,  a  native  of  Oshkosh,  Wisconsin.  Mr 
Wilder  was  interested  in  the  Almond  Grove  Addition 
to  Los  Gatos,  which  was  annexed  to  the  city  in  Sep- 
tember, 1887.  He  was  elected  first  clerk  of  the  Los 
Gatos  Board  of  Trustees  when  the  city  was  incorpo- 
rated, and  served  one  term.  He  is  a  prominent  Odd 
Fellow,  and  has  been  connected  with  the  order  since 
1877. 


->->->H 


M 


H^-<- 


.gAMES  E.  GORDON  \A-as  born  while  his  parents 
^  were  on  their  way  from  Newark,  New  Jersey,  to 
^  San  Francisco,  October  12,  1846.  His  father, 
James  Gordon,  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  and  his 
mother  of  New  Orleans,  Louisiana.  They  did  not 
reach  California  until  1849,  although  when  they  left 
New  Jersey  their  objective  point  was  San  Francisco, 
but  remained  in  Mexico  during  the  Mexican  War, 
contracting  and  furnishing  the  United  States  Army 
with  supplies,  and  this  and  other  business  delayed 
their  arrival  in  San  Francisco.  At  that  time  San 
Francisco  was  no  larger  than  Los  Gatos  is  to-day. 
The  vessel  on  which  they  made  the  voyage  was  an 
old  Dutch  bark  called  the  Alexander  Von  Humboldt, 
and  among  her  passengers  were  many  who  subse- 
quently became  prominently  identified  with  the  his- 
tory of  California,  among  them  being  C.  P.  Hunt- 
ington, of  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad,  and  Isaac  E. 
Davis,  President  of  the  Society  of  California  Pioneers. 
In  1852,  Mr.  Gordon  attended  for  a  short  time  the 
pioneer  public  school  of  California,  in  San  P'rancisco, 
taught  by  John   C.  Pelton,  and    in    i860  the  Rincon 


School,  taught  by  the  veteran  John  Swett;  but  the 
most  of  his  education  has  been  self-acquired.  He 
went  to  the  mines  and  participated  as  far  as  a  boy 
could  in  the  various  mining  experiences  which  made 
California's  history  interesting.  He  followed  mining 
for  about  ten  years,  assisting  his  father  a  part  of  the 
time  in  extensive  mining  operations.  His  father  lost 
heavily  in  this  business,  and  died  in  1859,  leaving 
James  to  support  himself  and  mother.  In  1863  he 
entered  the  employ  of  L.  B.  Benchley  &  Co.,  wholesale 
hardware  dealers  in  San  Francisco,  as  errand-boy,  at 
a  salary  of  $20  per  month,  and  left  them  in  1875  as 
manager,  with  a  salary  of  $4,000  per  annum.  He 
then  bought  out  the  old  firm  of  Marsh,  Pillsbury  & 
Co.,  a  branch  of  the  Boston  house  of  May  &  Co.,  the 
oldest  hardware  house  in  America.  He  did  business 
for  five  years  as  James  E.  Gordon  &  Co.,  when  he 
incorporated  as  The  Gordon  Hardware  Company, 
being  the  first  jobbing  house  on  the  coast  to  incor- 
porate, an  example  which  was  soon  followed  by  the 
heaviest  houses  in  that  line.  In  connection  with  the 
main  house,  branch  houses  were  established  at  Seattle, 
Washington  Territory,  and  at  Los  Angeles,  under  the 
same  firm  name.  The  management  of  the  three  houses 
telling  upon  his  health  at  that  time,  he  closed  up  his 
business  in  San  Francisco  and  Los  Angeles,  and  dis- 
posed of  the  greater  portion  of  his  interest  in  the 
Seattle  house,  and  retired  permanently  from  the  hard- 
ware business.  The  Seattle  house  continues  to  do 
the  largest  business  in  that  line  in  the  Territory.  In 
1885,  realizing  that  the  fruit  business  would  hereafter 
become  the  leading  industry  of  the  State,  he  decided 
to  identify  himself  with  it,  purchasing  the  famous 
O'Banion  &  Kent  orchard  at  Saratoga.  The  property 
consisted  of  eighty-six  acres,  all  in  bearing,  for  which 
he  paid  $72,000,  which  at  that  time  was  considered  a 
ridiculously  high  price  by  those  who  were  not  aware 
of  the  profits  derived  from  this  class  of  property.  At 
the  same  time  he  purcha.sed  a  large  interest  in  the 
Los  Gatos  Fruit  Packing  Company,  of  which  institu- 
tion he  is  the  financial  director.  In  1887  Mr.  Gordon 
organized  the  Saratoga  Village  Improvement  Asso- 
ciation, the  object  of  which  is  to  plant  sliade-trees, 
sprinkle  roadways,  cultivate  social  intercourse,  and  in 
other  ways  to  make  Saratoga  a  desirable  place  of 
residence.  Milton  H.  Myrick,  ex-Supreme  Court 
Justice  of  this  State,  is  its  President,  and  has  con- 
tributed much  to  its  success  already  achieved.  Mr. 
Gordon's  orchard  consists  of  nearly  10,000  trees,  com- 
posed of  3,000  apricots,  2,000  French  prunes,  2,000 
almonds,  1,000  peaches,  and  the   remainder  in  plums, 


312 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


apples,  pears,  and  cherries.  He  is  now  erecting  a 
series  of  buildings  for  grading  and  packing  green 
fruits  for  the  market,  and  also  for  canning,  drying, 
and  making  glace  fruit — a  form  of  crystallized  fruit. 
A  portion  of  the  buildings  will  be  ready  for  this 
season's  crop,  with  greater  extensions  to  be  made  for 
the  future.  Shortly  after  coming  to  the  place  he 
organized  a  stock  company,  and  had  the  orchard  in- 
corporated under  the  name  of  the  Saratoga  Orchard 
Company,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $100,000,  one  of 
the  objects  being  the  acquiring  of  adjacent  land  and 
setting  it  out  into  orchards.  Mr.  Gordon  spends  half 
of  his  time  at  his  orchard,  and  the  other  half  at  his 
office  in  San  Francisco,  where  he  is  operating  on  his 
own  account  in  real  estate.  These  operations  extend 
from  British  Columbia  to  Mexico,  a  business  he  has 
been  engaged  in  since  he  earned  his  first  $20  piece. 

Mr.  Gordon  was  married  October  11,  1873,  to  Carrie 
S.  Hooke,  of  San  Francisco,  a  daughter  of  William 
H.  Hooke,  a  prominent  lumber  dealer  of  that  city. 
They  have  four  children — three  daughters  and  one 
son. 


->H>H 


M 


■^^-<- 


POHN  W.  BRYAN.  The  father  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  Abner  Bryan,  was  born  in  Saint 
T  Charles,  Missouri,  March  17,  1802,  where  he  lived 
to  be  grown.  He  was  married  to  Mary  Thomas,  and 
removed  to  Greene  County,  Missouri,  where  he  re- 
sided until  1845.  At  this  early  date  Mr.  Bryan,  with 
his  family  of  five  sons,  and  another  family  named 
Scott,  started  for  California.  The  two  families,  num- 
bering seventeen  persons,  made  the  trip  across  the 
plains,  taking  six  months,  lacking  four  days,  to  make 
the  journey,  from  the  time  they  started  until  they 
landed  at  Sacramento.  The  party  stopped  the  first 
winter  at  Sutter's  Fort.  Captain  Sutter  gave  them 
an  adobe  house  to  live  in  during  the  cold  weather. 
From  there  they  moved  ten  miles  up  the  American 
River,  to  a  place  called  Leigedoff  Ranch,  where  they 
stopped  a  short  time.  In  the  same  spring  they  started 
out  with  the  intention  of  going  to  Oregon.  They 
went  up  the  Sacramento  River  about  ninety  miles,  to 
what  is  known  as  Stony  Creek,  where  they  located, 
and  remained  two  years.  They  built  a  large  adobe 
house,  and  made  everything  as  convenient  as  possible. 
In  the  fall  of  1847  they  came  down  to  San  Jose,  and 
went  hence  to  the  mines  at  Hangtown,  now  Piacer- 
ville,  where  the  discovery  of  gold  was  made.  They 
remained  there  in   the   mines  until  the  fall  of  1849, 


when  they  returned  to  San  Jose,  and  removed  from 
here  to  what  is  now  Mountain  View.  It  was  not 
long  before  they  went  to  Contra  Costa  County,  thence 
to  Salinas,  Monterey  County,  and  from  there  they 
returned  to  Santa  Clara  County,  and  to  the  town  of 
Santa  Clara.  From  here  he  went  to  what  is  now  San 
Benito  County,  then  Monterey  County.  He  made 
one  or  two  other  little  moves,  and  finally  went  to 
Santa  Barbara  County,  where  he  now  resides.  His 
wife  died  while  cro.ssing  the  plains,  and  was  buried  on 
the  way.  Mr.  Bryan  was  married  again.  The  issue 
of  this  marriage  was  five  children — three  sons  and 
two  daughters. 

John  W.  Bryan,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  remained 
with  his  father  until  1858.  He  was  married,  in  i860, 
to  Mary  E.  Logwood,  a  native  of  Texas,  who  came 
to  California  with  her  parents  in  1853.  Soon  after 
his  marriage  Mr.  Bryan  came  to  Santa  Clara  County, 
where  he  has  lived  ever  since.  In  October,  1865,  he 
settled  on  his  present  place  in  Fremont  Township, 
which  contains  eighty  acres  of  land.  Sixty  acres  are 
in  orchard,  numbering  about  600  trees,  the  youngest 
of  which  is  five  years  old.  There  are  thirty  acres  in 
vines,  from  four  to  seven  years  old.  The  rest  of  the 
place  is  in  grain  and  hay.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bryan  have 
three  children  :  William,  Josie,  and  Lilian  Gertrude. 
They  have  also  lost  two  children  :  Luella  died  April  9, 
1888,  aged  twenty-seven  years;  and  Katie  died  in 
1865,  at  the  age  of  three  years. 


|PRANKLIN  M.  FARWELL  was  born  in  Morris- 
's^ ville,  Madison  County,  New  York,  August  8, 
T  1S34.  His  father,  John  W.,  was  a  native  of 
Mansfield,  Connecticut,  where  he  was  born  Novem- 
ber 14,  1809,  and,  when  quite  young,  moved  to  Madi- 
son County,  New  York,  and  was  married  there  to 
Nancy  M.  Morris,  a  native  of  that  county.  Her 
father  was  also  born  in  Connecticut,  and  removed  at 
an  early  date  to  Madison  County,  New  York.  She 
was  born  November  12,  181 2.  John  W.  removed  to 
New  York  city  in  1846  and  engaged  in  the  mercantile 
business.  In  1849  he  came  to  San  Francisco,  and  in 
1856  moved,  with  his  family,  to  the  Farwell  place 
near  Saratoga.  Previous  to  this  date,  in  1854,  his 
son  Charles  took  up  some  government  land,  and  in 
1855  built  a  house.  His  was  a  squatter  claim,  and 
the  main  house  then  built  still  stands.  John  W.,  the 
father,  died  September  6,  1866,  and  his  wife  died  No- 
vember 20,  1885.     They  reared  a  family  of  six  chil- 


^-:|./«, 


^ 


BIO  GRAPHIC  A  L  SKETCHES. 


313 


drcn,  four  of  whom  grew  to  maturity;  two  are  now 
living.  Charles  T.  Farwell  was  drowned  in  the  Fraser 
River  in  February,  1864.  William  H.  Farwell  died 
in  December,  1877.  The  children  now  living  are 
Franklin  M.  and  Jennie  M.  Farwell. 

Frank  M.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  went  to  the 
California  mines  in  Nevada  and  Sierra  Counties  in 
1856,  and  mined  there  four  or  five  years,  when  he 
came  home  and  worked  on  the  ranch  till  1871;  going 
then  to  San  Francisco,  he  engaged  in  business  there 
till  1878,  when  he  returned  to  the  ranch,  where  he 
has  since  lived.  This  ranch  originally  contained  160 
acres;  of  this,  sixty  acres  are  in  trees,  viz.,  thirty-four 
acres  in  French  prunes,  twenty-two  acres  in  winter 
pears  for  shipping,  two  acres  in  peaches,  and  one  acre 
containing  a  variety  of  fruits.  The  apple  and  peach 
trees  in  the  old  family  orchard,  planted  in  1856,  are 
strong  and  healthy;  also  some  plum  trees  twenty-five 
years  old.  In  1884,  from  two  of  these,  700  pounds 
from  one,  and  500  pounds  from  the  other,  were  gath- 
ered. In  1886  the  same  results  were  obtained.  Mr. 
Farwell  is  one  of  the  most  enterprising  and  public- 
spirited  men  in  his  section,  and  is  always  found  at 
the  front  in  any  movement  that  tends  to  the  public 
good,  or  the  relief  of  the  unfortunate. 


|irON.  W.  Z.  ANGNEY,  deceased.  There  is  no 
G^i^  career  so  brilliant  but  that  an  additional  bright- 
1^9)  ness  attaches  to  it  from  the  charm  of  honesty, 
and  the  possession  and  retention  of  this  jewel, 
by  a  man  in  public  life,  assures  him  a  lasting  place  in 
the  esteem  of  his  fellow-men.  Brilliancy,  stability, 
and  honesty,  all  these  and  more,  were  the  possession 
of  the  late  distinguished  man  whose  name  heads  this 
sketch.  He  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  born  at 
Carlisle,  the  county  seat  of  Cumberland  County,  on 
the  third  of  October,  1818.  He  commenced  his  ed- 
ucation in  the  grammar  department  of  the  High 
School  in  his  native  borough,  and  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen years  commenced  attendance  at  Dickinson  Col- 
lege, at  which  institution  he  graduated  with  high  rank, 
four  years  later.  For  his  life  vocation  he  chose  the 
profession  of  the  law,  and  commenced  his  legal 
studies  under  Mr.  Alexander,  of  Carlisle,  and  was 
associated  with  that  gentleman  for  two  years.  Rec- 
ognizing the  fact  that  the  place  for  a  young  man  to 
obtain  a  foot-hold  in  professional  life  was  in  the  new 
West,  rather  than  in  the  over-crowded  East,  Mr.  Ang- 
ncy  removed  to  Missouri  and  located  at  Jefferson 
40 


City,  the  State  capital,  where  he  was  soon  afterward 
admitted  to  the  Bar.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Mexican  War,  he  offered  his  services  in  behalf  of  his 
country,  and  received  a  Lieutenant's  commission.  He 
soon  rose  to  the  rank  of  Captain,  and  in  the  campaign 
commanded  a  brigade  of  regular  troops.  Some  time 
after  the  close  of  the  war,  Mr.  Angney  was  elected  as 
one  of  the  delegates  from  New  Mexico,  to  urge  upon 
the  general  government  at  Washington  the  impor- 
tance of,  and  necessity  for,  a  civil  government  for  the 
territory  of  New  Mexico.  At  the  end  of  one  year, 
his  mi-ssion  being  completed,  he  returned  to  New 
Mexico.  In  1851,  however,  he  set  out  for  California, 
at  the  head  of  a  large  party,  and  was  the  first  man  to 
drive  sheep  over  that  route. 

For  some  months  he  traveled  throughout  California, 
then  returned  to  his  native  State.  He  determined, 
however,  to  make  the  Golden  State  his  future  home, 
and  for  that  purpose  returned  to  the  Pacific  Coast, 
t'ta  Panama,  and  in  1853  took  up  his  residence  in 
San  Francisco.  He  resumed  his  profession,  and  in  a 
short  time  built  up  a  large  practice,  but  having  con- 
scientious scruples  about  the  practice  of  law  in  San 
Francisco  in  those  days,  he  decided  to  retire  from  it. 
In  pursuance  of  this  purpose  he  purchased  a  herd  of 
sheep,  and,  coming  to  Santa  Clara  County,  established 
himself  upon  the  fine  ranch  west  of  Gilroy,  now 
known  as  the  Scott  and  Hersey  place.  Though  he 
had  given  up  his  chosen  profession  in  obedience  to 
the  dictates  of  his  conscience,  he  was  too  good  a  citizen 
to  refrain  from  taking  his  part  in  the  public  affairs  of 
the  community,  and  in  1867  he  was  put  forward  and 
chosen  by  the  electors  of  his  legislative  district  to  a 
seat  in  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State.  In  the 
session  of  1867-68  he  was  Chairman  of  the  impor- 
tant standing  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means,  and  of 
the  special  Committee  on  the  Adoption  of  a  Uni- 
form System  of  Fees  for  all  the  counties  of  the  State. 
He  was  also  a  member  of  the  standing  Committee  on 
Education. 

In  July,  1870,  he  was  appointed  by  Governor 
Haight  as  a  member  of  the  State  Board  of  Equal- 
ization, a  position  of  honor  and  of  great  impor- 
tance. While  a  member  of  that  Board,  he  was  re- 
quested by  Governor  Haight  to  undertake  the  work 
of  the  revision  of  the  code,  or  that  portion  of  it  em- 
braced in  the  Revenue  Law.  In  a  matter  of  such 
importance  but  few  men,  however  great  their  capa- 
bilities, are  competent  to  take  charge.  Captain  Ang- 
ney, with  his  clear  head  and  studious  habits,  was  pro- 
posed as  the  one  man   best  fitted   for   the  work      In 


314 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


compliance  with  the  Governor's  request,  he  undertook 
the  work,  assisted  by  Mr.  Maslin,  the  Clerk  of  the 
Board.  It  required  great  labor  and  intense  mental  ap- 
plication, but  he  had  the  satisfaction  to  see  that  his 
revision  was,  for  the  most  part,  accepted  by  the  code 
revisers.  That  satisfaction  was,  however,  the  only 
compensation  he  ever  received,  as  he  asked  for  and 
received  no  pay  for  his  labors.  The  meed  of  credit 
should  have  been  given,  but  this  was  scarcely  done, 
and  his  name  is  known,  in  this  connection,  only  by 
the  few  immediately  identified  with  the  work.  He 
did  not  care,  however;  when  a  duty  was  done,  a  good 
accomplished,  the  reward  of  conscience  satisfied  him. 
In  1875  he  vAas  again  called  by  the  electors  of  his 
district  to  perform  public  duty,  and  was  chosen  by 
them  to  a  seat  in  the  State  Senate.  In  this  body  he 
was  chosen  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Finance. 
He  was  also  a  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Pub- 
lic Lands,  and  a  member  of  those  on  Agriculture, 
Fisheries,  and  Public  Morals.  He  served  through  the 
first  session  with  great  distinction,  and  in  his  appear- 
ance at  the  opening  of  the  session  of  1877-78,  it  was 
noticed  that  his  health  was  fast  failing.  When  the 
Senate  adjourned  for  the  Christmas  holidays,  he  went 
to  his  home,  never  again  to  leave  it  in  life.  His  death 
occurred  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  January,  1878. 
Great  sorrow  was  felt  on  account  of  his  death,  not 
only  at  his  home  and  in  his  family,  but  throughout 
the  State,  and  among  his  public  associates.  Many  of 
the  leading  newspapers  of  the  State  said  that  the 
Senate  had  lost  its  most  profound  scholar,  and  not 
one  notice  failed  to  speak  of  the  proud  heritage  of  an 
honest  and  noble  name  he  had  left  to  his  widow.  The 
committee  appointed  by  the  Senate  to  attend  the 
funeral  in  an  official  capacity  consisted  of  Senators 
Murphy,  Montgomery,  Flint,  Fowler,  and  Evans.  It 
was  universally  acknowledged  that  the  State  had  lost 
one  of  its  ablest  and  most  conscientious  statesmen. 
Captain  Angney  was  indeed  a  noble  man,  whose  chief 
aim  it  was  through  life  to  do  good. 

His  widow,  the  companion  who  stood  by  him 
through  life,  and  helped  him  in  all  the  tedious  details 
of  his  public  labors,  deserves  in  this  connection  much 
more  than  a  passing  mention.  Mrs.  Angney's  maiden 
name  was  Lydia  Frances  Witham.  She  was  born  at 
Denmark,  Oxford  County,  Maine.  Her  father,  Eli 
Witham,  was  a  native  of  Maine,  and  one  of  the  old 
families  of  that  State,  his  ancestors  having  been  resi- 
dents there  at  the  time  of  the  Revolutionary  War. 
They  were  of  English  origin,  and  the  seat  of  the 
family,  on  the    eastern  coast  of  England,   bears  the 


name  of  Witham,  and  is  situated  on  the  banks  of  a 
river  of  the  same  name.  Eli  Witham  was  reared  in 
Maine,  and  married  at  Durham,  New  Hampshire,  to 
Miss  Hannah  Fernald,  who  was  a  native  of  Ports- 
mouth, New  Hampshire,  which  had  been  the  family 
home  from  the  time  of  their  settlement  in  America. 
Her  Grandfather  Fernald  was  a  native  of  England, 
and  he  was  the  founder  of  the  family  in  this  country. 
He  located  in  Portsmouth,  and  engaged  in  commer- 
cial life.  His  death,  which  occurred  at  Boston,  was 
the  result  of  an  accident,  he  having  been  killed  by 
the  firing  of  a  gun  which  was  intended  as  a  salute  to 
a  ship  belonging  to  him,  which  was  coming  into  the 
harbor.  His  son,  Gilbert  Fernald,  the  grandfather  of 
Mrs.  Angney,  was  a  learned  man,  and  profound  writer. 
Mrs.  Angney  has  a  volume  of  poems,  his  production, 
which  bespeak  the  talent  and  culture  of  the  author. 
Eli  Witham,  father  of  Mrs.  Angney,  was  a  farmer, 
who  cleared  up  a  farm  amid  the  heavy  timber  land  of 
Maine,  and  there  lived  until  his  death,  and  the  farm 
remained  in  the  family  name  until  the  fall  of  1887. 

Mrs.  Angney  received  the  advantages  of  such  edu- 
cational facilities  as  the  schools  of  the  neighborhood 
afforded  during  her  early  youth,  and  at  the  age  of 
fifteen  years  she  was  graduated,  then  engaged  in 
teaching  for  a  time,  after  which  she  attended  the 
Coney  Female  Academy  at  Augusta,  Maine,  where 
she  completed  her  school  education.  Her  health  not 
being  able  to  withstand  the  rigors  of  the  Maine  cli- 
mate, she  came  to  California  in  the  fall  of  1858,  with 
friends  from  home,  and,  while  residing  at  San  Fran- 
cisco, was  married,  in  1864,  to  Captain  Angney.  She 
has  been  a  constant  contributor  to  the  press,  and  be- 
sides has  written  a  number  of  excellent  poems,  some 
of  which  have  been  printed  many  times,  and  widely 
read,  but  many  of  the  gems  of  her  pen  have  never 
yet  been  offered  to  the  public.  When  quite  young, 
in  Maine,  she  commenced  writing  for  the  press,  and 
her  earliest  contributions  were  given  to  the  Scholars' 
Leaf,  a  children's  publication,  and  afterward  to  vari- 
ous papers  in  New  England.  She  has  been  a  con- 
tributor to  the  papers  of  New  York  city  and  San 
Francisco,  besides  the  Santa  Clara  County  papers, 
and  still  occasionally  writes  for  the  papers  of  her  na- 
tive State.  Her  charitable  work  has  been  somewhat 
independent  of  societies,  though  she  always  responded 
to  every  call  on  her  benevolence  for  the  advancement 
or  amelioration  of  the  conditions  of  the  human  race. 
The  following  beautiful  poem,  written  by  Mrs.  Ang- 
ney, was  published  in  the  San  Francisco  Exai/iiiier 
soon  after  the  death  of  her  husband: — 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


315 


LINES. 

SUGGESTED  BY  READING  THE  POEM,  THE    "PARTING    HOUR.' 

By  tlie  beat  of  my  troubled  heart, 

By  the  anguish  that  fills  my  breast, 
By  the  burning  tears  which  start, 

By  the  nights  that  bring  no  rest, 
I  can  read  the  poet  well; 

His  meaning  is  well-defined: 
"  The  one  who  goes  is  happier 

Than  those  he  leaves  behind." 
If  they  go  but  to  cOme  again 

After  a  few  short  years, 
'Tis  not  the  ones  that  are  going 

That  shed  the  bitterest  tears; 
New  life,  new  scenes  are  before  them, 

New  objects  to  cheer  the  mind; 
But  the  thoughts  of  the  absent  are  ever 

With  those  that  are  left  behind. 
But  when  tiie  tiark  duors  are  opened, 

The  doors  of  the  dismal  tomb ; 
When  the  last  good-by  is  spoken, 

And  the  loved  one  gone  too  soon, — 
"  Gone  from  all  care  and  trouble  " 

Is  the  only  solace  we  find; 
But  God,  I  know,  will  remember 

The  sorrowful  ones  behind. 


~j|-AMES  TAYLOR,  son  of  James  and  Margaret 
©/  (Ellen)  Taylor,  was  born  in  Providence,  Rhode 
•'^  Island,  January  19,  1825.  His  father  was  a  na- 
tive of  Ireland  and  his  mother  of  Scotland.  They 
lived  and  died  in  Rhode  Island.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  is  one  of  two  children  When  about  sixteen 
years  old  he  left  home  and  began  life  for  himself. 
In  1852  he  came  to  California  via  Cape  Horn,  leav- 
ing New  York  February  2,  and  arriving  in  San  Fran- 
cisco July  3  of  that  year.  He  came  in  the  clipper 
ship  Kate  Hayes,  commanded  by  Captain  Moran.  In 
San  Francisco  he  engaged  in  different  occupations 
till  1856,  when  he  bought  a  small  farm  in  the  Willows 
near  San  Jose.  In  1857  he  sold  out  and  located  in 
the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains.  He  owned  three  different 
places  before  he  purchased  his  present  one  in  1863, 
and  moved  upon  this  latter  place  in  1864,  where  he 
has  since  resided.  He  has  eighty-four  acres,  of  which 
twenty-five  acres  are  in  orchard  and  ten  in  vines. 
He  has  about  1,300  French,  and  60  silver,  prunes, 
all  from  seven  to  eight  years  old;  500  egg-plums,  three 
years  old;  500  apple  trees,  ten  years  old;  350  Bartlclt 
pears,  four  years  old,  except  a  few  which  are  ten  years 
old,  besides  a  family  orchard  of  different  kinds.  The 
vineyard    consists    of    Muscats,   Verdal,   Tokay,   and 


Black  Ferraar,  two-thirds  being  in  Muscats,  twelve 
years  old.  Mr.  Taylor  has  a  number  of  large  trees 
on  his  place,  one  redwood  eighteen  feet  in  diameter, 
and  a  tan  oak  ten  feet  in  diameter.  Competent  wood- 
men suppose  that  there  are  twenty-seven  cords  of 
wood  in  the  two  trees. 

Mr.  Taylor  was  married,  in  1854,  to  Margaret  Hig- 
gins,  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  whose  parents  died 
when  she  was  very  young.  They  have  one  son,  Will- 
iam Dennis  Taylor,  who  resides  at  home.  Mrs.  Taj'- 
lor  crossed  the  plains  in  1845,  the  trip  with  ox  teams 
occupying  seven  or  eight  months. 


fWEN  E.  GAFFANY  was  born  on  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  on  the  brig  Constitution,  off  Philadelphia, 
f'  June  12,  1835.  His  parents,  Patrick  and  Anna 
(Ward)  Gaffany,  were  natives  of  the  eastern  part 
of  Ireland.  In  May,  1835,  they  started  for  America, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  being  born,  as  above  stated, 
before  reaching  America.  His  father  located  on  Grand 
Isle,  an  island  in  Lake  Champlain,  in  Grand  Isle 
County,  Vermont,  where  he  remained  five  or  six  years, 
when  he  removed  to  Beekman,  Clinton  County,  New 
York.  He  afterwards  returned  to  Vermont  and  lo- 
cated at  Winooski,  in  Chittenden  County,  where  he 
remained  for  about  eighteen  years,  when  he  bought  a 
farm  at  Underbill,  Chittenden  County,  Vermont,  and 
here  he  lived  till  his  death,  in  1882.  He  had  six 
children,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  being  the  eldest. 
Owen  lived  with  his  parents  till  he  was  twenty-one 
years  of  age.  He  was  married  February  12,  1858,  to 
Mary  O'Brien,  a  native  of  Ireland.  He  then  went  to 
work  in,  and  had  charge  of,  a  lime  quarry  for  three 
years,  when  he  went  to  work  for  the  Vermont  Central 
Railroad,  and  was  thus  employed  off  and  on  for  three 
or  four  years;  then  he  went  back  to  the  lime  quarry, 
where  he  remained  till  the  fall  of  1863,  when  he  en- 
listed in  the  Second  Vermont  Battery  and  remained 
in  it  until  mustered  out  at  the  close  of  the  war.  He 
was  with  this  battery  at  Savannah,  Mobile,  Pleasant 
Hill,  Black  Gulf,  and  other  skirmishes.  After  his  dis- 
charge at  Burlington,  Vermont,  in  1865,  he  went  home, 
and  two  months  afterward  again  went  into  die  employ 
of  the  Vermont  Central  Railroad,  where  he  remained 
till  the  spring  of  1868.  In  that  year  he  left  his  family 
in  Vermont  and  came  to  California,  and  in  1869  his 
family  followed  him.  Upon  his  arrival  in  California 
he  worked  for  I.  J.  Hattabough  on  his  ranch  about 
three  miles  southwest  of  San  Jose,  and  after  remaining 


316 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  ''GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD."- 


with  him  for  six  months  came  to  Los  Gatos,  and  here 
he  worked  till  the  next  April,  when  he  went  to  work 
in  the  Redwoods  for  the  Santa  Clara  Company.  The 
first  year  he  worked  in  a  saw-mill  and  the  next  year 
for  Covell  Brothers,  contractors  for  the  Santa  Clara 
Mill  and  Lumber  Company.  He  then  went  to  work 
for  the  Santa  Clara  Valley  Mill  and  Lumber  Com- 
pany and  remained  with  them  six  or  seven  years  in 
tlic  Santa  Cruz  Mountains,  Santa  Cruz  County,  his 
family  being  with  him.  In  1877  he  bought  his  pres- 
ent ranch  near  Los  Gatos,  containing  about  100  acres. 
He  cleared  the  land  and  made  the  improvements  on 
it.  He  now  has  about  fifty  acres  under  cultivation, 
fifteen  acres  being  in  fruit,  principally  in  apricots, 
peaches,  and  prunes,  besides  other  varieties  in  his 
family  orchard.  The  most  of  his  trees  are  four  years 
old,  while  a  few  are  ten  years  old.  On  the  remaining 
portion  of  his  land  he  raises  hay.  He  is  a  member 
of  E.  O.  C.  Ord  Post,  No.  82,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Los  Gatos, 
and  at  present  its  Post  Commander.  He  has  five 
children:  Mary,  who  is  one  of  the  Sisters  in  the 
Convent  of  Notre  Dame  in  San  Francisco;  John  E., 
Anna,  F.  C,  who  is  engaged  in  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness in  Los  Gatos;  Josephine  J.,  and  Nellie  L.,  who 
live  at  home.     In  politics  Mr.  Gaffany  is  a  Democrat. 


fACKUS  L.  BARTLETT,  son  of  Martin  and 
Abigail  (Smith)  Bartlett,  was  born  in  Fonda's 
y^  Bush,  Fulton  County,  New  York,  January  4, 
1822.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  became  a  clerk 
in  a  mercantile  house  in  Albany,  and  at  the  end  of 
seven  years  became  a  partner  of  his  emploj'er,  the 
business  being  carried  on  under  the  firm  name  of  B. 
L.  Bartlett  &  Co.  This  was  a  branch  store.  At  the 
end  of  five  years  (in  1849)  he  went  to  New  York  city, 
where  he  remained  till  1852,  when  he  came  to  Cali- 
fornia, and  settled  at  Shasta,  in  Shasta  County;  there 
he  remained  till  i86i,  carrying  on  a  mercantile  busi- 
ness, and  then  removed  to  Red  Bluff,  Tehama  County, 
and  engaged  in  the  forwarding  business  for  about 
three  years,  when  he  was  appointed  Deputy  Internal 
Revenue  Collector,  at  San  Francisco,  in  which  service 
he  continued  till  1873.  Since  that  time  he  has  been 
Adjuster  to  the  Board  of  Trade  of  San  Francisco, 

In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  He  owns  a  ranch 
of  twenty-two  and  one-half  acres  at  Los  Gatos,  but 
on  account  of  his  business  he  is  obliged  to  live  in  San 
Francisco.  He  has  400  apricot,  500  Bartlett  pear, 
and  400   I'Vcnch   prune   trees   six  years  old,  and    350 


French  prune,  350  peach,  and  100  apricot  trees  one 
year  old,  besides  300  grape-vines.  In  1887,  when  his 
apricot  trees  were  but  five  years  old,  they  yielded 
him  $175  per  acre.  It  was  an  off  year  for  prunes, 
but  this  fruit  yielded  $50  per  acre.  The  indications 
point  to  a  heavy  yield  of  prunes  and   pears  this  year. 


SMALTER  L.  BLABON  was  born  in  Chesterville, 
to^^  Franklin  County,  Maine,  July  12,  1830.  His 
=.^  parents,  Otis  and  Mary  (Littlefield)  Blabon, 
'  were  both  natives  of  that  State.  They  were 
born  in  York  County,  and  moved  from  there  to 
Franklin  County,  where  the  mother  died,  at  Farming- 
ton  Hill,  in  March,  1884.  Mr.  Blabon  died  in  Sara- 
toga, California,  April  7,  1887.  He  came  to  this  State 
in  1849,  becoming  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Santa  Clara 
County.  He  lived  here  until  i860,  when  he  returned 
to  the  East  to  settle  up  his  business,  and  after  a  few 
years  came  back  to  California,  where  he  resided  till 
his  death.  His  eldest  son,  G.  W.  Blabon,  is  a  large 
manufacturer  of  oil-cloth  at  Philadelphia;  J.  E.  Bla- 
bon resides  in  Portland,  Maine,  but  has  a  large  cattle 
ranch  in  Nebraska,  and  other  interests  in  St.  Paul, 
Minnesota.  Three  of  his  sons  reside  in  California — 
F.  O.  and  Otis  in  San  Jose,  and  Moses  W.  at  Brent- 
wood. Walter  L.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
reared  in  Franklin  County,  Maine,  and  there  educated. 
He  was  married  in  Boston,  Massachusetts,  to  Anna 
F.  White,  October  25,  1S60,  she  being  a  native  of 
that  city.  The  same  year  they  came  to  California  I'/'a 
Panama,  arriving  in  San  Francisco  December  8,  i860. 
He  farmed  a  piece  of  land  on  shares  for  four  years, 
near  where  he  now  resides.  In  1864  he  bought  his 
present  place  of  130  acres,  and  soon  after  moved  to  it. 
He  has  about  sixteen  acres  in  vines,  five  years  old, 
besides  a  small  family  orchard.  On  the  remaimler  of 
the  place  he  raises  grain  and  hay.  He  has  four  chil- 
dren: William  C,  Ralph  D.,  Joseph  W.  D.,  and 
Agnes  J.,  all  grown. 


-^' 


flMlLLIAM  RICE  was  born  in  Murray  Count}^ 
&^F3  Tennessee,  February  17,  1821.  His  father, 
<£^  Ebeiiezer  Rice,  was  a  native  of  Vermont,  and 
I  his  mother,  Catharine  (Baldridge)  Rice,  was  a 
native  of  North  Carolina.  She  was  of  English  and 
Irish  descent.  When  she  was  six  years  old  her  par- 
ents moved  to  Tennessee,  where  she  married  Ebenezer 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


317 


Rice.  When  Mr.  Rice  was  a  very  small  boy  his  father 
was  sent  from  the  East  to  Tennessee  as  a  missionary 
to  the  Indians.  In  the  fall  of  1S33  he  removed  with 
his  family  to  Morgan  County,  Illinois,  where  he  made 
it  his  home  until  his  death,  in  185S.  Mrs.  Rice,  his 
widow,  afterward  died  at  the  residence  of  her  son 
William,  near  Saratoga,  California,  March  17,  1888, 
aged  nearly  ninety-eight  years.  There  were  twelve 
children  in  her  family,  of  whom  three  are  now  living. 
William  Rice  made  his  home  with  his  parents  until 
he  was  tiventy-five  years  of  age.  He  was  married  in 
1847  to  Eliza  Jane  Campbell,  who  was  born  in  Mur- 
ray County,  Tennessee.  Her  father,  James  Campbell, 
was  a  native  of  Kentucky,  his  parents  having  come 
from  Ireland  and  settled  there.  Her  mother  was 
Margaret  Berry,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  but  her  parents 
were  natives  of  Scotland.  Before  his  marriage,  Will- 
iam Rice  purchased  a  farm  of  eighty  acres,  and  lived 
on  it  until  1875.  During  this  period  he  made  several 
additions  to  it,  until  at  one  time  he  had  about  600 
acres.  In  May,  1875,  he  sold  out  and  came  to  Cali- 
fornia, and  shortly  after  his  arrival  here  bought  his 
present  place,  in  Santa  Clara  County,  near  Saratoga, 
which  at  that  time  contained  190  acres.  Afterward 
he  bought  seventy-five  acres  adjoining  it.  He  has  sold 
off  this  land  from  time  to  time,  until  now  he  has  but 
thirty  acres.  The  place  is  all  in  orchard,  consisting  of 
twenty  acres  of  prunes  from  four  to  eight  years  old. 
The  rest  of  the  land  is  mostly  in  pears,  from  two  to 
four  years  old.  It  is  one  of  the  finest  pear  orchards 
in  this  part  of  the  country,  and  is  just  beginning  to 
bear.  There  are  three  acres  of  the  eight-year-old 
prunes  which  have  been  bearing  heavily  for  ihe  past 
four  years.  In  1887  they  bore  about  si.xteen  tons, 
which  is  a  big  yield  for  three  acres  of  ground.  Mr. 
Rice  has  been  a  member  of  the  Christian  Church  ever 
since  he  was  twenty  years  old,  and  now  belongs  to 
that  church  in  Saratoga. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rice  have  one  son  :  William  Allen 
Rice,  born  at  Concord,  Morgan  County,  Illinois, 
March  10,  1870.  They  have  lost  eight  children, 
several  of  whom  were  grown. 


llAMES  MAI.COM  was  born  April  6,  1835,  in 
&■  the  city  of  New  York.  His  father,  Robert  Mal- 
(M^  com,  was  born  in  Glasgow,  Scotland,  and  came  to 
the  United  States  in  1824.  He  settled  in  New  York, 
where  he  was  married  to  Esther  Lowry,  a  native  of 
Belfast,   Ireland.     In    1842    Mr.    Malcom    moved    to 


Chicago,  where  he  followed  the  business  of  contractor 
and  builder,  living  there  until  his  death,  in  1871.  His 
widow  still  resides  there.  They  had  twelve  children, 
of  whom  four  are  now  living.  James  Malcom  lived 
with  his  parents  until  he  was  twenty-one  years  old. 
He  early  in  life  attended  the  public  schools  of  Chicago, 
and  later  o^  went  to  Hathaway  Academy,  of  the  same 
place,  and  finally  to  the  Beloit  College,  Beloit,  Wis- 
consin, where  he  completed  certain  courses  of  study. 

He  learned  the  mason's  trade  of  his  father,  and 
when  he  was  nineteen  years  old  his  father  retired  from 
active  life,  and  James,  together  with  his  father's  fore- 
man, took  the  business  and  continued  it  under  the 
firm  name  of  Malcom  &  Grant,  which  partnership 
continued  until  the  fall  of  1856.  He  was  at  this  time 
married  to  Miss  Fannie  Floyd,  of  Chicago,  daughter  of 
Thomas  Floyd,  an  iron  and  hardware  dealer.  A  short 
time  afterward  Mr.  Floyd  died,  and  James  Malcom, 
together  with  Mr.  Floyd's  son,  John  R.,  took  hold  of 
the  business,  under  the  firm  name  of  Floyd  &  Malcom, 
in  which  they  continued  until  1858.  The  tryin,^  times 
of  1857  greatly  affected  business  circles  in  general, 
and  the  house  of  Floyd  &  Malcom  was  one  that  had 
to  succumb  to  the  inevitable.  Mr.  Malcom  then 
took  a  position  in  the  Chicago  post-office,  where  he 
remained  until  1863.  The  War  of  the  Rebellion  at 
this  time  going  on  was  the  source  of  a  great  many 
changes. 

Mr.  Malcom  organized  a  company  and  was  nomi- 
nally made  Captain.  This  was  Company  K,  i6sth 
Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry.  He  went  with  the  com- 
pany into  quarters  at  Camp  Douglas,  and  it  •  was 
about  this  time  he  had  a  brother  killed  in  battle  at 
Elizabethtown,  Kentucky,  a  member  of  the  Nine- 
teenth Illinois.  Upon  hearing  of  this  event  his  wife 
insisted  upon  his  resigning  his  commission,  which  he 
did.  In  1864  he  went  to  Chattanooga,  Tennessee,  as 
chief  clerk  in  the  office  of  Superintendent  of  Military 
Railroads  at  that  point,  where  he  remained  until  the 
close  of  the  war.  Returning  to  Chicago,  he  went  into 
the  office  of  Phillips  &  Brown,  large  lumber  dealers, 
as  book-keeper,  where  he  remained  until  1875,  at 
which  time  he  severed  his  connection  with  them  and 
took  a  position  in  the  office  of  the  County  Treasurer 
at  Chicago,  remaining  there  until  1879.  He  then 
came  to  California  and  located  in  Colusa  Count}',  as 
agent  of  the  Puget  Sound  Lumber  Company.  He 
served  in  this  business  until  1883,  at  which  time  he 
was  sent  by  the  Utah  Powder  Company  to  Ogden, 
Utah,  as  agent  for  the  company,  and  remained  there 
until  the  latter  part   of   18S5.     He   returned   to   San 


318 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


Francisco,  and  was  appointed  Secretary  of  the  San 
Francisco  Chronicle,  where  he  remained  until  the 
sprincr  of  1S87,  when  he  moved  to  his  present  place. 
His  first  wife  died  in  August,  1871,  leaving  one 
child.  He  was  married  at  Quincy,  Illinois,  in  Septem- 
ber, 1886,  to  Helen  R.  Blenis,  of  that  city.  In  March, 
1887,  Mrs.  Malcom  bought  the  ranch  where  they  now 
reside,  which  contains  fifty-seven  and  one-half  acres. 
This  place  h.is  fifteen  acres  in  vines,  and  the  rest  in 
fruit, — apricots,  prunes,  peaches,  pears,  cherrie-,  plums, 
and  a  few  apples,  all  of  which  are  six  years  old.  In 
1887  the  place  had  about  thirty-five  tons  of  grapes 
and  fifty-five  tons  of  fruit.  Mr.  Malcom  has  for  two 
years  been  a  member  of  the  Order  of  Chosen  Friends, 
and  at  present  belongs  to  the  Garden  City  Council 
of  San  Jose. 


I^RANK  W.  KNOWLES,  M.  D.,  son  of  Smith  S. 
G^  and  Mary  C.  Knowles,  was  born  in  Rock  Island 
t"  County,  Illinois,  March  2,  1S58.  Up  to  the  age 
of  fifteen  years  he  resided  on  a  farm  and  attended 
the  district  schools.  His  father  died  when  he  was 
nine  years  old,  and  when  fifteen  years  of  age  his 
mother  removed  to  Moline,  Illinois,  at  which  place  he 
attended  school,  graduating  in  the  High  School  in 
1880.  He  then  went  to  the  office  of  Ur.  L.  D.  Dunn, 
of  Moline,  and  remained  with  him  till  September, 
1880,  when  he  entered  Rush  Medical  College,  at 
Chicago,  which  he  attended  till  February  20,  1883, 
when  he  graduated.  In  July  of  that  year  he  came 
to  California,  and  on  the  nineteenth  of  the  same 
month  located  in  Los  Gatos,  where  he  has  been  en- 
gaged in  active  practice  ever  since.  Soon  after  com- 
ing here  he  became  a  member  of  the  Santa  Clara 
County  Medical  Society. 


-#«- 


^KENRY  FARR  was  born  in  the  township  of 
d^l'  GcUhausen,  town  of  Spielberg,  Gcrinany,  June 
'&/'  10,  1829,  his  parents  being  Wilhelm  and  Cath- 
erin  (Werd)  Farr,  wlio  died  in  Germany,  the 
former  about  1852,  and  the  latter  in  1868.  Tliey 
reared  a  family  of  eight  children,  of  whom  five  arc- 
now  living,  and,  with  the  exception  of  one,  are  in  the 
United  States.  Henry  was  reared  and  educated  in 
his  native  town,  devoting  a  part  of  his  time  to  work 
on  his  father's  farm  near  the  town  of  Spielberg. 


At  the  age  of  eighteen  years  he  sailed  from  Brem- 
erhaven  for  the  United  States,  and  landed  at  Balti- 
more. The  next  day  he  left  for  Pittsburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  there  bound  himself  out  for  two  years  to 
learn  the  cooper's  trade  He  served  the  full  time  of 
his  apprenticeship,  and  remained  to  work  at  his  trade 
for  two  or  three  years.  He  then  spent  some  time  in 
traveling  around  from  one  place  to  another,  along  the 
Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rivers,  going  as  far  south  as 
New  Orleans,  and  as  far  north  as  Quincy,  Illinois. 
In  1854  he  went  by  steamer  from  Evansville,  Indi- 
ana, down  the  river  to  New  Orleans,  where  he  took  a 
steamer  f  jr  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  He  crossed  the 
Isthmus  and  embarked  for  San  Francisco,  where  he 
landed  in  January,  1855.  He  made  a  trip  up  the 
Sacramento  River  to  the  mines  near  Georgetown,  ar- 
riving there  in  the  winter.  The  weather  being  cold, 
and  his  health  poor,  Mr.  Farr  remained  but  a  short 
time,  when  he  returned  to  Sacramento.  Here  he 
stopped  a  few  days,  and  then  went  to  Colusa  County, 
where  he  engaged  in  chopping  wood  and  getting  out 
rails.  After  being  there  about  a  year  and  a  half,  he, 
together  with  a  friend  named  Myers,  bought  a  piece 
of  land,  and  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising. 
Here  he  remained  for  thirteen  years,  during  which 
time  he  returned  East  to  Allegheny  City,  Pennsylva- 
nia, and  was  married,  in  i860,  to  Anna  Mary  Hoehl, 
a  native  of  Germany,  born  in  Gedern,  near  Frank- 
furt, June  10,  1835.  Mrs.  Farr  came  to  tin's  country 
with  her  parents  when  she  was  twelve  years  old,  and 
lived  in  Allegheny  until  she  was  married. 

After  their  residence  in  Colusa  County,  Mr.  Farr 
and  his  family  went  to  San  Franci.-ico,  where  they 
lived  about  four  months,  and  then  came  down  to  San 
Jose.  About  a  month  later,  in  1868,  Mr.  Farr  pur- 
chased his  present  place  in  the  Lincoln  School  Dis- 
trict, which  he  named  "  Grand  View  "  vineyard,  and 
which  at  that  time  contained  240  acres.  About  a 
year  afterward  he  bought  153  acres  more,  and  later 
on  sold  50  acres,  having  at  the  present  time  343 
acres,  of  which  all  but  83  acres  is  under  cultivation. 
There  are  sixty  acres  in  vineyard,  all  wine  grapes, 
from  two  to  six  years  old,  also  a  family  orchard  of 
about  four  acres  in  good  bearing  condition.  The  bal- 
ance of  the  place  is  in  grain  and  hay.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Farr  have  nine  children:  Henry,  Louis,  Edwin,  Ar- 
thur, Mary,  Rudolph,  Oscar,  Addie,  and  Emma,  all 
of  whom  are  residing  at  home,  with  the  exception  of 
Louis.  The  first  four  were  born  in  Colusa  County, 
Mary  was  born  in  San  Francisco,  and  the  others  in 
this  county. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


319 


^AMUEL  TEMPLETON,  son  of  Archibald  and 
%^  Olivia  Templeton,  was  born  in  County  Antrim, 
^/§(i_  twenty  miles  from  Belfast,  Ireland,  October  ii, 
1832.  His  father  was  a  farmer,  and  he  remained 
with  him  till  twenty-three  years  of  age,  when  he  came 
to  New  York,  where  he  was  located  for  three  years.  In 
March,  1858,  he  started  for  California,  and  arrived  in 
Los  Gatos  in  April  of  that  year,  in  search  of  work. 
He  soon  found  employment  with  the  Santa  Cruz  Gap 
Turnpike  and  Tunnel  Company,  who  owned  a  toll- 
road  running  from  Los  Gatos  to  Santa  Cruz  County, 
which  was  the  first  toll-road  in  this  section  of  the 
county.  After  remaining  with  this  company  a  short 
time,  he  went  into  the  lumber  and  stock  business, 
during  which  time  he  purchased  500  acres  of  land  in 
Santa  Cruz  County.  In  1875  he.  removed  to  Los 
Gatos  and  built  himself  a  home,  and  shortly  after 
sold  his  500-acre  tract. 

In  1876  he  attended  the  Centennial  at  Philadelphia, 
and  the  same  year  visited  his  old  home  in  Ireland. 
His  parents  had  both  died  a  few  years  before  this. 
Upon  his  return  he  engaged  in  no  particular  business 
until  the  Los  Gatos  Fruit  Packing  Company  was  or- 
ganized, in  1882,  in  which  business  he  is  a  large  stock- 
holder and  President.  Mr.  Templeton  was  married, 
June  30,  1867,  to  Mrs.  Jane  (Duncan)  Healy,  who  is 
also  a  native  of  Ireland. 


PNOCH  J.  PARRISH  was  born  in  Hopkins 
County,  Kentucky,  February  4,  1858.  His  fa- 
■nT  ther,  Jefferson  J.,  was  a  native  of  North  Carolina, 
who  went  to  Kentucky  when  twenty-one  years 
old,  in  1842,  and  died  there  in  July,  1886.  He  mar- 
ried Lucretia  Madison,  also  a  native  of  North  Carolina. 
She  died  in  1864.  They  re-ired  three  sons  and  one 
daughter:  the  latter  is  deceased.  Mr.  Parrish  married 
his  second  wife,  Victoria  Boyd,  who  is  now  residing  in 
Kentucky.  By  her  he  had  seven  children,  of  whom 
four  sons  and  two  daughters  are  living.  Enoch,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  reared  on  the  home  place 
in  Kentucky,  and  lived  there  till  twenty-one  years 
old,  obtaining  a  common-school  education.  In  1879 
he  came  to  California  and  located  in  Fresno  County, 
where  he  remained  two  years  and  a  half,  working  on 
a  ranch.  From  there  he  went  to  Redwood  City,  and 
for  five  years  was  engaged  at  the  carpenter's  trade, 
which  he  learned  there.  In  the  spring  of  1887  he 
came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  where  he  has  since 
resided,  having  bought  his   place  here  in  1S83.     He 


owns  fifteen  acres,  which  are  in  vines  five  years  old. 
He  is  an  enterprising  and  industrious  young  man. 
He  still  works  at  his  trade,  improving  his  place  all  the 
time,  until  it  is  now  very  attractive.  He  was  married 
April  28,  1887,  to  Minnie  L.  Breckinridge,  a  native  of 
Canada,  who  came  to  California  in   1864. 


-€"4^^^-- 


^ 


;ATHAN  HALL  was  born  in  Dutchess  County, 
'    New  York,  September  14,  1827,  his  parents  being 


Elisha  and  Emily  (Bates)  Hall,  who  were  both 
natives  of  that  State,  and  made  it  their  home  un- 
til their  death,  the  mother  dying  when  Nathan  was 
nine,  and  the  father  when  he  was  fifteen,  years  old. 
Nathan,  being  next  to  the  oldest  of  a  family  of  six 
children,  remained  at  home  to  care  for  them  until  he 
was  twenty  years  of  age,  obtaining  a  common-school 
education  such  as  the  country  at  that  time  afforded. 
Upon  leaving  home  he  roamed  over  the  Western  States 
about  a  year.  At  La  Salle,  Illinois,  he  purchased  a 
team  and  started  overland  for  California,  crossing  the 
Missouri  River  at  Independence,  Missouri.  He  joined 
several  other  teams  there,  and  in  less  than  a  week  they 
came  across  a  party  of  campers  bound  for  Califor- 
nia, and  joined  them,  making  the  trip  together.  In 
fifty-two  days'  traveling  they  reached  Salt  Lake, 
where  they  remained  nine  days.  They  arrived  at 
Sacramento  in  August,  1852,  where  they  separated. 
Mr.  Hall  came  at  once  to  Santa  Clara  County,  and 
when  he  reached  here  had  $80  in  his  pocket.  He 
found  Spanish  titles  across  his  way  against  securing 
land,  and  concluded  to  work  by  the  month  for  a  while, 
until  titles  became  more  settled,  and  saved  his  money 
with  a  view  of  purchasing  land.  It  being  ascertained 
that  there  was  some  govermnent  land  around  Mount- 
ain View,  squatters  located  on  it,  procured  a  survey 
and  ran  out  the  section  lines.  Mr.  Hall  bought  out 
one  of  these  squatters  for  $200,  thus  securing  172 
acres  of  land.  He  afterward  paid  the  government 
double  this  price  for  a  patent.  This  land,  except  nine 
acres,  was  at  the  time  covered  with  chaparral,  but  is 
now  all  under  cultivation.  He  has  sixty  acres  in  vine- 
yard and  a  small  orchard  for  home  use.  The  re- 
mainder of  the  land  is  devoted  to  grain,  hay,  and 
pasture. 

Mr.  Hall  was  married,  in  1866,  to  Sarah  Brewer,  a 
native  of  New  York  State.  Previous  to  her  marriage 
she  taught  school  for  two  seasons,  one  in  Russian  River 
Valley  and  one  year  in  the  Lincoln  District,  where 
they  now  reside.     They  have  two  children.  Bertha  M. 


320 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


and  Edna  B.  The  former  is  a  graduate  of  the  State 
Normal  School  at  San  Jose,  in  the  class  of  1888.  Mr. 
Hall  has  lived  in  this  valley  since  1852,  except  one 
year  he  spent  in  the  mines.  Prior  to  his  marriage  he 
made  his  home  with  Elisha  Stephens,  the  first  settler 
in  this  part  of  Santa  Clara  County. 


MMAGNUS  TAIT  was  born  on  the  Shetland  Isl- 
(o^Op  ands  north  of  Scotland,  May  30,  1837.  His 
^d^  father,  Michael,  was  born  in  Garth,  Parish  of 
I  Nesting.'Shetland  Islands,  October  21,  1805,  and 
died  at  Joliet,  Illinois,  October  6,  1879.  He  was  mar- 
ried November  8,  1829,  to  Margaret  Leisk,  a  native 
of  the  same  islands,  and  in  1838  he  left  his  native 
land  and  came  to  America,  arriving  at  Chicago,  Illi- 
nois, July  19  of  that  year.  In  1848  he  became  a  resi- 
dent of  Joliet,  Illinois,  where  he  was  one  of  the  first 
charter  members  of  the  Baptist  Church  and  closely 
identified  with  all  its  interests  from  the  first.  His 
wife  died  in  Joliet,  March  27,  1882,  at  the  age  of  79. 
They  left  a  iamily  of  four  sons,  all  living.  Magnus 
was  an  infant  when  his  parents  came  to  America,  and 
lived  with  them  till  twenty  years  of  age.  He  was 
married  May  26,  1858,  to  Antoinette  Cooley,  a  native 
of  Amber,  Onondaga  County,  New  York,  who  was 
born  December  7,  1837. 

August  4,  1862,  he  enlisted  in  Company  M,  First 
Illinois  Light  Artillery,  and  his  company  was  at- 
tached to  the  Fourth  Army  Corps  most  of  the  time 
while  in  service.  At  the  time  of  enlistment  he  was 
promoted  a  Sergeant  in  charge  of  Gun  No.  6.  He 
was  in  all  the  engagements  in  which  the  Fourth 
Corps  participated.  He  was  in  twenty-two  battles 
and  skirmishes,  the  heaviest  being  Chickamauga,  Mis- 
sion Ridge,  Resaca,  and  from  Dalton  to  Atlanta.  For 
about  100  days  his  guns  hardly  became  cold,  being 
kept  almost  in  one  continuous  engagement  to  Atlanta, 
and  on  the  night  of  August  26,  1864,  the  day  before 
Atlanta  fell,  he  was  taken  prisoner  near  that  city. 
He  was  taken  to  AndcrsonviUe,  where,  and  in  Savan- 
nah, Millen,  Blackshear,  and  Thomasville  prisons,  he 
was  confined  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He,  with 
4,000  Union  soldiers,  was  taken  from  Thomasville 
prison  to  Vicksburg,  there  to  remain  until  a  like  num- 
ber of  Confederate  prisoners  should  be  brought  down 
from  Rock  Island,  Illinois,  when  they  were  to  be  ex- 
changed. The  news  of  the  assassination  of  President 
Lincoln  reached  them  at  Vicksburg  at  two  o'clock  the 
follow  ing  morning.     The  Confederate  major  who  had 


them  in  charge  became  alarmed  at  the  preparations 
that  were  at  once  made  to  hang  him,  and  escaped 
and  was  never  heard  from.  It  was  lucky  for  him 
that  he  left  just  as  he  did,  because  a  rope  had  been 
procured,  bnt  the  excited  soldiers  when  they  reached 
his  tent  found  that  he  had  abandoned  it.  This  broke 
the  cartel,  or  agreement  between  the  authorities  of 
the  two  governments,  and  the  Union  troops  were  at 
once  shipped  north  to  their  respective  homes, 

Mr.  Tait  returned  to  hfs  home  in  Illinois,  and  in 
August,  1865,  removed  to  Lawrence,  Douglas  County, 
Kansas,  where  he  lived  until  1885,  when  he  came  to 
California.  He  located  at  Ocean  Side,  .San  Diego 
County,  and  remained  there  until  July,  1S87,  when 
he  located  in  Los  Gatos.  Mr.  Tait  is  a  member  of 
the  Scottish  Rite  Knight  Templar  Degree,  having 
taken  the  thirty-second  degree  in  1885,  and  is  a  char- 
ter member  of  the  Los  Gatos  Blue  Lodge,  A.  F.  and 
A.  M.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Oriental  Order  of  the 
Palm  and  Shell;  a  member  and  junior  Vice-Com- 
mander of  E.  O.  C.  Ord  Post,  No.  82,  G.  A.  R.,  and 
a  charter  member  of  the  Andersonville  Survivors' 
Association,  organized  September  22,  1879.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Tait  have  had  four  children,  viz.:  Florence  I., 
born  April  16,  1S59;  Walter  M.,  July  7,  i860;  Thomas 
I.,  August  24,  1 861  ;  and  Magnus  C,  November  16, 
1862.     Walter  M.  died  March  16,  1885. 

^ 


|MEWIS  HEBARD,  son  of  Albetis  L.  and  Philo- 
(S^  melia  Hebard,  was  born  in  Wells,  Hamilton 
T  County,  New  York,  April  20,  1S21.  His  father 
and  mother  were  natives  of  Dutchess  County,  New 
York.  Albetis  L.  moved  from  Dutchess  to  Hamilton 
County,  and  thence  to  Marcy,  Oneida  County,  New 
York,  and  in  1843  the  family  moved  to  Illinois,  where 
Mrs.  Hebard  died,  in  1844.  Mr.  Hebard  then  returned 
to  New  York,  where  he  soon  after  died.  Lewis,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  the  only  child,  was  reared  in 
New  York  and  went  with  his  father  to  Will  County, 
Illinois,  where  he  remained  while  his  father  resided 
there.  He  then  went  to  Jefferson  County,  Wiscon- 
sin, where  he  remained  till  March,  1850,  when  he  left 
for  California,  coming  overland.  The  party  with 
which  he  traveled  arrived  in  Sacramento  August  7, 
1850.  Upon  his  arrival  he  immediately  went  to  the 
mines  and  located  at  Cook's  Bar;  in  three  weeks  he 
was  taken  sick  and  returned  to  Sacramento,  where  he 
had  to  remain  six  weeks.  He  then  went  to  work  on 
the  American   River  levee,  where  he  worked  a  short 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


■  2\ 


time  and  went  to  the  Big  Bar  mines  and  remained  till 
January,  when  he  went  to  Jackson  Creek  and  thence 
to  Amador  Creek,  where  he  remained  till  spring. 
After  a  few  more  wanderings  he  finally  came  to  San 
Jose,  in  1852,  and  went  to  work  at  the  carpenter  trade, 
which  he  followed  for  five  years.  In  1857  he  went  to 
the  mountains  above  Lexington,  where  he  took  up 
160  acres  of  land  under  the  pre-emption  act,  where 
he  has  since  lived.  At  that  time  the  land  was  wild 
and  was  inhabited  by  grizzly  bears,  deer,  etc.,  and  he 
endured  great  hardships  for  some  years  in  clearing 
the  land. 

Mr.  Hebard  was  married  in  January,  1849,  to  Lu- 
cinda  Dygert,  a  native  of  New  York,  of  German  par- 
entage. She  died  in  March,  1863.  They  had  four 
children,  all  of  whom  are  dead.  Mr.  Hebard  was 
married  again  in  September,  1874,  to  Mrs.  Lodoiski 
A.  (Girard)  Murdock,  a  native  of  Mobile,  Ala.  She 
has  two  children,  one  by  her  former  marriage  and  one 
since.  Mr.  Hebard  has  105  acres,  twenty-five  of  which 
are  under  cultivation.  He  has  a  fine  orchard,  con- 
taining cherries,  prunes,  plums,  peaches,  and  apples. 
The  rest  of  his  land  is  in  hay,  pasture,  and  lumber. 
Mr.  Hebard  was  a  charter  member  of.  the  Hook  and 
Ladder  Company  of  San  Jose,  organized  in  1853. 


.qPOBERT  WALKER  was  born  in  Hamilton, 
^^  Ontario,  Canada,  September  15,  1842.  He  is 
'■Hp  a  son  of  John  and  Ann  (Mcintosh)  Walker, 
.  the  former  from  Edinburgh  and  the  latter  from 
the  Highlands  of  Scotland.  John  Walker  located  in 
Montreal,  Canada,  when  he  was  a  young  man,  where 
he  was  married.  From  there  he  moved  to  Ancaster 
Township,  near  Hamilton,  being  one  of  the  pioneers 
of  that  locality,  where  he  lived  to  a  good  old  age, 
and  died  in  April,  1885.  His  widow  is  still  living 
there.  They  reared  a  family  of  eight  children,  of 
whom  five  are  now  living,  four  sons  and  one  daughter. 
Robert  Walker,  the  eldest  of  the  living  children,  lived 
with  iiis  parents  until  he  was  twenty  years  of  age, 
In  1862  he  came  to  California  by  water  from  New 
York  via  Panama  to  San  Francisco,  and  immediately 
left  by  the  next  steamer  for  Victoria,  British  C(jlum- 
bia.  In  1863  he  went  into  the  Caribou  gold  mines, 
near  the  Eraser  River,  between  three  and  four  hun- 
dred miles  from  Victoria,  and  remained  there  until 
the  fall  of  1865.  He  then  returned  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  in  the  following  spring  made  another  trip 
41 


to  British  Cqlumbia,  where  he  engaged  in  mining  at 
Big  Bend,  in  the  Columbia  River.  Not  finding  the 
mines  profitable,  he  again  returned  to  California  and 
settled  in  Monterey  County,  where  he  rented  a  piece 
of  land  and  farmed  for  three  years.  He  was  married 
there,  in  1869,  to  Eliza  Jane  Parr,  a  native  of  Santa 
Clara  County,  and  daughter  of  Jonathan  Parr,  de- 
ceased. In  1 87 1  he  came  to  this  county  and  moved 
upon  his  present  place,  situated  on  the  Los  Gatos  and 
San  Jose  road,  where  he  has  since  resided.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Walker  have  three  children:  Leslie  R.,  Myrtile 
M.,  and  Vivian  C. 

Mr.  Walker  became  a  member  of  the  order  of  Odd 
Fellows  in  January,  1888,  and  has  been  a  member  of 
the  A.  O.  U.  W.  for  several  years.  He  is  one  of  the 
directors  of  the  Bank  of  Los  Gatos  and  of  the  Los 
Gatos  Fruit  Packing  Company.  Mr.  Walker's  farm 
contains  415  acres,  and  at  the  present  time  (1888)  has 
260  acres  sowed  to  barley,  and  the  remainder,  with 
the  exception  of  twenty  acres  in  vegetables,  is  used 
for  pasture. 


fENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  BACHMAN  traces 
his  ancestors  back  to  1696,  when  his  grand- 
ik  mother's  father,  John  Rohrer,  of  the  Bachman 
family,  was  born  in  Alsace,  now  a  part  of  Ger- 
many. John  Rohrer  came  to  America  when  quite 
young,  and  in  1732  married  Maria  Saunders,  who  was 
born  in  Manheim,  Germany,  February  29,  1716.  She 
died  May  11,  1769,  and  her  husband,  November  28, 
1771.  The  Rohrer  family  were  Huguenots.  His  great- 
grandfather, John  Bachman,  married  Anna  Miller, 
June  15,  1744.  He  died  October  3,  1757.  His  grand- 
father, John  Bachman,  was  born  March  20,  1746,  at 
Big  Spring,  now  part  of  Lampeter  Township,  Lan- 
caster County,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  married  April 
9,  1 77 1,  to  Maria  Rohrer,  who  was  born  in  Lancaster 
County,  Pennsylvania,  January  28,  1749.  His  father, 
Jacob  Bachman,  was  born  in  what  is  now  Conestoga 
Township,  Lancaster  County,  Pennsylvania,  April  25, 
1782,  and  died  May  10,  1849.  His  great-grandfather, 
on  his  mother's  side,  Jacob  Eshleman,  was  born  in 
Switzerland,  July  4,  1710.  He  sailed  from  Rotterdam 
in  the  ship  Mortonhouse,  James  Coultas  captain,  and 
arrived  in  Philadelphia  August,  1729.  He  married 
Barbara  Barr,  who  was  born  February  22,  1714.  On 
May  4,  1748,  he  bought  a  large  tract  of  land  on 
Pequea  Creek,  now  a  pait  of  Paradise  Township,  Lan- 
caster County,  Pennsylvania.     He  died  Decembi  r  15, 


322 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


1758.  His  grandfather,  Jacob  Eshleman,  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania  November  7,  1742,  and  married  Bar- 
bara Groff  January  15,  1767.  Barbara  Groff  was 
born  March  5,  1747.  Her  father,  Jacob  Groff,  was 
born  April  2,  1699.  Her  mother's  maiden  name  was 
Brackbill.  Mr.  Bachman's  mother,  Barbara  Eshle- 
man, was  born  in  Lancaster  County,  Pennsylvania, 
January  30,  1789.  Her  marriage  to  Jacob  Bachman 
took  place  March  31,  1814,  and  her  death  occurred 
October  3,  1867. 

Benjamin  Franklin  Bachman  was  born  in  Lancaster 
County,  Pennsylvania,  February  25,  1829.  He  was 
reared  on  his  father's  farm,  and  in  his  younger  days 
attended  the  public  schools  of  his  neighborhood,  and 
afterward  attended  the  Strasburg  Academy  at  Stras- 
burg,  Pennsylvania,  Rev.  David  McCarter  Principal. 
After  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California,  he  sailed 
from  New  York,  November  26,  1849,  in  the  brig 
Emma  Prescott,  around  Cape  Horn,  and  arrived  in 
Monterey,  California,  May  i,  1850.  He  then  fell  in 
with  a  party  of  young  men,  who  hired  mules  and  a 
guide  and  started  for  the  mines  in  Mariposa,  where  he 
lived  for  thirty  years.  In  February,  1851,  he  joined 
the  Mariposa  Battalion  of  Mounted  Volunteers,  and 
served  against  the  Indians  until  the  following  July. 
The  world-renowned  Yo  Semite  Valley  was  discovered 
in  March,  185 1,  by  a  portion  of  this  battalion  on  one 
of  their  expeditions,  Mr.  Bachnian  being  one  of  the 
party.  He  served  as  postmaster  of  Mariposa  from 
1862  to  1865.  For  three  years  he  worked  in  the 
mines,  and  afterward  followed  trading  and  other  pur- 
suits. During  the  last  ten  years  of  his  residence 
there  he  was  engaged  in  the  cattle  business.  In  1880 
he  moved  to  Santa  Clara  County  and  purchased  fifty 
acres  of  land  in  and  adjoining  the  town  of  Los  Gatos, 
which  at  that  time  was  a  village  of  a  dozen  houses. 
He  has  thirty-two  acres  of  land  planted  to  the  lead- 
ing varieties  of  fruits  grown  in  this  section  of  the 
country.  He  has  500 j French  prunes,  500  peaches, 
400  apricots,  and  700  ^almonds,  together  with  a  small 
number^of  cherries,  pears,  and  plums.  Mr.  Bachman 
has  never  married. 

fICKNELL  G.  CONEY  was  born  in  the  western 
part  of  England,  January  5,  1830;  lived  with  his 
_^  parents  until  nineteen  years  old,  and  graduated  at 
an  English  university.  He  then  went  to  Australia, 
where  he  was  employed  in  managing  stock  and  sheep 
for  nearly  three  years.  Next  he  engaged  in  quartz 
Hud  placer  mining,  and  was  Superintendent  of  a  quartz- 


crushing  machine  at  Sandhurst.  After  remaining  in 
Australia  eight  years,  he  returned  to  England,  in  1861, 
and  about  six  months  afterward  came  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, where  he  remained  two  months,  and  went  to 
British  Columbia,  staying  there  eighteen  years.  For 
four  years  he  held  an  appointment  from  the  British 
Government  on  the  inland  revenue  service,  and  in 
1867  he  bought  a  farm  of  160  acres,  which  he  farmed 
for  five  years,  when  he  sold  it  and  engaged  in  mining 
for  a  few  months,  and  afterward  rented  a  farm  for  a 
year.  He  was  then  appointed  Recorder  of  Mining 
Claims  in  the  Cassiar  District,  the  appointment  coming 
from  the  Provincial  Government.  He  was  also  a 
Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  had  charge  of  the  northern 
division  of  the  district  for  two  years.  In  May,  1880, 
he  returned  to  England,  where  he  remained  until 
March,  1881,  when  he  came  to  California,  and  in  the 
fall  of  the  same  year  bought  his  present  place. 


H^OLLA  BANKS  was  born  at  Shepherdstown, 
s^^  Jefferson  County,  West  Virginia,  November  15, 
^^  1817.  His  father,  Samuel  Banks,  was  a  native 
of  Virginia,  and  his  mother  of  Maryland.  They 
removed  to  Coshocton  County,  Ohio,  where  he  fol- 
lowed farming,  and  died  about  the  year  1826.  Mrs. 
Banks  died  in  1880,  aged  nearly  100  years.  They 
reared  a  family  of  five  sons  and  three  daughters, 
Rolla  being  next  to  the  youngest.  He  spent  his 
boyhood  days  on  the  farm,  and  lived  there  till  1836, 
when  he  left  home,  but  remained  in  the  neighborhood 
till  the  breaking  out  of  the  Mexican  War,  in  1846, 
when,  in  the  month  of  June,  he  enlisted  in  the  Third 
Ohio  Infantry,  Col.  Samuel  R.  Curtis  commanding, 
and  was  elected  Second  Lieutenant  of  Company  B, 
of  which  James  M.  Love  was  Captain.  At  the  end 
of  his  enlistment  he  was  mustered  out  and  returned 
to  Ohio,  and  in  1849  came  to  California,  and  was 
among  the  first  to  come  overland.  His  train,  con- 
sisting of  five  wagons,  started  from  Independence, 
Missouri,  and  all  remained  together  till  they  reached 
Sacramento,  in  September,  after  a  journey  of  nearly 
five  months.  Sacramento,  at  that  time,  was  a  large 
camping-place,  there  being  no  buildings  except  a  few 
adobe  houses.  The  party  still  adhered  together, 
bought  a  load  of  provisions,  and  took  them  to  the 
mines  at  Hangtown  (now  Placerville),  unloaded,  and 
returned  to  Sacramento  with  their  teams  and  sold 
them. 

The    party   mined   at   Hangtown   till    185 1,   when 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


323 


tlrey  went  to  Amador  Countv,  near  Drytown,  and 
again  engaged  in  mining  till  some  of  the  party  tired 
of  it  and  wanted  to  go  home,  and  finally  all  con- 
cluded to  do  so,  as  they  had  been  together  so  long, 
and,  in  1853,  they  all  returned  to  Coshocton,  Ohio, 
the  place  they  started  from.  Late  in  1853  RoUa  and 
family  removed  to  Illinois,  and  in  1855  to  Minnesota, 
where  he  followed  farming  till  the  outbreak  of  the 
Civil  War.  In  1862  he  organized  a  company  and 
was  commissioned  Captain.  The  company  was  at- 
tached to  the  Seventh  Minnesota  Infantry,  Col.  Will- 
iam R.  Marshall  commanding.  Receiving  a  paralytic 
stroke  while  in  Mississippi,  in  August,  1864,  he  was 
discharged  from  the  service  in  1865,  and  was  a  suf- 
ferer from  this  for  some  years  before  he  was  able  to 
get  around  without  assistance.  He  came  to  Califor- 
nia in  the  fall  of  1882,  locating  first  at  Santa  Cruz, 
then  at  Santa  Rosa  and  St.  Helena,  and  in  1883  he 
located  in  Los  Gatos,  where  he  has  resided  since  that 
time. 

Mr.  Banks  was  married  in  September,  1847,  at 
Coshocton,  Ohio,  to  Elizabeth  Morrison,  who  was  a 
native  of  that  place.  They  have  two  children  living: 
Sadie  Banks  Clement,  residing  at  Winona,  Minnesota, 
and  Bessie  Banks,  who  resides  with  her  parents. 

John  w.  Montgomery,  son  of  spencer  and 

©^  Martha  Ann  (Keathley)  Montgomery,  was  born  in 
^  Lawrence  County,  Indiana,  September  17,  1835. 
His  father's  parents  were  Virginians  and  his  mother's 
were  Pennsylvania  Germans.  The  parents  of  John 
Montgomery  removed  to  Missouri  in  1837,  where 
they  resided  till  their  death,  when  he  was  a  small  boy. 
John  remained  in  Missouri  until  seventeen  years  of 
age,  when,  in  1852,  he  came  to  California  and  went  to 
the  mines  in  El  Dorado  County,  where  he  remained 
a  few  months,  and  then  went  to  Grass  Valley,  where 
he  lived  about  twenty  years,  first  engaging  in  mining 
for  nearly  two  years,  then  for  two  years  he  worked  at 
his  trade,  that  of  saddle  and  harness  making.  After 
this  he  farmed  four  years,  and  then  engaged  in  min- 
ing till  the  spring  of  1863,  when  he  went  to  Virginia 
City,  Nevada,  where  he  followed  mining,  farming,  and 
his  trade.  Losing  his  health  there,  he  returned  to 
California  in  February,  1865,  and  again  located  in 
Grass  Valley,  where  he  remained  till  1873,  engaged 
in  different  occupations,  when  he  came  to  Santa  Clara 
Valley  and  farmed  for  a  year,  and  in  1874  opened  the 
first  harness  shop  in  Los  Gatos.     About  six  months 


afterward  he  removed  to  Santa  Barbara  C<  unty, 
where  he  lived  three  years,  when  he  returned  to  Santa 
Clara  County  and  followed  farming  for  four  years, 
and  then  engaged  in  the  saddle  and  harness  business 
again  in  Los  Gatos,  which  he  still  follows. 

He  was  married  December  1 8, 1 88  t  ,  to  Sophia  Jones, 
a  native  of  West  Virginia.  They  have  no  children 
of  their  own,  but  have  an  adopted  child.  Earl. 


POSEPH  CUNNINGHAM  was  born  in  Middle 
Tennessee,  February  11,  1820  His  father,  Will- 
^  iam  Cunningham,  was  a  native  of  North  Carolina. 
When  he  was  seven  years  of  age  his  father  died, 
and  he  then  went  to  Tennessee,  where  he  had  rela- 
tives, with  whom  he  lived  till  grown.  He  married 
Narcissa  Jenkins,  a  native  of  Kentucky.  Her  father, 
Joseph  Jenkins,  went  from  East  Tennessee  to  Ken- 
tucky when  he  was  a  young  man ;  wa^  married  there, 
and  afterward  with  his  family  moved  into  Lincoln 
County,  Middle  Tennessee.  Narcissa  Jenkins  was 
reared  in  Middle  Tennessee,  being  a  small  child  when 
her  father  moved  there.  After  William  Cunningham 
was  married  he  made  Lincoln  County  his  home  until 
183s,  when  he  moved  to  Randolph  County,  Missouri, 
located  on  a  farm,  and  died  there,  in  1842,  at  the  age 
of  forty-seven  years.  His  wife  died  about  three  years 
after,  at  the  age  of  forty-four.  They  had  a  family  of 
ten  children,  four  of  whom  lived  to  be  grown,  and 
three  are  now  living. 

Joseph  Cunningham  lived  with  his  father  until  he 
was  twenty-one  years  old.  For  those  times  he  was 
able  to  get  a  fair  education.  He  was  reared  on  a 
farm,  and  is  the  fifth  generation  of  the  Cunningham 
family  who  followed  farming.  In  the  spring  of  1844 
he  married  Margaret  J.  Hannah,  a  native  of  Tennes- 
see. Her  father,  Andrew  Hannah,  moved  from  that 
State  into  Missouri  in  1833,  when  she  was  a  mere 
child.  She  died  in  February,  1845,  leaving  one  son, 
William  A.   Cunningham,    who    resides    in   Arizona. 

In  the  spring  of  1843  Mr.  Cunningham  bought  a 
farm,  where  he  lived  for  twenty  years  during  his  resi- 
dence in  the  State  of  Missouri.  In  the  fall  of  1846 
he  was  married  again,  to  Mary  J.  Gooding,  who  was 
born  in  Randolph  County,  Missouri,  July  2,  1827. 
Her  parents  were  natives  of  Kentucky,  her  father 
having  moved  to  Missouri  in  1818.  In  1863  Mr. 
Cunningham  sold  his  farm  and  came  to  California. 
He  bought  land  in  Solano  County  in  1S64,  and  re- 
mained there  until    1881,  when,  in   November  of  that 


324 


PEN  riCTUHES  FBOM    THE  "GARDEN   OF  THE    WOULD: 


year,  he  sold  and  moved  to  Santa  Clara  County.  He 
bought  his  present  place  near  Saratoga,  and  has  one 
of  the  finest  ranches  in  this  vicinity. 

Mr.  Cunningham's  ranch  contains  thirty-two  acres, 
nineteen  of  which  are  in  fruit,  consisting  of  the  fol- 
lowing varieties:  1,200  French  prunes,  400  pears,  50 
apples,  250  apricots,  and  about  100  trees  in  a  family 
orchard,  together  with  100  vines.  Two  of  his  sons, 
J.  C.  and  J.  F.  Cunningham,  have,  the  one  nine  and  a 
half,  and  the  other  si.x,  acres  rcsijcctively,  of  which 
the  former  has  eight  acres  in  fruit,  and  one  and  a  half 
acres  in  nursery,  and  the  latter  all  in  fruit,  princi- 
pally French  prunes,  apricots,  and  peaches. 

There  are  seven  children  living  and  two  deceased, 
six  of  whom  reside  in  Santa  Clara  Valley.  Mr.  Cun- 
ningham is  a  member  of  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian Church  of^  San  Jose,  and  has  been  a  member 
of  the  Presbyterian  Society  about  forty-six  years. 
Mrs.  Cunningham  has  belonged  to  the  same  church 
about  two  years  longer. 


i§— 


IgARVEY  WILCOX  was  born  in  Onondaga 
S^  County,  New  York,  March  30,  1822.  His  father, 
1^  Loammy  Wilco.x,  was  born  in  Connecticut, 
August  27,  1787,  and  removed  to  New  York  at  a  very 
early  date.  He  was  married  to  Hannah  Paddock 
April  14,  1812.  She  was  born  in  New  York  April 
29,  1786.  They  reared  a  family  of  four  children, 
Caroline,  Edmund,  Harvey,  and  Cordelia,  of  whom 
Harvey  was  next  to  the  youngest.  He  was  reared  in 
New  York  until  sixteen  years  of  age.  At  this  age 
he  removed  to  Joliet,  Illinois,  where  he  engaged  as  a 
clerk  in  a  general  merchandise  store  and  remained 
there  till  1843,  when  he  went  into  business  forhim.self 
When  the  Mexican  War  began  he  was  one  of  the  first 
to  run  cargoes  of  oats  and  other  merchandise  down 
the  Des  Moines  and  Mississippi  Rivers  on  flat-boats 
to  New  Orleans,  where  he  sold  his  cargoes  to  the 
government.  He  lived  in  Joliet  till  1849,  when  he 
came  to  California  and  went  into  the  mines,  and  after 
being  there  about  a  year  returned  to  Joh'et.  He  came 
again  to  California  in  the  winter  of  1855-56,  and  has 
been  a  resident  of  the  State  ever  since.  He  located 
again  in  the  mines  in  Sierra  County,  and  was  there 
about  two  years,  when  he  returned  to  Solano  County; 
engaging  in  business  there  until  1876;  he  then  came 
to  Santa  Clara  County  and  located.  He  settled  in 
Los  Gatos  in  1881,  bought  and  improved  forty  acres 


of  land,  which  was  purchased  from  him  by  the  Santa 
Clara  College  of  Jesuits  as  a  branch  of  their  college. 
Mr.  Wilcox  built  the  "Wilcox  House"  in  Los  Gatos 
in  1887,  which  he  owns.  It  has  thirty-five  rooms,  and 
is  situated  near  the  depot.  Mr.  P.  A.  Lamping  is  the 
proprietor. 

Mr.  Wilcox  was  married  October  i,  1844,  to  Har- 
riet S.  Demmond,  r.  native  of  Worcester,  Massachu- 
setts, where  she  was  born  July  i,  1826.  They  have 
two  sons:  Charles  F.,  born  July  6,  1852,  and  Harry  E., 
June  12,  1 86 1 — both  attorneys  in  San  Jose. 


|t)HILIP  G.  GALPIN  was  born  in  Buffalo,  New 
'^ys  York,  February  3,  1830.  His  parents,  natives  of 
W  Vermont,  settled  in  New  York  at  an  early  date. 
When  five  years  of  age  he  was  adopted  by  his 
uncle,  Philip  S.  Galpin,  for  many  years  Mayor  of  New 
Haven,  Connecticut.  He  was  educated  in  New 
Haven,  attending  Russell's  Military  Academy,  and  in 
1845  entered  Yale  College,  at  which  he  graduated  in 
1849.  He  then  studied  law  with  Henry  B.  Harrison, 
lately  Governor  of  Connecticut,  and  entered  the  Yale 
Law  School,  graduating  in  1852,  and  was  admitted  to 
the  Bar  in  New  Haven  in  the  same  year.  He  removed 
to  Ohio  and  settled  in  Findlay  in  1853,  to  engage  in 
the  law  business.  There  he  entered  into  partnership 
with  Hon.  James  M.  Coffinberry,  his  brother-in-law, 
who  was  afterward  for  ten  years  Judge  of  the  Court 
of  Common  Pleas  of  Cuyahoga  County.  He  traveled 
the  neighboring  counties  on  horseback,  carrying  his 
law-books  in  his  saddle-bags.  His  first  case  was  tried 
in  a  little  town  called  Ottokee,  on  the  border  of  Mich- 
igan. The  court-room  was  in  a  log  house  about  fifty 
feet  square.  Morrison  R.  Waite,  late  Chief  Justice  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  was  also 
there  at  the  time,  trying  several  cases.  The  witnesses, 
judges,  and  lawyers  all  had  to  take  quarters  together 
in  the  garret  of  the  only  hotel  in  the  place.  Mr. 
Galpin  then  practiced  law  in  Toledo  a  year,  and  wrote 
for  the  Toledo  Blade;  thence  he  went  to  New  York 
city,  entered  into  partnership  with  Robert  G.  Pike, 
and  practiced  in  Wall  Street.  This  partnership  was 
dissolved,  and  Mr.  Pike  removed  to  Connecticut  and 
became  President  of  the  Hartford  &  Middletown  Rail- 
road, but  Mr.  Galpin  continued  practice  in  New  York 
for  a  number  of  years.  In  1857  he  came  to  Califor- 
nia on  business  for  a  client  in  the  East,  a  widow,  whose 
husband  had  died  here  leaving  a  large  property.  The 
leading  cases  were  Gray  vs.  Palmer,  reported  in  ninth 


BIO G IL I PHWA  L  SKETCHES. 


325 


volume  of  California  Reports,  and  Gray  vs.  Bugnar- 
dello,  in  Supreme  Court  of  United  States.  He  was  at- 
torney for  Mrs.  Gray  and  won  sixteen  lawsuits  for  her, 
in  which  she  recovered  a  large  amount  of  property. 
He  returned  to  New  York  and  argued  in  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  Galpin  I's.  Page,  which 
became  a  leading  authority  on  "jurisdiction."  He 
came  again  to  California  in  i860  and  tried  several 
actions  for  an  Eastern  client  in  ejectment,  remaining 
here  at  that  time  about  eighteen  months.  During 
this  time  his  business  was  going  on  in  New  York, 
where  he  had  partners.  In  1865  he  was  emplo)'ed  in 
New  York  by  the  heirs  of  J.  Ladson  Hall,  of  Phila- 
delphia, to  come  to  California  to  recover  the  estate  of 
their  father,  valued  at  $150,000.  Hall  z's.  De.xter  was 
the  leading  case.  He  tried  and  argued  it  in  the  United 
States  Circuit  Court  of  California,  where  judgment 
was  rendered  against  Hall.  Mr.  Galpin  appealed  the 
case  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  at 
Washington,  U.  C,  and  there  argued  it  for  the  Hall 
heirs.  The  decision  of  the  Circuit  Court  was  reversed. 
The  last  decision  established  the  point  that  the  deed 
of  a  lunatic  was  void  and  not  voidable.  The  late 
Roscoe  Conkling  was  the  opposing  counsel.  Mr. 
Galpin  then  remained  a  year  and  a  half  in  New  York 
and  soon  after  went  to  Europe.  He  was  married  in 
Paris,  France,  in  January,  1867,  to  Mary  E.  Culver, 
a  native  of  Baltimore,  Maryland.  In  1 869  he  returned 
from  Europe  to  New  York  city,  where  he  practiced 
law  till  1875.  Having  acquired  property  in  Califor- 
nia which  required  attention,  he  came  here  that  year 
and  located  in  San  Francisco,  where  he  resided  till 
1880,  when  he  bought  a  place  at  Claremont  near  Oak- 
land. His  wife  died  there  in  1883.  He  continued  to 
reside  at  his  home  in  Claremont  till  1886,  when  he 
married  Julia  B.,  youngest  daughter  of  Victor  Castro, 
by  whom  he  has  one  child. 

In  1887  IVTr.  Galpin  sold  his  property  at  Claremont 
and  bought  a  place  between  Los  Gatos  and  Alma,  at 
Lexington,  Santa  Clara  County.  He  has  a  fine  ranch 
of  250  acres,  on  which  he  carries  on  stock-raising, 
grain  and  fruit  culture.  It  is  his  intention  to  plant 
the  whole  place  to  fruit.  He  practics  law  in  San 
Francisco  in  partnership  with  John  T.  Doyle,  of  Menio 
Park,  and  W.  G.  Zeigler,  his  nephew,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Doyle,  Galpin  &  Zeigler,  their  office  being 
at  the  southeast  corner  of  Sacramento  and  Montgom- 
ery Streets. 

His  only  criminal  case  was  the  defense,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  H.  E.  Highton,  Esq.,  of  the  son  of  Mayor 
Kalloch,  indicted  for  murdering  Charles  De  Young,  a 


former  Cuitor  of  the  Chronicle.  In  the  contest  in  1886 
between  the  Republican  and  Democratic  parties  for 
representation  in  the  Board  of  Election,  Mr.  Galpin 
rendered  efficient  service  to  the  Democratic  party. 
He  argued  at  Washington  before  the  Land  Depart- 
ment and  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State,  on 
behalf  of  the  State,  the  question  of  the  State's  owner- 
ship of  land  below  high-water  mark,  within  the  limits 
of  a  pueblo.  For  years  he  has  been  and  now  is  coun- 
sel for  the  property-holders,  in  the  various  actions 
brought,  to  collect  the  Montgomery  Avenue  Bonds. 
He  is  also  at  present  counsel  for  the  Western  Union 
Telegraph  Company. 


^^ 


,  OHN  HOURECAN  was  born  in  County  Long- 
<SV'  ford,  Ireland,  June  23,  1831,  a  son  of  John  and 
''^  Mary  (O'Reilly)  Hourecan.  His  father  died  in 
Ireland  in  1843.  Ten  years  later,  in  [853,  his  mother, 
with  three  of  her  children,  sailed  for  America.  She 
located  in  Philadelphia,  where  she  made  her  home  till 
the  time  of  her  death.  John  Hourecan  remained  in 
Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey  until  1856,  when  he 
emigrated  to  California.  He  sailed  from  New  York, 
and  after  a  successful  sea  voyage  landed  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, on  the  twenty-third  of  December  of  that  year. 
He  shortly  after  went  into  the  mines  at  Albany  Flat, 
in  Calaveras  County,  where  he  remained  until  the 
sixteenth  of  April,  1857.  Having  worked  there  a 
sufficient  length  of  time  to  satisfy  his  taste  for  mining, 
he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County  and  went  to  work  on 
the  Laurel  Wood  Farm  for  Burtis  and  Thornburgh,and 
remained  with  them  for  over  two  years.  He  then 
rented  a  farm  of  Michael  Dawson,  near  Santa  Clara, 
and  worked  on  it  for  two  years.  At  the  expiration  of 
this  time  he  formed  a  co-partnership  with  James  Sulli- 
van, and  rented  100  acres  of  the  Laurel  Wood  Farm, 
and  seventy  acres  on  James  Minton's  place,  which 
they  worked  on  shares  for  a  year.  In  May,  1863,  he 
bought  eighty  acres  of  land  on  the  Saratoga  Avenue, 
near  Saratoga,  and  moved  on  it  the  ninth  of  Septem- 
ber following.  The  land  was  all  under  heavy  timber 
and  brush,  with  the  exception  of  nine  acres  partly 
cleared.  By  almost  constant  and  incessant  toil, 
backed  by  the  pluck  of  a  true  Irishman,  he,  in  the 
course  of  time,  converted  the  place  from  its  wild  con- 
dition to  its  present  high  state  of  cultivation,  with  not 
a  stump  anywhere  within  a  foot  of  the  surface.  There 
are  twenty  acres  of  vines,  consisting  of  Matero,  Zin- 
fandel,   and  Mission  varieties,  ranging   from   four  to 


326 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN   OF  THE    WORLD." 


eight  x'cars  old.  He  has  heretofore  raised  consiclera- 
ble  barley  and  wheat  up  to  the  present  year,  when  ev- 
erything of  this  nature  was  converted  to  hay.  There 
are  about  five  acres  of  excellent  pasture  land.  The 
vines  for  the  year  1887  averaged,  both  young  and 
old,  about  three  and  one-half  tons  to  the  acre.  The 
present  year  he  will  have  about  seventy-five  tons  of 
hay. 

Mr.  Hourecan  was  married  in  1865,  to  Ann  C. 
Wright,  a  native  of  Ireland,  who  came  to  California 
in  1857.  They  have  a  family  of  three  children: 
Mary  F.,  Agnes  J.,  and  Thomas  J.,  all  of  whom  are 
residing  at  home. 


■|OHN  C.  HUTCHINSON  was  born  in  Columbia 
©^  County,  Georgia,  July  5,  1821.  His  father,  James, 
^  and  his  mother,  Martha  (nee  Culbreth),  were  both 
natives  of  Georgia.  His  father  went  from  Georgia  to 
Texas  in  1837  and  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  at 
Houston,  where  he  died.  John  accompanied  his  fa- 
ther to  Texas,  and  soon  thereafter  was  placed  in  a 
private  school  in  Georgia,  where  he  obtained  a  fair 
education  for  those  days.  After  his  father's  death  he 
bought  a  farm  of  eighty  acres  near  Houston,  and  lived 
there  till  1852.  He  was  married  in  1846  to  Margaret 
Thompson,  a  native  of  England,  who  came  to  Texas 
with  her  parents  when  a  young  girl.  She  died  about 
two  years  after,  leaving  two  daughters,  one  of  whom 
subsequently  died.  In  1852  he  sold  his  farm  and 
came  to  California,  making  the  journey  overland 
through  New  Mexico,  starting  March  i,  an  I  arriving 
in  this  valley  in  Sept  mber.  He  was  in  poor  health, 
and  neither  himself  nor  his  friends  expected  he  would 
survive  the  trip.  He  took  up  a  piece  of  land  between 
Saratoga  and  Mountain  View  and  began  to  make  im- 
provements. He  also  went  into  the  mountains  and 
made  lumber  for  a  year  or  two,  using  two  ox  teams. 
In  1856  he  bought  an  interest  in  a  lime-kiln  about 
half  a  mile  south  of  Saratoga.  He  afterward  bought 
out  the  company  owning  the  lime-kiln  and  pre- 
empted 160  acres  of  land  on  which  the  kiln  was  situ- 
ated. He  sold  his  place  near  Mountain  View  in  1S57. 
He  ran  the  lime-kiln  about  two  \'ears,  supplj'ing  the 
Guadaloupe  mines  with  lime  until  they  found  and  be- 
gan to  burn  their  own  lime.  He  ceased  making  lime 
in  1859,  and  turned  his  attention  to  clearing  and  farm- 
ing his  land.  Occasionally  he  sold  small  pieces  of  this 
land,  the  last  sale  being  made  in    1884,  when    he    dis- 


poned of  it  all.  I'he  same  )-car  he  removed  to  Saratoga 
and  engaged  in  mercantile  business,  in  which  he  con- 
tinued till  1887.  He  was  appointed  Postmaster  at 
Saratoga,  May  17,  18S6,  which  position  he  has  satis- 
factorily filled  to  the  present  time. 

Mr.  Hutchinson  married  again  in  1868,  Mrs.  Matilda 
Potter,  a  native  of  Illinois.  She  died  in  1S79.  She 
had  two  children  by  her  first  husband  and  three  by 
her  second.  Two  of  the  latter  (daughters)  are  still 
living.  In  politics  Mr.  Hutchinson  is  an  ardent 
Democrat. 

^^^- 

.^RTHUR  BERRYMAN  was  born  in  Cornwall, 
dSiys  England,  April  22,   1834,  where  he  was  reared 

tand  educated  i  1  the  common  schools.  His 
mother  died  when  he  was  about  ten  years  old, 
and  his  father  died  there  in  1857.  In  1854  Arthur 
left  England  and  located  in  Sykesville,  Carroll  County, 
Maryland.  The  next  spring  he  went  to  Minersville, 
Schuylkill  County,  Pennsylvania,  in  the  coal  region, 
and  in  1855  he  came  to  California,  and  located  in 
Amador  County.  In  1857  he  left  California  and  went 
to  Chili,  and  then,  in  1862,  to  Bolivia.  From  Bolivia 
he  went  to  Peru  early  in  1864,  returned  to  California 
in  August,  the  same  year,  and  for  a  time  mined  at  the 
Almaden  and  New  Idria  quicksilver  mines.  He  re- 
mained at  the  New  Idria  mines  from  December.  1865, 
until  1876,  employed  in  various  capacities,  when  he 
went  to  San  Francisco,  where  he  remained  for  two 
years.  In  1878  he  went  to  Briti.sh  Columbia,  where 
he  remained  six  months,  and  then  returned  to  San 
Francisco.  In  December,  1878,  he  went  to  Lower 
California,  but  returned  to  San  Francisco  in  May,  1879. 
In  a  short  time  he  went  to  the  Guadaloupe  quicksilver 
mines,  in  Santa  Clara  County,  where  he  remained 
until  May,  1882,  when  he  came  to  Los  Gatos,  and 
went  into  the  hotel  business  as  proprietor  of  the  Los 
Gatos  Hotel,  formerly  known  as  the  Ten  Mile  House, 
on  the  old  stage  road  running  from  San  Jose  to  Santa 
Cruz.  When  he  assumed  charge  of  the  hotel  it  con- 
tained but  nineteen  rooms,  but  a  year  afterward  it 
was  considerably  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  a  two- 
story  building,  twenty-eight  by  one  hundred  feet,  the 
old  hotel  now  forming  the  south  wing  of  the  build- 
ing. The  hotel  now  contains  forty-one  sleeping  apart- 
ments, and  is  well  furnished  throughout.  In  Septem- 
ber, 1887,  he  gave  up  this  business,  and  soon  after 
engaged  in  the  real-estate  and  insurance  business, 
under  the  firm  name  of  A.  Berryman  &  Co. 


BIO  GRA  PHICAL   SKETCHES. 


^DWARD  MACABEE,  son  of  Andrew  and  An- 
ts^ geline  Macabee,  was  born  in  Montreal,  Canada^ 
(yj»  August  15,  1832.  His  parents  were  both  na- 
tives of  Canada,  and  died  there.  The  Macabee  family 
is  an  old  one  in  Canada.  Edward  was  seven  years 
old  when  his  father  died,  and  he  made  his  home  with 
his  brother  and  sister.  When  sixteen  years  old  he 
went  to  Malone,  Franklin  County,  New  York,  where 
he  lived  until  1864,  following  farming.  He  was  mar- 
ried February  4,  1855,  to  Matilda  Francis,  a  native  of 
Canada.  In  1864  he  came  to  California  with  his 
family,  and  located  in  San  Jose.  In  1867  he  returned 
to  New  York,  but  came  back  to  San  Jose  after  being 
there  ten  months,  and  again  engaged  in  farming,  which 
business  he  followed  until  1883,  when  he  came  to  Los 
Gatos  and  bought  the  hotel  then  known  as  the  Cole- 
man House,  but  now  the  Alpine  House,  and  took 
possession  of  it  November  15  of  that  year,  and  has 
run  the  hotel  ever  since.  It  was  built  in  1881  by 
James  Coleman,  is  two  stories  high,  and  contains 
twenty-four  rooms.  It  is  situated  on  a  five-acre  tract 
of  land  in  East  Los  Gatos,  on  the  San  Jose  and  Los 
Gatos  road.  They  have  eight  children,  viz.:  Zephire, 
Carrie  (wife  of  L.  Pinard,  of  San  Jose),  Mary,  Flora, 
Delia,  Edward,  Andrew,  and  Ernest  V. 


PLIJAH  PRICE,  of  San  Jose  Township,  is  a 
native  of  Staffordshire,  England,  born  in  181 8, 
'sp  his  parents  being  Isaac  and  Mary  Price.  When 
he  was  in  his  fifth  year,  the  family  emigrated  to 
America,  locating  in  Southern  Illinois.  There  the 
father  died,  and  the  family  removed  to  Cincinnati, 
where  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  principally  reared. 
Thence  they  removed  to  Franklin  County,  Indiana, 
and  from  there  to  Shelby  County,  same  State,  and 
then  to  Hamilton,  also  in  that  State.  Here  Mr.  Price 
resided  until  October  18,  1SS3,  when  he  removed  to 
California  and  located  in  Santa  Clara  County.  He 
has  a  fine  place  of  thirty  acres  on  Stone  Avenue,  near 
San  Jose,  which  he  had  purchased  before  moving  here, 
February  24,  1883,  from  Mr.  Williams,  executor 
of  the  Stone  estate.  Previous  to  that  date  it  had 
been  devoted  to  agriculture  alone,  but  in  March,  1883, 
Mr.  Price  set  out  over  800  apricot  and  prune  trees, 
and  has  since  planted  600  more  trees — apricots,  prunes, 
and  peaches.  He  also  has  an  acre  of  table  grapes. 
Besides  this  estate  Mr.  Price  has  also  a  residence  and 
business  property  in  San  P"rancisco,  which  are  valua- 
ble on  account  of  being  desirably  situated^ 


In  earlier  life  Mr.  Price  was  for  many  years  one  of 
the  lights  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Illi- 
nois, having  been  ordained  in  its  ministry  at  Spring- 
field, in  1850,  by  Bishop  Scott;  but  in  1873  he  asso- 
ciated himself  with  the  United  Brethren  Church,  and 
came  to  the  coast  with  a  transfer  from  the  Lower 
Wabash  Conference  of  that  denomination,  which  he 
still  holds,  as  there  is  no  regular  congregation  of  his 
church  nearer  than  Sacramento.  In  his  political  views 
he  is  a  Republican. 

Mr.  Price  was  married  in  Hamilton,  Indiana,  to  Miss 
Barbara  Daubenspeck,  a  native  of  Fayette  County, 
that  State.  Their  two  eldest  children,  W.  A.  and 
Isaac  N.,  volunteered  in  defense  of  the  Union  during 
the  last  war,  and  died  in  the  service.  There  are  still 
eleven  children  living,  namely:  John  W.,  who  resides 
in  Wyoming  Territory;  James  P.,  who  is  living  in 
Douglas  County,  Illinois;  Mary  Shrader,  living  in 
Shelby  County,  Illinois;  Sarah  A.  Shrader,  who  re- 
sides in  Wichita,  Kansas;  W.  N.,  L.  C,  and  Charles 
E.,  residing  in  Douglas  County,  Illinois ;  Candace 
Nix';n,  in  Montgomery  City,  Missouri;  Alice  Reed, 
in  Douglas  County,  Illinois;  and  M.  E.  and  M.  C,  in 
Santa  Clara  County,  California. 


PL.  TAYLOR.  On  an  extensive  ranch  like  that 
of  Palo  Alto,  where  valuable  race-horses  are 
^  bred  and  cared  for,  there  is  no  more  important 
position  than  that  of  chief  horseshoer,  where  a 
thorough  and  accurate  knowledge  of  every  detail  of 
the  business  is  required.  This  position  at  Palo  Alto 
Ranch  is  held  by  the  gentleman  whose  name  heads 
this  sketch.  Mr.  Taylor  is  a  native  of  Michigan,  born 
at  Jackson,  September  2,  1849,  his  parents  being  J.  H. 
and  Mary  (Dixon)  Taylor.  In  1854  his  father  came 
out  to  California  byway  of  Nicaragua,  and  located  at 
San  Lorenzo.  Having  decided  to  make  that  place 
his  permanent  home,  the  family  came  out  to  join 
him  in  1856.  In  Alameda  County  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  grew  to  manhood,  learning  his  trade  at  Liver- 
more.  After  completing  a  thorough  apprenticeship, 
he  continued  his  trade  at  Livermore  as  a  journey- 
man until.  1 88 1,  when  his  skill  at  his  craft  secured  for 
him  his  present  position  at  the  Palo  Alto  Ranch. 
Mrs.  Taylor's  maiden  name  was  Amelia  Pink.  She 
was  a  native  of  New  York.  They  have  three  chil- 
dren: Rodman,  Charles,  and  Edwin.  Mr.  Taylor  is  a 
member  of  Mountain  V^iew  Lodge,  A.  O.  U.  W. 


328 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  ''GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD: 


^HARLES  D.  AUSTIN,  supervising  architect  of 
°^  the  Leland  Stanford,  Jr.,  University  buildings, 
©H"  succeeded  W.  A.  Rodman,  of  Boston,  in  that 
capacity.  Mr.  Austin  was  educated  at  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Institute  of  Technology,  Boston,  and  com- 
menced life  as  a  civil  engineer,  afterward  entering  the 
employ  of  Shepley,  Rutan  &  Coolidge,  architects  of 
the  university.  He  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his 
present  position  May  i,  1888. 


— #-§ 


^R.  H.  C.  MOREY,  of  the  real-estate  firm  of 
S^  Morey  &  Rogers,  came  to  Gilroy  in  August,  1867, 
^Y^  for  the  purpose  of  pursuing  the  practice  of  his 
profession  and  securing  a  cliaiate  more  favorable 
to  health.  Dr.  Morey  is  a  native  of  New  York  State, 
born  in  Oneida  County,  August  15,  1826,  his  parents 
being  John  and  Fannie  (Atkins)  Morey.  His  father 
was  a  Methodist  minister.  When  the  doctor  was 
four  years  of  age,  the  family  removed  to  Ohio,  where 
the  father  was  engaged  in  ministerial  labors,  and  at 
the  age  of  twelve  years  they  removed  to  Illinois, 
locating  in  Fulton  County.  He  received  his  educa- 
tion there  and  commenced  the  study  of  medicine 
under  the  guidance  of  Dr.  Lance,  of  Marietta,  Fulton 
County.  He  attended  lectures  at  Rush  Medical  Col- 
lege, Chicago,  graduating  in  1854,  after  which  he  be- 
gan practicing  at  Gcneseo,  Illinois,  and  continued 
there  until  his  failii  g  health  caused  him  to  make  a 
tri|)  to  California  in  1858.  From  Sierra  County,  Cal- 
ifornia, he  went  to  Oregon  and  located  at  McMinn- 
ville,  where  he  engaged  in  jjracticing  till  December, 
1859,  when  he  returned  to  Illinois  and  remained 
eighteen  months.  In  1861  he  again  came  to  Califor- 
nia, locating  at  Knight's  Landing,  on  the  Sacramento 
River,  where  he  remained  until  he  came  to  Gilroy. 
He  established  the  drug  business  here  the  next  year 
after  coming,  in  which  he  continued  until  the  fall  of 
1887.  Since  that  time  he  has  been  engaged  in  real- 
estate  business.  He  was  married  in  Geneseo,  Illinois, 
to  Melissa  A.  Hobbs,  a  native  of  Maine.  Her  father, 
a  physician,  died  in  Maine,  and  her  mother  resides  in 
Gilroy.  Dr.  Morey's  father  resides  in  San  Jose, 
where  his  mother  died  in  1887. 

The  doctor  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Order  and 
belongs  to  Chapter  and  Commandery  at  San  Jose. 
Politically  he  is  a  Democrat.  Dr.  Morey  has  one  of 
the  curiosities  of  California  in  what  is  known  as  the 
"  Cloth  of  Gold  "  rose  tree.     It  was  planted  by  him, 


from  a  slip,  in  1872,  and  now  covers  an  area  of  thirty 
feet  in  diameter,  and  is  fifteen  feet  high,  and  the  body 
measures  thirty-two  inches  around  its  base. 


|||EWIS  C.  FERGUSON,  who  has  an  important 
s^  part  in  the  management  of  the  Palo  Alto  Ranch, 
T^  is  a  member  of  one  of  the  old  families  of  Santa 
Clara  County.  He  was  born  at  Volcano  City,  in  the 
Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  October  19,  1852,  his  par- 
ents being  Asa  and  Parthenia  S.  (Anderson)  Fergu- 
son. Lewis  C.  was  reared  to  the  age  of  eight  years 
at  the  family  home,  near  Old  Gilroy,  and  there  com- 
menced his  schooling,  finishing  his  collegiate  course 
at  Oakland.  He  engaged  with  a  Front  Street  firm 
in  San  Francisco  as  entry  clerk,  and  was  for  some 
time  associated  in  that  capacity  with  wholesale  houses 
on  that  and  California  Streets.  He  became  connected 
with  the  Manhattan  Life  Insurance  Company  and 
general  mining  offices  on  Montgomery  Street,  and 
remained  with  them  until  1885,  when  he  came  to  the 
Palo  Alto  Ranch.  Besides  the  details  of  the  busi- 
ness transactions,  he  has  immediate  superintendence 
of  the  grounds.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and 
for  a  number  of  years  was  identified  strongly  with 
political  clubs  in  San  Francisco. 


PRWIN  A.  DAVISON.  One  of  the  most  im- 
portant industries  of  Santa  Clara  County,  and 
"Np  especially  of  the  southern  portion,  is  that  of 
cheese-making,  which  was  commenced  here 
some  thirty-five  years  ago.  Since  that  time  it  has 
grown  to  large  proportions,  with  many  establishments 
contributing  thereto.  The  leading  portion  among 
these  is  held  by  what  is  known  as  the  Bloomfield 
Dairy,  situated  about  three  miles  south  from  Gilroy, 
and  conducted  by  Erwin  A.  Davison. 

Though  the  history  of  cheese  manufacture  for  the 
market  in  this  locality  dates  back  over  a  third  of  a 
century,  the  true  story  of  the  progress  of  the  indus- 
try may  be  gathered  from  the  relation  of  what  has 
been  accomplished  by  the  Bloomfield  Dairy  in  less 
than  eleven  years  of  time.  The  dairy  was  originated 
by  Henry  Miller,  the  owner  of  the  land,  in  1869,  and 
it  was  operated  with  average  success  until  the  fall  of 
1875,  when  Mr.  E.  A.  Davison,  a  man  reared  in  the 
business  in  the  celebrated  dairy  district  of  Herkimer 
County,   New   York,  came  out  to  take   charge.     He 


<Mm^ 


^.>ir?0' 


Bin  (IE.  1  y  '11  It  A  L  SKETL IJIK 


o20 


made  an  unexceptionable  quality  of  cheese,  but  was 
surprised  to  find  that  it  brought,  in  common  with 
other  California  cheese,  six  cents  per  pound  less  than 
that  made  in  the  East.  There  beinfj  no  difference  in 
the  quality,  he  determined  to  have  the  highest  price 
for  his  produce  that  was  paid  in  San  Francisco  mar- 
ket. Sending  Ea^t  and  obtaining  the  materials  simi- 
lar to  those  used  there  for  that  purpose,  he  com- 
menced making  his  own  drums,  and  imitating  in  size 
and  style  the  Eastern  cheese.  This  done,  he  went  to 
the  commission  merchants  and  demanded  that  his 
cheese  be  sold  at  the  advanced  price.  The  answer  to 
this  demand  was  that  if  he  persisted  in  making  drum 
cheese,  not  a  pound  of  his  manufacture  would  be  sold 
in  the  San  Francisco  market.  For  this  reply  he  was 
not  unprepared,  however,  and  informed  the  commis- 
sion men  that  he  would  not  only  continue  to  make 
the  drums,  but  would  open  a  house  in  San  Francisco, 
and  make  such  terms  that  he  would  sell  every  pound 
of  cheese  made  in  Santa  Clara  Valley.  It  was  no 
idle  boast,  and  the  commission  men  were  soon 
brought  to  their  senses.  His  cheese  has  since  sold 
for  from  five  to  six  cents  more  than  the  market  price 
of  the  California  article,  and  from  this  source  alone, 
in  a  little  over  ten  years,  he  has  made  what  in  many 
districts  in  the  old  States  would  be  called  a  handsome 
fortune.  He  found  no  trouble  in  marketing  all  he 
made,  and  the  next  thing  was  to  keep  the  supply  up 
the  year  round,  that  a  new  custom  would  not  have 
to  be  built  up  annually.  This  result  was,  of  course, 
to  be  accomplished  by  the  handling  f.nd  feeding  of 
the  cows.  Few  dairymen  at  that  time  thought  it 
necessary  to  pay  much  attention  to  the  feeding  of 
their  dry  or  milk  stock,  but  he  thought  differently 
from  the  start.  The  first  four  years  after  coming  here 
he  supplanted  the  green  feed  by  planting  corn  and 
beets;  but  after  that  time  he  began  sowing  alfalfa,  on 
which,  with  bran,  he  has  since  relied,  sometimes  feed- 
ing as  much  as  three  hundred  tons  of  bran  per  year, 
and  has  thus  continually  kept  up  the  flow  of  milk, 
while  other  cows  were  dry.  An  inspection  of  his  bills 
shows  the  receipt  of  sixteen  cents  per  pound  for  his 
manufacture,  while  California  cheese  is  quoted  ten  to 
eleven  cents.  It  will  thus  be  seen  what  intelligent 
effort,  with  good  business  qualifications,  may  accom- 
plish. Eight  hundred  acres  of  land  are  used  for  the 
purpose  of  the  dairy,  and  the  350  cows  on  the  place 
supply  the  milk  for  the  manufacture  of  130,000 
pounds  of  cheese  annually.  The  original  stock  was 
purchased  from  Mr.  Miller  in  December,  1887,  by  Mr. 
Davison.  A  tour  of  the  dairy  farm  shows  the  same 
42 


attention  to  every  detail  that  has  been  mentioned  in 
connection  with  the  business  management  of  the  pro 
prietor.  Nothing  is  lacking  that  should  be  there,  and 
everything  is  in  its  place.  The  arrangements  for 
water  and  for  feeding  are  excellent.  Much  credit  is 
due  the  man  who  has  given  to  Santa  Clara  County 
the  model  dairy  farm  of  California. 

Mr.  Davison  is  a  native  of  Herkimer  County,  New 
York,  born  January  25,  1842.  His  father,  Andrew 
Davison,  was  likewise  born  in  Herkimer  County. 
His  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Maria  Hemp- 
stead, was  also  a  native  of  the  Empire  State. 

Erwin  A.  was  reared  in  his  native  county,  and,  as 
his  father  was  a  dairyman,  he  may  be  said  to  halve 
been  brought  up  to  that  business  from  childhood. 
On  arriving  at  manhood's  estate,  he  embarked  in  the 
dairy  business  for  himself,  and  three  years  later  re- 
moved to  Cattaraugus  County,  New  York.  There  he 
engaged  in  cheese  manufacture,  continuing  until  re- 
moving to  California,  in  1875.  He  was  married  in 
New  York  State,  January  i,  1861,  to  Miss  Orphia 
Farrington,  a  native  of  Herkimer  County,  and  daugh- 
ter of  Harvey  and  Ainia  (Fabill)  Farrington.  Her 
mother  died  when  she  was  a  child.  Her  father  after- 
ward removed  to  Canada,  where  he  was  heavily  en- 
gaged in  cheese  manufacture.  He  was  an  authority 
in  matters  pertaining  to  the  business,  and  was  presi- 
dent of  the  Canadian  Dairyman's  Association.  He 
was  the  particular  friend  of  L.  B.  Arnold,  late  of 
Rochester,  New  York,  and  was  his  tutor,  and  to  the 
interest  taken  in  him  by  Mr.  Farrington,  Mr.  Arnold 
attributed  his  success  in  life. 

Mr.  Davison  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Order,  re- 
taining a  connection  with  the  lodge  at  Franklinville, 
New  York.  He  is  also  a  member  of  Olean  Chapter, 
Olean,  New  York,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Merchants' 
and  Bankers'  Insurance  Society. 


^M^- 


~»->->^'«-<-< 


SffiON.  ISAIAH  A.  WILCOX  owns  and  resides 
^a^  upon  a  farm  containing  sixty-one  and  a  half 
"%{  acres  of  very  productive  land,  situated  in  the 
Jefferson  School  District,  two  miles  northwest 
of  Santa  Clara.  These  lands  are  in  good  cultivation, 
and  bear  witness  to  the  intelligent  care  bestowed  upon 
them.  The  orchard  contains  6,000  trees,  being  chiefly 
Bartlett  pears  and  French  prunes.  Among  these  trees, 
onions  and  strawberries  are  extensively  cultivated, 
while  thirty  acres  are  devoted  exclusively    to  the  cult- 


330 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


lire  of  strawberries,  of  the  most  approved  and  produc- 
tive varieties.  In  this  connection  it  is  worthy  of  men- 
tion that  Mr.  Wilcox  is  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the 
small-fruit  producers  of  the  State  of  California.  The 
years  of  labor  and  study  and  the  unlimited  means 
which  he  has  devoted  to  this  industry  justly  entitle 
his  beautiful  lands  to  the  name  of  "Experimental 
Gardens."  There  are  also  six  acres  of  alfalfa  on  the 
place,  from  which  the  yield  is  very  bountiful,  five 
crops  of  hay  being  taken  from  the  land  annually. 

Mr.  Wilcox  dates  his  birth  in  Herkimer  County, 
New  York,  September  i6,  1822.  His  parents,  Asa 
and  Clarissa  (Nichols)  Wilcox,  were  natives  and  resi- 
dents of  the  county  of  his  birth.  His  father  was  a 
farmer,  but  was  also  engaged  in  a  general  mercantile 
and  other  business  enterprises,  and  in  these  pursuits 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  schooled.  Pie  received 
as  good  an  education  as  the  institutions  of  learning 
of  that  day  afforded,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty  years 
engaged  as  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools.  In  this 
work  he  was  most  successful,  as  was  proven  by  the 
fact  that  he  was  twice  elected  Superintendent  of 
Schools  in  his  native  county.  When  twenty-four 
years  of  age,  he  entered  the  office  of  Judges  Loomis 
&  Nolton,  attorneys  at  law,  in  Little  Falls,  New  York, 
and  commenced  the  study  of  law.  Being  an  ardent 
and  ambitious  student,  a  too  close  attention  to  his 
studies  caused  a  failure  of  health,  and  he  was  com- 
pelled to  abandon  this  pursuit.  From  this  period 
until  1852  he  was  engaged  in  various  occupations, 
but  partly  of  a  class  that  would  enable  him  to  travel 
more  or  less,  and  among  them  was  a  cod-fishing  voy- 
age to  the  banks  of  Newfoundland  in  1849,  for  the 
improvement  of  his  health.  Soon  afterward  he  re- 
sumed his  law  studies,  but,  his  health  not  being  re- 
stored, he  was  compelled  finally  to  give  up  all  thought 
of  his  cherished  ambition,  and  in  1852  he  started  for 
California  via  the  Isthmus  route. 

Arriving  in  San  Francisco,  and  unable  to  engage 
in  work  congenial  to  his  tastes  and  education,  he 
started  on  foot  for  the  mines,  and  aided  in  opening 
up  new  districts  in  Nevada  County,  known  as  Little 
York,  Wauloupe,  and  Red  Dog.  He  followed  min- 
ing with  varying  success  for  about  one  year,  when 
want  of  strength  compelled  him  to  change  his  em- 
ployment, and  he  returned  to  San  Francisco.  Thence 
he  went  to  Alameda,  where  he  worked  for  Chipman 
&  Aughenbough,  the  founders  of  that  town,  and  be- 
came their  foreman.  While  there,  he  assisted  in  mak- 
ing the  first  survey  of  town  lots  in  the  place.  He 
also  spent  some  time  in  the  redwoods  north  of  Oak- 


land, making  shingles,  posts,  and  rails.  Although 
hampered  by  ill  health  and  defective  eyesight,  nothing 
daunted,  with  indomitable  courage  and  persistent  in- 
dustry he  engaged  in  several  enterprises  in  Alameda 
County,  among  which  was  the  establishment  of  a 
nursery  in  Alameda,  in  partnership  with  Henderson 
Luelling,  who  brought  the  first  fruit-trees  to  this 
coast.  They  purchased  500  acres  of  land,  embracing 
the  district  now  known  as  Fruit  Vale,  for  orchard  pur- 
poses. The  title  of  these  lands  becoming  involved 
in  litigation,  they  were  not  fully  improved,  as  intended. 

After  engaging  in  farming  and  some  other  pioneer 
enterprises  in  Alameda  County,  Mr.  Wilcox,  in  1856, 
located  in  San  Francisco,  where,  in  connection  with 
E.  J.  Loomis,  he  opened  a  commission  produce  busi- 
ness. The  Eraser  River  mining  excitement  of  1858 
caused  such  general  depression  in  the  business  of  that 
city  that  he,  with  many  of  the  leading  business  men, 
was  induced  to  embark  in  business  enterprises  in 
British  Columbia,  and,  in  connection  with  Loomis  & 
Harper  and  Parker  &  Greenwood,  he  established 
stores  in  Victoria,  Vancouver's  Island.  But  the  fail- 
ure of  the  mines,  and  the  collapse  of  the  latter  town, 
brought  about  his  return  to  this  State.  He  then 
commenced  the  business  of  fruit  culture  in  Fruit 
Vale,  and  conducted  it  with  success  until  1867,  when 
he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County  and  took  possession 
of  the  estate  heretofore  described. 

In  1859  Mr.  Wilcox  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Mary  Frances  Abbott,  daughter  of  Stephen 
Abbott,  of  Fruit  Vale,  a  pioneer  of  the  State  of  Cali- 
fornia. To  them  have  been  born  the  following  named 
children:  Frank  A.,  who  with  his  wife  (formerly  Miss 
Mary  Ortley,  of  Alviso)  resides  on  the  old  homestead; 
Harry  W.,  now  a  resident  of  San  Jose;  Walter  I., 
Emily  A.,  and  Irving  A.,  who  are  members  of  their 
parents'  household. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  one  of  the  best  known 
men  in  this  district.  An  active,  well-informed,  and 
public-spirited  citizen,  he  is  always  to  be  found  at  the 
head  of  such  movements  as  tend  to  advance  the  pros- 
perity of  the  county.  In  1884,  while  a  member  of 
the  State  Horticultural  Society,  he  was  chosen  to  at- 
tend the  World's  Industrial  Exhibition  at  New  Or- 
leans, and  did  more  to  advertise  California  and  her 
wonderful  products  than  any  other  representative 
from  the  Pacific  Coast.  While  in  attendance  at  this 
fair,  Mr.  Wilcox  assisted  in  organizing  the  American 
Horticultural  Society.  He  was  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  Horticultural  Hall  Association  of  San  Jose, 
and    one    of    its    first    Directors.       Mr.    Wilcox  is  a 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


J31 


strong  Republican,  and  was  elected  by  his  district  to 
represent  it  in  the  present  State  Legislature  of  1887- 
88,  a  position  which  his  education  and  business  knowl- 
edge enable  him  to  fill  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of 
his  constituents.  He  has  held  several  positions  of 
trust,  having  been  an  early  Director  in  the  Bank  of 
Santa  Clara  County  ;  one  of  the  founders  and  organ- 
izers of  the  Grangers'  Bank  of  California,  and  also  a 
stockholder  in  the  Farmers'  Union  Store  in  San  Jose  ; 
was  also  one  of  the  founders  and  stockholders  in  the 
Santa  Clara  Cheese  Factory,  and  Lawrence  Hall  As- 
sociation, both  institutions  being  in  his  immediate 
neighborhood.  He  is  connected  with  the  Independ- 
ent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  being  a  member  of 
Santa  Clara  Lodge,  No.  52.  He  was  one  of  the  char- 
ter members  of  Santa  Clara  Grange,  Patrons  of  Hus- 
bandry, which  he  twice  represented  in  the  State 
Grange  of  California.  He  afterward  assisted  in  re- 
organizing the  San  Jose  Grange,  and  was  elected  the 
first  Worthy  Master  under  the  new  organization.  It 
has  been  the  height  of  Mr.  Wilcox's  ambition,  during 
the  last  half  of  his  life,  to  build  up  a  comfortable 
home  in  the  country,  and  enjoy  rural  life,  and  he  has 
fully  realized  his  hopes  in  the  beautiful  and  productive 
Santa  Clara  Valley,  where  he  expects  to  spend  the 
remainder  of  his  days  under  his  own  vine  and  fig-tree. 


-€^^|€- 


tHARLES  M.   WEBER  is  the  worthy  son  of  an 
-..    illustrious  sire.     His  father  was  one  of  the  early 
Q)L    settlers  of   California,  and   to  his  efforts  is  due 
much  of  the  commercial  and   industrial  prosper- 
ity of  the  State. 

Charles  M.  Weber,  Sr.,  was  born  in  Homburg, 
Rhinish-Bavaria,  when  that  city  was  under  the  domin- 
ion of  the  first  Napoleon.  His  parents  were  German, 
and  his  father  a  Presbyterian  clergyman.  He  received 
a  good  education,  ai  d  embarked  in  business  at  an 
early  age.  He  came  to  America  in  1836,  stopping  at 
New  Orleans,  where  he  contracted  the  yellow  fever, 
and  after  recovering  went  to  Texas,  where  he  served 
under  the  Lone  Star  in  the  hostilities  with  the  Mexi- 
cans. He  returned  to  New  Orleans  in  1840,  and 
went  to  St.  Louis  in  1841,  and  in  the  same  year 
came  to  California  as  one  of  a  large  party.  The  trip 
was  made  overland,  and  the  party  contained  many 
men  who  afterward  became  prominent  in  the  State; 
among  them  we  mention  Josiah  Belden  and  John  Bid- 
well.  Mr.  Weber  settled  in  San  Jose,  engaging  in 
commercial  and  industrial  enterprises,  and  soon  came 


to  be  the  leading  man  of  the  pucblo,  respected  alike 
by  natives  and  foreigners.  He  established  the  first 
store,  and  embarked  largely  in  agriculture,  acquiring 
the  grant  of  many  acres  of  land  from  the  Mexican 
Government.  When  Commodore  Sloat's  proclamation 
forced  tlie  Mexican  General  Castro  to  evacuate  San 
Jose,  Weber  was  arrested  in  his  store  on  account  of 
his  prominence,  and  loyalty  to  the  United  States,  and 
taken  a  prisoner  to  Los  Angeles.  Only  the  personal 
friendship  of  General  Castro  saved  him  from  assassi- 
nation, and  he  was  released.  Returning  to  San  Jose, 
he  rai.sed  a  company,  and  w  as  a  leading  spirit  in  sub- 
sequent hostilities.  Soon  after  the  close  of  the  war 
he  removed  to  the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  where  he 
founded  the  city  of  Stockton,  to  the  prosperity  of 
which  he  devoted  the  remainder  of  his  life.  His 
death  occurred  May  4,  1881. 

He  married,  in  California,  Miss  Ellen  Murphy, 
daughter  of  Martin  Murphy,  Sr.,  and  one  of  the  fa- 
mous Murphy  party,  whose  adventures  are  related 
elsewhere  in  these  pages. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  Charles  M.  Weber,  Jr., 
was  born  at  Stockton,  September  22,  1851.  He  was 
educated  at  Santa  Clara  College,  and  at  St.  Mary's 
College,  San  Francisco,  graduating  at  the  latter  insti- 
tution in  1873,  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Science. 
He  was  engaged  extensively  in  the  grain  trade  at 
Stockton  and  the  tributary  company  for  about  five 
years  after  leaving  college,  and  then  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  stock-raising.  Since  1881  he  has  given  much 
of  his  time  to  the  supervision  of  what  is  known  as  the 
Weber  Ranch,  Ij'ing  to  the  south  and  east  of  San 
Jose.  This  is  a  noted  rancho,  containing  between 
12,000  and  13,000  acres  and  comprising  some  of  the 
most  picturesque  as  well  as  the  most  valuable  land  in 
the  county.  It  is  partly  in  the  foot-hills  and  is  inter- 
spersed with  fertile  valleys,  watered  by  fine  streams 
and  abounding  in  beautilul  and  never-failing  springs, 
while  numerous  groves  of  several  varieties  of  oak,  box 
elder,  and  sycamore  give  tone  to  a  landscape  unsur- 
passed for  beauty.  About  1,000  acres  of  this  ranch 
is  cultivated  for  grain  and  hay,  and  the  remainder  is 
devoted  to  pasturage  for  Mr.  Weber's  large  herds  of 
cattle,  among  which  are  many  of  noble  blood.  He 
has  planted  vines  extensively,  choosing  the  most  valu- 
able varieties  for  wine  and  the  table.  He  has  made 
valuable  experiments  in  horticulture,  which  have  been 
of  great  public  use  in  demonstrating  to  the  people  on 
ihat  side  of  the  valley  the  varieties  of  fruit  that  thrive 
in  that  locality  and  the  proper  method  of  cultivation. 
The  ranch  is  a  principality  in  itself,  and  Mr.  Weber  is 


332 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


conducting  it  in  a  manner  tiiat  will  not  only  return  a 
profit  to  himself  but  will  also  be  of  great  advantage 
to  the  community. 

At  the  general  election  of  1886  Mr.  Weber  was 
elected  a  Member  of  the  A.ssembly  on  the  Republican 
ticket,  to  represent  Santa  Clara  County  in  the  State 
Legislature.  He  was  made  chairman  of  the  Commit- 
tee on  Mileage  and  \a  as  appointed  a  member  of  the 
Committee  on  Hospitals,  on  Rules,  on  Viticulture,  and 
on  Municipal  Corporations,  on  all  of  which  he  did 
work  that  commanded  favorable  comment  both  from 
his  own  party  and  the  opposition.  He  married,  No- 
vember 21,  1886,  Miss  Grace  Mary  Simmott,  a  charm- 
ing young  lady,  a  native  of  Illinois.  Mr.  Weber,  in 
connection  with  his  mother,  his  brother,  Thomas  J., 
and  his  sister,  Julia  H.,  has  large  interests  in  the  e.state 
of  his  father,  including  valuable  city  property  in  the 
city  of  Stockton,  and  some  of  the  best  farming  lands 
in  San  Joaquin  County. 


'^m^'^'^-  JAMES  VARCOE,  shift  boss  of  the 
^  Quicksilver  Mining  Company,  New  Almaden, 
(S)|=  is  a  native  of  Cornwall,  England,  born  July 
31,  1837.  His  father,  George  Varcoe,  was  a 
miner  by  occupation.  His  mother's  maiden  name 
was  Sarah  Matthews.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
reared  in  Cornwall  to  the  age  of  twenty  years,  at  the 
age  of  fourteen  commenced  work  in  the  mines,  and 
in  1857  emigrated  to  America,  landing  at  New  York 
in  August,  1857.  He  engaged  in  mining  in  New  Jer- 
sey, but  three  months  later  went  to  the  copper  mines 
of  Lake  Superior,  where  he  was  engaged  for  three 
years,  and  then  returned  to  England.  Two  years 
later  he  came  again  to  the  United  States,  and  after  a 
brief  time  in  the  Lake  Superior  region,  came  to  Cali- 
fornia. His  first  location  was  in  the  Grass  Valley 
diggings,  but  from  there  he  went  to  Virginia  City, 
Nevada,  and  thence  to  Fresno  County,  California. 
He  came  to  New  Almaden  as  a  miner  in  1867,  and  in 
1876  was  promoted  to  his  present  position. 

He  was  married  in  New  Almaden,  December  25, 
1870,  to  Miss  Louisa  Rowe,  a  native  of  England. 
They  have  one  child,  Anna,  the  wife  of.  Charlcs'^Ton- 
kin,  of  New  Almaden. 

Captain  Varcoe  is  a  member  of  San  Jose  Lodge 
No.  34,  I.  O.  O.  R,  and  of  Mt.  Hamilton  Lodge,  A.' 
O.  U.  W.  He  is  also  identified  with  the  Benevolent 
Society  of  New  Almaden,  of  which  he  is  a  Trustee, 
and   he    is    a   member    of  the    Method 


it    Episcopal 


Church.  In  politics  Captain  Varcoe  is  a  Republican. 
He  is  acquainted  with  every  detail  of  his  business, 
and  is  a  man  of  excellent  standing  in  the  community. 


^p)  C.  HODGES.  It  is  always  a  pleasure  to  men- 
y^  tion  in  an  honorable  way  the  name  of  one  who, 
^  while  steadily  and  substantially  prospering  in  the 
financial  affairs  of  life,  has  at  the  same  time  re- 
tained the  highest  respect  and  esteem  of  all  with 
whom  he  has  come  in  contact,  in  whatever  capacity. 
Such  a  man  is  P.  C.  Hodges,  of  Gilroy.  He  is 
a  native  of  North  Carolina,  born  in  Surry  County, 
July  19,  1825.  His  parents  were  William  and  Dorcas 
(Cunningham)  Hodges,  and  the  former  is  yet  living 
in  Surry  County.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  resided 
in  North  Carolina  until  1848,  when  he  went  to  Mis- 
souri, and  resided  one  year  in  Jackson  County,  then 
returning  to  his  native  State. 

In  the  fall  of  1851  he  again  located  in  Missouri,  and 
while  there  prepared  to  come  to  California.  Starting 
in  the  spring  of  1852,  he  made  the  trip  overland  across 
the  plains  and  mountains,  and  it  was  full  six  months 
before  he  reached  the  golden  coast.  The  first  year  in 
California  he  spent  in  Napa  County,  engaged  in  farm 
work,  and  then  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  locating 
in  the  vicinity  of  San  Jose.  Soon  afterward  he  bought 
an  ox  team  and  engaged  in  the  hauling  of  lumber  for 
a  livelihood.  This  he  followed  for  fourteen  years,  but 
during  two  years  of  that  time  he  was  engaged  in  log- 
ging for  a  firm  on  the  coast  above  Santa  Cruz.  From 
there  he  came  to  Gilroy  in  the  spring  of  1868,  and 
contracted  with  William  Hanna  to  do  his  logging. 
The  next  year  he  formed  his  partnership  with  Mr. 
Whitehurst,  and  thus  started  the  business  of  the  firm 
which  is  mentioned  in  detail  elsewhere. 

Mr.  Hodges  purchased  his  present  country  residence 
in  1875.  The  place  is  a  handsome  one,  situated 
about  one  and  a  half  miles  east  from  Gilroy,  on  the 
old  Gilroy  road,  and  commands  much  attention  from 
passers-by  on  that  road.  He  has  made  most  of  the 
improvements  about  the  place  since  purchasing.  Mr. 
Hodges  was  united  in  marriage,  December  4,  1870, 
to  Miss  Judith  Franklin,  a  native  of  North  Carolina. 
Politically,  Mr.  Hodges  is  a  Democrat.  He  is  a 
Christian  in  his  every-day  life  and  a  gentleman  in  all 
his  dealings.  He  affiliates  with  the  Christian  Church, 
and  is  Deacon  of  the  Gilroy  congregation  of  that  de- 
nomination. He  has  banking  interests  in  Gilroy  and 
other  points. 


BIOGRAPIIICA L  SKETCHES. 


i^  AMU  EL  RE  A.  Among  the  substantial  men  of 
^  South  Santa  Clara  County  is  Samuel  Rea.  who 
J^  has  been  a  citizen  of  the  county  since  1859,  at 
which  time  his  total  capital  consisted  of  $70. 
For  four  years  he  was  engaged  in  business  with  his 
brother,  Thomas  Rea,  then  bought  where  he  now  re- 
sides, on  the  county  road  leading  from  Gilroy  to  Hol- 
lister,  and  commenced  operations  independently,  in 
the  line  of  stock-raising  and  dairying.  The  ranch 
consists  of  322  acres,  with  three  flowing  wells,  one  of 
which  is  worthy  of  special  mention,  as  it  throws  four 
and  a  half  inches  of  water  over  a  seven-inch  pipe. 
He  has  for  many  years  been  earnestly  engaged  in  the 
work  of  breeding  superior  stock, — in  fact  was  among 
the  first  to  give  this  subject  attention.  The  excellent 
reputation  of  the  "  Rea's  Nutwood  "  horses  is  a  suffi- 
cient testimonial  to  his  success  in  this  matter.  "Plu- 
tarch," son  of  his  "  Rea's  Nutwood,"  recently  sold  for 
$2,000. 

Mr.  R'  a  has  also  an  extensive  dairy,  usually  milk- 
ing about  one  hundred  cows.  At  present,  however, 
he  is  milking  but  eighty-five  to  ninety,  and  is  turning 
out  an  average  of  225  pounds  of  cheese  per  day, 
which  is  shipped  to  the  city  market.  He  is  quite  a 
chicken  fancit  r  too,  and  has  some  game  cocks  that 
have  made  good  records. 

Mr.  Rea  was  born  in  Gallia  County,  Ohio,  May  4, 
1S30.  The  Reas  were  of  Irish  descent,  and  the  pa- 
rental grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  on 
leaving  his  native  countrj',  a  young  man,  settled  in 
Virginia.  The  father  of  our  subject,  James  Rea,  was 
born  and  reared  in  Virginia,  and  went,  when  a  young 
man,  to  Ohio.  There  he  married  Hannah  Hutsinpil- 
ler,  also  of  Virginian  birth  and  parentage.  In  1S38 
the  family  removed  from  Hancock  County,  Ohio,  to 
Decatur,  Macon  County,  Illinois,  and  there  Samuel 
Rea  was  reared.  In  1852  he  joined  the  throng  of 
emigration  to  California,  making  the  then  tedious 
journey  via  New  Orleans  and  Panama.  After  cross- 
ing the  Isthmus,  he  took  a  sailing  vessel  for  San 
Francisco.  This  latter  part  of  the  trip  constituted  an 
epoch  in  his  history  never  to  be  forgotten.  Six 
months  were  require!  to  make  the  voyage  from  the 
Isthmus  to  the  Golden  Gate,  tlie  vessel  being  becalmed 
most  of  the  time.  Provisions  were  exhausted,  water 
became  scarce,  and  after  enduring  untold  hardships 
and  privations,  the  crew  and  passengers  arrived  in  San 
Francisco  July  28,  1852,  in  an  almost  famishing  con- 
dition. The  unpleasant  incidents  of  the  trip  were 
soon  forgotten  for  the  time,  in  the  haste  to  reach  the 
mines,    which    characterized    all    new-comers    to    the 


golden  coast,  and  Mr.  Rea  was  soon  at  Downieville, 
in  Sierra  County,  engaged  in  mining.  For  several 
years  he  followed  the  fortunes  of  the  camp,  part  of 
the  time  working  for  others  and  the  remainder  pros- 
pecting on  claims  of  his  own.  In  1859  he  determined 
to  give  up  mining  as  a  means  of  livelihood,  and  then 
turned  his  attention  to  Santa  Clara  County,  with 
which  he  has  ever  since  been  identified. 

Mr.  Rea  was  united  in  marriage.  May  20,  1869,  in 
Jefferson  County,  New  York,  to  Miss  Frances  M. 
Powell,  a  native  of  that  county,  and  a  daughter  of  E. 
and  Mary  Powell.  Two  children  have  been  born  to 
them,— Florence  V.  and  Lillian  Etta.  Mr.  Rea  was 
elected  Supervisor  in  1 879,  serving  three  years.  His 
influence  in  county  and  local  affairs  is  a  potent  factor, 
and  his  opinions  are  always  sought  and  respected  in 
the  councils  of  his  party,  the  Republican.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  A.  F.  and  A.  M.  Lodge  at  Gilroy,  No. 
187,  and  of  the  R.  A.  M.,  No.  41,  at  Watsonville,  and 
of  San  Jose  Commandery,  No.  10,  K.  T.,  and  also  of 
the  A.  O.  U.  VV.  Lodge  at  Gilroy. 


"->H-; 


-»# 


fR.  BERRYMAN  BRYANT,  of  Gilroy,  is  a 
native  of  Spartanburg  District,  South  Carolina, 
jk  and  son  of  Reuben  and  Sarah  (Whitby)  Bryant. 
Both  parents  came  of  old  Virginia  families. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  in  his  native 
district,  and  received  the  best  advantages  offered  by 
its  schools.  He  decided  to  adopt  medicine  as  his 
profession,  and  going  to  Memphis,  Tennessee,  com- 
menced attendance  at  the  Botanical  Medical  College, 
at  which  institution  he  graduated  in  1848.  He  com- 
menced practice  at  Camden,  Alabama.  On  the 
breaking  out  of  the  California  gold  excitement  he 
determined  to  risk  his  fortunes  in  this  new  but  already 
far-famed  region.  Leaving  Camden  on  the  second  of 
February,  he  started  for  his  destination,  taking  the 
Gulf  route  to  Matamoras,  thence  by  government 
wagon  to  Durango,  by  pack  mules  to  Massacland, 
and  from  there  by  sailing  vessel  to  San  Francisco, 
which  port  he  reached  June  12,  1849.  He  had 
brought  with  him  five  trunks  of  selected  medicines, 
and  going  to  Sacramento  he  erected  a  hospital.  This 
he  conducted  for  a  time,  then  sold  out  and  went  to 
Marysville.  From  there  he  came  to  Gilroy  in  the 
fall  of  1852,  when  the  place  was  a  mere  attempt  at  a 
settlement.  He  practiced  his  profession  in  Gilroy 
until  1866,  during  which  time  he  was  the  only  repre- 
sentative of  the  profession  there.     He  then    removed 


334 


PEN  PICTURES   FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


to  San  Jose,  but  did  not  icsume  his  practice  until  he 
returned  to  Gilroy  to  h've,  in  1878.  He  had  made 
large  purchases  of  land  in  1853,  and  gone  extensively 
into  the  sheep  business,  and  at  times  had  as  many  as 
30,000  sheep.  He  now  has  3,000  acres  of  land  in 
Kern  County,  and  640  acres  in  Tulare  County;  also 
valuable  property  in  Monterey,  San  Francisco,  and 
Santa  Clara  County. 

The  Doctor  has  been  twice  married.  His  first  wife 
was  Nancy  Whitby.  They  were  married  in  Memphis, 
and  her  death  occurred  in  Gilroy.  By  this  marriage 
there  were  four  children:  Perry,  who  resides  in  Fresno 
County;  David,  whose  home  is  in  .San  Jose;  William, 
who  lives  in  San  Francisco;  and  George,  a  resident  of 
San  Diego.  Dr.  Bryant  married  his  present  wife  in 
Gilroy.  Her  maiden  name  was  Henrietta  Reeve. 
They  have  two  children:  Calhoun,  a  lawyer  of  San 
Francisco;  and  Edgar  R.,  who  will  graduate  from 
Hahnemann  Medical  College,  of  Philadelphia,  class 
of  1889.  The  Doctor  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
Order.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat.  He  ranks 
among  the  pioneer  physicians  of  this  county,  and 
among  its  ablest  and  most  successful  practitioners. 


P^ARREN  COTTLE,  one  of  the  enterprising 
^  ■?>  citizens  of  San  Jose  Township,  is  a  native  of 
<L^     Lincoln   County,  Missouri,  born   June  5,  1838, 

I  and  a  son  of  Edward  Cottle,  one  of  the  old 
settlers  elsewhere  mentioned  in  this  volume.  He  was 
but  sixteen  when  the  family  crossed  the  plains  to 
California.  February  17,  1862,  he  went  with  his 
brother  William  to  Portland,  Oregon,  and  thence  up 
the  Willamette  River  to  Polk  County.  Thomas 
Cottle  was  already  there,  and  the  three  brothers 
bought  cattle  in  partnership  and  took  them  up  east 
of  the  Cascade  Mountains,  on  the  line  of  Oregon  and 
Idaho.  There  he  remained  four  years,  engaged  in 
farming  and  mining.  He  took  up  land  in  the  Grand 
Round  Valley,  put  up  a  butcher  shop,  kept  livery 
stable,  and  farmed  for  some  time.  Closing  out  his 
interests  there  he  returned  to  San  Jose.  Soon  after- 
ward, however,  he  went  to  Alameda  County,  near 
Hayward's,  where  he  and  his  brothers  had  a  ranch, 
and  conducted  it  for  a  time.  From  there  he  returned 
to  Santa  Clara  County,  and  engaged  in  farming, 
where  he  now  resides. 

The  ranch  of  Mr.  Cottle  adjoins  the  Monterey 
and  Snell  roads,  and  is  nearly  five  miles  from  San 
Jose.     He   is   engaged    in   general  farming  and    cuts 


about  175  acres  for  hay  and  grain,  the  latter  crop 
being  principally  barley,  which  he  prefers  for  his 
land,  and  which  here  averages  over  fifteen  centals  to 
the  acre.  The  lowland  especially  always  produces  a 
good  crop.  He  has  a  small  orchard  of  old  trees, 
principally  apples  and  pears,  the  latter  being  strong 
bearers.  His  beautiful  residence  was  erected  in  1878 
at  a  cost  of  about  $3,000.  He  has  another  tract  of 
ninety  acres,  three  miles  farther  from  San  Jose,  which 
is  particularly  adapted  to  fruit  culture,  the  soil  being 
sandy,  rich,  and  productive.  Mr.  Cottle  is  an  active 
man  and  takes  a  considerable  interest  in  public 
affairs.     In  politics  he  is  a  Republican. 

He  a  as  married  in  San  Francisco  to  Miss  Catherine 
Brophy,  a  native  of  California,  and  daughter  of  John 
Brophy.  Her  father  is  deceased,  but  her  mother  is 
yet  living  and  resides  at  Pleasanton,  Alameda  County. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cottle  have  four  children,  viz.:  Celia, 
Albert,  Theodore,  and  Leo. 


IjIpOWARD  WILLEY  came  to  Gilroy  in  1875, 
G^pp  and  engaged  as  a  clerk  for  the  firm  of  Briggs 
(g'  &  Co.,  where  he  remained  until  its  purchase  by 
S.  T.  Moore.  In  1882  he  was  elected  Justice  of 
the  Peace,  and  has  been  re-elected  twice,  and  each 
year  he  has  been  re-appointed  Police  Judge  by  the 
Mayor  and  Council. 

Mr.  Willey  was  born  in  Geneseo,  New  York,  De- 
cember 7,  1834.  He  was  roared  there  and  then  spent 
two  years  on  the  ocean,  being  connected  with  a  whal- 
ing vessel.  He  removed  to  Davis  County,  Iowa, 
where  he  farmed  for  a  number  of  years,  and  served 
two  years  as  County  Recorder.  From  Davis  County 
he  moved  to  California  and  located  in  Gilroy.  He 
was  married  in  Iowa  to  Sarah  Ramage,  by  whom  he 
has  two  children:  Grace  and  Minnie.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  A.  O.  U.  W.  and  Masonic  Lodges. 


—- -## 


PDGAR  A.  HOLLO  WAY  was  born  in  Gilroy, 
California,  April  2,  1864,  his  parents  being 
-^0"  Laban  and  Mary  Esther  (Howell)  HoUoway. 
David  Holloway,  grandfather  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  Gilroy,  and 
built  and  operated  the  first  hotel  there,  which  was 
known  as  the  Exchange,  and  which  has  since  been 
converted  into  a  residence.  About  1866  he  was 
killed   by  a  runaway  near  Sacramento.     Laban   Hoi- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


335 


loway,  now  retired  from  business,  resides  in  Gilroy, 
where  he  was  formerly  engaged  in  wagon-making 
with  his  father.  After  the  death  of  his  father  he  con- 
tinued the  business  alone.  Edgar  A.  was  reared  in 
Gilroy  and  educated  in  the  public  schools.  He  learned 
the  machinists'  trade  under  the  directions  of  his  uncle, 
H.  C.  HoUoway,  and  had  charge  of  the  gas  works  at 
that  time.  During  his  school  life  he  served  two  years 
at  the  printing  business,  in  the  Gilroy  office.  In  later 
years  he  has  experimented  much  in  the  direction  of 
the  improvement  of  the  system  of  gas  manufacture, 
and  has  succeeded  in  perfecting  a  system  for  the 
manufacture  of  gas  from  bituminous  deposit,  which 
has  been  introduced  in  the  works  in  Gilroy.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  and  N.  S.  G.  W.;  has  been 
Past  President  twice  and  is  now  incumbent  in  this 
position. 

— -^ 


4 


>APT.  JAMES  HARRY,  who  holds  the  position 
of  mining  captain  in  the  employ  of  the  Quick- 
silver Mining  Company,  New  Almaden,  is  a 
native  of  England,  born  in  Cornwall  on  the 
twenty-ninth  of  July,  1833.  His  father,  Charles 
Harry,  who  was  a  miner,  accidentally  lost  his  life  in 
1846,  in  one  of  the  Cornish  mines.  Mr.  Harry's 
mother's  maiden  name  was  Elizabeth  Dunn.  At  the 
age  of  ten  years  he  engaged  in  work  at  the  mines,  and 
when  seventeen  years  old  was  a  miner  in  the  tin  and 
copper  mines  of  Cornwall.  In  1869  he  emigrated  to 
America,  landing  at  New  York,  and  thence  came  by 
way  of  Aspinwall  and'  Panama  to  California.  Land- 
ing at  San  Francisco  in  June,  he  went  into  the  quartz 
mines  of  Nevada  County,  and  there  remained  until 
January,  1872,  when  he  came  to  New  Almaden  and 
engaged  in  contracting.  In  1873  he  became  timber- 
man,  from  that  was  promoted  to  pumpman,  after- 
wards to  shaft  boss,  and  in  1881  to  his  present  posi- 
tion of  mining  captain. 

Captain  Harry  was  married  in  Cornwall,  England, 
in  February,  1857,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Carlyon.  They 
have  six  children  living:  Allie,  Elizabeth  Jane,  John 
C,  James,  Charles,  and  Willie.  Those  that  have  died 
were:  James,  Edith,  and  Willie. 

Captain  Harry  is  Class-leader,  Steward,  and  Trus- 
tee of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  He  is  also 
a  member  of  Lodge  No.  34,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  at  San  Jose, 
and  of  the  New  Almaden  Benevolent  Association,  of 
which  he  has  been  President  for  two  terms.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  local  Board  of  Trustees  of  Public 
Schools.     Politically,  he  is  a  Republican. 


IgOBERT  R.  BULMORE,  chief  accountant  of 
"^^  the  Quicksilver  Mining  Company,  New  Alma- 
T"  den,  is  a  native  of  London,  Middlesex,  England, 
born  July  22,  1840,  his  parents  being  Robert 
and  Ann  (Bennett)  Bulmore.  When  he  was  a  child 
he  accompanied  his  parents  to  India,  and  there  his 
father  was  one  of  those  who  constructed  the  first  In- 
dian telegraph  system,  and  he  laid  the  first  line  to 
Calcutta.  Returning  to  England,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  educated  at  Wimbly  House  Academy, 
Fulham.  After  completing  his  literary  and  technical 
education,  he  went  as  an  assayer  to  Her  Majesty's 
mints  in  India.  He  served  as  an  officer  through  the 
Indian  mutiny,  and  was  connected  with  the  East 
India  Company  until  1862,  when  he  was  sent  by  the 
Commercial  Bank  of  India  in  its  service  to  China, 
and  subsequently  transferred  to  the  California  branch 
of  this  bank  in  1866,  as  accountant.  After  the  failure 
of  the  bank  he  was  engaged  in  the  North  Point 
bonded  warehouse,  which  was  destroyed  by  fire.  In 
1878  he  came  to  New  Almaden,  where  he  holds  the 
position  of  chief  accountant  and  foreman  of  the  yard. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  A.  O.  U.  W.,  the  Chosen 
Friends,  the  Masonic  fraternity,  and  the  order  of 
Foresters. 


-n 


If— 


IJ^ARRY  FARLEY  EMLAY  is  a  son  of  Eli  and 
Gv:l-'  Helen  C.  (Farley)  Emlay,  with  whom  he  came 
"fc'  to  Gilroy  in  the  fall  of  1869.  He  was  born  in 
Alvarado,  Alameda  County,  California,  January 
19,  1864,  and  was  reared  and  educated  in  Gilroy, 
graduating  there  in  the  class  of  1881.  He  entered 
the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  office  at  Gilroy  in 
1 88 1,  as  clerk  and  apprentice  to  railroad  business.  In 
1882  he  went  to  Menlo  Park  as  assistant  in  the 
Southern  Pacific  office,  where  he  remained  six  months, 
and  was  then  appointed  relief  agent,  serving  in  that 
capacity  more  than  one  year.  In  September,  1883,  he 
received  an  appointment  as  agent  at  Mountain  View 
for  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Co.,  remaining  until 
June  25,  1884,  when  he  was  transferred  to  Menlo  I'ark. 
He  represented  the  company  there  until  September 
9,  that  year,  when  he  was  sent  to  Santa  Cruz  and  re- 
mained in  charge  there  until  August  15,  1886,  when 
he  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  company's  business 
and  interests  at  Gilroy. 

Mr.  Emlay  is  a  member  of  N.  S.  G.  W.,  Gilroy 
Parlor,  No.  81.  He  was  married  in  Gilroy  July  3, 
1884,  to   Miss  Mamie  B.  Strickland,  a  native  of  San 


336 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


Francisco,  but  reared  in  Chicas^o.  Politically,  Mr. 
Emlay  is  a  Republican.  It  is  but  justice  to  him  to 
say  that  since  he  has  been  agent  of  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad  at  Gilroy,  there  has  never  been  a  com- 
plaint ayjainst  the  office,  and  he  has  the  esteem  and 
good-will  both  of  the  company  and  their  patrons. 


5^^^^ 


9A  CALDERON,    of    Fremont    Township,    is    a 
(^iys  native   of  Buenos   Ayres,   Argentine    Republic, 

t  South  America;  born  in  November,  1828,  and 
is  a  son  of  Jose  Maria  and  Petrona  Calderon. 
He  was  reared  to  manhood  at  his  native  place,  and 
there  lost  both  his  parents  by  death,  in  1849.  The 
same  year  he  took  passage  on  a  sailing  vessel  bound 
for  California,  landing  at  San  Francisco.  Two  weeks 
later  he  went  into  the  mines  of  Stanislaus  County, 
where  he  was  engaged  for  eighteen  months.  He 
then  returned  to  San  Francisco  and  entered  into  busi- 
ness. He  made  that  city  his  headquarters  until  1855, 
and  operated  a  schooner  in  the  bay  and  coast  trade. 
He  then  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  and  engaged 
in  farming,  where  he  now  resides.  One  year  later  he 
went  to  Alameda  County,  and  after  farming  one  year 
engaged  in  the  mercantile  business.  This  claimed 
his  attention  until  1863,  when  he  returned  to  his 
present  location,  and  for  many  years  farmed  1,500 
acres  of  land.  He  yet  retains  182  acres  of  this  tract, 
and  has  besides  thirty-three  acres  at  another  place. 
His  principal  crop  is  hay,  and  he  cuts  from  two  to 
two  and  one-half  tons  to  the  acre,  on  an  average. 
On  this  place  he  has  made  all  the  improvements,  and 
has  handsome  resident  buildings.  Mr.  Calderon  was 
married  in  1856  to  Miss  Matsada  Castro,  who  came 
of  one  of  the  old  families  of  California.  In  politics 
he  is  a  stanch  Republican. 


SKpON.  THOS.  REA,  capitalist;  post-office  Gilroy. 
(^s3  But  few  of  those  men  who  came  to  Gilroy  when  it 
(S)  vvas  a  mere  stage  station  yet  remain  to  note  the 
great  development  which  has  been  shown  by 
the  little  hamlet  of  that  day,  and  by  the  country  sur- 
rounding. Perhaps  no  other  name  has  been  so  inti- 
mately associated  with  that  progress  from  the  first  as 
that  of  Thomas  Rea. 

Mr.  Rea  is  a  native  of  Gallia  County,  Ohio,  where 
he  was  born  November  22,  1820.  His  father,  James 
Rea,   was    born    in    Greenbriar   County,   Virginia,  of 


Welsh-Irish  extraction.  He  was  reared  in  his  native 
State,  and  there  m.irricd  Hannah  Hutsinpiller,  whose 
parents  were  Pennsylvanians.  He  served  his  country 
in  the  war  with  Mexico,  being  in  the  command  of 
Col.  E.  D.  Baker,  afterward  Senator  from  Oregon. 
In  his  politics,  he  v\as  identified  with  the  old  Whig 
party,  and  became  a  Republican  when  the  political 
lines  were  re-drawn  and  that  party  formed.  He  was 
a  man  of  remarkable  memory,  which  he  retained  un- 
impaired until  his  death,  in  1879,  after  he  had  reached 
liis  eightieth  year.  Even  in  the  latter  years  of  his 
life,  he  could  vividly  recall  the  lessons  from  the  history 
of  his  country  learned  in  early  youth,  while  the  hap- 
penings of  later  days  and  the  movements  in  battles, 
campaigns,  and  marches,  during  the  Mexican  War 
were  indelibly  imprinted  on  his  mind.  His  wife  pre- 
ceded him  to  the  grave,  her  death  having  occurred  in 
1 87 1.  They  rest  side  by  side  in  the  cemeter3'  at 
San  Jose. 

Thomas  Rea,  whose  name  heads  this  sketch,  was 
the  second  in  order  of  birth  of  their  twelve  children. 
He  grew  up  amid  the  primitive  surroundings  of  liis 
native  county  in  Ohio,  and  in  Hancock  County  in  the 
same  State,  whither  the  family  removed  in  1833.  He 
received  the  usual  education  afforded  by  a  pioneer 
community,  which  was,  of  course,  limited.  In  1838 
the  family  removed  to  Macon  County,  Illinois,  and 
there  he  continued  his  studies,  having  for  a  tutor  an 
uncle  of  his  father,  a  well-educated  man.  Attaining 
his  majority,  Mr.  Rea,  filled  with  the  spirit  of  ad- 
venture, was  not  at  all  satisfied  with  the  idea  of  set- 
tling down  to  the  quiet  life  of  an  Illinois  farmer. 
Accordingly,  in  1842,  he  went  to  Grant  County,  Wis- 
consin, where  he  engaged  in  lead  mining,  continuing 
in  that  occupation  until  November,  1849.  At  that 
time  stories  of  the  new  El  Dorado  led  him  to  become 
one  of  the  gold  seekers  of  California.  En  route,  he 
passed  down  the  Mississippi  to  New  Orleans,  thence 
I'ia  steamer  and  Isthmus  route  to  Panama,  where  he 
embarked  on  the  old  whale-ship  Nonnaii,  which  had 
been  converted  into  a  passenger  boat  by  the  necessi- 
ties of  emigration.  He  reached  San  Francisco  Feb- 
ruary 22,  1850,  thence,  a  few  days  later,  passed  on  to 
Sacramento,  and  directly  to  the  placer  mines  at  Au- 
burn. There  and  at  other  points  the  season  was 
spent  in  mining  and  in  prospecting.  Before  winter 
set  in,  he  was  engaged  in  mining  operations  at  Dow- 
nieville,  where  he  remained  until  March,  1852.  On 
the  fifteenth  of  the  next  month,  Mr.  Rea  embarked 
for  Panama,  and  returned  to  Illinois.  Looking  after 
his  interests   in  the  lead    mines   and  visiting   friends, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


337 


occupied  a  few  months.  Meantime  he  arranged  for 
his  return  to  California,  in  which  State  he  had  deter- 
mined to  estabhsh  his  future  home.  The  important 
prehminary  preparations  were  consummated  April  ii, 
1853,  the  day  he  wedded  Miss  Mary  Ann  Jones.  Mr. 
Rea,  with  his  wife,  his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  G.  B.  Mont- 
gomery, and  others,  left  Illinois  the  same  month,  and, 
crossing  the  plains,  deserts,  and  mountains,  made  the 
overland  trip  to  California.  Late  in  August,  in  com- 
pany with  his  brother-in-law,  he  reached  San  Jose. 
Resting  a  few  days,  they  reached  Gilroy  September 
3.  But  little  promise  of  the  present  was  then  to  be 
seen.  One  .store,  conducted  by  L.  C.  Everitt,  three 
residences,  and  a  school-house  made  the  Gilroy  of 
that  date.  The  post-office  and  hotel  were  in  the  same 
building,  which  is  yet  standing  near  the  present  resi- 
dence of  Mr.  A.  Lewis. 

Mr.  Rea  first  settled  on  the  Solis  Ranch,  and  estab- 
lished a  dairy  business,  thus  becoming  one  of  the 
pioneers  of  the  county  in  that  industry.  He  expended 
about  $2,000  in  improving  that  property,  but  in  June, 
1857,  not  being  fully  satisfied  with  his  location,  he 
bought  160  acres  out  of  the  Los  Animas  Ranch. 
Year  by  year  he  added  to  his  purchase  until  he  owned 
and  yet  owns  about  935  acres  of  the  Los  Animas 
Ranch.  His  residence  was  about  three  miles  from 
Gilroy,  although  tlie  boundary  of  his  land  was  but  a 
little  more  than  a  mile  from  the  city.  Constantly 
increasing,  his  dairy  industry  was  successfully  prose- 
cuted, until  1871,  when,  desiring  a  life  more  retired, 
Mr.  Rea  removed  to  Gilroy.  His  present  fine  resi- 
dence, on  commodious  shaded  grounds,  was  erected 
by  himself  with  regard  to  comfort  and  convenience, 
rather  than  to  cost,  and  was  taken  possession  of  in 
June,  1873. 

Mr.  Rea  was  one  of  the  incorporators  and  principal 
stockholders  of  the  Gilroy  Bank,  and  until  January, 
1874,  when  he  sold  out  his  interests,  he  was  one  of 
the  Board  of  Directory  and  President  of  that  institu- 
tion. Upon  his  retirement,  he  was  presented  by  the 
stockholders  with  a  handsome  clock,  as  a  testimonial 
of  their  respect  and  esteem. 

Mr.  Rea  is  prominent  in  political  as  well  as  in  bus- 
iness and  social  circles.  A  Whig  until  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Republican  party,  he  needed  no  schooling 
to  fit  him  for  leading  in  the  new  organization.  Under 
the  teaching  of  Henry  Clay,  he  had  learned  to  oppose 
the  extension  of  slavery,  and  had  adopted  the  doc- 
trine of  protection  to  American  industries.  In  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  State,  he  represented  his 
district  in  1873  and  '74,  serving  with  credit  on  the 
43 


Committees  on  Corporations  and  Counties,  County 
Boundaries,  and  several  special  committees.  From 
1872  to  1876  he  served  Gilroy  in  its  City  Council, 
and  from  1886  to  1888  as  its  Mayor.  Although  a 
member  of  no  religious  organization,  Mr.  Rea  recog- 
nizes the  power  exerted  by  all  for  good,  and  while 
devoting  more  of  his  means  to  the  upbuilding  of  the 
Congregational  Church,  of  which  he  is  one  of  the 
Trustees,  he  helps  all  denominations. 

Mrs  Rea  was  born  in  Palestine,  in  Vermillion 
County,  Illinois.  Her  father,  Wm.  A.  Jones,  died  in 
1854,  and  her  mother,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Jones,  in  1868. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rea  are  the  parents  of  the  following  chil- 
dren: James  W.,  who  resides  on  the  Alameda  road 
between  San  Jose  and  Santa  Clara,  and  is  one  of  the 
State  Railroad  Commissioners  of  California;  Addie, 
who  is  the  wife  of  E.  W.  Strange,  of  San  Francisco; 
Emma,  who  is  the  wife  of  Louis  Loupe,  of  Gilroy; 
Carrie,  who  has  her  home  with  her  parents;  Clara, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Jacob  Hanna,  of  Livermore;  and 
George  Elmer,  who  lives  on  his  father's  ranch;  and 
one  adopted  daughter,  Mary,  is  now  the  wife  of  D. 
M.  Pyle,  of  Bakersfield. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Rea  naturally  followed  him 
to  California,  coming  one  year  later,  in  1854.  They 
lived  near  the  Seven  Mile  House,  on  the  road  from 
San  Jose  to  Gilroy,  until  about  1865,  when  they  re- 
moved to  Gilroy  Township,  where  they  spent  the  rest 
of  their  lives. 


§|M  W.    Childs   was    born    in    Livingston,   County, 
(sffl^  New  York,  of  one  of  the  old  New  York  fami- 

flies  of  Scotch  extraction.  He  was  reared  in 
his  native  county,  to  a  farm  life,  and  married 
there,  in  1841,  Miss  Nancy  M.  Putney.  In  1850  they 
removed  to  Milwaukee  County,  Wisconsin,  and  there 
made  their  home  for  eleven  years,  Mr.  Childs  being 
engaged  in  agriculture.  After  spending  the  winter  of 
1861-62  in  Clark  County,  Missouri,  they  came  to  Cal- 
ifornia and  settled  in  El  Dorado  County.  The  larger 
part  of  his  life  in  that  county  Mr.  Childs  devoted  to 
mining  interests,  meanwhile  improving  a  vineyard 
and  orchard  property  from  a  state  of  nature.  The  ' 
ranch  consisted  of  100  acres,  about  40  acres  of  which 
was  devoted  to  vineyard  and  orchard,  and  the  re- 
mainder to  general  farming.  Three  or  four  years 
before  leaving  the  county,  he  disposed  of  his  mining 
interests,  and  then  devoted  his  entire  time  to  the  cul- 
tivation of  his  farm. 

His  son,  Prof  C.  W.  Childs,  having  become  a  resi- 


338 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


dent  of  Santa  Clara  County,  he  concluded  to  pur- 
chase property  in  his  neighborhood,  and  make  it  his 
home.  This  he  accomplished  in  1883,  when  he  be- 
came the  owner  of  a  ten-acre  orchard  tract,  situated 
on  the  Almaden  road,  four  miles  frorh  the  business 
center  of  San  Jose.  The  orchard  comprises  prune- 
trees  chiefly,  although  it  also  contains  quite  a  num- 
ber of  peach-trees,  which  are  highly  productive.  In 
1887  from  sixty  peach-trees  five  years  old  were  gath- 
ered seven  tons  of  fruit.  There  is  also  a  general  fam- 
ily orchard,  and  in  it  are  to  be  seen  two  very  rare  trees, 
of  the  species  "strawberry  tree."  They  were  brought 
from  Italy,  at  a  cost  of  $200  for  fifty  trees,  the  two 
specimens  being  the  only  ones  which  lived.  The 
fruit,  in  size,  flavor,  and  color,  resembles  the  culti- 
vated strawberry. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Childs  have  five  children,  of  whom 
Prof  Charles  W.  Childs  is  the  eldest.  Nellie  is  the 
wife  of  J.  L.  Mosher;  Frank  is  a  resident  of  El  Do- 
rado County;  Warren  is  a  member  of  his  father's 
household;  and  Fred  lives  near  his  parents. 

Mr.  Childs  was  formerly  on  old-line  Whig,  and 
when  that  party  became  the  Republican  party  of  to- 
day, he  still  adhered  to  it,  and  has  ever  been  true  to 
its  principles. 


■1^- 


imROF.  C.  W.  CHILDS.  The  subject  of  this 
i^ys  sketch  has  a  fine  orchard  home  on  the  Almaden 
^  road,  four  miles  from  the  city  of  San  Jose.  In 
1882,  in  connection  with  his  brother-in-law,  J.  L. 
Mosher,  he  bought  100  acres  of  stubble  ground,  of 
which  he  retained  50  acres,  later  parting  with  ten 
acres,  which  his  father,  W.  W.  Childs,  has  planted 
with  trees,  and  upon  which  he  now  resides.  The  Pro- 
fessor is  an  enthusiastic  horticulturist,  and  finds  the 
work  of  caring  for  an  orchard  a  pleasant  and  profitable 
relaxation  from  his  professional  labor.  His  forty 
acres  of  land,  aside  from  what  is  occupied  by  his  cot- 
tage residence  and  other  buildings,  is  all  in  orchard. 
There  are  in  all  over  4,250  trees,  nearly  all  of  which 
were  planted  in  the  season  of  1883.  About  one-half 
of  his  trees  are  French  prunes,  and  one-quarter  silver 
prunes,  and  the  remainder  apricots.  The  last  season 
(1887)  the  orchard  was  too  young  for  general  results, 
but  from  a  small  portion  (three  acres  of  apricots, 
which  he  himself  dried)  a  net  amount  of  $1,200  was 
realized. 

Mr.  Childs  also  owns,  on  Stevens  Creek,  in  the  Lin- 
coln District,  a  fine  orchard  property  of  twenty-five 


^res,  the  trees  now  (1888)  beipg  six  years  old  and  in 
splendid  condition.  Two-thirds  of  that  orchard  is  in 
prunes  and  one-third  in  peaches.  The  Professor  also 
engages  in  fruit-drying.  Of  the  crop  of  1887,  he 
cured  about  120  tons,  and  expects  this  year  (1888)  to 
handle  about  250  tons. 

Long  and  thoroughly  identified  with  the  State  and 
its  best  interests,  and  one  of  its  leading  and  ablest 
educators,  'tis  fitting  that  more  than  a  passing  men- 
tion should  be  made  personally  of  Professor  Childs. 
He  was  born  in  Genesee,  Livingston  County,  New 
York,  August  24,  1844.  He  is  the  son  of  W.  W.  and 
Nancy  H.  (Putney)  Childs, both  of  whom  are  now  living 
in  his  immediate  neighborhood.  In  1850  the  family 
moved  westward  to  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  where  the 
Professor  received  his  rudimentary  education  and 
finished  a  course  in  the  High  School.  In  the  autumn 
of  i860  the  family  again  moved  westward,  making 
their  temfjorary  home  in  Clark  County,  Missouri. 
This  was  the  winter  of  great  excitement,  following 
the  election  of  Lincoln  to  the  presidency,  and  before 
the  firing  upon  Fort  Sumter  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
had  enlisted  in  a  company  of  home  guards.  A  few 
weeks  later  he  joined  a  company  of  Missouri  Volun- 
teers detailed  for  the  protection  of  emigrants  across 
the  plains  and  mountains  to  this  State.  This  com- 
pany was  informally  disbanded  before  the  journey 
began,  but  Mr.  Childs  came  with  a  volunteer  com- 
pany across  the  plains  and  reached  Placerville  in 
November,  1861.  Later,  he  helped  to  organize  a  com- 
pany of  home  guards,  of  which  he  was  made  First 
Lieutenant.  The  company  was  assigned  to  the  Second 
Infantry  Battalion,  Fourth  Brigade,  California  Militia, 
and  Lieutenant  Childs  was  appointed  Quartermaster. 

Professor  Childs  commenced  his  career  as  an  edu- 
cator soon  after  coming  to  California,  and  has  uninter- 
ruptedly continued  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  up 
to  the  present  time,  with  the  exception  of  a  portion  of 
1866  and  1867,  which  was  given  to  attendance  as  a 
student  at  the  State  Normal  School  at  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  at  Heald's  Business  College.  He  resumed 
teaching  at  Placerville  in  1868,  and  later  had  charge 
of  the  High  Schools  at  Suisun  City,  Solano  County, 
where  he  also  served  two  terms  as  County  Superin- 
tendent of  Schools.  From  that  county,  in  1878,  he 
removed  to  San  Jose,  where  he  accepted  a  position  on 
the  staff  of  teachers  in  the  "State  Normal  School, 
taking  charge  of  tlie  History,  Civil  Government,  and 
Book-keeping  departments.  For  the  past  two  years 
he  has  occupied  the  position  of  Vice-Principal  in  the 
school.     He  is  the  author  of  a  work  on  Book-keeping, 


C    '-Jr  C-£-^lu^. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


339 


a  work  on  Civ'il  Government,  and  one  on  the  History 
of  the  United  States,  the  superiority  of  which  is 
attested  by  the  fact  that  they  have  been  adopted  as 
text-books  by  the  State  Normal  Board. 

In  1 87 1,  at  Placerville,  Professor  Childs  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Ellen  Hardie,  who  was  born  in 
the  State  of  Illinois,  but  was  reared  in  El  Dorado 
County,  this  State.  She  was  a  teacher  in  the  public 
schools  at  Placerville,  when  married.  She  is  the 
mother  of  six  children,  viz.:  Florence,  Lloyd,  Beatrice, 
Blanche,  Wallace,  and  Harold.  The  eldest  two,  at 
this  writing,  are  pupils  at  the  State  Normal  School, 
and  the  others,  except  the  youngest,  attend  the  Wil- 
lows District  School.  Professor  Childs  resided  from 
1878  to  1S83  at  the  Willows,  where  he  owned  an 
orchard  home. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
affiliated  with  Suisun  Lodge,  No.  78,  with  Encamp- 
ment No.  6^,  and  with  the  Grand  Lodge  of  California. 
He  is  also  connected  with  Mount  Hamilton  Lodge, 
No.  43,  A.  O.  U.  W.  In  politics,  he  is  fully  in  accord 
with  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party.  Mr. 
Childs  may  well  feel  proud  of  the  eminent  position 
which  he  has  won  in  his  profession,  in  that  he  has 
worked  his  way  to  the  top  entirely  by  his  own  efforts. 
By  his  energy  and  application  lie  has  reached  the  goal 
which  his  ambition  lixed,  without  the  aid  of  favorable 
circumstances.  And  not  only  has  he  been  successful 
in  his  own  profession,  but  also  in  other  lines,  as  his 
profitable  horticultural  interests  bear  witness. 


ii)HELPS  BROTHERS  have  a  ranch  of  224  acres 
<^y5  four  miles  northwest  from  Gilroy,  on  the  Day 
W  road.  Of  this  land  160  acres  is  level,  and  is 
devoted  every  year  to  grain  or  hay.  They  sow 
alternately  to  wheat  and  barley  for  grain.  The  crop 
runs  from  seven  to  twenty  centals  per  acre  of  wheat, 
and  barley  runs  higher.  They  raise  some  horses, 
and  only  cattle  enough  for  their  own  use.  They 
have  about  lOO  fruit  trees — apples,  plums,  apricots, 
peaches,  and  pears — all  bearing  well.  They  also 
have  fifty-two  grape-vines  that  are  twenty  years  old 
and  in  good  condition.  The  building  improvements 
on  the  ranch  were  made  by  Thomas  Hawkins,  now 
President  of  the  Hollister  Bank. 

Robert  M.  and  W.  S.  Phelps,  the  owners  of  the 
ranch,  were  both  born  and  reared  in  Washington 
County,  Missouri,  and  started  in  life  by  chopping 
cord-wood  at  the  Iron  Mountain.     Robert  M.  came 


across  the  plains  in  1852  vyith  a  drove  of  cattle,  and 
spent  the  winter  in  the  mines  of  Calaveras  County. 
The  following  year  W.  S.  Phelps  came  to  California, 
and  located  in  Santa  Clara  County,  in  the  vicinity  of 
San  Jose.  Both  went  to  the  mines  in  1856,  and  after 
a  few  years  spent  in  different  mines  in  Butte  and  Ne- 
vada Counties,  they  returned  to  San  Jose — W.  S.  in 
1858  and  Robert  M.  in  1862.  They  purchased  the 
place  where  they  now  reside,  in  1867,  and  moved 
upon  it  in  November  of  that  year.  The  Phelps 
brothers  are  both  Democrats,  and  both  active,  in- 
telligent gentlemen,  enjoying  the  good-will  and  re- 
spect of  the  community  in  which  they  live. 


TpHN  P.  McCURRIE.  Among  the  beautiful  and 
©/  attractive  vine  and  fruit  ranches  in  the  vicinity 
■^  of  Gilroy,  may  be  named  the  Rose  Marie  farm, 
owned  by  Mrs.  John  P.  McCurrie,  comprising  sixty 
and  three-quarter  acres.  This  ranch  contains  2,000 
vines  of  assorted  varieties,  1,000  planted  in  1887,  and 
1,000  in  1888.  In  selecting  a  variety  of  fruit-trees, 
500  of  which  have  been,  planted,  the  owner  of  this 
ranch  has  wisely  chosen  a  large  variety  of  the  most 
desirable  fruits,  among  which  may  be  seen  the  orange, 
quince,  apricot,  pear,  peach,  Russian  apricot,  Japanese 
plum,  olive,  etc.  The  efforts  put  forth  by  the  owner 
have  been  rewarded  by  the  most  gratifying  results, 
with  every  variety  of  fruit  planted,  and  vegetables 
o-rown.  This  goes  to  establish  the  fact  that  this  cli- 
mate and  soil  are  capable  of  producing  a  very  wide 
range  of  both  citrus  and  deciduous  fruits.  The  Mc- 
Currie farm  is  abundantly  watered  by  three  creeks 
that  flow  into  the  Uvas.  These  creeks  contain  springs 
that  flow  from  the  first  rains  in  winter  until  July. 
There  is  also  on  the  land  an  artesian  well  ninety-six 
feet  deep  and  seven  inches  in  diameter,  supplying  a 
6,000-gallon  tank,  and  producing  an  inexhaustible 
supply  of  water. 

John  P.  McCurrie  came  of  a  good  old  English 
stock,  having  been  born  at  Portsmouth,  England,  on 
the  thirtieth  day  of  December,  1821.  Reared  and 
educated  at  his  native  place,  he  later  went  to  Man- 
chester, where  he  had,  for  sixteen  years,  charge  of  a 
post-office  department  of  that  place.  While  thus  em- 
ployed, Mr.  McCurrie  was  seized  with  a  desire  to  visit 
the  New  World,  and  sailed  for  America;  went  to 
Detroit,  Michigan,  1856,  where  his  sister,  eighty-four 
years  old,  is  yet  residing,  and  remained  until  i860. 
He  came  to  California  in  1861,  and  may  therefore  be 


340 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


classed  among  the  early  settlers  of  the  Golden  State. 
Mr.  McCurrie  was  Secretary  of  the  British  Benevo- 
lent Society,  and  had  served  in  that  capacity  from 
June,  1867,  until  June  10,  1888,  when  he  retired,  after 
receiving  a  framed  testimonial  for  long,  faithful  service, 
and  at  a  farewell  dinner  a  silver  tankard  from  the 
society. 

Mrs.  McCurrie,  like  her  husband,  is  a  native  of 
Exeter,  England.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Matthew  and 
Mary  Delaney,  and  came  with  her  parents,  when  a 
child,  to  San  Francisco,  where  her  father,  who  was  a 
veterinary  surgeon,  died.  Her  mother  is  yet  a  resi- 
dent of  that  city.  Though  Mrs.  McCurrie  has  re- 
sided at  her  present  delightful  home  only  since  Octo- 
ber, 1887,  she  has  a  large  circle  of  friends,  and  her 
home  is  visited  and  her  hospitality  enjoyed  by  many. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  McCurrie  have  been  blessed  with  four 
children  :  Matthew,  Arthur,  Edward,  and  Hugh  Con- 
sterdine.  Their  only  daughter,  Rose  Marie,  died  in 
1880,  aged  two  years.  The  eldest  son,  Matthew,  at- 
tained his  majority  May  8,  1888. 


ffi  M.  WELBURN.  The  works  of  the  Gilroy 
^  Fruit  Packing  Company  are  situated  at  the  in- 
'W    tersection  of  Monterey  and  Leavesley  roads,  ad- 

*  joining  Gilroy.  This  company  was  organized 
in  December,  and  incorporated  under  the  State  law, 
with  officers  as  follows:  President,  O.  M.  Welburn; 
Vice-President,  J.  C.  Zuck;  Secrefary  and  Treasurer, 
L.  A.  Whitehurst.  The  Board  of  Directors  com- 
prise the  same,  with  Thomas  Rea  and  William  Buck. 
The  building  is  36x40,  with  two  floors  and  an  addi- 
tion 22x40.  They  have  an  engine  with  a  fifty-horse- 
power boiler.  Additions  will  be  immediately  made. 
The  present  season  from  fifty  to  sixty  hands  will  be 
employed.  Their  machinery  is  all  of  the  latest  and 
most  approved  patterns.  The  capacity  at  present  is 
about  25,000  cases.  The  principal  market  is  in  Texas 
and  Chicago.  To  Captain  Welburn's  energy  and  cap- 
ital is  due  the  establishment  of  the  canning  factory, 
he  owning  two-thirds  of  the  stock. 

O.  M.  Welburn,  the  President  of  the  company,  is  a 
native  of  Macon,  Georgia,  born  near  that  place  Oc- 
tober 27,  1855,  his  parents  being  G.  T.  and  R.  B. 
(Bedell)  Welburn.  His  father  is  deceased.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  was  reared  and  educated  at  Macon, 
and  graduated  at  Mercer  University  in  1 871,  taking 
first  honor  in  the  literary  course,  and  medal  in  ora- 
tory.     Immediately   after    completing   his   education 


he  went  to  Texas  and  engaged  in  the  mercantile  bus- 
iness at  Hillsboro,  in  Hill  County,  building  up  a 
business  of  $70,000  sales  per  annum.  There  he  re- 
mained until  October,  1887,  when  he  removed  to 
California,  coming  here  in  January,  1888. 

He  was  married  in  Texas,  in  1876,  to  Miss  M.  E. 
Harris,  a  native  of  that  State.  They  have  three 
children:  B.  C,  Blanch,  and  Irene.  Mr.  Welburn  is 
a  Mason,  and  was  Deacon  in  the  Baptist  Church  at 
Hillsboro,  and  Moderator  of  the  Baptist  Association. 
Captain  Welburn  also  represented  his  county  in  the 
Legislature,  but  relinquished  politics  on  account  of 
business;  was  Captain  of  one  of  the  best  drilled  mil- 
itary companies  of  the  State. 


JKMOS   ROBINSON  was  born   in   New   Lisbon, 

c^P  Columbiana    County,  Ohio,   February  6,    1833. 

'^1?    His  parents  were  Kinsey  and  Hannah  (March) 

*  Robinson,  the  former  a  native  of  Virginia,  and 
the  latter  of  Ohio.  His  father  came  from  Scotch 
ancestry.  His  grandfather,  Jonah  Robinson,  a  resi- 
dent of  Virginia  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  and 
a  soldier  in  the  army,  received  wounds  from  which 
he  subsequently  died.  His  wife  was  Johanna  Daniels, 
and  while  her  three  brothers  were  in  the  Revolution- 
ary War  she  had  the  entire  care  of  their  families. 

Amos  Robinson  was  reared  in  his  native  town  until 
seventeen  years  of  age,  when  he  went  to  Pomeroy, 
Ohio,  and  learned  the  tinner's  trade.  After  remain- 
ing there  three  years  he  started  for  California  across 
the  plains,  being  131  days  on  the  trip,  and  a  rough 
trip  it  was.  He  went  at  once  into  the  mines  at  Camp- 
tonville,  where  he  remained  eight  years,  working  at 
Camptonville,  Indian  Hill,  and  Jamison  Creek.  He 
worked  two  years  at  Timbuctoo,  and  two  years  at 
Marysville,  and  for  two  years  had  a  shop  at  La  Porte. 
He  then  sold  out  and  went  East.  Upon  his  return 
to  California,  in  the  fall  of  1867,  he  located  in  Gilroy 
and  engaged  in  the  hardware  business.  After  being 
alone  one  year  he  took  in  a  partner,  the  firm  being- 
Robinson  &  Hitchcock.  Four  years  later  Mr.  Rob- 
inson bought  out  his  partner's  interest,  and  has  since 
continued  in  the  business  alone.  He  erected  his 
present  building  in  1868,  the  dimensions  being  2ix 
100  feet,  with  a  two-story  warehouse  in  the  rear, 
30x20  feet.  Mr.  Robinson  carries  a  stock  valued  at 
about  $6,500;  does  a  general  hardware  and  stove  bus- 
iness, and  makes  a  specialty  of  the  manufacture  of 
dairy  work  and  dairy  supplies,  well   casings,  etc.,  his 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES. 


trade,  in  some  lines,  extending  as  far  south  as  -Bakers- 
field,  and  sends  well  casings  to  all  the  towns  and  cities 
within  reach  of  Gilroy.  He  made  up  over  thirty  tons 
of  iron  in  this  line  in  1887. 

He  was  married  in  Wisconsin,  October  21,  1869, 
to  Miss  Matilda  Cline,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  by 
whom  he  has  one  child,  Herbert.  Mr.  Robinson  is 
a  charter  member  of  No.  54,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  of  A. 
O.  U.  W.,  No.  26.  He  has  passed  through  the  chairs 
in  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  and  A.  O.  U.  W.  Lodges,  and  has 
represented  both  in  the  Grand  Lodge.  He  is  also  a 
charter  member  of  the  Vigilant  Engine  Company, 
and  the  only  charter  member  left.  He  has  been 
Foreman  three  years,  and  First  Assistant  six  years, 
which  office  he  holds  at  present.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Republican. 

§AMES  C.  ZUCK  was  born  in  Caledonia,  Marion 
^^  County,  Ohio,  January  14,  1844.  His  parents 
^  were  David  and  Maria  Louisa  (Linton)  Zuck. 
David  Zuck  was  of  Pennsylvania  ancestry,  and  a 
native  of  Ohio.  He  came  to  California  in  1849, 
making  the  trip  overland.  For  a  time  he  worked  in 
the  mines,  but  in  the  early  part  of  185 1  gave  up 
mining.  He  then  located  a  farm  on  the  Honcut, 
about  fourteen  miles  from  Marysville.  In  the  fall  of 
the  same  year  he  returned  to  Ohio,  and  the  next  year 
brought  his  family  to  California  across  the  plains,  and 
was  four  months  making  the  trip.  He  went  upon  his 
farm,  near  Marysville,  and  remained  there  until  the 
fall  of  1863,  when  he  removed  to  Gilroy  with  his 
family,  and  located  on  the  San  Ysidro  Rancho,  where 
he  yet  resides.  His  wife  died  in  1881.  James  C.  was 
eight  years  of  age  when  his  father  brought  him  to 
California,  and  but  nine  years  old  when  he  came  to 
Santa  Clara  County.  He  was  educated  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  the  Pacific,  where  he  took  a  classical  course 
and  graduated  in  the  class  of  1867,  and  three  years 
later  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  was  conferred  on 
him  by  the  same  institution.  He  at  once  began  the 
study  of  law,  reading  at  first  in  San  Jose  and  after- 
ward at  Gilroy,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  by  Judge 
S.  B.  McKee,  of  the  Third  District  Court,  at  San  Jose. 
He  thereupon  began  the  practice  of  his  profession, 
and  was  soon  afterward  joined  by  W.  L.  Hoover, 
with  whom  he  was  associated  until  the  latter's  decease. 
At  that  time  there  was  quite  a  large.Bar  at  Gilroy. 
A  short  time  before  Mr.  Hoover's  death,  Mr.  Zuck 
was  elected  President  of  the  Gilroy  Bank,  and  there- 
upon gave  up  his  practice  and  devoted  his  time  to  the 


business  of  the  bank  exclusively  (which  he  had  helped 
to  incorporate)  for  five  years,  and  retired  from  that 
institution  January  i,  1S79.  In  September,  1879,  he 
was  elected  State  Senator  from  Santa  Clara  County, 
on  the  Republican  ticket,  and  served  in  the  regular 
sessions  of  1880  and  1881.  The  session  of  1880  was 
the  first  after  the  adoption  of  the  new  Constitution. 
He  was  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Contingent 
Expenses  at  both  sessions,  and  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Labor  and  Capital,  and  a  member  of  the 
Committees  on  Claims,  County  and  Township  Govern- 
ments, Elections,  City,  City  and  County,  Town  Gov- 
ernments, and  Apportionment.  He  introduced  the 
bill  for  the  quieting  of  the  title  of  the  Los  Animas 
Rancho,  which  had  to  be  introduced  as  a  general 
measure,  and  was  so  put  through  and  passed,  and 
now  stands  as  a  component  part  of  the  law  of  parti- 
tion on  the  statute  booJcs  of  the  State  of  California. 
He  also  took  an  active  part  in  the  "debris  Legisla- 
ture," being  opposed  to  it.  Before  the  expiration  of 
his  Senatorial  term  he  resigned  to  accept  an  appoint- 
ment as  Consul  at  Tien  Tsin,  in  China,  where  he  re- 
mained about  two  and  a  half  years,  returning  home 
in  November,  1883,  and  taking  charge  of  his  father's 
ranch,  where  he  still  resides.  In  March,  1886,  he 
formed  a  real-estate  partnership  in  Gilroy  with  George 
T.  Dunlap. 

He  was  married  to  Mary  L.,  daughter  of  Dr.  Headen, 
of  Santa  Clara.  She  died  in  1873.  His  present 
wife  is  Jennie  P.,  daughter  of  J.  J.  Dorland.  Mr.  Zuck 
is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Church  of  Gilroy,  and 
President  of  its  Board  of  Trustees,  and  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  A.  O.  U.  W. 


<M« 


-->-M 


IjJflLTON  T.  HOLSCLAW  was  born  in  Howard 
(r?uA>  County,  Missouri,  July  12,  1827.  He  crossed 
^^  the  plains,  and  after  working  awhile  in  the 
I  mines,  he  came  to  Gilroy,  in  August,  1851,  and 
a  month  later  started  the  first  blacksmith  shop  in  Gil- 
roy. In  1852  he  and  his  brother  raised  the  first  crop 
of  wheat  in  the  Gilroy  District,  of  which  they  sold  a 
portion  in  Alviso  at  eight  cents  per  pound.  He 
now  has  a  ranch  of  140  acres  along  the  Los  Llagas 
Creek,  two  miles  (in  an  air  line)  northeast  of  Gilroy. 
Of  this  land  he  has  thirty  acres  in  alfalfa,  which  was 
sowed  in  1876,  and  has  borne  continuously  since  that 
time  without  replanting.  This  has  been  cut  two  or 
three  seasons  for  hay,  but  it  has  been  pastured  the 
most  of  the  time. 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


On  this  he  has  the  present  year  (iSSS)  kept  forty 
head  of  cattle,  twelve  horses,  and  fifty  hogs,  and  has 
never  fed  them  anything  else.  The  hogs  he  sold  for 
market.  He  keeps  ten  milch  cows  now,  but  usually 
milks  from  ten  to  twenty-five.  The  product  of  the 
dairy  is  principally  butter,  for  which  he  finds  a  ready 
market  with  regular  customers  in  this  vicinity.  He 
makes  butter  the  year  round, — from  fifty  to  one  hun- 
dred pounds  per  week.  He  raises  from  fifty  to  sev- 
enty-five acres  of  barley  every  year,  obtaining  from 
thirty  to  forty  bushels  to  the  acre.  Mr.  Holsclaw 
rented  230  acres  of  land  in  1888,  of  which  115  are  in 
wheat  and  115  in  barley,  which  will  be  cut  for  grain. 
He  never  irrigates.  In  1875  he  set  out  about  100 
trees,  consisting  of  apples,  pears,  peaches,  prunes, 
cherries,  etc.,  and  has  been  adding  to  it  since,  until  he 
now  has  about  twenty-five  acres  in  fruit,  of  which 
eighteen  acres  were  set  out  this  year  in  prunes  and 
peaches.  The  trees  have  borne  well,  the  only  draw- 
back being  the  codlin  moth  in  the  apples  and  pears. 

He  came  to  Gilroy  in  1851,  and  has  resided  within 
a  stone's  throw  of  the  town  ever  since.  His  present 
residence  he  erected  in  1875.  The  first  place  he  set- 
tled on  is  now  within  the  city  limits  of  Gilroy,  owned 
by  Thomas  Rea.  He  and  his  brother  were  the  only 
ones  who  had  grain  to  sell  in  Gilroy  in  1852-53,  and 
they  sold  to  immigrants  and  others  in  the  vicinity  of 
Gilroy,  mostly  on  credit,  and  out  of  $6,000  worth  so 
sold,  they  only  lost  $16. 

He  was  married  February  11,  1855,  to  Mary  Ann 
Zuck,  a  native  of  Marion  County,  Ohio,  by  whom  he 
has  three  children  now  living. 


•;iB  J.  MILLER  has  been  selling  goods  at  New 
®^  Almaden  since  1874,  and  has  been  in  charge  of 
^  the  store  on  the  hill  since  the  latter  part  of  1S87. 
He  is  a  native  of  Canada,  born  at  St.  Johns,  Province 
of  Quebec,  June  9,  1838,  his  parents  being  William 
and  Mary  (Faulkner)  Miller.  His  father  was  a  native 
of  Canada,  and  his  mother  of  Ireland.  J.  J.  Miller 
was  reared  and  educated  at  St.  Johns,  and  commenced 
clerking  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years.  In  1859  he  set 
out  for  California,  by  the  ocean  route,  and  landed  at 
San  Francisco  in  October.  He  clerked  for  twelve 
years  in  Santa  Clara,  and  then  engaged  in  merchan- 
dising at  Lexington.  Eighteen  months  later  he  went 
into  the  cattle  business  on  a  ranch  in  Monterey 
County,  and  from  there  came  to  New  Almaden  in 
1874.     He  was  married  in  Canada,  February  7,  1863, 


to  Miss  Susan   Esinhard,  a  native  ol   St.  Johns,  Que- 
bec.    They  have  one  child,  Lillie  J. 

Politically,  Mr.  Miller  is  a  Republican.  Was  reared 
in  the  Episcopal  faith.  Is  a  member  of  the  Santa 
Clara  Lodge,  No.  52,  I.  O.  O.  F. 


->H-H 


M 


M<-<~~ 


York,  May  4,  18 17.  His  father  and  mother 
J^  were  both  natives  of  New  York  and  both  died 

in  Illinois.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
reared  in  New  York  and  emigrated  to  Illinois  in  1842. 
In  1849  he  started  for  California,  with  an  ox  team, 
and  reached  Sacramento  August  23,  1849.  In  Octo- 
ber he  went  to  the  mines  at  Coloma  and  vicinity, 
where  he  remained  about  two  months.  In  Novem- 
ber he  went  to  San  Francisco,  and  January  i,  1850, 
took  a  steamer  for  San  Diego,  which  at  that  time  was 
a  mission,  five  miles  from  the  ocean.  At  San  Diego 
Mr.  Wood  and  his  comrades  purchased  about  fifty 
animals  and  brought  them  up  the  coast  by  land, 
traveling  from  mission  to  mission.  There  were  no 
fences  along  the  route,  it  being  a  stock-raising  coun- 
try. His  idea  at  that  time  was  to  fit  out  a  pack  train 
and  go  to  packing  in  the  mines,  but  in  this  he  was  not 
successful,  on  account  of  not  having  the  proper  ar- 
rangements for  packing,  and,  finding  the  business  un- 
suited  to  his  taste,  sold  out.  He  then  purchased  an 
ox  team  and  went  to  freighting,  in  which  he  was  suc- 
cessful, his  last  trip  being  in  July,  1850,  when  he  made 
the  journey  from  Sacramento  to  Shasta,  clearing  $500 
in  twenty-one  days.  At  this  time  he  was  taken  with 
malarial  fever,  sold  his  outfit,  went  to  San  Francisco, 
and  from  there  returned,  via  Panama  and  New  Or- 
leans, to  his  old  home  in  La  Salle  County,  Illinois. 
He  soon  became  dissatisfied  with  the  country  and 
decided  to  return  to  California,  and  again  crossed 
the  plains,  in  company  with  five  other  men,  arriving 
in  Sacramento  August  21,  1853.  On  this  trip  he 
visited  Santa  Clara  Valley,  and  was  impressed  with 
it  as  a  desirable  place  of  residence.  He  again  re- 
turned to  the  East  by  way  of  Nicaragua  and  New 
Orleans,  and,  being  satisfied  that  he  would  reside  in 
California  for  life,  he  brought  his  family  with  him, 
coming  by  way  of  New  York  and  Panama,  and  arriv- 
ing at  Sacramento  May  5,  1855.  He  then  removed 
to  Gilroy  Township,  on  a  ranch  five  miles  from  Gil- 
roy, and  having  some  difficulty  on  account  of  land 
titles,  he  went  to  Tulare  County,  and  in  1874  returned 
to  Gilroy,  where  he  has  since  resided.      He  was  mar- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


343 


ried  in  New  York,  September  8,  1842,  to  Mary  Miles, 
a  native  of  that  State.  To  them  were  born  eight 
children:  Charles  A.,  and  Nelson  H.  (deceased); 
Mortimer  D.,  a  resident  of  Stanislaus  County,  Cali- 
fornia ;  James  T.,  of  Fresno  County,  California; 
George  R.,  of  Merced  County,  this  State;  Martha, 
Frank  R.,  of  Fresno  County,  and  Mary,  wife  of 
Henry  Hecker. 

In  politics  Mr.  Wood  is  a  Republican,  and  was  an 
anti-slavery  Whig.  He  formerly  owned  a  ranch  in 
the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  of  7,200  acres,  which  he  sold 
in  1874.  He  has  now  retired  from  active  life,  but  has 
an  interest  in  the  banks  of  Gilroy,  Hollister,  and 
Salinas  City,  and  is  one  of  the  leading  stockholders  in 
the  electric  light  company  at  San  Jose.  He  has  been 
an  eye-witness  to  most  of  the  substantial  growth  of 
California.  The  first  time  he  crossed  the  San  Joaquin 
Valley  he  came  upon  a  herd  of  600  elks.  When  he 
lived  in  that  valley,  the  Spaniards  had  a  corral  about 
five  miles  from  the  place,  and  he  often  saw  them  lasso 
wild  horses  and  in  half  an  hour  ride  them. 


IgEV.  J.  LEWIS  TREFREN,  pastor  of  the  Mcth- 
c"^^  odist  Episcopal  Church  at  New  Almaden,  is  a 

^^  native  of  New  Hampshire,  born  in  old  Strafford 
County,  August  2,  1826,  his  parents  being  James 
and  Sarah  (Lochlen)  Trefren.  Both  were  natives  of 
New  Hampshire.  His  father  was  a  licensed  clergy- 
man of  the  Free-will  Baptist  denomination.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  to  the  age  of  sixteen 
years  in  New  Hampshire,  and  there  commenced  his 
education.  He  completed  his  scholastic  training  at 
Hoadly  Seminary,  Connecticut,  and  entered  into  the 
study  of  theology  at  Manchester,  New  Hampshire. 
He  became  a  member  of  New  Hampshire  Conference 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  1856,  and  was 
ordained  by  Bisho;)  Simpson,  at  Manchester,  in  1S58. 
He  traveled  eleven  years  in  the  New  Hampshire  Con- 
ference, as  pastor  of  some  of  its  most  important 
churches,  and  was  transferred  to  the  Nevada  Confer- 
ence in  1865,  and  authorized  to  take  charge  of  the 
Methodist  Church  interests  in  Central  and  Eastern 
Nevada.  He  served  as  pastor  at  Austin,  Nevada,  for 
three  years,  and  was  then  made  Presiding  Elder  of  the 
Austin  District,  which  included  Salt  Lake  City  in  its 
jurisdiction,  he  being  the  first  to  visit  the  Mormon 
capital  in  that  capacity,  and  on  his  recommendation 
missionary  work  was  subsequently  begun  there.     In 

1869  he  was  transferred  to  the  California  Conference, 


and  began  his  labors  in  his  new  field  at  Napa.  He 
was  the  father  of  the  Napa  Collegiate  Institute,  and 
was  one  of  its  first  Board  of  Trustees,  and  one  of  the 
first  committee  on  faculty,  and  was  its  first  financial 
agent.  Since  his  Napa  pastorate,  Mr.  Trefren  has 
been  in  charge  of  congregations  at  Petaluma,  Sacra- 
mento, Grass  Valley,  Marysville,— where  he  was  elected 
and  served  as  trustee  of  the  city  schools, — Santa  Cruz, 
Dixon,  Stockton,  Vallejo,  and  Chico.  From  the  lat- 
ter place  he  came  to  New  Almaden  in  1886.  He  was 
the  chaplain  of  the  California  State  Senate  in  the 
regular  and  extra  sessions  of  1885-86. 

Mr.  Trefren  was  married  in  New  Hampshire  to 
Miss  Sarah  Leavitt  Pennyman,  a  native  of  that  State. 
They  have  four  children,  viz.:  Alice,  wife  of  Capt. 
John  Phillips,  of  Hudson,  Massachusetts,  who  is  a 
nephew  of  the  late  Wendell  Phillips;  they  have  six 
children;  Frank  A,  who  married  Miss  Belle  Schermer- 
horn,  of  Healdsburg,  and  is  head  salesman  of  Austin 
Bros.'  hardware  house  at  Stockton;  they  have  one 
child;  Jennie,  wife  of  Stewart  McBride,  of  Davisville; 
they  have  three  children;  and  Caddie,  wife  of  Charles 
Camper,  resides  at  Chico.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Trefren  have 
lost  two  children  by  death:  Rosie,  who  died  in  New 
Hampshire,  aged  sixteen  months;  and  Sadie,  who 
died  at  Sacramento,  aged  twenty-five  years.  Mr. 
Trefren  takes  a  live  interest  in  California,  and  has 
prepared  a  lecture  on  her  attractions,  entitled,  "Pen 
Pictures  of  California,"  on  the  resources  and  railroad 
enterprises  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  has  lectured  quite 
extensively  in  the  Eastern  States. 

Politically  he  is  a  Republican.  He  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  Masonic  fraternity,  and  of  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  at  whose  anniversaries  he  has 
frequently  been  called  upon  to  deliver  orations  and 
lectures.  He  takes  a  deep  interest  in  all  educational 
work,especially  the  common  schools,  having  frequently 
been  called  upon  to  deliver  addresses  before  the  High 
School  graduating  classes,  and  serve  on  visiting  com- 
mittees to  universities  and  colleges. 


f"  EORGE  WHITNEY,  the  popular  liveryman  of 
San  Jose,  is  a  native  of  Ontario,  Canada,  born 
■jK  at  Kemptville,  April  4,  i860,  his  parents  being 
John  and  Mary  (McMullen)  Whitney.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  to  the  age  of  seven- 
teen at  his  native  place,  then  came  to  California  and 
located  at  San  Jose.  Two  years  later  he  went  to 
Napa  County,  and  after  a  year  and  a  half  there  went 


344 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


to  Colusa  County.  Eight  months  later  he  returned  to 
San  Jose,  and  farmed  in  this  vicinity  until  1883.  He 
then  engaged  in  the  livery  business,  as  a  member  of 
the  firm  of  Whitney  &  Donnelly.  The  firm  does  a 
large  business,  having  fifteen  horses  and  twelve  vehi- 
cles, of  best  description,  constantly  in  use. 

Mr.  Whitney  was  married,  in  San  Jose,  October  15, 
1885,  to  Miss  Lucia,  daughter  of  Major  H.  S.  Foote. 
He  is  a  member  of  Santa  Clara  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F., 
Santa  Clara  Encampment,  and  Santa  Clara  Canton. 
Politically,  he  is  a  Republican. 


^OULS  CHYNOWETH,  one  of  the  public- 
•^  spirited  citizens  of  San  Jose  Township,  became 
T  identified  with  Santa  Clara  County  in  1 8S7.  He 
is  a  native  of  Wisconsin,  and  was  born  in  Dane 
County  on  the  nineteenth  of  August,  1856.  His  fa- 
ther, Thomas  Chynoweth,  was  a  native  of  England, 
but  his  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Emily  Brad- 
ford, was  American  born,  and  a  native  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. The  subject  of  this  mention  was  reared  in 
Madison,  the  capital  of  the  Badger  State,  and  received 
his  education  at  the  State  University,  an  institution  of 
learning  of  very  high  rank.  He  was  among  the 
graduates  of  the  class  of  1881.  Having  completed 
his  scholastic  education,  he  adopted  the  law  as  his 
profession,  reading  the  course  in  the  office  of  E.  A. 
&  J.  O.  Hayes.  He  afterward  practiced  with  the  firm 
of  Knight  &  Hayes,  at  Ashland,  Wisconsin,  whither 
he  removed  in  August,  1884. 

In  April,  1887,  he  purchased  210  acres  of  land  in 
Santa  Clara  County,  while  on  a  visit  to  California,  and 
in  September  he  came  out  here  to  make  his  future 
home  in  this  valley.  He  has  sold  off  no  acres,  in- 
cluding the  foot-hill  land,  and  now  has  100  acres  of 
level  land,  which  has  no  superior  in  this  county.  Of 
this  splendid  tract  it  is  probable  Mr.  Chynoweth 
will  devote  sixty  acres  to  fruit  culture.  He  has  al- 
ready made  a  start  in  this  direction,  having  planted  in 
1888  seven  acres  in  prunes,  peaches,  apricots,  pears, 
plums,  apples,  cherries,  nectarines,  quinces,  figs,  etc. 
These  have  all  shown  such  progress  that  forty  acres 
will  be  added  to  the  orchard  in  the  coming  winter. 
Most  of  the  planting  will  be  French  prunes,  with  a 
small  proportion  of  apricots,  peaches,  pears,  and 
cherries.  The  place  adjoins  the  main  thoroughfare 
between  San  Jose  and  Monterey,  from  which  a  beau- 
tiful view  of  it  is  obtained,  with  the  hills  as  a  back- 
ground.    Mr.    Chynoweth,    who   resided    at    Hurley, 


Wisconsin,  during  the  year  immediately  preceding  his 
coming  here,  is  interested  in  the  great  Germania  iron 
mine  at  that  point.  He  formerly  had  holdings  in  the 
Ashland  mine,  but  disposed  of  these. 


JtM^ILLIAM  J.  McCAUGHIN  came  to  California 
S^at)  November,  1886.  He  is  a  native  of  Illinois. 
e^  having  been  born  in  Fulton  County,  in  the 
1  town  of  Farmington,  January  16,  1859.  His 
parents  were  Hugh  and  Margaret  (Jamison)  Mc- 
Caughin.  His  mother  died  when  he  was  but  three 
years  of  age.  His  father  and  the  family  removed  to 
Peoria  County,  Illinois,  and  there  he  was  reared. 
In  1875  he  removed  to  Iowa,  and  located  in  Warren 
County,  where  he  followed  farming,  and  accumulated 
property  interests,  which  he  still  retains.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1886,  he  came  to  Placer  County,  California,  and 
one  month  later  removed  to  Cloverdale,  Sonoma 
County.  A  short  time  after  this  occurred  his  removal 
to  Santa  Clara  County.  On  the  twenty-fifth  of  Octo- 
ber, 1S87,  he  became  superintendent  of  the  Breyfogle 
and  Mayburg  property,  near  Madrone,  and  many  im- 
provements have  been  made  under  his  direction.  He 
was  married  at  Indianola,  in  Warren  County,  Iowa, 
December  25,  1879,  to  Miss  Sarah  S.  Clough,  a  native 
of  Iowa.  They  have  four  children, as  follows:  Morris, 
May,  Carl,  and  Frank.  Politically,  Mr.  McCaughin  is 
a   Republican. 

§GNAZIO  MADONNA  is  the  Superintendent  of 
Farrington's  rancho  in  Canada  de  los  Osos,  situ- 
T  ated  about  eight  and  one-half  miles  east  of  Gil- 
roy,  which  contains  about  1,800  acres,  devoted  to 
farming  and  stock-raising.  About  200  acres  are  put 
in  grain,  half  wheat  and  half  barley,  and  at  least  100 
acres  more  could  be  easily  farmed.  About  fifty  acres 
are  cut  for  hay,  principally  barley.  The  balance  is 
pasture  land  covered  with  clover  alfilaria.  The  ranch 
sustains  about  250  head  of  stock,  chiefly  of  the  Nor- 
man grade  of  horses  and  the  Nutwood  trotting  stock. 
The  new  ranch  residence  was  erected  in  1887. 

Mr.  Madonna  was  born  in  Switzerland,  November 
2,  1854,  his  parents  being  Seilor  Simone  and  Mary 
Madonna.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared 
there,  attending  school  until  fourteen  years  old  and 
then  working  on  a  farm  till  1S74,  when,  at  the  age  of 


» 


BIO  GRA  PHICA  L  SKETCHES. 


345 


twenty,  he  emigrated  to  America  and  came  to  Cali- 
foroia  via  New  York.  He  located  in  Calaveras 
County  and  engaged  in  farming  and  mining  for  four 
years,  and  then  went  to  Douglas  County,  Nevada, 
ranching  there  live  years,  and  thence  to  Esmeralda 
County,  where  he  remained  two  years.  In  March, 
18S5,  he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County  and  entered  the 
employ  of  William  Farrington,  and  in  the  spring  of 
1 886  went  to  the  present  ranch,  of  which  he  is  now 
the  Superintendent.  He  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O. 
F.,  belonging  to  Genoa  Lodge,  No.  15,  in  Douglas 
County,  Nevada. 


PipiLLIAM  WARREN,  son  of  John  and  Mary 
&^^  Leonard  (Wilson)  Warren,  was  born  in  Ayr- 
^    shire,  Scotland,  November   15,  1830.     William 

"  was  baptized  and  reared  in  the  Episcopal  Church 
and  came  to  America  with  his  parents  when  six  years 
old.  They  settled  in  New  York  for  a  while  and  then 
removed  to  Fall  River,  Massachusetts,  where  his  par- 
ents died.  William  lived  at  home  till  fifteen  years 
of  age,  when  he  went  to  sea,  shipping  as  a  common 
sailor  in  a  trading  ship  bound  for  the  coast  of  Africa. 
He  followed  the  sea  till  1856.  When  twenty-one  or 
twenty-two  years  of  age  he  took  command  of  a  ves- 
sel trading  in  the  South  Pacific  Seas.  In  1856  he  set- 
tled in  Japan  and  went  into  commercial  business, 
buying  and  selling  teas,  silks,  and  other  products  of 
Japan.  Owing  to  the  scarcity  and  monopoly  of  ves- 
sels, he  bought  his  own  vessels  and  ran  them  for  sev- 
eral years.  When  the  first  concessions  were  made 
with  foreigners  after  the  Revolution  in  Japan  in  1859, 
Mr.  Warren  built  the  first  European  house  in  Nagas- 
aki, and  was  doing  business  up  to  the  time  the  first 
Pacific  mail  steamer  left  Japan  in  April,  1867,  when 
he  took  passage  on  this  steamer,  Colorado,  Captain 
Bradbury  commanding,  and  returned  home  to  Mas- 
sachusetts and  was  married,  in  Warren,  Rhode  Island, 
to  the  youngest  daughter  of  Captain  Martin,  an  old 
sea  captain.  In  September,  1867,  he  returned  to 
Japan  in  the  steamer  China,  the  first  trip  made  there 
by  this  vessel,  and  arrived  in  Yokohama,  November 
6,  1867,  where  he  remained    two    months. 

When  Hiogo  opened  to  the  commercial  trade  of 
the  world,  Mr.  Warren  was  one  of  the  first  Americans 
to  engage  in  business  there.  He  opened  a  branch 
house,  doing  a  general  commercial  business.  He  also 
acted  as  agent  for  the  Japanese,  who  owned  large 
coal  mine.s,  in  supplying  ships,  etc.  He  built  the  first 
44 


European  house  in  Hiogo  on  the  foreign  concession. 
His  wife  was  the  first  American  lady  who  settled  in 
Hiogo.  They  had  a  son,  Harry  L.,  born  there 
August  IS,  1868,  and  he  was  the  first  child  born 
there  of  American  parents.  Mr.  Warren  closed  his 
business  in  1870,  and  in  March  of  that  year  took  pas- 
sage for  home  and  arrived  in  Rhode  Island  with  his 
wife  and  child  in  May.  In  1876  he  began  the  manu- 
facture of  wadding,  under  the  firm  name  of  Textile 
Wadding  Company,  of  which  he  was  the  owner  and 
manager.  He  carried  on  the  business  till  some  time 
in  1882,  when  the  factory  was  burned  down.  Al- 
though it  was  partly  covered  with  insurance,  Mr. 
Warren  met  with  a  heavy  loss.  In  1883  he  removed 
to  California  and  bought  his  present  ranch  of  120 
acres  near  Saratoga,  where  he  has  since  resided. 
They  have  a  family  of  three  children:  Harry,  before 
alluded  to,  Florence  A.,  and  William,  Jr.  Mr.  War- 
ren has  thirty-five  acres  in  vines,  and  fifty-five  acres 
in  prunes,  peaches,  and  plums,  all  choice  varieties. 
He  is  the  first  man  in  this  locality  who  began  to  grade 
fruit  and  classify  it  to  make  a  commercial  commodity 
of  it.  His  brand  of  prunes,  called  the  "Warren 
Brand,"  is  used  by  leading  grocers  of  San  Francisco, 
and  for  choice  varieties  are  taking  the  place  of  the 
foreign  article.  He  has  been  very  successful  as  a 
packer,  and  has  an  evaporating  establishment  and 
conveniences  for  putting  up  fruit.  His  agents,  Field 
Sc  Stone,  of  126  California  Street,  ship  all  his  fruit 
that  can  be  spared  to  Cleveland  and  other  Eastern 
cities. 

While  living  in  Hiogo,  Japan,  the  first  Masonic 
lodge  organized  there  was  in  Mr.  Warren's  dining- 
room,  he  being  a  Mason.  This  now  is  a  large  and 
powerful  lodge,  and  is  named  the  Hiogo  and  Osaka 
Lodge. 

.5T||fRS.  ELIZABETH  OTOOLE  has  a  ranch  of 
^0^  31 1  acres,  on  which  is  situated  a  large  and  com- 
r|yi  modious  residence  about  two  miles  northeast 
'  from  Gilroy.  She  also  has  the  management  of 
another  place,  of  800  acres,  formerly  having  had  2,000 
acres.  On  her  place  is  a  vineyard  of  forty  acres  from 
four  to  seventeen  years  old,  all  in  good  bearing,  prin- 
cipally wine  grapes,  and  in  1887  she  made  about 
12,000  gallons  of  wine. 

Mr.  Lawrence  O'TooIe  (deceased),  who  resided  in 
Santa  Clara  County  a  great  many  years,  was  a  native 
of  County  W^exford,  Ireland,  where  he  was  born  No- 


346 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


vember  2,  1822.  His  parents  were  John  and  Mary 
(Farrell)  O'Toole,  who  emigrated  to  Canada  in  1833, 
and  located  near  Quebec,  where  Lawrence  was  reared. 
He  came  to  California  with  a  brother  and  brother-in- 
law,  by  way  of  Nicaragua,  and  located  in  Gilroy.  He 
went  to  the  mines  in  Calaveras  County,  and  was  suc- 
cessful in  his  mining  operations  during  the  two  years 
he  was  located  there.  He  then  came  to  Santa  Clara 
County  again,  and  settled  on  the  ranch  where  his 
family  now  reside.  He  managed  the  Bryan  Murphy 
estate  for  a  number  of  years  with  great  business  tact. 
He  resided  here  until  his  death,  April  4,  1887.  Mr. 
O'Toole  was  one  of  the  first  members  of  the  Catholic 
Church  of  Gilroy,  and  was  always  one  of  its  principal 
benefactors.  He  contributed  largely  to  the  building 
of  the  Convent  at  Gilroy,  and  was  a  very  charitable 
man  throughout  his  entire  life,  and  no  deserving  per- 
son ever  appealed  to  him  in  vain. 

He  was  married,  January  31,  1869,  to  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth McAllister,  a  native  of  County  Antrim,  Ireland, 
daughter  of  John  and  Sarah  (McCauley)  McAllister. 
She  was  reared  there,  and  when  nineteen  years  old 
came  to  America  to  join  her  sisters  who  had  pre- 
ceded her  a  few  years.  They  had  one  child,  Mamie, 
who  received  her  education  in  the  Convents  of  Gilroy 
and  San  Jose,  and  is  a  cultured  artist  and  musician. 
Mrs.  O'Toole  has  exhibited  wonderful  ability  in  grasp- 
ing the  situation  since  the  management  of  the  affairs 
of  the  farm  fell  upon    her  after  her  husband's  death. 


§ffi5ILLIAM  QUINN,  one  of  the  prominent  men  of 
(sWB  San  Jose  Township,  is  a  native  of  Tyrone,  Ire- 
<L^  land,  born  January  12,  1828.  His  father  was 
I  Owen  Quinn.  When  he  was  an  infant  his 
mother  died,  and  at  the  age  of  thirteen  he  left  his 
native  country  and  emigrated  to  America,  arriving  at 
Pittsburg  July  3,  1841.  He  lived  with  his  sister  for  a 
few  years,  and  afterward  engaged  in  draying.  In 
1853  he  came  to  California  by  the  way  of  New  York 
and  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  arriving  at  San  Fran- 
cisco March  5,  1853.  He  obtained  employment  at 
the  San  Mateo  Hotel,  and  in  1856  was  married  to 
Miss  B.  A.  Lannon.  During  the  same  year  he  started 
a  dairy.  In  1858  he  removed  to  Santa  Clara  County, 
locating  on  tract  No.  6,  San  Jose  Pueblo,  of  500  acres, 
where  he  now  resides.  No  improvement  had  at  that 
time  been  made,  and  it  was  a  wilderness  of  mustard. 
He  improved  the  place,  and  made  it  valuable,  so  that 


he  sold  off  the  greater  portion  of  the  tract  at  good 
prices.  He  yet  retains  128  acres  of  the  old  home- 
stead, adjoining  Lucretia  Avenue.  He  has  large 
interests  in  Alameda  County,  where  he  possesses  a 
tract  of  1,180  acres  of  land,  devoted  to  stock-raising, 
farming,  and  dairying.  He  has  200  head  of  thorough- 
bred and  graded  Durham  cattle.  Mr.  Quinn  is  one 
of  the  county's  active,  go-ahead  men,  and  has  been 
for  many  years  a  Director  of  the  Santa  Clara  County 
Agricultural  Association. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Quinn  are  the  parents  of  seven  chil- 
dren, of  whom  one — William — died  at  the  age  of 
twelve  years.  Those  living  are:  Maggie,  Nellie, 
Daniel  O.,  Dollie,  Lizzie,  and  Winnifred.  The  family 
are  members  of  the  Catholic  Church.  In  politics  Mr. 
Quinn  is  a  Democrat. 


MM  H.  GAY,  Superintendent  of  Oak  Hill  Ceme- 
S"?(F'  tery,  is  a  native  of  Illinois,  born  at  Payson, 
1^  Adams    County,   April    10,    1842.     His  father, 

'  Milus  Gay,  was  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  born 
in  Iredell  County,  in  181 1,  and  reared  there.  In  1833 
he  removed  to  Illinois,  and  engaged  in  merchandising 
in  Adams  County.  In  1850  he  crossed  the  plains  to 
California,  and  went  into  the  mines  at  Drytown ;  go- 
ing back  to  Illinois  in  1852,  he  returned  to  California 
with  his  family,  the  journey  to  Sacramento  occupying 
the  time  from  the  third  of  April  to  September  6.  He 
also  shipped  out  several  hundred  fanning-mills,  and  he 
occupied  about  one  year  in  disposing  of  these,  making 
San  Jose  his  residence  and  headquarters.  In  1853  he 
bought  an  interest  in  a  ranch,  on  a  portion  of  which 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  now  resides,  and  afterward 
effected  the  purchase  of  a  500-acre  lot,  from  which 
was  withheld  a  forty-acre  tract, — the  site  of  the  ceme- 
tery. Here  he  lived  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
in  1878.  His  wife  had  preceded  him  to  the  grave,  her 
death  occurring  in  December,  1873.  She  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  First  Methodist  Church.  In  politics,  he 
was  a  Whig  and  afterward  a  Republican. 

M.  H.  Gay,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  reared 
from  early  boyhood  in  this  State,  and  here  received 
his  education.  He  graduated  at  the  University  of  the 
Pacific  in  1865,  and  afterward  was  an  instructor  there 
for  a  time.  Thence  he  went  to  Los  Gatos,  but  after 
teaching  one  term  was  called  to  the  chair  of  languages 
in  his  a/i/ia  inatei\  which  he  filled  for  four  years. 
He  read  law  in  the  office  of  ihe  firm  of  Silent  & 
Herrington,  and  entered  the  District  Clerk's  office  as 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


347 


deputy,  serving  in  that  capacity  with  Messrs.  Belden 
and  Finley.  In  1874  he  went  to  San  Buenaventura, 
and  established  the  Bank  of  Ventura.  With  that 
institution  he  was  conn  cted  for  four  and  a  half  years, 
acting  as  its  cashier  and  manager.  On  the  death  of 
]iis  father  he  returned  to  the  home  ranch  and  took 
charge  of  it.  He  was  nominated  by  the  Republican 
Convention  of  1880  for  Representative  from  this  dis- 
trict in  the  General  Assembly  of  California,  and  at 
the  ensuing  election  was  chosen  by  the  electors  of  the 
district  to  the  position.  In  the  session  of  i88ihe 
-served  on  the  Committees  on  Public  Buildings,  and 
Roads  and  Highways.  He  has  served  Franklin 
School  District  as  Trustee  since  1878,  and  in  Janu- 
ary, 1883,  was  chosen  Superintendent  of  Oak  Hill 
Cemetery. 

Mr.  Gay  was  married  October  23,  1872,  to  Miss 
Ella  Sinex,  a  native  of  Indiana,  reared  in  Michigan, 
and  daughter  of  Dr.  T.  H.  Sinex.  Dr.  Sinex  was 
educated  at  t  e  celebrated  institution  at  Greencastle, 
Indiana,  now  known  as  De  Pauw  University.  He  was 
.  ordained  a  minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  by  Bishop  Simpson.  In  1864  he  came  to 
Santa  Clara,  and  preached  here  three  years.  He  was 
made  President  of  the  University  of  the  Pacific,  and 
devoted  his  great  energy  and  ability  to  the  upbuilding 
of  the  institution,  being  connected  with  it  altogether 
about  twelve  years.  He  preached  at  Bush  Street 
Church,  San  Francisco,  and  since  1886  has  filled  the 
pulpit  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Pacific 
Grove.  His  wife  was  formerly  Mary  E.  Ward,  a  na- 
tive of  Bloomfield,  New  Jersey.  Mr.  and  Mrs  Gay 
have  one  child,  Henry  Milu.s. 


§]OHN  S.  PHIPPEN,  foreman  of  trotting  stable^ 
'  Palo  Alto  Ranch,  is  a  native  of  New  York  State, 
^  born  at  Borodino,  Onondaga  County,  January 
16,  1859,  his  parents  being  George  and  Margaret 
(Nicholson)  Phippen.  His  father  was  a  soldier  of  the 
Union,  and  fought  for  the  flag  in  the  late  Civil  War. 
He  gave  his  life  in  the  country's  service,  his  death 
occurring  near  City  Point,  Virginia.  In  1868  the 
family  came  to  California,  by  the  Isthmus  route,  and 
located  at  San  Jose,  where  John  S.  Phippen  was 
reared.  At  an  early  age  he  became  accustomed  to 
the  care  of  horses,  and  was  engaged  in  that  business 
for  Cal.  Martin  for  over  six  years.  In  1879  he  came 
to  Palo  Alto  Ranch,  with  which  he  has  ever  since 
been  connected.     He  has   been  in  charge  of  his  de- 


partment since  1883,  and  has  had  charge,  in  that  time, 
of  some  of  the  best  trotters  this  coast  has  produced. 
Mr.  Phippen  was  married  at  Mayfield,  January  i, 
1887,  to  Miss  Georgiana  Spaulding,  a  native  of  Sears- 
ville,  California,  and  daughter  of  Joseph  S.  Spaulding, 
whose  sketch  appears  in  this  work.  Mr.  Phippen  is  a 
Republican,  politically. 


fDISTEL,  the  well-known  viticulturist  of  Fre- 
mont Township,  is  a  native  of  France,  born  in 
^^  Alsace,  March  11,  1846,  his  parents  being  Nor- 
bart  and  Anna  (Scheben)  Distel.  His  father 
was  a  distiller,  and  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
reared  to  that  business,  and  when  only  twelve  years 
of  age  was  able  to  make  brandy.  In  1864  he  went 
to  Savarn,  and  from  there  to  the  port  of  Havre, 
whence  he  crossed  the  ocean  to  New  York.  From 
there  he  went  to  Aspinwall,  crossed  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama,  came  to  California,  and  located  at  Mayfield. 
He  was  employed  at  farm  work  for  a  time,  and  also 
at  grape-growing.  He  has  a  ranch  of  108  acres,  three 
miles  from  Mayfield,  on  the  San  Jose  and  San  Fran- 
cisco road,  which  he  purchased  in  188 1.  It  was  then 
a  wild  place,  covered  with  timber  and  brush,  but  is 
now  a  garden-spot.  He  set  to  work  clearing  it  off, 
and  in  1883  put  out  twenty  acres  of  vines,  all  French 
varieties.  He  has  added  thereto  until  he  now  has 
fifty  acres  of  choice  grapes,  of  which  thirty-two  acres 
are  in  bearing,  and  all  have  done  splendidly,  owing  to 
his  perfect  knowledge  of  vine-growing.  In  1883  he 
erected  a  commodious  winery,  and  the  same  year 
commenced  the  manufacture  of  wine  and  brandies. 
In  1886  he  made  30,000  gallons  of  wine  alone,  and 
in  1887,  14,000  gallons,  besides  the  sweet  wines.  The 
goods  of  his  manufacture  are  fully  equal  to  the  im- 
ported articles,  and  are  acquiring  a  world-wide  repu- 
tation. He  has  sent  packages  to  France,  Germany, 
Australia,  Japan,  and  other  foreign  countries.  His 
success  shows  what  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  bus- 
iness, coupled  with  strict  business  integrity,  will 
accomplish  in  this  vicinity.  Mr.  Distel  and  two  other 
gentlemen  are  the  owners  of  thirty-five  acres  in  the 
Stanford  ranch.  This  is  fine  fruit  and  vine  land,  and 
has  improvements  consisting  of  good  house,  barn, 
and  well.  He  planted  seventy-five  acres  adjoining 
this  place  in  grapes,  and  they  have  done  finely. 

He  was  married,  in  Mayfield,  to  Miss  Caroline 
Kleinclaus,  a  native  of  Alsace.  They  have  three 
children:  Victor,  Alice,  and  Eugene. 


348 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


l^RANK  BOHLMANN,  of  New  Almaden,  is  a 
s^  native  of  that  place,  born  October  26,  1854,  his 
^  parents  being  John  and  Edna  (Parr)  Bohlmann, 
the  former  a  native  of  Germany  and  the  latter  of 
England.  John  Bohlmann,  father  of  Frank,  came  to 
California  in  1849,  locating  at  New  Almaden,  where 
he  engaged  in  teaming.  He  afterwards  went  to  San 
Luis  Obispo  County,  and  engaged  in  stock-raising, 
etc.  From  there  he  returned  to  New  Almaden,  where 
he  and  his  wife  yet  reside.  Mr.  Bohlmann  engaged  in 
teaming  in  1872,  and  has  ever  since  followed  that 
business.  He  does  all  the  teaming  of  the  Quicksilver 
Mining  Company,  on  contract,  and  uses  about  eighty 
head  of  horses  in  their  services.  He  has  130  horses, 
and  among  them  some  good  roadsters.  He  com- 
menced the  livery  trade  in  1886,  and  in  this  branch 
of  his  business  employs  eight  horses.  He  runs  the 
stage  line  between  Almaden  Hill  and  Almaden  Sta- 
tion, the  round  trip  requiring  eight  miles'  travel,  and 
utilizing  eight  head  of  horses  for  this  purpose.  He 
also  farms  1,250  acres  of  the  company's  land,  and  in 
that  connection  employs  a  great  many  horses. 

Mr.  Bohlmann  was  married,  in  New  Almaden,  De- 
cember 26,  1876,  to  Miss  Laura  Fiedler,  a  native  of 
California.  They  have  two  children,  viz.:  Eugenia 
and  Laura. 


3J||!sORACE  LITTLE,  San  Jose  Township,  is  one 
§H^  of  the  early  settlers  of  Santa  Clara  County,  hav. 
"^  ing  come  here  in  1853.  He  is  a  native  of  New 
1  York,  born  in  Cayuga  County,  October  6,  1828, 
his  parents  being  Asa  and  Esther  (Willis)  Little. 
George  Little,  of  Scotch  birth,  was  the  founder  of  the 
family  in  America.  He  settled  in  the  Massachusetts 
Colony  in  the  year  of  1640.  In  1798  Moses  Little, 
the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  leaving 
his  home  in  New  Hampshire,  emigrated  to  Cayuga 
County,  New  York,  and  established  the  family  there. 
Some  members  of  the  family  have  taken  part  in  every 
war  of  this  country,  including  that  of  the  Revolution, 
and  in  the  Civil  War  two  hundred  and  fifty-one  of 
its  representatives  fought  in  the  Union  ranks,  and  not 
one  in  the  Confederate  Army ! 

When  Horace  Little  was  eight  years  of  age  his 
parents  removed  to  Michigan,  and  located  in  Hills- 
dale County,  where  both  afterward  died.  He  was 
reared  there,  and  in  1852  left  home  for  California, 
coming  by  the  Isthmus  route,  and  arriving  in  San 
Francisco  January  i8,  1853.    He  went  into  the  mines 


of  Amador  County,  and  afterward  to  Georgetown,  El 
Dorado  County.  In  May,  1853,  he  came  to  Santa 
Clara  County,  and  went  to  work  by  the  month  farm- 
ing and  dairying.  His  first  location  was  near  Ever- 
green, but  in  1863  he  bought  where  he  now  resides, 
and  has  made  all  the  improvements  there.  He  has 
three  hundred  and  six  acres,  adjoining  the  Monterey 
road,  eight  and  a  half  miles  from  San  Jose.  He  was 
engaged  in  dairying  until  1887.  Mr.  Little  has  had 
but  one  failure  of  crops,  and  that  was  in  1864.  He 
expects  a  yield  of  forty-five  bushels  to  the  acre  of 
barley  in  a  good  year,  and  has  cut  as  high  as  sixty 
bushels.  Hay  averages  from  two  to  two  and  a  half 
tons  per  acre,  and  the  ground  has  yielded  four  tons. 
An  avenue  a  quarter  of  a  mile  long  leads  from  the 
roadway  to  the  house,  and  is  bordered  with  Lombardy 
poplar,  which  are  very  handsome  trees  for  this  pur- 
pose. He  has  a  small  family  orchard,  set  out  in  1883, 
in  a  variety  of  fruit,  and  all  kinds  have  done  excel- 
lently without  irrigation.  In  1888  he  set  out  2,000 
fruit-trees, — Muir  peaches.  Nonpareil  and  I  X  L  al- 
monds. He  will  set  out  thirty  acres  more  of  almonds 
soon,  and  will  each  year  add  to  the  acreage  of  fruit. 
He  has  a  pump-house,  supplied  with  a  forty-horse- 
power engine  capable  of  irrigating  the  entire  tract,  if 
necessary,  as  it  has  a  capacity  of  throwing  90,000  gal- 
lons per  hour.  His  bored  wells  are  a  hundred  feet 
deep,  though  water  has  to  be  raised  only  twenty-five 
feet.  These  works  were  put  in  to  irrigate  his  alfalfa 
land.  He  has  about  a  hundred  rods  of  irrigating 
ditch,  and  eighty  rods  of  flume.  Everything  on  the 
place  was  put  there  by  Mr.  Little,  who  has  made  his 
start  in  the  world  since  coming  to  this  county. 

He  was  married,  in  this  county,  to  Miss  Lovina 
Fisk,  a  native  of  Ontario,  Canada,  who  came  to  Cali- 
fornia from  Canada  about  1868. 

Mr.  Little  is  a  Republican,  politically.  He  was  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  Farmers'  Union,  San  Jose,  and 
has  been  a  Director  since  its  organization.  He  has  a 
mountain  ranch  of  400  acres  near  San  Felipe,  where 
he  raises  horses  and  colts,  principally  Norman. 


Mi  G.  McMillan,  clvll  engineer,  residence  May- 
©)■  field,  is  a  native  of  Rhode  Island,  born  at  Bristol, 
X  July  II,  185 1, his  parents  being  W.  W.  and  Sarah 
(McCaughey)  McMillan.  His  father,  who  was  a  na- 
tive of  Scotland,  emigrated  to  America,  and  in  1852 
came  to  California  by  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  He 
engaged  in  the  mines  of  Butte  County,  and  in    1856, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


349 


having  decided  to  locate  permanently  in  the  State, 
his  family  came  out  by  the  Isthmus  route,  and  joined 
him  in  Butte  County.  J.  G.  McMillan  spent  his  boy- 
hood days  in  Butte  County,  and  received  his  educa- 
tion there  and  at  San  Jose.  At  the  age  of  sixteen 
years  he  commenced  teaching  school,  improving  his 
time  during  the  summer  by  studying  civil  engineering. 
He  was  made  County  Surveyor  of  Sutter  County  in 
1877,  and  held  the  office  continuously  until  1882.  In 
the  latter  year  his  services  were  engaged  by  the  Cen- 
tral Pacific  Railroad  Company,  on  locating  work.  In 
1S84  he  went  to  Central  America  in  the  capacity  of 
civil  engineer  on  the  construction  of  the  Guatemala 
Central  Railroad,  which  engaged  his  attention  for 
about  a  year.  Returning  to  California,  he  spent  the 
following  year  in  Fresno  County,  laying  out  and 
superintending  the  construction  of  large  canals  for 
mining  purposes.  In  1886  he  came  to  Mayfield  to 
take  charge  of  the  engineering  work  connected  with 
the  building  and  grounds  of  the  great  Leland  Stan- 
ford, Jr.,  University.  This  now  employs  a  great  por- 
tion of  his  time,  though  he  does  a  large  amount  of 
surveying  and  other  engineering  work  for  outside  par- 
ties. 

He  was  married  in  this  county,  in  1887,  to  Miss 
Lizzie  D.  Weisshaar,  a  native  of  San  Francisco,  and 
daughter  of  the  Postmaster  of  Mayfield.  Mr.  Mc- 
Millan is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  and  F.  A.  M. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Republican. 


PjAMES  M.  OUIVEY,  a  member  of  one  of  the 
pioneer  families  of  California,  is  a  native  of  Inde- 
^  pendence,  Missouri,  born  June  19,  1837,  and  a  son 
of  Peter  and  Sarah  (McConnell)  Quivey.  Peter 
Quivey  was  a  native  of  New  York,  born  at  .Syracuse, 
in  1807,  and  was  reared  there  to  the  age  of  eighteen 
years.  He  then  left  home  and  went  to  Kentucky. 
He  was  a  splendid  workman,  and  followed  hunting  a 
great  deal  there.  He  married  Sarah  McConnell,  a 
member  of  one  of  the  old  Kentucky  families,  and  a 
native  of  Frankfort.  He  was  a  slave-holder,  and 
when,  in  1841,  he  removed  to  Missouri,  he  took  with 
him  a  man  and  a  woman  servant.  They  resided  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Independence  until  1846,  when 
they  became  members  of  a  party  which  started  across 
the  plains  for  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  which  afterward 
became  historic  as  the  Donner  party.  One  evening, 
while  encamped  on  the  banks  of  the  Humboldt 
River,  a  large  party  of  Indians  attempted  to  drive  off 


their  cattle,  and  a  fight  ensued,  during  which  a  large 
number  of  the  red  men  were  killed.  One  of  the 
whites,  Benjamin  Lippincott,  was  shot  through  both 
knees,  but  he  pulled  the  arrow  out  in  a  proper  manner 
and  recovered.  Another  man,  Mr.  Salle,  who  was 
shot,  pulled  the  arrow  backward,  and  his  death  re- 
sulted. One  of  the  party,  A.  J.  Grayson,  lost  all  his 
cattle,  but  they  were  afterward  recovered,  some  of 
them  with  arrows  in  them. 

By  pushing  forward  on  Sundays  and  nights,  Mr. 
Quivey's  family,  and  others,  got  a  long  distance  ahead 
of  the  Donner  party,  and  reached  California  seven 
months  in  advance  of  them.  They  stopped  at  Sut- 
ter's Fort,  and  from  there  Mr.  Quivey  went  with  F"re- 
mont  to  fight  the  Mexicans,  and  helped  to  raise  the 
American  flag  at  Monterey.  After  the  expedition 
had  done  its  work,  he  returned  to  Sutter's  Fort,  and 
in  1847  removed  with  his  family  to  San  Jose,  where 
he  put  up  the  first  frame  house.  He  had  the  timber 
for  the  house  cut  in  the  Redwoods,  and  while  engaged 
in  hauling  it,  the  wagon  chain  broke,  and  he  was 
thrown  against  the  oxen,  breaking  both  legs.  He 
recovered  their  use,  however.  In  1848  he  went  to  the 
mines  at  Dry  Diggings,  and  remained  there  with  his 
family  for  three  months.  He  then  returned  to  San 
Jose  and  opened  the  Miners'  Home,  the  first  hotel  in 
San  Jose,  and  conducted  it  between  one  and  two 
years.  The  family,  however,  continued  to  reside  in 
the  frame  house  before  mentioned.  He  had  this  torn 
down  in  1850,  and  put  up  another  and  larger  resi- 
dence in  its  place,  the  family  removing  into  it  before 
it  was  dry,  on  account  of  the  cholera  epidemic  then 
prevailing.  This  second  house  is  still  standing,  op- 
posite the  Fourth  Street  fruit  factory.  The  tract  of 
land  on  which  it  was  located,  consisting  of  ten  acres, 
was  afterward  sold  to  Robert  Beatty,  who  cut  it  up 
and  sold  it  in  lots.  In  partnership  with  William  C. 
Wilson,  Mr.  Quivey  owned  hundreds  of  square  miles 
of  land  in  and  about  Hall's  Valley.  He  sold  his 
interest  in  this  land  to  Samuel  and  William  Miller, 
of  Stockton,  for  $60,000.  He  imported  some  fine 
horses  from  Kentucky,  and  was  the  owner  of  two 
well-known  racers— Dashaway,  a.runner,  and  San  Jose 
Damsel,  a  trotter.  He  was  a  stanch  Democrat,  politi- 
cally, and  an  active  man  in  public  affairs.  His  death 
occurred  January  28,  1869.  His  widow,  who  resides 
with  her  son,  Francis  Marion,  in  San  Jose,  was  born 
September  14,  1805.  They  had  four  children,  viz.: 
Lizzie,  wife  of  George  H.  Jefferson,  of  San  Jose; 
James,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Angeline  (Mrs. 
Carr),  and  Francis  Marion. 


350 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


James  M.  Quivey  has  a  good  recollection  of  the 
eventful  journey  across  the  plains  in  the  pioneer 
times.  He  resided  in  San  Jose  until  1861,  then  re- 
moved upon  the  Almaden  road,  about  three  miles 
from  San  Jose.  There  he  resided  until  November, 
1884,  when  he  removed  where  he  now  resides,  on  the 
Las  Llagas  Creek.  There  he  has  a  ranch  of  900 
acres,  on  which  he  follows  farming  and  stock-raising. 
He  has  about  100  head  of  horses  and  cattle,  and  a 
place  which  is  rapidly  acquiring  a  prosperous  appear- 
ance under  his  care  and  management. 

Mr.  Quivey  was  married,  October  22,  1S60,  to  Miss 
Melvina  C.  Marshall,  a  native  of  Indiana.  Her  father 
died  when  she  was  young,  and  later  her  mother  mar- 
ried James  Stevenson,  who  came  to  California  early 
in  the  '50's.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Quivey  have  four  children, 
as  follows:  Willard  H.,  who  resides  at  San  Ardo,  in 
Monterey  County,  where  he  is  agent  for  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad;  J.  Howard,  Charles  M.,  and  P.  Carle- 
ton,  the  three  latter  residing  with  their  parents.  Mr. 
Quivey  is  a  Democrat,  politicall}'. 


f  CASTRO,  of  P>emont  Township,  is  a  native  of 
,  Santa  Clara  County,  born  in  San  Jose,  August 
•^  15,  1828,  his  parents  being  Mariano  and  M.  T. 
(Peralta)  Castro.  His  father  was  reared  in  California, 
having  been  a  native  of  San  Francisco,  born  in  1784. 
When  California  was  under  the  Spanish  domination, 
he  was  a  soldier  in  the  army  of  Spain.  He  removed 
to  San  Jose  in  the  early  years  of  the  present  century, 
and  in  that  pueblo  held  tiie  office  of  Alcalde.  He 
died  in  San  Jose  in  1857,  and  some  years  afterward 
his  wife  followed  him  to  the  grave.  C,  Castro,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  reared  in  San  Jose,  the 
residence  of  his  parents  having  stood  on  the  corner 
of  San  Pedro  and  Santa  Clara  Streets,  on  the  ground 
now  covered  by  the  massive  building  of  the  Farmers' 
Union.  Since  1841  he  has  lived  on  the  farm  where 
he  now  resides,  and  all  the  improvements  visible  there 
to-day  are  the  results  of  his  labors. 

Mr.  Cistro's  farm  consists  of  250  acres,  located 
some  three  miles,  in  a  southerly  direction,  from  May- 
field,  on  the  line  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad, 
and  the  company  has  located  a  station  on  his  land. 
He  formerly  shipped  about  400  tons  of  hay  per  year 
to  market  at  San  Francisco,  but  now  rents  out  a  por- 
tion of  his  land.  It  seems  almost  like  a  romance  to 
chronicle  the  life  of  a  man  yet  living  in  the  county 
who  has  been  a  resident  here  for  sixty  years;  yet  such 


is  true  of  Mr.  Castro.  He  has  been  an  eye-witness  to 
all  the  changes  from  the  old  civilization  to  the  new, 
and  has  lived  here  under  the  flags  of  Spain,  of  Mex- 
ico, and  of  the  United  States. 

He  was  married,  in  1857,  to  Miss  Francisca  Armijo, 
also  a  native  of  San  Jose.  They  are  the  parents  of 
nine  children,  viz.:  Mariano,  Merced,  Susie,  Andrew, 
Joseph,  Willie,  Frank,  Roque,  and  Chrisanto. 


fHARLES  F.  O'BRION,  outside  foreman  of  the 
Quicksilver  Mining  Company,  New  Almaden,  is 
(aH=  a  native  of  Michigan,  born  at  White  Pigeon,  St. 
Joseph  County,  August  27,  1834,  his  parents  be- 
ing Elijah  and  Harriet  Cornelia  (Fitch)  O'Brion. 
His  father,  who  was  a  native  of  Ohio,  was  a  merchant 
tailor. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared,  to  the  age  of 
sixteen  years,  at  White  Pigeon,  by  his  grandparents, 
his  mother  having  died  when  he  was  but  two  years 
old,  and  his  father  having  removed  to  Arkansas.  At 
the  age  of  sixteen  he  went  to  Chicago,  where  he  at- 
tended public  school  two  years,  and  acquired  a  knowl- 
edge of  book-keeping  at  a  commercial  college.  He 
was  engaged  as  a  cabin  boy  on  a  steamer  on  Lake 
Michigan  before  the  building  of  railroads  from  Chi- 
cago to  New  Buffalo,  and  was  for  a  time  in  the  Chi- 
cago Tribune  office  as  mailing  clerk.  In  1859  he 
crossed  the  plains  to  Pike's  Peak  by  ox  teams,  with  a 
large  party,  and  for  the  ensuing  year  was  engaged  in 
the  mines,  then  returning  to  Chicago.  Soon  after- 
ward he  went  to  Texas,  via  New  Orleans,  and  joined 
his  father,  with  whom  he  remained  for  three  years,  in 
the  stock  business.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil 
War,  he  went  to  San  Antonio,  and  joined  a  party  for 
California,  leaving  there  the  same  day  that  the  Ku 
Klux  came  in  from  the  surrounding  country  and  took 
possession  of  the  government  property  at  that  point. 
The  party  pursued  their  journey  peacefully  until 
within  sixty  miles  of  El  Paso,  where  they  found  it 
necessary  to  cross  over  into  Mexico  to  evade  capture 
by  Southern  Confederacy  troops.  The  Fourth  of  July 
found  them  at  El  Paso,  and  they  celebrated  it  appro- 
priately, with  the  Confederate  soldiers  looking  on 
from  across  the  river.  It  had  been  the  intention  to 
go  through  Arizona,  but  as  the  troops  had  been  with- 
drawn from  that  point,  Mr.  O'Brion  formed  a  com- 
pany which  went  by  way  of  Northern  Chihuahua,  and 
through  the  Guadalupe  Pass,  a  route  followed  by  early 
immigrants  to  California.     They  went  through  Chi- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


351 


huahua  to  Sonora,  thence  to  Santa  Cruz,  where  the 
party  split  up.  His  party  then  concluded  to  go  to 
Guyamos,  and  from  there  by  steamer,  after  selling 
out  all  their  effects,  etc.  They  were,  however,  de- 
layed by  a  revolutionary  party  of  400,  on  the  way  to 
the  coast,  and  on  arriving  at  Guyamos  found  the 
steamer  had  gone.  Instead  of  waiting  one  month  for 
another,  Mr.  O'Brion  hired  out  and  went  into  the 
mines  of  Sonora. 

At  San  Antonio  de  la  Huerta,  at  San  Marcial,  and 
at  Tico  Ripa  he  mined,  kept  store,  made  roads,  etc., 
until  1863,  when  he  again  determined  to  proceed  to 
California.  Going  to  Guyamos,  he  took  passage  on  a 
steamer  bound  for  San  Francisco.  He  was  sick  for 
three  months  after  his  arrival  there,  then  went  into  a 
dry  goods  store  for  awhile,  and  on  the  twenty-third  of 
IVlarch,  1865,  he  left  for  Almaden,  where  he  went  to 
work  on  the  twenty-fourth.  Two  months  later  he 
became  night-watchman,  and  three  months  after  that 
became  receiver  of  ores.  Six  months  after  arrival  he 
was  made  surface  foreman,  continued  so  until  1870, 
and  then  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  Almaden  stores. 
After  four  years,  his  health  failed,  and  he  rested  for  a 
year  or  two. 

September  4,  1874,  h^  was  married  to  Mrs.  Anna 
New,  widow  of  John  C.  New,  and  went  back  to  Chi- 
cago for  a  wedding  trip.  On  returning  to  New  Alma- 
den, he  was  re-employed  in  his  former  capacity,  and 
two  years  after  left  and  went  into  business  at  Darwin 
with  Joseph  Waterman.  In  1881  he  returned  again 
to  New  Almaden  on  account  of  poor  health,  and 
commenced  work  in  his  present  capacity.  He  is  a 
member  of  Triumph  Lodge,  No.  47,  K.  of  P.,  at  San 
Jose.  He  holds  the  office  of  School  Trustee.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  O'Brion  have  one  child,  Bruce  Clark,  born 
August  2,  1875,  at  New  Almaden. 


fimRS.  O.  ARNOLD.     Among  the  many  attract- 
S^^JIb  ive  residence  spots  throughout  the  length   and 

f  breadth  of  Santa  Clara  County,  there  is  per- 
haps none  that  presents  more  points  of  advan- 
tage in  the  eyes  of  the  lover  of  the  beautiful  in  nature 
than  the  "  Hidden  Villa,"  situated  amid  the  mount- 
ains northwest  from  Mountain  View.  The  place, 
which  consists  of  600  acres,  is  the  property  of  O. 
Arnold,  of  San  Francisco.  From  the  county  road  a 
rustic  gateway  opens  into  the  place,  and  a  winding 
roadway  must  then  be  traveled  for  quite  a  distance 
before    the    cottage   comes    into    view.     When    it    is 


reached,  a  glance  around  seems  to  show  it  almost 
completely  shut  in  by  precipitous  mountains.  A 
rustic  fountain,  rockery,  and  fish-pond  stocked  with 
trout,  are  pleasing  features.  There  are  about  twenty 
acres  set  in  choice  varieties  of  wine  and  table  grapes, 
and  an  orchard  with  a  good  variety  of  fruit  for  family 
use.  Some  Italian  olive  trees,  planted  near  the  en- 
trance to  the  place,  are  showing  a  healthy  growth. 

Mr.  Otto  Arnold,  who  purchased  this  delightful  re- 
treat in  1887,  is  a  native  of  Saxony.  When  a  young 
man  he  accompanied  Governor  Latham  to  America, 
and  in  1864  became  a  resident  of  San  Francisco.  He 
has  been  connected  with  the  London  and  San  Fran- 
cisco Bank  since  1869.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Arnold  now 
make  the  Hidden  Villa  their  home  during  the  greater 
portion  of  the  year. 


fOHN  WAITE.  Among  the  citizens  who  have 
recently  identified  themselves  with  Santa  Clara 
fff^  County,  is  the  gentleman  whose  name  heads  this 
sketch.  He  is  a  native  of  England,  born  in  Leicester- 
shire, April  8,  1833,  his  parents  being  Robert  and  Isa- 
bella Waite.  His  father  was  a  merchant  in  the  shoe 
trade. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  and  educated 
in  his  native  country,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-two 
years  emigrated  to  America,  landing  in  New  York. 
He  went  to  Hamilton,  Ontario,  where  he  engaged  in 
contracting.  One  year  later  he  removed  to  Chicago, 
and  from  there  to  Quincy,  Illinois,  and  thence  again 
to  Mississippi,  where  he  engaged  in  contracting  on  the 
Mobile  &  Ohio  Railroad.  From  there  he  returned  to 
England  on  a  visit  of  six  months'  duration,  and  on 
coming  back  again  to  this  country,  resumed  his  con- 
nection with  the  Mobile  &  Ohio  Railroad  as  con- 
tractor for  bridges.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War 
he  again  went  to  England,  and  engaged  in  the  leather 
business  as  a  master  tanner  and  currier.  Five  years 
later  he  was  again  in  the  United  States,  and  engaged 
in  a  planing-miU  at  Quincy.  Four  or  five  years  later 
he  went  to  Hannibal,  Missouri,  and  engaged  in  the 
planing-miU  business  and  contracting.  In  1875  he 
came  to  California,  and  for  a  year  and  a  half  was  en- 
gaged in  stair  building  in  Oakland.  He  then  went 
back  to  Hannibal,  and  from  there  to  Texas,  where  he 
established  planing-mills  at  Austin  and  San  Antonio, 
and  a  brick-yard  at  Laredo.  He  built  the  government 
post-office  building  at  Austin,  and  a  number  of  large 
store  structures  and  residences  in  San  Antonio,  Gold- 


352 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


frank,  Frank  &  Company,  and  the  Withers  and  Ben- 
nett Blocks.  He  also  built  the  Washington  County 
Court  House  at  Brenham,  and  additions  to  the  Deaf 
and  Dumb  and  Blind  Asylums  at  Austin,  and  the 
Milmo  Bank  and  other  buildings  at  Laredo.  His 
last  contract  was  the  opera  house  at  Saltillo,  Mexico. 
Having  closed  out  his  business  interests  in  that  region, 
he  came  to  California,  braight  his  beautiful  residence 
place,  and  moved  there  in  May,  1887. 

His  home  place  is  one  of  the  most  attractive  on 
the  Monterey  road.  It  is  bordered  in  front  with  an 
evergreen  wall,  beautifully  cut  and  trimmed,  and  a 
similar  wall  incloses  the  walk,  which  widens  out  be- 
fore reaching  the  house,  enclosing  a  fountain  and 
flower  beds.  There  are  ten  acres  here,  planted  in 
fruit  in  1879.  The  trees,  which  are  healthy  and  pro- 
ductive, are  principally  apricots,  though  there  are 
many  choice  prunes,  plums,  pears,  a  few  peaches,  etc. 
A  steam  engine  of  six-horse-power  does  the  pumping 
necessary  for  irrigation.  The  residence  is  a  handsome 
one,  built  in  1875.  Mr.  Waite  has  another  place  of 
twenty  acres,  three  miles  from  Santa  Clara,  on  the 
San  Francisco  road.  Here  there  are  six  acres  in 
apricots,  prunes,  egg  plums,  etc.,  six  acres  in  fine 
wine  grapes,  and  four  in  choice  table  varieties.  No 
irrigation  is  required  at  this  place.  It  has  a  good 
four-room  house,  and  is  altogether  an  attractive  and 
valuable  place. 

Mr.  Waite  was  married  in  Hannibal,  Missouri,  to 
Miss  Mary  Ann  Wilkes,  a  native  of  Detroit,  Michigan. 
They  have  one  son,  William. 

In  politics  Mr.  Waite  is  a  Republican. 


^gONARD  HART,  one  of  the  old  settlers  of  Santa 
^  Clara  County,  is  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  born 
@H=  in  Berks  County,  February  22,  1825,  his  parents 
being  John  and  Anna  (Coppas)  Hart,  both  of 
whom  were  native  Pennsylvanians.  When  Conard 
was  in  his  fifth  year  his  parents  removed  to  Pickaway 
County,  Ohio,  and  there  he  was  reared  and  learned 
the  tailor's  trade,  seven  miles  east  of  Circleville.  In 
1843  the  family  removed  to  Jay  County,  Indiana,  and 
there  the  parents  lived  until  their  death.  One  year 
after  their  removal  there,  however,  Conard  went  back 
to  Ohio,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade  three  years, 
then  removed  to  Logansport,  Indiana,  where  he  ac- 
quired property  and  pursued  his  trade.  In  1853  he 
started  by  team  for  California,  crossed  the  Wabash 
at  Atiica,  then  through  Bloomington,  Illinois,  crossing 


the  Mississippi  at  Fort  Madison,  Iowa,  and  the  Mis- 
souri at  St.  Joseph.  Accompanying  him  were  two 
other  wagons  with  their  occupants,  also  from  Logans- 
port.  They  took  the  route  by  Sublette's  cut-off,  and 
arrived  at  Grizzly  Flat,  California,  July  11,  after  a 
trip  of  seventy-two  days.  After  about  a  month,  he 
started  on  his  travels,  going  in  succession  to  Sacra- 
mento, Nichols,  Foster's  Bar  on  Yuba  River,  Napa 
Valley,  thence  to  Portland,  Oregon  (that  place  being 
then  a  mere  hamlet),  from  there  up  the  Willamette 
River  as  far  as  Eugene  City,  and  on  the  first  of  Sep- 
tember, 1853,  he  started  for  San  Jose. 

On  his  arrival,  he  went  to  work  on  the  very  tract 
of  land  where  he  now  resides,  and  seven  years  later 
had  accumulated  enough  money  to  buy  and  pay  for 
it.  This  trad  consists  of  forty-seven  and  one-half 
acres,  hardly  three-fourths  of  a  mile  from  the  city 
limits  of  San  Jose.  When  he  came  here  it  was  wild 
land  without  even  a  fence,  but  it  is  now  one  of  the 
most  productive  places  in  the  county.  From  thirty 
acres  he  cut  about  100  tons  of  hay.  He  has  nearly 
twelve  acres  in  fruit,  planted  in  1885,  and  all  showing 
splendid  progress.  There  are  about  900  French 
prunes,  200  apricots,  and  300  yellow  egg  plums. 
These  trees  are  said  by  competent  judges  to  be  as 
fine  as  any  in  the  State.  Mr.  Hart  raises  about  fifty 
tons  of  beets  on  five  acres,  and  ten  tons  of  carrots. 
From  some  of  his  old  apple-trees  he  has  picked 
twenty-two  boxes  per  tree,  and  from  a  single  Winter 
Nelis  pear-tree,  twelve  to  fifteen  boxes.  The  present 
residence  was  built  in  i860.  Mr.  Hart  was  married 
in  that  year  to  Mrs.  Margaret  A.  Funk,  a  native  of 
Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania.  Mrs.  Hart  died  in  De- 
cember, 1879,  and  left  one  child. 

Mr.  Hart  is,  politically,  a  stanch  Republican. 

— >^§ 

?!&ARTIAL  COTfLE,  of  San  Jose  Township, 
S^flft  comes  of  one  of  the  old  Santa  Clara  County 
^^  families.  He  was  born  in  Lincoln  County,  Mis- 
I  souri,  July  24,  1833.  His  father,  Edward  Cottle, 
was  a  native  of  Vermont,  who  emigrated  to  Mis- 
souri in  I  Si  I,  locating  in  Lincoln  County,  among  the 
early  settlers.  There  he  was  married  to  Miss  Celia 
Jamison,  who  was  a  native  of  Kentucky.  The  family 
left  Missouri,  April,  1854,  and,  joining  a  wagon  train, 
crossed  the  plains  to  California,  driving  some  600 
head  of  cattle  and  a  number  of  horses.  They  came 
directly  to  Santa  Clara  County,  arriving  in  San  Jose 
on  the  eleventh  of  October.     They  located  along  the 


.A-^      0-^^^^^^. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


353 


banks  of  the  Coyote,  and  the  parents  resided  in  this 
county  until  their  deaths.  The  father  died  in  July, 
1868,  and  the  mother  in  the  fall  of  1855.  They  are 
buried  in  Oak  Hill  Cemetery.  Mr.  Cottle  was  an 
old-line  Whig  in  the  days  of  that  party,  and  afterward 
a  Republican. 

Martial  Cottle,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  remained 
with  his  parents  some  time  after  their  arrival.  He 
commenced  farming  on  a  portion  of  the  Santa  Teresa 
Ranch,  in  which  his  father  was  the  first  to  purchase 
an  individual  interest,  and  subsequently  had  his  share 
allotted.  His  present  home  farm  is  a  portion  of  this 
grant,  and  he  has  made  all  the  improvements  on  it, 
including  fencing.  His  handsome  residence  was 
erected  in  1883,  at  a  cost  of  $3,000.  His  ranch  con- 
tains 350  acres,  and  is  only  about  three  miles  from 
San  Jose.  He  usually  cuts  about  150  acres  for  grain, 
and  the  wheat  yield  averages  between  fifteen  and 
twenty  centals  per  acre.  The  remainder  of  the  place 
is  devoted  to  pasture,  which  yields  from  one  and 
one-half  to  two  tons  to  the  acre.  He  was  formerly 
interested  in  dairying,  but  since  1885  has  been 
almost  entirely  out  of  this  line.  He  has  185  acres  in 
another  tract,  adjoining  the  Monterey  road,  which  is 
devoted  to  grain  and  pasture.  He  usually  runs  about 
seventy-five  head  of  cattle  and  twenty  of  horses. 

Mr.  Cottle  was  married,  in  this  county,  to  Miss 
Edith  Littlefield,  a  native  of  Santa  Clara  County, 
and  daughter  of  John  Littlefield,  an  old  settler.  Both 
her  parents  died  in  this  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cottle 
have  four  children,  viz.:  Lcora,  Mabel,  Martial,  and 
Mortimer. 

In  politics  Mr.  Cottle  is  a  stanch  Republican. 


p||OHN  SNYDER  was  born  in  Harrison  County, 
^  Indiana,  February  11,  1S2S.  His  father,  Joseph 
'"■^  K.  Snyder,  was  a  native  of  Philadelphia,  where 
he  was  reared  and  married  to  Sarah  Fleming,  a  na- 
tive of  France,  who  came  to  Philadelphia  with  her 
parents  when  she  was  a  mere  child.  They  afterward 
emigrated  to  Indiana  and  were  pioneers  of  that  State. 
It  was  about  1820-21  when  they  settled  in  Laconia, 
Harrison  County,  and  they  lived  in  that  county  until 
the  fall  of  1839.  They  then  moved  to  what  was  af- 
terward Tipton,  Cedar  County,  Iowa,  where  they 
lived  the  remainder  of  their  life-time.  They  reared  a 
family  of  eight  children,  five  daughters  and  three  sons, 
of  whom  three  sons  and  one  daughter  are  now  living. 
John  Snyder  remained  with  his  parents  until  he  was 
45 


twenty-one  years  old.  In  the  spring  of  1849  he 
made  the  trip  to  California,  coming  overland,  there 
being  two  wagons  in  the  party  when  they  started. 
At  the  Missouri  River  they  were  joined  by  others, 
but  while  traveling  over  the  country  some  of  the 
party  were  slow  in  their  movements,  while  the  two 
wagons  belonging  to  Mr.  Snyder's  party,  together 
with  another  one  making  faster  time,  soon  outstripped 
the  others,  and  stayed  together  during  the  remainder 
of  the  journey.  With  the  party  was  Mr.  Snyder's 
father  and  his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Moses  Bunker,  but 
they,  however,  soon  after  returned  to  Iowa.  The 
party  came  into  the  State  where  Chico  is  now  located, 
and  from  there,  in  the  fall  of  1849,  went  to  Shasta, 
or  where  that  city  now  is,  which  at  that  time  was 
called  Redding  Springs.  Mr.  Snyder  worked  in  the 
mines  there  until  the  following  April,  when  he  went 
on  to  Trinity,  and  mined  there  a  part  of  the  spring. 
At  this  place  a  party  was  organized  to  go  down  to 
Humboldt  Bay  after  provisions  for  the  camp.  Also 
a  prospecting  tour  was  made  from  Trinity,  where  a 
trail  was  laid  to  the  Salmon  River;  there  they  mined 
a  short  time  and  then  returned  to  Trinity,  where 
Weaverville  is  now  located.  There  they  organized 
another  expedition,  commanded  by  a  man  named 
John  Ross.  The  result  of  this  expedition  was  the 
discovery  of  Scott  River.  History  records  the  event 
as  the  river  being  discovered  by  a  man  named  Scott; 
but  the  truth  of  the  matter  is,  it  was  first  seen  by  Mr. 
Snyder's  party,  and  they,  having  trouble  with  the 
Pawnees,  who  had  stolen  a  part  of  their  horses,  were 
in  pursuit  of  the  Indians,  trying  to  recover  their  lost 
horses,  when  they  came  across  Scott  and  his  party, 
whom  they  told  of  the  river,  whereupon  Scott  turned 
his  course  in  that  direction  and  made  it  known  that 
he  discovered  it. 

After  spending  some  time  in  the  recovery  of  their 
horses,  Mr.  Snyder  and  his  party  returned  to  Trinity 
after  supplies,  when  they  made  another  trip  to  Scott 
River  and  spent  .some  time  in  mining  at  Scott's  Bar, 
where  they  took  out  considerable  gold.  Bad  weather 
set  in,  and  the  party  left  and  followed  the  course  of 
the  river  up  nearly  to  its  head,  where  they  left  it  and 
went  off  in  the  direction  where  Fort  Jones  is  now  lo- 
cated, then  went  toward  Shasta  Butte  and  came  to 
the  Oregon  trail.  Here  the  party  broke  camp;  some 
going  to  Oregon  and  others,  including  Mr.  Snyder, 
came  down  to  Sacramento.  From  there  he  came  to 
San  Jose,  and  stayed  in  that  vicinity  about  two 
months,  when  he  went  down  to  the  lower  Redwoods, 
back  of  where  Searsville  is  now  located,  and  worked 


354 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD:' 


there  until  the  winter  of  1S50-51.  Returning  to 
Santa  Clara  County  the  following  spring,  he  remained 
here  until  Februarj',  1852,  during  which  time  he  had 
a  severe  sickness.  He  then  returned  to  the  Red- 
woods lower  down  than  where  he  was  at  first,  and 
worked  there  until  the  fall  of  1854.  In  1855  lie  re- 
turned to  Santa  Clara  County,  and  commenced  farm- 
ing and  running  a  threshing-machine,  and  has  fol- 
lowed farming  since.  In  the  fall  of  1855  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Martha  Kifer.  He  continued  farming  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Santa  Clara  until  the  fall  of  1859, 
when  he  sold  and  bought  a  farm  near  Mountain  View, 
and  lived  there  until  1865. 

His  present  place  he  bought  in  1861,  which  is  sit- 
uated four  miles  from  Mountain  View  Station,  and 
now  contains  800  acres.  The  original  purchase  was 
1,160  acres.  In  1862  he  put  in  the  first  crop,  which 
yielded  sufificient  returns  to  pay  for  one-half  of  the  land. 
This  was  about  the  first  grain-raising  in  this  section, 
as  the  old  settlers  thought  grain  could  not  be  raised 
here  without  irrigation ;  however,  after  the  successful 
experiment  of  Mr.  Snyder,  it  was  not  long  before  it 
was  followed  by  others;  He  has  from  450  to  500 
acres  under  cultivation.  Twenty-five  acres  are  in 
orchard,  mostly  in  French  prunes;  and  he  also  has 
sixteen  acres  in  vineyard,  all  in  good  bearing  condi- 
tion. Mr.  Snyder  has  eighty  acres  in  the  Collins 
School  District,  which  is  all  in  vineyard.  The  farm 
where  he  lived  near  Mountain  View,  which  he  yet 
owns,  contains  160  acres,  which  is  devoted  to  hay 
production.  In  the  fall  of  1866  Mr.  Snyder  and  his 
brother-in-law,  Mr.  Kifer,  went  to  the  Salinas  Valley, 
in  Monterey  County,  and  bought  400  acres  of  land 
together,  after  which  they  made  other  purchases 
until  they  owned  over  1,200  acres.  The  first  purchase 
was  put  into  wheat,  and  the  first  two  years  it  yielded 
twenty -two  sacks  to  the  acre.  They  then  divided  the 
property,  Mr.  Kifer  taking  the  original  400  acres,  and 
Mr.  Snyder  the  other  purchases,  which  amounted  to 
850  acres.  Since  that  time  Mr.  Snyder  has  sold  part 
of  it,  having  at  the  present  time  300  acres  in  that 
valley.  In  the  winter  of  1880  Mr.  Snyder,  together 
with  two  others,  bought  a  half  interest  in  what  is 
called  the  Mountaineer,  a  quartz  mine  near  Nevada 
City.  The  mine  was  located,  but  had  not  been  de- 
veloped until  the  present  parties  came  into  its  pos- 
session. The  other  members  of  the  company  not 
being  financially  able,  Mr.  Snyder,  at  his  own  ex- 
pense, built  a  mill  on  the  property  in  1882.  He  still 
owns  a  one-sixth  interest  in  the  mine,  which  has  been 
a  paying  investment. 


IjlRUCE  A.  BASSETT,  deceased,  came  with  his 
<sW  family  to  Santa  Clara  County,  in  1882.  He 
J^  was  a  native  of  Ohio,  born  at  Milan,  Erie  County, 
August  3,  1834,  his  parents  being  Cornelius  and 
Clarissa  (McKinney)  Bassett,  both  natives  of  New 
York  State.  He  was  reared  to  farm  life  and  followed 
that  vocation.  He  was  married,  in  Ohio,  to  Miss 
Weltha  L.  Taylor,  a  native  of  Erie  County,  and 
daughter  of  Julius  H.  and  Aurilla  (Allen)  Taylor. 
Her  father  was  born  in  Ohio,  and  her  mother  in  New 
York  State,  but  she  was  reared  in  Ohio  from  her 
thirteenth  year.  In  1882  the  family  came  to  Califor- 
nia, and  in  August  of  that  year  Mr.  Bassett  purchased 
a  ranch  of  134  acres  in  the  hill  country  east  of  San 
Jose,  where  the  family  now  reside.  Here  he  followed 
farming  until  his  death,  which  occurred  on  the  sixth 
of  March,  1887.  Mr.  Bassett  was  an  intelligent  and 
active  man;  was  a  brother  of  the  Superintendent  of 
the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad,  Northern  Division. 
He  was  a  Republican  in  his  political  views.  Mrs. 
Bassett  has  three  children:  Arthur  T.,  Linn  A.,  and 
Clara  A. 

.^OHN  FRANCIS  LEWIS,  Superintendent  of  the 
®^  winery  and  vineyard  at  Palo  Alto  Ranch,  is  a  man 
^  of  no  ordinary  attainments.  He  is  a  native  of 
South  Carolina,  born  in  Charleston,  his  parents  be- 
ing John  and  Cloelia  J.  (Costa  Magna)  Lewis,  both  of 
whom  were  also  born  in  Charleston.  J.  F.  Lewis  was 
reared  in  his  native  city  until  ten  years  of  age,  when 
he  was  sent  to  Europe  to  be  educated,  and  there  re- 
ceived the  advantages  of  those  celebrated  institutions 
of  learning,  the  Royal  Polytechnic  School  at  Dresden 
and  the  Royal  Academy  of  Mines  at  Freiberg.  From 
Germany  he  came  to  California,  in  1862.  He  remained 
in  San  Francisco  a  short  time,  then  went  to  Virginia 
City,  Nevada,  and  there  entered  upon  the  duties  of 
mining  engineering.  He  became  connected  with  the 
Western  Union  Telegraph  expedition,  having  charge 
of  surveying  parties  until  the  expedition  disbanded  in 
1867.  He  became  assistant  to  General  B.  S.  Alexan- 
der, President  of  the  Board  of  Engineers  for  the  Pa- 
cific Coast,  and  was  associated  with  him  until  the 
latter  part  of  1878.  In  1879  he  bought  a  vineyard 
and  winery  at  Vine  Hill,  Santa  Cruz  County,  and  en- 
gaged in  the  business  of  raising  grapes  and  making 
wine.  In  1S82  the  firm  of  Lewis  &  Hindcs  was 
formed,  and  they  carried  on  the  wine-making  busi- 
ness at  Saratoga  until  1886.     Mr.  Lewis  then  assumed 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


355 


the  superintendency  of  the  Los  Gatos  Co-operative 
Winery,  which  engaged  his  attention  until  he  took 
his  present  position  in  the  following  year. 

Mr.  Lewis  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was 
Fannie  Eleanor  Hindes.  She  died  in  1S84.  By  this 
marriage  there  were  two  children:  Alvin  Francis  and 
Joseph  Hindes.  His  present  wife  was  formerly  Miss 
N.  B.  Moutrey,  a  native  of  Santa  Clara  County.  Her 
father  was  Riley  Moutrey,  the  man  who  saved  the 
Donner  party.  By  this  marriage  there  is  one  child 
Nancy  Belle. 


ISRANCIS  L.  CORCORAN,  Superintendent  of 
S^  the  farming  operations  at  Palo  Alto  Ranch,  is  a 
^  native  of  Wisconsin,  born  in  Washington  County, 
February  2,  1852,  his  parents  being  Michael  and  Ann 
Corcoran.  His  father  settled  in  that  county  in  1845, 
with  the  pioneers.  In  1865  the  parents  moved  to 
Fond  du  Lac  County,  that  State,  locating  near  the 
city  of  Fond  du  Lac,  where  Francis  L.  remained  un- 
til 1878,  when  he  came  to  California,  locating  at 
Stockton.  In  February,  1883,  he  came  to  Menlo 
Park  Ranch,  and  was  soon  appointed  to  his  present 
position.  He  was  married  in  this  county  to  Miss 
Mary  F.  Smith,  a  native  of  Santa  Clara,  and  daughter 
of  Joseph  Smith,  deceased,  an  old  settler.  They  have 
one  child,  Lorene  Frances.  Mr.  Corcoran  is  a  pleas- 
ant and  agreeable  gentleman,  of  superior  intelligence, 
and  well  qualified  for  the  management  of  the  impor- 
tant interests  placed  in  his  care. 


tHARLES  MARVIN,  the  noted  expert  who  has 
-..  charge  of  the  trotting  ranch  at  Palo  Alto  farm,  is 
q^f  a  native  of  New  York,  born  in  Genesee  County, 
in  1839.  In  1844  his  parents  moved  westward, 
locating  at  Lowell,  Michigan.  At  the  age  of  twelve 
he  commenced  a  residence  in  Central  Illinois,  and  in 
1856  went  to  Clinton,  Iowa.  From  there  he  went  to 
Pike's  Peak,  in  i860.  In  the  second  year  of  the  war 
he  offered  his  services  to  the  Union  cause,  and  was 
assigned  to  the  Second  Colorado  regiment,  as  a  mem- 
ber of  which  he  served  until  the  close  of  hostilities, 
though  most  of  the  time  on  special  duty,  and  in  the 
capacity  of  a  scout.  In  this  line  of  duty  his  personal 
courage  and  quickness  of  decision  stood  him  in  good 
stead.  In  1865  he  removed  to  Kansas  City,  where  he 
picked  up  a  couple  of  runners  and  commenced  train- 
in"-  race  horses.      His  success  attracted  the  attention 


of  P.  B.  Gardner,  a  liveryman  of  Kansas  City,  and  the 
latter  engaged  his  services,  about  the  close  of  the  year 
1865.  He  remained  in  Mr.  Gardner's  employ  about 
two  years,  and  was  especially  successful  in  converting 
pacers  to  a  trotting  gait.  In  1867  he  went  to  Mexico, 
where  he  remained  two  years.  Returning  to  Kansas 
City,  a  partnership  was  formed  between  Mr.  Marvin 
and  E.  L.  Mitchell,  Mr.  Marvin  again  developing 
some  trotters  and  pacers.  In  1872  they  removed  to 
Olathe,  Kansas,  constructed  a  track,  and  commenced 
training  on  a  larger  scale.  During  that  year  a  Mr. 
Morgan  brought  to  Olathe  a  big  brown  pacer  to  be 
trained,  having  concluded  to  make  a  trotter  of  him. 
This  horse  was  Smuggler.  On  the  ninth  of  August 
Mr.  Marvin  commenced  to  teach  him  the  trotting 
gait,  and  soon  found  that  all  his  patience  would  be  re- 
quired in  the  task.  On  the  twenty-eighth  the  horse 
struck  the  trotting  step,  and  twenty-one  days  there- 
after he  trotted  two  consecutive  mile  heats  in  2:32^ 
and  2:30)^  respectively.  The  next  spring  $10,000 
was  offered  for  the  horse,  but  refused,  and  he  was  sold 
the  same  year  for  $30,000,  and  five  years  later,  by 
Colonel  Russell,  of  Boston,  for  $40,000.  The  career 
of  Smuggler  was  always  a  matter  of  special  interest 
to  Mr.  Marvin,  who  it  is  safe  to  say  never  knew  a 
prouder  day  than  that  on  which  he  drove  Smuggler  in 
that  great  race  in  which  he  beat  Goldsmith  Maid,  the 
acknowledged  Queen  of  the  Turf  In  the  winter  of 
1877-78  Mr.  Marvin  took  Smuggler  to  California,  but 
the  great  horse  went  wrong,  and  was  shipped  to  his 
Eastern  home,  while  Mr.  Marvin  remained  in  Cali- 
fornia. He  offered  his  services  to  Governor  Stanford 
on  trial,  and  that  they  have  been  appreciated  by  the 
latter  is  evinced  by  the  great  confidence  he  has  in  the 
manager  of  his  trotting  interests.  His  reputation  in 
his  profession  is  evidenced  by  the  following  testi- 
monial from  Col.  H.  S.  Russell,  owner  of  Smuggler, 
with  whom  he  was  so  long  associated,  in  a  published 
letter  to  the  editor  of  the  Breeders'  Gazette: — 

"In  addition  to  your  very  just  praise  of  Charles 
Marvin  as  a  driver,  I  beg  leave  to  give  my  testimony 
of  him  as  a  man.  Not  only  the  horse,  but  the  owner 
as  well,  may  have  every  confidence  in  him.  If  the 
trotting  interests  of  the  country  had  been  piloted  by 
such  men  as  he,  there  would  have  been  more  honest 
owners  in  the  field  to-day,  and  the  better  part  of  our 
citizens  would  be  ready  to  encourage,  rather  than  sus- 
pect, the  motives  which  prompt  capital  to  invest  in  a 
pastime  which  unfortunately  has  been  shamefully 
abused." 

Mr.   Marvin  was  married,  in   Kansas  City,  to  Mi.ss 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF   THE    WORLD." 


Fannie  Martin,  a  lady  of  much  intelligence  and  refine- 
ment. She  is  a  native  of  Waukegan,  Illinois,  and 
daughter  of  Daniel  and  Didana  Martin.  Her  parents, 
who  were  formerly  from  the  village  of  Hartford, 
Washington  County,  New  York,  located  in  Chicago 
among  its  early  settlers,  when  there  were  hardly  a 
dozen  little  cabins  to  mark  the  site  of  that  now  won- 
derful city.  After  a  residence  of  three  years  at 
Chicago,  they  removed  to  Waukegan,  Lake  County, 
Illinois,  and  there  remained  thirteen  years.  From 
there  they  removed  to  Bates  County,  Missouri,  during 
the  excitement  of  the  Missouri-Kansas  border  troub- 
les, and  the  family,  who  were  the  only  Free-Soilers  in 
the  community,  fared  none  too  well  in  their  own  home. 
After  three  years  of  residence  there,  they  removed  to 
Osawatomie,  Kansas,  the  home  of  John  Brown.  Mrs. 
Marvin  well  remembers  the  old  hero,  who  was  a  fre- 
quent visitor  at  the  Martin  homestead  and  a  warm 
friend  on  account  of  their  antislavery  sympathies. 
When  the  Civil  War  came  on,  four  of  her  brothers 
offered  their  services  in  behalf  of  their  country's  flag, 
and  one  of  them,  who  was  also  a  member  of  the  Kan- 
sas Legislature,  was  killed  in  defense  of  the  Union,  at 
Bridgeport,  Alabama,  in  1865.  The  father  of  Mrs. 
Marvin  died  in  1858,  and  her  mother  in  1884.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Marvin  were  the  parents  of  four  children,  of 
whom  one,  Addie,  died  at  the  age  of  two  years.  Those 
living  are:    Howard,  Jessie,  and  Charles,  Jr. 


->H>-^; 


M 


H^-< 


f^mA  F.  TAAFFE.  One  of  the  most  extensive  farm- 
SfffB^  ers  in  Santa  Clara  County  is  the  young  gentle- 
man whose  name  heads  this  sketch,  and  who 
manages  3,000  acres  of  the  Taaffe  Ranch,  three 
miles  from  Mountain  View.  To  cultivate  this  amount 
is  a  large  undertaking  for  one  individual,  but  every- 
thing about  the  place  indicates  good  management 
and  commendable  care  and  attention.  In  1888  he  cut 
about  1,000  acres  for  hay,  averaging  two  tons  to  the 
acre.  Five  hundred  acres  of  wheat  averaged  between 
twelve  and  fifteen  sacks  to  the  acre.  The  land  is  very 
productive,  and  in  particularly  favorable  years  this 
average  is  largely  increased.  The  ranch,  which  occu- 
pies a  beautiful  location,  is  watered  by  the  San  Anto- 
nio or  "  Adobe  "  Creek,  and  by  a  number  of  large  and 
never-failing  springs.  About  sixty  head  of  horses  are 
usually  kept  on  the  place,  mostly  Norman  stock. 

Mr.  William  Taaffe,  who  has  given  his  personal  at- 
tention to  this  place  since  the  spring  of  1887,  is  a 
native  of  San  Francisco,  born  July  16,  1864.      He  was 


reared  at  the  Bay  View  Farm,  in  Santa  Clara  County, 
and  received  his  education  at  St.  Mary's,  and  at  Santa 
Clara  College,  at  which  he  graduated  in  1884.  After 
completing  his  education  he  superintended  the  Bay 
View  Farm  until  he  came  to  his  present  home  place. 
Mr.  Taaffe  is  a  son  of  William  P.  and  Elizabeth  Yuba 
(Murphy)  Taaffe,  mentioned  elsewhere  in  this  volume. 
He  is  a  grandson  of  Martin  Murphy,  Sr.,  that  grand 
pioneer  who  left  as  a  heritage  to  his  descendants  a 
name  which  will  always  be  revered  in  the  history  of 
the  Golden  State.  In  its  proper  place  in  this  book 
his  life  history  is  given,  with  the  account  of  the  party 
he  led  to  this  coast,  and  to  whom  Santa  Clara  County 
owes  so  much  of  gratitude.  Mr.  Taaffe  was  married, 
in  San  Francisco,  in  April,  1887,  to  Miss  M.  J.  Dunne, 
a  native  of  that  city,  and  daughter  of  Peter  F.  Dunne, 
of  San  Francisco.  She  also  comes  of  one  of  the  his- 
toric families  of  this  county.  In  politics  Mr.  Taaffe 
is  a  Democrat. 


^APTAIN  CHARLES  GORDON  WILSON, 
^^  of  Fremont  Township,  is  a  native  of  Sydney, 
T  Australia,  born  May  17,  1846.  His  father,  W.  C. 
Wilson,  was  a  baker  by  trade.  His  mother  died  when 
he  was  a  child  of  three  years,  and  in  1849  the  father 
and  family  sailed  for  California,  landing  at  San  Fran- 
cisco, where  they  located,  and  there  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  reared.  A  nautical  life  had  been  his  dream 
from  childhood,  and  when  but  twelve  years  of  age  he 
commenced  his  career  on  the  bay  as  master  and  owner 
of  the  Advance,  a  five-ton  vessel,  which  served  his  pur- 
pose for  eight  years,  and  was  then  succeeded  by  a 
larger  vessel,  the  An?iie  Harley.  In  1876  he  built  the 
schooner  Charles  G.  Wilson,  at  Wilson's  Landing. 
Here  was  also  constructed  \^e  Marie  Chevalier,  which 
he  operated  in  the  bay  trade  for  seven  years.  Captain 
Wilson  has  been  owner  of  every  vessel  he  has  been 
connected  with  in  the  thirty  years  of  his  experience 
in  the  bay  and  coast  trade,  and  in  reality  master, 
though  of  course  he  could  not  take  out  master's  papers 
liutil  he  had  reached  the  age  of  twenty-one  years. 
The  landing,  which  is  known  by  his  name,  is  by  the 
junction  of  three  counties, — Alameda,  San  Mateo, 
and  Santa  Clara, — and  here  the  captain  has  four  acres 
of  land.  He  has  commodious  warehouse  buildings, 
with  a  capacity  of  9,000  bales  of  hay.  The  ship- 
ments from  the  landing  will  average  between  700  and 
1,000  tons  per  annum.  He  has  a  beautiful  residence 
place  in  Santa  Clara  County.     It  contains  five  acres, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


357 


and  is  situated  three  miles  from  Mayfield,  by  the 
county  road.  All  the  improvements  have  been  made 
by  him,  and  the  place  now  presents  a  tasteful  and 
ornamental  appearance.  He  has  about  seventy-five 
fruit-trees  of  different  varieties,  planted  in  1S85,  and 
about  sixt}'  vines;  both  fruit  and  vines  are  for  family 
use. 

Captain  Wilson  was  married,  at  San  Francisco,  on 
Thanksgiving  Eve,  1881,  to  Miss  Mary  Nicholson,  a 
native  of  San  Francisco,  and  daughter  of  John  Nichol- 
son, who  came  to  this  coast  in  1849,  and  afterward 
embarked  in  mercantile  life  in  San  Francisco.  Polit- 
ically, the  Captain  is  a  Republican. 


fHARLES  B.  FOLHEMUS  was  born  in  Bur- 
lington County,  New  Jersey,  in  1818.  He  at- 
(a)|°  tended  school  until  twelve  years  of  age,  when  he 
began  to  learn  the  drug  business,  at  which  he 
served  four  years,  receiving  his  diploma  as  a  pharma- 
cist. In  February,  1836,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  he 
went  to  South  America,  and  lived  in  Valparaiso, 
Guayaquil,  Lima,  and  Payta,  at  the  latter  place  being 
United  States  Consul  for  four  years.  He  was  in  the 
commission  business  in  these  different  places  as  clerk, 
book-keeper,  and  at  Payta  as  principal  of  an  estab- 
lishment. When  the  gold  fever  broke  out  in  Cali- 
fornia, Mr.  Polhemus  came  here  and  established  a 
branch  of  Alsop  &  Co.,  of  New  York  and  South 
America,  one  of  the  largest  American  houses  in  South 
America.  In  this  house  he  continued  fourteen  years, 
doing  a  commission  and  banking  business.  In  1864 
he  became  interested  with  Donahue,  Newhall  &  Pol- 
hemus, in  the  San  Francisco  and  San  Jose  Railroad, 
which  they  guaranteed  and  subsequently  owned. 
This  they  worked  up  to  1867  (in  the  meantime  build- 
ing a  branch  to  Gilroy),  when  they  sold  out  to  Stan- 
ford, Huntington,  Hopkins  &  Co.,  now  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad.  In  becoming  interested  in  this  road, 
he  had  to  purchase  the  ranch  of  Commodore  Stock- 
ton, comprising  about  2,000  acres,  of  which  he  still 
owns  no  acres,  half  of  it  being  in  the  city  of  San 
Jose.  He  has  several  ranches  in  the  county,  aggre- 
gating about  1,000  acres  of  the  most  valuable  land  in 
the  county,  much  of  it  being  in  San  Jose.  Between 
1850  and  i860  Mr.  Polhemus  was  Consul  in  San  Fran- 
cisco for  Chili,  and  also  for  Peru. 

Mr.  Polhemus  lives  on  Stockton  Avenue,  in  a  house 
brought  from  New  York  city,  in  1849  or  1850,  with 
si.xteen  other  houses  brought  at  the  same  time  around 


Cape  Horn  by  Commodore  Stockton.  They  were 
built  of  first-class  material,  in  sections,  and  set  up  on 
their  arrival  in  California. 

Mr.  Polhemus  was  married,  in  1852,  to  Miss  Matilda 
Murphy,  a  native  of  New  York,  now  dead.  To  this 
marriage  three  children  were  born,  one  of  whom  died 
in  infancy.  Those  living  are;  Mary  Josephine  and 
George  B.  Mr.  Polhemus  is  a  member  of  Lodge 
No.  14,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  Mount  Holly,  New  Jersey,  a 
lodge  of  which  his  father  was  one  of  the  founders. 
His  father  was  Montgomery  Polhemus,  a  merchant 
and  land-owner  in  New  Jersey,  son  of  Major  John  Pol- 
hemus, a  soldier  of  the  Revolutionary  Army.  In 
Mr.  Polhemus'  drawing-room  hangs  a  steel  engraving 
of  his  grandfather,  a  fine-looking  old  gentleman  in  the 
dress  of  that  time,  with  the  following  inscription: 
"  Major  John  Polhemus,  U.  S.  A.,  Commissioned  as  a 
Captain  by  Order  of  Congress,  Nov.  22,  1775 ;  pro- 
moted to  a  Majority  at  Valley  Forge.  The  Jersey 
Blues,  organized  by  his  father-in-law,  John  Hart,  a 
signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  found  a 
patriotic  commander  in  him."  He  was  born  May  25, 
1738,  and  died  on  the  ninety-fourth  anniversary  of 
that  day!  Mr.  Polhemus'  mother  was  Miss  Ann  Van 
Zant,  a  native  of  Baltimore,  Maryland,  who  died  in 
1842. 

In  1867  Mr.  Polhemus  negotiated  for  himself  and 
three  associates  the  purchase  of  180,000  acres  of  land 
in  Los  Angeles  and  San  Bernardino  Counties,  at  $1.50 
per  acre,  of  which  they  have  sold  20,000  acres.  They 
are  still  selling  this  land  in  bodies  at  from  $20  to  $50 
per  acre. 


>H>H 


'A<-<-<~ 


>DOLPH  PFISTER.  This  gentleman,  one  of 
the  earliest  California  pioneers,  came  to  this 
State  in  1847,  in  Colonel  Stevenson's  regiment. 
This  regiment  was  intended  for  the  conquest  of 
ifornia  and  for  its  later  colonization,  the  troops 
taking  along  not  only  their  muskets  and  arms,  but 
implements  of  agriculture.  It  was  brought  around 
Cape  Horn  in  three  vessels  chartered  by  the  United 
States  for  the  transportation  of  this  expedition,  viz.: 
the  Tliomas  Perkins,  Susan  True,  and  the  Loo-choo. 
The  former  vessel,  on  which  Mr.  Pfister  embarked, 
arrived  February,  1847,  being  the  first  ship  of  the  ex- 
pedition to  reach  San  Francisco.  This  regiment  re- 
mained in  service  until  the  fall  of  1848.  Part  of  it  went 
to  Lower  California,  having  some  engagements  with 
the  Mexicans,  and  part  went  to  fight  the  Indians  in 


358 


PEN  PICTURES   FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


the  San  Joaquin  Valley.  Mr.  Pfister  was  with  the 
Regimental  Band  at  this  time  at  IVIonterey,  the  State 
capital.  The  regiment  was  mustered  out  of  service 
in  1848,  about  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  gold  by 
Marshall,  and  Mr.  Pfister  went  to  the  mines  in  El 
Dorado  County,  usually  returning  with  pockets  full  of 
gold  in  the  winter  to  San  Jose.  But  in  the  spring  of 
1849,  perceiving  that  the  population  would  be  much 
increased  by  the  discovery  of  gold,  and  that  other  in- 
terests would  prosper,  Mr.  Pfister  built  a  hotel,  com- 
pleting it  in  1850.  He  paid  $500  per  thousand  for 
lumber,  bricks,  and  other  materials  in  proportion. 
This  was  called  the  Washington  Hotel,  and  was  con- 
ducted by  Mr.  Pfister  for  several  years,  after  which 
he  sold  it  to  his  partner  and  engaged  in  the  mer- 
cantile business,  commencing  in  1854,  and  continu- 
ing until  about  18S5.  He  did  a  most  extensive  busi- 
ness, keeping  all  kinds  of  goods  and  supplying  stores 
to  the  farmers.  There  being  no  banks  here  at  the 
time,  Mr.  Pfister  accommodated  many  people  by 
taking  care  of  their  money,  etc.  Many  miners  and 
others  left  money  and  valuables  with  him,  perhaps 
not  calling  for  their  property  for  years,  always  to  find 
their  trust  secure  and  their  valuables   in   good  order. 

Mr.  Pfister  was  born  in  Strasburg,  Alsace,  in  1821, 
attending  the  schools  of  that  section  during  his  youth. 
He  traveled  for  several  years  in  France,  Germany, 
Italy,  and  finally  left  Paris  for  New  York,  arriving  in 
1844,  where  he  remained  two  years  before  joining 
Colonel  Stevenson's  regiment.  He  had  learned  the 
mercantile  business  in  his  father's  and  other  business 
establishments. 

In  1850  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Louisa 
Glein,  a  native  of  Hesse  Cassel,  Germany.  A  brother 
of  Mrs.  Pfister  had  come  to  California  in  1843,  re- 
turning to  Europe  in  1848,  and  taking  with  him  the 
first  gold  ever  taken  from  California  to  Europe.  In 
1850  he  returned  to  California,  bringing  with  him  his 
sister,  who  later  became  the  wife  of  Adolph  Pfister. 
A  pleasing  coincidence  in  this  connection  is  worth 
repeating:  Mr.  Pfister  had  known  Mr.  Glein  intimately 
in  Naples,  Italy,  and  expected  to  meet  him  in  Paris, 
but  happened  to  miss  him,  although  they  lived  on  the 
same  street  for  a  year,  each  seeking  the  other  without 
success.  Imagine  the  surprise  and  gratification  of 
both,  when  in  the  very  first  house  Mr.  Pfister  entered 
in  San  Francisco,  in  1847,  the  first  man  he  met  was 
his  old  friend  Glein  !  This  house  was  a  long,  low 
adobe,  in  which  was  a  hotel,  saloon,  bakery,  etc., 
owned  by  a  man  engaged  in  blacksmithing.  When, 
in  1850,  Mr.  Pfister  married  the  sister  of  his  old  friend. 


there  was  only  one  cliurcli  in  San  Francisco,  and  in 
this  the  ceremony  was  performed.  Six  children  have 
blessed  this  union:  Frank  M.,  now  the  township 
justice  of  San  Jose  Township;  Emily,  residing  with 
her  parents;  Henry  A.,  engaged  in  mercantile  busi- 
ness in  Santa  Clara;  Matilda,  wife  of  Henry  L. 
Schemmel,  of  San  Jose;  Adele,  wife  of  Ernest  Lom- 
ber,  manager  of  Gray's  Music  Store  in  San  Francisco; 
Herman  C,  engaged  in  the  hardware  business. 

Mr.  Pfister  retired  from  business  about  three  years 
ago,  and  now  enjoys  the  results  of  a  well-spent  life. 
He  was  twice  elected  Mayor  of  the  city  of  San  Jose, 
and  with  the  salary  of  that  position  he  founded  the 
San  Jose  Free  Library.  He  has  always  supported 
the  Democratic  party,  voting  for  Douglas  in  the  cam- 
paign of  i860.  He  is  President  of  the  San  Jose  Free 
Library,  and  also  of  the  Paul  O.  Burns  Wine  Com- 
pany. 


^HIEF  JAMES  BRADY.  San  Jose  possesses  a 
^  deservedly  high  reputation  for  the  excellence  of 
(3)1=  her  public  works,  and  for  the  efficiency  with 
which  the  different  departments  of  her  civic 
government  are  carried  on.  One  of  the  most  impor- 
tant of  these  is  the  Fire  Department,  of  which  James 
Brady  is  the  Chief  Engineer.  He  has  been  con- 
nected, for  the  last  thirty  years,  with  the  fire  depart- 
ments of  the  principal  cities  of  the  Union,  including 
Baltimore,  Washington,  and  New  Orleans,  and  for 
the  past  twenty-two  years  continuously  occupying  a 
position  in  connection  with  that  department  in  San 
Jose. 

A  few  words  about  that  department,  which  has 
been  largely  built  up  by  his  assistance,  will  be  in 
point.  It  has  forty-one  men  on  its  pay  roll ;  has  two 
steam  fire-engines;  one  patent  Hayes' truck,  second- 
class;  one  hand  truck  in  reserve;  six  hose-carts,  car- 
rying an  average  of  800  feet  of  hose  apiece,  and  one 
hose-cart  in  reserve,  carrying  650  feet.  The  pay  of 
the  Chief  is  $50  per  month;  of  assistant  engineers, 
$20;  engineers  who  run  engines,  $100.  Drivers  own 
and  feed  their  horses  at  their  own  expense,  and  re- 
ceive $100  per  month.  There  are  127  fire-plugs  be- 
longing to  the  city,  and  two  belonging  to  the  State, 
located  in  the  Normal  School  grounds.  There  are 
also  four  large  water  cisterns  in  central  locations, 
three  of  them  supplied  from  the  city  water  works, 
and  the  other  from  an  artesian  well. 

Chief  Brady  was  born   in   Ireland,  in  the  famous 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


359 


County  of  Cavan.  His  parents  died  when  he  was 
very  young,  and  he  came  with  his  sisters  to  the  city 
of  Baltimore  when  eleven  years  of  ag^e,  and  there 
served  his  time  as  a  painter,  working  at  his  trade  in 
Washington  and  New  Orleans.  Upon  the  outbreak 
of  the  Civil  War,  he  returned  to  Baltimore  and  en- 
rolled himself  in  the  loyal  Maryland  militia,  being 
soon  called  actively  into  service  in  defense  of  the  lines 
before  Washington  and  Baltimore.  The  memorable 
battle  of  Gettysburg  was  one  in  which  Chief  Brady 
took  part.  He  returned  from  the  army  after  the  es- 
tablishment of  peace,  and  in  1866  came  to  California, 
making  his  way  at  once  to  San  Jose.  Here  he  fol- 
lowed his  profession  of  painting,  immediately  joining 
the  Fire  Department,  with  which  he  has  been  ever 
since  connected. 

Chief  Brady  was  married  in  April,  1886,  in  San 
Jose,  to  Miss  Nellie  Owens,  a  native  of  this  city.  He 
is  now  reaping  a  well-merited  reward  for  his  con- 
tinuous labors  and  close  attention  to  both  public  wel- 
fare and  private  busines'^;  is  the  owner  of  considerable 
choice  real  estate,  and  is  esteemed  and  valued  in  all 
circles  of  society.  He  is  a  member  in  good  standing 
of  Knights  of  Labor,  San  Jose  Lodge,  and  also  of 
Enterprise  Lodge,  No.  17,  of  the  A.  O.  U.  W. 


^^ 


-— ->H^H<-4^^— 


.|PREDERIC  W.  KUNZ,  of  the  Wholesale  and 
^^^  Retail  Bottling  Agency  of  the  Fredericksburg 
"t  Brewing  Company,  No.  135  West  Santa  Clara 
Street,  San  Jose,  has  been  in  business  in  San  Jose 
for  eleven  years.  He  was  born  in  Hesse,  Germany, 
in  1848,  where  he  received  his  education  in  the  public 
schools,  and  then  learned  the  trade  of  cabinet-maker. 
At  the  age  of  seventeen  years  he  decided  to  cast  his 
fortunes  in  America,  arriving  in  New  York  in  1S65, 
just  at  the  close  of  the  Rebellion.  He  remained  in 
New  York  State  about  eleven  years,  during  which 
time  he  worked  at  his  trade  of  cabinet-making  six 
months  in  Texas.  In  1877  he  came  to  California  by 
way  of  Panama,  on  which  trip  he  was  wrecked  on  the 
steamer  San  Francisco  between  Panama  and  Acapulco. 
The  passengers  were  rescued  in  life-boats,  coming  on 
the  next  steamer  to  San  Francisco.  He  came  imme- 
diately to  San  Jose,  where  he  has  since  remained. 
He  has,  by  his  careful  work  in  bottling  the  Freder- 
icksburg beer,  and  by  the  completeness  of  all  the  de- 
tails of  his  cellar,  built  up  quite  a  reputation  for  these 
goods,  while  his  personal  integrity  has  made  him 
popular  and  given  him  a  large  trade.     Mr.  Kunz  was 


married,  in  1871,  to  Miss  Frederika  Meyer,  a  native  of 
Hanover,  Germany.  They  have  no  children.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Allemania  Lodge,  No.  178,  I.  O.  O. 
F.,  of  San  Jose,  and  also  a  member  of  the  San  Jose 
Turnverein.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  and  was  elected  Major  in  the  Uniform  Rank. 


"TAMES  A.  CLAYTON.  Few  men  are  so  well 
@/    known  in  Santa  Clara  County  as  James  A.  Clay- 

^  ton,  who  came  to  San  Jose  on  the  twenty-fifth 
day  of  August,  1850,  and  has  been  a  leading  citizen 
of  the  county  ever  since. 

Mr.  Clayton  is  a  native  of  England,  born  in  Derby- 
shire, October  20,  1831.  He  came  to  the  United 
States  with  his  parents  in  1839,  they  settling  in  the 
lead  mines  of  Iowa  County,  Wisconsin,  in  1840.  His 
parents,  John  and  Mary  (Bates)  Clayton,  were  both 
natives  of  New  Mills,  Derbyshire,  England,  his  father 
having  been  a  lead  miner  in  his  native  country,  fol- 
lowing this  occupation,  in  conjunction  with  farming, 
during  most  of  his  life,  while  the  mother's  parents 
were  farmers.  John  Clayton  and  his  wife  resided  on 
a  farm  in  Wisconsin,  near  Mineral  Point,  up  to  the 
time  of  their  death,  Mrs.  Clayton  dying  in  1853,  and 
Mr.  Clayton  in  1857,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years. 

To  this  worthy  couple  were  born  twelve  children: 
Joel,  who  died  in  Clayton,  Contra  Costa  County  (the 
town  having  been  named  for  him).  He  brought  to 
California,  in  1850,  a  train  of  emigrants,  his  brother, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  coming  with  him.  He 
was  largely  concerned  in  coal  mining,  owning  also  a 
ranch  of  800  acres,  covering  what  is  now  the  town  of 
Clayton.  Charles,  who  came  to  Oregon  in  1 847,  and 
to  California  in  1848,  before  the  gold  mines  were  dis- 
covered, died  October  4,  18S5.  He  had  been  a  Mem- 
ber of  Congress,  Surveyor  of  the  Port  of  San  F"ran- 
cisco,  and  held  many  prominent  positions  in  that  city 
and  in  the  State,  being  one  of  the  leading  Republi- 
cans for  over  a  quarter  of  a  century. 

In  company  with  his  brother  Joel,  as  before  stated, 
James  A.  Clayton  crossed  the  plains  to  California 
in  1850.  They  were  eighty-seven  days  making  the 
journey  from  the  Missouri  River  to  Placerville,  then 
called  Hangtown.  Stopping  a  few  days  at  the  mines, 
he  was  then  employed  as  clerk  for  his  brother,  Charles 
Clayton,  in  Santa  Clara,  who  had  been  a  resident  of 
the  valley  since  1848.  Here  he  remained  until  P"eb- 
ruary,  185  i,  when  he  returned  to  the  mines,  working 
there  until  the  following  November,  when  he  went  to 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


Australia  and  tried  his  luck  at  the  mines  there.  In 
August,  1852,  Mr.  Clayton,  not  yet  of  age,  returned 
to  California,  residing,  for  a  short  period,  in  Stockton, 
but  came  again  to  Santa  Clara  County,  in  January, 
1853,  being  employed  as  clerk  in  Santa  Clara  until 
he  permanently  settled  in  San  Jose  in  1856.  Here 
he  purchased  a  photographic  gallery,  located  on  Santa 
Clara  Street,  near  Market,  removing,  liter,  to  Spring's 
Corner.  This  establishment  Mr.  Clayton  conducted 
about  thirteen  years.  In  1861  he  was  elected  County 
Clerk  of  Santa  Clara  County,  and  re-elected  in  1863. 
In  1867  he  established  a  real-estate  office,  continuing 
in  that  business  to  the  present  date. 

Mr.  Clayton  was  married  in  March,  i860,  to  Miss 
Anna  L.  Thomson,  a  native  of  Indiana,  her  parents, 
Robert  P.  and  Amy  F.  (Brown)  Thomson,  having 
come  to  California  in  1857.  From  this  marriage 
were  born  seven  children:  Mary  E.,  wife  of  C.  W. 
Gates,  of  Los  Angeles  ;  Edward  W.  and  Willis 
S.,  partners  of  their  father  in  the  real-estate  busi- 
ness ;  Grace  Elizabeth,  who  died  in  infancy  ;  Ethel, 
born  in  1868,  who,  with  her  brother  Willis,  grad- 
uated at  the  University  of  the  Pacific,  Willis  in 
1884,  and  Ethel  in  1886;  John  J.,  born  in  1870,  now 
attending  school,  and  Florence,  born  in  1876. 

Mr.  Clayton  is  a  large  property  owner,  but  confines 
himself  strictly  to  his  business  of  real  estate,  loan  and 
insurance  agent,  and  real-estate  auctioneer,  and  makes 
the  loaning  of  money  for  capitalists  a  specialty.  He 
is  a  member  of  San  Jose  Lodge,  No.  10,  F.  &  A.  M., 
also  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
since  1857,  and  is  a  Trustee  of  the  University  of  the 
Pacific;  was  a  Lay  Delegate  to  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal General  Conference  held  in  New  York  in  1888. 
Has  been  a  Republican  since  1858,  and  was  one  of  the 
Alternate  Delegates  for  the  State  at  Large  to  the 
National  Republican  Convention  at  Chicago  in  1888. 
He  believes  in  the  protection  of  American  industries. 


fEORGE  B.  POLHEMUS.  The  importance  of 
a  man's  life  is  not  always  to  be  measured  by  the 
-p  events  that  have  transpired  during  its  course,  but 
rather  by  its  tendencies,  and  the  effect  it  has  upon 
the  world.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  possession 
and  cultivation  of  land  is  of  an  importance  far  beyond 
what  would  be  imagined  by  one  who  looks  only  upon 
the  surface  and  watches  for  brilliant  effects.  The 
landed  proprietors,  men  who  have  the  means  and  op- 
portunity to  conduct  affairs  upon  a  large    scale,  and 


with  an  eye  to  the  future,  are  of  first  necessity  to  a 
nation's  progress  and  genuine  prosperity.  In  this 
class  must  be  reckoned  Mr.  George  B.  Polhemus,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  the  proprietor  of  the  Cerro 
Alegre  Rancho,  near  Coyote  Station,  on  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad.  He  owns  805  acres,  which  has  been 
often  spoken  of  by  old  Californians  as  the  jewel  ranch 
of  the  State  for  its  size,  being  so  elegantly  situated 
(with  rich  alluvial  soil,  etc.),  and  being  one  of  the  few 
pieces  of  property  where  the  avaricious  farmer  has  not 
ruined  the  picturesqueness  of  the  landscape  by  de- 
spoiling the  land  of  its  natural  growth  of  magnificent 
oaks  for  a  small  return  of  wood.  He  also  leases  from 
the  Piercy  estate  3,300  acres  more,  all  lying  in  a  body 
and  furnishing  unlimited  opportunity  for  develop- 
ment. Here  Mr.  Polhemus  carries  on  dairy  ranching 
upon  the  largest  and  most  successful  scale.  He  has 
300  head  of  graded  cows,  of  nearly  all  milk-producing 
breeds — Ayrshires,  Shorthorns,  Jerseys,  and  Hol- 
steins.  He  also  keeps  a  separate  herd  (from  dairy) 
of  Holstein-Friesian  cattle,  numbering  about  fifty 
head,  of  which  sixteen  are  imported  cows,  all  four- 
year-olds,  and  the  rest  are  Eastern  and  California 
bred,  all  registered.  The  dairy  lands  are  composed 
of  300  acres  seeded  to  alfalfa,  100  acres  sowed  to  oats, 
40  acres  planted  to  pumpkins,  15  acres  to  mangel- 
wurzel  beets,  and  12  acres  to  carrots.  Paddocks  of  20 
acres  each  are  used  for  calves  and  thoroughbred  cattle, 
seeded  to  alfalfa  and  rye  grass,  and  100  acres  half 
hills  and  half  meadow,  quite  low  and  wet,  used  as 
night  pasture  for  dairy  cows.  Of  the  balance  of  the 
dairy  ranch  100  acres  are  seeded  to  barley  for  horse 
feed,  while  the  rest  of  this  magnificent  estate  (3,300 
acres  of  hill  pasture,  fine  grazing  land)  supplies  range 
for  the  animals.  Water  is  secured  in  great  abun- 
dance for  irrigation  and  other  purposes,  by  a  Byron 
Jackson  centrifugal  pump,  which  derives  its  supply 
from  a  shaft  twelve  feet  square  and  twenty  feet  deep, 
with  two  ten-inch  artesian  wells  in  bottom  sixty 
feet  deep.  This  water  supply  has  been  commented 
upon  by  experts  as  something  of  a  mystery,  it  being 
so  great,  having  been  measured  at  5,000  gallons  per 
minute,  and  when  running  most  economically,  and 
forcing  through  4,000  feet  of  thirteen-inch  sheet-iron 
pipe,  which  is  laid  under  ground  through  alfalfa  fields, 
the  measurements  were  3,400  gallons  per  minute. 
Water  is  taken  from  pipes  by  risers  of  same  size. 
Such  is  a  slight  account  of  this  splendid  ranch,  which 
affords  an  unusually  fine  instance  of  what  may  be 
effected  in  California  by  energy  and  knowledge  of 
the  subject.     Mr.  Polhemus  bought  it   in  Nov.,  1884, 


a. 


G^L. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


361 


from  the  Wilson  estate.  We  look  for  important  re- 
sults from  the  great  enterprise  which  he  has  founded 
at  Coyote,  both  in  the  way  of  raising  fine  animals  and 
in  the  accomplishment  of  a  still  greater  success  in  the 
making  of  butter  and  other  dairy  products,  as  in  his 
business  all  kinds  of  improved  machinery  are  in  op- 
eration. It  is  a  matter  in  which  the  county  is  deeply 
interested.  Mr.  Polhemus  was  chosen  for  the  State 
Assembly  by  the  Republican  party  at  their  conven- 
tion in  1886;  and,  notwithstanding  the  district  was 
strongly  Democratic,  he  was  defeated  by  a  very  few 
votes  only.  He  has  given  up  his  political  aspirations, 
and  devotes  himself  entirely  to  his  magnificent  prop- 
erty. 

Mr.  Polhemus  is  a  native  of  California,  born  in  San 
Francisco,  January  21,  1857.  His  earlier  education 
was  pursued  in  San  Francisco,  under  Rev.  Dr.  George 
Burrows,  who  took  twelve  students  to  prepare  them 
for  a  college  course  at  Cambridge,  but  after  devoting 
some  years  to  study,  mostly  under  this  noted  teacher, 
he  decided  to  give  up  his  college  course,  having  thus 
laid  the  foundation  broad  and  deep  of  an  education 
which  time  and  experience  are  bringing  to  a  ripe  fru- 
ition. He  was  married  in  January,  1887,  to  Miss 
Jennie  Ryder,  daughter  of  George  W.  Ryder,  of  Santa 
Clara  Valley. 


^- 


M|  EDGAR  OSBORNE,  M.  D.,  Ph.  D.     The  suc- 
S^^  cessful  efforts  that  are  being  made  at  the  pres- 

fent  day  for  the  amelioration  of  the  lot  of  the 
indigent,  the  insane,  and  the  feeble-minded,  are 
something  of  which  too  much  can  hardly  be  said.  It 
is  only  of  late  years  that  any  general  attention  has 
been  paid  to  the  subject.  A  number  of  learned  and 
philanthropic  gentlemen,  chiefly  medical  men,  have 
studied  the  matter  and  by  the  rearing  of  institutions 
for  the  care  and  treatment  of  the  weak-minded,  have 
accomplished  a  good  that  is  shown  most  clearly  by  the 
surprisingly  great  success  that  has  been  met  in  reliev- 
ing these  mental  disorders  and  in  many  cases  entirely 
curing  them.  Upon  this  coast  the  California  Home 
for  the  Care  and  Training  of  Feeble-minded  Children, 
an  institution  located  on  the  extreme  western  borders 
of  the  town  of  Santa  Clara,  and  which  is  described 
elsewhere  in  this  volume,  is  a  worthy  representative  of 
what  is  being  done.  Though  founded  but  a  few  years 
back,  and  not  yet  as  extensive  as  it  will  be  later,  it  is 
acknowledged  to  be  one  of  the  best  managed  and  most 
successful  on  the  continent,  the  appointments  and 
46 


arrangements  being  admirable,  and  the  most  perfect 
system  prevailing  throughout. 

The  superintendent  is  the  gentleman  whose  name 
appears  at  the  head  of  this  article.  Dr.  Osborne  was 
born  near  Chester,  Delaware  County,  Pennsylvania, 
February  23,  1S56,  his  father,  Mr.  Antrim  Osborne, 
being  the  proprietor  of  the  Waterville  Woolen  Mills. 
When  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  between  five  and 
six  years  of  age,  his  father  purchased  the  Rose  Valley 
Woolen  Mills  property,  in  the  same  county,  removing 
his  family  thither,  and  there  Dr.  Osborne  received  his 
preliminary  education,  from  private  tutors  and  at  the 
public  schools.  He  next  attended  the  district  Gram- 
mar School,  going  thence  to  the  Pennsylvania  State 
College  (military),  in  Center  County.  Here  he  took 
a  four  years'  course  in  science,  for  two  terms  being  the 
assistant  of  the  professor  of  that  department.  He  next 
went  to  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  (Medical 
Department),  graduating  March  12,  1877.  For  one 
year  after  this  he  remained  at  practice  in  Philadel- 
phia, at  the  same  time  pursuing  a  special  course 
in  the  hospitals.  He  then  removed  to  Media,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  began  the  practice  of  his  profession. 
In  1879  Dr.  Osborne  graduated  in  the  Department 
of  Philosophy,  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
taking  the  degree  of  Ph.  D.,  being  the  youngest 
man  to  obtain  that  degree  at  that  time.  While  in 
Philadelphia  Dr.  Osborne  was  connected  with  the 
Presbyterian  and  the  Philadelphia  Hospitals,  and  at 
this  time  was  the  first  resident  physician  to  the  Odd 
Fellows'  Home.  Subsequently  he  became  semi- 
officially connected  with  the  Pennsylvania  Training 
School  for  the  feeble-minded.  For  the  following 
eight  years,  in  addition  to  his  other  professional  work, 
he  occupied  the  chair  of  Natural  Sciences  in  the 
Media  Academ\',  being  also  the  organizer  of  the  De- 
partment of  Physical  Culture,  and  establishing  a 
gymnasium. 

In  October,  1886,  Dr.  Osborne,  having  attracted 
general  attention  by  his  studies  of  the  subject  of  the 
care  and  treatment  of  the  feeble-minded,  was  elected  to 
succeed  Dr.  B.  T.  Wood  in  the  office  of  Superintend- 
ent of  the  California  Home  for  the  Care  and  Training 
of  Feeble-minded  Children,  assuming  charge  on 
December  i,  1886,  proving  himself  the  right  man  for 
the  position  by  the  admirable  manner  in  which  he  at 
once  brought  the  institution  to  a  high  state  of  effi- 
ciency. 

Drawing  from  a  thorougii  knowledge  and  a  wide 
experience,  he  is  creating  a  higher  plane  of  success. 
Dr.  Osborne   is   the  only  physician    engaged   in  this 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


work  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  is  in  charge  of  the  only 
institution  of  the  kind  west  of  Nebraska.  Under  his 
hands  there  are  now  no  children,  and  there  are  fully 
150  applications  for  admission  on  file,  waiting  the 
completion  of  enlargements  now  contemplated. 

Dr.  Osborne  was  married  on  September  7,  1880,  to 
Miss  Margaret  H.  Paxton,  the  daughter  of  Col.  J.  C. 
Paxton,  of  Marietta,  Ohio.  They  have  no  children, 
but  have  adopted  a  niece,  who  lives  with  them.  Mrs. 
Osborne  is  the  matron  of  the  institution.  Dr.  Osborne 
is  a  member  of  the  Delaware  County  Medical  Society, 
of  the  Pennsylvania  State  Medical  Society,  of  the 
National  Medical  As.sociation,  of  the  American  Asso- 
ciation of  Medical  Superintendents,  and  of  the  Media 
Institute  of  Science.  He  was  also  the  organizer  and 
the  President  of  the  Media  Medical  Club.  By  his 
original  researches  and  independent  treatment  of  medi- 
cal and  scientific  subjects,  he  has  made  a  name  for 
himself  in  the  line  of  new  discoveries,  and  is  cited  as 
an  authority  in  the  lines  that  he  has  made  especially 
his  own.  He  is  a  hearty,  whole  souled  gentleman, 
whom  it  is  pleasant  to  meet,  affable  and  courteous, 
and  a  favorite  with  all.  In  church  matters  the  doctor 
and  his  wife  are  Presbyterians.  He  is  also  a  member 
in  good  standing  of  the  Masonic  Order,  namely,  of 
George  W.  Bartram  Lodge,  No.  298,  Pennsylvania; 
of  Howard  Chapter,  No.  14,  R.  A.  M.,  and  San  Jose 
Commandery,  No.  10,  K.  T.,  in  San  Jose.  He  is 
also  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  is  District 
Deputy  Grand  Chancellor  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 
He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Delta  Tau  Delta  Frater- 
nity, a  college  society  with  a  very  large  membership 
in  this  country. 

The  Osborne  family  has  been  identified  with  the 
history  of  America  since  the  Colonial  times,  the 
Doctor's  branch  of  the  family  having  settled  at  Dan- 
vers,  Massachusetts,  in  the  early  days  of  that  town, 
and  trace  their  record  back  to  Norman  days  in  En- 
gland and  upon  the  continent.  He  is  also  one  of  the 
editors  of  the  interesting  "Osborne  Genealogical  His- 
tory," the  other  two  editors  being  resident  in  New 
York  city. 


||SAAC  M.  DAVIS.  This  gentleman  is  enjoying 
ig"  the  quiet  evening  of  a  well-spent,  active  life  in  his 
T  handsome  mansion  situated'at  the  corner  of  Third 
and  William  Streets,  San  Jose.  He  was  born  at 
Smithficld,  Jefferson  County,  Ohio,  in  1823.  His 
parents  were  James   and  Elizabeth  (Staman)  Davis, 


both  natives  of  Pennsylvania,  where  they  were  mar- 
ried in  1802.  They  removed  to  Ohio,  settling  on  a 
farm  of  640  acres,  which  Mr.  Davis  purchased,  where 
the  family  resided  until  1846,  when  they  sold  out  and 
removed  to  Mount  Pleasant,  Ohio.  Here  his  mother 
died  in  1852,  and  in  1856  his  father  died,  at  New 
Philadelphia,  Ohio.  They  had  nine  children,  of  whom 
Mr.  I.  M.  Davis  was  the  youngest.  Until  sixteen 
years  of  age  he  lived  at  home,  attending  school  and 
working  on  the  farm.  He  then  left  home,  and  taught 
school  most  of  the  time  until  1846.  He  then  began 
mercantile  life  as  a  partner  in  a  general  merchandise 
business  at  Middletown,  Guernsey  County,  Ohio.  In 
two  years  he  sold  out  and  returned  to  Smithfield, 
where  he  remained  until  1856,  carrying  on  a  store. 
In  that  year  he  transferred  his  business  to  Pomeroy, 
Meigs  County,  Ohio,  where  he  was  engaged  in  busi- 
ness until  1870,  at  which  date  he  sold  out  and  removed 
to  the  Pacific  Coast.  He  remained  for  two  years  at 
Virginia  City,  Nevada,  doing  business  for  the  Virginia 
and  Truckee  Railroad,  and  also  dealing  in  mining 
stocks.  In  1872  he  removed  to  San  Jose,  and  has 
since  quietly  settled  down,  his  sons  engaging  in  the 
stock  and  farming  business. 

Mr.  Davis  was  married  in  1847  to  Miss  Susanna  K. 
Sharon,  of  Smithfield,  Ohio,  sister  of  the  late  Hon. 
William  Sharon,  ex-Senator  of  California.  She  is  a 
daughter  of  old  residents  of  that  place,  her  grand- 
parents going  there  from  Philadelphia  in  1796.  Her 
grandmother  died  in  1852,  at  the  very  advanced  age 
of  115  years!  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Davis  have  six  children 
living,  two  having  died  in  infancy:  Clara  J.,  wife  of 
Charles  L.  McCoy,  of  Oakland ;  Ida  M.,  wife  of  Judge 
J.  M.  Allen,  of  San  Francisco;  Lilly,  wife  of  J.  C. 
Kirkpatrick,  of  Fresno  County;  William  S.,  who  owns 
a  cattle  ranch  in  Monterey  County;  Rosa  B.,  wife  of 
George  W.  Hildreth,  of  Fresno  County;  and  Charles 
H.,  ranching  in  Fresno  County. 

Mr.  Davis  is  a  Republican,  having  constantly  sup- 
ported that  party  since  i860,  and  believes  in  the 
fullest  protection  of  American  industries. 

Living,  as  Mr.  Davis  did,  upon  the  border-land 
between  the  North  and  South  during  the  Rebellion, 
he  saw  much  active  service.  He  joined  the  National 
Guard  in  1863,  belonging  to  Company  A  of  the  140th 
Regiment,  and  for  four  months,  in  1864,  was  almost 
constantly  under  fire  in  the  Kanawha  Valley,  West 
Virginia.  In  September  of  that  year  he  was  mus- 
tered out  of  active  service,  receiving  a  document, 
which  he  still  possesses,  conveying  the  thanks  of  Pres- 
ident   Lincoln  for  honorable   service  in   the  cause  of 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


his  country.  His  service,  however,  was  really  ended 
only  with  the  close  of  the  war,  as  the\-  were  constantly 
menaced  with  an  attack  from  the  rebel  leaders,  and 
went  constantly  under  arms. 


cH<-<- 


fACOB  LENZEN,  Principal  of  the  firm  of  Jacob 
Lenzen  &  Son,  Architects,  No.  715  East  Santa 
-!^  Clara  Street,  San  Jose,  has  long  been  prominent 
in  his  profession  in  San  Jose,  many  of  the  largest 
buildings  in  Santa  Clara  County,  as  well  as  in  other 
contiguous  counties,  being  monuments-of  his  skill  and 
judgment  as  an  architect  and  of  his  reliability  as  a 
contractor  and  builder.  He  was  born  near  Cologne, 
Germany,  on  his  father's  farm,  and  there  lived  until 
the  age  of  eighteen  }-ears,  attending  the  local  schools 
and  taking  part  in  the  labors  of  the  farm.  In  1856 
the  family  removed  to  America,  settling  first  in  Chi- 
cago. There  they  remained  six  years,  during  which 
time  Jacob  learned  the  trade  of  carpenter  and  builder. 
In  1862  the  family  removed  to  California,  settling  at 
once  in  San  Jose.  Mr.  Lenzen's  first  work  of  im- 
portance here  was  building  the  Auzerais  House,  of 
which  he  had  charge.  Having  become  thoroughly 
proficient  in  the  practical  knowledge  of  his  profession, 
and  being  a  close  student  of  its  theory,  he  in  time 
added  the  profession  of  architect  to  that  of  contractor 
and  builder,  his  natural  skill  and  correct  judgment 
refining  and  guiding  the  knowledge  gained  from  ex- 
perience and  study.  So  great  was  the  confidence  in 
the  results  of  his  work  that  he  was  given  the  building 
of  the  court-house  at  Salinas,  the  Flood  mansion  at 
Menlo  Park,  the  court-house  at  Redwood  City,  the 
Masonic  Halls  at  Watsonville  and  Hollister,  the  Odd 
Fellows'  Hall,  Hester  School-house,  Horticultural 
Hall,  and  many  other  public  and  private  buildings  in 
Santa  Clara  County.  In  1884  he  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  his  son,  Theodore  W.,  who  had  graduated 
as  an  architect,  having  studied  under  J.  P.  Gaynor, 
who  built  the  Palace  Hotel,  the  Phelan  Building,  and 
other  prominent  buildings  in  San  Francisco.  In  1886 
this  son  visited  Europe  in  the  interest  of  his  profes- 
sion, spending  one  year  studying  architecture  from 
the  higher  methods  of  those  countries,  especially 
Italy,  from  which  trip  he  returned  in  1887.  Since 
that  time  a  number  of  fine  buildings  have  been  placed 
in  their  charge,  among  them  the  Hospital  for  the 
Chronic  Insane  at  Agnew's  Station,  which  will  cost 
over  a  million  dollars.  The  design  for  the  Hotel 
Vendome  was  made   by  this  firm    and    met  with   the 


unanimous  approval  of  the  company,  but  they  thought 
the  building  from  this  design  would  cost  more  money 
than  they  were  able  to  expend.  Here  Mr.  Lenzen's 
practical  knowledge  of  building  manifested  itself,  and 
the  contracts  for  the  hotel,  under  his  management, 
were  let  for  Jive  hmidred  dollars  less  than  his  original 
estimates.  The  difference  of  only  $500  between  the 
estimates  and  actual  cost  on  a  Jmndred-thotisand-dollar 
building  is  a  margin  closer  than  had  ever  before  been 
known  in  the  history  of  architecture.  The  firm  now 
have  on  hand  twenty-five  buildings  for  private  parties, 
in  addition  to  the  public  buildings  being  constructed 
by  them. 

Mr.  Lenzen  was  married  in  1863,  in  San  Francisco, 
to  Miss  Kathrina  Heckenroth,  a  native  of  Germany, 
and  at  the  time  of  her  marriage  a  resident  of  San 
Francisco.  He  attributes  much  of  his  success  in  life 
to  the  intelligent  and  inspiring  influence  of  his  wife. 
To  them  have  been  born  two  children,  Theodore  W. 
and  Nettie.  In  1874  he  was  elected  a  member  of  ihe 
City  Council  of  San  Jose  for  two  years.  In  national 
politics  he  supports  the  Republican  party.  He  is  a 
member  of  Garden  City  Lodge,  No.  142,  I.  O.  O.  F., 
and  of  Encampment  No.  35,  of  San  Jose. 


SKON.  RUSH  McCOMAS.  Among  the  public 
G^cp  officers  of  Santa  Clara  County  there  is  no  one 
(g^  who  is  held  in  more  general  esteem  than  Hon. 
Rush  McComas.  He  was  born  in  Cabell 
County,  Virginia,  in  1830.  His  parents,  Hiram  and 
Rebecca  (Hatfield)  McComas,  were  natives  of  that 
State,  and  in  1841  removed  with  their  family  to  Platte 
County,  Missouri,  where  the  youth  and  early  man- 
hood of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  were  passed  follow- 
ing the  pursuits  of  a  farmer's  son,  and  picking  up  the 
rudiments  of  an  education  in  the  country  schools. 
In  1853  he  was  elected  Assessor  of  Platte  County, 
but  subsequently  resigned  to  engage  in  mercantile 
business  at  Parkville,  Missouri,  ten  miles  from  where 
Kansas  City  now  stands.  At  that  time  the  site  was 
known  as  Westport  Landing,  and  consisted  of  a 
couple  of  dozen  of  houses  and  several  warehouses  on 
the  flat  under  the  hill;  nothing  more.  During  the  sea- 
son of  1S57-5S  he  acted  as  clerk  on  a  Missouri  River 
steamboat,  the  firm  of  which  he  was  a  member  being 
part  owner,  but  continued  in  the  general  merchandise 
and  produce  business  until  the  spring  of  1861,  when 

shadows   of  war  darkened   the   land,  and  by  the 
the 


364 


Pff/V  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  J  HE    WORLD." 


following  fall  financial  ruin  had  overtaken  nearly 
every  man  in  business  in  that  part  of  Missouri,  him- 
self among  the  number. 

In  October  he  removed  with  his  family  to  Califor- 
nia, reaching  Santa  Clara,  z'ia  Panama,  early  in  No- 
vember, 1 86 1.  For  several  years  he  worked  as  a  day 
laborer  during  the  harvest  season.  In  1864  he  bought 
his  present  home  of  eighty  acres,  purchasing  the  claim 
from  different  individuals,  but  afterward  discovering 
that  it  was  Government  land.  This  place  he  has 
gradually  improved  until  now  he  has  four  acres  of 
pears,  four  of  quinces,  ten  of  strawberries,  and  the 
rest  in  general  farming.  It  lies  on  the  Coffin  Road, 
about  four  miles  north  of  Santa  Clara,  and  is  watered 
by  three  artesian  wells,  which  furnish  an  ample  sup- 
ply for  all  purposes.  In  1877  Mr.  McComas  was 
elected  to  the  State  Legislature,  serving  with  credit 
to  himself  and  giving  satisfaction  to  his  constituents. 

In  1878,  under  the  existing  laws,  the  entire  support 
of  the  government  fell  upon  the  laboring  and  produc- 
ing classes,  money  at  loan  upon  mortgage  not  being 
taxed.  To  correct  this  and  other  evils,  a  constitu- 
tional convention  was  called.  Mr.  McComas  was 
elected  a  member  of  it,  having  shown  much  interest 
in  the  endeavor  to  remedy  them.  They  met  in  Octo- 
ber, 1878,  in  Sacramento,  and,  after  a  session  of  five 
months,  succeeded  in  framing  the  present  Constitu- 
tion of  the  State,  which  was  adopted  by  vote  of  the 
people  soon  after.  The  equalization  of  taxation  ef- 
fected by  this  has  given  a  great  impetus  to  all  the 
material  interests  of  the  State.  In  1S79  he  was  again 
elected  a  member  of  the  Assembly,  served  on  the 
Committee  on  Education  and  Claims,  and  was  Chair- 
man of  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands,  and  took  a 
leading  part  in  the  successful  effort  to  obtain  the  ap- 
propriation to  build  the  present  State  Normal  School 
in  the  city  of  San  Jose.  In  1884  Mr.  McComas  was 
elected  County  Treasurer,  and  again  in  1886,  being 
now  the  incumbent  of  that  office. 

He  was  married,  in  1853,  to  Miss  Ann  E.  Swope,  of 
Missouri,  her  parents  having  removed  thither  from 
Madison  County,  Kentucky,  early  in  its  history.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  McComas  have  seven  children:  William, 
now  living  on  the  home  farm ;  Cora,  wife  of  D.  W. 
Burchard,  of  San  Jose;  Ella,  Harriet,  Anna,  Katy, 
Allen,  and  Henry.  Most  of  them  are  still  living  un- 
der the  parental  roof 

Mr.  McComas  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Order, 
as  also  of  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry,  the  A.  O.  U. 
W.,  the  Chosen  Friends,  the  American  Legion  of 
Honor  and    Order    of  the    Eastern    Star.     He    is    a 


stanch  Republican,  and  believes  fully  in  the  protec- 
tion of  American  industries.  A  man  of  rigid  integ- 
rity and  crystal  probity,  he  has  the  fullest  confidence 
of  the  people,  as  is  evinced  by  the  fact  that  he  expe- 
rienced not  the  least  difficulty  in  furnishing  bonds  to 
the  amount  of  $300,000,  as  County  Treasurer  and 
Ta.x  Collector.  Mr.  McComas  is  a  careful  and  con- 
scientious public  officer,  and  a  leading  member  of  the 
Republican  party,  receiving  the  unanimous  vote  of 
the  convention  which  nominated  him.  While  hold- 
ing the  highest  esteem  of  his  own  party,  he  possesses 
likewise  the  fullest  respect  and  confidence  of  every 
citizen. 


^ 


SLJ? 


'A<-<-<'~ 


IJdOLPH  T.  HERRMANN.  The  subject  of 
sip  this  biographical  sketch,  Mr.  Adolph  T.  Herr- 
■t*?  mann,  the  well-known  civil  engineer  and  land 
*  surveyor,  a  Deputy  United  States  Surveyor,  and 
senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Herrmann  Brothers,  was 
born  in  Hanover,  Germany,  in  1839.  He  received 
his  education  in  an  agricultural  college  in  Germany, 
studying  land  surveying  and  civil  engineering  incident- 
ally. Leaving  Germany  in  1859,  he  spent  some  time 
in  the  Sandwich  Islands,  having  charge  of  an  estate 
in  the  island  of  Kanai,  the  most  westerly  and  beauti- 
ful of  the  islands.  He  came  to  San  Francisco  in  1 860, 
but  as  he  contracted  a  chest  disease  there  he  remained 
only  two  years,  returning  to  the  Sandwich  Islands. 
In  1865  he  came  again  to  California,  and  settled  in 
San  Jose,  engaging  extensively  in  land  surveying  and 
civil  engineering.  In  1872  he  was  elected  County 
Surveyor,  a  position  he  held  for  two  terms.  During 
that  time  he  established  the  boundaries  of  the  county, 
fixed  the  grade  and  boundaries  of  the  Alameda,  made 
the  first  full  and  complete  map  of  the  county  from 
actual  survey,  locating  the  roads,  boundaries,  names  of 
owners,  etc.  The  first  start  for  a  complete  map  for 
the  use  of  the  assessor  was  made  by  him,  as  was  also 
the  laying  out  and  superintending  the  construction  of 
the  magnificent  road  to  Mt.  Hamilton.  In  connection 
with  his  brother,  he  provided  the  fine  system  of  sew- 
erage of  Santa  Clara,  and  now,  in  1888,  is  engaged  in 
performing  the  same  service  for  Santa  Cruz.  One  of 
the  largest  pieces  of  work  done  by  him  in  the  county 
was  the  partition  of  the  Las  Animas  Rancho,  settling 
the  land  titles  to  that  immense  property.  This  was 
the  largest  partition  land-suit  ever  had  in  California. 
Mr.  Herrmann  has  located  many  of  the  main  roads 
in  this  county,  and  also  those  leading  to  Santa  Cruz 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


and  San  Joaquin  Counties.  The  firm  has  also  done 
much  of  the  Government  surveying  in  San  Benito, 
Monterey,  Fresno,  and  Stanislaus  Counties,  as  also 
surveying  all  the  rough  lands  in  this  county.  Mr.  Herr- 
mann's parents  are  both  still  living  in  Germany,  his 
father  having  been  professor  of  philology  and  theology 
at  Gottingen  University  and  director  of  the  Ritter 
Academy  in  Liineburg,  which  was  abolished  in  1848. 
For  generations  the  various  members  of  the  family 
have  been  military  and  literary  men.  A  grandfather 
was  a  professor  of  the  celebrated  University  of 
Leipsic.  While  the  first  Napoleon  was  in  the  pleni- 
tude of  his  power,  this  professor  was  so  earnest  in  his 
speeches  and  efforts  in  urging  the  uprising  of  Ger- 
many against  the  French  yoke,  which  culminated 
and  ended  in  the  dreadful  battles  of  Leipsic  and 
Waterloo,  that  Napoleon  placed  a  price  of  1,000 
louis-d'or  on  his  head.  He  was  obliged  to  flee  to 
Russia,  taking  with  him  Mr.  Herrmann's  father,  then 
a  child,  remaining  an  e.xile  until  the  overthrow  of  the 
tyrant. 

Mr.  Herrmann  has  been  a  member  of  Garden  City 
Lodge,  No.  142,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  for  nearly  twenty  years, 
as  also  of  Mt.  Hamilton  Lodge,  of  San  Jose,  A.  O. 
U.  W.  He  believes  in  a  just  protection  to  American 
industries,  and  in  a  proper  restriction  of  the  immigra- 
tion of  undesirable  elements. 


^#HARLES   L.   BLAKEMORE  has  recently  pur- 


chased a  beautiful  home  on  the  Almaden  about 


^  three  miles  from  San  Jose,  where  he  now  resides. 
He  was  born  at  Keokuk,  Iowa,  in  1861,  and 
attended  school  there  until  eleven  years  old,  when  he 
moved  with  the  family  to  Texas,  his  father  being  a  rail- 
road contractor.  The  family  remained  in  Texas  about 
three  years,  when  they  removed  to  Wyoming  Terri- 
tory, where  his  father  turned  his  attention  to  mining, 
first  at  Deadwood,  Dakota,  and  thence  to  the  Black 
Hills,  after  the  removal  of  the  Sioux  Indians  there- 
from. In  the  spring  of  1878  his  father  engaged  in 
building  the  Colorado  Central  Railroad  from  Chey- 
enne to  Denver,  and  after  the  road  was  completed  he 
removed  first  to  Silver  Cliff  and  then  to  Leadville, 
where  he  engaged  in  silver-mining.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  remained  at  Silver  Cliff  while  his  father 
was  operating  at  Leadville,  the  rest  of  the  family  dur- 
ing these  years  remaining  at  Cheyenne.  In  1882  the 
family  left  for  California,  where  his  father  engaged  in 
quartz-mining,    in    Trinity    and    Shasta   Counties,  in 


which  business  he  is  still  engaged.  His  father,  James 
M.,  is  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  his  mother,  Cath- 
erine, nee  Gillespie,  a  native  of  Virginia.  His  father 
has  been  a  very  active  and  enterprising  man,  and  was 
one  of  the  California  pioneers  of  1849. 

Charles  L.  Blakemore  was  married  in  October,  1882, 
to  Miss  Hessie  Gillespie,  of  Keokuk,  Iowa.  They 
have  two  children,  born  in  California,  Katie  Olif  and 
Charles  Cecil. 

Mr.  Blakemore  is  still  interested  in  mining  in  North- 
ern California  and  Colorado,  having  mines  in  both 
States.  His  home  on  the  Almaden  contains  twenty- 
nine  acres,  one-half  in  wine  and  table  grapes,  ten 
acres  in  French  prunes,  and  a  family  orchard  of  differ- 
ent varieties.  He  has  made  fine  improvements 
around  his  $4,000  cottage,  and  has  invested  $5,000  in 
the  Index  Saloon  in  San  Jose.  Until  recently  he 
owned  considerable  property  in  San  Jose,  but  has  dis- 
posed of  it.  The  Blakemore  Mine  in  Trinity  County 
is  considered  to  be  one  of  the  most  profitable  mines  in 
Northern  California. 


^gAPT.  GEORGE  WELCH  was  born  in  County 
^  Down,  Ireland,  in  1837,  which  country  he  left 
&Y  in  the  spring  of  1853,  coming  to  Malone,  New 
York,  with  an  older  brother,  where  he  com- 
pleted his  education.  In  1857,  during  the  Eraser 
River  excitement,  he  came  to  California,  and  went  to 
the  mines  in  that  locality  in  the  summer  of  1858.  He 
resided  in  British  Columbia  about  nine  years,  where 
he  was  connected  with  the  police  department  of  Vic- 
toria, but  resigned  his  position  on  the  force  to  accept 
one  in  the  Bank  of  British  Columbia.  He  was  sent 
with  Edwin  Russell  to  establish  a  branch  of  this  bank 
at  Caribou,  and  the  managers  of  the  bank  showed 
their  confidence  in  him  by  giving  him  charge  of  the 
gold  escort  of  the  company,  the  treasure  consisting 
of  gold-dust  from  Caribou,  to  New  Westminster  (then 
the  capital  of  British  Columbia),  and  coin  and  notes 
back  to  Caribou.  Later  he  was  appointed  Inspector 
of  Police  at  Victoria,  which  position  he  held  for  three 
years.  At  the  expiration  of  that  time  the  two  gov- 
ernments of  the  colonies  of  Vancouver  Island  and 
British  Columbia  consolidated,  and  Captain  Welch 
came  to  California.  After  coming  to  San  Jose,  he 
engaged  first  with  Wells,  Fargo  &  Co.,  where  he 
remained  a  year,  and  then  opened  a  produce  business 
in  partnership  with  Andrew  Baraco,  in  which  he  con- 
tinued for  more  than  a  year,  when  he  engaged  in  his 


366 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


present  business  of  general  life  and  fire  insurance, 
real  estate,  and  money  loaning,  with  E.  P.  Reed. 
After  continuing  in  business  with  this  gentleman 
for  fifteen  years,  Mr.  Reed  retired,  and  Captain  Welch 
associated  with  himself  E.  M.  Rosenthal,  the  firm 
now  being  Welch  &  Rosenthal,  who  are  doing  an  ex- 
cellent business  in  the  Linden  Block,  in  the  same  room 
with  the  San  Jose  Mercury  office. 

Captain  Welch  was  married,  in  1862,  to  Miss  Kate 
Rielly,  a  native  of  Cork,  Ireland,  who  came  to  this 
county  with  her  grandmother,  her  parents  having  died 
when  she  was  an  infant.  There  have  been  born  to 
Captain  and  Mrs.  Welch  five  children  :  Annie  M., 
Mary  E.,  George,  Kate,  and  John  M.  The  eldest  is 
married  and  living  in  Hong  Kong,  China.  The  others 
still  reside  with  their  parents.  Captain  Welch  was 
once  a  member  of  the  Ninth  Regiment  <f  United 
States  Infantry,  and  later  he  was  Captain  of  the  San 
Jose  Guards,  an  independent  militia  organization. 
Captain  Welch's  parents  are  still  living,  his  father 
being  eighty-nine,  and  his  mother  ninety-six,  years  of 
age. 


fROFESSOR  GERHARD  SCHOOF,  teacher  of 
industrial  drawing  in  the  public  schools,  has  a 
1S5  beautiful  home  and  weli-cared-for  orchard  of  five 
acres  off  of  Willow  Street  between  Lincoln  and 
Myrtle  Avenues.  There  are  on  the  place  about  325 
French  prunes,  225  apricots,  50  cherries,  and  an  assort- 
ment of  fruits  for  family  use.  All  of  these  are  in 
bearing.  In  1887  only  three  acres  were  in  bearing, 
the  returns  amounting  to  $600,  this  being  the  first 
crop  from  the  orchard.  Professor  Schoof  has  also  a 
ranch  of  150  acres  near  Pleasanton,  Alameda  County, 
which  he  is  gradually  setting  out  in  fruit. 

He  was  born  in  Hanover,  Germany,  in  1S49.  His 
parents,  Louis  and  Mary  (Maetke)  Schoof  were  also 
natives  of  that  locality.  His  father  was  Priifessorof 
Mathematics  at  the  Mining  Academy  at  Clausthal, 
Hanover,  which  position  he  resigned  after  fifty  years' 
service,  and  now  resides  at  Wiesbaden.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  was  educated  in  the  Gymnasium  of 
Clausthal,  graduating  at  that  institution  in  18G9.  He 
then  attended  the  University  of  Gottingcn,  joining 
the  army  from  there  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  Franco- 
Prussian  War,  where  he  was  promoted  to  a  Second 
Lieutenancy  and  received  the  Order  of  the  Iron  Cross 
for  special  service  in  the  Battle  of  Beaune  La  Ro- 
lande.     His  colonel  recommended  him  for  the  Iron 


Cross  for  successfully  carrying  dispatches  and  bring- 
ing some  flying  batteries  to  bear  on  the  French  which 
were  attacking  a  village  defended  by  his  regiment. 
After  the  close  of  the  Franco-Prussian  war  he  gradu- 
ated at  the  Military  Academy  at  Hanover,  and  then 
served  the  army  until  he  came  to  the  United  States 
in  1872.  His  first  employment  was  surveying  in  New 
Jersey.  In  1873  he  came  to  California  and  was  em- 
ployed in  the  office  of  his  cousin,  the  City  Surveyor  of 
San  Jose.  In  1874  he  went  to  San  Francisco,  and  for 
nine  months  was  on  the  staff  of  the  California  Devio- 
krat.  He  then  commenced  lithographing,  which  he 
followed  until  1876.  In  that  year  he  passed  his  ex- 
amination as  teacher  of  industrial  drawing,  being  em- 
ployed in  the  San  Francisco  schools  until  1884,  when 
he  came  to  San  Jose,  since  which  time  he  has  been 
employed  in  a  similar  position  in  the  State  Normal 
school. 

In  1877  Professor  Schoof  was  married  to  Miss 
Martha  Naeve,  of  Kiel,  Holstein.  They  have  three 
children,  Percy,  born  in  1878;  Ella,  in  1 880;  and  Julia, 
in  1883.  Professor  Schoof  takes  great  pride  in  the 
roses  on  his  ranch,  of  which  there  are  between  fifty 
and  sixty  rare  varieties,  which  he  values  highly.  He 
also  claims  to  have  the  largest  cherry  tree  of  the 
county  on  his  place.  In  politics  he  is  more  or  less  in 
S3'mpathy  with  the  Democratic  party. 


JgHARLES  HERRMANN  was  born  in  Germany, 
^  in  1846,  his  parents  being  Adolph  and  E.  (Pur- 
(2H=  gold)  Herrmann,  both  natives  of  that  country. 
He  was  educated  at  the  Polytechnic  School  at 
Hanover  and  Carlsruhe,  in  Germany,  graduating  in 
1865  as  a  mechanical  engineer.  He  at  once  accepted  a 
position  in  that  capacity  on  a  steamer  plying  b;tween 
New  York  and  a  German  port,  and  also  made  one  trip 
to  New  Orleans  as  engineer  on  the  5rt:-i'^/2/Vr.  In  1867 
he  gave  up  this  employment  and  devoted  his  time  to 
the  study  of  civil  engineering  and  land  surveying  in 
Germany.  In  the  spring  of  1869  he  came  to  California 
from  his  native  land,  via  New  York  and  the  Panama 
route,  coming  direct  to  San  Jos  •.  Here  he  continued 
the  study  and  practice  of  surveying,  with  his  brother, 
A.  T.  Herrmann,  two  years,  when  he  went  to  Sacra- 
mento City  and  there  was  employed  by  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad  Company,  in  his  former  profession  as 
mechanical  engineer  and  locomotive  builder.  After 
remaining  there  about  two  years,  he  returned  to  San 
Jose  and  resumed  the  occupation  of  land  surveying,  to 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES. 


367 


which  he  has  since  devoted  his  time  exclusively.  He 
and  his  brother  made  the  first  complete  map  of  Santa 
Clara  County,  which  contains  the  subdivisions  of  land 
with  the  owner's  name,  also  the  school  districts,  roads, 
etc.;  this  work  occupied  nearly  two  years,  and  the 
map  formed  the  base  of  the  assessments  of  the  year 
1873-74.  From  this  all  later  maps  of  the  county 
have  been  constructed.  He  has  been  elected  County 
Surveyor  of  Santa  Clara  County  three  terms.  One 
term  he  was  obliged  to  resign  the  office  and  return  to 
Germany  to  settle  some  affairs  that  required  his  at- 
tention. In  1882,  when  General  Stoneman  was  elected 
Governor  of  this  State,  the  only  Republicans  elected 
to  office  in  this  county  were  Messrs.  Herrmann,  Chip- 
man,  and  Harris. 

Mr.  Herrmann  was  married,  in  1872,  to  Miss  Helen 
Hurst,  a  native  of  German}',  who  came  with  her  par- 
ents to  this  country  when  she  was  but  four  years  of 
age.  Mr.  Herrmann  owns  sixty  acres  of  land  about 
nine  miles  from  San  Jose,  on  the  Young  road,  near  the 
Lieb  orchard  and  the  Hecney  vineyard.  This  he  in- 
tends to  plant  in  prunes  and  apricot';.  Mr.  Herrmann 
is,  and  ever  has  been,  an  ardent  adherent  of  the  Re- 
publican party,  and  believes  in  the  protection  of 
American  industries. 


UgADAME  VEUVE  LAMOLLE  &  CO.,  pro- 
<5^^  prietors  of  the  Lamolle  House  and  Restaurant, 
<L^     corner  of  San  Pedro  and  Santa  Clara  Streets, 

I  San  Jose,  have  for  the  past  eighteen  years  con- 
ducted a  restaurant  in  this  city,  the  management  and 
cuisine  of  which  have  a  reputation  second  to  none  in 
the  State  or  the  Pacific  Coast.  Madame  Lamolle  has 
had  ample  experience,  having  studied  the  art  of  cook- 
ing in  France,  and  has  conducted  first-class  establish- 
ments for  the  past  thirty  years  in  Virginia  City,  Reno, 
and  Winnemucca,  Nevada,  previous  to  establishing 
business  in  San  Jose  in  1872.  They  have  an  average 
of  seventy-five  transient  guests  per  day  besides  their 
regular  table  boarders.  There  are  twenty-seven  sleep- 
ing-rooms in  the  house.  They  specially  cater  to  the 
few  who  want  good  accommodations  and  fine  French 
cooking.  The  firm  consists  of  Madame  Lamolle, 
Emile  J.  Lamolle,  the  business  manager,  Mr.  Alexis 
Gaston,  the  chef  de  cuisine,  formerly  one  of  the  cooks 
at  Delmonico's  in  New  York.  Thus  every  department 
of  this  well-conducted  house  is  in  experienced  hands. 

Madam  Lamolle  is  a  native  of  Luchon,  Department 
of    Haute-Garonne,    France,  who   came  in   her  early 


youth  to  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  here  remained.  Emile 
J.  Lamolle  was  born  in  Eureka,  Nevada  County,  Cal- 
ifornia, in  1859.  He  received  his  education  at  Santa 
Clara  College.  From  that  school  he  went  to  San 
Francisco,  where  he  learned  the  business  of  machinist, 
finishing  the  apprenticeship  at  the  Union  Iron  Works. 
He  continued  at  this  business  until  five  years  ago, 
when  he  returned  home  and  took  an  interest  in  the 
Lamolle  House.  Mr.  Lamolle's  father,  Bernard  La- 
molle, a  native  of  France,  died  in  1869.  Madame 
Lamolle  has  one  daughter,  Marie,  now  the  wife  of  H. 
Pfister,  who  is  in  the  grocery  business  in  Santa  Clara. 


MlR.  W.  H.  HAMMOND.  Dr.  Hammond  was 
(S^  born  in  Ashland  County,  Ohio,  in  185 1.  He  was 
®^  reared  on  his  father's  farm,  attending  the  public 
schools  during  their  winter  sessions.  His  parents, 
Philip  and  Mary  (Ensinger)  Hammond,  were  natives 
of  Pennsylvania,  but  emigrated  to  Ohio  in  1848.  In 
1864  they  removed,  with  their  seven  children,  to  the 
vicinity  of  Fairfield,  Iowa,  and  engaged  in  farming. 
Dr.  Hammond  taught  school  in  Iowa  for  about  three 
years,  his  mind  being  directed  meanwhile  to  the  study 
of  medicine,  and  all  his  energies  being  bent  in  acquir- 
ing means  to  enable  him  to  prosecute  his  studies.  In 
1871-72  he  attended  the  State  Agricultural  College  of 
Iowa,  takingfirst  the  general  and  later  the  mathematical 
course.  He  taught  school  again  in  1873,  and  the  next 
year  came  to  California,  where  he  also  at  first  engaged 
in  teaching.  In  1877  he  entered  the  Medical  Depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  the  Pacific  (now  the  Cooper 
Medical  College)  in  San  Francisco,  graduatii  g  in 
1879.  His  abilities  were  recognized,  and  he  was  made 
Demonstrator  of  Anatomy  at  the  college,  at  the  same 
time  practicing  his  profession.  As  his  duties  called 
for  about  six  hours  a  day  in  dissections  and  demon- 
strating, and  as  he  was  a  young  physician,  he  was  sent 
on  many  night  calls  by  the  older  practitioners,  and  the 
close  application  began  to  tell  on  his  health.  Upon 
the  earnest  advice  of  Dr.  Lane,  he  went  to  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  where  he  spent  one  year,  holding  the 
office  of  Government  Physician  on  one  of  the  islands, 
and  carrying  on  his  profession  at  the  same  time. 
When  he  decided  to  return  to  America,  the  Board  of 
Health  of  the  kingdom,  of  which  the  late  ex-Premier 
Gibson  was  President,  offered  him  an  increase  of 
salary,  but  as  his  health  was  materially  improved,  the 
Doctor  prepared  for  his  return. 

Just  before  leaving    for    the  Sandwich  Islands  he 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


was  married  to  Miss  Mattie  B.  Snyder,  daughter  of 
John  and  Martha  (Kifer)  Snyder,  pioneers  of  Santa 
Clara  County. 

Dr.  Hammond  opened  his  office  in  San  Jose,  Feb- 
ruary, 1883,  and  has  since  practiced  here  the  profes- 
sion of  medicine  and  surgery  with  great  success.  He 
has  lately  purchased,  in  partnership  with  a  friend,  a 
fruit  ranch  of  seventeen  and  a  half  acres  in  bearing 
trees,  ten  acres  being  in  French  prunes,  about  three 
acres  each  in  apricots  and  peaches,  and  the  balance  in 
cherries  and  pears.  He  is  a  Director  in  the  Argonaut 
Land  and  Development  Company,  a  corporation  for 
the  purchase  and  improvement  of  real  estate.  He  is 
also  a  member  of  the  San  Jose  Building  and  Loan 
Association.  Dr.  Hammond  is  the  County  Physician 
for  the  county  of  Santa  Clara,  holding  the  office  now 
for  the  second  term.  He  is  a  member  of  the  State 
and  county  medical  societies,  and  also  a  member  in 
high  standing  of  Garden  City  Lodge,  No.  142,  L  O. 
O.  F.,  being  a  Past  Grand,  and  also  of  Triumph  Lodge, 
No.  47,  Knights  of  Pythias.  He  is  a  Republican  in 
politics,  and  an  emphatic  believer  in  the  protection  of 
all  American  industries. 

^R.  R.- E.  PIERCE.  This  gentleman,  who  holds 
S^  a  high  and  worthy  position  in  the  ranks  of  the 
"^X^  medical  profession  of  San  Jose,  was  born  in  St. 
John,  New  Brunswick,  in  1856,  leaving  there,  however, 
with  his  parents  in  the  following  year  and  going  to 
Boston.  He  there  attended  the  various  public  schools, 
and  finally  graduated  in  the  Medical  Department  of 
the  Boston  University  in  1879.  For  three  years  he 
was  a  student  also  of  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of 
Teclmology.  He  practiced  his  profession  for  about 
five  years  in  Melrose  and  Boston.  In  1884  became 
to  San  Jose,  where,  in  partnership  with  Dr.  Breyfogie, 
he  has  since  carried  on  his  professional  work.  This 
partnership,  which  had  been  arranged  previous  to  Dr. 
Pierce's  departure  from  Massachusetts,  was  continued 
until  the  pressure  of  other  duties  compelled  Dr.  Brey- 
fogie to  retire  from  the  active  calls  of  his  profession. 
Since  that  time  Dr.  Pierce  has  successfully  conducted 
the  united  practice. 

His  parents  were  Robert  and  Fannie  L.  (Brittain) 
Pierce.  His  father  was  born  in  Ruthin,  Derbyshire, 
Wales,  in  1832;  his  mother  in  the  same  year,  in  St. 
John,  New  Brunswick.  Dr.  Pierce  has  three  brothers, 
the  elder  a  manufacturer,  and  the  other  two  merchants, 
of  Boston.     His  father  was  for  thirty  years  a  leading 


dry-goods  merchant  of  Boston.  He  died  in  1887. 
His  mother  is  still  alive  and  is  living  at  Melrose, 
Massachusetts.  Dr.  Pierce  married  Miss  Fannie  M. 
Parker,  of  Newtonville,  Massachusetts,  in  1880.  They 
have  no  children.  He  has  been  interested  in  fruit 
lands,  but  now  devotes  his  time  exclusively  to  the 
practice  of  his  profession,  in  the  ranks  of  which  he 
has  risen  to  a  high  standard,  and  is  regarded  as  a 
sound  and  able  practitioner.  Dr.  Pierce  is  a  consistent 
Republican,  and  believes  in  the  full  protection  of 
American  interests.  He  is  a  public-spirited  and  highly 
esteemed  citizen,  learned  in  his  profession  and  of  wide 
experience. 


M|R.  ALBERT  M.  BARKER,  formerly  of  the 
G^  firm  of  Gunckel  &  Barker,  dentists,  at  No.  17 
J^^  South  First  Street,  San  Jose,  was  born  in  Wal- 
worth County,  Wisconsin,  in  1859,  and  when  one 
year  old  his  father  removed  to  Dodge  County,  Minne- 
sota. He  attended  the  local  schools  and  worked  on 
his  father's  farm  until  1875,  when  he  came  to  Califor- 
nia, and  settled  in  San  Jose,  where  for  three  years  he 
attended  the  University  of  the  Pacific.  At  the  end 
of  that  time  he  began  the  study  of  dentistry  with  Dr. 
Gunckel,  with  whom  he  was  associated  as  pupil  for 
three  years,  when  he  became  a  partner  in  the  business, 
which  they  conducted  for  seven  years,  or  until  January 
I,  1888,  when  he  purchased  Dr.  Gunckel's  interest, 
and  has  since  continued  the  business  alone.  He  was 
married,  in  1884,  to  Miss  Minnie  Wing,  a  native  of 
Peoria,  Illinois.  He  has  a  vineyard  of  forty  acres 
(interested  with  J.  B.  Wing)  on  the  Saratoga  and 
Mountain  View  road,  about  eight  miles  from  San  Jose, 
all  set  out  to  wine  grapes,  and  in  bearing  since  1887. 
He  has  devoted  himself  exclusively  and  continuously 
to  his  business  profession  and  built  up  a  large  practice 
solely  by  his  own  exertions.  His  parents  were  Silas 
and  Mary  (Collins)  Barker,  both  natives  of  Potsdam, 
New  York. 


PL.  BRADLEY,  who  came  to  California  in  1850, 
from  his  native  State,  New  York,  became  in- 
^  terested  in  mining  and  water-ditches  in  Placer 
County,  remaining  there  until  1873,  when  he 
came  to  Santa  Clara  Valley  and  purchased  220  acre? 
on  the  Stevens  Creek  road.  This  he  cultivated,  partly 
in  grain  for  thoroughbred  stock,  planting  si.xty  acres 
in  fruit-trees,  thirty  of  which  are  French  prunes,  ten 


OrTLYi    ^  ^l/PiJ^^^^ 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


sm 


in  almonds,  ten  in  apricots,  and  ten  in  cherries  and 
plums.  This  orchard  is  in  partial  bearing.  Mr.  Brad- 
ley's live  stock  was  thoroughbred  Durham  and  Short- 
horns. 

Mr.  Bradley  was  fully  identified  with  the  interests 
and  development  of  Sant  i  Clara  County,  being  one 
of  the  original  stockholders  and  directors  of  the  First 
National  Bank  of  San  Jose;  a  life-member  of  the 
Santa  Clara  County  Agricultural  Association;  a  promi- 
nent member  of  the  Masonic  Order,  and  a  broad- 
gauge  man  generally  in  matters  of  public  interest. 
He  served  a  term  as  State  Senator  for  the  Senatorial 
District  in  which  Placer  County  is  situated.  He  also 
took  a  very  active  part  in  the  development  of  the 
stage  road  from  Sacramento  City  to  Carson  City, 
Nevada,  which  preceded  the  building  of  the  Central 
Pacific  Railroad,  and  was  interested  in  the  railroad 
which  followed,  and,  as  fast  as  it  was  completed,  took 
the  place  of  the  stage  road.  He  sold  out  his  interests 
in  1873,  to  his  associates,  Stanford,  Hopkins,  Crocker, 
etc. 

He  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Reed,  a  native  of 
New  York,  and  to  this  union  were  born  nine  children, 
all  but  the  two  youngest  dying  in  infancy  and  early 
youth.  He  died  in  18S0,  his  wife  in  1885,  and  both 
are  buried  with  their  children,  in  Oak  Hill  Cemetery, 
near  San  Jose. 

The  business  of  stock-raising  and  fruit-culture,  es- 
tablished by  Mr.  Bradley,  is  continued  by  his  children, 
under  the  supervision  of  E.  C.  Flagg,  who  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Lenora  Bradley,  the  eldest  living  child 
of  Mr.  Bradley,  on  November  15,  1S82. 


fHE  REV.  ORRIN  CRITTENDEN.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  an  honored  citizen  of  Santa 
(2H=  Clara  County,  well  known  in  religibus  circles 
throughout  the  State,  was  born  in  Berkshire 
County,  Massachusetts,  February  3,  18 14.  In  the 
schools  of  the  old  "Bay  State"  he  received  such 
an  education  as  was  common  to  the  New  England 
boy  of  not  wealthy  parentage  in  those  )ears.  Studi- 
ous and  earnest,  he  made  the  best  of  his  limited 
opportunities,  and  all  his  life  he  has  been  quite  a 
student.  Possessed  of  an  inquiring  mind,  vigorous 
intellect,  and  retentive  memory,  he  has  been  enabled 
to  overcome  the  disadvantages  arising  from  a  lack  of 
a  liberal  education  in  his  youthful  days. 

When  twenty-two  years  of  age,   like  so  many  of 
the  best  New  England  stock,  the  subject  of  our  sketch 
47 


went  westward,  and  in  the  State  of  Illinois  lived  from 
the  autumn  of  1836  until  1852, — the  larger  part  of  the 
time  being  spent  in  Calhoun  County.  In  early  man- 
hood he  was  converted  to  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  in 
1847  was  ordained  in  the  ministry  of  the  Missionary 
Baptist  Church.  Entering  zealously  into  the  work  of 
winning  souls,  he  labored  faithfully  in  the  Master's 
vineyard,  until,  in  1852,  he  closed  his  labors  in  Illi- 
nois, and  crossed  the  plains  and  mountains  to  this 
sunny  land.  In  February,  1853,  he  made  a  claim  of 
the  land  in  Fremont  Township,  upon  which  he  has 
ever  since  resided.  His  homestead,  which  contains 
160  acres,  is  one  and  a  half  miles  from  New  Mountain 
View,  near  the  road  leading  to  the  bay.  When  he 
located  his  land,  Mr.  Crittenden  intended  to  improve 
a  homestead,  upon  which  his  family  could  live,  and 
by  the  income  of  which  they  could  be  maintained. 
As  for  himself,  he  looked  forward  joyously  to  a  life 
devoted  to  preaching  the  gospel  without  price, — a  life 
of  missionary  work.  Those  plans  have  never  fully 
"materialized,"  on  account  of  circumstances  entirely 
beyond  his  control.  During  his  early  residence  in  the 
county,  Mr.  Crittenden  devoted  two  years  to  mis- 
sionary work,  entirely  at  his  own  expense.  A  part 
of  this  work  was  the  organization  of  a  church  of  forty 
members  at  San  Juan.  Two  more  years  he  acted  as 
colporteur  for  the  Philadelphia  Baptist  Publication 
Society,  in  connection  with  his  missionary  work,  and 
for  this  labor  he  received  some  pecuniary  aid. 

As  his  land  became  valuable,  claimants  under  Mexi- 
can grants  appeared,  and  endeavored  to  gain  posses- 
sion of  his  homestead,  as  well  as  of  those  of  other 
settlers  in  his  neighborhood.  This  contest,  passing 
through  the  local  courts,  was  decided  at  the  end  of 
eight  years  in  the  Supreme  Court  at  Washington,  in 
his  favor.  Naturally,  this  litigation  absorbed  all  his 
time  and  income  for  years.  Notwithstanding  these 
obstacles,  Mr.  Crittenden  has  devoted  much  of  his 
time  to  the  spreading  of  the  "  glad  tidings  of  great 
joy  which  shall  be  to  all  people."  When  not  regularly 
established  over  any  church,  he  has  ever  been  ready  to 
respond  to  all  calls,  which  could,  consistently  with  his 
duty  to  his  family,  be  heeded.  At  the  camp-meeting 
north  of  Healdsburg,  on  Russian  River,  he  assisted  in 
the  conversion  of  forty  souls.  In  connection  with  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  ministry  in  the  San  Ramon 
Valley,  he  participated  in  a  series  of  revival  meetings, 
where  grand  results  were  achieved.  This  is,  perhap.*;, 
not  the  place  for  a  detailed  history  of  his  ministerial 
work,  neither  can  space  be  given  to  detail;  but  sufifice 
it   to  say  that  what  he  could   do  has  been  well   and 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


cheerfully  done.  As  a  helper  to  all,  without  regard 
to  creed,  no  man  has  been  found  more  ready,  even  at 
the  sacrifice  of  personal  interests,  to  respond  to  all 
calls,  than  he.  He  is  a  man  of  strong  religious  feel- 
ing, and  one  who  counts  nothing  as  gain,  unless  it 
tends  to  God's  glory.  Though  well  past  the  three- 
score years  and  ten  allotted  to  man,  and  not  possessed 
of  robust  health,  he  is  filled  with  an  ambition  for  the 
carrying  on  of  the  Master's  work  that  many  a  young 
man  might  envy,  and  will  devote  the  few  years  left  to 
him  to  preaching  the  gospel,  and  to  that  auxiliary 
work, — temperance.  He  is  an  ardent  advocate  not 
only  of  temperance,  but  also  of  prohibition.  Cleared 
from  financial  trouble,  he  is  no.v  free  to  give  his  at- 
tention to  his  chosen  work. 

Mr.  Crittenden  has  experienced  more  than  the  usual 
trials  of  the  pioneer,  for  he  had  hardly  recovered  from 
the  effect  of  the  litigation  for  the  possession  of  his 
home,  when  an  overflow  of  Stevens  Creek  swept  over 
his  farm,  and  did  damage  that  years  of  toil,  with  his 
diminished  income,  no  more  than  repaired.  This  hap- 
pened in  January,  1880,  and  in  July  of  the  same  year 
his  fine  family  residence,  with  its  furniture,  and  a  library 
which  he  had  spent  forty  years  in  collecting,  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire !  These  losses  created  an  indebted- 
ness of  $7,000,  which  it  took  years  of  industry  and 
economy  to  liquidate.  The  original  entry  of  160 
acres  is  still  retained  by  the  family,  and  perhaps  no 
better  land  can  be  found  in  the  county.  A  fine 
orchard  for  home  use  furnishes  almost  every  variety 
of  deciduous  fruit.  At  the  present  writing  the  farm 
is  devoted  almost  entirely  to  the  production  of  hay, 
which  it  yields  bountifully.  A  large  expenditure  has 
been  made  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  the  disastrous 
flooding  of  1880. 

Of  Mr.  Crittenden's  family  we  record  that  he  mar- 
ried Virginia  Caroline  Smith,  a  native  of  St.  Clair 
County,  Illinois,  October  4,  1870.  She  was  a  widow, 
and  the  mother  of  two  children,  Albert  and  Olive, 
who  took  the  name  of  their  stepfather.  Olive  died 
April  22,  1873.  By  the  second  marriage  there  have 
been  three  children:  Elmer  Orrin,  who  died  April  10, 
1888,  in  his  eighteenth  year;  a  daughter,  that  died  in 
irifancy;  and  George,  a  promising  lad,  now  fourteen 
years  of  age.  He  is  his  father's  assistant  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  farm,  and  has  been  carefully  reared 
and  educated,  with  the  expectation  of  taking  a  col- 
legiate course,  should  his  health  permit.  The  death 
of  Elmer  was  a  specially  severe  loss  to  his  parents. 
He  had  been  trained  and  educated  with  great  care, 
and  was  a  bright,  studious   youth,  a  loving  son,  and 


the  pride  of  his  parents.  He  was  beloved  by  all  who 
knew  him,  and  his  death  was  felt  to  be  a  common 
bereavement.  He  had  the  faith  of  the  Christian,  and 
was  a  devoted  member  of  the  Missionary  Baptist 
Church.  His  loss  was  a  very  hard  blow  for  the  family, 
but  was  borne  with  the  Christian  fortitude  which  had 
sustained  them  through  many  trials  less  severe. 

Albert  Crittenden  married  Miss  Alice  Williams. 
They  are  well  settled  in  life,  having  their  home  not 
far  from  May  field. 


fe- 


fHOMAS  VANCE,  Captain  of  the  Nightwatch 
of  the  Police  Force  of  San  Jose,  is  at  present 
S)|°  (1888)  the  veteran  of  the  force,  having  joined  it 
in  June,  1872.  He  was  born  near  Jackson,  Ten- 
nessee, in  1826.  His  parents  having  died  during  his 
early  childhood,  he  was  brought  up  by  an  uncle, 
Thomas  McKnight,  who  removed  to  Mississippi  when 
Thomas  Vance  was  about  thirteen  years  of  age.  He 
remained  there  until  about  eighteen  years  old,  work- 
ing on  his  uncle's  farm  and  attending  school,  when 
the  opportunity  offered.  At  that  age  he  went  to  New 
Orleans,  and  after  remaining  there  four  months  he 
joined,  early  in  May,  1846,  the  Second  Louisiana  In- 
fantry, commanded  by  Colonel  I.  N.  Marks.  They 
proceeded  to  Point  Isabel,  on  the  Rio  Grande,  and 
marched  up  to  where  Brownsville  now  is.  The  com- 
mand remained  on  the  Rio  Grande  while  the  Mexican 
War  lasted,  when  they  returned  to  New  Orleans.  On 
being  mustered  out  he  returned  to  Tennessee,  where 
he  again  devoted  himself  to  farming  until  i860,  when 
he  came  to  California,  settling  immediately  in  the 
foot-hills,  near  Los  Gatos,  in  Santa  Clara  County. 
Here  he  engaged  in  teaming  and  lumbering  until 
1870,  when  he  came  to  San  Jose,  becoming  Deputy 
Sheriff  under  N.  R.  Harris,  then  Sheriff  of  the  county. 
He  remained  in  that  position  two  years,  at  the  expira- 
tion of  which  time  he  joined  the  police  force,  with 
which  he  has  been  connected  ever  since,  working  his 
way  up  from  patrolman  to  his  present  position.  The 
fact  that  Captain  Vance  has  been  re-elected  each  year 
by  the  Mayor  and  Common  Council  is  full  evidence 
of  his  valuable  and  faithful  service  during  that  time. 
He  was  married  in  December,  1849,  to  Miss  Sophia 
Jane  Smith,  of  Jackson,  Tennessee.  They  have  three 
children:  Laura  E.,  wife  of  Thomas  Beck,  of  Berry- 
essa;  Mary  A.,  wife  of  T.  J.  Rivers,  of  Los  Angeles; 
Jessie  S.,  engaged  in  teaching  in  Los  Angeles  County. 
Captain  Vance  has  an  orchard  of  four  acres,  planted 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


371 


in  prunes  and  apricots,  just  coming  into  bearing.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  American  Legion  of  Honor,  and 
also  a  member  of  the  Mexican  War  Veterans'  Asso- 
ciation, and  pensioner  of  that  war. 


aHEVVITT  C.  VESTAL.  This  gentleman,  who  is 
S^  one  of  the  successful  pioneer  horticulturists  of 
J^  Santa  Clara  County,  owns  sixty-five  acres  of 
valuable  land  fronting  on  Twelfth  and  Rosa 
Streets,  in  San  Jose.  This  tract  is  now  platted  and 
subdivided,  and  the  map  is  on  record.  About  fifty 
acres  of  the  land  is  in  fruit,  viz.:  2,oco  apricots,  800 
cherries,  800  egg  plums,  and  300  peach-trees,  practi- 
cally all  in  bearing.  In  1887  there  were  produced 
from  this  orchard  250  tons  of  apricots,  15  tons  of 
cherries,  15  tons  of  egg  plums,  and  5  tons  of  peaches. 

Mr.  Vestal  was  born  in  Yadkin  County,  North 
Carolina,  in  1836.  His  parents,  Asa  and  Elizabeth 
(De  Jarnatt)  Vestal,  were  natives  of  North  Carolina, 
his  father's  ancestors,  Quakers,  having  come  over 
from  England  with  William  Penn,  settling  in  what 
is  now  Lancaster  County,  Penn.sylvania,  where  one 
branch  of  the  family  still  owns  and  occupies  the  origi- 
nal house.  His  mother's  ancestors  were  French  Hu- 
guenots. Mr.  Vestal's  father,  who  was  a  wagon  and 
carriage  manufacturer,  removed,  in  1839,  to  Jackson 
County,  Missouri,  following  his  trade  in  connection 
with  farming.  In  1849  he  sold  out  and  crossed  the 
plains  to  California  by  the  usual  means  of  transpor- 
tation— the  ox  team.  The  company  was  about  six 
months  on  the  way,  starting  on  the  first  day  of  May, 
and  reaching  the  Sacramento  Valley  the  twenty-ninth 
of  October,  1849.  Mr.  Vestal  and  his  father  left  the 
family  and  went  to  the  Feather  River,  where  they 
engaged  in  mining,  in  which  operations  they  were 
quite  successful.  They  started,  in  May,  1850,  for  the 
Santa  Clara  Valley,  and  after  encountering  some  de- 
lays on  account  of  high  waters  in  the  San  Joaquin 
River,  finally  settled  in  the  spot  where  Mr.  Vestal 
now  lives,  paying  $100  an  acre  for  about  ten  acres. 
The  father  bought,  later,  seventeen  acres  more  than 
half  of  the  500-acre  lot.  No.  15,  which,  of  course, 
contained  much  less  than  500  acres,  at  $20  an  acre. 
Both  parents,  died  within  three  weeks  of  each  other, 
the  mother  in  December,  1883,  the  father  in  January, 
1884,  and  both  near  the  age  of  eighty-three  years. 

In  1S54  Mr.  Vestal  entered  the  University  of  the 
Pacific,  a  member  of  the  first  class  organized  in  that 
now  famous   institution,   and   was   a   member  of  the 


class  when  it  graduated  in  1858 — the  first  class  to 
graduate  in  California.  He  then  commenced  the 
study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  A.  J.  Spencer,  of  San 
Jose;  but  in  1861,  at  the  firing  on  Fort  Sumter,  he 
gave  up  his  studies  and  helped  to  raise  two  companies 
of  infantry,  under  Colonel,  afterwards  Major-General, 
Carleton.  They  enlisted  under  the  promise  from  Sec- 
retary Stanton  that  they  would  be  transferred  to 
the  Potomac,  but  instead  were  sent  to  Arizona.  Mr. 
Vestal  was  engaged,  with  his  command,  until  1863,  in 
fighting  Indians  and  protecting  the  route  to  Califor- 
nia from  the  depredations  of  Texas  Confederates. 
He  was  then  compelled  to  resign  on  account  of  dis- 
ability incurred  in  service,  and  did  not  regain  his 
health  until  1S70.  Meanwhile,  he  was  appointed  ap- 
praiser of  public  lands  by  the  Council  of  San  Jose, 
attending  to  this  office  until  1869,  since  which  time 
he  has  devoted  himself  to  fruit-growing.  From  1867 
to  1876  he  was  a  member  of  the  Common  Council  of 
San  Jose. 

In  1873  Mr.  Vestal  was  married  to  Miss  Sallie  I. 
Hall,  a  native  of  Texas,  her  parents  having  removed 
from  North  Carolina  to  Texas,  and  in  1853  to  Cali- 
fornia. There  are  of  this  union  eight  children:  Hall, 
Clinton,  Bruce,  Laura  I.,  Valona,  Maxwell,  Marian, 
and  Marguerite. 

Mr.  Vestal  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  being 
the  first  member  initiated  in  Garden  City  Lodge, 
No.  142;  was  also  the  first  initiated  in  San  Jose  En- 
campment. He  is  also  a  member  of  Phil  Sheridan 
Post,  No.  7,  G.  A.  R.,  San  Jose;  is  a  Republican  in 
politics,  having  cast  his  first  vote  for  Lincoln  in  i860; 
believes  in  the  protection  of  American  industries,  and 
is  a  member  of  the  National,  State,  and  County  Hor- 
ticultural Societies. 

I&ENRY  REINHARDT,  deceased,  one  of  the 
ScTiJ'  early  settlers  of  the  Hamilton  District,  was  born 
(^  in  Mulhausen,  Province  of  Alsace,  Germany, 
July,  1 81 8.  In  his  native  land,  in  1844,  he  married 
Miss  Rosalie  Weiss,  who  was  born  in  the  same  prov- 
ince in  1822.  Mr.  Reinhardt  was  reared  to  a  farm 
life  in  Germany.  In  1849  he  visited  the  United  States, 
spending  some  time  in  New  York  city  and  Albany, 
but  not  finding  an  opening  to  suit  him  he  re- 
turned to  the  old  country  after  a  few  months.  There 
he  was  engaged  in  dairying  and  farming  until  1857, 
when,  with  his  wife  and  six  children,  he  embarked  for 
America,  landing  at  New  York  city.     After  spending 


372 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD: 


three  months  In  Philadelphia  they  came  by  way  of 
the  Isthmus  to  San  Francisco,  reaching  that  place  in 
the  autumn  of  the  same  year.  Two  years,  as  a  renter, 
he  occupied  the  family  homestead  where  he  lived  so 
long,  his  crop  of  grain  raised  in  1859  paying  in  full 
for  the  land  which  he  bought  in  i860.  The  160  acres 
(the  homestead)  fronts  on  the  Santa  Clara  and  Los 
Gatos  road,  three  miles  south  of  Santa  Clara.  All 
the  improvements  on  the  place  were  made  by  Mr. 
Reinhardt.  He  was  a  systematic,  frugal,  and  ener- 
getic man,  living  a  most  worthy  life,  respected  and 
esteemed  by  all  who  knew  him.  He  was  at  the  time 
of  his  death  a  member  of  the  German  Methodist 
Church.  He  died  December  i,  1883.  His  widow 
now  resides  at  No.  78  South  Third  Street,  San  Jose. 
She  is  the  mother  of  sixteen  children,  six  of  whom 
are  living:  Mrs.  Lena  Munch,  Santa  Clara;  Emile,  a 
resident  of  Salinas  City,  Monterey  County;  Otto  A., 
who  resides  upon  the  old  homestead;  Mrs.  Emma  De- 
Witt,  of  San  Jose;  Mrs.  Matilda  Fruhling,  of  San 
Jose;  Martha  F.  lives  with  her  mother.  Mrs.  Rein- 
hardt owns  a  number  of  residences  and  other  city 
property  in  San  Jose. 


fOUIS  S.  CAVALLARO.  It  is  usually  the 
case  that  some  few  men  engage  in  the  different 
T  departments  of  manufacture.  The  result  is 
seen  in  the  increase  of  their  business  and  the  popu- 
larity of  the  products  turned  out.  To  illustrate  this, 
may  be  cited  the  name  of  Mr.  L.  S.  Cavallaro,  man- 
ufacturer of,  and  dealer  in,  fine  Havana  cigars,  to- 
bacco, pipes,  etc.,  at  No.  38  North  First  Street.  He 
has  been  a  resident  of  San  Jose  since  1873,  has  been 
in  business  since  1878,  and  in  his  present  location 
since  1884.  He  makes  a  specialty  of  fine  hand-made 
goods,  employing  only  the  best  white  labor  and  watch- 
ing the  product  most  closely  to  keep  it  up  to  standard. 
He  imports  his  Havana  tobacco  direct  from  Cuba, 
via  New  York,  and  in  some  brands  uses  a  Connecti- 
cut fuller  with  a  Havana  seed-wrapper.  The  "  Vol- 
cano "  is  his  best  brand,  a  straight  Havana  cigar  of 
great  merit.  It  has  met  with  popular  approval,  and 
he  uses  only  the  best  material,  put  together  by  the 
most  skillful  workmen,  employing  in  all  seven  men. 
The  market  is  largely  in  this  county,  although  there 
are  an  increasing  number  of  customers  in  the  sur- 
rounding counties.  Mr.  Cavallaro  manufactured  200,- 
000  cigars  in  1 887,  and  will  probably  make  a  quarter 
of  a  million  in  18S8,  judging  by  the  trade  at  the  time 


of  writing.  He  does  his  own  traveling,  and  always 
comes  up  to  or  goes  be3^ond  representation. 

Mr.  Cavallaro  is  a  native  of  Italy,  born  in  1856, 
and  came  to  New  York  in  1870.  There  he  learned  the 
cigar  business  in  a  factory  on  Pearl  Street,  which  was 
operated  by  Cubans,  and  from  them  he  learned  the 
popular  Cuban  methods  of  preparing  the  tobacco  and 
finishing  the  cigar.  In  1873  he  came  to  San  Jose  and 
has  resided  here  since. 

He  was  married,  in  1880,  to  Miss  Mary  Augusta 
Hoon,  of  this  city.  They  have  two  children,  Domenico 
and  Genevieve  C.  His  residence  is  at  No.  48  North 
Sixth  Street,  built  by  him  in  1 888.  He  is  a  member  of 
San  Jose  I  .odge.  No.  34, 1.  O.  O.  F. ;  of  San  Jose  Camp, 
No.  9,  Patriarchs  Militant;  is  a  member  and  Treas- 
urer of  the  Druids;  is  a  member  of  the  Italian  Be- 
nevolent Society;  i.s  a  Lieutenant  of  the  San  Jose 
Hussars  ;  and  a  member  of  Triumph  Lodge,  No.  40 
(Uniform  Rank),  Knights  of  Pythias.  Mr.  Cavallaro 
is  a  worthy  example  of  our  citizens  of  foreign  parent- 
age, a  true  American  in  sentiment  and  feelings,  and 
one  who  does  honor  to  the  chosen  land  of  his  adop- 
tion. Coming  here  with  no  inherited  wealth  except 
a  stout  heart,  a  clear  head  and  trained  hands,  he  has 
gradually  forced  his  way  to  the  front.  Liberal  in  his 
dealings,  and  public-spirited  in  all  beneficial  causes, 
he  has  by  attention  to  business  and  strict  integrity 
built  up  a  trade  which  is  rapidly  increasing. 

§R.  A.  A.  GASTON.  This  gentleman  has  forty- 
one  acres  at  Campbell's  Station,  which  he  pur- 
&^  cha.sed  in  December,  1883.  Up  to  that  time  it 
had  been  cultivated  to  grain,  but  the  following 
spring  the  Doctor  planted  it  to  prune  trees,  thirty-six 
acres  in  French  and  the  rest  in  Silver  prunes.  Mrs. 
Gaston  owns  five  acres  in  the  Willows,  on  Washington 
Avenue,  between  Pineand  Minnesota  Avenues.  This 
choice  tract  is  planted  to  prunes,  cherries,  and  apri- 
cots. 

Dr.  Gaston  is  a  native  of  Troy,  Pike  County,  Ala- 
bama, where  he  was  born  in  1849.  His  parents,  Hon. 
Henry  A.  and  Josephine  (Battin)  Gaston,  were  na- 
tives of  New  York  State.  His  father  was  liberally 
educated  in  Ohio,  and  went  from  there  to  Troj',  Ala- 
bama, where  for  seven  years  he  was  Principal  of  an 
academy.  During  this  time  he  studied  law  and  was 
then  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  in  1854  became  to  Cal- 
ifornia, locating  in  Sierra  County,  whence  he  was  sent 
to  the  Legislature  the  next  year.     In  1861  he  organ- 


BIO GRA  PHICAL  SKETCHES. 


373 


ized  the  Union  party  in  this  State.  In  1S72  he 
changed  his  residence  to  the  State  of  Nevada  and 
represented  his  district  in  the  Legislature  tliere,  be- 
ing elected  Speaker  of  the  House  in  1879.  He  was 
the  author  of  "  The  Ready  Lawyer,"  "  The  Little 
Lawyer,"  and  other  well-known  works  of  literature. 
The  family  are  of  French  descent.  Their  paternal 
ancestor,  Adolph  Gaston,  was  a  refugee  from  France 
during  the  persecution  of  the  Huguenots,  and  later 
members  of  his  family  emigrated  to  America,  of 
which  branch  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  is  a 
cousin  of  ex-Govei  nor  Gaston,  of  Massachusetts,  is  a 
descendant.  The  Doctor's  mother  was  a  cousin  of  the 
wife  of  President  Tyler.  Dr.  Gaston  came  with  his 
mother  and  sister  to  California,  by  tiie  Panama  route, 
in  January,  1857,  to  join  his  father,  who  was  already 
a  resident  of  this  State  and  closely  allied  with  its  po- 
litical history. 

After  completing  a  course  of  study  in  the  Gates 
Institute,  Dr.  Gaston  studied  dentistry,  and,  having 
successfully  passed  a  thorough  examination,  received 
from  the  State  Dental  Board  a  certificate  to  practice 
in  this  State,  which  he  has  done  for  a  number  of  years. 
He  is  a  member  of  Friendship  Lodge,  No.  47,  of  San 
Jose  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  of  Mt.  Hamilton  Lodge, 
A.  O.  U.  W.,  of  San  Jose.  The  Doctor  is  a  man  of 
warm  feelings,  and  is  genial  in  his  intercourse  with 
friends;  he  possesses  a  fine  intellect  and  brilliant  con- 
versational powers. 

^     •        ''^^'        '•   "^ 

^^UDOLPH  B.  SPENCE,  land  owner  and  ag- 
S^^  riculturist  in  Monterey  County,  was  born  in 
'np  Monterey,  California,  in  1857.  He  attended 
school  in  Monterey  up  to  the  age  of  thirteen 
years,  when  he  commenced  a  course  in  the  Santa 
Clara  College,  remaining  there  till  ninett  en  years  of 
age.  At  that  time  he  became  engaged  in  the  ofifice 
of  his  uncle,  Mr.  M.  Malarin,  President  of  the  Safe 
Deposit  Bank  of  Santa  Clara,  where  he  remained 
one  year,  when  he  left  to  take  charge  of  the  estate 
left  by  his  father  and  grandfather,  which  he  man- 
aged until  all  the  members  of  the  family  became  of 
age.  He  now  attends  to  his  own  and  his  sister's 
(Miss  Arcadia  Spence)  interest. 

He  was  married  in  January,  1886,  to  Miss  Mamie 
Sullivan,  a  native  of  California,  who  was  born  in  San 
Francisco  in  1862.  Her  parents  were  John  and  Ada 
E.  (Kenna)  Sullivan.  Her  father,  one  of  the  pioneers 
of  1844,  came  to  California  with   the   Murph)^  part}' 


in  that  year,  he  having  known  that  family  in  Canada, 
and  later  in  Missouri.  Mr.  Sullivan  was  successively 
a  storekeeper,  real-estate  owner,  and  capitalist,  having 
been  the  founder  and  president  of  the  Hibernia  Bank 
of  San  Francisco.  He  was  a  man  of  upright  char- 
acter and  well  known  for  his  abundant  charities.  He 
died  in  1882,  at  the  age  of  58  years.  One  of  his  sons 
is  the  Hon.  Frank  J.  Sullivan,  member  of  Congress 
from  the  Fifth  Congressional  District.  Mrs.  Ada  E. 
Sullivan  was  a  native  of  Brandon,  Mississippi,  arriv- 
ing in  California  with  her  parents  during  the  '50's. 
Her  father,  Capt.  Ramsbottom  Kenna,  was  at  -one 
time  the  owner  of  a  line  of  packets  running  between 
Charleston  and  ether  Southern  ports  on  the  Atlantic 
Coast.  He  died  soon  after  arriving  in  California, 
Mr.  Spence's  parents  were  David  S.  and  Refugio 
(Malarin)  Spence.  His  grandfather  was  David 
Spence,  a  native  of  Scotland  and  member  of  a  prom- 
inent old  Scottisii  family;  who,  after  being  in  business 
in  Callao,  Peru,  for  two  years,  came  to  California  in 
1824  and  settled  in  Monterey,  where  he  lived  for  over 
fifty  years,  engaged  in  buying  and  selling  the  products 
of  the  country  and  shipping  them  to  Europe.  He 
was  appointed  Alcalde  of  Monterey  by  Governor 
Argtiello,  whose  niece,  Adelaida  Estrada,  daughter  of 
Mariano  Estrada,  the  commander  of  the  Mexican 
forces  in  California,  he  married  in  1829.  There  was 
born  to  this  union  one  child,  David  Stewart  Spence, 
the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  David  S. 
was  married  in  1856  to  Miss  Malarin,  and  to  them 
were  born  six  children,  two  of  whom,  Ellen  and 
Amelia,  died  in  early  childhood.  The  four  living 
children  are:  Rudolph  B.,  Albert  Alexander,  David  J., 
and  Arcadia  J.  The  grandfather  of  these  children 
died  in  1875,  aged  77  years,  and  for  more  than  fifty 
years  was  a  prominent  citizen  of  Monterey  County. 
He  left  a  large  estate,  of  which  he  bequeathed  liber- 
ally to  various  churches  and  charitable  institutions, 
and  to  several  friends  and  relatives,  besides  leaving 
an  ample  fortune  to  his  grandchildren.  Mr.  Rudolph 
Spence  is  engaged  in  stock-raising  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent, but  the  most  of  his  lands  are  rented.  He  has 
3,000  acres  in  Monterey  Countj',  of  which  about  two- 
thirds  is  farming  land  and  the  remainder  adapted  to 
fruit  and  stock-raising.  Mr.  Spence  has  a  magnifi- 
cent residence  on  the  Alameda  near  Fremont  Avenue, 
between  San  Jose  and  Santa  Clara,  each  of  his 
brothers  having  also  handsome  homes  adjoining  him. 
Bancroft,  in  his  "History  of  the  Pacific  States,"  vol- 
ume 19,  page  526,  says:  "Among  new-comers  the 
m.ist  prominent  was  David   Spence,  the  Scotchman, 


374 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


who  arrived  on  the  Picarro  to  take  charge  of  the 
meat-packing  establishment  of  Begg  &  Co.,  and  who 
became  a  leading  and  wealthy  citizen."  In  the  fifth 
volume  of  the  "  Pioneers'  Register  and  Index  "  the  fol- 
lowing account  appears:  "David  Spence  arrived  in 
1824,  a  native  of  Scotland,  who  had  lived  a  few  years 
at  Lima  and  came  to  California  in  the  Pizarro  to  su- 
perintend the  meat-packing  establishment  of  Begg  & 
Co.,  at  Monterey." 

In  1827  he  started  in  business  for  himself,  and  was 
prosperous  from  the  beginning,  being  cautious,  close, 
and  energetic.  His  name  often  appears  in  the  record 
of  each  year.  In  1829  he  married  Adelaida,  daugh- 
ter of  Mariano  Estrada,  taking  an  active  part  in  the 
protection  of  Monterey  during  the  Solis  revolt.  He 
was  naturalized  in  1830.  In  1834-39  he  was  grantee 
of  Encinal  y  Buena  Esperanza  Rancho,  of  which  he 
was  claimant  and  permanent  owner.  In  1835  he  was 
appointed  Alcalde.  In  1836  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Deputacioii,  and  in  this  and  the  following  year  was 
secretly  a  supporter  of  Alvarado's  government,  choos- 
ing not  to  act  openly  as  a  member  of  the  Congress, 
yet  exerting  quietly  much  influence  in  municipal  and 
legislative  matters.  He  was  elected  jiiez  de  paz  in 
1839  and  1840,  furnishing  information  to  Laplace, 
giving  Sutter  a  letter  of  introduction,  and  doubtless 
favoring  the  exile  Graham  and  his  vagabonds.  In 
1843-45  he  was  a  member  of  the  Junta  Department; 
in  1845,  in  command  of  the  foreign  guard  to  protect 
Monterey  during  the  Micheltoreno  troubles,  being 
also  appointed  Prefect  by  Governor  Pico,  but  appar- 
ently declining  the  office.  In  1846,  though  popularly 
believed  to  have  intrigued  for  an  English  Protectorate, 
he  was  regarded  by  Larkin  as  friendly  to  the  United 
States  ;  was  a  member  of  the  Council  after  the  change 
of  flag,  and  of  the  Legislative  Council  in  1847.  He 
subsequently  served  as  Prefect  in  1849-50,  and  as 
County  Supervisor  in  1858-60.  About  1848  he  gave 
up  his  mercantile  enterprises  and  devoted  himself 
chiefly  to  the  care  of  his  estate  and  the  raising  of  live- 
stock. In  1873  he  furnished  some  brief  historical 
notes,  and  died  in  1875,  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven 
years.  Don  David  had  an  excellent  reputation 
among  the  pioneers  of  California,  few  exerting  so 
wide  and  extensive  an  influence.  While  not  exactly 
pO|)ular,  by  reason  of  his  conservatism,  obstinate  as 
any  of  his  race,  ami  making  enemies  as  well  as 
friends,  he  yet  merited  and  received  the  respect  of  all 
classes.  His  wife  survived  him  but  a  month,  and  his 
only  son,  David,  born  in  1830  and  educated  in  Hono- 
lulu, died   in  186S,  leaving  three  sons  and  a  daughter. 


who  inherited  their  grandfather's  estate.  He  was  the 
first  Alcalde  to  keep  a  record  of  the  dividing  and 
ownership  of  lots  in  Monterey  when  it  was  changed 
from  a  presidio  to  a  pueblo. 


jj^LFRED  R.  TOMKIN,  druggist,   was  born   in 

<^i7&  Witham,  Essex  County,  England,  June  7,  1826. 

4?    He  is   a   son    of   Dr.    Thomas   M.    Tomkin,    a 

t  graduate  of  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Sur- 
geons, in  London,  England.  During  his  life-time  he 
practiced  medicine,  and  instituted  a  private  lunatic 
asylum,  besides  being  much  engaged  in  medical  lit- 
erature, writing  for  the  Lancet  and  other  medical  jour- 
nals. He  died  in  1858,  and  his  son,  Dr.  Thomas  M. 
Tomkin,  Jr.,  succeeded  him  in  his  practice  and  in 
the  management  of  the  asylum.  The  mother  of  the 
gentleman  of  whom  we  write  was  a  Miss  Eleanor 
Royce,  a  native  of  Essex  County,  and  married  Dr. 
Tomkin  early  in  the  present  century.  She  died  in 
1 868. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  attended  the  Merchant 
Tailors'  school,  then  in  Suffolk  Street,  at  London,  for 
seven  or  eight  years,  passing  the  usual  examinations. 
On  the  thirteenth  of  March,  1849,  he  embarked  in 
the  St.  George,  and  bade  farewell  to  friends  and  coun- 
try, and  turned  his  face  toward  the  Golden  West. 
He  sailed  around  the  Horn,  and  came  direct  from  En- 
gland to  California,  the  trip  occupying  seven  months, 
one  of  which  was  spent  in  Valparaiso.  He  reached 
San  Francisco  on  October  13,  and,  storing  his  goods 
he  had  brought  with  him,  like  all  new-comers  at 
that  time,  started  immediately  for  the  mines.  After 
digging  a  little  gold  at  Mud  Springs,  he  was  taken 
sick,  and  returned  to  San  Francisco,  only  to  find  that 
his  goods  had  been  destroyed  by  fire,  leaving  him  ab- 
solutely without  means.  But  he  afterward  received 
a  remittance  from  England,  and,  rel3'ing  upon  his 
knowledge  of  medicine  to  aid  him,  he  opened  a  drug 
store  in  Santa  Clara  in  1854.  He  remained  there 
sixteen  years,  and  then  removed  to  San  Jose,  where 
he  has  since  resided.  In  1887  he  was  elected  Coro- 
ner and  Public  Administrator  of  Santa  Clara  County, 
which  office  he  still  holds. 

In  1858  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Martha 
F.  P'orbes,  the  eldest  daughter  of  James  Alexander 
Forbes,  who  came  to  this  country  from  Edinburgh, 
Scotland,  in  an  early  day,  and  was  British  Consul 
during  the  Mexican  occupancy  of  California,  before 
it  was  ceded   to   the   United    States.     Mrs.    Tomkin 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


375 


died  in  1875.  Dr.  Tomkin  lias  seven  living  children: 
Alfred  F.,  engaged  in  farming  in  this  county;  Charles 
H.,  a  silk  manufacturer;  Eleanor  F.,  wife  of  Thomas 
Roots,  a  nurseryman  of  San  Jose;  Thomas,  a  painter 
by  trade;  Anna  M.,  who  resides  with  her  father; 
Martha  and  Clara  B.,  also  living  at  home  and  attend- 
ing school  in  San  Jose. 

^ 

^ANIEL  J.  PORTER,  of  the  firm  of  D.  J.  Por- 
gM  ter  &  Son,  No.  83  South  First  Street,  San  Jose, 
J^  was  born  in  Stony  Brook  Harbor,  Long  Island, 
New  York,  in  1828.  In  1833  his  parents  removed 
to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  where  his  father  died  in  1839,  leav- 
ing a  large  family  of  children.  From  that  time  it  may 
be  said  he  battled  his  own  way  in  life,  first  finding  a 
home  in  Central  Ohio,  with  a  tanner,  and  later  on  a 
farm.  There  he  had  the  advantages  usual  in  the 
West  at  that  time,  of  three  months'  schooling  each 
year,  which  indeed  was  his  only  opportunity  of  edu- 
cation. At  the  age  of  eighteen  years  he  engaged  as 
an  apprentice  to  the  wagon-maker's  trade.  In  1850 
he  removed  to  Rahway,  New  Jersey,  where  he  com- 
pleted learning  his  trade  in  the  carriage  shop  of  his 
half-brother,  S.  C.  Tooker.  In  1851  he  went  to 
Louisville,  Kentucky,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade 
for  several  months,  returning  in  January,  1852,  to 
Cincinnati,  where  he  remained  until  April,  when  he 
started  across  the  plains,  undecided  as  to  whether  he 
would  go  to  Oregon  or  California.  At  the  Big  Sandy 
Creek,  Utah  Territory,  the  party  took  a  vote  to  de- 
termine whether  they  would  take  the  road  to  Oregon 
or  to  California.  The  vote  was  in  favor  of  the  latte_r 
road.  They  came  through  Johnson's  cut-off,  passing 
Hangtown  (now  Placerville)  about  August  20,  1852. 
His  party  arrived  at  Sacramento,  where  they  rested 
a  few  days  and  then  sold  their  outfit  and  disbanded. 
Through  the  representations  of  a  Mormon,  they 
met  at  Sacramento  Mr.  Porter,  and  one  of  his  party 
came  on  to  Santa  Clara  Valley,  leaving  his  brother 
David  in  Sacramento.  He  arrived  in  San  Jo.se  Sep- 
tember I,  1852,  and  at  once  went  to  work  at  his  trade 
of  wagon-making.  In  November  he  and  H.  J.  Has- 
kell, who  came  across  the  plains  with  him,  opened  a 
shop  for  themselves.  They  bought  the  property 
where  Mr.  Porter's  oflfice  now  is,  and  conducted  their 
business  until  1867.  In  that  year  they  built  the  block 
now  on  that  site  called  the  "Gray  Eagle  Building,"  in 
which  Mr.  Porter  has  owned  an  interest  since  that  time. 
He  conducted  a  livery  stable  in  the  building  until 
1869,  when  he  sold  it  and  entered  into  the  insurance 


business,  adding  the  real-estate  business  to  it  a  few 
years  afterward.  Mr.  Porter  has  an  orchard  of  five 
acres  on  the  Alum  Rock  road  four  miles  from  San 
Jose,  planted  to  F"rench  prunes,  just  coming  into  bear- 
ing. He  was  a  member  of  the  City  Council  for  six 
years  (1862-68),  having  been  elected  three  times. 
He  made  special  efforts  to  save  the  reservations  to 
the  city  now  embodied  in  Alum  Rock  Park,  the 
Normal  School  site,  and  the  site  of  the  City  Hall. 
There  had  been  a  determined  effort  on  the  part  of 
individuals  to  get  illegal  possession  of  these  lands, 
and  only  by  determined  opposition  by  the  City  Coun- 
cil were  they  prevented  from  so  doing — thus  saving 
to  the  people  of  San  Jose  these  valuable  properties." 
Without  this  fight  the  city  would  have  received  less 
than  $250  for  the  Alum  Rock  reservation,  which  is 
now  worth  fully  $50,000. 

Mr.  Porter  was  married  in  1855  to  Miss  Caroline 
McKee,  a  native  of  Connecticut.  Seven  children 
were  born  to  this  marriage,  of  whom  five  died  in 
infancy  or  early  childhood.  Two  are  now  living: 
Daniel  A.,  engaged  in  business  with  his  father,  and 
Adelia,  still  residing  at  her  father's  home.  He  is  a 
member  of  Friendship  Lodge,  No.  210,  F.  &  A.  M., 
San  Jose,  and  of  Garden  City  Lodge,  No.  142,  I.  O. 
O.  F.  He  is  a  Republican  and  believes  in  the  fullest 
protection  to  American  industries,  and  in  protecting 
American  labor  by  prohibiting  the  free  importation 
of  pauper  labor.  He  has  been  actively  interested  in 
the  development  of  the  interests  of  San  Jose  on  the 
best  and  broadest  basis. 


fR.  A.C.  HIRST.  The  President  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  the  Pacific,  San  Jose,  A.  C.  Hirst,  D.  D., 
J^{  was  born  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  June  15,  1839. 
He  was  for  a  number  of  years  a  pupil  in  the 
schools  of  that  city,  but  finished  his  collegiate  educa- 
tion at  Hanover  College,  Indiana,  in  1859,  graduating 
in  that  year  with  honor.  He  was  elected  at  once 
Adjunct  Professor  of  Latin  and  Greek  in  Stewart 
College,  Clarksville,  Tennessee.  His  first  position 
afterward  was  that  of  Associate  Principal  of  Sayre 
Female  Institute,  Lexington,  Kentucky,  which  he  re- 
signed to  accept  a  professorship  in  Transylvania 
University.  For  five  years  he  was  Superintendent  of 
Public  Schools  at  fronton,  Ohio,  and  in  1870  became 
Professor  of  the  Latin  Language  and  Literature  in  the 
State  University  at  Athens,  Ohio.  He  quitted  his 
professional  duties    to    engage   in    active    ministerial 


376 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  ''GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


work  in  connection  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and  served  the  leading  churches  at  Marietta, 
Washington,  Chillicothe,  Cokunbus,  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
and  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  being  Pastor  for  one 
term  of  Christ  Church  in  the  latter  city.  He  was 
also  for  one  year  Principal  of  the  public  schools  at 
Washington  Court  House,  Ohio,  after  he  entered  the 
ministry.  In  1887  Dr.  Hirst  was  Pastor  of  Trinity 
Church,  Cincinnati,  when  he  was  requested  to  assume 
the  duties  of  President  of  the  University  of  the 
Pacific.  Finally  yielding  to  the  most  pressing  invita- 
tions, and  the  manifest  call  and  necessity  of  the  oc- 
casion. Dr.  Hirst  consented  to  accept  the  position. 
He  resigned  his  pastorate  in  Cincinnati,  and  arrived 
here,  as  was  stated,  in  August,  1887,  at  once  entering 
upon  his  duties,  following  in  this  position  Dr.  C.  C. 
Stratton,  the  eminent  educator,  who  resigned  in  or- 
der to  undertake  the  presidency  of  Mills  College. 

It  wih  thus  be  seen  that  Dr.  Hirst  fills  his  labori- 
ous and  responsible  position  as  President  of  a  great 
university,  with  a  mind  well-stored  with  knowledge 
drawn  from  practical  experience  in  the  higher  walks 
of  educational  effort,  and  with  a  culture  enriched  and 
enlarged  from  the  direct  and  personal  advantages 
gained  by  an  itinerant  minister,  of  all  of  which  oppor- 
tunities he  has  made  excellent  use  in  the  storing  and 
maturing  of  information  and  experience.  The  Univer- 
sity has  felt  the  effect  already  of  his  energy  and  tact, 
and  displays  at  once  a  highly  gratifying  and  success- 
ful advance.  Dr.  Hirst  enjoys  a  high  rank  among 
theologians  and  pulpit  orators,  and  his  advent  to  this 
coast  marks  another  period  in  the  progress  of  educa- 
tional development  in  California. 

f""  HARLES  P.  OWEN,  Recorder  and  Auditor  of 
Santa  Clara  County,  was  boun  in  Port  Byron, 
e)U  New  York,  in  1858.  His  father,  J.  J.  Owen,  was 
a  native  of  Cayuga  County,  New  York,  and  an 
eminent  agriculturist  of  that  State,  having  twice  rep- 
resented his  district  in  the  State  Legislature.  In  185  I 
he  came  out  to  California,  and  for  two  years  was  mes- 
senger for  the  Gregory  Express  Company,  on  the 
Sacramento  River.  In  1853  he  returned  to  New 
York  State,  where  he  stayed  until  the  fall  of  1861, 
when  he  once  more  came  to  California,  bringing  out 
his  family  in  the  following  year.  He  at  once  estab- 
lished the  San  Jose  Mercury,  and  conducted  it 
continuously  until  three  years  ago,  when  he  sold 
out  to   Mr.   C    M.    Shortridge,   the  present    proprie- 


tor. He  is  now  conducting  the  Golden  Gate  news- 
paper in  San  Francisco.  He  represented  Santa  Clara 
County  in  the  State  Legislature  during  the  sessions 
of  1862  and  1S63,  holding  the  responsible  office  of 
Speaker  during  one  term,  and  being  always  an  active 
and  consistent  Republican.  From  the  time  of  mak- 
ing San  Jose  his  home  he  took  an  active  part  in  all 
public  works  of  general  benefit,  interesting  himself 
especially  in  the  lighting  of  the  city  by  electricity. 
He  was  President  and  founder  of  the  Electric  Light 
Works  in  San  Jose,  and  erected  the  splendid  electric 
tower  that  spans  the  intersection  of  Market  and  Santa 
Clara  Streets.  On  the  formation  of  the  company 
into  a  stock  association  this  was  purchased  jointly  by 
them  and  the  city.  He  is  still  a  stockholder  in  the 
company. 

Mr.  Owen's  mother  was  Kate  Paddack,  a  native  of 
New  York  State.  She  died  in  San  Jose,  in  1884. 
There  are  four  daughters  and  two  sons,  the  result  of 
this  union.  Of  these,  Clifford,  the  eldest,  is  now  and 
has  been  for  twenty  years  connected  with  the  San 
Jose  Mercury. 

Mr.  C.  P.  Owen  was  the  fourth  child.  He  attended 
the  public  schools  of  San  Jose,  graduating  in  1877. 
He  went  at  once  into  the  Mercury  office  as  cashier 
and  collector,  a  position  he  held  until  December,  1881. 
Occasionally  he  worked  at  the  case,  becoming  an  ex- 
pert compositor,  and  also  doing  some  editorial  work. 
In  January,  1882,  he  accepted  a  position  in  the  State 
printing  office  at  Sacramento,  under  Governor  Per- 
kins, remaining  until  September,  1883.  He  then 
returned  to  San  Jose  and  took  up  his  former  position, 
which  he  retained  until  January,  1885.  At  that  time 
he  became  Deputy  County  Clerk  and  Clerk  of  the 
Board  of  Supervisors,  filling  this  post  until  January 
I,  1887,  when  he  was  elected  by  a  large  majority  to 
the  office  of  County  Recorder  and  Auditor,  a  position 
which  he  holds  with  the  greatest  satisfaction  to  the 
people,  as  he  has  shown  himself  a  painstaking  and 
efficient  officer. 

In  1 88 1  he  married  Miss  Mary  Conmy,  a  native  of 
Trinity  County,  California,  her  parents  having  come 
to  this  State  in  the  early  days  of  its  settlement, 
locating  in  Shasta  County,  and  removing  thence  to 
San  Jose  in  186S.  During  the  first  three  years  of  his 
residence  here  Mr.  Conmy  was  a  partner  of  Mr. 
Owen,  and  later  opened  the  job-printing  business, 
which  he  still  carries  on.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Owen  have 
four  children.  They  are:  Charles  H.,  born  in  Decem- 
ber, 1882;  Katie,  born  in  July,  1884;  Alfred,  bom 
October,  1S85;  and  Francis,  born  November,  1887. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


377 


Mr.  Owen  is  Commander  of  the  American  Legion 
of  Honor,  an  officer  of  Enterprise  Lodge,  No.  17,  A. 
O.  U.  W.,  and  a  member  of  the  San  Jose  Turnverein,  in 
all  of  which  orders  he  is  in  good  and  honorable  stand- 
ing. Mr.  Owen  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  believing 
fully  in  the  protection  of  American  industries.  He  is 
opposed  to  the  further  importation  of  the  Chinese 
element,  seeing  clearly  its  evils,  and  desiring  the  best 
development  of  American  citizenship. 


->H>H 


IHEWIS  a.  sage  was  born  in  New  York  city, 
ss^  June  17,  1848,  and  came  to  California  with  his 
T  mother  when  about  four  years  of  age,  arriving 
here  in  the  spring  of  1852,  his  father  having  preceded 
them.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  San 
Francisco  and  at  Santa  Clara  College,  where  he  grad- 
uated in  1867.  He  then  went  to  Virginia  City, 
Nevada,  and  engaged  in  the  assaying  business.  In 
1868,  after  a  residence  there  of  seven  months,  he  was 
obliged  to  return  to  California  on  account  of  his  health, 
and  located  in  San  Francisco,  where  he  engaged  in 
the  street  contracting  business  for  about  two  years. 
He  then  went  into  the  manufacture  of  artificial  stone 
under  the  Ransome  patent,  and  was  thus  engaged  for 
two  years.  He  then  came  to  his  present  place,  where 
he  has  since  resided.  He  was  married  in  1876  to 
Cloelia  Lewis,  a  native  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina, 
and  has  three  children,  all  sons. 

I^ROF.  JOHN  W.  BRILL,  Principal  of  the  Com- 
®§^  mercial  Department  of  the  University  of  the 
ig)  Pacific,  was  born  in  Ottawa,  Renfrew  County, 
Ontario,  Canada,  in  1865.  He  received  his  edu- 
cation principally  in  Albert  College,  in  the  city  of 
Belleville,  Ontario,  graduating  there  in  1886,  having 
previously  attended  the  Napanee  Model  School,  Len- 
nox County,  Ontario.  He  commenced  teaching  in 
the  public  schools  in  Leeds  County,  Ontario,  in  1885, 
continuing  in  that  work  for  one  year,  when,  his  health 
failing,  he  gave  up  teaching  and  devoted  some  time 
to  its  recuperation,  finally  taking  a  position  as  head 
bookkeeper  in  J.  M.  Clark's  hardware  store  at  Smith's 
Falls,  Ontario.  The  extremes  of  the  Canadian  cli- 
mate being  found  too  rigorous  for  his  constitution,  he 
came  to  California,  in  December,  1887,  receiving  his 
appointment  to  the  position  he  now  occupies  early  in 
48 


January,  1888.  Under  his  supervision  the  Commer- 
cial Department  of  the  University  is  in  a  very  pros- 
perous condition,  having  at  this  time  a  much  larger 
attendance  than  ever  before,  and  the  prospects  are 
excellent  for  a  large  increase  in  the  classes.  Much 
care  is  taken  to  develop  in  the  minds  of  the  students 
a  careful  analysis  of  the  work  they  perform.  An 
actual  business  department  has  been  organized  which 
conveys  the  pupil  through  the  practical  routine  of  a 
business  establishment.  His  parents  were  the  Rev. 
David  and  Mary  (Pake)  Brill,  the  former  for  the  past 
twenty-seven  years  an  active  member  of  the  Methodist 
Conference  of  Ontario,  who  has  lately  come  to  Cali- 
fornia, and  intends  to  remain. 


MPICHARD  E  COLLINS,  druggist,  at  No.  166 
^^  South  First  Street,  San  Jose,  was  born  in  Chat- 
T"  ham,  Massachusetts,  in  1844.  He  attended  the 
public  schools  of  his  native  town  till  thirteen 
years  of  age,  when  his  family  removed  to  Boston,  where 
he  worked  in  the  printing  office  of  J.  E.  Farwell  &  Co. 
five  years.  The  war  commencing  at  this  time,  Mr. 
Collins  became  attached  to  the  Quartermaster's  De- 
partment of  the  army,  with  Capt.  William  Wilson 
acting  Quartermaster  of  the  Southern  Division  of  the 
Mississippi,  with  headquarters  at  Nashville,  Tennessee. 
There  he  remained  till  the  capture  of  Richmond  and 
the  close  of  the  war,  when  he  was  discharged  from  the 
service  and  returned  to  Boston.  Shortly  after  his  re- 
turn home  he  went  to  sea,  and  followed  that  occupa- 
tion for  three  years.  In  1869-70  he  was  employed  by 
the  American  Watch  Company  of  Waltham,  Massa- 
chusetts. ■  In  the  latter  year  he  began  to  learn  the  drug 
business  in  Boston,  in  which  trade  he  continued  until 
1875;  then  he  moved  to  California,  locating  in  San 
Francisco,  where  he  remained  a  year.  In  April,  1876, 
he  moved  to  San  Jose  and  established  the  business  he 
now  carries  on,  and  to  which  he  has  devoted  his  ex- 
clusive attention.  Having  great  confidence  in  Santa 
Clara  County  as  a  fruit-growing  section,  Mr.  Collins, 
in  1883,  purchased  a  ranch  of  twenty  acres,  six  miles 
from  San  Jose,  on  the  road  to  San  Francisco,  and  the 
same  year  planted  ten  acres  to  fruit-trees,  of  which 
700  were  apricots  and  300  peaches.  The  following 
year  he  planted  l,000  prunes  and  350  cherries.  This 
orchard  paid  handsomely  in  1887,  the  yield  from  650 
apricot  trees  being  seventeen  tons,  and  from  300 
peach-trees  over  twelve  tons. 

Mr.    Collins  was   married,  in  1866,  to    Miss   Jennie 


378 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


Wilson,  a  native  of  Lowell,  Massachusetts.  To  them 
have  been  born  two  sons:  Richard  E.,  Jr.,  engaged 
in  business  with  his  father,  and  Albert,  who  is  manag- 
ing the  ranch.  Mr.  Collins  is  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  Order  and  Knights  Templar.  He  is  also  a 
member  and  Treasurer  of  Mt.  Hamilton  Lodge,  No. 
43,  A.  O.  U.  W.,  and  for  eighteen  months  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Board  of  Education  of  San  Jose.  He  is  a 
Democrat,  and  in  favor  of  a  modification  of  the  tariff. 
His  parents  were  Richard  H.  and  Mary  (Taylor)  Col- 
lins, both  natives  of  New  England.  His  mother  died 
in  184S,  and  his  father  still  lives  in  Boston. 

^^ 


fAPT.  HENRY  M.  BENSON.  The  life  of  a  man 
is  not  counted  by  the  number  of  years  he  lives, 
(E)|=  but  rather  by  the  events  t.f  that  life,  and  still 
more  largely  by  the  character  of  those  events. 
Captain  Benson,  U.  S.  A.,  on  the  retired  list,  and  late 
Major  of  the  Fourth  Infantry  Regiment,  California 
Volunteers,  has  been  a  resident  of  this  State  since 
1850.  He  was  born  in  1838,  in  old  Franklin,  Mis- 
souri, a  town  once  opposite  Booneville,  Missouri,  but 
since  washed  away.  His  parents  were  Dr.  James 
Herd  and  Ruth  P.  (Switzler)  Benson,  his  father  a 
Kentuckian  and  his  mother  a  Virginian.  His  father 
died  in  1849,  and  in  the  following  year  Captain  Ben- 
son came  to  California  with  his  mother  and  uncle, 
his  mother  marrying  Col.  Henry  P.  Watkins,  a  nephew 
of  Henry  Clay,  in  1853,  in  San  Francisco.  He  was 
educated  at  Marysville  and  Oakland.  In  1853  he 
joined  the  expedition  of  General  Walker  to  Sonora 
and  Lower  California,  shouldering  his  musket  and 
doing  a  soldier's  duty,  although  a  boy  only  fifteen 
years  of  age.  It  will  be  seen  that  he  was  in  good 
hands,  however,  when  it  is  stated  that  General  Walker 
was  his  step-father,  Colonel  Watkins'  law  partner,  and 
he  was  thus  drawn  into  the  venture.  On  his  return 
to  California  he  attended  school  for  a  while,  went  to 
the  mines  for  nine  mont'.s,  and  then  returned  to 
Marysville,  where  he  accepted  a  position  in  the  post- 
office.  In  i860  he  was  appointed  Port  Warden  of 
San  Francisco,  for  which  he  qualified,  but  never 
assumed  the  duties.  Resigning,  he  commenced  the 
study  of  law  at  Marysville,  and  was  appointed  Notary 
Public.  In  response  to  the  call  of  Lincoln  for  volun- 
teers from  this  State,  in  1861,  these  duties  were  re- 
signed, and  he  joined  the  army.  They  expected  to 
be  hurried  East  and  into  active  service,  but  the  com- 
mand was  sent  into  Arizona  and  New   Mexico,  and 


the  borders  of  Texas,  to  prevent  the  Confederates 
from  making  their  way  into  California.  He  was  with 
the  advanced  column  that  had  a  sharp  skirmish  with 
a  detachment  of  Confederates  at  Picacho  Pass,  near 
Tucson,  Arizona  Territory,  interesting  as  the  nearest 
point  to  California  where  an  armed  encounter  between 
the  opposing  forces  took  place.  During  this  cam- 
paign he  was  promoted  to  the  First  Lieutenancy,  and 
later  to  the  Captaincy  of  his  company.  After  the  dis- 
banding of  his  regiment  he  was  appointed  Major  of 
the  Fourth  Infantry,  California  Volunteers,  serving 
until  it  was  mustered  out,  at  the  close  of  the  war. 
During  the  latter  two  years  Captain  Benson  saw  a 
great  deal  of  service  against  Indians,  and  received 
honorable  mention.  In  1866  he  was  appointed 
Second  Lieutenant,  and  shortly  afterward  promoted 
to  be  First  Lieutenant  U.  S.  A.,  and  has  seen  active 
service  on  the  frontier  during  the  greater  part  of  his 
military  career.  In  the  Nez  Perces  campaign,  under 
General  Howard,  in  1877,  in  Montana,  during  a  fight 
with  Chief  Joseph  and  his  band,  he  received  a  bullet 
through  his  hips,  and  as  a  result  he  was  laid  up  for 
several  months.  On  May  i,  1882,  he  was  promoted 
to  the  Captaincy,  but  his  health  being  impaired  on  ac- 
count of  his  wound  and  hard  service,  he  went  to  the 
Sandwich  Islands.  On  April  24,  1S86,  he  was  placed 
on  the  retired  list,  U.  S.  A.,  with  the  rank  of  Captain. 
Captain  Benson  was  married,  in  1867,  to  Miss  Mary 
Francisca  Paty,  a  native  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  of 
American  parentage.  Her  father  was  Captain  John 
Paty,  who  owned  and  commanded  a  trading  vessel 
that  rounded  the  Horn  in  1835,  and  rendered  valuable 
assistance  to  General  Fremont  in  the  conquest  of 
California.  They  have  six  children:  Maud,  Mary 
R.,  Henry  P.,  Dora  Brice,  Frances,  and  John  Paty, 
and  it  is  to  afford  them  educational  advantages  that 
Captain  Benson  took  up  his  residence  in  San  Jose. 
Since  retiring  from  active  service  he  has  become 
interested  in  mercantile  pursuits  in  the  islands. 


fR.  EUTHANASIA  S.  MEADE.  It  has  re- 
mained for  this  age  and  these  climes  to  disprove 
•^F"  conclusively  the  alleged  incapacity  of  women  for 
the  arduous  duties  of  the  medical  profession.  Yet 
what  more  fitting  than  that  she  who  best  knows  how 
to  soothe  the  moments  of  anguish  and  pain  should 
also  watch  over  and  destroy  the  seeds  of  disease,  and 
check  and  alleviate  the  pangs  of  suffering  and  dis- 
tress.    Above  all  things  a  physician  must  be   wise. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


379 


tender,  and  sympathetic,  and  it  is  in  these  very  prov- 
inces that  woman  is  supreme.  Hence  it  is  that  we 
hail  with  joy  the  enlarging  of  the  mental  vision  of 
our  days  which  permits  woman  to  take  her  proper 
station  by  the  bedside  of  illness  and  disease  as  a 
physician. 

Among  the  ranks  of  the  medical  profession  in  San 
Jose  general  esteem  centers  upon  Dr.  E.  S.  Meade,  a 
•graduate  of  the  regular  school,  and  a  physician  in  large 
and  successful  practice.  Her  attention  was  first  drawn 
to  the  profession  by  incidents  occurring  during  the 
last  years  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion.  At  St.  Joseph's 
Hospital,  Philadelphia,  she  gained  her  first  experience 
in  the  care  of  the  wounded  taken  to  that  point.  Four 
years  after  the  war  she  graduated  at  the  Woman's 
Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania,  and  practiced  under 
her  preceptor,  Dr.  Wilson,  in  Philadelphia,  visiting  the 
hospitals  and  gaining  practical  experience.  In  1876- 
yj  she  spent  eighteen  months  in  Europe,  visiting 
Vienna,  Paris,  Berlin,  London,  Naples,  and  Rome, 
omitting  no  opportunity  to  perfect  her  medical  knowl- 
edge both  from  hospital  and  other  studies  in  these 
large  cities.  In  1869  Dr.  Meade  came  to  San  Jose 
and  began  regular  practice.  She  was  the  pioneer  in 
San  Jose  of  the  idea  that  woman  can  intelligently 
sustain  the  duties  of  the  medical  profession,  but  she 
has  since  demonstrated  beyond  contradiction  the 
capacity  of  woman,  when  properly  fitted  and  prepared 
by  a  judicious  training,  for  carrying  to  the  highest  suc- 
cess the  best  efforts  of  the  physician. 

Dr.  Meade  is  a  native  of  Genesee,  New  York;  and 
by  long  and  severe  study,  heightened  and  made  prac- 
tical by  travel,  observation,  and  experience,  has  raised 
herself  to  a  prominent  position.  She  is  a  woman  of 
a  single  purpose,  wholly  wrapped  up  in  her  profession. 


IJ^RANK  BRUNST,  manufacturer  of  and  dealer 
1^;-  in  cigars  at  No.  131  West  Santa  Clara  Street, 
;'  San  Jose,  was  born  in  Bavaria,  Germany,  in 
1842.  He  attended  the  public  schools  up  to  the  age 
of  fourteen  years,  when  he  commenced  learning  the 
cigar  and  tobacco  business,  working  in  his  native  town 
for  eight  years.  In  1863  he  came  to  the  United 
States,  arriving  in  New  York  January  19,  1864,  and 
came  almost  immediately,  via  Panama,  to  San  Fran- 
cisco. He  remained  in  San  Francisco  four  years 
working  at  his  trade.  In  1868  he  came  to  San  Jose, 
where  he  has  remained,  engaged  in  cigar  manufactur- 
ing and  dealing.     He   first  commenced   this  business 


with  F.  Bunemann  (lately  deceased),  but  for  the  last 
sixteen  years  has  been  alone  in  the  business.  He  sells 
the  most  of  his  goods  to  dealers  in  Santa  Clara  County. 
He  was  married  in  1870,  to  Miss  Annie  Mercker,  a 
native  of  Bavaria,  Germany.  They  have  one  child, 
Frank  Brunst,  Jr.,  engaged  in  the  factory  with  his 
father.  Mr.  Brunst  is  a  member  of  the  Independent 
Order  of  Red  Men,  of  Hermann's  Sons,  and  of  the 
Turnverein  in  San  Jose.  His  parents  were  John  and 
Magdalena  (Gutfreund)  Brunst,  both  natives  of  Ba- 
varia. His  father  died  in  his  native  place  and  his 
mother  came  to  California  and  died  at  the  home  of 
her  daughter,  at  the  age  of  eighty-one  years. 


3|w[kILES  HILLS,  who  has  a  beautiful  home  and 
^^^  an  orchard  often  acres  on  the  corner  of  Lincoln 
<^  and  Minnesota  Avenues,  has  been  a  prominent 
'  resident  of  Santa  Clara  County  for  the  past 
twenty  years.  His  home  place  is  planted  in  three 
acres  of  cherries,  three  acres  of  apricots,  and  the  bal- 
ance in  a  variety  of  fruits,  only  partly  in  bearing,  as 
some  of  the  fruit  originally  planted  has  been  replaced 
with  others.  He  also  owns  a  place  of  100  acres  at 
Los  Gatos,  of  which  thirty-five  acres  are  in  prunes, 
thirty-five  acres  in  almonds,  and  the  remainder  will  be 
planted  in  fruit.  He  had  about  ten  tons  of  almonds 
from  the  Los  Gatos  place,  but  has  since  grafted 
prunes  on  many  of  the  almonds.  This  year  (1888) 
will  be  the  first  in  which  he  will  probably  have  a  full 
crop  of  both  prunes  and  almonds. 

Born  in  Goshen,  Litchfield  County,  Connecticut,  in 
1819,  he  lived  there  until  five  years  of  age.  His  par- 
ents were  Levi  and  Huldah  (Loomis)  Hills,  natives  of 
Connecticut.  His  mother  died  in  Savannah,  Georgia, 
in  1820,  when  he  was  about  one  year  old.  His  father 
removed  in  1824  with  his  family  to  Oneida  County, 
New  York.  There  his  father  carried  on  a  general 
merchandise  business  for  about  ten  years.  The  family 
again  removed,  in  1833,  locating  in  La  Salle  County, 
Illinois,  between  Joliet  and  Ottawa,  and  there  he  again 
engaged  in  the  general  merchandise  business,  in  which 
he  continued  for  about  twenty-five  years,  at  Morris, 
Illinois,  where  he  died  in  1865.  When  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  accompanied  his  father  to  Illinois  in  1833, 
the  Indians  were  about  selling  out  and  moving  West. 
They  passed  through  Chicago,  which  was  at  that  time 
merely  a  trading  station,  there  being  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Chicago  River  Fort  Dearborn,  with  a  few  troops, 
and  a  few  small  stores,  but  no  regular  streets.     The 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


town  had  just  been  platted  that  fall.  These  stores 
were  supported  by  the  Indians  and  a  few  straggling 
settlers  who  came  in  to  do  their  trading  and  sell  their 
peltry  and  products.  During  the  years  Mr.  Hills 
lived  in  that  section  it  filled  up  with  settlers  and  be- 
came wealthy.  For  twenty-five  years  the  people  of 
his  neighborhood,  and  for  much  greater  distances, 
hauled  their  grain  and  products  by  wagon  to  Chicago. 
He  engaged  in  farming  and  buying  and  selling  grain 
during  that  period,  doing  business  in  Morris,  Illinois, 
for  about  seven  years  of  that  time. 

He  married,  in  1847,  Miss  Charlotte  Bushnell,  in 
the  town  of  Lisbon,  Kendall  County  (formerly  La 
Salle  County),  Illinois.  There  were  born  to  them  six 
children,  four  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  Harriet, 
born  in  Lisbon,  Illinois,  in  1848,  is  now  the  wife  of 
Rev.  J.  H.  Wythe,  residing  in  Oakland,  California. 
Edwin  M.,  born  in  Morris,  Illinois,  in  1858,  is  now 
engaged  in  managing  a  stock  ranch  in  Monterey 
County.  Mr.  Hills  originally  came  to  California  by 
the  Panama  route  in  1855,  locating  in  Santa  Clara 
County.  He  engaged  in  buying  and  selling  land  in 
various  parts  of  the  State.  He  returned  to  Illinois  in 
1857,  and  after  a  residence  often  years  in  Minneapo- 
lis, Minnesota,  he  returned  with  his  family  to  Cali- 
fornia and  located  in  San  Jose,  where  he  has  since 
resided.  Mr.  Hills  is  a  Republican  in  politics  and  a 
supporter  of  tariff  for  protection. 


fA.  HALE.  This  representative  business  man 
of  California  is  a  native  of  New  York,  having 
tbeen  born  in  Phoenix,  of  that  State,  in  1852. 
His  parents,  Marshall  and  Prudence  Hale,  re- 
moved ta  Schoolcraft,  Michigan,  in  1867,  and  here 
young  Hale  attended  the  usual  .school  in  that  section. 
Coming  with  his  parents  to  California  in  1876,  with 
his  father  and  brother  he  established  a  dry-goods 
business  in  San  Jose,  having  previously,  in  New  York 
and  Michigan,  been  engaged  in  general  merchandis- 
ing. They  opened  in  San  Jose,  at  Nos.  142  and  146 
South  First  Street,  in  a  store  17x40  feet  in  dimension.s, 
employing  one  clerk,  and  a  boy  to  sweep  and  make 
himself  generally  useful.  Later,  four  other  brothers 
joined  the  firm,which  now  (i888)has  seven  stores,one 
each  in  San  Jose,  Stockton,  Sacramento,  Salinas,  Peta- 
luma,  Los  Angeles,  and  San  Diego,  and  are  doing  prob- 
ably the  most  extensive  business,  in  their  line,  in  the 
State  outside  of  San  Francisco.  They  deal  entirely 
in  dry  and  furnishing  goods,  some  of  the  stores  add- 


ing boots  and  shoes,  and  absolute  sales  in  excess  of 
a  million  and  a  quarter  dollars  per  year  are  made. 
The  firm  imports  goods  directly  from  Europe  through 
the  importing  agencies,  one  brother  having  an  office 
in  New  York  to  attend  to  the  purchasing  and  for- 
warding of  goods.  In  their  stores  they  have  but  one 
price,  and  deal  on  a  strictly  cash  basis,  all  goods  being 
marked  in  plain  figures,  and  a  child  can  buy  at  the 
same  price  as  an  expert.  The  firm  is  doing  a  large 
mailing  business,  orders  being  received  for  goods  from 
all  parts  of  the  coast.  Mr.  Hale's  success  in  business 
is  not  a  phenomenon,  nor  a  question  of  luck,  but  is 
simply  the  inevitable  result  of  energy,  foresight,  and 
push,  applied  to  his  business  upon  a  basis  of  strict 
honor,  integrity,  and  square  dealing.  The  result, 
from  the  forces  in  operation,  is  as  certain  as  a  simple 
problem  in  mathematics. 

In  1880  Mr.  Hale  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Bas- 
sett,  a  native  of  California,  whose  parents  were  among 
the  pioneers  of  Santa  Clara  County,  having  come 
across  the  plains  from  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  about 
1855.  Mr.s.  Hale  is  a  graduate  of  the  California 
State  Normal  School,  and,  previous  to  her  marriage, 
taught  in  the  San  Jose  public  schools.  One  child  has 
been  born  to  this  marriage,  Clarissa  J.,  born  in  1883. 

In  1887  Mr.  Hale  was  elected  Alderman  for  the 
city  of  San  Jose,  and,  having  been  appointed  Chair- 
man of  the  Finance  Committee,  discovered  a  short- 
age in  the  city's  cash,  thereby  saving  to  the  city 
about  $3,500.  He  has  brought  his  business  experi- 
ence and  ability  to  bear  on  the  city's  financial  inter- 
ests with  the  very  best  results.  He  is  still  a  member 
of  the  Board  of  Alderman.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
the  A.  O.  U.  W.,  and  always  in  the  front  rank  for 
improvements  of  all  kinds. 

I&ENRY  C.  AHLERS,  importer  and  dealer  in 
gM^s^  diamonds,  solid  gold  watches,  and  solid  gold 
iS>  jewelry,  conducts  his  business  in  the  same  rooms 
where  he  established  himself  nine  years  ago,  on 
the  corner  of  Santa  Clara  and  First  Streets,  over  the 
First  National  Bank  of  San  Jose.  Here  may  be  met, 
at  almost  any  hour  of  day,  inspecting  or  purchasing, 
or  having  former  purchases  reset  or  repaired,  one  or 
more  of  the  solid  people,  or  of  the  jeunesse  doree,  of 
Santa  Clara  County.  Mr.  Ahlers  makes  a  specialty 
of  diamonds,  fine  jewelry,  their  setting  and  manufact- 
ure. Realizing,  while  yet  learning  his  business,  that 
a  reputation  for  thoroughness  and  reliability  was  es- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


381 


sential  to  success,  also  that  there  was  a  higher  grade 
of  business  support  in  his  Hne,  difficult  to  reach  but 
secure  when  once  had,  he  kept  these  objects  well  in 
view.  Opening  his  rooms  in  July,  1879,  more  espe- 
cially for  the  manufacture  and  repair  of  fine  jewelry, 
he  gradually  purchased  a  stock  of  goods  suitable  to 
his  class  of  customers,  not  handling  any  jewelry  ex- 
cept that  in  solid  gold.  Being  an  expert  in  the  se- 
lection and  setting  of  diamonds,  his  patrons  receive 
the  benefit  of  his  knowledge  and  judgment,  all  goods 
being  sold  with  an  absolute  guarantee,  at  a  standard 
price  to  which  a  fair  profit  is  added.  The  successful 
diamond  merchants  of  the  world  have  been  invariably 
men  unerring  in  selection  of  gems  and  unquestionably 
reliable  in  their  sale.  In  1887  Mr.  Ahlers  carried  a 
stock  of  diamonds  costing  as  high  as  $25,000.  His 
watches  are  almost  exclusively  of  American  manu- 
facture, and  from  the  best  makers,  among  them  the 
Howard,  Waltham,  and  Elgin  Watches.  When  nec- 
essary, he  also  manufactures  any  article  of  jewelry 
specially  ordered,  and  carries  no  jewelry  or  watches 
except  those  in  solid  gold.  Buying  all  his  diamonds 
unmounted,  he  sets  them  in  the  latest  styles  or  in  any 
special  style  to  order.  Some  of  the  work  on  exhibi- 
tion in  Mr.  Ahlers'  establishment  shows  an  excellent 
taste  and  superb  workmanship.  There  can  be  seen 
diamonds  varying  from  the  small  chip  to  the  larger 
solitaire  of  purest  water. 

A  native  of  Germany,  where  he  was  born  in  1S58, 
he  at  an  early  age  came  to  America,  engaging  at  once 
in  learning  the  jewelry  business,  in  which  he  has  re- 
mained continuously  up  to  this  time.  Besides  his 
jewelry  trade,  Mr.  Ahlers  is  largely  interested  in  fruit- 
growing, having  a  half  interest  with  Mr.  F.  Brassy  in 
an  orchard  of  200  acres,  seven  miles  from  San  Jose, 
and  adjoining  the  well-known  orchard  of  S.  F.  Lieb, 
and  the  Pourtal  vineyard  on  the  Stevens  Creek  road. 
They  have  160  acres  in  prunes  and  forty  acres  in  wine 
grapes  just  coming  into  bearing.  He  and  Mr.  Brassy 
also  own  an  addition  to  San  Jose,  consisting  of  sixty 
lots  on  Alum  Rock  Avenue,  near  McLaughlin  Ave- 
nue, called  the  Brassy  &  Ahlers  tract.  There  they  have 
erected  handsome  residences  for  themselves,  and  will 
sell  lots  only  to  those  who  will  make  corresponding 
improvements.  These  gentlemen  deserve  credit  for  the 
valuable  improvements  in  that  neighborhood.  They 
have  also  erected  another  building  of  similar  charac- 
ter to  help  start  the  movement  of  the  better  class  of 
residents  in  that  direction,  and  have  purchased  the 
lots  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Alum  Rock  Avenue 
to   prevent    an    inferior    class    of    buildings     getting 


lodgment  there.  Mr.  Ahlers  has  been  indeed  the 
architect  of  his  own  fortunes.  Starting  in  life  with  no 
capital  but  that  of  ready  hands,  a  clear  head,  and 
willing  heart,  he  has  while  yet  young  in  years  achieved 
a  notable  success,  arising  at  first  from  a  thorough 
mastering  of  his  business  and  a  strict  attention  to  it, 
and  later  from  the  judicious  investments  afforded  to 
his  surplus  capital  in  this  beautiful  and  prosperous 
valley. 


tEORGE  W.  OUSLEY.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  is  one  of  the  fortunate  owners  of  a  fruit 
4^  farm  in  the  Willows  of  San  Jose,  he  having 
eleven  ar^d  three-fourths  acres  in  that  favored 
locality.  Of  this  tract  three  acres  are  in  apricots,  three 
acres  in  pears,  three  acres  in  prunes,  and  one  and  one- 
half  acres  in  peaches ;  the  apricots  and  peaches  are  in 
bearing.  In  1887  he  had  about  twenty-six  tons  of 
apricots,  five  tons  of  peaches,  and  five  tons  of  pears. 
He  bought  this  place  in  1879,  paying  $440  per  acre, 
and  immediately  planted  a  portion  to  fruit.  He  has 
never  irrigated  his  land,  as  below  the  first  soil  is  a 
stratum  of  water-bearing  sandy  deposits. 

Mr.  Ousley  was  born  in  Edgar  County,  near  Paris, 
Illinois,  in  1831.  He  remembers  going  to  Chicago 
with  his  father  about  1839,  at  the  commencement 
of  Martin  Van  Buren's  presidency,  with  a  load  of 
wheat,  which  was  to  be  sold  to  pay  the  usual  taxes. 
This  wheat  was  hauled  about  165  miles,  to  Chicago, 
and  sold  for  thirty-five  cents  a  bushel,  as  money  was 
a  very  scarce  commodity  in  those  days.  Considerable 
corduroy  road  was  traversed  in  this  journey,  and  five 
yoke  of  oxen  were  required  to  draw  the  load. 

Mr.  Ousley  left  Paris  March  12,  1S49,  for  Californii. 
His  health  being  bad,  and  he  having  heard  much  of 
the  healthfulness  of  the  "plains,"  and  of  California, 
he  decided  to  make  the  trip  in  that  way.  His  parents,- 
Henry  B.  and  Sarah  (Potts)  Ousley,  had  died  when  he 
was  a  child — his  mother  when  he  was  three,  and  his 
father  when  he  was  twelve  years  of  age.  His  father 
was  a  native  of  Kentucky,  but  left  there  in  183 1,  as  he 
was  opposed  to  slavery;  his  mother  was  also  a  Ken- 
tuckian,  and  both  parents  from  the  neighborhood  of 
Crab  Orchard  Springs.  Both  his  paternal  and  mater- 
nal grandfathers  came  from  Maryland  to  Kentucky  in 
the  footsteps  of  Daniel  Boone,  having  been  soldiers  in 
the  Revolutionary  War.  They  located  land  warrants 
at  Crab  Orchard,  Kentuck)-,  and  were  the  first  settlers 
of  that  place. 

Mr.  Ousley 's  journey  across  the  plains  was  made 


382 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


with  seven  companions  and  two  teams,  all  arriving 
safely  in  California.  The  train  crossed  the  Missouri 
River  at  St.  Joseph,  May  8,  1 849,  and  arrived  at  the  spot 
where  Placerville  is  now  located  on  the  twenty-fourth 
of  August  of  the  same  year.  In  the  fall  of  1852  Mr. 
Ousley  located  160  acres  and  commenced  farming  in 
Humboldt  County,  near  Areata,  having  previously,  in 
1850,  become  interested  in  a  schooner  that  ran  to 
Humboldt  County,  also  taking  a  little  dip  into  the 
mining  excitement  at  Salmon  and  Klamath  Rivers. 
He  left  the  farm  in  1857  to  go  into  the  harness  busi- 
ness in  Areata,  leaving  this  in  1861  to  go  East  and 
enter  the  United  States'  service.  On  his  way  from 
New  York  to  Illinois  he  was  prostrated  with  pneumo- 
nia and  compelled  to  return  to  California.  In  the 
spring  of  1863,  Governor  Stanford  commissioned  Mr. 
Ousley  Captain  to  enlist  a  company  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  State  to  resist  the  depredations  of  Indians 
who  had  been  incited  to  revolt  by  sympathizers  with 
the  Southern  Confederacy.  The  Captain  was  in  act- 
ive service  in  Indian  warfare  almost  continuously  un- 
til his  honorable  discharge  in  May,  1865. 

Captain  Ousley  was  married  May  27,  1863,  to  Miss 
Sophronia  Underwood,  a  native  of  Naperville,  Illinois. 
Five  children  were  born  to  them,  three  dying  in  early 
infancy,  and  two — Agnes  A.,  born  April  22,  1868,  and 
George  W.,  born  July  23,  1869 — now  attending  school 
in  San  Jose.  Captain  Ousley  is  a  member  of  Phil. 
Sheridan  Post,  No.  7,  G.  A.  R.,  of  San  Jose,  and  of 
Friendship  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.  He  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Willows  Horticultural  Society,  and  is  Re- 
publican in  politics,  having  voted  for  Fremont  in 
1856. 


--^^ 


HiRS.  PHILIPPINA  GRIBNER.  This  lady, 
^^  the  widow  of  John  Gribner,  owns  a  tract  of 
■Mj^  eight  acres  on  Willow  Street,  near  Lincoln 
'  Avenue,  San  Jose,  which  is  mostly  in  prunes 
and  cherries,  partly  bearing.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Gribner  were  born  in  Germany,  the  foriner  in  Saxonla, 
in  1825,  and  the  latter  in  Bavaria  in  1832.  Mr.  Grib- 
ner came  to  the  United  States  in  1844,  settling  in  St. 
Louis.  Mrs.  Gribner  came  to  St.  Louis  in  1849,  and 
they  were  married  in  1850.  Mr.  Gribner  was  in  the 
blacksmithing  business  in  St.  Louis  for  some  years, 
but  in  1852  he  and  a  party  of  friends  bought  an  ox 
team  and  came  across  the  plains  to  California,  stop- 
ping at  Downicville,  and  mined  in  that  vicinity  for 
about  four  years.  In  1856  Mr.  Gribner  went  back  to 
St.   Louis,  and  in  1857  returned  with  his  wife  to  Cali- 


fornia, coming  by  way  of  Panama.  In  1858  he  went 
to  the  Eraser  River  mines,  returning  in  1859  to 
Marysville,  where  he  established  a  hotel,  which  he 
conducted  until  his  death,  on  the  eighth  of  March, 
1884.  After  her  husband's  death,  Mrs.  Gribner  re- 
moved with  her  family  to  Santa  Clara  County,  Mr. 
J.  Gribner  having  purchased  tlie  place  in  the  Willows 
previous  to  her  removal  here. 

Two  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gribner: 
John  v.,  born  in  1851,  died  in  1852;  and  George  T., 
born  in  1858,  is  now  living  in  the  Willows  engaged  in 
fruit-culture  on  his  own  place,  which  is  opposite  that 
of  his  mother.  Mrs.  Gribner's  parents,  John  and 
Johanna  (Schneider)  Hein,  were  natives  of  Bavaria. 
They  had  eight  children,  two  of  whom  died  in  early 
infancy,  the  remaining  six  coming  to  St.  Louis.  Of 
Mr.  Gribner's  family,  although  there  were  several 
brothers  and  sisters,  he  and  a  brother  and  sister  were 
the  only  members  to  come  to  the  United  States. 
He  was  a  member  of  Marysville  Lodge  of  Odd 
Fellows,  No.  45. 


-->H-; 


M- 


T¥r<-<~ 


apiLLIAM  B.  AND  JAMES  A.  McCARLEY, 
<sm^  proprietors  of  the  Occidental  Stables,  at  Nos. 
a^     28  to  34  North  Second   Street,  have  been  en- 

'  gaged  in  business  in  San  Jose  for  the  past  four 
years,  and  for  twenty-five  years  have  been  residents 
of  Santa  Clara  County.  Their  parents  are  Samuel 
W.  and  Hannah  A.  (Harbert)  McCarley,  who  came 
to  Santa  Clara  County  from  Iowa  in  1862,  where 
their  father  engaged  in  farming  until  1880.  The 
boys  worked  on  their  father's  farm  and  went  to  school 
together  until  they  grew  to  manhood,  and  then  for 
five  years  they  farmed  together.  William  B.  was 
born  in  1857,  and  James  A.  in  i860.  In  1884  they 
established  the  livery  business,  in  which  they  have 
been  interested  since  that  time.  They  own  the 
property  on  which  their  stables  are  located,  being  64X 
1 37 14  feet.  By  careful  attention  to  their  customers, 
and  looking  after  every  detail,  they  have  built  up  a 
good  business,  having  added  largely  to  their  stock  of 
horses,  buggies,  and  carriages. 

William  B.  was  married  in  1882  to  Miss  Mary  C. 
Eddy,  of  Contra  Costa  County.  They  have  one 
child,  Lena  May,  born  July  20,  1886.  James  A.  was 
married  in  1884  to  Miss  Maggie  E.  Tarpley,  of  Mar- 
tinez, Contra  Costa  County.  They  have  one  child, 
James  A.,  Jr.,  born  in  March,  1886.  There  were  six 
children  in  Samuel  W.  McCarley's  family,  viz.:  Annie 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


383 


B.,  the  wife  of  D.  B.  Fuller,  of  Evergreen;  William 
B.,  James  A.,  Mary  E.,  the  wife  of  W.  B.  Rucker, 
Deputy  County  Clerk;  Frank  J.,  owning  and  rurming 
a  carry-all;  and  Samuel  W.,  attending  school  in  San 
Jose.  Mr.  McCarley  owned  200  acres  of  land  eight 
miles  from  San  Jose,  which  he  sold  in  18S7  and  pur- 
chased his  beautiful  home  in  San  Jose.  He  is  a 
native  of  Kentucky,  near  Lexington,  and  first  moved 
to  Illinois,  and  from  there  to  Jefferson  County,  Iowa, 
and  thence  to  California.  Mrs.  McCarley  is  a  native 
of  Illinois,  where  she  met  and  married  Mr.  McCarley. 

^ 

|ffi?ORACE  G.  KEESLING.  Among  the  enter- 
§hh  prising  and  successful  young  men  of  Santa  Clara 
(^  County  should  be  mentioned  Horace  G.  Kees- 
ling.  His  residence  is  on  Carlos  Street  and  the 
Meridian  road,  where  he  owns  fifteen  acres  of  orchard, 
which  place  he  came  in  possession  of  eight  years  ago 
when  it  was  a  grain-field.  This  he  planted  in  or- 
chard, about  five  acres  each  year.  It  is  now  planted 
almost  equally  in  prunes,  cherries,  and  apricots,  with 
about  200  peaches  and  an  assortment  of  fruits  for 
family  use.  Only  part  of  this  orchard  is  in  bearing, 
as  the  part  set  out  at  first  in  apples  has  been  replaced 
with  other  trees.  Mr.  Keesling  is  also  interested  in, 
and  editor  of,  a  publication  devoted  to  poultry  and 
kindred  interests,  entitled  The  California  Cackler, 
published  in  San  Francisco.  He  is  a  breeder  and 
importer  as  well  as  exporter  of  fine  poultry,  having 
made  several  importations  of  the  black  Langshan. 
These  come  from  Langshan,  a  province  in  the  interior 
of  China.  He  has  had  his  agent  on  the  lookout  for 
the  past  four  years  to  obtain  a  white  Langshan,  but 
without  success  until  lately,  when  they  succeeded  in 
obtaining  and  importing  a  hen  of  that  breed,  the  first 
ever  imported  into  the  United  States.  The  Chinese 
consider  them  a  sacred  bird,  and  are  unwilling  to  sell 
or  dispose  of  them  to  people  of  other  nations.  The 
Langshans  Mr.  Keesling  considers  well  adapted  for 
keeping  in  orchards,  as  they  are  prolific  layers,  and 
live  in  the  orchard  without  flying  in  the  trees  or  de- 
stroying the  fruit.  He  also  claims  that  the  same  care 
bestowed  here  in  poultry-raising  will  insure  as  profit- 
able results  as  in  the  East.  In  New  Zealand  and 
Australia  quite  a  growing  market  has  been  built  up 
for  American-bred  fowls,  such  as  the  Wyandottes  and 
Plymouth  Rocks,  largely  through  the  medium  of 
Tlie  California  Cackler. 

Born  in  Mechanicsburg,  Henry  County,  Indiana,  in 


1855,  his  parents  removed  with  the  family  to  Minne- 
apolis, Minnesota,  in  1856.  Here  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  lived  until  his  eighteenth  year,  attending 
school  during  the  winter  months  and  working  out  in 
summer  as  long  as  weather  permitted.  During  the 
last  four  years  of  his  residence  in  Minneapolis  he 
learned  the  business  of  florist,  with  Mr.  Wyman 
Elliot,  the  leading  horticulturist  of  that  section.  In 
October,  1S73,  the  family  removed  to  California,  set- 
tling at  once  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley.  He  gradu- 
ated at  the  San  Jose  High  School  in  1874.  Since 
that  time  he  has  been  engaged  in  fruit-raising,  first 
with  his  father  until  his  twenty-fifth  year,  and  since 
1 880  at  his  present  home.  In  1880  he  was  married 
to  Miss  Annie  Bacon,  of  San  Jose,  daughter  of  L.  and 
L.  J.  (McGrew)  Bacon,  who  came  to  California  from 
Frankfort,  Kentucky,  in  1852.  There  have  been  born 
to  them  two  children:  Jessie  and  Homer  G.  His 
parents  arc  T.  B.  and  Elizabeth  (Hasty)  Keesling, 
who  removed  from  Ohio  into  Indiana  at  an  early  day. 
They  now  live  on  Willow  Street  opposite  Cherry 
Avenue,  in  the  Willows.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
is  a  member  of  San  Jose  Grange,  No.  10,  Patrons  of 
Husbandry,  and  a  member  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee of  the  State  Grange  of  California.  He  is 
independent  in  politics,  generally  supports  the  Re- 
publican party,  and   is  in  favor  of  protective  tariff 


tEORGE  SCHERRER  is  proprietor  of  the  Eagle 
Brewery,  the  first  beer-brewing  establishment  in 
-,p  Santa  Clara  County,  it  having  been  established 
in  1853  on  a  very  small  scale  by  the  late  Joseph 
Hartman.  The  beer  is  still  sold  under  the  name  of 
"  Old  Joe's "  beer.  Mr.  Hartman  commenced  the 
manufacture  of  beer  with  a  very  small  outfit,  having  a 
capacity  of  about  eight  barrels  per  day.  This  soon 
gave  place  to  the  large  and  complete  establishment 
carried  on  since  Mr.  Hartman's  decease  by  Mr. 
Scherrer,  which  now  has  a  capacity  of  fifty  barrels 
per  day.  This  beer  is  mostly  consumed  in  San  Jose 
and  Santa  Clara  County.  They  do  not  make  any 
lager,  but  all  steam  beer,  which  requires  only  six 
weeks  to  become  perfect,  while  lager  requires  four 
months.  Mr.  Scherrer  has  been  identified  with  the 
Eagle  Brewery  for  the  past  twenty-eight  years,  hav- 
ing come  to  this  county  in  i860.  He  was  born  in 
Alsace,  France  (now  Germany),  in  1S32,  and  remained 
in  his  native  town  until  twenty-one  years  of  age,  at- 
tending school  and  learning  the  brewing  business.     In 


384 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF    THE    WORLD." 


1853  he  came  to  New  York.  For  the  next  five  years 
he  was  employed  in  various  breweries  in  different 
parts  of  the  country.  In  1858  he  came  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, where  he  worked  for  two  years  in  the  Germania 
Brewery.  He  was  there  recommended  to  Mr.  Hart- 
man,  of  San  Jose,  by  whom  he  was  at  once  employed, 
and  remained  with  him  nineteen  years,  as  foreman 
and  manager  most  of  the  time.  On  the  death  of  Mr. 
Hartman,  in  1879,  he  succeeded  to  the  business, 
which  he  has  continued  to  conduct  to  the  present 
time,  being  now  the  proprietor. 

Mr.  Scherrer  was  married,  in  1875,  to  Miss  Georgi- 
ana  Hartman,  daughter  of  Joseph  Hartman,  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  brewery.  George  Scherrer  is  a  mem- 
ber of  San  Jose  Lodge,  No.  34,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  of 
the  Encampment  also;  is  a  member  of  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Red  Men  and  of  the  San  Jose 
Turnverein. 

Mr.  Hartman  was  a  native  of  Hesse  Darmstadt 
and  came  to  America  about  1846,  and  to  California 
in  1852,  engaging  at  once  in  the  brewing  business, 
being  in  Lion's  Brewery  in  San  Francisco  for  one 
year  before  coming  to  San  Jose  and  establishing  the 
Eagle  Brewery,  as  before  stated,  in  1853.  He  died 
in  1879,  leaving  five  children. 

^^ 


tMlf  ^-  ALLISON,  one  of  the  prominent  business 
kWf^  men  of  this  county,  is  the  proprietor  of  the 
■^1^    oldest  established  jewelry  store  in  San  Jose,  he 

t  having  succeeded  Jackson  Lewis,  who  estab- 
lished the  business  in  1849.  Mr.  Allison  is  a  native  of 
the  State  of  New  York,  having  been  born  in  Broome 
County  in  1834,  but  removing  with  his  parents  to  a 
farm  near  Birmingham,  Michigan,  in  1836.  Here  he 
received  his  education,  and  learned  the  jewelry  bus- 
iness, working  at  it  both   in    Pontiac  and   in   Detroit. 

In  1858  he  came  to  California  by  way  of  Panama, 
and  immediately  followed  the  tide  of  people  to  the 
gold  mines,  going  to  Mokelumne  Hill.  After  mining 
about  three  months  he  went  to  work  at  his  trade  in 
the  same  town,  remainitig  there  four  years.  During 
the  Esmeralda  County  gold  excitement  he  went  to 
Aurora,  where  he  remained  two  years  in  the  jewelry 
business.  In  1864  he  came  to  San  Francisco,  where 
he  formed  a  company  for  the  manufacture  of  aerated 
bread,  adding,  after  two  years,  the  manufacture  of 
yeast  bread.  During  this  time  six  wagons  were  re- 
quired to  deliver  the  bread  to  the  customers.  On 
the  breaking  out  of  the  small-po.x  in  the  fall  of  186S, 


the  company  closed  the  bakery,  whereupon  Mr.  Alli- 
son came  to  San  Jose,  and  entered  the  store  of  Jack- 
son Lewis.  In  1879  he  succeeded  Mr.  Lewis  in  the 
business,  and  has  continued  it  to  this  time. 

In  1875  Mr.  Allison  was  married  to  Miss  MoUie  E. 
Secoy,  of  Chicago,  whose  parents.  Dr.  Secoy  and 
wife,  of  Chicago,  died  during  her  early  infancy.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Allison  have  five  children:  Camille,  Win- 
fred,  Mildred,  Leone,  and  W.  D.,  Jr.  Mr.  Allison's 
parents  were  David  and  Susan  Allison,  his  father  a 
native  of  New  York  State  and  his  mother  of  New 
Jersey.  Both  parents  are  dead,  his  father  dying  in 
1883,  at  Pontiac,  Michigan,  at  the  age  of  ninety-two 
years,  his  mother  in  1866.  Both  are  buried  at  Troy, 
Michigan,  near  the  old  farm  where  they  had  lived  so 
long. 

Mr.  Allison  is  a  member  of  San  Jose  Lodge,  No. 
10,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  of  San  Jose  Commandery,  No. 
10,  of  Knights  Templar,  also  a  member  of  Scottish 
Rite,  and  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F. 


Mt|  G.   HUGGINS,  who  resides  on  the  Alameda, 
sM^  has  been  a  resident  of  Santa  Clara  County  for 

f  twelve  years,  and  of  San  Jose  five  years.  He 
was  born  in  Ripley  County,  Indiana,  in  1841. 
In  1 85 1  his  parents  removed  to  Iowa.  He  received 
his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Indiana  and 
Iowa,  and  later  attended  a  private  school  at  Kirk- 
ville,  Wapello  County,  Iowa,  until  eighteen  years  of 
age.  He  then  went  to  Versailles,  Darke  County, 
Ohio,  where  he  remained  three  years  in  business  with 
his  uncle.  During  this  time  he  took  a  course  in  a 
commercial  college  in  Cincinnati.  He  then  returned 
to  Iowa  and  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  at  Ot- 
tumwa  with  his  uncle,  J.  W.  Huggins,  in  which  he  con- 
tinued for  eleven  years,  doing  a  general  merchandise 
business  in  dry  goods,  boots  and  shoes.  In  1874  they 
sold  out  and  engaged  in  the  coal-mining  and  shipping 
business  for  two  years.  They  then  came  to  Santa 
Clara  County  and  purchased  800  acres,  between  Los 
Gatos  and  Saratoga.  Mr.  Huggins  bought  his  uncle's 
interest  in  the  land,  and  started  a  large  orchard, 
planting  150  acres  in  fruit,  of  which  125  acres  were 
in  prunes,  the  rest  being  in  various  fruits;  ii2  acres 
of  this  was  planted  on  shares,  the  man  planting  and 
caring  for  the  trees  for  four  years,  receiving  a  certain 
acreage  as  compensation.  This  was  probably  at  the 
time  the  largest  prune  orchard  in  the  world.  Early 
in  1S84  Mr.  Huggins  sold  his  interest  in  this  orchard 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


385 


for  $50,000,  the  place  having  been  purchased,  eight 
years  before,  for  $12,000.  Hr.  Huggins  is  not  at 
present  interested  in  fruit  culture,  nor  is  he  in  any 
active  business. 

He  was  married,  in  1S67,  to  Miss  Matilda  Maliott, 
a  native  of  New  Orleans,  but  a  resident  of  Ohio  from 
her  early  childhood.  She  died  in  1S70,  leaving  one 
child,  Grace,  who  graduated  at  the  University  of  the 
Pacific  in  1888.  Mr.  Huggins  was  again  married,  in 
1S77,  to  Miss  Bertha  Roemer,  a  native  and  resident 
of  Ottumwa,  Iowa.  There  has  been  born  to  them 
one  child,  Howard  M.,  in  1882. 

Mr.  Huggins  was  reared  on  his  father's  farm  up  to 
the  age  of  seventeen  years,  and  trained  in  all  the  de- 
tails of  farm  work.  He  has  been,  until  within  the 
past  four  years,  an  active  business  man.  Except  a 
small  estate  from  his  father,  Mr.  Huggins  has  been  the 
architect  of  his  own  fortune,  and  evevy  dollar  he  pos- 
sesses represents  just  so  much  of  hard,  earnest,  act- 
ive work.  His  parents  were  Alexis  M.  and  Orinda 
A.  (Jenison)  Huggins,  both  natives  of  New  York. 
His  father  was  a  miller  and  farmer,  owning  a  farm  in 
Ripley  County,  Indiana,  and  later  in  Iowa,  operating 
a  mill  belonging  t.o  his  father,  as  well  as  carrying  on 
his  farm  work,  while  in  Indiana.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  owns  a  beautiful  home,  and  is  surrounded  by 
every  home  comfort.  His  father  died  in  Iowa  in 
1863.  His  mother  still  lives,  residing  in  San  Jose 
with  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Davis. 


MiOEL  W.  RANSOM.  Some  of  the  grandest  steps 
(S/"  that  have  thus  far  been  taken  by  Santa  Clara 
^M^  County  in  the  realization  of  her  title,  "  The 
Garden  of  the  World,"  are  due  to  men  who  are  com- 
paratively new-comers.  Only  four  years  ago  the  great 
Ransom  Fruit  Farm,  just  south  of  Madrone  Station, 
was  a  hay  and  grain  field,  with  nothing  about  it  to 
make  it  more  remarkable  than  hundreds  of  other 
places  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley.  Then  the  present 
owner  took  charge,  and  the  horticultural  history  of 
California  probably  presents  no  parallel  to  the  prog- 
ress that  has  been  made  here  since  that  time.  The 
tract  contains  402  acres,  including  the  right  of  way 
of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad,  which  runs  through 
it.  Thirty  acres  are  used  to  pasture  stock,  while  all 
the  rest  is  given  over  to  the  culture  of  tree  and  vine 
fruits.  South  of  the  barn  buildings  is  an  orchard  of 
apricots  set  out  in  1884,  and  three  years  later  it  bore 
a  heavy  crop,  in  some  instances  more  than  100  pounds 
49 


being  taken  from  a  single  tree.  They  are  all  of  the 
Moorpark  variety.  North  of  the  residence  is  a  vine- 
yard of  five  acres,  a  portion  of  which  was  set  out  by 
the  former  owner,  to  Mission  grapes,  into  which 
Mr.  Ransom  has  grafted  thirty  varieties  of  fancy 
French  grapes.  The  new  vines  are  all  Zinfandels, 
and  were  planted  in  1885.  The  portion  of  his  ranch 
so  far  described  lies  west  of  the  railroad,  but  on  the 
east  the  rows  of  trees  and  vines  stretch  away  to  the 
eastward  until  they  appear  finally  to  come  together 
in  one  green  mass.  At  the  northern  end  of  the  tract, 
and  adjoining  the  railroad,  is  a  vineyard  of  seventy- 
two  and  one-half  acres, — all  table  and  raisin  grapes. 
To  the  east  of  this  is  a  sixty-acre  prune  orchard,  set 
with  French  prunes  in  1884.  South  of  this,  Mr.  Ran- 
som planted  100  acres  to  French  prunes,  in  1885,  and 
in -1886  he  added  ten  acres  more,  making  in  all  170 
acres  in  French  prunes,  which  is  the  largest  French 
prune  orchard  in  the  world,  containing  19,000  trees. 
The  next  larger  prune  orchard  is  in  Santa  Cruz 
County,  and  contains  16,000  trees.  South  of  the 
young  prune  orchard  he  has  another  vineyard  of  no 
acres,  mostly  in  Zinfandel,  Matero,  and  other  wine 
grapes,  set  out  in  1886,  and  presents  a  healthy  ap- 
pearance. The  farm  residence  is  a  commodious,  single- 
story  building,  and  well  adapted  to  this  climate  in 
construe  ion  and  arrangement.  Mrs.  Ransom  has 
devoted  much  time  and  attention  to  the  embellish- 
ment of  the  grounds  surrounding  their  home,  and 
here  may  be  seen,"'in  healthy  growth,  almost  every 
variety  of  tropical  and  semi-tropical  plants.  The 
orange  and  fig  thrive  here,  while  the  magnolia  de- 
lights the  senses  by  the  beauty  and  fragrance  of  its 
flowers.  There  are  seventy-five  fig-trees  now  in  bear- 
ing, which  form  a  border  to  the  other  plants.  The 
oldest  of  these  were  set  out  in  1884-85,  from  cuttings 
brought  by  Mr.  Ransom  from  Cloverdale,  Sonoma 
County,  and  include  the  several  varieties.  There  are 
also  choice  evergreens,  geraniums,  verbenas,  calla 
lilies,  pomegranates,  etc.  About  six  miles  from  this 
place,  just  south  of  Coyote  Station,  Mr.  Ransom  has 
another  farm,  known  as  a  portion  of  the  old  Fisher 
grant,  purchased  in  1887,  containing  ninety-eight  and 
thirty-six  one-hundredths  acres.  In  1888  Mr.  Ransom 
cut  four  tons  of  volunteer  barley  hay  to  the  acre  on 
fifteen  acres  of  this  land,  that  had  been  used  as  pasture. 
There  is  an  apple  orchard  of  two  acres  on  this  place, 
eighteen  years  old,  and  also  a  small  vineyard.  The 
residence  is  a  handsome  two-story  structure,  with  all 
the  modern  conveniences. 

Joel  W.  Ran.som  was  born  in  Salem,  New  London 


386 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  7HE   WORLD.' 


County,  Connecticut,  October  4,  1S21.  His  parents, 
John  S.  and  Lydia  (Newton)  Ransom,  came  from 
old  New  England  families,  his  paternal  grandfather 
having  been  a  soldier  in  the  patriot  army  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary War.  His  father,  a  farmer,  was  born  in 
1788,  and  died  at  a  ripe  old  age,  in  1871.  Joel 
W.  was  reared  in  his  native  county  until  he  left 
home,  October  4,  1841,  to  make  his  own  way  in  life. 
He  went  South  at  once,  and  settled  in  Cahaba,  Dallas 
County,  Alabama,  where  he  engaged  in  general  mer- 
chandising. Upon  receiving  the  news  of  the  dis- 
covery of  gold  in  California,  he  disposed  of  his  prop- 
erty, and,  January  22,  1849,  set  out  for  New  Orleans, 
where  he  took  a  schooner  for  Panama.  He  was 
twenty-four  days  crossing  the  Isthmus !  Here  he 
remained  two  months  and  four  days  waiting  for  a 
sailing  vessel,  so  that  he  could  take  passage  to  San 
Francisco  !  On  the  ninety-first  day  out  from  Panama 
he  sailed  through  the  Golden  Gate.  He  at  once  went 
to  the  mines,  and  prospected  on  the  North  Fork  of 
the  American  River  until  fall,  when  he  went  into 
camp  on  the  Feather  River.  Mr.  Ransom's  history 
from  that  time  is  the  history  of  nearly  every  big- 
hearted  miner  of  those  days;  he  had  his  ups  and 
downs,  hardships  and  pleasures.  In  185 1  he  went  to 
Shasta  County,  and  in  1854  to  Trinity  County.  Dur- 
ing the  Florence  excitement  of  1862,  he  left  there 
and  traveled  to  Auburn,  Eastern  Oregon.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1862,  he  went  to  Boise  Basin,  Idaho,  and  from 
there,  in  1865,  to  British  Columbia,  and  later,  in  the 
same  year,  to  Montana,  where,  in  1866,  he  established 
himself  in  Butte  City,  and  there  resided  until  he  came 
to  Santa  Clara  County,  to  remain  permanently.  In 
Butte  City  he  engaged  in  several  kinds  of  busines.s, 
and  in  the  years  1871-72,  was  Assessor  of  Deer  Lodge 
County,  Montana  Territory. 

He  has  permanently  retired  from  mining,  and  does 
not  intend  to  again  engage  in  developing  the  mineral 
wealth  of  the  earth.  New  mines  will  be  discovered, 
but  civilization  and  the  railroad  can  no  longer  be  far 
away.  The  man  who  has  taken  part  in  this  pioneer 
development  has  been  necessarily  thrown  in  contact 
with  all  classes  of  men  from  every  clime.  This  con- 
tact, under  such  circumstances,  inevitably  brings  out 
a  man's  true  character,  no  matter  how  polished  or 
rough  the  exterior  may  be.  Santa  Clara  County  wel- 
comes Mr.  Ransom,  who,  having  passed  through  this 
ordeal,  is  a  thorough  gentleman.  Mrs.  Ransom's 
maiden  name  was  Margaret  Amelia  Cecelia  Logan. 
She  was  born  in  Massachusetts.  Her  parents,  William 
and  Maria  (Battice)  Logan,  were  also  natives  of  the 


same  State,  her  mother  being  of  French  descent. 
Early  in  1865  Mrs.  Ransom  came  with  a  married 
sister  and  her  family  to  Montana,  and  in  the  summer 
of  the  same  year  was  married,  her  first  husband  being 
James  Ruy,  who  died  December  24,  1869.  He  was 
extensively  engaged  in  merchandising  in  Montana. 
On  December  9,  1878,  she  was  married  to  Mr.  Ransom. 
She  is  a  lady  of  education  and  refinement,  and,  like 
her  husband,  is  noted  for  her  hospitality. 

^ 

ip  D.  HOWE,  whose  home  and  fruit  orchard  often 
db>  acres  are  situated  on  Willow  Street,  near  the  Me- 
T  ridian  road,  has  been  a  resident  of  Santa  Clara 
County  since  1 880,  in  which  year  he  came  to  California. 
His  ranch,  which  is  planted  with  350  prunes,  150  cher- 
ries, 100  apricots,  60  pears,  50  peaches,  2,500  Muscat 
vines,  and  a  small  variety  of  fruits  for  family  use,  he 
purchased  in  that  year,  already  planted  in  fruit,  for  $3 50 
per  acre.  Mr.  Howe  places  most  value  in  his  grapes 
and  cherries.  He  shipped  in  1887  five  tons  of  grapes, 
and  the  year  before  he  had  fourteen  tons.  He  has 
shipped  his  grapes  to  Chicago,  St.  Paul,  and  other 
points. 

Born  on  his  father's  farm  in  Schoharie  County,  New 
York,  on  August  31,  1849,  he  remained  there  until  he 
was  eight  years  of  age.  In  1857  his  parents  removed 
with  the  family  to  La  Crosse  County,  Wisconsin,  where 
they  purchased  a  farm  on  which  they  resided  until  the 
death  of  Mr.  Howe's  father,  in  1865.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  remained  on  this  farm  until  the  age  of 
twenty-two  years,  his  time  being  divided  between  at- 
tending school  and  his  farm  duties.  He  then  rented 
the  farm  and  engaged  in  various  occupations,  mostly 
in  the  printing  business,  for  a  number  of  years.  Find- 
ing the  climate  of  Wisconsin  trying  to  his  health,  he 
sold  out  the  farm  and  with  his  family  and  mother  and 
sister  started  for  California,  purchasing  and  settling 
almost  immediately  in  his  present  home.  His  mother 
and  sister  have  a  residence  near  his  on  the  same  ranch. 
His  parents  were  Benjamin  S.  and  Olive  (Ruland) 
Howe,  natives  of  New  York  State.  Mr.  Howe  was 
married  in  1874.  to  Miss  Milla  Eldred,  who  was  born 
in  Wisconsin  in  1857,  her  father,  a  native  of  New  York 
State,  coming  to  Wisconsin  when  it  was  practically  a 
wilderness.  He  was  the  first  Sheriff  of  La  Crosse 
County.  To  this  marriage  have  been  born  six  chil- 
dren, of  whom  two  died  in  1882:  Lilian  A.,  born  July 
31,  1875,  in  Wisconsin;  Millie  Louise,  born  April  18, 
1877,  in  Wisconsin,  died  in  San  Jose,  April  22,  1882; 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


387 


Maud  Milton,  born  May  6,  1879,  in  Wisconsin  ;  Rolo 
D.,  born  December  29,  1882,  died  April  26,  1883,  in 
San  Jose;  Mark  L.,  born  July  31,  1884;  Olive,  born 
January  17,  1886.  Mr.  Howe  is  a  member  of  Mount 
Hamilton  Lodge,  No.  43,  A.  O.  U.  W.  He  generally 
supports  the  Democratic  party,  but  believes  in  tariff 
protection. 


f 


HARLES  A.  PITKIN,  residing  on  the  Meridian 
^  road  near  the  Stevens  Creek  road,  purchased  the 
fifty  acres  on  which  he  now  resides  in  1S82.  He 
then  planted  1,200  French  prunes,  450  silver  prunes, 
1,200  apricots,  500  Bartlett  pears,  350  yellow  egg 
plums,  600  peaches,  300  cherries,  175  Hungarian 
prunes,  56  Washington  plums,  and  220  fruit-trees  of 
different  varieties  for  family  use,  making  in  all  about 
5,000  trees.  In  1887,  on  twenty  acres,  from  900  apri- 
cot trees,  there  was  a  net  result  of  $2,000,  from  800 
various  prunes  over  $1,000,  from  the  yellow  egg  plums 
$342,  and  from  56  Washington  plums  $56.  In  the 
year  previous  the  prunes  netted  $1.50  to  the  tree. 
There  is  on  the  place  a  fruit-drying  apparatus,  which 
seems  to  possess  several  marked  advantages,  and  on 
which  Mr.  Pitkin  has  been  allowed  two  patents.  The 
fruit  to  be  dried  is  in  trays  placed  on  shelves  on  a 
large  revolving  wheel  inside  an  immense  brick  oven, 
these  two  parts  of  the  apparatus  resembling  a  large 
cracker-baking  oven.  The  slow  revolution  brings  the 
fruit  within  the  very  dry  and  the  more  moist  strata  of 
heated  air,  also  in  the  currents  of  greater  and  less 
heat  slowly  and  at  intervals,  preventing  danger  of 
burning,  and  enabling  the  fruit  to  gather  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  drier  a  condensation  of  jelly-like  moisture, 
re-absorbing  and  retaining  to  the  fullest  extent  the 
natural  aroma  and  flavor  of  the  fruit. 

Mr.  Pitkin  was  born  in  East  Hartford,  Connecticut, 
in  July,  1837,  and  reared  on  his  father's  farm.  He 
was  attending  the  East  Hartford  High  School  at  the 
age  of  sixteen,  when  he  left  school  and  went  to  work 
in  the  Colt  Pistol  Factory  in  1856,  remaining  there 
one  year.  He  was  then  employed  in  the  firm  of  Bid- 
well,  Pitkin  &  Co.  as  bookkeeper,  in  which  his  brother 
was  interested.  In  1S60  this  firm  changed  its  name 
to  Pitkin  Bros.  &  Co.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  being 
admitted  to  the  firm,  and  their  business  the  manu- 
facture of  steam,  water,  and  gas  apparatus.  He  re- 
mained in  the  firm  until  the  winter  of  1877-78,  over 
twenty  years,  when  he  came  to  California  and  bought 
twenty-two  acres  in  the  Willows,  which  he  planted 


partially  in  orchard  and  sold  later,  buying  the  place 
on  the  Meridian  road. 

In  1862  he  was  married  to  Miss  Henrietta  Lock- 
wood,  daughter  of  James  and  Charlotte  (Chamber- 
lain) Lockwood,  residents  of  Hartford,  Connecticut. 
Mr.  Lockwood  was  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Case, 
Lockwood  &  Brainard  Co.,  extensive  printers  and  pub- 
lishers of  Hartford,  having  engaged  in  that  business 
with  Case,  Tiffany  &  Co.  in  1836.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pit- 
kin have  had  four  children:  Charles  A.,  Jr.,  interested 
witn  his  father  in  fruit  culture  and  drying;  Charlotte 
P.,  the  wife  of  Rev.  W.  P.  Williams,  pastor  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Mayfield,  California; 
James  D.,  who  died  in  childhood;  and  Caroline  H.,  a 
graduate  of  the  Willows  Grammar  School.  The  Pitkin 
family  trace  their  history  back  to  the  thirteenth  cent- 
ury, when,  in  Hertfordshire,  many  important  positions 
were  held  by  members  of  the  family.  William  Pitkin, 
the  progenitor  of  the  family  in  the  United  States, 
came  from  England  in  1659  as  King's  Attorney  for 
the  Connecticut  Colony.  His  son  and  grandson,  both 
named  Wm.  Pitkin,  were  successively  Chief  Judges 
of  that  colony,  and  held  for  125  years  the  highest 
official  places  in  Connecticut.  The  fourth  in  descent 
was  a  member  of  the  Governor's  Council  from  1766 
to  1785,  Colonel  during  the  Revolution,  Judge  of 
Supreme  Court  nineteen  years.  Member  of  Congress 
in  1784,  and  his  father  Governor  of  the  State,  "elected 
by  a  majority  so  large  that  the  vote  was  not  counted!" 
on  account  of  the  stand  he  took  in  resisting  the  accept- 
ance of  the  Stamp  Act.  Mr.  Pitkin  is  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  Order,  and  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  He  has  been  a  Republican  from  the  incep- 
tion of  that  party,  is  in  favor  of  full  prohibition,  and 
believes  in  absolute  protection  of  American  industries. 


TflOUIS    KRUMB,  proprietor  of  Krumb's  Brew- 


y^ 


ery,  Nos.  76  to  86  South  Second  Street,  San 
Jose,  was  born  in  Hesse  Darmstadt,  Germany, 
in  1836.  He  remained  in  his  native  city,  attending 
college,  and  afterward  learning  the  brewing  business. 
At  seventeen  years  of  age  he  came  to  America,  spend- 
ing a  year  in  different  parts  of  the  Eastern  States. 
In  1854  he  came  to  San  Francisco,  and  worked  in  the 
brewing  business  there  and  in  Sacramento  until  the 
fall  of  1855,  when  he  started  a  brewery  in  Alameda, 
which  he  removed  in  1856  to  San  Jose,  where  he  has 
conducted  it  ever  since.  When  he  started  his  brewery 
it   had  a  capacity  of  four  barrels  per  day,  while  now 


888 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


it  has  a  capacity  of  twenty-five  barrels  per  day.     His 
market  is  mostly  in  Santa  Clara  County. 

He  was  married,  in  1857,  to  Miss  Wilhelmina 
Schultz,  a  native  of  Hamburg,  Germany.  They  have 
three  children  living:  Augusta,  still  occupying  the  pa- 
ternal home;  Justus  Edward,  now  the  Deputy  Treas- 
urer of  the  State  of  California;  and  Frederic  Louis, 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  candy  in  San  Jose. 
Mr.  Krumb  has  a  small  orchard  in  Alameda  in 
bearing.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Chosen  Friends,  and 
the  first  Past  Chief  Councillor  in  the  county;  also  a 
member  of  the  Red  Men,  of  which  he  is  Past  Grand 
Oler-Chief  of  the  State  of  California.  He  was  elected 
in  1873  to  the  City  Council  of  San  Jose,  where  he 
served  a  term  of  two  years.  He  is  a  Democrat,  and 
prominent  in  the  councils,  having  been  for  the  past 
ten  years  a  member  of  the  Democratic  County  Central 
Committee  and  for  the  last  six  years  treasurer  of  that 
committee.  He  believes  in  a  modified  tariff.  Mr. 
Krumb  was  connected  with  the  Volunteer  F"ire  De- 
partment of  San  Jose  from  1857  until  it  became  a 
paid  department,  and  for  four  years  was  foreman  of 
Empire  Steam  Fire  Engine  Company,  No.  i. 


-*■   :=^K§^-^$ 


f 


ggDWARD  J.  DELANEY.  This  gentleman  has 
a  lovely  little  fruit  farm  of  ten  acres  situated  on 
Lincoln  Avenue,  between  Willow  Street  and 
Minnesota  Avenue,  in  the  Willows,  San  Jose. 
The  trees  are  principally  apples,  pears,  prunes,  apri- 
cots, peaches,  plums,  and  walnuts.  Mr.  Delaney 
bought  this  place  in  1875,  it  having  been  planted  in 
the  winter  of  1874-75,  'I'ld  has  made  nearly  all  of 
the  improvements  himself  In  1887  it  yielded  about 
2,500  boxes  of  shipping  apples,  1,500  boxes  of  dry- 
ing apples,  and  15,000  pounds  of  prunes — returning 
about  $1,500  gross  income  for  the  products  of  the 
orchard.  He  has  also  three  acres  on  the  corner  of 
Lincoln  and  Minnesota  Avenues,  that  are  in  bearing 
— prunes  and  cherries. 

Mr.  Delaney  is  a  native  of  England,  having  been 
born  in  Exeter,  Devonshire.  He  left  there  at  the  age 
of  six  years,  with  his  parents,  who  went  first  to  Aus- 
tralia during  the  gold  excitement,  where  they  remained 
two  years,  and  then  came  to  California  by  way  of 
Honolulu,  where  they  stopped  six  months,  arriving  in 
California  on  the  first  day  of  May,  1852.  Mr.  Dela- 
ney's  parents  were  Matthew  and  Mary  (Pillman)  De- 
laney— the  father  born  in  Maryborough,  Queens 
County,  Ireland,  and  the  mother  in  Exeter,  England. 


Matthew  Delaney  was  all  his  adult  life  a  veterinary 
surgeon,  having  studied  that  profession  while  in  the 
Queen's  Royal  Ninth  Lancers,  of  which  command  he 
was  for  seventeen  years  a  member,  and  from  which  he 
was  discharged  on  account  of  disability  incurred  in 
service  in  the  riding  school,  while  training  a  vicious 
and  unruly  horse.  Mr.  Delaney  brought  with  him  to 
California  the  first  lot  of  Sydney  horses  that  came  to 
this  country. 

He  was  married  to  Mary  Pillman,  in  Exeter,  in 
1838,  in  the  same  year  that  the  marriage  of  Queen 
Victoria  occurred.  He  died  in  San  Francisco  in  1865. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  the  second  child,  and 
remained  with  his  parents  until  1865,  attending  school, 
and  later  studying  veterinary  surgery,  having  charge 
alternately  of  his  father's  estate  until  its  final  settle- 
ment. In  1870  he  was  married  to  Miss  Laura  G. 
Smith,  the  first  white  child  born  in  Nevada  City,  Cal- 
ifornia, whose  father,  George  W.  Smith,  came  across 
the  plains  to  Oregon  in  1846  with  his  uncle,  Peter  H. 
Burnett,  later  the  first  Governor  of  California.  Mr. 
Smith  fought  in  the  Cayuse  War  in  Oregon,  in  1848, 
but  in  1849,  at  the  first  gold  excitement,  he  came  to 
California.  In  1850  he  was  married,  in  Sacramento, 
to  Miss  Elizabeth  D.  Robinson,  who  had  come  across 
the  plains  with  her  parents  from  Missouri  in  1849. 

Six  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  De- 
laney. Two  died  in  infancy.  Those  remaining  are: 
Joseph  W.,  born  in  San  Francisco,  August  4,  1872, 
now  at  school  in  the  Willows;  Carrie,  born  July  15, 
1875,  attending  school  in  San  Jose;  Herbert,  born 
May  30,  1877,  attending  school  in  the  Willows;  and 
Ada,  born  November  5,  1885.  The  last  three  were 
born  in  San  Jose. 

Mr.  Delaney  is  a  member  of  the  Fruit  Growers' 
Association  of  the  Willows.  He  has  always  been  a 
Democrat  in  politics;  is  a  believer  in  the  protection  of 
the  fruit-growing  interests  of  California. 


~-«-M 


44-<-< 


flMOTHY  CONANT,  whose  fruit  ranch  and 
residence  are  on  the  Meridian  road,  at  the  inter- 
(3)t  section  of  Willow  Street,  San  Jose,  has  been  a 
resident  of  California  since  1873,  and  of  the 
Santa  Clara  Valley  since  1874.  In  that  year  he 
bought  forty  acres  of  land,  for  which  he  paid  $5,000, 
and  has  since  then  purchased  twelve  and  a  half  acres 
adjoining,  of  which  his  son  now  owns  eight  acres.  Of 
these  places  there  are  thirty-three  acres  in  fruit,  of 
which  about  two-thirds  is  in  bearing,  one-third  being 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


389 


in  prunes,  one-third  in  apricots,  and  one-third  in 
peaches.  They  have  just  set  about  five  acres  in  cher- 
ries of  the  Napoleon  Bigarreau  variety. 

Mr.  Conant  was  born  in  Medina  County,  Ohio,  in 
1828,  on  his  father's  farm,  where  he  lived  until  1854 
and  there  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools 
of  the  neighborhood.  In  1854  he  removed  to  Min- 
nesota, where  he  again  engaged  in  farming,  to  which 
his  life  has  been  almost  entirely  devoted.  In  1864  he 
enlisted  in  the  Fourth  Minnesota  Infantry.  He  had 
previously  attempted  to  enter  the  service  of  the 
Union,  but  was  refused  on  account  of  his  health;  in 
1864,  however,  the  Union  needed  defenders  so  much 
that  he  was  accepted.  He  was  sent  to  Sherman's 
army  at  Altoona  Mountains,  taking  part  in  the  en- 
gagement at  Altoona  and  at  the  Battle  of  Benton- 
villc,  remaining  with  Sherman  on  his  March  to  the 
Sea.  He  took  part  in  the  grand  review  of  the  troops 
in  Washington  in  May,  1865,  and  was  mustered  out 
of  the  service  at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  June  15,  1865. 
He  was  married  in  1857  at  Dayton,  Minnesota,  to 
Miss  Martha  Davis,  a  native  of  Augusta,  Maine. 
There  were  born  to  this  union  two  children:  Eva  G., 
December  15,  1859,  now  the  wife  of  James  Moore, 
residing  in  Solano  County,  California;  and  Ernest  W., 
July  2,  1862,  now  living  with  his  parents  and  en- 
gaged in  fruit-raising.  Mr.  Conant's  father  is  still 
living  in  Medina  County,  Ohio.  When  he  came  to 
that  State,  at  the  age  of  twenty  years,  with  his  father, 
Ohio  was  a  wilderness.  Mr.  Conant  is  a  member  of 
Phil.  Sheridan  Post,  No.  7,  G.  A.  R.,  San  Jose.  He 
has  always  been  an  ardent  Republican,  and  in  favor 
of  protective  tariff  His  son  Ernest  is  a  member  of 
the  Sons  of  Veterans,  with  the  rank  of  Major,  and 
very  active  in  that  organization. 


i-^^ 


SmENRY  BOOKSIN.  This  gentleman,  a  promi- 
^k^  nent  fruit-grower  and  typical  man  of  Santa  Clara 
"%{  County,  came  to  California  from  New  York 
State  in  1851,  settling  first  in  Colusa  County. 
He  is  a  German  by  birth,  the  place  of  his  nativity 
being  Hesse  Cassel,  and  the  year,  1827.  He  attended 
the  public  schools  of  his  native  place  until  he  was 
about  sixteen  years  of  age,  when  he  commenced  learn- 
ing the  business  of  wagon-making  in  Marburg,  Ger- 
many, completing  his  apprenticeship  when  twenty- 
one  years  of  age.  He  then  emigrated  to  New  York, 
and  worked  at  his  trade  about  three  years,  when  he 
came  to  California.      He  opened  a  wagon-making  es- 


tablishment in  Colusa,  in  1852,  carrying  on  that  busi- 
ness until  1856,  when  he  purchased  a  farm  in  the 
same  county.  In  1857  he  revisited  Europe,  traveling 
in  Germany,  France,  and  England  until  the  spring  of 
1858,  when  he  returned  to  California,  arriving  in  Co- 
lusa in  April.  While  on  this  visit  he  was  married,  in 
Germany,  in  1858,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Kraft,  a  native 
of  Hesse  Cassel,  bringing  her  immediately  to  the  home 
of  his  adoption,  California.  He  remained  on  his  Co- 
lusa ranch  until  1874,  cultivating  wheat  and  raising 
stock,  in  which  occupations  he  did  so  well  that  when 
he  sold  out  in  1874  he  had  about  6,000  acres  of  the 
best  valley  land.  In  1875  he  purchased  his  present 
residence,  No.  574  Second  Street,  San  Jose,  where  he 
has  since  resided.  In  1881  Mr.  Booksin  purchased 
eighty  acres  in  the  Willows  of  Santa  Clara  County, 
thirty  acres  of  which  were  already  in  fruit-trees.  He 
immediately  planted  the  remaining  fifty  acres  in  trees, 
and  now  has  one  of  the  finest  orchards  in  Santa  Clara 
County,  consisting  of  thirty  acres  of  French  prunes, 
twenty-five  acres  of  apricots,  fifteen  acres  of  peaches, 
and  the  remainder  of  cherries,  which  are  all  in  full 
bearing.  In  18S7  this  orchard  produced  about  250 
tons  of  apricots  and  150  tons  of  peaches.  The  prunes 
yielded  their  first  crop  that  year,  producing  about 
thirty-five  tons.  Mr.  Booksin  has  on  his  place  a  Flem- 
ing dryer,  with  which  he  dried  a  large  part  of  the  crop, 
receiving  about  $16,000  for  the  entire  product.  The 
prune  crop  of  1888  will  probably  double  that  of  1887. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Booksin,  John  and  Catherine 
(Rodehause)  Booksin,  were  natives  of  Hesse  Cassel, 
died  and  are  buried  there.  His  grandfather  was  in 
America  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  one  of  the 
Hesse  Cassel  soldiers  who  fought  with  the  British. 
His  father  was  a  soldier  under  Napoleon  in  the  Rus- 
sian campaign,  being  a  member  of  the  Grenadier 
Guards,  going  as  far  as  Moscow,  and  participating  in 
the  famous  retreat  from  that  city.  He  was  later  a 
soldier  under  Bluchcr,  and  took  part  in  the  battle  of 
Waterloo. 

There  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booksin  four  chil- 
dren: Louis,  now  engaged  in  fruit-raising  in  the  Wil- 
lows; John  and  Henry,  living  at  home,  and  assisting 
their  father  in  the  fruit  business;  and  Gienni,  who  also 
lives  at  home.  Mr.  Booksin's  first  wife  died  in  Colusa, 
in  1866,  and  he  afterward  married  her  sister.  Miss 
Katie  Kraft.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Booksin  and  family 
are  attendants  at  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  San  Jose. 
Mr.  Booksin  belongs  to  the  Republican  party,  believes 
in  the  protection  of  American  interests,  and  is  thor- 
oughly American  in  all  his  feelings  and  sympathies. 


390 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


.P|LDEN  E.  MOODY,  District  Secretary  and 
t^p*"  Manager  of  the  Home  Mutual  Insurance  Com- 
(2j|=  pany  of  California  for  the  district  comprising 
the  counties  of  Santa  Clara,  Santa  Cruz,  San  Benito, 
and  Monterey,  with  headquarters  at  No.  20  West 
Santa  Clara  Street,  San  Jose,  was  born  in  Water- 
town,  Jefferson  County,  New  York,  in  1833.  He  at- 
tended school  in  his  native  place  up  to  the  age  of 
eighteen  years,  at  the  same  time  working  on  his 
father's  farm.  He  then  worked  one  year  at  the  car- 
penter's trade,  after  which  he  went  into  a  general 
merchandise  store,  where  he  remained  a  year.  In 
1853  he  crossed  the  plains  to  California  with  a  band 
of  seventy-five  horses,  paying  the  man  who  owned 
the  horses  $200  for  the  privilege  of  helping  him  drive 
them  across  the  plains.  Upon  his  arrival  in  Califor- 
nia he  came  directly  to  San  Jose,  where  he  located- 
He  at  first  worked  at  the  carpenter's  trade,  and  later' 
with  an  associate,  established  the  planing-mills  now 
situated  on  the  corner  of  Fourth  and  San  Francisco 
Streets,  which  were  the  first  planing-mills  in  San  Jose. 
These  he  afterward  sold  and  became  the  representa- 
tive of  the  Pacific  Union  Express  Company,  which 
place  he  occupied  until  the  company's  franchise  and 
business  were  purchased  by  Wells,  Fargo  &  Co., 
when  he  engaged  in  the  insurance  business,  in  which 
he  has  continued  for  the  past  twenty  years,  and  for 
eighteen  years  has  held  the  position  he  now  occupies 
in  the  Home  Mutual  Company. 

He  was  married  in  1857,  and  to  this  marriage  were 
born  three  children:  Charles  E.,  of  the  firm  of  Bailey, 
Crossman  &  Moody  ;  Gettie,  wife  of  H.  P.  Thayer, 
Superintendent  of  the  Guadaloupe  quicksilver  mines- 
and  Everett,  attending  the  public  schools  of  San  Jose. 
Mr.  Moody  was  married  again  in  1885,  to  Miss  Ada 
Huiton,  of  San  Francisco,  daughter  of  William  M. 
Huiton,  the  founder  of  the  San  Francisco  Evening 
Post.  The  first  vote  he  ever  cast  was  in  San  Jose, 
for  John  C.  Fremont  for  President.  During  that 
campaign  Mr.  Moody,  with  the  late  Levi  Goodrich, 
the  late  James  F.  Kennedy  (then  Sheriff),  and  D.  B. 
Moody,  now  of  the  Central  Milling  Company,  formed 
a  singing  quartette  and  stumped  the  county  for  Fre- 
mont, singing  at  the  political  meetings  in  every  part  of 
this  county.  To  this  work  they  devoted  about  three 
months,  and  rolled  up  a  majority  for  Fremont  in  this 
county,  which  was  the  only  county  in  the  State  doing 
as  well.  Since  that  time  he  has  been  a  consistent 
Republican.  He  has  been  very  successful  in  the  in- 
surance business.  Taking  charge  of  the  business  of 
the  Home  Mutual   Insurance  Company  of  California, 


when  insurance  interests  were  flat  in  San  Jose,  he  has 
built  up  a  most  successful  business  and  added  largely 
to  the  assets  of  the  company,  while  giving  abundant 
satisfaction  to  those  who  were  fortunate  enough  to 
hold  policies  of  his  company  whenever  overwhelmed 
by  the  fire  fiend.  Mr.  Moody  is  classed  among  the 
foremost  of  business  men  at  San  Jose. 


a|RANK  A.  BAUMGARTNER.  This  gentle- 
st man,  who  resides  on  Lenzen  Avenue,  near  the 
T  Alameda,  San  Jose,  was  born  in  Bohemia  in 
1854.  He  came  to  America  in  1865  with  his  parents, 
Louis  and  Mary  Baumgartner,  also  natives  of  Bohe- 
mia, who  settled  in  Kewaunee,  Wisconsin,  where  they 
yet  reside,  engaged  in  farming  and  conducting  a 
coopering  establishment.  In  1873  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  left  his  parental  home,  after  having  learned 
the  brewing  business  in  Almapee,  Wisconsin,  and 
went  to  Chicago,  where  he  was  foreman  in  Seipp's 
Brewery.  In  October,  1883,  he  came  to  California, 
taking  a  position  as  foreman  of  the  Fredericksburg 
Brewery  Company,  at  San  Jose,  where  he  is  still  em- 
ployed, in  charge  of  the  manufacturing  department. 
Mr.  Baumgartner  is  also  interested  in  fruit-growing, 
having  ten  acres  of  French  prunes  and  apricots  in 
full  bearing,  on  Fruit  Vale  Avenue,  near  the  Meridian 
road. 

Mr.  Baumgartner  was  married  in  1877  to  Miss  Mary 
Wacek,  a  native  of  Bohemia,  her  parents  having  re- 
moved from  Bohemia  to  Wisconsin  in  1868,  in  which 
State  they  still  reside.  There  have  been  born  by  this 
marriage  three  children:  Libbie,  in  1878;  Josephine, 
in  1880;  and  Louis,  in  1882.  Mr.  Baumgartner  sup- 
ports the  Democratic  party. 


-€"4^^"- 


^AMES  R.  CURNOW,  A.  M.,  M.  D.  The  subject 
®^  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Gulval,  near  Penzance, 
^  in  Cornwall,  England,  in  1853,  and  came  to  Amer- 
ica with  his  brother,  William  Curnow,  when  young, 
and  directly  to  California.  He  went  to  the  gold 
mines  in  Nevada  County,  where  he  remained  several 
years.  He  had  attended  the  national  schools  in 
Cornwall,  and  here,  in  1874,  he  entered  the  University 
of  the  Pacific,  which  institution  he  attended  six  years, 
graduating  in  the  classical  course,  in  1880.  He  then 
commenced  the  study  of  medicine  in  the  office  of  Drs. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


391 


Potts  &  Caldwell,  where  he  remafned  about  one  year; 
then  he  began  the  scientific  course  at  Columbia  Col- 
lege, in  New  York  city,  remaining  there  during  one 
session.  He  then  entered  Bellevue  Hospital  Medical 
College,  graduating  there  in  1882.  He  attended  the 
hospitals  in  Philadelphia  in  pursuit  of  the  study  of 
his  profession  until  July,  1883,  when  he  commenced 
practice  in  San  Jose,  devoting  his  time  since  then  ex- 
clusively to  the  practice  of  medicine. 

Dr.  Curnow  was  married  January  21,  1885,  to  Miss 
Lottie  E.  Crichton,  a  native  of  Santa  Clara  County, 
daughter  of  Frederick  and  Emily  (Walker)  Crichton, 
natives  of  England,  who  came  to  California  about 
1852.  Mr.  Crichton  engaged  in  general  merchandis- 
ing and  trading  until  he  came  to  San  Jose  about  1870. 
He  built  a  home  in  San  Jose,  and  lived  here  until  his 
death,  in  March,  1888,  Mrs.  Crichton  having  died  in 
June,  1873.  Mrs.  Curnow  was  a  graduate  of  the  State 
Normal  School,  in  the  class  of  1 8S0,  and  before  her  mar- 
riage taught  school  four  years  at  the  New  Almaden 
quicksilver  mine. 

Dr.  Curnow  has  a  sister  in  Philadelphia,  the  wife  of 
Frank  Clemens;  one  brother,  William,  in  Nevada 
City,  of  this  State,  and  one  brother,  Robert,  now  at- 
tending school  in  San  Jose;  and  other  relatives,  now 
living  in  England.  His  father  died  in  England  in 
1882,  and  his  mother  in  1885. 

Dr.  Curnow  was  at  one  time  physician  at  the  Guad- 
aloupe  mine,  until  the  mine  was  closed.  Both  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Curnow  are  connected  with  the  Episcopalian 
Church. 


-m 


i§- 


giEROME  VOSTROVSKY  is  one  of  those  valued 
^  acquisitions  to  this  population  who,  having  passed 
'^  a  large  part  of  their  life-time  in  some  of  the  States 
east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  there  acquired  a 
competency,  have  come  to  pass  the  remainder  of  life 
amid  the  pleasures  of  climate  and  delightful  surround- 
ings afforded  only  by  California.  He  purchased  four 
acres  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Willow  Street  and 
Lincoln  Avenue,  in  the  Willows,  in  1884,  planting 
French  prunes  and  cherries,  and  has  erected  an  ele- 
gant dwelling,  which  the  family  now  occupies.  Besides 
this,  he  is  the  owner  of  several  pieces  of  valuable  land 
and  city  property.  Mr.  Vostrovsky  is  from  Bohemia, 
the  land  of  Huss;  he  was  born  near  Prague  on  March 
5,  1836.  He  attended  school  in  Bohemia  and  traveled 
through  the  different  countries  of  Europe.  Not  sym- 
pathizing there  with  the  political  conditions,  and  giv- 


ing too  free  an  expression  to  his  feelings,  he  found  it 
advisable  to  come  to  the  land  of  free  thought  and  free 
action,  America,  where  he  is  loyal  to  the  flag  of  the 
Union.  In  1864  he  went  to  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  where 
he  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits ;  one  year  later  he 
went  to  Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa,  where  he  engaged  in  the 
dry-goods  business,  the  style  of  the  firm  being  first. 
Fort  &  Vostrovsky,  and  later,  J.  Vostrovsky  &  Co. 
Here  he  married  Anna  Witousek,  the  daughter  of 
John  and  Frances  (Polak)  Witousek,  of  Moravia. 
Remaining  until  1870,  he  then  sold  out  and  removed 
to  West  Point,  Nebraska,  where  he  opened  the  same 
kind  of  business.  He  was  City  Treasurer  for  a  number 
of  years,  and  was  also  appointed  Notary  Public,  and 
known  as  one  of  the  most  enterprising  citizens.  He 
removed  to  Livermore,  California,  in  1876,  where  he 
again  engaged  in  the  dry-goods  business,  with  his 
usual  activity  and  enterprise.  He  remained  there 
three  and  a  half  years,  and  sold  out  with  his  good-will 
and  returned  to  West  Point,  Nebraska,  where  he  still 
had  property  interests,  which  he  disposed  of,  and  then 
traveled.  After  seeing  the  greater  part  of  California, 
Oregon,  and  Washington  Territory,  he  chose  San 
Jose  for  his  home,  and  in  1883  permanently  located 
here.  Mr.  Vostrovsky  has  decided  literary  taste  and 
ability,  being  a  correspondent  of  several  newspapers 
in  the  Bohemian  (Czech)  language.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Vostrovsky  have  been  blessed  with  three  bright  and 
interesting  children:  Anna,  Clara,  and -Jerome.  Mr. 
Vostrovsky  is  a  member  of  Jordan  Lodge,  No.  27, 
F.  &  A.  M.,  and  West  Point  Lodge,  No.  52,  I.  O.  O. 
F.,  of  West  Point,  Nebraska  ;  of  Pacific  Council,  No. 
474,  American  Legion  of  Honor,  in  San  Jose;  and  of 
Golden  Gate  Lodge,  No.  93,  of  the  C.  S.  P.  S.,  Bohe- 
mian Benevolent  Society  of  San  Francisco;  also  a 
member  of  San  Jose  Turnverein.  Courteous  and 
gentle  in  manner,  Mr.  Vostrovsky  is  yet  a  man  of 
clearly-defined  views,  well-fixed  convictions,  and 
broadly  independent  and  liberal  in  his  political  and 
religious  sympathies. 


fHADDEUS  W.  SPRING,  of  the  firm  of  T.  W. 
Spring  &  Son, clothing  merchants,  corner  of  Santa 
&Y  Clara  and  Market  Streets,  San  Jose,  was  born  in 
Buffalo,  New  York,  June  17,  1829.  His  ances- 
tors for  many  generations  were  residents  of  Massachu- 
setts and  Vermont.  While  he  was  an  infant,  his  father 
moved  to  New  Orleans,  Louisiana,  where  he  received 
his  education  up  to  the   age    of  eighteen  years.     He 


392 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


then  enlisted  in  Magruder's  Battery,  United  States 
Army,  and  after  making  the  voyage  around  Cape 
Horn  with  his  battery  on  the  ship  Monterey,  landed  in 
San  Diego,  California,  where  he  remained  until  1851, 
when  he  was  discharged  and  came  immediately  to 
San  Francisco,  and  engaged  in  the  auction  business, 
which  he  continued  for  two  years.  He  then  made  a 
trip  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  after  which  he  returned 
to  California  and  commenced  mining  in  various  parts 
of  the  State  and  in  Nevada,  with  the  usual  success  at- 
tending mining  operations.  He  came  to  San  Jose 
in  1 86 1  and  engaged  in  the  auction  business  with  N. 
Hayes,  which  he  followed  for  four  years.  He  then 
commenced  business  for  himself  in  clothing  and  gen- 
tlemen's furnishing  goods,  which  he  has  carried  on 
ever  since  very  extensively.  He  was  married  in  1862, 
to  Miss  Emilie  Houghton,  a  native  of  Iowa,  and  there 
have  been  born  to  them  two  children,  viz.:  Marcella, 
wife  of  Fred  W.  Moore,  of  Santa  Cruz,  and  Henry 
Mayo  Newhall  Spring,  who  is  associated  in  business 
with  his  father. 


■  mSEPH  E.  BROWN,  of  the  firm  of  J.  E.  Brown 
@/  &  Son,  has  been  connected  with  the  real-estate 
^  business  in  Santa  Clara  County  since  1862.  He 
was  born  on  his  father's  farm  in  Steuben,  Oneida 
County,  New  York,  April  25,  1825.  He  attended 
school  in  Utica  until  eleven  years  of  age,  when  his 
father  removed  to  Centreville,  St.  Joseph  County, 
Michigan.  Here  he  worked  on  his  father's  farm,  at- 
tended the  local  schools,  and  later  spent  two  years  at 
school  in  Kalamazoo.  In  1846  he  removed  to  New 
York  State,  where  he  remained  two  years  engaged 
in  the  carriage-making  business,  and  while  there 
married  Miss  Diana  Sevey,  a  native  of  Genesee 
County,  New  York.  In  1848  he  returned  to  Michigan 
with  his  wife,  and  there  engaged  in  the  manufacture 
of  carriages,  making  the  first  top  buggy  in  St.  Joseph 
County.  In  1852  he  came  to  California,  crossing  the 
plains  in  the  usual  way,  and  after  remaining  a  few 
months  in  Butte  and  Plumas  Counties,  came  to  San 
Jose,  where  he  has  since  remained.  Here  he  again  en- 
gaged in  carriage  and  wagon-making,  manufacturing 
also  the  first  top  buggy  ever  made  in  Santa  Clara 
County.  He  worked  at  this  business  until  his  election 
to  the  State  Legislature,  in  1861.  His  wife  died  in  1854, 
and  in  1862  he  married  Miss  Mary  S.  Grant,  a  native 
of  Oneida  County,  New  York,  a  niece  of  the  late  Dr. 
China  Smith.     In  1862  he  engaged  in  the  real-estate 


business,  but  the  movement  of  property  being  slow, 
he  returned  to  his  trade  of  carriage-making,  at  which 
he  worked  until  1873,  when  he  again  entered  the  real- 
estate  and  insurance  business,  which  he  has  followed 
since.  He  is  now  in  his  seventh  term  of  re-appoint- 
ment as  Notary  Public,  making,  including  this  term, 
fourteen  years.  He  owned,  and  lived  for  twenty-five 
years  on,  a  vineyard  and  orchard  of  fifteen  acres  on 
Martha,  between  Third  and  Sixth  Streets,  San  Jose, 
which  he  has  lately  disposed  of 

There  were  born  to  his  first  marriage  two  daughters, 
who  both  died  in  childhood.  By  the  second  marriage 
he  has  one  son,  Goldwin,  associated  with  his  father  in 
the  real-estate  business.  He  is  a  Republican  and  his 
name  was  among  the  first  on  any  paper  in  this  county 
for  the  organization  of  that  party.  In  1856  he 
stumped  the  county  for  Fremont.  He  also  started 
the  first  free  library  (public)  in  San  Jose,  in  1854, 
which  has  since  been  merged  into  the  present  public 
library,  and  the  books  transferred  to  it.  This  library 
was  organized  in  the  fall  of  1854,  the  Trustees  being 
Dr.  J.  C.  Cobb,  Rev.  Eli  Corwin,  Judge  Charles  Dan- 
iels, Mr.  Manney,  and  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Mr. 
Brown  collected  all  the  money  raised  for  the  purpose 
and  turned  it  over  to  Dr.  Cobb,  who,  while  on  a  trip 
East,  made  the  purchase  of  the  books  for  this  library. 
Mr.  Brown  has  been,  during  his  thirty-seven  years  of 
residence,  a  public-spirited,  broad-gauge  man,  active 
in  every  movement  tending  to  the  benefit  of  San  Jose 
and  the  Santa  Clara  Valley,  and  possessing  the  confi- 
dence and  esteem  of  those  who  have  known  him 
longest  and  best.  He  has  lately  arrived  from  a  trip 
in  the  Eastern  States,  and  returns  home  more  than 
ever  in  love  with  California,  and  especially  with  the 
Santa  Clara  Valley. 


IffiBEL    ALDERSON    WITHROW,    familiarly 

si^fe  known  as  "Abe,"  is  a   veteran  soldier  and  also 

^    the  veteran  saddle  and  harness  maker  and   car- 

t  riage  trimmer  of  Santa  Clara,  and  deals  largely 
in  whips,  robes,  etc.  His  shop  is  not  only  the  rendez- 
vous of  the  G.  A.  R.  men,  but  also  of  his  other 
friends,  who  frequently  drop  in  to  "swap  news"  and 
talk  over  old  times. 

He  was  born  at  Lawrenceburg,  Indiana,  in  1833. 
When  twelve  years  of  age  he  was  taken  to  Greens- 
burg,  Indiana,  by  his  parents,  Abel  and  Susan  (Jordan) 
Withrow,  both  deceased.  At  the  age  of  fourteen 
years   he  was   apprenticed   to   learn   the    saddle   and 


,,^.ii3s^i<^^j;^^ 


BIOGRA rillCAL  SKETiJlIEK 


harness  making  trade.  After  serving  three  years  he 
went  to  Salem,  Iowa,  in  1851,  and  continued  working 
at  his  trade  until  the  spring  of  1S53,  when,  catching 
the  gold  fever  of  that  day,  like  thousands  of  others, 
he  undertook  the  perilous  and  fatiguing  journey  over 
the  plains  to  the  gold  regions  of  California,  and 
reached  the  diggings  at  Pine  Grove  after  weeks  of 
weary  travel.  He  mined  at  Pine  Grove  and  St.  Louis 
until  the  fall  of  1857,  when  his  golden  dreams  were 
dispelled  by  the  realization  of  rough  fare,  hard  work, 
and  small  gains.  From.  Pine  Grove  he  came  to  Santa 
Clara,  where  he  was  employed  at  his  trade  as  a  jour- 
neyman till  i860,  when  he  became  proprietor  of  a 
resort  seven  miles  west  of  Santa  Clara,  known  as  the 
Blackberry  Farm,  which  he  kept  until  1862,  when  the 
war  excitement  was  at  its  height  in  California.  The 
sentiment  of  the  State  seemed  evenly  divided  on  the 
question  of  union  or  disunion;  but  while  loyal  to 
the  Union  by  a  loyal  press  and  a  host  of  earnest 
patriots,  and  although  no  call  was  made  upon  the 
citizens  here  for  soldiers,  there  were  thousands  of 
patriotic  men  anxious  for  an  opportunity  to  go  to  the 
front  and  prove  their  devotion  to  the  flag.  In  that 
year  Mr.  Withrow  became  a  member  of  the  California 
Hundred,  so  well  and  favorably  known  in  history  that 
it  is  unnecessar}'  to  dwell  upon  it  in  this  sketch.  The 
company  in  which  he  enlisted  was  under  Capt. 
George  A.  Manning,  which  with  other  companies 
went  East  by  steamer,  paying  their  own  expenses  and 
going  direct  to  Readville,  Massachusetts,  where  they 
were  drilled,  mounted,  and  assigned  to  active  duty  as 
a  part  of  the  Second  Massachusetts  Cavalry,  under 
Colonel  Charles  Russell  Lowell.  They  participated 
in  fifty  battles  and  skirmishes,  Mr.  Withrow  being  in 
thirty-two  of  them.  Though  not  permitted  to  carry 
the  "Bear  Flag"  they  took  with  them,  they  were 
always  identified  and  known  among  the  commands 
they  served  as  the  "The  Californians."  Mr.  Withrow 
enlisted  as  a  trumpeter,  and  was  afterward  promoted 
as  chief  trumpeter.  He  was  discharged  at  Read- 
ville, Massachusetts,  with  his  regiment,  July  20,  1865, 
the  war  being  closed,  and  after  visiting  relatives  and 
friends  in  Indiana  and  Iowa,  returned  to  Santa  Clara 
in  the  following  November,  where  he  was  welcomed 
alike  by  Unionist  and  non-Unionist.  In  the  spring 
of  1866  he  opened  his  harness  shop  at  Santa  Clara. 
September  14,  1869,  he  was  married  at  Santa 
Clara,  to  Miss  Mattie,  daughter  of  Dr.  James  E. 
Treadwell,  deceased,  and  ?tee  Annie  Stamp.  She  was 
born  at  Havre  de  Grace,  Maryland.  They  have  two 
children:  Elsie  B.,  who  is  completing  her  musical  cdu- 
50 


cation  at  San  Francisco  under  her  cousin.  Miss  Marie 
Withrow,  who  recently  finished  her  studies  in  Europe, 
and  Ralph  V.,  a  student  in  the  Santa  Clara  public 
school. 

Politically,  Mr.  Withrow  is  Republican.  He  has 
been  a  member  of  the  School  Board  of  Santa  Clara 
four  years,  and  Town  Treasurer  two  years.  In  1876 
he  was  made  an  'Odd  Fellow  in  True  Fellowship 
Lodge,  No.  238,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  Santa  Clara,  of  which  he 
is  still  a  member,  and  has  held  the  office  of  Treasurer 
for  eight  consecutive  years. 


IJD  C.  RIDDELL.  It  is  only  in  the  last  few  years 
S^  that  the  great  advantages  of  the  Uvas  Valley 
^■{^  have  been  receiving  general  attention,  but  what 
has  been  done  there  of  late  indicates  what  it  is 
capable  of  There  is  probably  not  a  ranch  in  Santa 
Clara  County,  of  anything  like  similar  size,  which  shows 
to  such  an  extent  the  progress  of  improvements  as 
that  of  D.  C.  Riddell.  This  ranch,  containing  865 
acres,  has  a  beautiful  and  picturesque  location,  and  its 
natural  beauties  have  been  so  enhanced  by  art  that  it 
seems  almost  as  if  perfection  had  here  been  reached. 
Two  hundred  acres  of  this  is  plateau  land,  and  to  this 
Mr.  Riddell  has  devoted  his  attention,  principally- 
The  land  belonging  to  the  ranch  stretches  from  the 
table  land  up  and  over  the  hills,  which  lend  a  charm- 
ing background  to  the  view  of  the  place,  looking  from 
the  road.  This  hill  land  is  used  for  grazing,  into 
which  he  is  gradually  drifting,  but  merely  as  a  side 
issue.  All  of  the  valley  land  is  used  either  for  fruit, 
hay,  or  pasture.  In  hay-raising  he  does  not  trust  to 
the  volunteer  crop,  but  sows  each  year,  and  the  result 
is  a  fine  quality  and  quantity,  either  of  wheat  or  barley 
hay.  Wheat,  however,  seems  to  be  preferable  to  barley 
here.  It  averages  from  one  to  three  tons  per  acre,  the 
adobe  land  especially  yielding  very  heavily.  Not- 
withstanding the  diversity  of  its  possible  uses,  how- 
ever, Mr.  Riddell  regards  this  land  as  too  valuable  to 
be  used  for  anything  else  than  fruit,  in  future,  and  he 
is  rapidly  carrying  out  his  plan,  already  matured,  for 
making  of  the  available  land  one  vast  fruit  farm.  He 
first  turned  his  attention  to  fruit  culture  in  1882,  set- 
ting out  in  that  year  twenty-five  acres.  The  trees 
were  planted  forty  feet  apart,  or  forty-eight  trees  to 
the  acre,  and  are  now  in  a  very  thrifty  condition.  He 
has  since  duplicated  the  number  of  trees  on  this  tract, 
putting  in  the  additional  ones  in  such  a  way  as  to  give 


394 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


the  greatest  possible  space  between.  In  the  winter  of 
1888-89  he  will  inaugurate  a  system  of  planting  twenty 
acres  to  fruit  each  year,  until  the  grand  total  of  the 
orchard  reaches  150  acres,  and  nearly  all -of  this  vast 
acreage  will  be  devoted  to  stone  fruits,  his  observation 
being  that  they  do  better  on  the  red  land  than  seed 
fruits.  His  trees  now  set  out  are  the  picture  of  health. 
They  are  divided  between  Bartlett  pears,  plums,  apri- 
cots, and  French  prunes.  All  these  have  been  success- 
ful in  the  true  sense  of  the  word,  but  the  odds  are 
slightly  in  favor  of  apricots  and  French  prunes  and 
plums,  as  regards  abundance  of  yield. 

Mr.  Riddell  is  not  devoting  any  attention  to  vines, 
other  than  grapes  for  table  use,  nor  is  it  his  intention 
to  do  so.  It  is  not,  however,  on  account  of  their  being 
an  uncertain  crop,  as  the  land  is  especially  well  adapted 
to  the  culture  of  the  grape.  Not  the  least  noticeable 
improvement  on  the  place  is  the  handsome  residence, 
which  was  erected  in  1882,  at  a  cost  of  not  less  than 
$10,000.  The  work  and  arrangement  is  in  admirable 
taste.  All  told,  the  amounts  invested  in  bringing  the 
place  to  its  present  condition,  have  been  rather  over 
than  under  $20,000,  but  they  show  what  capital,  intel- 
ligently directed,  can  do  for  a  location  of  such  natural 
beauty. 

Mr.  Riddell  is  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  born  at 
Erie;  his  boyhood  days  were  spent  there,  at  Pitts- 
burg, and  in  Ohio.  In  June,  1855,  he  came  to  Cali- 
fornia as  the  employe  of  the  great  firm  of  Drexel, 
Sather  &  Church.  In  1857  ill  health  compelled  him 
to  leave  San  Francisco,  consequently  he  severed  his 
connection  with  this  firm  to  engage  in  stock-raising, 
and  later  in  mining  at  Silver  Mountain,  Alpine 
County.  In  1861,  in  company  with  his  brother,  Speer 
Riddell,  he  bought  the  ranch  where  he  at  present  re- 
sides, and  was  engaged  in  the  cattle  business  until 
1864,  exclusively,  when  he  removed  from  this  county 
to  Tulare  County.  In  1869  he  returned  to  Gilroy, 
and  was  agent  for  the  Wells-Fargo  Express  Company 
until  1879,  when  he  removed  to  San  Francisco. 

In  1870,  Mr.  Riddell  wedded  Miss  Philinda  Dor- 
land,  of  Gilroy.  Three  children  have  been  born  of 
this  union,  viz.:  Philinda  D.,  DeWitt  Speer,  and  Eliza- 
beth D.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  one  year. 

In  1 88 1  he  returned  to  the  ranch  to  make  it  his 
permanent  abode,  and  then  commenced  to  lay  his 
plans  for  improvement. 

Mr.  Riddell  was  largely  interested  in  the  borax  in- 
dustry in  San  Bernardino  County,  but  disposed  of  his 
interests  there.  He  has  the  most  approved  appliances 
for   measuring    the   rainfall,   and    from   his   books   of 


record  the  following  tabular  statement  of  rainfall,  on 
his  plan,  for  six  years  is  taken: — 

1S82-S3 16.25  inches 

i883-:<4 35,42  " 

1884-85 21.07  " 

18S5-86 32.13  " 

1SS6  87 17.31 

1S87-88 23.90  " 

Average 24.36       " 


I^PEER  RIDDELL  was  also  a  native  of  Erie, 
^  Pennsylvania,  but  came  to  California  in  1852, 
^^  locating  at  San  Francisco,  devoting  his  time  to 
banking,  holding  the  position  of  paying  teller 
originally  for  Drexel,  Sather  &  Church,  afterward  for 
twelve  years  for  John  Parrott,  and  after  the  retirement 
of  Mr.  Parrott  filled  the  same  position  in  the  London 
and  San  Francisco  Bank,  Limited,  until  1883,  when 
he  resigned  to  take  the  presidency  of  the  San  Ber- 
nardino Borax  Mining  Company,  which  he  held  until 
his  sudden  death,  in  October,  1884,  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
four  years.  He  was  widely  known  in  the  city  and  in 
this  county,  and  universally  respected  for  his  integrity, 
ability,  and  kindliness  of  heart.  By  close  attention 
to  business,  and  the  exercise  of  most  excellent  judg- 
ment, Mr.  Riddell  was  rewarded  by  the  accumulation 
of  a  fortune  that  permitted  of  the  indulgence  of  his 
taste  for  the  country,  and  found  much  pleasure  in  thus 
assisting  his  brother,  D.  C.  Riddell,  to  develop  a 
property  in  a  manner  that  redounds  to  their  credit. 


->H4$ 


-»# 


SiralLBERT  LAKE,  the  proprietor  and  manager  of 
d^'ip  the  San  Jose  Box  Manufactory,  is  at  the  head 

tof  one  of  the  most  important  and  prosperous  in- 
dustrial enterprises  in  the  city, — a  position 
which  he  has  earned  by  an  exhibition  of  business  tact 
and  persistent  energy  in  surmounting  obstacles  and 
overcoming  difficulties  which  would  discourage  most 
men.  Twenty-six  years  ago  C.  S.  Hobbs,  S.  D.  Gil- 
more,  George  Gilmore  and  David  Pomeroy  built  and 
started  a  box  factory  on  North  San  Pedro  Street, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Hobbs,  Gilmore  &  Co.  The 
building  was  25x40  feet,  and  was  simply  a  nailing 
shop,  the  cutting  being  all  done  in  San  F"rancisco. 
The  business  was  conducted  by  this  firm  about  five 
years,  when  they  sold  out  to  Mr.  Lake.  He  struggled 
along  amid  adverse  circumstances  a  number  of  years, 
and  on  the  night  of  October  31,  1887,  the  entire  plant 
was  destroyed  by  fire.     His  property  was  lost,  but  his 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


395 


spirit  was  not  broken;  so  he  set  about  devising  means 
to  rebuild.  He  planned  and  drew  the  design  for  the 
new  building,  completed  his  arrangements,  and  was 
ready  to  start  the  work  on  it  in  December.  It  was 
rapidly  pushed  to  completion,  and  the  larger  and  much 
superior  factory  was  put  in  operation.  The  lot  on 
which  the  new  plant  stands  is  150x196  feet,  at  233  to 
237  North  San  Pedro  Street.  The  main  building  is 
75x80  feet,  two  stories  in  height,  and  its  exterior  is 
iron.  It  is  thoroughly  equipped  with  all  the  latest 
and  most  perfect  patterns  of  machinery  for  box  mak- 
ing in  duplicate,  and  is  what  is  called  a  double  mill. 
Among  other  rare  machines  it  contains  a  gang  edger, 
the  only  one  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  This  machinery 
is  propelled  by  a  sixty-horse-power  engine  of  the  best 
class.  The  boiler-room  is  situated  in  another  build- 
ing 50x65  feet,  there  being  no  fire  about  the  factory. 
An  iron-lined  fuel  room  is  located  on  each  side  of  the 
boilers,  one  for  sawdust  and  the  other  for  shavings. 
Every  particle  of  dust  and  shavings  is  taken  up  from 
the  factory  by  patent  blowers  and  carried  through 
metallic  pipes  to  these  fuel  rooms.  The  lumber  is 
brought  into  the  factory  on  trucks  drawn  by  steam 
power,  and  when  cut  ready  for  nailing  is  hoisted  by 
the  same  power  to  the  second  floor,  where  the  boxes 
are  put  together.  Owing  to  the  superior  equipment 
and  convenient  arrangement  of  his  plant,  Mr.  Lake 
says  he  works  up  lumber  $3.00  a  thousand  cheaper  than 
it  has  ever  been  done  before  in  this  valley.  From 
forty  to  fifty  men  are  employed  in  the  factory,  and 
every  kind  of  wooden  box  is  made.  It  has  the  ca- 
pacity for  working  up  30,000  feet  of  lumber  per  day. 
The  product  is  sold  chiefly  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley 
and  in  Southern  California. 

Mr.  Lake  came  to  California  in  1862  from  his  na- 
tive county,  Chautauqua,  New  York,  where  he  was 
born  in  October,  1843.  His  parents,  who  came  to 
this  State  in  1861,  both  died  in  Alameda  County. 
Two  sisters  reside  on  this  coast.  Mr.  Lake  married 
Emily  Morey,  in  San  Jose,  in  1S74.  She  is  from  Illi- 
nois. Five  sons  constitute  their  family.  Mr.  Lake 
has  served  one  term  in  the  Common  Council  of  San 
Jose. 


Sm  M.  McCABE,  proprietor  of  McCabe's  Hat  Store, 
S-P  41  West  Santa  Clara  Street,  is  one  of  San  Jose's 

fmost  energetic  and  prosperous  young  business 
men.  His  was  the  pioneer  hat  store  in  the  city, 
having  been  established  by  J.  S.  Woods  twenty-four 
years  ago.     Mr.  McCabe  started  in  thirteen  years  ago 


as  a  clerk  in  the  establishment,  and  after  seven  years' 
experience  in  that  capacity  he  purchased  the  stock, 
tools,  fixtures,  and  good-will  of  his  employer,  and 
succeeded  him  in  the  business.  Mr.  McCabe  carries 
a  large  and  complete  stock  of  head  gear  of  the  best 
quality, — larger,  indeed,  than  is  kept  by  any  retail 
dealer  in  San  Francisco.  He  also  manufactures  silk, 
and  other  patterns  of  hats  to  order.  He  is  conceded 
to  be  the  leading  hatter  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley, 
and  every  year  witnesses  a  growth  in  his  business. 

Mr.  McCabe  came  to  California  from  Ireland  at  the 
age  of  twenty  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  A.  O.  U. 
W.,  and  is  one  of  the  charter  members  of  the  Young 
Men's  Institute,  an  organization  for  mutual  improve- 
ment and  mutual  benefit. 


alR.  THOMAS  S.  WHIPPLE,  one  of  the  most 
G^  prominent  and  prosperous  members  of  the  dental 
J^  profession  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley,  has  been 
in  active  practice  in  San  Jose  for  nineteen  years, 
and  a  resident  of  the  city  twenty-one  years.  He  is 
one  of  New  England's  sons,  born  in  Windham  County, 
Connecticut,  November  25,  1848.  He  was  left  an 
orphan  at  a  very  tender  age,  his  mother  having  died 
before  he  was  a  year  old,  and  his  father  when  he  was 
four  years  of  age.  A  portion  of  his  school  training 
was  received  in  Cortland  County,  New  York,  and  the 
remainder  in  Madison  County,  Ohio,  and  San  Jose, 
California. 

In  1S64,  while  yet  in  his  'teens,  he  left  the  Buckeye 
State,  with  broken  liealth,  for  California,  coming 
directly  to  San  Jose.  Dr.  Whipple  at  once  became  a 
member  of  the  family  of  Dr.  C.  R.  Spaw,  his  uncle, 
and  the  pioneer  dentist  of  San  Jose;  entered  Dr. 
Spaw's  office  as  a  student,  and  after  finishing  his  ap- 
prenticeship worked  on  a  salary  eight  years.  Dr. 
Spaw  opened  a  dental  office  on  the  site  of  the  present 
one,  southeast  corner  of  First  and  Santa  Clara  Streets, 
in  1858,  in  the  building  which  occupied  that  corner 
previous  to  the  erection  of  the  elegant  "  Safe  Deposit 
Block,"  in  which  the  office  is  now  located.  Dr.  Spaw 
has  been  in  active  dental  practice  since  1849  until  the 
past  few  years,  during  which  he  has  been  gradually 
withdrawing  from  it;  and  on  March  i,  1877,  the 
large  and  profitable  business  of  the  firm  was  trans- 
ferred to  Dr.  Whipple.  When  Dr.  Whipple  began  to 
study  dentistry  he  was  several  hundred  dollars  in  debt, 
and  while  an  apprentice  received  no  salary;  but,  hav- 
ing determined  to  get  a  start  in  the  world,  he  applied 


39G 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


himself  to  his  chosen  profession  with  all  his  energy, 
and  at  the  end  of  the  two  years  he  came  out  master 
of  it,  and  by  working  over  time  had  earned  money 
enough  to  liquidate  all  his  indebtedness,  and  $250 
over.  The  business  of  the  office  is  now  one  of  the 
largest  in  this  part  of  the  State.  Dr.  Whipple  owns 
one  of  the  finest  young  apricot,  cherry,  and  prune 
orchards  in  Santa  Clara  County.  It  consists  of  thirty- 
five  acres  of  four-year-old  trees,  on  his  sixty-five-acre 
tract,  lying  four  miles  east  of  San  Jose.  In  1887  the 
crop  of  fruit  from  three-year-old  apricot  trees  yielded 
$150  per  acre.  Dr.  Whipple  has  made  a  careful  study 
of  orchard  culture,  during  the  last  four  years,  and 
hopes  to  make  it  a  success. 

In  November,  1873,  Dr.  Whipple  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Mary  L.  Flemming,  a  native  of 
New  York  State.  Frank  E.  and  Raymond  T.,  aged 
respectively  twelve  and  three  years,  constitute  their 
family.  Dr.  Whipple  is  a  member  of  the  California 
State  Dental  Association. 


JKLBERT  OLIVER  HOOKER,  D.D.S.,  is  a  son 
(^^  of  New  England,  born  in  Vermont,  March  25, 

ti845.  After  exhausting  the  curriculum  of  the 
district  school  he  attended  the  academy  at  Barre, 
Vermont,  and  studied  dentistry  under  the  instruction 
of  Dr.  N.  W.  Gilbert,  in  Montpelier,  a  graduate  of  the 
Dental  College  in  Harvard  University.  Dr.  Hooker 
practiced  as  a  partner  with  his  preceptor  several  years, 
then  came  west  and  built  up  a  very  fine  practice  in 
Paw  Paw,  Michigan.  At  the  end  of  four  years  his 
health  was  completely  broken  down  and  he  left  Mich- 
igan for  California,  his  objective  point  being  Hum- 
boldt County.  On  arriving  he  was  but  just  able  to 
walk  a  short  distance.  He  purchased  a  hunter's  out- 
fit and  spent  several  weeks  in  the  forests  and  mount- 
ains. He  had  expected  to  return  to  Michigan,  but 
recuperated  so  rapidly  under  the  influence  of  Califor- 
nia climate  that  he  fell  in  love  with  the  country,  and, 
being  urged  by  his  friends  living  here,  he  decided  to 
remain.  Coming  to  San  Jose,  he  bought  out  a  dental 
office,  and  wrote  to  his  assistant  in  Michigan  to  close 
up  the  office  there  and  ship  his  goods  to  San  Jose. 
It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  Doctor  has  never  regret- 
ted the  change  during  the  fourteen  years  of  his 
residence  here,  where  he  says  he  has  enjoyed  this 
delightful  climate  every  hour.  In  his  dental  practice 
Dr.  Hooker  has  made  regulating  the  deformities  and 
he  preservation  of  the  natural  teeth  a  specialty.      He 


is  acknowledged  to  be   one  of  the   most  skillful  oper- 
ating dentists  on  the  coast. 

In  1870  Dr.  Hooker  married  Marion  Abott,  a  native 
of  New  York,  and  daughter  of  Rev.  G.  S.  and  Eloise 
Miles  Abott,  of  literary  note,  whose  pseudonym  is 
"Oriole."  They  have  a  family  of  two  daughters  and 
two  sons. 


PJMILLIAM  HENRY  GREEN  is  a  native  of  En- 
G%hi  gland,  born  November  22,  1847,  and  attended 
a^  school  there.  He  came  to  the  United  States 
1  and  to  San  Jose  in  1870.  Tliree  years  later  he 
commenced  business  on  his  own  account,  and  is  now 
the  proprietor  of  the  St.  James  Hotel  saloon.  He 
married  Margaret  Sullivan,  a  native  of  Massachusetts, 
on  May  24,  1877.  They  have  no  children,  but  have 
a  nephew — wife's  sister's  son,  Lionel  L'lwlor — four- 
teen years  of  age,  whom  they  are  rearing  and  edu- 
cating. 

Mr.  Green  is  a  great  lover  of  books,  and  has  a  fine 
private  library,  embracing  the  works  of  many  of  the 
standard  authors,  and  bound  volumes  of  the  best 
current  periodicals. 


,-^HARLES  C.  COOK  came  across  the  plains  with 
^  his  wife  and  one  child,  a  daughter,  to  Cali- 
(3)1=  fornia  in  1852.  Leaving  their  home  in  Farming- 
ton,  Van  Buren  County,  Iowa,  April  12,  ihcy 
crossed  the  Missouri  River  where  Omaha  now  stands 
about  May  10.  No  town  was  there  then.  They 
arrived  at  Soda  Springs,  on  Bear  River,  in  Idaho, 
July  4.  On  reaching  Humboldt  River  they  were  ad- 
vised to  come  bj'  the  way  of  the  Honey  Lake  Valley, 
which  they  did,  and  traveled  300  miles  through  an 
unbroken  wilderness  with  no  guide  save  a  dim  trail 
made  by  the  passage  of  a  few  pack  animals.  The 
company  of  which  Mr.  Cook  and  family  formed  a 
part  was  the  first  to  bring  wagons  into  the  Honey 
Creek  Valley.  The  Sacramento  Valley  was  reached 
at  Fort  Redding,  August  20.  Mr.  Cook  sold  his  team 
at  Shasta,  took  the  stage  for  Grass  Valley,  and  there 
settled  and  engaged  in  mining,  in  company  with  seven 
others,  opening  the  Eureka  Slide  Mine,  which  they 
worked  two  years.  It  yielded  an  ounce  bf  gold  per 
day  to  the  man.  In  1854  he  removed  to  Dutch  Flat, 
and  after  spending  a  few  months  prospecting,  living 
in  a  two-roomed  tent,  he  and  his  family,  consisting  of 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


397 


wife  and  two  children,  rode  on  horseback — he  carrying 
one  child  and  his  wife  the  other — through  North  Fork 
Canon,  near  Cape  Horn,  on  the  American  River,  to 
Iowa  Hill,  where  they  remained  four  years,  a  part  of 
which  time  Mr.  Cook,  being  a  carpenter,  worked  at 
his  trade.  His  wife's  health  failing,  they  came  to  San 
Jose  in  1858,  where,  ten  years  later,  Mrs.  Cook  died. 
During  this  time  Mr.  Cook  was  engaged  in  the  con- 
tracting and  building  business.  Among  the  structures 
he  erected  are  several  churches,  and  the  first  building 
at  the  present  site  of  the  University  of  the  Pacific, 
for  which  he  drew  a  part  of  the  plans.  Much  of  the 
material  used  in  many  of  these  early  buildings  was 
transported  from  San  Francisco  on  schooners  and 
wagons.  Mr.  Cook's  old  love  for  mining  has  not  for- 
saken him,  and  he  occasionally  spends  a  few  months 
in  the  mines,  as  superintendent,  or  in  other  capacity. 

Mr.  Cook  was  born  in  Bartholomew  County,  In- 
diana, in  1825;  went  to  Iowa  in  1844,  and  married 
there  a  Miss  Burnham.  He  has  three  sons  and  two 
daughters  by  his  first  wife,  all  of  adult  age,  and  living 
on  the  Pacific  Coast.  He  married  his  present  wife  in 
Kearney,  Nebraska.  She  is  a  native  of  Maine,  but 
resided  most  of  her  life  in  La  Salle  County,  Illinois, 
moving  from  there  in  1871,  to  Nebraska,  and  to  Cali- 
fornia in  1877.  She  has  a  son  and  two  daughters  by 
her  former  husband,  Mr.  Drew,  all  settled  in  life  and 
prospering.  Her  maiden  name  was  Greenleaf.  Mr. 
Cook's  beautiful  homestead,  on  North  Fourteenth 
Street,  comprises  two  acres,  mostly  devoted  to  choice 
varieties  of  fruit,  in  bearing.  Mr.  Cook  has  been  an 
official  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
many  years,  and  for  fourteen  years  leader  of  the  church 
choir. 


*-^^s^^^^ 


fEORGE  M.  JARVIS,  the  President  and  founder 
of  the  G.  M.  Jarvis  Wine  and  Brandy  Company, 
-^4^  planted  his  first  vineyard  on  the  foot-hills  of  the 
Santa  Cruz  Mountains,  overlooking  the  Santa 
Clara  Valley,  in  1S60;  and  it  subsequently  became 
one  of  the  finest  vineyards  in  California.  From  that 
time  to  the  present  Mr.  Jarvis  has  been  interested  in 
grape-culture  and  wine-making,  and  is  now  at  the 
head  of  one  of  the  largest  grape-growing  and  wine- 
manufacturing  firms  in  the  United  States.  When  he 
arrived  on  this  coast  in  the  year  above  named,  grape- 
growing  in  California  was  in  its  infancy.  A  few 
kinds  had  been  brought  here  and  planted  by  the  Mis- 
sion Fathers.  But  enough  had  been  done  to  demon- 
strate that  this  State  is  the  home  of  the  grape,  and  to 


discover  that  an)-  of  the  fine  semi-tropical  grapes  of 
Southern  Europe  could  be  grown  here.  A  commis- 
sion had  been  appointed  by  the  State  Legislature  to 
go  to  Europe,  and  study  grape-culture  there,  to  ascer- 
tain the  best  varieties,  gather  information  of  the 
methods  of  making  wines  and  brandy,  and  bring  back 
with  them  cuttings  of  the  choicest  kinds  for  propaga- 
tion. From  these  Mr.  Jarvis  and  other  pioneers  in 
viticulture  secured  their  first  vines.  Since  that  time 
the  vinej'ards  have  steadily  extended  until  the  vines 
now  growing  in  California  when  all  in  bearing  will 
produce  fully  60,000,000  gallons  of  wine  annually. 

Mr.  Jarvis  zealously  applied  himself  to  the  stud)'  of 
wine-grape  growing,  and  the  converting  of  the  juice 
into  the  highest  grades  of  wine  and  brandies.  Soon 
the  superiority  of  his  goods  began  to  be  recognized. 
Besides  taking  first  prizes  at  the  local  and  State  fairs 
on  this  coast,  he  was  awarded  the  first  premium  for 
the  best  and  purest  brandy  over  all  competitors  at  the 
New  Orleans  World's  Exposition  in  1885-86.  His 
brandy  was  analyzed  by  the  faculty  of  the  Chicago 
Medical  College  before  the  medical  class,  and  was 
pronounced  by  that  learned  body  the  purest  and  best 
brandy  ever  manufactured  in  the  United  States.  The 
business  grew  to  such  proportions  that  Mr.  Jarvis  de- 
cided to  merge  it  into  a  corporation,  and  the  G.  M. 
Jarvis  Co.  was  organized  in  1885,  under  the  State  laws 
of  Illinois.  The  principal  depository  and  sales-house 
of  the  company  is  in  Chicago.  The  plants  for  manu- 
facturing are  situated  in  Santa  Clara  and  San  Jose. 
In  1887  they  made  250,000  gallons  of  wines,  and  500 
barrels  of  brandy  of  50  gallons  each;  and  they  expect 
to  enlarge  their  plants  and  increase  their  product  from 
year  to  year.  Their  goods  are  sold  quite  extensively 
in  Kansas  City,  Omaha,  St.  Paul,  and  other  principal 
cities  of  this  country. 

George  M.  Jarvis  was  born  in  Savanna,  Georgia, 
April  8,  1828,  and  reared  in  Edgar  Count)-,  Illinois. 
He  was  educated  for  a  physician,  but  soon  after  leav- 
ing college  he  and  some  college  chums  concluded  to 
seek  their  fortunes  in  the  mines  rather  than  in  the  pill- 
bags,  and  started  for  the  gold  mines  of  Australia  in 
1853.  They  sailed  on  the  ship  Euplirasia,  Captain 
Smith,  with  500  passengers,  bound  for  Melbourne.  A 
stop  of  a  month  in  Brazil,  and  another  at  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  prolonged  the  journey  to  six  months. 
Mr.  Jarvis  spent  six  years  in  the  mines,  with  satisfac- 
tory success. 

While  there  he  married  an  English  lady,  Miss  Anna 
Cook,  in  1859,  whom  he  brought  to  California  with 
him  b)'  the  way  of  S)'dney,  New  Zealand,  and  tlie 


PEN  PICTURES  FRO 31  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


Sandwich  Islands,  in  i860.  Mrs.  Jarvis  died  in  1884, 
leaving  eleven  children.  A  year  later  Mr.  Jarvis  mar- 
ried Mrs.  Major  Norris,  whose  former  husband  died  in 
the  United  States  Army.  After  his  death,  President 
Grant  appointed  the  widow  Postmistress  of  San  An- 
tonio, Texas,  which  office  she  filled  with  marked  abil- 
ity. She  has  one  son  by  Major  Norris.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Jarvis  reside  in  Santa  Clara. 


^OL.  AUGUSTUS  G.  BENNETT  came  to  Cal- 
^^  ifornia  and  to  San  Jose  in  1875.  Forming  a 
(S)L  partnership  with  his  brother,  J.  S.  Bennett,  who 
had  come  a  year  before,  they  began  the  manu- 
facture and  sale  of  household  furniture  at  wholesale 
and  retail.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  still  continues 
in  the  business,  as  a  partner  with  J.  C.  Gerichs  and 
Frank  J.  Burkholder,  under  the  title  of  the  San  Jose 
Furniture  Manufacturing  Company.  Their  line  of 
manufacture  is  chiefly  in  chamber,  library,  and  office 
furniture,  and  wood  mantels.  They  also  carry  on  fine 
upholstery  in  all  its  branches.  Their  goods  are 
shipped  to  all  parts  of  California.  The  product  and 
sales  in  1887  were  sixty  per  cent  larger  than  those  of 
any  previous  year,  reaching  a  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars. In  1888  they  will  be  still  heavier.  The  firm 
has  experienced  three  disastrous  fires,  involving  a  loss 
of  nearly  $40,000,  none  of  them  originating  on  their 
premises. 

In  August,  1861,  Colonel  Bennett  enlisted  in  the 
United  States  Army  as  a  private  in  the  Eighty-first 
New  York  Infantry.  He  was  mustered  as  First  Lieu- 
tenant, and  was  promoted  to  the  Captaincy  of  Com- 
pany B,  within  three  months  thereafter.  He  served 
in  the  Peninsular  campaign  under  Gen.  George  B. 
McClellan.  His  regiment  lay  at  Yorktown  until  Jan- 
uary, 1863,  and  was  then  ordered  South,  and  joined 
the  Eighteenth  Army  Corps,  Gen.  J.  G.  Foster  com- 
manding. In  April,  1863,  Captain  Bennett  tendered 
his  services  to  recruit  a  regiment  of  colored  troops, 
which  was  accepted,  and  he  raised  the  Twenty-first 
Regiment  U.  S.  (Colored)  Troops,  and  was  made 
its  Lieutenant-Colonel,  but  had  active  command  of  it 
through  the  three  full  years  of  its  service.  Colonel 
Bennett  being  in  command  at  Morris  Island  when 
General  Sherman  was  pressing  General  Hardy,  after 
the  latter  had  left  Charleston,  Colonel  Bennett  ar- 
ranged his  forces  for  aggressive  warfare,  and  demanded 
the  surrender  of  that  city,  which  was  granted  to  him 
on   the  eighteenth  of  ]'-cbruary,    1865.      He  declared 


martial  law,  and  at  once  assumed  command  of  the 
city.  The  Colonel  was  honorably  discharged  from  the 
service  April  25,  1866. 

Colonel  Bennett  was  born  in  Oneida  County,  New 
York,  in  1836.  Being  left  an  orphan  in  early  child- 
hood, he  has  been  self-dependent  since  nine  years  of 
age.  He  attended  school  and  grew  to  man's  estate  in 
New  York.  After  the  close  of  the  war  he  married 
Miss  Mary  E.  Jones,  daughter  of  the  chaplain  of  his 
regiment,  in  March,  1867.  They  spent  a  little  more 
than  a  year  in  South  Carolina,  then  settled  in  Jersey 
City,  New  Jersey,  remaining  there  until  they  came  to 
California.  Mrs.  Bennett  has  been  a  promoter  of  the 
Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union  on  the  Pacific 
Coast,  and  has  been  three  times  chosen  President  of 
the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union  of  San 
Jose,  which  has  a  membership  of  over  300.  Colonel 
Bennett  has  served  in  the  San  Jose  City  Council,  and 
is  now  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Education.  He 
has  also  held  the  office  of  Senior  Vice-Commander  of 
the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  Department  of 
California,  and  has  been  Commander  of  Phil.  Sheri- 
dan Post,  No.  7,  and  of  John  A.  Dix  Post,  No.  42, 
Department  of  California  G.  A.  R. 


sH^^- 


|||LBERT    B.     McNEIL,    proprietor    of    McNeil 
(^^  Brothers'  Printing  and  Publishing  House,  estab- 

flished  the  business,  in  connection  with  a  younger 
brother,  in  1878.  In  1881  he  purchased  his 
brother's  interest,  the  firm  name  remaining  unchanged. 
The  establishment  is  the  largest  in  the  Santa  Clara 
Valley,  and  is  finely  equipped  with  first-class  material 
and  printing  and  binding  machinery  for  executing 
work  in  tlie  highest  style  of  the  art.  All  kinds  of 
printing  and  binding  are  done,  but  Mr.  McNeil  makes 
a  specialty  of  druggists'  labels,  fruit  labels,  and  every- 
thing in  fine-color  label  work.  Fifteen  thousand  dol- 
lars' worth  of  the  latest  improved  machinery  was 
added  to  the  plant  last  spring,  making  it  one  of  the 
most  complete  establishments  of  its  class  in  the  State. 
A  feature  of  the  business  is  book-binding  and  blank- 
book  manufacturing  of  superior  class.  The  quality  of 
work  done  is  attested  by  the  numerous  first  prizes 
awarded  to  it  at  fairs  and  expositions  where  it  has 
been  exhibited  on  this  coast. 

Albert  B.  McNeil  was  born  in  Sandusky,  Ohio,  Au- 
gust II,  1850.  When  he  was  nine  years  of  age  his 
mother  died,  leaving  him  and  three  younger  brothers, 
who  lived  for  some  time  with  relatives  at   Unionville, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


Lake  County,  Ohio.  His  father  married  again  and 
resided  in  Mattoon,  Illinois,  until  1866,  when  young 
McNeil  went  to  Chicago  to  finish  the  printer's  trade. 
While  thus  engaged  he  corresponded  for  several  news- 
papers, and  was  afterwards  employed  on  the  Chicago 
Times  as  a  local  writer  and  special  correspondent. 
After  traveling  quite  extensively  through  the  Eastern 
and  Southern  States,  he  came  by  the  way  of  New 
Orleans  to  California  in  1876,  and  at  once  secured  a 
position  as  Assistant  Editor  of  the  San  Jose  Merairy, 
which  place  he  filled  two  years,  and  until  engaging  in 
business  for  himself  Then  forming  a  partnership 
with  his  brother,  they  began  the  printing  business, 
and  for  a  time  published  the  San  Jose  Republic,  an 
eight-page  weekly  paper.  Not  proving  a  successful 
venture,  it  was  suspended,  and  the  concern  run  as  a 
job  office  only.  The  business  employs  from  twenty- 
five  to  thirt}'  skilled  hands  the  year  round. 

Mr.  McNeil  was  united  in  marriage,  November  30, 
1882,  with  Miss  Sarah  E.  Holland,  a  former  teacher 
in  the  public  schools  of  San  Jose,  whose  parents  reside 
near  Evergreen,  in  this  county.  She  was  born  in 
Newark,  New  Jersey,  November  19,  1859,  and  has 
resided  continuously  in  this  county  since  i860. 


SM  D.  HATMAN,  the  senior  member  of  the  firm 
<^'  of  Hatman  &  Normandin,  is  a  German  by  na- 
^  tivity,  and  learned  the  trade  of  carriage-maker 
in  his  native  land.  After  completing  his  apprentice- 
ship he  came  to  America,  in  1867,  arriving  before  his 
eighteenth  birthday.  He  worked  three  years  and  a 
half  at  his  trade  in  Ohio  and  Indiana  as  a  journey- 
man before  coming  to  California.  On  reaching  San 
Jose  in  1 871,  he  again  resumed  his  trade  as  a  "jour.," 
until  1873,  when,  entering  into  partnership  with  A. 
Normandin,  they  started  the  carriage  manufactory  of 
Hatman  &  Norniandin,  on  West  Santa  Clara  Street, 
between  San  Pedro  and  Orchard  Streets.  Their  bus- 
iness, for  the  first  eight  years,  was  confined  to  the 
manufacture  of  fine  carriages,  buggies,  and  wagons, 
and  grew  to  important  dimension.?.  In  1881  the  firm 
began  dealing  in  carriages  and  buggies  of  the  best 
Eastern  factories,  of  which  they  now  carry  a  large 
stock  and  have  an  extensive  trade.  They  employ  a 
force  of  skilled  artisans,  who  are  divided  between 
new  work  and  repairing  in  the  several  departments  of 
the  business.  The  proprietors  are  both  thorough- 
going business  men,  and  by  their  combined  efforts 
increase  the  volume  of  their  trade  each  year. 


After  arriving  on  the  Pacific  slope,  Mr.  Hatman 
traveled  over  the  principal  parts  of  California  on 
horseback,  seeking  the  most  desirable  point  to  locate. 
He  selected  San  Jose,  and  has  never  regretted  his 
choice.  In  1873  Mr.  Hatman  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Dora  Messing,  a  lady  of  German  parent- 
age, but  born  here,  whose  parents  reside  in  San  Jose. 
Mr.  Hatman  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Order. 


MpR.  NORMAN  KLEIN  is  one  of  the  pioneers  in 
G%^  tj^g  dental  profession  in  Santa  Clara  County, 
"^^  having  practiced  dentistry  here  nearly  thirty 
years.  He  is  the  son  of  New  York  parents,  but  was 
born  near  Woodstock,  Canada,  in  1833.  Soon  after 
his  birth  his  father  purchased  a  large  quantity  of  land 
from  the  Indians  through  their  agents  (Keating  & 
Jones)  on  the  Walpole  Islands,  and  moved  there. 
But  through  the  treachery  and  dishonesty  of  the  agents, 
he  and  others  who  had  bought  land  of  them,  were 
driven  off  and  lost  their  entire  investment.  In  1841 
he  removed  across  the  St.  Clair  River  and  settled  in 
St.  Clair  County,  Michigan,  where  he  still  lives,  at  the 
ripe  age  of  92  years.  Dr.  Klein  was  educated  in 
Union  College,  Schenectady,  New  York,  where  he 
was  at  school  nearly  six  years,  but  just  before  gradu- 
ating left  school,  to  come  to  the  Pacific  Coast.  Con- 
fiding his  intentions  to  a  class-mate,  E.  H.  Heacock — 
since  Judge  in  this  State — the  latter  at  once  declared 
his  intention  to  join  young  Klein;  and  they,  in  com- 
pany with  William  Erkson,  now  of  San  Jose,  started, 
on  the  twenty-second  of  April,  1852,  to  cross  the 
plains  to  the  far  West.  Two  other  young  men  of 
Schenectady  joined  them,  and  the  five  came  through 
together.  Their  destination  was  Oregon,  but  some 
people  from  Louisville,  Kentucky,  who  crossed  the 
plains  with  them,  were  bound  for  California,  and  when 
they  reached  a  point  where  the  roads  parted  a  vote 
was  taken  which  resulted  in  favor  of  California,  and 
the  whole  party  came  to  the  Golden  State. 

In  the  spring  of  1853  Mr.  Klein  began  to  study  law 
in  the  office  of  Smith  &  Hardy,  in  Sacramento,  and 
continued  till  July,  1855.  He  then  went  to  the  town 
of  Volcano  and  opened  a  law  office,  next  door  to  a 
dentist  named  Kelley.  They  became  intimate  friends, 
and  Attorney  Klein  being  somewhat  mechanical  in 
his  tastes,  frequently  observed  and  studied  his  neigh- 
bor's work,  and  after  a  time  assisted  him  occasionally 
on  plate  work.  Thus  he  incidentally  cultivated  a  lik- 
ing for  dentistry,  began  studying  with  a  purpose,  and 


400 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   TEE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD.' 


finally  abandoned  the  law  practice  and  decided  to 
open  a  dental  office,  which  he  did  in  the  spring  of  1859, 
in  Santa  Clara.  In  1862  he  removed  to  San  Jose, 
where  he  has  been  in  active  practice  ever  since,  and 
has  a  large  and  lucrative  business. 

In  i860  Dr.  Klein  and  Miss  Belle  Taylor  were  mar- 
ried, in  Santa  Clara.  Mrs.  Klein  is  a  native  of 
Connecticut. 


-m- 


|ffi|MABLE  NORMANDIN,  of  the  carriage  man- 
s:?p  ufacturing  firm   of    Hatman   &   Normandin,  of 

t  French  parertage,  was  born  in  Canada  in  1852. 
He  attended  school  and  learned  t!  e  trade  of 
blacksmith  in  his  native  country.  At  eighteen  years 
of  age  he  came  to  California,  and  worked  three  years 
at  his  trade  in  San  Francisco,  learning  to  speak  the 
English  language  after  his  arrival.  In  1873  Mr. 
Normandin  located  at  San  Jose,  and,  after  working  a 
year  as  a  journeyman,  entered  into  partnership  with 
F.  D.  Hatman,  and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
carriages,  buggies,  and  wagons.  Their  career  has 
been  a  very  successful  one,  and  the  .firm's  business 
now  ranks  among  the  first  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley 
in  its  line,  both  in  the  amount  and  quality  of  stock 
carried  and  in  the  magnitude  of  trade  handled. 

Mr.  Normandin  and  Miss  Salina  Pinard  were  mar- 
ried in  1878.  Mrs.  Normandin  is  also  a  native  of 
Canada,  but  came  to  California  in  early  childhood. 
They  have  one  child,  Louis,  six  years  of  age.  Mr. 
Normandin  is  a  member  of  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen. 


->H>H: 


<M<-< 


fW.  GILLESPIE,  Secretary  and  Manager  of 
the  San  Jose  Brush  Electric  Light  Company, 
is  a  native  of  California,  born  in  January,  1859, 
in  the  city  of  San  Francisco,  both  of  his  par- 
ents being  Scotch.  His  father,  Archibald  Gillespie, 
came  to  California  in  1849,  during  the  early  mining 
excitement,  pursuing  his  trade  as  a  blacksmith  in  the 
mines,  also  in  San  Francisco,  but  is  now  retired  in 
San  Jose. 

W.  W.  Gillespie  served  an  apprenticeship  at  the 
machinist's  trade,  and  worked  at  it  a  number  of  years; 
but  when  the  science  of  electricity  began  to  develop, 
his  attention  was  turned  in  that  direction,  and  he  be- 
gan the  study  of  that  branch  of  the  science  which 
deals  with  the  practical  uses  of  electricity.     He  be- 


came associated  with  the  Electric  Light  Company  at 
San  Jose  upon  its  organization,  which  was  among  the 
first  companies  in  California  to  take  up  the  business. 
He  assumed  charge  of  the  engines  and  electrical  ap- 
paratus for  about  two  years.  In  1884  he  severed  his 
connection  with  the  company,  but  in  1885  he  again 
became  associated  with  them,  assuming  the  position 
of  Secretary  and  Manager,  the  position  which  he 
now  holds.  Anyone  visiting  the  office  and  machinery 
buildings  at  No.  52  North  Fourth  Street,  and  inspect- 
ing the  splendid  equipment  and  the  perfection  of  its 
workings,  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  Mr.  Gil- 
lespie is  a  thoroughly  practical  man,  and  master  of 
the  situation.  This  company  has  one  of  the  largest 
and  most  complete  plants  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 


tORHAM  P.  BEAL  came  from  Erie  County, 
New  York,  to  California  in  1854,  arriving  in  Oc- 
■jj^  tober  of  that  year.  For  eight  years  he  devoted 
his  attention  to  mining,  and  in  this  occupation 
he  was  moderately  successful.  After  five  years  of 
bachelorhood  in  the  Golden  State,  he  returned  to  his 
native  county  and  married  Miss  H.  L.  Hawks,  also 
a  native  of  New  York  State.  After  their  marriage 
Mr.  Beal  and  his  bride  started  I'or  their  wild  Western 
home  in  the  mining  district  of  Placer  County.  Mrs. 
Beal  declares  that  those  three  years  spent  in  rough- 
ing it  in  the  rude  mining  town,  going  to  church  at 
the  call  of  an  old-fashioned  dinner-horn,  with  no 
other  means  of  conveyance  than  the  back  of  a  pony, 
were  among  the  happiest  of  her  life.  After  closing 
up  his  mining  interests,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beal  spent  a 
year  or  two  traveling  through  the  East;  returned  to 
California  in  1864,  and  settled  on  the  site  of  their 
present  beautiful  homestead  on  South  Sunol  Street, 
in  San  Jose. 

The  last  twenty  years  of  his  life  Mr.  Beal  divided 
his  time  beween  horticulture,  dealing  in  real  estate, 
looking  after  his  investments,  and  traveling.  He  and 
Mrs.  Beal  made  four  trips  across  the  continent,  and 
three  times  made  the  voyage  between  San  Francisco 
and  New  York  by  water.  Mr.  Beal  died  April  26, 
1 88/,  leaving  his  wife  and  four  children — two  sons 
and  two  daughters:  Flora,  Edward,  Etta,  and  Irving, 
all  of  whom  make  their  home  with  the  widow  on 
their  family  homestead  before  mentioned.  The  home 
place  consists  of  eight  acres  of  fine  bearing  orchard, 
chiefly  pears;  and  the  estate  embraces  nine  acres  of 
splendid  bearing  orchard  three  miles  from  the  city,  in 


BIOGRAPHIOA L  SKETCHES. 


401 


the  Willows,  consisting  of  cherries,  apricots,  and  prunes. 
Mr.  Beal  was  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Order,  and 
of  the  Baptist  Church. 


l^R.  J.  H.  JOSSELYN,  of  Burnett  Township,  is 
G^  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  born  in  the  city  of 
J^  Boston,  and  is  a  son  of  Marquis  F.  and  Eunice 
(Sawtelle)  Josselyn.  Both  parents  sprang  from 
old  New  England  families.  The  founder  of  the 
Josselyn  family  in  this  country  settled  at  Hanover, 
Massachusetts,  and  to  him  was  afterward  granted  by 
the  king  of  England  the  territory  now  embraced  in 
the  State  of  Maine.  The  grandfather  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  was  an  iron  founder,  while  his  father 
was  a  large  contractor.  Dr.  Josselyn  was  reared  and 
educated  in  Boston,  and  there  read  medicine  under 
the  preceptorship  of  Dr.  John  Stevens.  He  attended 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  graduated  in  the 
medical  department  of  that  institution  in  1844.  From 
that  time  until  1853  he  practiced  his  profession  in 
Boston,  and  in  the  latter  year  came  to  California,  by 
the  Nicaragua  route.  Locating  at  San  Francisco,  he 
at  once  resumed  his  practice,  and  remained  there  until 
he  came  to  this  county,  with  the  exception  of  a  time 
spent  in  South  America,  where,  however,  he  kept  up 
his  professional  labors,  though  the  trip  was  under- 
taken on  account  of  his  health.  In  August,  1887,  he 
removed  to  his  present  mountain  home  in  Santa  Clara 
County. 

In  April,  1874,  the  Doctor  married  Mamie  E.  Lock- 
wood,  a  native  of  Cazenovia.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Josselyn  are 
the  parents  of  four  children,  namely:  Lockwood  H., 
Maude  O.,  Marquis  De  Lafayette,  and  Edna. 

The  Doctor  is  a  member  of  the  Sotoyomc  Tribe  of 
Red  Men,  San  Francisco,  which  he  has  represented 
for  years  in  the  Grand  Council,  of  which  he  has  also 
been  an  officer.  He  yet  retains  his  membership  and 
good  standing  in  the  Virtue  and  Union  Lodge,  A.  F.  & 
A.  M.,  at  Lima,  Peru,  with  which  he  became  asso- 
ciated while  in  South  America.  He  is  a  Grand 
Ancient  Odd  Fellow,  and  a  Knight  of  Pythias,  and  a 
member  of  the  Order  of  Chosen  Friends  of  the 
Pacific.  He  was  one  of  the  most  active  members  and 
officers  of  the  Janissaries  of  Light.  In  the  days  of 
the  old  Whig  party  he  was.,^one  of  its  ardent  sup- 
porters, and  has  been  a  Republican  since  the  organ- 
ization of  the  party.  The  Doctor  is  a  progressive 
man,  and  has  kept  pace  with  the  great  progress  made 
by  his  profession,  and,  after  a  large  practice  in  San 
51 


Francisco,  attended  and  graduated  at  the  College  of 
the  California  Medical  Association. 

The  mountain  home  of  the  family  in  the  canon  of 
the  Coyote  is  a  place  of  great  natural  beauty,  and  is 
widely  known  as  "  Glen  Wildvyood."  It  is  triangular 
in  shape.  Three  streams,  the  Packwood,  Coyote,  and 
Las  Animas,  water  the  place,  which,  except  for  the 
cailon,  is  entirely  shut  in  by  hills.  There  is  an  arroyo 
through  the  place,  and  along  this  is  situated  the 
buildings.  There  are  three  cottages,  of  three,  four, 
and  eight  rooms  respectively,  and  a  large  building 
which  is  as  yet  utilized  for  the  family  residence,  but 
which  will  eventually  form  one  of  the  wings  of  the 
hotel  which  is  in  contemplation,  to  be  in  the  form 
of  a  Greek  cross.  A  public  house  was  built  in  i888 
by  the  roadside.  The  water  of  the  Packwood,  clear 
as  crystal,  and  always  cold,  has  been  introduced  into 
the  place  by  means  of  a  tunnel  through  the  hills,  500 
feet  in  length,  and  a  .system  of  water  works  has  been 
constructed,  the  entire  outlay  for  the  improvement 
having  been  some  $5,000.  The  mineral  springs  are  a 
great  attraction,  and  very  valuable;  they  are  both 
sulphur  and  soda,  and  have  been  analyzed  with  the 
result  that  the  waters  have  been  demonstrated  to  be 
of  great  medical  value.  About  1,500  grape-vine? 
have  been  set  out,  mostly  Reislings,  with  a  few  Isabels 
and  Muscats.  Three  hundred  walnut  trees  will  be 
planted  in  1889,  besides  Mammoth  chestnuts  from 
Japan,  and  fruit-trees  in  varieties.  About  1,300  olive- 
trees  have  already  been  planted,  and  many  figs- 
Trout  and  other  valuable  fish,  are  here  to  be  found 
in  abundance,  while  a  bathing-pool,  fine  in  all  re- 
spects, is  no  inconsiderable  attraction.  All  in  all,  the 
place  is  one  of  the  naturally  favored  spots  of  the 
county,  and  the  combination  of  money  and  taste  now 
at  work  will  make  of  it  one  of  the  best  known  resorts 
in  this  portion  of  California.  Four  beautiful  views  of 
the  place  are  shown  in  the  illustration  of  "  Glen  Wild- 
wood,"  which  appears  in  this  connection. 


M 


M< 


£)f 


HEODORE  W.  PETERSEN  has  been  a  resident 
of  the  Pacific  Coast  twenty-eight  years,  and  of 
San  Jose  twenty-three  years.  Born  in  Denmark, 
in  1837,  he  went  to  sea  at  fourteen  years  of  age, 
and  passed  twelve  years  of  his  life  on  shipboard,  and 
rose  from  cabin  boy  to  the  rank  of  Captain.  He  came 
around  Cape  Horn  in  1S60  as  Second  Mate  on  the 
ship  Ocean  Pearl.  After  being  employed  a  number 
of  years  in  other  lines  of  business  in  this  State,  among 


402 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


which  was  the  conducting  of  the  Atlantic  House, 
in  San  Jose,  Mr.  Petersen,  in  1872,  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  briclv  on  the  site  of  his  present  yard,  in 
the  south  part  of  the  city  between  Third  and  Fourth 
Streets.  He  rapidly  built  up  a  large  business,  and 
subsequently  established  a  branch  yard  in  Mountain 
View.  In  1883  he  began  to  manufacture  pressed 
brick,  with  superiority  of  quality  as  his  motto.  From 
the  first,  Petersen's  pressed  brick  took  the  first  rank 
on  this  coast,  and  at  the  World's  Exposition  in  New 
Orleans,  1885-S6,  he  was  awarded  the  first  prize  over 
all  competitors  for  the  best  display  of  pressed  brick. 
He  also  has  a  certificate  signed  by  the  individual 
members  of  the  Builders'  Association  of  California, 
in  which  they  say  his  pressed  brick  are  the  best  made 
on  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  commend  them  in  very  flatter- 
ing terms.  The  greatest  care  is  exercised  in  the  manu- 
facture of  these  goods,and  no  imperfect  brick  is  allowed 
to  leave  the  yard.  The  aluminum  from  which  these 
bricks  are  made  lies  immediately  below  the  clay  used 
for  the  common  brick.  The  superiority  of  Petersen's 
pressed  brick  over  those  of  Philadelphia  and  other 
factories,  which  enables  Mr.  Petersen  to  sell  them  at 
a  much  higher  price,  consists  in  their  smoothness  and 
uniformity  of  color.  They  were  used  in  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Pioneer  Building,  the  Odd  Fellows'  Hall, 
the  Union  Club  House, — the  finest  building  in  the 
State, — the  Catholic  Cathedral,  and  other  prominent 
structures  in  San  Francisco,  and  are  used  for  the 
fronts  of  the  new  City  Hall  in  San  Jose.  The  out- 
put of  pressed  brick  is  600,000  a  year,  and  the  total 
annual  product  of  Mr.  Petersen's  yard  is  about  7,000,- 
000  bricks,  which  consumes  3,000  cords  of  wood  in  the 
burning,  and  gives  employment  to  an  average  of 
seventy  men. 

In  1866  Mr.  Petersen  married  Mary  Doherty,  in 
San  Jose,  whose  birthplace  was  New  York.  Mr. 
Petersen  is  a  member  of  the  A.  O.  U.  W.,  and  of  the 
San  Jose  Board  of  Trade. 

^^ 

^#HARLES  T.  HAINES  was  born  in  the  city  of 
^  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  January  28,  1838,  of 
QjU  Quaker  parents,  and  educated  at  Westchester 
Institute  with  the  design  of  having  him  enter  the 
medical  profession.  He  left  the  Quaker  City  and 
went  to  Baltimore  to  study  medicine  with  his  brother. 
Dr.  E.  R.  Haines,  afterward  Surgeon-General  of  the 
Third  Army  Corps,  and  now  living,  retired,  in  Cincin- 
nati, Ohio.     Not  fancying  medical  studies, Mr.  Haines 


returned  to  Philadelphia  and  learned  the  machinists' 
trade.  Upon  completing  his  apprenticeship  he  im- 
mediately came  West  to  set  up  the  machinery  for 
crushing  quartz  ore  for  the  St.  Louis  Mill  and  Milling 
Company  at  Georgetown,  Colorado,  being  then  in  his 
twenty-first  year. 

After  putting  the  mill   in  operation  and  running  it 
about  eighteen    months,    he    returned  to    his    native 
State  with  a  view  of  entering  the   army,  and  enlisted 
as  a  private  in  Company  H,  of  the  Sixth  Pennsylva- 
nia Cavalry,  in   January,  1862.     March    10    they  left 
Washington  as  body  guard  for  Gen.  George  B.  Mc- 
Clellan.     In  January,  1863,  a  cavalry  corps  was  or- 
ganized, and  the   Sixth   Regiment  became    a    part  of 
the  First  Brigade  of   the   First   Division    of    United 
States  Cavalry,  being  the  only  volunteer  regiment  in 
the   brigade.   Gen.    Wesley  Merritt    commanding  the 
brigade,  and  Gen.  P.  H.  Sheridan  Corps  Commander. 
At  Frederick,  Maryland,  Mr.  Haines  was  promoted  to 
the  First  Lieutenancy  in  September,  1863,  and  at  the 
battle  of  Brandy  Station,  in  December   of  the  same 
year,  was  commissioned  Captain.      May  26,   1864,  he 
was  promoted  Major  of  the  regiment,  and  four  days 
later,  at  the  battle  of  Old  Church,  was  wounded  by  a 
gunshot,  the  ball  striking  him  on   the  right    side  near 
the  sternum,  fracturing  the  seventh,  eighth,  and  ninth 
ribs,  passing  through  his  body  and  coming    out    near 
the  spinal  column  on  the  left  side.    He  lay  nine  hours 
on  the  battle-field  before  receiving  any  attention;  was 
then  taken  to    the   hospital,  where    he    remained  five 
months.     On  being  able  to  leave  the   hospital   Major 
Haines  resigned  from  the  army,  and  it  was  two  years 
and  eight  months  before  he   recovered    sufficiently  to 
engage  in  business.     But,  notwithstanding  his  terrible 
wound  and  protracted  suffering,  he  is  now  apparently 
a  healthy  man.     Major  Haines  had  also  some  experi- 
ence in  a  Confederate   prison.     While  on  Stoneman's 
raid,  he  and  eleven  men  in  his  command  were  captured 
by  Gen.    Fitz   Hugh   Lee,  and  were  four  months  in 
Libby  Prison   before  they  were  paroled.     They  were 
subsequently  exchanged  and  joined  their  command. 
When  able,  Mr.  Haines  returned  to  the  mills,  spent  a 
few  weeks  in   Colorado^,  then  accompanied  a  party  to 
Montana,  put  up  the  first  milling    machinery  in  that 
Territory  at  Unionville,  near  Helena,  and  operated  it 
nearly  seven  years.     Leaving  there  he  went,  in  1875, 
as  one  of  a  company  to   the  Black  Hills,  and  set  up 
and  operated  the  first   quartz    mill   in    that  country. 
After  some  experience  in    placer-mining,  and  fifteen 
months  in  working  the  Minnesota  mine,  in  partner- 
ship with  others,  he  traveled  extensively,  prospecting 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


403 


for  mines  in  Arizona,  where  he  located  several  valuable 
mines,  and  is  joint  owner  in  the  Home  Stake  mine,  at 
Nogales,  and  the  Hercules  mine,  at  Crittenden,  the 
latter  place  being  his  home  when  in  Arizona.  Mr- 
Haines  was  constructing  engineer  of  the  Crittenden 
Water  Works,  and  owns  a  fourth  interest  in  them. 
Few  men  in  the  country  have  had  so  extensive  obser- 
vation and  experience  in  mining  as  Mr.  Haines,  and 
he  has  few  equals  as  a  mining  expert.  He  is  spending 
the  season  in  San  Jose  in  connection  with  McNeil 
Brothers'  Printing  House. 


cH-<-< 


fR.  L.  FINIGAN,  office  26  South  First  Street, 
San  Jose,  has  been  in  active  practice  in  the  dental 
J^  profession  over  15  years.  He  was  born  in  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio,  in  1S47,  attended  school  and  pre- 
pared himself  for  his  profession  in  his  native  city. 
Early  in  1862,  when  but  fifteen  years  of  age,  he 
enlisted  in  the  United  States  Army  as  a  member 
of  Company  D,  Fiftieth  Ohio  Infantry,  and  served 
three  years,  being  mustered  out  in  July,  1865.  At 
the  battle  of  Franklin,  Tennessee,  he  received  a  gun- 
shot wound  in  the  right  side  of  his  head,  from  which 
wound  he  suffered  in  the  hospital  three  months  with 
gangrene,  and  was  disabled  for  duty.  Quite  a  scar 
marks  the  place  of  the  wound,  which  came  so  near 
taking  his  life.  Dr.  Finigan  came  to  California  in 
1870  and  engaged  in  his  profession,  and  has  a  fine 
business  in  San  Jose.  He  is  a  charter  member  of 
Enterprise  Lodge,  A.  O.  U.  W.,  and  has  been  twice 
chosen  Master  of  the  Lodge,  He  is  also  a  member 
of  Phil.  Sheridan  Post,  No.  7,  G.  A.  R.,  organized  in 
1878,  and  has  served  eight  years  as  its  Quartermaster, 
which  office  he  now  holds.  The  Post  numbers  no 
members  in  good  standing. 


fHARLES  A.  JUDD,  furniture  and  carpet  mer- 
-.-  chant,  is  successor  to  Piatt  Gregory,  whose  busi- 
(s)L  ness  he  purchased  four  years  ago.  In  1886  his 
store  burned,  involving  a  considerable  loss,  and  neces- 
sitating the  temporary  occupancy  of  a  store  room  on 
the  corner  of  First  and  San  Antonio  Streets.  From 
there  he  removed  to  his  present  ample  quarters  at  133 
South  First  Street.  His  stock  is  large  and  embraces 
a  full  line  of  household  goods,  parlor,  dining-room, 
chamber,  and  kitchen  furniture.  He  manufactures 
parlor  suits,  bed   lounges,  spring  mattresses,  and  all 


kinds  of  upholstered  goods,  also  woven-wire  springs, 
which  he  sells  on  the  installment  plan,  and  has  a  large 
trade.  He  has  an  interest  in  a  store  at  Santa  Clara. 
Before  coming  to  the  Pacific  Coast,  four  years  ago,  he 
carried  on  a  retail  furniture  business  in  St.  Paul,  Min- 
nesota. 

Mr.  Judd  is  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  and  is 
thirty-five  years  of  age.  His  parents  moved  to  St 
Paul,  Minnesota,  when  he  was  six  years  old,  and  he 
was  educated  in  the  city  schools.  On  arriving  at 
man's  estate  he  essayed  to  become  a  farmer,  and  took 
up  land  claims  in  Southwestern  Minnesota,  aggregat- 
ing 320  acres,  which  he  set  out  to  improve.  But  after 
putting  in  five  years  at  hard  work,  undergoing  much 
hardship,  and  having  his  crops  devoured  by  the 
grasshoppers,  he  abandoned  the  place,  with  the  forty 
acres  of  timber  he  had  planted,  and  all  the  other  im- 
provements, and  returned  to  St.  Paul  almost  penni- 
less. His  first  start  in  the  furniture  business  was 
made  with  $150  capital.  Mr.  Judd  now  owns  also  a 
joint  interest  in  a  fruit  farm  of  thirty-three  acres,  in 
young  bearing  trees  and  vines,  six  miles  from  San 
Jose,  on  the  Los  Gatos  road,  valued  at  $400  per 
acre. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  married,  while  farming 
in  Minnesota,  in  1877 — the  ceremony  being  performed 
on  the  open  prairie  for  want  of  a  better  place — Miss 
Mary  Surratt,  a  native  of  Illinois.  They  have  two 
children:   Mabel,  aged  ten,  and  Myrtle,  six  years  old. 


PMIL  T.  NEBEN,  born  in  New  York  city,  Sep- 
tember 13,  1856,  is  the  eldest  of  a  family  of  four 
■4^  brothers  and  three  sisters,  children  of  Ernst  and 
Helena  P.  (Benedike)  Neben,  both  of  German 
birth.  His  father  was  educated  in  England  and  at- 
tended art  school  there,  also  in  Germany,  France,  and 
in  Italy,  and  devoted  his  life  to  art  work  in  oil.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  and  his  next  younger  brother, 
Ernst  A.,  were  instructed  in  art  by  their  father  from 
early  boyhood,  and  have  always  followed  that  pursuit. 
Ernst  A.  is  at  the  head  of  the  art  department  of  the 
National  Bureau  of  Engraving  and  Printing  in  Phila- 
delpha.  Emil  .started  as  a  sketcher  of  scenery  for 
tourist  and  historical  publications,  and  fine  litho- 
graphic work.  He  worked  in  New  York,  Buffalo, 
Chicago,  Cincinnati,  St.  Louis,  Boston,  and  Cleveland, 
and  has  traveled  extensively  throughout  the  country. 
In  1883  he  began  a  series  of  experiments  which  resulted 
in  the  discovery  of  a  new  process  of  etching  on   zinc 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  ''GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLDS 


and  copper,  by  which  a  depth  of  h'nes  in  the  plate 
renderd  it  possible  to  print  a  hundred  thousand 
copies  of  the  etching  without  interruption,  a  great 
improvement  over  former  methods. 

Several  years  ago  Mr.  Neben  published  a  descrip- 
tion of  this  etching  process  for  relief  and  intaglio 
printing,  decoration  of  China  ware,  etc.,  which  he 
had  practiced  and  introduced  by  the  aid  of  photog- 
raphy. This  description,  even  in  its  most  condensed 
form,  is  too  prolix  and  technical  for  the  general 
reader,  but  Mr.  Ncbcn  will  be  pleased  to  furnish  the 
details  of  the  process  to  all  inquirers. 

Mr.  Neben  was  united  in  wedlock  with  Alice  Cor- 
nelia Dauphin,  January  2,  1882.  Mrs.  Neben  is  a 
native  of  Chicago,  Illinois.  They  came  to  California 
and  to  San  Jose  in  November,  1887,  where  Mr.  Neben 
is  pursuing  his  art  work.  His  brother,  Henry  G., 
also  resides  in  San  Jose,  and  is  one  of  the  finest 
chromatic  printers  in  this  country.  The  mother  and 
the  rest  of  the  family  reside  in  New  York  and  Phila- 
delphia. 


M|)ETER  BALTZ  was  born  in  France  on  the  tenth 
"^Y^  of  May,  1831.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  com- 
isT  menced  to  learn  the  trade  of  baker,  and  after 
completing  it,  in  1853,  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  the 
United  States.  Being  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land, 
and  entirely  dependent  upon  his  labor  fora  livelihood, 
he  experienced  many  trials  and  hardships.  During 
the  three  years  following  his  arrival  he  visited  and 
worked  in  many  of  the  principal  Eastern  cities,  and  in 
1856  crossed  the  continent  to  California,  settling  in 
Los  Angeles.  The  next  year,  1857,  he  started  a 
bakery  in  that  place,  and  carried  on  business  very  suc- 
cessfully for  five  years,  when  he  lost  $15,000  by  fire. 
Thinking  to  recover  his  fortunes  in  mining,  he  spent 
two  years  in  hard,  unfruitful  labor,  and  lost  over  $5,000 
in  money  in  the  mines.  He  then  came  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, $700  in  debt,  and  resumed  the  bakery  business. 
By  diligence,  energy,  and  economy  he  again  got  a 
start  and  made  money,  accumulating  several  thousand 
dollars.  He  then  made  a  visit  to  his  parents  in  Eu- 
rope for  a  few  months,  and  on  his  return  in  1869  set- 
tled in  San  Jose  and  opened  the  El  Dorado  Bakery, 
on  West  El  Dorado  Street,  where  he  has  done  a 
prosperous  business.  Industry  and  enterprise  have 
brought  their  reward  to  Mr.  Baltz  in  the  way  of  a 
handsome  fortune.  He  owns  over  $75,000  worth  of 
property  in  San  Jose,  has  erected  a  large  business  and 


hotel  building  on  West  Santa  Clara  Street  this  year, 
costing  many  thousand  dollars. 

Mr.  Baltz  married  Miss  Christine  Kesser,  a  lady  of 
his  own  country,  to  whom  he  was  engaged  before  his 
emigration.  Mr.  Baltz  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
Order  and  of  the  Turnverein. 


IBR.  FRANK  L.  ARGALL  was  born  in  Cornwall, 
G^  England,  thirty-six  years  ago  this  August  (1888); 
^^  came  to  the  United  States  in  1869,  and  to  Cali- 
fornia in  1874,  living  meantime  in  New  Jersey.  Dr. 
Argall  came  immediately  to  San  Jose,  and,  after  at- 
tending school  two  years  at  the  University  of  the 
Pacific,  went  into  the  office  of  Dr.  J.  N.  Prather,  to 
study  dentistry.  In  1883  he  opened  a  dental  office, 
and  has  since  been  engaged  in  active  practice  by  him- 
self About  three  jears  ago  Dr.  William  J.  Younger, 
of  San  Francisco,  made  a  very  important  discovery  in 
the  science  of  dentistry  by  demonstrating  the  feasi- 
bility of  the  transplantation  of  teeth.  It  consists  of 
boring  out  or  preparing  the  cavity  from  which  has 
been  extracted  a  decayed  tooth,  or  from  which  a  tooth 
has  been  lost  by  any  means,  and  inserting  a  healthy 
tooth,  on  which  the  pericementum,  or  membranous 
covering,  has  not  been  destroyed.  When  the  work 
is  properly  done,  even  though  the  tooth  transplanted 
may  have  been  extracted  months  or  even  years  before, 
a  healthy  union  at  once  begins  to  take  place  with  the 
organs  of  the  alveolar  cavity,  and  in  a  few  months  the 
tooth  becomes  as  solid  and  firmly  attached  as  the 
natural  teeth  which  have  never  been  disturbed.  Some 
of  these  transplanted  teeth  put  in  by  Dr.  Younger 
have  been  used  over  twelve  years,  and  are  a  perfect 
success.  Within  the  past  year  Dr.  Argall  has  given 
special  attention  to  this  valuable  new  feature  in  den- 
tistry, and  has  performed  several  operations  in  trans- 
planting teeth.  A  few  months  since  he  extracted  the 
superior  left  lateral  incisor  tooth,  which  was  too  badly 
decayed  to  be  filled,  from  the  mouth  of  a  young  man, 
and  in  its  place  implanted  the  corresponding  tooth 
extracted  from  a  lady's  mouth  nearly  three  months 
before.  Nature  began  to  form  the  union,  and  in  a 
short  time  the  implanted  tooth  was  nearly  as  firm  as 
his  others.  This  wonderful  discovery  in  dental  science 
demonstrates  the  tenacity  of  life  possessed  by  the 
peridental  membrane  environing  the  teeth.  Dr.  Ar- 
gall also  performs  all  classes  of  professional  dental 
work  according  to  the  most  advanced  methods  of  the 
science,  among  which  is  building  new  crowns  on 
healthy  roots. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


405 


Dr.  Argall  is  the  fifth  of  eight  living  brothers,  two 
of  whom  are  in  Austrah"a,  and  the  rest  in  this  country. 
His  mother  resides  in  San  Jose.  Dr.  Argall  was 
married  June  27,  1888,  to  Miss  Ella  M.  Bent,  of  San 
Jose. 


-€■ 


1^- 


|OHN  CHRISTIAN,  inventor  and  manufacturer 
y,  of  "The  Diamond  Thresher  Teeth,"  has  been  a 


^^  citizen  of  San  Jose  nearly  a  third  of  a  century. 
Having  come  to  California  in  1855,  he  located  here 
the  following  year  and  began  learning  the  trade  of 
making  cylinder  teeth  for  threshing-machines  in  the 
shop  of  McKenzie,  known  as  the  San  Jose  Foundry. 
After  finishing  the  trade,  he  worked  a  year  as  a 
journeyman,  and  then  opened  business  on  the  site  of 
his  present  manufactory,  northeast  corner  of  First  and 
William  Streets.  Mr.  Christian  is  the  inventor,  pat- 
entee and  maker  of  the  steel-laid  cylinder  teeth.  The 
body  of  the  tooth  is  constructed  of  the  best  Norway 
iron  and  the  wearing  edge  of  fine  cast  steel,  which 
gives  it  double  the  lasting  qualities  of  any  other 
thresher  teeth.  Mr.  Christian  has  an  actual  demon- 
stration of  the  remarkable  endurance  of  these  teeth 
in  a  set  on  exhibition  in  his  shop  which  has  threshed 
70,000  sacks  of  grain  of  140  pounds  each.  His  goods 
are  sold  extensively  all  over  the  Pacific  Coast.  His 
factory  is  equipped  with  the  finest  machinery  for  the 
purpose,  all  of  which,  including  the  large  steam  en- 
gine that  furnishes  the  power,  was  made  by  Mr.  Chris- 
tian himself  The  factory  has  a  capacity  of  two  thou- 
sand teeth  per  day. 

Mr.  Christian  was  born  in  1840 on  the  Isle  of  Man; 
came  to  New  York  just  after  passing  his  fifteenth 
birthday,  and  has  fought  the  battle  of  life  unaided 
since.  In  1864  he  married  Miss  Sarah  L.  Pierce. 
He  has  been  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  for  twenty 
years  and  of  the  A.  O.  U.  W.  ten  years.  He  served 
eleven  years  in  the  California  State  Militia;  lay  on  his 
arms  in  the  armory  the  night  that  President  Lincoln 
was  assassinated. 


plpiLLIAM  GUSSEFELD  is  a  native  of  Prussia, 
b|lp  Germany,  where  he  was  born  February  7,  1850. 
1^  He  commenced  his  apprenticeship,  as  a  tailor, 
'  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  and,  after  working  the 
requisite  number  of  years  as  an  apprentice,  and  one 
year  as  a  "jour.,"  he  started  for  this  country,  landing 


on  American  soil  March  22,  1S69.  After  a  circuit  of 
the  principal  places  of  the  East  and  South,  he  re- 
turned to  New  York  city,  took  a  six  months'  course 
in  the  art  of  cutting,  and  in  1872  embarked  in  busi- 
ness for  himself  at  Wappinger's  Falls,  New  York.  He 
sent  for  his  parents  in  Germany,  who  still  reside  at 
Wappinger's  trails. 

On  February  21,  1875,  Mr.  Gussefeld  came  to  San 
Francisco,  where,  on  October  25,  he  married  Miss 
Josephine  Janzen,  of  New  Orleans.  On  October  26, 
1S75,  they  cho'se  San  Jose,  California,  as  their  future 
dwelling-place,  where  they  now  reside,  at  No.  267 
Orchard  Street,  and  own  their  own  house,  and  are 
thoroughly  satisfied  with  the  Golden  West.  They 
have  two  daughters:  Clara,  aged  twelve,  Alice,  ten,  and 
a  son,  Willie,  aged  seven. 

Mr.  Gussefeld  carries  on  the  business  of  mercliant 
tailoring,  at  No.  64  South  First  Street,  San  Jose,  and 
informs  us  that  his  trade  is  as  satisfactory  as  he  can 
wish  for,  being  a  steady,  growing  business,  requiring 
the  constant  service  of  from  eight  to  twelve  experi- 
enced tailors  the  year  around.  Mr.  Gussefeld  attends 
to  all  his  own  cutting  and  fitting,  and  is  in  direct  com- 
munication with  the  Eastern  importers  and  fashion 
framers,  and  carries  a  stock  of  goods  in  perfect  keep- 
ing with  the  fashion  and  season.  He  studies  to  meet 
the  wishes  of  his  patrons,  and  to  this  end  has  devoted 
his  entire  life,  from  the  age  of  fourteen  to  the  present, 
to  the  careful  study  of  his  business,  never  letting  a 
year  elapse  without  a  trip  to  some  leading  and  fash- 
ionable city,  to  study  the  advancement  and  evolution 
of  his  art. 


^|ffi  H.  KOOSER,  one  of  the  men  who  came  to  Cali- 
G^lt  fornia  in  its  pioneer  days,  dates  his  birth  in 
(S)L  Somerset  County,  Pennsylvania,  September  9, 
1827.  His  father,  Jacob  S.  Kooser,  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania,  of  German  parentage  on  the  paternal 
side.  His  mother,  Ellen  (Park)  Kooser,  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  Benjamin  Park,  one  of  the  heroes  of  the  Revo- 
lution. She  died  when  the  subject  of  our  sketch  was 
but  three  years  old.  He  was  early  inured  to  hard 
labor  on  his  father's  farm,  and  when  fifteen  years  of 
age  concluded  that  he  could  do  better  for  himself  by 
learning  a  trade.  Accordingly  he  left  the  old  home, 
and  bound  himself  as  an  apprentice  to  a  wagon-maker. 
At  twenty-one  years  of  age  he  had  become  master  of 
his  trade,  and  left  Pennsylvania  with  the  intention  of 
coming  to  California;  but  at  St.  Louis,  learning  of  the 


406 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


prevalence  of  cholera  on  the  Missouri  River  that  sea- 
son (1849),  he  decided  to  defer  for  the  time  further 
travel  westward.  He  went  from  there  to  Cedar  Rapids, 
Iowa,  where  he  was  engaged  on  the  construction  of  the 
first  permanent  loch  and  dam  ever  erected  on  the 
Cedar  River  at  that  point.  At  the  close  of  the  season 
he  returned  East,  and  the  following  year  came  to  Cali- 
fornia by  way  of  the  Isthmus.  The  journey  was  a 
slow  and  vexatious  one,  but  was  accomplished  in  a 
shorter  time,  and  perhaps  with  less  danger,  than  an 
overland  trip. 

Landing  at  San  Francisco,  Mr.  Kooser  took  an 
early  opportunity  to  visit,  at  Monterey,  his  brother, 
Mr.  Benjamin  P.  Kooser,  who  came  to  the  State  as  a 
member  of  Company  F,  of  Colonel  Stevenson's  Regi- 
ment, in  1846,  and  served  throughout  the  Mexican 
War,  and  was  still  in  the  service,  being  stationed  at 
that  place.  After  a  visit  with  him,  the  subject  of  our 
sketch  spent  a  short  time  at  Chinese  Camp  and  Indian 
Gulch  mines,  but  soon  commenced  work  at  his  trade 
in  Monterey.  In  1851  he  again  engaged  in  mining 
for  a  short  time,  after  which  he  entered,  as  a  mechanic, 
the  United  States  service,  accompanying  an  expedi- 
tion against  hostile  Indians  at  the  head  of  the  San 
Joaquin  Valley,  where  he  helped  to  build  a  fort.  Later 
in  that  year  (1851),  Mr.  Kooser  entered  the  employ, 
as  a  mechanic,  of  the  New  Almaden  Quicksilver 
Mining  Company,  where  he  remained  fifteen  years, 
receiving  large  wages,  and  always  retaining  the  confi- 
dence of  his  employers.  His  earnings  for  the  first  few 
years  were,  as  he  supposed,  carefully  invested,  but  he 
lost  $4,000  in  loans  which  were  never  repaid. 

During  the  two  or  three  years  in  which  the  quick- 
silver mines  were  closed  on  account  of  litigation 
growing  out  of  a  contest  for  the  possession  of  the 
property,  Mr.  Kooser  invested  a  portion  of  his  money 
in  stock-raising  in  San  Luis  Obispo  County.  The 
undertaking  proved  a  disastrous  one,  for  the  drought 
of  1864  brought  a  total  loss  of  his  stock,  and  the  en- 
terprise which  had  looked  so  promising  when  pro- 
jected in  1857  came  to  naught.  In  1866  he  com- 
menced the  improvement  of  200  acres  of  land  on  the 
Almaden  road,  three  miles  north  of  New  Almaden, 
and  there  made  his  home  for  several  years.  The  real 
estate  he  yet  owns,  but  for  a  long  time  it  has  been 
occupied  by  renters. 

His  present  fine  residence  on  the  Almaden  road, 
six  miles  from  San  Jose,  was  taken  possession  of  in 
1877.  The  buildings  are  of  the  best  class,  comfort 
and  convenience  being  consulted  in  their  construction, 
with  little  or  no  regard  for  the  cost.     The  home,  sur- 


rounded by  beautiful  grounds,  is  approached  by  an 
avenue,  250  yards  in  length,  shaded  by  evergreens. 
The  estate  contains  120  acres  of  the  choicest  valley 
land.  Mr.  Kooser  also  owns  a  fine  dairy  farm  of  150 
acres  in  Monterey  County,  and,  beside  some  business 
property  in  San  Jose,  about  twenty-five  houses  and 
lots  in  that  city.  His  active  life,  in  connection  with 
his  splendid  business  qualifications,  has  enabled  him, 
in  spite  of  losses  sufficiently  large  to  have  broken 
down  any  man  not  possessed  of  his  indomitable  will, 
to  acquire  large  wealth.  He  has  been  entirely  the 
architect  of  his  own  fortune,  and  in  his  case  industry 
and  frugality  have  been  well  rewarded. 

On  the  eighth  of  April,  1871,  Mr.  Kooser  wedded 
Miss  Lena  McAbee,  who  was  born  in  Franklin  County, 
New  York,  September  24,  1850.  She  is  the  mother  of 
five  children,  viz.:  Emma,  Newton  (deceased),  Herman 
B.,  Lulu  May,  and  Norman  B. 

Mr.  Kooser's  father,  after  spending  the  best  part  of 
his  life  on  the  sterile  hills  of  Somerset  County,  Penn- 
sylvania, came  as  far  west  as  Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa, 
where  his  life  closed  January  25,  1872. 

In  the  early  days,  our  subject  was  a  Whig  and  a 
devoted  admirer  of  Henry  Clay,  and,  since  the  organ- 
ization of  the  Republican  party,  has  been  an  active 
member  of  it.  He  has  illustrated  _by  his  life-work 
what  can  be  done  in  this  gracious  land,  b)'  a  man 
possessed  of  energy  and  thrift,  combined  with  good 
common  sense  in  management. 


^ffiERSIE  F.  LORD  was  born  in  Penobscot 
(ic|p  County,  Maine,  in  1852.  His  father,  Jacob  H. 
(%5  Lord  (whose  sketch  appears  in  this  history), 
and  mother,  Caroline  (Littlefield)  Lord,  were 
both  natives  of  Maine.  Hersie  F.  Lord  was  reared 
on  a  farm  in  Wisconsin,  to  which  place  his  father 
moved  in  1854.  When  he  was  seventeen  years  of 
age  he  entered  into  mercantile  pursuits  at  River  Falls, 
Pierce  County,  Wisconsin,  and  in  i88i,in  partnership 
with  his  father,  he  opened  a  general  merchandise  store, 
which  they  successfully  conducted  until  1886,  in  which 
year  he  located  at  Minneapolis,  Minnesota,  remaining 
there  but  a  year.  In  1887  he  came  to  California  and 
located  in  Santa  Clara  County,  purchasing  twenty 
acres  of  land  from  James  H.  Stonier  on  the  Hostetter 
road,  in  the  Eagle  School  District,  about  three  and 
one-half  miles  northeast  of  San  Jose.  Upon  this  land 
Mr.  Lord  has  erected  a  handsome  cottage  residence, 
styled  the  "Minnesota  Twins,"  and  well-ordered  out- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


407 


buildings;  he  has  also  planted  twelve  acres  in  orchard, 
the  trees  being  peaches,  prunes,  and  apricots,  with 
also  a  few  trees  of  other  varieties.  The  balance  of 
his  land  is  devoted  to  hay  and  grain;  his  hay  in  1888 
averaged  four  and  one-half  tons  per  acre,  which  was 
grown  without  irrigation!  Mr.  Lord  brings  to  his 
new  calling  as  an  orchardist,  well-trained  business 
habits  and  a  love  for  the  work,  which  will  undoubt- 
edly do  much  toward  insuring  his  success. 

In  1873  Mr.  Lord  married  Miss  Augusta  B.  Cro.ss- 
man,  daughter  of  Clark  H.  and  Amelia  C.  Cross- 
man,  natives  and  residents  of  Niagara  County,  New 
York.  From  this  marriage  two  children  have  been 
born,  viz.:  Adella  H.  and  Cleon  H.  Mr.  Lord  is  a 
member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  In  politics  he  is  a  Demo- 
crat, but  still  exhibits  an  intelligent  liberality  in  the 
exercise  of  his  franchise. 


|||KARRIS  SNEDAKER,  a  citizen  of  the  Hamil- 
GH^  ton  District,  lives  on  Fruit  Vale  Avenue,  near 
^Q  the  Meridian  road.  He  has  been  a  resident  of 
Santa  Clara  County  since  November,  1875, 
having  lived  in  San  Jose  from  that  time  until  the 
spring  of  1884,  when  he  removed  his  family  to  their 
present  home.  The  home  property,  owned  by  his 
son,  Edwin  H.  Snedaker,  contains  nine  and  one-tenth 
acres,  which  yields  a  general  variety  of  fruit,  of  which 
prunes  form  the  largest  part.  In  1887  twelve  and 
one-half  tons  of  apricots  were  sold  from  119  trees,  six 
years  old,  or,  in  other  words,  that  was  the  crop  of 
one  and  one-tenth  acres,  and  from  this  large  yield 
was  realized  the  sum  of  $375.  Mary  Alice  Snedaker, 
his  daughter,  owns  a  tract  of  twelve  acres  on  Naglee 
Avenue,  in  the  same  district,  for  which  she  paid  from 
money  earned  in  school-teaching.  This  thrifty  or- 
chard is  six  years  old,  and  produces  apricots,  prunes, 
and  Bartlett  pears.  Both  places  have  been  converted 
from  stubble-fields  into  profitable  orchards  by  the 
family,  who  may  well  feel  that  their  efforts  have  met 
with  deserved  success. 

Mr.  Snedaker  is  a  native  of  Brown  County,  Ohio, 
where  he  was  born  October  13,  1825.  On  the  twenty- 
eighth  of  October,  1849,  he  married,  in  that  county. 
Miss  Tamar  Purdum,  who  is  also  a  native  of  Brown 
County.  Determined  to  seek  their  fortunes  in  the 
great  unknown  West,  they  started  on  the  day  follow- 
ing their  marriage  with  a  team  and  wagon  (and  but 
little  capital)  for  Illinois,  the  Cincinnati,  Hamilton  & 
Dayton  being  the  only  railroad  anywhere  in  the  West 


at  the  time.  They  lived  for  a  short  time  in  Putnam 
County,  of  that  State,  and  in  the  following  year 
bought  eighty  acres  in  Eden  Township,  La  Salle 
County,  Illinois. 

In  this  new,  undeveloped  country  they  created,  by 
industry  and  hard  labor,  a  comfortable  home,  in  which 
they  lived  for  fifteen  years.  Their  children  having 
reached  an  age  which  made  it  advisable  that  they 
should  receive  better  educational  advantages  than  the 
country  afforded,  Mr.  Snedaker  removed  with  his 
family  to  the  village  of  Tonica,  which  is  situated  in 
the  same  county.  There  they  lived  until,  in  1874, 
they  came  to  California,  and  after  one  year's  residence 
in  Santa  Barbara  they  lived  in  San  Jose  until,  as 
stated  at  the  beginning  of  this  sketch,  they  made  Santa 
Clara  County  their  home. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Snedaker  have  three  children:  Mary 
Alice  makes  her  home  with  her  parents;  Edwin  H.  is 
now  a  resident  of  Paso  Robles,  San  Luis  Obispo 
County.  He  held  the  responsible  position  of  ticket 
agent  and  operator,  in  the  employ  of  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad  at  San  Jose,  for  seven  years.  Leav- 
ing the  railroad  employ,  he  was  engaged  for  two  years 
in  the  livery  business  in  San  Jose.  In  1884  he  again 
entered  the  employ  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad 
Company,  and  is  now  its  agent  at  Paso  Robles.  He 
wedded  Miss  Lizzie  L.  Marshall.  The  remaining 
daughter,  Eunice  I.,  is  the  wife  of  Judson  Rice,  of  San 
Jose,  an  architect  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad 
Company. 

Mr.  Snedaker  is  connected  with  the  Republican 
party,  and  of  Whig  antecedents. 


--## 


Mm  M.  RIGHTER,  whose  home,  in  the  Hamilton 
^^  District,  is  situ  ited  a  short  distance  north  of 
T  Campbell  Avenue,  was  born  near  Indianapolis, 
Indiana,  March  4,  1843.  He  is  the  son  of  George  G. 
and  Salome  (Kilbourne)  Righter,  his  father  being  a 
native  of  Virginia  and  his  mother  of  Ohio.  He  was 
left  an  orphan  while  a  youth,  his  father  dying  in  i860, 
and  his  mother  following  her  husband  the  succeeding 
year.  Mr.  Righter  attended  the  public  schools  near 
Indianapolis,  and  afterward  the  National  Normal 
School,  near  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  at  which  institution  he 
graduated  in  1873.  Directly  after  graduation,  he 
came  to  California,  and,  after  spending  a  short  time 
in  teaching  in  Los  Angeles  County,  went  to  Solano 
County,  where  for  nine  years  he  followed  the  profes- 
sion of  teaching.     In  the  spring  of  1S82  he  came  to 


408 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


Santa  Clara  County,  and  soon  after  bought  his  present 
home.  The  property,  for  which  he  paid  $i8o  per  acre, 
had  then  just  been  set  to  trees.  It  contained  a  frac- 
tion more  than  ten  acres,  nine  of  vvhicli  were  planted 
with  apricot  trees  (;)rincipally  Hemshirks,  with  a  few 
Moorparks),  wliile  one  acre  was  devoted  to  the  pro- 
duction of  peaches  and  grapes.  That  the  orchard  has 
received  good  care  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  in  1887 
the  apricot  trees,  then  five  years  old,  yielded  fifty  tons 
of  fruit,  which  was  sold  for  a  little  more  than  $1,600. 
Mr.  Righter  still  continued  teaching  after  coming  to 
this  county,  being  engaged  first  in  Franklin  District, 
and  later  in  Mayfield,  San  Jose,  and  Saratoga  Dis- 
tricts. His  last  school,  which  was  in  Saratoga  District, 
closed  in  June,  1887.  He  at  once  returned  to  Ohio, 
and  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  that  month  married  Miss 
Belle  Lutes,  the  daughter  of  A.  J.  and  Lavinia  Lutes, 
who  reside  near  Cincinnati,  where  Mrs.  Righter  was 
born.  Returning  to  California  with  his  bride,  the  sub- 
ject of  our  sketch  immediately  took  possession  of  his 
fine  fruit  ranch,  to  the  care  of  which  he  has  since  de- 
voted his  time. 

In  politics  Mr.  Righter  is  an  independent.  He  is 
connected  with  the  Masonic  Order,  being  a  member 
of  San  Jose  Lodge,  No.  10,  and  also  of  Howard  Chap- 
ter, No.  14,  both  of  San  Jose.  He  believes  in  the 
desirability,  and,  what  is  more,  in  the  practicability,  of 
the  union  in  one  church  of  all  the  evangelical  churches, 
and  in  consequence  of  this  belief  is  a  member  of  the 
"  Christian  Union,"  an  organization  which  has  for  its 
object  this  result.  Mr.  Righter's  successful  career  as 
a  teacher  for  so  many  years  in  this  State,  and  the 
education  and  qualities  which  have  made  him  a  success 
in  his  chosen  profession,  have  won  for  him  the  respect 
of  the  community  in  which  he  makes  his  home. 


-->H>H 


-M- 


H^^ 


fHOMAS  SHANNON.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  settled  among  the  foot-hills  of  Union 
(gH=  District  near  his  present  residence,  and  on  the 
same  quarter-section  of  land,  in  1866,  obtaining 
a  title  to  his  land  under  the  homestead  laws  of  the 
United  States  Government.  He  was  born  in  Jeffer- 
.son  County,  Ohio,  January  215,  1825,  but  was  reared 
in  Coshocton  County,  same  State.  Reaching  man- 
hood about  the  time  the  Mexican  War  demanded 
volunteers,  he  enlisted  in  Company  B,  Third  Ohio 
Volunteers,  in  June,  1846.  The  regiment  joined  the 
army  under  General  Taylor.  The  service  was  for 
twelve  months,  and  after  receiving  an  honorable  dis- 


charge at  New  Orleans,  Mr.  Shannon  went  to  Knox 
County,  Illinois,  with  the  intention  of  making  it  his 
home,  but  remained  there  less  than  two  years.  Suf- 
fering from  disease  contracted  in  Mexico,  and  think- 
ing that  a  change  of  climate  might  be  beneficial,  he 
joined  a  party  of  gold-seekers  bound  for  California. 
The  company  was  organized  in  Galesburg,  Illinois, 
and  called  themselves  the  "  Jayhawkers."  It  contained 
about  forty  or  fifty  men,  from  different  parts  of  the 
county.  They  left  Galesburg  April  5,  1849,  and 
crossing  the  Missouri  at  Council  Bluffs,  followed  the 
overland  trail  to  Salt  Lake  City,  which  they  reached 
about  the  middle  of  August.  Fearing,  on  account  of 
the  lateness  of  the  season,  to  cross  the  Sierra  Nevada 
Mountains,  the  party  hired  a  Mormon  guide  to  pilot 
them  to  Los  Angeles.  Besides  the  Galesburg  com- 
pany, there  were  hundreds  of  other  emigrants  camping 
around  Salt  Lake  City,  some  of  whom  united  their 
fortunes  with  Mr.  Shannon's  party,  so  that  when  the 
caravan  was  ready  to  start,  which  was  about  the  last 
of  September,  it  consisted  of  about  500  men,  with 
105  wagons.  After  proceeding  some  300  miles  south- 
ward the  party  divided  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of 
feed  for  so  much  stock,  and  thirty-four  men  (among 
them  the  subject  of  our  sketch)  undertook  to  make 
their  way  westward  over  the  trackless  desert,  without 
guides  or  maps,  expecting  to  reach  the  San  Joaquin 
Valley.  Of  course  the  mountains  interposed  impass- 
able barriers,  and  much  time  was  spent  in  trying  to 
find  a  pass  through  them.  The  sufferings  of  the 
party  were  indescribable,  the  intense  heat  of  the 
desert  being  almost  unbearable.  Often  they  saw  the 
deceptive  mirage, — in  appearance  from  a  distance  a 
bright,  sparkling  lake,  and  in  reality  not  water,  but 
clay-beds  where  water  had  been  evaporated  by  the 
sun.  Four  died  from  exposure  and  starvation,  and 
one  man  wandered  away  from  the  company,  and  was 
found  fifteen  years  later  by  United  States  troops, 
living  with  the  Indians.  He  afterwards  became  a 
business  man  of  San  Francisco. 

After  months  of  suffering,  the  party,  sick  and  worn 
out,  found  habitations  on  the  Santa  Clara  River,  forty 
miles  north  of  Los  Angeles,  near  the  present  site  of 
Newhall.  This  was  in  February,  the  company  having 
been  ten  months  in  making  a  journey  now  accom- 
plished in  five  days  by  the  wonderful  "  iron  horse." 
The  survivors  of  this  overland  party  of  1849  keep  up 
an  organization,  which  has  annual  meetings  February 
4.  Several  reunions  have  been  held,  in  which  reminis- 
cences both  sad  and  merry  have  been  brought  up — 
sad  in  the  thought  that  so  many  of  the  brave  men  of 


t(^e/^^<^t^  ^U'€/J. 


BIOGRA FHICAL  tiKETUlIES. 


409 


'49  have  gone,  and  merry  in  the  recollection  of  the 
man)'  makeshifts  which  they  were  obliged  to  concoct 
to  keep  life  in  their  bodies.  Mr.  Shannon  and  L.  D. 
Stevens,  of  San  Jose,  are  the  only  survivors  of  the 
party  living  in  Santa  Clara  County. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  commenced  mining  on 
the  Yuba  River  soon  after  reaching  California,  and 
followed  the  work  for  six  years  with  varied  success. 
He  then  spent  several  years  in  Marysville,  and  when 
the  Civil  War  broke  out  he  enlisted  in  the  Seventh 
California,  Company  B,  in  October,  1864.  After 
serving  eighteen  months  doing  frontier  duty  in  Ari- 
zona, he  was  honorably  discharged  at  San  Francisco. 
He  then  located  in  this  county,  and  held  bis  claim  for 
seven  years,  waiting  for  the  authorities  to  decide 
whether  his  land  was  on  Government  or  railroad  land, 
before  commencing  the  work  of  active  improvement. 
Having  sold  about  seventy-five  acres  of  his  original 
estate, he  now  owns  eighty-five  acres,  which  are  devoted 
successfully  to  general  farming  with  about  six  acres 
reserved  for  fruit  and  vines. 

In  1851  Mr.  Shannon  married  Miss  Amanda  Black- 
ford, a  native  of  Ohio.  They  have  six  children  now 
living,  viz.:  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Sanders,  of  Monterey 
County;  Claude,  Julius,  and  Mrs.  Cassie  Robinson, 
all  residents  of  Los  Gatos;  Lulu,  and  Ralph,  members 
of  their  father's  household.  The  eldest  child,  Cassius, 
a. railway  engineer,  died  at  El  Paso,  Texas. 

With  his  experience  in  two  wars,  one  would  natu- 
rally expect  to  find  Mr.  Shannon  connected,  as  he  is, 
with  the  G.  A.  R.  organizations.  He  is  a  member  of 
E.  O.  C.  Ord  Post,  No.  82,  at  Los  Gatos. 


^MARCELLUS  ROSS,  whose  fine  orchard  and 
(s^ff^  handsome  residence  are  situated  on  Meridian 
eXj  road,  between  Willows  and  Carlos  Streets,  has 
there  sixteen  and  three-quarters  acres  planted  in 
fruit-trees,  as  follows:  500  cherries,  300  apricots,  200 
peaches,  150  pears,  and  a  variety  of  fruits  for  family 
use.  Li  order  to  have  strong,  healthy  trees,  capable 
of  sustaining  a  full  load  of  fruit,  he  has,  until  this 
year,  kept  them  well  cut  back,  so  that  hereafter  he 
will  have  large  crops  of  fine  marketable  fruit. 

Born  in  Pike  County,  Illinois,  in  1824,  he  has  seen 
that  State  develop  from  an  immense  void  of  prairie 
and  timber  to  the  vast  empire  it  now  is.  Pike  County 
then  extended  from  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  River 
to  the  far  North,  including  Chicago,  and  west  to  the 
Mississippi  River.  He  was  the  first  male  child  born 
52 


in  Pike  County.  Educated  first  in  Atlas,  and  later  in 
Pittsfield,  Illinois,  he  engaged  in  farming  in  that 
neighborhood,  in  which  he  continued  until  he  entered 
the  Union  army,  in  August,  1862,  when  he  was  com- 
missioned, by  Governor  Yates,  Adjutant  of  the  Ninety- 
ninth  Illinois  Infantry.  In  this  regiment  he  cam- 
paigned in  Southwestern  Missouri,  under  General  War- 
ren, until  his  health  failed,  compelling  him  to  return 
to  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  in  1S63,  suffering  from  dis- 
ability incurred  in  service,  and  was  there  mustered 
out.  He  returned  to  his  farm,  but  was  never  again 
capable  of  the  active  work  of  the  farm.  He  sold  out 
in  1 88 1  and  came  to  California,  where  he  bought  his 
present  home,  then  a  wheat-field,  planted  it  imme- 
diately in  fruit,  and  has  since  made  the  extensive 
improvements  now  on  the  place 

Married,  in  1848,  to  Miss  Martha  A.  Kellogg,  a  na- 
tive of  Pittsfield,  Massachusetts.  To  this  unioif'were 
born  eight  children,  four  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 
Those  arriving  at  maturity  were:  Henry  J.,  now  living 
with  his  father  and  managing  the  ranch;  Charles  K., 
who  died  in  Washington  Territory  in  1882;  Frank  C, 
now  interested  in  real  estate  with  his  father  in  Ta- 
coma,  Washington  Territory;  Mattie  H.,  now  the  wife 
of  Benton  A.  Lewis,  of  Tacoma,  Washington  Terri- 
tory. 

Mr.  Ross-  is,  and  always  has  been,  an  ardent  Re- 
publican. Is  a  charter  member  of  the  John  A.  Dix 
Post,  No.  42,  G.  A.  R.,  of  San  Jose.  His  parents  were 
Colonel  William  and  Ednah  Ross.  The  former  was 
born  in  Monson,  Massachusetts,  in  1792;  enlisted  in 
the  War  of  18 12,  and  was  engaged  at  the  Battle  of 
Sackett's  Harbor,  Massachusetts;  was  an  Ensign  in 
the  army  when  he  removed  to  Pike  County,  Illinois, 
in  1820;  was  a  Colonel  in  command  of  troops  in  the 
Black  Hawk  War;  settled  at  Atlas,  Illinois,  in  1820; 
built  the  first  brick  house  there  in  1821;  also  erected 
the  first  store  building,  the  first  grist-mill,  and  a  band 
saw-mill  about  the  same  time.  The  first  wheat  rai.sed, 
ground,  and  made  into  biscuit,  and  the  first  apples 
raised  in  the  county,  were  by  Colonel  Ross,  and  the 
first  political  and  first  Masonic  meeting  were  held  at 
his  house  in  Atlas.  He  removed  to  Pittsfield,  Illinois, 
in  1836,  where  he  engaged  in  mercantile  and  banking 
business  until  his  death,  in  1872,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
one  years.  In  1832  Colonel  Ross  and  his  son  (Mar- 
ccUus)  went  on  a  visit  to  Massacliusetts.  In  return- 
ing to  Illinois  they  passed  through  Michigan,  hav- 
ing chartered  a  coach  for  four  persons,  driving 
from  Detroit  to  what  is  now  St.  Joseph,  Michigan. 
They  crossed   Lake  Michigan  by  a  small  steam  flat- 


410 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


bottomed  boat  to  Chicago,  which  was  then  an  Indian 
station,  comprising  Fort  Dearborn,  two  small  cabins 
(probably  trading  stores),  and  about  500  Indians. 
Colonel  Ross  was  a  delegate  to  the  convention  which 
nominated  Governor  Dick  Yates  the  War  Governor, 
at  Decatur,  Illinois,  in  i860,  and  also  delegate  to  the 
National  Convention  which  nominated  Abraham  Lin- 
coln to  the  presidency,  one  week  later  at  Chicago. 
President  Lincoln  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Colonel 
Ross,  often  stopping  at  his  house.  Just  as  Colonel 
Ross  and  his  son,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  were 
walking  to  the  depot,  on  the  way  to  that  convention 
at  Chicago,  they  saw  Mr.  Lincoln  coming  in  the  same 
direction,  satchel  in  hand,  on  his  way  to  his  home  in 
Springfield.  Colonel  Ross  waited  until  he  came  up, 
and  said:  "  Mr.  Lincoln,  had  you  not  better  go  up  to 
Chicago  and  help  us  nominate  our  next  President?" 
Mr.  Lincoln  answered:  "  My  better  judgment  tells  me 
I  had  better  not." 


-€■ 


■:^- 


fHARLES  W.  CUTLER  is  the  owner  of  an 
orchard  home  on  Washington  Avenue,  in  the 
(0)L  Willows.  Born  in  Ashtabula  County,  Ohio, 
January  23,  1838,  he  is  the  representative  of  an 
old  New  England  family  of  English  origin  that 
established  their  home  in  Connecticut  in  Colonial 
days.  His  grandfather,  Ebenezer  Cutler,  was  one  of 
the  pioneers  of  the  Connecticut  Western  Reserve, 
having  emigrated  to  that  section  of  Ohio  in  1802, 
when  Elijah  T.  Cutler,  the  father  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  seven  years  of  age.  The  family  was 
one  of  sterling  worth  and  integrity.  Ebenezer  Cutler 
was  a  manufacturer  of  wagons  and  vehicles  of  all 
kinds  needed  in  pioneer  days.  His  son,  Elijah  T.,  on 
reaching  manhood,  became  interested  in  farming 
operations  and  in  grist-mill  and  lumbering  enterprises. 
He  married  Olive  Walworth,  who  was  born  in  Canaan, 
New  Hampshire.  To  them  were  born  three  children: 
Elijah  B.,  who  is  now  an  attorney  in  San  Francisco; 
Charles  W.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  and  Olive  W., 
the  wife  of  Rev.  S.  D.  Peet,  of  Illinois.  The  parents 
both  died  in  Ashtabula  County. 

Charles  W.  Cutler  was  reared  in  Ohio,  and  educated 
primarily  in  the  county  schools,  but  was  subsequently 
a  student  in  Oberlin  College,  and  still  later  at  Powers' 
Institute,  Bernardston,  Massachusetts.  But  by  no 
means  did  he  consider  his  education  completed  by 
attendance  upon  schools.  He  is  and  ever  has  been  a 
close  student.     Twelve  years  he  devoted  to  teaching. 


— first  in  Ohio,  then  in  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  and 
Wisconsin,  having  migrated  to  the  last-named  State 
in  1861. 

Devotedly  loyal  to  the  administration  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  and  to  the  Union,  Mr.  Cutler  resigned  his 
position  as  the  Principal  of  the  High  School  at  Elk- 
horn,  Wisconsin,  to  serve  in  the  Fortieth  Wisconsin 
Volunteer  Infantry,  a  regiment  so  largely  recruited 
from  the  ranks  of  students  and  teachers  as  to  be 
called  "  The  Students'  Regiment." 

On  returning,  Mr.  Cutler  resumed  his  charge  at 
Elkhorn,  and  later  on  filled  a  like  position  in  the 
schools  at  Burlington  and  Green  Bay,  in  that  State. 
He  afterward  returned  to  Elkhorn,  and  again  took 
charge  of  the  High  School.  In  1869  failing  health 
prompted  him  to  decline  a  further  engagement  at 
that  place,  and  to  seek  a  change  of  climate  and  oc- 
cupation, which  resulted  in  a  two  years'  sojourn  in 
Western  Iowa.  There  he  was  instrumental  in  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  new  post-office,  and  was  made  Post- 
master of  the  same. 

In  1 87 1  Mr.  Cutler  came  to  this  State,  and  for 
fourteen  years  filled  the  responsible  position  of  cash- 
ier and  book-keeper  for  a  commercial  house  in  San 
Francisco.  Since  1885  his  residence  has  been  at  the 
Willows.  Supplementary  to  his  small  orchard  inter- 
ests, he  is  conducting  a  general  book,  piano,  and 
school-furniture  trade,  having  his  office  and  head- 
quarters at  San  Jose.  He  is  a  member  of  John  A. 
Dix  Post,  No.  42,  G.  A.  R.,  of  San  Jose,  and  of  Fidel- 
ity Lodge,  No.  222,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  San  Francisco, 
being  a  Past  Grand  in  the  latter  organization. 

On  the  fifteenth  of  August,  1867,  Mr.  Cutler  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Helen  L.  Morse,  the 
daughter  of  Samuel  Morse,  of  Racine,  Wisconsin. 
Mrs.  Cutler  is  also  a  native  of  Ashtabula  County, 
Ohio.  Mabel  C,  their  only  daughter,  was  born  in 
March,  1872. 

Well  pleased  with  life  in  this  healthful,  sunny  land, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cutler  contemplate  with  satisfaction  its 
enjoyment  here  under  their  own  vine  and  fig-tree  for 
the  rest  of  their  days,  unless  the  fates  otherwise  de- 
cree. 


PAMES  H.  KELLY,  one  of  the  leading  horticul- 
turists of  Hamilton  District,  residing  on  Fruit 
^J  Vale  Avenue,  a  little  west  of  the  railroad  crossing, 
is  the  owner  of  a  fine  property  of  fifty-three  acres. 
He  was  born  in  the  State  of  New  Hampshire,  Sep- 
tember 28,  1827.     His  father,  John  Kelly,  moved  with 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


411 


his  family  in  1836  to  Monroe  County,  Michigan, 
where  James  H.  grew  to  manhood  on  a  farm,  and 
where  his  parents  died.  He  received  his  education  at 
OberUn,  Ohio,  from  1846  to  1850. 

Adventurous  and  enterprising,  he  joined,  in  1850,  a 
party  about  to  make  the  overland  journey  to  this 
State.  Like  so  many  others,  he  was  tempted  by 
visions  of  gold,  which  awaited  to  enrich  the  digger. 
Leaving  the  Missouri  River  on  the  first  of  April,  he 
reached  Hangtown  (now  called  Georgetown)  in  Placer 
County,  early  in  October,  so  different  was  the  labo- 
rious travel  by  team  in  those  days  from  the  rapid 
transit  accomplished  by  the  "iron  horse"  of  to-day. 
Mr.  Kelly  worked  in  the  mines  until  February  of  the 
following  year,  when  he  went  to  Sacramento.  Here 
he  became  engaged  in  freighting  from  Sacramento  to 
Marysville,  using  a  five-ton  whale-boat  for  that  pur- 
pose. In  May  of  tlie  same  year,  Mr.  Kelly  came  to 
San  Jose,  where  he  remained  until  1854.  Having 
accumulated  quite  a  little  capital  by  industry,  he  re- 
turned East  as  far  as  Iowa,  intending  to  purchase 
stock  for  this  Western  market.  But  he  found  prices 
too  high  and  abandoned  the  project.  He  became 
interested  in  real-estate  speculation,  and  engaged  in 
the  business  for  about  four  years.  In  1858  he  again 
returned  to  Michigan,  and  remained  there  until  1862. 
When  the  war  cry  sounded  throughout  the  land,  he 
followed,  with  thousands  of  brave  men,  to  the  defense 
of  his  country,  enlisting  August  8,  1862,  in  Company 
K,  Eighteenth  Michigan  Volunteer  Infantry.  The 
first  few  months  were  spent  in  guarding  lines  of  com- 
munication in  Kentucky.  January  i,  1863,  he  was 
made  chief  of  Military  Police  at  Nashville,  Tennes- 
see, acting  in  that  capacity  for  seven  months.  On 
the  twenty-fourth  of  September,  1864,  Mr.  Kelly  was 
captured  by  the  rebels  at  Athens,  Alabama,  held  for 
a  few   weeks,  and    then    exchanged.     In  November, 

1864,  he  helped  to  defend  Decatur  against  a  three 
days'  attack  of  General  Hood's  rebel  army.  Mr. 
Kelly  participated  in  engagements  at  Danville, 
Kentucky,  and  at  the  following  places  in  Alabama, 
Pond  Springs,  Curtis  Wells,  Courtland,  Athens,  and 
was  in  two  engagements  at  Decatur,  that  State.  En- 
tering the  service  as  Sergeant,  he  was  made  Second 
Lieutenant  November  24,  1862,  First  Lieutenant 
November  6,  1863,  and  for  two  and  a  half  years  had 
command  of  his  company.  He  performed  a  soldier's 
duty  nobly  in  all  positions  and  at  all  times,  and  may 
well  look  back  with  pride  to  his  record  as  a  defender 
of  his  country.     He  received  his  discharge  June  26, 

1865,  and  returned  to  Michigan. 


During  the  five  years  following,  he  conducted  a 
milling  business  at  Monroe,  Michigan.  In  1870  he 
again  came  to  California,  with  the  intention  of  re- 
maining. He  immediately  purchased  sixty  acres  of 
land,  fifty-three  acres  of  which  he  still  owns  and  oc- 
cupies. After  preparing  the  land,  which  was  then  a 
barren  field,  he  set  out  an  orchard,  being  the  first  man 
to  plant  a  general  variety  of  fruit-trees  on  the  dry 
land  west  of  the  Willows. 

This  work  was  looked  upon  as  an  experiment,  and 
was  entirely  successful  as  far  as  the  fruit  crop  was 
concerned.  But  no  market  for  the  product,  in  any 
quantity,  could  be  found,  and  to  save  his  peaches  and 
apricots  from  rotting,  Mr.  Kelly  bought  hogs  to  eat 
them,  and  thus  saved  his  first  fruit  crop.  Forty-five 
acres  of  his  land  is  devoted  to  horticulture,  prunes 
and  apricots  being  the  principal  product.  The  pleas- 
ant residence,  in  which  he  lives,  was  erected  in  1883. 

In  Michigan,  on  the  twenty-first  of  March,  1861, 
he  wedded  Miss  Priscilla  Eveline  Beisel,  of  Monroe, 
that  State,  where  her  mother  still  lives.  Two  sons 
and  two  daughters  have  been  born  to  them.  James 
B.,  the  eldest,  lives  in  San  Jose ;  Jonathan  C.  makes 
his  home  with  his  parents;  Jennie  D.  is  the  wife  of 
Lewis  Myers,  a  resident  of  San  Jose  ;  and  Jessie  E., 
who  is  still  under  the  parental  roof 

Mr.  Kelly  is  a  very  strong  Republican,  and,  as 
might  be  expected  from  his  long  service  in  the  army,  is 
interested  in  Grand  Army  doings,  being  a  member  of 
Phil.  Sheridan  Post,  No.  7,  G.  A.  R.,  at  San  Jose. 


-^^~- 


tEORGE  W.  SNYDER  resides  at  "Orchard 
Homes  "  in  the  Cambrian  District,  where  he  owns 
■J^  8rjf  acres,  all  devoted  to  fruit  culture.  Two-thirds 
of  the  orchard  comprises  200  Moorpark  apricot 
trees,  six  years  old,  and  240  Silver  prune  trees  of  the 
same  age.  The  remainder  of  the  orchard  is  in  French 
prunes,  now  (1888)  four  years  old.  This  property 
Mr.  Snyder  bought  in  the  autumn  of  1883,  that  por- 
tion which  has  now  reached  the  age  of  six  years  being 
in  a  healthy,  thrifty  condition  at  the  time  of  the  pur- 
chase. In  1887  the  apricot  trees  covering  two  acres 
yielded  a  crop  which  sold  for  $600,  proving  that  the 
orchard  has  not  deteriorated  under  Mr.  Snyder's  man- 
agement. He  also  owns  a  fine  property  of  S  }^  acres 
on  the  San  Jose  and  Los  Gatos  road,  about  one-half 
mile  from  his  residence,  toward  Los  Gatos.  This 
tract  was  purchased  in  January,  1B88,  and  now  com- 
prises   100    peach    trees,  which  were    planted  in  the 


412 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF   THE    WORLD." 


season  of  1887,  and  150  apricot  and  310  French  prune 
trees,  which  were  set  out  during  the  present  season 
(1888). 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  born  in  Delaware 
County,  Ohio,  on  the  twenty-second  of  February,  1848. 
He  was  reared  and  educated  in  his  native  county, 
where  his  father,  George  Snyder,  died,  and  where  his 
mother,  Sarah  A.  (Sparks)  Snyder,  still  lives.  He 
married,  in  Delaware  County,  Miss  Emma  Gross,  who 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania. 

Mr.  Snyder  came  to  the  Golden  State  to  make  it 
his  home  in  18S1,  and  after  spending  about  two  years 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  State  determined  to  settle 
in  Santa  Clara  Valley,  and  purchased  his  present  fine 
homestead.  His  family  joined  him  soon  after  this 
purchase.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Snyder  have  one  child — 
Grace  E.,  born  November  28,  1877. 

Their  careful,  prudent  management  of  their  horti- 
cultural interests  and  of  all  the  work  connected  with 
their  property,  insures  the  future  prosperity  of  the  or- 
chards, as  well  as  that  of  their  owners.  But  not  only 
that  they  may  receive  profitable  returns,  but  also  on 
account  of  their  love  for  horticulture,  do  they  exert 
themselves  to  bring  their  orchards  to  a  high  standard 
of  excellence.  Enjoying  the  many  pleasant  condi- 
tions of  a  life  in  California,  they  do  not  find  their  work 
altogether  a  hard,  laborious  duty,  but  are  able  to  take 
much  pleasure  in  it. 


^m- 


IPR.  JOHN  P.  DUDLEY.  This  name  is  worthy 
G^  of  enrollment  among  the  pioneers  of  Santa 
"Y^  Clara  County,  as  the  Doctor  has  been  a  resident 
of  the  county  since  1850.  He  now  lives  on  the  Alma- 
den  road  five  miles  from  the  Court  House  of  San 
Jose.  His  birth  occurred  in  Steuben  County,  New 
York,  August  i,  1822.  He  is  the  son  of  Moses  and 
Mary  (Atwood)  Dudley.  Moses  Dudley  was  born  in 
Portland,  Maine,  in  1796,  and  was  the  son  of  Jeremiah 
Dudley.  The  family  is  of  English  origin,  and  trace 
their  American  ancestry  back  to  the  historic  days  of 
the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony.  Jeremiah  Dudley, 
the  grandfather  of  our  subject,  with  his  large  family, 
left  for  the  State  of  Maine,  and  established  a  resi- 
dence in  Steuben  County,  New  York.  The  names  of 
his  five  sons  were:  David,  John,  Moses,  Thomas,  and 
Benjamin.  He  had  four  daughters,  viz.:  Mehitable, 
who  wedded  Jonathan  Fluent;  Lydia,  who  married 
Samuel  Le  Grow;  Polly,  who  became  the  wife  of 
Josiah   Moore;  and   Louise,  who  remained  a  maiden. 


Descendants  of  the  family  are  scattered  all  over  the 
West  and  Northwest.  Jeremiah  Dudley  died  at  the 
home  which  he  had  established  in  Steuben  County, 
and  which  afterward  became  the  home  of  John  Dud- 
ley. Moses  Dudley  married  and  settled  down  to  a 
farm  life  in  the  same  county,  and  ended  his  days 
there,  dying  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight  years.  His 
widow  still  survives,  and  lives  on  the  old  homestead 
established  by  Jeremiah  Dudley.  She  is  cared  for 
by  her  son,  Henry  C.  Dudley.  She  is  the  mother  of 
ten  children,  six  of  whom  are  now  living. 

Dr.  Dudley,  whose  name  heads  this  sketch,  is  the 
eldest  of  this  large  family,  and  Mrs.  Lydia  F.  Moulton, 
who  resides  in  the  Hamilton  District  in  this  county, 
is  the  youngest.  The  names  of  the  others,  in  the 
order  of  their  birth,  are  as  follows:  Mrs.  Jane  Aller- 
ton,  who  died  in  Steuben  County,  New  York,  not 
many  years  ago;  Joseph,  a  resident  of  that  county; 
Benjamin  S.,  a  resident  of  Medical  Lake,  Washing- 
ton Territory;  Moses,  Jr.,  a  resident  of  Tulare  County, 
this  State;  Guilford,  a  resident  of  Topeka,  Kansas; 
and  Henry,  who  lives  in  Steuben  County,  New  York. 
The  first-born  and  the  eighth  child  died  in  infancy. 

John  P.  Dudley,  our  subject,  was  reared  to  a  farm 
life,  and  early  inured  to  the  hard  labor  of  youthful 
years  in  those  days.  He  received  the  education  of 
the  public  schools,  and  in  1843  commenced  the  study 
of  medicine  in  the  office  of  Dr.  Pulling,  of  Steuben 
County.  He  afterward  attended  the  Geneva  Medical 
College,  and  still  later  continued  and  completed  his 
preparatory  studies  at  Buffalo  Medical  University, 
Millard  Fillmore  being  the  President  of  the  institution. 
The  Doctor  practiced  in  Buffalo  from  1846  to  1849, 
when  the  tide  of  the  gold  emigration  caugh  t  him  in 
its  outward  flow,  and  brought  him  overland  to  Cali- 
fornia. He  practiced  medicine  in  Sacramento  until 
June,  1850,  when  he  went  to  mining  on  the  Middle 
Fork  of  the  Yuba  River.  In  November  of  the  same 
year  he  became  a  resident  of  Santa  Clara  County. 

On  the  fourth  of  November,  1874,  the  Doctor  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Lizzie  L.  Stanifonl, 
daughter  of  Horatio  C.  and  M.  Louise  (Breck)  Stani- 
ford.  Her  father  was  born  in  Portland,  Maine,  and 
her  mother  at  Hartwick,  Vermont.  The  parents 
were  married  in  Allegany  County,  New  York,  in 
1833.  The  father  died  at  East  Saginaw,  Michigan, 
January  3,  1870,  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight  years,  and 
the  mother  now  lives  with  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Dudley. 
Mrs.  Dudley,  who  came  from  Michigan  in  1873,  has 
one  brother.  George  B.,  in  San  Luis  Obispo  County, 
this  State,  and  two  brothers,  Joseph  B.  and  William 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


413 


A.,  living  in  Michigan.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Dudley  have 
two  daughters,  Louisa  and  Flora.  The  Doctor  is 
quite  a  mechanical  genius,  and  has  invented  and 
patented  a  horseshoe  intended  to  equalize  the  bear- 
ing on  the  hoof.  If  generally  adopted  this  could  not 
but  be  of  great  value. 


M|NDREW  S.  McWILLIAMS,  one   of  the   pio- 
&^p  ncers  of  California,  now   resides    in    the    city  of 

tSan  Jose.  Mr.  McWilliams  dates  his  birth  in 
Henry  County,  Kentucky,  July  3,  1823.  He  is 
the  son  of  William  and  Charlotte  (Smith)  McWill- 
iams, both  of  whom  were  born  in  the  "Blue  Grass 
State." 

He  was  orphaned  at  the  early  age  of  eighteen 
months.  Almost  of  necessity,  he  developed  an  in- 
dependent spirit,  and  with  it,  a  love  of  adventure. 
This  led  him,  soon  after  the  discovery  of  gold,  to  come 
to  this  State.  Leaving  his  home  in  1849,  fie  passed, 
en  route,  through  Independence,  Missouri,  Santa  Fe, 
El  Paso,  Chihuahua,  and  Durango  to  Mazatlan, 
thence  to  San  Francisco,  by  water.  After  spending 
nearly  two  years  in  mining  and  prospecting  on  the 
Middle  Feather  River,  and  Deer  Creek  near  Nevada. 
Mr.  McWilliams  returned  East,  and,  on  the  fifteenth 
of  March,  185 1,  was  united  in  marriage  with  Mrs. 
Melcena  (Strode)  Thompson,  widow  of  Dr.  Thomp- 
son, of  Arrow  Rock,  Missouri.  She  was  a  native  of 
St.  Louis,  and  was  reared  and  educated  in  that  city. 
She  left  a  home  of  refinement  and  a  circle  of  loving 
friends,  to  face  with  her  husband  the  dangers  and 
hardships  of  a  life  on  the  frontier,  for  life  in  Napa 
County  (where  they  were  among  the  earliest  settlers) 
was  then  far  in  advance  of  churches,  schools,  and  the 
companionship  of  neighbors.  Bravely  and  cheerfully 
she  acted  her  part,  and  lovingly  is  her  memory  cher- 
ished by  all  who  knew  her. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  McWilliams  returned  at  once  to  Cali- 
fornia, and  settled  in  Polk  Valley,  Napa  County, 
where  Mr.  McWilliams  engaged  extensively  in  stock 
business.  He  owned  a  ranch  of  160  acres,  and  his 
range  extended  over  thousands  of  acres.  Wild  ani- 
mals were  abundant,  and  it  required  the  greatest 
vigilance  to  protect  his  sheep  and  other  stock.  Mr. 
McWilliams,  during  his  residence  in  the  valley,  killed 
seven  grizzly  bears,  five  California  lions,  and  many 
wild-cats. 

At  one  time  his  wife,  while  at  the  creek  near  the 
house,  was    attacked    by   a    wild-cat    and   was  barely 


rescued  from  her  perilous  position,  by  her  husband, 
who  fortunately  was  within  hearing. 

During  the  seven  years  in  which  they  made  this 
valley  their  home,  there  was  probably  not  a  night 
that  wild  animals  did  not  visit  their  corral. 

Mr.  McWilliams'  home  was  open  to  all  new-comers 
and  visitors  to  the  valley,  and  many  a  settler  has 
cause  to  remember  with  gratitude  the  hearty  welcome 
given  them  by  him  and  his  wife. 

In  1858  Mr.  McWilliams  moved  to  Clear  Lake, 
Lake  County,  which  was  then  sparsely  settled.  Here, 
in  the  following  year,  he  was  bereaved  by  the  death 
of  his  wife,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty -six  years. 

She  was  the  mother  of  three  children.  Their  first- 
born, George  Y.,  was  born  January  8,  1852.  He  was 
the  first  white  child  born  west  of  Howell  Mountain, 
in  Napa  County,  and  the  first  student  from  that 
county  who  advanced  to  the  Sophomore  Class  of 
Barker  College.  He  is  now  a  cattle-raiser  in  Te.xas. 
The  second  child,  Volney,  died  in  infancy.  The  third, 
John,  is  now  a  wealthy  stock-owner  of  Texas. 

Mr.  McWilliams  lived  two  years  in  Lake  County, 
keeping  from  5,000  to  10,000  sheep,  which  it  required 
a  constant  fight  to  protect  from  the  devouring  beasts. 
He  then  drove  his  stock  to  Colusa  County,  where  he 
lived  until  1872. 

He  had  returned  to  Missouri,  in  1866,  and  married 
Miss  Sue  Withers,  who  was  born  of  one  of  the  oldest 
families  of  Kentucky.  She  is  a  lineal  descendant  of 
Charles  Carroll,  one  of  the  immortal  signers  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence. 

In  Colusa  County  Mr.  McWilliams  owned  5,000 
head  of  sheep,  partly  Merinoes,  for  a  few  of  which  he 
paid  from  $100  to  $500  each.  He  says  that  they  often 
grazed  on  the  same  ground  with  herds  of  wild  ante- 
lopes. 

Since  1874  Mr.  McWilliams  has  made  his  home  at 
344  South  Third  Street,  San  Jose,  although  much  of 
his  time  has  been  spent  in  looking  after  his  large  stock 
interests  in  distant  States  and  Territories. 

Since  engaging  in  stock-raising  he  has  wintered 
stock  (depending  entirely  upon  grazing)  in  nearly 
every  State  and  Territory  in  the  stock  belt, — Califor- 
nia, Oregon,  Colorado,  Nevada,  New  Mexico,  Texas, 
Wyoming,  Idaho,  Montana,  and  Utah.  To  illustrate 
the  changes  made  in  grazing  grounds  he  speaks  of 
1,000  wethers,  dropped  in  Colusa  County,  driven  to 
Oregon,  thence  to  Nevada,  and  wintered,  thence  to 
Utah,  and  wintered,  thence  to  Colorado,  thence  to  New 
Mexico,  and  then  shipped  to  Lexington,  Missouri,  fat- 
tened, shipped  back  to  Denver,  and  slaughtered.     At 


414 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


one  time  Mr.  McWilliams  owned  nearly  19,000  sheep 
in  New  Mexico  and  Nevada.  In  1873  he  had  4,000 
head  driven  from  Colusa  County  to  New  Mexico.  He 
was  the  first  to  introduce  fine-bred  Merinoes  into  that 
Territory. 

On  the  sixth  of  July,  1876,  his  four  herders,  in  New 
Mexico,  were  killed  by  the  Indians,  he  himself  fortu- 
nately being  temporarily  absent  from  the  ranch.  His 
horses  and  some  other  stock  were  run  off. 

Mr.  McWilliams  owns  a  $10,000  residence  in  San 
Jose,  and  a  splendid  fruit  ranch  of  forty  acres  in  the 
Willow  District,  originally  containing  sixty  acres,  and 
planted  by  himself  to  but  few  peaches  and  apricots,  but 
mostly  French  prunes.  In  addition,  he  owns,  adjoin- 
ing Colusa,  Colusa  County,  a  large  farm  of  250  acres, 
sixt)'  acres  of  which  he  has  planted  to  peaches  and 
apricots.  This  fine  property  is  bounded  on  one  side 
by  the  Sacramento  River,  and  on  the  other  by  the 
railroad,  thus  making  a  good  location  for  the  drying 
establishment  which  he  has  erected  there. 

He  is  a  Director  of  the  Colusa  County  Horticult- 
ural Society,  which  has  been  organized  during  the 
present  year,  largely  through  his  efforts.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  and  his  wife  be- 
longs to  the  sister  organization,  "Eastern  Star." 


^^-- 


'ICHAEL  MCDONALD  is  the  owner  of  a  fine 
tract  of  land  in  the  Braley  District,  situated  on 
^:$f  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad,  about  half  a  mile 
I  north  of  Lawrence,  and  north  of  the  junction  of 
the  San  Francisco  road  and  Reed's  lane.  The  farm 
comprises  fifty-five  acres,  and  is  devoted  entirely  to 
the  production  of  hay  and  grain. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  dates  his  birth  in  Wick- 
low  County,  Ireland,  in  1844.  His  parents,  John  and 
Mary  (Cullen)  McDonald,  were  both  natives  of  that 
county.  His  boyhood  was  spent  in  hard  labor  on  a 
farm,  his  education,  as  far  as  book  learning  was  con- 
cerned, being  almost  entirely  neglected.  In  i860, 
being  sixteen  years  of  age,  he  turned  his  face  toward 
the  land  of  freedom,  the  United  States.  Landing  at 
New  York,  he  sought  and  obtained  work  on  a  farm  in 
Westchester  County,  not  far  from  the  city  of  New 
York.  There  he  remained  for  a  few  months,  when  he 
determined  to  try  the  South.  He  went  to  Mobile, 
Alabama,  and  there  followed  various  occupations, — 
among  them  that  of  a  vegetable  gardener.  He  ar- 
rived in  Mobile  in  1S61,  and  was  thus  a  resident  of 
tliat  city  during  the  War  of  the  Rebellion.    Although 


pressed  to  enter  the  service  of  the  Southern  Confed- 
eracy, he  successfully  resisted  all  efforts  to  induce  him 
to  do  so.  However,  he  was  compelled  to  work  in  the 
trenches  of  the  military  works  erected  for  the  defense 
of  the  city. 

In  1869,  tired  of  life  in  the  South,  and  desirous  of 
bettering  his  financial  affairs,  Mr.  McDonald. visited 
California,  and  after  some  months  spent  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, in  following  various  pursuits,  he  came  to  Santa 
Clara  County.  Here  he  went  to  work  as  a  farmer  for 
Martin  Murphy.  We  may  judge  of  his  faithffllness 
from  the  fact  that  he  remained  in  Mr.  Murphy's  em- 
ploy for  over  fourteen  years.  By  hard  work  and 
economy  Mr.  McDonald  had  amassed  some  money, 
and  was  able  to  purchase,  in  1883,  from  the  estate  of 
Schuyler  B.  Davis,  the  property  which  he  now  oc- 
cupies. 

He  is  well-known  throughout  the  community  in 
which  he  lives  as  a  hard-working,  industrious,  and  en- 
terprising man.  He  is  the  more  entitled  to  credit  that 
whatever  success  he  has  achieved  in  the  accumulation 
of  this  world's  goods  is  due  not  to  education,  and  other 
early  advantages,  but  rather  to  good  judgment  and 
native  intelligence.  Mr.  McDonald  was  reared  to 
farm  work,  and  in  the  management  of  his  property, 
which  he  has  brought  to  a  high  state  of  cultivation, 
he  has  utilized  the  practical  knowledge  gained  by  a 
long  experience  in  his  business. 


MPICHARD  D.  FOX,  proprietor  of  the  Santa 
s^^  Clara  Valley  Nurseries,  was  born  in  Dublin, 
^^  Ireland,  in  the  year  of  1852.  Orphaned  at  an 
early  age,  he  was  adopted  by  his  uncle,  Bernard 
S.  Fox,  and  with  him  commenced  life  in  Santa  Clara 
County,  when  but  twelve  years  of  age.  He  pursued 
a  course  of  four  and  a  half  years'  study  at  Santa 
Clara  College,  concluding  in  June,  1869.  He  then 
became  his  uncle's  assistant  in  the  management  of 
his  large  nursery  interests,  to  the  ownership  of  which 
he  succeeded  at  the  death  of  his  uncle,  which  oc- 
curred July  21,  1881.  Santa  Clara  County,  and,  in- 
deed, the  whole  State,  are  largely  indebted,  for  the 
prosperity  which  has  followed  the  development  of 
their  horticultural  interests,  to  the  sagacity,  enter- 
prise, and  abiding  faith  in  the  future,  of  Bernard  S. 
Fox,  one  of  the  pioneer  nurserymen  of  the  Pacific 
Coast.  His  original  research  and  skill  in  develop- 
ing new  varieties,  and  in  adapting  old  ones,  attracted 
such  attention  and  patronage  that  he  was  compelled 


t/mumi't/ J^^m  ? 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


415 


to  extend  his  operations  until  his  nurseries  became 
noted  throughout  the  coast,  not  only  for  their  ex- 
cellence, but  also  for  their  magnitude. 

Richard  D.  Fox,  reared,  educated,  and  trained  to 
the  business  by  his  uncle,  as  his  worthy  successor,  has 
maintained  the  long-established  reputation  of  the 
nurseries,  and  to-day,  as  in  the  past,  "  From  Fox 
Nurseries,"  is  a  guarantee  of  first-class  goods,  true  to 
their  name  and  excellent  in  condition.  No  establish- 
ment, East  or  West,  has  ever  won  more  lasting  re- 
nown for  honorable  dealing.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Julia  Mur- 
phy (daughter  of  James  Murphy  and  granddaughter 
of  Martin  Murphy,  Sr.,  the  pioneer  of  1844)  on  the 
sixth  of  May,  1879.  Mrs.  Fox  was  born  at  the  home 
of  her  parents,  near  her  present  residence,  in  Febru- 
ary, 1857.  Her  education  was  received  in  the  schools 
of  the  county,  where  all  of  her  life  has  been  spent. 
(For  more  extended  mention  of  the  Murphy  family, 
the  reader  is  referred  to  their  history  in  another  part 
of  this  volume.)  Four  children  have  been  born  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fox:  Bernard  S.,  Ada  R.,  Lilly  M.,  and 
James  M. 

Mr.  Fox  was  one  of  the  incorporators,  and  is  now 
a  principal  stockholder  and  officer,  of  the  California 
Nursery  Company,  an  institution  which  was  organized 
for  the  purpose  of  meeting  the  immense  and  growing 
demand  for  trees,  which  the  rapid  development  of  the 
fruit  interests  of  this  country  has  occasioned.  This 
company  owns  a  tract  of  land  about  500  acres  in  ex- 
tent, near  the  north  boundary  of  Santa  Clara  County, 
which  is  entirely  devoted  to  this  branch  of  the  nursery 
business.  Since  the  California  Nursery  Company  has 
commenced  operations,  Mr.  Fox  has  discontinued  the 
growing  of  fruit-trees  at  the  home  nursery,  devoting 
those  grounds  to  the  cultivation  of  flowers,  orna- 
mental plants  and  shrubs,  in  which  department  every 
portion  of  the  globe  and  every  clime  is  represented. 
On  these  grounds,  about  two  and  a  half  miles  from 
the  Court  House  in  San  Jose,  on  the  Milpitas  road,  is 
situated  the  family  residence.  It  stands  at  the  end 
of  a  long  avenue  of  stately  evergreens,  and  is  sur- 
rounded by  the  original  orchard  planted  by  his  uncle, 
B.  S.  Fox,  while  just  across  the  road  are  located  the  bo- 
tanical gardens,  filled  with  choice  shrubbery  and  flow- 
ers, whose  beauty  attracts  an  almost  ceaseless  stream 
of  visitors  from  all  parts  of  the  State.  Across  the 
Coyote  River,  near  Wayne  Station,  another  tract  fully 
as  large  as  the  one  mentioned,  and  formerly  devoted 
to  raising  trees,  is  now  converted  into  orchards  and 
small-fruit  farms. 


Mr.  Fox  is  a  member  of  the  Santa  Clara  Valley 
Agricultural  Society,  and  is  much  interested,  not  only 
in  all  that  pertains  to  his  especial  branch  of  the  bus- 
iness, but  is  also  active  in  helping  any  and  all  enter- 
prises which  tend  to  advance  and  build  up  the  in- 
terests of  Santa  Clara  County. 


"<§^-5§>-« 


M|ISS  MARIA  PALEN  is  the  owner  of  a  fine 
iT^JIa  orchard  property  of  about  fifteen  acres,  situated 
^^   on  McCoy  Avenue,  in  San  TomasDistrict.     She 

I  purchased  the  property  in  1882,  and  during  the 
same  year  erected  the  pleasant  cottage  she  now  oc- 
cupies, the  fruit-trees  being  planted  the  following  year. 
The  orchard  chiefly  comprises  French  prunes,  yellow 
egg  plums,  apricots,  and  peaches,  but  also  contains  a 
general  variety  for  household  use.  The  trees  are  now 
(1888)  in  bearing.  Miss  Palen  has  resided  in  Santa 
Clara  County  since  1874,  having  made  San  Jose  her 
home  for  several  years.  A  short  time  before  estab- 
lishing her  present  residence,  she  lived  in  the  Willow 
District,  and  there  improved  an  orchard  property, 
which  is  now  the  residence  and  farm  of  Captain  Adams 
and  his  family. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  born  and  reared  in 
Greene  County,  New  York,  but  for  several  years  be- 
fore coming  to  this  State  had  resided  in  Michigan. 
Upon  becoming  a  resident  of  California,- in  1874,  she 
brought  with  her  two  young  ladies,  her  nieces.  Misses 
Maria  J.  and  Hattie  C.  Palen.  The  former  is  now  the 
wife  of  F.  D.  Ballard,  who  lives  on  McCoy  Avenue, 
and  is  a  near  neighbor  of  Miss  Palen.  The  latter 
died  at  the  home  of  Miss  Palen,  in  Oakland,  where 
she  lived  a  few  months  prior  to  coming  to  this  county. 

Miss  Palen  has  clearly  demonstrated  what  can  be 
accomplished  by  a  woman  of  energy  and  intelligence 
as  a  horticulturist  in  this  beautiful  valley.  She  has 
succeeded  admirably  in  every  enterprise  which  she  has 
undertaken,  and  her  business  management  and  tact 
have  won  recognition  from  the  community  in  which 
she  makes  her  home,  as  also  have  the  many  excellent 
traits  of  character  which  she  possesses. 


^gkRS.  HELEN  P.  WOOD  (jice  Palen)  makes  her 
!  •0*'  home  with  her  aunt.  Miss  Maria  Palen,  on  Mc- 
i^  Coy  Avenue.  Mrs.  Wood  owns  a  fine  property 
1  of  fifteen  acres  directly  opposite  that  of  Miss 
Palen,  all  of  which  is  planted  with  fruit-trees,  and  the 
same  description  as  to  variety  and  age  that  applies  to 
Miss  Palen's  orchard  applies  also  to  this  one. 


416 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


Mrs.  Wood  claims  New  York  city  as  her  birth- 
place. She  married,  in  1871,  Mr.  E.  B.  Wood,  in 
Michigan.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wood  came  from  Racine, 
Wisconsin,  to  this  State  in  1 88 1,  and  after  one  year's 
residence  at  the  Willows  took  possession  of  their  home 
on  McCoy  Avenue.  After  four  years  of  life  in  their 
pleasant  home,  Mrs.  Wood  was  left  a  widow,  the  death 
of  her  husband,  from  general  paralysis,  occurring  in 
1886.  Mr.  Wood  was  a  man  of  culture,  refinement,  and 
education.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Hamilton  College, 
New  York,  and  there  received  the  honorable  degree 
of  Ph.  D.  For  many  years  he  made  teaching  his  pro- 
fession, being  at  one  time  Principal  of  the  High 
School  at  Oshkosh,  and  at  another  Principal  in  an 
academy  at  Racine.  While  filling  the  latter  high 
position,  he  found  that  his  failing  health  would  compel 
him  to  seek  a  more  genial  climate,  and  accordingly 
came  to  this  State,  where  his  life  was  prolonged  for 
five  years.  By  his  death,  Mrs.  Wood  was  left  with 
the  care  and  training  of  their  two  children :  Jessie  P., 
now  (in  1S88)  fifteen  years  of  age,  and  Alfred  E.,  now 
thirteen  years  of  age. 


§||h|ILLIAM  ROSS  is  the  owner  of  a  very  pleasant 
gW^  home  on  the  corner  of  Carlos  and  Northrup 
^^f    Streets,  at  the  Willows.     He  was  born  in  Pike 

I  County,  Illinois,  January  7,  1835.  His  father. 
Col.  William  Ross,  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts, 
and  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  Western  Illinois, 
to  which  State  he  removed  in  1818.  He  served  as 
a  volunteer  from  the  State  of  Massachusetts  in  the 
War  of  1812-14,  and  as  Colonel  of  the  Illinois  Mili- 
tia in  the  Black  Hawk  War.  He  was  one  of  the  first 
merchants  and  most  prominent  men  of  Pittsfield, 
Pike  County.  Being  active  and  enterprising,  he  had 
much  to  do  with  shaping  public  opinion  and  directing 
public  affairs.  He  served  with  honor  in  both  Houses 
of  the  Illinois  Legislature.  He  died  in  1873  at  the 
age  of  eighty-one  years,  leaving  four  children.  Mar- 
cellus,  the  eldest,  is  now  a  resident  of  Hamilton  Dis- 
trict. The  second  child,  William,  is  the  subject  of 
this  sketch.  Of  the  two  daughters,  Mrs.  Helen  M. 
Kellogg  resides  in  Dakota,  and  Anna  is  the  wife  of 
Col.  A.  C.  Matthews,  of  Pittsfield,  Illinois,  where  they 
now  live.  Colonel  Matthews  was  in  command  of 
the  Ninety-ninth  Indiana  Volunteers  during  the  Re- 
bellion. He  is  a  man  of  prominence,  and  has  held 
several  government  offices  since  the  war. 

William  Ross,  with  his  wife  and  four  children,  re- 


moved from  Pike  County,  Illinois,  to  Santa  Clara 
County,  in  1875.  He  engaged  in  business  and  made 
his  residence  in  San  Jose  for  six  years,  taking  posses- 
sion of  his  home  at  the  Willows  in  1881.  He  bought 
the  property,  consisting  of  twelve  acres,  during  the 
preceding  year,  preparing  the  land  for  the  orchard 
under  his  supervision,  and  planting  his  trees  in  1881. 
The  orchard  contains  545  apricot  trees,  350  cherry, 
1 10  Bartlett  pear,  besides  peach,  prune,  and  plum  trees. 
It  is  in  splendid  condition  and  full  bearing.  His  fine 
residence  was  erected  in  1881,  and  the  family  took 
possession  of  it  during  the  same  year.  Mr.  Ross  and 
his  son  Marshall  own  a  fruit  ranch  of  thirty  acres  near 
Los  Gatos,  in  the  San  Tomas  District. 

He  is  the  owner  of  one  of  the  finest  homes  in  a  dis- 
trict where  so  many  fine  homes  are  to  be  found.  A 
live,  energetic  man,  he  is  the  possessor  of  the  qualities 
essential  to  a  successful  h  rticulturist.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Ross  are  the  parents  of  five  children,  the  youngest  of 
whom  was  born  in  California.  Their  names,  in  the 
order  of  their  birth,  are  as  follows:  Mrs.  Edna  Sloss, 
Marshall,  Helen,  Freddie,  and  Dwight. 

Mr.  Ross  is  a  member  of  the  Republican  party. 


fEWIS  F.  PARKER,  the  proprietor  of  the  "Spring 
Ranch,"  and  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Union 
"T  District,  located  there  August  26,  1856.  The 
eastern  line  of  his  ranch,  one  mile  in  length,  faces  the 
Mt.  Diablo  and  Meridian  line,  while  the  Los  Gatos 
and  Almaden  road  passes  half  a  mile  north  of  the 
north  boundary  of  the  property.  Mr.  Parker  owns 
320  acres,  to  one-half  of  which  he  bought  a  "  squatter's 
claim"  in  1856,  and  which  he  afterward  pre-empted 
and  bought  of  the  United  States  Government. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  born  in  Highland 
County,  Ohio,  March  20,  1824.  When  a  babe,  his 
parents  removed  to  Illinois,  where  his  father,  Wm. 
Parker,  died,  in  Fulton  County.  Later  his  mother, 
Elizabeth  (Davis)  Parker,  made  her  home  in  La  Porte 
County,  Indiana.  The  boyhood  of  our  subject  was 
spent  principally  at  Danville,  Hendricks  County,  of 
the  same  State,  and  there  he  received  his  education. 
In  La  Porte  County,  Indiana,  on  the  twenty-third  of 
December,  1847,  Mr.  Parker  married  Miss  Julia  A. 
Keith,  daughter  of  Lewis  and  Nancy  (O'Hara)  Keith, 
and  a  native  of  Morgan  County,  Ohio,  where  she  was 
born  March  27,  1830.  Leaving  his  wife  in  La  Porte 
County,  Mr.  Parker,  in  company  with  his  brother-in- 
law,  Mr.  P.  G.   Keith  (whose  history  appears  in  this 


^Le^HA"^   ^"^^^ayyt^^^-yy;^ 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


417 


volume),  crossed  the  plains  in.  1850.  They  left  Indi- 
ana on  the  eleventh  of  March,  and  their  long,  weari- 
some journey  was  not  ended  by  their  reaching  George- 
town, El  Dorado  County,  of  this  State,  until  August. 
During  the  following  two  years  Mr.  Parker  worked 
on  Horseshoe  Bar,  on  American  River.  His  wife 
joining  him  in  November,  1852,  they  settled  at  Span- 
ish Flat,  and  engaged  in  hotel  and  mercantile  busi- 
ness. The  hotel,  the  "Parker  House,"  is  yet  running 
under  the  same  name.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Parker  success- 
fully conducted  the  business  until  they  removed  to 
Santa  Clara  County.  Their  large  ranch,  excepting  a 
portion  which  is  reserved  for  a  family  orchard,  is  de- 
voted to  general  farming  and  stock-raising.  The 
grounds  occupied  by  the  residence  and  surrounding 
buildings  was  the  site  of  an  old  Spanish  town  called 
''Capitancillos."  A  portion  of  the  walls  of  the  old 
adobe  buildings  was  to  be  seen  when  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Parker  came  to  the  place.  Tradition  says  that  the 
ground  where  the  home  now  is  was  the  scene  of  a 
fierce  battle  fought  in  prehistoric  times  between  two 
tribes  of  Indians. 

Although  not  in  the  field  in  the  war  for  the  Union, 
the  unsettled  condition  of  the  State  at  one  time  made 
it  necessary  for  loyal  men  to  organize,  that  they  might 
be  prepared  to  meet  possible  emergencies,  and  Mr. 
Parker  was  made  captain  of  a  company  of  home 
guards,  which  was  called  the  "  New  Almaden  Cavalry," 
and  which  belonged  to  the  First  Regiment  of  "  Home 
Guards,"  State  Militia. 

Mr.  Parker  is  a  member  of  the  Republican  party, 
active  and  ardent  in  the  support  of  its  principles.  He 
has  held  offices  of  local  trusts,  having  been  Deputy 
Assessor  for  a  term  of  eight  years. 

Mrs.  Parker  is  connected  with  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church.  They  have  one  daughter,  Elizabeth 
N.,  who  makes  her  home  with  her  parents. 

.^^ENRY     RENGSTORFF,    the    proprietor     of 
1^^  Rcngstorff's    Landing,   and    a    prominent  agri- 
&     culturist  of  Fremont  Township,   ranks    among 
the  early  settlers  of  Santa  Clara  County.     He 
dates    his    birth    in    Hanover   (then   an    independent 
province,  but  now  a  part  of  the  great  German   Em- 
pire), September  29,  1829.    He   is   the  son  of  Fred, 
and  Amelia  (Hambruch)  Rengstorff.     He  was  reared 
and  educated  in  his  native  province,  and  when  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  (1850)  he  embarked  on  a  sail  vessel 
bound  for  San  Francisco.     The  long  journey  around 
53 


Cape  Horn  was  attended  by  no  unusual  event.  Em- 
barking in  May,  the  port  of  San  Francisco  was 
reached  in  November.  Our  subject  found  employ- 
ment on  the  steamer /rtf/t  Robinson,  plying  between 
the  city  and  Alviso.  After  spending  three  months  in 
that  work,  he  engaged  in  farm  labor  near  San  Jose. 
Years  were  spent  in  working  for  others,  he  carefully 
saving  his  earnings  meanwhile,  in  order  that  he  might 
purchase  land,  and  thus  give  employment  to  others, 
rather  than  depend  on  others  for  employment.  This 
worthy  object  was  accomplished  in  1857,  when  Mr. 
Rengstorff  purchased  land  in  Fremont  Township, 
within  one  mile  of  the  landing  now  bearing  his  name, 
and  near  where  he  now  lives.  In  1859  he  commenced 
business  at  the  Landing,  where  he  erected  large  and 
substantial  buildings,  and  was  soon  ranked  among 
the  leading  business  men  of  that  part  of  Santa  Clara 
County.  The  shipments  of  grain  from  his  landing  in 
the  early  years  were  enormous.  All  kinds  of  produce 
raised  in  the  valley  in  those  years  found  its  way  to 
market  by  water,  and  a  large  district  on  the  west 
side  of  the  valley  made  its  shipping-point  at  Rcngs- 
torff's Landing.  The  principal  articles  of  shipment 
are  now  hay  and  lumber,  though  grain  is  still  handled 
to  some  extent.  Storage  for  3,000  tons  of  hay  and 
large  quantities  of  grain  and  lumber  is  among  the 
facilities  found  at  the  Landing.  Mr.  Rengstorff  is 
largely  interested  in  agriculture,  owning  six  large 
farms,  and  furnishing  employment  for  many  men,  al- 
though much  of  his  land  is  rented.  On  one  of  his 
ranches  located  in  the  mountains  in  San  Mateo 
County,  there  are  indications  of  the  existence  of  sil- 
ver ore  and  other  valuable  minerals.  His  San  Mateo 
property  contains  about  1,200  acres,  and  is  chiefly 
valuable  for  its  redwood  and  other  lumber.  His  fine 
home  farm,  with  several  farms  near  by,  and  a  half 
interest  in  500  acres  near  San  Jose,  make  him  one  of 
the  county's  wealthy  men.  All  his  prosperity  is  the 
result  of  an  active,  energetic  life  of  industry,  com- 
bined with  fine  business  qualifications.  He  came  to 
this  county  ignorant  not  only  of  its  manners  and 
customs,  but  also  of  its  language.  He  possessed  a 
cash  capital  of  $4.00 — hardly  sufficient  for  more  than 
one  day's  subsistence — but  rich  in  the  possession  of 
strong  hands',  a  courage  that  nothing  could  daunt,  a 
will  and  a  purpose  to  dare  and  to  do, — a  ztwr/-/;/^  cap- 
ital that  may  well  be  envied. 

In  November,  1857,  Mr.  Rengstorff  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Christiana  Hassler,  who  was  born 
in  Wurtemburg,  Germany.  Their  six  children  bear 
the  following  names:  John,  who  is  engaged  in  bus). 


418 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


ness  at  Seattle,  Washington  Territory;  Marie,  Elise, 
Helena,  Christine,  Nanna,  and  Henry.  The  family 
home  on  the  Bay  road,  one  and  a  half  miles  north  of 
New  Mountain  View,  is  a  commodious,  substantial 
residence,  furnished  throughout  with  all  that  marks 
the  fine  home  of  this  progressive  age.  Nothing  neces- 
sary to  comfort,  that  money  can  procure,  is  found 
lacking.  Politically,  Mr.  Rengstorff  is  identified  with 
the  Republican  party.  Alive  to  the  importance  of 
efficiency  in  our  public  schools,  he  is  a  Trustee  of  the 
Whistman  District.  A  firm  believer  in  the  Christian 
religion,  he  is  also  a  Trustee  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Mountain  View. 


■■»->^M^~ 


^OHN  E.  ROSS,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Union 
'^     District,  bought  and  took  possession  of  his  present 


W 


home  in  1859.      He  bought   2S0  acres   that  year. 


for  the  low  price  of  $5.00  per  acre,  on  credit.  He 
commenced  the  work  of  improvement  at  once,  and,  to 
assist  him  in  paying  for  the  property,  he  sold  So  acres 
of  it  for  $15  per  acre.  ■  Theadvance  in  price  was  quite 
an  inducement  to  sell.  Such  facts  as  these  furnish 
the  best  of  illustrations  of  the  wonderful  growth  and 
development  of  the  Golden  State.  At  the  present 
time  (less  than  thirty  years  since  Mr.  Ross  came  here) 
the  farm  would  be  considered  a  very  fine  investment 
at  $225  or  $250  per  acre. 

Mr.  Ross  was  born  November  11,  1S22,  in  Holmes 
County,  Ohio,  where  he  lived  until  nineteen  years  of 
age.  His  father,  Nathan  Ross,  died  when  he  was  a 
boy,  while  his  mother,  Sarah  Ross,  lived  to  the  age  of 
seventy-two  years,  and  died  in  the  adjoining  county 
of  Wayne,  where  he  was  born.  From  1S41  to  1850 
he  lived  in  Lee  County,  Iowa,  where  he  married,  in 
1846,  Miss  Sarah  E.  Page,  who  was  born  in  the  State 
of  Massachusetts,  April  6,  1823.  Three  children  have 
been  born  in  their  family  :  Ada,  who  died  at  the  age 
of  two  years;  Nathan  L.,  who  is  a  resident  of  Hamil- 
ton District ;  and  Mary,  who  makes  her  home  with 
her  parents. 

In  1850  Mr.  Ross  came  under  the  influence  of  the 
all-powerful  gold  excitement,  and  came  to  California, 
overland,  spending  four  months  en  route.  During  the 
first  winter  he  engaged  in  mining,  in  El  Dorado 
County,  at  Rough  and  Ready.  The  following  spring 
he  returned  to  Iowa,  by  way  of  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama.  But  the  equable  climate  of  California  drew 
him  back  to  its  enjoyment,  and,  with  his  wife  and  son, 
Nathan  L.,  he  left  Iowa  about  the  first  of  April,  1853. 


The  long,  tiresome  journey  with  ox  teams  consumed 
six  months.  They  spent  the  winter  with  Mr.  Ross' 
brother  James,  on  the  Sacramento  River,  and  in  the 
spring  came  to  Santa  Clara  Valley.  The  first  two 
years  here  were  spent  in  improving  land,  a  valid  title 
to  which  Mr.  Ross  found  it  would  be  impossible  to 
obtain.  The  following  two  years  he  worked  rented 
land,  on  the  Los  Gatos  Creek.  In  1S59,  as  stated  at 
the  beginning  of  the  sketch,  Mr.  Ross  purchased  his 
present  ranch,  which  is  five  miles  southwest  of  San 
Jose.  Mr.  Ross  has  devoted  his  life  to  agriculture, 
and  the  splendid  condition  of  his  ranch,  buildings,  and 
all  the  accessories  of  a  good  farm,  bear  testimony  to 
the  fact  that  he  has  a  thorough  understanding  of  his 
business.  The  location  of  his  home  is  particularly 
fine,  and  the  pride  of  the  place  is  the  grand  old  white 
oaks  of  natural  growth,  which  shade  the  residence  and 
the  beautiful  grounds.  The  farm,  of  195  acres,  is  per- 
fectly adapted  to  tillage,  and  at  present  is  devoted  to 
general  farming. 

Politically,  Mr.  Ross  was  identified  with  the  Re- 
publican party  for  many  years,  but  now  he  is  a  Pro- 
hibitionist. 


.|[^OYAL  COTTLE,  Sr.,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the 
<^^^7  Willows,  resides  on  Lincoln  Avenue,  between 
"I"  Pine  and  Malone  Avenues,  at  the  home  he  es- 
tablished in  1858.  He  was  born  in  St.  Charles 
County,  Missouri,  March  27,  18 10,  his  parents  being 
Oliverand  Charity  (Low)  Cottle.  His  father  and  grand- 
father were  natives  of  Vermont.  His  grandfather  and 
family  settled  in  Missouri,  while  it  was  yet  part  of  the 
Louisiana  Province,  and  acquired  a  grant  of  land 
from  the  French  Government,  by  building  a  mill  in 
St.  Charles  County,  on  Garden  Creek.  Charity,  the 
mother  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  a  native  of 
Tennessee.  She  married  Oliver  Cottle  in  Missouri. 
Royal  Cottle  was  the  eldest  of  twelve  children.  One 
brother,  Ira,  and  one  sister,  Mrs.  Ellen  Settle,  live  in 
the  Willow  District,  and  Mrs.  Cordelia  Cottle,  East 
San  Jose.  One  brother,  Oliver,  resides  in  Tulare 
County,  and  the  others  are  deceased. 

In  1833,  with  his  mother  and  family  (his  father  hav- 
ing died  in  the  South  with  yellow  fever),  Mr.  Cottle 
became  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Des  Moines  County, 
Iowa.  There,  October  12,  1S41,  he  wedded  Miss 
Sarah  Parker,  a  native  of  Ohio.  In  this  State,  two 
children  were  born  to  them,  Frank,  who  is  now  a  res- 
ident of  this  county,  and   Charles,  living  in  Oregon. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


419 


In  1847,  with  a  party  of  emigrants,  numbering  about 
100,  they  crossed  the  plains  and  mountains  to  Oregon. 
In  that  State  Mr.  Cottle  engaged  in  his  former  voca- 
tion, agriculture.  At  the  same  time  he  had  an  in- 
terest in  a  small  grist  and  saw  mill.  He  was  bereaved 
by  the  death  of  his  wife,  December  18,  1848.  She 
was  the  mother  of  one  child,  born  in  Oregon,  Sarah  C, 
who  is  now  the  wife  of  VVm.  W.  Whitney,  of  this 
county. 

After  the  discovery  of  gold  in  this  State,  Mr.  Cottle, 
in  partnership  with  John  S.  David,  built  and  opened 
a  store  in  Sacramento.  They  paid  $700  per  thousand 
for  lumber,  and  $10  per  day  for  labor.  In  a  short 
time  he  sold  his  interest  to  his  partner,  and  in  the  au- 
tumn of  1849  returned  to  Oregon.  The  spring  of  1850 
found  him  back  in  California  in  the  mines,  where  he 
remained  until  the  following  autumn,  when  he  again 
returned  to  Oregon.  He  removed  from  that  State  to 
San  Jose  in  1857. 

In  Oregon,  November  11,  1852,  he  married  his 
second  wife.  Miss  Mary  Bryant.  Of  the  four  children 
born  to  them,  two  are  living,  Royal  ,Jr.,  and  Annette, 
Alice  and  Release  being  deceased. 

Soon  after  coming  to  this  county,  Mr.  Cottle  moved 
from  San  Jose  to  Gilroy,  thence  to  San  Benito,  where 
he  acquired  a  stock  ranch.  Disposing  of  this,  he 
bought  140  acres  of  land,  in  the  Willow  District,  and 
established  his  present  home.  It  may  be  well  to  men- 
tion, in  comparison  with  present  valuatiiJn  of  his  land, 
which  cannot  be  less  than  $1,200  per  acre,  that  he  paid 
only  $15  per  acre  for  it.  He  retains  the  larger  portion 
of  his  original  purchase,  and  has  added  thirty  acres  by 
more  recent  purchases.  Mr.  Cottle  was  one  of  the 
pioneer  grain-growers  of  his  neighborhood, and  became 
one  of  the  earliest  fruit-growers.  Perhaps  no  finer 
orchard  than  his  is  to  be  found  in  the  Willows.  He 
has  led  an  active  life,  and  in  the  early  days  was  quite 
prominent  in  public  affairs. 

In  1853  he  was  elected  to  the  Oregon  Legislature. 
Formerly  a  Whig  of  the  Henry  Clay  school,  he  natu- 
rally became  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Republican 
party. 


JgRA  COTTLE,  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  the 
Gp  Willows,  resides  on  Willow  Avenue,  at  its 
T  junction  with  Minnesota  Avenue,  at  which  place 
he  established  his  home  in  1858.  His  brother.  Royal 
Cottle,  had  settled  in  the  immediate  neighborhood,  at 
his  present  home,  a  little  earlier. 


Ira  Cottle  was  born  in  St.  Charles  County,  Missouri, 
October  19,  18 19.  His  parents,  Oliver  and  Charity 
(Low)  Cottle,  were  natives  of  Vermont  and  Tennessee 
respectively.  They  were  among  the  pioneers  of  St. 
Charles  County,  settling  there  before  its  acquisition 
by  our  government,  under  the  Louisiana  purchase. 
About  1830  the  family  decided  to  move  to  Texas; 
but  before  becoming  settled  the  father  died  of  yellow 
fever,  and  the  mother,  with  her  children,  returned  to 
Missouri.  In  1833,  the  year  of  the  Black  Hawk  War, 
they  removed  to  Des  Moines  County,  Iowa,  locating 
on  the  Mississippi  table-lands  near  Burlington.  There 
the  mother  lived  the  rest  of  her  life. 

Approaching  manhood,  her  son  Ira  left  Iowa,  and, 
going  to  Southwestern  Wisconsin,  engaged  in  lead- 
mining  in  Grant  County  for  about  eleven  years.  In 
1846  he  married  Miss  Mary  Ann  Baker.  In  1849  he 
engaged  in  farming,  in  Clayton  County,  Iowa,  and  in 
1854  came  with  his  wife  and  two  children  to  this  State, 
by  the  overland  route.  The  elder  of  his  children, 
William  D.,  now  lives  near  his  father.  Albert,  the 
younger,  died  in  infancy,  soon  after  reaching  this 
State.  In  the  Coyote  District,  Mr.  Cottle  engaged  in 
farming  and  stock-raising  until  1858,  when  he  removed 
to  his  present  residence.  For  many  years  Mr.  Cottle 
devoted  his  land  to  hay  and  grain  raising,  having 
bought  125  acres  of  the  Narvaze  grant,  for  which  he 
paid  $2,500.  Among  the  earliest  in  that  industry,  he 
was  also  early  in  tree-planting. 

In  July,  1862,  his  wife  passed  to  the  better  life,  sus- 
tained by  the  faith  and  hope  of  the  Christian.  Their 
children,  born  in  California,  are  George  B.,  who  lives 
near  his  father,  and  Susie  and  Ellen  (twins).  Mr. 
Cottle  married,  for  his  second  wife,  Mrs.  Clara  C. 
(Chase)  Smith,  widow  of  Joseph  Smith.  She  came  to 
California  in  i860,  from  Rochester,  New  York. 

Mr.  Cottle,  in  the  early  days,  was  a  Henry  Clay 
Whig,  and  since  the  organization  of  the  Republican 
party  he  has  steadfastly  held  to  its  principles. 


MmRANK  COTTLE,  who  owns  a  fine  orchard  on 
G^  Cottle  Avenue,  in  the  Willow  District,  is  the 
^  subject  of  this  sketch.  This  orchard,  planted  by 
himself,  contains  ten  acres,  and  is  equally  divided 
between  apricots  and  prunes.  He  bought  the  land  of 
his  father,  Royal  Cottle,  in  1883,  and  set  out  the  trees 
the  following  year.  Mr.  Cottle  is  a  thorough  horticul- 
turist. During  the  past  six  years,  in  addition  to  the 
care  of  his  own  orchard,  he  has  handled  his  father's 


420 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


orchard,  of  forty  acres.  In  1887  from  eight  acres  he 
sold  104  tons  of  apricots,  at  $30  per  ton,  reaHzing 
$3,120.  From  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  Mr.  Cottle  has 
called  Santa  Clara  County  his  home,  although  his  ab- 
sences have  been  many  in  number  and  of  years  in 
duration. 

He  was  born  in  Des  Moines  County,  Iowa,  October 
5,  1842,  being  the  son  of  Royal  and  Sarah  (Parker) 
Cottle.  (For  more  extended  history  of  the  family, 
the  reader  is  referred  to  the  sketch  of  Royal  Cottle, 
Sr.)  His  youth,  from  five  to  fifteen  years  of  age,  was 
spent  in  Oregon,  but  since  1857  his  father  has  resided 
in  this  county,  and  since  the  following  year  at  the 
Willows.  Frank  Cottle  started  in  life  for  himself 
when  nineteen  years  of  age.  From  1861  to  1864  he 
spent  his  time  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State, 
whence  he  went  to  Idaho,  where  he  was  employed  on 
cattle  ranches  up  to  1868.  Returning  in  that  year  to 
this  State,  he  worked  in  the  mines,  in  Kern  County, 
eight  or  ten  years.  Since  1878  he  has  resided  in  this 
county. 

On  January  28,  1879,  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Mrs.  Belle  (Carrothers)  Larkham,  daughter  of 
Mr.  Walter  Carrothers,  one  of  the  men  of  '49.  He 
removed  from  Richland  County,  Ohio,  where  Mrs. 
Cottle  was  born  March  22,  1849. 

More  than  a  passing  mention  must  be  made  of 
Walter  Carrothers.  He  left  his  family  in  Ohio,  and 
came  overland  to  this  State,  in  1850.  For  man)' 
years,  with  varied  success,  he  followed  mining  in  El 
Dorado  County.  He  was  one  of  the  first  men  in  the 
State  to  engage  in  sugar  production.  Commencing 
in  Sacramento  County,  in  1861,  in  the  following  year 
he  was  awarded  by  the  State  Agricultural  Society  a 
silver  cup  for  the  best  sugar  evaporator.  Some  years 
later  he  was  the  manager  of  a  sugar  plantation  on  one 
of  the  Sandwich  Islands.  Returning  to  this  State,  he 
rented  the  Bloomfield  Ranch,  in  this  county,  and  en- 
gaged in  producing  sugar-cane.  Finally  he  became 
convinced  that  the  limit  to  Santa  Clara's  profitable 
production  had  been  reached  when  it  reached  the 
sugar-cane.  He  brought  his  family  from  Ohio,  in 
1868,  since  which  time  Mrs.  Cottle  has  resided  in  Cal- 
ifornia. His  children  are:  Robert  W.,  Mrs.  Cottle, 
Mrs.  Sarah  Decker,  Mrs.  Laura  A.  Hudson,  Mrs. 
Frances  Kelly,  and  Mrs.  Dora  Ross,  all  residing  in 
this  county.  At  the  age  of  sixty-one,  Mr.  Carrothers 
died,  at  the  home  of  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Cottle.  His 
widow  now  resides  in  San  Jose. 

Mrs.  Cottle's  first  husband,  Thomas  H.  Larkham, 
died  in  this  county,  in  August,   1876.     By  that  mar- 


riage she  has  two  children,  Walter  and  Lucy.  By  her 
marriage  to  Mr.  Cottle  she  has  one  child,  Laura.  Mr. 
Cottle,  like  his  father,  and  all  of  his  father's  family,  is 
identified  with  the  Republican  party. 


j^^« 


MMATEO  ARNERICH,  deceased,  was  born  on 
(3«0^  the  island  of  Brazza,  in  the  Adriatic  Sea, — an 
d^  island  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Austrian 
I  Government.  In  1826,  when  fourteen  years  of 
age,  he  became  a  sailor  boy,  starting  from  Rome. 
He  followed  a  sea-faring  life  for  fourteen  years,  visiting 
every  sea  and  ocean.  He  came  from  China  to  San 
Francisco  in  1849,  and  never  left  the  State  of  his 
adoption  but  once,  when  he  went,  in  1872,  to  visit  the 
scenes  and  friends  of  his  childhood  days.  In  1S52 
Mr.  Arnerich  came  to  the  Santa  Clara  Valley,  and 
soon  after  became  interested  in  agriculture. 

In  May,  1856,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  (Brown)  Moylan,  widow  of  Edward  Moylan. 
They  bought  property  in  the  Narvaze  grant,  and 
opened  a  farm,  which  they  occupied  for  twelve  years. 
They  then  found  that  no  valid  title  to  it  could  be  ob- 
tained, and  so  left  the  place,  and  by  pre-emption  and 
purchase  secured  160  acres  of  choice  land,  which  con- 
stitute the  present  family  homestead  in  the  Union 
District.  The  ranch  is  located  in  an  angle  of  the 
Santa  Clara  and  Guadaloupe  road,  which' bounds  it  on 
the  north  and  east.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Arnerich  commenced 
life  on  the  ranch  in  a  comfortable  house,  which  several 
years  ago  gave  place  to  the  substantial  family  resi- 
dence of  to-day.  Mr.  Arnerich  was  an  active,  ener- 
getic man,  and  carried  forward  the  improvement  of 
his  property  quite  rapidly.  The  neighborhood  lost 
in  him  a  citizen  actively  interested  in  all  movements 
tending  to  the  general  good.  His  death,  which 
occurred  May  3,  1883,  was  caused  by  injuries  re- 
ceived in  being  thrown  from  a  buggy,  near  his  own 
home.  His  widow  and  her  seven  children,  John, 
Catharine,  Elizabeth,  Mateo,  Paul,  Isabelle,  and  Mar- 
garet— all  yet  making  their  home  with  their  mother, 
— are  quite  well  provided  for. 

Mrs.  Arnerich  was  born  in  County  Tipperary,  Ire- 
land, in  1 83 1.  She  was  nine  years  of  age  when  her 
parents,  William  and  Catharine  Brown,  emigrated  to 
Australia,  whence,  after  a  residence  of  ten  years,  they 
came  to  San  Francisco.  Later  they  became  pioneers 
of  Union  District.  Mr.  Brown's  death,  resulting  from 
an  accidental  fall,  occurred  in  1S54.     His  widow  now 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


421 


lives  in  San  Jose,  on  property  belonging  to  her 
daughter,  Mrs.  Arnerich.  William  D.  Brown,  the 
chief  of  police  at  San  Jose,  is  a  brother  of  Mrs. 
Arnerich.  The  first  marriage  of  Mrs.  Arnerich  oc- 
curred at  San  Francisco,  in  January,  185 1.  Her 
husband  died  of  consumption,  ten  months  later. 
Quite  a  large  portion  of  the  family  homestead,  of 
which  mention  has  been  made,  is  now  devoted  to  the 
raising  of  grapes  and  fruit.  A  vineyard  of  sixty  acres 
furnishes  a  general  variety  of  wine  and  table  grapes. 
In  the  orchard  can  be  found  olive,  fig,  pomegranate, 
orange,  and  lemon  trees.  As  a  rarity,  twelve  trees 
bearing  "  St.  John's  sweet-bread  "  must  not  be  over- 
looked. 

Mrs.    Arnerich    and    her    children    arc     consistent 
members  of  the  CatKolic  Church. 


|MAJ0R  WILLIAM  HAWLEY  is  the  owner  of 
(s^P®  a  pleasant  home,  on  the  Meridian  road,  between 

■^  Willow  Street  and  Hamilton  Avenue.  He  has 
'  been  a  resident  of  the  county  about  three  years, 
hving  in  San  Jose  until  the  first  of  April,  18S7,  when 
he  took  possession  of  his  home  at  the  Willows. 
He  has  made  valuable  improvements  on  his  property, 
and  it  is  now  one  of  the  most  desirable  in  the  district. 
The  si.x  acres  are  all  in  bearing,  and  are  planted  to  a 
variety  of  fruits, — prunes,  apricots,  cherries,  peaches, 
and  a  few  almonds.  The  price  paid  for  the  place  was 
$6,000. 

Major  Havvley  was  born  at  Washington,  District  of 
Columbia,  October  15,  1S38.  His  father.  Rev.  Will- 
iam Havvley,  was  one  of  the  prominent  clergymen  of 
that  city  for  thirty  years.  He  was  the  first  Rector  of 
St.  John's  Church,  and  continued  in  charge  of  it  until 
his  death,  in  1845.  Among  the  attendants  of  his 
church  were  Presidents  Madison,  Monroe,  John  Ouincy 
Adams,  and  Andrew  Jackson.  The  mother  of  Major 
Havvley,  /lee  Wilhemina  Potts,  survived  the  death  of  her 
husband  twenty  years.  In  1856  Major  Hawley  left 
home,  being  eighteen  years  of  age.  He  was  employed 
on  the  survey  of  the  projected  canal  across  the  Isth- 
mus by  the  Unijed  States  Government.  August  5, 
1861,  he  was  appointed  Lieutenant  in  the  "Mounted 
Rifles,"  an  organization  which  afterward  became  the 
Third  United  States  Cavalry.  He  served  in  the 
Sixth  Cavalry  under  General  McClellan  in  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac.     Later  he  was  in   New   Mexico,  and 

ater    still,    under    General    Grant,    in    the    campaign 


against  Vicksburg.  As  a  member  of  the  staff  of  Gen. 
Hugh  Ewing,  commanding  the  Fourth  Division  of 
the  Fifteenth  Corps,  he  served  in  the  Chattanooga 
campaign  under  the  general  command  of  General 
Sherman.  After  the  relief  of  Knoxville,  he  joined  his 
regiment,  which  was  assigned  to  General  Steele's 
army,  in  Arkansas.  War  closed  while  he  was  in  that 
department.  After  serving  in  New  Mexico,  in  Indian 
campaigns,  his  regiment  was  transferred  to  Arizona, 
in  1869,  and  in  1871  to  Wyoming  and  Dakota.  After 
serving  in  the  campaign  against  "  Sitting  Bull  "  and 
his  warlike  Sioux,  he  left  active  service,  and  was 
placed  upon  the  retired  list,  with  the  full  rank  of 
Major. 

After  spending  so  many  years  in  war  and  wander- 
ing, the  Major  enjoys  to  the  utmost  his  neat  home,  to 
whose  cheerfulness  and  comfort  he  yearly  makes  ad- 
ditions. Here,  with  his  wife  and  only  son,  Cornelius, 
(born  in  New  Mexico,  in  1869)  he  lives  in  peace  and 
plenty. 


A 


ANIEL  W.  WATSON  owns  one  of  the  neatest 
and  most  attractive  residences  to  be  found  on 
Lincoln  Avenue,  in  the  Willow  District.  It 
stands  near  the  eastern  terminus  of  Pine  Avenue. 
Mr.  Watson  was  born  in  Exeter,  New  Hampshire, 
November  5,  1836.  He  is  the  son  of  John  and  Betsey 
(Gilman)  Watson.  The  family  history,  on  his  father's 
side,  takes  one  back  to  the  arrival  of  the  founders  of 
the  nation. 

From  the  representative  of  the  family  who  came 
over  in  the  Mayflozucr,  a  long  line  of  descendants, 
with  pardonable  pride,  trace  their  genealogy.  Daniel 
W.  Watson,  when  old  enough  to  care  for  himself, 
with  a  spirit  of  independence  characteristic  of  the 
family,  went  to  Boston,  and  became  a  decorative 
painter.  For  fifteen  years  he  followed  the  business 
there.  In  January,  1867,  he  became  a  resident  of 
San  Francisco.  Pursuing  the  same  work,  he  became 
later,  master  of  a  business  of  his  own.  His  establish- 
ment on  Market  Street  supplied  shades,  hangings, 
lambrequins,  and  all  that  pertains  to  decorative  fur- 
nishing. For  several  years  he  conducted  this  business 
successfully  and  profitably.  In  1871,  deciding  on  a 
trip  for  recreation  and  pleasure,  he  returned  East,  and, 
embarking  at  Boston,  visited  Europe.  He  was  pro- 
vided with  many  letters  of  introduction,  among  them 
one   to   General   Schenck,  United  States  Minister  at 


422 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


London.  He  visited  the  Parliament  buildings,  the 
old  home  and  tomb  of  Shakespeare,  and  many  other 
points  of  interest.  Spending  some  time  in  Ireland 
and  Wales,  he  then  visited  France,  being  in  Paris 
while  it  was  still  occupied  by  the  German  army. 
He  returned  to  the  United  States  in  November  of 
the  same  year,  bringing  with  him  many  mementoes. 

Early  in  1884  Mr.  Watson  sold  his  interest  in  San 
Francisco,  and  on  April  22  of  that  year  took  posses- 
sion of  his  present  home.  His  ten  acres  of  land,  then 
in  pasture,  are  now  one  of  the  thrifty  young  orchards 
of  the  Willows,  having  1,000  trees.  He  has  made 
prunes  the  leading  fruit. 

Mr.  Watson  and  Miss  Fanny  Ricker,  daughter  of 
Elijah  Ricker,  were  married,  on  the  thirtieth  of  Sep- 
tember, 1876.  Miss  Ricker  was  born  in  Exeter,  New 
Hampshire,  July  3,  1850,  of  one  of  the  old  New  En- 
gland families.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Watson  have  two  chil- 
dren, Oilman  and  Gertrude.  Mr.  Watson's  father  died, 
only  a  few  years  since,  at  the  old  home,  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  eighty-seven  years.  His  eldest  daugh- 
ter, Elizabeth,  and  his  son  James  still  reside  at  the 
homestead.  The  other  members  of  the  family  are  as 
follows:  Charles,  a  resident  of  Maynard,  Massachu- 
setts; Joel  and  George,  building  contractors  of  Boston; 
John,  who  died  on  the  Eraser  River,  in  the  days  of 
placer  mining;  Sarah  Louise,  now  the  wife  of  Hon. 
John  J.  Gosper,  of  Los  Angeles;  Mrs.  Mary  Wilson, 
of  Lowell,  Massachusetts;  and  Mrs.  Almira  Snow,  of 
San  Jose.  The  remaining  member  of  the  family, 
Dudley,  a  twin  brother  of  Daniel  W.,  is  a  resident  of 
this  county.  Asketchof  his  life  appears  elsewhere 
in  this  volume. 

Mr.  Watson  is  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the 
fraternity,  being  a  life-member  of  Boston  Command- 
ery,  has  received  the  Scottish  rite,  thirty-second  de- 
gree, and  is  a  member  of  the  Boston  Consistory. 
Politically,  he  is  identified  with  the  Republican  party. 
Both  he  and  his  wife  are  attendants  upon  the  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian  Church. 


(f^APT.  JAMES  C.  DAY.residing  on  Hicks  Avenue, 
^p  is  the  owner  of  one  of  the  finest  ten-acre  tracts  in 
&Y  the  Willow  District.  The  quality  of  soil,  the 
neat,  comfortable  residence,  the  wcll-cared-for, 
thrifty  orchard,  make  the  property  very  desirable. 
Captain  Day  purchased  this  property  in  1884,  paying 
$10,000  for  it.     As  large  as  the  price  looks  on  paper, 


Mr.  Day  has  found  the  investment  a  profitable  one, 
as  he  has  received  from  it  an  annual  income  of  over 
fifteen  per  cent.  The  orchard  is  planted  with  peach, 
cherry,  apricot,  and  prune  trees.  Over  six  tons  of 
cherries  were  marketed  out  of  the  crops  of  1886  and 
1887. 

Captain  Day  was  born  in  Fayette  County,  Penn- 
sylvania, January  30,  1822,  his  father,  of  Virginian 
birth,  bearing  the  same  name.  His  mother,  Margaret 
Devinna,  was  also  a  native  of  the  old  Keystone  State. 
She  died  in  1830,  but  his  father  lived  to  the  ripe  old 
age  of  eighty  years.  Captain  Day  is  a  self  made 
man.  He  has  been  the  architect  of  his  own  fortunes. 
Few  men  have  led  a  more  active  life,  or  one  more 
filled  with  adventure,  than  was  his  in    his  early  days. 

He  first  visited  the  Northwest  in  1S42,  and  looked 
over  the  ground  on  the  Upper  Mississippi,  where, 
years  after,  he  became  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers. 
He  was  at  La  Crosse,  Wisconsin  (now  a  city  of  30,000), 
when  not  ten  families  were  living  there.  The  winter 
of  1842-43  he  spent  in  cutting  pine  logs,  above  Black 
River  Falls,  on  Black  River,  Wisconsin.  During  the 
years  which  elapsed  between  this  time  and  the  Mexi- 
can War,  he  called  Rock  Island  his  home.  In  one 
way  or  another,  he  traveled  over  much  of  the  then 
wilderness  of  the  Northwest,  or  Upper  Mississippi 
River  and  vicinity,  and  k\v  men  have  borne  a  more 
active  part  in  the  pioneer  history  of  this  vast  portion 
of  the  country. 

In  the  spring  of  1847  '""^  volunteered  for  the  Mexi- 
can War,  in  the  St.  Louis  Battalion  of  Infantry.  He 
passed  unscathed  through  the  danger  from  Mexican 
bullets,  and  the  still  more  deadly  dangers  of  the  Me.x- 
ican  climate  in  two  summer  campaigns,  and  was  hon- 
orably discharged.  In  1849  he  revisited  the  scenes  of 
his  childhood,  and  in  February  of  that  year  married 
Miss  Hannah  McClaren,  a  Penn.sylvania  lady.  In 
1855  they  became  pioneers  of  Houston  County,  Min- 
nesota, locating  in  a  valley  eight  miles  west  of  La 
Crosse,  known  ever  since  as  Day's  Valley.  There 
they  opened  a  farm,  which  they  left  the  following 
year,  to  establish  a  home  in  La  Crescent,  on  the 
Mississippi,  opposite  La  Crosse.  Here,  on  the  banks 
of  the  grand  old  river,  Mr.  Day  made  his  home  until 
he  came  to  California,  in  1884. 

In  the  organization  of  public  affairs  in  his  county, 
district,  and  State,  Captain  Day  was  an  active  par- 
ticipant. He  was  a  member  of  the  First  Constitu- 
tional Convention  of  Minnesota,  which  convened  in 
1858.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  first  State 
Senate  convened,  besides  serving  his  people  in  several 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


423 


local  trusts,  such  as  County  Commissioner,  etc. 
Among  the  adventurers  who  made  the  rush  for  Pike's 
Peak,  could  have  been  found  Captain  Day,  who  spent 
the  season  of  1S59  there.  The  season  of  1864  was 
also  spent  in  the  far  West,  as  Montana  was  then  con- 
sidered. For  over  twenty-five  years  Captain  Day 
was  interested,  as  part  owner,  in  operating  the  steam 
ferry  between  La  Crosse  and  La  Cre-cent,  for  many 
years  commanding  the  boat  in  per.son.  The  genial, 
courteous,  kindly  man  was  then  shown.  Thousands 
of  people,  his  patrons  at  one  time  or  another,  remem- 
ber him  as  a  friend,  as  the  writer  of  this  sketch  can 
well  testify. 

^^ 


|g|RS.  ELLEN  A.  WILSON,  residing  in  a  cot- 
<s^»°  tage  home  on  Hamilton  Avenue,  is  the  owner 
5^  of  a  fine  orchard  of  ten  acres,  which  was  im- 
'  proved  from  a  stubble-field.  She  purchased 
the  property  in  the  spring  of  1880,  the  frame  of  her 
residence  being  erected  and  inclosed  at  the  time  of 
the  purchase.  The  orchard,  which  is  in  fine  condi- 
tion, furnishes  a  large  variety  of  fruit,  of  which  French 
prunes  form  the  largest  part. 

Mrs.  Wilson  dates  her  birth  in  Maryland,  1S37. 
She  is  the  daughter  of  John  and  Louisa  (Ash)  Kin- 
kead.  Her  father  traced  his  descent  back  to  the 
coming  of  the  founder  of  the  family  in  America  from 
the  Old  World  about  1670.  Her  mother  was  a  de- 
scendant from  an  old  Quaker  family  which  originally 
came  from  Germany.  Mrs.  Wilson's  adopted  home 
was  Pennsylvania.  July  28,  1858,  she  married  Alex- 
ander Wilson,  who  was  born  in  Franklin  County, 
Pennsylvania,  June  16,  1S21,  and  was  of  one  of  the 
long-established  and  prominent  families  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, of  Scotch-Irish  extraction,  and  of  the  Scotch 
Covenanters'  faith.  He  was  educated  for  the  legal 
profession,  and  in  December,  1858,  was  appointed 
United  States  Attorney  for  the  Territory  of  Utah  by 
President  James  Buchanan.  During  the  troubles  of 
i860  in  Utah,  Mr.  Wilson  resigned  his  office  and 
returned  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  resumed  his  prac- 
tice and  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States.  For  many  years  he  had 
been  Law  Reporter  for  the  Public  Ledger,  and  had 
also  been  editor  of  the  Commercial  List.  For  some 
months  he  was  the  principal  editor  of  the  Philadelphia 
Inquirer. 

He  raised  four  companies  for  service  in  the  War  of 
the    Rebellion,   and    declining    a    high   command   he 


entered  the  service  of  Lieutenant  in  Ii8th  Pennsyl- 
vania Volunteers.  He  was  engaged  in  several  action.s, 
and  in  the  Battle  of  Fredericksburg  his  bravery  was 
most  conspicuous.  His  health  failing,  he  was  com- 
pelled to  resign,  but  during  Lee's  invasion  of  his  na- 
tive State,  he  entered  the  field  hurriedly,  as  Captain  of 
a  company  in  the  "Merchants'  Regiment,"  which  was 
raised  in  Philadelphia  to  meet  the  emergency.  His 
active,  useful  career  was  cut  short  by  his  death,  which 
occurred  September  26,  1864,  while  he  was  in  the 
very  prime  of  life.  After  the  loss  of  her  husband, 
Mrs.  Wilson  made  Philadelphia  her  home,  until  1869, 
when,  on  account  of  failing  health,  she  came  to  Cali- 
fornia. Although  she  visited  and  resided  in  different 
parts  of  the  State,  she  did  not  regain  her  health  until 
she  came  to  Santa  Clara  Valley.  She  is  now  strong 
and  robust,  and  naturally  is  very  enthusiastic  in 
praise  of  this  glorious  climate  and  its  bountiful  soil. 


tEORGE  L.  SEYBOLT.  Among  the  many  fine 
fruit  ranches  in  the  Hamilton  District,  we  must 
-)-K  mention  the  one  belonging  to  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  It  is  situated  on  Moorpark  Avenue,  and 
contains  forty  acres,  of  which  thirty-two  acres  are 
covered  with  an  orchard,  sixteen  acres  being  set  to 
apricots,  thirteen  acres  to  French  prunes,  and  three 
acres  to  a  family  orchard  of  peaches,  cherries,  Silver 
plums,  etc.  Twenty-four  acres  of  the  orchard  are  in 
five-year-old  trees,  while  the  remainder  are  younger 
and  of  different  ages.  In  18S7,  from  twelve  acres  of 
apricot  trees,  eighty-five  tons  of  fruit  were  gathered, 
and  from  twelve  acres  of  prune  trees,  four  years  old, 
ten  tons  of  fruit  were  sold.  There  is  also  a  fine  vine- 
yard of  eight  acres,  which  is  being  converted  into 
a  part  of  the  orchard,  as  fast  as  trees  can  grow. 

Mr.  Seybolt  was  reared  and  educated  in  Orange 
County,  New  York,  where  he  was  born  April  21,  1835. 
His  parents,  Frederick  and  Fanny  Seybolt,  died  in 
his  native  State.  In  1855  he  left  that  State,  and 
after  spending  one  year  in  Illinois  he  went  to  Ne- 
braska, where,  with  headquarters  in  Cass  County,  he 
engaged  in  freighting  across  the  plains,  to  Colorado 
and  Montana.  For  several  years  he  conducted  this 
hazardous  business  with  success.  About  1872  he 
made  Omaha  his  home,  entering  the  Government  serv- 
ice as  postal  clerk  on  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad. 
In  June,  1876,  he  was  promoted  and  commissioned 
Post-office  Inspector,  and  in  1882  was  assigned  to  the 
Salt    Lake    District,    comprising    the    Territories    of 


424 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


Utah,  Montana,  and  Idaho.  During  the  year  follow- 
hig  (1883),  his  district  was  consolidated  with  the  Pa- 
cific District,  and  Mr.  Seybolt  placed  in  charge  of 
"  Depredations,"  a  position  of  great  and  trying  respon- 
sibility. His  district  was  by  far  the  largest  in  extent 
of  territory  in  the  United  States,  embracing  as  it  did 
the  States  of  California,  Oregon,  and  Nevada,  and 
the  Territories  of  Washington,  Idaho,  Utah,  Mon- 
tana, Arizona,  and  Alaska.  All  of  the  business  of 
this  immense  district  was  in  his  charge,  he  being  the 
Inspector  in  charge.  The  district  embraced  five  in- 
spectors, who  had  charge  of  the  money  order  and 
postal  note  business,  as  well  as  depredations.  Making 
his  headquarters  in  San  Francisco,  he  bought  the 
property  which  he  now  occupies,  in  June,  1884,  and  in 
October  following  moved  his  family  there.  Mr.  Sey- 
bolt discharged  the  arduous  duties  of  his  position 
conscientiously  and  satisfactorily.  The  change  in 
administration  retired  him  from  public  life.  Tender- 
ing his  resignation  in  1885,  he  has  since  devoted  his 
time  to  the  care  and  improvement  of  his  fine  property. 

He  was  united  in  mai'riage  with  Miss  Mary  E. 
Berger,  in  Cass  County,  Nebraska,  in  1864.  She  was 
reared  in  the  Hawkeye  State,  but  born  in  Indiana. 
They  are  the  parents  of  five  children,  viz.:  Fanny  E., 
George  E.,  Fred  L.,  Nellie  J.,  and  Marian  L. 

Mr.  Seybolt  has  led  an  active,  busy  life,  and  for  his 
advancement  and  success  is  indebted  only  to  his  un- 
aided efforts,  as  each  step  in  advance  was  the  result 
of  merit  and  ability  on  his  part. 


liViMlLLIAM  SHELLY  resides  on  the  Los  Gatos 
13^1^  and  San  Jose  road,  in  the  Hamilton  District, 
c!^    where  he  owns  a  very  fine  orchard  of  five  acres. 

I  This  orchard,  which  is  now  six  years  old,  con- 
sists entirely  of  prune  trees.  The  crop  of  prunes  for 
1887  was  noticeably  light,  and  yet  Mr.  Shelly  mar- 
keted his  crop  of  seventeen  tons  at  $715.  He  also 
owns  a  young  orchard  which  was  planted  in  the 
spring  of  1887,  situated  on  the  same  road  in  the 
Cambrian  District,  a  half  mile  from  his  house.  This 
orchard  also  consists  of  five  acres,  and  is  about 
equally  divided  between  prunes  and  apricots. 

Mr.  Shelly  enjoys  the  reputation  of  being  a  horti- 
culturist of  experience  and  ability,  a  reputation 
which  he  well  deserves.  He  handles  his  orchards 
with  great  skill  and  much  care  as  to  detail,  and  justly 
feels  great  pride  in  their  thrifty  condition  and  also  in 
the  good  results  obtained    from  them.     Being  thor- 


oughly in  love  with  his  business,  he  looks  upon  the 
work  involved  in  the  care  of  his  horticultural  interests 
not  as  drudgery,  but  as  pleasure. 


m- 


I^^OBERT  F.  RUTLEDGE,  one  of  Santa  Clara's 
(?^  early  settlers,  resides  upon  a  fine  farm  of  120 
■'V  acres  in  the  Braley  District,  about  one-half  mile 
west  of  the  Saratoga  and  Alviso  road,  and  one 
mile  north  of  Lawrence  Station.  This  fine  tract  is 
now  owned  by  his  son,  James  T.,  and,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  small  portion  reserved  for  a  family  or- 
chard, is  devoted  entirely  to  hay  and  grain.  Only 
such  stock  is  raised  as  is  needed  in  the  farm  work. 

Mr.  Rutledge  was  born  in  Montgomery  County, 
Virginia,  September  25,  1808.  His  parents,  Edward 
and  Ann  (Gillespie)  Rutledge,  were  natives  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  descendants  of  settlers  of  the  first  white 
colony  of  that  State.  His  father  was  a  Revolution- 
ary soldier,  and  referred  with  pardonable  pride  to  his 
service  under  General  Washington.  It  is  worthy  of 
remark  that  the  rifle  carried  by  the  father  is  still  in 
the  family,  and  is  in  good  condition. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  reared  on  a  farm, 
and,  after  his  father's  death,  conducted  the  home 
place  for  many  years.  During  this  time,  in  Novem- 
ber, 1829,  he  married  Miss  Lydia  Thompson,  daugh- 
ter of  Archibald  Thompson  of  Tazewell  County, 
Virginia. 

In  1 841  he  left  his  native  State  for  Washington 
County,  Missouri,  where  he  engaged  in  farming  and 
stock-raising.  He  also  turned  his  attention  to  mer- 
cantile business,  keeping  a  general  merchandise  store. 
At  one  period  he  had  charge  of  a  hotel,  and  thus 
various  enterprises  engaged  him  until,  in  1853,  he 
came  to  California.  He  came  overland,  bringing  with 
him  a  drove  of  cattle,  and  coming  directly  to  Santa 
Clara  County,  where  he  entered  into  farming  and 
stock-raising. 

The  latter  branch  of  his  business  he  found  very 
profitable,  his  herds  increasing  until  they  numbered 
over  600  head.  But  this  good  fortune  was  not  to  last, 
for  the  two  dry  seasons  of  1862  and  1863  caused  the 
death  of  hundreds  of  cattle,  reducing  Mr.  Rutledge's 
herds  to  about  sixty  head  !  He  then  turned  his  at- 
tention principally  to  farming,  and  about  this  time 
took  possession  of  the  large  farm  where  he  has  since 
made  his  home. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rutledge  are  the  parents  of  four 
children,    one   of  whom    is    deceased;  Archibald    E., 


T^i^^y 


BIO GRA  PHICAL  SKETCHES. 


425 


born  September  2,  1830,  died  May  26,  1875,  at  his 
father's  home;  Mary  Jane,  born  October  21,  1832, 
married  James  Relfe,  of  Washington  County,  Mis- 
souri, now  a  resident  of  Santa  Clara  County;  Ann 
Rebecca,  born  June  24,  1835,  is  the  wife  of  A.  B. 
Hunter,  a  native  of  Virginia  and  a  pioneer  of  Califor- 
nia, now  a  resident  of  San  Jose;  and  James  T.,  born 
July  S,  1837,  who  resides  on  the  old  homestead  as  its 
owner. 

Mr.  Rutledge  is  almost  entirely  self-taught,  and  is 
an  intelligent  and  well-read  man.  Although  he  has 
reached  an  advanced  age,  he  feels  the  deep  interest 
in  all  public  affairs  of  one  who  has  long  been  a  resi- 
dent of  a  section  which  has  almost  entirely  developed 
since  his  acquaintance  with  it.  He  is  a  strong  ad- 
herent of  the  Democratic  party,  and  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  in  whose  welfare  he  feels  the 
deepest  interest. 

Joseph  McCarthy,  in  writing  the  history 
<^  of  the  pioneer  settlement  of  Union  District,  more 
GT£  than  a  passing  mention  must  be  made  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch.  He  is  the  owner  of  St.  Patrick's 
Ranch,  situated  on  the  Los  Gates  and  Almaden  road, 
four  miles  east  of  Los  Gatos.  He  came  to  San  Fran- 
cisco in  July,  1852,  and  to  the  Santa  Clara  Valley  in 
March  of  the  following  year.  In  May,  he  made  a 
pre-emption  of  160  acres,  of  what  is  now  the  Lone 
Hill  Vineyard,  and  sowed  a  few  acres  to  grain.  That 
property  he  held  for  about  two  years.  Meanwhile  he 
married,  in  February,  1855,  Miss  Mary  Madigan, 
daughter  of  D.  C.  Madigan,  of  San  Jose,  now  de- 
ceased. Mrs.  McCarthy  was  born  in  Ireland,  but 
reared  from  a  babe  in  Canada.  She  came  to  this 
valley  in  185 1,  with  her  brother-in-law,  Patrick  Sulli- 
van. Her  parents  followed  them  during  the  next 
year,  and  her  mother  is  still  living.  Soon  after  their 
marriage,  Mr.  McCarthy  sold  his  claim  and  bought  a 
pre-emption  right  of  the  property  he  now  owns  and 
occupies.  Establishing  his  residence  on  the  place, 
the  work  of  improvement  commenced,  which  has 
steadily  progressed,  and  which  has  converted  his 
property  into  the  present  fine,  well-improved  ranch. 
The  large,  commodious  residence,  substantial  barn, 
and  other  buildings,  are  indications  of  the  prosperity 
which  Mr.  McCarthy  enjoys.  But  he  has,  by  no 
means,  been  bles.sed  with  uninterrupted  good  fortune, 
for  he  has  twice  suffered  great  loss  by  fire.  His  first 
fine  residence,  built  at  a  cost  of  $8,000,  was  burned 
54 


in  1878I  He  also  lost  a  well-filled  grain  barn  by  fire. 
These  losses  were  entire,  with  the  exception  of  about 
$3,000  on  house  and  furniture.  Yet  Mr.  McCarthy 
has,  in  both  cases,  rebuilt.  He  has  recovered  from 
these  misfortunes  by  the  energy  and  perseverance 
with  which  he  has  conducted  his  business.  His  land 
is  devoted  to  general  farming.  He  has  owned  an- 
other 160  acres,  adjoining  his  present  ranch,  on  the 
north,  which  he  sold  in  1887,  after  planting  a  vine- 
yard of  twenty  acres.  He  realized  $23,500  from  the 
sale  of  the  property. 

Mr.  McCarthy  was  born  in  County  Cork,  Ireland, 
in  1830,  reared  to  manhood  on  a  farm,  and  came  to 
the  United  States  in  1850.  After  making  New  York 
his  home  about  a  year,  he  worked  on  the  Panama 
railroad  about  four  months.  He  then  came  to  San 
Francisco,  and  soon  after  to  Santa  Clara  County. 

In  the  loss  of  his  wife,  who  died  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
five  years,  in  December,  1884,  Mr.  McCarthy  mourns 
a  devoted  wife  and  loving  helpmeet.  She  was  the 
mother  of  ten  children,  of  whom  six  are  now  living. 
The  first-born  were  twins,  of  whom  one  only,  Anna, 
lived  to  the  age  of  two  years.  One  other  child  died 
in  infancy.  Agnes,  who  lived  to  become  the  wife  of 
Hugh  Kelly,  died,  leaving  two  children.  The  names 
of  the  living  children  are:  Teresa,  Vinnie,  John  and 
Mollie  (twins),  Daniel,  and  Louisa.  The  last-named 
is  now  (in  18SS)  attending  the  Normal  School.  John 
is  a  graduate  of  the  Garden  City  Business  College, 
and  Daniel  is  now  attending  the  same  school.  All 
the  family  are  consistent  members  of  the  Catholic 
Church. 


llpOSES  E.  PARSONS.  Among  the  large  land- 
(0W^  owners  of  the  county  must  be  mentioned  the 
^^  subject  of  this  sketch.  His  fine  ranch  of  175 
■  acres  is  on  the  Coffin  road,  in  the  Alviso  School 
District,  four  miles  northwest  of  Santa  Clara,  and  one 
and  a  half  miles  south  of  Alviso.  Ten  acres  are  re- 
served for  the  culture  of  strawberries  of  the  Long- 
worth,  Cheney,  and  Sharpless  varieties,  and  the  re- 
mainder of  this  large  farm  produces  hay,  grain,  and 
stock.  The  stock  which  Mr.  Parsons  raises  includes 
a  dairy  of  thirty  cows  and  the  horses  which  are  needed 
in  carrying  on  the  farm  operations.  A  plentiful  sup- 
ply of  water  is  furnished  by  three  artesian  wells, 
flowing  from  one  inch  to  two  and  one-half  inches 
above  a  seven-inch  pipe. 


426 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


Mr.  Parsons  dates  his  birth  in  Cumberland  County, 
near  Portland,  Maine,  November  2,  1819.  His  par- 
ents, Moses  and  Salome  (Haskell)  Parsons,  were 
natives  of  the  county  of  his  birth,  and  descendants  of 
the  first  settlers  of  the  old  Massachusetts  Colony. 
His  father  died  when  he  was  an  infant,  and  his  youth 
was  spent  on  a  farm.  He  received  the  education  of 
the  common  and  private  schools  of  the  day,  but,  be- 
ing ambitious  and  desirous  of  learning,  he  instructed 
himself  to  a  certain  degree,  and  was  afterward  a 
teacher  in  the  district  schools.  When  but  twenty 
years  of  age,  he  commenced  life  for  himself  by  engag- 
ing in  farm  labor,  teaming,  and  various  other  pursuits. 

In  1849  he  married  Miss  Harriet  A.  Wright, 
daughter  of  John  and  Priscilla  (Gardner)  Wright,  of 
Chelsea,  Massachusetts.  The  discovery  of  gold  in 
CaHfornia  was  attracting  thousands  to  the  mines,  and 
the  wonderful  stories  of  easily  acquired  wealth  were 
not  without  their  influence  upon  Mr.  Parsons,  although 
he  never  sought  for  the  gold  in  its  crude  state.  Soon 
after  his  marriage  he  made  preparations  to  come  to 
this    State,  and   on   the  twenty-eighth   of  December, 

1 849,  with  his  wife  he  embarked  in  the  ship  Plymouth, 
Captain  Pousland  commanding,  for  a  voyage  around 
Cape  Horn.  After  a  safe  and  uneventful  voyage,  he 
landed  at  San  Francisco  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  June, 

1850,  and  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  July  of  the  same 
year  came  to  Santa  Clara  County.  He  became  a 
resident  of  Alviso,  then  but  a  hamlet,  and  opened  and 
conducted  the  American  hotel.  He  was  one  of  the 
pioneers  of  the  county  and  first  white  settlers  of  Alviso. 

After  spending  two  years  there,  he  purchased  the 
place  which  he  has  ever  since  called  his  home,  and  at 
once  commenced  its  cultivation,  being  also  engaged, 
until  the  advent  of  railroads,  in  teaming.  Thus  we 
see  that  Mr.  Parsons  had  been  a  resident  of  the  county 
since  1850— a  period  of  thirty-eight  years.  The 
wonderful  development  which  he  has  witnessed  forms 
in  itself  a  rich  experience.  One  can  hardly  give  too 
much  honor  to  the  old  pioneers  of  our  State,  who, 
through  difficulties  and  discouragements,  have  created 
comfortable  homes  for  themselves,  and  have  made  it 
possible  for  thousands  of  others  to  do  the  same.  As 
is  fitting  in  one  who  has  been  so  long  and  thoroughly 
identified  with  the  interests  of  his  section,  Mr.  Parsons 
is  deeply  interested  in  all  the  public  enterprises  of  the 
county.  Politically,  he  is  a  fervent  and  consistent 
Republican. 


IgROF.  GEORGE  W.  WORTHEN,  residing  near 
"^Y^  the  corner  of  Minnesota  and  Cherry  Avenues,  in 
fg)  the  Willow  District,  came  to  California  in  1876, 
reaching  San  Mateo  on  the  thirteenth  of  March 
of  that  year.  Except  the  lady,  who  is  now  his  wife 
(she  had  formerly  been  a  pupil  of  his  in  Lebanon, 
Ohio),  he  had  no  acquaintance  in  the  State.  She  was 
then  living  in  San  Mateo. 

The  Professor  came  to  California,  as  did  so  many 
of  our  best  men,  financially  poor — in  fact,  being  in 
debt.  In  July,  1876,  he  secured  a  position  in  A-.  L. 
Brewer's  Military  Academy,  at  San  Mateo,  where  he 
remained  one  year,  when  he  became  Principal  of  the 
Public  Schools  of  that  place.  He  occupied  this  posi- 
tion for  two  and  one-half  years,  during  which  time  he 
married  Miss  Mary  Hoyt,  of  whom  mention  has  been 
made.  She  continued  teaching,  being  associated  with 
her  husband  in  the  public  schools  of  San  Mateo. 
Later,  the  Professor  taught  another  year  in  the  Mili- 
tary Academy.  Upon  the  opening  of  the  fall  term 
of  Washington  College  he  was  placed  in  charge,  re- 
taining that  position  until  December,  188 1. 

On  the  twenty-third  of  July,  1882,  he  bought  the 
homestead  which  he  and  his  wife  now  occup)^.  It 
consists  of  ten  acres  of  choice  land,  then  an  orchard 
in  full  bearing.  He  also  purchased  nine  acres  on  the 
Los  Gatos  Creek,  about  one  mile  west  of  the  home- 
stead. Later,  he  added  five  and  one-fifth  acres  to  the 
home  property.  In  the  orchard  at  home  are  found 
500  apricot  trees,  200  peach  trees,  200  French  prune 
trees,  100  cherry  trees,  and  several  varieties  of  plum 
trees,  for  domestic  use.  One-half  of  the  Los  Gatos 
orchard  is  in  French  prunes,  and  the  other  half  in 
apricots.  In  1887  the  apricot  trees  of  the  latter  or- 
chard (although  only  three  years  old)  yielded  $500, 
the  fruit  being  sold  on  the  trees.  The  orchard  on  the 
home  property  yielded,  in  1882,  $2,100  worth  of  fruit; 
in  1883,  $1,900;  in  1884,  $2,485,  and  has  since  averaged 
about  $2,000  per  year.  This  is  certainly  a  splendid 
result,  when  one  considers  that  four  acres  of  the  land, 
when  purchased,  were  planted  with  apple-trees,  which 
have  all  been  uprooted  to  give  place  to  more  profit- 
able fruit.  In  1887  the  fruit  from  his  peach  trees,  two 
years  old,  brought,  in  cash,  an  average  of  one  dollar 
to  the  tree.  One  year  he  sold  the  crop  of  French 
prunes,  gathered  from  three-quarters  of  an  acre,  for 
$655.  The  Professor,  after  so  many  years  of  teaching, 
came  to  the  Willows,  much  broken  in  health.  Work 
in  the  orchard  has  agreed  with  him,  for  he  has  become 
a  strong  man.  Horticulture  has  built  him  up,  physi- 
cally and  financially. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


427 


We  have  followed  the  Professor  through  his  life  in 
California,  and  we  will  now  return  to  his  earlier  days. 
He  was  born  in  Vermont,  at  Charleston,  and  reared 
and  educated  in  the  schools  of  his  native  State.  Pa- 
triotic, as  the  Green  Mountain  boys  ever  have  been, 
as  liberty-loving  as  the  winds  that  sweep  over  the 
grand  old  mountains,  he  offered  his  services  in  sup- 
pressing the  Slave-holders'  Rebellion.  In  1862  he 
went  to  the  front  in  the  Fifteenth  Volunteer  In- 
fantry. Professor  Worthen  nobly  did  a  soldier's  duty 
in  Stannard's  Second  Vermont  Brigade,  which  im- 
mortalized itself  by  a  heroic  counter-charge  upon 
Pickett's  charging  hosts,  July  3,  on  the  memorable 
field  of  Gettysburg.  At  the  expiration  of  his  term 
of  service  he  was  mustered  out  at  Brattleboro,  Ver- 
mont. Soon  afterward  he  became  the  first  Principal 
of  the  Linden  (Vermont)  Literary  Biblical  Institute. 
He  remained  in  charge  one  year,  and  then  became  a 
pupil,  and  a  graduate,  of  the  National  Normal  Uni- 
versity at  Lebanon,  Ohio.  Later  he  became  a  teacher 
here.  From  that  place  he  went  to  California,  in  1876, 
as  spoken  of  at  the  beginning  of  the  sketch.  His 
father,  Samuel  Worthen,  was  born  in  Sandwich,  New 
Hampshire,  in  1801.  His  mother,  Lydia  Bedee,  was 
born  in  1804.  They  were  married  in  Vermont,  in  1838. 
Of  charitable  and  kind-hearted  nature,  they  did  much 
to  relieve  suffering  of  every  kind.  Samuel  Worthen 
was  a  natural  physician  and  surgeon.  Although  he 
never  had  received  medical  instruction  or  lessons  in 
surgery,  he  could  reduce  a  fracture  with  wonder- 
fully successful  results.  He  helped  to  develop  the 
rugged  hill-sides  of  Vermont  into  lovely  New  En- 
gland homes.  Professor  Worthen  is  an  ardent  Re- 
publican, and  is  in  full  sympathy  with  the  doctrine  of 
protection  of  all  American  industries.  He  is  a  mem- 
of  the  Phil.  Sheridan  Post,  G.  A.  R.  He  holds  and 
prizes  complimentary  letters  from  the  National  Nor- 
mal School,  at  Lebanon,  Ohio,  and  from  Washington 
College.  At  the  former  institution  he  graduated  in 
the  classical  course.  He  is  a  man  of  education,  and 
also  of  good  jndgment  and  executive  ability,  as  his 
success,  both  in  teaching  and  in  horticulture,  attests. 
He  may  well  count  himself  fortunate  in  possessing 
so  pleasant  a  home  in  the  beautiful  valley  of  Santa 
Clara. 

We  are  indebted  to  Mrs.  Mary  (Hoyt)  Worthen 
for  the  following  interesting  account  of  her  early  life 
and  home: — 

"I  was  born  July  18,  1857,  in  East  Concord,  New 
Hampshire.     The    home   was   called    the   '  Mountain 


Farm,'  and  was  noted  for  its  beauty  and  its  sightly 
location.  President  Pierce,  when  looking  for  a  home 
after  his  return  from  public  service,  selected  this  place, 
and  offered  a  price  for  it  far  in  excess  of  its  real  value; 
but  the  property  had  been  in  the  Hoyt  family  so 
many  years  that  my  father,  the  owner,  could  not  give 
it  up.  The  'History  of  Concord' contains  a  picture  of 
the  place,  and  much  interesting  information  regarding 
it,  as  does  the  '  Hoyt  Family  Genealogy,'  which  was 
published  after  the  family  meeting  in  Providence. 
Rhode  Island,  some  fifteen  years  ago.  At  this  meet- 
ing all  the  branches  were  represented.  Gen.  W.  T. 
Sherman  represented  the  Connecticut  branch,  his 
mother  being  Mary  Hoyt,  a  native  of  Connecticut. 
The  Hoyt  family  is  of  English  origin,  and  its  Ameri- 
can history  dates  from  the  coming  of  two  brothers  to 
America  in  the  early  days  when  the  Pilgrims  left  the 
mother-land,  in  search  of  freedom.  My  grandfather 
was  the  second  child  born  in  Concord,  New  Hamp- 
shire. Two  of  my  grandfather's  brothers  served  in 
the  Revolutionary  War,  one  being  with  General  Stark 
at  Bennington.  The  other  brother  saw  Major  Andre 
executed. 

"  The  house  in  which  I  was  born,  was,  in  Indian 
times,  an  old  garrison-house,  and  the  port-holes  are 
still  under  the  clapboards.  The  frame  is  of  solid 
oak,  and  very  heavy.  The  '  History  of  Concord,'  at 
the  time  of  its  publication,  gave  the  age  of  the  frame 
as  140  years.  My  grandfather  bought  the  house,  and 
moved  it  from  the  fort  to  his  farm,  some  seventy-two 
years  ago.  Grandmother  lived  in  the  house  sixty 
years.  My  childhood  caught  glimpses  of  that  old 
New  England  life,  and  had  the  advantage  of  two 
generations;  for  while  I  played  the  games  of  the 
present  day,  my  play-room  was  the  attic,  with  its  loom 
and  spinning-wheel,  its  tin  bakers  and  mysterious 
chests.  I  early  chose  teaching  as  my  occupation,  and 
fitted  myself  accordingly.  I  graduated  from  the  New 
Hampshire  State  Normal  School,  in  1873;  from  the 
National  Normal,  in  1875  (Lebanon,  Ohio),  and  from 
the  California  State  Normal  School,  at  San  Jose,  in 
1877. 

"I  was  married  to  Professor  Worthen  in  1878,  and 
continued  teaching,  it  being  my  husband's  occupa- 
tion. I  taught  in  New  Hampshire  for  $16  and  $20 
a  month,  and  here,  in  California,  I  taught,  for  five 
years,  for  $1,200  per  year.  My  average  wages  have 
been  $75  per  month.  I  have  helped  my  husband  to 
lift  five  mortgages,  and,  with  my  own  earnings,  bought 
a  home  for  my  parents,  in  San  Jose,  where  they  now 
live." 


428 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


||OSEPH  WOODHAMS,  deceased.  The  subject 
&[  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  England,  October  23, 
^  1803.  His  youth  and  early  manhood  were  spent 
on  his  father's  farm,  where  he  became  proficient  in 
one  of  the  occupations  which  he  so  successfully  pur- 
sued in  after  life.  He  also  devoted  considerable  at- 
tention to  mechanical  pursuits.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
four,  namely,  in  1827,  he  came  to  the  United  States, 
landing  at  New  York.  He  first  settled  in  Westchester 
County,  New  York,  where  he  was  engaged  as  a  miller; 
afterward  he  went  up  the  North  River  and  settled  at 
Newburg,  at  which  place  he  continued  the  occupa- 
tion of  a  miller  and  millwright  until  1843.  In  that 
year,  accompanied  by  his  oldest  son,  Maurice,  he  went 
to  Chili,  South  America,  where  he  was  joined  by  his 
family  one  year  later.  During  his  stay  in  Chili,  he 
held  the  position  of  manager  of  the  extensive  flouring 
mills  of  Burdon  &  Co.  He  continued  his  occupation 
and  residence  in  that  country  until  1850,  when  he 
emigrated  to  California.  After  a  short  stay  in  San 
Francisco,  he  came  to  the  Santa  Clara  Valley,  arriv- 
ing here  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  and,  settling 
upon  the  land  now  occupied  by  his  son  Alfred,  he  at 
once  commenced  its  cultivation  and  improvement. 
The  first  dwelling  erected  by  Mr.  Woodhams  upon 
these  lands  was  of  building  material  framed  and  pre- 
pared in  New  Brunswick,  and  shipped  to  San  Fran- 
cisco around  Cape  Horn  in  sailing  vessels.  The 
subject  of  our  sketch  was  an  energetic  and  intelligent 
mechanic,  as  well  as  a  farmer.  At  that  early  day 
agricultural  implements  were  not  to  be  obtained  in 
the  county,  and  after  threshing  his  first  crop  in  the 
primitive  manner  then  in  vogue,  he  set  himself  at 
work  for  improvements,  which  resulted  in  his  manu- 
facturing a  threshing-machine  and  separator,  and 
placing  the  same  in  successful  operation  upon  his 
farm.  This  was  one  of  the  first  machines  of  the 
character  ever  built  in  Santa  Clara  County,  if  not  in 
the  State  of  California.  In  1852  or  1853  he  erected 
a  small  flour-mill,  the  motive  power  for  the  operation 
of  which  was  furnished  by  eight  or  ten  horses.  The 
products  of  this  mill  found  ready  sale  in  Santa  Clara 
and  in  the  Redwoods. 

The  energy  and  business  tact  displayed  by  Mr. 
Woodhams  in  those  enterprises  were  characteristic 
of  the  man,  and  made  his  name  known  throughout 
the  county.  Combined  with  this,  he  was  well  known 
and  universally  respected  as  one  of  the  most  public- 
spirited  men  of  the  section.  Consequently  he  was 
sought  for  and  enlisted  in  all  the  public  enterprises  of 
that  date.     In  his  death,  which  occurred  July  i,  1887, 


in  his   eighty-fourth  year,  the   community  lost  a  man 
of  solid  value. 

Mr.  Woodhams  married  Miss  Annie  Maurice,  a 
native  of  England.  From  this  union  were  born  the 
following-named  children:  Maurice,  born  March  23, 
1830,  now  a  resident  of  San  Mateo  County;  Alfred 
R.,  born  May  30,  1832,  residing  on  the  old  home- 
stead, a  sketch  of  whom  is  contained  in  this  volume; 
Oscar,  born  August  17,  1837,  who  makes  his  home  in 
San  Francisco;  Mary  E.  and  Lucy  A.,  the  former  a 
resident  of  Santa  Clara,  and  the  latter  the  wife  of 
Henry  Smith,  and  a  resident  of  Oakland,  California. 


t 


IHLFRED  ROE  WOODHAMS  is  the  proprietor 
of  the  "Roble  Alto  Farm,"  which  is  located  on 
the  Homestead  road,  in  the  Milliken  District, 
near  the  western  limits  of  the  town  of  Santa 
Clara.  This  farm  contains  143  acres  of  choice  land, 
upon  which  stands  a  fine  residence  surrounded  by 
beautiful  grounds.  It  is  the  old  homestead  occupied 
so  many  years  by  his  father,  who  was  one  of  the  pio- 
neers of  this  county,  and  whose  sketch  will  be  found 
in  this  connection.  The  ranch  is  devoted  principally 
to  the  growing  of  hay  and  grain,  and  to  stock-raising. 
Twenty-five  acres,  however,  are  in  orchard,  the  prin- 
cipal trees  of  which  are  prunes  in  full  bearing. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Orange 
County,  New  York,  May  30,  1832.  His  father,  Joseph 
Woodhams,  and  his  mother,  Annie  (Maurice)  Wood- 
hams, were  natives  of  England.  His  youth  was  spent 
in  obtaining  an  education,  and  in  helping  his  father  in 
his  trade,  which  was  that  of  a  miller  and  millwright. 
In  1844  he  accompanied  his  mother  and  family  to 
Chili,  South  America,  where  they  joined  his  father 
and  eldest  brother,  who  had  preceded  them  the  year 
before.  He  remained  with  the  family  until  Decem- 
ber, 1848,  when  he  left  for  the  gold-fields  of  California, 
landing  at  San  Francisco  in  April,  1849.  Though  but 
seventeen  years  of  age,  he  entered  into  the  whirl  and 
rush  of  the  pioneer  life  of  California,  being  first  en- 
gaged at  carpenter  work  at  $6.00  perday.  After  work- 
ing at  this  for  some  months  he  went  to  the  mines  and 
commenced  operations  at  Hawkins'  Baron  Tuolumne 
River,  where  he  remained  from  August,  1849,  until  the 
following  January,  when  he  returned  to  San  Francisco 
and  engaged  in  teaming  until  the  arrival  of  his  father's 
family  from  Chili.  He  then  joined  the  family,  and 
in  the  fall  of  1850  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  where 
they  took  up  their  residence  upon  the  property    now 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


429 


owned  and  occupied  by  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
From  that  time  until  the  present  (1888)  Mr.  Wood- 
hams  has  been  closely  identified  with  the  growth  and 
building  up  of  this  beautiful  valley,  and  has  ever  been 
an  ardent  supporter  of  all  enterprises  which  tended  to 
increase  the  prosperity  of  the  section  in  which  his  lives. 
An  intelligent,  observant,  and  public-spirited  man, 
trained  to  habits  of  business,  his  action  in  matters  of 
public  interest  are  duly  noted  and  appreciated  by  the 
community  in  which  he  resides. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  San  Jose  Grange,  and  of  the 
American  Legion  of  Honor.  He  was  also  one  of  the 
promoters  and  incorporators  of  the  San  Jose  Horti- 
cultural Hall  Association.  Politically,  he  is  an  inde- 
pendent Republican,  and  was  a  prominent  member  of 
the  Union  League  during  the  war. 

He  has  been  twice  married,  his  first  marriage,  in 
1865,  uniting  him  with  Miss  Cynthia  Dopking,  daugh- 
ter of  Daniel  Dopking,  of  Yolo  County.  She  died  in 
1876,  leaving  no  children.  Mr.  Woodhams  married, 
in  1877,  Miss  Lizzie  Saul,  the  daughter  of  Thomas 
Saul,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  who  died  while  she 
was  an  infant.  Her  mother,  Sarah  (Halpin)  Saul,  is 
now  a  resident  of  Essex,  Massachusetts.  Mrs.  Wood- 
hams  was  born  April  17,  1844.  She  is  the  mother  of 
four  children,  of  whom  but  two  are  now  living,  viz.: 
Laurola  Saul  Woodhams  and  Willie  Elmo  Wood- 
hams. 

M^OBERT  WELCH  is  one  of  the  large  land  owners 
G^^  of  the  county.  His  fine  home  property,  of  183 
"^X"  acres,  is  located  on  the  Berryessa  and  Milpitas 
road,  in  the  Berryessa  School  District,  about 
six  miles  north  of  San  Jose,  and  one  and  a  half  miles 
south  of  Milpitas.  Mr.  Welch  devotes  this  extensive 
ranch  entirely  to  the  growing  of  hay  and  grain  and  to 
stock-raising.  In  the  latter  business  he  is  much  in- 
terested, and  accomplishes  a  great  deal  in  the  im- 
provement of  the  draft  horses  of  the  county,  as  he 
breeds  only  the  best  of  stock.  He  has  thirty  head  of 
thoroughbred  Norman  draft  horses,  among  which  may 
be  noted  two  imported  full-bred  Norman  stallions. 

In  addition  to  his  homestead,  Mr.  Welch  owns  167 
acres  of  hill  land,  situated  just  east  of  his  residence. 
This  tract  is  largely  used  as  a  hay  and  grain  farm,  but 
portions  of  the  land  are  producing  large  crops  of  vege- 
tables, and  this  too  without  irrigation. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  born  in   Dorchester 


County,  Canada  East,  July  22,  1832.  His  parents, 
Thomas  and  Mary  (Kahoe)  Welch,  were  natives  of 
Wexford  County,  Ireland.  His  father  dying  when  he 
was  but  three  years  of  age,  he  was  left  to  the  care  ot 
his  mother.  She  reared  him  to  the  life  of  a  farmer, 
and  that  occupation  he  pursued  on  his  mother's  farm 
until  he  reached  his  majority.  He  then  came,  by  the 
Nicaragua  route,  to  this  State.  Immediately  upon 
arriving  at  San  Francisco,  he  proceeded  to  Santa  Clara 
County.  Here  he  worked  for  his  brother  until  the 
fall  of  1854,  when  both  entered  the  mines  on  the  South 
Fork  of  the  American  River.  A  trial  of  about  six 
months  convinced  him  that  the  life  was  an  undesir- 
able one,  and  he  went  to  Alameda  County,  where  he 
remained  for  a  few  months.  He  finally  returned  to 
this  county  and  engaged  in  stock-raising  and  farming, 
purchasing  and  taking  possession  of  the  lands  upon 
which  he  now  lives,  in  May,  1856. 

On  the  eighth  of  November,  1868,  Mr.  Welch  mar- 
ried Miss  Catherine  Kennedy,  the  daughter  of  Tim- 
othy and  Margaret  (Dorsey)  Kennedy,  residents  of 
Canada  West,  but  natives  of  Tipperary  County, 
Ireland.  Ten  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Welch,  and  seven  of  them  are  now  living.  Their 
names  are :  Mary  Ellen,  Thomas  Francis,  Catherine 
Isabel,  Alice,  Robert  Timothy,  Cecilia  Viola,  and  Ed- 
mund John. 

Mr.  Welch  is  an  active  and  enterprising  farmer,  and 
despite  the  fact  that  in  his  youth  he  was  deprived  of 
many  of  the  advantages  resulting  from  a  good  edu- 
cation, he  has  acquired  a  practical  and  thorough 
knowledge  of  his  business,  and  has  made  it  most  suc- 
cessful. He  is  a  good  citizen  and  a  respected  member 
of  the  community.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  in  whose  welfare  he  takes  a  deep  and  sincere 
interest. 


.g^EORGE  W.  SNOW  resides  on  the  Morrell  road, 
^*  in  the  Berryessa  School  District,  about  five  and 

fa  half  miles  northeast  of  San  Jose,  where  is  lo- 
cated his  orchard  tract  of  ten  acres.  His  land 
is  rich  and  productive,  and  is  highly  cultivated.  The 
orchard  (four  years  old  in  1888)  comprises  300 
French  prune,  300  apricot,  100  peach,  100  apple,  100 
pear,  and  150  plum  trees,  with  a  number  of  trees  each 
of  figs,  oranges,  chestnuts,  walnuts,  and  mulberries. 
Mr.  Snow  raises  vegetables  upon  his  place  the  year 
round,  and  that  without  any  irrigation. 


430 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


He  dates  his  birth  in  Essex  County,  Vermont, 
March  i,  1848.  He  is  the  son  of  Daniel  and  Sarah 
Ann  (Perry)  Snow,  both  natives  of  Vermont.  He 
was  trained  in  the  details  of  farm  work,  receiving  the 
education  of  the  public  schools.  When  he  attained 
his  majority  he  started  out  in  life  for  himself,  engag- 
ing in  farm  labor  for  several  years. 

In  1875  Mr.  Snow  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Cora  A.  Lucas,  the  daughter  of  John  M.  and 
Adeline  Lucas,  residents  of  Vermont.  The  year  fol- 
lowing their  marriage,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Snow  came  to 
California,  and  located  in  Santa  Clara  County.  After 
working  here  for  a  year,  Mr.  Snow,  in  partnership 
with  his  father-in-law,  bought  twenty  acres  near 
Berryessa,  which  they  improved  and  planted  with 
fruit-trees.  That  property  Mr.  Snow  sold  in  1884,  and 
purchased  his  present  residence. 

Mr.  Snow  is  a  man  of  energy,  and  a  successful  hor- 
ticulturist. He  was  chosen  to  be  a  School  Trustee, 
and  served  in  that  capacity  for  two  years,  1886-87. 
In  politics,  he  is  a  stanch  Republican,  and  feels  much 
interest  in  the  political  issues  of  the  day.  Having 
confidence  in  the  future  growth  and  prosperity  of  his 
county,  he  is  much  interested  in  all  that  tends  toward 
that  end. 

His  wife  is  the  owner  of  a  five-acre  tract  just  south 
of  the  church  at  Berryessa,  upon  which  are  300  apri- 
cot, 100  French  prune,  60  cherry,  30  peach,  and  25 
plum-trees.  There  is  also  a  comfortable  cottage  upon 
the  place.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Snow  are  the  parents  of  two 
children,  viz.,  Irving  W.,  born  June  7,  1876;  and 
Arthur,  born  January  3,  1887.  The  father  of  Mrs. 
Snow  is  also  a  member  of  Mr.  Snow's  family. 


llfilOUIS  A.  BOOKSIN  owns  and  occupies  a  fine 
s^  residence  on  the  corner  of  Booksin  and  Hicks 
T  Avenues,  in  the  Willow  District.  He  is  very 
largely  interested  in  horticulture.  His  home  property 
contains  seven  and  one-half  acres,  all  in  peach  trees, 
of  three  varieties:  Seller's  Cling,  Rock  Cling,  and 
Salway.  About  one-half  the  orchard  is  bearing  at 
present.  Mr.  Booksin  also  has  charge  of  the  large 
interests  of  his  father,  Henry  Booksin,  who  owns  two 
fruit  ranches  at  the  Willows  One,  on  Curtner  Ave- 
nue, consists  of  an  orchard  of  fifty  acres,  and  con- 
tains 1,200  peach,  600  apricot,  450  cherry,  3,000 
French  prune,  and  450  pear  trees,  besides  a  general 
variety  for  household  use.  The  ranch  on  Meridian 
road    consists  of   thirty-two    acres — fifteen    acres    in 


apricots,  and  the  remainder  in  600  peach  trees,  400 
egg  plum,  50  Ickworth  plum,  and  450  cherry  trees. 
The  ranch  on  Curtner  Avenue  is  supplied  with  a 
steam-power  pump,  with  a  capacity  of  1,500  gallons 
per  minute.  The  one  on  Meridian  road  has  a  fifty- 
horse-power  engine,  lifting  a  ten-inch  column  of  water 
eighty-five  feet.  The  pump's  capacity  is  1,500  gal- 
lons per  minute. 

Henry  Booksin  is  a  native  of  Germany.  Coming 
to  the  United  States  a  poor  man,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
four,  he  became  one  of  the  first  of  Colusa  County  set- 
tlers. There  he  commenced  at  his  trade,  wagon- 
making,  working  under  a  tree  in  the  open  air.  His 
business  increased  rapidly,  from  this  small  beginning. 
In  1857  he  returned  to  Germany,  and  married  a  lady 
who  was  reared  in  his  old  neighborhood, — Miss 
Elizabeth  Kroft.  With  his  wife  he  returned  to  Co- 
lusa County,  where  he  owned  quite  an  extensive  grain 
and  sheep  ranch,  to  which  he  afterwards  made  large 
additions.  Here  he  lived  until  1873,  when  he  sold 
his  ranch  and  removed  to  ^an  Jose,  where  he  owns  a 
fine  residence  property.  His  wife  died  in  1867.  She 
was  the  mother  of  four  children,  three  sons  and  one 
daughter.  Louis  A.,  -.vhose  name  heads  this  sketch, 
is  the  eldest.  The  others,  Tennie,  John,  and  Henry, 
all  make  their  home  with  their  father.  For  his  second 
wife,  Mr.  Booksin  married  Miss  Catharine  Kroft,  a 
sister  of  his  first  wife.  On  the  first  of  December, 
1 886,  Louis  A.  Booksin  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Elizabeth  Kirk,  daughter  of  Socrates  Kirk,  one 
of  the  leading  men  of  the  Willows.  He  built  his  fine 
residence  in  1S87,  using  only  the  best  material  and 
paying  for  labor  by  the  day.  It  cost  him  $3,500,  and 
he  has  one  of  the  pleasantest  homes  in  the  district. 

The  Booksin  family  is  fully  in  working  sj-mpathy 
with  the  Republican  party.  Mr.  Booksin  is  a  thor- 
ough horticulturist.  A  practical  knowledge  of  his 
business,  and  a  wise  division  of  time  and  labor,  enable 
him  to  successfully  conduct  three  fruit  ranches,  con- 
taining almost  ninety  acres. 


I|piCHEL  KERLOCH,  JR.,  owns  an  orchard  of 
©+iO^  six  acres,  all  in  fruit  and  nearly  all  in  bearing, 
<L^  on  the  corner  of  Booksin  and  Hicks  Avenues, 
I  in  the  Willow  District.  This  orchard  consists 
mainly  of  cherry  trees.  He  also  owns,  on  Delmas 
Avenue  and  Home  Street,  five  acres  of  fine  fruit  land, 
which  is  as  yet  undeveloped. 

Mr.  Kcrloch  was  born  in  Paroisse  de  Primelin,  Can- 


BIOGRA  PHICA  L  SKEl  CHES. 


431 


ton  Pont  Croys,  Department  of  Finistere,  France,  April 
17,  1853.  His  parents,  Michel  and  Mary  Jane  (Good) 
Kerloch,  are  French  by  birth.  Both  are  yet  living  in 
their  native  land,  and  are  in  very  comfortable  circum- 
stances, as  they  own  a  fine  property  of  300  acres. 
Michel  Kerloch,  Jr.,  whose  name  heads  this  sketch, 
is  the  sixth  child  in  a  family  of  eight  children,  all  of 
whom  are  yet  living,  and  all  married  except  Michel, 
who  keeps  "  bachelor's  hall  "  on  hi.s  ranch.  He  was 
the  only  one  to  leave  the  home  land,  to  try  his  fort- 
une in  America.  His  brother  John  is  an  officer  on  a 
French  man-of-war,  stationed  in  the  Chinese  seas. 
At  the  present  time  (1888)  he  has  been  in  the  service 
for  over  twenty-three  years.  The  other  brothers  and 
sisters  are  leading  lives  of  industry  and  contentment 
in  France,  engaging  in  agricultural  pursuits.  Michel 
was  of  a  different  temperament  from  his  brothers  and 
sisters,  and,  filled  with  a  spirit  of  adventure,  became 
a  sailor  boy  at  an  early  age.  It  was  in  this  way  that 
he  was  led  to  make  his  home  so  far  from  his  country 
and  kindred.  He  was  cabin  boy  on  the  ships  Marie 
and  Louise,  on  one  of  which  he  made  the  port  of  San 
Francisco,  December  27,  1873.  Still  influenced  by 
the  love  of  adventure,  he  took  "  French  leave  "  of  his 
vessel.  His  position  was  certainly  one  of  great  dis- 
comfort, to  speak  mildly.  He  was  in  a  strange  coun- 
try, with  no  acquaintances,  absolutely  penniless,  and 
unable  to  speak  a  word  of  the  language  of  the  coun- 
try in  which  he  was  to  make  his  home.  His  success 
in  horticulture,  as  well  as  in  the  mastery  of  the  lan- 
guage and  customs  of  the  country,  shows  what  can  be 
accomplished  by  a  poor  French  lad,  who  possesses 
the  spirit  of  determination. 

He  has  been  strictly  temperate  and  industrious. 
A  close  observer  of  passing  events,  he  has  become 
thoroughly  identified  with  the  interests  of  the  county 
which  he  makes  his  home,  while  by  his  integrity  and 
strict  attention  to  his  business  he  has  won  the  respect 
of  his  neighbors. 


fYLVESTER  NEWHALL,  of  the  Willows,  has 
been  identified  with  Santa  Clara  County  since 
1856,  and  is  now  ranked  among  the  county's 
leading  fruit-growers.  In  five  different  tracts  he 
has  140  acres  in  fruit-trees.  Energetic  and  painstak- 
ing, he  has  made  horticulture  a  source  of  profit  and 
pleasure.  His  fine  residence,  standing  on  Lincoln 
Avenue,  a  little  south  of  the  crossing  of  Los  Gatos 
Creek,  was  erected  in  18S1. 


He  dates  his  birth  at  Lynn,  Massachusetts,  March 
4,  1827,  and  is  the  son  of  Otis  Newhall.  The  history 
of  the  family  in  America  extends  back  as  far  as  the 
Pilgrim  Fathers.  The  first  white  child  born  in  Lynn 
was  a  Newhall.  Early  in  life  Mr.  Newhall  left  the  old 
homestead,  and  for  a  short  time  lived  in  Cincinnati, 
Ohio.  In  1850,  smitten  with  the  gold  fever,  he  crossed 
the  plains  and  mountains  to  this  State,  traveling 
nearly  the  whole  distance  on  foot.  While  traversing 
the  last  500  miles,  he,  with  his  companion,  subsisted 
upon  ten  pounds  of  parched  meal  and  one  pound  of 
sugar,  an  allowance  which,  divided,  was  barely  suffi- 
cient to  keep  body  and  soul  together.  At  last  they 
reached  Sacramento,  ragged  and  starving.  Several 
years  were  spent  in  placer  mining,  with  varied  results. 

In  1856  he  came  to  this  county,  and,  buying  a 
building  lot,  commenced  life  at  the  Willows.  Soon 
afterward  he  became  a  pioneer  nurseryman.  From  a 
small  beginning,  he  has,  by  industry  and  economy, 
combined  with  a  strong,  sturdy  fund  of  New  England 
common  sense,  attained  a  competence  sufificient  for 
all  needs. 

Mr.  Newhall's  orchard  interests  consist  of  forty- 
five  acres  in  prunes,  twenty-five  acres  in  apricots,  and 
the  remainder  in  cherries,  peaches,  apples,  and  pears. 
Politically,  he  is  a  strong  Republican.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  American  Horticultural  Society,  and  also 
of  the  ancient  ami  honorable  order  of  Masons,  being 
affiliated  with  San  Jose  Lodge,  No  10. 

In  1 87 1  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Mrs.  Mary 
(Myers)  Stodard,  a  native  of  the  State  of  Virginia. 
They  have  six  children,  viz.:  Fred,  Bessie,  Grace, 
George,  Carl,  and  Belle. 


IpAVID  E.  SKINNER,  whose  home  is  located  on 
G^  the  Almaden  road,  in  the  Pioneer  District,  in 
"^  Almaden  Township,  has  been  identified  with 
the  interests  of  the  county  since  1853.  He  was  born 
in  1828,  in  Warren  County,  New  Jersey,  in  which 
State  he  was  reared  and  educated.  Leaving  the  old 
home  shortly  before  reaching  manhood,  he  went  to 
New  York  city  and  there  engaged  in  work  as  a  clerk 
in  a  grocery  establishment.  He  was  later  employed 
in  the  same  way,  in  Newark,  New  Jersey,  leaving 
there  to  come  to  California  via  the  Isthmus  route. 
Some  time  was  spent  in  placer  mining  in  Placer  and 
El  Dorado  Counties,  then  a  few  months  were  spent 
in  San    Jose,  after    which,    in    1853,  he   entered  the 


432 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


Almaden  quicksilver  mines.  He  remained  in  that 
employment  for  several  years,  but  finally  concluded  to 
become  a  farmer,  and  purchased  and  opened  the  fine 
farm  which  he  now  owns  and  occupies.  The  prop- 
erty comprises  170  acres,  and  is  profitably  devoted  to 
general  farming.  The  residence  is  nine  miles  distant 
from  San  Jose. 

While  at  the  Almaden  mines,  Mr.  Skinner  married 
Miss  Harriet  Booth,  who  was  born  in  England  in 
1855.  Her  married  life  was  of  but  four  years'  dura- 
tion, her  death  occurring  May  24,  i860,  in  her  twenty- 
fifth  year.  She  was  the  mother  of  two  children, 
William  and  Ada,  both  of  whom  now  reside  in 
British  Columbia.  In  1865,  Mr.  Skinner  wedded 
Miss  Annie  Dugan,  a  native  of  New  York.  She  de- 
parted this  life  March  14,  1873,  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
two  years.  From  this  marriage  five  children  were 
born,  and  all  are  now  living.  Their  names  are:  David 
E.,  Herman,  Cornelius,  Thomas,  and  Francis.  Mr. 
Skinner's  present  wife  was  formerly  Miss  Anna  Smith, 
the  daughter  of  Isaiah  and  Mary  Smith.  She  was 
born  in  Newark,  New  Jersey,  in  1839.  She  was 
reared  and  educated  in  the  State  of  her  birth,  and  in 
1868  married  David  Alyea,  who  died  at  Newark  in 
1873.  Her  only  child  by  that  marriage,  Edward, 
now  lives  in  New  Jersey.  While  visiting  the  home  of 
his  youth,  Mr.  Skinner  met,  and,  November  14,  1874, 
married,  Mrs.  Alyea.    They  have  one  child,  Waldo  W. 

Politically  Mr.  Skinner  is  identified  with  the  Re- 
publican party.  By  the  industry  and  frugality  which 
are  characteristic  of  him,  he  has  earned  a  good  home, 
although  he  came  to  the  State  a  poor  man.  The  in- 
tegrity of  character  and  conduct  which  he  has  shown 
has  secured  him  the  position  of  a  respected  and  use- 
ful citizen. 


fEORGE  W.  GARDNER  is  the  owner  of  a  very 
desirable  property  on  the  San  Jose  and  Los 
J^  Gatos  road,  at  Orchard  Homes,  in  the  Hamilton 
District.  His  orchard  covers  forty-five  of  the 
forty-eight  acres  which  compose  his  ranch.  He  pur- 
chased the  land  in  1880,  it  then  being  part  of  a  bar- 
ley field,  and  in  bad  condition,  having  been  cut  up  by 
overflows  of  the  Los  Gatos  Creek.  Mr.  Gardner 
found  it  necessary  to  spend  several  months  in  level- 
ing the  ground  before  tree-planting  could  be  com- 
menced. Now  all  is  in  condition  for  irrigation  from 
Los  Gatos  Creek.  During  the  winter  of  1880  he  set 
ten  acres  with    a    variety    of  cherries,    apricots,    and 


prunes,  while  the  rest  of  the  forty-five  acres  was 
planted  during  the  following  winter.  At  present 
about  twelve  acres  are  in  prunes,  twenty-eight  acres 
in  apricots  and  peaches,  and  five  acres  in  cherries. 

Mr.  Gardner's  skill  in  horticulture  is  shown  by  his 
returns  from  the  apricot  crop  of  1 887,  which  consisted 
of  100  tons,  and  sold  for  about  $3,000. 

He  has  made  his  ranch  his  place  of  residence  ever 
since  his  purchase  of  it,  at  first  keeping  bachelor's 
hall.  He  was  united  in  marriage,  in  January,  1884, 
with  Miss  Lottie  M.  Bennett. 

His  fine  residence  was  erected  in  the  autumn  pre- 
ceding his  marriage,  and  his  drying  establishment 
was  built  in  the  spring  of  1886.  In  order  to  meet 
the  increase  in  this  branch  of  his  business,  Mr.  Gard- 
ner enlarged  the  building  in  1887,  in  which  year  he 
cured  about  300  tons  of  fruit.  A  successful  horti- 
culturist, and  the  possessor  of  a  thrifty  fruit-ranch 
with  its  pleasant  home,  and  all  its  appropriate  sur- 
roundings, Mr.  Gardner  may  well  be  considered  fortu- 
nate. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  dates  his  birth  in  Nashua, 
New  Hampshire,  May  16,  1859.  When  about  one 
year  of  age  his  parents  removed  to  Southern  Indiana, 
and  later,  when  he  was  about  four  years  of  age,  to 
Fort  Atkinson,  Wisconsin;  there  they  lived  until  they 
came  to  this  county,  in  April,  1873.  His  father,  Will- 
iam Gardner,  now  lives  on  Delmas  Avenue. 


aikOSES  F.  BILLINGS,  a  resident  of  the  Hamil- 
<0:b^  ton  District,  owns  a  fruit-farm  of  ten  acres, 
n^  which  is  situated  on  Los  Gatos  Creek,  near  the 
'  Meridian  road.  Mr.  Billings  bought  this  prop- 
erty on  the  twenty-third  of  January,  1884,  it  then 
being  part  of  a  stubble-field.  All  the  improvements 
have  been  made  by  him  since  that  time, — buildings 
erected  and  orchard  planted.  The  latter  work  he 
accomplished  in  the  spring  following  his  purchase  of 
the  place.  The  orchard  contains  400  prune,  350  apri- 
cot, and  100  peach-trees,  besides  a  general  variety  for 
household  use,  comprising  cherry,  plum,  apple,  pear, 
nectarine,  fig,  and  almond  trees.  In  1887  nine  tons 
of  apricots  were  gathered  and  sold  for  $270,  while 
the  whole  crop  realized  a  sum  of  over  $500, — a  result 
which  was  rather  unusual  for  a  three-year-old  orchard. 
Mr.  Billings'  birth  took  place  in  the  town  of  Fay- 
ette, Kennebec  County,  Maine,  June  19,  1829.  He  is 
the  son  of  William  and  Eliza  (Rice)  Billings,  both  of 


Qj//'rrj/f^  ^fi.'im'^X 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


433 


whom  were  natives  of  that  State.  His  mother,  now 
eighty-seven  years  of  age,  is  yet  living  there.  When 
fourteen  years  of  age,  the  subject  of  this  sl<etch  left 
the  old  farm  to  learn  the  carpenter's  trade.  At  nine- 
teen years  of  age  he  decided  to  try  his  fortunes  in 
the  West,  and  removed  to  Wisconsin,  living  in  Berlin 
one  year,  and  thence  going  to  Wausau,  same  State, 
where  he  lived  many  years,  engaged  in  working  at  his 
trade.  Here  he  married,  on  the  ninth  of  November, 
1856,  Miss  Harriet  M.  Millard.  She  is  a  native  of 
Allegany  County,  New  York,  where  she  was  born, 
August  13,  1839.  She  is  the  daughter  of  Arnold  and 
Maria  Millard.  Her  father  died  in  Ohio  about  1844, 
but  her  mother  was,  in  1888,  living  at  Rockford,  Illinois. 
In  1865  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Billings  removed  to  Rockford, 
Illinois,  and  the  following  year  again  removed  to 
Minneapolis,  Minnesota.  They  made  this  State  their 
home  until  they  became  residents  of  Santa  Clara 
County,  in  1884.  During  sixteen  years  of  their  resi- 
dence in  the  State  of  Minnesota,  Mr.  Billings  con- 
ducted a  farm  in  connection  with  his  carpenter  work. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Billings  are  the  parents  of  two  children, 
living:  Annie  M.  and  Frank  B.,  both  of  whom  make 
their  home  with  their  parents.  Mr.  Billings  is  con- 
nected with  the  Republican  party,  in  politics. 


'==4t=:^ 


fYLVESTER  GRAVES.     Among   the   wealthy 
land  owners  of  Santa  Clara  County  we  note  the 
^^  subject  of  this  sketch.     His  line  property  is  lo- 
cated in  the  Moreland  District,  on  Saratoga  Av- 
enue.    He    has    been    identified    with    the    county's 
interests  for  thirty-five  years,  settling  here  in  1853. 

He  claims  Tennessee  as  his  native  State,  dating  his 
birth  in  Claiborne  County,  January  10,  1831.  When 
he  was  ten  years  of  age,  his  parents  removed  from 
Tennessee  to  Buchanan  County,  Missouri.  There  he 
lived  until  twenty-two  years  of  age,  engaged  in  help- 
ing his  father  to  open  a  farm  in  the  heavy  timber  of 
Buchanan  County.  In  1849  his  elder  brother,  Jacob, 
came  to  this  State,  and  four  years  later  the  subject  of 
our  sketch  joined  him  in  this  county.  In  the  year  of 
the  latter's  arrival,  the  brothers  purchased  a  tract  of 
over  200  acres  in  the  Moreland  District.  This  place 
was  on  Campbell  Creek,  facing  on  Saratoga  Avenue, 
a  little  more  than  one  mile  from  Mr.  Graves'  present 
residence.  The  brothers  worked  that  property  until 
1862,  when  they  bought  190  acres,  which  comprise 
the  homestead  which  our  subject  now  owns.  Soon 
after  this  purchase,  the  property  was  divided,  the 
■55 


elder  brother  retaining  the  farm  on  Campbell  Creek. 
Mr.  Graves  now  owns  265  acres,  having  sold,  in  1887, 
1 10  acres,  at  $200  per  acre.  He  devotes  the  larger 
part  of  his  ranch  to  general  farming,  although  sixty 
acres  are  in  orchards,  twenty -seven  acres  having 
reached  a  bearing  age.  Prunes,  apricots,  and  peaches 
are  the  leading  fruits.  The  fine  residence  was  erected 
in  1868,  at  a  cost  of  $6,000,  besides  the  labor  which 
Mr.  Graves  personally  bestowed  upon  it.  It  is  sur- 
rounded by  beautiful  grounds,  and  approached  from 
Saratoga  Avenue  by  a  shaded  avenue  300  yards  in 
length. 

In  1867  Mr.  Graves  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Kate  Toney,  who  was  born  in  Cedar  County, 
Iowa,  in  184S.  Of  ten  children  born  of  this  union 
seven  are  living,  all  of  whom  are  members  of  their 
parents'  happy  home.  Their  names  are:  Ernest,  Wal- 
ter, Clara,  Jesse,  Ivy,  Nettie,  and  Beulah.  Belle  and 
Myrtle  died  in  infancy,  and  Stella  at  the  age  of  three 
and  one-half  years. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Graves  are  consistent  members  of  the 
Free  Methodist  Church.  Mr.  Graves  was  formerly  a 
Democrat,  but  is  now  a  pronounced  Prohibitionist. 
He  commenced  life  in  California  a  poor  man,  his 
whole  capital  not  reaching  the  moderate  limit  of  $50. 
Industry,  frugality,  and  good  business  qualifications 
have  with  him  been  well  rewarded,  for  his  position  is 
that  of  a  prosperous,  respected  citizen  of  a  favored 
community.  But  he  is  rich  not  only  in  money  and 
lands,  but  also  in  all  the  relations  of  life — in  his  happy 
family,  his  neighbors  and  associates,  whose  love  and 
esteem  the  genial  qualities  of  his  character  have  easily 
won.  He  is  indeed  fortunate  in  the  possession  of  so 
pleasant  a  home  in  so  lovely  a  country,  while  the 
community  is  fortunate  in  having  him  as  one  of  its 
representative  citizens  and  highly  esteemed  members 
of  society. 


IffiDAM  FARRINGTON.     Among  the  fortunate 
Sh^  possessors  of  large  farms  in  this  fertile  section 

fof  the  State,  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  who 
owns  225  acres  of  as  choice  land  as  can  be 
found  in  the  county.  The  propert}'  is  situated  on  the 
Williams  road,  in  the  Moreland  District,  and  is  known 
to  the  old  settlers  as  the  Golden  State  Ranch,  It  is 
one  of  the  oldest  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  pro- 
ductive farms  in  that  part  of  the  county.  In  18S7, 
3,600  sacks  of  barley  were  harvested  as  a  volunteer 
crop.  Mr.  Farrington  bought  the  property  in  March, 
1885,  and  took  possession  of  it  soon  after. 


434 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD: 


He  dates  his  birth  in  Brant  County, Ontario, Canada, 
September  26,  1849.  His  father,  Adam  Farrington, 
who  was  born  in  Berwickshire,  Scotland,  died  before 
his  birth.  His  mother,  Mary  Ann  (Trimble)  Farring- 
ton, who  was  born  in  County  Longford,  Ireland,  but 
of  Scotch  ancestry,  makes  her  home  with  the  subject 
of  our  sketch.  She  is  the  mother  of  four  sons,  viz.: 
William,  a  capitalist  and  real-estate  dealer  of  San 
Jose;  Archibald,  a  resident  of  East  San  Jose;  James, 
who  lives  in  Brant  County,  Ontario;  and  Adam,  whose 
name  heads  this  sketch.  The  two  oldest  brothers  be- 
came residents  of,  and  operators  in,  California  in  1865, 
and  Adam  left  Canada  and  joined  them  in  Nevada, 
1872.  Ten  years  later  he  bought  his  present  home, 
and  has  since  been  a  resident  of  this  county. 

Mr.  Farrington  returned  to  Canada  for  his  bride. 
Miss  Elizabeth  Abrey,  who  was  also  born  in  Brant 
County,  and  with  whom  he  was  united  in  marriage  on 
the  twenty-fifth  of  April,  1877.  There  are  three  chil- 
dren by  this  marriage:  Archibald,  Sarah  May,  and 
William  J.,  all  of  whom  are  "  baptized  into  the  faith  " 
of  the  Episcopal  Church,  under  the  teachings  of  which 
all  the  Farringtons  were  reared.  Adam  Farrington 
and  his  two  brothers  are  counted  among  the  most 
successful  men  of  the  county.  Possessed  of  wealth, 
and  of  enterprising  and  progressive  spirit,  they  are 
justly  considered  valuable  members  of  society,  in 
every  relation  of  life,  whether  private  or  public,  busi- 
ness or  social.  All  of  them  are  Republicans,  and  fully 
in  accord  with  the  principles  of  their  party. 


a||RNESTUS  D.  COLTON,  one  of  the  successful 
c^P  fruit-growers  of  the  Willows,  resides  on  the  cor- 

fner  of  Lincoln  and  Minnesota  Avenues.  Mr. 
Colton  dates  his  birth  in  Erie  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  1 8 14.  His  father,  Eli  Colton,  was  born  in 
H^irtford,  Connecticut,  and  became  a  citizen  of  Erie 
County  in  1797.  His  mother,  Elizabeth  Dietz,  was  a 
native  of  Hagerstown,  Maryland.  Mr.  Colton  was 
reared  and  educated  in  his  native  county,  making  it 
his  home  until  he  attained  his  majority.  The  North- 
west, with  its  great  possibilities,  had  just  been  opened, 
and  peace  with  the  Indians  guaranteed  by  the  Black 
Hawk  War.  Mr.  Colton,  ambitious  and  enterprising, 
was  filled  with  a  desire  to  seek  his  fortune  in  this  new 
country.  He  therefore  left  his  native  home,  and,  pass- 
ing through  Chicago  (then  a  village  of  only  a  few 
hundred),  he  terminated  his  journey  at  Geneva  Lake, 


Wisconsin,  where  he  was  one  of  the  first  settlers. 
Here  he  opened  a  farm,  but  later  became  a  hotel  pro- 
prietor, building  the  Lake  House,  the  first  hotel  in  the 
place.  That  he  was  successful  in  this  venture  his 
continuance  of  the  business  for  twenty  years  proves. 
The  year  after  he  settled  in  Wisconsin  he  returned  to 
Pennsylvania,  making  the  trip  around  the  Lakes  from 
Milwaukee  on  the  steamer  Constittition,  the  first  trip 
that  navigated  Lake  Michigan.  He  returned  to  Wis- 
consin with  general  supplies,  and  became  interested 
in  the  improvement  of  a  water  power. 

Selling  his  interests  at  Geneva  Lake,  in  1865,  Mr. 
Colton  removed  to  La  Crosse,  Wisconsin,  and  en- 
gaged in  the  book  and  stationery  business,  in  which 
he  remained  for  six  years.  He  then  followed  the  hun- 
dreds who  had  crossed  the  continent,  and  settled  in 
Santa  Clara  County  in  1871,  when  he  bought  the  tract 
of  eleven  acres  which  now  makes  his  home.  When 
purchased  there  was  only  a  small  apple  orchard  on 
the  place.  By  industry  and  painstaking  care,  Mr. 
Colton  has  become  the  owner  of  a  fine,  healthy  or- 
chard. His  orchard  comprises  100  pear,  160  apricot, 
200  apple,  seventy-five  cherry,  and  seventy-five  peach 
trees,  100  trees  of  different  varieties  of  plums,  and  the 
remainder  French,  German  and  Silver  prunes. 

Mr.  Colton  has  had  opportunity  to  witness  much 
of  the  marvelous  development  of  the  horticultural 
interests  in  the  Willows,  which  was  principally  in 
grain  fields  when  he  settled  there. 

In  1 84 1  Mr.  Colton  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Caro- 
line Holcomb,  who  died  in  1845,  leaving  one  son, 
Oscar,  now  a  resident  of  San  Diego.  He  married  his 
second  wife,  Miss  Annie  Booth,  a  native  of  Vermont, 
in  Wisconsin. 

Mr.  Colton  is  identified  with  the  Republican  party, 
and  is  a  firm  believer  in  the  policy  of  protection  of 
American  industry.  He  is  reputed  a  careful,  intelli- 
gent horticulturist,  with  a  complete  understanding 
of  fruit  culture,  and  great  attention  to  detail.  He  is 
greatly  respected  throughout  the  community  in  which 
he  lives  for  his  integrity  and  the  strict  honesty  of  his 
business  transactions. 


MpEV.  S.  GOODENOUGH,  residing  on  Saratoga 
G^^  Avenue,  is  the  owner  of  a  fine  property  of  fifty 
V  acres,  all  in  fruit.  He  purchased  the  place  in 
1 88 1,  it  then  being  part  of  a  stubble  field.  Dur- 
ing the  first  year  of  his  ownership  twenty  acres  were 
planted  with  French  and  Silver  prunes  and  Bartlett 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


435 


peais.  For  the  next  three  years  the  work  was  con- 
tinued, and  was  completed  in  1885,  making  a  total  of 
2,500  French  prune,  400  Silver  prune,  600  Bartlett 
pear,  650  Moorpark  apricot,  seventy-five  Black  Tar- 
tarian cherry,  and  700  Newtown  Pippin  apple  trees. 
The  orchard  also  furnishes  a  general  variety,  which, 
with  the  choice  grapes  from  a  family  vineyard,  com- 
prise everything  that  is  desirable  in  the  way  of  fruit 
for  domestic  use.  The  fruit  interests  receive  the  best 
of  care,  as  is  well  attested  by  the  yield  of  the  apricot 
trees,  which  averaged  100  pounds  per  tree,  in  1887, 
they  being  at  that  time  four  years  old. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Brattleboro, 
Vermont,  in  1S35,  and  is  one  of  the  representatives  of 
one  of  the  old  Vermont  families.  His  grandfather, 
Levi  Goodenough,  left  the  State  of  Connecticut  be- 
fore the  close  of  the  last  century,  and  settled,  as  one  of 
its  pioneers,  in  Windham  County,  Vermont.  His  son, 
Winsor,  was  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
Rev.  S.  Goodenough  was  educated  in  the  Brattleboro 
schools,  supplemented  by  an  academic  course  at  South 
Woodstock,  Vermont  (Green  Mountain  Liberal  In- 
stitute), and  by  attendance  upon  the  St.  Lawrence, 
New  York,  University  and  Divinity  School.  He  en- 
tered the'ministry  of  the  Universalist  Church  in  1856. 
His  first  charge  was  in  the  towns  of  Royalton  and 
Barnard,  Vermont,  and  in  that  State  and  the  States 
of  Maine  and  New  York  were  spent  twenty-five  years 
of  a  useful  life,  engaged  in  work  for  the  glory  of  God 
and  the  good  of  mankind. 

In  Vermont  Mr.  Goodenough  wedded  Miss  Ellen 
M.  Halladay,  who  was  also  born  in  Brattleboro.  Her 
failing  health  was  the  chief  cause  of  their  removal  to 
this  State.  Mr.  Goodenough  visited  this  State  and 
county  in  1881,  purchasing  his  home  in  that  year,  as 
before  stated,  but  did  not  become  a  resident  of  the 
State  until  November  of  the  following  year.  Soon 
after  coming  he  began  gathering  a  congregation  and 
organizing  a  church  in  Oakland,  and  there  he  has  ac- 
complished his  most  successful  work  in  the  ministry. 
The  church  society  has  erected,  at  a  cost  of  $8,000,  a 
fine  chapel,  neat,  tasty,  and  attractive,  which  was  com- 
pleted the  present  year,  1888. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Goodenough  have  two  sons  and  two 
daughters,  only  one  of  the  four  children  having  left 
the  home,  Mrs.  Minnie  E.  Blanding,  wife  of  E.  F. 
Blanding,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts.  The  names  of 
the  others  are:  Wells  P.,  Winsor  S.,  and  Leona  E., 
the  last-named  being  now  in  attendance  upon  the 
University  of  the  Pacific.  Mr.  Goodenough  is  greatly 
interested  in  the  orders  of  Masons  and  Odd   Fellows, 


being  a  member  of  both.  He  is  also  Master  of  Tem- 
escal  Grange  of  Oakland,  and  Chaplain  of  the  State 
Grange.  He  is  known  as  an  enterprising  business 
man,  as  well  as  a  faithful  minister  of  the  gospel,  and 
has  well  earned  his  reputation  for  faithfulness  in  every 
duty,  whether  religious  or  secular.  He  is  valued  as  a 
neighbor,  and  esteemed  and  respected  by  all. 

^^ 

MfARTIN  D.  KELL,  residing  on  the  Almaden 
©Mi^  road,  two  and  one-half  miles  from  the  Court- 
^^  house  at  San  Jose,  was  born  near  Toronto, 
'  Canada,  April  5,  1840.  He  is  the  son  of 
Thomas  and  Margaret  (Murphy)  Kell.  His  father  was 
born  in  Durhamshire,  England,  in  1804,  leaving  there 
with  his  parents,  in  18 16,  they  becoming  pioneer  settlers 
of  Canada  East,  at  Franton,  thirty-six  miles  from 
Quebec.  There  the  father,  Thomas  Kell,  Sr.,  died 
about  1820.  At  the  same  place  Thomas  Kell,  Jr., 
father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  married,  in  1828, 
Miss  Margaret  Murphy.  She  was  born  in  County 
Wexford,  Ireland,  in  181 1,  being  the  daughter  of 
Martin  Murphy,  Sr.,  whose  history  appears  elsewhere 
in  this  volume.  She  left  Ireland,  with  her  parents, 
when  nine  years  of  age,  remaining  in  Canada  East 
until  1839.  Thomas  Kell,  Jr.,  and  his  wife  settled 
near  Toronto,  living  there  until  the  autumn  of  1841, 
when  they  became  pioneers  of  Atchison  County, 
Missouri,  where  Mrs.  Kell's  parents  had  preceded 
them  about  two  years.  In  1844  Martin  Murphy, 
Sr.,  with  his  family  and  a  few  friends,  made  the  haz- 
ardous journey  across  the  plains,  with  wagons,  and 
became  the  advance  guards  of  the  hosts  which 
brought  civilization  to  this  sunny  land,  with  its  boun- 
tiful soil.  Mr.  Kell,  who  had  made  a  good  start  on 
the  new,  productive  soil  of  Atchison  County,  was 
reluctant  to  leave.  But  the  glowing  reports  from  his 
father-in-law,  as  to  the  healthfulncss  and  productive- 
ness of  California,  foreshadowing  its  future  acquisi- 
tion by  the  United  States,  with  prophetic  vision  of 
its  coming  grandeur,  decided  him  to  undertake  the 
trip.  Accordingly,  with  his  household,  he  commenced 
the  long,  weary  journey  May  11,  1846.  This  journey, 
attended  by  all  the  dangers  incident  to  travel,  across 
the  western  wilds  and  pathless  mountains,  inhabited 
only  by  Indians  and  the  wild  beasts  of  the  forest,  was 
very  different  from  travel  of  this  day.  Perhaps  some 
idea  of  the  hardships  of  such  a  journey  can  be  gained, 
when  one  reflects  that  Mr.  Kell  slept  for  the  first  time 
under  a  California  roof,  October  11,  just  five  months 


436 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


from  the  day  he  left  Missouri.  Now  that  journey 
can  be  made  by  rail,  in  as  many  days.  Their  train 
was  the  largest  one  that  had  ever  crossed  the 
mountains,  at  one  time  consisting  of  fifty-three  wag- 
ons, most  of  which  were  bound  for  Oregon,  all  under 
the  command  of  one  Major  Cooper.  The  first  night 
(spoken  of  above)  was  spent  with  Martin  Murphy, 
Jr.,  brother  of  Mrs.  Kell,  near  where  Sacramento  now 
stands,  below  Sutter's  Fort.  Martin  Murphy  had 
learned,  by  an  advance  of  the  party,  that  the  Kells 
were  suffering  from  sickness,  and  making  slow  prog- 
ress. Mounting  his  horse,  he  followed  the  trail  east- 
ward, about  thirty-six  hours,  without  rest.  Meeting 
the  family,  he  piloted  them  to  his  home,  a  journey 
which,  with  their  worn-out  animals,  it  required  eight 
days  to  perform.  Here  the  family  rested  for  three 
weeks.  The  Bear  Flag  had  been  raised,  and  the  con- 
quest of  California  practically  accomplished.  Upon 
leaving  Mr.  Murphy,  Mr.  Kell  was  furnished  with  that 
which  was  then  more  desirable  than  gold — that  is, 
wheat  for  seed.  In  January,  1847,  he  planted  about 
fifteen  acres  on  the  ranch  belonging  to  Martin  Mur- 
phy, Sr.,  situated  eighteen  miles  south  of  San  Jose. 
In  the  autumn  of  that  year,  they  established  their 
home  near  San  Jose,  on  property  still  owned  by  the 
family.  On  Christmas-day  of  the  same  year  they 
occupied  a  frame  house,  built  of  redwood,  hewed  and 
sawed  by  hand,  out  of  the  forest  near  Gilroy.  Years 
afterward  a  more  pretentious  residence  was  built,  and 
occupied  by  the  father  and  mother  until  their  death. 

Mr.  Kell  died  on  March  8,  1878.  His  wife  did  not 
survive  him  long,  her  death  occurring  December  30, 
1 88 1.  She  was  the  mother  of  a  large  family.  The 
three  eldest  were  born  in  Canada.  The  eldest,  Thomas 
J.,  was  born  in  1829.  He,  with  his  uncle,  Bernard 
Murphy,  perished  with  the  ill-starred  steamer,  Jenny 
Lmd,  which  was  wrecked  by  the  explosion  of  one  of 
its  boilers,  in  the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  April  1 1,  1853. 
The  next  child,  Ann,  was  born  in  1834.  She  is  now 
the  widow  of  Clementa  Columbet,  and  resides  in  San 
Jose.  The  third,  Martin  D.,  is  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  John,  the  fourth  child,  was  born  in  Missouri, 
and  died  en  route  to  this  State,  aged  four  years.  The 
fifth  child,  William  D.,  was  born  in  Missouri,  in  1844. 
He  now  lives  at  Mountain  View.  The  three  youngest 
were  born  in  this  county.  John  J.,  born  in  1847,  is  a 
resident  of  San  Jose.  Mary  Ellen,  born  in  1852,  is 
now  the  wife  of  T.  A.  Carroll,  a  resident  of  San  Jose. 
Thomas  B.,  born  in  April,  1855,  is  now  the  owner  of 
part  of  the  old  homestead,  but  now  (1888)  is  residing 
upon  the  Weber   Ranch.     Thomas   Kell,  Sr.,  was  an 


invalid  from  1840,  suffering  from  chronic  rheumatism. 
He  also  incurred  a  severe  injury,  while  en  route  to 
California,  from  the  effects  of  which  he  never  fully 
recovered.  He  was  a  man  of  kindly  impulses,  and 
helped  many  a  poor  man  to  get  a  start  in  California. 

Martin  D.  Kell,  whose  name  heads  this  sketch,  is 
prominent  in  public  affairs  in  Santa  Clara  County, 
and  a  Democrat  in  politics.  He  has  held  several  offi- 
cial trusts  in  his  district  and  county.  From  Novem- 
ber, 1875, until  March,  1 878, he  served  as  Deputy  Road- 
master.  At  the  election  of  1877  he  w"as  chosen 
Supervisor  of  District  No.  i,  entering  upon  the  duties 
of  the  office  in  March,  1878,  and  being  re-elected  the 
following  year  to  the  same  office.  He  also  served  as 
Under-Sheriff  for  four  years,  with  Mr.  B.  F.  Branham 
as  Sheriff.  On  September  11,  1865,  he  married  Miss 
Mary  A.  Ward,  daughter  of  Patrick  and  Margaret 
Ward,  of  Lewis  County,  New  York,  where  Mrs.  Kell 
was  born  April  24,  1842.  Her  mother  died  in  this 
county,  in  1874,  at  the  home  of  her  son,  Bernard 
Ward,  now  deceased.  Mrs.  Kell's  father  died  in 
Lewis  County,  New  York,  in  1876. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kell  have  seven  children,  five  sons 
and  two  daughters,  all  yet  making  their  home  under 
the  parental  roof  Thomas  P.  was  born  July  19,  1866; 
Martin  B.,  January  27,  1868;  Mary  A.,  September  5, 
1869;  William  W.,  October  12,  1871;  Maggie,  Janu- 
ary I,  1874;  Bernard,  May  3,  1876;  Peter  C,  August 
I,  1878.  Mr.  Kell  is  the  owner  of  a  fine  property  of 
eighty-nine  acres,  which,  excepting  five  acres  devoted 
to  orchard  for  family  use,  is  devoted  to  general  farm- 


A 


AVID  GREENAWALT,  deceased.  The  fine 
farm,  of  over  200  acres,  which  this  worthy  citizen 
improved  and  occupied  for  twenty  one  years,  is 
on  the  Almaden  road,  seven  miles  from  the 
business  center  of  San  Jose,  and  is  as  well  located, 
and  as  well  adapted  to  general  farming,  as  any  ranch 
in  the  valley.  This  property  Mr.  Greenawalt  bought 
and  took  possession  of  in  November,  1867,  it  being  at 
that  time  all  inclosed  with  fences  and  having  building 
improvements  enough  for  shelter.  The  present  com- 
modious family  residence  was  built  in  1877,  the  large 
barn  in  the  year  preceding.  All  the  buildings  are 
noticeably  good,  and  all  were  constructed  with  regard 
to  convenience  rather  than  to  cost. 

Mr.  Greenawalt  was  born  in  Lehigh  County,  Penn- 
sylvania, April  2,   1824,  of  one   of  the  old  Pennsyl- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


437 


vania  families.  His  great-grandfather,  Jacob  Green- 
await,  came  from  Holland  about  the  beginning  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  being  obliged  to  work  for  three 
years  afterward  to  pay  for  his  passage.  The  farm  in 
Lehigh  County,  which  this  founder  of  the  family  im- 
proved, was  the  birthplace  of  the  subject  of  our 
sketch,  and  is  still  in  the  possession  of  the  family, 
having  been  the  birthplace  of  six  generations.  The 
names  of  the  grandfather  and  father  of  our  subject 
were  the  same, — Abraham  Greenawalt.  David  Green- 
await  was  reared  to  manhood  on  the  old  homestead, 
but  afterward  he  left  it  to  go  to  Wisconsin,  where  he 
spent  four  years  in  the  lead  mines  of  Iowa  County. 
The  discovery  of  gold  brought  him  to  California  in 
1S50.  He  came  on  the  overland  route,  and  upon  his 
arrival  engaged  in  mining  at  Placerville,  then  called 
Hangtown.  Two  months  later  he  visited  this  valley, 
where  he  married,  on  the  ninth  of  October,  1851,  Miss 
Eliza  Booth,  who  was  born  in  England,  in  May,  1831. 

Immediately  after  their  marriage  they  embarked 
for  Australia.  Three  months'  experience  in  the  min- 
ing districts  of  that  country  taught  Mr.  Greenawalt 
that  he  had  left  much  better  opportunities  for  acquir- 
ing wealth  behind  him,  and  was  only  one  of  thousands 
who  were  following  a  delusion.  The  return  voyage 
of  the  same  vessel,  the  Jessie  Bur)is,  that  took  them 
out,  brought  them  back  to  San  Francisco,  where  they 
landed  in  August,  1852.  Mr.  Greenawalt  then  en- 
gaged in  the  stock  business  with  his  father-in-law,  in 
this  county,  which  was  ever  afterward  his  home.  He 
recalled  the  fact  that  he  had  seen  all  of  Santa  Clara 
without  a  fence.  He  came  to  Santa  Clara  a  poor 
man,  and  grew  in  prosperity  with  the  county.  Keep- 
ing fully  apace  with,  or  ahead  of,  the  general  advance 
of  his  surroundings  in  individual  enterprise,  he  be- 
came blessed  with  a  competence  more  than  sufficient 
for  all  the  needs  of  his  declining  years.  In  politics  he 
had  been  identified  with  the  Republican  party  since 
the  candidacy  of  John  C.  Fremont. 

The  great  bereavement  of  his  life,  the  death  of  his 
wife,  occurred  October  29,  1887.  She  was  the  mother 
of  seven  children,  all  of  whom  are  living:  George 
lives  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  old  home, 
on  a  part  of  the  original  homestead ;  Mary  is  the 
wife  of  Frank  Blake;  Edna  is  the  wife  of  John  Mc- 
Abee,  of  San  Benito  County;  Amelia  is  the  wife  of 
Alonzo  Withers;  and  the  others,  William  D.,  John  K., 
and  Thomas,  are  residing  at  the  homestead. 

Mr.  Greenawalt,  the  subject  of  the  foregoing  brief 
outline,  died  July  6,  1888,  a  highly  respected  citizen, 
whose  departure  from  this  life  leaves  many  painful 
reminiscences  upon  the  minds  of  those  left  behind. 


PAMES  M.  KENYON  resides  in  Santa  Clara,  but 
.^j^  is  the  owner  of  a  fine  farm  of  242  acres,  situated 
^  on  the  Saratoga  and  Alviso  road,  at  its  junction 
with  the  Homestead  road,  about  two  miles  west  of 
Santa  Clara.  This  land,  with  the  exception  of  about 
eight  acres,  which  is  planted  with  prune-trees,  is  de- 
voted to  the  production  of  hay  and  grain  and  stock- 
raising. 

Mr.  Kenyon  was  born  in  Adams  County,  Ohio, 
May  29,  18 17.  There  his  father,  Jonathan  Kenyon, 
and  his  mother,  Sarah  (Stratton)  Kenyon,  made  their 
home  for  many  years.  His  early  youth  was  spent  upon 
his  father's  farm,  until  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  when 
he  left  home  to  learn  the  carpenter's  trade.  He  was 
successful  in  his  undertaking,  and  became  an  intelli- 
gent and  skilled  workman,  and  a  thorough  master  of 
his  trade,  at  which  he  worked  for  over  twenty-five 
years.  Mr.  Kenyon  is  a  California  pioneer  of  1S49, 
as  well  as  an  early  settler  of  this  county,  being  one  of 
the  hardy  men  who,  with  their  families,  at  that  early 
day  made  their  slow  and  laborious  way  across  the 
immense  plains  of  our  country  with  ox  teams.  On 
his  arrival  he  followed  the  example  of  thousands  and 
sought  for  wealth  in  the  mines,  but  soon  tiring  of  this 
life,  in  1850  he  took  up  his  residence  in  San  Jose, 
where  he  built  for  himself  a  house  and  pre|iared  to 
follow  his  trade  as  a  carpenter  and  builder.  Finding 
but  little  building  in  progress,  and  small  prospect  of 
much  being  done  in  the  immediate  future,  he  turned 
his  attention  to  other  business  ventures.  Having  been 
reared  to  a  farm  life,  and  seeing  the  rich  and  unculti- 
vated lands  lying  unoccupied  around  him,  he  was 
soon  induced  to  purchase  the  property  above  men- 
tioned. The  same  business  tact  and  foresight  that  he 
had  displayed  in  the  pursuit  of  his  trade  soon  assured 
him  of  success  in  his  new  business  and  placed  him  in 
the  ranks  of  the  leading  farmers  of  the  county. 

In  1837  Mr.  Kenyon  went  from  Ohio  into  Mis- 
souri, where  he  married  Miss  Martha  Roberts,  daughter 
of  Woodford  Roberts,  of  Andrew  County,  Missouri. 
Of  the  children  born  of  this  marriage  there  are  now 
living  the  following:  John  Fletcher,  of  Saratoga,  Santa 
Clara  County;  Benjamin  Franklin,  who  is  married 
and  lives  upon  the  farm  above  mentioned;  James 
Monroe;  Sarah,  the  wife  of  Daniel  Gardiner,  of  Sara- 
toga, Santa  Clara  County;  and  Emma,  the  wife  of 
H.  H.  Slavans,  of  Woodland,  Yolo  County,  this  State. 

Although  hale  and  hearty,  and  in  full  possession  of 
all  his  faculties,  the  subject  of  our  sketch  has  retired 
from  the  active  pursuits  and  operations  of  the  farm, 
turning  the  same  over  to  his  son,  whom  he  has  trained 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


to  succeed  him  in  its  successful  management,  and, 
with  his  wife,  is  living  in  comfort  in  Santa  Clara, 
enjoying  the  rest  which  an  active  and  successful  busi- 
ness life  of  nearly  sixty  years  has  made  a  necessity. 


fOHN  S.  SELBY  resides  upon  the  Mission  road, 
in  the  Orchard  School  District,  about  five  miles 
""^  north  of  San  Jose,  where  is  situated  his  tract  of 
fourteen  acres.  Eight  acres  of  this  productive  land  is 
devoted  to  orchard  culture,  and  comprises  the  follow- 
ing trees:  300  peach,  200  "  Bureau  Hardy"  pear,  170 
Bartlett  pear,  80  Winter  Nelis  pear,  60  cherry,  and  50 
apricot,  besides  a  few  plum,  apple,  fig,  persimmon,  and 
English  and  black  walnut  trees.  This  orchard  is  in 
full  bearing,  and  very  productive,  as  the  few  facts 
which  we  mention  about  the  crop  of  fruit  prove. 
From  sixty  cherry  trees,  the  fruit  has  realized  an  aver- 
age of  $150  per  year  for  the  last  four  years,  while  100 
Bartlett  pear-trees,  occupying  but  little  more  than 
one-half  an  acre,  have  yielded  $3.00  worth  of  fruit 
per  tree  each  year  for  the  same  length  of  time.  Six 
acres  of  the  land  is  used  for  pasturage. 

Mr.  Selby  was  born  in  Callaway  County,  Missouri, 
November  24,  1834.  He  is  the  son  of  William  and 
Julia  (Turley)  Selby,  natives  of  Kentucky,  who  emi- 
grated to  Missouri  at  an  early  date,  and  were  among 
the  pioneers  of  that  State.  His  father  was  a  carpen- 
ter as  well  as  a  farmer,  and  in  both  industries  the  sub- 
ject of  our  sketch  was  trained.  He  was  eighteen 
years  of  age  when,  in  the  spring  of  1853,  he  left  home 
to  make  the  overland  trip  to  California.  He  reached 
Santa  Clara  County  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  and 
soon  located  in  the  redwoods,  where  he  worked  for 
about  a  year.  During  the  following  year  he  hauled 
redwood,  and  fenced  in  150  acres  of  land  in  the  Ber- 
ryessa  District,  which  he  rented  and  in  the  working  of 
which  he  spent  about  a  year. 

In  1856  he  rented  150  acres  of  land  from  Colonel 
Jacques,  about  one  and  a  half  miles  northeast  of  Ber- 
ryessa.  Later  he  rented  and  afterwards  purchased 
150  acres  just  north  of  Berryessa,  upon  which  he  lived 
for  four  years.  In  i860  he  sold  this  farm,  and  took  up 
his  residence  upon  the  property  upon  which  he  now 
resides.  In  addition  to  the  cultivation  of  his  place. 
Mr.  Selby  engages  in  contracting  and  carpenter  work- 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  united  in  marriage, 
in  1856,  with  Miss  Sarah  Brelsford,  whose  parents  are 
residents  of  Indiana.  To  them  have  been  born  seven 
children,  of  whom  five  are  now  living.     Their  names 


are:  Mary,  the  wife  of  William  E.  Trimble,  of  Berry- 
essa; Emma,  Edwin  Abel,  residing  in  Milpitas;  Will- 
iam H.,  Lizzie  L.,  the  wife  of  W.  E.  Coombs,  of  San 
Jose,  and  G.  Wray. 

Mr.  Selby  is  a  man  whose  life  of  industry  and  in- 
tegrity has  won  the  respect  of  a  large  circle  of  ac- 
quaintances. He  is  deeply  interested  in  the  welfare 
of  the  Southern  Methodist  Church,  and  was  one  of 
the  organizers  and  founders  of  the  church  of  that  de- 
nomination in  Berryessa  in  1857,  being  also  one  of  its 
first  Trustees.  He  now  creditably  fills  the  position  of 
School  Trustee  in  his  district.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Democrat,  but  liberal  and  conservative,  especially  in 
local  politics. 


:^-<^— 


SpDWARD  TOPHAM  was  born  in  Toronto,  Can- 
S^  ada,  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  October,  1840.  His 
-sp  parents,  William  and  Eliza  (Sylvester)  Topham, 
were  natives  of  Ireland,  who  emigrated  while 
young  to  Canada,  and  there  engaged  in  agriculture. 
Until  eighteen  years  of  age  he  lived  on  his  father's  farm, 
meanwhile  receiving  such  schooling  as  was  afforded  by 
the  common  schools.  At  that  age  he  was  apprenticed 
to  the  trade  of  blacksmith;  however,  he  remained 
there  but  a  short  time  after  serving  his  apprenticeship, 
before  coming  to  the  United  States.  He  traveled  quite 
extensively  in  the  Middle  States,  in  Kentucky,  Mis- 
souri, Illinois,  and  Ohio,  and  was  also  engaged  as  an 
assistant  engineer  on  the  Mississippi  and  Yazoo  Rivers. 
In  1 86 1  he  returned  to  Canada,  but  after  a  short  so- 
journ there  he  returned  to  the  United  States,  and  dur- 
ing a  portion  of  the  years  1862-63  was  employed  in  the 
government  shops  at  Washington,  District  of  Colum- 
bia. In  the  last-named  year  he  again  returned  to 
Canada,  and  entered  into  partnership  with  his  old 
employer  for  three  years  in  Burgessville,  and  shortly 
after  purchased  a  foundry  and  machine  shop,  which 
he,  with  his  brothers,  conducted  until  1868.  He  then 
sold  out  his  business  and  came  to  this  State,  locating, 
in  June  of  that  year,  in  Santa  Clara,  where  he  spent 
about  six  months  in  working  at  his  trade.  Early  in 
the  following  year  he  settled  at  Milpitas,  and  there 
entered  into  partnership  with  David  S.  Boyce,  in 
blacksmithingand  carriage  works,  and  in  this  business 
he  has  since  continued,  having  conducted  it  through  all 
these  years  most  successfully. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  married,  in  1874,  Miss 
Hattie  Castle,  the  daughter  of  W.  D.  and  Frank 
(Ferry)   Castle,   residents,   at  that  time,  of  Milpitas. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


439 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  Topham  have  seven  children:  Clarence^ 
Frank,  Edward,  Chester  A.,  Blanche,  Clifton,  and 
Alida. 

Mr.  Topham  has  been  very  successful  in  all  his 
business  enterprises,  and  is  the  owner  of  considerable 
real  estate,  among  which  are  seven  houses  and  lots  in 
Milpitas,  also  a  forty-acre  tract  adjoining  the  town  on 
the  north.  In  Tulare  County  he  owns  eighty  acres, 
which  will  be  devoted  to  orchard  culture,  and  is  also 
half  owner  of  a  large  stock  ranch  in  San  Benito 
County,  upon  which  are  roaming  a  large  herd  of  cattle. 
He  is  much  interested  in  the  finer  breeds  of  horses, 
and  is  raising  some  trotting  stock  from  "Nutwood," 
"American  Boy,"  "  Grosvenor,"  and  other  great  fami- 
lies of  horses.  His  horses  are  well  known,  and,  when 
entered  in  the  agricultural  fairs,  take  their  full  share 
of  premiums.  He  is  also  a  share-holder  in  the  Mex- 
ican Pacific  Railroad. 

Mr.  Topham  is  well  known  in  social  as  well  as  busi. 
ness  circles,  and  is  connected  with  several  industrial 
organizations.  He  has  been  a  Director,  and  is  now 
the  President,  of  the  Santa  Clara  Valley  Agricultural 
Society,  and  is  also  the  presiding  officer  of  the  District 
Agricultural  Society,  No.  5,  of  the  State,  comprising 
Santa  Clara  and  San  Mateo  Counties.  For  the  past 
fifteen  years  he  has  served  with  credit  as  School  Trus- 
tee of  his  district.  He  is  also  a  Trustee  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  of  which  his  wife  is  a  member.  He 
is  associated  with  San  Jose  Lodge,  No  10,  of  the  Ma- 
sonic fraternity. 

Politically,  Mr.  Topham  is  connected  with  the  Re- 
publican party,  and  is  deeply  interested  in  the  admin- 
istration of  affairs  in  his  county.  As  a  public-spirited 
man,  and  one  who  is  ever  ready  to  devote  time  and 
means  to  the  advancement  of  his  section,  he  is  a  most 
useful  citizen. 


m  G.  F.  BERGHAUSER  resides  on  the  Hostetter 
®^  road  in  the  Eagle  School  District,  about  four 
^  miles  northeast  of  San  Jose.  There  he  owns 
twenty  acres  of  fine  orchard  land,  all  under  a  high 
state  of  cultivation,  and  all  set  with  fruit  trees,  the 
larger  part  of  them  being  apricots  and  prunes,  although 
peaches,  pears,  plums,  cherries,  figs,  nectarines,  and 
quinces  are  among  the  products  of  this  model  orchard. 
Mr.  Berghauser  also  has  table  grapes  and  berries  of 
all  descriptions.  Such  water  as  is  needed  for  domestic 
use,  and  for  the  irrigation  of  small  fruits,  is  furnished 
from  pumping  wells. 


The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, December  2,  1855,  and  is  the  son  of  John  and 
Margaret  (Briel)  Berghauser.  His  father  was  born  in 
Germany,  and  came  to  the  United  States  in  1827. 
He  resided  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  and  Rich- 
mond, Virginia,  in  both  of  which  places  he  conducted 
hotels.  The  excitement  of  1849  brought  him  to  Cal- 
ifornia in  that  year,  and  he  established  himself  in  the 
hotel  business  in  San  Francisco.  In  that  enterprise 
he  accumulated  a  fortune,  with  which  he  retired  from 
business  in  1853.  The  mother  of  our  subject  is  also 
a  native  of  Germany,  who  met  and  married  her  hus- 
band in  Richmond,  Virginia.  She  is  now  a  resident 
of  San  Francisco. 

J.  G.  F.,  whose  name  heads  this  biographical  out- 
line, attended  the  public  schools  of  his  native  city 
until  eleven  years  of  age,  when  he  was  sent  to  Ger- 
many to  complete  his  education.  He  returned  to  his 
home  in  this  State  when  eighteen  years  of  age,  and 
entered  into  mercantile  pursuits,  which  occupied  his' 
attention  for  three  years.  The  two  years  following 
his  relinquishment  of  the  mercantile  business,  he  spent 
in  Yolo,  Colusa,  and  Solano  Counties,  engaged  in  farm 
labor.  In  1878  he  purchased  a  farm  in  the  San 
Joaquin  Valley,  near  Gait,  upon  which  he  engaged  in 
grain  and  stock-raising.  This  farm  he  operated  until, 
in  1884,  he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  and  com- 
menced the  cultivation  of  fruit  on  his  present  property. 
Since  that  time  he  devoted  his  attention  to  the  suc- 
cessful management  of  his  land,  and  has  met  with 
favorable  results.  He  is  a  respected  and  esteemed 
citizen  of  his  community,  and  much  interested  in  the 
welfare  of  the  public  schools,  being  at  this  time  a 
School  Trustee.  As  a  native  of  the  State  and  a  resi- 
dent of  one  of  its  most  favoicd  sections,  he  is  a  strong 
believer  in  its  future  greatness  and  prosperity.  Polit- 
ically, he  is  identified  with  the  Democratic  party. 

In  1878  Mr.  Berghauser  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Elizabeth  Wertz,  the  daughter  of  John  B. 
and  Elizabeth  (Foreman)  Wertz,  residents  of  Hum- 
boldt County,  this  State,  but  natives  of  Germany. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Berghauser  have  three  children:  Frida- 
ricka,  Frederick,  and  Julius. 


^^mENRY  CARREL,  of  the  San  Tomas  District,  is 
(FSjvh  the  owner  of  a  highly  cultivated  fruit  ranch  of 
"W"  twenty  acres  on  the  McCoy  Avenue.  The  or- 
chard was  planted  in  1882,  principally  with 
French  prunes,  apricots,  and  peaches,  and   Mr.  Carrel 


440 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


purchased  the  property  in  the  autumn  of  1885.  No 
orchard  in  the  vicinity  shows  more  intelligent,  careful, 
and  skillful  handling  than  does  this  one.  The  build- 
ing improvements  are  excellent,  and,  all  in  all,  the 
property  gives  evidence  of  the  thrift  and  taste  of  the 
owner. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1843. 
When  he  was  nine  years  of  age,  his  father,  Abraham 
Carrel,  moved  to  Pike  County,  Illinois.  There  he 
lived  on  a  farm  until  eighteen  years  of  age,  when,  in 
obedience  to  the  first  call  by  President  Lincoln  for 
volunteers  to  put  down  the  slave-holders'  rebellion,  he 
enlisted  in  the  Eighth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry. 
The  State  having  had  seven  regiments  of  volunteers 
in  the  Mexican  War,  the  Eighth  Regiment  was  the 
first  Illinois  regiment  raised  for  the  War  for  the  Union. 
He  was  not  long  afterward  transferred  to  the  Tenth 
Regiment,  as  the  company  in  which  he  enlisted  had 
too  many  men.  When  the  term  of  his  enlistment 
(three  months)  had  expired,  Mr.  Carrel  was  honorably 
discharged,  but  at  once  re-enlisted  in  the  Thirty-third 
Illinois  Infantry  for  three  years,  or  during  the  war. 
In  Missouri  and  Arkansas  he  served  during  the  first 
campaign  under  General  Curtiss,  and  under  General 
Grant  in  the  heroic  campaign  culminating  in  the  capt- 
ure of  Vicksburg.  Later  he  took  part  in  the  cam- 
paigns in  Texas  and  the  Southwest.  At  Indianola, 
Texas,  he  veteranized  and  visited  his  home  on  a  fur- 
lough. His  last  campaign  was  in  the  Gulf  Department, 
in  which  he  did  a  gallant  soldier's  duty  in  the  opera- 
tions which  led  to  the  capture  of  Blakely  and  Spanish 
Fort,  the  defenses  of  Mobile.  His  faithful  services 
ended  at  Springfield,  Illinois,  where  he  received  an 
honorable  discharge  in  November,  1865.  Among  the 
engagements  in  which  he  participated  we  will  men- 
tion Baker's  Creek,  Champion  Hills,  and  the  Battle  of 
Jackson  in  the  Vicksburg  campaign,  and  the  assault 
upon  Spanish  Fort.  He  was  never  absent  from  duty, 
and  was  in  line  during  every  engagement  in  which  his 
regiment  took  part.  He  may  well  look  with  pride  on 
his  record  as  a  soldier. 

After  the  close  of  the  war,  Mr.  Carrel  mastered  the 
mason's  and  bricklayer's  trade,  in  Pike  County,  Illi- 
nois, and  this  trade  he  followed  until  he  settled  in  his 
present  home.  In  1869  he  removed  to  Denver,  Col- 
orado, and  after  living  in  that  city  for  about  four 
years,  he  went  to  Nevada,  but  came  to  this  State  dur- 
ing the  following  year.  In  the  spring  of  1875  he 
settled  at  Victoria,  Vancouver's  Island,  British  Co- 
lumbia. There,  in  June,  1877,  Mr.  Carrel  married 
Miss  Susannah  R.  Miller,  who  was  born  in   England, 


but  reared  in  Pike  County,  Illinois.  After  a  resi- 
dence of  several  years  there,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Carrel 
left  Victoria,  and,  returning  to  this  State,  took  posses- 
sion of  their  present  home.  They  have  two  daughters, 
Florence  V.  and  Ida  K. 

Mr,  Carrel  is  a  member  of  the  honorable  order  of 
Odd  Fellows.  Politically,  he  is  identified  with  the 
Republican  party. 


.IpRANK  W.  BLACKMAR.  The  subject  of  this 
G^  sketch  dates  his  birth  in  Wayne  County,  Michi- 
T  gan,  in  1852.  His  father,  William  C.  Blackmar, 
was  born  in  the  State  of  New  York,  and  located  in 
Michigan,  where  he  engaged  in  farming.  Mr.  Black- 
mar  was  reared  to  this  calling  upon  his  father's  farm, 
at  the  same  time  receiving  such  an  education  as  the 
common  schools  afforded.  He  continued  his  farm 
operations  until  1879,  in  which  year  he  came  to  Cali- 
fornia. His  first  year  in  the  State  was  spent  in  San 
Francisco,  and  in  1880  he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County. 
Upon  his  arrival  he  engaged  in  various  pursuits,  but 
principally  those  of  an  agricultural  character. 

In  1883  Mr.  Blackmar  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Ellen  Louise  Driscoll,  the  daughter  of  James 
Driscoll,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts.  In  the  year  fol- 
lowing he  took  up  his  residence  on  the  corner  of  the 
Stevens  Creek  road  and  Saratoga  Avenue,  five  miles 
west  of  San  Jose  and  two  miles  southwest  of  Santa 
Clara,  and  there  engaged  in  the  saloon  business. 

Mr.  Blackmar  has  successfully  conducted  this  en- 
terprise since  that  date.  His  place  is  well  and  favor- 
ably known  to  all  residents,  and  well  patronized,  as  he 
keeps  a  select,  quiet,  and  orderly  establishment.  He 
is  closely  identified  with  the  best  interests  of  the 
county,  and  having  real  estate  in  San  Jose,  he  feels  a 
deep  interest  in  the  welfare  and  advancement  of  that 
city.  He  is  a  public-spirited  and  enterprising  citizen. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blackmar  are  the  parents  of  three 
children,  viz.,  Clara,  Horace,  and  Frank. 


.^hAVID  E.  GISH,  one  of  California's  early  pio- 
G^  neers,  was  born  December  16,  1829,  in  Tippe- 
p)  canoe  County,  Indiana,  within  a  mile  and  a  half 
of  the  "  Tippecanoe  Battle-ground."  He  is  the 
son  of  David  H.  and  Susan  Gish,  who  were  Virgin- 
ians by  birth  and  of  German  descent.  The  founder 
of  the  family  of  Gish  settled  in   Pennsylvania  before 


442 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


in  1884.  Of  their  eight  children  none  are  now 
Uving. 

Jonathan  F.  Lupton,  on  the  third  of  May,  1871, 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Alicia  L.  Hicks. 
Ten  children  were  born  of  this  union,  of  whom  eight 
are  living.  The  second  child,  Clara  Alice,  died  in 
1874,  at  the  age  of  seven  months,  and  the  third,  Ida 
May,  on  the  twelfth  of  October,  1886,  at  the  age  of 
eleven  years.  The  three  eldest  children  are  now 
ri888)  in  school.  The  names  of  the  living  children, 
in  the  order  of  their  birth,  are:  Mary  Grace,  Jonathan 
H.,  Lewis  Edward,  Alicia  Mabel,  Marcus  Leslie, 
George  W.,  Marvin,  and  Ernest  W. 

Mrs.  Lupton  is  a  native  of  the  South,  dating  her 
birth  in  Decatur  County,  Georgia,  July  7,  1849.  She 
is  the  daughter  of  N.  H.  and  Mary  (Norris)  Hicks. 
Her  father  came  to  California  with  the  gold-seekers 
in  1849.  His  wife,  with  their  ten  children,  followed 
him  in  1852,  becoming  pioneers  of  the  Willow  Dis- 
trict. Their  home  was  located  on  Los  Gatos  Creek, 
where  the  parents  lived  until  their  death.  Mr.  Hicks 
died  in  1S78,  at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years,  his  wife 
surviving  him  nine  years,  dying  at  the  advanced  age 
of  eighty-two  years.  Mrs.  Lupton  is  the  youngest  of 
a  family  of  eleven  children,  eight  of  whom  are  now 
living.  Wellington  died  while  the  family  was  on  the 
way  to  California.  A  brother,  Augustus  C,  and  a 
sister,  Mrs.  Mary  Finley,  are  also  deceased.  The 
names  of  the  living  are:  Achilles,  Mrs.  Caroline  Biggs, 
Mr.s.  Martineau  Winters,  Mrs.  Josephine  Whyers,  Mrs. 
Arene  M.  Jenkins,  Napoleon  B.,  Mr.s.  Louisa  Watson, 
and  Mr.s.  Lupton.  A  self-educated  man,  Mrs. 
Lupton's  father  was  a  great  student  and  a  prominent 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 
Politically  he  was  a  Democrat. 

Jonathan  F.  Lupton,  the  husband  of  the  subject  of 
the  above  paragraph,  was  one  of  the  active,  energetic, 
public-spirited  men  of  the  Willows.  In  his  death,  his 
wife  and  children  lost  a  devoted  husband  and  father, 
while  the  community  in  which  he  made  his  home 
mourned  a  good  citizen  and  a  kind  neighbor.  In  his 
political  views  he  was  a  Democrat. 

Mrs.  Lupton  and  her  children  were  left  well  pro- 
vided for,  as  at  the  time  of  his  death  Mr.  Lupton 
owned  forty  acres,  fifteen  of  which  were  planted  with 
trees.  The  family  residence,  on  a  plat  of  twenty 
acres,  is  situated  on  Hicks  Avenue. 


IgREDERICK  D.  BALLARD,  residing  on  Mc- 
s^  Coy  Avenue  in  the  San  Tomas  District,  bought 
^  his  property,  consisting  of  thirty  acres,  in  1882, 
and  upon  a  stubble-field  commenced  the  work  of 
creating  a  splendid  orchard  home.  The  building 
improvements  are  noticeably  good,  tasteful,  and  well- 
ordered,  while  the  orchard  is  hard  to  excel.  During 
the  season  following  his  purchase,  Mr.  Ballard  set  out 
600  pear-trees,  the  following  season  600  apricot  and 
400  egg  plum  trees,  the  third  season  400  French 
prune  and  400  apricot  trees,  and  later,  200  peach  trees. 
Every  tree  in  this  young  orchard  shows  the  care  and 
skill  with  which  it  is  handled.  The  household 
orchard  contains  fig,  orange,  plum,  cherry,  apple,  and 
peach  trees,  besides  a  few  specialties. 

Mr.  Ballard  dates  his  birth  in  Pike  County,  Illinois, 
in  1844.  The  family  removed  to  Boston,  and  in  that 
city  of  culture  the  subject  of  our  sketch  was  educated 
and  attained  his  majority.  Having  mastered  the 
printer's  art,  he  plied  his  trade  in  many  different  cities 
in  various  States,  living  in  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  and 
other  cities  in  Missouri  and  Kansas.  From  St. 
Joseph,  Missouri,  he  came  to  San  Jose  in  1875,  and 
in  that  city  married,  in  1882,  Miss  Maria  Palen,  the 
daughter  of  James  and  Cecilia  Palen.  Mrs.  Ballard 
has  been  a  resident  of  San  Jose  since  1876,  when  she 
came  with  her  aunt,  Miss  Maria  Palen,  from  Michigan. 
Mr.  Ballard  has  become  an  enthusiastic  horticultur- 
ist, and  with  his  enthusiasm  has  united  painstaking 
care  and  practical  knowledge,  which  are  most  neces- 
sary for  the  production  of  the  best  results.  Like  all 
of  his  craft,  he  is  deeply  interested  and  well  posted  in 
all  public  affairs.  He  is  an  ardent  Republican  and  a 
firm  believer  in  the  importance  of  the  protection  of 
American  industries.  He  is  connected  with  the 
Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen. 


■»- 


'f 


ATRICK  HANNON,  who  owns  property  in  the 
Pioneer  District,  three  miles  north  of  the  busi- 
ness center  of  San  Jose,  has  been  identified  with 
Santa  Clara  County  since  1854.  He  was  born 
in  County  Kildare,  Ireland,  in  September,  1830.  In 
his  youth  he  was  trained  to  the  work  of  a  farmer,  and 
that  work  has  been  the  vocation  of  his  life. 

When  seventeen  years  of  age  he  decided  to  seek 
his  fortunes  in  the  unknown  New  World.  Conse- 
quently he  crossed  the  ocean  and  landed  at  Quebec. 
The  five  years  previous  to  his  coming  to  this  State 
were  spent  in  that  city.     He  chose  the  Isthmus  route, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


443 


and,  upon  his  arrival  in  this  State,  came  at  once  to 
Santa  Clara  County.  He  never  engaged  in  mining, 
but  the  first  seven  years  were  spent  in  the  employ  of 
others,  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising.  He 
worked  faithfully  for  Samuel  J.  Hensley  for  four 
years,  and  three  years  for  Captain  Aram. 

With  the  fruits  of  the  industry  and  economy  of 
years,  he  purchased,  in  1862,  twenty  acres,  which  now 
forms  the  larger  part  of  his  estate,  he  having  added 
fifteen  acres  to  it.  He  is  engaged  in  fruit  culture, 
having  seven  acres  in  orchard  and  six  acres  in  small 
fruit.  Several  acres  are  devoted  to  the  raising  of  hay, 
while  some  of  the  land  is  in  vegetables  and  some  in 
pasture. 

In  1862  Mr.  Hannon  married  Miss  Letitia  Kelly. 
He  was  bereaved  by  her  death,  which  occurred  in 
1872.  She  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  as  is  Mr.  Han- 
non's  second  wife,  formerly  Miss  Delia  Rogers.  By 
his  last  marriage  Mr.  Hannon  has  one  child,  Annie  L. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  came  to  this  State  a 
poor  man,  and,  while  he  does  not  now  call  himself  a 
rich  man,  still  he  owns  a  good,  comfortable  home, 
for  which  he  owes  not  one  dollar.  Although  cir- 
cumstances deprived  him  of  early  educational  ad- 
vantages, yet  an  active,  retentive  mind,  constantly 
learning  through  contact  with  the  world,  has  amply 
compensated  him  for  the  disadvantages  of  his  youth. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  but  liberal  in  his  views 
on  all  questions,  and  a  believer  in  the  policy  of  pro- 
tection of  American  products. 

^ 

^felLLIAM  C.  MILLER,  one  of  the  successful 
fe^  horticulturists  of  the  Lincoln  School  District, 
T^  resides  on  the  corner  of  the  Bollinger  and 
Blaney  roads.  His  property  consists  of  twenty- 
four  acres  of  fine  vineyard  and  orchard  land  in  a  high 
state  of  cultivation.  It  is  principally  devoted  to  the 
production  of  wine  grapes  of  the  following  varieties: 
Cabernet  (Franc  and  Sauvignon),  Sauvignon  Vert, 
and  Berger,  with  about  fifty  vines  of  Muscat,  Rose 
of  Peru,  and  Isabella  Regis  for  table  use.  The  or- 
chard furnishes  fruit  for  domestic  use.  Mr.  Miller 
purchased  the  land  in  1886,  and  it  is  his  intention 
eventually  to  have  the  apparatus  necessary  to  convert 
his  grapes  into  wine  himself 

He  claims  Pennsylvania  as  his  native  State,  dating 
liis  birth  in  Union  County,  October  31,  1S36.  His 
mother  died  during  his  infancy,  leaving  him  to  the 
care  of  his  aunt,   who  rcsidetl    in    Danville,  Montom- 


County,  Pennsylvania.  His  youth  and  young  man- 
hood were  spent  in  that  place,  and  there  he  received 
his  education,  and  commenced  his  chosen  career,  as  a 
druggist  and  chemist,  at  the  early  age  of  fifteen  years. 
After  devoting  three  years  in  learning  his  profession, 
he  located  in  Ashland,  Schuylkill  County,  and  there 
established  a  drug  store,  which  he  successfully  con- 
ducted for  about  eight  years.  During  this  time,  in 
1859,  he  married. 

In  1863  he  determined  to  seek  a  new  home  in  far- 
off  California,  and,  with  his  wife,  made  the  long  jour- 
ney across  the  continent,  locating  in  San  Francisco, 
where  he  entered  the  employ  of  Thayer  &  Wakelee, 
with  whom  he  remained  until  1865.  He  then  pur- 
chased the  drug  store  of  J.  H.  Coggeshall,  on  the 
corner  of  Pacific  and  Stockton  Streets,  where  he  con- 
ducted an  honorable  and  profitable  business  for  many 
years,  remaining  in  charge  of  it  until  1881,  when  he 
disposed  of  his  store  and  removed  to  Santa  Clara 
County  and  took  up  horticulture.  After  a  residence 
of  about  five  years  in  the  Moreland  District,  he  vis- 
ited Los  Angeles  County,  spending  some  time  in 
seeking  a  desirable  location.  Not  being  suited  with 
the  lower  part  of  the  State,  he  returned  to  Santa 
Clara  County  and  purchased  the  property  upon  which 
he  now  makes  his  home. 

Mr.  Miller  is  a  man  of  sound  business  principles  and 
habits  of  industry,  and,  with  the  aid  of  his  long  busi- 
ness experience  during  an  active  life,  he  is  bound  to 
build  up  a  valuable  vineyard,  which  will  be  an  acqui- 
sition to  his  neighborhood.  He  has  unbounded  con- 
fidence in  the  future  of  the  wine  industry  of  California; 
and  if  wine  dealers  and  producers  will  use  their  ut- 
most endeavors  to  raise  the  standard  of  quality  in 
their  products  he  believes  that  the  day  is  not  far  dis- 
tant when  pure,  wholesome  light  wines  will  find  a 
ready  sale  throughout  the  United  States  at  remuner- 
ative prices. 


|PAND0LPH  W.  APPERSON.  Among  the 
s^^  successful  agriculturists  of  the  county,  must  be 
^  mentioned  the  gentleman  whose  name  heads  this 
sketch.  His  farm,  of  eighty-two  acres,  in  the 
Braley  District,  is  situated  on  the  Saratoga  and  Alviso 
road,  about  two  miles  north  of  Lawrence.  With  the" 
exception  of  a  small  orchard,  which  yields  a  choice 
variety  of  fruit  for  domestic  use  only,  the  ranch  is  de- 
voted to  the  production  of  hay  and  grain.  Two  ar- 
tesian wells  furnish  all  the  water  needetl,  one  of  them 


444 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


having  a  depth  of  362  feet,  and  giving  a  fine  flow  of 
two  inches  above  a  seven-inch  pipe. 

Randolph  W.  is  the  son  of  Dr.  John  Apperson  and 
Alice  (Faver)  Apperson,  natives  of  Culpcper  Count)', 
Virginia,  who  removed  to  Washington  County,  Vir- 
ginia, where  the  subject  of  our  sketch  was  born  in 
1809.  His  youth  was  spent  upon  a  farm,  which  his 
father  conducted  in  addition  to  his  professional  duties. 
In  1829,  with  his  parents,  he  removed  to  Franklin 
County,  Missouri,  where  his  father  continued  the 
practice  of  medicine,  while  he  engaged  in  farming  op- 
erations, until  1 83 1.  Then,  after  spending  one  year 
in  mercantile  life  in  Franklin  County,  he  went  to  Dent 
County,  in  the  same  State,  opening  there  a  general 
merchandise  store,  which  he  conducted  with  profit  for 
about  three  years.  Returning  in  1835  to  Franklin 
County,  he  resumed  his  former  occupations  of  farming 
and  stock-raising.  That  he  was  successful  and  con- 
tented we  may  know  from  the  fact  that  he  remained 
in  that  locality  and  business  for  twenty-eight  years. 
When  he  left  Missouri,  in  1863,  it  was  to  make  his 
home  in  California,  the  favored  State  of  the  Union. 
Reaching  San  Francisco  vm  the  Panama  route,  he 
made  a  stay  of  about  eight  months  in  the  city,  before 
coming  to  Santa  Clara  County.  Upon  visiting  this 
county  he  purchased  the  farm  which  he  now  occupies 
and  cultivates. 

Mr.  Apperson  in  his  youth  received  such  scanty 
schooling  as  could  be  gained  in  the  rural  districts  in 
that  day,  but  his  ambitious  disposition  and  habits  of 
industry  led  him  to  educate  himself.  He  may  be 
styled  a  self-made  man,  for  his  successes  have  been 
due,  not  to  particularly  fortunate  circumstances,  but  to 
his  strong  determination  to  merit  success,  by  doing 
all  in  his  power  to  advance  himself  by  all  honorable 
means.  Public-spirited  and  progressive  in  his  views, 
he  is  a  valued  citizen  of  his  section.  Politically,  he  is 
a  Democrat,  but  is  liberal  and  conservative  in  his 
views.  In  1830,  when  just  entering  manhood,  Mr. 
Apperson  became  converted  to  the  cause  of  Christ, 
and  united  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  con- 
tinuing an  earnest  member  of  that  denomination  until 
after  his  marriage,  when,  during  a  winter  season  spent 
in  Iowa,  he  joined  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
Church,  becoming  an  elder  of  that  organization.  His 
life  has  been  consistent  with  his  profession  of  religion, 
for,  by  precept  and  practice,  he  has  shown  his  love  for 
the  Master. 

He  was  married,  in  1S40,  to  Miss  Drusiila  Whitmire, 
a  daughter  of  Henry  Whitmire,  a  native  of  South 
Carolina,  and  a  resident  of  Franklin  County,  Missouri. 


Of  the  three  children  born  from  this  union,  two  are 
living,  Phoebe  Elizabeth  and  Elbert  Clark.  The  for- 
mer married  George  Hearst,  of  Missouri,  who  is  now 
the  able  United  States  Senator  from  California.  The 
latter  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Sutherland,  daughter 
of  William  Sutherland,  of  Santa  Clara  County,  and 
now  resides  upon  a  farm  of  his  own  near  his  father's 
home. 


aKENRY  C.  JUDSON.  Among  the  many  fine 
fc^  ranches  of  Santa  Clara  County,  mention  must 
(S)  be  made  of  that  owned  by  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  It  is  located  on  the  San  Francisco 
road,  adjoining  the  western  limits  of  Santa  Clara,  and 
consists  of  160  acres  of  valuable  and  productive  land. 
Fourteen  acres  are  in  vinejard  in  full  bearing  and  in 
fine  condition,  producing  many  varieties  of  grapes, 
among  which  may  be  noted  the  Muscat,  Black  Ham- 
burg, Rose  of  Peru,  Mission,  Charbano,  Zinfandel, 
Tokay,  and  Verdal.  Ten  acres  arte  devoted  to  fruit 
culture,  producing  pears,  apples,  peaches,  apricots,  and 
other  varieties  for  family  use  only.  But  by  far  the 
larger  part  of  the  ranch  is  devoted  to  the  growing  of 
grain  and  hay,  and  to  the  raising  of  stock,  among 
which  are  found  thirty  head  of  thoroughbred  horses, 
the  famous  stallion  ''Wildidle"  (conceded  to  be  one 
of  the  best  horses  in  the  State  and  valued  at  $10,000) 
being  at  the  head.  The  celebrated  horses,  "Jim 
Douglas,"  "Freda,"  "May  D.,"  "Ella  Doane,"and  sev- 
eral others,  of  which  "Wildidle"  is  the  sire,  were  bred 
and  reared  on  this  farm,  and  are  justly  noted  as  rank- 
ing among  the  finest  stock  produced  in  the  State. 

Mr.  Judson  dates  his  birth  in  Onondaga  County, 
New  York,  in  1845,  and  is  the  son  of  James  and  Ann 
(Easterbrook).  James  Judson  was  born  in  New  York 
State,  and  Ann  Easterbrook  born  in  Devonshire, 
England.  His  father  came  to  California  in  1856,  and 
settled  in  San  Francisco,  where,  in  company  with  his 
brother,  he  was  extensively  engaged  in  business  pur- 
suits, they  being  the  promoters  and  incorporators  of 
the  Giant  Powder  Works,  the  Judson  Manufacturing 
Company,  the  California  Paper  Company,  the  San 
Francisco  Chemical  Works,  and  many  other  similar 
enterprises. 

Mr.  Judson's  youth  was  spent  in  securing  an  educa- 
tion, he  being  a  graduate  of  the  excellent  grammar 
and  high  schools  of  San  Francisco,  in  which  he  took 
high  rank.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  commenced  his 
business  career  in  the  San  Francisco  Chemical  Works. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


445 


He  made  rapid  progress,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
four  years  was  promoted  to  the  superintendency  of 
tlie  entire  business,  holding  this  position  until  sickness 
compelled  his  resignation,  in  1879.  During  the  two 
years  following,  his  health  was  such  that  it  was  im- 
possible for  him  to  attend  to  business;  but  in  1881, 
having  partially  recovered,  he  took  up  his  residence  on 
the  place  which  he  now  occupies,  and  which  his  father 
had  purchased  in  1S79.  Bringing  into  his  new  occu- 
pation intelligent  and  well-directed  business  qualities, 
combined  with  energetic  action  and  a  spirit  of 
progress,  he  has  placed  himself  among  the  leading 
farmers  and  stock-raisers  of  this  county,  while  as  the 
proprietor  of  the  "Wildidle  Farm"  he  is  widely 
known. 

In  [877  Mr.  Judson  married  Miss  Ella  A.  Doane, 
daughter  of  Joshua  G.  Doane,  of  San  Francisco. 
They  have  one  child,  Lottie  D.,  aged  at  the  present 
writing  (1888),  ten  years. 


.|PH0MAS  B.  SHORE,  of  Millikin  School  Dis- 
sjs  trict,  is  the  owner  of  a  beautiful  and  productive 
(2^  tract  of  320  acres,  on  the  Saratoga  and  Alviso 
Road,  about  three  miles  west  of  Santa  Clara. 
The  ranch,  which  is  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  is 
principally  devoted  to  the  growing  of  hay  and  grain, 
for  which  it  is  well  adapted.  The  proprietor  also  pays 
considerable  attention  to  the  raising  of  stock,  both 
horses  and  cattle.  Comfortable  and  well-ordered 
buildings,  in  connection  with  the  general  appearance 
of  the  ranch,  denote  a  prosperous  and  successful  re- 
sult that  must  necessarily  attend  such  intelligent  and 
energetic  efforts  as  have  been  put  forth  by  its  owner. 
Mr.  Shore  was  born  in  Washington  County,  Mis- 
souri, in  1834.  His  father,  Thomas  P.  Shore,  was  a 
native  of  Kentucky,  and  his  mother,  Isabella  (Hyde) 
Shore,  of  North  Carolina.  His  early  life  was  spent 
in  work  on  his  father's  farm,  and  in  receiving  such 
learning  as  the  schools  of  that  new  country  afforded. 
In  1850  his  father  and  himself  (he  being  but  fifteen 
years  of  age)  started  for  California  upon  the  overland 
trail.  The  pack  train  toiled  and  dragged  along  its 
weary  journey,  unattended  by  any  startling  incident, 
but  undergoing  the  hardships  constantly  occurring  on 
a  trip  of  that  character,  until  it  reached  Salt  Lake 
City.  Their  provisions  being  exhausted,  it  was  nec- 
essary that  more  should  be  procured  here,  and  in 
order  to  do  this  the  party  to  which  the  Shores  were 
attached  were  forced  to    seek  work    from    the    Mor- 


mons, and  thus  earn  the  money  needed  to  supply  their 
wants.  When  leaving  Salt  Lake  City,  the  company, 
against  the  advice  of  the  Mormons,  decided  to  enter 
California  by  the  southern  trail.  This  portion  of 
their  journey  was  attended  by  severe  hardships  and 
privations.  Deep  morasses  and  swamps,  rendered  al- 
most impassable  by  rains,  rugged  mountain  trails, 
swollen  streams,  and  arid  deserts  devo'id  of  water, — 
all  these  obstacles  were  finally  overcome,  and  the 
party  arrived  safely  in  California,  in  the  year  men- 
tioned above.  Mr.  Shore's  previous  outdoor  life  proved 
of  great  benefit  to  him  on  this  expedition,  readily  en- 
abling him  to  endure  the  exposure  and  hardships. 

Soon  after  their  arrival  the  father  and  son  went  to 
mining  in  what  is  now  known  as  Nevada  County. 
Not  meeting  with  satisfactory  results,  they  came  into 
Santa  Clara  County  in  the  autumn  of  1850,  and 
.settled  in  the  present  Braly  School  District,  about 
five  miles  northwest  of  Santa  Clara,  thus  becoming 
early  pioneers  of  the  county. 

In  1851  Mr.  Shore's  father  went  East  by  the  mail 
steamers,  via  the  Isthmus  route,  and  returned  to 
California  the  following  year  with  his  family,  making 
his  second  trip  overland.  He  then  settled  in  Mount- 
ain View,  in  this  county,  where  he  resided  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1873.  The  mother  died 
about  thiee  years  later,  and  both  parents  lie  in  Mount- 
ain View  Cemeteiy.  It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  both 
parents  of  Mr.  Shore's  wife  are  also  buried  in  that 
cemetery.  In  i860  Mr.  Shore  married  Miss  Agnes 
O.  Bubb,  daughter  of  William  Bubb,  of  Mountain 
View.  Six  children  have  blessed  this  union,  their 
name  and  ages  (in  1888)  being  as  follows:  Paul 
Henry,  twenty-five  years  of  age;  Thomas  W.,  twenty- 
three  years  of  age;  Oscar  D.,  twenty  years  of  age; 
Edith  M.,  seventeen  years  of  age;  Clara  B.  and  Mary 
A.,  aged  respectively  fourteen  and  ten  years. 

Mr.  Shore  has  had  the  best  of  opportunities  for 
witnessing  the  growth  and  development  of  the 
county,  to  which  he  has  added  largely.  On  account 
of  his  long  residence  in  the  county,  and  of  his  energy 
and  public-spirited  action  in  all  matters  referring  to 
the  general  good,  he  is  widely  known  and  universally 
respected. 

I^BRAM  AGNEW.    Among  the  many  fine  farms 

(sS^p  of  Santa  Clara  County,  mention  must  be  made 

■4?    of  that  owned  by  the  subject  of  this  sketch.    It 

*     contains   115  acres  of  productive  land,  situated 

at  Agncw  Station,  on  the  South   Pacific  Coast  Rail- 


446 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


way,  three  miles  north  of  Santa  Clara.  Twenty-five 
acres  of  the  ranch  are  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of 
strawberries,  Longworth,  Sharpless,  and  Cheney  being 
the  principal  varieties.  Two  acres  are  given  to  the 
production  of  raspberries,  while  six  acres  are  in  fruit- 
trees,  the  products  of  which  are  apples,  pears,  peaches, 
prunes,  and  quinces.  Ten  acres  are  covered  with 
alfalfa,  forty-five  acres  }'icld  grain  and  hay,  and  the 
remainder  of  the  farm  is  devoted  to  the  pasturage  of 
the  fourteen  dairy  cows  and  other  stock.  Four  artesian 
wells  furnish  an  abundance  of  water  for  irrigation,  for 
domestic  uses,  and  stock,  while  the  surplus  is  utilized 
in  supplying  a  pond,  one  acre  in  extent,  which  is 
stocked  with  carp. 

Mr.  Agnew  is  a  native  of  Knox  County,  Ohio, 
where  he  was  born  January  i,  1820.  His  parents, 
Jonathan  and  Mary  (Prathcr)  Agnew,  were  natives  of 
Pennsylvania,  whence  they  emigrated,  in  i Si 2,  to  the 
county  of  his  birth,  being  among  the  earliest  settlers 
of  that  section  of  Ohio.  He  was  reared  to  farm 
labor,  receiving  such  schooling  as  was  afforded  by  the 
schools  of  that  date  in  pioneer  settlements.  When 
eighteen  years  of  age  he  went  to  Fredericktovvn, 
Ohio,  where  he  apprenticed  himself  to  a  blacksmith. 
After  becoming  master  of  the  trade  he  remained  in 
the  same  employ,  as  a  journeyman,  until  1845,  when 
he  removed  to  Beardstown,  Cass  County,  Illinois, 
where  he  worked  at  his  trade  for  about  a  year.  His 
health  then  failing  him,  he  was  advised  by  his  physi- 
cian to  seek  its  restoration  by  travel,  and  he  started, 
in  the  spring  of  1846,  across  the  plains  for  Oregon. 
Upon  his  arrival  there  he  located  in  Yam  Hill  County, 
engaging  in  the  only  work  which  he  could  find  at  the 
time, — that  of  rail-splitting.  He  remained  in  Oregon 
but  a  short  time,  starting  overland  for  his  Ohio  home, 
in  June,  1847.  At  St.  Joseph,  Missouri,  he  stopped 
and  worked  at  his  trade  until  the  next  year,  when  he 
continued  his  journey  to  Ohio,  where  he  remained 
until  March,  1850.  At  that  time  he  began  his  third 
overland  trip,  this  time  directing  his  course  to  Cali- 
fornia, where  he  arrived  in  August  of  the  same  year. 
He  immediately  commenced  work  in  the  mines  of 
El  Dorado  County,  afterward  engaging  in  the  same 
occupation  in  Placer  County.  Thus  the  time  was 
spent  until  1852,  in  which  year  he  returned  to  work 
at  his  trade,  establishing  a  blacksmith  shop  in  the 
mining  town  of  Yankee  Jim,  in  Placer  County.  This 
undertaking  he  successfully  conducted,  in  company 
with  a  partner,  until  1855.  During  this  time  (in  1853), 
leaving  the  business  in  charge  of  his  partner,  he  again 
returned    to    Ohio,  this    time   choosing  the   Isthmus 


route.  In  the  fall  of  that  year  he  went  to  Iowa,  and, 
purchasing  there  a  drove  of  cattle,  started  them  across 
the  continent.  He  arrived  in  Sacramento  Valley,  after 
a  long  and  tedious  journey,  in  August,  1854,  and 
placed  his  cattle  on  a  ranch  in  Yolo  County,  which  he 
had  previously  taken  up.  Until  the  sale  of  his  cattle, 
in  the  fall  of  1856,  he  devoted  his  time  to  their  care, 
as  well  as  to  other  business  interests.  On  disposing 
of  his  stock  he  closed  up  his  other  business  affairs, 
and,  in  1857,  again  returned  East,  locating  in  Ma- 
haska County,  Iowa,  where  he  engaged  in  the  occupa- 
tion of  farming.  There  he  remained  for  several  years, 
with  the  exception  of  part  of  each  year  of  1860-61, 
spent  in  Colorado,  caring  for  stock  and  working  at 
his  trade.  He  returned,  in  1874,  to  his  old  home  in 
Ohio,  and  after  a  short  visit  turned  his  face  westward 
once  more,  with  the  expectation  of  making  California 
a  permanent  home.  With  this  in  view  he  established 
his  home  in  the  lovely  and  fertile  Santa  Clara  Valley, 
on  the  farm  described  at  the  beginning  of  our  sketch. 
Mr.  Agnew  is  a  man  of  the  energetic  and  restless 
qualities  which  characterize  the  pioneers  of  our  coun- 
try, and  he  also  possesses  the  intelligence  and  the 
interest  in  public  affairs  which  are  necessary  qualities 
of  the  good  citizen.  As  such  he  is  an  esteemed 
member  of  the  community.  After  spending  so  much 
of  his  active  life  in  travel,  and  in  change  of  occupa- 
tion and  residence,  he  is  the  better  fitted  to  enjoy  the 
comparative  quiet  of  a  life  in  his  pleasant  home  in 
one  of  the  loveliest  spots  on  the  earth.  Politically, 
Mr.  Agnew  is  a  Democrat,  of  conservative  and  liberal 
views.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry, 
and  is  identified  with  San  Jose  Grange,  No.  10. 

He  was  united  in  marriage,  at  Fredericktown,  Ohio, 
by  Rev.  Mr.  Farris,  in  1853,  with  Miss  Sarah  J.  Barber, 
daughter  of  Jesse  Barber,  of  Knox  County,  Ohio. 
From  this  marriage  three  children  were  born,  viz.: 
Hugh  C,  who  resides  on  the  old  homestead;  Lizzie, 
the  wife  of  George  Smith,  of  Santa  Clara,  at  which 
place  they  reside;  and  Jesse  B.,  a  resident  of  Tulare 
County,  California. 


Sl^jfORRIS  SKINNER,  residing  on  the  Williams 
S^O^  road,  in  the  Moreland  District,  a  little  west  of 
^#f  the  Santa  Clara  and  Los  Gatos  road,  is  the 
!  owner  of  a  fine  orchard  property  of  eighteen 
acres.  The  orchard  comprises  1,000  French  prunc- 
trecs  and  650  apricot-trees  in  bearing,  one  acre  being- 
reserved  for  a  household  orchard,  where  ma)' be  found 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


447 


nearly  every  variety  of  deciduous  fruit  adapted  to  the 
climate.  Mr.  Skinner  bought  the  property  in  the 
autumn  of  1884,  of  J.  F.  Thompson,  who  had  one  or 
two  years  previously  set  out  most  of  the  trees  that 
are  now  on  the  place.  Of  the  crop  of  1887,  $1,700 
worth  of  fruit  was  marketed.  But  little  over  one- 
half  of  the  orchard  contributed  in  making  up  that 
result,  the  remainder  being  too  young  to  be  in  bearing. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  came  to  Santa  Clara 
County  in  the  spring  of  1884  from  Dayton,  Ohio, 
where,  for  a  number  of  years,  as  the  senior  member 
of  the  firm  of  Skinner,  Bradford  &  Co.,  wholesale 
dealers  in  millinery  goods,  he  had  been  in  active  busi- 
ness. He  was  born  in  Miami  County,  Ohio.  His 
father  was  a  merchant,  and  a  portion  of  his  youthful 
years  were  spent  in  assisting  him  as  clerk,  and  a  por- 
tion in  working  on  his  father's  farm.  From  1850  to 
1857  Mr.  Skinner  held  a  position  as  clerk  in  a  mer- 
cantile establishment  in  New  York  city,  following 
which  he  owned  and  managed  a  farm  in  Ohio.  Later 
still,  as  before  stated,  he  engaged  in  business  in  Day- 
ton. 

In  the  city  of  New  York,  in  1856,  he  wedded  Miss 
Carrie  Duval,  who  died  in  Dayton  in  1874.  His  pres- 
ent wife,  formerly  Miss  Dora  J.  Mayhew,  he  married 
in  January,  1883.  She  was  born  in  the  State  of 
Maine,  and  in  that  State  received  her  rudimentary 
education.  Graduating  after  a  course  of  study  at 
Maplevvood  Seminary,  Pittsfield,  Massachusetts,  Miss 
Mayhew  became  a  teacher  in  Troy,  Ohio,  and  for 
twelve  years  was  thus  employed,  when,  desiring  rest, 
recreation,  and  further  improvement  in  her  chosen 
vocation,  she  visited  Europe,  and  there  pursued  a 
course  of  study  in  the  languages,  especially  French 
and  German.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Skinner  are  members  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  at  San  Jose. 

Having  spent  many  years  in  active  life,  Mr.  Skin- 
ner in  the  mercantile  business,  and  his  wife  in  her  pro- 
fession as  an  educator,  both  are  content  in  the  quiet 
of  their  pleasant  home,  in  which  they  justly  feel  some 
pride.  Being  fitted  by  character  and  education  to  ap- 
preciate the  best  things  in  any  locality  where  they 
may  make  their  home,  they  are  much  delighted  with 
life  in  California. 


f  FORGE  BYRON  is  the  owner  of  a  tract  of  land, 
containing  116  acres,  in  the  Braley  District.     It 
■yh^     is  about  two    miles    southwest   of  Alviso,  and 
seven  miles  northwest  of  Santa  Clara,  and    is 
located  at  the  junction  of  the  Alviso  and   Mountain 


View  and  Saratoga  and  Alviso  roads.  Here  Mr. 
Byron  occupies^  pleasant  cottage  home,  surrounded 
by  lovely  grounds,  and  filled  with  the  comforts  and 
conveniences  of  refined  life.  With  the  exception  of 
thirteen  acres  of  strawberries,  and  three  acres  of 
orchard,  this  farm  is  devoted  to  the  raising  of  hay, 
grain,  and  stock.  The  cultivation  of  strawberries  is 
confined  principally  to  that  of  the  Longworth  and 
Sharpless  varieties,  while  the  orchard  furnishes  nearly 
every  kind  of  fruit  raised  in  the  section.  Artesian 
wells  furnish  all  the  water  for  irrigation,  stock,  and 
domestic  purposes. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born,  in  1820,  in 
Glasgow,  Scotland,  of  which  city  his  parents,  George, 
and  Marion  (Turner)  Byron,  were  natives.  His  boy- 
hood was  spent  in  school,  but  in  early  manhood  he 
learned  the  trade  of  dyer,  in  which  his  father  was  en- 
gaged. In  1840  his  father  emigrated  to  New  Zea- 
land, whither  he  had  accompanied  him.  There  they 
engaged  in  farming,  and  after  a  residence  of  five  years 
the  son  removed  to  the  city  of  Adelaide,  Australia, 
where  he  established  a  mercantile  business,  which  he 
successfully  conducted  until  1849.  Thinking  that  a 
good  business  opening  had  been  made  by  the  great 
influx  of  men  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  caused  by 
the  California  gold  discovery,  he  decided  to  venture 
upon  another  move.  Collecting  a  supply  of  general 
merchandise,  such  as  would  be  needed  in  a  new  coun- 
try which  was  rapidly  filling  up,  he  embarked,  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1849,  for  San  Francisco,  where  he  arrived  in 
June  of  the  same  year,  thus  becoming  one  of  the  pio- 
neer merchants  of  the  city.  He  found  it  impossible 
to  obtain  a  building  in  which  to  open  his  store,  and 
was  compelled  to  pitch  his  tent,  and  use  it  tempo- 
rarily both  as  a  store  and  dwelling.  He  found  this 
venture  a  successful  one,  but  in  March  of  the  follow- 
ing year  decided  to  engage  in  mining.  With  this  pur- 
pose in  view  he  went  to  the  mines  on  the  North  Fork 
of  the  Middle  Fork  of  the  American  River,  but,  after 
a  sixth  months'  trial,  he  concluded  that  the  life  t'lere 
was  not  suited  to  his  tastes,  and  returned  to  San  Fran- 
cisco. He  conducted  with  success  various  enterprises 
in  that  city  until,  in  1852,  he  removed  to  Santa  Clara 
County,  purchasing  160  acres  of  land,  thus  enrolling 
his  name  among  the  early  farmers  of  the  county.  He 
acquired  the  property  which  he  now  occupies  in  1862, 
and  in  1873  sold  his  original  purchase. 

Mr.  Byron  was  united  in  marriage,  in  1851,  with 
Miss  Jane  Anderson,  the  daughter  of  John  and  Jane 
(Robertson)  Anderson,  natives  of  Scotland  and  resi- 
dents of  San  Francisco.      Of  the  nine  children  born 


448 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Byron,  eight  are  now  living.  Their 
names,  with  their  present  residence  (in  1888),  are 
here  given:  Jane  R.,  the  wife  of  David  M.  Henderson, 
is  a  resident  of  Oakland,  California;  George  A.  mar- 
ried Miss  Mabel  Pelham,  of  Oakland,  and  resides  in 
this  county;  Marion  is  also  a  resident  of  Oakland; 
John  A.  makes  his  home  on  one  of  the  Sandwich 
Islands;  Amy  Grace  married  Samuel  Center,  then  a 
resident  of  Santa  Clara  County,  but  now  of  the  Sand- 
wich Islands;  Helen  M.,  William  T.,  and  Alexander 
A.  make  their  home  with  their  parents. 

Mr.  Byron's  long  residence  in  the  State  and  county 
has  given  his  neighbors  and  acquaintances  every  op- 
portunity to  "try  the  man,"  and  his  sterling  qualities, 
uprightness  of  character,  and  public  spirit  have  won 
from  them  their  respect  and  esteem.  A  long  experi- 
ence in  business  affairs,  and  a  knowledge  of  the  ways 
of  the  different  parts  of  the  world  in  which  he  has 
made  his  home,  make  him  a  valuable  and  interesting 
acquisition  to  any  community. 

Politically,  he  is  a  strong  and  consistent  Repub- 
lican, taking  a  great  interest  in  the  administration 
both  of  State  and  national  affairs.  A  strong  believer 
in  the  future  greatness  of  the  country  of  his  adop- 
tion, he  was  one  of  the  most  ardent  supporters  of  the 
government  when  the  war  clouds  of  rebellion  swept 
over  the  land. 

°ARTIN   S.   GIBSON,  whose  home  is  situated 
1  Curtner  Avenue,  near  its  junction  with  the 

f'  Almaden  road,  is  the  owner  of  one  of  the  finest 
fruit  orchards  in  the  Willow  Glen  District. 
The  seventeen  acres,  covered  with  about  2,200  trees, 
of  all  ages,  comprises  prunes,  apricots,  peaches,  and 
cherries.  Mr.  Gibson  purchased  this  property,  known 
as  the  "Old  Harper  place,"  in  March,  18S7,  paying 
$6,500  for  it,  and  considered  it  a  rare  bargain. 

Mr.  Gibson  was  born  in  Chenango  County,  New 
York,  May  25,  1827.  He  is  the  son  of  Sewell  and 
Mary  (Leonard)  Gibson,  who  were  natives  of  that 
State.  His  father  was  of  Scotch,  and  his  mother  of 
English,  extraction.  In  1835,  when  Martin  was  but 
six  years  old,  his  father  died,  being  fifty-four  years  of 
age,  and  leaving  seven  small  children,  six  boys  and 
one  girl.  Of  these,  A.  D.,  the  eldest  boy,  died  June 
13,  1866,  aged  fifty-four;  the  sister,  Mary  E.,  died 
March,  1866,  at  the  age  of  forty-four.  There  are  still 
living:  James  A.,  aged  seventy-one;  John  H.,  aged 
sixty-eight;  Ira  M.,  aged   fifty-eight;    Abel  L.,  aged 


fifty-four.  His  mother,  who  remained  a  widow,  con- 
tinued to  live  in  New  York  until  1842;  she  then  re- 
moved to  Erie  County,  Ohio,  where  she  lived  until  the 
fall  of  1S50,  when  she  settled,  with  her  four  youngest 
children,  in  Dell  Prairie,  Adams  County,  Wisconsin. 
At  the  same  place  Martin  S.  Gibson  and  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  J.  C.  and  Nabby.  Dockham,  were  united 
in  marriage,  April  16,  1855.  She  was  a  native  of  the 
State  of  Vermont.  They  lived  in  Adams  County  for 
seven  years  after  their  marriage,  engaged  in  farming. 
They  then  removed  to  Baraboo,  the  county  seat  of 
Sauk  County,  Wisconsin,  and  engaged  in  general 
farming  and  hop-raising.  In  1 870,  after  years  of  suc- 
cessful hop-raising,  he  sold  his  real  estate  and  estab- 
lished himself  in  the  boot  and  shoe  trade,  doing  quite 
an  extensive  manufacturing  and  retail  business  at 
Baraboo.  Four  years  later  he  again  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  agriculture.  June  10, 18S7,  he  left  the  rigorous 
climate  of  Wisconsin,  and,  with  his  family,  came  to 
Santa  Clara  County.  In  a  short  time  he  took  posses- 
sion of  his  present  home. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gibson  have  two  children,  Sewell  C. 
and  Bessie,  the  latter  being  still  at  home  with  her 
parents. 

Mr.  Gibson  is  a  good,  substantial  citizen,  and  a  man 
of  sound  judgment,  and  is  well  worthy  of  the  pros- 
perity which  he  enjoys.  In  politics  he  is  a  thorough 
Republican.  He  has  taken  an  active  part  in  religious 
affairs,  being,  with  his  wife,  a  member  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal   Church  of   over  thirty    years'  stand- 


-»^M«- 


MlRCHIBALD  PATTERSON.     Among  the  pro- 
J^rfe   ductive  grain  ranches  of  the  Milliken  District 

fniust  be  mentioned  the  one  owned  by  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch.  It  is  situated  on  the  Sara- 
toga and  Alviso  road,  about  three  miles  west  of 
Santa  Clara,  and  now  contains  fifty-two  acres,  four- 
teen acres  having  been  sold  in  18S7.  Mr.  Patterson 
never  has  entered  into  the  cultivation  of  orchard  or 
vineyard,  but  has  devoted  his  land  to  the  raising  of 
hay  and  grain,  also  raising  each  year  a  few  head  of 
stock. 

He  was  born  in  the  city  of  Edinburgh,  Scotland, 
in  1822,  and  is  the  son  of  Archibald  and  Nancy 
(Baxter)  Patterson,  both  natives  of  Scotland.  Being 
orphaned  in  his  youth,  he  was  reared  by  his  uncle, 
Richard  Lisbett  (who  resided  on  a  farm  near  Tre- 
mont,    about    ten    miles    from    Edinburgh),  and   was 


'/O/n-ZPT^. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


449 


educated  in  the  excellent  schools  of  that  neighbor- 
hood. He  continued  his  labor  as  a  farmer  on  his 
uncle's  land  until  he  had  reached  the  age  of  thirty 
years,  when,  desirous  of  improving  his  condition  in 
life,  and  wishing  to  gain  the  experience  that  contact 
with  the  people  of  other  lands  gives,  he  embarked  at 
London,  in  May,  1852,  on  the  ship  John  Mitchell,  for 
a  voyage  around  Cape  Horn  to  San  Francisco.  He 
arrived  in  the  last-named  port  in  the  fall  of  the  same 
year,  after  a  tedious  passage  of  seven  months'  dura- 
tion. He  made  but  a  short  stay  in  San  Francisco, 
and  then  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  where  he 
worked  on- a  farm  near  Alviso  for  about  eight  months. 
He  then  proceeded  to  Sonoma  and  Napa  Counties, 
and  engaged  in  those  counties  for  nearly  two  years 
in  stock-raising.  Thence  returning  to  Santa  Clara 
County,  he  purchased  the  land  upon  which  he  now 
resides,  and  entered  heartily  in  the  business  of  farmer 
in  the  country  of  his  adoption.  Ever  proving  a 
worthy  citizen  and  a  good  neighbor,  taking  a  deep 
interest  in  the  welfare  and  building  up  of  the  com- 
munity and  section  in  which  he  makes  his  home,  he 
has  justly  won  the  respect  of  those  around  him. 

In  1863  he  married  Miss  Sarah  Hanks,  daughter 
of  George  Hanks,  a  native  of  England.  No  children 
have  blessed  this  union.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pat- 
terson are  prominent  members  of  the  Baptist  Church, 
and  for  a  period  of  more  than  twenty-five  years  have 
been  among  its  strongest  supporters. 


.!T@|ICHAEL  SANOR,  one  of  the  respected  pio- 
(Z^Q^  neers  of  California,  was  born  in  Columbiana 
^^f  County,  Ohio,  October  i,  1822.  He  is  the  son 
'  of  Michael  and  Susan  Sanor,  who  were  among 
the  early  settlers  of  that  county.  The  early  life  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  spent  in  the  laborious 
work  common  to  the  sons  of  Ohio  farmers  in  those 
days — in  helping  to  improve  the  homestead  of  his 
parents,  caring  for  the  stock,  etc.  He  had  but  little 
time  for  schooling,  and  very  limited  indeed  were  the 
advantages  that  were  offered  to  the  children  of  that 
country  fifty  or  sixty  years  ago,  even  to  those  who 
could  be  spared  from  labor.  Close  observation  of 
passing  events,  the  mingling  with  the  world  brought 
about  by  an  active  life,  a  naturally  inquiring  and  re- 
tentive mind,  all  have  enabled  Mr.  Sanor  to  more 
than  merely  overcome  the  disadvantages  of  his  youth. 
In  the  spring  of  1839  the  family  removed  to  Ray 
57 


County,  Missouri.  There  the  mother  died  within  one 
week  after  reaching  her  new  home.  The  family  lived 
upon  a  farm,  but  the  subject  of  our  sketch  learned 
wool-carding  and  the  cabinet-maker's  trade.  These 
two  occupations  furnished  him  employment  until  the 
gold  excitement  of  1849  induced  him  to  seek  for 
wealth  in  the  mines  of  this  State.  With  his  father 
and  two  brothers,  Jackson  and  Van  Buren,  he  came 
by  the  overland  route  with  ox  teams,  reaching  Carson 
Valley  early  in  September,  1849,  after  a  journey  of  a 
little  more  than  four  months. 

Only  a  short  time  was  spent  in  the  mines,  when 
Mr.  Sanor  became  a  farmer  in  Santa  Clara  County, 
commencing  the  improvement  of  a  farm  of  148  acres 
in  what  is  now  the  Doyle  District,  about  two  and  one- 
half  miles  southwest  of  Santa  Clara.  There  he 
made  his  home,  and  reared  a  family  of  children- 
There,  as  a  prosperous  farmer,  he  lived  until  August, 
1887,  when,  selling  at  a  good  price  ($225  per  acre), 
he  erected  a  dwelling  on  Delmas  Avenue,  in  one  of 
the  suburbs  of  San  Jose.  With  the  good  wife,  who 
had  so  well  done  her  part  in  helping  to  build  up  his 
home  and  fortunes,  he  settled  down  to  a  retired  life, 
free  from  the  cares  and  anxieties  of  the  management 
of  his  estate.  But  all  of  his  plans  for  the  future  were 
disturbed  by  the  greatest  bereavement  of  his  life. 
His  devoted  wife,  Mrs.  Susan  (Norton)  Sanor,  passed 
to  the  better  land  March  9,  1888.  She  was  born  in 
Canada  in  1837,  and  was  the  daughter  of  Edward 
Norton.  She  came  to  Santa  Clara  County  with  her 
parents  in  1854,  and  was  united  in  marriage  with  Mr. 
Sanor  in  May  of  the  following  year.  She  was  the 
mother  of  four  children,  viz.:  Susan,  the  wife  of  John 
P.  Norton,  whose  history  appears  in  this  connection; 
John  E.  and  Augustine  H.,  who  reside  now  (1888)  in 
San  Jose;  and  Walter,  attending  school.  Since  the 
death  of  his  wife,  Mr.  Sanor  has  made  his  home  with 
hi<  son-in-law,  Mr.  Norton,  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood of  the  old  homestead,  where  he  and  his  wife 
lived  for  a  period  longer  than  the  average  generation. 
The  father  of  Mr.  Sanor  established  his  pioneer  home 
on  what  has  been,  in  late  }-ears,  known  as  the  "  Dr. 
Warburton  Ranch,"  on  the  Stevens  Creek  road. 
There  he  died  in  1873.  The  two  brothers,  Jackson 
and  Van  Buren,  are  now  (1888)  living,  the  former  at 
Los  Angeles,  and  the  latter  in  Santa  Barbara  County. 
One  brother,  William,  who  came  to  this  coast  about 
1877,  now  lives  in  Oregon. 

.  Michael  Sanor  is  a  good  representative  of  the  pio- 
neers, who  by  indomitable  courage  and  persevering 
labor  laid  broad   and    deep    the   foundations   of  the 


450 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


prosperity  which  Santa  Clara  County  now  enjoys. 
His  worthy  life  has  won  the  respect,  esteem,  and  con- 
fidence of  a  wide  circle  of  friends  and  acquaintances. 


s.^. 


H^ 


.||0HN  P.  NORTON  is  the  owner  of  eighteen 
^  acres  of  choice  land,  located  on  the  Stevens  Creek 
^  road,  in  the  Doyle  District,  four  miles  west  of 
San  Jose.  Mr.  Norton  took  possession  of  his  prop- 
erty in  1866,  having  come  directly  from  the  State  of 
Maine  to  Santa  Clara  County.  Ten  acres  of  the 
farm  is  comprised  in  a  young  and  promising  orchard. 

Mr.  Norton  was  born  in  Lexington,  Somerset 
County,  Maine,  May  4,  1846.  He  was  trained  in 
youth  to  the  work  of  a  farm,  but  spent  the  last  few 
winters  of  his  residence  in  the  East  in  the  pine  for- 
ests of  Maine,  engaged  in  lumbering.  In  1877  he 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Susan  Sanor,  of 
this  county.  She  is  the  daughter  of  Michael  Sanor, 
one  of  the  honored  pioneers  of  1849,  and  is  a  native 
of  this  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Norton  have  three 
children:  Raymond,  Lin  wood,  and  Augustine.  Mr. 
Norton  is  a  member  of  Santa  Clara  Lodge,  No.  52, 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  also  of  the  Santa  Clara  Encampment. 
Politically,  he  is  identified  with  the  Democratic  party, 
but  is  a  believer  in  the  protection  of  American  in- 
dustries. 

Having  come  to  this  State  in  early  manhood,  and 
having  been  a  resident  of  this  county  for  over  twenty 
years,  Mr.  Norton's  interests  are  entirely  those  of  the 
county,  and  none  are  more  thoroughly  desirous  than 
he  is  of  witnessing  the  advancement  of  his  section. 


UglLLIAM  I.  LESTER,  residing  in  the  Willow 
<sW^  District,  on  Malone  Avenue,  near  its  junction 
%^    with  the  Almaden  road,  is  the  owner  of  a  splen- 

1  did  orchard  of  twelve  acres.  The  land  he  pur- 
chased in  May,  1877,  paying  $150  per  acre.  It 
was  then  covered  with  willows,  but  it  is  now  one  of 
the  finest  of  orchards.  It  contains  1,200  trees,  part 
of  which  are  prunes,  and  part  apricots.  As  the  result 
of  good  management,  it  is  both  productive  and  profit- 
able. 

Mr.  Lester  was  born  at  Ledyard,  New  London 
County,  Connecticut,  February  7,  1848.  (For  more 
extended  notice  of  his  father's  family,  please  refer  to 
the  sketch  of  the  life  of  Nathan   L.  Lester.)     In  his 


eighteenth  year  he  landed  at  San  Francisco,  on  New 
Year's  day  of  1866.  During  the  three  following 
years  he  worked  rented  grain  lands  in  Contra  Costa 
County.  He  returned  to  his  native  State  late  in  the 
year  1868,  but  in  April  of  the  following  year  he  again 
came  to  California,  and  lived  in  Contra  Costa  County 
until  1873,  when  he  again  returned  to  the  East. 
There  he  remained  until  January,  1877,  when  he  again 
came  West,  and  soon  afterward  purchased  the  prop- 
erty which  he  now  owns  and  occupies.  He  is  fortu- 
nate in  owning  a  home  in  the  lovely,  fertile  valley  of 
Santa  Clara. 

On  the  i6th  of  April,  1885,  Mr.  Lester  married 
Miss  Sarah  E.  Simonds,  daughter  of  Levi  Simonds 
deceased,  formerly  of  Fitchburg,  Massachusetts,  in 
which  city  Mrs.  Lester  was  born. 

Mr.  Lester  is  a  member  of  the  Republican  party. 


(^^  P.  SANDERS,  whose  beautiful  orchard  home  is 
^  located  on  the  Doyle  road  in  the  Doyle  Dis- 
J^  trict,  has  been  identified  with  the  county  since 
1866.  He  dates  his  birth  in  Nova  Scotia,  in  the 
year  of  1835.  Upon  reaching  manhood,  failing  health 
necessitated  a  radical  change  of  climate,  and  so,  in 
1858,  he  left  the  old  home  and  came  by  the  Isthmus 
route  to  California.  He  reached  this  State  poor  in 
health  and  purse,  and  spent  the  first  three  years  in 
mining  in  Sierra  County.  He  then  resumed  the 
work  which  he  had  abandoned  when  he  left  his  old 
home,  and  opened  a  photographic  gallery  at  Marys- 
ville.  To  that  work  Mr.  Sand -rs  devoted  his  entire 
time  (except  when  ill-health  demanded  temporary 
cessation)  until,  at  San  Jose,  at  a  comparatively  re- 
cent date,  he  finally  retired  from  the  business.  In 
pursuing  his  vocation,  he  visited  many  sections  of 
the  State. 

On  the  seventeenth  of  November,  1862,  at  San 
Francisco,  Mr.  Sanders  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Nannie  Alline,  who  was  also  born  in  Nova 
Scotia,  but  was  reared  and  educated  at  St.  Johns, 
New  Brunswick.  Their  only  child,  Allen,  died  at 
the  age  of  four  years.  Two  nieces,  Ella  I.  and  Jennie 
M.,  daughters  of  a  brother  of  Mr.  Sanders,  are  adopted 
members  of  the  family,  and  have  been  by  them  care- 
fully educated.  They  are  the  daughters  of  Gilbert 
and  Seraphina  Sanders  (both  deceased),  and,  from 
the  ages  of  four  and  six  years  respectively,  have  been 
reared  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sanders.  The  elder  is  a 
"raduate   of   the   State   Normal    School,  and   makes 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


451 


teaching  a  profession.  The  younger  attended  the 
Normal  School  until  ill-health  necessitated  the  aban- 
donment of  student  life. 

After  retiring  from  the  business  of  photography, 
Mr.  Sanders  established  a  nurseiy  near  Saratoga. 
In  1 88 1  he  bought  twenty-five  acres  (a  part  of  his 
present  homestead),  and  added  ten  acres  in  1883,  and 
twenty  acres  during  the  following  year.  The  elegant 
residence,  surrounded  by  grounds  made  lovely  with 
bright  flowers,  choice  plants,  and  shrubbery,  was  com- 
menced in  May,  1884,  and  completed  and  occupied 
in  the  following  August.  This  beautiful  place  is 
known  by  the  appropriate  name,  "  Layhodie,"  signi- 
fying, in  the  Indian  language,  "  a  little  way  out." 
The  trees  in  the  orchard  were  all  raised  in  Mr. 
Sanders'  nursery,  and  are  from  one  to  six  years 
old.  Fifty  of  the  fifty-five  acres  which  comprise  the 
place  are  devoted  to  their  culture.  French  and  Silver 
prunes,  apricots,  egg  plums,  and  cherries  are  the  lead- 
ing varieties.  Mr.  Sanders  dries  his  fruit  himself,  and 
places  it  upon  the  market  in  perfect  condition. 

Mrs.  Sanders  is  a  lady  of  culture,  and  is  as  much 
of  an  enthusiast  in  botany  as  is  her  husband  in  hor- 
ticulture. Her  lovely  home  shows  the  taste  of  its 
presiding  genius,  and  there  favored  guests  are  wel- 
comed with  true  hospitality. 

Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sanders  are  enthusiastic  mem- 
bers of  the  American  Horticultural  Society. 


-€^^-^$f- 


»EUBEN  J.  BAKER,  residing  on  the  Almadcn 
s^  road,  in  the  Pioneer  District,  Almaden  Town- 
^  ship,  is  the  owner  of  perhaps  the  most  desirable 
farm  in  his  district.  His  residence  is  about  nine 
miles  from  the  Court  House  in  San  Jose,  and  four 
miles  from  New  Almaden. 

Mr.  Baker  was  born  in  Hampshire  County,  West 
Virginia,  February  2,  1835.  He  was  reared  to  a  farm 
life,  and  received  his  education  in  that  county.  The 
work  to  which  he  was  trained  has  been  the  chief 
business  of  his  life.  He  left  his  native  State  for  Sa- 
line County,  Missouri,  in  1855,  and  there  worked  for 
Robert  Wilson  for  two  years  and  two  months,  with  a 
view  to  getting  enough  money  to  come  to  California. 
By  hard  work  and  economy,  this  was  accomplished, 
and  in  August,  1858,  he  reached  San  Jose,  his  entire 
capital  being  $1.50.  His  present  position,  as  the 
owner  of  a  splendid  farm  of  300  acres,  speaks  truly 
of  his  ambition,  energ}',  and  good  management.  This 
farm,  to-day,  in  character  of  improvements,  buildings. 


etc.,  is  second  to  none  in  this  part  of  the  county. 
During  the  year  following  his  arrival  in  California,  he 
purchased  a  part  of  the  property  which  he  has  ever 
since  owned,  and  upon  which  he  now  makes  his  home. 
Later  he  has  added  to  his  farm  by  purchase,  until  it 
has  reached  its  present  extent.  His  costly  residence 
was  erected  in  1886. 

In  1865  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Wini- 
fred L.  Hart,  who  was  born  in  Massachusetts,  but  who 
has  been  a  resident  of  this  State  since  1859.  In  1S73 
Mr.  Baker  left  his  Santa  Clara  home,  and  during  the 
ten  years  following  made  his  home  at  Hollister,  where 
he  engaged  in  stock  and  general  farming.  He  owned 
there  a  farm  of  172  acres,  and  sixteen  miles  from 
Hollister  a  magnificent  stock  ranch  of  2,320  acres. 
He  also  engaged  in  butchering  while  a  resident  of 
that  place.  In  1883  he  disposed  of  all  his  property 
near  Hollister,  and  returned  to  the  home  place,  to  the 
cultivation  of  which  he  has  since  devoted  his  entire 
attention. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Baker  have  eight  children  living,  all 
of  whom  are  yet  under  the  parental  roof:  Mary  L.^ 
Reuben  F.,  Josephine,  Walter  R.,  Emily,  Ella,  Irene, 
and  Teresa.     The  sixth  child,  Charles,  died  in  infancy. 

Politically  Mr.  Baker  is  identified  with  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  with  tendencies  to  act  independently, 
especially  in  local  affairs.  The  enterprise,  industry, 
and  good  management  which  have  won  for  him  the 
prosperity  which  he  enjoys,  have  also  won  recognition 
from  his  neighbors  and  associates. 

tHARLES  HENRY  CROPLEY,  of  the  Berry- 
.,-  essa  District,  owns  and  resides  upon  sixty-five 
(3)1=  acres  of  rich  land,  located  on  the  Milpitas  and 
Berryessa  road,  about  five  and  one-half  miles 
northeast  of  San  Jose,  and  two  miles  south  of  Milpi- 
tas. With  the  exception  of  a  portion  reserved  for  a 
small  orchard,  this  farm  is  devoted  to  the  growing  of 
hay  and  grain,  and  the  raising  of  such  stock  as  is 
needed  for  carrying  on  the  operations  of  the  farm. 
The  family  residence  is  a  comfortable  cottage,  and  is 
surrounded  by  substantial  out-buildings,  the  aspect  of 
the  whole  property  giving  evidence  of  the  position  of 
its  owner, — that  of  a  prosperous  farmer.  He  also 
owns  120  acres  of  land  a  mile  west  of  Milpitas,  on 
the  north  side  of  the  Alviso  and  Milpitas  road.  Of 
this  property,  five  acres  are  devoted  to  the  cultivation 
of  strawberries  of  the  Sharpless  variety,  four  acres  to 
blackberries  and  raspberries,  eight  acres  to  asparagus, 


452 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


and  twenty  acres  to  vegetables, — onions,  tomatoes, 
potatoes,  etc.  The  remainder  of  the  land  is  used  for 
the  growing  of  grain  and  hay.  The  needed  water 
is  supplied  by  three  artesian  wells,  one  of  which  has 
a  flow  of  five  inches  above  a  seven-inch  pipe. 

Mr.  Cropley  was  born  in  Nova  Scotia,  February  3, 
1847,  and  is  the  son  of  James  and  Rebecca  (Elliott) 
Cropley,  natives  and  residents  of  Nova  Scotia.  His 
father  was  a  farmer,  and  Mr.  Cropley  was  reared  to 
that  industry,  his  education  being  received  in  the 
public  schools  of  his  district.  When  twenty  years  of 
age,  he  left  home  and  located  in  Boston,  Massachu- 
setts, where  he  spent  about  a  year  in  working  at  the 
carpenter's  trade,  and  at  other  caUings,  leaving  in 
1868  to  come,  by  the  Panama  route,  to  Cahfornia. 
Upon  his  arrival  in  San  Francisco,  he  went  immedi- 
ately to  Alameda  County,  and  there  lived  for  two 
years,  engaged  in  farm  labor.  He  then  rented  land 
and  conducted  farming  operations  on  his  own  ac- 
count, also  buying  threshing-machines,  and  engaging 
in  threshing  grain.  He  made  his  home  in  Alameda 
County  until  1875,  when  he  removed  to  Santa  Clara 
County.  Here  he  engaged  in  farming,  and  four 
years  after  coming  to  the  county  purchased  the  prop- 
erty which  we  have  described.  He  is  still  extensively 
engaged  in  raising  hay  and  grain  on  rented  lands, 
and  employs  a  large  force  of  men  and  machines  in 
threshing  grain  during  the  season. 

Mr.  Cropley  married,  in  1879,  Miss  Henrietta  Abel, 
the  daughter  of  George  H.  and  Mary  Ann  (Marks) 
Abel,  who  were  natives  of  England,  but  residents  of 
Stockton,  California.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cropley  have 
four  children:  Henry  H.,  Marshall  R,  James,  and 
Reece  T. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  is  a  man  of  energy  and 
ambition.  He  is  a  practical  agriculturist,  and  carries 
on,  successfully  and  profitably,  not  only  his  large 
farming  operations  on  the  lands  which  we  have  noted, 
but  also  on  property  in  other  parts  of  the  county. 
He  is  connected  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  being  a  member  of  Mission  Peak  Lodge, 
No.  114,  of  Alameda  County.  He  is  a  strong  Re- 
publican, and  yet  liberal  in  his  political  views. 


|g|RS.  GEORGIE  McBRIDE  established  her 
(s^i^  home  on  Plummer  Avenue,  between  Curtner 
'^#f  Avenue  and  the  Foxworthy  road,  in  the  Wil- 
I  low  District,  in  January,  1881.  Here  she  lives 
with  her  family  of  four  boys,  the  eldest  of  whom  was 


then  in  his  fifteenth  year.  She  came  from  St.  Louis, 
Missouri,  and  commenced  improving  what  was  then  a 
naked  wheat  field,  buying  fifteen  acres  and  paying 
$125  per  acre. 

Mrs.  McBride  has,  in  her  life  here,  illustrated  what 
a  woman  of  energy  and  executive  ability  can  accom- 
plish, in  this  land  of  sunny  sky  and  fertile  soil.  Her 
first  care  was  to  build  a  house  and  plant  a  few  trees 
around  it.  The  first  season  the  fifteen  acres  were 
planted  to  prune,  cherry,  and  apricot  trees,  with  the 
first  in  predominance.  The  third  year,  from  five 
acres,  she  gathered  six  tons  of  prunes.  In  1883  Mrs. 
McBride  added  seventeen  acres  to  her  purchase,  pay- 
ing from  $150  to  $200  per  acre;  this  also  was  in  a 
state  of  nature.  She  now  has,  excepting  the  portion 
occupied  by  buildings,  thirty-two  acres  in  trees. 
Twenty  acres  of  these  are  bearing,  and  ten  acres  are 
in  trees  three  and  four  years  old.  In  1887  her  apri- 
cots yielded  $260  per  acre,  while  her  total  receipts 
from  fruit  in  that  year  were  $1,800. 

Mrs.  McBride  is  a  daughter  of  B.  S.  and  Maria 
(Meason)  Hollingsworth.  Her  father  was  a  native 
of  Virginia  and  her  mother  of  Kentucky.  She  has 
four  sons  :  John  G.,  born  in  July,  1865;  Charles,  in 
March,  1867;  David  E.,  in  January,  1870;  and  Smith 
E.,  March,    1871. 

Mrs.  McBride  has,  by  the  aid  of  her  sons,  managed 
the  place,  and  except  in  the  hurry  of  fruit-growing, 
has  not  expended  for  labor  more  than  $100  during 
the  seven  years  she  has  owned  it !  By  her  success  in 
creating  a  home  in  a  strange  land,  and  without  assist- 
ance, Mrs.  McBride  has  proven  herself  a  woman  of 
more  than  ordinary  ability.  The  healthy  condition  of 
her  orchard  is  a  sure  indication  of  good  management, 
and  a  refutation  of  the  charge  that  a  woman  cannot 
conduct  a  paying  business.  She  is  most  fortunate  in 
her  sons,  who  have  their  mother's  energy,  and  are  of 
the  greatest  assistance  to  her  in  caring  for  their  pleas- 
ant home. 


IpHOMAS  OSBORN,  of  the  Willows,  was  born  in 
ST®  Franklin  County,  Indiana,  January  i,  1824.  He 
Q^  is  the  son  of  Daniel  and  Rebecca  (French) 
Osborn,  who  are  natives  of  Ohio,  His  grand- 
parents, Cyrus  and  Esther  (Baldwin)  Osborn,  re- 
moved from  Newark,  New  Jersey,  to  Butler  County, 
Ohio,  during  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century.  Cyrus 
Osborn  was  one  of  the  party  who  went  to  the  scene  of 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


453 


St.  Clair's  defeat,  to  bury  the  dead.  He  lived  to  re- 
turn to  his  home,  but  died  soon  after.  Daniel  Osborn 
served  under  General  Harrison  in  the  War  of  1812. 
When  his  son  Thomas  was  but  a  few  months  old,  he 
became  a  pioneer  settler  of  Fountain  County,  Indiana, 
locating  there  two  years  before  the  county  was  or- 
ganized. There  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared, 
assisting  in  his  youth  in  clearing  a  farm  in  the  dense 
forest.  His  schooling  was  limited  to  a  few  weeks' 
attendance,  each  year,  at  subscription  schools.  On 
the  twentieth  of  October,  1847,  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Margaret  Harbaugh.who  is  a  native  of  the  State 
of  Pennsylvania.  They  have  eight  children,  four  of 
whom  were  born  in  Indiana,  and  four  in  Wisconsin, 
they  having  removed  to  Dane  Township,  Dane 
County,  of  that  State,  in  1849.  There  they  lived  un- 
til 1858,  thence  returning  to  Fountain  County,  Indiana. 
In  1868  they  removed  to  Vermillion  County,  Illinois, 
and  again,  in  1872,  to  Veedersburgh,  Indiana.  Here 
Mr.  Osborn  conducted  a  hardware  business  for  one 
year,  and  in  April,  1873,  became  a  Californian,  settling 
in  Tulare  County,  where  he  bought  a  ranch,  which  he 
stocked  with  6,000  sheep.  This  business  he  followed 
for  about  six  years,  when  he  sold  his  sheep  and 
engaged  in  cattle-raising  at  the  same  place.  His 
ranch  contained  800  acres,  while  his  range  covered 
thousands  of  acres.  Selling  his  property,  Mr.  Osborn 
established  himself  in  his  present  home,  in  January, 
1885.  It  is  situated  in  the  Willow  District,  near  the 
junction  of  Lincoln  Avenue  and  the  Almaden  road. 
For  this  property,  which  had  been  previously  im- 
proved by  John  W.  Badger,  he  paid  $450  per  acre. 
It  contains  fourteen  acres,  devoted  to  fruit,  consisting 
principally  of  apricots  and  Silver  prunes. 

The  names  of  their  children,  in  order  of  their  birth, 
are:  Alice,  wife  of  Isaac  Waldrip,  of  Fountain  County, 
Indiana;  Joel  S.,  engaged  in  stock  business  in  Tulare 
County;  Oliver  D.,  a  resident  of  Los  Angeles;  Eve, 
wife  of  William  Duncan,  a  resident  of  Danville, 
Illinois;  Elizabeth,  living  at  her  father's  home,  at  the 
Willows;  Daniel,  an  employe  of  the  Southern  Pa- 
cific Road  ;  Mary  M.,  a  teacher  and  a  member  of  the 
home  household,  as  is  also  Butler,  the  youngest  mem- 
ber of  the  family. 

Mr.  O.sborn,  a  man  of  kindly,  honest  nature,  has 
devoted  his  life  to  agriculture,  and  has  made  a  suc- 
cess in  that  line,  as  his  surroundings  prove.  He  is  a 
Republican  of  long  standing,  having  been  one  of  the 
organizers  of  the  party,  in  Dane  County,  Wisconsin. 
In  religion  he  is  a  Baptist,  with  which  denomination 
both  he  and  his  wife  arc  identified. 


~|OHN  W.  BADGER,  of  the  Willow  District,  owns 
©^  a  home  on  Plummer  Avenue,  between  Curtner 
4^  Avenue  and  Foxworthy  road.  He  has  been  a 
resident  of  this  neighborhood  since  1880,  in  which 
year  he  bought  forty  acres,  between  Lincoln  Avenue 
and  the  Almaden  road.  This  tract  he  changed  from 
its  natural  state  into  one  of  the  finest  fruit  farms  in 
the  district,  planting  about  4,000  trees,  principally 
prunes.  The  purchase  price  was  $200  per  acre.  In 
1884  he  sold  fifteen  acres,  at  $450  per  acre,  to  Thomas 
Osborn,  and  in  1885  twenty-five  acres,  at  $500  per 
acre,  to  Hugh  L.  Cameron.  While  the  trees  were 
developing,  Mr.  Badger  planted  about  twenty  acres 
to  rhubarb,  realizing  from  the  product  $1,000  per 
year,  on  the  average.  After  selling  to  Cameron,  he 
bought  his  present  home,  where  he  and  his  father  to- 
gether own  eighteen  acres,  all  devoted  to  fruit.  They 
paid  $500  per  acre,  the  trees  being  five  and  six  years 
of  age.  In  1887  $2,200  were  realized  from  the  prod- 
uct of  thirteen  acres,  four  acres  being  covered  by 
re-grafted  trees. 

Mr.  Badger  is  a  native  of  Meredith,  Belknap 
County,  New  Hampshire,  dating  his  birth  August  16, 
1847.  He  is  the  son  of  George  G.  and  Frances  G. 
(Whidden)  Badger,  both  of  whom  are  natives  of  New 
Hampshire,  the  father  of  Meredith,  and  the  mother 
of  Portsmouth.  John  W.  is  the  eldest  of  four  chil- 
dren, two  sons  and  two  daughters.  He  was  reared  to 
a  farm  life,  although  his  first  labor  in  youth  was  in 
his  father's  tannery.  Although  but  seventeen  years 
of  age,  he  enlisted,  in  1864,  in  the  First  New  Hamp- 
shire Heavy  Artillery,  and  served  in  the  Twenty- 
second  Army  Corps  in  the  defenses  of  Washington, 
being  discharged  at  the  close  of  the  war.  His  father 
enlisted,  in  1862,  in  the  Twelfth  Volunteer  Infantry 
of  New  Hampshire.  He  served  with  great  honor, 
being  severely  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Chancellors- 
ville,  when  a  musket  ball  passed  through  both  hips. 
This  wound  necessitated  his  discharge  from  the  army. 
In  compensation  for  his  services  to  his  country,  he 
receives  a  pension  of  $12  per  month. 

In  1872  John  came  to  California,  having  borrowed 
the  money  with  which  to  make  the  journey,  and  en- 
gaged himself  as  a  laborer  on  a  ranch  owned  by 
his  maternal  uncle,  William  Whidden,  of  Alameda 
County.  Here  he  earned  $40  per  month  during  the 
summer  and  $30  per  month  during  the  winter.  At 
the  end  of  four  years  he  bought  four  horses  and  a 
gang-plow,  and,  renting  land,  commenced  work  for 
himself  He  worked  this  place  for  three  years,  pay- 
ing one-fourth  of  the  crop  for  rent,  and  clearing  one 


454 


PEN  PICTURES  FRO 31  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


year  about  $800.  He  came,  in  1880,  to  the  Willows, 
where,  by  industry  and  good  management,  he  suc- 
ceeded far  beyond  his  expectations.  In  1880  Mr. 
Badger  was  joined  by  his  parents,  who,  until  that 
time,  had  lived  at  the  old  home  in  New  Hampshire. 
Mr.  Badger  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  John  A.  Dix  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  No.  42,  San  Jose. 


^HARLES  F.  BOPP,  one  of  the  horticulturists 
^p  of  Hamilton  District,  resides  on  the  Los  Gatos 
&jr  road,  near  the  western  terminus  of  Fruit  Vale 
Avenue.  His  property,  of  thirty-four  acres,  was 
in  pasture  land  when  he  purchased  it,  in  the  spring  of 
1884.  He  commenced  tree  planting  the  first  year  of 
his  occupancy,  setting  the  whole  place  to  orchard;  but 
as  the  work  was  done  late  in  the  season,  much  had  to 
be  replanted.  His  orchard  is  noticeable  for  its  thrifty 
condition,  the  principal  fruits  being  apricots  and 
French  prunes.  However,  almost  every  variety,  in- 
cluding pears,  peaches,  plums,  apples,  cherries,  and 
figs,  is  found  there.  His  pleasant  residence  Mr. 
Bopp  erected  in  1886. 

Mr.  Bopp  is  a  native  of  Wurtemberg,  Germany, 
where  he  was  born  September  i,  1834.  When  nine- 
teen years  of  age  he  left  his  native  land  and  came  to 
the  United  States,  the  land  of  the  free.  The  first 
few  years  he  spent  in  Virginia  and  Maryland,  and  in 
1859  came  as  far  west  as  Indiana.  While  living  in 
this  State  the  war  called  him  to  the  defense  of  the 
land  of  his  adoption,  and  he  went  to  the  front,  enlist- 
ing July  14,  1 86 1,  in  Company  K,  Twenty-second 
Indiana  Volunteers.  In  August  following  he  was 
transferred  to  the  Regimental  Band.  His  service 
was  in  the  Southwestern  Department,  first  under 
General  Fremont,  and  later  under  General  Curtis. 
He  was  honorably  discharged  from  the  service  in 
July,  1862. 

In  1864  Mr.  Bopp  left  Indiana,  and  made  the  jour- 
ney across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  settling  in  Napa 
County,  this  State;  thence  he  removed  to  Gilroy, 
Santa  Clara  County.  He  was  engaged  in  blacksmith- 
ing  during  his  residence  in  California  until,  in  1869, 
he  bought  240  acres  of  undeveloped  land,  in  Colusa 
County,  when  he  became  a  farmer.  In  1874  he 
added  160  acres  to  his  already  large  farm,  making 
a  fine  property  of  400  acres,  which  he  devoted  to 
wheat  and  barley  raising.  He  made  this  farm  his 
home  until  1884,  when  he  returned  to  Santa  Clara 
County,  and  bought  his  present  fruit  ranch,  to  the  im- 


provement of  which  he  has  since  devoted  his  time, 
with  the  best  of  results. 

Mr.  Bopp  married  Mrs.  Hattie  Hammond,  formerly 
Mi.ss  Hattie  Schallenbcrger.  By  a  former  marriage, 
Mrs.  Bopp  has  two  children,  viz.:  Louisa  F" ranees  and 
Ralph  Hammond. 

In  politics  Mr.  Bopp  is  identified  with  the  Repub- 
lican party,  and  in  religious  affairs  is  connected  with 
the  Methodist  Church.  As  a  horticulturist,  Mr. 
Bopp's  success  is  evidenced  by  the  good  condition  of 
his  trees,  and  the  results  obtained  from  his  fruit  in- 
terests. 


ffiHOMAS  KERWIN  is  the  owner  of  a  beautiful 
CT3  farm  of  100  acres,  on  the  Saratoga  and  Mount- 
^  ain  View  road,  in  the  Lincoln  School  District, 
about  five  miles  southwest  of  Santa  Clara. 
Sixty-five  acres  are  in  vineyard,  producing  the  follow- 
ing varieties  of  wine  grapes:  Cabernets,  Malbec, 
Golden  Chasselas,  Grenache,  Carignan,  Matero,  Zin- 
fandel,  Trousseau,  and  Charbano.  The  remainder  of 
the  farm,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  orchard,  is 
devoted  to  the  production  of  hay  and  grain  and  to 
stock-raising. 

Mr.  Kerwin  was  born  in  Galway  County,  Ireland. 
His  parents  were  Michael  and  Mary  (Coulin)  Kerwin. 
His  mother  dying  when  he  was  but  nine  years  of  age, 
and  his  father  being  a  commercial  agent  and  almost 
constantly  away  from  home,  he  was  left  almost  en- 
tirely to  his  own  resources.  At  the  age  of  thirteen 
years  he  left  home  and  went  to  Liverpool,  England. 
In  that  city  he  obtained  employment  as  a  messenger 
in  the  Harbor  Police  Inspector's  office.  After  hold- 
ing that  position  for  more  than  two  years,  he  secured 
employment  as  a  collector  for  teamsters  and  draymen. 
He  was  engaged  in  this  work  for  several  years,  in 
fact  until  he  determined  that  he  would  come  to  the 
United  States. 

He  put  this  plan  into  action  in  1849,  and,  landing 
at  Boston,  at  once  started  for  the  country.  He  spent 
about  ten  months  in  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  in 
gardening.  Returning  to  Boston,  he  engaged  in 
many  different  occupations,  among  them  teaming. 
Later  he  was  employed  as  a  salesman  in  the  furniture 
store  of  Russell  &  Co.  He  remained  in  their  employ 
until,  in  1854,  he  came  to  California. 

Mr.  Kerwin  sought  the  country,  rather  than  the 
citj',  and  soon  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  lie- 
worked  at  orchard  cultivation  on  the  Gould  place  in 
Santa  Clara  for  about  a  year,  when  he  took  up  his  res- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


455 


idence  upon  the  place  where  he  now  Hves.  He  has 
devoted  over  thirt}'  years  to  the  improvement  and 
cultivation  of  his  lands,  taking  them  in  their  wild 
state,  while  covered  with  chaparral,  and  inhabited  by 
California  lions,  coyotes,  and  wild-cats.  Thanks  to 
his  energy  and  perseverance,  lie  has  been  most  suc- 
cessful in  labors.  He  has  acquired  a  large  amount  of 
land,  owning  at  one  time  about  600  acres,  320  acres 
of  which  he  himself  cleared  and  cultivated.  He  sold 
280  of  it  several  years  ago  in  its  wild  state,  and  in 
1881  and  1882  he  disposed  of  220  acres  of  cleared 
land. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  received  very  little  school- 
ing in  his  youth,  but  in  later  years,  while  earning  his 
living,  he  managed  to  educate  himself  to  a  certain  ex 
tent.  But  his  success  in  life  has  been  due,  not  to  early 
advantages,  but  to  his  own  indomitable  will  and  steady 
perseverance. 

On  the  twenty-ninth  of  August,  1858,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Catherine  McGauren,  daughter 
of  James  and  Ann  (Gorman)  McGauren.  Six  chil- 
dren were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kerwin:  Mary  Ann, 
who  married  John  A.  Dollard,  a  sea  captain  and  a 
resident  of  San  Francisco;  Catherine  Philomena, 
James  Patrick,  who  died  February  5,  1S67;  John  B. 
M.,   Louis  Joseph,  and  Ignatius  Thomas. 


fEORGE  NICHOLSON  is  the  owner  of  a  fine 
tract  of  land  lying  400  yards  east  of  the  San  Jose 
■^,|^  and  Alviso  road,  in  the  Alviso  School  District. 
This  farm  of  100  acres  is  within  easy  reach  of 
San  Jose  and  Alviso,  being  three  miles  south  of  the 
latter  place  and  six  miles  north  of  the  former.  Only 
so  much  of  it  is  used  for  orchard  purposes  as  will  fur- 
nish a  generous  supply  of  fruit  for  domestic  use. 
Twelve  acres  are  devoted  to  the  culture  of  straw- 
berries of  the  Sharpless  and  Cheney  varieties,  and 
about  ten  acres  to  the  growing  of  asparagus.  The  re- 
mainder of  the  farm  is  devoted  to  the  production  of 
hay  and  grain,  and  to  the  raising  of  stock.  There  are 
to  be  found  upon  the  place  two  artesian  wells,  one  of 
which  is  500  feet  in  depth  and  flows  about  five  inches 
above  a  seven-inch  pipe. 

Mr.  Nicholson  is  a  native  of  Ireland,  in  which 
country  he  was  born  in  1826.  His  parents,  Stephen 
and  Mary  (Connors)  Nicholson,  were  natives  of  the 
same  country.  He  was  early  taught  the  duties  of  a 
farm  life,  and  has  put  into  practice  this  practical 
knowledge  through  all  his  life,  as  agriculture  has  been 


the  chief  business  of  his  manhood  years.  His  educa- 
tional advantages  were  very  limited,  and  he  worked  at 
farming  in  Ireland  until  1854,  when  he  cros,sed  the 
ocean  in  search  of  better  fortune. 

Landing  at  New  York,  he  sought  work  in  Onondaga 
County,  and,  obtaining  it,  he  remained  there  for  about 
three  years.  In  1857  he  came  via  steamer  route  to 
this  State,  landing  at  San  Francisco.  He  soon  came 
to  Santa  Clara  County,  where  he  spent  the  next  ten 
or  eleven  years  in  farm  work  and  other  occupations_ 
In  1868,  with  the  accumulations  of  these  years  of 
hard  labor  and  economy,  he  purchased  the  land  upon 
which  he  now  resides,  and  in  the  cultivation  of  which 
he  has  been  very  successful. 

Mr.  Nicholson  married,  in  1857,  Miss  Elizabeth 
Kelley,  daughter  of  William  and  Elizabeth  Kelley,  of 
Roscommon  County,  Ireland.  From  this  marriage 
five  children  have  been  born,  of  whom  three  are 
now  living,  all  at  the  homestead.  Their  names  are : 
George  E.,  Eliza,  and  Mollie  F. 

Mr.  Nicholson  is  a  practical  cultivator  of  the  soil, 
and  a  man  who  believes  in  the  future  greatness  of  his 
section,  whose  interests  he  is  ever  ready  to  advance. 
He  has  been  more  successful  in  the  winning  of  a  good 
home  and  a  competence  than  many  a  man  who  had 
the  help  of  more  fortunate  circumstances  and  greater 
advantages.  His  energy  and  native  intelligence  have 
supplied  the  lack  of  these  advantages.  In  politics  he 
is  identified  with  the  Democratic  party,  and  in  relig- 
ion with  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

||OHN  C.  ARTHUR  became  a  resident  of  Califor- 
(S/-  nia  in  December,  1861.  His  pleasant  home  is  on 
%^   Hicks  Avenue,  in  the  Willow  District. 

He  was  born  in  Westchester  County,  New  York, 
November  29,  1847.  His  father,  John  D.  Arthur,  was 
a  cousin  of  the  late  President  Arthur.  His  mother 
was  Dorinda  H.  Nelson.  Both  parents  were  from  a 
long  line  of  American  ancestry,  of  English  extraction. 
John  D.  Arthur,  the  father,  aged  eighty-five  years,  is 
now  a  resident  of  Oakland.  He  was  among  the  earli- 
est settlers  of  California,  coming  to  the  State  in  the 
spring  of  1850.  He  was  also  one  of  the  first  business 
men  of  San  Francisco,  opening  an  agricultural  ware- 
house on  the  corner  of  Washington  and  Davis  Streets. 
He  was  thoroughly  identified  with  the  city's  interests, 
being  engaged  in  active  business  there  for  over  twenty 
years.  From  time  to  time  he  was  joined  by  different 
members  of  his  family,  which  he  had  left  in  the   East. 


456 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


His  wife  arrived  in  i860,  and  in  1862  the  family  circle 
was  complete  with  the  exception  of  one  son  and  one 
daughter,  Charles  S.  and  Emma  J.,  both  now  de- 
ceased. Mrs.  Arthur  died  in  April,  1876,  at  the  age 
of  sixty-three  years.  Of  their  children  who  came  to 
California,  William  N.  died  in  San  Francisco,  in  April, 
1865  ;  George  N.  lives  at  the  Willows;  Gertrude  is  a 
resident  of  Oakland  ;  and  Edward  M.  makes  his  home 
in  Portland,  Oregon. 

John  C.  Arthur  is  the  youngest  of  the  family. 
He  came  to  the  State  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years, 
and  spent  six  years  of  the  next  eight  in  his  fa- 
ther's establishment  in  San  Francisco.  In  1870  he 
bought  the  first  real  estate  that  he  ever  owned,  a 
ranch  south  of  San  Felipe,  on  the  edge  of  the  Las 
Animas  grant,  of  179  acres.  There  he  engaged  in 
stock-raising,  until  1875,  when  he  sold  the  property. 
In  1877  he  bought  the  property  where  he  now  makes 
his  home.  It  contains  six  and  one-half  acres,  and 
was  then  part  of  a  grain  field.  The  substantial  build- 
ings which  are  now  found  there  are  mainly  the  work 
of  his  own  hands.  In  November,  1882,  Mr.  Arthur 
bought  twenty-two  acres  in  the  same  neighborhood, 
which  was  covered  with  brush  and  timber.  This  he 
cleared  and  planted  with  fruit-trees  the  following  year. 
That  property  he  has  since  sold,  realizing  a  handsome 
sum.  Mr.  Arthur  owns  a  one-third  interest  in  a  fine 
fruit  ranch  of  thirty  acres  near  Campbell  Station. 
For  the  home  property  he  paid  $200  per  acre.  It  is 
now  a  fine  productive  orchard  of  prune,  cherry,  peach 
and  apricot  trees.  Mr.  Arthur  has  realized  as  much 
as  $1,100  for  one  year's  product  of  this  orchard,  sold 
green.  The  owner  of  a  pleasant  home  and  several 
fine  fruit  orchards,  Mr.  Arthur  is  one  of  the  many 
prosperous  citizens  of  the  Willows.  Politically,  he  is 
an  independent,  with  Republican  antecedents.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 
On  the  fifth  of  October,  1874,  he  married  Miss  Eliza 
J.  Gardner,  daughter  of  William  Gardner,  who  resides 
on  Del  mas  Avenue.  She  was  born  in  Nashua,  New 
Hampshire,  May  12,  1855.  Threcdaughters  were  born 
to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Arthur,  but  all  of  them  have  passed  to 
their  heavenly  home.  Nettie  died  at  the  age  of  seven 
years,  Alice  at  the  age  of  two  and  one-half  years, 
while  one  daughter  died  in  infancy. 

I^RANK  R.  SH AFTER,  who  resides  on  Stevens 

<^'^  Creek  road,  in  the  Meridian  District,  three  miles 

from    San    Jose,   owns   a   very   finely   improved 

property  of  forty  acres,  which  he  purchased   March  2, 


1883.  It  was  originally  part  of  160  acres  entered  as 
government  land  by  Asa  Gruwell.  The  place  was  in 
a  sad  condition  when  bought  by  Mr.  Shaffer,  and  had 
nothing  to  commend  it  but  the  superior  quality  of  its 
soil.  Three  hundred  trees  had  been  planted,  but 
neglect  had  greatly  decreased  the  number,  and  the 
house,  though  quite  large,  has  been  almost  entirely 
rebuilt  since  Mr.  Shafter  purchased  the  property. 
The  other  fine  general  building  improvements  are  en- 
tirely his  work.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  acres, 
which  are  reserved  for  drying  purposes,  the  property 
is  now  all  in  fruit-trees,  the  orchard  covering  thirty- 
six  acres.  At  the  present  time  (1888)  there  are  2,000 
French  prune  trees,  four  years  old,  850  apricot  trees 
of  the  same  age,  450  peach  trees,  and  76  Bartlett 
pear  trees,  besides  a  general  variety  of  fruits  for  do- 
mestic use.  Some  idea  of  the  thrifty  condition  of 
this  large  orchard  may  be  obtained  by  the  following 
estimate:  In  1887,  the  apricot  trees  (then  three  years 
old)  produced  $781  worth  of  fruit,  and  in  the  same 
year,  and  at  the  same  age,  the  450  peach  trees  yielded 
a  crop  which  sold  for  $611,  while  the  peach  crop  of 
the  preceding  year  realized  the  sum  of  $254. 

Mr.  Shafter  is  also  extensively  engaged  in  fruit- 
drying,  handling  his  own  fruit  and  buying  of  others. 
The  dimensions  of  the  building  in  which  he  conducted 
the  business  in  1887  are  24x48  feet,  and  for  the  pres- 
ent season  he  has  added  a  building  30x48  feet,  with 
a  six-foot  porch  nearly  encircling  the  building.  With 
these  increased  facilities  for  the  business,  he  will  add 
largely  to  the  profits  thereof 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  dates  his  birth  in  Athens, 
Windham  County,  Vermont,  September  19,  1S54. 
He  is  the  son  of  J.  D.  and  S.  G.  Shafter  (whose  history 
appears  elsewhere  in  this  book),  now  residents  of  San 
Jose.  He  was  brought  by  his  parents  to  this  State  in 
1859,  they  living  from  that  time  until  1869  in  Marin 
County,  whence  they  removed  to  Hall's  Valley,  in 
Santa  Clara  County.  There  they  made  their  home 
for  thirteen  years  before  becoming  residents  of  San 
Jose.  Mr.  Shafter  married,  April  26,  1882,  Miss 
PVances  Phipps.  Two  daughters  have  been  born  to 
them,  Lottie  Ruth  and  Bertha  Ray. 

Politically  Mr.  Shafter  is  identified  with  the  Re- 
publican party.  A  thorough  master  of  his  business, 
he  is  bound  to  make  a  success  of  it,  financially  and 
in  every  way.  The  same  energy  which  has  enabled 
him  to  convert  the  neglected,  uninviting  place  into  a 
thriving  fruit  ranch,  profitable  to  its  owner,  and  pleas- 
ing to  the  eye  of  every  passer-by,  he  carries  into 
every  branch  of  his  growing  business.     The  rapidity 


^^_  ^:.^.^_^. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


457 


and  thoroughness  with  which  he  has  wrought  the 
great  change  augurs  well  for  the  future  prospects  of 
the  ranch  and  its  owner. 


lHOUIS  SCHLOSS  is  one  of  the  representative 
S^  real-estate  men  of  the  Santa  Clara  Valley.  He 
T  came  to  San  Jose  in  1885,  and  engaged  in  the 
boot  and  shoe  trade.  Disposing  of  his  interest  in  that 
business  to  his  partner,  in  February,  1887,  he  opened 
a  real-estate  office  over  the  Bank  of  Santa  Clara  in 
the  town  of  Santa  Clara;  but,  finding  the  town  too 
small  for  the  business  he  wanted  to  do,  he  removed 
his  office  under  the  St.  James  Hotel,  which  he  still  oc- 
cupies, and  has  always  used  a  trade-mark,  which  is  a 
castle  with  his  name  printed  across  the  face  of  it.  It 
is  very  appropriate,  and  entirely  original.  "Castle," 
translated  in  German,  is  Schloss.  By  liberal  but  ju- 
dicious advertising,  indomitable  energ}',  and  honorable 
dealing  with  customers,  he  stepped  right  to  the  front, 
and  has  done  a  large  and  prosperous  business  as  a 
dealer  in  all  kinds  of  city  and  country  property,  most 
of  his  transactions  being  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley. 
For  the  further  enlargement  of  his  business,  Mr.  Schloss 
opened  a  branch  office,  May  i,  1 888,  in  San  Francisco, 
at  624  Market  Street,  opposite  the  Palace  Hotel,  where 
the  wants  of  customers  for  the  sale,  purchase,  or  rent- 
ing of  property  in  all  parts  of  the  State  are  carefully 
and  thoroughly  attended  to.  Being  unacquainted 
with  the  real-estate  business  when  he  started  in,  Mr. 
Schloss'  friends  had  some  doubts  and  misgivings 
about  his  success;  but  by  bringing  to  bear  his  fine 
business  qualities,  and  adhering  strictly  to  the  princi- 
pal of  not  misrepresenting  to  a  customer  in  any  case, 
even  if  he  missed  a  sale  thereby,  he  soon  won  confi- 
dence, which,  with  unremitting  industry,  assured  a 
large  volume  of  business.  As  an  illustration,  the 
largest  sale  Mr.  Schloss  ever  made  was  negotiated  and 
completed  before  seven  o'clock  one  morning,  and  the 
customer  left  the  city  on  the  7:15  train. 

Mr.  Schloss  was  born  in  Columbus,  Indiana,  July  7, 
1859.  His  father,  Moses  A.  Schloss,  was  a  native  of 
Germany,  and  his  mother  of  Indiana.  After  attend- 
ing school  at  Hanover  College  he  studied  law  a  year 
and  a  half  in  the  office  of  Colonel  Stansilerand  Judge 
N.  R.  Keyes.  Being  offered  a  partnership  with  his 
brother-in-law  in  a  large  dry-goods  business,  in  1879, 
Mr.  Schloss  accepted,  and  continued  in  it  until  1883, 
when  he  sold  out  and  became  interested  in  mining  in 
58 


Colorado;  but  finding  it  unprofitable,  he  came  on   to 
California  and  settled  in  San  Jose. 

October  24,  1880,  the  subject  of  this  memoir  was 
married  to  Miss  Rachel  Lang,  who  was  born  in  Richen, 
near  Eppingen,  Germany.  They  have  one  child,  Reda, 
six  years  old. 


-ۥ 


g  .OHN  R.  HENSLEY  and  his  mother,  Mrs. 
d/  Rebecca  G.  Hensley,  are  the  owners  of  one  of 
^  the  finest  orchards  of  the  Willow  Glen  District. 
This  orchard  contains  twenty-seven  and  three-fifths 
acres,  planted  with  3,000  trees,  of  which  1,700  are 
prunes,  400  peaches,  275  cherries,  325  egg-plums,  and 
the  balance  apricots,  apples,  and  pears.  It  is  situated 
on  Malone  Avenue,  near  the  Almaden  road.  It  was 
bought  by  them  in  March,  1882,  the  price  paid  being 
$190  per  acre.  No  better  land  for  horticultural  pur- 
poses can  be  found  in  the  neighborhood.  Only  a  few 
trees  had  been  planted  prior  to  their  purchase.  Since 
that  time  the  work  of  improvement  has  entirely  oc- 
cupied Mr.  Hensley's  time.  He  has  the  satisfaction 
of  seeing  the  results  of  his  labor,  for  few  if  any  better- 
cared-for  orchards  are  to  be  found. 

His  parents,  James  L.  and  Rebecca  (Tiffee)  Hens- 
ley,  were  born  and  reared  in  the  State  of  Missouri. 
In  Boone  County,  that  State,  their  son  John  R. 
was  born,  November  25,  1854.  In  1857,  when  less 
than  three  years  of  age,  he  came  with  his  parents  to 
this  State,  and  was  reared  on  a  farm,  in  Colusa 
County,  where  his  father  died,  in  1871.  Four  years 
later  his  mother  moved  with  her  children  to  San 
Jose.  Buying  a  residence  in  that  city,  she  has  since 
made  it  her  home.  With  her  live  her  three  daugh- 
ters: Orilla,  Nancy,  and  Mary.  John  W.  is  the  eldest 
child  and  the  only  son.  Being  unmarried,  he  keeps 
"bachelor's  hall,"  and  can  generally  be  found  attend- 
ing to  the  care  of  the  ranch,  in  which  he  justly  feels 
great  pride. 


tEORGE  W.  STEWART,  one  of  the  early  set- 
tlers of  the  Moreland  District,  was  born  in  Ten- 
•jj^  nessee,  September  8,  1834.  His  parents,  John 
N.  and  Isabella  J.  Stewart,  removed  from  Ten- 
nessee to  Mississippi  when  he  was  a  child,  and  a  few 
years  later  to  Bowie  County,  in  the  northwestern  part 
of  Texas,  where  on  a  ranch  George  W.  Stewart  was 


458 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


reared.  When  twenty  years  of  age  he  became  one  of 
a  party  of  fifteen  men  who  started  on  the  overland 
trip  to  CaHfornia  in  the  spring  of  1854.  As  they 
drove  600  head  of  cattle  before  them,  their  progress 
was  necessarily  slow,  and  the  following  winter  was 
spent  on  Bear  River,  in  Salt  Lake  Valley.  Some  time 
was  also  spent  in  grazing  the  stock  in  Carson  Valley, 
Nevada,  after  which  they  pushed  on,  and,  reaching 
this  State  in  the  autumn  of  1855,  sold  their  cattle  in 
Placerville.  Thus  was  ended,  without  serious  mishap, 
a  journey  of  a  year  and  a  half 

In  December  of  the  same  year,  Mr.  Stewart  came 
to  Santa  Clara  Valley,  and  ever  since  has  been  a  resi- 
dent of  the  county.  After  spending  the  first  two  or 
three  years  in  the  cultivation  of  rented  lands,  he 
purchased  his  present  home  in  1859.  It  is  located  on 
the  San  Tomas  Aquino  road,  and  at  the  time  of  the 
purchase  contained  116  acres,  fenced  and  slightly  im- 
proved. A  portion  having  been  sold,  the  ranch  now 
contains  ninety-four  acres,  which,  until  1883,  was  de- 
voted to  grain  production  and  general  farming.  Now 
forty-five  acres  are  in  vineyard,  and  twenty-five  acres 
in  orchard.  Thirty-five  acres  of  the  vineyard  were 
planted  in  1883,  and  the  remainder  four  years  later. 
The  crop  of  1887  was  174  tons,  twenty  tons  being 
Muscat  (table)  grapes,  which  were  sold  at  $20  per  ton; 
the  remainder  (wine  grapes)  were  sold  at  $12  per  ton. 
The  orchard  is  in  full  bearing,  and  produces  chiefly 
French  prunes,  although  Silver  prune,  apricot,  pear, 
apple,  and  almond  trees  are  also  to  be  found. 

Mr.  Stewart  was  united  in  marriage,  December  2, 
185S,  with  Miss  Julia  A.  McCoy,  who  was  born  in 
Jackson  County,  Missouri,  November  10,  1842,  the 
daughter  of  James  and  Elizabeth  McCoy.  Her  father 
died  when  she  was  young,  and  her  widowed  mother, 
with  her  family  of  two  sons  and  three  daughters,  came 
to  this  valley  in  1853,  settling  near  the  place  where 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stewart  now  live.  The  latter  have  six 
children,  all  of  whom  are  members  of  their  father's 
home,  except  the  eldest,  William  L.,  who  resides  in 
Los  Angeles.  Their  names  are:  Frank,  Robert,  Eda, 
Nellie,  and  Marvin.  Realizing  that  knowledge  is 
power,  Mr.  Stewart  has  given  his  children  all  the 
educational  advantages  available.  Robert  and  Eda 
are  now  attending  the  University  of  the  Pacific,  and 
Nellie  is  attending  the  Moreland  District  School. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stewart  are  members  of  the  Southern 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  In  politics  Mr.  Stewart 
is  identified  with  the  Democratic  party.  He  may  be 
styled  a  self-made  man,  for  he  possessed  no  wealth 
when  he  commenced  in  life  in  this  State,  and  he  has. 


by  industry  and  a  thorough  understanding  of  his 
vocation,  built  up  a  prosperous  and  pleasant  home  for 
his  family. 


PPHRAIM  M.  THOMAS  is  the  owner  of  a  fine 
property  on  Hicks  Avenue,  at  the  Willows.  He 
■J'  bought  his  estate,  of  Hj-^  acres,  in  June,  1878, 
it  then  being  a  portion  of  a  grain-field.  He 
erected  his  fine  residence  in  1884,  and  during  the  fol- 
lowing winter  planted  his  orchard,  consisting  princi- 
pally of  prune  and  apricot  trees,  with  a  general  variety 
for  domestic  use. 

Mr.  Thomas  is  a  native  of  Lincolnville,  Waldo 
County,  Maine,  where  he  was  born  May  3,  1832.  He 
was  reared  to  a  farm  life  in  that  State  but  left  home  at 
the  age  of  eighteen  to  learn  the  carpenter's  trade.  In 
1856  he  followed  the  hosts  of  men  who  came  to  Cali- 
fornia in  search  of  wealth.  He  engaged  in  mining  in 
Placer  County  and  lived  in  that  county  at  Dutch  Flat, 
for  twenty-one  years. 

While  on  a  visit  to  his  parents,  in  1865,  he  was 
married,  September  30,  to  Miss  Adelia  K.  Heal,  a 
native  of  Hope,  Knox  County,  Maine.  Capt.  James 
Thomas,  his  father,  was  in  the  service  during  the  war 
of  181 2,  and  was  a  pensioner  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  1884,  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven 
years  and  six  months.  A  peculiar  circumstance  of 
his  life  was  the  fact  that  he  died  on  the  farm  where 
he  was  born.  Mrs.  Thomas,  the  mother  of  the  subject 
of  the  sketch,  died  in  1875,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two 
years  and  four  months.  Mr.  Ephraim  Thomas  was 
the  ninth  in  a  family  of  fourteen  children,  seven  sons 
and  seven  daughters.  They  are  widely  separated,  he 
having  but  two  brothersjin  this  State:  John  Y.,  a  resi- 
dent of  Placer  County,  and  Job  I.,  of  Nevada  County. 

Mr.  Thomas  pays  taxes  on  quite  a  large  amount  of 
property,  as,  besides  his  Willows  estate,  he  is  the 
owner  of  two  houses  and  lots  in  San  Jose,  and  a  house 
and  lot  in  Dutch  Flat.  His  residence  at  the  Willows 
is  a  very  fine  one,  worthy  of  special  notice,  while  the 
grounds  and  all  other  surroundings  are  correspond- 
ingly elegant.  Mr.  Thomas  was  not  a  rich  man  when 
he  came  to  California.  He  is  the  architect  of  his  own 
fortune,  and  certainly  deserves  the  prosperity  which 
he  enjoys,  for  he  has  secured  it  by  energy  and  good 
management. 

Politically,  he  is  identified  with  the  Republican 
party.  He  is  prominent  in  Masonic  circles.  While  a 
resident  of  Dutch  Flat,  he  became  a  member  of  Clay 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


459 


Lodge,  No.  loi,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  he  has  acted  as 
Master  of  the  Lodge  for  three  years,  and  held  elect- 
ive offices  for  eleven  years.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  F"ellows,  Garden  City 
Lodge,  No.  142,  San  Jose.  He  has  passed  all  its 
chairs,  serving  nineteen  years  as  an  officer. 


John  C.  RODGERS,  residing  on  the  northwest 
©>■  corner  of  Meridian  road  and  Hamilton  Avenue,  is 
W  the  owner  of  one  of  the  most  desirable  pieces  of 
property  in  the  Hamilton  District.  The  building  im- 
provements are  noticeably  good,  and  the  orchard,  of 
ten  acres,  is  in  full  bearing.  It  comprises  a  general 
variety, — prunes,  peaches,  apricots,  pears,  apples,  and 
a  few  fine  almond-trees.  Mr.  Rodgers  paid  $8,000 
for  the  place. 

Mr.  Rodgers  was  born  in  Rockbridge  County,  Vir- 
ginia, in  1822.  His  father,  Aniel  Rodgers,  is  also  a 
Virginian  by  birth,  a  strong,  healthy  man,  whose 
physical  strength  was  largely  inherited  by  his  son 
John.  The  family  moved  to  Monroe  County,  Mis- 
souri, in  1828,  and  thence  to  Warren  County,  Illinois, 
in  1833.  There  the  parents  are  buried  in  the  family 
cemetery,  which  is  located  on  land  now  owned  by  the 
subject  of  this  sketch.  John  C.  Rodgers  married 
Miss  Mary  Anne  Mitchell,  in  Warren  County,  Illinois. 
He  suffered  her  loss  by  death,  in  June,  1871.  Eight 
children  were  born  to  them,  of  whom  five  are  living: 
William  M.,  who  is  now  (1888)  living  on  the  old  home- 
stead in  Warren  County,  Illinois;  Rachel  I.,  who  lives 
with  her  father;  Mrs.  Clara  J.  Nash,  who,  with  her 
husband,  occupies  a  part  of  her  father's  present  home; 
John  A.,  a  resident  of  Kansas;  and  Mary,  who  makes 
her  home  with  her  father. 

Mr.  Rodgers  is  a  member  of  the  United  Presby- 
terian Church,  as  was  also  his  wife.  He  is  a  strong 
Republican,  of  Abolitionist  antecedents.  His  father 
was  a  radical  Abolitionist,  although  born  and  reared 
in  a  slave  State.  His  grandfather,  Rev.  John  Rodgers, 
never  owned  or  hired  a  slave,  being  thoroughly  an 
Abolitionist. 

Both  father  and  grandfather  were  strong,  rugged 
men,  physically  and  mentally,  of  Scotch  extraction. 
They  were  descendants  of  the  Presbyterian  seceders 
from  the  Established  Church  of  Scotland,  who  founded 
the  Associated  Church.  They  were  lineal  descend- 
ants of  John  Rodgers  the  Martyr,  of  Smithfield.  Ap- 
preciating the  sturdy  characteristics  of  these  men, 
Mr.  Rodgers  may  well  refer,  with  pride,  to  his  ancestry. 


3KENRY  TRUE  BESSE,  residing  on  Delmas 
(Hr  Avenue,  near  San  Jose,  was  born  in  the  town 
(g*  of  Wayne,  Kennebec  County,  Maine,  August  16, 
1823.  He  is  the  son  of  Samuel  and  Mercy 
(Dexter)  Besse.  The  founders  of  both  families,  Besse 
and  Dexter,  settled  near  Plymouth  during  its  early 
history,  and  descendants  of  both  families  were  pioneers 
of  Maine.  Jabez  Besse,  the  grandfather  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  settled  in  Wayne,  Kennebec 
County,  over  100  years  ago,  and  the  maternal  grand- 
parents. Constant  Dexter  and  his  wife,  settled  in  the 
same  town  about  the  same  time.  They  were  men  of 
sturdy  New  England  habit,  strong  in  principle  and 
religious  faith. 

Henry  T.  Besse  was  reared  to  manhood  in  the  State 
of  Maine,  spending  his  youth  on  a  farm,  receiving  his 
primary  education  in  the  common  schools,  anil  at- 
tending higher  schools  and  teaching  later.  He  left 
home  and  settled  in  Boston,  Massachusetts,  the  year 
that  he  attained  his  majority  (1844).  The  gold  fever 
caused  him  to  seek  his  fortune  on  this  coast,  and  he 
embarked  at  Boston,  November  12,  1849.  The  voyage 
was  long  and  tedious.  Off  Cape  Horn  an  albatross 
was  caught,  and  to  it  was  fastened  a  collar,  upon  which 
Mr.  Besse  had  inscribed  these  words:  "  Bark  Orioji, 
off  Cape  Horn,  Feb.  19,  1850."  The  albatross  was 
again  caught,  with  a  hook,  from  another  vessel,  and 
the  inscription  and  circumstances  were  published  in 
Boston  papers,  causing  the  greatest  anxiety  on  the 
part  of  those  who  had  friends  on  board  the  Orion. 
However,  the  vessel  reached  San  Francisco  in  safety 
on  the  sixth  of  May,  1850. 

Mr.  Besse  engaged  in  placer  mining  for  a  few 
months,  but  during  the  following  October  started  on 
the  return  trip  to  the  East,  this  time  choosing  the 
Isthmus  route,  and  reaching  Massachusetts  in  January. 
On  the  twenty-second  of  April,  1851,  he  married 
Miss  Harriet  Frost,  in  Lowell,  Massachusetts.  Mrs. 
Besse  was  born  April  2,  1822,  and  is  the  daughter  of 
Aaron  and  Rosetta  Frost.  After  their  marriage  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Besse  lived  in  Massachusetts  until  1855, 
leaving  on  the  twentieth  of  March  of  that  year  for 
Boone  County,  Illinois,  where  they  engaged  in  agri- 
culture. Soon  after  locating  there  Mr.  Besse  entered 
the  ministry  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  connec- 
tion. He  remained  in  the  ministry  until  he  came  to 
California,  thus  spending  about  thirty  years  in  the 
service  of  the  Master.  In  1871  he  became  a  resident 
of  Kansas,  settling  in  Sterling,  Rice  County.  In 
1877  he  returned  East  and  took  charge  of  a  church 
at  Eagle  Harbor.     He  acted  as  pastor  of  churches  at 


4(30 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


that  place,  and  at  points  in  Steuben  County,  for  five 
years.  Thence  he  removed  to  Sullivan  County,  Penn- 
sylvania, where  he  spent  nearly  three  years  in  the  min- 
istry. From  Pennsylvania  he  came  to  Santa  Clara 
County,  arriving  here  August  28,  1S85.  His  pres- 
ent home,  of  five  acres,  he  improved  from  a  stubble- 
field.  He  also  owns  a  half  interest  in  a  Plummer 
Avenue  orchard  of  eight-year-old  trees,  comprising 
prunes,  cherries,  apricots,  and  peaches.  ,  On  his  home 
property  he  has  erected  a  fine  residence.  This  is  sur- 
rounded by  grounds  tastefully  laid  out,  at  the  en- 
trance to  which  are  placed  the  letters  of  the  word 
"  Home."  After  spending  much  of  his  life  before  the 
public,  Mr.  Besse  now  enjoys  a  somewhat  retired  life 
in  his  pleasant  and  inviting  "  Home." 


^MILLIAM  R.  PENDER  owns  one  of  the  finest 
&^  fruit  orchards  in  his  part  of  Hamilton  Dis- 
■jf"  trict.  He  took  possession  of  his  fine  residence 
(erected  by  himself  in  1882-83)  on  Washing- 
ton's birthday,  1883.  The  sixteen  acres  upon  which 
his  orchard  stands  were  prepared  from  a  stubble-field, 
and  planted  with  1,700  trees,  entirely  by  himself 
His  orchard  is  now  five  years  old,  and  consists  chiefly 
of  prune,  apricot,  and  peach  trees.  Several  varieties 
of  plums  and  cherries  are  also  found. 

Mr.  Pender  was  born  in  England,  November  i, 
1829.  He  followed  a  seafaring  life  for  several  years 
before  coming  to  this  State,  in  1854.  He  engaged  in 
mining  for  a  number  of  years  in  Sierra  County,  mak- 
ing that  place  his  home  until  he  came  to  the  Hamil- 
ton District.  In  1861  he  returned  to  England,  and 
on  the  second  of  January,  1862,  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Elizabeth  Coon.  They  embarked  at  South- 
amption  for  St.  Thomas,  and  from  St.  Thomas  for 
Aspinwall,  on  the  British  steamer  Trent.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  the  Trent  was  the  vessel  from  which 
the  Confederate  embassadors,  Mason  and  Slidell,  were 
forcibly  taken  by  Commodore  Wilkes,  of  the  United 
States  Navy — an  act  which  came  near  adding  to  our 
domestic  trouble  a  war  with  England.  This  happened 
during  the  first  half  of  the  trip,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pender 
being  passengers  of  the  same  steamer  on  her  return 
trip,  from  St.  Thomas  to  Aspinwall. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pender  have  two  children.  Agnes, 
born  in  Sierra  County,  is  a  teacher,  having  taught 
five  terms  in  the  home  district;  she  is  now  in  Co- 
lusa County,  where  she  is  acting  as  Principal.     The 


younger  child,  David,  also  born  in  Sierra  County,  is 
a  drug  clerk  in  San  Jose. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pender  are  members  of  the  First 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  San  Jose.  Mr.  Pen- 
der is  a  member  of  San  Jose  Lodge,  No.  10,  F.  &  A. 
M.     Politically  he  is  a  Republican. 

His  orchard  gives  ample  evidence  of  the  energy 
and  care  expended  upon  it.  His  home  is  a  hand- 
some one,  and  is  built  to  suit  the  convenience  and 
please  the  taste  of  himself  and  his  wife,  as  they  ex- 
pect to  make  it  their  permanent  residence. 


|||UCIUS  D.  WOODRUFF.  One  of  the  finest 
'^^  ranches  in  the  Willow  District  is  owned  by  the 
T  subject  of  this  sketch.  It  is  located  on  Curtner 
Avenue,  between  Lincoln  and  Plummer  Avenues. 
In  September,  1881,  Mr.  Woodruff  bought  25 yVfy  acres, 
then  part  of  a  grain-field.  The  following  spring  he  set 
out  1 ,500  trees.  He  has  retained  eighteen  acres,  selling 
the  remainder.  Each  year  he  has  planted  trees,  until 
now  all  of  his  property  is  devoted  to  fruit  culture, 
and  nearly  all  of  his  trees  are  in  bearing.  His  fine, 
large  orchard  now  comprises  600  French  prune,  100 
Silver  prune,  400  apricot,  500  peach  (of  different  va- 
rieties, principally  Sellers'  Cling),  50  old  cherry,  74 
young  cherry,  50  apple,  5  almond,  and  a  few  walnut 
and  fig  trees.  In  1887  280  peach  trees  (budded  only 
two  years  before)  yielded  $365  worth  of  fruit.  In 
the  same  year  the  entire  orchard,  many  being  young 
trees,  and  the  oldest  being  but  six  years  (^Id,  produced 
$2,000  worth  of  fruit.  Of  this  sum  $900  was  realized 
from  400  apricot  trees,  100  of  which  were  but  four 
years  old.  Mr.  Woodruff  may  justly  feel  satisfied 
with  the  financial  results  of  his  labor  in  his  horticult- 
ural interests,  while  the  rapid  growth  and  thrifty  con- 
dition of  his  young  orchard  bear  witness  to  the  ex- 
cellent care  which  he  bestows  upon  it. 

Mr.  Woodruff  was  born  in  Litchfield,  Connecticut, 
December  3,  1824.  He  is  a  descendant  from  a  long 
line  of  New  England  ancestry,  the  family  history  of 
both  parents  running  back  to  the  ]\Iayflozver.  He  is 
the  son  of  Denman  and  Naomi  (Gillett)  Woodruff, 
who  never  left  their  native  State,  and  now  sleep  in  the 
old  Litchfield  Cemetery,  with  their  forefathers.  Mr. 
Woodruff  was  reared  to  a  farm  life,  receiving  the  ed- 
ucation of  the  common  schools.  On  the  sixth  of 
October,  1846,  he  wedded  Miss  Mary  Ann  Fernald, 
who,  although  of  American  parentage,  was   born  in 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES. 


461 


the  Province  of  New  Brunswick.  Her  father,  Mark 
Fernald,  was  a  native  of  Kittery,  Maine,  and  her 
mother,  Ann  (McNiell)  Fernald,  of  New  Boston, 
New  Hampshire.  They  moved  to  New  Brunswick 
before  their  marriage,  in  1812,  and  spent  the  remainder 
of  their  hves  in  that  province.  Mr.  Woodruff  en- 
gaged in  agricultural  pursuits  for  two  years  after  his 
marriage,  in  Connecticut,  thence  removing  to  Boston, 
Massachusetts,  where  he  remained  until  185 1.  In 
the  latter  year  they  emigrated  to  Knox  County, 
Missouri,  then  in  the  far  West,  where  Mr.  Woodruff 
engaged  in  farming. 

At  the  time  of  his  country's  peril,  he  offered  his 
services  in  her  defense,  entering  the  service  as  Or- 
derly Sergeant,  Julj'  6,  1 861,  in  Company  B,  Twenty- 
first  Missouri  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  was  made  First 
Lieutenant  November  1 5.  He  participated  in  the  des- 
perate and  heroic  battle  at  Pittsburg  Landing.  After 
the  evacuation  of  Corinth,  failing  health  necessitated 
his  resignation.  After  a  partial  recovery,  he  received, 
on  the  tenth  of  August,  1862,  a  commission  as  Cap- 
tain of  a  company  in  the  F'ifty-first  State  Militia. 
August  19,  1864,  he  was  honored  by  another  promo- 
tion, being  commissioned  Lieutenant  Colonel,  in  which 
capacity  he  acted  until  the  war  closed. 

In  1868  he  removed  to  Rock  Island,  and  during 
the  following  nine  years  was  a  trusted  employe  of 
the  government,  as  one  of  the  Engineer  Corps,  and 
again  at  the  Arsenal  on  Rock  Island.  He  came  to 
Santa  Clara  County  in  September,  18S1,  immediately 
locating  at  his  present  home. 

The  faithful,  conscientious  performance  of  duty 
which  made  Mr.  Woodruff  a  good  soldier  and  officer, 
he  has  carried  into  all  the  relations  of  his  life,  busi- 
ness and  social.  This  quality,  combined  with  a  bright, 
genial  spirit  and  a  kind  heart,  have  made  him  loved 
and  respected  in  the  community  where  he  makes  his 
home.  Politically  he  is  identified  with  the  Repub- 
lican party.  He  was  reared,  as  was  also  his  wife,  in 
the  faith  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 


MpEV.  L.  W.  KRAHL,  of  Meridian  District,  owns 
^^^  a  productive  farm  of  twenty  acres,  devoted  to 
^^  fruit  culture,  on  the  road  leading  from  San  Jose 
to  Saratoga,  three  miles  west  of  the  city.  He 
made  the  purchase  of  this  property  on  the  seventh  of 
June,  1882,  at  which  time  about  one-half  of  it  was 
set  to  trees,  one  and  two  years  old.  During  the  fol- 
lowing two  years,  the  remainder  of  ihc  farm  was  con- 


verted into  orchard,  one-half  of  the  work  being  done 
each  year.  A  small  house  was  then  on  the  property, 
and  to  it  has  been  added  the  main  building,  forming 
the  substantial  residence  of  to-day. 

Mr.  Krahl  is  a  native  of  Trumbull  County,  Ohio, 
where  he  was  born  November  16,  1835.  He  is  the 
son  of  Samuel  and  Catharine  (Gray)  Krahl,  who 
married  in  1825,  and  settled  in  the  dense  forests  of 
that  country  during  the  following  year,  creating  a 
comfortable  home  in  the  wilderness.  The  first  barn 
in  all  that  section  raised  without  the  aid  of  whisky 
was  erected  by  Samuel  Krahl.  It  still  stands,  possi- 
bly as  a  monument  to  temperance.  Samuel  Krahl 
was  born  in  Georgetown,  on  the  Ohio  River,  of  which 
place  his  father,  who  came  from  far  off  Germany  to 
seek  a  home  in  the  new  country,  was  a  pioneer.  He 
was  one  of  the  original  Abolitionists,  and  a  supporter 
of  James  G.  Birney  in  1844.  He  was  a  practical 
Christian  and  a  member  of  the  Congregational 
Church,  and  in  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1879,  at 
the  age  of  eight}'  3'cars,  the  community  lost  an  hon- 
ored and  respected  citizen.  His  widow  has  reached 
the  ripe  age  of  eighty-five  years,  and  still  lives  upon 
the  old  homestead,  with  her  youngest  son,  Eli  B. 
Her  eldest  son,  George  N.,  lives  in  Kansas,  but  in- 
tends to  become  a  resident  of  this  county. 

L.  W.  Krahl,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  is  the 
second  son.  He  spent  his  boyhood  years  on  his 
father's  homestead,  receiving  as  good  educational  ad- 
vantages as  the  new  country  afforded.  At  the  age  of 
sixteen,  he  entered  Oberlin  College,  passed  through 
its  classes  with  credit,  and  graduated  in  1858.  He 
then  engaged  in  teaching,  and  followed  the  profes- 
sion until  1 86 1.  On  the  twentieth  of  March  of  that 
year,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Nellie  S. 
Pepper,  daughter  of  John  and  Ruth  Pepper.  She 
was  born  March  20,  1838,  in  England,  coming  with 
her  parents  to  Ohio  (Ashtabula  County)  when  four- 
teen years  of  age. 

Mr.  Krahl  was  converted  in  his  nineteenth  year, 
under  the  preaching  of  Rev.  J.  H.  Fairchild,  and 
joined  the  Congregational  Church.  In  the  spring  of 
1862  he  entered  the  ministry  of  the  Wesleyan  Meth- 
odist Church.  He  engaged  in  preaching  the  gospel 
for  si.xteen  years,  being  located  in  the  States  of  New 
York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio.  When  failing  health 
necessitated  a  change,  he  came  to  California.  After 
visiting  different  portions  of  the  State,  he  decided 
upon  Santa  Clara  County  as  the  place  which  combined 
a  health-giving  climate  with  a  productive  soil  and 
great  natural  beauty.      His  h..mc,  in  this  lovely  valley, 


462 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD" 


he  calls  the  "  Evergreen  Place."  His  orchard,  of 
which  mention  has  been  made,  is  a  very  fine  one  in- 
deed. It  contains  1,415  French  prune,  24  Silver 
prune,  2  Hungarian  prune,  502  apricot,  140  peach, 
230  cherry  (black  and  white),  200  yellow  egg  plum, 
100  Columbia  plum,  10  nectarine,  10  pear,  29  apple,  7 
almond,  4  English  walnut,  and  2  Italian  chestnut  trees. 
It  is  literally  true  that  Mr.  Krahl  lives  "under  his  own 
vine  and  fig  tree,"  for  his  orchard  contains  also  a  fig 
tree  !  The  thrifty  condition  of  the  trees  (so  great  in 
number  and  in  variety)  shows  Mr.  Krahl  to  be  one  of 
the  most  efficient  horticulturists  of  the  district.  Not 
only  the  orchard,  but  also  the  house  and  all  its  sur- 
roundings, evince  the  care  and  attention  bestowed 
upon  them.  In  connection  with  the  fruit  interests, 
more  extended  mention  must  hz  made  of  the  produc- 
tiveness of  the  orchard.  We  give  the  estimate  for 
1887  :  502  apricot  trees  yielded  almost  30  tons,  from 
which  were  realized  nearly  $900;  while  230  young 
cherry  trees  yielded  $380  worth  of  fruit.  The  crop 
of  prunes  was  the  lightest,  24  tons  being  harvested, 
and  sold  for  $960.  The  total  yield  of  all  fruits  was 
79  tons,  and  the  total  receipts  nearly  $3,000.  Such 
results  cannot  but  be  encouraging. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Krahl  have  two  daughters  :  Blanche, 
now  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  John  B.  Kinney,  of  Syracuse, 
New  York,  now  of  San  Jose;  and  Bertha,  wife  of 
Rev.  T.  H.  Lawson,  who  is  now  pastor  of  the  First 
Wesleyan  Church  of  San  Jose.  His  niece.  Miss  El- 
leta  Elmer,  was  adopted  at  the  age  of  two  years,  and 
is  now  a  member  of  their  household.  She  is  the  or- 
phan daughter  of  Mr.  Krahl's  sister,  Mrs.  Pluma 
Elmer,  who  died  at  Yuba  City,  in  this  State,  where 
her  husband,  Henry  Elmer,  made  his  home  many 
years  ago.  Mr.  Krahl  has  two  sisters  living  in  this 
State.  The  eldest  is  a  graduate  of  Oberlin  College, 
and  is  the  wife  of  Judge  J.  L.  Wilbur,  of  Yuba  City. 
The  other  sister,  Alice,  is  the  wife  of  J.  S.  Brame,  of 
Monterey. 

Mr.  Krahl  is  not  now  actively  engaged  in  the  min- 
istry, but  is  ready  at  all  times  to  aid  in  extending  the 
Master's  kingdom.  Many  opportunities  for  ministe- 
rial work  present  themselves,  and  Mr.  Krahl  cheerfully 
responds  to  all  demands  of  this  nature  on  his  time. 
For  years  Mr.  Krahl  was  a  member  of  the  Republican 
party,  but  when  prohibition  was  made  a  political 
issue  he  joined  the  ranks  of  its  supporters,  and  has 
since  adhered  to  that  party. 


PT.  PETTIT,  residing  on  the  Doyle  road,  one- 
half  mile  south  of  the  Stevens  Creek  road,  owns 
'sp  a  fine  orchard  property  of  twenty-two  acres, 
which  he  bought  in  1881,  and  has  improved  from 
a  stubble-field.  Tree-planting  was  commenced  at 
once,  ten  acres  being  planted  the  following  season  in 
apricots  and  prunes  about  equally  divided.  The  re- 
mainder of  the  orchard  was  set  during  the  next  two 
years,  principally  to  prunes  and  peaches,  French 
prunes  leading  the  whole  orchard.  The  results  which 
Mr.  Pettit  obtains  from  his  horticultural  interests 
clearly  show  the  excellent  care  which  he  bestows  upon 
them.  In  1887  five  acres  of  apricots  yielded  thirty- 
five  tons  of  fruit,  which  sold  for  about  $1,000.  After 
gathering  the  crop  of  1887,  Mr.  Pettit,  in  partnership 
with  his  sister,  bought  twenty  acres  of  fruit  land  ad- 
joining the  town  of  Colusa,  in  Colusa  County,  and 
during  the  present  season  (1888)  has  planted  it  with 
apricots  and  peaches. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  born  in  Lawrence 
County,  Pennsylvania.  When  he  started  in  life  for 
himself,  he  chose  the  profession  of  the  teacher.  After 
teaching  a  few  terms  in  his  native  State,  he  went  to 
Missouri  and  there  entered  the  State  Normal  School 
at  Kirksville,  Adair  County.  He  spent  the  three  years 
following  liis  graduation,  in  1873,  in  teaching  in  Mis- 
souri, and  then  came  to  this  State.  Here  he  took  a 
senior  course  in  the  State  Normal  at  San  Jose,  at 
which  institution  he  graduated  in  1878.  During  the 
\  ears  1880  and  1881  he  had  charge,  as  Principal,  of 
the  schools  of  Sonora,  Tuolumne  County.  The  larger 
part  of  the  time,  however,  since  his  graduation  has 
been  spent  in  teaching  in  this  coimty.  Since  1885  he 
has  devoted  his  entire  attention  to  horticulture,  in 
which  he  has  been  very  successful.  A  brother,  Cyrus, 
is  in  the  carriage  business  at  Stockton.  His  father, 
Nathaniel  Pettit,  resides  at  the  family  home  in  Law- 
rence County,  Pennsylvania.  His  grandfather  was 
one  of  the  pioneers  of  Beaver  County,  Pennsylvania, 
from  Virginia.  The  family  is  able  to  refer  with  pride 
to  a  long  line  of  Virginian  ancestry. 

Mr.  Pettit  is  a  member  of  San  Jose  Grange,  No.  10, 
in  1887  holding  the  position  of  Secretary  of  that  or- 
ganization. In  politics  he  is  a  thorough  Republican. 
A  well-educated  man,  and  one  of  integrity,  Mr.  Pettit 
is  possessed  of  the  influence  which  every  man  of  edu- 
cation and  refinement — when  combined  with  upright- 
ness of  character — exerts  for  good  in  the  community 
in  which  he  makes  his  home.  The  qualities  of  thor- 
oughness and  faithfulness  in  the  performance  of  every 
duty,  which  made  him  a  most  successful  teacher,  as- 
sure his  success  as  a  horticulturist. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


463 


fERI  HAMILTON,  deceased.  The  subject  of 
-.-  this  sketch  was  born  in  Massachusetts,  in  1813. 
T  He  was  the  son  of  Luther  Hamilton,  and  the 
grandson  of  EHakim  Hamilton,  who  was  of  En- 
glish birth,  and  an  officer  in  the  Continental  Army 
in  the  Revolutionary  War.  Zeri  Hamilton  grew  to 
manhoqd  in  the  old  Bay  State,  living  on  his  father's 
farm  and  learning  the  carpenter's  trade.  Later  he 
worked  for  some  years  in  the  State  of  New  York. 
Thence  he  went  to  Michigan,  and,  after  a  few  years' 
residence  in  that  State,  to  Terre  Haute,  Indiana, 
where  he  married,  in  1840,  Miss  Jane  Blackford.  Two 
years  afterward  they  removed  to  Chariton  County, 
Missouri,  and,  opening  a  farm,  made  it  their  home 
until  the  spring  of  1848. 

Failing  health  compelled  Mr.  Hamilton  to  seek  a 
radical  change  of  climate,  and  he  joined  a  train  of 
emigrants  bound  for  California.  He  crossed  the 
Missouri  River  at  St.  Joseph,  with  his  family  and  a 
few  household  goods.  Their  route  was  by  way  of 
Salt  Lake  City,  and  upon  the  desert  this  side  of  that 
place  Mr.  Hamilton  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  most 
of  his  stock.  His  cows  and  one  yoke  of  oxen  were 
driven  off  and  killed  by  Indians.  A  kind-hearted 
Christian  gentleman,  afterward  known  as  "Methodist 
Bennett,"  allowed  Mr.  Hamilton  to  harness  a  yoke  of 
Texas  steers  to  his  wagon,  and  also  to  use  a  part  of 
the  wagon.  After  abandoning  his  own  wagon  and 
several  articles  of  value,  among  them  a  trunk  contain- 
ing many  keepsakes,  which,  for  temporary  safety,  had 
been  buried  and  its  whereabouts  unknown,  the  family, 
without  further  serious  mishap,  concluded  the  long 
journey. 

A  word  as  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bennett:  They  settled 
at  Santa  Cruz,  where  they  reared  a  large  family,  to 
become  worthy  members  of  society.  They  were  be- 
loved by  ail  who  knew  them.  After  lives  well-spent, 
they  sleep  the  sleep  of  the  just. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hamilton  made  their  first  home  at 
the  mines  on  Weaver  Creek.  Under  a  large  oak  tree, 
two  sheets  sewed  together  and  stretched  over  a  pole, 
with  a  buffalo  robe  for  the  floor,  formed  their  rude  hab- 
itation for  several  weeks.  Mr.  Hamilton  was  an  in- 
valid and  unable  to  work.  His  wife  baked  bread  to 
sell  to  miners,  and  did  other  work  with  indomitable 
energy,  thus  providing  for  all  necessities.  The  winter 
following  was  spent  in  Coloma  in  a  rude  log  cabin. 
The  summer  of  1849  was  spent  at  Sutter's  Fort,  and 
the  following  winter  at  Georgetown.  Mrs.  Hamilton 
relates  that  while  she  was  at  "  Hangtown  "  (Coloma) 
she    paid    $10  per    pound   for   ten   pounds  of  beads, 


brought  by  a  miner  from  Oregon,  and  sold  them  to 
the  Indians  for  an  aggregate  of  $1,500!  She  paid 
$5.00  per  pound  for  butter,  and  $6.00  per  dozen  for 
eggs!  In  moving  to  Sutter's  Fort,  a  man  and  team 
were  hired  for  one  day,  and  paid  the  modest  sum  of 
$300  in  gold-dust.  While  at  Coloma  Mr.  Hamilton 
undertook  to  carry  some  blankets  to  prospecters  em- 
ployed by  a  firm  of  merchants,  for  which  service  he 
was  to  be  paid  $16.  Meantime  Mrs.  Hamilton  pur- 
chased a  package  of  needles,  without  paying  for  them 
at  the  time.  In  settlement  they  paid  Mr.  Hamilton 
$2.00,  charging  $14  for  the  needles.  Mrs.  Hamilton, 
not  disputing  the  account,  sent  her  husband  to  the 
merchant's  tent,  with  a  bill  of  $14  for  a  loaf  of  bread, 
for  which  she  had  not  intended  to  make  any  charge. 
The  merchant  was  possessed  of  enough  consistency 
to  pay  the  bill. 

In  March,  1850,  the  family  took  possession  of  the 
present  homestead,  on  what  is  now  known  as  the 
Meridian  road,  near  the  eastern  terminus  of  Hamilton 
Avenue,  two  and  one-half  miles  southwest  of  San 
Jose.  Mr.  Hamilton  bought  a  "  squatter's  right,"  pay- 
ing $300  for  the  possessory  right  to  160  acres,  and 
later,  $5.00  per  acre  for  the  "Golinda"  title.  The 
house,  which  was  purchased  in  San  Francisco,  was 
framed,  fitted,  and  numbered  for  putting  together,  in 
the  State  of  Maine,  and  shipped  around  Cape  Horn. 
The  old  house,  nearly  intact,  yet  stands,  and  is  the 
home  of  Mrs.  Hamilton  and  a  part  of  her  family. 
Long  years  of  litigation  followed  their  settlement, 
spent  in  fighting  claimants  under  shadowy  titles  of 
different  kinds;  but  finally,  after  buying  off  some  of 
them,  and  being  the  victims  of  attorneys  for  many 
years,  they  claimed  the  land  under  the  pre-emption 
laws  of  the  United  States  Government,  only  to  find 
other  parties  on  all  sides  claiming  it  under  the  same 
laws.  Only  since  the  death  of  her  husband  was  Mrs. 
Hamilton,  by  a  decree  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior, 
enabled  to  get  the  title  to  the  property  confirmed  to 
her  children. 

The  death  of  her  husband,  in  1871,  left  Mrs.  Ham- 
ilton the  care  of  a  large  family.  That  she  was  fully 
able  to  meet  the  emergency,  her  untiring  energy  at 
the  present  time  (seventeen  years  later)  clearly  proves. 
She  is  the  daughter  of  Samuel  Blackford,  and  was 
born  near  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania.  She  was  but 
six  years  of  age  when  her  parents  removed  to  Knox 
County,  Ohio,  and  ten  years  of  age  when  they  again 
removed,  this  time  to  Erie,  Pennsylvania.  Later  they 
made  Terre  Haute,  Indiana,  their  home,  where,  as 
before  stated,   she   met  and    married   Mr.  Hamilton. 


464 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


She  is  the  mother  of  nine  children,  five  sons  and  four 
daughters.  Seven  of  her  children  were  born  at  her 
present  home. 

The  names  of  all,  in  the  order  of  their  birth,  are  as 
follows:  Mrs.  Mary  J.  Vanderwart,  of  San  Francisco; 
Samuel  B.,  of  San  Jose;  Luther,  of  Umatilla  County, 
Oregon;  Mrs.  Hattie  E.  Kennedy,  of  Fossil,  Oregon; 
David,  of  Umatilla  County,  Oregon;  Mrs.  Laura 
Whittle,  of  Santa  Cruz  County;  Mrs.  Angle  Sander- 
son, of  Marion  County,  Oregon;  and  George  and  Zeri, 
who  reside  at  the  old  homestead  with  their  mother. 
Mr.  Hamilton,  after  settling  in  this  county,  became 
quite  a  robust  man,  and  was  never  until  his  last  ill- 
ness prostrated  with  sickness. 

Mrs.  Hamilton  is  a  lady  of  culture,  having  received 
a  good  education  in  her  youth,  and  having  been  some- 
what of  a  student  all  her  life.  To  her  belongs  the 
distinction  of  having  taught  the  first  school  in  Hamil- 
ton District.  Both  herself  and  her  husband  were  ever 
ready  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  promote  the  cause 
of  religion.  The  first  church  services  and  the  first 
Sunday-school  were  held  at  their  home.  Their  resi- 
dence was  also  opened  to  the  first  debating  society 
held  in  their  neighborhood.  Although  not  in  the 
possession  of  the  health  and  strength  of  former  years, 
Mrs.  Hamilton  is  sustained  by  an  indomitable  will 
and  a  strong,  courageous  heart,  and  wherever  known 
she  is  respected. 


MlNDREW  THOMAS  GALLAGHER.    Thesub- 
^p  ject  of  this  sketch  is  entitled  to  mention  among 

tthe  pioneers  of  this  State  and  count}',  having  be- 
come a  resident  of  the  former  in  1849,  and  of 
the  latter  a  few  months  later.  He  was  born  in  New 
York  city,  on  the  fourth  of  May,  183 1,  and  is  the  son 
of  Andrew  T.  and  Mary  (Siskron)  Gallagher,  of  that 
city.  His  father  was  a  native  of  Ireland.  Mr.  Gal- 
lagher's early  boyhood  was  spent  at  home,  and  in  at- 
tendance upon  school,  but  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years 
he  entered  the  employ  of  William  T.  Jennings  &  Co., 
merchant  tailors  of  his  native  city.  He  remained 
with  them  until  a  short  time  before  October  16,  1848, 
at  which  date  he  embarked  un  the  bark  /o/i/i  W.  Cater, 
Captain  Richard  Hoyt  commanding,  for  a  voyage 
around  Cape  Horn  to  California. 

He  reached  San  Francisco  on  the  fourteenth  of 
March,  1849,  and  shortly  after  his  arrival  purchased 
the  launch  Mary  and  Catherine.  After  making  a 
few  trips  to  Sonoma  he  sold  the  vessel  and  entered 


the  mines  at  Sullivan's  Camp,  in  Tuolumne  County. 
He  remained  there  a  few  months,  and  then  came  to 
Santa  Clara  County  and  obtained  employment  in  the 
Redwoods.  He  spent  a  few  weeks  in  that  work,  en- 
gaging afterward  in  teaming  between  that  point  and 
Alviso.  Similar  work  occupied  his  attention  for  some 
time,  as  he  engaged  in  the  transportation  of  freight 
from  Alviso  to  San  Jose  and  Santa  Clara.  At  the 
same  time  he  also  transported  freight  between  San 
Francisco  and  Alviso,  having  purchased  the  schooner 
Catharine  Miller,  and  placed  her  in  this  trade.  Dur- 
ing a  part  of  the  time  he  was  himself  in  command  of 
the  vessel.  These  enterprises  filled  about  two  years, 
and,  upon  giving  them  up,  he  made  a  complete  change 
of  work,  taking  a  position  as  clerk  in  one  of  the  ware- 
houses in  Alviso.  He  remained  in  this  business,  faith- 
fully discharging  all  duties,  until  1863. 

But  several  years  before  giving  up  this  work  he  pur- 
chased and  established  his  residence,  in  June,  1853, 
upon  property  in  the  Alviso  District,  about  four  and 
a  half  miles  north  of  Santa  Clara,  and  one  mile  south 
of  Alviso.  His  farm,  of  160  acres  of  productive  land, 
is  devoted  largely  to  the  raising  of  grain  and  hay,  and 
to  pasturage.  However,  there  are  forty  acfes  of 
orchard,  comprising  nearly  all  the  varieties  of  fruit 
grown  in  this  section.  The  principal  products  are 
apples,  pears,  and  plums,  but  peaches,  apricots,  necta- 
rines, cherries,  figs,  and  persimmons  are  also  raised. 
To  the  culture  of  strawberrie.s,  of  the  Longworth, 
Sharpless,  and  Cheney  varieties,  twenty-eight  acres 
are  devoted,  while  eight  acres  are  planted  with  rasp- 
berries and  blackberries.  In  addition,  the  >ground  in 
his  orchards  Mr.  Gallagher  utilizes  for  the  raising  of 
tomatoes  and  other  vegetables,  besides  eight  acres 
which  are  used  exclusively  for  that  purpose.  The 
water  from  five  artesian  wells  gives  all  that  is  needed 
for  all  purposes.  A  pleasant  and  comfortable  cottage 
home,  with  appropriate  out-buildings,  shows  the  pros- 
perity which  Mr.  Gallagher  has  achieved. 

On  the  twenty-sixth  of  September,  1852,  Mr.  Gal- 
lagher was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Maria  Re- 
monda  Martin,  the  daughter  of  John  and  Vaclecia 
Bernal  (Ortega)  Martin.  Her  father,  a  native  of  Scot- 
land, came  to  this  State  in  1829,  while  holding  the 
position  of  ship's  carpenter  in  the  English  naval  serv- 
ice. He  died  in  1851.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gallagher  are 
the  parents  of  eleven  children,  viz.:  Mary,  born  August 
12,  1853;  Martha,  May  i,  1855;  Andrew  T.,  March  17, 
1857;  Edward  E.,  December  26,  i860;  Richard,  August 
10,  1863;  George  F.,  September  18,  1865;  Ba.scaleseria, 
July  13,  1867;  Alford,  April  5,  1869;  Charles  W.,  June 


(DECEASED) 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


465 


7,  1871;  William,  June   16,  1873;  and  Mabel   S,,  No- 
vember 18,  1875. 


■f 


;RNST  SCHNABEL,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  born  in  1829,  in  Saxony,  German)'.  His 
parents,  Gottlieb  and  Christina  (Kistritz)  Schna- 
bel,  were  natives  of  Saxony,  his  father  being  a 
cabinet-maker  and  conducting  his  business  in  Pehig, 
Saxony,  until  his  death  in  1862.  His  mother  died  in 
1865.  Mr.  Schnabel  learned  the  mercantile  business 
in  Pehig  and  Altenburg,  having  previously  attended 
the  primary  schools,  gymnasium,  and  private  schools 
of  his  native  place.  He  continued  in  the  mercantile 
business  until  the  Revolution  of  1849,  when  he  came 
to  America,  settling  in  Philadelphia.  In  the  spring 
of  1850  he  came  across  the  plains  to  California,  with 
a  party  of  Philadelphians,  from  Parksville,  Missouri, 
with  ox  teams,  leaving  them  in  April,  and  arriving  in 
Sacramento  in  September,  1850,  the  day  that  Cali- 
fornia was  admitted  into  the  Union.  Mr.  Schnabel 
went  immediately  to  the  mines  of  Amador  County, 
but  in  a  few  months  returned  to  Sacramento.  He 
then  alternated  between  mining  and  hotel-kcejsing 
for  eleven  years,  in  Trinity  County. 

In  i860  he  visited  his  old  home  in  Germany,  le- 
turning  by  way  of  Philadelphia,  where  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Clara  Brctsi  hncider,  a  native  of  Alten- 
burg, Germany,  whom  he  had  known  in  his  boyhood. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schnabel  came  to  California  by  way  of 
Panama,  going  immediately  to  the  former  home  in 
Trinity  County,  where  they  remained  for  a  year,  when 
they  removed  to  San  Francisco  on  account  of  Mrs. 
Schnabel's  health.  Mr.  Schnabel  engaged  in  the  sa- 
loon business  in  this  city,  keeping  the  Eintracht 
Saloon,  and  being  very  successful  financially.  In  1872 
he  bought  out  une  of  the  partners  in  ihe  Fredericks- 
burg Brewery  in  San  Jose,  which  was  at  that  time  a 
small  concern,  making  only  about  thirteen  barrels  of 
beer  per  day.  He  continued  developing  this  business 
with  great  success,  changing  from  the  old  process  to 
making  lager  beer  by  cold  fermentation,  until  the 
brewery  now  turns  out  sixty  thousand  barrels  a  year, 
and  the  beer  has  a  first-class  reputation  throughout 
every  section  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  Sandwich  Islands, 
South  and  Central  America,  Mexico,  and  Australia, 
and  is  known  as  that  of  the  Fredericksburg  Brewing 
Company. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schnabel  have  four  living  children: 
Edward,  now  in   Los  Angeles,  conducting  the  whole- 
59 


sale  business  of  the  brewery  in  that  section;  Emma, 
the  wife  of  George  Koenig,  of  San  Jose;  Ernest  and 
Erna,  both  attending  school  in  San  Jose.  Mr.  Schna- 
bel is  a  member  of  Germania  Lodge,  No.  1 16, 1.O.O.F., 
of  San  Francisco,  also  of  the  Teutonic  Association  of 
San  Francisco.  His  home  is  very  pleasantly  situated 
on  Lenzen  Avenue,  off  the  Alameda. 


J-<§^^ 


fiiNDREW  J.  BOLLINGER,  one  of  the  pioneers 
'P>  of  the  Doyle  District,  resides  on  the  Stevens 
t  Creek  road,  six  miles  west  of  San  Jose.  Mr. 
Bollinger  was  born  in  Perry  County,  Missouri,  in 
1 837.  He  is  the  son  of  A.  J.  and  Sarah  Bollinger,  who 
were  former  residents  of  Bollinger  County,  Missouri. 
The  founders  of  the  family  were  of  Swiss  origin. 
Henry  Bollinger,  to  whom  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
traces  his  descent,  was  a  Swiss  emigrant,  who  first 
settled  in  Pennsylvania,  thence  removing  to  South 
Carolina  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century.  To 
him  the  numerous  families  of  that  name  owe  their 
origin,  and  probably  fully  1,200  of  his  descendants 
are  now  living.  His  name  is  now  borne  by  one  of 
the  prosperous  counties  of  Missouri.  Mathis  Bollin- 
ger, the  grandfather  of  our  subject,  was  one  of  the 
pioneer  settlers  of  that  county.  A.  J.  Bollinger,  Sr., 
with  his  family,  March  29,  1852,  left  Missouri,  and 
commenced  the  overland  journey  with  ox  teams.  The 
Fourth  of  July  was  spent  in  crossing  Green  River.  It 
snowed  that  night.  Soon  after  arriving  in  the  Santa 
Clara  Valley  Mr.  Bollinger  bought  a  squatter's  right 
to  a  part  of  the  land,  which  his  son  (the  subject  of  our 
sketch)  now  owns  and  occupies.  His  first  home  was 
just  across  the  Stevens  Creek  road  from  the  present 
family  residence.  The  present  residence  was  estab- 
lished in  1854,  and  with  it  Mr.  Bollinger  purchased 
the  farm  of  160  acres,  for  which  he  paid  $1,500. 
Ever  since  the  purchase,  in  1854,  it  has  been  the 
family  home,  and  there  the  father  died,  March  29, 
1885,  at  the  age  of  seventy-four  years  and  nine  months. 
He  had  been  an  active,  hard-working  man  through  all 
his  life,  and,  by  his  many  excellent  qualities,  had  won 
the  respect  of  those  among  whom  he  had  so  long 
made  his  home.  His  widow  survives,  and  lives  with 
their  son,  whose  name  heads  this  sketch.  Although 
seventy-seven  years  of  age,  she  yet  retains,  to  a  great 
degree,  the  mental  vigor  of  earlier  years,  but  is  some- 
what enfeebled  physically.  Her  seven  children,  ex- 
cept one,  were  all  born  in  Missouri.   Their  naniesand 


466 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


present  residence  are  as  follows:  Mary  Lovina,  the 
wife  of  Christian  Bollinger,  is  a  resident  of  Santa 
Clara;  Francis  Marion  lives  in  Contra  Costa  County; 
Sarah  E.,  the  widow  of  A.  C.  Tinin,  lives  in  Merced 
County;  Andrew  J.  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
Ouintilla  P.  is  the  wife  of  William  Tinin,  of  Contra 
Costa  County;  Morgan  D.  is  a  resident  of  this  county; 
and  Samuel  P.,  born  in  Santa  Clara  County,  August 
I9<  i8S3!  lives  in  Alameda  County. 

Andrew  J.  Bollinger,  Jr.,  has  lived,  since  fifteen 
years  of  age,  in  Santa  Clara  County,  and  here,  on  the 
fourteenth  of  October,  i860,  he  married  Miss  Mary 
Hahn,  also  a  native  of  Missouri.  She  is  the  daughter 
of  Frederick  and  Chancy  Hahn,  who  came  to  this 
county  in  1857.  Both  of  Mrs.  Bollinger's  parents  are 
now  deceased.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bollinger  have  been 
born  nine  children,  viz.:  Adam  J.,  who  lives  with  his 
parents;  George  and  Theodore,  residents  of  this 
county;  Mrs.  Mary  Jane  Stiger,  of  San  Jose;  Luke 
R.,  Martin,  Sarah  N.  and  Chaney  E.  (who  are  twins), 
and  Louie  A.  J.,  who  are  members  of  their  father's 
household. 

Mr.  Bollinger  is  the  owner  of  the  homestead  estab- 
lished by  his  father  nearly  thirty-five  years  ago.  The 
work  of  cultivation  and  improvement  he  has  faith- 
fully carried  on  since  the  property  came  into  his 
hands,  and  the  land  is  now  profitably  devoted  to 
general  farming.  A  long  residence  in  the  county; 
necessitating  the  witnessing  of  such  wonderful  changes 
and  rapid  development,  has  thoroughly  identified  Mr. 
Bollinger  with  its  interests.  Politically  he  is  fully  in 
accord  with  the  principles  of  the   Democratic  party. 


IgATHANIEL  BRACKETT,  residing  on  the 
try^  San  Jos'e  and  Alviso  road,  in  the  Alviso  Dis- 
^  trict,  became  a  resident  of  Santa  Clara  County 
in  1863.  His  productive  farm,  of  sixty-seven  acres,  is 
about  five  miles  north  of  San  Jose  and  four  miles 
south  of  Alviso.  He  obtains  profitable  results  from 
the  various  industries  to  which  he  devotes  his  farm. 
There  are  eighteen  acres  of  orchard,  which  furnish 
Beurre  Clairgeau  and  Bartlett  pears,  apricots,  French 
prunes,  egg  plums,  peaches,  and  Pippin  and  Bellflower 
apples;  twenty-two  acres  are  used  as  vegetable  gardens, 
ten  acres  for  the  production  of  grain  and  hay,  and  the 
remainder  for  stock  purposes,  for  farm  and  dairy  uses. 
Two  artesian  wells  are  particularly  noticeable,  as  they 
furnish  water  sufficient  to  irrigate  400  acres.     One  of 


the  wells  is  400  feet  in  depth,  and  flows  eighteen 
inches  over  an  eight-inch  pipe.  Mr.  Brackett  utilizes 
this  splendid  flow  of  water  for  running  machinery, 
such  as  grindstones,  vegetable  graters,  etc. 

Mr.  Brackett  was  born  in  Rockingham  County,  New 
Hampshire,  in  1818,  and  is  the  son  of  Nathaniel  and 
Elizabeth  (Brackett)  Brackett,  who  were  natives  of 
New  Hampsliire,  and  descendants  of  old  Puritan 
families  of  the  Plymouth  Colony.  His  schooling  was 
received  before  he  reached  the  age  of  sixteen  years, 
as  at  that  age  he  entered  with  his  brother  into  an 
apprenticeship  in  learning  the  carpenter's  trade. 
When  nineteen  years  old  he  started  out  in  life  for 
himself,  and,  taking  up  the  millwright's  trade,  success- 
fully followed  it  for  many  years.  In  1837  he  went  to 
Boston  and  entered  the  counting  house  of  his  uncle 
with  the  intention  of  becoming  a  merchant;  but  after 
a  few  months'  experience  he  decided  that  the  work 
was  not  suited  to  him,  and,  having  a  strong  desire  for 
a  Western  life,  he  went  to  Lenawee  County,  Michigan, 
where  he  engaged  in  the  work  of  a  millwright  for 
many  years.  •  During  his  residence  there  he  married, 
in  1841,  Miss  Lucinda  Turner,  the  daughter  of  Jethro 
and  Lydia  (Chapin)  Turner.  Miss  Turner  was  a  na- 
tive of  New  York,  but  a  resident,  at  the  time  of  her 
marriage,  of  the  State  of  Michigan.  In  1852  Mr. 
Brackett  returned  to  Boston,  and,  with  his  family, 
embarked  in  the  ship  Brutus,  Captain  Meacham,  for 
the  voyage  around  Cape  Horn.  They  arrived  in  San 
Francisco  in  August,  1853,  and  spent  ten  years  in  that 
city,  Mr.  Brackett  working  at  his  old  trade,  in  the  re- 
sponsible work  of  superintending  the  construction  of 
flour-mills  in  different  parts  of  the  State.  He  pur- 
chased, in  1863,  the  Santa  Clara  property  on  which 
he  has  since  lived,  and  to  the  cultivation  of  which  he 
has  since  devoted  all  of  his  time,  with  the  exception 
of  that  spent  in  the  building  of  one  quartz  and  three 
flour  mills. 

Mr.  Brackett  is  an  intelligent  and  able  mechanic,  as 
well  as  a  most  successful  horticulturist  and  agricult- 
urist. His  strong  will  and  undaunted  courage  have 
sustained  him  through  some  severe  financial  losses. 
In  1878  the  floods  destroyed  the  crops  of  his  orchard 
and  berry  lands,  causing  a  loss  of  nearly  $10,000! 
But  with  characteristic  energy,  Mr.  Brackett  at  once 
re-commenced  its  cultivation.  As  the  result  of  his 
years  of  labor,  he  is  the  owner  of  one  of  the  finest 
farm  and  orchard  properties  in  his  section. 

Mr.  Brackett  is  a  zealous  Republican,  taking  a  great 
interest  in  the  affairs  of  both  State  and  nation.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Brackett  are  the  parents  of  three  children. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


467 


of  whom  two,  Jethro  Nathaniel  Bruce  and  Lydia 
Eh'zabeth  Edora,  are  residents  of  San  Jose.  The 
third,  Louis  Philander,  is  a  member  of  his  parents' 
household.  They  have  also  with  them  an  adopted 
daughter,  Lydia  Mehetabel  Braman,  who  is  the 
daughter  of  Mrs.  Brackett's  deceased  sister. 


|j||AURICE  FARRELL,  Sr.,  of  the  Hamilton 
^(^  District,  residing  on  Moorpark  Avenue,  near  its 
e^  western  terminus,  is  the  owner  of  a  very  fine 
fruit  ranch  of  forty-eight  acres,  which  he  bought 
while  it  was  a  stubble-field,  about  1877.  All  the  trees 
on  the  place  were  planted  by  Mr.  Farrell  (almost  en- 
tirely by  his  own  hands)  and  raised  in  his  own  nursery. 
He  has  six  acres  of  almonds,  and  fifteen  acres  about 
equally  divided  between  apricots  and  French  prunes. 
His  apricot  crop  of  1887  was  nearly  twenty  tons. 
The  product  of  the  orchard  in  1887  brought  cash  re- 
turns of  about  $1,000.  This  showing  is  certainly  a 
most  excellent  one  for  a  young  orchard. 

Mr.  Farrell  was  born  in  the  city  of  Waterford,  Ire- 
land, April  19,  1809.  He  is  the  son  of  Patrick  and 
Barbara  (Devereux)  Farrell.  His  father  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  Matthew,  Patrick  &  Maurice  Far- 
rell, ship  and  barge  owners,  and  general  importing 
and  exporting  merchants.  This  was  one  of  the  lead- 
ing firms  of  Waterford,  and  was  of  250  years'  standing. 
During  this  long  term  of  years  the  business  had  been 
in  the  hands  of  the  Farrells,  and  for  generations  had 
been  of  great  magnitude  and  wealth,  while  its  con- 
tinued prosperity  seemed  assured.  But  about  1820  a 
general  bankruptcy,  through  general  commercial  fail- 
ures and  the  failures  of  correspondents,  brought  the 
old  house  down.  Paying  fifteen  shillings  and  six- 
pence to  the  pound,  the  firm  wound  up  its  affairs,  and 
the  children,  educated  and  reared  in  wealth,  were 
thrown  upon  their  own  resources,  practically  penniless. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch,  when  twenty  years  of 
age,  came  to  the  United  States.  Having  followed 
the  sea  for  some  years,  he  left  his  vessel  at  New  Or- 
leans, and,  going  up  the  Mississippi,  stopped  near 
Alton,  Illinois.  Here  he  lived  for  about  seven  years, 
being  engaged  in  teaching  school.  Among  his  pupils 
was  Miss  Elizabeth  Hinson,  a  lady  whom  Mr.  Farrell 
afterward  married.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Farrell  removed  to 
Dubuque  County,  Iowa,  where  they  bought  160  acres 
of  land  and  settled  down  to  a  farm  life.  After  living 
here  about  twenty  years,  they  crossed  the  continent, 
about    1870,    to    California,    and    made    San    Benito 


County  their  home  for  several  years,  removing  to  this 
count}',  as  before  stated,  about  1S77. 

Mr.  Farrell,  although  nearly  eighty  years  of  age,  by 
virtue  of  a  life  of  temperate  and  regular  habits,  is 
strong  and  vigorous,  more  so  than  many  a  man  of 
fair  health,  thirty  years  his  junior.  He  is  an  indefati- 
gable worker,  working  six  days  each  week,  and  sleep- 
ing soundly  seven  nights  each  week.  Owing  no  man 
a  dollar,  he  is  more  independent  in  his  prosperous, 
pleasant  home  than  any  of  his  ancestors,  with  their 
wealth  and  business  cares.  His  mental  vigor  is  only 
equaled  by  his  physical  strength.  He  descended 
from  a  long-lived  race.  His  father  died  at  the  age  of 
seventy-six  years,  while  his  mother  reached  the  re- 
markable age  of  one  hundred  and  one  years  ! 

Mr.  Farrell  has  nine  children  living.  Mrs.  Joseph- 
ine McLellan,  a  widow,  resides  in  San  Jose;  Ambrose 
M.  is  a  resident  of  San  Benito  County;  Martha  is  the 
proprietor  of  a  millinery  and  dressmaking  establish- 
ment in -San  Jose;  Daniel  makes  his  home  with  his 
parents;  William  is  a  resident  of  Waterloo,  Illinois; 
Maurice,  Jr.,  is  foreman  in  the  employ  of  the  Almaden 
Quicksilver  Mining  Company;  Mary  is  the  partner  of 
her  sister  Martha,  in  their  San  Jose  establishment; 
Addison  Burns  is  residing  in  San  Jose  Township,  at 
the  Willows,  and  Mrs.  Anna  Williams  is  a  resident  of 
San  Jose. 

The  Farrell  family  are  consistent  members  of  the 
Catholic  Cnurch. 


-»->¥, 


S^JZ 


^-<-<- 


.^S  J.  ALBEE,  of  the  Braley  District,  is  the  owner 
°V^  of  eighty  acres  of  land  on  the  San  Francisco  road, 

t  fronting  on  Reed  Lane,  about  three-fourths  of  a 
mile  west  of  Lawrence  Station.  This  property 
is  known  as  the  "  Oak  Grove  Poultry  Yards,"  Mr. 
Albee  being  largely  interested  in  the  raising  of  poultry, 
especially  of  the  finer  breeds.  Fifty  acres  of  the  farm 
are  devoted  to  fruit  culture,  the  orchard  comprising 
4,000  French  prune,  500  Silver  prune,  600  apple,  400 
apricot,  300  peach,  and  300  pear  trees,  besides  about 
800  trees  of  plum  and  other  varieties.  A  beautiful 
feature  of  the  place  is  the  grove  of  fine  forest  trees, 
about  eighty  in  number,  principally  white  and  live 
oak.  About  thirty  acres  are  devoted  to  the  produc- 
tion of  hay  and  grain. 

Mr.  Albee  was  born  in  Wolverhampton,  England, 
in  1836.  He  is  the  son  of  James  and  Sarah  Albee,  of 
that  place.  His  schooling  was  limited,  much  of  his 
boj'hood  being  spent  in  becoming  conversant  with  the 


468 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


principles  of  manufacturing  and  of  mechanical  engi- 
neering. He  came  to  America  in  1850,  and  remained 
in  Montreal,  Canada,  for  two  years,  engaged  in  the 
work  of  engineer.  At  the  end  of  that  time,  wishing 
to  see  more  of  the  country,  he  left  Montreal  and  went 
to  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  where  he  spent  five  years  in 
the  same  work  that  had  engaged  his  attention  in 
Canada.  In  1873  he  extended  his  travels  to  Califor- 
nia, and  after  stopping  in  San  Francisco  for  a  few 
months,  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  where  many 
years  were  spent  in  following  various  occupations  in 
different  parts  of  the  county. 

In  18S0  he  established  his  poultry  yards,  and  has 
found  the  venture  a  most  successful  one.  His  knowl- 
edge of  the  business  was  acquired  in  boyhood  from 
an  uncle,  who  was  a  prominent  poultry  fancier.  He 
has  made  a  specialty  of  the  business,  and  has  estab- 
lished a  paying  industry,  having  done  a  great  deal 
toward  the  improvement  of  poultry  breeds  in  the 
county.  He  devotes  his  attention  to  the  finer  breeds, 
and  all  his  stock  is  thoroughbred.  It  comprises  about 
six  varieties,  and  among  them  must  be  mentioned  the 
White  Langshans,  an  extremely  rare  kind.  With  one 
exception  Mr.  Albee  is  the  only  possessor  of  this  re- 
markable breed  in  the  United  States.  He  is  thor- 
oughly conversant  with  all  the  details  of  the  business, 
and  the  painstaking  care  which  he  bestows  upon  this 
part  of  his  work  is  amply  rewarded  in  the  excellence 
of  his  stock.  At  the  fairs  at  which  he  makes  ex- 
hibits, his  poultry  is  adjudged  worthy  of  the  first 
prize.  And  this  is  true  not  only  of  his  poultry  but 
also  of  his  fruit,  particularly  apples  and  pears,  the 
quality  of  which  is  unexcelled.  Thus  it  is  seen  that 
he  is  most  successful,  not  only  as  a  poultry  fancier, 
but  also  as  a  horticulturist.  He  is  an  active  member 
of  the  San  Jose  Grange.  In  October,  1S71,  Mr. 
Albee  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Jane  A. 
Osgood,  of  Ogden,  Utah  Territory. 


■it— 


PPHRAIM  BRITTON.  Among  the  large  farms 
of  the  county  must  be  noted  the  one  belonging 
y"  to  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  It  contains  242 
acres,  and  is  situated  in  the  Braley  District, 
about  three-fourths  of  a  mile  north  of  the  junction 
of  the  San  Francisco  road  and  Reed  Lane,  and  about 
the  same  distance  west  of  Lawrence.  Twenty-five 
acres  of  the  land,  which  is  in  a  iiigh  state  of  cultiva- 
tion, is  devoted  to  fruit  culture,  and  the  remainder  to 


the  production  of  hay  and  grain  and  to  stock-raising. 
The  products  of  the  orchard,  principally  apples  and 
pears,  for  which  this  section  of  the  county  is  pecul- 
iarly adapted,  are  excelled  by  none  in  the  county. 
In  stock-raising  Mr.  Britton  is  eminently  successful, 
breeding  and  rearing  some  of  the  finest  draft  horses 
which  the  section  furnishes.  In  State  and  county 
fairs  he  successfully  competes  with  all  exhibitors  in 
this  line.  His  choice  horses  are  from  English  shire 
and  Norman  breeds.  He  also  devotes  considerable 
attention  to  the  breeding  of  cattle,  principally  from 
the  famous  Jersey  stock. 

Mr.  Britton  was  born  in  Donegal  County,  Ireland, 
in  1848.  His  parents,  Ephraim  and  Elizabeth  (Dun- 
can) Britton,  were  natives  of  Donegal  County,  but 
were  of  Scotch  descent.  His  father  died  when  he 
was  but  two  years  old,  leaving  the  care  of  the  family 
to  his  mother.  Hoping  to  improve  their  circum- 
stances, she  emigrated  to  the  United  States  in  1853 
and  made  her  home  in  Delaware  County,  Pennsylva- 
nia. There  he  was  reared  and  received  his  schooling. 
When  but  fifteen  years  of  age,  filled  with  the  love  of 
adventure,  he  made  the  long  journey  to  this  State, 
and  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  where  he  worked 
on  the  farms  of  Isaac  Branham  and  James  Lendrum, 
in  whose  employ  he  remained  for  several  years.  He 
afterward  entered  into  business  as  a  dealer  in  horses 
and  cattle,  being  also  quite  extensively  engaged  in 
contracting  for  and  baling  hay.  In  December,  1883, 
he  purchased  the  estate  upon  which  he  now  makes 
his  home,  and  since  that  date  he  has  devoted  himself 
to  farming,  orchard  culture,  and  stock-raising. 

In  his  work  he  has  been  ably  assisted  by  his  ener- 
getic and  industrious  wife,  whom  he  married  in  1880. 
Mrs.  Britton  was  formerly  Mrs.  Mary  J.  Clemence, 
the  widow  of  William  Clemence,  of  Santa  Clara 
County.  Three  sons  have  blessed  this  union.  Their 
names,  and  ages  at  the  present  date  (1888),  are  as  fol- 
lows: Louis  H.,  aged  seven  years;  Raymond  M.,  five 
years;  and  George  E.,  four  years.  Of  Mrs.  Britton's 
children  by  her  former  marriage,  there  is  now  living 
Nellie  Clemence,  who  has  reached  the  age  of  seven- 
teen years. 

As  a  successful  stock  dealer  and  an  enterprising 
horticulturist  and  agriculturist,  Mr.  Britton  is  well 
and  favorably  known.  Coming  to  California  a  poor 
boy,  by  his  unaided  efforts  he  has  become  possessed 
of  a  fine,  large  estate.  He  is  connected  with  the  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  being  a  member  of 
San  Jose  Lodge,  No.  34. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


469 


.^ANIEL  H.  BLAKE  resides  upon  an  eighty- 
©3i^  acre  tract  of  land  located  at  the  corner  of  the 
^"^^  Mountain  View  and  Saratoga  and  Homestead 
roads,  in  the  Collins  District,  about  five  miles 
west  of  Santa  Clara.  The  ownership  of  this  fine 
property  is  vested  in  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  and 
in  A.  M.  Ross  and  H.  H.  Grant,  each  owning  an 
undivided  one-third.  Their  holdings  originally  con- 
tained i6o  acres,  which  they  purchased  in  1885,  it 
then  being  improved  land  planted  with  trees  and 
vines.  In  1887  they  sold,  to  Brassley  &  Ahlers,  the 
southern  half,  retaining  the  eighty  acres  which  they 
now  own  and  occupy.  Upon  this  tract  both  have 
erected  commodious  and  comfortable  homes.  The 
lands  are  highly  cultivated,  showing  the  care  and 
foresight  exercised  in  their  management.  A  splen- 
did orchard  of  fifty-four  acres  contains  4,300  French 
prune  trees,  350  apricot  trees,  and  300  each  of  cherry 
and  almond  trees,  besides  a  small  variety  of  other 
fruit-bearing  trees.  The  orchard  yields  its  owners  a 
profitable  return  upon  their  investment  and  labor. 
There  is  also  a  large  vineyard,  the  products  of  which 
are  probably  unexcelled  in  the  county.  Seventeen 
acres  are  in  wine  grapes,  and  nine  acres  in  Muscat 
grapes. 

Mr.  Blake  was  born  in  Searhport,  Maine,  in  1S29. 
His  parents,  Daniel  P.  and  Patience  (Lord)  Blake, 
were  natives  of  Maine.  His  father  was  a  ship  car- 
penter, and  was  connected  with  the  ship-building  in- 
dustries of  that  seaboard  town.  Captain  Blake's  boy- 
hood, up  to  eleven  years  of  age,  was  spent  in  obtain- 
ing such  schooling  as  was  afforded  by  the  common 
schools.  Surrounded  by  a  seafaring  community,  his 
boyish  imaginations  constantly  excited  by  the  mar- 
velous tales  of  the  sailors,  it  is  not  strange  that  when 
very  young  he  made  his  first  venture  in  a  calling 
which  he  followed  for  more  than  forty  years.  When 
but  eleven  years  of  age  he  made  his  first  voyage  as  a 
cook  in  the  schooner  Toronto,  Captain  Grant  com- 
manding. From  this  time  he  was  constantly  engaged 
in  a  seafaring  life,  and  despite  his  extreme  youth  he 
rose  rapidly.  His  energetic  disposition  and  intelligent 
mind  prompted  the  study  of  navigation  and  other 
branches  of  knowledge  connected  with  his  vocation, 
and  these  studies  he  soon  mastered.  At  the  age  of 
eighteen  years  he  was  promoted  to  the  position  of 
chief  mate,  and  this  position  he  retained  six  years  in 
the  different  vessels  in  which  he  sailed.  When  but 
twenty-four  years  of  age,  he  was  advanced  to  the 
captaincy  of  the  bark  E.  Churchill,  of  Searsport, 
Maine,  William   McGilvery  owner.     P'rom  this  time 


Captain  Blake  rose  rapidly  in  the  esteem  of  his  em- 
ployers, their  confidence  in  his  skill  and  worth  being 
shown  by  their  placing  him  in  command  of  their  finest 
vessels,  and  intrusting  to  him  their  most  important 
business  interests  in  the  various  maritime  ports  of  the 
world  to  which  he  was  sent.  It  is  noticeable,  as  a 
proof  of  the  confidence  reposed  in  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  that  he  remained  in  the  employ  of  William 
McGilvery,  a  large  ship-builder  and  owner  of  Scars- 
port,  for  thirty-five  years.  Among  the  vessels  com- 
manded by  Captain  Blake  during  his  long  seafaring 
life,  mention  maybe  made  oi  the  J.  B.  Johnson,  Sarah 
A.  Nichols,  Matilda,  and  Harriet  H.  i^TcGilvery,  aW 
large  and  valuable  ships,  well-known  in  maritime 
circles. 

In  1882  he  sold  the  ship  Harriet  H.  AIcGilvcry  in 
Liverpool  a:',d  returned  to  his  home  in  Maine.  It  is 
of  interest  to  note  that  Captain  Blake's  good  fortune 
seemed  to  have  followed  him  even  in  his  retirement 
from  the  sea,  for  this  ship,  after  loading  the  cargo  of 
coal  contracted  for  by  Captain  Blake,  and  sailing 
from  Liverpool,  burned  at  sea,  when  fifty  days  out,  the 
cause  of  the  fire  being  the  spontaneous  combustion  of 
her  coal  cargo.  After  spending  about  three  years  in 
taking  a  much  needed  rest,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
in  1885,  remo\'ed  with  his  family  to  this  State,  settling 
upon  the  land  which  he  now  occupies.  After  a  life  of 
adventure  and  danger,  he  enjoys  the  quiet  of  his 
pleasant  home  in  so  lovely  a  place  as  the  Santa  Clara 
Valley. 

In  1852  Captain  Blake  married  Miss  Nancy  M. 
Nichols,  of  Searsport.  She  died  at  sea  in  1856,  leav- 
ing one  son,  William  PL,  who  lived  to  be  but  nine 
years  old.  In  i860  he  married  Miss  Mary  Ellis, 
daughter  of  Amos  H.  Ellis,  of  Searsport.  She  also 
died  at  sea,  in  1864,  leaving  one  daughter,  Ellie  H., 
aged  (in  1 888)  twenty-five  years.  She  is  the  wife  of 
Edward  Rodgers,  residing  at  Nagasaki,  Japan,  where 
he  holds  the  responsible  position  of  general  manager 
of  the  China  and  Japan  Trading  Company.  In  1868 
the  Captain  married  his  present  wife,  Mrs.  Emma 
N.  (Ford)  Pendleton,  widow  of  John  Pendleton,  a  sea 
captain  and  native  of  Searsport.  Mrs.  Blake  is  also 
a  native  of  Maine.  Six  children  have  been  born  from 
this  marriage,  of  whom  two  have  died,  leaving  Daniel 
H.,  aged  (in  188S)  nineteen  years;  William  H.,  four- 
teen years;  Sarah  J.,  thirteen  years; and  Frederick  E., 
aged  eight  years.  Of  Mrs.  Blake's  children  by  her 
former  marriage,  but  one  is  living,  Melvina  C,  the 
wife  of  William  R.  Porter,  a  resident  of  Santa  Clara 
County. 


470 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


g|ACOB  SWOPE,  deceased,  was  born  in  Lincoln 
^  County,  Kentucky,  January  i,  1802,  and  was  the 
'^  son  of  Jacob  and  Margaret  (Pope)  Swope,  who 
were  among  Kentucky's  earliest  pioneers,  going  to 
that  State  from  Maryland  at  as  early  a  date  as  1780. 
The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  liberally  educated,  as 
his  father,  being  a  man  of  considerable  wealth,  gave 
his  sons  every  possible  advantage.  Soon  after  reach- 
ing his  majority,  he  married,  in  1823,  Miss  Harriet  F. 
VVaggener,  daughter  of  Major  Thomas  Waggener, 
resident  of  Christian  County,  Kentucky.  Although 
reared  to  a  farm  life,  about  the  time  of  his  marriage 
he  entered  upon  a  mercantile  business,  establishing 
himself  in  a  general  merchandise  store  in  Stanford, 
Lincoln  County,  Kentucky.  This  business  he  con- 
ducted for  several  years  before  removing  to  Boone 
County  (now  Gallatin  County),  of  the  same  State, 
where  he  returned  to  the  work  of  his  youth,  farming. 
There  he  remained  until  1833,  when  he  again  changed 
his  residence,  this  time  locating  in  Hancock  County, 
Illinois,  and  continuing  his  agricultural  work.  Four 
years  later  he  again  made  a  change,  going  to  the 
State  of  Missouri  and  engaging  in  farming  and  stock- 
raising  in  Platte  County.  There  he  conducted  a 
profitable  business,  and  made  his  home  for  thirteen 
years. 

The  gold  excitement  of  1849  and  1850  filled  him 
with  a  desire  to  visit  California,  and  in  the  latter  year 
he  crossed  the  plains.  Arriving  in  the  autumn,  he 
went  to  the  mines  and  there  spent  one  year.  In  the 
year  following  his  coming  to  this  State  he  came  to 
Santa  Clara  County  and  established  himself  as  one  of 
the  pioneer  farmers  of  1851.  The  lands  which  he 
acquired  contained  163  acres,  and  were  situated  on 
the  Saratoga  and  Alviso  road,  about  two  miles  north 
of  Lawrence.  There  he  lived  an  honored,  useful  life 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  February  17,  1877. 
These  lands  are  now  (in  18S8)  owned  by  William  D. 
Rucker,  Elbert  Apperson,  and  Mr.  Smith. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Swope  were  the  parents  of  eight 
children.  Thomas  W.,  born  in  1825,  married  Miss 
Margaret  Long,  a  native  of  Missouri.  He  died  in 
1862,  and  his  widow  now  resides  in  Colorado.  Mary 
G.,  born  in  1827,  married  William  F.  Dollins,  of 
Kentucky,  who  died  in  1854.  Her  second  marriage 
was  with  Woodford  Coen  (now  deceased),  and  she 
makes  her  home  in  Clinton  County,  Missouri.  The 
sketch  of  Jacob,  the  second  son,  appears  in  this  con- 
nection. John  F.,  born  in  1832,  married  Miss  Laura 
Mann.  He  died  in  1887,  and  his  family  lives  in  Clin- 
ton  County,  Mis.souri.     Ann   K.,  born   in    1836,  mar- 


ried Rush  McComas,  and  resides  in  San  Jose;  Mar- 
garet, born  in  1838,  became  the  wife  of  Virgil  Hol- 
lingsworth  (now  deceased).  Her  second  husband  is 
James  M.  Arnold,  of  Santa  Clara.  William  H.,  born 
in  1 841,  married  Miss  Laura  Campbell,  and  resides  at 
Campbell,  Santa  Clara  County.  Harriet  F.,  born  in 
1843,  is  the  wife  of  Lysander  P.  Alexander,  of  Santa 
Clara  County. 


>-<§^-^ 


^ 


ACOB  SWOPE,  Jr.     The  subject  of  this  sketch 
resides  upon  and  owns   a  fine  tract  of  1 10  acres, 


tuated  at  the  junction  of  the  Kifer  and  Coffin 
roads,  in  the  Jefferson  District,  three  and  one-half 
miles  northwest  of  Santa  Clara.  Thirteen  acres  are  in 
strawberries  of  the  Longworth  and  Sharpless  varieties, 
and  onions  are  quite  extensively  raised.  These  two 
products,  with  that  of  a  small  orchard,  form  a  small 
part  of  the  yield  of  this  large  farm,  the  principal  part 
of  it  being  in  hay  and  grain.  Mr.  Swope  also  pays 
considerable  attention  to  the  raising  of  stock,  includ- 
ing some  fine  draft  horses,  among  which  may  be 
noted  a  beautiful  stallion  of  the  Percheron  breed, 
which  is  but  three  years  old  and  weighs  over  1,700 
pounds. 

Mr.  Swope  dates  his  birth  in  Boone  County, 
Kentucky,  September  27,  1829.  (A  sketch  of  the 
lives  of  his  parents  precedes  this  sketch.)  In  youth 
he  was  trained  in  agriculture,  and  he  has  made  it  his 
life  work,  taking  in  connection  with  it  stock-raising. 
In  1849  he  crossed  the  plains  with  his  brothers, 
Thomas  and  John,  and  soon  after  his  arrival  went  to 
mining  in  El  Dorado  County.  He  worked  in  the 
mines  in  various  parts  of  the  State  for  about  two 
years,  and  then  returned  to  Platte  County,  Missouri, 
and  purchased  a  farm,  to  the  cultivation  of  which  he 
devoted  a  year  or  two.  Removing  to  Clinton  County, 
Missouri,  he  there  engaged  in  farming  and  stock- 
raising  until,  in  1864,  he  again  made  the  overland 
trip  to  California.  During  the  following  year  he  be- 
came a  citizen  of  Santa  Clara  County,  purchasing  the 
property  which  he  now  owns. 

While  living  in  Missouri,  he  married,  in  1853,  Miss 
Polly  H.  Long,  the  daughter  of  Reuben  Long,  of 
Clay  County,  Missouri.  From  this  marriage  were 
born  eleven  children,  of  whom  ten  are  living.  Will- 
iam T.  married  Miss  Ella  Haun,  and  lives  in  Mon- 
tana; Margaret  A.,  born  in  1856,  makes  her  home 
in  Santa  Clara;  Edwin,  born  in  1857,  and  Harriet  H., 
born  in  i860,  live  respectively  in  Montana  and  Santa 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


471 


Clara;  Mary,  born  in   1864,  and  Clara,  born  in   1866; 
reside  in  Santa  Clara,  while  Jacob  W.,  Emma,  Susan, 
and  Reuben  K.,  born  respectively  in  1862,  1867,  1869, 
and  1872,  are  members  of  their  father's  household. 
Politically  Mr.    Swopc    is    a    Democrat    of  liberal 


fAVID  W.  COFFIN  resides  on  the  Coffin  road, 
in  the  Jefferson  District,  about  three  and  a  half 
_®^  miles  northwest  of  Santa  Clara,  where  he  owns 
sixty-five  acres  of  an  original  tract  of  160  acres, 
which  he  secured  under  a  government  patent.  These 
lands  are  desirably  located  and  are  highly  productive, 
being  chiefly  used  as  a  hay  and  grain  ranch,  with  ten 
acres  reserved  for  strawberries  of  the  Longworth  and 
Sharpless  varieties.  Such  stock  is  raised  as  is  needed 
for  carrying  on  the  farm  operations.  All  the  water 
required  is  furnished  by  two  artesian  wells,  one  of 
which  is  worthy  of  special  mention,  being  508  feet  in 
depth  and  sending  a  volume  of  water  three  inches 
above  a  seven-inch  pipe. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  born  December  14, 
1 8 14,  in  Washington  County,  Maine.  His  parents, 
Richard  and  Hannah  (Whitten)  Coffin,  were  natives 
and  residents  of  Maine.  The  time  before  he  reached 
his  fifteenth  year  was  spent  in  attending  school,  and 
in  farm  duties.  At  that  time  he  was  sent  into  the 
woods  to  work,  and  from  that  time  until  1849  he  was 
engaged  in  various  occupations,  among  them  ship- 
building and  lumbering.  In  the  last-named  year, 
excited  by  the  wonderful  tales  of  easily  acquired 
wealth  in  the  El  Dorado  of  the  West,  he  determined 
to  visit  that  country.  His  way  of  reaching  it  was 
somewhat  out  of  the  common  run,  as,  with  thirty- 
two  other  young  and  enterprising  men,  he  formed  a 
partnership  to  furnish  and  fit  out  a  sailing  vessel. 
They  purchased  the  bark  Belgrade,  Captain  Horatio 
Plummer,  of  Addison,  commanding,  and  loaded  it 
with  the  material  required  for  the  complete  construc- 
tion of  a  river  steamer,  including  all  the  necessary 
machinery,  in  addition  to  lumber,  stores,  etc.  The 
party  sailed  from  Cherryfield,  Maine,  in  November, 
1 849,  on  their  voyage  round  Cape  Horn  to  California. 
A  long  and  tedious  passage  of  six  months  followed, 
devoid  of  accident  and  incident,  with  the  exception 
of  the  very  sad  one  of  the  death  of  three  of  the 
members  of  the  party,  Foster  Jacobs,  Hiram  Tab- 
botts,  and  a  Mr.  Cates,  all  natives  of  Maine.  Arriv- 
ing in  San  Francisco  in   May,   1850,  the  vessel  was 


unloaded,  and  the  construction  of  the  steamer  pushed 
to  completion.  The  steamer  proving  a  complete 
success,  it  found  ready  sale,  after  which  the  dis- 
posal of  all  the  other  property  was  effected,  and  the 
company  disbanded.  At  this  time  Mr.  Coffin  was 
prostrated  by  a  severe  illness,  caused  by  the  exposures 
and  severe  labor  of  his  long  voyage.  For  six  months 
he  was  unable  to  attend  to  any  business,  but  upon 
his  recovery  he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  in  1851. 
Here  he  established  himself  upon  the  land  which  we 
have  described,  becoming  one  of  the  pioneer  farmers 
of  the  county.  Always  a  firm  believer  in  the  future 
prosperity  of  his  county  and  State,  he  has  been  fore- 
most in  all  plans  for  the  improvement  of  his  section. 
He  is  an  intelligent  citizen  and  a  respected  neighbor. 
He  is  a  consistent  member  of  the  Advent  Christian 
Church,  in  which  he  takes  a  deep  interest.  Politically 
he  is  an  ardent  Republican,  but  conservative  and  lib- 
eral in  his  views. 

Mr.  Coffin  was  united  in  marriage,  October  6,  1849, 
with  Miss  Martha  W.  Hall,  the  eldest  daughter  of 
Simeon  and  Sarah  (Coffin)  Hall,  natives  and  resi- 
dents of  Addison,  Maine.  Six  children  have  blessed 
this  union,  two  dying  in  infanc}-. 


fENJAMIN  CRAFT  is  one  of  the  large  land- 
owners  of  the  county.  His  farm,  of  218  acres,  is 
^^  situated  in  the  Doyle  School  District,  about  four 
miles  southwest  of  Santa  Clara;  118  acres  of  the 
land,  upon  which  is  his  comfortable  residence,  is  on 
the  north  side  of  the  road,  while  the  remainder  lies 
on  the  south  side  and  farther  west.  The  ranch  is 
entirely  devoted  to  the  growing  of  hay  and  grain 
and  to  stock-raising,  with  the  exception  of  a  small 
portion  reserved  for  the  cultivation  of  fruit  and  vege- 
tables, for  domestic  use. 

Mr.  Craft  was  born  in  Jefferson  County,  New  York, 
January  20,  1819.  He  is  the  son  of  Samuel  and 
Czarina  (Holmes)  Craft,  both  of  whom  were  natives 
of  New  York.  Of  the  eight  children  in  their  family, 
two  have  become  residents  of  California, — Lewis  and 
Benjamin.  The  former  came  to  this  State  in  185 1, 
and  is  now  engaged  in  farming  in  San  Diego  County. 
The  latter  followed  his  brother  three  years  later,  by 
the  Nicaragua  route.  Landing  in  San  Francisco  in 
1854,  he  started  on  foot  for  Santa  Clara  County. 
Mr.  Craft's  means,  at  that  time,  were  decidedly  limited, 
and  fell  short  of  stage  fare;  but  he  was  rich  in  courage 
and  perseverance,  and,  with  this  wealth,  commenced 


472 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


work,  immediately  upon  his  arrival,  for  Isaac  Thomp- 
son, in  the  grain  field.  He  remained  in  Mr.  Thomp- 
son's employ  until  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  when  he 
went  to  the  mines.  There  he  found  work  hard  to 
.secure,  and,  rather  than  remain  idle,  he  worked  for  his 
board.  At  last  he  obtained,  by  purchase,  another 
man's  place.  His  industry  and  reliability  soon  gained 
recognition,  and  he  easily  obtained  employment  for 
the  next  four  years.  In  1858  he  returned  to  Santa 
Clara  County,  and,  finding  that  the  drought  of  the 
preceding  two  or  three  years  had  grcatl)'  reduced  the 
price  of  land,  he  took  advantage  of  the  opportunity 
and  purchased  the  1 16  acres  upon  which  he  now  re- 
sides. The  wisdom  of  this  venture  is  now  made  ap- 
parent in  the  fine  condition  of  the  fertile  land,  and  in 
the  ease  with  which  it  might  be  sold  for  a  price  greatly 
in  advance  of  that  paid  for  it.  The  purchase  of  the 
100  acres  before  mentioned  was  consummated  about 
five  years  later. 

In  early  life  Mr.  Craft  was  reared  as  a  farmer,  and 
was  deprived  of  nearly  all  educational  advantages, 
but,  with  his  characteristic  energy  and  ambition,  he 
entered  upon  a  course  of  study  and  educated  himself, 
after  he  had  reached  the  age  of  twenty  years.  These 
traits  have  influenced  him  throughout  his  busy  life, 
making  him  a  most  successful  farmer  and  a  respected 
citizen.  He  is  a  consistent  member  of  the  Methodist 
Church,  and  one  of  its  strong  supporters.  In  politics 
he  is  a  faithful  Republican,  but  still  very  liberal  in  his 
views,  taking  a  lively  interest  in  the  political  questions 
of  the  day. 

In  1864  Mr.  Craft  was  united  in  marriage  with  Mrs. 
Carrie  (Sallows)  Jeffreys,  a  resident  of  Santa  Clara 
County,  and  the  daughter  of  Robert  and  Ann  (Bines) 
Sallows,  residents  and  natives  of  Essex  County,  En- 
gland. From  this  marriage  three  children  were  born, 
two  of  whom  are  living,  viz.:  William  H.,  aged  (in 
1888)  twenty-three  years,  and  Benjamin  A.,  aged 
twenty  years.  By  her  former  marriage  Mrs.  Craft 
Jiad  two  daughters.  The  elder,  Jennie  E.  A.  Jeffreys, 
died  December  24,  1881,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two 
years;  the  younger,  Annie  B.  Jeffreys  (in  1888),  is 
twenty-five  years  of  age. 


IHARRY  WILLETT,  deceased.  The  subject  of 
s^  this  sketch  was  born  in  the  State  of  Maine, 
T  April  17,  1827.  In  that  State  he  was  reared  to 
manhood.  The  discovery  of  gold  led  him  to  come  to 
this  State.     The  long,  weary  journey  was  made  by 


sail  vessel,  and  six  months  were  spent  in  the  voyage. 
He  engaged  in  placer  mining  for  several  years;  in 
fact,  that  was  his  occupation  until  i860,  when  he  came 
to  this  county.  In  1855  he  returned  East  for  a  visit, 
by  way  of  the  Isthmus.  His  success  in  the  mines  was 
varied,  and  when  he  came  to  this  county  he  had  ac- 
cumulated about  $5,000.  Soon  after  reaching  the 
Santa  Clara  Valley,  Mr.  Willett  bought  a  squatter 
right  to  about  200  acres  of  choice  land,  near  Camp- 
bell Station,  in  what  is  now  the  Cambrian  District. 
For  this  land  he  paid  $2,300,  and  was  obliged  to  buy 
out  claimants  under  Mexican  grants  when  pre-empting 
under  United  States  land  laws.  Thus  only  120  acres 
were  finally  held. 

On  the  twenty-seventh  of  November,  1861,  Mr. 
Wiilctt  married  Miss  Elizabeth  A.  Hartwick,  at  Santa 
Clara.  She  is  a  native  of  Schoharie  County,  New 
York,  and  is  the  daughter  of  C.  J.  Hartwick.  In  1861 
she  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  with  her  father,  who 
died  here  several  j'ears  ago.  Immediately  after  their 
marriage,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Willett  established  their  resi- 
dence at  the  homestead.  The  commodious  family 
residence  of  to-day  they  erected  about  1S66.  The 
large,  substantial  barn  on  the  premises  was  framed 
and  fitted  for  erection  in  the  State  of  Maine.  Four 
rooms  were  fitted  and  furnished,  and  there  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Willett  lived  until  increasing  prosperity  enabled 
them  to  build  their  present  fine  home.  In  this  tem- 
porary home  the  two  eldest  children  were  born. 

During  the  life-time  of  Mr.  Willett,  the  ranch  was 
cultivated  for  the  production  of  hay  and  grain.  He 
was  not  permitted  to  see  the  full  results  of  his  labor, 
nor  to  enjoy  a  pleasant  old  age  with  his  family  in  this 
lovely  valley,  for  he  was  called  to  the  other  world. 
July  9,  1877.  In  the  management  of  his  ranch,  Mr. 
Willett  showed  the  good  judgment  and  energy  that 
were  characteristic  of  him.  He  was  an  active,  public- 
spirited  man,  remembered  with  respect  by  all  who 
knew  him.  His  widow  was  left  with  five  children,  all 
of  whom  are  yet  under  the  parental  roof:  Lottie, 
Luther,  Charles,  Annie,  and  Frederick.  Since  her 
husband's  death,  Mrs.  Willett  has  conducted  the  place 
partly  as  a  fruit-ranch,  with  great  success.  In  the 
spring  of  1884  she  planted  thirty  acres  to  peaches 
and  prunes.  In  1887,  from  500  apricots,  three  years 
old,  she  harvested  eighteen  tons  of  fruit,  bringing 
$540.  In  the  same  year,  from  300  peach-trees,  eight 
tons  of  fruit  were  gathered,  the  young  orchard  thus 
yielding  about  $1,000  worth  of  fruit  in  one  year. 
Possessing  the  ability  to  conduct  this  ranch  so  suc- 
cessfully, Mrs,  Willett  is  fortunate  in  the  possession  of 


^.    J.    ^.£.^^^^. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


473 


it,  and  in  the  fact  that  her  children  are  all  in  her 
home.  The  estate  is  held  intact,  with  the  exception 
of  ten  acres,  which  have  been  sold.  Mrs.  Willett  is  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Santa 
Clara,  as  was  also  her  husband. 


%^  J.  HAINES.  The  finest  property  in  Union 
(33^6  District  is  owned  by  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
't^  His  estate  of  eighty  acres  fronts  on  Union 
Avenue,  about  one-half  mile  north  of  the  New  Alma- 
den  and  Los  Gatos  road.  The  property  was  bought 
by  Mr.  Haines  in  1866,  at  the  nominal  price  of  $15 
per  acre.  It  was  then  in  a  state  of  nature,  and  was 
described  as  "  oak  openings."  The  work  of  improve- 
ment has  steadily  progressed  since  that  time,  and  the 
property  has  developed  into  one  of  the  most  desirable 
fruit  ranches,  of  its  size,  to  be  found  in  the  Santa 
Clara  Valley.  Eight  thousand  dollars  have  been  ex- 
pended in  buildings  and  in  beautifying  the  surround- 
ing grounds.  Until  1880  the  ranch  was  devoted  to 
general  farming.  Now,  forty  acres  are  in  trees,  and 
thirty-five  acres  in  vineyard;  fourteen  acres  are  set 
with  almonds,  twenty  acres  with  prunes,  three  acres 
with  English  walnuts,  and  the  remainder  with  apri- 
cots. The  vineyard  is  planted  with  a  variety  of 
grapes,  the  Zinfandel,  Matero,  and  Riesling  being 
largely  represented.  A  household  orchard  contains 
almost  every  variety  of  fruit  adapted  to  the  climate 
and  best  for  table  use.  Mr.  Haines  has  erected  a 
dryer,  with  all  the  modern  improvements,  principally 
for  the  handling  of  his  own  fruit.  One  hundred  and 
fifty  tons  of  fruit  were  cured  in  1887.  The  fine  resi- 
dence, standing  sixty  rods  from  the  road,  is  reached 
by  a  drive  along  a  beautiful  avenue,  shaded  by  walnut 
and  Italian  cypress  trees. 

Mr.  Haines  dates  his  birth  in  Falmouth  County, 
Massachusetts,  March  19,  1849.  He  is  the  son  of 
A.  G.  and  Sophronia  Haines.  In  1861  he  came  with 
his  parents  to  Santa  Clara  County,  where  his  mother 
has  since  died.  His  literary  studies  were  completed 
in  the  schools  of  this  county. 

An  enthusiastic  horticulturist  and  viticulturist,  he 
is  a  member  of  the  American  and  of  the  State  and 
County  Horticultural  Societies,  and  of  the  State  and 
County  Viticultural  Societies.  He  is  also  identified 
with  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry.  He  belongs  to  the 
Republican  party,  and,  as  one  of  its  active  workers,  is 
prominent  in  its  councils. 
§0 


i|E  J.  CHIPMAN,  Superintendent  of  the  Schools  of 
(3^  Santa  Clara  County,  is  a  native  of  California, 
T  born  February  11,  1853,  in  Taylorsville,  Plumas 
County.  At  the  age  of  eleven  years  his  parents  re- 
moved to  San  Jose,  where  he  attended  the  public 
schools,  going  through  a  full  course  at  the  San  Jose 
High  School,  and  graduating  in  March,  1873,  at  the 
State  Normal  School.  He  engaged  in  teaching  im- 
mediately, taking  charge  of  a  school  at  Rullard's  Bar, 
in  Yuba  County.  He  next  taught  at  Evergreen,  in 
this  county.  In  1874  he  entered  the  Santa  Clara  Col- 
lege, and  during  that  time  was  elected  Superintendent 
of  the  Schools  of  San  Jose,  holding  that  position  for 
two  years,  resigning  after  being  elected  for  a  third 
term,  and  accepting  the  principalship  of  the  Fourth 
Ward  Grammar  School  for  one  year.  From  that 
time  until  March,  1878,  he  was  principal  of  the  Em- 
pire Street  School,  commencing  then  his  service  in 
his  present  position,  to  which  he  had  been  elected  in 
the  fall  of  1877.  This  office  he  has  held  continuously 
since  that  time,  having  received  four  successive  elec- 
tions, with  increasing  majorities,  the  last  being  over 
900.  From  the  time  of  his  election  to  the  adoption 
of  the  new  Constitution,  Mr.  Chipman  was  a  member 
of  the  State  Board  of  Education. 

Mr.  Chipman  was  married,  December  7, 1876, to  Miss 
Emma  Toy,  a  native  of  New  York  State,  whose  parents 
emigrated  to  California  in  its  early  days.  They  have 
one  child,  Florence  Gertrude,  born  September  24^ 
1880.  He  has  one  brother,  W.  F.  Chipman,  now  in  the 
real-estate  business;  also  a  sister,  Lucy,  wife  of  Eben 
Gay,  in  business  in  Walla  Walla,  Washington  Terri- 
tory. His  parents  were  Lafayette  and  Esther  (Pap- 
son)  Chipman,  his  father  a  native  of  Genesee  County, 
New  York,  and  his  mother  a  native  of  England,  who 
came  in  early  infancy  with  her  parents  to  Michigan, 
where  she  grew  up  and  received  her  education.  They 
were  married  in  Michigan,  coming  soon  after  across 
the  plains  to  California,  where  he  was  engaged  quite 
largely  in  raising  cattle  and  dairy  products  up  to  1864, 
when  he  removed  to  San  Jose,  purchased  a  ranch,  and 
devoted  himself  to  farming.  He  now  lives  in  San 
Jose,  no  longer  engaged  in  active  pursuits,  but  in- 
terested in  the  Farmers'  Union,  of  which  he  is  a 
director.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  member  of 
the  Republican  party,  and  believes  in  tariff  protection. 
He  is  a  member  and  Past  Grand  of  Garden  City 
Lodge,  No.  142, 1.  O.  O.  F.,  Past  Master  and  at  present 
Secretary  of  P'riendship  Lodge,  No.  210,  F.  &  A.  M., 
and  member  of  San  Jose  Parlor,  N.  S.  G.  W. 


474 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  7 HE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


S|]|ALTER  L.  SMITH  owns  and  occupies  a 
i^wB  beautiful  cottage  home  on  the  Meridian  road, 
o^    near  the  crossing  of  Los   Gatos   Creek,  in  the 

I  Hamilton  District.  His  orchard,  of  six  acres> 
nearly  all  in  full  bearing,  is  planted  chiefly  with 
prunes  and  apricots,  with  a  variety  of  other  fruits  for 
domestic  use.  The  property  was  bought  in  1882,  and 
the  residence  designed,  built,  and  occupied  by  Mr. 
Smith  the  following  year. 

Mr.  Smith  was  born  in  Rockingham  County,  New 
Hampshire,  March  31,  1823.  His  youth  was  spent 
principally  in  Massachusetts.  The  tide  of  emigration 
to  the  New  El  Dorado  caught  him  in  its  outward  flow, 
and  November  12,  1849,  he  embarked  in  the  sail  ship 
Euphrasia  for  a  trip  around  Cape  Horn.  The  voyage 
was  marked  by  no  untoward  event.  The  vessel  passed 
the  Golden  Gate,  and  landed  her  passengers  at  San 
Francisco,  May  26,  1850.  The  two  following  years 
Mr.  Smith  spent  profitably  in  placer  mining,  in  Tuol- 
umne County.  From  February,  1853,  to  1870,  he 
was  interested  with  others  in  lumber  manufacture, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Smith,  Dudley  &  Co.,  his 
brother  John  being  one  of  the  firm,  in  Mariposa 
County.  The  company  were  extensively  engaged  in 
furnishing  lumber  for  the  construction  of  quartz  mills, 
bridges,  etc. 

Mr.  Smith  returned  to  Massachusetts,  in  1885,  and 
married  Miss  Caroline  Hill.  She  died  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, in  1869.  In  1870  he  removed  to  San  Francisco, 
where  he  lived  about  a  year,  during  which  time  he 
went  to  Lawrence,  Massachusetts,  where  he  married 
Mrs.  Adeline  M.  (Childs)  Train.  In  1S71  he  removed 
from  San  Francisco  to  Stanislaus  County,  where  he 
remained  until  1880,  as  the  resident  manager  of  a 
water  right  for  San  Francisco  parties.  His  life  in  the 
years  up  to  1880  were  very  active  and  energetic,  but 
now  he  is  living  in  a  somewhat  retired  way,  at  his 
pleasant  home  in  the  Hamilton  District. 


-€h 


i€- 


iMjIRAM  POMEROY,  of  the  Willows,  whose 
<?Y^  home  is  on  Lincoln  Avenue,  near  the  eastern 
i^r  terminus  of  Pine  Avenue,  has  been  a  resident 
of  Santa  Clara  County  since  1853.  He  was 
born  in  Knox  County,  Indiana,  January  11,  1822,  and 
is  the  son  of  Grove  and  Clarissa  (Olmstead)  Pomeroy. 
His  father  was  a  native  of  Western  Massachusetts, 
and  his  mother  of  Eastern  New  York.  Thus,  although 
born  in  different  States,  they  lived  in  the  same  neigh- 


borhood. They  were  among  the  pioneers  of  Knox 
County,  Indiana.  When  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  an  infant  his  parents  removed  to  Sullivan  County, 
Indiana,  and  when  ten  years  of  age  to  St.  Joseph 
County,  and  thence,  two  years  later,  to  Plymouth, 
Marshall  County,  in  the  same  State.  There  his  father 
built  the  first  house,  a  log  structure,  sixteen  feet  square. 
In  the  same  year,  1834,  he  erected  and  occupied  a 
frame  house,  probably  the  first  in  Marshall  County. 
The  lumber  used  in  building  this  heavy-framed  two- 
story  house  was  cut  by  hand,  with  whip-saws.  The 
building  was  18x48  feet,  and  for  many  years  was  the 
leading  hotel  of  the  county.  There  met  the  commis- 
sion which  was  appointed  by  the  governor  to  locate 
the  county  seat.  The  county  was  organized  in  1836, 
and  much  excitement  was  aroused  by  the  selection 
of  the  town  which  was  to  be  honored  by  the  keeping 
of  the  county  records.  Rival  towns  were  aggrieved 
by  the  efforts  made  by  Plymouth  to  secure  this  honor. 
Mr.  Pomeroy  took  an  active  part  in  the  movement,  and 
he  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  Plymouth  become 
the  county  seat.  Later,  he  improved  a  farm  situated 
about  three  miles  from  Plymouth,  but,  with  his  wife, 
spent  his  last  years  in  Plymouth,  where  he  died 
November  2,  1854,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years. 
His  widow  survived  until  December  14,  1869.  Grove 
Pomeroy  was  a  volunteer  in  the  War  of  1812,  and  in 
later  life  was  for  seven  years  judge  of  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas.  He  was  a  man  of  great  force  of 
character,  well  educated,  a  clear  reasoner,  with  perfect 
command  of  language,  and  of  great  public  spirit.  His 
death  was  universally  regretted. 

Hiram  Pomeroy,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
reared  carefully  by  his  father,  and  owes  his  success  in 
life  largely  to  the  lessons  learned  in  his  youth.  He 
married,  in  Marshall  County,  April  13,  1847,  Miss 
Harriet  Taylor,  daughter  of  Simeon  and  Nancy 
(Bradley)  Taylor.  She  was  born  in  New  York,  but 
from  a  child  reared  in  Marshall  County.  In  1853 
Mr.  Pomeroy  and  his  wife  came  by  way  of  the  Isthmus 
to  California.  Upon  arriving,  he  started  for  the  mines 
on  Jamison  Creek,  Plumas  County,  but,  remaining 
there  only  one  summer,  he  came  to  San  Jose.  Leav- 
ing his  family  at  this  place,  he  departed  for  Tuolumne 
County,  where  he  mined  for  six  months.  With  the 
small  sum  made  in  this  venture,  he  rented  200  acres 
of  land  near  San  Jose,  in  company  with  D.  Meyers. 
A  dry  season  following,  they  lost  their  entire  crop. 
Mr.  Pomeroy  then  moved  to  Gilroy,  worked  in  a  dairy 
eighteen  months,  and  paid  his  debts  like  a  man.  He 
settled    in    Calaveras    Valley,  Milpitas    Township,  in 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


475 


1857,  purchasing  a  pre-emption  claim  of  160  acres. 
Later  he  planted  a  vineyard  and  an  orchard,  which 
he  sold.  For  twenty-nine  years  he  resided  in  that 
township,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1886  he  established 
his  present  residence.  His  home  is  one  of  the  finest 
on  Lincoln  Avenue,  and  was  erected  in  the  winter  of 
1885-86.  Five  acres  of  his  land  he  bought  in  1875, 
paying  $300  per  acre,  and  five  acres  in  1883,  at  $325 
per  acre.  The  ten  acres  are  planted  with  a  variety  of 
trees,  prunes  and  peaches  forming  the  largest  part. 
Mr.  Pomeroy  has  devoted  his  life  to  agricultural  and 
horticultural  pursuits. 

His  grandfather,  Grove  Pomeroy,  was  one  of  the 
heroes  of  the  Revolution,  serving  four  years  under 
General  Lafayette.  He  was  present  at  the  surrender 
of  Cornwallis,  at  Yorktown,  the  closing  drama  of  the 
war.  In  the  War  of  18 12  he  received  a  Captain's  com- 
mission, but  did  not  live  to  go  into  the  field. 

Hiram  Pomeroy  is  a  Republican,  of  Whig  anteced- 
ents, a  member  of  the  Masonic  m)stic  fraternity,  and 
present  Master  of  San  Jose  Grange,  No.  10,  Patrons 
of  Husbandry. 


fRISTAM  PURGES,  the  proprietor  of  the 
"  Watchemoket "  farm,  on  the  San  Jose  and  Los 
(3)1=  Gatos  road,  in  the  Hamilton  District,  is  the  rep- 
resentative of  an  old  New  England  family,  who 
trace  their  American  ancestry  back  to  the  days  of 
Roger  William.s,  of  the  Providence  Plantations,  Rhode 
Island. 

Mr.  Purges  bears  the  name  of  his  father  and  grand- 
father. His  grandfather,  Tristam  Purges,  represented 
Rhode  Island  in  the  halls  of  our  National  Congress 
for  ten  years,  and  was  before  the  public  in  various  po- 
sitions for  a  longer  period  than  the  life  of  an  average 
generation.  His  record  as  a  public  man,  for  ability, 
integrity,  and  faithfulness,  has  rarely  been  equaled. 
In  debate  he  was  the  peer  of  the  brightest  intellects 
gathered  in  the  halls  of  Congress.  All  readers  of  Con- 
gressional history  will  remember  his  celebrated  debate 
with  John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke,  which  alone  would 
have  made  him  famous.  He  was  often  called  the 
"Bald-headed  Eagle,"  of  Rhode  Island,  and  the  words, 
as  applied  to  him,  had  a  high  significance.  He  died 
in  1853. 

Tristam  Purges,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  a  prominent  man  in  public  affairs  in  Rhode 
Island.  A  member  of  the  State  Senate  at  the  out- 
break of  the  Rebellion,  he  entered  with  heart  and  soul 


into  the  work  of  putting  Rhode  Island  troops  into  the 
field.  A  Colonel's  commission  was  given  him,  by 
President  Lincoln,  to  enable  him  to  become  a  volun- 
teer on  the  staff  of  General  Sprague,  and  afterward  on 
the  staff  of  General  McClellan.  After  the  evacuation 
of  Yorktown,  in  his  zeal  to  be  at  the  front,  he  attached 
himself  temporarily  to  the  staff  of  General  Stoneman, 
and  at  the  battle  which  followed  the  retreat  of  the 
rebel  army  fought  at  Williamsburg,  he  was  so  severely 
wounded  that  he  died  afterward,  May  23,  1863. 

Tristam  Purges,  whose  name  heads  this  sketch,  was 
born  at  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  May  14,  1843, 
and  was  reared  and  educated  in  that  State.  He  did 
honor  to  the  patriotic  principles  inherited  from  father 
and  grandfather,  by  enlisting  as  a  member  of  the  First 
Rhode  Island  Cavalry,  from  which  he  was  soon  trans- 
ferred for  special  duty. 

In  1865  he  became  a  resident  of  San  Francisco, 
where  for  many  years  he  was  actively  engaged  in 
business.  During  the  early  period  of  his  residence 
there,  he  acted  as  Clerk  of  the  Probate  Court  for  seven 
years.  In  August,  1884,  he  bought  the  thirty-one 
acres  (then  unimproved  property)  upon  which  he  now 
lives.  During  the  winter  following,  his  residence  was 
erected,  in  the  designing  of  which  his  chief  care  was 
the  combining  of  comfort  and  durability  with  beauty. 
His  family  took  possession  of  their  pleasant  home  on 
the  sixth  of  March,  1885.  All  of  his  building  im- 
provements are  first-class  in  every  respect.  His  land 
(prepared  for  planting  by  himself)  is  set  to  French 
prunes  and  Moorpark  apricot  trees,  in  equal  numbers. 
The  orchard  is  now  (1888)  only  three  years  old,  but 
among  the  many  fine  orchards  of  Santa  Clara  County, 
none  are  seen  more  promising,  and  none  that  show 
better  care,  than  this  one. 

Mr.  Purges  is  identified  with  the  Republican  party, 
and  is  a  member  of  the  George  H.  Thomas  Post, 
G.  A.  5..,  at  San  Francisco.  He  is  also  one  of  the 
leading  members  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  on  the 
Pacific  Coast.  In  1888  he  was  Grand  Commander, 
Knights  Templar,  of  California,  an  honorary  member 
of  St.  Pernard  Commandery  of  Chicago,  and  the  rep- 
resentative of  the  Grand  Commandery  of  Illinois, 
"near  the  Grand  Commandery  of  California,"  and  also 
Grand  Representative  of  Dakqta.  He  was  the  or- 
ganizer of  the  Golden  Gate  Commandery  of  San 
Francisco;  a  member  of  the  Oriental  Lodge,  F.  &  A. 
M.;  of  the  California  Chapter,  R.  A.  M.;  of  the  Cali- 
fornia Council,  R.  &  S.  M.;  and  of  the  Golden  Gate 
Commandery,  K,  T.     He  has  also  the  honor  of  being 


476 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


a  thirty-second-degree   member  of  the   Scotish    Rite 
fraternity  of  Masons. 

In  1867  Mr.  Burges  married  Miss  Isabell  R.  Lucy^ 
daughter  of  George  H.  Lucy,  of  Cambridge,  Massa- 
chusetts. They  have  two  children:  Charles  B.,  aged 
nineteen  years,  and  Edith  A.,  aged  sixteen. 


5^^^ 


frfSSt  H.  LEEMAN,  whose  fine  residence  stands  on 
gW^  Lincoln  Avenue,  between  Willow  Street  and 
Minnesota  Avenue,  has  made  his  home  at  the 
Willows  since  1S74.  He  first  lived  on  Willow 
Street,  where  his  son,  Frank  C.  Leeman,  now  lives. 
From  1859  to  1874  Mr.  Leeman  was  one  of  the  lead- 
ing citizens  of  La  Crosse,  Wisconsin,  and  until  re- 
cently he  has  had  large  real-estate  interests  there. 

His  birth  occurred  in  the  State  of  Maine,  January 
10,  1819,  where  he  remained  until  he  reached  man- 
hood. He  became  a  practical  millwright  and  con- 
tractor, and  erected,  at  Lewiston,  Maine,  on  contract, 
nearly  one  million  dollars'  worth  of  buildings.  He 
was  one  of  the  early  resident  mechanics  and  con- 
tractors of  Lawrence,  Massachusetts,  and  helped  to 
build  the  old  Bay  State  Mills.  He  recalls  the  fact 
that  the  first  personal  property  tax  paid  in  the  new 
town  (which  had  been  set  off  from  Methuen)  was  paid 
by  himself.  Mr.  Leeman  has  always  led  an  active  life, 
pushing  every  enterprise  in  which  he  has  been  en- 
gaged with  great  energy,  and  always  with  success. 
His  life  in  California,  compared  with  that  of  former 
years,  has  been  somewhat  retired.  Still  he  has  active 
interests  in  different  directions,  to  each  of  which  he 
gives  close  personal  attention.  He  is  one  of  the  stock- 
holders of  the  Commercial  Savings  Bank,  and  a  Di- 
rector and  stockholder  in  the  Burns  Wine  Company, 
established  in  1886. 

Mr.  Leeman  married,  in  Maine,  Miss  Amanda  Em- 
erson, a  native  of  that  State.  She  is  a  cousin  of  the 
late  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson. 

Frank  C.  Leeman,  residing  on  Willow  Street,  be- 
tween Lincoln  Avenue  and  the  Meridian  road,  at  the 
Willows,  is  the  owner  of  a  fine  residence  and  orchard, 
which  is  planted  with  a  variety  of  fruit  trees.  He 
dates  his  birth  at  Lewiston,  Maine,  July  15,  1852,  and 
is  the  only  son  of  W.  H.  Leeman.  From  six  years 
of  age  he  was  reared  and  educated  in  the  city  of  La 
Crosse,  Wisconsin,  and  became  the  assistant  of  his 
father  in  conducting  a  large  wholesale  and  retail  gen- 
eral grocery  and  supply  business.     He  came  with  his 


father  to  California,  and  established  his  home  at  the 
Willows  in  1874. 

In  1878  Mr.  Leeman  wedded  Miss  Hattie  Veom. 
Mr.  Leeman  is  a  thorough,  practical  horticulturist, 
and,  though  not  caring  to  become  an  extensive  grower 
of  fruit,  has  great  pride  in  doing  what  he  can  to  ob- 
tain the  very  best  results  from  his  ten-acre  plat,  which 
shows  excellent  care  and  attention. 


£^- 


|MORREST  G.  JEFFERDS,  residing  on  Hamilton 
©#-  Avenue,  in  the  Hamilton  District,  bought  his  five- 
T  acre  orchard  in  January,  1886.  His  orchard  is 
now  six  years  old,  and  comprises  a  general  va- 
riety of  trees,  including  four  kinds  of  prunes,  apricots, 
peaches,  quinces,  plums,  and  cherries.  There  are  also 
a  few  apple-trees.  The  orchard  in  1887  yielded  about 
$500  worth  of  fruit. 

Mr.  Jefferds'  birth  occurred  in  Piscataquis  County, 
Maine,  August  26,  1829.  When  fifteen  years  of  age 
he  left  the  Pine-Tree  State  and  removed  to  Massachu- 
setts. In  1846  he  volunteered  for  service  in  the  Mex- 
ican War,  in  Company  A,  Massachusetts  Volunteers. 
His  Captain  was  Fletcher  Webster,  a  son  of  the  re- 
vered statesman,  Daniel  Webster.  In  January,  1847, 
the  regiment  entered  the  city  of  Mexico,  after  thirteen 
months'  service.  Mr.  Jefferds  was  honorably  dis- 
charged at  Boston.  His  war  experience  naturally  in- 
clines him  to  feel  an  interest  in  all  that  pertains  to  war 
times  and  old  comrades.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
MexicanVeterans,  of  San  Jose,and  also  of  the  National 
Association  of  Veterans  of  Washington,  District  of 
Columbia. 

As  early  as  1851  Mr.  Jefferds  became  a  pioneer 
settler  of  California.  He  was  engaged  for  four  years 
in  placer  mining  in  Nevada  County,  and  in  1855 
changed  his  residence  to  Yuba  County,  where  he 
worked  at  hydraulic  mining.  He  followed  that  busi- 
ness until  1 861,  when  he  removed  to  Tulare  County, 
where  he  engaged  in  stock-raising  and  general  farm- 
ing. Tulare  County  was  his  home  until  1884,  when 
he  sold  his  ranch  and  stock,  and  moved  to  Oakland, 
and  thence  to  his  present  home.  For  eleven  years  in 
Tulare  County  he  held  the  ofifice  of  County  Assessor. 
After  a  life  filled  with  adventure  and  frequent  change 
Mr.  Jefferds  now  enjoys  a  somewhat  retired  life  in  his 
pleasant  home  in  this  lovely  and  fertile  valley. 

In  Yuba  County  he  married,  in  1853,  Zanetta  D. 
Whitney,  who  was  born  in  Waltham,  Massachusetts. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


477 


He  was  bereaved  by  her  death,  which  occurred  in  Tu- 
lare County,  in  October,  1868.  She  was  the  mother 
of  three  children.  Edward  M.  is  now  a  resident  of 
Visalia,  Tulare  County;  Minnie  is  the  wife  of  S.  W. 
Watrous,  of  Tulare  County;  and  Netta  is  the  wife  of 
H.  L.  Clark,  of  Oakland. 

In  1870  Mr.  Jefferds  married  Mrs.  Nellie  (Frakes) 
Reed,  widow  of  Tilden  Reed.  She  is  a  native  of 
Ohio.  By  her  first  marriage  she  had  five  children,  of 
whom  two  are  deceased.  Jennie,  the  wife  of  W.  W. 
McKee,  died  at  Oakland;  M.  Fillmore,  residing  at 
Belmont,  Nevada;  Mrs.  Julia  Morrell,  living  at  San 
Jose;  Leonard  A.,  deceased;  and  Tilden,  of  Belmont, 
Nevada.  Mr.  Jefferds  has  one  child  by  his  second 
marriage,  Nellie  F. 

He  is  identified  with  the  Republican  party.  Several 
orders  claim  him  as  a  member — Four  Creeks  Lodge, 
No.  94,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Visalia;  Visalia  Lodge,  A.  O.  U. 
W.,  and  Garden  City  Council,  No.  62,  Chosen  Friends, 
of  San  Jose. 


fEYMOUR  R.  ALLEN  is  the  owner  of  a  fine  or- 
chard home  on  Cypress  Avenue,  a  short  distance 
_/|)^  from  the  Stevens  Creek  road,  in  the  Meridian 
District,  and  three  and  a  half  miles  west  of  San 
Jose.  Mr.  Allen  has  resided  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood of  his  present  home  since  1872,  and  has  had 
much  to  do  with  the  development  of  its  horticultural 
interests.  He  has  planted  about  fifty  acres  with  a 
variety  of  fruit-bearing  trees,  of  which  his  home  prop- 
erty comprises  twelve  acres.  About  one-half  of  his 
trees  are  now  (in  1888)  five  years  old,  and  the  re- 
mainder three  and  four  years  old.  His  comfortable 
residence  was  completed  and  occupied  in  the  autumn 
of  1883. 

He  dates  his  birth  in  Madison  County,  New  York, 
June  29,  1 82 1.  He  was  reared  to  a  farm  life  in  that 
county,  and  received  his  education  in  the  schools  of 
his  neighborhood.  On  the  twenty-ninth  of  June, 
1841,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Samantha 
Reed,  who  was  also  born  in  Madison  County,  New 
York.  He  engaged  in  agriculture  in  his  native  county 
until  the  call  was  sounded  for  the  nation's  patriots  to 
aid  in  putting  down  the  Rebellion.  In  response  to 
that  call  he  enlisted,  in  September,  1861,  in  Company 
G,  Seventy-sixth  New  York  Volunteers.  He  served 
in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  took  part  in  the 
engagements  in  which  McDowell's  corps  participated. 


His  service  was  terminated  by  sickness,  which  neces- 
sitated an  honorable  discharge,  in  March,  1863. 

The  old  farm  life  was  resumed  in  Madison  County, 
but  continued  only  until  the  spring  of  the  following 
year,  when  he  went  westward,  to  Hamilton  County, 
Iowa.  There,  in  Webster  City,  Mr.  Allen  made  his 
home  for  several  years,  in  fact,  until  1872,  when  he 
came  to  Santa  Clara  County.  A  residence  of  six. 
teen  years  has  made  known  to  his  fellow-citizens  the 
qualities  of  integrity  and  honesty  which  have  won 
for  himself  and  his  family  the  respect  and  esteem  of 
all  who  know  them.  Mr.  Allen  has  led  an  active  life, 
and  now  enjoys  the  pleasures  of  a  home  in  the  beau- 
tiful valley  of  Santa  Clara,  surrounded  by  his  chil- 
dren. His  four  sons,  Francis  M.,  Adelbert  M.,  Lester 
S.,  and  Frank  A.,  all  live  at  home  or  in  the  immedi- 
ate neighborhood.  All  of  the  children  were  born  in 
Madison  County,  New  York.  Mr.  Allen  is  an  hon- 
ored member  of  John  A.  Dix  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  of  San 
Jose.  In  politics  he  was  formerly  a  Democrat,  but  is 
now  a  Republican. 


POHN  J.  PEARD,  of  Hamilton  District,  com- 
menced the  improvement  of  his  five-acre  tract, 
T  on  Hamilton  Avenue,  from  a  grain  field,  in  the 
winter  of  1884.  His  orchard,  which  is  now  four  years 
old,  covers  the  whole  ground.  It  comprises  294  prune, 
98  apricot,  238  peach,  112  cherry,  14  apple,  14  pear, 
and  14  egg  plum  trees.  All  are  in  good  condition, 
the  ninety-eight  apricot  trees,  but  three  years  old, 
yielding,  in  1887,  about  three  tons  of  fruit. 

Mr.  Peard  was  reared  in  Genesee  County,  New 
York,  where  he  was  born,  September  14,  1842.  He 
volunteered  for  service  in  maintaining  the  nation's 
integrity,  in  the  autumn  of  1862,  enlisting  in  the 
Twenty-second  Independent  New  York  Volunteer 
Battery.  He  served  in  that  organization  in  the  de- 
fenses of  Washington  for  about  eighteen  months, 
when  the  Battery  was  transferred,  as  Company  M,  to 
the  Ninth  New  York  Heavy  Artillery,  and  in  May, 
1864,  joined  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  at  North 
Anna,  Virginia.  He  participated  in  the  battle  at 
Cold  Harbor,  and  was  in  the  lines  at  the  investment 
of  Petersburg.  Later  he  was  transferred  to  the  Shen- 
andoah Valley,  under  General  Sheridan,  and  there, 
among  other  battles,  he  took  part  at  the  engage- 
ments at  Winchester,  Cedar  Ci'eek,  and  P'isher's  Hill, 
returning  to  the  lines  in  front  of  Petersburg  for  win- 
ter   quarters.     He    also    participated    in    the    closing 


478 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


campaign  of  the  army  in  Virginia,  which  culmina'ed 
in  the  surrender  of  the  rebel  army  at  Appomattox, 
and,  after  the  surrender  of  General  Lee,  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  Second  New  York  Heavy  Artillery, 
and  remained  in  garrison  at  Washington,  near  Chain 
Bridge,  until  honorably  discharged,  in  October,  1865. 
Mr.  Peard  was  never  in  hospital  or  guard  house,  but 
always  engaged  in  active  duty.  His  faithful  dis- 
charge of  every  duty  as  a  soldier  gives  him  the  right 
to  look  back  with  satisfaction  to  the  part  he  bore  in 
the  defense  of  his  country. 

Mr.  Peard  left  the  State  of  New  York  in  1873,  and 
for  four  or  five  years  was  on  a  ranch  in  Yolo  County, 
this  State.  For  the  past  ten  years  he  has  resided  in 
Santa  Clara  County,  renting  and  operating  the  Coley 
fruit  farm  at  the  Willows,  where  he  lived  until  No- 
vember, 1887,  when  he  removed  to  his  own  property 
in  the  Hamilton  District,  having  had  charge  of  both 
places  until  the  present  season. 

Mr.  Peard's  parents,  Thomas  and  Frances  A.  Peard, 
were  of  Irish  descent.  They  joined  their  children  in 
this  county  in  the  spring  of  1S86,  his  father  dying 
here  on  the  first  of  February,  1888,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-seven  years,  while  his  mother  resides  with 
him  and  is  his  home-keeper.  A  brother  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  Robert,  lives  in  Batavia,  New  York. 
One  sister,  Frances,  is  the  wife  of  George  T.  Gribner, 
of  the  Willows,  and  the  other  sister,  Kate,  is  the  wife 
of  C.  D.  Smith,  a  resident  of  San  Jose. 

Politically  Mr.  Peard  is  a  member  of  the  Republi- 
can party.  Like  most  old  soldiers,  he  is  connected 
with  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  being  a  mem- 
ber of  Phil.  Sheridan  Post,  No.  7,  G.  A.  R.  He  is  also 
identified  with  San  Jose  Camp,  No.  125,  Knights  of 
Pythias. 


■€"4^^- 


■k$> 


pjijpiLLIAM  BEAUCHAMP,  a  citizen  of  the  Wil- 
low District,  owns  a  thrifty  orchard  of  six  acres, 
which  is  located  on  the  Meridian  road,  between 
Willow  Street  and  Hamilton  Avenue.  This 
orchard  is  one  of  the  best  cared  for,  for  its  size,  in 
San  Jose  Township.  Mr.  Beauchamp  commenced 
tree-planting  on  the  twentieth  of  January,  1880,  and 
all  the  trees,  except  less  than  a  hundred,  have  been 
set  out  by  him  during  his  occupancy.  The  orchard 
produces  a  diversity  of  fruit,  of  which  cherries  and 
prunes  form  the  largest  part.  Apricots,  peaches,  and 
pears  are  found,  also  a  few  experimental  trees  of  Jap- 


anese varieties.  Mr.  Beauchamp  is  also  experiment- 
ing in  tea-culture. 

Mr.  Beauchamp  dates  his  birth  in  England,  March 
6,  1833.  He  acquired  a  taste  for  horticulture  in  his 
youth,  and  has  made  it  the  principal  work  of  his  life- 
time, never  being  satisfied  with°any  other  occupation. 
He  came  to  the  United  States  in  November,  1854, 
landing  at  New  York  city.  In  March  of  the  follow- 
ing year  he  came  west  to  Illinois,  and  lived  for  two 
seasons  in  Lee  County,  that  State.  Thence  he  re- 
moved to  Mower  County,  Minnesota,  where  he  took 
a  claim  in  High  Forest  Township.  He  occupied  this 
claim  but  a  short  time,  and  in  March,  1857,  bought 
land  in  Bostwick  Valley,  La  Cros.se  County,  Wiscon- 
sin, where  he  made  his  home  until  he  crossed  the 
continent  to  California,  the  State  of  all  States,  in 
which  to  follow  his  favorite  work — horticulture.  He 
has  made  Santa  Clara  County  his  home  since  Jan- 
uary, 1880 

Mr.  Beauchamp  married  Mrs.  Esther  Yarrington 
in  January,  1887. 

Politically  Mr.  Beauchamp  is  identified  with  the 
Republican  party.  He  feels  great  pride  in  his  pro- 
ductive orchard,  and  with  good  reason,  for  it  gives 
evidence  of  the  painstaking  care  which  it  is  his  delight 
to  bestow  upon  it. 

t"'"  EORGE  K.  HOSTETTER,  of  the  Eagle  School 
District,  is  the  owner  of  a  farm  of  fifty-two  and 
yf^  one-half  acres,  located  on  the  Hostetter  road, 
about  four  miles  northeast  of  San  Jose.  His 
original  tract  contained  eighty-eight  and  one-half 
acres,  but  in  1882  he  sold  thirty-six  acres.  A  fine 
young  orchard  covers  twenty-two  acres,  and  com- 
prises 1,000  apricot,  1,050  F"rench  and  Silver  prune,  400 
peach,  100  cherry,  200  apple,  and  75  pear  trees,  besides 
a  few  fig  and  almond  trees.  As  showing  the  product- 
iveness of  the  orchard  under  Mr.  Hostetter's  excel- 
lent care,  we  mention  a  part  of  the  crop  of  1887.  In 
that  year,  from  seven  and  a  half  acres  of  trees  (then 
three  years  old)  were  gathered  forty-eight  tons  of  ap- 
ricots, which  netted  $200  per  acre.  In  addition  to 
his  orchard  interests,  Mr.  Hostetter  raises  on  the 
remainder  of  his  land  hay  and  grain,  reserving  a 
portion  for  pasturage  for  his  stock. 

He  was  born  in  St.  Charles  County,  Missouri,  Janu- 
ary 14,  1 841,  the  son  of  Francis  and  Catherine  (Lonk- 
ard)  Hostetter.  He  was  left  an  orphan  when  about  six 
years    old,    and    was    taken    into   the    family  of   his 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


479 


guardian,  Alden  Farnsvvorth.  He  was  reared  to  a 
farmer's  life,  receiving  the  education  of  the  district 
schools.  He  was  a  member  of  his  guardian's  family 
for  about  seven  years,  leaving  them  in  April,  1854,  to 
accompany  his  brother-in-law,  O.  W.  Farnsworth, 
overland  to  California.  In  September  of  that  year 
they  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  and  the  brother- 
in-law  settled  on  a  farm.  The  subject  of  our  sketch 
lived  in  his  family  for  the  ten  years  following,  assist- 
ing in  the  many  duties  of  the  farm  management.  In 
1864  he  started  out  for  himself,  going  to  Idaho,  where 
he  worked  in  the  mines  for  several  months,  but  with 
rather  unsuccessful  results.  Upon  leaving  Idaho  he 
visited  Baker  County,  Oregon,  but  remained  only 
long  enough  to  earn  money  to  take  him  back  to  Santa 
Clara  County.  This  he  accomplished  in  the  fall  of 
1865,  and  soon  after  his  return  rented  a  farm  of  his 
brother-in-law,  which  he  operated  for  two  years. 
During  this  time  he  married,  in  1866,  Miss  Margaret 
Rea,  the  daughter  of  James  and  Hannah  (Hudson- 
piller)  Rea,  whc^were  natives  of  Virginia  but  residents 
of  this  county.  In  the  fall  of  1867,  in  partnership 
with  his  father-in-law,  he  entered  into  farming  and 
dairy  business  near  Gilroy.  He  spent  four  years  in 
that  work,  and  then  returned  to  the  Silver  Creek  Dis- 
trict, where  he  rented  and  worked  a  farm  belonging 
to  T.  H.  Farnsworth  for  a  year,  purchasing  and  es- 
tablishing his  residence  upon  his  present  property  in 
the  fall  of  1872.  The  intervening  time  has  been  spent 
in  the  improvement  of  his  farm,  with  mo.st  encourag- 
ing results,  as  we  have  already  narrated.  Mr.  Hos- 
tetter  has  gained  the  confidence  of  his  associates,  as 
they  have  shown  in  one  way  by  electing  him  as  School 
Trustee.  In  politics  he  is  a  member  of  the  Repub- 
lican party,  but  entertains  conservative  views. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hostetter  have  five  children,  viz.: 
Frank  F.,  born  September  30,  1867;  George  F.,  born 
February  14,  1869;  Alvin  M.,  born  January  14,  1872; 
Rea  Howard,  born  January  30,  1874;  and  Mary 
Amelia,  born  November  11,  1875. 


ALBERT  C.  LAWRENCE,  deceased.  The  sub- 
d^f^  ject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Boston,  Massa- 
'W  chusetts,  in  18 10.  In  his  youth  he  learned  the 
*  cabinet-making  trade,  at  which  he  worked  for 
many  years.  He  was  also  employed  in  Mr.  Chicker- 
ing's  Piano  Factory  in  Boston  for  some  time.  In 
1834  Mr.  Lawrence  married  Miss  Rhoda  Ann  Fessen- 
den,  who  vvas  born  in  18 14,  the  daughter  of  Samuel 


Fessenden  (a  native  of  Maine  but  a  resident  of  Mas- 
sachusetts) and  Sarah  (Ware)  Fessenden,  a  native  of 
Massachusetts.  Both  parents  were  descendants  of 
distinguished  New  England   families. 

In  1849,  when  the  gold  excitement  swept  through 
the  country,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  caught  in 
the  whirl,  and  laying  aside  the  tools  of  his  trade  he 
started  for  the  El  Dorado  of  the  West.  The  journey 
was  made  in  the  sailing  ship  Cartilage,  which  left 
Boston  in  September,  1849,  and,  rounding  Cape  Horn, 
arrived  at  San  Francisco  early  in  1850.  Afterspcnd- 
ing  a  short  time  in  that  city,  Mr.  Lawrence  commenced 
work  in  the  mines,  and  continued  it  for  nearly  two 
years,  when  became  to  Santa  Clara  County  and  took 
possession  of  the  estate  upon  which  his  widow  now 
lives.  The  property  is  situated  at  Lawrence,  a  station 
on  the  Southern  Pacific  Road,  about  three  and  one- 
half  miles  west  of  Santa  Clara,  in  the  Braley  District. 
There  he  commenced  his  life  as  one  of  the  pioneer 
farmers  of  the  county,  being  greatly  assisted  in  the 
work  of  cultivation  and  management  of  the  farm  by 
his  son  Albert  C,  who  left  the  family  in  Boston  to 
join  his  father  in  1852.  The  father  and  son  actively 
engaged  in  the  clearing  and  seeding  of  the  rich  soil. 
Mrs.  Lawrence,  her  son  William  and  daughters,  ar- 
rived in  January,  1861,  and  found  a  house  in  course 
of  erection.  Mrs.  Lawrence  avoided  the  tediousness 
of  a  longer  journey  by  choosing  the  Isthmus  route. 
With  his  happy,  re-united  family,  Mr.  Lawrence  now 
commenced  a  life  of  useful,  honorable  activity,  during 
which  he  gained  the  respect  of  neighbors  and  friends. 
As  one  of  the  county's  earliest  settlers,  and  as  an 
esteemed  citizen,  he  was  widely  and  well  known. 
Two  years  previous  to  his  death,  which  occurred  in 
March,  1886,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lawrence  celebrated  their 
golden  wedding,  a  fitting  symbol  of  a  long  and  happy 
married  life.  Nine  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lawrence,  of  whom  five  are  now  living,  viz.: 
Albert  C,  Jr.,  now  living  at  Lompoc,  Santa  Barbara 
County,  California,  who  married  Miss  Rosa  E.  Harper, 
of  San  Jose;  William  H.,  a  resident  of  Los  Gatos, 
Santa  Clara  County,  who  married  Miss  Susie  E. 
Sleeper,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts;  Ellen  E.,  the 
widow  of  Daniel  Purdy,  of  San  Francisco,  now  resid- 
ing on  the  old  homestead  with  her  mother,  as  is  also 
her  son,  Arthur  F.  Purdy,  who  is  the  railroad  and 
express  agent  at  Lawrence;  Elvira  E.,  who  makes 
her  home  with  her  mother;  and  Adra  A.,  who  mar- 
ried Henry  Eaton,  of  San  Francisco,  and  being  left  a 
widow,  married  P.  G.  Keith,  of  Campbell  Station, 
Santa  Clara  County. 


480 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


The  farm,  which  now  contains  but  thirty-four  acres, 
is  devoted  to  the  raising  of  hay  and  grain,  with  the 
exception  of  five  acres  in  fruit-trees.  It  originally 
comprised  eighty  acres,  but  since  the  death  of  her 
husband  Mrs.  Lawrence  found  the  care  of  so  large 
an  estate  more  than  her  health  would  permit  her  to 
undertake,  and  so  has  decreased  the  acreage  by  sales, 
chiefly  for  orchard  purposes.  In  her  pleasant  home, 
surrounded  by  her  children,  she  quietly  spends  her 
declining  years,  enjoying  the  prosperity  earned  by  the 
united  efforts  of  herself  and  husband  during  their 
pioneer  days.  She  is  a  consistent  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Santa  Clara. 


PBERHARDT  HENRY  HOLTHOUSE  resides 
in  the  Braly  District,  on  the  corner  of  Alviso 
^p  and  Mountain  View,  and  Mountain  View  and 
Saratoga  roads,  being  two  miles  southwest  of 
Alviso.  His  fine  farm,  of  147  acres,  is  devoted  chiefly 
to  the  raising  of  hay  and  grain,  and  to  pasturage. 
However,  twenty  acres  are  in  orchard,  furnishing  prin- 
cipally apples  and  pears,  but  also  peaches,  prunes, 
and  plums  for  family  use.  About  seven  acres  are  set  to 
strawberries  of  the  Longworth  and  Sharpless  varieties. 
Mr.  Holthouse  has  a  dairy  of  ten  cows,  and  raises 
horses  of  the  Norman  stock.  Two  artesian  wells  furnish 
a  plentiful  supply  of  water.  He  has  erected  a  com- 
fortable two-story  residence, in  which  maybe  found  the 
conveniences  which  make  a  part  of  liberal  living  in 
this  age. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Nahne, 
Osnabriick,  Hanover,  of  the  German  Empire,  in  1827. 
He  is  the  son  of  Herman  and  Mary  Elizabeth  (Brock- 
man)  Holthouse,  who  were  natives  of  the  place  of  his 
birth.  He  received  a  good  common-school  education, 
and  was  taught  the  details  of  farm  work.  In  1849  he 
left  his  native  country  to  seek  his  fortune  in  the  New 
World.  He  crossed  the  ocean  in  a  sailing  vessel,  and, 
landing  at  New  Orleans,  went  up  the  river  to  St. 
Louis,  Missouri.  In  that  city  two  or  three  years  were 
spent  in  various  occupations,  leaving  to  cross  the 
plains  in  1852,  with  an  emigrant  train,  which  was 
supplied  with  ox  teams.  The  party  experienced  con- 
siderable trouble  through  the  loss  of  stock,  and  were 
obliged  to  abandon  some  of  their  wagons. 

After  a  long  and  tedious  trip,  Mr.  Holthouse 
reached  Placer  County,  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year, 
having  spent  six  months  on  the  road.  In  Placer 
County  he  bought  into  a  claim,  and  commenced  min- 


ing. This  occupation  filled  seven  years,  and  proved 
quite  profitable.  Most  of  the  time  was  spent  in  the 
mines  of  Plumas  County.  From  1859  to  1870  he 
engaged  in  various  pursuits,  among  which  were 
quartz-mining,  stock-raising,  farming,  and  general 
merchandise  business.  At  the  expiration  of  this  time 
he  came  to  Alviso,  where  he  rented  a  farm,  upon 
which  he  entered  into  stock-raising  and  dairy  busi- 
ness. After  a  residence  of  about  four  years  on  this 
farm,  he  purchased  and  established  his  residence  upon 
the  property  which  he  now  cultivates  and  occupies. 
After  a  long  experience  in  different  parts  of  the 
world  and  in  many  branches  of  industry,  Mr.  Holt- 
house is  well  content  to  make  his  home  in  this  lovely 
valley,  where  he  has  made  many  friends,  and  gained 
much  respect  as  a  man  of  integrity  and  intelligence. 
In  religion  he  is  a  consistent  member  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  and  in  politics  a  strong  Republican, 
having  been,  during  the  war,  an  ardent  supporter  of 
the  Union. 

In  1864  he  married  Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Madden)  Rat- 
liff,  widow  of  John  Ratliff,  of  Mahaska  County,  Iowa. 
Mrs.  Holthouse  is  a  native  of  Dublin,  Ireland.  From 
this  marriage  five  children  have  been  born.  Their 
names  are  :  Herman  E.,  Hugh  N.,  Mary  E.,  Mark  H., 
and  Joseph  F.  From  her  former  marriage  Mrs.  Holt- 
house has  one  son,  William  P.  Ratliff,  who  married 
Miss  Alice  Harter,  and  resides  in  Tulare  County. 


m- 


©)f 


-€■ 


:APT.  AARON  H.  WOOD  is  the  owner  of  forty 
acres  of  fruit  land  in  the  Collins  District.  His 
ranch  lies  at  the  junction  of  the  Kerwin  and 
Sterling  roads,  about  six  miles  southwest  of 
Santa  Clara.  Twenty-five  acres  are  in  vineyard,  fif- 
teen acres  being  devoted  to  the  culture  of  wine  grapes, 
of  the  following  varieties:  Charbano,  Matero,Cabernet 
Franc,  Malbec,  and  Sauvignon.  Ten  acres  produce 
Muscat  grapes  for  table  use.  Fifteen  acres  are  covered 
with  fine  fruit-trees,  one-third  peach  and  two-thirds 
almond.  As  showing  the  fertility  of  the  soil  and  the 
excellent  care  taken  of  the  ranch,  we  mention  the 
peach  crop  of  1887,  in  which  year,  from  five  acres  of 
trees  six  years  old,  were  harvested  twenty-eight  tons 
of  fruit.  During  the  same  year  Captain  Wood  erected 
a  winery  with  a  capacity  of  20,000  gallons,  and  is  now 
prepared  to  make  his  vineyard  even  more  profitable 
than  before.  The  vineyard  and  orchard  were  planted 
by  George  M.  Bruce,  the  property  becoming  Captain 
Wood's  by  purchase  in   1885. 


yfe^  ^^U^'irJ. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


481 


The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Swansea, 
Bristol  County,  Massachusetts,  May  29,  1836.  His 
parents,  John  B.  and  Lydia  (Luther)  Wood,  were  also 
natives  of  Swansea.  Both  are  now  deceased.  Cap- 
tain Wood's  boyhood  was  spent  upon  his  father's  farm, 
which  he  left  at  sixteen  years  of  age  to  enter  the 
counting-house  of  R.  S.  Burrough  &  Co.,  commission 
merchants  of  Providence,  Rhode  Island.  But  the 
charms  of  seafaring  life,  which  had  surrounded  him 
from  his  birth,  were  not  without  their  influence  over 
him,  and  he  remained  in  Providence  but  one  year, 
going  to  sea  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years,  as  a  "boy" 
on  the  Monarch  of  tlie  Seas,  of  New  Nork,  William  R. 
Gardner  commanding.  By  strict  attention  to  duty.and 
by  the  study  of  the  science  of  navigation,  he  rapidly 
rose  in  his  chosen  profession,  becoming  chief  mate  of 
the  vessel  in  which  he  commenced  his  career,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-three  years.  About  one  year  later  he 
took  the  same  position  in  the  ship  Norway,  of  New 
York.  After  eighteen  months'  service,  he  was  made 
captain,  and  placed  in  charge  of  the  ship  Emerald 
Isle,  New  York,  in  the  Atlantic  trade  between  that 
city  and  Liverpool.  In  after  years  he  commanded 
the  ships  St.  Mark,  Sagamore,  and  Sovereign  of  the 
Seas.  The  last-named  vessel,  of  which  Captain  Wood 
was  part  owner,  was  sold  in  Antwerp  in  the  summer 
of  1884.  Returning  to  his  Massachusetts  home,  he 
enjoyed  a  much-needed  rest,  after  more  than  thirty 
years  of  active  life  upon  the  seas.  His  next  move 
was  to  visit  California,  whose  charms  soon  decided 
him  to  make  it  his  permanent  home.  With  this  pur- 
pose he  purchased  the  property  described  at  the  be- 
ginning of  our  sketch.  Here,  in  his  pleasant  home,  he 
enjoys  a  life  which  is  retired  and  quiet  compared  with 
the  one  in  which  his  earlier  days  were  spent,  while  the 
reminiscences  of  a  rich  experience  remain  with  him. 
Politically  Captain  Wood  is  a  strong  and  consistent 
Republican. 

He  was  united  in  marriage,  in  1864,  witli  Miss  Isa- 
bel V.  Pearsc,  daugliter  of  William  H.  and  Rosanna 
M.  (Gardner)  Pearsc,  residents  of  Swansea,  Massa- 
chusetts. Of  the  five  children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Wood  but  one  is  now  living,  Oscar  B.,  who  was  born 
March  8,  1875. 

-^.i^f  <^^^-  - 

fSACOB  GRAVES,  of  the  MorcJand  District,  must 
*■  be    mentioned    as   one  of  the  pioneer  American 
^  settlers  of  Santa  Clara  County.     He  was  born  in 
Claiborne     County,    Tennessee,     February     2,    1829. 
When  he  was  fourteen  years  of  age  his  father,  Solo- 
61 


mon  Graves,  removed  the  family  to  Buchanan  County, 
Missouri.  There  the  subject  of  this  sketch  gave  his 
father  the  assistance  of  his  work  on  the  homestead, 
which  he  made  his  home  until  the  gold  fever  filled 
him  with  its  excitement.  Fitting  himself  out  with  an 
ox  team  and  supplies,  he  joined  the  long  line  of  emi- 
grants which  stretched  across  the  plains  to  this  State. 
They  left  St.  Joseph,  Missouri,  on  the  seventh  of  May, 
1849,  and  after  a  pleasant  and  uneventful  journey 
(which  Mr.  Graves  performed  entirely  on  foot),  reached 
the  mines  on  the  Yuba  River,  September  20  of  the 
same  year.  After  spending  one  month  in  the  mines, 
and  the  next  month  in  Sacramento,  Mr.  Graves  visited 
this  valley,  reaching  San  Jose  November  20,  1849, 
thus  enrolling  his  name  among  those  of  the  earliest 
settlers  of  the  county.  The  first  two  years  were  spent 
in  the  wood  forests  of  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains,  in 
manufacturing  lumber  and  making  rails,  posts,  and 
shingles,  all  the  sawing  being  done  by  hand.  Lum- 
ber was  worth  $700  per  thousand;  but  Mr.  Graves' 
first  winter's  earnings  were  lost  through  the  rascality 
of  the  agent  who  sold  the  product.  However,  the 
two  years'  work,  on  the  whole,  was  quite  remunerative. 

In  1 85 1,  in  company  with  his  brother,  Sampson 
Graves  (who  came  out  from  Missouri  during  the  pre- 
ceding year),  Mr.  Graves  bought  160  acres  out  of  a 
Spanish  grant  in  Redwood  Township.  This  land 
they  improved,  and  in  1854  sold  at  a  good  advance 
in  price  to  William  Cox.  Sampson  Graves  returned 
to  the  East  in  the  fall  of  1854,  and  now  lives  in 
Kansas.  In  1855  Mr.  Graves  purchased  the  extensive 
ranch  which  he  now  owns  and  occupies.  It  contains 
193  acres  bounded  by  Saratoga  Avenue  and  Prospect 
road,  the  residence  grounds  fronting  the  latter  road. 

His  brother,  Sylvester  Graves  (whose  history  ap- 
pears elsewhere  in  this  volume),  was  associated  with 
him  in  the  ownership  of  this  property  until  some 
years  later.  Sampson  Graves  and  another  brother, 
Eli,  served  in  the  Union  army,  the  former  from  the 
State  of  Missouri  and  the  latter  from  Kansas.  Eli 
Graves  was  captured,  with  Colonel  Mulligan,  by  the 
rebels  at  Le-^ington,  Missouri.  He  participated  in 
the  memorable  battle  of  Shiloh,  and  both  brothers 
served  with  credit  and  won  recognition  for  their 
bravery  and  faithfulness. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  married,  on  the  nineteenth 
of  Augu.st,  1855,  Miss  Margaret  Elizabeth  Statler, 
the  daughter  of  Jonas  and  Mary  Statler,  who  came 
from  Missouri  in  1849  and  settled  in  this  valley  in  the 
year  following.     Both  of  her  parents  are  now  deceased. 

Mrs.  Graves  is  a  native  of  Missouri.     Two  children 


482 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


have  been  born  by  this  marriage,  Frank  and  Mamie, 
and  both  are  yet  at  the  parental  home.  All  the  mem- 
bers of  the  family  are  connected  with  the  Southern 
Methodist  Church.  Mr.  Graves  is  identified  with  the 
Democratic  party,  but  in  local  politics  is  not  tied  to 
party  nominations.  Mr.  Graves  came  to  California 
a  poor  young  man,  and  his  life  of  industry  has  been 
well  rewarded.  He  is  now  a  prosperous  land-owner 
and  a  man  of  influence.  Not  only  this,  but  he  has 
won  by  the  uprightness  of  his  character  the  confidence 
and  esteem  of  all  who  know  him.  His  quiet,  unas- 
suming ways  cannot  hide  the  ability  and  worth  which 
have  given  him  his  high  place  in  the  judgment  of  his 
associates,  and  Santa  Clara  County  may  well  regard 
him  with  pride  as  one  of  her  representative  citizens. 


M|ILLIAM  H.  IRELAND  owns  a  comfortable 
C^^  cottage  home  and  thirty-six  acres  of  fine,  pro- 
=^    ductive  land,  on  the  Kifer  road,  in  the  Jefferson 

I  District,  two  miles  north  of  Santa  Clara. 
When  he  purchased  the  land  in  1882  it  was  covered 
with  grain  stubble,  and  its  present  fine  condition 
could  only  have  been  brought  about  by  such  care  and 
attention  as  Mr.  Ireland  has  bestowed  upon  it. 
Strawberries  of  the  Longworth  and  Seth  Boyden 
varieties  are  produced  upon  seven  acres,  and  the  same 
extent  of  land  is  covered  with  alfalfa,  which  yields 
five  or  six  tons  per  acre  annually.  The  remainder  of 
the  farm  is  devoted  to  the  growing  of  hay  and  grain. 
One  fine  artesian  well  furnishes  all  the  water  needed 
for  irrigation  and  other  purposes.  In  1886  the  prod- 
ucts from  five  acres  brought  $1,300..  from  strawberry 
vines  one  year  old  and  a  crop  of  onions  that  was 
raised  upon  the  same  land. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  dates  his  birth  near 
Muscatine,  Louisa  County,  Iowa,  November  23,  1S42. 
His  parents  were  John  and  Elmira  (Wheeler)  Ireland, 
his  father  being  a  native  of  Indiana,  and  his  mother 
of  Ohio.  His  father  was  a  pioneer  of  Iowa,  having 
settled  in  Louisa  County  at  an  early  date.  In  1852 
the  family  removed  to  Council  Bluffs,  of  the  same 
State,  where  they  remained  for  nine  years,  starting, 
in  1S61,  on  the  overland  trip  to  Oregon.  This  jour- 
ney the  father  never  completed,  his  death  occurring 
on  the  road  near  Green  River.  The  saddened  mother, 
with  lier  children,  pushed  on,  and  reached  her  desti- 
nation in  the  fall  of  that  year.     They  located  in  the 


Willamette   Valley,   in    Washington    County,   about 
eighteen  miles  from  Portland. 

Mr.  Ireland  had  been  reared  in  the  duties  of  a  farm 
life,  receiving  only  such  schooling  as  could  be  ob- 
tained before  reaching  eighteen  years  of  age.  Im- 
mediately upon  arriving  in  Oregon,  he  commenced 
the  work  before  him,  that  of  earning  a  home  and 
living  for  his  widowed  mother  and  her  family.  Al- 
though but  nineteen  years  of  age,  he  rented  and  prof- 
itably cultivated  a  farm  of  160  acres,  from  Richard 
Willey.  Thus,  early  in  life,  circumstances  brought 
out  and  developed  the  manly,  independent  traits  of 
his  character  that  have  since  carried  him  successfully 
through  all  enterprises.  He  made  his  home  in  Ore- 
gon until  December,  1867,  when  he  came  into  this 
State  and  took  up  his  residence  in  Santa  Clara 
County.  After  spending  considerable  time  in  various 
occupations,  such  as  cutting  wood,  road  building,  and 
harvesting,  in  the  fall  of  1868  he  rented  A.  B.  Hun- 
ter's farm,  on  the  Coffin  road.  This  place  he  con- 
ducted for  about  three  years,  and  then  returned  to 
Oregon,  where  he  spent  one  year  previous  to  visiting 
Los  Angeles  County.  He  engaged  in  farm  labor 
near  Anaheim,  but,  after  spending  one  year  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  State,  he  came  north  to  San 
Luis  Obispo  County,  where  he  engaged  in  an  exten- 
sive dairy  business,  having  140  cows.  This  enterprise 
was  very  profitable  under  Mr.  Ireland's  management, 
which  lasted  until  1878.  In  this  year  he  returned  to 
Santa  Clara  County  and  rented  400  acres  of  land, 
called  the  Hollenbeck  place,  near  Mountain  View. 
This  large  tract  of  land  was  used  as  a  grain  ranch, 
and  as  such  Mr.  Ireland  conducted  it  for  four  years. 
During  that  time,  in  1879,  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Annie  Relfe,  a  daughter  of  James  Relfe, 
who  resided  near  St.  Louis,  Missouri.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  the  four  years,  after  again  visiting  his  old 
home  in  Oregon,  he  took  possession,  in  1883,  of  the 
land  described  in  the  beginning  of  this  sketch,  which 
he  had  purchased  the  preceding  year.  Here  he  has 
lived  for  the  past  five  years,  gaining  the  esteem  of 
neighbors  and  associates. 

Mr.  Ireland  is  a  Democrat,  liberal  and  conserva- 
tive in  politics,  as  in  all  matters  of  public  interest. 
He  is  a  member  of  Santa  Clara  Lodge,  No.  52, 
I.  O.  O.  F.  Although  not  connected  with  any  relig- 
ious denomination,  he  takes  a  deep  interest  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  of  which  his  wife  is  a  member. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


fEORGE  M.  BROWN,  one  of  the  successful 
horticulturists  and  farmers  of  the  Jefferson  Dis- 
■J^  trict,  owns  seventy-eight  acres  of  finely  cultivated 
land,  situated  on  Wilcox  Lane,  north  of  the 
Kifer  road,  and  about  two  and  one  half  miles  north- 
west of  Santa  Clara.  He  devotes  thirty  acres  of  his 
land  to  strawberry  culture,  the  principal  variety  be- 
ing the  Longworth  Prolific.  Ten  acres  are  set  with 
fruit-trees,  chiefly  Bartlett  pears,  this  orchard  land 
being  also  utilized  for  the  production  of  strawberries 
and  blackberries.  Eight  acres  are  used  exclusively 
for  raspberries  and  blackberries,  while  another  ten 
acres  grow  alfalfa.  The  remainder  of  the  land  yields 
hay.  Upon  the  property  Mr.  Brown  has  a  comforta- 
ble cottage  home,  surrounded  by  choice  flowers,  shade- 
trees,  etc. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Gloucester- 
shire, England,  and  came  to  America  in  1861.  He 
went  to  Hamilton,  Canada  West,  and  remained  there 
until  the  following  year,  when  he  left  for  California, 
by  way  of  the  Isthmus  route.  He  reached  San  Fran- 
cisco in  April,  1862,  and,  after  a  short  stay  in  that 
city,  went  to  Alameda  County,  where  he  spent  about 
two  years,  engaged  in  farm  labor.  He  then  extended 
his  travels  as  far  north  as  British  Columbia,  where  he 
took  up  government  land,  and  opened  a  farm  near 
Nanaimo.  Not  being  suited  with  his  location,  after 
a  stay  of  two  years  he  returned  to  California.  For 
three  years  he  worked  in  Alameda  County,  coming  to 
Santa  Clara  County  in  1867,  and  purcJiasing  the  prop- 
erty where  he  has  since  made  hfs  home.  He  has 
directed  intelligent  efforts  toward  the  improvement  of 
his  land  and  the  cultivation  of  small  fruits  and  berries, 
and  finds  those  efforts  well  rewarded  in  the  results 
which  he  obtains.  A  public-spirited  and  progressive 
citizen,  he  is  a  useful  member  of  societj'.  He  is  a 
member  and  strong  supporter  of  the  Episcopal  Church, 
and  is  identified  with  the  Republican  party,  taking  an 
intelligent  interest  in  all  that  concerns  State  and 
nation. 

In  1885  he  wedded  Miss  Emma  Lobb,  daughter  of 
Henry  Lobb,  of  San  Jose.  Two  children  have  blessed 
this  union,  viz.:  Alfred  Lee  and  Ella. 


|MRS.  EMMA  A.  BUTCHER,  the  widow  of 
(5^0^  Rolla  Butcher,  resides  on  the  San  Francisco 
<lZ^  road,  in  the  Millikin  District,  about  four  miles 
I  west  of  Santa  Clara.  She  is  the  owner  of  a 
magnificent  orchard,  of  sixty-four  acres,  containing  a 
choice  variety  of  fruit,  which  may  be  classed  as  fol- 


lows: Twenty-five  acres  in  the  different  varieties  of 
prunes,  twelve  acres  in  apricots  and  peaches,  eight 
acres  in  apples,  and  the  remainder  in  cherries,  plums, 
and  grapes. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  daughter  of  Samuel 
Smith,  of  Essex  County,  England.  She  came  to 
California  with  friends  who  emigrated  from  that  coun- 
try. She  became  the  wife  of  Rolla  Butcher,  in  Plumas 
County,  of  this  State,  in  1859,  and  proved  a  loving 
wife  and  devoted  mother.  She  was  ever  ready  to 
sustain  her  husband  in  the  various  enterprises  in  which 
he  engaged,  and  in  the  works  which  he  was  constantly 
instituting  for  the  welfare  of  the  communities  with 
which  he  was  connected.  Mrs.  Butcher  is  a  woman 
of  a  high  order  of  intelligence,  and  the  possessor  of 
sound,  practical  business  knowledge  and  customs. 
These  sterling  qualities  have  been  shown  in  a  re- 
markable degree  since  the  death  of  her  husband, 
which  occurred  only  a  few  weeks  after  their  settle- 
ment in  this  county.  By  his  loss  she  was  left  not 
only  with  the  care  of  the  large  estate  and  the  settle- 
ment of  his  business  affairs,  but  also  with  the  educa- 
tion and  rearing  of  their  children.  How  well,  by 
her  unaided  efforts,  she  has  fulfilled  the  trust,  what 
maternal  solicitude  and  moral  influence  she  has  dis- 
played in  the  work,  let  the  present  attest.  She  is  the 
owner  of  one  of  the  finest  fruit  ranches  in  the  county, 
in  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  with  well-ordered  build- 
ings and  comfortable  home,  which  contains  all  the 
needed  comforts,  if  not  luxuries,  that  characterize  the 
rational  enjoyment  of  life  in  this  age.  Her  children 
are  grown  to  intelligent  manhood  and  womanhood, 
most  of  them  married  and  settled  in  homes  of  their 
own,  and  all  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  happiness  that 
their  education  and  moral  training  so  well  befit  them 
to  enjoy.  Mrs.  Butcher  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal 
Church,  and  is  connected  with  the  San  Jose  Grange. 

In  a  sketch  of  this  character  it  is  eminently  proper 
that  extended  notice  should  be  made  of  her  hus- 
band, Rolla  Butcher,  who  was  born  in  Wood  County, 
Virginia,  in  1825.  His  early  youth  was  spent  upon 
his  father's  farm,  but  his  ambition  led  him  to  .seek 
something  more  congenial  than  farm  life.  He  studied 
hard  to  acquire  an  education,  and  in  his  young  man- 
hood was  a  teacher  in  the  schools  of  his  section.  He 
also  engaged  in  such  mercantile  ventures  as  his  re- 
stricted capital  would  enable  him  to  carry  to  a  suc- 
cessful issue.  At  a  later  date,  he  was  quite  extensively 
engaged  in  the  lumber  business  on  the  Kanawha 
River,  in  Wood  County,  Virginia,  but  the  heavy  floods 
of  1856  and  1857,  destroying  his  dams  and  carrying 


484 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


away  his  log  booms,  entailed  such  losses  as  to  compel 
him  to  retire  from  this  pursuit.  In  1857  he  came  to 
Salt  Lake  City,  being  engaged  in  a  civil  capacity  with 
Johnston's  expedition  against  the  Mormons.  Thence 
he  came  to  California  and  entered  the  mines.  He 
was  extensively  interested  both  in  placer  and  quartz 
mining  in  Butte  County,  of  this  State,  and  was  also 
connected  with  mercantile  interests  in  Silver  City, 
Idaho.  He  was  the  discoverer  and  developer  of  the 
famous  Alice  Mine,  of  Butte,  Montana,  which  he  sold 
to  Walker  Brothers,  of  Salt  Lake  City,  and  which  was 
afterward  listed  in  the  Eastern  stock  market  at  $10,- 
000,000.  Mr.  Butcher  was  a  man  of  prominence  in 
whatever  community  he  made  his  home.  Always  at 
the  head  of  every  project  for  public  improvement,  the 
establishment  of  schools  and  the  erection  of  churches, 
ever  ready  with  extended  hand  and  open  purse  to  aid 
the  sick  and  needy,  he  was  a  man  whose  worth  was 
felt,  and  whose  character  was  respected.  Had  he  so 
chosen,  any  office  of  trust  in  the  gift  of  the  people  of 
his  community  would  have  been  at  his  command- 
He  was  elected  as  County  Commissioner  of  Silver 
Bow  County,  Montana,  and  filled  the  position  with 
great  ability  and  faithfulness,  but  failing  health,  after 
more  than  twenty  years  of  business  and  mining  pur- 
suits on  this  coast,  compelled  him  to  seek  some  more 
congenial  climate  than  was  found  in  the  Montana 
mountains.  Accordingly,  in  1881,  he  came  with  his 
family  to  this  county,  and  on  the  first  day  of  the 
succeeding  year  took  possession  of  the  estate  upon 
which  his  widow  now  lives.  He  v\as  left  but  a  short 
time  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  new  home,  his  death 
occurring  February  13,  1882. 

There  was  born  from  the  marriage  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Butcher  five  children,  as  follows:  Elizabeth  E.,  the 
wife  of  J.  A.  Harrington,  of  Butte,  Montana;  Emma 
F.,  the  wife  of  Joseph  Daft,  of  the  same  place;  Joseph- 
ine, the  wife  of  A.  C.  Hollenbcck,  of  Santa  Clara 
County;  Rolla,  and  Arthur  C. 


fAPTAIN  FRANK  DUNN.  Among  the  horti- 
culturists of  this  section  must  be  mentioned  the 
&Y  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  owns  a  very  produc- 
tive orchard  and  vineyard  tract  in  the  Braley 
District.  This  tract  is  on  the  San  Francisco  road,  at 
its  junction  with  Reed  Lane,  about  three-fourths  of  a 
mile  west  of  Lawrence.  Of  the  thirty  acres  which  it 
contains,  six  acres  arc  set  with  cherry  trees,  one  acre 
each  with  pears,  peaches,  prunes,  and  plums,  and  eight- 


een acres  are  devoted  to  the  growing  of  vines,  which 
furnish  wine  grapes  of  the  Cabernet  and  Walbeck 
varieties.  The  remainder  of  the  property  is  occupied 
by  the  fine  residence,  surrounded  by  a  beautiful  lawn 
and  substantial  out-buildings.  As  showing  the  care 
exercised  by  Captain  Dunn  over  his  fruit  interests, 
mention  may  be  made  of  the  fact  that  one  cherry  tree 
of  his  orchard  (age  unknown)  produced,  in  1887,  330 
pounds  of  marketable  fruit,  while  in  the  same  year 
several  of  his  vines  yielded  30  pounds  each  of  fine 
grapes. 

Mr.  Dunn  was  born  in  Nova  Scotia  in  1833.  He 
is  the  son  of  Thomas  and  Mary  (Dunn)  Dunn,  natives 
of  Ireland,  who  emigrated  to  Nova  Scotia  with  the 
historical  Selkirk  Colony,  in  18 12.  He  was  reared  to 
a  farmer's  life,  receiving  such  education  in  his  boyhood 
as  was  furnished  in  the  traditional  log  school-house  of 
that  early  day.  In  1843  his  father  moved  his  family 
to  Calais,  Maine,  and  in  that  seaport  the  son  con- 
tracted a  love  and  desire  for  a  seafaring  life,  which 
lasted  for  more  than  thirty-six  years.  When  but 
twelve  years  of  age,  he  commenced  his  life  on  the 
rolling  deep,  by  making  his  first  voyage  as  a  sailor  in 
the  schooner  Mary  Chase,  Capt.  George  Knight  com- 
manding. Two  years  later  he  enlisted  in  the  United 
Stated  Navy  for  service  in  the  Mexican  War,  as  a 
boy  in  the  sloop-of-war  Saratoga,  and  shortly  afterward 
was  transferred  to  the  sloop-of-war  Portsmouth,  where 
he  rapidly  rose  in  his  profession,  being  made  Cox- 
swain of  the  Commodore's  barge.  He  participated  in 
the  bombardment  of  Vera  Cruz,  and  his  bravery  and 
conscientious  discharge  of  every  duty  won  for  him 
much  favorable  comment.  At  the  expiration  of  his 
service  in  the  navy,  he  was  highly  complimented  by 
Commodore  Francis  H.  Gregory  for  his  exemplary 
conduct  throughout  the  term  of  his  service.  Later  he 
entered  the  Merchant  Marine  Service,  and,  as  before, 
was  most  successful,  being,  at  the  age  of  nineteen 
years.  Chief  Mate  of  a  large  clipper  ship.  He  was  ad- 
vanced rapidly,  and,  when  he  reached  twenty-six 
years  of  age,  occupied  the  proud  position  of  Captain 
of  one  of  the  finest  ships  of  the  period.  In  1861  the 
love  of  change  led  him  to  China,  where  he  entered  the 
employ  of  the  old  house  of  Russell  &  Co.,  of  Shanghai. 
There  he  remained  for  two  years,  and  then  went  into 
the  employ  of  the  Japanese  Government,  as  com- 
mander of  steamers  in  the  transport  service.  He  was 
also  in  charge  of  a  Government  dispatch  boat  during 
the  Civil  War  in  Japan,  after  which  he  commanded 
the  Tokio  Mam,  the  pioneer  steamer  of  the  "Three 
Diamond  Line,"  connecting  the  Pacific  Mail  Steam- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


485 


ship  Company  (mail  line),  with  Shanghai,  through  the 
inland  Sea  of  Japan,  in  which  service  he  remained  un- 
til the  assassination  of  the  Japanese  Prime  Minister, 
Okubo,  who  was  the  founder  and  promoter  of  this 
line.  The  death  of  Okubo  caused  a  change  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  company.  This  occurred  in  1878, 
and  was  the  cause  of  Captain  Dunn's  return  to  the 
United  States.  Landing  at  San  Francisco,  he  visited 
Santa  Clara  County,  and,  struck  with  its  beauty  and 
fertility,  he  purchased  the  property  upon  which  he 
now  makes  his  home.  But,  having  spent  so  many 
years  in  change  and  adventure,  he  was  not  satisfied 
with  the  quiet  life  on  a  farm,  and  after  about  a  year's 
residence  here  returned  to  China,  and  entered  into 
the  employ  of  the  China  Merchants'  Steam  Navigation 
Company,  engaging  in  the  survey  and  sounding  of  the 
Hue  River,  the  entrance  to  the  capital  of  Anam.  He 
was  also  sent  to  Scotland,  to  superintend  the  construc- 
tion of  a  steamer  suitable  for  the  Anam  trade,  with 
which  he  returned  to  China.  This  steamer  he  com- 
manded until  the  advent  of  the  French  in  the  Ana- 
mite  War,  which  compelled  the  withdrawal  of  the 
steamers  and  the  abandonment  of  the  enterprise. 
The  captain  then  returned  to  Santa  Clara,  and  took 
up  a  permanent  residence  upon  his  estate.  An  intel- 
ligent, energetic,  public-spirited  citizen,  he  is  one  of 
the  best  and  most  favorably  known  men  of  the  section 
in  which  he  resides.  A  large  experience  of  affairs, 
and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  men  and  things  gained 
in  travel  and  residence  at  home  and  abroad,  make  him 
a  valuable  acquisition  to  the  social  and  secret  societies 
to  which  he  belongs.  He  is  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Lawrence  Social  Club,  having  served  as  its  President 
during  the  first  two  years  of  its  existence.  He  was 
also  one  of  the  promoters  of  the  Horticultural  Hall 
Association  of  San  Jose,  and  since  its  organization 
has  served  continuously  as  its  Secretary.  He  is  con- 
nected with  the  Masonic  Lodge,  and  also  with  the 
San  Jose  Grange,  in  which  he  has  served  one  term  as 
Master. 

-»— ^^^-<§^-^§^'t :  "^ 

.g^HATCHER  F.  BARNES.  Among  the  large 
sjs  land  owners  of  the  county  we  mention  the  sub- 
&'r  ject  of  this  sketch,  whose  fine  farm  of  260  acres 
in  the  Alviso  District  is  located  one-half  mile 
north  of  the  Alviso  and  Milpitas  road,  and  about  two 
and  one-half  miles  east  of  Alviso.  An  orchard,  bear- 
ing apples,  pears,  and  quinces,  covers  eight  acres,  while 


nine  acres  produce  strawberries  of  the  Sharpless  and 
Cheney  varieties.  Ten  acres  are  devoted  to  asparagus, 
and  the  remainder  of  this  large  farm  is  used  for  the 
raising  of  hay  and  grain,  and  for  stock  purposes.  Mr. 
Barnes  is  greatly  interested  in  stock-raising,  particu- 
larly in  the  improvement  of  the  trotting  stock  of  the 
county,  to  accomplish  which  he  is  breeding  from 
several  thoroughbred  marcs. 

The  water  required  for  irrigation,  stock,  and  other 
purposes,  is  furnished  by  four  artesian  wells,  two  of 
which  flow  two  and  one-half  inches  over  a  seven-inch 
pipe. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  dates  his  birth  in  Cayuga 
County,  New  York,  on  the  seventeenth  of  April,  1828. 
His  parents  were  Luther  and  Zipporah  (Ferris)  Barnes, 
who  were  residents  and  natives  of  the  place  of  his 
birth.  He  was  reared  as  a  farmer,  and  in  his  youth 
received  a  good  practical  education.  In  1852  he 
crossed  the  plains  to  California,  bringing  with  him 
considerable  stock.  He  reached  Oroville,  Butte 
County,  on  the  first  of  September  of  that  year,  and  at 
once  proceeded  to  Marysville,  Yuba  County.  There 
he  disposed  of  his  stock,  and  after  a  short  stay  in  Sac- 
ramento went  to  the  mines  of  El  Dorado  County, 
where  he  spent  one  year.  He  then  engaged  in  farm- 
ing and  stock-raising  in  Monterey  County,  and  there 
made  his  home  until,  in  1856,  he  removed  to  Santa 
Clara  County,  and  located  near  Alviso,  upon  land 
rented  from  the  Alviso  estate.  This  land  he  cultivated 
as  a  grain  ranch  for  about  four  years,  and  then  pur- 
chased and  took  possession  of  the  land  heretofore 
described,  to  which  he  has  since  given  his  entire 
attention. 

In  May,  1850,  the  subject  of  our  sketch  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Mary  Van  Wie,  the  daughter 
of  Henry  and  Lydia  (Conger)  Van  Wie,  residents  of 
Cayuga  County,  New  York.  They  have  two  daugh- 
ters,— Imogene  and  Eudora.  The  former  is  the  wife 
of  Rufus  Fisk,  formerly  of  Santa  Clara  County,  but 
now  a  resident  of  San  Luis  Obispo  County.  The  lat- 
ter married  Edward  Crossette,  of  San  Francisco. 

Mr.  Barnes  is  an  educated  and  intelligent  man,  one 
who,  by  energy  and  the  practice  of  good  business  prin- 
ciples, has  won  much  success  as  an  agriculturist  and 
man  of  business.  He  has  accumulated  a  fair  share  of 
this  world's  goods,  and  has  justly  earned  the  esteem 
of  his  associates.  Politically  he  is  connected  with  the 
Republican  part}',  taking  a  deep  interest  in  all  public 
affairs.  During  the  dark  days  of  the  Rebellion  he 
was  made  Captain  of  the  Alviso  Rifles,  a  position 
which  he  retained  until  their  disbandment,  in  1866. 


486 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


^AVID  HOBSON.  Special  mention  should  be 
G^  made  of  the  rich  and  productive  farm  of  the 
J^  above-named  owner.  This  tract  of  land,  175 
acres  in  extent,  is  situated  on  the  south  side  of 
the  San  Jose  and  Berryessa  School  Districts,  about 
three  miles  northeast  of  San  Jose.  Upon  the  twenty 
acres  devoted  to  orchard  culture  he  has  the  following 
trees:  600  pear,  500  apricot,  300  cherry,  200  apple, 
400  Silver  prune,  and  100  French  prune.  The  re- 
mainder of  his  land  is  used  for  the  production  of  grain 
and  hay,  and  for  raising  stock.  Of  the  latter  he  has 
some  fine  specimens  of  full-blooded  Durham,  Holstein, 
and  Jersey  cattle.  Upon  this  place  are  to  be  found 
some  of  the  finest  surface  wells  in  this  section,  fur- 
nishing all  the  water  required  for  stock  and  other 
purposes. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  North  Caro- 
lina, February  20,  1822.  His  parents  were  Stephen 
and  Mary  (Bond)  Hobson,  both  natives  of  that  State. 
His  father  was  engaged  in  various  enterprises,  among 
which  were  extensive  works  for  the  smelting  of  iron, 
and  a  flour  mill.  A  portion  of  his  time  was  also 
given  to  agriculture,  and  to  this  industry  the  subject 
of  our  sketch  was  reared.  Mr.  Hobson  received  bst 
little  education  in  his  youth,  but  remedied  this  defect 
when  he  became  his  own  master.  In  his  young  man- 
hood he  was  engaged  in  his  father's  smelting  works 
as  a  "hammer  "  man,  and  also  held  other  positions  in 
the  iron  manufactory. 

The  great  emigration  to  this  coast  decided  him  to 
seek  his  fortune  in  the  "Golden  State,"  and  accord- 
ingly, in  1850,  he  started  across  the  plains.  The  train 
to  which  he  was  attached  made  but  slow  progress. 
The  emigration  was  so  large  during  this  year  that  it 
was  impossible  to  keep  on  the  trail.  Everj'thing  like 
vegetation  was  swept  clean  for  miles  each  side  of  the 
trail,  and,  in  order  to  supply  the  stock  with  feed,  it 
was  necessary  to  make  miles  of  deviation.  The  ferry 
on  the  North  Fork  of  the  Platte  River  was  worked  to 
its  full  extent  for  weeks.  Six  hundred  wagons  a  day 
were  ferried  at  this  point  for  six  weeks  ! 

Mr.  Hobson  reached  Sacramento,  after  a  long  and 
tedious  trip,  on  the  fourth  of  October,  1850,  and  soon 
after  entered  the  mines  in  Tuolumne  County.  He 
followed  mining  with  varying  success,  until  1853, 
when  he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County.  Several 
months  were  spent  in  working  in  the  Redwoods,  and 
at  farming.  He  then  purchased  the  lands  before  de- 
scribed, and  began  their  cultivation.  Having  tired  of 
farming,  he  leturncd,  in  1855,  to  the  mines,  and  there 
remained  four  years.     In    1S59  he   went  back  to  his 


farm,  and  spent  the  next  year  in  its  improvement, 
setting  out  trees,  etc.  During  the  following  year  he 
spent  some  months  in  the  mines.  However,  this  was 
his  last  experience  in  mining,  for  since  that  time  he 
has  devoted  himself,  with  great  success,  to  agricultural 
pursuits. 

Mr.  Hobson  is  well  known  and  much  esteemed  in 
the  community  in  which  he  resides.  He  is  a  consist- 
ent member  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  his  daily 
life  is  a  noble  exemplification  of  the  tenets  of  their 
belief.  He  is  a  strong  temperance  advocate,  and  is  a 
member  of  Eden  Division,  No.  5,  Sons  of  Temperance. 
Politically  he  has  heretofore  been  a  Republican,  but 
now  advocates  the  principles  of  the  Prohibition  party. 
He  is  a  strong  supporter  of  all  public  measures  tend- 
ing to  advance  the  welfare  and  elevate  the  morals  of 
his  section  and  county. 

In  1866  he  married  Miss  Mary  E.  Langensee,  the 
daughter  of  Charles  Ludwick  and  Christiana  B.  Lan- 
gensee, natives  of  Germany  but  residents  of  Santa 
Clara  County.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hobson  have  ten  chil- 
dren living.  Their  names  are:  Annie  C,  Philip, 
David  W.,  Alfred,  Elvira  E.,  Mary  K,  Charles  S., 
Jesse  v.,  Franklin  B.,  and  Ruth  Isabelle. 


^HARLES  INGLESON  is  one  of  the  pioneers 
^^  of  Santa  Clara  County,  having  been  a  resident  of 
(gjt  it  since  1850.  His  farm,  in  the  Alviso  District,  is 
located  on  the  Alviso  and  Milpitas  road,  about 
one  and  one-half  miles  east  of  Alviso.  His  fifty-two 
acres  are  devoted  chiefly  to  the  growing  of  grain  and 
hay,  although  a  small  portion  is  used  for  a  small  fam- 
ily orchard;  twelve  acres  produce  strawberries  of  the 
Sharpless,  Cheney,  and  the  Queen  varieties,  and  two 
acres  raise  vegetables.  A  goodly  supply  of  water  is 
furnished  by  two  artesian  wells.  A  comfortable  cot- 
tage home,  with  substantial  out-buildings,  corresponds 
with  the  prosperous  condition  of  the  farm. 

Mr.  Ingleson  was  born  in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  in 
1823,  and  is  the  son  of  Robert  and  Mary  (Ogier)  In- 
gleson, residents  of  Maryland,  but  natives  of  England. 
The  first  years  of  his  manhood  were  spent  in  Balti- 
more, in  the  work  to  which  he  was  trained  in  his 
youth — that  of  gardening.  The  gold  excitement  of 
1849  was  not  without  its  effect  upon  his  after  life, 
for  he  determined  to  visit  this  State,  and  accordingly, 
in  May,  1850,  he  embarked  at  New  York  for  Cali- 
fornia, coming  by  the  Panama  route,  and  arriving  at 
San  Francisco  on  the  sixth  of  August.    He  visited  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


487 


mining  districts,  but  failing  health  necessitated  his  re- 
turn to  the  city,  and  from  there  he  came  to  Santa 
Clara  County  in  October  of  that  year.  Here  for  five 
years  he  farmed  on  shares  for  Mr.  A.  H.  H.  Hatter, 
on  what  is  now  the  Ogier  homestead.  In  1855  he 
bought  a  tract  of  200  acres  on  the  San  Jose  and 
Alviso  road,  about  five  and  one-half  miles  north  of 
San  Jose,  and  there  engaged  in  the  raising  of  stock. 
During  the  following  year  he  bored  an  artesian  well, 
it  being  one  of  the  first  in  the  county. 

Mr.  Ingleson  was  united  in  marriage,  in  1857,  with 
Miss  Louisa  Bergan,  the  daughter  of  Joshua  and  Mary 
Bergan,  of  Baltimore.  Five  years  after  his  marriage 
Mr.  Ingleson  sold  his  ranch  on  the  Alviso  road,  and 
from  that  time  until  1874  cultivated  and  lived  upon 
rented  lands.  In  the  year  last  mentioned  he  pur- 
chased and  took  possession  of  his  present  home,  and 
has  since  made  its  cultivation  his  business.  His  long 
residence  in  the  county  has  made  his  associates  thor- 
oughly acquainted  with  him,  and  he  is  known  as  a 
successful  agriculturist,  a  man  of  honor  in  business 
affairs,  and  a  useful  citizen. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ingleson  have  eight  children.  Their 
names  are:  Mary,  the  wife  of  Michael  Harper,  living 
in  Santa  Clara  County;  Robert  and  Charles,  resi- 
dents of  this  county;  John,  married  and  residing  in 
San  Luis  Obispo  County;  Annie  Elizabeth,  James, 
Margaret  and  Clara,  who  reside  on  the  old  homestead 
with  their  parents. 


fCHUYLER  B.  DAVIS,  deceased.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  was  born  in  North  Carolina,  De- 
A  cember  24,  1824.  His  father.  Col.  P.  I.  Davis, 
was  a  veteran  of  the  Mexican  War,  and  a  prom- 
inent man  in  the  different  sections  in  which  he  lived. 
Mr.  Davis  received  his  schooling  and  his  education 
as  a  farmer  at  the  place  of  his  birth.  In  1836  he 
commenced  a  three  years'  course  at  the  Estabrook 
College,  after  the  completion  of  which  he  engaged  in 
teaming  between  Knoxville  and  Augusta,  Georgia. 
After  spending  about  two  years  in  this  occupation,  he 
took  charge  of  a  toll-road,  owned  by  his  father.  In 
1842  he  accompanied  his  father's  family  in  their  em- 
igration to  Missouri,  where  he  followed  agriculture 
for  a  time.  He  engaged  in  cattle  dealing,  selling 
largely,  in  1845,  to  Samuels  and  Hoynes,  Liverpool 
packers.  During  the  following  year  he  continued 
the   business   with   the    United    States  Government, 


filling  large  contracts  for  beef  cattle  to  be  used  in  the 
Mexican  campaign.  He  also  superintended  the  herd- 
ing and  driving  of  these  cattle  to  Santa  Fe.  Return- 
ing home  from  this  trip,  he  engaged  in  various  pur- 
suits until  1850,  when  he  crossed  the  plains  to  Cali- 
fornia, following  his  father's  family,  who  had  come  to 
the  State  the  preceding  year.  His  overland  trip,  with 
emigrant  train,  was  unaccompanied  by  any  startling 
events,  with  the  exception  of  some  pillaging  by  the 
Indians,  who  levied  upon  them  fijr  forced  contribu- 
tions of  clothing,  provisions,  cattle,  etc.,  the  smallncss 
of  the  party  being  such  as  to  render  submission  on 
their  part  necessary. 

Upon  his  arrival  in  California  he  proceeded  directly 
to  Santa  Clara  County,  arriving  here  September  8, 
1850,  thus  becoming  one  of  its  early  settlers.  In  the 
following  year  Mr.  Davis  returned  to  Missouri,  leaving 
San  Francisco  on  the  second  of  September,  by  way 
of  the  Panama  route.  The  steamer  upon  which  he 
took  passage  was  wrecked  off  Cape  St.  Lucas,  and 
was  towed  into  the  port  Acapulco.  Thence  he  pro- 
ceeded to  the  city  of  Mexico  by  mule  train,  thence 
by  stage  to  Vera  Cruz,  thence  by  water  to  New  Or- 
leans, going  from  that  city  directly  to  his  home,  which 
he  reached  on  the  sixth  of  November  after  a  long  and 
adventurous  journey. 

Early  in  1852,  accompanied  by  his  family,  he  again 
made  the  overland  trip  to  California,  arriving  at 
Placerville  July  17,  whence  he  went  directly  to  Santa 
Clara  County.  Settling  his  family  in  the  village  of 
Santa  Clara,  he  purchased  a  farm  on  the  Alviso  road 
about  a  mile  southwest  of  that  place,  which  he  culti- 
vated with  success  until  1857,  when  he  purchased  and 
established  his  residence  upon  the  land  upon  which 
his  widow  now  makes  her  home.  By  intelligent  and 
well-directed  efforts,  he  brought  the  estate  to  its  pres- 
ent high  state  of  cultivation.  An  energetic  and  cult- 
ured man,  he  was  greatly  esteemed  by  his  associates 
and  by  every  member  of  the  community  in  which  he 
lived.  As  one  of  its  pioneers,  he  was  always  deeply 
interested  in  the  development  of  the  interests  and 
products  of  this  county.  In  186S  he  established  large 
grain  warehouses  at  Lawrence  Station,  on  the  South- 
ern Pacific  Railroad,  thus  affording  storage  and  ready 
shipment  for  the  products  of  that  section  of  the  county. 
He  successfully  conducted  this  enterprise  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  February  27,  1882,  as  the  re- 
sult of  a  fall  from  the  roof  of  his  warehouse,  suddenly 
ending  a  useful  career  while  he  was  yet  in  the  prime 
of  his  life, 


488 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  '' GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


In  1843  Mr.  Davis  married  Miss  Lucinda  F. 
Beaty  (a  sketch  of  whom  is  given  below).  From  this 
marriage  were  born  three  children:  Mary  E.,  mar- 
ried Edwin  Baker,  at  this  time  (1888)  a  real  estate 
agent  in  San  Luis  Obispo,  California;  Emma  H.  is 
the  wife  of  Ora  N.  Kent,  now  a  resident  of  Boston, 
Massachusetts,  and  one  of  its  most  prominent  mer- 
chants, and  a  descendant  of  the  old  house  of  Kent, 
so  well  known  throughout  New  England;  Charles  C. 
died  in    Santa    Clara    County,  November    18,    1887. 

Lucinda  F.  Davis,  the  widow  of  Schuyler  B.  Davis, 
resides  on  the  San  Francisco  road,  about  two  and 
one-half  miles  west  of  Santa  Clara,  and  is  the  owner 
of  an  extensive  farm  of  140  acres,  upon  which  she 
has  a  pleasant  and  commodious  residence,  surrounded 
by  well-ordered  out-buildings.  Formerly  the  land 
was  principally  devoted  to  grain  and  hay  raising,  with 
a  small  acreage  in  fruit  trees,  but  of  late  years,  since 
her  husband's  death,  Mrs.  Davis  has  rented  quite  a 
large  tract  to  C.  C.  Morse,  of  the  Pacific  Seed  Gar- 
dens, whose  lands  adjoin  this  farm.  She  is  thus 
afforded  much  needed  rest  from  the  cares  and  labors 
attendant  upon  the  successful  cultivation  of  the  ranch. 
Mrs.  Davis  was  born  in  Tennessee,  in  1825,  being  the 
daughter  of  John  and  Julia  (Carter)  Beaty.  Her 
father  was  a  native  of  Tennessee,  while  her  mother 
was  born  in  Virginia.  When  she  was  very  young, 
her  parents  became  pioneers  of  Chariton  County, 
Missouri.  In  1843  (as  stated  above)  she  married 
Schuyler  B.  Davis,  and,  through  their  long  married 
life,  shared  with  him  all  the  trials  and  disappoint- 
ments, as  well  as  enjoyed  the  success  they  achieved, 
finally  reaping  the  well-earned  reward  of  their  com- 
bined labors  in  the  tranquil  enjoyments  of  the  com- 
forts and  even  luxuries  of  her  beautiful  home. 


-# 


.^ACOB  H.  LORD  was  born  in  Penobscot  County, 
®^  Maine,  in  1829.  His  parents,  Tobias  and  Mary 
^  A.  (Fowler)  Lord,  were  natives  of  that  State. 
His  early  youth  was  spent  on  a  farm,  but  at  the  age 
of  fourteen  years  he  entered  the  lumber  woods,  and 
for  years  was  practically  schooled  in  the  hardships 
and  work  incident  to  a  lumberman's  life.  In  1850  he 
entered  into  business  upon  his  own  account  in  the 
lumber  districts  of  his  native  State.  Desirous  of  a 
larger  field  of  operations,  in  1854  he  located  in  Wis- 
consin and  entered  into  the  lumber  business  on  the 
St.    Croix    River,    locating    himself    at    River   Falls, 


Pierce  County,  where  he  was  also  engaged  in  mercan- 
tile pursuits.  In  1881  he  entered  into  partnership 
with  his  son,  Hersie  F.  Lord.  In  1882  Mr.  Lord 
sold  out  his  lumber  interests,  and  devoted  his  atten- 
tion to  the  prosecution  of  his  mercantile  pursuits  un- 
til 1887,  when  he  sold  out  his  store  and  came  to  Cal- 
ifornia, locating  in  San  Jose.  A  long  life  devoted  to 
business,  in  which  he  has  accumulated  a  fortune,  has 
entitled  Mr.  Lord  to  a  lit'e  of  ease,  and  in  seeking 
San  Jose  he  has  availed  himself  of  its  delightful 
climate,  while  still  surrounded  by  the  luxuries  and 
life  in  a  city.  At  No.  468  South  Second  Street  he 
owns  a  fine  cottage  home,  where  he  resides.  He  is 
also  the  owner  of  twenty  acres  of  land  adjoining  the 
property  of  his  son,  Hersie  F.  Lord,  on  the  Hostetter 
road,  where  he  has  a  cottage  home.  This  place,  in 
connection  with  his  son's,  is  known  as  the  "  Minnesota 
Twins,"  and  in  its  products,  etc.,  is  almost  an  exact 
counterpart  of  that  owned  by  his  son,  a  description 
of  which  appears  in  this  work. 

In  1 85 1  Mr.  Lord  married  Miss  Caroline  Little- 
field,  the  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Dolly  Littlefield, 
who  resided  in  Hancock  County,  Maine.  From  this 
marriage  four  children  are  living,  viz.:  Hersie  F.  (a 
sketch  of  whom  is  in  this  volume),  Tobias,  who  mar- 
ried Miss  May  Hamilton,  and  resides  in  San  Jose; 
Alice,  who  married  John  Moe,  residing  at  Berryessa, 
Santa  Clara  County;  and  Flora  D.,  who  married 
Norval  McGregor,  residing  in  San  Jose.  Mr.  Lord 
is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  He  is  a  Democrat  in 
politics,  and,  although  never  seeking  for  political  hon- 
ors, was  elected  a  Supervisor  of  Pierce  County,  Wis- 
consin, during  his  residence  there,  as  also  the  Chair- 
man of  the  Town  Board  of  River  Falls. 


->H§<^-f<-^~ 


liOSE  J.  BERREYESSA.  Among  the  historical 
^  families  of  Santa  Clara  County  are  the  Berrey- 
^  essas,  to  which  the  subject  of  this  sketch  belongs. 
He  dates  his  birth  November  9,  1841,  at  the  old  mis- 
sion of  San  Jose.  His  parents  were  Carlos  Antonio 
and  Josefa  (Galindo)  Berreyessa.  His  grand'ather, 
Nicholas  Berreyessa,  emigrated  from  Mexico  to  Santa 
Clara  County  over  100  years  ago.  His  mother's 
father,  Crisostomo  Galindo,  who  died  in  1877  at  an 
advanced  age  of  106  years,  was  born  in  Santa  Clara 
County,  his  father  having  emigrated  from  Mexico 
prior  to  the  establishment  of  the  missions  in  this 
county.     Mr.  Berreyessa  was  reared  to  farm  life  and 


BIO  GRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


489 


stock-raising;  his  education  was  entirely  neglected, 
but  in  later  years  he  educated  himself.  After  start- 
ing in  life  for  himself,  Mr.  Berreyessa  was  not  satis- 
fied with  the  life  of  a  farmer,  and  engaged  in  other 
pursuits,  among  which  was  that  of  threshing  grain, 
and  by  his  industry  and  economy,  combined  with  his 
acquired  business  habits,  was  able  to  purchase  a 
threshing-machine,  engine,  etc.,  and  for  many  years 
has  been  actively  engaged  in  this  calling. 

In  1873  Mr.  Berreyessa  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Helena  Agnes  Davis,  the  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Ellen  (Herron)  Davis.  Her  father  was 
a  native  of  England,  but  at  the  time  of  her  marriage 
was  a  resident  of  Virginia  City,  Nevada.  Her  mother 
was  of  Irish  descent;  she  died  when  Mrs.  Berreyessa 
was  but  three  years  of  age.  From  the  marriage  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Berreyessa  four  children  have  been 
born,  viz.:  Josephine  Agnes,  December  31,  1876; 
Mary  Catherine,  February  13,  1879;  Mary  Elizabeth, 
March  20,  1881;  and  Frederick,  November  10,  1885. 
Mr.  Berreyessa  is  a  consistent  Catholic.  In  politics 
he  is  a  strong  Republican,  one  who  takes  an  intelli- 
gent interest  in  the  political  affairs  of  his  county. 
He  is  among  the  few  representatives  of  the  old  Cal- 
ifornian  or  Mexican  families  that  have  been  able  to 
thoroughly  Americanize  themselves.  He  is  deeply  in- 
terested in  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  county, 
and  is  ever  ready  to  render  all  the  aid  in  his  power  to 
any  enterprise  for  the  advancement  of  the  section  in 
which  he  resides.  Mr.  Berreyessa  is  the  owner  of,  and 
resides  upon,  a  tract  of  thirty-five  acres,  situated  in 
the  Berreyessa  School  District,  on  the  Schweigert 
road.  This  is  mostly  hill  land,  and  is  devoted  to  hay, 
grain,  and  stock-raising.  He  has  some  fine  Norman 
horses,  though  the  greater  part  of  his  stock  is  of  the 
common  breeds. 


IgUGH  A.  LEIGH,  one  of  the  leading  horticul- 
^^^  turists  of  the  Cambrian  District,  residing  at  the 
^  head  of  Leigh  Avenue,  near  the  old  bed  of  the 
Los  Gatos  Creek,  was  born  on  the  island  of  Jersey, 
in  the  English  Channel,  December  21,  1855.  His 
father.  Dr.  Alexander  Leigh,  was  Surgeon  of  the 
Sixtieth  Rifles  of  the  Queen's  Army  for  many  years, 
and  his  father  had  been  an  army  surgeon  during  his 
active  life.  Dr.  Alexander  Leigh  resigned  hi^  com- 
mission for  a  more  quiet  practice  on  the  beautiful 
Jersey  Island.  There  his  useful  life  ended  in  1S70. 
His  widow  (formerly  Miss  D,  H.  Godfrey)  was  left 
62 


with  ample  means  to  care  for  herself  and  her  two 
children,  Hugh  A.  and  Teresa. 

Before  his  father's  death,  Hugh  A.  Leigh,  whose 
name  heads  this  sketch,  became  enamored  of  the  sea, 
and  entered  upon  a  seafaring  life,  which  he  followed 
until  his  determination  to  make  this  State  his  home 
became    fixed.     This  determination  was  reached    in 

1872,  when,  upon  the  arrival  of  his  vessel  at  San 
Francisco,  from  Hongkong,  he  employed  his  leisure 
time  in  looking  over  the  country,  with  which  he  was 

'  delighted.  Upon  the  arrival  of  his  vessel  at  England, 
he  left  the  service,  and,  after  spending  two  months 
with  his  mother  at  his  childhood  home,  he  re-embarked 
for  New  York  city.  Thence  he  went  to  San  Fran- 
cisco,  reaching  that  city  during  Christmas  week,  in 

1873.  For  a  short  time  after  his  arrival,  Mr.  Leigh 
made  his  temporary  home  at  Mountain  View,  in  this 
county.  In  July,  1874,  his  mother,  Mrs.  D.  H.  Leigh, 
with  her  daughter,  came  from  England  and  joined 
him.  They  then  bought  180  acres  of  choice  fruit 
land,  in  the  Cambrian  District,  where  they  now  make 
their  home.  For  this  property,  upon  which  Mr.  Leigh 
and  his  mother  yet  reside,  they  paid  $16,300  in  cash. 
The  land  was  under  cultivation,  and  had  been  devoted 
to  grain-raising  and  general  farming  for  several  years 
before  they  purchased  it.  Mr.  Leigh  followed  the 
same  system,  but,  not  being  satisfied  with  the  results, 
he  began  tree-planting  in  1881,  when  an  orchard  of 
fifteen  acres  was  set.  To  this  thirty  acres  was  added 
in  1883,  twenty  acres  during  the  following  year,  and 
during  the  succeeding  period  the  size  of  the  orchard 
has  been  increased  more  or  less  each  year.  At  the 
present  time  (1888)  the  orchard  comprises  sixty  acres, 
as  the  fifteen  acres  planted  in  1881  were  sold  in 
the  autumn  of  the  following  year,  at  $300  per  acre. " 
During  the  same  season,  seven  ten-acre  tracts  and  one 
tract  of  five  acres  were  sold,  at  $200  per  acre.  A 
twenty-acre  tract  has  also  been  disposed  of  All  of 
the  property  which  has  been  sold  is  now  covered  with 
flourishing  orchards.  The  homestead,  which  is  rightly 
considered  one  of  the  finest  horticultural  possessions 
in  the  district,  now  comprises  seventy  acres,  of  which 
(as  before  stated)  sixty  acres  are  devoted  to  fruit 
culture.  Prunes  and  apricots  are  the  leading  fruits, 
while  peaches,  pears,  and  a  variety  of  plums  are  found 
on  the  place.  Twenty  English  walnut  trees,  thirty- 
three  years  old,  add  the  grace  of  their  handsome  foli- 
age to  the  orchard.  In  1 8S7  forty-nine  tons  of  apri- 
cots were  gathered  from  1,000  trees,  of  which  one-half 
were  three  and  one-half  four  years  old.  This  large 
yield  realized  nearly  $1,500.     During  the  same  .season, 


490 


PEN  PICTURES  FPOM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


$300  worth  of  fruit  was  sold  from  180  peach  trees. 
Mr.  Leigh  has  had  much  to  do  with  advancing  the 
horticultural  interests  of  his  district,  and  his  fine  or- 
chard shows  to  the  best  advantage  the  capability  of 
the  soil  of  Santa  Clara  County  for  fruit  culture. 

At  San  Jose,  on  the  tenth  of  February,  18S1,  Mr. 
Leigh  married  Miss  Agnes  McBain,  a  native  of  Que- 
bec, Canada  East.  They  have  two  children:  Alice 
D.,  who  was  born  November  11,  1883,  and  May  Ag- 
nes, born  May  i,  1888.  Mr.  Leigh's  only  sister, 
Theresa,  is  now  the  wife  of  George  Rodgers. 

Mr.  Leigh  is  a  member  of  San  Jose  Lodge,  No. 
10,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  of  Howard  Chapter.  He  is  also 
identified  with  the  British  Benevolent  Society  at  San 
Francisco.  The  Leighs  are  all  members  of  the 
Church  of  England. 


f|AMES  WILLIAM  JOHNSON,  residing  on  the 
^"^  Saratoga  and  Alviso  road,  in  the  Millikin  District, 
^!^  is  the  owner  of  a  farm  of  eighty  acres,  twelve 
acres  of  which  is  in  vineyard,  containing  about  an 
equal  proportion  of  Mission  and  Charbano  grapes. 
The  remainder  of  the  land  is  devoted  to  the  raising  of 
hay  and  grain,  and  such  stock  as  is  needed  for  farm 
operations. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Washington 
County,  Missouri,  in  1828.  He  is  the  son  of  James 
Clarkson  and  Susannah  Johnson,  both  natives  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  descendants  of  old  families  of  that  State. 
They  removed  to  Missouri  at  an  early  date,  and  were 
among  the  pioneers  of  the  county  in  which  they  re- 
sided. Mr.  Johnson's  early  life  was  spent  upon  his 
father's  farm,  and  was  devoted  to  such  tasks  as  usually 
fall  to  the  lot  of  youths  in  his  situation.  For  school- 
ing he  was  dependent  upon  the  primitive  schools  of 
that  date  and  place.  Whatever  may  have  been  the 
deficiencies  of  his  early  education,  his  energy  and 
natural  intelligence  have  enabled  him  successfully  to 
overcome  them,  and  have  thus  insured  him  the  success 
in  life  and  the  accumulation  of  this  world's  goods  that 
are  acquired  by  those  who  start  with  the  prestige  that 
high  educational  advantages  give.  In  1849  he,  ac- 
companied by  his  father,  started  across  the  plains  for 
California,  and  after  months  of  slow  and  toiling  travel 
with  ox  teams,  undergoing  the  fatigue  and  hardships 
attendant  upon  this  emigration,  they  arrived  at  their 
destination  in  September  of  that  year,  thus  enrolling 
themselves  among  the  pioneers  of  this  great  State. 
Immediately  after  their  arrival,  they  located  in  what 


is  now  known  as  El  Dorado  County,  and,  with  the 
gold  fever  commenced  an  active  pursuit  of  the  shining 
dust,  in  which  occupation  they  were  engaged,  with 
varying  success,  until  1856,  when  J.  W.  Johnson 
ceased  his  mining  operations  and  came  to  Santa 
Clara  County.  Here  he  purchased  land,  and  took  up 
his  residence  in  the  locality  now  occupied  by  him. 

In  1858  Mr.  Johnson  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Elizabeth  England,  daughter  of  John  England, 
of  Crawford  County,  Missouri.  From  this  marriage 
five  children  have  been  born,  whose  names  and  ages 
at  the  present  time  (1888)  are  as  follows:  John  Hunter, 
aged  twenty-eight  years,  married  Miss  Lois  Hartwick, 
of  Santa  Clara  County;  Mary  Ann,  twenty-five  }-ears 
of  age,  the  wife  of  Charles  E.  Mallette,  of  British 
Columbia;  Kitty  Laura,  twenty-two  years  of  age; 
Joseph  Beverly,  twenty-one  years  of  age;  and  Willie 
Rowe,  sixteen  years  of  age. 

In  1863  his  father  left  the  mines  and  came  and 
resided  with  him  two  years,  and  then  went  East. 
He  died  in  1S74;  his  mother  died  two  years  later. 


PDWARD  BARRON.  One  of  the  beautiful 
places  of  Santa  Clara  County  is  the  farm  resi- 
"sn  dence  of  Edward  Barron,  in  Fremont  Town- 
ship. The  entire  tract  consists  of  352  acres,  and 
of  this  fifty  acres  is  laid  out  as  a  park,  and  embraces 
the  residence  grounds.  The  buildings  are  beautiful  in 
design  and  costly  in  construction.  There  is  an  or- 
chard of  ten  acres,  planted  in  pears,  apricots,  peaches, 
French  prunes,  and  apples. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  native  of  the  south 
of  Ireland,  where  he  was  born  June  24,  1831.  Coming 
to  the  United  States  in  1S47,  he  made  New  York  his 
home  until  November  185  i,  when  he  started  forCah- 
fornia  via  Panama,  and  arrived  January  i,  1852.  Not 
long  after  landing  in  San  Francisco  he  commenced 
dealing  in  live  stock,  and  so  continued  until  i860, 
when  he  retired  with  an  ample  fortune.  After  pay- 
ing a  short  visit  to  the  Eastern  States,  in  1861  Mr. 
Barron  returned  to  California  to  find  that  the  Com- 
stock  Lode,  Virginia  City,  Nevada,  had  been  dis- 
covered; he  thereupon  formed  a  connection  with  some 
others  interested  in  the  principal  mines,  and  com- 
menced their  development,  an  rs.sociation  he  main- 
tained until  the  year  1876,  he  being  in  these  years 
the  owner  of  a  quartz-mill  and  ledge  himself,  and 
President  of  such  well-known  mines  as  the  Gould  & 


'(/^t. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


491 


Curry,  Consolidated  Virginia,  and  California,  and  this, 
too,  at  a  time  when  they  were  paying  dividends  of 
over  $2,000,000  per  month.  In  1876  Mr.  Barron  re- 
signed these  offices  and  retired  from  an  active  par- 
ticipation in  business  affairs.  He  then  set  out  on  a 
one  year's  tour  in  Europe;  returned  in  1S77  for  a  few 
months;  again  crossed  the  Atlantic,  and  finally  came 
back  to  California  in  April,  187S,  when  he  estab- 
lished his  residence  at  Mayfield.  Here  Mr.  Barron 
has  constructed  one  of  the  most  attractive  homes  in 
Santa  Clara  County.  Its  grounds  are  highly  embel- 
lished with  large  groves  of  ornamental  trees;  the 
approach  is  along  a  well-protected  avenue;  the  build- 
ing is  encircled  by  parterres  of  richly-hued  flowers, 
while  the  tout  ensemble  conveys  the  idea  of  rare 
opulence  and  patrician  retirement.  He  married,  No- 
vember, 185 1,  Maria  Cleary,  by  whom  he  has  two 
children,  George  E.  and  William  R. 


ii)ATRICK  MARTIN.  One  of  the  substantial 
Syi5  citizens  of  San  Jose  Township  is  the  gentleman 
IS)  whose  name  heads  this  sketch.  He  is  a  native 
of  Ireland,  born  in  County  Wexford,  January  i, 
1833.  His  parents,  Murtha  and  Nellie  {riee  Doyle) 
Martin,  were  of  ancestry  remarkable  for  intelligence 
and  integrity.  Mr.  Martin  was  reared  in  his  native 
country,  and,  January  9,  1852,  when  he  was  but  nine- 
teen years  of  age,  left  home  for  the  purpose  of  emi- 
grating to  America,  to  cast  his  lot  among  a  people 
much  more  like  the  Irish  than  is  any  other  foreign  na- 
tion. January  29,  1852,  was  the  date  of  his  embarka- 
tion, at  London,  on  the  ship  Douglas,  bound  for  San 
Francisco;  and  after  a  prolonged  and  tedious  voyage, 
having  to  double  Cape  Horn,  he  at  length  arrived  at 
the  Golden  Gate,  August  22,  1853.  He  soon  came 
to  Santa  Clara  County,  and  made  his  home  at  the  old 
Seven  Mile  House,  with  tne  Tennant  family,  with 
whom  he  had  been  ac(|uainted  before  coming  to  this 
country.  What  a  satisfaction  it  was  to  find  acquaint- 
ances in  a  region  so  far  from  the  land  of  his  nativity, 
especially  friends  with  whom  he  could,  at  least  for  a 
time,  make  his  home!  But  he  had  no  capital,  except 
his  strong  hands  and  a  stout  heart.  A  determination 
to  win  success,  combined  with  rare  energy,  good 
habits,  and  sound  business  qualifications,  enabled  him 
at  length  to  acquire  a  competence,  and  even  more 
than  sufficient  for  the  needs  of  advancing  years,  and 
to  win  recognition  from  all  who  know  him.  He  im- 
mediately engaged  in  farm  work,  which  has  ever  since 


been  his  vocation.  In  1864  he  purchased  the  land 
where  he  now  resides,  which  was  then  a  wild  spot, 
having  never  been  cultivated;  and  all  the  improve- 
ments that  have  since  been  placed  upon  it  are  the 
work  of  his  own  hands.  The  handsome  family  resi- 
dence, which  is  two  stories  in  height,  and  has  a  ground 
area  of  thirty-two  by  forty  feet,  was  erected  in  1883,  at 
a  cost  of  $6,500.  It  has  an  extension  twenty  feet 
square,  and  a  kitchen  in  the  rear  of  this  fourteen  feet 
square.  The  ranch,  which  is  ten  miles  distant  from 
San  Jose,  on  the  Monterey  road,  consists  of  550  acres, 
of  which  about  400  are  cultivated  for  grain,  and  the 
remainder  devoted  to  stock  purposes.  Wheat  averages 
about  fifteen  sacks  to  the  acre  on  this  place,  and  hay 
about  a  ton  and  a  half  The  live-stock  consists  prin- 
cipally of  cattle. 

February  16,  1863,  is  the  date  of  Mr.  Martin's  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Annie  Taylor,  also  a  native  of  County 
Wexford,  Ireland.  They  have  four  children,  named 
Mamie  Ellen,  John  M.,  Murtha  William,  and  Annie  M. 

SftsAAC  BRANH AM, deceased.  Prominent  among 
(^  the  earlier  pioneers  of  California  was  Isaac  Bran- 
T  ham,  who  crossed  the  summit  of  the  Nevadas  on 
October  10,  1846,  arrived  in  the  San  Jose  Mission  on 
October  31,  and  settled  permanently  in  San  Jose 
December  2  of  that  year.  He  was  born  in  Scott 
County,  Kentucky,  August  31,  1803,  and  raised  on 
his  father's  farm  in  his  native  place  up  to  the  age  of 
twenty  years.  During  this  time  he  received  what  ed- 
ucation the  common  schools  of  the  country  afforded, 
and  at  the  same  time  became  adept  in  the  use  of  the 
tools  required  in  the  simple  building  operations  and 
wood-working  then  required  of  almost  every  frontier 
settler.  He  became  also  an  enthusiastic  hunter,  his 
skill  with  the  rifle  and  shot-gun  being  remarkable. 
In  1823,  at  the  age  of  twenty  years,  he,  with  a  com- 
panion named  Williams,  started  on  foot  to  Missouri, 
all  of  his  worldly  effects  being  packed  in  an  old  army 
knapsack  of  the  War  of  1812.  On  their  arrival  in 
Missouri  their  combined  exchecquers  lacked  twelve 
and  one-half  cents  of  the  price  of  their  first  breakfast. 
Feeling  the  necessity  of  immediately  replenishing  his 
finances,  he  took  a  contract  for  hewing  logs  for  a 
house  of  one  of  the  settlers  in  the  neighborhood  of 
what  is  now  Fulton,  Missouri. 

In  about  a  year  Mr.  Branham  was  joined  by  his 
brother  Franklin,  from  Kentucky.    The  brothers  then 


492 


PEN  PICWERS  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


undertook  to  construct  a  saw-mill  from  the  material 
available  in  the  woods  and  country  around.  In  this 
building  and  in  its  machinery  there  were  but  the  saw 
and  two  gudgeons  made  of  metal,  all  the  rest  was  of 
wood  exclusively,  being  held  together  by  mortising 
and  wooden  pins,  there  being  not  even  a  nail  in  the 
whole  structure.  Unfortunately,  before  it  and  the 
dam  were  fully  completed,  a  freshet  came  and  washed 
the  whole  away,  destroying  almost  a  year's  work. 
They  went  to  work  hewing  out  timbers  for  a  second 
mill,  working  at  it  continuously  except  when  neces- 
sary to  do  work  for  other  parties  that  would  procure 
them  requisite  provisions.  This  was  completed  in 
time  for  the  spring  rains,  and  the  mill  was  a  success. 
They  then  constructed  a  grist-mill,  which  was  run  by 
horse-power.  To  this  they  added  a  distillery,  and 
these  enterprises  were  conducted  for  several  years. 
In  constructing  his  distilling  apparatus  there  was  nec- 
essary a  pipe  to  supply  the  still  with  the  beer  from 
the  mash  tubs,  the  only  thing  available  being  an  old 
musket  barrel,  which  was  detached  from  its  stock 
and  made  to  do  duty  as  a  part  of  the  still  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.  When  Mr.  Branham  was  about  to  leave 
for  California  he  detached  this  gun  barrel,  had  it 
placed  in  a  stock  with  a  rifle  barrel,  and  thus  supplied 
himself  with  a  double-barrel  gun,  the  weapon  he  car- 
ried across  the  plains  and  used  for  many  years  in  Cal- 
ifornia, and  which  is  now  in  possession  of  the  family, 
prized  as  one  of  the  most  valued  possessions  and 
heir-looms  of  that  grand  old  pioneer. 

Speaking  of  the  old  grist-mill  in  Missouri,  one  of 
its  earliest  customers  was  our  now  well-known  citizen, 
Samual  A.  Bishop,  who,  when  a  small  boy,  used  once 
a  week  to  come  to  tiie  mill  with  a  sack  of  corn  before 
him  on  his  horse,  to  be  ground  into  meal.  Each  boy 
or  man  bringing  grist  to  that  mill  used  to  hitch  his 
horse  to  the  machinery  and  do  the  driving  for  his 
own  grinding.  This  was  probably  Mr.  Bishop's  first 
experience  as  engineer  of  a  grist-mill. 

Mr.  Branham  having  been  always  devoted  to  field 
sports  and  the  chase,  loving  a  good  horse  and  dog  and 
a  true  gun,  his  hunting  proclivities  naturally  brought 
him  in  contact  and  friendship  with  the  hunters  and 
trappers  of  that  day.  The  Rocky  Mountain  trappers 
of  the  time  would  occasionally  visit  the  settlements, 
and  among  them  he  became  acquainted  with  members 
of  the  Sublette  family,  then  noted  as  hunters  and 
trappers.  From  these  men  he  learned  of  the  wonder- 
ful country  and  climate  of  California.  His  health  at 
that  time  being  much  impaired,  he  decided  to  sell  off 
his  property  and    effects    in    Missouri   and   cross  the 


trackless  plains  to  the  Pacific  Coast.  His  family  con- 
sisted of  his  wife  and  four  children,  the  oldest  about 
eleven  years  of  age,  and  the  youngest  about  nine 
months.  The  then  infant  is  now  B.  F.  Branham,  a 
resident  of  San  Jose,  who  from  January,  1883,  to  Jan- 
uary, 1S87,  was  Sheriff  of  Santa  Clara  County.  Mr. 
Branham  had  been  married,  in  1832,  in  Callaway 
County,  Missouri,  to  Miss  Amanda  Ann  Bailey,  who 
was  born  in  181 3,  in  Franklin  County,  Kentucky,  her 
parents  removing  from  Woodford  County,  that  State, 
to  Missouri  in  1827. 

Joining  the  immigration  starting  in  the  spring  of 
1S46  for  Oregon  and  California,  he  made  the  journey 
in  two  wagons  drawn  by  three  yoke  of  oxen  to  each 
wagon,  taking  at  the  same  time  two  horses  and  two 
cows,  the  latter  furnishing  milk  all  the  way  across 
the  plains,  and  from  which  he  afterward  raised  con- 
siderable stock  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley.  The  trip 
from  Independence,  Missouri,  to  the  California  State 
line,  was  made  in  six  months  and  eleven  days.  At 
Independence  the  various  families  of  immigrants 
camped  until  they  formed  a  company  sufficiently 
strong  for  mutual  protection  and  assistance.  Colonel 
Russell  was  elected  captain  of  that  train.  The  trip 
was  made  without  any  unusual  difficulties  or  hard- 
ships, there  being  but  one  fight  with  the  Indians, 
that  being  on  the  Humboldt  River  near  where  the 
town  of  Elko  now  stands,  which  took  place  in  the 
pursuit  and  recapture  of  cattle  stolen  by  the  Indians. 
Mr.  Branham's  party  had  traveled  for  a  short  time 
that  summer  in  company  with  the  ill-fated  Donner 
party,  the  last  they  saw  of  the  latter  being  at  Fort 
Bridger,  where  the  Donner  party  struck  off  to  take 
what  was  called  Hudspeth's  cut-off. 

The  first  stop  made  in  California  was  at  the  Mis- 
sion San  Jose,  for  about  three  weeks,  where  Mr. 
Branham  was  enlisted  by  Lieutenant  Pinckney,  of  the 
United  States  sloop-of-war  Portsiiiimth,  and  placed 
in  charge  of  the  supplies  to  be  issued  at  that  point  to 
the  wives  and  families  of  the  men  who  had  joined  the 
American  army  and  gone  with  General  Fremont  to 
Los  Angeles.  After  being  several  weeks  on  that 
duty,  he  was  ordered  by  Lieutenant  Pinckney  to  re- 
move to  San  Jose,  the  American  families  having  al- 
ready removed  there  from  the  mission  from  fear  of 
an  uprising  of  the  Mexicans.  About  this  time  the 
Mexicans,  under  Castro,  were  defeated  near  Santa 
Clara,  and  Mr.  Branham's  military  services  were  no 
longer  required. 

In  the  summer  of  1847  he,  in  conjunction  with 
Captain  Julian  Hanks,  a  Connecticut   man   who  had 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


493 


come  to  Santa  Clara  Valley  from  Lower  California 
in  the  summer  of  1S46,  constructed  a  saw-mill  and 
dam  on  the  Los  Gatos  Creek  ju.t  above  the  present 
station  of  Alma.  To  show  the  thoroughness  of  his 
work  and  the  quality  of  material  used,  it  is  enough  to 
state  that  this  dam  is  now  in  use  and  forms  the  head 
of  supply  of  the  San  Jose  Water  Company's  flume. 
This  mill  was  first  run  in  the  spring  of  1848,  and 
within  a  few  months  was  sold  to  Zachariah  Jones  and 
known  for  years  as  Jones'  Mill,  supplying  all  the  lum- 
ber used  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley.  During  the 
summer  of  1848,  two  men,  named  Whipple  and 
Wheaton,  brought  around  Cape  Horn  a  forty-horse- 
power steam  boiler  and  engine,  and  landed  it  in  San 
Francisco.  Hearing  of  this,  Mr.  Branham  made  a 
trip  there  on  horseback,  bought  an  interest  in  it,  and 
entered  into  partnership  with  these  men  in  building  a 
mill  in  San  Mateo  County,  at  what  was  called  Brown's 
Redwoods,  near  where  the  town  of  Searsville  now 
stands.  This  mill  was  started  in  the  spring  of  1849, 
and  was  the  first  steam  saw-mill  established  on  the 
Pacific  Coast. 

The  whispers  of  the  finding  of  gold  caused  a  stam- 
pede to  the  mines,  and  they  were  obliged  to  pay  $250 
a  month  to  the  loggers  to  furnish  logs  for  the  mill. 
Starting  to  the  mines  to  investigate  the  truth  of  these 
rumors,  on  his  return  he  met  his  force  of  loggers  on 
their  way  to  the  diggings,  and  learned  that  his  mill  had 
stopped  for  want  of  material.  In  the  summer  of  1S50 
he  sold  his  interest  in  this  mill  to  R.  G.  Moody,  taking 
in  payment  lumber  at  the  price  of  $300  per  thousand. 
At  this  time  Mr.  Branham  owned  and  lived  in  a  house 
on  the  property  now  owned  by  John  Balbach,  No. 
523  South  Market  Street.  He  had  also  just  purchased 
a  large  two-story  adobe  building  which  stood  where  is 
now  the  corner  of  Guadaloupe  and  San  Carlos  Streets, 
which  he  placed  temporarily  at  the  service  of  tiie 
State  Government,  and  where  the  Senate  of  the  State 
of  California  convened  and  held  the  early  meetings  of 
its  first  session  during  that  winter.  In  that  house  he 
soon  after  removed,  and  lived  until  1856. 

Mr.  Branham,  with  eighteen  other  citizens,  volun- 
tarily came  forward  and  executed  a  note  of  $34,000  to 
purchase  a  building  for  the  occupation  of  the  State 
Legislature,  the  credit  of  the  pueblo  of  San  Jose,  nor 
of  the  State,  being  sufficient  guarantee  for  the  amount 
in  the  eyes  of  the  owners.  They  did  this  because  it 
had  been  represented  to  the  Constitutional  Conven- 
tion that  the  Legislature,  if  it  convened  at  San  Jose, 
would  be  amply  provided  with  buildings  and  con- 
veniences.    That  $34,000  bore  interest  at  the  rate  of 


eight  per  cent  per  month  until  paid !  This  amount 
was  afterward  in  great  part  made  good  to  these  gen- 
erous and  public-spirited  men   by  the  State  and  city. 

In  1852  he  purchased  2,000  varas  square  (656 
acres),  being  a  portion  of  the  San  Juan  Batista 
Rancho,  situated  five  miles  south  of  San  Jose,  to 
which  place  he  removed  in  1856  and  there  resided  un- 
til his  death,  November  3,  1887. 

In  1854,  in  conjunction  with  Josiah  Belden,  he  ex- 
plored a  prospective  road  from  the  Santa  Clara  to  the 
San  Joaquin  Valley,  this  road  leading  by  the  foot  of 
Mount  Hamilton  through  San  Isabel  Valley  and 
down  the  Orestimba  River  to  the  San  Joaquin  plains, 
being  practically  the  same  route  now  proposed  to  be 
opened  by  the  Mount  Hamilton  Stage  Company,  to 
transport  tourists  direct  from  the  Yo  Semite  Valley  to 
Mount  Hamilton  and  return.  While  they  succeeded 
in  finding  a  practical  route,  they  found  it  would 
be  too  expensive  for  the  limited  travel  of  that  day. 
In  1857,  in  conjunction  with  Jackson  Lewis,  he  pur- 
chased 2,000  acres  more  of  the  same  rancho.  From 
1852  to  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  engaged  in  farm- 
ing and  stock-raising.  During  these  years  he  also  in- 
vested in  mines  and  mining  in  Mexico,  as  well  as  in 
the  counties  of  El  Dorado  and  Lassen.  In  these 
mining  operations  his  experience  was  gained  at  a  cost 
of  about  $50,000,  results  which  have  been  very  fre- 
quent in  large  mining  operations  on  this  coast. 

Mr.  Branham  was  a  member  of  the  first  town 
council  of  San  Jose.  While  having  no  taste  or  inclina- 
tion for  public  office,  he  was  frequently  required  by 
his  fellow-citizens  to  represent  them  in  offices  of  trust 
and  honor,  filling  the  place  of  County  Supervisor 
for  one  term,  after  which  he  refused  to  again  accept 
the  office.  He  was  a  devoted  huntsman  and  fisher- 
man, this  taste  resulting  more  from  an  ardent  love  of 
nature  than  his  desire  for  game.  His  hunting  was 
for  pleasure,  and  the  imparting  of  pleasure  to  those 
who  accompanied  him,  never  marketing  a  particle  of 
game.  His  friends  and  fellow-hunters  received  the 
most  liberal  share  of  the  results  of  the  hunt,  any 
well-behaved  man,  no  matter  what  his  condition  of 
life,  being  welcome  to  his  camp.  A  man  jealous  of 
his  honor  and  most  kindly  in  his  nature,  he  had  the 
respect  and  love  of  all  good  men  who  came  in  con- 
tact with  him. 

His  children  born  in  Missouri  were:  James,  born  in 
1835,  and  now  a  resident  of  Lassen  County,  agent  for 
Wells,  Fargo  &  Co.'s  Express  at  Susanville;  Frances 
Elizabeth,  married  in  1855  to  Jackson  Lewis,  died  in 
1861;  Maggie,  the  widow  of  James  H.  Ogier,  now  liv- 


494 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


ing  two  miles  fro.n  San  Jose,  on  thj  Alviso  road  ; 
Benjamin  F.,  born  in  1S45,  whose  biography  appears 
elsewhere  in  this  volume.  Two  children  were  born  in 
the  Santa  Clara  Valley:  Charles  M.,  now  conducting 
a  machine  shop  in  San  Jose;  and  Mary,  residing  with 
her  mother  in  this  city. 

The  family  still   owns  a  large  interest  in    the   San 
Juan  Batista  Rancho,  near  San  Jose. 


--^^ 


Richard  v.  DEIDRICH,  who  resides  at  678 
s^^  South  Second  Street,  San  Jose,  where  he  owns 
'V  a  comfortable  home,  is  a  native  of  Columbia 
County,  New  York,  at  which  place  he  was  born 
in  1840.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  came  to  the 
mines  in  California.  In  1866  he  came  to  San  Jose, 
where  he  accepted  the  position  of  manager  of  the 
Vineyard  Flour  Mills,  a  situation  he  occupied  for 
fifteen  years.  In  1880,  his  health  failing,  he  was  com- 
pelled to  resign,  when  he  purchased  twenty-one  acres 
of  land  in  the  Willows.  In  1885  si.x  acres  of  the 
orchard  was  sold  at  $1,000  per  acre.  The  remaining 
fifteen  acres,  which  are  situated  on  the  corner  of  Curt- 
ner  and  Booksin  Avenues,  are  now  in  their  prime. 
This  orchard  consists  of  a  variety  of  fruit,  but  princi- 
pally prunes,  cherries,  and  apricots.  In  i886  his  530 
prune  trees  b  >re  fifty  tons  of  fruit,  other  trees  paying 
well.  This  year,  1888,  it  is  estimated  that  the  prune 
trees  will  have  seventy  tons  of  prunes.  The  apricots 
this  year  paid  $200  per  acre,  clear  of  expenses.  Mr. 
Deidrich,  as  well  as  his  wife,  has  been  a  resident  of 
San  Jose  for  over  twenty-three  years,  and  has  seen 
the  city  grow  from  a  small  Spanish  town  to  the 
"  Garden  City,"  which  it  now  is.  He  is  a  strong 
temperance  man  as  well  as  a  stanch  Republican  in 
politics. 


ll^ENRY  MESSING,  senior  member  of  the  firm 
&^l^  of  H.  Messing  &  Son,  was  born  in  Hesse  Cassel, 
j^  Germany,  in  1824;  remained  in  his  native 
country  until  August  5,  1S49,  when  he,  together 
with  his  wife,  came  direct  to  California  by  the  way  of 
Cape  Horn,  in  the  Bremen  schooner  Jidiiis,  which 
arrived  in  San  Francisco  on  April  8,  1850.  After 
trving  his  fortune  in  Southern  mines,  he  located  in 
Santa  Clara  County,  working  at  different  occupations 
until  he  accumulated  sufficient  means  to  hny  a  tan- 
nery in  Santa  Clara,  together  with    Philip  Glein  and 


F.  C.  Frank,  in  1859.  He  sold  his  interest  in  the 
tannery,  and  located  and  established  the  business  he 
still  continues,  first  on  Market  Street.  Later  he  pur- 
chased property  now  occupied  by  his  establishment, 
at  Nos.  79  and  81  South  First  Street.  Here  he  not 
only  carries  on  the  harness  and  saddlery  business, 
but  also  the  carriage  trade,  importing  his  carriages 
and  buggies  direct  from  Eastern  factories.  They 
have  established  a  valuable  reputation  in  the  saddlery 
and  harness  business,  and  supply  dealers  and  individ- 
uals throughout  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  also  through- 
out the  Territories. 


M-«— 


-«>->>^ 


.^igRS.  CATHERINE  DUNNE.  This  estimable 
f  "Oi^  lady,  whose  arrival  on  the  Pacific  Coast  dates 
J^  back  to  June  16,  1851,  has  long  occupied  a  high 
'  position  in  the  respect  and  esteem  of  the  peo- 
ple of  San  Jose  and  Santa  Clara  County.  She  was 
born  in  the  county  of  Wexford,  Ireland,  in  1831. 
Her  parents  were  John  and  Mary  O'Toole,  who  re- 
moved from  Ireland  to  the  dominion  of  Canada,  in 
1833,  settling  near  Quebec,  where  she  received  her 
education.  In  185 1  the  subject  of  this  sketch  be- 
came the  wife  of  Bernard  Murphy,  who  was  on  a 
visit  to  his  old  home  in  Canada.  Soon  afterward 
they  btartcd  for  their  new  home  in  California,  by  way 
of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  arriving  at  San  Francisco 
June  16,  1851.  Bernard  Murphy  was  a  son  of  Mar- 
tin Murphy,  Sr.,  who  had  arrived  in  California  in 
1844,  a  member  of  the  celebrated  Murphy  family, 
which  has  since  that  year  been  so  prominently  a  part 
of  the  history  of  California,  and  especially  of  San 
Jose  and  the  Santa  Clara  Valley.  April  11,  1853, 
Mr.  Murphy  met  his  death  at  the  terrible  catastrophe 
that  befell  the  Je]my  Lind,  when  its  boiler  exploded 
in  San  Francisco  Bay.  He  left  his  widow  with  an 
infant  son,  Martin  J.  C.  Murphy.  The  latter,  wlio  be- 
came a  youth  of  great  brilliancy  and  much  promise, 
died  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years  and  eleven  months, 
at  Georgetown  College,  Washington,  D.  C,  where  he 
was  engaged  in  the  study  of  law.  His  remains  were 
brought  to  Gilroy  and  interred  beside  those  of  his 
father,  in  the  cemetery  of  that  town. 

May  6,  1862,  Mrs.  Murphy  was  married  to  Mr. 
James  Dunne,  who  died  June  4,  1874.  To  them 
were  born  three  children:  Mary  Phileta,  now  the 
wife  of  Joseph  H.  Rucker,  real  estate  dealer  of  San 
Jose;  Peter  J.,  who  resides  in  San  Jose,  and  who  was 
married,  in  1888,  to  Miss  Josei)hine  Masten,  daughter 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


495 


of  N.  K.   Masten,  of  San    Francisco;    the  youngest 
being  Miss  Kate  B.  Dunne. 

Mrs.  Dunne  is  the  owner  of  large  tracts  of  land  in 
Santa  Clara  County.  These  interests,  descending 
from  Bernard  Murphy,  have  been  judiciously  managed 
by  Mrs.  Dunne  until  they  have  becomeof  great  value. 
The  family  deservedly  holds  an  important  position 
socially  in  the  comnnuiit}',  a  position  due  to  admira- 
ble qualities  more  than  to  their  great  wealth.  Her 
children  have  been  trained  in  such  manner  that  they 
are  honored  members  of  society,  worthily  feeling  the 
duties  of  their  position.  As  a  wife,  as  a  mother,  and 
as  the  owner  of  large  property  interests,  Mrs.  Dunne 
has  proved  herself  capable  in  guarding  her  own  in- 
terests and  those  of  her  children,  and  just  and  con- 
scientious in  dealing  with  the  interests  of  others. 


^HARLESM.  SCHTELE.  Among  the  men  who 
^p  have  come  to  the  front  and  made  themselves 
&Y  prominent  factors  in  the  march  of  affairs  in  San 
Jose  and  Santa  Clara  County  within  the  past 
few  years,  is  Charles  M.  Schiele.  His  success  in  bus- 
iness and  real  estate  operations  since  his  coming  here 
in  1880,  has  been  extraordinary,  and  demonstrates 
what  can  be  accomplished  when  active  and  fearless 
enterprise  is  coupled  with  good  judgment  and  the 
knowledge  how  to  handle  large  operations  judiciously. 
A  native  of  Furstenthum,  Anhalt,  Prussia,  where  he 
was  born  in  1850,  he  was  at  an  early  age  thrown  upon 
his  own  resources.  Leaving  school  soon  after  his 
thirteenth  year,  he  commenced  learning  the  grocery 
business,  at  which  he  continued  three  years.  Not 
satisfied  with  the  progress  he  there  seemed  to  be  mak- 
ing, he  shouldered  his  knapsack  and  traveled  to  seek 
his  fortune.  At  Leipsic  he  was  employed  in  a  hotel, 
where  he  remained  two  years,  there  receiving  his  first 
knowledge  of  hotel  business  and  carefully  saving  his 
small  wages.  From  here  he  went  to  Berlin,  where  he 
was  again  employed  in  hotels  and  restaurants.  On 
the  breaking  out  of  the  Franco-Prussian  War,  he  took 
his  place  in  the  reserve  corps  of  the  German  army, 
being  at  first  engaged  in  the  construction  of  fortifica- 
tions at  Metz.  In  a  severe  attack  by  the  French  on 
Metz,  he  was  wounded  in  front  of  that  town  and  car- 
ried to  the  hospital,  where  he  remained  until  the  close 
of  the  war,  when  he  was  discharged  from  service.  He 
then  traveled  through  Europe  for  two  years,  visiting 
Paris,  Vienna,  Italy,  and  finally  England,  from  which 


place  he  embarked  for  America,  arriving  in  New  York 
in  1872. 

Here  he  found  himself  with  thirty-five  cents  in  his 
pocket,  but  soon  had  employment,  having  positions 
in  various  hotels  during  his  stay  in  that  city.  He 
also  spent  some  time  in  hotel  work  in  Chicago,  St. 
Louis,  and  Kansas  City.  In  1874  he  removed  to  the 
Pacific  slope,  engaging  as  a  miner  at  Virginia  City. 
Entering  the  shaft  for  the  first  time,  the  hot,  stifling 
air  was  too  much  for  him;  he  fainted  and  had  to  give 
up  the  work.  He,  however,  tried  the  work  again  at 
other  locations,  until  stricken  down  with  typhoid  and 
brain  fever,  with  which  he  suffered  in  the  hospital  for 
several  months.  On  his  recovery  he  went  to  Marys- 
ville,  California,  where  he  again  engaged  in  hotel 
work,  keeping  a  place  as  waiter  steadily  for  three 
years.  Here  he  was  married,  in  1876,  to  Miss  Ellen 
Riordan,  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  from  that  time  he 
dates  his  success  in  life.  A  year  after  their  marriage 
they  removed  to  San  Francisco,  having  accumulated 
a  snug  little  bank  account.  In  San  Francisco  he  se- 
cured a  good  place  in  a  hotel  and  added  a  few  hundred 
dollars  more  to  his  capital. 

In  1880,  in  company  with  two  other  gentlemen,  he 
purchased  the  furniture  and  fixtures  of  the  other  house, 
which  they  remodeled  and  named  the  Pacific  Hotel. 
After  a  little  he  purchased  his  partner's  interests  and 
conducted  the  business  alone,  adding  the  Cosmopoli- 
tan Hotel,  which  was  near  by,  to  accommodate  the 
ever  increasing  patronage.  His  knowledge  of  the 
business  was  of  great  value,  and  he  succeeded  well, 
investing  his  surplus  funds  in  well-selected  loans  on 
real  estate,  and  in  some  fortunate  speculations.  At 
the  beginning  of  1877  he  saw  indications  of  an  ap- 
proaching rise  in  real  estate  values  about  San  Jose, 
and  made  a  purchase  of  240  acres  adjoining  the  city 
on  the  east,  for  $36,000.  Since  that  time  he  has  been 
interested  in  buying  up  tracts  of  land  in  the  Santa 
Clara  Valley,  dividing  them  up  and  selling  them  in 
smaller  lots,  in  which  he  has  met  with  marked  success. 
One  tract  he  sold  to  Easton,  Eldridge  &  Co.  for 
$85,000;  another,  of  175  acres,  set  out  in  fruit,  he  sold 
for  $45,000,  and  he  has  disposed  of  several  other  large 
tracts.  He  now  has  300  acres  near  the  Willows, 
which  he  is  about  to  divide  and  sell  in  ten  and  twenty 
acre  lots.  He  has  lately  purchased  a  magnificent 
property  on  the  Alameda  (formerly  the  Alameda 
Gardens,  belonging  to  John  F.  Hill,  of  San  Francisco) 
for  which  he  paid  $75,000.  This  he  is  now  laying  out 
in  town  lots,  having  cut  a  street  through  the  property 
from  the  Alameda  to  Stockton  Avenue,  which  he  has 


496 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD: 


donated  to  the  city,  and  which  will  be  railed  Schiele 
Avenue.  It  will  be  put  and  kept  in  first-class  condi- 
tion, with  every  modern  improvement — stone  side- 
walks, gas  and  water  pipes,  while  between  the  side- 
walks and  street  will  be  planted  shade  trees  of  fine 
varieties.  This  property  comprises  fifteen  acres,  and 
will  be  divided  into  about  seventy  lots  frontin.<j  on  the 
Alameda  and  Stockton  Avenue,  both  the  most  beauti- 
ful and  fashionable  avenues  in  San  Jose,  and  on  the 
new  street,  Schiele  Avenue,  having  the  electric  rail- 
road on  the  Alameda  on  one  side,  and  the  Stockton 
Avenue  cars  on  the  other.  He  proposes  during  the 
coming  winter  to  set  out  a  prune  orchard  of  lOO  acres 
on  one  of  his  ranches  near  Alma.  In  October,  1887, 
he  sold  out  his  hotels,  in  which  he  had  been  unusually 
successful.  Mr.  Schiele  is  one  of  our  solid  citizens, 
and  thoroughly  believes  in  the  future  and  capabilities 
of  the  Santa  Clara  Valley. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  City  Council  of  San  Jose, 
from  the  First  Ward,  and  although  a  Democrat  in 
politics,  was  elected  in  a  strong  Republican  district, 
not  as  an  active  politician  or  as  a  partisan,  but  as  a 
business  man  having  in  view  the  best  interests  of  this 
city.  He  is  a  member  of  AUemania  Lodge,  No.  yS, 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  of  the  San  Jose  Turnverein. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schiele  were  born  four  children, 
one  of  whom  died  in  early  childhood.  Those  living 
are:  Frederic  Karl,  Karl  Frederic,  and  Ellen  Frederica. 
His  parents  were  Frederic  and  Louisa  (Weden) 
Schiele,  both  natives  and  life-time  residents  of  Rieder, 
Anhalt-Bernburg,  Prussia,  where  they  died,  his  father 
at  the  age  of  seventy-two,  and  his  mother  at  the  age 
of  sixty-five  years.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  has  a 
brother,  Frederic,  and  a  sister,  Frederica,  both  mar- 
ried and  residing  in  their  native  place.  Mrs.  Schiele's 
parents  are  Daniel  and  Ellen  (Welch)  Rierdon,  natives 
of  Dooneen,  County  Cork,  Ireland,  where  they  still 
reside. 


||AMES  FARIS  KENNEDY,  deceased,  son  of 
(§/■  William  and  Jeannette  (Faris)  Kennedy,  was  born 
T  m  Bucks  County,  Pennsylvania,  January  18,  1810. 
William's  parents  came  to  the  United  States  in  Colo- 
nial days,  and  his  father,  supposed  to  have  been  John 
Kennedy,  served  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  Before 
the  close  of  the  war  he  became  a  captain  and  was 
sent  with  his  company  to  dispatch  a  set  of  Danish 
outlaws  who  were  at  this  time  infesting  the  country. 


and  whom  the  government  had  been  unable  to  con- 
trol. In  a  skirmish  with  them  Captain  Kennedy  was 
wounded  in  the  shoulder  and  died  from  its  effects. 
The  Kennedys  came  from  the  North  of  Ireland. 
The  Faris  family  were  from  Scotland  and  came  to 
this  country  about  the  same  time.  The  Kennedy 
family  first  settled  in  Bucks  County,  Pennsylvania. 
William,  with  some  of  his  brothers,  afterward  moved 
to  Philadelphia,  where  they  went  into  business,  and 
he  died  there  in  1861.  In  his  family  there  were  eight 
children  who  lived  to  maturity,  of  whom  James,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  the  eldest.  He  lived  in 
Philadelphia  until  he  was  twenty-one  years  old,  when 
he  spent  about  eight  years  in  traveling  around.  For 
several  years  he  was  in  the  lead  mines  at  Galena,  Illi- 
nois. He  then  returned  to  Philadelphia,  where,  in 
June,  1840,  he  married  Serena  Salter,  a  native  of  that 
city,  who  was  born  January  6,  1820,  and  died  near 
Los  Gatos,  California,  June  16,  1888.  Her  father, 
Samuel  Salter,  was  an  Englishm.an,  who  came  to  the 
United  States  in  1790.  Upon  his  arrival  here,  find- 
ing looking-glasses  very  high,  he  engaged  in  their 
manufacture,  importing  for  that  purpose  plain  glasses 
from  Paris.  He  followed  this  business  for  several 
years  and  became  independently  rich  and  retired  from 
business.  His  wife  was  Catharine  Myers,  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  of  German  descent.  James  resided 
in  Philadelphia  and  was  Superintendent  of  the 
Fairmount  Water  Works  until  he  came  to  California, 
in  1850.  He  came  out  as  agent  for  Commodore 
Stockton,  and  had  charge  of  the  sale  of  3,000  acres 
of  land  between  San  Jose  and  Santa  Clara  and  be- 
tween the  Alameda  and  the  Guadaloupe.  He  made 
his  home  on  this  ranch  for  ten  years.  During  this 
time  he  was  nominated  and  ran  for  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor, when  Leland  Stanford  ran  for  Governor,  on 
the  Republican  ticket,  and  was  defeated,  although 
he  ran  ahead  of  his  ticket.  In  1863  he  was  elected 
Sheriff  of  Santa  Clara  County  and  filled  the  office 
until  he  died,  February  6,  1864.  In  the  fall  of  i860 
he  bought  356  acres  near  Los  Gato.s,  of  which  220 
acres  now  belong  to  his  estate.  The  place  is  managed 
by  his  sons.  His  children  were:  William  C,  James 
F.,  Samuel  T.,  Edwin  A.,  Clara  C.  (wife  of  Frank 
Bray),  and  Robert  F.  William  C.  Kennedy  married 
Kate  Moody,  and  Edwin  A.  Kennedy  married  Minnie 
A.  Ouinby.  On  tlieir  ranch  they  have  twelve  acres 
in  almonds  twelve  years  old;  twelve  acres  in  French 
prunes  and  apricots  (one-half  of  each)  six  years  old; 
twelve  acres  of  pears  (for  shipping)  six  years  old;  six 
acres  in  French  prunes  set  out  in  1888,  and  about  ten 


6<±(^.  ^4^^^/-^^^?^ 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKEl CHES. 


acres  in  a  nursery  containing  a  general  assoi  tment  of 
trees,  including  the  olive  and  citrus  fiuits.  They  have 
about  forty  acres  in  barley  and  twenty  five  in  wheat, 
which  is  cut  for  hay. 


IgON.  FREDERICK  CHRISTIAN  FRANCK 
Ghs^  was  born  at  Waschbascherhof,  Bavaria,  Ger- 
'%f  many,  December  23,  1828.  He  attended  school 
until  fifteen  years  of  age,  when  he  was  appren- 
ticed to  learn  the  harness  and  saddle  making  trade  at 
Kaiserslautern.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  came 
to  America,  stopping  at  New  York,  where  he  worked 
at  his  trade  for  nearly  two  years,  making  harness  and 
saddles  for  the  United  States  Government,  to  be  used 
during  the  Mexican  War.  In  1848  he  left  New  York 
city  and  went  to  Buffalo,  thence  to  Cleveland,  Cincin- 
nati, and  Louisville,  working  at  his  trade  in  all  these 
cities.  From  Louisville  he  went  to  New  Orleans,  but 
not  finding  work  at  his  trade  in  the  Crescent  City  he 
took  a  job  of  chopping  wood  and  clearing  land.  This, 
however,  was  but  temporary  employment,  and  he 
soon  went  to  Natchez,  where  he  obtained  work  at  his 
trade.  In  December,  1851,  he  started  for  California, 
crossing  the  Isthmus  on  foot  and  arriving  at  San 
Francisco  in  February,  1852.  He  spent  nearly  two 
years  in  the  mines,  on  the  Yuba  and  Feather  Rivers 
and  at  Shaw's  Flat,  Murphy's  Camp,  and  Columbia. 
Returning  to  San  Francisco  in  the  latter  part  of  1853, 
he  established  the  second  shop  in  that  city  for  the 
manufacture  of  harness  and  saddles.  In  1855  he 
came  to  San  Jose  and  thence  to  Santa  Clara,  where 
he  permanently  located,  establishing  his  harness  and 
saddlery  works.  Mr.  Franck,  being  a  man  of  broad 
intelligence,  soon  became  a  prominent  citizen  and 
took  a  leading  part  in  public  affairs.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Board  of  Town  Trustees  for  eight  years, 
and  on  the  organization  of  the  fire  department  was 
elected  its  Chief,  which  position  he  held  for  six  years. 
In  1 87 1  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Assembly, 
and  so  well  did  he  perform  his  duties  that  he  was  re- 
elected in  1873.  As  a  legislator  Mr.  Franck  had  an 
opportunity  of  showing  his  ability.  He  made  no 
pretension  to  oratory,  but  whenever  he  gave  his  sup- 
port to  a  measure  it  was  sure  to  succeed.  He  had  a 
gift  of  persuasion  unexcelled.  He  could  grasp  the 
strong  points  of  a  question  and  present  them  in  a 
manner  that  nearly  alwaj-s  proved  irresistible.  He 
soon  made  himself  familiar  with  all  the  details  of 
63 


parliamentary  practice,  and  was  recognized  as  a  valu- 
able friend  or  dangerous  enemy  when  a  bill  was  before 
the  House.  This  power  he  used  in  all  cases  for  the 
benefit  of  his  constituents,  and  in  those  days  of  local 
legislation  Santa  Clara  County  received  all  she  asked 
for.  Mr.  Franck  never  forgot  his  constituents,  and, 
day  or  night,  was  ready  to  work  for  them.  Whenever 
he  has  been  willing  to  accept  the  position,  he  has  rep- 
resented his  party  in  the  Republican  State  Conven- 
tions, and  was  elected  a  delegate  from  the  Fifth 
California  District  to  the  National  Republican  Con- 
vention of  1888.  He  was  one  of  the  incorporators  of 
the  Bank  of  Santa  Clara  County,  of  which  he  is  one 
of  the  Directors  and  Chairman  of  its  Finance  Com- 
mittee. 

He  was  married,  September  23,  1 857,  at  Santa  Clara, 
to  Miss  Caroline  Durmeyer.  They  have  two  children: 
Caroline  S.,  a  student  at  the  University  of  the  Pacific, 
and  Frederick  C,  Jr.,  attending  the  Santa  Clara  public 
schools.  Mr.  Franck  is  an  Odd  Fellow,  and  has  oc- 
cupied all  the  chairs  in  the  subordinate  lodge,  and  is 
also  one  of  the  charter  members  of  the  Encampment 
at  Santa  Clara.  It  was  during  his  administration  as 
Noble  Grand  that  the  Odd  Fellows'  Building  at  Santa 
Clara  was  erected.  In  1870  he  vi.sited  his  old  home 
in  Bavaria  and  made  a  tour  of  Europe,  calling  at  all 
the  principal  cities  and  places  of  interest.  Mr. 
Franck's  worldly  affairs  have  greatly  prospered,  and 
he  is  ranked  among  our  first  capitalists,  and  no  one 
deserves  it  more  than  he.  A  wise  and  honest  legisla- 
tor, and  a  conscientious  citizen,  he  is  a  man  whom 
the  people  delight  to  honor. 


B.  HERBERT,  whose  fine  residence  and 
grounds  are  situated  on  the  Meridian  road, 
above  Hamilton  Avenue,  in  the  Hamilton 
District,  came  to  California  in  the  days  of  its 
pioneer  history,  when  gold  was  its  only  attraction  and 
almost  its  only  known  resource.  He  was  born  near 
Baltimore,  Maryland,  September  2,  1817.  In  that 
State  his  boyhood  and  early  manhood  were  passed. 
In  1850  the  gold-seekers'  emigration  caught  him  in  its 
tide  and  brought  him  overland  to  California.  He 
spent  about  two  years  successfully  in  placer  mining, 
near  Sacramento.  In  1854  he  became  engaged  in 
agriculture,  in  Solano  County.  He  returned  to  his 
native  State  for  his  bride,  Mi.ss  Susie  Barnes,  whom 
he  married  May  5,  1858,     Mrs.  Herbert  was  born  in 


498 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


Maryland,  October  26,  1833,  and  was  reared  in  her 
future  husband's  neighborhood.  They  made  Solano 
County  their  home  until  1876,  when  they  removed  to 
San  Luis  Obispo  County,  where  they  engaged  in 
stock  and  dairy  business.  They  lived  there  until 
1 88 1,  when,  in  order  to  give  their  children  better  edu- 
cational advantages,  they  removed  to  San  Jose.  Mr. 
Herbert  bought  a  residence  in  the  city,  which  they 
have  occupied  until  a  short  time  before  the  present 
writing  (March,  1888).  Soon  after  coming  to  San 
Jose,  Mr.  Herbert  selected  the  site  for  his  present 
residence,  and  bought  thirty-one  acres,  all  of  which 
he  commenced  immediately  to  improve.  Nearly  all 
of  this  property  was  planted,  in  the  spring  of  1883, 
with  apricot,  prune,  peach,  cherry,  pear,  and  plum 
trees.  Since  making  these  improvements,  Mr.  Her- 
bert has  sold  to  his  son  John  ten  acres,  and  to  his 
son-in-law,  J.  W.  Raines,  five  and  a  half  acres.  He 
retained  fifteen  and  a  half  acres,  upon  which,  with  a 
view  to  permanent  residence,  he  has  erected  a  large, 
well-appointed  house.  Due  attention  has  been  paid 
to  comfort  and  convenience  in  this  home-making, 
while  all  the  buildings  in  connection  with  the  prop- 
erty have  been  made  correspondingly  good.  There 
he  and  his  wife  hope  to  spend  their  remaining  lives, 
within  a  home  where  their  children  and  grandchildren 
can  always  find  a  joyous  welcome.  Of  these  children 
there  are  eight  living.  Their  fourth  child,  Lizzie, 
died  at  the  age  of  eighteen.  The  names  of  the  oth- 
ers, in  the  order  of  their  birth,  are  as  follows:  John 
B.,  residing  near  San  Jose;  William  M.,  a  merchant 
in  San  Diego;  Mary,  wife  of  J.  W.  Raines,  of  San 
Jose;  Frank,  a  resident  of  Santa  Barbara;  Susie,  a 
Normal  graduate  of  the  class  of  1888,  who,  with  the 
three  younger  children,  George  N.,  Stella  A.,  and 
Elwood  F.,  lives  under  the  parental  roof. 

Mr.  Herbert  is  a  man  thoroughly  practical  in  all  his 
undertakings,  and  his  orchard  shows,  in  its  thrift  and 
in  the  income  realized  from  it,  the  care  and  skill  which 
have  been  used  in  its  management.  Politically  Mr. 
Herbert  is  identified  with  the  Republican  party.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Herbert,  with  most  of  their  children,  are 
members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Albert  Alexander  spence  is  a  native 

(a^>3  of   California,  having  been    born    in    Monterey 

4?    County,  April  17,  1859.     His  father  was  also  a 

t     native  Californian,  and  his  grandfather,  David 

Spence,  a  native  of  Scotland,  who  came  to  the  Pacific 

Coast  early  in  the  century,  became  a  wealthy   man. 


prominent  in  the  early  development  of  California, 
and  was  for  a  time  Alcalde  of  Monterey.  A  fuller 
reference  to  the  connection  of  David  Spence  and  his 
family  with  the  history  of  California  will  be  found  in 
the  biographical  sketches  of  Rudolph  and  David 
Spence,  in  this  work. 

Albert  A.  received  his  education  at  the  Santa  Clara 
College,  where  he  commenced  his  studies  in  1870, 
and  there  remained  until  1879.  He  then  traveled 
through  the  United  States,  Mexico,  and  Central  and 
South  America,  for  one  year.  On  his  return  to  Cal- 
ifornia, he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Amelia 
Hastings,  daughter  of  Lansford  Warren  and  Char- 
lotte Catherine  (Toler)  Hastings. 

Lansford  W.  Hastings  was  one  of  the  early  pioneers 
of  the  Pacific  Coast,  having  come  to  Oregon  in  1842, 
and  thence  to  Sacramento,  California,  in  1843.  Born 
in  Ohio  in  1819,  of  an  old  English  family  of  which 
the  celebrated  Warren  Hastings,  of  East  India  fame, 
was  a  prominent  member,  he  was  educated  for  the 
law  and  practiced  his  profession  in  his  native  State, 
with  credit,  and  also  made  his  mark  as  an  author. 
Being  of  an  adventurous  disposition,  he  organized  an 
emigrant  party  made  up  of  well-to-do  farmers  and 
neighbors  in  Ohio,  whom  he  undertook  to  guide, 
early  in  1846,  across  the  then  pathless  prairies  and 
mountains  to  California.  The  party  suffered  great 
hardships  and  privations,  but  eventually  succeeded  in 
reaching  their  destination,  and  subsequently  most  of 
them  settled  in  Contra  Costa  and  what  afterward  be- 
came Alameda  County,  where  some  of  the  party  and 
their  descendants  still  reside.  When  Hastings  arrived 
in  California  with  his  train,  he  found  the  county  in 
possession  of  the  United  States  forces,  it  having  been 
taken  formal  possession  of  by  Commodore  John  D. 
Sloat,  commanding  the  naval  forces  in  the  Pacific, 
under  a  proclamation  issued  at  Monterey,  California^ 
on  July  7,  1846.  In  the  fall  of  that  year  quite  an 
extensive  revolution  was  started  by  the  Mexican 
residents  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State.  Commo- 
dore Stockton,  then  in  command,  proceeded  to  San 
Diego  and  organized  a  force  to  march  on  Los 
Angeles,  where  the  revolutionists  had  concentrated, 
at  the  same  time  ordering  General  Fremont  to  enlist 
what  emigrants  he  could  in  Northern  California  and 
co-operate  with  him  by  land  from  the  north.  On 
hearing  that  volunteers  were  wanted,  Hastings  im- 
mediately commenced  gathering  together  what  men 
he  could,  was  elected  captain,  and  joined  Fremont  at 
Monterey,  other  companies  joining  him  at  the  same 
time. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


409 


After  the  revolution  was  subdued,  in  which  Hast- 
ings performed  his  part  with  credit,  he  returned  to 
Northern  Cahfornia  and  settled  at  Sutter's  Fort,  af- 
terwards called  Sacramento,  where  he  was  residing 
at  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  gold.  He  went  to 
Coloma,  near  where  gold  was  first  discovered,  and 
started  a  store.  In  this  venture  he  amassed  quite  a 
fortune.  Returning  to  Sacramento,  he  speculated  for 
some  time  in  real  estate,  in  which  he  was  not  success- 
ful, having  attempted  to  build  up  a  rival  city  to  Sac- 
ramento on  its  southern  border.  Failing  in  this,  and 
losing  in  other  real-estate  speculations,  he  eventually 
lost  nearly  all  of  his  large  fortune. 

In  1S48  Mr.  Hastings  married  a  daughter  of  H. 
Toler,  a  native  of  Virginia,  who  had  resided  many 
years  in  South  America,  engaged  in  mercantile  pur- 
suits, and  for  several  years  as  United  States  Consul 
in  the  West  Indies.  In  South  America  Mr.  Toler 
had  married  a  Spanish  lady  and  had  two  children, 
William  P.  Toler,  who  was  a  midshipman  in  the 
United  States  Navy  on  board  the  Savannah  when 
California  was  taken  from  the  Mexicans;  and  Char- 
lotte C,  who  married  Lansford  Hastings.  The  latter 
had  several  children,  three  of  wliom  are  now  living, 
two  sons  residing  in  California,  and  Amelia  L.,  who 
married  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Mrs.  Spence's 
mother's  family  came  from  Buenos  Ayrcs  in  the  early 
days  of  California,  living  in  Sacramento  and  later  in 
Monterey. 

In  1849,  when  the  convention  was  in  session  at 
Monterey  forming  a  constitution  for  California,  prior 
to  its  admission  into  the  Union,  Mr.  Hastings  was  a 
member  of  that  body,  a  delegate  from  Sacramfcnto, 
and  during  the  exciting  debates  that  took  place  in 
that  memorable  convention  he  took  an  active  and 
important  part.  After  his  financial  losses  he  went 
with  his  family,  in  1857,  to  Fort  Yuma,  where  he, 
with  others,  planned  and  laid  out  a  town  across  the 
river,  on  which  he  built  great  expectations.  Finding 
that  his  hopes  were  not  realized,  he  returned  with  his 
family,  in  i860,  to  San  Francisco.  His  wife  died 
soon  afterward  in  San  Leandro,  in  the  house  of  her 
brother,  William  P.  Toler.  The  War  of  the  Rebell- 
ion soon  afterward  breaking  out,  Mr.  Hastings  left 
his  children  with  their  uncle,  Mr.  Toler,  went  South 
and  entered  the  Confederate  service  as  Quartermaster, 
serving  until  the  surrender.  He  then  went  to  Brazil, 
obtained  from  the  Emperor  Dom  Pedro  a  grant  of 
land  sixty-nine  miles  square,  on  one  of  the  branches 
of  the  Amazon  River,  with  the  condition  that  he 
would    establish  on    the  grant    a  certain   number  of 


families  as  emigrants.  He  succeeded  in  placing  one 
steamship  load  of  emigrants  from  the  South  on  the 
grant,  and  returned  to  the  United  States  for  more. 
Loading  another  ship  with  emigrants,  and,  accom- 
panied by  his  wife,  he  having  married  again,  he  died 
at  sea  while  on  the  voyage  to  Brazil.  His  untimely 
end  not  only  ruined  the  prospects  of  great  promise 
to  himself  and  family,  but  caused  great  distress  to 
the  emigrants.  They,  losing  his  active  energy  and 
counsel,  did  not  succeed,  nearly  all  of  them  being 
brought  back  to  the  United  States  some  time  after- 
ward on  a  United  States  man-of-war  sent  out  to 
rescue  them  from  their  position  of  isolation  and  suf- 
fering. Mr.  Hastings  was  possessed  of  a  large  and 
liberal  mind,  great  perseverance,  and  energy  of  char- 
acter. Had  he  not  been  taken  off  at  such  a  critical 
period  of  his  endeavor,  he  might  have  made  a  great 
success  of  what  proved  under  the  circumstances  a 
disaster. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Albert  A.  Spence  have  been  born 
two  children:  Albert  Alexander,  Jr.,  in  1882,  and 
Minette  Amelia,  in  1886.  Mr.  Spence  owns  3,000 
acres  of  land  in  Monterey  County,  near  Salinas,  part 
of  his  grandfather's  estate.  He  has  a  beautiful  home 
on  the  Alameda  near  Fremont  Avenue,  between  San 
Jose  and  Santa  Clara,  which  he  purchased  in  1884. 
Since  that  time  his  brothers,  David  and  Rudolph,  have 
built  elegant  residences  adjoining  him  on  the  Alameda. 


tEORGE  W.  SEIFERT,  M.  D.  Medical  science 
is  a  different  thing  nowadays  from  what  it  was 
•J^  but  a  little  time  since.  The  physician  is  not  now 
permitted  to  practice  until  he  has  undergone  a 
long  and  careful  training,  and  has  passed  successfully 
a  searching  and  severe  examination.  Those  who  make 
a  specialty  of  particular  branches,  or  seek  to  go  be- 
yond a  single  degree,  must  pursue  another  course  of 
study  and  practice,  and  devote  much  longer  time  to 
it  To  the  credit  of  the  medical  profession  be  it 
said  its  devotees  are  mostly  men  of  ardor  in  its  pur- 
suit, and  neither  time,  labor,  nor  expense  is  spared  by 
the  modern  physician  in  the  course  of  his  preparation 
for  active  practice.  George  W.  Seifert,  M.  D.,  though 
a  young  man,  has  already  proved  his  fitness  for  the 
duties  of  his  profession,  both  by  the  careful  prepara- 
tion he  has  made  for  his  duties  and  the  success  he  has 
met  as  a  practitioner.  Born  at  Santa  Clara,  April  18, 
i860,  he  was  in  a  sense  initiated  into  the  profession  at 
the  beginning,  being  the  son  of  William  Seifert,  M.D., 


500 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD: 


long  one  of  the  leading  and  most  successful  physi- 
cians in  Santa  Clara,  and  a  man  of  great  erudition, 
and  of  no  mean  note.  He  was  a  native  of  Breslau, 
Germany,  receiving  a  thorough  classical  training  in 
the  celebrated  university  of  that  city.  He  earned  his 
degree  of  M.  D.  at  the  University  of  Magdeburg, 
Germany,  graduating  there  with  honor.  He  after- 
ward became  Demonstrator  of  Anatomy  in  the  Med- 
ical Department  of  the  University  of  Berlin,  Ger- 
many, and  for  several  years  was  a  surgeon  in  the 
Austrian  army.  In  1849  he  came  to  America,  land- 
ing in  New  York  city,  where  he  remained  a  few 
months  before  starting  over  the  plains  to  California. 
At  Fort  Hall  he  stopped  for  three  years,  practicing 
among  the  soldiers  and  Indians,  after  which  he  went 
to  the  gold  diggings  in  Southern  Oregon  and  North- 
ern California,  practicing  and  mining.  In  1854  he 
came  to  Santa  Clara,  remaining  there,  pursuing  the 
successful  practice  of  medicine,  until  his  death,  which 
took  place  December  29,  1884,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
nine.  In  1856  he  was  married,  at  Santa  Clara,  to 
Miss  Ann  McDcrmit,  a  native  of  Ireland. 

They  had  but  one  child,  George  W.  Seifert,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  who  was  reared  in  Santa  Clara, 
and  was  educated  in  the  Santa  Clara  College,  graduat- 
ing there  as  B.  S.,  in  1879.  He  then  began  the  study 
of  medicine  under  the  tutorage  of  his  father.  In  1883 
he  graduated  as  M.  D.  at  the  Jefferson  Medical  Col- 
lege at  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  after  which  he 
passed  a  competitive  examination  to  enter  the  hos- 
pital of  that  city,  against  not  only  the  students  of 
Jefferson  College  but  also  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and,  excelling  all,  he  received  the  appoint- 
ment as  Resident  Physician,  a  position  he  held  for 
sixteen  months,  twelve  months  of  that  time  being 
Senior  Physician.  Since  graduation  he  has  taken 
three  post-graduate  courses:  In  1883  at  the  Lying-in 
Charity  Institute  of  Philadelphia;  1884,  at  Jefferson 
College,  Philadelphia,  and  the  same  year  at  the  Eye 
and  Ear  Dispensary  of  Philadelphia,  receiving  di- 
plomas from  each.  In  August,  1S84,  he  returned  to 
Santa  Clara  and  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession in  connection  with  his  father,  being  soon  after 
appointed  physician  to  the  Santa  Clara  College.  Al- 
though the  Doctor  has  met  with  the  success  in  his 
profession  that  only  comes  from  accurate  knowledge, 
joined  to  trained  skill,  gaining  the  confidence  of  the 
people  on  account  of  his  thorough  training  and 
scholarly  attainments,  he  has  now  gone  to  Europe  in 
order  to  pursue  further,  and  under  the  better  oppor- 
tunities there  obtainable,  the  study  of  his  specialties. 


It  is  his  intention  to  visit  the  hospitals  and  the  lead- 
ing specialists  in  the  capitals  and  other  centers,  mak- 
ing a  specialty  of  the  study  of  surgery  and  diseases 
of  the  eye. 

Dr.  Seifert  is  a  gentleman  of  easy  bearing,  thorough 
culture,  and  of  great  attainment,  as  is  shown  in  his 
frequent  successful  operations  in  critical  surgery,  and 
has  made  for  himself  the  reputation  of  a  skillful  and 
scientific  surgeon. 


■€■ 


PBENEZER  CLINTON  FARLEY,  son  of  Ebe- 
nezer  and  Eliza  Minerva  (Smith)  Farley,  was 
■sp  born  near  St.  Joseph,  Berrien  County,  Michigan, 
May  20,  1844.  His  ancestor,  George  Farley^ 
was  a  native  of  England,  where,  in  Warwickshire,  and 
on  the  Medway,  in  Kent  County,  the  family  had  long 
been  seated.  The  name  of  Farley  is  a  very  old  one 
in  England,  is  of  Anglo-Saxon  origin,  and  was  origi- 
nally spelled  Ffar-Lea,  the  name  being  in  two  parts, 
and  meaning  a  people  living  far  inland,  "  far  from 
the  sea."  In  those  days  all  names  had  a  meaning. 
At  the  time  of  the  Norman  Conquest  (A.  D.  1066) 
the  Farle\-s  were  living  on  the  Medway,  where  a 
Castle  Farleigh,  built  by  them,  can  still  be  seen. 
About  this  time  a  portion  of  the  family  emigrated  to, 
and  located  in,  the  Province  of  Connaught,  in  the 
north  of  Ireland,  and  their  descendants,  as  well  as 
those  of  Kent  County,  England,  can  be  found  all 
over  the  United  States  to-day.  George  Farley  came 
to  Massachusetts  and  located  in  Roxbury,  now  a  part 
of  Boston,  in  1640.  In  1641  he  removed  toWoburn, 
Massachusetts,  where  he  married  Christiana  Births, 
April  9,  1641.  He  died  December  27,  1693,  and  his 
wife  died  March  27,  1702.  He  was  a  clothier,  was 
one  of  the  early  Baptists,  and  a  member  of  the  church 
in  Boston.  In  1653  he  removed  to  Billerica,  Massa- 
chusetts, where  he  lived  until  his  death.  The  name  of 
Farley  does  not  appear  in  the  Billerica  records  after 
the  year  1765.  George  had  six  children,  among 
whom  was  Caleb,  born  April  i,  1645.  Caleb  mar- 
ried Rebecca  Hills,  July  S,  1666;  she  died  March 
29,  1669,  and  November  3,  1669,  he  married  Lydia 
Moore.  By  his  first  wife  he  had  two  children,  and  by 
his  second  wife  eight,  of  whom  Joseph  was  one,  born 
April  6,  1683.  Joseph  married  Abigail  Cook,  May  8, 
171 2,  and  had  nine  children,  of  whom  Ebenezer  was 
one,  born  May  15,  1731.  Joseph  lived  all  his  life  in 
Billerica,  and  died  there,  December  19,  1752,  and  his 
wife,  Abigail,  died  January  18,  1753,  aged  sixty-four. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


501 


Ebenezer  was  also  born  in  Billerica,  and  married 
Hepzibah  Wyman,  October  15,  1755,  and  removed  to 
HoUis,  New  Hampshire,  where  he  died,  February  2, 
1818;  his  wife  died  in  July,  18 12,  aged  eighty-four 
years.  They  had  six  children,  of  whom  Amos  was 
one,  born  August  15,  1768.  Amos  was  born  in  Hollis, 
and  when  a  young  man  removed  to  Springfield,  Ver- 
mont, where  he  married  Lucy  Hall,  a  native  of  Spring- 
field, December  23,  iSoo.  In  1803  he  removed  to 
Stanstead,  Canada,  just  north  of  the  Vermont  line, 
and  lived  there  until  181 5,  when,  fearing  that  he  might 
be  impressed  into  the  British  service,  returned  to  Ver- 
mont; but  before  he  reached  Springfield,  he  learned 
of  the  news  of  peace,  but  concluded  not  to  return  to 
Canada.  He  visited  his  relatives  in  New  Hampshire, 
and  then  emigrated  to  Geauga  County,  Ohio,  arriving 
in  Painesville,  October  3,  1815.  He  lived  in  Geauga 
County  until  1830,  when  he  removed  to  Berrien 
Springs,  Berrien  County,  Michigan,  where  he  died 
May  9,  1837,  and  his  wife  died  September  24,  1854. 
They  had  nine  children,  of  whom  Ebenezer,  the  father 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  Stanstead, 
Canada,  January  9,  181 1.  He  lived  with  his  father 
until  he  removed  to  Michigan,  where  he  located  on  a 
quarter  section  of  government  land,  on  the  St.  Joseph 
River,  about  midway  between  Berrien  Springs  and 
St.  Joseph,  and  December  31,  1840,  was  married  to 
Eliza  Minerva  Smith,  a  daughter  of  Major  Timothy 
S.  Smith,  of  St.  Joseph,  Michigan.  She  was  born  in 
Fort  Defiance,  Ohio,  February  14,  1822,  and  now  lives 
in  Gilroy,  California.  He  came  to  California  with  his 
family,  across  the  plains,  in  1854,  and  located  on  a 
farm  about  three  miles  east  of  Alvarado,  in  Alameda 
County,  where  he  remained  until  the  fall  of  1858, 
when  he  purchased  a  small-fruit  farm,  near  Alvarado, 
where  he  lived  until  his  death,  August  8,  1879. 

He  had  eight  children,  of  whom  Ebenezer  Clinton, 
the  subject,  was  one,  who  came  to  California  with  his 
father  when  ten  years  old,  and  has  resided  here  ever 
since.  He  was  raised  a  farmer,  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  Alameda  County,  and  at  the  old 
Oakland  College  School,  since  merged  into  the  State 
University.  He  attended  this  college  during  the  year 
1 86 1,  and  from  January  to  May,  1863,  attended  the 
State  Normal  School,  then,  in  its  infancy,  located  on 
Fourth  Street,  near  Market,  in  San  Francisco.  This 
was  the  last  school  that  he  attended.  In  June,  1864, 
he  went  to  Tulare  County,  where  he  remained  four 
months,  and  then  returned  home.  Novemb-er23,  1864, 
he  enlisted  in  San  Jose,  in  Company  C,  Eighth  Cali- 
fornia  Infantry,  for  three  years,  and  was  located  at 


Fort  Point,  California.  He  served  as  a  private,  and 
was  mustered  out  with  his  regiment  at  Fort  Point, 
October  24,  1865,  pursuant  to  General  order  No.  19, 
Department  of  California,  dated  October  16,  1865. 

Soon  after  his  return  home  he  became  a  clerk  in  a 
general  merchandise  store  in  Alvarado,  where  he  re- 
mained about  six  months.  During  the  years  1867  and 
1868  he  was  employed  a  great  portion  of  the  time  by 
E.  H.  Dyer,  of  Alvarado,  writing  up  government  sur- 
veys for  him,  and  afterwards  re-copying  them  in  the 
United  States  Surveyor-General's  office  in  San  Fran- 
cisco for  the  General  Land  Office.  In  1867  he  was 
Secretary  of  the  Democratic  County  Convention  of 
Alameda  County.  In  January,  1869,  he  went  again 
to  Tulare  County,  where  he  remained  till  November, 
when  he  returned  to  Alvaiado.  On  P'ebruarj-  16, 
1 87 1,  he  was  appointed  Deputy  County  Clerk  of 
Alameda  County,  and  was  continued  in  the  same 
capacity  by  J.  V.  B.  Goodrich  and  Charles  G.  Reed, 
the  succeeding  County  Clerks.  He  remained  in  the 
Clerk's  office  until  March,  1880,  the  last  four  years 
being  Clerk  to  the  Board  of  Supervisors.  In  1872  he 
was  a  delegate  to  the  Democratic  State  Convention, 
held  in  San  Francisco,  which  indorsed  the  nomination 
of  Horace  Greeley  for  the  presidency. 

Upon  his  retirement  from  the  Clerk's  office  he  re- 
turned to  Alvarado,  where  he  remained  nearly  two 
years,  farming  and  raising  fruit  on  the  old  homestead. 
In  September,  1880,  he  bought  a  tract  of  eighteen 
acres  of  land  about  a  mile  north  of  Los  Gatos,  in 
Santa  Clara  County,  and  in  February  following 
planted  about  ten  acres  of  it  to  fruit-trees  of  various 
kinds.  In  October,  1881,  he  built  his  present  house, 
and  January  10,  1882,  moved  into  it.  On  January  8, 
18S3,  he  was  appointed  Under  Sheriff  by  B.  F.  Bran- 
ham,  Sheriff  of  Santa  Clara  County,  and  remained 
with  him  four  years.  In  January,  1887,  he  returned 
to  his  ranch  at  Los  Gatos.  He  was  a  candidate  for 
the  office  of  County  Recorder,  on  the  Democratic 
ticket,  in  1873  and  1875,  and  a  candidate  on  the  same 
ticket  for  County  Clerk  of  Alameda  County  in  1880. 
He  is  a  member  of  Crusade  Lodge,  No.  93,  I.  O.  O.  F., 
at  Alvarado,  and  a  member  and  Past  Post  Com- 
mander of  E.  O.  C.  Ord  Post,  No.  82,  G.  A.  R.,  of 
Los  Gatos.  Was  married  at  Oakland,  California, 
November  28,  1878,  to  Ettie  Eloise  Emlay,  a  native 
of  Jackson,  Michigan,  where  she  was  born  February 
13'  '^SQ-  I"  politics  Mr.  Farley  is  a  Democrat,  as  his 
father  and  grandfather  were  before  him. 


502 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


§|M  L.  manly,  farmer,  near  Hillsdale  Station, 
Gffis)  was  born  near  St.  Albans,  Vermont,  in  1820. 
^^I"     When  he  was  a  boy  his  father  and  uncle  sold 

I  their  farms  and  concluded  to  go  to  Ohio, 
which  was  then  the  "  far  West,"  and  he  drove  the 
family  carriage,  which  was  then  considered  a  fine 
vehicle,  although  it  was  only  a  wooden  spring-seat 
wagon,  with  small  wooden  axles,  etc.  His  uncle,  just 
ahead,  drove  a  two-horse  wagon.  They  stopped  for 
the  winter  twenty-one  miles  south  of  Cleveland,  Ohio. 
During  this  time  the  father  changed  his  mind,  and 
concluded  to  go  to  Michigan  Territorj-,  by  water,  with 
the  rest  of  the  family.  In  that  Territory  one  could 
then  obtain  land  from  the  government  at  $1.25  per 
acre.  The  uncle  went  around  Lake  Erie,  as  far  as 
Huron  River,  and  shipped  the  teams  to  Detroit  to 
escape  the  hardships  and  dangers  of  crossing  the  much 
dreaded  Black  Swamp.  He  and  young  Manly  over- 
took the  parents  of  the  latter  south  of  Ann  Arbor, 
when  all  were  found  well,  and  they  had  a  happy  re- 
union. The  two  men  soon  found  good  government 
land  near  Jackson,  which  they  purchased,  and  on 
which  they  lived  and  made  improvements  for  some 
years.     This  was  before  schools  were  established. 

When  the  construction  of  the  Michigan  Central 
Railroad  reached  their  vicinity  W.  L.  joined  in  work 
upon  it,  at  $13  per  month, — half  cash  and  half  "store 
pay!"  Making  here  the  acquaintance  of  a  broad-ax 
man,  Orrin  Henry,  they  quit  the  railroad,  built  a  boat, 
went  down  Grand  River  to  Lake  Michigan,  crossed 
the  lake  on  a  lumber  schooner,  and  landed  at  South- 
jiort.  Then  they  took  their  blankets  upon  their  backs 
and  traveled  westward  through  Wisconsin,  at  that 
time  a  very  thinly  settled  country;  but  they  found  no 
employment  until  they  reached  Mineral  Point,  where 
lead  mines  were  in  operation.  By  this  time  thirty-five 
cents  was  all  the  money  that  Mr.  Manly  had  left. 
Sleeping  in  an  old  house,  he  worked  at  anything  he 
could  get  to  do,  and  did  some  h.unting  and  trapping; 
and,  although  he  could  lay  up  no  money,  yet  he  had 
good  health,  and  therefore  life  here  was  preferable  to 
having  the  ague  (cold  fever)  in  Michigan,  to  which  he 
had  been  subject. 

He  contracted  a  "fever,"  however,  but  this  time  it 
was  the  "gold  fever,"  in  1S49.  Making  his  own 
clothes,  out  of  the  skins  which  he  himself  had  dressed, 
and  from  deer  which  he  had  killed,  he  left  his  Wis- 
consin outfit  with  A.  Bennett,  with  whom  he  had  been 
living,  and  who  intended  soon  to  start  for  California. 
At  Prairie  La  Crosse,  on  the  Mississippi,  where  lived 
an  Indian  trader,  in  a  log  cabin,  the  only  house  within 


many  mile^,  he  bought  a  small  Indian  pony  for  $30 
— nearly  all  the  money  he  had — and  struck  out.  At 
Council  Bluffs,  the  only  town  heard  of  on  the  Missouri 
River  at  that  time,  he  expected  to  meet  Mr.  Bennett; 
but,  not  finding  him  there,  he  went  down  to  Prairie 
du  Chien,  where  he  found  a  letter  from  him,  not  dated, 
stating  that  he  and  his  party  would  not  start  so  soon, 
and  requesting  Mr.  Manly  to  return  and  go  with  them. 
He  complied,  but  his  journey  was  so  slow  that  he 
reached  Mineral  Point  too  late.  The  party  had  been 
gone  some  time.  Mr.  Manly  hurried  westward  again 
crossing  the  Mississippi  at  Dubuque.  He  found  no 
settlements  west  of  the  Des  Moines  River.  Arriving 
at  Council  Bluffs,  he  found  that  all  the  gold-hunters 
had  crossed  the  Missouri.  He  searched  diligently  for 
Mr.  Bennett,  and  for  a  letter  or  some  memorandum 
from  him,  and  even  for  his  name  scratched  on  the  logs 
of  the  houses  where  hundreds  of  others  had  left  their 
names;  but  all  in  vain. 

Returning  across  the  river  bottom  he  found  a  small 
train  of  six  or  seven  wagons,  owned  by  Charles  Dallas. 
The  latter  wanted  a  driver,  and  would  board  one  for 
his  work.  Thus,  turning  his  pony  in  with  his  disen- 
gaged horses,  Mr.  Manly  took  the  whip  and  drove  a 
pair  of  oxen  and  two  cows  all  the  way  to  the  vicinity 
of  Green  River.  Here  Mr.  Dallas  concluded  that  it 
would  be  too  late  to  cross  the  Sierra  Nevada  before 
winter,  and  that  he  had  better  winter  at  Salt  I^ake. 
He  accordingly  discharged  all  his  drivers,  who  felt 
greatly  disappointed,  as  there  was  no  prospect  of  find- 
ing work  among  the  Mormons. 

At  Green  River  was  a  small  ferry-boat  6x10  feet  in 
dimensions.  The  reasoning  of  the  discharged  men 
was  that  if  they  could  get  some  provisions  from  Mr. 
Dallas,  they  could  descend  the  river  in  this  boat  to 
the  Pacific  Coast.  Being  allowed  $60  for  his  pony 
by  Mr.  Dallas,  Mr.  Manly  purchased  of  him  provis- 
ions, and  the  party  descended  the  river  until  they 
were  stopped  by  some  Indians,  who  informed  them 
that  Green  River  was  not  navigable  all  the  way,  and 
that  they  had  better  cross  over  the  mountains  to  Salt 
Lake.  At  Utah  Lake  they  met  a  train  of  107  wag- 
ons going  south  to  enter  California  at  San  Bernar- 
dino. Joining  this  train,  Mr.  Manly  soon  found  Mr. 
Bennett  and  the  outfit  he  had  left  with  him  in  Wis- 
consin. 

Near  Mountain  Meadows,  November  4,  1 849,  they 
turned  west  for  a  shorter  route  to  the  mines.  Going 
by  way  of  Death  Valley,  they  arrived  at  Los  Ange- 
les on  the  twelfth  of  March  following,  with  nothing 
but  the  clothes  on  their  backs;  they  even    had    not 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


503 


shoes!  The)'  went  up  the  coast  to  the  mines  on  the 
Merced,  thence  to  Georgetown,  Downieville,  and 
finally  to  Moore's  Flat,  in  Nevada  County. 

In  the  fall  of  1S59  Mr.  Manly  came  to  San  Jose 
and  purchased  the  farm  he  now  owns,  on  the  Monte- 
rey road  near  Hillsdale  Station,  and  here  he  has  ever 
since  been  an  industrious  farmer  and  exemplary  citi- 
zen. 

July  10,  1S62,  is  the  date  of  Mr.  Manlj's  marriage, 
to  Miss  Mary  J.  Woods,  of  San  Joaquin  County, 
California. 

In  his  political  principles  he  is  a  Republican  pro- 
tectionist. » 


->H^ 


S^M. 


:-4<H<- 


^^  H.  COREY.  The  successful  hotel  proprietors 
^^  are  few,  and  the  duties  of  the  iiosition  require 
xpecuh'ar  and  unusual  talents  in  their  possessors. 
Mr.  C.  H.  Corey,  the  proprietor  of  the  Lick  House, 
situated  on  the  corner  of  First  and  San  Fernando 
Streets,  has  proved  himself  the  successful  Boniface, 
however,  as  he  has  raised  the  house,  in  the  six  years 
he  has  owned  it,  from  a  comparatively  small  affair  to 
a  leading  and  popular  position.  The  Lick  House 
was  established  in  1872.  In  1882  Mr.  Corey  pur- 
chased it,  immediately  made  extensive  additions,  and 
introduced  such  improvements  as  at  once  placed  it  in 
the  rank  of  first-class  institutions.  It  was  entirely 
refitted  and  refurnished,  and  supplied  with  every 
modern  convenience,  until  now  there  is  nothing  bet- 
ter outside  of  the  metropolitan  cities.  The  cuisine 
is  presided  over  by  a  skilled  c/ief,  who  has  an  able 
body  of  assistants,  and  the  table  is  acknowledged  to 
be  the  choicest,  no  expense  being  spared  to  obtain  the 
freshest  and  best.  The  hotel  has  100  rooms,  single 
and  e/i  suite,  and  a  further  addition  is  planned  that 
will  double  the  accommodation.  Mr.  Corey  made  a 
trip  to  the  East  in  the  summer  of  1888,  where,  at 
Grand  Rapids,  Michigan,  he  arranged  with  Nelson, 
Mather  &  Co.,  to  manufacture  the  furniture  of  the 
most  approved  styles  for  this  addition.  A  fine 
billiard-room  with  the  best  makes  of  tables,  and  all 
the  adjuncts  of  a  perfect  hotel,  are  to  be  found.  The 
best  transient  trade  of  the  country  comes  to  Mr. 
Corey,  as  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  Lick  House 
is  headquarters  for  commercial  men,  and  the  "boys" 
always  go  where  the  best  is  found.  Mr.  J.  Dennis, 
the  manager,  has  been  a  hotel  manager  for  twenty 
years,  having  at  one  time  been  in  charge  of  the  Ros- 
sin  House,  Toronto,  Canada. 


Mr.  Corey  is  a  native  of  Canada,  born  there  in 
1844.  He  was  educated  in  Canada,  and  there  learned 
the  harness  trade,  conducting  that  business  in  various 
parts  of  the  country.  He  came  to  California  on  the 
first  train  that  crossed  the  continent,  witnessing  the 
driving  of  the  last  golden  spike  that  commemorated 
the  completion  of  the  great  road.  Mr.  Corey  is  an 
active  sportsman  and  an  admirer  of  good  "horse- 
flesh." He  is  the  owner  of  C.  H.  C,  which  trots  a 
mile  in  2:20,  and  a  two-year-old  colt  that  has  accom- 
plished a  mile  in  2:50,  and  is  entered  in  the  San  Jose 
Colt  Stake  for  1888. 

Mr.  Corey  is  a  leading  member  of  the  Carden  City 
Gun  Club,  so  that  he  can  invite  any  of  his  guests  at 
the  hotel  to  enjoy  the  hospitality  of  the  club.  They 
possess  a  magnificent  reserve  twelve  miles  from  San 
Jose,  on  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad,  known  as  the 
Twelve  Mile  House  Lagoon,  where  they  have  a  fifty- 
year  lease  of  a  ranch  of  10,000  acres.  They  have 
stocked  the  lagoon  with  game  fish,  and  to  attract 
birds  have  sown  the  whole  with  wild  rice,  and  already 
it  is  becoming  a  resort  for  game  of  every  kind. 

Mr.  Corey  married  Miss  Anna  Roberts,  of  Ohio,  in 
1874.  He  is  a  member  of  Saii  Jose  Lodge,  No.  125, 
Knights  of  Pythias,  and  a  leading  and  esteemed 
citizen. 


A 


5AVID  B.  MOODY.  It  is  an  easier  matter  to 
write  the  biography  of  a  successful  California 
pioneer  than  that  of  any  other.  The  adventur- 
ous and  often  perilous  early  days,  the  successful 
combating  of  difficulties,  and  the  prosperity  of  the 
present,  afford  ample  material  for  the  historian;  and 
hence  it  is  that  the  name  of  D.  B.  Moody  is  taken  up 
with  pleasure. 

Born  in  Michigan  City,  Indiana,  in  1837,  his  par- 
ents. Ransom  G.  and  Elmira  fBacon)  Moody,  re- 
moved, in  1840,  to  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin.  There  he 
remained  until  March,  1849,  attending  school  and  oc- 
cupied with  the  employments  of  boyhood.  In  the 
spring  of  1849  the  family  crossed  the  plains  to  Cali- 
fornia by  the  southern  route  and  the  Tejon  Pass, 
their  wagons  being  among  the  first  to  come  by  that 
route,  reaching  this  State  about  Christmas-time,  1849. 
They  moved  along  slowly,  finally  reaching  San  Jose 
in  May,  1850,  where  Mr.  Moody  attended  school  un- 
til nineteen  years  of  age.  When  twenty-one  he  em- 
barked   in   the   milling   business   with    his    brothers 


504 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  ''GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD:' 


Charles  and  V.  D.  Moody,  and  has  continued  in  that 
trade  ever  since. 

Mr.  Moody  is  the  Secretary  of  the  Central  Milling 
Company,  which  possesses  eleven  mills  in  all,  dis- 
tributed in  Placer,  Santa  Clara,  San  Benito,  Santa 
Cruz,  Monterey,  and  San  Luis  Obispo  Counties,  San 
Jose  being  the  central  office  and  managed  by  Mr. 
Moody.  They  arc  all  roller  mills  of  the  most  im- 
proved kinds,  and  are  turning  out  a  high  grade  of 
flour  that  entirely  controls  the  local  market,  reaching 
out  toother  sections  as  far  as  Los  Angeles  and  San 
Diego.  It  is  universally  conceded  that  the  wheat 
grown  in  this  valley  is  the  equal  of  any  raised  in  the 
State,  and  the  flour  made  here  has  a  high  reputation. 
The  capacity  of  the  mill  here  is  i6o  barrels  per  day, 
and  of  all  the  mills  of  the  company,  2,000  barrels. 

The  mill  here  was  established  in  1858,  by  the  three 
brothers.  V.  D.,  however,  dropped  out  in  1867,  be- 
coming a  banker  and  manufacturer,  and  Charles  left 
the  business  in  1882.  In  1886  the  Central  Milling 
Company  was  organized,  embracing  the  mills  in  the 
counties  mentioned,  since  when  a  noticeable  rise  in 
the  grade  and  quality  of  the  flour  made  has  been  seen, 
and  greater  satisfaction  given  consumers. 

Mr.  Moody  is  a  public-spirited  citizen,  who  has 
commanded  the  fullest  confidence  of  the  community, 
being  often  called  upon  to  give  to  the  public  a  portion 
of  the  time  and  talents  that  have  resulted  in  prosperity 
to  himself  In  1862  he  was  elected  City  Treasurer, 
holding  the  office  two  years.  In  1867,  at  a  moment 
of  great  public  agitation,  he  was  called  upon  to  act 
as  County  Treasurer  by  the  Board  of  Supervisors. 
The  incumbent  of  the  office  had  absconded  with 
$23,000  of  the  county  funds.  Great  excitement  was 
the  result,  but  Mr.  Moody  took  hold  of  matters  and 
carried  them  safely  through  the  critical  time,  finding 
no  difficulty  in  giving  at  once  bonds  of  the  heaviest 
nature.  From  1867  to  1871  Mr.  Moody  was  Chair- 
man of  the  Republican  County  Committee,  and  in 
September  27,  1886,  he  was  a  prime  mover  in  the  or- 
ganization of  the  Board  of  Trade,  which  has  done  a 
vast  deal  of  good  for  this  valley  in  advertising  its  ad- 
vantages and  resources,  and  in  disseminating  accurate 
and  reliable  information,  aiding  more  than  anything 
else  the  great  advance  of  to-day.  Mr.  Moody  was 
elected  President  at  the  first  and  still  holds  that  im- 
portant office.  In  addition  to  his  business  interests, 
he  has  a  large  extent  of  real  estate.  He  possesses  a 
third  interest  in  the  Moody  District  oil  wells,  one 
mile  above  Alma,  in  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains.  The 
oil  product  is  leased   by  the   Pacific   Coa.st   Oil  Com- 


pany, is  piped  to  Alma,  and  shipped  thence  to  the 
works  at  Alameda.  It  is  considered  the  finest  quality 
of  oil  found  on  this  coast,  and  equal  to  the  Pennsyl- 
vania oil. 

Mr.  Moody  was  married,  in  1861,  to  Miss  Jennie  B. 
Wright,  a  native  of  New  York  State.  They  have 
two  children,  Nettie,  a  graduate  of  the  TJni versify  of 
the  Pacific,  and  Anna,  both  residing  with  their  parents. 

Mr.  Moody  is  a  consistent  Republican,  believing  in 
the  protection  of  American  industries.  He  is  also 
a  diligent  amateur  musician,  devoting  his  leisure  mo- 
ments to  this  as  a  recreation.  He  has  composed  the 
music  of  several  songs  which  have  met  with  popular 
recognition,  and  is  now  the  tenor  of  St.  Joseph's 
Choir,  San  Jose.  It  should  be  stated,  also,  that  Mr. 
Mood}-  is  now  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Freeholders, 
elected  for  the  purpose  of  framing  a  new  charter  for 
the  city,  and  is  one  of  the  Committee  of  Revision, 
which  meets  daily  to  digest  thoroughly  the  provisions 
of  that  instrument,  a  responsible  office  requiring  the 
highest  qualities,  but  unaccompanied  by  emolument. 


H.  JORDAN  &  Co,  land,  loan,  and  insurance 
brokers.  Office,  Los  Gatos,  Santa  Clara  County, 
California. 


&f 


tAPT.  JOHN  MARTIN  resides  at  Alviso,  where 
-.-  he  is  extensively  engaged  in  the  warehouse  busi- 
ness, being  part  owner  and  sole  manager  of  the 
"Empire  Warehouse,"  which  is  a  large  brick 
structure  with  an  iron  roof,  and  fire-proof  He  also 
rents  two  buildings,  which  he  devotes  to  his  business. 
He  was  born  in  Hamburg,  Germany,  in  1825.  His 
parents  dying  when  he  was  an  infant,  he  was  brought 
up  in  his  native  place  in  one  of  the  many  charitable 
public  institutions,  where  he  received  a  good  educa- 
tion. At  the  age  of  sixteen  years  he  entered  upon  a 
seafaring  life,  and  it  was  while  following  this  occupa- 
tion that  he  came  to  the  United  States,  landing  at 
New  York  in  1842.  He  continued  his  seafaring  life 
for  the  next  three  years.  After  visiting  various  coun- 
tries of  the  world,  he  found  himself  in  Chili  and  there 
he  remained  for  about  four  years,  being  engaged  in 
the  coasting  trade  on  the  southwestern  coast  of  Amer- 
ica. Ill  health  necessitated  a  change  of  climate,  and 
consequently,    in    1S49,  Captain    Martin    shipped  for 


"/^TJ^crny: 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


505 


San  Francisco  in  the  American  ship  George  Was/iing- 
ton,  which  called  in  at  Valparaiso.  He  arrived  at 
San  Francisco  in  July,  1849,  and  engaged  in  freight- 
ing on  the  bay.  He  was  soon  placed  in  command  of 
the  schooner  George  H.  Ensign,  in  the  passenger  and 
freight  business  between  San  Francisco  and  Alviso. 
He  prospered  in  this  work,  and  eventually  became  the 
owner  of  vessels  himself  In  1868  Captain  Martin 
and  J.  S.  Carter  built  the  schooners  Maggie  Douglas 
and  Nelli"^  Carter,  of  100  tons  burden,  and  engaged  in 
the  grain  trade.  This  life,  to  which  he  was  thor- 
oughly trained  and  for  which  he  was  well  fitted,  he 
led  for  twenty  years,  leaving  it  in  1870  to  enter  into 
the  warehouse  business  at  his  present  home. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  united  in  marriage, 
in  1862,  with  Miss  Theresa  B.  Borden,  a  native  of  Ire- 
land, who  came  to  California  from  Flushing,  Long 
Island.  To  Captain  and  Mrs.  Martin  have  been  born 
eleven  children.  Their  names  are:  John  T.,  Peter  B., 
a  resident  of  San  Francisco;  Elinor  L.,  the  wife  of 
Neal  Pitman,  of  San  Jose;  May  A.,  Terry  P.,  residing 
in  San  Francisco;  William  H.,  now  deceased;  James 
C,  Marguerite  E.,  Flora  M.,  E.sther  J.,  and  Theo- 
dore E. 

Captain  Martin  has  long  been  identified  with  the 
interests  and  growth  of  Alviso;  and  is  one  of  its  most 
respected  citizens.  After  many  years  spent  in  the 
active,  roving  life  of  the  seafaring  man,  he  is  well 
content  to  live  in  this  pleasant  valley,  leading  a  useful 
life  and  surrounded  by  his  interesting  family.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
being  associated  with  Santa  Clara  Lodge,  No.  52. 
Politically  he  is  a  Democrat,  with  liberal  views,  and 
during  the  war  was  a  strong  Union  man. 


^^.^ 


a|LBERT  SCHRODER,  of  the  firm  of  Davis  & 
sip'  Co.,  hardware  merchants  at   No.  27  South  First 

t  Street,  was  born  at  Mazatlan,  Mexico,  in  1845. 
His  parents  were  Morgan  and  Ygnacia  (Rod- 
riguez) Schroder,  the  latter  a  native  of  Mexico  and 
the  former  a  native  of  England,  who  came  from  Maz- 
atlan to  California  with  hisfamili^in  1849,  and  located 
in  Santa  Clara  Valley  in  1850.  He  worked  at  first  at 
the  Almaden  mines,  and  in  a  short  time  took  charge 
of  the  transportation  of  the  quicksilver  from  the 
mines  to  Alviso  for  shipment.  This  business  he  fol- 
lowed until  1S62,  when  he  .sold  his  teams  and  bought 
out  the  hardware  store  of  E.  Bessie.  This  business 
he  followed  until  1868,  when  he  sold  it  out  and  went 
64 


to  Mexico.  He  returned  from  Mexico  some  years 
later  and  died  here  in  June,  i8Si,andhis  wife  died  in 
1 87-.  They  are  both  buried  here. 

Albert,  the  subject,  received  his  education  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  San  Jose  and  then  attended  the  Santa 
Clara  College  for  one  year,  and  later  attended  the 
Brayton  College  at  Oakland  for  two  years.  He  then 
entered  his  father's  hardware  store  as  a  salesman,  in 
which  he  continued  until  the  business  was  purchased 
by  Henry  B.  Alvord.  He  remained  with  that  firm 
until  the  business  passed  into  the  hands  of  Davis  & 
Co.  With  this  firm  Mr.  Schroder  continued  as  sales- 
man until  1886,  when  he  purchased  an  interest  with 
Mr.  Davis,  the  firm  name  becoming  Davis  &  Schroder. 

Mr.  Schroder  was  married,  in  1875,  to  Miss  Kate 
Collins,  a  native  of  Ohio,  and  they  have  two  children, 
Nellie  L.  and  Alvord.  He  is  a  member  of  Enter- 
prise Lodge,  No  17,  A.  O.  U.  W.,  of  which  he  has  been 
Financial  Secretary  for  the  past  nine  years.  His  fa- 
ther left  England  at  the  age  of  twelve  years,  serving 
his  apprenticeship  on  board  a  ship,  and  later  became 
a  mate  on  a  vessel  runni -g  between  China  and 
Mexico.  Before  finally  settling  down  in  Santa  Clara 
Valley  he  commanded  a  vessel  running  between  Maz- 
atlan and  San  Francisco  for  some  time,  and  the  gold 
excitement  coming  on,  and  being  unable  to  procure 
sailors  to  return  to  Mazatlan,  he  was  obliged  to  sell 
his  vessel,  and  he  never  followed  the  sea  afterward. 


SijAVID  J.  SPENCE,  who  resides  on  the  Ala- 
(=^  meda  near  Fremont  Street,  San  Jose,  was  born 
°p'  in  Monterey,  Califoi-nia,  in  1861.  He  received 
his  education  at  Santa  Clara  College,  where  his  two 
brothers  also  attended.  In  1886  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Hattie  Foley,  a  native  of  Baltimore,  Maryland. 
They  have  one  child,  David  J.  Spence,  Jr.  He  is  a 
descendant,  through  his  grandparents  on  one  side, 
from  an  old  Scottish  family,  one  of  whose  members, 
David  Spence,  the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  came  to  California  early  in  the  present  cent- 
ury and  became  prominently  identified  with  its  early 
history,  and  on  the  other  from  the  best  Spanish  blood 
in  California,  his  grandmother  being  the  daughter  of 
the  commandant  of  the  Mc.vi can  forces  in  California, 
and  the  niece  of  their  Governor.  His  grandfather 
was  Alcalde  of  Monterey  when  the  American  forces 
took  pos.session  of  California,  and  died  there  in  1875, 
leaving  a  large  estate  to  \^c  divided  between  his  four 


50G 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  ''GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD: 


grandchildren.  Mr.  Spcnce's  father  was  born  in 
Monterey,  and  died  there  in  iS68.  David  J.  Spence, 
and  also  each  of  his  brothers,  have  built  elegant 
homes  adjoining  each  other  on  the  Alameda  near 
Fremont  Street.  They  have  each  about  3,000  acres 
of  land  near  Monterey,  land  of  fine  quality  and  well 
adapted  to  either  farming  or  fruit-raising.  This  is 
mostly  rented  to  the  people  who  are  cultivating  it. 
An  extended  history  of  the  family  is  contained  in  the 
biographical  sketches  of  Rudolph  and  Albert  Spence 
in  this  volume. 


M»— 


^ 


|YLER  BEACH.  There  is  certainly  no  better 
known  or  more  popular  man  in  Santa  Clara 
County  than  the  gentleman  whose  name  heads 
this  sketch.  Born  in  Warren  County,  New  York, 
September  29,  1832,  he  was  taken  by  his  parents  to 
Saratoga  County,  in  the  same  State,  five  years  later. 
In  May,  1845,  they  emigrated  to  Walworth  County, 
Wisconsin,  and  two  years  later  went  on  to  Columbia 
County,  in  Wisconsin,  and  there  resided  until  1853, 
when  Mr.  Beach  set  out  for  California,  by  the  Nicara- 
gua route,  reaching  San  Francisco  in  February,  1854. 
He  came  to  Santa  Clara  County  two  months  later, 
and  has  ever  since  resided  here  and  been  prominently 
identified  with  all  the  best  interests  of  the  place.  For 
a  time  Mr.  Beach  devoted  himself  to  farming  and 
other  agricultural  pursuits,  and  then  for  two  years  fol- 
lowed the  business  of  artesian  well  borer. 

In  1861  he  began  the  ice  business.and  subsequently 
started  a  wood  and  coal  yard  on  St.  John  Street,  in 
San  Jose,  being  the  first  to  engage  in  that  business 
here,  and  carrying  it  on  until  a  few  years  ago.  But 
it  is  as  the  proprietor  of  the  popular  St.  James  Hotel 
that  Tyler  Beach  is  best  known,  this  house  being  at 
the  time  of  writing  considered  as  leading  the  business 
in  this  county.  The  St.  James  has  within  the  year 
been  enlarged  to  twice  its  former  capacity,  and  other- 
wise improved  until  now  it  is,  both  in  appearance  and 
in  appointments,  in  every  respect  a  thoroughly  first- 
class  house.  The  rooms  are  lofty  and  well  ventilated, 
handsomely  furnished  and  equipped,  the  halls  spacious 
and  airy,  softly  carpeted  and  artistically  decorated. 
The  household  department  is  perfect,  the  dining- 
room  being  the  largest  in  the  city,  and  the  bill  of  fare 
always  including  the  best  the  markets  afford,  cooked 
under  the  direction  of  a  skilled  c/ief.  In  this  depart- 
ment the  St.  James  has  a  great  advantage.  Fresh 
butter,   milk,   eggs,    vegetables,   etc.,  are   brought   in 


daily  from  Mr.  Beach's  own  ranch  in  the  outskirts  of 
the  city,  which  is  run  in  connection  with  the  hotel. 
Lovers  of  fine  stock  will  be  much  interested  in  the 
high-grade  animals  of  which  Mr.  Beach  makes  a 
specialty.  The  location  of  the  house  could  not  be 
improved.  Adjoining  the  handsome  Court  House,  and 
directly  opposite  the  lovely  St.  James  Park,  guests 
can  never  be  disturbed  b\'  the  noise  and  bustle  of  the 
city,  and  yet  they  are  within  an  easy  walk  of  all  the 
public  buildings.  It  is  in  the  magnetic  personality  of 
Mr.  Beach  himself,  however,  that  the  greatest  attrac- 
tion exists.  Liked  by  everyone  who  knows  him, 
both  he  and  his  estimable  family  are  honored  and 
loved  members  of  the  community,  Mr.  Beach  being 
large-hearted,  generous,  and  public-spirited  to  a 
fault. 

He  was  married  April  3,  1861,  to  Miss  Martha  Ann 
Smith,  of  Iowa.  They  have  five  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters. 

Mr.  Beach  is  a  Mason  of  high  standing,  being  a 
member  of  San  Jose  Lodge,  No.  10,  of  which  he  is 
Senior  Warden,  a  Captain  of  the  Royal  Arch  Chapter, 
and  a  member  of  the  Eastern  Star. 


A 


R.  E.  A.  CLARK,  an  old  resident  of  San  Jose, 
was  born  near  Tiffin,  Seneca  County,  Ohio,  Au- 
gust 17,  1826.  His  father  moved  to  Michigan 
in  1 83 1,  where  the  early  years  of  our  subject 
were  spent,  and  where  he  studied  medicine,  taking 
lectures  at  the  Indiana  Medical  College.  After  two 
years'  practice  of  medicine  in  St.  Joseph  County, 
Michigan,  he  came  to  California,  by  the  way  of  Pan- 
ama, early  in  1850.  Spending  a  few  months  in  the 
mines  near  Downieville,  he  came  to  Santa  Clara 
County,  where  he  engaged  in  farming  until  1858.  In 
1856  the  Doctor  assisted  in  the  organization  of  the 
Republican  party  in  Santa  Clara  County.  In  1857 
he  was  nominated  by  .that  party  for  County  Clerk. 
The  Republican  ticket,  although  successful  in  the 
State  in  1856,  was  defeated  in  1857  by  the  union  of 
the  American  and  Democratic  parties.  In  1858  the 
Doctor  removed  to  San  Luis  Obi.spo  County  and  en- 
gaged in  fruit-raising,  planting  the  first  successful  or- 
chard in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  county,  near  the 
present  village  of  Cambria.  Here  he  lost  his  first 
wife,  formerly  Lydia  H.  Washburn,  a  cousin  of  the 
late  Hon.  E.  B.  Washburn,  of  Illinois.  Three  of  their 
children  are  still  living,  two  sons  now  residing  in  San 
Diego    County,  and    one    daughter,  the    widow    of  a 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


507 


former  Recorder  of  this  county,  Mrs.  Anna  Calahan, 
living  in  San  Jose.  In  1866  the  Doctor  returned  to 
this  county.  Here  for  two  years  he  was  Deputy  As- 
sessor of  Internal  Revenue  ;  part  of  one  year  he  was 
Deputy  Collector  of  Internal  Revenue,  and  one  year 
was  Deputy  Recorder  and  Auditor.  He  engaged  in 
real-estate  business  in  1869.  Having,  for  his  own  in- 
formation and  pleasure,  studied  law,  and  having  been 
admitted  to  the  District  Court  Bar,  he  did  more  or  less 
legal  business  for  several  years.  In  April,  1872,  he 
was  appointed  City  Superintendent  of  Schools,  which 
position  he  filled  until  May,  1873,  when  he  resigned 
to  assume  the  duties  of  Postmaster  of  San  Jose,  to 
which  office  he  was  appointed  by  President  Grant. 
At  the  end  of  his  term  as  Postmaster  the  Doctor 
went  to  San  Francisco,  and  commenced  the  practice 
of  medicine,  after  attending  a  full  course  of  medical 
lectures  at  Cooper  Medical  Co  lege.  After  remaining 
there  three  years,  owing  to  the  delicate  health  of  his 
second  wife,  he  returned  to  San  Jose,  where  he  prac- 
ticed his  profession  until  August,  1887.  His  second 
wife,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  January,  1869,  was 
a  sister  of  Mr.  E.  J.  Swift,  of  the  Ocean  House,  Santa 
Cruz.  She  died  suddenly,  January  8,  1884,  while  ab- 
sent in  San  Francisco  on  a  visit.  In  June,  1886,  the 
Doctor  married  Miss  Alice  E.  GofT,  daughter  of  J.  H. 
F.  GofT,  of  Gilroy,  California,  and  niece  of  Judge 
George  W.  McCrary,  of  Kansas  City,  former  Secre- 
tary of  War  under  President  Hayes.  Seeing  the  great 
future  opening  for  San  Jose  and  Santa  Clara  County, 
the  Doctor,  in  August,  1887,  again  engaged  in  the 
real-estate  business  in  company  with  J.  B.  Collins,  a 
son-in-law  of  another  pioneer  of  Santa  Clara,  S.  A. 
Clark.  They  have  a  fine  office  under  the  St.  James 
Hotel. 

The  Doctor,  having  an  active  mind,  was  not  con- 
tent with  the  routine  of  professional  life,  but  used  his 
pen  on  various  topics.  The  first  season  after  return- 
ing from  San  Francisco  he  wrote  a  series  of  articles 
on  the  "  Philosophy  of  Money  "  for  the  Daily  Mercury, 
which  were  widely  read ;  a  sketch  of  the  Vigilance 
Committee  of  San  Luis  Obispo;  and  a  short  story  for 
the  jl/era^rj' entitled  "Orson  and  Orsemus."  Besides 
frequent  contributions  to  the  Mercury  on  various 
topics,  over  his  own  signature,  at  various  times  during 
the  sickness  or  absence  of  the  editors  of  the  Daily  Mcr- 
mry,  he  wrote  numerous  editorials  for  that  paper, 
which  in  the  aggregate  would  make  quite  a  volume. 
An  exhaustive  article  of  his  on  the  Chinese  question 
was  published  in  a  Chicago  paper  in  18S6.  Another 
article,   on   "The  Scientific  Probabilities  of  a  I'uture 


Life,"  was  published  in  the  Overland  Monthly  for  May, 
1886,  and  was  copied  into  the  Mercury.  Commenc- 
ing in  June,  1887,  the  Mercury  published  a  serial  story 
by  Dr.  Clark,  which  ran  through  twelve  numbers,  en- 
titled, "The  Harrisons,  or  the  Ruin  Caused  by  the 
Chinese  Invasion."  This  story  contains  a  more  vivid 
description  of  the  fascinating  and  destructive  character 
of  the  opium  habit  than  anything  yet  published.  It 
would  prove  a  great  educator  in  reference  to  the  evils 
of  Chinese  contact  with  our  people  if  generally  read. 
As  Dr.  Clark  is  still  vigorous  in  body  and  mind,  local 
and  general  literature  may  yet  be  still  more  enriched 
by  contributions  from  his  ready  pen. 


IgENRY  W.  EDWARDS.  Born  in  Chicago, 
Csii^  Illinois,  March  i,  1842.  In  1850  he  crossed  the 
"W"  plains  with  his  father,  Henry  Edwards,  who,  after 
remaining  at  Placerville  for  a  short  time,  em- 
barked in  mining  on  the  American  River,  in  1S51. 
In  the  following  year  he  commenced  a  butchering 
business  in  Marysville  and  Sacramento,  which  he  con- 
tinued until  1853,  in  the  winter  of  which  year  became 
to  Santa  Clara  County.  In  the  city  of  San  Jose  his 
fathered  entered  into  the  management  of  the  Farmers' 
Home,  a  hotel  he  conducted  until  1855,  when  he  com- 
menced farming,  and  continued  until  his  death,  in 
1872.  In  1863  the  subject  of  our  sketch  went  to 
Virginia  City,  Nevada,  opened  the  Eureka  Hotel,  and 
became  interested  in  mining,  but  meeting  with  re- 
verses, returned  to  the  Santa  Clara  Valley  in  1864. 
He  labored  for  monthly  wages  for  a  time  and  then 
rented  the  property  he  now  owns.  In  1870  he  pur- 
chased a  portion  of  the  ranch,  and  the  remainder  in 
1871.  Married,  December  11,  1867,  Alice  Hall,  a  na- 
tive of  Missouri,  who  was  reared  in  California,  and  by 
whom  he  has  two  children:  Cora  M.,  born  August  15, 
1869;  William  J.,  born  November  6,  1873. 

The  home  of  Mr.  Edwards,  about  half  a  mile  west 
of  the  Monterey  road  and  eight  miles  from  San  Jose, 
is  one  of  the  finest  properties  in  Santa  Clara  County. 
It  fronts  on  Downer  Avenue  and  also  on  the  Cottle 
road,  both  roads  being  bordered  the  full  length  and 
breadth  of  the  farm  by  stately  rows  of  eucalyptus 
trees,  planted  in  1858.  The  fine  residence  was  erected 
in  1 88 1,  with  regard  only  to  comfort  and  convenience, 
at  a  cost  of  $9,000.  The  place,  as  seen  from  the 
Monterey  road,  presents  a  view  of  surpassing  beauty. 
The  home  farm  contains  160  acres,  probably  not  sur- 
passed  in   quality  of  soil,  care, 'and  skill  in  manage- 


508 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


merit  by  any  in  Santa  Clara  County.  Mr.  Edwards 
also  owns  a  20S-acre  tract  of  equally  good  land  one- 
half  mile  south  of  his  residence. 


M^  BALDACCI,  merchant,  at  Gilroy,  is  a  native  of 
^  Italy,  born  in  Tuscany  on  the  twenty-first  of 
_/Sl^  October,  1835.  When  in  his  ninth  year  he  came 
to  America  with  his  parents,  who  located  at  New 
Orleans.  He  resided  there  until  the  breaking  out  of 
the  war.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in  the  United  States 
regular  service,  and  was  assigned  to  Company  D, 
Ninth  United  States  Infantry.  He  was  assigned,  with 
his  command,  to  duty  in  the  defenses  of  Washington, 
where  he  served  until  after  the  war  had  closed,  in 
1865.  He  was  discharged  at  San  Francisco,  Novem- 
ber 3,  1868.  Coming  to  Gilroy,  he  engaged  in  mer- 
chandising, and  afterward  at  his  trade,  that  of  barber, 
which  he  had  acquired  at  New  Orleans.  In  February, 
1888,  he  engaged  in  his  present  business.  Mr.  Bal- 
dacci  is  a  live  business  man,  who  pays  strict  attention 
to  the  details  of  trade.  He  is  a  member  of  Lodge 
154,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  Gilroy,  in  which  he  has  held  numerous 
offices.     In  politics  he  is  a  Republican. 


.|PH0MAS  J.  GILLESPIE,  founder  and  Supcrin- 
GT®  tendent  of  the  Garden  City  Mill  and  Lumber 
ej|=  Company,  settled  in  San  Jose  in  the  spring  of 
1875,  and  started  in  the  planing  mill  and  lumber 
business,  establishing,  in  company  with  others,  the 
Independent  Mill  and  Lumber  Company,  with  a 
capital  stock  of  $50,000.  The  mill  and  y.ird  were 
located  on  North  San  Pedro  Street.  Mr.  Gillespie 
was  chosen  President  and  Superintendent.  The  busi- 
ness was  successful  from  the  start,  and  grew  rapidly 
in  volume. 

At  the  end  of  three  years  a  proposition  was  made 
by  outside  parties  to  increase  the  number  of  stock- 
holders, and  the  capital  stock,  to  meet  the  necessities 
of  the  growing  business.  Negotiations  were  entered 
into,  which  resulted  in  bringing  three  new  men  and 
the  required  money.  Immediately  upon  the  comple- 
tion of  this  arrangement  a  series  of  manipulations 
were  begun  by  these  new  stockholders,  which  termi- 
nated in  freezing  out  Mr.  Gillepsie  and  the  originators 
of  the  enterprise,  leaving  them  without  a  dollar  of 
stock  or  moneyed  interest,  and  a  total  loss  of  capital 


put  in,  which,  in  Mr.  Gillespie's  case,  was  $5,000,  thus 
sweeping  away  his  entire  property  and  forcing  him 
into  bankruptcy  in  1879.  But  not  being  of  those 
who  surrender  to  reverses  or  pause  at  difficulties,  Mr. 
Gillespie  at  once  set  about  retrieving  his  fortune,  with 
no  capital  but  a  determined  will,  a  good  business  head, 
willing  hands,  and  an  enviable  reputation  for  honesty 
in  dealing.  But  he  did  not  fight  single-handed  with 
adversity,  for  his  wife  and  daughters  came  to  the  res- 
cue, and  turned  their  hands  to  whatever  honorable 
employment  oflered  to  help  earn  a  living  for  the  fam- 
ily. After  a  severe  struggle  friends  came  unsolicited 
to  his  aid,  with  offers  of  money  and  credit.  By  these 
helps  he  was  enabled  to  start  another  small  planing- 
mill  on  North  San  Pedro  Street,  taking  as  a  partner 
H.  W.  Kate,  their  combined  cash  capital  being  $700. 
The  business  was  so  prosperous  that  before  the  end 
of  the  first  year  Mr.  Gillespie  bought  out  his  partner, 
paying  him  $700  for  his  interest.  In  1880  Mr.  Gil- 
lespie leased  the  lot  on  which  the  Garden  City  Mill 
now  stands,  corner  of  Orchard  and  El  Dorado  Streets, 
and  through  the  voluntary  assistance  of  business  ac- 
quaintances, in  money  and  credit  tendered,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  greatly  enlarge  the  capacity  of  his  mill. 

From  this  change  of  base  dates  a  career  almost 
phenomenal  in  business  success,  under  Mr.  Gillespie's 
enterprising  management.  Each  year  witnessed  a 
large  increase,  and  a  demand  for  a  corresponding  en- 
largement of  facilities,  until  the  mill  and  work-shops 
now  cover  an  area  of  150x200  feet,  besides  store- 
houses and  office.  The  mill  is  thoroughly  furnished 
with  the  best  improved  wood-working  machinery, 
and  everything  used  in  house  finishing  is  manufact- 
ured,— sash,  doors,  blinds,  screens,  mouldings,  etc., — of 
the  finest  workmanship  and  material.  In  1884  Mr. 
Gillespie  gave  Mr.  Saph  a  one-third  interest  in  the 
business,  requiring  no  cash  investment,  and  paying 
him  $100  a  month  for  his  labor.  In  a  little  over 
three  years  the  partnership  terminated  by  Mr.  Gilles- 
pie purchasing  Mr.  Saph's  interest,  paying  for  it 
$4,000  in  cash. 

Immediately  after,  in  February,  18S8,  Mr.  Gillespie 
began  arranging  for  the  formation  of  a  joint-stock 
coiupany,  which  was  consummated  on  March  i,  188S, 
with  a  capital  stock  of  $100,000.  He  was  made 
superintendent  and  manager  of  the  business,  and 
with  his  characteristic  energy  looks  after  every  de- 
partment, making  contracts  and  collections,  purchas- 
ing stock,  and  supervising  the  mill  work,  in  which  are 
employed  twenty-five  skilled  workmen. 

The  subject  of  this    memoir  was  born    in    Brown 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


509 


County,  Ohio,  fifty-three  years  ago.  His  father  being 
an  intemperate  man,  his  seven  boys  were  compelled 
to  support  themselves  and  the  rest  of  the  famil}'  from 
a  very  early  age:  hence  Mr.  Gillespie  never  attended 
school  but  ten  days  in  his  life,  and  did  not  learn  to 
read  or  write  till  after  he  was  twenty-one  years  of 
age.  In  1856  he  went  West  and  located  in  Indianola, 
Warren  County,  Iowa,  and  there  engaged  in  the 
coopering  business,  having  learned  the  trade  in  Ohio. 
He  carried  it  on  a  number  of  years  successfully. 
While  there  he  was  the  prime  mover  in  organizing 
the  First  National  Bank  of  Indianola. 

On  February  11,  1857,  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  married  to  Miss  Nancy  Peck,  a  native  of  Green- 
castle,  Indiana,  daughter  of  John  and  Sally  Feck. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gillespie  have  a  family  of  five  children. 
Besides  several  houses  and  lots  in  San  Jose,  Mr.  Gil- 
lespie owns  a  fine  fruit  ranch  near  Los  Gatos,  with 
thirty  acres  of  bearing  fruit-trees  and  vines. 

^^ 

PACOB  POLAK,  who  has  completed  a  handsome 
residence  on  the  corner  of  Willow  and  Cherry 
^  Avenues,  has  been  a  resident  of  the  Willows 
since  November,  18S7,  when  he  purchased  this  place 
of  seven  and  one-fourth  acres,  with  the  then  existing 
improvements,  for  $9,500.  The  place  is  bearing  fruit 
— 590  prunes,  170  cherries,  60  apricots,  and  a  family 
orchard  of  various  trees.  Mr.  Polak  was  born  near 
Olmitz,  in  Moravia,  Austria,  in  1824,  where  he  was 
educated  and  lived  until  1854.  Being  a  man  of  lib- 
eral views  and  ideas  somewhat  at  variance  with  those 
of  the  government  under  which  he  lived,  he  was 
obliged  to  leave  his  country  rather  suddenly,  realizing 
on  some  of  his  property  but  abandoning  a  great  deal. 
With  his  wife  and  $6,000  in  cash,  he  embarked  from 
Bremen  on  a  small  two-masted  vessel,  on  which,  after 
a  very  rough  and  dangerous  voyage  of  eighty  days, 
they  arrived  in  Boston.  They  remained  in  Wisconsin 
during  that  winter,  and  removed  to  Cedar  Rapids, 
Iowa,  in  the  spring  of  1855.  He  engaged  in  farming, 
in  which  he  lost  most  of  his  money.  He  then  in- 
vested in  the  grocery  trade,  where  by  hard  work  and 
strict  attention  to  business  he  became  independ- 
ent financially.  About  four  years  after  his  arrival  in 
the  United  States  he  returned  to  Moravia,  and  having 
at  this  time  taken  out  but  his  first  papers,  was  not  yet 
a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  but  was  enabled  after 
much  trouble  to  recover  $3,000.  Before  accomplish- 
ing the  settlement  of  matters,  he  was  again   forced  to 


fly  the  country,  and  the  $3,000  was  forwarded  to  him 
at  Bremen. 

Mr.  Polak  was  engaged  in  business  in  Cedar  Rapids, 
Iowa,  for  over  thirty  years,  first  as  a  farmer,  then  for 
twenty  years  in  the  grocery  business,  and  for  ten 
years  had  a  steam  brick  yard,  dealing  also  in  brick, 
lime,  etc.  He  came  to  California  some  three  years 
ago  and  traveled  over  the  whole  State,  from  Arizona 
to  the  Oregon  line,  deciding  that  when  ready  he 
would  settle  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley. 

He  married,  in  185 1,  in  Moravia,  Theresa  Kretzer, 
who  died  in  June,  1886.  They  had  one  daughter, 
Frances,  who  married,  in  1879,  Joseph  Heyck,  of 
Racine,  Wisconsin,  and  died  in  1881,  leaving  an  infant 
daughter,  who  lived  only  three  months.  Mr.  Heyck 
died  two  years  later  of  grief  for  the  loss  of  his  wife 
and  child.  Mr.  Polak,  being  bereft  of  his  family,  in 
poor  health,  and  well  enough  off  in  this  world's  goods, 
closed  up  his  business  affairs  and  made  a  visit  to 
Europe,  to  his  old  home.  While  there  he  met  and 
married  his  present  wife,  a  beautiful  and  accomplished 
woman,  Anna  (Sigel)  Polak,  a  native  of  Brandezs-in- 
Elbe,  Bohemia,  who  now  presides  over  his  beautiful 
California  home.  Before  coming  to  America  they 
made  a  three  months'  trip  through  Italj-  and  a  part 
of  Germany. 

Mr.  Polak  is  a  man  liberal  in  his  political  and  re- 
ligious views.  He  supported  the  Union  enthusiast- 
ically during  the  Civil  War,  paying  liberally  toward 
the  raising  and  equipment  of  troops  in  his  section. 
He  believes  in  the  fullest  protection  of  American 
industries. 


-H-H-. 


M 


H-<-<-<~ 


tEO.  W.  PAGE.  San  Jose  is  a  city  of  charming 
residences.  Built  with  tasteful  and  modern  de- 
^y"  signs,  and  embowered  in  trees  and  surrounded 
by  lawns,  as  most  of  them  are,  they  create  at 
once  a  favorable  impression.  This  is  largely  owing 
to  the  architects  of  the  city,  who  are,  for  the  most 
part,  men  of  skill,  of  careful  training  and  experience 
in  their  art.  Among  them  is  Mr.  Geo.  W.  Page, 
with  offices  in  the  Knox  Block,  who  has  been  a  resi- 
dent of  the  State  for  five  years.  Born  in  Boston,  in 
1851,  he  there  received  his  education,  passing  from 
the  public  .schools  to  the  Institute  of  Technology, 
taking  the  architectural  course.  He  later  entered 
the  offices  of  Sturgis  &  Brigham,  Hartwcll  &  Swasey, 
Bryant  &  Rogers,  Ware  &  Van  Brunt,  and  other 
leading  architects,  where  he  gained  practical  experi- 


510 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


encc  during  seven  years,  and  was  engaged  upon  many 
of  the  larger  and  better  buildings  erected  there  in 
that  time.  He  was  then  employed  by  A.  T.  Stewart, 
the  merchant  prince  of  New  York,  as  an  assistant 
architect  on  the  building  of  the  immense  Grand  Union 
Hotel  at  Saratoga  Springs,  New  York  State,  and 
other  buildings  there.  He  was  also  employed  by 
Stone  &  Carpenter,  of  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  to 
assist  in  the  construction  of  the  State  prison  and 
Court  House  in  that  city. 

In  1876  he  came  to  California,  locating  in  San 
Francisco  and  engaging  in  his  profession  there  for 
four  years.  In  1S80  he  returned  to  Boston,  entering 
into  partnership  with  G.  A.  Avery.  In  1SS3  he  came 
back  to  California,  and  in  1885  settled  in  San  Jose, 
engaging  in  business  in  partnership  with  E.  B.  Good- 
rich. In  1886  they  dissolved  partnership,  and  since 
then  Mr.  Page  has  had  his  offices  in  their  present  lo- 
cation, most  of  his  time  being  devoted  to  the  con- 
structing of  private  residences.  The  fine  new  addi- 
tion to  the  St.  James  Hotel  was  erected  under  his 
charge,  and  he  also  furnished  the  plans  for  the  "  New 
Sea  Beach  "  Hotel  at  Santa  Cruz  beach.  The  hand- 
some new  Congregational  Church  in  San  Jose,  and  the 
magnificent  residence  of  W.  S.  Clark,  on  the  Ala- 
meda, are  also  among  his  work,  and  he  has  been  se- 
lected as  the  architect  for  the  new  chapel  and  con- 
servatory of  music  in  connection  with  the  University 
of  the  Pacific.  He  is  devoted  exclusively  to  his  pro- 
fession, allowing  no  extraneous  matters  to  distract  his 
attention.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Order,  of 
San  Jose  Lodge,  No.  10,  and  is  a  popular  and  emi- 
nent member  of  society. 

Mr.  Page  was  married,  in  1SS4,  to  Miss  Mary  F. 
Hutchinson,  of  Alviso.  They  have  two  cliildrci, 
Gladys  and  Genevieve. 


MsJ^ARL  OTTER  was  born  in  Cassel,  Prussia, 
^^^^  August  2Q,  1 8  30:  remained  in  his  native  land 
I"  until  he  sailed  for  California,  in  August,  1849, 
in  the  schooner///////.?,  Captain  Steege,  and  made  the 
journey  around  Cape  Horn,  touching  at  Rio  de  Ja- 
neiro and  Valparaiso,  and  arriving  at  San  Francisco 
April  8,  1850.  There  being  no  wharves  then  at  that 
place,  the  captain  ordered  the  boats  lowered,  in  which 
the  sailors  had  to  take  all  the  passengers  and  their 
baggage  to  the  shore.  Here  Mr.  Otter  found  him- 
self, with  others,  standing  beside  his  trunk  on  a  for- 
eign shore,  not  understanding  Plnglish,  and  deliberat- 


ing what  to  do.  Suddenly  a  live  Yankee,  espying 
the  trunks  on  his  vacant  lot,  hastened  to  the  spot  and 
seemed  to  talk  business,  while  he  made  figures  on  the 
trunks  with  chalk.  Mr.  Otter  did  not  know  what 
was  meant  until  a  fellow-countryman  came  up  and 
interpreted  that  the  chap  simply  wanted  twenty-five 
cents  to  $1.00  from  each  traveler  for  having  his  trunk 
on  his  lot !  The  German  was  an  expressman,  and  he 
took  the  baggage  up  town,  and  left  it  upon  a  vacant 
lot,  with  the  permission  of  the  owner,  Mr.   Kuntz. 

After  looking  around  the  embryo  city  a  little,  and 
seeing  numerous  piles  of  gold-dust,  and  inquiring 
where  he  might  go  to  obtain  it,  he  concluded  to  start 
for  the  Yuba.  He  had  an  expensive  and  an  exciting 
trip  to  that  point,  with  many  a  lingering  thought  of 
the  luxurious  home  he  had  left  in  the  fatherland. 
Arriving  at  "  Blue  Tent  "  camp,  some  rough-looking 
fellows  came  up  to  him  and  his  companions  for  news. 
One  of  them  took  hold  of  his  rifle  and  asked  him  in 
German  how  he  came  by  it.  Mr.  Otter  replied  that 
in  1848,  during  the  revolution  in  Cassel,  he,  with  oth- 
ers, after  putting  the  sentinel  in  the  guard-house,  en- 
tered the  armory  and  took  a  number  of  fire-arms;  and 
he  succeeded  in  getting  out  of  the  country  with  that 
rifle.  The  questioner  smiled,  shook  hands  with  him, 
and  introduced  himself  as  Lieutenant  Weber,  from 
t-lie  artillery  in  Cassel — the  same  man  whom  Mr.  Ot- 
ter and  others  had  endeavored  to  liberate  one  day 
from  prison,  but  failed  !  He  was  imprisoned  for  say- 
ing that  no  artillery  officer  should  order  his  men  to 
shoot  down  citizens. 

After  mining  for  a  short  time  with  unsatisfactory 
results,  on  Goodyear's  Bar,  in  Yuba  River,  Mr.  Otter 
worked  for  a  Missourian  one  month  for  $200  and 
board  and  lodging.  Next,  he  started  out  prospecting 
toward  Feather  River,  became  lost  from  his  party, 
and  at  length  was  so  reduced  by  starvation  that  he 
attemped  suicide  by  cutting  some  of  his  veins ;  but 
before  he  succeeded  with  this  horrible  scheme  he  was 
found  by  Indians,  who  directed  him  to  a  mining 
camp.  Reviving,  he  returned  to  San  Francisco, 
where  he  did  what  drudgery  he  could  find  to  do  for  a 
time,  being  penniless,  and  then  went  to  other  points, 
working  in  humble  situations;  worked  a  claim  on 
Shaw's  Flat  for  a  time,  and  in  1S54  visited  his  par- 
ents in  Germany. 

Returning,  by  the  Nicaragua  route,  he  mined  on 
the  same  claim  again.  In  the  fall  of  1859  he  came 
to  San  Jose  and  engaged  in  the  cattle  business  in  the 
Santa  Cruz  Mountains.  While  thus  employed  he 
was    thrown    from  a  horse,  and    his  leg  was  broken. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


511 


He  had  to  ride  many  miles  to  reach  San  Jose,  where 
the  bones  were  set.  After  recovering  he  sold  his  cat- 
tle and  bought  a  part  of  the  Santa  Clara  Brewery, 
which  interest  he  sold  in  1865,  and  commenced  spec- 
ulation and  building.  In  1868  he  erected  the  "Argu- 
cllo  House,"  corner  of  First  and  St.  John  Streets. 
In  1870,  again  vi.sited  Germany,  with  his  family, — 
wife  and  two  children.  Was  there  during  the  short 
but  brilliant  war  between  Germany  and  France,  and 
witnessed  at  Berlin  the  most  gorgeous  pageant  of  the 
returning  victorious  army,  led  by  King  William, 
Prince  Bismarck,  Count  von  Moltke,  etc.,  and  many 
other  of  the  highest  officials,  both  of  Germany  and 
of  other  nations.  On  returning  home,  his  train,  in 
Germany,  ran  off  the  track,  and  several  were  killed 
and  more  wounded,  but  he  escaped  unhurt. 

After  living  at  Wiesbaden,  a  fashionable  watering- 
place  on  the  Rhine,  until  1875,  Mr.  Otter  embarked, 
December  5,  on  the  Deiitsclilaiid  at  Bremen,  for  New 
York.  The  vessel  struck  a  rock  in  the  English  Chan- 
nel and  sunk  nearly  to  the  top  deck.  Many  were 
drowned  or  frozen  to  death,  but  Mr.  Otter  succeeded 
in  getting  to  the  rigging,  tying  himself  to  it,  where  he 
kept  warmth  and  life  in  his  body  by  beating  it,  until 
rescued  by  a  tug-boat.  And  still  another  awful  death 
he  escaped.  He  was  next  to  sail  in  a  vessel  which 
was  loaded,  by  a  soulless  Yankee,  with  spurious  goods, 
over-insured,  and  to  be  furnished  with  a  clock  torpedo, 
so  that  it  would  explode  and  become  a  total  wreck 
in  mid-ocean;  but  a  torpedo  was  accidently  exploded 
on  the  wharf  before  loading,  killing  several,  which 
gave  the  alarm,  and  the  vessel  itself  was  then  ex- 
ploded, in  order  to  destroy  what  dangerous  chemicals 
might  be  on  board.  After  waiting  about  two  weeks 
longer  Mr.  Otter  obtained  another  opportunity  to  sail 
for  America,  which  he  safely  improved,  but  with  many 
misgivings.  It  was  so  stormy  that  the  passengers 
wore  life-preservers  constantly  for  two  weeks. 

Mr.  Otter  came  to  California  around  Cape  Horn; 
and  when  he  beheld  again  the  green  mountains  of  his 
adopted  State,  his  feelings  overcame  him,  and  he  re- 
solved never  again  to  leave  it.  His  family  came  over 
from  Europe  the  summer  following,  and  from  that 
time  to  the  present  he  has  had  the  enjoyment  of  a 
happy  family  circle.  His  parents  came  in  1858,  and 
he  has  two  sisters  living  here  yet.  Mr.  Otter  says 
that  he  will  never  leave  this  glorious  climate  again 
until  he  makes  his  last  trip  to  Oak  Hill  Nursery,  on 
the  Monterey  road,  where  he  owns  a  corner  lot,  and 
where  his  good  parents  and  a  brother  are  sleeping 
their  long  sleep, 


MiNDREW  STEIGER.  To  the  traveler  who  ap- 
s-F>  proaches  San  Jose  via  the  Southern  Pacific 
"^    Railroad,  the  first   introduction   he  receives   to 

*  the  "  Garden  City  "  is  the  busy  scene  of  bustling 
activity  presented  by  the  pottery  works  of  A.  Steiger 
&  Sons,  which  covers  a  considerable  section  on  the 
northwestern  edge  of  the  city.  Here  the  works, 
plant,  yards,  and  homestead  embrace  twelve  acres  of 
ground,  admirably  located  for  business  purposes  on 
the  line  of  the  railway  mentioned,  and  connected 
with  it  by  an  independent  switch. 

The  factory  building  is  130x170  feet  in  size  and  of 
three  stories.  It  is  fully  supplied  with  all  the 
requisite  furnaces  and  machinery  of  the  latest  and 
most  approved  construction,  including  a  steam  en- 
gine, steam  press,  four  flower-pot  machines,  three 
grinding  machines,  tile  machine,  crusher,  moulds,  etc. 
Six  large  kilns  are  used  for  burning  the  product, 
about  forty  tons  per  day  being  utilized  for  conversion 
into  steam-pressed  vitrified  iron-stone,  sewer-pipe 
terra-cotta  chimney-tops  and  pipes,  vases,  fire-brick, 
flower  pots,  drain  tile,  etc.  Here  from  fifteen  to 
thirty  men  find  employment,  busily  engaged  in  the 
various  operations  necessary.  The  products  of  the 
manufactory  have  a  wide  and  well-sustained  popu- 
larity, the  trade  extending  over  the  whole  of  Cali- 
fornia, and  even  occasionally  abroad  to  Mexico  and 
elsewhere.  The  works  is  the  only  one  of  the  kind 
situated  in  the  valley,  and  occupies  a  position  among 
our  leading  and  important  manufactories.  The  clay 
used  comes  mostly  from  the  vicinity  of  Sacramento, 
although  for  the  coarser  grades  of  work  clay  suitable 
for  the  purpose  is  obtained  near  San  Jose.  The 
pipe  employed  in  the  sewerage  system  of  the  city 
of  San  Jose,  which  has  attracted  favorable  notice  for 
its  excellence  and  permanence,  is  laid  wholly  from 
the  products  of  these  works,  and  the  firm  has  also 
supplied  sewer  pipe,  etc.,  to  San  Francisco,  Los  An- 
geles, San  Diego,  Pasadena,  Santa  Cruz,  and  other 
cities,  showing  the  worth  and  popularity  of  the  pipes 
made  here. 

The  business  was  originally  established  by  Mr.  A. 
Steiger,  in  a  small  way,  in  1863,  on  Fifth  Street,  in 
this  city,  between  San  Carlos  and  San  Salvador.  In 
1876  it  was  removed  to  its  present  location,  both  on 
account  of  lack  of  accommodation  for  the  increasing 
business  at  the  old  stand,  and  to  take  advantage  of 
facilities  for  transportation  afforded  by  the  railway. 
Here  the  works  have  grown,  as  business  demanded, 
until  to-day  they  are  of  large  dimensions  and  com- 
manding a  wide  trade, 


512 


PEN  PICTUERS  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


Mr.  Andrew  Steiger,  who  was  the  founder  of  the 
San  Jose  Pottery,  was  born  in  Germany  about 
1827,  and  there  learned  his  trade  of  makinLj  pottery. 
In  1856  he  came  to  this  country  and  engaged  in  his 
business  in  Brooklyn,  New  York.  In  1863  he  decided 
to  come  to  California,  and  after  looking  over  the  field, 
settled  down  in  San  Jose,  establishing  his  factory  on 
a  small  scale,  as  has  been  related:  and  gradually  ex- 
panding operations  until  his  death,  December  28, 
1887.  This  resulted  from  a  fall  and  a  broken  leg  in 
the  June  preceding,  from  the  results  of  which  it  be- 
came necessary  to  amputate  the  limb  near  the  hip. 
Although  previously  a  robust  man,  he  never  recovered. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Order,  of  the  I.  O. 
O.  F.,  of  the  A.  O.  U.  W  ,  and  of  the  order  of  Red 
Men,  holding  a  high  rank  in  each,  and  prominent  as 
well  in  both  commercial  and  social  circles.  Mr. 
Steiger  was  a  man  of  unusual  ability  and  energy,  as 
is  evidenced  by  his  rise  from  comparative  poverty 
and  obscurity  to  wealth  and  a  deserved  prominence, 
building  up  a  great  business  for  his  sons,  and  leaving 
behind  him  the  reputation  of  being  an  honest,  honor- 
able and  worthy  citizen. 

He  was  married  in  New  York;  and  his  widow, 
Paulina  M.,  also  a  native  of  Germany,  now  resides 
with  her  younger  children  in  the  fine  mansion  erected 
by  Mr.  Steiger  as  his  homestead,  just  beyond  the 
pottery.  There  are  six  children.  The  eldest  is  Anna 
B.,  born  1858,  in  Brooklyn,  New  York,  now  the  wife  of 
John  Rock,  of  San  Jose,  the  great  nurseryman.  Katie, 
the  second,  was  born  1861,  in  Brooklyn,  and  is  the 
wife  of  Charles  Bruch,  of  San  Jose.  George  A.,  the 
next,  was  born  1862,  also  at  Brooklyn,  and  is  man- 
ager of  the  pottery  since  his  father's  death;  and  as  he 
was  brought  up  at  the  business,  making  a  beginning 
when  but  five  years  of  age,  and  has  go.ie  through 
every  position,  giving  him  a  thorough  practical  knowl- 
edge of  every  department,  he  is  thoroughly  fitted  to 
carry  to  still  higher  success  the  great  business  built 
up  by  his  father.  He  was  married  in  1887  to  Miss 
Jennie  M.  Bollinger,  of  San  Jose,  and  they  reside  in  a 
pleasant  new  cottage  on  Autumn  Street.  Charles  F. 
Steiger,  the  fourth  child,  was  born  1865,  in  California. 
He  was  married,  in  1887,  to  Miss  Josefita  Grant,  of 
San  Francisco.  He  has  charge  of  the  business  in 
general  both  here  and  in  San  Francisco.  Louis  A., 
the  fifth,  is  twenty-two  years  old  and  resides  with  his 
mother  in  San  Jose.  He  has  charge  of  the  modeling 
department,  having  spent  most  of  his  time  in  the 
study  of  this  particular  branch.  He  recently  visited 
the  Eastern  States  and   Europe,  to   acquaint   himself 


with  new  designs,  especially  in  the  manufacture  of 
architectural  terra  cotta  for  building  purposes.  Lena 
M.,  the  sixth  child,  was  born  in  San  Jose,  1869,  and 
also  resides  with  her  mother.  They  have  all  received 
their  education  in  San  Jose,  and  have  resided  here 
constantly  until  the  late  removal  on  the  part  of 
Charles. 

During  last  year  Mrs.  Rock  and  Lena  went  to 
Germany  for  their  health.  Mrs.  Steiger,  accompanied 
by  her  son  Louis,  went  there  several  months  ago  to 
visit  them,  and  have  just  returned,  after  a  pleasant 
voyage. 


--€' 


B- 


T^OHN  STOCK  is  a  familiar  name  in  the  business 
@^'  history  of  San  Jose.  As  far  back  as  1854  this 
•^  name  has  represented  the  pioneer  stove  store,  as 
well  as  the  largest  stove  and  hollow- ware  house  in 
this  valley,  and  now  owned  and  conducted  by  his 
three  sons,  under  tie  firm  title  of  John  Stock's  Sons. 
In  1852  Frank  Stock  settled  in  San  Jose  and 
started  a  small  stove  and  tin  store,  the  first  of  its  class 
in  the  place.  Two  years  later  his  brother  John  came 
to  San  Jose  from  Chicago,  where  he  had  lived  for 
several  years  and  worked  at  his  trade,  that  of  tin- 
smith, enticed  to  the  Golden  State  by  his  brother's 
flattering  representations  of  its  superior  attractions. 
He  first  went  to  New  York  and  bought  a  stock  of 
goods,  and  from  there  sailed  7'ia  the  Isthmus  of  Pan- 
ama to  join  his  brother  in  business.  Their  store  was 
situated  on  the  corner  of  Santa  Clara  and  Market 
Streets.  A  short  time  after  Frank  Stock  bought  the 
lot  on  First  Street,  wh?re  Davis'  hardware  and  Fish- 
er's drug  store  now  are,  and  erected  the  first  brick 
building  on  First  Street,  moving  their  goods  into  it. 
In  1861  John  Stock  bought  his  brother's  interest,  and 
from  that  time  till  he  retired  carried  on  the  business 
in  his  name.  Meanwhile  he  bought  th.-  lot  and  built 
the  front  part  of  the  store  the  sons  now  occupy  and 
moved  into  it  in  1869.  The  building,  which  was  then 
fifty-five  feet  in  depth,  has  been  enlarged  to  meet  the 
demands  for  room  until  it,  including  the  store  and 
shop,  is  208  feet  deep,  with  an  L  50.^55  feet,  and  a  room 
on  the  second  floor  55x50  feet.  In  1884  John  Stock 
retired,  and  his  sons,  John  L.,  Frank,  and  Peter  H, 
Stock,  succeeded  him  in  the  business.  Since  that 
time  the  departments  of  grates  and  mantels,  gas  fi.xt- 
ures,  and  a  large  assortment  of  edge-tools  have  been 
added,  and  a  general  enlargement  of  the  business  has 
taken   place.     Their  stock  of  gas  fixtures  is  not  sur- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


513 


passed  in  the  State.  The  firm  does  a  large  business 
in  contract  galvanized  sheet-iron  and  tin  work  and 
gas-fitting,  at  which  they  employ  an  average  of  fifteen 
to  twenty  men.  Among  their  recent  contracts  are 
the  Hotel  Vendome,  the  new  City  Hall,  the  new  in- 
sane asylum  at  Agnew,  and  others.  In  this  depart- 
ment of  their  business  this  firm  far  excels  any  other 
in  Santa  Clara  County. 

The  two  elder  brothers  were  born  in  Chicago,  the 
youngest  in  San  Jose.  Frank,  the  active  manager, 
was  six  months  old  when  his  parents  settled  in  San 
Jose.  After  attending  school  at  Santa  Clara  College 
two  years  he  came  into  the  store  at  fifteen  as  book- 
keeper, and  since  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age  he  has 
done  all  the  buying  for  the  house.  Each  member  of 
the  firm  served  an  apprenticeship  in  the  shop.  The 
eldest  brother,  after  working  four  years  in  his  father's 
.shop,  spent  two  years  in  San  Francisco  to  perfect  him- 
self in  his  trade.  He  has  the  supervision  of  the  shop 
hands.  The  youngest  brother  is  salesman  in  the 
store.  The  business  is  entirely  owned  and  controlled 
by  the  brothers,  who  are  all  married  and  settled  in 
San  Jose.  Their  father  is  a  German  by  birth  and 
came  to  America  in  1849. 


alii E L I X  RANEY,  one  of  the  pioneer  agriculturists 

<:^^  of  Santa  Clara  County,  established  his  residence 
els  ■' 

T     on  the  land  h;  still  owns  and  occupies,  in  1S50. 

His   ranch   faces   on  the  old   Santa  Clara  and   Santa 

Cruz    stage    road,  adjoining  the  city  limits  of  Santa 

Clara  on  the  south. 

Mr.  Raney  dates  his  birth  in  Washington  County, 
Kentucky,  April  4,  1803.  He  is  the  son  of  Josepli 
and  Ruth  Raney,  who  were  pioneers  in  that  part  of 
Kentucky.  The  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  Joseph  Raney,  was  a  volunteer  in  the  War  of 
1812-14.  Felix  Raney  was  reared  to  the  age  of  sev- 
enteen years  on  a  farm  in  hi"^  native  county,  the  fam- 
ily removing  at  that  time  to  Martin  County,  Indiana, 
where  the  parents  spent  the  remainder  of  their  lives, 
the  malarial  conditions  of  that  climate  doubtless 
hastening  their  death.  After  suffering  the  loss  of  his 
parents,  Mr.  Raney  left  Indiana,  and  settling  in 
Washington  County,  Missouri,  engaged  in  lead-mining 
for  five  years,  after  which  time  he  opened  a  farm  near 
the  famous  Iron  Mountain.  There  he  followed  agri- 
cultural pursuits  for  many  years — in  fact  until  he  re- 
moved to  this  State. 

In  1834  he  married  Miss  Hannah  Duckworth,  a 
65 


native  of  South  Carolina,  where  she  was  born  in  18 16. 
To  them  were  born  seven  children,  all  of  them  claim- 
ing Washington  County  as  their  birthplace.  Mr. 
Raney,  finding  that  his  health  was  failing,  concluded 
to  try  the  efficacy  of  the  climate  of  California,  of 
whose  virtues  he  had  heard  so  much.  Accordingly, 
with  his  houschtjld,  he  left  St.  Joseph,  Missouri,  on 
the  eighth  of  May,  1850.  The  great  bereavement  of 
his  life  occurred  at  Green  River,  where  his  wife  died 
July  12,  of  the  dread  cholera.  She  was  buried  by 
the  roadside,  and  sadly  the  family  wended  their  weary 
way  toward  the  land  of  promise,  which  the  wife  and 
mother  was  never  to  see. 

Reaching  this  county  late  in  October,  Mr.  Raney 
bought  a  squatter's  claim,  and  in  a  rude  cabin  on 
his  purchase  the  family  wintered.  Mr.  Raney  was 
obliged  to  undergo  the  common  experience  of  those 
who  bought  land  in  this  way — that  of  fighting  for 
years  claimants  under  Mexican  grants;  and,  although 
he  finally  bought  and  obtained  a  patent  from  the 
United  States  Government  of  120  acres,  still  it  had 
cost  him  over  $100  per  acre. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  richness  of  the  soil  in  this 
beautiful  valley,  our  subject  states  that  the  twentieth 
crop  from  about  100  acres  yielded  him  250  tons  of 
hay  and  1,500  bushels  of  grain;  but  not  to  mislead, 
he  adds  that  the  crop  mentioned  was  the  best  ever 
raised  on  the  ranch. 

True  to  the  memory  of  his  wife,  Mr.  Raney  has 
never  remarried.  Of  his  seven  children,  all  but  one 
are  now  living.  Margaret,  the  wife  of  Charles  Smith, 
died  in  Solano  County,  in  1863.  Joseph  is  now  a 
resident  of  Los  Angeles  County;  Ruth,  wife  of  J.  L. 
Garnsey,  resides  in  the  same  county,  as  does  also 
Mary,  the  wife  of  L.  B.  Fine;  John  makes  his  home 
in  Albany,  Oregon;  Felix  H.  is  a  resident  of  Santa 
Barbara  County;  and  Josiah  M.  is  engaged  in  the 
livery  business  at  Santa  Clara,  living  with  his  family 
at  the  old  homestead,  with  his  father.  Mr.  Raney 
counts  between  twenty  and  twenty-five  grandchildren 
and  great-grandchildren,  and  says  that  but  two  deaths 
have  occurred  among  them. 

In  the  early  days  the  subject  of  our  sketch  was  a 
Whig,  but  since  that  party  has  disappeared  from  the 
political  field  he  has  been  a  Democrat.  He  has  lived 
to  witness  the  most  marvelous  development  in  this 
county  and  State;  and,  as  he  has  retained  his  mental 
vigor  to  a  remarkable  degree,  he  possesses  a  vivid  recol- 
lection of  the  scenes,  incidents,  hard.ships,  toils,  and 
pleasvjres  of  a  pioneer  life  in  fpyr  States:  Kentucky, 
Indiana,    Missouri,   and   0!'fnniia>  in    all  of  vvhich 


514 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


States  he  has  had  much  to  do  with  the  labor  of  sub- 
duing the  vvildness  of  the  virgin  soil  and  creating 
comfortable  homes  thereon.  From  his  ripe  experience 
of  eighty-six  years,  and  from  his  knowledge  of  the 
natural  conditions  of  different  parts  of  the  United 
States,  he  concludes  that  if  the  people  of  California 
would  act  soberly  (not  losing  their  cool,  sound  judg- 
ment over  exceptional  crops  and  inflated  prices,  nor 
incurring  debts  that  in  the  ordinary  course  of  events 
cannot  be  paid),  this  State,  with  its  many  superior 
advantages,  would  yet  become  the  most  prosperous 
country  in  the  world. 


PDWARD  C.   YOCCO    was  born  in    San   Jose, 
California,     November    23,    1857.     His    father, 
-nI^    Gioachino  Yocco,  was  born  in   Domo  d'  Ossola^ 
Italy,  October   15,  1822;  came  to  California  in 

1849,  went  to  the  mines,  and  settled  in    San  Jose  in 

1850.  He  was  married  in  1854  to  Josephine  Huet,  a 
native  of  France, 'who  came  to  California  the  year  of 
her  marriage.  Mr.  Yocco,  with  his  brother  Clementi, 
engaged  in  the  grocery  business  in  San  Jose,  in  which 
business  they  continued  for  twenty  years,  when  he 
took  up  his  residence  in  Paris,  France,  where  he  still 
makes  his  home,  but  still  owns  property  in  San  Jose. 
He  had  two  children,  of  whom  Edward  C.  is  the 
youngest.  He  was  reared  in  San  Jose  till  ten  years 
of  age,  when  he  went  to  Paris,  where  he  remained 
five  years,  and  was  educated.  He  then  returned  to 
San  Jose  and  entered  the  grocery  store  run  by  his 
uncle,  and  remained  with  him  until  the  dissolution  of 
partnership  occurred.  He  then  entered  the  grocery 
store  of  Auzerais  &  Pomeroy  as  clerk,  and  remained 
there  two  years. 

He  was  married,  August  9,  1879,  to  Gracie  Garat, 
a  native  of  Santa  Clara  County,  and  a  daughter  of 
Charles  Garat.  In  1880  he  went  into  the  Almaden 
mines  with  his  father,  who  was  engaged  there  in  the 
meat  business,  and  remained  there  two  years,  when, 
in  1882,  he  came  to  Los  Gatos  and  engaged  in  the 
same  business  for  himself  The  business  was  first  es- 
tablished here  in  1870  by  Goldsworthy  Brothers.  He 
is  a  charter  member  of  Los  Gatos  Parlor,  No.  124,  N. 
S.  G.  W.,  and  also  a  member  of  Ridgely  Lodge,  I. 
O.  O.  F.,  having  first  become  an  Odd  Fellow  in  San 
Jose,  in  1S79.  He  has  three  children,  two  sons  and  a 
daughter. 


|M'AWLEY  E.  DENT  has  been  identified  with  the 
^£b  development  of  Santa  Clara  County,  and  its 
"t"  fruit  interests,  especially  since  1871.  Coming  to 
California  primarily  for  his  health,  which  could 
withstand  no  longer  the  rugged  climate  of  Illinois, 
he  made  the  trip  from  San  Francisco  to  Santa  Bar- 
bara, and  thence,  with  a  party  of  five  Illinois  friends, 
made  a  horseback  trip  to  San  Diego,  camping  out, 
studying  the  country  as  they  went.  They  passed 
through  Ventura  and  Los  Angeles  Counties,  but 
found  nothing  more  attractive  than  Santa  Clara 
County.  Returning  to  Illinois  to  settle  his  affairs, 
he,  in  1871,  brought  his  family  to  California.  In  the 
spring  of  that  year  he  fitted  up  a  two-horse  wagon 
for  a  camping  trip,  taking  his  family,  and  visited  the 
Yo  Semite  and  various  parts  of  the  State,  enjoying  all 
the  pleasures  of  such  an  outdoor  life,  returning  in 
September  to  San  Jose,  where  he  settled  permanently. 
He  bought  the  home  place  on  Willow  Street,  oppo- 
site Cherry  Avenue,  in  the  Willows,  on  which  he 
built  his  present  palatial  home.  There  were  then  on 
the  place  but  a  feiv  apple-trees  about  one  year  old, 
which  have  since  been  replaced  by  other  fruit.  The 
place  is  now  set  out  with  cherries,  prunes,  apricots, 
and  Ickworth  plums.  From  four  acres  in  full  bear- 
ing in  18S7  he  received  $2,400.  From  one-third  of 
an  acre  of  Napoleon  Bigarreau  cherries  he  received 
that  year  $690.53.  In  1884  he  received  from  the 
orchard  about  $3,000.  In  that  year,  from  two  cherry 
trees,  he  received  $62.08.  In  1885  he  received  but 
$1,000,  having  replaced  certain  trees  with  others.  In 
1886  he  received  $1,500.  He  has  ten  acres  on  Curt- 
ner  Avenue,  between  Lincoln  Avenue  and  Booksin 
road,  planted  in  1883  in  French  prunes  and  apricots. 
Received  $i,000  off  that  place  in  1887.  Has  forty- 
five  acres  at  Saratoga,  planted  as  follows:  2,500  French 
prunes,  500  apricots,  250  German  prunes,  250  er:;g 
plums,  and  the  rest  in  grapes.  From  trees  four  years 
old,  he  received  in  18S7  over  fifty  tons  of  fruit, 
besides  grapes,  realizing  about  $2,200.  He  also  has 
thirty-two  acres  at  Los  Gatos,  in  five-year-old  trees 
and  grapes. 

Mr.  Dent  was  born  in  Indiana,  in  182 1.  His  par- 
ents came  from  Virginia  to  Indiana  a  short  time  pre- 
vious to  his  birth.  Soon  after  his  birth  the  family  re- 
turned to  Virginia  and  remained  there  about  three 
years,  thence  back  to  Indiana,  and  then,  in  1832,  back 
again  to  Illinois,  where  the  father  purchased  a  farm 
and  settled  in  Marshall  County,  where  the  subject  of 
our  sketch  passed  his  youth  in  attending  school  and 
working  on  his  father's  farm.     He  was  later  for  many 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


515 


years  interested  in  farms  and  farmin_£;  until  failing 
health  caused  him  to  make  a  change  of  occupation. 
He  removed  to  Ottawa,  Illinois,  engaging  in  the  real- 
estate  business,  although  his  home  was  at  Wcnona, 
Illinois.  He  was  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Dent  & 
Dent,  and  later  of  Dent,  Moore  &  Co. 

Mr.  Dent  was  married,  in  1844,  to  Miss  Rebecca 
McCollum,  of  Pennsylvania,  who  died  in  1S64. 
There  are  four  living  children  from  that  marriage: 
Amelia,  now  the  wife  of  Lyman  H.  Tower,  of  Omaha, 
Nebraska;  Frances,  now  the  wife  of  Aaron  Dennis, 
of  the  Willows;  Rawley  E.,  now  living  at  Friend, 
Nebraska ;  Louis  D.,  a  promising  attorney  of  Hastings, 
Nebraska,  died  there  in  1886.  Mr.  Dent  was  again 
married,  in  1867,  to  Miss  Frances  Burbank,  of  Port- 
land, Maine,  niece  of  Thaddeus  Fairbanks,  of  St. 
Johnsbury,  Vermont,  the  inventorof  Fairbanks'  scales. 
She  died  in  1882.  From  this  marriage  were  born 
three  children:  Lena  B.,  now  attending  the  Washing- 
ton College  at  Irvington,  California;  W.  Evans,  and 
Mabel,  both  attending  school  at  the  Willows.  Mr. 
Dent  married,  in  1883,  Miss  Laura  Chandler,  of  Yuba 
City,  California.  One  child,  born  of  this  marriage, 
Ellwood,  died  in  early  infancy.  Mr.  Dent's  parents 
were  Enoch  Dent,  a  native  of  Morgantown,  Virginia, 
born  in  1796  and  died  at  Wenona,  Illinois,  in  1S72; 
and  Judith  (Gapen)  Dent,  born  in  Uniontown,  Penn- 
sylvania, in  1799,  and  died  in  Arkansas  City,  Kan- 
sas, in  1876.  John  Dent,  grandfather  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  was  Captain  in  a  Virginia  Regiment  in 
the  War  of  1812.  Mr.  Dent  is  a  Democrat  in  poli- 
tics, but  believes  in  full  protection  of  American  in- 
dustries. 


llpORYEA  BROTHERS.  On  the  .second  floor  of 
(^  the  Paul  Block,  No.  26  South  First  Street,  one 
T  of  the  finest  buildings  in  San  Jose,  are  situated 
the  photographic  parlors  of  the  Loryea  Brothers,  the 
leading  photographers  of  this  city.  The  reception- 
room  is  handsomely  and  luxuriously  furnished,  while 
the  operating  and  other  rooms  are  fitted  and  furnished 
in  the  most  suitable  manner.  Messrs.  Loryea  lead 
in  their  line,  and  are  entitled  to  all  the  credit  due  men 
who,  by  sheer  force  of  merit,  have  brought  themselves 
to  the  front.  They  are  both  possessed  of  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  art,  familiar  with  the  slightest  de- 
tail, and  under  the  most  trying  circumstances  exer- 
cise the  patience  so  necessary  in  their  business,  and 
never  allow  a  subject  to  leave  the  studio  partially  sat- 


isfied, insisting  that  every  patron  shall  express  him- 
self freely,  and  if  not  satisfied  pose  again.  On  the 
walls  the  eye  is  attracted  by  the  portraits  of  hun- 
dreds of  the  best  people  of  the  county,  and  not  less 
so  by  the  beautiful  landscape  views,  of  which  this  firm 
makes  a  speciality,  including  the  finest  views  of  the 
great  Lick  Observatory.  The  narrow  but  well-lighted 
passage  to  the  operating-room  is  lined  with  growing 
ferns  and  flowers,  seeming  the  gateway,  as  it  is,  of 
that  strange  realm  whence  soon  we  are  granted  to  see 
our  "  other  self,"  a  speaking  portrait. 

The  firm  consists  of  Milton  and  Archie  Loi-yea,  both 
natives  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  Milton  having  been  born 
at  Sacramento  in  i860,  and  Archie  in  Oregon  in  1865. 
They  learned  their  art  in  San  Francisco  in  the  cele- 
brated photographic  gallery  of  Edouart  &  Colb. 
Milton  was  employed  there  five  years  and  Archie  two. 
In  1 88 1  Milton  established  the  gallery  in  San  Jose, 
Archie  joining  him  in  1882.  The  reception  parlor  is 
in  the  front,  looking  down  on  the  bu.sy  throngs  on 
First  Street,  while  the  operating-room  is  at  the  rear, 
where  they  have  a  most  perfect  control  of  the  light- 
ing. There  are  also  finishing  and  toning  rooms,  as 
well  as  a  large  printing-room  on  the  roof,  with  sun  all 
day  long.  In  addition  there  are  also  elegant  dress- 
ing and  other  rooms.  They  make  a  speciality  of  en- 
largements and  also  of  children's  pictures,  in  which 
they  are  peculiarly  successful.  They  have  a  very 
large  and  complete  assortment  of  backgrounds  and 
accessories,  so  that  all  classes  of  photographs  may 
be  obtained  by  their  patrons.  Personally  they  are 
among  our  most  popular  young  men,  standing  high 
in  both  business  and  social  circles. 


|SAMUEL  R.  WILLIAMS  was  born  in  Canada 
^  West,  June  25,  1828.  His  parents,  James  and 
i^  Anna  (Weise)  Williams,  were  both  natives  of  the 
same  place.  Samuel  was  raised  on  his  father's 
farm,  and  during  intervals  was  able  to  attend  the  pub- 
lic schools,  where  he  was  taught  the  common  branches 
of  education.  He  remained  with  his  parents  until  he 
was  twenty-four  years  old,  when,  in  April,  1852,  he 
was  married  to  Jane  Hume,  also  a  native  of  Canada. 
He  bought  100  acres  of  land  in  the  same  township, 
and  began  farming  for  himself,  where  he  remained  for 
three  years.  In  1855  he  sold  his  property  and  emi- 
grated to  California.  He  went  into  the  mines  in 
Nevada  County  and  worked  there  three  years,  with 
fair  success,  but,  like  nearly  all   miners,  had    his    ups 


516 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


and  downs.  He  then  returned  to  Canada,  where  his 
family  was  during  this  time,  and  went  into  the  tan- 
nery business  in  the  township  of  Camden,  Canada 
West.  Mr.  WiUiams  remained  there  in  business  until 
1866,  when  he  sold  his  tannery  and  again  came  to 
California.  He  went  into  the  mines  at  Virginia 
City,  Nevada,  where  he  stayed  two  years.  He  came 
to  Yolo  County,  California,  and  went  to  farming,  and 
during  his  residence  there  of  two  years  sent  for  his 
wife  and  family.  In  1870  he  came  to  Santa  Clara 
County  and  located  in  the  Cupertino  District,  where 
he  cleared  100  acres  of  wild  land  and  set  it  out  to 
grapes.  After  working  the  land  three  years,  he  re- 
ceived a  deed  for  one-half  of  it  as  payment  for  the 
labor  expended  on  the  place.  Mr.  Williams  has  since 
taken  two  of  his  sons  into  partnership  with  him  in 
the  fifty  acres,  which  are  all  in  vines  sixteen  years  old, 
that  have  been  bearing  heavy  crops  for  several  years. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williams  have  five  children,  two 
daughters  and  three  sons:  Melissa  A.,  wife  of  William 
Close;  J.  D.,  Albert  E.,  Augustus  C,  and  May  Will- 
iams, all  of  whom  are  residing  at  home  or  in  the 
county.  His  son  J.  D.  Williams  has  a  ranch  of 
twenty  acres,  which  is  set  to  grape-vines  five  years  old. 
Mr.  Williams  and  his  sons  have  a  common  interest, 
and  all  are  doing  business  together.  In  the  summer 
of  1886  they  bought  five  acres  on  the  Stevens  Creek 
road  near  by,  and  erected  a  winery  153x30  with  a 
capacity  of  150,000  gallons,  and  in  the  same  year 
made  wine  to  the  full  capacity  of  the  building. 


-^H>-« 


M 


A<-<-<~ 


real- 


^MALTER  a.  CLARK,  the  active   youn: 

i^Tffl^  estate  broker    of    Mountain    View,    was    born 

f  February  6,  1867,  in  Jo  Daviess  County,  Illinois, 
a  son  of  Enoch  and  Charlotte  Clark.  His  fa- 
ther died  when  he  was  seven  years  old,  and  he  made 
his  home  with  his  mother  until  he  was  fifteen,  attend- 
ing the  public  schools  of  Warren,  Jo  Daviess  County. 
He  then  went  to  Aberdeen,  Dakota,  where  he  entered 
a  mercantile  store  as  a  clerk,  remaining  about  two 
years.  From  there  he  went  to  New  Orleans,  where 
he  spent  the  winter,  after  which  he  paid  a  visit  to  his 
old  home  in  Illinois.  In  February,  1886,  he  came  to 
California,  stopped  with  his  aunt,  Mrs.  Atvvell,  who 
has  a  ranch  near  Mountain  View,  and  liking  the 
country  so  well,  with  its  bright  prospects  for  the  fut- 
ure, he  decided  to  make  it  his  home.  In  September, 
1887,  he  started  in  the  real-estate  business,  with  B.  E. 
Burn.s,  under  the  firm  name    of  Clark,  Burns    &   Co., 


which  partnership  continued  until  April,  18S8,  when 
it  was  dissolved,  and  Mr.  Clark  opened  an  office  by 
himself,  where  he  has  since  been  doing  business.  He 
makes  a  specialty  of  real  estate,  town,  and  country 
property.  He  is  a  wide-awake,  stirring  young  man, 
and  pushes  his  business  right  to  the  front.  If  he  has 
any  new  and  desirable  property  on  hand,  he  believes 
in  making  it  known  to  the  public.  All  of  the  country 
property  in  his  possession  is  fine  fruit  ranches,  situated 
in  the  warm  belt  and  in  the  best  fruit-growing  section 
of  the  valley.  On  account  of  the  demand  for  small 
places  suitable  for  homes  for  parties  desiring  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  excellent  advantages  offered  by  the 
Stanford  University,  Mr.  Clark  has  a  number  of  such 
places,  which  are  rapidly  being  sought  after.  He  is 
Secretary  of  the  Mountain  View  Canning  Company, 
organized  in  the  spring  of  1888. 

J^l LIVER  P.  ASKAM,  M.  D.  One  of  the  prom- 
^^   inent  young  men  of  Mountain  View,  and  a  rising 

tiTiember  of  the  medical  profession,  is  Doctor 
Askam,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  He  is  a  na- 
tive of  Ohio,  where  his  parents  reside.  His  father, 
George  Askam,  has  been  a  very  active  man  in  former 
years,  and  was  an  extensive  dealer  in  stock,  but  now 
is  living  a  more  retired  life.  There  are  six  children 
in  the  family,  four  sons  and  two  daughters,  of  whom 
two  sons  are  now  practicing  physicians  of  this  State. 
O.  P.  Askam  was  raised  on  his  father's  farm,  and  re- 
ceived his  literary  education  at  the  First  Street  Nor- 
mal High  School,  Louisville,  Kentucky.  When  he 
was  eighteen  years  of  age  he  entered  upon  the  study 
of  medicine,  under  the  preceptorship  of  his  brother, 
Doctor  H.  F.  Askam.  When  he  was  nineteen  years 
old,  he  entered  the  Kentucky  School  of  Medicine  at 
Louisville,  and  graduated  at  that  institution  on  the 
twenty-sixth  day  of  June,  1884,  after  having  passed  a 
rigid  examination  conducted  by  members  of  the  I-'ac- 
ulty.  Soon  afterward  he  commenced  the  practice  of 
his  profession,  and  in  course  of  time  came  to  Mount- 
ain View,  where  he  opened  an  office  and  has  been  one 
of  the  most  successful  physicians  who  has  practiced 
in  this  locality.  The  Doctor  is  a  pleasant  conversa- 
tionalist, is  congenial  with  his  friends,  and  a  citizen  of 
high  standing  in  the  community.  Although  a  young 
man,  he  is  rapidly  coming  to  the  front  as  a  physician. 
He  has  acquired  a  large  and  extensive  practice,  and 
is  destined  at  no  distant  day  to  occupy  a  prominent 
position  in  the  medical  profession. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


517 


Doctor  Askam  is  a  member  of  the  Santa  Clara 
Medical  Society,  is  a  Knight  Templar,  belonging  to 
the  Chapter  and  Commander)'  of  San  Jose,  and  to  the 
Blue  Lodge  of  Mountain  View.  He  is  also  a  member 
of  the  Eastern  Star  Lodge,  a  social  order  of  Masonic 
nature,  at  San  Jose,  and  of  the  A.  O.  U.  W.  of  Mount- 
ain View. 

fHOMAS  B.  KEESLING,  one  of  our  most  suc- 
cessful fruit-growers,  has  a  beautiful  home  in  the 
&Y  Willows,  on  Willow  Street  opposite  Cherry  Ave- 
nue. The  place  has  an  area  of  about  twenty 
acres,  planted  mostly  in  cherries  and  apricots,  with 
about  an  acre  of  grapes  near  his  house,  and  cost  him 
in  1873  $10,000,  or  $500  an  acre.  Li  1887  he  had 
about  seven  tons  of  grapes,  which  sold  for  an  average 
of  $15  per  ton.  The  cherries  produced  about  seven 
and  one-half  tons  to  the  acre,  and  apricots  also  bore 
a  very  full  crop.  Mr.  Kcesling  has  two  ranches  in 
Santa  Clara  County,  one  a  mountain  ranch  of  fifty 
acres  planted  in  grapes  and  prunes,  and  forty  acres 
about  three  miles  west  from  his  residence  in  various 
kinds  of  fruit. 

Born  in  Preble  County,  Ohio,  in  May,  1824,  his 
grandparents,  John  Keesling,  a  native  of  Wythe 
County,  Virginia,  and  Melinda  (Bulla)  Keesling,  a 
native  of  North  Carolina,  having  moved  into  Ohio  in 
its  earlier  settlement.  The  family  removed  to  a  point 
near  New  Castle,  Indiana,  where  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  went  to  school  and  worked  on  his  father's  farm. 
Commissioned  Postmaster  of  Mechanicsburg,  Indiana, 
in  1848,  by  President  Taylor,  he  held  that  position 
for  eight  years,  meanwhile  conducting  a  general  store 
and  a  steam  saw-mill,  the  post-office  being  in  his  store. 
H;s  old  sign,  painted  by  himself,  still  hangs  over  this 
store. 

His  father's  farm  having  been  on  the  wagon  road 
between  Cincinnati  and  Chicago,  he  had  heard  as  a 
boy  many  and  wonderful  stories  of  the  great  West 
beyond.  These  did  not  decrease  as  to  the  great  de- 
velopment of  that  section  while  he  was  merchant  and 
Postmaster  of  Mechanicsburg,  so  that  in  1856  he  re- 
solved to  cast  his  fortune  toward  the  setting  sun. 
Selling  out  his  interests  in  Indiana,  he  took  his  family 
and  settled  where  Minneapolis  now  is.  At  that  time 
there  were  but  a  few  shanties  on  the  west  side  of  the 
river,  although  on  the  east  side  was  the  town  of  St. 
Anthony's  Falls.  He  bought  twelve  acres  of  land 
now  in  the  center  of  Minneapolis,  and  remained  there 


for  si.xteen  years,  during  which  time  he  worked  in  the 
saw-mills  and  at  gardening.  This  land,  for  which  he 
paid  $1,400,  appreciated  so  much  in  value  that  lie 
sold  off  $35,000  worth,  and  has  been  offered  $50,000 
for  what  he  still  holds!  Having  always  had  a  fond- 
ness for  horticulture,  which  he  undertook  in  Minnesota 
with  unsatisfactory  results,  owing  to  the  intense  cold, 
he  made  a  trip  to  California,  settling  in  the  Santa 
Clara  Valley  in  1872.  Here  he  worked  during  the 
first  year  for  James  Lick,  purchasing  at  the  end  of  the 
year  the  home  place  in  the  Willows. 

He  was  married,  in  1848,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Hasty, 
a  native  of  Preble  County,  Ohio,  her  parents  also  re- 
moving into  Indiana  during  its  early  settlement.  Her 
parents  were  Thomas  Hasty,  a  native  of  Kentuckj', 
and  Anna  Raper,  a  native  of  Virginia.  This  union 
has  been  blessed  with  a  numcious  progeny,  number- 
ing eleven:  Martha  Ann,  now  the  wife  of  George  W. 
Hanson,  a  resident  of  the  Willows;  Francis  M.,  con- 
nected with  Wells,  Fargo  &  Co.'s  Express  in  San 
Jose;  Leander  B.,  residing  near  Glenwood,  in  the 
Santa  Cruz  Mountains;  Horace  G.,  now  a  fruit-grower 
in  the  Willows;  Alva  C,  a  fruit-grower  in  Santa 
Clara  County;  Oliver  M.,  fruit-grower  in  the  Willows; 
Carrie  E.,  George  C,  Thomas  C,  Emma  E.,  and 
Edwin  E.,  the  five  latter  still  attending  school  and 
occupying  the  paternal  home. 

Mr.  Keesling  has  been  always  a  believer  in  the 
principles  from  which  the  Republican  party  sprang, 
and  which  carried  it  on  in  its  successful  career.  In 
these  he  but  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  his  father,  as 
he  has  been  followed  by  his  sons.  His  father  was  in 
favor  of  the  abolition  of  slavery,  and  helped  every 
slave  who  escaped  from  thralldom  and  came  within 
his  reach.  Death  called  the  old  gentleman  before  the 
day  of  Emancii^ation,  but  his  spirit  battled  for  liberty 
and  union  in  the  persons  of  a  son  and  a  nephew,  who 
gave  up  their  lives  that  their  country  might  be  saved. 
The  son,  Isaac  B.,  died  at  Vicksburg,  and  the  nephew 
was  killed  at  Richmond.  Other  relatives  also  lost 
their  lives  during  the  war. 


fHE  HONORABLE  DANIEL  FRINK.  The 
reminiscences  of  the  early  pioneers  and  advent- 
<Bff  urers  on  the  Pacific  Coast  must  ever  possess  a 
peculiar  interest  for  the  Californian.  Green  in 
their  memory  will  ever  remain  the  trials  and  incidents 
of  early  life  in  this  land  of  golden  promise.  The  pio- 
neers of  civilization    constitute  no  ordinary  class  of 


518 


PEN  PICTURES  FRO 31  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


adventurers.  Resolute,  ambitious,  and  enduring, 
looking  into  the  great  and  possible  future  of  this 
western  slope,  and  possessing  the  sagacious  mind  to 
grasp  true  conclusions,  and  the  indomitable  will  to 
execute  just  means  to  attain  desired  ends,  these  heroic 
pioneers,  by  their  subsequent  career,  have  proved  that 
they  were  equal  to  the  great  mission  assigned  them, 
that  of  carrying  the  arts,  institutions,  and  real  essence 
of  American  civilization  from  their  Eastern  homes 
and  planting  them  upon  the  shores  of  another  ocean. 

Among  the  many  who  have  shown  their  eminent 
fitness  for  the  important  tasks  assigned  them,  none 
merit  this  tribute  to  their  characteristics  and  peculiar 
worth  more  fully  than  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  He 
was  born  in  Chenango  County,  New  York,  August  7, 
1827,  son  of  Nathan  and  Eunice  (Burdick)  Frink,  the 
former  a  native  of  Connecticut  and  the  latter  of  New 
York.  He  resided  at  home  until  he  reached  the  age 
of  nineteen  years,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  First  Regi- 
ment, New  York  Volunteers,  raised  to  take  part  in 
the  Mexican  War.  Being  assigned  to  duty  on  the 
Pacific  Coast,  he  set  sail  in  the  ship  Loochoo,  and  ar- 
rived in  San  Francisco  March  26,  1847,  where  he 
was  quartered  until  discharged,  August  15,  1848. 
Gold  had  now  been  discovered,  and  the  whole  world 
would  appear  to  be  en  route  to  the  mines.  To  them 
also  went  Mr.  Frink,  his  choice  falling  on  those  in  El 
Dorado  County;  but,  not  finding  much  encourage- 
ment to  remain,  he  left  the  district  after  one  month's 
mining,  and  returned  to  San  Francisco.  We  next 
find  Mr.  Frink  passing  the  winter  of  1848-49  in  Chili, 
South  America;  coming  back,  however,  in  the  spring, 
he  once  more  toyed  with  fortune  in  the  mines,  but 
soon  left  for  San  Rafael,  Marin  County,  where  he  es- 
tablished a  mill  in  the  redwoods  of  that  county,  which 
he  conducted  until  the  spring  of  1850,  when  he  again 
left  for  the  mines,  this  time  to  the  Yuba  River.  But 
he  made  only  a  short  stay,  and  returned  to  Marin 
County,  where  he  bought  a  ranch  and  embarked  in 
stock-raising.  However,  in  1859,  he  disposed  of  this 
farm,  moved  to  Santa  Clara  County,  and  settled  on 
the  land  where  he  now  resides,  consisting  of  four 
hundred  acres  of  the  best  soil  in  the  country. 

Mr.  Frink  has  been  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  Marin 
County.  During  the  year  1851-52  he,  with  John 
Minge,  were  elected  the  Associate  Justices  to  form  the 
Court  of  Sessions  of  Marin,  Ai  Barney  being  County 
Judge,  while  in  1879  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Leg- 
islature on  the  Republican  ticket. 

He  married,  in  Marin  County,  October  26,  1852, 
Pauline  H.  Reynolds,  a  native  of  Vermont,  and  has 


six  children,  of  whom  five  are  now  living,  as  follows: 
William  R.,  born  October  26,  1853;  Pauline  E.,  born 
January  26,  1856;  Daniel  B.,  born  November  8,  1857; 
Henry  R.,  born  December  7,  1859,  and  died  July  17, 
1888;  Robert  A.,  born  April  25,  1865;  Stella  H.,  born 
September  24,  1868. 


'^- 


fENJAMIN  F.  BRANHAM,  real  estate  dealer. 
No.  50  South  First  Street,  San  Jose,  has  been  a 
_@^  resident  of  California  since  1846,  and  of  San 
Jose  for  the  same  period.  Born  in  Callaway 
County,  Missouri,  July  25,  1845,  he  was  brought  by 
his  parents,  in  the  following  year,  to  California,  cross- 
ing the  plains  and  learning  to  walk  while  on  that  trip. 
He  attended  at  first  a  private  school,  and  later  the 
public  schools  of  San  Jose,  completing  a  course  later 
at  the  San  Jose  Institute,  under  the  management  of 
Freeman  Gates.  In  1865,  at  the  age  of  twenty  years, 
he  graduated  in  the  Commercial  Department  of  that 
institute.  Previous  to  this  he  had  worked  at  times 
on  his  father's  ranch,  and  had  been  engaged  in  herd- 
ing sheep  in  the  mountains  and  in  the  Santa  Clara 
Valley  for  his  father.  The  familiarity  with  the  sur- 
rounding country  gained  by  this  experience  was 
later  of  much  value  in  his  official  career.  In  1868  he 
was  appointed  Deputy  County  Treasurer  under  P.  O. 
Minor,  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  latter's  term, 
in  March,  1870.  In  1871  he  went  into  El  Dorado 
County  to  take  charge  of  a  mine,  which  he  managed 
for  a  mining  company  for  three  years.  From  that 
place  he  went  to  Lassen  County,  where  his  father 
owned  mining  interests,  and  engaged  in  mining  until 
1874,  when  these  mines  were  abandoned.  He  then 
returned  to  Santa  Clara  County,  leased  his  father's 
ranch,  and  conducted  it  for  two  years.  He  was  then 
appointed  Under-Sheriff,  by  N.  R.  Harris,  in  which 
capacity  he  .served  until  March,  1880,  when  Sheriff 
Harris  went  out  of  office.  In  June,  1880,  he  was  ap- 
pointed bookkeeper  for  the  San  Jose  Savings  Bank, 
which  position  he  filled  until  November,  1880,  when 
the  bank  commenced  retiring  from  business.  In  1881 
he  took  the  position  of  clerk  and  assistant  bookkeeper 
in  the  Mariposa  Grocery  Store,  on  Market  Street, 
San  Jose;  this  place  he  held  until  after  his  nomi- 
nation and  election  as  Sheriff,  which  position  he  as- 
sumed in  January,  1883.  He  was  re-elected  to  this 
office  in  1885,  holding  it  until  January,  18S7,  being 
succeeded    in    that   year    by  the   present   incumbent. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


519 


He  then  engaged  in  the  real-estate  business,  in  which 
he  is  still  occupied. 

In  1879  he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Walsh,  a 
native  of  Maryland.  To  this  marriage  has  been  born 
one  child  Charles  E.,  born  in  June,  1881.  Mr.  Bran- 
ham  has  alwaj's  been  an  active  supporter  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic party,  which  has  twice  honored  him  with  its 
nomination  and  suffrages.  In  being  elected  to  the 
shrievalty  of  Santa  Clara  County  on  the  Democratic 
ticket,  it  has  always  required  support  from  individual 
Republicans,  that  party  being  largely  in  the  majority. 
This  support  has  been  given  freely  to  Mr.  Branham, 
not  only  in  recognition  of  his  own  sterling  integrity 
and  good  qualities  of  heart  and  head,  but  also  as  an 
evidence  of  the  high  esteem  and  popularity  in  which 
his  father  and  the  family  have  always  been  held  by 
the  people  of  this  county,  without  regard  to  political 
affiliations.  Mr.  Branham,  while  Sheriff,  was  largely 
instrumental  in  arresting  and  bringing  to  justice  sev- 
eral murderers,  against  whom  the  evidence  was  at  first 
apparently  meager,  but  who  later  received  the  gallows 
as  the  reward  for  their  crimes.  During  his  adminis- 
stration  of  the  office  of  Sheriff  the  escape  of  important 
criminals  was  practically  unknown. 


tEORGE  SVVALL  was  born  in  La  Salle  County, 
Illinois,  near  Strcator,  March  I,  1858.  His  father, 
■SjK  Matthias  Swall,  is  a  native  of  Germany,  and 
came  to  the  United  States  at  an  early  date. 
He  went  to  New  Orleans,  where  he  lived  for  some 
time,  and  was  there  married  to  Elizabeth  Haines,  also 
a  native  of  Germany,  who  came  to  this  country  when 
she  was  a  mere  child.  From  New  Orleans  he  moved 
to  Illinois,  and  in  1865,  with  his  family,  moved  to 
California.  They  sailed  from  New  York  via  Panama 
to  San  Francisco.  Mr.  Swall  located  on  a  ranch 
near  San  Jose,  where  he  lived  one  year;  then  he  took 
up  a  quarter-section  of  government  land  in  the  San 
'Joaquin  Valley;  also  bought  several  sections  of  rail- 
road land,  and  followed  agricultural  pursuits  and 
stock-raising.  He  made  his  home  there  until  1870, 
when  he  moved  to  Salinas  Valley,  Monterey  County, 
although  he  did  not  dispose  of  his  interests  in  San 
Joaquin  Valley  until  1873.  In  the  Salinas  Valley  he 
was  engaged  in  stock-raising  and  in  the  butcher  bus- 
iness, which  he  continued  up  to  1875,  when  he  sold 
out  and  went  South,  and  is  now  residing  up  on  a  farm 
in    Los  Angeles    County.     They   raised   a  family  of 


eleven  children,  of  whom  nine  are  now  living — eight 
sons  and  one  daughter. 

George  Swall,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  seven 
years  old  when  his  parents  moved  to  this  State.  He 
was  educated  at  the  public  schools  and  at  Heald's 
Business  College,  San  Francisco.  In  1S73,  or  while 
he  was  living  at  home,  he  learned  the  butcher  business, 
and  in  1875  came  to  Mountain  View,  where  he  hired 
out  to  a  butcher  and  worked  two  years.  He  then 
went  to  Los  Gatos,  where  he  worked  for  L.  Johnston 
one  year,  when  he  got  the  position  of  foreman  and 
manager  of  the  business.  In  1881  he  bought  Johns- 
ton out,  taking  in  a  partner,  under  the  firm  name 
of  Swall  &  Smith,  which  partnership  continued  two 
years.  Mr.  Swall  then  sold  to  his  partner,  and  shortly 
after  opened  a  shop  by  himself,  doing  business  for 
one  year.  He  then  sold  out  and  returned  to  Mount- 
ain View,  in  October,  1884,  and  bought  out  the  same 
shop  where  he  used  to  work  nine  years  before.  In 
February,  1S88,  Mr.  Swall  erected  the  building  where 
he  is  now  located,  and  in  May  of  the  same  year  built 
the  dwelling-house  where  he  now  lives. 

He  was  married,  August  6,  18S2,  to  Mary  Florence 
Collins,  who  was  born  in  Santa  Clara  County,  daugh- 
ter of  Perry  Collins,  one  of  the  old  pioneers  of  the 
county.  They  have  two  children:  Lester  L.,  born 
December  20,  1883,  and  Mary  Ellen,  born  June  28, 
1S85.  Mr.  Swall  is  a  member  of  Ridgley  Lodge, 
No.  294,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Los  Gatos.  He  is  a  stock- 
holder in  the  Olympic  Hall  of  Mountain  View;  also 
a  stockholder  in  the  Mountain  View  Canning  Com- 
pany. Mr.  Swall  is  one  of  the  successful  business 
men  of  Mountain  View,  and  has  built  up  for  himself 
a  large  and  extensive  trade.  He  is  kept  busy  nearly 
all  the  time,  running  two  wagons,  supplying  meats, 
etc.,  to  the  community  on  every  side  for  miles  around. 
What  he  has  is  from  his  own  earnings,  having  had  to 
earn  his  own  way  in  the  world  when  he  first  started 
out,  and  by  saving  his  earnings  from  time  to  time, 
and  constant  application  to  business,  he  has  laid  the 
foundation  for  a  successful  career. 


%;  O.  McKEE,  professional  architect,  has  a  beauti- 
fy ful  orchard  home  on  the  McKee  road,  a  continu- 
W  ation  of  Julian  Street,  on  the  east  bank  of  Coyote 
Creek,  just  beyond  the  city  limits  of  San  Jose.  Mr. 
McKee  is  one  of  California's  pioneers.  He  was  born 
in  Cromwell,  Connecticut,  May  7,  1831,  son  of  Henry 
and  Sarah  (Sage)  McKee,  of  Scotch  extraction,  and 


520 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM   THE  "GARDEN   OF   THE    WORLD.' 


from  a  long  line  of  American  ancestry.  His  father 
was  a  sea-faring  man,  and  became  a  master  mariner 
at  the  age  of  twenty-two  years.  Accompanied  by 
his  son,  whose  name  heads  this  sketch,  he  left  New 
York  in  command  of  the  ship  Isabella,  of  which  he 
was  part  owner,  in  November,  1849,  bound  for  San 
Francisco.  The  long  voyage  around  Cape  Horn  was 
safely  concluded  by  the  arrival  of  the  vessel  at  the 
Golden  Gate,  in  May,  1S50.  Both  father  and  son  en- 
gaged, for  a  few  years,  in  the  coasting  trade,  each  as 
Captain  of  a  vessel  owned  in  part  by  themselves. 
The  family  came  on  to  join  them  in  the  spring  of 
1853,  but  the  all-ruling  Power  permitted  the  father 
never  more  to  meet  them.  He  was  carried  awa)^  be- 
fore they  reached  this  coast,  dying  at  the  age  of  fifty 
years.  Upon  the  arrival  of  his  mother  and  the  family, 
J.  O.  McKee  left  his  occupation,  and,  having  largely 
the  care  of  the  family,  provided  a  home  in  San  Jose. 
After  two  or  three  years  had  passed  he  bought  the 
fifteen  acres  of  property  now  making  his  fine  orchard 
home.  In  1856  he  wedded  Miss  Rachel  Clevenger, 
who  was  born  in  Ray  County,  Missouri,  and  is  now 
the  mother  of  four  daughters,  viz.:  Belle,  wife  of  A. 
Lundy;  Nellie;  Abbie,  wife  of  R.  Coykendall;  and 
Edith. 

In  the  vessel  commanded  by  the  elder  McKee, 
the  archives  of  the  capitol  were  conveyed  on  their 
way  from  San  Jose  to  Vallejo.  Mr.  J.  O.  McKee  be- 
lieves that  the  first  fruit  shipped  from  a  Santa  Clara 
orchard  to  San  Francisco  was  carried  on  his  vessel. 
It  was  gathered  in  one  of  the  old  orchards  planted 
by  the  Mission  Fathers  at  Santa  Clara. 

Mr.  McKee  is  one  of  the  leading  men  in  his  pro- 
fession in  Santa  Clara  County.  His  office  is  at  his 
home.  In  political  action  he  is  identified  with  the 
Republican  party. 


JHS^-> 


.^ISS  M.  THEUERKAUF.  It  is  usually  the 
fT^O^  case  that  those  who  deserve  to  succeed,  do  suc- 
<^  ceed,  and  this  whether  they  be  men  or  women; 
'  yet  it  is  a  fact  that,  as  society  is  at  present  con- 
stituted, the  way  is  not  so  open  or  so  easy  for  a  woman 
as  for  a  man.  It  is  with  pleasure,  therefore,  that  we 
record  the  instance  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  as 
an  example  of  what  can  be  accomplished  by  push, 
pluck,  perseverance,  and  probity. 

Miss  Thcuerkauf  is  a  native  of  Santa  Clara  Valley, 
being  a  daughter  of  George  Thcuerkauf,  now  a  landed 
proprietor  of  Monterey  County,  but  formerly  of  Santa 


Clara;  a  niece  of  Frederick  Thcuerkauf,  who  resides 
on  the  Almaden  road,  four  miles  south  of  San  Jose, 
a  family  as  well  and  honorably  known  as  any  in  the 
valley,  a  pioneer  family  of  the  days  of  1849,  that  has 
weathered  the  storms  and  tiials  of  those  early  days, 
and  has  reached  the  success  deserved  so  amply  by 
the  argonauts.  Miss  Thcuerkauf  being  of  an  inde- 
pendent and  ambitious  turn  of  mind,  left  her  home 
with  a  determination  to  succeed  at  whatever  she  might 
embark  in.  She  went  to  San  Francisco  several  years 
ago  to  familiarize  herself  v\ith  whatever  business  she 
might  choose.  After  looking  over  the  field  she  de- 
cided to  try  canvassing,  having  a  desire  for  outdoor 
work.  She  commenced  soliciting  for  sewing-machines, 
which  proved  to  be  her  calling,  and  her  labors  were 
crowned  with  success.  Her  success,  in  a  measure,  is 
attributed  to  her  good  judgment  in  choosing  the  cele- 
brated Domestic  Sewing  Machine.  It  always  gives 
such  perfect  satisfaction  that  every  machine  sold  helps 
to  sell  another.  It  is  so  perfect  and  reliable  that  it 
could  be  the  most  honestly  recommended.  After  one 
year  spent  in  the  city  learning  the  business,  and  ac- 
quainting herself  with  methods,  she,  not  being  con- 
tent with  canvassing  for  some  company,  made  arrange- 
ments to  buy  her  machines  and  conduct  business  for 
herself  She  went  to  Monterey  County,  and,  proving 
her  fitness  for  the  post  by  her  diligence  and  success, 
her  territory  was  successively  enlarged,  until  now  she 
is  head  agent  for  Santa  Clara,  San  Benito,  and  Monte- 
rey Counties,  with  numerous  sub-agents  under  her 
direction,  and  having  her  lieadquarters  at  85  South 
First  Street,  San  Jose.  The  Domestic  is  considered 
the  best  and  most  popular  sewing-machine  made, 
there  being  over  one  million  in  use  in  the  United 
States!  It  is  simple,  durable,  and  perfect,  leading  all 
other  makes  as  a  family  sewing-machine.  Its  rapid 
growth  and  popularity  are  marvelous.  With  the  suc- 
cess she  had  met  with  in  the  machine  business,  she 
decided  to  handle  pianos  also,  it  taking  but  little 
more  time  to  solicit  for  both.  Again  her  good  judg- 
ment was  displayed  in  selecting  the  Knabe  make 
for  her  leading  piano,  as  it  is  second  to  none. 
Those  purchasing  one  can  congratulate  themselves  on 
having  one  of  the  leading  pianos  of  America,  so  pro- 
nounced by  many  of  the  great  artists,  such  as  S.  Thal- 
berg,  L.  M.  Gottschalk,  Marmontel,  Professor  of 
the  Conservatory  of  Music,  Paris,  Clara  Louise  Kel- 
logg, and  others.  It  also  graces  the  parlor  of  our 
eminent  statesman,  the  Hon.  James  G.  Blaine,  and 
many  others  too  numerous  to  mention.  With  her 
ambition  and  push  she  is  bound  to  be  as  successful  in 


^^t^^a  z^^:^^^^. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


521 


the  sale  of  pianos  as  she  has  been  in  the  machine 
business. 

Parts  of  machines  are  kept,  and  every  kind  of  re- 
pairing is  perfectly  done  and  guaranteed.  It  should 
be  mentioned  that  the  numerous  attachments  that 
accompany  the  Domestic  machine  are  attached  with- 
out the  use  of  a  screw-driver,  proving  a  great  con- 
venience in  this  matter. 

Another  department  of  Miss  Theucrkauf's  busi- 
ness is  the  sale  of  the  popular  Domestic  Paper  Pat- 
terns. Many  ladies  will  use  no  others,  as  they  are 
giving  the  utmost  satisfaction. 

In  conclusion,  we  cite  Miss  Theuerkauf  again  as 
one  of  the  best  instances  of  a  self-made  person,  who, 
by  tact,  energy,  and  economy,  has  placed  herself  safely 
upon  the  pedestal  of  success.  She  is  a  pleasant 
person  to  meet,  a  true  lady,  easy  and  affable  to  all, 
yet  a  thorough  business  woman  in  every  respect,  es- 
teemed a  favorite  in  every  refined  circle. 


m- 


[Ira  J.  LOVELL  is  a  pioneer  of  Redwood  Town- 
s' ship,  having  arrived  in  this  valley  October  i,  1852. 
T  After  spending  a  year  at  Santa  Clara  he  located, 
in  the  autumn  of  1853,  upon  the  homestead  estab- 
lished during  the  latter  year,  in  what  is  now  the  More- 
land  District,  where  he  has  ever  since  resided.  He 
found  the  land  in  a  state  of  nature,  covered  with  oak 
and  chaparral.  The  tract  comprised  231  acres,  and, 
although  a  Mexican  grant,  Mr.  Lovell  succeeded  in 
obtaining  a  good  title  without  the  usual  delays  and 
expenditures  generally  experienced  by  the  early  set- 
tlers. Subsequently  he  sold  off  sixty-eight  acres,  and 
until  recently  he  devoted  the  place  to  general  farm- 
ing. Now  he  has  sixty  acres  in  orchard  and  vineyard. 
Mr.  Lovell  was  born  in  Logan  County,  Kentucky, 
November  6,  181 1.  His  father,  Michael  Lovell,  was 
born  and  spent  his  early  boyhood  on  the  Chesapeake 
Bay,  sixty  miles  below  Baltimore.  Becoming  an 
orphan,  he  went  to  Kentucky,  where  he  was  an  agri- 
culturist, and  his  son  Ira  has  ever  been  a  tiller  of  the 
soil.  With  his  wife  and  seven  children,  hereafter 
named,  the  latter,  in  1852,  crossed  the  plains  and 
mountains,  with  ox  teams,  to  the  Golden  State,  being 
six  months  on  the  way,  and  suffering  much  sickness, 
and  meeting  with  much  trouble  during  the  latter  part 
of  the  journey. 

The  date  of  Mr.  Lovell's  marriage  to  Miss  Ann  L. 
Campbell,  was   1835,  in   Kentucky,  her  native  State. 
Her  father,  William  Campbell,  was  one  of  California's 
66 


earliest  American  settlers,  and  his  history  is  given 
elsewhere  in  this  volume.  Mr.  Lovell's  children,  who 
were  born  in  Kentucky,  are:  William  M.,  now  a  resi- 
dent of  Tucson,  Arizona;  James  M.,  of  San  Bernar- 
dino County,  this  State;  John,  a  resident  of  Santa 
Clara;  Mary  E.,  wife  of  William  Bcauchamp,  resid- 
ing near  Gilroy;  Joseph  W.  and  Hugh  W.,  with  their 
parents;  and  Sarah  M.,  wife  of  Lindsley  Cook,  of 
San  Luis  Obispo.  The  children  born  in  this  State 
are:  Ella  L.,  with  her  parents,  and  Nora  and  Cordelia, 
who  died  young. 

As  to  politics,  Mr.  Lovell  was  reared  under  the 
political  inflence  of  Henry  Clay,  and  therefore  never 
voted  any  but  the  Whig  ticket  during  the  life  of  that 
party;  and  since  then  his  sympathies  have  been  with 
the  Democratic  party.  As  to  religion,  he  and  his 
wife  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Church  South; 
and  as  to  neighborhood  relations,  they  have  ever 
been  known  as  consistent  people,  philanthropic,  and 
active  in  public  enterprises,  often  leading  in  them. 
Both  education  and  religion  have  been  materially 
supported  by  their  bountiful  hands. 


SMfARK  FARNEY,  deceased.  The  subject  of 
(s^O^  this  sketch  was  born  in  Ireland,  in  1824.  Re- 
a^  ceiving  a  good  education  in  his  native  land, 
where  he  became  a  school-teacher,  on  reaching 
manhood  he  became  anxious  for  better  opportunities 
for  advancement,  more  freedom,  more  room  to  play 
the  game  of  life  than  was  afforded  by  overcrowded 
Ireland,  with  its  old,  established,  hard  condition  for 
the  poor  man.  Coming  to  the  United  States,  he 
landed  at  Boston  in  1847,  and  after  several  years'  res- 
idence in  the  East,  came  to  this  State  in  its  days  of 
early  history — 1853.  His  first  home  was  in  Napa 
County,  where  he  owned,  at  one  time,  the  larger  part 
of  the  present  site  of  the  city  of  Napa.  In  1856  Mr. 
Farney  became  a  resident  of  Santa  Clara  County, 
and  soon  after  bought  fifty  acres  of  land  on  the  Mil- 
pitas  road,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Coyote  River, 
about  three  miles  from  San  Jose.  This  property  he 
improved  from  a  state  of  nature,  making  it  one  of  the 
most  productive  farms  on  that  road.  He  early  de- 
voted forty  acres  of  his  land  to  fruit  culture,  and  being 
a  careful,  skillful  horticulturist,  his  products  were 
known  far  and  wide  for  their  cKcellent  condition, 
while  they  stood  second  to  none  In  the  markets.  He 
received  froin  the  San  Franriscq  Bay  District  Agri. 


522 


PEN  PICTUERS  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


cultural  Society,  September,  1861,  a  diploma  for  the 
best  nursery  of  fruit-trees. 

On  the  ninth  day  of  July,  1873,  Mr.  Farney  mar- 
ried Miss  Mary  Burdon,  who  is  also  a  native  of  Ire- 
land, coming  to  the  United  States  with  her  brother, 
John  Burdon,  in  1S59.  California  has  been  her  home 
since  1865.  She  is  the  mother  of  three  bright  little 
girls:  Mary  C,  born  in  1S74;  Julia  E.,  born  in  1876; 
and  Alice  R.,  born  in  1878. 

Mr.  Farney  was  a  man  who  made  friends  wherever 
he  was  known.  His  warm,  genial  nature  won  for  him 
many  friends  among  his  neighbors  and  acquaintances 
in  the  home  of  his  adoption.  Coming  to  California 
a  poor  man,  he  carved  out  his  fortune  here,  and  no  one 
of  the  many  prosperous  residents  of  Santa  Clara  Val- 
ley more  heartily  deserves  the  success  which  followed 
his  efforts  than  did  he.  In  creating  a  pleasant  and 
profitable  business  and  comfortable  home  in  which  to 
enjoy  the  blessings  of  a  free  country,  he  accomplished 
thoroughly  the  object  which  he  had  in  view  when  he 
left  his  native  land  to  seek  his  fortunes  in  the  New 
World. 

His  death,  which  occurred  from  hemorrhage,  May 
7,  1885,  was  a  very  great  bereavement  not  only  to  his 
wife  and  children,  but  also  to  a  large  circle  of  friends. 
He  was  a  consistent  member  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
as  is  each  member  of  his  family.  His  intelligence, 
education,  and  culture  placed  him  in  the  responsible 
position  of  leader  and  representative  of  citizens  of 
his  own  nationality.  That  he  faithfully  performed  all 
the  duties  of  a  good  citizen,  as  he  did  the  duties  in 
every  branch  of  his  life-work,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to 
say.  He  leaves  to  his  family  and  friends  the  memo- 
ries of  a  life  well  spent. 

^     '■ >^^'=        =     '^ 

^'AMUEL  FREEMAN  AVER,  President  of  the 

A^  Board  of  Supervisors  of  Santa  Clara  County, 
was  born  in  Sackville,  Westmoreland  County, 
New  Brunswick,  January  23,  1840.  His  grand- 
father originally  settled  in  New  England  and  was  a 
soldier  in  the  American  army  during  the  Revolution, 
serving  under  General  Washington  in  most  of  his 
campaigns  and  at  Valley  Forge.  For  this  service  he 
was  granted  a  tract  of  land  situated  in  what  has  since 
become  the  great  State  of  Ohio.  He  afterward  re- 
moved to  New  Brunswick,  on  account  of  his  business, 
but  always  retained  his  citizenship  in  the  United 
States.  The  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
James  Ayer,  and  his  mother,  Elizabeth  (Chase)  Ayer. 


Samuel  lived  with  his  parents,  attending  school  and 
assisting  his  father  until  he  was  fifteen  years  of  age, 
when  he  went  as  an  apprentice  in  a  large  carriage 
factory,  where  he  remained  five  years,  thoroughly 
mastering  the  business  in  all  its  details.  At  the  ex- 
piration of  that  time,  being  then  twenty  years  of  age, 
he  resolved  to  come  lo  CaH  ornia.  He  made  the 
journey  by  steamer,  landing  in  San  Francisco  in  May, 
i860.  After  a  short  stay  in  that  city  he  came  to 
Santa  Clara  County,  and  located  in  Santa  Clara. 
Here  he  worked  at  his  trade  in  the  shop  of  John 
Dickson  until  the  fall  of  i860,  when  he  moved  to 
Milpitas  and  worked  in  the  shop  of  Abraham  Weller 
until  the  following  spring,  when  he  leased  shops  and 
started  into  the  wagon-making  business  upon  his  own 
account.  Square  dealings,  coupled  with  thorough 
knowledge  of  his  business,  soon  insured  his  success, 
and  in  1863  he  built  extensive  shops  of  his  own,  in 
which  he  successfully  conducted  the  business  until 
1868,  when  he  purchased  the  property  where  he  now 
resides,  and  engaged  in  farming.  The  business 
habits  and  energetic  characteristics  that  brought  suc- 
cess to  his  other  enterprises  have  produced  the  same 
results  when  applied  to  his  present  calling,  and  he  is 
ranked  as  one  of  the  leading  agriculturists  of  the 
county. 

Mr.  Ayer  is  a  man  of  prominence;  his  sound  sense 
and  practical  business  ideas  are  recognized  by  the 
community,  and  his  opinion  upon  all  matters  affect- 
ing the  welfare  of  the  county  is  often  sought  and 
always  respected.  From  his  earliest  manhood  he  has 
been  deeply  interested  in  the  public-school  system  of 
this  country,  and  has  devoted  much  time  to  advanc- 
ing its  interests.  For  twent)  -five  years  he  has  been 
a  Trustee  of  his  district,  and  the  enviable  condition  of 
educational  interests  in  that  community  is  due  to  his 
efforts.  In  1876  he  consented  to  become  a  candi- 
date on  the  Republican  ticket  for  the  office  of  Super- 
visor. His  opponent,  Mr.  Thomas  Stealey,  was  a 
very  popular  man,  and  the  district  strongly  Demo- 
cratic, but,  notwithstanding  these  disadvantages,  Mr. 
Ayer  was  elected  b\-  a  fair  majority.  In  Milpitas 
Township  he  received  every  vote  but  eleven,  and 
Alviso  Township  voted  for  him  unanimously.  With 
the  exception  of  two  years  he  has  ever  since  been  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors,  and  has  held  the 
position  of  President  of  the  Board  for  three  terms. 
During  these  twelve  years  Mr.  Ayer  has  shown  not 
only  an  honesty  of  purpose  and  a  willing  spirit,  but 
has  also  displayed  an  abilitj-  to  take  care  of  the  in- 
terests  of  the  county.     His    progressive  ideas    have 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


523 


been  adopted  and  his  methods  copied  by  Boards  of 
other  counties,  who  have  come  to  look  upon  the  Board 
of  Santa  Clara  County  as  a  model  for  imitation.  He 
came  into  office  at  the  time  of  a  dead  lock  in  the  Board 
on  the  question  of  constructing  the  Mt.  Hamilton  road, 
and  his  vote  untied  the  knot  and  gave  to  the  county 
this  magnificent  avenue.  His  knowledge  of  the  sub- 
ject of  public  highways  caused  him  to  be  often  called 
before  committees  of  the  State  Legislature  when  this 
subject  was  before  that  body.  When  the  indebted- 
ness of  the  county  was  re-funded,  the  best  bid  for  the 
new  bonds  was  par  at  six  per  cent  interest.  Mr. 
Ayer  visited  Sacramento  and  induced  the  State  to 
take  them  at  four  per  cent.  During  the  last  twelve 
years  there  is  scarcely  an  item  of  desirable  legislation 
had  by  the  Board  that  he  has  not  helped  to  accom- 
plish, and  many  of  them  he  has  originated.  He  has 
the  courage  of  his  convictions  en  all  matters  pertain- 
ing to  the  county,  and  is  not  afraid  to  do  battle  for 
what  he  thinks  is  right. 

Mr.  Ayer  was  united  in  marriage  December,  1862, 
to  Miss  America  E.  Evans,  daughter  of  Josiah  and 
Cavy  Ann  (Smith)  Evans,  residents  of  Santa  Clara 
County.  Her  father  (a  sketch  of  whom  appears  in 
this  history)  was  a  native  of  Fayette  County,  Ohio; 
her  mother  was  a  native  of  Morgan  County,  of  the 
same  State.  By  this  marriage  there  have  been  ten 
children,  nine  of  whom  are  living.  Frank  and  Henry, 
two  of  the  sons,  are  residing  in  Nevada,  where,  in 
connection  with  their  father,  they  are  extensively 
engaged    in  stock-raising. 


POHN  E.  AUZERAIS,  cashier  of  the  Safe  De- 
posit Bank,  of  San  Jose,  is  the  eldest  of  three  sons 
^  and  a  daughter  of  John  Auzerais,  and  is  a  native 
son  of  California,  born  in  San  Jose  in  i860.  He  at- 
tended school  in  tl>e  city  of  Paris  for  a  time;  was 
there  during  the  early  part  of  the  Franco-German 
War;  returned  to  the  United  States  in  i87i,and  took 
a  course  in  Santa  Clara  College,  graduating  in  1879, 
in  the  English  and  scientific  course.  Deciding  to 
pursue  his  studies  further,  he  spent  the  following  year 
in  the  same  institution,  and  received  another  degree 
in  1880.  His  business  career  .started  in  the  hardware 
house  of  Baker  &  Hamilton,  San  Francisco.  Leav- 
ing there,  he  spent  .some  time  in  the  hardware  busi- 
ness in  El  Paso,  Texas,  and  in  1882  went  to  Los 
Angeles,  and  became  a  member  of  the  corporate  firm 


of  Schoder,  Johnston  &  Co.,  which  had  a  capital  stock 
of  $200,000.  Upon  the  opening  of  the  Safe  Deposit 
Bank,  Mr.  Auzerais  disposed  of  his  interest  in  the 
hardware  business  to  accept  the  office  of  cashier,  which 
he  has  filled  to  the  present  time.  He  is  a  stockholder 
and  a  Director  in  the  bank,  and  is  one  of  the  most 
thoroughgoing,  industrious  business  men  in   the  city. 

In  1 88 1  Mr.  Auzerais  and  Miss  Minnie  McLaughlin 
were  united  in  wedlock.  Mrs.  Auzerais  is  a  native  of 
the  Golden  State,  born  in  Grass  Valley,  Nevada 
County. 

John  Auzerais,  the  father  of  John  E.,  was  an  old 
pioneer  and  one  of  the  most  successful  of  the  early 
settlers  of  San  Jose.  Born  in  Normandy,  France,  in 
1822,  he  left  his  native  country,  in  1849,  in  company 
with  his  brother  Edward,  for  Valparaiso,  Chili,  where 
he  accepted  a  position  in  a  mercantile  establishment. 
Edward  came  on  to  San  Jose  and  established  the 
"  Mariposa  Store,"  which  proved  a  most  profitable 
venture.  A  little  over  a  year  afterward,  in  1851, 
John  also  came  to  this  place  and  joined  his  brother 
in  the  mercantile  business,  which  prospered  in  their 
hands,  and  the  firm  of  Auzerais  Brothers  became  the 
best  known  in  this  section  of  the  State.  They  amassed 
a  large  amount  of  wealth,  and  in  1S64  built  the  famed 
Auzerais  House,  at  a  cost  of  $150,000.  John  contin- 
ued in  business  until  February,  1874,  when  he  disposed 
of  his  interest  to  his  brother,  who  still  owns  the  great 
establishment.  After  this  Mr.  John  Auzerais  devoted 
his  attention  to  vine-culture  and  wine-making,  collect- 
ing rents  and  watching  his  investments.  His  vine- 
yard comprised  lOO  acres,  situated  east  of  the  city 
near  Alum  Rock. 

During  the  partnership  of  the  brothers,  they  did 
much  to  improve  the  city  in  the  way  of  erecting 
buildings,  a  number  of  which  are  the  best  blocks  in 
the  city,  as  the  Mariposa  Block,  the  Central  Block, 
the  Pacific  Hotel,  the  City  Market,  etc.,  besides  a 
large  number  of  dwellings. 

In  February,  1858,  Mr.  John  Auzerais  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Louise  Prevost,  a  sister  of  Dr. 
A.  L.  Prevost,  and  niece  of  Archbishop  Blanchard,  of 
Oregon,  and  Bishop  Blanchard,  of  Washington  Terri- 
tory (both  deceased).  The  lady,  prior  to  her  marriage, 
had  been  attending  the  College  of  Notre  Dame  in 
this  city.  The  fruit  of  the  union  was  six  children, 
two  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  Those  living  are :  John 
Edward,  born  May  13,  i860;  Louis  F.,  born  February 
17,  1862;  Raoul  A.,  born  March  28,  1873,  and  Louise 
Aimee,  born  June  25,  1875. 

John    Auzerais  passed   away   December    12,    1887, 


524 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


leaving  his  widow  and  four  children  (two  of  whom 
are  minors),  and  all  reside  in  San  Jose.  Louis,  the 
other  adult  son,  is  engaged  in  the  paint,  oil,  and  wall- 
paper business.  Mr.  Auzerais  left  an  estate  which 
was  appraised  at  $250,000.  He  was  one  of  the  pas- 
sengers on  the  ill-fated  Jennie  Lind  when  its  boiler 
exploded  on  the  way  between  San  Jose  and  San 
Francisco,  and  was  one  of  the  few  on  board  who  es- 
caped without  injury.  Mrs.  Auzerais,  the  widow,  is  a 
Canadian  lady  by  birth,  but  came  to  San  Jose  in 
early  youth.  She  was  educated  in  the  Convent  of 
Notre  Dame,  and  it  was  while  attending  school  there 
that  Mr.  Auzerais  met  and  won  her. 

—- ##— 

ALEXANDER  LEWIS  McPHERSON,  son 
'  of  John  and  Helen  (Findley)  McPherson,  was 
'^  born  in  Buffalo,  New  York,  October  15,  1849. 
His  parents  were  both  natives  of  Scotland.  Al- 
exander remained  in  Buffalo  till  fourteen  years  of 
age,  when  he  went  to  the  oil  regions  of  Pennsylvania. 
Having  a  natural  predilection  for  machinery,  he  went 
to  work  for  his  brother  Angus,  running  an  engine, 
and  in  two  years  was  promoted  to  be  Superintendent 
of  his  brother's  business.  He  continued  in  this  capac- 
ity till  1872,  when  he  went  into  business  for  himself, 
and  was  very  successful,  as  in  two  years  he  made 
$60,000.  In  1874-75  the  price  of  oil  was  greatly  de- 
pressed and  he  met  with  heavy  losses.  He  then  re- 
turned to  Buffalo  and  entered  the  employ  of  the  New 
York  Central  Steamboat  Line,  running  from  Buffalo 
to  Saginaw.  In  1876  he  came  to  San  Francisco  and 
served  as  engineer  in  the  United  States  Mint,  under 
Martin  Bulger,  chief  engineer.  He  resigned  this  po- 
sition in  1877,  and  went  with  his  brother,  R.  C.  Mc- 
Pherson, to  open  the  Pico  Oil  District  in  Los  Angeles 
County,  where  they  bought  the  first  machinery  for 
producing  oil  wells  in  California.  He  remained  there 
till  1879,  and  then  returned  to  San  Francisco  and  en- 
gaged in  the  service  of  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship 
Company,  running  from  San  Francisco  to  South 
America;  remained  with  this  company  as  engineer 
till  1880,  when  he  took  the  position  of  Superintendent 
of  the  Pacific  Coast  Oil  Company,  with  headquarters 
at  Moody's  Gulch,  Santa  Clara  County,  in  which  bus- 
iness he  continued  till  he  resigned,  on  July  i,  1887. 
In  June,  1887,  he  became  associated  with  Mr.  P.  H. 
Jordan  in  the  real-estate  business  in  Los  Gatos.  Mr. 
McPherson  was  married,  May  6,  1882,   to  Jennie  A.  | 


Coats,  daughter  of  James  Coats,  deceased,  of  Oakland. 
She  was  born  March  24,  1864,  and  was  educated  at 
the  High  School  of  San  Jose  and  the  State  Normal 
School,  and  is  a  highly  accomplished  young  lady. 
She  is  a  relative  of  the  old  Clayton  family,  and  a  niece 
of  James  A.  Clayton,  of  San  Jose. 


MMREDERICK  a.  SCHNEIDER,  San  Jose,  Cali- 
w^  forma. 


-€ 


fe- 


fENNIS  W.  HERRINGTON.  This  gentleman, 
one  of  the  early  pioneers  of  Santa  Clara  County, 
^.  is  a  native  of  Indiana,  having  been  born  near 
Paris,  Jennings  County,  September  23, 1826.  Mr. 
Herrington  left  the  paternal  home  at  the  early  age  of 
thirteen,  removing  to  Madison,  Indiana,  where  he 
worked  at  his  trade  until  the  age  of  nineteen.  He  had 
the  misfortune  to  lose  the  use  of  his  right  arm  about 
this  time,  and  was  compelled  to  give  up  his  trade. 
He  immediately  entered  the  Asbury  University  at 
Greencastle,  Indiana,  where  he  remained  the  greater 
part  of  four  years.  On  the  thirteenth  day  of  March, 
1850,  he  left  school  and  started  with  an  ox  wagon 
from  Greencastle  for  California,  arriving  at  Placerville, 
California,  on  the  tenth  of  August  of  the  same  year. 
During  his  first  six  months  in  California,  he  worked 
in  the  gold  mines,  after  which  he  went  to  Sacramento, 
living  there  and  at  Sutterville  from  May,  1851,  until 
December,  1853.  At  this  time  impaired  health  com- 
pelled him  to  make  a  change,  and  he  started  for  Los 
Angeles,  but  on  reaching  San  Jose,  in  January,  1854, 
decided  to  remain  for  a  time,  and  has  been  here  ever 
since.  From  1855  to  1861  Mr.  Herrington  followed 
the  occupation  of  teaching,  when  he  took  up  the  study 
of  law,  being  admitted  to  the  Bar  in  1862,  and  has  en- 
gaged in  that  profession  since  that  time.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  State  Legislature  in  1863;  was  elected 
District  Attorney  in  1865,  holding  the  office  until 
1867,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Constitutional  Con- 
vention of  1878-79,  which  formed  the  present  Con- 
stitution of  California. 

In  1859  Mr.  Herrington  was  married,  in  Santa  Clara, 
to  Miss  Mary  Harriet  Hazleton,  a  native  of  Ohio,  who 
had  removed  with  her  parents,  Hiram  and  Martha 
Hazleton,  at  an  early  age,  to  Michigan,  coming  thence 
to  California  in  1852.    From  this  marriage  there  are  six 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


525 


children:  Irving,  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  real-estate 
agent,  in  Santa  Clara;  Rachel,  now  a  teacher  in  the 
Santa  Clara  public  schools;  Lcona,  wife  of  Theodore 
Worth,  of  Bradley,  Monterey  County;  Clarence,  now 
studying  law  in  his  father's  office;  Howard,  now  en- 
gaged in  the  painting  business  in  Los  Angeles  Ccnuity, 
and  Bertram,  now  teaching  in  the  public  school  at  San 
Miguel,  having  graduated  at  the  State  Normal  School 
at  the  age  of  eighteen  years. 

Mr.  Herrington  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Order, 
and  also  of  Santa  Clara  Lodge,  No.  52,  L  O.  O.  F. 
He  has  been  City  Attorney  of  San  Jose  since  1879. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  having  belonged  to 
that  party  since  1861. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Herrington  were  Joseph  and 
Rachel  (Davis)  Herrington.  His  father  was  a  native 
of  Maryland,  removing  when  an  infant  with  his  par- 
ents to  Pennsylvania,  and  later  to  Indiana.  Joseph 
Herrington  was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812,  serving 
under  General  Lee  for  three  years,  mostly  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Lakes.  He  died  in  1859,  in 
Indiana.  His  wife,  a  native  of  Tennessee,  died  in 
1 861.     They  are  both  buired  in   Paris,  Indiana. 


|p)ROF.  E.  B.  CONKLIN  is  the  present  State 
<^j^  Senator,  representing  the  Thirty-Second  Dis- 
^  trict.  He  is  the  owner  of  a  beautiful  orchard,  of 
about  ten  acres,  on  the  San  Jose  and  Los  Gatos 
road,  in  the  Cambrian  district. 

Mr.  Conklin  was  born  November  2,  1803,  in  Wash- 
ington County,  New  York,  almost  under  the  shadow 
of  the  Green  Mountains.  His  father,  Abraham  Conk- 
lin, and  his  mother,  nee  Hulda  Carmichel,  were  of  old 
New  York  families.  His  boyhood  was  spent  on  a 
farm,  but  his  educational  advantages  were  superior  to 
those  generally  received  by  the  youth  of  a  farming 
community.  After  graduating  at  the  Union  village 
academy  in  his  native  county,  he  at  once  commenced 
his  career  as  a  teacher,  a  profession  to  which  he  has 
devoted  his  whole  life,  up  to  a  comparatively  recent 
date.  He  taught  for  a  few  years  in  the  district  and 
village  schools  of  Washington  and  Rensselaer  Coun- 
ties, and  during  the  time  he  married,  in  March,  1849, 
Miss  Anna  E.  Moss.  In  the  autumn  of  that  year 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Conklin  engaged  as  teachers  in  Belvi- 
dere,  Illinois,  the  Professor  having  charge  of  a  corps 
of  si. K  or  seven  teachers,  in  the  large  Union  school 
building.     After  spending  several  years  in  that  work. 


he  founded  the  Marengo  Academy,  at  Marengo, 
Illinois,  which  was  incorporated  under  the  laws  of 
that  State  in  1852.  That  school  was  successfully 
conducted  until  i860.  Occasionally  the  Professor  is 
warmly  greeted  by  former  pupils  of  his,  now  among 
the  best  of  California  men  and  women. 

In  1861  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Conklin  came  lo  California, 
and,  in  Placerville,  resumed  teaching.  There  Pro- 
fessor Conklin  built  up  gradually  a  large  and  flourish- 
ing academy,  expending  $25,000  in  the  building  and 
furnishing,  and  made  his  wife  Preceptress  of  the  in- 
stitution. His  assistant  teachers,  of  whom  there  were 
six  or  seven,  were  from  the  best  seminaries  and  col- 
leges of  the  East.  A  full  academic  course  of  studies 
was  pursued  by  from  100  to  140  students,  among 
whom  could  be  found  representatives  of  nearly  every 
State  and  Territory  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  The 
school  was  opened  in  1S61,  and  was  under  the  char,;e 
of  Professor  Conklin  until  about  1882,  when  he  sold 
the  property  to  Rev.  Mr.  Tyndall,  of  Michigan,  who 
now  conducts  it.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Conklin  soon  after 
came  to  Santa  Clara  Valley.  Mrs.  Conklin,  as  her 
husband's  ablest  assistant,  has  been  associated  with 
him  in  all  his  professional  life.  She  was  born  and 
reared  in  Washington  County,  New  York,  and,  like 
her  husband,  devoted  to  the  cause  of  education.  Lov- 
ing children,  she  loved  to  care  for  them.  She  had  no 
children  of  her  own,  but,  with  the  assistance  of  her 
husband  (to  whom  the  work  was  also  a  pleasure),  she 
reared  and  educated  several  boys  and  girls.  Professor 
Conklin  served  one  term  as  Superintendent  of  the 
schools  of  El  Dorado  County,  and  did  much  to  add 
to  their  efficiency.  It  testifies  strongly  to  his  charac- 
ter and  ability  that,  after  a  short  residence  in  this 
county,  he  was  elected  to  represent  his  district  in  the 
State  Senate,  in  1886.  In  politics  he  is  fully  identi- 
fied with  the  Republican  party.  He  is  a  .strong  tem- 
perance man,  inculcating  temperance  principles,  by 
precept  and  practice. 

Mr.  and  Mr.s.  Conklin  united  with  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  at  Belvidere,  Illinois.  For  many  years  Mr. 
Conklin  was  an  official  in  that  organization,  and  has 
attended  five  or  more  General  Assemblies. 


IfiMlLLIAM  CAMPBELL,  decea.sed.    The  subject 
Ssls^   of  this   sketch  was  one   of  California's  earliest 

f  settlers,  and  no  history  of  Santa  Clara  County 
and  of  its  pioneers  would  be  complete  without 
more  than  a  passing  mention  of  him.  He  was  born 
in  Fayette  County,  Kentucky,  November  12,  1793,  and 


526 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


was  the  son  of  David  Campbell.  Reared  on  the 
frontier,  his  educational  advantages  were  exceedingly 
limited,  but  the  experience  of  a  life  which  covered 
the  history  of  three  wars,  in  two  of  which  he  was  an 
active  participant;  a  life  beginning  in  the  common- 
wealth of  Kentucky  and  ending  in  the  Golden  State, — 
this  rich  experience,  combined  with  a  keen  observa- 
tion and  a  retentive  memory,  more  than  compensated 
him  for  the  lack  of  youthful  opportunities.  He  was 
reared  where  they  made  )/ie>i,  physically  and  mentally. 
During  the  War  of  1812  he  served  in  a  regiment  of 
Kentucky  volunteers,  commanded  by  Colonel  Cald- 
well. Little  is  known  of  his  record  as  a  soldier,  but 
tradition  has  it  that  none  were  ever  more  ready  for 
duty,  none  possessed  more  of  the  spirit  of  adventure, 
none  bore  the  hardships  of  the  march  or  of  camp  life 
more  cheerfully  than  he. 

On  the  twenty-fourth  of  September,  1816,  Mr. 
Campbell  wedded,  in  his  native  State,  Miss  Sarah 
McNary.  She  was  not  spared  to  him  long,  her  death 
occurring  November  16,  1821.  Mrs.  Ann  L.  Lovell, 
residing  in  Moreland  District,  in  this  county,  is  her 
daughter.  For  his  second  wife  Mr.  Campbell  married 
Miss  Agnes  Hancock,  September  24,  1822.  She  was 
a  native  of  Bourbon  County,  Kentucky. 

Mr.  Campbell  led  the  quiet  life  of  a  farmer  of  mod- 
erate means  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  after  this 
marriage,  in  Kentucky  and  Missouri.  Still  the  spirit 
of  adventure  was  at  times  upon  him,  and  finally,  under 
its  influence,  he  determined  to  remove  to  California. 
With  his  wife  and  children  he  made  the  long  journey, 
being  almost  three  years  in  advance  of  the  men  of 
1849.  He  settled  in  what  is  now  Santa  Clara  County, 
and  took  an  active  part  in  the  conquest  of  the  coun- 
try, participating  in  all  the  con:1icts  that  took  place  in 
Santa  Clara  Valley.  Naturally,  he  became  one  of  the 
leaders  in  the  work  of  developing  the  resources  of 
this  wonderful  new  country.  Assisted  by  his  two 
sons,  David  and  Benjamin,  he  erected  the  first  saw- 
mill within  the  limits  of  the  county,  for  cutting  the 
mighty  redwood  trees.  He  was  a  natural  mechanic, 
being  able  to  handle  any  kind  of  a  tool,  in  work- 
ing wood  and  iron.  In  1847  Mr.  Campbell,  wish- 
ing to  expedite  the  work  of  threshing  grain,  built 
for  his  own  use  a  threshing-machine,  probably  unlike 
any  other  that  was  ever  constructed.  It  not  only 
threshed,  but  it  separated  the  grain  from  the  straw 
and  chaff",  having  a  capacity  of  ten  to  twelve  bushels 
an  hour.  If  not  the  first  separator  ever  operated  in 
the  State,  certainly  it  was  the  first  one  ever  dui/i  in 
the  State. 


The  foresight  and  prophetic  predictions  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  as  to  the  future  of  this  State  will 
be  remembered  by  numbers  of  the  early  settlers,  many 
of  whom  paid  but  little  heed  to  him  at  the  time. 
Coming  two  years  before  the  discovery  of  gold,  he 
lived  to  see  the  wilderness  changed  to  a  garden,  the 
deserts  to  an  empire,  and  all  the  other  great  changes 
which  time  and  civilization  have  wrought  in  the  State 
of  California.  Mr.  Campbell  was  a  typical  pioneer, 
possessed  of  a  remarkably  vigorous  constitution,  and 
a  brave,  undaunted  spirit.  He  did  fully  a  man's  part 
in  subduing  the  wilderness. 

He  was  greatly  bereaved  by  the  death  of  his  wife, 
which  occurred  November  30,  of  the  year  that  he  re- 
moved to  California.  She  was  the  mother  of  seven 
children,  of  whom  only  three  are  now  living.  Their 
names  are:  David,  a  resident  of  Tulare  County ;  Benja- 
min, whose  history  follows  this  sketch;  and  William 
G.,  whose  home  is  in  San  Francisco.  The  names  of 
those  deceased  are:  Elizabeth,  who  died  in  Missouri, 
in  infancy;  Mrs.  Sarah  Findley,  who  died  in  Kern 
County,  this  State,  June  28,  1869,  in  her  forty-sixth 
year;  Mrs.  Susan  A.  Hargis,  who  died  at  Santa  Clara, 
December  9,  1869,  at  the  age  of  twenty-six  years; 
and  John  F.,  who  died  in  Mendocino  County,  October 
9,  1 879,  in  his  fortieth  year. 

Fully  ripe,  like  the  grain  for  the  reaper,  William 
Campbell  passed  peacefully  to  the  better  life  Decem- 
ber 2,  1886.  For  years  before  his  death  he  made  his 
home  with  his  son  Benjamin,  but  he  died  while  on  a 
visit  to  his  son  David,  in  Tulare  County.  He  was  a 
consistent  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
and  he  passed  from  this  earth  in  the  faith  and  hope  of 
the  Christian. 

H^ENJAMIN  CAMPBELL.  The  subject  of  this 
^  sketch  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  the  first 
permanent  settler  of  Hamilton  District.  He 
was  born  in  Muhlenburg  County,  Kentucky, 
October  16,  1826.  He  is  the  son  of  William  and 
Agnes  Campbell,  who,  in  1839,  emigrated  from  Ken- 
tucky to  Saline  County,  Missouri,  and  in  1846  crossed 
the  almost  trackless  plains  and  pathless  mpuntains  to 
California,  settling  in  Santa  Clara  County.  At  the 
time  of  this  removal  Mr.  Campbell  was  just  reaching 
manhood:  consequently  all  his  active  business  life  has 
been  spent  in  this  county.  In  many  a  pioneer  enter- 
prise he  was  associated  with  his  father,  whose  history 
appears   in   this    connection.     On    their   arrival  they 


A 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


527 


found  the  country  in  the  turmoil  which  terminated  in 
its  conquest,  not  by  force  of  numbers,  but  by  Ameri- 
can valor.  In  this  war,  and  in  the  work  of  creating  a 
new  order  of  things,  father  and  son  had  a  part.  In 
the  spring  of  1851  Mr.  Campbell  purchased  the  site 
of  his  present  home,  which  is  on  Campbell  Avenue, 
near  Campbell  Station,  in  the  Hamilton  District. 
His  original  purchase  was  a  squatter's  right.  Other 
parties  claiming  it  under  Mexican  grants,  litigation 
followed,  which  extended  througli  a  period  of  eighteen 
years.  Finally  Mr.  Campbell  bought  a  quit-claim  of 
the  parties,  and  obtained  of  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment a  patent  of  160  acres,  all  but  52  acres  of  which 
has  been  sold,  at  different  times.  This  is  yet  owned 
by  him,  or  by  members  of  his  family. 

In  1851  Mr.  Campbell  returned  to  Saline  County, 
Missouri,  and  on  Christmas-day  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Miss  Mary  L.  Rucker.  In  the  following 
year,  with  his  wife,  he  recrossed  the  plains,  and  estab- 
lished his  residence  permanently  on  his  purchase. 
Their  first  home  has  given  place  to  a  more  pretentious 
dwelling,  more  in  accordance  with  their  increased 
prosperity  and  the  improved  condition  of  the  country 
at  large.  Their  three  children,  James  Henry,  Mrs. 
Laura  A.  Swope,  and  Mrs.  Lena  M.  Rodeck,  are  mar- 
ried and  well  settled  in  life.  All  of  them  enjoy  the 
pleasure  of  living  near  their  parental  home. 

Mr.  Campbell  is  now  largely  interested  in  horticult- 
ure, having  planted  twenty-five  acres  to  trees  during 
the  present  year.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  They  are 
also  members  of  the  order  of  Patrons  of  Husbandry. 
In  politics  Mr.  Campbell  is  identified  with  the  Dem- 
ocratic party.  Campbell  Station,  on  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railway,  was  built  on  his  land,  and  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  establishment  of  Campbell  post-office, 
Mr.  Campbell  himself  being  its  Postmaster  until  re- 
cently. 

A  long  life  in  Santa  Clara  County  (having  now 
passed  the  fourth  decade),  and  a  worthy  one,  has  won 
for  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Campbell  the  respect,  esteem,  and 
confidence  of  all  who  know  them. 


MTILLMAN  a.  MOULTON,  whose  residence  is 
^  located  on  the  Los  Gatos  and  San  Jose  road,  five 
_^^  miles  from  Los  Gatos  and  about  the  same  dis- 
tance from  San  Jose,  owns  a  very  choice  fruit 
orchard  of  fifteen  acres,  buying  the  land  in  the  spring 
of  1881.     It  was  then  part  of  a  grain   ranch  of  190 


acres,  known  as  the  "Johnson  Ranch,"  which  had 
been  divided  into  twelve  or  fifteen  subdivisions,  all 
of  which  have  been  set  to  trees.  In  the  winter 
of  1881-82  Mr.  Moulton  converted  this  tract  into 
an  orchard.  The  residence  was  completed  and 
taken  possession  of  November  3,  1882.  The  orchard 
shows  excellent  care,  and  has  proved  very  profitable. 
In  1S87  500  apricot  trees  yielded  fifty  tons  of  fruit, 
worth  at  market  price  $30  per  ton,  but  being  dried 
by  him  he  realized  about  $60  per  ton. 

Mr.  Moulton  has  been  engaged  in  fruit-drying  for 
the  last  three  seasons,  and  is  the  proprietor  of  the 
Orchard  Home  Evaporating  Works,  and,  having  in- 
creased facilities,  he  will  be  well  prepared  to  enlarge 
that  branch  of  his  business  the  present  season. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  born  in  Somerset 
County,  Maine,  April  18,  1835.  His  parents,  Still- 
man  and  Esther  (Foss)  Moulton,  were  natives  of 
Kennebec  County,  of  the  same  State.  In  the  spring 
of  1856,  when  twenty-one  years  of  age,  he  left  the 
home  roof  and  went  to  Kansas  for  the  purpose  of  do- 
ing a  man's  part  in  consecrating  that  fair  territory  to 
freedom.  For  six  months  he  was  on  guard  and 
patrol  duty,  being  one  of  an  organized  band  under 
officers  of  their  own  choosing.  This  was  in  the  days 
of  old  John  Brown. 

Mr.  Moulton  returned  to  Chicago  in  January,  1857, 
and  the  spring  of  that  year  found  him  in  the  Green 
Bay  District  of  the  upper  peninsula  of  Michigan. 
Here  he  remained  for  about  four  years,  being  engaged 
in  lumbering.  In  1861  he  came  to  California  and 
settled  in  Colusa  County,  where  he  followed  agricult- 
ure. Later  he  went  to  Humboldt  Bay,  where  he  re- 
mained over  a  year,  removing  thence  to  Nevada  in 
the  spring  of  1863.  In  that  State  he  engaged  in 
lumbering,  running  mills  and  cutting  lumber  on  con- 
tract. There,  during  the  latter  years  of  the  war,  he 
was  a  commissioned  officer  in  an  organization  for 
home  protection,  under  the  late  Governor  William  Nye. 
In  politics  he  is  a  conservative  Republican.  While 
living  ill  Nevada,  he  was  Representative  in  the  Fourth 
General  Assembly  of  that  State.  William  M.  Stewart 
was  elected  by  that  Legislature  to  the  United  States 
Senate.  Mr.  Moulton  spent  the  winter  seasons  in 
San  Jose  for  several  years,  before  he  became  a  per- 
manent resident  of  the  county,  his  cattle  interests 
still  being  in  Nevada  and  New  Mexico.  Since  1877 
he  has  made  Santa  Clara  County  his  home,  living  .for 
the  first  four  or  five  years  in  San  Jose,  and  taking 
possession  of  the  family  home  in  Hamilton  School 
District  in  1882. 


528 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


On  the  eighteenth  of  October,  1876,  Mr.  Moulton 
wedded  Miss  Lydia  F.  Dudley,  who  was  born  at 
Bath,  New  York,  August  15,  1843.  Her  parents, 
Moses  Dudley  and  Mary  (Atwood)  Dudley,  were 
natives  of  Maine.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Moulton  have  six 
children,  viz.:  Eddy,  Mary  E.,  Dudley,  Josephine, 
Lina,  and  Sf  ill  man  Moses. 

Mr.  Moulton  is  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  10,  F.  A. 
M.,  at  San  Jose,  and  of  Garden  City  Lodge,  No.  142, 
I.  O.  O.  F".  Mrs.  Moulton  is  a  graduate  of  Oberlin 
College,  Ohio,  and  a  member  of  the  First  Congrega- 
tional Church  at  San  Jose,  also  a  prominent  Sunday- 
school  worker  and  a  strong  advocate  of  prohibition, 
and  doing  her  voting  by  training  her  children  to 
stanch  temperance  principles. 


fHAKLES  D.  WRIGHT  is  one  of  the  prominent 
members  of  the  Bar  of  Santa  Clara  County,  of 
(3>|=  which  he  has  been  a  practicing  member  for  more 
than  fifteen  years.  He  is  a  son  of  the  Empire 
State,  born  in  Watertown,  Jefferson  County,  New 
York.  His  early  education  was  obtained  in  his  native 
State,  and  when  fifteen  years  of  age  he  came  to  the  Pa- 
cific Coast,  and  to  Santa  Clara  County.  In  1865  he 
entered  the  law  office  of  Hon.  S.  O.  Houghton  as  a 
student,  and  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  in  1868.  He 
has  enjoyed  a  large  and  lucrative  law  practice.  Mr. 
Wright  has  always  been  a  pronounced  Republican  in 
his  political  affiliations,  and,  possessing  the  courage 
of  his  convictions,  he  has  taken  an  active  part  as  a 
local  political  leader,  for  which  he  is  well-fitted  be- 
cause of  his  superior  judgment  of  human  nature,  and 
his  rare  tact  and  executive  ability  in  controlling  and 
directing  men.  His  candor  and  integrity  of  charac- 
ter inspire  confidence,  and  he  has  proved  a  successful 
fighter  of  political  battles.  He  managed  the  cam- 
paign which  elected  his  former  preceptor,  Mr.  Hough- 
ton, to  the  United  States  Congress.  His  efforts  in 
politics  have,  however,  all  been  in  behalf  of  others, 
as  he  has  never  been  a  candidate,  nor  sought  office 
for  himself.  As  a  lawyer,  Mr.  Wright  excels  in  his 
clear  conceptions  of  a  cause,  and  such  a  logical  pres- 
entation of  the  facts  as  carries  conviction  with  his  ar- 
gument in  the  minds  of  the  jury  and  the  court.  He 
has  practiced  chiefly  in  the  civil  courts. 

In  1835  the  subject  of  this  memoir  married  Miss 
MoUie  Murphy,  born  in  Santa  Clara  County,  and 
daughter  of  John  M.  and  Virginia  (Reed)  Murphy. 
Her  father  was  one  of  the  famous  Murphy  expedition, 


whose  perilous  experiences  are  narrated  at  length  in 
this  work  ;  and  her  mother  was  one  of  the  Donner 
party,  whose  terrible  trials  and  sufferings  are  also 
given  in  detail  elsewhere  in  this  volume. 


-^>-^« 


C-4^^-<- 


JJW  C.  JORDAN.  Among  the  magnificent  estates 
f5^^  in  Santa  Clara  County  is  the  Laurel  Wood 
"^^  Farm,  owned  by  P.  J.  Donahue,  of  San  Fran- 
I  cisco.  It  comprises  nearly  1,000  acres,  located 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Santa  Clara  and  Alviso  road, 
its  southern  boundary  extending  the  northern  limits 
of  Santa  Clara.  But  a  small  portion,  comparatively, 
of  these  lands  are  yet  devoted  to  orchard  or  vine- 
yard cultivation,  twenty-five  acres  being  in  vines  pro- 
ducing wine  grapes  of  the  Zinfandel  and  Mission 
varieties,  and  table  grapes  of  the  Sweetwater  and 
Muscat  varieties;  twenty  acres  are  devoted  to  berry 
cultivation,  producing  strawberries,  blackberries,  and 
raspberries;  ten  acres  are  used  as  a  family  orchard, 
in  which  are  nearly  all  the  varieties  of  fruits  grown 
in  Santa  Clara  County.  The  rest  of  this  extensive 
farm  is  devoted  to  hay,  grain,  and  stock-raising. 
Great  care  and  attention  are  devoted  to  stock-raising, 
and  this  farm  produces  some  of  the  finest  specimens 
of  horses  and  cattle  bred  in  the  county.  Of  the  150 
horses  on  this  place,  nearly  all  are  thorough-bred. 
Among  the  racing  and  trotting  stock,  special  mention 
is  made  of  the  noted  stallions  "Duke  of  Norfolk," 
Kirel  D.,"  and  "  Patchen  ;  "  also  some  beautiful  horses 
of  the  famed  "  Wildidle  "  stock.  The  draft  horses  are 
bred  from  Norman  and  English  stock.  There  are 
about  150  head  of  cattle  on  this  farm,  all  of  which 
are  full-bred  Durham  stock.  Seven  artesian  wells 
furnish  a  plentiful  supply  of  water,  one  of  which  is 
worthy  of  special  mention,  as  flowing  fully  two  inches 
of  water  above  a  twelve-inch  pipe. 

A  handsome  and  commodious  residence,  .sur- 
rounded by  beautiful  grounds,  containing  extensive 
lawns,  graveled  roads,  and  shaded  walks,  is  located 
on  this  farm  about  two  miles  north  of  the  business 
center  of  Santa  Clara.  Among  the  horticultural  pro- 
ductions of  these  grounds  are  some  of  the  rarest 
flowers,  trees,  etc.,  produced  in  the  county,  while  the 
fragrant  laurel-wood  tree,  from  which  the  farm  derives 
its  name,  is  here  shown  in  its  most  beautiful  form. 

Mr.  M.  C.  Jordan,  a  former  resident  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, has  the  immediate  care  of  this  extensive  prop- 
erty as  its  resident  superintendent.  The  high  state 
of  cultivation  displayed,  and  the  successful  breeding 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


529 


of  stock  shown  on  this  place,  all  attest  the  care,  at- 
tention, and  efficient  management  of  its  superin- 
tendent. Mr.  Jordan's  previous  experience  and  call- 
ings have  rendered  him  peculiarly  adapted  to  an  en- 
terprise of  this  character.  In  early  life  and  young 
manhood,  he  was  reared  to  practical  farm  life.  In 
later  life,  and  for  years  preceding  his  superintendency 
of  this  farm,  he  was  connected  with  various  corpo- 
rations in  positions  of  trust  and  responsibility.  He 
was  connected  with  the  "Omnibus"  Street  Railroad 
in  San  Francisco,  for  sixteen  years,  and  for  the  last 
eight  years  of  that  time  was  its  superintendent. 


-M 


H-HH- 


fEORGE  C.  JENKINS,  dealer  in  real  estate,  and 
general  business  agent  at  Santa  Clara,  is  a  na- 
•J^  tive  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  was  born 
near  Cazenovia,  Madison  County,  October  24, 
1823.  He  is  the  second  of  five  sons,  and  one  of 
seven  children  of  Robert  R.  and  Laura  (Coley) 
Jenkins,  who,  when  he  was  seven  years  of  age,  re- 
moved to  New  Woodstock,  New  York,  where  he  at- 
tended the  common  school  and  the  academy  at  that 
place  up  to  his  eighteenth  year.  He  then  went  to 
Madison,  New  York,  where  he  learned  the  trade  of 
tinner,  and  afterward  worked  there  as  a  journeyman 
tinner  until  the  fall  of  1848,  when  he  established 
himself  in  the  stove  and  tinware  business  at  Lacon, 
Marshall  County,  Illinois.  There  he  carried  on  that 
business  until  he  came  to  California,  in  the  spring  of 
1853.  Here  he  was  not  engaged  in  any  permanent 
business  until  1857,  when  he  invested  in  cattle  in 
Santa  Cruz  County,  where  he  dealt  in  live  stock  and 
also  raised  the  same  till  1863;  then,  meeting  with  an 
accident,  he  was  obliged  to  discontinue  business,  and 
for  twelve  years,  up  to  1875,  being  an  invalid,  he  was 
in  no  business.  In  the  spring  of  1875,  locating  at 
Santa  Clara,  he  engaged  in  the  real-estate  business, 
and  also  secured  a  commission  as  Notary  Public.  He 
was  also  appointed  as  Justice  of  the  Peace  to  fill  a 
vacancy,  and  was  subsequently  elected  to  tl>e  same 
office,  serving  in  all  two  years.  Politically  he  is  a 
Republican. 

January  15,  1846,  he  was  married,  at  Jacksonville, 
Illinois,  to  Miss  Emmarilla  T.  Chandler,  a  daughter 
of  Isaac  and  Aveline  (Austin)  Chandler,  who  came 
to  Santa  Clara  County  in  1849.  Mr.  Jenkins,  who 
was  in  poor  health  previous  to  his  emigrating  to  this 
State,  has  regained  his  health  and  ventured  again  in 
business,  and  thus  has  to  some  ejftent  retrieved  some 
67 


of  his  losses,  and  has  succeeded  in  establishing  him- 
self in  a  remunerative  business  at  Santa  Clara,  with 
a  wide  circle  of  friends  and  a  prosperous  future  be- 
fore him.  Neither  himself  nor  his  wife  is  a  member 
of  any  church.  He  is  a  member  of  True  Fellowship 
Lodge,  No.  238,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Santa  Clara. 


j^^$ 


this  sketch,  a  native  of  the  old  Green  Mountain 
^  State,  was  born  in  West  Haven,  Rutland  County, 
Vermont,  June  4,  1830.  His  boyhood  and  young 
manhood  were  spent  upon  his  father's  farm,  where  he 
became  inured  to  the  toil  incident  to  a  farmer's  life. 
His  educational  facilities  were  good,  he  receiving  an 
academic  education,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years 
was  engaged  in  teaching  school.  In  1853  he  came 
overland  to  California,  arriving  in  Placer  County 
August  14  of  that  year.  Upon  his  arrival  he  located 
in  Damascus,  where  he  established  a  hotel.  In  addi- 
tion to  his  occupation  as  a  hotel-keeper,  he  was 
interested  in  various  mining  enterprises,  and  expe- 
rienced the  varying  fortunes  of  a  life  in  a  mining 
town  until  1875,  when  he  was  elected  Recorder  and 
Auditor  of  Placer  County.  Mr.  Ash  ey  was  a  strong 
Republican,  and  his  popularity  is  shown  by  his  being 
one  of  the  very  few  Republicans  who  were  elected  in 
that  year.  In  1876  he  moved  to  Auburn,  the  county 
seat  of  Placer  County.  The  next  year  he  was  re- 
elected to  the  office,  and  served  until  1880.  At  the 
expiration  of  his  term  of  office  he  was  appointed 
Under-Sheriff  of  the  county,  a  position  which  he 
held  until  1883.  In  the  latter  year  he  came  to  Santa 
Clara  County,  and  located  in  Milpitas.  He  purchased 
the  interest  of  Mr.  Clark,  of  the  firm  of  Clark  & 
Dixon,  and  entered  into  mercantile  pursuits  under  the 
firm  name  of  Dixon  &  Ashley.  In  1885  Mr.  Dixon 
sold  his  interest  in  the  store  to  Mr.  Ashley's  son, 
Aldace  N.  Ashley.  The  business  was  then  conducted 
under  the  name  of  Ashley  &  Co.,  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  October  26,  1886. 

Mr.  Ashley  was  a  man  of  fine  scholarly  attain- 
ments and  literary  talents,  and  was  often  called  upon 
for  orations,  recitations,  etc.,  upon  public  occasions 
As  a  public  speaker  he  was  more  inclined  to  sound 
reasoning  and  convincing  argument  than  to  oratori- 
cal display.  He  was  a  .strong  Republican,  and  an 
ardent  supporter  of  the  government  during  the  dark 
QJays  of  Rebellion. 

In    i8$2  Mn   Ashley   mfi.i'nod   Miss  Mary  F..   Hell, 


530 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  ''GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD: 


of  Placer  County.  They  have  four  children  living, 
viz.:  Aldace  N.  (a  sketch  of  whom  appear.s  on  this 
page),  Osee  E.,  Grata  M.,  and  Edna  M. 


p|ffilLLIAM  AINSWORTH  resides  on  the  Hos- 
(sffl^  tetter  road,  in  the  Eagle  School  District,  about 
d^    five  and  one-half  miles  northeast  of  San  Jose_ 

I  at  which  point  he  owns  twenty-five  acres  of 
land,  which  is  devoted  to  orchard  purposes,  produc- 
ing apricots,  peaches,  prunes,  plums,  apples,  pears, 
and  cherries.  This  orchard  is  about  ten  years  old, 
and  is  in  full  bearing.  It  is  worthy  of  mention  that 
in  1887  seventy-five  tons  of  fruit  were  taken  from 
one  thousand  trees.  These  trees  occupied  about  ten 
acres.  The  soil  is  a  light  loam,  and  is  so  moist  that 
all  kinds  of  vegetables  can  be  raised  without  any 
irrigation. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Lancashire 
County,  England,  in  1862.  His  parents  were  Will- 
iam H.  and  Caroline  (Wilkinson)  Ainsworth.  ■  He 
was  reared  to  mercantile  pursuits,  after  sixteen  years 
of  age,  and  was  engaged  in  the  India  and  China  trade, 
in  Manchester,  England,  until  1884.  In  that  year  he 
came  to  the  United  States,  landing  in  New  York. 
After  a  short  stay  in  that  city  he  went  to  Nebraska, 
with  the  intention  of  engaging  in  the  cattle  business; 
but  not  being  suited  with  that  country  he  came  to 
California,  and  after  spending  some  time  in  traveling 
over  the  State,  came  to  Santa  Clara  County  and  pur- 
chased his  present  residence.  He  then  returned  to 
England  and  married  Miss  A.  C.  Wild,  of  London, 
returning  to  California  the  same  year  with  his  bride, 
since  which  he  has  engaged  in  the  cultivation  of  his 
orchard.  Mr.  Ainsworth  has  brought  to  his  calling 
well-trained  business  habits  which  have  insured  his 
success.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ainsworth  have  two  children: 
Trevlyn  and  Cyral. 


•)~(gC..^g)-€ 


.^LDACE  N.  ASHLEY  is  the  proprietor  of  a 
(^p  general  merchandise  store  in  Milpitas,  and  has 
■jf^  a  complete  assortment  of  goods,  such  as  are 
adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  community  in 
which  he  resides,  having,  in  fact,  one  of  the  best 
regulated  and  furnished  stores  in  Milpitas.  Mr.  Ash- 
ley is  a  native  of  California,  dating  his  birth  at  Da- 
mascus, Placer  County,  May  13,  1864.  His  parents 
were  John  T.  Ashley  (whose  sketch  is  given  above) 


and  Mary  E.  (Bell)  Ashley.  His  life,  until  the  age 
of  twelve  years,  was  spent  in  the  place  of  his  birth, 
receiving  such  schooling  as  was  obtainable  in  the 
schools  then  established.  In  1876  his  father  moved 
to  Auburn,  the  county  seat  of  Placer  County,  and 
there  Mr.  Ashley  availed  himself  of  the  opportuni- 
ties afforded,  and  closely  applied  himself  to  attending 
the  excellent  public  schools  of  that  town.  In  1881 
he  ceased  attending  school,  and  entered  into  an  ap- 
prenticeship as  a  carriage,  sign,  and  house  painter. 
After  some  months  at  this  calling  he  was  engaged  as 
a  clerk  in  a  drug  store,  and  afterward  as  a  clerk  in 
general  merchandise  and  grocery  stores.  In  1882  he 
went  to  the  mines,  and  was  engaged  in  the  "  Sunny 
South"  mine  for  a  year,  becoming  practically  schooled 
in  the  various  phases  of  mining  life. 

In  1883  he  accompanied  his  father  to  Santa  Clara 
County,  and  located  in  Milpitas,  where  he  was  en- 
gaged, and  took  charge  of  his  father's  interests  in  the 
store  of  Dixon  &  Ashley.  Mr.  Ashley,  though  but 
nineteen  years  of  age,  proved  himself  a  competent 
and  thorough  business  man,  and  in  April,  1885,  he 
purchased  Mr.  Dixon's  interest  in  the  store,  and  con- 
tinued the  business  in  partnership  with  his  father, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Asliley  &  Co.  October  26, 
1886,  his  father  died,  and  since  that  time  the  owner- 
ship of  the  store  has  been  vested  in  himself 

Mr.  Ashley  is  a  member  of  San  Jose  Lodge,  No. 
34,  I.  O.  O.  F.;  also  a  member  of  Palo  Alto  Parlor, 
Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West.  He  is  a  stanch 
and  consistent  Repu'clican,  and  takes  an  intelligent 
interest  in  the  political  affairs  of  the  day. 

^^^ 

I^HILIP  ANDERSON  is  a  resident  of  Berryessa, 
(Sys  at  which  place  he  is  conducting  a  blacksmith 
iST  and  wagon-making  shop.  He  is  located  in  the 
midst  of  a  well-settled  agricultural  section,  and 
his  works  are  well  patronized.  He  is  the  owner  of  a 
comfortable  residence  adjoining  his  shops,  and  also 
owns  260  acres  of  hill  land  about  four  miles  north- 
east of  Berryessa,  which  he  devotes  to  hay  and  stock. 
Among  the  latter  are  some  fine  Percheron  horses. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Aberdeen, 
Scotland,  February  19,  1839.  He  is  the  son  of  Alex- 
ander and  Margaret  Anderson.  In  1S53  he  came 
with  his  father's  family  to  New  Brunswick,  and  there 
learned  the  trade  of  machinist.  His  education  hav- 
ing been  confined  to  the  common  schools  in  Scot- 
land, he  found  himself  deficient  in  even  the  common 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


531 


branches,  and  he  commenced  a  course  of  education 
by  attending  night  schools,  and  reading.  This  he 
continued  for  several  years.  He  worked  at  his  call- 
ing until  1863,  in  which  year  ho  came  to  California, 
by  the  Panama  route,  arriving  in  San  Francisco, 
where  he  worked  for  a  year  as  a  machinist.  In  1864 
he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County  and  located  at  Berry- 
essa,  where  he  worked  as  a  blacksmith  in  the  shops 
which  he  now  owns.  In  1865  he  purchased  an  in- 
terest in  the  works,  and  in  connection  with  his  part- 
ner, Mr.  Beck,  conducted  the  business  until  he  finally 
became  the  sole  owner. 

In  1869  he  married  Miss  Rebecca  J.  Cahill,  the 
daughter  of  Barnawell  and  Rebecca  Jane  Cahill, 
natives  of  New  Brunswick.  By  this  marriage  there 
are  seven  children  living,  viz.:  Margaret  Alice,  Will- 
iam W.,  Mabel  V.,  Leslie  C,  Roscoe  A.,  Albert  Ray, 
and  Emily  Oressa. 

Mr.  Anderson  is  well  known  in  his  district,  and  has 
always  taken  a  deep  interest  in  its  welfare  and  morals. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church,  and  has  held 
the  office  of  School  Trustee  for  six  years.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Prohibitionist,  but  for  some  years  past  has 
been  identified  with  the  Republican  party,  and  has 
several  times  been  elected  a  delegate  to  the  county 
conventions  of  that  party.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  fraternity,  being  associated  with  San  Jose 
Lodge,  No.  10,  of  that  order.  Is  also  a  member  of 
the  A.  O.  U.  W.,  and  was  one  of  the  charter  members 
of  Enterprise  Lodge,  No.  10,  of  San  Jo.se. 


p|MILLIAM    O.    WATSON.     This   gentleman,  a 
Gffl«=>  member  of  the  real-estate  and  insurance  firm  of 

fCook  &  Watson,  of  San  Jose,  and  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  County  Board  of  Supervisors,  was 
born  near  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  in  1834.  He 
attended  school  and  worked  on  his  father's  farm  until 
about  twenty  years  of  age.  He  then  spent  two  years 
in  New  York,  making,  during  that  time,  a  business  trip 
to  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  for  his  brother,  in 
the  general  commission  business.  After  this  he  spent 
a  year  in  business  in  New  Boston,  Massachusetts,  then 
returned  home  and  remained  about  a  year.  He 
started  for  California  in  May,  1859,  and  at  Comanche, 
on  the  Mississippi  River,  with  a  companion,  fitted  out 
a  party  and  came  across  the  plains,  leaving  the  Mis- 
sissippi River  on  the  first  day  of  May,  1859,  and  reach- 
ing Marysville,  California,  in  the  following  October. 
He  took  a  contract  to  build  part  of  the  Marysville  & 


Knight's  Landing  Railroad,  about  five  miles  below 
Yuba  City,  at  the  completion  of  which  contract  he 
went  toOroville  and  engaged  in  selling  fruit  for  G.  G. 
Briggs.  He  spent  several  years  at  various  employ- 
ments, railroad  building,  stock  speculation,  etc.  He 
removed  to  Santa  Clara  Valley  in  1864,  where  he 
has  ever  since  been  engaged  in  farming  and  fruit- 
growing, with  marked  success.  He  is  one  of  the  most 
successful  fruit-growers  in  California,  and  is  considered 
an  authority  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  horticulture. 
Some  of  the  most  profitable  orchards  and  small-fruit 
farms  in  the  county  were  made  by  him. 

In  1880  Mr.  Watson  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Supervisors,  but  resigned  before  taking 
office,  his  taste  being  more  for  private  than  public 
life.  In  1882  he  was  re-elected  and  consented  to 
serve  his  term.  He  brought  to  his  public  duties  so 
much  energy,  intelligence,  and  business  ability  that 
his  constituents  demanded  his  re-election  in  1884,  and 
again  in  1886.  His  present  term  will  expire  in  1890. 
He  has  served  his  constituents  with  zeal  and  fidelity, 
seeing  that  the  people  received  the  full  value  for  every 
dollar  they  were  compelled  to  pay  in  way  of  taxation. 
A  drive  through  Mr.  Watson's  district  will  convince 
the  most  casual  observer  of  the  intelligence  with  which 
its  affairs  are  managed. 

In  1869  he  was  married  to  Miss  M.  L.  Hicks,  a 
native  of  Georgia,  who  came  to  California  with  her 
mother  and  family  in  1852,  to  join  her  father,  a  pio- 
neer of  1849.  They  have  one  child  living,  Grace,  a 
graduate  of  the  Santa  Clara  High  School. 

Mr.  Watson  is  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  52,  I.  O. 
O.  F.,  of  Santa  Clara,  and  Protection  Lodge,  No.  16, 
A.  O.  U.  W.  He  has  always  supported  the  Repub- 
lican party,  and  believes  in  the  fullest  protection  for 
American  industries.  Mr.  Watson  has  always  been 
an  active  man  in  each  community  with  which  he  has 
cast  his  fortunes,  and  his  success  has  been  commen- 
surate. 


SffiON.  ADAM  RIEHL  is  of  German  nativity,  and 
(^k^  was  born  September  8,  1831.  He  came  to  the 
%f  United  States  with  an  uncle  in  1848,  locating  at 
St.  Louis,  Missouri,  where  he  learned  the  black- 
smithing  trade.  In  1853  he  came  across  the  plains  to 
California,  arriving  at  Sacramento,  August  7.  He 
worked  two  months  at  his  trade  in  Sacramento,  and 
then  went  to  El  Dorado  County.  He  carried  on  the 
blacksmith  business  in  connection  with  mining,  until 


532 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


1858,  when  he  went  into  mercantile  business,  which 
he  continued  for  eight  years.  Then  selHng  out,  he 
went  to  San  Francisco  and  thence  to  Santa  Clara 
County,  locating  at  Gilroy  in  1867.  Here  he  carried 
on  a  mercantile  business  until  1875,  when  he  retired. 
He  was  elected  Mayor  of  Gilroy  in  1878,  and  served 
the  full  term  of  two  years.  For  twelve  years  he  was 
a  member  of  the  Common  Council  of  the  city  of  Gil- 
roy. In  1882  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Assem- 
bly and  served  in  the  State  Legislature  until  1884. 
In  1886  he  removed  with  his  family  to  San  Jose. 
Mr.  Riehl  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  San  Jose 
Brush  Electric  Light  Company,  and  has  twice  been 
chosen  its  President.  He  is  also  a  principal  stock- 
holder in  the  Safe  Deposit  Bank  of  San  Jose.  He  is 
generally  identified  with  public  improvements,  and  is 
recognized  as  a  progressive  citizen. 

He  was  married,  November  20,  1864,  to  Josephine 
E.  Kumpf,  a  native  of  New  York.  Five  children 
were  born  to  this  marriage,  to  wit:  Theresa  M., 
Emma  D.,  George  A.,  Martin  W.,  and  Florence  C. 
The  eldest  daughter,  Theresa,  has  developed  a  won- 
derful artistic  talent  and  promises  to  take  a  high  rank 
among  the  painters  of  this  country.  Her  work  has 
attracted  the  favorable  criticism  of  leading  artists,  and 
as  Miss  Riehl  possesses  energy  and  industry  as  well 
as  talent,  she  must  necessarily  come  to  the  front. 


f 


:RNEST  WEHNER  is  the  owner  of  Highland 
Vineyard,  which  is  located  on  the  west  side  of 
the  eastern  hills,  where  it  commands  a  beauti- 
ful view  of  the  valley,  and  can  be  seen  with  fine 
effect  from  San  Jose  and  points  beyond.  The  tract 
comprises  750  acres,  and  the  great  work  of  transform- 
ing the  place  into  a  great  vineyard  and  orchard  was 
undertaken  on  a  grand  scale  in  1888.  Already  175 
acres  have  been  planted  in  vines,  and  fifty  acres  in 
choice  fruits,  but  not  until  about  500  acres  are  thus 
improved  will  this  portion  of  the  work  be  complete. 
All  the  grapes  are  of  wine  varieties,  and  all  foreign 
selected.  Of  the  trees  thus  far  planted  there  are  1,500 
apricots,  500  nectarines,  2,000  peaches,  500  French 
prunes,  500  Bartlett  pears,  and  all  show  fine  progress. 
Three  hundred  acres  additional  of  vines  will  be  planted. 
The  arrangements  for  the  manufacture  of  wine  are 
now  being  matured,  and  in  1889  a  winery,  with  a 
storage  capacity  of  500,000  gallons,  will  be  erected. 
No  wine  will  be  sent  off  the  place  until  it  has  aged 
sufficiently  to  become  of  fine  quality.      The  construc- 


tion of  a  residence  building,  to  cost  $20,000,  will  be 
commenced  in  the  fall  of  1888,  and  it  will  be  built  of 
stone  quarried  from  the  neighboring  hills.  Water  for 
all  purposes  is  supplied  in  abundance  from  many  liv- 
ing springs.  Only  two  of  these  have  thus  far  been 
tapped,  but  they  yield  from  8,000  to  20,000  gallons 
per  day. 

Mr.  Ernest  Wehner,  under  whose  intelligent  super- 
intendence all  this  work  is  being  done,  is  a  native  of 
Hanover,  Germany.  In  1869  he  came  to  America, 
and  after  a  residence  of  one  year  in  Wisconsin  removed 
to  California.  He  resided  in  San  Jose  until  he  under- 
took the  management  of  the  Highland  Vineyard. 
His  brother,  William  Wehner,  the  owner  of  the  ranch, 
is  well  known  as  the  originator  and  proprietor  of  many 
large  panoramas  in  a  number  of  the  large  cities  of  the 
United  States.  Among  the  more  celebrated  of  these 
panoramas  are  those  of  the  Crucifixion  of  Christ,  the 
Battle  of  Gettysburg,  and  Missionary  Ridge.  He  has 
others  at  Indianapolis,  Detroit,  and  Chicago,  while 
the  building  and  paintings  for  one  at  Buffalo,  New 
York,  are  now  in  course  of  preparation. 


pMlLLIAM  J.  COTTLE  was  born  in  Missouri, 
^Wa  October  15,  1832.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he 
tt^  left  home  and  went  to  Quincy,  Illinois,  where 
t  he  remained  a  year,  and  then  went  to  ShulLs- 
burg,  Wisconsin.  In  1852,  attracted  by  the  gold  ex- 
citement, he  came  to  California.  The  journey  across 
the  plains  was  one  of  peculiar  hardship,  the  cholera 
having  broken  out  in  the  train  with  fatal  results. 
Mr.  Cottle  was  attacked  by  the  disease,  but  finally  re- 
covered after  much  suffering.  Two  years'  work  in  the 
mines  enabled  him  to  return  to  Missouri  with  $2,000. 
After  a  short  visit  he  returned  to  California,  his  elder 
brother,  Thomas  Cottle,  coming  with  him.  They  had 
no  success  in  the  mines,  and  turned  their  attention  to 
the  stock  business,  finally  settling  down  to  dairying 
on  a  ranch  in  Monterey  County.  After  a  few  years 
Thomas  sold  out  his  interest  to  William,  and  went  to 
Oregon.  William  moved  his  stock  and  machinery  to 
a  ranch  in  Alameda  County,  and  here  he  was  over- 
taken by  misfortune.  What  is  known  in  California 
as  "the  dry  year"  came  on,  and  he  lost  nearly  all  his 
cattle.  Selling  out  what  was  left  of  the  wreck,  he 
joined  his  brother  in  Oregon,  and  together  they  went 
to  the  mines  in  Grande  Ronde  Valley.  During  this 
year  and  the  year  following  he  engaged  in  several 
kinds  of   business.     He  kept    a  livery,  dealt    in    real 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


533 


estate,  bought  and  sold  stock,  and  owned  a  sheep 
ranch. 

While  here,  on  January  8,  1862,  he  was  married 
to  Miss  Fannie  Landers.  She  was  born  in  Adams 
County,  Illinois,  and  came  across  the  plains  to  Oregon 
with  her  father  when  she  was  but  six  years  old.  Her 
mother  died  in  1883,  but  her  father  still  lives  in  the 
Willamette  Valley,  and  is  seventy-two  years  old. 

Selling  out  his  interests  in  Oregon,  Mr.  Cottle  came 
to  Santa  Clara  County  and  engaged  in  farming,  but, 
his  health  failing  him,  he  returned  to  Oregon,  where 
he  carried  on  a  fine  farm  on  the  Willamette  for  four 
years.  He  then  returned  with  his  family  to  Santa 
Clara  Connty,  where,  having  bought  a  fine  farm  on 
the  Monterey  road,  he  engaged  in  farming.  In  1880 
he  concluded  to  move  his  family  to  San  Jose  to  en- 
able them  to  enjoy  better  educational  facilities.  Here 
Mr.  Cottle  passed  away,  on  the  tenth  day  of  March, 
1884,  and  with  his  death  Santa  Clara  County  lost  one 
of  its  best  citizens.  During  his  residence  in  Cali- 
fornia he  had  made  a  large  circle  of  acquaintances, 
both  socially  and  in  business,  and  each  one  of  these 
mourned  when  he  was  called  away.  He  was  a  man 
of  unbounded  liberality,  and  his  heart  was  always  open 
to  the  appeals  of  the  needy.  He  gave  largely  to 
charitable  objects,  and  his  memory  is  revered  by 
scores  of  people  to  whom  he  came  as  an  all-sufficient 
help  in  time  of  trouble.  He  was,  in  the  truest  sense 
of  the  word,  a  public-spirited  citizen,  at  all  times  will- 
ing to  sacrifice  self  for  the  good  of  the  community. 
When  he  passed  away  his  remains  were  followed  to 
their  last  resting-place  by  people  from  all  the  walks 
of  life,  and  his  memory  is  still  and  always  will  be 
cherished  by  those  who  knew  him  in  this  life.  He 
made  happy  the  lives  of  those  about  him,  and  his 
good  deeds  done  in  this  world  have  undoubtedly 
brought  him  a  rich  reward  in  the  other  world  to  which 
he  has  gone.  He  left  behind  him  his  widow  and  four 
children,  viz.:  Elmer  E.,  Fred  L.,  Laura  L.,  wife  of 
D.  Avery  Porter,  and  Mary  E.,  all  of  whom  reside  in 
San  Jose. 


§ENSON  GRISWOLD,  dealer  in  hardware,  agri- 
cultural implements,  wagons,  buggies,  etc..  City 
^  Market  Building,  corner  Market  and  El  Dorado 
Streets,  San  Jose,  was  born  in  Troy,  Miami 
County,  Ohio,  in  1844.  His  parents  were  Daniel  and 
Susan  (Benson)  Griswold.  His  mother  having  died 
in  1845,  his  father,  in  1854,  removed  with  the  family 


to  Peru,  Indiana,  where  the  subject  of  this  sketch  at- 
tended the  Normal  School.  He  then  removed  to 
Minnesota,  where,  in  1863,  he  enlisted  in  the  Second 
Minnesota  Cavalry,  Company  F.  This  regiment  was 
sent,  under  Generals  Sully  and  Sibley,  to  the  north- 
west territories,  and  was  engaged  until  1865  in  sub- 
duing the  Sioux  Indians.  One  engagement,  the  battle 
of  Yellowstone,  in  August,  1864,  lasted  three  days, 
being  a  running  fight,  in  which  the  Indians  lost 
heavily.  There  were  about  3,000  Indians  in  that 
fight,  after  which  they  broke  up  into  small  bands  and 
kept  up  the  war  until  the  fall  of  1865,  when  they  were 
pretty  well  subdued,  the  country  being  patrolled  up 
to  that  time  by  small  bodies  of  our  troops.  The 
volunteer  troops  were  mustered  out  in  the  fall  of  1865, 
the  regular  troops  taking  their  places.  The  next  five 
years  Mr.  Griswold  devoted  to  farming,  after  which  he 
engaged  in  the  lumber  business  at  Glencoe,  having 
lumber  yards  at  Stewart,  Brownton,  and  Bird  Island, 
Minnesota.  This  bu.^-iness  he  continued  until  1881, 
when  he  removed  to  California,  purchasing  forty  acres 
of  the  Quito  Ranch,  on  the  Los  Gatos  road,  and  set- 
ting it  out  to  apricots  and  prunes.  This  place  he  sold 
in  1887,  and  purchased  the  beautiful  ranch  and  home 
he  now  occupies,  on  the  Stevens  Creek  road,  two  miles 
from  San  Jose,  containing  twenty-five  acres.  This  is 
planted  with  1,525  French  prunes,  100  Oregon  Silver 
prunes,  400  apricots,  140  apples,  50  cherries,  a  variety 
of  trees  for  family  use,  and  2,500  Muscrit  and  Rose  of 
Peru  grape-vines,  the  latter  four  years  old,  and  in  full 
bearing.  The  trees  have  been  well  cut  back  to  make 
the  limbs  strong  for  bearing  a  full  crop  of  fruit.  In 
1887  Mr.  Griswold  purchased  the  interest  of  A.  S. 
Babcock,  deceased,  in  the  business  of  W.  F.  Babcock 
&  Co.,  and  in  1888  purchased  the  interest  of  his  part- 
ner, and  became  sole  owner. 

He  was  married,  in  1866,  to  Miss  Lucy  Stocking,  of 
Hutchinson,  Minnesota,  who  died  in  1872,  leaving  two 
children:  Alta,  now  the  wife  of  Louis  W.  Countryman, 
of  Moorhead,  Minnesota,  and  Edith,  now  attending  the 
State  Normal  School  at  San  Jose.  In  1873  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Matilda  J.  Latta,  of  Roann,  Indiana. 
They  have  one  daughter,  Orra,  now  attending  school 
in  San  Jose.  Mr.  Griswold  is  a  member  of  the  First 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  San  Jose;  member 
of  the  Masonic  order,  and  of  John  A.  Dix  Post,  G.A.R., 
San  Jose.  He  is  a  Republican,  and  believes  in  a  tariff 
protection  of  American  industries. 


534 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


Q.^S 


FREDERICK  NOLTING  was  b  rn  in  the  city 
of  Hamburg,  Germany,  May  9,  181 8,  and  came 
to  the  United  States  in  1842,  landing  in  Balti- 
more, and  has  been  all  his  life  a  seaman,  making  three 
trips  around  the  world.  He  landed  in  San  Francisco 
in  1849. 

He  married  Miss  Rosanna  Shea,  in  1859.  They 
have  a  family  of  two  boys  and  three  girls.  The  boys 
both  work  at  the  Mariposa  Store,  in  San  Jose.  The 
girls  were  educated  in  the  College  of  Notre  Dame. 
Mr.  Nolting  and  family  are  members  of  the  Catholic 
Church.  Mr.  Nolting  owns  a  homestead  of  thirty 
acres  on  the  White  road,  north  of  the  McKee  road, 
which  he  devotes  to  hay  and  grain  culture,  and  which 
he  has  made  his  residence  for  twelve  years.  He  was 
for  nine  years  in  the  mines;  is  a  cripple,  from  the 
caving  in  of  a  shaft  on  him.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Pioneer  Society  of  San  Jose. 


§F.  PHEGLEY,  Supervisor  of  District  No.  i, 
Santa  Clara  County,  is  a  native  of  New  Madrid 
^  County,  Missouri,  born  November  7,  1838,  his 
parents  being  David  and  Nancy  Morgan  (Yergin) 
Phegley.  The  former  was  a  native  of  Indiana,  and 
the  latter  of  Kentucky.  Both  went  to  Missouri  when 
young,  and  were  there  married.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  educated  at  Arcadia  Academy,  in  Iron 
County,  Missouri.  After  leaving  school  he  engaged 
in  the  milling  business  in  Tennessee,  and  three  years 
later  returned  to  New  Madrid  County,  where  he 
farmed  until  1870.  He  then  came  to  California,  and 
located  at  San  Jose.  Three  months  later  he  removed 
to  Madrone,  where  he  purchased  a  farm  of  240  acres, 
which  he  worked  successfully  for  seven  years.  He 
went  to  Gilroy  in  1877,  where  he  lived  for  six  years, 
part  of  which  time  he  was  engaged  in  the  grocery 
business,  and  part  in  farming.  In  1883  he  moved  to 
Old  Gilroy,  where  he  now  resides.  He  was  married 
in  Missouri  to  Miss  Mary  Catherine  Hancock,  a  na- 
tive of  New  Madrid  County,  Missouri,  but  of  Ken- 
tucky ancestry.  They  have  five  children,  as  follows: 
Stella,  William,  Annie,  David,  and  Nora.  Mr.  Pheg- 
ley is  a  Democrat,  politically.  For  several  years  he 
held  the  office  of  Constable,  and  at  the  election  of 
November,  1886,  he  was  chosen  Supervisor  of  the 
First  District  of  Santa  Clara  County.  Mr.  Phegley 
takes  an  active  interest  in  public  affairs,  and  is  at 
present  a  member  of  the  Democratic  County  Central 
Committee.      He  is  regularly  chosen  as  a  delegate  to 


the  county  conventions  of  his  party.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  at  Gilroy,  and  of  the  American 
Legion  of  Honor.  Mr.  Phegley  has,  besides  his  resi- 
dence at  Old  Gilroy,  two  stock  ranches  in  the  Cafiada 
de  los  Osos,  and  usually  runs  from  100  to  150  head  of 
cattle.  One  of  his  ranches  contains  900  acres,  and 
the  other  400.  Both  are  watered  by  creeks  and 
springs. 


-€^4^^" 


f|AMES  MONROE  KIMBERLIN,  seed-grower 
'"  of  Santa  Clara,  was  born  in  Botetourt  County, 
X  Virginia,  on  the  James  River,  January  20,  182S. 
He  is  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Harriet  (Ritchie)  Kimber- 
lin,  both  of  English  ancestry.  They  were  strict 
Methodists,  consistent  Christians,  and  were  pro- 
nounced in  their  views  against  human  slavery.  They 
both  died  of  a  fever  at  Eastport,  Alabama,  when  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  only  eight  years  of  age. 
After  the  death  of  his  parents,  he  was  first  placed 
under  the  guardianship  of  his  uncle,  Barclay  Dodd, 
and  afterward  under  that  of  Samuel  Gohlson,  of  Ala- 
bama. His  parents'  estate  being  mostly  in  slaves, 
himself  and  four  sisters  were  supported  by  an  income 
accruing  from  the  slaves  being  hired  out.  His  sisters 
are  :  Mrs.  Araminta  J.  Bateman,  wife  of  Dr.  E.  B. 
Bateman,  of  Stockton,  California;  Mrs.  Isabella  A. 
Taylor,  wife  of  Rev.  William  Taylor,  Bishop  of  Africa; 
Mrs.  Caroline  E.  Bland,  wife  of  Rev.  Adam  Bland,  of 
the  California  Methodist  Conference;  and  Mrs.  Har- 
riet v.,  wife  of  V.  M.  Payton,  of  Stockton,  California. 
The  children  imbibing  the  abolition  principles  of  their 
parents,  the  slaves  were  all  liberated  in  1852  and  sent 
to  Liberia,  Africa,  Bishop  Taylor  bearing  the  expense 
of  the  transportation,  costing  $1,000.  He  sent  them 
under  the  care  of  his  father,  Rev.  Stewart  Taylor, 
which  event,  subsequently,  during  the  Rebellion,  nearly 
cost  him  his  life,  as  the  act  of  transporting  slaves  to 
Liberia  inflamed  a  sentiment  against  him  among 
slave-holders.  Mr.  Kimberlin  remained  with  his 
guardian,  Samuel  Gohlson,  until  his  fifteenth  year, 
when  he  returned  to  Botetourt  County,  Virginia,  and 
up  to  that  time  he  had  been  educated  in  the  common 
schools.  He  then  taught  school  and  clerked  in  a  store 
till  1848,  when  he  entered  Dickinson  College,  at  Car- 
lisle, Pennsylvania,  at  which  institution  he  graduated 
in  185 1.  Before  entering  college,  Mr.  Kimberlin  be- 
came converted  to  Christ,  which  was  the  most  im- 
portant event  of  his  life,  and  which  changed  his  whole 
future  course. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


535 


January  8,  1851,  he  was  married,  at  Carlisle,  Penn- 
sylvania, to  Miss  Katie  Elizabeth  Reed,  a  daughterof 
Nathan  Reed,  Esq.,  of  that  place.  In  1852  he,  with 
his  wife,  came  by  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  to  Califor- 
nia, under  the  auspices  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Missionary  Board.  He  came  almost  immediately  to 
San  Jose,  and  commenced  teaching  in  the  San  Jose 
Academy,  the  first  school  esta  -ilished  in  San  Jose,  and 
then  in  charge  of  Mr.  Bannister.  The  school  was 
held  in  the  old  What  Cheer  House,  southeast  corner  of 
San  Fernando  and  Second  Streets.  Mr.  Kimberlin 
taught  here  two  terms,  and  was  then  transferred  to  a 
professorship  in  the  University  of  the  Pacific,  at  Santa 
Clara.  Here  he  remained  at  a  nominal  salary  for 
twelve  years,  trying  to  keep  the  struggling  institution 
on  its  feet;  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  efforts  of  him- 
self. Doctor  Gibbons,  and  Mr.  Cleveland,  this  now 
prosperous  and  useful  college  would  have  been  lost  to 
the  Conference.  But  for  the  income  from  a  piece  of 
ground  which  Mr.  Kimberlin  had  purchased,  he  would 
have  starved  to  death  while  trying  to  place  the  Uni- 
versity on  a  solid  foundation.  Finally  he  lost  his 
health,  and  in  1875  was  obliged  to  retire  from  the 
profession  of  teacher.  He  went  into  farming  and 
fruit-growing  in  a  small  way,  but  did  not  make  much 
of  a  success  until  he  drifted  into  seed-growing.  Com- 
mencing with  but  a  small  tract,  he  has  increased  his 
plantations  from  year  to  year  until  he  now  has  280 
acres  in  seeds  and  eighty  acres  in  bulbs. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kimberlin  have  had  nine  children, 
viz.:  Imogene  Taylor,  married  to  J.  J.  Roadhouse,  of 
Fresno  County;  Olin  Bland,  farmer  in  Fresno  County; 
Virginia  Peyton,  residing  in  Fresno  County;  James 
Edwin,  deceased;  Ida  Josephine,  deceased;  Charles 
Reed,  in  business  with  his  father;  Louis  Melvin,  at- 
tending commercial  college;  Herbert  Vernon,  in  bus- 
iness with  his  father;  and  Mary  Alice,  attending  the 
public  schools  of  Santa  Clara. 


fOL.  ANDREW  J.  JACKSON,  deceased,  was 
-.-  born  in  New  York  city,  in  1827.  But  little  is 
e>  known  of  his  boyhood,  excepting  that  when  very 
young,  fond  of  adventures  and  disliking  parental 
restraint,  he  went  to  Florida,  where,  during  the  Semi- 
nole War,  he  was  a  message  boy  for  army  officers. 
When  fourteen  years  of  age  he  returned  to  New  York 
city,  where,  when  eighteen,  he  enlisted  in  the  Second 
Regiment  of  Ohio  Volunteers,  and  served  during  the 
Mexican  War,     In   1848   be  came  to  California,  by 


way  of  Panama,  and  spent  about  a  year  in  the  gold 
diggings,  when,  in  the  latter  part  of  1849,  he  came  to 
Santa  Clara  County. 

March  20,  1851,  he  was  married,  near  Santa  Clara, 
to  Amanda  Senter,  a  daughter  of  Judge  Isaac  and 
Rebecca  (Mclntyre)  Senter.  After  his  marriage  he 
was  variously  engaged  until  the  breaking  out  of  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion,  when,  being  a  firm  Union  man, 
he  took  an  active  part  in  keeping  the  State  of  Califor- 
nia loyal  to  the  government,  and  became  a  captain 
in  the  State  Militia.  In  1863  he  was  commissioned 
Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  First  Regiment  of  Artillery, 
California  Militia,  by  Governor  Stanford;  and  in  1864 
commissioned,  by  Governor  Low,  Colonel  of  the  Fifth 
Regiment  of  Infantry  Volunteer.  Early  in  the  war 
he  was  commissioned  a  Provost  Marshal  by  Presi- 
dent Lincoln,  with  the  rank  of  Captain,  having  his 
headquarters  at  San  Francisco.  He  was  a  genial 
gentleman,  and  as  an  officer  he  performed  his  duties 
with  promptness  and  ability,  and  with  an  honesty  of 
purpose;  and,  if  anything,  leaned  to  the  side  of  leniency 
when  duty  demanded  a  rigid  and  severe  execution  of 
the  laws.  He  was  honorably  discharged  October  15, 
1865.  On  returning  to  civil  life,  he  settled  with  his 
family  on  a  ranch  in  the  vicinity  of  Santa  Clara,  Jan- 
uary II,  1870.  He  was  a  Free  Mason  and  a  member 
of  Santa  Clara  Lodge,  No.  34,  F.  &  A.  M. 

Mrs.  Jackson  still  survives  him,  and,  although  still 
owning  the  ranch,  she  is  a  resident  of  Santa  Clara. 
She  had  six  children:  Franklin,  of  Arizona;  Mrs. 
Ada  Lovell,  wife  of  John  Lovell,  Santa  Clara;  New- 
ton S.,  of  Santa  Clara;  Charles,  a  farmer  of  Santa 
Clara  County;  Clara,  still  with  her  mother;  and  Wil- 
ber,  a  law  student.  Mrs.  Jackson  and  her  children 
are  members  of  the  Episcopal  Church  at  Santa  Clara. 


I^ATHAN  L.  ROSS,  residing  on  the  corner  of 
(Te^  Hamilton  Avenue  and  the  Meridian  road,  is 
X  the  owner  of  one  of  the  most  thrifty  orchards 
in  the  Hamilton  District.  He  commenced  the  im- 
provement of  his  sixteen  acres,  which  at  the  time  of 
his  purchase  were  part  of  a  grain  field,  in  1881.  The 
leading  products  of  his  orchard  are  apricots,  prunes, 
and  peaches.  The  orchard  is  in  full  bearing,  and  the 
following  estimate  of  a  part  of  the  crop  of  1887  will 
give  a  fair  idea  of  its  condition.  In  that  year,  from 
400  apricot  trees  (then  five  years  old)  were  gathered 
seventeen  tons  of  fruit,  which  was  sokl  for  $540.  The 
residence  was  built  in  the  autumn  of  1881, 


536 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


Mr.  Ross  was  born  in  Lee  County,  Iowa,  on  the 
sixth  of  October,  1848.  He  is  the  son  of  John  E. 
and  Sarah  (Page)  Ross,  who  now  live  in  Union  Dis- 
trict, of  this  county.  The  family  came  to  California 
from  Lee  County  at  quite  an  early  day,  in  1853. 
After  a  fe,w  months'  residence  in  Sacramento,  the)' 
removed  to  Redwood  City,  in  the  spring  of  1854,  and 
from  that  place  changed  their  residence  to  this  county 
in  1856. 

Nathan  L.  Ross  married  Miss  Arabella  Harmon, 
in  this  count)',  on  the  first  of  October,  1870.  They 
have  one  child  living,  Ada.  Another  daughter,  Hat- 
tie,  died  at  the  age  of  ten  months. 

Mr.  Ross  was  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Supervis- 
ors, in  1885,  as  Roadmaster,  and  thus  has  charge  of 
part  of  the  roads  in  District  No.  4.  Politically  he  is  an 
adherent  of  the  Republican  party.  He  is  thoroughly 
identified  with  the  agricultural  and  horticultural  in- 
terests of  the  county,  as  he  has  been  engaged  in  these 
occupations  in  this  county  ever  since  reaching  man- 
hood. E.xperience  has  taught  him  his  business  thor- 
oughly, as  his  own  fruit  interests  attest. 


^HARLES  E.  WADE  is  one  of  the  most  pros- 
^^  perous  landowners  of  the  county,  his  magnificent 
^Y  ranch  of  395  acres  lying  in  the  Midway  School 
District.  It  is  about  four  miles  north  of  San 
Jose,  on  the  San  Jose  and  Alviso  road,  and  extending 
to  Guadaloupe  Creek.  Forty  acres  are  used  for  the 
cultivation  of  strawberries  of  the  Sharpless  and  Long- 
worth' varieties,  blackberries,  and  raspberries.  Thirty 
acres  produce  onion  seed,  and  the  remainder  of  this 
large  farm  is  devoted  to  hay,  grain,  and  stock,  the 
latter  including  a  dairy  of  twenty-five  cows.  Mr. 
Wade  is  also  quite  extensively  engaged  in  raising 
common  breeds  of  work  horses.  Three  artesian  wells 
are  to  be  found  on  this  place,  one  of  which  is  worthy 
of  special  mention.  It  is  346  feet  in  depth,  and  has 
an  eight-inch  pipe,  and  the  water  will  rise  twelve  feet 
above  the  surface,  furnishing  nearly  300,000  gallons  in 
twenty-four  hours.  One  of  the  others  flows  four 
inches  over  an  eight-inch  pipe. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  born  in  Tioga 
County,  Pennsylvania,  in  1838.  He  is  the  son  of 
Henry  and  Mary  (Lynch)  Wade.  Henry  Wade  was 
born  in  England,  in  1801,  and  came  to  the  United 
States  in  1835,  taking  up  his  residence  in  Tioga 
County.  There  the  family  made  their  home  for  nine 
years,  removing  in   1844  to  Will  County,  Illinois.     In 


1849  they  left  Illinois  for  California.  The  party  came 
by  the  Southern  route,  and  spent  over  eleven  months 
on  the  tedious  journey.  After  a  short  stay  in  the  mines, 
the  father  brought  his  family  to  Santa  Clara  County, 
where  he  engaged  in  farm  work  for  about  a  year. 
He  then  took  up  his  residence  in  Alviso,  and  engaged 
in  the  work  of  teaming.  He  spent  many  years  in  this 
vocation,  leaving  it  only  to  retire  from  active  business 
in  1865.  He  was  granted  many  years  of  rest  and 
quiet  after  an  active,  busy  life.  His  death  occurred  in 
1885. 

The  youth  of  our  subject,  after  twelve  years  of  age, 
was  spent  in  Alviso,  where  he  received  his  education. 
After  reaching  an  age  suitable  for  the  work  of  earning 
his  living,  he  engaged  in  various  pursuits,  among 
them  teaming  and  freighting.  Since  purchasing  the 
farm  which  he  now  owns  he  has  devoted  his  entire  at- 
tention to  its  cultivation. 

Of  his  brothers  and  sisters  who  came  to  California, 
there  are  Henry  G.,  living  in  Alviso;  Richard  A., 
married  and  living  in  San  Jose;  and  Elmira,  the  wife 
of  J.  J.  Ortley,  now  residing  in  Alviso.  Mr.  Wade 
was  united  in  marriage,  in  1863,  with  Miss  Eslefana 
Alviso,  the  daughter  of  Domingo  Alviso.  They  have 
had  fourteen  children,  eleven  of  whom  are  now  (1888) 
living.  Their  names  are:  Andrew  Jackson,  Daniel 
B.,  Stephen  B.,  Augusta,  William  W.,  Mary,  Charles 
L.,  Lottie,  John  A.,  Lizzie,  and  Walter  A.  D. 

Having  lived  in  the  county  from  his  youth,  Mr. 
Wade  is  widely  known,  and  much  respected  by  a  large 
circle  of  acquaintances.  His  interests  are  most  thor- 
oughly those  of  the  section  where  he  lives,  and  he  is 
greatly  interested  in  all  that  concerns  the  public  wel- 
fare.    In  politics  he  is  thoroughly  a  Republican. 


SjfiULIAN  JOHNSON.  Among  those  who  figured 
(§^'  in  Gilroy  when  it  was  a  mere  hamlet,  is  to  be 
"•!^  found  the  gentleman  whose  name  heads  this 
sketch.  He  i.s,  however,  a  native  of  Sonora,  Mexico, 
having  been  born  -at  Oposura,  in  that  State,  May  6, 
1838.  His  father,  John  Johnson,  was  a  native  of 
Kentucky,  and  came  of  one  of  the  best-known  fami- 
lies of  that  State.  The  Indian  race  never  presented 
a  firmer  or  stronger  front  in  opposition  to  the  en- 
croachments of  civilization  than  in  the  pioneer  days 
of  Kentucky,  and  there  the  name  of  Johnson  oc- 
cupied a  place  as  conspicuous  and  honorable  as  that 
of  Boone.     Col.  Richard  M.  Johnson,  Vice-President 


r 


h 


.^ 


^^^HOi/Sc 


Uf^- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


537 


of  the  United  States,  1837-41,  to  whom  history  has 
accorded  the  fame  of  being  the  slayer  of  Tecumseh, 
was  a  member  of  the  family.  Coming  of  such  stock, 
John  Johnson  could  not  be  otherwise  than  the  man 
of  iron  nerve  and  will  his  subsequent  career  proved 
him  to  be.  When  he  was  young  his  parents  removed 
to  Missouri,  and  there  he  lived  until  1835,  in  which 
year  he  went  to  Mexico,  though  then  hardly  past 
the  age  of  boyhood.  Finally,  locating  at  Oposura, 
the  ancient  capital  of  the  Opota  Indians,  he  met  and 
married  a  Spanish  lady,  Delfina  Gutierrez,  who  was 
born  in  San  Miguel,  and  educated  at  Oposura.  He 
at  once  became  a  leader  in  the  community,  and  his 
business  as  a  trader  grew  to  large  proportions.  The 
ravages  of  the  Apache  Indians,  ever  an  important 
element  in  restraining  the  progress  of  th.it  portion 
of  Mexico,  were  then  at  their  worst,  and  they  were 
not  only  a  constant  source  of  menace  to  the  trading 
trains  of  Mr.  Johnson,  on  their  way  to  and  from  the 
States,  but  were  also  the  cause  of  great  dread  and 
consternation  among  the  people  during  his  absence. 
He  decided  to  strike  a  blow  at  the  Apaches  which 
should  be  an  effectual  check  on  their  operations  in 
that  vicinity,  and  for  this  purpose  set  about  forming 
an  expedition  against  them,  with  seventeen  American 
trappers  and  hunters  in  his  employ  as  a  nucleus. 

Starting  out  with  this  object  in  view,  it  became 
evident  that  his  force  would  not  be  augmented,  as 
all  regarded  the  expedition  as  foolhardy  in  the  ex- 
treme. Their  progress  was  telegraphed  from  band  to 
band  of  the  Indians  by  means  of  signal  fires  on  the 
hills,  and  on  the  afternoon  of  the  third  day  out  they 
were  surrounded  at  the  foot  of  the  Sierra  by  a  large 
party  of  warriors,  under  the  leadership  of  the  cele- 
brated Juan  Jose,  who  demanded  the  reason  of  their 
presence  there.  Mr.  Johnson  gave  the  plausible  ex- 
cuse that  his  part\'  were  on  their  way  to  the  States, 
on  account  of  the  impending  trouble  between  Texas 
and  Mexico.  He  also  asked  for  guides,  promising  at 
a  given  point  to  present  the  Indians  with  a  part  of 
the  pack,  consisting  of  trinkets,  etc.,  on  the  next  day. 
Before  separating  temporarily  from  the  Indians,  John- 
son noticed  a  Mexican  girl  among  them,  and  learning 
that  she  was  a  captive  he  purchased  her  release. 
She  soon  repaid  the  favor  by  informing  her  deliverers 
that  the  Indians  had  a  plan  to  massacre  the  entire 
party.  The  distribution  of  presents  was  to  be  al- 
lowed to  take  place  on  the  following  morning,  and 
the  guide  then  furnished  was  to  lead  the  Americans 
into  an  ambush.  Svxift  runners  had  been  sent  out  to 
gather  a  force  of  Indians  for  this  purpose. 
68 


On  learning  of  this,  Johnson  determined  to  meet 
cunning  with  cunning.  He  selected  for  the  transfer 
of  the  presents  a  little  valley,  with  an  opening  sur- 
rounded by  a  grove  of  oak  timber  and  clusters  of 
underbrush.  Some  large  flat  stones  formed  natural 
tables  on  which  the  trinkets  were  artfully  displayed 
by  the  hunters.  A  howitzer,  which  had  been  packed 
on  the  back  of  a  mule,  was  loaded  with  double  charges 
of  grape  and  canister,  and  carefully  concealed  in  a 
clump  of  underbrush  close  at  hand.  Carefully  cov- 
ered by  the  pack-saddles,  blankets,  etc.,  the  artillery- 
man in  charge  had  carefully  trained  it  upon  the 
narrow  place  where  the  Indians  must  assemble  to 
receive  the  presents.  The  little  band  of  Americans 
were  to  be  apparently  carelessly  distributed  about  the 
ground,  but  in  reality  each  was  to  have  his  Kentucky 
rifle,  carefully  loaded,  within  reach,  and  every  detail 
in  readiness  for  a  sudden  fight. 

Juan  Jose  was  promptly  on  hand  with  a  large  band, 
and  some  of  his  most  renowned  subalterns.  The 
artilleryman  partially  uncovered  his  howitzer,  and 
when  the  Indians  became  huddled  together,  he  fired 
his  piece.  Almost  simultaneously  sixteen  Kentucky 
rifles  cracked,  and  a  large  proportion  of  the  Indian 
band  was  almost  in  a  twinkling  literally  mowed  away. 
Each  rifleman  had  selected  for  his  victim  a  chief  or 
noted  warrior,  and  after  the  first  volley  no  one  was 
left  to  lead  the  bewildered  red  men  remaining,  who 
immediately  took  to  their  heels,  followed  by  volleys 
from  the  riflemen,  who  had  so  outwitted  a  party  su- 
perior to  them  in  number  many  times  to  one!  This 
remarkable  victory,  with  all  its  attendant  circum- 
stances, made  such  an  impression  on  the  Apaches 
that  their  outrages  in  Johnson's  region  were  thereafter 
effectually  checked. 

John  Johnson  v\as  an  educated  man,  and  by  pro- 
fession a  physician.  He  practiced  for  some  time  after 
going  to  Mexico.  In  1849  he  came  to  Gilroy  with 
his  son  Ricliard,  and  in  the  following  year  his  son 
Julian,  whose  name  commences  this  article,  and  who 
was  at  that  time  a  lad  of  but  ten  years,  came  to  Gilroy 
also,  with  an  uncle.  He  worked  first  as  a  farm  boy, 
but  at  the  age  of  fourteen  he  entered  the  store  of 
Mr.  Everett  as  a  clerk,  and  while  there  studied  at 
nights,  thus  obtaining  his  education.  He  followed 
the  fortunes  of  this  store  long  after  the  original  pro- 
prietor had  left  it,  and  while  there  he  filled  the  posi- 
tion of  expressman,  telegraph  operator,  and  Post- 
master. In  the  spring  of  1863  he  went  to  Mexico  to 
engage  in  mining,  but  in  January,  1864,  he  returned 
to   Gilroy,  and    re-er,tered   the  store  of  Wagenheim, 


538 


PEN  PlC'lJjRES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


Loupe,  Levy  &  Co.  With  them  he  remained  until 
September,  1865,  when  he  returned  to  Mexico,  and 
his  interests  there  have  so  grown  that  they  require  his 
presence  most  of  the  time.  In  one  ranch  he  has 
100,000  acres.  He  has,  however,  chosen  Gih'oy  as  a 
home  for  his  family,  and  here,  in  1874,  he  purchased 
a  handsome  residence  property,  which  is  kept  up  with 
a  high  regard  for  care  and  taste. 

His  wife,  to  whom  he  was  married  September  24, 
1862,  was  formerly  Miss  Mary  H.  Hinman,  a  native  of 
Mannsville,  Jefferson  County,  New  York,  and  daughter 
of  Joel  and  Eunice  (Wheeler)  Hinman.  Her  father 
died  in  1849,  but  her  mother,  who  survives,  a  lady  of 
culture  and  refinement,  is  sprightly  and  active,  and 
has  her  home  with  Mrs.  Johnson.  She  has  a  number 
of  times  made  the  trip  from  New  York  to  the  Pacific, 
and  return,  and  thoroughly  enjoyed  it.  She  is  of  an 
old  New  York  family.  Her  uncle,  David  Wheeler,  by 
whom  she  was  rai,sed  after  her  father's  death,  was  a 
soldier  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  Her  grand- 
father also  served  in  the  patriotic  army.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Julian  Johnson  arc  the  parents  of  five  children, 
namely:  Charles  Hinman,  William  Hinman,  Julian 
Manuel,  Frances  Eunice,  and  John  Everett. 


M  P.  STOCKTON,  the  proprietor  of  the  Gravel 
'^  Vineyards,  resides  on  Brenham  Lane,  in  Union 
J^  District.  He  purchased  the  residence  portion  of 
his  property,  consisting  of  seventy-nine  acres,  in 
i860,  and  at  orice  took  possession  of  it.  He  paid 
$8.00  per  acre  for  the  land,  it  being  in  the  state  of 
nature  known  as  "  oak  openings."  Two  years  after 
his  acquisition  of  the  property,  twelve  acres  had  been 
prepared  and  planted  with  vines,  and  year  by  year 
the  owner  has  added  to  the  original  setting,  as  his 
means  would  admit,  without  incurring  indebtedness, 
until  now  (in  1888)  the  whole  tract  is  comprised  in  a 
thrifty  vineyard.  In  addition  to  this,  Mr.  Stockton 
bought,  in  1882,  an  adjoining  tract  oi  100  acres,  it 
then  being  a  grain-field.  During  that  year  and  the 
one  following,  thirty-five  acres  were  set  to  vines. 
The  leading  varieties  of  grapes  in  the  two  tracts  com- 
posing this  large  vine}  ard  are  the  Matero,  Grenache, 
Zinfandel,  and  Charbano,  and  the  yield  is  the  best 
proof  of  the  excellent  care  given  to  the  industry.  In 
1887  these  vines  furnished  300  tons  of  grapes.  Dur- 
ing the  present  year,  twenty  acres  of  the  last  purchase 
were  set  with  prune-trees,  and   the  remainder  of  the 


tract  has  been  devoted  to  the  raising  of  hay  and  grain 
for  the  u.-^e  of  the  ranch. 

Mr.  Stockton  was  born  in  Lawrence  County,  Ala- 
bama, July  16,  1829.  His  mother  died  when  he  was 
young,  and  he  early  left  the  old  home.  He  drifted 
westward  to  Mississippi,  and  later  made  his  home  in 
Tennessee  and  Arkansas,  living  in  the  latter  State  in 
1850.  In  1852  he  became  a  resident  of  this  State, 
first  locating  in  Santa  Cruz.  Thence  he  went,  in 
1854,  to  Monterey,  where  he  went  to  farming  on  his 
own  account,  pre-empting  160  acres  of  land.  He  re- 
mained there  but  a  short  time,  entering  the  mines  in 
Mariposa  County  in  the  following  year.  Later,  Mr. 
Stockton,  in  partnership  with  P.  O.  McFadden,  became 
engaged  in  stock-raising  in  San  Luis  Obispo  County. 
He  retained  his  interest  in  this  business  for  several 
years,  but  after  1859  left  it  in  charge  of  his  partner. 
As  before  stated,  in  i860  he  commenced  building  up 
his  present  large  interests.  His  success  as  a  viticult- 
urist  is  assured  by  an  experience  of  twenty-eight 
years,  as  well  as  by  the  careful  attention  which  he 
gives  to  all  the  details  of  his  work.  As  would  nat- 
urally be  expected,  he  is  greatly  interested  in  the 
Santa  Clara  Viticultural  Society. 

In  1869  Mr.  Stockton  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Susie  Welch,  formerly  from  Missouri,  but  a  resi- 
dent of  this  State  since  1852.  Three  children  have 
blessed  this  union:  Paul,  Frankie,  and  Herbert. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Stockton  sympathizes 
with  the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party. 

^^ 

|^.EORGE  A.FLEMING  COMPANY, fruit-driers 
=^  and  dealers  in  dried  fruit.  At  the  Willows,  in 
Ji.  1877,  George  A.  Fleming  commenced,  in  an  ex- 
perimental way,  the  drying  of  fruit.  The  dis- 
couragements of  the  first  years  were  many;  much  had 
to  be  learned,  the  people  being  slow  to  believe  that 
the  American  prune  or  apricot  could  equal  imported 
fruit.  In  fact,  the  often  unsatisfactory  condition  of 
the  first  fruits  sent  from  this  State  to  the  Eastern 
markets  did  much  to  confirm  the  prevalent  prejudice 
against  all  Am  ricin  dried  fruits.  There  were  those 
who  believed  that  patience  and  care  could  remedy  all 
existing  deficiencies,  and  in  time  create  a  demand  for 
California  fruits  that  would  make  their  production  a 
source  of  great  profit,  and  build  up  an  industry  that 
would  employ  thousands,  and  bring  wealth  to  Santa 
Clara  Valley.     Among  these  was  George  A.  Fleming. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


539 


Holding-  steadily  to  that  faith,  he  gained  each  year  in 
experimental  knowledge.  With  the  increased  pro- 
duction, his  business  steadily  increased,  until  it  has 
grown  to  its  present  magnificent  proportions. 

Associated  with  him  is  his  brother,  Charles  F.  Flem- 
ing. Their  interests  becoming  too  large  for  personal 
supervision,  the  George  A.  Fleming  Company  was  or- 
ganized, under  the  State  laws  of  Illinois,  in  Decem- 
ber, 1887,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $250,000.  Of  this 
stock  the  Flemings  own  three-fourths.  The  incor- 
porators are  as  follows:  George  A.  Fleming,  President ; 
Charles  F.  Fleming,  Treasurer  and  Vice-President; 
Thomas  Cadwallader,  of  Chicago,  Secretary;  and  R. 
D.  Shaw  and  George  T.  McLaughlin,  of  San  Jose. 
The  last-named  gentlemen  had  been  in  the  employ  of 
the  Flemings  several  years,  and  are  now  the  superin- 
tendents of  the  two  drying  establishments,  one  at  the 
Willows,  and  the  other  at  Campbell  Station.  The 
latter  establishment  was  erected  in  1887.  The  com- 
pany own,  at  Rock  Island,  Illinois,  their  own  dis- 
tributing depot,  handling  all  of  their  own  goods. 
There  sixty  hands  are  employed,  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  Charles  F.  Fleming.  The  business  office 
of  the  company  is  in  Chicago,  under  the  charge  of 
Mr.  Cadwallader,  the  secretary  of  the  corporation. 
The  management  of  the  driers,  and  the  purchase  of 
stock,  are  under  the  superintendence  of  George  A. 
Fleming,  who  resides  at  the  Willows.  During  the 
active  drying  season  of  1887,  about  700  employes 
composed  the  force,  and  1,800  tons  of  apricots  (green 
fruit),  and  over  2,500  tons  of  other  fruit  were  handled. 
The  company  deal  largely  in  fruits  cured  by  others. 
They  shipped,  of  the  crop  of  1887,  about  120  car 
loads  of  dried  fruit,  about  two-thirds  of  which  was 
cured  by  themselves.  Their  Black  Diamond  brand, 
and  Fleming's  raisin-curcd  prunes,  are  favorites  in  the 
market. 


->m-; 


M-«- 


fHOMAS  JEFFERSON  MAXEY.  Among  the 
fine  farms  in  the  Berrycssa  District  is  that  of  Mr. 
^  Maxey.  He  is  the  owner  of  123  acres,  bounded 
on  the  north  by  the  Maxey  and  Abies  road,  on  the 
east  by  the  Rice  and  Randall  road.  Excepting  a 
small  orchard,  this  land  is  devoted  to  the  produc- 
tion of  hay  and  grain  and  stock-raising;  of  the  latter 
Mr.  Maxey  has  some  splendid  specimens  of  Nor- 
man horses,  of  which  he  is  justly  proud.  Among  the 
horses  is  his  stallion  "Prince."  He  also  owns  160  acres 
of  land   located  about  two  and    one-half  miles  north. 


and  near  the  summit,  of  Mount  Hamilton.  This  land 
is  used  for  stock  purposes.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
is  the  son  of  Robert  and  Ridley  Ann  (Nixon)  Maxey, 
and  dates  his  birth  in  Buckingham  County,  Virginia, 
October  8,  1828.  His  parents  were  natives  of  Vir- 
ginia. In  1 83 1  his  father  moved  to  Cumberland 
County,  Kentucky,  and  in  1838  moved  to  Knox 
County,  Illinois.  His  father  was  a  farmer,  to  which 
occupation  Mr.  Maxey  was  reared.  His  education 
was  limited,  and  only  such  as  was  afforded  by  the 
frontier  schools.  He  remained  on  his  father's  farm 
until  1852,  in  which  year  he  started  overland  with  ox 
teams  for  California.  The  Indians  were  somewhat 
troublesome  that  year,  but  the  train  proceeded  safely, 
and  was  only  stopped  once.  They  were  surrounded 
by  the  Indians,  who  became  very  demonstrative  in 
tiieir  actions.  The  emigrant  force  was  small,  and  Mr. 
Maxey  volunteered  to  ride  back  on  the  trail  and  seek 
a  relief  force  from  other  trains.  It  was  a  hazardous 
undertaking,  but,  mounted  upon  a  fleet  horse,  he  burst 
through  the  cordon  of  the  Indians,  and,  before  they 
had  fairly  recovered  from  their  surprise  at  his  dar- 
ing, he  was  beyond  their  reach  and  dashing  along  the 
trail.  The  Indians  knew  too  well  what  this  movement 
meant,  and  soon  after  moved  off  and  left  the  train  to 
proceed  on  its  way.  Mr.  Maxey  arrived  at  Stockton  in 
September,  and  worked  at  brick-making  for  about  two 
months.  He  then  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  and 
for  nearly  three  years  was  engaged  in  various  pur- 
suits. He  worked  for  Dr.  Jones,  near  Evergreen,  and 
helped  to  build  the  first  house  ever  erected  in  that 
section.  He  also  worked  for  Edward  Doty  for  nearly 
two  years  at  farm  labor.  In  the  fall  of  1855  he  rented 
250  acres  of  land  from  Mrs.  White,  which  he  devoted 
to  raising  grain. 

In  1856  Mr.  Maxey  married  Miss  Theresa  J.  Ogan, 
daughter  of  James  S.  and  Elizabeth  B.  (Harris)  Ogan, 
residents  of  Santa  Clara  County.  (Mrs.  Ogan's  father 
and  mother  were  natives  of  Kentucky  and  Missouri 
respectively.)  Mr.  Maxey  continued  his  work  upon 
this  and  other  rented  farms  until  1858,  when  he  pur- 
chased his  present  residence  and  farm.  He  at  once 
began  its  cultivation  and  improvement,  which  he  has 
so  successfully  accomplished.  He  purchased  his  hill 
farm  in  1882.  Mr.  Maxey  is  a  member  of  the  A.  O. 
U.  W.  He  is  well-known  throughout  the  section  in 
which  he  resides — a  man  industrious,  energetic,  and  of 
progressive  views.  His  success  in  life  is  due  more  to 
these  qualities  than  to  any  advantages  he  received 
from  education  in  early  life.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Maxey 
have    three   children,  viz.:     Alice    J.,    Clayborn,   and 


540 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


Millie  F.  In  addition  they  have  an  adopted  son, 
Frank  Maxcy,  the  son  of  W.  H.  and  Margaret  J. 
(Cockburn)  McKillip.  Frank  Maxey  married  Ella  J. 
Hollister,  daughter  of  Page  Hollister,  of  San  Jose. 
They  are  residing  near  Hollister,  San  Benito  County. 


MILEXANDER    KAMMERER   is   a    native   of 
€^y^  Santa  Clara  County,  born  in  San  Jose  Town- 

tship,  August  12,  1861.  He  is  the  son  of  Peter 
and  Marian  (Hoffman)  Kammerer.  His  father 
was  a  native  of  Germany,  who  emigrated  to  the  United 
States,  and  came  to  California  in  1851.  After  engag- 
ing in  mining  and  other  occupations,  in  different  parts 
of  the  State,  he  located  in  Santa  Clara  County  in 
1855.  Soon  after  his  arrival  he  took  up  his  residence 
upon  200  acres  of  land  situated  on  what  is  now  the 
King  road,  in  the  Jackson  School  District,  about  two 
and  one-half  miles  east  of  the  business  center  of  San 
Jose.  Here  he  commenced  the  cultivation  and  im- 
provement of  the  place,  which  he  continued  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1865.  The  death  of  Mrs. 
Kammerer  occurred  the  year  before.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  thus  left  an  orphan  at  the  age  of  four 
years.  He  was  then  taken  into  the  family  of  his 
guardian,  J.  D.  White,  whose  farm  adjoined  that  of 
his  father's,  and  was  there  reared  and  schooled,  re- 
ceiving the  same  care  and  attention  that  were  given  to 
members  of  Mr.  White's  family.  He  was  given  the 
advantages  of  an  education  in  the  excellent  public 
schools  of  San  Jose,  and  is  also  a  graduate  of  the  Gar- 
den City  Commercial  College.  At  the  same  time  he  was 
reared  to  farm  life.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  years 
Mr.  Kammerer  came  into  possession  of  one-half  of  the 
old  homestead  before  mentioned,  since  which  time  he 
has  successfully  cultivated  and  improved  the  same. 
This  land  is  rich  and  productive.  Mr.  Kammerer  has 
not  as  yet  extended  his  fruit  cultivation  beyond  a 
family  orchard,  but  devotes  his  land  to  hay,  grain, 
and  stock.  In  the  latter  line  he  is  breeding  horses 
from  "Percheron"  and  "Nutwood"  strains,  and  has 
reason  to  be  proud  of  his  succsss  in  this  enterprise. 
A  fine  artesian  well  furnishes  all  the  water  required 
for  stock  and  domestic  use,  the  surplus  being  used  for 
irrigation. 

Mr.  Kammerer  is  a  strong  Republican  in  politics. 
He  is  a  firm  believer  in  the  future  prosperity  and 
growth  of  the  section  in  which  he  resides,  and  takes  a 
deep  interest  in  all  public  improvements  tending  to 
advance  the  welfare  of  the  county. 


He  was  united  in  marriage,  October  17,  1883,  with 
Miss  May  Catherine  Holland,  daughter  of  Simeon 
and  Hannah  (Broadbent)  Holland,  natives  of  En- 
gland, but  residents  of  Santa  Clara  County.  They  have 
had  three  children,  viz.:  Urban  A.,  Lester  Oakley,  and 
Marian  Hannah.  Mr.  Kammerer  has  one  sister  liv- 
ing, Lena,  who  married  George  C.  Hunt,  and  now  re- 
sides in  Oakland,  Alameda  County. 


.|gREDERICK  THEUERKAUF  is  one  of  the 
s^  earliest  settlers  of  Santa  Clara  County,  having 
T  come  to  this  beautiful  valley  in  1852,  in  which 
year  he  bought  a  claim  of  160  acres,  on  the  Quito 
Ranch,  seven  miles  west  of  San  Jose.  He  made 
great  improvements  on  his  real  estate,  erecting  a  fine 
residence  and  planting  a  good  orchard  and  vineyard. 
In  1875  he  sold  the  property  to  Peter  Hillebrant,  for 
$30,000.  It  is  now  known  as  the  "  Evergreen  Avenue 
Farm." 

During  the  three  years  following  the  sale  of  his 
ranch,  Mr.  Theuerkauf  lived  in  East  San  Jose.  He 
then  purchased  180  acres  of  improved  land,  and  sold 
100  acres  of  it,  reserving  the  remainder  for  his  fine 
home  residence.  It  is  located  in  the  Willow  District, 
between  Plummer  Avenue  and  the  Almaden  road, 
three  miles  from  the  city  limits  of  San  Jose.  Mr. 
Theuerkauf  also  owns  a  ranch  of  254  acres,  among 
the  hills,  six  miles  southeast  of  the  city.  This  he 
devotes  to  grain-raising,  pasturing  and  fruit-growing, 
making  the  production  of  grain  a  specialty. 

Mr.  Theuerkauf  was  born  in  Hesse  Darmstadt, 
Germany,  January  29,  1822.  He  is  the  son  of 
Matthias  and  Catharine  Theuerkauf.  In  1837  the 
parents,  with  their  children,  came  to  America.  Land- 
ing at  New  Orleans,  they  proceeded  directly  to  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio.  There  Frederick,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  September,  1845,  mar- 
ried Mi-;s  Catharine  Weyh,  who  was  born  in  Baden, 
Bavaria,  July  29,  1824.  Their  two  children  were  bom 
in  Cincinnati.  Caroline,  the  elder,  is  now  the  wife 
of  George  W.  Henning,  who  has  charge  of  the  hill 
farm,  spoken  of  above,  owned  by  Mrs.  Henning's 
father.  George  W.,  the  younger,  is  a  farmer  in 
Monterey,  of  this  State.  Mr.  Theuerkauf's  father  died 
at  New  Orleans,  in  1844,  at  the  age  of  fifty-five  years, 
and  his  mother,  in  Santa  Clara  County,  in  1863,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-five  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Theuerkauf 
and    their    children    arc  members    of  the  Methodist 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


541 


Church.     Mr.    Theuerkauf  has    been    a    Republican 
ever  since  the  candidacy  of  John  C.  Fremont. 

Mr.  Theuerkauf  commenced  h'fe  in  poor  circum- 
stances, paying  but  $300  for  160  acres,  which,  as 
stated  above,  he  sold  for  $30,000.  He  is  a  man  of 
means,  which  he  has  accumulated  by  the  pursuit  of 
his  life  work,  agriculture.  He  may  justly  look  with 
pride  on  his  beautiful  home,  surrounded  by  its  fine 
grove,  and  approached  by  gravel  walks,  lined  with 
flowers.  The  home  shows  taste  and  love  of  order, 
and  gives  ample  evidence  of  the  care  bestowed  upon 
it  by  himself  and  his  wife.  Mr.  Theuerkauf  prizes 
knowledge,  and  therefore  his  children  have  been  well 
educated. 


I^ATTHEW  TANTAU,  deceased.  The  subject 
<o^^  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  North  Germany  in 
<2>r  1815.  Of  his  youthful  days  no  more  is  known 
than  that  at  fifteen  years  of  age  he  became  a  sailor 
boy,  and  that  he  followed  the  seas  until  he  reached 
manhood.  After  leaving  the  ocean  life,  he  wedded 
Miss  Catharine  Theuerkauf,  a  sister  of  Frederick 
Theuerkauf,  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  where  their  eldest 
child,  Mary,  was  born.  She  is  now  the  wife  of 
Charles  Silent,  an  attorney  at  law,  residing  at  Los 
Angeles.  Later,  Mr.  Tantau  made  his  home  in  New 
Orleans,  and  there  his  two  sons,  George  F.,  now  a 
business  man  of  San  Francisco,  and  Frederick,  weie 
born.  Later  still,  Mr.  Tantau  again  became  a  resi- 
dent of  Cincinnati,  where  he  engaged  in  different  oc- 
cupations, making  in  each  steady  progress  toward  a 
competence.  At  one  time  he  was  engaged  in  grocery 
trade  in  that  city.  During  the  time  -that  he  lived 
there  his  son  August  was  born. 

Mr.  Tantau,  finding  that  his  health  was  giving 
way,  by  the  advice  of  physicians  concluded  to  come 
to  California.  In  company  with  Frederick  Theuer- 
kauf, an  old  friend  and  a  neighbor  both  in  New  Orleans 
and  Cincinnati,  he  came  to  this  valley  by  the  Isthmus 
route,  in  1852.  On  the  west  bank  of  Campbell's 
Creek,  on  what  is  now  the  Bollinger  road,  in  the  Doyle 
District,  they  bought,  out  of  a  Spanish  grant,  200 
acres  of  land.  Mrs.  Tantau  and  the  children,  coming 
by  the  same  route,  joined  the  family  in  1853. 

In  company  with  Mr.  Theuerkauf,  the  subject  of 
our  sketch  worked  the  property  until  1862,  at  which 
time  they  owned  about  500  acres.  Mr.  Tantau's 
family  residence,  on  the  Bollinger  road,  a  little  west  of 
the  crossing  of  Campbell's  Creek,  was  established  in 


1858,  and  four  years  later  his  partnership  with  Mr. 
Theuerkauf  was  dissolved,  and  their  interests  divided. 
Mr.  Tantau,  who  had  come  to  the  valley  with  a  good 
working  cash  capital  for  those  years,  by  industry  and 
economy  added  to  his  estate,  until  at  his  death  his 
real  and  personal  property  amounted  to  $65,000. 

His  youngest  children,  Emma  and  Flora,  were  born 
in  this  county.  The  former  is  now  the  wife  of  John 
Plauer,  of  San  Jose. 

Mr.  Tantau  was  possessed  of  a  vigorous  vitality 
and  a  strong  intellect.  He  helped  many  a  poor 
worthy  man,  but  never  gave  assistance  to  the  un- 
worthy. His  last  years  were  filled  with  suffering, 
which  was  born  with  Christian  fortitude.  His  useful 
and  honorable  life  was  closed  in  April,  1 881,  his  widow 
surviving  until  July  25,  1886.  The  lives  of  both  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Tantau  exemplified  the  religion  which  they 
professed. 


MMREDERICK  W.  TANTAU  is  the  son  of  Mat- 
f^^  thew  and  Catharine  Tantau.  He  dates  his  birth 
^  in  New  Orleans,  April  23,  1849.  He  was  a  child 
of  four  years  when  his  parents  crossed  the  plains  and 
established  their  residence  in  the  immediate  neighbor- 
hood of  the  place  where  he  now  lives.  The  property 
which  he  now  owns  and  occupies,  consisting  of  246 
acres,  comprises  a  portion  of  his  father's  estate,  and 
includes  the  old  family  homestead,  which  was  estab- 
lished in  185S.  It  is  situated  in  the  Doyle  District, 
on  the  Bollinger  road,  west  of  Campbell's  Creek.  His 
education  was  that  received  in  the  district  school,  sup- 
plemented by  an  attendance  of  two  years  at  the 
University  of  the  Pacific.  In  October,  1877,  he 
married  Miss  Josephine  Miller,  the  daughter  of  Fred 
Miller,  of  San  Francisco.  Their  first-born,  Freddie, 
died  in  18S1,  in  his  third  year.  They  have  two 
daughters,  Evelyn  and  Minnie.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Tantau  are  members  of  the  German  American 
Church.  Mr.  Tantau  has  grown  up  with  Santa  Clara 
County,  and  has  kept  pace  with  the  steady,  onward 
march  of  progress  which  has  carried  the  county  for- 
ward to  the  front.  He  is  thoroughly  identified  with 
all  the  interests  of  his  community  and  neighborhood, 
and  rejoices  in  the  fulfillment  of  every  enterprise 
which  tends  to  advance  the  prosperity  of  the  county. 
He  is  a  Republican,  as  was  his  father,  but  has  strong 
Prohibitionist  tendencies. 


542 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD: 


P||EILLIAM  SUTHERLAND  resides  on  the  Sara- 
^^^  toga  and  Alviso  road,  about  two  miles  north  of 
eAs     Lawrence,  in  the  Braley  School  Distrcict.     His 

I  farm  contains  eighty  acres  of  choice  land,  and 
with  the  exception  of  a  small  portion  reserved  for  or- 
chard culture,  it  is  used  exclusively  for  the  production 
of  hay  and  grain,  and  the  raising  of  stock.  A  plenti- 
ful supply  of  water  is  furnished  by  two  fine  artesian 
wells,  one  being  300  feet  in  depth  and  flowing  five 
inches  over  a  seven-inch  pipe,  and  the  other  425  feet 
in  depth  and  flowing  two  and  one-half  inches  over  a 
seven-inch  pipe. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  born  in  Durham 
County,  England,  in  1821.  He  is  the  son  of  James 
and  Jane  (Richerson)  Sutherland,  his  father  being  a 
native  of  Scotland,  and  his  mother  of  England.  His 
father  was  a  gardener,  but  William  was  brought  up  as 
a  collier,  being  put  to  work  in  the  coal  mines  when 
but  ten  years  of  age.  Naturally  his  opportunities  for 
gaining  an  education  were  extremely  limited,  and  the 
fulfillment  of  the  plans  which  he  has  made  in  his  life- 
work  has  been  due  to  his  natural  ability  and  persever- 
ance. 

Mr.  Sutherland  was  united  in  marriage,  in  1844, 
with  Miss  Ann  Dawson,  the  daughter  of  Robert 
Dawson,  a  resident  of  his  native  county.  Five  years 
after  his  marriage,  he  came  with  his  family  to  the 
United  States,  with  the  hope  of  bettering  his  fortunes 
in  this  land  of  promise.  Landing  at  New  Orleans,  he 
proceeded  directly  to  St.  Louis.  Several  months 
were  spent  in  the  coal  mines  of  Missouri  and  Illinois, 
and  in  1850  he  crossed  the  plains  to  this  State.  On 
his  arrival  he  went  into  the  mmes  in  Placer  County, 
but  left  them  in  185  i,  to  start  out  in  a  new  venture, — • 
that  of  agriculture.  He  purchased  a  farm  in  Sacra- 
mento County,  and  conducted  it  for  five  years.  He 
then  removed  to  Fresno  County,  and,  settling  upon 
Kings  River,  spent  the  next  three  years  in  stock- 
raising.  From  Fresno  County  he  removed  to  his  pres- 
ent home  in  1S68.  Two  years  later  he  crossed  the 
ocean  to  visit  his  old  English  home,  but  returned  to  the 
new  home  in  this  lovely  valley  well  content.  Mr.  Suth- 
erland is  a  member  of  the  Southern  Methodist  Church, 
and  his  daily  walk  is  such  as  has  gained  for  him  the 
respect  and  confidence  of  his  neighbors  and  associates. 
I'olitically  he  is  a  Democrat,  with  liberal  views. 

Of  the  ten  children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Suther- 
land, but  three  are  living,  viz.:  James,  who  married 
Miss  Eliza  Esrey,  of  Fresno  County,  and  is  now  a 
resident  of  Santa  Clara  County;  Elizabeth,  who  be- 
came the  wife  of  Elbert  C.  Appcrson,  of  Santa  Clara 


County,  where    they    now   reside;    and    Clara,    who 
makes  her  home  with  her  parents. 


sS.J2 


^-^-<- 


^&ARLAN  TILLOTSON  resides  on  the  Berryessa 
t^^^'  and  Milpitas  road,  in  the  Berryessa  District, 
<S)  about  six  miles  north  of  San  Jose,  and  one  and 
one-half  south  of  Milpitas;  there  he  owns  thirty- 
seven  acres  of  an  original  tract  of  eighty-eight  acres. 
His  land  is  highly  cultivated,  twenty-four  acres  being 
in  orchard,  the  products  of  wliich  are  peaches,  prunes, 
apricots,  and  pears.  Six  acres  raise  corn  and  pota- 
toes, and  the  rest  of  the  farm  produces  hay.  The  or- 
chard proves  a  profitable  investment,  the  crop  of  1887 
yielding  over  $200  per  acre. 

Mr.  Tillotson  dates  his  birth  in  Sandusky,  Ohio, 
December  21,  1827.  He  is  the  son  of  Jeremiah  and 
Mary  (Miller)  Tillotson,  natives  of  New  York.  His 
parents  removed  from  Ohio  to  Branch  County,  Michi- 
gan, in  1829,  and  thence  in  1834  to  Fremont,  Steuben 
Count}-,  Indiana.  In  these  frontier  settlements,  the 
father  was  engaged  in  agriculture,  and  to  that  indus- 
try Mr.  Tillotson  was  early  trained.  Naturally,  in 
such  new  sections,  his  educational  facilities  were 
limited.  He  remained  with  his  parents  until  twenty- 
two  years  of  age,  when  he  married  and  established 
himself  as  a  farmer  near  his  old  home.  His  wife  was 
formerly  Miss  Emmeline  Fessenden,  the  daughter  of 
Jonathan  Fessenden,  a  native  of  Maine  and  a  resident 
of   Indiana. 

In  1852  he  followed  in  the  trail  of  the  thousands 
who  had  crossed  the  plains  to  California,  and  located 
in  Yuba  County,  where  he  engaged  in  mining.  He 
afterwards  took  up  the  occupation  of  a  packer,  giving 
it  up  in  the  fall  of  1853,  when  he  opened  a  hotel  at 
Cantonville,  Yuba  County.  After  spending  two  years 
in  the  hotel,  he  followed  teaming  for  a  few  months, 
and  then  bought  a  mine,  in  the  working  of  which  he 
spent  a  year  or  more.  In  1857  he  went  to  Sutter 
County,  and  there  engaged  in  grain  farming,  with 
profitable  results,  for  eleven  years.  When  he  left 
Sutter  County,  in  1868,  it  was  to  purchase  the  property 
where  he  now  lives. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  is  possessed  of  the  indus- 
try, sound  common  sense,  and  acquired  business  talents 
which  are  necessary  to  win  success  in  any  employ- 
ment. He  is  a  strong  Republican,  and  has  been  called 
upon  by  his  fellow-citizens,  as  a  sure  token  of  their 
confidence,  to  fill  public  offices  of  trust.  In  1867  he 
was  elected  as  County  Assessor  of  Sutter  County,  and 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


543 


in  1S84  as  one  of  the  Supervisors  of  Santa  Clara 
County.  He  has  also  served  as  School  Trustee.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity. 

Of  the  six  children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tillotson, 
but  three  are  now  livinrj,  si/.:  Sarah  Jane,  the  wife  of 
A.  M.  Ogan,  of  San  Jose;  Alvin  IL,  who  married 
Catharine  Mahoney,  a  native  of  Michigan  and  a  resi- 
dent of  San  Jose;  and  Nettie,  who  resides  with  her 
parents. 


-H 


U- 


MglCHFORD  A.  THOMAS  is  quite  largely  inter- 
s^^  ested  in  horticulture,  producing,  on  his  twenty 
^^  ;icres  of  fruit  land,  apricots,  peaches,  prunes, 
and  cherries.  His  land  is  located,  ten  acres  on 
the  east,  and  ten  acres  on  the  west,  of  Hicks  Avenue, 
with  his  residence  on  the  west  half  Mr.  Thomas 
bought  the  residence  portion,  in  1877,  for  $225  per 
acre.  It  was  then  covered  with  willows,  and  had  on 
it  nine  large  sycamore  trees,  but,  under  Mr.  Thomas' 
care,  was  soon  converted  into  an  orchard.  In  1882, 
for  the  tract  east  of  the  avenue,  which  was  then  part 
of  a  barley  field,  he  paid  $333  per  acre.  Here  he 
started  a  nursery,  and  in  two  years'  time  he  realized 
from  it  $1,000  more  than  he  had  paid  for  that  portion 
of  the  land.     It  is  now  a  full-bearing  orchard. 

Mr.  Thomas  was  born  in  Belmont  County,  Ohio, 
January  17,  1831.  He  is  the  son  of  Camm  and 
Rachel  fBarnes)  Thomas.  His  father  is  deceased,  but 
his  mother  still  survives  and  lives  at  the  old  homestead 
with  her  son,  Capt.  A.  C.  Thomas.  Mr.  Thomas 
came  to  California  in  1854,  and  for  about  twelve  years 
followed  mining  in  Placer  County.  He  had  married, 
in  Ohio,  during  the  year  preceding  his  removal  to 
California,  Miss  Ann  Jane  Brock.  She  joined  him  in 
this  State  in  1855,  but  lived  to  enjoy  her  new  home 
but  two  years.  She  left  one  son,  Jay,  now  a  resident 
of  Ohio. 

Mr.  Thomas  returned  to  Ohio  in  i86r,  and  on  the 
twenty-seventh  of  June  of  that  year  married  Miss 
Eliza  Cator.  He  returned  immediately  with  his  wife 
to  California.  In  1866  he  left  the  mines  and  engaged 
in  farming  in  Napa  Valley  for  two  years.  Selling  this 
farm,  he  bought  another  neai  Sacramento  City,  where 
he  lived  for  two  years.  Then  selling  again,  he  re- 
turned to  the  mines,  where  he  remained  for  about  two 
years,  when  he  again  engaged  in  farming  in  the  upper 
part  of  Napa  Valley.  In  1S73  he  returned  to  Ohio, 
but  after  a  residence  of  so  many  years  in  the  mild 
climate  of  the   Golden   State,  he  found   that  the  win- 


ters were  too  severe  for  his  health,  and  he  again  re- 
turned to  California,  and  made  his  permanent  home 
at  the  Willows. 

Mr.  Thomas,  by  his  second  wife,  has  five  children: 
Judge  D.,  now  in  the  mines  in  Placer  County;  Edward 
E.,  a  teacher  in  this  county;  Ida  M.,  also  a  teacher; 
Laura  L.,  now  attending  Normal  School,  preparatory 
to  teaching;  and  Nettie,  the  youngest. 

Mr.  Thomas  is  a  strong  Republican,  fully  in  s\m- 
pathy  with  its  principles.  After  spending  much  of  his 
life  in  California,  in  various  occupations,  Mr.  Thomas 
is  satisfied  with  his  pleasant  home,  with  its  thrifty  or- 
chards and  i)leasing  surroundings  in  the  lovely  Santa 
Clara  Valley. 


shire,    Kilmarnock  County,  Scotland,  in 


Ayr- 
1824. 


q)  He  was  the  son  of  William  and  Martha  (David- 
son) Scott,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  Scotland, 
and  residents  of  the  place  of  his  birth.  His  early 
youth  was  spent  in  attendance  upon  the  common 
schools  of  his  native  place,  but  when  fifteen  years  of 
age  he  went  to  sea,  and  many  succeeding  years  were 
passed  in  following  a  seafaring  life  as  a  profession- 
In  1853  he  came  to  California,  where  he  found  his 
brother,  Captain  James  Scott.  Soon  after  his  arrival 
in  San  Francisco,  he  accompanied  his  brother  to  the 
mines,  and  successfully  followed  the  occupation  of  a 
miner  for  a  year  cr  more.  Upon  giving  up  that  work, 
in  1854,  he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  and  acquired 
the  property  which  he  afterwards  made  his  home,  and 
upon  which  his  widow  and  family  now  reside.  The 
estate  comprises  eighty  acres,  located  on  the  south- 
west corner  of  Scott  Lane  and  the  Kifer  road,  in  the 
Jefferson  School  District,  about  one  and  a  half  miles 
west  from  the  business  center  of  Santa  Clara.  At  the 
time  of  Mr.  Scott's  purchase  of  this  tract,  it  was  in  a 
wild  and  uncultivated  state,  but  with  characteri.stic 
energy  he  immediately  went  to  work  to  cultivate  and 
improve  it.  Sixteen  busy  years  he  spent  in  this  work, 
his  active,  u.seful  life  being  ended  September  13,  1870. 

His  death  left  the  care  of  the  farm  and  the  rearing 
of  their  children  to  his  wife,  formerly  Miss  Mary 
Brady,  the  daughter  of  Bartel  Brady,  a  native  of 
Longford  County,  Ireland,  who  came  to  California  in 
1853,  and  who,  at  the  time  of  his  daughter's  marriage 
to  Mr.  Scott,  in  1859,  was  a  resident  of  San  Francisco. 
Five  children  blessed  this  marriage,  viz.:  Kale,  born 
March  27,  i860;  William  Walter,  November   i,  i86i; 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLDS 


Elizabeth  J.,   May  6,    1864;  Ann,  January  29,    1866; 
and  John  Joseph,  April  29,  1870. 

Mrs.  Scott,  ably  assisted  by  her  sons  and  daughters, 
has  been  most  successful  in  carrying  on  the  work  to 
which  her  husband  devoted  so  many  years  of  his  life, 
and  has  brought  the  land  to  its  present  productive 
state.  Twelve  acres  are  utilized  in  the  production  of 
strawberries  of  the  Longvvorth  and  Scth  Boj-den  va- 
rieties. The  remainder  of  the  farm,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  such  orchard  land  as  is  required  for  the  grow- 
ing of  trees  to  furnish  fruit  for  family  use,  is  devoted 
to  hay  and  grain  fields,  and  U>  stock.  Artesian  wells 
furnish  plenty  of  water  for  irrigation,  stock,  and  do- 
mestic purposes. 


^^^* 


|feOHN  JOHNSTON,  deceased.  The  subject  of 
(!/■  this  sketch  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  California, 
^  who  was  led  here  by  the  gold  emigration  of  1849. 
He  was  born  in  Chester  County,  Pennsylvania,  July 
9,  1805.  Although  reared  to  a  farm  life,  he  acquired 
the  trade  of  stone  mason.  He  left  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania soon  after  reaching  manhood,  and  worked  at 
his  trade  in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  and  later  in  Ohio. 
Thence  he  went  to  Arkansas,  becoming  a  farmer  and 
cotton  grower,  and  also  a  slave  owner.  Leaving  his 
property  in  Arkansas  in  charge  of  Bob  Johnston,  his 
trusty  slave,  Mr.  Johnston  came  to  this  State.  After 
spending  two  years  in  mining,  he  came  to  Santa  Clara 
Valley,  and  bought  240  acres  on  the  Alviso  road,  two 
and  one-half  miles  north  of  San  Jose. 

A  few  years  later  he  sold  140  acres  to  J.  0.  A. 
Ballou,  who  still  owns  the  property.  The  remaining 
100  acres  Mr.  Johnston  improved,  and  later  became 
associated  in  its  ownership  with  W.  W.  Cowan  and 
Thomas  Scott.  The  property  is  now  (1888)  in  the 
possession  of  Dr.  M.  M.  Chipman,  of  San  P'rancisco. 
After  settling  upon  his  land,  Mr  Johnston  sent  to 
Arkansas  for  his  slave.  Bob,  and  his  family.  Not 
long  afterward  he  freed  him  and  his  family,  and  they 
now  live  at  Watsonville,  the  former  slave  having  be- 
come quite  well  off. 

Mr.  Johnston's  sister,  Mrs.  Margaret  Scott,  joined 
him  in  this  county  about  1871.  She  now  has  her 
home  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  W.  Cowan.  Mr.  Johnston 
never  married.  Plis  death  occurred  April  18,  1884. 
He  was  a  consistent  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  one  of  the  founders  of  the  first  church  of 
that  denomination  in  San  Jose. 


gMILLIAM  W.  COWAN,  residing  on  the  Juhn- 
S^^  ston  property,  two  and  one-half  miles  north  of 
My     San    Jose,    on    the    Alviso    road,  was    born  in 

'  Chester  County,  Pennsylvania,  April  28,  1836. 
He  is  the  son  of  John  Cowan,  a  representative  of  one 
of  the  old  Pennsylvania  families  of  Irish  extraction. 
He  was  early  trained  in  the  duties  .of  a  farmer's  life, 
and  has  received  the  benefit  of  that  early  training,  as 
he  has  made  agriculture  the  principal  business  of  his 
life. 

On  the  thirty-first  of  December,  1863,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Sarah  E.  Scott,  who  is  the 
dauglitcr  of  Philip  Scott,  and  was  born  May  19,  1839 
in  Chester  County.  In  1865  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cowan 
removed  to  Newport,  Delaware,  where  Mr.  Cowan 
spent  three  years  in  the  butcher's  business,  supplying 
the  Wilmington  market.  At  the  urgent  request  of 
John  Johnston  (whose  sketch  appears  in  this  connec- 
tion) he  joined  him  in  Santa  Clara  County,  and  be- 
came associated  with  him  in  the  management  of  the 
property,  upon  which  they  have  ever  since  resided. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cowan  are  among  the  many  worthy, 
industrious  people  of  Santa  Clara  County,  and  their 
many  excellent  qualities  have  won  for  them  the  re- 
spect of  all  who  know  ihem.  Mrs.  Cowan  is  a  con- 
sistent member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  San 
Jose.  Mr.  Cowan  is  interested  in  the  Order  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias,  being  a  member  of  Triumph 
Lodge,  No.  47,  K.  of  P.,  and  of  the  Uniform  Rank, 
K.  of  P.,  No.  8.  He  is  also  connected  with  Mount 
Hamilton  Lodge,  A.  O.  U.  W.,  of  San  Jose.  In  pol- 
itics, he  is  identified  with  the  Democratic  party. 


SMiLLIAM  ZANKER,  of  the  Alviso  District,  rc- 
S^a^  sides  on  1 20  acres,  situated  north  of  the  Alviso 
e^  and  Milpitas  road,  about  midway  between  those 
I  two  places.  The  larger  partnf  his  farm  is  used 
for  the  production  of  hay  and  grain,  and  for  stock. 
He  has  a  small  orchard,  which  furnishes  a  variety  of 
fruit  for  family  use,  eight  acres  in  strawberries  of  the 
Cheney  and  Sharpless  varieties,  and  about  six  acres 
in  asparagus.  Two  good  flowing  artesian  wells  furnish 
all  the  water  needed  for  stock,  irrigation,  and  domestic 
purposes. 

Mr.  Zankcr  is  a  native  of  Germany,  in  which  coun- 
try he  dates  his  birth,  in  1831.  His  parents  were 
Frederick  and  Eva  (Koch)  Zanker,  natives  of  the 
place  of  his  birth.  He  lived  at  home,  receiving  a 
rather  limited  education,  and  engaging  in  sucli  \vork 


Cd.  ^.   (Z^^J.. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


545 


as  his  parents  directed,  until  he  reached  the  age  of 
nineteen  years,  when  he  came  to  the  United  States. 
He  followed  various  pursuits  in  the  States  of  New 
York,  Louisiana,  Missouri,  and  other  sections  of  the 
East,  until,  in  1S55,  he  came  to  this  State  by  the 
Nicaragua  route.  He  went  into  the  mines  of  El 
Dorado  County,  but,  not  liking  the  life,  soon  left  to 
engage  in  farming  in  Santa  Cruz  County.  He  also 
worked  for  some  time  in  a  saw-mill  in  that  county. 
In  1S57  he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  and  took  up 
what  he  supposed  was  government  lantl,  near  Alviso, 
only  to  find  that  it  was  claimed,  under  a  previous 
grant,  by  Governor  Burnett.  After  two  years  of  liti- 
gation, Mr.  Zankcr  and  his  partner.s  were  defeated. 
He  rented  this  same  land  until  about  1863,  when  he 
purchased  the  land  U[)on  which  he  now  lives,  and  to 
the  cultivation  of  wliich  he  has  since  successfully  de- 
voted his  time. 

In  1861  Mr.  Zanker  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Catharine  Wattcrs,  the  daughter  of  Louis  and 
Catharine  Wattcrs,  residents  of  Santa  Clara  County, 
but  natives  of  Germany.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Zanker  are  the 
parents  of  eight  children.  Their  names  are:  Emma, 
who  married  Christ.  Roelling,  residing  in  Santa  Clara 
County;  Minnie,  the  wife  of  Rudolph  Binder,  lives 
in  San  Jose;  Lena,  the  wife  of  E,  Glatto,  makes  her 
home  in  San  Jose;  Lizzie,  who  married  Cyrus  Shupe, 
lives  in  Shasta  County,  this  State;  and  William,  Frank, 
Douglass,  and  Adolph,  who  are  members  of  their 
father's  household. 

Mr.  Zanker  commenced  his  life  in  this  county  with 
nothing,  but  his  industry  and  strict  attention  to  busi- 
ness have  led  him  to  the  possession  of  a  comfortable 
home  and  a  desirable  propert)-.  He  now  holds  the 
position  of  one  of  the  substantial  citizens  of  the 
county,  enjoying  the  respect  and  confidence  of  a  large 
circle  of  neighbors  and  acquaintances.  He  is  in- 
terested in  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen, 
with  which  order  he  is  connected.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Republican,  but,  being  liberal  in  his  views,  supports 
the  man  rather  than  the  party. 


.pffiLBERT  B.  CASH,  of  the  Hamilton  District, 
S^lfe  on  Moorpark  Avenue,  is  in  charge  of  extended 
'-M  horticultural  interests.  Tiring  of  city  life,  Cap- 
t  tain  Cash,  in  connection  with  friends  in  San 
Francisco,  determined  to  seek  a  home  where  pure  air 
and  water  and  equable  temperature  could  be  found  in 
conjunction  with  a  boi'Ptiful  soil,  adapted  tP  success- 


69 


ful  fruit-growing.  With  this  purpose  in  view,  he  vis- 
ited different  parts  of  the  State,  and  finally  decided 
that  Sanla  Clara  County  represented  all  the  condi- 
tions that  he  desired.  He  selected  125  acres  of  con- 
tiguous land  (then  part  of  a  grain  farm)  in  the  immedi- 
ate neighborhood  of  hispresent  residence.  In  18S3  this 
land  was  purchased  for  $200  per  acre,  and  subdivided 
into  eight  nearly  equal  parts.  The  original  purchas- 
ers were  A.  B.  Cash,  C.  F.  Wyman,  H.  C.  Neff,  S.  H. 
Wagener,  L.  P.  Smith,  A.  S.  Pierson,  and  Wm.  M. 
Kincaid.  One  or  two  changes  in  ownership  have 
since  been  made.  Except  Mr.  Wagener,  the  pres- 
ent Postmaster  of  San  Jose,  the  purchasers  were  San 
Franciscans.  As  soon  as  possible,  Captain  Cash 
erected  a  fine  cottage  residence,  and  commenced  im- 
proving not  only  his  own,  but  also  all  of  the  other, 
divisions.  April  i,  18S4,  tree-planting  was  com- 
menced, and  was  concluded  two  weeks  later,  each 
tract  being  planted  two-thirds  in  prunes  and  one-third 
in  apricots,  reserving  on  each  place  a  space  for  a  small 
family  orchard  of  a  general  variety  of  fruit.  In  1887 
the  apricots  were  in  partial  bearing,  an  average  of 
sixty  pounds  to  the  tree  being  gathered.  All  the  or- 
chards have  been  well  cared  for,  under  the  superintend- 
ency  of  Captain  Cash,  and  are  thrifty  and  promising. 

He  is  as  yet  the  only  one  of  the  purchasers  living 
in  the  district,  but  as  soon  as  the  orchards  come  into 
full  bearing  it  is  expected  that  all  the  places  will  be 
occupied,  adding  largely  to  the  social  interests  of  the 
neighborhood. 

Mr.  Cash  dates  his  birth  at  Leroy,  Genesee  County, 
New  York,  May  20,  1844.  He  is  the  son  of  Reuben 
and  Louisa  (Drur)')  Cash.  In  1858  the  family  re- 
moved to  Detroit,  Michigan.  There  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  finished  his  youthful  education,  and,  while 
yet  too  5'oung  to  be  called  into  service,  patriotically 
volunteered  his  services  in  defense  of  the  Union. 
Enlisting  in  Septembei-,  1861,  his  first  service  was  in 
General  Custer's  Brigade,  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 
After  General  Sheridan  was  transferred  from  the 
West  to  the  East,  Captain  Cash  served  under  him 
until  the  close  of  the  war.  Veteranizing,  he  witnessed 
the  closing  scenes  of  the  great  drama,  near  Five  Forks. 
He  participated  in  many  historic  engagements,  among 
them  the  battles  of  Second  Bull  Run,  South  Mount- 
ain, Gettysburg,  Wilderness,  Cedar  Creek,  Winches- 
ter, and  others  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley.  Except 
when  suffering  from  wounds  or  temporary  sickness, 
he  was  always  with  his  regiment,  which  participated 
in  over  eighty  engagements — battles  and  skirmishes. 
He  was  wounded  at  South  Mountain  and  at  Gettys. 


546 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


burg.  After  the  close  of  the  war,  with  the  regiment, 
he  made  a  campaign  in  Northwestern  Dakota,  on 
Powder  River,  Little  Big  Horn  River,  etc.  On  the 
twentieth  of  December,  1865,  he  received  an  honor- 
able discharge.  In  his  service  he  passed  through  all 
grades,  from  private  to  captain,  and  in  each  case  did 
his  duty,  like  a  true  soldier. 

At  Utica,  New  York,  October  i,  1873,  Captain  Cash 
was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Kincaid,  daughter  of 
George  and  Elizabeth  Kincaid.  She  is  a  native  of 
Utica,  where  she  was  born  October  27,  1848.  Her 
mother  died  in  1871.  Her  father  was  one  of  the  pio- 
neers of  California — one  of  the  '49  men.  He  followed 
mining  in  this  State  successfully  for  six  or  seven 
years,  but  finally  returned  to  Utica,  New  York,  where 
he  now  resides. 

Captain  Cash  is  identified  with  the  Republican 
party.  He  is  prominent  in  Mason'c  circles,  being  a 
member  of  Friendship  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  San 
Jose;  Blanchard  Chapter,  Bay  City,  Michigan;  Cap- 
tain-General of  the  San  Jose  Commandery;  and 
honorary  member  of  Detroit  (Michigan)  Commandery, 
and  of  Golden  Gate  (San  Francisco)  Commandery. 
He  has  conferred  upon  him  the  thirty-second  degree 
of  Scottish-rite  Masonry. 


fRADLEY  SMITH  first  made  his  home  in  the 
Willow  Glen  District,  in  1869,  when  he  bought  a 
_@^  ten-acre  tract  on  the  corner  of  Washington  and 
Pine  Avenues.  This  property  was  then  part  of 
a  barley  field,  v\'ith  here  and  there  a  clump  of  wil- 
lows. His  first  fruit  venture  was  the  planting  of  five 
acres  to  blackberries,  for  which  he  found  a  good  mar- 
ket at  the  canneries.  This  five  acres  was,  however, 
afterward  set  to  trees.  Six  acres  of  the  ten  are  now 
in  French  prunes,  and  the  remainder  in  apricots, 
cherries,  etc.  He  also  owns  a  very  fine  orchard  of 
twenty  acres,  of  apricots  and  French  prunes,  in  the 
Hamilton  District  In  1887  the  apricot  trees  on  that 
property  yielded  a  crop  which  realized  a  sum  of  $225 
to  the  acre.  He  was  one  of  the  first  men  to  engage 
in  raising  prunes,  cherries,  and  apples  for  the  general 
market.  A  thorough  understanding  of  horticulture 
and  painstaking  care  have  made  Mr.  Smith  eminently 
successful  in  fruit  culture. 

He  dates  his  birth  in  Calais,  Maine,  in  1841.  His 
father,  George  Stillman  Smith,  engaged  in  mercantile 
business  in  Calais,  died  suddenly,  when  Bradley  was 


a  child.  His  mother,  Elizabeth  Bradley,  was  the 
daughter  of  Rev.  Caleb  Bradley,  who  was  well  known 
throughout  that  country  as  "  Old  Parson  Bradley." 
He  was  born  in  1771,  and  distinctly  remembered 
being  held  at  the  window,  by  his  nurse,  to  witness  the 
passing  of  the  "  Red  Coats,"  as  the  British  soldiers 
in  the  Rc\  olution  were  called.  He  graduated  at  Har- 
vard University  early  in  this  century. 

In  1861  Mr.  Smith  volunteered  in  Company  G, 
Ninth  Maine  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  took  part  in 
all  the  engagements  in  which  his  regiment  partici- 
pated, in  the  Department  of  the  South,  the  engage- 
ments of  Morris  Island  and  Fort  Wagner,  and  in  the 
campaigns  of  the  Army  of  the  James,  and  passed 
through  all  grades,  from  private  to  First  Lieutenant, 
to  which  position  he  was  promoted  on  the  sixteenth 
of  September,  1863.  During  the  same  year,  while  at 
home  on  veteran  furlough,  he  married  Miss  Fronia 
Shaw,  of  Hodgdon,  Maine.  When  at  Bermuda  Hun- 
dred, Virginia,  May  20,  1864,  he  was  wounded  in 
each  arm  by  two  separate  shots.  These  severe  wounds 
completely  prostrated  him  for  six  months,  and  so  dis- 
abled him  that  he  was  unable  to  return  to  the  field. 
He  received  a  well-earned  honorable  discharge,  De- 
cember 29,  1864.  He  then  returned  to  the  old  farm 
life  in  Maine.  Later,  he  made  an  unsuccessful  at- 
tempt at  sheep-raising  in  Illinois.  Poor  health  de- 
cided him  to  try  the  efficacy  of  the  climate  of  Cali- 
fornia, and  he  came  to  this  State,  in  1869,  with  limited 
capital.  We  have  already  spoken  of  the  success  he 
has  enjoyed  in  his  business  enterprises  since  settling 
in  Santa  Clara  Valley. 

With  his  admirable  war  record,  Mr.  Smith  naturally 
feels  great  interest  in  the  G.  A.  R.  matters.  He  is 
present  Post  Commander  of  Phil.  Sheridan  Post, No. 7, 
G.  A.  R.,  Department  of  California.  He  is  also  identi- 
fied with  Friendship  Lodge,  No.  210,  F.  &  A.  M.  He 
is  thoroughly  in  accord  with  the  principles  of  the  Re- 
publican party,  and  upholds  protection  of  American 
industry.  Like  a  true  soldier's  wife,  Mrs.  Smith  is 
interested  in  all  that  concerns  the  Relief  Corps,  G.  A. 
R.  She  has  served  as  President  of  Relief  Corps, 
No.  2,  Auxiliary  to  Phil.  Sheridan  Post.  She  has 
been  very  acti\c  in  raising  funds  for  the  erection  of  a 
home  for  army  nurses  and  the  widows  and  orphans 
of  Union  soldiers.  By  her  o\^n  personal  efforts  she 
has  collected  about  $1,000  for  that  purpose,  to  which 
sum  the  Corps  to  which  she  belongs  have  added  $100. 
The  home  is  to  be  located  at  Evergreen,  four  miles 
east  of  San  Jose. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


547 


liOHN  SINNOTT,  deceased.  The  subject  of  this 
©^  sketch  was  born  in  Wexford  County,  Ireland,  in 
^  June,  1800.  His  parents  were  natives  of  the 
county  of  his  birth.  He  was  reared  to  farm  labor  by 
his  uncle,  his  father  having  died  in  his  early  youth. 
His  educational  facilities  were  good,  and  he  availed 
himself  of  his  opportunities,  and  started  in  life  with 
the  advantages  arising  from  a  sound  and  practical 
education.  He  followed  the  occupation  of  farmer 
and  stock-raiser  in  his  native  county  until,  in  183 1,  he 
emigrated  to  Canada.  Locating  near  Quebec,  he  en- 
gaged in  agriculture.  Desirous  of  bettering  his  con- 
dition, and  seeking  a  more  congenial  climate,  he  came, 
in  185 1,  by  the  Isthmus  route,  to  this  State,  landing 
in  San  Francisco  in  June  of  the  same  year.  He  came 
directly  to  Santa  Clara  County  and  rented  a  farm 
near  Mountain  View  from  his  brother-in-law,  Martin 
Murphy.  There  he  engaged  in  farming  and  stock- 
raising  until  1856,  when  he  purchased  200  acres  of 
land  from  the  Alviso  estate,  located  in  the  town  of 
Milpitas,  about  seven  miles  north  of  San  Jose.  To 
this  farm  he  added  by  purchase  until  he  owned  a  mag- 
nificent tract  of  575  acres,  all  of  which,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  his  energetic  sons,  Thomas  J.  and  Patrick,  he 
soon  placed  under  cultivation.  Mr.  Sinnott  was  a  man 
of  intelligence  and  energy.  His  sound  sense  and 
business  habits  assured  him  success  in  his  undertak- 
ing, and  he  soop  ranked  among  the  leading  farmers 
of  the  county. 

He  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Bolger,  a  resident  of 
Canada.  Fiveof  their  children  are  living,  viz.:  Thomas 
J.,  Patrick,  Catharine,  Mary,  and  Ellen. 

The  death  of  Mr.  Sinnott  left  his  magnificent  estate 
to  the  care  and  ownership  of  his  sons,  who,  having 
been  thoroughly  taught  the  duties  of  farm  life,  are  des- 
tined to  carry  to  a  successful  termination  the  projects 
of  their  father.  Thomas  J.  Sinnott  resides  upon  his 
portion  of  his  father's  homestead  (375  acres)  situated 
in  the  town  of  Milpitas.  He  has  erected  a  fine  two- 
story  residence  upon  his  place.  He  is  unmarried,  and 
his  sister  Ellen  cares  for  his  comfortable  home.  Pat- 
rick Sinnott  resides  upon  and  is  the  owner  of  200  acres 
of  the  old  homestead  lying  just  south  of  his  brother's 
land.  His  farm  he  devotes  to  the  raising  of  hay  and 
grain.  He  is  also  engaged  with  his  brother  in  exten- 
sive stock-raising  and  dairy  business.  Among  his 
cattle  are  about  lOO  head  of  Durham  stock,  and  he 
also  owns  fine  horses  of  the  Norman  and  Patchen 
breeds.  In  1SS7  he  married  Miss  Ellen  Twohig,  the 
daughter  of  Timothy  and  Ellen  Twohig,  of  Alameda 
County.     Catharine  Sinnott  is  a  member  of  the  order 


of  Notre  Dame,  and  is  living  in  San  Francisco.  Mary 
Sinnott  married  John  Murphy,  now  deceased.  She 
is  now  residing  in  the  Hamilton  School  District,  about 
six  miles  east  of  San  Jose,  upon  the  well-known  Cen- 
ter Ranch,  comprising  490  acres,  which  is  owned  by 
her  brothers. 

This  family  is  well-known  throughout  the  county, 
and  every  member  is  entitled  to  and  receives  the  re- 
spect and  esteem  of  the  community  in  which  they  re- 
side. The  brothers,  who  are  the  heads  of  the  family, 
are  well  educated,  intelligent  gentlemen.  Although 
tempted  to  seek  the  avenues  leading  to  political  honors, 
they  prefer  the  more  peaceful  and  profitable  pursuits 
of  agriculture.  Strongly  Democratic  in  politics,  they 
are  still  very  liberal  in  their  views.  Taking  a  great 
interest  in  all  matters  that  tend  to  the  building  up  of 
their  section  of  the  country,  they  are  ever  ready  to  aid 
in  enterprises  having  that  end  in  view. 


^^HARLES  W.  YOUNG  makes  his  home  on  a 
^  beautiful  tract  of  land,  adjoining  the  town  of 
(3H=  Alviso,  on  its  eastern  boundary,  and  situated  in 
the  Alviso  District.  He  is  the  owner  of  eighty- 
two  acres,  eight  acres  of  which  are  yielding  strawber- 
ries of  the  Sharpless,  Longworth,  and  Cheney  varie- 
ties. The  remainder  of  his  land,  with  the  exception 
of  that  devoted  to  200  fruit-trees,  is  devoted  to  the 
raising  of  hay  and  grain,  and  for  stock  purposes. 
Three  artesian  wells  furnish  an  abundant  supply  of 
water  for  irrigation  and  other  purposes.  Mr.  Young 
has  a  comfortable  and  commodious  residence,  sur- 
rounded by  well-ordered  grounds.  He  also  owns  379 
acres  of  land  located  one-half  mile  north  of  the  Alviso 
and  Milpitas  road,  and  about  two  miles  east  of  his 
home  farm.  This  tract  is  devoted  entirely  to  hay, 
grain,  and  stock,  and  is  furnished  with  water  from  one 
fine  artesian  well. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  dates  his  birth  in  Cayuga 
County,  New  York,  January  26,  1826.  His  parents 
were  natives  of  Rhode  Island.  He  was  left  an  orphan 
while  yet  an  infant,  and  was  taken  into  the  family  of 
John  Wilson,  a  resident  of  Cayuga  County.  He  was 
reared  and  schooled  with  the  same  care  and  attention 
that  were  given  to  Mr.  Wilson's  own  children.  Trained 
to  labor,  and  given  such  education  as  the  schools  of 
that  period  afforded,  he  laid  the  foundation  of  those 
industrious  and  energetic  habits  that,  exercised  in  his 
after  life,  have  insured  his  success.    He  remained  with 


548 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


Mr.  Wilson  until  he  was  twenty-three  years  of  age, 
after  which  he  engaged  in  variousoccupations — among 
them  that  of  a  tanner.  In  1852  he  left  New  York,  by 
the  Isthmus  route,  for  California,  and  reached  San 
Francisco  in  June  of  that  year.  The  first  year  of  his 
life  in  this  State  was  devoted  to  mining  in  Tuolumne 
County.  Not  meeting  with  the  hoped-for  results,  he 
returned  to  the  city  and  worked  in  the  flour  mills  of 
I.  Friedlander  and  others  for  about  five  years.  In 
July,  1858,  he  came  to  Alviso,  and  entered  the  large 
flouring  mills  of  Rowley  &  Adams,  in  whose  employ 
he  worked  faithfully  for  ten  years.  During  the  latter 
part  of  that  time  he  was  also  engaged  in  the  produc- 
tion of  grain  on  his  present  homestead,  of  which  he 
took  possession  as  a  resident  in  1868.  Since  that 
time  he  has  devoted  his  time  exclusively  to  the  culti- 
vation of  his  fine  farm,  and  reaps  the  reward  of  his 
industry  in  the  good  condition  of  his  property.  He 
is  widely  known  as  an  intelligent  and  public-spirited 
citizen.  He  has  served  several  terms  as  School  Trus- 
tee in  his  district.  Politically  he  is  a  strong  and  con- 
sistent Republican,  taking  an  interest  in  all  the  politi- 
cal questions  of  the  day. 

On  the  sixth  of  September,  1862,  Mr.  Young  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Mary  Paulina  Berry- 
essa,  the  daughter  of  Guadaloupe  Berryessa,  of  Santa 
Clara  County.  They  have  had  but  one  child,  Mary 
Frances,  who  died  September  26,  1881,  at  the  age 
of  fourteen  years.  The  circumstances  attending  the 
death  of  this  young  girl  were  peculiarly  sad.  With 
her  mother  she  had  attended  the  funeral  obsequies  in 
commemoration  of  the  death  of  President  Garfield. 
Returning  home  their  horse  became  frightened,  and 
Miss  Young,  in  her  alarm,  sprang  from  the  buggy, 
and  received  such  severe  injuries  as  to  cause  her  death 
within  a  few  minutes. 


g^UDGE  CHARLES  G.  THOMAS,  deceased. 
^  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Milton, 
^  Northumberland  County,  Pennsylvania,  Novem- 
ber 8,  1807.  His  boyhood  and  early  manhood  were 
spent  in  that  county,  and  there  he  was  educated. 
In  this  respect  he  was  more  favored  than  many  of 
the  youth  of  his  acquaintance,  in  that  he  received  a 
better  education  than  the  majority  in  those  days. 
We  record  his  marriage,  in  1830,  to  Miss  Barbara 
Eckert,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania.  From  this  mar- 
riage have  been   born   the  following-named   children: 


Louisa,  Charles  L.,  Arthur  R.,  George  E.,  William  N., 
Delia  D.,  and  Frank  H. 

But  to  return  to  his  early  life.  Mr.  Thomas  learned 
the  hatter's  trade,  but  in  1834  went  to  Galena,  Illinois, 
where  he  engaged  in  various  pursuits,  most  of  his 
time  being  devoted  to  legal  business.  For  several 
terms  he  was  elected  to  the  honorable  position  of 
Probate  Judge  of  Jo  Daviess  County.  After  a  resi- 
dence of  about  seventeen  years  in  that  county  and 
city.  Judge  Thomas  came,  in  185 1,  to  California,  lo- 
cating at  San  Francisco.  For  about  a  year,  while 
in  that  city,  he  was  engaged  in  the  United  States 
custom  service.  In  1852  his  wife  and  a  part  of  his 
family  joined  him,  and  in  the  following  year  he  came 
to  Santa  Clara  County,  and  established  his  home  on 
120  acres  of  land  on  the  Alviso  road,  two  and  a  half 
miles  north  of  San  Jose.  This  land  is  now  owned 
and  occupied  by  his  son,  George  E.  After  a  resi- 
dence of  one  year  on  this  property  he  purchased  the 
eighty-acre  tract  adjoining  on  the  south,  and  took  up 
his  residence  there  on  the  Brokaw  road.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  work  which  he  put  upon  his  farm,  the 
Judge  served  for  ten  years  as  a  Justice  of  the  Peace 
in  this  county.  He  also  held  the  responsible  position 
of  Postmaster  in  San  Jose  for  over  three  years. 

His  death  occurred  on  the  seventeenth  of  January, 
1886.  He  was  well  and  favorably  known  in  this 
county,  particularly  in  San  Jose  and  vicinity.  He 
was  a  man  who  was  universally  respected,  and  whose 
death  was  deeply  regretted.  He  was  a  strong  Re- 
publican and  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  general 
government  during  the  war.  He  was  an  honored 
member  of  Garden  City  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F. 


tEORGE  E.  THOMAS  owns  a  fine  farm  of  100 
acres,  lying  west  of  the  San  Jose  and  Alviso 
,J^  road,  and  extending  to  the  Guadaloupe  Creek. 
It  is  in  the  Orchard  District,  about  two  and  a 
half  miles  north  of  the  business  center  of  San  Jose, 
and  one  mile  east  of  Santa  Clara.  Upon  his  prop- 
erty he  has  a  comfortable  cottage-home,  surrounded 
by  well  laid-out  grounds.  Twenty  acres  are  devoted 
to  the  culture  of  fruit-trees,  principally  pear  trees^ 
although  apple  and  French  prune  trees  are  also  to 
be  found  in  the  orchard.  Mr.  Thomas  gives  a  great 
deal  of  attention  to  the  cultivation  of  berries,  having 
forty  acres  exclusively  in  strawberries  and  blackber- 
ries, the  former  of  the  Sharpless,  Cheney,  and  Tri- 
umph  varieties,  and  the  latter  of  the  Kittatinny  va- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


54'9 


riety.  The  rest  of  the  farm  is  devoted  to  the  raising 
of  vegetables,  etc.,  among  which  we  mention  fifteen 
acres  of  tomatoes.  A  plentiful  supply  of  water  is 
furnished  by  four  artesian  wells,  which  range  from 
212  feet  to  250  feet  in  depth,  flowing  from  one  to 
four  inches  each  over  a  seven-inch  pipe. 

Mr.  Thomas  dates  his  birth  in  Galena,  Jo  Daviess 
County,  Illinois,  December  31,  1836.  (A  sketch  of 
the  life  of  his  father,  Charles  G.  Thomas,  appears 
in  this  connection.)  His  early  youth  and  manhood 
were  spent  in  obtaining  a  schooling,  for  which  he  was 
given  good  advantages.  After  completing  his  edu- 
cation, in  1856,  he  joined  his  parents  in  California, 
whither  his  father  had  gone  in  185 1.  Upon  his  ar- 
rival in  this  county,  he  assisted  his  father  in  the  cul- 
tivation of  his  farm,  until  he  purchased  the  place 
before  described,  which  adjoined  his  father's  farm. 
At  the  time  that  the  farm  came  into  his  possession 
the  principal  crops  were  stubble  and  mustard,  but 
Mr.  Thomas  set  manfully  to  work,  and  soon  the  place 
gave  evidence  of  the  industry,  intelligence,  and  fore- 
thought of  its  owner.  Mr.  Thomas  is  well  known, 
and  his  persevering  and  honest  methods  of  conduct- 
ing his  business  excite  favorable  comment,  while  the 
results  of  his  work  are  seen  in  his  farm,  which  is  one 
of  the  finest  and  most  valuable  in  his  section.  Po- 
litically he  is  identified  with  the  Republican  party, 
but  is  liberal  in  his  views. 

In  1875  he  married  Miss  Maggie  Drum,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Thomas  Drum,  of  Galena,  Illinois,  and  brought 
her  to  the  pleasant  home  which  he  had  created  in 
this  favored  valky. 


fHARLES  H.  WORTH INGTON,  one  of  the 
pioneers  of  the  State,  resides  on  the  Stevens 
(^  Creek  road,  in  the  Doyle  District,  about  five 
miles  west  of  San  Jose.  He  was  born  in  the 
State  of  North  Carolina,  November  22,  1828.  When 
he  was  twelve  years  of  age  his  parents,  Brooks  and 
Hannah  (Greene)  Worthington,  emigrated  to  the 
State  of  Missouri,  and  there  made  their  home  in  La- 
fayette County.  In  that  county  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  spent  his  youthful  years,  engaged  in  labor  on 
his  father's  farm,  receiving  his  education  in  the  schools 
of  the  county.  Upon  attaining  his  majority  he  de- 
termined to  make  his  future  home  in  the  Golden 
State,  and  for  this  purpose  left  his  home,  April  25, 
1850,  and  joined  an  overland  train  of  emigrants, 
which   reached    Hangtown   (now  Placerville)  July  16 


of  the  same  year.  He  first  engaged  in  placer  mining 
on  the  Middle  Fork  of  the  American  River,  but  not 
long  afterward  spent  a  short  time  in  Grass  Valley, 
Nevada  County. 

About  five  months  after  his  arrival  in  the  State  he 
could  have  been  found  in  Mountain  View,  of  which 
place  he  became  a  pioneer,  settling  there  on  the 
twentieth  of  December,  1850.  He  soon  became  identi- 
fied with  the  agricultural  interests  of  the  county,  and 
spent  the  succeeding  nine  years  in  that  vicinity,  en- 
gaged in  farming.  In  1859  he  took  possession  of  his 
present  home, — a  farm  containing  si.xty  acres  of  choice 
land,  which,  by  diversified  farming,  he  has  kept  in 
excellent  condition. 

In  this  county,  on  the  eighteenth  of  October,  1855, 
Mr.  Worthington  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Margaret  Meador,  the  daughter  of  John  S.  and  Lu- 
cinda  (Lemons)  Meador.  She  was  born  in  Jackson 
County,  Missouri,  and  came  with  her  parents  to  this 
county  in  1852.  Her  father  established  his  family  on 
a  farm  near  Mountain  View,  but  lived  only  about  two 
years  after  becoming  a  resident  of  this  State.  Her 
mother  now  resides  with  herself  and  her  husband. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Worthington  are  the  parents  of  six 
children:  Alice,  born  November  14,  1856;  Lucinda 
Frances,  born  October  18,  1858;  John  B.,  born  April 
5,  1 861;  Martha  Ellen,  born  December  i,  1862;  Wil- 
let,  born  September  25,  1873;  and  Clara,  born  Feb- 
ruary I,  1878. 

Mr.  Worthington  is  now  devoting  his  attention 
partly  to  horticulture,  having  an  orchard  of  fifteen 
acres,  all  but  three  acres  being  yet  too  young  to  be  in 
bearing,  but  promising  much  for  the  future.  The  sub- 
ject of  our  sketch  stands  well  to  the  front  among  the 
active,  enterprising,  and  public-spirited  agriculturists 
of  Santa  Clara  County.  No  enterprise  tending  to 
advance  the  interests  of  his  county  fails  to  find  in 
him  a  strong  supporter.  In  politics  he  is  identified 
with  the  Democratic  party.  He  is  a  member  of  Santa 
Clara  Encampment,  of  Santa  Clara  Lodge,  No.  52, 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  also  of  Canton  No.  10,  of  the  Uni- 
formed Degree  of  Odd  Fellows.  In  the  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows  he  occupies  a  high  position,  having  passed  all 
the  chairs  of  the  subordinate  lodge,  and  being  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State. 


fOHN  WINSOR  is  the  owner  of  thirty-nine  acres 
of  land  in  the  Orchard  School  District,  located 
•     on  the  Berryessa  and    Milpitas   road,  about  six 
es  north  of  San  Jose.     The  farm  is   of  fertile  soil, 


550 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


and  very  productive.  Ten  acres  are  devoted  to  fruit 
culture,  pears  and  apricots  being  the  chief  products, 
although  there  may  be  found  trees  of  nearly  every 
kind  grown  in  the  county.  The  remainder  of  the 
land  is  used  as  hay  and  grain  fields,  except  such  parts 
as  are  used  for  pasturage.  When  Mr.  Winsor  took 
possession  of  the  property,  it  was  in  a  wild  and  un- 
cultivated state,  and  its  present  fine  condition  is  the 
best  proof  of  his  thorough  understanding  of  horti- 
culture. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Devonshire, 
England,  in  1S21,  and  is  the  son  of  George  and  Mary 
(Couch)  Winsor,  who  were  natives  of  that  county. 
His  father  emigrated  to  Simcoe,  Louden  District, 
Canada  West,  where  he  engaged  in  agriculture,  in 
which  the  subject  of  our  sketch  was  trained.  When 
sixteen  years  of  age  he  went  into  an  apprenticeship 
to  the  tanner  and  currier's  trade,  at  which  he  worked 
until  he  attained  his  majority.  He  then  rented  a 
farm  in  .the  Branford  District,  Canada  West,  and 
there  engaged  in  farming  until  1848,  when  he  came 
to  the  United  States  and  located  on  a  farm  in  Kane 
County,  Illinois.  He  made  his  home  there  for  about 
two  years,  and  then  removed  to  Iowa,  engaging  there 
in  farming,  until,  in  1852,  he  started  overland  for  Cal- 
ifornia. On  the  way  he  spent  about  a  year  in  Utah 
Territory,  engaged  in  trading.  In  the  fall  of  1853  he 
completed  his  journey  and  went  into  the  mines.  He 
soon  tired  of  that,  however,  and  established  a  livery 
stable  at  Rattlesnake  Bar,  in  Placer  County.  After  a 
few  months'  experience  in  that  line,  he  sold  out  and 
returned  to  mining,  which  he  followed  until  1856. 
Going  into  the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  he  spent  about 
eighteen  months  in  farm  labor,  removing  thence  to 
the  old  mission  of  San  Jose,  in  Alameda  County. 
Two  years  were  spent  there,  before  coming,  in  1859, 
to  Santa  Clara  County.  For  the  three  years  follow- 
ing, he  engaged  in  farming  and  dairy  business,  taking 
up  his  residence  on  his  present  homestead,  in  the  fall 
of  1862.  During  the  many  years  of  residence  in  the 
county,  Mr.  Winsor's  quiet  life  and  honest  dealings 
have  won  for  him  the  esteem  of  associates  and 
neighbors. 

On  the  tenth  of  October,  1858,  Mr.  Winsor  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Catherine  Costala,  a 
resident  of  Alameda  County.  Four  children  were 
born  from  this  marriage,  three  of  whom  are  living: 
Delia,  born  June  8,  i860;  Margaret  Catharine,  born 
May  5,  1862;  and  Edward,  born  May  14,  1863.  The 
second  daughter,  Margaret,  is  tlie  wife  of  Lawrence 
Finneran,  of  San  Jose.     Mr.  Winsor  suffered  the  loss 


of  his  wife  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  December,  1877. 
His  present  wife,  whom  he  married  January  29,  1878, 
was  formerly  Miss  Frances  Mary  Kelly,  the  daughter 
of  Bernard  and  Mary  Kelly,  residents  and  natives  of 
Dublin,  Ireland. 


|gRANK  A.  WERT,  fruit-drier  and  horticulturist, 
^^  resides  on  Cypress  Avenue,  between  the  Stevens 
"T  Creek  road  and  the  Williams  road,  four  miles 
west  of  San  Jose.  Mr.  Wert  was  born  in  In- 
dianapolis, Indiana,  in  1846,  and  is  the  son  of  Joseph 
and  Rebecca  Wert,  both  of  whom  are  now  deceased. 
He  received  his  education  in  the  schools  of  the  city 
of  his  birth.  Near  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  he  en- 
listed in  Company  G,  154th  Indiana  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, and  served  for  six  months  in  the  Army  of  the 
Shenandoah. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  trained  to  the  indus- 
tries of  the  city,  first  learning  the  tinner's  trade. 
This  occupation  he  followed  for  several  years,  later 
becoming  a  carpenter.  That  trade  he  also  plied  until 
after  he  came  to  this  county  from  Indianapolis,  in 
1880,  having  had.before  that  time,  no  experience  either 
in  agriculture  or  horticulture.  The  three  years  suc- 
ceeding his  arrival  in  this  county  were  spent  in  San 
Jose.  He  then  bought,  in  1883,  ten  acres  of  land  on 
the  Stevens  Creek  road,  in  the  Meridian  District,  three 
and  a  half  miles  west  of  San  Jose.  There  he  planted 
a  general  variety  of  fruit-trees,  French  prunes  leading. 
This  model  little  orchard  also  contained  apricots, 
peaches,  cherries,  Bartlett  pears,  figs,  apples,  almonds, 
and  English  walnuts.  In  learning  this  new  business, 
he  availed  himself  not  only  of  theories  but  also  of  the 
experience  of  successful  horticulturists.  That  he  was 
successful,  is  shown  by  his  sale  of  the  orchard  in 
January,  1888,  at  $850  per  acre.  Not  intending  to 
abandon  the  business,  Mr.  Wert  soon  afterward  bought 
eighteen  acres,  which  he  will  devote  mainly  to  the 
culture  of  French  prunes  and  apricots.  In  1887  he 
dried  about  seventy-one  tons  of  green  fruit,  and  his 
success  in  producing  a  superior  line  of  goods  shows 
his  skill  in, handling,  and  has  encouraged  him  to  make 
fruit-drying  a  specialty.  His  preparations  for  the 
crop  of  this  season,  and  of  coming  season-^,  are  care- 
fully made.  Five  acres  of  land  he  has  reserved  for 
fruit-drying  purposes,  and,  having  a  Waliss  drier,  and 
1,000  sun-trays,  he  is  fully  equipped,  and  will  com- 
pete actively  for  a  share  of  future  crops. 

Mr.  Wert   is   a   member  of   the   Order  of  Chosen 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


551 


Friends,  and  also,  as  becomes  an  old  soldier,  of  the 
Phil.  Sheridan  Post,  G.  A.  R.  Politically  he  is  thor- 
oughly identified  with  the  Republican  party. 

In  April,  1 871,  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  he  married  Miss 
Mattie  Hayes,  who  was  reared  in  Indianapolis,  and 
whose  father,  E.  S.  Hayes,  lives  in  Minneapolis,  Min- 
nesota. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wert  have  three  daughters: 
Clara,  Georgie,  and  Julia  Blanche. 


||OSEPH  GOULD  NORWOOD.  Among  the 
@/  earliest  settlers  of  Santa  Clara  County  must  be 
•^  mentioned  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  he  having 
taken  up,  as  a  claim,  the  tract  upon  which  he  now 
lives,  at  the  early  date  of  1849,  and  making  it  his 
home  two  years  later.  The  farm  is  situated  in  the 
Braley  District,  about  three  and  a  half  miles  west  of 
Santa  Clara,  on  the  Saratoga  and  Alviso  roads.  It 
contains  eighty  acres  of  highly  cultivated  land,  de- 
voted chiefly  to  the  production  of  hay  and  grain,  such 
stock  being  raised  as  is  needed  for  carrying  on  farm 
operations.  Among  the  noticeable  features  of  this 
property  is  a  handsome  group  of  large  oak  trees  that 
surround  the  house,  one  of  which  is  said  to  be  the 
largest  in  the  county. 

Mr.  Norwood  dates  his  birth  in  Portland,  Maine, 
Januarj'  17,  1807.  His  parents,  Joshua  and  Lydia 
(Gould)  Norwood,  were  natives  of  Maine.  The 
family  were  greatly  bereaved  by  the  loss  of  the  father 
in  1 8 16,  he  being  drowned  at  sea.  The  mother  spent 
the  remainder  of  her  life  in  her  old  Portland  home, 
her  death  occurring  in  that  city  in  1833.  The  early 
youth  of  the  subject  of  our  sketch  was  spent  in 
school,  but  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years  he  commenced 
an  apprenticeship  of  six  years  in  the  cabinet-making 
trade.  After  the  conclusion  of  his  apprenticeship,  he 
spent  the  next  two  years  working  at  his  trade  and  at 
piano-forte  making  in  Portland  and  Boston.  But  he 
was  not  content  to  be  a  mere  wage  earner,  and  in 
1830  started  out  in  business  for  himself,  establishing 
a  piano-forte  manufactory  in  Portland.  He  after- 
wards removed  to  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire, 
where  he  established  similar  works,  which  he  con- 
ducted for  three  years.  Upon  selling  his  business,  he 
went  to  work  for  Chickering,  of  Boston,  remaining 
there  until  1849,  when  the  failure  of  his  health  deter- 
mined him  to  seek  a  complete  change  of  climate  and 
scene.  The  great  tide  of  travel  was  turned  toward 
California,  and  Mr.  Norwood  made  the  overland  trip. 
The  route  chosen  was  known  as  the   Southern  trail. 


Besides  the  usual  dangers  incident  to  overland  travel, 
the  party  met  with  a  very  sad  experience,  two  of 
their  number,  a  Mr.  Spaulding,  of  New  York,  and  a  Mr. 
Kingsley,  of  Charlestown,  Massaschusetts,  being  killed 
by  Indians  on  the  Colorado  River.  Mr.  Norwood 
reached  California  in  September,  1849,  and  spent  the 
two  years  previous  to  becoming  a  resident  of  this 
county,  in  San  Francisco,  engaged  in  cabinet-making 
and  later  in  carpenter  work.  While  working  at  the 
former  trade,  he  received  at  one  time  as  much  as 
$16  per  day.  As  before  stated,  he  made  this  county 
his  home  in  1851,  and  has  since  been  a  useful  and 
honored  citizen  of  it.  His  family  joined  him  two 
years  later.  He  had  married,  in  his  native  State, 
Miss  Elizabeth  Prior,  daughter  of  Matthew  Prior,  a 
sea  captain  of  B.ith,  Maine.  From  this  marriage 
four  children  were  born,  two  dying  in  youth.  George 
J.,  born  in  1836,  now  lives  with  his  father  on  the  old 
homestead.  Sarah  Elizabeth,  born  in  1839,  married 
James  Houston,  and  is  a  resident  of  Fresno  County. 
Long  residence  has  enabled  Mr.  Norwood  to  wit- 
ness and  to  aid  in  the  remarkable  development  of  the 
county.  His  integrity  of  character  has  won  from  all 
the  respect  due  the  useful  member  of  society.  He 
retains  his  physical  strength  to  a  great  degree,  and, 
although  over  eighty  years  of  age,  is  still  able  to  as- 
sist his  son  in  the  farm  work. 


^AMUEL  O.  BROUGHTON,  one  of  the  brave 
^  men  who  braved  the  perils  of  an  overland  jour- 
J^  ney  to  California,  when  it  was  yet  a  Mexican 
Province,  resides  on  the  Alviso  road,  three  miles 
north  of  San  Jose,  on  the  site  of  the  home  which  he 
established  in  the  pioneer  days  of  1850.  Mr.  Brough- 
ton  dates  his  birth  in  Bourbon  County,  Kentucky, 
February  7,  1824.  He  is  the  son  of  Job  and  Eliza- 
beth (Cartwright)  Broughton,  the  former  of  w  hom,  of 
P^nglish  extraction,  was  reared  in  Virginia,  and  the 
latter  in  Kentucky.  In  1830  the  family  removed  to 
Callaway  County,  Missouri,  and  there,  when  the  sub- 
ject of  our  sketch  was  but  ten  j-ears  of  age,  his  par- 
ents died.  He  was  taken  into  the  home  of  the  late 
Isaac  Branham,  and  was  by  him  taken  care  of,  as  by 
a  father.  He  left  that  home  when  eighteen  years  of 
age,  to  engage  in  lead-mining  in  Southwestern  Wis- 
consin, and  that  vocation  he  followed  for  about  three 
years.  Hearing  from  Mr.  Branham  that  he  intended 
to  go  to   California,  he  returned   to   Missouri   to  bid 


552 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


him  and  his  family  good-by.  Upon  being  invited  to 
join  them,  he  could  not  resist  the  inclination  to  avail 
himself  of  so  good  an  opportunity  for  entirely  new 
experiences.  Early  in  April,  1846,  the  party  com- 
menced the  long  journey,  ex-Governor  Boggs  being  a 
member.  At  first  the  train  was  composed  of  several 
parties,  but  gradually  it  disintegrated,  on  account  of 
the  overcrowding  of  the  camping  and  grazing  grounds. 
During  the  early  portion  of  the  journey,  the  doomed 
Donncr  party  were  in  the  train.  No  untoward  event 
delayed  the  emigrants,  and  M  r.  Branham  and  his  family, 
of  which  Mr.  Broughton  was  a  member,  in  good  health 
and  good  spirits,  reached  Sutter's  Fort  in  October, 
1846,  thus  enrolling  their  names  among  those  of  Cal- 
ifornia's earliest  American  settlers.  After  a  brief  rest, 
they  proceeded  directly  to  Santa  Clara  Valley,  and 
spent  the  winter  following  at  the  Mission  of  Santa 
Clara.  (The  reader  is  referred  to  the  biography  of 
Isaac  Branham  for  further  particulars  in  this  connec- 
tion.) 

The  country  was  in  the  tumult  of  war,  and  Mr. 
Broughton  entered  heart  and  soul  into  the  work  of 
wresting  the  land  of  flowers  from  Mexican  domina 
tion.  He  enlisted  at  Montere\%  and  the  command, 
numbering  400,  marched  to  Los  Angeles.  Two  or 
three  skirmishes,  but  no  general  engagement,  occurred 
on  the  route.  In  March,  1847,  Mr.  Broughton  was 
one  of  a  detail  of  sixteen  men,  under  Wm.  H.  Ru  sell, 
to  carry  dispatches  to  Washington.  They  passed  over 
the  Southern  trail,  by  way  of  Santa  Fe,  to  Independ- 
ence, Missouri,  thence  to  Boone  County,  of  the  same 
State.  There  the  party  wintered  and  cared  for  their 
stock,  Mr.  Broughton  spending  most  of  the  winter 
among  his  relatives  and  friends  in  Callaway  Count}?-. 
The  detail  returned  under  the  command  of  Major 
Hensley,  in  the  season  of  1848,  by  the  Northern 
route  to  Fort  Sutter,  where  Mr.  Broughton  received 
an  honorable  discharge  from  further  duty. 

He  then  engaged  in  placer  mining  in  mines  that  had 
been  discovered  only  that  year  (1848).  The  following 
winter  he  spent  in  San  Jose,  returning  early  in  the 
spring  to  the  mines.  At  the  present  site  of  Sonora,  he 
struck  the  first  tent  that  had  ever  been  raised  there. 
This  season  of  mining  proved  a  profitable  one,  but, 
upon  his  return  to  Santa  Clara  Valley,  he  determined 
to  become  an  agriculturist,  and  accordingly,  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  (1850),  purchased  the  homestead  where 
he  has  ever  since  lived.  In  December,  1852,  Mr. 
Broughton  returned  by  the  Isthmus  route  to  Missouri, 
and  in  the  si>ring  following,  in  company  with  John 
Trimble,  made  his  third  overland  journey  to  this  State. 


They  drove  300  head  of  cattle,  and  were  fortunate 
enough  to  sustain  no  unusual  loss  of  stock. 

On  the  twenty-second  of  July,  1856,  Mr.  Broughton 
married  Miss  Mary  Ann  Stewart,  who  was  born  and 
reared  in  the  State  of  New  York,  and  who  came  to 
this  State  during  the  year  of  her  marriage.  This  union 
was  severed  only  a  short  time  since,  Mrs.  Broughton's 
death  occurring  February  4,  1888,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
six  years.  She  was  the  mother  of  two  children: 
Samuel  Stewart  and  Mary  Elizabeth,  both  of  whom 
are  yet  under  the  parental  roof 

The  family  homestead  is  surrounded  by  grounds 
shaded  by  trees  which  were  planted  by  Mr.  Brough- 
ton's own  hands.  The  homestead  contains  seventy 
acres  of  choice  land  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation, 
and  devoted  to  the  culture  of  orchard,  small-fiuits, 
and  vegetables.  Three  artesian  wells  furnish  an 
abundance  of  water  for  irrigation. 

As  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  the  State,  Mr. 
Broughton  has  had  a  rich  experience,  and  one  from 
which  he  may  draw  much  pleasure  and  profit  for  others 
as  well  as  for  himself  All  the  work  of  his  manhood 
has  been  done  in  this  State — by  far  the  larger  part 
in  this  county — and  thus  his  interests  are  entirely 
those  of  the  community  in  which  he  has  so  long  made 
his  home.  As  is  most  fitting,  he  is  a  member  of 
the  California  Pioneer  Association.  In  politics  Mr. 
Broughton  is  identified  with  the  Democratic  party. 

-o  ■    :=:=:^-<§C.^^g>-(^==:    -tx~ 


aipANNIBAL  PULLAN,  residing  on  the  Williams 
Gc^w'  River  road,  one-half  mile  west  of  the  Santa 
^f  Clara  and  Los  Gatos  road,  bought  his  property 
in  1876,  paying  $100  per  acre  for  120  acres,  and 
later  buying  sixty  acres  of  adjoining  land.  He  dates 
his  birth  in  Breckenridge  County,  Kentucky,  February 
8,  1826.  He  is  the  son  of  Abraham  and  Cynthia 
PuUan,  who  emigrated  to  St.  Francis  County,  Mis- 
souri, in  1843.  There  the  father  died,  and  there  the 
mother  is  yet  living,  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety 
years. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  followed  agricultural 
pursuits  until  the  gold  excitement  of  1849  determined 
him  to  visit  this  State.  With  his  brother,  William, 
he  left  home  in  March,  1849,  and  with  o.x  teams 
started  on  the  overland  trip  to  California.  Their 
journey  was  attended  by  even  more  than  the  usual 
amount  of  hardship  and  privation,  fpif,  being  misled 
by  reports  of  a  newer  and  sh.^rter  tr«^t|^  many  days 
and  many  miles  were   lost    af1[gr    they  reaoljied  Hum- 


z/> 


i^^ZyiM^^ryi 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


553 


boldt  River.  However,  they  reached  in  safety  the 
Feather  River  mining  district,  October  27.  There 
Mr.  Pullan  and  his  brother  engaged  in  mining, 
and  soon  made  a  goodly  fortune,  only  to  lose  it 
shortly  after  in  attempting  to  develop  new  and  richer 
mines  elsewhere.  In  the  autumn  of  1852,  Mr.  Pullan 
abandoned  placer  mining,  and  commenced  farming  in 
Napa  County,  where,  on  the  sixteenth  of  September, 
1853,  he  married  Miss  Mary  Bollinger,  whose  father, 
Christian  Bollinger,  now  lives  in  Santa  Clara,  and 
whose  sketch  is  given  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  Mrs. 
Pullan  was  born  in  Bollinger  County,  Missouri. 

In  the  year  of  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pullan 
came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  and  located  on  land  on 
the  Stevens  Creek  road,  not  far  from  his  present  home. 
After  three  successive  years  of  poor  crops,  they  re- 
moved to  San  Mateo  County,  purchased  a  large  prop- 
erty, and  engaged  in  general  farming  and  stock- 
raising.  There  they  made  their  home  until,  as  before 
stated,  they  returned  to  Santa  Clara  County  in  1876 
to  make  their  permanent  home.  The  homestead 
which  he  now  occupies  tradition  says  was  once  the 
site  of  an  Indian  village.  It  was  first  improved  about 
1850  by  the  pioneer,  William  Campbell,  and  has  al- 
ways been  noted  for  its  productiveness.  Mr.  Pullan 
has  subdivided  the  farm,  and  recorded  it  as  "Pullan's 
Subdivision."  He  has  placed  the  property  upon  the 
market,  and  has  sold,  in  tracts,  about  one-half,  at  a 
very  large  advance  over  its  cost. 

His  worth  as  a  citizen  and  the  estimation  in  which 
he  was  held  was  shown  when,  in  1871,  he  was  elected 
County  Assessor,  in  San  Mateo  County,  on  the  Demo- 
cratic ticket  by  150  majority,  a  great  compliment 
when  it  is  understood  that  the  county  gave  adverse 
majorities  at  the  same  election  ranging  as  high  as 
600  votes. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pullan  have  nine  children  living. 
The  names  of  the  five  daughters  are:  Mrs.  Mary 
Yount,  Mrs.  Joan  Van  Arsdale,  Mrs.  Sarah  Sherman- 
tine,  Mrs.  Alice  Statler,  and  Mrs.  PZmma  Hamm. 
The  names  of  the  four  sons  are:  Columbus,  William, 
George,  and  Ernest.  Elizabeth,  their  sixth  child,  died 
at  ten  months  of  age. 


^gAPT.  JOSEPH  ARAM.  This  gentleman  is 
^^  well  known  to  the  people  of  Santa  Clara 
Q)L  County.  No  man  living  to-day  within  its  limits 
had  more  to  do  with  clearing  Northern  Califor- 
nia from  Mexican  domination,  or  of  laying,  broad  and 
deep,  the  foundations  of  the  new  State,  born  of  war 
70 


amid  the  turmoil  of  sectional  strife,  and  admitted  into 
the  constellation  of  States,  to  become  its  brightest 
jewel.  As  a  Captain  in  the  war  that  led  to  the  acqui- 
sition of  the  State,  as  a  member  of  the  first  Consti- 
tutional Convention,  and  as  a  member  of  the  first  .State 
Legislature,  Captain  Aram  is  well  known  to  all  early 
men,  and  indeed  to  all  familiar  with  the  history  of 
the  State. 

A  brief  history  of  his  life  gives  the  following  facts; 
He  was  born  in  Oneida  County,  New  York,  March 
24,  1810.  His  boyhood  was  spent  on  his  father's 
farm,  and  his  education  was  received  in  the  common 
schools,  supplemented  by  instruction  received  at  the 
Lima  (New  York)  Seminary.  He  was  married,  in 
1835,  to  Miss  Mahala  Birdsall.  She  died  about  a 
year  afterward,  leaving  an  infant  daughter,  Sarah  M., 
who  is  now  Mrs.  S.  M.  Cool,  of  Los  Angeles.  In 
1836  he  wedded  Miss  Sarah  Ann  Wright.  For  the 
next  four  years  he  lived  the  quiet  life  of  a  New  York 
farmer.  The  tales  of  a  life  in  the  then  far  Western 
State  of  Illinois,  of  the  ease  with  which  the  prairie 
soil  was  worked,  and  of  its  bountiful  returns,  induced 
him  to  leave  the  familiar  scenes  of  his  youth.  On 
reaching  Illinois,  the  Captain  settled  in  Jo  Daviess 
County,  and  there,  with  his  family,  lived  from  1840  to 
1846,  engaged  in  farming  and  lead-mining.  But  the 
soil  produced  ague  and  malarial  disease  as  well  as 
good  crops  of  cereals,  and  failing  health  induced  the 
Captain  to  join  an  overland  train  and  come  to  the 
then  Mexican  Province  of  California.  At  that  early 
day  it  needed  brave,  hardy  men — men  strong  both 
physically  and  mentally — to  undertake  the  long  jour- 
ney, and  still  more  to  make  a  successful  career  in  the 
new  country  in  its  unsettled,  turbulent  condition. 
All  these  requisite  qualifications  Cajjtain  Aram  pos- 
sessed in  a  large  degree. 

Of  the  incidents  connected  with  the  journey  made 
by  this  party  of  about  twelve  famih'es,  with  as  many 
wagons,  across  the  plains,  deserts,  and  mountains,  we 
will  not  speak,  except  to  say  that  no  untoward  event 
— trouble  with  the  Indians,  or  sickness — delayed  or 
interrupted  them.  Leaving  Illinois  about  the  middle 
of  April,  1846,  and  reaching  Johnson's  Ranch,  on  Bear 
River,  on  the  first  of  October,  they  did  not  spend 
more  time  en  route  than  was  usual  in  that  early  day, 
with  its  primitive  mode  of  traveling.  Having  deter- 
mined, before  leaving  home,  that  he  would  settle  in 
Santa  Clara  Valley,  Captain  Aram,  after  the  briefest 
of  rests,  proceeded  on  his  way.  Where  Sacramento 
now  stands  he  met  Colonel  Fremont.  The  country 
was  in  the  tumult  ol  war,  and  with  heart  and  soul  our 


554 


PEN  PICIURES  FROM  THE  ''GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


subject  entered  into  the  cause.  Receiving  instructions 
and  advice  from  Colonel  Fremont,  he  pushed  on  with 
the  party,  and  reached  Santa  Clara  safely.  In  the 
operations  which  followed  in  Santa  Clara  Valley  (and 
here  were  enacted  the  closing  scenes  of  the  war  in 
Northern  California)  Captain  Aram  played  well  his 
part — how  well  let  the  history  of  the  war  in  this  val- 
ley tell. 

When  Fremont  left  the  valley  to  sweep  the  south- 
ern part  of  the  province  clear  of  Mexican  soldiery, 
Captain  Aram,  with  his  company,  was  left  in  com- 
mand of  the  fortified  camp  at  Santa  Clara  Mission. 
There  many  families,  occupying  the  old  mission 
buildings  with  their  ground  floors,  were  gathered  for 
protection.  Much  sickness  followed  during  the  winter, 
and  among  other  deaths  was  that  of  one  of  Captain 
Aram's  children. 

The  spring  opening,  the  unorganized  condition  of 
the  country  left  great  responsibility  upon  its  leading 
men,  and  in  all  efforts  in  this  direction  Captain  Aram 
bore  an  active  part.  War  had  passed  away,  but 
preparation  for  its  renewal  at  any  time  was  part  of 
the  business  of  the  day.  The  Captain  removed  his 
family  to  Monterey,  and  there  helped  to  build  a  fort. 
He  was  also  engaged  in  furnishing  supplies  to  the 
troops  and  navy.  Two  years  later,  in  1849,  he  re- 
turned to  the  Santa  Clara  Valley  and  established  his 
home  at  San  Jose.  As  before  stated,  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  first  Constitutional  Convention,  and  of  the 
first  Legislature,  which  convened  at  San  Jose,  in  De- 
cember, 1849. 

The  pioneer  nursery  of  the  county  was  established 
by  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Commencing  in  1853, 
with  stock  brought  from  Ohio,  on  ground  now  occu- 
pied by  the  Woolen  Mills  at  San  Jose,  he  built  up 
what  was  in  those  days  an  enterprise  of  great  impor- 
tance. Until  1862  Mr.  Aram  was  one  of  the  active, 
public-spirited  citizens  of  San  Jose.  Never  idle,  never 
uninterested  in  public  good,  never  laggard  in  duty  as 
a  citizen,  never  unwilling  to  do  any  work  assigned 
him,  he  served  several  years  in  the  City  Council. 

In  1862  his  present  residence,  situated  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  Coyote  River,  near  the  crossing  of  the 
Milpitas  road,  and  about  three  miles  north  of  the 
San  Jose  Court  House,  was  established.  His  nursery 
stock  was  removed  to  the  homestead,  which  contains 
about  fifty  acres,  of  which  forty  acres  are  devoted  to 
tree  culture.  The  fine  residence  which  Mr.  Aram  now 
occupies  was  erected  in  1882,  and  here,  in  his  large, 
well-appointed,  well-furnished  home,  shaded  and  em- 
bowered   with    flowers,    ornamental    trees,    and    rare 


plants,  enjoying  the  respect,  confidence,  and  esteem 
of  all  who  know  him  (and  their  name  is  legion),  the 
Captain,  in  hale,  hearty  old  age,  still  resides.  Many 
a  man,  possessed  of  health,  and  who  has  passed  but 
two-thirds  of  the  mile-stones  of  the  Captain's  life, 
looks  older  than  the  Captain,  and  if  obliged  to  come 
to  a  test  of  strength,  would  feel  that  he  was  more 
advanced  in  age. 

Captain  Aram  did  not  bring  large  means  to  this 
valley,  and  what  he  had  was  exhausted  before  the 
close  of  the  war.  He  has  never  given  his  life  merely 
to  money-getting  or  to  money-saving.  His  home  has 
always  been  the  abode  of  hospitality,  and  we  are 
happy  to  add  that  he  has  plenty  of  this  world's  goods 
to  provide  every  comfort  for  advancing  years.  The 
good  wife,  who  shared  the  dangers  of  the  overland 
journey  and  the  hardships  of  pioneer  life  in  this  val- 
ley, died  in  1873,  at  the  age  of  sixty  years.  Of  her 
four  children  but  one  is  now  living,  Eugene  W.,  of 
Woodland,  Yolo  County,  this  State.  In  1876  Cap- 
tain Aram  married  Mrs.  Grace  Gray,  who  came  to 
this  State  from  Michigan  in  187 1. 

It  is  natural  and  appropriate  that  the  Captain 
should  be  an  honored  member,  as  he  is,  of  the  Pio- 
neer Association,  and  also  of  the  society  of  the  Mexi- 
can Veterans.  In  religious  affairs  he  is  connected 
with  the  Methodist  Church.  He  is  a  strong  Repub- 
lican, thoroughly  in  accord  with  the  principles  of  the 
party. 


^KlCHAEL  RYAN,  one  of  the  representative  far- 
<^^  mers  of  Irish  birth  in  Santa  Clara  County,  is 
<^  the  owner  of  a  fine' property  on  the  Almaden 
road,  three  miles  south  of  the  city  limits  of  San 
Jose.  His  estate,  of  sixty-four  acres,  also  fronts  on 
the  Foxworthy  road. 

Mr.  Ryan  was  born  in  County  Mayo,  Ireland,  in 
1843,  but  his  youth  from  four  years  of  age  was  spent 
in  England.  He  was  orphaned  at  an  early  age  by 
the  death  of  both  parents.  When  but  seven  years  of 
age  he  commenced  work  in  a  silk  factory,  and  con- 
tinued in  the  work  for  fifteen  years,  adding  not  a  lit- 
tle toward  the  support  of  the  family.  He  was  thus 
deprived  of  the  educational  advantages  which  are  en- 
joyed by  more  fortunate  children.  Soon  after  reach- 
ing manhood,  he  came  to  the  United  States,  the  land 
of  promise  to  so  many  of  the  poor  in  the  old  country. 
He  landed  in  New  York  in  1865,  with  only  $10  in  his 
possession.      He  is  the  only  representative  of  his  fam- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


555 


ily  in  America.  In  1868  he  came  to  California,  in 
company  with  Thomas  Kelty,  whose  history  appears 
elsewhere  in  this  volume.  Since  then  he  has  been  a 
resident  of  Santa  Clara  County.  Mr.  Ryan  was  by 
no  means  well  supplied  with  worldly  goods  when  he 
reached  this  State.  He  was  at  first  in  the  employ  of 
Thomas  Kell,  and  afterward  a  cultivator  of  rented 
lands.  The  estate  which  he  now  owns  he  purchased 
about  thirteen  years  ago.  He  devotes  his  farm  to 
the  production  of  grain,  and  since  the  autumn  of  1877 
he  has  resided  upon  leased  property,  the  estate,  of  1 10 
acres,  belonging  to  the  heirs  of  C.  Columbet. 

On  the  fifteenth  of  June,  1878,  Mr.  Ryan  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Catharine  Sullivan,  a  native  of 
Ireland.  Three  children  were  born  to  them:  William 
P.,  Joseph  H.,  and  Daniel  V. 

Mr.  Ryan  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and 
is  a  Democrat  in  politics.  He  is  one  of  the  leading 
men  of  his  nationality  in  the  county,  and  is  a  living 
example  of  what  may  be  accomplished  by  a  determi- 
nation to  succeed,  even  under  the  most  adverse  circum- 
stances. His  advancement,  the  result  of  his  energy 
and  enterprise,  from  a  penniless  stranger  in  a  strange 
land,  through  the  positions  of  farm  laborer  and  worker 
of  rented  lands  to  the  position  which  he  now  holds, 
that  of  a  responsible,  influential  land  owner,  he  may 
well  be  proud  of. 


|EUCIEN  W.  POLLARD  is  the  owner  of  120 
si^  acres  of  choice  land  in  the  Collins  School  Dis- 
T  trict,  situated  on  the  Boyter  road,  about  four 
miles  west  of  Santa  Clara.  He  devotes  his  farm  to 
horticulture  and  viticulture,  twenty-six  acres  being 
in  orchard,  furnishing  principally  prunes  and  apricots, 
but  also  producing  peaches,  cherries,  pears,  plums, 
figs,  almonds,  and  walnuts.  The  remainder  of  the 
land  is  in  vineyard,  which  furnishes  the  following  va- 
rieties of  wine  grapes:  Zinfandel,  Matero,  Charbano, 
and  Grenache;  also  such  table  grapes  as  the  Muscat, 
Rose  of  Peru,  Black  Hamburg,  Sweetwater,  and 
Tokay.  The  products  of  this  large  vineyard  he  con- 
verts into  wine  in  a  winery  of  50,000  gallons  capacity. 
This  vineyard  is  young,  none  of  the  vines  being  more 
than  seven  years  old,  and  some  of  them  being  but 
two  years  old,  yet  it  is  very  productive,  and  promises 
the  best  of  results  for  the  future. 

Mr.  Pollard  was  born  in  Franklin  County,  Vermont, 
in  1823.  He  is  the  son  of  Thomas  M.  and  Fanny 
(Waterman)    Pollard,   the  former    being  a   native  of 


Massachusetts  and  the  latter  of  Connecticut.  When 
he  was  ten  years  of  age  his  parents  removed  to 
Cooper  County,  Missouri,  then  considered  in  the  far 
West.  After  a  residence  of  four  years  there,  they 
made  their  home  in  Camden  County,  of  the  same 
State,  spending  seven  years  in  that  place.  They 
again  removed  to  Jackson  County,  which  was  the 
home  of  the  parents  until  their  death. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  to  the  labor  of 
the  farm  receiving  such  schooling  as  could  be  obtained 
before  reaching  thirteen  years  of  age.  He  became  to  a 
certain  degree  a  self-educated  man,  having  spent  con- 
siderable time  in  study  after  reaching  manhood.  He 
followed  the  great  overland  emigration  of  1849  to  this 
State,  and  engaged  in  mining  in  Butte  County.  This 
work,  with  various  other  pursuits,  occupied  his  time 
and  attention  until  1856,  when  he  returned  East  by 
steamer.  In  1858  he  entered  into  mercantile  business 
in  Kansas  City,  establishing,  in  connection  with  a 
partner,  a  wholesale  stove  and  tinware  store.  This 
enterprise  was  conducted  with  success  and  profit  for 
fifteen  years. 

During  this  time  Mr.  Pollard  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Mi.ss  Carrie  O.  Daggett,  the  daughter  of  George 
and  Susan  (Harrington)  Daggett,  natives  of  New 
York,  but  now  residents  of  Santa  Clara  County.  In 
1872  Mr.  Pollard  visited  California  for  the  second 
time,  and  purchased  a  paper  mill  in  Mendocino 
County,  commencing  at  once  the  manufacture  of 
paper.  He  sold  this  business  to  a  stock  company  in 
1876,  and  from  that  time  until  he  became  a  resident 
of  Santa  Clara  County,  in  1880,  he  was  engaged  in 
various  enterprises.  In  that  year  he  purchased  the 
property  which  he  now  owns,  and  which  we  described 
at  the  beginning  of  our  sketch.  The  last  eight  years 
have  been  devoted,  with  good  results,  to  its  cultivation 
and  improvement.  Mr.  Pollard  is  a  man  of  energy 
and  good  business  habits,  and  these  qualifications 
have  been  the  means  of  winning  success  in  his  chosen 
work.  In  politics  he  is  a  strong  and  consistent  Re- 
publican. 


^ii  A.  Z.  EDWARDS,  Supervisor  of  the  Third 
W^  District  of  Santa  Clara  County,  resides  in  a 
1^  beautiful  cottage  home  on  the  Alviso  road,  two 
I  miles  from  the  city  limits  of  San  Jose.  Mr. 
Edwards  has  been  identified  with  the  county  since 
1857,  and  with  the  State  since  1853,  he  having  arrived 


556 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


at  San  Francisco  on  the  nineteenth  of  February  of 
that  year.  He  dates  his  birth  in  Shropshire,  England, 
August  31,  1823.  He  spent  the  time  until  his  thir- 
teenth year  on  his  father's  farm,  and  at  that  time 
became  engaged  in  selling  goods,  which  occupation 
he  followed  until,  upon  the  attainment  of  his  majority, 
he  came  to  the  United  States.  Landing  at  New  York 
city  April  19,  1844,  he  settLd  in  Oneida  County, 
New  York.  There  various  pursuits  occupied  his 
attention  until  he  came  to  this  State,  as  before  men- 
tioned, in  1853. 

The  tirst  four  years  of  his  residence  in  California 
were  spent  in  placer  mmingin  Tuolumne  and  Plumas 
Counties.  His  life  in  this  county,  which  has  extended 
over  a  period  of  thirty-one  years,  has  been  devoted 
to  agriculture,  horticulture,  and  the  growing  of  veg- 
etables and  small  fruits.  In  all  of  these  branches,  a 
long  experience  and  practical  knowledge  have  in- 
sured his  success.  The  improvement  from  a  state  of 
nature  of  the  property  which  he  now  occupies,  Mr. 
Edwards  commenced  in  1864.  The  homestead  con- 
tains forty  acres,  and  is  almost  entirely  devoted  to 
orchard  and  small-fruit  culture,  although  ten  acres  are 
used  for  the  cultivation  of  asparagus.  The  residence 
grounds  are  thickly  shaded  by  pine,  locust,  pepper, 
chestnut,  and  almond  trees,  in  addition  to  two  of  the 
grandest  of  weeping  willows  and  several  noble  speci- 
mens of  the  redwood  (Sequoia).  An  actual  meas- 
urement of  the  ground  sheltered  by  one  weeping 
willow  (grown  from  a  slip  planted  by  Mr.  Edwards  in 
1865),  shows  a  circumference  of  over  sixty  yards,  this 
beautiful  tree  having  in  its  foliage  a  circumference  of 
about  200  feet.  The  ground  underneath  is  used  as  a 
workshop  and  storage  room,  and  is  as  completely 
sheltered  as  though  under  a  roof. 

Mr.  Edwards  also  owns,  on  the  Brokaw  road,  a 
tract  of  twenty  acres,  which  he  devotes  to  pasturage 
and  the  production  of  hay.  He  also  has  real-estate 
interests  in  East  San  Jose,  in  the  University  tract, 
and  at  Santa  Cruz. 

T.ie  subject  of  our  sketch  is  in  full  sympathy  with, 
and  an  active  supporter  of,  the  Republican  part}'. 
During  the  Civil  War  the  South  had  many  sympa- 
thizers in  this  State,  and  many  who  hoped  and  plot- 
ted for  Rebel  success,  even  hoping  to  carry  California 
into  the  Confederacy.  When  it  became  necessary  for 
the  Union  men  to  organize,  the  Alviso  Rifles  were 
recruited  in  May,  1863,  and  became  Company  C, 
Fifth  Regiment  California  State  Militia.  Mr.  Ed- 
wards was  among  the  first  enrolled.  After  the  close 
of  the  war,  the  company  became  an  independent  or- 


ganization, building  and  owning  an  armory  at  Alviso. 
They  disbanded  only  December  25,  1886,  and  from 
July  27,  1869,  to  the  date  of  disbandment,  Mr.  Ed- 
wards was  their  Captain.  The  company  was  armed 
with  Spencer  Rifles.  The  Regimental  Prize  Target 
Medal,  costing  over  $100,  contested  for  October  18, 
1864,  and  November  13,  1865,  was  won  by  Company 
C.  This  medal  the  company,  at  its  disbandment,  by 
vote  presented  to  Mr.  Edwards  as  a  testimonial  of 
their  respect  and  esteem  for  him  as  a  man  and  as  an 
officer.  He  has  had  much  to  do  with  public  affairs 
wherever  he  has  lived.  In  Plumas  County  he  served 
as  Magistrate,  and  under  Lincoln's  administration  as 
Deputy  Assessor  and  Collector.  To  his  present  po- 
sition as  Supervisor  of  the  Third  District,  he  was 
elected  in  1884. 


tAPT.  JAMES  SCOTT,  deceased.  No  history  of 
-..  Santa  Clara  County  would  be  complete  without 
(3)|=  special  mention  of  one  of  its  earliest  pioneers, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch.  He  was  born  in 
Woolwich,  England,  January  20,  181 1.  His  parents, 
William  and  Martha  (Davidson)  Scott,  were  natives 
of  Scotland,  his  father  serving  in  the  English  army 
and  his  mother  residing  in  England  at  the  time  of  his 
birth.  His  early  boyhood  was  spent  in  attendance 
upon  school,  but  at  the  youthful  age  of  fifteen  years 
he  went  to  sea,  thus  beginning  an  eminentlj^  success- 
ful career.  A  bright  and  intelligent  youth,  of  indus- 
trious habits,  his  strict  attention  to  his  duties  soon 
won  the  confidence  of  his  superiors.  While  yet  in  his 
teens,  the  vessel  to  which  he  was  attached  was  wrecked 
on  the  barren  coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  though  he 
was  but  a  common  seaman  at  that  time,  it  was  his 
forethought,  intelligence,  and  energy  that  extricated 
the  crew  from  the  difficulties  surrounding  them.  It 
was  the  display  of  such  qualities  as  these  that  led  to 
his  promotion,  at  an  early  age,  to  the  position  of  Sec- 
ond Mate,  and  from  this  time  he  rose  rapidly  in  his 
profession,  the  age  of  twenty-four  years  finding  him 
in  command  of  one  of  the  finest  merchant  ships 
under  the  English  flag. 

He  followed  his  profession  with  honor  and  credit 
until  1849,  when  he  came  to  San  Francisco.  He  ar- 
rived when  the  gold  fever  was  at  its  height,  and  he 
sought  for  wealth  in  the  mines.  His  experience  in 
the  mines  was  not  that  of  many  who  were  disappointed 
in  the  results  of  their  labor;  on  the  contrary,  his  suc- 
cess was  remarkable.     On  some  days  he  secured  as 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


557 


much  as  $3,000  from  his  claim.  After  amassing  quite 
a  competency,  he  returned  to  San  Francisco,  where 
he  became  a  hotel  man,  opening  to  the  public  one  of 
the  largest  hotels  then  in  the  city.  In  1853  his  brother 
William  (whose  biographx-  appears  in  this  volume) 
joined  him  in  San  Francisco,  and  upon  his  arrival  Mr. 
Scott  sold  his  hotel  interests  and  accompanied  his 
brother  to  the  mines.  He  was  again  successful  in  his 
mining  ventures,  coming,  however,  with  his  brother 
during  the  following  year  to  Santa  Clara  County, 
where  he  purchased  120  acres  of  land,  immedi- 
ately beginning  its  improvement  and  cultivation. 
Thus  commenced  a  useful,  active  life  of  eighteen 
years  in  this  county,  and  during  that  period  the  same 
qualities  which  won  recognition  in  his  earlier  pursuits 
gained  for  him  the  respect  of  his  fellow-citizens.  A 
wide  experience  and  sound  business  principles  assured 
his  success  in  this  as  in  other  undertakings.  His 
active  life  closed  December  18,  1872. 

His  wife,  formerly  Miss  Ann  Lambert,  a  native  of 
England,  departed  this  life  several  years  previous  to 
his  death.  Their  two  children,  William  and  Ann,  are 
also  deceased.  In  1863  Mr.  Scott  visited  Scotland, 
and  upon  his  return  to  Santa  Clara  County  was  ac- 
companied by  his  sister,  Miss  Elizabeth  Scott,  who 
was  born  September  22,  1S22.  On  the  twenty-eighth 
of  December,  1863,  she  became  an  inmate  of  her 
brother's  home,  where  she  has  since  resided,  and  of 
which  she  is  the  present  owner.  This  property  is  lo- 
cated on  Scott  Lane,  in  the  Jefferson  School  District, 
about  one  and  one-half  miles  from  the  business  center 
of  Santa  Clara.  Her  farm  contains  ninety-five  acres 
of  the  original  120  acres  owned  by  her  brother.  The 
land  is  beautifully  situated  and  is  very  productive. 
Twenty-six  acres  are  in  strawberries,  of  the  Long- 
worth  and  Sharpless  varieties,  four  acres  are  in  rasp- 
berries, while  the  remainder,  with  the  exception  of  a 
small  tract  planted  with  fruit  trees,  is  devoted  to  the 
growing  of  hay  and  grain.  Artesian  wells  supply  a 
plentiful  amount  of  water  for  irrigation  and  other 
purposes. 

Another  member  of  this  family  was  Thomas  Scott, 
who  came  to  the  United  States,  and,  enlisting  in  the 
Twenty-sixth  Regiment  of  Pennsylvania  Volunteers, 
Colonel  Owens  commanding, was  killed  in  battle  in  '63. 


;-llKIRT  K.  BENNETT.  The  subject  of  this 
S^as  sketch  makes  his  home  at  the  junction  of  the 
e^  San  Francisco  road  with  the  Saratoga  and  Al- 
'  viso  road  (Milliken  Corner),  three  miles  west  of 
Santa  Clara,  in    the    Milliken    District,  where,  in  con- 


nection with  his  sister,  Glora  F.,  he  owns  a  beautiful 
orchard  property  of  thirty  acres,  upon  \\  hich  he  has 
a  comfortable  cottage  home.  His  orchard  has  not 
yet  come  into  full  bearing,  being  but  of  a  few  years' 
growth;  but,  by  the  intelligent  care  which  he  is  be- 
stowing upon  it,  Mr.  Bennett  is  laying  the  foundations 
for  one  of  the  finest  fruit  ranches  of  the  county. 
The  trees  are  about  one-half  prune,  and  the  other 
half  peach,  apricot,  and  cherry,  in  nearly  equal  pro- 
portions, with  a  few  varieties  of  other  fruits. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Monroe 
County,  New  York,  in  1857,  and  is  the  son  of  William 
K.  and  Melvina  (Hart)  Bennett,  both  of  whom  are 
now  deceased.  Mr.  Bennet's  boyhood  was  spent  upon 
a  farm  and  in  attending  school,  but  being  of  an  ener- 
getic disposition,  and  of  ingenious  mind,  he  entered 
into  other  occupations.  Among  them  were  those  of 
cooper,  and  engineer  in  controlling  and  running  sta- 
tionary engines.  He  followed  these  various  pursuits 
until  1857,  when  he  came  to  California  and  located  at 
Santa  Cruz,  where  he  worked  at  farming,  teaming,  and 
coopering  for  a  year  or  more.  He  then  removed  to 
San  Benito  County,  and  entered  quite  extensively  into 
the  business  of  stock-raising.  Being  young,  intel- 
ligent, and  ambitious,  he  was  soon  assured  of  success, 
and  continued  the  business  for  six  years.  But  the 
complete  isolation  of  his  family  and  the  sickness  and 
death  of  his  child  induced  him  to  change  his  residence 
to  a  settled  country  within  the  confines  of  civilization. 
He  decided  to  make  Santa  Clara  County  his  home, 
and  located  on  the  propertydescribed  at  the  beginning 
of  the  sketch.  Mr.  Bennett  is  a  young  man  of  active 
and  industrious  habits,  which,  combined  with  intelli- 
gent and  public-spirited  views  upon  matters  pertain- 
ing to  the  welfare  of  his  section  and  county,  make 
him  a  desirable  acquisition  to  the  community  in  which 
he  lives.  He  is  connected  with  the  Independent  Or- 
der of  Odd  Fellows,  being  a  member  of  San  Lorenzo 
Lodge,  No.  157. 

He  has  two  sisters  living,  both  of  whom  are  resi- 
dents of  this  State.  Miss  Glora  F.  Bennett,  a  highly 
educated  and  accomplished  lady,  is  a  teacher  in  the 
State  Normal  School  at  San  Jose,  and  Mrs.  Sarah 
Spaulsbury,  the  wife  of  Edgar  Spaulsbury,  an  attorney 
at  law,  residing  in  Santa  Cruz. 

Mr.  Bennett  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Grace  Ingham,  the  daughter  of  Joseph  Ingham,  of 
San  Jose,  on  the  first  of  January,  1880.  They  have 
one  child  living:  Ruth  H.,  at  the  present  time  (1888) 
seven  years  of  age. 


558 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


jgATRICK  C.  MOORE.  Among  the  successful 
Sy®  men  of  Santa  Clara  County  is  the  subject  of  this 
&  sketch,  a  brief  resum^ o{  whose  life  is  as  follows: 
Mr.  Moore  was  born  in  Middleton,  County  Cork, 
Ireland,  in  1836,  his  parents  being  William  and  Han- 
nah (Collins)  Moore,  who  were  natives  of  the  place  of 
his  birth.  He  was  reared  and  educated  in  college 
until  the  age  of  sixteen  years.  His  father  was  a 
farmer.  Young  Moore  then  accompanied  relatives  of 
his  family  to  the  United  States.  Soon  after  his  arrival 
in  New  York  he  went  to  Hartford,  Connecticut,  and 
there  engaged  as  a  clerk  in  the  store  of  J.  S.  Curtis  & 
Co.,  for  whom  his  brother  was  bookkeeper,  and  was 
there  about  a  year,  after  which  he  went  to  West  Ash- 
ford,  same  State,  and  learned  the  percussion-cap  busi- 
ness; next  he  went  to  New  Britain,  Connecticut,  and 
became  an  apprentice  to  the  trade  of  a  moulder  in  a 
foundry.  He  was  engaged  in  this  calling  until  1856. 
In  the  latter  year  he  came  to  California,  by  the  Isth- 
mus route.  While  at  Panama  he  was  wounded  by  a 
shot  in  his  right  arm,  during  a  riot.  He  landed  in 
San  Francisco  in  April  of  that  year.  Soon  after- 
ward he  engaged  in  farm  labor  for  Hutchinson  & 
Green,  near  Sacramento,  after  which  he  was  employed 
in  steamboating  on  the  Sacramento  River.  He  then 
took  up  the  occupation  of  a  miner  at  Long  Bar,  on 
the  Yuba  River.  In  1857  he  went  to  Siskiyou  County, 
where  he  stayed  until  1858,  engaging  in  prospecting, 
mining,  and  farm  labor;  was  also  a  clerk  in  a  hotel  a 
portion  of  the  time.  In  the  latter  year  the  Fraser 
River  mining  excitement  induced  him  to  make  a 
venture  in  that  direction,  and  he  joined  the  "grand 
army"  that  were  seeking  their  fortunes  in  the  new 
gold-fields.  This  venture  ended  in  a  failure,  and  he 
returned  to  California  and  resumed  the  more  quiet 
occupation  of  farm  labor  until  1861.  He  then  en- 
gaged in  the  milk  business  in  San  Francisco — a  busi- 
ness that  he  successfully  conducted  until  1863.  In 
this  year  he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County  and  located 
in  San  Jose.  Soon  after  his  arrival  he  entered  into 
business  as  a  peddler  and  teamster  between  San  Jose 
and  New  Almad-n.  With  the  exception  of  one  year, 
in  which  Mr.  Moore  rented  and  cultivated  the  farm  of 
Abraham  Weller,  at  Milpitas,  he  was  engaged  in  the 
above-named  occupations  until  1886.  During  the  latter 
year  he  purchased  a  block  of  land  on  the  corner  of 
the  Almaden  road  and  Orchard  Street,  in  San  Jose, 
upon  which  he  erected  two  dwelling-houses,  a  black- 
smith shop,  and  store.  He  established  himself  as  a 
grocer,  and  has  also  in  the  same  building  a  well- 
conducted  and   first-class   saloon.     In  addition  to  his 


property  at  this  point,  Mr.  Moore  also  owns  six  lots 
and  cottage-houses  in  the  city  of  San  Jose.  He  came 
to  California  with  little  or  no  means,  and  has  by  his 
industry  and  straightforward  business  dealing  ac- 
cumulated a  fair  share  of  this  world's  goods.  He  is 
an  intelligent  and  enterprising  citizen,  greatly  in- 
terested in  the  progress  and  prosperity  of  the  county. 
In  politics  he  is  a  liberal  and  conservative  Democrat. 
In  1882  Mr.  Moore  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Mary  O'Niell,  daughter  of  Jeremiah  and  Hannah 
(Carroll)  O'Niell,  who  were  natives  of  Ireland,  but 
residents  of  Ontario,  Canada  West.  Mrs.  Moore  was 
born  in  Canada,  and  came  to  California  in  1874. 
They  contemplate  a  t^ur  of  Europe,  Canada,  and  the 
States  in  1889. 


-€ 


POHN  W.  MEADS.  Among  the  prosperous  agri- 
culturists of  the  Alviso  District  we  mention  the 
T  subjectof  this  sketch.  His  highly  cultivated  farm 
of  100  acres  is  situated  on  the  corner  of  the  San  Jose 
and  Alviso  and  Alviso  and  Milpitas  roads,  six  and  a 
half  miles  north  of  San  Jose,  and  two  and  a  half 
miles  south  of  Alviso.  The  land  is  all  under  cultiva- 
tion, fourteen  acres  being  in  orchard,  producing  prin- 
cipally apples  and  pears,  but  also  the  other  varieties 
of  fruit  grown  in  this  section,  for  family  use.  There 
are  twenty  acres  of  strawberries  of  the  Sharpless  and 
Cheney  varieties,  and  twelve  acres  of  asparagus.  The 
rest  of  the  farm  is  devoted  to  stock  purposes,  and  the 
production  of  hay  and  grain.  Water  is  plentifully 
supplied  by  two  artesian  wells,  one  of  which  is  740 
feet  in  depth,  flowing  from  eight  to  ten  inches  above 
a  seven-inch  pipe,  and  the  other  of  250  feet  in  depth, 
flowing  two  inches  over  a  seven-inch  pipe. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Baltimore, 
Maryland,  in  1834.  His  parents  were  William  A. 
and  Mary  Jane  (Amos)  Meads,  both  natives  of  Balti- 
more. His  early  life  was  devoted  to  the  acquiring  of 
an  education  (for  which  good  facilities  were  afforded), 
and  to  the  learning  of  his  father's  calling,  that  of 
gardener,  he  being  extensively  engaged  in  raising 
vegetables  for  the  Baltimore  market.  Mr.  Meads 
continued  in  this  work  until  twenty-four  years  of  age, 
when  he  determined  to  seek  his  fortune  in  the  new 
El  Dorado.  He  accordingly  took  the  Panama  route 
for  California  in  1858.  Arriving  in  San  Francisco,  he 
proceeded  to  Santa  Clara,  in  May  of  that  year,  and 
engaged   in   farm   labor.     After  spending  about  two 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


559 


and  a  half  years  in  working;  for  others,  he  rented  240 
acres  near  Milpitas,  which  he  successfully  devoted  to 
the  production  of  hay  and  grain.  He  made  that 
place  his  home  for  six  years,  and  then  purchased  the 
land  heretofore  described,  and  took  up  his  residence 
thereon  in  1866.  He  at  once  commenced  its  cultiva- 
tion and  iijiprovement,  and  now  has  one  of  the  really 
fine  places  of  the  county.  He  has  erected  a  comfort- 
able cottage  home,  which  is  surrounded  by  beautiful 
trees  and  pleasant  grounds,  and  in  which  he  lives  the 
life  of  a  prosperous  tiller  of  the  soil  in  this  favored 
spot. 

Mr.  Meads  married,  in  1862,  Miss  Agnes  Emmer- 
son,  the  daughter  of  Captain  Charles  Emmerson  and 
Rosalia  (McKenzie)  Emmerson.  They  are  natives  of 
Maine,  but  residents  of  San  Jose.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Meads  have  six  children:  Walter  A.,  Alfred,  Alice  M., 
Norman  L.,  John  W.,  and  Daisy. 

Mr.  Meads  has  taken  a  high  standing  among  his 
associates  as  a  man  of  integrity  and  intelligence,  and 
the  long  acquaintance,  establishe  1  by  a  residence  of 
thirty  years  in  the  county,  have  but  won  him  increas- 
ing respect  and  confidence.  He  is  one  of  the  Trustees 
of  the  Alviso  School  District,  being  Clerk  of  the  dis- 
trict— a  position  which  he  has  filled  with  credit  for 
the  past  four  years.  He  is  connected  with  the  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen.  Politically,  he  is  identi- 
fied with  the  Republican  party,  taking  a  great  interest 
in  all  public  affairs. 


^LEMENTE  COLOMBET,  deceased.  This  gen- 
^^  tleman,  one  of  Santa  Clara  County's  early  pio- 
sll  neers  and  most  respected  citizens,  was  born  at 
Nice,  France,  August  4,  1817.  He  left  his  native  land 
in  1842,  and  went  to  South  America,  remaining  in 
Buenos  Ayres  for  one  year,  when  he  sailed  around 
Cape  Horn,  visiting  Chili,  Peru,  and  Bolivia.  On  the 
fourteenth  of  June,  1844,  he  arrived  in  Monterey, 
California,  with  Captain  Cooper.  He  at  first  worked 
at  his  trade,  that  of  tanner,  in  Monterey,  then  Santa 
Cruz,  and  San  Jose.  He  afterward  engaged  in  buy- 
ing stock,  as  well  as  merchandising,  driving  his  cattle 
to  Sacramento  and  the  mines.  In  1849  he  opened  a 
store  in  San  Jose,  which  he  conducted  for  some  time. 
In  January,  [851,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Ann  Kell, 
a  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Margaret  (Murphy)  Kell, 
and  a  granddaughter  of  Martin  Murphy,  Sr.  Mrs. 
Colombet  had  come  to  California  from  Missouri,  in 
1846,    having    previously    removed    from    her    birth- 


place, Canada,  to  Missouri,  with  her  parents.  In  the 
year  of  their  marriage,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Colombet  went 
to  Mission  San  Jose,  where  Mr.  Colombet  engaged  in 
viticulture  and  wine-making.  In  1856,  at  the  Annual 
Fair  of  the  California  State  Agricultural  Society,  held 
in  San  Jose,  he  was  awarded  the  premium  for  Claret 
wine,  the  first  premium  for  wine  ever  awarded  in  Cali- 
fornia. He  also  engaged  in  conducting  a  store  of 
general  merchandise  at  the  mission,  living  there  until 
1856,  when  he  purchased  the  Warm  Springs  property, 
in  Alameda  County,  from  the  original  Spanish  owner, 
Mr.  Higurera,  and  removed  there  with  his  family. 
Here  they  resided  until  1869,  when  he  sold  the  prop- 
erty to  A.  A.  Cohen,  who,  later,  sold  it  to  Senator 
Stanford.  Having  property  in  San  Jose,  Mr.  Colom- 
bet removed  here  with  his  family,  where  he  resided 
until  his  death,  in  September,  1885.  On  the  twenty- 
fifth  of  August,  1878,  he  was  stricken  with  paralysis, 
and  for  seven  years  was  a  sufferer;  losing  the  use  of 
his  right  side,  he  was  unable  to  move  about.  He  was 
a  man  of  integrity  and  high  moral  character,  and 
commanded  the  respect  of  all  who  knew  him. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Colombet  had  eight  children,  of  whom 
one  died  in  infancy:  Joseph,  the  eldest,  is  the  executor 
of  his  father's  estate,  and  now  City  Treasurer  of  San 
Jose;  Thomas,  Clemente,  Peter  J.,  Annie  V.,  Louis  N., 
and  William  A.,  all  residents  of  San  Jose.  Mr.  Co- 
lombet was  a  member  of  the  Pioneer  Association  of 
San  Jose. 

m- 

l^OSEPH  FOSTER,  residing  upon  the  San  Fran- 
0^  cisco  road,  about  three  and  a  half  miles  west  of 
'^  Santa  Clara,  in  the  Millikcn  District,  is  the  owner 
of  twenty-five  acres  of  productive  land,  ten  acres  of 
which  are  devoted  to  the  culture  of  fruit,  consisting 
principally  of  peaches,  although  the  orchard  also 
furnishes  apricots,  apples,  pears,  and  plums.  Fifteen 
acres  are  planted  with  vines,  which  produce  different 
varieties  of  table  grapes,  such  as  the  Tokay,  Muscat, 
Cornichon,  Black  Ferrara,  and  Black  Morocco.  This 
fertile  soil  is  a  light  adobe,  mixed  with  gravel. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  1822,  at 
Dunham  Park, Yorkshire,  England.  His  father,  Abra- 
ham Foster,  was  a  native  of  the  above-mentioned 
place,  and  his  mother,  Mary  (Kay)  Foster,  was  born 
in  Todmerdcn,  Yorkshire  County.  Joseph's  boyhood 
was  spent  in  acquiring  an  education,  and  in  mercantile 
work.  He  graduated  at  the  Baptist  College  at  his 
birthplace,  and,  while  yet   a  youth,  became  a  strong 


560 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD:' 


believer  in  the  Christian  relisrion.  At  the  early  age 
of  sixteen  years  he  commenced  his  labor  in  its  cause 
as  a  volunteer  preacher,  and  so  earnest  and  successful 
did  he  become  in  this  work  that  he  was  known  far 
and  wide  as  the  "  Boy  Preacher."  At  the  age  of 
nineteen  years  he  was  regularly  ordained  as  a  minister 
of  the  Baptist  Church,  and,  although  still  engaged  in 
other  pursuits,  he  officiated  legularly  in  the  pulpit. 

In  1843  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Eliza 
Crowther,  daughter  of  Richard  Crowthcr,  of  Yorkshire 
County,  and  granddaughter  of  the  Rev.  James  Aston, 
of  Lockwood,  Yorkshire,  England.  In  the  same 
year  he  left  his  mercantile  business,  and  engaged  in 
clerical  and  statistical  work  for  railroad  companies 
and  other  corporations.  This  work  he  continued  un- 
til 1845,  when  he  came  to  the  United  States.  Land- 
ing at  New  York,  he  proceeded  to  Illinois,  and  took 
up  his  residence  on  a  farm  about  ten  miles  from 
Elgin.  Here  he  commenced  a  career  as  a  pioneer 
farmer  and  preacher,  ever  being  a  most  active  and 
earnest  worker  in  the  cause  of  Christianity,  as  well  as 
in  the  establishment  of  schools  and  in  all  enterprises 
that  tended  to  elevate  the  moral  standard  of  that  pi- 
oneer day. 

During  the  five  years  that  he  spent  here  he  preached 
the  gospel  nearly  every  Sunday,  being  compelled  to 
hold  his  services  in  log  school-houses,  barns,  and 
often  in  the  open  air.  In  1850  he  removed  to  Clinton 
County,  Iowa,  where  he  continued  his  labors,  both 
temporal  and  spiritual,  ever  to  the  front  with  open 
hand  and  ready  assistance  for  the  sick,  need}',  and 
distressed.  Always  in  the  advance  guard  of  civiliza- 
tion, he  changed  his  residence,  in  1879,  to  Cherokee 
County,  Kansas,  where  he  continued  his  work  as  a 
farmer  and  a  minister.  In  the  year  following  his  re- 
moval to  Kansas,  he  suffered  a  severe  misfortune  in 
the  visitation  of  a  cyclone,  which  destroyed  all  his 
buildings,  including  his  house,  and  all  his  farm  imple- 
ments and  machinery,  the  family  barely  escaping  from 
the  wreck  with  their  lives.  This  severe  loss  was  met 
with  the  fortitude  and  patience  of  the  Christian.  Soon 
afterward  Mr.  Foster  came  to  California,  and  estab- 
lished his  residence  upon  the  farm  which  he  now  oc- 
cupies, and  which  he  intends  to  make  his  home  dur- 
ing his  declining  years.  Since  his  coming  to  this 
county,  he  has  manifested  a  deep  interest  in  all  that 
pertains  to  the  growth  and  development  of  the  section 
in  which  he  lives,  as  well  as  in  the  education  and 
morals  of  the  community.  He  was  one  of  the  organ- 
izers and  founders  of  the  Emanuel  Baptist  Church  of 
San  Jose,  serving  as  a  pulpit  supply  until  the  regular 


pastor  was  installed.  It  is  a  fact  to  be  noted  as  in- 
dicative of  the  man's  unselfish  character  and  disinter- 
ested motives,  that  through  all  his  ministerial  life  and 
labors  he  has  received  for  his  services  no  compensa- 
tion save  that  of  the  consciousness  of  good  deeds  per- 
formed. That  by  his  devoted  labor  much  good  was 
effected,  cannot  be  doubted  when  one  remembers  the 
great  need  of  Christian  services,  and  the  great  diffi- 
culty in  procuring  them  in  the  pioneer  settlements  oT 
forty  years  ago.  He  may  well  be  content  to  spend 
his  remaining  years  in  his  pleasant  home,  feeling  sure 
of  his  Master's  "  well  done  "  at  the  close  of  a  life  de- 
voted to  that  Master's  cause. 

Four  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Foster:  Richard  C,  aged  (in  1888)  forty  years;  Will- 
iam A.,  married  and  residing  at  Laporte,  Iowa;  Mary 
Jane,  the  wife  of  Dell  C.  Scott,  of  Delaware  County, 
Iowa;  and  Arthur,  who  married  Miss  Ella  Hamilton, 
of  Indiana. 


g|OHN  MILLIKIN,  deceased.  The  subject  of 
©"  this  sketch  was  born  in  Westmoreland  County, 
''^  Pennsylvania,  in  1807.  The  first  five  years  of 
his  life  were  spent  there,  and  his  father  in  181 2  re- 
moved his  family  to  Licking  County,  Ohio,  becoming 
one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  that  State.  The  son, 
John,  was  there  taught  all  the  duties  of  an  agricultural 
life,  and  spent  his  early  manhood  in  that  work  in  his 
native  county.  In  1832  he  married  Miss  Nancy 
Heron,  a  native  of  the  same  county.  Three  years 
after  their  marriage,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Milliken  went  to 
La  Salle  County,  Illinois,  where  they  established 
their  home  on  a  rich  prairie  farm.  But  Mr.  Millikin's 
love  of  a  frontier  life  soon  prompted  another  move, 
and  in  1837  his  residence  was  changed  to  Iowa,  where 
he  settled  in  what  was  then  known  as  the  Black 
Hawk  Tract,  and  continued  his  work  of  tilling  the 
soil  and  raising  stock.  He  was  there  during  the  ex- 
citing times  of  the  Black  Hawk  War,  and  was  a  vol- 
unteer in  the  same. 

In  1852  he  became  one  of  the  large  army  of  emi- 
grants who  were  straggling  across  the  plains  to  Cali- 
fornia. Soon  after  his  arrival  in  this  State,  he  settled 
his  family  in  Santa  Clara  County,  on  eighty  acres  of 
land,  located  on  the  San  Francisco  road  about  three 
miles  west  of  Santa  Clara,  on  what  is  now  known  as 
Millikin's  Corner.  Then  commenced  a  useful  life 
(spent  in  the  cultivation  of  his  farm),  which  lasted  for 
twenty-five  years,  his  death  occurring  in  1877.     Early 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


5G1 


iiiuied  to  hard  labor,  and  possessed  of  a  large  amount 
of  energy  and  a  strong  will, none  of  the  obstacles  always 
to  be  encountered  in  a  frontier  life  seemed  to  daunt 
him.  He  was  always  in  the  vanguard  of  the  army  of 
pioneers,  who  cleared  the  way  for  the  hosts  who  fol- 
lowed and  built  up  the  great  centers  of  American 
civilization.  Mr.  Millikin,  by  virtue  of  his  long  resi- 
dence in  the  county,  was  well  known  and  highly  re- 
spected. Naturally  he  was  deeply  interested  in  the 
marvelous  development  which  he  had  witnessed,  and 
was  ever  ready  to  assist  in  every  way  in  his  power  in 
bringing  about  that  development. 

By  the  death  of  her  husband,  Mrs.  Millikin  was 
left  with  seven  children,  viz.:  Samuel,  whose  sketch 
appears  in  this  connection;  James,  a  resident  of  Santa 
Cruz  County;  David  C,  a  resident  of  Los  Angeles 
County,  who  married  Miss  Mary  Nash,  of  Santa  Clara 
County;  Thomas  B.,  a  resident  of  Lompoc,  Santa 
Barbara  County;  Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  James  Turner, 
of  Gilroy,  Santa  Clara  County,  but  now  residing  in 
Fresno  County;  Mary,  the  wife  of  John  S.  Henning, 
of  Santa  Clara,  now  living  at  Lompoc;  and  Margaret, 
the  wife  of  Augustus  Hollet,  of  San  Jose,  also  living 
at  present  at  Lompoc. 

Mrs.  Millikin  was  left  to  her  children  for  five  years 
after  the  loss  of  the  father,  her  death  occurring  in 
Santa  Clara  County  July  3,  1882. 


-m 


;AMUEL  MILLIKIN  resides  on  the  San  Fran- 
cisco road,  about  three  and  a  half  miles  west  of 
Santa  Clara,  in  the  Millikin  District,  where  he 
owns  100  acres  of  rich  and  well-cultivated  land. 
His  tract  originally  contained  160  acres,  but  60  acres 
were  disposed  of  by  sale  a  few  years  ago.  Of  the  100 
acres,  47  acres  are  in  vines,  yielding  a  large  product  of 
wine  grapes  of  the  Zinfandel  and  Matero  varieties.  The 
remainder  of  the  farm  Mr.  Millikin  devoted  to  the  pro- 
duction of  hay  and  cereals,  and  to  stock-raising. 

He  dates  his  birth  in  Licking  County,  Ohio,  March 
12,  1833.  He  is  the  son  of  John  Millikin  (a  sketch 
of  whose  life  is  to  be  found  in  this  histoiy)  and  Nancy 
(Heron)  Millikin.  His  father  was  a  pioneer  farmer  in 
Ohio,  Illinois,  Iowa,  and  California,  and  the  son  was 
schooled  in  early  life  in  his  father's  business.  Coming 
to  California  with  his  father,  in  1852,  he  has  since 
made  his  home  in  this  county  and  in  the  district  in 
which  he  now  lives. 

On  the  fourth  of  April,  1869,  Mr.  Millikin  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Mrs.  Christina  Nash,  the 
71 


A 


widow  of  Patrick  Nash,  of  Santa  Clara  County. 
Three  sons  have  been  born  from  this  marriage,  viz.: 
Samuel  E.,  born  August  2,  1870;  George  R,  born 
September  4,  1872;  and  John  D.  S.,  born  Novem- 
ber 26,  1876.  Of  Mrs.  Millikin's  children  by  her 
former  marriage,  there  are  living  (in  18SS)  Robert  P. 
Nash,  born  December  30,  1855,  who  married  Miss 
Kate  Martin,  of  Santa  Cruz;  Mary  Nash,  born  June 
13,  1858,  the  wife  of  David  P.  Millikin,  of  Santa 
Clara  County;  Anna  J.  Nash,  born  January  10,  i860; 
Thomas  Nash,  born  July  21,  1862;  and  Charles  C. 
Nash,  born  March  28,  1865. 

Mr.  Millikin's  long  residence  in  the  county  has 
made  him  one  of  its  best-known  citizens,  while  it  has 
inspired  him  with  the  interest  in  and  regard  for  his 
home  surroundings  only  to  be  found  in  those  who  have 
grown  up  with  a  country.  As  a  good  citizen  and  a 
successful  agriculturist,  he  is  a  useful  member  of  the 
community.  His  success  is  due  to  natural  intelli- 
gence, energy,  acquired  business  habits,  and  a  thorough 
understanding  of  his  business,  rather  than  to  any  ad- 
vantages in  youth,  for  they  were  made  impossible  of 
attainment  by  residence  in  frontier  States. 

Mr.  Millikin  is  interested  in  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows,  being  a  member  of  Santa  Clara 
Lodge,  No.   52. 


fC.  MORSE.  Among  the  well-known  citizens 
of  this  section,  mention  must  be  made  of  the 
(2)|=  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  resides  on  the  San 
Francisco  road,  about  half  a  mile  west  of  Santa 
Clara,  at  which  place  are  located  the  Pacific  Seed 
Gardens,  of  which  he  is  the  proprietor.  These 
gardens  occupy  about  400  acres,  and  are  really  mag- 
nificent in  extent  and  productions,  well  worth  a  visit 
from  all  who  are  interested  in  the  growing  industries 
of  the  county.  The  gardens  were  established,  in  1875, 
by  R.  W.  Wilson,  a  seedsman  from  the  East,  and  then 
contained  but  fifty-four  acres.  Mr.  Wilson  conducted 
the  business  until  1878,  when  he  sold  it  to  Kellogg 
&  Morse,  who  steadily  enlarged  the  grounds  and  in- 
creased the  business.  By  sound  business  principles 
and  good  judgment,  they  built  up  and  successfully 
managed  one  of  the  largest  enterprises  of  this  charac- 
ter on  the  Pacific  Coast.  Its  magnitude  may  be 
judged  from  the  fact  that  in  1887  the  products  of  the 
gardens  comprised  over  150  tons  of  the  best  varieties 
of  field,  garden,  and  flower-seeds.  In  the  development 
of   the  latter,   Mr.    Morse    is    spending    considerable 


562 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD:' 


time  and  money,  and  in  the  near  future  this  branch  of 
the  business  is  destined  to  become  most  successful. 
It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  cost  of  conducting  these 
large  gardens  is  nearly  $30,000  per  annum.  In  1887 
Mr.  Kellogg  retired  from  the  firm,  and  since  that  time 
Mr.  Morse  has  been  the  sole  proprietor  and  manager. 
He  is  paying  attention  to  the  improvement  of  the 
quality  rather  than  to  the  increase  of  the  quantity  of 
his  products,  and  in  this  he  has  been  eminently  suc- 
cessful, particularly  with  the  different  varieties  of 
lettuce,  onion,  and  carrot  seeds.  He  also  owns  a  fine 
residence  upon  the  grounds,  in  which  are  found  all  the 
comforts  which  characterize  a  well-ordered  home. 

Mr.  Morse  dates  his  birth  in  Thomaston,  Maine,  in 
1842.  His  parents,  Obadiah  and  Chloe  W.  (Cope- 
land)  Morse,  were  natives  of  Maine,  and  descendants 
of  old  Puritan  families  of  New  England.  His  father 
died  when  he  was  but  four  years  of  age,  leaving  his 
mother  with  means  inadequate  to  the  care  of  the  farm 
and  the  rearing  of  her  children.  In  the  hard  struggle 
which  she  was  obliged  to  make,  the  mother  was  de- 
pendent to  a  great  extent  upon  the  assistance  which 
her  children  were  able  to  render  her  in  the  care  of  the 
farm.  Thus  at  an  early  age  Mr.  Morse  was  accus- 
tomed to  farm  labor  and  was  taught  the  stern  duties 
of  life.  Reared  in  this  school  of  necessity,  he  devel- 
oped those  qualities  of  independence  and  industry 
which,  carried  into  his  after  life,  insured  his  success  in 
all  the  business  operations  in  which  he  became  en- 
gaged. At  the  age  of  seventeen  years,  being  desir- 
ous of  rendering  his  mother  more  assistance  than  was 
possible  from  his  earnings  as  a  farm  laborer,  he  com- 
menced a  seafaring  life,  which  he  followed  for  several 
years,  in  fact  until  he  came  to  California,  in  1862.  In 
this  State  he  engaged  in  several  occupations,  among 
them  that  of  a  painter,  in  which  he  became  very  pro- 
ficient. He  became  a  contractor  for  work  in  house 
painting,  following  this  business  for  twelve  years  in 
Santa  Clara,  previous  to  the  purchase  of  the  seed 
gardens,  and,  although  never  taught  the  trade,  by  his 
natural  ability  he  was  enabled  to  cope  successfully 
with  his  competitors. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  married  Miss  Maria  J. 
V.  Langford,  the  daughter  of  Pleasant  and  Sarah 
Langford,  of  Santa  Clara  County.  Of  their  five  chil- 
dren, four  are  now  living.  Their  names  and  ages  (in 
1888)  are  as  follows  :  Eva  A.,  aged  nineteen  years; 
Lester  L.,  aged  seventeen  years;  Stella  M.,  aged  four- 
teen years;  and  Winnie  M.,  aged  seven  years. 

Mr.  Morse  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  Advent 
Christian  Church  of  Santa  Clara,  having  been  one  of 


its  founders,  and  having  since  taken  the  deepest  inter- 
est in  its  welfare.  He  is  a  progressive  man,  and  as' 
such  always  takes  part  in  all  public  movements  which 
tend  to  the  advancement  of  the  prosperity  of  his 
county,  to  which,  by  the  conscientious  management  of 
his  own  important  business  affairs,  he  adds  not  a  little. 

fOHN  H.  PIEPER  is  a  native  of  the  Province  of 
Hanover,  Germany,  where  he  was  born  in  1824. 
T  His  parents  were  natives  of  the  same  place  and 
passed  all  their  lives  there,  and  are  both  buried  in 
that  province.  His  father,  while  living,  had  charge 
of  the  public  highway  of  the  district  of  Osterode 
Hanover.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  educated 
in  the  Academy  of  Mining  and  Forestry  in  Claus- 
thal,  in  the  Hartz  Mountains.  In  1843  he  entered  on 
his  military  duties  in  the  engineer  corps,  serving  in 
this  corps  for  seven  years.  He  then  became  a  Lieu- 
tenant of  engineers  and  Adjutant  of  the  corps  in  the 
service  of  Schleswig-Holstein.  After  his  honorable 
discharge  from  military  duty,  he  came  to  the  United 
States,  landing  in  New  Orleans,  and  went  immediately 
to  San  Antonio,  Texas,  but,  the  climate  disagreeing 
with  him,  he  left  there  and  went  to  New  York,  and 
for  three  years  he  was  employed  as  principal  assistant 
of  the  Topographical  Survey  of  the  State  of  New 
Jersey,  then  in  charge  of  Lieutenant  (now  General) 
Egbert  L.  Viele.  He  was  afterward  employed  as 
principal  assistant  engineer  in  laying  out  Central 
Park,  New  York.  For  a  period  of  seven  years  he 
held  this  position,  and  then  resigned  it  to  accept  that 
of  mining  engineer  and  assistant  manager  of  the 
Mariposa  Grant,  Mariposa  County,  California,  which 
position  he  held  for  two  years.  Mr.  Pieper  then  came 
to  San  Jose  and  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession of  civil  engineer  and  surveyor,  and  since 
1867  he  has  been  City  Engineer  of  San  Jose,  during 
which  time  extensive  improvements  of  the  city,  such 
as  the  construction  of  the  streets,  bridges,  and  sewers 
have  been  made  under  his  plans  and  specifications. 
He  has  also  planned  the  improvements  of  the  chan- 
nels of  the  streams  passing  through  the  city.  The 
sewage  system  of  the  city  of  San  Jose,  and  the  im- 
provement of  the  channels  of  the  several  water-courses 
running  through  the  city,  were  according  to  Mr.  Pie- 
per's  plans,  and  were  made  under  his  supervision. 
The  detailed  description  of  these  improvements, 
which  appears  elsewhere  in  this  book,  is  taken  from 
his  able  report  on  these  subjects. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


563 


Mr.  Pieper  owns  a  fine  fruit  farm  of  thirteen  acres 
south  of  San  Jose,  which  he  has  planted  to  600  prune 
trees,  365  Moorpark  apricots,  265  peaches,  250  cherry 
trees,  and  three-quarters  of  an  acre  in  vineyards. 
When  five  years  old  the  peach  and  apricot  trees  yielded 
fruit  that,  when  evaporated,  amounted  to  six  tons. 

Mr.  Pieper  is  married  to  Miss  Adele  Hoffman,  a 
native  of  Cassel,  Germany,  and  has  six  children. 
The  eldest,  Carl,  is  now  a  civil  engineer  and  surveyor 
in  Pasadena,  California,  in  partnership  with  Colonel 
Place,  formerly  of  the  United  States  Engineer  Corps; 
Oscar  H.  Thekla,  Alphonse,  Ernest,  and  Olga  are 
the  names  of  the  other  five,  all  of  whom  are  attend- 
ing school.  Mr.  Pieper's  residence  is  on  the  corner  of 
Alameda  and  Stockton  Avenues.  He  is  a  member 
of  Garden  City  Lodge,  No.  142,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  also  of 
the  Legion  of  Honor  and  the  Order  of  Chosen  Friends. 


IjljigENRY  SEARS,  residing  on  the  Almaden  road, 
G^^  near  the  city  limits  of  San  Jose,  is  the  owner  of 
i^  a  very  fine  orchard  of  about  eight  acres.  The 
substantial  buildings  on  the  place  were  erected 
by  Mr.  Sears,  with  regard  only  to  comfort  and  con- 
venience, and  well  show  the  taste  of  the  owner.  Pur- 
chasing the  property  in  February,  1884,  out  of  a 
wheat-field,  he  commenced  the  work  of  improvement 
at  once.  The  rapid  development  of  the  orchard,  to 
those  unacquainted  with  the  possibilities  of  this  won- 
derful climate  and  soil,  when  supplemented  by  skill 
and  the  unstinted  use  of  money,  is  almost  marvel- 
ous. In  the  orchard  can  be  found  almost  every 
variety  of  deciduous  fruit  adapted  to  the  soil, — cher- 
ries, French  and  Silver  prunes,  almonds,  English  wal- 
nuts, grapes,  and  many  kinds  of  plums  and  peaches. 
The  last-named  fruit  ripens  from  the  first  of  June 
until  the  middle  of  October.  Eight  peach  trees, 
planted  the  first  year  for  home  use,  have  long  been 
producing  more  fruit  than  the  family  could  use  or 
give  away  to  friends.  In  1887  from  these  trees,  in- 
cluding two  planted  later,  a  surplus  of  1,800  pounds 
of  fruit  was  sold.  This  fact  is  mentioned  merely  to 
illustrate  how  little  Mr.  Sears  understood  the  capac- 
ity of  the  soil  for  producing  fruit,  and  to  give  the 
general  reader  an  idea  of  the  same.  This  model 
little  orchard  is  penetrated  by  two  fine  avenues  lead- 
ing to  the  residence,  one  from  the  Almaden  road  on 
the  west,  and  the  other  from  Orchard  Street  on  the 
north.  The  residence,  with  all  its  surroundings, 
makes  a  most  pleasant  and  comfortable  home. 


Mr.  Sears  is  a  Massachusetts  man  by  birth,  which 
he  dates  in  old  Berkshire  County.  His  business  life 
has  been  spent  chiefly  in  Illinois.  At  Rockford  he 
built  up  an  extensive  business  in  cutlery  and  fire- 
arms. He  is  the  head  of  the  firm  of  H.  Sears  &  Co., 
on  Wabash  Avenue,  Chicago,  a  wholesale  house  with 
a  trade  of  $300,000  per  annum,  in  the  same  general 
line  of  business. 

In  18S3  Mr.  Sears,  finding  that  failing  health 
would  not  permit  him  to  live  in  Chicago,  and  having 
traveled  extensively  in  California,  Florida,  and  other 
sections  in  search  of  a  congenial  climate,  concluded 
to  settle  in  the  beautiful,  sunny  Santa  Clara  Valley. 
Much  of  his  old-time  vigor  has  returned,  and  he  can 
hardly  find  words  to  express  his  enthusiastic  praise  of 
the  climate,  resources.and  possibilities  of  his  new  home. 


^P  H.  ROBERTS,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  is 
's^"  an  intelligent  and  energetic  mechanic,  who  has 
<^     established  a  blacksmith  and  carriage  repairing 

'  shop  near  the  corner  of  Saratoga  Avenue  and 
the  Stevens  Creek  road,  in  the  Doyle  District,  about 
four  miles  from  San  Jose.  These  works  are  a  decided 
advantage  to  the  community,  and  Mr.  Roberts  just 
reaps  the  pecuniary  reward  to  which  his  enterprise 
and  industry  entitle  him.  He  is  also  an  inventor  of 
no  mean  order.  One  of  his  most  useful  and  bene- 
ficial inventions  is  the  Roberts  Cultivator,  which  is  so 
well  appreciated  by  orchardists  and  others  that  it  is 
rapidly  taking  precedence  over  all  its  competitors. 
This  is  particularly  noticeable  in  the  community  sur- 
rounding Mr.  Roberts'  place  of  business.  He  is  also 
the  owner  of  a  comfortable  and  pleasant  home  ad- 
joining his  shop.  By  his  useful,  active  life,  and  his 
qualities  of  integrity  and  industry,  Mr.  Roberts  has 
won  the  deserved  esteem  of  his  neighbors  and  fellow- 
citizens.  He  is  a  member  of  Santa  Clara  Lodge, 
No.  52,  I.  O.  O.  F.  Politically  he  is  a  strong  and  in- 
telligent Republican. 

Mr.  Roberts  was  born  in  1856,  in  Mercer  County, 
Penn.sylvania,  and  is  the  son  of  William  and  C.  E. 
(Riddle)  Roberts.  He  became  a  resident  of  this  State 
in  1873,  coming  directly  to  Los  Gatos,  of  this  county. 
At  that  place  he  made  his  home  for  four  years,  being 
engaged  in  mechanical  pursuits.  He  then  established 
the  works  above  mentioned.  In  1881  Mr.  Roberts 
married  Miss  Laura  V.  Reynolds,  the  daughter  of 
Frank  Reynolds,  of  Los  Gatos.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Roberts 
have  no  children. 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


mmf  D-  REED,  a  resident  of  the  Willows,  owns  ten 
(s^ss  acres  on  Hicks  Avenue,  which  he  improved  from 

fa  state  of  nature,  removing  the  wild  trees 
and  brush.  He  bought  the  property  in  1877, 
and  commenced  tree-planting  in  February  of  the  fol- 
lowing year,  setting  nearly  2,000  trees.  Now  his 
orchard  is  in  full  bearing.  Six  acres  are  planted  in 
apricots,  and  the  remainder  in  cherries.  Mr.  Reed 
has  been  a  resident  of  Santa  Clara  County  for  fifteen 
years,  and  of  the  State  since  February,  1867.  For 
the  first  six  years  of  his  residence  in  California,  Mr. 
Reed  lived  in  Placer  County,  and  since  coming  to 
Santa  Clara  County  has  been  directly  or  indirectly 
interested  in  fruit-culture,  witnessing  much  of  the 
growth  of  the  county,  in  prosperity  and  population. 
Politically  Mr.  Reed  is  fully  in  accord  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Republican  party. 

He  was  born  in  Oneida  County,  New  York,  but  was 
reared  in  Madison  County,  that  State.  He  was  born 
on  the  sixth  of  August,  1842.  His  parents,  Mansel 
and  Laura  Reed,  are  deceased,  the  father  dying  in 
Lewis  County,  and  the  mother  in  Onondaga  County, 
of  the  State  of  New  York.  Mr.  Reed  was  reared  to 
a  farm  life,  but  has  engaged  in  various  occupations. 
He  came  directly  from  Madison  County  to  this  State. 
On  the  sixteenth  of  October,  1873,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Augusta  Milliman,  at  Oakland. 
Mrs.  Reed  was  born  and  reared  in  Madison  County, 
New  York,  and  her  parents,  Joseph  and  Louisa  Milli- 
man, now  live  in  Onondaga  County.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Reed  have  two  children,  William  and  Joseph. 


M-* 


^H>^-^-^- 


||OHN  MORGAN,  of  the  Milliken  District,  re- 
@:  sides  on  the  San  Francisco  road,  three  miles  west 
^  of  Santa  Clara,  near  the  corner  of  the  Saratoga 
and  Alviso  roads,  where  he  has  quite  extensive 
carriage  manufacturing  and  repairing  and  blacksmith 
shops.  These  works  are  centrally  located  in  a  fine 
farming  and  orchard  section,  and  are  well  patronized 
by  the  community.  Mr.  Morgan  is  an  intelligent 
mechanic,  and  is  deserving  of  the  patronage  which  he 
receives.  His  mechanical  ability  is  well  displayed  in 
the  "Morgan  Cultivator,"  of  which  he  is  the  inventor 
— a  farm  implement  which  his  patrons  fully  appre- 
ciate, and  which  rapidly  supersedes  all  competitors. 
Near  his  shops  Mr.  Morgan  owns  a  comfortable  home, 
which,  with  his  family,  he  occupies. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch   was  born    in  Aberdeen, 
Scotland,  in  1845,  and  is  the  son  of  John  and  Elspit 


(Alexander)  Morgan,  residents  and  natives  of  that 
place.  At  an  early  age  he  became  interested  in  me- 
chanical work,  and  engaged  in  it  while  attending 
school.  He  thus  became  the  intelligent  artisan  who 
merits  the  success  that  results  from  a  combination  of 
education  and  mechanical  genius.  In  1872  Mr.  Mor- 
gan left  his  native  home,  to  become  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States.  Upon  landing  at  New  York  he  started 
directly  for  San  Francisco.  After  his  arrival  there  he 
worked  at  ship-building  and  other  kindred  occupa- 
tions for  about  five  years.  He  then  removed  to  San 
Jose,  and  for  about  eighteen  months  was  employed  in 
the  machine  shops  of  that  city;  but,  being  of  an  enter- 
prising disposition,  he  soon  established  the  shops 
mentioned  in  the  first  part  of  our  sketch,  and  has  since 
conducted  them  with  great  success. 

By  his  enterprise,  industry,  honesty,  and  ability, 
Mr.  Morgan  has  won  not  only  the  patronage  of  the 
community,  but  also  its  respect.  He  is  a  consistent 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  is  also  con- 
nected with  the  Santa  Clara  Lodge,  No.  238,  L  O.  O.  F. 

In  1874  he  married  Miss  Margaret  Center,  daugh- 
ter of  George  Center,  of  Santa  Clara  County.  Three 
daughters  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morgan: 
Lizzie  C,  aged  (in  1888)  twelve  years;  Lillie,  aged 
nine  years;  and  Maggie,  aged  three  years. 


PZRA  F.  BEACH  dates  his  birth  in  Erie  County, 
New  York,  P"ebruary  2,  1844.  He  is  the  son  of 
^  Harry  and  Hannah  Beach,  both  of  whom  were 
natives  of  Erie  County.  The  homestead  in 
which  the  subject  of  our  sketch  was  born  was  estab- 
lished by  his  grandfather,  and  there  also  was  born 
Harry  Beach,  the  father  of  our  subject,  and  there  he 
still  lives,  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine  years.  The 
mother,  Mrs.  Hannah  Beach,  died  in  1872. 

Ezra  F.  Beach  was  reared  to  the  life  of  a  farmer, 
and  that  work  has  filled  the  greater  part  of  his  years. 
At  the  age  of  twenty  years  the  desire  to  see  more  of 
the  world  led  him  to  leave  the  home  of  his  father  and 
grandfather  to  seek  the  far-off  Western  State  of  Cali- 
fornia. The  four  years  succeeding  his  arrival  in  this 
State,  in  1864,  were  spent  in  the  mines  at  Dutch  Flat, 
Placer  County.  Upon  leaving  the  mines  he  came  to 
this  part  of  the  State,  and  ever  since  has  been  a  resi- 
dent either  of  Santa  Clara  or  San  Benito  County, 
with  the  exception  of  two  years  spent  in  Santa  Cruz 
County.  His  home  has  been  a  part  of  the  time  at 
Gilroy,  and  a  part  at  San  Felipe,  but  wherever  he  has 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


565 


ither 


in  agr 


iltur 


hor- 


lived  he  has  been  engaj 
ticulture. 

On  the  seventeenth  of  August,  1873,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Ida  Nason,  who  is  a  native 
Californian,  dating  her  birth  in  San  Francisco,  Feb- 
ruary 6,  1856.  Her  parents,  Edmund  and  Marietta 
Nason,  were  born  in  the  State  of  New  Hampshire, 
but  reared  in  Massachusetts.  They  came  to  CaHfor- 
nia,  settHng  in  San  Francisco,  in  1854,  and  now  (in 
.1888)  are  residents  of  San  FeUpe,  San  Benito  County. 

The  pleasant  cottage  home  and  fine  orchard  of  ten 
acres,  owned  and  occupied  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beach, 
are  located  on  the  Stevens  Creek  road,  five  miles  west 
of  San  Jose.  ■  The  purchase  was  consummated  May 
3,  1884.  All  the  improvements,  and  all  the  building 
up  of  the  place,  have  been  the  labor  of  their  hands. 
The  orchard  comprises  prunes,  apricots,  and  peaches, 
one-half  of  the  land  being  devoted  to  the  first-named 
fruit,  and  the  other  half  to  the  two  last-named  fruits, 
in  equal  proportions.  J.  W.  Beach,  a  brother  of  our 
subject,  owns  a  promising  young  orchard  of  ten  acres 
adjoining  this  property. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beach  are  the  parents  of  two  bright 
boys:  Elmer  E.,  born  September  20,  1875,  and  Her- 
bert S.,  born  March  25,  1878.  Mr.  Beach  is  a  man  of 
public  spirit  and  enterprise,  and  is  naturally  greatly 
interested  in  all  matters  of  that  character.  Politically 
he  is  in  full  sympathy  with  the  Republican  party, 
while  socially  he  is  affiliated  with  the  Santa  Clara 
Lodge,  No.  52,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  with  Mount  Hamilton 
Lodge,  A.  O.  U.  W.,  of  San  Jose. 


fHRISTIAN  BOLLINGER  was  born  in  1817, 
in  Bollinger  County,  Missouri.  At  that  early 
Q)Y  date  it  was  a  wild  and  unsettled  country,  and  his 
pioneer  parents  not  possessing  an  abundance 
of  this  world's  goods,  his  youth  and  early  manhood 
were  spent  in  hard  and  unceasing  labor  at  farming  and 
kindred  pursuits,  which  left  his  opportunities  for  se- 
curing an  education  even  more  limited  than  was  ne- 
cessitated by  the  primitive  condition  of  the  country. 
But  his  inborn  good  sense,  coupled  with  untiring  en- 
ergy, has  enabled  him  to  overcome  many  of  these  dis- 
advantages, and  to  successfully  compete  with  the 
more  favored  but  less  ambitious  portion  of  humanity, 
in  the  race  for  wealth  and  position. 

At  the  early  age  of   nineteen   years,   Mr.  Bollinger 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Sallie  Farmer,  the 


daughter  of  Reuben  Farmer,  of  Bollinger  County, 
and  together  they  traveled  life's  road  for  more  than 
forty-four  years,  the  wife's  death  occurring  in  1880. 
To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bollinger  were  born  nine  children,  of 
whom  five  are  now  living:  David,  George,  Mary, 
Catharine,  and  Emma.  All  are  married  and  living 
either  in  Santa  Clara  or  San  Mateo  County.  For  his 
second  wife,  Mr.  Bollinger  married  Mrs.  Vinnie  Wein- 
berg, of  Contra  Costa  County. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  is  justly  entitled  to  the 
distinction  of  being  one  of  the  pioneers  of  California, 
he  having  emigrated  to  this  State  early  in  1852.  He 
first  lived  in  Napa  County,  for  about  a  year,  and  then 
came  to  Santa  Clara  County.  Here  he  spent  another 
year,  and  again  removed,  this  time  to  San  Mateo 
County,  where  he  became  possessed  of  large  and 
valuable  tracts  of  land  in  the  foot-hills  of  the  Coast 
Range.  In  1883  the  Spring  Valley  Water  Company, 
of  San  Francisco,  having  need  of  Mr.  Bollinger's 
land  in  extending  their  water  system,  made  him  ad- 
vantageous offers,  which  he  accepted.  Having  thus 
disposed  of  all  his  real-estate  interests  in  San  Mateo 
County,  he  returned  to  Santa  Clara  County,  and  es- 
tablished his  residence  on  a  184-acre  tract  of  fine  farm- 
ing land  on  Saratoga  Avenue,  a  little  southwest  of 
Santa  Clara.  This  property  he  sold  in  1887,  realizing 
a  fine  return  upon  his  investment.  He  then  removed 
to  Santa  Clara,  where  he  has  since  made  his  home. 

Mr.  Bollinger  owns  some  fine  orchard  property  on 
Saratoga  Avenue,  within  the  limits  of  Santa  Clara, 
and  there  he  intends  to  build  a  home,  in  which  to 
spend  his  remaining  years,  where,  surrounded  by  all 
needed  comforts,  he  may  enjoy  the  rest  which  his 
long,  energetic,  and  industrious  life  justly  entitles  him 
to  receive. 


IpRANKLIN  P.  CANRIGHT  resides  a  little 
G^-  west  of  the  Los  Gatos  road,  in  the  Hamilton 
^  District.  He  is  the  owner  of  a  fine  ranch  of 
thirty-one  acres,  which  he  bought  in  June,  1881,  it  be- 
ing at  that  time  part  of  a  grain  farm.  He  established 
his  residence  on  the  property  in  October  of  the 
same  year,  erecting  his  buildings  after  taking  posses- 
sion. During  the  first  year  he  planted  nine  acres, 
principally  in  prunes.  His  orchard  now  contains 
eleven  and  one-half  acres,  and  the  remainder  of  his 
farm  is  devoted  to  the  raising  of  hay.  In  1887  he 
sold   $300    worth    of  prunes,  a    good  showing  for  a 


566 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


young  orchard,  for  that  year,  which  was  not  consid- 
ered a  t^ood  one  for  pruncfs. 

Mr.  Canright  is  a  native  of  Ulster  County,  New 
York,  where  he  was  born  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  Jan- 
uary, 1829.  His  father,  Solomon  Canright,  was  a  na- 
tive of  New  York,  and  his  mother,  Pamelia  (Pecor) 
Canright,  of  Vermont.  His  father  died  in  Brookfield, 
Waukesha  County,  Wisconsin,  and  his  mother  now 
lives,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eight-three  years,  in  the 
city  of  Waukesha,  Wisconsin.  Within  a  few  years 
after  the  California  gold  fever  broke  out,  Mr.  Can- 
right  followed  the  multitude  who  had  made  the  long 
journey  in  search  of  gold.  Leaving  New  York  city, 
he  traveled  by  way  of  the  Isthmus,  and  landed  at 
San  Francisco,  on  the  fifth  of  February,  1854,  having 
been  two  months  on  the  way.  He  first  made  Prairie 
City,  Sacramento  County,  his  home,  being  engaged 
in  placer  mining  there.  Thence  he  removed  to 
Downieville,  Sierra  County,  where  he  worked  at  min- 
ing for  thirteen  years  with  varied  .success.  In  1867 
Mr.  Canright  quit  the  mines,  and  engaged  in  general 
farming  in  Solano  County,  where  he  remained  until 
he  removed  to  his  present  home,  in  1 881.  On  the 
fifth  of  October,  1862,  he  married  Miss  Mary  E. 
Hatch,  a  native  of  Columbia  County,  New  York. 
They  have  three  children,  namely:  Eva  Pamelia, 
William  Edward,  and  John  Franklin. 

In  politics  Mr.  Canright  is  identified  with  the 
Republican  party.  As  a  horticulturist  his  success  is 
assured,  while  he  has  won  the  esteem  and  respect  of 
the  members  of  the  community  in  which  he  lives,  by 
the  strict  honesty  of  all  business  transactions,  as  well 
as  by  the  great  kindness  of  heart  and  genial  nature. 


POSEPH  D.  CANNEY,  a  resident  of  the  Willow 
District,  owns  a  fine  fruit  orchard  of  six  acres, 
^  located  on  Pine  Avenue,  between  Washington 
and  Lupton  Avenues.  The  improvement  of  this 
piece  of  property,  which  was  formerly  a  barley  field, 
he  commenced  in  1876.  The  orchard  furnishes 
prunes,  cherries,  and  pears.  The  building  improve- 
ments are  all  Mr.  Canney's  work. 

Mr.  Canney  was  born  in  New  Durham,  Stafford 
County,  New  Hampshire,  June  3,  1838.  He  is  the 
son  of  James  and  Jane  M.  (Fox)  Canney,  both  of 
whom  were  born  and  reared  in  New  Hampshire.  In 
1855  the  family  removed  to  Minneapolis,  Minnesota, 
which  was  then  but  a  village.  In  that  place,  on  the 
nineteenth  of  September,  1864,   Mr.  Joseph  D.  Can- 


ning wedded  Miss  Phoebe  M.  Gilmore.  They  have 
two  children,  Ida  L.  and  Fred  G.  At  the  present 
time  (1888),  the  former  is  in  her  twenty-second  year, 
and  the  latter,  attending  the  University,  is  in  his 
twentieth  year. 

Mr.  Canney's  parents  removed  from  Minneapolis 
to  Santa  Clara  County,  in  1869,  and  now  live  at  the 
Willows,  owning  and  occupying  a  piece  of  property 
on  Minnesota  Avenue.  The  father  and  son,  under 
the  firm  name  of  J.  Canney  &  Co.,  are  engaged,  dur- 
ing the  season  of  such  work,  in  fruit-drying.  Mr. 
Canney's  parents  are  members  of  the  Society  of 
Friends.  Mr.  Canney's  sister,  Elvira  J.,  the  wife  of 
W.  E.  Ward,  makes  her  home  with  her  husband  at 
the  residence   of  her  parents,  on   Minnesota  Avenue. 

Mr.  Canney  and  his  family  are  members  of  the 
Methodist  Church.  Politically  Mr.  Canney  is  a  Re- 
publican, with  strong  Prohibitionist  tendencies.  He 
has  been  a  resident  of  Santa  Clara  County  for  eight- 
een years,  and  during  this  time  has  won  the  respect 
of  the  community,  for  his  integrity,  and  for  all  those 
qualities  which  he  inherited  from  the  old  New  England 
family  from  which  he  has  descended.  His  influence, 
which  is  for  the  right,  is  exercised  in  the  efforts  which 
he  puts  forth  for  the  good  of  the  community  in  which 


^^& 


.^IpELVIN  L.  GRUWELL,  residing  on  Saratoga 
GT^^  Avenue,  three  miles  from  Santa  Clara,  in  the 
^^  Moreland  District,  has  been  identified  with 
'  Santa  Clara  County  since  1853.  He  was  born 
in  Marion  County,  Indiana,  in  1826,  and  is  the  son  of 
John  and  Ruth  Gruwell.  When  a  babe,  his  parents 
removed  with  their  family  to  Quincy,  Illinois,  and 
thence,  in  1837,  to  Farmington,  Van  Buren  County, 
Iowa.  There  the  home  was  established  and  retained 
for  several  years. 

Melvin  L.  was  the  youngest  of  a  family  of  nine 
children,  five  boys  and  four  girls.  Of  this  large  family, 
three  sons  and  two  daughters  are  now  living.  Jacob, 
who  is  a  minister  in  the  Southern  Methodist  Church, 
lives  at  East  San  Jose;  Laban  H.  is  a  resident  of 
Contra  Costa  County;  Mrs.  Melinda  Williams,  a 
widow,  lives  in  Los  Angeles;  Mrs.  Avis  Garrigus 
makes  her  home  in  Santa  Clara;  and  the  fifth  is  the 
subject  of  our  sketch.  The  deceased  are:  Asa,  who 
died  in  Meridian  District,  in  this  county;  Robert,  who 
died  in  the  Hamilton  District;  Mrs.  Lydia  Harding, 
who    died  in   Alameda   County;    and    Mrs.    Jemima 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


567 


Houghton,  who  died  in  San  Jose.  In  1849  the  eldest 
brothers,  Asa,  Robert,  and  Jacob,  came  with  their 
famiUea  overland  to  this  State,  and  all  spent  the  first 
winter  in  Los  Angeles.  Asa  settled  in  Stanislaus 
County,  leaving  it  to  come  to  this  county  in  1861. 
Robert  went  to  the  mines  at  Rough  and  Ready,  and, 
after  remaining  there  less  than  two  years,  became  a 
pioneer  of  Santa  Clara  Valley.  Jacob  first  made 
Stockton  his  home,  but  settled  in  this  county  in  185 1. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Garrigus  came  by  way  of  the  Isthmus 
in  1851. 

Melvin  L.,  whose  name  heads  this  sketch,  with  his 
brother,  Laban  H.,  and  their  father  (his  mother  died 
in  Iowa  in  1847),  in  1852  followed  the  older  brothers, 
coming  to  the  State  overland.  He  was  also  accom- 
panied by  his  sister,  Melinda  and  Lydia,  with  their 
husbands.  The  last  one  of  the  family  to  settle  in  the 
Golden  State  was  Mrs.  Houghton,  who,  with  her  hus- 
band and  children,  came  overland  in  1859.  The  year 
following  his  arrival,  Melvin  L.  Gruwell  spent  in  the 
mines  at  Sonora,  and  in  1853  he  came  to  this  county 
and  took  possession  of  his  present  home.  Soon  after 
his  father  died,  November  25,  1853,  at  the  ripe  age  of 
eighty-one  years.  Mr.  Gruwell  has  now  lived  in  the 
Moreland  District  thirty-five  years,  and  owns  112 
acres.  His  original  purchase  contained  178  acres,  of 
which  he  sold  a  portion  in  1887.  The  difficulties 
of  obtaining  a  title  were  great.  His  first  purchase 
was  of  a  squatter  right,  but  he  was  afterward  obliged 
to  buy  out  several  claimants,  who  claimed  the  land 
under  other  grants.  The  ranch  was  formerly  devoted 
entirely  to  general  farming,  but  now  about  thirty 
acres  are  in  orchard  and  vineyard. 

On  the  twenty-ninth  of  March,  1855,  Mr.  Gruwell 
wedded  Miss  Sarah  Jane  Wear,  who  was  born  in 
Jackson  County,  Missouri.  With  her  parents,  William 
W.  and  Thurza  Wear,  she  crossed  the  plains  and 
mountains  to  this  Slate  in  1852,  settling  near  Mount- 
ain View,  of  this  county.  Here  both  of  her  parents 
died,  the  mother  about  1869  and  the  father  in  Sep- 
tember, 1885.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gruwell  have  ten  chil- 
dren: Ruth  E.,  the  wife  of  Eben  Vandine,  of  this 
county;  Martha  Ann  and  Lydia  J.,  at  home;  William 
W.,  of  Lake  County,  this  State;  Arthur  J.,  of  San 
Jose;  Charles  Lee,  Thurza  W.,  Lawrence  C,  Kate, 
and  Lulu,  all  at  their  parents'  home. 

In  politics  Mr.  Gruwell  is  affiliated  with  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  He  is  a  member  of  the  ancient  and 
honorable  order  of  Masons.  A  long  and  useful  career 
in  Santa  Clara  County  has  won  for  Mr.  Gruwell  the 
well-deserved   respect  of  his   fellow-citizens,  as  good 


management    and    industry   have   won  prosperity  in 
business. 


^ORACE  B.  HALL,  of  Hamilton  District,  is  the 
(^'3'  owner  of  a  very  fine  vineyard  of  fifteen  acres, 
iS)  locatetl  on  the  San  Jose  and  Los  Gatos  road, 
near  the  railway  crossing.  He  also  has  five  acres 
in  trees,  principally  prunes.  Mr.  Hail  bought  this 
twenty  acres  of  choice  land  in  1880,  when  it  was  a 
part  of  a  grain-field.  He  commenced  at  once  the 
work  of  fitting  his  land  for  a  vineyard,  and  in  1881  set 
the  larger  part  of  five  acres  with  the  Zinfandel  grape. 
In  1883  he  planted  another  five  acres,  one-half  with  Zin- 
fandel and  one-half  with  Charbano  grapes.  Two  years 
later  he  set  the  remaining  five  acres  with  Zinfandel, 
Charbano,  and  Cabinet  Frank  grapes.  All  these  va- 
rieties are  good  yielders,  as  the  following  estimate 
will  show:  In  1886  the  vineyard  produced  120  tons  of 
grapes,  which  Mr.  Hall  had  made  into  wine,  on 
shares,  andfrom  which  he  realized  a  net  profit  of 
$1,100.  Owing  to  an  unusual  frost,  the  crop  of  1887 
was  somewhat  lighter  than  that  of  the  preceding  year, 
but  nearly  $1,100  was  received,  the  fruit  being  sold 
on  the  ground. 

Mr.  Hall  was  born  in  Lincoln  County,  Maine,  May 
24,  1838.  He  is  the  son  of  Eben  Hall,  who  was  born 
in  the  same  town  (Jefferson).  Eben  Hall,  Sr.,  the 
grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  served  in 
the  War  of  1812.  The  family  trace  their  descent 
through  several  generations  of  American  ancestry. 
Horace  B.  Hail  was  reared  to  a  farm  life,  but  in  1861 
left  his  native  home  to  come  to  the  Pacific  Coast. 
He  reached  San  Francisco  on  the  fourth  of  August 
of  that  year,  and  at  once  entered  the  employ  of 
Emanuel  Brothers,  furniture  manufacturers.  He  re- 
mained with  this  firm  eighteen  years,  and  that  he 
was  most  faithful  in  the  discharge  of  all  duties  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  after  the  second  year  he  was 
placed  in  charge  of  the  manufacturing  establishment 
as  foreman,  a  position  which  he  held  until  he  left  the 
business. 

He  married,  in  San  Francisco,  in  August,  1870, 
Miss  Jennie  Miner,  who  was  born  of  Scotch  ancestry, 
in  Nova  Scotia.  Her  failing  health  was  the  cause  of 
Mr.  Hall's  removal  to  Santa  Clara  County,  which  was 
accomplished,  as  before  stated,  in  i88o.  This  removal 
did  not  have  the  desired  effect,  for  Mrs.  Hall  passed 
from  this  life  July  16,  1883,  dying  of  consumption,  at 
the  age  of  thirty-tiiree  years.     She  was  a  consistent 


568 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD." 


member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  died  in  the 
strong  faith  of  the  true  Christian.  She  was  the 
mother  of  five  children,  of  whom  but  two  sons  are 
now  Hving.  Roy,  born  in  1871,  is  now  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, learning  the  machinist's  trade.  Norman,  born 
in  1872,  graduated  at  fourteen  years  of  age  at  the 
Hamilton  School,  at  San  Jose. 

Mr.  Hall  is  identified  with  the  Republican  party. 
He  is  an  active  member  of  various  orders,  belonging 
to  Abou  Ben  Adhem  Lodge,  No.  112,  I.  O.  O.  R,  of 
San  Francisco,  and  of  Unity  Encampment,  No.  26. 
He  passed  the  chairs  in  the  subordinate  lodge,  and  in 
the  encampment,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  the  State.  He  is  also  connected  with  Val- 
ley Lodge,  A.  O.  U.  W.,  of  San  Francisco. 

I^RANK  HAMILTON,  one  of  the  pioneer  men 
G^  of  Almaden  Township,  is  the  proprietor  of  Val- 
ley View  Farm,  at  the  head  of  Union  Avenue, 
in  the  Union  District.  He  dates  his  birth  in  Summit 
County,  Ohio,  four  miles  from  Akron,  September  20, 
1836.  He  is  the  son  of  James  and  Susannah  (Snyder) 
Hamilton.  The  family  removed  from  Ohio  to  Mich- 
igan in  1844,  making  the  township  of  Florence,  in  St. 
Joseph  County,  their  permanent  home.  The  father 
died  in  the  March  following  their  settlement  there, 
but  the  mother  reached  the  ripe  old  age  of  eighty- 
four  years,  dying  in  1878,  in  the  place  which  had  been 
her  home  for  so  many  years.  There,  two  unmarried 
sons  and  one  daughter  now  live.  Eleven  children 
were  reared  to  manhood  and  womanhood  in  that 
county.  Frank  Hamilton  left  the  old  home  with  its 
large  circle  of  family  friends,  when  eighteen  years  of 
age,  to  come  to  far-off  California.  Leaving  New 
York,  February  16,  1.854,  on  the  Atlantic  steamer, 
Georgf.  Lazv,  by  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  he  reached 
San  Francisco  April  22,  traversing  the  Pacific  waters 
on  the  steamer  John  L.  Stevens.  He  engaged  in 
placer  mining  in  Nevada  County  until  June,  and  in 
July  visited  Santa  Clara  County.  Later  in  the  year 
he  again  worked  at  mining  at  New  Orleans  Flat,  re- 
maining there  for  fourteen  months,  when  he  returned 
to  Santa  Clara  Valley,  and,  investing  in  real  estate, 
has  since  made  it  his  home.  His  first  purchase  con- 
sisted of  160  acres,  which  adjoined  his  present  prop- 
erty. Selling  that  tract,  he  bought  320  acres,  of 
which  he  has  retained  200  acres,  and  now  occupies. 
At  one  time  he  owned  what  is  now  part  of  the  Lone  | 


Hill  Vineyard.  During  1864  and  1865  Mr.  Hamil- 
ton was  engaged  in  freighting,  being  the  proprietor 
of  a  line  between  Sacramento,  Virginia  City,  and 
Reese  River.  Often  horses  were  attached  to  one 
wagon,  which  at  times  would  contain  a  load  of  25,- 
000  pounds.  Mr.  Hamilton  owned  the  finest  team 
that  was  ever  driven  from  Santa  Clara  County.  He 
has  been  largely  interested  in  wheat-raising,  having 
as  a  renter  worked  many  of  the  large  grain  ranches 
of  the  valley.  He  states  that  he  has  disbursed  for 
hired  labor  alone,  in  the  production  of  grain,  over 
$75,000.  The  large  ranch  which  he  now  owns  is  de- 
voted to  general  farming,  there  being  this  year  TiSSS) 
500  acres  in  grain.  In  1870  Mr.  Hamilton  had  the 
misfortune  to  lose  his  fine  residence  by  fire,  and  as  it 
was  entirely  without  insurance  the  loss  was  a  severe 
one,  but  with  characteristic  energy  he  at  once  had  a 
house  erected  20x30  feet,  of  which  he  took  possession 
just  eleven  days  after  the  fire! 

In  1875  the  subject  of  our  sketch,  for  the  first  time 
in  twenty-one  years,  visited  his  mother  and  her  family 
in  Michigan.  On  his  return  he  brought  back  with 
him  a  car  load  of  peppermint  roots,  which  he  planted 
in  thirty-five  acres  about  eight  miles  north  of  San 
Jose.  A  rise  in  the  Coyote  River  nearly  swept  the 
entire  field  into  the  bay;  still  enough  was  left  from 
which  to  manufacture  250  pounds  of  peppermint  oil, 
which  was  sold  at  $3.00  per  pound.  He  is  supposed 
to  be  the  only  man  in  the  State  who  has  ever  grown 
the  plant  or  manufactured  the  oil. 

He  married,  in  1861,  Miss  Alice  Travis,  a  native  of 
New  York.  Five  children  were  born  to  them,  of 
whom  four  are  living,  one  son,  Frank,  having  died  in 
infancy.  William  was  born  June  26,  1862;  Walter, 
August  26,  1864;  Sadie,  1867;  and  Stella,  April  22, 
1880.  The  children  are,  as  yet,  members  of  their 
father's  household.  Mr.  Hamilton  is  a  member  of 
Mt.  Hamilton  Lodge,  San  Jose,  A.  O.  U.  W.  Polit- 
ically, he  is  identified  with  the  Republican  party. 


||HADDEUS  W.  HOBSON,  senior  partner  of  the 
{^■3  clothing  firm  of  T.  W.  Hobson  &  Co.,  is  among 
Q)  =  the  eldest  of  California's  native  sons,  having  been 
born  in  San  Jose  in  1850.  His  father,  George 
Hobson,  is  one  of  the  very  few  men  now  living  who 
came  to  the  State  forty-one  years  ago,  when,  as  he 
says,  there  was  not  a  farm  fenced  in  the  Santa  Clara 
Valley,  and  when  the  farming,  such  as  it  was,  was 
nearly   all  performed  by    Digger    Indians,  who    were 


'^^/^<t^^/^0^' 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


controlled  and  driven  like  slaves  by  the  Spanish  ranch- 
owners.  When  Mr.  Hobson  came  to  San  Jose,  in 
1847,  it  was  but  a  miserable  village,  mainly  occupied 
by  Spaniards  and  Mexicans,  whose  best  residences 
were  adobe  huts.  After  getting  his  farming  interests 
started,  two  years  later,  he  was  the  first  man  to  sup- 
ply the  inhabitants  of  the  town  with  milk,  and  drove 
the  first  milk  wagon  ever  seen  on  its  streets.  George 
Hobson  and  his  wife,  formerly  Miss  Sarah  Speinhour, 
were  both  born  in  North  Carolina,  he  in  February, 
1823,  and  she  May  18,  1828.  They  both  went  to 
Missouri  some  years  before  their  marriage,  which  took 
place  January  10,  1847,  and  the  following  spring  they 
started  overland  for  California  by  the  way  of  Fort 
Laramie  and  Fort  Hall,  with  about  sixty  wagons  in 
their  emigrant  train.  They  arrived  at  Johnson's  ranch, 
near  where  the  city  of  Sacramento  now  is,  in  October. 
Mr.  Hobson  and  his  young  wife  came  to  San  Jose, 
but  stopped  only  a  short  time,  then  went  to  Monterey 
— then  the  capital — and  settled  there  until  January, 
1849,  when  they  returned  to  San  Jose,  which  has  been 
their  home  ever  since.  The  first  two  years  of  his  resi- 
dence in  California  Mr.  Hobson  spent  in  the  mines, 
and  was  quite  successful.  He  and  his  companions 
washed  out  from  one  pocket  $1,000  each  in  three  days, 
and  from  a  single  pan  of  dust  one  of  his  companions 
washed  out  $886.  Since  1850  until  his  retirement 
from  active  business,  in  1883,  Mr.  Hobson  was  engaged 
chiefly  in  farming  and  stock-raising.  The  family 
have  occupied  their  present  home,  on  the  street  called 
by  his  name,  since  1861.  Two  sons  and  four  daugh- 
ters comprise  the  family  of  children.  The  two  sons, 
T.  W.  and  William  B.,  compose  the  clothing  firm  of 
T.  W.  Hobson  &  Co.  This  large  and  prosperous 
business  was  established  in  San  Jose,  in  1875,  by  the 
firm  of  Obanion  &  Kent,  and  conducted  by  them  until 
1879,  when  T.  W.  Hobson  purchased  a  third  interest, 
the  firm  name  being  Obanion,  Kent  &  Co.  until  1882. 
Then  Mr.  Hobson,  his  father,  and  brother  William  B., 
bought  the  other  partner's  interest,  and  the  firm  took 
the  present  name,  T.  W.  and  William  B.  Hobson  hav- 
ing entire  control  of  the  business.  The  store  has  an 
area  of  60x135  feet,  besides  a  work-room  34x40  feet; 
and  the  business  embraces  a  large  stock  of  ready- 
made  clothing,  gentleman's  furnishing  goods,  hats, 
trunks,  and  valises,  together  with  an  extensive  mer- 
chant tailoring  department,  with  a  large  line  of  choice 
piece  goods,  imported  and  domestic.  Each  depart- 
ment has  a  foreman  expert  at  its  head.  Goods  are 
chiefly  bought  direct  from  the  manufacturers,  and  in 
large  quantities.  The  establishment  employs,  during 
72 


the  busy  season,  ninety  skilled  salesmen  and  work- 
men. The  sales  for  1887  aggregated  $152,000,  and 
are  running  considerably  heavier  for  1888.  T.  W. 
Hobson  is  one  of  the  charter  members  of  the  Native 
Sons  of  thi.'  Golden  West,  Lodge  No.  22,  organized  in 
1884,  and  composed  of  sons  of  the  pioneers.  He  is 
also  a  member  of  the  L  O.  O.  F. 

William  B.  Hobson  was  born  in  San  Jose,  in  1S57, 
attended  school  at  the  San  Jose  Institute,  and  com- 
menced business  life  as  a  clerk  in  the  store  in  which 
he  is  a  partner.  In  January,  1886,  he  married  Miss 
M.  T.  Shaughnessy,  a  native  of  New  York. 


POHN  BALBACH,  one  of  the  oldest  living  and 
most  respected  citizens  of  Santa  Clara  County, 
T  was  born  in  Mergentheim,  Germany,  February 
13,  1820.  When  twenty-eight  years  of  age  he  came 
to  the  United  States,  arriving  in  New  York  in  May, 
1848.  Soon  afterward  he  went  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
and  three  months  later  to  Harrisburg,  Kentucky, 
where  he  obtained  employment  in  a  carriage  manu- 
factory. 

On  reading  General  J.  C.  Fremont's  flattering 
description  of  California,  and  of  the  great  demand 
for  blacksmiths  in  this  new  El  Dorado,  Mr.  Balbach 
determined  to  try  his  fortune  among  the  gold-seekers. 
On  March  28,  1849,  he,  in  company  with  nine  others, 
started  from  Harrisburg  for  California,  with  a  fine 
outfit  of  horse  teams  and  wagons.  When  the  party 
reached  a  point  a  hundred  miles  west  of  Fort  Smith, 
owing  to  the  inclement  weather,  the  deep  snow-drifts, 
and  the  lack  of  any  road  through  the  wilderness,  they 
f  und  it  impossible  to  proceed  farther  with  vehicles; 
so  the>-  exchanged  their  horses  and  wagons  for  pack- 
mules,  loaded  them  with  such  articles  as  they  most 
needed,  and  resumed  their  journey.  They  experienced 
some  difficulty  with  their  wild  mules.  The  one  car- 
rying all  their  sugar  stampeded  and  never  returned ; 
another,  when  hitched  to  a  tree,  broke  his  neck! 
Despite  these  mishaps  the  emigrants  reached  Santa 
Fe  in  safety.  Being  advised  to  take  the  middle  route, 
they  made  an  attempt  to  do  so,  but,  meeting  with 
insurmountable  obstacles,  were  obliged  to  retrace  their 
steps,  losing  two  weeks'  time  thereby.  They  then 
proceeded  by  the  Gila  River  and  Fort  Yuma  route. 
On  reaching  the  Colorado  River  they  found  it  very 
high,  and  had  considerable  trouble  to  get  their  mules 
to  cross.  The  travelers  numbered  thirty  people,  with 
sixty    mules.     They    hired    some    Indians    to    assist 


570 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


them.  Rude  rafts  were  constructed,  their  luggage 
placed  on  them,  and  the  mules  swam  by  the  sides. 
Most  of  the  mules  were  taken  across  before  night,  but 
the  majority  of  their  owners  had  not  crossed  over. 
Taking  advantage  of  this  fact,  the  Indians  stole  all  but 
four  of  their  mules  that  night !  In  crossing  the  swol- 
len river  the  raft  on  which  Mr.  Balbach  and  two  others 
were  being  ferried  over  came  to  pieces  and  they  were 
precipitated  into  the  raging  flood.  Each  clung  to  a 
piece  of  the  wreck,  and  his  two  comrades  easily 
reached  the  opposite  shore;  but  Mr.  Balbach,  just 
having  recovered  from  an  attack  of  fever,  was  too 
weak  to  stem  the  current,  and  succeeded  in  reaching 
the  shore  only  after  a  most  desperate  struggle  for  life, 
a  mile  below.  By  heroic  effort  he  reached  the  camp, 
but  was  so  exhausted  that  he  swooned,  and  lay  in  a 
state  of  syncope  for  many  hours.  Upon  recovering 
consciousness  he  learned  of  the  loss  of  their  mules. 
Despair  well-nigh  overcame  him  when  he  thought  of 
the  long,  perilous  journey  through  a  desert  country, 
and  scanty  rations  of  food  and  water.  To  make  this 
journey  on  foot  in  his  weak  condition  was  impossible; 
he  gave  the  owner  of  one  of  the  remaining  mules  his 
gold  watch  and  chain  and  such  other  valuables  as  he 
possessed  for  the  privilege  of  riding  a  part  of  the 
time. 

After  great  hardship  and  suffering  the  subject  of 
our  memoir  reached  Rowland's  Ranch,  near  Los  An- 
geles, on  August  lO,  1849.  Here  he  remained  several 
months  to  recuperate  and  earn  something  with  which 
to  continue  his  journey  to  the  mines.  At  the  end  0 
this  time  the  proprietor  of  the  ranch  fitted  Mr.  Bal- 
bach out  with  horse,  saddle,  and  bridle,  and  he  started, 
in  company  with  two  other  men,  for  the  mines  up 
north.  Arriving  at  San  Jose  one  December  evening, 
he  got  permission  to  stop  overnight  with  a  Spaniard 
occupying  an  adobe  hut,  and  picketed  his  horse  on  a 
vacant  lot.  In  the  morning  horse,  saddle,  and  bridle 
had  been  stolen;  and,  having  neither  means  of  con- 
veyance nor  money,  Mr.  Balbach  was  compelled  to 
abandon  the  trip  and  seek  employment,  which  he  soon 
found,  and  he  never  resumed  his  journey  to  the  mines. 
After  working  a  short  time  he  established  himself 
in  business,  carrying  on  general  blacksmithing  at  first, 
but  gradually  changing  to  the  manufacture  of  wagons, 
buggies,  and  carriages.  In  the  spring  of  1852  Mr. 
Balbach  manufactured  the  first  plow  made  on  the  Pa- 
cific Coast,  having  neither  pattern  nor  guide.  The 
following  year  he  built  fifty  plows.  His  carriage  bus- 
iness steadily  increased,  and  has  yielded  him  a  com- 
petence.     The    factory,    situated    on    the    corner    of 


Second  and  Fountain  Streets,  is  now  chiefly  managed 
by  three  of  his  sons,  who  are  skilled  mechanics  in  the 
several  departments  of  the  business. 

Mr.  Balbach  married  Wenna  Benner,  a  native  of 
Germany,  on  November  15,  1854.  They  have  six 
sons  and  three  daughters  living;   one  son  is  deceased. 

Mr.  Balbach  has  served  two  years  as  a  member  of 
the  City  Council  of  San  Jose,  and  five  years  as  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  School  Trustees. 


—#« 


^-<-<- 


MMoBERT  McCUBBIN.  Among  the  owners  of 
<5^  large  grain-farms  we  note  the  subject  of  this 
"^Hl  sketch,  whose  fine  farm,  of  290  acres,  on  the 
Alviso  and  Mountain  View  road,  is  about  two 
miles  southwest  of  Alviso,  six  and  one-half  miles  north- 
west of  Santa  Clara,  and  five  miles  east  of  Mountain 
View.  This  extensive  ranch,  with  the  exception  of  a 
small  orchard,  is  devoted  to  the  growing  of  hay  and 
grain,  and  the  raising  of  stock,  the  latter  including 
some  fine  horses  of  the  Norman  and  Clydesdale  breeds. 
Four  artesian  wells  furnish  all  the  water  needed  for 
stock  and  other  purposes. 

Mr.  McCubbin  was  born  in  Wigtonshire,  Scotland, 
in  1832.  His  parents  were  Robert  and  Martha  (Pet- 
tigrew)  McCubbin,  both  natives  and  residents  of  Scot- 
land. During  his  youth,  which  was  spent  upon  a 
farm,  he  received  such  education  as  was  afforded  by 
the  common  schools.  When  but  seventeen  years  of 
age  he  left  his  native  country  to  seek  his  fortune  in 
the  United  States.  Upon  landing  at  Boston,  Massa- 
chusetts, he  went  to  the  country  to  seek  work  on  a 
farm.  This  he  obtained  a  short  distance  from  the 
city.  He  afterward  went  to  Caledonia  County,  Ver- 
mont, and  there  remained  until  the  following  year, 
when  he  went  as  far  west  as  Galena,  Illinois.  There 
two  or  three  years  were  spent  in  teaming. 

He  resolved  to  visit  California,  and  chose  the  Nic- 
aragua route.  He  arrived  in  San  Francisco  in  the 
autumn  of  1853,  and  soon  went  to  Santa  Cruz  County, 
where  a  year  was  spent  in  various  pursuits.  In  1854 
he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  and  here  engaged  in 
well-boring  with  John  Dunbar,  they  being  among  the 
first  to  engage  in  that  enterprise.  In  the  year  follow- 
ing his  coming  to  this  county  he  rented  land  near 
Santa  Clara,  and  cultivated  it  for  four  years,  then 
changing  his  business  for  that  of  the  sheep-raiser  and 
wool-grower.  This  work  occupied  his  attention  for 
about  two  year.s.  In  1861,  in  partnership  with  John 
Snyder,  he  purchased   1,200  acres  of  land  three  miles 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


571 


southwest  of  Mountain  View.  This  immense  tract 
was  successfully  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  wheat 
until  1870,  in  which  year  he  removed  to  his  present 
location,  he  having  purchased  the  land  from  John  An- 
derson in  1868. 

In  1864  Mr.  McCubbin  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Elizabeth  Bubb,  the  daughter  of  William  and 
Mary  Ann  (Gibson)  Bubb,  of  Mountain  View.  Seven 
children  have  blessed  this  union,  viz.:  William,  who 
resides  at  Honolulu,  Sandwich  Islands;  George,  who 
makes  his  home  in  Tulare  County;  Alexander,  Mattie, 
Robert,  John,  and  Mary,  who  are  members  of  their 
father's  household. 

Mr.  McCubbin  is  an  intelligent,  progressive,  and 
public-spirited  man,  whose  industry  and  sound  busi- 
ness qualities  have  insured  him  success  in  his  calling. 
Politically  he  is  a  Republican,  but  is  conservative  and 
liberal  in  his  views.  He  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F., 
being  associated  with  Santa  Clara  Lodge,  No.  238. 


IpWIGHT  DURKEE,  Jr.,  resides  on  the  Sara- 
s' toga  and  Mountain  View  road,  in  the  Collins 
/f-.^  School  District,  about  five  miles  west  of  Santa 
Clara,  and  the  same  distance  southeast  of  Mountain 
View.  Here  he  owns  thirty  acres  of  highly  culti- 
vated fruit  land,  which  is  destined,  under  Mr.  Durkee's 
care,  to  become  very  productive.  Twenty  acres  are 
devoted  to  an  orchard,  which  furnishes  peaches,  apri- 
cots, and  prunes.  Ten  acres  are  planted  with  vines, 
which  yield  fine  table  grapes  of  the  Muscat  variety. 
Mr.  Durkee  has  found  the  grapes  very  remunerative. 
The  majority  of  the  fruit-trees  are  yet  young,  but  as 
showing  the  productiveness  of  the  soil  under  such 
intelligent  care  as  is  given  in  this  case  it  is  worthy  of 
note  that  five-year-old  peach-trees  of  the  Salway 
variety  in  1887  yielded  150  pounds  of  fruit  to  the 
tree.  The  fruit  readily  brought  three  cents  per  pound, 
thus  realizing  $7.50  per  tree.  Mr.  Durkee  has  a 
pleasant,  comfortable  cottage  home,  with  good  and 
substantial  out-buildings  upon  his  property. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  St.  Louis, 
Missouri,  in  1858,  and  is  the  son  of  Dwight  and  Sarah 
(Davis)  Durkee.  His  father  is  a  resident  of  St.  Louis, 
while  his  mother  was  born  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  Mr. 
Durkee's  boyhood  and  youth  were  spent  in  school. 
Still,  at  an  early  age,  he  entered  mercantile  pursuits, 
and  in  1878  left  his  home  for  Colorado,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  the  hardware  business.  There  he  remained 
until  1882,  when  failing  health  compelled  him  to  seek 


its  restoration  in  a  more  genial  climate.  With  this 
purpose  in  view  he  left  his  business  and  came  to  Cali- 
fornia. He  easily  discovered  the  charms  of  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  and  fertile  sections  of  the  State, 
and  decided  upon  Santa  Clara  Valley  as  his  home. 
He  purchased  the  property  heretofore  described,  and 
soon  commenced  its  cultivation  and  improvement. 
In  his  work  he  has  been  eminently  successful.  He  is 
a  man  possessed  not  only  of  the  intelligence  neces- 
sary for  success  in  any  undertaking,  but  also  of  the 
patience  which  is  indispensable  to  the  proper  atten- 
tion to  the  details  of  horticulture.  As  a  result  of 
these  conditions, his  orchard  and  vineyard  give  promise 
of  being  among  the  finest  in  the  section. 

His  pleasant  home  and  his  labors  are  shared  b)-  his 
wife,  formerly  Miss  Sarah  Martin,  with  whom  he  was 
united  in  marriage  in  18S7.  Mrs.  Durkee  is  the 
daughter  of  James  Martin,  of  San  Jose. 


M- 


XH^" 


l^ERRY  CURTIS,  residing  on  the  Doyle  road, 
<^  one-fourth  of  a  mile  south  of  the  Stevens  Creek 
Ig)  road,  is  quite  extensively  engaged  in  horticult- 
ure. His  fine  orchard,  of  forty  acres,  was  entirely 
planted  by  himself,  after  his  purchase  of  the  property, 
in  the  autumn  of  1 881.  Tree-planting  was  com- 
menced in  the  first  year,  and  each  year  the  size  of  the 
orchard  was  increased,  until  now  it  is  complete,  the 
youngest  trees  being  two  years  old.  The  leading 
fruit  is  French  prunes,  of  which  there  are  1,600  trees, 
besides  700  peach,  375  apricot,  200  cherry.  A  family 
orchard  comprises  apple,  pear,  walnut,  almond,  and 
other  trees.  A  vineyard  contains  3,000  vines,  which 
are  very  productive.  To  show  the  fertility  of  the 
soil,  and  the  good  management  which  Mr.  Curtis 
exercises  over  his  fruit  interests,  we  mention  the  re- 
sults of  1887.  The  apricot  trees  (then  five  years  old) 
yielded  200  pounds  to  the  tree,  or  a  total  of  over  thirty- 
six  tons,  which  sold  for  about  $1,100,  while  the  fruit  of 
the  peach-trees,  only  lOO  of  which  were  of  bearing  age, 
realized  $800. 

Mr.  Curtis  came  to  this  county  from  Chickasaw 
County,  Iowa,  where  he  had  lived  and  been  engaged 
in  operating  a  farm  for  seventeen  years.  This  fine 
property,  of  200  acres,  entirely  improved  by  himself, 
he  yet  owns.  He  was  born  in  Grafton  County,  New 
Hampshire,  July  23,  1842.  He  was  reared  to  a  farm 
life,  but  upon  reaching  the  age  of  seventeen  years  he 
struck  out  for  himself,  by  starting  for  Texas,  with 
$3.00  in  his  pocket.     During   his  year's  residence   in 


572 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD: 


Texas  he  was  engaged  in  herding  stock.  He  then 
went  to  Floyd  County,  Indiana,  and  there  made  his 
home,  marrying,  in  1863,  Miss  Vina  Holman,  of  that 
county.  After  spending  some  time  in  visiting  in  New 
England,  he  established  his  home  in  Chickasaw 
County,  Iowa.  As  before  stated,  he  was  for  many 
years  a  resident  of  that  State,  leaving  it  to  come  to 
this  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Curtis  have  six  children: 
Willie,  Leila,  Mitchell,  Mary,  Albert,  and  Frank. 

A  progressive,  public-spirited  citizen,  and  a  careful, 
painstaking  horticulturist,  he  is  thoroughly  in  earnest 
in  pushing  forward  to  a  successful  issue  every  under- 
taking in  which  he  engages.  Politically  a  believer  in 
the  protection  of  American  industries,  he  is  in  full 
accord  with  the  distinctive  principles  of  the  Republi- 
can party. 

fOSEPH  W.  BRIGGS.  deceased.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  born  in  New  York  in  1832.  He 
^  was  the  son  of  Thomas  Briggs,  of  New  York.  In 
his  childhood  his  father  removed  to  Medina  County, 
Ohio,  where  our  subject  was  reared  and  schooled,  ob- 
taining such  education  as  the  schools  of  that  date 
afforded.  He  early  learned  the  details  of  the  work 
on  his  father's  farm  in  assisting  in  its  management. 

He  made  the  overland  journey  to  California,  and 
upon  his  arrival  joined  his  brother,  who  resided  near 
Marysville,  the  two  entering  into  extensive  fruit-cul- 
tivation, thus  becoming  pioneers  of  that  industry  in 
this  State.  He  continued  in  this  work  until  1854, 
when  he  returned  to  Ohio,  and  there  married,  in  that 
year.  Miss  Mary  J.  Oldes,  the  daughter  of  Albert 
and  Mary  (Bennett)  Oldes,  who  resided  in  Medina 
County,  Ohio.  After  a  two  years'  stay  in  Ohio,  he 
went  to  Franklin  County,  Kansas,  where  he  pur- 
chased land  and  estabhshed  himself  as  a  farmer  and 
stock-raiser.  There  he  made  his  home  for  several 
years,  in  fact  until,  in  1862,  he  returned  to  this  State, 
and,  with  his  brother,  John  G.,  and  his  brother-in-law, 
Edward  Haskell,  entered  largely  into  fruit-culture. 
His  family  joined  him  in  his  new  home  in  1863.  Mr. 
Briggs  eventually  bought  out  the  interests  of  his 
partners,  and  for  a  time  managed  these  orchards,  of 
hundreds  of  acres  in  extent,  without  other  assistance 
than  that  of  hired  help.  In  1873  he  sold  out  these 
interests  and  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  where  he 
bought  a  tract  of  120  acres  on  the  Trimble  road,  on 
Coyote  Creeic,  in  the  Midway  School  District.  He 
immediately  began  the  work  of  planting  extensive 
orchards  and  small-fruit  vines,  and  succeeded  before 


his  death  in  producing  a  splendid  farm,  upon  which 
his  widow  now  resides.  Fifty  acres  were  devoted  to 
the  raising  of  plums  and  prunes,  twenty  acres  to  pears, 
ten  acres  to  apples,  twelve  acres  to  cherries,  and  the 
remainder  to  pasturage.  Six  acres  of  raspberries, 
and  five  of  strawberries,  were  cultivated  among  the 
fruit-trees.  Plenty  of  water  is  supplied  by  five  arte- 
sian wells,  each  of  which  furnishes  an  average  flow  of 
water.  These  lands,  being  in  a  high  state  of  cultiva- 
tion and  very  productive,  testify  to  Mr.  Briggs'  skill 
in  horticulture.  In  addition  to  the  supervision  of 
this  large  farm,  Mr.  Briggs  engaged  largely  in  fruit- 
raising  near  Visalia,  purchasing  in  1881.200  acres  of 
land.  His  son,  Frank  T.,  bought  160  acres  near  this 
property,  and  in  1885  Mr.  Briggs  also  acquired  that 
tract  by  purchase.  His  design  was  the  conversion  of 
the  whole  into  orchards,  but  his  plans  were  destroyed 
by  the  hand  of  death,  which  occurred  April  19,  1887. 

He  left  three  children:  Frank  T.,  married  and  liv- 
ing in  San  Francisco ;  John  G.,  who  married  Miss 
Lizzie  Adams,  of  Alviso,  now  a  resident  of  San  Jose; 
and  Albert  L.,  residing  on  the  old  homestead.  He 
also  left,  besides  a  devoted  family,  a  host  of  friends, 
by  whom  his  loss  was  deeply  felt.  He  was  a  man  of 
great  strength  of  character,  of  untiring  energy,  as  the 
magnitude  of  his  enterprises  proves.  He  was  well 
versed  in  the  business  affairs  of  life,  and  was  thus  able 
to  bring  to  a  successful  issue  his  many  plans. 

His  worth  in  social  circles  was  thoroughly  appre- 
ciated, and  by  his  death  many  secret  organizations 
mourned  the  loss  of  a  most  useful  member.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  being  a  Knight 
Templar,  and  was  also  connected  with  the  American 
Legion  of  Honor,  Chosen  Friends,  Knights  of  Honor, 
and  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen. 


-€■ 


;^i;OHN  G.  BRIGGS  was  born  in  Franklin  County, 
©^  Kansas,  December  3,  1858.  He  is  the  son  of 
^  Joseph  W.  Briggs  (whose  sketch  appears  in  this 
connection)  and  Mary  J.  (Oldes)  Briggs,  a  native  of 
Ohio.  When  but  five  years  of  age  he  was  brought 
by  his  parents  to  this  State.  During  his  youthful 
days,  when  not  in  school,  he  was  employed  in  his 
father's  large  orchards,  and  thus  at  an  early  age  he 
had  become  familiar  with  all  the  details  of  orchard 
culture.  In  his  boyhood,  his  father  had  the  care  of 
extensive  fruit  interests  near  Marysville,  but  in  1873 
he  came  to  this  county  and  purchased  120  acres  of 
land   near    the    Trimble    road.     He    eventually    im- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


573 


proved  loo  acres  of  this  tract,  setting  that  portion  to 
fruit-trees.  In  this  work  he  was  most  ably  assisted 
by  our  subject,  who,  as  young  as  he  was,  managed 
this  extensive  property,  and  in  time  came  to  have 
sole  control  of  it,  as  for  many  years  previous  to  his 
death,  in  1887,  his  father  was  occupied  in  the  care  of 
his  large  interests  near  Visalia. 

This  magnificent  orchard  contains  about  10,000 
trees,  and  is  known  far  and  wide  as  one  of  the  finest 
and  most  productive  in  the  county.  This  is  due  to 
Mr.  Briggs'  thorough,  practical  knowledge  of  the 
business  to  which  he  was  trained,  and  the  care  and 
attention  which  he  has  devoted  to  the  production  of 
these  telling  results.  Mr.  Briggs  is  now  living  at  San 
Jose,  where  he  is  engaged  in  settling  the  affairs  of  his 
father's  extensive  estate. 

In  1882  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Lizzie 
Adams,  the  daughter  of  William  Francis  and  Mary 
Ann  Adams,  who  were  natives  and  residents  of 
England.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Briggs  have  one  daughter, 
Edith  Violet. 


IgRANK  BRIDGES  resides  on  the  San  Francicso 
s^  road,  in  the  Millikin  School  District,  about  four 
T  miles  west  of  Santa  Clara,  where  he  owns  twenty 
acres  of  productive  land.  He  devotes  his  entire  tract, 
with  the  exception  of  three  acres  in  fruit-trees,  to  the 
cultivation  of  grapes  for  wine  and  table  use.  Of  the 
former,  he  has  ten  acres  of  the  following  kinds: 
Matero,  Zinfandel,  Grenache,  and  Charbano.  Of  the 
table  grapes,  he  has  seven  acres  of  the  Muscat,  Mal- 
vasie,  and  Rose  of  Peru  varieties.  Mr.  Bridges  pays 
careful  attention  to  the  details  of  his  business,  and  has 
his  reward  in  the  large  yield  and  the  excellent  quality 
of  his  products. 

The  subject  of  this  sketcti  dates  his  birth  in  Glouces- 
ter County,  England,  February  19,  1843.  His  father, 
Frank  Bridges,  and  his  mother,  Martha  (Servis) 
Bridges,  were  natives  of  Greenwich,  Middlesex 
County,  England.  His  schooling  was  limited  to  that 
received  before  he  reached  twelve  years  of  age,  for  at 
that  period  he  entered  upon  an  apprenticeship  of  three 
years  in  the  carving  and  gilding  trade.  At  its  expira- 
tion, although  but  fifteen  years  of  age,  he  enlisted  in 
the  English  army  in  the  East  India  service,  in  1858, 
and  his  experience  was  somewhat  out  of  the  common 
run,  in  that  almost  all  of  his  military  service  was  in 
that  far-off  country.  There  he  spent  seven  years 
principally  in  garrison  duties,  but  engaging  in  several 
skirmishes  with  scattered  bands  of  mutineers. 


In  1865  he  returned  to  his  native  country,  still  re- 
maining in  the  service  as  a  musician.  During  the  fol- 
lowing year  he  received  an  honorable  discharge,  having 
spent  eight  years  in  the  service  of  his  country,  in  the 
faithful  and  conscientious  discharge  of  every  duty. 
In  the  same  year  (1866)  he  left  England  for  the 
United  States.  Landing  at  New  York,  he  soon  ex- 
tended his  journeying  as  far  west  as  Knoxville,  Ten- 
nessee, making  that  city  his  home  for  several  years. 
While  there  he  was  engaged  in  the  teaching  of  music, 
and,  on  his  departure,  in  April,  i875,cair.e  to  Califor- 
nia. He  located  in  San  Francisco,  and  followed  the 
profession  of  music  teaching.  He  made  that  city  his 
home  for  about  eight  years,  ai'.d  then  visited  Santa 
Clara  County,  purchasing  the  property  upon  which  he 
now  resides.  Since  that  time  he  has  devoted  his  ener- 
gies and  time  entirely  to  the  cultivation  of  his  vines  and 
orchard.  Although  reared  to  a  far  different  life,  the 
qualities  of  careful  attention  to  every  duty  and  intel- 
ligent direction  of  business,  which  made  him  success- 
ful in  other  occupations,  have  made  him  a  successful 
horticulturist. 

Mr.  Bridges  married,  in  1872,  Miss  Edwina  Hodg- 
son, daughter  of  Edwin  Hodgson,  of  Manchester, 
England.  They  have  had  three  children:  Bertha, 
aged  at  present  writing  (1888)  fifteen  years;  Herbert, 
aged  thirteen  years;  and  Frank,  aged  nine  j'ears. 

->->-H^ 

^^  L.  CHAPMAN  owns  a  fine  orchard  property 
(^ps  of  fifteen  acres  on  the  Homestead  road,  about 
"tf?  one  mile  west  of  Santa  Clara.  This  orchard  is 
t  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation  and  shows  great 
care  and  constant  attention  on  the  part  of  its  owner. 
It  comprises  apricot,  pear,  prune,  peach,  plum,  and 
cherry  trees.  There  is  also  a  small  vineyard  on  the 
place,  which  furnishes  a  choice  variety  of  table  grapes, 
such  as  the  Verdal,  Black  Hamburg,  Mission,  and 
Tokay. 

Mr.  Chapman  dates  his  birth  in  Cumberland 
County,  Kentucky,  August  23,  1814.  He  is  the  son 
of  Asa  and  Sallie  (Gosney)  Chapman.  He  was 
reared  to  a  farm  life,  leaving  the  old  home  at  the  age 
of  eighteen  years.  He  received  such  an  education  as 
was  afforded  by  the  common  schools,  which  were  con- 
ducted in  the  typical  log-cabin  school-house  of  that 
period.  As  before  stated,  he  left  home  when  eighteen 
years  of  age,  and  went  to  Fayette  County,  Kentucky, 
where  he  entered  upon  an  apprenticeship  as  a  black- 
smith.    He  remained  there  until   1833,  when  he  went 


574 


PEN  P1C1VRES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


to  Monroe  County,  Missouri,  where  he  worked  at  his 
trade  as  a  journeyman  for  four  years,  estabHshing  a 
shop  of  his  own  in  1837.  This  business  he  success- 
fully conducted  until  1850,  when  he  caught  the  con- 
tagious gold  fever,  which  caused  him  to  sell  out  his 
shop  and  start  overland  for  California.  The  journey 
was  made  with  ox  teams,  which  was  the  prescribed 
mode  of  overland  travel  in  that  day.  Upon  reach- 
ing California,  he  stopped  at  the  mines  for  a  short 
time,  but,  not  meeting  with  the  success  for  which  he 
had  hoped,  he  went  to  Stockton,  and  there  established 
a  blacksmith  shop,  in  which  venture  he  was  successful. 
In  the  fall  of  1851  he  left  his  shop  in  the  charge  of  a 
competent  man,  and  returned  East,  by  the  steamship 
line,  and  joined  his  family  in  Missouri.  With  his 
family,  in  the  following  year,  he  again  made  the  over- 
land trip.  Upon  his  arrival  at  Stockton  he  continued 
the  business  of  blacksmithing,  and  also  established  a 
freighting  line  of  teams  to  the  mines.  These  enter- 
prises were  conducted  with  success  until  1855,  in 
which  year  he  established  a  general  merchandise  store 
in  Volcano,  Amador  County, continuing  in  the  mercan- 
tile business  until  1858,  when  he  made  Solano  County 
his  home.  There  he  entered  into  the  combined  occu- 
pations of  farming  and  blacksmithing,  following  them 
until  1884,  when  he  took  possession  of  his  Santa 
Clara  estate. 

Mr.  Chapman  is  an  intelligent  and  energetic  man, 
one  who,  for  more  than  fifty  years,  has  been  engaged 
in  active  mechanical  and  business  pursuits,  which 
justly  entitle  him  to  the  rest  and  quiet  to  be  obtained 
at  the  comfortable  home  in  which  he  is  settled.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Christian  Church  Society  of  San 
Jose,  and  is  also  a  prominent  member  of  the  Masonic 
fraternity,  being  a  Master,  Royal  Arch,  and  Knight 
Templar. 

In  1837  Mr.  Chapman  wedded  Miss  Catharine 
Dooley,  a  daughter  of  Job  Dooley,  a  native  of  Ken- 
tucky, but  a  resident  of  Monroe  County,  Missouri. 
From  this  marriage  two  children  were  born:  Sarah 
Frances  and  Lucy  I.  The  former  is  the  wife  of 
Charles  Horn,  a  native  of  Vermont,  but  now  a  resident 
of  California,  and  the  latter  is  the  wife  of  Thomas 
Laine,  an  attorney  at  law  and  a  resident  of  San  Jose. 
Mr.  Chapman's  second  marriage  was  in  wedding  Mrs. 
Eliza  Ann  (Forman)  Burris,  a  former  resident  of 
Missouri.  From  this  marriage  two  children  are  liv- 
ing: Martha  Amanda,  the  wife  of  Thomas  Proctor,  of 
Los  Gatos,  and  Susan  D.,  the  wife  of  Henry  Lamp- 
kin,  an  attorney  at  law  of  San  Jose. 


i|rENR  Y  LILLICK,  of  the  Braley  District,  resides 
S^'i' ■  on  a  productive  farm  which  is  located  on  the 
1^  Saratoga  and  Alviso  road,  about  three  miles 
west  of  Santa  Clara.  His  property  originally 
comprised  seventy-one  acres,  thirty  acres  of  which 
was  devoted  to  fruit  culture,  comprising  peaches, 
prunes,  apples,  pears,  almonds,  and  walnuts.  This 
orchard  tract  Mr.  Lillick  sold  to  F.  J.  Chambers, 
in  1887,  retaining  the  remainder,  forty-one  acres,  which 
he  devotes  to  the  growing  of  hay  and  grain  and  to 
stock-raising.  Upon  this  latter  tract  he  is  now  erecting 
a  fine  cottage  home. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Wurtem- 
burg,  Germany,  in  1824.  He  is  the  son  of  Andrew 
and  Catharine  (Lenk)  Lillick,  both  natives  of  Ger- 
many. In  1833  his  parents  came  to  the  United  States 
and  made  Holmes  County,  Ohio,  their  home,  becom- 
ing early  settlers  of  that  section.  After  about  seven 
years'  residence  at  that  place,  they  removed  to  Van 
Wert  County,  of  the  same  State,  and  there  spent  the 
remainder  of  their  lives,  the  father  dying  in  1847,  and 
the  mother  in  1872,  at.  the  advanced  age  of  eighty- 
four  years.  Mr.  Lillick  was  brought  up  as  a  farmer, 
and  was  early  inured  to  the  hardships  attendant  upon 
the  life  of  the  early  settler.  His  opportunities  for 
gaining  an  education  were  limited  to  those  presented 
by  the  primitive  schools  of  the  pioneer  settlement. 

In  1846  he  went  to  La  Fayette  County,  Wisconsin, 
where  he  worked  as  a  farm  laborer  until  1849,  when 
he  started  across  the  plains  for  the  Golden  State.  Of 
his  overland  journey  it  may  be  said  that  he  suffered 
the  hardships  common  to  travel  of  that  date  and 
mode,  and  until  the  train  reached  the  eastern  base  of 
the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains  nothing  unusual  hap- 
pened. But  here  seven  of  the  party  (among  them  a 
Mr.  Roundtree,  of  New  York)  left  the  train  to  go  into 
the  mountains  in  search  o£  cattle  which  had  strayed 
away  from  their  herds.  None  of  this  party  were  ever 
afterward  seen  or  heard  from,  and  it  is  supposed  that 
they  were  ambushed  and  killed  by  the  Indians. 

Upon  arriving  at  Sacramento,  Mr.  Lillick  left  his 
party  and  went  to  the  mines  in  Trinity  County,  where 
he  worked  until  the  autumn  of  1850,  when,  not  having 
met  with  the  success  which  he  had  hoped  for,  he  de- 
termined to  return  to  the  more  congenial  occupation 
of  farming.  With  this  in  view  he  came  to  Santa 
Clara  County,  and  expended  all  his  small  means  in 
the  purchase  of  the  farm  upon  which  he  now  resides. 
There  commenced  his  struggle  to  redeem,  unassisted, 
the  bountiful  land  from  its  wild  state.  In  185 1  he 
returned   to   the   mines,  being   obliged  to  borrow  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


575 


money  with  which  to  buy  provisions  and  mining  tools. 
This  second  adventure  was  attended  with  consider- 
able success,  and  with  the  money  thus  earned  he  was 
enabled  to  purchase  a  yoke  of  cattle,  provision,  seed, 
clothes,  etc.,  and  thus  to  enter  into  his  farming  opera- 
tions with  a  better  chance  of  achieving  success.  This 
success  is  now  assured,  as  his  farm  is  in  a  high  state 
of  cultivation,  and  it  is  worthy  of  note,  as  indicative 
of  the  wonderful  fertility  of  the  soil,  that  in  1853  he 
harvested  and  sold  $300  worth  of  grain,  besides  re- 
serving 1,400  pounds  for  seed  purposes. 

In  1867  Mr.  Lillick  visited  his  old  Ohio  home,  re- 
turning to  California  the  same  year.  He  again  went 
to  Ohio  in  January,  1868,  remaining  there  until  the 
autumn  of  the  same  year,  when  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Nancy  Schell,  the  daughter  of 
Henry  and  Mary  Schell,  pioneer  residents  of  Van 
Wert  County,  Ohio.  Immediately  after  his  marriage 
he  returned  with  his  bride  to  California,by  the  Panama 
route.  Upon  their  arrival  they  at  once  took  up  their 
residence  on  their  farm,  which  their  united  efforts 
have  placed  in  the  front  rank.  Three  sons  have  been 
born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lillick:  Walter  Faye,  aged 
nineteen  years;  Harry  C,  aged  seventeen  years;  and 
Ira  S.,  aged  twelve  years. 

By  his  untiring  industry,  thrifty  habits,  and  prac- 
tical knowledge  of  his  business,  Mr.  Lillick  has  ad- 
vanced rapidly  in  his  chosen  vocation,  and  now  ranks 
with  the  many  prosperous  and  successful  pioneer  far- 
mers of  Santa  Clara  County.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  fraternity,  being  a  Master  and  Royal 
Arch  Ma.son. 


-^^■i^^^ 


MpOBERT  GRANT  came  to  California  in  1870, 
s^  and  located  in  Old  Gilroy,  where  he  resided  for 
•X  a  short  time,  then  went  into  the  mountains  and 
engaged  in  dairying  and  stock-raising.  After 
remaining  tliere  ten  years  he  went  upon  a  ranch, 
where  he  remained  six  months;  then  went  to  Tulare 
County,  and  six  months  later  returned  to  Santa  Clara 
County,  and  again  engaged  in  stock-raising,  on  the 
Coyote  Creek.  There  he  remained  until  locating  in 
Gilroy,  in  October,  1882.  He  bought  out.  the  feed- 
yard  of  W.  N.  Shepherd,  and  added  to  it  a  livery 
department.  He  usually  keeps  about  eight  or  ten 
horses  for  use  in  his  livery  business. 

Mr.  Grant  is  a  native  of  Toronto,  Canada,  born 
there  September  5,  1843.  His  parents  removed,  when 
he  was  a  child,  to  Oxford,  Canada,  and  there  he  re- 


sided until   coming  to  California.     His  father,  John 
Grant,  was  a  farmer,  and  resides  still  at  Oxford. 

When  first  coming  to  this  State,  Mr.  Grant  re- 
mained but  a  few  months.  However,  on  returning  to 
Canada,  he  soon  decided  to  come  back  to  California. 
He  was  married,  in  this  county,  to  Mrs.  E.  A.  Hinch, 
and  to  them  have  been  born  three  children:  Maude, 
Samuel,  and  Ida.  Politically  Mr.  Grant  is  a  Demo- 
crat. 


||AMES  ENRIGHT  was  born  in  Limerick  County, 
(§/■  Ireland,  in  1826.  His  parents,  James  and  Mary 
^  (Mann)  Enright,  emigrated  to  Canada  in  1830, 
and  purchased  and  conducted  quite  an  extensive 
farm  near  Quebec.  There  they  resided  until  the  son 
was  fourteen  years  of  age,  removing  in  1840  to  Atchi- 
son County,  Missouri,  where  they  continued  the  oc- 
cupation of  farming.  Thus  Mr.  Enright  was  thor- 
oughly trained  in  youth  to  the  business  which  he  has 
made  his  life-work.  In  Missouri  his  parents  spent  the 
remainder  of  their  lives,  both  dying  in  1845.  The 
home  was  thus  broken  up,  and  in  the  following  year 
Mr.  Enright,  accompanied  by  his  brother  Thomas 
and  his  sister  Mary,  crossed  the  plains  to  California. 
He  reached  the  end  of  his  journey  in  the  Sacramento 
Valley,  October  3,  1846,  and  went  to  the  old  Mission 
of  San  Jose.  There  he  spent  a  few  months,  not  in 
idleness,  for,  after  manufacturing  his  plows  himself, 
he  seeded  about  thirty  acres  with  wheat,  which  he 
eventually  sold  to  James  Reed.  He  also  seeded  and 
sold  to  Samuel  Brannan  thirty  acres.  The.se  lands 
belonged  to  the  mission,  but  Mr.  Enright  obtained 
permission  to  cultivate  them. 

In  the  spring  of  1847,  he  left  the  mission  for  San 
Francisco,  where  he  engaged  in  teaming,  taking  gov- 
ernment transportation  contracts.  He  transferred 
the  stores  and  baggage  of  the  famous  Stevenson 
Regiment  from  the  landing  to  the  Presidio  of  San 
Francisco.  He  sustained  a  severe  loss  in  the  death 
of  both  the  brother  and  sister  who  came  to  this 
State  with  him,  his  sister  Mary  (who  had  married 
Patrick  Doyle,  of  San  Francisco)  dying  at  the  Mis- 
sion of  San  Juan  in  1848,  while  his  brother  Thomas,- 
who  was  an  invalid,  followed  her  two  years  later,  his 
death  occurring  at  the  Mission  of  San  Jose.  His 
sister  Bridget,  who  came  to  California  at  a  later  date, 
and  who  married  Patrick  Farrell,  of  Mitchell  County, 
Canada,  is  now  a  resident  of  San  Jose. 

In    1847  the  subject   of  our  sketch  purchased   the 


576 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


lands  which  he  now  occupies,  a  magnificent  farm  of 
600  acres,  situated  on  the  Saratoga  and  Alviso  road, 
at  Lawrence  Station,  about  three  miles  west  of  Santa 
Clara.  Eight  acres  is  in  fruit-trees  of  different  varie- 
ties, and  fourteen  acres  in  a  vineyard,  which  furnishes 
a  choice  selection  of  table  and  wine  grapes.  But  by  far 
the  larger  part  of  this  vast  estate  is  given  to  the  pro- 
duction of  grain  and  hay,  for  which  the  results  show 
the  soil  is  well  fitted.  Mr.  Enright  also  engages  quite 
extensively  in  the  raising  of  stock,  principally  work 
horses.  He  built  a  house  on  the  land  in  the  year  that 
he  made  the  purchase,  it  being  the  first  one  built  on 
the  farming  lands  of  the  county.  In  the  year  follow- 
ing his  purchase  (1848)  he  went  to  the  mines  on  the 
American  River,  near  the  present  site  of  Foisom,  be- 
ing among  the  very  first  who  engaged  in  mining  in 
the  State.  He  was  quite  successful  in  this  venture 
and  spent  four  or  five  months  there.  During  the  dis- 
turbed state  of  the  country  during  these  exciting 
times,  he  was  compelled  to  use  the  greatest  care, 
and  he  slept  with  a  loaded  rifle  by  his  bed  for  months. 
Such  volunteer  forces  as  were  in  this  county  were 
of  the  most  reckless  character,  disregarding  all  show 
of  courtesy  or  fair  dealing. 

In  1850  Mr.  Enright  took  up  a  permanent  resi- 
dence on  his  property,  thus  becoming  one  of  the 
pioneer  farmers  of  the  county,  as  he  had  been  a  pio- 
neer of  the  State  and  of  mining;  for  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  his  coming  to  the  State  antedated  the 
discovery  of  gold,  and  even  the  acquisition  of  the 
country  by  the.  United  States  Government.  He  has 
carried  to  a  successful  issue  all  his  business  undertak- 
ings, and  has  achieved  a  goodly  amount  of  this 
world's  goods.  Without  the  advantage  of  education, 
he  has  supplied  the  lack  by  native  shrewdness  and 
thorough  understanding  of  his  business.  He  is  well 
known  throughout  the  county  as  one  of  its  most  suc- 
cessful and  enterprising  pioneer  farmers. 

Mr.  Enright  was  united  in  marriage,  in  1850,  to 
Miss  Margaret  Duncan,  the  daughter  of  Robert  and 
Ann  Duncan,  natives  of  Scotland,  but  residents  of 
San  Francisco.  They  came  to  this  State  in  1846,  by 
way  of  Cape  Horn.  From  this  marriage  eleven  chil- 
dren were  born,  nine  being  now  living.  Mary  Ann, 
the  wife  of  John  G.  Robertson,  lives  at  Santa  Cruz; 
Frances  is  the  wife  of  Dr.  James  Murphy,  of  San 
Francisco;  Charles  is  a  physician  in  San  Francisco; 
James  E.,  Margaret,  Joseph  D.,  John  B.,  Nellie,  and 
Louisa  G.  make  their  home  with  their  parents. 
Robert  D.  died  in  1881,  at  the  age  of  twenty-five 
years. 


.^j||OHN  KLEE  is  the  owner  of  a  fine  ranch  of  150 
&!  acres  in  the  Cambrian  District,  on  the  Kirk  road, 
'-*^  five  miles  a  little  west  of  south  of  San  Jo.se.  He 
bought  the  property  in  the  autumn  of  1868,  it  having 
been  somewhat  improved  prior  to  his  purchase,  but 
much  in  need  of  repair.  Mr.  Klee  has  removed  all 
appearance  of  neglect,  and  has  added  many  building 
improvements.  The  fences,  with  the  exception  of 
500  yards,  have  been  rebuilt,  a  barn  62x80  feet  has 
been  erected,  while  the  house  has  been  almost  entirely 
reconstructed.  The  ranch  is  successfully  devoted  to 
general  farming  and  stock-raising. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  born  in  Germany, 
June  24,  1832.  He  was  orphaned  in  his  youth,  and 
when  nineteen  years  of  age  he  left  his  native  home, 
to  follow  many  of  his  countrymen  to  the  United 
States,  the  hope  of  the  poor  man  of  many  a  far-off 
land.  From  the  spring  of  1852  to  that  of  1856  he 
lived  in  Rochester,  New  York.  He  then  came  to 
California,  and  made  the  Sacramento  Valley  his  home 
for  twelve  years  or  more,  with  the  exception  of  one 
year,  which  he  spent  in  New  York. 

On  the  nineteenth  of  April,  1868,  Mr.  Klee  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Mary  VoUmer,  daughter 
of  George  and  Margaret  (Hilbert)  Vollmer,  both  of 
whom  are  natives  of  Germany.  Mrs.  Klee  was  born 
in  Rochester,  New  York,  June  15,  1843,  coming  to 
California  in  1866.  Her  father  is  deceased,  but  her 
mother  yet  lives  in  her  old  home,  Rochester. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Klee  are  consistent  members  of  the 
Catholic  Church.  They  commenced  their  married 
life  with  but  little  capital,  except  strong  hands  and 
willing  hearts,  with  a  determination  to  merit  success 
by  industry  and  frugality.  That  success  they  have 
won  by  well-directed  effort.  They  may  well  feel  that 
they  have  gained  not  only  a  fair  share  of  temporal 
prosperity,  but  also  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  their 
neighbors  and  acquaintances. 

iSaTHAN  L.  LESTER,  of  whose  fine  fruit 
C'api  orchard  mention  must  be  made,  lives  on  the 
T  corner  of  Lincoln  and  Curtner  Avenues,  in  the 
Willow  Glen  District.  This  orchard,  of  thirty-one 
and  two-fifths  acres,  he  bought  of  F.  A.  Taylor,  in 
January,  1884,  paying  $13,000  for  it.  Several  kinds 
of  cherries,  French  and  Silver  prunes,  egg-plums, 
pears,  apricots,  and  peaches  are  among  the  varieties. 
Owing  to  good  care,  the  orchard  has  been  productive 
and  profitable. 


M 


tS.  ^.  ih^ti^. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


577 


M  r.  Lester  was  born  i  n  Ledya  rd,  New  London  Cou  nty, 
Connecticut,  January  i,  1843,  the  son  of  Isaac  A.  and 
Mary  (Chapman)  Lester,  both  of  whom  are  natives  of 
the  same  town.  His  mother  died  at  the  old  home- 
stead, where  his  father  still  lives.  Nathan  L.  is  the 
eldest  of  three  brothers  living  in  thi.s  district.  Their 
names  arc:  William  L  and  Samuel  W.  The  names  of 
the  other  members  of  his  father's  family  are  as  fol- 
lows: Amos,  living  in  Connecticut,  but  having  spent 
seven  years  in  this  State;  Mary  Jane,  also  a  resident 
of  Connecticut;  Henry  Clay,  who  died  in  Connecti- 
cut, at  the  age  of  six  years;  Jonathan  F.,  who  spent 
six  years  in  California,  but  now  resides  in  Connecti- 
cut; Frank  L.,  who  came  West  in  1869,  and  died  in 
November,  1876,  at  Salt  Lake  City;  Walter,  who  died 
in  infancy;  Sarah  Emma,  also  deceased;  and  Edward 
E.,  a  resident  of  Connecticut. 

Nathan  was  reared  to  a  farm  life,  receiving  a  good 
common-school  education.  On  the  twenty-fourth  of 
May,  1872,  he  married,  in  his  native  town.  Miss  Sarah 
E.  Spicer,  daughter  of  Judge  Edmund  Spicer.  She 
was  born  in  the  neighborhood  in  which  her  husband 
was  reared.  Mr.  Lester  came  to  California  in  1861, 
and  engaged  in  wheat  rai'^ing  in  Napa  County.  He 
lived  here  six  or  seven  years,  and  then  returned  East, 
where  he  remained  until  1883.  In  September  of  that 
year  he  became  a  resident  of  Santa  Clara  County, 
where  he  bought  his  present  home  in  the  January 
following. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lester  have  four  children  living: 
Alice  L.,  Nathan  S.,  William  W.,  and  George  E. 
Emma,  the  fourth  child,  died  October  16,  1886,  at  the 
age  of  five  years  and  three  months. 

Mr.  Lester  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Con- 
gregational Church  of  Led}ard,  Connecticut.  He  is 
a  man  of  thrift  and  economy,  as  his  present  pros- 
perity shows,  and  has  been  fortunate  enough  to  secure 
a  good  share  of  this  world's  goods.  Is  a  Republican 
in  his  political  sympathies. 

^AMPBELL  T.  SETTLE,  President  of  the  Far- 
^^  mers'  Union,  owns  and  occupies  a  beautiful  home 
£>U  on  the  corner  of  Willow  Street  and  Lincoln 
Avenue,  in  the  Willows.  He  there  owns  fifteen 
acres  of  land,  the  last  of  a  tract  of  200  acres  purchased 
by  him  in  i860,  for  $10  an  acre  for  that  which  was  in 
the  Willows,  and  $20  for  the  cleared  land.  This  land 
he  cultivated  for  some  years  in  grain,  but  when  he  felt 
the  country  was  ready  for  it,  Mr.  Settle  placed  a  good 
73 


example  before  the  large  landholders  of  California 
by  dividing  his  place  into  ten-acre  tracts,  and  selling 
them  to  people  to  plant  out  in  orchards,  in  which  di- 
rection he  had  already  been  a  pioneer,  having  at  dif- 
ferent times  planted  orchards  on  several  parts  of  this 
tract.  He  was  likewise  prominent  in  building  a  street 
railway  into  the  heart  of  this  tract,  connecting  with 
the  business  center  of  San  Jose.  This  enabled  him 
to  sell  all  these  tracts  at  largely  enhanced  values,  some 
as  high  as  $1,000  per  acre.  One  of  the  good  results 
to  the  community  from  this  was  an  increase  of  valu- 
able population,  while  the  taxes,  which  were  only 
about  $50  on  the  whole  tract,  are  now  $150  on  his  fif- 
teen acres  and  improvements,  while  the  income  from 
that  200  acres  in  fruit  is  almost  equal  to  that  of  the 
whole  surrounding  of  San  Jose  at  that  time. 

Mr.  Settle  was  born  in  Jefferson  County,  Indiana, 
in  1825,  his  parents  removing  from  Kentucky  in  1812 
and  settling  near  Madison,  Indiana.  That  country 
was  a  perfect  wilderness  at  the  time,  the  people  re- 
siding there  being  obliged  frequently  to  retire  before 
the  Indians,  abandon  their  homes,  and  cross  back  into 
Kentucky,  returning  to  their  farms  when  these  troubles 
had  subsided.  His  parents  were  Henry  and  Jane 
(Thompson)  Settle.  His  mother  dying  when  he  was 
but  three  years  of  age,  his  father  removed  in  1836  to 
Greene  County,  Illinois,  about  eighteen  miles  from 
Jacksonville,  remained  there  until  1838,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Des  Moines  County,  Iowa,  where  he  lived 
until  his  death,  in  1845.  Mr.  Settle  remained  on  the 
farm  until  his  twenty-fourth  year,  when  he  crossed 
the  plains  in  1849  to  California.  Returning  in  1852 
to  Iowa,  he  removed  the  remainder  of  the  family  to 
Oregon,  which  he  had  visited  on  his  first  trip  to  the 
Pacific  Coast.  They  remained  in  Oregon  four  years, 
raising  wheat  and  stock  and  planting  an  orchard. 
Disliking  the  constant  rains  of  winter  there,  he  re- 
turned to  California  in  1857,  coming  at  once  to  San 
Jose,  and  engaged  in  farming  on  rented  land.  In 
i860  he  purchased  the  200  acres  above  referred  to,  on 
which  he  raised  grain  for  several  years.  Mr.  Settle 
early  became  interested  in  fruit-drying,  being  one  of 
a  company  that  owned  an  Alden  dryer.  They  dried 
about  fifteen  tons  of  prunes  and  sent  them  to  Chicago, 
probably  the  first  shipment  ever  sent  East.  During 
that  season  there  was  an  immense  importation  of 
prunes  from  Germany,  which  brought  the  price  very 
low,  they  receiving  but  six  cents  to  nine  cents  per 
pound,  while  freight  was  two  cents  per  pound,  leaving 
very  small  results  to  the  grower. 

Mr.  Settle   was   married,  in  1852,  in  Iowa,  to  Mi.ss 


578 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


Ellen  Cottle,  of  Burlington,  that  State.  There  were 
two  children  born  to  them:  Josie,  now  the  wife  of 
Frank  Strong,  and  living  in  Los  Angeles,  and  one 
that  died  in  infancy. 

Mr.  Settle  is  President  of  the  Farmers'  Union,  a 
large  mercantile  establishment  of  San  Jose.  He  is 
also  interested  in  the  Agricultural  Works  of  San  Joee. 
Is  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  34,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  Republican 
in  his  political  views,  and  a  believer  in  a  high  protect- 
ive tariff  Mr.  Settle  was  elected  Mayor  of  San 
Jose  in  1884,  the  first  Republican  elected  to  that  office 
for  fifteen  years.  He  was  largely  supported  by  the 
best  elements  of  the  Democratic  party. 


^- 


.Ms  F.  ALLEY,  whose  orchard  home  is  situated  on 
''^  the  Almaden  road,  about  two  miles  south  of 
'W  the  court-house  at  San  Jose,  established  his 
*  present  residence  in  1882,  when  he  purchased 
the  property  of  John  Paine.  Fourteen  acres  is  set 
with  fruit-trees,  the  larger  part  of  which  Mr.  Alley 
himself  planted.  The  leading  fruits  are  apricots  and 
prunes,  although  a  general  variety  of  fruit  is  produced. 
For  irrigation  a  ten-horse-power  engine  is  used,  which 
is  capable  of  throwing  from  a  well  600  gallons  per 
minute.  The  residence  is  commodious  and  conven- 
ient, embowered  and  shaded  by  beautiful  plants  and 
fine  trees, — a  typical  rural  home. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  dates  his  birth  at  Nan- 
tucket, Massachusetts,  in  1824.  He  is  the  son  of 
Obed  and  Susan  (Chase)  Alley,  and  is  able  to  trace 
his  ancestry  back  to  the  Pilgrim  Fathers.  At  Nan- 
tucket, in  1851,  he  wedded  Miss  Phcebe  Bunker,  the 
daughter  of  Asa  G.  and  Mary  (Ray)  Bunker.  Her 
father  was  from  an  old  New  England  family  of  En- 
glish extraction,  while  her  mother  was  of  Scotch  de- 
scent. While  yet  a  lad  Mr.  Alley  became  a  sailor. 
From  1839  to  185 1  he  spent  most  of  the  time  on 
whaling  vessels,  the  scene  of  whose  operations  was  the 
North  Pacific.  He  passed  every  grade  from  a  sailor  be- 
fore the  mast  to  master  of  a  vessel.  His  last  sea  voyage 
was  as  master  of  the  merchant  vessel  Maria  of  Nan- 
tucket, which,  clearing  at  New  York  in  November, 
1850,  made  the  port  of  San  Francisco  in  June,  1851. 
Off  Cape  Horn  the  vessel  was  held  back  by  head 
winds  fifty-six  days.  The  season  of  185 1  was  spent 
in  placer  mining  in  Calaveras  County.  Thence  he 
went  to  Contra  Costa  County,  where  his  wife,  coming 
by  the  Isthmus  route,  joined  him  in  March,  1853.  He 
made  his  home  in  that  county  until  1874,  much  of  the 


time  being  engaged  in  public  business,  serving  either 
as  County  Treasurer  or  County  Assessor  for  ten  years. 
He  was  also  engaged  in  stock  and  dairy  farming 
while  a  resident  of  Contra  Costa  County.  After  re- 
moving to  San  Francisco,  in  1874,  he  was  employed 
for  several  years  as  deputy  in  the  offices  of  the  County 
Treasurer,  Assessor,  and  other  county  officials. 

Mrs.  Alley  is  well-known  as  a  natural  or  magnetic 
healer.  She  was  in  active,  successful  practice  in  San 
Francisco  for  eight  years, — a  practice  lucrative  and 
pleasant,  because  of  the  good  she  wrought  in  hun- 
dreds of  cases.  She  now  confines  her  practice  to  the 
friends  who  come  to  her  home  for  treatment.  Both 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Alley  are,  to  a  certain  degree,  resting 
from  their  labors,  and  leading  a  somewhat  retired  life- 
Their  only  child,  Susie,  is  now  the  wife  of  Willis  D. 
Eitel,  who  resides  at  the  homestead  and  manages  the 
property.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Alley  are  members  of  the 
San  Jose  Grange,  Patrons  of  Husbandry.  Mr.  Alley 
is  identified  with  the  Republican  party,  with  whose 
principles  he  is  thoroughly  in  accord. 


3|)AUL  LARSON,  one  of  the  most  extensive  wool 
Sy®  producers  of  the  county,  owns  forty  and  one-half 
iS)  acres,  situated  on  the  northeast  corner  of  the 
Kifer  road  and  Wilcox  Lane,  in  the  Jefferson  Dis- 
trict, two  miles  northwest  of  the  business  center  of 
Santa  Clara.  His  ranch  is  devoted  principally  to  the 
raising  of  hay  and  stock,  the  latter  comprising  200 
head  of  nearly  full-bred  Merino  sheep,  which  yield 
annually  about  four  pounds  of  fine  wool  per  head. 
About  three  acres  are  devoted  to  fruit  trees,  princi- 
pally Bartlett  pears,  with  the  addition  of  a  few  apples 
and  plums.  Two  artesian  wells  furnish  a  plentiful 
supply  of  water  for  all  purposes. 

Mr.  Larson  is  a  native  of  Denmark,  having  been 
born  near  Aalborge,  June  6,  1831.  He  is  the  son  of 
Lars  Paulson  and  Anna  (Anderson)  Paulson,  both 
natives  of  Denmark.  His  father  died  when  he  was 
but  three  years  old,  and  his  mother  married  Gre- 
grais  Nelson.  At  the  age  of  seven  years  the  death  of 
his  mother  left  him  to  the  care  of  his  step-father,  who, 
despite  the  boy's  tender  years,  put  him  to  the  hardest 
tasks  of  farm  labor,  at  the  same  time  depriving  him  of 
all  schooling  facilities.  This  continued  until  he  was 
twelve  years  old,  when  he  was  taken  to  live  with  his 
uncle,  James  Andersen.  In  this  happier  home  he  re- 
mained for  two  years,  and  then  sought  work  on  farms. 
This  he  obtained  and  engaged  in  for  four  years.  After 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


579 


reaching  eighteen  years  of  age  he  devoted  five  years, 
with  the  exception  of  one  year  spent  in  the  military 
service,  to  learning  the  carpenter's  and  cabinet-maker's 
trades.  He  thoroughly  mastered  these  trades,  and 
until  1858  worked  at  them  in  bis  native  country.  In 
the  last-named  year  he  came  to  the  United  States, 
and,  landing  at  New  York,  proceeded  directly  to  Mil- 
waukee, Wisconsin.  He  stayed  there,  however,  but 
two  months,  before  going  to  Racine,  in  the  same  State. 
That  city  he  made  his  home  for  about  two  years,  en- 
gaged in  working  at  his  trade.  In  the  autumn  of  1858 
— after  having  worked  at  various  things,  such  as  farm- 
ing, railroading,  and  lumbering — he  went  to  Memphis, 
Tennessee.  Four  years  were  spent  there  in  the  work 
of  a  wheelwright.  During  the  last  year  of  his  stay  in 
Memphis,  Mr.  Larson  was  subjected  to  considerable 
persecution,  and,  had  it  not  been  for  his  usefulness  as 
a  wheelwright,  he  would  have  been  forced  to  enter  the 
Confederate  army.  When  the  taking  of  Memphis  by 
the  Union  troops  enabled  him  to  go  North  he  em- 
braced the  opportunity,  taking  a  cargo  of  sugar  to  St. 
Louis  in  the  autumn  of  1862.  After  disposing  of  his 
sugar  he  spent  a  few  months  in  East  St.  Louis,  and 
then  went  to  Columbus,  Kentucky,  where  he  estab- 
lished himself  as  a  wheelwright.  While  there  he  was 
also  employed  in  the  ij;overnment  works  at  building 
and  repairing  gun  carriages. 

In  the  autumn  of  1863  he  took  the  Isthmus  route 
to  California,  and,  soon  after  his  arrival  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, opened  a  wheelwright's  shop,  which  he  con- 
ducted for  two  years.  Changing  his  residence  to 
Dublin,  Amador  Valley,  Alameda  County,  he  there 
conducted  profitably  the  same  business  until  1870 
when  he  entered  into  sheep-raising  and  wool-growing, 
near  Livermore,  in  the  county  above  mentioned. 
Success  attended  his  efforts  during  the  first  five  years, 
his  flocks  increasing  from  800  to  over  5,000  head. 
Then  came  a  series  of  years,  in  which  his  losses  were 
very  heavy,  and,  discouraged  by  these  reverses,  in 
1879  he  sold  out  and  removed  to  Santa  Clara  County, 
and  settled  upon  the  property  (described  at  the  be- 
ginning of  this  sketch)  which  he  had  purchased  two 
years  before. 

Mr.  Larson  never  was  marricil,  and  therefore  has 
no  family  to  record.  Politically  he  is  a  stanch  Re- 
publican, deeply  interested  in  the  public  affairs  of  the 
country  of  his  adoption.  Enterprising,  industrious, 
and  honest  in  his  dealings  with  his  fellow-men,  he  is 
worthy  of  the  respect  in  which  he  is  held  by  his 
neighbors. 


3;0HN  P.  KOCH,  residing  on  Curtner  Avenue,  in 
®^  the  Willow  District,  is  the  o\\  ner  of  a  splendid 
^  orchard,  of  eleven  acres,  which  he  purchased  in 
1885,  paying  $750  per  acre.  He  is  amply  supplied 
for  irrigation  by  a  pump,  which  has  a  capacity  of  800 
gallons  per  minute,  using  a  fifteen-horse  power.  This 
fine  orchard  is  in  full  bearing,  being  seven  years  old 
this  season  (1888).  It  produces  cherries,  prunes, 
apricots,  and  peaches.  In  1887  loi  peach  trees 
yielded  a  crop  which  sold  for  $602.  The  fruit  was 
exceptionally  fine,  averaging  two  and  a  half  inches  in 
diameter.  The  orchard,  in  1887,  yielded  a  revenue, 
above  all  expenses,  of  over  $1,400.  In  i886  Mr, 
Koch  bought  of  the  McGarry  estate,  a  three-year-old 
orchard  of  nine  and  a  half  acres,  in  apricots  and 
peaches.  He  also  has  an  interest  in  one  of  the  fine 
properties  in  the  Sacramento  Valley,  of  100  acres, 
which  is  all  in  fruit. 

Mr.  Koch  is  a  native  of  Holland,  in  which  country 
he  was  born  in  January,  1855.  He  was  reared  and 
educated  in  Germany,  but  at  nineteen  years  of  age 
went  to  South  Africa,  where  for  several  years  he  led 
an  active  business  life.  He  was  unfortunate  enough 
to  suffer  a  sunstroke,  which  made  a  change  of  some 
kind  absolutely  indispensable  to  a  man  of  his  active 
habits.  He  therefore  left  that  tropical  country  and 
in  February,  1885,  became  identified  with  the  horti- 
cultural interests  of  Santa  Clara  County. 

Mr.  Koch  married,  in  Capetown,  South  Africa,  in 
May,  1878.  The  birthplaces  of  his  three  children  in- 
dicate somewhat  his  active  busy  life,  with  its  frequent 
changes  of  residence.  His  eldest  child  was  born  in 
Holland,  the  second  in  South  Africa,  while  the 
youngest  claims  London  as  the  place  of  his   nativity. 

Mr.  Koch  is  a  thoroughly  enthusiastic  horticultur- 
ist, understanding  and  enjoying  his  work.  His  or- 
chards were  well  started  when  he  purchased  them, 
and  their  thrifty  condition  and  the  abundant  harvests 
which  they  yield  are  strong  evidences  of  the  good 
care  which  he  gives  them.  His  brother,  Robert  D. 
Koch  (born  in  Holland,  in  1864),  owns  and  resides 
upon  an  estate  of  eleven  acres,  which  adjoins  his  on 
the  west.  This  property  Mr.  R.  D.  Koch  bought  of 
J.  C.  Arthur,  in  December,  1885,  and  for  it  he  paid 
$4,500.  The  orchard  is  now  seven  years  old,  and 
comprises  cherry,  prune,  peach,  apricot  and  a  few 
plum  trees.  It  is  very  thrifty,  and  has  proved  a  prof- 
itable investment. 

A  sister  of  John  P.  and  Robert  D.  Koch,  Miss 
Ellie  Ann  Koch,  owns  ten  acres  on  the  corner  of 
Plummer  Avenue   and   the    Foxworthy   road.     This 


580 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


orchard  is  four  years  old,  and  consists  of  peach,  prune, 
and  plum  trees.  Miss  Koch  purchased  this  property 
in  March,  1888,  paying  for  it  $7,750.  These  three 
representatives  of  the  Koch  family  may  well  be  con- 
sidered fortunate  in  the  possession  of  such  valuable 
estates  in  so  enjoyable  a  country  as  California,  with 
its  equable  climate  and  fertile  soil. 


fHOMAS  KELTY,  the  owner  of  a  fine  grain 
farm  of  seventy  acres,  resides  on  the  Almaden 
&>•  road,  three  miles  south  of  the  city  limits  of  San 
Jose.  He  was  born  in  County  Roscommon,  Ire- 
land, in  December,  1840,  and  is  the  son  of  Garret  and 
Honora  Kelt}'.  Coming  to  America,  the  land  of  pos- 
sibilities for  a  poor  man,  he  landed  at  Boston,  Decem- 
ber 22,  1868.  Thence  he  went  directly  to  Orange 
County,  New  York.  In  November  of  the  same  year 
he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  where  he  worked  as 
a  laborer  upon  rented  land.  He  waited  only  to  earn 
enough  to  buy  a  farm  for  himself  By  economy  and 
hard  work,  he  was  able  to  accomplish  his  purpose,  in 
1873,  when  he  bought  twenty-five  acres,  near  his 
present  home.  Selling  this  property  shortly,  he 
bought,  in  partnership  with  Michael  Ryan,  133  acres, 
which  they  divided  in  1876.  Mr.  Kelty  retained  sev- 
enty acres,  which  he  devotes  successfully  to  the  pro- 
duction of  grain. 

In  1876  he  married  Miss  Amelia  Cunningham,  a 
native  of  Ireland.  They  have  five  children:  Garrett, 
Mary,  James,  Thomas,  and  Jeremiah.  The  family  are 
members  of  the  Catholic  Church.  After  his  mother's 
death  in  Ireland,  his  father,  with  his  family,  moved  to 
Cheshire  County,  England,  where  Thomas  parted 
with  them.  Mr.  Kelty  was  reared  to  a  farm  life,  and 
never  has  followed  any  other  occupation  regularly. 
Coming  to  the  United  States  a  poor  man,  with  no 
capital  but  strong  hands  and  a  stout  heart,  he  now 
owns  a  good  farm,  for  which  he  paid  $100  to  $125 
per  acre.  He  may  justly  feel  that  he  realizes  the  re- 
ward of  his  labor  in  the  fact  that  he  is  ;iow  in  inde- 
pendent circumstances. 

::^^:zr 

SffelLLIAM  O.  COTTLE  was  born  in  Burlington, 
gW^  Iowa,  August  14,  1850.  In  1854  he  crossed  the 
ci^  plains  with  his  father,  Ira  Cottle  (whose  biogra- 
I  phy  appears  elsewhere  in  this  volume),  settling- 
first  near  Evergreen,  Santa  Clara  County,  but  after- 
ward in  the  Willows.     There  the  father  and  son  have 


since  resided.  After  attending  the  public  schools, 
Mr.  Cottle  completed  his  education  in  the  Vincen- 
haler's  Commercial  College,  from  which  institution  he 
is  a  graduate. 

August  8,  1874,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Fannie  Rountree,  a  native  of  Butte  County,  Califor- 
nia, who  was  born  April  16,  1855.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cot- 
tle are  surrounded  by  three  bright  and  interesting 
children:  Zoe,  Clara  H.,  and  Walter  E.,  aged  twelve, 
eleven,  and  three  years  respectively.  Mr.  Cottle  is 
comfortably  situated  in  the  Willows,  on  eighteen  acres 
of  Santa  Clara's  choicest  soil,  which  he  has  devoted 
to  peach  and  prune  culture.  Politically  he  affiliates 
with  the  Republican  party.  He  is  a  member  of  En- 
terprise Lodge  A.  O.  U.  W. 

M^OBERT  MENZEL,  a  dealer  in  hardware,  tin- 
<^^  ware,  house  furnishing  wares,  and  a  plumber,  of 
"^P  Santa  Clara,  was  born  in  Prussia,  June  16,  1848. 
At  the  age  of  twelve  years  he  was  brought  to 
America  by  his  parents,  who  settled  at  Mayville, 
Wisconsin,  where  he  served  an  apprenticeship  to  learn 
the  trade  of  tinner.  He  afterward  worked  at  his 
trade  at  Milwaukee  one  year  and  five  years  at 
Chicago.  In  1869  he  came  to  California,  being  a  pas- 
senger on  one  of  the  first  trains  that  passed  over  the 
Union  Pacific, landing  at  Sacramento,  where  he  worked 
as  a  tinner  until  the  following  year;  then  coming  to 
San  Jose,  he  worked  here  until  1875,  when  he  came  to 
Santa  Clara.  Here  he  made  his  first  venture  in  busi- 
ness as  a  hardware  merchant.  He  has  built  up  an 
extensive  trade,  and  although  starting  out  on  a  small 
scale,  with  only  what  little  capital  he  had  accumulated 
by  his  earnings,  his  business  has  so  increased  that  he 
now  employs,  in  its  various  departments,  five  men;  and 
his  success  financially  is  the  result  of  hard  work  and 
promptness  in  business. 

Besides  being  an  energetic  business  man,  he  has 
also  taken  an  interest  in  the  welfare  and  advancement 
of  Santa  Clara,  and  has  served  the  public  two  years  as 
a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  three  years  as 
Treasurer,  two  years  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Education,  and  at  this  writing  is  serving  his  second 
term  as  School  Superintendent.  Politically  he  is  a 
Republican.  He  is  a  prominent  Free  Mason,  and  is  a 
member  of  Friend.ship  Lodge,  No.  210,  A.  F.  &  A.  M., 
of  Howard  Chapter,  No.  14,  R.  A.  M.,  and  San  Jose 
Commandery,  No.  10,  K.  T.,  all  of  San  Jose.  He  has 
served  his  lodge  five  years  as  Worshipful  Master,  and 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


581 


at  present  is  Scribe  of  his  Chapter  and  Junior  Warden 
of  his  Commandery. 

In  1 87 1  he  was  married,  at  San  Jose,  to  Miss  Ellen 
Teaford,  daughter  of  Elijah  and  Sarah  (Dull)  Teaford, 
a  native  of  Virginia.  They  liave  five  children:  Annie, 
Henry,  George,  Frank,  and  Pearl. 


apiLLIAM  MURPHY,  one  of  the  prominent 
G^^  farmers  in  the  Milpitas  School  District,  was 
e^  born  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  in  1824. 
'  His  parents,  Thomas  and  Mary  fBrennan) 
Murphy,  were  natives  of  Westmeath  County,  Ireland, 
who  emigrated  to  the  United  States  about  1814,  and 
in  1S39  located  in  Des  Moines  County,  Iowa,  where 
his  father  followed  the  occupation  of  a  farmer.  Mr. 
Murphy  was  reared  as  a  farmer  upon  his  father's 
farm  until  twenty  years  of  age;  he  then  worked  at  the 
carpenter's  trade  for  about  three  years,  after  which  he 
worked  as  a  boatman  on  the  Mississippi  River  for  a 
season;  returning  to  his  trade,  he  followed  that  calling 
until  1859.  In  the  latter  year  he  came  across  the 
plains  to  California  and  located  in  Placer  County, 
where  he  removed  in  September.  He  immediately 
took  up  the  occupation  of  a  miner,  and  was  engaged 
as  such,  in  Placer  and  other  counties,  until  1859. 
Leaving  the  mines,  he  went  to  San  Francisco,  where 
he  married  Miss  Julia  Aspal,  a  resident  of  that  city, 
and  shortly  after  moved  to  Santa  Clara  County,  lo- 
cating in  Santa  Clara  Township.  Upon  his  arrival 
he  began  teaming  and  freighting,  principally  between 
Santa  Clara  and  Alviso.  In  1870  the  death  of  his 
wife  occurred,  and  shortly  after  he  entered  into  farm- 
ing operations  on  the  south  side  of  the  Milpitas  and 
Alviso  roads,  about  one  mile  west  of  the  Milpitas 
road,  upon  the  lands  of  Mrs.  Mary  Shaunnessy,  the 
widow  of  Edward  Shaunnessy,  a  pioneer  of  the  county. 
In  1 87 1  he  married  this  lady,  since  which  time  he 
has  been  engaged  in  farm  occupation.  Mr.  Murphy 
has  a  farm  containing  ninety  acres,  which  he  is  devot- 
ing to  general  farming.  His  extensive  vegetable  cul- 
tivation occupies  twenty  acres,  among  which  is  ten 
acres  of  asparagus.  He  has  also  six  acres  of  Sharpless 
strawberries,  and  six  acres  of  orchard,  the  principal 
production  of  which  are  pears.  This  fruit  matures 
finely,  and  is  very  productive  upon  his  land.  Under 
the  above  cultivation  his  lands  require  irrigation,  and 
for  this  purpose  he  has  two  flowing  artesian  wells,  one 
of  which  furnishes  a  magnificent  supply  of  water, 
flowing  fully  six  inches  above  a  seven-inch  pipe.    The 


remainder  of  his  farm  is  devoted  to  hay,  grain,  and 
stock;  among  the  latter  he  has  some  thorough-bred 
Norman  and  Percheron  horses. 

By  Mr.  Murphy's  first  marriage  there  are  three 
children:  George  H.,  Mary  E.,  and  John  W.  Mary 
E.  married  Nicholas  Whalen;  they  are  living  near 
Milpitas.  George  H.  and  John  W.,  both  enterprising 
and  energetic  young  men,  are  residing  at  home  and 
are  conducting  the  farm  operations.  The  failing 
health  of  Mr.  Murphy  during  the  past  few  years  has 
compelled  his  retirement  from  active  life;  but  his  sons 
have  proved  themselves  his  able  successors  in  the  cul- 
tivation of  these  lands.  Mr.  Murphy  is  an  intelligent 
and  well-read  gentleman,  one  who  takes  a  great  inter- 
est in  all  that  pertains  to  the  prosperity  and  growth 
of  Santa  Clara  County.  Himself  and  family  are  con- 
sistent members  of  the  Catholic  Church.  Politically 
he  may  be  styled  an  Independent,  his  intelligent  criti- 
cism of  public  men  and  measures  being  well  worthy 
of  attention. 


MfeDWARD  MYALL  was  born  in  Dorsetshire 
5^1^  England,  July  11,  1812.  His  parents,  Jeremiah 
^  and  Ann  (Kimber)  Myall,  were  natives  of  En- 
gland. At  the  age  of  ten  years  he  was  put  to 
work  at  the  calling  of  his  father,  shoemaking,  and  was 
thus  deprived  of  nearly  all  schooling  facilities.  He 
continued  at  this  trade  until  1830,  when  he  came  to 
the  United  States.  Landing  in  New  York,  he  was 
engaged  at  his  trade  until  1838,  when  he  returned  to 
England,  and  while  there  married  Miss  Rachel  Law- 
rence, a  native  of  Dorsetshire,  England.  In  1840  he 
returned  to  the  United  States  and  after  working  a 
short  time  in  Maysville,  Kentucky,  located  near 
Paris,  Bourbon  County,  in  that  State,  and  engaged  in 
business  in  the  boot  and  shoe  trade.  In  1843  his  wife 
and  child  joined  him  here. 

Mr.  Myall  successfully  conducted  his  business  there 
for  many  years,  rearing  and  educating  a  large  family, 
and  became  one  of  the  representative  men  of  Bourbon 
County.  In  the  years  1866  and  1867  he  was  a  member 
of  the  Kentucky  State  Legislature  from  Bourbon 
County,  an  office  which  he  filled  to  the  credit  of  him- 
self and  his  constituents. 

In  1878  Mr.  Myall,  feeling  the  need  of  a  change  of 
climate,  and  desirous  of  retiring  from  active  business 
pursuits,  came  to  Santa  Clara  County  and  took  up  his 
residence  about  a  half  mile  west  of  the  Santa  Clara 
and  Alviso  road,  in  the  Parker  School  District,  about 


582 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


two  miles  nortli  of  Santa  Clara,  at  which  point  he  is 
the  owner  of  eighty  acres  of  productive  land.  With 
the  exception  of  a  small  family  orchard,  his  farm  is 
devoted  to  the  raising  of  hay,  grain,  and  stock. 
Among  the  latter  mention  may  be  made  of  some 
thorough-bred  Jersey  cattle,  also  of  full-bred  trotting 
horses  of  the  Hambletonian  breed.  He  has  tvfo  flow- 
ing artesian  wells  upon  his  land,  producing  an  abun- 
dance of  water  for  stock,  domestic,  and  irrigation  pur- 
poses. On  his  irrigated  land  is  ten  acres  of  alfalfa, 
which  yields  over  five  tons  per  acre  each  year.  Mr. 
Myall  has  a  comfortable  cottage  home,  which  he  has 
surrounded  by  beautiful  and  well-ordered  grounds, 
in  which  he  takes  a  justly  deserved  pride,  as  it  is 
mostly  the  work  of  his  own  hands.  The  beautiful 
shaded  avenue  leading  to  his  house,  the  walks,  roads, 
hedges,  etc.,  are  all  improvements  that  he  has  perfected 
in  the  past  ten  years.  The  many  rare  and  beautiful 
flowers  and  trees  which  he  has  collected  and  tended, 
show  him  to  be  a  horticulturist  of  no  mean  order. 
In  this  work  he  has  been  ably  assisted  by  his  daugh- 
ter Elizabeth.  Mr.  Myall  is  a  consistent  member  of 
the  Methodist  Church,  taking  a  great  interest  in  its 
welfare.  He  is  also  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  23,  I.  O. 
O.  F.,  of  Bourbon  County,  Kentucky.  Politically 
he  is  Democratic.  Mr.  Myall's  success  in  life,  the 
high  position  he  has  held  in  the  communities  in  which 
he  has  resided,  has  been  the  result  of  the  straight- 
forward, manly  qualities  that  are  natural  to  his  dis- 
position, rather  than  to  any  advantages  he  received 
from  educational  facilities  in  early  life.  He  is  a  desir- 
able neighbor,  and  much  respected  in  the  commu- 
nity in  which  he  resides. 


Mi  D.  STONE.  Among  the  beautiful  residence 
s^  and  productive  orchard  properties  in  the  Hamil- 
T  ton  School  District  is  that  of  Mr.  Stone,  located 
on  Moorpark  Avenue,  about  three  miles  southwest  of 
the  business  center  of  San  Jose.  The  beautiful  resi- 
dence, with  about  nine  acres  of  land,  is  the  property 
of  Mrs.  Stone;  but  adjoining  this,  on  the  east,  is  a 
highly  productive  orchard  of  fifteen  acres,  owned  by 
Mr.  Stone.  Thi5  orchard  is  under  the  immediate 
supervision  of  Captain  Cash,  and  shows  great  care 
and  attention  on  his  part  in  its  cultivation.  This 
orchard,  with  the  exception  of  150  walnut  trees,  is 
devoted  to  French  prunes,  the  trees  being  six  years 
old.  Mr.  Stone,  in  connection  with  his  mother,  Mrs. 
S.  B.  Stone,  also   owns  forty-three  acres  located  on 


the  Mountain  View  and  Prospect  road,  in  the  Lincoln 
School  District,  eight  miles  southwest  of  San  Jose. 
This  valuable  land  is  devoted  to  orchard  and  vine- 
yard purposes,  fifteen  acres  being  planted  with  French 
prunes;  the  balance — with  the  exception  of  that  por- 
tion occupied  by  a  family  orchard  and  residence — is 
in  vines,  producing  wine-grapes  of  the  most  valuable 
varieties.  A  beautiful  residence,  combining  all  the 
comforts  and  conveniences  of  modern  houses,  and 
commodious  and  well-ordered  out-buildings,  is  upon 
this  place. 


ICHAEL  R.  SULLIVAN  was  born  in  St. 
Edwards  County,  Canada  East,  in  1837.  His 
parents,  Patrick  G.  and  Bridget  (Madigan)  Sul- 
livan (whose  history  appears  in  this  volume), 
were  natives  of  Ireland,  who  emigrated  to  Canada, 
and  afterward,  in  1851,  came  overland  to  California, 
and  located  in  Santa  Clara  County  in  1852.  His 
father  was  extensively  engaged  in  farming,  stock- 
raising,  and  dairy  pursuits,  to  which  occupations  Mr. 
Sullivan  was  reared,  receiving  such  schooling  as  the 
public  schools  afforded.  He  worked  upon  his  father's 
farm  until  1873.  In  October  of  this  year  he  married 
Miss  Bridget  Commons,  a  sister  of  William  Com- 
mons, a  resident  of  San  Jose.  In  the  same  year  he 
established  himself  in  the  grocery  business  in  San 
Jose,  in  partnership  with  J.  Carmichael,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Carmichael  &  Sullivan,  and  afterward 
under  the  name  of  Able,  Carmichael  &  Sullivan.  This 
business  was  successfully  conducted  until  1876.  He 
then  established  a  grocery  store  in  East  San  Jose,  and 
continued  in  that  business  until  1879.  In  this  latter 
year  he  went  into  the  employ  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railroad  Company  as  a  foreman  upon  construction 
work, — a  portion  of  the  time  being  employed  in  Ari- 
zona. He  was  engaged  with  this  company  until  1881. 
He  then  entered  the  employ  of  the  Santa  Clara  Val- 
ley Mill  and  Lumber  Company,  where  he  was  en- 
gaged until  August,  1886.  In  this  year  he  estab- 
lished a  grocery  store  at  the  corner  of  Santa  Clara 
and  San  Pedro  Streets,  San  Jose,  in  partnership  with 
his  brother-in-law,  William  Commons,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Commons  &  Co.,  and  has  since  been  engaged 
in  that  business.  Mr.  Sullivan  is  the  owner  of  the  resi- 
dence on  the  corner  of  Santa  Clara  and  McLaughlin 
Avenues,  East  San  Jose.  He  has  for  many  years 
been  identified  with  the  business  interests  of  Santa 
Clara  County,  and   has  always  been  a  public-spirited 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


583 


and  progressive  citizen,  greatly  interested  in  all  enter- 
prises that  tended  to  promote  the  growth  and  welfare 
of  the  community  in  which  he  resides.  Politically 
he  is  a  liberal  Democrat,  and,  though  never  aspiring 
to  office,  has  always  taken  a  deep  interest  in  the  best 
elements  of  his  party.  Himself  and  family  are  con- 
sistent members  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sullivan  are  the  parents  of  six  chil- 
dren, namely.  Charles  J.,  William  R.,  Frank  T.,  Er- 
nest, Mary,  and  Silvia  G. 


IgANIEL  S.  LUNDY.  Among  the  older  resi- 
st dents  of  the  Berryessa  District  is  the  subject  of 
_/^  this  sketch,  a  brief  history  of  whom  is  as  fol- 
lows: Mr.  Lundy  was  born  in  Grayson,  Virginia, 
September  14,  1829.  His  parents,  Azariah  and  Eliza- 
beth (Holder)  Lundy,  were  natives  of  Virginia.  His 
father  was  a  blacksmith,  and  while  Mr.  Lundy  was  a 
mere  lad  moved  to  Surry  County,  North  Carolina, 
where  he  established  himself  as  a  farmer.  To  this 
calling  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  until  able 
to  work  in  his  father's  blacksmith  shop.  He  then 
learned  the  trade  of  blacksmith.  He  worked  with  his 
father  until  twenty-two  years  of  age,  and  then,  in 
1 85 1,  located  in  Buchanan  County,  Missouri.  There 
he  worked  at  farming  and  at  his  trade  until  1853. 
In  the  spring  of  the  latter  year  he  started  with  an 
emigrant  train,  overland,  for  California.  Arriving  in 
Sacramento  in  August  of  the  same  year,  he  came  im- 
mediately to  Santa  Clara  County,  and  took  up  his 
residence  in  San  Jose,  and  commenced  work  at  his 
trade. 

In  1855  Mr.  Lundy  married  Miss  Emily  C.  Ogan, 
daughter  of  Alexander  and  Sarah  Ogan,  residents  of 
Santa  Clara  County,  and  in  the  same  year  moved  to 
a  tract  near  Berryessa,  belonging  to  his  father-in-law. 
For  two  years  he  was  engaged  there  in  farming  and 
working  at  his  trade.  In  1857  he  built  a  shop  (now 
owned  by  Philip  Anderson)  in  Berryessa,  and  estab- 
lished himself  as  a  blacksmith.  In  i860,  when  seces- 
sion talk  and  feeling  were  strong  and  party  feeling 
bitter,  Mr.  Lundy,  although  of  Southern  birth,  took 
a  decided  stand  for  the  Union;  and  that  all  might 
know  his  sentiments  he  erected  a  liberty  pole  in  front 
of  his  shop,  and  for  months  the  "old  flag"  flying 
thereon  was  a  witness  to  his  loyalty.  The  flag  was 
made  by  his  wife  from  flannel  he  purchased  for  the 
purpose,  but  it  was  loved  and  respected  as  though  of 
the  finest   bunting  or  silk.      In  1861  he   sold  out  his 


I  shop  and  moved  to  the  corner  of  the  Berryessa  road 
:  and  Lundy's  Lane,  where  he  has  since  resided.  Mr. 
■  Lundy  owns  twelve  acres  at  this  point,  which  is  de- 
I  voted  to  hay  and  stock  purposes.  He  is  also  the 
!  owner  of  340  acres  of  hill  land  located  in  the  Mount 
j  Hamilton  School  District.  This  land  is  used  exclu- 
j  sively  for  stock  raising.  Among  the  latter  he  has 
'  some  fine  horses  of  the  "  Belmont,"  "  Patchen,"  and 
■•Rattler"  breeds.  He  also  devotes  considerable  at- 
j  tention  to  cattle-raising,  among  which  are  some  ex- 
cellent Durham  stock. 
I  Mr.  Lundy  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  but  is  very 
liberal  and  conservative  in  his  views,  and  his  political 
I  actions  are  guided  more  by  men  and  their  principles 
j  than  by  party  feeling.  During  his  long  residence  in 
j  the  Berryessa  District  he  has  always  taken  an  interest 
j  in  its  prosperity,  and  is  a  firm  believer  in  the  future 
i  wealth  that  is  in  store  for  his  section  of  the  county- 
j  Mrs.  Lundy  died  in  1876.  From  the  marriage  of 
I  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lundy  there  are  five  children  living,  viz.: 
\  Isaac  F.,  Martha  A.,  Ida  B.,  Louisa,  and  Charles  H. 
j  ^^^  ^Ar..^ 

!  ^ 

i  Mjp  W.   DARLING  was  born  in  Missisquoi  County, 
i   S^?  Province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  December  28,  1834. 
;    ^    His  father,  Stephen   P.   Darling,  was  a  native  of 
Vermont;    his   mother,    Mary   (Cleveland)    Dar- 
ling, was  born  in   Connecticut,  and  was  the  daughter 
I  of  Charles  Cleveland,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  and 
1  a  descendant  of  Moses  Cleveland,  who  emigrated  from 
;   England   in    1610,  and  settled    near  VVoburn,  Massa- 
chusetts.     Mr.  Darling's  father  was  engaged   in   mer- 
cantile pursuits,  and  he  was  brought  up  to  this  calling 
until  the  age  of  eighteen   years;  he  then  engaged  in 
the  manufacture   of  whalebone,  learning  his  trade  in 
Boston,  Alassachusctts.     He  followed  this  occupation 
until  1859,  when    he   came  to   California,  and  after  a 
year   spent  in    Sierra   County,  engaged   in   extensive 
stock-raising  in  Tehama   County.     This  calling  oc- 
cupied   his    attention    until    1867,    in   which   year  he 
came  to  Santa  Clara  County  and  purchased  600  acres 
of  land  near  Gilroy      There  he  was  engaged  in  farm- 
ing,  stock-growing,   and   dairy  business  for  about  a 
year.     He  then  removed  to  Milpitas,  and  entered  into 
the  mercantile  business  with  Calvin  Valpey,  Jr.,  and 
continued    there    until    1879.     In    1875   Mr.  Darling 
erected  the  Milpitas  grain  warehouses;  he  also  took 
the  agency  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company, 
and  Wells,  Fargo    &   Co.'s  Express,  in    1871,  and  has 
conducted   the  business  of  these  companies  in   Mil- 


584 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE    WORLD:' 


pitas  since  that  date.  In  1SS4  his  warehouses  were 
burned.  The  fire  was  caused  by  an  incendiary,  and  in 
rebuilding  Mr.  Darling  provided  against  further  van- 
dalism of  that  character  by  erecting  fire-proof  build- 
ings. His  present  warehouses  are  entirely  roofed  and 
cased  with  corrugated  iron,  and  are  the  first  ware- 
houses of  this  character  built  in  the  State.  His  grain 
warehouse  has  a  storage  capacity  for  4,000  tons,  while 
the  warehouse  devoted  to  hay  will  store  1,500  tons. 
He  is  quite  extensively  engaged  in  the  wholsale  hay 
and  grain  trade,  and  is  also  the  owner  of  100  acres  of 
productive  land  situated  just  east  of  Milpitas,  upon 
which  he  i..  raising  grain. 

In  1855  he  married  Miss  Abbie  Churchill,  the 
daughter  of  Deacon  Nathaniel  and  Abbie  (Valpcy) 
Churchill,  residents  of  Yarmouth,  Nova  Scotia,  but 
citizens  of  the  United  States.  From  this  marriage 
there  has  been  ore  son  born,  who  died  in  infancy. 
Mr.  Darling's  extensive  business  operations  have 
made  him  well  known  throughout  the  section  in  which 
he  resides,  and  he  has  been  closely  identified  with  all 
measures  tending  to  advance  the  interests  of  Milpitas. 
He  is  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  of  his  township;  is  a 
prominent  member  of  the  Baptist  Church,  and  polit- 
ically is  a  strong  and  consistent  Republican. 


IF 


^RED  DREISCHMEYER  was  born  in  Germany 
■  in  1850.  His  parents,  Gustav  and  Wilemine 
T  Dreischmeyer,  emigrated  to  the  United  States 
in  1852,  and  located  at  Chicago,  where  his  father 
pursued  his  calling,  that  of  brick-maker,  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1854.  His  mother  also  died 
in  the  same  year.  The  family  thus  orphaned  had 
a  severe  struggle  for  maintenance,  and  when  but 
a  mere  lad  Mr.  Dreischmeyer  was  employed  during 
the  summer  season  in  the  brick-yards,  at  such  work 
as  he  was  able  to  perform,  attending  school  in  the 
winter  months.  He  was  employed  in  the  yards  at 
Chicago  until  eighteen  years  of  age,  becoming  thor- 
oughly versed  in  all  the  practical  branches  of  his 
trade  as  a  brick-maker. 

In  1870  he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  and  was 
engaged  as  a  foreman  in  the  brick-yards  of  Michael 
Farrell,  at  Gilroy,  until  1871.  He  spent  the  next  two 
years  working  in  the  Redwoods.  In  1873  and  1874 
he  rented  a  farm  near  the  Twenty-one  Mile  House, 
on  the  Monterey  road,  and  followed  the  occupation 
of  a  farmer  during  those  years.  He  then  worked  at 
his  trade  as  a  journeyman  until  1879,  when  he  was 


emplo>'ed  as  a  foreman  in  the  brick-yard  of  Michael 
Farrell  for  two  years.  In  1882,  in  connection  with 
\V.  P.  Dougherty  and  D.  Corkery,  he  established  the 
San  Jose  Bride  Compan\-,  since  incoriDorated  under 
that  name.  Since  that  time  Mr.  Dreischmeyer  has 
had  the  immediate  charge  and  supervision  of  the  two 
yards  located  on  the  South  Pacific  Coast  Railroad, 
three  miles  south  of  San  Jose.  Mr.  Dreischmeyer 
has  devoted  nearly  all  his  life  to  brick  manufacture, 
and  is  thoroughly  skilled  in  all  the  practical  details  of 
his  calling.  This  knowledge,  combined  with  his  en- 
ergetic and  sound  business  management,  is  rendering 
the  enterprise  a  profitable  investment.  The  San  Jose 
Brick  Company's  brick-yards  comprise  one  of  the 
mo.st  important  industries  in  the  county,  they  being 
the  largest  manufacturers  of  brick  in  the  county,  and 
among  the  largest  in  the  State.  The  magnitude  of 
the  business  may  be  shown  by  a  few  facts.  In  1887 
the  product  of  their  yards  was  over  23,000,000  of 
brick,  employing  in  their  manufacture  nearly  200 
men.  They  consumed  nearly  10,000  cords  of  wood 
in  that  year,  which  also  furnished  employment  for  a 
large  force  of  men.  The  products  of  their  yards, 
except  what  is  used  in  the  county,  are  sent  to  the 
San  Francisco  market,  though  their  pressed  brick  is 
sent  to  nearly  all  important  points  on  the  Pacific 
Coast. 


■JOHN  MACHADO  resides  on  the  San  Jose  and 
.^'  Alviso  road,  at  the  junction  of  the  Montague 
^  road,  in  the  Midway  School  District,  about  six 
miles  north  of  San  Jose,  at  which  point  he  is  the  • 
owner  of  sixteen  acres  of  land,  two  acres  of  which  is 
planted  with  grape-vines  of  the  Mission  variety.  The 
rest  of  his  land  is  devoted  to  the  raising  of  hay  and 
grain.  He  is  also  the  owner  of  a  saloon  and  billiard- 
room  on  the  corner. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  at  Fayal, 
Azores  Islands,  in  1831.  His  parents,  Manuel  and 
Francisco  Carlota  Machado,  were  natives  and  resi- 
dents of  the  place  of  his  birth.  His  father  was  a 
farmer  and  saloon-keeper,  in  which  occupations  he 
was  reared  until  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  when  he 
came  to  the  United  States,  landing  in  New  London, 
Connecticut.  From  this  point  he  was  engaged  for 
the  next  three  years  on  a  whaling  voyage.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1850,  he  shipped  on  an  American  vessel  bound 
for  San  Francisco,  arriving  there  in  April,  1851. 
Soon  after  his   arrival   in  California,   he   located   in 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


5S5 


Placer  County,  and  for  more  than  a  year  was  engaged 
in  mining.  He  then  removed  to  San  Pablo,  Contra 
Costa  County,  and  followed  the  calling  of  a  farmer 
for  about  three  years.  Returning  to  the  mines,  he 
pursued  that  occupation  in  Georgetown  and  in  Tuol- 
umne County,  until  1865.  In  this  latter  year  he 
visited  his  old  home  in  the  Azore  Islands,  and  while 
there  married  IMiss  Vescencia  Ignacia  Gracia,  the 
daughter  of  Manuel  and  Vescencia  (Ignacia)  Gracia, 
who  were  natives  of  that  place.  He  then  returned 
to  the  United  States,  accompanied  by  his  bride,  and 
located  in  Santa  Clara  County,  where  he  engaged  in 
farm  labor  until  1873,  in  which  year  he  rented  the 
Willows  Fountain  on  the  San  Jose  and  Milpitas 
road,  three  miles  north  of  San  Jose.  He  was  the 
proprietor  of  this  well-known  resort  for  the  next 
twelve  years.  In  18S5  he  moved  to  his  present  resi- 
dence. 

Air.  Machado,  by  his   industry  and  strict  attention 
to  his  business,  has  succeeded  in  placing  himself  in 
comfortable  circumstances.     He  takes  a  deep  interest 
in  the  country  of  his  adoption,  and  particularly  in  the  j 
prosperity  of  Santa  Clara  County.     In  politics  he  is  I 
Democratic,  but  e.Kcrcises  an  intelligent  discretion  in   j 
his  support  of  men  and  measures.  1 


riMRS.  SARAH  T.  INGALL.  whose  two  or- 
G^lyK  chards,  one  of  twelve  acres,  on  Cherry  Avenue, 
^^  and  one  of  four  and  one-half  acres,  on  Hicks 

T 


Avenue,    are     considered     monuments    of    a 
woman's  success  in  fruit-growing,  deserves  more  than 
a  passing  notice.     She  has  fully  proven    that  in  no 
field  of  action  can  a  woman  of  refinement,  possessing 
the    necessary    capital   and  executive  ability,  reap  a 
more  satisfactory  reward  than  in  that  of  fruit-growing 
in    the    Santa    Clara   Valley.     Purchasing  the  home 
place  on  Cherry  Avenue,  in  1875,  and  that  on  Hicks 
Avenue  at  a  later  date,  she  has  so  developed   them  i 
that    the    result    is  a    beautiful   home,    a    liberal    in-  j 
come,  and  an  indci)cndent  existence.     The  places  are  j 
planted   in    prunes  cherries,  and   apricots.     In    1887  | 
from  these  two  places  the   apricots  and   cherries  sold 
for  about  $5,000,  including  the  prunes  still  on  hand. 
She  has  had  lately  erected  a  large  drying-house  with  I 
a  capacity  of  four  and   a  half  tons    per  day.     Airs,  j 
Ingall  had   originally  purchased    and  used  a    steam  j 
boiler  and  pump  for  irrigating  the  orchard  when  re-  i 
•luircd,  which  she  learned  to  manage  with  the  aid  of  1 
a  Chinaman,    and    found    invaluable,  as   it    increased  | 


largely  the  volume  of  the  fruit  crop.  She  now  pur- 
chases water  from  the  large  irrigating  works  of  her 
neighbor,  M-r,  Geiger. 

Born  in  New  York  city,  she  passed  most  of  her 
early  youth  at  the  family  home  at  Charlestown,  Mas- 
sachusetts, attending  school  for  some  years  later  at 
the  Convent  of  the  Visitation  at  Washington,  D.  C. 
Her  parents  were  Capt.  Geo.  W.  and  Rebecca 
(Hawkes)  Taylor,  the  former  a  native  of  New  Jersey 
and  the  latter  of  Lynn,  Massachusetts.  Mrs.  Ingall 
is  a  widow  with  one  son,  George  Taylor  Ingall,  now 
in  his  thirteenth  year,  attending  school  in  the  Willows. 
She  is  the  only  daughter  of  her  parents.  Her  father, 
Captain  Taylor,  was  a  man  of  wonderful  inventive 
genius,  improving  the  diving-bell  of  his  day  by  sev- 
eral valuable  inventions,  and  later  invented  the  Taylor 
Submarine  Armor,  the  first  submarine  apparatus  after 
the  diving-bell  that  was  practically  successful.  He 
was  an  intimate  friend  of  Professor  Morse,  inventor 
of  the  telegraph,  and  of  Goodyear,  whose  inventions 
have  made  India  rubber  and  its  combinations  so  val- 
uable. These  three  were  mutual  confidantes  in  their 
various  inventions,  all  equally  struggling  to  accom- 
plish great  results  with  limited  means.  Finally,  Cap- 
tain Taylor  took  Goodyear  along  on  a  submarine 
diving  expedition  on  the  coast  of  Florida,  which  gave 
both  a  financial  start.  After  devoting  himself  for 
years  to  the  use  and  improvement  of  diving  appara- 
tus, he  engaged  in  raising  sunken  ships  containing 
valuable  cargoes.  Mrs.  Ingall  has  now  in  her  pos- 
session a  small  wooden  toy  horse  taken  by  Captain 
Taylor  from  the  cabin  of  the  British  frigate  Hussar, 
which  was  sunk  in  Long  Island  Sound  after  striking 
on  the  rocks  at  Hell-gate  during  the  Revolutionary 
War,  and  which  contained  treasure  intended  to  be  paid 
to  the  troops  then  stationed  in  the  neighborhood  of 
New  York.  Captain  Taylor  was  a  practical  business 
man  as  well  as  an  inventor.  He  took  contracts  for 
raising  sunken  ships  and  their  cargoes,  or  such  parts 
as  were  considered  valuable,  and  had  amassed  a  fort- 
une of  $100,000  at  the  time  of  his  death.  His  last 
contract  was  to  raise  a  large  American  ship,  the 
Mississippi,  sunk  in  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar.  The 
L'nitcd  States  Government  paid  him  $5,000  to  make 
the  trip  and  see  what  could  be  done.  On  making  an 
exploration  he  agreed  to  do  the  work  for  $25,000. 
pending  the  accomplishment  of  which  work  he  died, 
in  April,  1S51.  Among  Captain  Taylor's  inventions 
might  be  mentioned  a  floating  bomb-proof  battery 
with  means  of  revolving  heavy  guns,  practically  an 
iron-clad  Alonitor  except  that  it  did  not  contain  mo- 


5S6 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


tive  power.     Also,  a  submarine  boat  for  attacking  an  , 
enemy's    ship,    very    similar    to    our    torpedo-boats.  I 
Doubtless,  had  Captain  Taylor  lived    during  the  late  ! 
Civil  War,   his   inventions  and  his  capacity  for  their  j 
practical   application   would  have  immediately  revo-  | 
lutionized  the  methods  of  naval  warfare  then  existing,  i 
Mrs.   Taylor,  who  resides   with  Mrs.    Ingall,  dates  i 
her  American  ancestry  back    to  the  days  of  the  Pil-  } 
grim    Fathers.     Her  brothers,  Louis  P.,  Samuel,  and  j 
Abijah,  and  her  sister,  Tacy  Hawkes,  are  now  living 
on  the  old  farm,  one  mile  square,  granted  to  her  an- 
cestor, Adam  Hawkes,  by  the  British  Government  in 
1630,  on  which  he  settled  on  his  arrival   in    New  En- 
gland, ten  years  after  the  first  arrival  of  the  Mayfloivcr, 
25S  years  ago,  and  where  the  family  had  a  reunion  in 
iSSo.      The     fortune    left    by    Captain    Taylor  was 
largely  lost  to  his  widow  and  daughter  by  the  execu- 
tors of  the  estate,  the  home    in    the    Willows    being 
purchased  by  the  residue    then    remaining   to   them. 
To  say  only  that  this  has  been  successfully  managed 
and  increased  in   value   would  be  paying  but  a  poor 
tribute  to  this  capable  and  charming  woman. 


^ACHARIAH   H.  MARTLN  was    born   in  Clai- 
^  borne  County,  Tennessee,  near  the  Virginia  line, 
T    October   8,    1S4S.     His  father,    Hugh  Patterson 
Martin,   was   a    native    of  North    Carolina,   and    his 
mother,  Rhoda  (Holt)  Martin,  was  of  English  descent, 
her  parents  having  located  in  Tennessee.     John  Mar- 
tin, the  father  of  Hugh  P.,  was  an  officer  in  the  Con- 
tinental army  during    the    Revolution.     The    family 
always  made  their  home  in  Tennessee.     Hugh  P.  was 
a  blacksmith,  but  followed  farming  the  latter  part  of 
his  life.     He  settled  in  Sequachie  Valley  at  an  early 
day,  and  from  there  moved  to  Claiborne  County,  and 
subsequently  Union  County,  near  by  where  he  built 
the  first  house  in  Maynardville,  the  county  seat.     In 
1859  he  removed  to  Warren  County,  where  he  died, 
in  1884,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years.     He  had  a  family  I 
of  ten  children,  seven  sons    and  three  daughters,  of  i 
whom  five  sons  and  two   daughters  are  now   living.  I 
The  subject  of  this  sketch   lived   with  his  parents  ; 
until  the  fall  of  1865,  attending  private  schools  a  part  ! 
of  the  time.     His  last  schooling  was  at  the  Maynard-  \ 
viUe  Academy.     He  then  went  to  Chattanooga  and  | 
became  a  clerk  under  his  brother-in-law,  Major  J.  .M. 
Sawyer.     Shortly    afterward    he    took    charge    of    a 
hotel  and  store  combined,  called  the  Half-way  House, 
on  the   Georgia  and    Tennessee  line,  near    Lookout 


?tIountain.  He  remained  there  until  the  fall  of  1866, 
when  he  went  to  Rutledge,  the  oldest  town  in  East 
Tennessee,  and  sold  goods  for  his  brother-in-law.  who 
was  United  States  Claim  Agent  and  Internal  Reve- 
nue Collector,  Mr.  Martin  doing  all  the  writing  for 
the  business,  and  remaining  there  about  seventeen 
months.  He  then  returned  to  Warren  County,  Ten- 
nessee, and  visited  his  parents  for  a  few  months,  and 
then  went  to  Bedford  County  and  became  Deputy 
Postmaster  under  his  brother,  J.  D.  Martin.  His 
brother  also  had  a  general  merchandise  store.  At 
the  end  of  four  years  he  and  two  others  bought  out 
his  brother's  business,  which  they  carried  on  for  one 
year,  when  he  came  to  California,  in  1S72.  He  first 
went  to  prospecting  for  quicksilver  in  Sonoma  Count}', 
regarding  which  there  was  much  excitement  at  the 
time.     He  was  there  two  years. 

He  was  married.Mayj,  1876,  to  Mary  E.Dale,  daugh- 
ter of  E.  Dale.  During  this  time  he  was  engaged  with 
his  brother,  E.  B.  Martin,  in  farming.  They  had  260 
acres  in  grain  and  300  acres  of  grazing  land  in  San  Ma- 
teo County.  In  1876  he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County 
and  remained  about  a  year,  when  he  returned  to  San 
Mateo  County,  near  where  he  had  formerly  lived,  and 
began  to  improve  196  acres  belonging  to  his  wife. 
In  1 882  he  returned  to  Santa  Clara  County,  where  he 
has  since  remained.  For  two  years  he  worked  in  or- 
chards and  vineyards,  and  the  rest  of  the  time  has 
engaged  in  farming.  Mr.  Martin  formerly  belonged 
to  the  Christian  Church,  but  now  belongs  to  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church  of  Mountain  View. 
He  has  three  children;  Matilda  E.,  Anna  S.,  and 
Hugh  P.,  now  living.  He  lost  two,  who  died  in  in- 
fancy. 


5n|LFRED  MALPAS,  son  of  Charies  T.  and  Eliz- 
i^p  abcth  Malpas,  was  born  in  New  York  city, 
■V^?  November  16,  1840.  Alfred,  the  youngest  of 
t  the  family  of  four  sons,  was  educated  in  New 
York.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  was  apprenticed  to 
learn  the  trade  of  printer,  and  worked  in  that  capac- 
ity for  three  years,  when  he  went  into  the  employ  of 
the  New  York  &  Harlem  Railroads  as  telegraph  op- 
erator for  the  road  office.  Here  he  remained  for  two 
years,  when  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Erie  Rail- 
road and  was  stationed  at  Otisville,  New  York,  Jersey 
City,  and  Patcrson,  New  Jersey,  as  operator  of  this 
road,  train  dispatcher,  and  ticket  agent,  which  rela- 
tions he  held  till  1861. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


587 


When  the  war  broke  out  he  enlisted   as  a   private 
in    Company  I,   Second    New  Jersey   Volunteer   In- 
antry,and  participated  in  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run; 
was   appointed    private    secretary    to    General    Phil. 
Kearney  in   1861,  a  short  time  after  the  battle,  and 
upon  the    landing   of  the    army  of  the  Potomac  at 
Yorktown  was  appointed  an  aide-de-camp  on  General 
Kearney's   staff     He   was   commissioned    a  Second 
Lieutenant  after  the  battle  of  Williamsburg,  his  com- 
mission   bearing   date   July   8,   1862.     He   was    first 
Lieutenant  August  12,  1862;  was  wounded  and  dis- 
abled at  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run  and  on  account 
of  the  wound  was  discharged  February  8,  1863.    Soon 
thereafter  he  resumed  his  position  as  ticket  agent  of 
the  Erie   Railroad,  and   remained   in   the  employ  of 
that  company  nearly  three  years.     In- 1865  he  resigned 
to  take  a  position   on  the  Atlantic  &   Great  Western, 
and  was  stationed  at  Warren,  Ohio.     In  1868,  on  ac- 
count of  ill  health,  he  resigned  and  took  a  sea  voyage 
to  China  and  Japan,  where  he  remained  about  a  year. 
He  then  came  to  San  Francisco  and  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  the  Central   Pacific   Railroad  as  a  telegraph 
operator,  and   afterward  was  appointed  ticket  agent 
for  the  Oakland  Ferry.     He  was  afterward  appointed 
overland  ticket  agent  for  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad 
at  the  foot  of  Market  Street,  and  afterward  his  office 
was  transferred  to  the  Grand  Hotel.     He  was  in  the 
employ  of  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad  between  six- 
teen  and   seventeen   years,  and   in    September,  1884, 
resigned  and  came  to  reside  on   his  fruit   ranch   near 
Saratoga,  a  part  of  which    was    purchased    in    1880. 
The  place  was  set  out  to  fruit  in  1881,  and  additions 
have  been  made  since.     He  has  at  present  forty  acres 
in  fruit-trees,  and  sixty  acres  in  vines,  besides  eighty- 
seven  acres  of  timbered  land.     He  has   1,000   French 
prunes,  500  Silver  prunes,    300  German  prunes,    200 
Lewis  prunes,  250  apple.s,  300  pears,  lOO  cherries,  500 
peaches,  500  apricots,  25  almond,  25  walnuts,  200  as- 
sorted plums,  a  few  oranges  and  lemons,  and  60  acres 
in  grapes  of  different  varieties.     His  house  has  four- 
teen rooms  exclusive  of  two  bath-rooms,  one  upstairs 
and    one   down,  supplied    with    hot    and    cold  water 
throughout  the  house.     The   water   is    brought   from 
the  mountains  in  pipes.     The  water  has  a  natural  fall 
and  is  carried  to  a  tank  which   holds    10,000  gallons. 
He  has  gas  throughout  the  house,  which  he  manu- 
factures  himself  from   gasoline.      His  house  is  finely 
furnished,  the  house   and    furniture   costing  $25,000. 
A  fine  lawn  surrounds  the  house. 

Mr.    Malpas    was    married,  February    14,    1874,  to 
Mary  L.  Johnson,  a  native  of  New  York.     They  have 


four  children,  two  sons  and  two  daughters.  Mr. 
Malpas  is  Manager  of  the  Los  Gatos  and  Saratoga 
Wine  and  Fruit  Company;  is  a  member  of  George 
H.  Thomas  Post,  No.  2,  G.  A.  R.,  of  San  Francisco, 
and  a  member  of  the  Loyal  Legion  Commandery  of 
California,  and  a  member  of  Oriental  Masonic  Lodge 
of  San  Francisco. 


tHARLES  DOERR.of  the  New  York  Bakery,  at 
...  No.  174  South  First  Street,  San  Jose,  has  been 
(3)t  identified  with  the  business  interests  of  San  Jose 
since  i860.  He  was  born  in  Hesse  Darmstadt, 
Germany,  in  1840,  and  received  his  education  in  his 
native  city,  attending  the  schools  there  until  eighteen 
years  of  age.  In  1858  he  left  home,  since  which  time 
he  has  depended  solely  upon  his  own  exertions,  grad- 
ually building  himself  up  to  a  position  of  independ- 
ence. He  landed  in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  December 
24,  1858,  where  he  remained  two  years  learning  the 
bakery  business.  In  i860  he  came  to  San  Jose  and 
located,  and  worked  at  his  trade  for  three  years,  and 
then  began  business  for  himself  in  almost  the  same 
location  where  he  now  carries  on  his  business.  He 
was  married  in  1870,  to  Miss  Mina  Bertlesmann,  a 
native  of  Germany.  They  have  three  children:  Henry, 
now  engaged  in  business  with  his  father;  Frederic 
and  Louis,  attending  the  public  schools  of  San  Jose. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Red 
Men  and  of  the  San  Jose  Turn-Verein,  and  is  an  ex- 
empt Fireman,  having  served  in  the  Fire  Department 
for  ten  years,  and  also  a  member  of  the  San  Jose 
Board  of  Trade.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  but 
believes  in  the  protection  of  American  interests.  Mr. 
Doerr  is  a  broad-gauge,  enterprising  man,  active  in 
the  interests  and  development  of  San  Jose.  He  has 
accumulated  considerable  real  estate  in  San  Jose,  the 
portion  situated  near  where  the  post-office  has  recently 
been  located  having  lately  greatly  enhanced  in  value. 

SffljERMAN  SUND,  son  of  Herman  and  Margaret 
G^  Sund,  was  born  in  the  northeastern  part  of  Swe- 
"W"  den,  December  14,  1845.  His  mother  died  when 
he  was  an  infant.  Herman,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  remained  at  home  until  fifteen  years  of  age, 
when  he  left  home  and  learned  the  carpenter's  trade. 
When  twenty-three  years  old  he  went  on  board  of  sea 
vessels  as  a  ship  carpenter,  and  has  followed  his  trade 


588 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


at  sea  and  in  the  different  countries  of  Europe,  the 
West  Indies,  and  in  North  and  South  America.  He 
came  to  America  and  traveled  all  over  the  United 
States,  when,  in  1S73,  he  located  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, where  he  worked  at  his  trade.  He  came  to  Los 
Gatos  in  1881,  where  he  has  resided  since.  He  is  the 
oldest  contractor  in  Los  Gatos,  and  has  built  four 
wineries,  one  cannery,  the  Los  Gatos  gas  works,  two 
fruit  dryers,  and  a  great  many  business  and  dwelling 
houses,  having  from  four  to  twelve  men  in  his  employ. 
He  is  one  of  the  stockholders  in  the  Los  Gatos  and 
Saratoga  Wine  Company,  and  in  the  Los  Gatos  Gas 
Company.  When  Los  Gatos  was  incorporated,  in 
1887,  he  was  elected  a  Town  Trustee,  and  re-elected 
April  9,  1 888.  Mr.  Sund  has  had  a  lumber-yard  in 
Los  Gatos  since  1884,  and  sells  from  3,000,000  to  4,- 
000,000  feet  per  year.  He  also  has  a  ranch  of  thirty 
acres  in  the  eastern  part  of  town,  twenty  acres  of 
which  were  laid  out  into  town  lots  last  winter,  and 
placed  on  the  market  this  spring. 

He  was  married  in  1873  to  Josephine  Peterson,  a 
native  of  Leavenworth  Kansas.  She  died  in  1882, 
leaving  one  son  and  two  daughters.  Mr.  Sund  was 
again  married,  in  18S4,  to  Louisa  Schrepfer,  a  native 
of  the  Alps,  in  Switzerland,  who  came  to  California  in 
18S0,  and  by  her  had  three  children, — two  sons  and 
one  daughter, — of  whom  one  son  and  one  daughter 
are  now  living. 


POSEPH  DICKENSON,  engineer  at  the  Palo 
-^  Alto  trotting  ranch,  is  a  native  of  New  York,  born 
^  in  Orleans  County,  June  24,  1834,  his  parents 
being  Hosea  and  Sophronia  (Stockwell)  Dickenson. 
He  was  reared  in  Niagara  County,  New  York,  from 
the  age  of  four  years,  and  when  he  was  twenty  he 
commenced  to  learn  the  trade  of  engineer.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-two  he  became  second  engineer  of  a 
propeller  plying  on  the  lakes,  and  was  so  engaged 
during  the  season  of  navigation  for  about  five  years. 
He  then  went  to  Illinois,  and  soon  afterward  located 
with  his  brother  in  Bureau  County,  with  whom  he 
remained  about  four  and  a  half  years.  In  1859  he 
crossed  the  plains  to  California,  coming  with  a  party 
made  up  of  Illinois  and  Wisconsin  people.  Five 
months  later  they  arrived  at  Carson  Valley.  The  party 
split  up,  and  those  with  whom  he  remained  went  to 
Dogtown  Creek,  a  small  mining  camp,  and  wintered 
there  in  four  feet  of  snow.  That  season  the  Mono 
diggings  were  discovered,  and  there  he  mined  the  next 


summer.  About  this  time  the  celebrated  Esmeralda 
mine  was  discovered,  and  he  went  there.  He  engaged 
in  prospecting  and  mining,  but  during  the  most  of  the 
four  and  a  half  years  that  he  remained  there  he  was 
engaged  in  running  the  quartz-mill  engines.  At  this 
camp  a  good  band  had  been  organized,  of  which  he 
was  a  member,  and  when  the  Reese  River  mine  ex- 
citement started  the  entire  organization  went  to  the 
new  camp.  He  was  engineer  there  for  four  and  a  half 
years,  but  was  compelled  to  leave  on  account  of  his 
health.  He  came  to  Santa  Clara  County  in  1868,  and 
operated  a  threshing-machine  each  season- until  he 
came  to  the  Palo  Alto  Ranch,  and  during  three  sea- 
sons also  conducted  a  saw-mill.  He  assumed  the 
duties  of  his  present  position  on  the  28th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1882. 

Mr.  Dickenson  was  married,  in  1883,  to  Miss  Flor- 
ence Smith.  They  have  two  children,  viz.:  Roxie 
Maud,  and  an  infant,  unnamed.  Politically  Mr.  Dick- 
enson is  a  stanch  Republican. 


5^^. 


MS^OBERT  DEWAR,  foreman  of  stone-masons 
s^^  and  stone-cutters  on  the  construction  of  the 
"V  Leland  Stanford,  Jr.,  University  buildings,  was 
born  at  Pictou,  Nova  Scotia,  March  3,  1843,  and 
was  reared  there  to  the  age  of  eighteen  years.  He 
commenced  his  trade  there,  but  went  to  Boston,  where 
he  completed  his  apprenticeship,  and  then  went  to 
work  as  a  journeyman.  He  eventually  went  into 
business  for  himself  as  a  contractor  on  stone  work, 
cutting  and  furnishing.  Twelve  years  after  his  arrival 
in  the  city  he  left  Boston  for  Prince  Edward's  Island, 
where  he  continued  his  career  as  a  contractor  in  the 
same  business,  remaining  three  years.  From  there  he 
went  to  Manitoba,  and  thence  came  to  California  in 
1886.  On  the  tenth  of  July,  1887,  he  was  chosen  for 
his  present  position,  and  in  the  construction  of  such  a 
building  as  the  University  his  great  experience  and 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  crafts  of  stone-cutting  and 
stone-masonry  stands  him  in  good  stead.  Some  sixty- 
men  are  employed  in  his  department  of  the  work 
alone. 

Sf^iARREN  DE  CROW,  dentist,  room  12,  Phelan 
(sM^  Building,  corner  First  and  El  Dorado  Streets, 
<i^  San  Jose,  has  practiced  his  profession  in  San  Jose 
I  for  the  past  three  years.  He  was  born  in  New- 
ark, Licking  County,  Ohio,  in  1841,  and  received  his 
education  at  Dennison  University  at  Granville,  Ohio, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


about  eight  miles  from  his  father's  farm,  receiving  his 
prehminary  as  well  as  classical  education  in  the  dif- 
ferent departments  of  that  school,  the  leading  Baptist 
educational  institution  in  Ohio.  After  leaving  this 
College  he  studied  dentistry  in  Newark,  Ohio,  and 
after  having  become  an  expert  in  his  profession  he 
removed  to  Ouincy,  Illinois,  in  the  winter  of  1865-66, 
and  there  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession. 
Remaining  there  until  the  summer  of  1882,  he  came  to 
California  and  settled  in  Hollister,  where  he  remained 
until  November,  1884,  and  then  removed  to  San  Jose. 
He  was  married  in  Newark,  Ohio,  in  1865,  to  Miss 
Hattie  C.  Stone,  a  native  of  the  same  neighborhood, 
who  also  received  her  education  at  Granville,  Ohio. 
He  is  President  of  the  California  Dental  Association, 
a  member  of  Garden  City  Lodge  and  of  San  Jose 
Encampment,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  San  Jose,  in  the  latter 
of  which  he  is  a  Past  Chief  Patriarch  and  a  member 
of  Mt.  Hamilton  Lodge  A.  O.  U.  W.  His  parents  were 
Samuel  G.  and  Sarah  E.  (Woodworth)  De  Crow,  long 
residents  of  Ohio,  near  Newark,  where  they  owned 
and  lived  on  a  farm  they  purchased  in  1838.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  member  of  the  First  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  San  Jose,  active  in  the  Sunday- 
school  and  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  work, 
and  for  a  year  has  had  charge  of  the  Union  Sunday- 
school  teachers'  meetings  of  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association;  also  has  a  class  of  young  ladies  and 
gentlemen  in  the  Sunday-school  of  his  church. 


-~>->'>%^-<-<— 


MpLLIOTT  C.  CUMMINGS,  the  senior  partner 
(?^  of  the  undertaking  firm  of  Cummings  &  Faulk- 
'T^  ner,  came  from  his  birthplace,  Oneida  County, 
New  York,  to  California  in  1861.  The  first  two 
years  he  lived  in  San  Francisco,  then  went  north  into 
the  mines,  where  he  spent  six  years,  enduring  the 
hardships,  experiencing  conflicts  with  the  Indians, 
and  the  other  excitements  and  vicissitudes  incident  to 
mining  life,  his  efi"orts  being  fairly  successful  in  the 
end.  Upon  leaving  the  mines,  Mr.  Cummings  went 
to  Oregon  for  a  year,  then  settled  in  Humboldt 
County,  California,  in  1869,  and  was  employed  nine 
years  in  school  work,  five  years  as  teacher,  and  four 
years  as  County  Superintendent  of  the  schools  of  that 
county.  Failing  health  compelled  him  to  abandon 
the  vocation  of  pedagogue;  and  he  next  engaged  in 
the  furniture  and  undertaking  business,  in  which  he 
continued  until  1886,  when  he  sold  out  and  came  to 
San  Jose.     He  purchased  a  fine  place  in  the  Willow 


Glen  District,  half  a  mile  south  of  the  city  limit,  com- 
prising seven  acres  of  choice  bearing  fruit-trees — 
apricots,  French  prunes,  peaches,  and  pears.  In  July, 
1887,  the  partnership  with  Mr.  Faulkner  was  entered 
into  to  engage  in  the  undertaking  business;  and  their 
present  office  and  warerooms,  at  28  South  Market 
Street,  were  opened.  They  keep  in  stock  the  best 
lines  of  undertaker's  goods,  and  are  always  ready  to 
attend  to  the  wants  of  customers  at  any  hour  of  the 
day  or  night. 

Mr.  Cummings  was  educated  for  a  teacher,  and 
applied  himself  several  years  to  that  profession  in 
New  York  before  coming  West. 

Becoming  acquainted  with  Miss  Hill  while 
mining  in  Boise  Basin,  their  friendship  ripened  into 
love,  and  in  1868  he  went  to  Washington  Territory, 
where  she  resided,  and  married  her. 


||AMES  CROWLEY,  deceased,  was  born  in  Kil- 
^  brittin  Parish,  County  Cork,  in  Ireland,  in  1831. 
^  His  father,  Michael,  died  there.  His  widow  was 
Mary  (McCarty)  Crowley.  They  were  both  natives 
of  the  same  parish.  After  her  husband's  death  she 
emigrated  to  and  settled  in  Boston,  Massachusetts, 
where  she  died.  There  were  seven  children  in  her 
family,  three  sons  and  four  daughters,  of  whom  Julia 
Desmond  resides  in  Boston,  Catharine  Sullivan  in  San 
Francisco,  Mrs.  Mary  James  at  Elmira,  California, 
Timothy  Crowley  at  Murphy's  Ranch,  Santa  Clara 
County,  and  Con.  Crowley,  who  resides  at  the  same 
place.     The  other  children  are  James  and  Johanna. 

James  lived  with  his  parents  while  in  Ireland,  and 
was  raised  on  a  farm.  In  1849  he  came  to  New  York 
city,  where  he  remained  until  1852,  when  he  came  to 
California,  by  way  of  Panama.  He  came  at  once  to 
Martin  Murphy's  ranch,  where  his  sister,  Mrs.  Sulli- 
van, was  living.  He  lived  and  made  his  home  with 
Murphy  until  1867,  when  he  went  to  farming.  He 
rented  about  600  acres  from  Mr.  Murphy  and  lived 
on  it  for  seven  years.  During  his  residence  on  the 
Murphy  ranch  he  bought  sixty-five  acres  at  Oak 
Grove.  He  died  October  3,  1873.  He  was  married 
in  1866,  to  Margaret  Collins.  She  was  born  in  the 
Parish  of  Baleno,  County  Cork,  Ireland,  March  17, 
1836,  and  when  eighteen  years  of  age  came  to  the 
United  States,  and  in  1864  to  California,  after  a  resi- 
dence of  ten  years  in  New  York.  After  the  death  of 
her  husband  she  moved  to  the  farm  at  Oak  Grove, 
where  she   lived  until   1883,  when   she  sold  out   and 


590 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


moved  into  Mountain  View,  where  she  bought  prop- 
erty and  has  since  been  dealing  in  real  estate  to  some 
extent.  She  has  been  very  fortunate  in  her  invest- 
ments, and  now  owns  some  of  the  best  business  prop- 
erty in  Mountain  View. 

Mr.  Crowley  was  interested  in  raising  stock,  and 
when  he  married  had  but  one  cow;  but  he  kept  add- 
ing to  his  stock  until  at  the  time  of  his  death  he 
possessed  forty  horses  and  eighty  cows  and  calves.  It 
was  his  habit  to  buy  up  his  neighbors'  calves  and  raise 
them.  He  was  well  liked  by  his  neighbors,  and  was 
an  honest,  hard-working  man,  and  successful  in  his 
dealings.  Mrs.  Crowley  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Mount- 
ain View  Cannery,  and  in  the  Olympic  Hall  of 
Mountain  View. 


if- 


-m 


iPLACE  &  MINTO.  This  well-known  firm  is  one 
i^ys  of  the  leading  business  houses  in  Los  Gatos.  It 
(s)  consists  of  Elvert  E.  Place  and  John  Minto,  un- 
dertakers and  dealers  in  furniture,  wall-paper, 
and  bedding.  The  business  was  first  organized  Sep- 
tember 15,  1884,  by  A.  F.  Place  &  Son,  who  ran  it 
for  three  years,  when  A.  F.  Place  retired,  his  interest 
being  bought  by  John  Minto.  This  change  placed 
the  son,  E.  E.  Place,  at  the  head  of  the  firm. 

Elvert  E.  Place  was  born  at  Burns,  Shiawassee 
County,  Michigan,  November  5,  1864.  He  received 
his  education  at  Laingsburg,  in  the  same  county. 
His  father,  A.  F.  Place,  was  the  owner  of  large  flouring- 
mills  in  Shiawassee  County,  and  Elvert,  having  a 
natural  taste  for  tools  and  machinery,  entered  the 
employ  of  his  father,  and  was  soon  afterward  able  to 
take  charge  of  important  duties  in  the  millwright  de- 
partment in  connection  with  the  mills.  In  May,  1884, 
he  came  to  Santa  Cruz,  California,  and  in  the  follow- 
ing September  opened  in  the  furniture  business  with 
his  father  at  Los  Gatos. 

He  was  married,  March  10,  1887,  to  Emma  A. 
Beardslee,  a  native  of  Laingsburg,  Michigan. 


i-(g^.pgH$^zr=:    .0^ 


^^HARLES  BRUCH.  Among  the  successful  or- 
"^  chardists  of  this  county  is  counted  Mr.  Charles 
(S)U  Bruch.  He  owns  the  block  bounded  by  Eighth, 
Ninth,  Martha,  and  Bestor  Streets,  where  he  re- 
sides, all  of  which  is  planted  in  bearing  fruit-trees. 
Originally  he  owned  ten  acres,  which  he  purchased 
in  i860.     In  1862  he  planted  it  in  fruit-trees,  chiefly 


apples,  but  also  peaches,  plums,  prunes,  and  apricots. 
At  first  he  planted  out  strawberries  between  the  trees 
over  the  whole  ten  acres  of  the  place.  For  a  time  he 
made  a  deal  of  money,  receiving  as  much  as  $2,000  to 
$3,000  a  year  during  the  first  years  for  the  fruit  upon 
the  trees.  Later  the  trees  became  diseased,  and  had 
to  be  dug  out.  The  strawberries,  too,  became  un- 
profitable on  account  of  the  competition  of  the  Chinese 
strawberry  gardens.  For  several  years  he  cultivated 
his  place  in  wheat  in  order  to  rid  the  ground  of  the 
insect  pests,  and  then  planted  it  again  in  strawberries 
for  some  three  years.  Now  a  new  orchard  has  been 
planted,  which  is  just  coming  into  good  bearing.  In 
1887  a  part  of  the  place  was  sold  for  town  lots,  leaving 
about  five  acres,  all  in  orchard.  In  1861  Mr.  Bruch 
sank  an  artesian  well,  which  at  first  gave  sufficient 
water  to  irrigate  the  whole  tract.  The  sinking  of  other 
wells  in  the  neighborhood,  however,  so  reduced  the 
flow  that  he  was  obliged  to  sink  others  until  he  had 
seven  in  all. 

Mr.  Bruch  was  one  of  the  first  to  engage  in  fruit- 
raising  in  this  valley,  and  aided  effectually  in  proving 
the  wonderful  adaptability  of  our  soil  and  climate  to 
horticulture.  When  the  transcontinental  railroad  was 
completed  a  complimentary  present  of  the  choicest 
California  fruits  was  sent  to  Queen  Victoria.  The 
committee,  to  whom  was  intrusted  the  selection  of 
the  fruit,  chose  the  apples  from  those  raised  in  Mr. 
Bruch's  orchard  on  account  of  their  fine  qualities  and 
beautiful  appearance.  These  results  come  from  the 
assiduous  attention  always  given  by  him  in  the  selec- 
tion of  choice  varieties,  the  watchful  trimming,  and 
the  careful  shaping  of  the  fruit  during  growth. 

Mr.  Bruch  was  born  in  Prussia,  in  18 19.  He  at- 
tended school  in  his  native  place,  while  at  the  same 
time  working  on  his  father's  farm.  He  then  learned 
the  blacksmith  trade,  at  which  he  worked  until  his 
thirtieth  year,  having  a  shop  of  his  own,  and  employ- 
ing about  ten  men.  In  1853  he  came  to  America, 
stopping  a  short  time  in  New  York  State,  and  coming 
out  to  California  by  the  Nicaragua  route,  reaching 
San  Francisco  in  the  fall.  He  remained  there  for  one 
year,  working  at  his  trade.  In  1854  he  came  to  San 
Jose  and  established  a  blacksmith  shop,  which  he  con- 
ducted successfully  for  about  three  years.  He  then 
bought  the  land  he  still  owns,  and  engaged  in  fruit- 
growing, at  first  obtaining  his  water  for  irrigation  by 
artesian  wells,  then  by  horse-power,  and  finally  by 
steam  pumps.  He  was  married,  in  1846,  in  Germany, 
to  Miss  Charlotte  Bogart,  of  his  native  village.  They 
have  four  children.     Charles  is  the  superintendent  of 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


591 


John  Rock's  celebrated  nurseries  near  San  Jose;  Louis 
is  teaching  school  near  San  Jose;  Louisa  is  doing  the 
same  in  San  Jose,  and  Otto  is  clerking  in  Arizona. 


i^^^ 


fREDERICK  BROWN.  In  the  list  of  promi- 
nent  citizens  of  San  Jose  is  found  the  name  of 
T  Mr.  Frederick  Brown,  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Wood  &  Brown,  commission  merchants,  grain  and 
fruit-buyers  and  warehousemen,  Nos.  145-159  North 
Market  Street.  He  has  now  been  identified  with  the 
active  business  interests  of  San  Jose  for  two  years, 
and  a  resident  here  for  five  years.  Born  in  Lafayette 
County,  Wisconsin,  in  1851,  his  parents  removed  in 
1853  to  California,  crossing  the  plains  in  ox  wagons 
and  arriving  at  Placerville  in  the  fall  of  that  year. 
His  parents  are  Adam  and  Letitia  (McLean)  Brown, 
his  father  being  a  native  of  England  and  his  mother  of 
Ireland.  They  settled  in  Placer  County,  where  his  fa- 
ther followed  mining  until  1871.  He  then  removed  to 
Monterey  County,  and  engaged  in  farming,  an  occupa- 
tion he  continued  until  he  retired  from  active  work 
about  five  years  ago.  The  family  now  reside  in  a 
lovely  home  situated  on  the  Alameda  near  the  Hester 
School. 

Mr.  Frederick  Brown,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  at- 
tended school  in  Placer  County,  up  to  the  age  of 
seventeen  years,  when  he  went  to  Brighton  Academy, 
at  Oakland.  There  he  remained  nine  months,  later 
attending  for  one  year  the  City  College  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, finally  graduating  at  Heald's  Business  College 
in  1 87 1.  From  this  time  until  1882  he  managed  his 
father's  farm  in  Monterey,  when,  his  father  selling  the 
farm,  the  family  removed  to  San  Jose,  where  they  pur- 
chased their  present  residence  on  the  Alameda. 

The  firm  of  Wood  &  Brown  have  built  up  a  very 
large  business  since  they  set  out  in  1886,  and  it  is 
steadily  growing  and  expanding.  They  deal  whole- 
sale and  retail  in  flour,  wheat,  barley,  ground  feed 
potatoes,  onions,  beans,  etc.,  as  well  as  in  California 
dried  fruits  and  nuts.  They  have  lately  been  forced 
by  increasing  business  to  move  into  their  present 
quarters,  which  extend  through  from  Market  to  San 
Pedro  Streets,  and  where  they  are  situated  to  meet 
fully  the  requirements  of  their  trade.  They  have  also 
a  feed  mill  on  the  Alameda,  have  leased  the  Narrow 
Gauge  Railroad  Warehouses,  and  own  one  at  the 
Broad  Gauge  depot,  running  them  in  connection  with 
their  business.  The  aggregate  capacity  of  these 
warehouses  is  8,000   tons.     They  are    also   agents  for 


Sperry  &  Co.'s  flour  mills  at  Stockton,  and  are  doing 
good  work  in  opposing  the  efforts  of  the  flour  ring  of 
this  county  to  increase  the  price  of  that  necessary. 
Their  business  is  conducted  upon  true  American  prin- 
ciples, and  its  success  is  deserved. 

There  have  been  three  children  born  to  Adam  and 
Letitia  Brown:  Frederick,  Lillie,  and  William  S.  The 
latter  died  in  1880.  The  two  former  still  live  with 
their  parents  at  their  home  in  San  Jose. 


fUTHBERT  BURRELL.  The  pride  of  Cali- 
fornia  is  in  her  pioneer  citizens,  men  who  braved 
'^  the  toils  and  dangers  of  the  early  days,  and  out 
of  their  labors  and  sufferings  builded  on  a  foundation 
broad  and  deep  the  unparalleled  prosperity  of  the 
State.  One  of  these  is  Cuthbert  Burrell,  who  resides 
on  the  corner  of  Third  and  William  Streets,  in  this 
city,  San  Jose.  He  crossed  the  plains  at  the  early 
date  of  1846,  from  Joliet,  Illinois,  and  has  led  a  stir- 
ring and  eventful  life. 

Born  in  Clyde,  Wayne  County,  New  York,  in  1824, 
he  was  raised  on  his  father's  farm,  in  that  settlement, 
until  eleven  years  old.  In  1835,  after  the  close  of  the 
Sauk  (Indian)  War,  his  father  removed  to  Illinois,  and 
purchased  a  farm  in  Will  County,  near  Plainfield. 
There  Mr.  Burrell  remained  until  1842,  attending 
school  and  performing  the  various  duties  of  a  pros- 
perous farmer's  son,  when,  at  eighteen  years  of  age, 
he  rented  the  farm  from  his  father,  worked  it  for  him- 
self for  two  years,  and  then  purchased  a  farm  which, 
after  working  it  for  one  year,  he  sold,  in  184.6,  to  his 
father.  Previously  to  this,  a  pamphlet  describing 
California,  written  by  a  Mr.  Hastings,  who  had  visited 
the  State  two  years  previously,  fell  into  his  hands,  and 
being  dissatisfied  with  Illinois,  on  account  of  the 
prevalence  of  malarial  fevers,  he  decided  to  make  a 
trip  to  the  Pacific  Coast.  Proceeding  to  Peru,  Illi- 
nois, at  the  foot  of  the  Illinois  Canal,  he  shipped  his 
wagon  and  outfit  upon  a  steamboat,  and  went  down 
to  St.  Louis,  and  thence  up  the  Missouri  River  to 
Weston,  Missouri.  There  they  bought  oxen,  and, 
organizing  a  wagon  train,  over  which  they  elected 
Stephen  A.  Cooper  captain,  started  to  cross  the  conti- 
nent. Soon  after  leaving  the  Missouri  River,  while 
passing  through  the  Pawnee  country,  they  were  in 
great  danger  of  a  conflict  with  the  Indians.  One  of 
their  company,  named  Matthews  (the  father  of  Carolan 
Matthews,  both  of  whom  have  lived  in  San  Jose),  had 
lived  amongst  the  Indians  previously,  and  had  killed 


592 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


one  of  their  chiefs.  His  surrender  was  demanded. 
The  company  decided  not  to  give  him  up,  however, 
and  prepared  for  a  fight.  When  the  Indians  found 
that  the  company  were  determined  not  to  give  up 
Matthews,  and  that  a  fight  was  imminent,  and  as  the 
people  of  the  train  were  quite  numerous,  they  re- 
h'nquished  their  purpose,  and  the  train  passed  through 
their  country  unmolested. 

At  the  Green  River,  in  Utah,  Mr.  Bunell,  with  their 
captain  and  a  number  of  others,  separated  from  the 
party  and  came  to  California,  by  way  of  Fort  Hall 
and  the  Humboldt  River,  reaching  this  State  in  Octo- 
ber. War  had  been  declared  between  the  United 
States  and  Mexico  while  the  party  were  crossing 
the  plains,  and  Mr.  Burrell,  with  many  others  who 
had  just  come,  enlisted  under  General  Fremont. 
Under  him  Mr.  Burrell  served  on  the  expedition  to 
Santa  Barbara  in  search  of  horses,  and  made  the  over- 
land trip  from  Monterey  to  Los  Angeles,  seeing  six 
months'  service  there,  and  then  receiving  his  discharge. 
Returning  to  Sutter's  Fort  he  found  only  his  wagon 
and  oxen  remaining  of  his  outfit.  He  carried  one  of 
the  orphaned  Donner  children  (her  who  afterward 
married  S.  O.  Houghton,  of  San  Jose)  to  Napa,  where 
he  left  her  with  the  Yountz  family,  and  sought  em- 
ployment in  building,  under  contract,  for  Salvador 
Vallejo,  and  later  cutting  hay  for  Stevenson's  regiment 
in  the  Suisun  Valley.  In  1S4S,  on  the  outbreak  of 
the  gold  excitement,  he  started  for  the  mines  with  his 
companions  so  hastily  as  even  to  leave  their  imple- 
ments in  the  hay-field.  For  three  years  he  was  en- 
gaged in  mining,  quitting  it,  in  1852,  with  about  $3,000 
on  hand.  He  squatted  on  a  piece  of  land  in  Solano 
County,  believing  it  to  be  government  land,  but  after- 
ward purchased  it  from  General  Vallejo,  the  owner. 
In  1 860  he  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising  with 
Matt.  Harbin  and  W.  P.  Durbin,  purchasing  640  acres 
of  land.  This  interest  he  shortly  after  sold  to  John 
Stilts,  a  brother-in-law  of  his  partners,  receiving  cattle 
in  payment.  With  his  cattle  he  moved  to  Fresno 
County,  making  his  headquarters  at  Elkhorn,  a  stage 
station  between  Gilroy  and  Visalia.  There  he  had 
unlimited  range,  and  held  his  cattle  until  1869,  when 
he  sold  out  for  $103,000.  During  this  time  he  pur- 
chased 18,000  acres  of  swamp  and  overflow  lands, 
and  also  a  ranch  of  2,000  acres  near  Visalia,  all  of 
which  he  still  owns.  In  1872  he  returned  to  the 
stock  business,  intrusting  his  interests  now  to  a 
nephew.  Mr.  Burrell  is  also  a  large  stockholder  and 
a  director  in  the  First  National  Bank  of  San  Jose, 
and  of  the  Bank  of  Visalia. 


He  was  married  in  1874  to  Mrs.  Addie  Adams,  the 
widow  of  Frank  Adams,  of  San  Jose.  They  have 
three  children  living,  Varena  J.,  May,  and  Luella. 
Mrs.  Burrell  is  a  native  of  Three  Rivers,  Canada,  and  a 
member  of  a  prominent  and  highly  respected  family. 
Mr.  Burrell's  parents  were  both  natives  of  Northum- 
berland County,  England.  His  father  died  in  Illinois, 
and  his  mother  in  California. 

Mr.  Burrell  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  but  has 
never  taken  an  active  part  as  a  politician,  his  time 
having  been  fully  occupied  in  looking  after  his  various 
interests. 


PLLSWORTH  BROTHERS.  John  H.  and  Sim- 
eon Ellsworth  own  a  place  of  fifty-seven  acres^ 
NT  purchased  by  the  first-mentioned  in  1878.  The 
next  year  the  latter  came  from  England  with  his 
wife.  The  two  brothers  share  equally  in  the  products 
of  the  ranch,  as  they  have  a  common  interest.  When 
they  purchased  it  the  land  was  rough  and  uncultivated, 
although  twenty-eight  acres  were  partly  cleared  at 
the  time.  They  now  have  forty-eight  acres  cleared, 
and  have  about  one  acre  in  family  orchard,  consist- 
ing of  a  mixed  lot  of  apples,  pears,  prunes,  peaches, 
figs,  etc.,  most  of  them  seven  years  old  and  in  good 
bearing.  They  also  have  a  young  apricot  orchard  of 
fifty  trees,  and  about  seventy-five  pear-trees  mixed 
through  their  vineyard,  which  are  six  years  old  and 
bore  splendidly  last  year.  Of  their  fifteen  acres  of 
vines,  seven  acres  are  three-years  old,  five  acres  four 
years  old,  and  three  acres  six  years  old,  of  mixed 
varieties.  The  others  are  Zinfandel  and  Matero.  In 
1887  the  seven-acre  vineyard  of  three-year-old  vines 
produced  over  fifteen  tons  of  grapes,  and  the  five 
acres  of  four-year-old  nearly  thirty  tons,  or  nearly 
six  tons  to  the  acre.  The  six-year  vineyard  of  three 
acres  or  more  produced  in  the  neighborhood  of  twenty 
tons.  In  1882  they  had  about  three-fourths  of  an 
acre  of  old  Mission  vines,  which  were  on  the  place 
when  they  bought  it.  That  year  they  commenced 
making  wine,  and  made  about  100  gallons,  although 
they  had  never  had  any  experience  in  that  line.  They 
began  in  a  primitive  way,  and  have  made  more  each 
succeeding  year,  adding  or  improving  their  facilities 
for  doing  so.  The  quality  of  their  wine  is  considered 
to  be  of  the  finest.  They  have  a  wine  cellar  capable 
of  holding  12,000  gallons.  In  1887  they  made  nearly 
10,000  gallons. 
John  H.  Ellsworth  was  born  in  England,  October  7, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


593 


1833,  and  came  to  Summit  County,  Ohio,  in  1857, 
and  became  employed  as  clerk  in  a  store  in  Akron, 
where  he  continued  for  over  two  years.  He  came  to 
California  in  1859,  by  way  of  Panama,  and  arrived 
in  San  Francisco  in  January,  i860,  with  less  than  $10 
in  his  pocket.  He  went  first  to  Sacramento  and  re- 
mained a  month,  working  at  anything  he  could  find 
to  do,  and  then  proceeded  to  El  Dorado  County  and 
was  engaged  in  mining  there  and  in  Placer  County 
till  1874,  with  varied  success.  He  then  went  to  the 
Comstock  Mines,  in  Virginia  City,  and  remained  there 
eight  years,  when  he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County 
and  bought  his  present  property. 

Simeon  Ellsworth  was  born  in  England  in  July, 
1839,  and  was  married  there  in  1872,  to  Jane  Craven, 
and  came  to  California  in  1879. 


ABRAHAM    P.    CHRISMAN.      Nearly    every 

iS^i>  visitor  who  comes  to  the  beautiful   Santa  Clara 

'^    Valley    will    hear  of  the    large  prune  orchard. 

*  This  has  reference  to  the  one  owned  by  Abra- 
ham P.  Chrisman.  It  is  situated  on  the  Los  Gatos 
and  Saratoga  road,  about  three  miles  from  Los  Gatos, 
and  in  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  productive  spots 
in  the  valley.  A  great  many  visitors  to  Los  Gatos  or 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  will  pay  a  visit  to  this 
orchard,  and,  in  fact,  from  those  who  have  seen  it  the 
fame  of  its  beauty  and  grandeur  has  gone  abroad 
throughout  the  Eastern  States.  This  and  the  orchard 
adjoining,  owned  by  Mr.  Handy,  is  known  as  the 
Huggins  and  Stoddard  Prune  Orchard.  In  May, 
1886,  the  east  half,  seventy-one  acres,  was  purchased 
by  Mr.  Chrisman,  all  the  land  being  under  cultivation. 
There  are  fifty-three  acres  in  French  prunes,  eight 
years  old,  thirteen  acres  in  apricots,  three  years  old, 
besides  three  acres  devoted  to  a  family  orchard  of  va- 
rious kinds  of  fruit  in  good  bearing  condition.  There 
are  also  three  acres  devoted  to  drying  grounds,  in 
preparing  the  fruit  for  the  market.  The  number  of 
trees  of  the  different  kinds  are  as  follows:  French 
prunes,  about  9,300;  apricots,  about  1,300,  and  in  the 
family  orchard  there  are  about  350  trees,  together 
with  grape-vines  of  different  varieties.  The  product 
from  the  place  for  the  year  1887  was  about  300  tons 
of  fruit. 

Abraham  P.  Chrisman  is  a  native  of  Contra  Costa 
County,  California,  where  he  was  born  January  2, 
1855,  a  son  of  John    P.  and    Barbara  (Powell)  Chris- 

;5 


man.  He  was  raised  in  the  town  of  Danville,  and 
came  to  Santa  Clara  County  on  the  ninth  day  of 
June,  1887.  He  was  united  in  marriage,  September 
20,  1881,  to  Mary  L.  McDonald,  a  native  of  Ralls 
County,  Missouri,  where  she  was  born  April  15,  1865. 
They  have  two  children:  John  P.,  born  August  12, 
1883,  and  Ethel,  born  October  21,  1884. 


tEORGE  W.  LYNCH  was  born  in  New  York 
city,  January  22,  1844.  His  father,  William,  was 
-,-1^  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  his  mother,  Mary,  a  na- 
tive of  Glasgow,  Scotland.  They  were  married 
in  Glasgow  and  came  to  New  York  at  an  early  date, 
and  the  mother  died  when  George  was  very  young. 
They  raised  a  family  of  seven  children,  of  whom  five 
are  still  living.  When  George  was  very  young  his 
parents  removed  to  Pittsburg,  where  his  mother  died. 
His  father  then  moved  to  Keokuk,  Iowa,  and  thence 
to  Carthage,  Illinois,  and  finally  to  California,  where 
he  died  in  1881. 

George  came  to  California  in  1864,  and  located 
first  in  San  Francisco,  and  afterward  at  Suisun,  So- 
lano County,  where  he  taught  school  for  three  years. 
He  then  returned  to  San  Francisco,  where  he  has 
been  employed  as  an  accountant  and  general  business 
man  ever  since.  He  was  married,  in  August,  1870,  to 
Annie  P.  Vice,  a  native  of  Philadelphia,  of  German 
and  French  parentage.  They  have  two  children,  a 
son  and  a  daughter.  His  family  have  resided  in 
Santa  Clara  County  since  1879.  Mr.  Lynch  is  Secre- 
tary of  the  Los  Gatos  and  Saratoga  Wine  Company, 
being  one  of  the  incorporators  of  the  same;  is  also 
secretary  and  one  of  the  incorporators  of  the  real- 
estate  company  called  the  Saratoga  and  Los  Gatos 
Syndicate;  is  Secretary  and  lessee  of  the  Los  Gatos 
Gas  Works,  and  organizer  of  the  same;  is  Secretary 
and  lessee  of  the  Gilroy  and  Hollister  Gas  Works; 
is  President  of  the  Visalia  (Tulare  County)  and  Po- 
mona (Los  Angeles  County)  Gas  Works,  and  has  in- 
terests in  all  these  incorporations.  He  has  a  ranch 
of  forty  acres,  ail  in  fruit  and  vines.  Has  twelve 
acres  in  fruit,  principally  French  prunes,  the  remainder 
being  a  family  orchard,  all  from  one  to  seven  years 
old.  He  has  sixteen  acres  in  wine  grapes,  and  the 
rest  in  Muscats  from  one  to  seven  years  old.  His 
residence  is  beautifully  located  on  an  eminence,  and 
commands  a  magnificent  view  of  the  surrounding 
country.     The  view    of   Santa    Clara  Valley  to    the 


594 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


north,  east,  and  west  is  especially  grand.  His  house, 
barn,  fruit  houses  and  other  buildings  are  large  and 
convenient,  and  has  an  abundance  of  water  furnished 
by  a  windmill  on  his  place,  the  large  water  tank  being 
attached  to  the  house.  His  grounds,  fronting  on  the 
Los  Gatos  and  Saratoga  road,  are  beautifully  laid  out, 
through  which  the  road  to  his  house  winds  up  an 
easy  grade. 

Mr.  Lynch  is  one  of  our  most  public-spirited  citi- 
zens, and  deserves  to  prosper,  as  he  has  done  much 
toward  the  building  up  of  Los  Gatos. 


IP  S.  POTTS,  Jr.  This  gentleman,  who  is  Secre- 
<^  tary  of  the  Fredericksburg  Brewing  Company, 
■f  with  which  he  has  been  connected  for  the  past 
ten  years,  was  born  in  Philadelphia  in  1856.  He 
there  attended  the  public  schools,  graduating  at  the 
High  School  in  1871.  Immediately  afterward  he 
came  to  California,  and  accepted  the  position  of  book- 
keeper, and  later  became  a  commercial  traveler.  In 
1882  he  was  married  to  Miss  Emma  Haney,  daughter 
of  W.  W.  Haney,  of  San  Francisco.  For  six  years  he 
was  interested  in  general  merchandising  and  contract- 
ing in  Walla  Walla,  Washington  Territory,  which  he 
abandoned  to  accept  the  position  he  now  holds  with 
the  Fredericksburg  Brewing  Company.  He  owns 
forty  acres  of  choice  land  on  the  Stevens  Creek  road, 
about  five  miles  from  San  Jose,  which  he  purchased 
in  the  month  of  May,  1877,  and  in  the  winters  of 
1877-78  and  1878-79  he  had  it  planted  exclusively  to 
prunes.  As  yet  he  has  no  buildings  upon  the  place. 
This  gentleman  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias, 
San  Jose  Lodge,  No.  125,  of  which  he  is  at  present 
Chancellor  Commander. 


^NDREW  LEWIS  KING.  To  the  visitor  who 
i^p  drives  at  random,  leaving  the  beaten  thorough- 
#>  fares  of  travel,  and  who  seeks  the  less  frequented 
t  drives  and  avenues,  this  "  Garden  Valley  "  pre- 
sents its  chief  attraction  and  its  wonderful  beauty, 
every  turn  bringing  a  new  surprise  and  revealing  a 
fresh  charm.  Everywhere,  half  hidden  in  the  orchard.s, 
nestling  among  the  vines,  overtopped  by  stately  for- 
est trees,  giant  sycamores  and  old  oaks,  or  embowered 
amid  the  roses,  spacious  and  elegant  mansions  and 
beautiful   cottages   produce  a  succession   of  delight. 


Such  is  the  feeling  one  has  who  drives  out  to  "  Locust 
Farm  "  on  the  King  road,  just  an  easy  drive  of  two 
and  a  half  miles  from  the  city  and  its  busy  activity. 
This  is  the  orchard  home  of  Mr.  Andrew  Lewis  King, 
a  splendid  tract  of  ninety-five  acres  of  a  soil  that  can- 
not be  surpassed  for  its  exuberant  fertility,  as  will 
readily  be  imagined  when  one  sees  the  giant  locust 
and  other  trees  about  the  place.  One  locust  has 
grown  from  a  mere  twig  when  it  was  set  out  in  1864 
to  be  a  tree  of  over  seventy  feet  in  height  and  over 
three  feet  in  diameter  in  1888.  There  is  also  an  oak 
planted  as  an  acorn  by  Mrs.  King  in  the  same  year  as 
the  other,  now  (in  1888)  a  tree  two  feet  in  diameter 
and  fifty  feet  in  height.  But  it  requires  diligent  cul- 
tivation and  attention  on  the  part  of  the  owners  to 
bring  these  garden  spots  to  their  present  perfection, 
and  "  Locust  Farm  "  is  no  exception.  Mr.  King  pur- 
chased the  farm  in  1851,  since  which  time  he  has  de- 
voted himself  ardently  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and 
is  now  reaping  the  reward  that  always  awaits  diligence 
and  attention  in  this  valley.  He  has  thirty-six  acres 
of  the  ninety-five  in  orchard,  divided  as  follows:  Five 
acres  in  apricots,  five  in  peaches,  and  twenty-six  in 
French  prunes.  This  is  all  young  orchard  just  about 
to  come  into  bearing,  and  seems  destined  to  become 
one  of  the  finest  and  most  productive  in  the  county. 
The  remainder  of  the  land  is  devoted  to  raising  hay 
grain,  etc.,  and  in  pasturing  stock,  for  which  it  is  well 
suited.  Sufficient  water  for  every  purpose  is  furnished 
by  four  flowing  artesian  wells. 

Mr.  King  was  born  in  Montgomery  County,  Vir- 
ginia, on  July  12,  1818,  and  is  the  son  of  Joseph  and 
Catharine  (Lewis)  King,  who  were  natives  of  that 
country.  His  father  was  a  farmer,  and  young  Andrew 
was  brought  up  as  a  farmer's  lad,  gathering  such 
learning  as  can  be  obtained  in  the  public  schools.  At 
the  age  of  twenty  years  he  located  in  Knoxville, 
Tennessee,  where  he  entered  into  mercantile  pursuits, 
as  a  clerk  in  a  general  merchandise  store.  While  en- 
gaged at  this,  his  ambition  led  him  to  enter  Knox- 
ville College,  in  which  he  took  a  partial  course.  In 
1844  he  removed  to  Tuscumbia,  Alabama,  where  he 
began  the  study  of  law,  being  duly  admitted  in  proper 
time  to  the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  opened 
an  office  and  followed  the  practice  until  May,  1849, 
when,  fired  with  the  gold  fever,  he  started  overland 
for  California,  reaching  here  in  April,  1850.  The  ox 
train  to  which  he  was  attached  was  very  large  and 
made  but  slow  progress,  wintering  in  New  Mexico 
and  entering  the  State  by  the  Southern  route.  Mr- 
King   went   to    San   Francisco   by  vessel  from    San 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


595 


Diego,  and  for  a  time  was  engaged  in  a  survey  at 
Humboldt  Bay.  He  afterward  visited  the  mines  and 
established  himself  in  a  clothing  store  at  Georgetown. 
In  1 85 1  he  came  to  the  Santa  Clara  Valley,  and  pur- 
chased the  lands  upon  which  he  now  resides.  He  is  a 
pioneer  of  this  county,  and  a  gentleman  prominent  in 
matters  of  a  general  interest,  and  has  aided  more  than 
a  little  in  the  development  and  prosperity  of  this  sec- 
tion. 

In  1853  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Lee,  daughter 
of  Mark  and  Nancy  (Hickey)  Lee,  who  were  residents 
of  Santa  Clara  County.  Mrs.  King  died  September 
2,  1884.  He  has  had  seven  children,  six  of  whom  are 
living.  They  are:  Joseph  R.,  residing  on  the  old 
homestead;  Dora  Lena,  who  married  William  H. 
Cureton,  of  Fresno;  Zoe  Alma,  residing  here;  Effie 
Allien,  who  married  Thomas  W.  Tompkins,  of  San 
Francisco;  Andrew  Lewis,  Jr.,  and  Albert  Woods, 
residing  at  home. 

Mr.  King  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  following  the 
lead  of  the  party  in  all  proper  ways. 

Such  in  brief  is  an  account  of  one  of  the  pioneers 
of  this  county,  and  a  worthy  member  of  society. 


fAMES  G.  ARTHUR  was  born  in  Alexandria, 
Virginia,  July  17,  1843.  His  parents,  Marcus 
^  and  Jane  (Jones)  Arthur,  were  natives  of  Virginia. 
James  lived  with  his  parents  till  he  was  eight  years 
old,  when  he  went  to  New  York,  where  he  was  chiefly 
brought  up.  In  1861,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  he  en- 
listed as  a  private  in  Company  D,  First  New  York 
Cavalry,  and  was  in  the  campaigns  of  his  regiment 
until  June,  1863,  when  he  was  transferred  from  this  to 
Company  C,  Sixty-third  New  York  Infantry,  as  First 
Lieutenant;  he  soon  afterward  was  promoted  to  the 
Captaincy  of  the  company,  in  which  capacity  he 
served  until  the  close  of  the  war,  or  until  September, 
1865,  when  he  was  mustered  out.  He  was  in  nineteen 
battles  and  innumerable  skirmishes.  He  had  two 
brothers  in  the  Confederate  army.  At  the  second 
battle  of  Bull  Run,  one  of  his  brothers  was  taken 
prisoner  by  his  and  other  Union  regiments.  After 
the  prisoners  had  been  gathered  in,  Mr.  Arthur  met 
and  had  a  conversation  with  his  brother.  This  brother, 
Marcus  Arthur,  was  afterward  killed  at  Selma,  Ala- 
bama. Mr.  Arthur  was  taken  prisoner  at  the  battle 
of  the  Wilderness,  and  taken  to  and  confined  in  Libby 
prison  for  seven  months.  After  being  mustered  out, 
Mr.  Arthur  came  to  California,  in  1865,  and  located  in 


San  Francisco,  where  he  remained  four  years  working 
at  the  carpenter's  trade.  In  1869  he  came  to  San 
Jose,  where  he  followed  his  trade  for  thirteen  years. 
In  1880  he  purchased  his  present  place  of  ten  acres 
near  Los  Gatos.  He  was  married,  in  1877,  to  Ange- 
line  M.  Castle,  a  native  of  Detroit,  Michigan;  she  died 
in  December,  1884.  Was  married  again,  in  1886,  to 
Nancy  Desmarais,  a  native  of  Troy,  New  York.  Mr. 
Arthur  is  a  member  of  E.  O.  C.  Ord  Post,  No.  82, 
G.  A.  R.,  of  Los  Gatos,  and  a  member  of  the  Odd 
Fellows  and  Masonic  Lodges  of  San  Jose.  Has 
1,200  trees  on  his  place,  900  in  French  prunes  from 
one  to  seven  years  old,  200  apricots  four  years  old, 
and  the  remainder  in  family  orchard. 

^ 

I^EORGE  CARSON,  Assistant  Accountant  of  the 
'^  Quicksilver  Mining  Company,  New  Almaden,  is 
,-k  a  native  of  Detroit,  Michigan,  born  May  30, 
1849,  his  parents  being  James  and  Mary  (Han- 
mer)  Carson.  He  was  reared  in  Detroit,  attending 
school  there  until  fifteen  years  of  age.  He  then  at- 
tended the  Metropolitan  Institute,  New  York,  for  four 
years.  He  then  went  into  the  office  of  his  father, 
who  was  in  the  iron  trade  in  New  York  city.  Thence 
he  went  to  the  Lake  Superior  mines,  and  from  there 
to  Detroit,  where  he  engaged  in  the  wholesale  tobacco 
business  as  clerk,  and  afterward  in  the  iron  business. 
In  1875  he  came  to  California,  and  after  four  months 
at  Oakland,  went  into  the  United  States  employ  in 
the  post-office,  San  Francisco.  Eight  months  later  he 
came  to  Santa  Clara  and  bought  an  interest  in  a 
plumbing  house,  which  then  became  Menzel  &  Carson. 
After  eighteen  months  he  closed  out  his  interest  to  his 
partner  and  engaged  in  the  district  telegraph  business 
at  San  Jose,  and  succeeded  to  the  superintendency 
about  one  year  later.  When  the  concern  changed 
hands  he  started  the  telephone  business,  at  San  Jose, 
but  the  competition  of  the  other  firm  with  its  pro- 
tected patents  compelled  the  selling  out  of  the  busi- 
ness, and  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  South  Pacific 
Coast  Railroad  as  agent  at  Agnew  and  afterward  at 
Los  Gatos,  which  position  he  filled  until  coming  to 
New  Almaden. 

Mr.  Carson  was  married,  in  Detroit,  to  Miss  Nellie 
Carter.  They  have  seven  children,  namely:  James, 
George,  Edward  W.,  Mary,  Hattie,  Lulu,  and  Nellie. 
The  oldest  was  born  in  Detroit,  the  others  all  in  Cali- 
fornia. 

Mr.  Carson    was    one    of  the  charter    members    of 


596 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


Mt.  Hamilton  Lodge,  A.  O.  U.  W.,  and  has  been  its 
Master.  Politically  he  is  a  Democrat.  He  was  ap- 
pointed Postmaster  of  New  Almaden  shortly  after  the 
commencement  of  Cleveland's  administration,  and 
has  since  held  that  position. 


-->H>B 


4-H+- 


|j||RS.  DELIA  J.  McLELLAN,  of  San  Jose 
s^^  Township,  is  a  native  of  Lincoln  County,  Mis- 
2^  souri.  She  was  reared  in  Lincoln  County,  and 
'  there  was  married  to  Andrew  Hall,  a  native  of 
Kentucky.  He  crossed  the  plains  in  1850  and  went 
into  the  mines  of  this  State,  but  died  in  1852,  before 
his  family  arrived.  By  this  marriage  there  were  two 
children:  William  Henry,  and  Alice,  the  wife  of  H. 
W.  Edwards.  Both  reside  in  this  county.  In  1854 
our  subject  came  out  to  California,  with  her  parents. 
In  1856  she  was  married  to  James  McLellan,  a  native 
of  Danville  County,  Maine.  He  was  reared  in  that 
State,  and  came  from  there  to  California,  by  water,  in 
an  early  day.  He  died  in  this  county  in  1872.  He 
was  a  Republican,  politically,  and  took  an  active 
part  in  public  affairs.  Mrs.  McLellan  has  by  her 
second  marriage  one  son,  Edward  F.,  who  resides 
near  his  mother's  home.  He  married  Louisa  Aldrich, 
and  they  have  two  children:  Harry  and  Ralph. 


gfOHN  E.  PILLOT  was  born  in  Santiago,  Chili, 
@^  in  1846.  In  1853,  at  the  age  of  seven  years,  his 
^  parents,  Julian  and  Sylvestra  Pillot,  removed  to 
California  and  settled  in  San  Jose.  His  father 
was  a  contractor  and  builder,  which  business  he  fol- 
lowed until  his  death,  in  1859.  He  was  a  native  of 
Bordeaux,  France,  and  his  wife  was  a  native  of  Chili, 
South  America,  and  is  still  living  in  San  Jose. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  received  his  education  in 
the  public  schools  of  San  Jose,  and  later  attended  the 
Santa  Clara  College.  When  eighteen  years  of  age  he 
left  the  college  and  engaged  for  two  years  in  the  in- 
surance business,  in  San  Jose,  for  the  New  York 
Mutual  Insurance  Company,  with  D.  O.  Callahan,  one 
of  the  earliest  insurance  agents  in  San  Jose.  He  then 
engaged  in  the  grocery  business  for  four  years  with 
Lemonie,  Gambert  &  Co.  In  1871  he  became  weigh- 
ing clerk  for  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company 
at  San  Jose,  and  remained  with  the  company  seven 
years,  being  promoted  through  the  various  grades  to 


the  position  of  chief  clerk,  in  which  he  continued  for 
several  years.  In  1878  he  accepted  a  clerkship  with 
the  South  Pacific  Coast  Railroad  Company,  in  which 
capacity  he  served  several  years,  when  he  was 
appointed  station  agent,  which  position  he  held  for 
five  years  previous  to  the  purchase  of  the  road  by  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railway  Company,  in  1887.  Since 
that  time  he  has  continued  in  that  position.  Most  of 
the  active,  mature  life  of  Mr.  Pillot  has  been  passed  in 
the  railroad  business,  in  which  he  is  an  expert,  having 
full  charge  of  all  the  business  done  by  the  Southern 
Pacific  Coast  Railway  Company  in  San  Jose.  He 
has  about  forty  men  under  his  charge  in  the  freight, 
storage,  and  other  departments.  They  receive  daily 
an  average  of  fifty  cars  of  freight  from  the  southern 
points  on  the  road,  while  from  the  north  they  receive 
about  fifteen  car  loads.  This  traffic  is  constantly  in- 
creasing, Mr.  Pillot  being  compelled  to  increase  his 
force  from  time  to  time.  He  is  a  member  of  San  Jose 
Lodge,  No.  125,  Knights  of  Pythias. 

Mr.  Pillot  was  married,  in  1884,  to  Miss  Emma 
Bailey,  a  native  of  Mendocino  County,  and  a  grad- 
uate of  the  State  Normal  School  of  San  Jose.  She 
has  been  a  teacher  in  her  native  county.  He  resides 
at  No.  197  Montgomery  Street,  San  Jose. 


lH  H.  WAKEFIELD,  son  of  Jonathan  and  Re- 
's^ becca  Wakefield,  was  born  in  Cornish,  New 
^  Hampshire,  July  9,  1823.  His  parents  were  na- 
tives of  New  Hampshire.  He  lived  with  them  until 
sixteen  years  old,  and  attended  the  common  schools 
at  Cornish,  the  New  Hampshire  Academy,  and  the 
Academy  at  Randolph  Center,  one  of  the  oldest 
academies  in  Vermont.  He  then  went  into  business 
as  a  traveling  salesman  for  his  brother,  Charles  A.,  an 
inventor,  and  remained  with  him  two  years.  This 
was  before  he  attended  the  academies.  He  then  went 
to  Boston  and  engaged  in  the  daguerreotype  business 
for  himself,  and  continued  in  the  business  two  years, 
when  he  went  to  Kenosha,  Wisconsin.  He  remained 
there  three  years,  following  the  same  business.  In 
the  spring  of  1852  he  went  to  Oregon,  and  opened  a 
commercial  store  in  Albany.  In  1856  he  went  to  San 
Francisco  as  a  buyer  of  goods  for  three  different 
houses, — his  own,  and  two  houses  in  Honolulu.  He 
was  in  San  Francisco  one  year,  then  went  to  Port- 
land, Oregon,  and  opened  another  commercial  house, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Wilson,  Wakefield  &  Co.,  at 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


597 


the  same  time  continuing  his  business  in  Albany. 
He  represented  Multnomah  County  in  the  Oregon 
Legislature  in  1864,  which  Legislature  passed  the 
amendment  abolishing  slavery.  He  had  stores  in  the 
mines  at  Lewiston  and  Oro  Fino  in  1864.  Was  one 
of  the  directors  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Port- 
land, which  position  he  held  until  his  removal  to  San 
Francisco;  was  postmaster  of  Portland  four  years; 
was  instrumental  in  getting  subscriptions  for  the  Port- 
land Mercantile  Library,  and  was  its  President  the 
most  of  the  time  before  his  removal  to  San  Francisco; 
it  is  now  a  prosperous  institution.  In  1873  he  re- 
moved to  Oakland,  California,  and  still  retains  a  con- 
siderable part  of  his  interest  in  Portland.  He  now 
has  an  office  in  San  Francisco,  doing  a  commission 
business,  mostly  in  lumber. 

In  1883  he  purchased  1045^  acres  on  Fruit  Vale 
Avenue,  near  Saratoga,  of  which  sixty  acres  are  now 
in  vines,  and  the  rest  in  fruit;  has  about  twenty  acres 
of  French  Silver  prunes,  five  years  old,  500  Blen- 
heim apricots,  and  450  Moorpark  apricots,  five  years 
old,  360  white  cherry,  650  Muir,  Alexander,  and 
Susquehanna  peaches  the  same  age;  has  twenty- 
five  acres  of  vines  set  out  the  first  year,  now  five  years 
old,  and  thirty-five  acres  set  out  the  next  year,  and 
for  size  and  quality  is  the  banner  vineyard  of  Santa 
Clara  County.  Mr.  Wakefield  is  one  of  the  directors 
of  the  Los  Gatos  and  Saratoga  Wine  Company. 

He  was  married,  in  1872,  to  Miss  Mary  R.Warren, 
of  Oakland,  and  they  have  five  children — two  sons 
and  three  daughters. 


PLBERT  J.  WILCOX  was  born  in  Middletown, 
Connecticut,  in  July,  1 829,  and  remained  at  home, 
^  working  on  his  father's  farm  and  attending  school 
until  twenty-three  years  of  age.  He  came  to 
California,  around  Cape  Horn,  on  the  ship  Flying 
Dutchman,  and  arrived  in  San  Francisco  in  January, 
1853,  making  the  trip  in  100  days.  He  came  im- 
mediately to  San  Jose,  where  he  engaged  in  farming 
with  his  brother-in-law,  J.  O.  McKee,  the  first  year. 
He  then  engaged  in  various  occupations  until  1856, 
when  he  bought  an  interest  in  a  grocery  business, 
which  he  sold  two  years  afterward.  He  then  became 
interested  in  the  hotel  business,  purchasing  an  interest 
in  the  Morgan  House,  which  he  continued  to  run  and 
manage  until  1871,  when  he  sold  the  hotel  buildings 
and  erected  the  Wilcox  Block,  where  his  present  busi- 
ness is  carried  on.     This  block  has  a  frontage  of  sixty- 


nine  feet  on  First  Street,  and  138  feet  on  San  Fernando 
Street, — one  of  the  best-appointed  business  blocks  in 
the  city.  In  1871  Mr.  Wilcox  bought  out  the  boot 
and  shoe  stock  of  McGoun  &  Co.,  and  removed  it  to 
the  store  in  his  block,  which  he  now  occupies,  and 
which  he  has  occupied  since  that  time. 

He  was  married,  in  1852,  to  Miss  Sarah  McKee,  a 
native  of  Cromwell,  Connecticut.  They  have  had  six 
children,  of  whom  three  are  living,  viz.:  Anna  K.,  a 
graduate  of  the  Gates  Institute;  Edith,  attending  the 
University  of  the  Pacific;  and  E.  J.,  attending  the 
San  Jose  High  School. 

Mr.  Wilcox  is  a  Republican  in  politics.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  City  Council  of  San  Jose  in  i860,  and 
of  all  his  associates  in  the  city  government  at  that 
time  he  is  the  only  survivor.  He  has  been  a  Trustee 
of  the  City  Free  Library  of  San  Jose  since  its  forma- 
tion, in  1880,  representing  the  Fourth  Ward  in  the 
Board. 


gg  FRANK  OLDHAM  was  born  in  Greenville 
G^bb  District,  South  Carolina,  December  16,  1826, 
e^  his  parents  being  also  natives  of  that  State. 
1  Major  George  Oldham,  his  grandfather,  was  a 
Revolutionary  officer  and  fought  the  battle  of  the 
Cowpens  alongside  of  Dekalb.  When  the  subject 
was  six  years  old,  his  parents  removed  to  Selma,  Ala- 
bama, where  he  was  reared  and  educated  and  clerked 
in  a  store.  His  parents  died  when  he  was  seventeen 
years  old.  On  May  i,  1852,  he  started  for  California 
by  way  of  Nicaragua,  where  he  remained  three 
months,  when  he  came  on  to  California  and  located 
in  San  Francisco.  There  he  was  employed  for  eight 
years  by  the  firm  of  Jonas  G.  Clark  &  Co.,  and  then 
he  came  to  Gilroy  and  engaged  in  the  hotel  and  livery 
business,  conducting  the  old  "  Exchange  "  in  partner- 
ship with  George  Roop,  with  whom  he  had  been  pre- 
viously connected  for  a  year  in  the  business  of  driv- 
ing cattle  from  Los  Angeles  County  to  San  Francisco. 
He  was  in  the  hotel  business  about  ten  years,  and 
while  so  engaged  he  and  Mr.  Roop  bought  the  Gilroy 
Hot  Springs  and  improved  and  made  a  resort  of 
them.  Upon  closing  out  his  hotel  and  livery  business 
he  engaged  in  farming  near  San  Felipe  for  about  ten 
years,  when  he  removed  to  the  place  where  he  now 
resides,  which  he  had  previously  purchased. 

He  was  married,  in  Gilroy,  January  6,  1862,  to  Miss 
Martha  R.  Martin,  daughter  of  Julius  and  Elizabeth 
Martin,  and  has  one  child,   Maud.     He  had  a  son. 


598 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


Ashley  by  name,  who  died  in  November,  1882,  at  the 
age  of  eighteen  years.  He  was  a  member  of  the  class 
of  1 883  at  the  San  Mateo  Military  Academy.  He 
was  at  the  time  at  the  head  of  the  Military  Depart- 
ment and  at  the  head  of  his  classes  also.  In  politics 
Mr.  Oldham  is  a  Democrat,  and  was  the  first  Mayor 
of  Gilroy,  holding  the  office  two  years.  His  family 
are  Episcopalians.  He  has  a  ranch  of  twenty-five 
acres,  one-half  mile  north  of  Gilroy,  on  the  San  Jose 
and  Monterey  road,  four  acres  of  which  are  in  orchard 
set  out  in  the  winter  of  1884-85,  containing  a  variety 
of  trees.  The  land  is  well  adapted  to  the  stone  fruits, 
and  he  intends  to  set  out  ten  acres  during  the  coming 
winter.  He  erected  his  present  residence  in  1869,  al- 
though it  has  the  appearance  of  a  new  house.  He 
has  a  few  head  of  cattle.  He  rents  land  from  others 
and  farms  from  100  to  200  acres  every  year.  He 
regards  fruit  as  the  proper  crop  to  raise  in  this 
locality. 


tULIUS  TOURNY  was  born  in  Wurtemburg, 
Germany,  April  10,  1839,  and  came  to  New  York 
^  in  1863,  where  he  remained  two  years,  then  came 
to  California  in  1855  and  located  in  San  Francisco. 
In  1858  he  made  the  trip  overland  to  Fraser  River  in 
British  Columbia,  but  soon  after  returned  to  San 
Francisco,  where  he  resided  the  most  of  the  time  till 
1869,  when  he  took  a  trip  to  Germany.  He  was 
married,  in  i860,  to  Sophia  Fritz,  a  native  of  Balti- 
more, Maryland.  She  died  in  1869,  leaving  three 
children.  He  was  again  married,  in  1870,  to  Helen 
Kress,  a  native  of  Fort  Madison,  Iowa,  where  she  was 
born  in  1851.  She  came  to  California  with  her  par- 
ents in  1855.  They  have  three  children.  Mr.  Tourny 
was  a  traveling  salesmanfor  Stein,  Simon  &  Co., whole- 
sale cIothiers,in  San  Francisco.  He  bought  his  present 
place  near  Los  Gatos  in  1882,  and  moved  upon  it  in 
1886.  He  has  twenty-five  acres,  about  ten  acres  be- 
ing under  cultivation,  mostly  in  prunes  and  apricots, 
with  a  few  of  other  varieties,  the  trees  being  from  one 
to  five  years  old.  The  view  of  the  surrounding  coun- 
try is  excellent.  He  owns  a  nice  spring  about  one 
and  one-fourth  miles  from  his  place,  which  is  about 
100  feet  above  his  house.  He  has  a  vineyard  of  two 
acres,  mostly  in  table  grapes.  His  Muscats  are  four 
years  old  and  in  full  bearing. 

The  children  by  his  first  wife  are:  George  B.,  resid- 
ing in  San  Francisco  and  employed   in   the   German 


Bank;  Minnie,  wife  of  Willard  Lee,  in  Los  Gatos; 
and  Anna,  who  resides  at  home.  The  children  by  his 
second  wife  are:  Helen  C,  Mabel,  and  Julius  B. 


ffeSAIAH  SHAW.  Among  the  old  pioneers  of 
sfe  Santa  Clara  County  may  be  found  the  gentleman 
T  whose  name  heads  this  sketch.  He  is  a  native 
of  New  Jersey,  born  in  1813,  but  was  reared  in  New 
York.  For  a  number  of  years  he  was  engaged  in  the 
mercantile  business  in  Chicago,  in  which  place  he  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Jane  McDuffy,  a  native 
of  Vermont.  They  came  to  California  in  1852,  Mr. 
Shaw  coming  by  water  and  Mrs.  Shaw  crossing  the 
plains.  Such  a  trip  in  the  early  pioneer  days  was  a 
long  and  tedious  journey,  and  often  attended  with 
many  trials  and  hardships;  but  by  her  skill  and  man- 
agement Mrs.  Shaw  rendered  the  trip  a  pleasant  one. 
In  1853  they  settled  in  Santa  Clara  Valley,  where 
Mr.  Shaw  purchased  350  acres  of  land.  He  has  since 
sold  off  all  except  183  acres,  which  he  has  in  apricots, 
prunes,  and  peaches,  having  over  i  5,000  trees  in  all. 
He  took  the  first  premium  given  in  the  county  on 
exhibit  of  cheese. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shaw  have  a  family  of  seven  children 
four  boys  and  three  girls.  Two  of  the  daughters  are 
married,  and  the  youngest.  Miss  Nettie,  Principal  of 
the  Eagle  District  School,  is  at  home.  The  four  sons, 
Celia,  John  M.,  Lincoln,  and  Joseph,  are  all  interested 
on  the  islands,  and  spend  most  of  their  time  at  Hono- 
lulu. The  family  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.     Mr.  Shaw  is  politically  a  Repub- 


^- 


IJIOHN  B.  BEAUMONT.  One  of  the  thoroughly 
©"  self-made  men  of  Santa  Clara  County  is  John  B. 
^  Beaumont,  who  has  been  for  the  past  twenty- 
eight  years  engaged  and  interested  in  the  manufact- 
ure and  sale  of  lumber  in  Chicago  and  Michigan. 
He  is  now  interested,  with  his  son,  J.  M.  Beaumont, 
in  the  drug  business,  in  San  Jose,  besides  which  he  is 
engaged  in  horticulture,  owning,  and  taking  an  es- 
pecial pride  in,  two  model  fruit  farms,  one  of  ten  acres, 
on  the  Stevens  Creek  road,  the  other,  of  five  and  one- 
half  acres,  on  Saratoga  Avenue.  On  the  Saratoga 
Avenue  place  he  has  planted  seventy-six  pear,  and 
six  hundred  and  thirty  prune  trees,  which  are  in  full 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


bearing.  On  the  Stevens  Creek  road  place  are  a  few 
almonds,  walnuts,  figs,  and  olives,  besides  three  hun- 
dred peach  trees  in  full  bearing,  one  hundred  and 
fourteen  Bigarreau  cherry  trees,  four  hundred  apricot 
trees,  five  hundred  vines  of  table  grapes,  ninety-five  egg 
plums,  and  four  hundred  and  twelve  prune  trees,  just 
coming  into  bearing.  Mr.  Beaumont's  horticultural 
ventures,  it  will  be  seen,  have  passed  beyond  the  ex- 
perimental stage  into  that  of  assured  success. 

Mr.  Beaumont  was  born  in  Middletown,  Connecti- 
cut, in  1816.  His  father  was  born  in  1766,  in  En- 
gland, coming  to  America  at  a  very  early  age,  and 
removing  from  Canton,  Massachusetts,  to  Connecti- 
cut toward  the  close  of  the  last  century.  Mr.  Beau- 
mont, Sr.,  built,  in  1808,  a  cotton  and  woolen  factory 
at  Middletown,  Connecticut,  continuing  in  that  busi- 
ness all  his  life.  He  died  there  in  1865.  His  brother, 
James  Beaumont,  with  whom  he  came  to  America, 
built  the  first  cotton  and  woolen  factory  in  America, 
located  at  Canton,  Massachusetts,  which  he  operated 
during  his  life-time,  dying  at  Canton  at  the  age  of 
ninety  years.  James  Beaumont  was  also  the  inventor 
of  the  glazed  cotton  wadding  now  so  generally  in  use. 
The  m  )ther  of  J.  B.  Beaumont  was  Miss  Bethsheba 
Hubbard,  a  daughter  of  Decico  (?)  Jeremiah  Hubbard, 
of  Middletown,  Connecticut,  a  family  descended  from 
the  original  Puritan  stock  of  New  England.  She 
died  at  the  age  of  eighty-eight  years,  and  is  buried  by 
the  side  of  her  husband,  in  Middletown. 

J.  B.  Beaumont  attended  the  usual  local  schools 
until  his  eighteenth  year,  when  he  went  to  Philadel- 
phia, there  introducing,  with  a  company,  the  mica- 
ceous brown  sandstone  of  Connecticut.  In  1839  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Kesiah  Roberts,  a  native  of  Phil- 
adelphia, and  removed  immediately  to  the  West,  set- 
tling in  Alton,  Illinois.  Of  this  union  there  were 
born  two  children,  Joseph  M.,  now  in  the  drug  busi- 
ness in  San  Jose,  and  Mary  E.,  who  married  Edward 
R.  Earle,  of  Sterling,  Illinois,  now  deceased,  and  who 
resides  with  her  parents  in  San  Jose. 

Mr.  Beaumont  was  a  member  of  the  second  lodge 
of  Odd  Fellows  organized  in  Illinois,  and  of  Wildey 
Encampment,  of  the  same  order,  the  oldest  in  Illi- 
nois. He  is  Republican  in  politics  and  believes  in 
the  fullest  protection  of  American  industries.  He 
has  a  beautiful  home  at  the  corner  of  Second  and 
Market  Streets,  San  Jose,  where  he  will  probably  pass 
the  evening  of  his  life  surrounded  by  all  the  blessings 
which  the  word  "  home"  suggests. 

Mr.  Beaumont  never  received  a  dollar  of  financial 


aid  from  any  source  whatever,  but  accumulated  his 
property  and  wealth  by  personal  energy  and  enter- 
prise. 


5  M.  BEAUMONT.  This  gentleman  commenced 
®^  business  in  San  Jose,  at  Nos.  13  and  15  West 
^  Santa  Clara  Street,  Knox  Block,  November  11, 
1885,  having  bought  the  drug  store  of  B.  J.  Rhodes 

6  Co.,  who  established  the  business.  Mr.  Beaumont 
was  born  in  Alton,  Illinois,  in  1839,  his  parents,  J.  B. 
and  K.  E.  (Roberts)  Beaumont,  having  removed  from 
Philadelphia  to  Illinois  in  1832,  and  being  among  the 
pioneers  of  Illinois.  At  that  time  Alton  was  perhaps 
the  largest  town  on  the  Mississippi  River  above  New 
Orleans.  Letters  for  St.  Louis  came  addressed  to  St. 
Louis,  "  near  Alton,  Illinois."  Mr.  Beaumont  re- 
mained at  Alton  until  his  twenty-first  year,  attending 
the  public  schools  of  that  town,  finally  graduating  at 
a  private  boarding-school  at  Farmingham,  Massachu- 
setts. He  afterward  attended  a  mercantile  college 
at  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  graduating  in  1857.  He  was 
for  three  years  book-keeper  for  the  Chicago  &  Alton 
Railroad  Company,  at  St.  Louis,  after  which  he  went 
into  the  lumber  business  with  his  father,  in  1863,  in 
Chicago,  remaining  four  years;  later  he  was  in  the 
same  business  at  Big  Rapids,  Michigan,  until  1885. 
He  came  to  California  in  August  of  1885,  and  in  the 
following  November  bought  the  drug-store  which  he 
now  owns. 

Mr.  Beaumont  has  been  associated  with  his  father, 
J.  B.  Beaumont,  since  1863,  first  in  the  lumber,  and 
later  in  the  drug  business.  Theirs  is  the  leading  drug- 
store in  San  Jose,  and  under  the  thorough  and  ener- 
getic management  of  its  present  proprietors  is  likely 
to  remain  at  the  front,  its  location,  near  one  of  the 
principal  business  corners  of  this  growing  city,  being 
a  most  fortunate  one. 


|i- 


!i||IRAM  C.  MORRELL  was  born  in  Waterville, 
to^^  Kennebec  County,  Maine,  April  25,  1835.  His 
(g)  parents,  Ephraim  and  Achsa  (Clifford)  Morrell, 
were  both  natives  of  Maine,  and  are  still  living 
in  Waterville.  They  had  a  family  of  eight  children, 
six  of  whom  are  living,  four  sons  and  two  daughters. 
Hiram  was  the  fifth  child.  He  was  raised  in  Water- 
ville, and  educated  in  the  High  School  there.  He 
lived  on  his  father's  farm  till  fifteen  years  old.     He 


600 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


then  went  into  a  store  and  clerked  about  a  year  and  a 
half,  when  he  went  into  a  machine  shop,  but  after- 
ward went  back  into  the  store.  In  1854  he  came  to 
California  and  mined  for  about  a  year  on  the  north 
fork  of  the  American  River,  in  Placer  County,  and 
was  interested  in  mines  there  for  three  or  four  years 
after  that.  He  then  went  into  the  saw-mills  of  that 
county  and  sawed  sugar-pine  lumber  for  about  three 
years.  From  there  he  went  to  Humboldt  Bay,  where 
he  ran  an  engine  in  a  saw-mill  for  one  winter.  Next 
he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County  in  i860,  and  ran  a 
saw-mill  for  Howe  &  Welden,  where  the  Forest 
House  now  stands,  near  Alma;  was  there  one  season, 
when  he  went  into  the  employ  of  McMurtry  &  Mc- 
Millin  in  the  same  capacity;  was  with  them  four  years, 
on  the  Los  Gatos  Creek.  In  April,  1867,  he  bought 
his  present  place  and  moved  there,  where  he  has  since 
resided.  Mr.  Morrell  has  been  engaged  in  lumbering 
for  a  great  many  years.  He  now  has  timber  land 
and  a  saw-mill  in  Santa  Cruz  County,  sawing  lumber 
for  Santa  Clara  County. 

He  was  married,  November  15,  1864,  to  Clarissa  R. 
Burrell,  daughter  of  Lyman  J.  Burrell,  deceased- 
They  have  five  children:  Lizzie  M.,  Clifford  H.,  Jesse 
B.,  Minnie  C,  and  Albert  E.  His  ranch  contains 
250  acres,  of  which  100  acres  are  set  to  fruit,  fifty 
being  in  fruit  and  fifty  in  vines,  all  in  good  bearing 
condition.  He  has  some  apple  trees  thirty  years  old; 
has  thirty  acres  in  grain,  and  the  rest  is  timber  and 
pasture  land.  Mr.  Morrell  has  been  a  member  of 
Santa  Clara  Lodge,  No.  52,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  for  twenty 
years. 

j||RTHUR  C.  PENNIMAN,  the  subject  of  this 
&^^  sketch,  who  came  to  California  in  1852,  was  born 

fin  Jefferson  County,  New  York,  in  1828.  His 
father,  Eli  P.  Penniman,  was  born  in  Keene, 
New  Hampshire,  in  1800,  and  when  about  twenty 
years  old  went  to  New  York  State.  He  owned  a 
woolen  cloth  factory  in  Lockport,  New  York,  which 
he  sold  out  and  went  to  Illinois,  in  1842,  and  bought 
a  section  of  land  from  the  United  States  Government 
within  thirty  miles  of  Chicago,  in  Lake  County,  near 
where  Libertyville  now  stands.  He  died  there  in 
1884.  His  mother,  Margaret  (Poor)  Penniman,  is  a 
native  of  Jefferson  County,  New  York.  His  father 
and  mother  were  married  in  1823,  and  to  them  were 
born  five  children.  Hiram  P.,  the  eldest,  was  born  in 
1824,  and  in  1850  came  to  California,  and  is  now 
living  in  Oakland;  Louis  E.  was  born  in   1826  and 


died  in  Libertyville,  Illinois;  the  next  child  is  the 
subject  of  our  sketch;  the  fourth  child  was  a  daugh- 
ter, Mary  Jane,  born  in  Jefferson  County,  New  York 
in  1830,  and  is  now  Mrs.  Ralph  Bagg,  of  Afton,  Iowa; 
the  youngest  child,  Harriet  J.,  was  born  in  Jefferson 
County  also,  in  1832.  In  1853  she  and  her  husband, 
George  S.  Pottwin,  came  to  California.  Slie  died  in 
1873,  and  her  husband  in  1886. 

Mr.  Penniman  attended  the  public  schools  and 
worked  on  his  father's  farm  until  he  attained  the  age 
of  twenty-four  years,  when  he  bought  a  team  of  four 
horses  and  a  light  two-horse  wagon,  and,  leaving  the 
parental  roof,  drove  to  Chicago,  where,  in  company 
with  Squire  Lee,  of  Libertyville,  Illinois,  and  his  son, 
Austin  Lee,  he  started  to  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa,  to 
which  place  they  drove,  a  distance  of  700  miles,  in 
fifteen  days!  On  the  last  day  of  July  of  that  year 
they  drove  into  Placerville  (having  driven  down  from 
Carson,  Nevada,  over  the  old  Hangtown  road),  and 
ate  a  good  old-fashioned  "vegetable  dinner."  They 
brought  all  of  their  horses  through,  which  they  sold 
for  $400  each.  They  were  just  fifty-one  days  cross- 
ing the  plains  from  the  Missouri  River.  Mr.  Penni- 
man, in  partnership  with  his  brother  Hiram,  who  had 
come  to  California  in  1850,  planted  a  vegetable  garden 
of  four  acres  at  Sonora,  on  Mormon  Creek,  Tuolumne 
County.  They  sold  cabbage  at  twenty-five  cents  a 
p  und;  raised  one  weighing  thirty-eight  pounds!  sold 
V  ater-melons  at  $3.00  each,  and  eggs  at  $3.00  a  dozen. 
He  put  a  hundred  acres  in  barley,  which  he  sold  for 
ten  cents  a  pound  in  bundles,  straw  and  all.  The 
spot  right  where  their  garden  stood  was  afterward 
prospected  for  gold,  and  parties  had  earned  as  high  as 
an  ounce  a  day.  He  remained  on  this  ranch  a  year, 
then  went  to  Contra  Costa  County,  and  took  up  a 
ranch  of  160  acres,  right  back  of  Martinez,  where  he 
remained  for  twenty  years;  then  he  sold  out  to  his 
brother  Hiram,  and  moved  into  Martinez,  where  he 
kept  a  stable  for  two  years,  after  which  he  came  to 
this  county,  and  says  he  has  enjoyed  life  more  than 
in  any  other  part  of  California. 

Mr.  Penniman  was  married,  in  1856,  to  Miss  Helen 
S.  Huff,  who  was  born  near  Cleveland,  Ohio,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Alvin  Huff,  who  died  in  Indiana  when  she  was 
a  child.  Four  children  have  blessed  this  marriage: 
The  eldest,  George  Arthur,  was  born  in  1857,  and 
married,  December,  1887,  Miss  Effie  Bardsley,  of  Oak- 
land, California.  He  is  now  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Ingram  &  Co.,  successors  to  A.  C.  Litcomb  &  Co., 
wholesale  jewelers,  24  Post  Street,  San  Francisco. 
The  second  child,  Helen  S.,  is  a  graduate  of  the  San 


0.   91^:  <m. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


601 


Jose  High  School,  and  also  attended  the  State  Normal 
School.  She  still  remains  under  the  parental  roof. 
Luther  E.,  born  in  1S70,  is  also  a  graduate  of  the 
High  School  of  San  Jose,  and  is  now  attending  busi- 
ness college.  Edwin  R.,  who  was  born  in  the  centen- 
nial year  of  1876,  is  attending  school  at  the  Willows. 

Mr.  Penniman's  brother,  Louis  E.,  raised  a  company 
of  volunteer  soldiers  during  the  late  war,  and,  though 
unable  to  accompany  them  himself,  owing  to  his  busi- 
ness demanding  his  attention,  he  presented  each  of 
them  with  $50  to  help  out  the  cause. 

Mr.  Penniman  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fra- 
ternity, and  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  believes  in 
the  protection  of  American  industries,  especially  in 
the  protection  of  the  fruit  interests  of  California. 


!)_^.^g)-« 


fAMUEL  W.  BORING.  American  biography 
has  always  been  considered  to  be  of  the  greatest 
^■^  interest,  much  outranking  in  this  regard  the  same 
study  in  any  other  land.  The  cause  of  this  is 
the  large  proportion  of  self-made  men  included  in  our 
population^men  who  have  plucked  the  flower  of  suc- 
cess from  the  thorn  ot  difficulty  and  adverse  circum- 
stances. 

Mayor  Boring,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  illus- 
trates this  fact.  He  was  born  in  Jonesboro,  Tennes- 
see, in  1824,  his  parents  being  Absalom  and  Elizabeth 
(Ruhle)  Boring.  His  father  was  a  native  of  Mary- 
land, who  emigrated  to  Tennessee  with  his  parents  in 
1810.  His  mother  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  her 
parents  having  come  from  Germany  to  that  State  in 
early  days,  removing  thence  to  Tennessee.  Mr. 
Boring  attended  the  public  schools  in  Jonesboro  up  to 
the  age  of  twelve  years,  when  his  parents  removed  to. 
Rushville,  Illinois.  He  there  attended  school,  and 
later  worked  at  the  saddlery  business  until  1846.  In 
that  year  he  enlisted  in  Dunlap's  company  of  the 
First  Illinois  Cavalry,  for  the  Mexican  War.  He 
went  to  Mexico,  and  served  during  the  war  on  the 
line  of  the  Rio  Grande,  under  General  Taylor,  engaged 
principally  in  the  scouting  service.  The  scouting 
service  was  more  active  and  dangerous  than  any  other 
branch,  and  although  such  a  young  man,  Mr.  Boring's 
ability  was  at  once  recognized,  and  he  was  elected 
Orderly  Sergeant  of  his  company,  serving  with  dis- 
tinction. In  the  hazardous  scouting  work  he  saw 
much  service  of  both  responsibility  and  peril,  as  it  is 
a  service  calling  for  great  risks  and  hardships,  making 
it  at  once  laborious  and  all-important. 
76 


At  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned  to  Rushville, 
remaining  during  the  winter  of  1848-49  engaged 
principally  in  making  up  a  train  for  the  trip  across 
the  plains,  which  was  made  in  1849,  the  train  starting 
from  Rushville  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  March  and 
arriving  in  Placerville — then  called  Hangtown — on 
the  tenth  of  September.  The  whole  trip  from  Rush- 
ville, Illinois,  to  Placerville  was  made  by  ox  teams, 
the  teams  being  brought  through  safely,  with  the 
exception  of  one  ox,  which  was  killed  on  the  trip. 
Mr.  Boring  was  in  command  of  the  trains,  his  expe- 
rience in  the  Mexican  War  enabling  him  to  make  the 
journey  with  less  loss  than  was  suffered  by  most  of 
the  emigrants.  In  this  train  were  15  wagons  and 
114  oxen,  only  5  oxen  of  which  were  lost  on  the 
trip,  one  of  them  being  stolen  by  Indians. 

Mr.  Boring  remained  in  Placerville,  and  mined 
during  the  winter,  after  which  he  removed  to  Nevada 
City,  mining  there  for  two  years.  In  1852  he  was 
appointed  Under-Sheriff,  serving  for  two  years.  In 
the  fall  of  1855  he  was  elected  to  the  Legislature  for 
the  session  of  1 856.  In  the  fall  of  1 856  he  was  elected 
Sheriff  of  Nevada  County,  holding  that  position  until 
1859.  He  then  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business 
in  Nevada  City  until  1864,  when  he  removed  to  San 
Francisco,  and  from  thence,  in  1866,  to  San  Jose, 
where  he  has  since  remained.  He  was  sent  to  San 
Jose  as  agent  for  an  express  company.  On  the  fourth 
of  March,  1870,  he  was  appointed  Under-SherifF  of 
Santa  Clara  County,  holding  that  position  for  four 
years,  with  Nick  Harris,  Sheriff.  In  1874  he  took  the 
position  of  Secretary  of  the  San  Jose  Water  Com- 
pany, remaining  with  the  company  until  1878.  He 
then  engaged  in  the  real-estate  and  insurance  busi- 
ness, in  which  he  has  been  interested  since  that  time. 
In  1878  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate,  filling  a 
vacancy,  which  expired  in  1879.  Mr.  Boring  is  a 
stockholder  in,  and  was  one  of  the  organizers  of,  the 
Paul  O.  Burns  Wine  Company,  and  was  its  first  sec- 
retary. In  1 88 1  he  became  a  resident  of  El  Paso, 
Texas,  remaining  there  for  four  and  a  half  years,  and 
engaging  in  real-estate  speculations,  which  were  quite 
successful,  from  the  fact  that  he  had  preceded  the 
railroad  development  which  took  place  there  later. 
Mr.  Boring  has  made  but  one  visit  to  his  paternal 
home,  in  Rushville,  Illinois,  since  1849.  This  was  in 
1880,  when  he  accompanied  the  California  Com- 
mandery  of  Knights  Templar  to  the  Triennial  Con- 
clave at  Chicago.  At  that  time  he  visited  his  parents' 
graves  near  Rushville. 

In  1857  Mr.  Boring  was  married,  in  Nevada  City, 


602 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


to  Miss  Susan  M.  Reed,  a  native  of  Wisconsin,  who 
crossed  the  plains  in  1852,  with  her  stepfatlier,  Will- 
iam Sublette,  and  her  mother,  Maria  L.  Sublette. 

Mr.  Boring  is  now  the  Mayor  of  the  city  of  San 
Jose,  being  elected  in  1888  on  the  Democratic  ticket. 
He  owes  his  election,  however,  not  to  party  tactics 
but  to  his  great  personal  popularity,  and  to  the  confi- 
dence felt  by  every  citizen  in  his  unflinching  honesty 
and  his  great  capacity  as  a  business  man.  In  all 
matters  of  a  public  and  general  interest,  Mr.  Boring 
has  always  shown  himself  a  large-hearted,  public- 
spirited  and  able  upholder  of  the  good  of  the  people. 
His  life  has  been  an  unusually  active  and  laborious 
one,  characterized  throughout  by  the  singular  energy 
so  typical  a  product  of  the  West,  but  always  tem- 
pered by  a  scrupulous  care  for  the  rights  of  others 
and  a  zealous  desire  to  promote  their  good.  In  his 
personal  bearing  he  exemplifies  one's  idea  of  the  gen- 
tleman, a  little  lacking  perhaps  in  the  culture  and 
polish  of  the  schools,  but  possessing  instead  what  is 
infinitely  better,  a  good  heart  enshrined  in  a  manl)^ 
breast  speaking  through  a  large  humanity  and  a  wide 
experience. 

Mr.  Boring  is  a  member  of  San  Jose  Lodge,  No. 
10,  F.  &  A.  M.;  of  Howard  Chapter,  No.  14,  and  San 
Jose  Commandery,  No.  10,  Knights  Templar,  being 
a  charter  member  of  this  latter  lodge;  and  is  also  a 
Free  Mason  of  the  thirty-second  degree  of  the  Scot- 
tish Rite.  He  is  a  member  of  the  prominent  real- 
estate  firm  of  Potts,  Boring  &  Walthall,  of  San  Jose, 
and  in  business  as  well  as  social  circles  holds  a  leading 
position.  He  is  also  the  personal  owner  of  consider- 
able real  estate  in  San  Jose  and  the  valley,  besides 
holding  stock  in  various  public  enterprises. 


HpiLLIAM  L.  PEARCE,  son  of  Francis  and  Jane 
!f^  (Waters)  Pearce,  was  born  twenty-five  miles  east 
•ikf  of  Land's  End,  England,  January  26,  18 19. 
1  His  father  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-four,  and  his 
mother  at  the  age  of  ninety-four.  They  had  twelve 
children,  of  whom  eleven  grew  to  maturity — seven 
soni  and  four  daughters — of  whom  three  sons  and 
two  daughters  are  now  living.  William  is  the  eldest 
of  the  living  children,  and  lived  with  his  parents  until 
twenty-three  years  of  age.  April  4,  1843,  he  was 
married  to  Eliz-ibeth  Hicks.  For  some  time  before 
and  after  his  marriage  he  worked  in  the  mines  of 
Ballswiden,  in  the  Parish  of  St.  Just,  about  six  miles 


from  Land's  End.  Leaving  Penzance  September  4, 
1848,  and  landing  inNew York  aboutOctober  15,  1848, 
he  worked  in  the  various  mines  in  the  East;  was  in 
Bristol,  Connecticut,  copper  mines  three  years  and 
nine  months.  His  wife  died  in  England,  in  1853,  five 
years  after  he  left  that  country.  She  left  four  children, 
and  after  her  death  Mr.  Pearce  sent  for  them.  His 
son  William  was  accidentally  killed  in  Mexico,  in 
1885,  by  firing  at  a  target.  Of  the  other  children, 
Francis  and  John  reside  in  Los  Angeles,  and  Eliza- 
beth Dunstone  resides  at  the  New  Almaden  mines. 
Mr.  Pearce  went  to  Wisconsin  in  1856,  and  located  at 
Blue  Mounds,  and  bought  a  farm;  was  married  there, 
October  25,  1856,  to  Louisa  Dunstone,  a  sister  of 
John  Dunstone,  who  married  Mr.  Pearce's  daughter 
Elizabeth.  Mr.  Pearce  worked  the  farm  until  i860, 
when  he  came  to  California,  and  was  at  once  em- 
ployed at  the  Almaden  mines,  where  he  blasted  rocks 
and  timbered,  and  did  other  work  in  the  mines  for 
about  fifteen  years.  During  this  time  he  spent  one 
season  on  Williams  Creek,  in  British  Columbia,  work- 
ing in  the  gold  mines  there.  In  1869  he  bought  a 
ranch  at  Los  Gatos,  and  came  here  to  live  in  1875. 
He  sold  his  ranch  in  1882,  and  in  January,  1884,  went 
into  the  grocery  business  in  Los  Gatos,  which  he  still 
follows. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pearce  have  had  six  children,  named 
James  H.,  Josiah,  Bartholomew  (deceased),  Louisa, 
Bartholomew,  and  Franklin. 


^^ILLIAM    L.    NORTHERN.     To    say  that   a 
-Sffl^  man  lives    in    the  Willows    District   has   come 

f  nowadays  to  mean  almost  that  a  man  has 
grown  wealthy  in  fruit-raising.  Those  who 
have  settled  in  that  fertile  section  have  shown  them- 
selves sagacious,  and  are  now  reaping  a  rich  reward 
for  their  discernment.  Mr.  William  L.  Northern  came 
to  California  in  1859,  and,  after  a  residence  here  of 
seven  years,  decided  to  settle  in  the  Willows.  In  1868 
be  purchased  six  acres  of  land,  where  his  homestead 
now  stands.  Four  years  later  he  set  this  out  to  fruit- 
trees,  including  apples,  plums,  and  prunes.  From 
time  to  time  he  has  added  to  his  possessions  until 
now  he  owns  twenty-four  acres  of  land,  all  set  out  in 
fruit,  sixteen  acres  being  in  yellow  Newtown  pippins, 
and  eight  acres  in  prunes.  As  yet  only  the  apple 
crop  is  in  bearing.  As  an  instance  of  the  returns 
afforded  by  fruit  in  the  Willows,  it  may  be  stated  that 
Mr.  Northern  received  as   high  as   $3,200  one  season 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


603 


for  the  apple  crop  sold  upon  the  trees,  and  his  average 
income  therefrom  varies  from  $2,500  to  $3,000  per 
year.  The  codUng  moth,  which  has  been  such  a  pest 
to  fruit-growers,  is  effectively  controlled  by  Mr.  North- 
ern, so  that  last  year  the  apples  were  in  much  better 
condition  than  before.  He  kept  six  men  busy  a  good 
part  of  the  season  picking  off  the  fruit  that  was  at- 
tacked. This  was  dumped  into  a  large  kettle,  thor- 
oughly cooked,  and  fed  to  the  hogs,  thus  effectually 
killing  the  worms.  This  did  not  in  the  least  affect 
tlie  quantity  of  the  fruit  on  the  trees,  as  it  simply 
served  the  purpose  of  properly  thinning  it,  and  even 
then  it  has  sometimes  seemed  still  to  leave  the  fruit 
too  thick. 

Mr.  Northern  was  born  February  15,  1836,  in 
Wilkes  County,  North  Carolina.  When  about  nine 
years  of  age  he  removed  to  Tennessee,  where  he  re- 
mained until  twenty-one  years  old.  This  time  w^as 
spent  at  Newmarket,  which  is  situated  some  twenty- 
five  miles  east  of  Knoxville,  in  Eastern  Tennessee,  on 
a  farm  with  parents.  In  1857  he  emigrated  to  Mis- 
souri, and  in  1859  came  to  California.  He  went  at 
once  to  the  mines,  locating  at  Inskip,  about  thirty 
miles  from  Oroville,  in  Butte  County,  and  engaging 
in  placer  mining,  with  the  usual  luck  of  miners, 
sometimes  rich  and  sometimes  poor,  generally  poor. 
He  saw,  however,  that  there  was  nothing  permanently 
profitable  in  mining,  and  in  1866  came  to  Santa  Clara 
County,  where  he  worked  at  the  carpenter  trade  until 
he  married  and  settled  down  to  farming.  His  parents 
were  Thomas  and  Lucinda  (Holt)  Northern,  natives 
of  North  Carolina,  who  removed  to  Tennessee  in 
1845.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  had  nine  brothers 
and  sisters.  Three  of  his  brothers  did  honorable  serv- 
ice in  the  war  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union: 
Thomas  S.,  who  was  First  Lieutenant  in  the  First 
Regiment  of  East  Tennessee  Cavalry;  James  M.,  also 
a  soldier  of  the  Union  army,  who  died  in  hospital 
from  wounds  received  in  the  battle  of  Murfreesboro; 
Alfred  F.,  also  a  soldier  in  an  infantry  regiment  of 
the  Union  army  under  General  Thomas,  throughout 
his  campaigns  in  Tennessee.  Joseph  H.,  who  lived  in 
Newmarket,  was  killed  soon  after  the  war  under  dis- 
tressing circumstances.  A  stranger  whom  he  was 
hospitably  entertaining  overnight  robbed  and  mur- 
dered him! 

Mr.  Northern  was  married  at  San  Jose,  December 
24,  1868,  to  Miss  Lizzie  H.  Easley.  Their  children 
are:  Lulu  Maud,  born  March  2,  1870,  who  graduated 
at  the  Willows  Grammar  School,  and  is  now  attending 
the  Garden    City  Commercial    College;  Pleasant  M., 


born  February  13,  1872,  graduated  at  the  Willows 
Grammar  School,  and  is  about  to  attend  the  Commer- 
cial College;  and  Cornelia  May,  born  November  20, 
1876,  died  June  26,  1881. 

Mr.  Northern  is  a  member  in  good  standing  of 
Friendship  Lodge,  No.  210,  Masonic,  of  San  Jose,  of 
Commandery  No.  10,  Knights  Templar,  of  San  Jose, 
and  of  Howard  Chapter,  No.  10,  Royal  Arch  Masons, 
also  of  Garden  City  Lodge,  No.  142,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of 
San  Jose.  Mr.  Northern  is  a  consistent  Democrat, 
strongly  in  favor  of  the  protection  of  American  indus- 
tries and  the  fruit  interests  of  California,  in  so  far  as 
this  protection  cannot  be  used  as  a  basis  for  monopoly, 


#^^ 


ii)ALMER  C.  PERKINS  was  born  in  Cato  (now 
<A^  Ira),  Cayuga  County,  New  York,  August  13, 
i§)  1822.  His  father,  Moses  Perkins,  was  a  native  of 
Saratoga  Springs,  New  York.  Removed  with 
his  family  to  Logan,  Michigan,  in  1831,  about  six 
years  before  it  became  a  State.  The  place  where  he 
located  is  now  in  Lenawee  County,  of  which  Adrian 
is  the  county  seat.  He  located  on  a  farm  of  193  acres 
four  miles  west  of  town.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
lived  in  Michigan  until  1852,  when  became  overland  to 
California.  He  was  six  months  less  six  days  making 
the  trip.  He  at  once  went  into  the  mines  and  opened 
a  store  at  Diamond  Springs,  and  remained  there  until 
185s,  when  he  sold  out  and  went  to  Coon  Hill  and 
bought  a  claim  with  the  intention  of  working  it,  and 
built  a  house,  but  hired  a  man  to  work  the  claim.  He 
found  a  good  many  difficulties  in  this  task.  About 
this  time,  in  company  with  others,  he  built  a  flour 
mill  on  Weber  Creek,  between  Diamond  Springs  and 
Placerville,  called  the  "Mountain  Mills,"  and  supplied 
the  surrounding  country  with  flour.  In  1862  he  sold 
his  interest  in  the  mill  and  went  back  to  Michi- 
gan, where  in  February,  1864,  he  bought  a  com- 
bined flour  and  saw  mill  with  his  cousin,  Wilson  Per- 
kins. The  mill  was  run  by  water,  and  was  situated 
two  miles  south  of  the  town  of  Hudson.  Selling  out 
the  next  year  he  removed  to  Portland,  Ionia  County, 
and  went  into  the  hardware  business  with  H.  G.  Ste- 
phens, and  continued  in  the  business  for  six  years  un- 
der the  firm  name  of  Stephens  &  Perkins,  when  he 
sold  out  to  Stephens  and  bought  a  stock  of  goods, 
groceries,  and  crockery,  and  opened  a  store  and  ran  it 
a  year.  Then  he  sold  out  and  moved  back  to  Hud- 
son, where  his  father  lived,  and  bought  in  the  store 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


owned  by  his  brother,  N.  M.  Perkins.  Was  with  him 
between  two  and  three  years,  when  he  sold  out  again 
and  rented  and  ran  a  mill  for  about  a  year.  After 
settling  up  his  business  he  came  to  California,  in  1878, 
and  located  in  Los  Gatos  July  5  of  that  year.  De- 
cember 15,  1881,  he  opened  a  general  store,  which  he 
afterward  sold,  and  in  the  fall  of  1885  opened  his  pres- 
ent stock  of  hardware,  etc.  Was  elected  President  of 
the  Board  of  Town  Trustees  of  Los  Gatos  when  the 
town  was  incorporated,  and  served  as  a  member  for 
one  year.  Was  married  October  6,  1847,  in  Adrian, 
Michigan,  to  Alida  C.  Ouackenbush,  a  native  of  New 
York.  They  have  two  children,  viz.:  Emma  L.,  wife 
of  H.  A.  Swaney,  and  Fred.  W.,  who  is  also  married 
and  in  business  with  his  father,  under  the  firm  name 
of  Perkins  &  Son. 

During  the  Revolutionary  War  the  grandfather  of 
the  subject  of  the  above  sketch,  Christopher  Perkins, 
moved  from  Rhode  Island  to  Saratoga  County,  New 
York,  placing  his  wife,  child,  and  all  his  household 
goods  upon  the  back  of  one  horse.  He  settled  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  Hudson,  where  he  soon  heard  the 
guns  of  some  of  the  most  important  battles.  His  own 
cabin  was  made  a  hospital.  He  died  in  1813,  leaving 
a  wife  and  seven  dependent  children.  She  moved 
into  Cayuga  County,  New  York,  and  saw  hard  times. 
At  one  period  they  had  to  subsist  upon  leeks  and 
milk  '  The  mother  rode  two  days  to  obtain  some 
flour,  and  all  she  obtained  was  used  at  one  baking! 

^ 


ggDWARD  G.  PYLE.  The  history  of  California 
<^^  is  best  written  from  the  lives  of  her  pioneers. 
Y^  An  eventful,  adventurous,  and  intensely  inter, 
esting  account  it  makes,  giving  many  a  tale  of 
hardship  and  danger,  yet  almost  always  ending  with 
the  triumph  of  man  over  nature,  and  of  civilization 
over  barbarism.  One  who  has  seen  the  course  of 
events  in  CaHfornia  with  his  own  eyes,  and  has  him- 
self held  a  leading  part  in  the  stirring  events  about 
him,  is  Mr.  Edward  G.  Pyle,  who  was  born  in  Peoria, 
Illinois,  May  26,  1838.  The  life  of  his  father  (Mr. 
Thomas  Pyle)  has  already  been  sketched  in  this  book, 
on  page  231.  His  mother  is  still  alive,  her  maiden 
name  having  been  Elizabeth  Goodwin.  The  family 
came  across  the  plains  to  California  in  1846,  being 
among  the  earliest  American  settlers,  and  Mr.  Pyle 
was  thus  in  his  early  youth  inured  to  hardships  and 
rigors  of  a  pioneer  life,  and  given  the  hardy,  rugged 
frame  which  he  still  possesses,  although  it  at  the  same 


time  deprived  him  of  nearly  all  opportunities  to  ob- 
tain a  schooling.  Soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  family 
in  the  State  his  father  was  called  to  take  up  arms  for 
his  country  during  the  Mexican  War,  the  family  being 
left  entirely  alone,  and  Edward  being  the  eldest  son. 
On  him  was  devolved  the  care  of  his  mother  and  his 
little  brothers  and  sisters.  Although  such  a  little  fel- 
low he  bravely  did  his  best,  and  eventually  all  came 
out  well.  In  1850  the  family  removed  to  Santa  Clara 
County,  where  his  father  engaged  extensively  in  the 
stock  business,  and  to  this  business  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  reared.  After  his  father's  death,  in  1853, 
although  young,  Mr.  Pyle  was  compelled  to  take  charge 
of  the  estate  until,  in  1858,  his  mother  married  Daniel 
Tanner.  In  1859  he  located  on  200  acres  of  hill  land 
about  ten  miles  east  .of  San  Jose,  and  took  up  his  resi- 
dence there  until  1875,  when  he  sold  out  and  then  re- 
sided on  railroad  lands  in  the  same  locality  until  1876. 
While  on  this  hill  land  he  was  extensively  engaged  in 
stock-raising.  Upon  leaving  the  hill  farm  he  re- 
turned to  the  old  homestead,  and  has  since  then,  with 
an  exception  of  about  two  years,  during  which  he  was 
in  the  stock  business  on  his  own  account,  conducted 
the  home  ranch  for  his  father-in-law.  Mr.  Pyle  is  a 
member  in  good  standing  of  the  A.  O.  U.  W.,  and  is 
also  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of 
Berryessa.  In  politics  he  is  a  consistent,  yet  liberal 
Democrat,  of  conservative  views. 

On  December  28,  1870,  he  married  Miss  Margaret 
Hannay,  daughter  of  Alexander  and  Margaret  (More- 
land)  Hannay.  She  is  a  native  of  Kirkcudbrightshire^ 
Scotland,  born  in  1838.  She  came  to  this  country  in 
1858,  and  after  a  residence  of  nine  years  in  Rhode 
Island  came  to  Santa  Clara  County.  Of  their  four 
children  three  are  still  living,  viz.:  Mary  Jessie  Hen- 
rietta, born  October  28,  1871 ;  Ferdinand  William, 
August  16,  1878;  and  Louis  Atkinson,  April  16,  1882. 
Edward  Alexander,  who  was  born  July  4,  1874,  died 
July  16,  1877. 

H^UCKER  BROTHERS  (James  T.  and  Samuel 
^^  N.).  Both  of  these  gentlemen,  who  are  twins, 
^X^  are  natives  of  this  State  and  county,  having 
been  born  here  April  16,  1862.  They  are  sons 
of  J.  E.  Rucker,  a  real-estate  dealer  of  San  Jose. 
They  were  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  San  Jose, 
and  do  credit  to  their  ah/m  mater. 

After  leaving  school,  James  T.  went  to  San  Fran- 
cisco and  accepted  a  position  in  the  house  of  W.  &  J. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


605 


Sloane,  carpet  dealers  and  importers,  on  Market  Street. 
He  remained  there  five  years,  and  then  returned  to 
San  Jose,  and  with  his  twin  brother  bought  out  the 
business  of  H.  F.  Gullixon,  a  carpet  dealer.  Samuel 
N.  had  been  employed  in  T.  W.  Spring's  store  four 
years,  and  in  Mr.  Gullixon's  one  year;  so  that  both 
brothers  were  well  qualified  to  engage  in  their  present 
business,  which  they  did  on  January  4,  1886,  conduct- 
ing it  under  the  firm  name  of  Rucker  Brothers. 
Their  goods,  consisting  of  carpets,  mattings,  oil-cloths, 
curtains,  etc.,  are  almost  entirely  of  American  man- 
ufacture. They  do  a  deservedly  good  business, 
amounting  last  year  to  about  $100,000,  and  have 
every  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  their  venture.  Mr. 
Samuel  N.  Rucker  is  now  a  member  of  the  State 
Legislature,  having  been  elected  to  that  position 
from  this  county  in  1886.  They  are  members  of 
San  Jose  Lodge,  No.  10,  F.  &.  A.  M.,  also  of  Palo 
Alto  Parlor,  No.  82,  N.  S.  G.  W.,  and  support  the 
Democratic  party. 


JOSEPH  E.  RUCKER.  Among  Santa  Clara 
®^  County's  early  pioneers  and  most  prominent  men 
^  may  be  mentioned  this  gentleman,  who  settled  in 
San  Jose  in  1852.  Mr.  Rucker  was  born  in  Howard 
County,  Missouri,  in  1831,  his  parents,  William  T.  and 
Veiranda  S.  (Taylor)  Rucker,  having  removed  from 
Virginia  to  Missouri  in  1830,  soon  after  their  marriage. 
As  William  T.  was  born  in  1810  and  his  wife  in  181  !> 
they  were  very  young  to  take  upon  themselves  the 
cares  and  toils  of  pioneer  life,  as  it  was  in  Missouri  at 
that  early  date.  In  1832  they  removed  from  Howard 
County  to  Saline  County,  took  up  land  and  com- 
mencetl  farming,  and  remained  there  until  the  spring 
of  1852,  when  the  whole  family  crossed  the  plains  to 
California,  coming  at  once  to  San  Jose.  Mr.  Rucker, 
Sr.,  was  more  fortunate  than  many  others.  Coming 
by  Sublette's  cut-off,  north  of  Salt  Lake  City,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  bringing  through  a  fine  herd  of  200  cows, 
with  very  little  loss.  As  he  had  purchased  these  at 
$iO  per  head  in  Missouri,  and  sold  them  at  from  $150 
to  $200  per  head  upon  his  arrival  in  CaHfornia,  his 
trip  was  a  very  successful  business  venture.  He  im- 
mediately bought  160  acres  of  land  about  two  miles 
southwest  of  the  town  of  Santa  Clara  and  commenced 
farming.  In  the  winter  of  1852-53  seed  wheat  was 
eight  cents  per  pound,  and  seed  potatoes  five  cents 
per  pound.  However,  Mr.  Rucker's  first  crop  yielded 
fifty  bushels  to  the  acre;   so  it  is  to  be   presumed   his 


farming  was  something  of  a  repetition  of  his  cattle 
speculation.  Only  one  son  was  tempted  to  try  his 
fortune  in  the  gold  mines,  remaining  there  five  years, 
and  then  returning  to  the  home  in  Santa  Clara,  pre- 
ferring to  dig  his  fortune  from  the  richness  of  the 
Santa  Clara  Valley  soil  rather  than  the  precarious 
gold  mines. 

Eleven  children  had  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Rucker,  Sr.:  Joseph  E.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch; 
Mary  L.,  now  the  wife  of  Benjamin  Campbell,  of 
Campbell's  Station;  John  S.,  living  on  his  ranch  near 
Gilroy;  W.  D.  and  R.  T.,  farmers  near  Santa  Clara; 
Dr.  H.  N.,  a  prominent  physician  of  Merced  City,  and 
Grand  Master  of  the  Masonic  Lodge  of  California; 
Z.  T.,  a  farmer  at  Lompoc,  Santa  Barbara  County; 
Nancy  C,  wife  of  J.  P.  Finley,  present  manager  of 
the  Pacific  Manufacturing  Company's  branch  office  in 
Oregon;  George  F.,  farmer  in  Lompoc,  Santa  Barbara 
County;  Margaret  E.,  wife  of  J.  W.  Clark,  cattle 
rancher  in  Mariposa  County,  and  B.  W.,  now  in  the 
real-estate  business  with  J.  E.  Rucker  &  Son,  in 
San  Jose.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  sons  remained 
loyal  to  Mother  Earth,  as  nearly  all  are  farmers  or 
dealers  in  lands.  William  T.  Rucker  died  in  Santa 
Clara  in  1880;  his  wife  is  still  living. 

Joseph  E.  Rucker,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  took 
up  a  claim  of  eighty  acres  of  land  in  1853,  farming  it 
until  1855,  when  he  sold  it,  bought  a  dairy  farm  on 
the  Pajaro  River,  near  Gilroy,  and  commenced  keeping 
a  dairy.  In  1858  he  sold  his  dairy  and  bought  232 
acres,  part  of  the  Solis  Ranch,  where  he  remained 
until  the  fall  of  1864,  when  he  sold  his  farm  to  his 
brother,  returned  to  San  Jose,  bought  a  ranch  of 
eighty  acres,  and  rented  about  400  acres,  all  of  which 
he  farmed  until  1874.  At  this  time  he  sold  his  last 
ranch,  bought  ten  acres  in  the  Willows  adjoining  the 
city  of  San  Jose,  and  went  into  the  real-estate  busi- 
ness, in  which  he  has  remained  since.  During  all  this 
time  Mr.  Rucker  has  owned,  cultivated,  and  sold  va- 
rious large  ranches  in  different  parts  of  the  State. 
He  now  owns  a  250-acre  ranch,  near  Hollister,  which 
he  has  cultivated  on  shares,  in  grain,  vegetables,  etc. 

Mr.  Rucker  was  married,  in  the  fall  of  1855,  to  Miss 
Susan  Brown,  a  native  of  Holt  County,  Missouri, 
who  had  come  to  California  in  1850  with  her  parents, 
Samuel,  and  Susan  (Woods)  Brown.  Mrs.  Rucker's 
parents,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brown,  were  early  pioneers  of 
Missouri,  having  removed  thither  from  Kentucky  in 
1825.  Seven  children  were  born  to  Joseph  E.  Rucker 
and  wife:  W.  B.,  born  in  1857,  now  Deputy  County 
Clerk  and  Clerk  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors  of  this 


PEN  PlCTljRES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


county;  Mary  E.,  born  in  1859,  wife  of  M.  A.  Boui- 
ware,  of  San  Jose;  James  T.  and  Samuel  N.  (twins), 
born  in  1862,  who  own  a  carpet  store  in  San  Jose; 
Samuel  was  elected  a  member  of  the  State  Legisla- 
ture in  1887;  Joseph  H.,  born  in  1865,  now  junior 
member  of  the  firm  of  Rucker  &  Son;  Susie,  born  in 
1867,  a  teacher  in  San  Jose;  and  Lucy  M.,  born  in 
1869,  an  able  assistant  in  the  real-estate  office  of 
Rucker  &  Son. 

Mr.  Rucker  has  gone  through  all  the  grades  of  the 
Masonic  order,  being  now  a  Knight  Templar.  He  is 
a  member  of  San  Jose  Lodge,  No.  10,  F.  &  A.  M.; 
Howard  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  No.  14,  and  San  Jose 
Chapter,  No.  31,  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star. 

In  national  politics  Mr.  Rucker  has  always  sup- 
ported the  Democratic  party,  but  in  local  matters  be- 
lieves in  supporting  the  best  men,  regardless  of  polit- 
ical bias,  and  is  a  stanch  advocate  of  the  protection  of 
American  industries.  He  has  been  an  active  member 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  since  he  was  eight- 
een years  of  age,  and  was  the  first  unmarried  man  to 
unite  with  this  church  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley. 


g|ACOB  SNYDER  is  a  native  of  Hesse-Darm.stadt, 
^  Germany,  born  March  17,  1843,  his  parents  being 
T^  Philip  and  Elizabeth  (Gussman)  Snyder.  When 
Jacob  was  but  six  years  of  age  his  parents  emigrated 
to  America,  sailing  from  Antwerp  to  New  York. 
They  soon  located  in  Essex  County,  New  Jersey, 
where  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared.  In  1864 
he  left  New  Jersey,  for  California,  coming  by  water 
and  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  He  arrived  in  San 
Francisco  August  27,  and  about  two  days  later  came 
to  San  Jose.  About  two  weeks  afterward  he  entered 
the  employ  of  James  Lick,  with  whom  he  remained 
for  three  >  ears  and  two  months.  He  then  rented  a 
place  for  one  year,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  went 
to  Salinas.  He  rented  land  there  for  six  years,  and 
then  bought  seventy  acres  where  he  now  resides,  on 
the  San  Felipe  road.  He  formerly  devoted  his  land 
to  farming,  but  in  18S3  commenced  fruit  planting,  in 
which  year  he  set  out  ten  acres,  six  acres  of  which 
were  in  apricots  and  peaches,  the  remainder  in  choice 
table  grapes — Muscats,  Rose  of  Peru,  etc.  All  these 
trees  and  vines  have  done  well.  In  1887  he  picked  a 
ton  of  apricots  to  the  acre.  He  has  since  planted 
about  1 8,000  wine  grapes  on  thirty-three  acres.  These 
are  all  leading  foreign  varieties,  such  as  the  Zinfandel 


and  Matero.  In  1885  he  set  out  200  prune  trees,  and 
in  1886  300  more.  All  these  are  in  splendid  condi- 
tion. He  intends  to  plant  five  acres  more  in  peaches 
and  prunes.  He  is  entitled  to  much  credit  for  the 
impetus  he  has  given  to  fruit-growing  and  viticulture 
in  that  vicinity. 

Mr.  Snyder  was  married,  May  15,  1875,  to  Miss 
Laura  Baxter,  a  native  of  San  Francisco.  They  have 
two  children:  Mamie  A.  and  Gertie.  Mr.  Snyder  is  a 
member  of  Salinas  Lodge,  No.  204,  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 


JHg^-^« 


M|NTONIO    I.    BITANCOURT.      This    gentle- 

S^r?3  man  owns   seventeen   acres  on  Lincoln  Avenue 

^    between  Willow  Street  and   Los  Gatos  Creek, 

*  about  seven  acres  of  which  are  planted  in  rhu- 
barb, and  a  like  area  in  asparagus.  The  average  gross 
receipts  from  these  productions  are  about  $250  per 
acre.  On  the  place  are  a  steam  boiler  and  engine  of 
the  capacity  of  eighteen-horse  power,  with  four  six- 
inch  pumps,  part  suction  and  part  force.  By  means 
of  these  pumps  Mr.  Bitancourt  could  irrigate  100  acres 
if  necessary,  selling  water  for  such  purposes  when  the 
season  requires  it.  He  bought  this  place  about  nine- 
teen years  ago,  for  $300  per  acre;  during  the  late 
"boom"  he  refused  $36,000  for  it! 

Mr.  Bitancourt  was  born  in  1823  in  the  little  village 
of  St.  Matthews,  on  the  island  of  Pico,  one  of  the 
Azores  Islands,  which  group  belongs  to  the  Portuguese 
Government.  His  parents,  Sergio  Proda  and  Agatha 
(Marthus)  Bitancourt,  were  born,  lived,  and  died  at 
St.  Matthews,  his  father  dying  when  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  but  seven  years  of  age;  his  mother,  in 
1869.  He  had  five  brothers  and  sisters,  he  being  the 
fourth  child. 

Mr.  Bitancourt  had  sold  his  fruit  business  in  San 
Jose,  and  made  all  preparations  to  visit  his  mother  in 
his  native  land,  when  the  news  of  her  death  reached 
him.  Instead  of  visiting  his  old  home — which  he 
had  left  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years — he  bought  this 
place  in  the  Willows.  Before  leaving  his  native  home 
he  had  served  an  apprenticeship  in  fruit-raising  and 
the  care  of  stock,  on  his  mother's  farm.  At  the  age 
of  fourteen  years,  following  the  example  of  most  of 
the  boys  of  his  native  place,  he  went  on  a  whaling 
voyage,  following  the  sea  until  he  came  to  California 
in  1850.  In  1846  the  bark  Carmelita,  of  the  crew  of 
which  vessel  he  was  a  member,  while  on  a  voyage 
from  Bangor,  Maine,  to  Trieste,  Austria,  was  captured 
by  a  ship  pretending  to  be  a  Mexican  privateer.     They 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


607 


were  carried  into  the  harbor  of  Barcelona,  in  Spain, 
with  the  Mexican  flag  hoisted  above  the  stars  and 
stripes,  where  they  were  kept  for  three  months,  but 
finally  were  released,  as  the  papers  of  the  privateer 
were  informal.  After  voyaging  in  various  ships  for 
the  next  four  years,  he  finally  came  to  San  Francisco 
in  the  bark  Baltic,  from  Philadelphia.  After  going 
to  the  gold  mines,  as  was  the  custom  of  all  new-comers, 
he  came,  in  185 1,  to  San  Jose,  and  went  to  work 
farming,  going  into  the  fruit  business  in  1859. 

He  is  liberal  in  his  views  of  politics  and  religion, 
but  has  always  identified  himself  with  the  Republican 
party.  He  has  always  been  an  enterprising  and 
public-spirited  citizen. 


-0:^^|t- 


fENJAMIN  EASTBURN  BURNS  was  born  in 
Tippecanoe  County,  Indiana,  November  16, 
^^  1840.  His  father,  John,  was  a  native  of  Green- 
briar  County,  Virginia,  and  emigrated  to  Indiana 
prior  to  1840.  His  mother,  nee  Nellie  Jordan,  was 
also  a  native  of  Virginia.  They  raised  a  family  of 
thirteen  children,  of  whom  six  sons  and  one  daughter 
are  living.  Benjamin  was  raised  in  Tippecanoe 
County,  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  Wabash  River, 
and  lived  with  his  parents  until  seventeen  years  of 
age.  He  then  went  to  Lebanon  Academy,  in  Laclede 
County,  Missouri,  and  in  i860  came  to  California, 
where  he  remained  a  year  and  a  half,  when  he  returned 
to  Indiana.  Shortly  thereafter  he  went  to  Philadel- 
phia, and  for  a  while  attended  private  school.  He 
then  went  to  New  York  and  enlisted  in  Company  L, 
Thirteenth  New  York  Cavalry,  serving  as  Orderly 
Sergeant,  Sergeant  Major,  and  Quartermaster  and 
Commissary  Sergeant,  and  on  the  night  of  President 
Lincoln's  assassination  the  first  squadron  of  cavalry 
in  Washington  City,  commanded  by  Major  Lord,  was 
summoned  by  his  bugle-call  and  were  immediately 
on  duty  at  several  places.  The  next  day  they  started 
out  after  Ford.  Upon  being  mustered  out,  in  1865, 
he  was  appointed  to  a  clerkship  in  the  War  Depart- 
ment, where  he  remained  a  year,  when  he  was  ap- 
pointed by  President  Johnson  as  Assistant  Superin- 
tendent of  Indian  Affairs,  which  included  Kansas, 
New  Mexico,  and  the  adjacent  country.  In  1869  he 
came  again  to  California,  where  he  has  resided  ever 
since.  He  first  lived  in  Nevada  County  for  five  years, 
and  then  at  other  places  until  October,  1880,  when 
he  came  to  Mountain  View  and  located.  Within  a 
year  he  built  a  drug-store,  and  in  1882  was  elected  a 


Justiceof  the  Peace  for  Fremont  Township.  In  1884 
he  was  nominated  for  the  Assembly  on  the  Demo- 
cratic ticket,  but  was  defeated.  In  1886  was  again 
elected  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  which  position  he  still 
holds.  During  the  past  three  or  four  years  he  has 
been  engaged  in  the  real-estate  business,  and  is  now 
one  of  the  leading  real-estate  dealers  of  Mountain 
View. 

Mr.  Burns  was  married,  March  17,  1866,  to  Miss 
Kate  Henley,  a  niece  of  the  late  Thomas  J.  Henley, 
of  California. 


^HARLES  A.  BRONAUGH  was  born  in  New 
^  London,  Ralls  County,  Missouri,  April  4,  1848. 
(^  His  father,  Robert  B.,  was  a  native  of  Virginia, 
and  Captain  in  the  regular  army  during  the  Mexi- 
can War;  and  in  a  skirmish  with  the  Mexicans,  in 
September,  1848,  was  killed,  he  being  in  charge  of  the 
United  States  forces  in  Pueblo  at  the  time.  He  was 
also  a  surgeon  during  that  war.  The  mother  of  the 
subject,  Mary  (Kendle)  Bronaugh,  was  a  native  of 
Maryland,  and  died  in  Sumner  County,  Kansas,  in 
1884.  Charles  A.  was  raised  in  Quincy,  Adams 
County,  Illinois,  whither  his  mother  moved  in  1858, 
and  was  educated  at  the  Military  Academy  there,  and 
at  Foughkeepsie,  New  York.  In  1864  he  entered  a 
dry-goods  store  in  Quincy,  and  remained  there  two 
years,  after  which  he  attended  school  again  for  a  while 
at  Poughkeepsie,  and  upon  his  return  to  Quincy  again 
became  clerk  in  a  store  for  one  year.  In  1870  he 
went  South,  to  New  Orleans  and  Greenville,  making 
his  headquarters  at  Providence,  Louisiana.  He  en- 
gaged in  the  business  of  buying  and  selling  cotton, 
and  at  the  same  time  carrying  on  a  general  mer- 
chandise store  in  Providence.  After  two  or  three 
years  he  returned  to  Quincy,  and  again  became  clerk 
in  a  store,  where  he  remained  eight  years,  when  he 
went  into  business  for  himself,  and  opened  a  general 
fancy  and  dry-goods  store,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Walker,  Bronaugh  &  Co.  In  June,  1883,  he  sold  out 
to  his  partners  and  came  to  California,  and  located  in 
Oakland,  where  he  became  clerk  in  a  store,  and  a 
month  later  took  the  management  of  the  same  store, 
one  of  the  largest  dry-goods  establishments  in  Oak- 
land. There  he  remained  two  and  a  half  years,  when, 
his  health  failing,  he  took  a  position  as  traveling  sales- 
man for  the  Eureka  Silk  Company,  of  Boston,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  remained  with  them  about  one  year. 
He  came  to  Los  Gatos  in  April,  1887,  and  the  follow- 


608 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


ing  month  went  into  the  dry  and  fancy  goods  busi- 
ness, and  has  been  very  successful.  He  makes  special 
inducements  to  the  public,  and  has  special  sale  days 
for  certain  lines  of  goods. 

Mr.  Bronaugh  was  married,  December  3,  1874,  to 
Ella  G.  Merriam,  daughter  of  D.  D.  Merriam,  of 
Ouincy,  Illinois,  an  extensive  lumberman  there.  They 
have  two  children:  Daisy  M.,  born  December  13,  1875, 
and  Daniel  D.,  born  December  22,  1878. 


SSp  W.  ATKINSON,  San  Jose  Township,  is  a 
<s^  native  of  Clark  County,  Ohio,  born  near  Spring- 
(3/  field,  December  19, 1834,  his  parents  being  John 
and  Elizabeth  (Kreitz)  Atkinson.  His  father  was  born 
in  Allegheny  County,  Pennsylvania,  and  his  mother 
in  Virginia.  The  father  learned  the  saddler's  trade  in 
Pennsylvania,  but  followed  farming  in  Ohio.  He  was 
murdered  in  1837,  while  on  his  way  to  Illinois.  In 
1843  the  family  removed  to  McLean  County,  Illinois, 
and  there  the  mother  remained  until  her  death.  W. 
W.  Atkinson  remained  in  McLean  County  until  1852, 
and  on  the  fourth  of  April  of  that  year  he  left  with  a 
party  of  seven,  in  two  wagons,  for  California.  They 
crossed  the  Missouri  River  at  St.  Joseph,  and  joined 
a  large  party  westward  bound.  On  the  second  of 
September  he  arrived  at  lone,  Amador  County,  and 
obtained  a  situation  baling  hay.  He  worked  at  odd 
jobs,  and  on  contracts,  for  four  years,  and  the  money 
thus  earned  he  invested  in  lands.  In  1864  he  bought 
a  threshing-machine,  which  was  the  first  brought  into 
that  portion  of  the  State.  In  1865  he  purchased  an- 
other one,  and  for  nine  consecutive  years  he  operated 
one  each  in  Nevada  and  California.  He  closed  that 
branch  of  business,  but  continued  farming  until  1862, 
when  he  bought  the  Florence  Mills  at  lone,  changed 
the  name  to  Bloomington  Mills,  and  made  extensive 
additions  and  improvements,  at  an  expense  of  from 
$6,000  to  $8,000.  He  operated  the  mills  until  he 
came  to  this  county.  He  also  put  $10,500  cash 
in  a  mercantile  firm,  but  his  partner  failed,  and  he 
canceled  the  indebtedness,  coming  out  of  the  ordeal 
a  loser  by  $45,000 !  He  also  owned  two  ranches,  of 
720  and  150  acres,  respectively.  In  April,  1887,  he 
purchased  sixty-five  acres  of  land  in  San  Jose  Town- 
ship, and  moved  upon  it  in  September  following. 
This  tract  is  at  the  corner  of  King  Avenue  and  Tully 
road.  He  also  has  fifty-five  acres  in  the  Fillmore 
tract,  and  twenty-five  acres  on  First  Street.  He  is 
making  extensive  and  commendable  improvements. 


Mr.  Atkinson  was  married,  at  Antioch,  California, 
October  25,  1882,  to  Miss  Alice  Parkison,  a  native  of 
Wisconsin.  They  have  one  child,  Robert  Orville. 
Politically  Mr.  Atkinson  is  a  Prohibitionist.  He  was 
for  many  years  School  Trustee  of  Hudson  School 
District,  in  his  old  county,  and  was  the  business  man 
of  the  Board.  He  is  a  member  of  lone  Lodge,  No. 
80,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.;  lone  Lodge,  No.  51,  I.  O.  O.  F.; 
and  Marble  Encampment,  No.  19,  lone. 

.^BRAHAM  ROSE  was  born  in  New  York  city, 
S^"fe  January  15,  1835.  His  father,  Abraham,  was 
^  born  on  Long  Island,  New  York,  October  30, 
*  1792,  and  was  married,  when  about  twenty-five 
years  of  age,  to  Ann  Wilson,  also  a  native  of  Long 
Island,  who  died  in  1839.  They  raised  a  family  of 
three  sons  and  two  daughters,  of  whom  Abraham,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  and  the  oldest  daughter  are 
now  living.  One  of  the  sons,  John  W.  Rose,  enlisted 
in  New  York  in  Colonel  J.  D.  Stephenson's  regiment 
(Captain  Frisbie's  company),  and  came  around  Cape 
Horn  with  the  regiment  to  California,  which  was  here 
during  the  Mexican  War.  After  the  death  of  his  first 
wife  Abraham  Rose  (the  father)  was  again  married,  to 
Mrs.  Rebecca  Webb,  a  sister  of  Judge  Samuel  Smithy 
of  Brooklyn,  New  York,  who  was  an  early  pioneer, 
and  once  a  Mayor  of  that  city.  They  always  made 
their  home  in  New  York  and  Brooklyn,  where  they 
died.     He  died  in  1876,  and  she  in  1875. 

Abraham  Rose,  the  subject,  lived  with  his  father 
until  he  was  fourteen  years  old,  when  he  served  a  two 
years'  apprenticeship  in  the  jewelry  business.  He 
then  learned  the  business  of  shipsmith,  for  doing  the 
iron  work  on  ships.  He  was  married,  November  13, 
1855,  to  Lucretia  G.  McBrair,  a  native  of  New  York 
city.  Her  father,  John  McBrair,  was  of  a  well-known 
family  of  that  city.  He  was  a  native  of  Scotland. 
His  father  emigrated  from  Scotland  to  New  York, 
where  he  became  wealthy,  and  left  his  property  to  his 
sons  and  their  descendants.  After  his  marriage  Mr. 
Rose  went  into  business  in  Jersey  City,  in  1861,  and 
carried  on  his  trade  in  connection  with  the  Jersey  City 
ship-yards  and  dry  docks  until  1874.  Just  before 
starting  in  business  his  wife  died  (1S60),  leaving  two 
children,  of  whom  John  Rose  is  now  living,  in  Brooklyn^ 
New  York.  After  discontinuing  business  in  Jersey 
City  Mr.  Rose  came  to  California,  arriving  in  San 
Francisco  March  2,  1875.  Here  he  lived  three  years, 
when   he    moved    to  Oakland,  and  lived   there  three 


'^U^  ^,  jQjfoZ^M^^ 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


609 


years  also.  In  1881  he  came  to  Los  Gatos  and  pur- 
chased his  present  fruit-ranch  near  the  town,  where 
he  has  since  resided.  He  has  a  beautiful  place  often 
acres,  all  in  fruits  and  vines  now  in  full  bearing,  and 
is  a  contented  and  happy  man.  He  is  a  jovial,  large- 
hearted  man,  and  every  man  that  knows  him  is  his 
friend.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  He  was  mar- 
ried a  second  time,  June  20,  1862,  to  Sarah  M.  Duryea, 
a  native  of  Flushing,  Long  Island. 


SpON.  LEWIS  A.  SPITZER,  County  Assessor, 
^W^i  comes  from  an  old  family  and  one  that  has  made 
(§}  good  citizenship  a  rule  through  all  its  branches. 
The  paternal  line  is  as  follows:  Henry  Spitzer 
and  Catherine  (Wentz)  Spitzer,  his  grandparents,  had 
seven  children,  viz.:  Moses,  Charles,  Samuel,  Mary, 
Nancy,  William,  and  Elizabeth.  Henry  and  Cath- 
erine Spitzer  were  of  German  descent,  and  both  were 
members  of  the  Lutheran  Church.  Henry  Spitzer 
was  a  German  and  came  to  America  more  than  a 
century  ago  and  while  he  was  a  young  man.  He 
located  at  Newmarket,  Virginia,  where  he  established 
a  rifle  factory.  He  lived  to  an  old  age,  and  on  his 
death  the  factory  was  carried  on  by  his  sons  Charles 
and  William.  Charles  died  November  4,  1862,  and 
the  business  was  conducted  by  William  until  August 
25,  1884,  when  he  too  died.  The  rifles  manufactured 
by  this  house  were  noted  throughout  the  West  and 
South,  and  whoever  had  a  Spitzer  gun  had  the  best 
that  was  then  known. 

Charles  Spitzer,  born  1807,  married  Elizabeth 
Frances  Amiss,  October  29,  1833.  Their  children 
were:  Mary  Catherine,  Lewis  Amiss,  Sarah  Aim,  and 
Robert  Henry.  Mary  Catherine  was  born  at  New- 
market, January  21,  1838,  married  Wm.  F.  Rupp,  of 
that  place,  and  is  still  living.  Lewis  Amiss  is  the 
subject  of  this  sketch.  Sarah  Ann,  born  in  Newmar- 
ket December  22,  1844,  died  in  Newmarket  August 
1 1,  1849.  Robert  Henry,  or  Henry  (as  he  was  always 
called),  enlisted  in  the  Confederate  army  when  he  was 
sixteen  years  of  age  and  served  under  Stonewall 
Jackson  until  that  officer  was  killed,  and  then  under 
A.  P.  Hill  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  came  to 
California  in  1872,  locating  at  HoUister,  where  he 
was  marriedto  Miss  Alice  Bryant.  On  the  eighteenth 
of  August,  1882,  while  out  hunting,  he  was  shot  and 
killed  by  a  friend,  through  mistake. 

The    father,  Charles    Spitzer,  died   in  Newmarket 
77 


November  4,  1862,  and  the  mother,  Elizabeth  F.,  died 
in  .Wyoming  Territory  October  25,  1881,  while  on 
her  way  to  California  to  visit  her  sons,  Lewis  and 
Robert.  Lewis,  who  had  gone  out  on  the  road  to 
meet  his  mother,  whom  he  had  not  seen  for  twenty- 
five  years,  found  on  reaching  Ogden  that  she  had 
died  twenty-four  hours  before  his  arrival !  He  was 
only  in  time  to  perform  the  last  sad  rites  over  the 
remains  of  her  whom  he  had  loved  so  dearly  and 
reverenced  so  highly.  With  the  assistance  of  kind 
friends,  he  laid  her  to  rest  in  the  Ogden  Cemetery. 

The  maternal  ancestry  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
who  were  Scotch,  is  as  follows:  Thomas  Amiss  and 
Philip  Amiss  came  to  America  as  soldiers  in  the 
English. army  at  the  time  of  the  war  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. Arrived  here,  they  deserted  and  joined  the  Con- 
tinental army,  with  whicli  they  served  through  all  the 
campaigns  of  Washington  until  peace  was  declared. 
At  the  termination  of  the  war,  they  settled  in  West- 
moreland County,  Virginia,  about  two  miles  from  the 
home  of  General  Washington.  Thomas  Amiss  mar- 
ried a  Miss  Hudson  and  removed  to  Rappahannock 
County,  where  they  founded  the  town  of  Amissville. 
They  had  a  large  family  of  children,  of  whom  one 
son,  Gabriel,  married  his  cousin,  Margaret  Amiss, 
daughter  of  Philip  Amiss.  From  this  marriage  came 
John  Amiss,  a  soldier  of  the  War  of  1812,  and  for 
more  than  thirty  years  County  Clerk  of  Albemarle 
County;  Philip,  a  resident  of  Rose  Hill,  Kosciusko 
County,  Indiana  (Philip's  son,  James  M.  Amiss,  M.  D., 
is  now  successfully  practicing  medicine  at  Silver  Lake, 
Kosciusko  County,  Indiana,  and  the  other  children  are 
equally  well  placed);  Lewis,  who  died  in  St.  Louis, 
Missouri;  and  Elizabeth  F.,  the  mother  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch. 

Louis  Amiss  Spitzer  was  born  in  Newmarket,  Shen- 
andoah County,  Virt^inia,  February  10,  1840.  His 
early  years  were  spent  at  home.  He  passed  the  win- 
ter of  1856  with  relatives  in  Pocahontas  County,  Vir- 
ginia, returning  home  in  the  spring  of  1857.  On  the 
twenty-sixth  of  April  of  that  year  he  started  West, 
arriving  in  St.  Louis  in  May;  went  to  Minneapolis; 
back  to  St.  Louis;  thence  to  Vicksburg,  returning 
again  to  St.  Louis;  spent  a  few  months  in  Belleville, 
Illinois,  after  which  he  obtained  a  position  in  the 
clothing  store  of  Morris  D.  Myers  &  Co.,  opposite  the 
Planters'  Hotel  in  St.  Louis.  He  remained  there  till 
the  spring  of  1858,  when  he  started  for  Leavenworth, 
Kansas,  and  after  arriving  fell  in  with  one  of  Majors 
Russell  and  Waddell's  freight  trains.  Col.  A.  R.  White 
wagon-master;  joined  the  train  and  drove  an  ox  team 


610 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


to  Camp  Floyd,  Utah,  arriving  there  September,  1858; 
went  to  Salt  Lake  City,  and  with  five  others  bought 
four  horses  and  a  wagon  and  started  south  through 
the  Utah  Valley.  The  day  before  the  party  arrived 
at  Fillmore  City,  the  capital  of  Utah  Territory,  the 
Indians  mistook  two  Mormons  for  soldiers  and  killed 
them  within  a  few  miles  of  Fillmore,  and  after  finding 
they  had  killed  their  friends,  they  threatened  to  kill 
the  families  also,  thinking  thus  to  remove  all  danger 
of  revenge  being  taken.  On  the  arrival  of  the  party 
in  Fillmore  the  Mormons  begged  them  to  remain  and 
help  protect  the  families.  They  did  so,  remaining 
until  the  Indians  were  made  to  understand  that  they 
were  not  going  the  right  way  about  it  to  undo  the 
wrong  done  by  them.  This  act  of  protection  on  the 
side  of  the  party  secured  them  constant  good  treat- 
ment as  long  as  they  remained  in  the  Mormon  settle- 
ments. After  getting  out  of  the  Mormon  settlements 
they  had  several  skirmishes  with  the  Piute  Indians, 
but  arrived  safely  at  San  Bernardino,  California,  in 
November.  A  few  weeks  later  he  \^ent  to  the  Gila 
River  mines,  in  Arizona,  but,  not  finding  them  as  rep- 
resented, returned  to  Los  Angeles  and  went  to  the 
Kern  River  mines.  Learning  of  an  expedition  being 
formed  to  establish  a  wagon  road  from  Fort  Tejon, 
California,  to  Fort  Smith,  Arkansas,  under  command 
of  Col.  E.  F.  Beal  (now  General)  and  Mr.  S.  A. 
Bishop  (now  of  San  Jose),  Mr.  Spitzer  joined  the 
party,  being  the  youngest  member  of  it,  and  spent 
the  summer  in  Arizona  and  New  Mexico.  Came  to 
Visalia  in  the  fall,  and  in  the  spring  of  i860  went  to 
Mono  Lake,  where  he  engaged  in  teaming,  mining, 
keeping  restaurant,  etc.  On  one  of  his  prospecting 
tours  he  and  his  party  camped  during  a  snow-storm 
for  several  weeks  under  a  quartz  ledge  twenty-five  or 
thirty  feet  high.  This  was  afterward  located,  and,  as 
the  old  Esmeralda  mine,  has  given  millions  of  wealth 
to  the  world. 

Leaving  the  mines  he  went  to  Fresno  County,  and 
worked  for  the  Overland  Stage  Company.  From 
there  he  went  to  Monterey  County,  in  March,  1861, 
and  in  1862  to  San  Luis  Obispo  County.  He  came 
to  Santa  Clara  County  in  the  spring  of  1863  and 
worked  in  the  redwoods,  felling  timber  for  Fremont's 
mill.  In  the  fall,  with  W.  T.  Brown,  of  this  county, 
formerly  of  Louisiana,  he  started  for  the  East,  in- 
tending to  join  the  Confederate  army.  In  Austin, 
Nevada,  Spitzer  was  laid  up  all  winter  with  inflamma 
tory  rheumatism,  and  the  trip  was  abandoned.  He 
prospected  and  worked  in  Nevada  until  1865.  He 
came  to  Santa  Clara  County  the  fall  of  that  year  and  I 


then  went  on  to  San  Luis  Obispo  County  to  engage 
in  farming  and  stock-raising,  until  the  spring  of  1867. 
His  next  venture  was  with  Thomas  McGreal,  in  Ore- 
gon, where  they  bought  400  head  of  stock  cattle. 
They  brought  them  to  California  and  sold  them.  Mr. 
Spitzer  then  engaged  in  farming  in  this  county. 

For  four  years  he  served  as  Deputy  County  Asses- 
sor under  Henry  Ph  Ips,  from  1875  to  1879,  and  con- 
tinued to  farm  until  he  was  elected  County  Assessor 
in  1882,  on  the  Democratic  ticket.  He  then  sold  his 
farm  and  moved  to  San  Jose.  At  the  conclusion  of 
his  term  of  four  years  he  was  re-nominated  by  accla- 
mation by  his  party,  and  re-elected  by  a  good  majority. 

In  July,  1865,  Mr.  Spitzer  was  married,  at  Austin, 
Nevada,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  H.  Easterday.  Mrs. 
Spitzer  is  the  daughter  of  Francis  and  Sarah  (Davis) 
Easterday,  who  were  married  October  27,  1842.  Her 
father  was  born  in  Carroll  County,  Kentucky,  and  her 
mother  in  Franklin  County,  of  that  State.  Mrs. 
Spitzer's  parents  had  eight  children,  as  follows: — 

William  Thomas,  born  July  27,  1843,  married  Nan- 
nie T.  Baird,  of  Carroll  County,  Kentucky;  Margaret, 
born  May  6,  1846,  married  Simon  S.  Higginbotham; 
Elizabeth  Hardin,  born  August  5,  1848,  married 
Lewis  A.  Spitzer,  July  4,  1865;  Lewis,  born  June  29, 
1 85 1,  died  March  23,  1854;  James,  born  October  20, 
1853,  died  April  10,  1854;  Sarah  Frances,  born  Janu- 
ary 16,  1856,  married  Thomas  W.  Whitehurst;  John 
Davis,  born  November  15,  1858;  Lucy  Ellen,  born 
November  i,  1862,  married  William  T.  Blake.  The 
last  two  children  were  born  in  Clinton  County,  Mis- 
souri, and  all  the  others  in  Carroll  County,  Kentucky. 
The  old  folks  are  now  living  seven  miles  southwest  of 
San  Jose,  where  they  have  a  fine  vineyard  of  fifty-six 
acres. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lewis  A.  Spitzer  have  had  nine  chil- 
dren, all  born  in  Santa  Clara  County,  as  follows:  Mary 
Ellen,  born  February  11,  1867,  just  one  day  after  her 
father's  birthday;  Francis  Easterday,  born  August  6, 
1868,  just  one  day  after  his  mother's  birthday;  Mag- 
gie Lee,  born  December  12,  1870;  Sarah  Elizabeth, 
born  September  23,  1872;  Charles  Henry,  born  March 
21,  1874,  died  July  17  of  same  year;  Lewis  A.,  born 
February  27,  1881;  William  S.,  born  October  16, 
1882,  died  April  29,  1883;  Florence  Virginia,  born 
December  8,  1883;  Ethel  Lorraine,  born  March  10, 
1888.  The  eldest  boy  is  now  upon  the  ocean,  some- 
where in  European  waters;  the  others  who  are  old 
enough  are  attending  school  or  college  in  San  Jose. 

Mr.  Spitzer  had  an  uncle  who  left  home  before  he, 
the   subject  of  this  sketch,  was   born,   and   who  has 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


611 


never  been  heard  from;  but  there  is  evidence  that  the 
Spitzer  of  the  ill-fated  D  nner  party  who  died  at 
Breen's  cabin  in  1846  was  this  uncle. 

Mr.  Spitzer  is  one  of  the  best  products  of  America 
and  her  institutions — a  self-made  man — one  who,  by 
pluck,  perseverance,  honesty,  and  honorable  dealings 
with  all  men,  has  placed  himself  in  the  front  rank. 
Whether  with  him  or  against  him  politically,  all  are 
his  friends  personally,  and  he  is  universally  considered 
a  diligent,  capable,  and  trustworthy  public  officer. 
He  is  not  a  member  of  any  church,  but  he  is  a  believer 
in  the  Christian  religion.  He  is  a  member  of  several 
fraternal  societies,  viz.:  Friendship  Lodge,  No.  210, 
F.  &  A.  M.;  Howard  Chapter,  No_  14,  R.  A.  M.;  San 
Jose  Commandery,  No.  10,  Knights  Templar;  San 
Jose  Chapter,  No.  31,  O.  E.  S. ;  and  Enterprise  Lodge, 
No.  17,  A.  O.  U.  W. 


■-^i=4t=i' 


§T5AC0B  SMITH  was  born  in  Germany,  March  25, 
©^  1825.  His  father,  Jacob,  was  a  Frenchman,  and 
^  his  mother,  Mary,  a  German.  In  1829  they  came 
to  New  York,  and  located  near  Buffalo,  when  it  was 
a  little  log-cabin  town.  They  settled  at  Eden,  about 
twenty-five  miles  from  Buffalo,  where  they  lived  four 
or  five  years,  when  they  moved  to  Hamburg  in  the 
same  county  (Erie),  and  they  lived  the  remainder  of 
their  lives.  The  old  gentleman  was  past  ninety-eight 
years  of  age  when  he  died,  in  1872.  He  was  for  nine 
years  a  soldier  under  Napoleon  L  His  wife  died  in 
1875.  They  raised  six  children, — three  sons  and  three 
daughters.  Jacob,  the  subject,  lived  with  his  parents 
until  twenty-four  years  old.  His  opportunities  for 
schooling  were  limited,  and  when  he  attended  school 
he  had  to  work  during  the  intervals.  In  the  fall  of 
1851  he  went  West,  and  traveled  over  Ohio,  Michigan, 
Indiana,  and  Illinois,  and  in  the  spring  of  1852  re- 
turned to  New  York,  and  then  came  to  California  by 
way  of  Panama.  Had  the  Panama  fever,  and  was 
laid  up  at  Acapulco  for  one  week  with  it,  when  he 
came  on  to  San  Francisco,  where  he  arrived  on  Mon- 
day, June  15,  1852.  Three  days  afterward  he  went  to 
Sacramento,  and  thence  to  Hangtown,  in  the  mines, 
where  he  remained  two  or  three  months,  mining,  etc., 
when  he  returned  to  the  Sacramento  Valley,  and 
worked  until  1858.  Whenever  he  got  $200  or  $300 
he  would  go  back  to  the  mines  and  spend  it.  He 
made  a  number  of  these  trips.  In  1858  he  settled  on 
some  government  land  (160  acres),  and  lived  on  it 
until  he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  in    1877,  and 


bought  his  present  residence.  Originally  he  purchased 
165  acres,  but  has  sold  off  parcels  until  he  now  has  but 
forty-six  acres.  Has  twelve  acres  in  fruit-trees,  and 
vines  about  twenty  years  old,  bearing  well,  the  bal- 
ance being  in  grain. 

Mr.  Smith  was  married,  April  6,  1878,  to  Henrietta 
Rehor,  a  native  of  Germany,  who  came  to  the  United 
States  in  1866.     They  have  no  children. 


»«M*-— 


MS/IkASSEY  THOMAS  was  born  on  Green  River, 
<sHf^  in  Ohio  County,  Kentucky,  January  27,  1813. 
(j)T  His  parents  were  James  and  Elizabeth  (Miller) 
Thomas,  the  former  being  a  native  of  Tennessee. 
Massey  Thomas,  the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  born  in  Virginia,  and  was  a  soldier  in 
the  Revolutionary  army.  He  emigrated  to  Tennes- 
see when  there  was  nothing  but  a  pack  trail  there,  and 
removed  to  Danville,  Kentucky,  when  James  was  a 
mere  child.  The  family  was  contemporaneous  with 
Daniel  Boone.  He  afterward  removed  to  Ohio 
County,  where  he  died  and  was  buried  on  his  own 
farm.  Massey  Thomas,  Jr.,  was  reared  in  Kentucky 
until  he  was  fourteen  years  of  age,  when  his  parents 
removed  to  Marion  County,  Missouri,  and  after  re- 
maining there  three  years  removed  to  Lewis  County, 
where  he  grew  to  manhood,  and  bought  and  improved 
a  farm.  In  1849  he  crossed  the  plains  in  Eb.  Ousley's 
train  bound  for  California,  and  after  a  trip  of  five 
months  reached  Sacramento.  He  then  went  to  the 
mines  at  Auburn,  but  in  one  month  gave  up  mining 
and  went  to  teaming,  at  which  he  earned  from  $25  to 
$30  per  day.  He  followed  this  business  eighteen 
months,  and  then  returned  to  Missouri,  by  way  of 
Panama  and  New  Orleans,  and  February  15,  1851, 
reached  his  old  home.  He  remained  there  until 
April,  when  he  again  came  to  California,  bringing  300 
head  of  cattle,  which  comprised  his  entire  capital, 
He  reached  Gilroy  about  the  middle  of  October,  and 
located  where  he  now  resides.  He  erected  his  present 
residence  in  1862.  Mr.  Thomas  was  married,  May  7, 
1837,  to  Miss  Phebe  Foster  Bain,  a  native  of  Bracken 
County,  Kentucky,  daughter  of  Balden  and  Nancy 
(Reynolds)  Bain.  Her  parents  were  natives  of  Vir- 
ginia. Her  grandfather  Reynolds  was  a  soldier  in  the 
Revolutionary  army.  Her  grandmother  was  a  sister 
to  Daniel  Webster,  and  Governor  Reynolds,  of  Mis- 
souri, was  Mrs.  Thomas'  uncle.  Her  mother  died  in 
Bracken    County,   Kentucky.     When    Mrs.    Thomas 


612 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


was  seventeen  years  of  age  (in  1833)  she  went  with 
her  sister  to  Missouri,  and  located  in  Lewis  County. 
Her  father  afterward  removed  to  Pike  County,  Mis- 
souri, where  he  died.  Mr.  Thomas'  father  came  out  to 
CaHfornia  in  1855,  in  his  seventieth  year,  and  resided 
here  until  his  death,  in  1868.  He  was  a  great  hunter, 
and  while  out  deer-hunting  one  evening  he  was  thrown 
by  his  horse  near  a  precipice  and  was  not  found  until 
the  next  morning,  and  soon  died.  He  clung  to  his 
hunting  proclivities  until  his  death.  He  was  born 
August  27,  1786.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas  have  reared 
ten  children:  James  Balden,  born  June  30,  1838,  and 
died  October  29,  1859;  Mary  Susan,  born  February 
3,  1840,  wife  of  William  O.  Barker,  now  residing  in 
Fresno  County;  Thomas  Reynolds,  born  December 
8,  1841,  and  died  in  188-;  he  was  a  grain  dealer  in 
Gilroy;  John  and  William  (twins),  born  October  28, 
1843;  the  former  resides  in  San  Benito  County,  and 
the  latter  died  January  4,  1880;  Benjamin  F.,  born 
December  22,  1846,  was  educated  in  San  Jose  and  is 
now  practicing  law  in  Santa  Barbara;  Louisa  E., 
born  August  7,  184S,  died  December  7,  1849;  Massey, 
born  December  10,  1851,  now  residing  at  San  Felipe; 
Clayton  R.,  born  January  25,  1854,  residing  with  his 
parents;  and  Charles  E.,  born  January  15,  1857,  now 
residing  at  San  Miguel.  Mr.  Thomas  was  an  old-line 
Whig  in  the  days  of  that  party,  but  upon  its  disinte- 
gration became  a  Democrat.  His  father  was  also  a 
Whig,  and  later  a  Democrat.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas 
are  members  of  the  Christian  Church,  and  he  is  an 
Elder.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  and  principal 
supporters  of  the  Gilroy  congregation,  and  he  and  his 
wife  were  among  the  original  members. 

Mr.  Thomas  has  a  fine  ranch  of  501 3jj;  acres  in 
Gilroy  Township,  300  acres  being  valley  land  and 
the  balance  table-land.  It  is  all  susceptible  of  culti- 
vation. He  usually  raises  about  250  acres  of  grain 
annually,  200  acres  of  wheat,  and  50  of  barley.  His 
crops  have  never  failed.  His  wheat  usually  averages 
from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  centals  to  the  acre,  and  he 
has  raised  seventy-five  bushels  of  oats  to  the  acre.  His 
barley  yields  about  twenty-five  centals  to  the  acre. 
His  table-land  is  used  for  pasturage  mostly.  He  has 
about  seventy  head  of  cattle  and  thirty-five  horses. 
His  brand  is  a  capital  "T,"with  the  lower  portion  ex- 
tended through  a  small  "o."  He  raises  choice  stock 
of  all  kinds.  He  also  has  an  orchard  with  most  of  the 
varieties  of  fruits,  and  has  been  a  successful  fruit- 
raiser. 


35  C.  STOUT,  M.  D.  The  parents  of  this  gentle- 
^^  man,Dr.  J.M. and  Julia  A.  (Henderson)  Stout,  were 
•^  among  the  earliest  pioneers  of  Illinois,going  there 
from  Ohio  with  their  parents  while  they  were  chil- 
dren. The  Doctor  was  born  in  Carrollton,  Greene 
County,  Illinois,  in  the  year  1846.  He  worked  on  his 
father's  farm,  and  attended  the  district  school,  until  he 
attained  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  when  the  Civil  War 
was  ushered  in, and  he  enlisted  in  Company  I,  Ninety- 
first  Volunteer  Infantry  of  Illinois.  His  regiment 
joined  Buell's  command,  and  he  participated  in  that 
general's  campaign  in  Kentucky  during  1862  and 
early  in  1863,  when  they  joined  Grant's  forces  before 
Vicksburg,  being  then  attached  to  the  Third  Brigade, 
Second  Division  of  the  Thirteenth  Army  Corps. 
After  the  surrender  of  that  stronghold  he  went  with 
his  company  to  New  Orleans,  and  later  on  several  ex- 
peditions in  that  part  of  the  country,  during  which 
time  they  had  engagements  in  battle  with  Generals 
Dick  Taylor,  Marmaduke,  and  Joe  Shelby,  after 
which  they  went  on  an  expedition  to  Brownsville  on 
the  Rio  Grande,  where  he  remained  one  year  and  was 
then  sent  home  on  a  sick  furlough.  In  1864  he  was 
ordered  to  the  general  hospital,  and  there  discharged 
from  the  service.  The  following  fall  he  entered  Illi- 
nois College  at  Jacksonville,  and  after  spending  one 
year  there  he  attended  the  Shurtleff  College,  at  Alton, 
Illinois,  for  the  next  three  years.  In  1868  he  en- 
gaged in  the  drug  business  at  Whitehall,  Illinois,  in 
which  he  continued  for  two  years,  and  then  joined  his 
father,  who  had  emigrated  to  Kansas,  where  he  studied 
medicine  and  practiced,  with  him  for  his  preceptor. 
He  remained  there  four  years.  During  this  time  he 
was  appointed  by  the  county  commissioners  to  fill  the 
vacancy  in  the  sheriffs  office,  in  Neosho  County, 
which  position  he  occupied  one  year,  and  in  March, 
1874,  he  came  to  California,  and  accepted  a  position 
with  Charles  Langly  &  Co.,  wholesale  druggists,  of 
San  Francisco.  At  the  expiration  of  a  year  he  went 
to  Gilroy,  where  he  practiced  medicine  a  year  and  a 
half  and  then  returned  East,  where  he  took  a  regular 
course  at  the  American  Medical  College  of  St.  Louis. 
Graduating  in  1878,  he  located  at  Edwardsville,  Illi- 
nois, where  he  practiced  three  years  and  then  returned 
to  Caliibrnia,  and  located  at  San  Jose,  where  he  has 
been  actively  engaged  in  his  profession  since.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  State  Medical  Societies  of  Missouri, 
Illinois,  and  California,  having  been  one  year  Vice- 
President  of  the  Illinois  State  Medical  Society,  and 
President  of  the  California  Society  for  two  consecu- 
tive terms.     He  is  also  a    member  of  the    National 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


613 


Medical  Society,  liaving  been  delegated  to  that  asso- 
ciation twice  from  Illinois,  and  once  from  California. 
He  is  a  member  of  various  fraternal  orders  in  San 
Jose,  being  medical  examiner  in  several  of  them,  and 
is  medical  director  for  California  in  tlie  G.  A.  R. 

In  1876  he  vva-!  married,  at  Upper  Alton,  Illinois, 
to  Miss  Gertrude  Smith,  a  daughter  of  Hon.  George 
Smith,  formerly  State  Senator  from  that  district  and 
the  founder  of  Shurtleff  College.  The  Doctor  has 
three  children,  whose  names  are:  Pearl  H.,  Arthur,  and 
Olive  Gertrude.  The  Doctor's  father  died  at  White- 
hall, Illinois,  in  1886.  His  mother  died  in  Spring 
Hill,  Kansas,  ten  years  before.  The  Doctor  has  two 
brothers  and  three  sisters  in  California,  who  came  to 
this  State  since  he  did.  His  brother,  George  W.,  is  a 
practicing  physician  in  Ukiah,  Mendocino  County; 
his  other  brother,  E.  W.,  is  a  contractor  and  builder 
in  San  Jose.  His  sister  Mary  is  now  the  wife  of  Smith 
McGarvin,  a  carriage-builder  of  San  Jose,  Martha, 
another  sister,  is  the  wife  of  Frank  Titus,  of  Gilroy, 
and  Amy,  his  other  sister,  is  the  wife  of  J.  W.  Keenan, 
a  merchant  of  Placerville,  El  Dorado  County. 

The  Doctor  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church, 
and  a  stanch  Republican  in  politics,  believing  in  the 
fullest  protection  to  American  industries. 


liONATHAN  5WEIGERT.  This  gentleman  is 
^  a  "  broad-gauge,"  energetic  man,  full  of  active 
^  enterprise  in  whatever  course  he  pursues.  He  is 
a  native  of  Du  Page  County,  Illinois,  where  he  was 
born  in  1842.  His  parents  came  to  that  State  in 
1830,  after  being  married  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania, 
of  which  State  his  mother  is  a  native.  His  father 
came  to  that  State  direct  from  Germany,  his  native 
land.  His  father  dealt  in  real  estate  in  Illinois, 
chiefly  in  Chicago,  until  the  fall  of  1852,  when  he 
came  with  his  family,  by  the  way  of  New  York  and 
Panama,  to  California.  He  invested  in  real  estate  in 
San  Francisco,  where  they  remained  until  i860;  then 
they  came  to  San  Jose,  where  his  father  has  been  in 
business  ever  since.  Mr.  Sweigert  attended  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  San  Francisco  while  they  lived  there, 
and  after  coming  to  this  county  he  took  a  two  years' 
course  at  the  University  of  the  Pacific,  at  Santa  Clara; 
then,  deciding  to  engage  in  business  pursuits,  he  be- 
gan raising  fruit  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley.  In  1878 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  City  Council  of  San 
Jose,  which  office  he  filled  for  two  terms,  then  was 
elected    License   Collector,  and   held   that  office   two 


years.     In  1887  he  was  elected  Sheriff  of  this  county, 
and  still  occupies  that  honorable  position. 

In  1868  he  was  married  to  Miss  Emma  M.  Her- 
ringer,  a  native  of  Philadelphia,  who  came  with  her 
parents  to  California  in  1862.  Her  father  was  en- 
gaged in  fruit-raising  in  Santa  Clara  Valley,  and  died 
in  1885.  Her  mother  still  resides  in  San  Jose.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Sweigert  have  three  children:  George  A., 
born  in  1869  and  graduated  in  June,  1888,  at  the 
University  of  the  Pacific;  Clara,  born  in  1871,  and 
Emma,  two  years  later,  are  both  attending  the  same 
university.  Mr.  Sweigert  owns  330  acres  of  land  near 
Berryessa,  which  is  partly  planted  to  fruit  trees.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Church,  and  of  Enter- 
prise Lodge,  No.  17,  A.  O.  U.  W.  of  San  Jo.se.  He 
is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  believes  in  the  protec- 
tion of  American  industries  to  the  fullest  extent. 


IHJON.  BERNARD  D.  MURPHY,  .son  of  Martin 
(S^R  and  Mary  (Bulger)  Murphy,  was  born  at  Que- 
1^  bee,  March  i,  1841,  and  was  but  three  years 
of  age  when,  with  his  parents,  he  made  the  his- 
toric journey  across  the  continent,  and  nine  years  of 
age  when  they  came  to  Santa  Clara  Valley.  It  may 
therefore  be  said  that  all  his  life  has  been  passed  in 
Santa  Clara  County,  and  devoted  to  the  development 
of  its  resources. 

He  was  educated  at  Santa  Clara  College,  graduat- 
ing with  honor  in  1862.  On  leaving  college  he  be- 
gan the  study  of  law,  first  with  Williams  &  Thornton 
and  afterward  with  Campbell,  Fox  &  Campbell,  both 
eminent  law  firms  of  San  Francisco.  Having  passed 
the  critical  examination  then  required  by  the  Supreme 
Court,  he  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  in  1865.  How- 
ever, he  did  not  enter  upon  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion, his  law  studies  having  been  prosecuted  more 
specifically  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  him  more  un- 
derstandingly  to  perform  his  official  duties  and  to 
manage  the  legal  business  connected  with  the  vast 
family  estate.  In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat,  and  in 
1869,  at  the  age  of  twenty -seven  years,  he  became  a 
candidate  for  the  Assembly,  and  in  the  election  which 
followed  he  received  the  largest  majority  of  all  the 
candidates  on  the  ticket.  In  the  session  of  the  Leg- 
islature to  which  he  was  thus  elected,  his  legal  ability 
was  recognized  by  an  appointment  on  the  Judiciary 
Committee,  in  the  deliberations  of  which  his  opinions 
carried  great  weight. 

During    the    winter   of    1869-70,    the    question    of 


614 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


locating  the  State  Normal  School  came  before  the 
Legislature.  Nearly  every  county  in  the  State  offered 
a  site,  and  some  of  them  a  money  premium.  The 
battle  for  this  institution  was  long  and  bitter.  Mr. 
Murphy  determined  from  the  first  that  San  Jose 
should  have  this  school.  In  an  eloquent  manner  he 
presented  to  the  committee  and  to  the  Assembly  the 
great  advantages  possessed  by  this  location.  Day  and 
night  he  labored  with  all  his  ability,  and  a  zeal  born 
from  his  conscience,  and  secured  the  passage  of  a  bill 
by  the  Assembly  fixing  San  Jose  as  the  future  site  of 
this  institution.  The  bill  went  to  the  Senate  and 
there  the  battle  was  renewed,  but  Mr.  Murphy's  vigi- 
lance defeated  its  enemies,  and  he  was  able  to  an- 
nounce to  his  constituents  the  consummation  of  their 
wishes. 

But  the  enemies  of  San  Jose  were  not  yet  defeated. 
Having  lost  the  school,  they  determined  that  San 
Jose  should  have  no  benefit  from  it,  and  resolved  to 
oppose  any  adequate  appropriation  for  its  buildings 
or  maintenance.  This  warfare  was  more  dangerous 
than  the  other,  inasmuch  as  it  united  the  representa- 
tives of  all  other  counties  who  wanted  the  location, 
against  Santa  Clara  County.  But  even  this  opposi- 
tion Mr.  Murphy  was  able  to  meet  and  dissipate,  and 
to  secure  an  ample  appropriation  for  the  institution. 

The  skill  with  which  Mr.  Murphy  handled  this 
matter  and  the  zeal  that  he  displayed  in  carrying  out 
the  wishes  of  his  constituents,  commanded  the  grati- 
tude of  his  people,  and  in  1873,  when  his  term  as 
member  of  the  Assembly  had  expired,  they,  without 
regard  to  party  affiliations,  called  upon  him  to  take 
charge  of  the  affairs  of  the  city  as  its  Mayor.  His 
large  property  interests  demanded  his  attention,  and 
he  would  have  avoided  this  call  could  he  have  done 
so  conscientiously.  But,  believing  that  personal  con- 
sideration should  be  subservient  to  public  duty,  he 
accepted  the  trust,  and  for  four  years  continuously 
gave  his  best  abilities  to  the  service  of  the  city.  Dur- 
ing his  incumbency  as  Mayor,  he  never  drew  a  cent 
of  the  salary  pertaining  to  that  office,  but  donated  it 
all  to  the  use  of  the  free  public  library,  which  dona- 
tion he  supplemented  from  time  to  time  with  liberal 
gifts  from  his  private  purse. 

He  served  as  Mayor  until  1877,  when  the  people 
thought  they  needed  his  services  in  the  ensuing 
Legislature  and  elected  him  to  the  Senate  by  an 
overwhelming  popular  vote.  At  this  session  he  was 
instrumental  in  framing  and  enacting  the  law  provid- 
ing for  a  convention  to  reform  the  constitution  of  the 
State.     During  this  term  there  was  developed  from 


some  hidden  source  an  organized  attack  on  the  benev- 
olent and  charitable  institutions  of  the  State.  Mr. 
Murphy  proved  himself  an  able  champion  of  these 
institutions,  and  succeeded  in  defeating  their  enemies. 
To  his  zeal  in  this  behalf,  the  Ladies'  Benevolent 
Society  of  San  Jose  owes  the  liberal  appropriation 
which  it  received  at  that  session.  The  suggestions 
made  by  him  in  regard  to  government  and  support 
of  charitable  institutions  were  afterward,  in  substance, 
incorporated  into  the  constitution,  and  became  a  part 
of  the  organic  law  of  the  State. 

At  this  session  came  up  also  the  question  of  the 
State  Normal  School.  The  competing  counties  had 
never  forgiven  San  Jose  for  carr)-ing  away  this  prize, 
and  had  always  shown  a  disposition  to  cut  down  the 
appropriation  for  its  support.  San  Jose  had  donated 
to  the  State  twenty-two  acres  of  ground  in  the  heart 
of  the  city  as  a  site  for  this  institution.  Heretofore 
the  appropriations  had  been  only  sufficient  for  the 
current  expenses  of  the  school.  One  of  the  first  acts 
of  Mr.  Murphy  when  he  took  his  seat  in  the  Senate 
was  to  ask  through  the  Assembly  Committee  on 
Ways  and  Means,  for  money  enough  to  improve  the 
grounds  of  the  State  Normal  School.  This,  to  those 
who  had  opposed  the  location  of  the  school  in  San 
Jose,  was  like  flaunting  a  red  flag  in  the  face  of  a 
mad  bull.  They  were  determined  that  this  appropri- 
ation should  not  be  made,  and  many  were  the  com- 
binations put  up  both  in  Senate  and  Assembly  to  de- 
feat this  clause  of  the  bill.  But  after  a  desperate 
struggle,  the  bill  finally  passed  both  houses  with  the 
appropriation  intact. 

Mr.  Murphy's  service  as  Mayor  had  familiarized 
him  with  the  wants  of  the  city,  and  while  in  the  Sen- 
ate secured  the  enactment  of  several  laws  for  its  ben- 
efit, notable  among  which  was  the  act  prescribing  the 
method  of  improving  the  streets,  and  under  which 
the  city  worked  so  successfully  until  the  new  Consti- 
tution went  into  effect. 

At  this  session,  also,  Mr.  Murphy  finished  one  of 
his  greatest  works  in  behalf  of  this  community,  in 
securing  the  passage  of  the  law  authorizing  the  Board 
of  Supervisors  to  fund,  without  interest,  the  warrants 
held  by  the  Lick  Board  of  Trustees,  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  Mount  Hamilton  road.  For  the  his- 
tory of  this  transaction  it  will  be  necessary  to  go  back 
a  few  years.  Mr.  Lick's  first  deed  of  gift  contained 
a  clause  devoting  $750,000  to  the  construction  and 
equipment  of  an  observatory,  which  was  to  be  pro- 
vided with  a  telescope  having  the  largest  and  most 
powerful  lens  known    to   science.     Mr.  Murphy  was 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


615 


named  as  one  of  the  Trustees,  and  took  early  occa- 
sion to  point  out  to  Mr.  Lick  that  the  proper  location 
for  the  observatory  would  be  Mount  Hamilton,  in 
Santa  Clara  County.  Mr.  Lick's  objection  to  this 
proposition  was  that  the  mountain  was  inaccessible, 
there  being  no  road  to  the  summit.  Mr.  Murphy 
finally  induced  Mr.  Lick  to  say  that  if  there  was  a 
good  road  to  the  summit  he  would  locate  the  observa- 
tory on  Mount  Hamilton.  Mr.  Murphy  took  the 
next  train  to  San  Jose,  secured  a  special  meeting  of 
the  Board  of  Supervisors,  and,  going  before  them, 
accompanied  by  Judge  Belden,  showed  them  the  great 
desirability  of  securing  this  magnificent  institution 
for  our  county.  The  Supervisors  agreed  with  him, 
but  were,  owing  to  technicalities  of  the  law,  power- 
less to  act.  The  road  would  cost  a  large  sum,  vari- 
ously estimated  at  from  $60,000  to  $120,000.  The 
law  required  that  all  money  collected  in  any  road 
district  by  taxation  should  be  expended  in  that  dis- 
trict, and  as  the  proposed  road  lay  entirely  in  one 
district  it  would  be  too  great  a  burden.  Besides,  they 
had  nothing  in  the  shape  of  a  legal  contract  to  show 
that  Mr.  Lick  was  not  at  liberty  to  change  his  mind 
after  the  road  was  constructed.  The  last  objection 
was  the  one  most  difficult  to  answer,  but  it  was  finally 
met  by  giving  a  personal  guarantee  that  Mr.  Lick 
would  stand  by  his  proposition.  A  preliminary  sur- 
vey of  the  country  was  made,  and  a  practicable  route 
discovered.  Mr.  Murphy  returned  to  Mr.  Lick,  and 
so  represented  matters  to  him  that  he  not  only  made 
the  contract  asked  by  the  Board,  but  offered  to  loan 
the  county  money  with  which  to  build  the  road.  It 
is  not  possible,  in  this  brief  sketch,  to  give  in  detail 
all  the  work  done  by  Mr.  Murphy  to  accomplish  this 
work,  but  it  is  a  historical  fact  that  to  Mr.  Murphy  is 
due  the  location  of  the  Lick  Observatory  upon  Mount 
Hamilton.  Of  the  money  needed  to  construct  the 
road,  Mr.  Liclc  and  his  Trustees  furnished  something 
more  than  $65,000,  taking  therefor  county  warrants. 
It  was  a  portion  of  these  warrants  that  Mr.  Murphy, 
while  a  member  of  the  Senate,  succeeded  in  funding 
without  interest,  saving  to  the  county  something  near 
$20,000. 

The  people  desired,  in  1878,  to  send  him  as  a  dele- 
gate to  the  Constitutional  Convention,  but  he  said 
that  as  he  had  been  instrumental  in  securing  the 
passage  of  the  law  calling  the  convention,  it  would 
be  indelicate  for  him  to  become  a  member  of  it.  For 
this  reason  he  firmly  refused  to  allow  his  name  to  be 
presented  as  a  delegate.  The  people,  however,  seemed 
determined  to  have  his  services  in  some  capacity,  and 


almost  unanimously  re-elected  him  as  Mayor  of  the 
city. 

During  his  former  terms  as  Mayor  there  had  been 
inaugurated  a  system  for  the  improvement  of  the 
channel  of  the  Guadaloupe  River.  The  waters  of  this 
stream  had,  by  its  almost  constant  overflow,  been  a 
source  of  great  inconvenience  and  danger  to  the  early 
settlers.  As  the  country  became  settled,  and  the  brush 
cleared  off,  this  annoyance  decreased,  but  still,  in 
heavy  winters,  the  water  would  leave  the  banks,  flood- 
ing the  lower  portion  of  the  city,  frequently  coming 
up  as  far  as  the  Convent  wall.  Under  Mr.  Murphy's 
administration  the  channel  was  cleaned  out  and 
straightened,  and  levees  constructed  along  the  banks, 
so  as  effectually  to  prevent  incursions  from  the  water, 
no  matter  how  heavy  might  be  the  rainfall. 

In  his  last  term  as  Mayor  the  present  magnificent 
system  of  sewerage  was  given  effect,  and  the  city 
effectually  barricaded  against  diseases  having  their 
origin  in  imperfect  drainage. 

In  1880  the  State  Normal  School  buildings  were 
burned  to  the  ground.  Immediately  a  bill  was  in- 
troduced into  the  Legislature  to  re-locate  the  school, 
and  the  battle  of  ten  years  before  was  again  re- 
newed. At  this  time  Mr.  Murphy  was  not  a 
member  of  the  Legislature  and  owed  no  extraordi- 
nary duty  to  its  constituents;  but  he  left  his  business, 
and,  going  to  Sacramento,  devoted  his  time,  energy, 
and  influence  in  behalf  of  San  Jose.  After  a  struggle 
which  continued  during  nearly  the  entire  session,  he 
succeeded  in  securing  his  object,  and  an  appropriation 
was  made  with  which  the  present  magnificent  build- 
ings were  erected. 

In  1883  he  was  again  elected  to  the  State  Senate 
by  a  larger  majority  than  was  received  by  any  other 
candidate  on  the  legislative  ticket.  It  would  be  im- 
possible to  enumerate  all  the  positions  of  trust  Mr. 
Murphy  has  held,  or  all  the  public  enterprises  in  which 
he  has  been  a  leading  spirit.  He  served  as  Judge 
Advocate  General  on  the  staffs  of  Governors  Booth, 
Pacheco,  and  Irwin;  he  was  Chairman  of  the  Board 
of  Freeholders  to  frame  a  new  Charter  for  San  Jose; 
he  was  chosen  Presidential  Elector  at  Large  on  the 
Democratic  ticket  in  1888;  he  stood  by  the  San  Jose 
Woolen  Mills  when  that  enterprise  was  about  to  fail, 
and  with  money  and  counsel  assisted  to  make  it  a 
success;  with  the  exception  of  one  term,  he  has  been 
President  of  the  Commercial  and  Savings  Bank  since 
its  organization;  in  .short,  he  has  never  been  out  of 
office  since  he  left  school.  Although  a  man  of  great 
intelligence  and  information,  he  has  never  been  out  of 


616 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


the  limits  of  the  State  of  California  on  any  extended 
traveling  tour.  Whatever  journeys  he  has  made  have 
been  hurried  trips  on  business.  In  his  extensive  busi- 
ness relations  he  has  come  in  contact  with  hundreds 
of  people  of  all  nationalities,  of  al!  sorts  of  disposi- 
tions, and  in  all  walks  of  life,  and  they  are  all  his 
friends.  Like  his  father  and  his  grandfather,  he  is 
noted  for  his  charities,  and  when  worthy  objects  are 
presented  to  his  notice  they  receive  assistance,  with- 
out regard  to  nationality  or  religious  creed. 

Mr.  Murphy  was  married,  in  1869,  to  Miss  Annie 
McGeoghegan,  and  has  a  large  family  of  talented 
children. 


fW.  HOLLENBECK  was  born  in  Eaton,  Madi- 
son County,  New  York,  December  15,  18 14. 
J^^  His  parents,  Abraham  and  Betsy  (White)  Hol- 
lenbeck,  were  natives  of  Connecticut.  They 
were  married  in  that  State,  and  at  a  very  early  date 
removed  to  Madison  County,  New  York,  and  were 
among  the  early  pioneers  there.  In  1836  they  re- 
moved to  Cass  County,  Michigan,  where  their  son, 
Albert  G.  Hollenbeck,  was  living.  Abraham  died 
there  in  December,  1836,  and  his  widow  returned  to 
Madison  County,  New  York,  and  died  there  in  1859. 
They  had  five  sons  and  three  daughters,  of  whom  two 
are  now  living.  Benjamin  W.,  the  subject  of  this 
notice,  was  raised  on  the  old  home  place,  and  lived 
there  and  in  adjoining  counties  at  times  until  he  came 
to  California,  in  1859.  He  came  by  way  of  Panama, 
and  landed  in  San  Francisco  June  25  of  that  year. 
He  first  went  to  San  Jose,  where  he  remained  a  few 
weeks  looking  around,  and  then  went  to  work  for  a 
man  named  "Jake"  Hansen,  in  Little  Calaveras  Val- 
ley. After  a  while  he  took  a  trip  up  North,  but,  find- 
ing nothing  to  suit  him,  returned  to  this  valley  and 
b-)Ught  a  place  near  Saratoga,  and  went  to  work  get- 
ting out  redwood  timber  from  the  mountains.  He 
lived  there  five  or  six  years,  and  then  bought  his  pres- 
ent place  in  the  Lincoln  School  District,  where  he  has 
lived  ever  since.  It  was  rough,  stumpy  lumber ;  the 
tops  of  the  trees  were  taken  off,  leaving  the  stumps 
standing  ten  or  fifteen  feet  high,  and  it  cost  a  great 
deal  of  labor  to  get  them  out.  The  place  originally 
contained  160  acres,  but  he  has  sold  off  portions  of  it, 
so  that  he  now  has  but  sixty  acres  remaining.  He  has 
a  vineyard  of  forty  acres  of  wine  grapes  five  years  old, 
and  besides  has  an  acre  or  two  of  fruit-trees  of  differ- 
ent varieties.     The  rest  of  the  land    is  used    for  hay 


and  grain.  In  1887  he  made  10,000  gallons  of  wine. 
The  same  year  he  built  a  winery  at  a  cost  of  $1,500 
for  machinery  and  cooperage.  The  building  was 
erected  some  time  before  this. 

Mr.  Hollenbeck  was  married  in  Madison  County, 
New  York,  to  Susan  M.  Hart,  in  1857.  She  was  a 
native  of  that  county.  They  have  two  children,  viz.: 
George  E.  Hollenbeck,  and  Addie,  wife  of  H.  M. 
Leonard,  of  Santa  Clara.  They  also  buried  a  daugh- 
ter,— Minnie, — wife  of  Olof  Hanks,  who  died  January 
7,  1887. 

HfelLLIAM  CULLY  KERR  was  born  in  Bain- 
is^^  bridge.  County  Down,  Ireland,  June  9,  1848. 
id^  His  parents,  Jonathan  and  Mary  (Cully)  Kerr, 
'  are  natives  of  Ireland,  and  still  living.  They 
had  nine  children,  of  whom  two  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters are  now  living.  William  C.  was  the  fourth  child, 
and  the  eldest  now  living.  He  was  brought  up  on  a 
farm,  and  lived  with  his  parents  until  twenty  years 
old,  when  in  1868  he  came  to  California  and  settled 
in  Santa  Clara  County.  For  the  first  three  years  he 
worked  for  W.  H.  Ware  (lately  deceased)  on  his  farm. 
He  then  rented  a  piece  of  land,  got  a  team,  and,  after 
putting  in  his  crop,  began  to  haul  wood,  lumber,  and 
doing  a  general  teaming  business.  He  followed  this 
business  for  six  years,  when  he  bought  118  acres  of 
land  where  the  Los  Gatos  and  Saratoga  Winery  now 
stands.  There  was  a  house  on  the  place,  and  he 
added  improvements  to  it,  and  also  on  the  premises 
around.  The  house,  partially  insured,  was  destroyed 
by  fire  about  three  and  one-half  years  after  he  occu- 
pied it.  Afterward  he  erected  a  new  house,  the  one 
now  owned  by  D.  B.  Austin.  After  living  on  the 
place  about  eight  years  he  sold  it  to  Mr.  Austin  and 
bought  fifty-two  acres  of  land  where  he  now  lives, 
from  which  he  has  sold  thirty-two  acres.  In  1885  he 
bought  twenty  acres  adjoining,  but  sold  it  again.  He 
put  up  his  present  dwelling  in  1884.  The  land  was 
unimproved  when  he  purcliased  it.  The  improve- 
ments, including  his  residence,  cost  about  $4,000.  He 
has  twenty  acres  in  French  prunes,  numbering  2,160 
trees,  now  four  years  old,  has  250  apricots  four  years 
old,  fifty  Coe's  Golden  Drop  plums,  fifty  Yellow  Egg 
plums,  100  apples,  fifty  Winter  Nelis  pears,  and  fifty 
Bartlett  pears,  besides  a  family  orchard  containing  a 
variety  of  fruit.  All  the  trees  are  about  four  years  old. 
In  1885  Mr.  Kerr  bought  198  acres  of  land  in  Santa 
Cruz  County,  on  which  he  has  a  saw-mill.     He  is  a 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


617 


member  of  the  A.  O.  U.  W.  Lodge  in  Los  Gatos,  and 
has  been  a  member  of  Ridgely  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  in 
Los  Gatos,  since  its  organization,  and  is  also  a  mem- 
ber and  Clerk  of  the  Christian  Church  of  Saratoga. 

Mr.  Kerr  was  married  in  May,  1 871,  to  Jane  Stan- 
field,  a  native  of  County  Down,  Ireland.  Her  father, 
John  Stanfield,  is  an  old  resident  of  Santa  Clara 
County.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kerr  have  four  children,  viz.: 
Jonathan  A.,  James  E.,  Marion  A.,  and  Aillie  C. 


Wfif  ^"  COZZENS,  residing  on  Minnesota  Avenue, 
sW^  at  the  Willows,  is  one  of  the  leading  horticul- 
^^    turists  and  fruit-driers  of  Santa  Clara  County. 

I  His  drying  establishment  was  first  opened  for 
business  in  1879.  The  business  has  increased  steadily 
since  that  time,  and  is  now  of  great  magnitude. 
Every  variety  of  fruit  is  bought  by  him,  and  prepared 
for  market,  his  shipments  of  dried  fruits  of  the  crop  of 
1887  aggregating  over  800  tons.  Capital,  enterprise, 
and  business  capacity  combined  form  a  monopoly  that 
may  be  of  great  good  to  the  many.  Realize  how 
much  the  fruit-grower  has  been  benefited  by  the  reg- 
ular market  established  by  the  fruit-drier,  whose 
capital  and  skill  are  so  necessary  in  preparing  a  crop 
for,  and  placing  upon,  the  distant  market,  at  the 
proper  time  and  in  the  proper  condition.  Mr.  Coz- 
zens  is  largely  interested  in  growing  fruits,  and  is  the 
owner  of  over  2(X)  acres,  devoted  to  the  raising  of 
prunes,  apricots,  and  peaches. 

Born  in  Sacramento,  June  S,  1853,  he  is  a  thorough 
Californian.  His  parents,  William  W.  and  Mahala 
(Simons)  Cozzens,  are  of  New  England  birth.  His 
father  was  one  of  the  pioneers,  coming  by  way  of 
Panama,  in  1850,  his  wife  joining  him  two  years  later. 
They  settled  at  the  Willows,  in  October,  1873.  W. 
W.  Cozzens,  Sr.,  was  an  active  business  man,  being 
for  many  years  engaged  in  the  wholesnle  hay  and 
grain  trade.  He  early  turned  his  attention  to  horti- 
culture, and,  as  in  other  pursuits,  with  great  success. 
His  death,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years,  occurred 
in  August,  1883.  His  widow  survives.  Her  daughter, 
Kate,  is  a  teacher  in  the  Normal  School  at  San  Jose. 

W.  W.  Cozzens,  who  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
married,  on  February  4,  1883,  Miss  Anna  B.  Boyer, 
daughter  of  F.  J.  Boyer,  now  a  resident  of  Washington 
Territory.  They  have  two  children,  William  L.  and  an 
infant  son.  Mr.  Cozzens  is  a  member  of  the  Ameri- 
can Horticultural   Society,  and  of  the  Ancient  Order 


of  United  Workmen,  and  in  politics  is  identified  with 
the  Republican  party. 

On  the  preceding  page  views  are  given  of  a  portion 
of  Mr.  Cozzens'  property. 


(4- 


HARLES  W.  VANDEGRIFT,  who  resides 
on  his  beautiful  tract  of  eight  acres  at  the  Wil- 
lows, is  a  native  of  Ohio,  having  been  born  fifty 
miles  north  of  Cincinnati,  in  1836.  He  is  a 
miller  by  trade,  and  followed  that  occupation  until 
ten  years  ago,  when  he  retired  to  his  present  home. 
He  also  was  commander  of  a  company  of  State 
militia  stationed  at  Collinsville,  Illinois,  during  the 
Rebellion,  and  although  not  mustered  into  active 
service  they  were  equipped  and  ready  for  action  at  a 
moment's  notice,  and  were  held  for  service  in  case  of 
an  outbreak  in  Southern  Illinois.  He  came  to  Cali- 
fornia in  1870,  and  conducted  the  mills  at  Nelson  and 
Merced  Falls,  Merced  County,  for  four  years,  after 
which  he  came  to  Alviso  and  managed  the  mills  at 
that  place  for  two  years,  when  he  bought  the  place  he 
still  owns  at  the  Willows. 

His  father,  James  Vandegrift,  was  born  near  the 
close  of  the  last  centur\-,  and  learned  the  milling  busi- 
ness in  the  Brandywine  Mills,  in  the  State  of  Dela- 
ware. He  was  the  first  regularly  instructed  miller 
who  crossed  the  Alleghany  Mountains.  Settling  in 
Marysville,  Kentucky,  he  engaged  principally  in  build- 
ing mills  in  Brown  County,  Ohio,  and  in  Mason 
County,  Kentucky.  He  died  in  1848,  at  Winchester, 
Ohio.  His  (Charles')  mother,  Margaret,  nee  O'Con- 
ner,  was  born  in  1795,  at  Fort  Washington — where 
Cincinnati  now  stands — being  the  second  white  child 
born  there.  She  was  united  in  marriage  to  Mr.  Van- 
degrift's  father  at  Marysville,  Kentucky,  in  181 5. 
The  issue  of  this  marriage  were  nine  children:  Nancy, 
the  first-born,  died  at  the  age .  of  eighteen  months; 
the  second,  William  O.,  who  was  born  in  1820,  joined 
the  Confederate  army  from  Arkansas,  and  was  proba- 
bly killed  in  service;  Elizabeth,  born  in  1822,  married 
Abner  Neuman,  and  now  lives  in  Brown  County, 
Ohio;  Mary  J.,  still  unmarried,  lives  in  the  same 
county;  John  A.,  born  in  1826,  lives  in  Brown  County, 
Ohio,  and  is  also  unmarried;  James  Madison,  born  in 
1829,  died  in  Kansas  in  1882;  Andrew  J.,  born  in 
1832,  is  living  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri;  the  subject  of 
our  sketch  is  their  eighth  child;  their  next  is  George 
W.,  who  was  born  in  1 840,  and  is  now  living  in  St.  Louis. 
Mr.  Vandegrift  was  married,  in    1862,  to  Miss  An- 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  IHE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


geVme  B.  Kneedler,  a  native  of  Collinsville,  Illinois, 
daughter  of  Jacob  Kneedler,  a  merchant  of  that  city, 
and  Martha  W.  (Blackiston)  Kneedler,  a  native  of 
Wilmington,  Delaware.  Mr.  Vandegrift  has  three 
children:  Albert  E.,  born  December  20,  1862,  at  Col- 
linsville, Illinois,  and  married  to  Miss  Jennie  French, 
of  San  Jose,  in  July,  1886;  George  W.  was  born  in 
1862,  and  still  resides  at  home;  Fannie  M.  was  born 
in  1878,  and  attends  school  at  the  Willows.  Mr.  Van- 
degrift had  four  brothers  in  the  Union  army,  all 
brave  and  patriotic  soldiers. 

Mr.  Vandegrift  is  a  charter  member  of  Santa  Clara 
Lodge,  No.  238,  Free  Masons,  a  member  of  the  I.  O. 
O.  F,  having  been  Past  Grand  for  twenty-five  years; 
also  an  honored  member  of  various  other  fraternal 
orders.  He  has  been  a  Republican  since  Lincoln's 
first  election,  and  believes  in  the  protection  of  Ameri- 
can industries  and  the  fruit  interests  of  California. 

^APT.  CHARLES  A.  FRENCH  was  born  in 
'%^  Prospect,  Maine,  July  22,  1821.  His  parents, 
(3)f  Josiah  and  Sarah  (Clewley)  French,  were  natives 
of  the  same  town,  the  former  a  descendant  of 
the  old  Plymouth  stock.  In  1836  his  parents  moved 
to  Bangor,  Maine,  where  Charles  was  principally 
educated.  Josiah  French  was  an  old  sea  captain  and 
owner  of  vessels,  and  in  his  younger  days  Charles 
took  numerous  sea  voyages  with  his  father.  When 
he  was  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  old  he  engaged  in  the 
mercantile  business,  which  pursuit  he  followed  for 
eight  or  ten  years,  part  of  the  time  in  Bangor  and 
part  in  Providence,  Rhode  Island.  In  1849  he  closed 
his  business  and  went  to  sea.  He  had  an  interest  in 
a  merchant  ship,  and,  taking  command  of  the  vessel, 
engaged  in  the  Atlantic  trade,  doing  business  with 
European  and  West  India  ports.  He  has  visited 
nearly  all  the  different  countries  of  the  globe,  making 
voyages  to  China  and  Australia,  and  engaged  in  trade 
with  Brazil  and  the  west  coast  of  South  America. 
In  1861  he  entered  the  service  of  the  United  States 
Navy  as  Acting  Master,  and  remained  until  the  close 
of  the  war.  He  had  command  of  five  different  men- 
of-war  ves.sels,  and  resigned  his  commission  as  Acting 
Volunteer  Lieutenant  Commander  in  November,  1865. 
After  the  war  closed  he  was  engaged  for  one  year  in 
running  a  passenger  and  freight  steamer  from  New 
York  and  Philadelphia  to  Savannah,  Georgia.  With 
this  exception,  his  voyages  were  in  the  foreign  trade. 


In  1883  he  retired  from  the  sea  and  located  in  San 
Francisco,  and  about  a  year  after  bought  his  present 
ranch  near  Saratoga. 

Captain  French  was  married,  in  1S43,  to  Lorena 
Emerson,  of  Reading,  Massachusetts.  She  died  in 
1 87 1,  leaving  four  children,  two  of  whom  are  now 
living.  He  was  married  again  in  June,  1880,  to  Mrs. 
Jane  M.  Sykes,  a  native  of  Liverpool,  England.  His 
ranch  contains  twenty  and  a  half  acres,  all  in  fruit, 
consisting  of  the  following  varieties:  1,200  French 
prunes,  300  apricots,  100  peaches,  30  cherries,  75  egg- 
plums,  and  a  family  orchard,  together  with  4,000  vines 
of  different  varieties,  mostly  table  grapes. 


POHN  ALFRED  LINQUIST,  of  San  Jose  Town- 
ship, is  a  native  of  Sweden,  born  December  15, 
^  1 861,  his  parents  being  John  and  Margaret  (An- 
derson) Linquist.  The  subject  commenced  attend- 
ance at  school  in  his  native  land,  but  at  the  age  of 
seven  years  left  home  and  emigrated  to  America,  sail- 
ing from  Stockholm  to  New  York.  He  went  to  Min- 
nesota, and  for  seven  years  was  engaged  at  farm 
work  in  the  vicinity  of  Minneapolis.  He  then  went 
back  to  the  land  of  his  birth,  but  returned  to  America 
in  1879.  Landing  at  New  York,  he  took  steamer 
from  there  to  Aspinwall,  and  again  at  Panama  for 
San  Francisco.  He  then  came  to  Santa  Clara  County, 
which  has  ever  since  been  his  home. 

He  was  married,  January  12,  1887,  to  Mrs.  Mary 
Pennoyer,  whose  maiden  name  was  Fox.  She  was  the 
widow  of  Harry  Pennoyer.  They  have  a  beautiful 
place  of  fifteen  acres,  of  which  ten  acres  are  planted 
to  fruit.  Mr.  Linquist  is  a  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church.  He  is  an  intelligent,  progressive  man, 
and  although  he  has  been  all  his  life  a  worker,  he  has 
given  much  attention  to  mental  improvement  and  to 
good  books.  Mr.  Linquist  has  four  children  by  his 
first  marriage,  namely:  Harry,  Annie,  Libbie,  and 
Susie. 


JLLIAM  COX  was  born  in  Coshocton,  Ohio, 
January  21,  1827.  His  father,  John  Cox,  was 
a  native  of  Virginia,  and  went  to  Ohio  when 
about  eight  years  old,  where  he  was  married  to 
Mary  Hammel,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  who  was 
taken  to  Ohio  also   when  very  young.     In  1846  they 


4fS) 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


619 


moved  to  Lee  County,  Iowa,  where  they  made  their 
permanent  home,  residing  there  until  their  death. 
They  raised  a  family  of  two  sons  and  five  daughters. 
William,  the  eldest  child,  lived  with  his  parents  till 
1852,  when  he,  his  father,  John  Cox,  and  a  sister,  Mrs. 
Serena  Blythe,  came  across  the  plains,  and  were  about 
six  months  making  the  trip.  There  were  four  wagons 
in  the  party  who  came  through  together  to  the  Santa 
Clara  Valley.  Capt.  Robert  Gruwell  commanded  the 
party.  William  at  once  hired  out  as  a  farm  hand, 
and  he  and  his  wife  worked  at  everything  they  could 
get  to  do.  The  next  season  he  rented  a  piece  of  land 
from  his  brother-in-law,  Samuel  A.  Blythe,  and  put 
in  a  crop. 

In  1854  he  bought  his  present  place  (under  a  Span- 
ish title  at  that  time),  consisting  of  seventy  acres. 
A  few  years  afterward  he  bought  more  land,  and  now 
owns  315  acres,  all  of  which  is  under  cultivation.  He 
has  about  fifteen  acres  in  orchard  and  vineyard,  the 
trees  ranging  from  one  to  thirty  years  old.  The  vine- 
yard is  four  years  old.  He  has  about  100  French 
prunes  from  one  to  four  years  old ;  50  peaches,  to- 
gether with  apricots,  pears,  apples,  etc.  Mr.  Cox  is 
one  of  the  larger  growers  of  grain  and  hay.  The 
present  year  he  cut  his  entire  crop  for  hay,  and  has 
about  300  tons. 

He  was  married,  August  10,  1848,  in  Lee  County, 
Iowa,  to  Dicey  Baggs,  a  native  of  Champaign  County, 
Ohio.  They  have  five  sons  and  two  daughters,  viz.: 
John,  who  has  a  ranch  adjoining  his  father's;  Jacob 
M.,  residing  in  San  Jose;  Maria,  wife  of  Andrew 
Loyst,  residing  near  Saratoga;  Mary  J.  Cox,  George 
W.  Cox,  residing  in  San  Jose;  and  Joseph  E.,  at  La- 
fayette. They  lost  two  children:  Elmira,  who  died 
March  18,  1859,  aged  two  years,  and  William,  who 
died  October  6,  1876,  in  his  eighteenth  year. 


fYMAN  McGUIRE  was  born  in  St.  Clair  County, 
Illinois,  September  19,  1850.  His  father,  Joseph 
T  McGuire,  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  his 
mother,  Catharine  Halbert,  a  native  of  Virginia. 
Joseph's  father  removed  to  Illinois  in  1826,  when  he 
was  two  years  old,  and  he  and  his  wife  now  live  in 
Macon  County,  Illinois.  They  have  a  family  of  eight 
children,  Lyman  being  the  fourth.  He  lived  with  his 
parents  until  he  was  twenty-two  years  of  age.  when 
he  went  to  Harristovvn,  Illinois,  and  was  engaged  in 
the  business  of  buying  and   shipping  grain;   he  was 


also  Postmaster  and  station  agent  for  the  Wabash 
Railroad.  He  remained  there  eight  years,  when  he 
moved  on  a  farm  in  the  same  county  (Macon),  and 
remained  there  three  years,  and  then,  in  1884,  came 
to  California  and  bought  a  place  of  twenty-one  acres 
in  the  vicinity  of  his  present  residence,  but  after  two 
years  he  sold  out  and  purchased  the  place  on  which 
he  now  resides,  near  Saratoga.  It  contains  thirty-six 
acres,  of  which  twenty-four  are  in  fruit,  consisting  of 
1,200  French  prunes  (500  of  which  are  thirteen  years 
old),  200  apricots,  500  peaches,  375  pears,  200  En- 
glish walnuts,  and  100  apples.  The  place  is  nearly 
all  in  full-bearing  trees.  The  product  in  1887  was: 
Apricots,  $240;  walnuts,  $100;  prunes,  $1,300;  apples, 
$50.  In  that  year  Mr.  McGuire  purchased  a  Flem- 
ing Fruit  Dryer  with  a  capacity  of  9,000  pounds  of 
fruit  per  day,  and  the  same  year  he  handled  40  tons 
of  apricots,  10  tons  of  peaches,  and  60  tons  of  prunes 
in  addition  to  his  own  fruit. 

Mr.  McGuire  was  married,  in  1874,  to  Ella  Hows- 
mon,  a  native  of  Lexington,  Illinois,  by  whom  he  has 
twins,  Lou  and  Hattie,  born  June  2,  1876,  and  Ida, 
born  November  14,  1884. 


!ILL1AM  S.  McMURTRY,  M.  D.,  sonof  Will- 
'  iam  and  Priscilla  (Sharp)  McMurtry,  was  born 
in  Mercer  County,  Kentucky,  August  24,  18 18. 
The  parents  of  both  were  among  the  first  set- 
tlers in  Kentucky.  In  1825  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
removed  with  his  parents  to  Parke  County,  Indiana, 
where  he  was  reared  and  educated.  He  was  raised 
in  the  woods  until  fifteen  years  of  age,  with  a  very 
limited  education;  what  little  he  had  acquired  was 
obtained  in  a  little  log  cabin,  Pike's  arithmetic  and 
Webster's  spelling  book  being  the  only  text-books  in 
use  there.  Such  a  book  as  a  geography,  grammar, 
penmanship  book,  or  a  dictionary  was  unknown. 
When  fifteen  years  old  he  went  to  Wabash  College, 
which  had  just  opened,  at  Crawfordsville,  Indiana. 
After  this  he  attended  the  State  University  at  Bloom- 
ington  for  eighteen  months.  In  1838  he  began  the 
study  of  medicine  in  Rockville,  Indiana,  with  Drs. 
Tulley  and  Allen.  In  the  winter  of  1839-40  he  at- 
tended the  first  course  of  lectures  at  the  Miami  Uni- 
versity Medical  College  at  Cincinnati,  and  in  the 
winter  of  1840-41  attended  the  Louisville  Institute, 
and  took  a  full  course  of  lectures.  Up  to  this  time 
he  had  made  such  progress  that  Dr.  Tulley,  one  of 
his  preceptors,  took  him  into  full  partnership. 


620 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


The  next  season,  on  account  of  the  severity  of  the 
cHmate  in  Indiana,  he  concluded  to  go  to  Mississippi. 
Arriving  in  that  State  he  located  in  Benton,  in  Jan- 
uary, 1843.  The  next  winter  he  attended  another 
full  course  of  lectures  at  the  Louisville  Institute,  at 
which  institution  he  was  graduated,  in  the  spring  of 
1844,  at  the  head  of  a  class  of  forty-five.  He  then 
returned  to  Mississippi  and  practiced  medicine  very 
successfully  until  the  commencement  of  the  Mexican 
War,  when  he  concluded  to  have  a  little  adventure  in 
the  way  of  variety  in  life,  and  helped  to  organize  a 
company  that  went  out  in  the  regiment  of  Mississippi 
Rifles,  commanded  by  Jeff  Davis  as  Colonel.  The 
company  having  been  organized  before  the  call  for 
troops  from  Washington  had  reached  Mississippi,  and 
there  being  delay,  he  finally  became  impatient,  upon 
learning  that  they  were  to  go  as  infantry,  and  con- 
cluded to  take  his  chances  in  striking  something  in  a 
different  direction,  and  mounted  his  horse  and  rode 
away,  and  finally  found  and  joined  a  body  of  mounted 
men  known  as  "  Texas  Rangers,"  commanded  by 
Col.  Jack  Hays,  the  noted  Indian  fighter.  He  con- 
tinued under  his  command  till  the  battle  of  Monterey 
occurred,  in  which  battle  he  participated,  under  Gen- 
eral Worth,  who  commanded  the  right  wing.  He 
accompanied  a  party  in  storming  the  "  Bishop's  Pal- 
ace," when  the  assault  was  made  up  the  steep  slope 
right  under  the  works  of  the  enemy,  carrying  every- 
thing before  them,  and  driving  the  Mexicans  into  the 
city,  and  there,  coming  in  contact  with  the  army  of 
General  Taylor,  the  Mexicans  were  surrounded.  His 
three  months'  service  of  enlistment  having  expired, 
he  went  home,  and  afterward  joined  another  company 
of  Texas  Rangers,  and  remained  in  the  service  until 
1848. 

After  being  mustered  out  he  located  at  Baton 
Rouge,  Louisiana,  for  the  purpose  of  practicing  medi- 
cine, and  had  hardly  got  settled  down  to  practice  when 
the  California  gold  fever  broke  out.  A  party  of 
thirty  was  organized,  he  being  one  of  the  number,  and 
came  to  California  by  way  of  Mexico.  At  Mazatlan 
they  engaged  passage  on  a  sailing  vessel,  and  reached 
San  Francisco  in  thirty  days,  arriving  there  May  24, 
1849.  He  at  once  went  to  the  mines  near  Sacra- 
mento, locating  at  Horse  Shoe  Bar.  He  worked  in 
the  mines  with  the  usual  luck — sometimes  making 
money  and  at  other  times  without  success,  and  finally, 
in  1857,  he  went  to  Grass  Valley  and  engaged  in 
quartz  mining.  In  1858  he  went  to  Santa  Clara 
County  and  located  at  Lexington,  and  engaged  in  the 
lumber  business  until    1868,  when  he  settled    at   Los 


Gatos,  where  he  still  resides.  In  1863  he  was  elected 
a  State  Senator  for  Santa  Clara  County  and  served 
one  term..  In  the  spring  of  1864  he  was  elected  a 
delegate  to  the  Republican  National  Convention  at 
Baltimore,  which  re-nominated  Abraham  Lincoln  for 
the  presidency.  While  in  the  East  he  visited  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac.  The  base  of  supplies  was  es- 
tablished at  the  White  House  during  the  battle  of 
Cold  Harbor,  as  it  was  at  this  time  when  he  was  there. 
He  went  around  with  the  Sanitary  Committee,  attend- 
ing to  the  disabled,  and  was  with  them  at  City  Point 
at  the  commencement  of  the  investment  of  Peters- 
burg. He  soon  after  returned  to  California,  and  has 
since  resided  at  his  beautiful  home  in  Los  Gatos. 
He  is  now  the  oldest  resident  of  that  place.  He  was 
married,  November  17,  1858,  to  Ellen  Headen.of  the 
town  of  Santa  Clara. 

:^ 


MlR.  H.  A.  SPENCER  is  the  younger  of  the  two 
G^  sons  of  Doctor  Alexander  J.  Spencer,  one  of  the 
^^  pioneer  physicians  of  San  Jose,  having  crossed 
the  plains  and  settled  here  in  1852.  He  has  spent 
his  life  from  early  boyhood  in  Santa  Clara  County. 
After  completing  a  course  in  the  city  schools,  his  fa- 
ther had  marked  out  for  him  a  career  in  the  legal  pro- 
fession, and  desired  him  to  study  law  with  his  brother. 
Judge  F.  E.  Spencer.  The  son's  taste  did  not  incline 
in  that  direction,  but  rather  toward  medicine,  with 
which  he  was  somewhat  familiar  through  access  of  his 
father's  library.  At  twenty  years  of  age  he  married, 
and,  wishing  to  be  self-supporting,  he  learned  the 
printer's  trade,  and  started  a  small  job  office  in  part- 
nership with  a  Mr.  Yates,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Yates  &  Spencer.  The  establishment  was  conducted 
with  indifferent  success  two  years,  when  they  sold  it. 
Mr.  Spencer  then  turned  his  attention  to  stock-raising, 
and  carried  on  a  horse  and  cattle  ranch  in  the  foot- 
hills southeast  of  the  city.  Some  difficulty  arising 
over  the  title  of  the  lands,  he  removed  his  stock  to 
Tulare  County,  and  a  few  months  later  sold  his  stock 
and  retired  from  the  business.  Upon  returning  to 
San  Jose,  in  1873,  his  father  presented  him  with 
twenty  acres  of  land,  just  outside  of  the  northern 
city  limits  on  the  Berryessa  road,  on  which  he  erected 
his  present  home.  Having  studied  veterinary  sur- 
gery during  his  ranching  experience.  Dr.  Spencer  di- 
vided his  attention  for  about  nine  years  between 
farming  and  veterinary  practice.  In  1881  he  formed 
a  partnership  with  J.    N.  Ewing,  and   built  the  Occi- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


621 


dental  Stables,  on   Second  Street,  and  connbined  the 
livery  business  with  veterinary  surgery. 

In  the  course  of  three  years  his  professional  prac- 
tice had  so  increased  that  he  found  it  necessary  to 
devote  his  entire  time  to  it.  Then,  in  connpany  with 
P.  P.  Parnet,  Dr.  Spencer  established  the  first  veteri- 
nary infirmary  opened  in  this  county,  leasing  for  that 
purpose  a  large  barn  on  the  corner  of  Sixth  and  Santa 
Clara  Streets.  A  year  later  he  sold  his  interest  in  the 
livery  business.  At  the  expiration  of  the  partnership 
of  three  years  with  Mr.  Parnet,  Dr.  Spencer  formed  a 
second  copartnership  with  Dr.  J.  D.  Fitzgerald,  M.  R. 
C.  V.  S.,  from  London,  England,  which  continued 
until  1887,  when  Dr.  Spencer  purchased  the  lot  at  the 
intersection  of  Sixth  and  St.  John  Streets,  and  erected 
the  veterinary  hospital  he  now  owns,  and  where  he 
has  an  extensive  practice.  In  the  early  part  of  May, 
1888,  the  County  Board  of  Supervisors  elected  Dr. 
Spencer  to  the  office  of  County  Veterinarian.  Dr. 
Spencer  is  a  member  of  the  State  Veterinary  Associa- 
tion of  California.  In  October,  1867,  he  married 
Millie  McKean,  a  native  of  Oregon.  They  have  a 
family  of  two  daughters  and  a  son. 


fHEODORE  LENZEN,  architect,  at  No.  no 
North  Second  Street,  San  Jose,  was  born  in 
(2)1=  Prussia,  in  1833.  He  attended  the  usual  schools 
up  to  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  when  he  com- 
menced to  learn  the  builder's  trade,  together  with 
drawing  and  architecture,  until  twenty-one  years  old, 
when  he  came  to  the  United  States  and  located  at 
Chicago,  where  he  passed  seven  years  perfecting  him- 
self in  all  the  details  of  his  profession,  both  practical 
and  theoretical.  He  then  came  to  California,  arriving 
in  San  Francisco  January  24,  1861,  where  he  remained 
a  little  over  a  year,  devoting  himself  to  the  builder's 
trade.  During  this  time  he  was  called  upon  to  help 
draw  the  plans  for  St.  Ignatius  College,  on  Market, 
between  Fourth  and  Fifth  Streets.  This  work  was 
done  so  satisfactorily  that  he  was  employed  to  come 
to  Santa  Clara  and  build  the  since  famous  Santa 
Clara  College.  This  occupied  his  time  exclusively 
for  more  than  a  year.  Upon  the  completion  of  this 
work  he  was  called  upon  by  the  Auzerais  Brothers  to 
build  the  Auzerais  House,  at  that  time  and  for  years 
the  principal  hotel  in  San  Jose.  In  all  the  years  since 
that  time  he  has  been  actively  engaged  in  the  erection 
of  buildings,  both  public   and  private,  being  at  the 


present  time  engaged  on  the  new  City  Hall  at  the 
intersection  of  Market  and  San  Fernando  Streets,  and 
also  of  the  San  Jose  Sanitarium,  now  being  built  by 
Hon.  M.  P.  O'Connor  for  the  Sisters  of  Charity.  Mr. 
Lenzen  was  the  architect  of  the  first  Normal  School 
building  erected  in  San  Jose,  which  was  afterward 
burned.  Since  his  residence  here  Mr.  Lenzen  has 
built  in  this  and  other  counties  between  500  and  600 
buildings,  having  put  up  buildings  in  Salinas  City, 
HoUister,  Santa  Cruz,  Gilroy,  Sacramento,  and  even 
in  Los  Angeles,  and  El  Paso,  Texas.  He  has  now 
under  way,  in  this  county,  buildings  whose  aggregate 
cost  will  exceed  $350,000. 

He  was  married  in  San  Francisco,  April  12,  1865, 
to  Miss  Caroline  Christina  Wallauer,  a  native  of 
Bavaria.  They  have  had  four  children:  Gertrude 
Wilhelmina,  now  an  assistant  in  her  father's  office; 
Katrina,  who  died  November  5,  1887;  Emilia,  a  gradu- 
ate of  the  San  Jose  High  School;  and  Louis  Theo- 
dore, now  attending  the  public  schools.  His  parents 
were  Nicholas  and  Gertrude  (Morsch)  Lenzen,  also 
natives  of  Prussia,  who  came  .to  California  in  1862 
and  first  visited  the  subject  of  this  sketch  while  build- 
ing the  Santa  Clara  College.  His  father  died  March 
29,  1886,  and  his  mother  November  9,  1876.  He  is  a 
member  of  Friendship  Lodge,  No.  210,  F.  &  A.  M., 
San  Jose,  and  of  the  Royal  Arch  Masons,  No.  14,  of 
San  Jose;  also  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Red 
Men,  No.  yy;  a  member  of  the  San  Jose  Turn-Verein, 
and  also  of  the  Germania  Club.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Republican,  and  believes  in  the  protection  of  Ameri- 
can industries. 


ny|lCHAEL  LENZEN,  painter  and  contractor 
(t^iSs  for  painting,  residence   No.  279  Park  Avenue, 

d^  has  been  in  San  Jose  and  actively  connected 
'  with  its  interests  since  1863.  He  was  born  in 
Prussia  in  1840,  and  raised  on  his  father's  farm,  at- 
tending school  until  seventeen  years  of  age,  when  he 
came  to  the  United  States  with  his  parents,  Nicholas 
and  Gertrude  (Morsch)  Lenzen,  also  natives  of  Prus- 
sia, and  located  in  Chicago  in  1857,  where  he  remained 
until  1862.  While  in  Chicago  he  learned  the  print- 
ing business,  and  worked  at  it  while  there.  In  1862 
his  father  removed  with  his  family  to  California,  and 
settled  in  Santa  Clara,  where  he  remained  a  year  and 
then  came  to  San  Jose,  where  the  family  have  since 
lived.     The  subject   of  this  sketch  has  followed  his 


622 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


trade  in  San  Jose  since  that  time,  and  has  had  con- 
tracts for  the  largest  buildings  in  San  Jose  and  Santa 
Clara  County,  and  is  the  most  prominent  pioneer 
painting  contractor  in  the  city.  He  has  sold  out  his 
interests  except  his  real  estate  in  the  vicinity  of  his 
home. 

He  was  married,  in  1864,  to  Miss  Maria  Ferena 
Humbel,  a  native  of  Switzerland.  They  have  five 
children:  Caroline,  now  the  wife  of  Charles  Pfau,  of 
San  Jose;  Margaret,  now  the  wife  of  Henry  Jeau- 
trout,  of  San  Jose;  Henrietta,  a  graduate  of  the  High 
School  of  San  Jose;  William,  now  in  the  graduating 
class  of  the  High  School;  and  George  Ernst,  now 
attending  the  San  Jose  public  schools.  Mr.  Lenzen's 
father  died  in  1886  and  his  mother  in  1876,  and  are 
both  buried  in  Oak  Hill  Cemetery. 

Mr.  Lenzen  is  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order 
of  Red  Men,  the  Ancient  Order  of  Druids,  the  A.  O. 
U.  W.,  the  Turn-Verein,  and  of  the  Germania  Club 
of  San  Jose.  Is  a  Republican  in  national  politics, 
but  supports  the  best  men  for  local  offices. 

-o  ■    :r=^)-(§C..^§)-i;z:z^=:    -o~ 


&[ 


=HARLES  LEBRUN  has  a  beautiful  ranch  of 
twenty  acres,  on  the  San  Jose  and  San  Francisco 
road,  between  Mayfield  and  Mountain  View. 
When  he  purchased  this  land,  in  1880,  it  was  devoted 
to  grain  and  hay  farming,  but  he  immediately  set 
about  transforming  it  into  a  beautiful  vineyard,  and 
it  is  now  one  of  the  most  attractive  places  on  this 
road.  In  1881  he  set  out  the  first  grape-vines,  and 
in  the  following  year  the  work  of  planting  was  com- 
pleted. His  efforts  have  met  with  great  success,  and 
he  now  has  a  fine  vineyard  in  full  bearing,  and  of 
choice  varieties.  In  1885  he  erected  a  winery,  and  in 
1887  he  manufactured  9,000  gallons  of  wine,  which 
found  a  ready  sale,  at  good  prices,  in   San    Francisco. 

Mr.  Lebrun,  the  gentleman  who  has  made  this  not- 
able improvement,  is  a  native  of  France,  born  in 
Loraine,  October  28,  1841,  his  parents  being  Louis 
and  Marie  Lebrun.  His  father  was  in  the  service  of 
the  French  Government.  Charles  Lebrun  was  reared 
at  his  native  place,  and  acquired  the  art  of  decorative 
painting,  which  he  followed  there.  He  afterward 
traveled  through  France,  following  his  art  in  the  prin- 
cipal cities  of  the  country,  and  in  1880  emigrated  to 
America,  sailing  from  Havre  to  New  York.  From 
the  latter  city  he  came  to  California,  and  afterward 
bought  where  he  now  resides. 

He  was  married,  in   1881,  to   Miss  Sarah   Levy,  a 


native   of  France,  born  in  the  city  of   Paris.     They 
have  a  home  of  which  they  may  justly  be  proud. 


pKlLLIAM  C.  GEIGER,  a  representative  fruit- 
to^?3  grower  of  Santa  Clara  County,  owns  fourteen 
<^     acres  in    San  Jose  on  Willow  Street,  between 

■  Cherry  Avenue  and  Los  Gatos  Creek.  On  this 
tract  is  an  orchard  consisting  of  1,500  cherry  trees, 
450  prune  trees,  and  fifty  trees  of  other  varieties  for 
family  use.  In  the  year  1887  there  were  produced 
about  ninety  tons  of  cherries,  and  thirteen  tons  of 
French  prunes.  It  is  estimated  that,  under  favorable 
conditions,  the  increase  each  year  in  amount  of  fruit, 
for  fifteen  or  twenty  years,  should  be  about  twenty- 
five  per  cent;  also  that,  with  a  cherry  orchard,  the  re- 
sults in  fruit  depend  almost  entirely  upon  the  adapta- 
tion of  the  soil  for  this  especial  fruit.  Mr.  Geiger  has 
sold  his  cherry  crop  for  three  years  for  $6,000,  the 
purchaser  taking  all  the  chances  of  loss,  and  paying 
all  expenses.  He  bought  this  home  place  in  1868, 
having  lived  in  San  Jose  from  1858  to  this  time,  work- 
ing at  his  trade  of  carriage-making. 

Mr.  Geiger  was  born  in  Madison  County,  Illinois, 
about  twenty-five  miles  east  of  St.  Louis,  on  what  was 
then  called  the  Terre  Haute  and  St.  Louis  National 
road.  His  father,  Jacob  Geiger,  was  a  native  of 
Hamburg,  Germany,  coming  to  the  United  States 
with  his  parents  when  about  thirteen  years  of  age,  and 
living  with  them  in  Tennessee  previous  to  finally  set- 
tling in  Madison  County,  Illinois.  Jacob  Geiger  died 
at  his  farm  in  Madison  County  in  1848,  his  wife,  Mary 
(Cleveland)  Geiger,  dying  when  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  about  ten  years  of  age.  William  Geiger 
remained  a  year  on  the  home  farm  after  his  father's 
death,  and  then  commenced  learning  the  carriage- 
making  trade  in  Bond  County,  Illinois.  In  1852  he 
came  to  California,  driving  five  yoke  of  oxen,  and 
bringing  4,500  pounds  of  merchandise  for  the  Moi- 
mons.  He  arrived  at  Knight's  Landing,  on  the  Up- 
per Sacramento,  and  left  the  train  on  the  twenty- 
second  day  of  November,  1852,  taking  employment  in 
a  flour-mill  at  $5.00  per  day  and  board.  A  month 
later  he  went  to  the  gold  mines  in  Shasta  County, 
and  worked  intermittently  with  the  usual  success  of 
miners,  finally  coming  to  San  Jose  and  working  at  his 
trade  of  carriage-making.  He  established  a  carriage 
factory  in  partnership  with  another  man,  in  which 
business  he  remained  until   1864,  when  he  leased  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


623 


shop  and  took  charge  of  a  copper  mine  during  1864, 
1865,  and  a  part  of  1866. 

On  the  home  place,  for  which  he  paid  $100  per  acre, 
he  has  planted  every  tree,  and  made  all  improvements, 
as  at  the  time  of  purchase  the  land  was  covered  with 
brush  and  timber. 

In  June,  1861,  Mr.  Geiger  was  married,  in  San 
Jose,  to  Miss  Phillis  Aird,  a  native  of  Berwick-on- 
Tweed,  in  the  north  of  England,  at  which  place  her 
parents,  Thomas  and  Margaret  (Hall)  Aird,  lived  and 
died,  she  being  the  only  daughter  in  a  family  of  six 
children.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Geiger  have  one  son,  William 
R.,  born  July,  1862,  who  is  now  living  at  home,  assist- 
ing his  father  on  the  ranch,  having  previously  learned 
practical  engineering  and  having  had  charge  of  the 
engine  at  Albert  Lake's  box  factory  in  San  Jose  four 
years. 

Mr.  Geiger  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  believes 
in  full  protection  of  American  industries,  especially 
the  fruit  industry  of  California. 


SK  L.  KUNS  was  born  near  Logansport,  Cass 
(Fop'  County,  Indiana,  November  19,  1847,  his  parents 
^S  being  David  and  Margaret  (Lamb)  Kuns,  both 
of  whom  are  natives  of  Ohio  and  reared  near  Delphi. 
The  grandparents  of  the  subject  settled  in  the  Wabash 
country  shortly  after  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe.  In 
1853,  when  six  years  old,  his  parents  removed  to 
Monticello,  Piatt  County,  Illinois,  where  he  was  edu- 
cated. He  engaged  in  the  grain  business  and  farm- 
ing for  about  five  years,  when,  in  1878,  he  came  to 
California  and  located  on  the  San  Ysidro  Rancho  in 
Gilroy  Township,  where  he  has  since  resided,  having 
previously  come  to  California  in  1874  and  selected  it. 
He  has  a  farm  of  215  acres,  three  miles  from  Gilroy. 
He  raises  fruit  and  vegetables,  having  five  or  six  acres 
of  vegetables,  which  have  been  profitable,  as  he  finds 
a  good  market  for  them  in  Gilroy.  In  1882  he  be- 
gan to  set  out  an  orchard,  setting  out  an  acre  of  as- 
sorted fruits;  in  1883  he  planted  nine  acres  into 
peach,  apricot,  Bartlett  pears,  and  apples  of  the  stand- 
ard varieties,  and  about  fifty  cherries,  besides  a  few 
prunes,  plums,  and  nectarines.  He  regards  Gilroy 
Township  as  the  finest  pear  country  he  ever  saw.  His 
apples  are  fine.  He  has  set  out  a  few  English  wal- 
nuts, which  also  do  well.  The  land  is  rich  and  very 
moist.  The  place  is  supplied  with  water  from  a  two- 
inch  well  100  feet  deep.  He  never  irrigates  his  veg- 
etables.    He  has  a  ranch  of  about  4,500  acres  in  the 


San  Joaquin  Valley,  which  is  principally  devoted  to 
stock  and  grain,  his  stock  consisting  of  cattle.  The 
rest  of  his  home  place  is  devoted  to  different  purposes. 
On  fourteen  acres  in  1887  he  raised  about  fifty  tons 
of  barley  hay.  He  has  raised  as  high  as  seven  tons 
to  the  acre.  He  had  nine  tons  of  apricots  in  1887 
from  170  trees. 

He  was  married  in  Scioto  County,  Ohio,  near 
Portsmouth,  March  28,  1870,  to  Miss  Ella  Pearce,  a 
native  of  Ohio,  and  by  her  has  five  children,  namely, 
Arthur,  Maggie,  Lena,  David,  and  Ora.  Mr.  Kuns  is 
a  member  of  the  North  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
of  Gilroy.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  Has  been 
a  School  Trustee.  He  is  an  enthusiastic  horticultur- 
ist, and  has  done  much  toward  developing  the  fruit 
interests  of  his  neighborhood. 


SPOBERT  J.  LANGFORD,  who  carries  on  a 
s^  meat  market  at  No.  726  South  Second  Street, 
^^  San  Jose,  is  a  son  of  Pleasant  S.  and  Sarah 
(Henderson)  Langford,  and  was  born  in  Wash- 
ington County,  Iowa,  in  185 1,  and  his  parents  with 
their  five  children  crossed  the  plains  with  ox  teams  in 
1852  and  located  at  once  in  Santa  Clara  County.  He 
attended  the  public  school  of  Los  Gatos  until  eighteen 
years  of  age,  and  later  attended  the  University  of  the 
Pacific.  When  twenty-four  years  of  age,  on  account 
of  his  health  not  being  strong  enough  to  continue  his 
studies,  he  engaged  in  farming,  and  two  years  after- 
ward commenced  in  the  meat-market  business,  in 
which  he  has  continued  with  fair  success.  In  1886 
he  purchased  a  place  of  ten  acres  on  the  Senter  road 
four  miles  north  of  San  Jose.  This  he  has  planted 
equally  to  cherries  and  apricots. 

Mr.  Langford  was  married,  in  1876,  to  Miss  Frances 
Freeman,  a  native  of  Illinois,  who  came  to  California 
with  her  parents  when  a  child.  They  have  had  three 
children,  one  of  whom  died  in  1883.  Those  living 
are:  Arthur  and  Leo.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Langford  are 
members  of  the  Christian  Church.  In  politics  he  is 
a  Republican. 


.IpENSSELAER  W.  HINMAN,  son  of  Judson 
s^  and  Elizabeth  (Stickney)  H  in  man,  was  born  in 
np  Genesee  County,  New  York,  May  4,  1828. 
His  father  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and  re- 
moved to  New  York,  when  quite  a  young   man,  and 


624 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


married,  lived,  and  died  there.  They  raised  a  family 
of  seven  children,  of  whom  Rensselaer  W.  was  next 
to  the  youngest.  His  father  died  in  1836.  A  short 
time  after  this  the  homestead  was  sold  and  he  made 
his  home  with  his  mother  till  her  death,  in  1841.  He 
then  began  life  for  himself.  In  1846  he  left  New 
York  and  went  to  Michigan  .md  staid  there  six 
months,  when  he  enlisted  in  Company  K,  Third 
Dragoons,  commanded  by  Capt.  A.  T.  McReynolds. 
Upon  his  return  from  Mexico  he  lived  in  Wisconsin 
and  Michigan  till  1851,  when  he  went  to  Illinois  and 
thence  to  Minnesota  in  1853,  where  he  remained  till 
1858.  Returning  to  Illinois,  he  lived  there  till  1861, 
when  he  enlisted  in  the  Second  Illinois  Light  Artil- 
lery, Company  A,  and  served  till  July,  1865.  Was  in 
the  battles  of  Pea  Ridge,  and  in  the  Vicksburg  cam- 
paign, after  which  his  corps  was  ordered  to  the  Gulf, 
and  he  was  in  that  department  during  the  rest  of  the 
war. 

Upon  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned  again  to 
Michigan,  where  he  married  Aurora  L.  Griswold,  a 
native  of  Vermont.  He  bought  a  farm  and  settled 
there,  where  he  remained  till  1883,  when  he  sold  his 
farm  in  Calhoun  County  and  came  to  California,  in 
October  of  that  year.  In  the  spring  of  1884  he 
bought  a  ranch  near  Los  Gatos,  where  he  now  resides. 
He  has  fourteen  acres  of  land,  of  which  ten  acres  are 
in  fruit.  The  land  was  unimproved  when  he  bought 
it.  He  has  500  French  prunes,  100  Silver  prunes,  100 
apricots,  100  peaches,  a  family  orchard  of  about  50 
trees  in  choice  varieties,  25  pears,  25  plums,  and  a 
few  figs,  [oranges,  and  almonds,  besides  a  few  table 
grapes  for  his  own  use. 


^gHARLES  F.  A.  HELLIESEN,  proprietor  of 
^  the  Auzerais  Saloon,  No.  53  West  Santa  Clara 
e)j°  Street,  San  Jose,  was  born  in  Holstein,  a  prov- 
'ince  of  Denmark,  now  in  Germany,  in  the 
the  year  1843.  He  attended  the  public  schools 
of  his  native  town  until  sixteen  years  of  age, 
when  he  began  to  learn  the  trade  of  ship-building, 
and'worked  at  this  business  for  three  years,  when  he 
left  home  and  went  to  Mexico,  where  he  remained  a 
year,  and  came  thence  to  San  Francisco,  in  1864. 
He  remained  in  the  latter  city  four  years,  working  at 
his  trade  and  various  other  occupations  during  that 
time.  He  came  to  San  Jose  in  1 868,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  the  grocery  business  until  1875,  when  he 
opened  a  saloon,  in  which   he  has  continued  to  the 


present  time.  Mr.  Helliesen  has  an  orchard  of  twenty- 
eight  acres,  four  and  a  half  miles  from  San  Jose,  on 
the  Infirmary  road,  one-half  planted  to  prunes,  three- 
quarters  of  the  remainder  in  apricots,  and  the  rest  in 
peaches  and  cherries.  It  is  now  all  in  bearing,  except 
the  replanted  trees. 

He  was  married,  in  1872,  to  Miss  Anna  Marti,  a 
native  of  Sv\  itzerland.  He  is  a  member  of  Friend- 
ship Lodge,  No.  210,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  San  Jose,  and  of 
Germania  Lodge,  No.  116,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. His  parents  were  Karl  N.  and  Frederika 
Augusta  (Strouve)  Helliesen,  natives  of  Schleswig- 
Holstein.  His  father  was  a  school-teacher  during  his 
entire  adult  life,  as  was  his  father,  and  two  of  his 
brothers,  before  him. 

^#HARLES  H.  HARTMAN,  San  Jose  Town- 
^  ship,  is  a  native  of  Holland,  born  June  2,  1842, 
(gH=  his  parents  being  Charles  and  Adelaide  (Jo- 
hanns)  Hartman.  He  was  reared  to  the  age  of 
thirteen  years  at  home,  then  went  on  the  high  seas  as 
a  sailor.  He  has  been  over  the  greater  portion  of  the 
main  routes  of  commerce  on  the  seas,  including  Aus- 
tralia, East  Indies,  the  Mediterranean,  etc.  After 
giving  up  a  sailor's  life  he  returned  home  and  emi- 
grated with  his  parents  to  America,  locating  about 
fifty-five  miles  from  St.  Louis,  where  they  still  reside. 
He  followed  the  pursuit  of  farming  in  Missouri,  until 

1868,  when  he  went  to  New  York,  and  from  there 
started  for  California  by  the  water  route.  He  arrived 
in  San  Francisco  February  14,  and  from  there  came 
to  Santa  Clara  County,  where  he  has  since  resided. 

He  was  married,  in  St.  Louis,  in  April,  1866,  to  Miss 
Margaret  Utz,  a  native  of  Warren  County,  Missouri, 
and  daughter  of  Daniel  Utz,  who  came  to  Santa  Clara 
County  in   1852,  and  resided  here  until  his  death,  in 

1869.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hartman  have  nine  children, 
namely:  Kate,  Julia,  John,  George,  Theodore,  Sophia, 
Hattie,  Christina,  and  Emma.  The  eldest  was  born 
in  St.  Louis,  the  remainder  in  this  county.  Mr.  Hart- 
man is  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  War,  having  served  all 
through  that  struggle.  He  enlisted  at  St.  Louis, 
August  14,  1861,  in  Company  G,  Twelfth  Missouri 
Infantry,  Colonel  P.  J.  Osterhaus.  He  went  with 
Fremont  to  Springfield,  Missouri,  when  Curtis  took 
command;  first  went  under  fire  March  i,  1862,  at  Pea 
Ridge,  and  was  engaged  there  March  6,  7,  and  8. 
The  first  portion  of  his  service  was  altogether  in  Mis- 
souri and  Arkansas,  and  he  participated  in  the  chase 


^  5fc^ 


jic^^^^  a.  >ic^^i.(itc 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


625 


after  Price,  bringing  up  at  Ironton.  After  stopping 
there  some  time,  his  command  was  taken  down  the 
Mississippi  to  Young's  Point, 'opposite  Vicksburg,  and 
he  worked  for  a  time  on  the  celebrated  canal.  His 
regiment  was  assigned  to  the  tin-clad  flotilla,  two 
companies  to  the  gunboat,  and  took  part  in  the  Yazoo 
expedition.  He  was  at  Milliken's  Bend,  and  from 
there  the  command  was  started  for  Grand  Gulf,  and 
participated  in  all  the  principal  engagements  about 
the  beleaguered  city,  including  Chickasaw  Bayou,  and 
was  also  engaged  at  Arkansas  Post.  He  participated 
with  the  command  in  the  capture  of  Vicksburg,  and 
on  the  fifth  was  among  those  sent  to  follow  J.  E. 
Johnston.  They  drove  him  across  Pearl  River,  and 
then  went  into  camp  on  Black  River  for  rest.  After 
Rosecrans'  defeat  at  Chickamauga,  his  command  was 
sent  to  Memphis,  thence  to  Corinth.  They  partici- 
pated in  the  pursuit  of  Wheeler,  Forrest,  and  Roddy 
as  far  as  Tuscumbia,  Alabama,  and  after  the  junction 
of  the  divisions  of  the  Fifteenth  Corps,  marched  to 
Chattanooga,  Mr.  Hartman's  division  arriving  on  the 
scene  just  too  late  to  take  part  in  the  first  portion  of 
the  engagement.  He  was  in  Hooker's  victory  at 
Lookout  Mountain.  After  spending  the  winter  at 
WoodviUe,  Alabama,  he  started,  May  i,  1864,  on  the 
march  to  Atlanta,  and  was  with  his  regiment  in  all 
engagements  up  to  Resaca.  At  Kingston,  Georgia, 
May  22,  1864,  he  was  captured,  taken  to  Anderson- 
ville,  and  in  September,  at  the  time  of  Stoneman's 
raid,  to  Charleston,  thence  to  Florence,  where  he  was 
held  until  December  12,  1864,  when  he  was  exchanged 
and  sent  to  Camp  Parole,  Annapolis,  Maryland.  He 
was  discharged  at  St.  Louis,  February  15,  1865.  He 
is  a  charter  member  of  Phil.  Sheridan  Post,  G.  A.  R., 
at  San  Jose,  and  of  Garden  City  Lodge,  No.  142, 
I.  O.  O.  F.  He  has  been  Trustee  of  Oak  Grove 
School  District.  Politically  he  is  a  Republican.  He 
has  a  fine  ranch  of  140  acres,  six  miles  from  San 
Jose,  adjoining  Snell  Avenue.  Usually  he  cuts  about 
seventy  acres  for  grain,  principally  barley,  which  yields 
about  twenty  sacks  to  the  acre.  Hay  averages  two 
or  two  and  a  half  tons  to  the  acre.  He  has  four  acres 
in  a  thriving  orchard,  set  out  in  18S3,  and  will  plant 
ten  or  fifteen  acres  in  1889. 


^APT.  JAMES  A.  HAMILTON,  residing  on 
^  Johnson  Avenue,  in  the  Cambrian  District,  is  the 
'^'f  owner  of  twenty-one  acres,  all  in  fruit-bearing 
trees,  which  he  bought  in  September,  1882.  The 
79 


orchard  was  then  but  a  few  months  old,  and  comprised 
apricots,  Bartlett  pears,  and  French  prunes.  In  1887, 
from  537  apricot  trees,  54  tons  were  gathered,  and 
sold  at  $30  per  ton — a  result  of  which  the  Captain, 
considering  the  age  of  the  trees,  feels  justly  proud. 

He  was  born  in  Portage  County,  Ohio,  November 
10,  1826.  He  is  the  son  of  Thomas  and  Almira 
(Austin)  Hamilton.  His  father  died  before  his  birth, 
and  his  mother  afterwards  made  her  home  in  Connec- 
ticut. James  was  reared  by  Albert  Austin,  an  uncle, 
receiving  such  school  advantages  as  were  common  to 
the  youth  in  those  days,  and  also  attended  for  three 
years  the  Suffield  school.  Early  imbued  with  a  desire 
to  learn  more  of  the  world,  and  possessing  in  a  large 
degree  an  adventurous  spirit,  he  left  home  at  the  early 
age  of  eighteen  years,  and  shipped  as  a  sailor  before 
the  mast,  at  Sag  Harbor,  New  York,  on  the  old 
whaling  vessel  /(a/j/.  His  first  vo)^age  was  one  of 
three  and  one-half  years.  Upon  his  return,  he  visited 
his  mother,  now  deceased ;  but  in  love  with  a  life  on 
the  "  rolling  deep,"  he  had  not  a  thought  of  becoming 
a  plodding  landsman  again.  Strong,  trusty,  and  reli- 
able, he  passed  the  grade  of  second  mate,  and  in 
1854  became  master  of  a  vessel.  His  second  voyage 
was  made  in  the  Sheffield;  his  third,  as  boat-steerer 
on  the  Italy  again;  his  fourth  voyage  was  as  second 
mate  of  the  same  vessel;  his  fifth,  as  second  mate  of 
the  Republic;  the  next  one,  as  Master  of  the  Prudent; 
then  of  the  Charles  W.  Morgan,  Sea  Breeze,  and 
Northern  Light.  The  last-named  vessel  was  partially 
wrecked  in  the  North  Pacific  Ocean,  on  the  twenty- 
second  of  March,  1S83.  Captain  Hamilton  received 
great  credit  for  saving  his  dismasted  ship.  His  last 
four  voyages  were  made  as  master  of  the  Emma  F. 
Herriinan,  the  last  five  years  sailing  from  San  Fran- 
cisco. On  the  twenty-seventh  of  July,  1887,  he  was 
prostrated  with  a  sickness  which  at  the  time  it 
was  feared  would  prove  fatal.  He  was  obliged  to 
leave  his  vessel  in  the  Japan  Seas,  and  returned  to  his 
pleasant  home,  in  this  county. 

Having  recovered  his  usual  health,  he  is  now  one  of 
the  most  enthusiastic  horticulturists  of  Santa  Clara 
Valley,  and  is  firmly  convinced  that  his  seafaring  days 
are  over.  He  has  been  remarkably  fortunate  as  a 
master,  never  having  lost  a  vessel,  nor  made  an  un- 
successful voyage.  To  the  furthermost  seas,  north 
and  south,  visited  by  the  most  energetic  and  daring 
of  whalers,  he  has  taken  his  vessels.  Combining 
caution  with  splendid  courage,  his  career  as  a  master 
is  one  of  which  he  may  be  pardonably  proud. 

At  the   Sandwich   Islands,  in    1868,  Mr.  Hamilton 


626 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


married  Miss  Anna  W.  Thrum,  who  was  born  in  Aus- 
trah'a,  of  Engh'sh  parentage.  Their  three  children, 
Edith,  Augusta,  and  Robert,  all  as  yet  make  their 
home  with  their  parents.  The  Captain  is  an  ardent 
Republican. 


-<§C.^g>-$ 


.^MtlCHEL  DUBS,  of  Mayfield,  one  of  the  old 
(s^O^  settlers  of  Santa  Clara  County,  is  a  native  of 
1^  France,  born  in  Alsace  on  the  twenty-seventh 
day  of  September,  1824,  his  parents  being 
Francis  Joseph  and  Teresa  (Schembacher)  Dubs.  A 
brother  of  his  father  was  a  soldier  in  the  army  of 
France,  and  was  killed  in  Tahiti.  His  father  was  a 
vineyardist,  who  died  in  1857,  and  wife  in  1868. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  in  Alsace  to 
vine-growing.  In  1843  he  went  to  Paris,  and  en- 
gaged at  gardening.  The  Revolution  occurred  dur- 
ing his  residence  at  the  capital.  In  August,  1848,  he 
went  back  to  Alsace,  but  returned  to  Paris  in  July, 
1849.  In  April,  1850,  he  went  to  Havre,  and  there 
took  passage  on  the  steamship  Zurig  (Captain 
Thompson).  He  landed  on  the  twenty-fourth  of 
May  at  New  York,  and  remained  there  for  three  and 
a  half  years. 

On  the  fifth  of  September,  1853,  he  set  out  for  Cal- 
ifornia, taking  the  steamer  at  New  York,  and  mak- 
ing the  journey  by  the  Nicaragua  route.  He  landed 
at  San  Francisco  about  the  middle  of  October,  and 
the  following  day  started  for  the  mines.  It  was  his 
intention  to  go  to  Stockton  on  the  steamer  New 
World,  but  mere  chance  caused  him  to  take  the 
Sophia  instead.  On  arriving  at  Stockton,  it  was 
noticed  that  almost  the  entire  population  was  at  the 
landing,  and  he  soon  learned  that  the  New  Wor/dha.d 
been  blown  up,  and  its  passengers  killed.  He  went 
into  the  mines  at  Columbia  and  there  remained  be- 
tween two  and  three  months,  then  returned  to  San 
Francisco.  He  had  got  down  to  his  last  half  dollar 
before  he  obtained  employment.  He  remained  in 
this  city  until  September,  then  came  to  Mayfield  and 
bought  out  a  squatter's  claim  in  that  vicinity  of  the 
town.  He  resided  on  it  two  years,  but  finding  what 
he  had  supposed  to  be  government  land  was  claimed 
by  other  parties  under  a  grant,  he  left  the  place  and 
went  to  the  Santa  Gregoiia  Rancho,  bought  land,  and 
settled  on  it  in  1857.  He  then  engaged  in  dairying 
and  general  farming,  with  success.  He  bought  land 
where  he  now  resides  in  1868,  and  put  up  a  substan- 
tial residence  in  1871.  The  family  has  resided  here 
ever  since.     He  has    1,412  acres  on    the  old    Santa 


Gregoria  Rancho,  and  has   an  interest  in  other  prop- 
erty besides  his  home,  at  Mayfield. 

He  was  married,  in  San  Francisco,  in  1 871,  to  Miss 
Lena  Lutringer,  a  native  of  Upper  Alsace,  who  came 
to  America  in  1864.  They  have  four  children  living, 
viz.:  Felicite,  Adolph,  Emma,  and  Xavier.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Dubs  lost  three  children  by  death  from  diphthe- 
ria, in  1879,  within  two  days.  Their  names  were: 
Maria  Teresa,  Matilda,  and  Josephine.  Mr.  Dubs, 
while  leaning  to  the  Democratic  party,  is  yet  substan- 
tially independent  in  his  political  views,  being  guided 
more  by  his  judgment  of  men  and  principles  than  by 
strict  adherence  to  party  lines. 


§w|piLLIAM  LE  FEVRE,  deceased,  was  born  in 
C3»l«3   Montreal,  Canada,  November  i,  1830.     His  fa- 

f'  ther,  Charles  Le  Fevre,  was  a  native  of  the 
same  locality,  where  he  married  Mary  Riendo, 
a  native  of  the  same  place.  They  raised  a  family  of 
four  sons  and  two  daughters.  He  was  a  farmer,  and 
died  in  1866,  aged  eighty-two.  His  widow  remained 
on  the  home  place  about  two  years,  when  she  removed 
to  California,  and  lived  with  her  children  until  her 
death,  July  5,  1878,  at  the  age  of  eighty-four  years. 
The  Le  Fevre  family  is  of  French  descent,  John,  the 
father  of  Charles,  having  come  from  France  and  settled 
in  Canada  about  the  year  1780.  William,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  was  raised  in  Canada  and  made  his 
home  with  his  parents  till  twenty-seven  years  old. 
He  was  there  married,  February  22,  1857,  to  Cezarie 
Dugas,  who  was  born  at  St.  John's,  District  of  Mon- 
treal, Canada,  November  15,  1832.  Her  parents, 
Nicolas  and  Marguerite  (Betowmi)  Dugas,  were  also 
natives  of  Montreal  and  of  French  descent.  After 
his  marriage,  William  removed  to  Franklin  County, 
New  York,  where  he  bought  a  farm  of  210  acres  and 
lived  there  with  his  family  until  1862,  when,  in  July 
of  that  year,  he  sold  his  farm  and  moved  with  his 
family  to  California  and  settled  in  Santa  Clara  County. 
He  first  rented  a  ranch  in  Union  School  District, 
where  he  lived  eleven  years.  In  November,  1873,  he 
purchased  150  acres  near  Los  Gatos  on  the  road  to 
Saratoga  (one  mile  from  the  town),  where  his  family 
now  resides.  Some  of  the  land  has  been  sold  off,  so 
that  the  place  now  contains  but  thirty-five  acres.  Mr. 
Le  F"evre  died  here  March  18,  1882,  leaving  a  wife 
and  six  children,  all  of  whom  are  living,  viz.:  Zephire 
J.,  born  March  10,  1861 ;  Cyrille,  June  12,  i863;Lizzie 
M.,  May  14,  1867;  Ovid,  October  6,  1869;  Louie  G., 
August  27,  1 871;  and  Alfonso  O.,  September  i,  1873. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


627 


J^EORGE  M.  HALSEY,  proprietor  of  the  Enter- 
^!^  prise  Carriage  Manufactory,  came  to  the  Golden 
•^)j^  State  in  i860,  and  has  been  engaged  in  his  pres- 
ent hne  of  business  nearly  a  third  of  a  century 
in  California.  He  landed  in  San  Francisco  with  thirty 
cents  in  his  pocket  as  his  cash  capital;  soon  afterward 
he  went  to  Dutch  Flats,  Placer  County,  arriving  on 
the  Fourth  of  July,  i860.  He  there  learned  his  trade 
of  carriage-making,  and  established  iiimself  in  busi- 
ness, remaining  exactly  twenty-five  years.  He  then 
sold  out,  and  traveled  over  the  State,  seeking  a  desir- 
able location,  and  upon  visiting  San  Jose  concluded 
he  had  found  the  point  sought  for,  and  settled  here 
three  years  ago.  He  first  bought  in  as  a  partner, 
and  later  became  sole  proprietor,  succeeding  Mr.  H. 
Prindle  in  the  business,  at  6y  North  Market  Street. 
Besides  making  all  classes  of  vehicles  to  order,  he 
keeps  a  fine  stock  of  buggies  and  carriages  from  the 
best  Eastern  manufactories.  Repairing  is  also  a 
prominent  feature  of  his  work.  An  average  of 
fifteen  skilled  workmen  are  employed  in  the  several 
departments  of  the  factory.  Under  Mr.  Halsey's 
active,  energetic  management  the  concern  is  doing  a 
thriving,  prosperous  business.  Mr.  Halsey  is  a  product 
of  the  Empire  State,  born  in  the  town  of  Lancaster. 
His  father  carried  on  the  carriage  business  success- 
fully for  many  years,  then  left  New  York  for  the  Pa- 
cific slope,  and  settled  in  Dutch  Flats,  Placer  County, 
where  he  still  resides. 

January  5,  1870,  the  subject  of  this  memoir  was 
joined  in  wedlock  with  Miss  Ella  Chamberlain,  a  Cali- 
fornia girl.  They  have  had  three  children;  a  daugh- 
ter and  a  son  are  living. 


|jjt|OUIS  LOUPE  was  born  at  Dover,  Arkansas, 
Sm^  May  5,  1850.  His  parents  were  Samuel  and 
T  Rachel  Loupe.  In  1855  they  removed  to  Paris, 
France,  where  they  remained  three  years,  when  they 
returned  to  the  United  States  and  located  in  New 
York  city.  In  the  spring  of  1861  they  came  to  Gilroy, 
where  Mr.  Loupe,  Sr.,  carried  on  a  mercantile  busi- 
ness for  more  than  twenty  years.  He  died  in  Febru- 
ary, 1S87,  and  his  wife  in  1884.  Louis  received  his 
education  at  Gilroy,  and  at  McClure's  Military  Acad- 
emy, in  Oakland,  where  he  graduated  in  1867.  Upon 
his  graduation  he  returned  to  Gilroy,  and  was  engaged 
as  a  clerk  for  a  few  months,  when  he  went  to  Walla 
Walla,  Washington   Territory,  and  run  a  pack  train 


about  three  years.  He  then  returned  to  Gilroy  and 
embarked  in  the  mercantile  business,  which  he  carried 
on  for  many  years.  He  has  been  engaged  in  the  real- 
estate  business  with  Peter  Donnelly  since  February, 
1886,  about  the  time  the  title  was  quieted  to  the  Las 
Animas  Rancho.  Mr.  Loupe  has  been  Councilman 
two  years;  is  a  member  of  the  Gilroy  Volunteer  Fire 
Department;  a  member  of  the  Legion  of  Honor;  a 
Director  .of  the  Gilroy  Land  and  Trust  Company; 
and  at  present  Mayor  of  the  city  of  Gilroy.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Democrat.  He  was  married,  in  July, 
1 88 1,  to  Emma  Rea,  daughter  of  Hon.  Thomas  Rea, 
and  has  three  children:  Leon  Rea,  Mary  Ann,  and 
George  Lester. 


M|LBERT  LAURILLIARD,  dealer  in  pianos, 
<^^  music,  and  musical  merchandise,  at  No.  60  West 
%?  Santa  Clara  Street,  San  Jose,  was  born  in  Hali- 
*  fax.  Nova  Scotia,  in  1817,  where  he  remained 
until  nineteen  years  of  age,  receiving  his  education  in 
the  national  schools,  during  which  time  he  commenced 
to  learn  the  piano-making  business.  In  1836  he  came 
to  the  United  States  and  settled  in  Boston,  where  he 
continued  at  his  trade  and  then  removed  to  New  York, 
where  he  learned  more  of  the  business.  He  spent  a 
number  of  years  in  Boston,  New  York,  and  in  Hali- 
fax, Nova  Scotia.  While  living  in  Halifax  he  did 
most  of  the  repairing  of  pianos  in  that  section  of  the 
British  Provinces.  In  1868  he  removed  to  Chicago, 
Illinois,  and  engaged  in  the  same  business,  his  special 
interests  requiring  him  to  travel  throughout  the  West- 
ern States.  In  1872  he  came  to  San  Jose  and  estab- 
lished Iiimself  in  his  present  business,  which  he  has 
since  conducted. 

Mr.  Laurilliard  was  married,  in  1838,  to  Miss  Mary 
Osborne,  a  native  of  Scotland.  Five  children  were 
born  to  this  marriage:  Henry,  in  business  with  his 
father;  Mary,  the  wife  of  George  R.  Bent,  of  San 
Jose;  Osborne,  who  died  in  San  Francisco  in  1872; 
Arthur,  in  the  piano  business  in  Oregon;  and  Annie, 
the  widow  of  the  late  John  G.  Gosbee,  of  San  Jose. 
Mr.  Laurilliard  descends  from  a  French  Huguenot 
family,  who  removed  to  England  from  France  during 
the  Huguenot  troubles,  and  afterward  to  America,  and 
located  in  Nova  Scotia,  where  his  branch  of  the  family 
received  a  grant  of  land  from  the  British  Government. 
Mr.  Laurilliard's  whole  life  has  been  devoted  to  music, 
and  to  the  improvement  and  development  of  musical 
instruments. 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


fALTHASER  KUNDERT  has  a  ranch  of  lOO 
acres  about  three  miles  east  of  Gilroy,  of  which 
J^  thirty  acres  are  in  wheat,  twenty  in  barley,  and 
twenty-five  in  hay;  the  balance  is  pasture  for  his 
cattle.  His  hay-field  contains  barley  and  volunteer 
oats.  Some  of  his  land  will  raise  a  good  crop  any 
year  without  sowing.  He  has  an  orchard  of  lOO 
trees,  consisting  of  pears,  peaches,  apricots,  prunes, 
etc.  The  residence  was  erected  when  he  went  on  the 
plac'e,  but  he  has  laid  on  a  hard  finish.  He  put  up  a 
windmill  and  tank  in  1884,  at  a  cost  of  $620,  which 
will  supply  1,000  head  of  stock.  The  well  is  eighty- 
five  feet  deep,  but  the  water  comes  up  within  ten  feet 
of  the  surface.  He  has  put  up  all  the  barn  buildings 
except  one.  He  has  a  cow  barn  40x24  feet,  with 
facilities  for  twenty-six  head,  thirteen  on  each  side. 
Mr.  Kundert  was  born  in  Switzerland,  May  4,  1827. 
His  parents  were  Abraham  and  Sarah  (Fergelej 
Kundert.  Balthaser  was  reared  there,  and  in  1848 
came  to  America  and  located  in  Green  County,  Wis- 
consin, where  for  one  season  he  was  engaged  in  dairy- 
ing with  his  brother.  In  1849  he  went  to  Illinois, 
where,  and  in  Iowa  and  Missouri,  he  lived  until  1853, 
when  he  came  across  the  plains  to  California,  cross- 
ing the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains  with  IVIassey 
Thomas.  He  came  to  Gilroy,  and  in  the  spring  of 
1854  engaged  in  the  dairy  business,  which  he  has 
since  followed.  He  has  about  100  head  of  cattle,  and 
rents  land  for  pasturage.  He  made  trips  up  to  the 
mining  camps  with  his  Swiss  cheese,  weighing  from 
thirty-eight  to  forty  pounds  each,  and  would  usually 
take  from  2,800  to  3,000  pounds  at  a  load.  It  gener- 
ally took  him  from  ten  to  twelve  days  to  make  the 
trip.  Afterward  he  obtained  a  market  for  his  prod- 
uct in  San  Francisco  and  San  Jose. 

He  was  married,  in  this  county,  to  Miss  Sarah 
Kane,  a  native  of  County  Armagh,  Ireland.  They 
have  one  child,  Abraham,  born  November  27,  1861. 
He  was  educated  in  Heald's  Business  College,  and 
now  resides  in  San  Francisco.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kun- 
dert are  members  of  the  Catholic  Church  of  Gilroy. 


,-JEIL  ANDERSON,  who  is  extensively  engaged 
453  in  stock-raising  and  in  butchering,  at  New  Al- 
T  maden,  is  a  native  of  Schleswig-Holstein,  born 
November  12,  1850,  his  parents  being  Andrew  and 
Katherina  (Christiansen)  Anderson.  He  was  reared 
at  his  native  place,  attending  school  from  the  age  of 
six  to  fifteen  years,  and  then  engaged  in  clerking.     In 


1859  he  emigrated  to  America,  landing  at  Quebec 
June  I.  From  th::re  he  went  to  Chicago,  and  a  few 
days  later  to  Marquette  County,  Michigan,  where  he 
was  employed  by  the  Iron  Cliff  Mining  Company. 
For  eighteen  months  he  followed  mining,  and  for  one 
year  ran  one  of  the  engines.  From  1871  to  1873  he 
conducted  a  saw-mill,  but  then  came  to  California, 
and  has  been  at  the  New  Almaden  mines  ever  since. 
At  first  he  was  engaged  in  the  furnaces,  afterward  in 
the  machine  shop.  He  ran  the  hoisting  works  of  the 
Isabella  shaft  for  eighteen  months,  or  until  leaving 
the  employ  of  the  company,  in  1880.  He  engaged  in 
farming  and  stock-raising,  and  in  September  took 
charge  of  the  butchering  business  of  New  Almaden, 
and  has  a  shop  at  the  hacienda,  and  one  on  the  hill. 
He  runs  from  100  to  150  head  of  stock,  mostly  cattle. 

Mr.  Anderson  was  married,  at  New  Almaden,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1879,  to  Miss  Prudence  Pan,  a  native  of  Cali- 
fornia. They  have  two  children:  Ada  Louisa  and 
Charles  Andrew. 

Mr.  Anderson  is  a  member  of  Lodge  34, 1.  O.  O.  F., 
and  of  Mount  Hamilton  Lodge,  A.  O.  U.  W.,  also  of 
the  Guaranty  Fund  Lodge,  San  Francisco. 


~|OHN  A.  FELLON  was  born  in  Santa  Clara 
©^  County,  October  17,  1840,  his  parents  being  Mat- 
"^^  thias  and  Manilla  (Briones)  Fellon. 

Matthias,  the  father  of  the  subject,  was  born  in 
Denmark,  but  came  to  America  when  about  eighteen 
years  old,  and  located  in  Monterey,  California,  and 
afterward  removed  to  the  San  Ysidro  ranch,  where  he 
lived  for  some  years.  He  purchased  1,750  acres  of 
land,  and  raised  cattle,  having  as  many  as  1,500  head 
at  times.  In  1853  he  removed  to  a  house  which  he 
had  built,  not  far  from  where  John  A.  now  resides. 
It  was  an  adobe  house,  and  he  lived  in  it  about  nine 
years,  when  he  removed  to  another  part  of  the  place. 
He  owned  land  all  the  way  from  the  foot-hills  to  San 
Ysidro.  H^  built  another  good  house  there  in  1861, 
and  lived  there  until  he  died,  February  16,  1868,  a 
member  of  the  Catholic  Church.  His  wife  died  May  3, 
1858.  They  were  the  parents  of  eleven  children,  of 
whom  four  grew  to  maturity,  namely:  Peter,  now  de- 
ceased; Simforiano,  Adele,  and  John  A. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  married,  January  4, 
1874,  to  Miss  Blandina  Ortega,  a  native  of  Santa 
Clara  County,  and  daughter  of  Joseph  Ortega,  and 
are  the  parents  of  six  children,  named:  Corinne,  John 
Alexander,  Belle,  Louis,  Peter,  and    Marianna.     Mr. 


'2 


^^/^-^  /y/0  a^(sc. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


629 


and  Mrs.  Fellon  are  members  of  the  Catholic  Church 
and  do  not  mingle  in  politics.  He  has  a  ranch  of 
170  acres,  about  three  and  a  half  miles  northeast  of 
Gilroy.  He  removed  to  this  place  in  1870,  but  has 
owned  it  since  1868.  He  rents  it  out  to  those  who 
farm  it.  He  built  a  handsome  residence  on  the  place 
in  1883,  at  a  cost  of  upwards  of  $1,500.  He  also  has 
219  acres  of  valley  land  in  another  tract,  only  one 
and  a  half  miles  from  where  he  lives. 


MtlLLIAM  H.  SCOTT,  deceased,  was  born  in 
<^m^  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  July  i,  1822.  His  father, 
1^    a   native    of  Ireland,    settled    in    New    Jersey, 

1  where  he  married  Sarah  Beaty,  a  native  of  that 
State.  Her  ancestry  is  from  the  Philadelphia  Ger- 
mans. About  1839  the  family,  with  three  children,  re- 
moved to  Cedar  County,  Iowa,  where  Mr.  Scott,  Sr., 
died,  in  1856.  They  had  three  more  children  born 
in  Iowa.  Of  his  children  two  are  living  in  Iowa  and 
two  in  California.  Mrs.  Scott  lived  with  her  children 
during  the  last  years  of  her  life,  a  part  of  the  time  in 
California,  where  she  remained  two  years,  when  she 
returned  to  Iowa  and  died  there,  in  1 871,  aged  seventy- 
three  years. 

Mr.  Scott,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  apprenticed 
to  the  brick-laying  trade  in  Philadelphia,  and  w^ent 
with  his  father  to  Iowa,  assisting  him  on  the  home 
place  for  some  time,  and  then  began  work  at  his  trade. 
He  worked  on  the  State  House  in  Iowa  City,  at  that 
time  the  capital  of  the  State,  which  was  the  first  brick 
building  erected  in  that  city.  He  also  worked  at  his 
trade  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  till  the  breaking  out  of 
the  Mexican  War,  when  he  enlisted  in  Company  A, 
St.  Louis  Volunteers,  Captain  Charles  Allen  com- 
manding, and  served  till  after  the  Battle  of  Vera 
Cruz,  when  he  was  discharged  and  returned  to  St. 
Louis.  From  there  he  went  to  Vicksburg,  Mississippi, 
where  he  worked  at  his  trade  till  1849,  when  he  came 
to  California,  where  for  two  years  he  worked  in  the 
placer  mines.  He  returned  to  Vicksburg,  and  was 
there  married,  December  29,  1851,  to  Mary  A.  Dun- 
ford.  After  his  marriage  he  went  to  New  Orleans 
and  lived  till  the  following  May,  when  he  returned  to 
California  and  located  at  San  Francisco,  working  at  his 
trade  there  till  1859;  then  he  removed  to  San  Jose  and 
lived  there  a  year,  when  he  bought  a  farm  near  Los 
Gatos  and  moved  upon  it  with  his  family,  making  it 
his  permanent  home  For  the  next  eighteen  or  nine- 
teen years   he  worked   at   his  trade  in  San  Jose  and 


put  up  some  of  the  first  brick  buildings  in  that  city. 
After  being  engaged  with  Michael  Kenny  in  contract- 
ing for  some  time,  he  returned  to  his  ranch  and  de- 
voted his  time  to  improving  it,  when  he  died,  January 
26,  1879.  Mrs.  Scott,  his  widow,  now  resides  on  the 
place.  She  is  a  native  of  Richmond,  Virginia,  but 
was  reared  in  Alabama  and  Louisiana.  Her  father, 
Dr.  William  F.  Barrett,  a  Southern  planter,  died  in 
1847.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Scott  had  one  child,  Mary  A- 
Scott,  who  married  John  Bicknell.  She  died  July  26, 
1 88 1,  leaving  two  sons,  whom  Mrs.  Scott  has  taken 
to  raise.  Their  ranch  has  eighty  acres,  of  which 
thirty-five  are  in  fruit,  viz.:  1,000  French  prunes,  fif- 
teen acres  in  vines,  and  the  remainder  in  other  kinds 
of  fruit.  Mrs.  Scott  also  has  forty-five  acres  of  grain 
and  pasture  land. 


ARTIN  McCarthy,  deceased,  was  born  in 
County  Clare,  Ireland,  in  1825.  When  he  was 
^^  a  young  man  he  emigrated  to  the  United  States, 
I  and  was  at  New  Orleans  when  the  Mexican 
War  broke  out.  He  enlisted  in  the  government  serv- 
ice from  that  place  in  a  company  commanded  by 
Captain  Graham.  After  the  close  of  the  war  he  re- 
mained in  the  army  until  1849.  He  then  left  his 
regiment  in  New  Mexico  and  came  to  California, 
where  he  went  into  the  mines  and  worked  for  seven 
weeks.  He  then  settled  where  Saratoga  now  is,  be- 
fore any  town  had  started  there.  He  erected  a  house 
the  ss.-ne  year,  which  was  the  beginning  of  the  town, 
and  other  settlers  soon  after  followed.  A  town  sprung 
up  and  was  called  McCarthysville,  by  which  name 
it  was  known  for  some  time.  The  house  he  built  is 
now  standing,  and  is  a  good,  comfortable  residence, 
occupied  by  his  widow.  He  brought  with  him  quite 
a  sum  of  money,  which  he  had  saved  from  his  earn- 
ings while  in  the  army,  together  with  a  number  of 
mules  which  he  sold  at  a  good  price.  During  his  short 
stay  in  the  mines  he  made  about  $20,000.  He  took 
up  about  320  acres  of  land,  which  he  supposed  at  that 
time  was  government  land;  but  ten  months  after  his 
death  it  was  found  to  have  been  a  Spanish  claim  and 
belonged  to  some  parties  in  San  Jose.  His  widow, 
in  making  a  settlement  of  the  claim,  bought  128  acres, 
a  part  of  which  still  remains  in  her  possession.  Mr. 
McCarthy  built  a  turnpike  road,  the  one  which  now 
goes  through  the  town  into  the  mountains,,  upon 
which  he  expended  $12,000.  After  operating  it  as  a 
toll-road  for  about  a  year,  it  was  converted  into  a 
county  road.     He   had  obtained  a  charter  from  the 


630 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


Spanish  authoriHes  for  a  period  of  twelve  years,  but 
for  some  reason  he  never  realized  from  it  the  amount 
invested.  In  the  mountains  he  had  a  saw-mill,  which 
he  operated  for  three  years. 

He  was  married,  in  1853,  to  Hannah  Barry,  a 
native  of  County  Wexford,  Ireland,  who  came  to  this 
country  the  same  year,  when  she  was  seventeen  years 
old.  She  lived  in  San  Jose  ten  months  before  her 
marriage.  Mr.  McCarthy  died  in  1864,  leaving  a 
family  of  four  children,  of  whom  three  are  now  living: 
William,  court  stenographer  for  San  Benito  County, 
which  position  he  has  filled  for  four  years;  Margaret 
L.,  wife  of  Matthew  Wilson,  residents  of  the  same 
county;  Daniel  M.,  residing  on  the  home  place,  now 
serving  his  second  term  as  constable  of  Redwood 
Township. 

IrltlLLIAM  MOCKER.  This  gentleman,  who  is 
(T^as  one  of  the  best  representatives  of  our  citizens 
of  foreign  birth,  and  who  has  long  been  inti- 
mately associated  with  prominent  business  in- 
terests in  this  part  of  the  State,  was  born  in  Saxony, 
September  20,  1827.  He  is  the  son  of  William  and 
Emelia  (Gross)  Mocker,  who  came  to  this  country 
with  their  family  in  1856.  William  had  preceded 
them,  however,  landing  at  New  Orleans  in  1846.  On 
account  of  the  slackness  of  labor  he  enlisted  in  the 
United  States  army  in  July  of  that  year,  and  went 
to  Mexico  under  General  Scott,  acting  as  teamster  in 
the  Commissary  and  Quartermaster's  Department, 
serving  there  for  fourteen  months.  He  received  his 
discharge  at  New  Orleans,  and  then  worked  at  his 
trade  as  a  butcher,  and  carried  on  that  business  there 
until  1851,  in  which  year  he  came  to  California,  set- 
tling in  San  Francisco.  Here  he  established  himself 
in  the  butchers'  business,  carrying  on  shops  at  the  fol- 
lowing points;  In  1852  he  had  a  shop  at  the  corner  of 
Waverly  Place  and  Clay  Street,  where  Chinatown 
now  is;  in  1853  he  had  a  shop  on  California  Street, 
and  in  1854  worked  for  Henry  Miller  and  A.  Wester 
as  foreman  in  charge  of  a  shop  on  Jackson  Street 
near  Drumm.  He  afterward  bought  this  shop  and 
run  it  himself  until  1856,  when  he  bought  the  Occi- 
dental Market,  on  East  Street,  and  at  the  same  time 
was  the  owner  of  the  Ocean  Market.  In  1861  Mr. 
Mocker  went  to  Europe  on  a  visit,  spending  an  en- 
joyable time  in  the  old  country.  In  1862  he  engaged 
in  the  wholesale  business  for  two  years,  being  in  the 
California  Market,  and  later  in  partnership  with  Abe 
Neumann,  in   the   Clay  Street  Market.     In    1875  he 


came  to  San  Jose,  and  purchased  property  with  a 
view  to  establishing  a  brick  yard.  This  he  did,  locat- 
ing on  the  Berryessa  road,  and  successfully  conduct- 
ing the  business  until  April,  1887,  when  he  sold  out 
to  the  San  Jose  Brick  Company. 

No  one  is  more  generally  or  more  favorably  known 
in  San  Jose  than  William  Mocker.  He  is  a  member, 
in  accredited  standing,  of  the  Free  Masons  and  Odd 
Fellows,  and  a  man  held  in  high  esteem  in  all  circles. 
In  politics  he  is  strongly  Republican.  He  was  born 
in  the  village  of  Plauen,  Germany,  where  his  father 
had  a  butcher  shop,  and  was  brought  up  to  his  father's 
business.  His  father  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-five, 
in  1884.  His  mother  is  still  alive  and  hearty,  at 
the  ripe  old  age  of  eighty-four,  living  at  his  home  in 
San  Francisco.  He  was  married,  in  1849,  to  Miss 
Marie  Kaiser,  a  native  of  Darmstadt,  Germany.  They 
have  five  children,  as  follows:  Mary,  married  to  Aretus 
J.  Tweed,  and  living  in  Arizona;  William,  who  mar- 
ried Miss  Mamie  Brown;  Andrew,  who  married  Miss 
Annie  Schroeder,  and  is  living  in  San  Francisco;  and 
Louise,  Lillie,  and  Eddie,  still  at  home  in  San  Fran- 
cisco. Mr.  Mocker  has  now  retired  from  business, 
and  is  devoting  his  time  to  looking  after  his  property 
interests  and  private  affairs.  In  addition  to  three  fine 
fifty-vara  lots  on  San  Carlos  Street,  San  Jose,  he  is 
the  owner  of  a  beautiful  twelve-acre  orchard  tract  on 
the  McKee  road,  where  he  has  a  fine  cottage  home. 
His  family  lives  in  San  Francisco,  on  account  of  the 
greater  schooling  and  other  advantages,  but  his  many 
interests  in  Santa  Clara  County  have  kept  him  en- 
gaged in  San  Jose  for  years  past,  and  he  is  closely 
identified  with  its  best  progress.  He  is  a  retired 
capitalist  of  leisure  and  culture,  and  comfortably  en- 
joying a  fortune  won  by  characteristic  energy,  enter- 
prise, and  the  exercise  of  sound  business  qualities. 


^^HARLES  FRANCOIS  was  born  in  Alsace, 
^^  Germany,  March  16,  1818,  his  parents  being 
(2H=  Charles  and  Catharine  Francois,  who  had  a 
competence  and  li\ed  on  the  interest  of  their 
money.  The  grandfather  of  Charles  Francois  was  a 
soldier  under  Napoleon  I.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  reared  in  his  native  country  and  lived  there  until 
1858,  when  he  took  passage  at  Havre,  France,  on  the 
steamship  A/n/a,  bound  for  New  York.  He  remained 
in  New  York  city  six  years,  when  he  went  to  San 
Francisco,  where  he  remained  four  years.  He  then 
came  to  San   Jose  and   shortly  afterward    to   Gilroy 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


631 


where,  in  1868,  he  located  on  the  place  where  he  now 
resides,  and  has  made  all  the  improvements  thereon. 
He  has  180  acres  in  the  Uvas  Valley,  on  which  is  an 
orchard  containing  475  cherry,  apple,  plum,  pear, 
prune,  and  other  trees.  He  has  a  dozen  varieties 
of  grapes,  and  a  winery  containing  ten  tanks,  with  a 
capacity  of  25,000  gallons.  He  also  has  a  brandy 
distillery,  in  which  he  manufactures  as  many  as  fifty 
barrels  per  year.  At  present  (1888)  he  has  20,000 
gallons  in  store.  The  Uvas  Creek  runs  through  his 
place,  affording  fine  trout  fishing.  He  has  sixty-five 
acres  in  grapes  all  in  full  bearing.  His  place  presents 
a  beautiful  view,  and  is  certainly  handsome  and  at- 
tractive. He  has  a  water  tank  of  10,000  gallons' 
capacity  on  the  hill-side,  supplied  from  a  spring  that 
never  fails.  From  this  he  has  piped  water  to  his  still- 
house,  and  from  another  spring  to  his  house  and  barn. 
He  values  his  place  at  $25,000. 

He  was  married,  in  San  Jose,  to  Miss  Adele  De 
Vaux,  a  native  of  France.  They  have  five  children^ 
namely:  Ernest,  Pauline,  Harry,  Lydia,  and  Bela. 


^^^ 


POSIAH  S.  FOWLER  was  born  in  Ashippon 
Township,  Dodge  County,  Wisconsin,  June  21, 
T  1846,  son  of  Joseph  and  Mahala  (Ellis)  Fowler. 
His  father  is  a  native  of  Kentucky,  and  his  mother  of 
New  Jersey.  Mrs.  Fowler's  parents  came  from  Vir- 
ginia, and  when  she  was  four  or  five  years  old  her 
family  removed  to  Indiana  and  were  among  the  pio- 
neers of  that  State.  In  1842  he  removed  to  Wiscon- 
sin, where  Mrs.  Fowler  died,  in  1S62,  at  the  age  of 
forty-three  years.  She  was  the  mother  of  thirteen 
children,  of  whom  eight  lived  to  be  grown.  In  1872 
Mr.  Fowler,  with  his  three  children  (the  only  ones 
then  living),  came  to  California,  where  he  again  mar- 
ried, and  died  in  1875.  His  second  wife  is  also  dead. 
Josiah,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  educated  in 
the  district  schools  of  Wisconsin,  and  the  graded 
school  at  Oconomowoc,  in  the  same  State.  Upon  com- 
ing to  California,  he  made  his  home  with  his  father 
till  his  death,  in  1S75.  He  lived  in  San  Jose  a  year 
and  a  half  when  his  father  bought  240  acres  in  the 
Santa  Cruz  Mountains,  on  the  Santa  Cruz  turnpike 
road.  Just  before  his  father's  death,  Josiah  bought 
the  ranch  where  he  has  lived  since  August,  1873. 
When  he  came  upon  the  place,  but  five  acres  were 
cleared.  He  now  has  about  forty  acres  cleared.  He 
sold  thirty  acres,  and  now  has  but  210  acres.  Has 
about  fourteen  acres  in   French  prunes  from  two  to 


four  years  old,  two  acres  in  apples  eight  years  old  and 
over,  and  nearly  two  acres  in  egg  plums  four  years 
old,  one  acre  in  Hungarian  prunes  in  bearing,  and 
about  fifty  peach  trees.  He  has  four  acres  in  table 
grapes,  from  eight  to  eleven  years  old,  and  about  fifty 
pear  trees  eight  years  old.  In  1S84  he  built  his 
present  dwelling-house,  with  all  the  modern  conven- 
iences. He  gets  his  water  from  a  spring  about  1,300 
feet  from  the  house. 

Mr.  Fowler  was  married,  December  13,  1882,  to 
Abbie  A.  Proseus,  a  native  of  Oconomowoc,  Wiscon- 
sin. He  has  been  Roadmaster  for  Lexington  and 
Wrights  precincts  since  January  i,  1884.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Republican. 


&^ 


HARLES  A.  HAGAN,  engaged  in  plumbing, 
gas,  and  steam  fitting,  No.  82  I'^ast  Santa  Clara 
Street,  San  Jose,  is  the  successor  of  James  Hagan, 
who  has  been  so  well  and  favorably  known  and 
identified  with  the  interests  and  enterprises  of  San 
Jose  since  i860.  The  latter  was  born  in  County  Ca- 
van,  Ireland,  in  1830.  About  the  age  of  twenty  years 
he  came  to  America,  settling  first  in  New  York,  and 
later  removing  to  Boston.  Coming  to  California,  in 
1854,  he  worked  for  some  years  for  the  gas  company 
in  San  Francisco,  where  he  became  an  adept  in  the  art 
of  gas  manufacture,  as  well  as  an  e.\-pert  in  the  busi- 
ness of  gas  fitting,  plumbing,  and  incidentally  of  steam 
fitting.  He  later  started  for  himself  in  San  Francisco 
a  factory  called  the  Metropolitan  Gas  Works,  which 
he  afterward  sold  to  the  present  San  Francisco  Gas 
Company.  In  i860  he  came  to  San  Jose,  where  he 
established  the  San  Jose  Gas  Works,  with  two  part- 
ners, which  enterprise  was  afterward  transformed  into 
the  San  Jose  Gas  Company.  In  this  he  was  one  of 
the  principal  stockholders  and  managers  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death,  in  1883,  his  widow,  Mrs.  Hagan,  still 
retaining  the  same  interest  in  the  company.  The  gas 
works  at  Los  Angeles  and  Salinas  lilvewise  owe  their 
existence  to  his  foresight  and  enterprise.  He  later 
sold  out  his  interest  in  the  Los  Angeles  Company,  but 
retained  that  in  Salinas.  He  also  opened  in  San  Jose 
a  gas-fitting,  plumbing,  and  steam-fitting  establish- 
ment, carrying  a  full  stock  of  pipe,  fittings,  and  fixt- 
ures, the  same  now  conducted  by  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  Naturally  a  man  of  large  views  and  enter- 
prise, he  was  energetic  in  pushing  to  completion  and 
making  a  success  of  any  project  he  became  interested 
in. 

Mr.   Hagan's  father,  a  short  time  before  his  death, 


632 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  Ot    THE   WORLD." 


purchased  a  tract  of  lOO  acres  of  land  about  five  miles 
from  San  Jose,  on  the  Storey  road.  This  he  had  par- 
tially planted  in  fruit  at  the  time  of  his  death.  Mr. 
Hagan  was  married,  in  Boston,  in  1857,  during  a  trip 
East.  The  only  daughter,  Mary,  is  now  the  wife  of 
Charles  W.  Quilty,  an  attorney-at-law  in  San  Jose. 
Charles  A.  Hagan  was  educated  in  the  public  school 
of  San  Jose,  and  in  Santa  Clara  College.  He  is  at 
present  an  officer  in  the  National  Guard  of  California, 
and  a  prominent  member  of  the  Young  Men's  Insti- 
tute of  San  Jose.  His  mother,  Mrs.  Hagan,  resides  in 
the  home  built  by  Mr.  Hagan,  at  156  South  Third 
Street,  San  Jose. 


tOL.  SAMUEL  O.  GREGORY  was  born  at  La 
-.-  Porte,  Indiana,  January  20,  1843.  His  father, 
(S)|=  Elnathan,  was  a  native  of  Tompkins  County, 
New  York,  and  his  mother  a  native  of  New 
Hampshire.  Their  ancestors  came  from  England  in 
the  seventeenth  century.  Elnathan  removed  from 
New  York  to  La  Porte,  Indiana,  in  1830,  and  was 
married  in  1842.  He  made  this  his  home  till  his 
death,  in  1865,  at  the  age  of  fifty-six.  His  wife  died 
at  the  home  of  her  son  Samuel,  in  1887,  aged  seventy- 
six.  There  were  six  children,  of  whom  five  lived  to 
be  grown. 

Samuel  O.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  and  the  only 
one  now  living,  graduated  at  the  High  School  of  La 
Porte,  Indiana,  when  he  was  seventeen  years  old,  and 
then  entered  a  Commercial  and  Collegiate  preparatory 
school,  intending  to  enter  Harvard  College  in  1861; 
but,  the  Civil  War  breaking  out,  he  enlisted  on  the 
day  Fort  Sumter  was  fired  upon,  in  Company  F, 
Ninth  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry,  for  three  months. 
He  reached  home  after  his  three  months'  service, 
July  31,  1 861,  and  the  next  day  re-enlisted  as  a  pri- 
vate in  Company  C,  Twenty-ninth  Indiana  Infantry, 
August  27,  1861;  was  commissioned  Second  Lieuten- 
ant of  his  company,  the  regiment  being  commanded 
by  Col.  John  F.  Miller,  late  United  States  Senator 
for  California.  December  i,  1863,  he  was  mustered 
in  as  Captain  of  Company  F,  same  regiment,  and 
later  was  transferred  back  to  Company  C  as  their 
Captain.  Upon  its  reorganization  as  a  veteran  regi- 
ment. Colonel  Miller  having  been  promoted,  Captain 
Gregory  was  promoted  to  be  Lieutenant  Colonel  of 
the  regiment,  upon  the  unanimous  recommendation 
of  the  officers,  and  upon  the  regiment  being  filled,  was 
mustered  in  as  Colonel,  February  25,  1865,  at  the  age 
of  twenty-two,  being  the  youngest  colonel  command- 


ing a  regiment  in  the  Union  army.  The  regiment 
was  attached  to  the  army  of  the  Cumberland.  He 
was  mustered  out  at  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  December 
10,  1865,  with  his  command,  returning  home  as  Col- 
onel of  the  regiment  in  which  he  first  enlisted  as  a 
private. 

In  1866,  with  his  brother,  he  went  to  Louisiana 
and  engaged  in  raising  cotton  for  one  year.  He  then 
returned  to  Indiana  and  engaged  for  two  years  in 
purchasing  lumber  in  the  northern  portion  of  that 
State  and  Ohio,  and  shipping  it  East.  He  then  re- 
turned to  La  Porte,  Indiana,  and  organized  the  La 
Porte  Wheel  Company  and  began  the  manufacture  of 
wagon  and  agricultural  wheels.  The  works  constitute 
the  largest  institution  of  that  city  at  the  present  time. 
During  the  two  or  three  years  he  was  connected  with 
it,hewas  Secretary,  Treasurer,and  Financial  Manager. 
His  health  having  become  seriously  im.paired,  he 
spent  about  three  years  in  teaching,  and  in  1874  came 
to  California  and  traveled  for  a  time  along  the  coast. 
In  1883  he  bought  his  present  ranch  near  Alma,  and 
is  the  proprietor  of  the  Forest  House.  He  has  no 
acres,  of  which  about  seventy-five  are  under  cultiva- 
tion. He  has  a  bearing  orchard  of  fifteen  acres,  of 
which  1,200  are  French  prunes,  the  rest  being  divided 
between  plums,  pears,  and  apple  trees  eight  years  old, 
a  few  being  thirty  years  old. 

Colonel  Gregory  was  married,  in  1864,  to  Eleanor 
M.  Matson,  a  native  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  On  her 
father's  side  she  is  a  great  granddaughter  of  General 
St.  Clair,  of  Revolutionary  fame.  They  have  had 
two  children,  of  whom  only  one,  Charles  E.  Gregory, 
is  living.  Colonel  Gregory  is  a  member  of  George 
H.  Thomas  Post,  No.  2,  G.  A.  R.,  of  San  Francisco, 
California.  Mrs.  Gregory's  mother,  Eliza  A.  Matson, 
was  a  daughter  of  Captain  McCurdy,  of  Baltimore, 
whose  wife  was  a  sister  of  Hon.  Reverdy  Johnson,  de- 
ceased, of  Baltimore,  Maryland,  once  a  member  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

Sjf)  PATRONE  ranks  among  the  men  who  came  to 
^^ys  this  State  in  1849.  He  was  born  in  Lower  Cali- 
^T  fornia,  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  September,  1835. 
His  father,  Lucas  Patrone,  was  a  native  of  Spain, 
and  his  mother  of  Mexico.  Her  name  previous  to 
marriage  was  Giriaca  Garnica.  The  subject  was 
reared  in  Lower  California  to  the  age  of  fourteen 
years,  and  at  that  early  age  left  the  place  of  his  birth 
to  come  to  the  mines  of  this  State.  He  first  went  to 
Sonoma  County,  and    about  three  months  later  to  a 


^.,.,^X     A.     ^/^^^l^L 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


633 


camp  on  McCuIlom's  River.  There  he  remained  from 
July  to  October.  He  left  the  diggings  at  that  time, 
but  in  1850  returned  to  the  mines.  He  followed  gold- 
hunting  but  three  months  more,  though  he  has  ever 
since  resided  in  California.  After  1S61  he  turned  his 
attention  to  teaming,  and  this  has  been  his  employ- 
ment most  of  the  time  since,  until  1884.  He  became 
foreman  of  Morgan  Hill's  extensive  ranch  in  1884, 
and  is  at  present  conducting  its  business  management, 
as  well  as  overseeing  the  practical  workings  of  it.  He 
is  also  largely  interested  in  hay-raising  on  his  own 
account. 

Mr.  Patrone  was  married,  August  15,  1859,  to  Miss 
Rosadio  Ceseila,  who  was  also  born  in  Lower  Califor- 
nia. They  have  six  children,  viz.:  Lucas,  Benena, 
Perfidio,  Jesus,  Giriaca,  and  Juan.  Mr.  Patrone  is  a 
Republican,  and  the  family  are  members  of  the  Cath- 
olic Church. 


||OSEPH  S.  SPAULDING.  In-no  portion  of  the 
©/  world  can  there  be  found  a  body  of  men  and 
'^  women,  the  history  of  whose  lives  contains  So 
much  of  stirring  adventure  and  heroic  bravery  as 
those  who  came  to  this  State  during  the  few  years 
immediately  following  the  discovery  of  gold  in  Cali- 
fornia. The  best  material  from  all  of  the  States  ea.st 
of  the  Missouri  River  came  here  during  those  eventful 
years  of  California's  history,  and  it  was  these  pioneers 
of  1849  to  1852  which  formed  the  nucleus  of  popula- 
tion that  has  developed  into  a  State  of  vast  resources 
and  almost  limitless  possibilities. 

Mr.  Joseph  S.  Spaulding,  who  came  to  California 
in  185  I,  is  a  native  of  Maine,  born  at  Calais,  Wash- 
ington County,  September  9,  1833.  His  father,  Jo- 
seph S.  Spaulding,  Sr.,  was  a  New  Hampshire  farmer, 
a  native  of  that  State,  and  his  mother,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Clara  Ann  Chase,  was  born  in  New  Bruns- 
wick. The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  to  farm 
life  at  the  place  of  his  birth.  Coming  to  California, 
in  a  sail-vessel,  by  the  Nicaragua  route,  he  landed  at 
San  Francisco  on  the  fourteenth  of  July.  Some  two 
months  after  his  arrival  there  he  cast  his  fortunes  with 
the  seekers  after  the  precious  metal  and  entered  the 
mines  at  Murphy's  Camp,  in  Calaveras  County. 
Eleven  months  later  he  returned  to  San  Mateo  County 
and  built  a  saw-mill  at  a  point  some  five  miles  distant 
from  the  Santa  Clara  County  line.  For  thirteen  years 
he  operated  this  mill,  mostly  on  redwood  lumber. 
He  then  sold  out  and  embarked  in  the  mercantile 
business  at  Searsville.  After  conducting  the  store  at 
80 


that  point  one  year,  he  disposed  of  his  business  and 
went  East.  Five  months  afterward,  however,  he  re- 
turned. In  1862  he  was  seized  with  a  desire  to 
visit  the  Territory  of  Idaho,  and  for  nine  months  was 
engaged  in  mining  gold  at  the  Granite  Creek  diggings. 
He  then  returned  to  Searsville.  Four  years  later  he 
came  to  Mayfield  and  purchased  the  property  known 
as  Chandler  Hotel,  on  the  corner  of  Main  and  Lin- 
coln Streets,  which  he  has  since  owned  except  for  a 
period  when  he  was  conducting  a  hotel  at  Searsville. 
Although  Mr.  Spaulding  has  not  operated  this  hotel 
all  the  time  himself  it  has  ever  been  conducted  in  a 
manner  worthy  of  the  highest  praise,  and  the  house 
therefore  has  a  better  reputation  than  any  other  be- 
tween San  Jose  and  San  Francisco.  Mr.  Spaulding 
also  carries  on  the  livery  business  and  farming.  In 
the  latter  interest  he  has  215  acres  of  land  in  Fremont 
Township,  in  two  tracts;  one  piece,  of  fifty  acres,  ad- 
joins the  great  Stanford  Ranch,  and  the  remainder 
lies  west  of  the  San  Jose  and  San  Francisco  road,  be- 
tween Mayfield  and  Mountain  View,  and  occupies  a 
commanding  position  on  the  rising  ground.  From 
this  place  a  splendid  view  is  obtained  of  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  Santa  Clara  Valley,  of  the  bay,  and  of 
the  country  and  mountains  bc\-ond,  while  Lick  Observ- 
atory is  also  plainly  visible.  His  land  is  peculiarly 
adapted  to  fruit  and  vines,  though  it  also  produces 
abundant  yields  of  grain  and  hay. 

Mr.  Spaulding  was  married,  May  24,  1S66,  to  Miss 
Eliza  Evans,  who  was  born  in  Kingston,  Canada,  and 
brought  up  in  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  and  came  to 
San  Francisco  in  1858.  The  children  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Spaulding  are:  Georgiana,  born  March  7,  1867; 
Bertie,  December  18.  1870;  Hattie,  September  29, 
1873;  ^"'^  Josie,  March  20,  1875. 


-€ 


'*f- 


fAPT.  JOSEPH  C.  MERITHEW  was  born  in 
Searsport,  Waldo  County,  Maine,  December  6, 
(0H=  1822.  His  father,  Jeremiah,  and  his  mother,  Jane 
(Clueley)  Merithew,  were  natives  of  Maine.  Jere- 
miah was  an  old  sea  captain,  and  followed  the  sea 
about  twenty-five  years.  Joseph  C,  the  subject,  lived 
in  his  native  town  until  twelve  years  old,  when  he 
went  to  sea  with  his  father;  was  with  him  about  a 
year,  and  then  went  with  another  captain,  an  old 
neighbor  of  the  family.  About  six  or  seven  years 
after  he  first  shipped  with  his  father  he  joined  the  same 
vessel  again  as  mate  (the  vessel  at  that  time  being 
commanded  by  another  captain),  making  coast  voyages 


634 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  2 HE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


between  Bangor  and  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  He 
also  made  several  voyages  to  the  West  Indies.  When 
twenty  years  of  age  he  became  master  of  this  vessel, 
the  Rambler,  and  had  command  of  her  about  two 
years.  When  twenty-three  years  old  he  became  com- 
mander of  a  bark  called  5.  Piper,  and  commanded 
her  about  four  years  in  the  New  Orleans  and  West 
India  trade,  and  with  her  made  several  voyages  to 
Europe.  He  then  sold  the  bark  and  purchased  the 
schooner  Arno,  a  ninety-five-ton  vessel,  and  sailed  in 
her  from  Searsport,  Maine,  to  San  Francisco,  by  way 
of  Cape  Horn.  It  was  a  small  vessel  for  such  a  jour- 
ney. He  made  the  trip  in  1849,  and  arrived  in  San 
Francisco  in  May,  1850.  He  ran  her  from  San  Fran- 
cisco to  Sacramento  for  one  year,  and  then  made  one 
voyage  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  going  there  for  a 
cargo  of  potatoes  for  the  San  Francisco  market.  He 
then  run  her  between  San  Francisco  and  Humboldt 
Bay  for  a  while.  In  1852  he  bought  the  brig  Sarah 
McFarland,  and  took  command  of  her,  still  owning 
an  interest  in  the  Arno.  He  run  the  Sarah  McFarland 
about  a  year,  and  came  ashore,  still  retaining  his  in- 
terests in  the  vessels,  which  he  disposed  of  in  1855. 
He  then  went  to  Trinidad,  Klamath  County,  Califor- 
nia, a  seaport  on  the  northern  California  coast.  There 
he  went  into  the  general  merchandise  business,  and 
was  also  interested  in  a  mine  at  Gold  Bluff;  was  there 
about  three  years,  when  he  sold  out  and  returned  to 
San  Francisco  and  bought  a  small  schooner,  and  went 
on  a  trading  voyage  to  Oregon,  making  two  voyages. 
He  then  went  into  the  mercantile  business  in  Solano 
County,  also  dealing  in  grain  and  lumber.  Here  he 
remained  about  eight  years  (at  Maine  Prairie),  when 
he  leased  his  business  and  went  on  a  voyage  to  John- 
son's Island,  about  1,500  miles  southwest  of  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  his  main  object  in  going  being  to  ex- 
plore the  island  for  guano,  a  fertilizer,  he  being  con- 
nected at  the  time  with  the  San  Francisco  Pacific 
Guano  Company.  The  captain  explored  the  island 
and  made  his  report,  and  the  guano  was  shipped  to 
England.  Afterward  he  made  another  trading  voyage 
in  the  schooner  John  Bright,  an  American-built  ves- 
sel sailing  under  the  Sandwich  Islands  flag.  This 
voyage  was  made  to  the  Society  and  the  Ellis  group 
of  islands,  and  occupied  ten  months.  He  brought  his 
return  cargo  to  San  Francisco,  which  was  his  last  trip 
at  sea.  Before  taking  this  last  voyage  he  purchased, 
in  1887,  his  present  property  in  Santa  Clara  County. 
Soon  after  he  left  his  family  came  on  the  place.  When 
he  lived  in  Solano  County  he  built  three  sailing  ves- 
sels and  a  steamer,  and    some  of  them   are  now  run- 


ning on  this  coast.  He  has  fifty  acres,  of  which  forty 
acres,  containing  36,000  vines,  are  fourteen  years  old. 
The  remainder  is  in  orchard,  mostly  walnuts,  almonds, 
and  prunes.  Captain  Merithew  makes  about  6,000 
gallons  of  wine  annually. 

He  was  married,  in  1845,  to  Sarah  A.  Black,  a  na- 
tive of  Prospect,  Maine.  She  has  made  many  sea 
voyages  with  her  husband,  but  did  not  make  the  last 
trip  with  him  around  Cape  Horn.  She  came  to  Cali- 
fornia in  1851,  by  way  of  Panama.  They  have  three 
children,  viz.:  Charles  H.,  who  is  bookkeeper  in  the 
Union  Iron  Works,  San  Francisco  ;  Sarah  J.,  wife  of 
Norman  Dunbar,  master  of  the  ship  William  McGil- 
vrey,  engaged  in  the  foreign  trade,  and  Frederick  W., 
who  resides  with  his  parents. 


-€^^^- 


g)f 


HOMAS  BODLEY,  the  present  City  Clerk  and 
Assessor  of  San  Jose,  is  a  native  of  Santa  Clara 
County,  having  been  born  in  San  Jose,  in  i860. 
Mr.  Bodley's  father,  Thomas  Bodley,  Sr.,  was,  at 
the  time  of  his  death,  in  1878,  one  of  the  best  known 
and  most  highly  respected  citizens  of  Santa  Clara 
County.  He  was  born  in  Kentucky,  March  19,  1821; 
studied  law  in  the  ofifice  of  Sargeant  S.  Prentice,  in 
Louisville,  and  after  being  admitted  to  the  bar  there 
removed  to  New  Orleans,  where  he  attached  himself 
to  the  Commissary  Department  of  the  United  States 
army.  He  then  went  to  Mexico  with  the  army,  un- 
der General  Taylor,  and  remained  until  the  conclu- 
sion of  peace,  taking  part  in  one  of  the  battles  fought 
previous  to  the  taking  of  the  City  of  Mexico,  in  which 
engagement  he  was  wounded.  After  the  close  of  the 
war  he  returned  to  New  Orleans,  and  from  thence 
came  to  San  Jose,  in  1849.  Upon  his  arrival  here  he 
was  appointed  Under  Sheriff  by  William  McCutchen, 
the  first  Sheriff  of  Santa  Clara  County,  and  later 
filled  the  same  position  with  P.  T.  McCabe,  during 
the  latter's  term  of  service  as  Sheriff  of  the  county. 
After  this  he  entered  upon  the  practice  of  law,  in 
which  he  continued  to  the  time  of  his  death.  In  1854 
he  was  elected  to  the  State  Legislature,  representing 
his  district  during  the  term  following  that  election.  In 
1875  he  was  elected  District  Attorney,  serving  one 
term;  he  was  also  a  member  of  the  city  government  at 
an  early  day. 

He  was  married,  in  1856,  to  Miss  Julia  McCabe, 
daughter  of  ex-Sheriff  P.  T.  McCabe,  who  came  to 
California  from  Missouri,  her  native  State,  with  her 
parents  in    1849.     Mr.  McCabe  is  still    living  (1888), 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


635 


aged  about  eighty-five  years.  Mr.  Bodley,  Sr.,  was  a 
member  of  San  Jose  Lodge,  No.  lo,  F.  &  A.  M.,  also 
of  Howard  Chapter,  No.  14,  Knights  Templar.  He 
was  well  known  throughout  the  county  as  a  public- 
spirited  man,  a  prominent  member  of  his  profession, 
and  a  representative  of  the  best  American  institutions. 

Thomas  Bodley,  Jr.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
educated  in  San  Jose,  attending  the  High  School  until 
his  father's  death,  when  he  became  Clerk  of  the  police 
court,  under  Judge  Buckner,  and  later  appointed 
Deputy  County  Treasurer  under  W.  A.  January.  In 
1883  he  was  appointed  Deputy  County  Clerk  under 
County  Clerk  W.  H.  Owens,  and  continued  in  that  po- 
sition for  two  years.  In  April,  1885,  he  was  elected 
City  Assessor  and  Clerk,  and  re-elected  in  1887,  being 
nominated  on  the  three  tickets  then  in  the  field. 

In  1884  he  was  married  to  Miss  Grace  Downey,  of 
Nevada  County,  California,  a  native  of  this  State, 
whose  parents  had  emigrated  to  California  from  Ohio 
in  1849.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bodley  have  one  daughter, 
Grace. 

Mr.  Bodley  is  a  member  of  Friendship  Lodge,  No. 
210,  F.  &  A.  M.;  of  Enterprise  Lodge,  No.  17,  A.  O. 
U.  W.,  in  which  he  is  Past  Master;  he  is  also  the  first 
President  of  Palo  Alto  Parlor,  No.  82,  Native  Sons  of 
the  Golden  West.  In  politics  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Democratic  party.  Mr.  Bodley  has  two  sisters  and 
one  brother:  Julia,  now  Deputy  County  Clerk  and 
Assessor  ;  Effie  and  William,  now  in  the  real-estate 
office  of  J.  E.  Rucker  &  Son,  of  San  Jose. 


3||lCTOR  BASSIGNANO,  dealer  in  cigars  and 
^^  tobacco  in  Gilroy,  was  born  in  France,  Septem- 
/gT  ber,  1840,  his  parents  being  August  and  Eliza- 
bL-th  Bassignano.  When  nine  years  of  age  iiis 
parents  came  to  America  and  located  at  Sonoma, 
California,  in  1850,  and  thence  to  Napa  in  1853. 
Upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  late  Civil  War  he  en- 
listed in  Company  E,  First  California  Infantry,  and 
was  elected  Quartermaster  Sergeant.  The  regiment 
went  to  Oregon  and  was  there  engaged  in  fighting  In- 
dians, after  which  they  were  sent  to  Arizona,  and  there 
he  entered  the  First  California  Cavalry  and  was  again 
engaged  in  fighting  Indians  until  the  close  of  the  war. 
He  acquired  the  English  language  while  in  the  army. 
Upon  being  mustered  out  he  returned  to  California 
and  located  at  Napa,  where  he  remained  until  1871, 
when  he  came  to  Gilroy  and  was  employed  by  Henry 
Miller  for  about  three  years  on  his  ranch.     He  then 


located  in  Gilroy  and  engaged  in  the  grocery  business, 
which  he  subsequently  abandoned  and  began  the 
manufacture  of  cigars.  He  has  now  given  up  the 
manufacturing  department,  but  still  carries  on  the  sale 
of  tobacco  and  cigars.  He  was  married,  in  Gilroy,  in 
1875,  and  has  one  child,  Florence.  He  is  a  promi- 
nent member  of  the  Kniglits  of  Pythias  and  the  pres- 
ent Treasurer  of  Bloomfieltl  Lodge,  No.  10;  a  member 
of  San  Jose  Division,  No.  8,  Uniform  Rank,  K.  of  P.; 
member  of  A.  O.  U.  W.;  the  Financier  of  Gilroy 
Lodge,  No.  26,  and  a  member  of  the  Guarantee  Fund, 
A.  O.  U.  W.  Was  a  charter  member  to  all  the 
Lodges  to  which  he  belongs. 

^ 

MILEXANDER  COIL,  born  in  Oneida  County, 
(3^P>  New  York,   June    2,    1830.     His   parents,  Mar- 

tmaduke  and  Mary  (Winlock)  Coil,  were  of 
Scotch  descent,  both  of  whom  died  before  Alex- 
ander was  more  than  ten  years  old.  This  left  a  family 
of  four  children  to  do  the  best  they  could  for  them- 
selves. Alexander  lived  in  the  neighborhood  until  he 
was  fifteen  years  old,  when  he  went  into  Herkimer 
County,  where  he  stayed  two  years  and  a  half,  and 
from  there  he  went  into  Alleghany  County,  and  at- 
tended the  Alfred  Academy  for  two  years  and  a  half 
In  1849  he,  with  another  man,  took  a  threshing- 
machine  from  New  York  into  Wisconsin,  and  followed 
the  business  there  until  fall,  when  they  moved  it  into 
Illinois  and  worked  at  threshing  in  that  State  for  a 
while.  In  the  spring  of  1850  he  started  across  the 
plains  for  Oregon.  He  joined  a  party  of  about  thirty 
wagons  at  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  who  started  together  with 
their  families,  but  before  the  journey  was  completed 
they  dropped  off  and  scattered  in  different  directions, 
so  that  only  about  five  wagons  went  into  Oregon, 
after  being  on  the  road  about  five  months.  Mr.  Coil 
remained  in  Oregon  that  winter,  and  the  next  spring 
struck  out  for  the  mines  on  the  Klamath  River,  where 
Yreka  now  stands.  He  remained  in  that  locality  until 
the  winter  of  1852-53,  when  he  started  from  the 
Sailor  Diggings,  in  Jackson  County,  to  the  coast.  A 
party  of  twelve  persons  was  made  up,  which  was  the 
first  company  that  made  the  trip  successfully,  on  ac- 
count of  the  Indians  being  so  troublesome.  After  a 
severe  trip,  meeting  with  many  hardships,  eleven  of 
the  party  got  safely  through,  where  seven  of  them 
stayed  that  winter,  while  the  others  went  down  the 
coast  to  Humboldt  Bay.  Mr.  Coil  remained  with 
those  who  stayed,  and  while  spending  their  time  there 
that  winter  their  provisions  gave  out,  and  for  six  weeks 


636 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


they  had  to  Hve  on  elk  meat.  They  were  also  short 
of  ammunition,  vvliich  they  had  to  keep  in  reserve  to 
protect  themselves  from  the  Indians  who  were  molest- 
ing them  at  different  intervals.  Finally  a  schooner 
landed  where  they  were,  and  left  them  with  provisions, 
and  thus  relieved  them  of  their  monotonous  diet  of 
elk  meat.  This  encampment  was  the  first  starting  of 
the  town  of  Crescent  City,  Del  Norte  County,  Oregon. 
Mr.  Coil  remained  in  that  locality  about  five  years, 
trying  to  get  the  country  settled  up.  He  was  doing  a 
little  of  everything,  part  of  the  time  farming,  together 
with  fighting  Indians.  From  there  he  went  to  the 
Sacramento  Valley,  California,  where  he  had  a  brother, 
and  stayed  there  two  years  in  the  stock  business.  He 
then  went  to  the  Nevada  and  Reise  Rivers,  in  Nevada 
County,  and  spent  two  years  prospecting,  mining,  and 
teaming.  From  there  he  went  back  to  Humboldt 
Bay,  and  went  into  the  mountains,  where  he  bought 
about  2,900  acres,  on  Eel  River,  and  went  into  the 
sheep  business.  He  had  an  average  of  3,000  sheep  dur- 
ing his  residence  there  of  twelve  years,  which  proved 
to  be  a  profitable  business.  He  sold  his  ranch  in  the 
mountains,  moved  to  this  valley,  and  bought  his  pres- 
ent place  in  1884,  consisting  of  fifty  acres  of  choice 
land.  It  was  at  that  time  nearly  all  grain  land,  with 
only  five  acres  set  out  in  trees.  At  the  present  time 
he  has  twenty-five  acres  in  orchard,  of  which  500  trees 
are  five  years  old,  and  2,000  four  years  old.  In  1885 
he  built  his  fine  residence,  which,  together  with  other 
improvements  put  on  the  place,  makes  it  one  of  the 
finest  in  the  valley. 

Mr.  Coil  was  married,  February  26,  1871,  to  Pris- 
cilla  W.  Grant,  a  native  of  New  York,  who,  with  her 
parents,  in  1851  came  across  the  plains  to  California 
when  she  was  five  months  old.  Her  father's  name 
was  Bunnel  P.  Grant.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Coil  have  one 
daughter,  Olive  L.  Coil,  who  was  born  in  Humboldt, 
September  16,  1876. 


»DOLPH  GREENINGER,  proprietor  of  the 
s-F>  Globe  Carriage  Factory,  32  to  36  San  Fernando 
W'  Street,  San  Jose,  has  been  a  resident  of  Califor- 
*  nia since  1864,  and  of  San  Jose  since  1865.  He 
was  born  in  1842,  in  Wirtemburg,  Germany,  of  which 
place  his  parents,  Joachim  and  Katrina  (Heim)  Green- 
inger,  were  also  natives.  His  father  died  in  Germany 
in  1876,  and  his  mother  in  Philadalphia  in  1880.  His 
brother,  Mathcus  Greeninger,  is  one  of  the  professors 
of  the  gymnasium  in  Reutlingen,  and  has  been  identi- 


fied, since  his  graduation  at  the  University  of  Heidel- 
berg, with  the  cause  of  education,  having  taught  since 
that  time  in  the  schools  and  colleges  of  various  cities 
of  Germany.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  attended  the 
schools  in  Reutlingen,  and  also  the  gymnasium.  He 
then  learned  the  trade  of  carriage  painting  in  Reut- 
lingen, and  left  home  for  America  in  1859.  He 
worked  at  his  trade  in  Baltimore  two  years,  in  Wash- 
ington eighteen  months,  and  in  New  York  for  one 
year,  with  Park  &  Brewster,the  celebrated  buggy  and 
carriage  manufacturers.  In  1864  he  came  to  Califor- 
nia, working  for  one  year  at  his  trade  in  San  Fran- 
cisco. In  1865  he  established  himself  in  business  in 
San  Jose,  where  he  added  to  his  branch  that  of  car- 
riage and  wagon-making,  blacksmithing,  and  all  the 
requisites  of  a  first-class  establishment  of  that  kind. 
For  about  sixteen  years  he  was  associated  in  the  car- 
riage business  with  Hugh  Young,  purchasing  Mr. 
Young's  interest  in  1887.  He  owns  the  property  on 
which  his  business  is  carried  on,  as  well  as  his  home 
and  other  real  estate.  He  at  one  time  associated 
himself  with  his  brother,  Frederick  W.,  in  the  tanning 
business,  but  that  not  proving  a  financial  success  he 
closed  it.  He  is  now  interested  in  the  stock  business, 
and  a  ranch  in  Tulare  County.  Mr.  Greeninger  has 
always  been  a  consistent  Republican,  but  a  man  of 
very  liberal  and  broad-gauge  views.  The  esteem  in 
which  he  is  held  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  he  now 
represents  a  Democratic  district,  and  has  done  so 
several  times  in  the  City  Council,  receiving  a  large 
majority  over  the  others  on  the  ticket.  Coming  to 
San  Jose  practically  without  means,  he  has  by  hard 
work,  untiring  energy,  perseverance,  and  strictly 
square  dealing,  achieved  an  enviable  position  finan- 
cially, politically,  and  socially. 

On  his  arrival  in  San  Jose  he  joined  the  fire  de- 
partment and  remained  as  long  as  the  force  was  a 
volunteer  one,  occupying  the  different  positions  up  to 
that  of  President  of  the  Board  of  Delegates.  Has 
been  a  member  of  the  City  Council  for  six  years, 
having  been  re-elected  three  times.  He  was  elected 
in  1884  a  member  of  the  County  Board  of  Super- 
visors, which  place  he  still  holds.  He  is  a  member 
and  Past  Master  of  Mount  Hamilton  Lodge,  of  A.O. 
U.  W.,  and  member  of  the  San  Jose  Turn  Verein,  of 
which  organization  he  has  been  several  times  Presi- 
dent. 

He  was  married,  in  1866,  to  Miss  Maggie  Noonan, 
a  native  of  Pennsylvania.  They  have  five  living 
children:  Adolph,  Katie,  Minnie,  Lewis,  and  Reuben. 
An  elder  daughter,  Ellen,  died  in  1886. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


637 


M  P.  TAYLOR,  deceased,  came  to  Santa  Clara 
^  County  in  1853,  then  in  the  possession  of  that 
J^  vigorous  health  that  belongs  to  young  manhood; 
with  laudable  ambition  he  commenced  the  work 
of  improvement  and  building  up,  which  was  contin- 
ued through  a  life  devoted  to  the  best  interests  of  his 
neighborhood  and  the  country  at  large. 

A  brief  review  of  his  personal  history  gives  the 
following  facts:  He  was  born  at  Greenburg,  Green 
County,  Kentucky,  May  4,  1826,  and  there  resided 
until  he  was  about  twelve  years  of  age.  The  family 
then  removed  to  Jackson  County,  Missouri,  and  sev- 
eral years  later  to  Pleasant  Hill,  Cass  County,  same 
State.  From  that  place,  on  the  fourteenth  of  April, 
1853,  Mr.  Taylor  started  on  the  overland  trip  to  Cal- 
ifornia, coming  directly  to  Santa  Clara  County.  A 
few  months  later  he  could  have  been  found  employed 
in  the  redwoods  of  San  Mateo  County,  whence  he 
returned,  after  about  one  year  devoted  to  that  labor, 
to  this  county,  and  spent  several  years  in  farming  on 
Adobe  Creek,  in  Fremont  Township.  In  i860  he 
established  himself  at  Mountain  View,  and  there  be- 
gan an  active  business  career.  He  was  soon  interested 
in  several  branches,  conducting  a  general  merchandise 
store,  besides  engaging  in  farming  and  butchering. 
He  afterwards  sold  his  farm  property,  and  purchased 
the  Mountain  View  Hotel,  which  is  yet  owned  and 
conducted  by  the  family.  The  merchandise  business 
was  successfully  conducted  by  him  the  rest  of  his  life, 
and  was  closed  out  after  his  death.  For  ten  years  he 
was  the  village  Postmaster,  served  some  years  as  No- 
tary Public,  and  for  several  years  was  the  agent  for 
the  Wells,  Fargo  &  Co.  Express. 

In  Missouri,  about  thirteen  months  before  coming 
to  this  State,  he  wedded  Miss  Letitia  Kifer.  The 
date  of  this  marriage  was  March  2,  1852.  Six 
children  were  born  of  this  union,  viz.:  Mary  A.,  born 
in  Missouri,  December  27,  1852;  Samuel  A.,  May  23, 
1855;  Clara  E.,  September  25,  1857;  John  A.,  No- 
vember I,  i860;  Lucy  B.,  September  12,  1863;  and 
George  G.,  September  5,  1867.  Death  has  taken  out 
of  the  circle  two  of  the  brightest  jewels — Clara  E., 
who  died  June  3,  1S86,  and  Mary  A.,  January  16, 
1888.  The  latter  was  a  graduate  of  the  University 
of  the  Pacific  and  of  the  Normal  School  at  San  Jose. 
She  was  a  thorough,  practical  educator.  She  taught 
for  twelve  years,  uninterruptedly  and  very  success- 
fully, in  her  home  district  school.  Her  death  was 
mourned  by  the  whole  community,  and  by  none  more 
sincerely  than  by  her  loved  pupils.  John  A.  Taylor 
married  Miss  Flora  E.  Hadley,  and  makes  his  home 


in  San  Francisco.  The  other  members  of  the  family 
are  residing  at  the  old  home,  the  Mountain  View 
Hotel. 

In  the  death  of  Mr.  S.  P.  Taylor,  which  occurred 
December  14,  1877,  the  community  lost  one  of  its 
most  valued  members.  In  all  the  relations  of  life,  as 
husband,  father,  neighbor,  and  citizen,  he  was  the  true 
man — in  all  dealings  just,  in  all  worthy  enterprises 
among  those  at  the  front,  in  all  good  work  liberal 
with  time  and  money.  He  was  politically  a  strong 
Union  man,  and  stalwart  in  his  devotion  to  the  Re- 
publican party.  Attached  to  the  principles  of  the 
Ancient  and  Honorable  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  he 
was  one  of  the  charter  members  of  Mountain  View 
Lodge,  No.  244. 

Under  the  present  management  of  Mrs.  S.  P.  Tay- 
lor and  her  son,  Samuel  A.  Taylor,  the  Mountain 
View  Hotel  is  held  up  to  its  old-time  standard  of  ex- 
cellence. The  main  building  was  erected  in  1869, 
and  in  1885  an  addition  was  built,  giving  in  all  to  the 
hotel  twenty-five  sleeping-rooms.  The  office,  dining^ 
hall  and  parlor  are  large,  airy,  and  comfortable  rooms, 
and  the  general  appearance  of  the  property  is  quite 
attractive,  while  the  accommodations  are  first-class. 

Samuel  A.  Taylor,  the  genial  host  and  manager, 
was  born  on  his  father's  farm  in  this  county,  and  was 
educated  in  the  Mountain  View  school.  He  entered  his 
father's  mercantile  establishment  at  seventeen  years 
of  age,  and  there  acquired  a  good  business  education, 
which  thoroughly  qualified  him  for  his  present  posi- 
tion. Like  his  father,  he  is  much  interested  in  public 
affairs,  and  like  him,  a  strong  advocate  of  the  princi- 
ples of  the  Republican  party.  Was  initiated  into 
Mountain  View  Lodge,  No.  244,  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows,  June  2,  1876,  upon  the  institution  of 
the  Lodge;  is  a  Past  Grand,  and  has  represented  his 
Lodge  at  three  sessions  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the 
State.  In  May,  1887,  at  the  session  of  Grand  Lodge, 
was  elected  District  Deputy  Grand  Master  of  his 
district  for  the  space  of  one  year,  which  office  he 
filled  in  a  creditable  manner. 

^^^ 


liOHN  WESLEY  BOULWARE  has  a  ranch  of 
^  100  acres,  in  Fremont  Township,  which  shows 
^  the  capabilities  of  the  land  in  this  vicinity  when 
intelligently  managed.  It  is  located  about  three  miles 
from  Mayfield  by  the  roads,  though  the  actual  dis- 
tance is  considerably  less.  Much  the  greater  portion 
of  the  acreage   is  cut   for  hay,  which   is  made  from 


638 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


wheat,  barley,  and  wild  oats,  and  an  average  crop  is 
about  three  tons  to  the  acre.  He  formerly  manu- 
factured butter  quite  extensively,  but  went  out  of 
dairying  in  1885.  In  1887  Mr.  Boulware  planted  ten 
acres  of  strawberries,  putting  onions  between  the 
rows.  He  had  the  honor  of  getting  the  first  straw- 
berries into  the  San  Francisco  market  in  1888,  send- 
ing them  in  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  March.  The 
strawberries  yielded  the  first  year  $45  per  acre,  while 
the  onions  on  the  same  ground  turned  out  between 
$50  and  $75  worth  per  acre.  He  found  a  ready  local 
market  for  all  his  berries  except  the  first  pickings. 
It  is  his  intention  to  add  between  five  and  six  acres 
of  strawberries  per  year.  In  1889  he  will  probably 
plant  also  twenty  acres  of  fruit  trees,  principally 
prunes,  with  some  apricots  and  peaches.  Water  for 
irrigation  is  supplied  by  an  artesian  well  160  feet 
deep,  with  seven-inch  casing,  which  forces  the  water 
three  inches  above  the  top  of  the  pipe,  and  flows  be- 
tween 200  and  300 gallons  per  minute.  When  bored, 
in  November,  18S7,  the  artesian  measure  was  but  two 
and  one-half  inches,  from  which  it  has  gradually  in- 
creased to  its  present  force. 

Mr.  Boulware  usually  has  from  eight  to  twelve  head 
of  horses,  all  fine  stock.  His  stallion,  "  Elmo,  Jr.,"  is 
by  Henry  Seal's  famous  "  Elmo."  As  long  ago  as 
1852  he  brought  here  a  thoroughbred  Kentucky  mare, 
and  he  has  been  breeding  from  that  stock  ever  since. 

Mr.  Boulware  was  born  in  Estill  County,  Kentucky, 
at  Red  River  Iron  Works,  June  5,  1830,  where  he  re- 
sided until  he  attained  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  when 
he  accompanied  his  parents  to  Jackson  County,  Mis- 
souri, there  receiving  his  education,  first  in  the  com- 
mon schools,  and  afterward  one  term  in  the  Pleasant 
Hill  Academy,  Cass  County.  His  scholastic  training 
ended,  Mr.  Boulware  entered  the  lumber  trade,  and 
continued  in  it  until  he  started  for  California.  May 
4,  1852,  he  commenced  the  weary  journey  across  the 
plains  with  ox  teams  and  a  herd  of  cattle,  in  com- 
pany with  Lindsey  Lewis,  his  father-in-law,  and  ar- 
rived in  Santa  Clara  County  October  2  of  the  same 
year,  locating  on  the  precise  spot  on  which  he  now 
resides,  but  did  not  settle  there  then,  for  after  two 
months  he  removed  to  Mountain  View;  at  the  end  of 
two  years  he  proceded  to  Calaveras  Valley,  w  here  he 
farmed  until  1861,  and  then  came  to  his  present  place, 
where  he  has  since  dwelt.  He  is  one  of  the  many 
successful  farmers  of  the  Santa  Clara  Valley,  while 
as  a  proof  of  his  sterling  worth  it  is  sufficient  to  re- 
mark that  besides  being  a  School  Trustee  for  many 
years,  he  was  elected,  in   1872,  to  serve  four  years  on 


the  Board  of  Supervisors  of  Santa  Clara  County. 
He  was  married,  in  Jackson  County,  Missouri,  Jan- 
uary I,  1852,  to  Louisa  Lewis,  and  has:  J.  A.,  born 
April  24,  1853;  M.  A.,  February  22,  1856;  Permelia  R., 
January  31,  1858;  and  Louisa  Jane,  October  5,  i860. 


-->->->¥> 


MiARON  DENNIS,  residing  on  Curtner  Avenue 
S^tS)  between  Lincoln  and  Plummer  Avenues,  owns 

tten  acres  of  land,  all  of  which  is  devoted  to  fruit 
culture,  all  but  two  acres  being  in  full  bear- 
ing. The  orchard  furnishes  cherries,  peaches,  prunes, 
and  plums.  Mr.  Dennis  bought  the  property  in  1879, 
and  commenced  its  improvement  from  a  state  of 
nature  the  following  year.  He  gathered  the  first  fruits 
of  his  labors  in  1884.  In  August  of  that  year  he 
erected  the  residence  which  he  has  since  made  his 
home. 

Mr.  Dennis  was  born  in  Knox  County,  Ohio,  Jan- 
uary 10,  1845,  the  son  of  Allen  and  Catharine  Dennis. 
His  father  wes  a  native  of  New  York,  and  his  mother 
of  Pennsylvania.  Allen  Dennis  was  an  old  Jackson 
Democrat,  and  a  man  whose  sterling  worth  was  his 
chief  characteristic.  Both  father  and  mother  died  at 
a  ripe  old  age,  on  the  farm  in  Knox  County  where 
Aaron  spent  his  boyhood  years.  He  is  the  eldest  of 
four  children  now  living.  His  sisters  are  both  resi- 
dents of  Illinois,  Mrs.  Abbie  Atkinson  making  her 
home  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State,  while  Mrs. 
Annie  Nichols  lives  in  Kankakee.  Mr.  Dennis'  brother 
William  is  engaged  in  railroad  business  in  Idaho. 

But  to  return  to  Mr.  Dennis'  early  life.  Although 
but  a  youth,  he  served  four  months  in  the  War  of  the 
Rebellion,  in  Company  H,  I42d  Ohio  Volunteer  In- 
fantry. He  first  visited  California  in  November,  1872. 
He  remained  but  a  few  months,  and,  after  spending  a 
short  time  in  Nevada,  returned  to  Illinois,  where  he 
had  been  engaged  for  several  years  on  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad,  but  having  seen  California  he  was 
conquered,  and,  with  a  view  of  making  it  his  future 
home,  he  returned  in  the  autumn  of  1874.  He  spent 
some  months  in  Southern  California,  on  a  ranch  which 
was  located  between  Los  Angeles  and  Santa  Monica, 
twelve  miles  from  the  former  city.  He  came  to  San 
Jose  in  July,  1875,  and  during  that  season  he  held  the 
responsible  position  of  station  agent  and  operator  at 
Black's  Station,  in  Yolo  County.  As  stated  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  sketch,  he  bought  property  in  Santa 
Clara  County,  in  1879,  and  has  since  made  the  Wil- 
lows his  home. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


639 


While  on  his  first  visit  to  California  he  married, 
February  25,  1873,  Frances  E.  Dent,  daughter  of  R. 
E.  Dent,  whose  history  appears  elsewhere  in  this 
volume.  Mrs.  Dennis  is  a  native  of  Marshall  County, 
Illinois,  where  she  was  born  March  18,  1847.  She 
came  to  this  county  with  her  parents  two  years  pre- 
vious to  her  marriaoje. 

Mr.  Dennis'  reputation  for  honesty  and  fair  dealing 
is  well  deserved,  as  is  his  success  in  horticulture,  which 
is  insured  by  his  careful,  painstaking  cultivation  of  his 
land.  As  in  other  work  in  which  he  has  engaged,  he 
has  won  success  by  attention  to  detail.  True  to  the 
teachings  of  his  father,  Mr.  Dennis  adheres  to  the 
Democratic  party. 


PULES  MERCIER,  one  of  the  enterprising  men 
of  Fremont  Township,  is  a  native  of  France,  born 
^  near  Bordeaux,  February  12,  1833,  his  parents 
being  Francois  and  Pauline  (Lefon)  Mercier.  He  was 
reared  at  his  native  place  until  he  arrived  at  an  age 
suitable  to  shift  for  himself  When  in  his  eleventh 
year,  he  shipped  aboard  one  of  the  coast  fishing  ves- 
sels, and  thus  commenced  a  nautical  career.  He 
followed  sea  life  until  1849,  when,  attracted  by  the 
wonderful  discoveries  of  gold  on  the  Pacific  Coast  of 
North  America,  he  decided  to  come  to  California  and 
try  his  fortune  in  the  New  El  Dorado.  He  sailed 
from  Bordeaux  in  the  ship  Success,  made  the  long 
voyage  around  Cape  Horn,  and  arrived  in  San  Fran- 
cisco after  the  winter  season  had  commenced.  He 
remained  in  the  city  about  six  months,  then  returned 
to  France.  In  1852,  however,  he  came  back  to  San 
Francisco,  and  six  months  after  his  arrival  went  into 
the  mines  at  Calaveras,  San  Andreas  (now  Stockton). 
He  followed  mining  for  six  months,  then  returned  to 
San  Francisco,  and  for  eight  years  commanded  a 
vessel  in  the  bay  and  coast  trade.  In  1864  he  bought 
land  where  he  now  resides,  moved  upon  it  in  July, 
and  set  about  making  improvements.  Everything 
about  the  place  is  the  result  of  his  labors  in  this  direc- 
tion, as  the  tract  was  mostly  covered  with  chaparral 
when  he  took  possession  of  it.  His  present  handsome 
residence  was  erected  in  1880.  With  the  buildings 
adjoining,  it  cost  more  than  $6,000.  Many  orna- 
mental trees,  set  out  by  Mr.  Mercier,  add  to  the  nat- 
ural beauty  of  the  place.  He  has  loi  acres  of  land, 
of  which  68  acres  are  rented  out,  and  this  produces 
120  tons  of  hay  on  an  average.  He  has  about  half  an 
acre  of  old  grapes,  and  about  250  vines  set  out  in  1886, 
and  the  two  succeeding  years. 


Mr.  Mercier  was  married,  at  San  Francisco,  in  1858, 
to  Miss  Adelina  Ponce,  a  native  of  France.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  French  Hospital  Association  of  San 
Francisco.     In  politics  he  is  an  Independent. 


MiANIEL  MURPHY  was  born  in  Ireland  Septem- 
<^  ber  29,  1824.  He  lived  there  until  he  was 
J^^  twenty-five  years  old,  when  he  emigrated  to  the 
United  States,  landing  in  Boston  on  the  eight- 
eenth of  June,  1849.  He  was  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Fall  River,  and  worked  in  a  brickyard  at  Potterville, 
making  brick  and  crockery.  In  1853  he  came  to  Cal- 
ifornia and  landed  in  San  Francisco  in  October  of 
that  year.  He  went  up  into  the  mines  on  Eraser 
River,  in  British  Columbia,  where  he  remained  until 
1858,  until  the  gold  excitement  abated.  He  remained 
around  there  until  Christmas,  and  left  Victoria  on 
New  Year's  day  for  San  Francisco.  He  was  married 
there  to  Mrs.  Mary  (Farley)  Sullivan,  a  native  of 
Ireland,  and  made  his  home  in  the  city  until  the  spring 
of  1866.  He  then  went  to  Banix  City,  Idaho,  where 
he  worked  in  the  mines.  In  September,  1867,  he  re- 
turned to  San  Francisco,  and  in  the  latter  part  of 
January,  1868,  came  to  Santa  Clara  County.  He 
went  on  the  farm  where  he  now  lives,  first  hired  out 
to  Mr.  Sullivan,  who  owned  the  property,  and  later 
rented  over  two  hundred  acres  of  it,  where  he  has  lived 
for  more  than  twenty  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Murphy 
have  four  children:  Mary,  Dennis,  Jerry,  and  Dan. 
They  have  also  lo>t  one  daughter,  wlio  died  in  infancy. 


—- -## 


fflpiLLIAM  ERKSON,  dealer  in  groceries  and 
(sai^  provisions,  and  commission  merchant,  Nos.  68 
gj  and  70  Santa  Clara  Street,  San  Jose,  has  been 
a  resident  of  California,  and  the  Santa  Clara  Valley, 
since  1852.  Born  in  New  York  State,  in  Bovina, 
Delaware  County,  in  1829,  he  was  there  educated, 
graduating  at  the  Hobart  Seminary  in  1847;  followed 
the  profession  of  school-teaching  for  several  years; 
then  went  to  Schenectady,  devoting  two  years  to  an 
apprenticeship  in  mercantile  life,  after  which  he 
started  West,  intending  to  reach  St.  Louis,  but  stopped 
in  Paris,  Illinois,  where  he  taught  scliool  for  one  year- 
In  the  spring  of  1852  he  started  with  a  party  for  Cali- 
fornia, crossing  the  plains  in  the  orthodox  way,  with 
this  addition:  that  while  they  had  ox  teams  and 
wagons  for  transportation,  they  used  saddle-horses  to 


640 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.' 


carry  themselves.  After  reaching  a  distance  out  on 
the  plains,  they  were  joined  by  a  number  of  small 
parties,  forming  one  large  emigrant  train,  of  which 
Mr.  Erkson  was  elected  captain.  After  the  usual 
incidents  of  such  a  trip  they  arrived  in  Sacramento 
in  September.  He  had  some  mining  experience  that 
fall,  as  well  as  about  two  years  later,  with  the  usual 
varying  success  of  miners  and  mining  operations, 
meanwhile  making  his  home  in  Santa  Clara  Valley. 
In  1857  he  purchased  a  farm  of  200  acres,  five  miles 
from  San  Jose,  of  which  he  still  holds  140  acres.  He 
has  now  planted  on  this  place  ten  acres  of  prunes,  in 
partial  bearing.  Mr.  Erkson  has  devoted  much  of 
this  place,  and  his  time,  to  growing  strawberries  and 
other  small  fruits,  cultivating  at  one  time  as  high  as 
forty  acres  of  strawberries.  He  is  still  in  that  line  of 
cultivation  to  some  extent,  having  now  about  ten 
acres  in  strawberries,  ten  acres  in  asparagus,  and  four 
acres  in  raspberries. 

Mr.  Erkson's  son,  William  L.,  attends  to  the  ranch. 
Mr.  Erkson  has  always  taken  an  active  interest  in 
the  various  political  questions  which  have  agitated 
the  country,  especially  those  occurring  between  1856 
and  1S70.  He  was  originally  a  Whig,  but  took  an 
active  part  in  organizing  the  Republican  party  in 
California,  and  has  been  prominent  in  its  councils  in 
this  State.  He  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  first 
Republican  State  Convention  in  California,  which  met 
in  Sacramento  in  the  spring  of  1856,  and  voiced  the 
sentiment  of  the  men  and  women  on  this  coast  who 
would  put  a  limit  to  the  spread  of  human  chattel- 
holding  in  the  United  States,  and  sent  delegates  to 
the  National  Convention  which  flung  the  banner  of 
Fremont,  free  soil,  and  free  speech  to  the  winds.  He 
was  elected  to  the  State  Legislature  in  1863,  taking 
part  in  the  work  of  the  fifteenth  session.  In  1874,  up 
to  which  time  his  occupation  had  been  exclusively 
farming,  he  was  active  in  the  organization  of  the  . 
corporation  known  as  the  Farmers'  Union,  and  be- 
came its  President,  retaining  that  position  for  four 
years.  Soon  after  resigning  this  position,  he,  in  1878, 
opened  the  groceiy  and  produce  business  in  the  same 
location  in  which  he  now  conducts  it,  in  the  Pfister 
Block.  Mr.  Erkson  owns  a  very  handsome  property 
on  the  corner  of  Julian  and  Third  Streets,  in  improv- 
ing which  he  has  expended  much  time  and  money. 
He  has  recently  been  re-elected  School  Trustee,  a 
position  he  has  held  for  eight  consecutive  years,  most 
of  which  time  he  has  been  President  of  the  Board. 
Previous  to  his  coming  to  reside  permanently  in  San 
Jose,  in  1878,  he  occupied  the  same  position  at  Alviso 


for  about  twelve  years,  making  more  than  one-half  of 
his  adult  life  devoted  as  a  member  of  Boards  of 
Education,  and  interested  in  that  cause. 

He  was  married,  in  1859,  to  Miss  Laura  A.  Derby, 
a  native  of  Massachusetts,  who  came  to  California 
with  her  parents  in  the  early  '50s.  They  have  two 
sons :  William  Lewis,  now  managing  the  hom.e  ranch, 
called  the  Maverne  Farm  ;  Charles  Millard,  now  as- 
sociated with  his  father  in  business. 

Mr.  Erkson  is  a  member  of  Triumph  Lodge, 
Knights  of  Pythias,  of  San  Jose,  also  member  of  the 
Uniform  Rank  of  that  organization. 

His  parents  were  William  and  Eliza  (Millard)  Erk- 
son, natives  of  New  York  State.  His  mother's  is  an 
old  New  England  family  of  English  descent.  His 
father's  family  dates  back  to  the  time  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, being  of  the  Mohawk  Dutch  stock,  originally 
from  Holland. 


URA  p.  CLARKE,  one  of  those  who  has  done  much 
Ig'  to  develop  new  industries,  and  thus  demonstrate 
T  the  great  and  varied  capabilities  of  this  region,  is 
the  gentleman  whose  name  heads  this  sketch,  a  man 
of  originality,  enterprise,  and  push,  who  does  not  feel 
it  incumbent  upon  him  to  follow  in  the  old  and  worn 
grooves  in  which  the  first  comers  here  moved  so  many 
years.  His  ranch,  of  forty-seven  acres,  occupies  a 
picturesque  location,  and  is  distant  from  Mayfield 
about  two  and  a  half  miles  by  the  county  road.  He 
has  the  most  complete  chicken  farm  on  the  Pacific 
Coast,  white  leghorns  being  his  principal  fancy, 
though  he  breeds  simply  for  egg  qualities.  His 
hatchery  has  a  capacity  of  5,000  eggs  per  month, 
while  the  brooding  department  has  a  capacity  for 
turning  out  4,500  chicks  in  one  month.  This  busi- 
ness is  one  which  requires  much  experience  and  at- 
tention, and  a  slight  difference  in  these  respects  means 
either  a  profit  or  losi  of  hundreds  of  dollars  in  a  very 
short  time.  He  has  now  brought  this  department  of 
his  business  to  such  a  state  of  perfection  that  it  has 
become  the  source  of  a  large  and  steady  income.  He 
has  five  acres  in  orchard,  and  raises  a  variety  of  fruit 
for  family  use.  Another  important  feature  of  this 
place  is  the  strawberry  industry.  He  has  ten  acres  of 
land  planted  to  this  luscious  fruit,  and  during  the  first 
year  of  the  growth  of  the  vines,  raises  onions  between 
the  rows.  Besides  supplying  the  family  table,  he  sold 
enough  from  this  tract  to  average  $800  per  acre. 
This  fact  alone  demonstrates  the  ability  in  manage- 
ment, and  the  care  and  attention  bestowed.     For   ir- 


^^^u^ 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


641 


rigating  purposes  he  has  an  tnghie  of  four-horse 
power,  which  pumps  250  gallons  of  water  per  minute 
and  uses  1,800  feet  of  flume. 

Mr.  Clarke  is  a  native  of  Canada,  born  at  Brighton, 
Northumberland  County,  June  12,  1850,  his  parents 
being  Robert  C.  and  Jane  (Powers)  Clarke.  At  the 
age  of  sixteen  years  h3  went  to  Elkhart,  Indiana,  and 
in  1866  commenced  railroading  on  the  Michigan 
Southern  and  Northern  Indiana  Railroad,  now  the 
Lake  Shore  and  Michigan  Southern.  One  year  later 
he  removed  to  Shelbina,  Missouri,  an  1  entered  the 
employ  of  the  Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph  Railroad,  in 
which  he  continued  until  1872,  when  he  went  upon 
the  Wabash  road.  In  1877  he  removed  to  Carson, 
Nevada,  and  was  for  five  years  on  the  Virginia  City 
and  Truckee  Railroad.  He  then  came  to  California, 
and  railroaded  on  the  Southern  Pacific  Narrow  Gauge 
and  on  the  Central  Pacific,  until  coming  to  his  present 
location,  in  1883.  It  had  long  been  his  desire  to  enter 
into  his  present  business,  and  he  experimented  for  a 
time  in  San  Francisco,  at  chicken-raising,  previous  to 
coming  to  Santa  Clara  County. 

Mr.  Clarke  was  married,  in  San  Rafael,  to  Miss 
Catherine  F.  Howe,  a  native  of  Madison,  Wisconsin. 
They  have  one  child,  Ira  Howe  Clarke.  Mr.  Clarke  is 
a  member  of  the  United  Order  of  Honor  at  San  Fran- 
cisco.    In  politics  he  is  a  Republican. 


5Hgi-^)-$ 


li)ETER  G.  KEITH,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the 
^  Hamilton  District,  dates  his  birth  in  Morgan 
'^s'  County,  Ohio,  February  8,  1824.  He  is  the  son 
of  Lewis  and  Mary  (Spencer)  Keith.  His  father 
was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  of  Dutch  descent. 
His  grandfather,  Peter  Keith,  fought  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War.  His  great-grandfather,  the  founder  of 
the  family  in  America,  was  an  emigrant  from  Holland. 
The  mother  of  the  subject  of  our  sketch  died  while 
he  was  a  babe.  His  father  became  a  pioneer  of  La 
Porte  County,  Indiana,  where  he  settled  as  long  ago 
as  1833.  There  Peter  G.  Keith  grew  to  manhood, 
spending  his  youth  in  attending  school,  and  in  hard, 
laborious  work,  in  improving  the  family  homestead. 
Upon  reaching  manhood  he  married,  in  that  county, 
March  10,  1846,  Miss  Sarah  J.  Thornton.  Four  years 
from  the  day  that  Mr.  Keith  was  married,  he  left  his 
family  in  Indiana,  and  made  the  toilsome  journey 
across  the  plains  to  this  State.  More  than  one  year 
was  spent  in  mining  on  the  Middle  Fork  of  the 
American  River.  In  the  autumn  of  1851  he  came  to 
81 


Santa  Clara  County,  and  the  following  winter  he 
bought  a  squatter  title  to  the  property  he  now  owns 
and  occupies — 180  acres  fronting  on  the  Santa  Clara 
road,  in  the  Hamilton  District.  Hamilton  Avenue 
passes  directly  through  his  farm.  Mrs.  Keith  joined 
her  husband,  in  1852,  soon  after  the  purchase  of  his 
Hamilton  property,  coming  to  California  z'ia  Panama. 
Eighteen  years  were  spent  by  himself  and  his  neighbors 
in  fighting,  in  the  courts,  claimants  under  Mexican 
grants.  They  finally  won  their  case,  and  the  land 
was  then  purchased  from  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment. Mr.  Keith  has  given  almost  his  entire  atten- 
tion to  the  production  of  grain  and  hay.  He  has, 
however,  a  bearing  orchard  of  about  three  acres,  and 
also  about  eight  acres  of  young  trees. 

Mr.  Keith  suffered  the  loss  of  his  wife,  who  died  at 
the  age  of  sixty-four  years.  She  was  the  mother  of 
eight  children,  of  whom  but  three  are  now  living. 
Her  first  child,  William  L.,  died  in  infancy,  in  Indi- 
ana. Flavins  V.,  also  born  in  La  Porte,  Indiana,  now 
resides  in  San  Diego.  The  other  children  were  born 
in  this  county.  Wilmar  L.  died  in  his  eighteenth 
year,  and  Carlton  W.  in  his  twenty-second  year. 
Parker  W:  lives  in  his  father's  neighborhood.  Rich- 
ard L.  died  in  his  eighteenth  year.  Austin  H.  resides 
in  San  Jose.  Walter  H.  died  in  infancy.  Mrs.  Keith 
was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in 
Indiana,  as  was  also  her  husband.  Mr.  Keith  was 
married,  the  second  time.  May  26,  1886,  to  Mrs.  Adra 
A.  Eaton,  a  daughter  of  A.  C.  Lawrence,  one  of  Santa 
Clara  County's  most  prominent  pioneers.  Lawrence 
Station  was  named  for  him. 

The  energy  which  led  Mr.  Keith  to  make  the 
journey  to  California,  and  open  a- farm  at  so  early  a 
day,  has  characterized  his  conduct  in  all  his  business 
efforts.  He  has  worked  his  way  to  his  present  posi- 
tion as  the  prosperous  owner  of  a  valuable  farm,  by 
hard  labor,  passing  through  the  many  discourage- 
ments which  were  inseparable  from  the  undertaking 
which  he  engaged  in  thirty-five  years  ago. 


^TglLLIAM    F.    PERKINS.     The   father   of  the 
r^i^  subject  of  this  sketch,  Elisha  K.   Perkins,  was 

fborn  in  Salem,  Massachusetts,  January  28, 
1816.  After  leaving  school  he  learned  the 
cooper's  trade,  and  for  a  number  of  years  was  con- 
nected with  the  cooperage  on  the  India  wharf  in 
Boston,  where  he  prosecuted  his  business  during  the 
active  part  of  his  life  up  to  eight  or   ten  years  ago. 


642 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


His  wife,  whom  he  married  in  May,  1840,  was  Caro- 
line Hosea,  who  was  born  in  Boston,  September  10, 
1 8 19,  and  was  educated  at  the  schools  of  that  city, 
where  she  has  always  lived  within  five  miles  of  her 
birthplace.  Eight  children  were  born  to  them,  five 
daughters  and  three  sons,  of  whom  two  of  the  girls 
died  when  very  young. 

William  F.  Perkins,  the  oldest  child,  was  born 
in  Boston,  April  9,  1841.  He  attended  the  public 
schools  of  Boston,  and  graduated  at  the  English 
High  School  in  1854,  receiving  the  Franklin  medal 
as  a  reward  of  honor.  After  completing  his  studies, 
he  entered  the  wholesale  grocery  store  of  Levi  Bart- 
lett  &  Co.,  where  he  remained  in  their  employ  until 
1862.  He  then  was  employed  by  the  United  States 
Government  as  sutler,  and  remained  in  this  capacity 
until  the  close  of  the  war.  From  there  he  went  to 
St.  Louis,  Missouri,  after  which  he  went  into  partner- 
ship with  Thomas  Wright  in  the  wholesale  and  retail 
cigar  and  tobacco  business,  being  at  that  time  one  of 
the  largest  firms  in  St.  Louis.  They  had  three  large 
stores,  located  in  the  best  parts  of  the  city. 

In  September,  1870,  he  was  married  to  Zilpha  A., 
only  daughter  of  Hiram  K.  Towle,  by  his  first  wife. 
Mr.  Towle  was  an  old-time  citizen  of  Boston,  who  for 
many  years  carried  on  the  business  of  contractor  and 
builder.  In  July,  1871,  he  and  his  wife  went  East  to 
visit  relatives,  which  resulted  in  Mrs.  Perkins  remain- 
ing at  Cambridgeport,  Massachusetts,  with  her  father- 
in-law,  while  Mr.  Perkins  returned  to  St.  Louis  and 
sold  out  his  half  interest  in  the  business  to  his  part- 
ner, and  returned  to  Boston,  arriving  there  the  day  of 
the  first  anniversary  of  his  marriage.  He  bought 
property  in  West  Somerville,  Massachusetts,  and 
while  living  there  got  the  California  fever,  and  came 
to  Los  Angeles  with  the  intention  of  buying  an  or- 
ange grove.  Before  locating  there,  however,  he  re- 
turned to  West  Somerville  and  made  all  arrangements 
to  return  to  this  State,  which  he  did,  arriving  here  on 
board  the  steamer  Montana,  July  20,  1873.  They 
traveled  over  the  State  considerably,  and  finally  lo- 
cated in  Petaluma.  After  living  there  for  a  while 
they  sold  their  property,  and  in  1880  located  in  Mount- 
ain View,  where  they  own  one  of  the  finest  vineyards 
in  this  section  of  the  valley.  The  place  is  called 
Bay  View  Vineyard,  and  consists  of  twenty  acres  set 
out  to  the  following  varieties,  viz.:  4,331  Charbon- 
neau,  1,250  Black  Burgundy,  5,960  Trousseau,  100 
Carignane,  500  Muscat  Alexandre,  and  60  vines  of 
old  Mission  that  were  planted  in  i860,  and  yield 
about    five    tons  of  grapes   each  year,   some  of  the 


bunches  weighing  as  high  as  five  pounds.  There  will 
also  be  set  out  this  year  about  ten  acres  in  prunes, 
and  the  same  amount  in  apricots.  The  place  is  beau- 
tifully situated  on  the  San  Francisco  and  San  Jose 
road,  and  everything  about  it  denotes  thrift  and  en- 
terprise. 

Mr.  Perkins  is  a  Free  Mason  in  high  standing,  be- 
longing to  the  Beacon  Lodge,  No.  3,  of  St.  Louis, 
the  Bellefontaine  Chapter,  No.  25,  and  the  St.  Louis 
Commandery,  No.  i,  K.  T.,  but  since  has  affiliated 
with  the  Colorado  Commandery  of  Denver.  He  is 
connected  with  the  Denver,  Texas  and  Fort  Worth 
Railroad,  Pan  Handle  Route,  and  also  is  engaged  in 
the  cigar  and  tobacco  business,  with  headquarters  in 
Denver,  Colorado. 


g|OSEPH  N.  SPENCER,  of  the  firm  of  Spencer 
@/  &  Covel,  real-estate  agents,  No.  36  Santa  Clara 
^  Street,  is  one  of  the  pioneers  in  that  business  in 
San  Jose,  having  engaged  in  it  more  than  fifteen  years 
ago.  He  was  born  and  raised  on  his  father's  farm,  of 
160  acres,  in  Henry  County,  one  and  a  half  miles  from 
Lewisville,  Indiana,  in  1824.  His  parents  were  R.  L. 
and  Mary  (Nelson)  Spencer,  his  father  a  native  of 
Connecticut,  and  his  mother  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 
Mrs.  Spencer's  father  was  a  native  of  England, 
who  had  settled  in  Cincinnati  when  there  were  but 
four  houses  there,  one  of  them  a  block  house,  into 
which  the  families  had  occasionally  to  retire  on  ac- 
count of  the  Indians.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  re- 
ceived his  education  in  a  hewn-log  school -house  in 
Lewisville,  Indiana,  until  the  age  of  fourteen  years, 
when  the  family  removed  to  Louisville,  Kentucky. 
From  there  they  removed  to  Helena,  Arkansas,  where 
his  father  died  from  exposure  incurred  in  rescuing 
passengers  from  the  Sarah  McFarlane,  a  steamboat 
sunk  by  the  steamboat  Danube,  in  1839.  The  family 
then  removed  to  a  farm,  which  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  managed  until  he  enlisted  in  the  army  for  the 
Mexican  War,  in  1846.  He  now  draws  a  Mexican 
War  veteran  pension,  as  a  member  of  Company  K, 
First  Arkansas  Cavalry.  He  was  engaged  in  the 
battle  of  Buena  Vista.  Returning  to  Indiana,  after 
the  Mexican  War,  he  there  remained  until  1856,  when 
he  came  to  California  by  way  of  Panama.  He  went 
at  once  to  the  Siskiyou  mines,  where  he  mined  for 
four  years.  From  there  he  came  to  Santa  Clara 
County,  in  i860,  and  engaged  in  farming,  teaming, 
mercantile  business,  etc.,  until,  in  1872,  he  engaged  in 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


643 


the  real-estate  business.  In  1873  he  sold  a  half- 
interest  in  his  business  to  his  present  partner,  in  which 
they  have  continued  up  to  the  present  time. 

Mr.  Spencer  was  married,  in  1851,  to  Miss  Cynthia 
Conway,  a  native  of  Indiana.  They  have  had  four 
children:  Henry  C,  now  resident  of  San  Jose;  Mary 
E.,  now  deceased,  the  wife  of  A.  N.  Ranger,  of  San 
Jose;  Emma,  deceased,  the  wife  of  G.  Borgstream,  of 
San  Francisco;  Carnot  R.,  now  employed  by  Spencer 
&  Covel.  A  granddaughter,  Genevieve  Ranger,  now 
resides  with  Mr.  Spencer,  on  the  Alameda,  near  Stock- 
ton Avenue.  He  is  President  of  the  San  Jose  Gravel 
Mining  Company,  the  mine  being  located  in  Nevada 
County. 

Mr.  Spencer  is  a  member  of  the  Garden  City  Lodge, 
No.  142,  I.  O.  O.  F.;  also  of  the  San  Jose  Council  of 
the  American  Legion  of  Honor;  is  a  Republican  in 
politics,  and  in  favor  of  tariff  protection. 


&  P.  PONCE,  of  Mayfield,  is  a  native  of  France, 
@>-  born  near  Marseilles,  on  the  thirty-first  of  De- 
Gfs  cember,  1848,  his  parents  being  Joseph  and  Mar- 
guerite (Blanchon)  Ponce.  He  came,  with  his  sisters, 
to  America,  in  1857,  starting  from  Havre,  and  land- 
ing at  San  Francisco.  After  attending  school  in  that 
city  for  two  years  he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County. 
He  learned  the  trade  of  blacksmith,  with  John  Duch- 
esneau,  commencing  in  1869.  In  1873  he  started  in 
business  for  himself,  opening  a  shop  in  Mayfield, 
which  he  conducted  until  1882,  then  rented  it  out 
and  gave  his  entire  attention  to  farming,  until  July 
5,  1887,  since  which  time  he  has  been  again  con- 
ducting the  shop  at  Mayfield. 

Mr.  Ponce  has  two  farms.  His  home  ranch,  of 
fifty-four  acres,  is  about  midway  between  Mayfieltl 
and  Mountain  View,  on  the  wagon  road.  He  pur- 
chased this  place  in  1882,  and  commenced  improving 
it  then,  and  has  put  up  all  the  present  buildings. 
Their  land  was  covered  with  brush  when  he  went 
upon  it.  The  greater  portion  of  the  place  is  devoted 
to  hay-raising,  good  crops  being  produced.  He  has 
about  an  acre  and  a  half  in  choice  table  and  wine 
grapes,  and  a  family  orchard  of  about  100  trees  of 
selected  fruits.  His  other  place  is  across  the  railroad, 
and  consists  of  fifty-one  acres.  This  is  mainly  used 
for  pasture. 

Mr.  Ponce  was  married,  in  San  Francisco,  to  Miss 
Julia  Quere,  a  native  of  New  York.  They  have  three 
children:   Ettiene,  Juliette,  and  Adelina. 


Mr.  Ponce  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  has 
been  for  many  years  a  trustee  of  the  local  lodge. 
He  has  also  passed  through  all  the  chairs,  and  been 
elected  representative  to  Grand  Lodge.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Republican. 


~>H>« 


.^^ 


^-^-^~ 


tEORGE  C.  BROWNE  is  a  native  of  Ontario, 
Canada,  and  was  born  June  25,  1863.  He  is  a 
-■f^  son  of  S.  D.  and  Eliza  (Rounds)  Browne,  resi- 
dents of  Vacaville,  Solana  County,  California. 
He  lived  in  Ontario  until  he  was  nearly  nineteen 
years  old,  and  received  a  good  education  at  the  high 
school  of  that  city.  When  between  the  age  of  six- 
teen and  seventeen  years  he  commenced  the  study  of 
the  drug  trade  as  an  apprentice,  and  continued  it  in 
two  different  stores  for  two  years  and  a  half.  He 
came  to  California  in  1882,  and  located  in  Salinas, 
Monterey  County,  as  a  prescription  clerk,  in  the  drug- 
store of  Dr.  E.  K.  Abbott,  where  he  remained  five 
years  and  a  half  In  the  fall  of  1887  he  came  to  Los 
Gatos  and  bought  the  drug-store  of  E.  M.  Brickey  & 
Co.  The  store  had  recently  been  opened  by  the 
above-named  firm,  and  had  been  running  about  one 
month,  when  the  change  of  management  was  made 
to  the  present  proprietor.  Mr.  Browne  is  a  courteous 
and  accommodating  young  business  man,  and  is 
building  up  a  fine  trade  in  the  community  in  which 
he  resides.  He  has  a  neat  and  attractive  store,  and 
makes  a  specialty  of  handling  pure  drugs,  together 
with  a  fine  stock  of  stationery,  books,  and  druggists' 
sundries. 


fETER  TOWNE,  of  Fremont  Township,  is  a 
native  of  Maine,  born  in  Oxford  County,  De- 
W  cember  25,  1834,  his  parents  being  Peter  H.  and 
Sallie  (Kimball)  Towne,  both  natives  of  Andover, 
Massachusetts,  and  of  old  New  England  families. 
The  subject  of  this  notice  was  reared  at  Norway, 
Oxford  County,  and  on  arriving  at  suitable  age  en- 
gaged in  the  business  of  collecting  and  shipping  eggs 
to  California,  by  water.  In  1854  he  came  to  the 
Pacific  Coast,  by  the  Nicaragua  route,  landing  at  San 
Francisco  April  16,  1854.  He  went  to  Calaveras 
County,  and  was  afterward  engaged  in  mining  at 
Camp  Soco,  Carson  Creek,  San  Andreas,  West  Point, 
and  other  places,  being  fairly  successful.  On  leaving 
the  mines  he  went  to  San  Francisco,  and  engaged  in 
the  commission  business.     Six  months  later  he  went 


644 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


to  San  Mateo  County,  bought  land  at  Woodside, 
farmed  there  eight  years,  then  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facture of  shingles  in  the  redwood  mountains.  He 
was  in  this  business  two  years,  then  came  to  Mayfield, 
built  a  stable,  and  commenced  the  livery  business, 
being  the  first  liveryman  to  do  business  in  the  town. 
In  1880  he  sold  out,  and  moved  upon  the  farm,  of 
500  acres,  where  he  now  resides,  adjoining  Mayfield. 
He  is  extensively  engaged  in  hay  and  grain  raising, 
preferring  wheat  for  grain.  His  land  turns  out  from 
fifteen  to  twenty-five  sacks  per  acre.  He  cuts  a  large 
acreage  of  hay,  as  it  finds  a  ready  market,  and  he  has 
splendid  shipping  facilities,  being  just  between  Clark's 
Landing  and  the  Southern  Pacific  depot,  and  near 
both. 

Mr.  Towne  was  married,  in  Mayfield,  March  26, 
1867,  to  Miss  Jennie  Lee,  a  native  of  Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania,  whose  father  came  out  to  the  mines  of 
California  in  1849,  the  family  joining  him  at  San 
Juan,  in  1854,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Towne  now  living 
in  Yavapai  County,  Arizona.  Her  mother  died  three 
weeks  after  coming  to  San  Juan,  having  contracted 
the  Panama  fever  on  the  way.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Towne 
have  two  children,  named  Albert  Lee  and  Frank 
Kendall. 

Mr.  Towne  is  a  Republican,  politically,  and  while 
in  San  Mateo  County  held  the  office  of  Supervisor. 
He  was  a  charter  member  of  the  Mountain  View 
Lodge,  A.  O.  U.  W.,  and  filled  several  stations  in  the 
local  lodge  of  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 


:HJ|ALENT1NE  KOCH,  member  of  the  firm  of 
'^'^  Kaiser  &  Koch,  carriage  and  harness  manu- 
gj  facturers  and  dealers,  Nos.  132-136  West  Santa 
Clara  Street,  San  Jose,  was  born  in  Bavaria, 
Germany,  in  1850,  and  there  attended  school  until 
the  age  of  fourteen  years.  In  1864  he  started  alone 
to  America,  where  he  has  gradually  worked  his  way 
up  to  his  present  position  of  social  and  business 
prominence.  He  remained  three  years  in  New  York, 
where  he  learned  the  harness  busine.ss,  and  then  re- 
moved to  California,  settling  in  San  Jose,  in  De- 
cember, 1867,  where  he  has  since  continued  to  reside 
and  do  business.  For  thirteen  years  he  worked  for 
Mr.  Stern  in  the  harness  business,  and  then  engaged 
in  business  with  his  present  associate,  in  which  they 
have  been  very  prosperous.  They  are  now  agents 
for  the  Columbus  Buggy  Company.  He  was  married, 
in  1879,  to  Miss  Mollie  Liebenburg,  of  San  Francisco. 


They  have  two  children,  Edith  and  Albert.  His 
parents  were  Valentine  and  Caroline  (Klein)  Koch, 
natives  of  Bavaria,  where  his  father  still  lives,  his 
mother  dying  there  in  1885. 

Mr.  Koch  has  always  been  a  public-spirited  man, 
and  active  in  matters  of  public  interest.  He  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  City  Council  in  1884,  and 
again  in  1886;  has  always  supported  the  Republican 
party,  and  believes  in  a  protective  tariff.  He  is 
member  of  Friendship  Lodge,  No.  210,  F.  and  A.  M., 
and  of  Allemania  Lodge,  No.  178,  I.  O.  O.  F. 


^IMEON  HOLLAND,  one  of  the  long  resident 
^  citizens  of  Santa  Clara  County,  is  a  native  of 
J^^  England,  born  at  Manchester,  Lancashire,  Oc- 
tober 22,  1830,  his  parents  being  Joseph  and 
Mary  (Wardell)  Holland.  His  father  was  in  early 
life  a  silk  weaver. 

Simeon  was  reared  to  the  age  of  twenty  years  in 
Manchester,  acquiring  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
tailor's  trade.  In  1850  he  went  to  Liverpool,  and 
sailed  thence  in  August  for  New  York,  where  he 
arrived  in  the  following  month.  He  located  at  New 
Brunswick,  New  Jersey,  and  was  engaged  there  for 
four  years  at  his  trade.  In  1854  he  went  to  New 
York  city,  and  was  employed  in  the  wholesale  cloth- 
ing trade  and  at  merchant  tailoring  until  April,  1859, 
when  he  sailed  for  California,  by  way  of  Panama. 
He  arrived  at  San  Francisco  on  May  i,  and  soon 
came  to  Santa  Clara  County,  locating  at  Berryessa, 
where  he  engaged  in  farming.  He  rented  land  until 
1865,  when  he  bought  where  he  now  resides.  His 
204  acres  of  land  was  a  wild  place,  overrun  with 
brush,  but  he  at  once  set  about  making  improve- 
ments. He  still  retains  125  acres,  which  he  cultivates 
thoroughly.  His  principal  crop  is  hay,  made  from 
wheat  and  wild  oats,  securing  an  average  of  two  and 
one-half  tons  per  acre.  He  sells  his  product  mostly 
in  the  local  market,  though  considerable  is  shipped 
to  San  Francisco.  All  his  hay  is  baled,  and  he  has 
two  barns  for  storage,  one  with  a  capacity  for  250 
tons,  the  other  from  60  to  75  tons.  The  barn,  erected 
in  1886,  is  a  modern  structure,  well  built.  Another 
recent  improvement  is  the  tank  and  tank-house,  built 
in  1887,  the  water  being  drawn  from  a  bored  well,  67 
feet  deep.  This  supplies  water  for  all  purposes;  and 
600  feet  of  piping  is  used. 

Mr.  Holland  has  a  family  orchard  and  vegetable 
garden,  with  which   he  has  been  successful,  and  con- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


645 


templates  setting  out  a  vineyard.  He  was  married,  at 
New  Brunswick,  New  Jersey,  in  September,  1S54,  to 
Miss  Anna  Broadbent,  a  native  of  England,  whose 
parents  emigrated  to  the  United  States  about  1840, 
when  she  was  in  her  seventh  year.  They  have  five 
children,  viz.:  John  William,  in  butcher  business  at 
Evergreen;  Sarah  Elizabeth,  wife  of  A.  B.  McNeill,  of 
McNeill  Brotl^ers,  printers,  San  Jose;  Joseph  Henry, 
at  home;  Mary  Catherine,  wife  of  Alexander  Kam- 
merer,  of  San  Jose  Township  ;  and  Florence,  at  home. 
Mr.  Holland  is  a  member  of  the  Unitarian  Church,  at 
San  Jose,  and  has  been  connected  with  the  congrega- 
tion since  its  organization,  under  the  name  of  Unity 
Society.  He  is  a  Trustee  of  the  present  congrega- 
tion. He  is  also  a  Trustee  of  Evergreen  School  Dis- 
trict, having  been  elected  in  1886.  He  had  previously 
been  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  for  fourteen 
consecutive  years.  He  is  a  Republican  politically,  is 
an  active  worker,  and  has  been  several  times  on  the 
County  Committee.  He  has  also  been  a  delegate  to 
many  conventions. 


.^MltR.  F.  WARD  has  a  beautiful  residence  on  Min- 
S»Y^  nesota  Avenue,  between  Washington  and  Lin- 
(j)j  coin  Avenues,  surrounded  by  two  and  a  half 
acres,  planted  about  an  acre  each  in  apricots 
and  prunes,  the  rest  devoted  to  a  variety  of  fruits  for 
family  u.se,  and  the  general  surroundings  of  a  refined 
home.  He  owns  a  fruit-drying  establishment  on  Nor- 
thrup  Street,  near  the  Los  Gatos  bridge.  The  drier, 
for  the  sale  of  which  Mr.  Ward  is  also  the  resident 
agent,  has  a  capacity  of  about  four  tons  every  twenty- 
four  hours.  There  were  dried  there  last  year  about 
I  600  tons  of  green  apricots,  500  tons  of  French  prunes, 
about  800  tons  of  peaches,  and  fifty  tons  of  assorted 
fruits.  It  is  calculated  that  six  tons  of  green  fruit 
will  make  one  of  dried,  three  tons  of  gr-  en  for  one  of 
dried  prunes,  eight  tons  of  green  for  one  of  dried 
peaches.  He  rented  the  drier  to  the  Garden  City 
Preserving  Company,  superintending  the  work  for 
them.  He  has  an  interest  in  fifty-five  acres,  which 
they  have  decided  not  to  put  into  fruit.  It  will  prob- 
ably be  cut  up  into  building  lot.s. 

Mr.  Ward  was  born  in  Calais,  Maine,  in  1835,  wliere 
he  attended  school  and  lived  until  his  seventeenth 
year,  when  he  removed,  in  1852,  to  Minneapolis,  Min- 
nesota, at  that  time  part  of  the  government  reserva- 
tion of  Fort  Sully.  He  there  learned  the  trade  of  car- 
penter, afterward  being  interested  in  contracting  and 
building  in  Minneapolis.      He  left  there  for  California, 


April  30,  1 87 1,  locating  immediately  in  the  Willows, 
on  the  place  he  now  owns,  where  he  has  lived  since 
that  time.  Since  his  coming  to  California  Mr.  Ward 
has  been  principally  engaged  in  buying  and  drying 
fruit.  During  1873-74  he  was  one  of  the  Board  of 
Supervisors  of  this  county. 

He  was  married,  in  1857,  to  Miss  IClvira  J.  Canney, 
a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  whose  parents,  James 
and  Lois  (Stevens)  Canney,  removed  to  Minneapolis 
in  1856.  They  have  two  children,  viz.:  Forrest  S., 
born  in  1858,  still  jiving  with  his  parents,  and  inter- 
ested in  fruit  culture;  and  James  W.,  born  in  1861, 
now  practicing  medicine  in  San  Francisco.  The  lat- 
ter attended  school  at  Minneapolis,  Minnesota,  and  at 
San  Jose,  California,  where  he  graduated  at  the  high 
school,  at  the  age  of  tliirteen  years.  He  commenced 
studying  medicine  with  his  uncle.  Dr.  Canney,  of  San 
Jose,  remaining  with  him  for  five  years.  He  then  at- 
tended lectures  at  the  Hahnemann  College,  of  New 
York,  where  he  graduated  after  a  two  years'  course. 
Remained  as  Resident  Physician  at  the  Hahnemann 
Hospital  for  two  years,  returning  to  San  Francisco  in 
1886,  entering  into  a  practice  now  almost  too  exten- 
sive for  the  attention  of  one  physician. 

Mr.  Ward  was  an  active  and  enthusiastic  Republi- 
can from  the  earliest  history  of  the  party,  taking  an 
active  part  in  the  Fremont  campaign  in  1856.  He 
supported  ex-Governor  St.  John  in  the  presidential 
campaign  of  1884,  and  is  now  as  ardent  a  Prohibitionist 
as  he  was  then  a  Republican.  He  is  a  member  of 
Pacific  Council,  No.  474,  American  Legion  of  Honor. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ward  and  family  are  members  of  the 
Orthodox  Friends'  Church. 


li)ETER  BALL  was  born  in  La  Salle  County, 
m^  Illinois,  August  17,  1844.  His  father,  Marlin 
W  Ball,  is  a  native  of  Ireland,  where  he  was  born 
about  1807.  He  married  there,  and  emigrated 
to  Canada,  where  he  resided  a  few  years,  when  he 
moved  to  Buffalo,  New  York. 

He  afterward  moved  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  La 
Salle  County.  In  1850  he,  with  his  family,  left  Illinois, 
bound  for  California.  They  made  the  journey  over- 
land to  Sacramento,  where  they  located.  The  next 
year  he  went  into  the  hotel  business,  and  during  the 
big  fire  of  1852  was  burned  out,  which  severed  his 
connection  with  that  city.  In  the  spring  of  1853  he 
settled  in  Santa  Clara  County  and  took  up  210  acres 
of  what  he  supposed  was  government  land,  but  which 


646 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


afterward  proved  to  be  a  Spanish  claim.  When  this 
fact  became  known,  Mr.  Ball  bought  the  land  from  the 
parties,  and  quite  a  number  of  years  afterward  pur- 
chased i6o  acres  adjoining,  which  land  is  novy  in  the 
possession  of  his  son,  Peter  Ball.  Martin  Ball  resided 
on  the  place  until  about  1875,  when  he  moved  to  Santa 
Clara,  where  he  has  since  resided.  He  is  quite  infirm 
in  his  old  age,  and,  having  had  two  strokes  of  paralysis, 
he  is  left  in  a  very  feeble  condition.  His  wife  died  in 
1878.  She  was  the  mother  of  five  children,  of  whom 
four  are  living. 

Peter  Ball  remained  with  his  father  up  to  the  time 
he  moved  to  Santa  Clara,  when  he  purchased  of  him 
the  160  acres  mentioned,  and  109  acres  of  the  origi- 
nal purchase,  which  later  on  he  sold  again.  The  place 
is  under  good  cultivation,  with  about  fifty  acres  in  vine- 
yard, all  wine  grapes,  the  most  of  which  are  coming  into 
bearing.  Last  year,  from  about  six  acres  that  are  four 
years  old,  the  yield  was  about  thirty-two  tons.  In  1 882 
Mr.  Ball  was  appointed  Deputy  Assessor  for  Santa 
Clara  County,  which  position  he  held  for  five  years. 
In  October,  1887,  he  was  appointed  by  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  to  the  position  of  United  States  In- 
ternal Revenue  Gauger  for  the  Fifth  Division  of  the 
First  District  of  California,  in  which  position  he  now 
serves. 

Mr,  Ball  was  married,  in  1868,  to  Mary  E.  Plunkett, 
who  was  born  in  Australia,  a  daughter  of  Richard 
Plunkett,  of  this  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ball  have  a 
family  of  five  children,  three  daughters  and  two  sons. 


IMRANK  SCHILLING,  manufacturer  of  guns 
S^  and  dealer  in  firearms  and  sporting  goods,  27  El 
^  Dorado  Street,  settled  in  San  Jose  and  opened 
his  present  business  in  the  spring  of  1862.  By  keep- 
ing the  best  grades  of  goods,  honest  methods  in  deal- 
ing, and  diligent  attention  to  business,  he  has  built  up 
a  prosperous  and  growing  trade,  and  made  friends  of 
his  customers. 

Mr.  Schilling  was  born  in  Southern  Germany  in 
1835.  Before  reaching  his  fifteenth  birthday  he 
crossed  the  Atlantic,  arriving  in  New  York  in  1850. 
He  visited  a  number  of  cities  in  the  East  and  South, 
working  at  his  trade  of  gunsmith,  before  coming  to 
the  Pacific  Coast.  He  married  Miss  Dooty,  in  San 
Francisco.  She  is  a  native  of  Dublin,  Ireland,  but 
came  to  this  country  in  her  childhood.  Their  family 
consists  of  two  daughters  and  three  sons.  Their  eld- 
est daughter  has  been  a  teacher  for  several  years  in  the 


public  schools,  a  portion  of  the  time  principal  of  the 
Fourth  Ward  School  of  San  Jose.  The  eldest  son, 
H.  E.,  is  assisting  his  father  in  business;  and  the 
second  son,  Frank  A.,  after  attending  school  four  years 
at  Santa  Clara  College,  is  studying  law  in  San  Jose; 
Raymond,  the  youngest  son,  is  taking  a  course  in  the 
San  Jose  Business  College.  Mr.  Schilling  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the 
Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen,  and  of  the 
Knights  of  Honor.  Though  always  a  hard  worker, 
he  is  a  remarkably  well-preserved  man,  and  has  never 
required  the  services  of  a  physician  in  his  life.  He 
owns  a  number  of  pieces  of  im[)roved  property  in 
the  city,  including  the  store  in  which  he  carries  on 
business. 


<i 


OHN  J.  BERGIN  was  born  in  New  York  city, Feb- 
ruary 14,  1845.  His  parents,  Richard  and  Catha- 
"^  rine  Bergin,  were  both  natives  of  Ireland.  Rich- 
ard Bergin  left  Ireland  when  he  was  a  young  man, 
and  went  to  Liverpool,  England,  where  he  engaged 
in  business  for  a  few  years,  and  along  in  the  '30s  came 
to  the  United  States  and  located  in  New  York.  He 
was  a  business  man  of  that  city,  and  made  it  his  home 
until  his  death,  in  1884.  His  widow  is  still  residing 
thei-e.  She  was  the  mother  of  thirteen  children,  of 
whom  only  three  sons  lived  to  be  grown.  John  J. 
Bergin  was  raised  and  educated  in  New  York,  where 
he  lived  with  his  parents  until  he  entered  the  govern- 
ment service,  in  June,  1863.  Heenlisted  in  the  thirty 
days'  service  in  the  gallant  Sixty-ninth  New  York 
State  Militia.  After  his  time  expired  he  again  en- 
listed in  the  Fourth  New  York  Heavy  Artillery  and 
served  through  the  campaigns  of  his  regiment  until 
the  close  of  the  war,  and  was  mustered  out  of  service 
in  October,  1865.  He  was  with  Grant  in  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  from  the  time  he  left  Brandy  Station 
to  the  surrender  at  Appomattox.  After  his  dis- 
charge Mr.  Bergin  returned  to  New  York,  where  he 
remained  until  he  came  to  California  in  187 1.  He 
sailed  from  New  York  by  way  of  Panama  and  arrived 
at  San  P"rancisco.  He  was  married,  in  January,  1876, 
to  Mrs.  Francisca  Price,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Walkinshaw.  The  ranch  which  belongs  to  Mrs. 
Bergin  has  312  acres,  of  which  seventy  acres  is  in 
vineyard  six  years  old.  There  is  also  twenty  acres  in 
orchard  of  various  kinds  of  fruit  of  the  same  age. 
The  remainder  of  the  land  is  all  under  cultivation. 
In  the  year  1887  the  vines  bore  about  250  tons  of 
grapes,  while  the  present  yield  will  be  nearly  double. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


647 


The  orchard  is  in  good  bearing  condition,  and  con- 
sists principally  of  apricots,  French  prunes  and  Bart- 
lett  pears.  The  place  is  beautifully  situated  in  the 
foot-hills  about  two  and  a  half  miles  south  of  Mount- 
ain View.  The  grounds  are  very  ornamental  and 
beautifully  laid  out,  there  being  on  the  place  twenty- 
five  orange  trees,  which  were  bearing  a  heavy  crop 
when  they  were  injured  by  the  frost  last  winter. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bergin  have  two  children,  a  son  and 
daughter.  Mrs.  Bergin  was  born  in  Mexico.  Her 
mother  was  a  Mexican  lady,  and  her  father,  Robert 
Walkinshaw,  was  a  Scotchman.  She  was  a  small 
child  when  her  parents  came  to  this  country  and  has 
seen  a  great  deal  of  earl}'  life  in  California.  Her  fa- 
ther, Robert  Walkinshaw,  was  a  mining  expert  and 
was  sent  from  Scotland  to  Mexico  to  examine  mines 
in  that  locality,  and  from  there  came  to  California  in 
1846  to  examine  the  New  Almaden  mines,  and  up  to 
1850  served  as  Superintendent  of  the  mines.  He 
bought  a  farm  about  two  miles  west  of  the  Almaden 
mines,  where  he  lived  nine  years.  He  then  bought  a 
large  tract  of  land  called  the  Ynigo  farm,  which  was 
owned  by  an  Indian  by  that  name.  The  Indian  af- 
terward made  his  home  with  Mr.  Walkinshaw,  until 
he  died,  at  the  age  of  no  years.  Mr.  Walkinshaw 
returned  to  Scotland,  where  he  died  in  1858.  The 
farm  was  afterward  sold,  and  Mrs.  Bergin  bought  her 
present  place  in  [872. 


-€ 


&- 


^^  A.  COE,  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Burns,  Leiter 
%^  &  Coe,  dealers  in  real  estate,  San  Jose,  CaH- 
^®!^  fornia,  was  born  in  Madison  County,  New 
York,  December  24,  1840.  His  parents  were 
Sanford  M.  and  Sarah  (Bridge)  Coe,  both  natives  of 
Connecticut.  Up  to  his  nineteenth  year  he  was 
reared  at  his  birthplace  and  was  educated  in  the  public 
school  and  Cazinovia  Academy.  On  leaving  home  in 
1859  he  went  to  Ripon,  Wisconsin,  where  he  engaged 
in  the  mercantile  business  by  becoming  associated 
with  C.  A.  Peck  in  the  firm  style  of  Peck  &  Coe. 

In  1861  the  style  of  the  firm  was  changed  to  that 
of  Coe  Brothers,  his  brother,  A.  B.  Coe,  succeeding 
William  Peck  in  the  business.  Retiring  from  the  firm 
of  Coe  Brothers  in  1872,  Mr.  Coe  engaged  in  the  lum- 
bering business  at  Fairchild,  Wisconsin,  till  1875, 
when  he  went  to  Minneapolis,  Minnesota,  and  was 
the  first  to  introduce  the  wholesale  fruit  business  in 
that  city,  handling  California  fruit.  In  1886,  discon- 
tinuing the  wholesale  fruit  business  at  Minneapolis, 


he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County  and  purcha.sed  a  fruit 
ranch  in  the  Willows,  in  the  vicinity  of  San  Jose, 
where,  with  his  sons,  Fred  A.  and  Harry  F.,  he  is  ex- 
tensively engaged  in  fruit-culture  and  in  evaporating 
and  shipping  fruit  to  Eastern  markets.  Of  the  many 
rural  homes  and  fine  orchards  for  which  the  Willows 
is  noted,  in  point  of  beauty  and  picturesque  attrac- 
tion, there  are  none  that  excel  Mr.  Coe's  residence 
and  finely  cultivated  orchards.  Mr.  Coe  is  also  ex- 
tensively engaged  in  real  estate  at  San  Jose,  becoming 
as.sociated,  in  1887,  with  J.  Burns  and  J.  Leiter  as 
Burns,  Leiter  &  Coe. 

November  10,  1862,  he  married  Jennie  A.,  daughter 
of  Edward  J.  and  Martha  Smith.  Three  children 
were  born  to  them:  Alice  J.,  wife  of  D.  D.  Brooks,  of 
Minneapolis,  Minnesota,  and  the  two  sons  before 
mentioned.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Coe  are  members  of  the 
First  Methodist  Church  of  San  Jose,  of  which  he  is 
a  class  leader. 


.g||LPHONSE   D.   DERENNE  was  born  in  De- 
S^rfe  partment  of  Eure,   France,  August   7,   1839,  his 

t  parents  being  Delphin  and  Victorine  (Cati) 
Derenne.  He  was  reared  in  the  village  of 
Ecardenville  la  Champagne  to  the  age  of  sixteen 
years,  and  then  went  to  Paris.  Thence  he  went  to 
London,  and  from  there  to  New  York,  in  1862.  Two 
years  later  he  went  to  Mexico,  and  at  the  close  of  the 
war  went  back  to  New  York.  From  there  he  went 
to  New  Orleans,  where  he  remained  two  years,  and 
in  1867  went  again  to  Paris,  this  time  to  attend  the 
great  Paris  exhibition.  In  1868  he  returned  to  New 
York,  and  from  there  came  by  way  of  Aspinwall  and 
Panama  to  California.  He  remained  in  San  Fran- 
cisco two  years,  then  came  to  Santa  Clara  County, 
where  he  owned  the  ranch  now  the  property  of  C. 
De  Loutel,  to  whom  he  sold  it.  He  then  went  back 
to  San  Francisco,  and  was  a  guide  carrier  there  until 
1887,  when  he  returned  to  Santa  Clara  County.  He 
has  been  an  extensive  traveler,  and  has  seen  a  great 
deal  of  the  world.     In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat. 


-^^^ 


J  I  A.  P.  DANIEL,  of  Fremont  Township,  is  a  native 
,^  of  France,  born  at  Pari.s,  Juneg,  1822,  his  parents 
^  being  Charles  and  Teresa  (Snyder)  Daniel.  He 
was  reared  in  the  department  of  Ardennes,  near  the 
line  of  Champagne.  From  1842  to  1849  he  was  a 
soldier  in  the  army  of  France,  in  the  second  Chasseurs 


648 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


de  Afrique,  his  service  being  in  Algiers,  wliere  he 
gallantly  performed  his  part.  He  returned  to  France 
after  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  service,  and  in  iS6i, 
going  to  Havre,  took  passage  in  a  vessel  bound  for 
New  York.  He  soon  come  out  to  California,  and  has 
resided  in  the  Stale  ever  since.  He  bought  fifteen 
acres  where  he  now  resides,  in  i86S,  at  which  time  it 
was  covered  with  brush.  After  three  or  four  years  of 
patient  labor,  he  got  his  land  in  condition  to  cultivate, 
and  he  now  has  twelve  and  one-half  acres  of  vines  in 
thirty-five  of  the  choicest  foreign  varieties,  including 
red,  black,  and  white  table  grapes.  Half  of  the  vine- 
yard is  just  coming  into  bearing,  the  rest  all  being  ma- 
ture vines.  He  sells  a  great  many  grapes  in  the 
market,  and  manufactures  wine  from  the  remainder. 
He  has  three  wine  cellars,  one  of  them  under-ground- 
The  place  shows  every  evidence  of  the  careful  atten- 
tion given  it  by  the  proprietor. 

Mr.  Daniel  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Roslar,  a 
native  of  France,  born  at  Strasburg,  and  daughter  of 
John  Pierre  and  Catharine  Rosier.  She  was  reared 
in  Paris  from  the  age  of  two  years.  Mr.  Daniel  is  a 
Republican  politically. 


HPILLIAM  E.  LENDRUM,  druggist,  35  East 
isW^  Santa  Clara  Street,  San  Jose,  has  been  in  that 
sXi)    business  since  November,  1887,  having  bought 

1  this  store  from  O.  J.  Lynch,  the  business  having 
been  originally  opened  by  Dr.  Robert  Ammen. 

Mr.  Lendrum  is  a  native  of  California,  having  been 
born  in  San  Jose  in  1863.  His  parents  were  James 
and  Ann  J.  (Reed)  Lendrum,  natives  of  Scotland, 
who  immigrated  to  the  United  States  in  1842. 
James  Lendrum  came  to  Santa  Clara  County  in  1848, 
where  he  purchased  several  ranches  and  engaged 
largely  in  stock-raising  and  farming.  He  also  had 
an  orchard  of  twenty  acres  within  one  and  a  half  miles 
of  San  Jose,  planted  in  cherries,  apples,  pears, 
prunes,  peaches,  and  apricots,  set  out  in  1862.  From 
this  he  realized  large  profits.  He  landed  in  San  Fran- 
cisco in  1848,  with  a  surplus  of  twenty  cents  cash  on 
hand,  and  by  industry,  energy,  perseverance,  and 
economy,  attending  exclusively  to  his  stock,  farming, 
and  orchard  interests,  he  had  accumulated  by  the 
time  of  his  death,  in  1885,  an  estate  worth  $300,000! 
He  was  a  man  of  kindly  instincts  and  generous  im- 
pulses. Later  in  life,  and  when  he  had  accumulated 
a  competency,  he  traveled  for  about  one  and  a  half 
years,  visiting    most    of   the    countries  of  Europe,  as 


well  as  Africa,  and  Australia,  making  the  tour  of  the 
world,  in  which  he  expended  over  $7,000.  His  widow 
and  four  children  are  stiil  living:  The  eldest  is  the 
subject  of  this  sketch;  Maggie  E.,  graduate  of  the 
Van  Ness  Seminary;  James,  in  school  in  San  Fran- 
cisco; Birney,  attending  San  Mateo  College. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  attended  the  State 
Normal  School  up  to  the  time  of  his  father's  death, 
when  he  took  charge  of  the  estate,  managing  the  va- 
rious ranches.  Having  studied  chemistry  at  the  State 
Normal  School,  and  having  a  taste  for  the  profession, 
he  purchased  the  drug  store  he  now  owns,  and  has 
since  become  proficient  in  its  various  branches.  He 
employs  as  manager,  Mr.  Charles  Tervvilliger,  a  grad- 
uate of  the  Illinois  School  of  Pharmacy. 

Mr.  Lendrum  married,  April  6,  1887,  Miss  Joseph- 
ine McMeekin,  a  native  of  England,  her  parents  emi- 
grating from  that  county  to  California  in  1870.  He 
is  a  member  of  San  Jose  Court,  Ancient  Order  of 
Foresters. 


igR.  THOMAS  KELLEY  is  a  native  of  Illinois, 
g4^  born  near  Lincoln,  Logan  County,  in  1836.  His 
_^,®'.^  father,  Alexander,  and  his  mother,  Lucinda 
■  (Anderson)  Kelley,  moved  into  Illinois  at  an 
early  date,  and  were  married  in  that  State  in  1833. 
His  father  was  a  native  of  Kentucky  and  his  mother 
of  Ohio.  They  removed  in  1842  from  Logan  County 
to  Do  Witt  County,  settling  near  Clinton,  occupying 
a  farm,  where  they  have  continued  to  this  day.  Dr. 
Kelley  attended  the  usual  district  schools  there,  com- 
mencing the  study  of  medicine  previous  to  the  out- 
break of  the  war.  He  enlisted  in  the  Union  army  in 
August,  1861,  joining  Company  K,  Forty-first  Illinois 
Infantry,  in  which  command  he  remained  until  his 
term  of  service  expired,  being  mustered  out  on  Sep- 
tember 8,  1864.  His  regiment  served  in  the  Army  of 
the  Cumberland,  also  in  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee, 
participating  in  the  battles  of  Fort  Henry,  Fort  Don- 
elson,  Shiloh,  siege  of  Corinth,  in  a  battle  on  the 
Hatchie  River,  Coldwater,  Massachusetts,  siege  of 
Vicksburg,  at  Jackson,  Mississippi,  on  July  12,  1863, 
and  with  Sherman  as  far  as  Atlanta,  orevious  to  his 
Marcli  to  the  Sea.  The  only  battle  in  which  he  was 
wounded  during  his  whole  term  of  service,  notwith- 
standing that  he  was  actively  engaged  in  all  the  bat- 
tles in  which  his  company  and  regiment  participated, 
was  at  Jackson,  Mississippi,  on  July  12,  1863,  where 
he   received  a  flesh  wound  in   the   thigh.     Dr.  Kelley 


mS[ 


c/^/t.. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


649 


was  partially  crippled  for  several  years  from  this 
wound,  receiving  a  pension  during  that  time.  When 
fully  recovered,  he  neglectecl  to  call  further  for  his 
pension  money,  feeling  he  no  longer  had  a  just  claim 
on  the  government,  and  no  longer  signed  and  re- 
turned the  vouchers.  He  enlisted  as  a  private,  was 
promoted  to  the  First  Lieutenancy  of  his  company 
for  gallant  and  meritorious  conduct  on  the  battle-field 
during  the  siege  of  Vicksburg,  and  more  particularly 
during  the  battle  at  Jackson,  Mississippi. 

Soon  after  his  return  to  Illinois  he  resumed  the 
study  of  his  profession,  under  the  preceptorship  of  Dr. 
John  Wright,  of  Clinton,  Illinois;  attended  lectures  at 
Rush  Medical  College,  Chicago,  during  the  sessions  of 
1869-71,  graduating  "February  i,  1871.  Removed  in 
that  year  to  Santa  Clara  County,  California,  engaging 
in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  to  which  he  has  since 
devoted  himself  exclusively. 

Dr.  Kelley  was  married,  in  iSSQ.to  Miss  Alice  Leeds, 
of  Ohio.  She  died  while  he  was  in  the  service,  leav- 
ing one  son,  A.  M.  Kelley,  now  Principal  of  the  public 
schools  of  Saratoga,  California.  In  1863  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Mrs.  Sarah  Watkins,  of  Clinton,  Illinois.  Their 
four  children  are:  Lessie,  no>v  the  wife  of  C.  H.  Led- 
better,  Jr.,  of  San  Francisco;  Thomas  D.  Libbie,  and 
Nannie,  now  living  at  the  parental  home  and  attend- 
ing school.  Dr.  Kelley  is  a  member  of  John  A.  Dix 
Post,  No.  42,  San  Jose,  G.  A.  R.;  of  Lodge  No.  125, 
Knights  of  Pythias,  San  Jose  ;  and  of  Mount  Hamil- 
ton Lodge,  A.  O.  U.  W. 

Dr.  Kelley's  father,  his  brother  John,  and  two 
brothers-in-law,  George  Messer  and  William  Kelley, 
were  in  the  Union  army  during  the  war.  His  brother, 
and  brother-in-law,  George  Messer,  died  in  the  service, 
and  brother-in-law,  William  Kelley,  was  killed  in  the 
engagement  at  Dalton,  Tennessee.  Dr.  Kelley  is  a 
Republican,  and  believes  in  the  fullest  protection  of 
American  industries. 


I^AMES  W.  EASTIN.  No  history  of  the  county 
©•  would  be  complete  without  more  than  a  passing 
^  mention  of  the  man  whose  name  heads  this 
sketch.  He  is  a  pioneer  of  his  State,  county,  and 
district,  having  come  to  the  State  in  1847,  and  settled 
in  this  county  fin  the  Moreland  District)  in  1850. 

He  was  born  in  Madison  County,  Kentucky,  Feb- 
ruary 7,  1 82 1,  of  an  old  Virginia  family,  whose  his- 
tory dates  from  the  coming  of  his  great  grandfather, 
Philip  Eastin,  from  England  to  Virginia  in  1750. 
With  him  came  two  or  three  brothers,  who  settled 
82 


in  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania.  Philip  Eastin  fol- 
lowed agricultural  pursuits,  which  as  a  rule  have  been 
the  occupation  of  his  descendants.  The  grandfather 
of  James  W.  Eastin  was  Stephen  Eastin,  who  settled 
in  Fayette  County,  Kentucky,  about  1790.  A  few 
years  later  he  removed  to  Madison  County,  the  same 
State,  and  there  improved  a  homestead  adjoining  the 
home  of  Green  Clay,  the  father  of  Cassius  M.  Clay. 
He  married,  in  Virginia,  Susan  Johnson,  who  was 
first  cousin  of  Richard  M.  Johnson,  who  was  Vice- 
President  during  the  presidency  of  Martin  Van 
Buren.  They  died  at  the  old  homestead.  Stephen 
Eastin  was  wealthy  and  owned  many  slaves.  Before 
his  death  he  freed  all  his  slaves  except  those  who  were 
helpless,  and  for  these  he  made  provision  for  care  and 
maintenance. 

The  father  of  the  subject  of  our  sketch  was  Robert 
Johnson  Eastin,  who  was  born  in  1788  in  Virginia. 
He  was  a  child  four  years  of  age  when  his  parents 
settled  in  Kentucky,  and  he  always  lived  in  that 
State.  In  1808  he  married  Miss  Mary  Elliott,  who 
was  also  a  native  of  Virginia.  To  them  were  born 
nine  children,  four  sons  and  five  daughters.  Of  this 
large  family,  besides  the  subject  of  our  sketch,  but  one 
son  and  one  daughter  are  now  living.  The  son,  John 
Walker  Eastin,  now  lives  in  Logan  County,  Kentucky. 

James  W.  Eastin,  the  subject  of  our  sketch,  was 
early  trained  to  the  duties  of  a  farm  life  in  Madison 
County,  Kentucky,  receiving  his  education  in  the 
.schools  of  that  county.  When  he  reached  his  major- 
ity, he  went  to  Lafayette  County,  Missouri,  and  there 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  In  1843  he  married 
Miss  Rebecca  A.  Fine,  who  was  born  in  Tennessee. 
Her  father  settled  in  Missouri  while  it  was  yet  a  Ter- 
ritory. Mr.  Eastin  led  the  quiet  life  of  a  Mi.ssouri 
farmer  until  stories  of  the  wonderful  climate  and  re- 
sources f.f  California  induced  him  to  undertake  the 
then  long,  tedious  journey  to  the  Golden  State.  May 
9,  1847,  with  his  wife  and  one  child,  and  such  simple 
household  articles  as  could  be  stored  in  one  wagon, 
with  ample  provision  for  the  season  to  be  spent  on 
the  way,  they  left  Missouri.  Reaching  California 
September  10  following,  which  was  before  the  discov- 
ery of  gold,  they  thus  became  advance  guards  of  the 
hosts  who  brought  American  civilization  to  this 
bright,  sunny  land. 

The  first  money  he  earned  in  this  State  was  by 
helping  to  build  a  house,  receiving  for  his  work  $1.50 
per  day.  He  then  engaged  in  keeping  a  boarding 
and  lodging  house,at  which  he  accumulated  some  little 
money,  when  he  commenced  loaning  money  to  the 


650 


PEN  PICTLRES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  Of    THE   WORLD." 


Spaniards,  who  used  it  for  gambling  purposes,  taking 
horses  and  saddles  in  pawn,  often  doubling  his  loans 
in  two  or  three  days;  and  by  the  first  of  January,  1848, 
he  had  accumulated  $230  in  gold.  He  then  entered 
into  copartnership  with  a  Maj.  Daniel  McDonald, 
and  started  a  small  store,  but  his  partner  dying  in  a 
few  weeks  after  their  store  was  opened  Mr.  Eastin 
closed  up  the  affairs  of  the  firm  in  May,  and  on  the 
first  of  June  he  engaged  in  mining  on  the  South 
Fork  of  the  American  River,  remaining  there  until 
September,  when  he  removed  to  San  Francisco. 
Here  Mr.  Eastin  bought  a  yoke  of  oxen  and  a 
wagon  and  engaged  in  teaming  until  April,  1849. 
He  then  left  his  family  in  San  Francisco,  and  with  a 
company  of  six  men  started  for  the  mines.  At  Sac- 
ramento the  party  bought  horses,  which  they  packed 
and  set  out  for  the  North  Fork  of  the  Middle  Fork  of 
the  American  River,  remaining  until  August,  when 
he  returned  to  San  Francisco.  Again  in  October,  he 
returned  to  mining  in  Oregon  Gulch,  near  where 
Georgetown  now  stands.  Here  Mr.  Eastin  met  with 
very  good  success.  So  rich  indeed  were  the  mines 
that  he  with  three  others  took  out  $2,200  in  three 
days,  some  nuggets  weighing  as  much  as  four  ounces. 
Notwithstanding  his  marked  success  in  the  mines, 
Mr.  Eastin  decided,  at  the  beginning  of  the  rainy 
season,  about  November  i,  to  return  to  San  Francisco, 
where  he  remained  until  May,  1850.  After  an  un- 
successful prospecting  tour  in  the  mining  regions  he 
returned  and  soon  after  went  to  Santa  Clara  County, 
and  located  a  claim  of  160  acres,  on  which  he  settled 
in  August,  1850,  camping  until  October.  The  house 
which  he  then  erected  forms  a  part  of  his  present 
habitation.  The  lumber  for  the  original  house  cost 
Mr.  Eastin  $180  per  thousand  feet,  and  he  paid  a  car- 
penter $12  a  day  to  put  up  the  frame,  himself  finish- 
ing the  structure  with  a  hatchet  and  saw. 

Perhaps  no  other  man  in  Santa  Clara  County  has 
lived  so  long  in  the  same  house.  He  has  improved 
194  acres,  a  large  portion  of  which  he  yet  retains. 
One  of  the  oldest  peach  orchards  to  be  found  in  the 
State,  was  planted  by  him  in  1855,  and  is  yet  in  bear- 
ing. He  has,  in  all,  twenty-two  acres  in  orchard, 
producing  a  general  variety  of  fruit. 

The  good  wife  who  braved  the  trials  of  the  over- 
land journey  of  1847,  and  who  helped  to  build  up  the 
pioneer  home,  lived  many  years  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of 
her  labors,  her  death  occurring  March  15,  1883.  She 
was  the  mother  of  five  children,  three  of  whom  are 
living.  Her  eldest,  Lafayette,  whom  she  brought 
to  California  a  child  of  two  years,  is  now  a  prominent 


citizen  and  trusted  official  of  Ventura  County,  being 
an  Attorney  and  County  Clerk.  He  is  a  graduate 
of  the  University  of  the  Pacific.  John  W.  is  a  resi- 
dent of  San  Francisco,  as  is  also  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Cran- 
dall,  the  only  daughter. 

Mr.  Eastin  has  served  his  county  in  important 
official  trusts,  acting  in  the  early  years  as  Magistrate 
and  Associate  Judge.  His  acquaintance  is  large,  and 
everywhere  he  is  known  as  "Judge  Eastin."  His  recol- 
lection of  early  events  is  most  vivid,  and  often  he  is 
called  upon  to  decide  which  is  right  of  different  opin- 
ions concerning  matters  nearly  forgotten  by  others. 
As  a  writer,  he  is  clear  and  forcible,  and  as  a  conver- 
sationalist most  entertaining.  In  the  old  days  he  was 
a  Whig,  and  an  ardent  supporter  of  Henry  Clay. 
Since  that  party  dropped  from  sight,  he  has  been  a 
Democrat.  As  an  Odd  Fellow,  he  is  affiliated  with 
Santa  Clara  Lodge,  No.  52. 


fC.  BAILEY,  real  estate  agent,  West  Santa  Clara 
Street,  San  Jose,  has  been  a  resident  of  California 
^)  since  1851,  and  of  the  Santa  Clara  Valley  since 
1853.  A  native  of  Augusta,  Maine,  where  he 
was  born  in  1830,  he  remained  there  until  the  age  of 
seventeen  years,  when  he  graduated  at  the  Bloom- 
field  Academy.  In  1851,  at  the  age  of  21  years,  he 
came  to  California  by  way  of  Panama.  At  first  he 
went  to  the  mines,  as  did  most  immigrants  at  that 
time,  working  in  the  American  and  Yuba  River  placer 
mines.  In  1853  he  took  charge  of  the  ranch  of  a 
friend  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley.  Later  he  steam- 
boated  for  about  six  years,  going  as  high  on  the  Sac- 
ramento River  as  Red  Bluff,  and  for  the  California 
Steam  Navigation  Company  between  San  Francisco 
and  Alviso.  He  opened  the  railroad  office  at  Santa 
Clara,  and  later  at  San  Jose,  for  the  San  Jose  and 
San  Francisco  railroad,  on  January  19,  1864;  contin- 
ued with  that  road  for  three  and  one  half  years;  was 
then  engaged  with  John  S.  Carter  in  the  grain  busi- 
ness in  San  Jose  for  three  years  ;  in  1871  was  elected 
County  Recorder,  holding  the  office  for  two  years, 
then  elected  County  Treasurer  for  two  years.  In 
1877  he  accepted  the  secretaryship  of  the  Felton  and 
Santa  Cruz  Railroad  Company,  which  he  held  for 
one  year;  had  charge  of  the  Farmers'  Union,  at  Mont- 
erey, a  branch  of  the  San  Jose  Farmers'  Union,  for  one 
and  one-half  years.  In  1879  he  engaged  in  the  real- 
estate  business  with  Mr.  Boring,  the  present  Mayor  of 
San  Jose,  and  in  that  year  was  appointed  postmaster, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


651 


which  position  he  held  until  June,  1886.  He  then 
engaged  in  the  real-estate  business  he  has  continued 
up  to  this  time. 

In  1863  Mr.  Bailey  was  married  to  Miss  M.  J.  Fos- 
ter, a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  of  English  descent. 
They  have  seven  children:  Charles  F.  and  Rufus  G., 
now  in  Washington  Territory  ;  Mattie,  Florence,  Bes- 
sie, Daniel  and  Philip,  all  the  latter  still  members  of 
the  home  circle.  Mr  Bailey  is  a  member  of  Lodge 
No.  10,  San  Jose,  F.  and  A.  M.;  member  of  Enter- 
prise Lodge,  No.  17,  A.  O.  U.  W.  Always  an  ardent 
adherent  of  the  republican  party  and  its  principles,  he 
believes  fully  in  tariff  protection  to  our  industries. 


S^Jl 


^^— 


'^(T^ 


|J|AMES  M.  PITTMAN,  of  the  firm  of  Edwards  & 
@y  Pittman,  searchers  of  records  and  conveyancers, 


^  room  38  Knox  Block,  is  a  native  of  California, 
born  near  Marysville,  Yuba  County,  in  1851.  He  is 
a  good  speciman  of  California  growth.  His  parents 
were  Andrew  J.  and  Armenia  A.  (Lewis)  Pittman,  both 
natives  of  Missouri.  His  father  was  among  the  early 
pioneers  who  crossed  the  plains  in  1849.  After  a 
short  experience  in  the  mines  during  that  year,  he  de- 
cided that  California  was  a  good  country  for  per- 
manent occupation,  and  returned  by  way  of  the  Isth- 
mus and  New  York  to  his  home  in  Missouri,  and  in 
the  following  year  came  to  this  State  across  the  plains, 
with  his  wife.  Again  he  went  to  mining  on  the  Yuba 
River  bars,  with  the  historical  "rocker,"  at  which  he 
continued  until  1852.  In  that  year  he  removed  to  the 
Santa  Clara  Valley,  settling  temporarily  near  what  is 
now  Mountain  View,  later  purchasing  a  ranch,  which 
he  owned  until  1861,  and  which  later  became  part  of 
the  Palo  Alto  Ranch,  now  owned  by  Senator  Leland 
Stanford.  He  there  devoted  himself  to  farming  and 
dairying,  which  business  he  continued  on  the  ranch  he 
purchased  in  1861,  and  which  he  still  owns  and  con- 
ducts. For  the  last  six  years  he  has  made  his  home 
in  San  Jose. 

There  were  born  to  Andrew  J.  and  Armenia  A. 
Pittman  eight  children,  one  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 
Those  living  are:  James  M.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch; 
Marion  L.,  now  in  the  picture-frame  business  in  San 
Jose;  Cornelius  Y.,  employed  in  Edwards  &  Pitt- 
man's  office;  William  A.,  now  in  the  well-boring 
business;  Belle  M.,  a  graduate  of  the  San  Jose  High 
School;  Ernest,  now  learning  the  painting  business. 
Another  son.  Berry  M.,  died  in  1887. 


James  M.  passed  through  the  various  grammar 
school  grades  in  San  Jose,  and  then  graduated  at  the 
Pacific  Business  College,  of  San  Francisco.  He  en- 
gaged in  farming  near  Mayfield,  in  1869,  continuing 
in  this  business  up  to  1874.  Was  elected  Secretary  of 
the  State  Grange,  in  1874;  resigned  in  January,  1S75, 
went  East,  and  remained  in  Ouincy,  Illinois,  until 
April,  1876,  doing  business  for  an  uncle  then  living  at 
that  place.  Returning  to  California,  he  became  Dep- 
uty County  Recorder  under  W.  B.  Hardy,  retaining 
that  position  for  four  and  a  half  years.  He  was  then 
elected  County  Recorder,  and  served  in  that  position 
from  January  i,  1883,  to  January  i,  1887,  having 
been  re-elected  in  1885.  On  the  termination  of  his 
official  duties  as  Recorder,  he  became  interested  in 
his  present  business,  for  which  his  experience  in  the 
County  Recorder's  office  had  thoroughly  trained  him, 
and  for  the  duties  of  which  he  possesses  a  peculiar 
natural  adaptation. 

Mr.  Pittman  was  married,  in  1876,  to  Miss  Carrie  J. 
Fletcher,  of  Menlo  Park  she  being  a  native  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, who  came  to  California  with  her  parents  at 
an  early  age.  They  have  two  children:  Homer  F., 
born  in  1877,  and  Blanche  B.,  born  in    1880. 

Mr.  Pittman  is  a  member  of  Garden  City  Lodge, 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  also  of  Mount  Hamilton  Lodge,  A.  O.  U. 
W.  He  is  also  a  Native  Son  of  the  Golden  West,  be- 
ing a  member  of  San  Jose  Parlor.  He  is  a  supporter 
of  the  Democratic  party  on  national  issues,  and  in 
favor  of  tariff  reform. 


POSIAH  EVANS  (deceased)  was  born  in  Fayette 
County,  Ohio,  on  the  twenty-eighth  day  of  May, 
W  1809.  His  parents,  Lemuel  and  Jerusha  V.  (Mel- 
son)  Evans,  were  of  Welsh  decent,  and  were  among 
the  earliest  settlers  of  Ohio.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
spent  his  youth  upon  a  farm,  and  was  early  inured 
to  the  toils  and  hardships  of  a  frontier  life,  receiving 
only  such  education  as  was  afforded  by  the  meager 
schools  of  that  date.  He  started  out  in  life  for  him- 
self while  quite  young,  and  became  a  farmer,  stock- 
raiser,  and  drover  in  the  earliest  settlements  of  Illi- 
nois, Iowa,  and  Missouri. 

He  married,  April  13,  1837,  Mi.ss  Cavy  Smith,  the 
daughter  of  Samuel  and  Cavy  Smith,  of  Morgan 
County,  Ohio. 

The  gold  excitement  of  1849  influenced  Mr.  Ev- 
ans to  make  the  long  and  dangerous  trip  to  this  State, 
and  accordingly  in  that  year  he  started  overland  with 


652 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


his  family.  Reaching  Placer  County  during  the  next 
year,  Mr.  Evans  engaged  in  mining,  until,  in  the  spring 
of  1851,  he  went  to  Yuba  County,  where  he  estab- 
lished a  general  merchandise  store  and  hotel.  He 
had  successfully  conducted  these  enterprises  for  a 
year  or  more,  when  his  restless  disposition  prompted 
a  change.  He  went  back  upon  the  plains,  and  again 
took  up  his  former  business  of  cattle  drover  and 
trader  among  the  emigrants.  He  bought  from  them 
their  worn,  tired,  and  often  half-starved  stock,  which 
he  drove  to  the  "sink"  of  the  Humboldt,  where  he 
recruited  them,  and  then  drove  them  into  California. 

This  enterprise,  with  various  others,  occupied  his 
attention  until  the  spring  of  1853,  when  he  came  to 
Santa  Clara  County,  where  he  rented  land  and  put  in 
a  crop  for  the  coming  harvest.  This  venture  proved 
to  be  a  successful  one,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same 
year  he  purchased  a  tract  of  land — five  hundred  acres 
in  extent — about  one  and  one-half  miles  east  of  Mil- 
pitas.  Here  began  a  useful,  active  life  of  thirty 
years  in  this  county,  although  during  the  time  he 
was  also  largely  interested  in  stock-raising,  in  Ne- 
vada, where  he  established  two  large  stock  ranches, 
upon  one  of  which  his  son,  Francis,  lived  for  seven 
years.  His  sons  are  now  extensively  interested  in 
stock-raising  in  that  State,  an  industry  which,  under 
their  capable  management,  has  grown  to  large  propor- 
tions. The  extensive  Santa  Clara  homestead  is  prin- 
cipally devoted  to  the  production  of  grain  and  hay, 
and  the  raising  of  stock,  among  which  may  be  found 
some  thoroughbred  trotting  stock  of  the  "Almont" 
breed. 

Of  the  nine  children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Evans, 
seven  are  living:  viz.,  Francis  M.,  who  married  Miss 
Lydia  Truman,  daughter  of  Marcus  and  Rebecca  Tru- 
man, of  Santa  Clara  County;  America  E.,  the  wife  of 
Samuel  F.  Ayer  (a  sketch  of  whose  life  appears  in  this 
volume);  Sarah  C,  who  married  R.  S.  Barber,  a  res- 
ident of  this  county;  John  A.,  residing  on  the  old 
homestead ;  William  L.,  Aaron  S.,  and  Reese  T.  (who 
married  Miss  Annie  Bardoe,  of  Santa  Clara  County), 
all  living  in  Nevada.  The  oldest  son,  Francis  Evans, 
with  his  family  resides  on  the  old  homestead.  His 
family  comprises  the  following-named  children:  Lillie 
May,  Nellie,  George  L.,  Annie  T.,  Lizzie  R.,  and  Jo- 
siah. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  a  man  who  was  well 
known  throughout  this  county,  and  was  universally 
esteemed  and  respected  by  his  neighbors  and  associ- 
ates. His  energy  and  ambition  won  for  him  the  pros- 
perity and  position  which   is  not  always  accorded  to 


men  who  start  in  life  with  much  more  favorable  cir- 
cumstances on  their  side  than  did  Mr.  Evans.  In  his 
death,  which  occurred  April  11,  1883,  his  family  lost 
a  kind  protector  and  friend,  while  the  community  lost 
one  of  its  solid  men  and  most  respected  citizens. 


#^-^ 


f||EORGE  CROSS.  No  history  of  Santa  Clara 
^^  County  could  well  be  written  without  more  than 
yN  a  passing  mention  of  this  well-known  pioneer. 
He  was  one  of  those  hardy  and  adventurous  men 
who  made  up  the  exploring  party  under  Captain 
Fremont,  and  who,  after  braving  the  dangers  and 
hardships  of  plains,  deserts,  and  mountains,  reached 
the  then  Mexican  Province  of  California  in  1846. 
The  war  with  Mexico  having  commenced  while  Cap- 
tain Fremont  and  his  command  were  yet  in  the 
mountains,  the  Captain  was  ready,  upon  his  arrival, 
to  lead  the  Americans  already  here  ^o  the  conquest 
of  this  sunny  land.  His  own  gallant  band  became 
the  nucleus  of  the  force  that  soon  drove  the  last  armed 
Mexican  from  the  soil,  and  thus  paved  the  way  for 
the  hosts  that  followed  and  peopled  this  State.  In 
these  historical  events,  Mr.  Cross  was  an  active  par- 
ticipator. 

A  brief  review  of  the  history  of  his  life  gives  the 
following  facts:  He  was  born  near  Ogdensburg,  St. 
Lawrence  County,  New  York,  July  29,  1825.  His 
parents  were  John  and  Ann  Frances  (McFarland) 
Cross,  natives  of  Scotland.  His  father  removed  to 
Dane  County,  Wisconsin,  in  1842,  where  he  lived  un- 
til his  death,  which  occurred  in  1882,  at  the  advanced 
age  of  ninety-six  years.  George  was  reared  as  a 
farmer,  receiving  such  an  education  as  the  county 
schools  afforded.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  years,  he 
was  apprenticed  to  Milton  Colwell,  a  blacksmith  of 
Rochester,  Wisconsin.  In  the  spring  of  1845  he  left 
Wisconsin  for  the  West,  going  overland  to  Santa  Fe, 
New  Mexico,  in  the  employ  of  Kit  Carson,  and  re- 
turning to  Fort  Independence  in  the  same  year. 
There  he  remained  until,  in  the  spring  of  1846,  he 
enlisted  in  the  United  States  service,  and  was  attached 
to  Captain  Fremont's  exploring  expedition,  which 
was  bound  for  Oregon.  He  came  overland  in  this 
command,  which  was  afterward  ordered  into  Califor- 
nia, and  reached  Sonoma  County  before  Commodore 
Sloat's  occupation  of  Monterey.  Mr.  Cross  was  en- 
gaged in  the  memorable  "Bear  Flag"  raising  in  So- 
noma County.     He  went  with  his  command  to  Mon- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


653 


terey  and  Los  Angeles,  where  he  received  an  honorable 
discharge  from  the  service  in  1847. 

After  his  discharge  he  located  in  what  is  now  Ala- 
meda County,  near  Livermore,  and  there  engaged 
extensively  in  stock-raising  on  shares  for  Horn  Pablo 
Barnell,  with  quite  successful  results.  In  1848  Mr. 
Cross  was  engaged  with  Mr.  Marshall  and  one  other 
man  in  building  Sutter's  Mill,  and  digging  the  his- 
torical mill-race  in  which  gold  was  afterwards  discov- 
ered. After  completing  the  mill,  he  went  to  Sutter's 
Fort,  and  was  there  when  Mr.  Marshall  brought  the 
samples  of  gold  taken  from  the  mill-race  to  General 
Sutter.  This  gold  was  discovered  by  a  young  lad, 
who  he  thinks  was  a  step-son  of  Mr.  Marshall.  No 
one  at  the  fort  was  able  to  test  the  gold  properly, 
and  the  sample  was  sent  to  Dr.  Benjamin  Cory  at 
San  Jose,  who  in  turn  submitted  the  same  to  Thomas 
O.  Larkin,  formerly  American  Consul  at  Monterey. 
Mr.  Larkin  pronounced  the  find  to  be  gold,  and  the 
excitement  which  followed  was  intense,  causing  Mr. 
Cross,  with  many  others,  to  abandon  his  stock-raising 
and  seek  the  gold-fields. 

He  remained  for  some  months  in  the  mines,  and 
during  that  time  procured  no  less  than  200  pounds  of 
gold!  In  the  fall  of  1848  he  came  to  Santa  Clara 
County,  remaining  until  the  next  spring,  when  he 
located  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  and  again  engaged 
in  stock-raising.  After  a  residence  of  three  years  in 
that  locality,  he  returned  to  Santa  Clara  County  and 
located  at  McCarthysville  (now  Saratoga),  on  Camp- 
bell's Creek.  Here  he  built  one  of  the  first  saw-mills 
in  the  county.  He  also  owned  a  large  tract  of  land, 
including  the  famous  Congress  Springs.  Mr.  Cross 
remained  at  this  place,  conducting  his  various  enter- 
prises, until  1863,  when  he  sold  out  to  a  San  Fran- 
cisco company.  He  then  rented  a  farm  of  400  acres 
on  what  was  known  as  the  Palo  Ranch,  owned  by 
Charles  White,  and  engaged  in  raising  grain  for  about 
four  years.  He  then  purchased,  in  1867,  the  land 
which  he  now  occupies. 

This  property  is  located  on  the  Milpitas  and  Ber- 
ryessa  road,  in  the  Berryessa  District,  about  five  and 
a    half    miles    northeast    of    San    Jose.     It    contains 


twenty  acres. 


fifteen   acres   of    which   is   devoted   to 


orchard  culture,  there  being  700  prune  trees,  480  apri- 
cot trees,  125  pear  trees,  75  cherry  trees,  and  a  few 
trees  each  of  apples,  figs,  and  crab-apples.  The  re- 
maining five  acres  is  devoted  to  vineyard,  producing 
grapes  of  the  White  Muscat  and  Rose  of  Peru  vari- 
eties. Mr.  Cross  has,  in  the  past  three  or  four  years, 
grafted  French  prunes  on    his  apricot  roots,  and  has 


succeeded  in  getting  these  grafts  into  bearing  in  the 
second  year  of  their  growth.  His  apricot  trees  have 
for  the  past  eight  years  yielded  each  year  an  average 
of  $150  per  acre. 

On  the  seventeenth  of  August,  1852,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Lavinia 
Freer,  daughter  of  Jonathan  and  Hannah  (Swords) 
Freer,  residents  of  Missouri.  They  have  had  thirteen 
children,  ten  of  whom  are  living.  Their  names  are: 
John,  residing  in  Nevada;  Thomas,  living  on  the  old 
homestead;  Charles,  living  in  Oregon;  James  and 
George,  who  are  at  home;  Elizabeth,  the  wife  of 
Frank  Simmon.s,  residing  at  San  Jose;  Edith,  Ida, 
Daisy,  and  Fannie,  who  are  members  of  their  father's 
household.  Their  daughter,  Mary  Ann  (now  de- 
ceased), married  Royal  Leavenworth,  of  San  Jose. 
She  left  one  child,  Lorena  Leavenworth,  who  lives 
with  her  grandparents. 

Mr.  Cross  is  a  member  of  the  San  Jose  Lodge, 
No.  23,  of  the  United  Druids.  He  is  politically  iden- 
tified with  the  Democratic  party,  and  has  held  the 
position  of  Roadmaster  of  his  district  for  fifteen  years. 
Naturally,  he  is  deeply  interested  in  all  the  public 
affairs  of  the  county  and  State  in  which  he  has  so  long 
made  his  home,  and  in  which  he  has  so  many  friends 
and  acquaintances. 


-€-4^'^- 


fHOMAS  J.  SCHERREBECK  was  born  in  San 
Jose,  Santa  Clara  County,  November  21,  1851. 
(3jt  His  father,  Peter  Scherrebeck,  was  a  native  of 
Denmark,  and  came  to  California  in  1835.  He 
was  a  seafaring  man  and  an  officer  in  the  Denmark 
mercantile  marine  service.  In  the  year  above  men- 
tioned, he  left  his  vessel  in  the  harbor  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  for  many  years  was  engaged  as  a  trader 
at  that  port,  and  in  the  surrounding  country.  He 
located  in  Santa  Clara  County  during  this  time,  which 
was  long  before  the  advent  of  the  American  pioneer. 
His  mother,  Mary  (Sullivan)  Scherrebeck,  came  to 
Santa  Clara  County  in  1844,  as  a  member  of  the  fam- 
ily of  Martin  Murphy,  Sr.  Mr.  Scherrebeck's  father 
died  in  San  Francisco  in  1862.  His  mother  is  still 
living  in  that  city.  Until  the  age  of  fifteen  he  was 
attending  school,  receiving  his  education  at  St.  Igna- 
tius College,  in  San  Francisco.  The  death  of  his 
father  compelled  an  abandonment  of  his  educational 
designs,  and  in  1866  he  became  a  clerk  in  a  dry-goods 
store,  which  occupation  he  continued  until  eighteen 
years  of  age.     He  then  apprenticed  himself  to  a  car- 


654 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


penter  and  worked  until  1872,  after  which  he  worked 
as  a  journeyman  carpenter  until  1878.  He  then 
spent  a  year  at  work  in  the  lumber  mills  in  Mendocino 
County,  returning  to  San  Francisco  in  1879.  He  con- 
tinued his  occupation  as  a  carpenter  in  that  city  and 
the  country  surrounding  until  April,  1888,  when  he 
came  to  Santa  Clara  County  and  took  up  his  resi- 
dence near  the  northwest  corner  of  the  Alum  Rock 
Road  and  McLaughlin  Avenue,  in   East    San  Jose. 

April  3,  1888,  is  the  date  of  Mr.  Scherrebeck's  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Mary  E.  Sullivan,  the  daughter  of  Pat- 
rick G.  and  Bridget  Sullivan,  a  sketch  of  whom 
appears  in  this  volume.  Mr.  Sullivan  is  an  enterpris- 
ing and  energetic  mechanic,  and  has  been  reared  to 
hard  work,  which  makes  him  a  desirable  acquisition 
in  any  community.  He  is  a  consistent  member  of 
the  Catholic  Church.  Politically  he  is  a  Democrat, 
but  is  liberal  and  conservative  in  his  views. 


fAPT.  CHARLES  H.  WAKELEE  was  born  in 
Rochester,  Monroe  County,  New  York,  October 
Oy^  20,  1 8 19.  His  father,  Abner  Wakelee,  was  born 
in  Greene  County,  between  Albany  and  New 
York,  and  was  ninety-four  or  ninety-five  years  old 
when  he  died.  His  mother  was  Amanda  Cherrietree, 
also  of  Greene  County.  They  were  both  old  resi- 
dents of  that  locality,  and  died  in  Rochester.  They 
had  seven  children  in  their  family,  four  of  whom  are 
now  living.  After  the  death  of  his  first  wife,  Abner 
Wakelee  was  again  married,  to  Miss  Dolly  Pitts,  of 
Livingston  County,  New  York,  by  whom  there  were 
four  children,  two  of  them  living.  C.  H.  Wakelee  is 
next  to  the  eldest  of  the  first  children.  He  was 
raised  principally  in  Rochester,  where  he  lived  until 
he  was  twenty  years  of  age.  He  can  remember  many 
things  that  occurred  there  when  he  was  a  small  child, 
as  the  building  of  the  Erie  Canal  from  Albany  to 
Buffalo  and  from  the  Hudson  River  to  Lake  Erie, 
and  the  acqueduct  across  the  Genesee  River  at  Roch- 
ester, which  at  that  time  was  considered  a  remarkable 
piece  of  engineering.  He  can  remember  distinctly 
the  passing  of  General  Lafayette  through  the  city, 
and  many  things  pertaining  to  that  and  other  events. 
His  early  education  was  received  at  the  Collegiate 
Institute,  which  was  built  at  Rochester,  at  that  time, 
and  when  he  was  twelve  years  old,  upon  the  death  of 
his  mother,  he  was  sent  to  his  grandfather  in  Green- 
ville,  Green    County,  and   attended  the  academy   at 


that  place.  When  he  was  seventeen  years  old  he 
purchased  a  stock  of  drugs  for  a  man  in  Rochester, 
started  the  business  for  him  and  ran  the  establishment. 
Next  he  took  a  dry-goods  store,  of  a  merchant  who 
had  failed,  and  young  Wakelee  was  employed  to  sell 
out  the  stock  and  straighten  up  the  business  for  the 
benefit  of  the  creditors,  which  he  did  in  a  very  accept- 
able manner,  having  a  peculiar  business  tact  and  abil- 
ity for  a  young  man  of  his  years,  which  placed  him 
early  in  life  to  fill  responsible  positions  of  trust,  and 
earn  for  him  a  high  regard  among  business  men. 
When  he  was  twenty-one  he  married  and  moved  to 
Perry,  Wyoming  County,  where  he  went  into  the  drug 
business  for  himself,  remaining  there  nearly  a  year. 
He  then  sold  out  and  took  a  trip  through  some  of  the 
Western  States.  Returning  to  New  York,  he  bought 
a  stock  of  drugs  at  Newark,  Wayne  County,  where  he 
was  in  business  about  two  years.  He  then  went  to 
New  York  city  and  entered  the  dry-goods  house  of 
Cutters,  Phelps  &  Co.,  on  Cedar  Street,  second  door 
from  the  post-office,  and  for  six  months  in  the  year 
was  traveling  for  the  firm  making  collections  and 
straightening  up  bad  accounts.  He  remained  there 
between  two  and  three  years,  and  then  went  to  New 
Orleans  and  entered  the  house  of  J.  H.  Beard,  the 
largest  real-estate  broker  in  the  city  and  one  of  the 
finest  auctioneers  in  the  world.  While  he  was  there 
Beard  went  East  and  Mr.  Wakelee  took  the  entire 
charge  of  the  business.  From  there  he  went  to 
Panama  and  had  charge  of  the  fitting  up  and  fur- 
nishing of  the  Aspinwall  House,  an  immense  struct- 
ure built  there  before  the  railroad  was  constructed. 
He  remained  there  about  a  year  and  then  sailed  for 
California,  on  board  the  California,  Captain  Dick 
Whiting,  an  extra  ship  bringing  a  load  of  fruit  for  the 
United  States  Government,  and  landed  in  San  Fran- 
cisco the  first  week  in  February,  1852.  He  then,  in 
connection  with  Charles  Minturn,  started  a  line  of 
steamboats  between  San  Francisco  and  Petaluma. 
Captain  Wakelee  had  command  of  one  of  the  steamers, 
which  he  ran  for  several  years.  This  partnership  was 
continued  up  to  1857,  when  the  Captain  sold  out  his 
interest  in  the  business,  which  was  brought  up  to  a 
good  paying  industry.  He  then,  with  a  good  capital, 
started  in  the  real-estate  business  in  San  Francisco, 
and  operated  in  general  stocks.  When  the  stock 
board  of  that  city  was  organized  the  first  meeting  for 
business  was  held  in  Captain  Wakelee's  office,  he  be- 
ing one  of  the  original  members.  He  made  his  home 
there,  and  extended  his  business  all  over  the  State, 
which  resulted  in  a  profitable  enterprise. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


655 


In  February,  1885,  he  rame  to  Santa  Clara  County, 
where  he  bought  his  present  ranch,  known  as  the 
McCoon  property,  of  eighty  acres,  lying  about  a 
mile  south  of  the  county  road  between  Mayfield  and 
Mountain  View,  which  place  was  planted  with  the 
very  best  kinds  of  fruit  and  table  grapes  without  re- 
gard to  expense,  and  has  been  kept  in  the  most  per- 
fect manner  to  the  present  time.  It  is  now  one  of  the 
best  places  of  its  age  in  the  State,  which  the  writer  of 
this  article  can  verify  by  personal  observations.  The 
first  which  we  examined  is  the  vineyard  of  fifteen 
acres  in  table  grapes  grafted  in  the  resistant  stock  now 
five  years  old,  which  are  in  good  bearing  condi- 
tion, and  as  fine  as  any  seen  in  the  valley.  The 
varieties  comprise  20  rows  of  Flaming  Tokay,  31 
rows  of  Rose  of  Peru,  and  34  rows  of  Cornichon,  8 
rows  of  Muscats,  22  rows  of  Black  Hamburg,  4  rows 
of  Isabella,  4  rows  of  Sweetwater,  and  29  rows  of 
other  varieties.  The  orchard  has  apricots,  consisting 
of  three  varieties:  Moxpox,  Hemskirts,  and  Royals. 
The  peach  varieties  are  the  early  Crawfords,  being 
only  two  years  old,  numbering  about  sixty  trees. 
They  are  well  loaded  with  fruit  and  equal  to  anything 
in  the  State.  The  nut  trees,  with  plums  intervening, 
consist  of  350  pecans  and  about  50  English  walnuts. 
Of  the  plum  varieties  there  are  100  Japan  plums,  240 
Yellow  Egg  plums,  30  Jeffries  plums,  and  40  Chest- 
nuts. The  olives,  about  80  in  number,  well  loaded 
with  fruit,  are  five  years  old,,  and  have  born  for  two 
years.  There  is  also  a  family  orchard,  consisting  of 
figs,  cherries,  peaches,  raspberries,  blackberries,  etc. 
There  is  a  strip  of  country  lying  between  the  San 
Francisco  and  San  Jose  road,  toward  the  foot-hills, 
that  has  not  been  fully  appreciated  until  recently, 
which  is  now  proving  from  actual  experience  to  be 
the  cream  of  the  county  for  vine  and  fruit-growing. 
Captain  Wakelee's  place  fully  demonstrates  this  fact. 
One  marked  peculiarity  of  that  place  is,  the  vines 
are  set  out  ten  feet  apart  and  the  trees  thirty  feet 
apart;  and  the  place,  generally  speaking,  proves  the 
correctness  of  this  theory. 


.§KEN  MASSOL  was  born  November  15,  1859, 
s^  in  Sacramento,  California.  His  father,  F.  A. 
T  Massol,  is  a  native  of  Baltimore,  Maryland,  and 
came  to  California  in  March,  1853.  He  settled  in 
Sacramento,  where  he  married  Orpha  Merwin,  a  native 
of  Delaware  County,  New  York.  In  July,  1883,  they 
moved  to  Los  Gatos  and  located  at  the  edge  of  the 


city  adjoining  the  Almond  Grove  Addition.  Mr.  Ma.s- 
sol  has  an  almond  orchard  of  twenty-two  acres  in  good 
bearing  condition,  which  is  the  oldest  orchard  in  Los 
Gatos,  the  most  of  the  trees  being  about  fifteen  years 
old.  Fen  Massol  is  the  oniy  child  in  his  father's  fam- 
ily. He  was  educated  at  Napa,  California,  and  grad- 
uated in  June,  1879.  During  his  residence  in  Sacra- 
mento he  was  employed  in  the  County  Clerk's  office, 
and  in  the  law  office  of  Creed  Haymond.  In  1884  he 
started  in  the  jewelry  business  with  O.  B.  Austin, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Austin  &  Massol,  who  are  the 
leading  jewelers  of  Los  Gatos.  They  are  also  en- 
gaged in  the  real-estate  business,  in  which  they  have 
been  very  successful.  Mr.  Massol  is  a  charter  mem- 
ber of  the  Los  Gatos  Parlor,  No.  124,  N.  S.  G.  W.,  and 
since  its  organization  has  been  Secretary  of  the  order. 


->«^) 


M 


'-4^-^*- 


fEORGE  BLAINE,  fruit-grower  and  foreman  of 
the  manufacturing  department  of  the  Santa 
'x"  Clara  Valley  Mill  and  Lumber  Co.,  of  San  Jose, 
with  which  company  he  has  been  connected  almost 
continuously  for  fifteen  years,  lives  on  Lincoln  Ave- 
nue, between  Minnesota  and  Pine  Avenues,  in  the 
Willows,  near  San  Jose.  There  he  has  built  a  beauti- 
ful home  and  planted  an  orchard  containing  four 
and  one-half  acres  in  prunes,  cherries,  apricots,  and 
peaches.  This  place  was  originally  planted  in  apples, 
but  they  proved  unsatisfactory,  and  were  replaced  by 
the  fruits  above  mentioned.  He  has  also  an  orchard 
of  thirty-eight  acres  on  Hamilton  Avenue,  west  of  the 
Meridian  road,  about  four  miles  west  of  San  Jose. 
This  contains  about  eight  acres  of  peaches,  eighteen 
acres  of  prunes,  five  acres  of  apricots,  and  five  acres  of 
cherries. 

Mr.  Blaine  was  born  in  Seneca  County,  New  York 
State,  in  1830.  His  parents  were  also  natives  of  New 
York  State,  where  they  resided  until  1834,  removing 
to  Michigan  in  that  year.  Before  removing  his  fam- 
ily west,  Mr.  Blaine's  father  made  a  trip  from  New 
York  State  by  steam  to  Detroit,  thence  across  the 
State  to  what  is  now  Grand  Haven,  Michigan,  thence 
following  the  beach  around  the  lake  to  Chicago.  He 
made  this  trip  on  foot,  improvising  rafts  on  which  to 
cross  the  various  streams  running  into  Lake  Michigan. 
Chicago  consisted,  when  he  reached  there,  of  a  block 
house  with  a  few  United  States  troops,  and  a  trading 
store  kept  by  a  Frenchman  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  Indians  and  the  few  settlers,  and  fur  traders  then  in 
the  Northwest.     Returning  to  New  York  State,  he 


656 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


emigrated  with  his  family,  settling  where  Mason,  the 
county  seat  of  Ingham  Count>',  Michigan,  now  stands. 
The  country  around  was  a  wilderness,  their  house  and 
that  of  a  neighbor  who  accompained  them  being,  as 
far  as  they  could  learn,  eighteen  miles  the  furthest 
west  in  Michigan.  Mr.  Blaine's  father  being  a  carpen- 
ter and  builder,  as  well  as  farmer,  took  a  very  active 
part  in  building  up  that  country. 

His  son,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  grew  up  on  the 
farm,  and  having  been  from  his  earliest  youth  familiar 
with  the  use  of  tools,  became  by  the  time  he  reached 
manhood  proficient  in  the  builder's  trade,  working 
with  his  father  and  brother  at  that  business  for  some 
years.  In  1852  Mr.  Blaine's  mother  died,  his  father 
following  her  to  the  grave  in  three  months.  They 
are  both  buried  in  the  cemetery  at  Mason,  Michigan. 
In  1854  Mr.  Blaine  removed  from  Michigan,  stopping 
a  short  time  in  Chicago  and  working  at  various  places 
in  Illinois  at  his  trade.  For  about  three  years  pre- 
vious to  the  war  he  was  engaged  in  buying  grain,  etc., 
at  Lincoln,  Logan  C  unty,  Illinois,  where  he  met  and 
married,  in  December,  i860,  Miss  Alazan  Kenyon, 
daughter  of  R  A  and  —  (Rhodes)  Kenyon,  natives 
of  Jefferson  County,  New  York,  who  removed  to  a 
point  near  Kalamazoo,  Michigan,  about  1840,  and 
thence  to  Lincoln  in  1858.  Eighteen  months  after 
his  marriage  he  removed  from  Lincoln,  crossing  the 
plains  and  passing  through  Montana,  Idaho,  reach- 
ing The  Dalles,  of  Oregon,  in  September,  1862.  His 
wife  joined  him  the  following  year,  reaching  The 
■Dalles  by  way  of  New  York,  the  Panama  route,  and 
San  Francisco.  Remained  there  until  1864,  em- 
ployed by  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Co.,  in 
steamboat  building.  Not  wishing  to  make  Oregon 
his  permanent  home  he  removed  to  San  Francisco, 
where  he  worked  about  five  years,  at  ship-joining. 
Having  made  a  casual  visit  to  Santa  Clara  Valley  in 
1869,  and  being  impressed  with  its  delightful  climate 
and  wonderful  resources,  they  purchased  the  place 
where  they  now  reside,  and  which  they  have  since  de- 
veloped into  their  present  beautiful  home. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blaine  have  one  daughter,  Cora  A., 
born  ill  San  Francisco.  She  is  a  graduate  of  the 
State  Normal  School  at  San  Jose;  has  taught  school 
for  two  terms — one  in  Napa  County,  and  one  in 
Visalia,  Tulare  County.  She  is  now  living  with  her 
parents  at  the  Willows.  Mr.  Blaine  had  six  brothers 
and  two  sisters:  Mary  Ann,  who  died  in  Ingham 
County,  Michigan,  in  1856,  her  husband,  Anson  Jack- 
son, County  Surveyor  of  that  county,  preceding  her  to 
the  grave  in  1854;  David  Blaine,  who  died  in  Kansas 


about  1878;  William,  who  died  in  Jackson,  Michigan, 
about  twelve  years  ago;  Chester,  who  died  in  Mason, 
Michigan,  aged  fifteen  years;  Bartley,  a  minister  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  engaged  also  in 
farming,  living  in  Northern  Nebraska;  John,  now  liv- 
ing in  Santa  Clara  County,  California;  Emma  E.,  now 
Mrs.  Hubbard,  living  in  Dakota.  Mr.  Blaine  is  a 
member  of  Abou  Ben  Adhem  Lodge,  No.  112,  I.  O. 
O.  F.,  of  San  Francisco;  also  of  Enterprise  Lodge, 
No.  17,  A.  O.  U.  W.,  of  San  Jose. 

Mr.  Blaine  has  always  been  an  ardent  Republican, 
having  voted  for  John  C.  Fremont  in  1856.  He  at- 
tended a  political  gathering  in  Kalamazoo  in  that 
year,  at  which  Abraham  Lincoln  made  a  speech  in 
the  interests  of  Fremont's  campaign. 


-% 


'^- 


|«RS.   SYLVIA    CLARK.      Horticulture  seems 
Cssvfe  to    be    a    pursuit    that  is  eminently  fitting  for 

f  women.  This  has  been  exemplified  to  a  degree 
by  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  owns  ten 
acres  in  the  Willows,  San  Jose,  on  Hicks  Avenue,  at 
the  head  of  Pine  Avenue,  which  is  partly  planted  in 
peaches,  black  Tartarian  cherries,  and  apricots.  She 
bought  the  place,  a  grain-field  at  the  time,  about  twelve 
years  ago.  For  some  years  she  has  had  it  worked  on 
the  shares,  she  being  in  Los  Angeles  County  for  a 
while,  but  now  she  very  sensibly  proposes  to  manage 
it  herself. 

Mrs.  Clark  is  a  native  of  Perry,  Wyoming  County^ 
New  York,  where  she  was  educated,  and  married  to 
Solomon  Clark,  a  native  of  the  same  county.  Her 
parents,  Septimus  and  Clarissa  Smith,  were  natives 
of  Rutland,  Vermont,  moving  to  New  York  at  an 
early  date.  The  parents  of  Mr.  Clark  were  natives 
of  Massachusetts,  who  moved  to  Penn  Yan,  New 
York,  also  at  an  early  date.  Mr.  Clark  learned  the 
hardware  business  with  his  brother,  Alvah  Clark,  at 
Penn  Yan.  After  his  marriage  he  went  to  Fredonia, 
Chautauqua  County,  New  York,  and  engaged  in  the 
hardware  business,  but  finally  returned  to  Penn  Yan 
and  opened  a  similar  establishment,  in  which  he  re- 
mained three  years.  He  then  sold  out  to  his  brother 
and  moved  to  Whitewater,  Wisconsin,  where  he  re- 
mained in  the  hardware  business  for  twenty-three 
years.  Mr.  Clark  largely  helped  to  build  up  this 
town,  having  given  liberally  to  every  church,  the  Nor- 
mal School,  and  every  public  enterprise  requiring  his 
support.     His  failing  health  deciding  them  to  come 


0-^ ^l  CL^  d2„X 


r^ 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


657 


to  California,  he  sold  his  Whitewater  business  in  1875. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clark  traveled  over  much  of  Northern 
and  Central  California  before  locating,  and  finally  se- 
lected San  Jose  as  their  home,  buying  twenty  acres 
on  the  Coyote  Creek.  After  two  years  they  sold 
this  place,  and  bought  for  a  permanent  home,  the  ten 
acres  in  the  Willows.  Mr.  Clark  died  in  1880.  Dur- 
ing his  brief  residence  at  the  Willows  he  devoted  him- 
self to  develo  ing  and  cultivating  the  home  and  or- 
chard. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clark  have  had  four  children:  Emma, 
who  married  J.  P.  Woodbury,  of  Marshalltown,  Iowa, 
and  by  whom  she  has  five  children  living.  Mrs. 
Woodbury  died  in  Los  Angeles,  in  September,  1885; 
Carrie,  now  deceased,  the  wife  of  William  Foster,  of 
New  York  city;  Lilah,  who  died  at  the  age  of  nine 
years;  and  Eva,  who  died  at  the  age  of  fifteen  months 
— all  born  in  Whitewater,  and  all  buried  there  except- 
ing Mrs.  Woodbury.  Mr.  Clark  had  four  brothers 
and  two  sisters,  all  of  whom  are  deceased.  Mrs.  Clark 
had  five  brothers  and  three  sisters,  of  whom  only  one 
sister  and  a  brother  are  living. 


[From  "Resources  of  CaliJoniia.'"\ 

^AMUEL  A.  BISHOP.  Volumes  might  be  writ- 
*©®  ten  upon  the  life  and  adventures  of  this  well- 
^^  known  citizen  of  Santa  Clara  County,  and  yet 
much  of  his  active,  useful,  and  eventful  career  be 
.still  omitted.  He  is  one  of  those  many-sided  men, 
whose  indomitable  energy,  resolute  firmness,  broad 
and  comprehensive  views,  undaunted  courage  and 
self-reliance,  laid  the  foundation  of  this  great  empire 
of  the  West  upon  the  shores  of  the  mighty  Pacific.  A 
man  of  indefatigable  enterprise  and  fertility  of  resource, 
he  has  carved  his  name  deeply  upon  the  records  of 
the  State  and  of  the  community  in  which  he  lives.  In 
a  new  country  and  among  such  a  people  as  dwell  in 
this  favored  land,  with  its  wonderful  variety  and 
wealth  of  resources,  a  man  like  Mr.  Bishop  becomes 
the  "right  man  in  the  right  place."  To  give  even  the 
most  succinct  narrative  of  Mr.  Bishop's  life  and  advent- 
ures, requires  much  more  space  than  can  be  given  on 
these  pages. 

Samuel  A.  Bishop  was  born  in  Albermarle  County, 
in  the  State  of  Virginia,  on  the  second  day  of  Sep- 
tember, 1825.  Here  his  childhood  was  spent  until  he 
reached  the  age  of  ten  years,  when  he  moved  with  his 
parents  to  Montgomery,  Missouri,  where  he  performed 
the  duties  ordinarily  required  of  a  farmer's  boy,  and  at- 
83 


tended  school  at  convenient  opportunities  until  1846, 
when  his  parents  again  changed  their  place  of  resi- 
dence to  Callaway  County,  in  the  same  State.  M  r. 
Bishop,  although  trained  to  the  vocation  of  a  farmer, 
at  an  early  age  manifested  a  decided  taste  for  the 
mechanical  arts,  and  acquired  a  knowledge  of  several 
useful  trades,  such  as  wagon-making,  engine-building, 
blacksmithing,  etc.  He  also  built  a  mill  in  Callaway, 
and  while  engaged  in  these  occupations  and  leading  a 
somewhat  prosaic  lile,  the  news  of  the  wonderful  gold 
discoveries  in  California  broke  upon  the  little  com- 
munity in  which  he  lived,  "like  a  clap  of  thunder  from 
a  clear  sky."  The  excitement  which  ensued  fully 
aroused  the  dormant  spirit  of  adventure  in  the  breast 
of  Mr.  Bishop,  and  he  determined  to  seek  the  phan- 
tom fortune,  in  the  land  of  golden  dreams. 

Closing  out  his  intersts  in  Callaway,  he  made  the 
necessary  preparations,  and  on  the  fifteenth  day  of 
April,  1849,  he  started  with  a  party  to  undertake  the 
dreary  and  little-known  journey  across  the  plains  with 
ox  teams.  The  route  selected  was  that  by  Santa  Fe, 
in  New  Mexico,  thence  along  the  Colorado  River  to 
a  point  near  El  Paso,  Texas,  from  which  he  followed 
Cook's  route;  to  Tucson,  Arizona,  thence  to  the  Gila 
River,  where  Fort  Yuma  now  stands,  and  from  there 
onward,  towards  the  setting  sun,  to  Los  Angeles,  which 
city  he  reached  on  the  eighth  day  of  October,  1849. 
This  long  journey  was  not  made  without  many  hard- 
ships and  privations.  When  the  point  now  occupied 
by  Fort  Yuma  was  reached,  Mr.  Bishop  was  com- 
pelled to  abandon  his  teams  and  wagons,  as  there 
were  no  means  of  sustaining  the  cattle  while  crossing 
the  burning  desert  which  intervened  between  that 
place  and  Los  Angeles;  and  shouldering  his  blankets, 
pick,  and  shovel — no  light  burden  in  such  a  climate — 
tramped  the  entire  distance  on  foot,  arriving,  weary, 
foot-sore,  and  well-nigh  exhau.sted,  yet  with  courage 
undaunted  and  spirit  undismayed.  After  a  few  days 
devoted  to  rest  and  recuperation,  he  again  resumed 
his  burden  and  took  his  departure  for  the  Mariposa 
mines,  where  he  arrived  early  in  1850,  bearing  upon 
his  stalwart  shoulders  a  pack  weighing  upwards  of  lOO 
pounds,  after  having  performed  a  journey  on  foot  of 
over  700  miles. 

Mr  Bishop  spent  the  summer  of  1850  in  mining  on 
the  Stain.slaus  and  Merced  Rivers,  building  exten- 
sive dams  in  order  to  deflect  these  rivers  from  their 
course,  and  reach  the  rich  treasures  supposed  to  lie 
concealed  in  their  beds.  The  fates,  however,  were 
unpropitious,  for  in  the  month  of  September,  an 
unexpected  storm  swelled  the    rivers    to    irresistible 


658 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


torrents,  the  dams  were  swept  away,  much  valu- 
able time  and  labor  was  lost,  and  the  enterprise 
was  abandoned.  Mr.  Bishop  was  not  discouraged  by 
this  mishap,  but  immediately  moved  his  camp  to 
Mariposa,  and  was  about  to  re-commence  mininj^ 
operations,  when  the  hostile  attitude  of  the  Indians  in 
that  section  compelled  the  settlers  to  organize  for  de- 
fense and  for  the  punishment  of  the  marauding  red- 
skins. 

This  resulted  in  the  campaign,  recorded  in  the  his- 
tory of  our  State  as  the  "  Mariposa  War."  A  bat- 
talion was  raised  by  James  Burney,  and  placed  under 
the  command  of  Major  James  D.  Savage,  a  noted 
mountaineer,  and  Indian  fighter,  and  Mr.  Bishop,  im- 
pelled by  his  love  of  adventure,  was  one  of  the  first  to 
enlist.  The  corps  consisted  of  three  companies.  A, 
B,  and  C,  which  were  commanded,  respectively,  by 
Captains  John  J.  Kirkendall,  John  Bowling,  and  Will- 
iam Dill.  Mr.  Bishop  was  elected  Orderly  Sergeant 
of  Company  C,  and  was  virtually  in  command  nearly 
all  the  time  that  body  was  under  arms,  owing  to  the 
absence  of  Captain  Dill.  The  entire  battalion  at  once 
moved  in  pursuit  of  the  hostile  Indians,  overtook  and 
captured  a  band  of  them  on  the  Merced  River,  and 
followed  the  remainder  into  the  Yo  Semite  Valley, 
where  they  took  prisoner  the  great  chief  Yo  Semite 
himself,  and  captured  or  dispersed  his  forces,  which 
put  an  end  to  the  war.  It  may  be  well  here  to  note, 
as  a  matter  of  historical  interest,  that  the  advent  of 
this  armed  force  into  the  Yo  Semite  Valley  was  the 
first  appearance  of  white  men  in  that  now  world-famed 
resort.  After  the  defeat  and  capture  of  Yo  Semite's 
band  of  savages,  the  various  tribes  of  Indians  in  that 
region,  and  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  were  brought 
together  in  an  oak  grove  on  the  Mariposa  River,  and 
a  grand  pow-wow,  or  council,  was  held,  at  which  a 
treaty  of  peace  and  amity  was  concluded,  and  the  In- 
dians were  then  permitted  to  depart  for  their  respect- 
ive hunting-grounds."  Outside  tribes  were  afterwards 
brought  in  at  intervals,  and  separate  treaties  were 
made  with  them.  Peace  being  now  restored,  and  there 
being  no  further  fear  of  molestation  from  the  savages, 
the  battalion  was  mustered  out  of  service,  and  thus 
ended  the  famous  "  Mariposa  War." 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the   discharge  given  to 
Mr.   Bishop  upon   his    retirement  from  the  service  of 
the  State  :— 
"State  of  California,  | 

"Mariposa  County,    j 

"  This  is  to  certify  that  Sergeant  Samuel  A.  Bishop 
was  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  State  of  California 


as  a  volunteer,  in  Company  C,  of  California  Battalion, 
commanded  by  Major  James  D.  Savage,  on  the  tenth 
day  of  February,  1851,  and  has  faithfully  performed 
thedutiesof  First  Sergeant  of  Company  C,  to  this  date, 
and  that  he  is  this  day  honorably  discharged. 

"  Given  under  our  hands  this  first  day  of  July,  185 1. 
"Wm.  Dill,  Captain  Com.  Co.  C, 
M.  B.  Lewis,  Miistering  Officer." 

After  the  events  above  narrated,  Mr.  Bishop  en- 
gaged with  Major  Savage,  his  former  Commander, 
and  L.  D.  Vincent  Hailer,  as  a  mechanic  and  man- 
ager of  their  business.  In  1852  Major  Savage  was 
killed  in  an  altercation  with  Major  Harvey,  when  Mr. 
Bishop  became  a  partner  in  the  firm,  together  with 
Dr.  Lewis  Leach,  under  the  name  and  style  of  Leach 
&  Co.,  conducting  the  business  of  Indian  traders  on 
the  reservation  established  by  the  government  on  the 
Fresno  River.  Here  Mr.  Bishop  had  entire  control  of 
the  Indians  until  Gen.  Edward  F.  Beale  was  ap- 
pointed by  President  Fillmore,  Superintendent  of 
Indian  affairs  in  California. 

In  1853  General  Beale  determined  to  remove  the 
Indians  to  a  point  on  the  San  Joaquin  River,  where 
the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  now  crosses  that  stream, 
and  Mr.  Bishop  was  employed  to  conduct  them  to 
their  new  home.  While  here  an  incident  occurred  that 
is  worthy  of  mention.  For  some  time  portions  of  the 
State  had  been  ravaged  by  a  desperate  band  of  rob- 
bers and  murderers,  under  the  command  of  the  noto- 
rious bandit,  Joaquin  Murietta,  who  had  for  his  Lieu- 
tenant a  villainous  desperado,  known  as  Three-fingered 
Jack.  A  considerable  reward  was  offered  for  the  capt- 
ure of  these  outlaws,  dead  or  alive,  and  they  were 
finally  killed  while  resisting  arrest,  by  a  party  under 
the  command  of  Captain  Harry  Love.  Captain  Burns 
and  one  John  Sylvester  came  one  day  to  the  bank  of 
the  river  opposite  the  Indian  rancheria,  and  asked  to 
be  ferried  across.  Mr.  Bishop  took  a  boat  and  brought 
them  over,  when  they  exhibited  to  him  the  heads  of 
Joaquin  and  Three-fingered  Jack,  together  with  the 
hand  of  the  latter,  which  had  been  cut  off  for  identifi- 
cation. As  it  was  feared  that  decomposition  would 
rob  them  of  their  ghastly  trophies  before  they  could 
reach  Fort  Miller,  Mr.  Bishop  gave  them  a  ten-gallon 
keg  of  whisky  to  preserve  them  in.  The  head  of 
Three-fingered  Jack  was  buried  at  Fort  Miller,  but 
that  of  Joaquin  Murietta  was  saved  and  brought  to 
San  Francisco,  where  it  may  now  be  seen  at  Dr.  Jor- 
dan's Anatomical  Museum,  on  Market  Street. 

In  the  fall  of  1853  Mr.  Bishop  was  instructed  by 
General    Beale  to  transfer   the  Indians   from  the  San 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


059 


Joaquin  to  Fort  Tejon,  near  the  pass  in  the  mount- 
ains of  that  name,  at  which  place  they  were  located 
in  December  of  that  year,  and  in  the  following  year  a 
large  crop  was  raised  under  his  superintendence  by 
Indian  labor  alone.  About  this  time  he  formed  a  co- 
partnership with  General  Beale,  for  the  purpose  of 
conducting  the  business  of  stock-raising,  buying  lands, 
etc.,  which  partnership  continued  for  several  years 
under  the  firm  name  of  Bishop  &  Beale.  At  Fort 
Tejon,  Mr.  Bishop  held  the  respective  offices  of  Justice 
of  the  Peace,  Notary  Public,  and  Judge  of  the  Plains, 
at  one  and  the  same  time — a  weight  of  dignity  which 
required  no  little  strength  of  character  to  bear  success- 
fully in  those  rough  and  lawless  times.  He,  however, 
acquitted  himself  with  credit  and  satisfaction  to  the 
people,  and  was  greatly  esteemed  by  the  Indians, 
whom  he  always  treated  with  kindness  and  considera- 
tion so  long  as  they  were  peaceful.  In  1854  he  as- 
sociated himself  with  Alex.  Godey,  the  mountaineer, 
scout,  guide,  and  friend  of  General  John  C.  Fremont 
and  Kit  Carson,  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  provis- 
ions, etc.,  to  the  troops  stationed  at  Fort  Tejon,  and 
this  business  connection  continued,  to  their  mutual 
benefit,  for  about  four  years.  The  Hon.  Peter  Dean, 
now  President  of  the  Merchants'  Exchange  Bank  and 
Sierra  Lumber  Company,  in  San  Francisco,  was  also 
a  partner  with  Godey  in  the  stock-raising  business,  and 
the  time  spent  in  company  with  these  old  pioneers^ 
Beale,  Godey,  and  Dean,  Mr.  Bishop  emphatically 
says  was  the  happiest  period  of  his  life. 

In  1859  he  contracted  to  construct  a  military  road 
from  the  Colorado  River,  at  Beale's  crossing,  near 
Fort  Mojave,  through  Arizona  Territory  into  New 
Mexico,  an  extremely  hazardous  undertaking,  when 
the  topographical  difificulties  and  the  hostility  of  the 
Indians  are  considered.  So  determined  was  the 
enmity  of  the  aborigines  along  the  line  of  the  Colo- 
rado and  within  the  borders  of  Arizona,  that  the  gov- 
ernment dispatched  a  force  of  1,000  troops  to  bring 
them  to  terms.  These  were  sent  from  San  Francisco 
by  steamer,  via  the  Gulf  of  California,  to  Fort  Yuma, 
thence  by  land  and  light-draft  steamers  to  Beal's 
Crossing,  where  several  immigrants  had  been  massa- 
cred during  the  previous  year,  and  at  which  place  it 
was  hoped  the  enemy  would  be  met.  Knowing  of 
the  expedition,  Mr.  Bishop  completed  his  arrange- 
ments so  that  he  should  arrive  at  the  crossing  at  the 
same  time  as  would  the  soldiers,  and  have  their  pro- 
tection in  crossing  the  river;  but  unfortunately  he 
reached  there  a  month  in  advance  of  them,  and  was 
forced  to  cross,  unguarded,  the   swift-running  stream. 


with  his  party  of  forty-two  men,  besides  twenty  camels 
and  trains  of  wagons  and  pack-mules,  loaded  with  the 
necessary  supplies  for  the  support  of  such  an  expedi- 
tion. While  making  their  way  across  the  stream,  the 
Indians  attacked  them  and  compelled  them  to  retreat 
to  Beaver  Lake,  two  miles  distant,  where  they  fortified 
themselves  by  drawing  up  their  wagons  in  line,  thereby 
forming  a  breastwork,  with  the  lake  in  their  rear,  and 
on  either  flank  they  were  protected  by  a  ditch,  four 
feet  deep,  forming  an  inclosure,  within  which  their 
supplies,  animals,  and  other  property  were  gathered  in 
CO  nparative  security.  Here  they  were  vigorously  at- 
tacked by  some  fifteen  hundred  armed  savages,  who 
were  received  with  a  withering  fire  which  quickly 
sent  them  to  cover,  but  so  determined  were  they  that 
they  renewed  the  attack  daily  for  seventeen  days,  being 
successfully  repulsed  on  each  occasion,  when,  despair- 
ing of  overcoming  the  gallant  little  party  of  brave 
men  who  were  rapidly  thinning  their  numbers,  they 
sent  a  flag  of  truce  into  Mr.  Bishop's  camp,  requesting 
that  a  counsel  be  held.  This  was  acceded  to,  and  an 
armistice  was  arranged,  and  the  party  permitted  to 
proceed  on  its  way. 

At  San  Francisco  Mountain,  in  Arizona,  Mr.  Bishop 
met  his  partner.  General  Beale,  and,  after  consultation, 
it  was  decided  to  return  to  the  crossing,  where  they 
met  the  troops,  who  found  no  fighting  to  do,  the  In- 
dians having  had  quite  enough  of  that  pastime  during 
the  previous  month.  This  expedition,  so  barren  of 
glory  to  the  army,  cost  the  nation  $400,000,  while  the 
brunt  of  the  battle  was  borne  by  Mr.  Bishop  and  his 
companions,  who  reaped  all  the  glory  of  the  contest. 

When  Fort  Tejon  was  fir^t  located,  in  1854,  its  site 
was  supposed  to  be  on  government  land,  but  it  was 
subsequently  found  to  be  upon  the  Castec  Grant, 
which  Mr.  Bishop  purchased  of  one  Albert  Packard, 
of  Santa  Barbara,  who  bought  it  from  the  original 
grantee.  An  agreement  was  entered  into  with  the 
government,  the  conditions  of  which  were,  that  Mr. 
Bishop  should  deed  to  the  TInited  States  one  mile 
square  of  the  land  on  which  the  post  was  situated,  to 
be  held  for  military  purposes,  so  long  as  it  should  be 
deemed  necessary,  and  when  no  longer  required  for 
such  purposes,  it  was  to  revert  to  the  owner  of  the 
grant  with  all  the  improvements  made  thereon.  The 
title  to  this  grant  was  confirmed  by  the  government 
in  1859,  and  upon  the  outbreak  of  the  Rebellion,  the 
troops  at  Fort  Tejon  were  ordered  to  the  seat  of  war 
and  the  post  abandoned.  The  premises,  with  the 
keys,  etc.,  were  turned  over  to  Mr.  Bishop  in  accord- 
ance with  the  agreement,  and  he  suddenly  found  him- 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


self  the  proprietor  of  a  ready-made  village  of  fine 
houses  with  no  one  to  occupy  them.  With  that  keen 
intelligence  which  has  earned  for  him  his  high  posi- 
tion among  business  men,  Mr.  Bishop  conceived  the 
idea  of  forming  a  new  county  out  of  the  northern  por- 
tion of  Los  Angeles,  the  eastern  part  of  Santa  Barbara, 
and  the  southern  section  of  Tulare,  and  by  donating 
his  buildings  for  county  purposes,  such  as  Court  House, 
hospital,  jail,  etc.,  a  county  seat  would  be  found  com- 
plete in  its  chief  requirements,  and  at  the  same  time 
confer  a  benefit  upon  himself.  He  succeeded  in  his 
enterprise,  and  in  1865  the  Legislature  created  the 
new  county,  which  was  called  Kern.  In  the  mean- 
time, however,  a  great  mining  excitement  broke  out, 
and  thousands  of  people  were  attracted  to  the  mount- 
ains of  Kern  River,  and  when  the  election  for  county 
officers  took  place,  the  majority  located  the  county 
seat  at  Havilah,  and  thus  the  fruits  of  Mr.  Bishop's 
enterprise  and  intelligence  were  reaped  by  others.  At 
this  election,  Mr.  Bishop  was  chosen  one  of  the  Super- 
visors of  the  new  county,  but  resigned  the  office  in  the 
fall  of  1866,  when  he  went  on  a  visit  to  the  Atlantic 
States,  and  on  his  return  to  California,  with  his  family, 
established  his  residence  in  San  Jose,  in  April,  1867, 
and  his  subsequent  career  forms  a  portion  of  the  his- 
tory of  Santa  Clara  County. 

Mr.  Bishop  has  been  for  many  years,  and  still  is, 
actively  engaged  in  many  important  enterprises  calcu- 
lated to  promote  the  interests  of  the  county  in  which 
he  resides.  In  the  month  of  February,  1868,  he,  with 
others,  obtained  a  franchise  to  construct  the  San  Jose 
and  Santa  Clara  Horse  Railroad.  Mr.  Bishop  was 
elected  President  of  the  company,  and  work  was  com- 
menced on  the  first  day  of  August,  and  on  the  first  day 
of  November  following,  cars  were  running  between 
the  two  cities.  He  is  President  of  this  company,  the 
road  having  since  been  greatly  extended  and  improved, 
and  the  cars  are  now  run  by  electric  motor.  In  1870 
he  became  interested  in  the  San  Jose  Savings  Bank, 
and  for  several  years  was  Vice-President  of  that  in- 
stitution. In  the  same  year  he  became  the  owner  of 
the  San  Jose  Institute  and  Business  College,  having 
associated  with  him  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Freeman  Gates. 
In  1 87 1,  in  company  with  P.  O.  Minor  and  Judge 
Rhodes,  he  obtained  a  franchise  from  the  Mayor  and 
Common  Council  of  the  city  of  San  Jose  to  lay  the 
First  Street  Railroad.  He  is  also  President  of  the 
San  Jose  Homestead  Association,  and  Director  in  the 
Sierra  Lumber  Company,  which  has  important  in- 
dustries established  in  the  Sierra  Nevada,  as  well  as 
in  the  counties  of  Butte,  Plumas,  Tehama,  and  Shasta. 


In  1876,  with  six  others,  he  purchased  the  Stayton 
Quicksilver  and  Antimony  mines,  situated  in  the 
mountains  dividing  Fresno  from  San  Benito  County. 
In  1883  the  San  Jose  Agricultural  Works  were  es- 
tablished, an  institution  which  now  occupies  a  promi- 
nent place  in  the  manufacturing  interests  of  California. 
Mr.  Bishop  was  elected  President  and  still  holds  that 
important  office.  He  is  also  a  Director  in  the  Paul 
O.  Burns  Wine  Company,  established  in  1885,  and 
the  largest  viticultural  organization  in  Santa  Clara 
County. 

Few  of  the  pioneers  of  California  have  led  a  more 
active  and  useful  life,  or  contributed  more  largely  to- 
ward the  advancement  of  this  State  to  its  present 
proud  position  than  Mr.  Bishop.  He  is  endowed 
with  rare  natural  abilities,  and  a  genial,  kindly  dispo- 
sition. The  burden  of  sixty-three  years  sits  lightly 
upon  him,  and  his  regular  habits  and  systematic  ac- 
tivity have  solidified  and  knit  into  a  column  of  endur- 
ing life  his  whole  organization.  Of  fine  presence  and 
dignified  manner,  he  moves  among  men  a  perfect  type 
of  American  manhood,  commanding  the  respect  and 
confidence  of  all.  Mr.  Bishop  is  a  life-member  of 
the  Society  of  California  Pioneers,  and  of  the  Santa 
Clara  County  Pioneers,  and  is  also  a  life-member  of 
the  Santa  Clara  Agricultural  Society.  He  holds  high 
rank  in  the  Masonic  fraternit}',  being  a  Knight  Temp- 
lar and  member  of  the  Order  of  Nobles  of  the  Mystic 
Shrine. 

In  1856  he  married,  in  Los  Angeles,  Frances  E., 
daughter  of  William  and  Amanda  Young,  by  whom 
he  has  two  children,  a  daughter  and  son,  who  inherit 
in  an  eminent  degree  the  domestic  virtues  of  their 
mother,  and  the  energy  and  perseverance  of  their  fa- 
ther. 


|p)ETER  JOHNSON,  son  of  John  P.  and  Margaret 
Sys  (Esperon)  Johnson,  was  born  in  Burrenholm, 
iS5  Denmark,  March  31,  1842.  Peter  lived  with  his 
parents  till  seventeen  years  old,  when,  in  1859, 
he  came  to  New  York.  There,  and  in  New  Jersey, 
he  remained  two  years,  and  in  1861  came  to  Califor- 
nia by  way  of  Panama.  He  at  once  rented  a  piece  of 
land  near  San  Francisco,  and  carried  on  farming,  rais- 
ing potatoes,  mostly  for  the  San  P"rancisco  market ; 
was  there  two  years,  wher^.he  came  to  Los  Gatos  and 
located.  After  coming  here  he  followed  teaming, 
hauling  lumber  from  the  mountains  to  San  Jose.  In 
the  spring  of  1869  he  went  to  Redwood  City,  where 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


661 


he  remained  until  the  fall  of  that  year.  Had  a 
big  contract  there  for  hauling  lumber  for  Fremont  & 
Co.,  who  turned  out  2,700,000  feet  of  lumber  that  year. 
He  hauled  this  lumber  from  their  mills  to  Redwood 
City,  from  which  place  it  was  shipped  by  rail  to  San 
Jose.  Mr.  Johnson  has  followed  this  business  for  a 
great  many  years,  and  still  continues  it.  At  one  time, 
on  one  job  he  had  eleven  five-horse  teams. 

Mr.  Johnson  was  married,  October  21,  1869,  to 
Annie  M.  Hays,  a  native  of  New  York  city.  Her 
father  died  when  she  was  a  small  child,  and  she  came 
to  California  when  nine  years  old,  with  her  aunt,  her 
mother  having  preceded  her  a  short  time.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Johnson  have  four  sons  and  four  daughters. 

About  1874  Mr.  Johnson  purchased  his  present  place, 
at  that  time  containing  131  acres.  A  part  of  this  has 
been  sold  in  ten-acre  tracts.  When  he  bought  the 
land  there  were  no  ihiprovements  on  it.  Has  now 
about  forty  acres,  which  are  under  cultivation.  In  the 
fall  of  1887  he  cut  up  thirty-six  acres  into  town  lots 
which  are  adjoining  Los  Gatos.  Has  twenty-five  acres, 
containing  about  3,000  trees  of  various  kinds,  and  ten 
acres  in  vines.  The  trees  are  six  and  the  vines  four 
years  old,  and  just  coming  into  good  bearing. 

Mr.  Johnson  votes  the  Democratic  ticket,  and  often 
takes  a  great  interest  in  political  matters.  On  the 
ninth  of  April,  1888,  he  was  elected  a  Town  Trustee 
of  Los  Gatos.  He  is  one  of  the  stock-holders  in  'he 
Los  Gatos  Fruit  Packing  Company,  also  in  the  Los 
Gatos  Gas  Company,  and  in  the  Los  Gatos  Wine 
Company,  besides  having  a  little  stock  in  the  Los 
Gatos  Mail  Publishing  Company. 


§~|AMES  S.  PARKER  was  born  in  Nicholas  County, 
^  Kentucky,  July  30,  1834.  His  parents  were  Will- 
^  iam  and  Sarah  H.  (Wilson)  Parker.  His  father 
was  a  native  of  Kentucky,  while  his  mother  was  a  na- 
tive of  Maryland.  When  he  was  four  years  old,  his 
father  moved  to  Jackson  County,  Missouri,  and  there 
engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising,  in  which  call- 
ing the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  until  the  age 
of  twenty-one  years,  at  the  same  time  receiving  such 
an  education  as  the  common  schools  of  a  frontier  .set- 
tlement afforded.  In  1855  and  1856  he  was  engaged 
in  teaming  for  the  United  States  Government  on 
the  plains,  going  as  far  west  as  Fort  Laramie,  spend- 
ing his  winters  at  home,  except  in  the  winter  of  1856, 
at  which  time  he  visited  Kentucky  and  Georgia,   and 


devoted  sometime  to  trading  in  stock.  In  the  spring 
of  1857  he  started  across  the  plains  for  California. 
This  season  was  a  notable  one  on  the  plains.  It  was 
the  year  of  the  Johnston  expedition  against  the  Mor- 
mons, and  this  disturbed  state  of  affairs,  coupled  prob- 
ably with  the  inciting  of  the  Mormons,  had  made  the 
Indians  hostile  tow  ird  the  emigrants.  Many  train.s 
had  been  robbed,  and  several  murders  committed  by 
them.  The  train  to  which  Mr.  Parker  was  attached 
proceeded  on  its  way  without  any  serious  trouble  un- 
til they  arrived  on  the  Humboldt  River,  in  Nevada. 
Here  they  found  their  further  progress  impeded  by  a 
large  band  of  Indians.  There  was  but  one  way  that 
seemed  practicable,  and  that  was  to  fight  their  way 
through.  In  order  do  this,  the  emigrants  banded  to- 
gether and  gave  battle.  The  Indians  were  well  armed 
and  strongly  posted  in  the  willows  and  underbrush 
bordering  the  stream,  and  though  the  emigrants  made 
several  charges  upon  them,  killing  four  and  wounding 
several,  they  did  not  succeed  in  dislodging  them. 
Night  put  a  stop  to  further  hostilities.  When  the 
morning  came  the  emigrants  were  much  relieved  in 
finding  that  their  foes  had  abandoned  their  position  and 
retired  to  the  mountains.  From  there  their  train  pro- 
ceeded unmolested  to  California. 

In  the  fall  of  this  year  Mr.  Parker  located  at  Mount- 
ain View,  in  Santa  Clara  County,  where  he  rented 
land  and  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising  for 
the  following  five  years,  after  which  he  removed  to 
Sonoma  County,  where  he  followed  the  occupation  of 
farmer  and  fruit-grower  until  1867,  when  he  returned 
to  Santa  Clara  County  and  purchased  thirty-five  acres 
of  land  on  the  Kifer  road  west  of  Santa  Clara.  (The 
place  is  now  owned  by  Grandin  Bray.)  This  land  he 
improved  and  cultivated  until  1885,  when  he  sold  that 
property  and  took  up  his  residence  upon  six  acres  of 
land  located  on  Scott  Lane,  about  one  mile  west  of 
Santa  Clara.  Mr.  Parker  is  now  the  Superintendent  of 
the  well-known  "  Riverside"  farm,  located  about  two 
and  one-half  miles  north  of  Santa  Clara,  a  position 
which  his  long  experience  as  a  farmer,  stock-grower, 
and  orchardist,  enables  him  to  fill  to  the  satisfaction 
and  profit  of  its  owner.  He  is  a  School  Trustee  in  the 
Jefferson  District,  a  position  he  has  held  for  the  past 
six  years.  In  politics  he  is  Democratic,  and  he  is  in- 
terested in  the  political  affairs  of  the  county.  He  is 
a  member  of  Santa  Clara  Lodge,  No.  52,  I.  O.  O.  F., 
also  a  member  of  the  Christian  Church. 

In  1 857,  while  crossing  the  plains,  Mr.  Parker  mar- 
ried Miss  Martha  Whitsitt,  a  native  of  Indiana,  who 
was  emigrating  to  California  with  her  uncle.     From 


662 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


this  marriage  ten  children  have  been  born,  nine  of 
whom  are  Hving,  namely:  William  D.,  who  married 
Miss  Rebecca  Leddy,  daughter  of  Daniel  Leddy,  of 
San  Jose;  they  are  living  in  Santa  Clara  ;  Jennie,  who 
married  R.  M.  Kifer,  also  living  in  Santa  Clara;  Jack- 
son, living  at  home ;  Louisa,  who  married  Samuel  Duff, 
living  in  Santa  Clara;  Annie,  Solomon  Lee,  Josie, 
James,  and  Lena,  who  are  residing  with  their  parents. 


igEDRO  DE  SAISSET  is  a  member  of  a  distin- 
Sys  guished  French  family,  and  was  born  in  the  city 
IS)  of  Paris  in  1829.  His  father,  Pedro  Saisset,  was 
educated  in  the  Military  Academy  of  France,  and 
before  he  reached  his  seventeenth  birthday  was  a 
Lieutenant  in  active  service  in  Napoleon  Bonaparte's 
army.  His  son  earned  the  title  of  Admiral  in  the 
French  navy  by  valiant  services,  and  took  a  promi- 
nent part  in  the  defense  of  Paris  during  the  Franco- 
German  War  in  1871-72.  He  was  subsequently 
elected  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly  of  P'rance, 
and  held  the  office  at  the  time  of  his  death.  The 
subject  of  this  memoir  was  graduated  at  the  University 
of  Paris  in  1847,  ^'^h  the  degree  of  A.  B.;  read  law  a 
year;  in  1848  sailed  for  America;  stopped  four 
months  at  Rio  Janeiro,  then  came  by  way  of  Cape 
Horn,  on  the  brig  Hector,  to  San  Francisco,  arriving 
July  2,  1849,  having  consumed  135  days  in  the  voy- 
age. 

Mr.  Saissett  married  Miss  Maria  J.  Palomares,  a 
Spanish  lady,  and  they  settled  in  San  Jose.  Feb- 
ruary 28,  1882,  Mr.  Saisset  incorporated  the  Brush 
Electric  Light  Company  of  this  city,  and  was  its  first 
President.  Through  his  energetic  efforts,  assisted  by 
others,  electric  lighting  has  attained  great  success  in 
San  Jose,  in  spite  of  the  many  obstacles  which  had  to 
be  met  and  overcome,  as  is  always  the  case  with  the 
innovation  of  a  new  idea.  By  considerable  exertion 
the  Brush  system  was  adopted  for  lighting  the  city, 
and  so  satisfactory  has  it  proven  that  few  cities  in  this 
country  are  .is  well  lighted.  The  property  of  the 
company  consists  of  the  lot  on  North  Fourth  Street, 
on  which  stands  their  substantial  brick  machinery 
building  seventy  feet  square,  containing  three  steam- 
engines,  aggregating  400-horse  power,  eight  dynamos, 
and  the  equipment  of  tower,  masts,  wires,  etc.,  with 
200  lamp.s.  The  entire  plant  cost  about  $100,000. 
The  whole  machinery  department  has  been  changed 
and  remodeled  within  the  past  year,    and    the    latest 


and  best  machines  have  replaced  the  former  ones,  so 
that  in  every  detail  the  plant  has  no  superior  on  the 
Pacific  Coast.  The  electric  light  tower  at  the  crossing 
of  Santa  Clara  and  Market  Streets  was  the  first 
erected,  which  was  done  by  the  citizens  in  1881,  and 
was  bought  by  the  Brush  Company.  It  stands  208 
feet  above  the  street,  is  constructed  of  tubular  iron,  and 
supports  a  number  of  lamps,  aggregating  24,000 
candle-power,  the  largest  light  in  the  United  States, 
and  the  third  largest  in  the  world.  Besides  this,  there 
are  twelve  masts  150  feet  high,  supporting  in  all  ninety 
lamps  for  lighting  the  city.  The  number  of  lights  for 
all  purposes  has  nearly  doubled  during  the  past 
year. 

Before  leaving  Paris  Mr.  Saisset  resigned  his  posi- 
tion as  officer  in  the  National  Guard,  but  he  still  main- 
tains his  allegiance  to  the  country  of  his  nativity,  and 
is  now  serving  the  French  Government  as  consular 
agent  in  San  Jose.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Saisset  have  a 
family  of  two  sons  and  two  daughters.  Their  elder 
son,  Ernest  Pedro  de  Saisset,  has  developed  great 
talent  for  art,  and  is  now  in  Paris  studying  under  an 
eminent  French  master,  with  flattering  prospect  of 
taking  high  rank  as  a  portrait  artist  in  oil.  Their 
other  son  is  attending  Santa  Clara  College.  The 
elder  daughter,  Henrietta,  has  a  diploma  from  the 
State  Normal  School,  and  the  other  daughter,  Isabel, 
is  taking  a  course  in  the  same  institution.  Besides 
their  beautiful  home  on  South  Market  Street,  Mr. 
Saisset  owns  a  fine  stock  ranch  of  3,313  acres  in  Al- 
ameda County. 


|||UDLEY  L.  WATSON  has  been  identified  with 
G^  Santa  Clara  County  since  March  17,  1879,  the 
^^^  date  of  establishing  his  residence  on  Lincoln 
Avenue,  between  Malone  and  Pine  Avenues,  in 
the  Willow  District.  There  he  erected  one  of  the 
best  appointed  residences  to  be  found  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, and  planted  his  five  acres  to  cherries  and 
plums.  Until  September  9,  1886,  it  was  his  home, 
when,  selling  for  $5,000,  he  moved  to  San  Jose.  Jan- 
uary I,  1884,  Mr.  Watson  bought  ten  acres  of  land 
(a  part  of  a  stubble-field)  near  the  head  of  Plumas 
Avenue,  which  he  planted  soon  after  with  1,000 
peach  and  prune  trees.  Upon  that  property  it  is  his 
intention  to  build  a  good  residence  and  to  make  it 
his  future  home.  Mr.  Watson  dates  his  birth  in 
Exeter,  New  Hampshire,  November  5,  1836,  son  of 
John  and  Betsey  (Gilman)  Watson,  and  twin  brother 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


of  Daniel  W.  Watson,  whose  sketch  appears  else- 
where in  this  volume,  and  in  connection  mention  is 
made  of  the  family  history. 

Seeking  a  wider  field  and  less  rigorous  climate,  Mr. 
Watson  came  to  this  State,  reaching  San  Francisco 
December  9,  1863.  From  fourteen  years  of  age  he 
worked  at  the  carpenter's  trade,  though  he  has  had 
other  avocations  since  coming  to  this  State.  Janu- 
ary 27,  1865,  in  San  Francisco,  Mr.  Watson  wedded 
Miss  Charlotte  Ross,  who  was  born  in  Groveland, 
Massachusetts.  They  have  three  children:  The  eld- 
est, Carrie  E.,  is  the  wife  of  Wm.  B.  Irish,  of  this 
county;  Frank  is  an  attendant  at  the  high  school  in 
San  Jose;  Ross  is  also  a  school-boy.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Watson  are  attendants  upon  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church.  Mr.  Watson  is  a  Republican  in  politics, 
progressive  and  liberal  in  views  upon  all  subjects.  In 
his  manner  he  is  a  real  gentleman. 


^ijfeENRY  WALTERS  resides  on  the  Berryessa  and 
S«R  Milpitas  road  (Capital  Avenue),  about  four  and 
(^  one-half  miles  northeast  of  San  Jose,  and  one 
and  one-half  miles  south  of  Milpitas.  He  is  the 
owner  of  sixty-four  acres  of  land.  His  original  tract 
was  eighty-four  acres  in  extent.  Three  acres  of  his 
land  is  devoted  to  orchard,  producing  nearly  all  vari- 
eties of  fruit  grown  in  his  section.  He  has  also  two 
and  one-half  acres  of  grape-vines,  bearing  Mission, 
Charbano,  and  Muscat  varieties.  The  remainder  of 
his  land  is  devoted  to  hay,  grain,  and  stock-raising. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  near  Baden-Baden, 
Germany,  February  i,  1833.  His  parents,  Louis  and 
Catharine  (Modcom)  Walters,  were  natives  of  the 
place  of  his  birth.  His  father  was  a  miller,  and  to 
this  calling  Mr.  Walters  was  reared,  receiving  at  the 
same  time  such  schooling  as  the  common  schools  af- 
forded. In  1857  he  accompanied  his  father's  family  to 
the  United  States,  landing  in  New  York.  In  1858 
his  father  and  youngest  sister  came  to  California. 
Mr.  Walters  remained  in  New  York,  where  he  was 
engaged  in  the  grocery  business  and  wholesale  milk 
trade. 

January  i,  i860,  he  married  Miss  Amelia  Langensee, 
daughter  of  Louis  and  Barbara  (Roesler)  Langensee, 
natives  of  Wurtemburg,  Germany.  On  the  fifth  of 
the  same  month  Mr.  Walters  and  his  bride  sailed,  by 
the  Panama  route,  for  California.  Upon  his  arrival 
in  San  Francisco,  he  worked  in  that  city  for  two  years, 


one  year  at  his  trade  as  a  miller  and  another  year  in 
a  vinegar  factory.  In  1862  he  came  to  Santa  Clara 
County  and  purchased  nine  acres  of  land,  near  Ber- 
ryessa, which  he  planted  with  fruit  trees  and  vines. 
Mr.  Walters  lived  upon  this  place  until  1869,  and  in 
October  of  that  year  he  sold  his  orchard  and  purchased 
fifty  acres  of  the  land  he  now  occupies.  He  afterward 
bought  thirty-four  acres  adjoining  his  fifty-acre  tract. 
Mr.  Walters  has  been  successful  and  has  created  a 
produc  ive  farm.  He  is  an  industrious  and  energetic 
man,  and  is  deserving  of  such  success  as  he  has  at- 
tained. He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  but  is  very  conserva- 
tive and  liberal  in  his  views. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Walters  have  four  children  living,  viz.: 
George  Louis,  Sophia,  Amelia,  and  Charles  H.  So- 
phia married  John  Versor,  and  Amelia  married  George 
Yoell.  They  all  reside  in  San  Jose,  except  Charles 
H.,  who  resides  with  his  parents. 


I  SCAR  U.  ALLISON  is  one  of  the  native  sons 
of  California,  who  is  devoting  himself  to  fruit- 
growing in  Santa  Clara  County.  His  place, 
on  Pine  Avenue,  between  Lincoln  Avenue  and 
Hicks  Street,  contains  twenty  acres,  and  is  planted, 
ten  acres  in  apricots,  five  acres  in  prunes,  and  five 
acres  in  peaches,  all  in  bearing.  This  place  yielded, 
in  1887,  about  $2,000.  At  that  time  he  owned  the 
place  on  the  corner  of  Hicks  Street  and  Minnesota 
Avenue,  also  a  place  near  Campbell  Station,  of  thirty- 
two  and  one-half  acres,  of  which  twent3-one  and  one- 
half  acres  were  in  fruit.  These  two  latter  places  he 
has  since  sold. 

He  was  born  in  Sonora,  Tuolumne  County,  Cali- 
fornia, in  1855.  His  parents,  Oscar  and  Catherine 
(Miller)  Allison,  came  to  California  in  the  pioneer 
days  of  the  State.  His  father,  a  native  of  New  York 
State,  came  around  the  Horn  in  1849,  on  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  gold  excitement.  His  mother,  a  native 
of  Massachusetts,  came  by  way  of  Panama,  with  a 
married  sister,  in  1852.  They  were  married  in  Tuol- 
umne County,  California,  in  1852,  and  have  two  chil- 
dren, Oscar  U.  and  Marion,  now  living  in  San  Jo.se. 
Their  residence  is  now  in  Napa  County.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  was  educated  in  San  Francisco,  after 
which  he  learned  the  soda-water  manufacturing  busi- 
ness, in  San  Jose,  in  Williams  Bros',  establishment, 
where  he  worked  for  seven  j-ears.     He  was  for  a  time 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


engaged  on  his  own  account  in  business  in  Woodland, 
Yolo  County,  California. 

In  1882  he  was  married  to  Miss  Lola  J.  Coburn, 
daughter  of  William  and  Mary  (Lupton)  Coburn,  a 
native  of  California,  whose  parents  came  to  California 
at  an  early  date  in  its  history.  They  had  one  child, 
Charles,  born  July  21,  1884.  Mr.  Allison  is  a  sup- 
porter of  the  Republican  party,  and  of  its  views  on 
the  tariff  question. 


Ml  S.  MOCKBEE  was  born  in  Santa  Clara  County, 
&:  California,  March  16,  1859,  between  old  and  new 
^  Mountain  View.  His  parents,  James  W.  and 
Clarissa  Mockbee,  were  early  settlers  in  this  township. 
Jake,  as  he  is  familiarly  known,  was  educated  at  the 
public  schools  of  Mountain  View,  and  lived  at  home 
until  he  was  fifteen  years  old.  During  the  last  four 
years  he  lived  at  home  he  was  working,  in  connection 
with  others,  on  a  threshing-machine,  bucking  straw, 
when  he  weighed  only  seventy-five  pounds.  Was  a 
mere  boy,  yet  received  full  pay,  and  did  as  much 
work  as  anyone  else.  He  was  thus  engaged  with  his 
father  for  two  years,  J.  W.  Lauer  one  year.  Smith  & 
Bubb  one  year,  and  McCubbin  &  Dale  one  year. 
When  he  was  fifteen  years  old  he  started  with  John 
Haverty  in  the  butcher  business,  and  remained  with 
him  two  years.  He  then  served  as  an  apprentice 
in  the  blacksmith  trade,  with  G.  W.  Smith  &  Bro., 
with  whom  he  worked  for  two  years  and  ten  months, 
completing  his  time.  He  then  bought  out  the  senior 
partner,  G.  W.  Smith,  taking  a  half  interest  in  the 
business,  under  the  firm  name  of  Smith  &  Mockbee, 
which  partnership  continued  three  years.  Mr.  Mock- 
bee then  bought  the  whole  business,  which  he  has 
run  since.  The  shop  was  formerly  on  the  old  Smith 
property,  but  on  the  twenty-third  of  December,  1887, 
it  was  moved  to  its  present  place,  on  Castro  Street, 
where  Mr.  Mockbee  bought  a  lot  in  October,  1882. 

Mr.  Mockbee  is  what  might  be  styled  a  self-made 
man,  having  had  to  earn  his  own  way  in  the  world 
when  he  was  a  small  boy,  besides  being  of  some 
assistance  to  his  parents.  He  has  built  up  a  fine 
business,  having  the  appliances  for  doing  general 
blacksmithing,  also  carriage  and  paint  shops.  He  is 
a  stockholder  and  Secretary  in  the  Olympic  Hall  of 
Mountain  View,  and  stockholder  and  Director  in  the 
Mountain  View  Canning  Company.  In  1884  he 
became  a  Mason  and  member  of  the  Blue  Lodge  of 
Mountain  View. 


Mr.  Mockbee  was  married,  October  i,  1884,  to  Miss 
Emma  Wagner,  of  Hollister,  San  Benito  County, 
California.  They  have  one  son,  Charles  Henry,  born 
April  15,  1886. 


JMILLIAM  D.  BROWN,  Chief  of  Police  of  San 
(s^p  Jose,  is  one  of  those  men  who  by  sterling  worth 
d^    and    innate    fidelity    to  duty  has  acquired   the 

I  confidence  of  his  fellow-citizens,  and  to  that 
degree  that  he  has  not  only  been  promoted  to  his 
present  position  by  the  suffrages  of  men  in  his  own 
party,  but  has  the  active  approval  and  support  of 
hundreds  of  voters  of  opposing  party  affiliations.  This 
is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  he  has  won  his  way  up 
from  the  ranks,  and  that,  while  his  first  election 
showed  a  majority  of  only  ninety  votes,  at  the  next 
election  it  was  340,  and  at  the  election  lately  held 
(April  9,  1888)  he  received  a  majority  of  1,062  votes. 

His  parents,  William  and  Catherine  (Daley)  Brown, 
were  natives  of  Ireland,  who  emigrated  in  1840  to 
Australia,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  being  born  in 
Sydney,  two  weeks  after  the  arrival  of  his  parents. 
In  1849  they  came  to  California,  attracted  by  the 
prospects  of  fortune  to  be  wrested  from  the  streams 
and  hill-sides  by  strong  hands  and  willing  hearts. 
The  father  went  at  once  to  the  mines  in  Stanislaus 
County,  remaining  for  about  six  months,  while  the 
mother  established  and  kept  the  hotel  known  as  the 
"Maid  of  Erin,"  on  Broadway,  near  Ohio  Street,  in  a 
building  brought  in  sections  that  year  from  Australia. 

In  1851  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  brought  to 
Santa  Clara  College  by  Father  Nobili,  then  in  charge 
of  that  institution,  and  remained  there  for  one  year, 
returning  again  in  1858,  and  remaining  another  year. 
There  is  hanging  up  in  a  modest  frame,  in  Mr.  Brown's 
office,  a  catalogue  taken  from  the  San  Francisco  Daily 
Herald,  of  July  14,  1852,  of  the  exercises  and  pre- 
miums awarded,  as  well  as  the  names  of  the  pupils 
attending  this  examination.  In  this  list  is  the  name 
of  William  D.  Brown,  and  among  the  other  twenty- 
six  pupils  comprising  the  class  are:  Ignacio  Alviso, 
Joaquin  Arques,  John  M.  Burnett,  son  of  the  first 
American  Governor  of  California,  John  T.  Calahan, 
Martin,  Bernard,  and  Patrick  Murphy.  Mr.  Brown 
appears  as  having  taken  a  premium  in  the  second 
class  in  the  Spanish  language,  also  in  the  third  writ- 
ing class.  The  parents  of  the  subject  of  our  sketch, 
in  order  to  be  near  their  son,  removed  to  San  Jose,  his 
father  opening  a  butcher  shop,  the  second  one  in  the 


/^^^z^^^^ 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


665 


town,  while  his  mother  engaged  in  the  hotel  business. 
His  father  purchased,  in  1852,  a  ranch  near  what  are 
now  the  Guadaloupe  quicksilver  mines,  where  he  de- 
voted himself  to  farming  and  stock-raising  for  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life,  he  dying  there  in  1854,  and  was 
buried  in  the  old  Mission  Dolores  Cemetery,  in  San 
Francisco. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  worked  on  his  father's 
farm  until  1858,  when  he  attended  another  year  at 
Santa  Clara  College.  He  later  worked  at  black- 
smithing  and  mining  at  the  Guadaloupe  and  Hevvri- 
quita  quicksilver  mines  for  a  number  of  years; 
followed  various  occupations  until  he  entered  the 
service  of  the  city  in  the  Fire  Department,  being  later 
appointed  Special  Officer  of  the  American  District 
Telegraph  Co.,  working  in  conjunction  with  the  regu- 
lar force;  and  on  the  death  of  Mitchell  Bellew  was 
appointed  police  officer.  From  this  position  he  was 
promoted  through  the  various  grades  until  elected 
Chief 

He  married,  January  8,  i860,  Miss  Johanna  Cun- 
ningham, a  native  of  Ireland,  and  sister  of  Richard 
Cunningham,  who  now  owns  the  San  Bruno  House,  at 
San  Bruno,  California.  They  have  had  twelve  chil- 
dren, of  whom  three  died  in  infancy.  Those  living 
are:  Johanna,  now  the  wife  of  James  Hogan,  Super- 
intendent of  American  District  Telephone  Co.,  of  San 
Jose;  Katie,  now  the  wife  of  Albert  Richards,  book- 
keeper for  Edward  Wail,  of  San  Jose;  Peter,  now  in 
business  in  San  Francisco;  and  Tessie,  William,  Rich- 
ard, Virginia,  Georgiana,  and  Bud,  still  under  the 
paternal  roof  and  attending  school.  Mr.  Brown  is  a 
member  of  Mount  Hamilton  Lodge,  of  A.  O.  U.  W., 
also  of  the  American  Legion  of  Honor,  and  of  the 
Knights  and  Ladies  of  Honor.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Democratic  party. 


^-^•pg>-« 


S||  p.  SARGENT.  The  Juristac  Ranch,  owned  by 
<§^  Sargent  Brothers,  lying  in  the  southern  portion  of 
^  Gilroy  Township,  is  one  of  the  most  interesting 
in  the  county.  It  contains  over  7,000  acres  of  beau- 
tiful land,  divided  about  equally  between  hill  and 
valley.  On  the  hill  land  are  the  famous  "Tar 
Springs,"  as  they  are  commonly  known.  Here  are 
inexhaustible  deposits  of  liquid  asphaltum,  which  in 
places  bubbles  from  the  ground  in  the  manner  of 
water  springs.  For  years  the  crude  deposit  has  at- 
84 


tracted  attention,  as  asphaltum  is  a  valuable  material 
in  the  useful  arts.  Some  of  the  best  specimens  of 
paving  in  San  Jose  were  made  from  the  asphaltum 
obtained  from  the  Sargents  place,  heating  being  all 
the  preparation  that  is  required  before  using.  But 
there  are  many  other  purposes  besides  that  of  paving 
for  which  this  substance  is  useful,  and  perhaps  not  the 
least  important  of  these  is  its  use  in  the  manufacture 
of  illuminating  and  fuel  gas.  A  process  for  manu- 
facturing gas  from  it  has  been  perfected  by  Mr.  E.  A. 
Holloway,  of  Gilroy,  and  as  soon  as  his  patents  are 
procured,  the  system  will  be  adopted  in  that  place. 
Mr.  Holloway  has  already  demonstrated  the  practica- 
bility of  the  process  by  lighting  the  streets  and  busi- 
ness houses  of  Gilroy  with  asphaltum  gas.  This 
matter  is  further  treated  in  another  portion  of  this 
volume. 

The  ranch  is  principally  devoted  to  stock-raising 
and  dairying,  though  some  attention  is  given  to  grain- 
growing.  On  this  place  there  are  about  1,500  Durham 
or  Shorthorn  cattle,  Mr.  Sargent  preferring  the  cross 
of  these  two  fine  breeds  of  cattle.  When  he  first  en- 
gaged in  the  stock  business  in  California,  he  handled 
only  the  common  American  and  Spanish  cattle,  but 
since  1872  has  been  steadily  introducing  the  Durham 
or  Shorthorn.  In  that  year  he  also  engaged  in  dai- 
rying, and  his  dairy  interests  are  now  among  the  most 
extensive  in  the  county.  Two  hundred  and  fifty  cows 
are  kept  for  this  purpose,  and  an  average  of  twelve 
flats  per  day  are  manufactured  all  the  year  round,  the 
output  sometimes  amounting  to  seventeen  or  eighteen 
per  day.  The  place  is  splendidly  adapted  to  dairy 
purposes,  and  all  appointments  are  complete.  The 
La  Brea  Creek  flows  through  the  ranch,  affording  a 
never-failing  supply  of  water  for  all  purposes.  On 
this  tract  spacious  pleasure  grounds  are  laid  off  in 
attractive  form,  and  are  annually  visited  by  many 
gatherings  of  people  who  come  for  a  day's  pleasure. 
The  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  runs  through  the  ranch, 
and  lands  passengers  at  the  station,  known  as  Sar- 
gents, close  by  which  are  the  pleasure  grounds  known 
as  Camp  Sargent. 

Mr.  J.  P.  Sargent  is  a  native  of  Grafton  County, 
New  Hampshire,  born  February  11,  1825.  His 
parents,  Jacob  and  Martha  H.  (Webster)  Sargent, 
both  came  of  old  New  England  families.  When  a 
mere  boy,  he  lost  his  mother  by  death,  and  he  started 
in  life  for  himself  at  an  early  age.  After  a  year  in 
Merrimac  County,  New  Hampshire,  he  went  to  Mas- 
sachusetts, in  1843,  and  was  there  employed  during 
the  winter   in    driving  a  milk-cart  for  an  uncle,  Hon, 


666 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD." 


J.  W.  Robertson,  living  near  Quincy,  and  in  the  sum- 
mer in  delivering  ice  in  Boston.  In  1844  he  com- 
menced the  ice  business  on  his  own  account  in  Boston, 
in  connection  with  his  brother,  R.  C.  Sargent,  and 
there  he  laid  the  foundations  of  a-prosperous  business 
career.  In  1848  they  went  West  and  located  in  Chi- 
cago for  the  purpose  of  engaging  in  the  ice  trade  in 
that  thriving  city,  and  it  is  of  interest  to  mention  that 
they  packed  the  first  ice  ever  put  up  in  Chicago. 

The  temptations  of  the  great  gold  fever  of  1849 
were,  however,  too  much  for  them  to  resist,  and  they 
sold  out  their  business  in  the  city  by  Lake  Michigan, 
and  crossed  the  plains  to  California.  Locating  at 
Weavertown,  El  Dorado  County,  they  embarked'  in 
mercantile  business  and  mining.  In  1850  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  and  three  brothers  engaged  in  the  busi- 
ness of  purchasing  stock  from  immigrants,  and  into 
this  business  they  drifted  more  and  more  until,  in 
1855,  they  closed  out  the  store  and  gave  their  atten- 
tion entirely  to  stock.  In  1853  Mr.  Sargent  came  to 
Santa  Clara  County  and  located  on  the  Los  Angeles 
Ranch  (now  in  San  Benito  County).  In  1854  he  re- 
moved to  a  tract  near  Soap  Lake,  and  in  1856  to  the 
Juristac  Ranch,  where  he  now  resides.  The  stock 
firm  of  Sargent  Brothers,  of  which  he  is  a  member, 
is  composed  of  J.  L.,  R.  C,  J.  P.,  and  B.  V.  Sargent. 
For  this  extensive  business  a  vast  acreage  is  required. 
They  have  25,000  acres  in  one  body  in  the  San  Joa- 
quin Valley,  and  other  landed  property  there.  In 
Monterey  County,  they  have  24,000  acres  in  two  tracts, 
and  they  have  also  a  number  of  other  small  pieces  of 
land,  and  on  one  of  their  tracts  the  town  of  Bradley, 
an  important  station  on  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad, 
is  located. 

Mr.  Sargent  was  married,  in  Monterey  County,  No- 
vember 4,  1864,  to  Miss  Agnes  Bowie,  a  native  of 
Montreal,  Canada,  whose  parents  came  to  California 
in  1857,  locating'at  San  Juan,  where  both  have  since 
died.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sargent  are  the  parents  of  five 
children,  viz.:  James  A.,  Ross  C,  Agnes,  Ida,  and 
Louisa. 

Mr.  Sargent  is  a  man  of  marked  business  ability, 
as  indicated  by  his  progress,  making  his  own  start  in 
boyhood,  and  rising  unaided  to  his  present  position. 
He  is  a  Republican,  politically,  and  in  1872  was 
chosen  on  that  ticket  to  represent  this  district  in  the 
Legislature  of  California.  He  has  been  for  many 
years  a  Director  of  the  Santa  Clara  Valley  Agricultu- 
ral Society,  and  in  1877  was  elected  its  President.  It 
can  truthfully  be  said  of  Mr.  Sargent  that,  wealthy  as 
he  is,  and  having  accumulated  his  fortune  by  his  own 


efforts,  he  has  yet  ever  been  free  from  everything  of  a 
sordid  nature,  and  is  known  as  a  genial  and  whole- 
souled  man. 


JMRANCIS  E.  buck,  M.  D.,  of  Mayfield,  is  a 
G^  native  of  Wapello  County,  Iowa,  born  on  the 
T  eighteenth  day  of  October,  1856.  His  father, 
Francis  H.  Buck,  now  deceased,  was  a  physician  and 
a  graduate  of  the  Western  Reserve  Medical  College, 
Cleveland,  Ohio.  He  located  at  Eddyville,  Wapello 
county,  Iowa,  where- he  resided  until  his  death.  The 
mother  of  the  subject  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts, 
and  her  maiden  name  was  Emily  Campbell.  She 
survives  her  husband.  Francis  E.  Buck,  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  reared  at  Eddyville,  and  there  commenced 
his  education,  and  also  attended  Grinnell  College, 
Grinnell,  Iowa.  From  there  he  advanced  to  Oberlin 
College,  at  Oberlin,  Ohio,  and  after  this  attended 
Booktelle  College,  at  Akron,  Ohio.  After  a  year  and 
a  half  there  he  commenced  attendance  at  the  West- 
ern Reserve  Medical  College,  where  he  met  some  of 
the  professors  whose  lectures  his  father  had  attended 
during  his  college  days.  From  this  institution  he 
graduated  March  8,  1879.  He  commenced  prac- 
tice near  Ottumwa,  Iowa,  with  Dr.  Gutch,  an  old  res- 
ident of  the  community,  but  removed  to  Des  Moines 
in  1 88 1,  and  in  1884  came  from  there  to  California, 
locating  at  Mayfield  in  September.  He  now  has  an 
extensive  practice.  The  doctor  was  married,  in  Iowa, 
to  Miss  AUie  Belle  Russell,  a  native  of  that  State, 
reared  at  Glenwood,  Missouri,  and  Boone,  Iowa. 
They  have  four  children,  viz.:  James  Russell,  Emily 
Hazel,  Martha,  and  an  infant  unnamed.  Dr.  Buck 
has  passed  through  all  the  chairs  in  the  Mayfield 
lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F.     He  is  a  Republican  in  politics. 


^:^ecr 

^^HOMAS  TREANOR,  residing  at  No.  1261 
GTS  Lick  Avenue,  San  Jose,  is  extensively  engaged 
(3)|=  in  horticulture.  In  connection  with  his  residence 
is  a  young  orchard  of  eleven  acres,  comprised  of 
French  prunes,  apricots,  and  pears.  He  also  owns  an 
jDrchard  of  twenty-two  acres  near  the  junction  of 
Malone  Avenue  and  the  Almaden  road.  This  or- 
chard yields  French  prunes,  apricots,  and  peaches, 
four  acres  of  the  property  being  now  in  vineyard.  Mr. 
Treanor  was  born   in  Ireland,  February  5,  1853.     He 


BIO  GRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


667 


came  to  the  Pacific  Coast  a  poor  boy  fifteen  years  of 
age.  His  life  has  been  an  active  one.  Commencing 
as  a  common  laborer,  he  has  passed  all  the  grades  of 
employment  open  to  him,  until  he  reached  a  position 
in  which  he  has  furnished  nearly  all  grades  of  em- 
ployment to  others,  pertaining  to  mining,  agriculture, 
viticulture,  horticulture,  etc.  He  has  labored  and 
owned  mining  interests  in  Colorado,  Idaho,  Montana, 
Arizona,  and  Patagonia,  South  America.  He  is  now 
the  owner  of  mines  in  Yavapai  County,  Arizona,  as 
well  as  of  other  property  there.  His  largest  interests 
and  best  investments  have  been  those  in  that  Terri- 
tory, and  he  is  still  possessed  of  quite  a  large  amount 
of  property  there,  also  in  Texas. 

Mr.  Treanor  married,  at  Virginia  City,  Miss  Matilda 
Wehner.  She  is  the  mother  of  four  children,  viz., 
Edith,  Viola,  Francis,  and  Ida. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  established  his  home  in 
San  Jose  in  1884,  at  that  time  and  at  present  (1888) 
intending  to  make  this  valley  his  future  home.  An 
enthusiast  in  horticulture,  he  dries  his  own  and  other 
fruit,  having  handled  in  the  season  of  1887,  150  tons. 
Having  increased  facilities  for  this  branch  of  his  busi- 
ness this  season  (1888)  he  will  doubtless  find  it  still 
more  profitable  than  formerly.  He  has  a  good  market 
for  his  fruit,  having  an  agent  in  the  East  who  dis- 
poses of  it.  Experience  in  horticulture  and  a  love  for 
it  makes  him  a  successful  manager  of  the  interests  of 
others,  as  well  as  of  his  own  property. 


tEO.  W.  RYDER,  jeweler  and  optician.  No.  8 
South  First  Street,  was  born  in  HoUiston,  Massa- 
J^  chusetts,  in  1836.  Up  to  the  age  of  sixteen  years 
he  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  native  town. 
He  then  entered  the  Mount  Hollis  Seminary,  at  which 
institution  he  graduated  in  1853.  In  1854  he  com'- 
menced  learning  the  jewelry  business  in  HoUiston,  re- 
maining three  years  in  one  establishment.  Going  to 
Natick,  Massachusetts,  in  April,  1857,  he  there  opened 
for  himself  a  jewelry  store,  in  addition  to  which  he 
owned  and  conducted  for  five  years  a  newspaper, 
the  Natick  Observer,  the  latter  enterprise  having  been 
rather  forced  upon  him  from  having  loaned  the  pre- 
vious owner  a  sum  of  money,  the  paper  later  being  left 
on  his  hands  for  the  indebtedness.  This  venture  he 
managed  with  his  usual  energy  and  success.  One  of 
the  frequent  contributors  to  the  columns  of  his  pa- 
per  during  these    years  was    the  wife    of  the    Hon. 


Henry  Wilson,  who  was  later  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States,  during  General  Grant's  second  term 
in  the  White  House.  Finding  his  health  much  im- 
paired by  the  rigorous  climate,  Mr.  Ryder  sold  out 
all  his  interests  in  Natick.  He  had  endeavored  to 
enter  the  Union  army,  but  not  passing  the  requisite 
physical  examination  he  decided  to  follow  the  boys  if 
he  could  not  go  with  them.  In  October,' 1863,  he 
left  for  New  Orleans,  stopping  on  the  way  at  Havana, 
Cuba.  He  found  immediate  benefit  to  his  health, 
and  was  already  wonderfully  recuperated  on  arriving 
in  New  Orleans  in  November,  1863.  Receiving  from 
General  Banks  a  permit  to  open  a  trading  store  at 
Baton  Rouge,  Louisiana,  he  operated  it  for  about  one 
year,  cultivating,  during  the  summer  of  1864,  within 
the  Union  picket  lines,  about  fifty-five  acres  in  cotton. 
By  promptness  in  putting  to  work  a  sufficient  force  of 
hoe  hands  during  a  few  dry  days  which  followed  a 
long-continued  rain,  he  managed  to  free  his  crop 
from  the  grass  which  had  almost  taken  possession, 
and  which  could  be  destroyed  only  when  the  ground 
was  dry.  That  work  made  him  a  profit  of  $10,000, 
which  otherwise  would  have  been  an  almost  equal 
loss.  The  cotton  worm  took  complete  possession  of 
the  crops  that  year  in  Louisiana,  resulting  in  almost 
absolute  loss.  On  Mr.  Ryder's  place  a  few  balls  on 
each  stock  had  early  become  too  mature  for  the 
worms  to  eat,  and  made  cotton  which  was  worth  in 
New  Orleans  at  that  time  $1.80  per  pound.  The 
writer  of  this  rode  through  a  plantation  near  New 
Orleans  in  that  year  on  which  there  was  a  crop  worth 
$400,000;  two  weeks  later  it  looked  as  though  a  fire 
had  swept  through  it — not  a  green  ball  or  leaf  in 
sight ;  all  devoured  by  the  cotton  worm. 

In  the  following  year,  in  conjunction  with  Major 
Brigham,  then  Paymaster  in  the  army,  he  raised  a 
large  crop  of  sugar,  cotton,  and  corn  on  a  plantation 
situated  on  the  Bayou  La  Fourche,  two  miles  below 
Donaldsonville,  which  sold  for  $50,000.  That  year 
Mr.  Ryder  intended  to  return  North,  but  was  induced 
to  plant  a  crop  of  cotton  in  the  cotton  belt  of  Mis- 
sissippi, in  partnership  with  the  owner  of  the  place_ 
They  raised  that  year  400  bales,  weighing  each  400 
pounds  of  cotton,  which  sold  at  sixty  cents  a  pound, 
besides  a  large  crop  of  corn. 

He  then  sold  out  all  his  interests  to  his  partner 
and  went  to  Boston,  where  he  bought  out  a  jewelry 
business  on  the  corner  of  Causeway  and  Leverett 
Streets.  This  he  retained  until  bronchial  trouble 
again  necessitated  a  change  of  climate.  Selling  out 
his  business,  he  came  to  California,  settling  in  San 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  THE  "GARDEN  OF  THE   WORLD.'' 


Jose  in  1874,  where  he  engaged  in  the  jewelry  busi- 
ness in  the  location  where  he  has  continued  until 
this  time.  In  1881  he  set  out  an  orchard  of  prunes 
and  apricots  on  a  place  of  ten  acres  he  had  purchased 
in  June,  1880.  In  1885  he  realized  from  this  $562.50> 
selling  the  fruit  on  the  trees.  In  1886  the  fruit  sold 
for  $850,  and  in  1887  his  fruit  crop  sold  for  $1,500. 

Mr.  Ryder  was  married,  in  September,  i860,  to 
Miss  Eliza  J.  Hildreth,  of  Dorchester,  Massachusetts. 
They  have  had  six  children,  one  of  whom  died  in 
infancy.  Death  again  laid  his  cold  hand  upon  their 
happiness,  taking  from  them,  in  1885,  at  the  age  of 
fourteen  years,  their  daughter  Lona,  a  child  beloved 
as  widely  as  she  was  known,  and  who  possessed  a 
voice  and  musical  talent  of  wonderful  power  and  sweet- 
ness. They  have  four  living  children:  Georgia,  a 
graduate  of  the  San  Jose  Institute;  Jennie,  now  the 
wife  of  George  B.  Polhemus,  of  San  Jose;  William^ 
engaged  with  his  father  in  the  jewelry  business;  and 
Irving,  attending  school  in  San  Jose. 

Mr.  Ryder  was  elected  School  Trustee  in  1883, 
and  re-elected  in  1885,  from  the  Third  Ward.  He 
has  always  been  a  Republican,  and  believes  in  the 
fullest  protection  to  American  industries.  His  family 
are  of  old  New  England  stock,  originally  from  En- 
gland. His  great-grandfather,  Hopstell  Eames,  was 
a  quarter-master  in  the  Revolutionary  army.  While 
Mr.  Ryder  was  not  himself  accepted  for  service,  two 
of  Mrs.  Ryder's  brothers,  George  and  John  Hildreth, 
made  a  good  record  in  the  Union  army  during  the 
late  war.  The  husband  of  Mr.  Ryder's  sister,  Charles 
E.  Loring,  also  went  through  the  war  with  honor. 


|i|RTHUR  G.  FIELD,  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
S^p  Wright  &  Field,  real-estate  and  insurance 
^  agents.  No.  15  North  First  Street,  San  Jose,  is 
*  a  native  of  Vermont,  having  been  born  in  that 
State  in  1862.  His  parents  removing  to  San  Jose  in 
1872,  he  received  most  of  his  education  in  this  city, 
later  attending  for  about  six  years  the  University  of 
the  Pacific.  After  leaving  school  Mr.  Field  learned 
the  business  of  marble  cutter,  working  for  three  years 
in  his  father's  marble  yard.  At  the  end  of  that  time 
he  took  the  road  as  a  commercial  traveler,  selling 
marble  and  granite  work  up  to  1886.  He  then  en- 
gaged in  the  real-estate  business  with  Mr.  Wright, 
with  whom  he  is  still  associated.  Mr.  Field's  parents 
were  Frederick  and  Mary  H.  (Bacon)  Field.  Frederick 
Field,  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  also  a 


native  of  Vermont,  where  he  was  born  in  1820,  brought 
up  and  became  largely  interested  in  marble  lands  and 
quarries.  At  one  time  previous  to  the  late  Civil  War 
he  was  considered  worth  two  millions  of  dollars,  a 
large  fortune  for  that  period.  He  owned  much  prop- 
erty, among  which  were  the  Italian  marble  quarries 
in  Bennington  County,  near  Rutland,  Vermont. 
Naturally  a  large  operator  and  speculator,  he  lost  an 
immense  fortune  in  introducing  this  marble  through 
the  South,  furnishing  dealers  with  vessel  and  car-load 
lots,  and  waiting  until  it  had  been  cut  up  and  sold  as 
monuments  before  receiving  payment  for  it.  That 
would  have  succeeded  under  ordinary  conditions,  but 
the  war  coming  on  he  lost  almost  every  bill  due  him 
in  that  section  of  the  country.  Misfortunes  never 
coming  singly,  the  marble  in  the  main  quarry  drifted 
into  a  thick  limestone  stratum,  which  had  to  be  re- 
moved before  satisfactory  marble  could  again  be  had. 
Altogether  he  had  received  a  succession  of  blows  from 
which  he  could  not  recover.  Selling  out  to  a  stock 
company  which  has  since  overcome  these  difficulties, 
he  removed  to  San  Jose,  California,  where  he  estab- 
lished a  marble  yard,  and  here,  by  his  active,  intelli- 
gent, and  untiring  efforts  he  built  up  his  business  so 
successfully  that  he  had  again  acquired  a  satisfactory 
competency  at  the  time  of  his  death,  in  November, 
1887.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trade  of 
San  Jose  during  most  of  its  existence,  and  interested 
in  real  estate  here.  During  his  early  experience  in  the 
marble  business  in  Vermont,  conceiving  that  Chicago 
would  be  a  good  distributing  point,  he  at  one  time 
brought  a  cargo  of  marble  by  water,  landing  at  that 
place.  Finding  that  he  would  need  a  building  to 
store  his  marble  permanently,  and  preferring  brick  to 
wooden  buildings,  he  tested  the  clay  of  the  vicinity, 
found  it  admirable  for  the  purpose,  established  a  brick 
factory,  and  from  the  product  of  that  kiln,  built  the 
first  brick  house  erected  in  Chicago,  having  built  the 
first  brick  kiln  and  made  the  first  bricks  in  that  now 
immense  city.  In  every  respect  he  was  a  man  of 
large  views  and  extensive  operations.  For  ten  years 
he  operated  between  Vermont  and  Chicago,  as  well 
as  many  other  points  in  the  country.  While  thus  en- 
gaged he  met  and  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  H. 
Bacon,  daughter  of  Hon.  Nathaniel  Bacon,  of  Niles, 
Michigan,  one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  that  State.  The  date  of  their  marriage  was  in 
1858.  Mrs.  Field  is  a  well-known  magazine  writer 
and  authoress.     They  have  seven  children. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is,  as  was  his  father,  an 
adherent  of  the  Republican  party,  and  a  member  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


(yf 


?HISTOPHER  CONRAD  STIERLIN  was  born 
in  Switzerland,  March  3,  1826.  He  was  reared 
there  till  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  when  he  came 
to  the  United  States,  landing  in  New  Orleans  July 
5,  1842.  He  is  a  machinist  by  trade,  having  learned 
the  business  of  his  father  in  the  old  country.  After 
working  at  his  trade  in  New  Orleans  for  a  year,  he 
went  to  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  where  he  worked  two  years 
in  the  employ  of  the  government  in  the  machine  shops 
connected  with  the  arsenal.  From  there  he  made  two 
trips  to  New  York,  but  soon  returned  again  to  St. 
Louis.  From  there  he  went  to  Illinois  and  up  into 
Iowa,  which  at  that  time  was  a  pretty  wild  country. 
He  has  traveled  both  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  Riv- 
ers from  their  mouths  nearly  to  their  sources.  From 
Iowa,  in  1849,  he  made  preparations  to  come  to  Cali- 
fornia. There  was  a  party  of  four  agreed  to  make 
the  trip  together.  Two  of  them,  including  Mr.  Stier- 
lin,  bought  the  stock  and  drove  to  St.  Joseph,  travel- 
ing days  without  any  accommodations  other  than 
camping  out.  At  this  place,  as  by  an  agreement,  they 
met  the  other  two  of  the  party,  with  the  wagon,  provis- 
ions, etc.  Having  completed  their  arrangements  they 
started  out  with  three  yoke  of  cattle,  one  yoke  of  cows, 
two  horses,  and  a  mule.  Leaving  St.  Joseph  on  the 
twenty-fourth  of  May,  they  arrived  at  Nevada  City 
in  the  latter  part  of  October  with  one  yoke  of  oxen, 
one  yoke  of  cows,  and  two  horses,  after  being  on  the 
road  a  little  over  five  months.  He  engaged  in  mining 
at  the  place  where  the  city  of  Nevada  now  stands, 
working  for  a  doctor  at  a  salary  of  $6.00  a  day.  After 
working  for  him  eight  weeks  he  hunted  up  a  claim 
for  himself,  which  he  worked  all  that  winter  with  very 
poor  success.  This  claim  was  at  Rock  Creek,  three 
miles  from  Nevada  City.  At  this  time  a  company  of 
twenty  old  miners  was  formed,  which  he  joined,  and 
went  to  Rich  Bar,  on  Feather  River,  where  he  took 
out  $7,000  in  about  four  months.  He  then  left  and 
returned  to  Nevada  City,  where  he  had  an  interest  in 
a  quartz  mine.     However,  he  soon  left  that  mine  and 


went  to  Mormon  Island,  in  the  North  Fork  of  the 
American  River.  Here  he  went  into  a  river  claim, 
and  after  doing  some  of  the  hardest  work  that  he  ever 
did  in  his  life,  lost  all  of  his  money  except  $400,  with 
which  he  returned  to  Nevada  City  in  hopes  that  the 
quartz  mine  had  turned  out  better  than  what  he  had 
expected,  but  upon  arriving  there  was  doomed  to  an- 
other disappointment.  By  this  time  becoming  satis- 
fied with  experience  at  mining,  he  sought  employ- 
ment in  Sacramento,  and  there  found  a  chance  to  buy 
a  gunsmith  shop,  which  he  did  and  continued  in  that 
business  for  one  year,  when  he  sold  out.  With  a 
capital  of  $3,000,  an  outfit  of  four  horses  and  a  wagon, 
he  came  to  Santa  Clara  County  in  185 1,  and  bought 
a  little  farm  in  Fremont  Township,  where  the  old  town 
of  Mountain  View  now  stands.  His  next  purchase 
was  850  acres  of  government  land  in  San  Mateo  County, 
and  he  engaged  in  a  stock  business,  buying  calves  and 
young  cattle,  which  he  kept  on  his  ranch  until  they 
were  in  good  order,  and  then  sold  them  to  the  San 
Francisco  market,  which  was  a  profitable  business. 
In  1864  he  purchased  his  present  place  of  164  acres, 
about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  New  Mountain 
View.  He  also  has  fifty-six  acres  just  east  of  the  sta- 
tion about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  and  eighty-seven  acres 
on  the  Charleston  road.  His  land  is  principally  a 
grain  farm,  with  the  exception  of  seven  acres  in  orchard 
for  home  use.  For  eight  years  he  acted  as  a  grain 
buyer  for  San  Francisco  capitalists,  which  was  also 
profitable.  Mr.  Stierlin  was  married,  in  1854,  to  Clara 
Laux,  a  native  of  Germany,  who  is  the  mother  of  four 
children  :  Lisetta,  wife  of  Fred  Jansen,  a  resident  of 
San  Francisco;  Harry  John  Stierlin,  a  watch-maker 
and  jeweler  of  Villa  Lerdo,  Central  Mexico;  Mar- 
guerita  C.  C,  and  Mary  Esther  G.  Stierlin,  residing  at 
home.  Mr  Stierlin  has  one  of  the  most  attractive 
places  in  the  county.  On  his  place  is  a  fine  spring, 
which  is  walled  up  and  furnishes  an  abundance  of 
pure  water.  Mr.  Stierlin  was  reared  in  the  Protest- 
ant faith.  In  political  action  he  is  identified  with  the 
Democratic  party. 


..i^^^fe^^ 


^^^p^^^ 


-^^^^^-^^k^^f^^^ 


SAN  JOSE  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 

There  was  a  Board  of  Trade  in  San  Jose  in  1874, 
organized  for  purely  commercial  purposes.  George 
B.  McKee  was  President,  and  E.  H.  Swarthout,  Sec- 
retary. The  greatest  problem  with  which  it  had  to 
wrestle  was  the  adjustment  of  the  difference  between 
gold  and  silver  coin.  In  those  times  silver  was  at  a 
discount  of  from  one-quarter  to  three  per  cent,  and  to 
the  retail  dealers  this  was  a  matter  of  considerable  im- 
portance. They  were  practically  compelled  to  re- 
ceive silver  from  their  customers  and  to  settle  with 
their  wholesalers  on  a  gold  basis.  How  to  do  this 
without  loss  to  themselves  and  without  altercation 
with  either  their  patrons  or  wholesalers,  was  a  matter 
of  considerable  moment.  At  this  time  too  the  trade 
dollar  came  into  circulation  and  tended  to  complicate 
matters.  They  succeeded  in  putting  all  transactions 
on  a  gold  footing,  and  thus  equalized  matters. 

They  also  made  an  attempt  to  prevent  the  collec- 
tion of  the  merchandise  license  tax  which  was  then 
imposed.  They  all  agreed  that  it  was  inequitable, 
and  raised  several  hundred  dollars  by  subscription  in 
order  to  contest  it  in  the  courts.  Before  anyone  was 
found  willing,  however,  to  become  defendant  in  a 
lawsuit,  the  Board  dissolved  and  the  money  was  used 
to  assist  Edward  Martin,  a  merchant  of  Santa  Cruz 
County,  in  a  suit  involving  the  same  questions. 

The  present  Board  of  Trade  was  organized  Septem- 
ber 27,  1886,  with  the  following  Directors:  D.  B. 
Moody,  President;  A.  Friant,  First  Vice-President; 
William  Osterman,  Second  Vice-President;  Frank 
Stock,  Treasurer ;  G.  W.  James,  A.  Barker,  W.  C. 
Andrews,  P.  Etchebarne,  Joseph  Enright.  S.  A. 
Barker  was  selected  as  Attorney  and  Edward  B. 
Lewis,  Secretary. 

Early  in  1888,  at  the  request  of  many  prominent 
citizens,  the  Board  took  in  hand  the  matter  of  induc- 
ing immigration  to  the  county.  An  Executive  Com- 
mittee was  appointed,  consisting  of  C.  W.  Breyfogle, 
670 


A.  Friant,  and  J.  H.  Barbour.  For  several  months 
this  committee  gave  nearly  their  entire  time  to  the 
work  assigned  to  them.  They  sent  an  agent  to  Los 
Angeles  to  meet  Eastern  people  coming  into  the 
State  by  the  Southern  route,  and  spent  much  money 
in  advertising  the  resources  of  the  county,  both  in 
California  and  the  East.  The  rooms  of  the  Board  in 
the  Bank  of  San  Jose  Building  were  supplied  with  a 
full  exhibit  of  the  different  products  of  the  soil,  to  be 
shown  to  visitors,  and  excursions  were  brought  to  the 
city  from  various  points.  The  citizens  responded 
liberally  with  money,  which  was  judiciously  expended 
by  the  committee.  So  effectively  was  the  work  done 
that  the  "boom"  came  almost  before  it  was  expected. 
In  the  early  spring  there  was  quite  a  marked  move- 
ment in  real  estate,  but  as  the  tourist  season  was 
about  ended  before  the  Board  began  its  work,  it  was 
soon  over,  and  a  renewal  was  not  expected  until  the 
following  winter.  But  in  August  the  rush  began.  In 
a  week  from  its  commencement  the  sales  of  real 
estate  ran  up  to  a  million  of  dollars  per  week,  and 
the  County  Recorder  was  compelled  to  quadruple  his 
force  in  order  to  take  care  of  the  instruments  pre- 
sented for  record.  Values  doubled  before  the  month 
was  out,  and  several  hundreds  of  acres  of  new  land  in 
the  vicinity  of  San  Jose  was  subdivided  into  lots  and 
sold.  Country  property  was  cut  up  into  five  and  ten- 
acre  tracts,  and  during  the  following  season  planted 
to  trees  and  vines.  The  wild  excitement  subsided 
after  a  time,  but  there  has  been  a  steady  increase  of 
values  ever  since. 

HOTEL  VENDOME. 

One  of  the  first  propositions  brought  before  the 
Board  was  that  of  building  a  mammoth  hotel  for  the 
accommodation  of  visitors  to  the  city.  It  had  been 
industriously  advertised  among  tourists  that  San  Jose 
had  no  adequate  hotel  accommodations  for  any  con- 
siderable number  of  visitors,  and,  although  this  was 
not  true,  it  had  the  effect  of  keeping  many  from  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


671 


city.  The  Board  of  Trade  could  not  itself  build  the 
hotel,  but  it  could  give  the  undertaking  its  active 
moral  support,  which  it  did.  Public  opinion  was  prac- 
tically unanimous  in  regard  to  the  necessity  of  the  en- 
terprise, and  there  were  assurances  that  the  capital 
stock  would  be  promptly  subscribed.  The  question 
of  location  was  most  difficult  to  settle.  It  was  pro- 
posed that  permission  should  be  asked  from  the  city 
authorities  to  place  the  hotel  in  the  center  of  St. 
James  Square;  but  it  was  soon  ascertained  that  the 
city  could  not  grant  Ais  privilege.  Negotiations 
were  then  entered  into  for  the  purchase  of  the  Morri- 
son lots,  at  the  northwest  corner  of  First  and  St.  John 
Streets,  the  plan  being  to  make  St.  John  Street  ten 
feet  wider,  and  to  erect  a  four-story  block  on  the  en- 
•tire  frontage  on  First  Street,  from  St.  John  to  the 
Court  House,  Mr.  Beach  turning  in  the  St.  James 
Hotel  property  to  assist  the  enterprise.  In  examin- 
ing the  title  it  was  found  that  the  property  could  not 
be  alienated  at  that  time,  inasmuch  as  it  included  an 
interest  of  certain  minor  heirs.  For  this  reason  that 
project  was  abandoned,  but  the  movers  in  the  matter 
did  not  abate  their  efforts.  A  stock  company  was 
formed  and  the  old  homestead  property  of  Josiah 
Belden,  on  First  Street,  near  Empire,  was  purchased. 
It  contains  eleven  acres  planted  as  a  park.  The 
owner  at  the  time  of  sale  was  C.  H.  Maddox,  and  it 
required  $60,000  to  make  the  purchase. 

With  this  purchase  the  Hotel  Vendome  may  be 
said  to  have  originated.  The  company  was  organized 
August  1 1, 1887,  with  the  following  Board  of  Directors: 
J.  B.  Randal,  W.  S.  Thorn,  J.  S.  Potts,  L.  Lion,  C.  W. 
Breyfogle,  A.  McDonald,  T.  S.  Montgomery,  F.  H. 
Mabury,  and  G.  Lion.  The  stock  was  placed  at  $10 
per  share  in  order  that  all  who  wished  might  assist  in 
this  great  improvement. 

Enough  of  the  shares  were  soon  sold  to  warrant 
the  commencement  of  the  present  magnificent  build- 
ing, which  will  probably  be  ready  to  receive  guests 
by  the  time  this  book  reaches  its  readers.  The  es- 
timated cost  of  the  building  is  $250,000.  It  has  a 
frontage  of  254  feet,  and  is  three  stories  in  height  ex- 
clusive of  basement  and  attic,  the  basement  of  brick 
with  pressed  brick  facing,  and  the  building  proper  of 
redwood.  The  first  story  is  fifteen  feet  in  the  clear, 
the  second  twelve,  the  third  eleven,  the  attic  ten,  and 
the  basement  nine.  The  basement  contains  dining- 
rooms  for  the  servants,  barber  shop,  bakery,  store- 
rooms, fuel  rooms,  etc.  On  the  first  floor  is  located 
the  main  entrance,  41x66  feet,  in  which  is  the  office, 
the  grand   stairway,  elevator,   private    stairway,   etc. 


Here  also  is  the  dining-room,  60x80  feet,  with  two 
wings,  30x40  feet,  thirty  chambers,  ladies'  parlors, 
billiard-room,  reading-room,  baggage-rooms,  etc.  On 
the  second  floor  there  are  fifty-three  rooms.  Here 
suites  can  be  extended  to  seven  rooms  if  desired,  and 
on  the  front  nine  rooms  can  be  merged  into  a  single 
suite.  There  are  an  equal  number  of  rooms,  with  the 
same  facilities  for  suites,  on  the  third  floor.  The  at- 
tic contains  forty  rooms.  Each  suite  throughout  the 
building  has  bath  and  toilet  rooms  and  electric  bells. 
Three  towers  rise  from  the  building,  the  central  one 
100  feet  in  height,  and  those  on  the  ends  85  feet  each. 
The  club-room,  stables,  laundry,  etc.,  will  be  some 
distance  in  the  rear  of  the  hotel. 

PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS. 

In  the  spring  of  1887  the  Board  of  Trade  pre- 
sented a  petition  to  the  Mayor  and  Common  Coun- 
cil of  San  Jose,  asking  them  to  call  a  special  election 
for  the  purpose  of  deciding  whether  or  not  the  city 
should  issue  bonds  to  raise  money  for  necessary  pub- 
lic improvements.  Two  elections  for  this  purpose  had 
been  held  before  this,  and  the  proposition  to  issue 
bonds  had  been  defeated.  It  was  thought  it  would 
meet  a  similar  fate  now.  The  call  was  made,  however, 
and  the  Board,  with  the  assistance  of  the  press,  pre- 
sented the  matter  in  such  an  urgent  manner  that  the 
bonds  were  ordered  to  be  issued.  From  this  trans- 
action comes  the  substantial  bridges  on  Santa  Clara 
Street,  the  magnificent  new  City  Hall,  the  beautiful 
improvements  at  St.  James  Park  and  at  Alum  Rock, 
the  perfected  sewerage  system,  and  convenient  cross- 
walks. 

The  first  Executive  Committee  of  the  Board  re- 
signed in  June,  1887,  at  which  time  a  new  committee 
was  appointed,  consisting  of  Henry  Phelps,  N.  Cad- 
wallader,  and  W.  T.  Adel.  This  new  committee  took 
up  the  work  where  the  old  committee  laid  it  down, 
and  have  carried  it  successfully  forward.  A  display 
of  our  county  products  at  the  Mechanics'  Fair  at  San 
Francisco  was  made  by  them,  and  the  great  exhibi- 
tion at  the  same  fair  in  i888,  the  fame  of  which  has 
spread  all  over  the  Union,  was  arranged  under  their 
auspices.  They  made  an  exhibit  of  our  horticultural 
resources  at  the  Iowa  State  Fair  of  1887,  at  the  Grand 
Army  Encampment  at  St.  Louis  in  1887,  and  at  Co- 
lumbus, Ohio,  in  1888.  The  Board  of  Trade,  since 
its  organization,  has  disbursed  nearly  $50,000  for  the 
people  of  the  county,  and  that  it  has  been  judiciously 
invested  is  proved  by  the  signs  of  lively  prosperity 
on  every  hand. 


672 


PEN  PICTURES  FROM  IHE  "GARDEN  OF    THE   WORLD." 


THE  DEATH  PENALTY. 
Since  the  American  occupation  the  death  penalty- 
has  been  inflicted  twenty-two  times  in  Santa  Clara 
County,  each  time  by  hanging. 

The  first  was  in  1849,  when  three  persons  were 
hanged  by  order  of  the  Alcalde's  Court.  They  had 
been  convicted  of  murdering  two  Germans  in  the 
Santa  Cruz  Mountains,  and  robbing  them  of  $8,000. 
They  were  the  same  parties  who  stopped  Thomas 
Fallon  on  the  road,  related  in  the  first  portion  of  this 
work. 

In  the  same  year  Antonio  Valencia  was  hanged  for 
the  murder  of  Edward  Pyle. 

Theodoro  Vasquez  was  executed  January  30,  1852, 
for  stealing  a  horse.  The  law  at  this  time  permitted 
the  infliction  of  the  death  penalty  for  grand  larceny. 
This  law  was  repealed  in  1856. 

Ramon  Romero  was  hanged  November  26,  1852, 
for  grand  larceny. 

Guadalupe,  an  Indian,  was  executed  December  17, 
1852,  for  murder. 

Demasio  Berryessa  was  hanged  by  a  vigilance  com- 
mittee July  22,  1854.  He  was  charged  with  having 
murdered  Alexander  McClure. 

Pedro,  an  Indian,  was  executed  for  murder  Decem- 
ber 7,  1855. 

Gregorio  Soberana,  December  14,  1855,  for  murder. 
Bias  Angelino,  September  12,  1856. 
Antonio  Cardoza,  May  3,  1857. 
Francisco,  an  Indian,  May  8,  1857. 
Ricardo  Lopez,  July  11,  1857. 


Francisco  Guileroz,  July  18,  1857. 

Salvador  Garcia,  November  2,  i860. 

Abner  Smith,  July  10,  1863,  for  the  murder  of  Mr. 
Van  Cleave,  of  Santa  Clara. 

Ah  Pat,  a  Chinaman,  October  30,  1863. 

Tiburcio  Vasquez,  the  bandit,  March  19,  1875. 

Encarnacion  Garcia,  hanged   by  vigilantes  at  Los 
Gatos,  June  17,  1883. 

Joseph  Jewell,  November  30,  1883,  for  the  murder 
of  Renowden. 

Jean  Wasilewski,  October  24,  1884,  for  the  murder 
of  his  former  wife. 

Charles  Goslaw,  November  25,  1887,  for  the  mur- 
der of  H.  A.  Grant. 

Jose  Ramirez,  December  3,  1887.  for  the  murder  of 
Francisco  Acero. 

TEMPERATURE. 
The  following  table  shows  the  thermometrical  ob- 
servations, taken  at  San  Jose,  for  one  year:— 


December 


January 

February. . , 

March 

April 

May 

June   

.Tuiy 

August,  . . . 
September. 
October. . . 
November. 


#623